A/N: Good morning people (or good night, depending on where ever you are in the world) Here's chapter 3. Yeah, I decided not to do that Christmas fic, because 1. I got distracted (Fire Emblem has taken over my life) and 2. I couldn't think of anything. I'm officially hooked onto Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. I know it's an old game, but I never got to play many when I was younger. Zelda and Super Smash Bros was all, with a little Pokemon and Mario. But enough about my fail childhood, onto my real note. Everyone has probably guessed who the killer is, thanks you weren't really supposed to guess, but I haven't stated why that person did it or anything really. HAO IS NOT EVIL despite what his namesake might say(Hao: Shut up. / Me: No make me) New OC -coughplotdevicecough- introduced this chapter, since I extended the fic a bit. I needed a trigger for the main event like in On the Other Side. Flashbacks will be underlined and in italics, time skips in italics only for future reference.

Unseal chapter 3: Trigger

"Hao?"

Wakashi looked around the dark empty space. He was asleep, he knew, but he meant it this time. He wanted to know more about Hao's sealing and the reasons for him being in Japan. he took a few steps, wandering around in the darkness of his mind. Was it always this blank?

"Hao?" He tried again. No response. Maybe he found a way to leave his body? He felt a bit sad, he thought he really had someone to talk to. There was a sudden tap on his shoulder, causing him to jump. He turned to see Hao, red eyes gleaming.

"What's up?" He said calmly. He had obviously not heard Wakashi calling for the past few minutes.

"Where were you?" The boy demanded. "I thought you left." Hao snorted.

"Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. The seal is too strong at the moment, and even both of us combined wouldn't be able to break it." He paused. "At the moment."

Wakashi raised an eyebrow, which Hao thought for a moment was a strange look for a seven-year-old. "What do you mean 'at the moment'?"

"Well, at the moment you're magical ability isn't that great. Better than the usual child, but still weak. I myself am having my abilities halved by the seal. I meant that, in a few years, it's possible that you're powers will have grown enough to undo the seal."

Wakashi tilted his head. "What powers?" Hao sighed, preparing for a rather long explanaton.

"Every being, human or not, possesses some amount of spiritual power. In most people, the power is dormant for their whole life, while others just need something to trigger it." He explained. "My sealing was what triggered you're powers, which is why you can see and talk to me."

"Okay." Wakashi said simply. He got most of what Hao was saying, he just had to let it process. "Go on." Hao nodded.

"Certain people have the power already active at birth. These people are what you humans usually call 'mediums' or something. They already have their's the moment they're born, they don't need anything to activate it." He paused for a breath, looking expectantly at the boy. Wakashi crossed his arms, a thoughtful look on his face.

"So... can other people see you? Or just me?"

"Just you, unless they can see spirits by themselves. If not, it all depends on it the spirit materializes in front of them completely."

"So not everyone has the ability to see spirits and... whatever you are." Hao frowned. "Is that correct?"

"Everyone has the potential, they just need a little push. Or something, I don't know, I heard it from a human back in Hong Kong."

"Ah!" Wakashi suddenly remembered why he was here. "That's right! I wanted to ask you something!" Hao raised an eyebrow.

"well? Go on, we haven't got all day." Or rather, we rpobably do, but it's best to get it done with sooner. he thought.

"Why were you brought to Japan? Couldn't they ahve just sealed you in someone else's body? Why go to the trouble of flying all the way to Tokyo with a... spirit, just to seal it in a random kid?"

Hao thought for a moment. "I suppose it's because of that theory." He said.

"What theory?" Wakashi tilted his head again. Hao sighed.

"Some say that taking a spirit or demon or whatever from their native area will weaken it. The farther they get from their home, the weaker they get. I suppose they took me to Japan in hopes of my sealing being easier. And I proved them wrong."

Wakashi raised an eyebrow. "Really?" Hao scoffed.

"Of course. I wouldn't let some lowly human trap and seal me so easily. I'm proud to say I killed at least four of them before they finally got me in that box. Even then six of them were injured enough to be hospitalized for months."

" Really now." Wakashi deadpanned. Hao frowned again.

"You don't believe me."

"I believe you put up a fight, that's it."

