Note: I apologise for the absolute crapness of this chapter, but it was quite awkward to write and, to be honest, I wasn't really in the mood. However, as promised, here it is.

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Amidamaru was not quite sure how he got from the basement to his bed, but he assumed that either Yoh or Ren must have carried him, as, after the fight with the voodoo, he had been too weak to walk of his own accord.

He opened his eyes, wincing as the brightness of the room cut through his vision after the darkness he had been used to. The wound in his side gave a painful twinge and he inhaled sharply, automatically moving a hand down to clasp it.

There was a bandage around it, the white material sodden and bloody. It was quite tight, not loose like the one concealing the axe scar on his forehead, but it was not so tight that it hurt, or impaired his breathing.

"Hey, hero!" A voice above him chuckled. He looked up into Yoh's smiling face. The boy had a tray on which were biscuits and two glasses of water. "You're awake."

Amidamaru smiled and nodded painfully – he was aching in muscles he never even knew existed, and he couldn't quite recall what had happened in his fight while he had been under the influence of Bloodlust. He could only remember throwing the knife. How he had got the painful gash in his side was a mystery to him.

"This is for you." Yoh nudged a glass toward Amidamaru, who hauled himself agonisingly into a sitting position and moved an arm slowly to accept, grimacing every now and again as aches seared through the limb.

"And the biscuits?" Amidamaru nodded towards them and Yoh grinned.

"They're for me. Manta didn't think you'd be up to eating anything for the moment. He's the one who's been doing your bandages. Man, you've been in the wars recently!"

Amidamary raised an eyebrow. Yoh had never made such an understatement in his life. The samurai grunted as his side flared with pain.

"So what happened in the fight?" He asked. Yoh stared at him.

"You honestly don't remember? Seriously? It was awesome! You kicked butt!" The young shaman grinned at Amidamaru's look of tired indifference. "You got the guy in the cheek and made him drop his axe, but then he stabbed you in the side with a hidden knife, and then you kind of flipped and slammed him in the side of your head and knocked him out!"

"And then he came round and started again." Amidamaru finished. He knew the rest, of course. The moment he had knocked the other man down, the bloodlust had left and his eyes had regained their usual gentleness, which was present even when he was fighting or arguing.

"You know, Bason and Ren managed to catch him after he died." Yoh said casually, watching to see Amidamaru's reaction to this news. "Bason went and floored him when he was just standing there, laughing, and Anna came down and got him with her necklace. And you know how hard it is to escape from that!"

Amidamaru nodded, having had his own experience at the wrong end of the itako's blue beaded necklace.

"Er..." he began. "Where is he?"

"Basement." Yoh shrugged.

"May I... speak to him?" Amidamaru asked. Yoh smiled.

"Course! You can come with me later, when you're feeling a little better."

---

Amidamaru had remarkable skills of recovery. It must have been because of all the times he had been injured as a samurai, but he was able to walk properly by the late afternoon. He was still, admittedly, limping quite badly because of the positioning of the slash, but he was able to move around without support.

Yoh led the way down to the basement, hanging back when they got to the stairs in case Amidamaru, who was leaning heavily on the banister, should fall. The samurai stiffened and gasped as Yoh's supporting hand brushed against his wound. The shaman snatched the offending limb away as though he had been scalded.

"Do not worry about it." The samurai smiled kindly. Yoh smiled nervously back. He was still getting over the fact that Amidamaru could not pursue a relationship with him and had to exert all his self-control to stop himself kissing the samurai then and there.

Yoh produced a key, which he used to unlock the basement door.

"This is the only key to the basement." He explained to Amidamaru. "I think you should have it. After all, you have most reason to hate this man."

The door swung open and Amidamaru limped inside.

The voodoo's spirit was slumped dejectedly against the wall in the corner, Anna's blue necklace winding around him and imprisoning him. He was staring at the ceiling and did not turn or flinch when Amidamaru and Yoh entered.

