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Chapter Text

"Fractured Duality"

Alternative Universe - Phase Two

Episode Six

"The Power of Yoh"

(1)

“And then what happened?”

“To be honest, my memory is a little hazy after that.”

“Oh.” sadly sighed Hao, “Well, I guess that’s to be expected. It seems to be the nature of this place. To forget.”

“I may not remember everything that happened next, but I remember how it felt.” softly replied Yoh, tilting his head back slightly and looking upward at the one he was laying on.

Hao lowered his gaze from the vast starlit sky above them and looked down at the glistening eyes of his identical twin gazing up at him.

“I was proud of everything we had achieved together. It felt like we had done something remarkable. Like, we had broken the rules, in a way… and found a new way forward. A new destiny.”

Hao watched how his brother’s eyes sparkled like the stars above them as he finished telling him the astounding events of the Shaman Fight final - and Hao was instantly reminded of the fateful night before they both competed together in the Fight for the first and last time in his own memory. Which transpired to be the last time he remembered them both being together in the same capacity, at all.

“Heh.” breathed Hao, smiling. “Breaking the rules”… “a new way forward”… “new destiny”…” he repeated, slowly, “Those feel like the right words to describe how this feels, right now.”

The pair remained silent as they absorbed that ideology for a moment, then their eyes drifted back to look up at the illusionary star lit sky above them.

“What about you?” quietly asked Yoh, “What is the last thing you remember?”

Hao paused for a moment. He closed his eyes tightly, searching his mind.

“I remember… feeling lost. Empty. Though at the same time, strangely, it felt like I was home. Then I saw you.” replied Hao, opening his eyes and transfixing his gaze back on the sky. “You were wearing that stupid shirt.” he chuckled, smiling a bit.

“Ah, that shirt.” giggled Yoh.

“Then… everything just fell into place. We were home again. I couldn’t believe how easy it was. It was like waking up from a very, very long dream.”

Yoh remained silent for a moment, then he looked up once again at Hao’s face.

“Perhaps that’s what this is. Just a very, very long dream.” said Yoh, a little wearily.

Hao glanced down again and met Yoh’s kind eyes once more. He smiled warmly at his little brother.

“And if that’s really all this is, what all of it was, then, I’d do it all over again. Just to be here, like this, with you.” gently replied Hao.

At that moment, the twins eyes were instantly drawn to two bright falling stars roaring across the night sky. The long dazzling streaks trailing behind them remained in the sky for a few seconds before they vanished into the vast nebula above.

The pair simultaneously considered the short celestial event they just witnessed as a sign that everything will be okay.

“There’s still so many things about this world we don’t know,” whispered Yoh, eventually, breaking their shared peaceful contemplated silence. Hao kept his gaze on the spot in the sky where the stars had been.

“Yeah,” he replied, nodding his head slightly, then a knowing smile began to spread across his face. “And I already know what you’re thinking.”

“What?” chuckled Yoh, smiling. “What am I thinking?”

“You’re thinking about the others.” replied Hao, closing his eyes.

“How did you know?” laughed Yoh, craning his head back again to try and meet Hao’s gaze.

“Because I know you.” smiled Hao, he lowered his head for a moment, allowing his long hair to cascade down to one side. He lifted his hand to gently remove the long strands of his hair out of Yoh’s face so he could see his eyes.

“Oh, for a moment there, I thought you could read my mind.” jokingly replied Yoh.

“Maybe I can, you’d never know.” chuckled Hao, smiling broadly. The pair let out a mirrored laugh.

“I am thinking about them.” admitted Yoh, smiling. He then sighed deeply. “I wonder… what are they doing in a world… where there’s no reason to fight each other?”

Hao thought about it for a moment before responding.

“Perhaps… there could be a reason.” muttered Hao, a little hesitantly.

“What?” breathed Yoh, now sitting up and shifting himself so he was face to face with his twin.

“A reason to fight. I know many of them would want something to fight for. It’s in our blood, after all.” sighed Hao, meeting Yoh’s confused though optimistic expression.

“But… how? How could we…” Yoh trailed off, then he looked back towards the spot in the sky where they had witnessed the falling stars.

“It’s just an idea, but… if we’re going to do something about it - there’s something important we need to do first.” Hao got up from his sitting position and approached the tombstone that was sitting idle behind them. He reached behind it and picked up something, then he turned around to face his little brother and presented him with a very recognisable and important item.

Yoh got to his feet and smiled warmly at the restored weapon, like he was meeting a very good friend for the first time in a long time. He then looked up and met the glistening eyes of the one who had brought them together.

“I think it’s time we went to see your fiancée about a samurai.”

(2)

“Why is it, whenever something extraordinary happens, it’s always you two?”

“”What?”” overlapped the twins.

Kino sighed deeply, there was noticeable tension in the room as her grandsons awaited for their Grandmother to continue. The pair shifted uncomfortably on their feet before simultaneously stealing a glance at one another. The feeling shared between them was like they were a pair of small children awaiting to hear what their punishment will be for their misbehaviour.

“For centuries, our ancestors prepared each new generation for the next Shaman Fight, to ensure the prosperity and security of our children’s children, to protect humanity from the very real danger and mighty power that — is something amusing to you, child?”

Yoh was doing his best to stifle a nervous laugh. Hao elbowed Yoh hard in the chest.

“S-sorry, Grandmother.” mumbled Yoh, clearing his throat. He smiled a bit as he briefly made eye contact with the “very real danger and mighty power” his Grandmother was just talking about, who was glaring back at him intensely. Though after a moment, his eyes softened, and he smiled slightly at his little brother, too.

“Grandmother Kino. We understand it’s a lot to take in.” sighed Hao, now turning his attention back to his bereft Grandmother.

“I had already accepted that our family’s fate had changed from the day you were both born, but I did not envision the depths to which our changed fate expanded to the rest of the world.” sighed Kino, pinching the bridge of her nose.

The brothers smiled awkwardly at each other once again. Yoh shrugged his shoulders a bit as they communicated with one another in their silent way.

“Any skilled astronomer would tell you,” Kino continued, “that mathematically speaking, it would be impossible for our planet to be the only one with life in our entire observable universe. The same can be said for the Spirit World. There are countless - infinite worlds out there beyond our own. It would be arrogant to assume we are the only ones to exist within it…”

Hao swallowed nervously, unsure where this was going. Yoh blinked, slightly confused.

“But what you are telling me is… that the King has already been decided. And that King, as we feared, is our great ancestor: Asakura Hao.”

Hao felt a pang in his chest as his own Grandmother referred to him for the first time in his life like he was a different person than the grandson standing in front of her.

“Why do you say it like that?” spoke up Yoh, with a inflection of agitation, “Like it’s a bad thing?”

“Yoh.” interjected Hao.

“No - wait a minute,” went on Yoh, unable to hide his confrontational tone, he shook his head as he spoke, “I was there. I know what happened. And he is going to be a great King!”

“Did you not hear what I just said, child?” snapped Kino. “You’re assuming that the brother you saw win the Fight and the one standing next to you are the only two versions of Hao to exist in our entire universe?“

The twins froze for a moment as Kino’s words came down on them like a mighty invisible force.

“The only reason we are even having this conversation - the only reason you are both standing before me and telling me this remarkable yet outrageous tale - is because someone intentionally intervened in your fate. Perhaps there may be other realities where you both did not turn out so lucky.”

A foreboding silence grew in the room. Yoh’s confrontational demeanour wavered for a moment.

“But why would that matter?” muttered Hao, “There is only one King.”

“Exactly. There is only one King. But aren’t you living proof, my child, that there is not only one Hao?” replied Kino.

Yoh turned his head and met his twin’s pained expression. Yoh reached for Hao’s hand and reassuringly gripped his fingers in his. He turned back to his Grandmother.

“I think that you should have a little more faith in him.” said Yoh, firmly. “Are we not proof enough that someone’s path, someone’s destiny - is not set in stone?”

“Yoh… it’s okay. Grandmother Kino is right.” sadly sighed Hao.

Yoh snapped his head back to look at his twin, who was looking back at him with a sympathetic smile.

“Nii-chan…” sadly whispered Yoh.

“We are the lucky ones. When I first met you in that world, you didn’t even know me. So what if… we had never met? What would have happened then?”

Yoh blinked at Hao’s words.

“I…” began Yoh, “I… I don’t know.” he whispered, sadly.

A long silence grew between them again as all three considered Hao’s questioning words. Then Kino sighed deeply once more.

“You both may be the reason for a lot of troubling questions that do not bode well for this old heart of mine, but you are still my grandchildren. I urge you both to consider this matter as one that should not weigh too heavy on you. And I, too, consider myself lucky as well, to have lived in this world and watched you grow together into the young shaman you are today.”

The twins locked eyes with one another again before they turned back towards their grandmother.

“”Thank you, Grandmother.”” they echoed with a mirrored smile.

“So,” continued Kino, eventually, “You have come to speak with Anna, have you?”

“Yes.” replied Hao, “We have a lot to explain to her, as well.”

“Don’t bother.” came a familiar stern voice. The twins turned their attention to the Itako marching into the room. She immediately locked her eyes on Yoh’s stunned expression and crossed her arms.

““Anna!”” echoed the twins.

“You don’t need to explain anything. I already know everything I need to know.” she snapped, as she flicked a loose strand of hair from her face.

“You - you do?” babbled Yoh.

Hao quietly examined the familiar face standing in front of him. He was relieved to see Anna looking exactly how he knew and remembered her - from her short black dress, ocean blue beads and trademark red scarf she wore upon her head.

“Of course I do. I am Anna the Itako. I was going to be the wife of the Shaman King - but I’ll settle for the title of “inter-dimensional sister-in-law”.”

Hao tried his best not to laugh when he saw Yoh’s dumbfounded expression gazing back at Anna.

“And don’t think for one second that just because there’s not going to be a Shaman Fight in this world that it changes anything, Yoh. I am still your fiancée here in the same way I was in our other world.”

The twins remained stunned into a joint silence by Anna’s words. Even Kino momentarily looked surprised, but then a little amused grin spread across her face.

“So. You’re here because you obviously need my help. Well, let’s get on with it then. Don’t keep me waiting!”

(3)
“One I place for my father - two I place for my mother - three I place for my brothers back home - in my home land, I pray for your souls - if you hear my voice at the ends of your world, then rise! Hear the sound of my beads and come to me!”

Hao and Yoh watched with wide eyes as Anna performed her Itako-style ritual and fell into a deep trance - as she held her beads above her head - the space all around her filled with flaming wisps and a breeze whipped up around her. The orbs began to manifest into a recognisable shape, and within moments, the legendary samurai spirit materialised in front of their eyes.

“Amidamaru!” delightfully cried Yoh, smiling happily at his good friend with glistening eyes.

“Yoh… Yoh-dono?” stammered Amidamaru.

“It’s so good to see you!” continued Yoh, “Ah, I’m so sorry to have dragged you back to this world so soon…”

“This feels… so strange. I feel strange.” mumbled Amidamaru, looking towards the ground, his expression showed he did not seem to be aware of what was going on around him.

“Hm? Amidamaru?” blinked Yoh, confused. He shot a concerned look at Anna before looking back at his old friend. “Is - something wrong, Amidamaru?”

Hao remained quietly observant of the scene in front of him, though his mind began to whirl with possibilities and questions.

“Perhaps summoning spirits in this realm is a little different than in our old world,” wondered Anna, “I completed the ritual in the same way as I would to call a ghost from the Great Spirits into the living world, but perhaps that is not appropriate, here.”

“Are you okay Amidamaru?” worriedly asked Yoh, but his Spirit Ally did not respond. Yoh then looked towards Hao - hopeful he may have an idea what to do.

Hao’s eyes were drawn to Harasume in Yoh’s grip, then he looked back at Yoh’s worried face.

“Yoh. Form your most familiar oversoul with Amidamaru, the one that most closely represents your bond with him.” commanded Hao, firmly.

Yoh froze for a moment, but then he nodded his head at Hao’s words.

“For that, I would need the - ”

Anna immediately presented Yoh with the Futunomitama no Turugi prized sword. Yoh froze again, stunned to see the red artefact directly in front of him.

“I had a feeling this would come in handy.” she said with a confident smirk. She then exchanged a silent look with Hao - who looked back at her with a knowing and determined smile.

Yoh gladly accepted the Asakura family’s prized possession, he then looked up towards his good friend who was brooding quietly beside him with distant eyes.

“Don’t worry Amidamaru, I’ve got this. We’ve got this.” nodded Yoh, determinedly.

Anna and Hao took several steps back as they both knew what they were about to witness in front of them.

Yoh took a deep breath as he stood directly in front of the samurai spirit. He held both of his weapons firmly in each hand and closed his eyes.

Amidamaru’s form instantaneously began to change and his glowing radiance was instantly drawn to Yoh’s dual weapons. Yoh then held both his hands above his head as his magnificent giant dual oversized “Spirit of the Sword” oversoul materialised in his hands and effortlessly sliced through the air as he pointed it directly to the sky.

Hao silently observed Yoh’s calming aura as he united with his destined Spirit Ally in front of his eyes once again. Hao’s mind fell back on the time they both worked tirelessly day and night to achieve such an impressive form. And almost as though Yoh could read his mind, Hao watched as his little brother lowered his gaze and met his big brother’s proud expression and he beamed a big toothy grin at him.

After a few moments of silence, Yoh calmly dissolved the giant oversoul form and Amidamaru once again materialised by his side. Yoh took a few steps towards his friend and examined him.

“Amidamaru?” quietly muttered Yoh.

“Yoh-dono… I… I must apologise, for I do not seem to understand what - ”

Amidamaru cut off his words as Hao and Anna came towards him. Amidamaru’s eyes widened when he saw Hao.

“Your majesty!” gasped Amidamaru, bowing his head at him.

Hao stopped in his tracks - stunned by the samurai’s words.

“No - no Amidamaru… Hao is not…” stammered Yoh, smiling awkwardly. Then he paused, stunned, before making eye contact with Hao - the twins gazed at one another for a moment as the same realisation began to dawn on them both.

“What is going on Yoh-dono?” questioned Amidamaru, the samurai spirit looked on in confusion when he saw Hao beaming a kind radiant smile at him.

“Hm, well that is certainly a lot more convenient.” scoffed Anna, with a hint of sarcasm.

(4)
“Hao-sama!” delightfully yelled Opacho, leaping into his arms as he stepped through the front door of the Onsen. Hao happily embraced the little girl, giving her a welcoming squeeze in return. “Opacho missed you!” Hao laughed softly.

“I missed you too Opacho.” chuckled Hao, carrying her into the house followed immediately by Yoh, Anna and Amidamaru.

“Uh, I-I’m sorry Hao, I may have already told her about your plan to…” quietly muttered Tamao as Hao entered through the kitchen doorway carrying the excited toddler in his arms.

“Let’s go!” cheered Opacho, now leaping from Hao’s arms to the ground with a confident smile. She began to march herself towards the open door, brushing past the two who were walking through it.

Anna and Yoh stepped to the side as the child pushed her way through them. They locked eyes with each other briefly before looking back into the house to see Hao and Tamao looking equally bereft as the child they both cared for disappeared out the front door.

“But Nii-chan, it’s late. Where are you gonna go at this time of the night?” giggled Yoh.

Hao sighed, shaking his head with a kind smile as he hurriedly followed after the infant in his care. He picked up her sneakers and orange puffy jacket from the coat rack on his way out the door.

“I’m sure we’ll figure something out.” he said hurriedly as he passed his twin and his future sister-in-law. “She’s the most at home under the stars, anyway.”

Anna and Yoh exchanged another silent look with one another before they turned to the pink haired shaman who was still frozen to the spot. Tamao then turned her attention to Anna.

“Hi, Anna.” she greeted with a soft smile. “It’s - it’s so nice to - .”

“Why are you still standing there?” interrupted Anna, sternly. “Aren’t you supposed to be going on this little family trip?”

Tamao blinked, stunned by Anna’s words and familiarity with the situation.

“F- family trip?” she repeated, blushing. “I- I assumed she just wanted her…”

“Tamao?” called a voice from outside. “Are you coming or…?”

Tamao’s eyes widened as she heard Hao’s voice calling for her. She reached for her jacket from the kitchen counter and hastily followed after the two who were waiting for her outside.

As the front door of the Onsen closed behind them, Anna and Yoh locked eyes with one another once again. Yoh smiled awkwardly.

“I know, I was just as surprised as you are.” he laughed.

Anna didn’t respond, she simply walked a few paces into the house to inspect its condition.

“You never take me out on any star gazing date nights.” she said, coldly.

Yoh felt a chill run up his spine at his fiancée’s words. Amidamaru gave his master a sympathetic and strained smile as he watched on at the familiar scenario.

“What?!”

End of Episode Six

Chapter Text

Episode Seven

“Happy Place”

(1)

“Nii-chan, just put it on.”

“Yoh, I’m not a child.”

“Your outward appearance to the rest of society says otherwise.”

“I don’t care what “the rest of society” thinks. I am not wearing that.”

“Oh, okay. So your angsty “teenage dirt bag” look makes you appear less like a child than a school uniform?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Just put on the damn uniform!” laughed Yoh, throwing the white shirt forcefully at his brother’s face. Hao begrudgingly pulled the garment off his head and sighed angrily, before swiftly sliding his bedroom door closed in Yoh’s face in retaliation.

“We’re going to be late - again!” came a worried shout from downstairs.

“Just a sec!” called Yoh with a slight amused smile as he hurriedly made his way down to the lower level to join his small school friend.

Manta was standing at the open front door of the Onsen tapping his foot and staring at his wrist watch, he looked up at Yoh as he stepped outside to join him.

“Well? Is he coming or not?” asked Manta with a slight inflection of irritation.

“Unfortunately for him, yes - he is.” giggled Yoh.

“Good morning you two.” came a sweet sounding voice from the front gate. Manta and Yoh looked up to see the kind smiling face of Tamao walking up the Onsen path carrying groceries, followed immediately by a small happy toddler carrying a single baguette of bread. “Late for school, again?” asked Tamao with a soft sigh.

“Opacho is helping!” happily cried Opacho, waving the baguette above her head. Tamao looked down at the child and smiled sweetly at her little helper.

“Uh… yeah - it looks that way.” admitted Yoh, scratching the back of his head. He then grinned at Opacho who was beaming a smile back at him.

“Where is Anna?” quietly asked Tamao, looking curiously at Yoh.

“She left early this morning to travel into town, she said she wanted to “observe the spiritual situation” or something. But I think she probably just wanted to go shopping.” chuckled Yoh, smiling awkwardly.

The four friends then turned back towards the front door as footsteps echoed out from the doorway. Hao calmly stepped out onto the front porch. All observed that he had finally been convinced to somewhat abide by the Shinra Private Academy dress code, though he wore his shirt open, revealing his torso, and still adorned his silver plated belt. He also remembered his teacher’s strict instructions to not bring anymore gum to school - so he had a lollipop in his mouth instead.

Yoh let out a defeated sigh when he noticed the lollipop. Hao smirked slightly when he noticed his twin’s eyes silently chastising him.

“Finally!” sighed Manta. “Can we go now?”

“I suppose.” muttered Hao as he took his sweet out of his mouth for a moment. He then looked at the girls standing in front of him. He smiled warmly at Opacho before meeting the pink-coloured eyes of the taller one of the two. “Good morning.” he said softly to them both.

“Good morning Hao-sama! See you after school!” gleefully said Opacho, jumping towards him and wrapping her arms around his legs. She then happily toddled off inside the building.

The others observed how Tamao seemed to be frozen to the spot. After a moment, she looked down towards the ground before her face began to flush a bright pink.

“Good - good morning Hao!” she squeaked before she hastily followed Opacho inside the building.

Manta and Yoh exchanged an amused look with each other before looking back at Hao. Yoh’s expression fell when he noticed Hao looking absentmindedly towards the sky - almost like he was daydreaming. He then brought himself back down to earth and smiled at the two he had made late for school once again, without so much as a word of an apology.

“Alright then, let’s get this over with.” he sighed, popping his rule-breaking candy back into his mouth and making his way towards the Onsen gate.

Manta and Yoh both shared the same awkward knowing smile with one another before following after the troublesome and somewhat clueless shaman.

(2)
“What happened last night?” whispered Yoh. He kept his eyes firmly on the back of his teacher’s head as he inscribed something on the chalk board. Not really paying attention to the class, Yoh’s mind had been firmly elsewhere.

