Note: I really don't like Anna. I think that she is a real bitch sometimes... Sorry Anna fans! So there might be some Anna bashing in here and future chapters as well... I said MIGHT. Might not, Might, not sure yet. But just a warning.
Chapter 4- I Care Enough to Find You... Even In the Rain
Hao rolled over in his sleep, his tail smacking Yoh in the face. Yoh sneezed and woke up.
"Heh?" He looked down at the sleeping kitten and smiled. How cute his brother looked when he was sleeping. It was strange to say the least. Hao had returned a few months after the shaman tournament and now he was living with them. What was even stranger was that he was a kitten! An adorable one might I add. He smiled when Hao rolled onto his back. He chuckled and tickled him. Hao made some kind of sound and rolled over, waking and looking up at him.
"What is it Yoh?" He asked with a yarn.
"Morning to your too Aniki." Yoh grinned.
"You woke me up just to say that?" Hao asked, his eye twitching with annoyance.
"That and that you have to wake up soon because Anna will get mad if you don't."
"So? Why do I have to wake up? I can't do any training while I am in my cat form." Hao mumbled.
"Kitten form." Yoh corrected him.
"Same thing." Hao curled up in a ball and went back to sleep again. Yoh smiled and watched his brother sleep.
"Aniki is so cute when he sleeps." He thought to himself. At that, Hao's ear twitched and he lifted his head. He looked up at him and rolled his eyes.
"I may be in my cat form but I can still read your mind you know." He told him.
"You can?" Yoh blinked. "Cool. What am I thinking now?"
"I don't have time for your thinking games Yoh." Hao said, curling back into a ball. "I need my nap time."
"Yoh! Wake up now!" Anna's strict demand made them both jump.
"There goes my nap time..." Hao mumbled as he waddled out of bed. He yarned and stretched, first his legs and next his claws. There was a hiss and Hao looked up to see Mike standing in front of him.
"Wake up kitty-cat." Mike said with a glare.
"You really want me to beat you up this early in the morning?" Hao asked, his tail swishing from side to side. Mike snickered.
"You would try but not succeed." He said, shaking his head. Hao bent and got into a jumping position. Before they both could attack, Anna picked Hao up and tied her itako beads around Mike, almost choking him.
"No cat fighting." She told them. "Take it outside." Hao hissed and tried to scratch her but his arms were too short to reach hers. Anna's eye twitched. "You want to scratch me when I am the one who is giving you a place to live?" She asked him. Hao gulped. Now he's in for it!
"Since this is the thanks I get, you can sleep outside!" Anna yelled as she threw Hao out the window.
Yoh yarned as he walked downstairs.
"Morning." He said with a lazy smile as he saw Horo, Ren and Chocolove in the kitchen.
"Morning Yoh." Horo said with a mouth full of food.
"Morning Yoh." Chocolove smiled and looked around. "Have you seen Mike?" Everyone shook their heads while Chocolove scratched his head. "Where could he be?" Yoh shrugged and was about to get something out of the fridge when he heard a loud MEOW that sounded like it came from upstairs. Minutes later, Hao was seen flying outside.
"HAO!" Yoh dashed out and ran after his brother, who he found in the rose bush with X's in his eyes. "Poor Aniki." Yoh sweat dropped and picked him up. He ignored the pain from the rose thorns and held Hao in his arms. "Aniki, are you ok?" Hao let out a shaky meow and Yoh sighed with relief. "What happened? Anna kicked you out again?"
"What do you think?" Hao asked, shaking his head. He looked down at Yoh's hands and frowned, his ears drooping. "What happened to your hands?" He asked. "Why are they bleeding?" Yoh smiled sheepishly.
"You landed in a rose bush and I had to get you out somehow." He examined his hand and smiled. "It's not that bad. Anna's training is worse." Hao's ears drooped a bit lower, as if feeling guilty. He licked the wounds on Yoh's hand and nuzzled against his chest. Yoh laughed and rubbed him. This was a whole new side of Hao that he had never seen before. Who knew that Hao could be nice?
"I heard that Yoh." Hao mumbled. Hao chuckled.
"Ah..." He got up and started heading back. "Let's get something to eat."
Front upstairs, Anna glared down at the two err... brothers.
