Hello all, Raikku of the Darkness here and has finally updated "If It Takes Forever" after practically 2 years! I've had a serious case of writer's block and it finally lifted while I have been in Thailand for the Study Abroad program. Boredom has it's prizes!

Disclaimer: Raikku of the Darkness in no way, shape, or form own any bit of Shaman King or any of the components thereof. She is only borrowing them for a small bit of time in order to get her brain to shut up for a little while.

If It Takes Forever

Over the last hour, the Tao estate has been racked with fighting. The sound of swords meeting and landing blows overpowered the usual deathly silence that was uniquely Tao. One would think that this battle would be between bitter enemies, sworn to kill one another: they would be right…even though the enemies were flesh and blood.

Tao Yuan sat in his throne room brooding over his current situation. His son, Tao Ren, was leading his own revolution against him, his own father. Yuan thought he had this under control; Ren and Jun, his oldest child, had both been thrown in the dungeon to rot until they were able to be molded into what he wanted again. He had forgotten all about that bothersome Bason. Although Bason was one of the strongest warriors in the Tao arsenal, he was quite spine-less and the Tao family head never expected him to go for help.

"As if ghosts had feelings for their masters." Yuan scoffed.

Even if they did, Ren had treated Bason so badly, he doubted if the Chinese warlord had gone for help out of compassion, but more so out of fear.

Yuan's black eyes grazed over each of the screens that held profiles of the cavalry that were Ren's "friends". His massive face grimaced. Yuan hated that word. Friends were for the weak; a fact that he pounded into the heads of his children from the day they were born. When they cried, he ordered no one to touch them. They were to rely on their own strength alone, become the strongest and destroy anyone or anything that got in the way. Either be the best or die like the rest. Ren and Jun had built their entire lives on this principle but…

His eyes glared at one screen.

That had all changed when they met the leader of this ragtag group of shamanic pains in the ass.

"Asakura Yoh." Yuan spat out the name as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. It was like the boy could do no wrong. He had barely gotten through the preliminary rounds of the tournament and yet…

The face on the screen smiled.

The Asakura family head, Yohmei, had trained his grandson well. The boy was as strong as his own son, which Yuan was pained to admit. He had known this Asakura would be trouble, just like the Asakuras before him and the ones to come after. Yuan knew that Yoh would be the one to ruin what he had done; he just didn't know how or when.

Suddenly, the screen changed and the Asakura boy's face was that of a girl. Her piercing blue eyes may have been different, but they couldn't hide the fact that she was indeed an Asakura. Kishami Rayumi, or Rayna as she liked to be called, was only a quarter Asakura. Yuan laughed at the thought. "She's a mutt." His deep, baritone voice rumbled throughout the room, sounding more like thunder than a human voice. He looked that the screen again, watching the girl punch the blue haired Ainu shaman in the back of the head. He couldn't understand his son's fascination with her. She dressed like she wanted to be like a boy. The only pleasurable thing to look at on Rayna was her surprisingly lovely face.

Yuan smirked. "She is an exotic beauty, indeed, Ren."

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Yohmei's sister, Yomiko, was always the odd one between the two Asakura siblings. You would think that a woman of such small statue would be as silent as the grave and submissive. Yumi was the complete opposite, which was probably where Rayna got her personality. Even in her old age, Yohmei's twin sister had a very loud mouth with a dash of sarcasm and attitude that would make a quick wit that was poisonous. It wasn't a surprise when she caught the eye of a traveling Romanian merchant by the name of Vladimir Kishami. They were soon married but under mysterious circumstances, Vladimir died, leaving Yomiko alone and pregnant. She returned to the Asakuras to give birth to Rayna's mother, Ryoko. Ryoko Kishami wasn't anything like her mother. She was quiet and timid, much like her late father. However, she was a fierce medium who often could speak to the gods and goddesses of the world, making her the most in demand shaman in all of Japan.