“Hm?” mumbled Hao, he too looked to be disassociating from their current plain of reality as he casually leaned his head on his hand. He did not turn to look at his twin so not to bring any unwanted attention to their private conversation.

Yoh lowered his head closer to his desk to try and hide behind the student sitting in front of him.

“You know, on your late night trip out of the house with Opacho?” hissed Yoh.

Hao smiled.

“Oh, yeah. It was rather… pleasant.” candidly muttered Hao. He corrected his posture and sat up straight.

“Pleasant?” repeated Yoh, quietly.

“Opacho really enjoyed having the freedom to just… be a kid. Something I know she’s never really had a chance to experience before.” softly replied Hao.

“Uh huh.” sighed Yoh, rolling his eyes slightly. The brothers simultaneously looked down at their workbooks as the teacher turned around and began to instruct his class.

As the noise in the room began to slowly rise as the students around them moved onto their next task, Yoh grabbed the opportunity to pry his big brother a little more. He leaned slightly across the gap that separated them.

“So that’s it?”

“Pardon?” replied Hao, now finally making eye contact with his curious little brother.

“That’s all you have to tell me?” asked Yoh with a slight knowing grin.

“What else would there be to tell?” replied Hao, raising an eyebrow.

Yoh let out a defeated and aspirated sigh as he slumped back in his seat.

“Never mind.” mumbled Yoh.

As Hao observed his little brother’s dissatisfied expression, a devilish smirk appeared on his face.

“What about you?” candidly asked Hao, picking up his pen and beginning to complete his teacher’s assignment. He didn’t look at Yoh’s perplexed expression.

“Hm? What?” blinked Yoh, turning his head back towards his big brother. He then shot his eyes back at his teacher who had started to notice the two sitting at the back of the classroom making a little too much noise.

“You had the house to yourself last night, HoroHoro was out doing god knows what - it was the first time you had seen your future wife in a while…”

Yoh’s face suddenly became a flushed red. He lifted up his book and attempted to obscure his face from the rest of the faces in room.

“Asakura and Asakura! Don’t make me regret seating you both together. Quiet!” angrily chastised the teacher. All the eyes in the room now turned towards the twins. Manta looked on sympathetically from the front of the classroom at Yoh’s bright pink embarrassed expression.

“Heh, so maybe next time you’ll think twice before you start asking me so many curious questions, eh, little brother?”

(3)
“See Nii-chan, that wasn’t so bad, right?” laughed Yoh.

“It was somewhat entertaining.” replied Hao with a slight smirk.

“Entertaining?” repeated Manta, confused. “School isn’t supposed to be “fun”.”

“Oh - there were certainly some “fun” moments.” chuckled Hao, letting out an amused chortle at his little brother’s expense. A look of embarrassment flickered across Yoh’s face but he managed a small smile too.

The three school students walked side-by-side out of the Academy grounds surrounded by the rest of their fellow homeward bound students. For a brief moment, the twins both considered how ordinary and peaceful their day had been compared to recent events - and almost as though they could hear what the other was thinking once again, they locked eyes with one another and shared a silent exchange and a mirrored smile.

Suddenly, the twins simultaneously stopped in their tracks. Manta walked a few steps in front and then stopped too. Confused, he turned around and looked back at his identical friends - noticing how they both shared the exact same harrowed expression.

“Guys?” muttered Manta, alarmed.

“”Something’s wrong.”” echoed the twins. Without hesitation, they began to immediately sprint down the street. Not missing a beat, Manta hurried after them.

Moments later, Hao arrived home followed immediately by Yoh - they both froze for a moment as they observed the front door of the Onsen was wide open. As they bolted through the door, it was immediately obvious there had been an intruder when they discovered the contents of their home had been trashed.

“Tamao!? Opacho?!” frantically called Hao. He could hear Yoh calling for the girls too as he had made his way up the stairs to widen the search. Manta arrived moments later. He froze in the doorway when he witnessed the harrowing scene.

Hao ran through the house to the back communal living room. His blood ran cold when he discovered the injured pink haired shaman on the floor.

“Tamao!!” yelled Hao as he ran to her side. His eyes scanned her frame up and down before he leaned closer to her to examine her face. As he gently removed her hair from her eyes, a deep anger began to rise within him when he saw her bruised features.

Tamao opened her eyes at Hao’s touch and blinked, meeting his worried stare. Her eyes began to well up with tears. Hao carefully wrapped his arms under her tiny frame and he lifted her from the floor. He turned around and gently lowered her onto the neighbouring futon couch.

“Hao - I’m - I’m so sorry, he - he took Opacho!” cried Tamao. Hao’s eyes became white at her words.

“Who did? Who did this to you?!” seethed Hao. There was an unusual hint of hatred in his tone.

Yoh appeared in the doorway, he looked on solemnly at his worried sibling standing over Tamao.

“Nii-chan… Harasume… it’s gone.” sadly said Yoh, his tone hollow.

“What?” gasped Hao, looking up at his twin and locking eyes with him for a moment before looking back at Tamao’s injured face.

“He - he was wearing white, he had big hair…” whimpered Tamao, wincing slightly in pain as she spoke.

“”Wooden Sword Ryu.”” echoed the brothers.

Without hesitation, Hao stood up straight and sprinted to the doorway, brushing by his alarmed twin without a word.

“Hao - wait! I know what’s going to — “ hastily called Yoh, immediately following him to the Onsen front door. Hao hurriedly pushed past a startled Manta and made his way outside.

As Hao stepped outside, he froze in his tracks when he laid eyes on the one he was looking for - holding his weeping little girl under his arm.

“Opacho!” cried Hao - a moment later, he also noted how Ryu was grasping his brother’s prized sword in his other hand.

When Hao looked back at Ryu’s psychotic expression, he was instantly reminded of the face of someone else who had dared to threaten the child in his care - except this time, he could do something about it.

Yoh ran out of the house and saw the familiar scene playing out in front of him. He locked his eyes on Ryu and felt a lump in his throat to see his good friend reliving a horrendous scenario in front of his eyes. However, when he saw Opacho and Hao’s livid expression, he wasn’t entirely sure how things were going to play out this time around.

“Ryu…” sadly sighed Yoh.

Ryu smirked when he saw Yoh’s face appear.

“I came here looking for you,” began Ryu, locking his twisted expression on Yoh, “But this little thing here practically handed herself over to me as bait.”

Opacho began to cry louder.

“Hao-sama!” she sobbed.

“Harm a hair on her head and I’ll make you wish I had killed you when I’m through with you!” angrily roared Hao.

Yoh watched as Hao’s Spirit Ally appeared before him and began to change its radiant golden glow to red. Yoh leapt forward and grabbed his twin by the shoulder.

“Hao - wait!” desperately cried Yoh.

“I know he’s your friend Yoh - but I won’t let him hurt Opacho!” angrily snapped Hao.

“Friend? I am not your friend!” screamed Ryu. “I am after only one thing. Revenge against you - Amidamaru!”

(4)
““Friend”…?” shakily repeated Manta, nervously appearing by the open door as he watched on at the frightening scene unfolding.

Yoh momentarily glanced back at Manta, an apologetic look washed over his face.

“Manta… I’m sorry, I’ll explain later. Stay where it’s safe - okay?” said Yoh calmly and firmly, forcing a reassuring smile for his best friend. He turned back to his twin’s livid and desperate expression.

“I can handle this one, Hao. Amidamaru and I know what to do. Right Amidamaru?” gently said Yoh.

Amidamaru appeared by Yoh’s side and looked on at the familiar scene. The samurai spirit then exchanged a knowing look with his master and nodded in response.

Hao’s breathing began to shallow as every inch of him was screaming out to tear Ryu to shreds. The twins locked themselves into an intense unspoken exchange. After a moment, Yoh’s calming aura began to take effect on Hao’s frenzied mind and racing heart. As Hao looked back towards Opacho, he recalled the last time he took matters into his own hands to save her from danger - and the devastating consequences that followed. He took in a long deep inhale and breathed out slowly,

“Okay,” sighed Hao as he exhaled, looking back into his little brother’s eyes. “I trust you, Yoh.”

Yoh smiled warmly at Hao in response.

“This ridiculous nonsense again?” remarked a stern voice from behind Ryu. All turned towards Anna who had appeared by the Onsen gate. She was carrying several shopping bags and wearing a pair of sunshades. “What a waste of time.”

“What?!” shrieked Ryu, looking dumbfounded at Anna, “You better watch that pretty little mouth of yours - you have no idea who - ”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” retorted Anna, walking calmly past the hostage situation unfolding in front of her house and making her way to the Onsen front door, “You’re the notorious lizard idiot who steals what ever he wants blah blah blah. I’m not in the mood for this today. Yoh - hurry up and deal with this will you? You’re making dinner tonight.”

Hao’s eyes widened at Anna’s words, he then turned back to Yoh.

““This has happened before?”” desperately echoed Hao and Manta.

Yoh nodded sheepishly at Anna as she dismissed the seriousness of the situation as she made her way into the house.

“Well, sorta - last time it was Manta who was tied up - ” awkwardly laughed Yoh.

“What?!!” shrieked Manta, his face turning white at the idea.

The ghostly form of a huge lizard-like man began to manifest behind Ryu’s body.

“Enough of this!” he snarled, “I am the fearsome dreaded bandit Lord! I am the mighty Tokageroh! You had better not run away in fear - you bastards!”

“Tokageroh, it breaks my heart to see you in this way again - old friend.” sadly sighed Amidamaru.

“What the hell are you talking about?!” screamed Tokageroh looking directly at Amidamaru, “I would never be your ally - I think that is you who is confused! I am the leader of a group of bandits you killed 600 years ago! If you won’t take me seriously - then let me remind you, wouldn’t it be a shame if something happened to this little girl?”

Opacho began to wail louder.

Hao took a step forward in desperation. Yoh held out his arm to stop him.

“Nii-chan, no matter what happens - do not interfere.” firmly demanded Yoh.

“What?” breathed Hao, looking desperately back at his twin’s unusually serious expression.

“You said you trust me - so, trust me - I know what I’m doing. Do not interfere.” repeated Yoh with a stern tone.

Hao swallowed nervously.

“I really don’t like the sound of that.” said the elder Asakura brother, wearily.

Yoh took a few confident strides forward towards Ryu.

“Let’s skip all the crap and get straight to the point.” demanded Yoh, looking directly at Tokageroh’s somewhat perplexed expression.

“Tokageroh - you and Ryu have the potential to be partners, the best of friends - and you probably won’t believe me when I tell you this - but I know who you are - you are a powerful, passionate and dedicated Spirit - and I’ve seen you do some incredible things with Ryu at your side.”

Tokageroh momentarily looked stunned by the shaman’s words - and all present recognised Yoh’s unwavering confidence and determination as he spoke. Yoh lowered his gaze to look at Ryu.

“And Ryu, you can’t hear me right now, but - I don’t know what I would have done without your friendship - you were there when I needed you the most, even when the whole world was against me. You even helped me reunite that little girl in your arms with my brother standing behind me.”

Yoh turned around and smiled kindly at Hao - who looked back at his little brother with a stunned and astonished expression.

“You’ve held a grudge for 600 years,” continued Yoh looking back at Tokageroh’s ghoulish form in front of him, “but I know what happened when you set that grudge free. And if you want to see the truth, then, I invite you to leave that body and take mine. And then you will see what I see, through my eyes.”

“Yoh!? What are you doing? He could easily - ” protested Hao, but he cut off his words as Yoh held his hand out to his side once again to silence him.

“Best of friends?” laughed Tokageroh. “Don’t make me puke. I’ll never trust any friends. It’s to steal or be stolen from in this world. You can count on no one but yourself.”

“I bet my life on it,” continued Yoh, “If I am wrong, then, you have my permission to kill me.”

(5)

“Uh… Anna??!” worriedly called Hao, turning his head slightly towards the open door behind him.

“He didn’t trash the house last time!” came a disgruntled voice from inside the Onsen. “When that “Wooden sword idiot” is back in his own body he’s cleaning up this mess!!”

“I think you need to get out here!!” worriedly called Manta inside the building, adopting the same worried sentiment as Yoh’s older brother.

“Nii-chan,” sighed Yoh sympathetically, turning back towards Hao. “Everything is going to be okay.”

“You don’t know that Yoh!” protested Hao, locking his frantic expression on Yoh’s face. “This may not play out the same way as last time!”

“I am even more sure that it’ll work out this time. I’m confident we can resolve this without anybody getting hurt.” confidently replied Yoh, now turning back to Tokageroh.

“Anybody?” quietly repeated Hao in disbelief.

“So what‘dya say Tokageroh?” smiled Yoh, opening his arms wide to the lizard bandit.

Hao looked up desperately at Amidamaru - certain that the loyal samurai spirit would object - but he was suddenly stricken with amazement to see how Amidamaru confidently watched on at his master’s reckless actions with a knowing smile.

A menacing smirk began to spread across Tokageroh’s face. He shot a demonic look in Amidamaru’s direction before looking back at Yoh.

“You seem overly confident don’t you? If taking your life will cause that bastard Amidamaru to suffer, then, I will gladly accept your foolish offer!” screamed Tokageroh. His ghoulish form instantly dissipated and a violet ectoplasm emerged from Ryu’s body and swooped into the air. “Why don’t you show me what you mean with that body of yours?! Before I tear it to shreds!!!” he screeched as his ghoulish apparition disappeared within Yoh’s chest.

“Yoh!!!” desperately cried Hao. He momentarily looked back to Opacho, who managed to wiggle free from the arms of the one holding her before Ryu collapsed to the ground. Hao ran towards her and she leapt into his arms. Hao cradled her tightly, before turning back to Yoh.

Yoh remained frozen for a moment, but then his expression twisted and a devilish smirk spread across his face. He placed one hand on his forehead.

“”Boy, what a sucker.”” echoed Yoh and the bandit spirit. “”You left your body completely wide open only to be killed by me.””

“Yoh… I…” breathed Hao, his eyes white - he was unable to process what he was witnessing.

“Lord Hao,” softly said Amidamaru. Hao shot his desperate eyes at the samurai spirit. “Just wait.”

Hao inhaled sharply at the samurai’s words and held his breath as he looked back at his twin. Opacho buried her face into Hao’s shoulder as she continued to quietly sob in his arms.

“”What’s happening…? This doesn’t make any sense!””

Hao and Manta looked on in disbelief as they witnessed tears streaming down Yoh’s face. The form of the lizard bandit spirit once again appeared above Yoh - his expression mirroring that of his shaman host. “”Why would this young boy do all of this for someone like me?””

“Because he cares about you and respects you.” replied Amidamaru. “Can you now see what Yoh-dono sees in you, old friend?”

“”I…”” began Tokageroh, looking towards Ryu laying unconscious on the ground. “”I… know him. I more than know him. He’s my…””

“He has the potential to be that again.” replied Amidamaru, placing one hand on the bandit spirit’s shoulder. “If you are willing to put aside your grievances and give him a chance.”

Hao remained in a stunned silence to see the amazing reconciliation scene playing out in front of him. As he looked back at his brother, he let out a soft laugh.

“Of course, I should’ve known.” muttered Hao, smiling, “This is what he’s best at, after all.”

As Tokageroh voluntarily exited Yoh’s body - Yoh fell backwards to the ground. He had a satisfied smile on his face.

Hao quickly went to Yoh’s side and knelt down beside him.

“Don’t ever do anything like that ever again.” demanded Hao, though his voice was firm, his eyes were glistening with a hint of pride.

“Heh, if we’re gonna seek out the others too, then, I can’t really make any promises - Nii-chan.” chuckled Yoh, smiling broadly at his big brother. The twins then both turned their attention to the child in Hao’s arms, who looked up at the identical pair with her big glistening innocent eyes and smiled.

The scene was interrupted by the arrival of the rest of Ryu’s friends as they gathered at the Onsen front gate. They looked on in disbelief at their fallen friend.

“”Ryu!”” they echoed in unison, gathering around him.

“Ryu, are you okay?”

“Say something, man!”

After a moment, Ryu opened his eyes and looked up at his loyal friends who were all looking back at him with worried and distressed expressions.

“Hey guys,” said Ryu, smiling. His friends all shared a collective sigh of relief to see that their leader had returned to his normal self again.

“You!” boomed an angry voice from the Onsen front door. All attention turned to Anna who was now dressed in an apron and holding a broom in her hand. She pointed directly at Ryu. “Don’t you dare think for one second you are getting away with this!“

Ryu blinked at Anna, stunned.

“Is - is she talking to me?” muttered Ryu.

“Get in here and clean up this disaster you caused NOW!”

Ryu felt his blood run cold at Anna’s deathly tone and he leapt to his feet and dashed inside the Onsen, taking the broom from her and handing over the stolen relic at the same time.

“Yes Ma’am.” he said sheepishly as he disappeared inside the building.

A moment or so later, Ryu’s friends followed him to give their poor leader a hand. Anna crossed her arms and glared at each one of the gangsters as they passed her.

Tokageroh approached the brothers, looking somewhat sorry for himself.

“Would… would it be okay if I stuck around?” awkwardly asked the lizard bandit spirit.

The twins shared a knowing smile with one another before simultaneously looking back towards Tokageroh.

“”Of course.”” they replied.

“That poor girl…” sadly sighed Tokageroh looking towards Opacho in Hao’s grip. “I am so sorry for scaring you, little one.”

“Opacho is big and tough!” squealed Opacho. The twins shared a mirrored laugh at the little girl.

“Actually, Yoh, would you mind taking her for a moment - I need to…” softly asked Hao as he carefully handed Opacho over to his twin. Opacho happily wrapped her arms around Yoh’s neck and beamed a smile at him. Hao then stood up quickly and swiftly made his way inside the building to check on the welfare of someone else.

Yoh sighed softly and smiled as he watched Hao disappear inside.

“Uh…” came a voice from the Onsen gate. Yoh, Amidamaru and Tokageroh turned towards the ice shaman who looked back at them with a confused quizzical look, “Did I miss something?”

Yoh laughed a bit when he saw the face of his good friend looking back at him.

“Hey HoroHoro.” chuckled Yoh, beaming a delighted smile at him.

“Um, Yoh?” came another voice from the Onsen door. Yoh then turned his attention to Manta, who looked as white as a ghost after the peril he just witnessed. “I have a few… questions.” he said, awkwardly.

Yoh sighed deeply.

“Yeah… I figured you would…”

End of Episode Seven

Chapter Text

Episode Eight

“A Tale of Two Men”

(1)

“Yoh? Are you really doing this - now?”

“Keeping the truth from them feels wrong, Anna.”

“What truth?” asked Manta, confused.

“Yeah, Yoh. You’re kinda freaking me out a little.” nervously added HoroHoro.

“Should I even be here?” awkwardly asked Ryu. “This sounds like it’s between you guys and has nothing to do with me.”

“Yes - you should be here, Ryu.” sighed Yoh, reassuringly. “In fact, you belong here.”

“I do?” muttered Ryu, blinking. He then looked up at the ghostly apparition of Tokageroh beside him, who looked back at him awkwardly and gave him a crooked smile.

Yoh smiled nervously at all the faces staring in his direction waiting for answers. He quietly considered how seeing all his friends sitting calmly in a circle on the floor of his communal living room was a scene that was very familiar to him.

“Yoh - I can’t believe I’m saying this but - perhaps you should get Hao’s approval first?” scoffed Anna, rolling her eyes slightly.

“Ah, yeah.” breathed Yoh, scratching the back of his head. “I might be jumping the gun a little.”

At that moment, the elder Asakura brother entered the room followed by Tamao - she was gripping her Kokkuri board firmly under her arms. All noticed immediately her bruised face had miraculously been healed. She looked on nervously at the group in front of her. Hao gave her a sympathetic smile, knowing how she was not comfortable in larger social situations, especially with new faces. But then he noticed how all in the room had fallen silent and were looking directly at him.

“Okay, is someone going to tell me what the hell is going on?” asked Hao, raising an eyebrow. He locked his gaze upon his twin.

“Nii-chan, I think it’s time we tell the others about…” began Yoh, smiling a bit.

Hao paused. He then looked around the room at all of the confused faces looking back at him. He shared a silent look with Anna and then looked back at Yoh.

“Hm. Yes. Given the circumstances, I think that’s appropriate.” agreed Hao, he then took a few steps into the room and sat on the empty futon couch and gestured for Tamao to sit beside him.

