A/N: Again, apologies for the crazy time skips. This chapter is going to be taking place after the Golem arc, the first section with the Patch being after it and during the Marco & Luchist arc. Afterward, I'm skipping to after that but before Ren's team's fight against Team Myooh. The skips will stop eventually, but I have to move around the main plot of the series itself as well (especially given Hao's character changes and development over the course of the canon events).
Also, to the guest review I received, no, I don't plan to update once a year! I was dealing with a lot throughout the year, and roleplay replies for my Shaman King muses took a lot out of my writing time. Besides for that, my motivation was way too lacking. If there's any one character that gave me my inspiration back for this when I did get it back, it was Namari. Meaning, guess who's taking a main character role for this whole fanfic. I did laugh when I saw your review though, because I was thinking just after posting chapter two that they were almost exactly a year apart.
Lastly, yes, I'm using an anime only character for the sake of this fic. I'm not mixing the anime and manga together at all, but rather, just using a few characters from it and using the manga's plot.
"So... how are we handling this?"
Every Official was there, including Silva, waiting on Goldva's response as to how to go about getting rid of any outside problems. Namari had known what they were gathered for and didn't hesitate in speaking. Goldva had been filled in on everything, and the final call was his.
He didn't answer right away, smoke rising from the pipe he always held with him. He seemed to be inspecting each Official, trying to make a judgement to properly correct this with the least amount of trouble. His gaze landed back on Namari after a delayed response. "Namari, I'll leave you in charge of everyone else. I'm not asking you to look out for their lives constantly or anything to that far of a degree... but you need to guide them and make the most critical choices. I believe you are the best choice for rationality in a situation like this."
Namari's expression had become below confident, but he couldn't say he didn't expect it. He understood why he'd be given such a position compared to the others. It wasn't arrogance, but he knew what he was capable of and what everyone else's limits were. The rest of them didn't seem to mind, and he was sure they were comfortable with the choice. If anything, the only one uncomfortable with the decision was Namari himself.
Continuing, Goldva made it a point to eye each of them to be sure they all understood what they would be doing. "Your priority is to protect the Shaman Fight and the contestants. You must destroy all outside invasions. However, I expect all of you to pull your own weight and not rely entirely on Namari."
It was true if he became too stressed that his thoughts would be jumbled together, and his decision making would become sloppy and hasty. People would die if he did that, and the last thing he wanted was his own family dying under his watch.
"What do we do about the Patch under the enemy's care?" Magna had only asked, but his intention wasn't to simply capture him and bring him back alive. He was more a of a traitor than Silva was in his eyes, and Silva had been punished temporarily for that. His punishment hadn't quite ended, but they had more to deal with now than just him. Truthfully, Magna wouldn't deny his concern for Nichrome in the event he really was a target for the enemy. If that man had been a candidate to become an Official, if Nichrome was killed and it was unknown who killed him, he would have the chance to make the position again. Of course, Magna found the reasoning ridiculous, but it gave him all the more reason to eliminate him than to give the man the chance to come back alive and attempt such a thing.
"I want him brought back alive for questioning, but only if that's possible. He may resist and fight back. If your lives are in danger, don't sacrifice yourselves to get him here. We need every one of you. Even one loss will hurt us tremendously."
They all accepted the answer, but Thalim's thoughts were focused more on Namari. Thalim himself couldn't possibly lead them at all, forget in a case such as this. While he wasn't completely responsible for their lives, if at all, Namari would surely still take it upon himself to keep them all safe. If someone died, whether the fault fell to him or not, he would be bothered by it forever. This would be a lot for even him. Thalim would have been the same way in his position, but he knew he was different from Namari. He was far more mellowed out than Namari. The others didn't see it, but Thalim at least knew the difference between Namari being calm and quiet and him being nervous and quiet. He looked generally about the same facially, but his mouth usually became a thin line when he had something on his mind. It was there now... and the cafe working Patch has decided instantly that if Namari needed support, he would be that support.
"But when is our enemy going to attack?" Silva looked between the other Officials and Goldva, unsure who would know that answer. He'd been absent for part of this, but if this was as dangerous as it was made out to be, he couldn't understand why it had been silent through now. "Nothing has happened so far; not even an injury caused by them."