"How dare he..." She mumbled. She still had her itako beads around Mike however. Mike snickered and Anna sent him a death glare.
"So you think it's funny do you?" She asked. Mike froze and gulped. "Let's see if you find this funny!"
"Mike! Mike where are you!" Chocolove looked around for his guardian spirit but couldn't find him. He later found his spirit flying outside the same way Hao was. "MIKE!"
Yoh sat down and Hao jumped onto the table.
"What's for breakfast Horo?" Yoh asked. Horo shrugged.
"Whatever you can find in the fridge." He simply said.
"Unfortunately, I can't open the fridge." Hao mumbled. Again, Horo shrugged.
"Not my problem pussy cat." This made Hao's eye twitched. He hissed and turned around, jumping to the floor and headed out.
"What's with him?" Horo asked. Yoh smiled sheepishly.
"Anna... kinda threw him out and he landed in a rose bush." He told him.
"Is that why your hand is wounded like that?" Horo pointed to Yoh's hand.
"Yah." Yoh said laughing a bit.
"YOH!" Both Horo and Yoh jumped at Anna's loud demanding yell. Moments later, Hao ran in as if something was trying to kill him. He jumped onto Yoh's arms, shaking... For real this time. Not that little fake shaking he did when he was running from Mike. This was real.
"Aniki what's wrong?" Yoh asked, trying to calm the poor thing down.
"Yoh!" Anna stormed in, glaring at everything she sees.
"A-Anna! H-Hey!" Yoh said nervously, still holding Hao who was shaking like hell now.
"I want that cat out of here this instant!" Anna yelled. Hao glared at her.
"I am no cat..." He mumbled. Anna sent him an icy glare but ignored him.
"But Anna!" Yoh begged. "He's my brother! I can't just leave him out there! He can die!" Hao glared at his brother.
"Thanks for making me sound so defenseless." He hissed telepathically to Yoh who smiled sheepishly at him.
"I do not care. I want him out of here!" Anna yelled.
"Then I am going with him." Yoh said bravely. He was definitely going to die for saying that. Anna sent him an icy glare.
"Then leave." She simply said before turning around. "He won't last long... He'll come crawling back soon enough." She thought to herself.
Yoh sniffed and silently cried. Hao rolled his eyes and sighed. They were now at the park since they got kicked out of their OWN house. Anna made Horo, Chocolove and Ren stay to do Yoh's chores so they couldn't help them out.
"Come on Yoh, quit crying like a baby." Hao muttered as he looked around.
"But Anna kicked me out!" Yoh wailed. "Out of my own house! How can I live without my oranges?" Hao sweat dropped.
"Are oranges all you care about?" Hao asked, looking up at his brother with bored eyes. "And here I thought I was lifeless playing with plain old cat toys..." Yoh sniffed.
"But I am hungry!" He whined.
"Let's concentrate on something more important." Hao said walking over to them. "Like where are we going to stay?" Yoh stayed quiet and Hao's tail twitched with annoyance. "You don't know, do you!" He yelled. Yoh laughed nervously and sweat dropped, and Hao glared at him before rolling his eyes. "You are hopeless." He mumbled.
"Don't worry Aniki." Yoh said smiling. "Everything will work out."
"Yah, they'll work out alright..." Hao mumbled. "With us dead is how it's going to work out. I for one do not want to die as a cat. I want to find a way to turn back into a human before I die." Yoh grinned.
"You are not going to die." He said picking Hao up.
"I will if we don't find a place to stay soon." Hao growled. "And I'm hungry. Anna kicked me out before I got a bite to eat." Yoh bit his lip.
"I wonder if Manta is still home..." He mumbled. "But I can't rely on him all the time... I need to show Anna that I can definitely live without her."
"Which you can't and you will end up crawling home by the end of this week." Hao mumbled, rolling his eyes.
"No I won't!" Yoh yelled, his eyes full of determination. "Just watch me!"
A week later...
"Please Anna! Let me stay!" Yoh whined. Hao sweat dropped.
"I'm watching Yoh and all I am seeing is you proving my point." He said snickering. Anna glared at him.
"You may stay but Hao can't." She simply told him.
"But Anna! He's my brother! I can't let him live out there in the wild!" Yoh begged. "What if you have a sister and I said that only you could stay?"
