Touched By Fire

"You should have listened to them when you had the chance and destroyed us." Manta lifted his other hand and Yoh could see that it held a silver revolver. "Now," he said as he levelled the gun between Yoh's eyes. "We will destroy you."

Pale fingers squeezed the trigger and Yoh saw the hammer move back almost in slow motion. As it struck the silver bullet emerged with a dreadful metal clang, it's target, Asakura Yoh…

Yoh closed his eyes, silently cursing himself and all the humans – he couldn't believe that after everything he had done – everything they had done, that this was how it was to end.

I'm going to die – and for what? For believing that humans and shaman could live together peacefully. What a waste…

He readied himself to receive that fatal bullet, and then he felt himself being pushed aside by strong hands.

"What?" he had fallen onto his butt and noticed a familiar torso in his line of vision.

Yoh blinked in confusion as he felt his chin being tilted upwards by cold fingers and saw Ren smiling down at him, a trail of blood trickling down his chin.

"Don't let the humans destroy us," he managed before he fell forward, a silver bullet lodged at the base of his spine, severing vital nerves.

Yoh caught him, but immediately felt the heat seep away from his body and the spirit fly away.

"No," he screamed."No!"

Yoh hugged Ren's limp body against his, hot tears streaming down his flushed cheeks.

"Why?" he croaked.

Manta sneered down at him.

"Why did you have to kill him?" Yoh demanded, gasping when he no longer felt Ren in his arms. His body had turned to dust and was lost in Yoh's hellish vision of the future.

A smirk appeared on thin lips. "Because you never stopped me."

Yoh felt the colour drain from his face. "What – what do you mean?"

But Manta was no longer there – instead, it was Lyserg, knelt amongst all the bloody corpses and broken Earth – but that wasn't the image that sent shivers down Yoh's spine. It was because he was cradling him in his arms.

No – not him. Hao.

"This is all our fault, Yoh," Lyserg whispered, Hao's head resting in his lap. "If only we had listened – we should have joined Hao. He knew – he knew that the humans would do this – that's why he killed my parents. He knew that anyone who wouldn't join him would go against him, and just letting them live would be helping the humans to win. Now it's too late…"

Lyserg looked up, his green eyes haunted and empty, a sad smile playing on his lips.

"…Unless you help us, Yoh."

"Hao…"

"You have the power – you can save us."

"But how?"

"Yoh, you have to save us – don't let the humans destroy us," Lyserg lowered his eyes and his hands clenched into tight balls. "They've already taken away so much from us – they have destroyed our homes…"

Yoh grimaced as he remembered the terrible scenes of destruction that he had witnessed – the raging oceans and scorching sun.

"…hurt our friends…"

Yoh instinctively tightened his hold of Ren, but he was no longer there – just like the others. All he had left were those awful images of Horo Horo and Faust and Ryo filtering into his mind.

"…they killed our families…"

"Hao wasn't evil," he said, more to himself than Lyserg.

"I know," replied the green haired shaman. "He only wanted to save us from what he knew would happen. Too bad we couldn't see it back then."

Yoh's heart tightened painfully as he crawled over to where Lyserg held Hao. The green haired shaman gently passed his brother's body over and Yoh gasped when he realised how light it had become.

"This – this shouldn't happen," he said shakily. "This won't happen!"

Yoh closed his eyes, trying to halt the steady stream of tears, but failed.

Dark eyes flew open, but Yoh could no longer see Lyserg or any of the ruins that had been visible before.

Everything was gone.

Everything had been destroyed.

"I won't let that happen," he vowed. "You hear me Hao? I won't let the humans' destroy the Earth! I'll finish your dream of a shaman only world!"

His whole body shook violently as he clung desperately to Hao, unable to tear himself away from his brother – his other half, his twin soul.

Almost instinctively, Yoh brushed aside a stray lock of hair that had fallen over Hao's face. Yoh stared in wonder at how peaceful and innocent he looked.

He was beautiful, absolutely breathtaking.

Without even realising it, Yoh had lowered his face to his brothers, barely a breath apart.

"I'll do it foryou," he promised quietly before pressing his lips to Hao's in a precious kiss.

As he embraced his brother with the tender touch, Yoh felt his eyes begin to close. It was as though his whole body was being drained, but he didn't care. In fact, after all the fighting and training it felt good to finally stop, to rest.

The emptiness around him seemed to grow darker, the shadows reaching out to consume everything, twisting themselves around it, making it a part of them.

The last thing Yoh saw was a tiny flicker of light before it all went completely black.

"I'm too late," Amidamaru gasped at loud as he noticed Yoh's spirit falling.

He seemed surrounded by darkness, but the more he fell, the closer he approached what looked like black fire, the dark flames reaching higher and higher.

I can't give up – this is Yoh. I have to save him.

With steely determination the spirit propelled himself forward with such force that his usually blue spirit form shone white-hot in the darkness. The blaze of electric power seemed to dispel the shadows around him and bring light back into the emptiness that was Yoh.

Amidamaru struggled to understand what was happening.

As the light broke through the darkness it revealed what looked to be a perfect world; lush forests, beautiful oceans and flowing rivers…he just couldn't see what would cause Yoh such distress.

When he was just below Yoh's falling form he broke out of his spirit ball back into his physical form. Well, as physical as a spirit could be anyway. He used his arms to shape a cradle, easily catching the falling boy's spirit.

