Chapter Text
"Fractured Duality"
Alternative Universe - Phase Three
Episode Eleven
“A Leisurely Chat”
(1)
“You are beaten. It is useless to resist. Don’t let yourself be destroyed. There is no escape. Don’t make me destroy you.”
The exaggerated sound of a forced hoarse voice echoed in the air all around.
“You do not yet realise your importance. You have only begun to discover your power! Join me - and I will complete your training.”
The playful sound of supressed amused chuckles overlapped.
“With our combined strength we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the Galaxy!”
“I’ll never join you!” yelled the response, despite the played-out scene having a serious nature, the voice sounded delighted.
“If you only knew the power of the dark side! Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.”
“He told me enough. He told me you killed him.”
“No – I am your father!”
The pair of identical six-year-old boys fell about giggling as they clashed their action figures along with their colourful plastic light sabres together between them.
“No! That’s not true! That’s impossible!” giggled the longer haired boy.
“Search your feelings!” replied the younger one, waving his black armoured action figure and clashing his bright red plastic light-sabre towards his brother’s toy. “You know it to be true!”
Hao laughed happily in response, but then sighed a bit.
“Why do you always get to be Vader?” Hao laughed as he lay himself back on the ground in a bed of his own hair, examining his Luke figure in his hand with a slight disappointed look in his eye. Then he turned to look at his little brother lying beside him.
There was a pause as Hao awaited his twin’s response. He smiled softly as he watched Yoh playfully wave his toy and red plastic sword above his head, his hands contrasting with the blue sky above them.
Hao tried to turn his head to try to meet Yoh’s gaze to get his attention, but Yoh did not turn towards him. He instead just enjoyed the moment as a familiar wave of comfort began to wash over him. The joy he was feeling began to consume him. Grounding him in that safe, heavenly, innocent moment in time. Pulling him in and cementing him there. Rooting him there, with no means of escape. But then again, why would he ever want to leave?
“Your Yoh seems wonderful.”
“He is.” pleasantly replied Hao. “I’m... so sorry about what happened to your brother, Zeke.”
“Thank you, but – please don’t feel bad. It warms my heart to see these beautiful memories you have with yours.”
Hao slowly opened his eyes as the dream fell away, revealing him back in his personal pocket of security along side his mirrored other self. He stretched one arm out to his side allowing his fingertips to gently caress the cold smooth surface of the floor beneath him. Hao lay his palm flat to the reflective crystal floor – the mirrored gloved palm on the other side touched to his and fit perfectly.
“Do you want to talk about it?” gently asked Hao. “You’re such a good listener, the least I could do is do the same for you.”
“That’s kind of you, Hao.” came the reply of his reflection lay beneath the crystal floor. “But my memories are not as happy as yours.”
Hao sat himself up – his mirrored image perfectly copying him. Hao sat cross legged and gazed down at the face on the other side of the mirror. Their identical long hair joined together on the ground almost creating a wall between them - separating the pair from the vast endless world around them. Hao could see pain in the all-black eyes that were looking back at him.
“Zeke. I am here for you. You’re not alone anymore.” gently said Hao with a kind smile.
Zeke sighed and closed his eyes. He placed his hand on the floor in front of him. Hao automatically did the same – and the identical mirrored duo touched palms once again.
“Ever since the day I was born again… to the day I was trapped here in this place - it always felt like a part of my soul was missing…” sadly whispered Zeke, “But maybe… this is what it feels like… to have a big brother.”
Hao smiled kindly at his reflection.
“I know that feeling well, and yes... Being there for each other, no matter what, is exactly what it feels like.” gently replied Hao. “And if I can do that for you, to fill that void in your heart after never even having the chance to know your big brother then… of course I will.”
Zeke grinned.
“Thank you, Hao.”
(2)
“Now the Babylon Gate will open. What will happen when this power is unleashed? I cannot say. Should we be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice as well, we are ready. We know that it is for the good of the world. X Laws, prepare for the reckoning.”
A vortex clouded sky darkened the day time desert landscape as a strange wind swirled - marrying a funnel of light as it shielded the enormous stone tower that had miraculously appeared out of the earth itself - menacingly growing high into the sky.
“Open the gate.” commanded an angelic familiar voice.
The Kami-class spirit of the Iron Maiden Jeanne appeared below the huge apparition of a trapped door in the sky. In its hand it held a large bronze key. Shamash obeyed its shaman’s instructions and inserted it into the door’s key hole, opening the great Babylon Gate and unleashing its power on the world.
Hao watched on in disbelief at the incredible scene unfolding in front of his eyes. He watched helplessly as the Spirit of Fire, along with its master, plus all the familiar faces of his royal counterpart’s followers - as well as every X Law member present on the ground, and Jeanne herself, all succumbed to the gate’s incredible devastating power. One by one, each shaman and oversoul present were instantly swallowed by the gate in the sky. Moments later, the world itself seemed to collapse, as the fabric of time and reality collapsed in of itself.
“No!!” screamed Hao, sitting bolt upright and snapping open his eyes. He grabbed a hold of his chest as he tried to catch his breath, shuddering slightly as he recalled what he just saw.
“I told you,” came the voice of his reflection, “My memories are not as happy as yours.”
“I can’t… I can’t believe they did that to you… to all of you…” sadly whispered Hao, barely audibly.
There was a short silence.
“The X Laws had no real understanding of the devastating consequences of their actions. Their ignorance is to blame, not them.” solemnly replied Zeke.
Hao got to his feet. He stared out into the vast void around him with a sad glint in his eye.
“What happened to the others? Luchist? Opacho?” softly asked Hao.
Zeke hesitated for a moment before responding.
“My soul was the only one powerful enough to resist the effects of this place.” sadly replied the reflection. “The others they…”
Hao fell to his hands and knees as he locked himself onto his inter-dimensional reflection’s expression once again who looked back at him from the other side, mirroring his every move.
“That was not supposed to happen!” cried Hao, desperately. “Yoh was supposed to…”
“I know.” gently replied Zeke. “I know that now. Yoh was the missing piece. If he had been alive, perhaps my world would still be thriving. And I would have made it to my destination and become the King. The way destiny intended.”
Hao sighed sadly, lowering his head. He laid himself to one side and placed one hand on to the crystal floor once again to attempt to bring his variant some comfort.
A silence between them grew again as Hao absorbed what he had learned about his variant’s devastating past. Zeke lost his twin to Yohmei’s hand as his weaker defenceless half was born first. He winced slightly just thinking about his own Yoh and how innocently beautiful he was as a newborn, how his fate was changed from the moment they were both born... Zeke never had that chance to know his brother. And thanks to the interference of the notorious meddling Elite faction, Zeke’s royal destiny was thrown off course, causing an anomaly in his reality - freezing his world in a never moving forward passage of time.
