An End In Itself, a shaman king fanfic

I've decided that it was high time to update it to my current writing style and thus...out I come from haitus"

This is a revised version of this oneshot so I hope it's a tad better than the last version! Thank you again!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Beta: jenny-R

Revised: 20/09/'08

An End In Itself

by EmeraldWolfChild

Ren Tao looked coldly down at his best friend, who was being held down on his knees before him.

Yoh Asakura was naked to the waist down with thin scars crisscrossing on his back, some of them old, some new, yet definitely all of them being deep. His chestnut brown hair was tied into a ponytail he so often used while training and of course, when they had taken him he had fought with teeth and nails to keep his headphones. And there they were on his head, in the place that they belonged.

The Tao complex was empty, all of the servants having been dismissed except for the required few. This was not supposed to be known to the Shaman world and so secrecy was vital.

Not like anyone could say anything even if they were found out.

Yoh struggled with his tears, willing himself not to cry. He wouldn't. Not in front of this monster, he wouldn't.

This wasn't his best friend, it couldn't be his best friend. He knew that. After all Ren had embraced the dark side all because of him. It was his fault that Ren was like this.

The Asakura remembered those days well.

It was a day after they had defeated Hao and the King of Spirits was going to be returned to his rightful home. A grand ceremony had been made, trying to encourage the other contestants. It wasn't the end after all. Many of them still had a chance for their dreams to come true, yet many had despaired when the King of Spirits had been taken hostage.

The ceremony was about to start, with the gang having the seats of honor.

Many people had come to watch the event, some more than others hoping to catch the appearance of the King of Spirits and see his immense power. But everyone could feel that the atmosphere was light and friendly. A joyous occasion it was indeed!

Everything had been set and ready. And soon the time came for the King of Spirits to return arrived.

But not before the proper reward to a certain group. They did risk their lives to save him; they deserved something in return.

"Come to me, brave warriors! Let me grant you with a drop of my power. You may choose among yourselves what you should choose but I recommend these gifts to those who fit the requirement most.

Anna deserves strength and Manta – loyalty. Horohoro should be bestowed with passion and Faust with love. Lyserg needs hope and Chocolove – spirit. Ryu requires stubbornness. And as for Ren, courage is key while Yoh gets power."

With that, the spirit king grew silent and the crowd burst into cheers.

Ren's eyes had glazed over and fury could be felt stirring in the young shaman's heart. Clenching his fists, he bit his lip trying to fight back the hollow feeling that was steadily growing.

It wasn't fair.

Yet nobody noticed except Yoh, who had seen the change pass over the boy.

"I agree with the arrangement and if anyone else has a problem, spit it out" Anna's tone was icy yet everyone could see that she was pleased that her boys had gotten something for their effort. She also completely supported the King of Spirits with his selection.

"Ano…Anna, I want to exchange my gift with Ren."

A small silence passed over the group before Ren himself spoke up.

"I don't need your pity. And I require nothing. I will get strong in my own way, by myself." he forced some deepness into his voice to keep it from trembling.

"Come on, Ren. I really wanna trade with you. Besides let's say this is my early-super late birthday present to you." Yoh grinned.

He had to make Ren happy again.

Just had to.

Ren sighed, rubbing his temples slightly, but chuckled inwardly nonetheless. Yoh could be so predictable, but kindhearted at the same time. The Tao could no longer feel his anger. Yoh was Yoh, liked it or not. He had that effect on people.

A sense of gratitude flowed over him, thanking silently his companion for understanding.

That event had been three years ago.

A chilling breeze swept through the room, making their clothes flutter. But it passed and there was silence once more, with the room being covered in stillness.

Yoh shuddered.

It was all getting to him. The torture, the pain, the cold he felt inside and out, Ren's persistent hard gaze and most of all, the guilt that was gnawing day by day on his insides, pushing him closer and closer to the edge of his mind.

He raised his gaze and stared into the depths of his best friend's cruel eyes, pleading silently that Ren would, if even for a moment, overcome the evil.

With a resounding crash Yoh landed on the forest floor.

This was definitely one of the most intense training sessions they've both ever had.

It was chillingly ominous.

Like Ren was getting a strange thrill out of it all….

