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Horo Horo the Super Lover
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"Hey Pink Girl, how are you today?" Horo Horo greeted Tamamura Tamao. The thirteen-year-old girl looked down and refused to say anything. He got curious. "What's wrong? Did you lose your favorite undies or what?"
She punched his arm. It was his way of trying to alleviate her mood. He was only trying to help. She smiled slightly when he retaliated by pinching her cheek. But it didn't heal the disappointment that was crushing her.
"It's nothing," she murmured.
"You did lose your undies! Should I look for it?" his eyes gleamed. He rubbed his hands together. "So, shall I look for the pink, blue or printed pairs? Describe them and I'm going to search high and low for them!"
She slapped her forehead as he rambled on. It was no use. He was making it worse.
"You'd better be careful," Horo Horo lowered his voice "if it gets windy… You might flash somebody."
"You naughty pervert!" Tamao exploded. She slapped him this time.
Horo Horo laughed. He was glad to get a reaction from the pink-haired girl. She was looking so down and depressed. For as long as he'd known her, the only way to snap her out was to tease her mercilessly. That and it kept her attention on him.
"Well, let's get ice cream." He offered gently. "Then you can tell me all about it."
She squeaked when he grabbed her arm and dragged her towards the direction of the park. He'd grown up to become a strong Shaman and she knew it was futile to struggle. She smiled slightly when she realized his tender hold on her hand. Even if she protested, he'd be deaf to them.
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"Thank you, Horo," Tamao said shyly. She stared down at her strawberry ice cream cone. It was so unusual for him to treat. She went a shade pinker than her hair when he stared at her. His smile was triumphant.
"You have to kiss me to pay for that," he teased in a loud voice. Several people who were buying turned to look at them. Blushing furiously, she dragged him away from the ice cream stand. She didn't want the whole town to think she was dating him. Not when she was still deeply in love with her master, Asakura Yoh.
"Let's go there," Horo Horo suggested as he licked his chocolate ice cream. There was a grand old tree to provide shade for them on top of the hill. She nodded. They started to climb the hill.
"It's so cool here," Tamao said as she plopped down on the grass. Her smile warmed his heart. It was refreshing to sit under the shade and look down at the town. "You can see the Asakura mansion from here."
"You can see that anywhere," Horo Horo retorted. "It's a big place."
He leaned back on the tree and slurped his ice cream noisily. It annoyed her and that's why he did it. She didn't glare at him but kept her attention on the mansion. He ran a hand through his light blue hair, the mark of his Ainu heritage.
She glanced at him and then returned her gaze. The blue-haired shaman was good only in three things: eating, talking and fighting. Everybody thought he was just a noisy braggart but he was a formidable fighter. She'd seen him fight and she was impressed because he was an accomplished shaman at such a young age. Horo Horo was a passionate man when it came to many things whether it involved a battle, Mother Nature or his family. He also loved to tease and make her laugh.
"What's the big problem?" he asked seriously.
Tamao's face reminded him of a clear sky clouding over. Before she knew it, she told him the morning's events. His expression changed when he realized that she had gone through an embarrassing confession of her affections to Yoh and was subtly rejected. It was no wonder she looked broken.
When she was finished, they sat together in silence. Horo Horo tried to absorb her story and think of a way to cheer her up. He wasn't fond of crying girls but she wasn't and he was glad. But it hurt when she was hurting. It was sad, even for him.
"You know what this means?" he asked, smiling.
"What?" Tamao said sullenly.
"Horo Horo the Super Lover will take you out on a date tomorrow!" the Ainu said exuberantly. He pumped energetic fists in the air. "Tomorrow you will have me!"
"Huh?" Tamao gaped at him.
"I will give you the time of your life. You shall forget Yoh, your feelings and your embarrassing moment!" Horo Horo went on, undaunted "We'll go to the movies and have a picnic! You don't have to mope and cry! I will erase all sadness!"
"How will that help the situation?" Tamao rolled her eyes. "There's got to be another way to move on…"
Horo Horo reached forward and took her hands. She blushed in spite of herself. "You will forget Yoh."
