That voice Chapter 9: For a moment, a shaman king fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King so please don't sue me. I will not be responsible for any sudden bursts of tears that this fic may cause or the up and down feelings that you may experience from reading this. I've based this off the anime series with tiny hints of the manga and drama cds. I've only just begun to get into the manga series so excuse me for starting off a bit late.

Chapter 9 – For a moment

Yoh couldn't believe it, but Hao was walking out on him and not listening to a word he was saying. He didn't know why his brother couldn't see what this all was doing to everyone. Not just to his twin and himself, but to Anna and the others.

"Don't turn your back on me. All that I ask is that you just listen to me for one moment." Hao continued to walk out the door, leaving the house that belonged to his other half. "Someone will end up getting hurt! Hao!!!" He didn't need to turn back to look to see his brother's reflection anymore because no matter where he went. His annoying little twin would be there to contradict him. He forced Yoh's spirit to bury itself once again deep inside of his own body, casting his little brother into complete darkness again.

Yoh couldn't hold up against the powerful spiritual blow that was sent his way. He tried to fight it, but found himself standing in the dark again. "Why can't you see that you'll just end up hurting yourself more?" Yoh sighed, but his words were lost to ears of his twin. Hao could no longer hear what he had to say and refused to listen. He was in complete control again.

"Don't tell me what to do or you'll get burned." A few feet away from Hao appeared a younger form of Spirit of Fire. "It was hard enough to bring you back in your present form, but you will not be needed here comrade. Return and wait for me to come again. The Shaman Kingdom will come one day and not even he will be able to stop it then." The young genie nodded to its master and disappeared in a swirl of flames. "I have work to do." He prepared for the guests that he knew would be coming soon.

Manta searched all over for Anna, but he couldn't find her anywhere. He returned to the café that everyone had gathered in earlier that day. Everyone was still there as they continued to be knee deep within their debates over Yoh, but Anna was nowhere in sight.

"Has Anna-san come back?" Ryu released his hold on Lyserg finally allowing the younger Shaman to breath and scoot far away from him.

"Anna-okami hasn't come back. I thought she left with you?"

"Ah, no. I went to go see Yoh-kun." Everyone stopped talking and turned to look at him. Horohoro set his arm heavily onto the table and looked at the boy that was much smaller than him.

"But I thought that she said it wasn't safe to go there alone."

"I thought I could talk to Yoh-kun and reason with him, but.." He left the sentenced unfinished as all eyes continued to stay on him. Ren noticed a slight tear on Manta's shirt. It hadn't been there earlier when they had all met together. He knew that something must have happened.

"What happened?" His golden eyes pierced into Manta causing the boy to laugh nervously as he covered up the tear in an attempt to hide it. He knew that Ren must have seen it and knew that things were far worse than they had first believed it to be. Anna couldn't even begin to tell them how much trouble Yoh was causing with his wild temper now. Ren quickly stood, grabbing his sword and glared at each one of them in turn.

"I'm going to go see Yoh for myself." He quickly left the café and everyone scrambled after him before anyone could even reply to the Chinese boy's words. As they arrived at the front yard of Yoh's house, a lone figure stood in the front yard. It was Yoh.

Hao looked up from his meditation before their forms came into view. He could feel the Shamans' presence before they had even reached the house. He stood up; dusting himself off as he held Harusame in his hand, ready to welcome the guests that were coming. He took out the mortuary tablet that he wore hidden within the inside of his shirt and Yoh's most trusted samurai spirit appeared. He planned to use his twin's spirit against his friends.

"Its been a long time since I last did this, but… Amidamaru! Spirit ball mode!" Amidamaru formed into his spirit ball form and appeared in his hand. He had his own powers that he could have easily used against the other Shamans, but he wanted to use his brother's powers against his friends. He wanted to make Yoh sorry that he had ever been born. "Hyoui gattai!" He brought the spirit into his chest and they fused.

"Y-yoh-donna?" Hao grabbed Harusame and drew the katana by its hilt. A spiritual blade formed of the sword.

"Did you think that Yoh alone could do this with Harusame?" He chuckled as he showed off the spiritual blade that he had called forth and raised it to point at them. "Come and get it if you dare." Everyone stood in shock at the Shaman that was threatening them. It really wasn't Yoh that stood there before them and yet they didn't know who it was.

"T-this isn't Yoh-dono!" Amidamaru's spirit rose from him and the spiritual blade disappeared. "It is Asakura Hao!" Hao laughed.

