I'm alive! Surprised? Haha! It's been a long, long time since I've written anything properly…Most of the time since I returned from December vacation I've been writing three paragraphs and then throwing the paper away, so please don't expect too much of me… I feel that I haven't improved at all… After posting this up, I'll be deleting Wanderlust, because I hope to be able to improve on it fully before posting any of the chapters. I've deleted Threads of Fate too. I guess I'll repost it after I've picked myself up.

For now, just enjoy my first Ren OC…

Chapter 1: The chosen bride

A young girl streaked down the path surrounded by tall grasses, her black locks whipping at her face, which was shadowed by a tensed, panicked look. Horses neighed from behind the fences as she darted past, sticking their long faces out, hoping that she would pat them, but today, Ueto Su didn't even cast a glance at their direction.

She finally halted at a large, deserted field beside her home, and, taking a deep breath, she collapsed heavily onto the soft green grass, and scowled at the clear blue sky in disdain.

Su knew that no matter how much she protested, he was going to come to meet her. But she didn't want that. She has no need for a fiancé, or a husband, or whatever. Su was happy being alone with the horses she loved so much. She didn't want anyone to separate her from her older twin sister, Lulu, and she didn't want Tao Ren, or whatever his name was, to be her husband.

The boy's family was very eager about this arrangement, Su remembered her parents telling her and Lulu during dinner last night, and wished for the both of them to come together as soon as possible. And just a few minutes ago, she was asked by her parents to change into something appropriate. That Ren boy would be arriving later this afternoon.

That had been the reason why Su fled from the main house to the fields she loved so much. It was a long way from the main house, and her parents would never dream of walking all the way just to pull her back. They would wait for her to return, and Su was determined to stay there till the sky turned dark. She didn't care about offending the boy, or angering her parents. She will do as she pleases, and no one shall stop her.

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"Su!"

Ueto Lulu glanced up from the book she was reading and stared at her mother, who had just hurried out of the kitchen, tossing her apron onto a chair while glaring fervently at Lulu.

"I'm Lulu," The lass told her mother pointedly, placing the book onto the table before her, "I believe Su's at the fields. I saw her running down just a while ago." She added, standing up and piling her long black tresses onto her left shoulder.

Her mother's face scrunched up angrily. "That girl!" She roared, and Lulu rolled her eyes while biting back a grin, "I told her he would be arriving soon, and she ran to the fields! I'M GOING TO MURDER HER!"

Lulu giggled and shook her head. Having spent 17 years bringing up her twin daughters, Ueto Kaela has not only failed to identify her daughters time and again, but also remained stupidly unaware of Su's defiance and quick temper.

"No way is she going to come back before dinnertime," Lulu thought, shaking her head and getting up from the sofa and straightening her white halter top and mini shorts as her mother raged and stormed around the house, yelling for the man of the family to "get their wretched daughter back to the house this instance", "I'll bet my life on that."

Ueto Takaaki appeared from the balcony, wincing as Kaela continued to scream at him,

"GET HER BACK THIS INSTANCE OR I'LL MURDER YOU TOO! AND THROW ON SOMETHING DECENT! FANCY WALKING AROUND IN A SINGLET AND SHORTS… WHAT IF HE COMES AND SEES YOU IN IT…OUR DAUGHTER'S FUTURE WOULD BE RUINED!"

Lulu caught her father's eye for a brief instance, and grinned. Everyone in the family was used to Kaela's shouting…Not that she would act like that in front of guests, of course.

"I'll get her for you," Lulu offered, breaking her mother's shrieks and saving everyone's ears, "It's a long way down to the fields, and it'll be faster if I go."

Kaela glared fiercely at her in return.

"Don't you girls play switching games with me, you hear? I want Su, not the look alike of Su, do you understand? Just because I can't tell the difference between the two of you doesn't mean I will tolerate…"

"Yes, mum, I should go now, or Su might be late." Lulu interrupted, and with a wave, she slipped on her slippers and ran out of the front door.

"AND CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES WHEN YOU GET BACK! I CAN'T HAVE YOU SHOWING SO MUCH FLESH IN FRONT OF YOUR SISTER'S…"

"See you later, mum!"

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Su closed her eyes and sighed contentedly. She loved the feel of the grass beneath her, and the fresh, dewy smell in the air. She rolled over lazily and grinned when she saw a faint, shimmering figure of a horse lazing beside her.

"How long have you been here?" She said softly, and the creature titled its head and blinked innocently at Su, "I never felt your presence."

She reached out and stroked the horse gently, running her fingers gently down its long face, feeling nothing but cold air as she did so.

The horse continued to blink down at her, occasionally shifting its head nearer to Su, who smiled up at it lazily.

"It's a pity you're a spirit," she whispered fondly, "I would love to ride on you…"

"Su!"

Su gasped when she heard a familiar voice calling her from behind, and sitting up, she saw Lulu strolling towards her. Su waved, a smile spreading and illuminating her fine features as her eyes rested on the face identical to hers.

"Enjoying life, huh?"

Lulu said, sitting down next to Su, who turned to face her after taking a quick glance at where the animal spirit was before Lulu appeared, "Mum wants you back right this instant."

Su groaned and slumped back onto the ground. "I don't want to go back," She replied stoutly, squinting slightly as she turned away from the sun, "I don't want to see him at all."

"He's not here yet," Lulu replied, looking down at Su, "He's just arriving soon, according to mum. Anyway, it's not too bad, right? It's always nice to meet new friends. I thought you loved meeting people."

