Unicorn13564: Ok, this is the third chapter, right after Yoh tells Ren he loves him… yet after Hao finds a picture in Ren's clothes with Horo on it, and a love heart! O.O

Chapter 3: Deal With It

Hao winced as he felt a sharp pain in his chest and stopped walking, putting his hand over his heart. It felt as if it were bleeding! It really, really hurt!

"Lyserg you bastard! That one hurt!" Hao glared over at Lyserg who had a bunch of small berries in his hand, and a wide grin plastered across his face. "Don't throw them so fucking hard, moron!"

Lyserg just laughed and dropped the rest of the berries on the ground, coming over to walk by Hao's side. "…Hao, what's bothering you?"

"A certain green-haired shaman, why?"

"No, I mean what's on your mind? You've been acting a little… odd." Lyserg waited for a response, but never got one. "Hao, tell me."

"It's nothing… seriously… least not in my opinion anyway. It's up to him who he… never mind."

"Continue…"

"No, I shouldn't say. Not until I speak with him first."

"Who?" Lyserg asked, interested in the subject.

"No one."

"Horo? Yoh? Ren? …Me…?"

"No, no, no and no."

"Then who?"

"No one."

Hao heard Lyserg groan in annoyance, yet still his lips were firmly sealed. He had to hear it from Ren whether he was in love with Horo or not. Maybe he was wrong, maybe the love heart meant something else… but what else could a love heart mean…?

'I don't like this…' thought Lyserg. 'He's blocking me out… I hate it when he does this to me. It's so damn cruel! I'm interested in what he has to say. I want to know what he thinks, what his point of views are… I want to know what and who the hell he's on about…' Lyserg sighed loudly, and carried on walking.

It didn't take the two long to get home, since Hao had taken many short-cuts, but when they did, they found Yoh sat on the sofa, clutching Ren's arm as he was ready to leave, and the Ainu sat next to them, a shocked yet hurt expression on his face.

"Wow, how long have you guys been like that…?" asked Hao curiously.

"…A…About five minutes…" answered Yoh, and turned got up off the sofa, still holding Ren by the arm, and came face-to-face with him. "Ren… please… answer me…"

Yoh saw that Ren was completely shocked, yet knew that he was considering something. His eyes were wide with surprise, yet his eyebrows kept furrowing as he sorted things out in his head. "Yoh…" he started, and locked eyes with him. "…Why did you say that?"

'What the hell's going on here…?' though Hao.

"Because I do. I love you, Ren."

'W-What?' Hao's eyes widened. 'What the fuck happened? Were did that come from? How long has this been going on for!'

"I've loved you for a very long time… I only made up Kelly because I needed an excuse to talk to you on the subject of love. I'm sorry I lied to you, I really am; and please, don't be mad at Horo. He was only helping me out. He didn't even know the reason for me making Kelly up. I know this is really sudden for you, and must be quite a shock… but… would you… consider… going out with me…?"

Ren's eyes glanced over to Horo. The Ainu was staring at him as if he'd just been deceived or something. Ren turned back round to Yoh, and was slightly taken back to find that his expression was the same as Horo's. "Ren?" he asked; his voice cracking slightly as he tried his very hardest to keep himself together.

"…Yes…" answered Ren. "…I'll… I'll go out with you…"

Yoh's eyes lit up as he heard those words. The sadness he'd felt was quickly replaced by excitement, and he crashed his lips to Ren's.

Ren's heart raced due to the sudden contact as he lent back, trying to get out of it, yet wondered… is this what Horo would taste like…? Ren pushed back hard, deepening the kiss as he grabbed a handful of Yoh's hair, slipping his tongue into the others' mouth. He happily explored the inside of Yoh's mouth as small moans escaped.

'I…I don't have to watch this…' thought Horo bitterly, feeling his eyes fill with tears. 'I don't have to sit here and take this abuse!'

Horo stood up, his bangs hiding the glare he gave both Yoh and Ren. The Ainu walked towards the door. "I'm going out." He said, yet was stunned to find Hao had said the same thing at the exact same time, and he too was reaching for the door handle.

"…I need to go get some milk, where are you going?" asked the Asakura, and blinked innocently, his expression casual.

"Away from here!" answered the Ainu viciously, and swung the door open, storming off down the corridors with Hao tagging along behind him.

