DarkTaoAngel: Sorry for the late update, I've been really busy lately! I hope this chapter turned out as good as I hoped it would! I have been getting about three reviews per chapter, and although that was my goal, I'd like to get at least four for this one. Thanks, and enjoy chapter five!

It all went by in a blur; Horo didn't even have time to blink and the doctors were already loading Ren onto a stretcher to take him into the Emergency Room. It felt like Horo's mind had quit working, and he didn't even know what to think. Ren, his rival, but also him friend… and perhaps something more. It would literally kill Horo inside if anything were to happen to Ren because of him.

"His heart is failing, we have to get him to ER right away!" a doctor shouted from Horo's left. Two more doctors had come in since the machine hooked up to Ren had started beeping. Horo just stood there, watching as another doctor came in, helping to lift Ren up and out of the room. Before Horo knew it, the medical team had already taken Ren out of the room, leaving Horo standing alone, listening to the steady beeping of the now unhooked machine that had been checking Ren's heartbeat…

The team of doctors rushed Ren to the Emergency Room, hooking him up to almost ten machines at once upon arriving. They lifted him onto an operating table and hooked him up to another machine to check his pulse again and, like with the other machine, it rang out at a constant pace, signifying, like the other one had, that Ren's pulse had stopped. They only had a few hours before, even with the machine they would hooked up to Ren to keep him breathing, Ren would cease to have even the faintest heartbeat, preventing them from having any chance to revive him.

"Ren…." Horo whispered, "Ren, I'm so sorry this happened. It's all my fault. Oh please… please get better…." Horo knew that he would never be allowed into the emergency room, so he walked as slowly as he could out of Ren's previous room. The slower he walked, the less time he'd have to spend in the waiting room. He hated it there.

It was so white.

So calm.

It was almost… peaceful.

People were dying all throughout the place…

But no one was screaming, as they should be.

It was an almost emotionless place.

And that was what Horo loathed about it.

Horo, not wanting to go to the waiting room right away, took a detour to the snack machine on the floor above. It wasn't like him to think about snacks at a time like this, but when he was nervous… he ate. And at that moment, he was so nervous he was almost shaking. He knew that if anything happened to Ren, it'd be his fault. It wasn't that Yoh had told him in the exact words that Ren had come to find Horo himself. But Horo knew better than that. If Ren had come out to Hokkaido at all, it'd be for Horo. There was no one else there that he knew, though Horo was still unsure of why Ren had come out there in the first place. But it had to be something to do with him.

Ren, you idiot, why'd you have to come here? Didn't you know about the storm coming? Why would you risk your life like that? You could have died! The whole time you where out there, you were taking the risk that you could die! Even now you are still taking that risk… And for what! It's about me, isn't it? Since when have I ever meant anything to you? Why would you do something to stupid? The doctors… they say that they're going to need to operate. I know what that means… it's their last chance to save your life. You might… die, and it's all my fault! Now I might not even get to tell you how much you mean to me… Oh God, Ren, you can't leave me! Please… don't leave me…

Horo fumbled with his money at the snack machine, dropping a few coins with his shaking hands. He tried to pick them up, but his hands were trembling so badly that he couldn't.

"Is something the matter?" he heard a voice behind him say. The voice was low and silky-sounding. Without even having to turn around, he recognized who that voice belonged to.

"Hao, what do you want?" Horo spat back at him, but when he turned around, he didn't see Hao. Instead he saw… "Yoh?"

"Oooh, so close! But you were right the first time. Like my new haircut? I don't, but I just had to get it cut." And then that trademark smirk crossed his face, and there was no mistaking that it was indeed Hao. But then, why did he look so much like Yoh? His hair was cut the exact same way, and he'd even gotten a pair of orange headphones to wear. He was dressed in casual clothing: a white shirt with a red dragon on it, and grey sweatpants.

"You… you had to get it cut?" Horo questioned, knowing how much Hao's hair meant to him. It had to be something important to get him to cut it. And so short, too. Horo almost laughed, but then he realized something and stopped himself immediately.

Hao was at a hospital.

He didn't look like he was visiting anyone.

It looked as though going there was just something casual for him.

Casual like… like killing was to him…

And then it all hit Horo…

That was exactly why he was there.

"What did you do to Ren!" Horo shouted, just loudly enough to sound a little bit threatening, but soft enough to not get thrown out of the hospital. His eyes narrowed as he glared at Hao, who in turn, looked as innocent and taken aback as though he had just been accused of something that he'd never even thought to do in his entire life. But Horo knew him better than that.

