Prologue
Asakura Hao had died. Most agreed on that; however, the question remained unexplained as to why there was no body left. To Asakura Yoh, the above-mentioned Hao's twin brother, it didn't matter. Hao no longer bothered this planet—though it was somewhat depressing. As for the others, they seemed no more worried of the possibility of his return, either.
But as for Asakura Hao's opinion himself... is quite a different story. Therefore, this story shall be quite different, as it is a possibility of what had happened to one of the greatest shamans in history...
Author's note: Right...so now we have an over-dramatic intro... I'm sorry to ruin the mood by suddenly inserting this mindless babbling in the middle of the story, but for some weird, freaky reason, I just thought I had to.... And now...I have nothing to say, except that this is yet another crossover with Inuyasha. Actually, it mainly IS Inuyasha, only with Hao added. I'm not sure whether I should add Yoh and his gang, also... I'll ask for the readers' opinions on that in their reviews (if I get any). Oh, and just know that this takes place after Kagura's death... That's all I wanted to say.
Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King, Mappa Douji, or Inuyasha.
Death was the first thing he noticed when the temporary, blissfully dark silence surrounds him. Then, the anoyo, the other world, meets his spiritual eyes, and he must pay attention again. This time, however, he felt different.
Just like the last two times, the foggy, mist-filled world greeted his sight, as well as the other dead creatures that dwelled here. And just like the last two times, he walked over to the giant, bleached skeleton of a dog, and gazed up at it in awe and respect. Then, he felt the difference.
He raised his starry-gloved hands to his eye-level, and stared past them incredulously. He was no longer real. Of course, one would be confused as to why this should come as a shock to a dead person, as the average spirit is usually transparent. Spirits are only transparent when they are in the konoyo, the world of the living. They are like this because the konoyo is not their rightful world; so therefore, their existence is simply reduced to a mere shadow of their dead self, the transparent spirit. If the spirit were to travel to the anoyo, then they would solidify again, as that is the place they are meant to exist in. The rule applies both ways, even though humans don't have the access to the anoyo, anyways. There is only a few ways that a portal can open, however, and if one of those portals are opened, then a living body may enter and exit the anoyo as they please, but if a living person doesn't have access to this portal, then any other method they had used to cheat to the world of dead would cease to exist, and become a shadow of their living self.
Asakura Hao, however, can see right through his own hands, even though he was rightfully in the anoyo. As one might've guessed, he was more than bewildered.
"What's this supposed to mean?" he demanded to the nothingness around him. A light snicker filled the air, and suddenly, a small creature with three, huge ears and slanted eyes appeared before the shaman.
"It's just as I thought," the creature said smugly, its voice a taunting, squeaky male. Hao's eyes widened at the sight of the non-human, a familiar face he hadn't seen for a thousand and seven years.
"O....Ohachiyo!" The shaman gasped in surprise, staring at the small oni, whom had originally lent him the powers to read peoples minds and hearts. "How are....?" He didn't know how to phrase the question.
The small monster chuckled again, looking Hao up and down. "Long time no see, Mappa Douji... I see you've lead a few exciting lives without me."
The boy shook his head slightly, the earrings fluttering as he tried to clear his head of shock and disbelief.
"...Don't call me Mappa Douji," he managed to mumble, still too astonished to say anything of importance. "My name is Asakura Hao now..."
Ohachiyo snorted rudely, covering his mouth to prevent any laughter. "Lemme guess...The Asakura part you just saved from the first character of your name, Asa, and Hao is from the last part of your name, Ha, right? Asaha? Asakura Hao? I see how it works..." Then, the oni suddenly burst out into laughter, causing Hao to redden slightly and demand why he is laughing. The oni just continued laughing, though he attempted to talk and laugh at the same time. The only thing Hao understood was "Leaf king," and he reddened even more, though he turned on his heel and stalked away from the little troll.
"He...Hey! Where're you going?" Ohachiyo hurried along to catch up to the embarrassed shaman, a wide grin still on his face. "Oy, Mappa Douji, wait up! You're not mad, are you?"
"And why should I not be mad?" Hao blurted coldly, trying to scrape any remain of dignity he held now.
The oni scratched one of his ears thoughtfully. "Uhh...Because I was gonna apologize?"
Hao sighed softly, which then grew into a light, low chuckle. "Fine.... I'm not mad..."
"Does that mean you'll forgive me?" The monster squeaked eagerly, jumping onto the cloaked back and clinging on with his tiny hands and huge ears.
"Not quite," Hao replied, feigning sternness, though he couldn't help but smile with joy for his old friend. "You still owe me an explanation... Why are you here, and what do you know about my state?"
Ohachiyo snorted again, before lifting one arm casually and tugging at his own ear. "That's one explanation itself. You had a twin, right? Well, that twin happened to be more than a twin to you—he's half of you. Since I was submerged into your soul when I first lent you my power, the tearing of the one soul gave me a free opening. The only thing that stopped me from getting free was your body."
