By the time everyone had gathered outside, it was mid afternoon. Yoh stood in front of the others, stretching his limbs and sighing longingly to get home. Manta and Opacho stood side by side next to HoroHoro. HoroHoro was checking everyone was present. Anna began to walk in the direction of the airport, everyone finding no other option but to follow. Yoh stayed in position, and had a daydream look on his face. He stared at the sky, his mouth partly open and his eyes focusing on the clouds. Ren walked up behind him and slowly waved his hand in front of his face.
"Earth to Yoh?" he muttered still waving. "Hey what happened to your head phones?" Yoh blinked swinging his hands to the back of his ears. He turned and looked up at the motel window, which was their old room.
"Oh I've left them on the window sill." he said jogging back into the building. Anna noticed and turned.
"Yoh where are you going?" she called looking annoyed.
"He's going to retrieve his head phones. He left them in the room." replied Ren. Yoh approached the window retrieving his headphones and necklace that he had placed there a few nights ago. Once he hand hung the necklace over his head, he glanced out the window slightly and then turned to go back out the room. But, for some reason, he felt he had just missed something. He turned around again and gazed back out of the window, now scanning the scenery carefully. Anna looked up to see him.
"We haven't got all day!" she shouted to him. Yoh acted like he hadn't heard her, he still examined the background. He caught sight of the hill with the tree and bench, and suddenly noticed: some one was there! Sat at the foot of the tree, looking in the opposite direction. Yoh blinked hard, just to make sure he wasn't seeing things again. But it was certain, even if he was the only one who could; he could see somebody there. Risking getting in huge trouble, Yoh swiftly leaped out of the window, shocking all of his friends, and began to run in the opposite direction from the others. "Yoh! Yoh! Come back here this moment!" screamed Anna. He ignored her cries, and sprinted round the corner.
It didn't take long to arrive there, but he was gasping from breath from his fast sprint. Slowly walking up the hill towards the large tree, he could see the young boy he had seen earlier. He had long brown hair tied in the middle creating a long whip of hair down his back. He was hunched up tight against the tree, his back to it. He had buried his face in his arms resting on his knees. He seemed to be crying. Yoh slowly approached, sitting on the bench next to him. After a short silence, Yoh spoke.
"Hi." He muttered quietly. The boy didn't move. His hair blew gently over his shoulder in the breeze. "Are you alright?" asked Yoh. After a few seconds, the boy spoke.
"Why…am I here?" he whispered. "Who am I?" Yoh was shocked to hear him ask these questions.
"My name is Asakura Yoh." replied Yoh. "What's your name?"
"I…" whimpered the boy. "I…don't know." He didn't move from his position, he stayed still against the tree.
"Come and sit on this bench with me." said Yoh smiling, patting the space next to him.
"I feel like I've been to this place before." said the young man. "But I can't remember." Yoh got up and knelt on the ground next to him.
"Did you live here?" asked Yoh.
"No. Well, at least I don't think so." he replied. "What happened here…Yoh?" he didn't look up at him. Yoh stared at him.
"A shaman destroyed this town." sighed Yoh.
"A shaman? What's a shaman?" he asked.
"A shaman is a person who can connect this world to the next. A shaman can see spirits, and contact the dead."
"I wish I was dead." muttered the boy, a slight anger in his voice. "What is the point in living?"
"Lots of things!" gasped Yoh. "To spend time with your friends and family and to – "
"I have no friends. I have no family. I have no meaning what so ever."
"Where did you come from?" asked Yoh.
"I don't know. I don't remember." he shook his head. "Why did the shaman destroy this place?"
"He…" started Yoh. "Was looking for some one."
"Who?"
"He was searching for a man who killed a young girl."
"Why was he searching for this person?"
"To…" Yoh trailed off, lowering his head. "To kill him."
"Did this shaman have power? He must have been strong to destroy a whole town on his own."
"He had more power than any other shaman that ever lived on the planet."
"What was his name…Yoh?" asked the boy, now slowly raising his head.
"His name was…" Yoh stopped and looked at his face. Yoh suddenly lost his breath for a moment to see a familiar pair of deep black eyes staring back at him. "…Hao?"