"They're waiting." Namari's answer was almost instant. He'd thought this through already, and had assumed on the most likely case to happen. Holding back his answer would be a waste of much needed time. "As it stands now, they must know we have plans to move to Mu near the end of the tournament. Meaning, they're waiting until the tournament is nearing its end and there are the fewest groups of contestants left. Because we're moving, that means all other contestants and people who came to watch the arena fights won't be going with us. There will be the fewest number of people, thus less interference in their plans, and they will also be closer to the Great Spirit. We need to attack them now before they achieve their goal of reaching Mu."
At the very least impressed by the answer, Radim added his thoughts. He understood why Namari was chosen to take control of this, feeling there would be few problems in total. Of course they wouldn't get out of this without harm, but there would be less harm overall. Namari knew what he was doing. "Their plan may be to reach Mu, but how are they going to get there? We're going by submarine and only taking the remaining contestants with us. I've seen all of them many times and know their personalities well. I would spot an impostor or someone who didn't belong right away. I feel an odd closeness to the people I've gotten to know, and I wouldn't mistake them."
"They wouldn't be going with us. They would go their own separate way. I don't think you've forgotten, but they have a Patch on their side. That means we've already had any number of information leaks on our tribe's personal background. I don't at all doubt they already know how to reach Mu and have made the necessary measures to reach that area. Worst case scenario, they'll be there before us and wait for us there, then attack."
The rest of them had fallen silent, the thought of that scheme hitting them quickly. They really did need to act fast, and mistakes couldn't be given the chance to happen. If they failed, the entire Shaman Fight could be ruined.
"You're all to begin your efforts today." Goldva knew it was nerve wracking for all of them, or at least most, but it had to be done. They all knew that, but what he hadn't realized was that the group's temporary team leader had not been prepared for that. "In any case, you're dismissed."
Each of them left separately, finding their own thing to do before this really began. It had been quiet so far, and they'd been lucky for that... but each of them knew it wouldn't last.
Stopping after having left the room, Thalim looked out to locate Namari again, catching up to him as soon as he'd found him. Not bothering to make small talk, he came out with what he had on his mind. "Are you okay...?"
He was silent for a few seconds, looking ahead and continuing on his way with Thalim beside him before he answered. "...No, but I'll have to put up with it for now."
It felt like a stack of bricks had been weighing on Thalim as that honesty met his question. "I know at the moment, I probably can't help, but... come to me right away if I ever can. I hate seeing you of all people like this. It's just not... you."
"It's true I normally take things a lot easier, but I know the level of the threat we're dealing with is at the bare minimum life threatening. If I joke around at a time like this, it won't be just one or two of us that ends up in the grave."
Thalim didn't speak for a moment, thinking Namari's words over. That was true, and he couldn't joke when they were acting against their opponent. That would be then. This was now. They were home right now, and safe within the Patch's own walls. He wouldn't dare to let Namari feel this way every minute of his life until things calmed down. "If you keep moping, I'm going to throw coffee at you."
Namari's walking completely ceased, his head turning with the most disbelieving look on his face, though it caused a small smile to form on Thalim's face. That comment wasn't expected, obviously. "And I'm going to cut your hair short and doodle dumb designs on your cafe tie."
"I feel threatened." He deadpanned it, purposely dropping the smile for the comment but smiling again when Namari at least quickly chuckled. If he was back to smiling again, even if it wasn't as confident as it usually was, he was a step closer to getting the older Official back on his feet the way he should be. It wouldn't hurt to go for a stroll with him until they separated for a while to go about their own business anyway.
He'd sensed it again, only this time it was closer. That same feeling, darker than his own. Hao had left without taking any of his subordinates, knowing they'd only be in the way and too weak to handle this. Rather, he couldn't waste their lives on something like this.
A frown was glued to his face as he heard his own voice. It was bad enough he might not be able to tell the difference between his own thoughts and that voice, but he could hear the thoughts of this person. He could hear thoughts from someone with the exact same voice as him, frustrating him to no end when he knew those thoughts were not his own. Damn Reishi.
"Oh! Are you our guest tonight? I expected the Patch." That same voice spoke to him directly from behind, and he ignored the thought of rolling his eyes at the comment.
Turning to him, Hao could almost instantly see every difference between himself and Yoh now. They had the same face, but this was even worse. On the topic of Yoh, he'd just barely survived an encounter with the Golem recently, thanks to Hao himself. Knowing this guy was around was bothersome. Yoh could easily get hurt again, but Hao couldn't guarantee he'd be able to fight this person and protect Yoh at the same time. The Golem was nothing to him. Another Spirit of Fire was something. "I wasn't particularly here for you."
