Oi, another day, another chapter. You see, the reason I throw out chapters so fast is because I have a lot of time on my hands. Cheerleading is over... what was that? That's right, I'm a cheerleader, and I may be picked for captain! Just because I can't walk and chew bubble gum at the same time doesn't mean I can't do the kicks and jumps while shouting on top of my lungs! Horo: I can't see you in a cheerleading uniform Akina: Oh, really? Well, imagine a beautiful girl with long red brown hair, bronze skin, long legs, and nice curves. That's me. Horo: You make yourself sound to good. Akina: C'mon, isn't it attractive though? Horo: ...I guess... On with the story!

`_,`_,_`_,_`_,_`_,_`_,_`_,

"So have you heard the news, Horo Horo?"

"Eh?" Horo looked up from were he was flipping hamburgers.

"The demon revolution has moved to Tokyo. It's starting to spread!"

"Already? Whoa, they must have gotten pretty strong in a short period of time.

The demon looked over his shoulder and lowered his voice. "This is just a rumor, but I hear that Yoh Asakura is part of the group."

Horo almost dropped the hamburger. "You're kidding me!"

"No joke. Some say he's been sighted along with Ren and those others when they've made a kill. No one's seen him in action though."

Horo sighed, putting the finishing touches on his creation; the perfect meat paddy. "And that's a good thing, too. The moment Yoh lifts one finger to attack someone, I'm moving to Mexico."

"But he's been dormant for about three hundred years. Is he just as powerful as before?"

"I bet something else is driving him," Horo said as Anna walked through the door. "Something that he wants badly."

Anna marched right up to Horo, ignoring the demon beside her. "Where is Tamao?"

Horo didn't like the sound of Anna's voice. It was obvious she was VERY upset about something. What that something was, maybe he didn't want to know. "She said she was going shopping. Why?"

The question went unanswered, as Anna had already stormed outside, her anger practically glowing around her. Horo shook his head. "That girl is trouble with a capital T. So what were you saying?"

`_,_`_,_`_,_`_,_`_,_`_,_`_,

As soon as Anna saw Tamao, she burst into tears, throwing herself in the demon's arms. "Oh, Tamao, I'm so sad!"

This was a surprise. Anna never really broadcasted her feelings. "Come, Anna, let's go talk some place private. She lead the crying girl away, and into a private dressing room in a department store.

"Now, Anna, tell me what's wrong."

She sniffled. "Yoh killed someone."

Tamao looked surprised yet once again. "Yoh? Are we talking about laid back, calm, super anti-violent Yoh?

"Yes!"

"Oh, wow. This I never expected to see again."

Anna looked up. "You mean he's killed others?"

"Oh, Anna! Every demon's killed someone! Even I have, but I've long since been off human. I thought Yoh was the same way. Kind of like repenting for all those he's killed, you know?"

"He's killed a lot of people?"

Tamao nodded sadly, not meeting Anna's eye. "I can't tell you the details, I hadn't met Horo then, so you'll have to ask him when he gets home tonight, okay?"

Anna nodded. "I love him, and yet he killed someone. I thought he could change his demonic ways..."

Tamao hugged the girl. "Oh, Anna, Yoh's already had to change his ways plenty of times before. I don't think he can change again."

Anna just cried into her mother figure's shoulder.

`_,_`_,_`_,_`_,_`,_`_,_`_,

A group of three stood in front of a house. The woman smiled at her two companions. "Who would like the honors?"

One of the two boys looked at the other. "Why don't you do it? You haven't done any, yet."

"Naw, I think I'll sit this one out, too."

"Oh, go ahead." The woman pushed him towards the building. "All that power can't go to waste. You can make it nice and quick, or we can enjoy their screams. Your choice."

He thought quickly. There was no way out of this, so he might as well give the people a chance. He summoned up a ball of flame, and hurled it towards the house. The fire spread rapidly. The woman nodded in admiration. "Oh, look at the pretty flames! I do think I'm enjoying this!"

"Not bad, not bad," said the other. "Personally, I thought an energy blast would be the best, but good ol' fire never hurt anybody."

The one who started the flames sighed. "You do realize that we are being watched."

"Really? By whom."

He pointed, and the woman went off to deal with whoever was there. Ren smirked. "It seems you're adjusting well."

Yoh shrugged. "This is nothing to be proud of."

"But the end justifies the means, does it not?"

Yoh nodded slowly. "The end justifies the means."

`_,_`_,_`_,_`_,_`_,_`_,_`_,

"So what's this about Yoh killing someone?"

Anna told the story of what happened last night again. They were in Horo's house, sitting in the living room. Horo sighed when it was finished, then excused himself. He came back with a picture frame. Handing it to Anna, he said, "Look at this."

Anna looked at the picture. It was of Yoh, caught unawares. His back was facing the camera, and his shirt was off. How she would like to stroke those muscles of his... She gasped. There were three scars on his back. One went vertically down his back, from his shoulder blade to his lower back, and was curved every so slightly like a backwards 'c'. There was a long straight diagonal line from his left shoulder to his right hip. The last scar was actually two long scratch marks that slid right over his other two scars. Anna looked up at Horo. "What could have done this?"

"Demons," he said as if that would explain it all.

Anna looked up at him. "Only fatal wounds leave scars on a demon's body. Things that would scar humans won't scare a demon."

"That's the thing. He got those wounds when he was human."

Anna was dazed, causing Horo to laugh. "Ah, yes, that does sound surprising, doesn't it? Did Yoh ever tell you that he and I are blood brothers?" Anna shook her head. "Well, then, Missy, let me tell you a story." He cleared his throat.