"So you've finally figured it out." He sheathed Harusame and cast the katana off to the side, the sword being useless to him. "Its about time that you've found out fools. I've always known that the human spirit was useless and yet again you prove me right Amidamaru." He smiled at the spirit. Amidamaru gritted his teeth together as he held his tongue for not realizing sooner what had happened to his master. "You are a pathetic samurai, unworthy to serve his master. It's no surprise why you were killed. You are human after all." If Amidamaru were still alive, he would have buried his fist into Hao's face for that remark.

"Get out of my way." He walked toward the group gathered, but everyone stepped out of the way to make room for him to pass. No one tried to stop him as he left the yard though their eyes stayed on him during the whole time. Without Yoh, they knew that they were helpless against someone as powerful as Hao and if they tried to fight him. There was no telling what would happen to Yoh and if they would ever find out the truth about what had happened to him. Their only option that remained was to let him go.

Anna leaned her back up against the large tree trunk, as the soft, muffled footsteps grew closer. Ordinary people wouldn't have heard that someone was coming, but she knew instantly the moment when this person had begun to come see her. It was the person that she knew better than anyone else; it was Asakura Yoh, but even now. He wasn't the same person that she has known for the past several years that they had grown up together. She knew that it had to be someone else in Yoh's body and she was having her suspicions.

As she sat meditating later after talking to everyone, she had finally come to her own conclusion. There just couldn't have been any other answer to this riddle that remained unsolved. She was an Itako, not only a powerful one, but also a damned smart one. Intelligent than all the others as Itako Kino had often told her. She knew that she had the capability to figure it out if she just meditated on it for a while using one of her other abilities that she had learned to use to her advantage. Calling everyone else had merely been a distraction to keep Yoh away from her long enough so that she could do what she needed to do. Figure out who it was that had possessed him. She had made a few phone calls and gotten the help of a few smart females. She had been wrong to ask the guys for help on such a delicate matter.

"Anna." She didn't need to look over to see who it was. She knew who it was, but the sound of his voice wasn't his. It was Yoh's. She reminded herself to not be tricked anymore by his tears and kindness. He had wronged them both by doing this. He had taken Yoh's life already once and she hated him for it, but he had gone too far by taking over Yoh's body. She wasn't going to forgive him.

Hao walked up to her still form and stared at her. She was leaning up against a tree and staring down at the ground. She didn't seem to acknowledge that he had come and he noticed there was a different air around her. As if she had learned something that she hadn't known before. He wasn't sure if she had finally found out his secret or if she still believed he was Yoh. Questions began to plague him, as he wanted to ask her if she hated him now.

"Anna?" She looked up from the ground with dull, cold eyes finally and gazed over at him.

"What?" Hao swallowed, the emptiness in her eyes troubling him.

"Are you mad at me?" One of her brows raised and than she began to laugh. Her chuckle was bitter and sent a chill down his spine. This wasn't the Anna that he had come to know, the Anna that held him as he cried. 'What have I done?' He silently asked himself as he stood there witnessing Anna distancing herself from him. Her laugher halted so unexpectedly that he was taken by surprise as she pushed away from the tree and began to walk toward him. He took a step back as she drew closer. He didn't want to hurt her and yet she appeared as if she wanted to fight. 'Women…' The thought was more than enough to inconvenience him in many ways. He was a master of the five elements, the most powerful Shaman in the world. Nature was at his beck and call. Many women he had easily conquered and yet she continued to resist him. He wanted her more. Not just her body, but he wanted to make her understand him, to make her become his bride.

She didn't have to read his mind to notice what he was thinking about because he wasn't making an attempt to hide it and she planned to use it to her advantage. She stepped in front of him and stared into his eyes dark as if searching for something. He could see the emotions swirling in the depths of her eyes and suddenly felt the need to hold her, to comfort her, but he held himself in place.

"Your really a handful." The words sounded foreign to her ears. Though it had been said from Yoh's lips, she knew that he would never be able to say something like that to her. The eyes that were currently on her were not the caring eyes of Yoh, but the saddened eyes of a lonely man that once existed a long time ago. His eyes lowered to her lips and she noticed instantly. For the life of her she knew that she didn't have any real sex appeal, but to get Yoh back. She was willing to do it.

