Chapter 13: First Task
Haru spent the rest of the day wandering around the hotel with Opacho and getting to know the rest of Hao's followers.
There was Zen and Ryo; they called themselves 'The Boz' for someone reason. Haru couldn't tell which was which because they acted exactly the same all time. They always seemed to be together and appeared to have a great interest in music despite the fact that they couldn't play to save their lives. Haru knew this for a fact because when Opacho had introduced them they had insisted on giving him the 'honour' of listening to one of their songs, Haru hadn't complained to start with but within ten seconds he was wondering which would be more painful; their music or removing his own ears. The music just really seemed to strike a nerve in Haru; it was like listening to nails on blackboard, it had taken all his will power not to jump forward and crush their vocal cords, as it was he had had to listen to twenty minutes of their 'music' and at the end they had asked for his opinion. Haru had told them that their level of talent was 'unparalleled' and The Boz had seemed quite pleased by this and were about to perform an encore but Haru had quickly suggested that they save their 'talent' for a larger audience and had then quickly retreated to find Opacho who had wandered off as soon as The Boz had mentioned their music.
Haru found Opacho under a tree outside the hotel talking to a guy in eastern robes with a turban on his head Opacho saw Haru and waved him over. The guy in the white turban was called Mahammed but he preferred to be called Turbine. He didn't really talk much for which Haru was silently thankful because his head was still throbbing from the Boz's recital.
Then there was Bill, the giant football player who used the spirits of his deceased football team to pull of incredibly powerful attacks. He seemed like a good guy to Haru until he had shaken his hand; Bill had gripped Haru's hand so hard that he had nearly broken his wrist, Haru's face hadn't changed as they were shaking hands and when he had asked Bill to let go the guy had seemed surprised at something but didn't comment. Haru's was hand was still numb and he was betting it would be a few hours before the feeling started to come back.
Haru was introduced to some more of Hao's follower's but they didn't really stand out in his mind. One thing he had figured that they all had in common was that they were all fiercely loyal to Hao, so Haru couldn't expect any help from them if he decided to try and confront Hao. Not that he would have any chance of winning.
Haru was thinking this as he was walking around with Opacho and something must have shown on his face because the little kid asked, "What is Haru thinking about?"
"Hmm? I was just thinking that Hao has managed to create the most loyal team I have ever seen but there is one thing I don't understand" Haru didn't finish his sentence but waited for Opacho to ask him
"What does Haru not understand?" Opacho asked on cue
"Well why am I here? I owe Hao nothing; I have no sense of loyalty towards him like the rest of you do, if anything I can't wait for a chance to beat the crap out of him. Surely it would have been easier for him to simply kill once he beat me, not that I'm complaining about his decision." Haru added quickly.
Opacho just shrugged before replying, "Haru is strong, Hao believes that he can use Haru's strength"
"So you're saying that I'm just a tool? Something to make his life easier? You really know how make someone feel respected Opacho" Haru said with a hint of bitterness
"Anyway I'm not nearly as strong as some of the guys Hao keeps around, I mean Bill for starters could probably take me down with one hand behind his back" Haru continued
"That is where you're wrong" said a voice behind Haru. Haru didn't even bother to turn around and just replied, "Don't you have something better to do than sneak up on people?"
"Not really" Hao answered genially, Haru turned to face him and Hao continued talking, "I see that you have been getting acquainted with the rest of my followers, what do you think of them?"
