Chapter: 8

Kept Apart

Unfinished Business

When faced with a challenge, you do not run away. The best thing to you can do is come face to face with it and hope for the best. Waiting for the unavoidable can be hard as well, but you keep trying and you believe. After all, everything will turn out for the best, but do not be confused, and do not allowed your unnamed emotions to distract you…

What do you think you are starting to feel? Just prepare yourself.

But then again, maybe, just maybe something new here has began to grow...

The cool morning air seemed to lift the dust from the ground as it slowly whistles through the lands. Yoh sat silently, by himself, thinking about everything that had happened in the matter of just a few hours. Two days later, nothing seemed to have changed. Anna was still controlling him, his brother was not here, and Admidamaru was still trapped…"Trapped" Yoh whispered his eyes centering on the card that he held. "That's exactly how I feel right now, trapped" Yoh sighed, closing his eyes in any means of attempts to clear his mind.

He just needed this time alone. He did not want to have to think about the fact that he was going to have to battle his brother soon. Throne be damned, he would gladly just give Hao the position if it meant that neither of them would end up hurt. Fat chance of that happening, and he knew that for this he was going to have to harden himself, his thoughts, emotions, and heart. He was going to have to be strong if he was going to have to go through with this. He was going to have to fight Hao at full strength and fair, so the real heir could decent the throne this time around.

If only he could be so strong as to free Admidamaru.

Looking up, he watched the clouds brush on the sky in blues, purples, and gold. It was soon going to be time to feed, and the day for when he was going to have to face Hao in the battlefield was approaching. That is when Yoh decided to make a stand and hone some of his powers, and really prepare himself for the upcoming battle. His conscious ate up at him that he had to do this right and it was not the time to just be lazy and worry about anything. Although, in the end as he said, things would work out all for the best if just allowed, "I'm going to find a way to break Anna's spell and free you Admidamaru"

For the rest of the day, Yoh worked hard on mastering his disabling spells against witches. It kept him focused and concentrated in something other than the fact that he was soon going to have to fight Hao in a battle.

Late that night, Anna sat in her room, coming through her short hair and playing around with her small laptop. Technology build by witches was more advanced than that of any human and it provided vampires with wide world knowledge. She was bored, now that she no longer was to marry Yoh, she had no right to train him. There was nothing that connected her to him anymore, and that alone made her sad she never hated Yoh, but she never loved him so deeply either. She cared for him as if he were her brother. Still, she was going to be the one to coordinate the battle between both twins and Tamamura was going to help her. The pink haired girl willingly offered her help. It made Anna wonder why that little witch was still hanging around. She clicked a button, then closed her laptop, and gracefully got up to head to bed. As she did this, she glanced at the clock, eleven fifty nine, and one second later midnight.

As soon as the time changed, something made her eyes go wide and made her gasp.

Someone had just released one of her spells. The shock that it sent down her body it was obvious that someone had and it was an overpowering strength. 'Show me who!' She mentally demanded and her powers guided her to the source of it. Yoh had just broken the seal on the card that had locked Admidamaru away! She was completely startled by this. For once, she never thought that Yoh could be so strong to break on of her spells "I underestimated you Yoh" She whispered to herself and just allowed her body to stay in its state of shock.

A moment later she was able to sit down as she pondered "If both Yoh and Hao are incredibly strong, it scares me to think what kind of power they will unleash when they come to fight face to face" She never liked vampires. She had a distaste for them no matter if they had taken her in like family she felt she could trust no one.

At the moment though, both Asakura twins scared her the most.

Yoh was panting hard, his eyes were a silver white color and a black pupil in the center and then his eyes closed. He took a moment to briefly relax his body from the tension that had filled him once he had finished the spell. The room was bright with light and it was hurting his very being making him even more blood thirsty than he had ever been in his life. Inside, all he could hear was his own hunger roaring and ringing in his ears and nearly collapsed, but he caught himself. "Master Yoh, are you alright!" He briefly heard Admidamaru's voice.

"A…" He called his throat dry that the words would not continue pass the single syllable. Feeling frightened for his master, Admidamaru made his body solid and reached for his master. Yoh leaned into him and passed out.

"I'll make sure you are fed" He said, and then made his body as well as Yoh's transparent, trying not to worry when Yoh's fangs elongated themselves and he could be taken over by blind hunger and kill anyone.