Tokageroh looked on at the pink haired girl sitting down nervously on the couch and decided to speak up,

“Child, I apologise for my earlier unforgivable violent actions. I am relieved to see you looking well again.” said the bandit spirit apologetically, before bowing his head respectfully at Tamao.

Tamao blinked at the spirit who had just apologised to her and she quickly lifted her board and pointed it at Hao, hiding her face behind it as she began to spell out her response to him,

“Hao - told me - what - happened. And yes - I am - feeling - much better - now - Thank you.” patiently read out Hao, then giving Tamao a kind smile when she was finished.

Realising what the bandit’s words meant, Ryu found himself leaping towards the shy girl sitting on the couch and knelt directly in front of her. He grasped one of her hands in both of his.

“Beautiful fair maiden - please forgive me and these hands of mine that struck you - a real gentleman only uses his hands to bring his woman happiness as they build their Happy Place together.” pleaded Ryu, staring intensely at Tamao as he spoke.

Tamao froze and tensed up as her face flushed a bright red. She looked like she could just about burst from embarrassment.

The others felt the air in the room suddenly go bitterly cold.

“Uh… Ryu…?” shakily said Yoh, he watched helplessly as his twin brother suddenly had a fierce fire in his eyes as he locked his deathly livid expression on Ryu.

As Ryu turned to the fire wielding shaman sitting directly next to the girl whose hand he was holding, he momentarily felt his soul leave his body when he saw a pair of dark, cold eyes staring directly into his. Ryu immediately let go of Tamao’s fingers and he fell back onto the floor.

“Touch her again and I’ll sever the nerves in your body so badly you’ll never feel the delicate touch of a “woman” ever again.” angrily seethed Hao.

Tamao wrapped her arms tightly around her board and hid her face behind it.

“Oh my.” she squeaked, quietly.

Ryu remained frozen in fear on the spot on the floor. The others in the room exchanged fearful and nervous looks with one another. Anna rolled her eyes again and shook her head.

Yoh laughed nervously.

“I think we need to have a talk about your violent impulses, Nii-chan.” jokingly said Yoh.

Tamao peered around her board to look at Hao beside her, she smiled at him sheepishly.

Hao looked back at her with a devilish glint in his eye.

“Still think I’m not dangerous?” he said softly to her with a charming smile.

(2)
“You guys came from another world?!” yelled HoroHoro, a little too excitedly.

“Um… not exactly. But - kinda?” mumbled Yoh with a nervous laugh.

“You know who we are, but - we don’t remember you? That… does sound like you came from an alternative universe to me.” added Ryu, his eyes narrowing as he examined the twin’s faces in turn.

Hao sighed deeply.

“I appreciate how complicated it sounds. I know exactly how you feel…” said Hao, locking his eyes with his twin’s - almost as though the pair were having their own silent conversation in the room at the exact same time as the real conversation going on around them.

“Oh… so that explains how you knew exactly what to do about Ryu…!” spoke up Manta. Then another realisation dawned on him. He quickly turned to the shaman sat directly behind him, “Wait, is that what you meant when you said that thing about meeting you guys was my destiny, Hao?”

Hao lowered his gaze and met Manta’s amazed expression. He slowly nodded his head at him.

“Yes… that’s right Manta.” sighed Hao in response to Manta’s questioning, though he felt a slight pang in his chest as the observed how the truth was becoming somewhat muddled.

“Manta, you’re actually my… best friend.” came the voice of the other Asakura twin. Manta spun his head back around and met Yoh’s kind face looking directly at him.

“Best friend?” repeated Manta, astonished. Yoh closed his eyes and beamed a toothy grin at the small human. Manta’s expression softened slightly and a delighted smile spread across his face when he saw Yoh’s radiant smile.

“And I’m a… “shaman”… in that other world?” quietly muttered Ryu, his eyes glazing over slightly as he stared off into space.

“Yes Ryu,” replied Yoh as he turned to his good friend with a sympathetic smile, “Tokageroh here is your Spirit Ally. You guys were destined to find each other.”

Tokageroh grinned sheepishly at Ryu.

“Hey, I’m just as surprised as you are.” chortled Tokageroh when he saw Ryu’s confused face looking up at him, “But the kid’s tellin’ the truth.”

“And Yoh and I are engaged, in both of our worlds.” chimed in Anna, though her expression didn’t change to mirror the mood of those around her.

“Engaged?!” shrieked Ryu. “At your age?!”

Whilst Anna laid into Ryu about his rude remark - and as the attention of those around them was firmly on the astounding other-worldly circumstances being discussed - Tamao took a moment to glance over once again at Hao beside her. When Hao gave her a bleak expressionless look in return, Tamao looked away from him and blushed.

“What about the Shaman Fight in that world?” loudly spoke up HoroHoro, his question cutting through the atmosphere as the room fell silent once again - as all were eager to hear the answer to that important question.

The brothers engaged in another silent exchange across the room once again as they both considered how to answer, but before either of them had a chance to open their mouths, HoroHoro went on,

“Did it get “cancelled” in your other world too? Because I think I may have some news!” he said, leaping to his feet with excitement.

“”What news??” blurted out the twins in unison.

Finding himself at the centre of attention, HoroHoro beamed a confident smile at his audience before he continued,

“I’ve been scouting around looking for other preliminary shaman contestants to see what I could find out - and today I finally met someone who knows something!”

Hao and Yoh locked eyes with one another across the room once again, both equally stunned by the ice shaman’s revelation.

“He basically wants to be the next Sherlock Holmes,” wittered on HoroHoro, “he said he can find pretty much anything! He had a funny accent too - he’s from England and he - “

“”HoroHoro - what news??”” yelled out the whole room in unison. HoroHoro composed himself.

“Uh, well, he said he met another dude who learned some “top secret confidential” information from the Patch guys, you know, before they all went “poof”!” laughed HoroHoro, waving his hands in front of him for dramatic effect, “And, well, there’s a place called “The Patch Village” - and that’s where the next round of the tournament starts! Maybe the Shaman Fight is happening! We just need to find it!”

A mutual feeling of dread came over the twins as HoroHoro went on, they both shared an awkward silent exchange with each other once more before their eyes drifted back to HoroHoro standing in the centre of the room.

“The green guy said the Village was either gonna be in Japan or America. Well, he didn’t find it here, so, he’s heading to the USA in a few days! Maybe that’s where we need to go too guys!” finished HoroHoro, looking at Hao and then Yoh in turn, anticipating their happy response to his detective work.

“Green guy… from England….” muttered Yoh, looking slightly towards the ground, worriedly.

HoroHoro blinked in surprise at Yoh’s words.

“Oh! You know him? He had a funny name, Lionel… or something…?”

“Lyserg.” muttered Yoh.

“Yeah! Wait, do you like… know him - know him? Or is he like - from your other world, too?”

When Yoh didn’t respond to him, HoroHoro looked at Hao.

“You know what, HoroHoro?” sighed Hao with a slight smile. “I underestimated you. Your ability to understand everything and yet not understand anything at the exact same time is astounding.”

“Uh, thanks? I think?” mumbled HoroHoro, confused.

An uncomfortable silence came over the room.

“I… don’t know what to do with this information…” said Ryu, eventually, still mulling over the earlier revelation that solely concerned him. Yoh brought himself back to earth and he smiled at Ryu once again.

“Ryu… I know it’s a lot to take in, but, you really are a shaman, well… you could be one day. And you’re my friend too.” smiled Yoh, reaching over to the tall one sitting beside him and placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Ryu looked back in disbelief at the young shaman’s warm expression.

“…really?” breathed Ryu, unable to hide his astonishment when he recognised the sincerity in Yoh’s eyes.

“Yes,” nodded Yoh, “And - I could speak with our father and he may agree to train you to become a shaman, if that is what you want, Ryu?”

Ryu glanced over at Hao sitting opposite him. He was surprised to see Hao was also smiling kindly at him, as though their earlier altercation had been forgotten. Ryu then glanced at HoroHoro.

“Well, it sounds like you guys are off on some big adventure and… something tells me I have missed the boat… or the plane, in this case.” whined Ryu.

Yoh then turned his attention back to HoroHoro, who seemed to be waiting patiently to hear the twins’ response to his new quest,

“HoroHoro, I’m sorry, but, we won’t be coming with you. Right Hao?” sighed Yoh, looking at his big brother as he spoke.

“What?! Why??” gasped HoroHoro, almost falling backwards at Yoh’s words.

“Looking for a place that most likely does not exist is not our priority, right now.” firmly agreed Hao, nodding his head at his little brother.

“Huh? Why are you so sure it doesn’t exist?” curiously protested HoroHoro, blinking in astonishment at the fire shaman.

Hao thought about it for a moment before responding,

“If the Shaman Fight were continuing - successful contestants moving on to the next stage would have received an invitation to the opening ceremony.” candidly explained Hao, “Besides, Yoh and I have some more pressing issues that require our attention.”

“Huh? Like what?” asked Manta.

“The situation with Ryu and Tokageroh today has made us realise that there may be others out there who need our help.” explained Yoh, smiling a bit when he observed how he and his twin were on the exact same page, “We can’t just abandon them.”

“And there’s one shaman in particular who probably needs our help the most.” added Hao, there was a noticeable hint of concern in his tone.

“”Who?”” echoed HoroHoro and Manta.

Just then, all shaman in the room sensed a sudden impending change in the air - but before any of them could say anything, a large ghostly apparition of a 17th century Chinese military warrior materialised through the wall and collapsed onto the floor in front of the group of friends. The twins immediately got to their feet as they looked on in alarm at the recognisable solider spirit.

“Please Lord Yoh! Help us! Master Ren is in great peril!” cried the Chinese soldier spirit, locking his desperate expression on Yoh.

An alarmed silence washed over the room.

“Wow, it’s like we’re living in a “Back To The Future” movie or something.” quietly chuckled HoroHoro.

(3)
“Our flight to Beijing leaves from Saga in the morning, from there Guizhou is a 38 hour journey by a series of trains. Then it’s a two day trip on foot to Mt. Jioshan. It’s going to take days to get there. If I were going alone, I could travel there much faster.” sighed Hao looking towards the train in the distance as it began to approach the station.

“Hao, there’s no way you’re doing this alone. We’re coming with you!” cheered HoroHoro, placing a hand firmly on Hao’s shoulder and giving him a confident grin.

“Tao En is a beast, and extremely powerful. Not to mention his enormous Jiang Si army.” added Yoh, worriedly. “We’re doing this together, Nii-chan.”

“Thank you for agreeing to help my young Master, I am in servitude to you all.” said Bason, bowing his head at the three shaman friends. He exchanged a worried look with Amidamaru, who looked back at him with a reassuring smile.

“Once you have collected the pointy haired one, I assume you’ll be going off to catch the rest?” retorted Anna - crossing her arms and locking her cold expression on Yoh.

Yoh laughed a bit.

“You make it sound like a video game mission when you say it like that, Anna.” giggled Yoh, smiling at his hard faced fiancée.

“Well - don’t think I don’t know what you two are up to. You’re thinking about going off in search of the Village.” firmly replied Anna, shooting a purposeful glare at both of the twins.

“What?! For real?!” yelled HoroHoro with an excited smile.

“How did you know?” chuckled Hao, smiling awkwardly at his sharp minded future sister-in-law.

“The cute matching tracksuits you’re wearing and those useless pieces of junk you’ve got strapped to you were a big clue.” replied Anna, sarcastically.

“”You think they’re “cute”?”” echoed the twins with a mirrored embarrassed expression.

As the train arrived at the station, HoroHoro hopped on board without a second thought. Yoh smiled softly at Anna before he gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek to say goodbye. Anna’s eyes softened slightly as she watched Yoh climb aboard too. Hao reached for the handle bars on the train, but hesitated for a moment. He turned back to look at Anna.

“Look after my girls for me. I know they’re in safe hands with you.” sighed Hao with a soft smile.

Anna gave Hao a rare kind smile in response.

“I will. And you had better bring what is mine home safely too.” she replied, firmly.

“Will do.” nodded Hao - before climbing inside the train too.

As the train began to pull away, suddenly another voice screamed out and echoed across the platform,

“Wait! Guys! I’m coming with you!!” screamed Manta, running as fast as he could towards the moving train.

Yoh leaned out of the open side carriage when he heard Manta’s voice. He momentarily considered telling him to stop - but then a big smile spread across his face.

“Come on! Just reach out to me and take my hand Manta!” yelled Yoh with a delighted smile, outstretching his hand towards him.

Manta pushed his legs as hard as he could and leapt towards the train, grasping Yoh’s hand firmly. Yoh smiled a big toothy grin as he pulled Manta’s little body safely into the carriage.

Gasping for breath, Manta looked up and smiled happily at Yoh.

“What’s gotten into you?” giggled Yoh, smiling broadly at his small best friend.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about what Hao said about this being my destiny and - I think he’s right. Where ever you go, I go - Yoh.” said Manta with excited glistening eyes.

“This mission will be dangerous.” came the voice of the elder Asakura brother as he appeared from around the internal carriage door, though his voice sounded concerned, he had an amused expression on his face as he smiled at the small human.

“Well, it’s like I said - it looks like I’m gonna be in a lot more dangerous situations from now on, but - I’m here for you guys! You can count on me!” cheerfully replied Manta, nodding his head determinedly at Yoh’s older brother.

“Don’t worry, Nii-chan. It’ll all work out.” confidently added Yoh, beaming a smile at his big brother too.

(4)
There was something strangely exciting and familiar about venturing out into the world once again - and the twins found themselves recalling their shared memories of their last adventure together. Some details did not align and overlapped as Yoh filled in some of the gaps for his big brother about his last memory of them both flying out from the Saga International Airport - and Hao couldn’t stop himself chuckling at the idea of his esteemed royal variant giving his little brother a simple wave on the plane. Which was a sharp contrast to how they now sat pleasantly side by side - and enjoyed an opportunity to talk in hushed voices about the complexities that had brought them to that rare peaceful moment.

With barely any time to recoup or absorb Beijing’s surroundings or exotic night life, the four friends had made it to the next leg of their journey - and arrived at the near by Beijing train station just in time to board the last late night sleeper train and begin to make their way to Guizhou. A collective sigh of relief was shared between the friends when they made it to their cabin for the night - and they were finally one step closer to their destination - yet grateful for a chance to rest after what had already been a long day of travelling.

The early hours of the morning began to roll in and many passengers on the silent overnight sleeper train were sound asleep for their long journey. With the others in his party being no exception and had drifted off to sleep not long after arriving within their sleeper cabin, more and more unanswered questions had started to whirl around Hao’s mind - making it impossible for him to rest. He had therefore decided to seat himself by their carriage window and gaze out at the moving darkness outside. Hao glanced over at his sleeping twin brother on the lower bunker beside him. He considered how well Yoh seemed to take in his stride reliving the same familiar intense scenarios over and over again. Then Hao also considered how Yoh did not only seem to handle it well, he almost seemed happy whilst doing so, too.

Hao’s eyes drifted back to observe the outside world. Then, in the corner of the window, something illuminating and reflecting the glass caught his eye. He turned around and observed the frosted glass door to their cabin - and for a split second he could have sworn he saw a glowing orb float past the door and disappear down the darkened train corridor. Hao mentally summoned his Spirit Ally and his small golden sprite appeared before him. Against his better judgement, he decided to investigate what he saw.

Hao quietly and carefully closed the door to their shared cabin behind him and looked down the train to his left. He immediately noticed the neighbouring cabin still with its internal light shining through their open door. With his Spirit by his side shining its bright yellow light on all the walls in the cramped space, Hao hesitantly made his way towards the brightly lit cabin to observe the alert passenger or passengers inside. Was it another travelling shaman?

Trying not to appear too obvious of his intentions, Hao silently commanded his Spirit to cross the open doorframe first to see if that warranted a response from anybody inside. But when there was no reaction, he momentarily paused at the door and glanced inward. Hao noticed immediately there was only one occupant, and despite Hao’s golden sprite being on full display at his door, the young man sitting at the small cabin table reading a book did not look up at the radiant glowing orb - and Hao could not sense any trace of furyoku emanating from the traveller’s body. Satisfied the innocent looking human was no threat, Hao continued on his journey down the train.

When he reached the end of the carriage and did not find anything to warrant any cause for alarm, Hao decided to make his way back to his cabin and try and get some rest himself. As he passed his neighbour’s open cabin once again, he was momentarily startled to come face to face with the only other awake and alert passenger in the carriage - who had gotten up to close his door and was standing in his cabin doorway. Their eyes met for a moment and the young man gave Hao a welcoming kind smile.

“Can’t sleep?” politely asked the traveller, making obligatory casual small talk to lessen the awkward encounter.

“Ah - yeah. I’m not all that comfortable on public transport.” replied Hao - observing once more how the stranger seemed oblivious to the golden sprite floating in the air directly beside him.

The pair nodded at each other - and satisfied their short interaction was now over - Hao took several steps back down the train to return to his own cabin.

“Do you like games?” called the friendly voice of his neighbour.

Hao turned around and locked eyes with the traveller once again, who was smiling warmly back at him.

“Uh, yes. I suppose so.” muttered Hao. He then watched as the young man calmly walked back inside his cabin, gesturing for Hao to follow. Hao hesitated for a moment. He exchanged a quick glance with his Spirit, then he walked the few paces back to the bright cabin door and peered back inside.

“I won’t bore you with my special interest in Trading Cards, but - I do have…” began the traveller, as he reached inside an open suitcase and pulled out a portable chess set and showed it to his fellow traveller friend standing in the door way.

“Do you play?” curiously asked the traveller.

Hao smirked slightly.

“Heh, yes. I know how to play.” chuckled Hao.

“Care to join me for a match? Something tells me you’d make a formidable opponent.”

(5)
“You know what I think is the most interesting part about this game?” said the traveller, breaking the long silence that had gripped the air for quite some time as the two chess players concentrated on the board in front of them.

“Mm?” mumbled Hao as he played his turn. He had quietly enjoyed having a distraction - though in between moves his mind had continued to race with the complex circumstances that had brought him there that night. He never once made eye contact with his opponent and kept his gaze firmly on the board.

“A skilled player knows he is victorious several - sometimes dozens of moves ahead of their opponent. But two skilled players will think the exact same thing at the exact same time. The interesting part is seeing who was right.” replied the stranger, making his move when he was finished with his analogy. The pair remained silent as they observed the board together, then after a moment, the young man lifted his head to look at his long haired opponent.

“Check.” he said with a confident grin.

Hao intensely examined the board. Then a slight devilish smirk spread across his face. He made one final confident move and lifted his opponent’s last Bishop from the board. He then locked his confident eyes with the traveller sitting across from him.

“Checkmate.” said Hao with a slight smile - revelling in his victory.

Surprised, the stranger looked back down at his own gaming board. But then after a moment, he sighed deeply.

“Good game, my friend. Would you like to play again?”

“No thank you.” politely declined Hao. “I really should be getting back to - ” began Hao as he got to his feet to leave.

“Oh. Hold on.” delightfully interrupted the young man. “There is still one move left.”

“What?” softly gasped Hao looking back down at the board. “No - I am certain that I…”

The traveller calmly placed a golden trading card face up on the table. He then reached for one of his own Pawn pieces and moved it across the board, he then picked up Hao’s King piece and removed it from play.

Hao laughed, assuming his defeated opponent was just joking around.

“That’s an illegal move. My King was trapped.” laughed Hao, standing confidently upright.

“Ah, yes. That’s right. However, my cards allow me to make what ever moves I wish. Perhaps you should read it?” confidently replied the stranger.

“This is chess, not some silly card game.” retorted Hao, looking down at the golden card on the table. However, he felt a familiar pang in his chest when he read the words written on the card in black ink.

“Mind Reading”

Hao slowly lifted his gaze and locked eyes with the traveller again, who looked back at him with a menacing smirk.

“Being able to read your opponent’s mind does come in handy in a match, and I suppose you could say it’s cheating. But - that little disadvantage did not seem to stop your victory. You remain a strong opponent even without that advantage. Mm?” chuckled the traveller.

Realising this man somehow had shamanic powers, the hair on the back of Hao’s neck began to stand on end when he realised he had walked straight into a trap.

“You could read my mind - this whole time?” muttered Hao - he attempted to keep his composure, still uncertain of the extent of the danger he was in.

