Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King, unfortunately. But of course, if I do, the great art would be ruined in my hands. Oh the wonderful talents of so many people…
Warning: Character death (?) Actually, I don't know if it's count as death…
How it Begin and How it will End
Yoh sat in his room, bored out of his mind. He had just woken up from his nap, and is trying to go back to sleep. Just a few days ago, before they departed, he had accidentally broken Anna's favorite cup, and she had confiscated his headphones as punishment.
Since this is only a visiting trip, Yoh had left Amidamaru behind, so that the samurai spirits can stay with his friends in the cemetery. Seriously said, the guardian ghost had been there for six hundred years, and was dragged away to the Shaman Tournament. It is only reasonable to let him be with his friends again.
Currently, he and Anna are visiting their family in Izumo, and had left Faust in charge of the Funbari Onsen, and Tamao, who visited, was in charge of taking care of the place along with Manta.
And right now, the blond itako is having a serious conversation with Itako Kino, and that means her fiancé is not allowed to be there, and has to go spend his time elsewhere. Both his parents and his grandfather are busy doing their jobs to earn money, so that leaves the laidback brunette nothing to do.
Concluding that he's not going to fall back asleep anytime soon, the young Asakura got up and decided to explore the huge Asakura estate that he never really gotten a chance to. A childish instinct kicked in, and he decided that he'll go in the dark storage room behind the main house to explore, like an adventure.
The metallic door that is the entrance of the storage room is rusty, and so is the lock that had fallen off due to the passage of time. The teenage brunette did not notice the lock that was on the ground, and opened the heavy door with a loud creak.
Light shone through the door and into the dark place. Dust covered everything, and that means the boxes upon boxes of mysterious things are all covered with a thick layer of dirt that's probably older than a millenium. The boy entered carefully, not wanting to break anything.
Well, despite his caution, he managed to trip and fall face first into the wooden floor, causing a cloud of dust to fly into his face.
His sneezed and coughed violently at the attacking specks that are the signs of old age. After a while, he managed to recover and sat up, rubbing his chin that was the first to make contact with the dusty wooden planks.
"Ow…" He mumbled as he looked at what he tripped over. It is the handle of a door, he realized, and it is the sliding door style, meaning that it juts in instead of out. The brunette smiled sheepishly to himself. How he tripped over that he had no idea.
Wait…backtrack…What is the handle of a door doing on the ground? The curious Asakura crawled over, and saw the handle, and leading up a dark brown trail…he sweatdropped. It's the mark of his leg after he tripped.
He sat crossed legged a little distance from the handle, and brushed away the dust surrounding it. He faintly made out the outline of a small trap door. Curious, he pulled the handle, and it came up easily off the wooden ground, no, the whole thing literally came off the ground; it was just too old. It revealed a hidden passage, stone steps leading downward; how typical.
Of course, the spooky darkness and the cobwebs, along with more dust, didn't bother the brunette at all, and he took two steps…then tripped and rolled down the rest.
He sat up and rubbed his head. "Ow…should have brought a flashlight." He scolded himself as he is now web-covered, dust-covered, and in a complete and total darkness.
Standing up and brushing himself off, he groped around the darkness, and found cold stone walls. He realized that he is in a very narrow passage. Putting both hands on either side of him and using the walls they touched, Yoh slowly made his wall down the passage, stopping many times to shake off the cobweb and collection of dust on them.
After a while, he bumped straight into…something hard. "Ow!" He said for the third time that day. This place hates him, he just knows it. Taking his hands from his wall, he fumbled around in front of him to find….a dead end? No, it's another door, a wooden one. He found the handle, and pulled the door open; again, the whole door came off. Sweatdropping, he through the piece of wood behind him and entered.
Small light illuminated the place, and he blinked his eyes rapidly. Being in complete darkness for so long made even the smallest amount of light blinding. After he adjusted to the sudden light, he saw that the source of them are small ghost fires, spirits that still have attachment to this world, but are not strong enough to form themselves fully, such as a playboy that died before finishing a date with his very attractive twenty-eighth girlfriend.
