Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King so don't sue me since I wrote this fic that takes place in the future. A long, long time after Yoh becomes Shaman King and finally leaves this world.
Chapter 4 - Visitor
Hao turned around and saw a lone figure standing in the back of the church. Everyone had already left, but he had stayed with his father until the end. He wanted to be with him just a little bit longer than anyone else since they had always been together. His mother had given her excuses and left. Though she hadn't said it directly, she didn't want to display her fragile feelings in front of all of their friends and family. It was something they were all use to. She had never truly been able to fit in among them all, but she had found her place with her family. She had found her place with Yoh and their son, Hao.
As she walked out the church, everyone bowed their heads as she left because they knew no matter how much they grieved for their friend. Her pain was deeper because they all knew how much they had loved each other. Yoh had been able to put up with her all those years even when she was pregnant and they knew that it had to be love to live with something like that.
"Can I help you?" Hao stared at the man in the back. He was dressed in street clothes and wore a cap on his head. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail and the cap kept his eyes covers. Jewelry garlanded the man's body with necklaces draped across his neck, rings that adorned his fingers and two large earrings dangled from his ears. The stars gave off a reflective look as he walked up to the front of the church and past the young man.
"I've come to pay my respects." Answered the stranger as he made his way up to the closed coffin that seated Yoh's cheerful picture on top of it. It made it look as if Yoh was smiling at the stranger.
"You knew my father?" The stranger's eyes continued to be hidden by the bill of the cap and Hao was unable to tell who the stranger was with his long dark brown hair.
"A long time ago." Hao stared at the man for several minutes and couldn't remember his parents mentioning someone similar to the man that stood only a few feet away from him.
"Who are you?" The stranger reached out his hand and touched the coffin, resting the tip of his fingers against the closed coffin.
"A forgotten memory." The stranger's words confused the young man as he tried to realize who it was that stood before him. Hao's eyes grazed over the stranger and came to rest on the hand that was touching the coffin. One of the rings caught his eye. It was silver and shaped in the image of a one-block lego, but it wasn't the design that caused it to catch his eye. It was the tiny letters that were etched into the little lego. Three tiny dark letters spelled out HAO. Understanding dawned upon the young man as the older one turned slightly to look at him, finally showing him his dark eyes. Their gazes rest on one another and the same dark eyes gazed at one another. Hao knew instantly that the stranger was the person that he had been named after. It was Asakura Hao.
"But I was told that you were dead." Yoh's twin smiled at his nephew causing the young man to have mixed emotions. The smile was like his father's to the point that it disturbed him and yet it was a stranger's smile that he was unaccustomed to, but it was the same smile that he saw whenever he looked in the mirror.
"I exist at all times. Not even him.." The twin's smile faded as he turned back to look at the box that contained his younger half. "Not even Yoh could change that."
The events that had all lead up to that moment and the words that his uncle shared with him were things that he wished to keep from both his mother and from his father. For the very first time he had been exposed to someone that had been very much like him.
Often at times while growing up the young Shaman would be picked on, only for someone else to step in and save him from his assailant. His experience with Asakura Hao's Chou Senji Ryakketsu had been the greatest moment of his life, for not only did he become more powerful. He had been exposed to his real uncle when he had existed in his original form and his ideals had greatly influenced the young man that had been named after him, but his parents' teachings continued to greatly influence him and he always remained close to their side. If they had noticed a change in their son, no one said anything as his abilities grew limitlessly.
The things that his uncle had shared with him in both of their meetings, within the book and at the funeral, bothered him. It made him wonder about the things that he had been taught and what he was raised to believe in. He believed in his father to the end, but after Yoh's death. His son began to wonder just how right his father really was because he was dead and for his twin to appear alive again. Who really was the more powerful Shaman? Who was right in the end?
Anna brushed away the leaves that had scattered across the base of the grave and bathed the tombstone with the water she had brought in the bucket. She kneeled and prayed.
