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. Warning that this fic is somewhat OOC and semi based off the manga.

Chapter 2 – Dreams

Hao nudged Anna's sleeping form, gently shaking her shoulder. Her mind was adrift, as she slumbered. She really didn't want to wake up from this dream that she was having again. There was someone standing beside her with his dark hair and eyes. He was looking at her and though she didn't know who he was, for some reason she felt safe as if he were protecting her. His lips began to move and though she couldn't hear what he was saying. She somehow felt as if she understood and that no words were needed. He was someone important, someone special to her and for some reason. She could never forget him and yet for some reason. She heard someone saying something to her.

"Anna, time to wake up sweetie."

She rolled over slightly, flinging her arm through the air. Hao felt the back of her hand connect with the side of his face, pushing him over the side of the bed. He hit the floor with a thud and Anna quickly sat up.

"Hao!" She cried as her eyes widened in shock, completely waking her up from her sleep and dream as she realized what she had just done.

He quickly hopped off the ground, placing both hands, one on each side of his hips as he laughed it off.

"Are you alright?"

She scooted toward the edge of the bed, bracing one hand on the mattress as she touched the palm of her other hand against the cheek that she had hit, brushing her thumb lightly across the pink mark that was beginning to show. She had hit him pretty hard, her Itako's instincts kicking in to protect her. Her memory and betrayal by Yoh were still fresh in her mind, no matter how much she tried. She just couldn't forget and at times she found her nerves on edge with Hao on the receiving end.

Hao covered the hand on his cheek with his own and smiled sweetly at her. He was always doing that too; taking the blame for everything whenever she would do something. Anyone with two eyes could plainly see that she was at fault. He was doing it to make her feel better and she knew it, but let him get away with it because of what he had said to her. 'Kyouyama Anna. I love you.'

"I'm fine. Better me and not the food." She looked down at her lap to see the breakfast table that he had placed across her lap. If she had gotten anymore closer to the edge of the bed, the small table would have fell and Hao's homemade breakfast would have been lost. He was always doing stuff like this, taking care of her. Her heart was in a fragile state and he was taking the utter most care in everything that he did for her.

The king size European bed that filled the room had been a gift from him to her. He wanted to show his love for her in every way possible and when it came to buying her gifts. He didn't hold himself back.

Not only did it turn out that she had gotten a great deal on the hot springs hotel due to him without her knowing about it, but he made her dream of being the owner of a hot springs come true. He had paid off the remaining amount that she had owed on the hot springs at a discount. Since the moment she set foot in the building, he didn't allow her do any work though she would never have argued over being made to do work around the hotel. They spent most of their time in the bedroom. Today was different though. It was the day that he was supposed to take her to someplace that he wanted to show her. It was yet another day that they were going to spend together.

Anna watched the buildings pass by as she continued to look out the window; her hand was entwined in his. His eyes were on her, but she was aware of the outside world that was flashing by her. She had known that something was up when Hao hadn't used Spirit of Fire to take them to their destination. Usually he would use his spirit and she had become accustomed to being around the genie though at times even she wondered about the power Hao wielded. He rarely displayed it around her anymore as if he were trying to forget the fact that he was a shaman.

It was often surprising to her, the way Hao acted in her presence. He wasn't like what she had first thought him to be. He had a more serious side to him and was in many ways like Yoh. That is what scared her the most; not only did he look like her former fiancée, but that in some ways he acted like Yoh. There would be tender, concerned looks that he would send her way and she would look away, not able to gaze into the dark eyes that so resembled Yoh's. It was the look that Yoh used to give her when he once cared for her, but Yoh's eyes had grown hard, determined, set on chasing his current passions. She wondered why she hadn't tried to just have sex with Yoh because there had been several times that the two had laid side by side on their own futons, attempting to sleep. She had wanted to touch him, to feel him, but had been afraid. Mainly of her own emotions and what would happen if she were to give into that unknown side of her.