“I was only spared at birth because of Matamune,” Zeke had told him. These words confirmed it in Hao’s heart. He and Zeke were the same. Matamune had spared him too. Though that detail felt hazy, like perhaps his illusionary memories of Matamune were not quite as vivid as his lived ones by his side in the real world. But he knew in his heart Matamune was the key to his and his true self’s salvation. He and Yoh had talked for hours late into the night about the split tailed cat spirit and what his sacrifice had done for all of them. And now, once again, Matamune had done the same for another version of himself across realities. Showing just how much his love and faith in him transcended beyond his own understanding.
“Perhaps that’s why we have been brought together in this place, why we have found each other, this connection we have… maybe it is because we do not belong in any real world.” sighed Hao, he looked down at Zeke’s face and tried to smile reassuringly at him.
“Your world sounds just as wonderful as any real world, Hao. You are lucky to have a life beyond this place.” replied Zeke. There was a notable hint of sadness in his voice.
“I know that. I am sorry, Zeke. I must sound so ungrateful sometimes.” muttered Hao with a soft sigh.
“Don’t be sorry, it’s okay,” gently replied Zeke, “I am glad that you are here with me now.” Zeke paused for a moment, “Although,”
Hao blinked, shifting himself more on his front to get a closer look at Zeke’s face.
“Maybe there might be a way for you to… talk to me… even when you’re awake.”
“What? Really? But this is just a dream, how can I…?”
“I believe it may be your dormant power that is the reason we have this connection.” explained Zeke, “Perhaps if you tried to tap into it more, you’d be able to hear me and sense my presence in your world.”
“I haven’t been able to use my power since childhood.” replied Hao, sadly.
“It was just an idea,” sighed Zeke, “It’s just that… when you’re gone, I miss your voice. And… maybe I could be there for you, whilst you are going through a tough time, as your friend.”
Hao froze for a moment as he considered it.
“Nii-chan? We’re almost on the ground. You’ve been asleep for hours!”
“I - I have to go.” hastily said Hao, climbing to his feet.
“I know,” replied his reflection, “And… Hao?”
Hao looked down at his feet and met the warm friendly smile of his mirrored image once more.
“Even if you don’t remember me or our conversations all that well when you’re awake, I think you remember how I make you feel. And that’s what counts, so. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be waiting for you for when you get back.”
Hao smiled kindly at his identical friend.
“Thank you, Zeke.”
(3)
“Yoh is in trouble?”
“Yes. We believe so.”
“Master Yohken, I am in need of your Shikigami.”
Asakura Yohken blinked in surprise at the young girl standing before him - whose bright pink magenta eyes looked back at him with a fiery fierceness.
“Miss, Dai Tengu requires a vast amount of furyoku and ascetic strength to wield. You are but a child.”
“Master,” firmly began Tamao, “I have been bestowed with the collective knowledge and wisdom of my variants from many worlds that lie beyond our own. These variants of me are your students. You may not know me, but I know you extremely well.”
Tamao confidently unsheathed her weapon and presented its impressive blade to the spirit of the Asakura ancestor before her.
“The Yoh that you met within your plain of the Spirit World gave me this,” continued Tamao, “I assure you, I am equipped to wield your spirit ally.”
Anna smiled slightly as she quietly admired her friend’s uncharacteristically gracious and strong demeanour - then her eyes drifted back to the apparition before them.
“What is your name?” asked Yohken with an impressed grin.
“I am Tamamura Tamao.” she declared, “And I will strike down what ever force dares to threaten my family.”
As Tamao’s impactful words hung in the air, a short silence gripped the room.
“The Yoh that I met?” questioned Yohken, eventually. “What do you mean?”
“The world we are standing in is fabricated and exists in a commune within the Great Spirits.” explained Anna, “The souls that live here are illusionary. I had to invent a completely new technique to properly summon you from the correct plain of the Spirit World that aligned with the living world I came from. You met our Yoh in Hell. But he is not the same soul that exists in this realm. He merely mirrors him.”
“He is like a copy of his true self.” added Tamao. “Just like myself and Anna.”
Yohken paused for a moment as he absorbed the words of the two young women in front of him.
“Hm. I recall Yoh told me how he met another Hao in his world, one who also was not his authentic self.”
“That’s right.” candidly nodded Tamao. “He is one of us.”
Yohken paused again as he mulled over the pink haired shaman’s words.
“Yoh seemed to trust him.”
“Of course he does!” snapped Anna, slightly annoyed by the monk spirit’s words. “They are brothers.”
Yohken smiled.
“And that’s good enough for me.”
Yohken swiftly waved his hand and an origami paper doll appeared between his thumb and forefinger. He then presented the doll to Tamao.
“Thank you, Master.” gratefully sighed Tamao as she accepted Asakura Yohken’s powerful Kami-class spirit into her rightful possession.
The girls then simultaneously turned to one another.
“We will leave for the US first thing in the morning.” nodded Anna. She then crossed her arms as an irked look flickered across her face. “I knew those idiot boys would get themselves into trouble without us!”
“I wish I had gone with them…” sadly sighed Tamao.
Anna smiled a bit. She placed her hand reassuringly on Tamao’s shoulder.
“If you had, then none of this would have been possible. You were exactly where they needed you to be, Tamao.”
Tamao smiled.
“Thank you, Anna.”
The exchange between friends was interrupted by a loud knocking coming from the Onsen front door.
Anna, Tamao and Yohken all exchanged a glance with one another before Anna marched herself towards the door.
Opening it swiftly - her eyes drifted up to meet the face of the tall visitor standing before her.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she gasped, astonished.
“Honestly, Miss. Anna? I have absolutely no idea.”
(4)
“I didn’t know where else to turn. Once I had gathered my bearings, I came here right away.”
“And what makes you think we want you here?”
“Anna.” softly gasped Tamao, blinking at Anna’s harsh words.
“Fun-fun, bari-bari, we worked so hard. Fun-fun, bari-bari, and lo it was built.” gleefully chanted the strange man, smiling sweetly at the girls.
When he was met with two blank expressions, the doctor shaman cleared his throat and swallowed nervously, looking somewhat embarrassed.
“Ladies,” came the voice of the Asakura ancestor, “I am grateful to have played my part. Though I believe this matter is private. If you need my help again, I am at your service.”