"Once upon a time, a bit more than five hundred years ago, there was a human boy named Tsuyoshi. He was sixteen at the time, and a lazy boy if I've ever seen one. Oh, he could work as hard as any of the others, maybe even harder. But he was just plain lazy. One day, he met a girl, who struck his fancy. They talked, and became quite good friends. She was a girl used to big parties and fancy stuff. She became such good friends with Tsuyoshi, that she invited him to one of these parties. Said there was no need to dress up, and nothing he had to bring but himself."

"I don't get it. Were does Yoh come into this story?" Anna asked impatiently. Horo Horo glared at her.

"I'm getting to that. Now where was I?"

"So Tsuyoshi decides to go to this party. The girl said she'd pick him up around ten, which, back then, was an ungodly hour. But he was such friends with her, he didn't care. So at ten, he sneaks out of his room, and meets this girl. They go to the party and, guess what? It's more than just a party, Anna. This is a bash."

"A demon bash?" Horo nodded and continued.

"Tsuyoshi knew the instant he walked in there that some fiendish work was going on, but he payed no heed to instincts. Oh, he should have. It wasn't long before someone got boozed up, and stated to the whole world to here that Tsuyoshi was a human. Let's just say the party lacked snacks." Anna grimaced. "They cut him up pretty badly. Here's were I came in. I guess I was the only one who didn't have a craving. I've always been a gentle soul, that I have. I saw them lunge for this human, heard the human scream, and I just busted through the crowd and grabbed him. I was pretty strong at that age, strong enough that I could impose a threat to people. No one said anything as I carried Tsuyoshi out of the bash."

"You saved his life."

"Yep. I took him back to the place I was staying at the time. The boy's breathing was shallow, and he was bleeding like mad all over my floor. It was impossible to clean him up, but I managed to see three major wounds on his back. Take a look at that picture." He indicated the frame Anna had in her hands. "Those exact wounds were on his back."

"So, Tsuyoshi was Yoh, right?"

"Wrong. Tsuyoshi was Tsuyoshi, not Yoh. Tsuyoshi was human."

"Then how does Yoh have these scars?"

"Let me finish my story an then you'll know. ANyways, the wounds on his back were the ones that caused to the most trouble. I didn't have time to find a healer, and that probably wouldn't help him anyway at this stage. So I did the only thing I could think of." He held out his wrist, palm up. He traced the vein that went from his wrist up his arm. "I cut myself, right there."

"You cut yourself? I don't see how that helps?"

"Don't you know anything about demons, girl? The blood of a demon mixed with a human's equals a demons!" Anna gave him a confused look, and Horo sighed. "I pressed my wound against the longest one on his back, and our blood seeped together, okay? He stopped bleeding at that instant, but he was still weak. I cleaned him up, bandaged his back and other various wounds, and let him rest. A week later, he was able to stand and walk and talk and all that other good stuff. It took a week for the demon blood in him to really take effect, and in that time, the wounds scarred. In the end, Tsuyoshi had turned demon."

"He went from human... to demon?"

Horo nodded. "At first he was mad at me because I never asked him about changing him, but then, what other choice was there except for dying? He gradually accepted his new life, and discarded everything that had to do with his old life. Including his name. Guess what he renamed himself as?"

"Yoh Asakura," Anna said, awed.

"Yoh became powerful very quickly. By the time he was merely one hundred years old, he could easily handle a horde of humans. He's a dangerous predator, you know. One who personally knows the strengths and weaknesses of his prey is unstoppable. Not to mention he had awesome power for someone who wasn't born a demon. I guess it was my fault."

"How is it yours?"

"I'm an ice demon, Anna, incase you didn't know that. Every human has some demonic properties, in your case, it's probably the lack of emotions or some hidden power you can't reach at the moment. In Tsuyoshi's case, it was the fire in his blood."

"Fire? Yoh's a fire demon?"

"Yep. Now, what happens when you mix fire and ice?"

"Um, the ice melts?"

A vein popped in Horo's head. "An enormous power results, that's what happens. So Yoh has this huge power, and became kinda corrupt, you could say. The whole, classic world domination thing. Oh, he came to his senses sooner or later, but the time demons spent trying to ward off Yoh was living hell. He was way to powerful, and killed many. I'll have you know that demons and exterminators alike teamed up to stop him, and that alliance itself is legendary. But the number of exterminators dropped drastically because Yoh was such a powerhouse. But then all of a sudden, Yoh didn't attack anyone anymore. A lot of people said that he was killed, but that was ruled out. What force in nature could kill Yoh? It was really a shocker when he turned up in my restaurant to the next day, saying 'How's it been, Horo?' and 'Can I have a hamburger?'"

Anna smiled. She could see the headlines already. 'Infamous Demon Arrives, Demanding A Hamburger!' She giggled, rarer than any smile.

Horo sneered. "Funny now, but it wasn't funny then. Scared the shit out of me! I thought he was trying to tell me 'Hamburger or your all to peaceful life!'"

Anna burst out laughing, the first time she could remember. Horo smiled. "Then came the whole Elizabeth thing, and now here we are."

"But was does this have to do with Yoh killing anyone?" Anna asked, getting control of her laughter.

Horo's good mood disappeared faster than a speeding bullet. "The demon I was talking to in the restaurant gave me some interesting news. Remember that little rebellion in Nerima?" Anna nodded. "It's rumored that Yoh may have joined it."

She gasped. "What? You mean, someone as peaceful as Yoh wants to destroy all humans?"

"It's just a rumor, Anna. Don't read to much into it."

She jumped up. "Horo! You have to help me find him! Maybe I can talk to him, and then he'll realize what he's doing and stop it, then and there!" She grabbed Horo Horo by the hand, dragging him out of his house.

"Ow, Anna, you're cutting off my circulation!"

`_,_`_,_`_,_`_,_`_,_`_,_`_,

Oh man, that took about two hours to write. No time for smart ass little conversations...so sleepy... please... review...