Hao, rolled his eyes, then his look darkened. "Still, to have been captured so easily and sealed withing a child, the rest of the court are probably laughing their high asses off, those bastards."

This caught his attention. "Court?"

"Every district has a court of gods, demons, spirits and sprites. I belong to the higher demon court, as the third advisor."

"How many are there in each court?" He asked curiously. This wasn't something you heard everyday, so he wanted to get as much as he could out of the moody demon.

"Seven to each, end the lower you're number is, the stronger you are." He smirked. "Now do you believe I'm able to kill four men and severely injure six."

"Not really." He honestly didn't care too much about manslaughter as much as his classmates thought he did. Perhaps having a near insane cousin supported the claim. Hao frowned again.

"Fine, don't believe me. Anyway, I just remembered I'm not supposed to be telling you any of this." He said, but shrugged. "Not that I varre though, they can't find me, even if they tried."

"Eh? Why not?" Wakashi asked, and Hao put on a bored expression.

"Spirits that enter a human body can't be found so easily by other spirits. It all depends on power. The stronger you are, the harder it is to find you. Since I am exceptionally powerful, only those in the first and second chair will be able to find me. You know, if they bothered." He shook his head. "I highly doubt it, I always was the brat of the group." He gave a sad, almost regretful smile. "I was always yelled at for communicating with humans more than necessary. But who could blame me?"

Wakashi wasn't that surprised to hear that Hao had walked among people more times in his life than he could count, it was just something he expected a demon to do. He felt a small pull, his eyes widening in realizaton. He was waking up. Or being woken up, by the sounds he was hearing behind him. Hao looked back up.

"You better go now, before the woman freaks out over you.

"Wait, before I go, I wanna know something." Hao nodded. "Is there any other way for me to talk to you? Other than being asleep?" He didn't exactly like the idea of having to sleep whenever he wanted to talk to the demon. Hao tapped his chin.

"I could try materializing putside of you, but I don't know if it will help. And even if it does, there's a good chance my presence alone could attract and spirits in the area."

"It's worth a shot, right?" Wakashi said, smiling a little. "It's better than this setting, anyway." He gestured around them to the unending darkness. Hao hummed.

"So be it then."

xXxXxXx

Hiyoshi peeked out from behind the tree. No one. Good, he was safe. He quickly made his way to the next tree, weapon in hand, finger over the peeked out again, about to sprint for the building when-

SPLASH!

He scolwed, head bowed and dripping wet. He had gotten shot in the face, and by his best friend no less.

"Waaii~ I got Wakashi!" Choutarou cheered, water gub raised above his head.

Yes, the Hyotei boy's tennis team was having a water fight, in Atobe's backyard.

He growled, brushing back his bangs and glared at his friend. Choutarou flinched, hand shaking slightly. He had only gotten him by surprise,and now that the shorter boy's attention was on him, he doubted he would get out of this mess dry.

"Choutarou..." Hiyoshi said slowly. He raised the blue water gun, hand on the pump. "I'll give you five seconds to get out of my sight before I shoot."

"EH? Only five-"

"One." He started counting. Choutarou turned, slipping on the wet patch of grass. "Two."

He watched in amusement as Choutarou scrambled away, running around a corner. hE mentally counted five before he took off for his taller friend, dodging the wet grass. Hao materialized beside him, not running but managing to keep up.

"I was wondering what all the noise was out here." He said with a yawn. He smirked. "A water gun fight, eh? Mind if I help out?"

"If we run into Atobe-buchou, go ahead. I already got Oshitari-san and Mukahi-san earlier beind the tool shed, and Akutagawa-san is awake now. Kabaji won't touch me, even if Atobe-buchou tells him to, I just have to act my age." He snickered. "That just leaves Shishido-sempai and the big idiot in front of me." While he didn't mean it literally, Choutarou was certainly acting it. He stopped to breath, which let Hiyoshi catch up, despite the five second head-start. He leaped forward, tackling his best friend and pinning him to the ground. He lifted the plastc toy, pointing it at his face.

"Any last words." He said jokingly. Choutarou seemed to think for a while, before he shook his head. While this third hit would get him disqualified from their match, Hiyoshi had only gotten hit once, so there was nothing more he could do. Hiyoshi rolled his eyes and pulled the trigger, laughing as Choutarou's eyes instinctively closed, water pouring down his face. "Payback."

