Chapter 18

Disclaimer : I Don't own Shaman King!

Italic stands for thought / dreams

'Italic with single quote stands telepathic voice'

[Stands for voice from the past]

-Stands for telephone-

Underline stands for letter

"Quote stands for dialogue"

Bold stands for emphasis

Bold italic stands for a dangerous tone

The Date, part 3

"Oh, this restaurant is good." Shouyo commented as they finished their meal, Hao raised an eyebrow to that, "I never come to Tokyo before, seeing that this is Natsu's territory, it risking for us." She explained calmly, "Now, where do you want to go?" she cocked her head to the right.

Hao smirked, "I said I won't tell you right?" he asked back.

Shouyo frowned, "Tell me the region then, It would be bad if we ended up in Natsu's territory again." She said with a pout that make Hao chuckled again.

"Tell me where not to go then, and I can tell you if it's one of them or not." Hao replied with a smirk, oh how that smirk is so sexy in Shouyo's mind.

Shouyo sighed, "You are saying it to make me telling you what I'm hiding from everyone, right?" she asked calmly with a small smile, "I will say that if you know, you might disgusted".

"I won't." Hao replied calmly, "I only hate humans, I can accept those that are not human".

"Oh, then you won't accept yourself and Shamans?" Shouyo raised an eyebrow, "Shamans are humans too, so if you say you hate humans, then you hate every shaman too." She smirked when Hao glare at her.

"Shamans different than human, Shamans can see spirit and understand the importance of Nature, humans can't see spirits and they are destroying Nature." Hao growled in anger, and he get even angrier when Shouyo chuckled at him, "What?".

Shouyo looked at him calmly, "You are so simple-minded, Hao. I'm surprised that even after live for a thousand years, you are still look over everything based on that simple difference." She said with warm tone, the one Mai used when she lecturing people, "It's true that humans can't see spirit, but there are some who can, and those who can't, there are more of them that have good heart than the evil one. Humans trying to save the Nature too, since they had realized their mistake, but not all of them realized it, not all of them thinks the consequence of their actions." Hao opened his mouth to retort but Shouyo gently pressed a finger on his lips, "But it would be stupid to kill all humans just because of a few, and those few will someday meet their own punishment, by humans or Gods or Nature, so we can just leave them by themselves. Humans don't have power to get everything in an instant, and for that they learned patience, we are all, but some can't and you are one of those who are impatient".

Shouyo paused as she drank her drink for a bit, but she never tear her gaze from Hao's eyes, capturing him so that he wouldn't able to looked away, "It's like you are throwing away a whole grains for a few bad ones, you only need to throw way the bad ones. In humans case, they need to get rid of the bad ones, but to in destructive way as you think of, they need to make those who are bad to be good. Humans make their mistake, every creatures in the world make their mistakes, and they learned from them so that they would never repeated the same mistake." She continued, her smirk turned into a smile when Hao looked like he is unable to retorts, so she pressed on, "Think of this, do you think Shamans live in different way than normal humans? They use cars, air conditioners, they are also do the same things normal humans do, so what is the difference beside Shaman can see spirits and normal humans can not? There are those among Shamans who are ignorance about Nature too".

Hao opened his mouth but closed it again, he glared at her stubbornly, "Do you know? Hate born from anger, and anger or fear, fear born from not understand while anger born from pain." She hold his hands with her own hands, "What humans do to you Hao? You are hurt by them, and you become angry from the pain you felt, and from that anger you hates them. What they do to hurt you, Hao?" She looked at him with warm and understanding, "If you don't want to tell me here, let's go to somewhere else." She stand up and offered her hand to him.

Hao's glare turned into expressionless face, then he take Shouyo's hand reluctantly, "Mighty Air Around Me, Listen To My Voice." She whispered in nearly inaudible voice as they make teir way out from the restaurant, "Location is Funbari Onsen, my room. Names are Shouyo, Hao and their Spirits." She squeezed Hao's hand once they are outside and entered the forest, "Teleport." She said softly. An instant later they arrived at the location she said, Shouyo sat on the floor and leaned on the wall, Hao followed her by sat beside her.

