It's only a matter of Time

Ok, sorry for the wait but I've had a tonne of homework to finish. Oh and I wasn't sure about what Koloro really was and I was reading other fan-fic and they described her as a Koroppuku so thank you to Nekoian for putting me right. But like I said in the warnings, I'm new at this so excuse the errors and I am not Japanese or Chinese nor do I know the language of either so I am only guessing what words may mean, such as Baka: Idiot and Konichiwa: Goodbye, but I'm doing the best I can here with so little info to work with. Still, u gotta admit, it's a cool story…Any ways….on with the fic!

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!

Ch 8 A Hidden Darkness

Koloro fought against her restraints holding her prisoner. But alas, she could not free herself. Instead she resigned her self to watching what was going on. Then she saw him, HoroHoro, lying on the sofa, unconscious. Her thoughts raced through her mind and she began struggling with new strength, hoping to get to her friend, but something stopped her in her tracks.

"Quiet down Minushion, he won't remember you even if you did break free," the voice said harshly. But Koloro struggled even more. She fought with all her strength; slowly she began to break free.

"This is going so well, we're feeding him all this bullshit and he's falling for it hook, line and sinker!" Ethan said jumping up and down in his office. "Who'd have thought this would turn out to be my lucky day?"

"Calm down Ethan or you'll wake him up." Robert said watching the boy like a hawk; he really didn't like the idea of this kid becoming part of the family, even if he didn't remember his own name. There was just this feeling of 'inevitable doom' waiting at the end of all this and he feared for his older brother's safety.

"Oh Tish Tosh Brother, you worry about the slightest kink in your hair. Don't worry; he'll be out like a light until I decide he wakes up." Ethan said boastfully.

"I still don't like it. What would father think? Having an Ainu in the family is against every thing this family stands for…this whole factory stands for! It's not right!" Robert replied feeling a little guilty for his father.

"Father was a fool. He didn't think of the pain and torture that the Ainus would be put under if their own began to attack them, and we have a powerful tool in our grasp. He will help us to rid the world of Ainu scum." Ethan almost wailed in excitement. "Finally my time come to show the world what Ethan Günter can do!" he yelled out striking a pose.

Just then HoroHoro chose to wake up screaming, hehurt all over.

"Now look! You've woken him up!" Robert said, forgetting that he had to be careful around HoroHoro.

"Shut up!" Ethan said over his shoulder, as he quickly moved over to HoroHoro. "Trey, are you ok? What happened?" he asked in a concerned fatherly voice. HoroHoro clung to him heaving deep sobs of sadness,joy and pain. Ethan held him smiling a deep evil smile as he comforted the crying Ainu.

"It was horrible, I remember them! They locked me in a dark room, and left me alone for days." He sobbed into Ethan's shirt.

"Sh, its ok, you're safe now, you're home." Ethan said, cooing him back to sleep with the help of his psychic abilities. Once HoroHoro was sleeping Ethan laid him down back on the sofa and continued to talk to his brother.

"I told you you'd wake him up." Robert said, smiling his all-knowing smile again. Ethan was really beginning to get annoyed with that perky smile.

"He shouldn't have. I had him in a psychic sleep, you know, I was keeping him asleep with my mind and he broke through it. He broke through my power." Ethan said pacing the office.

"I told you this was a bad idea." Robert said, grinning that annoying grin again. Ethan growled at his brother to warn him into shutting up but ofcourse brothers will be brothers. "I mean it wasn't enough to put him under a spell but you had to put him in to the family too." He continued, enraging Ethan even more, to the point where he was considering killing his brother then and there. "Father would be against this from the beginning, he wanted to kill all the Ainu kids not put them in a factory," Robert continued. Ethan began to fume at the ears, he was sick of hearing about what father would do, sick of his brothers over annoying grin, and speeches of father as though he was god himself. No More! "You are in way over your he…" He didn't get to finish because Ethan in a fit of rage had plunged a display sword deep into his gut. Robert eyes were wide with sudden pain.

"It wasn't enough that you got to be the cutest son, but you had to go and be the richest and most knowing son too, well no more." Ethan said pushing the sword deeper into Robert's gut, "oh and say hi to dear old dad for me please." He added before twisting the sword and wrenching it out of his brother's torso. Killing him on the spot.

There was a stifled gasp from the sofa. Ethan looked up to find HoroHoro sat watching the whole thing.

"Dad?" he managed, but failed in saying much more than that as he waited for Ethan to reply, to say it was all an accident, to say he was forced to do it. "Tell me it was an accident." He demanded, tears welling up in his eyes.

The truth was Ethan couldn't tell him it was accident. In his mind he saw his real son who died in that explosion sitting where HoroHoro was sat, asking him the same question. He faltered which gave HoroHoro all the answers he needed. He was out of that place!

"Trey!" Ethan yelled after him, as he gave chase.

Ren shot up in his bed, waking from yet another nightmare. He'd already woken up 3 times that night with images of HoroHoro's torture. He was so worried about him but he couldn't do anything to help him right now. He felt so frustrated, so useless.