"You've chosen well, I don't think you could have found a group more loyal" Haru replied honestly
Hao laughed at this and said, "That annoys you doesn't it? Well don't worry in time you'll come to be just as loyal as them"
"Just what have you been smoking?" Haru responded
Hao chuckled at this statement and said, "Has anyone ever told you that you should be a comedian?" Haru didn't even crack a smile but continued to look at him straight-faced. Hao frowned and said, "Well maybe not, you don't always have to hide your feelings, you should laugh sometimes, it would make you much more agreeable and who knows you might get yourself a girlfriend"
"Exactly when did you get a degree in teenage psychology?" Haru countered
Hao sighed, "You know if you continually hide your emotions you won't get any stronger; a shamans emotions allow him to tap a source of power that normally remains hidden, that was one of reasons why I was able to beat you so easily, you kept refusing to give in to your emotions"
"Is there a reason why you're here?" Haru asked in a bored voice
A look of annoyance crossed Hao's features but they quickly changed to an evil grin, "Why yes now that you mention it, I have come up with a task that I wish you to perform, if you complete it I will return your weapon and your spirit, but if you fail…"
"I won't" Haru stated simply
Hao's grin widened slightly, "Very well, but if you do fail I will allow the Hanagumi to think of a suitable punishment, I seem to have heard that Kanna and Mia are not particularly fond of you"
"That's one way of putting it" Haru muttered
"Now then your as to your task" Hao conjured up an image out of thin air showing a small boy in a white jacket with green hair, "This is Lyserg, he is somewhere within the city, you are to locate him and relieve him of his pendulum crystal, it shouldn't be too much of a problem for you, just make sure that you tell him you're working for me"
"Why do I get the feeling there's something you're not telling me?" Haru said dryly
Hao didn't respond but he snapped his fingers and Haru's coat appeared in his hand, "I believe that this is yours" Hao said handing Haru the coat, Haru slipped it on but something felt different.
"This coat is too light" he told Hao. Hao raised an eyebrow and snapped his fingers and Haru staggered under the weight that the jacket suddenly obtained.
"Is that better?" Hao asked with a grin on his face, "I want you to keep the jacket on the entire time that you're searching for Lyserg and do not take it off until you return"
Haru straightened with difficulty and nodded his head
"Good, now I suggest that you start your search at the market square; just about everyone passes through there at one time or another. If you are not back by midday tomorrow I will send Opacho to look for you" as Hao finished speaking he snapped his fingers and Haru vanished in a column of fire.
Mia had been walking around the hotel with Hanagumi trying to think of a way to get back at Haru, the guy definitely needed a lesson in humility and Mia knew just the people to do it; namely the Hanagumi and herself. Unfortunately all her ideas required Haru to be bound and gagged or restrained in someway and that was a problem with Haru because, as Mia had learned, the guy could get out of anything.
Mia had shared her thoughts with the Hanagumi and they had been equally stumped when Mia had told them of Haru's ability to morph.
"So we can't tie him up or anything" Macchi said slowly
"Well you could but he could get out of it whenever he wanted" Mia replied
"I guess we could slip the guy some kind of drug" Kanna had suggested, "I know Luca has some knock out pills"
"Yeah that would work" Macchi said excitedly
"But how would we get him to take them?" Mia asked
"Oh that's easy, we just slip a few pills into his food when he isn't looking" Kanna said confidently
Mia wasn't sure that this would work but decided not to mention this and instead asked, "Okay but what do we do when he's fallen asleep?"
"Peyote" Mari said simply
The other girls looked at Mari for a minute and then a wicked grin came onto Macchi and Kanna's face, Mia however was still confused.
"Mari your brilliant" Kanna said with a laugh
"Yeah great idea Mari" Macchi said and she ran up hugged the blonde haired girl excitedly
"How does Peyote have anything to do with this" Mia asked still confused
"What? Oh yeah you don't know, well Mia you know Peyote controls those little skeleton things?" Kanna said slowly
"Yeah, I've had to fight them just about every day I'm not with you" Mia said bitterly
Kanna ignored this and continued, "Well if someone is asleep or unconscious then Peyote can put one of his little skeleton friends inside said person and, hey presto instant human puppet"
Mia's face suddenly took on a wicked grin that matched those of the Hanagumi, but it fell suddenly as something occurred to her, "Yeah but how are we going to get Peyote to help us? I mean he doesn't exactly strike me as the helpful sort"
"Oh don't worry I think I can persuade him" Kanna cracked her knuckles as she said this and went off to find Peyote. Leaving Mia, Macchi and Mari to think of what to do with Haru once they had him under their control.
As Kanna walked off to find Peyote two figures moved away from the pillar they had been hiding behind as they had listened to the girls conversation, "well Opacho it seems that tomorrow could be very interesting indeed, hmm using puppet spirits to take control of unconscious gir.. I mean humans, why didn't I ever think of that?" Hao said as smile made its way slowly onto his face.