“Some of my cards have time limits and restrictions, and this “one-use” card does not last long. But I did learn a thing or two about your strategy.” candidly replied the stranger.

“And you still lost?” laughed Hao, sarcastically. “You must not be as good at this game as you think you are.”

Hao watched as the traveller’s friendly expression suddenly changed and his eyes appeared darker than before.

“I wasn’t talking about your chess strategy, Asakura Hao.” smirked the stranger.

“Who are you?” breathed Hao, stunned.

The stranger smiled warmly at Hao again.

“My name is Kamogawa Yohsuke. And you… well, in many worlds you are a “King”. But here… I guess you’re just a “Pawn”, aren’t you?”

A wave of alarm washed over Hao at the man’s words.

“Where did you come from? How did you - ” began Hao, his eyes white.

“How did I get here?” interrupted Yohsuke. “That’s the million dollar question. We are in a commune in hell, are we not? Trapped within the Great Spirits?” went on Yohsuke as he began to calmly put his chess set away as he spoke. “Though I must admit, arriving here in the King’s own personal fantasy world was just as much of a surprise to me as well. It’s almost as if the King wanted me to come here.”

Hao could feel his heart beginning to quicken within his chest. His mind fell back on his brother and two friends who were sleeping soundly in the cabin next door, and he began to wonder how much danger they were all in.

“Getting back here a second time wasn’t easy. I guess there was another God who did not appreciate my games. It would seem there may be… trouble in paradise.” chuckled Yohsuke - he watched as Hao’s eyes changed as he absorbed his words.

“You’ve… been here before?”

“I’ve been tinkering in the background, moving my pieces around, making sure that I “trapped” you - I suppose you are still the “King” in this metaphor, as well.” laughed Yohsuke.

“Enough of the bullshit chess analogy!” angrily snapped Hao. “Why are you here? What do you want?!”

Yohsuke blinked in surprise at Hao’s angry outburst.

“Oh dear, you are being extremely ungrateful for all of the good samaritan work I have done for you. Though it was amusing that you believed all the pieces were falling into place for you because of “destiny”, and not some other strategic hand in your unfolding story. Rather pathetic really.” candidly went on Yohsuke, he folded his hands over his knee and smiled at Hao once again.

Hao clenched his hands into fists. His Spirit Ally beside him began to change its radiant glowing light to a blood red colour.

“You’ve got 5 seconds to tell me what the hell you are doing here - or I’ll - “

“Or what? You’ll kill me?” chuckled Yohsuke. “Won’t that break a certain little promise you made to a certain little “Knight” of yours?”

Hao inhaled sharply at Yohsuke’s words and accurate familiarity with him personally.

“Well, since you’re being so unappreciative, allow me to fill in the blanks. That seems to be necessary for you and all your little “empty headed” friends you’ve got running around in this forsaken illusionary wasteland.

That pretty little sister-in-law of yours? She was going to be the key to forcing the true King to show his hand - you could say she was my “Queen” - I gave her all the tools and knowledge she needed, planted her where she could easily be found - removed those two pesky “Rooks” - but unfortunately the King sent in his own personal “Knight in shining armour” didn’t he? Which did complicate matters, I must admit.”

As Yohsuke went on, Hao’s mind became frantic as he envisioned his devastating encounter with Anna.

“You’re the one who defeated my familiars?” muttered Hao in disbelief.

“Oh that was just my opening strategy. I suppose it was a little too easy. All I had to do to get your attention was whisper into the ear of that pretty little pink haired thing to break the seal on your best seller autobiography - an easily led little “Pawn” piece she was.”

Hao could feel an intense anger begin to rise from within him - though he remained quietly cautious of what this unknown new enemy was capable of, and was unsure how to proceed. He found himself unable to move and remained transfixed on the young man’s words.

“Of course I had to change tactics after that little set back. Find the “lost souls” of all your other little friends… “the bandit”, “the warrior”, “the detective”, “the doctor”, “the comedian”. I appreciate these might not be “Chess” piece names but they are more aligned with TCG terminology. Keep up with me, your majesty.” jokingly continued Yohsuke.

“What have you done with them?” angrily seethed Hao.

“Well - your annoying baby brother did a great job dealing with “the bandit”, though admittedly he was a weak first move - and you’re already en route to “the warrior”. I gave “the detective” the knowledge he sought which set the cogs in motion to get you all to the finale. Where I will make my final move and “checkmate” The Shaman King.” confidently nodded Yohsuke.

“You’re out of luck.” scoffed Hao with a confident grin. “This world has no Shaman Fight. It does not exist here. Your pursuit for power is a waste of time.”

“Not yet it doesn’t.” bit back Yohsuke, “But, isn’t that why you’re wearing that broken gadget on your arm?”

Hao lifted his arm and briefly observed his oracle pager before locking his furious expression back on Yohsuke.

“That adorable selfless idea of yours to ask the Gods to open the gates and allow your friends to have their friendly competition?” mused Yohsuke with a mocking grin.

“Why would you tell me all this? We obviously won’t lead you to - ”

“I’m going to make sure you do.” interrupted Yohsuke, he leaned across the table and gazed intensely at the startled shaman in front of him. “I’m going to make this game a little more personal for you.”

Hao stepped backwards slightly when he observed the putrid evil in Yohsuke’s eyes. In that moment, he considered screaming Yoh’s name for help.

“Why would the “all powerful” “God-variants” want to fight? What could they possibly hope to achieve out of winning the Fight a second time? What could they possibly wish for - when they already have everything they could ever want?”

Hao watched in amazement as a bright yellow pyramid-like creature with one enormous soul piercing eyeball appeared on Yohsuke’s lap. Yohsuke held out his hand to his Spirit Ally and a pair of cards appeared between his thumb and forefinger.

“Mind Trap Card - Version .01 - Permanent.” clearly stated Yohsuke, his tone hollow.

Within seconds, one of the golden trading cards in Yohsuke’s grip immediately vanished from his hand.

Hao suddenly felt an intense acute pain within his head. He grasped his head in both his hands and screamed in agony.

“Memory Erase Card.” calmly stated Yohsuke as the second card also vanished from his fingers.

Yohsuke smiled.

“Checkmate.”

(6)
As Hao opened his eyes he saw nothing but blankness and darkness. He could feel an overpowering warmth wrapping around him, consuming him and pulling him down. Far, far down. Like he was slowly falling. Sinking into nothingness.

The vast infinite space around him warbled and sparked with strange lightning, like millions of neurons within the brain. And for a moment he considered how at home he felt - yet lost at the exact same time.

“Where am I?”

Hao could feel the sensation of the world being upside down. Although he felt somewhat afraid, the atmosphere was calm and safe. Like he was being born again - a feeling that he was all too familiar with.

“Where am I?”

“Who… who are you?” replied another voice.

“I… I’m not sure.”

Hao slowly closed his eyes as he tried to recall his own name.

“You feel so familiar.” said the voice.

“So do you.” replied Hao.

Hao opened his eyes. As he did, he saw what looked like a large fragment of glass in front of him. He momentarily caught his own reflection - though he did not recognise the dark eyes looking back at him.

“My name is… Hao.”

“Hello Hao.” replied the gentle voice. “It has been a long time since I ever heard another voice.”

“Where are we?” asked Hao. “What is this place?”

“This is my home.” replied the friendly voice. “At least, I think it is.”

Another large fragment of glass drifted by Hao’s eyes, and he once again saw his own face looking back at him. Though he began to recognise himself more and more, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something seemed off about his own reflection.

“Are there others here?” asked Hao.

“No.” came the reply.

“You’re all alone?”

“Not anymore.” replied the voice.

Hao smiled in response to the calming and reassuring voice.

“How did I get here? How did you get here?”

“I suppose this is where lost souls go who have no path to take.” sadly replied the voice.

“Lost souls?” repeated Hao.

“Well, aren’t you lost?”

Hao thought about it for a moment. Then the face of someone he knew very well flashed in his memory.

“No. I’m not lost.” firmly said Hao. “I don’t belong here.”

“If you don’t belong here, then, how did you get here?” replied the voice.

“I… I don’t know.”

Hao closed his eyes and concentrated on the face in his mind. The harder he concentrated, the more he began to remember.

“I need to get out of here. I have a home. A life.”

“But you just got here.” sadly replied the voice.

“I’m sorry, but, I have to get back to my…” trailed off Hao. The name of the person in his mind slipped away from him the moment he tried to say it aloud.

“Stay here with me.” said the voice. “You could stay here forever, if you want.”

The safe sinking feeling began to overwhelm Hao’s senses, wrapping around him like a soft warm blanket. Hao closed his eyes again and smiled softly.

“It feels very nice here but… I can’t. I can’t leave him behind.”

“Who?” replied the voice.

Hao suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head. He shot his eyes wide open.

“Yoh!” yelled Hao, sitting bolt up in his top cabin bunker.

“Nii-chan?” worriedly replied Yoh.

Hao turned to his right and saw his little brother’s face directly in front of his. Yoh was standing by his top bunker with a concerned expression on his face. After a moment, he began to recognise where they were. A feeling of relief washed over him when he realised he had just been having a very strange dream and he was safely back with his friends.

“Are you alright dude? You look as white as a ghost.” came the voice of the ice shaman.

Hao placed a hand on his forehead.

“My head hurts a little.” groaned Hao, he closed his eyes tightly and tried to remember details from his dream. But the more he tried to recall it, the more it slipped away from him.

“Were you having a nightmare?” asked Yoh, sympathetically.

Hao lifted his head and opened his eyes. He smiled softly.

“No.” replied Hao, “It was actually kind of… nice.”

End of Episode Eight

Chapter Text

Episode Nine

“Trust No One”

(1)

Thanks to Tao Ren’s loyal Spirit Ally acting as their guide - and after days of hiking across the Chinese mountainous province of Guizhou - Yoh, Hao, HoroHoro and Manta had finally arrived at their destination. Nestled within the north mountains, the four friends took a moment to observe the remote and impressive “Castle of Tao” Temple in front of them - as they all simultaneously considered the impending and worrying unknown. Though there was one shaman present who believed more than ever that they had the upper hand - and appeared more relaxed than usual.

“That’s it. Ren lives there.” softly sighed Yoh.

“It’s enormous.” gulped Manta.

“Yeah and not only that!” chimed in HoroHoro. “Check out the magnificent landscape! No where in Hokkaido comes even close to comparing to this place!”

“Guizhou. A province located on the far frontier of China. I wasn’t aware it existed!” observed Manta.

“Words are not enough to express my deepest gratitude to you all for coming all this way to save Master Ren.” said Bason, bowing his head at the four friends.

“Don’t sweat it, Bason.” happily said Yoh, beaming a smile at the Chinese warrior spirit. “Ren is a good friend of ours, and - I know he’d do the same for all of us too. Right Nii-chan?” smiled Yoh, turning towards his big brother behind him.

Hao laughed a bit.

“Well, I’m not so sure about that last part but - yes, of course.” nodded Hao, smiling kindly at the worried warrior ghost.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” cried Bason, bowing his head once again at the twins.

“Yoh-dono!” called the voice of the samurai spirit.

“”Huh?”” echoed the group, now turning their attention to Amidamaru’s ghostly form and worried expression coming towards them.

“It is just as I expected. I scanned around the castle but did not see anyone guarding it.” explained Amidamaru.

“Hm.” mumbled Yoh, giving Amidamaru a knowing look. “Just like last time.”

“Last time?” muttered Bason, confused.

“Yeah - it’s a little hard to explain Bason but - I’ve already been through this little scenario once before - and trust me, Ren will be okay. We’ve got this.” chuckled Yoh, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

“Yoh.” said Hao, somewhat coldly. Yoh turned his attention back to his hard faced brother. “It’s foolish to assume this will play out the same way as you remember. Don’t get too overly confident.”

Yoh gulped a bit as he observed the seriousness of Hao’s demeanour and unusually harsh tone. He nodded his head at him.

“Yeah - yeah you’re right, Nii-chan. I might be getting a little too cocky. We need to stay vigilant.” replied Yoh, nodding his head in agreement with his twin.

“Yes. We must remain cautious. I am certain this may be some kind of trap. We are about to enter the sacred domain of the Tao family.” wearily added Bason.

(2)
“Let us review the plan to rescue Master Ren once more so that there are no mistakes.” explained Bason to the four friends standing by the open front door of the temple and listening closely to the Chinese warrior’s instructions.

“Castle Tao is divided up into six floors. Tao En is at the top in the “Red Origin” chamber. Then there’s the “White Splendour” and “Dragon Smoke” floors below that. The one we’re in now is “Mysterious Darkness”. Underground is the chamber of “Ever Present” where roughly one hundred Jiang Si are stored. And below that is the dungeon chamber of “Dragon Day” where the young master languishes. Since we know exactly where he is - we shall head down to the basement and rescue him.” finished Bason.

“Then why bother explaining the top floors?” said HoroHoro with a hint of sarcasm.

“I can feel one singular immense force of furyoku coming from the second floor.” firmly said Hao. “There’s also a secondary presence at the back of the building on this floor. But I can sense nothing at the top - or on any of the lower levels, for that matter.”

The group all exchanged worried looks at Hao’s words. Bason and Yoh looked the most confused.

“Hm, that’s weird. Like Bason said, last time Ren and Jun were locked up in the dungeon. And “The Five Curse Squad” should have been right here.” curiously mused Yoh.

“I keep telling you, Yoh.” sighed Hao, with a hint of agitation. “These situations are not guaranteed to be exactly the same. Your past experience is helpful, but - we really should deal with what is happening in the here and now.”

“Right, yeah. Sure thing.” agreed Yoh. “So… new plan! You go up and I’ll go this way?” confidently stated the younger Asakura brother - beginning to make his way to the west side of the grand foyer without hesitation.

Hao shook his head slightly and smiled a bit as his a little too over excited little brother almost skipped away from him and into the unknown beyond.

“Yoh - I know you can handle this, but just be careful!” called Hao as he watched Yoh, Bason and Amidamaru disappear down the darkened corridor.

“What about us - Hao?” asked HoroHoro, taking a stride forwards and observing their luxurious surroundings with determined eyes. Manta clung to HoroHoro’s side and looked on worriedly at Hao waiting for an answer.

“You both stay here on lookout. HoroHoro, if either myself or Yoh run into any trouble, we’ll need your help. And Manta… just - try not to die.” firmly said Hao as he made his way towards the large staircase in front of him.

“Uh - sure, I like the sound of not dying very much.” shakily replied Manta, trying to put on a brave face for his friends.

(3)
Hao quietly made his way up the Tao family’s grand staircase and began to head towards the powerful energy he could feel pulsating from a room on the second floor of the temple. As he approached a door at the end of the quiet hallway, he silently summoned his Spirit Ally and commanded it to ready its “Spirit of Fire” form. The small golden sprite instantly obeyed and began to transform into the slim line red demon and readied itself for what was to come.

Hao placed a firm hand on the mahogany bedroom door handle and took a deep breath before forcefully swinging open the door with a bang.

Sitting on the huge king-sized bed in the centre of the room - a half dressed startled young maiden with ear-length silver hair locked her crimson-coloured eyes on her intruder and she immediately let out an ear piercing scream.

Stunned, Hao immediately leapt out of the room - slamming the bedroom door closed as he did so. He closed his eyes tightly as he tried to mentally bat away the image he just saw and froze. His spirit watched on at its master with expressionless eyes as Hao’s face began to change to a deep red colour too.

“Your majesty…?” called a shaken but innocent sounding voice from inside the room.

Hao’s eyes shot open once again at the way the familiar woman’s voice had addressed him. He hesitated for a moment, unsure how to respond.

“Uh…” began Hao, struggling to find the words to speak like a regular person. “May - may I come in?” babbled Hao, clearing his throat.

“Just a moment.” replied the sweet voice from inside the grand bedroom.

Hao stood up straight and tried to shake the overwhelming embarrassment away by vigorously shaking his arms at his sides. He exchanged a glance with his spirit and then mentally commanded it to return to its less intimidating form - the demon-like blood red spirit moulded into a golden yellow orb once again and swirled around him in the air - almost as though it was pleased it was not required for this particular encounter, after all.

A moment or so later, Hao heard a shuffling noise coming towards him from the other side of the door - and then, it slowly opened.

Hao once again met the large glistening ruby eyes of the now fully dressed Iron Maiden Jeanne - and the pair shared the same confused and awkward look with one another.

“”What are you doing here?”” they echoed simultaneously.

****

Downstairs, Yoh readied his weapons as he approached the open double doors at the end of the long hall way. He could hear someone moving around inside. He exchanged a glance with Amidamaru, who obeyed Yoh’s silent command and the samurai spirit instantly sank into Yoh’s weapons - transforming into the elegant “White Swan” armoured oversoul around his master’s form. Bason stuck close to Yoh’s side, transforming himself from his Spirit Ball form and back into his ghostly armoured body.

Yoh peered around the door frame and was surprised to see a familiar shirtless young teen rummaging around in a large refrigerator within an enormous porcelain kitchen. Unaware of the illuminating powerful shaman who had just stepped into the room, the boy closed the refrigerator door - but failed to immediately turn around to greet his confused but delighted friend standing in his family kitchen.

“Ren!” gleefully cried Yoh.

Startled, Tao Ren instantly dropped the glass bottle of milk in his hand onto the tiled floor - smashing it into pieces and soaking him from head to toe. He swiftly turned around and was dumbstruck to come face to face with his very good friend.

“Asakura?!” angrily screamed Ren. “What in God’s name are you doing here?!”

(4)
“What the hell are you doing here?!” angrily snapped the Chinese shaman.

“I came to rescue you!” delightfully replied Yoh, beaming a happy smile at his friend.

“Rescue?” scoffed Ren. “Why on earth would I need rescuing from my own home?” Ren shot a hard look at his Spirit Ally by Yoh’s side. “And where the hell have you been Bason?”

“Master Ren! You and Lady Jun escaped! I am delighted you are safe!” cried Bason, almost crying tears of joy to see his disgruntled master standing before him safe and well.

“What are you wittering on about Bason? You’re the one who vanished for almost 10 days!”

Yoh blinked at Ren’s words. He quickly dissolved his armoured oversoul and took a couple of steps towards Ren, examining him up and down as he did so.

“Um… you weren’t… locked in the dungeon?” hesitantly asked Yoh.

“No!” retorted Ren. “Well, not - recently.”

There was a pause as the two shaman intensely gazed back at one another.

“Oh. Okay. Well, heh. This is a bit… embarrassing.” chuckled Yoh, closing his eyes and smiling awkwardly.

“Master Ren!” desperately went on Bason. “I went to get Lord Yoh’s help! I brought him here to save you from En - he attacked you - and imprisoned you and Lady Jun!”

Ren picked up a near by cloth and began to attempt to clean himself up. He looked on in confusion at his spirit. A concerned expression flickered across his face.

“Bason…? Are you okay? You seem confused.” said Ren with a hint of concern for the welfare of his loyal guardian ghost. Bason’s shoulders dropped at his master’s words.

“I… I don’t understand.” quietly muttered Bason.

A slight knowing smile began to spread across Yoh’s face as he began to wonder if the Ren in front of him was actually his Ren from his old world! However, at that moment, the face of his twin flashed in his mind.

“Is there… anyone else in the Castle?” curiously asked Yoh.

The Chinese shaman’s face began to flush a bright pink.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.” snapped Ren, coldly.

Yoh blinked.

“Uh…” he mumbled, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “What about your father? Jun? Pyron?”

“N-no. Just me. I’m home alone.” candidly replied Ren, crossing his arms and looking away from Yoh’s face for a moment.

Yoh exchanged a glance with Amidamaru, then he locked his eyes back on the shaman behaving strangely in front of him.

“Are you… sure no one else is home?” pressed Yoh.

Suddenly, Ren’s expression changed - he met Yoh’s suspicious eyes and flew into a rage.

“Who the hell do you think you are Asakura? Coming into my home - uninvited might I add - and start bombarding me with ridiculous questions? You’d think dying at the hands of your lunatic twin and literally going to the ends of hell together several times would be enough nonsensical adventure for one short life time! And yet here you are standing in my kitchen in my home two weeks later with that dumb expression on your face that makes me want to just claw my own eyes out! Can I not live in peace now?! Have we not been through enough?!”

When Ren was finished, he cemented himself to the spot as he tried to catch his breath. After a moment, Yoh smiled warmly back at him.

“All I asked was if anyone else was home.” he giggled.

