Ah…crap…I hate myself…. Why in the world am I running out of ideas?!?!?!?! Darn speakers…no more Mankin for me…*sulks in one corner*
No, I take that back; I'm not running out of ideas, I'm running out of inspiration and a will to write my fic…crap…crap, crap, crap…freakin' crap…. Should really find inspiration…somewhere….no, don't worry, it's not the lack of reviews. I always get through that though it sometimes affects my speed in writing (only increases and never decreases)
Well, anyway, (^_^) Marco-drunk is still here.
Writer's block…oh shoot….*bangs head on the keyboard*
Disclaimer: I claim to not claim the claiming of the claimed show claiming to be known as Shaman King, which is claimed as Mankin by the supposedly disclaiming fans.
Crap, even my mind's starting to get misty…look at that stupid disclaimer. Hope you understand though.
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CHAPTER FIVE
Truth
A light tap startled the dark-haired shaman. Yoh turned around and swiftly – yet quietly – went to the door, pressing his back against the cold rough wood.
"Yoh-sama? Are you there?" called a high-pitched voice that belonged to a certain pink haired girl without a doubt. She knocked at the door once again and put her hand on the knob.
Yoh pushed back with all his might as he noticed the knob on his side turn to open. "Yes, uh, Tamao, what is it?" he whispered in his normal voice to erase suspicion. He hand his hands clenched, knees bended with his feet firmly placed on the ground. His body was stiff and he had his eyes nervously turned to the door behind him. Across him, the form of his twin was inside there, laughing.
"Ah! Yoh-sama! The Ren team is gonna have a fight against Ly-ly five. They asked me to call you." She said, sighing with relief, but her worrying came back when Yoh failed to answer her. "Yoh-sama? Daijobou dane?" she asked, trying to push the door open but only found it stuck.
"Uh…yeah; I'm fine, don't worry. You can proceed to the fight now. I'll follow afterwards. I just need to do something." He turned at his brother, who was crouching down and looking at him with amazement, his chin resting on the palm of his hand.
"Okay. Are you sure you're alright, Yoh-sama? Are you sure you aren't sick?" she asked worriedly, tapping lightly on the door.
Yoh nodded, even though Tamao couldn't see him. Hao pointed to the door, now standing up straight, "I don't think your little friend there could see you nod." He said with a smirk on his face. He laughed afterwards when he saw his brother's blank expression. "You know what; you look kawaii when you act like that. You should do it more often." He said in hilarity and chuckled more afterwards.
Yoh scowled, blushing a bit at his brother's words. "Yeah, I'm alright, Tamao. You can leave now." He shouted, now with more force in his voice. He faced his twin once again, only to find him laughing at him once again.
The slowly vanishing sound of footsteps told them Tamao's departure. The dark-haired shaman sighed and slid into a sitting position with his back still leaning on the door. He turned insulted eyes at his brother and stared, his face slightly red. "What are you laughing at? Just because I'm the one having trouble here doesn't mean that you can just laugh like that." He spat but his voice wasn't angry. It was still calm.
"No, you don't understand." Hao stopped laughing and copied his brother's sitting position. He pointed one finger at him and said, "You really do look kawaii when you're confused but nothing beats your face when you're angry. So amusing. And you're blushing. Never got a compliment before about your looks?" he smiled brightly and softly. Good, situation under control. I guess my little otouto isn't as hard as I thought.
Yoh looked down on the floor and replied, "Not really, Tamao said something about that once but she was stuttering too much and I couldn't understand anything she was saying." He felt a sort of openness in him, a weird kind of openness. No, not that type of openness; not the type of openness he always feels with his friends, family and acquaintances. It was different; like saying without talking, understanding without thinking.
Maybe it's just because he's my twin. We are family, in some weird way or so. , he stood up and stretched his arms. He yawned a bit then shook his head. "Let's not get away from the topic." He muttered, now with serious eyes.
"The knob." Hao looked at the bronze metal attached to the door. "If you don't wanna be interrupted, then close that damn door." He ordered, with a force in his voice similar to that of the itako.
Without further questions, Yoh pressed the lock, his back facing the door as though unconsciously obeying his brother's order. He walked towards the mirror, the moonlight slowly creeping deeper into the darkness of the isolated room. The pale silvery light swallowed the mirror, making Hao's figure hazy and soft.
