"To have a brother is like having a life. You take care of it, and want to best for it. I want you to be happy, for this to be so, I must go…"
Why had he said that? Could he not tell how much Yoh wanted to be with him? "We … are … brothers!" Yoh yelled. "The same person! You said it yourself!" He punched the ground, drawing more blood, now from his hands. "Hao …" Then he remembered what he had said before, when he was part of Hao; when Lyserg had punched him in the back of his head … "Blood will make you stronger…" he murmured. "I know he did terrible things, I know he doesn't care for humans. Why do I feel so attached to him? Why?"
"I don't want to hurt you … Yoh …"
"Huh?" Yoh looked beside him. He was sure he had just heard Hao's voice. But … that wasn't possible!
…Was it?
"You're making this so hard for me…"
"My mind must be playing tricks on me," he said, shaking his head gently. As he turned to get up, he flinched and hit the ground once more. "I… I thought you were dead!" he yelled. "Hao!"
In front of him stood Hao, wearing his cloak, it flowing around the two of them. His hair was also blowing around gently, as if he himself were the wind. Yoh closed his eyes. "Ah…" he sighed. "It's suddenly gotten warmer … what are you doing …?" He opened his eyes halfway, almost becoming swallowed in Hao's deep, hypnotic eyes. No sound came from the image of his twin, but it looked as if he were laughing. He held his hand out, mouth open in a playful smile. He mouthed words, but no sound came out. Yoh also extended his hand… he couldn't pull away from the hold Hao had on him.
"Yoh-kun!" Are you okay?" Manta cried, running up to Yoh, who was still focused on the image in front of him. He said, barely louder than a whisper, "I … I want to come with you…"
"With who Yoh-kun? Who are you talking to?" Manta asked. Yoh turned slowly to Manta. His eyes were expressionless, his mouth open slightly to reveal he was deep in a trance. He blinked slowly. It was almost as if Manta had never spoken to him.
"Master Yoh?" Ryu came up behind Manta. "What has gotten into him?"
"I don't know!" Manta said. "I just don't know. Really. He was like this when I caught up to him."
"Let me come too … I want to go with you … Please, don't leave me again …" Yoh whispered once more.
"Who Yoh?" Ryu asked. He stepped in front of Yoh to where Hao was; and the image Yoh could not take his eyes off faded.
"Goodbye, Yoh…"
As his brother vanished, Yoh stayed in position, his arm stretched out. He was staring, smiling slightly, his face under trance. Ryu knelt down in front of him.
"Master Yoh?" said Ryu gently. Yoh's eyes slowly moved and fixed on the tall shaman's face. He made a silent croaking noise, like he was trying to speak but nothing would pass his lips. He turned his head as if looking back at the image that was no longer there. Manta and Ryu looked at each other worriedly. After a few more moments, tears appeared in the corner of his eyes and slowly ran down the sides of his face. He made no noise as he cried silently. "You are ill Master Yoh." Said Ryu. "We need to get you to some help-"
"Why won't he let me…" whispered Yoh. "Why won't he take me with him…"
"Yoh? What are you talking about?" said Ryu uncertainly.
"I…I…" the whole experience overwhelmed Yoh completely, and then, he blacked out.
Yoh slowly opened his eyes, seeing a rough old ceiling above him. He blinked quickly looking around. He was back at the motel. He lifted his hands to the side of him, and pulled himself to sit up. Sat on the other side of the room were HoroHoro and Opacho. Opacho was on his knee sound asleep. HoroHoro was leaning against a counter while sat on a chair fast asleep too. Yoh blinked hard again, trying to pull himself from his dizzy state. "HoroHoro?" he muttered rubbing his eyes now. He looked over at the window, it was pitch black out side, with millions of twinkling stars sparkling in the night sky. "How long have I been asleep?" he asked himself. HoroHoro was snoring loudly, Opacho breathing quietly. Yoh slid out of bed putting his sandals on his feet and then approaching the window again. He stood at the window looking out. Not a light shone from the town but in the background, in a huge overlooking mansion, was a small light shining vividly in the distance. Yoh glared at it, not sure why that light was there, when the town was deserted.
'Come…' came a sudden, quiet voice.