In another time zone

Hao had left Izumo as soon as he knew things would be fine and as soon as he returned he and Yoh will fight, but right now he had unfinished business to attend. There was someone he had been hunting down, that was before his father had called him back to Northern lights. He used to have a group of followers back then, but one of them were as close to him as Opacho, Kanna, Macchi, and Mari had all been to him. He had not gotten the chance to save his trio of Hana-gumi witches as they had been killed, and he barely had managed to escape with Opacho. He could take the deaths of all of them, but he could not forgive anyone for trying to even hurt his group, and now he had nothing.

So, now, he was going to do to them what they did to him. He was going to kill the X-laws; he had already given them too much leeway time for them to keep living. And he was going to make sure their pretty little leader also suffered, Jeanne, how he hated her. He had never heard of her or even knew her for she to claim to hate him, but he did his homework and his research. He had learned that the X-laws were a group of Vampire hunters and they were the best at what they did. Killing his kind, Vampires in other words, so now he personally will kill their kind and Jeanne was going to wish she never met him.

One thing she did not realize when Hao became one of her targets was that Hao was not like other vampires. Other vampires burned to fairy-dusted ashes at the mere contact of fire, but fire danced across his skin and made him glow that destroyed him. It seemed almost impossible to kill him, unless you drove a stake through his chest. Water did not hurt him either, in anyway and his flames just seemed to grow in it.

One thing that he still had a hard time understanding was that Jeanne claimed that the Iron maiden that guarded vampires was supposed to be their end. That that statue had been stolen from her clan and that it was time to claim it back, and everyone there was her brother and sister. It all made sense when he learned that the iron maiden Jane was an icon for witches, and well, this group was a bunch of warlocks, witches, hexes, all who would also any other witch that tried to aid, or protect a vampire. That meant that Anna had used the icon, and as soon as she was found she too would die under the x-law hate group command.

"They are in there," Opacho said, her eyes a vacant black color as she searched the perimeter of the area. Hao silently kept walking around the tall white building, a frown etched on his face. "Everyone is having a meeting, my lord"

"Opacho, can you tell me a way to get in without being noticed?" Hao asked her, his own eyes scanning the area. There were a few lighted offices with no one in them, and Opacho was quick with the request.

"Yes" She said, "The second floor, the third room, its dark and no one is there" She said, "Everyone is on the third floor through" The building only had four floors to it. Hao nodded his head as he spotted the window she was talking about and crossed his arms with a sigh. Opacho's eyes turned back to normal and she turned to Hao. "Is there something wrong, my lord?" She asked, her big eyes blinking. Hao nodded once.

"It's too easy, and too careless." He said, narrowing his eyes. "It's practically an invitation to some trouble, I know they wouldn't mind it…but" Hao shrugged. He was not in the mood for fun and games and being caught, "Why don't we walk in through the front door"

"My lord, if they sense what you are"

"They won't, you can mask it, can't you?" Hao gave her a look "Make me appear like a normal human or something"

"What are you planning?" She demanded, not liking the idea of putting Hao in danger.

"Ah, come on Opacho, it's going to be fun" he crouched down before her "I promise you" he smiled and patted her head. Opacho still looked reluctant but then nodded her head in a submissive matter. For whatever her lord wished, she would give. "Good girl, now don't disappoint me. We'll go in together and we'll pretend to be looking for a job or something"

Hao was dressed in black jeans that fit him a little lose, and black sneakers. It was nothing much professional but he topped it off with a white button up shirt that was left un-tucked and the cuffs were pulled up to his elbows. Opacho was dressed in a simple little girl orange dress that seemed to button up at the top, a white shirt under, and the skirt reached to her knees. Then she had white socks and black shoes to finish the assemble. Hao held her hand as he confidently lead her into the building. At the bottom floor, there were sitting areas and a receptionist that was taking in applications and talking with other people.

Hao walked casually, not raising any attention as he walked to the sitting area and sitting down in a seat that faced away from the front. Opacho sat beside him and both just kept silent, and Opacho watched Hao as he ran a hand through his long hair and then left it behind him. She was a little nervous, since even though she was strong a witch with strong senses would be able to read her spell in the air if she was not careful. Hao silently contemplated what he needed to do.