"You say that, but you've had your eye on me since I got here. As expected, you were also the first to notice." The smile on his face was almost frustrating, but he could bear with it. Strange. He did the same things, and he'd never been bothered by it before. Instead, something was nagging at him that something about this guy was, despite being similar in every way to him, different from him.
"My aim is to become King. However, you being the same as me, I have competition now. I know you're here for the same thing. You weren't part of the test to join the Fight in the first place though, which makes me believe you showed up afterward with the intent to attack when nobody knew you existed."
"Ah, well... the truth is, I did exist, but not in a physical form. I've existed inside you since you were a child in your first life." While Hao's expression didn't change, his silence made it clear that he was willing for him to continue. He wanted answers, and he wouldn't ask for them. "Basically, I'm just a part of you that separated from you."
"If that's all you are, and I've survived with you forcing your way out of me, I guess it won't make any difference if you cease to exist. Actually, I'd like to know... if your soul would make me even stronger if I give you to the Spirit of Fire." It showed itself beside him, the Hao now across from him repeating the action.
"You and I are the same after all. I myself was just wondering if your power would strengthen me. I could easily take the Great Spirit for my main spirit if that was the case."
If he didn't exist in a physical form until recently, something had happened to make him exist. That was the situation as Hao understood it, even if he didn't have all the details. Both of them had instantly dragged this to a fight, intending to eliminate the other as each of their own only competition. Both of their spirits had began clawing at each other instantly, making them both quickly aware they would attract attention in little time. The ground itself was shaking from such large spirits trying to fend each other off, attempting to aim for the opposite Shaman. Rather than wait for one of them to get by, which could happen no time soon, Hao had brought up flames that were aimed specifically for the other Hao. They didn't reach him, instead stopped by a similar gesture. Both portions were stopped midway to each Hao, causing the flames to merge and become large enough to hit the ground. Their spirits were not in the least bothered by them jumping in, fending each other off almost uselessly to reach the other one's Shaman.
It was far from a quiet exchange. Yoh had been outside with the other teams that were with him for the summit, each of them intending to go their own way at the late hour. They'd all stopped, looking in the direction of the noises, unsure which two people could possibly make such a racket. Only moments after that thought, Yoh had remembered what he'd told Hao back at one of the nighttime parties Radim hosted. That Hao had been lying, and that this other Hao had the same intent that he and every other Shaman here had. Then... they must have been planning to get rid of each other. He'd been unable to believe the story having only heard it from Hao, but now he was realizing his doubts and hesitation to act in response earlier could be costing them more than he was willing to lose. Not even just the idea of losing the Hao he knew, but other people. The island itself. The tournament.
With a quick agreement, they'd all moved along together instead of the original plan to go back to sleep for the night. If they left this alone, and it was what Yoh believed it was, they wouldn't get the chance to sleep without it reaching them later. Though they couldn't pinpoint the definite location, they were sure heading in one direction would lead them exactly where they needed to be.
After a long run of nothing but a straight path, they'd stopped for a short enough time to realize there were two of the same spirit. Both were... Hao's. Yoh knew the others around him didn't understand a bit of it, but his suspicions were clearing up all too quickly. Continuing ahead and bringing them along, they stopped again upon reaching the area they'd been searching for. It was true after all... There were two of them, and they were using exactly the same abilities.
As soon as Hao had realized who was nearby, he stopped briefly and turned only his head to be sure he wasn't mistaken. "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Go back." His focus returned to what was in front of him right away, moving aside from the fire heading toward him. There were a few yelps from the crowd, but Hao wasn't the least bit concerned with them. He heard a comment that was likely more of a complaint coming from Horohoro, but the words became jumbled and ceased to make sense to Hao. He wasn't listening to those guys, keeping his focus where it needed to be. He hadn't been involved in a fight that had threatened him since his fight against Matamune and Yohken, and he wouldn't let himself become distracted by anyone he found insignificant. That, however, became a problem as soon as Yoh ran to his side.
"I told you to go back." He glared, gaze locating Yoh for a split second and returning to its place.
"Do you really think I can just go back after seeing this? I don't get it at all... but going back and pretending I didn't see it can't happen."
The Hao on the opposite side of them brought back a small smile, causing Yoh to tense more than expected. "You're going to fight me too? You should back down before you actually do die. The only one capable of fighting me is him. I don't mind, since I'll win anyway, but if you wish to prolong your life, I'll still let you leave for now."
