Author's Note: Hurrah! It's the sequel to Take Care of You! If you didn't read that fic, you don't have to, but I reccomend you do so you know what's going on.

If you're lazy, I'll give you a brief summary of Take Care of You: Horohoro, along with his gang of shaman friends, are a formidable bunch. They, the popular, enjoy preying on the not-so-popular, and their favorite target is Tao Ren. However, as Horohoro begins to realize how blind he has been all that time, and that Ren never did anything to deserve their scorn and abuse, he finds himself falling in love with the Chinese shaman. Of course, Hao wasn't willing to let that happen, and in his determination to prevent it, did everything in his power, even murdering all of Horohoro's closest friends. In the end, Horohoro and Ren's new strong friendship (and possibly more?) helped them pull through the horrors and they were able to make it home safely.

This story occurs a year after Take Care of You ended.

"One soda with extra ice and...plain water for this great kid over here," Horohoro announced, snapping the drink menu shut. It was his idea of a perfect day: the weather was beautiful, and he was free to spend the entire day with the love of his life.

He grinned, playfully pinching Ren's cheek and tussling his hair. "You sure all you want is just water, Ren?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Ren replied, smiling.

Only a year had passed, and yet, so much had changed.

They felt entirely comfortable around each other, and they didn't have to be too shy in telling each other what they really felt. Spending time with Horohoro had made Ren more confident with himself. He didn't stutter as much anymore, and he wasn't as shy. Horohoro was still the most popular guy at the high school, and no one dared to ridicule or hurt Ren anymore because of this. The two were an inseperable pair.

In fact, Horohoro had moved away by himself to Tokyo and rented out an apartment which he shared with Ren and their four pet bunny rabbits: Pirika, Yoh, Hao-Is-A-Bitch, and Ren. Horohoro had named them all himself.

Presently, their drinks arrived: Horohoro's soda and Ren's water.

As they idly sipped their drinks, their hands unconciously met on the table's top and their fingers intertwined. A few months ago, Ren would have blushed and moved away, but now he didn't mind so much.

A short while passed before Horohoro pushed his empty cup to the side. "Hey, Ren? Are you done?"

The Chinese boy looked up. "Er...yes. Yes, I am." He, too, pushed his empty cup off to the side where it was out of the way.

"Shall we go, then?"

"Sure."

Horohoro stood first, extending his hand towards Ren. "Take my hand and let us be on our way, milady," he said in a ridiculous posh accent.

"I'm a boy, Horohoro," Ren laughed, but he took the Ainu's outstretched hand anyways and allowed himself to be guided to his feet and out the cafe door. He was used to Horohoro's goofy sense of humor, it was way better than Chocolove's cheesy jokes. He smiled reminiscently, wondering what it would be like if all their other friends were still alive.

They walked slowly and calmly down the crowded Tokyo street. Everyone else seemed to be in a hurry, but Horohoro and Ren were not. It was kind of fun to watch the world go by like that. They had no particular destination in mind, and the only goal was to spend some valuable spare time together.

Horohoro bought himself a monstrously sized ice cream from a street vendor, and he bought Ren a small tray of mochi, a traditional Japanese rice cake. They sat on a bench and enjoyed their treats, conversing and laughing all the while.

It took the Ainu only a few seconds to polish off the huge ice cream, and Ren took a little bit longer to finish the mochi. They were on their way again upon completion of their consumption.

It was like the things that Horohoro said and did to hurt Ren all had never happened. That was all in the past, which they had agreed to put aside.

They walked some more for about ten minutes. It was then that Horohoro noticed that Ren was no longer at his side.

"Eh?" Horohoro said, looking around. "That's weird..." He spun his head to the left and right, but Ren was nowhere in sight. "Ren?" he called out nervously. "Ren? Where are you, huh? This isn't funny."

It wasn't meant to be funny.

In crowded areas, there are bound to be muggers, pickpockets, and all sorts of shady characters. They usually preyed on those who appeared weak, and fragile-looking Ren seemed like the perfect target.

It all happened so fast that he didn't even have time to yell for help. In a split second, he had felt a rough calloused hand clap itself over the mouth, an arm sliding around his waist. Horohoro didn't have time to notice or react, either, as Ren was dragged into a dark alley.

Terrified, the Chinese shaman's eyes were wide as the arm around his waist moved away and instead began to search through his pockets. Ren assumed the object of this person's desire was his wallet, which he had conveniently left at home. (Horohoro said he'd pay for everything.)

"Where's your money, kid?" the assaulter growled in his ear.

"I...I don't have it with me...i-it's at home..." Ren stammered.

"Liar!"

Ren's attacker slapped him hard across the face, causing him to gasp in pain. His cheek felt like it was on fire, and his head was spinning from the impact. "I'm not lying..." he said fearfully.

His eyes widened as he felt a blade press against his neck.

"Give it to me now...or I'll kill you."

Tears sprang to the Chinese boy's eyes. Painful memories of his deadly experience with Hao about a year ago flooded his mind. Only this time, there was no one to save him.

Or so he thought.

"Get your fat dirty hands off him, you bastard!" Out of the corner of his eye, Ren could see Horohoro running towards him. The man after Ren's wallet looked at him too, scowled, and ran off, leaving Ren huddled against the alley wall.

Just like Hao, he had gotten away with a crime.

Only Hao's case was much worse. He had comitted murder.

"Ren, are you alright?" a worried Horohoro asked, kneeling down next to him and wrapping his arms around his body.

He couldn't help it. Tears were sliding down his cheeks as Ren buried his face into Horohoro's shoulder, shaking and sobbing.

"It's okay, Ren, it's okay," the blue-haired boy said in what he hoped was a comforting tone, stroking Ren's hair and holding him close. "Don't cry, Ren. Don't be scared. You're my angel, I'll always protect you in every way I can...I would die for you."

"Do you mean it, Horohoro?"

"I mean it."

That was how it was for Ren. It had always been his nature to not try and defend himself out of fear, ever since the previous year and even further before that.

Old habits die hard.

And Horohoro didn't know that what he just said was a lie. His old ways of life would come back around to him, eventually.

Which meant that soon enough, he would be doing the exact opposite of protecting Ren.