H o s h i - g a - H o s h i i - d e s u

"I want the stars"

by Lucathia

chapter 25: within their city

Yoh could offer no words of consolation as he watched Ren try to convince his aunt. A small smile adorned his face when Ren, Horo Horo, and himself had all stuck in a few words for Hoshi. His nervousness--nervousness that he hadn't even noticed was there--subsided then. They weren't angry at him. They weren't angry at Hoshi either. They had both been forgiven. Sort of.

Yoh always believed in his words. People who could see spirits couldn't be bad people. No matter who they were, they shared a special link that made them kin. Even if they didn't share the same blood, they were like one big family. He shared that special link with Ren, Anna, Horo Horo, and Manta, a link that was even more intimate than his link with his real family.

His words didn't just apply to his friends though. His words applied to all the people in the world, enemies and friends alike. That meant the same words applied to Hao. Hao wasn't a bad person. Yoh had wanted to believe those words when he was in Patch, but he had been unsure then. Was it really all right to accept his own brother who had murdered so many people? He couldn't accept his brother. It wouldn't have been right to do so. But he had wanted to so badly. He had actually gone against his own beliefs when he had decided to rid the world of Hao.

When Ren mentioned second chances, Yoh smiled sadly. This wasn't just Hao's second chance. It was also his own second chance. He had been given a second chance to right the wrong he had done against his brother. Hao's new identity as Hoshi had proved his words exactly. It had also proved how wrong he had been.

People who could see spirits couldn't be bad people. Given the chance, given a caring family, even Hao could turn into the teenage boy that his appearance suggested.

Yoh wanted to tell Sora his beliefs that people who could see spirits couldn't be bad people, but his voice caught in his throat as he was about to speak.

He couldn't say that to her.

Not to her.

She couldn't see spirits.

So Yoh sat there, silently watching Ren and Anna convince Sora. He had no words to add to their argument. He was suddenly unsure of his words.

He felt awkward when Anna's words finally convinced Sora to trust Hoshi. His stern and commanding fiancée was the one who convinced Sora. Not him. Manta, Ren, and even Anna had tried so hard to convince his aunt. And yet, what had he done in defense for his brother? Nothing. Nothing at all. Hao's twin brother had just sat there, speechless, unable to put his thoughts together.

He sipped his now cold tea, easily draining the cup as he quietly listened to Sora talk about going to Izumo. She had wanted to go there before school started. But now that Hoshi was missing, she wanted to find him first, to make sure of his safety and to tell him that she trusted him.

They all agreed to help search for the missing Hoshi as soon as the next day dawned. Right now, Manta yawned, causing a train reaction in the others. Horo Horo yawned second, Ren third, Anna fourth, and Sora fifth.

Yoh felt himself yawning as well. Afterwards, he gave a tired smile.

"Time to crash, yeah?"

The others unanimously agreed.

Although he had lived with Sora and Tsuki for well over a year, Hoshi realized that he hadn't come into contact with many people. Other than Sora and Tsuki, he had only met a few people at cram school, that guy at the convenience store, and a few of Asakura Yoh's friends.

His life had been pretty secluded thus far.

He wandered along the streets, wondering how he should go about his business. As he was busy thinking, the people around him laughed and conversed among themselves, happily living their worriless lives. A teenage girl was wildly gesturing to her friends, her voice rising higher and higher with each exclamation she made. An older man was sitting on an old, gray bench with his newspaper out in front of him. A couple was walking hand in hand, the girl occasionally giggling at some joke her boyfriend made. Hoshi walked past all of them, uninterested. He wasn't part of their lives.

Bang.

Someone actually bumped into him. Hoshi felt himself fall forward; however, his free arm quickly shot out to stop his fall. He flipped around nimbly, his eyes narrowing at whoever ran into him.

"Hey, watch where you're-" the brash boy's voice died down as he saw the look on Hoshi's face.

Hoshi calmly dusted himself off.

A wide-lipped boy wearing a beanie spoke up, not noticing Hoshi's expression. "Hey, apologize!"

The first boy quickly shushed the second boy, recognizing Hoshi as a threatening person. He was someone that you didn't want to get on the bad side of.

However, a third boy who was bald shoved Hoshi. "You heard him, apologize!"

Hoshi raised his eyebrow, effectively stopping all further comments and complaints. His voice rang out cool and piercing despite the noise in the streets.

"Apologize, huh?" He was the victim here, not the other way around. He felt a cold hatred towards the three boys flow through his veins. He cracked his knuckles. He had just been walking down the street, busily thinking about what to do next, and these boys just had to run into him. He was feeling a bit pissed off.

The three boys' eyes immediately zoned in to Hoshi's hands, thinking that he might punch them. Instead, when their attention went to his hands, Hoshi's leg shot out as he kicked each of the boys in the shin.

"It's not nice to blame someone else for something you did."

They shivered at the tone of Hoshi's voice as they grabbed their legs in pain. They quickly nodded, showing their agreement with Hoshi's words.

"Tell me your name." His tone gave them no other choice.

