Scabs
Disclaimer: I don't own it.
Joh: Oops. I was supposed to write for my other stories but I've been busy and I was more in the mood for this.
Jessie: In the mood for angst, you mean?
Joh: Yeah…I should just call this whole series Yoh Asakura and his Adventures with Angst!
Jessie: Fits the image, I must say.
Joh: Yes…. I certainly agree.
Jessie: -Giggles- You're too cute! -Glomps Joh-
J twins: -Kiss-
Joh: Well, read on!
Warnings: Yaoi, twincest, language, angst, dark stuff
0o0o0o0o0
"Only three days left, pet."
Go away.
Soft laughter drifted through the dark curtain separating the two.
"I'm getting closer…so close I could almost…" a hand raised to reach out, grasping.
Yoh shuddered and wrapped his arms around himself, wishing that he would wake up soon.
Leave me alone.
He could feel Hao smiling now, his presence was nearly overwhelming.
Yoh looked up, eyes wide. He could see the vague shadow of his twin near him, getting closer and closer…
He squeezed his eyes shut and cringed away, breathing heavily. Cool fingers grazed his cheek, making him gasp at the contact.
"NO!"
Yoh's sharp cry broke the silence in the plane, startling the few shamans lounging in the seats.
"You okay, Yoh?" Lyserg asked him nervously, setting his book down on his lap.
Yoh looked around himself, shaken. Ren was leaning against Horo who was fast asleep, his amber eyes narrowed as he studied Yoh.
Chocolove was playing a game on his PSP, but had nearly dropped it when Yoh had called out so suddenly.
Everything seemed so strangely calm after he had just woken from his nightmare. Yoh ran a hand through his hair and smiled weakly. "Oh…sorry…" he trailed off sheepishly as he adjusted his headphones.
"You need a glass of water?" Lyserg got up, frowning.
Yoh shook his head. "No I'm fine really, thanks though."
The green-haired shaman sat back down reluctantly, still eyeing Yoh anxiously.
Yoh leaned back into the plush seat and closed his eyes. That's right…he was on one of Ren's private planes and heading towards Japan.
Yoh turned his head to glance out the small round window. With every passing minute he was getting closer and closer to the one who had caused him so much pain that he wasn't sure if he would ever heal properly.
A troubled frown twisted the young man's lips. This dream had been worse than the last few. Hao had never actually touched him before…this was the first time Yoh had actually had physical contact with his tormentor. He shuddered as he recalled the delicate fingers whispering against his cheek.
'I have to stay strong…for Akito…for myself.' Yoh nodded and opened his eyes, turning up his music as he did his best to forget the unpleasant dream. 'Just wait a bit longer Akito…I will save you.'
0o0
Gray eyes snapped open.
"He's coming, mommy."
The young woman looked up, dried tears stained her cheeks. "Who is, dear?" she asked as she struggled to keep her voice steady.
The small child sat up and pulled away from his mother's arms. The dim light in the locked room shadowed his face as he looked up into his mother's red eyes. "He is." He repeated in his soft voice.
Fresh tears leaked down the woman's face. She wrapped her arms around the child and pulled him close.
He propped his chin on her shoulder and stared straight ahead, past the black locked door. "He's coming." The child repeated in the same tone.
The woman was crying harder now, her sobs carrying over the quiet voice of her son. "I'm sorry." She cried. "So sorry."
He fell silent, his small lips making a thin line. Three days lay before him until his father's birthday…before the day he would be killed.
The boy smiled slightly. But he was coming. He was coming for him.
He reached up and pressed a tiny hand to his mother's shoulder. There was still hope for them. There was still a chance.
0o0
"Japan looks so different without all the cars and stuff." Horo exclaimed, lifting a hand up to shade his eyes.
"Stop talking so loud, we don't want to bring attention to ourselves." Ren hissed, glancing nervously around.
They were walking quickly down a narrow dirt street with small buildings on each side. Everything seemed strangely quiet compared to their memories of crowded, noisy Tokyo.
There were of course lots of shamans walking about. But it wasn't the same as the loud bustling crowd that they remembered.
Ren looked back at Yoh who was walking in the center of the small, tight circle they had made. He had a baseball cap with his choppy hair tucked into it. The brim was pulled low over his face so that his features were shadowed.
Yoh peered around, eyes wide. Everything was so different from what he remembered.
Smaller simple buildings made of wood replaced the tall buildings that had stretched over the sky. The paved streets had been dug up since no one used cars anymore. Dirt roads now wound about the shaman-populated city, weaving through the clustered houses and shops.
"Where are we going to stay?" Yoh whispered, glancing at Ren.
"With an old friend of mine." Ren told him, inspecting a small wrinkled map. His spirit companion Bason muttered something to him before pointing to something on the map. He suddenly stopped walking and looked around. He peered down a small ally and motioned for the group to follow him. "Down here," he directed them.
They went in single file down the narrow cracked walk, all of them feeling uneasy and anxious.
"Who is this friend of yours, Ren?" Lyserg asked, glancing around at the dark windows of the houses they were passing.
"You can trust her." Ren said with a smile, stopping in front of one of the smaller houses. They all stared up at the house, not sure what to make of its gloomy appearance.
The house seemed to be folding into itself, like it couldn't support its own weight and the gray paint was peeling and faded. There were few windows but the few that were there were full of dust and had the shades drawn from inside so that no light could peek out.
Ren walked briskly to the front door and knocked sharply three times before stepping back. Lyserg had winced as the wood of the door groaned before creaking open slightly to reveal a green eye blinking at them. The eye surveyed them quickly before closing the door.
