Unicorn13564: See, me updates twice coz I took soooo long!

Chapter 9: Alive And Well

Hao smirked and laughed. "You can't resist me forever Horo, how do you expect us to have a future together if I'm not even allowed to kiss you?"

"Exactly. There is no future for us, because there is no us!"

"You sure about that?"

"Positive. I can't even look at you, you disgust me!"

"You won't think like that for very long. Like it or not, we will be together. I want you Horo, and I always get what I want."

"No, not this time Hao. Not this time because I don't want you, I can't stand you! What I wanted you put in a fuckin coma!"

Hao started at the Ainu, stunned that those words had just escaped his mouth. "Y-You love him…? You love Tao Ren!"

Horo didn't reply.

"DO YOU LOVE TAO REN!"

Hao grabbed Horo's hair and yanked on it.

"…Yes… I really do… I LOVE TAO REN!"

Hao's screwed up his face in disgust; then threw Horo back down on the floor.

"Maybe a few years of sleep isn't good enough… maybe I should just go kill the bastard right now…"

"NO!" yelled Horo, and grabbed onto Hao's leg.

"Get off! I'll show you, I'll show you both! I always get what I want!" Hao spat, and kicked Horo off, exiting the dungeon and leaving the Ainu alone once more.

Ren's dream changed to a room filled with nothing but darkness; and the voice of a certain Ainu echoing all around him.

"Ren, there is something I need to tell you… Hao is coming, and he's coming to finish the job. He's coming to kill you Ren, and if he succeeds, if he takes your life… I'd gladly take my own, just to be with you."

The Tao tried to speak, he tried to respond to Horo's words, but found he could not.

"I have no idea where I am, but if I tell you my surroundings, maybe that'll help. I'm in some sort of dungeon, the walls and floor are made of stone, and the room itself is rather big, with no windows, just a door at the top of some steps. Hao said that we were far from a hospital, but whether that's true or not, I do not know… Ren, I have to tell you something… it's about Yoh… well… h-he's dead. He's dead Ren, Hao killed him! He actually killed his own brother! Hao tortured him, used him as a guinea-pig for his sick torturing devices! He suffered Ren, he suffered!" The Ainu's voice seemed a lot calmer now. "…I know you're listening… and thank you. I don't know if you return my love… but know that I will always love you."

"Manta!"

Anna glared at the short boy that darted before her, standing as stiff as a board, saluting and saying 'yes ma'am?'.

"Where is Yoh? Is he back yet?"

Manta let his arm flop back down to his side as a worried expression crossed his face. "Actually no, he's not, and he's been gone for around the same time Ren disappeared…"

"Which was a few days ago, right? –DID I SAY YOU COULD STOP SALUTING ME!"

"AHH! NO MA'AM!" he yelled, and quickly resumed to his previous position. "…But… But maybe Yoh's gone to look for Horo with Ren, there's still no sign of Horo…"

Anna stepped out onto the porch with Manta following close behind.

"…Maybe…" she mumbled, her worry for them showing in her voice. "Or maybe there just slacking off and think this is funny!" she screamed, talking in her usual loud, cold tone. "Wait till I get my hands on those boys!"

A/N: Thought I forgot bout them dincha! XD

"…Wonna go look for them…?" asked Manta, knowing full well that Anna was trying to mask her concern with anger.

"…No, I don't want to go look for them, they can find their own way home! They've only been gone for a few days… it's not like its weeks or anything…"

With that, Anna turned to go back inside, only to be stopped by the sound of Manta's voice.

"…Ok… wonna go for a walk…?"

Anna stopped for a moment, considering the thought; then sighed. "I suppose I could go for a walk… I need some fresh air anyway."

The two walked down the street, Manta looking left and right, Anna just walking casually.

"Agh!" Manta was startled as a news paper blew in his face, blinding his vision. "…I really hate it when this happens…" he mumbled, and pulled it off of him, instantly gasping as he saw what was on the front page. "Anna!" he yelled, running up to the young Itako.

"What now Manta?" she hissed, glaring down at him.

"Look!" he yelled, shoving the paper in front of her face.

Anna's eyes scanned the paper, reading the headline and the small article.

'Young Boy Mysteriously Falls Into A Coma!'

On Saturday 11th June, a young teen was rushed in to Fubari hospital- his injuries critical after being hit by a car. The teen was then taken to theatre were they operated, only to later on find him in a coma! The cause of this is still unknown, as is the identity of the young teen. If you have any information on who he is, please come down to the hospital immediately.

