-Yay Battle Between Brothers got some more reviews now...So I'll keep writing it like I promised. As for those that have been waiting for me to update "Love at Last" I'm really sorry but I have to put that story on hold for a while, cause I'm kinda stuck on the next chapter...but I'll try my best to try and finish it up..in the mean time enjoy chapter 6!
Disclaimer: Well SK ended here in the states, so I guess that the chances of me owning the anime are gone. Oh well..I can still own these stories.
"I didn't ask for a greeting Hao...What did you do to Horo Horo!" Yoh said rage fully.
Tamao's eyes widened at Yoh's shocking attitude. As she stared at him she could see his eyes filled with pure rage, his arms tightening around his sword ready to strike as anger rushed through his veins.
Tamao then looked down at Horo Horo as he lay cold and still in her arms...just then, soft tears slowly came from her eyes and fell onto Horo Horo's clothes as she wrapped her arms tighter around him.
"Oh Horo Horo please...Don't leave us like this." She said softly. "Please...you have to get up. Horo Horo!" She cried.
"Aww what a touching scene between a small girl and a dying boy...Well young Tamao. If you want to be with Horo Horo so badly, then I'll be glad to send you along with him to the spirit world!" Hao shouted.
Hao then lifted his sword with both hands and ran over in Tamao's direction ready to strike.
Tamao's eyes widened as she saw Hao run towards her with his sword. She let out a loud screech and covered her face with both hands.
"AHHH!" She screamed.
Suddenly,
"CELESTIAL SLASH!" Suddenly a bright red streak flew over at Hao, and knocked the sword right out of his hands.
Hao stood still as he saw his sword fly out of his hands and land into the ground beside him. He then turned and saw Yoh who was the one that sent the attack.
Yoh stood firmly on the ground with his sword in both arms. "Hmph. I told you not to touch her!" He said sternly.
Hao grinned and regained his posture.
"Well well don't we have a temper." Hao smirked. He then walked over and pulled his sword out of the ground.
Tamao looked in shock as she realized that she had just been saved from sudden death.
Yoh gripped his sword even tighter as he saw Hao retrieve his sword once again.
"Listen Hao...this is what you're going to do. You're going to leave both Horo Horo and Tamao alone and you're going to tell me where Anna is right now!" He shouted.
Hao chuckled. "Hmphmmhh ( A/N: Agh I can't write laughs XD) And what happens if I don't, dear brother?" Hao responded calmly.
"Then I will show you no mercy and fight you with all I've got. No matter what happens to me I'll make sure that you'll pay for what you've done!" Yoh responded.
"Hmmm…Well that does sound very enticing but I'm afraid I have to go. I have more important things to do than to fight you right now in dark. I'd rather fight you in a wider and more open area with no distractions. And so I'll leave you here with these worthless friends of yours.
Oh and If Horo Horo ever wakes up again, tell him that I said hi. I forgot to tell him that before I killed him." Hao smirked evilly.
Hao then turned and started to walk further and further into the dark forest when he heard a voice.
"No! You're not going anywhere Hao! You're going to stay right here and fight me!" Yoh shouted.
Hao turned and grinned. With a raise of his arm, he summoned the great Spirit of Fire. It appeared behind him and crowned over the entire forest!
Yoh gasped as he looked up at the giant beast as it arose from the abyss.
"I'm going to do what?" Hao grinned.
"Listen Yoh, if you want to see Anna again, then you are going to fight me where and when I please. And you are going to fight me without the aid of your worthless friends do you understand me?" Hao chuckled.
"Well then...I shall leave the 3 of you now and see how Anna's doing...I wonder if she's uncomfortable from being chained up for so long." He grinned.
Yoh's eyes widened when he heard how Anna was being treated. "WHAT?" He shouted.
"Good bye, Yoh." Hao replied. He and the Spirit of Fire both then disappeared into thin air.
Yoh's whole body twitched as he growled with anger.
Tamao looked over at Yoh and saw that he had reached his breaking point.
Yoh shouted and jammed his sword right into the ground with all of the force that he had causing the earth to quake and red energy to surge down through his sword and right into the ground.
Tamao quickly shielded her face with her hands as she saw red energy surge through the ground causing the ground to tremble.
Once the trembling ended, Tamao slowly uncovered her face and looked up to saw Yoh still standing, breathing in deeply.
"He's... gone to far!" He muttered. "I will never forgive him for this."
Yoh then took his sword out of the ground again and slowly walked over in Tamao's direction.
He then kneeled down beside Tamao and looked into her eyes...this caused Tamao to blush slightly.
"I'm so sorry about all of this Tamao. I guess the anger got to me. But are you alright?" Yoh asked surprised calm.
"Uh uh..yeah I'm fine, but Horo Horo..."
"I know." Yoh said. He looked down and saw Horo Horo's cold body laying in Tamao's frail arms.