“Thank you, Master Yohken.” nodded Tamao with a soft smile. Yohken respectfully bowed his head at the girls before his ghostly apparition slowly disappeared.
Unmoved by the doctor’s strange behaviour, the young Itako vigorously scanned the slender skinny frame of the necromancer shaman standing in her house from head to toe. Her eyes fixated first on his fully functioning legs, and then on the oracle pager peeking out from his long sleeved white doctor’s coat.
“Broken. I assume?” spat Anna, nodding her head towards the device.
The bleach blonde lifted his arm and pulled up his sleeve to observe his navy blue pager.
“Oh yes. But, that is the least of my concerns.” sighed the doctor, wearily.
“You’re not concerned about the Great Spirits’ radio silence?” pressed Anna, raising an eye brow as she continued to interrogate him.
“Why would I be? What use is a pager to me now?” candidly replied Faust VIII.
The girls shared an awkward silent exchange at Faust’s words.
“But what’s more,” hastily went on Faust, “I was dead.”
Anna blinked in surprise at the living and breathing very much alive confused shaman in front of her.
When Faust observed the girls’ puzzled expressions, he placed a hand on his forehead and closed his eyes. He sighed deeply and sadly.
“And here I was certain you would know what had happened. Oh Eliza. My poor sweet Eliza…” quietly sobbed Faust, shaking his head.
“You don’t have Eliza?” firmly asked Anna, alarmed.
Faust took in a sharp inhale before opening his frantic crystal-like eyes and locking on to Anna’s disgruntled and confused face.
“I met my end. I exceeded my usefulness in life and in death. I was finally reunited with my precious darling… and then… I am suddenly here. In Funbari. In a fully able body. And my beloved, she - ”
Faust outstretched his arm and opened his lab jacket, revealing the well persevered bones of his late wife hanging by chains within his coat lining.
“She has been reduced to this primitive form!” desperately cried Faust. The chains wrapped around Eliza’s brittle remains rattled and jingled in response to Faust’s animated movements.
Anna quietly observed the crumbling skeleton in front of her, before her eyes drifted back to the pained expression of the one holding it.
After a moment of silence, Anna took in a slow deep breath before she spoke again,
“You don’t know why you’re here, or why you are alive. So let’s start with something you do know. How did you die?” softly asked Anna, her usual firm demeanour slipping slightly.
“I had a hero’s death. I died saving those I care about. And I was rewarded in the afterlife, I returned to my - ”
“Yes. Yes. I know that part.” replied Anna with an agitated sigh, “Okay. Let’s try it this way. Where did you die?”
“In Mu of course.”
A sudden feeling of dread washed over Anna at Faust’s revelation. She calmly turned to the equally stunned expression of her friend standing beside her. Anna’s eyes then drifted to the relic in Tamao’s hand.
Anna took a moment to think before she spoke again. She looked back into Tamao’s fierce and alight irises, once again observing the striking difference in her expression compared to her shy timid demeanour she was more accustomed to.
The Itako then looked back at the tall doctor shaman standing in front of her.
“Who is the Shaman King?”
Faust’s expression wavered at Anna’s question.
“Why are you asking me this? You know who won the Fight, Miss. Anna.” replied Faust, confused.
“I know who won the Fight. I want to know if you do.” demanded Anna.
Tamao and Anna shared a knowing look once more before they simultaneously turned back to Faust, awaiting his answer.
Faust lowered his head as a serious and bleak look flickered across his face.
“The fearless and murderous Great Onmyoji, Asakura Hao.”
Tamao stepped back slightly at Faust’s foreboding demeanour, she brought one shaky hand up to her chest and screwed her eyes closed. Anna remained unmoved and unshaken once again, cementing herself to the spot as her thoughts began to race. Her mind fell back on Opacho’s earlier distressed behaviour and the odd uncertain circumstances they were now finding themselves in. Why had their true selves intervened from their old world? What could be so important that Yoh had gone to such great lengths to ensure Tamao was armed with his weapon? Why was Faust here - and why are his recollections so contrastingly different to the Faust she knew?
“What am I missing here?” muttered Anna, taking a step away from the others and looking towards the ground.
Tamao opened her eyes and turned around to observe Anna’s uncharacteristic worried behaviour. She sighed sadly.
“Anna,” breathed Tamao, “There’s a vast universe out there. Living worlds full of living beings. Hao is the King to all of those worlds.”
Anna turned back to Tamao, her eyes wide.
“You’re saying there’s more than one King?”
“No,” replied Tamao, “There is only one King. He is the King to every world. He had many, many different paths to take, but his destiny remains the same across all realities. But if you recall, Anna, the King we know from our own world did not take that path alone.”
Faust was stunned by the unusual conversation the girls were having in front of him.
Tamao turned back to the necromancer shaman.
“Faust, the world around us is not real. And, it is becoming obvious to me now that this world exists for a reason.” said Tamao, firmly.
Faust opened his mouth to respond but he couldn’t find the words.
“I do not understand why you have been brought into this plain within the Great Spirits,” continued Tamao, “But I suspect something greater than us is at play. And it poses some kind of threat to the world we know.”
Tamao’s eyes briefly observed Faust’s pager and then she brought up her hands to observe her new weapon and the delicately folded paper doll in her grip.
“And it looks like what ever this threat is… I am destined to fight it.”
Anna took a step towards Tamao, locking her cold determined eyes upon her.
“Tamao. Can you try to look again?” she asked, her voice hollow.
Tamao hesitated briefly - but then a smile appeared on her face. She nodded her head at Anna determinedly in response.
“Yes. Of course I can.”
(5)
“So that was a little different. It was actually kinda nice, hah.” chuckled Yoh as he adjusted his backpack straps.
“What was?” came the disgruntled reply of the Chinese shaman.
“You know, actually landing safely and collecting our stuff — like “normal” people.” laughed the younger Asakura brother.
“Who wants to be normal? Sounds boring.” replied the elder twin with a slight amused grin.
The twins let out a mirrored laugh before beaming an identical smile at each other.
Ren rolled his eyes and huffed in response to the sickening familiarity the pair had with one another. But after considering their words for a moment, something occurred to him,
“Wait a minute, I thought you said that you didn’t make it this far in “your world” - and the Shaman Fight was called off?”
Yoh felt a pang in his chest as he realised his loose lips had accidentally backed them both into a corner.
“Well uh –” awkwardly began Yoh.
“It’s like we told you,” interjected Hao, “Yoh and I have experienced a shift in time and reality, just like you. In our old world - we travelled to the US on the Patch aircraft, they threw us out - and the next thing we know, we were back where we started.”