"His name was Hao?" the boy asked, shaking his head. "That name sounds so familiar…" he said, struggling to keep a straight face. Yoh looked sadly at his twin. "You must have amnesia…" Yoh muttered, despair in every syllable. Hao returned the look. Yoh noticed that and tried to smile. "So … how did you get here? Do you remember?" He asked gently. Hao shut his eyes tightly, straining to remember. "Uhm … All I can remember is that I was in a desert … no, wait … a forest, then a desert. And I just started walking and got here…"
Yoh could hardly find the right words to describe how happy he was. He suddenly felt a warm feeling wash over him, almost as though he finally felt whole again, but only for a moment. He smiled contently at Hao's bewildered eyes.
A bird in a tree caught Hao's attention. At that, his eyes sparkled with delight. He pointed to it happily. "Wow … that's so beautiful." He sighed. He closed his eyes, still smiling. Two more birds joined it. "How come I feel so connected to those birds?" Hao then opened his eyes and stared at Yoh. "What … what did you just say?"
"Huh? I didn't say anything…" muttered Yoh.
"Yes you did." Hao accused again. "You said, 'Poor soul can't even remember what he's done or any of his power.'"
"What …? But I didn't say…" Then Yoh remembered. "You can read minds…"
"I what?" Hao said, amazed. "You must be lying to me!"
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not!"
"Yes you are!"
Yoh put his hand to his hair and laughed. Hao blinked. "Hey I just realized. You look a bit like I do. A lot, in fact."
"Yeah…" muttered Yoh. Hao smiled and looked down at his hand. He was holding something.
"Hey, what's that?" Yoh asked. Hao clamped his hand over it.
"Nothing!"
"Come on, show me!" Yoh argued. Hao reluctantly handed it to Yoh.
"Be careful with it!" he exclaimed. "It's very important to me."
"Is it?" Yoh took the possession and stared in wonder. "It's … it's…"
The friendship necklace Opacho gave him.
"It's lovely. Thanks for showing me. Want to put it on?"
"Yeah. I couldn't myself." Hao lifted his hair back and allowed Yoh to tie the necklace on. "I feel like I've known you for a really long time Yoh."
You have, Yoh thought. You have.
"I have?" Hao asked. Yoh forgot again that he could read minds. He ignored the question.
"There you are." He smiled as Hao turned around. He laughed. "Thanks Yoh! Ah … but I still feel like there's a lot of myself missing."
Yoh nodded. "I understand…" He stood up and put his hands in his pocket. He noticed something poking out of Hao's jean pockets.
"What's that there?" Yoh asked, pointing. Hao gently pulled out the two smooth object. They were Hao's earrings.
"Hey, I didn't even notice those were there… I recognize these!" smiled Hao. "Earrings!"
Yoh put them in Hao's ears. "There you are."
"Wow… I feel a bit better now."
"I'm so glad Hao…"
"What? What did you just call me?"
Yoh opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out. Hao stared up at him, his eyes filled with no emotion at all. The silence was very unnerving.
"Yoh! How dare you run off like that!" shouted Anna running up the hill towards him. Hao turned slightly to see her coming towards them. Anna noticed his face and suddenly stopped in her tracks. Yoh sighed.
"Hi Anna. Sorry about that." He said to her. Anna didn't say anything; she just gazed at the familiar face sat at the foot of the tree. Hao looked up at Yoh again.
"Are you going to leave me? Yoh?" asked Hao. Yoh looked at Hao again, his eyes gazed back. Yoh would never do such a thing. The silence grew again; Hao just lowered his head into his arms. "Go ahead. Leave me here. I don't know what to do…" he whimpered, almost crying. Yoh knelt back on the ground and put both his hands on his older brother's shoulders. Hao lifted his head again to see Yoh trying to put on a serious face, although his eyes were filling with tears.
"I will never leave you, Hao." He said clearly. Hao blinked.
"Hao?" he whispered. His eyes narrowed slightly. "Hao…" he repeated again.
"Yoh?" called Anna. Not sure what was about to happen next. Yoh didn't look at her; he just concentrated on his twin.
"Your name is Hao." Said Yoh. "You are Hao Asakura."
"Asakura?" gasped Hao now staring back at him. "But that's…"
"My name too."
The silence grew again. Anna stared at them. Her face seemed confused but also sympathetic.
"I'm…" whispered Hao. "I'm…"
"You are my older twin brother Hao." Yoh began to cry, yet his face remained strait. Hao slowly lifted his right hand to Yoh's face and paused his movement for a second. Then he gently placed his hand on Yoh's left cheek and caressed his face smoothly, now wiping the tears away.
"Please don't cry brother." He whispered. "You've found me now." Yoh smiled and closed his eyes and opened them after a few seconds.