He looked around the dimly lit room. It is a small circular room, decorated by nothing more than a cluster of ghost fires here and there, apparently here for the sole purpose of illumination. A small altar is in the direct center of the room, and the brunette walked up to it.
A small dusty book rested upon the altar, its cover tattered, and from the side, he can see that its pages are torn and yellow. Without thinking, the brunette picked it up, interested.
The book, as soon as he picked it up, glowed a bright white and the blinding light caused the brunette to shield his eyes with his other hand. The strong illumination swallowed the brunette, and as soon as it started, it stopped.
The book dropped back onto the altar, and Yoh is no where to be seen.
Anna finished talking with Kino, and went to check on her fiancée. Weird, he's not in his room. She had thought that he'd be either sleeping or lazing about without his music. Shrugging, she left, thinking that he just went for a walk.
Dark eyes slowly blinked open. In blurriness he can faintly see blue sky, white clouds, and grass in the corner of his eyes. Rubbing his eyes, the scene clarified, and he slowly sat up.
"What was tha—where am I?" He changed the question as he looked around. He is sitting in the grass, surrounded by nature, nature, more nature, and…a little hut. One very old-style hut indicated that he's in a place with human inhabitation.
Standing up, he decided to go to the hut to ask for help. But before he could take one step, a group of man came up to the house. They are all strangely dressed, Yoh noted, in kimonos. They are holding swords, ropes and torches. A woman came out hearing many footsteps approaching.
"Officer, there she is!" A man of the group shouted. He pointed his katana at the woman.
Another man turned to yet another that has a rope. "Tie her up!"
A large man of the group grabbed the woman, who struggled, and another approached with a rope.
"Be careful! We don't know what tricks this yokai may hidden!" A monk in the back shouted.
Before he realized what he's doing, Yoh rushed forward and kicked away the guy holding the rope. The men gasped and stared at the sudden interference
"Where did that kid come from?" Again speaks the monk in the back.
Yoh turned and hit the large man's hands, hard, with the hilt of Harusame, causing him to let go of the woman. The brunette grabbed her and pulled her behind him. "Why are you guys picking on her?" He asked the group.
The men looked at him like he's crazy. "She's a yokai! She's the ally of demons! How can you protect her?"
"Yokai?" Yoh raised an eyebrow skeptically. The look quickly turned to one of determination. "That still doesn't give you excuse to pick on her! What right do you have to talk about her like that?"
The monk in the back is obviously irritated that this is not going where he wants it to go. He pointed an accusing finger at the brunette. "The kid is obviously on the demon's side! Kill him as well!" He ordered the men.
With a shout, they ran forward with their weapons. As intimidating as that seems, Yoh is not someone to look down upon. Having being trained by Anna and grew stronger through the Shaman Fight, he is faster than their eyes could follow, and way stronger than he looks. He gently pushed the woman back, helping her avoid danger as he quickly jumped to the side, rounding to their back as soon as he landed. The men didn't even had time to turn around before he knocked their weapons out of their hands in one swift movement, using the sheath of Harusame. The wind created by this single swish effectively blew out the torches.
The men held their hands in pain as their weapons went flying out of their hands. Seeing that the situation is not going well, the monk in the back decided that this is a good time to run away.
"We'll get more reinforcements and come back another day!" He told his companions then turned to the woman. "This isn't over, Asano-Ha. Just because you got saved by some kid, don't think it'll happen again." Then he and the others ran away.
The woman turned to Yoh with a grateful expression on her face. "My name is Asano-Ha. Thank you very much for saving me, um…"
"Yoh." The brunette smiled and held out a hand. Asano-Ha took it and they shook hands. Suddenly, a small voice interrupted their greetings.
"Kaa-chan!" A small boy ran over, a bloody spot on his forehead. His semi-long dark hair is tied up in a ponytail.
The Asakura looked down at the boy with slight surprise. This little boy looks familiar. He almost looks like Hao…
"Asaha!" The woman bent down and hugged her son. She pulled back lightly and looked sadly at the wound on his forehead as she brushed gently against it. "Did the other kids pick on you again?"