"First of all, I don't have a sister, second of all, you would never say that and third of all." Anna said folding her arms. "I would have kicked her out myself." Everyone sweat dropped.
"Anna is so cruel." Chocolove said, shaking his head. Yoh sighed and turned around, slowly walking out the door.
"Where are you going?" Anna demanded.
"Out to find some place to stay." Yoh said sighing. "Come on Hao... Let's see if Manta will let us stay for a few days..." Anna glared at Yoh's back.
"Oh I'll make sure he won't." She said to herself.
"Manta!" Yoh started brawling once Manta opened the door, hugging him.
"Gah! Yoh-Kun! What's wrong!" Manta yelled, trying to get out of Yoh's grip.
"Anna kicked me out of the house!" Yoh wailed. "What will I do!" Manta smiled nervously and looked at Hao who shrugged and walked inside.
"Hey! I never invited you inside!" Manta yelled, pointing at Hao who just ignored him. Like before, Hao's foot kept slipping every few steps. Manta sighed. "Well come on in."
"So do you mind us staying for a while?" Yoh asked. Manta shifted uneasily in his seat.
"Well... Errr... You see..." Manta fumbled around to find the right words. Hao sighed.
"Anna got to him first and now we have to find someone else to stay with." He answered for Manta. Yoh sighed.
"I should have expected Anna to do that..." He mumbled.
"Sorry Yoh-Kun." Manta said with a small smile. Yoh smiled back.
"Aww don't worry about it." He said. Hao looked alarmed.
"Don't worry about it!" He yelled. "We are going to die Yoh! We are homeless, jobless, moneyless... And I don't care if that's not a real word-" Yoh quickly clasped a hand over Hao's tiny mouth and smiled.
"Like I said, nothing to worry about." He said smiling while Hao let out a muffles yell. Manta frowned, feeling guilty.
"Sorry Yoh-Kun." He mumbled. Yoh sighed and smacked Hao lightly on the head.
"You see what you did! You made Manta sad! Yoh made him feel guilty! Now apologize." He said frowning. Hao rolled his round eyes and shook his head.
"I am only facing the truth..." He mumbled and started waddling away, slipping every 3 steps for so.
"Gomen Ne, Yoh-Kun. I can't help you." Manta apologized. Yoh smiled, the way he usual does.
"Don't worry about it Manta." He assured his friend. "Everything will work out."
"With us dead..." Hao mumbled. Yoh sent his brother a glare before smiling to Manta. "Well, thanks for the snack. I really needed that." Manta smiled.
"Sorry I can't help, but you can come by any time to hang out." He offered. Yoh nodded and walked off with Hao trotting after him... Yes trotting... Hao is a cat remember? With every step Yoh takes, it probably takes Hao about 5 or 6 kitten steps!
Morphine flew around, looking here and there. Lyserg has asked her to seek out Yoh and so far, she had not found him yet. She looked nervously at her master who smiled.
"Its ok Morphine. You tried your best." The British boy called her back and smiled sweetly. Morphine took a seat on his shoulder while Lyserg started walking back to the apartment that he was currently staying in. After that little shaman warning that he was pretty sure all the shamans in the world felt, he came to Japan to find Yoh.
"I hope he's not in trouble." He said frowning a bit. Suddenly, Morphine sensed Yoh's presence. She tapped Lyserg who blinked. "What is it Morphine?" She flew off his shoulder and headed to the park while Lyserg followed close behind.
"What will I do Aniki?" Yoh asked sighing. Hao ignored him and continued staring at the bird that rested on a nearby branch not to far away. He got into the bending position and laid real low. Yoh tilted his head to one side with confusion, watching his brother. "What are you doing Hao?" Hao of course, didn't answer him. He was too focus on the bird. He licked his lips and jumped, tackling the bird and pinning it's wings down.
"ANIKI!" Yoh ran over to him and picked up the bird. "That was mean!" Hao looked at him.
"No, that was fun." He said grinning. -Well I say cats can grin too ok? Stop questioning my story!- Yoh frowned.
"That's not nice." He told Hao who shrugged.
"That's what cats do Yoh." He simply told him. "Eat, sleep, look cute and hunt. It's not my problem that that bird was so weak."
"Aniki..." Yoh frowned and freed the bird. "Don't you ever compare people to something other then weak or strong?" Hao shook his head.