--

'Great! Just great! Yoh and Ren are dating! So that means their going to be all over each other! Kissing, laughing, touching each other up, and eventually having fucking sex!' thought Horo angrily as he stomped down the street. He couldn't seem to shake the feeling that Ren agreed to go out with Yoh deliberately. "But why!"

"Huh? Why what?" asked Hao who was walking beside him carrying a bottle of milk, who was only just managing to keep up with Horo's hasty pace.

Horo sighed. "Nothing…"

"Hold on a sec Horo, I need to go into this shop." Said Hao, pointing to a television shop.

"…Why…?"

"Because I need to find out how much a new TV is gonna cost us."

Horo glared at the Asakura. "Why?"

"…Because I accidentally broke the one in Lyserg's room…"

Horo cursed the boy then followed him into the shop, stood in a corner, and awaited his return.

As he stood there, he felt like crying as he listened to the lyrics of a song that was being played.

Wouldn't it be nice if we were older
Then we wouldn't have to wait so long
And wouldn't it be nice to live together
In the kind of world where we belong

Horo sighed as he began to think of Yoh and Ren. What if Horo had been the one to tell Ren he loved him? Would things have turned out differently?


You know its gonna make it that much better
When we can say goodnight and stay together

Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up
In the morning when the day is new
And after having spent the day together
Hold each other close the whole night through

"Oh this is fucking torture!" Horo shouted, and after attracting many people's attention, left the shop and continued his wait outside.

--

Horo's eye twitched as he heard Hao snigger again. Then again. Then again. Then- "Hao, stop sniggering damn it!" he yelled frantically, turning to glare at him.

"I'm sorry Horo; it's just that you really showed yourself up back there…"

Silence again.

"It's not all that bad you know…" said Hao randomly as they yet again continued walking.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He hissed, glaring down at the pavement as he walked; his hands deep in his pockets.

"Horo, come on. You love him. You've loved him for what, three years now?"

Hao couldn't help but smirk as the Ainu stopped. "What? Me? Love who?"

"Yoh, duh."

Inside, Horo sighed in relief.

"Did I say Yoh? I meant Ren."

"What?" he asked, staring at the Asakura in disbelief.

"I was merely trying to make you feel better by making you think I thought you loved Yoh, but moving on, you love Ren. I know you do."

"One question: How!"

"I discovered the beauty of getting people pissed. Mine and Yoh's birthday party three years ago…?" asked Hao, wondering if it rang any bells.

"No wonder I couldn't remember what had happened! I didn't get mugged did I!"

"No, in reality you were pissed out your head and spilled your guts to me about Ren in the toilets… whilst spilling your actual guts to the toilets… back to my point, you love Ren, yet kept your gob shut all this time. Why?"

"…What the hell'd you get me pissed with!" he asked, as if he'd never heard the last question.

"Vodka, but that's not the point Horo, pay attention!" yelled Hao, and flicked him on the nose.

"Ok, that was completely pointless but whatever…" muttered the Ainu. "And the reason I kept my gob shut is because he doesn't like me in that sort of way so why bother asking?"

"Well he agreed to go out with Yoh didn't he?"

"Yeah, well that's Yoh. Yoh means more to Ren than I do!"

"But you can never be 100 percent certain unless you ask!" lectured Hao matter-of-factly.

"You know, you shouldn't give people advice when you don't take it yourself…" hissed Horo harshly in reply.

Hao blinked, once again showing that innocent, unbothered expression. "…What…?" he asked thoughtlessly.

"Oh forget it." He spat, and changed his course so that he was heading home.

--

Lyserg sat on the sofa, watching as the two parted for the zillionth time.

"Lyserg, can you not watch us?" asked Yoh, causing an alarmed Ren to spin round.

"What! How long have you been there for!" demanded the Tao.

"Ren, he never moved." Yoh sighed.

"Sorry, I just find it cute, that's all." Smiled Lyserg, and wondered off to his room.

Yoh grinned at them finally being alone, and began to kiss Ren again, when Ren pushed him away by his shoulders. "Holy shit!" he yelled, and stared at Yoh in pure horror.

"Ren? What is it?" questioned Yoh sadly. "Is it me? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, no. It's nothing to do with you. I just remembered something really important. Would you mind if I went to my room for a while?"