"Yoh… you idiot… why did you have to leave me so soon?" She reached out a trembling hand and placed it against the cold stone. He had always been there for her, there to protect her, to keep her safe and so she wouldn't be alone anymore. "Yoh…" She wrapped her arms around the tombstone and embraced it as if would somehow bring back the one she loved so much. As if she could just hold onto the piece of concrete and somehow it would bring him back.
She was an Itako, a spirit caller, but she couldn't bring herself to use her own powers on him. He was gone. His spirit passed over to the other world leaving them all behind, mainly her. She would have thought that he would remain behind for her at least, but little did she know that Yoh had known what he was doing. There was no need for him to stay in this world any longer either as a Shaman or as a spirit. She wasn't alone because she had their son who was way smarter than he ever was and a much better cook.
"Anna." Her eyes widened at the sound of her name and yet she knew that no one was there. If someone had been there she would have sensed him or her instantly. Though she was older, her powers had never become dull and with her self-training. She had become an even more powerful Itako with what she had learned by not only training Yoh, but also in training their son. She couldn't believed her own ears, the wind was playing tricks with her, rustling her unruly blonde hair as an assortment of noises continued around her, as if someone were trying to caress her cheek.
"Yoh." She said his named out instantly. Though no visible form of his spirit appeared before her. She knew that it had to be him. No one else had ever dared to touch her in such a way, but the twins had. Asakura Hao had once laid hands on her, but she had made him think twice before doing it again. Yoh had learned at any early age what the price of touching her was, but it was a price that he willingly paid each time.
"Watch out for Hao." The words were a mere whisper, buried by the sound of the wind as its speed continued to increase. She looked up to the sky in hopes that she would see at least some fleeting image of him, that Yoh had been there if not only for a second to see her again, but his spirit wasn't returning and for all she knew. It had all been a figment of her imagination. She was tired with the play of recent events and her loss continued to weight her down heavily. She was going through the hardest time of her life and for the first time. Yoh wasn't there to help her.
Hao looked out the window and noticed the gathering dark clouds in the sky. "It's going to rain soon." He went around the inn and closed most of the opened doors and windows. He would go outside soon and bring his mother back in before the sky would have a chance to open up, allowing the first drops to pour down. He had already lost his father. He wasn't about to let his mother get sick and lose her too. He stepped outside and noticed the change in the atmosphere; the wind seemed to be blowing harder than usual. Was a storm coming? There was an ominous feeling in the air as he went to get his mother. The sky was beginning to darken and the rain would soon start pouring. Wordlessly, he brought his mother back inside and together they waited in the safety of the home that Yoh had made for them as they waited for the heavens to open and unleash the storm that was coming.
A/N: That's the end, for this fic anyways. I might start some new fic as a continuation for this cause this fic ended up having a lot of possibilities, but I'd prefer for it to just end here. If enough people bug me about it though I'll probably continue with a new fic one of these days. XD This was all just a short idea that I had and thought was pretty interesting. I didn't mean to make it so angst; it just turned out that way. ^^; Sorry if I made anyone cry. Here's a bunch of questions that I'm just going to leave unfinished or maybe not. Not sure. *shrugs *
What did Hao say to young Hao when he first went into Chou Senji Ryakketsu? Does Hao say the same thing to everyone that goes to increase his or her powers through him or does he say something differently to each person? What did Hao say to young Hao at Yoh's funeral? Why did Hao remain dead to everyone and suddenly reappear only to young Hao at Yoh's funeral? What did the voice mean when it told Anna to "Watch out for Hao." Was it young Hao the voice was talking about or the original Hao? Was the voice that visited Anna even really Yoh or was it someone or something else? Is Anna perhaps going crazy because of Yoh's death? Or has young Hao also snapped? What is this bad feeling that young Hao is having about the coming storm? Is it a normal storm or something completely else?
I'll leave it at that for now. XP Tell me what you think???