Unicorn13564: Good news is I don't have to say 'the figure' all the time! Wahoo! XD …Umm… bad news is… well Ren's still in a coma… Anyway, I thought I'd update before you all decided to kill yourselves… ahem…

Chapter 7: Wake Me Up Inside

It was strange to Ren, because no matter how much he hated falling asleep, when someone was in a coma… all they can do… is sleep

"Ren…? Ren I know you can hear me… stop ignoring me damn it! Listen, you have to wake up, you have to come out of this coma and help me. I need your help Tao, and I'm not going to stop bugging you till I get it. If you don't help me… well I'd sooner kill myself than be Hao's… toy… and if that's no excuse to take my own life, then here's a better one. I can't stand living in a world if you're not going to be in it. I know about your nightmares Ren, I know that there about me… do you know how I know? Well when you talk in your sleep it's a big help, but also it's because I have the exact same dreams, only about you. Let me guess, I'm in a dungeon chained to the wall, and I keep getting abused and tormented by a strange figure, yet you never get to see who it is that's tormenting me. To be honest, the reason I found you in the shower was because I went to check up on you and you weren't there. I know this is going to sound totally freaky and weird, but I know what the nightmares mean. It doesn't matter about the torturing and suffering, what matters is who it's being done to and what effect it has. After I'd seen you get hurt so many times, each time there being nothing I could do about it, I began to see that it had caused me to develop feelings for you, feelings far beyond friendship. The truth is… I think I'm falling for you Ren."

Memories flashed through his mind of his friends.

Yoh- Hey Ren, what's up buddy?

Anna- Get back to work you lazy slacker!

Horo- Ren, your so tense all the time, why not relax and just chill for once?

Ryu- You know, life is like a jigsaw puzzle. You have to find all the right pieces before to see the full picture.


Manta- Ren, you've trained none stop for the past six weeks, don't you think you should take a break?

Lyserg- Hey Ren, lets have a battle ok? I wonna know how strong you've become.

Choco- Gee Ren, its like you don't have a second to spare, I say you sit back, relax, and hang out with the gang!

Faust- Don't pressure yourself, you'll only strain your body.

"You see Ren," continued Horo, "we all care so much about you. So you cant just give up now, you have to fight, wake up from this coma. I need you Ren, and I need you now… I love you…"

The blue-haired shaman sat up, awaking from his dream.

"That was strange…" he muttered, "I just dreamed that I was inside Ren's head… talking to him… telling him that I needed him and that… that I loved him… and that Ren… Ren was in a coma. I've never had a dream like that before…"

Horo's ears strained to listen as he could hear footsteps that were getting louder.

"Hey!" he shouted, trying to grab Hao's attention. "Hao!"

The door opened slightly. "What do you want?"

"What did you do to Ren!"

The door opened full and Hao stepped in.

"You know what, now that he's out of the way, I can afford to let a little more light into the room. It's a real pain in the ass, having very little light in here."

He exited and returned a few minutes later with a candle.

Hao walked down the stairs and along the walls, lighting torch by torch, and eventually the hole room was filled with light, allowing the Ainu, for the first time, to see were he was being kept.

His eyes widened as he saw the inhumane creations that surrounded him. But his heart stopped beating as he saw a small motionless figure at the other end of the dungeon that was tied to the wall by chains, and the pool of brownish-red that surrounded his body.

Tears formed in his eyes as he saw his friend laying here, his body nor rising nor falling. "Yoh!" he shouted as he stared at the brunette, "Yoh wake up! Wake up please! Yoh!" Horo waited and waited for a reply, a murmur, anything… but that was something he wasn't about to get any time soon. "You bastard!" he yelled with hatred, turning to Hao who had a little smirk on his face, "What the hell did you do to him!"

"Well I needed someone to test my torturing devices on, and he was my guinea-pig. I have to say, it was surprising he lasted as long as he did. It will only be a matter of time before his body starts to rot and decay."

"But… but Yoh was alive when you abducted me, I would have noticed if you'd brought him in here, I would have seen it! I would have heard his cries!"

"Well you obviously didn't. Besides, it's pretty hard to hear someone's cries when their mouth is stitched together, and you were still unconscious at the time. You wouldn't have woken up for at least a few more hours."

"S-So he suffered…?"

"Well, sort of. You see, after I'd tested all my creations, there was nothing left to do with him, so I ended his pain and suffering by plunging a knife into his chest. He was very grateful; he even thanked me before drawing his last breath."

"…W…Why would you need to test your creations on him? Isn't that what I'm for?"

"You? No my beloved Horokeu."

'Beloved!'

"I would never use those dreadful things on you. It would destroy your perfect body. …No… I have something even better in store for you my love…"

'My love!'

Hao smiled and left, returning again with a bowl of water and some cotton wool.

"Here." He said, and placed it down on the floor. The Asakura knelt down and grabbed Horo's hand. "This will get infected if you don't bathe it properly."

Horo yanked his hand away and glared at him. "What the hell are you doing!"

"What? I'm seeing to the cuts around your wrist silly…"

"No, you killed Yoh, and Ren! And now you expect me to trust you again, like nothing's happened! You even whipped me and abused me!" yelled the Ainu, his voice breaking slightly.

"Yes, but that was only because I was angry at you."

"You were angry at me so you killed two of my closest friends!"

"No, I whipped you because I was angry at you. And I was only angry at you because you preferred that Tao than me. I killed Yoh for a reason in which I just told you, and I haven't even killed Ren."

"R-Ren's alive…?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes, but I put him in a coma, he wont be around for the next three years minimum."

Anger and betrayal rose up inside of the Ainu, so much anger that he exploded.

"I HATE YOU!" he yelled, and picked up the bowl of water and threw it in Hao's face, making his clothes and hair stick to his body.

The Asakura moved quickly, and in a heart-beat, had Horo in a headlock and was pressing a blade against his throat.

"Don't make me use this Horo, don't make me scar your perfect little body."

"Go ahead! I don't care! You've taken everything else away from me, why not my life too!"

"You're a very brave Ainu... either that or very foolish. If I were to stab you right now, if I were to plunge this knife into your stomach, would you be able to bare the excruciating pain? Would you be able to withstand the blow of death?" Hao smirked as Horo fell silent. "You know, there is one way to escape this place… that is, if you're really willing to make the sacrifice…"

Horo's eyes widened as Hao handed him the knife, then stepped back and placed a key on the floor.

The Ainu struggled to reach it, alas, it was useless. The key was well out of his reach.

'…Maybe…'

Horo then started to try and saw the chain with the knife.

"That's no good. The only way you're going to reach the key is if you cut off your hand, then, and only then, will you be able to reach the key and free your other hand. Although I do wish you wouldn't, it will be very painful and I highly think you'd die of blood loss before you'd reach a hospital."

"…Were that far out…?"

"Yes. Your that far out."

Hao laughed at the expression on Horo's face, then left him alone in the dungeon once more.

The Ainu looked across to Yoh's body. 'Oh Yoh… I'll never forgive myself…'

Unicorn13564: Wow! Hao took a turn for the worst! He's a fuckin psycho!