Disclaimer:::
Must I state the obvious? I do not own SK. =P
Warning:::
Spoilers on Hao's identity. Written based on the anime only. I have not read the manga at all.
Legend:::
(.…bla bla….) Is thoughts
"….bla bla…." Is normal speech
{….bla bla….} Is notes/signs/etc.
Summary:::
**AU-ish** What if Hao and Yoh weren't separated since birth, but only 5 years after. But due to certain reasons, Yoh doesn't remember this.
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Chapter 3
Yoh yawned again for the 53rd time earning him another scolding from his grandfather.
"Yoh! How are you going to even start on your training if you keep dozing away?"
"Demo Ji-chan…"
"No buts! Now concentrate. Try to call the spirit from the leaf."
"Haaah…what leaf?"
"Pick one. There are many to choose from by the river."
"Oh ok."
Yoh turned away from his grandfather dejectedly. (I wanted to rest. Maa, I guess I'll have to get it over with.) Yoh sighed.
Yoh took in a deep breath. He concentrated hard. His hands hovered above the piece of leaf at his feet. Yohmei smiled in approval. Yoh had a lot of potential; he looks focused when he puts his mind to it. Yohmei could see a great shaman out of him. He looked on in satisfaction and wondered about the extent of Yoh's power.
The soft breeze blew, the only sound heard was that of nature. The trickling of the water down the wide river, the rustling of leaves as they danced in the wind and,
"SPIRIT FROM THE LEAF! COME OUT NOW SO THAT I CAN GO TO SLEEP! COME OUT COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE! Please?"
Yohmei almost fell from the rock he was sitting on.
"AWW COME ON COME OUT NOW!" Yoh shouted jumping up and down.
"What in the world are you doing?!" his grandfather asked in disbelief.
"But Ji-chan, you told me to call the spirit from the leaf." Yoh answered logically.
"Uhh…" Yohmei blinked. **sweatdrop** Briefly he wondered if hitting his head had caused his grandson to lose his brains as well.
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The day he awoke, Yoh had shocked everyone with the fact that he had lost his memory. Everything from his childhood spent with Hao, he had forgotten. He remembered nothing. Yohmei wondered if this was yet another blessing. With his memory gone, Yoh will be easier to mold and teach without any prejudicial judgements. His heart would be free and not bound to loyalty to his brother.
Yohmei swore the rest of the clan into keeping the knowledge of the other Asakura twin a secret. Yoh was never to know about Hao until the time was right.
Nevertheless, Yohmei had to admit he had been worried. He had been afraid for his grandson, fearing that Yoh would sink into depression, leaving the child traumatized. After all, losing your memory is not a pleasant experience.
Yet the boy managed to surprise him. For instead of keeping to himself, Yoh was a friendly boy who immediately tried to befriend any of the clan members who talked to him. With his trusting and care-free nature, he bonded easily with his parents. He made up for his absence of five years in a mere week's time.
When asked, Yoh said that he held no regrets for his lost memory. Smiling, his eyes twinkled in confidence as he said words which sounded like a promise he had made to himself.
"Daijoubu, I'll remember someday. And when I do, I hope that that something or someone would forgive me for forgetting them. And I hope that whatever was between us won't be forgotten or changed except for the better."
For once, Yohmei could do nothing to respond. Half of the clan present did however.
They cried, oblivious to the distress of a five-year-old who had no idea why people are crying because of something he said.
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At present, Yoh was at the verge of crying. A week after his 'awakening', his grandfather decided to start with his Shaman training.
Now Shamanism was something that totally fascinated him when he first heard about it from his parents. Instead of being uncomfortable with the subject, Yoh felt that he was very familiar with it. As if he had known about it all his life.
Yet now, after getting his first taste of it, Yoh's fascination was beginning to drop a notch. No wait, make that a big gap. It simply required too much work and was very tiring. What Yoh wanted was to relax and listen to his beloved music, something he discovered a few days before and had been addicted to ever since. Now one can hardly find Yoh without orange headphones stuck to his head like a headband.
"Try again Yoh. I've already explained it to you." Yohmei said wearily.
"Demo.."
"Yoh…(grrrr)"
"H-haaaaai…" Yoh said reluctantly after hearing the warning tone in his grandfather's voice.
Letting out a tired breath, Yoh proceeded to try again without putting in much effort. What he didn't know was that he'd still be trying to four years later much to the annoyance of his grandfather.
After failing yet again, Yoh was finally granted some rest. While his grandfather muttered away under a nearby tree, Yoh sighed happily and laid down by the river. Crossing his arms under his head, Yoh let his body relax and closed his heavy eyes. With the gentle breeze blowing, Yoh was about to drift off into sleep.
But the wind carried with it the sounds of laughter from the opposite side of the river. Yoh immediately perked up and turned to face the source of the sound. A boy about his age was playing a game with an older looking boy and a blond-haired girl.
Yoh watched the game in interest. The two boys grinned at each other mischievously and seem to be working together against the girl. Nevertheless the girl had a smug look on her face and glared back at the two boys with piercing eyes. The boys suddenly looked nervous and scared enough to run off in the other direction. Yoh had to sympathize with them. The blond was terrifying.
All the while, even though he enjoyed watching them, Yoh felt his heart begin to weigh heavier and heavier. He broke his attention from the game and headed towards where his grandfather was. Crossing his short stubby legs under him, Yoh put his hands on his knees as he sat down and glared at his grandfather in the eye. Surprised, Yohmei stared back without uttering a single word.