"You are the only one who can make me unable to retorts." Hao said quietly, "And we are only meet for a two days".

"Because I know the feel of pain and what they can do to someone." Shouyo answered calmly, but she wait for Hao afterwards.

"It's . . . happened because humans killed my Mother." Hao said after he get the hint, "She was so kind and always helped everyone, she never do anything bad, and yet they killed her, just because Mother was a Shaman." He felt his heart ache again as he remembered that night when his mother get killed right in front of his eyes, "But I tried to forget them and helped humans, but they always fear me and shunned me simply because I'm a Shaman." He looked at Shouyo straight in the eyes, "I was the founder of Asakura Clan, but they fear me and tried to kill me, they betray me, humans and Shamans are all the same, that's why I don't trust people, only those that are obviously loyal to me and would support me whatever I'm doing".

"And by doing so, you distance yourself from other people." Shouyo stated, "By distancing yourself, you won't be able to see the difference of what surrounding you, the change in them, and you are fail to see the whole picture because you are locked up in the past." She wrapped an arm to him in a one arm hug, "If you distance yourself, you will be alone, don't you get lonely?" Hao didn't answer, because he didn't know how to answer, so he stay quiet.

"What about you?" Hao asked instead, "What do you hide from everyone?" he looked at her as he tried his best not to cry from her gentleness, her eyes was warm and understanding, gentle like his mother.

"Because I was also shunned at the first months I started to live with my Mother, because I was human, because they thought I won't be able to accept them. Their fear make them hate me at first, the only reason they didn't attack me was because I'm my Mother's adopted child." Shouyo looked at her lap, "Those months are the worse, and I was only 5 that time, small and had no memories of my past, it's hard for me. They started to give me chores to do, never talked to me if it's not necessary, and I had no friends, that make me hurt and lonely. I was the only child in the village that time, and I was human, so it make them treated me badly, but I tried my best to be accepted by them. When they yelled at me because of what I was, I always smiled at them and said that I was sorry for being different, when they gave me chores, I smiled again and do the chores without protest. I had to endure it for about 5 months, then they started to understand that I won't do anything bad to them and I will do my best for them, so they started to treat me better." She looked at Hao in the eyes and smiled, "After I was accepted, they taught me many things, they respected me, and they accepted me as their future Leader. They were afraid of me for I was different and they thought I would bring them harm, I understand this, so I wasn't angry, I was sad, but I tried to proved that they are wrong." She pat Hao's shoulder, "From the one they hate the most, I become the one they respected the most, the one they love the most, and I'm sure that they are ready to sacrificing themselves for my, but I also would never hesitate to help them as best as I can, even if it's risking my life".

Hao then unable to hold his tears anymore, he cried in her hug, "But I'm not you, I can't forgive them for hurting me." He sobbed, "They hurt me so much." He felt Shouyo tightened her hug.

"Hao, do you think you are any different?" Shouyo asked gently, "You know, you killed Lyserg's parents, just like how humans killed your mother. You hate humans for that, but what have you become now?" She rubbed her hand to his back, "Please don't kill anymore, it will only hurt, not only others but yourself too".

Hao didn't answer and continue to cry, then when he stopped crying, he looked at her with sad eyes, "I will think about it." He said weakly, "But what do you mean because you were different from them? I heard your Shamanic power reduced to the lowest level because of an accident, that means you are not that different from normal humans." He wiped the tears from his face.

Shouyo smiled widely, "Did I say that their are humans?" she asked cheerfully.

Hao blinked, "Does that mean they are Shamans?" he asked in confusion as his mind at lost of what the girl said.

"They are not Shamans, they are not humans either." Shouyo answered casually, "They are Vampires".

Hao's eyes widened, more wider than usual, "What?" he asked in disbelief.

Shouyo laughed cheerfully, "I said they are Vampires." She answered in carefree way.

"Then, what you are hiding from everyone is the fact that you are a Vampire?" Hao asked in shock, and he become confused again when the girl beside him shook her head, "Then what?".

