The Eyes of a Boy

Summary: The Shaman Fight is over, but is Hao really dead? Yoh doesn't think so, which in extension means neither does anyone else. With the unwilling Lyserg and uncertain but willing Tamao leading the way, Yoh and friends manage to locate the bleeding, fading, Hao Asakura on the outskirts of the Patch Village. The question is no longer whether or not Hao is alive, but if Hao can live a normal life after all that he's done. Is it even possible to form bonds of friendship and trust with those he'd once tried to kill, or will their inability to see past the older Asakura brother's misdeeds push him even further away?

Anime/Manga: Shaman King

Pairing: Yoh/Anna

Genre: Romance/Angst/Hurt/Comfort/Humor

Rated: M for Mature Content

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT FOR ANYONE WHO HASN'T "READ" THE "MANGA"!

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Chapter Two

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Shadows clung to the wet walls of the dark and clammy caves, inclined up a hill, the cave sat perched out of the way of most forest trails.

'Weak...so weak...how could I have been...so weak...'

Creatures kept to the darkness, being sure to steer clear of the bloodied and defeated teen.

'Why...Spirit of Fire...come to me...'

Silence followed the boys' soundless command, and with it, nothing came.

'...Spirit of Fire?'

Mocha brown eyes hidden behind closed eyelids could barely be seen peeking out from beneath eyelashes. His face was blood stained, his long hair matted to his face and bare back by the blood spilt after the fight he'd caused with his other half.

'Why aren't you answering me...?'

No answer came; nothing confirmed that his thoughts were being heard.

'Spirit of Fire...!'

He called out mentally...nothing.

'SPIRIT OF FIRE!'

He called with more force, his thoughts jumbled, his head thumping from a headache caused by blood loss; once more...nothing.

"...S-SPIRIT OF FIRE~!"

His cry was filled with hurt, pain, loss, and if you listened carefully, you could hear an undertone of betrayal, fear and lonesomeness, as once more...his cry for his Spiritual Guide...went unanswered.

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"...S-SPIRIT OF FIRE~!"

Tamao and Anna had been following behind Lyserg who led the group off towards the cave that led to the Great One. Behind them were Yoh, Ryu, Ren, Horohoro, and Manta; Ryu, Choco and Horohoro hadn't known how to react to the news, but had willingly agreed to go along with Yoh, after all, they hadn't stopped following him when they found out he was Hao's brother, why start doubting him now? It had been two hours before they heard the strangled, faraway cry of Yoh's older twin.

Actually, where Yoh's plan to tell them after they had Hao in his room, was concerned...he didn't even get halfway down the stairs before he heard Horohoro yell. Apparently, after the Ainu had asked Anna where she and Tamao was going, her blunt answer of 'Hao hunting' had sent the Ice Shaman into a frenzy of 'what the hell's'.

Yoh stopped walking, clenching his shirt right above his heart, he closed his eyes as he tried to ease the aching. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Anna looking ahead at the nonexistent trail they'd been following. Tamao had gotten them pretty far with her divination, telling them that Hao was residing within the cave leading to the dwelling of the Great One, which helped Lyserg zero in on his whereabouts. They were close now, and he wasn't going to stop yet. "Let's keep going,"

"Are you sure, Master Yoh?" Ryu asked, "That didn't sound like the cry of some sad, hurt, dying teen...it sounded angry."

"...no, you didn't hear it right. He is sad, he's also alone, and scared, I can hear it, but even before I heard it...I felt it." He smiled, "I won't leave him behind..."

"..." Ryu chuckled, "You truly are a diamond in the ruff, Master Yoh, we are lucky to have you as a friend." His eyes hardened, "Alright, Tokagero, let us continue onwards, and help out Yoh's lost and confused look-a-like."

"Right!" Horohoro grinned, "I may not like the dude, but let's be serious, Yoh's right, if we kill him now, he'll only reincarnate himself in another five hundred years, and who knows, he might when next time. Who is to say we'll have an X-LAW's, or Yoh Asakura, Tao Ren, Ryu the Wooden Sword, or Manta the next time he's reincarnated?"

"Funny how you conveniently left out your name," Ren said.

"Heh, there will always be a Horohoro!"