Tamao approached the cluster of shamans in the middle of the street. She settled herself between Manta and Ryu, her hands clasped at her back. She focused her eyes on the positioning shamans and started to impatiently toy with her fingers.
"Uh…Tamao? Where's Yoh-kun?" Manta asked, looking up at the young girl beside him. "He left Amidamaru here." He held up a black tablet. The said spirit nodded in agreement, tears flowing continuously from his eyes.
Tamao jumped, startled at the sudden question given to her. "Uh, well, uh, Yoh-sama said he would follow after me." She answered, stuttering a little bit. She looked behind her and bit her lip. She started to impatiently tap her foot, nervously looking back and forth from behind her shoulder.
"Don't worry. He'll come as he said. He always keeps his word, right?" the small blonde reassured, smiling softly at the young girl.
"I guess you're right." She answered back, a small smile now entering her face, washing away all the signs of worry.
The guardian – a particularly jumpy and energized one – created a shrill, ear-piercing note on his whistle, which thoroughly irritated the surrounding shamans – except for the drunk blonde. He ignored the stares of the two most dangerous human beings there a.k.a. Anna the itako and Ren Tao and continued blowing on the annoying whistle for ten consecutive times, completely forgetting about the fight he was supposed to be hosting.
"Mou yamete!!!!" Tamao and Pirika screamed in whining voices, their hands clasped tightly at the sides of their heads.
Anna stood up, a shadow across her face. Everyone, including the opposing team, looked at her intently as she approached the guardian, who was still engrossed in his little whistle.
Silva could hear the weird familiar whistles from afar. He had decided to see how their new guardian – or rather, their highest ranking trainee – in his first hosted fight. Ever since two of our current guardians were taken away from the group, we were searching for a replacement. Unfortunately, the trainee, even though he was the best, was too much of a bubbly person and could easily be carried away by anything he does.
The whistle went to an abrupt stop. The guardian dashed to the scene at that instant.
There, on the ground, was the young guardian, eyes in spirals with the whistle broken in a million pieces. The sight of the itako standing beside him with menacing eyes gave Silva all the answers to his questions.
"Ah, Anna-san, gomen nasai." Silva approached, waving his hand apologetically at the competing shamans. "Schwarz was just a little carried away. He's always like that. Gomen. He's just a trainee." He explained, putting the young guardian's arm over his shoulder.
"If I hear his stupid whistle again, I'm gonna send both of you to hell." She mumbled, recoiling back to her previous position.
Silva forced a little laugh as he tried to shake Schwarz awake to no avail. He sighed, leaving the shaman on a place away from the fight. He turned back to the fight, raised one arm and cut the air with one sharp slash. "The fight begins NOW!"
Yoh, despite the fact that he would be more comfortable in a slouching sitting position, remained standing straight, eyes completely focused on his reflection.
Hao chuckled. "Don't look so glum. I'm not gonna kill you. Besides, I obviously can't if you care to notice." He opened his arms as though trying to catch his brother or something. "Or do you wanna fight me in a staring contest? I'm very good at that, FYI." He grinned, shrugging his shoulders.
The other let out a small smile but then, that didn't last for long and was quickly replaced by rare serious eyes and a thin stern mouth. "Tell me everything, please. I wanna be there in time to see even just the end of the fight." He said, looking straight into the dark pools of his brother's eyes.
But the dominant shaman ignored his plea. "You know what, our personalities are getting mixed. I'm getting too carefree and you're getting too serious; must be the aftereffect of existing within you." Hao looked at his twin, grinning ear-to-ear. "Not such a big problem for me though." Because I can easily dominate in this situation.
Yoh blinked, getting startled by Hao's statement. He forced a smile and shook his head. "No, I'm not like you, Hao. I'm me and you're you." He explained, a slight shake in his voice. "Why do you keep making me go off-track?!" he exclaimed in despair, taking on step closer to the mirror.
The smile vanished in a flash. "Why?! Is it wrong for a brother to wanna make his time with his twin longer?!" he spat back, his fists shaking in anger. "Do you really hate me that much?!" he shouted, reaching the highest peak of his voice but unfortunately, only his twin could hear him.
Yoh recoiled back, eyes focused on the cold floor of the room. "Yes." He answered in a vague faltering voice. He felt his breathing hold.
"I don't." Hao answered, his temper now cooling, "I don't hate you. I would never hate you, no, not again. You're my twin, my other half." He said softly but no smile entered his face.
"No…I don't know…. I don't know if I hate you or not. You're just too…well…too…."