That was all the confirmation Yoh needed. A delighted smile spread across his face. Ren blinked when he saw Yoh’s radiant smile.

“And well - yeah Hao might have “killed” me but - he had a good reason.” chuckled Yoh.

Ren felt the breath in his lungs escape him at Yoh’s absurd statement.

“What?”

“Yeah.” breathed Yoh, smiling. “And it was only temporary. At least he brought me back from the dead. No biggie.”

Yoh let out an amused laugh. Ren rolled his eyes.

“Of course. How silly of me. You wouldn’t know a traumatic experience if it slapped you in the face. Meanwhile, the rest of us need life long therapy after almost being consumed by a black hole.”

A chill ran up Yoh’s spine at Ren’s words and the smile on his face dropped.

“What?”

As Ren observed the odd change in Yoh’s demeanour, he began to suspect something strange was going on.

“Or perhaps denial is your way of coping…?” began Ren, taking a step closer to Yoh to examine him. “What in the world is going on with you?” Ren turned his attention back to his loyal warrior spirit. “And Bason - I may have added a High Demon Spirit to my artillery but that does not give you permission to go swanning off all the way to Japan for days on end without so much as telling me where you were going!”

“Master Ren…? I am… confused.” replied Bason, lowering his head slightly as his master chastised him.

“High Demon…?” quietly repeated Yoh.

A short silence grew.

“What’s the matter? You look even more dumbfounded than usual. You too Bason, what the hell is going on here?”

A feeling of dread came over Yoh as a new worrying realisation dawned on him. His mind fell back on his Grandmother’s warning.

“You’re assuming that the brother you saw win the Fight and the one standing next to you are the only two versions of Hao to exist in our entire universe?”

“Oh shit. Hao… where are you…?!”

(5)
“It’s just that… you were not who I was expecting to see.” said Hao, clearing his throat and still recovering from the earlier intense embarrassment.

“I could say the same to you.” replied Jeanne, examining Hao from head to toe. A small sweet smile appeared on her face as she looked into the eyes of the shaman standing in front of her.

“Your attire is… different. A good different. And… your eyes, they’re… softer, kinder - than I remember.” softly mused Jeanne.

Hao thought quickly on his feet.

“Have we met before?” asked Hao, feigning a confused look.

Jeanne’s eyes widened in surprise by the question.

“Excuse me?” she breathed, slightly astonished.

“Are you a friend of Ren’s?” quizzed Hao - pushing his luck with the ruse he suddenly decided to take on.

“You don’t… recognise me?” softly replied the silver haired maiden.

“Should I?”

Hao gazed back intensely at the fair maiden in front of his eyes. Silent questions swirled between them as the pair became frozen in a deep contemplated confused silence. Hao could sense immediately that something was off about this familiar face before him. In her surprise, Hao observed she seemed to have forgotten how she had addressed him as royalty - and in that same moment Hao decided to pretend he had not heard her. From what little he knew about this Elite shaman - she was extremely emotionally intelligent. And, if she were the Jeanne he remembered, she would know exactly who he was. He came to the conclusion the Iron Maiden Jeanne staring intensely into his eyes was not the same person who had helped him in his most desperate moment. Which led him to question the same thing about the identity of the one they had come to liberate.

And for some strange reason he could not explain - he found himself slipping easily into a deceitful demeanour - as he maintained his unwavering eye contact with Jeanne and lied.

Jeanne’s eyes drifted to the bright yellow orb floating above Hao’s head. And then, she smiled warmly at him.

“My goodness. You’re not the King at all, are you?” she sighed, relieved.

“Pardon?” breathed Hao.

“Why are you here?” hastily went on Jeanne, eager to understand what had brought this familiar and yet unfamiliar shaman to her bedroom door.

“We received word Ren was in trouble. We came as quickly as possible. Do you know where he is? Is he okay?” quickly fired off Hao - though he had come to realise he knew exactly where the Chinese shaman was and exactly who was with him.

“We? There are others here with you?” innocently asked the short haired maiden, tilting her head curiously to the side.

“Yes.” nodded Hao. “My brother and my friends.”

“Yoh is here?!” delightfully cried Jeanne, clasping her hands together in joy and smiling happily.

“Oh so - you are a friend of Ren’s?” replied Hao, raising an eyebrow - maintaining his false approach.

A short silence grew again. Then Jeanne’s shoulders relaxed.

“Well, this is certainly very interesting.” she giggled.

Hao’s brow furrowed.

“If you’re not going to tell me where Ren is, then - I will just go look for him myself.” sighed Hao with a hint of agitation. He took a step away from the door and began to make his way back in the direction he came from - hoping his motivation to get back to his brother’s side would not appear too suspicious.

“Ren is perfectly fine.” calmly said Jeanne, smiling reassuringly.

Hao stopped for a moment and glanced back at Jeanne’s smiling innocent face. She stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her, before beginning to make her way towards the foyer with Hao following by her side.

“Come. Let’s go find him together. And I would love to see your brother, of course.” she said sweetly.

“Thank you - and I… didn’t get your name?”

“Jeanne. And - what should I call you?”

“Hao.”

“Alright Hao.” giggled Jeanne. “Follow me. Though I should… probably warn you about something first… before I introduce you to my Ren…”

(6)
Ren watched as the blood drained from Yoh’s face in front of his eyes - and the more Ren gazed at the samurai wielding shaman standing in his own kitchen - the more he began to notice the subtle differences in his appearance. His eyes were then drawn to the bright orange oracle pager strapped to Yoh’s left arm.

Yoh took one hesitant step backwards - for a brief moment he considered running away just to get out of the intense awkward encounter and get back to the others as quickly as possible. Amidamaru remained silent, though he too could sense the sudden shift in his master’s demeanour - and remained cautious of the familiar though strangely very different shaman in front of them.

Sensing the sudden awkward change in the atmosphere, Ren’s brow furrowed.

“What’s going on, Yoh?” asked Ren, coldly.

“What?”

“Are you here alone?”

“Uh… no.”

“For goodness sake. Who did you bring this time? Anna?”

“No, no - she’s back at home.”

“Who then?”

“Well… uh…” hesitantly began Yoh,

“Darling…?”

Yoh spun around at the familiar innocent voice from behind him, stunned to come face-to-face with the Iron Maiden Jeanne smiling sweetly at him.

“Jeanne!” happily cried Yoh. He couldn’t help but smile warmly back at her, relieved that the secondary immense power within the premises was no major threat, after all.

“Yoh,” breathed Jeanne, smiling. “How delightful to see you.”

“You too! Nice hair cut!” giggled Yoh.

“Thank you,” replied Jeanne, bowing her head slightly, allowing her short silver bangs to droop in front of her eyes. “Just trying something different. And I see you are growing yours?”

“Eh, just a little. Hah!” chuckled Yoh, laughing a bit.

The candid and innocent exchange between old friends was cut short by the voice of someone whose hair had the innate ability to grow on demand - as it began to respond to the rising anger building from within him and grew a few inches taller, too.

“What is happening?! Have I entered the Twilight Zone or something?!” angrily snapped the violet haired shaman. All turned towards Ren, who looked just about fit to burst.

“Ren, sweetie. Remember your breathing exercises. Align your chakras.” sighed Jeanne, smiling sympathetically at the red faced shaman.

An amused smile spread across Yoh’s face as he began to put two and two together. He exchanged a knowing glance with the samurai ghost, who chuckled slightly when he met Yoh’s delighted eyes. Bason, however, did not share in the silent inside joke going on between the shaman and spirit duo - as the more the scene unfolded infront of him, the more confused he became.

Ren took in a deep breath when he met Jeanne’s gentle expression. Jeanne then turned her attention to the Asakura brother in front of her.

“It would seem we have some visitors for the night,” began Jeanne, “And it’s going to be a very interesting evening, to say the least.”

Jeanne gave Yoh an intense knowing look. Yoh immediately took that as his cue. He turned back to Ren,

“Ren, there‘s something you should know - my - ”

“Yoh.”

Jeanne nervously stepped to the side as Hao emerged from behind the door frame. He locked his eyes on the shirtless and confused shaman who looked like he had just been hit by a train when he saw the face of The Shaman King looking back at him.

Yoh sighed deeply when he saw his twin’s bleak face, though he tried to smile reassuringly at him.

The twins engaged in their intense unspoken language once more. The moment they laid eyes on one another, they could see that they had both realised the exact same thing about the unexpected circumstances they had found themselves in: Jeanne and Ren were definitely not from this world.

But there was something significantly different about them.

They were not from their old world either.

“What - the hell - are you doing in my home?” angrily seethed Ren - locking his intense glare on Hao’s expressionless face.

“Ren!” chastised Jeanne.

Ren once again looked back at the silver haired maiden and blinked at her.

“Oh - I’m sorry Jeanne. Am I being rude?!” shrieked Ren, turning his attention back to Hao. “Forgive me your highness, please - right this way - allow me to roll out the red carpet for the utterly insane lunatic God who killed me and all my friends and family.”

“Oh, is that all?” muttered Hao, rolling his eyes.

“Hao! That’s not helping.” hissed Yoh, giving him an intense look in response. Hao simply shrugged his shoulders in return.

“How dare you!” snapped Ren. “And you too Yoh. What on earth are you doing with him?” Ren took a moment to absorb what he was seeing. His eyes drifted from one twin to the other. Then, he let out an amused laugh. “Oh this is just ridiculous. The matching outfits? Give me a break. Yoh - I knew you were an idiot, it runs in the family - clearly - but most people don’t just ignore mass genocide as a red flag and accept their deranged murderous relatives into their lives with open arms!”

“Hah!” laughed Hao. “That’s rich, coming from you. You seem to have forgotten where we are and what lies below where we are standing right now.”

Ren froze for a moment at Hao’s words. He watched as a familiar smirk spread across the fire shaman’s face.

“What? Was it something I said?”

(7)
“Nii-chan…” breathed Yoh, astonished by his twin’s harsh words.

Hao’s line of slight slowly drifted from Ren’s perplexed and angry expression and met his younger brother’s disappointed face. Hao’s hard eyes softened and his shoulders dropped as he let out a deep exhale.

“He started it, Yoh.” mumbled Hao, crossing his arms and looking away from the rest of the group like a sulking child.

An uncomfortable awkward silence grew in the room.

“I can see there’s a lot of tension here,” softly spoke up Jeanne, “But after what we have all been through, I think it’s about time we started acting like adults - don’t you agree?”

“Jeanne. How are you being so calm about this?! The King is here!” angrily retorted Ren.

“”He’s not the King!”” the whole room yelled out like a chorus.

Ren was stunned.

“What?!”

“How can he be a God, Master Ren?” continued Bason, “Lord Yoh and Lord Hao came to save - ”

“What did you just say Bason?” sneered Ren, momentarily turning his attention to his spirit.

“Uh - how can he be a God?” repeated Bason.

“No, no - not that. The other thing?” pressed Ren, angrily.

Bason gulped.

“Lord Yoh and Lord Hao came to save you?” shakily repeated Bason.

Ren pinched the bridge of his nose and tightly screwed his eyes closed.

“Bason,” Ren snarled through gritted teeth. “I am aware ghosts cannot die twice. But if you ever address that bastard like that again in my presence, I will find a way to kill you.”

“Ren!” snapped Jeanne, placing her hands on her hips and staring him down with her deep red eyes.

“I’m sorry Master Ren!” desperately cried Bason. “I am just so confused! When I left China you were imprisoned - when I return you speak of adventure I have no memory of! We came home to confront your father after the Shaman Fight was no more! You were overwhelmed and defeated - your comrades came to your rescue! And your lady friend by your side - I have never seen before!”

Jeanne listened carefully to Bason’s words. She then turned to Hao.

“Bason’s recollection aligns with the story you told me.” calmly said Jeanne.

“Yes.” replied Hao. “Because it’s the truth.”

“That’s right.” added Yoh. “Though, for me, it’s a little more complicated - this is not the first time I’ve gone through this. Last time, you really were locked up in the dungeon, Ren.”

“I know Yoh. I was there.“ scoffed Ren, rolling his eyes.

“No, you don’t understand.” went on Yoh, “It’s hard to explain but - Hao and I we - ”

“Yoh and I have experienced a “time dynamic shift,” interrupted Hao, taking a step closer to Yoh and standing close to his side, turning to face the infuriated Chinese shaman. “We both have memories of a world with our friends, and then one day - for reasons we cannot explain - we found ourselves in an almost identical world where most of our friends do not know who we are.”

The twins turned and gazed intensely at one another in their reflected mirrored way, before simultaneously turning back to Ren.

Ren looked on in disbelief at the physical closeness he was witnessing of the Asakura brothers - and for a moment, he began to consider their story. How else would this be possible?

“It sounds to me like that has happened to us too, dear.” sighed Jeanne, she also stepped forward and aligned herself with Ren - placing her hand affectionately on his naked shoulder.

Ren remained silent for a moment, then he shook his head angrily.

“That’s preposterous.” he spat. He locked his glare on the King’s identical counterpart in front of him. “You mean to tell me I’ve - literally - just been to hell and back - fighting to stop you from being hell bent on destroying the world - only to find you standing in my house with that smug look on your face like none of it ever happened? And you expect me to believe you?”

Ren began laughing loudly - until suddenly - a new voice echoed out from the hallway and filled the room - and the moment Ren heard it - his face dropped and his eyes widened.

“Woah! Check out the size of this place! You could fit an entire Ainu cise just inside this kitchen!”

All turned to the ice shaman who walked casually into the room and froze momentarily when he saw all the faces staring back at him.

“Horokeu?!” cried Ren.

“What is it with the full name treatment again?!” whined HoroHoro. “Guys - seriously - it’s just HoroHoro.” he laughed as he wrapped his arms playfully around the twin’s shoulders before turning to the others in the room. “Looks to me like you already pulled off this rescue without breaking a sweat. What did you need me for?” he chuckled.

Ren locked his eyes on the arm that was wrapped tightly around Hao’s shoulder before he looked back into the blue eyes of his old teammate - who looked back at him with an innocent smile.

“So you must be Ren, right? Amazing digs. You must be loaded! I could use a friend like you!” jokingly laughed HoroHoro.

A foreboding silence washed over the room. Ren for once seemed lost for words. Yoh watched on sympathetically at his inter-dimensional friend as he recognised the heart broken look in Ren’s eyes that he too was familiar with: to see the face of someone you care about look back at you like a stranger.

With the attention of the others firmly focused on the blue haired shaman’s sudden appearance - Hao lowered his head slightly - allowing his long mane to cascade in front of his features - to obscure the subtle childish smirk that had unwillingly appeared on his face.

(8)
“So in this world, the Shaman Fight hasn’t even happened yet?”

“And in your world - it’s over?!”

HoroHoro stared back in disbelief at the disgruntled face of the now appropriately dressed Chinese shaman - who was glaring intensely back at him from across the enormous grand dining table. He swallowed the mouthful of his meal he had almost spat out when Ren delivered the alarming news so he could ask the question he was desperate to know the answer to,

“Who won?!”

Ren’s glare shifted from HoroHoro to the long haired one sat directly next him, who seemed a little too relaxed and casual for the intense awkward circumstances - as Hao continued to absentmindedly move his food around on the plate in front of him and did not return the warrior shaman’s intense gaze.

Ren sighed angrily and crossed his arms, slumping back in his large dining chair. He glanced briefly at his untouched meal on the table in front of him. The sight of the Asakura brother’s sitting happily side-by-side directly opposite him was enough to turn his stomach.

When Ren did not respond, HoroHoro turned his attention to the maiden sitting beside him. Jeanne sighed deeply and then nodded her head in Hao’s direction.

“He did.” she replied, with a slight awkward smile.

“Woah!” yelled HoroHoro, turning enthusiastically to the fire shaman to his left. He grabbed a hold of Hao’s shoulder and shook him vigorously in a celebratory manner. “Did you hear that dude?! That’s awesome, man! You’re a King!”

Hao once again observed HoroHoro’s incredible ability to absorb new information and draw incredible conclusions, such as the fact the “King” Ren and Jeanne were talking about must be an inter-dimensional variant of him: one that until moments ago, he himself was not aware even existed.

“If only that were true.” softly chuckled Hao. He lifted his gaze and met Yoh’s glistening kind eyes beside him, who looked back at his big brother with a reassuring smile.

As Ren watched on at the affectionate silent exchange going on between the twins and HoroHoro’s overly familiar behaviour towards the one he despised the most in the whole universe, a deep resentful wave of hatred washed over him and stirred something sinister within his soul.

“Could that be why the “Shaman Fight” was cancelled in our world?” nervously spoke up Manta. “Because another reality got there first?”

Yoh now turned to the anxious face of the small human sitting by his left, who looked back at him with curious eyes.

“Hm. Maybe.” softly replied Yoh, nodding his head at his best friend. “You could be right, Manta. Yeah…”

“But - that’s not fair!” cried HoroHoro, slumping his arms by his sides and craning his head back like a whiny child.

“So let me get this straight.” snapped Ren, sitting himself upright and shooting his glare at the four familiar faces opposite him. “The pagers all go offline, there was no opening ceremony, and yet you all still want to seek out the Village? What on earth for?”

“To get some answers.” candidly replied Hao, now calmly turning to face the hardened expression of the one who had asked him a question, “The Fight’s cancellation and our shared anomaly cannot be a coincidence. And who better to answer our questions than the messengers of the Great Spirits?”

Ren paused for a moment as he absorbed Hao’s words. A somewhat guilty expression flickered across his face.

“The Patch?” asked Ren, his voice hollow. “Are you saying they… no longer exist here either?”

“They just vanished into thin air!” chimed in HoroHoro, a little too excitedly.

Ren remained silent for a moment and his eyes softened, he looked away from the others and towards the ground. Jeanne sighed deeply and placed a reassuring hand on Ren’s knee.

“Why don’t you come with us, Ren?”

Ren blinked and quickly looked up and met the kind eyes of his friend smiling at him reassuringly from across the table.

“You’ve been to the Village before! We could use your help!” continued Yoh, before beaming his signature big toothy grin at him.

Ren froze for a moment as he observed Yoh’s familiar happy-go-lucky expression. Then his eyes drifted to his identical twin’s bleak face sat beside him.

“And what if it does exist - and there really is a Fight in this world? I’d just be helping his majesty win a second time.” scoffed Ren, rolling his eyes.

“I trained Yoh to win the Fight. I have no interest in the throne.” quietly muttered Hao as he took a bite of his meal.

“I beg your pardon?” spat Ren, astonished.

“That’s right!” happily confirmed Yoh. “Nii-chan and I are a team!”

The twins exchanged a brief smile with one another - then something inside Ren snapped.

“This is ridiculous. It’s like I’m living in a nightmare or something.” angrily seethed Ren. All around the table felt the temperature in the room drop at Ren’s cold words.

“Ren!” gasped Jeanne.

“You can’t expect me to just… accept this “happy families” thing these two have got going on Jeanne.” argued Ren, gesturing his hand aimlessly towards the twins as he spoke. The four faces opposite him all exchanged an awkward glance with one another.

“How do we even know this whole thing is real?” went on Ren, before pointing his finger directly at Hao, “This has got that lunatic’s twisted sense of humour written all over it,” he then locked his glare directly onto Yoh, “Do you even know what your twin brother is capable of, Yoh?”

“Uh…” awkwardly mumbled Yoh.

“Ren. I don’t think now is the time to - ” desperately began Jeanne.

A twisted menacing smirk spread across Ren’s face,

“He’s a sick, twisted, evil, murderous, vengeful son of a…”

Ren cut off his words as he watched in a stunned silence as HoroHoro and Manta broke out into hysterical laughter.

“That doesn’t sound like Hao at all!” laughed HoroHoro.

“Yeah!” added Manta, “He’s one of the kindest people I have ever met. He’s the one who brought us all together too. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t even be here!” cheerfully agreed Manta.

“Sure he can be a bit hot headed sometimes but - he’s got a heart of gold! And we make a great team too - right buddy?” happily continued HoroHoro, nudging Hao with his shoulder.

Hao and Yoh exchanged an identical amused but relieved expression. Hao’s shoulders relaxed slightly and he smiled briefly, overwhelmed by his friends’ outpouring of support and testament to his character,

“Thanks guys…” muttered Hao slightly embarrassed.

“Oh. Okay.” spat Ren, now getting to his feet and staring down the King’s identical counterpart once again. “Well - I bet he hasn’t told you his little secret?”

