Scabs

Disclaimer: No own.

Joh: I actually don't have anything to say…. Um… sorry for the wait?

Jessie: Oh, you.

Joh: Oh, me.

Warnings: Twincest, yaoi, angst, blah

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Akito stared blankly at the small tree rooted before him, limbs stretched out towards the sky. He ran his small fingers across the rough bark of the trunk, gray eyes narrowing with effort. After a minute he sighed and let his arm drop back to his side, turning his head over his shoulder to glance at his mother.

She stood a few feet away from him and smiled encouragingly, her long robes whispering across her pale ankles. "Can you sense the tree spirit?" she asked hopefully.

Akito hesitated. "I can feel her but…" he trailed off glumly as he dragged his bare toes through the soft ground.

"But…?"

Akito looked down at his feet and bit his lip. There was a rustle of silk as his mother moved towards him, resting a hand over his small shoulder. He shifted uneasily, tucking back a lock of dark hair that had fallen loose from his ponytail. "But she won't come out." Akito focused his gaze on the tree, feeling a bit of resentment towards the stubborn tree spirit. He sighed, again. It wasn't the tree spirit's fault; it was his. Tree spirits were friendly and particularly easy to summon, but he just couldn't do it.

His mother was silent for a long moment and Akito felt tears of frustration prick at his eyes. "Maybe you should try again. I'm sure you'll get it eventually."

Akito smiled and turned, but immediately froze, the grin slipping off his face. His father stood a few feet behind his mother, eyes cold and disapproving. "He can't even bring out a tree spirit?" the Shaman King sneered.

"He's still very young, I'm sure in a few months he will be able to easily." An edge of panic was creeping into his mother's voice.

"He should be able to now."

Akito trembled, drawing back as Hao approached him. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm-"

"Sorry!" Akito gasped, jerking awake. He sat up and clutched the bed sheets with his clammy hands, heart hammering at his chest. Fragments of the dream, the memory, clung to him, making him shake.

"Akito?" The light overhead flickered on as Jun appeared in the doorway. Her thin eyebrows drew together in concern when she noticed just how pale the young boy was. "Are you alright?" she asked, moving over towards his bed and sitting down beside him.

His gray eyes widened when she gently ran a hand through his long, knotted hair, smoothing it out. "Did you have a bad dream?"

He nodded slowly, finding himself leaning into her touch.

The green-haired woman smiled warmly as she wrapped an arm around him, pulling him into a loose embrace. "Ren used to have a lot of nightmares too." She told him softly.

"Did they ever go away?" He asked, closing his eyes.

"After he met Yoh they came less and less."

Akito sighed. "Will Yoh take away my nightmares too?"

Jun paused, taking a moment to consider the question. She stared down at the small boy in her arms, tears biting her lower lip. "He wants to. Oh, he really wants to."

0o0

The Shaman King tilted his head to the side as he settled himself on the floor against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. Yoh had finally fallen asleep and had curled himself into a corner of the room, pointedly ignoring the futon spread out on the floor.

A bitter smile twisted Hao's lips. Always defiant to the end, he thought to himself.

Hao found himself idly wondering if it was about time he gave Yoh some new clothes to wear. The uniform pants he had been wearing when he was caught were becoming worn and dirty. But then Yoh stretched out slowly as he slept and Hao felt his breath catch in his throat from the sight, all thoughts momentarily leaving him. All that smooth, pale skin bared so invitingly…

Hao trailed his gaze down Yoh's bare chest, the desire to reach out and touch what used to be so familiar to him overwhelming. But then, as his eyes trailed lower, he found himself staring at the small H burned into his hip.

After a moment he stood up and approached Yoh, kneeling down beside him. He stroked his long fingers down Yoh's cheek, brushing back the strands of dark hair that had fallen into his face.

A small frown worked its way across Yoh's face as his eyes slowly fluttered open. "What are you doing?" he asked quietly, voice groggy with sleep.

"Just admiring you." Hao replied easily, fingers curling down Yoh's chin.

"Why…?"

"Because I love you."

Yoh stared at him, eyebrows bunching together. "You don't." he finally said, turning over onto his side, his back facing Hao.

Hao gritted his teeth, forcing himself to push back the anger swelling forward. He exhaled slowly before lying down beside Yoh, wrapping an arm loosely around his slim waist.

"I do though. I've always loved you." Hao whispered furiously into his ear, ignoring the way Yoh's body had stiffened against him. "Because, even if you try and deny it, we're bound by blood. We were meant to be together, Yoh."

Yoh shifted uneasily, the pleasant blur of sleep beginning to fade.

"To ease each other's loneliness." Hao continued, his clutch around Yoh tightening.

Yoh, now almost fully awake, began to wiggle in his arms to get free. His chest was rising and falling quickly with frightened breaths as he registered exactly how close Hao was. "Get away! Stop! Sto-"

"That's why I'm not going to force you."