"I know."
Yoh, for the first time that night, smiled truly at his twin. "You don't have to worry about that time spending thing. Didn't you just say that you exist within me?" he put a hand over his chest, "Then we'll always spend time together." He grinned, laughing a little.
The older one sighed, his shoulders relaxing and his fists becoming loose. "Yin and yang, Yoh; yin and yang." He answered, putting a hand on the glass.
The Ren team yawned and stretched their arms as a sign of boredom, which irritated the other team greatly.
"Go team Ly-ly five!" both Ally and Millie, the members who didn't participate in this fight, cheered behind them, waving their hands frantically and scattering colored and shiny confetti, which came out of nowhere, to their team members.
"Oh? You have a cheering squad behind you?" Ren laughed in mock, "Do you seriously believe that you can win against us? Even Horo horo's a big enough challenge to you. So what makes you think you can compete with me?" he sneered, swinging his sword around in his weakest oversoul.
"What do you mean by that?!" the Ainu spat back, animatedly bobbing his head up and down, left and right, sprouting out all seeds of anger within him.
The Chinese shaman took no notice of him and just turned his back at the fight. "I have no time to waste my furyoku with you." He said, proudly leaving the scene.
"Come back here!" Sarona shouted, furiously waving Enla Enla in the air. She stomped her feet and stiffened her shoulders. "We can beat you!!! The Ly-ly five team is historical!!!! We're the girls that made Hao pissed off!!!!"
"Aaaaachooooo!!!!!" Yoh and Hao covered their mouths at the same time with identical gestures. They both shook their heads and said, "I must be catching a cold." In a simultaneous manner which really showed that they are twins.
Hordes of laughter erupted from the Ren team's side including all the audience.
"We are!!!!"
"Yeah, you are." The Ainu nodded, laughing a lot, now forgetting his vengeance at the yellow-eyed shaman.
Ren smirked, "Go finish the fight off now, Horo horo. You'll be more than a match for them!" he ordered, putting a hand over his mouth and straightening his face before anyone could notice his expression.
Instantly, the blue-haired shaman pivoted towards the Chinese and shouted, "WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO?!?!?!?!" he stomped his feet, "And what the heck do you mean by that?!?!?!?!"
Taking the chance, the members of the opposing team created their oversouls and went for an attack.
"Ha! The basics of fighting are to never ignore your enemy and keep focused!!!!" Sarona said in a triumphant voice as the three all focused their strengths on Horo horo.
"Hey! Don't you ignore me! Come back here, you weasel!!!!" the Ainu shouted at their group leader, taking no such notice to the three girls.
"Onii-chan!!!!!"
"Would you shut up?! I'm trying to say something here!!!" with one swing of his oversoul, he sent Sarona and the others flying off him. He sighed in irritation and turned back to Ren.
The Chinese shaman smirked, "What happened to 'who are you to tell me what to do'?" he pointed to the fallen team with the tip of his sword, "You just did what I ordered. How stupid." He snickered, walking away from the Ainu.
"NANDA'TO?!?!?!"
"The stupid flying iceman with his scary spiky teddy bear!!!!!" Chocolove pointed to the sky in a position similar to that of the Statue of Liberty.
Pirika's laugh resonated from behind them. "Chocolove, you are toooooooo FUNNEEEE!!!!!" she kicked her legs up high – which caused those around her to leave – hand clasped on her stomach and tears on the corner of her eyes.
"Ooh! I want that teddy bear!!!!" Marco raised his hand, stretching it up to the sky, standing up with wobbly knees. He laughed out loud then fell down on the ground, face red and hiccupping.
Simultaneously, Ren and Horo horo gave Chocolove one strong punch. In no time, the jester's face was brushing on the ground.
"Yin and yang….?" He repeated. He blinked a couple of times, staying silent for minutes. Finally, giving up with an overly squeezed brain, he asked, "What do you mean yin and yang? Isn't that the black thingy with the white thingy and dots in a circle?????"
O god, I can't believe my otouto!!! How stupid could he get?!?! , He slapped his forehead hard. "I was right. You are an eyesore." He moved his hand over to his face, bending his head down, and peeked through his open fingers. "How can you call yourself a shaman?" he mumbled, "Yin and yang is one of the most basic principles of shamanism! I can't believe I lost to someone who doesn't even know that!" he shook his head in dismay.
"Hey, no one ever said anything about that during my shaman training!" Yoh protested, pouting like a little kid.