It was strange, Yoh felt lighter and seemed to be missing his inner warmth.

"Yoh, please hold on," he pleaded.

Amidamaru wasn't entirely certain as to what he was supposed to do now that he had found Yoh. There seemed to be no problem in his mind, so the samurai reasoned that it had to be something else.

But if it wasn't physical or mental, it meant that it had to be spiritual.

That worried him.

Not only that, he also had to find a way to revive his soul and quickly. The original plan hadn't factored in so many other spirits being accommodated within Yoh's mind and body. Although he knew that his human partner was strong, his was still only mortal and had his limitations just as the others did.

"Wait!" Ren commanded suddenly.

"What is it, short pants?" Ryo asked.

"Do you gotta use the bathroom too?" Horo Horo questioned.

"No, you dolt!" the dark haired boy snapped. By now he had grow tired of the irritating shamans and their equally annoying spirits. "Don't you feel it?"

"Feel what?" Tokagero frowned.

"Feel like dancing?"

If Bason wasn't his own guardian spirit Ren would have offered him to Anna as soon as they returned to do as she wished.

"No," he sighed. "I can feel Yoh."

"Really? You can sense Master Yoh?" Ryo seemed amazed.

"How?" the blue haired shaman asked.

Ren shrugged. "I just can."

"Well then where is he?"

"He's," Ren closed his eyes in concentration. "He's here."

"Here?"

"I think this guy is loco," Tokagero whispered to Ryo.

But sure enough, at that moment Amidamaru appeared with his young charge gently slumbering in his arms – a far cry from the raging teen they had left earlier.

"You found him!" Horo Horo exclaimed.

"Of course I did," Ren answered smugly.

"Master Ren you are truly magnificent!" Bason gushed.

"Ren, we need to wake Yoh's spirit and leave – quickly. I don't think he can sustain all of us for much longer," Amidamaru spoke gravely.

"We need to wake him up?" Tokagero could barely contain his disbelief.

"This is not good – I've seen him sleep through Anna's torture before!" Horo Horo had the sudden feeling that they were all doomed.

"But even if we wake Master Yoh, how do we get out?"

"The effect should be instantaneous. As soon as Yoh's spirit regains possession of this body we should automatically be displaced back into our own," Ren explained.

"Okay, but that doesn't matter unless we wake him up first."

"Blue hair makes a point. How are we going to do that – it's almost impossible!" Ryo cried in distress.

A small smile touched itself to Ren's lips. "That's easy. We will wake him."

"Yeah, we need to, but how?"

Ren shook his head at Horo Horo. "We will wake him."

"Huh?" Horo Horo was now utterly confused. "How?"

Ren looked tenderly at Yoh, barely restraining himself from snatching him from Amidamaru and keeping him for his own. "We tell him how much we need him, because Yoh always comes through for his friends. No matter what."

There was such a strong sense of conviction in his voice that the others couldn't help but be inspired by Ren's faith and trust in the boy that he once called his nemesis.

"Renny's right."

"Aren't I always?" he smirked back at Horo Horo.

The blue haired shaman snorted. "Is your head even gonna be able to get out after how big it's gotten since we've been here?"

"Well I think it would be much harder to get your butt out."

"Have you been looking at my ass?" the Ainu felt completely scandalised.

"Ha! Don't flatter yourself – your little spirit told me all about the split pants and cat flap."

Horo Horo went bright red.

"As amusing as it is to watch you two bicker like an old married couple –"

Ryo was interrupted when two fists simultaneously slammed into his face.

"Never say that again," Horo Horo threatened.

"I second that. Besides, do you really think that I'd marry someone like him?"

The Ainu looked a little hurt for a moment, but hid it behind a joke. "Well, at least you admitted that I'd be the guy!"

"I –" Ren opened his mouth to reply, but found that there wasn't anything that he could say against Horo Horo's words.

Damnit! I can't believe he beat me! Oh well, that's only one point to him…I'm ahead by what? Two gazzilion and three?

By now, Ryo had recovered from the surprise attack, although he was holding a cheek with each hand since they had both swelled up to be the size of two watermelons.

"Maffer Yu!" he managed to spit out, albeit in a muffled manner.

"What?"

"He said, 'Master Yoh!'" Tokagero translated helpfully.

Upon hearing his name, Ren instantly took the lead. "We need to make a circle with our Furyoku," Ren said. "No – not you Amidamaru – you need to stay with Yoh and make sure that he makes it."

The samurai nodded dutifully.

"Bason, you and the other spirits need to stay close to us at all times or you might be left behind. The rest of us, join hands. Okay – we need to keep our Furyoku as separate from Yoh's as possible – ready? Now!"

The three shaman stood in a triangular structure containing Yoh and Amidamaru. Their arms were outstretched so that their fingers lightly grazed those of the other two, passing the waves of their energy between their bodies.

Ren closed his eyes and Ryou and Horo Horo followed suit.

"Yoh," he whispered.

"Master Yoh."

"Dude, you just gotta wake up."

"Help us."

"Save us."

"Only you have the power…"

"Hao…I'll save them – I'll save them all. I'll finish your dream – I'll build a shaman only world for you."

"I will do it for you…"

Amidamaru gasped in shock and relief when Yoh spoke and his eyes fluttered open, blazing with passion and an intensity he had never seen before.

His power exploded, forming a solid beam of light.

"The light – follow the light!" Ren ordered.

"I'll do it for you."

Hao…