A/N: Just a couple notes before the chapter. Firstly, about Japanese grammar. I don't write Japanese words in English sentences, but I do use honorifics, and for me, removing them takes out a lot of characterization from certain characters. So you will definitely see honorifics throughout the story, but no random Japanese terms when you were pretty sure this fanfiction was listed as English.
Secondly, where the plot is moving. I'm trying to speed it up so it gets to the later parts of the tournament, because most of the major things I have planned don't happen until around then. I know what the majority of this story will be, but right now it's a matter of reaching that point.
Nobody really knew what to expect today. It was Hao's first arena match, and the only thing most people knew about him was that he was dangerous. Yoh and the three people he'd traveled with in America knew a bit more, but it definitely didn't take out the dangerous part. Everything Yoh knew about Hao caused nothing short of surprise when during his resting time before the matches, that same Hao had suddenly shown up beside him, sitting next to him on the grass as though he'd been there the entire time. The surprise had quickly shown itself on the younger twin's face, but Hao didn't seem to care at all.
"When did you get here?" Though he wasn't about to say it, he felt pretty stupid for letting his guard down so badly. The most dangerous participant of the SF in general could have literally just sneaked up on and killed him.
"About a minute ago. You were quite lost in your thoughts, so I didn't bother interrupting."
A lengthy silence followed as Yoh strained to try to force conversation. Not much luck. It was obvious Hao had noticed, but he made no move to help or intentionally make things even more awkward. Rather, he was simply staring ahead, eyes blank, as if he felt willing to let his own guard down. It was most likely by no means an insult to Yoh's strength, but rather, the comfort of knowing Yoh meant no harm. At the moment, Hao also didn't seem to be antagonistic... but he knew that was most likely to change when his match began.
"Why are you out here instead of preparing for your match?" An actual question and thought. Yoh hadn't used it to make conversation on purpose, but most people didn't spend time leisurely when they would be heading for the arena quite soon.
Eyes not leaving their area of focus, Hao gave an instant reply. "Do you really think I need to waste time preparing for a match I've already won?"
Miffed somewhat by the answer, Yoh merely looked away and also ahead. Well... not that that probably wasn't true. He'd seen the X-Laws when Boris was killed, but if Hao was as ruthless as everyone knew him to be, their strength was nothing next to his. This guy had nothing to worry about during this tournament, did he? They were twins, and though Yoh had only known that for a short time, he still felt distant from such power. He was... nothing like that.
"By the way..." Hearing Hao's voice again, Yoh snapped out of his thoughts and looked in his direction. "You should start being careful. That might sound obvious in this place at this time, but I know I sensed a power around here that doesn't belong here." He wouldn't ever admit it, but it was a power that felt similar to his own. As strong as his. Nobody like such should have even existed, but Hao knew that wasn't his imagination.
Yoh didn't need to ask to be sure it wasn't his well-being that Hao was warning him for. There was something else, and if he had to guess, it had something to do with them being twins and their power. It didn't feel right, but he knew almost nothing about Hao to figure out anything. Rather than asking about it, he gave a nod at the comment. If Hao needed to warn him at all, it must have been something he needed to watch out for.
Standing with the intent to head back, Yoh looked back to Hao. "I'm going to head back. I guess I'll see you at the arena."
Hao's attention switched directly to Yoh, his eyes blinking at him in silence for a moment. Not what he expected to hear. "Sure." Yoh gave him another nod at the answer, beginning to head back. It wasn't all that bad for either of them, being able to speak to each other without anyone judging them. Maybe... they would get that chance again.
"Did you find anything?"
Eyes fixed on Namari, Renim gave a shrug. "Nothing we didn't already know."
Despite their calm attitudes, the threat on their minds was nothing short of irritating. Not only did the Officials need to watch over the Shaman Fight, but now they had to deal with this. The only person that seemed to know was Hao besides for them, but it was safer that way. The last thing they needed was to handle a panic. It was their job to watch the tournament fights inside and outside the arena, but they also needed to remove any outside threats. What they'd found... was not part of this tournament.
Kalim watched as Namari let out an exhausted sigh, leaning back against the wall lazily. Looking back and forth between the two, he continued for them. "But what we do know is enough to know that the contestants will be shocked if they find out. Many of them fear Hao enough to begin with. Seeing this may make many of them lose their will to continue fighting."
