It is only a matter of time

Disclaimer: I do not own any of shaman king I'm just borrowing them for a bit of twisted fun.

Summary/Blurb: What if HoroHoro and Pilika had a tougher past than Ren? And what if that past came back so soon?

Warning: this is my first fan-fic on Shaman King so excuse all the ooc-ness…oh and there's a few bad words…not much else really so I'll leave ya to it. Enjoy!

Authors Notes: I am trying to revamp this story because it's one of my first and a little outdated. The writing style is off and the grammer etc are so wrong! i honestly feel ashamed that I posted this online... SO! You'll be seeing alot of these little notes here telling you whether the chapters had been updated or not...

Notes:

"Blah" Person speaking Ainu

'Blah' Person thinking

Ch-1: A Haunting Figure

The wind whispered past as they stood opposite each other; their eyes never leaving the others, neither daring to breathe. Yoh, HoroHoro, Ren and Ryu carefully watched as the young intruder assessed them with his icy glare. They were still for several seconds before the stranger stood forward and spoke. But it was not English.

"Hello children…" He greeted in his native tongue while removing his balaclava. It was a grey cotton like material, Ren noticed, that had an image of a burning phoenix just above the forehead area. It wasn't uncommon for people to wear balaclavas in this country considering how cold it could get here in North Hokkaido but there was something about the symbol that just felt a little… off?

Yoh and Ryo looked at the man stupidly before turning to HoroHoro for a translation. But the look on HoroHoro's face told them both that this man was trouble.

"We want no trouble here." HoroHoro responded in the same language, not yet explaining what was going on.

"Horo, what's going on?" Yoh asked, getting the suspicion that the man was up to no good. The young Ainu went to respond but before he could, the man spoke again;

"Then you'll come quietly…" Ren frowned at the feral smile the man gave when he spoke but remained silent. If there was trouble, the baka Ainu would tell them.

"Your laws hold no ground in this region. Be gone with you…" HoroHoro replied a little viciously which surprised both Ren, Yoh and Ryu.

"Law or no law, you are Ainu and I am your hunter." The man gave a sinister smile before continuing."Now your friends don't have to be involved… I can spare them if you come quietly. But if you don't, my friends have you surrounded and… well it won't be pretty." HoroHoro blanched at that and it didn't go unnoticed. The other three realised that the last unknown words of the stranger had somehow scared their friend.

'Grrr, the smug bastard! How dare he play his game in Ainu territory! ...Damn, but what do I do? I'm probably outnumbered and it's not fair to ask Yoh and the others to fight my battles with me.' HoroHoro's thoughts were ablaze as his gaze glared at the stranger. On the one hand he could call the man's bluff and risk being attacked and probably killed, but on the other hand his only option would be to turn his friends away and leave quietly. 'Damnit!' He was torn between defeating a sworn enemy of the Ainu honour or saving the lives of his friends. It only took him a few seconds to make his decision. But now his problem was how he was going to get out of this alone. 'Koloro, I hope that you can find it in your lovable heart to forgive me for not being able to save your precious home…I'm so sorry.' And so with a loud sigh, he vocalised his decision.

"I'll come quietly…" He said dejectedly, visibly losing all thoughts of hope.

Yoh watched as HoroHoro visibly slumped. He had no idea what was going on but it didn't look to be in hid friend's favour. This didn't sit well with the young Shaman King and was about to voice his unease but HoroHoro finally spoke in a language they could understand.

"Yoh, Ren, Ryu please go ahead without me. You'll find the village a few miles south."

Ren frowned; the Ainu's voice was devoid of any emotion and he had yet to look away from the stranger too. He didn't need to be told that the guy was up to no good, any baka could figure that one out. But what he couldn't figure out was why HoroHoro was trying to go it alone with man? He stared hard at the boy, looking for the answer in his stance… wait, was that fear in his eyes?

"We're not leaving you with him Horo, so forget it." Yoh replied, also feeling the unease in the situation. Ren silently agreed and drew his weapon skilfully in an imposing manner. Yoh did the same and frowned hard at the unimpressed stranger before him.

HoroHoro was a little stunned but he composed himself again. He should've expected Yoh to defy his words and rebel.

"This isn't your battle." He said stoicly, still watching the stranger with wary eyes.

"I don't care, I don't trust this guy." Yoh reasoned still staring at the stranger.

"It seems your friends are a loyal bunch. Such a pity they ally themselves with Ainu trash…" The stranger smirked. Ren frowned harder, the bastard was enjoying this far too much.

"You leave them alone." HoroHoro growled back in frustration.

"I will spare them if they leave, but I warn you, I won't tolerate any witnesses…" The stranger replied tauntingly. HoroHoro growled under his breath…

"Yoh, Ren, Ryu! Leave now!" HoroHoro commanded. But Ren and Yoh just took on a stronger stance while Ryu just looked a little confused in the background.

"We're not leaving baka, until you've explained to us the fuck this bastard is and what he wants with you of all people…" Ren replied, not liking the way this man was making HoroHoro react. This was a completely different side of the all-too-hyper boy he'd gotten acquainted with and immediately despised.

"Ask Pilika, she'll explain everything." HoroHoro replied just as icily "…go." But still they stood by his side.

"I think it's safe to say that your friends have made their decision…" The man said slyly, his thick voice intruding rudely on their conversation. HoroHoro paled visibly and Ren had to wonder if he could get any paler but soon found out when the stranger suddenly spoke again. "And you are going back to the camp."

HoroHoro felt sick, there was no way he was going back there again… "You'll never take me alive!" He growled, forgetting to speak in Ainu as the Stranger took on a stance.

"You're going back to the Ghettos boy, and not even your friends can help you!" The man said grinning.

A/N:...What will happen to Ren, Yoh and Ryo? Who is this strange man? What is his connection to our favourite character, HoroHoro? Find out next time in "Broken promises."