“Ren!” cried Jeanne, alarmed.

“It’s only fair Jeanne.” sneered Ren, mockingly shrugging his shoulders, “For his little crew to know who he really is and what he’s capable of. He’s - ”

“Hao is my great ancestor and the founder of my family.” calmly said Yoh, he too slowly got to his feet to address the room. Hao looked up at Yoh beside him with glistening eyes, “He was a talented Onmyoji in his previous lifetimes - and he can control his own rebirth. It’s been our family’s responsibility to prevent him from becoming King for one thousand years…” Yoh placed a hand on Hao’s shoulder before he locked his glare on Ren. “Because yes, Ren. Hao had a darkness in him. He did many, many terrible things in the past. But in this life…” Yoh looked down at Hao’s face beside him and smiled warmly at him, “He is my twin brother. And my best friend.”

A long silence came over the room once again. Ren’s livid expression did not waver, in fact - he looked even more pissed off than ever.

Hao looked on affectionately at Yoh’s kind and determined expression - and for a moment it was like he and Yoh were the only ones in the room. A kind radiant smile slowly appeared on Hao’s face. Then after a moment, Hao lowered his head and rested his forehead against Yoh’s side in gratitude.

“Oh… so that’s what you meant about him being “old”.” eventually spoke up Manta.

“Sounds to me like you did your job right, Yoh!” cheered HoroHoro. “I think it’s awesome Hao trained his little brother to be King! That’s just what big brothers are for!”

HoroHoro playfully punched Hao’s shoulder. Hao lifted his head and turned back to the ice shaman by his side, chuckling slightly in response.

Then after a moment, HoroHoro’s eyes flickered and he stared off into space.

“Huh - that kinda makes me feel bad for Pirica…” he muttered, blinking.

Ren sighed angrily once more. He slammed both his hands down on the table, rattling all the china and startling everyone in the room. All turned back to the angry warrior shaman’s twisted face.

“And what about the other secret?” he seethed.

All the others in the room watched as the two shaman gazed intensely at one another as Ren engaged Hao in a strange staring contest.

But after a moment or so, Ren’s expression faltered. Then Hao sighed.

“What ever foul words you just said in your mind,” began Hao, coldly, “You’ll be glad to know you kept them to yourself - instead of embarrassing yourself even more.”

Ren was speechless. He then watched as Yoh calmly sat back down next to his twin and he sighed deeply too.

“So your Hao from your world could read minds, huh?” softly said Yoh, smiling sympathetically at Ren.

As Jeanne began to give Ren a piece of her mind for his outrageous behaviour, Hao slumped back in his seat and let out a defeated aspirated sigh.

“And after this delightful little encounter, you still want to find the others, Yoh?” he muttered sadly, looking worriedly at his little brother through the hair that was obscuring his eyes.

Yoh smiled, lifting his hand and affectionately removing the long loose strands from Hao’s face. Yoh laughed a bit.

“It’s okay Nii-chan. I’m sure we can figure all of this stuff out.”

(9)

That evening, the testing and confusing events of the day were beginning to take their toll on Hao. It was as though the more he dared to explore this world, the less it began to feel like home. He knew that seeking out the rest of Yoh’s friends was the right thing to do. He knew in his heart that was the natural direction to take. And though he firmly believed his Yoh would never leave his side - he wasn’t sure the rest would ever truly accept him for him. Especially, if… they knew the hard to swallow truth.

The luxurious comforts of the Tao residence was a welcome change from their long and treacherous journey through the mountainous landscape that surrounded the isolated and remote Chinese temple - and as he finally lay his head on the soft silk pillow of his magnificent four-poster bed for the night - he found himself drifting away into a blissful and peaceful slumber within moments of closing his eyes.

That familiar safe and warm feeling returned to Hao’s mind once again - welcoming him back into his pleasurable escape from the confusing and unfamiliar world on the outside. Hao kept his eyes closed, but he let out of blissful sigh as he allowed himself to sink back into the embrace of his new lucid dream world.

“You’re back.” said a delighted voice.

“Mm. Yes.” Hao replied.

“I’m glad.”

“Me too.”

Hao finally opened his eyes. The darkness surrounding him felt strangely closer than last time. He tried to look around, to absorb more of what he could see within the blackness. His long hair swayed gently by his face and danced around him, reacting to his movements as though he was underwater.

“Why can’t I see you?” curiously asked Hao.

“I don’t know.” answered the friendly voice.

“Can you see me?”

“No. But - I can feel you.”

Hao could almost feel the anxieties of the day he just lived through wash away and disappear into the strange void around him. He tried to remember what he was even worried about just moments ago, but he could not recall it.

“You seem at peace.” said the gentle voice.

“Yes. This place is… very…” began Hao, but the words he was looking were for suddenly lost on him.

“It’s okay. We don’t have to talk. You can just relax, if you want.”

“Mm…” sighed Hao, smiling softly at the reassuring words.

Hao began to feel his mind slipping away and his eyes began to close involuntarily. He found himself holding onto the last bit of his consciousness, just to enjoy the warmth around him for just a little bit longer.

“I… I never… asked you… if you had a…”

“…name.” quietly muttered Hao as he opened his eyes, surprised to find himself back in the luxury of his darkened guest bedroom for the night. He smiled to himself as he began to recall the memory of his dream - and as it stayed there for just a few moments at front of his mind - he realised he had brought some of that pleasurable comfort into his wakefulness too. He held onto it for as long as he could before he felt it slowly slip away once more. And he was back in his reality. His confusing, troubling and sometimes disturbing reality. And though he felt a twinge of guilt for thinking it, he wished he could escape again…

If only for a little while…

End of Episode Nine

Chapter Text

Episode Ten

“The Great Onmyoji: Asakura Hao”

(1)

Something was happening.

Something had changed.

Hao looked around at his unfamiliar surroundings. That strange yet comfortable feeling remained, one that he was finding somewhat addictive - but the darkness was somehow brighter, closer… all consuming.

Hao tightly closed his eyes and shook his head slightly as he tried to understand what was going on. When he opened them again he was stunned to find himself standing in an infinite cosmos of his own reflection branching out infinitely from him in all directions - like a crazy hall of mirrors.

He slowly turned around to observe his multiple reflections and appearance - his many, many copies of him mirrored his every subtle movement. He recognised his black and yellow tracksuit closest to him which seem to make up most of the mirrored pictures of himself - but some of the images he saw in the distance he began to notice seemed off. He caught the red matching tracksuit in the corner of his eye, as well as his “teenage dirt bag” outfit as his twin had affectionately dubbed it; the infamous orange floral shirt was somewhere out there (he could see it a mile away) even the troublesome school uniform was in the mix.

But that’s when a glint of something red caught his eye in the distance. He tried to focus on it, to move around to see if his mirrored movements would make it easier to see, but the more he moved, the harder it was to bring it into focus.

“You’re back again.” came the familiar friendly voice.

“Yes.” said Hao, sighing pleasantly when he realised he could speak more easily and lucidly. He noticed how his multiple reflections mirrored him perfectly and moved along to his mouth movements too - which for some reason he could not explain, made him feel more at ease.

“I see you are feeling more at home here?”

“It would seem that way.” replied Hao.

“That’s good. It’s so quiet here when you leave me.”

Hao felt a lump appear in his throat as he heard the genuine sadness tinged in the voice he was becoming more and more accustomed to.

“I’m sorry. I like being here with you but, I have to go home eventually.”

“I know.”

Hao lifted his hand and pressed it against the mirrored pane directly in front of him - the hand on the other side touched to his and fit perfectly. As he gazed deeply into the eyes of his own reflection, he could not shake the feeling like he had somehow been in this place before. The brown dark eyes looking back at him felt so familiar. Perhaps this was where he was born? Maybe that’s why he felt so at home.

At that moment, he experienced the overwhelming urge to run to Yoh and tell him all about this strange place. Maybe it was the key to understanding the strange circumstances that were happening to them in the outside world. Or maybe it was a gut feeling instead - his acutely sensitive instincts trying to warn him, trying to tell him get out and run.

“You want to leave again.”

“I have to. I need to get back to my brother and my friends.” gently replied Hao.

There was a pause as Hao waited for the voice to respond.

“Stay.” came the desperate response. “Just for a little longer. It’s been so long since I had a friend to talk to.”

Hao sighed deeply, allowing his arm to drop to his side.

“Alright.” sadly replied Hao, defeated. “I know all too well how heartbreaking crippling loneliness can be…”

(2)
Hao looked intensely at the blank screen of the bright yellow oracle pager in his hand. He could see his own eyes reflecting back at him in the darkened glass of the broken device. He noticed how he was midway through buckling the straps to his forearm, and for a moment - he froze.

“What?”

He lifted his head from the screen and observed the furnishings in the guest bedroom around him. He turned around to view his bed and immediately noticed the crumpled sheets. He took a step towards the bedside and began to straighten them before he looked down at himself - surprised to see he was fully dressed in his tracksuit, shoes and all.

Why could he not remember waking up that morning?

Hao slowly turned around to observe himself in the large mirror on the wall.

“Anything to declare?”

Hao’s eyes drifted from his own image on the grey pixelated security monitor and met the friendly face of the smartly dressed lady looking directly at him waiting for a response.

“Pardon?” muttered Hao, blinking back at the woman.

“In your party’s luggage, sir. Anything to declare?” repeated the Beijing airport check-in desk staff member.

“Actually yeah.” came the friendly voice of his twin. Yoh suddenly appeared by his side. “I’m transporting two antique collectible relics, one is a katana blade. They are properly packaged, Ma’am.”

The twins watched as the check-in lady began typing the information into her computer and then she printed out a label and attached it to the bags on the conveyor belt. She then handed two Japanese passports and two boarding passes to Yoh.

“All done. Have a great flight. Next please!”

Yoh nodded his head at the staff member and then put his arm around Hao’s waist. He began to push Hao along with him and out of the way of the other travellers in the busy Chinese airport check-in lobby.

“Nii-chan, are you okay? You seem a bit… not yourself today.” worriedly asked Yoh.

“Uh…” mumbled Hao. Before he could formulate an answer, Hao saw the faces of the others come into view. His eyes immediately locked onto Ren and Jeanne, who both looked back at the twins as they waited patiently for them to finish their check-in.

“Oh so, you both decided to… come along after all?” quietly muttered Hao, keeping his gaze firmly on the couple when he and Yoh reached their side.

Ren raised an eyebrow at the fire shaman’s question.

“I did not exactly get a say in the matter. You’re welcome, by the way.” scoffed Ren, crossing his arms and looking away from Hao’s blank expression.

“Excuse me?” muttered Hao.

“For the First Class upgrade - you ungrateful piece of sh -”

“- should we get moving through security so we have time to browse the duty-free stores?” interrupted Jeanne - shoving Ren along and away from the twins and towards the large moving escalator stair case in front of them. Manta and HoroHoro shared a nervous look with one another before they both looked at Hao’s perplexed expression.

Hao found himself intensely examining the faces of his two friends for any signs of something being off with them. His mind fell back on the revelations about his past from the previous night - and for some reason he was finding it difficult to shake the worrying feeling that perhaps they may be afraid of him now. Was that what he could see in their eyes? Fear?

“Are you okay dude? You seem off today.” asked HoroHoro, worriedly.

“Yeah.” agreed Manta.

“That’s what I said.” added Yoh, he raised his arm from Hao’s waist and began to reassuringly rub his brother’s shoulders. “Don’t let Ren get to you, Nii-chan. He’ll come around, you’ll see.”

“I’m fine.” firmly replied Hao. His eyes drifted towards the direction the other two from their party had gone - and without saying another word to the others - he began to follow in the same direction as well.

Yoh, Manta and HoroHoro all exchanged the same concerned look with one another before hurriedly following after him.

Stepping off the escalator, Hao began to notice how the bustling noise of the airport crowd began to sound like a badly tuned static radio. The noise momentarily affected his ability to concentrate - and he began to forget where he was and what he was doing. His eyes drifted towards the airport walls as he searched for a sign to tell him which way to go - then, feeling somewhat helpless, he cemented himself to the spot and froze.

As he laid eyes on his twin at the top of the moving staircase, Yoh noticed how his big brother seemed a bit lost. He calmly approached him and reached for his hand, gripping Hao’s fingers tightly in his.

“Come on. Let’s stick together. We’ll find our way.” softly said Yoh, tugging his twin by the arm and in the direction of airport security.

Hao’s eyes drifted to their interlocked hands and he briefly observed Yoh’s oracle pager. Then suddenly - something occurred to him. He lifted his own left arm and immediately realised that his pager was gone.

“Yoh, I - I’ve lost my pager!”

Yoh turned his head and looked at Hao’s bare forearm and then met his big brother’s alarmed eyes.

“I know, you left it back at Ren’s by mistake. Remember?” sighed Yoh with a slight pained smile.

“What? No - I - I distinctly remember putting it on!” argued Hao.

“Don’t worry. If we make it to the Village, then, I’m sure the Patch can get you a new one. It’s not like we needed it, or anything.” went on Yoh as he began to snake them both through the airport barricades to join the long security line.

“I know but… it was mine.” sadly whispered Hao.

Hao remained silent as he stuck close to his twin’s side in the busy crowd of travellers. He could not understand why he was feeling so anxious. He was certain he had his pager. Why would he leave it behind? Why could he not remember travelling to Beijing? Had he been feeling so spaced out that he dissociated completely from their reality for a while?

Before Hao could find the words to voice his concerns, he found himself moving effortlessly through the security checkpoint and emerging in the busy shopping district on the other side. He caught a glimpse of a short boy with a distinct pointy hairstyle walking along behind a delighted young woman as they entered an accessories store. Without giving his younger brother a second thought, he began to immediately make his way towards them.

Unfortunately, Yoh had forgotten to remove his headphones before he stepped through the metal detector and was finding himself getting the full security treatment from the guards. He watched on helplessly as his twin once again disappeared into the crowd.

Hao found himself wandering into the store and he hastily looked around for the warrior shaman. Then, something caught his eye. He lifted his hand towards an earring display and carefully caressed a large silver pair of star shaped earrings. As he admired them in his hand, they began to reflect the light into his eyes.

Hao’s hearing was suddenly overwhelmed by the recognisable white noise of a moving airplane. He blinked at his own reflection in the bathroom cubicle and froze. The mirrors. His reflection! That was the cause of this strange phenomenon! He quickly lowered his gaze and stared at the floor, moving slowly backwards and out of the cubicle, closing the door quickly as he did so. His mind became frantic as he began to consider the odd question - how many reflective surfaces could there be on an airplane??

“God dammit! Shit!”

Realising he had no idea where his seat was - Hao hesitantly began to make his way towards the front of the plane. As he shuffled down the cramped aisle with his head lowered, he examined each of his fellow traveller’s footwear as he did so. He considered summoning his Spirit Ally to act as a guide but reconsidered that option immediately. He had no idea why this strange experience was happening to him and he did not want to bring any unwanted attention to himself from any other potential shaman traveller.

Hao finally recognised a pair of large black ski boot sneakers and lifted his head.

“HoroHoro I - !” loudly began Hao, but cut off his words when he saw how HoroHoro was snoring quietly with his mouth gaped wide open. That was when he noticed the darkened night sky through the porthole window. How long had they been flying?

Confused and alarmed, the fire shaman noticed out of the corner of his eye a glint of something orange peeking over the seat infront of the ice shaman. Hao lowered his head once more and shuffled to the next aisle, relieved to see his little brother curled up in his large comfortable First Class beige-leather plane seat, sleeping safe and sound. Hao considered waking him, but instead, his instincts kicked in and he reached for the blanket that had fallen to the floor and wrapped it around his twin. He then carefully shuffled his way to the empty window seat beside him, relieved to see the porthole window was already closed and the small television screen on the back of the passenger seat in front of him had already been covered.

He decided to tell Yoh everything in the morning. As long as he didn’t look in any more mirrors, everything will be okay.

That’s what Hao told himself as he closed his eyes and drifted back into a deep, blissful, comfortable sleep.

(3)
Hao quickly opened his eyes, relieved to find himself back in the safety of his own personal bubble away from the terrifying reality on the outside world.

Had something happened to the fabric of the illusionary world? Was something going on in the real world that was causing this to happen?

His mind fell back on his most important and happiest memory of being back in his Yoh’s arms the day he was saved from the horrors of a true living nightmare. He wished something would come and save them both from this new nightmare they were living in now.

The guilt began to eat him up inside - he had brought this on Yoh. On them both. He was just an illusion, never meant to exist - this world was never meant to exist. Perhaps the warrior shaman was right. It was selfish, foolish - to believe he could be anything else but a monster. Only a monster would bring his innocent little brother into a world like this.

Hao put his face into his hands and he took a deep breath in. No. As soon as he woke up from his dream - he was going to tell Yoh everything. About this dream world. About the voice in his head. About his worrying negative thoughts. About the strange “gaps” in his memory. And they’d go to the Gods for help. That was their plan all along. To find the Village and seek answers from the King. Only now Hao was more desperate than ever to know: why did it feel like his whole world was falling apart?

As Hao slowly allowed his hands to fall to his sides, he opened his eyes and naturally looked down at his feet. He was stunned to see he was standing on a bright blue reflected crystal-like floor. The reflection he was seeing resembled the sky and created the illusion of him being upside down. On closer inspection, he saw a face reflecting back at him with long dark brown hair. Only, he noticed where his bare feet met his mirrored image, his reflection wore bright red block-like shoes instead.

Hao got down on one knee and placed one hand to the crystal floor. He began to recognise the attire of his reflection more and more. The hand that met his was gloved, and although Hao was fully dressed in his black and yellow battle clothes, his reflection was shirtless.

Leaning closer to his reflection’s face, allowing his long hair to droop across the shiny ground - his eyes were drawn to the large red and black circular earrings dangling from his mirrored image’s ears. Then - he finally locked eyes with his reflection. A pair of all black irises looked back at him - and a charming and delighted smile spread across the reflection’s face.

“I suppose that’s why we feel the same.” chuckled the familiar friendly voice of his reflection.

Hao let out a soft gentle laugh in response.

“”You’re me.””

(4)
“Are you still pining after him? Again?”

“Aw. Our little Tamao has a cute little crush.”

“How many days have they been gone now? Three? Four?”

“Six. And shut up! I’m trying to concentrate!” angrily snapped Tamao, her voice was raspy and cracked a little as she tried to reach a serious octave unsuccessfully.

“Oooh. Touchy.” teased the tanuki spirit.

“Getting a little “fired” up, are we?” chuckled the kitsune ghost.

“Must be serious!” laughed Ponchi, kicking his legs in front of him excitedly.

“Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up!” angrily yelled Tamao - shooting a cold glare at the two childish spirits. Ponchi and Conchi blinked, surprised to see such a serious look on their shaman’s delicate face.

Tamao puffed out her cheeks in frustration before she quickly looked back down at her Kokkuri board on the floor infront of her.

“If you must know,” she sighed with a hint of agitation, “Opacho is upset. She can feel something’s wrong. I’m doing this for her. And you’re not helping! So be quiet!”

The two Seirei Class spirits exchanged the same puzzled look with one another before they clumsily bounded behind Tamao in the air to try and get a look at her board too. Tamao closed her eyes and she took in a long deep breath.

A silence grew in the brightly lit room. However, elsewhere in the Onsen, the sound of a little girl quietly sobbing could be heard - followed by the pleasant sound of a young woman’s voice singing softly to try and soothe the child’s cries.

Tamao sighed, defeated. She slumped herself back onto the floor from her kneeling position.

“It’s no use. I can’t look that far.” she sighed, sadly. “They’re too far away for me to see…”

Tamao’s usually outlandish pair of Spirit Ally’s exchanged another concerned look with one another before they both looked back at the pink haired shaman’s face. They watched helplessly as Tamao’s eyes began to well up with tears.

There was an uncomfortable pause. Until, out of the corner of Tamao’s eye, she could have sworn she saw the coin she was using for her divination move on its own. She wiped her face with the back of her arm before blinking at the board once again. She stared intensely at the coin, examining its edges for movement. Then after a moment, it seemed to twitch again. Even the animal spirits took notice.

“Are you doing that?” asked Ponchi, alarmed.

“N-no.” softly replied Tamao.