Hao forced a candid smile at Tao Ren, but when he was met with a cold and distrusting look in response, he quickly realised his attempt to create a sense of mutual understanding with him without bending the truth too much was impossible.
“Threw you out? Like - from the sky?!” loudly questioned the small human in their group. Manta’s eyes widened as Ren began to tell him the bizarre circumstances of his last experience travelling to US soil.
“Phew, nice save Nii-chan.” silently thought Yoh, letting out a soft audible sigh as he met his twin’s reassuring gaze.
Hao smiled softly in response to hearing his brother’s relieved voice. Though the small odd detail that Yoh’s lips had not moved along to his words did not seem to occur to him.
The colourful group of five continued their on-foot journey into the streets of Denver – observing the neighbouring shops and amenities as they began to open their doors for business. Yoh and Hao’s thoughts simultaneously turned to the missing member of their party, who had ran ahead with an excitable declaration he was going to “scout the area” for more Shaman Fight contestants. The twins were certain his search would be fruitless, but they were both becoming acutely aware that their new world was full of unexpected surprises.
“So uh…” mumbled Manta, “How did you find the Village last time, Ren?”
“A series of careless nonsensical poor decision making and a lot of luck.” replied Ren, bluntly.
Manta laughed awkwardly before letting out an anxious exhale in response to Ren’s cold and blunt words.
“Well - we don’t need luck this time!” gleefully chirped in Yoh. “Ren knows where we need to go next, right Ren?”
“We’re beginning from a completely different starting point. I’ll need time to gather my bearings.” replied Tao Ren with a notable hint of agitation.
Yoh laughed awkwardly in response,
“Well in that case, we might as well look around - you never know who we might bump in-”
“Hey guys! Look who I found!” came the loud and ecstatic voice of the ice shaman.
The group unanimously turned towards the direction the happy voice of their friend came from. Hao’s blood ran cold when he immediately recognised the young boy dressed in bright green attire to match his illuminous green hair style coming towards them. “Oh shit.”
“This should be interesting.”
For their own individual reasons, the group all shared a mutual feeling of uncertainty as HoroHoro beamed a goofy smile at them as he dragged the boy towards them by the wrist.
“This is that British kid I was telling you about - Lionel!” delightfully yelled HoroHoro as he and the other boy reached the group.
Hao and Yoh exchanged a worried glance with one another and they held their breaths, bracing themselves for another intense encounter.
Hao even momentarily considered summoning his Spirit Ally for protection.
The young boy chuckled sheepishly at the others as he tried to politely shake his hand free from HoroHoro’s grasp.
“My name is actually Lyserg Diethel.” said the softly spoken young man. He then beamed a friendly smile at the group. “It’s so great to finally find other Shaman Fight competitors. I should never have doubted my attuned dousing instincts - I knew more shaman were going to pass through here eventually!”
A short awkward silence grew. Ren and Jeanne shared a knowing unspoken exchange before Ren turned towards the familiar face in front of him. He then quickly caught on to the bizarre unfolding differing circumstances when he observed that not only was Lyserg familiar with his old team mate, he was also grossly unfamiliar with someone else in their group.
“You two… know each other?” muttered Ren, gesturing with just his eyes towards Lyserg and HoroHoro.
“That’s right - we met back in Japan!” happily replied HoroHoro. The look of unwavering confidence and smugness on HoroHoro’s face did not go unnoticed by the warrior shaman.
“I see.” murmured Ren as he began to intensely examine Lyserg from head to toe. He fixated his glare on the most obvious difference in his appearance - the forest-green deer stalker cap he was wearing on his head.
Lyserg shifted on his feet uncomfortably as Ren continued to intensely stare him down. Feeling somewhat anxious by the strange reception, his eyes drifted to the friendlier and warmer expressions of the two standing beside Ren.
“Are these those friends you told me about, HoroHoro?”
“Yeah! Asakura bros - meet Lionel.”
“Lyserg.” quietly muttered Lyserg as he politely outstretched his hand towards Yoh.
“Hi Lyserg, I’m Yoh.” breathed Yoh, relieved, as he grasped Lyserg’s hand firmly. “It’s… really really good to see you.”
Recognising Yoh’s overpowering welcoming energy as he shook his hand, Lyserg blinked back in surprise at the shaman he had just met.
“Oh, wow. I’ve never met a new friend so glad to see me before!” happily cried Lyserg, giving him a sweet smile.
Letting go of Lyserg’s firm hand shake, Yoh then turned to his twin standing silently beside him and gave him yet another reassuring smile before he took in a deep breath and breathed out the words,
“And this is my brother… Hao.”
Hao froze momentarily as he watched in amazement as the innocent face in front of him shined the exact same sweet and welcoming smile at him before also presenting him with his hand too.
“What a disgustingly sweet little amateur he turned out to be.”
“Uh… it’s nice to meet you, Lyserg.” quietly muttered Hao as he accepted Lyserg’s hand.
The twins could almost feel Ren’s eyes burning into their skulls as the odd exchange unfolded in front of them.
“And this is Manta, Ren and Jeanne.” went on HoroHoro, gesturing to each one of them as he did so.
“Hi!” greeted Manta, reaching up and shaking hands with the English shaman before Lyserg offered the same polite gesture to the only woman in their party.
Jeanne smiled sweetly at Lyserg and shook his hand happily.
“Lyserg. The smile on your face and the joy emanating from your soul really warms my heart.” softly cried Jeanne, her eyes glazing over slightly as she spoke.
“Oh… uh, thank you?” awkwardly replied Lyserg. “It’s… great to meet you too!”
Jeanne found herself holding on to Lyserg’s hand for a few moments longer than the average hand shake - making their exchange somewhat more awkward than the others. Lyserg blushed a little as Jeanne continued to smile fondly at him.
“This is getting ridiculous.” muttered Ren under his breath, clearly irked by the situation.
Lyserg did not bother to offer a hand to the disgruntled pointy haired one. Instead, his mind fell back on the circumstances that led to this strange yet overly friendly meeting.
“It transpires my numbers prediction was accurate too.” nodded Lyserg as he looked around at the group one by one.
“Numbers?” repeated Ren, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes.” replied Lyserg, “There’s six of you. Six shaman.”
“Oh no, I’m not a shaman.” corrected Manta.
Lyserg blinked at the small human’s words. A puzzled look flickered across his delicate soft features.
“Huh. That’s weird. My advanced dousing technique is always correct about these things.” quietly muttered Lyserg, he lifted his arm to observe his dousing crystal device as he spoke.
“Maybe it just means there’s someone else around here we’re destined to meet too! This is awesome - it’s like a family reunion!” happily cried Yoh.