"This is different," Su protested, shadowing her face with her had as she pouted up at Lulu, "He's not a friend. He's… I don't know, supposed to be more than a friend to me, but the problem is… I haven't met him. I don't know him. What if he turned out to be like a… weirdo or something?"

"Be yourself," Lulu said simply, brushing a wispy strand of hair off her face, "Act like you always do no matter what mum tell you to do. That's the easiest way to shake someone away, or make him fall for you."

"But I don't want him to fall for me!" Su wailed, startled, "I…don't want to meet him at all!"

They sat in silence for a long time, each silently wondering how this Ren guy is like, and how well they would get along with each other. And then, Lulu got up slowly, and extended a hand out to Su, who frowned unhappily.

"Let's go," she said, wiggling her fingers, "Mum's going crazy."

"Doesn't she always?" Su muttered, grabbing her sister's hand, "Say, do you think you can switch personalities with me? Just for the period of time that he'll be here? I'll be Lulu, and you'll be Su…"

"I want to help, Su," Lulu said sullenly as they walked back hand in hand, "but mum says no."

"Like she can differentiate us apart,' Su scoffed, "Come on, Lulu, please?"

Lulu hesitated. She wasn't very keen on meeting this guy herself, but Su had been very unhappy since their parents announced about their engagement. But they might mess things up real bad…

"I'm sorry," she said apologetically, and she genuinely looked it, "but I can't be Su for the rest of my life, and you can't be Lulu for the rest of your life either."

Su sighed, and Lulu squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"It'll be alright. Very soon after you marry off, I'll be next. This is the problem when our parents want to continue the line of shamans in the family… And honestly, there aren't much family of shamans around nowadays…"

"I don't get it," Su said glumly, kicking a pebble as she walked, "They should at least let us have a say in it… or wait till we're older…And because they do things the traditional way, I'm going to be stuck with someone I have no feelings for…for the rest of my life! How absurd is that…"

They returned to the main house without saying anymore, and when Kaela saw them, she glared.

"You girls sure know how to take your time!" she spat at them, "Now hurry up and change, both of you! They're reaching in 15 minutes!"

"What?" Su wailed, stamping her feet on the floor with a loud thump to express her anguish, "15 minutes? It's not even close to lunch! I thought you said he'd be coming in the afternoon? It's only 10 am in the morning!"

"Enough of your questions, Su!" Kaela yelled, and Su glared back at her mother, her brown eyes sparkling with tears, "Didn't you hear me? Get changed! NOW!"

Without a backward glance, Su ran into her room, and slammed the door loudly. Lulu watched her sister go, then turned to stare at her father with a pleading look.

"Kaela," Takaaki said, catching Lulu's hint, "Let's go and wait for him outside."

Kaela gave a last glare at the closed door, and then turned and marched out of the house. Takaaki shook his head, then said softly to Lulu before hurrying after his wife, "Go and console that sister of yours. I'll do all I can to stop all this if Su really can't take it."

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Lulu stepped into the room and shut the door silently. She could hear Su sobbing in the toilet.

Grabbing the white dress lying limply on Su's bed, Lulu pushed the toilet door open gently, and patted Su on the shoulder comfortingly.

"Dad and I will do our best, Su," she whispered into her sister's ear, "It'll be alright. Dad will keep his word."

"I don't care… I'm going to make that Ren idiot hate me so much that he'll go right home after lunch!" Su said fiercely, brushing her tears away forcefully, "That'll show mum!"

"All right, do as you please," Lulu replied resignedly, "Let's get changed…"

She stopped, and Su glanced at her uncertainly. Lulu's eyes had widened and her mouth was opened slightly when she heard Kaela's high-pitched laughter from the living room.

"What's wrong?" Su asked in concern. Lulu stared at her, and without another word, she stashed the white dress into Su's hands and whispered, "He's here! Hurry, get changed!"

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HoroHoro chortled with laughter when he heard what Jun had said, and Asakura Yoh's mouth dropped in surprise while everyone else howled with laughter.

Like any other day, The Asakura household was crowded with Yoh and Hao's friends: There was HoroHoro and Pillica Usui, from Hokkaido, Tao Jun, from China, Marion Phauna, of Italy, Matilda Matisse and Lyzerg Diethel from England, and of course, Oyamada Manta, a boy too short for his age, and Kyouyama Anna, Yoh's fiancée.

Tao Jun had a younger brother, Ren, who had to leave early to meet his fiancée, a girl from Kyoto called Ueto Su, and when Jun broke the news to her friends, she couldn't blame them for laughing.

After all, Ren had never been good with girls, and seemed the least concerned about marriage and things like that. In fact, the more Jun thought about it, the more absurd it seemed to her, but she didn't mind, for she felt it was time her brother settled down with a good girl.

"Don't laugh," Manta said, though he was wiping tears from his eyes, "It's not nice…"

"But you're laughing yourself, Manta," Lyzerg pointed out with a grin. Manta tried to keep a straight face, which made everyone laugh harder. Anna only smirked, while Hao, Yoh's older twin, HoroHoro and Matilda leaned against each other for support as they laughed.

"It's time he settled down," Pillica said sensibly, when the laughter had died down a little, "It might be good for him."

And as the others started teasing Ren again, Jun sat alone, near the window, and gazed out at the sky, hoping fervently that Ren and Su would not start off hating each other.

That's it. It's been a while since I've written anything like that… It feels weird. Anyhow… I'm not familiar with Ren, so pardon any OOC-ness! I'll be back soon with chapter 2! I promise I will! At least, I won't vanish for so long, like how I did before…

Please Review! Thanks!