Hao raised his eyebrows in disbelief.
The younger twin stared back in his eyes and slowly, memories about the lecture Yohmei gave him entered his mind along with the rest of his training days wherein he felt so lazy, so tired, that all they said went into his ear and exited through the other. He put one finger on his chin and looked up, "Uh…maybe 'jiisan said something about that and…uh…'baasan…and 'tousan…and…uh…'kaasan…and…uh…Anna…and, uh…well…the students back in Izumo and…uh…." He turned back to his brother and grinned, sweat dropped, "Too many too mention." He laughed.
Forgetful kid, eh? Doesn't know how to listen either. How the heck did the Asakura clan train my otouto? I pity him. I could've done way better! , "You never listen, do you? What if I don't tell you anything then? You mightn't be able to process what I say. I'll just be wasting my breath." Hao turned his back at his twin and smiled, knowing what his brother might do.
"NO~!!!!" Yoh called, pounding on the mirror. "Come back! Come back! I'll listen! I'll listen!" he shouted, persistently.
But that fault all adds up to your charm, ne, Yoh? , "You promise?" the dominant shaman smiled brighter, his back still facing his twin.
"Promise. Cross my heart. Hope to…uh…"
"Live." Hao filled in, turning to face the younger shaman.
Yoh stood back once again, now in a more comfortable slouching position though not sitting.
"Yin and yang. One cannot exist without the other." Hao explained, "Simple as that." But Yoh's face remained blank and confused. Sighing, he mumbled in a monotonous and exasperated tone, "Which means that if I die, you die too."
"Oh…" the dark-haired shaman nodded slowly. "But then why didn't I die when you did?????" he exclaimed, suddenly checking if he's still alive or not.
Hao laughed, amused at his brother's weird antics. "Because my body died but my soul didn't." he explained, "Being my other half, or, to make it simpler, my extra self-" he stopped, blinked and looked at his twin's jaw dropped expression then laughed once again. "I know, take a torchlight and two pieces of anything solid but be sure to make it small."
Yoh rushed off to find the things Hao asked for. He returned with the flashlight and two calling cards. "What am I supposed to do with these?" he questioned, still befuddled with the items in his hands.
"I'm only gonna say this once so listen carefully." Yoh nodded, "Hold the two cards in front of you in one straight vertical line like this." Hao made placed his hands in front of his, showing him a side view. God, I feel so pathetic here…but it is for my otouto's sake. I'll take revenge for making me do this. , "Then, take the torch and shine it on the first card. So, all in all, in one straight vertical line, it would proceed as this: the torchlight with it's mouth facing the following card, the first card – obviously – then the last card. Take note that the first card is overshadowing the last one." He explained, grinning as he watched the younger shaman hold the torch in his mouth in difficulty. You could use your shaman powers, you know, but you look so amusing that way. , he laughed and received a side glance from his brother. I'll let you suffer like that.
"Wurryu lafffinar?" he mumbled through the flashlight, "Disherrery haryu no."
Hao understood what he said but chose to overlook his complaints. "Let's just say that the light the torch gives off is my soul." He went into a more familiar sitting position with his chin resting on the palm of his hand, "The first card is my original body and next card is you." He said simply like a teacher teaching a kindergartener student, "If my original body, the first card, is destroyed – you can take that card away." He pointed, "Then…what happens?"
"Orrr…yeshole gowshtoo myvorry!!!" Yoh exclaimed, nodding his head, which made the light follow his head's direction. "Arraysing!!! Yurshow gugack kishing!!! Woyou akisher gefowr?" he put down the items and spit out the flashlight then wiped his lips with his shirt.
Hao shook his head. "No, not actually a teacher but close to it. More like a trainer for the students of the Asakura clan." He answered, looking with such delight at his twin. He laughed once more and stood up straight, extending his arm to his brother, then took it back. "It's such amiss. I can't touch you or anything. My only weapons here are my words." And the Supi but you don't have to worry about that – yet.
Yoh stood up. Now, he was the one copying Hao's movements yet, he didn't notice it. He had a smile on his face and a contented soul. I guess Hao wasn't as bad as I thought. In fact, he's pretty nice.
Hao sneered; his old scary eyes and smile returned, which his twin failed to notice. "Yoh." He called, pressing one hand onto the glass divider.
Yoh followed, putting his hand on the same place his onii-chan did.
"Did Mikihisa tell you?"
"About what?"