Chocolove frowned and Horo glanced at Ren nervously. They could hear the sound of locks being turned before the door flung open.
A tall woman with wavy green hair tied into a long braid stood in the doorway. Her painted red lips formed a small smiled as she rushed out to wrap her pale arms around Ren.
After Ren hugged her back she straightened and flashed a smile at everyone. "Well, don't just stand there, get inside!"
"It's Jun." Bason whispered to Yoh, noticing the puzzled expression on the Asakura's face.
Yoh blinked. He felt silly for not recognizing her right away like the others had but he hadn't seen her since the shaman fight.
And that was many years ago. Yoh thought dimly to himself as he stepped into the house.
0o0
"This is nice…" Yoh whispered to himself as he sat down on the edge of the bed he had been given.
Despite the houses outward appearance the inside was quite grand with numerous bedrooms and fireplaces. Yoh smiled slightly as he ran his fingers across the silky covers of the bed. He hadn't expected there to be so much comfort. ("Of course we imported everything here directly from China." Ren had scoffed at everyone's amazement.)
"Pretty fancy?"
Yoh turned and grinned. His ghost companion was hovering behind him, bright eyes taking in the new surroundings eagerly.
As usual, whenever Yoh saw his new spirit he couldn't help but feel an edge of sadness creep up on him. No ghost could ever replace Amidamaru…but the samurai spirit was gone for good and Yoh needed a new spirit.
He had befriended his new spirit only a year ago by chance. The young spirit had been attracted by Yoh's strength but over the year had formed a closer bond with him.
"Yeah. Not used to it, Ander?" Yoh leaned back on his hands and tilted his head to the side to hold eye contact.
Ander smiled slightly, his blue green eyes glinting. Ander was a wind spirit which everyone agreed fit Yoh perfectly.
He took the form of a human…or at least took a form similar to that of a human. His wavy blue-white hair formed small wisps that framed his ashen face. His pale lips were almost always pulled together in a thin frown.
"Nope, but you aren't either." Ander replied softly, settling himself next to Yoh. They were silent for a moment before Ander spoke again. "Do you really think you're ready to do this?"
Yoh blinked then nodded. "I'm not going to be picking a fight with anyone. I'm going to stay out of sight and remain unnoticed."
"We'll see."
0o0
A faint smile flitted across the Shaman King's full lips, lighting up his delicate features.
"Hao-sama is happy?"
Hao looked up then nodded slowly. "Yes, Opacho. Or…I will be…" he trailed off as he watched the young child place the wide tray of food on the low table set in the middle of his room. She beamed at him as she prepared his lunch.
"Opacho is happy if Hao-sama is happy!" She stood and bowed her head towards him before she excused herself from his room.
Hao watched the door slide shut before slipping away from the window and seating himself at the table.
As he picked up his chopsticks he mused over his dream, recalling how the fleeting feeling of Yoh's skin against his fingers had roused the longing lying suppressed within him.
He wanted more. He wanted to have Yoh writhing under him one more…to make those dark eyes of his tear up. He yearned to hear the soft cries Yoh made…feel his breath against his ear.
Hao picked up his bowl of rice as he thought about it. Yoh was getting closer to him…and Hao had no doubt that he find him.
0o0
"So what are the plans?" Horo slapped his hands down on the table, grinning at everyone seated around him.
Jun took a seat next to Ren as Bailong served them all soup.
She looked around at all of them until her gaze landed on Yoh. "In three days Asakura Hao will have the celebration of his birthday. During this party he plans to execute the child and woman."
"How do you know all this?" Yoh asked quietly, surprised at how much she knew.
Jun smiled slightly as Bailong sat down beside her. She placed a pale hand on his arm before looking up at Yoh. "I have connections."
Yoh raised an eyebrow but he could tell by the smile Jun was giving him that that was all she was going to say.
"So uh…how are we going to save them?" Lyserg asked as he sipped at his soup.
"We obviously can't just go to Hao's 'party' and expect to be unnoticed." Ren pointed out with a frown.
Horo suddenly spoke up, blue eyes brightening. "We can't go…as ourselves."
"What do you mean?" Chocolove stirred the clear soup around with his spoon, staring around at all of them.
"Disguises." Horo grinned, nodding.
"Don't you think it'll be kind of hard to disguise me such that Hao can't recognize me?" Yoh said grimly, leaning back in his seat and tilting his head to the side.
Jun thought for a moment, nibbling on her bottom lip. "At every one of Hao's birthdays there are servants who all wear the same uniform. The uniform they wear is made so that none of them stand out."
"But Hao would recognize Yoh no matter what kind of clothes he was wearing." Lyserg argued.
Jun held up a hand, her many rings glinting against her long fingers. "Hold on, I haven't finished yet. Not only do the servers all wear the same suits but they also all wear masks."
"Masks? Are you serious?" Horo exclaimed loudly, eyes widening. "That makes it too easy for us…"
The tall woman shook her head, her smile widening. "No, I saw them myself. They all wear black masks that are made so that servers are paid as little attention to as possible." She glanced at Yoh, her eyes shining. "Since the bond between Yoh and Hao has been blocked Hao won't sense him. And with a mask hiding Yoh's features he won't be able to see him either."
Yoh laughed and ran a hand through his hair. "Brilliant." He closed his eyes and leaned back. "It's perfect."
0o0o0o0o0
Joh: Okay I know it's been boring up until now but I swear the next chapter finally speeds things up.
Jessie: Why? What happens?
Joh: The Asakura twins reunite! Kind of…
Jessie: Yay! I know you'll have fun writing that…
Joh: Yes…yes I will.