"My body?"
"That's right. The first two times you died, your body remained on the other world. This time, however, by some freak-accident, your body died with you. People's bodies don't just suddenly die; it's the soul that always does. You, however, are the first real-dead person, and this leaves me with a clear highway to get out of you— which I did, at the first chance. Sorry, buddy; you're a nice enough fellow, but I kinda like to have my own privacy as well."
"Doesn't matter. Now, why am I like this?"
"You didn't get that much on your own yet? I'm surprised... Well, if you really didn't get it...It's because your body died with you. You're body's still technically konoyo property put in anoyo. That means no more reincarnation for you, leaf-boy. However...If we can find our way out of here, I'll bet that you can exist in the living world again..."
A new, impossible hope sprang up inside of Hao, and he looked to the insulting creature excitedly, unable to hide the feeling.
"Do you know a way out?" The star-covered boy asked breathlessly, keen on roaming in a solid form again.
The miniature troll squirmed uncomfortably, jumped off Hao's back, then rubbed behind his third, down-angled ear. "Well..." he hesitated. "I know of one place...but it leads to feudal Japan..." He continued rubbing at his ear in an almost-apologetic manner.
Hao looked a bit puzzled, then couldn't help but ask, "How does it lead to five-hundred years ago?"
Ohachiyo, having more knowledge about the anoyo than Hao, answered, "Time or place doesn't matter in the world of the dead. The portals, however, lead to specific places and times. The only one I know of leads to Sengoku Jidai, Japan."
Hao shrugged lightly. "It's a small sacrifice I'm willing to make. Will you take me there, now?"
"Sure, I guess."
With that said, the two trekked off towards the south of the giant dog skeleton. It was a somewhat difficult walk, with what Hao thought was rough terrain; even though the blue-green monster retorted that it was "a piece of cake." After what seemed in Hao's mind a few days (as the only clock he had was his own skin, the days never changing from a murky, misty color), Ohachiyo stopped in front of a vast pair of enormous, stone doors, and somewhat proudly announced that they were there.
His dark eyes wide with astonishment, Hao stared at the massive portal in awe. "How are we supposed to open that?" he whispered, his voice being stuck in his throat. Ohachiyo shook his head slightly, and then responded thoughtfully.
"I think it'll open for us..." he said, "but are you ready, Mappa Douji? It's a little dangerous there—you could be heading back this way as soon as you get there..."
"Of course I'll be fine," the translucent Hao replied confidently, shaking the awe of the huge doors to the back of his mind. "Haven't you ever seen me fight recently? The Spirit of Fire could handle..." A thought accompanied by horror crossed his mind, and Ohachiyo snickered again.
"And where is your Spirit of Fire?" The amused, petite oni had a point. Hao groaned uneasily, dreading the answer that both he and Ohachiyo both knew. Spirit of Fire is a seirei, a spirit who was born spirit, and the only type that belongs in the konoyo. Spirit of Fire was left in the world of living.
The shaman sighed heavily, and closed his eyes to clear his head. "That's okay... I'll just have to start from scratch, then..."
"It can't be that bad..." The slight figure attempted to assure. "I mean, I'm sure there's a strong – F"
The oni paused, the two ears on either side of his head twitching slightly. Hao narrowed his eyes, knowing by the troll's actions of what was abroad.
"A strong what?" he urged Ohachiyo to continue with his thought. The star-shaman's mind, however, said different.
Don't show that you know! He projected the thought as loud and clear as he could manage, keeping in the front of his mind to draw Ohachiyo's abilities to the one thought. I'm going to try to bring it out into the open...
Once he knew, by the startled response, that Ohachiyo was aware of his intentions, he watched the little creature scratch his right ear casually, tugging it back a little at the same time. So the lurker was just back there...
"I said, I'm sure that there's a strong creature out here that wants to return home," The blue-green oni continued, as if nothing had happened. Hao took a few steps towards the coordinates Ohachiyo had pinpointed, not really developing some sort of plan. It occurred to him that since he was the ghost in this world, there was no possible way for their hidden friend to harm or injure him, if that was even possible in the anoyo.
"I'm not as quite confident as you are," Hao replied lazily, his eyes still sifting through the landscape he was facing, "but maybe our friend over there can recommend us somebody. What do you say?" He directed the last bit towards the brushy terrain, watching through half-closed eyes for the telltale sign. There. A twitch in that rocky tree. Hao walked over silently, an odd smirk gracing his lips. The figure didn't move. He could tell it was a woman, however, with short, black hair and a beautiful, old-time kimono.
His calm, black eyes met with wary, crimson ones.
"Hello there," Asakura Hao murmured sincerely. "How would you like to join us on a little trip back to the konoyo?"