Amidamaru was amazed at the difference between the spirit and the man as he had been in life. There was only one scar on the face of his soul – that terrible line which ran straight through his eye. His face was no longer twisted in rage, arrogance or cruelty; instead it was blank, with the trace of a smile hovering around the lips.

Amidamaru limped over and carefully lowered himself into a sitting position in front of the spirit, while Yoh chose to lean casually against the wall, keeping a watchful eye over the two.

The ghost in front of him made no sign of having noticed him, and Amidamaru sat staring at the shadow of his former tormentor for a while before waving a hand in front of the voodoo's eyes once. The spirit was so shocked that he flinched backwards, and may even have passed through the wall if it wasn't for Anna's necklace.

"I-I'm sorry..." He managed at last, after calming down a little. "I didn't see you come in. You startled me."

Amidamaru nodded curtly, though inside he was confused. The voodoo hadn't seemed like the sort of man who would be openly surprised at anything, and he definitely hadn't been the sort to apologise.

"I've come for an explanation. And an apology." He snapped. The voodoo opened his mouth, as though to say something, changed his mind and compromised by inhaling deeply and frowning at the floor.

"Then you have my heartfelt apologies." He said at last. "I should not have abused you like I did and I am truly sorry."

Amidamaru stared.

Yoh exploded.

"That's it?" He yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at the spirit. "You invaded his privacy and his body in the worst possible way, and all you can think to say is 'I am truly sorry'?"

The voodoo hung his head.

"I understand." He whispered. "But I cannot express such an apology in words and I therefore did not attempt to."

"Then maybe you should try explaining." Amidamaru subjected the voodoo to a cool stare that went on for a few seconds after the comfort-zone. The spirit swallowed purely out of habit.

"I-I was showing my affections for you..." The sentence trailed off into silence, leaving both samurai and shaman staring incredulously at the man.

"You showed your affections for me by torturing me and raping me?" Amidamaru asked at last. The voodoo cringed away.

"It – it was how my father always – always showed his affection for me..." Again, the sentence seemed to finish prematurely, as the ghost was embarrassed or ashamed of saying it. "After my mother died when I was six..." he added as an afterthought.

"He would assault you?" Yoh asked suspiciously, his eyes narrowing. The voodoo's face darkened and his closed eyes appeared to be staring at the floor.

"Yes." He said quietly after a long pause. "yes. I remember speaking to my school friends when I was very young, younger than you. I was so naïve. I asked them all if their fathers loved them like mine loved me, and they said no. They said that their fathers didn't have sex with them, and they asked me where I got the bruises and my father had told me to tell everyone that I was clumsy and fell down stairs a lot, so that's what I said..." his eyes seemed to mist over as he recalled the past.

"The taunts and the psuedo dominance games too?" Amidamaru asked gently. The voodoo buried his head in his hands and nodded, the chain of blue beads clinking softly around his waist.

"He did it all for me. And then he died and I was alone, and no one loved me..." There was a definite sob in the voodoo's voice, but Amidamaru suspected that, though it was coming from some memory, it was not the memory of which the voodoo was telling. "And then there was you, and Yokiama succeeded in reincarnating you, and you were beautiful, and I tried to tell you that I loved you but you didn't seem to love me back, so I tried to tell you how strong my love was... and you ran away from me..."

Yoh looked questioningly at Amidamaru, who was studying the translucent face in front of him curiously. The young shaman could tell from the glint in Amidamaru's eye that, though he himself did not believe a word of the voodoo's story, the samurai did. Maybe not all of it, but he believed some of it had a hint of truth.

"Hmm..." The samurai rose unsteadily, gripping Yoh for support. "I shall leave you down here until I decide whether I believe you or not, and then I shall ask my friends to choose what they think is a suitable punishment."

"You are being far too lenient." The spirit's hoarse voice cut through their minds. "I do not deserve your kindness."

"No." Yoh snapped as he walked through the door, helping the limping samurai along. "No, you do not."

Amidamaru, however, was silent.