"Master should not be thinking dirty thoughts" Opacho reprimanded Hao as he waved his finger in front of Hao's face. Hao laughed and replied, "one day Opacho you'll have the same problem, now I'm going to have a quick chat with Luca about his pills"
Haru had been sitting at the café for about two hours; his eyes sweeping from side to side as he scanned the market for his target. It was an impossible task he knew, there was no way he would be able to keep watch on everyone that entered the market square. Hao had clearly devised this task just so he would fail. Sighing Haru paid for his drink and got up, he had gotten used to the weight of the coat now although it was heavier than he was use to and that meant that he moved more slowly.
It was late in the afternoon now and people were starting to leave and some of the stalls had closed down, Haru approached one of the market stalls that was still open and asked about a boy with green hair. The stall owner had never seen a boy with green hair before nor had the stall owner next to him or the one down the street. Haru was beginning to lose hope when he saw a man mingling with what remained of the crowed trying to sell what appeared to be fake Rolex watches.
Haru grinned as he saw the man, he knew their type; they would wander round all day trying to sell whatever they were holding, they normally worked in groups and as a result would have seen everyone who passed through the market.
Haru approached the man slowly and reached him just as he failed to sell a watch to an old couple.
"Really sir it will be the envy of all your friends and I guarantee you will not find one cheaper" as the couple moved away Haru heard the man mutter under his breath, "Miserable old bastard"
Haru approached the man from behind and 'accidentally' bumped into him, as he did so his left hand went into the street vendors pocket, which surprising was quite full.
"watch where you're going kid" the man told him angrily.
"My apologies, I was wondering if you could help me" Haru said to the man. The man turned round surprised and as soon he saw Haru his eyes took in the expensive looking coat, the clean jeans and what looked to be designer sneakers although they had just been a present from his sister. The man also noticed that Haru was not wearing a watch.
Instantly the mans anger left him and he put on a cheery demeanour, "Greeting sir, have you come to buy a watch to impress the ladies?" the man said with a false smile.
"Unfortunately no" the man's smile disappeared and he began to turn away but Haru grabbed his shoulder, "I was hoping you could help with some information" as Haru said this he pulled out the pile of notes he had taken from the unsuspecting man minutes before. The Man's smile instantly reappeared.
"What can I do to help you sir?"
"I was hoping you could help me locate somebody" Haru said in a level voice
"What makes you think I can findthis person?"
"Four things, first he will have passed through this market in the last few hours, two he does not exactly have what you might call a common appearance, three being such an experienced merchant of the streets you will surely have noticed a person that stands out and four I am offering you a lot of money for the information"
The mans chest swelled slightly from the flattery and Haru grinned inwardly; this guy would be even easier than he thought, now he just had to hope that he had seen this Lyserg.
"Alright" said the man, "What does this guy look like?" as he said this his hand reached for the money in Haru's hand but Haru took a step back.
"He is slightly younger than myself, he is about two head shorter than I am…" The man cut off Haru suddenly
"I thought you said he would stand out"
"I haven't finished yet, what makes him stand out is the fact that he has green hair, now tell me have seen anyone matching the description?" Haru said gazing at the man intently watching his eyes to check for any hint of deceit.
"The man smiled slightly but said, "A name would be helpful"
"The name is unimportant, now where have you seen him?" Haru asked sternly
"What makes you think I've seen him?" the man countered
"Well if you haven't seen him…" Haru started to walk away
"Wait, wait, wait my young friend" Haru slowed down and turned back to the man, "you know I think I might have seen such a boy" the man said oily
"Where?"
"Ah, that's where my memory starts to fail me you see"
Haru sighed and handed the man some of his own money back.
"Ah I think I remember now, I saw him walk behind you not five minutes ago"
"Which way did he go?" Haru said quickly at the same time keeping his gaze fixed on the man's eyes
"Down to the docks that way" the man said point to his left, he wasn't lying so Haru handed him all the money and quickly left in pursuit of his target.
It was getting darker now and the lights from the street lamps cast eerie shadows on the alleys behind the warehouses, if you looked close enough you would swear that there was something hidden in the shadows.
Lyserg however was not watching the shadows, he was making his way back to the X-Law base after having spent the day gathering info about the hotel Hao and followers were staying at. Jeanne was thinking of attempting an assault on the hotel when Hao was absent, thus eliminating some of his followers. Lyserg had also found out that Hao had recently acquired two new followers but all he had been able to find out about them was that one was boy and the other a girl, both slightly older than he was.