Glare.
Stare.
Glare.
"Well, what do you want?" Yohmei finally said when he could no longer stand the staring contest.(@__@)
"Ne Ji-chan, can you tell me something?" Yoh suddenly said in a serious tone that it made Yohmei curious.
"What do you want to know?"
"I know I won't be able to remember much of what has happened. The healer said it'll take a long time before I can remember everything. But just now I felt something."
"Felt som.."
"Ji-chan, did I lose something really important to me before?" Yoh said almost shouting out his question, cutting off his grandfather's words.
Yohmei could only gape. Seeing his lack of reaction, Yoh continued on determinedly.
"I'm trying to remember. Right now I feel as if I'm missing a part of myself. Isn't that weird? When I try to remember more, my heart begins to hurt real badly."
Putting one of his hands on his chest, right above where his heart would be, Yoh said with a pained expression.
"Why is this Ji-chan? Can you tell me?"
"I do not know." Yohmei lied. "Only you would know what has happened during your absence from us."
"Demo.."
"That is all I can say Yoh. Please don't ask me again." Yohmei said in a stern voice.
"Hai…" Yoh said sadly.
Seeing the downhearted expression on Yoh's face almost made Yohmei break down and spill everything to him. Nevertheless, he repressed that urge for he knew nothing good would come out of it.
"Yoh. It's getting late. You head back to the house first. I'm sure a great feast is waiting for you." He said instead.
Hearing the word 'feast', Yoh's stomach groaned loudly and grinning sheepishly, he gave an excited "HAI!" and sped off towards the main house laughing cheerfully.
Yohmei shook his head. (I'll never be able to understand his weird mood changes. It's worse than a pregnant woman's.)
Then clearing his throat, Yohmei said in a loud and clear voice, all the while staring ahead at the flowing river,
"Did you hear all that? He has clearly forgotten you. If you take him now, you'll have to do it by force. And would you risk the chance that he'll hate you for it? He is happy here with his true family. People who love him and would do anything to protect him. Leave now and never come back again. Hao."
Hao stood hidden in the trees as he had been for the last few minutes with a face filled with whirling emotions. Hate, despair, betrayal and sadness. They had taken away the only person that had ever brought joy into his world. All he wanted to do now was to burn every single one of his descendants and take Yoh back from them.
And would you risk the chance that he'll hate you for it?
Hao's eyes widened in realization. No. If the one person who had accepted him and loved him for who he was, if Yoh were to hate him, he would not know what to do. Gritting his teeth, Hao made a decision he would rather not.
"Fine Asakura, you win for now. I'll leave Yoh in your care. I never did want to endanger him anyway. But when he is old enough, do realize that I will return for him. Or perhaps we shall meet during the shaman fight. Either way he will always be my brother and I intend to bring him back. It's all a matter of time. That is my promise."
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Glossary::
1) Demo == but
2) Daijoubu == It's ok.
3) Ji-chan (Oji-chan) == grandfather
A/N:: I guess this ends my intro part. I'm going to jump a few years in my next chap to the episodes' timeline. At least I think I will. ^___^;;
Reviewer Response:::
piti opacho ~~ Thanx 4 telling me Yoh's dad's name. I'll fix it later. ^___^ Aah the fic will continue..maybe, I hope, hehehe.
Chibi Dragon ~~ I'm trying to learn Japanese as well! ^__^ Just my anime to learn from though .
Kitsune Asakura ~~ Hehehe, thanx. (Growls at them 2.)
tone ~~ I aim to please! ^__^ Thiz d next chap.
Ice-Phoenix ~~ Hai! ^__^ Here iz the next chap!
Jessica ~~ Hahaha, your review made me laugh. ^__^ I agree, that guy must be evil! Over at my place, there are two versions of the VCD (I think). One is the one where the episodes are sold separately-about 2 or 3 episodes per CD. Another is a complete set and you have to buy all of the VCDs at once. I bought the one with the complete set. Anyway, haunt the evil fat guy till he begs the distributor for the VCDs and threaten to call for Hao-chan and the SoF to burn his shop if he doesn't!! Hehehe.
Stardustangel ~~ Nah I wasn't planning on it. Even though I do read and write 'shonen ai', I'm not ready to venture into incest yet. A 'twincest' at that.^__^ I may read those kinds of fics but I doubt I'll be writing one soon. So ya, this won't be a 'yaoi//shonen ai' fic.
Nishi ~~ Hao and Yoh are my favorites 2! But I guess you know dat. **Asakura twins rule!!** 'grins sheepishly' . Hope you enjoyed this chap.
Baka-Cupid ~~ My gosh, another evil man! He won't let you have the last ep.**grrr** Don't worry, I'll ask Hao-sama to burn his store with the SoF if he doesn't sell you one soon too. Here's the chap. Hope it's worth your wait.
Cessniper23 ~~ Thanx for the information! It'll be very useful for my future battles. ^__^
firelizard_720 ~~ I continued! And um…I can't wait either! Hehehe. I mean I am getting there.
Waaaah, I'm so happy. Hope I can live up to everyone's praises!
My A-Levels exams are coming up! Which means I have to study more. Which means I have less time to write the story. Which means I won't be updating this frequently. T__T I cry a river…
Honto ni Gomen!
R-eading
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W-riter
So….plz REVIEW!! Onegai-shimas!