Sorrowful Seraphim: I thank all of that reviewed my story so far! Here's another chapter for you!

Announcement: This is chapter is dedicated to xXxchiixXx!

Disclaimer: Must I say it again? I DO NOT OWN SHAMAN KING!

Warnings: Torture ensues, strong language is present. Sorry all, still no yaoi, I haven't got to that part yet!

It was a week after my encounter with Hao. I hadn't said a word to anyone since, even when they asked me questions, but they'd obviously been ordered by Hao not to harm me for insubordination.

I didn't care though. All I could think about was Hao's revelation about me being his twin brother. I couldn't stand it! Why had no one told me? My parents? Any of my family? Why did they keep such an important secret from me? If they'd just told me the truth, I might not be in this situation… at Hao's mercy.

I heard the door creak open, but saw no one, meaning it must be Opacho, just a tad to short for my view to catch. And indeed, that's who it was, bringing me breakfast at 7:30 sharp as usual.

"Yoh-sama? Are you going to speak today?" It was the same question she asked me every day. I said nothing in return, and usually she would stop talking and simply place my breakfast tray beside me. But today was different.

"Hao-sama is coming to talk to you today, and he said your throat has healed enough, so you should be respectful and speak to Hao-sama. You're going to be with Hao-sama forever Yoh-sama, and even though Hao-sama can read minds, that doesn't mean you can be exempt from speaking." After her speech, Opacho had obviously been expecting me to talk, but I didn't.

"You know what Opacho thinks? Opacho thinks Hao-sama has a bastard for a brother." I gaped at her. A five year-old child had just called me a bastard and stated it without a second thought. What the hell was Hao teaching this kid!

"The least Yoh-sama could do is thank Opacho for cooking his food," Opacho sneered angrily while hopping back toward the door. Wait. SHE cooked my food? "And you could thank Hao-sama for saving for life. But all you want are your friends. You don't give a damn about Hao-sama saving you and feeding you and giving you comfort while you recover. All you care about are the chijin that didn't even bother to come and look for you. If they were really you tomodachi, one would think they would have felt something was wrong when you got hurt. But they felt nothing, while Hao-sama felt all your pain."

As much as hated to admit defeat, Opacho had a point. I knew I'd been gone for hours and they never once came to look for me. I never felt their auras leave their places. Sadness suddenly overtook me. I could feel my eyes welling up. I saw Opacho out of the corner of my eye stop and smile.

"You don't have to worry, Yoh-sama. Hao-sama cares about you more than anyone. He will protect you no matter what. He's your friend." She suddenly stopped and her tone changed. It sounded almost downcast and depressed. "And if Yoh-sama would open up to Opacho more, Opacho would be your friend too."

I couldn't help but smile at hertruthful nature. "Opacho," she stopped and turned to me in surprise at hearing my still rasping voice. She gazed attentively at me. "Thank you for cooking such great food. It's the best I've ever had. You're a great cook. I can't wait to see how good you are when you grow up."

A smile lit up on her face. "Thank you, Yoh-sama." Was her only response as she hopped happily out of the room.

I was thoughtfully contemplating on what Opacho had said to me earlier, when I heard heavy footsteps approaching. I knew the second I sensed his intense aura that it was Hao. The door immediately swung open and the fire master stepped through.

Our gazes met, intensified by our identical eyes. He smiled at me, as I him, and he seemed slightly taken aback at this. He raised his eyebrow in a questioning gesture.

"You're acting… different today Yoh." I smiled even wider.

"I know, onii-chan." I could tell he was extremely confused over my behavior. I knew I was acting a bit… not like myself, but if that was what it took to somehow regain my life, I would take that step without question.

"I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish with this, but I hope you continue to act this way, it's much more… how I want you to act." Hao stated, obviously with more than a little difficulty.

"Want? How exactly is that?" I sat up, wincing in pain as I did so. Much to my astonishment, he sat down beside me.

"Mmmm… more like me so to speak." I think it was then when I first understood exactly what Hao wanted me for. He wanted me to join him completely. He wanted me to be him. I was suddenly nervous and he sensed it.

"Don't be scared, Yoh." He cooed into my ear as he placed his arm around my shoulder. "When this is all over, we can live in a world of peace and purity." He began caressing my cheek with his free hand. I began to feel strangely drowsy.