The rest of the group all exchanged a look with one another at Yoh’s words.
“Yoh.” hissed Hao. “Don’t you think you’re getting a little… carried away?”
Yoh brought himself down a few octaves at his brother’s sharp words.
“S-sorry, Hao. I’m just excited…” he muttered, sadly.
“Reunion? What do you mean?” innocently asked Lyserg.
“Oh. Hah.” jumped in HoroHoro. “Well… actually, it’s a little complicated Lionel but - things are a bit… upside down in our world at the moment?”
“Heh. That’s putting it lightly.”
“What HoroHoro means Lyserg is that… Yoh has actually met you before.” explained Hao, sympathetically.
“You have?!” gasped Lyserg, blinking in surprise at the twins.
Following Hao’s lead to speak the truth, Jeanne spoke up,
“I was not sure if it was my place to say, but Lyserg, dear - myself and Ren know you very well too. But in a different sort of way.”
Lyserg watched as Jeanne once again gave him an over-familiar smile. He looked on at confusion at the group he had just met for the very first time.
Yoh sighed deeply. He then looked around at the buildings surrounding them.
“You know what?” he sighed, smiling a bit. “Talking about all this confusing stuff really makes me hungry. I think I saw a diner over there – ”
“I like your thinking dude!” excitedly interrupted HoroHoro, “I could really go for a classic American cheeseburger right now!”
“It’s 9 o’clock in the morning!” snapped Ren.
“Hey!” retorted the Ainu shaman. “My body clock is still in China’s time zone! Mind your own business!”
The group turned their attention to a nearby bright red and cyan coloured diner sign. When Hao observed the shiny metallic reflective outdoor décor, he felt a strange sense of dread in his chest.
“Actually - I’m not all that hungry.” hastily muttered Hao, instinctively taking a step in the opposite direction, “And I think I’ve had enough awkward conversations lately to last me a whole other life time.”
The group all exchanged concerned glances with one another once more. Jeanne in particular gave Ren an intense glare in response to Hao’s sorrowful tone. Ren shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes at her in response.
“Are you sure man? You didn’t eat at all during the flight.” worriedly asked HoroHoro, placing a hand on the fire shaman’s shoulder.
“Yeah, Nii-chan. HoroHoro’s right - you need to eat something, we have a long journey ahead of us.” protested Yoh.
Without hesitation, Hao stepped back from his friend’s reassuring touch and continued on his way down the avenue alone.
“Just… get me something to take out. I - I’ll catch you all later. Enjoy your meal.”
In a shared stunned silence, all watched as the long-haired shaman hurriedly walked away from them.
After a moment, Ren scoffed and a devilish smirk appeared on his face as he looked towards the new addition to their group.
“Hm, one might assume he was running away from something.” sarcastically chuckled the warrior shaman.
“Or someone!” angrily snapped Jeanne.
As the others slowly one by one began to head towards the diner, Yoh kept his gaze on his big brother’s image for as long as possible before he disappeared at the end of the street.
“Hao…”
(6)
The strange group of travelling companions found themselves sitting aligned along the brightly coloured American diner bar. A sense of awkwardness had developed between them as they attempted to behave like regular tourists as the waitress politely offered to fill their multicoloured plastic tumblers and began to take their individual breakfast orders.
Yoh gave the green haired shaman sitting beside him a brief smile before turning himself around slightly to gaze out of the windows behind them. He sighed sadly before turning back to the woman who was now standing directly in front of him awaiting his order,
“Two orders of French toast with extra powdered sugar, please. One to take out.” sighed Yoh, smiling politely at the waitress as she scribbled in her notepad,
“Is that all for you, darlin’?” asked the Moonlight diner employee.
Yoh presented the lady with two flasks.
“And if you wouldn’t mind, may I get these filled with water, please?”
“Of course sugar. Just leave them there.”
“Thanks.” muttered Yoh. As the waitress disappeared through the swinging kitchen door, Yoh looked up and observed his own reflection on the mirrored wall in front of him. He smiled a bit when he observed the faces of his friends who were aligned beside his own reflection as a strange familiar sense of de ja vu washed over him. Then he sighed deeply again as he realised he had nobody to express his nostalgia to.
Yoh then turned to Ren beside him and jumped a little when he saw how Ren’s golden irises were already glaring at him, almost burrowing into his skull.
Then suddenly, Yoh realised someone else was missing from their group,
“Uh, where’s Jeanne?” mumbled Yoh, forcing a smile for his inter-dimensional friend.
“She’s in the restroom, changing.” coldly replied Ren.
The sensitive small human in their party, who was struggling to keep his balance on his tall diner stool, adjusted himself in his seat and leaned across the bar to get a look at Yoh.
“Are you okay, Yoh?” asked Manta, sympathetically. The blue haired shaman’s head swiftly appeared beside Manta’s.
“Yeah Yoh. You didn’t order much.” added HoroHoro.
Yoh’s eyes drifted from HoroHoro to the face of the disgruntled Chinese shaman sitting between them. Before he could answer, a clinking and tinkering noise grabbed his attention. He then turned back to the English shaman to his left.
Lyserg was dangling his wired dousing crystal above a United States map he had folded out in front of him. He had a puzzled look on his face.
“Interesting.” he muttered.
“Lyserg?” mumbled Yoh.
“Oh. Sorry.” chuckled Lyserg, putting his crystal back in its device. “My crystal is now saying there are two shaman in the vicinity. Perhaps you are right, Yoh. There may be someone else nearby we are yet to cross paths with.”
“Does that thing not sense us anymore?” asked Ren, somewhat pessimistically.
“My technique is fine tuned to my desired range.” explained Lyserg. “I was able to search the immediate area outside this diner and expand it to the edge of town and the neighbouring populated communities. It immediately picked up on Hao, but, it is unable to locate the second source. It can only mean there is another.”
Yoh smiled.
“That’s awesome Lyserg.” delightfully said Yoh, both equally relieved to hear Hao was safe and another potential familiar face may be close by.
Ren reached across Yoh and grabbed the map.
“We should not be so foolish as to assume this other presence is friendly.” said Ren as he began to attempt to pin point their own exact location, “What are the chances that it’s someone else we know?”
“What’s the worst that could happen?” innocently giggled Yoh, “I mean, it’s just one shaman. And - Hao and I can handle anything as a team.”
Ren smirked. He slowly lifted his gaze from the map and locked eyes with the samurai shaman beside him.
“How bold of you, Asakura.” he scoffed, “So confident in your capacity to take on any threat. Since the biggest threat of all is actually on your side.”