"I know. But looking at Hao's power, if he's to become our King by the end of this... how do you expect us to beat someone with equal or even more power? If we don't have the strength to fight Hao, no matter what our job is, we're not going to do much in this case, either." Instead of looking back the other two, Namari's attention moved to the entrance. He needed time to think. He didn't have an answer yet. Providing a temporary solution was no good if it only gave the problem more time to grow. Even worse, if that happened, his family would be the group in the most trouble and danger.
"If we don't get involved now, we'll be involved too late." Namari's eyes returned to meet Renim's for the statement, then went back to the entrance. "But we don't know the source of how this happened, either. This isn't some weather forecast shit. And what do we plan to do if we get attacked before we can make the first move?"
"Tch. What do you think we do? We kick their asses for bothering us when we're busy." There was a light smile from Namari that lasted for the sentence, his serious composure returning immediately after. Not that that was a joke. He would definitely get deeply involved if this grew bad enough. "But... did you see him? That guy with him was a Patch. One of the former candidates to replace Chrome. Make sure Magna knows about that, and help him watch out for Nichrome. If that guy is there too, he's probably against us for not making the position. In that case, Nichrome is probably going to be his first target. If he's not with Magna, make sure he's with one of us."
A smile that almost resembled a smirk reached Renim's face. "You think like a leader. You're not an idiot to add to it, so I'll take your word."
"Apologies. I was born with more intelligence than I can handle." He returned the gesture, at least lightened up a bit. Being stressed was not how Namari wanted to handle this. If he could get by poking fun at anything possible, damn right he'd do it. Renim turned then, heading out to give word to Magna and leaving the remaining two to report to Goldva.
There was a silence of the threat over a short period of time, leaving the Patch the chance to investigate and for Radim to continue holding the parties. Silva was a big issue right now, as he'd been put in jail for good reasons, but right now... they needed as much assistance as they could get. Of course, if they let him go, they risked exactly the opposite. Someone would have to speak to him...
In the meantime, the problem had gone unnoticed by anyone besides Hao himself, and the word that had gotten out to Yoh from him. The latter had kept his eyes out, but... he'd found nothing. Whatever Hao was talking about, was it really that dangerous? Was Hao just underestimating the other people at the tournament...? Spotting the other brunette, not having spoken to him like this for a while now since the morning of Hao's arena match, he moved through the crowd to reach him, intending to pull him away from his own crowd.
His hand tapped Hao's shoulder to gain his attention, the elder sibling looking back at him expectantly. "Er... This probably isn't the place for what I want to say. Can we move somewhere?" Hao almost laughed, leaving a confused look on Yoh's face, but he quickly let his group know he would give Yoh the okay. Moving them out into another area that was less densely populated, Yoh's confused look returned to his face. "What were you warning me about that day? I haven't seen anything."
This time, Hao did laugh. "You were still concerned with that after all? You're cautious, so I'll give you credit for that."
Expression turning serious, Yoh wanted to cut out the jokes before Hao succeeded in changing the conversation. "If you of all people were warning me, I figured it meant something. Were you just making a joke or lying so I'd stay more alert?"
"No, that was absolutely no joke." Hao shook his head, Yoh's eyes unintentionally watching the sway of his earrings before his gaze returned to where it was supposed to be. The smile was still on his face. "I can confirm that I can take you seriously enough though now that I know you were looking out for anything out of the ordinary."
"I wasn't looking out for you at all."
"Wasn't that polite. Actually, in a way, you were, but... you weren't."
The look on Yoh's face skipped right past confusion this time and a blank look took over. "...What?"
"I can't really explain it and have it still make sense until you see it yourself. Until that day comes, I can just ask that you believe me. Rather, you'll be sorry if you don't, but it's not my call as to whether or not you do."
"So tell me something. Are you worried at all? If it's such a bad thing, why aren't you concerned?"
"About myself or someone else?" The way he said it made it obvious the latter would be a flat "no" if he had to answer it. Yoh wanted to groan at the tone, but he held back.
"Either."