Her tongue flicked out, lightly running across her bottom lip and then disappear back into her mouth. It was more than enough to make him forget that the two of them had been arguing. He suddenly lost his place and fell deeper into the moment. He longer could tell who he was or who she was, but his feelings pressed him on. He wanted to kiss her and he felt like laughing out loud at the idea, but refrained from doing so. He didn't want the moment to end between them. He began to lean forward as if propelled by an unknown force, the need to be closer to her driving him on.

"Anna." There was a certain huskiness to his voice that she couldn't recognize. Yoh had never said her name like that before and she felt surprised. Their thoughts were a blur to one another so there was no use in them trying to read the other's mind as each of them seemed to be lost in their own world, hers intent on getting Yoh back, his intent on winning her over. As his face drew closer to hers, his eyes began to drift closed as her eyes never left his. The surprise didn't last long as she realized what was about to happen. The sound of the impact echoed throughout the open area. No one was in hearing distance and though no one could hear him or her. Someone might have heard that.

"Don't get fresh with me." There was iciness not only in her gaze now, but also in the tone of her voice. She had distanced herself yet again. His face stung as the red imprint of her hand began to form on his cheek. She had done it again, slapped him with her renowned slap, marking him with her brand of dominance. He smiled as the feeling settled in. It was a reminder to him that he was the stronger one yet she had the will to stand up against him. Something that many Shamans or humans had been unable to do and knew that they would die if they dared to approach him in such a way. She showed o fear toward him and saw him on equal terms as anyone else. To her, he was a man like any other though he was a powerful Shaman.

Part of him was angry with her for continuing to push him away. Yet he urged himself on. He looked over into her eyes again only to see that icy stare once again. He wanted to break the wall that existed between the two of them. He was going to make her his bride, the bride of Asakura, the bride of the Shaman King. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her toward him, planting his own lips over hers.

Anna didn't notice what was happening as he pulled her toward him. Her hand slipped down to the purse that she had slung over her shoulder and rested at her hip. She pulled out the paper talisman between two fingers ready, as she was pulled closer to him.

The spell had been well prepared after calling her teacher up and consulting with her over what had been going on. Itako Kino told her that she should use a spell to expel the spirit that resided in Yoh and to do so. She would need a powerful spell. She reverted to using Chou Senji Ryakketsu to find a spell that was suitable, but she wasn't too familiar with such spells so she called Jun up to ask more questions. Much research was needed to prepare the spell correctly, but in the end it was nothing that the powerful Itako couldn't overcome. The only demise of the spell was if the original spirit that owned the body didn't have a strong will to continue living. He wouldn't be able to claim his body back and his soul too would be lost never to gain control of his body again.

He dared to kiss her and that was reason enough. She hadn't meant to give him the opportunity to kiss her, but it couldn't be helped. She brought the paper talisman down onto his forehead rather forcefully. "Dismiss essence!"

Hao didn't have time to react as one moment he was kissing her and next he felt himself falling through a dark hole endlessly until he hit the bottom, landing on his feet. He didn't have to ask where he was because only a few feet away from him sat Yoh. He was staring at him.

Yoh couldn't believe it, his training and powers were getting better since he has been working so hard in his own mind. He smiled and silently believed that he was becoming stronger by the minute. He had just tried to call Hao back into his mind so that he could take back his body and though he had tried other countless times to do the technique. It had failed, but this time it worked. He was proud of himself.

"Hello Hao." It irked Hao as he ignored Yoh. She had done it again to him, pushed him away. He knew that this would be the last draw. She had pushed him away and that he had lost merely because he let his own emotions get the best of him. Such foolish human emotions at that. He sighed and glanced over at his little brother. His gaze rested on his younger twin as if everything were finally sinking in.

Yoh gritted his teeth together in frustration, as Hao didn't answer him. He had grown tired of being alone and of his brother not listening to a damned thing he would say. There was no telling what Hao had done to Anna or even to his friends. He just knew he had to get back to them somehow and that opportunity was now presenting itself to him. He was going to use Hao's experience and knowledge against him. When Yoh's soul first entered Hao's body and he experienced that close to death moment. He had relived Hao's lives and learned everything there could possible be to gain from living for over 1000 years. Memories that weren't his flooded his mind and his heart. Feelings of trust and betrayal sunk its way into his being. Almost consuming him into becoming something that he wasn't. For he wasn't Asakura Hao and he constantly had to remind himself of that. It somehow all felt familiar to him, as he had witnessed similar things happening to him as he grew up, raised as a Shaman. Unable to forget what he was because others couldn't understand or refused to accept him. He was shunned and looked down upon for carrying the name Asakura. It was all a similar experience as it had been in Chou Senji Ryakketsu.