"Do to Ren? Why would you think that I did anything to him? I haven't done anything to him, I've just given him a few pushes in the right direction…" he smirked again, maliciously, and Horo's eyes widened as it all clicked.

Ren had needed a map to find his way to Hokkaido.

He'd only accept maps from people trusted.

Or at least… thought he trusted.

And who'd tipped Horo off about where Ren was?

Who had told Horo that he couldn't come with him because of 'Anna'?

Who had sent Horo to find Ren just enough days after Ren had become stranded for him to be on the verge of death?

Who had sent the two of them out, virtually alone, on a remote mountain to die?

It wasn't Yoh…

It was Hao…

"Yes, Horokeu." He put extra emphasis on Horo's full name. "Yes… but silly little Ren didn't know how to give up. I know, I was watching him. Shall I tell you how he writhed about in his pain? Or about how he'd attempted to kill himself, and only realized that it was a mistake only after he'd cut both of his wrists? How about how he muttered in his sleep? Yes, he actually got to sleep once. Only once, and it wasn't for that long, but the whole time he was muttering one thing… 'Horo…' So, how does that make you feel? Knowing that he only suffered because of you? Oh, and shall I tell you about the pilot, who actually did die because of you?"

"Stop it!" Horo shouted, louder than he'd intended to, but luckily no one had heard him. Horo clutched his head and fell on his knees on the ground, muttering under his breath, "Make it stop… Please, no more… I can't…" Tears were streaming down Horo's face, falling on the ground beneath him. He stared at the ground, his eyes almost closed, and kept mumbling to himself.

"Oh, yes, he cried too. Constantly, the little weakling. He had to die. I was just moving him in the right direction by using my Spirit of Fire from outside of the hospital to focus the oxygen going into his lungs. If he hadn't suffocated yet, my spirit is still waiting outside."

Horo looked up at Hao with tears still running down his face, his eyes red and half closed. Hao almost took pity on him. Almost. But he decided against it.

"Get up off the floor, you look pathetic. Plus, people are getting suspicious." He watched amusedly as Horo, shaking, picked himself up off of the floor, wiping his eyes, but still the tears came. "You know, if it makes you feel any better, or worse, you and Ren weren't my only targets. I mean, I had to get you to go to Hokkaido somehow."

"You! You killed my sister!" Horo said, taking a step backwards to avoid being so near such a killer.

"Yes… and no. I didn't personally kill her, you see, she thought that you were back home, waiting for her. You had some important news, or something like that, and since she wasn't in Tokyo with all the rest of you, she actually believed it. She, like Ren, went out into the storm, and died almost instantly. She was struggling to live after breaking her neck from the fall out of the plane she'd taken, so I merely helped her out a bit. She was cold. I just made her a bit warmer is all."

"Y-you s-s-sick freak!" Horo was now shaking so badly that he was stuttering greatly. Hao merely chuckled a bit, amusedly watching Horo's face as it all connected. It was way more fun to watch than watch his sister die.

"Oh yes, and you are next. After all, I can't have you telling anybody about this, can I? No, that won't do. But this is much more amusing to watch, so I think I will watch for a little while longer before I destroy you. After all, you have no weapon, and I would much rather toy with you a bit before I kill you. How could I do that if you were to die instantly? Just keep in mind, if your love – yes, that's right, I know how much he means to you – lives through this, you can expect that, should you tell anyone, I will find him… and burn him. Oh, and if he doesn't live today, then your mother will be next in line." Horo's eyes widened, and he was about to say something, but he never got the chance. For, as quickly as he had come, Hao had disappeared, right before Horo's own eyes.

(Page breaker)

Horo hadn't bought anything from the snack machine, as his hands were still shaking so badly he couldn't have eaten anything, even if he had managed to get the coins into the small slot in the machine. He had since returned to the waiting room, and was sitting on one of the chairs, Hao's words still echoing in his head. He was trembling, and tears still leaked out of his eyes every once in a while. People had been asking him constantly if anything was wrong, but he ignored them, and they didn't bother asking again. Some of them had even thought that he was deaf and couldn't hear him, so they tried talking louder, even shouting, but still Horo didn't even turn to look at them.

Horo watched as the clock opposite where he sat, ticking down the minutes until the next hour, which was five-o-clock at night. He'd been at the hospital for almost eight hours, and more than half of that time had been since Ren had gone into the emergency room. But still, Horo had heard nothing of Ren's condition. The clock kept ticking, just as the machine hooked up to Ren to check his pulse had ticked. Horo just wished that it would stop, like Ren's had, and alert everyone.

