Chapter: 7

Kept Apart

So Alike

When you take in that first breath, life has been granted to you. A small fragile child, out of the womb, but something is missing…his built in playmate is missing, his other half, the other him. That person they had spent the last nine months developing along side, was still not here

So he cried, and waited….but never had them.

Now he knew what he was without, and he was not about to let it be taken away again.

"Wait...what is going on" Yoh silently whispered to himself, as a warm feeling rushed to his chest and he closed his eyes in need to feel more of it It was incredible.

Anna froze as she walked down the hall.

"Anna, is something wrong?" Tamamura asked as she was walking the opposite side and saw her pause. Her pink hair was matted and unruly and her eyes shone with worry. She still wasn't strong enough and she feared she was never going to be. She needed Anna to support her, like she did the other time with the fire, and like she did now. She was shaking and just the thought of Anna being hurt at this point took most of her confidence away. All she wanted was for everything to be alright!

"Ahh" Anna moaned out in agony as she bent down to one knee, slowly bringing herself down so she wont collapse and hit her head if she did. Her spells were all coming undone…what was going on? Someone was breaching her spells so hard she could feel the aftershocks of them well deep within her chest and heart. "Something…" she panted "Something is not right, someone…someone" Tamamura bent down beside her and placed her hands on either side of Anna's face. The blond girl's face was flushed, her breath was ragged, and her eyes were in pain. The rosette haired female was shaking and swallowed thickly.

"Breaching spells…" Tamamura whispered. 'What should I do?'

"Lady Anna!" Ryu, Ren, and Horo all came running towards her. "Lady, we just found out that Horo had been spelled a while ago, by Hao! He has a small witch with him. That is how he's been getting around!" Ryu said quickly, slamming his fist around in the air to emphasize his words as he did so.

"A small witch?" Tamamura murmured, "What do you mean?" Her hands fell down to her knees 'What should I do?'

"I don't know, I can barely remember anything other than Hao looked so much like Yoh, and there was a small girl with him. The girl, she was dark skinned and looked like child, her voice was in my head and my mind was lost…I can't explain it!" Horo exclaimed as he grasped his head. If it had not been for Ren and the others trying to figure out what was wrong with him, this would have never even been mentioned. Anna kept glaring, her mind in pain as she tried hard to fight back. Suddenly all pain was gone, and only an empty echo was left behind that unnerved her completely.

Maybe it was too late.

Click

Keiko sat there silently and opened her eyes as soon as she knew there was someone in the room. She tilted her head to the side, and was surprised to see a small child there. The child had big round black eyes and dark skin, and all she did was smile at her. It was not the kind of smile that one would expect from a child, it was not sweet, and it was not heartwarming, if anything it was the emptiest expression she had seen. "Hello" She said.

There was no response.

"How did you get in here?" Keiko asked, and slowly and elegantly stood up and walked neared the child, but kept her distance. She looked down at her and waited, and then the girl slowly looked to the side and out to the she had to say, made no sense to her in the slightest.

"The day has come, and it's dawning"

"What?"

"The day has come, and it's dawning" The girl stepped forward "The sky will be painted red, and we'll cry." She held her hand out, and tilted her head in a curious way. "Will you not come and share this event, the day that the dawn cries?" Keiko stared at the tiny hand. It was tempting and welcoming. She slowly reached out to grab the hand just as the door to her room slammed open and standing there was Tamamura and the others.

"Keiko- haah!" She gasped, as she let her red eyes gaze upon the small child.

"That's her!" Horo yelled, nearly jumping over Ren just to point out Opacho. Opacho watched, silently and calculating, her eyes taking in everyone and their shocked faces. She was enjoying all of this, of course, she was not going to let them know that she was. She watched as they all slowly moved to surround her, as if they thought that was going to trap her and keep her in their sight. Opacho could have laughed aloud at the silliness of it all.

"Where is Yoh!" Anna demanded, looking at the small child. She was still not happy with her spells being breached which left her drained, but she was not going to let it keep her down.

"I don't know" Opacho spoke, tilting her head in a curious way. Then she turned her eyes back to the Asakura mother, her hand reaching out and a blast of negative energy charged at Keiko who starred in shock. The hot heavy waves of negativity seemed to want to drag her down to her knees.

"No!" Ryu yelled, and he jumped in just to push Keiko's body away and into the floor in time to avoid the real and masked attack behind the overpowering and paralyzing waves. Opacho let out a startling and chilling giggle that made them all look at her cautiously. She couldn't help it, it was plainly amusing.

"Follow Me," She said, as she effortlessly moved to the window. "Today we shall see the blue sky bleed!" and she jumped out. Everyone stared, hesistating, but Anna growled.

"Follow her" and they moved to do so. Ryu on the other hand moved to help the queen up.

"Queen Asakura, are you alright?"