"Huh?" whispered Yoh, shocked. "Who said that?"
'Come Asakura Yoh. Come…' Yoh looked around, but no body was there.
"Who are you?"
'Yoh…come…come to the house…there is something you must see…'
"Who is telling me this? Have I been chosen or something? To be shown a tale that has happened long ago? First the calling from the bench and tree, and now the house." Yoh looked out to it. "Maybe…just maybe…" He said. "Hao wants me to see something important…" Yoh slid the window up again, jumped out on the steep balcony and leaped the ground. Now he was out side, it was a lot darker than he had expected. There was no light at all, the only guidance he could trust, was the voice.
'Come Yoh…' Yoh walked down the road slowly, and then turned the corner, beginning his journey. After a long walk in the darkness, Yoh reached a tall mountain-like cliff. On top was the mansion. The path swirled around and around the tall hill and the finish wasn't visible from the ground. 'Come Yoh…' repeated the voice. Yoh began on the road, walking quickly up hill. He was walking for a long time and he was only half way when he turned to the town to see what it looked like from there. He was reasonably far up, the whole town was visible. He could see the hill with the bench and tree in the further distance. But he was looking mostly for the motel. He concentrated on looking for a tall post with the sign he had come to know as 'OTE'. But he couldn't see it. He then looked for the light coming from his bedroom window, but he couldn't see that either. He shrugged and continued along his way. He eventually came to the house, it's old built figure standing spookily in the night. Yoh did not falter, and walked confidently to the door. He didn't really see the point, but he knocked on. Three loud knocks echoed the whole house, and several bats flew into the air from the roof from the disturbance. Yoh gently pushed the door, it slowly creaked open. Yoh stepped inside. "Hello?" he called, his voice repeating itself. "Is anyone here?" Yoh walked further into the house. "Hello?" he called again. The house was completely deep in shadows, furniture was in pieces on the ground. The only light visible was from a huge window that was on the left side of the house, most of the glass was broken and the moon shone brightly into the room, giving some light. In front of Yoh, he could see a huge staircase, most of the steps had fallen in and the banisters had broken off and fallen to the ground. It was impossible to tell how the house was even still standing, its state was so bad. Yoh knew the place had been on fire, but he didn't expect to see such a mess. He walked further into the room, approaching the stairs. "Hello?" he called again. Yoh blinked around him, not sure what he was expecting to see. After a few more seconds, Yoh heard a very silent whimper, barely even noticeable. Then he heard a cry of a little girl coming from up the stairs. Risking falling through the wood, Yoh began to walk carefully up the steps. Each of the floorboards creaked loudly as he stepped on them. He reached the top thankfully, and then walked along the balcony and turned a corner. He saw two doors on his right; light was shining from under the second door. Yoh slowly opened it and peered inside. It was easy to see that the room had belonged to a little girl. There were flowers painted on the walls, a small single bed in the center of the room, a dolls house in the corner. The walls were black from the fire that had occurred, and most of the furniture was burnt to ashes. The window was at the back of the room in front of Yoh, it was a nicely situated window. With a sofa built onto the pane. Sat upon the windowsill, sat a little girl. She was hunched up against the wall, staring out to the town. Yoh walked closer to her, and noticed it was the same girl from the tree. "Hey what are you still doing here?" he said. The girl didn't reply. "Are you okay?" Yoh sat beside her she didn't look at him. It was as if he wasn't even there. "Hey? Speak to me." Said Yoh, but the girl didn't reply. She had pulled her ragged nightgown over her bony knees like she was cold. She sniffed heavily. 'Close your eyes Yoh…' said the voice. Yoh closed his eyes and waited. He did as he was instructed. He wasn't even sure if the voice was even going to tell him to open them, yet he trusted that they would. 'Now Yoh. Open your eyes…' Yoh slowly opened his eyes, and to his amazement, the room had changed to a bright and wonderful perfect little girl's room. It was bright pink and yellow, with a white carpet. The bed was covered in teddy bears, there was mobiles hanging from the ceiling. Paintings of horses and princesses hung on the walls, dolls were in neat rows against the walls as well. Yoh blinked looking around completely amazed. It was even daylight out side now, people were walking the streets, cars driving up and down the roads. The little girl was still sat next to Yoh, crying. Her nightgown still ragged. She had not become a beautiful transformation. This was her original image, just like the room. Suddenly, footsteps appeared along the balcony out side the door of the room. The young girl turned around shocked and started crying harder. "What is the matter? Why do you keep crying?" asked Yoh lifting his hand to the girl. His hand vanished through her face, she was just a memory. This was being shown to Yoh. This had really happened.