Yoh swallowed nervously at Ren’s words. He then observed their group reflection once more to see that Lyserg was innocently observing the decorative space around them and thankfully not listening to their conversation.
Before Yoh could muster up the courage to respond to Ren’s critical words, all eyes and ears turned to the sound of the restroom door opening on the opposite side of the silent empty diner.
With the exception of the warrior shaman, all jaws in the room hung open at the dazzling sight of the Iron Maiden Jeanne, who looked almost unrecognisable dressed in hard rock punk attire, high rise platform studded boots, and covered head to toe in shiny metal costume jewellery and accessories.
Jeanne beamed a happy smile at her beloved hard faced partner as she approached the group of boys - causing Ren’s face to flush a hot pink.
“That’s better,” she said sweetly to him, “None of this would have made it through airport security, it was much easier to change when we arrived. Good thinking, dear.”
The boys all shared in a unified stunned silence as they tried to absorb the sight of the beautiful maiden in front of them.
“J-Jeanne.” stammered Yoh, “You - you look incredible!”
“Thank you, Yoh!” gleefully replied Jeanne. She then sat herself down upon the empty stool beside Lyserg and gave him an innocent smile.
The English shaman trembled slightly and looked away from the intense friendly gaze of the pretty girl by his side. The awkward moment was thankfully interrupted by the waitress as she re-emerged from the kitchen with their food.
A few moments of silence passed, until a thought occurred to the ice shaman,
“Lionel?” he mumbled as he shoved several pieces of his pancakes into his mouth.
“”Lyserg!”” echoed the rest of the friends.
“Right, right. My bad.” mumbled HoroHoro, swallowing his mouthful before continuing, “Lyserg, could that “other shaman” be the guy who told you about the Village?”
“I don’t think so. The gentleman who gave me the information was not a shaman.” replied Lyserg, truthfully.
“Not a shaman?” repeated Yoh, confused.
Lyserg nodded.
“Then, how did he know about it in the first place?” asked Ren, quizzically.
“He was a little strange. He seemed to know a fair bit about shaman practices. He said it was of special interest to him.” candidly explained Lyserg.
“How did you find him?” asked Ren.
“He actually found me. He came into my father’s agency in London. He said he was seeking someone and he had heard of mine and my father’s work.”
Yoh turned and exchanged a look with Ren, who looked back at Yoh with a stunned expression.
“Seeking someone?” asked Manta.
“Yes. He said the one he was searching for was a shaman. He noticed my broken oracle pager and he recognised it as Patch technology. Then he revealed he had met a Patch officiant who had told him about the Patch Village and its role in the legendary practice of the Shaman Fight amongst shamans. But he didn’t know where it was or how to find it. He requested I seek out the Village for him - he believed if he found it, he would find the one he was searching for. Which was an amazing chance of fate because my father and I were already conducting our own investigation into the Shaman Fight’s cancellation.”
“And none of that seemed suspicious or strange to you?” scoffed Ren. “Why would you take on someone like that as a client?”
Lyserg laughed slightly.
“Our “Diethel Detectives” family motto is “without difficult questions there are no difficult answers”. We specialise in finding things, especially missing persons. We are the best in the world at cracking unsolved cases. We help people find their missing loved ones, even if they are… no longer with us. That’s why being a shaman really helps our practice.”
A foreboding atmosphere grew in the room at Lyserg’s explanation. Lyserg’s face lit up and he smiled happily.
“I know it sounds kinda sad, but, my father and I understand the importance of assisting those who are desperately searching for answers. That’s why I entered the Shaman Fight in the first place. If I became the Shaman King, I was going to find all the missing people in the whole world!”
Yoh breathed a happy sigh of relief and felt an overwhelming sense of pride to hear of Lyserg’s selfless ambition. He exchanged a look with Jeanne, who looked back at Yoh with a happy smile.
“That’s amazing, dude! I love that!” cheered HoroHoro.
“I still don’t like the sound of this “non-shaman” “shaman-fanatic” client of yours.” muttered Ren as his eyes drifted back down to the map in front of him.
“It… does seem like quite a big coincidence.” added Yoh. “What was his name?”
Lyserg paused for a moment, his eyes drifted up to the ceiling as he thought about it.
“Hm, I don’t recall him giving a name.” replied Lyserg, “But, that’s not uncommon. Sometimes our clients lead secret lives, and, we routinely don’t ask for those details - we understand some people prefer to maintain some level of anonymity.”
“Convenient.” mumbled Ren with a hint of sarcasm.
“What did he look like?” pressed Yoh, unable to hide his cautious curiosity.
“I’m sorry. I can’t answer that.” sadly replied Lyserg. “I have to respect our client’s right to confidentiality. I’ve told you too much already. My father would be very cross with me if he knew I had told you all this.”
“So you wouldn’t have told us his name even if you knew it?” retorted Ren momentarily looking up from the map.
Lyserg laughed nervously.
“No.” he admitted. “Sorry.”
Ren sighed angrily.
“It’s just as well we are all keeping secrets from each other, then.” he muttered.
“Pardon?” asked Lyserg, blinking.
“Nothing.” hissed Ren.
Jeanne shifted uncomfortably in her seat, she then placed her fork down on her plate and sighed deeply.
“Lyserg, sweetie, we need to talk about those circumstances we mentioned earlier.” she began hesitantly.
Lyserg turned to the maiden by his side and locked his big innocent ocean-blue eyes upon her, curious to hear more.
“I am delighted to hear of your wonderful kind ambition in this world. You are very different to the Lyserg I know well.” Jeanne looked up and smiled fondly at Lyserg who gave her a worried look in return.
“Actually, Lyserg. Jeanne’s right. You’ve walked a very different path to the Lyserg I know too.” softly added Yoh.
Lyserg snapped his head back at Yoh, stunned to hear his choice of words.
“What do you mean?” asked Lyserg, “What’s going on?”
“I’d like to hear more about how you know Lyserg, Yoh.” came the suspicious voice of Tao Ren. “Something is not lining up here.”
Yoh now turned to Ren. Jeanne also locked her intense ruby eyes upon him as he purposely derailed the difficult conversation.
“What?” gasped Yoh, alarmed.
“How exactly did you come to know Lyserg in “your world”?” pressed Ren, “Hao said you met him before but, why would he say that? Why not “we” met Lyserg? Where did you meet him?”
“Well, I - uh…” mumbled Yoh, completely thrown by Ren’s berating questions.
“Your world?” repeated Lyserg. “What are you talking about, Ren?”