"I wouldn't say I'm worried about my own well-being, but I am worried it'll be a hassle to deal with if my subordinates get involved. I have plans for them and can't have them wrapped up in some other business that doesn't need to be here." His face calmed to a more serious expression, surprising the younger twin. He hadn't seen that look on Hao's face... probably ever. "The biggest thing on my mind is that this shouldn't be here at all. I don't now why it is or how it happened, and because it concerns me, I want to figure out what's going on. Regarding my personal safety, I'm not concerned."
"Can't you just tell me what it is?"
"It's me." The answer came out with no hesitation, as if he was talking to someone who knew the basics already.
Nope. It didn't make sense after all. "It's... you?"
"I confirm that's what I said." A nod.
"You were right; I don't... get it."
"I figured you wouldn't." He looked out into the crowd before facing Yoh, confirming nobody else... minus Tao Ren was listening. "If I told you there was two of me, you could call me crazy, but it might actually get you killed."
"I'd be asking that you got some rest before calling you crazy. I've definitely never seen two of you."
"You having seen or having not seen it isn't the point. I can promise you we weren't triplets, but it's not a coincidence he has my face, voice, hair, clothes... He's practically a living mirror; even more so than you. I don't know how he exists or why, and if he has the same power as me, he's a danger to you. To everyone, actually, but that doesn't concern me. And before you ask, yes, you concern me in a strange way, but I wouldn't let it make you comfortable."
"Thanks for the appreciation. But..." Dropping the sarcasm, his mouth slanted slightly. "If he has the same power as you, and he's here... wouldn't he be here to become Shaman King? Why else would he be here?" At that point, a thought hit him, and Hao grimaced as if he'd... heard it. "Wait, if he has the same strength as you and is here for that purpose, how does it not concern you? You're lying."
"I guess at the least you got my looks and intelligence. He's going to be a pain in the ass for even me to get rid of him if he's as strong as me. Something about him also seems more ruthless than even I am. That spells nothing but bad news for the rest of you, as much as that's entirely your problem individually." He paused, scanning eyes moving over the crowd. He'd heard Marco's voice, but it had been in his head. He was about to tell the other something, but it had nothing to do with his and Yoh's discussion. Attention back on Yoh, he knew the topic had to be changed. "You should move along. Talk to me about it when there are less people around if you plan to keep this going, which I can tell you do. The day probably won't come when Marco sees you talking with me and doesn't think you're taking sides with me."
Yoh had almost cut him off when he'd told him to move along, but as he continued quietly Yoh realized from his words that was probably best. Having X-Laws all over him for talking one-on-one with Hao in public sounded like a disaster in the making.
Despite Yoh taking Hao's words to heart and going on his way, Ren briefly remained in his spot behind the corner. What was that idiot doing even talking to him about it? There was a light clenching of his fist, aggravation welling up that his supposed friend was taking advice from an enemy. In a way, sure, they were also enemies, being on separate teams... but everyone here considered Hao the enemy, save for Hao's own group themselves. Even if there was another Hao, and even if that did spell terrible news for all of them, of all the things Yoh would do, he would have to talk to him like they were friends.
Strangely, friends would be the more correct term as far as Ren was concerned. Yoh had no knowledge about Hao all his life, and had only recently told everyone they were brothers. They didn't grow up together, and one didn't even know the other for all those years. They were nothing like he and Jun. Yet... already, Yoh had begun to familiarize himself with Hao, and try to talk to him as he did with anyone else. It was true that was Yoh's own choice, and it didn't even have anything to do with Ren. So what was bugging him? It wasn't his damn business... right?
He hadn't been able to tell if Hao had noticed him being there, but at this point, he didn't care. It almost felt as though this were a betrayal. He and Yoh had finally been able to establish themselves as friends, even if Ren avoided using that word at every given opportunity to do so, and now he was seeing Yoh wander off with a terrible enemy. Yoh had been the reason he'd turned around and fixed himself, and he'd trusted Yoh. That trust wasn't something he wanted to see broken after all that. He would destroy Yoh in their arena battle if that was how this went.
Feeling irritation taking more control over him than rational thought, once Hao was gone from that general space, Ren moved back out with the intent to get a breather from his own thoughts. The intent that he didn't at all have was crashing right into Official robes and into a body about as small as his own. Glaring upon contact, he'd been about to make a harsh comment before he realized that not only had Nichrome been the one he'd bumped into, but the glare sent his way made him realize he'd been a second too late if he wanted to be the first one to glare.
