Yay! Here's the chapter that passed the 20th chapter! Soon you shall see Hao's true intentions showing through the ugliness of all. But don't forget, there's always two sides to everything. I suggest you read several of the chapter before this one, or you might be slightly lost. I will start to unveil everything in the story slowly and slowly from the start to the very end. This story will most likely end at chapter 25. I hope all of you enjoyed the last chapter, because it was real fun to write it. Here's the new one, so please read and review! For those who haven't voted in my polls on my website, please take some time to vote! I would really appreciate it. Alright, I'll quit with the gabbering. Please read and review! This is Chapter 21 for all you folks out there. Sorry if this chapter is rather short. I'm rather busy at the moment, but I promise with every atom in my body that the next chapter will be longer. Also, I promise to FINALLY have some " action" coming up. I've noticed that those scenes have not appeared for quite some time.

CHAPTER 21

" How was the movie, Yoh?" Horo asked, stirring his coffee with his spoon lightly. " I heard you and Anna got free passes to Hitler: Rise To Evil."

Him, Yoh, Ren and Ryu were sitting in the coffee house together at their usual table, the waitresses standing as far away from them as humanly possible. " It was pretty good, actually." Yoh said lightly, grinning happily as he took a sip ofthe blended mocha in his handsbefore placing it down on the table. " Anna and I almost had a moment there until we got the call from you." he said, the smile still on his face, yet at the same time failing to sound nonchalant.

" Sorry about that." Ren said, guilt almost soaking through his voice.

" Hey, what were you supposed to do, not get hurt?" Yoh said jokingly.

" But it's funny though." Ren said, rubbing his sore temples sullenly. " I can't remember anything that happened in the past few days. . .who won the semi-finals in the Japan Cup?"

" It was Tokyo." Ryu said. " You were rooting for them, remember?"

" Yeah." Ren muttered. " I remember that."

There was silence that followed until all four of them sighed at the same time before looking up at the others, alarmed, then laughed. " We can just hope that whatever you forgot isn't anything important." Yoh said, smiling cheerfully at Ren. Ren raised his eyebrows before nodding.

" Yeah." he said. " If only."

That's right.

If only.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Kino was having a peaceful afternoon.

It had been cold from the start of the morning, so she spend the whole day in the comfort of her home, sipping on a cup of tea loungily, cuddled beneath the blankets and a stool under her feet to prop up her legs. She would have stayed in that position for a while longer until she heard the opening of the door behind her. Sighing, she sat up right, and placed the cup back on the table where it was first placed. " I should have known good things never last for long." she muttered under her breath, her back still facing the person at the door. " What did you come here for? The last time you visited me you swore never to come back again until the day you died."

Behind her, Anna Kyoyuma shut the door silently.

Kino frowned. " I suspect you have something important to tell me." she said.

" Ask you, actually." Anna replied.

Kino raised her eyebrows before raising her hand to the furniture opposite to acknowledge Anna's presence. " Take a seat." she said. " But don't make it lengthy, I'm not in the mood for chit-chat today."

" I'm not exactly in the mood to appear onthe Jay Leno Showeither." Anna muttered, before sitting herself next to Kino. She waited until Kino had finished taking another sip of tea and had put it down on the table before continuing. " Kino. . .I wanted to talk to you about Hao Asakura." she said, and to Anna's surprise, Kino smirked at her.

" I knew this topic would pop up one day or another." she said.

" Kino. . ." Anna said warningly.

" Relax." Kino chuckled. " I know that Hao might have had an even shadier past that an etch-a-sketch board, but he's a changed man now. If he was still after the Shaman King crown, he would have murdered Yoh a long time ago. Not that that would have helped himinany wayof course," she said, taking another sip of tea before going on. " The Shaman Fight was a hoax;just an inside jokeplayed bythe mischevious Great Spirits."

" And you said you were not in the mood for chit-chat." Anna muttered. " I already know everything you told me. I just don't trust him, that's all. How can you trust someone who never has a true facade?"

" Well, that's not my problem, Anna." Kino said, rising to her feet to leave the room. Anna watched her leave, a sense of dawning approaching her.

" You're hiding something from me, aren't you?" she said slowly, and Kino stopped.