"Jasmine!" came a loud and angry voice. "You stupid girl!" The little girl jumped off the windowsill and ran to the bed kneeling down on the other side of it, as if hiding. The door suddenly swung open and in strolled and tall man, his face red, his eyes filled with hatred. His fists were clenched tightly. He quickly approached her and grabbed her by her arm, pulling her to the center of the room. Yoh watched in horror. The man pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and shoved it in the girl's face. "What is this?" he screamed at her. "Tell me what it is!" The girl screamed in sadness, the man hitting her hard across the head, she began to sob harder.
"Stop it! Stop it!" screamed Yoh getting up and throwing himself at the man, but he fell to the floor of the other side of him. Yoh blinked and turned on his back, watching helplessly.
"What is it!" he yelled again.
"It's a letter to Mommy!" sobbed the child.
"You stupid girl! Your Mommy is dead! Don't you remember? She died last year! Why can't you accept that! Why do you keep on doing these things?" he shouted.
"I see Mommy, Daddy! She comes to visit me, she holds me at night…"
"Shut up!" shouted the man throwing her to the floor. "You can't see ghosts! Understand?"
"But I do see them Daddy…" she cried.
"If you don't stop being bad, you won't go to heaven when you die! Because that's where good girls go when they die!" The man lifted his fists to her, she flinched covering her head with both her arms crying harder. Her father then began to violently attack her, bruising her arms and legs and cutting her skin. He even started kicking her, abusing her badly. Yoh began to cry watching this horrible scene happen. He lifted the girl off the floor and then threw her to the wall and left her there, he stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Yoh knelt on the ground, staring at the lifeless girl lying in an awkward position lay against the wall. She started muttering something. Yoh crawled closer to her to hear what she was saying. He knelt over her and leaned closer to hear.
"Help…me…" she whispered. "Please…some one help me…"
"I want to help you! I really do!" cried Yoh.
"Help me…" she muttered again. "Please…" Yoh couldn't bare it, he had to leave the room, the experience was too much for him. He got to his feet and quickly exited the room. He walked along the balcony his eyes straining from shock. He noticed the whole mansion was beautifully restored, but he didn't want to stay there any longer. He ran as fast as he could down the stairs and headed for the door, as he was about the swing open the door, the door opened itself quickly and hit the wall with a bang. Stood there, was Yoh's brother, Hao.
"Hao!" cried Yoh. Running to him. "Oh Hao, that poor girl!" Hao didn't even look at him, he walked quickly forwards walking right through Yoh, like a ghost. Yoh turned around staring blankly at him.
"Where are you!?" called Hao running up the stairs. Yoh started to follow him. Hao looked around him and they continued along the balcony to the room where the girl lay. He threw back the door stepping inside, but the room was empty of people. The girl wasn't there anymore. Hao approached a bloodstain on the wall on the other side of the bed, he knelt down beside it touching it with his index finger of his right hand, finding it still wet. "She was just here…" he muttered, sounding annoyed. He stood up and looked behind him, he was looking right in Yoh's direction, and for one moment, Yoh thought he could see him. Hao walked quickly to the door, his cloak flying over his shoulder as he swiftly turned the corner to exit the room again. He jogged back down the stairs and stood in the middle of hall in front of the door. "He has taken her somewhere, to hide what he has done. He won't get away with killing her. I won't allow it." Stated Hao creating a blaze in his hands. He walked to the window on his left, the same window the moonlight had shone through before, setting alight to the curtains. They rushed up in flames burning quickly. "Even if I have to burn down this whole town, I will find where the human is hiding, and kill him, for murdering a shaman…" and with that, Hao left the mansion to burn to the ground, not giving it another thought. Yoh watched him leave and then ran after him.