Yoh has an astonished look on his face. This person certainly looks like Hao. He knows because the boy looks like him when he was younger and looked at the mirror. Since this boy's hair is longer and Hao is his twin, it only makes sense to assume that this is Hao when he was young, right? But then he heard from his father that Hao was adopted by bloken.
Asaha didn't flinch at his mother's touch against the bloody wound. "Don't worry about it, kaa-chan. It's just a small wound; it'll heal." He told her. "But what about you? Who were those people from before?" He pointed at Yoh. "And who is this person?"
The woman smiled at him. "Those men were just some troublesome people. This boy is Yoh," she indicated the brunette who's standing, "and he saved me." She told her son then turned to Yoh. "This is my son Asaha."
He looked up at Yoh for a moment, and then made a small bow. "Arigatou, Yoh onii-chan, for saving kaa-chan's."
The teenager smiled at the younger boy. "No problem."
Asano-Ha stood up. "Well, come inside now." She turned to Yoh. "Would you like to join us for supper?"
The brunette hadn't realized how hungry he was until now. "Yeah, that would be nice." He answered. "And, um," he said as the woman was about to go inside. She turned around. "Can you tell me where the train station is?"
By then, Asaha had already gone inside. Asano-Ha looked at Yoh in confusion. "What kind of place is this 'train station' you are talking about?"
The brunette has on an astounded look; this woman can't be a hermit, can she? "No, I mean train station, the place where trains run." He explained.
The woman put a hand to her face. "I'm sorry; I don't know what this 'train' you are talking about is." She has an apologetic look; she then inspected him closely. "Now that you mention it, you're clothing is a bit out of place as well. Are you a foreigner?"
Yoh is absolutely aghast. "People in the 2000's all wear something similar to this unless it's a special occasion." He argued.
Now it was the woman's turn to be taken aback. "The 2000's? Are you okay? Is this how you imagined the cloths will be like in the future?"
Now Yoh's confused. "I'm sorry, but what are you talking about?"
The woman has a worried look as if concerned for his health. "I don't know if you need to be reminded, but this is the Heian period."
The brunette can feel himself inwardly fainting on the spot.
Okay, now she's slightly worried; just slightly. It is past six o'clock and her fiancé still isn't back. It's already time for dinner, and the brunette's no where in sight.
She went to the only elderly Asakura still left in the house. "Kino-sama, I can't find Yoh anywhere. Can you help me find him?"
The blind itako turned to the girl. "Yoh? I don't feel that boy's presence anywhere in the estate. Is he out for a walk?"
Now she's really getting worried. It wasn't like Yoh to be out for so long without telling others about it; he could at least tell one of the servants. "M-Maybe; I'll go look." She left the room hastily.
Anna then went out of the house. Looking left and right, she decided to go right first and begins searching as the sun started to set.
Yoh looked at Asaha intently, who looked back with a curious look on his face. Asano-Ha had left the two to talk as she went to the back to retrieve the cloths that she hung out to dry.
The older brunette sighed. So, he's traveled a thousand years into the past, with no ways of going back.
"Yoh onii-chan," Asaha called, gaining his attention.
The teenager snapped back to reality. "H-Hai?"
The boy looked up at him in curiosity. "You're not afraid of us?"
The older brunette was taken aback. "Why would I be?"
"Well," the boy went and sat down next to Yoh, "people are always calling kaa-chan a yokai, and the kids around here call me a demon child."
Yoh raised an eyebrow. "Why would people call you that? You don't seem like bad people."
Asaha looked down sadly. "It's because kaa-chan and I can see and talk with demons." He admitted, and looked up desperately at Yoh. "You won't hate us too because of it, will you?"
The older brunette looked down. 'Demons' are probably spirits. His eyes are wide at the thought of people being discriminated because of this. "Why would I hate you? I believe that people who can see spirits aren't bad people; if you and your kaa-chan are shamans, then you can't be bad people." He told the younger boy, smiling.
"Shamans and spirits?" Asaha has a questioning look on his face.
Yoh nodded. "What you call demons are just spirits that are unable to pass over to the other side. Shamans are people who can see and talk with these spirits, and connect them from the other world to this world."