She turned around, grinning. " It's true I can't hide anything from you, Anna." she said, and Anna managed a small smirk back. " However," she went on, and the smile faded from Anna's lips. " I can't tell anything to you.Not yet, at least. This is strictly between me and the two other people concerned."

Anna frowned. " Just who are these two individuals?"

Kino smiled rather fondly at her. " I think you know one of them. . ." she said, tracing her finger to her lips before stuffingboth her handsinto her pockets, the dreamy air disappearing immediately; being replaced in an instant by a stern and dignified look. " Just leave things to me, Anna. I will be able to handle Hao by myself, thank you very much."

And she left the room slowly, hobbling her way out.

Anna glared at her disappearing figure before crossing her arms across her chest sulkily.

" Penny for your thoughts." came a voice from behind her, and she jumped, spinning around before sighing and sitting herself back down on the chair. " Oh. It's you, Yohmei."

He grinned and sat himself down next to her. " I overheard the entire conversation, my dear child." he said, and she stiffened next to him. " And I'm proud to say that frankly I don't trust Hao Asakura much either." then he chuckled at the excited look on her face. " Backduring the time while he was still a mere child I could already sense great fear within himself."

" Fear?" Anna asked incredulously.

" Fear." Yohmei replied. " He was not afraid of his enemies or companions. He could kill anyone and anything at the mere drop of a dime; but he was afraid of himself. I think that was the reason why he decided to become a good brother, and approached Yoh for forgiveness. But it was stupid of Yoh to believe him, if I may speak so bold." he said, gripping his hands together. " Because Hao is like the river."

" The river?" she asked.

" He goes with the flow of the current." Yohmei replied. " Never ceasing to stop. He might be your friend at one time, but a minute later he might just backstab you before you know it. You should never trust a river to always be safe to swimin. One moment it might be just lapping at your feet, another moment it would crush you by the mere speed of its rapids. Hao is the same. He might just be a good friend and brother now, but sooner or later he would just getbored of it and. . ."

" Betray us all." Anna finished.

Yohmei nodded gravely.

" That's what I fear the most." he said.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Kino hobbled her way to the front gate and sat herself down on the large rock that was just before the pathway leading to the house opposite. " Finally I can get some peace and quiet." she muttered to herself, lifting the tea cup to her lips when all of a sudden it broke and burst into a million pieces. Alarmed, she grabbed her walking stick which was beside her to her chest, sensing someone's presence before glaring at the person.

" What do you want, Hao?" she whispered through gritted teeth.

A burst of flames appeared before her, and as soon as it subsided, there stood Hao, smiling cheerfully down at the blind woman before him. " You truly are masterful at the art of predication, Kino." he said, sitting himself down beside her. " But don't worry, I won't harm you. All I came here was to have a chat with you."

" About what?" she said, clenching her jaw.

" Oh, nothing much." he said, shrugging. " I just wanted to talk to you about Ejio and Sumiko."

Kino raised her eyebrows. " Yes?" she said suspiciously.

He lifted his hand before her, a finger pointed directly before her face. " You know, Kino. . ." he said quietly, a blue flame appearing on that finger immediately, and Kino backed away slightly. " I'm not a man who likes to be lied to. So I'm just going to ask you once."

Kino gulped.

" Are those two spies for you?" he said, a glare on his face now.

" I suspected you would find out sooner or later, but this was far earlier than I expected. I'm impressed." Kino said, soudning much more calm than she really was feeling. Outside she was putting on a cool front. Inside, she was scorched by his burning heat.

" Why, thank you." he said, grinning, the flame disappearing, his hand dropping toa side. " Now, get back to the subject, if you may."

Kino said nothing, and he smirked.

" It's alright." he said, getting to his feet. " They weren't really in my way anyway. I just wanted you to know that Ejio is currently under the care of doctors, due to getting severe cuts and wounds."

Kino rose to her feet, alarmed. " How could you!" she yelled.

" Relax, it wasn't me." Hao said calmly. " You know that I wouldn't hurt someone under my care. That's the only reason I haven't murdered him or Sumiko anyway." He caught sight of Kino's almost white knuckles on her walking stick and smiled. " I thought you reassured to Anna that. . .I was a changed man?"