At times she wanted to blame herself for it all, for Yoh leaving her, but when she looked at Hao. She realized that she was relieved that their engagement had come to an end because would she have been this happy with Yoh like she was happy being with Hao. There had been moments when she felt like this when she was Yoh. He would smile at her, reassuring her constantly that everything would be okay and yet he left her in the end.

Hao never tried to feed her such false hopes. There were moments when she found him watching her, but there was sadness in his eyes that when she'd ask if he was all right. The sadness would fade away to be replaced by an innocent and sweet smile for her. He'd assure her that nothing was wrong, but she knew at those moments. He was finding himself lost in the past, haunted by old memories that he couldn't seem to forget. Not even when he was with her, but when she'd talk to him. It'd call him out of his daydream and back into the present. She was glad for it because in a matter of weeks. She had become accustomed to a gentler side of Hao that she had never known existed.

There were indeed many similar things about the twins, things that she noticed instantly. But there was a big difference between the ways that the two of them treated her.

Yoh had always treated her as if she would always be there, as if he knew that she would always stay by his side and believe in him no matter what. Because of her, he had grown into the powerful Shaman that he was to this day, a Shaman that had the power and the will to become Shaman King. She had really begun to believe in him and rely on him. That is where she had gone wrong she reminded herself yet again.

Putting so much faith into one person had caused her to do something that she had never done in her whole life. She had come to care for someone. Yoh had moved her heart, awakened her compassion and her faith into believing in him and his dream. To become Shaman King had become not just his dream, but her own. She had wanted to remain beside him no matter what. He would draw strength from her and she would draw strength off from him. In the end it hadn't worked out like that. Reality had turned out more bitter than she had first imagined. She often found herself questioning many things. Had it all been worth it? Getting engaged to Yoh and falling in love with him? Yet losing him to someone else in the end?

There had been times that she wondered if one day Yoh would end up falling in love with someone else when the two of them had been engaged, but she had always believed that he would come to care for her as she had for him. There had been many times when Yoh had showed interest in her and many times when he showed how fearful he was of her, but there had been those moments between the two of them that she believed that he loved her. At least, she had felt loved and the feeling was something still new to her.

Hao treated her differently. He treated her as if knew tomorrow would never come. As if the sun would never shine upon them and that everything would come to an end at any moment. It was almost as if he worshipped her at times, but she knew that no man would ever stoop to that level for a woman, let alone her. Yet Hao would gaze into her eyes at those moments. She felt as if she were no longer herself, that she had completely become someone else. It was as if Hao knew just how fragile she was and that he wanted to protect her so that she would never shatter into a million pieces the way she had when Yoh had ended their engagement. Though she had never shared her feelings at that time with anyone or displayed how she truly felt. Hao was able to plainly see through her and how she had dealt with saying goodbye to Yoh.

He never talked of future things or of his own dream of creating the Shaman Kingdom. She had always thought that he would bring it up one day so that he could continue on with his plans for restoring the Earth to its former beauty. Yet not once had he ever mentioned anything of dreams to her or of chasing them, he in no way mentioned that she would even have a part in his future or not, if he would even stay with her always. She left the words unsaid and accepted things for what they were.

He had said he loved her and she accepted the words for what they were, words. She didn't need to hear it from him to know the way that he felt. He showed his feelings for her in every thoughtful thing that he did for her. It touched her still that he would share those words for her, but she refused to allow herself to ever be hurt again. She knew that she loved Hao, but it was only to a certain extent for her heart remained guarded. She would never allow herself to be hurt ever again or at least that is what she constantly was telling herself. The truth of the matter was she wondered if it was already too late for that.

She didn't need to glance to out of the corner of her eye to see that he was still looking at her. She could feel his eyes on her. It was moments like this when his eyes were focused on her that she felt as if she were protectively wrapped in his warm embrace yet there was no physical contact between the two of them, at least not at the moment.

She finally turned to look at him and he smiled his idiotic smile. Her heart melted as she knew that it was indeed already too late. If this was a dream, she didn't want to ever wake up from it.