"Just fine" She smiled "now let's go, I have a feeling there is something I need to know." Ryu wanted to protest that she shouldn't go and that they could handle everything, but once Keiko Asakura made up her mind there was no changing it. She was already jumping out of the window and following the others. Ryu, rushed to do the same after his initial shock.

'Yoh…what is it that you most wish for…what is what you most desire'

All truth be told, Yoh had no idea what he always wished for. Everything had been handed down to him, but he had to guess, he wanted a life of cloud watching filled with the sweet sounds of Bob Marley in his earphones. Closing his eyes, he felt the anger rush him, he felt his spirit leave his body and all of a sudden her was someone else.

His eyes blinked, and he stared.

Flames, burning and licking the land he had never met, around him and people shouting, and that man. Yoh stared in awe, only having seen that man in pictures before, that was his father. He knew it was so, but for some reason he was so far away and at the end of his wrath. He watched as people around him tried hard to avoid the flames that seemed to surround him but not harm him. They weren't hot at all…

He looked down, at his hands. Not his hands…

"Hao!" Someone yelled, a man he did not know "Stop this nonsense!" He roared. Yoh found his hand going up and his lips forming the words. 'Burn'

'Never thought I'd be back here like this' Hao thought as his spirit took form in Yoh's body. As soon as their spirits had crossed over to switch bodies, the gates of Izumo were wide open to both words. Both on earth and in between as it was never meant to be. Hao smirked to himself. Today he would also learn what kind of power his twin held.

"Errode!" He called out, without thinking and just letting the muscle memory, he now possessed take over. The land before him cracked and began to decay in the oddest of way, making houses sink down and it was almost as if the earth was swallowing them alive. Hao stared in disbelief and then smirked once again. This was just fine.

He took a few step forwards and then stopped.

That blond haired witch Anna was there, and so was everyone else that seemed to guard the palace. He coolly watched them as if they were nothing to him. Opacho ran over to him, and stood beside him. "Your mother is right behind them," she reported.

"Good" Hao said, "Tell Yoh to bring father along for the party" Opacho nodded her head without question and went to do as she was told. As soon as she was gone, Hao regarded the others again "So, I guess we are all here to celebrate the welcoming of a new reform" He laughed, minanically as he could with Yoh's much softer voice from his own.

"Yoh!" Anna called out, "This isn't like you, snap out of it"

"That's not Yoh" Keiko spoke, her voice serious as she watched her other son stand there. "That's Yoh's body, but that is not Yoh, a mother would know. Hao…this is how we meet son" Hao scoffed and watched her as his mother stood there. Both hands pressed to her chest and her eyes determined and trained on his face.

"Not that you ever wanted to meet me"

"What are you talking about; I've always wanted to meet you. You're my son"

"The son who's death you wish for, but tell me mother. Now that I am Yoh and Yoh is me, are you still going to be able to kill me?" He tilted his head in a devious way and Keiko's eyes widened. Then she finally got it, and then she finally understood. If one of the twins died, so did the other. No matter what body they were in, both would die. They were one, not only was one was suppose to exist, but both had to exist together…

"Hao" she whispered. She was not supposed to know his name, but she couldn't help but want to know it. She found a way to learn it, but she never wanted Yoh to know it.

Hao snapped his fingers and made the land quake under their feet.

Yoh, in Hao's body, jumped back and kept swiftly moving as he dodged attack after attack from the two men. One he believed was his father and the other one he had no idea who he was. "Master Yoh, it's time, Lord Hao needs for you to bring them towards the opening now!" Opacho had come out of nowhere. Yoh nodded his head swiftly and kept moving. He smiled softly as he let himself dream for one moment.

"Come with me then, and let's run away"

He smiled.

Maybe, just maybe someday he and his twin will be able to talk normally and live in the same time and place. Without anyone forcing them to fight each other, without anyone trying to control what they did. Maybe, just maybe, it was going to happen today. He could always wish and dream, but he could never be certain.

Mikihisa and Yoken kept following 'Hao' as fast as they could "Is the damn little bastard running away?" Yoken asked, narrowing his eyes and running even faster.

"Wait, father" Mikihisa held out his hand "This could be one of his traps, you know how Hao is" they both cautiously slowed down and watched where Hao was taking them. It was as if he was leading two rats down his trap and they were not going to fall for it. That was when they noticed where they were being taken, the entrance of Izumo. They both halted at the entrance, just a few feet from Hao and the young Asakura looked over his shoulder to them.

Opacho got their attention by jumping up and saying "Welcome to the death cry of dawn", she giggled.

"Ne father, why didn't you ever think about facing mother" Yoh turned around, the illusion then braking and showing him instead of Hao "Perhaps, just maybe, she is the one that you have wanted to kill all along. You just used me and my brother as an excuse to escape your….inner most desires" Mikihisa was shaking in disbelief. Was that…was that his other son? Was that Yoh? Yoken was not as shaken and stepped forward.