"In this world, there are only two types of shamans." He told him. "I thought I told you this before but I might as well tell you this again. There are only useful shamans and useless shamans. The useless are weak and needs to be eliminated."
"But what made you to believe that?" Yoh asked him.
"You've been in my mind before Yoh." Hao said, his tail swishing from side to side. "You've been in my soul before. You know."
"But not everyone is so mean." Yoh got up and took a seat next to the little kitten and stretched. "There are things in the world called friend you know."
"Yes. But I don't believe in them anymore. Not since..." Hao paused.
"Since?" Hao shook his head.
"Never mind that. Where are we going to stay?" He asked, changing the subject. "If you say the park Yoh, I swear..." Before Yoh could answer, someone called his name.
"Yoh!" Lyserg ran up to him.
"Lyserg! Long time no see! What are you doing here?" Yoh asked with a smiled. Hao smirked and curled into a ball, ready to go to sleep while the two boys catch up.
"There is something I need to tell you." Lyserg said, looking uneasily. He looked down at the sleeping kitten in Yoh lap and smiled. "I didn't know you had a cat." Yoh gave him an uneasy look.
"Ok.. Err... Lyserg... I want you to stay calm ok?" He said getting ready to explode everything out. Lyserg gave him a puzzled look but nodded.
"Hao's back..." Yoh said and waited for Lyserg's response. Lyserg's mouth dropped.
"You're joking..." He mumbled. Yoh slowly shook his head. "That's impossible! He can't be dead! Where is he? I must find him! Morphine!"
"W-Wait! Lyserg!" Yoh tried to calm him down but it was no use.
"Into the pendulum!" Lyserg yelled. Morphine put on her goggles and sat in the driver's seat. The pendulum slowly shifted and suddenly lifted, pointing to the kitten on Yoh's lap. Lyserg blinked. "What? I don't get it... Morphine, are you sure we scribed right?"
"Well you see..." Yoh said, laughing nervously. "He... he is Hao." Lyserg's mouth fell.
"Stop joking around Yoh. This is serious." He said frowning.
"I'm not." Yoh sighed. "If you don't trust me, ask him yourself." Yoh lifted Hao who was currently sleeping. Lyserg blinked, looking at the kitten, who just woke up.
"Yoh... Put me down right now." Hao commanded. Lyserg let out a yell and jumped back. Hao blinked and looked at him. "Oh it's you... You still have that sorry excuse for a spirit?"
"Aniki!" Yoh scowled. Morphine made a face at him and Lyserg glared at him.
"Hao!" He yelled. Hao just boredily looked at him and then yarned, playing him no attention what so ever.
"Wake me up when he's done." He mumbled as he curled up into a ball and went back to sleep. Everyone sweat dropped.
"So that's what happened." Yoh said as he finally finished telling the whole story to Lyserg. Lyserg looked a bit uneasy. He was definitely still mad at Hao for killing his parents.
"I see..." He said, staring at this little kitten who was still sleeping... that's what Hao has been doing most lately actually. Eat, sleep, play and look cute... Just like a normal cat. Yoh had just noticed it. He picked Hao up and placed him on the grass and he yarned and stretched.
"But why are you out here Yoh-Kun?" Lyserg asked. "Isn't umm... What's her name... Anna is it?" Yoh nodded.
"Well you see..." He said scratching the back of his head and laughed. "She kind of kicked me out of my house."
"Your house?" Lyserg asked. Yoh nodded. "Then where are you living now?" Yoh shrugged.
"Anywhere." He simply said and sighed. "Somehow I have a feeling this is another one of Anna's terrible training." He said sobbing. Lyserg smiled weakly.
"Well, you can stay with me and Morphine." He offered.
"SANK YOU LYSERG!" Yoh yelled, tackling Lyserg to the ground, sobbing. "I owe you BIG time! I promise to do your chores, and to make your bed, and to cook, and to buy food, and to-" Lyserg started to laugh.
"Calm down Yoh-Kun." He said getting up. Yoh nodded and got up, brushing himself off.
"When did you get here?" He asked as he and Lyserg walked off.
"A few days ago actually." They kept walking as they caught up with each other. Morphine turned back a few times, looking at Hao as they walked on. Hao was still curled up in a ball, sleeping. She looked back at her master who was carrying on a conversation with Yoh. She decided to leave Hao be since her master didn't like him that much and Hao looked so peaceful when he was sleeping.
