Ren sat quietly on the front porch of the Asakura Inn, deep in thought. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom now, and seeds of various trees were falling from above him. Ren did not notice them until one fell onto his shoulder. Ren pulled it off of himself and set it gently on the ground, smirking slightly as he stepped on it roughly with his foot, crushing it into the ground.

"Only the strong survive," Ren whispered, knowing only too well those words. That phrase brought back the worst of his memories, the ones that haunted him wherever he went, "the weak deserve to fall."

Ren stood up and walked slowly towards the door to the Inn, not turning around until he reached the entrance. He sighed slightly, wishing that ever day could be this peaceful. It almost seemed as though it was not real, as though this was all just a dream. But, despite how dreamlike this reality was, he knew that it had to come to an end the moment he walked through the door ahead of him. He breathed one last sigh before entering.

The Inn was surprisingly quiet, as though no one was there. Ren looked around a bit, but soon noticed the absence of everyone, even Yoh. No one was there, not that that fact made him worried, he was just wondering why none of them had invited him to wherever they were, not that he would have gone if they had.

"Looking for someone?" a voice behind Ren asked. Ren recognized the voice, and he turned sharply, glaring at the figure of Hao Asakura who was grinning before him. Hao had to have been up to something, for he would have never come if his brother was not present.

"No." Ren answered bluntly, turning away and making a move to begin walking to his room. Ren could hear Hao snigger a bit, and he felt a tug at his arm that made it almost impossible for him to move. He turned around again to see Hao holding onto his arm with such a grip that it was actually causing Ren pain, not that he wanted to admit it.

"What do you want?" Ren spat at Hao, trying as best he could to break Hao's hold on him, but he could not; Hao was stronger than he looked, but Ren continued to fight, though he knew it was useless.

"It is futile to fight me; you have what I want." Hao answered, his voice remained calm, which made Ren even angrier at him. A bead of sweat rolled down Ren's face, but he continued to fight. Hao simply used his free arm to hold onto Ren's other arm, which stopped Ren from fighting as much.

"Oh yeah? And what would that be?" Ren asked, smiling slightly as he thought of any possible way to get out of the situation he was in. He could think of nothing.

"You." Hao replied, smirking at the look that enveloped Ren's face next. It was a mixture of fear and pain, which came from the fact that Hao's grip on his arms had increased. Ren tried as best he could to move backward, away from Hao, but Hao leaned forward, holding Ren tighter. Ren fought, but Hao was too strong for him, and before Ren knew it, he felt warm lips press against his. Ren struggled even more, but Hao would not let go, and Ren was left powerless. Ren stood, immobile, as Hao finally broke away from the kiss, smiling. Ren snarled at him, but could do nothing more.

"Spirit of Fire!" Hao called, and a large fire spirit quickly appeared outside of the Inn. Hao's smile widened considerably as he saw how much Ren had tried to struggle, and how limp he had recently become. "Let's go for a ride, shall we? You're coming, too, Ren." Hao said, pulling on Ren to get him to move, but Ren stayed firmly where he was standing.

"Why should I?" Ren stated, pulling his hands as hard as he could, and finally breaking free of Hao's hold on him. Ren backed away, but Hao did not bother going after him, for he knew that he would come back to him soon enough.

"Have you noticed how quiet it is in this place? Deathly quiet." Hao reached into his pocket and removed a small sphere, with about ten different colored objects floating in it; …souls. "If you do not come with me, and do as I say, I cannot guarantee the safety of your friends' souls. I could destroy any one of them easily. But, if you do not want to join me, I shall have to… should I begin with your friend Horohoro?"

"No!" Ren shouted, not realizing how loud he was yelling. "I-I'll go with you, just don't hurt them." Hao grimaced as Ren stretched his arms out in front of himself, allowing Hao to take hold of them once again. Ren's fate was now in Hao's hands.

ZzZzZzZzZzZ

Ren and Hao, riding on the Spirit of Fire's back, had come to a small building, stopped and walked in, Hao still hold Ren's arms tightly, though Ren would not have gone anywhere, for he could not. The building was larger inside than it looked outside; the atmosphere was dark, as though no one lived there. Hao led Ren to a set of stairs which led to a type of basement, and they both walked down in the dark, not saying a word.

"This is where you'll be staying." Hao said, letting go of Ren and pushing him away slightly. Hao bent down and picked up off of the ground a small chain, which blended almost perfectly with the darkness of the room. "Come here." Hao commanded of Ren. Ren stepped forward, out of the darkness.

"Take of your shirt." Hao told Ren, and he did. Ren felt extremely uncomfortable, but he was forced to do anything Hao told him to, for fear of harming one of his friends. "So skinny…" Hao whispered, turning Ren around and placing one set of shackles around each of his wrists, and one around his neck. The one around his neck was particularly tight, nearly suffocating Ren. Ren choked a bit, but Hao did not seem to care.

Ren looked at the ground, seeing nothing but pure darkness. Hao put his hand under Ren's chin, lifting up his face, looking right into his eyes.

"If you're a good boy, I might just let you out for a while, but for now, I do not trust you. You might escape." Hao rubbed his knuckles against Ren's face, and then he stretched out his fingers, scratching Ren's cheek. Ren felt his heart beating rapidly, sweat forming on his face.

"You are mine now." Hao said, taking his hand away from Ren's face.

"You can not control my destiny." Ren said defiantly, though he was still scared deep down, he would not let Hao know that.

"It's not your destiny anymore." Hao whispered in Ren's ear, sending shivers down his spine. Hao walked out of the room, leaving Ren all alone. Ren hung his head, leaning uncomfortably against the wall of the dungeon-like room. He sighed heavily, breathing a little slower than usual because of lack of oxygen.

Only the strong survive, the weak deserve to fall.