"This is none of your business to talk about so easily" He yelled, "You truly are the one to fight Hao and take him down, and then you can rule!" Yoh narrowed his eyes to him, his orbs glinting white silver as he did so. How dare he suggest he over power his twin brother, even after all this!

"What, is ruling a kingdom all you care about?" Yoh asked, "Well then, maybe I should crown you the fool king of all this, I should set you up in a high pedestal with all the jewels in the world. Torture you with having to please everyone in the land, everyday something new, everyday everyone watching you, judging. What will you do? Live happily being at the top and being forced to love and being told who to marry?"

"What's wrong with all that? If you get to be the one in control of everyone else-" The earth moved under Yoken's feet, and cracked. It pulled him down and then trapped his feet to the ground.

"You can save your breath!" Yoh snapped his hand out stretched and an angry look on his face. It rivaled that one of Hao's and it was no less intimidating. Even more so, it looked so unnatural in Yoh's face. He then turned to Mikihisa "Follow me" He bluntly said and walked right into Izumo. Mikihisa watched and hesistantly followed.

He had not been in Izumo for so long now.

"I know, but as a united front, they can't tell us what to do. So come with me?"

Everyone was where they were supposed to be now. Yoh and Hao were in the middle of it all, now everyone could see which one was which. For the first time, in so many years, Mikihisa and Keiko were looking at each other eye to eye. Therefore, this had been their plan, they both thought as nervousness entered them and they did not even know what to say. Hao was getting a little annoyed with both parents, good for nothing-pathetic old vampires! "So, talk already, this is a fight between the both of you anyways!" He snapped.

Keiko took a step back "Well, yeah it is, but" She never thought it was going to be like this…it would even be the same if Hao and Yoh killed each other.

"This is just awkward" Mikihisa dead panned.

"This is no time to be funny!" Anna yelled this time, she had no idea what was going on, but she was pissed. Someone was going to pay! Ren, Horo, and Ryu tried to calm her down at the same time tried to get away. Tamamura just shrunk back from Anna's flaming passion to kill someone at that moment.

"Calm down Anna" She said, in her soft squeaky voice.

"Mom, you once said that you would doing this just so that father could come back home" Yoh said.

"I…uh" she lowered her head. She had too much pride to ever admit to anyone else that she had missed Mikihisa and that she still loved him. It was selfish of her, she thought; it was so selfish to want to keep someone who did not feel anything for you. Yoh watched his mother internally fight with herself over what to do. Mikihisa watched and waited, wanting to hear for Keiko what she felt, because he too, still loved her. "I've missed you Mikihisa-"

"Nonsense!" A raspy voice yelled, and Yohmei was there. His presence was a disturbance, but he had a sword in his hand and a fighting pose. "Nothing is going to happen here, other than Yoh will kill Hao and take throne."

"Father" Keiko began to protest.

"No!" he snapped.

Yoh and Hao watched him. The old man made a few swift moves, showing off his great fighting skills. Everyone seemed tense as he did this, but everything fell completely silent when Yoh and Hao started to laugh aloud. Both twins could not hide how much they found this to be hilarious, to the point they were doubling over in laughter.

"Grandpa, you're funny" Yoh commented. This made Yohmei get angry.

"Yoh! I will show you respect for your elders!" He snapped, and hit Yoh over the head with the bud of the sword. He glared, unable to believe that he was not being taken seriously. It was just like Yoh, just like him to always make a joke out of everything!

"O-ouch" Yoh said, bringing his hand up to rub his aching head "That hurt" he mildly complained. Mikihisa was mystified, unable to believe what he had just seen. Hao had just laughed, and not his insane laughter, but a real genuine laugh. It was truly something he had never seen before. Now he felt like he had always been selfish for wanting something that his son had always told him that he did not want. He was the one that had been so selfish.

He was supposed to be the parent, but he was acting like a child.

He was not an evil man; he just always thought that this was what was best. However, maybe, Hao knew what was best for himself more than he, as his father, knew. Hao seemed to only chuckle more at the fact that his twin had just been scolded. "Anyways," Yohmei cleared his throat "I am being serious, both of you will have to fight each other"

"Fight, we can do, but kill each other is out of the question" Hao became deadly serious, his hand extending out to shield Yoh from his grandfather. "All we are doing is deciding on someone for the throne, because we are twins doesn't mean either of us have to die" Yomei took a step back at Hao's protective stand over Yoh.

"Damn brat…" He started, but he never got to finish. His eyes widened in an instant when something swift caught the corner of his eye.