A tall male with blond hair that was making his way through the lobby turned his head and looked at him. He then stopped walking just to look at him a little more before walking up to him with a look of hostility. "May we help you sir, and why is a child here?" He asked, sounding displeased.

"Sorry, I didn't have a babysitter for her, I came to see If I could apply here for a job. I'm not having any luck" Hao smiled as pleasantly as he could to the pristine white dressed blond, tall male "I apologize for the child being here, of course"

"I doubt you will find any work here for you," He said, his snobbish appearance really getting on Hao's bad side.

"I see" Hao said, faking disappointment "Can I please get your name?" he shrugged "Precautions, you know. I might want to call in"

"My name really won't matter to you, you are not going to be hired here. Please leave and search somewhere else" The man was not giving up any information, but Hao did not need it. He knew everything he needed to know, even the man's name.

"Ah, if you say so then" Hao said standing up. That was Opacho's cue.

"Ah! I need to pee papa" She said it in the voice of that of a cute child and clung to Hao with a desperate look in her eyes, as she seemed to dance with the need to go to the bathroom.

"Oh my, where are your bathrooms?" Hao asked. Feeling irritated, the man pointed to the far corner in the lobby.

"You can use the facilities, but be quick. You are not supposed to be here anyways"

"Ah, I see, thank you" Hao reached for Opacho's hand and led her to the bathroom. The man pushed at his glasses, glaring, feeling as if he had seen that male somewhere, but he could not quite place it. He opened some of his files and started to calmly look over them, many of them recent documents that they had planned to take out under Jeanne's orders. Hao took note of this and smirked.

"Come on Opacho" He said as he walked past the bathrooms to the elevator. Opacho giggled as she followed him and quietly got into the empty elevator. Opacho looked at the numbers and pointed to the number four and Hao pressed it. The top floor, as Opacho had described was a full one floor office that belonged to only Jeanne and her pet. The tall blond male that had talked to them in the lobby, his name was Marcos and he was second in command. Seeing that he was out, it was obvious that the meeting was over, but Jeanne never personally conducted the meetings, she always seemed to speak through Marcos.

Down at the lobby, Miine approached Marco's and asked, "Who was that guy that you sent over there?" She pointed to the elevator, "Did he even have an appointment"

"What?" Marco asked still looking through the files. Then he stopped at one, a recent mission to destroy the young Asakura heir, Hao. He turned to Miine "what are you talking about"

"That guy and the little girl, they got in the elevator, where did you send them?"

"That bastard" Marco hissed. "They tricked us, he said he was going to use the bathroom, we have to stop him, he's a vampire and he'll be after Jeanne!" he called. Everyone rose in alarm and ran for the stairs to try to catch Hao before he reached Jeanne. It had been a brilliant sneak attack that they would never expect! For a vampire to walk into the Ex-law's sanctuary it was practically suicide! No vampire would be dumb enough to do this. Marco smirked; well they were not going to have to search for Hao anymore he had to come to them and they were going to kill him.

Hao had reached the four floor with Opacho and it opened to Jeanne's office, where she was silently sitting and writing something. She looked up, expecting it to be Marco, but instead her eyes widen and she got to her feet when she saw Hao. "What are you doing here!" She snapped, her blood red eyes becoming angry and her silver hair seemed to stand.

"Now, why is it that you hate me so much when I never did anything to you?" He asked casually, crossing his arms.

"That is where you are wrong!" She yelled, "You vampires have no shame trying to control us witches to do everything they want. We should be able to overrule you, not serve you" She smirked "And you to actually have them as servants, now that is just so despicable."

"I never asked them to serve me; they asked if they could serve me." Hao argued back. "They never did anything against their own will"

"That's right!" Opacho called "Lord Hao has been nothing but kind" Jeanne's eyes went to Opacho and she stared at her. She could read Opacho's presence and was confused.

"A vampire and a witch and she is not a hybrid," She mumbled. "You turned her"

"Master Hao saved me!" Opacho argued, "I was going to die and he saved me, so I owe everything to him"

"No, you don't, don't you get it he cursed you!"

"So, you believe I was cursed since birth?" Hao asked, as he cut in the conversation.