Yoh turned his face away to stare at the shadowed wall, his frantic movements coming to a halt. "We both know that's a lie."

"No, I promise you." Hao paused, resisting the urge to run his hands down Yoh's chest. "I won't force myself on you." Carefully, he turned Yoh over onto his back so that they were looking at each other.

"Why should I believe you? You've always lied to me, tricked me, and manipulated me." Yoh said dully. He pushed Hao away from him and sat up, wrapping his arms protectively around himself.

Hao bit back a frustrated snarl as his hands curled into tight fists. He was trying, damn it! But Yoh just…

Hao shook his head and stood up. He had to be patient with this. The only way to get Yoh to believe would be to prove it to him.

Yoh glanced up curiously as Hao made his way towards the door. He hesitated, looking like he wanted to say something but was reluctant to pull Hao's attention back towards him.

"What?" Hao turned when he reached the door, raising his eyebrows.

"Why would you keep me around if you weren't going to…?" Yoh trailed off, voice wavering.

Hao sighed and leaned back against the doorframe, running a hand through his thick hair. "I want more then just your body, Yoh."

Yoh glanced down at his hands lying in his lap. "That's not…"

"And, besides, I think that in time I won't have to force you to come to bed with me." Hao couldn't help but smirk when Yoh's head shot up, an indignant scowl across the younger twin's face.

"You're crazy if you think that." Yoh hissed, anger flaring through him at the very idea.

"We'll see." Hao smiled slightly before taking a step out into the hallway and shutting the door behind him.

Yoh stared at the door, his eyebrows drawing together as he tried to figure out exactly what Hao was up to. Hao always had an ulterior motive. It was just a trick. It was always a trick. Always…

"Oh, and I'll be expecting you to join me for dinner in an hour." The door slid open a few inches as Hao peeked back in, eyebrows raised.

The younger brunet scowled at the idea. "Not hungry." He replied shortly, turning his face away.

"You've barely eaten anything all day so I highly doubt that."

Yoh stood up slowly, dusting off his worn, black pants. "What can I say? You made me lose my appetite." He snorted, glancing up at Hao challengingly.

Hao stared at him before nudging the door open all the way with his foot. "It's just dinner, Yoh. That's all I'm asking of you."

Yoh strode across the room to sit by the window, not looking at the long-haired shaman when he answered him. " You lost the right to ask anything of me a long time ago." Yoh stared at Hao's blurry reflection in the windowpane, watching his brother's expression carefully.

Hao was frowning and looking irritated; Yoh couldn't help but feel a twinge of satisfaction at that.

That feeling quickly faded when Hao strode across the room to grab Yoh's arm, pulling him away from the window. "I think you're being a little ridiculous."

Yoh forcefully yanked his arm away, shooting Hao a dirty look over his shoulder as he stepped away. "I'm not going to eat dinner with you! I don't even want to be in the room with you-"

"You could always leave in exchange for Akito." Hao reminded him flatly.

Yoh ignored his comment. "So what makes you think we can be friends and I'm going to sit and eat with you? I'm not going to! And nothing will change that."

0o0

Yoh stared resentfully at the small link of chains connecting his ankle to the leg of the table. Well, that was certainly one way to make him join Hao for dinner.

"Oh, don't look so sulky. It's really just food." The Shaman King sighed and set down his chopsticks, frowning across the long table at Yoh. "Why don't you eat?"

Yoh scowled and glared down at his plate of food, kicking his legs back and forth so that the chain jangled loudly. "I told you I'm not hungry." He shoved the dish away from him, ignoring the way his mouth watered from the pleasant smell.

Hao sighed, leaning forward and propping his elbows up on the table. "Look, Yoh, I just want-"

"It's always about what you want. I never get a choice in the matter." Yoh cut him off, eyes hardening. "It's always been that way." He added on in a quieter tone.

"It's just dinner."

Yoh slammed a fist down on the table, making the dishes rattle. "That's not the point! Don't you get it, Hao? Even if you're not forcing yourself on me you're still making me do what you want! You're still not giving me a choice."

Hao was silent for a long moment as he regarded his younger brother with a strange expression. "I'm not forcing you to stay here though. Go ahead and leave if you want." He finally said, resting his chin in his hand.

Yoh shoved his chair back as he stood up, wobbling awkwardly due to the short length of the chain tethered around his ankle. "And turn Akito over? So that you can kill him?" Yoh shook his head slowly, shoulders trembling. "That's not giving me a choice, Hao." He jerked his leg, making the table shudder.

They were silent for a long moment until Yoh sighed and slumped his shoulders forward. "Why can't you just let me go?"

"I'll unlock that chain after you eat." Hao told him, softly.

Yoh sat back down, hunched and miserable. "I wasn't talking about that."

"I know."

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Joh: Eh, I'm tired. Sorry, not much happened.