But Yoh wasn't going to leave. Just after having saved him from the Golem, Hao couldn't afford to actually lose him this time. There was no choice but to give up and let him fight, but he was handicapped in having to protect someone now. Not bothering to look at Yoh, he gave his answer to Yoh's intention of staying to fight. "You're fighting for yourself. I have things I want to do my own way, so you'll be holding out on your own."
Yoh gave a nod to him, not responding to the other Hao's comment. They all knew he wouldn't leave now, but the others had no idea what to do. X-I wasn't about to help their enemy... but Yoh had helped them, and even saved Marco's life. They couldn't lose their lives here, but if they didn't fight now, the problem would definitely come back later anyway. Faust and Ryu could tell Yoh wanted this done his own way as well, and they would only interfere if it got too dangerous for him. Ren's team wasn't planning on getting involved, though Chocolove wouldn't stand there if he had a friend about to be killed. But in the end... they would all be facing him sooner or later. Since the Hao they knew was also against him, they'd have to work with him. Seeing another Hao and another Spirit of Fire right in front of them, they knew there was no other way.
At this time of the night, Nichrome's intention had been only to return to the Patch's place of residence. He'd stopped when he spotted another Patch, but that was not someone who was supposed to be here. Only Officials were on the island now, out of all the Tribe members. That meant this was the one who was their enemy. Rather than going back right away, he hid himself behind a short group of trees, just tall enough to hide his height. Beside his feet, Yellow Whip awaited orders, tail raised in a hostile manner.
Deciding over his options, Nichrome looked down at Yellow Whip, not giving an answer instantly. He wasn't sure he could win a fight without knowing how his enemy would fight, and a fight to keep him alive and drag him back to Goldva was a lot harder than killing him. As his eyes became focused again, his spirit expectantly awaited orders.
"I need you to go get Magna. I'll message him ahead of time, but I don't know what I can do here by myself." The scorpion stopped, tail lowering. Nichrome knew his spirit wouldn't be fond of that choice, and it almost looked as though he was about to climb back onto him and not let go. He needed Yellow Whip to not be needed, though, or Magna would never make it here in time. This wasn't something they could delay. "It's okay. Go find him. I have Purple Kick with me, too. I'll at least hold out until you make it back with him."
With an accepting nod, Yellow Whip moved away, hiding from the other Patch's line of view. Being so small, movement was easy, and a lot easier than if Nichrome tried to go back with someone else so close. If he moved that way now, he'd be found. If this person was really a traitor, other Patch were not off his list of targets.
As soon as he moved again once his message through the Oracle Bell had been sent, stating Yellow Whip would go to get him and bring him there, even as he moved away quietly, he knew he'd made the right choice in sending Yellow Whip instead of doing it himself. The majority of the area was an open space, and seeing other people move wasn't difficult at all. It was getting dark, but it was still a dark blue outside. It hadn't taken long for him to be spotted, and his hopes of avoiding a fight for as long as possible had gone away instantly.
Hardly turning to him, he examined his face quickly, realizing he knew him, but barely. He'd indeed been a candidate to take the position Nichrome now had. That smirk on his face gave him away quickly though. That was... Jink.
"You're out a bit late at night to be on any Patch duties." His smirk wasn't anything short of suspicious. His posture reflected his attitude, the confident look making it seem as though he was here with everything clearly planned out.
"...I was just going back." It hadn't been a lie, but he had certainly stopped when he noticed another person there.
"Going back and casually taking breaks in between? If you want to take a break, you could always spend time with your family, couldn't you? There's no reason not to be around another Patch."
"At this hour? I need to go back." He was quickly getting uncomfortable, but just leaving wasn't going to help. Talking this out wouldn't work either. All he could do was wait now, as annoying as that was.
"Ah, I was hoping you'd be willing to meet Hao-sama, who kindly gave me power after you took my place as someone so important. Not interested in meeting your family's companions?"
Of course not. Nichrome knew exactly what would happen. If he went with him to meet that other Hao, Jink would report to Goldva that Nichrome betrayed them, and replace him as an Official. Whatever happened to him after that, Jink of course didn't care.
"No, I don't. I don't even talk to many people outside my own family. I think it's time you went about your business, isn't it?"
"That's odd. You don't want revenge? Your brother is dead, after all. It doesn't bother you to wake up every day as an Official, only one because your brother was the sacrifice for that?" He wasn't taking this seriously by any means, the smirk firmly in place and growing when he saw the youngest Official stiffen.