"I shouldn't even have to tell you to watch where you're going." Ren had expected to see some sort of rage in his eyes, but there was none of that. What he'd been able to catch out of that look instead was exhaustion and aggravation. To only mildly scold Ren for walking right into him, his day must have been long. In fact, they probably all were, since that incident back at the bridge.
Words weren't leaving his mouth despite how much they were trying to. He had plenty of retorts in mind, and ones he'd normally have no trouble saying. They weren't coming out. They were staring at each other silently, but Ren's face had changed from that brief glare to hesitation. He couldn't pinpoint why he wasn't able to say something back, but if he had to guess... it was that he had no right to.
As if he'd had his fill of Ren's face for the rest of the week, his eyes closed as he walked to move on, but Ren had instinctively grabbed hold of the other's arm and nearly yanked him back. It was at that point now that the anger settled in Nichrome's eyes, his tone and expression changing from placid to loud and annoyed. "What?!"
Taken aback the slightest, Ren didn't answer instantly, but this time he got it out. "You're just going to walk away like that? Like you still haven't met me?!"
"Of course. The conversation was over, and I didn't have any desire to stay in your presence. If I come in at the wrong time while you're too angry to even pay attention to other people near you, you might just kill me too. And let go of me. I'm not going to run off the second you pull away. I don't just walk off in the middle of a conversation."
His features didn't show much approval, but he let the arm in his grasp go. He wasn't about to outright say he wouldn't kill him, and he knew he wouldn't. It was just the same old pathetic pride he'd carried around that was nothing but for show now. In his mind, he could repeat over and over that he would never kill this person. He'd made him suffer enough. But none of those thoughts would be words that left his mouth; especially not so abruptly. "I was only mad because... of Hao. It had nothing to do with you and I'm not about to make it about you."
"Lovely. I'm glad I have your approval."
The sinking feeling that had started to form in Ren's stomach the moment he spotted Nichrome was only growing. He had every right to be giving him this attitude... and Ren had no idea how to tell him he was sorry without being too caught up in his own embarrassment and shame to be able to say it. It... really was pathetic. "You don't need to be sarcastic."
"So what the hell do you want? You stopped me to tell me you weren't angry at me when I already knew that?"
"This would be easier if you stopped making commentary between my sentences." It stopped Nichrome, but Ren could see the other boy had started shaking in frustration. Maybe it really was better to just let him go. "You're right in yelling at me. But ever since I met you and found out who you were, I wanted to speak to you. I'm not trying to beg for you to forgive me, but I guess..." He wanted to fix things? To make sure Nichrome was okay? That was true, but if he said it, he'd be scoffed at. Those words were nothing but a void to Nichrome, and for good reason. He stopped completely, trying to think of any possible way to say it without sounding stupid. Nichrome was getting impatient, incredibly so, and he knew he had to speak. "Just... can we meet somewhere? Later. It doesn't have to be today."
At the least, Nichrome could tell he was having trouble speaking to him, but he knew why. He let out a slow breath, calming the shaking. This wasn't the Ren that had murdered his brother, and he knew that. Still, accepting it was too difficult for him to just drop it and say okay, and that everything could be good again. It wasn't good, but he couldn't constantly say it was all Ren's fault. If Ren needed to sort his own thoughts out about this, well... Nichrome did too. "...Send my Oracle Bell a message when you pick a time and place. I'm not trying to be rude and just walk away, but I'm seriously busy."
"I know you are. Go then. I... ...apologize for holding you back."
Nichrome seemed to have gone back to a calmed state, but he didn't reply. He was noticeably still upset, but he'd dropped it. It was probably annoying being angry all the time; yet he still went on and kept himself acting tough. For what he'd been through, he was strong. Ren respected his composure, knowing far too well they'd both need it when he dragged Nichrome along just to express his own thoughts.
That other Hao, though... If Nichrome had been talking about that when he said he was busy, was he involved in that matter? Had the Patch known about it and were trying to discreetly take care of it on their own? Fuck. That was more that Nichrome had to do that he shouldn't have had to do, and it was by his fault. Something was starting to tell Ren this wasn't going to go over easily if they had something else that could get in their way at any time. He... was going to watch out for Nichrome for now. He would deal with Yoh later.