Yoh slowly turned Horo Horo over and looked at the fairly sized wound that Horo Horo had received in the stomach.
Horo Horo was bleeding profusely and he made no movements.
Yoh slowly placed his ear on the left side of Horo Horo's chest and listened.
He then gasped. "HE'S STILL ALIVE!" Yoh shouted.
Tamao's eyes shot open. "WHAT?...Really?" She asked.
Yoh nodded. "Quickly...we have to try and stop the bleeding."
Yoh immediately took off Horo Horo's sweater and then the t-shirt that he was wearing underneath. As he took off the t-shirt...he was able to get a clear look at where Horo Horo had been wounded.
Tamao immediately closed her eyes and tried to hold back tears as she saw Horo Horo's wounds.
"The wound looks pretty severe, and he's bleeding a lot. If we don't find a way to stop the bleeding, he might bleed to death." Yoh pointed out.
Tamao opened her eyes once again and looked over at Yoh.
"Come Horo Horo...hang in there buddy." Yoh said.
Tamao couldn't believe that Yoh was so calm. He had been through so much with Anna being kidnapped and his friend being wounded..yet he was really calm right now. What happened to all of the anger that he had? Just a few seconds ago, he had jammed his sword and energy all into the ground, and now he was just aiding his friend.
With quick thinking, Yoh quickly grabbed onto a corner of his shirt and ripped off a long strip of fabric.
"This should be enough." Yoh replied. He then took the strip of fabric and wrapped it all the way around Horo Horo's wound.
"This should take care of some of the bleeding, but he still needs medical help." Yoh then turned to Tamao. "Tamao...I need you to help me."
Tamao looked down at Horo Horo and then nodded.
"Okay this is what I need you to do." Yoh began to demonstrate. "I need you to place both of your hands over Horo Horo's wounds like this." Yoh explained as he placed both hands on Horo Horo's stomach.
"And then I need you to press...not too hard, and not too soft. The pressure should stop some of the bleeding, and some is better than none." He finished. "So can you do that for me, Tami?" Yoh asked.
Tamao hesitantly looked down at the fabric that was covering Horo Horo's wounds. She saw as it slowly soaked with a darkish red color. This caused her to tremble.
"Don't worry Tamao, I promise that you won't touch any blood." He said as he looked over at her.
"Oh..uh... yeah, but are you sure that I won't hurt him?" Tamao asked.
"Don't worry. As long as you don't press too hard, he'll be fine. Besides he's unconscious right now, so he can't feel much of anything." Yoh chuckled innocently.
"...Okay." Tamao answered. She slowly raised both hands and gently placed them over Horo Horo's stomach. She could feel the warmth through her fingers as she placed her hands down with a small amount or pressure.
She looked over at Horo Horo's face...he looked so cold and there was no expression to his face at all. His mouth was slightly open and his eyes were tightly shut.
"Hang in there Horo Horo...please." She whispered silently.
Yoh then reached for his sword, and slowly lifted himself up off the ground. He then proceeded to dust himself off and placed his sword back into it's sheathe.
Tamao looked up. "What are you doing, Yoh?" She asked.
Yoh then turned to Tamao. "Listen Tamao, I'm going to need you to take Horo Horo back to the house. He'll be safe there. Are Pilika and Ren there?" He asked.
Tamao nodded.
"That's good. Ren should know how to handle it from there since he knows a lot more about wounds and stuff than I do. But Pilika..." Yoh paused. "I hope that she'll be alright after seeing her brother." He finished. "Anyway, I need you to go back to the house...all of you will be safer there."
Tamao nodded. "But what about you? What are you going to do?" She asked.
Yoh looked into the darkened forest.
"I have to find Hao before he does something to Anna." He replied.
"Huh?..But uh wait Yoh. You can't just go off on your own! Hao is a strong and ruthless shaman who will kill you without second thought!" She shouted.
Yoh chuckled. "Thanks a lot for worrying about my Tami, but trust me, I'm going to be fine. Besides...I won't be alone." He grinned.
Amidamaru suddenly appeared behind him in a flash of light.
"No wait. That's not what I meant, Yoh. You need more than Amidamaru to help you defeat Hao." She said worriedly.
"Well that's not really what I meant either Tamao." Yoh replied. "Amidamaru won't be the only one helping me."
"What?...What do you mean, Yoh?" She asked.
"You'll find out soon enough. Well see ya later Tamao! Remember to go back to the house where you'll be safe. Don't worry, I'll find Hao and be back in time for breakfast okay?" Yoh smiled.
He then waved good-bye and quickly disappeared into deeper into the forest with his faithful guardian by his side.
"...Yoh...be careful." Tamao whispered.
"Yoh...what exactly did you mean back there by "Amidamaru won't be the only one helping me"? Amidamaru asked.