"But of course" that is when the other X-laws entered the room and she raised her hand to stop them. "Hao, we as a corporation are working on a cure, you could help us accomplish it and every vampire in the world can be human then." Hao gave her a look like she was crazy and her team watched her silently as if not trusting her judgment of Hao. "You are seeking something, are you not, a freedom! That is why you came here"

"Jeanne" Marco called, desperately.

"Are you saying, turn us to human and then the witches rule the world." Hao narrowed his eyes "Very selfish of you to want to be the only powerful being in the world, but you do forget about the werewolves, the spirits, the witches will never prevail over them"

"Werewolves, are dogs, they follow our orders now"

"They are stupid"

"Come on Hao, we can do this the easy way or the hard way" Jeanne's lips curved, as she smiled and tried to hypnotize him with her eyes. Hao was a lot stronger to be hypnotized though, he would not fall for her trap.

"No" His answer was simple.

"What?" Jeanne asked, startled. "Fine then, you shall die"

"Yeah, I know" Hao said. Down stairs in the now empty lobby, fire had seared it, and continued to climb, silently without raising any alarm. "But then again, I am not known to die so easily" Hao commented as he looked away to take in the large room that seemed seldom decorated, everything white and clean. He would have guessed it was a room at an asylum hospital. Jeanne narrowed her eyes and with her hot temper raised fire with her own will.

"Die, Hao Asakura!" She snapped, the flames coming towards them. Opacho quickly clung to her lord knowing she would be safe with him. Hao smirked as the flames surrounded him, and seemed to consume him. He reached for Opacho and transported her out of the room to the front of the building where the dark skinned girl waited for him now. Of course, in Jeanne's position it looked like she had the upper hand and she had won against Hao. She looked pleased with her own work; she was one-step closer to defeating everyone. She believed that Hao was the heir of course, and Hao knew this, he also knew she had no idea who Yoh was.

"Just as preserved" Marco's said "No one that comes here ever gets out alive" Everyone behind him nodded, and Jeanne stopped to see if perhaps the ashes remained, but the flames just kept going with a will of their own. She stared in confusion, as she no longer controlled the flames, but her partners did not know that. Hao could see them through the flames though. "You are great as always, Jeanne" Marco said and turned to her, but his smug smile faltered when he saw her panicked face "What's wrong?"

"The flames!" she cried "They won't vanish at my will" She turned to them "We must evacuate!" She said. They all rushed down the stairs and Hao lowered the flames around him as he watched them go and then expanded and exploded the flames further around the room. The building was already burning hot and stuffy at the bottom, the only way out was the windows.

'Master Hao?' Opacho mentally called.

'I'm fine, just seal any and every way out, including the windows.' He said as he walked over to Jeanne's desk and started to pull documents. Everyone ever killed anyone that was being targeted, and anyone who was currently marked to die. He could not believe it, even witches, was kind of division was this? He did not like it one bit, and he had already made sure the other branches fell, he was especially pleased this one was the last one he had to target. He dropped every document and walked out of the room the way they had gone. He could hear the shouting, and the crying, the wails of agony.

Hao teleported himself out to Opacho's side, where she stood chanting something "No one shall get out" A coffin of fire, anything that was going to be left was going to be ashes. Two hours later, the building was left in nothing but ashes and the flames had vanished as if they had never been there. there had been no alarm raised, no one alerted, and everything had gone down smoothly. Hao felt like it was way too easy.

"Our mission was accomplished" Opacho commented.

"Do you sense anything?" Hao asked, and turned his back on the building. Opacho nodded her head and followed him.

"Jeanne and Marco are still alive"

"Interesting" he said, both vanished completely.

Jeanne had prot4efcteed herself from the flames and the only other she could protect was Marco, her lover. "What happened?" Jeanne asked, feeling confused at the fact that out of nowhere, flames had erupted. Had her power gotten out of control? She looked at her hands, no, those weren't her flames…could it had been the small witch that was with Hao. It could have been, even though she was a vampire, and if so, she must of protected Hao and helped him escape. Nothing else made more sense.

"I want Asakura Hao dead!" she said with a harden look.

"Of course" Marco said.

"But it's only me and you now Marco, I can't lose any more witches!" Marco looked at her in shock but her crimson red eyes told him not to question her.