Yoh brushed a stray hair from Ren's face with the back of his hand, and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Sure." He smiled, his eyes staring lovingly into the Tao's. "Go ahead." And he watched as he disappeared into the privacy of his room.

--

As Horo opened the door, he didn't even bother to look at Yoh, and walked straight to his room, slamming the door and locking it.

"…What's his problem…?" asked the younger Asakura, staring at Hao, who shrugged in reply.

"Period…?" he suggested, and placed the bottle of milk next to the many others in the fridge.

"Hao, what's with the milk? We have plenty as it is."

"Ever wonder why Ren always gets 13 small bottles of milk without fail? Well I just thought I'd make it 14; and see if he notices anything…"

Yoh sighed and flopped onto the sofa, not noticing the elder Asakura going towards the Tao's room.

--

"Where the hell are you!" questioned Ren, throwing all of his clothing into a messy pile in the middle of his room. "I know you're here… I know you are…" he muttered, determine to find what he was looking for.

"Here I am honey-pie, come and get it."

Ren chose to ignore Hao's comment and continued to search through his clothing.

The long-haired boy allowed himself to grin as he bent over the crouching Tao. "What are you looking for?"

"Nothing." He mumbled, focusing on the task at hand.

"Can I help?"

"No, go away." Hissed Ren in reply, getting annoyed by his presents.

"Ren, how do you feel?"

"I'll give Yoh a shot, he's a nice guy."

"I mean about Horo."

"Horo? That baka? What about him?"

Ren paused for a second and crawled towards the door, checking to see if the Ainu was listening, thankfully though, he wasn't.

"How do you feel?"

"I feel nothing, now shoo, I'm busy."

"Oh, are you looking for that picture of Horo with the love heart on it?"

Ren stopped his search and looked up, glaring daggers at the Asakura hovering over him. "How'd you know?"

"Just a wild guess. Good luck." He smiled, and left the room.

"Hao!" shouted Ren, and was thankful when he came back.

"It was in the clothes you wanted me to burn and fell out." Said the Asakura truthfully.

"Whatever, just give me it!" barked Ren.

"Why? Need it to snuggle up to at night?" he taunted daringly, watching as Ren gritted his teeth.

"No, now give!"

"Tell me why you have it!"

"No!"

"Do you love him!"

"NO! Look, if I tell you why I have it will you give me it back?"

"Of course."

"Very well then… I happen to have a photo of all of you, all with love hearts on them."

"Oh Ren, I never knew you cared. Why do they have hearts on them?"

"Because it represents my friendship towards you guys… I… I love you all… you're my frickin friends, of course I'm going to care about you!" The awkwardness of it all was beginning to make Ren's blood boil. He didn't like saying he 'loved' someone, he never has.

"Prove it!"

"You want me to prove it? Fine!" Ren snarled, and walked over to the middle of the room, lifting up the rug to reveal a loose floorboard. The Tao removed it and got out a small box. The box was black with a thin layer of dust, and as Ren opened it, he revealed to Hao his photo's of all of them, all with love hearts in the corner. "Horo's was the only one that would fit in my pocket, baka!"

Hao eyed the Tao, searching for a sign of dishonesty, yet sighed as he failed to do so. "…What made you agree to go out with Yoh in the first place?"

Ren sighed. "I've already told you. He's a nice guy. I'll see how it goes."

"But what made you say yes straight away? Most people need time to think about it, but you just went for it. Why?"

"Hao, why must you ask me these questions?"

"Because when you said you'd go out with Yoh, I could tell you didn't mean it. Yoh is serious. What's the point in saying yes, going out with him for a while, then dumping him? You may as well of turned him down flat. It'll hurt but he'll thank you for it one day."

"Why do you care what I do anyway?" inquired Ren, raising an eyebrow. "I've never seen you so considerate of others before…"

"Because Yoh's my brother, my other half, my duplicate, if you will; and I must protect him at all costs, both physically and emotionally."

"Look Hao, I know you're only looking out for him, but really, its fine. If I give it a shot and fall for him, then there's no reason for us to split up is there. And besides, if I don't fall for him, I'll give it a good month before I make my decision, therefore, I'd have time to sort myself out and decide what I want and what I don't want."

Hao smiled. "That's great Ren, good to hear it."

With hearing exactly what he wanted to hear, the Asakura left, still smiling. '…A month it is…'

--

The green-haired shaman sighed blissfully as he enjoyed the silence, staring up at the ceiling as he lay on his bed. His eyes slowly closed as he drifted off into a peaceful slumber… or at least tried too.

