Ashuri: so after, four months, here is chapter three. Sorry for the long delay, school was very hectic, but now I've graduated so its all good. So I hope you like this chapter as much as you liked the last two or even OOA.
Horo and Ren: she does not own shaman king.
Chapter three: Shopping Woes.
The next few weeks were agonizing for Ren. Not only did they go by terribly slow, but it seemed that at every possible moment, every second when his mind shifted to some other task, Horo was there to distract him and trying to force his mind to accept his view of things.
Several times just to avoid him, Ren locked himself in the bathroom and let the shower run to make enough noise to drown Horo out. But it didn't stop him and all it did was annoy Ren because the water bill was so much higher then normal, and made him feel bad for avoiding Horo.
Horo of course noticed these attempts at avoidance, but figured it was more due to his bout of insanity then his attempts to change his mind.
To Ren it seemed that Horo's bout of stupidity had reached higher levels that he wouldn't have thought were even possible.
At the end of one terribly long week, it was time for Ren to do some grocery shopping. Horo, as always, tagged along, being more of nuisance then a help, saying he didn't like something that Ren picked up and badgering him to get something else. If he didn't like something, Ren put it in the cart anyway, if he wanted something, Ren didn't notice him placing it in the cart.
Ren was very tired. It took a lot of effort to stand there and quickly browse the label of something before putting in the cart, and to push the thing around. He had been plagued by nightmares again, and Horo's childlike behaviour toward the whole marriage thing was wearing him out, his attempts to avoid it were also wearing him out.
He didn't know what to do. Once Horo set his mind on something he didn't let up. And it took a lot of resistance for Ren to not yell at him to shut up and leave him the hell alone. Cause he knew if he said that, everything would end right there and then. Horo would not come back.
Therefore Ren would be the cause of his own insanity.
Pushing the cart down an aisle marked Soup and Sauces, he heard Horo make a noise beside him. "What is it now?" he asked wearily.
"I don't like soup," Horo replied.
Ren bit back the retort he used every time Horo made that statement and instead said, "I know. I'm getting some pasta sauce."
"Oh," Horo said cheerfully. "Good."
Ren pushed the cart a few feet and looked down at the sauce cans. There his mind just zoned out and he totally forgot what he was doing and where he was, his body aching for sleep, though the notion that he was supposed to be doing something lingered slightly.
"Uh, Ren?"
Ren blinked and looked at Horo. "What?" he said grabbing a sauce can.
Horo raised an eyebrow. "Uh, nothing."
Ren sighed and placed the can in the cart and moved on. Horo lagging behind.
He passed by a few aisle's and they arrived in the bakery section. Ren moved along grabbing bread and a few other things, though this time noticing Horo start to place about two packs of donuts in the cart.
Even though Ren liked to keep his rather perfect physic, he too like to indulge in the occasional donut or fatty food, but most of the time preferred healthy food full of protein, and vegetables, and therefor did not condone the sitting on one's ass eating two packs of donuts in front of the t.v. Unless one planned to do a lot of exercising to remove the excess weight gain.
"What are you doing?" Ren asked.
"Just getting some snacks. For later," replied Horo, slightly surprised Ren noticed, considering he hadn't noticed the ice-cream, the ten chocolate bars, the Dorito's, and the strawberry cheesecake. He figured he could get away with it all.
Having noticed the donuts, he now looked at all the stuff added to his otherwise healthy food laden shopping cart. "You're going to get fat," Ren said and then quickly brought a hand to his mouth to somehow disguise the fact that he had said something insulting.
Surprisingly Horo didn't find it that insulting. "But you'd love me anyway, right Ren?"
Ren nodded hurriedly.
"So there's no problem then." And he dropped the packages in the cart.
Ren cringed at the thought of Horo eating all that food and letting his body go to waste. "But-but it's not good for you," he stammered.
"I didn't say I was going to eat it all today-" Ren gave a small sigh of relief. "-maybe just the donuts and the cheesecake."
Ren groaned.
"What?"
Ren just shook his head and pulled the donuts, and the other items Horo wanted from the cart and started to walk away with them.