"Wow! You call this nothing much!" Yoh yelled as he bounced into Lyserg's rather LARGE apartment. "Wow! This is probably 10 times bigger then my bedroom! Probably as big as Ren's room!"
"You've been into Ren's room?" Lyserg asked, as he closed the door. Yoh shook his head.
"I just know he had a big room." He said laughing as he started exploring.
A few hours past and Yoh still hasn't noticed that Hao was still sleeping in the park. "This place is really nice Lyserg." Yoh said, smiling. "Isn't it nice Aniki?" There was no response. Yoh blinked and looked around. Hao was no where in sight...
Me: OF COURSE NOT YOU BAKA! YOU LEFT MY HAO-SAMA AT THE PARK! NOW GO GET HIM BEFORE HE CATCHES A COLD OR SOMEONE KIDNAPPS HIM!
Yoh: H-Hai!
Me: MOVE FASTER! YOU ARE MOVING TOO SLOW! BY THE TIME YOU GET THERE, IT WILL BE THE YEAR 2041! HURRY UP! ANY TIME THIS CERNTURY PLEASE!
Yoh: Hai!
Me: Anywayz, back to the story!
Hao shivered and sneezed, finally waking up. He shook his head and blinked. Yoh was no where in sight, which would explain why everything was so quiet. He stretched and then noticed that the ground was wet... Not only that, he was too. He looked up and felt the rain pour down on him.
"Oh crap." He mumbled. "Yoh's going to pay for this..." He started running off. Where was he supposed to go now? Definitely not back to the Onsen. Anna would kill him. Not only because he returned, but also because he was soaking wet and because he lost Yoh... Or is it that Yoh lost him? It didn't matter, Hao didn't want to go back to that ice queen anyway. He stumbled here and there. He was shivering from the cold and wet all over. The water weighs his coat down and it was a bit harder to walk. He felt light headed and sleepy. He shook himself, in attempt to stop shivering and to dry himself. It didn't help. He was still shivering and he shivered even more when the wind flew I his face. "Curse you great spirits." He mumbled as he continued walking. He was getting more lightheaded every second. He let out a small sneeze which sound adorable of course. He mumbled something as he slowly began to walk again. He finally was unable to walk... Suffering from hunger, tiredness and coldness, he curled up by a bush, trying to stay warm.
"Wait till I get my hands on Yoh..." He mumbled. "Technically, I don't have hands but paws but whatever... Wait till I see Yoh..." He shivered and curled into a tighter ball. "If I get to see him that is... Oh god I with that ice queen didn't have to put my Spirit of Fire into spirit labor..." Finally, Hao slowly closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
"Hao!" Yoh yelled as he ran through the rain. "Hao where are you!" Lyserg ran quickly after him, holding an open umbrella over his head and a spare on in his hands.
"Yoh-Kun!" He yelled. "Wait up!" Yoh slowed down a bit but only because he started panicking. "Here, take the umbrella. You are going to get sick."
"Lyserg! I can't find him! I don't know here Hao is!" He yelled, ignoring him. "I need to find him! He might be lost! He might be kidnapped! He might be hungry and cold! Oh god I hope Anna didn't find him either... Lyserg help!" Lyserg sighed.
"Calm down Yoh." He said trying to calm the poor boy down, although he wasn't doing any good. "Hao can take care of himself. You of all people should know."
"But he's a kitten! He is not use to being out here all alone as a kitten!" Yoh yelled. He didn't seem to noticed that he was still standing in the rain. "Oh god... What am I supposed to do! He can't live as a kitten like this! He can't open things with his paws, he can't reach doorbells, he can't-"
"Yoh-Kun! Calm down!" Lyserg yelled, shaking the boy. "I can help you. Just... Be quiet ok?" Yoh immediately nodded and shut his mouth. Lyserg sighed and looked up at the sky. "Mother, Father, I ask for your forgiveness for doing this..." He sighed and lifted arm, revealing his pendulum thingy. You know that little case where he keeps his pendulum in and it's tied onto his arm? Yah that thing lol. "Morphine! Into the Pendulum!" Morphine nodded and her body glowed a glowing pink as she went into the pendulum. Slowly, very slowly, the pendulum lifted and pointed to a certain direction. "He's over there." Lyserg said looking up but noticed that Yoh had already dashed away, towards that direction. Lyserg sighed. He is Yoh after all...
