Disclaimer: Shaman King is the intellectual property of Hiroyuki Takei

Author's Comments: I have no idea where this is going, but then, neither does Hao, so I suppose it's ok.

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Making It Work

"Hao, …you shouldn't be here." He looks away, at the ground, like he's ashamed of me. I brush it off. I've learned to do that.

"Well you see, that's the thing about power, Yoh. Having it means you can go anywhere you want to and not have to worry about weather or not you "belong" there."

He doesn't reply, just stares at the ground letting the words sink in.

"Power is the only thing in life that can guarantee freedom. Without power, you will always be at the mercy of others."

"You're such a preacher." I am taken aback, not so much by his tone, which is not overly pleased, but by the words themselves. And he finally looks up at me with eyes that smolder with anger. "Why don't you go get a soap box and take it somewhere else. Cause I'm tired of hearing it. It's the same sermon every time." I could feel my own eyes darken. They say criticism can only affect you if you truly care what your criticizer thinks, but then, I've known that I cared for Yoh's opinion from the beginning. Apparently some time had passed while I considered these things as Yoh's next statement was devoid of all of its previous anger. Yoh's anger seldom lasts long. "At least get some new material."

I grinned at that. "Are you saying that you enjoy our time together, otouto?"

Yoh looked away again, his emotions looping back to where we'd started. "All I'm saying is that you are my brother. And as long as you're not putting me in a position where I have to kill you, it might be nice if we acted like it a little, you know. I mean, we're twins, but the only thing I even know about you are those broken-record philosophies you start reciting every time we see eachother."

I considered that for a moment. "I didn't know you had any interest in knowing me. As you said, otouto, our previous encounters have done little to foster friendship between us."

"I don't try to change you when we meet." Yoh whispers.

"I don't try to change you." I argue back. "I have simply been trying to open your eyes to the evils of the horrendous people you persistently try to save. … And you try to show me their good side, because you believe them to be worth saving for it. What we disagree on is weather it is the evil or the good they have done which outweighs the other."

"And then there's that."

I blinked back at my twin, honestly not understanding what he was talking about. "What?"

"Whenever I ask you anything personal, you change the subject." I honestly hadn't been aware that I had changed the subject, but, looking back, I guess… Not only was Yoh ashamed of me, now he was also exasperated by me. Wow. It's a record night.

"There's not much to me, Yoh." I consented. "I haven't lived a life like yours; with friends and school and fun. I've lived my entire life for the sake of my dream of the rebirth of this planet – without humans in it. I haven't enjoyed what they provide so much. I like the stars. I think that's about it."

"Oh."

And now he's sad. Am I the only person on this planet who is able to depress the normally happy, care-free Yoh? Does that make me special? Somehow, I like the idea of being able to affect him in ways that no one else can. Vaguely, I wonder what other emotions I could draw from him that he never shows to anyone else. I walk closer to him, slowly, I glide to him.

"I like the color red." I offer him. "I like peaceful summers, slow breezes, raging storms." I reach out, touching his face gently. It startles him and his eyes meet mine, widened with uncertainty and fear and hope. "I like innocence and loyalty and you." I whisper leaning forward until my eyes reflect in his. I know that what he's feeling is fear, but I can accept that, because it's a special fear, only for me. His lips, as I touch them with mine, are full and soft and I draw his bottom lip between my own and suck on it, enjoying the taste of things one should never be able to taste; innocence and ideals and kindness that can only be found in my brother. No one else could be so untainted. I am my brother's only sin. I release his lip and, now that they're parted, I cannot help but want more of the sweet ambrosia I'd found. I slip my tongue inside and I find myself wondering how long I've wanted to do this. I'd never thought about it before, but with me that doesn't mean much. I think I've wanted to do a lot of things I've never thought of before; if that makes any sense.

Eventually I have to let him breathe so I pull away and I wonder as I do if I might possibly regret what I've done when I see the expression on his face but it isn't likely. I've never wasted time on regrets; even if I would do things differently when thinking back. No, I never regretted killing Lyserg's parents, because they were in my way, but I don't think I would do it a second time, if given the chance.

I can tell when I see his expression, that Yoh is still trying to process what just happened. His eyes are out of focus and his mouth is still open. I graciously close it for him. "You know you're absolutely right." I tell him. And I smile that gentle smile that I save for only Opacho and him. "I did need some new material."

His eyes refocus and I think this is the perfect time to make my exit. So before he can say anything I am gone, in a whirl of flames to places he can't follow. I don't want to hear the stuttering and the accusations and the questions. I want to give him time to think about it and we'll talk later. I want to give him enough time to come to the conclusion that I am beyond what is right and what is sin and not so much time that I question it myself. I figure that's about four days, maybe five or six.

Sitting atop a lonely hill, I stare up at the stars. I strive to think of nothing but I still taste Yoh on my tongue and my lips and I doubt that pleasurable distraction will allow my usual thoughts to settle in any time soon. But that's ok, I don't mind, they weren't terribly important thoughts anyway. I wonder what Yoh is thinking just now. I expect he's thinking that I have become a pervert of some sort. I assume I shall have to explain myself when next we meet. I shall make fun of him for complaining about my "sermons" only to turn around and ask for more of them. As I think on it more I decide that I am looking forward to that meeting. The thought of it gives me great joy.

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Post whatevers: This wrote itself, that's all I can say for it. It seems to have a constant irregularity of past/present tense, but that's all gramatical. Eventually I just said, you know what, it sounds good anyway so who cares. Some fanatical grammar freak might have a heart attack over it but oh well. Please review if you enjoyed it...do it because the gekko says to, because apparently, people trust the gekko. Trust the gekko.