"You can't remember a thing…" he whispered so quietly he barely said it at all. "Can you?" Hao sadly shook his head.
"No…" replied Hao. "But…" Yoh looked at him to continue his words. "I want to stay with you."
"Yoh?" whispered Anna slowly approaching them both. "Is he okay?" Hao smiled at Yoh, which made Yoh do the same.
"He's okay Anna." Smiled Yoh, not looking away from Hao's eyes when he spoke. "He's just got amnesia."
"Amnesia?" gasped Anna. "Does he remember you?" Yoh shook his head.
"No. But he knows me."
"Yoh is my twin." smiled Hao. "He just told me."
"And he believed me."
"Can I really read minds Yoh?" asked Hao. Yoh nodded.
"Yes you can." sighed Yoh, now standing up and pulling Hao to his feet too. "Yes you can." Another silence grew, but this time it was a special silence. A silence that meant so much to the twins that it almost took their breath away. Anna sighed and took a few steps away from them back towards the motel. Yoh had hold of Hao's arms while Hao was clutching Yoh's elbows. They both simultaneously grasped one another, holding each other closely, never wanting to let go. Tears appeared in their eyes, tears known as tears of joy.
"I like you Yoh. You have many good thoughts about me." whispered Hao.
"I've missed you so much." whispered Yoh. "I never want to lose you again."
"You won't lose me I'm not going anywhere…" replied Hao. "I promise."
"You kept your promise already. You promised you would come back to me one day."
"I did?" smiled Hao. "Then I'm a good big brother?"
"You're the best big brother, ever." They loosened the grip on each other, smiling at one another's dazed faces.
"I am?" asked Hao.
"You are," smiled Yoh. They both began to walk back down the hill.
"So who was that really pretty girl who was here a moment ago?" asked Hao nudging him slightly. "Is she your girlfriend?" he chuckled.
"Well actually…" grinned Yoh, blushing slightly. "She's my fiancée"
"Oh well aren't you the lucky one. What's her name again, Anna was it?"
"Yeah. That's her name."
"She seems like a nice girl." smiled Hao. Yoh laughed.
"You might not think that when you get to know her." he giggled.
"No I know she's a nice girl." nodded Hao. "She thought a lot of good things about you back there." Hao nodded his head backwards to indicate the tree and bench.
"Oh?" muttered Yoh. "Like what?" Hao grinned patting the side of his nose.
"That, my brother, is not any of your nor my business."
"Yeah, you're right …" Yoh complained. He still wanted to know about Anna though!
"Give up Yoh. I'm not telling you." Hao taunted, sticking his tongue out.
"Fine!"
Yoh looked ahead to find his friends and Anna waiting for him. HoroHoro stared up in awe. "Anna, you weren't lying…"
"What? Opacho didn't hear!"
"I didn't think it was possible." HoroHoro put his hand to his forehead. Was it really Hao walking with Yoh down to meet them?
Yoh smiled and waved. "Hey! I'm back!" He said. HoroHoro waved back. As Yoh and Hao joined the group, HoroHoro greeted them.
"Hao! Dude! You're back!" he yelled. Hao looked at him with a painful expression.
"I'm … sorry," he said. "I don't remember you…"
"Oh, okay." HoroHoro said, making it evident he was disappointed. "So Anna was telling the truth about that, too."
"Of course I was!" Anna yelled. She hit HoroHoro in the back of the head.
"Hey!" he yelled. "Enough! Quit beating me!" he yelled.
"Fine. You're so weak…"
Hao's eyes widened, and he put his hand to his forehead. "Ahh…"
"What is it Hao?" Yoh asked seeing the pain on his face. Hao shook his head. "N-nothing I think…" he replied, trying to get rid of the thoughts in his head.
"Hao-sama okay!"
Opacho ran up to Hao and clung on to his leg. She was nearly in tears. "Hao-sama! Opacho missed Hao-sama! Opacho was very worried!" she cried. Hao looked down at her sadly. "Opacho…?" He didn't remember Opacho. Hao's eyes glazed over. "I … I'm sorry. I don't remember you …"
"Hao-sama not know Opacho?" She asked, now the tears really did fall. Sadly, Hao shook his head.
"No … I'm really sorry."
Opacho turned from Hao to HoroHoro, crying. She ran up to HoroHoro now and he picked her up and cradled her in his arms. He whispered to her soothingly. Yoh turned to Hao, and Hao looked down at his feet. "Yoh … I'm making them sad, aren't I? I can hear them…"
"No, you're not!" Yoh tried to reassure him. It didn't exactly work.
