Yoh remained sat on the ground, trying to take in what had just happened.
"Yoh?" whispered Anna.
Yoh crossed his legs, not moving. Everyone began to approach Anna and Yoh.
"Hey Yoh. He'll be okay." smiled HoroHoro, kneeling next to him. Yoh glared at HoroHoro, tears filling his eyes. He shook his head violently, refusing to shed tears. "Don't cry Yoh."
"I'm not crying!" he shouted, although it was easy to tell he was struggling not to.
"Yoh, calm down. He might have gone somewhere else." Butted in Chocolove, trying to cheer him up.
"He said not to cry. So I won't cry. I won't cry. I won't cry." Muttered Yoh, gripping his fists harder, gritting his teeth. Anna sat down in front of him.
"Let's go home Yoh." She said gently.
"No." firmly replied Yoh.
"Yoh? We need to go." Said HoroHoro.
"No. I'm not leaving without my brother." He sniffed, wiping his face still refusing to cry.
"But…Yoh…" whispered Anna. Yoh glared up at her face.
"You expect me to leave? After what he's done for me?"
"Done for you?" Anna's face was smiling but also in shock. "Done for you?" Anna took Yoh by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Hao. Killed. You." She stated. Yoh still glared at her. "Understand?" she added.
"Am I still dead?" stated Yoh glaring at her, his eyes fixed on hers. He didn't break the stare she narrowed her eyes to the floor. Yoh sniffed and crossed his arms, determined to not budge an inch.
"Yoh-dono?" asked Amidamaru appearing next to his young master.
"No." sniffed Yoh. "No. I'm not dead. And no, I'm not moving."
"I don't care if you don't want to, you're going to! Now move it!" Ren demanded, grabbing hold of his arm pulling him backwards. Yoh's face changed to an angered look and smacked Ren's hand off his shoulder with incredible speed. Ren grasped his beaten hand stroking it. Yoh glared at him and then moved back into his fixed position on the ground. "Right." Grunted Ren. "That's it. Grab him!" Everyone threw themselves at Yoh, Yoh equally fighting back.
"No! No! I'll wait for him! He came all this way! I'm not going to leave! Get off me!" he shouted, hitting and fighting, Ryu grabbed his hands, Ren gripped his feet. Anna and Jeanne restrained his chest and head. Manta and the rest sighed, standing aside. They began to carry him away. "Let go of me! Put me down!" he screamed.
"What are we going to with you?" sighed Anna.
"Leave me!" Yoh wailed. Everyone ignored him. Suddenly Yoh's body grew limp and he stopped complaining. He knew he could not make his friends drop him and let him stay. So why not let them go ahead and drag him? It's not like Hao would be coming back.
"Yoh you okay?" Chocolove asked, after a long silence. Yoh sighed. "Yes I suppose so."
"I'm sorry Yoh," Ren said. "But you know that …"
"He's not coming back." Yoh finished. "I know, I know. Its just …" He trailed off. He couldn't tell them about Hao's soul, and the conversations they had, could he? Even if he did, his friends would never believe him.
"Just what?" Lyserg asked. Yoh shook his head. "Nothing."
"Hey Jeanne," Manta said looking up at her. "How long are you staying with us for?"
"Actually Manta, I need to leave very soon."
"Why?"
"Well, It seems that this adventure has come to a close. And I still have things to do at home," she answered. "It has been great seeing you all again."
"What about you Lyserg?" Manta turned to the green haired boy now. Lyserg laughed. "I think I'll come back to Japan with you guys if that's okay."
"Yeah! That's fine!" HoroHoro said. Yoh nodded in agreement and the two high-fived.
"I don't think he should – " Anna started. Yoh cut her off by touching her cheek. "Aw, lighten up Anna!"
She blushed and fell silent.
At last, a few hours later they came to a restaurant. Everyone entered and sat down happily. "Dude I'm starving!" called out HoroHoro, attracting the eyes of others. Ren clapped his hand over his mouth. "Shut up, you're always hungry." Yoh laughed. "He has a point!"
"Come on, let's order." Jeanne said, trying to calm the boys down.
Yoh blinked. "Uhm … I'm not really hungry," he lied.
"Yoh you haven't eaten since … how long?" Chocolove commented. "You must be starving!"
"I'm not!" he protested. "I don't want to eat."
"Yoh you have to have something or you'll pass out!"
"No thanks…"
"Okay, then …"
"Yoh, you are an idiot." Ren said. Yoh grinned, and soon their food came. When they had all finished eating, they set off again in search of a place to stay. By the time they got out it was sunset, a beautiful pink palette in the sky. "Wow, it sure is nice," Anna sighed. She stepped a little closer to Yoh, who barely noticed.