I put my head on his shoulder, not even realizing the gesture I was making. He pulled me tightly to him, sitting me in his lap. My eyes were heavy. I knew he was doing something to me, but I had gone too far, and not reacted fast enough. Now I was caught in whatever trap he was leading me into. I had no choice now.

He picked me up like I was newly wed, and carried me out of the room. It was the first I'd seen of the place we were staying, but I was so far out of it, nothing I saw actually registered with me.

"We're almost there, Yoh." I could barely think, but his voice came through clearly, penetrating the fog that clouded my mind. "You're about to go through the hardest trial in your life, but don't be afraid."

"W…Why the spell…"I just barely whispered at an audible level. He glanced sadly at me.

"It's not a spell, otouto. It's just a side effect." I was about to speak when he hushed me. "As painful as it is to say this, your family were not nearly as truthful to you as you thought." I know that. "No, you don't. It wasn't just me they hid from you, Yoh. It was your power. We are two halves of the same whole, and therefore you have half of my power. I have gotten much stronger in this life, but you should still not be as weak as you are."

He pouted. "The moment I picked you up in the cave, I sensed them." Them? "Yes, the spiritual bonds and seals your own family put on body. They're stopping you from progressing." I don't get it. If they wanted me to defeat you, then how… "Simple. They were afraid you would turn out like me."

Comprehension of what Hao was saying hit me in that moment. It was true then, my whole life had been a lie.

"That's not all. This process… will be like Hell, Yoh. An inescapable torture and agony will engulf you, otouto. It will be unbearable as the seals are torn and bonds are broken. But once it's over, you will be a new and powerful shaman." My eyes widened at Hao's prospect. I was still recovering from a near-death experience, and now I had to go through Hell torture? Why me? Why?

Hao placed me on another bed, in what appeared to be a grand master bedroom, most likely his own. I was trembling, for I was absolutely terrified at what was about to happen to me.

"Don't be afraid, just let it come, Yoh. Just let it come and go." He said as arranged his hands in a strange motion and chanted something I couldn't comprehend.

It hit me.

I was engulfed by darkness and suddenly I noticed a bright red light coming from my body. I looked and saw hundreds… thousand even... of shaman seals…covering my body and glowing. I couldn't believe this. My FAMILY had done this to me? I felt hot tears spill from my eyes. That's when I heard it. And that's when I saw him.

Hao. But he was different somehow. His eyes were angered and bloodshot. A bright white flame appeared in his hand. White? Was this the beginning of the torture Hao had told me about? Apparently so.

He suddenly flung the white fireball directly at me. It wasn't until then I realized I couldn't move. There was nothing I could do to evade it.

It hit me. I screamed in complete agony as the fire felt as if was searing through my skin, my soul, only to be doubled as I felt one of the seals break… one. No! No! I couldn't possibly live through this thousands of times over again, I couldn't do it. But Hao didn't stop.

Again and again he launched larger and hotter bursts of flame at me, and each time it felt like a new experience, only breaking one or two seals each time. I would scream louder and louder, for it was almost as if the very flesh from my body was melting and charring, as if my soul was being burned at the stake.

It had been this way for hours, and many of the seals were gone, but many more remained. I could feel myself drifting away, but always coming back when another hot flame hit me. It was just like Hell, just like Hao had said.

I wanted him to stop, he was my enemy, me rival, and I thought, if he didn't cease his attack, my murderer. Somewhere along the way, spirits, dark spirits, had joined the attack, striking me relentlessly and intensifying my pain to an infinite.

Hours, years, minutes, it didn't matter to me anymore. I wanted nothing more than for it all to stop, nothing more than for my torture to end. Was this really my life? Was it really supposed to be this way?

It was then I noticed there was one seal left… the main seal. Hao and the spirits circled me.

The attacked was so swift, so quick, I never saw it coming. All of them hit me at once, with an attack so powerful, it could have killed millions in its wake. The volume my final scream reached echoed throughout the darkness, my body felt dead, my soul felt as if shattered, yet I never stopped screaming, even as my consciousness faded away.

Sorrowful Seraphim: Okay… that was a bit of a… horrifying experience for Yoh. You know the deal, REVIEW me!