"Ahhh...I knew that you'd ask that, Amidamaru." Yoh said as he continued to run deeper and deeper into the forest. "Well like I said to Tamao...you'll find out soon enough."
Hao suddenly appeared once again in the dim cave with a flash of light.
Anna heard a noise and slowly lifted her dormant head.
She felt so weak and her vision was beginning to cloud more and more as she remained chained onto the wall without any food or water. But as she turned to see who it was, she knew that it was Hao.
She watched closely and saw Hao slowly walk back over to the glass case in the corner and hung up his sword. But as she squinted her eyes, she saw that the blade had been tainted with blood.
Anna's eyes immediately shot open.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?" She suddenly shouted. Her voice cracked because of her dry throat.
Hao then turned and looked at Anna. "Oh well hello again Anata. Awww you look so angry...What you're not even going to bother welcoming me back?" Hao chuckled.
"SHUT UP! WHAT DID YOU DO YOU SON OF A BITCH?" Anna was completely out of control, and her anger was getting the best of her.
"Whoa. Anna watch your language." Hao replied. "Besides...you don't have to worry...I didn't do much harm, but that meddling Horo Horo won't be interfering with my plans anymore." He grinned.
"WHAT?" Anna had reached her breaking point. She began to thrash her arms and legs around violently, pulling and tugging on her tight chains.
The sudden clashing sounds caught Hao's attention, and he watched as Anna thrashed around violently to set herself free. He saw as she pulled and tugged her arms a hard as she could. Her arms were covered with bruises as well as her legs, and he saw that one of her arms was now bleeding. But Anna kept going...why was she trying so hard to set herself free when she knew that it was nearly impossible?
Anna kept her stare down at the ground and began to pull her body forward as hard as she could. She was determined to break free...But as she pulled herself forward, one of the chains around her legs tightened so much, that it cut her leg.
Anna let out a loud cry and gave up on the spot.
Hao sighed and slowly walked over to Anna.
"Anna stop, I can't see you like this anymore. Struggling only makes it worse, and I don't understand why you continue to struggle if it is only causing you more harm than good." Hao said surprisingly calm.
"Because...because you hurt my friends and it doesn't matter anymore." Anna said as she slowly lifted her head. "Whether I live or die now doesn't matter. It already feels like I'm dead." Anna began to cry.
"A few...more steps...and we'll be home Horo Horo." Tamao sighed in relief as she carried Horo Horo on her back...and made her way across the street..just in front of the Asakura residence.
"Please hang in there...we're...we're almost home." She whispered.
Tamao was obviously exhausted after carrying Horo Horo on her back for almost two miles.
Her frail and small body wasn't strong enough to carry so much weight across a long distance.
But the pain didn't matter to her..all that mattered now was getting Horo Horo home safely and taking care of his injuries.
Tamao slowly took her final step...and walked up to the dark wooden door of the Asakura house...and slowly raised her fist up. She then lunged it down and knocked on the door a good 5 times.
Pilika and Ren...who had been sitting on the couch...half asleep...quickly lifted their heads.
"Was that the door?" Pilika said surprised.
The two then heard knocking again.
"It is...and whoever it is...they sound urgent." Ren said as he slowly stood up and went to the door.
Pilika stayed back on the couch and watched as Ren walked over to the door and placed his hand on the knob.
"Oh please let it be you Horo Horo..and please be okay." Pilika silently prayed.
Ren then slowly turned the knob and watched as the door flung open.
Tamao had become so exhausted and all of her strength had finally given up.
Both Ren and Pilika watched as young Tamao slowly let out a soft sigh and dropped down towards the ground just as she took her first step inside.
"TAMAO!" Pilika shouted as she stood up and ran towards the door.
But as Pilika ran towards Tamao before she completely fell down...she saw Horo Horo on her back lifeless...and blood all over his shirt.
She immediately stopped and her eyes shot open wider than they have ever been. Both hands covered her mouth and tears shot down her eyes in a matter of seconds.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! HORO HORO!NOOO!"
Ren heard her screams of terror...they sounded like screams of a dying girl...he had never heard Pilika scream like this.
Pilika dropped to her knees on the cold wooden floor just a few feet away from both Tamao and Horo Horo and began to cry uncontrollably.
Author's note:
Uhh...hi everyone...well I know what many of you want to say..."WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"
Ha ha well I guess it has been almost 3 months since I last updated...but well in those 3 months I went back to school and have been completely caught up with work...so it's been a long time since I've even had the chance to visit fan fiction (sweat drop)
I hope that you're not all too mad at me...and I wanted to say..that I'll try my best to get back on track and update all of my stories...I'd really appreciate all of your reviews...(I missed getting reviews) and I hope that you all haven't given up on me...Thank you for reading and I love you all so much!
I'm still alive! Hee hee :)