"Our hero," Ren muttered sarcastically, "Let us hope we don't have to depend on you and your wooden board."

"Watch it Ren,"

"Humph,"

"Heh, watch a hen!" Choco waved feathers about frantically only for Ren's Kwan-Dao to press painfully into his nose, "AH!"

"Not funny, dude!"

"Disgraceful!" Ren shouted.

Choco cried, "MERCY!"

"Hehe, come on guys, lets not fight; we are looking for Hao right now, so the tension is high enough without any trivial fights."

Anna nodded, "Nicely said, Yoh. You are really starting to come along."

"...huh?" Yoh blinked obliviously, but smiled, "you think so?"

"Yes, now let's keep going. The sooner we find Hao, the sooner we can head home. I'm already tired of these ridiculously high prices; I'm ready to go home, Yoh."

He nodded, "Me too, and we will...but I want to go home with Hao by our side."

"..." Anna walked off with the others following close behind. She wasn't joking about wanting to find Hao and get home, she needed a nice relaxing day with her soap operas that she'd been deprived of for far too long, and perhaps a massage too if she could con Yoh into giving her one. If not, she'd utilize Faust's medical experience and let him ease the pain in her shoulders and back.

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Hao wasn't sure how long he'd been lying there, but he knew he wasn't healing nearly fast enough for the wounds on his body. Hell, if being almost cut in half by his brother hadn't been bad enough, the fall to the rocky hill he'd landed on had almost killed him. He had been knocked unconscious and wasn't sure if a few hours had passed, or a few days, but he'd woken up sometime in the middle of the night and had managed to crawl into a cave that was a few feet in front of him. However, despite it being so close, he had to struggle to get inside. Then he practically pulled himself towards the back of the damp, mildew covered, bitter cold cave.

He couldn't recall a day in his three lives that he'd felt this broken and weak. In the past, he would just be killed, not left to die in pain. Quite frankly, he didn't think Yoh was that type...he wasn't even the type to do that. Hence the reason he just killed the people who upset him, well, that or fed them to his Spirit of Fire, though, they still died either way, it's just one way made him stronger, the other made angry and upset spirits, and he just didn't care to deal with spirits trying to haunt him or hurt him. Actually, right now, he didn't care much about anything, he just wanted to either die and get it over with, or heal and be done with this in-between life and death thing that he was going through.

He heard footsteps echoing towards the entrance of the cave and frowned, wondering if perhaps one of his followers had come to aide him. He knew it wasn't Opacho, the steps were much to heavy for the child; thinking about Opacho, he felt his gut clench and twist at how horribly he'd treated her prior to being beaten by his other half.

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"Yoh, at least let Ren go with you!" Anna argued irritably with her easygoing fiancé, "Hao may still be capable of drawing you into him,"

"Nah, don't worry Anna, he won't try to hurt me. Trust me,"

She sighed in annoyance, "When will you get it through your thick, oblivious skull, Yoh! It isn't you I don't trust, it's Hao! If he had the strength, he wouldn't hesitate to destroy you!"

He laughed, "But he doesn't have the strength, so there isn't anything to worry about. Now, stay here, Ren will keep everyone safe, in case something does happen, but I don't think you need to worry."

Yoh left the group at the front of the cave entrance that Lyserg and Morphea had led them to. He heard Horohoro and Ryu complaining behind him as he grew further away, and Ren made a snappy comment that riled Horohoro up, and then there was silence. Yoh smiled, he was sure Anna had said something, only she could silence them so quickly. Amidamaru hovered before him as he walked through the dark cave; Yoh followed his guardian spirit, his eyes lazy with a lack of sleep, he yawned as he continued further into the depths of the rock-strewn fissure.

Stopping at the sound of fabric rustling slightly, Yoh moved a bit and rounded a corner of the cave where he saw his brother lying on the cold stone ground of the cave. "Hao!" He hadn't expected him to look so...blood-spattered. Moving carefully forward, he jumped at the sound of a broken chuckle.

"I'm surprised...you came..."

"...I couldn't leave you, knowing you were still alive...and hurt..." He got down on his knees before Hao, turning hi so that Hao was lying on hi back now, his head resting on Yoh's lap.