Wiping away a trickle of sweat he stood up and the two candidates for the Shaman crown stood face to face.

It was the one year anniversary since they had received their gifts and day by day Yoh began to notice the change in Ren's eyes, the slow succumbing to something inside him.

But Ren was stronger than that, he knew it.

"Yoh, put up a better fight, will you? It's not like you to be so easily defeated." And with that the Kwan Dao swung down once more.

Moments later 3 droplets of blood fell on the grass, soaking it in delicate crimson.

Yoh Asakura stood there, eyes wide with disbelief and a small cut extending over the surface of his right check. With his furyoku gone the fight was finished but it wasn't the rare loss that got to him.

Ren Tao had raised his weapon to him, with the resolve to hurt.

Ren was stronger than that. He knew it.

And yet he hoped.

A body was thrown across the room to land just in front of Yoh's knees.

The eyes were dull, lifeless, yet the flesh was still alive – barely. It took a moment for Yoh to realize who this was and when the realization came, an anguished scream tore at his throat. His Anna, the strong willed, unbreakable Anna was in this condition.

"Why Yoh, I thought you would be happy to see your loved one like this. All helpless and defenseless. After all, was it not she who made your life hell." A chuckle could be heard echoing through the room.

Anna was then lifted through the air by the scruff of her neck and thrown full force against the wall. A sickening crack was heard and Yoh was sure the damage to her body was too great even for her Itako powers.

"No,Ren stop, please!"

"Stop it…" rasping out those words, Yoh struggled against his captors.

"My, my. What do we have here? Let's make this even better shall we?" And Anna's body was lifted through the air once more.

But three hours before the fight, he knew he had lost.

"What do you mean corrupted?! " The boy growled out to Silva.

"The King of Spirits, at the time he gave all of you his gifts, in another way, blessings, was not fully ridden of the foul power that the Spirit of Fire had implanted in him. In turn all of you could have succumbed to the evil that Hao had but you had started to work on your new powers later then everyone expected. All except Ren that is." A sigh followed this statement.

"He was the most desperate for power, needing to prove many things to himself and others and when the King of Spirits had announced what each would receive, I'm sure you had noticed his displeasure. You should have not given him the key. That power was meant for you not him as the King of Spirits knew you would not be drawn in."

"You mean it's my fault! My fault, that Ren has turned into this, this monster?!" Yoh shouted through his tears.

The boy sat there, cradling Anna's head, desperately trying to stop the blood flow from her shoulder. But she was dead. Dead and she wouldn't come back. Yoh knew that but he kept on stroking her head telling her that he loved her and that it would be fine.

"Now, since we have that out of our way, shall we continue?" Snickering slightly, as though he was enjoying it, Ren glanced at the boy with a glare that made him feel lower than dirt.

"I think I'll allow you to go see that wench again. After all I'm not that heartless". With a last distasteful look, the Tao turned to leave.

After that everything got worse. Ren being as sadistic and coldhearted as Hao, had started to realize Yoh's twin's brother dream.

Time and time again, it looked like it would get better with moments that Ren seemed back to himself but those, with time, got far and few. After the last time, he had ordered all of his former friends to be burned and for Yoh Asakura to be brought and chained in the lowest dungeon.

Yoh could only guess it was because Ren had still preserved the bond with him and kept it pure, otherwise he was sure that he would have been burned with the others.

Then for a second, Ren stopped.

"You know that I'm letting you die with honor. Dying for your friend's and fiancée is honorable" And for a moment it seemed as though he was trying to convince himself.

"You never even asked me…if I wanted to live" Yoh whispered to the retreating figure. But the other was already too far away to hear, or maybe he just didn't want to acknowledge it.

Yoh lay there on the floor, a gash running down the whole length of his body. As life was leaving him, making him swim further and further away from consciousness, the Asakura barely registered what was said as the death sentence was read.

"Asakura Yoh, you have been sentenced to death for high treason against the Shaman King…."

This one-shot is done and I'm hoping that I gave that an enexpected feel to it. It is old though so even my revising couldn't be done as freely as I wanted as my style has chaged quite a bit. Hope you enjoyed it though ;3

Check out the Yohnna Thank YOU Special!

-EmeraldWolfChild