The younger boy has on a hopeful look. "So we're not the descendant of demons?"
The laidback boy shook his head and smiled. "There are a lot of shamans in this world." He told Asaha. "Getting along with these spirits is what a shaman does. Normal people who don't have enough spiritual energy can't see these spirits, so they are afraid of them." He explained.
Asaha widened his eyes. "Then those people that were here are…"
"…the epitome of these fears." Yoh finished for him. "They just don't understand, so you can't blame them for it."
"But they were going to do something bad to kaa-chan!" Asaha protested.
"Then you have to get stronger; get stronger until you're strong enough to protect her." Yoh told the boy, and his eyes softened. "I was once too weak to save my friend from danger; I learned from that, so I trained and got stronger."
The younger boy looked up in determination. "So I just have to become strong for both me and kaa-chan?" Yoh nodded. "Okay, then I will. Yoh nii-chan, you give really good advices; they're worth listening to." He complimented as he smiled up at the older shaman.
Yoh smiled back, and then a thought suddenly struck him. If this boy really is Hao's first incarnation, then doesn't that mean he can make him believe that humans are good? Of course, he won't kill Asaha; no one can make him do that. But if this he can convince Asaha that not all humans are evil…
Of course, that would mean that Silva wouldn't exist, since Hao from his second incarnation is Silva's descendant. If Hao never became ambitious enough to master the pentagram, then he wouldn't go into the process of transmigration.
But it also means that Lyserg's parents wouldn't die, and neither would those six people from the X-Laws, and many others. Besides, even if this kid isn't Hao's first incarnation, it wouldn't hurt to steer him onto the right path, right?
"Yoh onii-chan?" A small voice disturbed him from his thoughts. He almost forgot that the boy in question is right next to him. For now, he'd better pay attention to the younger boy.
Anna suddenly jolted as she was still on her search in town. She felt like something's going to go wrong, really wrong. It wasn't the fact that she still couldn't find Yoh, but something more. It was a feeling of doom, like she'd never see him again, ever.
After dinner found the two stargazing outside while Asano-Ha is cleaning the kitchen inside the little hut. Yoh never noticed before, but this time period has absolutely no pollution, and there are a million times as many stars as the night sky of Tokyo in the year 2000.
Of course, the beautiful scene isn't the subject of his attention right now; he has a really important decision to make. Meddling with the past is not safe; even he knows that. Doing this will cause many people to cease to exist, meaning causing the death of many lives. But it will save the lives of so much more in the end. It might even be the end of him, but just think how much more innocents it'll save…
He turned to Asaha and put his hands on the younger boy's shoulders, his eyes shining in determination.
The younger boy looked up at him in startled confusion. "Yoh onii-chan?"
"Asaha, you think my advices are worth listening to, right?" He asked the small boy.
Asaha looked up at him in curiosity, but nodded.
Yoh took a deep breath. "Then can you promise me one thing?"
The younger boy doesn't understand where this is going, but he answered anyways. "What?"
Yoh's expression softened. "No matter what, and I mean no matter what, never lose faith in humanity, okay? Even when something happens that makes you sad, never, ever, lose faith in humanity. You can make friends with spirits, and you can like spirits better than humans, but no matter what, always, always, believe that there's still some humans out there that's good. Can you promise me that?"
Asaha's face scrunched up as he absorbed this request. After a while, he looked up. Even though he doesn't know why the older boy is telling him to promise something like this, he knows that Yoh wants a serious answer. "Okay." He smiled.
As soon as he did, Yoh disappeared.
Young Asaha looked all around him, startled. "Yoh onii-chan?"
It will cause the death of many, but it will save the lives of…so…much…more.
A/N: The longest one-shot I've ever done! I tried to base this on Mappa Douji, and I don't know if I got anything wrong so, um, forgive me if I do.
Mmm...I've been updating a lot recently but mostly straying from my multi-chapter fics...sorry X0...But when inspirations come I just have to get it down...
Wai, so sad…Yoh disappeared (-Yoh fangirls kill authoress-). I know it says tragedy, but if you want to think that Yoh went back and Hao's all good and alive and everyone loves him, you can! Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed that.