"Did you know Yoh?" Hao unsteady gaze rested on him, drawing Yoh out from his own musings, for a moment and then moved elsewhere, not centering on one thing, but slowly looking around as if lost. Searching for something that he couldn't see, but could feel was there. "That for a moment.. she was mine." His eyes darkened, but a tiny gleam shone in its depths as he continued. "For a moment I held her with these arms.. with these hands." His gaze finally rested on his hands as he slowly closed them and opened them again, as if they would no longer heed him and had a mind of their own. "Nothing else mattered. I even let something that has driven me in every life, my dream of the Shaman Kingdom, be put on hold for a moment as I held her close to me." He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "The pain was deep. It was such a long time ago when that dream first formed and look where it has gotten me." He closed his eyes as if remembering something from the past that pained him. "Warmth.. It's something that I've known very well. I feel it as I sit beside a fire, but this warmth.. I've never felt it before. Even when I slept beside my wives, nothing like this existed between us though we had children, no feeling.." He opened his eyes and stared up into the unknown, the darkness never ending. "There was a sound, steady and strong, drawing you in and wrapping you around in its rhythm. Making you forget that pain, that betrayal, taunting you into believing that you were weak and that it was the answer to all your prayers. Not even.. Great Spirit could ever tell her what to do."

If Yoh had known any better, it was as if Hao was silently crying in front of him though no tears fell. His words were unsteady, rushed, and his voice carried a different note to it that Yoh hadn't noticed was there before. There was no humor, the playfulness gone and no teasing words to confuse him. The voice that he knew sounded different. Hao was babbling as if he were an old man, reminiscing about the past. A painful past that haunted him and a love that was not returned.

"Who are you calling old man?" Hao glowered at him. He had been reading his thoughts again. There were very few things that he could hide from his twin. Name-calling was not one of them. He walked over to his little brother and grabbed his chin, pulling his face close to his so that they were cheek to cheek. He didn't drop his hand from his chin as he whispered. "You're such a pain sometimes and yet you continue to amuse me, making life hard for me. Always causing me trouble and that woman of yours. Tempting me as she were some seductress." Yoh shoved up against him and pushed him away.

"She would never do that!" He yelled knowing that Anna would never do something like that. He didn't know what he was going on about. She would never stoop to such a level and he knew that Hao knew as much, but he continued to feel the need to protect her from his words. He didn't want anyone talking about her in such a way.

Hao smiled evilly knowing that he had irked his brother, but he couldn't resist. Yoh looked cute when he was angry and was so gullible when it came to the truth. He had not been there when she had allowed him to kiss her.

"I guess that's it then." His evil smile faded as he seriously looked at Yoh.

"What?" Yoh didn't understand what he was talking about. Hao appeared to be in some intricate state of being and was saying things that didn't make sense. Hao sighed and shrugged slightly.

"I've grown tired of this life so I'm giving it back to you." He didn't tell Yoh the truth that Anna had pushed him away and it seemed as if he would never win her over. She refused to say his name and though he continued to want to tell her the truth just so that he could get her to say his name. She continued to push him away and had even gone as far as to use her body against him in a way that she wouldn't normally have done. He had stolen a kiss from her and that was enough to make him happy to move onto the next world. She was truly too much to handle so he was giving her back to Yoh.

Yoh couldn't believe it. What did Hao really mean by what he was saying. "Promise me one last thing."

"W-what's that?"

"Promise me that you'll take care of her.. of Anna." Yoh knew that he wasn't joking. Hao's eyes were on him as he was serious. There was glimmer of danger in its depths that if he failed to protect her that he would come back and make him pay.

"Hao.."

"Ah and one last thing." Hao smiled sweetly as his image began to fade as he let himself leave this world, ready to begin the journey of his next life. "We did end up kissing." He began to chuckle.

"WHAT!?!" Yoh's eyes widened as he jumped for Hao, ready to grab him around the throat as he disappeared and Yoh passed through nothingness. He couldn't believe it. Hao said that they had kissed, but he knew that it couldn't be true. Anna would have never allowed it. The bastard had to be lying because Anna would never kiss someone like Hao. Would she? Sweat beaded across his brow as he stood there realizing that he was still in his own mind. Why wasn't he returning to his normal form? Had Anna chosen Hao over him since she had come to know Hao now? Was everyone on Hao's side now? The questions continued to plague him and he felt himself becoming consumed more by his own darkness.