"Hey… why is it so dark all of a… sudden …" Yoh muttered. He closed his eyes slowly and collapsed.
"Yoh, wake up…"
"Dude, it's the morning. You okay?"
"Huh?" Yoh opened his eyes and sat up. He rubbed his eyes, still half asleep. "What happened?"
"You passed out from hunger last night," Ren said. "And we brought you here."
"I'm a little thirsty…" Yoh muttered groggily. He threw his foot out the bed, but Anna stopped him. "Here," she handed him a glass of water. "Drink up."
"No, that's fine. I don't really want it…"
"Dude! Why are you acting so strangely!"
"Huh? HoroHoro, I'm not.'
"Yeah you are!" Lyserg added in. "You just asked for something to drink and refused it when you got it!"
"I'm fine, really."
"I'm not so sure…"
"Yoh-dono?" asked Amidamaru warily.
"Hi there." Smiled Yoh.
"I sense your hunger and your thirst young one. Why do you refuse to satisfy your needs?" he asked, Yoh's eyes diverted out the window.
"I am fine." Whispered Yoh. "Actually, may I have some time alone?" Anna looked at Lyserg and the others and nodded.
"Yes Yoh. If you want." Sighed Anna stepping away from him and heading for the door. Lyserg and HoroHoro sighed heavily following. Amidamaru lingered, but decided to do as his master wished and leave. Yoh watched them leave the room; Anna stood at the door and looked back at him. Yoh sighed smiling, lifting his hand to her waving his fingers slightly; she looked to the ground, and shut the door. Yoh stayed sat in bed for a few more minutes. He thought through everything. Making sure he wasn't forgetting anything that should be on his mind. One thing though, stayed in his head at every moment.
"Hao…" he muttered, slowly sliding out of bed, his bare feet touching the ground. His bed was in the shadow of the light from the window, so the floor felt cold. Yoh lifted his feet from the floor, wanting warmth on his bare toes. He shifted over the bed, and stepped onto the light stream on the floor and stood up. He sighed and began to slowly walk to the window. He pulled a chair from his left to the windowpane and sat down, staring out. Yoh noticed right away, that the motel they had stopped in, was actually a worn down kind of place. The sign standing tall in front of the building spelt 'OTE', missing the M and the L. The cars parked in front were not very stylish, some barely still on four wheels. Yoh didn't exactly need to see the front of the place to know it's standard inside was just as bad. Yoh lifted his hands to the back of his ears, lifting his orange headphones off his head. He placed them in front of him and looked at them. The corner of the right cover was shining in the morning light. Simple things make Yoh himself. Without the headphones, would he still be Yoh? Yoh placed his hand across his chest, feeling the smooth necklace pieces. He held them in his palm lifting them off his head and placing them in the middle of his orange headphones. He aligned the three separate brown pieces so their points were facing him. The necklace was also a part of what made Yoh look like Yoh. Without the necklace, would he still be Yoh? "Without Hao…would I still be me?" whispered Yoh, closing his eyes. A quick sudden vision appeared in his mind as he closed his eyes. Yoh snapped his eyes back open. "What?" he said shocked. "What was that?" He closed his eyes again, expecting the same to occur, but nothing happened. Yoh slowly reopened his eyes, confused. "I'm sure I saw…" he trailed off, not actually quite sure what he had seen. He peered out of the window again, examining the scenery. There were things that stood out to him, that he didn't really notice before. Litter was scattered along the roads, birds were nowhere to be seen. The sky was quite gray that day and the wind was blowing harshly through the trees. Below him, was a steep roof ledge of the room below. A few more feet down, was the ground. He noticed in the distance, a bench next to a tall, non-leaved tree, overlooking the town. For some reason he couldn't explain, he wanted to go there. He turned his head to look at the door, he didn't want them to know he was going anywhere. They were obviously worried about him, he was certain they would try to prevent his action and stop him from leaving the building. Yoh turned back to look out the window, maybe he really was crazy, but he didn't care.
That kind of thing would happen to you, if you've just lost a huge part of your soul.
He slowly wedged the window up, finding it difficult to budge it. Its old rusty paint was flaking away, and it made it difficult to slide it up and down. He stood up and threw it up with great force, it shot up and hit the top with a bang. He had forgotten how strong he had become. Maybe that was also part of him. Guilt. Should he feel guilty, to contain his brother's power? Was that the reason that Hao is…dead? Yoh shook his head violently, forbidding himself to cry. He lifted his left leg out the window and pulled himself up onto the ledge, he slipped his other leg over and then carefully lowered onto the steep ridge below him. It could give way at any moment, it was a really old building obviously. A vision appeared again and then vanished, the sudden shock caused Yoh to fall forwards, instantly he grabbed the windowpane to stop himself from falling. He hung there in place, facing the ground, panting. That time, it was clearer…
'I don't know Yoh. I really don't know. It's possible, maybe. I gave you my life.'
