Disclaimer: I don't own SK. I want to own Hao, though. Argh, I wrote this 5 years ago…so please pardon the foolishness.
Chapter 8 - Prelude
A maid opened the door and she climbed the stairs at the first floor; a door opened on her right.
"Tamao!"
Lyserg literally jumped, took her into his arms and spun her like this for a few seconds.
"What happened to you? What did he do to you? How did you escape?"
A lot of questions that she couldn't answer.
"Lyserg-kun, I can't do this right now. I'd like to have a shower first; I spent the night in a forest"
"All right"
So she left. He woke the others and told them the good news.
When Tamao returned, they were all waiting for her in the hall.
"What happened? Tell us everything!" Horo started
"Uh…um…I don't know if I should…I'm sure you'll all hate me afterwards…"
"We can't hate you no matter what" Yoh assured her
"All right. First, I kinda insulted him, so I got slapped and then he seemed to regret it and…well, he was nice and…"
"He WHAT? He slapped you? I'll rip his head off! Grr!" Ren yelled
"Stay in line! I'll kill him first!" Lyserg told him.
"Then he sort of blackmailed me, like if I don't fall in love with him, he'll kill the rest of you, so I had to kiss him…"
She was blushing and she felt really embarrassed while Ren and Lyserg were startled, and Horo made as sign as if he was puking.
Anna glared at him.
"Just woke up from the dead and his hormones went crazy already!" Horo tried a joke, getting hit from both directions at the same time by two fists.
"Then, he said his life depended on me and I…"
"You what?"
"I tried to explain that I'll never actually love him, and then I remembered how bad he felt when I said I hated him and I realized I was doing it to him. So, it was easy to start the anger switch…"
"Good"
"Why didn't you tell me about the spell, Anna? I know Lyserg knew about this. So how come I…?"
Anna interrupted her before she could finish the sentence.
"Because only a few persons knew about it"
Tamao lowered her head, thinking. She walked towards the window and looked outside.
"I unleashed the power to hurt him, it was like…I wanted to teach him a lesson, but I exaggerated and I almost killed him"
"And you returned to us, right?" Ren asked her
"Not exactly. I was feeling so bad for doing this; I mean the pain was so great that even a few wounds appeared on his arms. I felt sorry for him so I stayed there to take care of him. In the end, he woke up. He told me to go because his life is over and he'll return to that fountain to be tortured for eternity and then…"
"…you left" Lyserg said
"No. I didn't want him to die and…all of a sudden, I think I started to see him differently…he was kind and nice, like Yoh…only he looked much more mature, and he had so many mixed up feelings! We talked until the night came and we slept there, into the forest. When I woke up, he offered to take me back. He said he has something to take care of, and…"
"And?"
"He will return for me"
"What does this mean?" Ren asked
"It means he loves her" Horo stated, regretting this the minute he felt Ren's Guan Dao pointed at his neck.
"DON'T say anything like this again. Aren't you tired of getting smacked all the time, anyway?"
"Gomen, gomen, I'll keep my mouth shut"
"Tamao, what happened to you?" Lyserg asked her, coming closer to her
"I don't know, maybe I did fell in love with him…"
Just then, the phone rang. Lyserg ran to answer.
"…Lyserg, is that you?"
"Jeanne? Talk louder, I can't hear you!"
"It's HIM. He's got us…he killed all the others…"
"Wait! Who?"
"Hao…aaargh!"
Lyserg dropped the phone on the floor and the others hurried towards him.
"What happened?"
"It was Jeanne. They're dead now. All the X-laws"
"I'm…I'm very sorry" said Tamao. "I'll go"
"Wait! Where are you going?"
"I've done enough. I never wanted this to happen. But I'm responsible for him and his actions. I have to do something"
She ran out the corridor and outside the house crying. She couldn't believe it; her beautiful vacation had turned into a nightmare.
"Tamao! Tamao! TAMAO!"
He caught her arm and forced her to look at him.
"Tamao, don't leave! It's not your fault that he fooled you"
"If only I wasn't so stupid and always falling in love with Mr. Wrong…"
"Shhh! Don't say that, my dear!"
'My dear? What does he mean?' she thought while staring into his eyes. 'Oh my God, does he…'
"I don't care what you did yesterday, you were in danger and you had to stay alive. Hao is evil and he'll always be like this"
"I'm ashamed of myself"
"Don't be. We all make mistakes. I made one…" he said while playing with a lock of her hair "I hid my feelings for too long. I love you, Tamao"
"I…I don't know what to say…"
"You don't have to say anything right now. Think about it"
"I will"
She turned around to go, but he still didn't release her hand.
"Why…"
"To help you decide"
He leaned in and kissed her — a long, sweet and passionate kiss. Hao's kisses were astonishing, but Lyserg's was warm, wonderful, because he loved her.
Did she love him too?
"Oh, there comes Ren" Lyserg said with a smirk and left.
Tamao waited for him because she knew he wanted to talk to her.
"What is it, Ren?"
"I came to see if you're all right"
"I'm a bit confused, but ok I guess…"
"I…I wanted to tell you something…"
"I know what you want to say"
"Really?"
"Yes. It's been said to me at least two times the last 24 hours"
"Hao…and Lyserg?"
"Yes"
"And?"
"I…"
"I'd like to go out with you sometimes"
"Hao will be here soon. His "thing" were the X-laws"
"You're right, he will be here. Then what?"
"Either I go with him and that's the end, or we fight against him. I think he's much more powerful now than he was the last time"