Lyserg thought back to beginning of the day, he was still slightly shocked by what had happened.
FlashbackHe had been walking down the street towards the market, it was about 5 am so the streets where somewhat quite, Lyserg had been thinking about the days when his parents were still alive and was not concentrating on where he was going and was slightly surprised when he bumped into someone.
"Sorry" Lyserg said sincerely as he turned away from the stranger
"Apology excepted" said the figure with a cold chuckle.
Lyserg froze; he knew that voice. "Hao!" Lyserg stormed as he rounded on his parent's murderer. But the boy had vanished.
"Back here" said a voice behind Lyserg. Lyserg automatically twisted round and threw his pendulum crystal at the source of the voice. Hao caught the crystal between thumb and forefinger an inch from his face, which had a look of amusement on it.
"You're still using this thing? I thought Macro had given you a new spirit medium you really should start using it; otherwise you'll never get any stronger.
Lyserg scowled and drew the small gun from a pocket in his jacket and had aimed at Hao and was just about to fire, when Hao raised his hand and started waving a finger in Lyserg's face.
"uh, uh, uh, not now" as if on cue a bunch of fisherman emerged from a side alley carrying a net full of fish which they had just caught. Lyserg's scowl had deepened but he withdrew his weapon as the fisherman walked between Hao and himself and when they had passed Hao had disappeared.
End of FlashbackOne of these days I will make him pay, Lyserg thought to himself furiously as he wandered round a corner into a seemingly deserted alley, he paused for a moment and tried to calm himself down; he wouldn't be able to think clearly if he was this angry.
"Is your name Lyserg?"
Lyserg spun round at the mention of his name and looked for the source of the voice but he couldn't see anyone anywhere it was too dark.
"Where are you?" Lyserg called back nervously
"Is your name Lyserg?" the voice repeated
"Yes, now show yourself" Lyserg ordered, his anger overriding his unease
A figure stepped out of one of the shadows to Lyserg's left and Lyserg saw that it was boy slightly older than he was with jet black hair which covered his eyes, the boy was much taller than he was wearing a rather large coat that hid most of his figure.
Lyserg could tell immediately that the boy was a shaman and was instantly on the defensive, "Who are you and what do you want?"
"My name is Haru and I am here to relieve you of your crystal pendulum, now hand it over and I shall let you carry on" as Haru said this he walked over and blocked the way Lyserg had been going"
"I am not going to give you anything, now back off before I hurt you" Lyserg told Haru as he got ready to attack.
Haru sighed and said, "Why is it that everyone wants to do things the hard way?" Haru started to walk forward but paused as though remembering something, "Oh yes I was meant to tell you that I work for Hao, does that change your mind?"
The fury that Lyserg had tried to disperse a few minutes ago came rushing back, "You work for him!" without a second thought he brought out the small handgun and aimed at Haru's heart and pulled the trigger summoning his arch angel spirit.
Haru had nowhere to go and caught in the full blast of the attack and was sent flying out of the alley and into the brick wall of one of the warehouses. Haru got up slowly and muttered "just tell him you work for me you won't have any problem" in a voice that curiously mimicked Hao's
Lyserg came out the alley and fired at Haru again, this time Haru was able to dive to his left and the attack barely scathed him. He rolled back onto his feet and was surprised to find that he was panting for breath; the coat was too heavy for him to evade Lyserg's attacks and even simple moves were causing him to use too much energy, he had to get close enough to render Lyserg unconscious and that could be a problem.
"You want my crystal here it is!" Lyserg yelled and he flicked his wrist sending the pendulum at Haru's heart. Haru swayed to his left but he wasn't fast enough and the crystal buried itself in his right shoulder. Haru staggered as the pain from the wound hit him but he stayed on his feet. Lyserg flicked his wrist again to recall the crystal but Haru gripped the wire with his injured arm and gave it a vicious tug that caused Lyserg to come flying towards him. Haru waited a second then sent his elbow hammering into Lyserg's oncoming face and he heard the boy's nose break.
Haru caught Lyserg before he hit the floor and grabbing by the collar of his jacket. He lifted the kid up so that they were face to face. Lyserg was just barely conscious and blood was flowing freely from his nose.