"He said he felt so weak …" Yoh whispered to himself. He was scared now… Why was his brother's image haunting him? Why could he suddenly hear Hao's voice?
"Maybe I'll come back one day."
He shook his head, not being able to bear with the fact that he may never see his twin again. When the Great Spirits were swallowing them in their Aura Yoh noticed for the first time how glad he was that he had a twin. "Somehow…" he muttered. "I don't feel whole. I feel so empty … so alone …" he decided to go a little farther to try and empty his head of all these thoughts. Letting go of the window, he dropped to the ground. The impact felt as if it shattered the bones in his feet, but only for a minute or so upon hitting the ground. Yoh smiled as the wind blew across his face, refreshing him. He took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air. He set off in the direction of the bench and bare tree; why was it that he was so drawn to this exact spot?
"I'm so lost…" Yoh whispered. "I don't understand anything … I don't … who am I, really?" he asked himself. It was too much trying to keep all these thoughts locked up in his mind. "Do I exist as my own person, or am I just part of Hao?"
He stopped, looking around for a bit. Something wasn't right… where was everybody? Shouldn't there at least be some people outside? But no, there wasn't.
Not one person.
"This place… it makes me so sad…"
"Who said that?" Yoh turned around frantically. If nobody was around then how could there have just been a voice here? "Maybe I am just hearing things…"
But there was a lingering sense of something else near him. More than ever Yoh became desperate to reach his destination. Unexpected tears found their way into Yoh's eyes, though he wasn't sure why. He knew it wasn't Hao he was crying for… he wasn't really even crying. The desolate scenery just made something come loose deep inside Yoh, something that had long been sealed off from the light of the outside world…
Sorrow.
He felt a mixture of emotions enter him and flow through his body, none of them being bright ones at all. At last he reached the spot he had been longing to get to. However, the tears only flew more vividly. He was full out crying now, still unsure why. "Who are you?!" He yelled out to the air. "Why are you doing this to me?" He looked up into the tree. A little girl was sitting there, in the branches all alone. She had also been crying; there was a small puddle of tears below her.
"I'm… so sorry. Please don't go away." She said.
"Who are you?"
"Can you… see me?" the girl asked. Her eyes grew wide with awe.
"Yeah, of course I can. Why?"
"Nobody's ever spoken to me before. Nobody has seen me up here in this tree."
"Are … are you …?"
"I'm dead." She answered him quietly. "I'm dead."
"Hey," Yoh wiped away his tears slowly. "Was it you who was talking to me and making me feel so upset?"
"It must have been … Everyone else in this town was sad, too. And they all left. Are you going to leave too?"
"We'll have to … we're just staying at that old motel over there." He pointed to where he and his friends were staying. "Someone must live here though! How did we get checked in?"
"I don't know," she said. "I've been in there before, nobody works there."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes. I'm all alone. By the way, what's your name?"
"Asakura Yoh. What's yours?"
"That's just it. I can't remember." The girl said. She began to cry gently again. "It's been so long since someone called me by my name. How come you can see me Yoh?"
"Oh, I'm a shaman."
"I think I've heard about them before…"
"Yeah, we can interact with the dead."
"That's so cool. Yoh, who are they? Your friends?" she asked, pointing behind Yoh. He turned around and saw Chocolove, Ryu and Manta running up to him. "Yeah… but what are they doing here?"
"Yoh!" Chocolove yelled. "Anna's having a fit! Why'd you run off?"
"I … I just …" he trailed off. How could they understand his impulse to come here?
"Does this place make you feel … sad for some reason?" he asked the three boys. They all nodded. "It's lonely…" Manta said. Yoh looked at the girl. "This town's deserted. This girl told me that." He said. They all saw her, and she explained everything to them that she had told Yoh. Then the girl said to them, "I just want to leave. I want to go to heaven. Daddy told me that that's where good girls go when they die … but I don't know how to get there. Yoh, do you know how to help?"
"Yeah… I do. Guys, let's go get Anna. I think this is a job for her." He said. "We'll be back soon."
He ran off to go and find his fiancée. Now he was deep in thought about himself and Hao … what would happen if Hao did die? Would he come back or become like that girl?
"I can't live with myself. Maybe I'll come back one day. Maybe today, maybe next week…and maybe… just maybe…another 500 years from now."
What was that supposed to mean?
That girl could talk to him, even though he was far away from the tree she was sat upon. That girl made him feel so full of sadness and sorrow. If that girl was allowing him to hear her…
Was Hao doing the same?