Kino's eyes widened.

" You overheard us?" she whispered.

" I don't like that word, frankly." Hao said, waggling his finger before her. " That almost makes it sound like I'm on the enemy side."

" Aren't you?" she said.

" No." he said, stepping in on her. " You are."

" I don't think that's true." she said, taking a step back.

" Alright, how about this." Hao said, snapping his fingers, and behind Kino there appeared his Spirit of Fire, trapping her between its two large hands. " You can choose to either listen to what I have to say and get out of here alive or I'm going to burn you to a crisp as easily as snapping a toothpick. The choice is yours." He was grinning fully now, and it was then when Kino wondered if she was as confident as she sounded like she was when she spoke to Anna.

She sighed.

" Then speak." she said.

Hao smiled. " Thank you for your cooperation." he said.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

" I think it's about time I headed home." Anna said, getting to her feet, and Yohmei nodded gravely. " Thanks for your time, anyway." she finished, opening the door to Kino's room open. " I really appreciate it."

" Hey, what are grandfathers for?" he said, smiling.

She managed a small smile and was about to open the door which lead to the gate when it opened on its own accord, and there stood Kino, a rather confused look on her face. She seemed to be in her own world for a moment, muttering something under her breath when she noticed the two of them standing before her, and she blinked. " Hello, Anna." she said, sounding surprised. " You haven't left yet?"

" Going to, anyway." Anna said, walking past her.

" Oh, Anna. . ." Kino said, and Anna stopped, turning around to face the old woman, who was smiling at her reassuringly. " Don't worry about Hao. Everything's going to be fine."

Anna frowned but said nothing and shut the door behind her.

Outside the doors of the Asakura House,Hao started to laugh.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Pirika chewed her bottom lip as she watched Ren inside his room. She had been doing this lately; so often that she had already memorized the patterns of his actions, almost like that of an astronomer tothe moon on a Lunar Chart. Renusually spent his time at his desk reading a book or havinga nap on his bed. When he was not in his room, he was either gelling up his hair or training to become stronger. Talk about having a boring lifestyle. She sighed as she continued to watch his back for a moment until she popped her head back out and sighed once again. She couldn't find it within herself to ask him if he still remembered her or not, and always had to waste the time of debating whether to ask him or not by peeking at him with every moment she got.

" You know, Pirika, there's a saying. . ." came a cheerful voice behind her, and she jumped and turned abruptly to find herself facing Hao Asakura. " That when a person pines for an object for more than they can be seemed to hope for, the object they hope to get or achieve seems further away, or in some cases. . ."

His eyes and her eyes met.

" . . .Impossible to retrieve."

Pirika's eyes widened.

" W. . .What would make you say that?" she asked.

Hao smiled and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

" Horo Horo's desperately looking for the pizza he left in the oven last night, but he doesn't know I just ate it for him." he laughed, and the tension between the two of them seemed to sag to the spot.

" Oh. . ." Pirika said, feeling extremely stupid at the moment. " Okay."

She walked off, thumping herself on the head repetedly, and Hao chuckled as he watched her. After she was out of sight, he turned his attention back to Ren who was still reading his book. He chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully. " I guess you thought I was directing it to you, don't you?" he muttered to the gone Pirika. He thumped his fist against the wall beside him. " You have no idea how wrong you are."

" A bit boring to talk to yourself, isn't it?" came Yoh's voice behind him this time, and it was his turn to jump. He turned and smiled rather sheepishly at his twin brother.

" Hello." he said.

" Hi." Yoh said. " Anna told me you had something important to tell me?"

Hao raised his eyebrows before shaking his head. " No, it's alright. I guess that can wait. By the way, did you read the book Doctor Jeckel and Mr Hyde?"

" When I was a kid." Yoh said, furrowing his brow. " Why?"

A small smile lit up upon Hao's face, and as he looked deadstraight at Yoh; seemingly opening his mouth to say something when suddenly there was the approaching of footsteps towards the two of them, and they both turned around to find Anna standing there.

Hao looked at Anna.

Anna looked at Hao.

Yoh looked at Anna.

