Disclaimer:::
I no own SK desu.
Legend:::
(.…bla bla….) Is thoughts
"….bla bla…." Is normal speech
{….bla bla….} Is notes/signs/etc.
*…bla bla..* Is sound effect
Warning:::
Post-anime, OOC-ness on Hao's part, spoiler if you haven't finished watching the anime.
Summary:::
A spell transports a seven-year old Hao from a thousand years before to the present. Yoh takes the chance to make peace with the brother he never really got to know.
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Asakura Yoh looked down at the figure before him. The boy lay sprawled on his back, his long silky hair splayed out behind him like a halo. His torn and tattered robes were reminiscent of the fight and struggle. The boy breathed ragged breaths as one of his shaking hands clutched at the sword at his bleeding side. He gave a painful shout as he pulled the blade out in a single motion and threw the drenched sword aside. A trickle of sweat ran down the side of his face as his labored breathing became harder and louder. The boy's eyes glazed over full of hatred and betrayal as he stared at him.
Yoh kept a hardened look, unaffected by the rage-filled gaze sported by the young man before him. Seeing his lack of reaction, the boy gave out a pained laugh but in doing so spluttered out blood from his injured lungs. As the crimson liquid spilled from his lips, he reached out his other hand and grabbed on tightly to Yoh's robes. The grip still relatively strong despite the fact that his life force was literally draining away.
"Brother…" came a choked cry filled with anger yet still laced with sadness.
Yoh closed his eyes and looked away. The accusations in his voice were too much for him to bear.
"What have you done?" he asked painfully.
Yoh kept silent still. The silence seemed to aggravate the boy more for he sat up suddenly and furiously pulled a shocked Yoh to look at him in the eye. "Why?!!" he shouted in Yoh's face.
Yoh's eyes narrowed slightly trying to hold back tears as he shook his head slowly. "This did not have to be. This did not have to be." Yoh finally voiced out softly. His trembling hands sought out the ones clasping his robes to calm his fury. His 'brother' flinched at his touch and finally let go of him as his remaining strength ebbed away and disappeared.
Heaving out a tired sigh, the boy closed his eyes as he lay back down. When he opened them again, they met the sight of the teary golden brown eyes of his supposed brother. A brother who had been responsible for the gaping wound at his side and soon would be responsible for his death.
"Leave it be then. I am dying. I hope this brings you happiness dearest brother. For that was what all I ever wished for you." He said finally.
"No. Please. I meant not for this to happen. I was angry. I was not thinking. Please do not see that ill of me. As I am your dearest brother, you are mine as well. Forgive me." Yoh pleaded, regret clearly evident in his voice.
"That matters not now." Came a reply.
Then there was a deafening silence that stretched for a long minute.
"I-I…." Yoh paused, not knowing what to say. Slowly he lowered himself towards the boy on the floor as the other looked on in confusion. Softly, Yoh whispered into his ear,
"Ne, Ren. What's my next line?"
Tao Ren who lay on the floor of the stage, blinked twice and then let out a loud groan.
"Asakura Yoh! #$%$#@#^$&%^* That was the 32nd time!" He cursed loudly. "That's it! I've had enough for today! Sayonara!" Ren shouted as he pulled off the fake wig and threw it to the floor.
He then proceeded to discard the robe he was wearing and used it to wipe off the red juice from his side and his mouth. That finished, he threw the cloth away and stormed out of the hall, shouting curses at anyone unfortunate enough to be in his path.
Everyone in the school hall turned his or her attention away from the disappearing shadow of the recent transfer student from China. All their eyes fell on the one who caused the outburst, narrowing dangerously in annoyance.
"Ahaha. Gomen nasai. Gomen nasai. Gomen nasai…." Yoh said repeatedly to everyone.
He then grinned sheepishly and laughed heartily while scratching the back of his head slightly.