Land of Izumo

Hao returned to Izumo and searched for his twin. He of course knew he could not leave Jeanne and Marco to live, but now he was her only target. Still, she was no match for him, he could destroy her if he so as wished it. He just wanted to make this a fun game, as long as no one else around him got hurt and he was the only target, he did not mind playing his game. For now, Opacho kept an eye on the last X-law's location. Hao felt like those two had strayed and lost sight, no Witch was suppose to be a hunter that was the human's job for rouges.

Of course, he despised humans.

He sharpened his senses, and searched for Yoh and frowned when he felt a faint energy emitting from his twin. It was coming from a room somewhere in the palace; it was not hard for him to find it. He opened the doors and was surprised to see the spirit of a samurai standing over his younger twin's unconscious body, with a blood covered face, and hands. "What's going on here?" He asked, direct and firm. It startled the spirit.

Admidamaru turned around to face a long haired vampire that looked just like his master…"Master Yoh starved himself, he just finished feeding, and I guess feeling weak. Who are you?" Hao narrowed his eyes, knowing that the spirit was telling the truth. Hao ignored the question and walked in, past the spirit and kneeled before his twin. He pressed his hand on Yoh's cheek, his fingers brushing some of the blood, and then brought them up to his lips. "Mnmm, warm" He said in a low voice. Admidamaru, feeling protective of his master snapped.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" His voice was more demanding, but then he no longer said anything when he saw the pleasure look on the other's face. He watched as the vampire pulled his master close, and then grasped Yoh's chin, and brought his tongue out. It was pure seduction the way the unknown vampire licked the blood on his master's cheek, the act was so thorough, and the vampire was enjoying the act in itself. Admidamaru was frozen in his place.

"Wake up Yoh" Hao's voice was a sweet husk. Hao smirked when he got no response, and leaned in to nip at Yoh's earlobe.

"Hmmn" Yoh moved closer to him. He squeezed his eyes and then slowly opened them to see who was holding him. It felt so familiar to the point of comfort. He looked up only to meet smiling brown eyes that matched his, except these held so much mischief and mirth. "Hao?" he mumbled.

"Who else?" Hao asked, once more leaning in to lick Yoh's cheek of the blood on his twin. Something told him that blood off Yoh's skin somehow tasted so much better than from the neck of the human who offered it.

"Ah, what are you doing" Yoh lightly protested and reached up to touch his cheek to see he had blood all on his face.

"I'm hungry" Hao said and smiled. Under the blood, Yoh blushed and looked up at his older twin.

"Then feed somewhere else, not off my face" Yoh complained, this was so embarrassing for him. Hao chuckled.

"Alright, but you have to clean your face, or I'll lick you again" He said leaning in again to do just that, this time the lick right under Yoh's chin. Yoh felt his blood start pounding and his breath hitched. Before he knew it though, Hao had helped him to his feet and went searching for some blood of his own. Yoh watched him, as he took blood from another human willing to feed him, but as he watched him feed he had to wonder if maybe he was going to die.

"Master Yoh, who is that?"

Yoh did not hear Admidamaru, his heart was pounding to fast, and to loudly in his ears for him to pay attention to anything but his oddly racing heart. 'What's wrong with me?'

"Yoh!" Admidamaru yelled.

"Ah, what?" Yoh was startled, his attention finally on Admidamaru.

"Who is that?"

"Oh, my twin brother, Hao" He said. Admidamaru's eyes widen.

"He's not going to try and kill you, is he?" Yoh was confused for a second before he realized what Admidamaru had said and laughed.

"Oh no, he's not." He said lightly. Admidamaru sighed, and both were startled when Hao was suddenly before Yoh again. His eyes staring directly into Yoh's. Yoh was captivated, those eyes were incredible it was impossible to say they were identical twins.

"Are you alright Yoh? Why hadn't you fed before?" He asked, a frown on his face.

"I was trying to free Admidamaru, my spirit guardian" Hao turned to Admidamaru and then back to Yoh.

"Alright then," He moved away and started to walk out the door "I'm going to go to bed now, I'll see you tomorrow Yoh." With that, Hao had vanished and left his breathless confused twin to wonder if he was going to die since his heart was pounding to fast for his entire body to keep up. 'Something is definitely wrong with me'

He needed to ask Anna what was wrong with him.

Hey there! Thank you for all that reviewed( thank you, thank you, you are all far to kind!), and I know, damned, almost another month went by without me updating this story. Im so slow, I apologize for that.

Please review