Chapter 2

Yoh leaned against the door his dark brown hair falling infront of his face. " It was a bad Idea to begin with.." he whispered sadly.

" ehh... I knew it wouldn't do any good to keep it from him.." Ryu complained frowning " Faust has a heart of gold but doesn't always do the right thing..."

"yea.." Yoh sighed sadly. He remembering it all too well.

" He spent his last few hours with Manta..." Ryu looked at him.

" yes.. of course he did..after that... I really knew how strongly Hao felt for Manta..but the morning I woke up.. I just.. couldn't understand...all I knew was.. he left us..."

" He left us as flesh and blood anyways.." Ryu replied seriously.

"yes..." Yoh stared down at the floor. " That was the worst morning I had experianced... there was no positive way to look at it.."

-Flashback-"Hao...." He shivered. Tears running down his face. "Oh Hao...." He looked down in disbelief then looked back up. Hao lay there, a small blue hand towel wrapped around his neck and the other end tied to the bedpost.

"Hao...." Yoh weeped sadly his arms shaking he crawled closer " Please wake up Hao...open your eyes." he whispered. But his heart knew he had been gone hours ago.

"Hao..." He cradled his body closely. His tears falling down onto Hao's peaceful looking face.

" Good Night Hao...."

Ryu sighed heavily... " Thats before you came to me... I remember it too... you knocked on my door softly Faust had already gone downstairs he had insisted he make breakfast that morning. You're face... it looked very tired and tear stained"

" Yes..." Yoh's heart twisted up.

" I asked whats wrong.. and all you did was cry on me.. and whisper "Hao's dead..."Ryu looked over at the bed the same as it always was. Yoh closed his eyes then looked up at Ryu his face dull with no glint of happiness in it.

" That bed...still haunts me.. feels like a piece of me was torn away.." Yoh looked back down at the floor moving his foot a bit scrapeing against the hard wood.

"That day was awfull for me as well..." Ryu sighed " I think all of us..."

-flashback-

" But...What about... Little brother..." Ryu's eyes widened looking down at the small boy sleeping happily with the teddy bear wrapped in his arms. He wore a small smile and looked content in his dreams.

" Let him sleep..." Yoh shivered fear overcoming him.

" For now... I guess.. we can't let him see Hao like this.." Ryu choked fighting tears. " We... just yesterday..we were... argueing.." Ryu whispered.

Yoh crawled on the bed lightly trying his best not to disturb Manta's sleep. He reached over gently to the towel wrapped around Hao's neck and struggled to get it undone.

"It's very tight..." Yoh whispered pulling away at the knot.

Ryu's eyes widened and his face turned pale " It had to be... in order for him to.." He covered his mouth a pit forming in his stomach he quickly looked away.

Tears ran down Yoh's cheeks as he finally untied the knot and took it off of Hao a red ring around his neck that looked as if it had turned a bit purple as well. " please help me..." Yoh cried softly motioning to Ryu.

Ryu nodded pulling on Hao's legs and finally lifting up his body into his arms. "lets get out of the bed room before Manta wakes..." he whispered looking down at Hao's body.. a smile was actually on his face.

" How could he have died happy...!?" Ryu bit down hard on his lip as he carried him into the hall.

" He died watching manta sleep..." Yoh frowned making his way to the stairs feeling angry and deeply sad at the same time.

Ryu eased down the stairs slowly making sure not to make much noise as they went.

Yoh cried softly his voice sounding weak " You take Hao outside.. I'm going to tell Faust.. please.. don't... let me tell him... just take Hao outside please.." Yoh looked up at him. Ryu nodded silently "why Hao..." he whispered looking down at the boy's lifeless body as he opened the door.

" Faust...." Yoh walked into the kitchen his steps looking similar to a zombie's

"Hai?..." Faust turned around happily then stopped quickly looking worried. " ehh...Yoh..what's wrong..." He walked up to him looking down at Yoh. " Hao...Hao's dead..." Yoh whispered. Faust's eyes widened.

" Oh God!!" he gripped onto Yoh's shoulder. " You're kidding right..Yoh-kun!?" Yoh shook his head weakly.

"..But...Why!?? How is Hao dead!??" Faust shook him a bit.

" Suicide..." Yoh whispered falling into Faust's chest a bit.

" s...s...suicide..." Faust whispered in horror.

"he... hung himself on the bed post... I found him like that when I woke up.." yoh explained his voice cold and dead. " ryu took him outside...we havn't told Manta yet..."

"let's go outside..." Faust's eyes remained wide as he headed towards the door.

Ryu looked over at Faust. Hao's body laying ontop of their car hood. "what... should we do..." Ryu whispered sadly.

" we should...bury him..." Faust shivered looking away.

" But...shouldn't he...be given a funeral!?" Yoh frowned raising his voice a bit.

" We knew Hao.. we came to know him for the person he was after the Shaman Fight.. most people only know him for what he was back then.. not the changed Hao.." Faust looked down sadly.

" He's right.. as wrong and sad as it may seem.. we were all he had..." Ryu reached down touching Hao's face gently.

" we can bury him under the cherry blossom tree in the yard...say a prayer for him...and dedicate that tree to him as a monument.." faust looked over at them.

Yoh nodded crying into his arm. " I should go get Manta..and tell him...."

" I feel we shouldn't tell Manta...after his family members were killed... and I was almost gone as well... I don't think he could handle it.." Faust sighed.

" what!? what do we tell him then Faust... you can't always protect manta... even from the truth..." Ryu stammered.

" I'm sorry Ryu.. but when you feel such a way... I...I just don't think Manta has the strength to handle such a thing as this..." Faust looked down.

" I..I just don't know anymore..." Yoh sighed. "Maybe it is best we don't tell Manta..."

" Then what do we tell him!" Ryu yelled clenching his fists as the tears came.

" That Hao ran away...hao wasn't very social..and it would make the most sense..." Faust said " I know...how I must look right now... but we can't have Manta unstable again.." He whispered shivering.

" I'll go get a blanket..to wrap Hao in.." Ryu said softly walking to the door.

" Please get some insense and something nice to bury him with..." Yoh called to him quietly and looked back down at the ground again. -flashback end-

" Our own private funeral...just the three of us..it was so upsetting that no one else could be there.. not even Manta..." Ryu looked up at the ceiling. " Faust told Manta Hao had ran away..and it didn't seem like he would ever come back...ever since then..Manta had asked Faust why he thought left.. but Faust could never answer him.."

" Sometimes he'd ask me if I thought Hao would ever come back..I couldn't take it anymore...I'd go to Faust begging him to tell Manta but he always refused.. a whole 5 months I had to deal with it and now that it's been that long.. now he tells me yes? I don't understand it...and these months it seems as if.. all Manta has done is obsess over where Hao might be.. he had that much affect on him... I can't take it anymore... he took that bear everywhere with him..I love Hao.... but... Manta thinking he's still alive is ruining our life together.. he asks me questions I just can't answer Ryu..." Yoh sighed sinking to the floor.

" I know it must hurt..." Ryu sighed.

Manta quivered as he approached the large Machine lit up on the side of the street. He was thirsty and it was cold. " I should get cocoa shouldn't I?" he looked down at the bear as if questioning it. He fished into his pockets for some money and smiled weakly when he found some.

I'll be safe..." He told himself sitting on the bench shivering a bit as sunset turned into pitch black.