"You are going to die Hao!" The voice roared, before Yohmei could think about what was going to happen, he was jumping right in front of both his grandsons. He took the blow straight in the chest, where his rib cage cracked and caved deep into his lungs and his beating heart. Everything seemed to stand still for a second, but then it all went fast. Everyone was shaking from what they had just seen, and the attacker just stared down at the elder vampire he had just hit. "AAAAH WORTHLESS" he snapped, pulling himself away and facing Hao again.

The Asakura Twins both stared, in shock and then in anger. They had been trying to straighten everything out, but this man had just ruined that effort. Hao smirked, stepping forward and deadly said "Yoken"

"You bastard!" Ren snapped, Horo was in the same as well as Ryu and all three had drawn out their weapons. Anna had her beads and Tamamura was shaking from fear.

"No" Hao spoke, his hand out stretching to keep them from even making a move. They all watched as Hao stood in front of Yoken, and they were confused as to when Yoh had moved for him to be on the other side of him. Either way, both twins' eyes were a silver white color that just spoke volumes of hatred that they held for this man. There was going to be no mercy from this point on, and the air turned cold but it still burned "Ensnare"

"Devour"

Moreover, Yoken was bound, swallowed by the earth to burn in the pits of hells fires.

In just the past two hours, so much discussion had been done. Both grandfathers were now dead, and Yohmei had passed on as well. Ren, Horo, Anna, Mikihisa, nor Keiko could get near the twins. Now with the barrier that Opacho had built around the two of them. Both of them were negotiating with them, that they would fight for the throne, but would not kill each other. If one more word was mentioned about it, then their parents would die, and so would everyone else that relied of living in Izumo. That had not been enough, they had also demanded that both their parents re-married and became husband and wife again.

All their points and demands had to be met.

"You two must be insane!" Ren snapped, frustrated with everything that was going on.

"This doesn't concern you," Hao mocked, crossing his arms. "You are free to leave any time you want"

"And leave you here with your parents alone so you can kill them?" Ren shot back, "Not a chance"

"I have self control" Hao matched back. There was already something there that promised neither would get along. Yoh chuckled.

"Don't worry about it Ren, Hao's not evil"

"As if I can trust your word Yoh, you have no control over him"

"True"

"Alright, whatever, enough dudes!" Horo yelled, "You are giving me a headache and I don't think we want to piss Anna any more than she already is"

"Why is she so mad?" Yoh asked, looking at the blond female just sitting there silently, her head bowed so her hair covered her face.

"That is because she is not match for Opacho, try as she might, she can never break the spell" Hao spoke, his hand going to ruffle the young girls hair as she giggled in delight. Everyone turned to look at her.

"How does she have so much power?" Tamamura all but stuttered out, her face a light pink color "I'm so-sorry!" she added, bowing her head when all eyes turned to her. Opacho of course, smiled at her and then brightly said.

"It's because" Everyone waited in anticipation now "It's a se-cret!" She laughed at all their faces. Yoh just kept smiling softly with his head down. Both their parents were still there, sitting quietly and not saying a thing. He had to wonder if perhaps this was hard on them. But, he knew that it would be a lot harder to kill Hao now that he knew him more, and a lot harder because, he had to admit. He really liked Hao, a lot.

"It's decided then" Mikihisa said, standing up suddenly and startling everyone from their light talk. The father Asakura had a hard look on his face, almost tense. Everyone watching him. "We will get back together, but first" He swiftly pointed to Yoh and Hao "You two will have to face off so we can have the final outcome of who will rule as king"

Both Yoh and Hao sat there frozen.

"Alright" Hao agreed, closing his eyes. Yoh watched him, dreading this, but nodded.

"Agreed," He softly spoke, looking away from Hao now. If it must be done, then he would face Hao, but no one told him that he had to like it. He did not think he could even bring himself to hurt Hao in the slightest….

"Wait" Anna called out. Everyone turned to her "I have a condition of my own; that I believe both of you might want to add"

"Go on"

"Yoh and Hao both get to decide who they want to marry in the near future" Anna turned her sharp eyes on everyone. She was dead serious about this. Hao and Yoh agreed with her and then it was all left up to Mikihisa and Keiko. Keiko nodded her head rapidly and sighed, as if finally something had happened to let the weight of all of this lift off her.

Mikihisa was tense again, but bowed his head. He gave a deep sigh, and then said a firm "Agreed"

Sometimes we cannot escape what seems to be fate pitting me against someone that could mean so much to me…Sometimes I just want to tell everyone that I have had enough. And then maybe I would have to leave them behind.

However, if I get to see them and be with them from now on and I never have to let them go. For the moment, if just for the moment

It is a lot better than have to say, bye bye…

Hehe, Hey there. It's been so long, so many things have happened. But, I finally updated this story...I still need to update the other one "This love" But, here's a start. SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT! So many of you reviewed and I thank you! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I feel it's kind of awkward.

Please review.