"Next time think about you're doing" Haru told the boy, it was at that moment that he felt something poke against his chest. Haru looked down and saw that Lyserg had managed to pick up his gun and had it aimed at Haru's heart, point blank range.
Haru looked into Lyserg's face and green haired kid gave a weak smile as he pulled the trigger.
The explosion was enormous and Lyserg was sent hurtling through the air until he crashed into some trashcans lined up against a wall. Lyserg staggered onto his feet as he struggled to remain conscious he couldn't see Haru anywhere and he smiled to himself.
Suddenly a brilliant white light exploded from a pile of rubble a few feet in front of Lyserg. Lyserg was instantly blinded and covered his eyes with his hands and fell to his knees. He heard someone walk towards him and stop.
"That hurt" it was Haru's voice, impossible! Lyserg thought, he tried to open his eyes to see who standing in front of him but the bright light still remained; it seemed to be coming from Haru. As Lyserg shielded his eyes again he felt something cannon into his chest and he lost consciousness.
Haru sighed and the light from his amulet faded away, he looked down at it and frowned; he shouldn't have needed to use it. The kid hadn't been that strong, Haru had just been careless. If you hadn't picked him up he wouldn't have been able to shoot you, but no, you had to get the last word in, if Zhou had seen you you'd never hear the end of it. Haru shook his head as he thought this, there was nothing he could do about it now except learn from his mistake.
Haru straightened and pulled the crystal from his shoulder and saw a tiny trail of blood start seeping down his coat. He shrugged it off and examined the crystal, apart from it being a spirit medium he could find nothing special about it and he wondered why Hao had wanted it.
Haru heard footsteps running toward the alley and he quickly his himself in the shadows, just as five people appeared in the lamplight at the entrance of the alley. They were all wearing white jackets similar to that which Lyserg had worn and Haru could tell that they were far stronger than Lyserg. He cursed silently, there was no way he would be able to beat them in the condition he was in, especially without a weapon.
"You sure Lyserg is here Macro?" one of the five asked the leader, a tall man with blond hair and silver rimmed glasses.
"Yes I'm sure, I saw the spirit I gave him and he wouldn't use it here unless he was under threat from the demon Hao or one of his lackeys" we need to find him quickly, he can't hold off any of them by himself, now spread out and search" Macro ordered
"But if he was fighting the cursed one…" another figure began to say
"The iron maiden assured me he was not dead yet but we need to find him quickly for she believes he is badly wounded now…" Macro was suddenly cut off
"Over here I found him!"
The X-Laws gathered round the inert figure of Lyserg and one of them ran a hand over his chest, "Two of his ribs are broken and one has pierced a lung"
"we need to get him to the Iron Maiden quickly" Macro told the group. Silently two X-Laws picked up Lyserg and carried him away, the rest following. When they had gone Haru breathed a sigh of relief, I think it's time to head back he told himself and silently he made his way back to the hotel.
Author: yet another chapter completed, I finished this at 1:30 in the morning so if you find a lot of spelling mistakes or there are a few words missing you know why.
I don't know if I'll be able to do another chapter before I go holiday to the US but I will try.
Anyway I hoped you enjoyed the chapter and I have a favour to ask my readers: Could you please send me the names of any X-Laws you know perhaps with a brief description, the only ones I know of are Jeanne, Macro and Lyserg. So if you could send me the info in a review I would much appreciate it.
To my reviewer(s)
Mikauzoran: as always your info is extremely helpful and I thank you for taking the time to look it up I also hate the fact that they changed Hao's name to Zeke, I mean what was the point? It's not like Zeke sounds any better or more evil or anything (perhaps the English dub director couldn't spell Hao? I don't know, anyway) I'm glad you liked the way I did Hao's followers I had a lot of fun working on Bill; he just seemed really easy to work with. I will do a few more chapters with Hao's followers seeing as people seemed to like it.
Shackle: thanks for the idea, but I've already given Haru a sister, I will have her pop up now and again, but I don't see need to give him another sister, however I may give a cousin who is strangely similar to him but that's still in the planning stages.
Novalight: Glad you liked the story; it's always good to get positive feedback it encourages me to update sooner.
devilicous-jo: glad you like my character I tried to kind of make him the opposite of Yoh who is always smiling and likes to laugh I didn't know how good he'd be but he seems to have worked quite well