"You should kill me; I'll only try to hurt you again anyways."

Yoh smiled at the softly spoken words, "No, it's okay. If I kill you, you'll only come back again in five hundred years, stronger, and angrier...Hao, why not live life for once. You have had three chances, which is more than most people are given, so why not make the most of this one. You know, third times a charm."

"..."

Yoh looked down and smiled, Hao's eyes were closed, and his breathing was soft and even. 'He must be so tired, and the blood loss isn't helping either.' Closing his eyes, he sighed, opening them up to take in the form of his hurt brother, he lifted his twin into his arms and stood up before walking back towards the entrance of the cave.

"Lord Yoh, are you sure about this?"

"Each time Hao is reincarnated, he immediately sets out to gather followers for the Shaman Fight, then he's beaten and killed before he becomes the Shaman King...well, the fights over, and he's alive, as well...I think he's also the Shaman King..."

"What!"

"Shh!" Yoh sighed, "I want to keep this between us for now. If I think it's going to become dangerous, I will bring it up with Anna and see what she wants to do. She's usually good at things like this. Now, let's head back to the hotel, and back home...hopefully nobody will see Hao and freak out." He joked as he exited the cave. He saw his friends sitting not too far from the entrance. His brother had his head resting on his shoulder, and for the first time since the end of the Shaman Fight, Yoh could feel the relief of having been found, fill his brothers' heart. Yoh smiled, "Is everyone ready?"

No one said anything; they all just stared at Hao, watching Yoh as he walked past them with his calming smile firmly in place.

Anna walked beside him all the way to the Patch Elders cave when Ren stopped them. Throughout the entire trip back, it had been silent. No unusual jokes made by Choco, no yelling or fighting between Ryu, Horohoro, and Ren, no questions from Manta, and no harsh comments from Lyserg. Now all of a sudden, Ren was holding the back of Yoh's shirt with a frown, "We can't just walk out of here with Hao in arm, Yoh. That's asking for trouble."

"He's right, Yoh, what are you going to do? It was only yesterday that Hao was killing people off left and right in his attempt to become Shaman King, no one will forgive him right away."

"And no one is expected to, I know, it's going to be hard to see past that, even for myself, but...he will get better."

Lyserg scoffed, "Hao is a lost cause; you are wasting your time."

"A few here thought the same thing when I refused to give up on you, Lyserg."

Horohoro glared at the green haired boy, Ren nodded his head in agreement; they had been two of many who had thought Yoh was wasting his time. "I don't always like it, but I trust Yoh, and I believe that if Yoh thinks Hao can be changed for the better, than he can." Horohoro said calmly.

"..." Lyserg sighed, "Fine, here..." He removed his green plaid cloak from his shoulder, "Put this around his shoulders and tuck his hands beneath it to hide those gloves, take his shoes off; Anna, lend me your bandana."

Anna glared coldly, "Not a chance, go find something else."

"...well...I suppose we could ask one of the guys to strip for us so that we can wrap Hao's hair up, let's see, how about you Horo, are you up to undre─"

"I will make sure you suffer, Lyserg!"

He grinned, taking the bandanna held out in front of him by a pissed of Anna, her hair literally flaring above her shoulders with her energy. "Thanks, I'm sure you can con Yoh into buying you another one."

"..." She crossed her arms angrily over her chest and watched as Lyserg wrapped Hao's bloody, sweaty and smelly hair up in her bandana. Oh he would suffer later, she was certain of that.

"Now..." He pulled the bandana down a bit and stopped when his face was completely covered, "No one will know who it is,"

"..."

Yoh smiled sheepishly, "But...Lyserg, he can't breath that way."

"...should I stab holes into it?" He raised a brow, watching as Yoh inched away from him. Ren moved closer to Yoh and pulled the headband so that it stopped on the bridge of Hao's nose.

"Let's go!" Anna snapped angrily, watching as they jumped and took off towards the Hotel.

No one knew what the day would hold, but one thing was for sure, Hao would need constant surveillance, and someone needed to find Faust.

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Me: Hope everyone is enjoying this so far, I'll post the next chapter soon! Review and show me that you love me, Kay!