"Aw Ren. Hey come back here." Horo ran after him. "Its just a few things. Come on Ren."
"These things will make you look like a cow cause you're going to eat them in one day!" Ren hissed. "Look at me, I'm Horo, I like to eat and look like a fat, fat sea cow! Moo!"
He knew he was over reacting about the food, but he was just too tired to care. He shoved the Dorito's on a shelf along with the chocolate bar's and proceeded to the frozen goods section.
"I'm not going to get fat," Horo said defensively.
"Yes you are," Ren said.
"Can't I just have one?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No." "Please?"
"No."
"Just the donuts?"
"No!"
"Hand them over Ren."
"No!" Ren deposited the ice-cream and cheesecake in the frozen goods section and held the donuts protectively. "In my house there are certain rules," Ren started.
"Our house," Horo said quietly.
"And you will abide by them. Therefor you will eat healthy food, the food I provide."
Horo looked at the ceiling. "Its just a pack of donuts, Ren."
"Correction. It is two packs of donuts. You have a very bad eating habit Horo. It's time to break you of it. Before you get fat."
"Ren, I think you're really tired. Why don't you go take a nap?" Horo suggested tentatively.
"My tiredness had nothing to do with your eating habit," Ren answered, his voice slightly higher then normal, attracting stares from passers by.
"Okay. Just calm down."
"Calm? I am calm," Ren said.
"Ren, you're going hysterical," Horo said trying to use a soothing voice to not drive Ren over the edge.
"Well if I'm hysterical then its your fault!"
"My fault?" Horo asked.
"Yes. Your fault," he answered.
"How is it my fault?"
"You-you totally disregard anything I say," Ren started, walking a few steps to the left his eyes on the ceiling thinking of what to say. "Any suggestion for the betterment of you health goes in one ear and out the other. Yeah it does. So-so why do I even bother trying?" He threw his arms out to the sides slightly as though suggesting something, dropping one of the donut packs and kicking it off to the side.
"Why? Why do I try hm? Tell me. Why do I try?"
"Because you love me," Horo said, wincing because Ren was making a scene and everyone was staring.
Ren laughed. "Yes, yes. That's it. Because I love you. Right." He smiled for a minute before chucking the other donut pack at Horo's chest.
"I love you god damn it and this is how you repay me!? By-by totally disregarding anything I say and trying to force me to marry you!? What kind of heartless creature are you!? Did you ever stop to think that I would have my reasons for not wanting to get married, or-or that there are alternatives!? No! Because Horo is the smartest person in the entire universe and his word is law!"
Silence followed this outburst, which was broken by a little girl tugging on her mother's arm and askin,. "Is that man crazy mummy?"
Ren whirled around to look at her which startled the group of people watching them. "Yes I am crazy. Thank you for asking," he said with a smile which faded just as quickly as it appeared and he stomped off to find his cart and finish his shopping.
As he did so, he noticed people skirting around him in the aisle to avoid him, and he heard that someone had called the police to have him removed from the store. But Ren planned to be finished and gone by the time they got there.
Horo had disappeared and had presumably gone to wait by the car, so with no more distractions, Ren quickly finished his shopping and paid for them then went out to the car. He emptied the groceries into the car and returned the cart to the store. When he returned he found Horo waiting, his eyes on the ground.
Ren didn't regret anything he had said. He thoroughly felt that Horo deserved the lashing he got, and he hoped would think twice about his actions. But in the end he knew his hoping would be useless.
He walked to the drivers side and unlocked the car and gruffly told Horo to "Get in," and climbed in himself. Starting the car he noticed that Horo had climbed into the backseat. It sort of made him feel like a chauffeur, and it felt odd to have him back there instead of beside him, but nonetheless felt rather pleased about his insane outburst.
Ren reversed the car and drove from the parking lot, and glanced at Horo in the rear-view mirror. Horo had his face hidden behind a hand that was connected to an arm leaning against the window. Ren sighed and returned his eyes to the street.
The drive home was silent.
Ashuri: I do so love making Ren act crazy in public. It's quite fun. I don't know why I made them fight over food. Guess Ren just needed something start an argument over.
Anyway, questions, comments, ideas? Please leave a review.
