Len woke up in the morning and noticed Horo-Horo was not on his bed. Len became angry.
"Chocolove!" Len screamed. Chocolove woke up with a very sleepy face. "Where's Horo-Horo?"
"How should I know that? I was here with you! Maybe he slept again with Amat." Chocolove fell again in bed, snoring. Len dressed up and went to Yoh's inn.
"Amat?" Faust said.
"Yes. Is she in bed? Along with that lazy and irresponsible Ainu…" Len asked.
"I don't know what are you talking about?" Faust said. "Amat didn't come to sleep last night. I thought she slept on your inn with Horo-Horo." Faust said. Len became worried.
"No, I haven't saw Amat." Yoh said. "Why? She's missing?" Yoh became worried seeing Len's expression. "Along with Horo-Horo?"
"By this time, they should have appeared… Amat wanted Horo-Horo to train… also; she was going to train Yoh." Anna said.
"Perhaps we should go after them." Ryou said and the group went of.
On the X-Laws lair, Amat and Horo-Horo were tied to two trunks very close to each other. Amat and Horo-Horo had they back turn to each other. Horo-Horo was worried with Amat.
"Why have you come? I could handle it." Horo-Horo said. Amat softly smiled.
"No, you couldn't." Amat answered. Horo-Horo blushed a little. Maybe she was right. He was not strong enough to the defeat the X-Laws all by himself.
"I didn't want you to be hurt." Horo-Horo said. Amat wanted to look to him, but she was well tied. "Sometimes… When I saw you fighting Hao… I felt useless… I wanted to help you… to protect you… but I… I just… I cannot do it… I don't have the power to protect you."
"Power… it's something that only God can use…" Amat said. Horo-Horo looked aside. "Power makes people more feared and lonely. Because of power… I was always alone… completely alone." A tear fell down on Amat's tattooed face. Horo-Horo moved his hand and caught Amat's, holding it tightly. Amat blushed and felt better.
"I guess… I'll never know what is to be alone for all that long… but… I'm going to make very happy… I promise." Horo-Horo said. Amat smiles. "After all, that's why I'm here."
"Horo-Horo… you're going to do for me what none of my former husbands did…" Amat said, caressing Horo-Horo's hand with her finger. "I… I have something to tell you…" Horo-Horo looked aside again, he couldn't see Amat's face, but that made him fell closer to her, just like holding her hand.
"Go ahead." Horo-Horo said. Amat looked down.
"Forty years ago, I went to France… searching for you… as always." Amat said. Horo-Horo felt a little bad. "I was on a country side small town, and there I met a man, Jean." Amat blushed a little. "He was a typical French country boy who was always taking care of his sheeps. He was lonely, just like me, but he was happy with his life, making all kinds of cheese and taking care of animals. I… fell in love with him." Horo-Horo felt a little jealous. "We end up getting married. I was happy… like I wasn't for a long time. We had a child. I saw my little boy growing… falling in love, marring and becoming a father of a beautiful little girl. Few years after the birth of my granddaughter… I realized Hao was going to reborn, and I depart to Japan, to stop it… but, when I get back to France, I thought everything was ok, but it wasn't. Years later, Hao appeared and killed everyone. I was only there in time to save my granddaughter. Jean, my son and his wife were burned. Hao wanted me to be his wife, but I denied it. He was about to kill my granddaughter, but I was able to save her in the last moment… Unfortunately, she was near death. I have to deliver her to God and I closed her inside an iron sarcophagus I made with my spiritual powers and let God heal her. I couldn't stay there… once more… Hao ruined everything…." Amat was crying, holding tightly Horo-Horo's hand. "That's why I cannot affair to lose you. You very important to me, Horo-Horo… I love you. You were my only company through the centuries. You were the only reason that kept me alive. I lived to the moment I'll find you… I cannot…" The smiles of the men Amat loved appeared in front of her eyes, followed by the fire of Hao destroying them. "I cannot lose you!"
Horo-Horo wanted to hug Amat, but now he could just hold her hand.
"I'll… I'll promise I'll always be with you… and… when both of us go old, we'll laugh about all this." Horo-Horo caressed Amat's face. "I… I like you a lot. I know you need someone… and I'm here for you… I'll always be." Amat felt better, hearing Horo-Horo's words.
"You really are one of a kind, Horo-Horo. I just want to be with you." Amat said, leaning her head on the wooden trunk. "As long as you're here with me… Horo-Horo… I'll always be fine and I'll always be in peace…" 'Peace…' Amat thought, looking to the sky. 'That's what I wish the most… To find peace… To ascend to Heaven… Peace… Horo-Horo…'
"Amat…" Horo-Horo broke the silence. "Would you marry me?" Amat blushed a lot, getting by surprised. Why did Horo-Horo come with that all so sudden?
"Marry?" Amat asked. Horo-Horo was red.
"I… I know you suffered too much… so…" Horo-Horo put a smile. "You cannot suffer anymore. Marry me! We'll always be together, just like you want… and…" Horo-Horo gets embarrassed. "I also like to be with you." Amat's chest couldn't hold all her happiness.