"…No… I'm fine… really?… that's nice… but still, I cant help but feel misplaced or something…"

Lyserg put his ear against the wall. 'What the hell's Horo doing on the phone? Who's he talking too?'

The shaman secretly left the security of his room and silently picked up the other phone that was on the wall next to the door.

Lyserg was confused. He knew it was Horo who was on the phone, but he had no idea who he was talking too.

"I need to know what your thoughts are…" said an anonymous voice. The voice was deep; and male as far as the young douser could tell. "Are you coming to see me tonight? Or are you just going to sit around and avoid me like you've been doing for the past few months?"

"No, I'll come." Said Horo; and Lyserg heard him sigh into the phone.

"Alone as usual I presume?"

"Yes, as usual."

"…You sound depressed."

"No, you don't say?"

"Horo, I am doing this for you, but if your going to get cocky then-"

"No, no. You're right… sorry… I'm just a little… stressed…"

"It's alright. So, I'll see you around midnight?"

"Sure. They're all usually asleep by then anyway, so it'll be easy to sneak out."

"Very well. Take it this is the same reason as before?" Lyserg didn't hear Horo reply, as the other end stayed silent. "Take that as a yes then, well, bye."

Lyserg hung up after both ends went dead.

"Lyserg," said Yoh, staring at him from the sofa. "If you're going to do prank phone calls, at least do it from a payphone so they can't trace it…" he sighed, and went back to daydreaming.

"…Yoh…" began young douser, "has Horo ever… gone out… late at night…?"

Yoh's head popped up from the sofa as he stared at the young douser. "Not what I know of… why?"

"Oh, no reason. I was just curious." He replied, then went to the Ainu's room and knocked on the door.

"Yeah?" he shouted, yet didn't open the door.

"It's me, Lyserg. I just wanted to talk to you about something…" the teen sniggered as he heard a rumble, followed by a thud, then another rumble, then finally the door opened.

"What?" asked the Ainu.

"I was just wondering whether you were feeling any better. When you came in you seemed to be in a rather bad mood. Want to talk about it?"

"No, not really." Muttered Horo, and closed the door, but before it could shut all the way, Lyserg stopped it with his foot.

"Horo, if you need to talk about things… well… I'm here for you…"

The ice shaman wondered why his friend sounded as if he was pleading for something… but what? Despite his thoughts of suspicion, Horo smiled. "I know, and thanks. You're a great friend." He smiled, and as Lyserg moved his foot away, closed the door.

Lyserg exhaled loudly, he'd expected his friend would have told him what was wrong, but obviously he'd expected too much. The green-haired shaman put on a grin, and walked back into the living-room, sitting next to Yoh, who once again snapped out of his fantasy, due to the person sitting next to him.

"Hey, Lyserg, what's up?" he asked, noticing his friends troubled face.

"…Nothing… I just… Do you think Horo is the type of guy who'd go to a male prostitute?"

Yoh stared at Lyserg in pure horror. "…Umm… don't really know what to say to that…"

Lyserg sighed. "Me neither…"

"Wait- Horo's going to a male prostitute!"

"No… actually… I'm not sure… but… oh, never mind. Forget I said anything, ok?" he asked as he got up to leave, looking back at Yoh. The Asakura nodded to confirm that his lips were sealed, and Lyserg went back to his room, still thinking about who Horo had been talking to on the phone.

"Hm, I wonder were my beloved Ren has gotten too…" he asked himself, and got up off the sofa, walking towards Ren's room. As he approached, muffled voices could be heard.

"…and I also want you to know that I love Yoh more than anything else in the world…"

Yoh smiled as he could hear Hao giving the big brother speech to Ren.

"…and if you ever hurt him… I'll kill you."

"Hao, I'm not going to hurt him. Believe me, I actually don't mind being with the spasticated baka, but I don't want to rush into anything either…"

"I understand. It's just like you to run away from things."

"What? I'm not running away from anything you idiot!"

"Yeah. Sure. Fine. Whatever."

"I'm not, damn it!"

'Uh oh.' Thought Yoh. 'I'd better go in there before a fight starts…'

But before the Asakura had a chance to enter, he heard Ren speak again.

