Look at that! Another Shaman King fic!

Tao Ren stared moodily in the mirror his sister had given him. It was beautifully made, rosewood with shiny red varnish. The edges were carved with dragons and phoenixes.

It was his birthday. Today, he turned sixteen. Ren sighed, carefully hanging the mirror on his apartment wall. He backed up, and sat down on the stool in front of the mirror. He studied his reflection. His golden eyes were troubled, and his skin was paler than ever.

You think he'd be happy, it being his birthday. But for Tao Ren, birthdays were anything but fun. Before, all it had meant was his father initiating him into some new, more rigorous training. And even now, when Tao En had been defeated, all this day did was dredge up bad memories.

Ren pulled his knees up to his chest, hugging them tightly. He felt so…alone. His sister was in China, so there was absolutely no one with him. Ren shivered, wishing he were wearing something other than his scarlet silk belly top. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to block out the memories. He rocked back and forth, desperately trying to think of something else. He was so preoccupied he didn't even hear the door open and close.

Slender arms snaked around his waist and Ren jumped, falling off the stool. He looked up in confusion, and saw the smiling face of Yoh in the mirror.

" Yoh!" Ren stood up, brushing off his clothes. His eyebrows were furrowed in annoyance.

" Happy birthday Ren." Yoh smiled, his dark eyes twinkling.

" W – what?" Ren almost fell over. He hadn't expected anyone to remember.

" January 1, remember?" Yoh cocked his head curiously, his eyes still laughing.

" I know that!" Ren snapped, his cheeks glowing a pale pink.

" So…happy birthday! Did Jun give you the mirror?" Yoh indicated to the lacquered object. " I haven't seen it before."

" Yes." Ren gazed at the mirror, absentmindedly fixing his purple bangs.

" It's nice. You must really miss her." Yoh plopped himself on the yellow plush carpet, propping his chin up with his fist.

" Yes…wait!" Ren was furious at himself for answering such a sentimental question. " Why are you here, anyway?"

" I invited you over today. You were supposed to come at twelve." Yoh stared at him reproachfully.

Ren glanced at his watch. It was ten to one. He had completely forgotten about Yoh's invitation.

" I invited everybody…but you never showed up." Yoh pouted, his eyes starting to water.

" Why would you invite everyone?" Ren crossed his arms, trying not to sound too curious.

Yoh's gaze dropped and he fiddled with his shirt. " Because…I wanted you to have a happy birthday for once…so I set up a surprise party…but now it's not a surprise anymore."

" What?" Ren was more surprised by Yoh's perceptiveness than by the party. 'I wanted you to have a happy birthday for once.' Yoh was smarter than he looked.

" Well, you know…because of your dad…and everything." Yoh looked very uncomfortable.

Ren didn't say anything. He looked into his new mirror, playing with a strand of silky purple hair.

" I'm sorry!" Yoh instantly exclaimed, jumping up. " I didn't mean…"

Ren shook his head, holding up a hand for silence. Yoh snapped his mouth shut.

" Why – why are you here?" Ren asked finally, turning his golden eyes on Yoh.

" I wanted to see if you still wanted to come. Everyone's still there and the cake hasn't melted yet. We have peaches and milk!" Yoh had the most adorable hopeful-puppy look on his face. Ren resisted the urge to smile.

" …Alright. I'll go." Ren looked away.

" Yay!" Yoh dived forward, catching the Chinese shaman around the waist. He hugged Ren tightly, rubbing his cheek on Ren's silk shirt.

" Yoh!" Ren stumbled back, his face heating up. Yoh's added weight made him lose his balance, and he tumbled over on to the floor.

" Yoh…get off." Ren's voice was low, and very dangerous.

" After." Yoh snuggled closer. " You won't regret this. This will be so much fun! It's your sweet sixteenth, after all."

Ren rolled his eyes. Yoh was so touchy-feely. You just had to tolerate him. Ren tentatively raised a hand and lightly patted Yoh's dark chocolate hair, waiting for the boy to stop gushing.

Maybe his birthday wouldn't be so bad after all.

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