The crew and director of the school play looked at one another and slumped their shoulders in defeat. The need to strangle, murder and mangle had disappeared at the sight of the boy whose smile could warm even the coldest of winters.
"Alright! Alright! Let's wrap it up for today!" The director finally announced. The crew and handful of audience sighed and began to make their way out of the hall after cleaning up some of the props.
Yoh removed his own wig and robes. He dusted some of the dirt off of his own clothes as he handed his stuff to a nearby assistant and made his way towards the director.
"Gomen ne Manta." Yoh said smiling sheepishly.
Oyamada Manta let out a tired sigh and tried to think of why he decided to direct this play in the first place. Unable to think of anything, he merely sighed again and gave the brown-haired shaman a piece of his mind.
"Yoh-kun. Please make sure that you remember all your lines before our next preparation session. We don't want Ren to end up in jail for killing you the next time you forget your lines now, now do we?"
Yoh shook his head so hard that his fake goatee almost came off.
"Good."
"May I go now, Manta?" Yoh asked, eager to get home and cook dinner for one impatient fiancée.
Manta however had something different on his mind.
"Wait! Did you think that you'd get off the hook so easily my dear Yoh-kun? That was the 32nd time after all…" Manta said. Yoh gulped at the slightly dangerous tone in his best friend's voice.
"No…" Manta continued, "I am going to ask you to do something for me."
"Something?" Yoh asked curiously yet a bit frightened.
"Yeah. Call it a favor in return for forgiving you so easily. "
"Um..ok I guess. What would you want me to do?"
"Go to the backstage store room and wait for me there. I've got to get some stuff ready first."
"Ok then." Yoh said and headed towards the back of the stage while Manta headed off in the other direction.
Yoh's steps echoed in the now empty hall as he made his way to the storeroom.
(I wonder what Manta wants me with me.) Yoh thought as he pushed at the storeroom door which was slightly ajar.
The door creaked loudly as Yoh poked his head into the dust-filled room and surveyed the area cautiously. The room was relatively small, filled from corner to corner with dust-covered boxes. On one of the boxes was a wooden horse with a broken leg.
Manta had returned with a tube of glue in his hand. Slowly he reached out his other hand to take the broken wooden toy and began to fix it.
Yoh watched interestedly as Manta expertly glued the leg back together and commented on his workmanship.
"Yeah. Well, if you have a little sister who is always throwing and breaking her toys, you'd be good at fixing them too."
"Right! Hahaha!" Yoh laughed.
"By the way Yoh." Manta suddenly said in a serious tone.
"Huh?"
"Are you really okay with doing the play? I mean I see you laughing and joking like nothing had happened but that last battle must have done something to you. And the story of the play might open a few old scars."
"I'm okay."
"Yoh-kun."
Yoh gave a sad smile as Manta paused at his work to look at him.
Oyamada Manta. His first real human friend. His first real friend.
Yoh could trust him to understand, couldn't he?
Taking in a deep breath, Yoh told his best friend what he had been hiding from everyone.
"Did you know that, all my life I've always believed that a person had no right to take away another's life. That's why I hated Hao for killing so easily. But then, in the end I took his life away as well."
"But you had no choice. He was going to destroy everything." Manta defended him.
"Nevertheless, the fact remains that I've killed someone. The thing that is worse than breaking my own belief is that I have broken it on my own brother. My twin. My other half."
Manta looked down and continued on working on his repair. Yoh knew he was listening.
"It hurts me a lot. The day I felt his soul fade away, I really cried. My brother died because of me. Because I killed him.
I never got to know him. I didn't want to. He was a murderer. I hated him. I didn't want a killer for a brother. I denied it in my heart and never truly acknowledged him as my twin. But now I began to think, if I did, things could have come out differently."
"May be. It's too late to change anything now." Manta said in a quiet voice.
"Yeah." Yoh said smiling a little. "That's why I try not to think too much of it. The play may bring up some things I'd rather forget but it helps me take my mind of it. I guess I'm kinda hoping Hao will forgive me in another form."