"Come back Hao! Come back!" shouted Yoh, but as he ran through the door, the whole scenery changed back to normal, back to it's old, cold and dark state. "Hao…" muttered Yoh, stopping himself from running, he was suddenly yanked by the shoulders.
"Yoh where the hell have you been?" screamed HoroHoro. "You frightened me to death! What were you thinking? If it wasn't for Amidamaru I would have never found you here!"
"That girl! She was killed!" Yoh exclaimed hysterically. "Her father killed her, she was a shaman and then I saw – "
"Yoh! Dude, calm down!" HoroHoro clapped his hand over Yoh's mouth. "Nothing happened. You're hallucinating."
"But, I saw …" He trailed of. Of course HoroHoro wouldn't believe him. Nobody would. Did that even really happen?
"Promise… You'll wait for me and don't miss me as if I were the only thing in your life. Please…"
"He told me not to miss him. I won't… I won't." He said, determined now to fulfill his brother's wish.
"Who Yoh?" HoroHoro asked. "Ah, never mind. We should get back now."
"Okay." Yoh followed HoroHoro back to the old Motel. "Are we leaving soon? This town is so depressing…"
"Yeah tell me about it," HoroHoro replied. "I sure hope we are. Hey did you really find a little spirit girl in a tree? I heard you ran away again and found her."
"Yeah, I did."
"That's cool. Anna told me she was happy to go to heaven."
"She was… I wonder what happened to her father …"
"Even if I have to burn down this whole town, I will find where the human is hiding, and kill him, for murdering a shaman…"
"To think one little girl started this whole thing. But it wasn't her fault… That man deserved to die…"
"Yoh-dono?" Amidamaru appeared next to his young master in Spirit ball form. "You are talking to yourself."
"Yeah dude. You sure you're okay?" HoroHoro asked, looking at Yoh concerned. But Yoh didn't hear him; he was away from them, lost in a world of thought. Is the little girl happy in heaven now, with her mom? What became of her dad? Did Hao really kill him? Was Hao really coming back? Would Yoh be able to reunite with his twin? Or was he really his own person? He could remember a time when he was completely happy, with his friends and preparing for the shaman fight. He could remember Anna yelling at him and how much he had been afraid of her, while at the same time enjoying her attention. He could remember …
His thoughts fell back onto his twin.
Absent-mindledly he opened the door to their room. Luckily, Anna, Ren, Faust, Ryu, Chocolove and Lyserg weren't there yet. However, Manta was. Waiting for them. "Hi, Manta." Yoh said, not looking at his short friend sitting on the foot of the bed Opacho was sleeping quietly in.
"Hi, Yoh-kun. Where were you two anyways? I hope you weren't getting in a fight? Well, I know Yoh-kun knows better but what about you?" Manta asked HoroHoro slyly. He laughed a bit. "I'm joking, joking, HoroHoro!"
"You had better be little dude."
"Little?!"
This time is was HoroHoro's turn to laugh. "Kidding. Hey Manta what happened to Jeanne? I haven't seen her all day."
"Ren took her to the airport this morning. She went back home."
"Oh, I see? Hey, Yoh are you alright?"
Yoh had doubled over onto the floor, retching. HoroHoro quickly jumped up. "Oh my god! He's about to be sick!"
"Quick! Yoh-Kun get up!" Manta cried. Opacho stirred in bed, on the verge of waking up. Yoh continued to make horrible noises on the ground in horrible pain. Manta quickly ran and grabbed a glass of water. He was careful not to spill a drop as he ran to Yoh's side. HoroHoro lifted Yoh's head and poured the water down his throat. Yoh coughed. "Thanks…" he managed to choke out. "I … needed that." He got up soon, weak and barely able to stand to refill the glass and have a drink. His face was pale and drained now. He walked over to one of the beds and lay down. "I … really don't feel well… HoroHoro… Manta … can I just lie down for a bit and sleep?"
"Sure thing." HoroHoro said. Then he turned to Manta as they left the room. "I'm really worried about him. Did you notice he hasn't eaten all day?"