He wished they could feel his pain.

They all sat in their chairs, so calm, not even speaking to one another.

Horo wished they would scream, shout, and panic.

Show any emotion at all.

But instead they were like lifeless corpses, staring off into space.

Coming and going.

They acted like this was a routine.

Like it was no big deal if someone died.

They held their feelings inside.

If they had any feelings at all.

Tick, tick, tick, tick… The clock echoed in Horo's mind, driving him nearly insane. If Ren was going to be alright, why hadn't they come to tell him that yet? But even Horo knew that, despite the powerful effect that doubt had, he knew in his heart that there was little or no chance that Ren would live. He's known that from the start, he just didn't want to tell himself that. Hao had opened his eyes to that reality. They would all die soon enough, so what was a few days difference? If Ren were to die sooner rather than later, wouldn't that be better?

No! He can't be dead! He can't die! He was the one who, more than anyone I know, could prevail in even the darkest of times. So, why is now any different? There's got to be some way to keep him alive, and maybe I can live too. But, to do that, we'd have to fight Hao, and even if Ren were to live through all of this, he'd be in no condition to fight, especially against such a powerful opponent. But Ren will live. He's got to. If he doesn't… neither will I. 'It'll all work out.' That's what he had said. He had lived off of that simple phrase. But, how am I supposed to know that it wasn't Hao saying that, too?

'It'll all work out.'

"It'll all work out."

So, where was Yoh now?

When Horo needed that sort of assurance more than ever?

Where was everyone?

No one had been at the Inn when Horo had left. No one except for Ren. Hao must have come later, but what about the others? Where were they? If Hao had taken them, why hadn't he taken Ren too? And then something in Horo's mind clicked, and it all made sense.

Hao wasn't after Ren.

He hadn't been after Pirika either.

Hao had been after only one person.

And that was Horo.

But, what would he want with me anyway? Unless…

And then Horo remembered it. He remembered everything from that night. Hao wanted Horo. Anyone who got in his way had to be killed. Because Horo loved Ren, he also had to be killed. If Hao couldn't have Horo, no one could. The others didn't know it, but on their trip to China to save Ren, Hao had caught up with Horo and cornered him.

(Flashback)

Horo, Yoh, Manta, Ryu, and all of their spirits had just arrived at China. The view from the top of the mountain that they were on was stupendous. Horo was looking out at the magnificent landscape, but was interrupted as something hit him right in the shoulder. So, someone was throwing rocks at him, right? Horo looked around, and that was when he first saw him. A shaman, no taller than Horo, wearing a rain poncho and who knows what else under it, star earrings in his ears, and gloves also with stars on them, his hair no shorter than shoulder-length, was standing in some bushes behind Horo.

"Something wrong?" Manta asked, a skeptical look on his face.

"No. It's nothing. You guys go ahead, I'll meet you at Ren's place. I have… something I need to do." Horo said as the others walked away, turning around to see if anything really was wrong with him, and then continuing on their long walk to the Tao Manor.

"What is it exactly that you want?" Horo asked the boy once he was sure that the rest of the gang had gone far beyond sight. The boy walked casually over to Horo, standing a mere few inches away from him. Horo didn't know why, but something about this boy frightened him, so it wasn't surprising that he flinched as the boy absently fingered his blue hair, twirling it in his fingers.

"You." Was the boy's only answer. He stepped a bit closer to Horo, leaning in slightly, but Horo backed up, thoroughly shocked, from the boy.

"W-who are you?" he asked, not even sure of why his voice was shaking. He didn't know who this boy was, but there was an evil, menacing sort of aura about him. Sure, Horo was a shaman, so he shouldn't be afraid of anything, but this boy was also a shaman, and he seemed quite a bit more powerful than Horo himself.

"My name is Hao." His words rang in Horo's head, for he was sure that he'd heard that name before. And then it hit him. Hao. That was who he'd heard about. The great onmyoji; but he was supposed to be dead. Unless… unless his next reincarnation was the boy standing in front of him. So that was why he looked so much like Yoh, apart from his hair… he was Yoh's twin. Yoh had told the whole gang a great deal about him, but the rest Horo had found out on his own.

"Shocking, isn't it? Yes, Horokeu, my name is Hao. Are you surprised that I know your name? I know quite a fair bit about you. You see, I've taken a sort of liking to you. I've been watching you these past few days, and I have a bit of a proposition for you. Join me, and I'll give you anything you want. Forget about the others, come with me instead."