"Hao's dead…" said Yoh suddenly stopping in his tracks. "No…" he whispered.
'Yoh don't make this harder for me than it already is. It…hurts me…'
Yoh wanted to continue running, he wanted to carry on and start the good deed to help the girl. But he couldn't. He just stood there, blindly staring at the ground, his eyes straining, as they regretfully began to flow with tears.
'Hey. No need for tears.'
"I can't help it." Replied Yoh to the voice. "I can't…" Yoh didn't move from where he stood, and didn't stop the tears from flowing. He knew it wasn't Hao talking to him. It was a memory. But even so, it must be Hao making him remember him like this. It must be him. He's dead…
Isn't he?
The thought of it reduced Yoh to such sorrow; he knelt on the ground straining in pain and sadness. He heard footsteps coming quickly towards him. He looked up, and for some crazy reason, it thought it really could have been…
"Yoh! Where the hell have you been?!" screamed Anna.
"Oh!" stuttered Yoh standing up and wiping his front down. "Hi Anna!" Anna strait away noticed Yoh's tear stained face.
"Have you been crying?" she gasped putting her hands on his face. He stepped back.
"No! And c'mon, you need to do something." Said Yoh turning, hiding his face and running away. Anna following.
"Don't think you're not in big trouble for this!" shouted Anna after him. Yoh sighed wiping his face reaching the bench again.
"Anna's here." Sighed Yoh leaning on the bench.
"Hey Yoh aren't you cold? You've got nothing on your feet." Said Chocolove Yoh looked up at the girl.
"Even if I had shoes on, I would still feel as cold as I do now." He said quietly. Chocolove didn't quite understand what he meant. But he shrugged. "Anna will help you. Don't worry."
"Thank you." Sniffed the little girl. "I can't wait to see my family again."
"What is you want me to do?" asked Anna looking at Yoh and then the girl in the tree.
"Send this young girl to heaven." Smiled Yoh.
"Oh. An earth bound spirit." Said Anna lifting her beads off her head. "I can fix that." The little girl's eyes gleamed, smiling at Anna.
"Oh I'm so happy. Thank you Anna." She sniffed, joyful tears now streaming down her face. Yoh smiled. Chocolove, Ryu and Manta grinned at each other, happy to watch this. Anna held her beads up to the girl.
"Come Spirit, time to cross over." She said clearly, the girl changing into a glowing mist and then vanishing.
"Thank you for everything…" was her last words. After a few more moments, Yoh sighed and then returned to the present time. Thinking over what had happened.
"Yoh. How dare you run off like that?" spat Anna. Yoh sat down on the bench again, and began to stare out to the town.
"Are there people…at the Motel?" he said out of the blue kind of shocking Anna.
"Yes there are why?"
"Why did the girl say the place was empty?" Yoh looked up at her.
"I-I don't know…there were people there yesterday." She said, uncertain where Yoh was going with this. On the ground, not too far away was an old newspaper, it was under a bush and was ripped and stained from rain. Yoh got up and approached the bush lifting the paper. He read over the front page and then gasped.
"Hey what's wrong?" said Manta walking to him.
"This paper…" he trailed off. "Look…" he passed the paper to Manta. Manta read it over and then gasped too.
"What does it say?" asked Anna.
"It says, there was a fire here in this town long ago…" said Manta. "The mansion on the hill over there," Manta pointed to a huge house on a hill in the distance, "was where is started. A young girl and her father escaped and mysteriously disappeared afterwards. There was a series of fires after that all over the town. Houses went up in flames. Hundreds of people were killed…"
"That's horrible!" gasped Chocolove.
"And that's not it… it says it was started by someone…each of the fires, were on purpose. Each of the fires, were created by…"
"Hao…" whispered Yoh, his hair covering his eyes. "That's why I feel like this…" Yoh began to walk away from them back down the hill.
"Hey where do you think you're going?" angrily called Anna. Yoh ignored her, and began to run. "Hey! Come back here right now!" screamed Anna running after him. Chocolove, Ryu and Manta following quickly. Yoh couldn't bear it. He had lost this brother, and now this. Yoh carried on running, not sure what he should be feeling. Everyone ran after him, but Yoh was much faster. He out ran them and then sprinted down a long empty deserted road. He suddenly tripped, and fell to the ground. He hit the floor hard, grazing his knees and slashing his feet. He knelt on the floor panting heavily. He screwed his face up hard.
"Hao…" he muttered. Thoughts began to circle his head. Hao had killed hundreds of innocent people he already knew that anyway. It was difficult to understand, just why he felt so close to him. Why he loved him. Why he wanted to have him back. Even now, after experiencing that emotional moment with the young little girl, it was hard to understand… "I miss you Hao." Whispered Yoh in despair. "Come back to me please…"