"That I could seriously take anything."
"Anything?"
"Anything…yes…." He smirked, "Anything from you!!!!" he laughed crazily. The mirror became liquefied and his fingers broke free from the boundaries created by the glass, intertwining with his brother's in a tight clasp. "And you can't do anything about it."
Yoh screamed, struggled and pulled with all his might to break away from his brother's grasp but, no matter what he did; Hao's grip was as solid as ice.
Anna turned her head sharply to the direction of the hotel they were staying in. Was it just me or did I just hear Yoh a while ago? , she pondered; eyes twitching in annoyance at the noise Yoh's friends were creating.
The fight had finished off quickly. The Ly-ly five team was too persistent, which was the reason for their loss. Why? Ren got too annoyed at broke all their oversouls – not their mediums. So, they left in disappointment.
Ren and the others were to go back in their celebration but Lyserg insisted on bringing back Marco to the hotel because he had caused enough trouble for the night. Unable to resist, they all followed.
"Thanks for helping me bring Marco here. I couldn't have done it as easily as this without you." Lyserg bowed, smiling at his friends with half an eye alert for any movements Marco will make.
Jeanne curtsied and thanked them for the help they gave.
"Where the heck is Yoh?! I thought he said he was gonna be there!!!!" Horo horo complained, "Man, now he didn't see how we won the match." He sighed, shrugging his shoulders in disappointment.
"Yeah, where is Yoh-kun?" Manta asked turning his head to Tamao who shook her head vigorously in denial.
One after the other, they asked in utter confusion about the lack of the presence of the dark-haired shaman.
"He's in the hotel, right? We should go there and ask him why he didn't come to the fight." Manta suggested.
Everyone agreed; nodding as they followed Ryu and Horo horo back to the hotel – of course, after saying their good nights and good byes to the X Laws team.
Anna bit her lip and tightened the grip on her elbows. I hope what I heard was just an illusion.
"Hey! Yoh!" the Ainu pounded on the door but no one came to answer. He rattled the doorknob but only found it locked securely from the inside.
"What's taking you so long?" Chocolove asked, approaching the blue-haired shaman.
"It's locked."
"Let me." Ren pushed Horo horo away and started violently shaking the door. "What the-?! Why in the world would Yoh lock the door?!?!?!?!" he yelled in irritation, kicking and punching the wood.
Anna clenched her fists and tried hard to get rid of her worried expression but it was no use. "Get out of there." She ordered voice a little shaky and forced. She took her turn in front of the door and, with one easy kick, the door swung open with a loud crack. "Yoh?" she asked, looking from left to right as the rest of the gang entered after her. She stopped abruptly and gasped; eyes wide-open.
Behind her, the other froze in their places as worried looks appeared on each of their faces.
There, in the hazy beams of the moonlight, lay Yoh Asakura with his back leaning on the mirror behind him, seemingly lifeless. He looked exactly like the time when Hao ate up his soul: expressionless.
"Yoh!"
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For those didn't understand Yoh's mumble-talk....
Wurryu lafffinar? = What are you laughing at?
Disherrery haryu no. = This is very hard, you know.
Orrr…yeshole gowshtoo myvorry!!! = Oh…your soul goes to my body!!!
Arraysing!!! = Amazing!!!
Yurshow gugack kishing!!! = You're so good at teaching!!!
Woyou akisher gefowr? = Were you a teacher before?
Trust me, I tried it. It really does sound like this (yeah, I know; "kishing" sounds like "kissing") but not with a flashlight of course ^_^;;
Okay, that down. Sorry if it took so long. It wasn't because I wanted to get more reviews but I really need to listen to my anime MP3s, any MP3s, but the speakers are broken (or rather, not yet installed because some virus infected the PC and we had to fix it; luckily, I have my files saved in the hard disk, which didn't get deleted ^_^) and, well, I'm the only one who actually favors anime in this house so am not free to use the stereo and my Discman is broken too (T_T). How accursed could I be?
I really, really hope that I get enough hyper-drive to make the next chappie. Usually, once I finish an okay chap, the inspiration continues till the end. I hope it does here too.
And speaking about the next chapter? It's entitled "Clue". Sorry, in no mood to say anything solid about the next chap.
Complain all you wanna, about the genre, summary, rating, story, title, THE OOCNESS (especially Fireball-chan's a.k.a. Hao because I don't know how much about his chara), etc. You know the call. Flames are welcome.