Suddenly Koloro flew in through the window, glass an' all.

"Koloro!" she yelped as she recovered from her panic in Ren's arms. Ren had never held the Minushion before and found it to be quite comfortable,

"Sh, you're safe now." He cooed her to a calm state, as he summoned Bason to translate her one word language. "Bason translate what she says." He ordered as he turned to Koloro. "Now where is HoroHoro?" he asked the small spirit, trying to be quiet so that the others could rest for tomorrow.

"Koloro, kol, kol loro, loro Koloro!" she began. Ren turned to Bason who translated for him.

"She says that HoroHoro is under a spell. He doesn't know who he is, and he thinks the 'bad guy' is his father." Bason reported.

"Koloro!" the Minushion squealed as she sensed HoroHoro's sudden alarm and fear and almost disappeared to be with him, but stopped as she realised she was too far and he was also scared and frightened, there was no telling what he would do.

"I feel him too." Bason admitted. Ren turned an asking look in Bason's direction; he took up the hint and explained. "Master HoroHoro has fled for his life Master Ren, he fears the man who claims to be his father. He is outside, heading the wrong way." Bason replied.

"I've got to get to him!" Ren said through gritted teeth. He sat on his futon for several minutes before coming to a decision. He stood and changed into his battle gear, then grabbed his Kwon doe.

He was going after HoroHoro now. There was no way he could wait any longer. HoroHoro was out there, alone, with the enemy a few steps behind him and he didn't even know his own name. There was no way Ren was going to sit there and leave him like that.

He quickly scribbled a note and left it on the kitchen counter before quietly slipping out of the Ainu house and into the black oblivion outside.

HoroHoro didn't know what was going on but he somehow knew that the man in that building was not his father. And where was his spirit? Koloro was it? He couldn't remember, but for that matter he couldn't remember anything of his past, it was like his slate had been wiped clean of anything up to this point.

He rounded a corner and came face to face with a large smelly man, who had a permanent snarl glued to his face. He quickly backed up and ran the other way, now with both his 'father' and the smelly man on his heels.

He ran through hundreds of corridors which all looked the same, but different. Maybe a picture or two in one and a vase or ornate statue in another. Soon he came to some stairs, and ran down them as fast as his injured body could run, which was surprisingly fast considering the beating his body had taken before his memories were wiped, not that he'd remember ofcourse, he probably figured that the boys who kidnapped him did this to him.

Down he ran, straight to the bottom of the building, stopping for no one. Adrenalin pumped through his body giving him the necessary speed he needed to flee this place.

Now because this building was used for the employees and staff of the compound, security was scarce and that made it all the more easier for HoroHoro to escape the building into the snow covered fenced off area. Now the problem was getting over the fence and away from this place. But how?

Before he even knew what he was doing, a pillar of ice shot from his hand as he raised it high over the fence. He quickly climbed over and ran for the hills…literally!

"Ren! Time to get up. You gotta go help HoroHoro." Pilika yelled into Ren's room. Silence met her bad temper.

"Ren, you promised to bring him back!" she called again but still no reply followed her attempt at rousing the Chinese shaman. She sighed and limped into his room only to find it empty. "Ren?" she called, checking to see if he was hidden somewhere but he just wasn't in the room.

Slowly she hopped down stairs hoping to find him there but he wasn't. The others were getting dressed and preparing for battle still but because she wasn't going, and neither was Anna for some reason, she was the only one downstairs. That was when she spotted the piece of paper, and squiggly graffiti on it. She picked it up and began to read;

"Dear all,

I'm sorry for being impatient but I couldn't wait this long. It's a wonder how I stayed sane waiting this long anyways. Koloro came back last night and gave me some vital information that I think you should know.

HoroHoro has been brainwashed. He doesn't remember who he is, and he thinks we are the enemy, but he still thinks Koloro can be trusted, so I am taking Koloro with me so I can find him and bring him back home safe.

Koloro and Bason sensed his escape from the Phoenix Corporation, and have told me that he is out there, in the snow, with no clue as to whom he is, or where he's going, with the enemy right on is tail. I have to go now or he'll die out there.

Don't worry, I'll bring him back, alive and in one piece.

Yours sincerely

Tao Ren."

"Oh my." Pilika gasped as tears welled in her eyes, "Oniichan won't remember me, or anyone." Slowly she sank to her knees in despair.

It was at that moment that Yoh and the other decided to walk in to the kitchen. It was Ryu who spotted Pilika first.

"Pilika my dear are you alright?" he asked genuinely concerned, as he knelt to her level. Yoh and the others followed suit.

"Ren's gone. He left this." She sniffed, handing them the note. After a few minutes of scanning the page, Yoh stood and clenched his fists.

"Come on, we've got an Ainu AND a Chinese to save now." He said as he stormed off to prepare for war.

A/N; just so you know I will not be continuing this story if I don't get more than 3 reviews this chapter. I feel that I am only writing for my own pleasure, but I want to know how many people are reading this fic and whether they want me to continue because the lack of support is driving me closer and closer to writers block, so please RR.