"Hao! Hao where are you!" Yoh yelled as he looked around. He bit his lip and continued running. "Hao!" There was no response. Only the small pitter patter of the rain responded to his call. "Hao!" He continued running, ignoring the pain that his legs were shouting. "Where are you?" He mumbled to himself. He slowed to a stop and took in a deep breath. He closed his eyes and used his shaman instincts. "Aniki... Where are you?" He whispered. Finally, he opened his eyes and he ran towards the trees. The feeling was strongest there so he started looking around.
"Hao!" He yelled when he found Hao curled up in a tight ball. He was wet from head to toe... Paw... Errr you know what I mean. Hao was shivering furiously and looked feverish. "Hold on Hao." He took off his shirt and wrapped it around Hao who continued to shiver furiously. He then ran out of the err... Well forest I guess... Wow a forest in a local park lol. Anywayz, he ran out of there topless since he used his shirt to cover Hao and to keep him warm and ran off to try and find Lyserg. He finally bumped into him."Yoh-Kun?" Lyserg asked looking at him.
"Lyserg, hurry up! I think Hao's sick. We have to get back to your place!" Yoh cut him off, his eyes a bit wider then usual.
"O-Ok." Lyserg turned and started running back. Yoh ran after him, arm around his wrapped sweater.
Hao slowly woke up, blinking a few times, trying to figure out where he was. His vision was pretty blurry but at least his headache wasn't as bad as it was before.
"So you are awake..." Hao blinked, adjusting to the light. He finally was able to figure out who it was that was talking to him.
"Oh it's you..." He mumbled, shaking his head and shakingly getting up.
"You better not." Lyserg mumbled. He was currently drying his hair with a towel and he concluded that he was probably at Lyserg's place. "You will get Yoh worried again." Hao blinked and looked down to see Yoh fast asleep next to him.
"What happened?" He asked.
"We kind of left you in the park." Lyserg simply told him.
"No for real?" Hao mumbled sarcastically. "I mean after I blacked out."
"Well Yoh found out that we left you in the park and ran out in the rain to find you." Lyserg explained.
"Which explains his wet hair..." Hao chuckled. "It's just like Yoh." He rubbed his head against Yoh's cheek.
"You shouldn't wake him up." Lyserg said getting up. "He's pretty worn out and sick. And so are you." Hao mumbled something under his breath but stopped. Lyserg was their host after all. He had killed his parents and he still offered to let them stay for a while? Probably Yoh begged him but either way, he should at least play nice. He sighed and curled up next to Yoh to sleep again. Lyserg watched the two sleep and sighed, a small smiled appeared on his face. Morphine appeared next to him and sat on his shoulder.
"Come on Morphine. Let's leave them alone. They need some rest." He whispered and walked out, closing the door softly behind him.
FINALLY! I have updated! Sweet neh? I really ran out of titles so if it sucks and or is no related to this chapter, sorry. I can't think much right now lol. And I have trouble thinking up of titles so don't kill me! Next update is Prom Night. I have not updated that story for a LONG time. -sobs- I don't think a lot o f people are reading this! Waaaaa!
SonnyGoten: Haha. I started laughing when I reread it too.
Jen-Tao07: I'm not sure about other pairings yet. And yah, my poor Hao-Sama gets picked on all the time. lol
OtakuNekoGirl: I already knew it was his b-day on the 12th. I even made a layout in advance and put it up... Well it's off now because Lyserg's b-day was after his but I knew LOOOONNNGGG time ago. Lol, Hao's baby pictures lol. There's a new one i never heard before from other Hao-Sama fans. Lookie here! We have a new member in the HanaGumi group.. The group of all Hao-Sama fangirls who are WILD about Hao-Sama! The new member! OtakuNekoGirl! lol
Akisukie Hashimoto: I'm not sure if there will be Yaoi or not.
Seddy: lol, I'm not sure if there will be Yaoi yet but I added a little bit of fluff I guess... How Yoh cares so much about Hao and goes out in the rain to find him is what I call fluff lol.
half vamp: What do you think of this chapter's ending? Sweet or no?