The coin began to glide itself across the board and it began to spell out an incantation. Tamao desperately reached for her note book to try and note down the words, but she was not quick enough. The coin raced across the board, zig zagging back and forth like lightning. Tamao was stunned. She leapt to her feet - and just as she was about to call Anna’s name to come and see - a fracture in the air itself appeared above her board right before her eyes. She watched in amazement as radiant pink and violet light began to spill out it and swell all around the room.

Tamao gazed into the portal that had just opened in the middle of her own bedroom and froze. She saw the face of someone she vaguely recognised on the other side. A pair of glistening magenta eyes and a radiant warm smile looked back at her - which for some reason she could not explain - made her overwhelming fear and anxiety wash away.

Without saying a word, the strangely familiar woman reached her hand through the portal and Tamao noticed immediately how she was presenting her with something. Tamao recognised the black sheathed relic and red handle immediately. It was Yoh’s sword!

“What…?” breathed Tamao, unable to comprehend what she was seeing.

“Take it.” softly said the pink haired woman with a kind smile.

As Tamao hesitantly reached for Harasume, her two loyal spirits behind her looked almost fit to burst as they watched on in a stunned silence at the exciting but alarming scene. They were certain what they were witnessing was the most important moment of Tamao’s life.

Tamao firmly accepted the sword. As she did, she inhaled sharply as her mind became overwhelmed by a mass avalanche of memories and knowledge - and immense furyoku began to pulsate around her tiny skinny body.

Gasping for breath, Tamao momentarily felt her legs weaken from the intense rush of energy, though she managed to hold herself steady on her feet. After a moment or so, she lifted her head and looked back at the face of the one who had gifted her the sword and smiled.

“Thank you.” she sighed, nodding her head in gratitude.

“You know what to do.” replied the kind adult voice of Tamao’s true self, before the portal quickly vanished into thin air.

Downstairs, Anna had sensed something was happening - but had the spiritual intellect to not interfere. She had her hands full anyway, literally, with a very over tired Opacho - who had finally fallen asleep in her arms thanks to Anna’s hidden secret ability to sing like an angel.

Anna looked up and locked eyes with Tamao as she appeared in the room. The skilled Itako noticed immediately that something had dramatically changed in Tamao’s eyes the moment she saw her. Then she noticed the very recognisable item she was holding in her hand.

“I need to speak with Master Yohken. Now.” firmly said Tamao with a determined smile.

(5)

He had been born again before.

But this?

This was new.

The sunlight penetrating his eyelids was the first thing he saw. Red. Blood red.

His consciousness and wakefulness began to build. His mind returning. His life returning. Breath returning to his lungs.

The darkness had finally fallen away.

He slowly opened his eyes…

…and smiled.

He’d done it.

It had actually worked.

He sat up slowly from the mattress. He lifted both his hands to observe them in front of his eyes. An adolescent body. One that felt like his. He inhaled deeply and began to search his shamanic senses. Even his power felt the same. Immense bottomless power. Though there was something new there. Familiar but… different. He silently summoned it.

And there it was.

And it was all his.

The glowing little golden orb danced around his fingers, then it suddenly grew larger into the dazzling yellow sprite. Its red crystal-like eyes gazed curiously back at him. He smiled at his new spirit like he was greeting a very good friend.

“Hello.” he said, laughing a bit in his throat.

The little sprite swirled all around him like it was welcoming him into the world. He lifted his head and watched it play for a moment, smiling happily at its delightful fluid movements.

Then, something else caught his eye.

The shirtless long-haired shaman pulled back the covers and softly placed his bare feet to the floor. Standing up felt strange. Gravity felt strange. It was going to take a while to get used to this feeling again.

The feeling of being alive.

He took a brave stride towards the mahogany dresser and picked up the black neatly folded material. As he unravelled it, he let out an irritated sigh.

Yellow.

And why did it have to look exactly like his?

He begrudgingly dressed himself in the garish garment and slipped on the black sandals tucked away at the foot of the bed. He may not look like himself now, but that was fine. He’d only have to put up with these ridiculous fashion choices for a little while. He curiously picked up the useless bright yellow pager and began to buckle it to himself. Yet another glaring reminder of the fake imposter. Was it really broken? That mindless gullible idiot probably hadn’t even thought to try switching it on.  

Hao looked intensely at the blank screen of the bright yellow oracle pager in his hand. He could see his own eyes reflecting back at him in the darkened glass of the broken device. He noticed how he was midway through buckling the straps to his forearm, and for a moment - he froze.

“What?”

(6)
He lifted his head from the screen and observed the furnishings in the guest bedroom around him. He turned around to view his bed and immediately noticed the crumpled sheets. He took a step towards the bedside and began to straighten them before he looked down at himself - surprised to see he was fully dressed in his tracksuit, shoes and all.

Why could he not remember waking up that morning?

Hao slowly turned around to observe himself in the large mirror on the wall.

Blinking at his reflection, the sudden skip in his mind felt like a punch to the gut.

He swiftly turned his back to the mirror.

“God dammit. That little persistent bastard is still here!”

He cursed himself for being so careless. That thing might be a fake, but he was a clone of himself after all. Of course it wasn’t going to be that simple.

Mirrors. Reflections.

Shit, shit, shit.

There’s bound to be hundreds of them between China and the western desert.

Between keeping that thing under his control - avoiding seeing his own reflection during a cross-continent journey and convincing the clueless illusionary copy of his twin that he was his doting and fiercely protective big brother –

How hard could that possibly be?

“Nii-chan?”

The fire shaman turned to his elegant bedroom door. He quickly dismissed the glowing orb from view. The familiar concerned voice of his younger brother lingered in the air and in his mind.

“Even if you defeat me today, others will rise to fight you. You’re wrong Zeke! You’re the one who’s finished!”

“Hao? Are you okay?” came the concerned voice once again.

There was a short pause as he considered his options.

“I’ll meet you outside.” he replied, eventually.

He kept his gaze on the closed door. He knew the one who was standing on the other side of it was not his brother. But he was going to be an obstacle and a hindrance for him all the same. And he needed more time to prepare for that particular first encounter.

There was another short pause.

“Oh – okay. Sure.”

Maybe it was cowardice. Or maybe he wasn’t sure if he could supress the urge to just kill Yoh on sight. But that strange flip he felt in his stomach when he heard that voice confirmed something. Being in this particular body was going to have its advantages, but it was also going to have its draw backs.

He was going to have to hold that bastard back even when he was in control.

He just had to wait a little longer. Work a little harder to break down those walls. All that love he had. All his little friends. It was all built on lies. All he had to do was bide his time. And soon enough they’d all see the truth. All he had to do was play along.

Maybe it might actually be a little fun.

(7)
Making his way down the Tao’s grand staircase, his eyes were drawn to the open front door to the Castle. The vast outside world beyond those doors began to call to him. Beckoning him to step outside.

He knew this world was fake. But there was something really exciting about how convincingly real it was.

It was proof of The Shaman King’s incredible unlimited power.

He paused for a moment on the steps as he began to play out the next encounter in his mind.

A repulsed grimace flickered across his face.  

It would be extremely useful to be able to hear Yoh’s thoughts. He was going to have to tread very carefully. This Yoh had spent an imaginary lifetime with his fake twin brother. He even knew a real variant of him a little too well.

Though, admittedly – the silence was rather pleasant. It allowed him to think more clearly.

His power was simply dormant. He could feel it was still there, lingering in the background. Suppressed. Under used.

Just give it time.

He hesitantly stepped outside. The bright sunlight beating down on the rocky mountainous landscape momentarily blinded him. He lifted one hand towards the sky to block out the rays.

“Hao?”

Bringing himself into the present moment, Asakura Zeke smiled warmly at his little brother.

“Yoh.” he replied, taking a step towards him. He looked around at the empty barren outdoor space surrounding them. “Where are the others?”

“They’re having breakfast together.” softly replied Yoh with a notable hint of sadness. The long-haired twin raised an eyebrow.

“Are you not hungry?” he asked, curiously.

Yoh shook his head.

“No, not really.” sighed Yoh.

The fire shaman could see there was something bothering the illusion standing before him. He searched his dual mind for the right words to respond.

“Is there something on your mind?” he asked as gently as he could manage. A question he was not used to asking and truly meaning it.

Yoh shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

“It’s just…” began Yoh, hesitantly. “It’s all this… lying.”

The elder Asakura brother blinked at the word. Yoh sighed sadly and looked towards the ground briefly.

“I mean…” went on Yoh, “I know we haven’t exactly lied but… it just feels… wrong.”

A silence grew between them as Zeke watched the very familiar face before him crumple slightly.

“I know.” he replied.

Yoh lifted his gaze and locked eyes with his twin. It was at that moment Asakura Zeke noticed the golden and brown flecks in Yoh’s eyes. They were deeper, brighter… friendlier than he remembered.

Those were certainly not his brother’s eyes.

“It’s been hard for me too.” he lied. “I can see it’s taking its toll on you, as well.”

“Yeah.” agreed Yoh. “Last night was rough.”

The memories of the last 24 hours flashed before Zeke’s eyes. When he envisioned the enraged look on the warrior shaman’s face, he had to concentrate on holding back the corners of his lips from curving upwards.

“He just doesn’t understand.” sighed Zeke, forcing another reassuring smile. “If we make it to the Village, then… I am sure it will all work out.”

A kind smile appeared on Yoh’s face in response to his big brother’s reassuring words.

“Heh.” breathed Yoh, letting out a deep exhale as his shoulders relaxed. “You always know exactly what to say.”

(8)
It was that easy?

Just those five little words and all was well with the world again?

This mindless copy of his twin was just as much of a gullible amateur as the one in his head.

“Oh. You’re still here. And for a moment I was hoping it had all been a ridiculous dream.” came the sarcastic remark of the Chinese shaman.

“Darling, remember what we talked about. Positive energies.” sighed the voice of the Iron Maiden Jeanne.

Zeke watched as his pretend little brother beamed a welcoming smile over his shoulder at the two standing directly behind him.

“Good morning.” happily greeted Yoh.

“Not even going to grace me with a smart come back, your highness?” tauntingly scoffed Ren, he kept his glare firmly on the back of the long-haired shaman’s head. Jeanne rolled her eyes.

“Why do I even bother?” she huffed, shaking her head disapprovingly.

Yoh laughed awkwardly as he looked back at Hao, but gulped nervously when he saw an unfamiliar menacing smile on his twin’s face. He decided not to turn around to face the warrior shaman behind him.

“Be careful Tao Ren. I may actually grow to enjoy being addressed in that way.” replied Zeke, his tone somewhat hollow - though there was an inflection of amusement in his voice, too.

Ren sighed angrily.

“See what I mean?” he spat, looking intensely at the short haired maiden stood by his side as he gestured his hand towards the King’s identical counterpart.

“You asked for that, quite literally.” retorted Jeanne, taking several steps away from her hard-faced partner and towards the twins.

“Whose side are you on?!” angrily snapped Ren as he watched on in disbelief as Jeanne walked away from him.

Yoh chuckled slightly as Jeanne came near. She smiled warmly at the identical pair.

“We will be accompanying you on your quest. As long as you don’t mind, of course.” she declared with a sweet smile.

“Perfect.” nodded Zeke. He managed to hold back the sarcasm.

“That’s great!” cheerfully added Yoh. “And maybe we’ll get lucky - and bump into some of the other guys along the way!”

“I’m counting on it.” chuckled Zeke, earning him a happy smile from his fake twin in response.

“Are we gonna walk all that way - again?” came the whiny voice of the ice shaman as he stepped outside the join the others, followed immediately by the anxious-looking short human.

“We can go by horseback, it shortens the journey back to mainland by two days.” replied Ren.

“No need.” pleasantly sighed the fire wielding shaman as he immediately summoned the Spirit of Fire’s Ultimate Form right before their very eyes.

The group all transfixed their sights on the huge fire demon’s incredible glowing red frame towering above them.

“You have the Spirit of Fire?” spat Ren, coldly.

“It’s actually a really cool nature spirit.” awkwardly explained Yoh. “It just looks like the Spirit of Fire because it changes its form to adopt Nii-chan’s memories. He doesn’t actually use this form very much.”

“Yeah I’ll say!” laughed HoroHoro. “I didn’t even know it could grow that big!”

“It’s a little scary when it looks like that.” shakily added Manta.

“I can make it yellow if that helps.” chuckled Zeke, waving his hand. The Spirit of Onmyōdō’s giant body instantly became a radiant glowing yellow colour and its eyes dazzled like giant rubies in the sunlight. “There. Is that any less “scary” - Manta?”

“Actually yeah!” chuckled Manta.

“Wait are you saying we could have just flown here on that thing?” yelled HoroHoro.

The twins let out a mirrored laugh in response.

“Hao always says that long distance flying is unsafe.” chuckled Yoh, “But I must admit… flying back to Beijing sounds like a pretty good idea to me. I guess we are in a little bit of a hurry, too.”

Yoh beamed a smile at his big brother. Zeke smiled awkwardly back at him. Yoh’s grotesquely sweet confidence in his decision making did not go unnoticed by him.

“Hm.” mumbled Ren, crossing his arms and looking away from the rest of the group. “Well, some of us actually do have a High Demon Kami Class Spirit on their side.” he muttered under his breath.

“Is that so?” replied Zeke, now finally turning towards the disgruntled Chinese shaman. “Tell me, which one do you have?”

A smirk appeared on Ren‘s face.

“The Spirit of Thunder, if you must know.” confidently replied Ren.

Jeanne rolled her eyes once again as she observed Ren’s overly boastful attitude.

“Interesting.” quietly replied the fire shaman. “I’d love to see it.”

Tao Ren could not hide the delighted glint in his eye at the invitation to show off. He closed his eyes and calmly raised his hand above his head.

All began to look up and all around as they anticipated the giant demon’s sudden appearance.

When nothing happened, Ren opened his eyes.

“Ren?” muttered Jeanne, confused.

Yoh and Zeke exchanged an awkward glance with one another. HoroHoro let out a nervous laugh.

“Is it shy or something?” chuckled HoroHoro.

“Jeanne. It’s not here.” angrily muttered Ren.

Jeanne looked on in disbelief at Ren’s words. Without hesitation, the Iron Maiden Jeanne mentally summoned her own Kami Class spirit - which appeared immediately before them. When Jeanne laid eyes on Shamash - she let out a relieved sigh.

“Looks like the Spirit of Thunder did not come with you into this world.” explained Zeke, feigning a concerned expression and forcing a sorrowful tone.

But internally he was delightfully screaming.

“The same thing happened to Yoh too!” helpfully added HoroHoro. “He had to go find Amidamaru in our world all over again!”

HoroHoro’s words came down on Ren like a mighty invisible force and all the colour drained from his face.

Yoh looked on sadly at his inter-dimensional friend’s ghoulish expression,

“Oh Ren…” he sighed.

Not really paying attention to the others, Asakura Zeke took a moment to look back admiringly at his own giant spirit and he let out a soft sigh. Watching him closely with suspicious eyes, Ren could have sworn he saw a brief delighted and satisfied expression flicker across the fire shaman’s face.

“I knew this was going to be fun.”

(9)
Being in the air again was the most alive he had felt in a very, very long time.

He perched himself happily on the shoulder plate of his new Spirit Ally, watching the illusionary and yet breath-taking landscape of the earth pass by below. Closing his eyes, he embraced the pleasurable sensation of the air flowing over every inch of him. His hair danced all around him, gently caressing his face.

Notably, his mind was calmer. Clearer. Grounding him in the moment.

It was a welcome change from his never-ending crippling non-existence.

Though he was surrounded by faces, he would annoyingly have to talk to them to hear what was on their mind.

The familiar circumstances naturally made him think of the faces of the ones not in his travelling party. Most notably Opacho. Though he was reassured to know there was a safe and well version of her in this world, too.

It was also nice to know at least one of his royal godly variants had ensured she had remained unaltered. He smiled softly as he envisioned the moment he would see her again as him.

Suddenly, he was snapped awake from his daydream by the annoyed heightened pitch of the one who was going to be the most difficult to convince he was not to be feared.

Because the truth was quite of the contrary.

“What was all that you were blabbering on about yesterday, Yoh?”

“Mm?” mumbled Yoh, turning towards the one who had asked him a question.

“You said your “would-not-harm-a-fly” big brother over there… killed you?” pressed Ren, raising an eye brow.

Not turning around from his forward-facing position, Zeke also tuned himself in to hear what the illusion sitting behind him had to say in response to that question.

“Oh, um,” awkwardly began Yoh. “Hao sent me to hell to train with my ancestor, Yohken.” he answered, truthfully.

Interesting.

He had wondered what methods his esteemed other-worldly counterpart had used to see that Yoh achieved his potential.

And this Yoh most certainly had exceeded his.

“I see.” mumbled Ren. “A fun pass time for you, Hao? Committing murder in the pursuit of more power?”

“Ren! That’s enough.” hissed Jeanne.

Before Zeke could think of a cunning remark to respond, his little brother spoke up in his defence.

“Actually, training in hell is something I did lots of times growing up.” candidly went on Yoh, shrugging his shoulders.

There we go.

He wondered when the fabricated web of lies etched onto the inside of his illusionary twin’s skull would kick in.

“You are definitely not the Yoh that I know.” bitterly scoffed Ren, crossing his arms and looking away from the samurai shaman sitting opposite him.

When Zeke sensed the muted disappointment in the air emanating from the one sitting back-to-back with him, he felt that unusual flip in his stomach return.

“And you’re not the same Ren we know. Though you remain just as much of an asshole across realities, it seems.” coldly replied Asakura Zeke.

HoroHoro erupted into hysteria at his friend’s words as Ren’s face began to change a distinct shade of purple from holding his tongue. The more patient one sitting beside him whose patience was becoming a little thinner by the minute did her best to talk Ren through one of her mindfulness breathing exercises to calm him down.

Yoh did his best to wipe the amused smile off his face. He leaned back to try and catch a glimpse of his twin’s face behind him.

“Thanks Nii-chan…” whispered Yoh with a soft sigh.

Zeke turned his head and met those golden glistening irises of his little brother once more.

“Don’t mention it.” he muttered with an amused grin.

Yoh smiled warmly at his big brother in response, before his eyes drifted down to Zeke’s naked forearm.

“Hao. Your pager.” gasped Yoh, blinking.

Zeke lifted his left arm and feigned a surprised look.

“Oh! I must have left it back in my room. We should turn around - ”

“It’s okay. If there’s really a Village out there, I’m sure we can get you a new one.” sighed Yoh, reassuringly.

Yoh lifted his hand and placed it on his big brother’s shoulder and smiled his signature toothy grin at him. When Zeke saw that closed eyed smile, he saw his own brother’s face in the illusion’s expression for the very first time.

And when he felt that flip in his stomach return, Asakura Zeke felt something else for the very first time, too.

A strange tug in his heart.

(10)
For a brief moment, Yoh noticed the subtle change in his big brother’s eyes - but before he could ask him what was wrong, his twin forcefully shrugged his shoulder - causing Yoh to instantly respond by removing his hand. Zeke immediately looked away from the illusion’s gentle expression to hide the repulsion now on his face.

“God dammit.”

Yoh hesitated. But then he remembered where they were and who was listening. He decided to wait until he got a chance to speak to Hao alone to find out what was bothering him. Yoh turned himself back around, and to send his twin a silent message that he wasn’t going anywhere, he shuffled backwards slightly and gently leaned back against him.

For God’s sake.

This version of his twin was even more sickeningly sweet than the one he remembered.

Had the King put something in Yoh’s code to make him physically drawn to him at every possible opportunity? Sounds just like the sort of sick joke he would come up with.

These physical symptoms he was feeling was proof the consumption was still on-going. That thing was still near the surface, pining for his fake baby brother. That imposter may be completely mindless and clueless for now, but if anyone was going to figure out what was going on - it was going to be the one who knew that thing the best in the whole world.

To keep both of these mindless ghosts oblivious to his presence, he was going to have to work a little harder to act the part.

Zeke relaxed his shoulders and leaned back against Yoh. Unseen to the elder twin, a reassured smile appeared on the younger twin’s face.

“Idiot.”

****

Humans.

Lots of them.

And a busy, crowded, bustling indoor public space - with unlimited possible shiny surfaces.

Allowing his hair to fall in front of his eyes, he attempted to create as much of a blind spot in his peripheral vision as possible without appearing too much like a suspicious individual in an airport.