"Uh...Buruu Shatou (Blue Chateau)," mumbled the first boy.

"Ma-Massuru Panchi (Muscle Punch)," whispered the second.

"Bouru Boui (Ball Boy)," grumbled the last.

Hoshi quickly registered the three boys' names, though he was disgusted with the names and their idiocy...Blue Chateau? Muscle Punch? Ball Boy? What kind of names were those? Those three idiotic humans must think that they were so clever to give themselves English names. That was fine...but they should have at least pronounced the names without that horrible Japanese accent. He almost didn't recognize what they were saying.

Hoshi's eyes flashed. "I'll remember you three." He for sure would remember these three idiotic humans. He turned around, his hair flying out behind him. The three boys watched with wide eyes as Hoshi turned the corner.

They let out a collective breath when they could no longer see the scary boy. He had looked normal enough, but the presence that he commanded was way above normal.

Suddenly, Muscle Punch blinked. "Doesn't he look a lot like Yoh-san?"

The other two blinked as well when they realized that Muscle Punch's words were true.

Hoshi felt less agitated after kicking those three boys. His path was clear before him now. He needed to go to the busiest parts of the city, though he didn't know where exactly those were. He had no choice but to wander back into that dinky little convenience store to buy none other than a tour book.

When he walked into the store, he heard the tiny bells above the door jingle. He made his way over to the stack of tour books, glancing at the prices. He grabbed the cheapest Tokyo guide there was and started flipping through it.

Famous shopping and entertainment districts included Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku, Odaiba...Hoshi flipped the page.

Famous temples and shrines included Sensoji Temple, Meiji Shrine, Sengakuji Temple, Yasukuni Shrine...Hoshi kept flipping the pages.

Famous gardens and parks included Rikugien, Koishikawa Korakuen, Hama Rikyu, Palace East Gardens, Ueno Park, and Mount Takao. Hm. Those actually sounded interesting. He'd love to see Tokyo's gardens, since he was tired of staring at those towering skyscrapers...but that wasn't what he was here for!

Other attractions included the Imperial Palace, Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo Tower, Ryogoku, and NHK Studiopark. Eh...he most likely wouldn't go to any of these. Why would he want to go to "one of the world's largest fish markets" anyway? He wasn't interested in fish.

Hoshi came to the end of the tour book, closing it. Maybe he should buy the tour book after all, just so that he could study which places to go to better.

He brought it to the counter and pulled out Manta's wallet. He counted the money in it, surprised at just how much money there was. At least this way, he wasn't going to starve anytime soon.

Hoshi glanced at the store clerk who was currently polishing his guitar. Hoshi's eyes narrowed a bit. Hoshi couldn't feel any spiritual energy coming from him. This person was either just a normal human being, or a very, very weak shaman. Hoshi couldn't say much about his fashion either. Hoshi took in a deep breath. If he wanted to judge people, he had to know their inner thoughts. Appearances didn't tell him much.

Firm in his resolve, Hoshi began taking down the barriers he had constructed around his mind to prevent other people's thoughts from trickling in. When he had only been living with Sora and Tsuki, it had been fine occasionally hearing their thoughts. It hadn't been too confusing, yet it had already been hard to discern which thoughts were his and which weren't. He could barely imagine how it would be if his mind was left unprotected while he was among mobs of humans. He would most likely go crazy. No doubt about that.

But now wasn't the time to protect his mind. He needed to know.

He imagined his power surging through his brain, battering at the high, almost impenetrable walls. His power poured on, like waves crashing at the boundaries, wanting to be let out. His head pounded as he concentrated.

Bang.

First hit.

Crash.

Second hit.

The hits continued, his head started hurting more and more, and yet the barrier still remained strong.

Why had he constructed such a hard to break barrier? He was surprised that he actually had those two dreams before now. He had constructed such a firm barrier, yet those two dreams had managed to strike him at his weakest moments. He mused...that it must have been because the dreams came from his subconscious and not from some outside source.

Finally, cracks appeared in the tall walls. Hoshi grabbed his pounding head and kneeled over. The ignorant store clerk finally stopped cooing over his guitar as he stood up, wondering what had happened to the boy.

It hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt...

He wanted to make it stop.

He clawed at his hair and bit his lips until a trickle of red appeared. His hair came untied from its neat ponytail, falling wildly around his face. A few strands of his hair made their way into his mouth. Hoshi quickly spit them out. He knocked his head against the counter, his eyes wide open yet unseeing.

Suddenly, he saw images. Not with his eyes though.

Millions of images flashed through his mind, all too fast for him to see. Multitudes of color, thousands of people with no names, and heaps of different landscapes flitted within his mind. All disappeared too quickly for him to make anything of them. They were just gibberish, until the last two images appeared.

Flash.

A small cat, contently curled within his laps, as he adjusted his tall hat and watched the undisturbed landscape in front of him.

Flash.

Hundreds of men charging at him on the battlefield, determined to kill him. He had been betrayed, betrayed...betrayed by his very followers.

Betrayed.

The word rang continuously inside his head.

to be continued

next chapter: the search

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