“Ha ha,” nervously chimed in HoroHoro, “This is what I meant about things being “upside down”. It turns out we’re in the middle of a cross over of realities. These guys right here?” HoroHoro gestured with his head towards Yoh and Ren, “They came from completely different worlds.”
“What?!” gasped Lyserg, almost falling backwards off his seat.
Jeanne laughed nervously, she then stared Ren down once more as she tried to return to the difficult task of explaining her version of events,
“I apologise for my Ren’s careless attitude and complete disregard for the sensitive nature of this topic,” sympathetically explained Jeanne, “We’ve had a lot longer to wrap our heads around our strange circumstances, I was trying to approach this subject with care.”
As Lyserg took a moment to try and absorb what the others were saying, Ren once again found it impossible to keep his thoughts to himself,
“And if you knew the truth of my reality, Diethel, you would not be so careless as to go searching for shaman you’ve never met. You might run in to something, or someone, who only exists to cause you or those you care about serious harm.”
Yoh clenched his teeth as he surpressed the urge to blurt out the words on the tip of his tongue, but before he could react, Jeanne got to her feet.
“Would you excuse us for a moment?” hastily said Jeanne as she approached her disgruntled partner and grabbed him by the arm and yanked him from his seat. The others watched on in a stunned silence as Jeanne dragged her pint sized boyfriend out of the diner doors.
As the couple found themselves a private space away from prying eyes and ears, Ren angrily shook himself free from Jeanne’s grasp and stood his ground.
“Those twins are clearly hiding something Jeanne. Something is not adding up here. Yoh keeps changing his story - and Hao is no where to be seen! Suspicious.” angrily went on Ren.
“Hao left because he wasn’t comfortable being around somebody!” retorted Jeanne, crossing her arms and puffing out her cheeks.
“And why do you assume that somebody is me?” snapped back Ren.
“Because you have been nothing but unkind to him!”
“He doesn’t deserve kindness Jeanne! It’s Hao!!” loudly protested Ren.
Jeanne took in a slow deep breath and shook her head.
“If meeting Lyserg is not enough to prove to you that Hao is telling the truth then - I give up. Carry on being an asshole. See if I care.”
Jeanne began to march herself away from the diner. Ren watched her go in complete shock and disbelief.
“Where are you going?!”
(7)
Keeping his gaze firmly on the ground, the powerful fire wielding shaman flicked his long bangs from his face as he walked alone down the First Creek Park rocky footpath. He glanced up and immediately spotted a charming children’s playground made from reclaimed wood from the neighbouring woodland. He quickly searched the surrounding open area for others. Then, he breathed a deep sigh of relief. Other than the creek in the distance - he found nothing reflecting the beating down sun above.
He was finally safe.
He climbed up upon the smooth skinned climbing tree trunk, swinging his legs over and perching himself along one of its stumped branches. He felt somewhat safer off the ground - he had a better view of the area - making it far easier to spot any lurking potential threat.
His mind fell back on the new member of their group. A pained expression flickered across his face. He recalled the moment he first laid eyes on the green haired boy, how desperate and tormented he was in the real world. He was acutely aware of the actions of his true self. The one he was moulded from. Born from. Is that why he felt such immense guilt for something he had not been personally responsible for? He had not harmed a single soul in this world, but - this fake reality was exactly that… false. Created by the same one who had inflicted such unimaginable pain on such an innocent child.
Hao recognised the poetic irony of it all. For the Guilty to be tormented by the truth, for the Victim to be so blissfully ignorant, only for the crime to have never been committed in the first place.
So why did it still feel like it was all his fault?
The distrusting face of the warrior shaman flashed in his mind. Ren was right about everything. He had every reason to be suspicious of him. All he had done since they had met was lie.
Lie, lie, lie.
How could he expect anyone to trust him, to accept him, if all he did was be so untruthful to all those he cared about?
And then there was Yoh.
Yoh was being dragged into this never ending cycle of deceit. Hao could see it was starting to have an impact on him. He was supposed to protect his little brother from harm, not cause it.
Why did this world have to exist?
Why did any of it exist?
Why did he exist?
What was the point of it all?
If it was just going to feel like…
…Hell.
“Hao…”
Alarmed, Hao lifted his head and looked out into the surrounding open landscape.
That voice.
It was as clear as a bell.
But there was not a soul in sight...
His eyes slowly drifted up to the clouds above him. As he gazed up at the sky, the wind began to gently caress his face - his long soft hair flowed all around him - delightfully tickling his skin.
A sense of peace washed over his body… penetrating his mind and soul.
That familiar, all encompassing, addicting, pleasurable comfort…
Hao was not afraid.
He closed his eyes and focused on the silence all around him. He reached deep into his shamanic sense, deeper than he had tried to reach for a very long time. He smiled softly. A familiar sensation began to emerge. He mentally reached out for it…
“I know what you’ve been doing, you know.” came another unexpected and gentle voice.
Startled, Hao snapped his eyes open and he almost fell backwards off his perch. Snapping himself back into the present moment he looked down and instantly met the glistening crimson eyes of the Iron Maiden Jeanne gazing up at him - but was alarmed to see her wardrobe was glistening and gleaming at him in the sunlight.
Quickly looking away from her intense gaze and sparkling outfit, Hao attempted to compose himself.
“Pardon?” he muttered, clearing his throat.
“I thought it was a little strange at first,” began Jeanne as she hauled herself up onto the climbing tree apparatus behind him, “That the ex-Patch member of the group was keeping it very quiet that he knows exactly where the Patch Village is.”
Hao swallowed nervously as Jeanne began to pick apart his deceitful behaviour.
“I wondered if perhaps you were attempting to give Ren a sense of elevated importance amongst the others. And… it’s not like he really needs any more encouragement in that regard.” continued Jeanne, her words had an inflection of innocent amusement and she let out a little giggle.
Hao turned his head slightly, curiously and cautiously peering at the girl standing directly behind him in his peripheral vision.
“However,” she went on, “I am certain he has realised the exact same thing I have. And… withholding this information has likely not supported your case where he’s concerned.”
“Enlighten me, then.” bluntly said Hao, looking away from her once more. “What exactly have I been doing?”
A short silence grew between them.
“You’ll be pleased to learn that your efforts are starting to pay off.”
Hao felt the soft touch of Jeanne’s arm on his hip as she reached around him and presented him with a flyer. Amazed, Hao practically snatched it from her fingers and he gripped it tightly in his grasp as he began to read the print.
“Where did you get this?” he asked, hastily.