Choutarou sat up, wiping his face. "Your so mean, you didn't have to aim for the face."

"And you didn't have to aim for mine." He smirked. "I get the feeling Atobe-buchou will be saying the same thing though."

Choutarou patted his head. "Do you really think you'll get him? He already got Shishido-sempai earlier." Hiyoshi raised an eyebrow.

"Was that how you found me?" He asked. Choutarou nodded, a bit red.

"I was running from-"

"Ore-sama."

Both boys turned around, and Atobe smirked. Hiyoshi stood up, watching him carefully. Choutarou stood up after, whispering to him.

"Kabaji-kun can't do anything, we managed to get him earlier. He's with the other sempai." Hiyoshi nodded, raising his water gun slightly. He heard footsteps behind him, and he figured Choutarou had gone back to the back of the mansion to the others. Atobe grinned at him.

"Just you and me, is it?" He moved his gun from it's position on his shoulder, poiting it at his sucessor. "How about we make things intersting? Winner get's to do whatever he wants with the loser." Hiyoshi raised an eyebrow.

"Atobe-buchou, isn't that bet kind of old? Everyone does it, I figured you'd have something else in mind." He sighed. Atobe felt his eyebrow twitch, before his grin widened.

"What? Are you afraid you'll lose?" He purred, and Hiyoshi glared at him. "Because when I win, you'll be glad your my favorite."

Hiyoshi blushed a bit, raising his gun. "If you win, because I don't plan on losing."

With that he quickly shot out a blast, purposely shooting off a bit to the right. Atobe, as expected, leaned in the opposite direction, he took the chance to shoot a well-aimed jet of water into his captain's chest. Atobe chuckled, quickly catching Hiyoshi off guard and getting the front of his shirt wet. "That's two for both of us then." He said, and Hiyoshi's eyes widened. "That's right, I saw that headshot you took earlier."

"And I suppose someone managed to hit the almighty Atobe-sama?" He smirked, dodging a shot aimed at his face. Atobe was frowning.

"Quiet, Shishido merely took me by surprise is all." He hissed. He charged forward, tackling the laughing boy to the ground, effectively covering both their clothes in mud. The rolled around for a few moments before Atobe managed to pin both his arms down, finanlly spraying him in the face with the half-empty toy. "I win."

Hiyoshi pouted at him, hair sticking to his face. Atobe chuckled, brushing back his bangs. "How cute, now stand up, we need to get changed before you get sick again."

He stood up, holding out a hand to the younger boy. Hiyoshi took it, still a little miffed at him, but followed him back to the mansion, where the others were waiting.

"He got you too?" Shishido said, head resting in his palm, elbow on his knee. Hiyoshi nodded, sitting between him and Choutarou, leaning on his friend.

"I'm cold." He said. It wasn't much of a shock, since his shirt was now dripping wet from the extra water Atobe had poured on him on the way back. Which he returned full force with his own. He felt Choutarou wrap an arm around his shoulders, attempting to share a little warmth. Which was hard, considering he himself was soaked.

He yelled when Atobe not only forced him to stand up, but began pulling him towards the house.

"If your cold then go inside and take a bath." He said. Hiyoshi ignored the frown on his captain's face, attempting to get out of the older boy's grip, when Atobe suddenly stopped.

"Can we help you?" He asked. Hiyoshi stepped closer, looking over the taller boy's shoulder to get a look at the visitor. A man was standing at the door, dressed in a suit and carrying a small bag with him and had shoulfer length black hair. He stepped into the yard at Atobe's nod, walking towards the group.

"I'm sorry for interupting you're fun, but I'd like to ask you boys a few questions. Hiyoshi had to surpress a gasp when Hao suddenly materialized next to him, eyes narrowed.

"This guy..." He started. "He's making me suspicious. Be careful." Hiyoshi didn't nod, because he knew it would be weird if he did. Choutarou glanced at him briefly before turning his attention back to the man, who pulled out a small leather case. He flipped it open, revealing a silver badge.

"I'm Minamoto Keiji, I'm investigating the case involving the strange murders going on. They've been happening mostly in this area, so I've been questioning residents who live around here." He said. Hao covered his mouth.