"I'm a Half Vampire, the one from the Leader's bloodline, I will be turned into a Vampire when I reach 18." Shouyo said calmly, "I'm their Young Leader, so I'm expected to be wide, mature and capable of fighting and many more. But I'm an easy-going person, so I can't help but a bit childish sometimes and see everything in the light." She grinned, "I remember the first time I defeated one of the Vampire 3 years ago, a year before I was turned into a Half Vampire, their expression was a mix of startled, shock, proud, awe and disbelief." Then she stood up, "Let's go to the kitchen, I will make a calming tea for you and we can continue our date".

Hao felt much better after he told her about himself and cried after a long time, and the tea she made was clearly helping, "So, where are the place we shouldn't go?" he asked with a smile.

Shouyo take a piece of paper from her bag and a pen, then she wrote something and passed it to Hao, "This is the dangerous place where you shouldn't go, they are the territory of Natsu Clan." She explained with a smile.

Hao read the paper, "Mongolia, Egypt, and Kyoto." He looked at her, "What about your Clam's territory?" he asked curiously. Shouyo took the paper back and wrote some more, then she handed it back to Hao, "Europe for Haru, Africa for Aki, Asia and America for Fuyu." He frowned, "I asked yours not them".

Shouyo chuckled, "I'm Fuyu no Shouyo, the Fuyu Clan." She said cheerfully, "Before you asked, Natsu only have not so many Vampires in their Clan than the others, that's why their territory is narrower than the others. I won't explain further, it would take a long time, and not that you would need the information".

Hao smiled, "You are clearly a carefree person." He said in amusement, then he sighed, "I wonder if I don't go on a date with you, will I ever know about you and hear you speech?".

"You will." Shouyo stated firmly, "Because I palling to talk to you from the start, because I know you are Keiko-san's son, and she is really sad because she had never get a chance to talk to you, she want to try and change you, also, I know that there must be a reason why you are like this".

"I see." Hao nodded, "That's why you never scared of me, but you often get angry at me." He looked at her with questioning eyes.

"Well, I dislike arrogant people, and I dislike to be ordered around." Shouyo said matter-of-factly, "And before this, all you do is ordering people around and acted so arrogant, just like Yohmei, oh, maybe Yohmei inherited that stubbornness of yours that make him think that he is better than other people and has the right to act as he please." She chuckled when Hao shot her with WTF look.

After that, Hao teleported them to a park with so many games, "Here we are." Hao said as he looked at Shouyo, who just looked around in amazement, "You never come here before?" Shouyo shook her head, "It's surprised me that you never go to this kind of place, you are normal human before, normally they go to this place often." He looked around, "But actually, this is also my first time coming here".

"It's true that I was a normal human before, but after I passed the first months, I used most of my time learning the way of Vampire, and I never met another human before, so I never come here since I was afraid and I had no friend to be coming here with." Shouyo explained calmly, then she grinned at Hao, "Thank you, even if at first I was forced, now I'm glad that I go on this date with you".

Hao smiled warmly and take her to the Merry-go-round, "The view from the top is priceless at night." He said and take a seat, he pulled her to sat beside him, "What are you thinking about me?".

Shouyo smiled, "I think of you as my boyfriend this one day, I don't know if I would like to go on a date with you again." She said softly, "But if you want, I can be your friend".

Hao grinned, "You are not act like a Vampire at all, more like an Angel." He teased as they started to move.

Shouyo laughed, "You know, yesterday when I went to the forest and disappeared, I was hunting in a forest of Izumo, not for meat but blood." She grinned, "If you don't believe me, I can just bite you to proves that I'm a Half Vampire." She showed her two fangs.

Hao's eyebrows lifted, "Say, about Boris, you knew he wasn't a Vampire because you are Half Vampire yourself?" he asked curiously, Shouyo simply nodded and looked outside, "You gave him a second chance, I'm still considering what I would do, continue my goal or start over".

"It's okay, it's impossible to change all of a sudden." Shouyo looked at him for a second and looked outside again, "Just so you know, if you give me no choice in the end, I might end up killing you, and I never want that, please remember this".

Hao smiled and leaned his head on her shoulder, "For today, I would like to act like my body's age." He said softly and hugged her gently, "I will forget about my goal for this one day." He opened his eyes and pulled her closer to him, then he kissed her again, with affection this time.

To be continued . . .

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