Hao shut his eyes and walked past Anna, stepping past her as she reached out to stop him. " I guess I'll speak to you some other time, dear brother." he said calmly, snapping his fingers and disappeared into a burst of fire. " Meet me at the coffeehouse tonight. Bring Horo Horo, Ren, Lyserg. . .basically the guys. Nobody else." came his voice echoing through the halls before the flame disappeared along with the man who congured it. Yoh nodded impressively at the sight of another one of his brother's grand exits before turning his attention back to Anna.

She barely looked back at him before turning her heel and walked away.

" You don't mind me going tonight, don't you?" he called out.

She stopped for a moment, bowing her head to look at the ground for a moment before looking back up and walked away. " Do whatever you want." she said flatly. " It's not like I own you or anything."

Yoh smiled and nodded, making his way off in the opposite direction.

In his room, Ren sighed and closed the book in his hands shut.

" What's with people having tension in this corridor?" he muttered sourly.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Scene 1:

" Whatdoes Hao want to tell all of us?" Horo Horo asked Yoh, raising his eyebrows as he drummed his fingers impatiently on the table. Beside him, Ryu, Lyserg, Ren, Manta and Faust were sitting in the cafe on the same regular seating area where they always sat at. " He couldn't have chosen a worse night. I finally found out where they sold the best-coloured skate boards and he calls me out for no good reason. I hope he doesn't plan on dragging it on for too long a time."

" Do you suppose he could have called us out for another one of his lessons?"Manta asked, rubbing his chin.

" That's not possible." Ren said, thumping his fist on the table. " He wouldn't have called me, I don't need any of his damned advice."

" Neither do I." Lyserg said, scratching the back of his head embarrasingly.

" Yeah, neither do I." Ryu said confidenly.

The others raised their eyebrows at him before shrugging and turned their attention back to the door; expecting Hao to enter any minute now. " Do you think he asked me here to help him do another check up?" Faust said, looking back at Eliza, who shrugged. " I have to admit, the last time I checked on him, the positivity of him having HIV was extremely high- - -"

" I'm sure it's not that." Yoh said sheepishly, while the others looked at Faust with mortified expressions. " If that was so, he would have called onlyyou out, wouldn't he?"

" Maybe he wants to warn us about something." Manta said reasonably.

" That's the only possible factor." Horo said.

Yoh nodded and took a sip of coffee. " Yeah." he said. " I guess all we can do is to wait."

Scene 2:

" You seem different." Yohmei said to his wife with a worried frown.

" Do I?" Kino said with raised eyebrows.

" Yeah." Yohmei said, scratching his head. " It's probably nothing, but- - -"

" Then shut it." she snapped.

Yohmei blinked before grinning. " That's the woman I know and love." he said.

Kino smiled back.

Scene 3:

A young lady with a lemon in her hands sitting by her unconcious brother's bed.

Scene 4:

A young blue-haired girl sitting on a chair, looking at a picture of her and Ren, sobbing quietly.

Scene 5:

A young man with a flame emitting from his hand looking up at the skies.

Rain starts to drop from the sky.

He smiles.

Scene 6:

" Something tells me he's just outside right now." Yoh said, smiling softly.

" Yeah." Ren muttered, taking a swig of coffee. " And there's going to be a Hell of a storm coming."

" I second that." Faust said lightly. " And it's not going to be just about the weather."

END CHAPTER 21

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY! My new age resolution, write stories to the best of my ability, and not to disappoint my readers! Please read and review me to keep me in the mood and have the inspiration to write! I will do my best to please every single one of you!

For those who also read my Detective Conan stories, I used that line in my final chapter of Haibara's Confessions. Anyway, I'm contemplating on what to do in the next chapter. Sorry to Sumiko fans if she appeared so little in this chapter. Sumiko haters, well, there you go. I'm rather fond of Sumiko, actually. I think she's like that tiny bit of gloom inside everyone of us, just extended and enlargened for us to see. Oh well. I'll try to put up chapter 22 as quick as I can. In the meantime, please read and review me. A review really goes a long way to me, by the way. Thank you to those in advance for reviewing me. I'll try to put in action, " scenes", humor and romance in the next chapter. Starting the countdown for the final few chapters!