"Wakashi, I'm going back in." He said, his voice forced. "This guy... something about him makes me sick, and not in the 'I can't stand him' sort of way. I mean sick sick." With that he faded away, and Hiyoshi felt the familiar pull of someone entering his mind.

"What do you want to know?" Atobe said. He sounded as if he was doing his best to sound polite, and Hiyoshi couldn't blame him, it was getting pretty cold. "If it's about the murders, none of us have anything to do with it."

"I'm sure." The man said, giving a reassuring smile. "I just want ti know if you've seen or heard anything."

"None of us live in the area." Oshitari said. "Only Atobe does." The man looked at him.

"Is that true?"

Hiyoshi stepped slightly behind Atobe, who glanced him in surprise. "We all live in different areas of Tokyo." He said. Even though he was no good with strangers, Hao was right, this man gave him a... strange feeling. Like they were going to meet him again. His one sentence had given him the man's attention now, which made him bite his lip. He was beginning to feel a bit sick.

"I see." He said, then leaned a bit. "Are you okay? You look pale."

Was he? Well, considering the fact that he was soaking wet and a something in the air was making it a bit hard to breath, he probably was.

"I'm cold." He said, and mentally slapped himself for sounding like a small child. But seeing as it was his only way out of the situation, he had no other choice. THe man pulled back.

"Ah, I'm sorry. Now that I look at it, your all rather wet." He glanced at the gun in his hand. "Water gun fight?" He nodded. "Well then, I'm sorry for bothering you. I'll be on my way." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small amount of cards. "Call me if any of you see anything."

Hiyoshi looked at the card in his hand, his other hand tightening around Atobe's out of instinct. The older boy looked at him, confused.

"Hiyoshi?"

"Atobe-buchou, can we go inside? It's getting hard for me to breath, I think I need to change." He said. He felt it too, the tightening of his lungs. It normally only happened when he trained for hours without rest but it seemed like something in the air had gotten to him. Atobe nodded, pulling him along and into the house.

After a while, he exited the bathroom, sitting on the bed while Atobe dried his hair. "Stay awake, you look like your about to collapse." His eyes felt tired, another familiar feeling tugging at him. The lure of sleep.

"Atobe-buchou, I think I need to sleep for a while. I just don't feel good..." He said, his eyes falling shut.

"Wha- Oi! Hiyoshi!

xXxXxXx

"Wakashi, wake up."

Hiyoshi opened his eyes, being met with another pair of glowing red ones. Hao shifted slightly, Hiyoshi's head on his lap. "You fainted."

"I figured." He sighed. "What's buchou doing now?"

Hao paused for a while, looking off into the darkness that surrounded them. "He's freaking out. Apparently you fell asleep right on him, and he doesn't know what to do."

Hiyoshi sighed, closing his eyes. He vaguely heard his name being called, more voices joining in. "They're trying to wake me up."

"Useless. Once your out, your out. Choutarou should know this, he was there." Hao frowned.

"Don't remind me." He said with a sigh. "I don't think he liked it then. It's not eveyday you see you're best friend get kidnapped, then a demon sealed into his body." Hao gave a rueful laugh. "So what was that? Something made the air feel thick... and who was that guy?"

"Dunno. But I think he could see me." Hao said. HIs voice sounded distant. "We need to be careful. Even if he couldn't see me, he definitely knew I was there. He could be trouble." He looked down. "We need to watch our movements from now on, you've been focusing too much on one place, it's going to draw attention. Attention we don't need, especially if you want to keep you're 'friends' out of it." He said the word 'friends' like it was some sort of curse.

"That guy..." He mumbled. Hao nodded.

"He needs to go."

xXxXxXx

OKAY SO THIS TURNED OUT LONGER THAN IT SHOULD BE.

Ahh I went totally off track somewhere. The new guy was supposed to mee them at their school, but instead I changed the setting when I thought 'water gun fight'. Yeah, made it weird, but it worked out. You've probably already guessed everything, but no more, cuz i want to reveal it in a big way.

so I need help in FF: Crystal Chronicals. How do you train a new character in year 4 if you've visited all the easy areas more than once? It's tough.