Chapter 8: An Understanding Friend

Rose went to the woods. She was going to stay there a few days to train for the Hundred Boards Test.

"I'll do it before the tournament. It's going to be a piece of cake.

Athena, help me train?" Rose asked rather shyly.

"Fine. I'm bored anyways.

We'll start with a hundred push-ups, then a hundred kicks mixed with a hundred punches, followed a hundred jumping jacks, and then a hundred special techniques.

I'll be counting. The total is five hundred, ant that should take two to three hours. Begin." Athena said, amusement in her voice.

"Okay, I'm not counting. I trust you on this." Rose said, starting on her push-ups.

"Little does Rose know that she is being watched.

I keep my promises, Rose. And you'll never be anyone else's. I love you so much. I knew that since the day we first met." Hao Akakura thought, as he watched Rose from the high branch of a Sakura Tree, where the girl couldn't see him.

"Weird. This is getting tiring. Athena. Athena?" Rose was on her seventy-fifth special technique, and felt tired all of a sudden.

At her mistress' commands, Athena obediently stopped counting and examined Rose.

"Hmmm… you look very tired. Have you been getting enough rest?" Athena asked, concerned.

"I dunno. Maybe. Maybe not." Rose replied.

"Okay, tell you what. You take a break and we'll finish up when you wake up. Okay? Now, that Sakura Tree looks strong enough, and comfortable too. I'll be on watch, so don't you worry." Athena reassured Rose.

Rose sat down under the Sakura Tree, and thought about her fight with Hao. "He seems so… lonely. Like he's hiding something. I saw his face. I know that deep down inside, Hao's a good person. Or he used to be. But something pains him, troubles him. I wonder what it is?"

And after some thought, she finally fell asleep.

Athena was worried about Rose.

She had looked tired, like she'd been working all day. And the weariness in the voice.

"Oh, Rose. I just wish you'd tell me what's wrong. I can help you." Athena almost pleaded.

Time to make his move. If there was a time, it was now.

Hao silently jumped off the Sakura Tree, taking care as if not to wake up Rose.

"Hao! Go away. You are not welcome here. Leave Rose alone." Rose's guardian spirit, Athena, pulled out her weapon and stood her ground.

"Heh. I'm not here to harm your mistress. In fact, I want to talk to her." Hao replied calmly, giving Athena his trademark grin.

"A-Athena? W-Wuzzzisit?" Rose asked sleepily, hearing the noise and got up, away from the tree she was leaning against. She saw who it was. Hao.

"Hao? What are you doing here?" Rose asked flatly, giving him her trademark icy cold glare.

"Nothing much. I only want to talk to you to see if you've reconsidered my offer, to see if you've changed your mind about me." Hao replied, giving her a grin.

"No. I have no comment against you. But I see it in your face that you are really a good person. But you have some problems that's affected the outcome. Don't lie to me. I can see it. It's a gift.

Do you want to tell me about it? I can help. I can try to help. All I can offer right now is my understanding. But if you don't want it, fine." Rose spoke so softly, Hao had to strain to hear her.

"Help. She wants to help me. She wants to understand me. She cares." Hao suddenly realized, but all that was brushed away by his emotions.

"I don't give a damn about anything! I don't need you help! I can do just fine without it!" He was going to say, but the words that came out instead was this:

"All right. I want your help. But have you changed your mind about me?" He asked softly.

Her face was filled with emotions, and he saw the true beauty of her soul for the first time. Not the harsh, cold girl she was moments earlier, but a Rose Asakura without any walls. What he saw there shocked him. Her face was filled with a pain he could not understand. The pain of losing someone. But who?

Rose nodded slightly.

Hao offered the girl sitting on the forest floor a hand, and just as she was about to take it---

BOOM! An explosion surrounded the two of them.

"Spirit Barrier!" Rose stood up, and Hao realized that the girl was not only a Shaman, but also an Ancient Itako.

An Itako was a super shaman, who could summon spirits from anywhere at anytime. Even heaven, where most shamans couldn't reach. But an Ancient Itako could summon spirits as strong as the King of Spirits himself.

An Ancient Itako, only an Ancient Itako, could put up a Spirit Barrier. Not even Hao himself could do it.

"OUCH! It's a Spirit Barrier! Lord Yoh, don't get any closer! You will be bounced back!" It was Hao's twin Yoh's spirit guardian, Amidimaru.

"Hang on! Let's break it, guys! Ready? One, two, NOW!" That was Yoh.

BOOM! Another explosion told Hao that the gang had their weapons out and had hit the target, but had bounced backwards.

Hao grinned and glanced back at Rose, who was glaring through the smoke.

"Bakas! You deserve what you get!" Rose shouted, obviously furious.

"Bakas! You deserve what you get!" Rose's voice, clearly angry, shouted through the smoke.

"She's right. I just realized it. I should have realized it a long time ago. She's an Ancient Itako. She's even stronger than me." Anna said

"Wuzzat?" Horohoro asked, sweat-dropping, as he was the only one doing so.

"You incompetent idiot!" Ren shouted, hammer-fisting Horohoro on his head.

Pirka giggled, Tamao smiled, and Anna frowned.

"So, what do we do? We can't hurt her, but we can't let her go with Hao, either." Yoh said.

"We can---Damon! Look out!" Len suddenly dove past the gang and knocked Damon down.

Behind them, a blast of energy hit them, inches away from where Damon had been.

"Thanks, Len. I owe you one!" Damon said.

"Let's go! Falcon and Eagle! Take the skies!" Damon and Len stood back-to-back, hands raised.

A crackling sound of energy formed and released. Two birds, a falcon and an eagle, flew from the sphere of energy, and shot through the Spirit Barrier.

"Oh no you don't! I won't let you. Spirit Barrier! Ancient Itako Ritual!" Rose removed her Spirit Beads from her neck and quickly connected it to the Spirit Beads on her wrists, linking them together, and chanted,

"One I place for the Element of Water.

One I place for the Element of Fire.

One I place for the Element of Earth.

One I place for the Element of Wind.

Water, fire earth, and wind,

This is where it all begins!

From the depths of the earth,

To the breezes of the wind,

Here is where it all begins!

Here I offer my flesh to aid in your soul's release.

I summon thee! The Dragon Goddesses!"

Whoosh! A gust of wind scented with cherry blossoms surrounded them and four dragons appeared, all representing the four elements.

Water Dragon was dark blue, Fire Dragon was dark red, Earth Dragon was dark green with the lightest shade of brown, and Wind Dragon was pure white.

All the dragons bowed down at the sight of Rose.

"What will you have us do, young mistress?" Water Dragon asked.

"Keep them distracted." Rose replied quietly.

As the dragons took the air and started to attack Yoh and his friends, Rose turned to Hao.

"I've made my choice. I'm coming with you." Rose said quietly.

Hao smirked and offered her his hand, which she took.

Yoh noticed this and shouted, "We have to stop them!"

But too late, Rose and Hao were already on Spirit of Fire, and in a blink of an eye, vanished into thin air.

"ROSE!" Both Damon and Len shouted.

End of Part One