"I'm worried about him too. What is wrong with him?" replied Manta watching Yoh shiver while lay on his bed. Yoh tightened up into a ball, swallowing repeatedly. He opened his eyes slightly, and then shut them tightly again. He had his back to HoroHoro and Manta, they couldn't see the real pain he was going through. Yoh was trying really hard not to think about Hao. He was trying really, really hard not to miss him. He was trying so hard, not to wish he were with him. He opened his eyes again, straining. He shut them again, and let out a whimper.
"Hey Yoh you aren't crying are you?" asked HoroHoro.
"No! I'm not!" shouted Yoh, tightening harder into himself. Manta began to walk to the bed.
"Yoh? Are you going to be okay?" he asked gently.
"Go away!" screamed Yoh. He shut his eyes so tightly, he was forcing the tears not to flow. Manta stepped back.
"Okay Yoh what ever you say." Said Manta a little upset. Opacho blinked and opened her eyes.
"Opacho dream of Hao-Sama again." She whimpered, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. HoroHoro sat on the bed next to her, stoking her forehead gently.
"Again Opacho? Tell me what happened." He soothed. Opacho sniffed.
"He was talking to me…" she muttered.
"What did he say?" whispered HoroHoro. Yoh was listening, he opened his eyes slightly again and listened carefully.
"Hao-Sama told Opacho not to be afraid. Not to be scared. He would be okay." She said quietly.
"He would be…okay?" whispered Yoh, too quietly for them to hear.
"Hao-Sama said, that he would cope. Not to be worried." She sniffed again.
"Oh, was it a good dream then?" asked HoroHoro.
"No…" Opacho began to cry. "Hao-Sama was dying!" she wailed. Yoh's eyes shot open properly, he suddenly froze completely, not breathing. HoroHoro lifted Opacho out of bed and cradled her.
"Don't cry Opacho it was only a dream." He hushed gently rocking her.
"Opacho scared." She murmured, snuggling her face into his jacket.
"Don't be scared Opacho."
"Hao-Sama sounded afraid…" she whimpered. "Even though Hao-Sama was smiling at Opacho, Hao-Sama looked so sad."
'I don't want to push you aside or be away from you either. I just want you to be happy and get used to life the way it was…Even if it means…I'm not part of it.'
Yoh shut his eyes again, tears now beginning to appear. He wiped them away at once and then buried his head into the covers. I will keep my promise, but it doesn't mean I must stop caring about you Hao. He thought. Yoh had suddenly realized, that he was feeling very light, yet his head felt so heavy. He tried to open his eyes, but he couldn't find the strength. He suddenly could hear booming voices.
"Yoh! Yoh! Breathe Yoh! Breathe!"
"Come on Yoh-kun! Breathe!"
"Breathe Yoh!"
It was true. Yoh had stopped breathing completely. After a few moments, he fainted…
"Quick! We need to get him some help!" HoroHoro cried. Opacho was slapping Yoh, well more like poking him to try and wake him up. "Opacho wants Yoh-sama to be okay! Yoh-sama help Opacho! Yoh-sama friend!" she screamed, almost in tears. HoroHoro nodded. "Don't worry Opacho. He'll be fine." He picked Yoh up and swung him over his shoulder. He was lighter than he should have been, probably because of the lack of food. "We need to get him to a doctor! Quick, where did Anna go? And did she take Faust too?"
"Opacho think they went for dinner. Opacho saw Faust with them." She replied quickly. "Will he be able to help Yoh-sama?"
"Yeah, of course he will!" HoroHoro reassured the little girl, though he wasn't sure if he believed his own words.
They approached a little restaurant where Anna, Faust, Chocolove, Ryu, Lyserg and Ren could be seen eating through the window.
Manta quickly ran inside to go talk to them and explain what happened. Frantically everyone came out within a few minutes to tend to Yoh. "What happened now?" Anna demanded. "He's being so stupid … I'm so worried …"
"He just stopped breathing!" Manta cried. "Faust you have to help him!"
"Of course I will!" he said. "Lets get him back to the Motel quickly so he will be more comfortable."
"There's no time for that!" Ren yelled. But HoroHoro had already started off, speeding away on his snowboard. Opacho was on the back clutching onto HoroHoro's leg so as not to fall off. Everyone else began to hurry up to them too.