Horo's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. Join Hao? With what he'd heard about him, Hao was his enemy.

"Wh-what? Join you? I can't! I-I can't just leave my friends behind!" Horo said, almost shouting, as he backed away from Hao as far as he could, backing him right to the edge of a small cliff that the others had bypassed on their way down. Horo took a step forward as the rocks beneath him crumbled. He had no where else to go.

"Such a pity that it has to be like this." Hao said, walking casually towards Horo, watching as Horo's eyes frantically searched the entire area for any escape. There was none. "Yes, what a pity. But let me tell you something, you will join me someday, or die fighting. And I would hate to kill someone I care about such as I do you. Until then…"

Hao's face was a mere two inches away from Horo's, his breath on Horo's face, causing him to flinch. He leaned forward slightly, pressing his lips against Horo's. Horo stayed as still as he possibly could, not wanting this sort of contact from this boy whom he didn't even know. He felt Hao's tongue against his lips, begging for entry, but Horo wouldn't let him get the better of him. He stayed as still as he could, keeping his lips firmly together. After a few moments, Hao finally gave up and backed away from Horo.

"Very well, I won't force you. But keep in mind, you will be mine soon." And with that, Hao disappeared, a small cloud of grayish smoke marking where he had gone. Horo looked around for a moment, making sure that he was nowhere in sight, before he let out a sigh of relief. He took a step forward, assuring himself that the cliff below him was not going to collapse, and that that boy – Hao – was not coming back again, and began running the opposite way, down the side of the cliff, and quickly catching up with the others, to whom he said nothing of what had just occurred.

(End flashback)

The more Horo thought about it, the more clearly everything seemed. That threatening look that Hao had given him just a few hours ago, that was the same on he'd given him that night. This was how he intended to get Horo to join him. By threatening the lives of those Horo loved, so that Horo had to go to him to make him stop. That was the only thing that Horo would be able to do after everything that Hao could do to him. Horo was helpless. Hao had all the power, and it was only a matter of time before Horo's entire world crumbled because of Hao.

"Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but we have word on the patient you brought in earlier." Horo's eyes shot up upon hearing that it was he who was being addressed. Standing next to him was one of the doctors that he could remember having arrived after Ren had stopped breathing.

"R-really?" Horo asked, his voice sounding much more pleadingly than he'd intended it to, and he was still stuttering. He couldn't believe that merely seeing Hao again had gotten him this spooked. "How is he? Sir." He added, remembering how the doctor had called him 'sir' so it was only respectful of Horo to say it back. He looked at the doctor's face, hoping to see some form of emotion on it to indicate how Ren was. A smile, a frown, anything. But there was nothing, his mouth forming a straight line above his chin, signally neither a smile, nor a frown.

The doctor said nothing, simply ushered Horo to follow him. Horo followed in silence through half of the entire ward of emergency cases, before finally the doctor stopped outside of the door to ward number twenty-seven. He put his finger to his lips to signal Horo to be silent as he entered, sliding the door open and walking in, Horo following in his wake.

The room had only one bed, as the other one had, but it had way more machines in it. A still, pale figure lay on the bed, so many machines hooked up to him that it was difficult to even tell that he was there. There were pulse regulators hooked up to wires in his wrists, and a mask over his mouth and nose, pushing oxygen into his lungs. His tongari was still, as it had been when Horo had found him in the mountains, in a long mass down to his shoulders. His eyes were shut tightly, and one of the other doctors tending to him was currently filling a needle with a sort of pinkish liquid, ejecting it into one of Ren's small, limp wrists, Ren not even flinching as this was done.

Why are they putting that stuff into his arm? Does that mean he's alright? He's awfully pale, and he's not moving… Could it be? Could he possibly be… dead?

DarkTaoAngel: Haha, evil cliffy! Sorry about the confusion, but as it turns out, in this fic, Hao is known by all of the shamans as Yoh's twin, but only Horo knows more about him, because he did his research! I hope this cleared up all questions you had, and opened up a few more! Pirika was killed by Hao, Ren is in critical condition, possibly dead, and even Horo's mom is in trouble! I love this chapter, and I hope you do too! I absolutely love seductive Hao, and poor helpless Horo! And yes, Angel-chan actually did a plot! This story didn't have a plot until now! Oh, and check out my new deviantart account! Go to my profile, and it's there. I don't draw very well, but I mostly draw Naruto. I wanna draw some RenHoro, but I can't… But I might someday, so watch for some of those, and I have a few on my favorites list, too! Please review!