This was inspired by the dungeon scene in the manga...so sweet!
Heavy breathing was the only human sound in the cell. It stood out among the scratching of rodent claws on the floor, and the occasional squeak of some small animal.
Tao Ren raised his head, groaning from that small effort. Sweat shone on his bare chest and rolled down his face.
He was getting weaker. It had been about two hours since his last beating, yet the marks still hurt. The days were blending together, an entire decade of pain.
He adjusted in his 'chair', wishing he could drop his arms. But they were chained together at the wrist, and pulled far above his head.
One of his eyes wouldn't open. Ren tried hard, but it felt glued shut. Maybe it was. He gave up and concentrated on what he could see from his open eye.
Jun was in the cell across, her knees drawn close to her chest.
" Jun…" Ren croaked, his tongue feeling thick and fuzzy. " How long…have I been in this hole?"
" Ten days." Jun's defeated, soft voice travelled the distance between them.
" Heh. No wonder the pain is beginning to lessen." Ren smirked bitterly, his thin chest heaving as he panted.
" I haven't had a bath for twenty days." Jun remarked quietly, brushing back a lock of loose emerald hair.
There was a silence. Jun shifted, and looked up. " You shouldn't have defied him. Father is too strong."
" No one is invincible. He is an obstacle I must surmount. There is some secret to his power, and I will find out what." Ren greedily sucked in another lungful of air, tired from his small speech.
" There's no hope." Jun shrugged, pulling the remains of her tattered dress over her grimy knees.
" It'll work out." Ren said in a dreamy voice, his open eye unfocused. He seemed to be remembering something, repeating an echo.
Jun looked up, startled. Those words…
" It'll work out. That's what he always says." Ren smiled. " Yoh Asakura…I believe your words…with all of my heart."
Jun was quiet, thinking. " Do you really believe that?"
Ren tilted his head back until it rested against the back of his 'chair'. He shifted his thighs, careful not to move his legs too much. They were splayed to either side of him, and clamped in place. The muscles and tendons in his legs burned.
Did he believe what he had said? Was it true? Was it really going to work out? Ten days…Ren felt seeds of doubt spread in his heart.
What chance did he have of getting out of here on his own? Bason was gone, and he was too weak to resist his torturers. Jun had given up, so he could hardly expect help from her.
Would he just stay here until En had decided it was enough? Ren ground his teeth angrily; no, that had happened before, but it wasn't happening this time. No matter what, somehow he would escape his father.
But what if his friends didn't come? Who knows where Bason had gone? Of course, he hoped his guardian spirit had gone straight to Yoh and the others, but how could he be sure? Maybe, instead of coming to his rescue, they were at home, laughing and having the time of their lives. Without him.
Ren felt an unfamiliar twinge in his heart at that thought. It was an uncomfortable, foreign emotion, so he quickly brushed it away.
His mind wandered again. Maybe Bason had gone to them, but they didn't care. Manta wasn't close to him, he'd shown nothing but annoyance to Horohoro, and maybe Yoh was happy one more rival was gone.
Ren closed his open eye, wallowing in his despair. It was hopeless. Nothing could help him. Nothing. He was worthless and all alone in the world –
Suddenly, an image came to him. A memory of Yoh grinning, his face smudged with cake. The Japanese shaman had gotten in so much trouble with Anna then. He'd been sore for a month!
An unbidden chuckle slipped out from between Ren's cracked lips. The cloud of depression had lifted. Ren looked up, marvelling. There had been a spell of despair woven in these dungeons, and he had almost fallen prey to it.
The corner of Ren's mouth quirked. Asakura had saved him. That stupid memory had broken the spell.
And Yoh would also break his bonds, Ren realized. The brunette would never leave a friend in trouble, and neither would Bason. A deep warmth infused his body. He had friends. And that was something En could never take from him. Because he had no idea it existed.
" Jun." Ren called, his voice louder, stronger.
The older woman's eyes widened in surprise, startled by the level of confidence in her brother's voice.
" Yoh will save us, Jun." Ren continued, almost sounding like a priest preaching the coming of the Lord. " Asakura will save us, I'm positive."
" Ren…" Jun began, not wanting her brother's hopes to rise too much.
" No, Jun. He will. It'll all work out. Yoh Asakura will save us, deliver us from this hell. And when he does, I'll be ready to take down Satan himself." Ren referred to En, smirking.
Jun opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her brother was so firm, so sure, that she couldn't help but believe him.
" When he comes, Jun, I want us to be ready." Ren commanded.
Jun nodded, her back straightening and her knees sliding to the ground. She looked her confident, powerful self once more. She thought of her faithful friend, Li Bailong, and her resolve hardened. She would avenge him, and maybe make up for a bit of the atrocities he had been forced to commit by her and her family.
" Good." Ren smiled. " It's nice to have you back, Tao Jun."
" Ni zhai shuo she ma, di di?" Jun laughed. " I was never gone."
Ren's smile widened, and he leaned back, this time with his body relaxed so it hurt less. The pain was going away, but this time it was because there was almost no pain left. There was only a dull ache, like the kind you get when you don't stretch too often.
It was amazing what a little bit of hope could do.
Ren must've dozed off, which in itself was surprising, since he hadn't slept for a week. But he supposed that was the only option, as suddenly he opened his eyes (both of them) to a clamour upstairs.
Ren frowned. What could be happening? He listened hard, and his ears caught a cry above all the noise.
" AMIDAMARU!"
Ren's head shot up, and he stared at the ceiling as if he were trying to see through it.
Yoh! He had come! A determined smirk crossed his face as he prepared himself for liberation.
Yoh had come, and now nothing could stop him. Them.
It all worked out.
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