Anna's eyes drifted to a small picture in the corner of the paper. "What the…" Anna instantly realized she was looking at Ren. "Manta, come on!" she ordered, and quickly walked in the direction of the hospital.

Anna and Manta entered the cubical, looking wide-eyed at the sleeping Tao. They'd given all the information they knew about him to the doctors, and they were checking his medical file to try and discover the reason as to why he'd suddenly gone into a coma.

Anna sat down on the chair beside his bed, whilst Manta pulled up a stool. They both sat in an awkward silence for a while, wondering what to say, or whether to say anything at all.

"…Encase your wondering Ren…" began Anna, being the first to break the silence, "…there is still no news on Horo, and now… now Yoh is missing… Manta and I thought that he was with you, but now we see that he couldn't have been, otherwise he would have helped you. It's odd; because he disappeared right after you went to look for Horo… we haven seen or heard from him since…"

Manta sighed. "Everything's just falling out of place…"

"I'm sorry for treating you so badly recently…" Manta looked up at Anna. She had a sincere look in her eyes that told him she was truly sorry. It sort of shocked him that Anna could look so apologetic. "Its just…" she continued, "…Yoh had been taking way to long on his morning laps, and sometimes he would go out and wouldn't get back till late, then, before you left, he went to look for Horo and was gone for ages, and when he did get back, he went off again and this time he's been gone for days… I guess I was getting frustrated, and I shouldn't have taken it out on you… please Ren… don't go…"

Manta's eyes widened as he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He watched and waited again for it to move, and sure enough, it did.

"A-Anna! Look! Ren's finger, it's twitching!" Manta pointed to Ren's right hand, and laughed as it moved, dropping off the side of the bed. "He's waking up!"

Ren's eyes flickered open, the world around him a blur.

His eyes widened as he remembered Horo talking to him, Horo, Manta and Anna… everyone… He then remembered about Yoh and Hao. How Yoh died, how Hao was coming to kill him… he remembered it all, every single thing!

Ren turned his head to see Anna smiling, and Manta jumping up and down. He slowly rose, but stopped as pain shot through his abdomen, yet continued to rise despite the pain, and with effort, climbed out of bed.

"Hey, were are you going! You can't leave the hospital!" yelled Manta frantically.

"I can and I will." Ren replied firmly.

"But why?"

"You need to rest!" scolded Anna, agreeing with Manta that Ren should stay.

"No, I can't." He paused a moment and looked at Anna. "Anna… there's something you need to know… you too Manta… it's about Yoh."

The hooded figure entered the hospital. A huge smirk on his face as he clutched the unnoticeable knife in his pocket.

"…Yoh… Yoh is dead…"

He made his way down the long corridor, eager to get to a particular cubical.

Anna put her hand over her mouth, trying her hardest not to let the tears fall.

"What? Yoh… Y-Yoh's dead? But how? Why?" uttered Manta, speaking on Anna's behalf.

Ren's gaze shifted to the floor. "Hao tortured him, used him as a guinea-pig to test some torturing devices… I'm… sorry…"

"How do you know?" cried Anna, "How do you know this?"

"…Horo told me…"

Anna and Manta looked a bit surprised at his last statement. "Horo told you?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes, in a dream. He tells me a lot of things… like Hao, right now, is heading for this hospital, and he's coming to finish me off. It was no accident I was in a coma; that was Hao's doing."

"Ok, so then how does Horo know all of this?" questioned Manta.

"Because Hao is holding him captive. For some reason Hao is obsessed with Horo." Ren grabbed his clothes and disappeared behind a curtain, then exited, having his usual red mid-drift top and black puffy pants back on. He grabbed his Kwan-dao that had been laid with his clothes.

"Ren!" Yelled Anna's voice, "Were are you going?"

"I'm off to get Horo."

"So you know were he is?" asked Manta.

Ren smirked. "Yes, I know exactly were he is."

Hao took long strides as he approached the cubical. His hand grabbed the wrack and slid it aside. His smirk faded at the emptiness of the room, but was replaced very quickly. "So, you want to play the hero, ay Ren?" Hao chuckled. "Well guess what, you're in for the shock of your life."

Unicorn13564: So, what ya think? Like I said before… Hao is such a weirdo!