Chapter 10

Hao stared down below him a bit sadly, sighing slightly. That had been very hard for him, to say the least--leaving Yoh like that. However, he was more than confident that he would come back to his brother safe; if not, he made sure that HoroHoro and Ren would both be ready to take care of him.

He slowly smirked. This wouldn't be too hard, would it? He was already confident that his powers as a shaman were more than enough to take on a group like the X-Laws--and perhaps strong enough to take on their leader.

He had sensed how much furyoku she had before--perhaps more than he had received even with Spirit of Fire fighting with him.

The long-haired brunet would most likely come out of this alive.

...Or at least; that's what he believed.

His fists clenched; again, the smug expression forming on his face.

...Those three had better stay safe.

-

"Jeanne-sama, are you sure this is the right thing to do?"

"...We've been in preparation long enough for this. Asakura Hao must perish."

Emerald-colored eyes held slight discomfort at that before nodding. He knew well enough that the words of their leader were absolute--at this point, he could not betray her.

And of course, he had to be happy. He hadn't been accepted in a mission as important as this before. Sure, he played a hard role--but it was important. Something he was willing to do.

The role of protecting Jeanne.

He was ready. He'd give up his life if he had to. After all... Jeanne felt like... a little sister to him. He was so overprotective of her... he'd rather die than see her get hurt.

But... there had to be a way to avenge their members without the deaths of anyone

"He's coming."

Marco was the first to speak up, glancing inside the church--where Jeanne and Lyserg were sitting together.

Jeanne looked up, slowly standing. "Now?" Her tone held a somewhat surprised tone--although it stayed calm.

The man nodded. "I've sensed his presence nearby for quite sometime."

She looked to Lyserg. "...Get ready."

He looked down before nodding, following closely behind her.

For some reason, Lyserg wasn't too happy about this mission anymore.

-

It was another nightmare.

This time it has been worse--more realistic, one could say. He hugged his knees quietly, sniffling back silent sobs as he hugged his bear close to him.

He wanted his mother there. His father.

...But more so his brother.

Onii-chan... He sniffed lightly, slowly standing and walking out of the room.

Amidamaru appeared over his head. "Yoh-dono?"

"Ne... We're going to the graveyard, ok, Amidamaru-san?"

The spirit paused, looking over the small boy thoughtfully. "Why there?"

"You were waiting for Mosuke there, weren't you?" He looked up at him curiously.

"Yes but... it's not safe at night. I can--"

Yoh merely looked up at him, grinning widely. "You're strong enough to protect me, Amidamaru-san. I trust you." He paused. "I'm sure Hao will be there. Everything will work itself out."

Hao...

He looked down, biting back tears before nodding.

He wasn't going to cry anymore. Yoh would be strong if he wanted Hao to return. He had to be strong.

A hand went to his chest slowly.

...Why did his heart hurt so badly?

He didn't understand why he felt like this. Why should a young boy such as him have such odd feelings when he thought about his own brother? When he thought about Amidamaru, he felt the same--but for Hao, it hurt more. As much as it made him feel like he had just done something to make him very happy when he thought or talked about him, it also hurt, too.

Yoh slowly sat at the old tree in the middle of the cemetery, looking up at the stars quietly, his bear still close by.

...He would wait for his brother for as long as possible.

-

Hao smirked down at the site below him, panting lightly. At such a young age and for using Oversoul this long for the first time--he was getting exhausted; although, he refused to show that "You guys just don't give up, do you?"

Marco and the others held their guard, the blonde-haired man speaking up first. "We've prepared far too long for this to be stopped by the likes of you."

"Tch." The long-haired shaman frowned at that, twitching slightly. These X-Laws just refused to die, didn't they?

He glanced at their leader, frowning again. It was a bit strange, wasn't it? She hadn't of done any--

...Wait a second.

Her eyes were closed, chanting something to herself.

This was a trap, wasn't it!

"Jeanne-sama, now! His guard is down!" A male member shouted out to her.

Before he had a chance to react or even move for that matter--the archangel's were all fired--Shamash putting him under a restriction spell as well.

He had been attacked by all the angels at once--Spirit of Fire being taken down.

He, of course, had been placed under a binding spell--he had fallen to the ground, paralyzed.

He could no longer move.

He clenched his fists, cursing under his breathe. This was not how he had planned things to end...

"What should we do to him now, Jeanne-sama? Exterminate him for good?" A gun was held to his head--thanks to Marco.

The silver-haired leader slowly stepped closer to him, inspecting him closely--whom glared at him in response.

"...Not yet. There's still more Shaman he knows that we can use him to find."

He slowly smirked at that. "If you really think I'll tell you where they are..." His voice trailed off. He would rather die than tell them where Yoh was--in fact; he wouldn't even tell her where Ren and HoroHoro were!

Jeanne slowly stood, merely smiling in response to that.

"...Take him inside. He can stay in there for now." She eyes him. Oh, yes; she would use Hao for finding Yoh and the others--it might take some time to do so, but she was a patient person. She could wait.

If not...

...Hao didn't have a very high chance in living now, did he?

-

HoroHoro pouted quietly as he walked with Ren for their morning training. "Oh, come on! You're not still mad, are you? That kiss was just a joke!" Really, it was just ridiculous. One would think that a normal person would have gotten over it by now--but, no. Ren was moodier than a freaking girl PMSing.

"Leave me alone!" Ren was about ready to attack HoroHoro with his spear--just as he had done when he had kissed him. A light blush took over his features. "You're lucky I'm even taking you training with me!"

"We're at the cemetery already! We might as well--"

He was cut off by a whimper.

They slowly turned, HoroHoro's eyes widening a little.

Ren was the first to speak up, stepping closer to the child. "Yoh...?"

The boy didn't respond; he was curled up under the tree, sleeping a bit soundly.

A sigh. Ren frowned. He didn't come back, did he...?

He shook the boy lightly. "Yoh."

"Ren..."

"Shut up." Ren growled at the Ainu. "We'll talk about that later. Let's just get him back home with us first."

After all--who else was there to take care of Yoh now?

To be continued

Author's note: ... .. ... Ehehehe... you guys aren't... mad, are you? I mean... I was grounded, and I do have other things to update.

Well, whatever. I'm not grounded anymore, so that means I can update more often. :3

This fic'll be over soon anyways. o-o