Disclaimer: I do not own shaman king.

"'Thoughts Hao didn't, or couldn't, read"'

'Thoughts'

XxX

"W-what?" Yoh asked, shifting uncomfortably under the other's gaze.

"And what would you do if I were?" Hao repeated.

"I heard you the first time. I meant, what do you mean by that?" Yoh asked hesitantly.

Hao merely offered Yoh a pleasant smile before leaning in a bit closer, past Yoh's lips.

'What is h-he doing?' Yoh thought.

Hao chuckled lightly, finding the confused thoughts of the other quite amusing. He nipped lightly at the outer shell of Yoh's ear, smirking at the boy's reaction afterward. It was even better than he'd thought. Yoh immediately gasped, pulling back just enough so that a small blush could be seen spreading across his cheeks. The encantado was clearly much more innocent than what one would expect from his linage.

Hao ran his tongue slowly along the soft outer lobe for a moment before pulling back so that their lips were only a breath apart once more.

"If I desired you, what would you do? Would you run away? Would you give yourself to me? How would you respond?" Hao whispered.

"I- I don't..."

A small flicker caused him to glance up at Hao's eyes. Lying beneath the the heated gaze were flames which he had never seen before, yet they felt vaguely familiar. The flames were a grey-blue color and created no smoke at all. Within the flames he could sense no warmth, only cold. It was like the flames themselves were stealing away any warmth around them as if fire couldn't produce any heat of it's own. That was when he recognized it. Loneliness.

Why would he sense that emotion now? Hao's actions clearly had nothing to do with that, did they? Now that he thought about it, Hao was a very strong shaman. With that kind of strength usually came isolation. Humans fear what they don't understand, that fact was among the most well known. Hao would certainly class as someone who wasn't easily understood. It seemed impossible for anything to bother the fire shaman, but he was human too.

'''Is he worried that I'll leave? Could that be why he's acting like this?''' Yoh thought as he returned his gaze to the violet flame engulfing him. There were many things that could cause the flame of desire to surround someone. The will to possess them in body, mind, or spirit. The need for companions, friends, to fill the void of loneliness. The first stage of love and lust, could also be shown in the form of desire.

"I don't know..." Yoh said quietly. "but... I'm not going to run away."

Hao blinked in surprise, staring at Yoh in mild confusion before letting an amused smile grace his lips.

"There's no need to think so hard about it." Hao chuckled.

"Huh?" Yoh's thoughts took on a perplexed turn when both the charcoal and violet flame suddenly vanished, leaving only to cool breeze surrounding him.

"Judging by what you said before, encantado's and shaman are similar in this aspect. Just because we've found someone we like, it doesn't mean we're soul-mates or anything. The purpose of dating is to find out if the two are compatible or not. Rejection happens when one decides that they aren't compatible with the other. It's not as complicated as most humans try to make it these days." Hao said simply.

"...Is this your way of asking me out?" Yoh asked.

"Perhaps." Hao said.

"Ok then. Sure." Yoh said with a smile.

"I'm surprised you suddenly agreed so easily." Hao commented.

"Well, it doesn't hurt to try, right?" Yoh replied.

"Good point." Hao said.

"Um, now that's done with... Would you mind getting off of me?" Yoh asked with a blush.

Hao nodded before slowly getting off of the young encantado. Now that Yoh had replied, it seemed as though the strange atmosphere from before had suddenly dissipated. He had never actually asked someone out before and it hadn't gone like he expected. In all of his past lives, it was the girl who confessed to him. Having to ask someone else out for a change was strange. Judging by Yoh's reaction to the question, it wasn't that hard to tell it was his first time being asked out.

This would also be Hao's first time choosing another male as his preferred pairing, which didn't seem to bother Yoh in the slightest. He wondered why it was that in the thousand years he had been alive, this was his first time feeling an attraction to someone both inhuman and of the same sex. Maybe hell really was freezing over. He'd have to ask the oni about it if he decided to visit that place again.

"Hao, I don't understand you." Yoh said quietly.

"Oh? How is that?" Hao asked curiously.

"It's like you're hiding yourself behind a mask. Sometimes, if I look hard enough, I can catch a glimpse of what's beneath... but before I can understand what I saw, the mask comes back. What is it about you that you want hidden so badly?" Yoh said.

The question somewhat caught Hao off guard. Yoh must have only thought of it as he was saying it, otherwise he would have heard it in the boy's thoughts beforehand. What amused him was that Yoh had inquired about the subject at all. Not many were able to notice that he was keeping something about himself hidden, yet Yoh managed to figure it out only days after meeting him.

On one hand, it intrigued him that Yoh had managed to notice, but on the other hand it annoyed him. Having Yoh know about it was fine, but he didn't like the thought of others getting too close to him. Even the ones he married in his previous lives kept their distance from him. No one had ever bothered to try and learn more about him. Knowing that he was evil and intent on wiping out the human race was enough knowledge for most people. Yet, for some reason, Yoh wanted to know more.

An amused smirk graced Hao's lips as he stared into the eyes of the encantado. He wondered how long the other would last in their attempt to uncover his true nature.

"Stay around long enough and you just might find out."

XxX

Me: Hm...

Ren: What?

Me: I was thinking of an intense philosophical discussion I might be able to share with a friend...

Ren: And?

Me: And then I realized that I'd last about a minute in the conversation before getting bored and finding something else to-

Me: Oh! Butterfly! *chases after winged insect*

Ren: 'Is this really how I'm spending free time out of stories? I need something better to do.'

Me: *points to random person's closet*

Ren: *blushes*

Me: Please review.