"I'll marry… I'll marry one, other and another time…" Amat said. Horo-Horo made a huge smile. "Thank you, Horo-Horo… for being here."
Horo-Horo had no idea of what he was asking, he just wanted to see Amat happy, and she was. Amat and Horo-Horo left themselves just like that, holding their hands.
Marco appeared, followed by Lyserg. Morphine flight near Amat.
"Queen, I would like you to follow me. Lyserg will take care of Horo-Horo, for now." Marco said. Lyserg untied Amat and she got up. The Queen looked to Horo-Horo, smiling to him.
"Fear not. We'll meet sooner than you expected." Amat said and left. Horo-Horo was looking to him.
"Come back. Don't die!" Horo-Horo asked. Amat smiled to him.
Marco and Amat went outside. The American desert was looking to them. An iron sarcophagus was in the middle of nothing. Amat looked to the iron monster. The sarcophagus started shining and opens. Iron Maiden Jeanne appeared in front of her.
"Long time no see, Queen Amaterasu Tao." Jeanne said. Amat looked to her.
"I can say the same, Jeanne, my granddaughter." Amat said.
"Don't call me that! Because of you and the love you felt for Hao, my family was destroyed, and now, I'm here to take out your powers and kill Hao once and for all." Jeanne said, pointing to Amat.
"You cannot defeat Hao." Amat said. Jeanne became angry.
"God granted me great powers…"
"You're wrong!" Amat stopped Jeanne. "God only grant power to noble causes. Killing someone, it doesn't matter how bad that someone is, is something bad. Don't you understand, Jeanne, you're being used by these guys. They know you're my granddaughter. They want to use the power of my blood that is within you to destroy Hao and to make them Shaman King. Revenge is a Deadly Sin, as forward, is against God teachings." Amat said.
"From someone you born Shinto, you seem to know a lot about God." Marco said.
"When you became Shaman Queen, you know the ultimate truths. It's because of that; I know you'll fail in your attempt to kill Hao." Amat said.
"No, we won't!" Marco said. Amat looked to him. "You see, your majesty, is all planned. You won't attack us, because we have that brat you're in love with, so, we can do anything we want with you. Hao will soon know you're missing and he will come to rescue…"
"And in that moment, we'll kill him." Jeanne finished. Amat looked to her.
"You wouldn't dare to hit your Prince." Amat said.
"You said it all, Queen!" Marco said. "Our Prince, not our King. Horo-Horo is nothing more that a brat with which the Queen wants to play houses. The Shaman Princes exists with the only propose of being killed or to being used as a way to kill the King. If you don't collaborate with us, that boy his going to perish." Amat laughed. Marco and Jeanne were got by surprised. "What's so funny?"
"You forgot one important thing, Marco." Amat said, looking to him. "I'm the Shaman Queen. I have the power. If I desire, you will be dead in this instant." Marco forgot that fact. Amat was all powerful.
"Yes, Queen, you're right!" Jeanne said, but you forgot one thing." Amat looked to her. "This iron sarcophagus was made with your powers, as for that, it can lock you inside." Amat was caught by surprised, how could she now that.
"Nightly night, Shaman Queen!" Marco badly hit Amat. The queen fell on the ground. The routs came out of the sarcophagus and caught Amat, pulling her inside.
"I… I can not be sealed!" Amat said, tearing. "I cannot! I'll stay with Horo-Horo! I'll marry him! Horo-Horo!" Amat screamed, feeling her strengths being sucked by the sarcophagus. "I cannot fall without hearing it from you" Amat said, struggling against the routs. "Hao said it to me." The image of Hao from 500 years ago appeared on her mind, smiling to her. "Suu said it to me." Suu appeared much blushed and shy, smiling to Amat. "Jean said it to me." The face of Jean with a sheep on his arms was on Amat's eyes. "I… I cannot fall until I hear it from you too, Horo-Horo!" Amat screamed. "I WANT TO HEAR YOU SAYING YOU LOVE ME!" Amat fainted. The routs were pulling her in, but they started burning.
"What happened?" Marco said, looking angry to the sarcophagus.
"I don't know." Jeanne said, worried with the possibility of her plane go wrong.
The X-Laws saw a shadow within the flames. Hao appeared, holding Amat on her arms, unconscious. Hao sent a careful look to Amat, caressing her face.
"I'll never let you die, my Queen." Hao looked to the X-Laws. "If you want to seal Amat, you need to defeat me first." Hao held Amat tightly and closer. The shaman noticed that Seiryo's tattoo was around Amat's body. "So Seiryo is up to something, of course, as always, Amat figured out a way to get out of messes, but, this time, I'm going to be the one to do that. "Ready or not, you're fucking bastards, I'm coming to kill you, with all the refinement of cruelty I could figured out.
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Sorry for the delay, I've been worried with the university.
Have you liked this chapter?
Stay tuned for more. Next chapter "The Great Seiryo"