"Yes I am. He's thinking 'Poor Hao. I wish he was okay…'" Hao said. Yoh nodded.
"Don't worry about it."
One … one person. One being. Could that make him … happy?
"Yoh … what do you mean by that? One … being?" Hao asked. Yoh shook his head, recalling past events.
You are one.
I am you. I am Hao.
I don't exist anymore because of you.
We are brothers. We are one.
I am you aren't I? It has been that way since I was born.
Putting them back again makes it whole. Make it one. Makes it Hao.
I'm just you.
I am you and you are me. You can not escape that fact … my brother...
"What … what does that mean? What is that? Those voices… sound like us. You and me." Hao muttered, loudly enough so that only Yoh could understand.
"Never mind …" Yoh said, and shook his head. "It's nothing … what's wrong?"
Hao had closed his eyes and put his hand over his heart. "I'm not bleeding …" he began, and then sighed. "But it hurts… right here."
Yoh sighed and tried to put a comforting arm around him, but Hao shook him off and he took several steps away from him. Yoh looked over at him, he had turned his back to him. He was screwing his face up tightly, like in horrible pain.
"Hao…" whispered Yoh. Anna walked up to Yoh.
"Are we leaving now?" she demanded. Not actually asking, but indicating she wanted to leave. Yoh blinked at her, and then back at his brother.
"Where have the others gone?" asked Yoh.
"Lyserg, Ryu, Ren, Faust, Chocolove and Manta have gone ahead." she replied, now looking in Hao's direction as well. "When they heard he was back…"
"They left." Finished Yoh. He sighed deeply.
"Why don't I belong here?" asked Hao now staring at the ground his hands in fists. Yoh tried to approach him again, but Hao turned away, hiding his face.
"C'mon Hao don't be sad." said HoroHoro.
"Hao-sama not know Opacho." whimpered Opacho into HoroHoro's jacket.
"I make you sad." muttered Hao now staring at the sky. "I make you cry."
"Hao please don't be sad." said Yoh gazing at him.
"What is it that makes me feel so different?! What have I done to deserve this?!" shouted Hao. Anna and HoroHoro gasped slightly, now uncontrollable thoughts running through their minds. Yoh's eyes widened and he jumped in front of the two of them.
"No! Please! No!" he yelled. Hao suddenly fell to his knees.
"What…" he muttered in despair. "I…"
"Please no!" screamed Yoh he fell to his knees in front of them, like begging them. "Don't think about those things please!" Anna and HoroHoro gazed at him.
"I'm sorry…Yoh…" muttered Anna.
"We can't stop it." added HoroHoro. Yoh got to his feet and ran to Hao kneeling in front of him.
"Hao those things were a long time ago! They don't matter any more! They don't matter I swear!" he said desperately.
"No…" strained Hao. "Please…stop…I can't take it anymore." Yoh tried to get Hao to look at him by lifting his head, but Hao had literally fallen to the ground in front of him, his head resting on the floor. Yoh began to panic. "Hao try to get up!" he shouted standing up trying to pull him to his feet. Yoh pulled his arm and Hao shifted his left leg and foot to the floor about to pull him self up.
"And I will never forgive him…for murdering my Yoh."
Hao lifted his head, and threw his glare at Anna. She was watching him, her face seeming disorientated. Her hair covered her eyes, and she didn't want to look him in the eye.
"I…what?" he muttered loudly, not believing the words.
"I still can not forget what he did to Lyserg's poor parents."
Hao now looked in HoroHoro's direction. HoroHoro knew what he had just thought, and didn't want to look Hao in the face to see his reaction. Yoh continuously tried to pull him to his feet.
"C'mon Hao get up! I'll get you away from them!" he gasped. Hao now looked to Yoh, expecting to hear more bad thoughts. But, instead…
"Please Hao. I don't hate you. I'm your brother. I will never leave you I promise."
"Yoh?" muttered Hao, tears appearing in his eyes. Hao smiled slightly. He allowed him to pull him to his feet, and now Yoh grabbed his wrist and ran in the direction of the mansion. Anna and HoroHoro watched them flee, not saying a word.
"Where are we going?" asked Hao, looking at Yoh who was running in front of him.
"I think… that it should be me that shows you and tells you everything you need to know. You don't deserve to find out that way." He replied determinedly, leading him towards the old mansion, once again.