As HoroHoro Lay Yoh down gently on his bed, everyone else ran in the door panting heavily. "Yoh…" Anna whispered, too terrified of what may happen to her beloved fiancée. Yoh twitched, and slowly began to breathe again.
Slowly.
Barely a breath at all…
But he was breathing.
And that was good enough for her.
She threw herself down onto the ground and wrapped her arms around his neck gently. "Yoh … please be okay …" And as if he heard her, he opened his eyes slightly. "A … Anna …?" His voice was raspy and dry, groggy and full of fatigue. Yet he was smiling. He put his hand to the back of her head, and lifted his slightly to kiss her forehead. "Thank you …" He closed his eyes again and let his head fall to the bed once more. "I'm so tired … "
"Sleep Yoh." She sighed heavily. "You need it. I hope you feel better tomorrow…" And with that she got up, everyone else leaving the room. Before she did so as well, she whispered to him,
"I was really worried about you … I'm glad you're okay."
Anna could see Yoh had already fallen into a deep sleep. She sighed again and then looked at Manta.
"You stay with him." She said to him. "Make sure it doesn't happen again." And then she left the room. Manta nodded and sat on the floor next to Yoh. HoroHoro had stayed with them as well. He had sat near the window. Opacho was lay on her bed, staring at Yoh. Manta smiled, although he was still in shock from his best friend creating such a trauma.
"You're going to be okay Yoh don't worry." Manta said to Yoh, although Yoh didn't stir from his sleep. "You're going to be okay…" Manta sighed closing his eyes.
"You've hardly spoken to him since you came back from London." Said HoroHoro, not actually looking at Manta, just staring out the window into the blackness.
"I haven't really had a chance. Although, I guess that what I went through with Hao doesn't count." Replied Manta, cringing slightly thinking about it.
"Huh?" muttered HoroHoro turning to look at him this time. "What happened?"
"Well…" Manta sighed looking back to HoroHoro not really wanting to talk about it. "When I returned to the Inn, I thought it was Yoh who was stood in front of Tamao's house. But it wasn't…"
"Ah!" laughed HoroHoro. "You mean when Hao was pretending to be Yoh?"
"Yes. You make it sound so casual." Said Manta, his eyebrow lifted.
"Well, that was when Hao hadn't changed to the guy he is now. I can guess what he tried to do to you."
"If it wasn't for Jeanne I wouldn't even be here right now." Said Manta. "She found me locked in an old dumpster." Manta blushed furiously very embarrassed. HoroHoro had to laugh.
"Hao locked you in a dumpster?" he giggled.
"No!" stated Manta. "The stupid Spirit of Fire did!" HoroHoro found this even more hilarious and broke out into fits of laughter, Opacho giggling too. "It's not funny!"
"S…Sorry Manta…" stuttered HoroHoro between breaths. He coughed ridding himself of the giggles, but then he snorted but then coughed again. He paused for a moment, and then coughed again and looked at Manta. "Sorry dude. I don't know what came over me. I guess I'm just used to Hao now."
"Aren't you worried about him?" asked Manta.
"Nah. The dude will be fine!" smiled HoroHoro. "Even though things look bad, I haven't lost hope that he is okay." HoroHoro looked at Yoh and grinned in the corner of his mouth, looking sympathetic yet hopeful at the same time. "I just wish…I just hope Yoh could do the same…"
"What do you mean by that?" asked Manta.
"Erm…I haven't told anyone, but I think Yoh is being consumed by guilt and sorrow."
"Guilt and sorrow?" gasped Manta. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Hey, hey calm down. I said I think that's what is wrong with him." HoroHoro laughed at himself. "And how often do I think?" he added. Manta smirked but was taking this seriously.
"I don't understand…" trailed off Manta, still focusing on HoroHoro, and what he had to say.
"Yoh's just lost his brother right?" quickly said HoroHoro. Manta blinked.
"Yeah…?"
"Well, I think he blames himself. Plus, having other feelings towards him…" HoroHoro sighed quietly now looking back at Yoh's exhausted, pale face.
"Other…feelings?" whispered Manta. "Like what?"
"I don't know. I just don't know…"