He did want it, a while back. Magna had even convinced him that was fine, and had, for the most part, helped the feeling to grow. Now, Nichrome could quite clearly remember the looks he's gotten from Ren the night of that particular party. He'd never seen a look like that on Ren's face; not ever. He'd wanted to talk to Nichrome when they got a chance, and that chance hadn't happened yet. After seeing him and hearing him act like that, the thought of a life ending revenge against him didn't seem right at all. If he were the same as before, Nichrome wouldn't care, and they would never have even spoke the way they had. But this was different, and that feeling of revenge was getting distant. That wasn't what he wanted anymore. He was tired of feeling angry and hurt all the time. As much as he'd been in a hurry that night, there was still a lingering want for an extending conversation. If he had the time to hear Ren out... maybe he really could just stop being angry.
"I don't want that anymore. I'm tired of people dying as it is. If all you're after is my position, trying to coax me into revenge is only going to make me stay away from you even more. I'll deal with that issue with the person involved." Between the time that had passed since the events at the bridge and the night of the party, he'd had plenty of time to just think. Time to decide what he really wanted and how he would continue as an Official without any further trouble. He couldn't let that all be ruined now.
"You're as difficult as ever. It's a shame you won't listen to your elders. I'm not very happy a kid as young as yourself got such an important job when I was always brought up since childhood to have the mindset of an Official. I can't let a child waste the time I've spent for this." His interest perked when he realized Nichrome had started his Oversoul at that remark, knowing he was just being cautious, but he himself was more intrigued in a fight now. "That Oversoul on your legs... belong to your brother. Where is your own spirit?"
"I... left him back at my place. But if you seem like you're going to attack me, of course I'm going to put an Oversoul on."
"Huh. Suspicious. I guess I should get rid of you and get out of here before he comes back to get you, shouldn't I?"
It was at that point Nichrome could confirm he had a perfectly good idea of where Yellow Whip was. All of the Officials knew this guy has nine spirits, and a fight was not favorable. Not with only one of them, and especially not the youngest of them. Still, he would never give his position up to this guy. Someone with this kind of attitude had no right to replace his brother.
He'd been about to move, but stopped when a firm hand was placed on his shoulder. It had startled him, but with a hand larger than his own shoulders, he knew he was safe. His attention reached Magna right away, an overwhelming feeling of security coming back to him that he'd only ever felt near Chrome in the past. Immediately after, Yellow Whip latched to his leg and crawled up to Nichrome's other shoulder, holding onto him in a defensive manner.
"You stay back. I'm kicking his sorry ass until at the very least I draw a good pile worth of blood." His gaze focused on Jink instead of Nichrome, but Nichrome himself could almost feel the glare. As soon as Magna's hand left his shoulder, he stepped back, keeping Purple Kick's Oversoul for safety.
"Ah, you must be the one who took him in. Nice finally meeting you." Letting go of any sense of superiority, he looked to Magna almost as an equal. Rather, he considered them equals, but Magna wasn't nearly as willing to do so.
"Cut your formalities short. You were about to harm the person under my guardianship. I don't care if you have a grudge on him or Goldva-sama, or anyone for that matter. You'll forget all about that when you direct your grudges toward me when you return to your Hao-sama limping."
"Noisy, aren't you? I suppose that explains where the kid got it from, because it damn well wasn't his brother."
At this point, Nichrome's eyes changed from anxious to completely deadly. Yellow Whip's tail raised again in reaction, crawling the slightest more onto Nichrome's occupied shoulder. "I don't want to hear a single word about my brother from an asshole like you, who can't even respect him when he's long dead."
"Your nine spirits only sound strong in number. You'll regret dealing with my Magnescope." The owl nodded, perching itself on Magna's shoulder and stretching its wings. Magna knew Jink would realize his spirit was how he'd arrived as quickly as he'd managed to, having used their Oversoul form to fly here. That was fine, though. Jink would also realize flying in that form wasn't the only thing they were great at.
"I wonder. But that's all the more reason to find out." His nine spirits came out together, and Jink's eyes moved from Nichrome back to Magna. "Is the kid fighting too?"
"Don't ask me. That's his call. But if you so much as scratch him, I'll almost be pitying your fate between me and the reactions of the others."
"You're interesting. Well, fine. Let's see how far we can go."
But Magna had no intention of taking all that long. He had someone to cut up, and he wouldn't do it lightly.