With a bit of persuasion from the ex-X-Law, the Chinese shaman had begrudgingly offered to foot the travelling bill. The Ainu shaman was delighted, which had earned the short pointy one some bonus points in his regard. He didn’t have to worry too much about the blue haired imbecile, he was more empty headed and gullible than the rest of them.

The familiar pretty face of the notorious Elite faction group was an interesting addition to their party, however.

Perhaps the effects of the spell went further than he imagined, removing her attuned instincts from her fabricated make-up. She seemed far too preoccupied with her other-worldly romantic pursuits to have even took a moment to consider what greater power was at play. Her curiosity only extended as far as seeking answers from the Patch. It had not even occurred to her that there was one standing in the room.

Lastly, there was the shortest one of them all. Perhaps the most delightful thing about Oyamada was his conviction he had two identical best friends.

It was, admittedly, a little adorable.

And made him just an accessory to the scenario. A perfect role for him.

With his twin glued to his side, there was one other thing he had to consider.

That thing was going to feel more at ease the closer it was to his other half. Making this uncomfortable unbearable process take even longer.

Without drawing too much attention to his increasing presence, if it manages to get back in the driving seat, he knew what he had to do:

He had to get that bastard away from Yoh.

Shuffling forward in the line as the happy couple finally finished their check in, Asakura Zeke turned on the charm for the human smiling in his direction.

“Good morning, sir. Passports please.” she began holding out her manicured hand to him.

Zeke gracefully handed over the documents whilst Yoh loaded their bags onto the scales.

“The gentleman in your travelling party has already completed your booking, two Air Dragon First Class seats to United States Denver International Airport, Colorado.”

“First Class?!” delightfully shrieked Yoh, looking over his shoulder and beaming a smile at Ren and the others.

“That is correct.” replied Zeke with an amused chuckle.

“If you wouldn’t mind just looking into the camera lens for me whilst I check your passports please.” instructed the Beijing airport check-in lady as she began to examine the twin’s travel documents.

Yoh happily followed the woman’s instructions before moving out of the way to allow his twin to have a turn.

Cameras? Monitors?

Does that count as a reflection?

“Anything to declare?”

Hao’s eyes drifted from his own image on the grey pixelated security monitor and met the friendly face of the smartly dressed lady looking directly at him waiting for a response.

“Pardon?” muttered Hao, blinking back at the woman.

“In your party’s luggage, sir. Anything to declare?” repeated the Beijing airport check-in desk staff member.

“Actually yeah.” came the friendly voice of his twin. Yoh suddenly appeared by his side. “I’m transporting two antique collectible relics, one is a katana blade. They are properly packaged, Ma’am.”

The twins watched as the check-in lady began typing the information into her computer and then she printed out a label and attached it to the bags on the conveyor belt. She then handed two Japanese passports and two boarding passes to Yoh.

“All done. Have a great flight. Next please!”

“God dammit. Shit!”

(11)
Yoh nodded his head at the staff member and then put his arm around Hao’s waist. He began to push Hao along with him and out of the way of the other travellers in the busy Chinese airport check-in lobby.

“Nii-chan, are you okay? You seem a bit… not yourself today.” worriedly asked Yoh.

“Uh…” mumbled Hao. Before he could formulate an answer, Hao saw the faces of the others come into view.

His eyes immediately locked onto Ren and Jeanne, who both looked back at the twins as they waited patiently for them to finish their check-in.

“Tao Ren. Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot. He is Yoh’s ally for a reason, after all. Maybe we could start over?”

“But then again, why would he want to be friends with someone like me?”

“Oh so, you both decided to… come along after all?” quietly muttered Hao, keeping his gaze firmly on the couple when he and Yoh reached their side.

Ren raised an eyebrow at the fire shaman’s question.

“I did not exactly get a say in the matter. You’re welcome, by the way.” scoffed Ren, crossing his arms and looking away from Hao’s blank expression.

“What? Did I miss something?”

“Probably.”

“Excuse me?” muttered Hao.

“For the First Class upgrade - you ungrateful piece of sh -”

“- should we get moving through security so we have time to browse the duty-free stores?” interrupted Jeanne - shoving Ren along and away from the twins and towards the large moving escalator stair case in front of them.

“First Class? He paid for my ticket? That was kind of him.”

“I thought he hated me.”

Manta and HoroHoro shared a nervous look with one another before they both looked at Hao’s perplexed expression.

Hao found himself intensely examining the faces of his two friends for any signs of something being off with them. His mind fell back on the revelations about his past from the previous night - and for some reason he was finding it difficult to shake the worrying feeling that perhaps they may be afraid of him now. Was that what he could see in their eyes? Fear?

“Shit – what do I say? Last night was so awkward. Do they think I’m dangerous too? Wait – were we even in Guizhou last night? How the hell did we get here? Just look at them – they can tell something’s wrong. Dammit. We should have just told them the truth from the start. Now look at the mess we’re in.”

“And it’s all my fault.”

“Are you okay dude? You seem off today.” asked HoroHoro, worriedly.

“Yeah.” agreed Manta.

“That’s what I said.” added Yoh, he raised his arm from Hao’s waist and began to reassuringly rub his brother’s shoulders. “Don’t let Ren get to you, Nii-chan. He’ll come around, you’ll see.”

“I’m fine.” firmly replied Hao.

“Where did Ren and Jeanne go? Don’t they know they shouldn’t just walk off like that? Who knows what could happen. We have no idea what unknown dangers exist in this world...”

“…like me.”

His eyes drifted towards the direction the other two from their party had gone - and without saying another word to the others - he began to follow in the same direction as well.

Yoh, Manta and HoroHoro all exchanged the same concerned look with one another before hurriedly following after him.

Stepping off the escalator, Hao began to notice how the bustling noise of the airport crowd began to sound like a badly tuned static radio.

“I hate flying.”
“My flight was cancelled – again?”
“I can’t wait for this vacation. I need a break.”
“I’m going to miss my flight!”
“I hope I make it to the connecting airport on time.”
“I shouldn’t have watched that movie about that plane crash last night.”

“Wait – which way is the security gate? I had better look for a sign…”

“…or a mirror.”

The noise momentarily affected his ability to concentrate - and he began to forget where he was and what he was doing. His eyes drifted towards the airport walls as he searched for a sign to tell him which way to go - then, feeling somewhat helpless, he cemented himself to the spot and froze.

As he laid eyes on his twin at the top of the moving staircase, Yoh noticed how his big brother seemed a bit lost. He calmly approached him and reached for his hand, gripping Hao’s fingers tightly in his.

“Come on. Let’s stick together. We’ll find our way.” softly said Yoh, tugging his twin by the arm and in the direction of airport security.

“I shouldn’t have left Yoh behind – what was I thinking?! He always knows what to do.”

“It’s such a shame that he has to put up with a brother like me.”

Hao’s eyes drifted to their interlocked hands and he briefly observed Yoh’s oracle pager. Then suddenly - something occurred to him. He lifted his own left arm and immediately realised that his pager was gone.

“Yoh, I - I’ve lost my pager!”

Yoh turned his head and looked at Hao’s bare forearm and then met his big brother’s alarmed eyes.

“I know, you left it back at Ren’s by mistake. Remember?” sighed Yoh with a slight pained smile.

“What? No - I - I distinctly remember putting it on!” argued Hao.

“Don’t worry. If we make it to the Village, then, I’m sure the Patch can get you a new one. It’s not like we needed it, or anything.” went on Yoh as he began to snake them both through the airport barricades to join the long security line.

“I know but… it was mine.” sadly whispered Hao.

Hao remained silent as he stuck close to his twin’s side in the busy crowd of travellers. He could not understand why he was feeling so anxious. He was certain he had his pager. Why would he leave it behind?

“How could I be so careless? That pager was mine. It meant a lot to me. Yoh and I worked hard to earn our pagers together. It’s like Yoh always says… we did it together. It might have been broken, but… I loved my pager.”

“Although, yellow was a ridiculous colour choice.”

Why could he not remember travelling to Beijing? Had he been feeling so spaced out that he dissociated completely from their reality for a while?

“What the hell is going on? I should tell Yoh.”

Before Hao could find the words to voice his concerns, he found himself moving effortlessly through the security checkpoint and emerging in the busy shopping district on the other side. He caught a glimpse of a short boy with a distinct pointy hairstyle walking along behind a delighted young woman as they entered an accessories store.

“There they are!”

“Better follow them before we lose them again. Quickly!”

Without giving his younger brother a second thought, he began to immediately make his way towards them.

Unfortunately, Yoh had forgotten to remove his headphones before he stepped through the metal detector and was finding himself getting the full security treatment from the guards. He watched on helplessly as his twin once again disappeared into the crowd.

Hao found himself wandering into the store and he hastily looked around for the warrior shaman.

“Where did they go?”

“Hey – what’s that?”

Then, something caught his eye. He lifted his hand towards an earring display and carefully caressed a large silver pair of star shaped earrings. As he admired them in his hand, they began to reflect the light into his eyes.

Blinking at the sparkly costume jewellery in his hand, Zeke snatched them from the display and shoved them into his tracksuit pocket. He hastily made his way out of the store and began to search the faces of the airport crowd.

From across the bustling airport shopping mall  – the Asakura twins finally found each other once again.

“Hao…” breathed Yoh with a relieved sigh.

(12)
That was close.

Any more mishaps like that, the imposter is bound to figure out what’s happening – and then he’s going to tell the others. And if that happens…

…it’s going to make the rest of this process a whole lot more complicated.

There’s nothing they can do to undo the spell now. What’s done is done.

But it would appear this illusionary thing is going to be a lot harder to control than first thought.

Perhaps switching tactics is wise. Get to know some more details from Yoh about what makes his fake twin tick. It’s bound to come in useful later on.

Maybe it might even let him in willingly, if he tried hard enough.

It was just a copy of himself, after all.

That strategy would also have the added benefit of throwing Yoh off the scent.

Fortunately, getting his chatty little brother to talk to him was extremely easy. It was just a matter of finding the right moment.

First Class lounge passengers were first to board the cross-continent flight. And before long, the painful awkward silences were over - and Zeke shared in Yoh’s satisfaction and relief when they reached their luxurious spacious seats for the next 15 hours.

And Asakura Zeke did not need to wait for very long before Yoh jumped at the chance to talk.

“It was so nice of Ren to upgrade everyone.” happily said Yoh as he flopped down into his seat and began playing with the multiple seat adjustment settings.

“Yeah. I half expected him to put me in the luggage compartment.” laughed Zeke as he fastened his seat belt, earning him a playful laugh from his twin.

“I would have joined you. It’s probably warmer down there compared to his frosty reception towards us.” giggled Yoh.

“He didn’t have to be such an asshole towards you. You are his friend.”

“He’s your friend too. He just doesn’t know it yet.” said Yoh with a reassuring smile.

“Oh? And what makes you say that?” curiously asked the elder twin, raising an eyebrow. Yoh sighed deeply.

“I mean, after everything we’ve all been through together… sure yeah, his experience with you was a lot different but – you are still the same person it’s just – things worked out differently for you in our world.”

Once again, Zeke searched his dual mind for the answers before he had to ask the question. But annoyingly, the gaps in that thing’s memory were like huge bottomless trenches – a reminder that the body he was adopting was a fake.

“Tell me again – about what happened in the final?” asked Zeke, as innocently as he could manage.

“Again?” laughed Yoh. “How many times are you going to make me tell you that story?”

Zeke forced an amused chuckle at Yoh’s words.

“It’s one of my favourite stories.” he quipped with a slight grin.

“Yeah.” sighed Yoh, beaming a happy smile at his twin once more. “It’s one of mine, too.”

Zeke blinked, unable to hide his astonishment.

“It is?”

“Of course. It’s one of the proudest moments of my life. And, I love that I can tell it to you now, and – you’re right here, by my side.”

The twins waited for the air hostesses to complete their in-flight safety demonstration and they were all finally in the air before settling in for the epic retelling of Yoh’s fateful final encounter with The Great Onmyoji: Asakura Hao.

Zeke realised fairly quickly he had made a mistake to sit himself on the left side window seat, between the window pane and the miniature monitor in front of him, Yoh’s incessant habit of waving his hands in front of him when he spoke meant he was basically waving a portal right in front of Zeke’s eyes for his big brother to come charging back into the world. Therefore, Zeke was forced to close his eyes as he listened to the whole story - which only made the visuals Yoh was painting in his mind all the more clearer.

Zeke’s brow furrowed when he heard the joy and laughter in Yoh’s voice as he recalled the way he purposely pushed Hao’s buttons during the fight to get him flustered enough to allow him to get a few hits on his big brother. It was certainly a surprise to him to learn that Yoh had found a way to use Reishi to his advantage, something no one had ever thought to do against him before. Zeke had to hold back a grimace on his face when Yoh described the relief he felt when his powered-up Na Avida ability was successful against Hao’s first blow. The “Black Raven” and “White Swan” armoured oversouls he was describing were ones Zeke had never seen before - which irked him. He didn’t like the not knowing and… he certainly did not like this story.

As Yoh went on, Zeke heard a strange crack in Yoh’s voice as he recalled the final moments of the battle - how he somehow survived a full-power close-ranged attack against the now King - and then surrendered, gifting his big brother the win and finally… had to say goodbye to him.

Zeke flinched and his soul almost left Hao’s body voluntarily when he felt the soft gentle touch of the illusion’s hand slip into his. He tightly screwed his closed eyelids in an attempt to hide his sudden onset of panic. He couldn’t just snatch his hand away, that would be too suspicious… but dear God, why was this Yoh like this? What made him behave this way towards him all the time?

“You know what? I’ve been thinking about Matamune a lot recently.” softly sighed Yoh before letting out a deep yawn.

“How come?” muttered Zeke.

“Well, it all started with him. Back when he helped me save Anna. The lessons he taught me then… they have always stayed with me. And… he had to lie for a little while too, but – in the end, it resulted in something remarkable. I saved you. And now – we’re together! Isn’t that amazing?”

“I’m stopping you right here Zeke - once and for all!”

Zeke cleared his throat as he tried to bat the unwanted memories away.

“But…” hesitantly began Zeke, being very careful in his choice of words, “Doesn’t it bother you that… if he hadn’t lied in the first place, all of it wouldn’t have happened? And we wouldn’t be in this situation? Worrying about all this stuff?”

“Even if you defeat me today - others will rise against you!”

“It sounds crazy but… after this experience, I now see why lying to protect those you care about can sometimes be necessary. I hate not telling the whole truth but, I would do this all over again, for you – Hao.”

“You’re wrong Zeke! You’re the one who’s finished!”

“But... why?”

“Because you’re my big brother, that’s why... and I love you.”

(13)
The sharp inhale of breath he took in at Yoh’s painful and intense outpouring of adoration stuck in his throat and almost made him pass out.

He disguised the exhale as a sigh, and just about recovered enough to appear like he was simply enjoying the moment.

But internally, he was micro seconds away from causing an “accidental explosion” in the jet engines, just as a means to escape the suffocating atmosphere created by this inter-dimensional illusionary cross-breed variant of his brother.

It was no accident that this disgustingly sweet creature was this way.

It proves the King must be just as twisted as he is.

This was his playground, after all. His own personal puppet show. Exercising his infinite power as a pathetic demonstration of control. A way to prove to everyone that he had done it: he had won.

And there was nothing anyone could do about it.

But that’s when a smirk appeared on his face, he turned his head to the side and allowed his hair to hide his features from any prying eyes.

That victorious bastard may have the upper hand now… but when he was finished, he was going to tear down this pathetic world. And any other wasteland the King had created during his short reign. Not to mention all the living worlds beyond with all the trillions perhaps even infinite numbers of humans who would not be spared.

They will all pay for what they did to him. All of those royal variants of him. Not to mention the little God puppet of his twin too.

Perhaps he may keep that one around… just to watch.

He gently let go of Yoh’s hand as he reached under the seat in front of him and pulled out the neatly folded blanket and handed it to his twin.

“Here, you feel cold.” he muttered, hoping his method to escape the physical contact would appear innocent enough.

“Thanks.” sighed Yoh, happily accepting the soft material and making himself more comfortable.

Zeke took his chance to close the window as the sky was darkening outside. He picked up a napkin and started to cover the monitor in front of him too.

“What’s that for?” curiously asked Yoh.

“Oh, I think it’s broken or something. It keeps flashing and it’s bugging me.” casually explained Zeke.

Yoh nodded his head in response and snuggled into his seat, pulling his blanket up to his chin and closing his eyes.

Zeke paused for a moment as he observed Yoh more closely. It was unnerving just how much more he resembled the twin he remembered when his eyelids were shut. He had been unable to examine his own face in a mirror to observe the differences in his own appearance, so Yoh’s face was the closest he got to seeing himself.

Perhaps it was a combination of the silence in his mind after only seeing blackness and darkness for an eternity that made the colours in this world pop all around him. But when he looked into Yoh’s eyes it was like looking into a portal to another world. A reminder once more that this Yoh was born of a different reality, and by the sounds of things, that reality had a much more colourful ending compared to the bleak end to his.

He realised he was now staring intensely at the illusion who was drifting off to sleep in front of him.

Then a new delicious idea came into his mind.

If he didn’t need Yoh as his ticket to the King’s Realm, he could just take all that power for himself. Right now.

This Yoh was a vessel that had been filled to the brim with power. Pure gifted power from the King himself. The furyoku he could sense emanating from him was electrifyingly beautiful.

It would be painless.

He wouldn’t even feel it.

And it could be argued that he would be doing these ghosts a favour, they could be together.

And be one whole soul.

Then suddenly. That strange flip in his stomach returned.

Only, it was less of a “flip” and more of a…

Oh god.

Zeke undid his seat belt and leapt to his feet, he shuffled around Yoh as quickly as possible to make his way to the nearest bathroom cubicle.

He may have accidentally trampled on Yoh’s blanket in his attempt to get away but he didn’t have time to pretend he cared.

It wasn’t like him to get sick when flying.

But then again, he wasn’t in his own body. And this new body was a lot more sensitive than his old one.

Zeke bolted for the handle and threw open the cubicle door.

Hao’s hearing was suddenly overwhelmed by the recognisable white noise of a moving airplane. He blinked at his own reflection in the bathroom cubicle and froze. The mirrors. His reflection! That was the cause of this strange phenomenon! He quickly lowered his gaze and stared at the floor, moving slowly backwards and out of the cubicle, closing the door quickly as he did so. His mind became frantic as he began to consider the odd question - how many reflective surfaces could there be on an airplane??

“God dammit! Shit!”

Realising he had no idea where his seat was - Hao hesitantly began to make his way towards the front of the plane. As he shuffled down the cramped aisle with his head lowered, he examined each of his fellow traveller’s footwear as he did so. He considered summoning his Spirit Ally to act as a guide but reconsidered that option immediately. He had no idea why this strange experience was happening to him and he did not want to bring any unwanted attention to himself from any other potential shaman traveller.

Hao finally recognised a pair of large black ski boot sneakers and lifted his head.

“HoroHoro I - !” loudly began Hao, but cut off his words when he saw how HoroHoro was snoring quietly with his mouth gaped wide open. That was when he noticed the darkened night sky through the porthole window. How long had they been flying?

Confused and alarmed, the fire shaman noticed out of the corner of his eye a glint of something orange peeking over the seat in front of the ice shaman. Hao lowered his head once more and shuffled to the next aisle, relieved to see his little brother curled up in his large comfortable First Class beige-leather plane seat, sleeping safe and sound. Hao considered waking him, but instead, his instincts kicked in and he reached for the blanket that had fallen to the floor and wrapped it around his twin. He then carefully shuffled his way to the empty window seat beside him, relieved to see the porthole window was already closed and the small television screen on the back of the passenger seat in front of him had already been covered.

He decided to tell Yoh everything in the morning. As long as he didn’t look in any more mirrors, everything will be okay.

“Hao?” mumbled Yoh, lifting his head slightly and peering at his big brother with sleepy eyes. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” softly sighed Hao, forcing a reassuring smile. He lifted his hand and gently caressed a strand of loose hair from his little brother’s face, before he slipped his hand under the blanket and gripped Yoh’s hand tightly in his. “Go back to sleep. You need to rest.”

“Okay…” whispered Yoh.

Everything will be okay.

It will all work out.

That’s what Hao told himself as he closed his eyes and drifted back into a deep, blissful, comfortable sleep.

End of Episode Ten

End of Phase Two

Welcome aboard the "Fractured Duality" Multi-verse!

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