Yomiko moved her old bones. She had been sitting in the same stop for a few hours now. She wanted to move, but her stubborn body was too lazy to get up at the moment. Her old, worn rocking chair creaked with every movement, the sound of crashing waves and the cries of seagulls filling her ears. She hadn't thought about her family's history for a long time, probably not since Kage was a young boy. Always the one to ask questions, Kage was. He was the spitting image of his father, but has his mother's tendencies. Kage may act big and bad, but, in truth, he hated violence.

Yomiko had thanked every god and goddess when she learned this. Kage's and Rayna's father's attitude was not on to be desired. How that pitiful shell of a man had managed to have two children by her daughter was beyond her, but it was the only thing that he had done right in his entire life.

Yomiko sighed. At least he wasn't a deadbeat. Ian Lee may have been a part of the American branch of the Yakuza, and he may have been the kind of guy you wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of. He may even have been sitting in a cold jail cell in Rikers at that very moment. Ian may have done a lot of bad things with his life, but he always did right by his children and their mother. Why when Ryoko had gotten pregnant with Kage, he married her without a second thought. He treated Rayna like a princess, even before she was born. However, it was too dangerous for them to have his last name, so they would be Kishamis. A reason why Yomiko disliked her son-in-law so.

Her granddaughter's face popped into her mind and Yomiko smiled. Rayna was starting to turn out to be lovely young woman, despite her sharp tongue. She had inherited all of her grandfather's looks: from the long jet black hair to the icy cerulean eyes. However, she did get her mother's awkwardness and didn't know how to use her attributes to her advantage, like her grandmother did when she was young. Rayna was more of the type to be more boyish and often covered her beautifully developing body.

Yomiko's slow rocking stopped. She was not alone in her home.

"Why do you stop, old woman?" the culprit mocked, the voice she recognized.

"What are you doing here?" she croaked calmly, never turning to face the intruder.

He smirked. "You know damn well, so don't toy with me," The wind whistled through his cape.

"Where's the girl?" Yomiko stayed silent. She knew this day would come.

"I don't know."

"Don't lie to me," The intruder said. "Your daughter has told you of her past, no? I'm sure you of all people know her future."

Yomiko's body quivered. The voice began again. "It is her destiny. No matter how many charms and spells you and Yohmei have placed her under, once I have her, she will remember."

"No!" the old woman leaped from her chair, finally facing him. "Rayna will never be yours! Sins of the past will not be sins of the future!"

She spat at him. "Rayna will no pay for the sins of your past…" she pointed a boney finger at him.

"Hao."

The teenager, Hao, stood still before her. It was as if the very wind was afraid to move around him. The sea was quieted and the seagulls stopped their crying. Hao was about as tall as her, if not taller. A cape was draped about his person and long, baggy pants peeked out from under it. Strange red and black shoes dug into the ground and tribal bracelets shined around his wrists. His long, brown hair pooled down to his behind and his eyes flickered a fiery red.

"You will not stand in the way of her destiny."

Suddenly, a great wave of red, flaming hot whipped around Yomiko, binding her in the burning grip of the Spirit of Fire; its great hand constricting her, while fire licked at her withered body. However, the old Asakura hadn't even screamed. In fact, a weirdly creepy smile appeared on her face.

"Rayna will fight you, Hao," She yelled to him as her body burst into a thousand silver butterflies. Their wings reflecting the moonlight as they took to the air; the flapping whispering: "She will not be alone."

Hao glared at the retreating butterflies. The old woman had been a trick. That wasn't really Yomiko, but a distraction. "Hmph, a celestial mirage." It seemed that the real Yumi was in hiding.

Small steps ran beside him. "Is she dead, Lord Hao?"

"No, Opacho." Hao said, patting the boy's head. "But she will be."

"What about Lady Rayna?" the boy questioned, his brown eyes gazing at the young man before him.

"She will have to wait. I do believe she is with my dear brother." He said, turning to walk back into the home. "I must gather my thoughts if she is to remember just who she is."

Hao stopped before the open front door and looked at the picture on the table. Rayna's face smiled up at him as she waved at the camera, her feet in the ocean water, pants rolled up her shapely legs to her thighs. Her hair blew lightly on the wind and was in her signature ponytail. Hao brushed his fingers lightly across the photo.

"You will remember, Mayumi."