Yoh shrugged. "What do you want me to do anyway?" he asked in hopes of changing the subject.
Yoh was glad he didn't pursue the subject any further when Manta gave a happy sigh. "All done!" he said bringing up the toy horse up for a last inspection.
Satisfied with his work, he opened up the big box it had been on minutes ago and placed it in carefully. Closing the box up with some duct tape, he heaved it up and passed it to Yoh.
"I want you to bring these toys to Akari's Home for Abandoned Children. I'm sure you know where it is?"
"Yeah. I pass it everyday."
"Well, I leave it to you then Yoh-kun."
"Okay see you tomorrow at practice."
"See you. And do remember to memorize your lines Yoh-kun. Because if Ren doesn't kill you, I will."
Yoh cringed at that and turned to leave. Manta watched as the brown-haired shaman hesitated at the doorway.
"Manta. Please don't tell anyone what I told you. They wouldn't understand." Yoh said not meeting his eyes.
Manta paused at Yoh's heavy voice.
"I won't Yoh-kun. I swear."
"Thank you."
And then he left.
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"Hao! Get down from there!"
The seven-year-old boy with long dark hair that fell past his shoulders, grinned mischievously at his mother from atop the sakura tree. He stuck his tongue out at the woman and waved the piece of parchment he had stolen in the air.
His mother had her hands on her hips as she glared angrily at him.
"You'd better not tear that piece of paper young man! You're going to be in a lot of trouble if you don't come down now!"
"Haha-ue. What is it anyway?" Hao asked curiously.
He hung upside down supported by only his legs on the thick branch. His long hair hung straight down and he felt blood rush to his head. Both his hands were holding the old paper as he studied it with interested eyes.
It made his mother wave her hands frantically. Hao always did dangerous things to make her worry.
"Get down now and I'll tell you. You'll break your neck!" His mother tried.
"Tell me now and I'll get down."
"Hao!"
"Yes Haha-ue?" Hao asked innocently.
"God you're impossible."
"Thank you Haha-ue."
"A foreigner came by earlier to buy from us some rice. He gave us the paper as an addition to the payment." She explained finally.
"You still haven't told me what it is."
"I'm not sure. That's why you shouldn't fool around with it. Now get down!"
"There's some writing on it." Hao ignored her as he tried to read it.
He screwed his eyes at the swirly-patterned letters unable to make anything out.
Then magically, the foreign letters became as clear to him as his native language. As if in a trance, he felt his lips open and close as he read out the words with perfect fluency.
Arta lúmenna
Ar san ata
Vanya vanya oantië
An i minya rána
Calta quanta mí vilya
An sí entulessë-lya
Hótuli-már
Hótuli-már
Hótuli-már
As soon as he finished the incantation, Hao felt a strange tingle in his spine.
And then suddenly a silent burst of blue light surrounded his body. Surprised, his legs lose their grip on the branch and Hao began to fall through the air.
"Hao!" his mother cried horrified.
But Hao never reached the ground as the blue light engulfed him wholly and his whole world turned black.
TBC
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Arta lúmenna (Across time)
Ar san ata (And then again)
Vanya vanya oantië (Go, go, go away)
An i minya rána (Till the first moon)
Calta quanta mí vilya (Shines full in the sky)
An sí entulessë-lya (For now your return)
Hótuli-már (Come away home)
Hótuli-már (Come away home)
Hótuli-már (Come away home)
Very loose translation of Tolkien's language~Quenya
(Ps: I don't know a word of it. But I love the sound of it. So there.)
Translations taken from this site:
If the link doesn't appear, e-mail me if you want the site.
Another H+Y fic from me. I will not deal with romance in this fic.
Just a side project. A story to write if I get stuck in Aniki. I'm thinking just about 5-7 chapters. But I don't know for sure yet.
C Ya
Kindly review.
~CF~