"Yoh cares about me, not many people do that. The last thing I want to do is hurt him for it. Sure, I'm not gay and I've never been with a guy before, hell I've never been with a girl either, but I don't care about that. Yoh is the first person to ever confess their love to me; and I thank him for it. I'll protect him and even try to love him. I know you're worried that he'll get hurt, but he won't because I won't allow it. Understand?"

"…Thank you Ren… that's exactly what I wanted to hear…"

After Yoh was sure the conversation was over, he pushed the closed door open.

"Hey." Greeted Hao, and smiled at Yoh before abandoning the room, leaving his younger brother alone with the Tao.

Ren was sat with his back against the far wall of his room. The walls were a pale creamy colour, as the door was a dark brown. He had a large wardrobe to the left hand side of his room (Yoh's left), along with a bed with smooth satin sheets. Opposite his bed was a dressing table, which held such things as underwear and socks, and next to that was a large stereo with a small collection of CD's. The rest of his room was full of training equipment and weapons he'd either bought, or had been passed down to him by his family.

"…So…" said Yoh, letting a mischievous grin creep across his face as he saw the Tao look up at him. "You'll protect me huh?"

Ren instantly looked away. He wasn't so sure he liked the fact that Yoh was listening into his conversations with other people. "…How long were you there for? And don't you dare say 'long enough'."

Yoh's grin grew even wider as he sat beside the Tao, letting him wait patiently for his reply. "…Long enough."

"Yoh! I'm ser-"

Ren moaned quietly as he felt Yoh's lips pressing against his own; then held the Asakura as he tried to deepen the kiss.

--

Lyserg's eyes snapped open as he heard a sharp knock at his bedroom door.

"Hey, shit-head, I need to talk to you." Spoke a voice from the other side, and the door opened.

Lyserg groaned in annoyance. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

"No, it's a custom in my country to walk into someone's room without knocking." Muttered Hao, and sat on the bed next to Lyserg.

The young dousers' room was as tacky as his hair. Everything was green. He had green wardrobe, green bed sheets, green carpet; everything was insanely green!

"Oh?" asked Lyserg, raising an eyebrow. "And what country would that be?"

"South Jinkananan Something-or-other."

"Take it that's a small Island in the- lets see- nowhere."

"Yes, now shush. I need to talk to you."

"About what? And why me?"

"Because Yoh and Ren are busy doing… stuff… and Horo will most likely ignore me because I piss him off so much."

"And you don't piss me off?"

"No, because I can tell you like it when I piss you off. Now shush, or do I have to throw a pencil at you?" he asked impatiently.

"No, I'll be quiet." He sighed, and listened to Hao's troubles.

"You see… I have doubts about Ren…"

"Really? What sort of doubts?"

"The sort of doubts you get when you think someone doesn't realise just how lucky they are."

"…Oh… you mean you don't think Ren is thankful for having Yoh…"

"That's not what I said." Hao hissed.

Lyserg jumped slightly as Hao began to get touchy. "…Why the defence?" he questioned, still staring at Hao.

"Sorry, but anyway, I don't think Ren can go the distance. I mean- Yoh loves him for fuck sake! If Ren isn't serious, then what's the point in getting Yoh's hopes all high, only for them to be crushed later on in life?" he questioned.

Lyserg smiled and locked his arms round the elder Asakura, pulling him into a hug. "It's ok. I'm sure Yoh will be fine. Although… if it's really worrying you… maybe you should consider talking to Yoh about it, or even Ren." He suggested. "He can't blame you for being concerned about him."

Hao stayed silent for a moment, as if to think things over in his mind. "…You know what Lyserg… you're a good friend…" Lyserg felt his heart-beat increase. For the first time, Hao had referred to him as a friend, and for the first time, Hao had hugged him back.

Unicorn13564: I wasn't going to stop here, but I guess I shouldn't make this chapter too long. I'm running low on things to do again… Damn it, I know what's going to happen, and I have some surprises in store for all of you, but I have no idea what's going to happen until then… o.o Oh, and before I forget, Lucy, my sister, (Tkari), was the one who told me the title 'By Day I Cry, By Night I Howl' See Lucy, I finally gave you credit! n.n …Even though I'm sure I've gave credit already… and I'm sure I've said that before… and I'm getting a major de ja vu… o.o'' (I know that's not how ya spell it but blah O.O'')