Chapter 9

Tohru walked down the steps to the kitchen.

"Tohru!"

"Yoh! Why are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in your room?" Tohru muttered under her breath to her youngest sibling.

"Talk about yourself... I can't sleep..."

"Yeah... Hao... meeting you again...it's just too much for me in one day..."

"I get the idea..."

"Hao... he killed Kyoko... when he found me the first time..."

"I'm so sorry... we thought that it will be safer to be further away from us... especially if you are the guardian ..."

"Yeah... 10 years has been a long time... how's Dad's face..." Tohru pondered.

"Just as bad as it used to be..."

"Mom?"

"She's okay... she managed to get over you..."

"I hope..."

"The birth of Hao and me caused so many people sadness... We even gave you away..."

"I don't mind... Yoh, you must defeat Hao... don't let the sacrifice everybody has made go to waste... After all the suffering... How our parents felt, when they gave me away... and that was to a distant relative... growing up... losing the one you cared so much for..." Tohru said, staring into the space before her.

"I know, Onee-chan..." Yoh said.

"Heh... foolish people..." An oddly familiar voice had entered the conversation.

"Hao..." Tohru muttered under her breath.

"Don't mistaken me... I just came to remind you, that when you're born an Asakura, you'll always be an Asakura... Tohru Asakura..." Hao said as he softy touched Tohru's neck, causing her to shiver in fright.

"Don't touch me!" Tohru said slapping his hand away.

"Heh... if you had given me the ring, or even accepted my offer, Kyoko won't have died in vain..." Hao said before teleporting away.

"What was he talking about, Tohru?" Yoh asked with concern as Tohru curled into a ball saying, "I must unlock it... unlock it..."

"Unlock what! Tohru snap out of it..."

"Huh? Oh... don't worry... I will make sure that you will become the Shaman King..."

Tohru answered him.

"Okay... Come on let's sleep now..."

"Nah... I need to think about something... You go first..."

"Okay..." Yoh answered puzzled over Tohru's weird behaviour, as he stood up and went back to his room with new worries pulling him down.

Little did they know, a certain dog, who was also unable to sleep, had over-heard the conversation.