“It was a complete chance of fate. We’ve been having a lot of those lately.” chuckled Jeanne. “It was handed to me by a promoter on the sidewalk on my way over here. I guess that means our little detective was right, there really is another shaman nearby. I take it we shall be “collecting” them, as well?”
Hao laughed softly and smiled fondly at the familiar face on the flyer. Then he sighed deeply, realising his true mission had been rumbled by the sharp minded Elite shaman.
“All I have ever wanted is for Yoh to be happy.” sighed Hao, sadly.
Jeanne paused briefly when she recognised the sorrowful tone in Hao’s voice. She then pulled herself up on to the same branch as the fire shaman, turning herself around so she was looking out towards the urban landscape behind them.
Now finding himself even closer to Jeanne’s mirrored attire, Hao’s body became rigid as he concentrated hard on keeping his gaze on the picturesque rural views in front of him.
“Hao, I know that your Yoh is not the same Yoh from my world, but… seeing you both together in this world… I have never seen him radiate such pure joy than when he is standing by your side.”
A kind gentle smile appeared on Hao’s lips in response to Jeanne’s comforting words.
“I can clearly see that your heart - like your path in this life - was changed somewhere along the way. And… I am glad I had an opportunity to see you like this. Perhaps it was fate that you and I crossed paths as well.”
A peaceful shared silence grew between the powerful pair. After a moment or so, Hao sighed pleasantly.
“Your kind words have made me feel a whole lot better about all this… Thank you Jeanne. I sometimes think that - ”
Hao flinched and sharply cut off his words as Jeanne unexpectedly leaned closer to him to try and meet his gaze. He screwed his eyes tightly closed and froze.
Jeanne blinked - stunned by his unusual behaviour. She could immediately see that something was very wrong.
“Hao? What is it?” she asked, gently.
Hao couldn’t bear it any longer. He had to get these concerns off his chest.
He had to speak the truth!
“I…” he began hesitantly, opening his eyes and looking upward at the sky once more.
Hao’s blood ran cold and a feeling of intense dread washed over him when he saw what was above him.
Carved into the blue sky… was an enormous…
Rectangular…
Trap door.
“…now the Babylon Gate will open. What will happen when this power is unleashed? I cannot say…”
Hao closed his eyes tightly and shook his head. When he locked his desperate eyes back on the sky the giant ominous gate was gone.
“Nii-chan?”
The pair simultaneously looked back down to the ground and saw the worried expression of the younger Asakura brother looking up at them. Hao noticed immediately how his twin was carrying a brown paper takeout bag in one hand and his bright yellow water flask in his other.
Jeanne hesitated for a moment as she looked back at Hao’s worried expression - noting how he continued to avoid looking in her direction. She then sighed before she leapt to the ground.
“I’ll leave you two alone to talk.” she said softly - giving Yoh a brief smile before she took her leave.
Hao climbed down too, shoving the flyer into his pocket when his feet met the ground. As he did, his fingertips brushed something delicate and smooth within his pocket lining. He wrapped his fingers around the small pointy object, but just as he was about to pull it out and inspect it, he recognised the shape in his palm - and then he hastily pulled out his hand, leaving the stolen accessory hidden in its place.
Yoh smiled as he held out his breakfast offering to his big brother. After a moment, Hao accepted the flask, opening it and taking in a mouthful. He then leaned back against the wooden apparatus behind him.
“Thanks.” he sighed with a slight smile, placing the flask on the flat elevated surface behind him. Yoh put the bag next to his brother’s flask and then turned himself around so he was standing next to his twin and shuffled himself up against him. Yoh put one arm behind him, inviting Hao to lean against him - which he did, immediately.
“What’s wrong?” whispered Yoh, gently.
There was a pause. Then Hao closed his eyes and he sighed deeply and sadly.
“It’s just… it’s all this… lying.” he whispered in reply.
Yoh’s eyes widened slightly at his brother’s words.
“The fear I saw in your eyes when Lyserg arrived… then the relief I sensed pouring from you when he turned out to be from our fake world. We shouldn’t have to live in constant fear of the truth, Yoh. We should have just told them all everything from the very start…” Hao took in a slow inhale and then sadly breathed out, “It’s all my fault we’re in this mess…”
“Don’t say that!” protested Yoh, leaning forward to get a look at Hao’s sorrowful face, “This isn’t your fault! It’s like you said, if we find the Village it will - ”
“- we wouldn’t be having this conversation if I just… didn’t exist in the first place.” interrupted Hao, “All of this…” Hao threw up his hands in front of him and aimlessly gestured to the view of the town and the lush green park surrounding them, “…is here because of me.”
“And why is that a bad thing?” argued Yoh, his voice laced with unwavering optimism, “That’s amazing Hao! All these people have a life in this place, a place to call home.”
Hao stood up straight and took several steps away from Yoh, he paused and then looked towards the ground.
“This doesn’t feel like a home.” coldly replied Hao. “This is Hell. And we’re just fooling ourselves to think of it as anything other than that.”
Shocked to hear Hao’s sudden pessimistic shift in attitude, Yoh’s mind became frantic as he tried to find the right words to express his thoughts. How could he be so happy in this world, and his brother feel the complete opposite way?
“Hao…”
Hao turned around and locked his glistening sad eyes on his little brother’s worried face,
“Something’s wrong with this world. Open your eyes, Yoh. This place is a prison. And because of me… we’re all trapped here.”
Yoh couldn’t bear it. He leapt towards his twin and wrapped his arms around him. Hao returned his embrace immediately, screwing his eyes tightly closed and burying his face into Yoh’s shoulder.
“It isn’t a prison to me,” whispered Yoh, squeezing him tightly. “We’re here together. There’s no place I’d rather be.”
A small smile appeared on Hao’s face in response to his twin’s reassuring words.
“I heard you calling to me, Hao.”
Hao’s eyes shot open at the sound of the gentle and friendly familiar voice in his mind.
“…Zeke?” he silently replied.
“I’m here now. You won’t be alone anymore.”
Hao let out a long deep sigh and his shoulders dropped. Yoh smiled as he felt his big brother’s body completely relax into his arms.
“You always know exactly what to say... Thank you.” whispered Hao, smiling softly.
The twins let go of one another and Yoh stepped back and locked eyes with Hao’s. He could see immediately that Hao’s expression had softened and he seemed more at ease. Then Yoh’s gaze drifted downward and he noticed something peeking out from his twin’s tracksuit pocket.
“What’s that?” asked Yoh.
Hao reached into his pocket and pulled out the flyer, handing it to Yoh. Hao watched as a delighted smile spread across his little brother’s face.
“I think it’s a sign that everything is finally working out.”
End of Episode Eleven