She rewarded him with a cute smile.
"I'll make you happy." Horo Horo flashed a victory sign. "You'll never cry again."
"Rock my world," she said softly. It sounded fun. She couldn't refuse. A date with Horo Horo was still a date. She'd never had a date before. It might make her forget her Master Yoh…
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"Do you have plans for tomorrow?" Asakura Yoh asked his best friend.
"I'm booked, sorry." Horo Horo answered smugly "I'm going out on a date!"
The Shaman King looked awed. He leaned forward, curious. The cheerful Ainu tried to look as if it wasn't a big deal. He was sleeping over at the Asakura residence to train with Yoh under Kyouyama Anna's regime. That made fetching Tamao from their meeting place easy.
"With whom," Yoh prodded in a hushed voice. It was late at night. They were finally going to bed after a hard training session. The brown-haired boy propped himself up with his elbows. "You can tell me."
"I'm going out with Tamao," Horo Horo said quietly. He was glad it was dark. His face was heating up. It was awkward to say the least. He was best friends with Tamao's not-so-secret crush. It also bothered him that he had a secret crush on her too.
"Is that so?" Yoh said cheerfully.
"Really," the blue-haired boy muttered. He felt a sling pang of jealousy because Yoh didn't have to work hard to get Tamao's affections. But he pushed it away. Yoh was his best friend and he just rejected the girl of his dreams. He was supposed to work hard to make her forget him.
"Is it so hard to ask a girl out?" Yoh asked gently.
"No," replied the self-proclaimed Super Lover. "It wasn't so hard…"
"Thanks for cheering her up," Yoh said softly "I didn't know what to say to her, really. I'm sorry if I hurt her but I can't accept her affections. Everyone knows I'm in love with Anna and we'll get married someday… Tamao is just like a sister to me."
Horo Horo let out a sigh of relief. He turned to his best friend, grinning. "It's all right. Now I've got a fair chance… I knew she loved you a long time ago…"
"And you loved her for just as long," said the Shaman King. "I'm not as dense as you think."
The blue-haired boy smiled in spite of himself. So he was that obvious. Except that the girl he adored was not looking at him enough to notice it.
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A beautiful morning found Tamao dressed prettily and waiting for her Super Lover. She blushed as she realized that she referred to him as hers. The blue sky immediately reminded her of the Ainu's blue eyes. She had to smile. The world seemed intent on reminding her of him.
She smiled brightly. Today was the start of her new life. She will have fun, will get to know Horo Horo and will forget Yoh. It was the day that she will have the time of her life.
"Good morning, Pink Girl," Horo Horo greeted. It was his personal nickname for her. She blushed lightly when she noticed that he was dressed casually. Her senses perked up when she caught a whiff of expensive male cologne coming from him. It startled and thrilled her.
"Good morning," she replied. Tamao wondered why she was so self-conscious. It was only Horo Horo. But she'd dressed up and put on makeup for him.
"I'll warn you that it's not my fault if you fall in love with me," he teased. She gasped as he produced a bouquet of red roses and placed it on her arms. "Are you ready for your Super Lover's affections?"
"You're so silly," Tamao said softly. The roses were lovely. "You're not really taking me out on a date, are you? It's not like you're really in love with me…"
"I love you," Horo Horo interrupted. His blue eyes burned. "You need to believe that."
"But why do you tease me so much?" she asked, curious. "You don't even show me you love me at all!"
"That's because you don't see," he replied smugly "Your eyes were on Yoh. I love to tease because I love your blush."
They didn't say anything. Tamao felt like her heart was going to burst. She smiled at him radiantly. He smiled back.
"You're something, aren't you?" Tamao laughed weakly. "We haven't started and I'm already in love."
"That's my job and my pleasure," Horo Horo said as he slid an arm around her shoulders. His blue eyes twinkled. "I'm your Super Lover, Pink Girl. Always was."
Tamao had never truly appreciated Horo Horo's smile until that. She was so happy now.
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