By Jyun Hwa
Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.
Pairing: YohRen
Chapter Three
The following day found Ren sitting in his first hour geology class. His teacher was out that day, and their substitute had bad eyes and ears, so hope for any order in the class was out of the question. Everyone was all over the room, doing as they pleased.
The Chinese boy was surprised as a hand was suddenly rested on his shoulder. He never spoke to anyone in this class. Turning around, he saw that it was that blue-haired boy who was hanging around with Yoh the day that the brunet came over. Horohoro, wasn't it? He happened to be in Ren's geology class, but Ren never really paid much attention that they were the same person until now.
"Um… hey," Horo spoke, unsure of how to approach the junior. Said junior hadn't looked too friendly upon their previous encounter, so the bluenette wasn't certain on how he was supposed to act around him.
"Hey," Ren simply said.
You're one of Yoh's friends, right…? You're the one he was hanging out with the other day," Horohoro asked. Yoh and himself had the same friends, so if Ren was Yoh's friend, he had to be Horo's as well.
"I'm an acquaintance," Ren explained calmly. Truth be told, he wasn't sure whether they were considered friends of not. He never bothered having friends before and therefore didn't know the difference.
Horohoro took a seat beside him without asking for permission. "Great. Then I have to get acquainted with you myself." Ren raised an eyebrow at the inquiry but the bluenette continued. "I'm Horokeu, but my friends call me Horohoro."
So that was his real name. Ren didn't remember hearing his name on the roll before. "I know your name," he commented nonetheless. "You come right after mine on the roll, Usui. I'm Tao Ren," the Chinese boy said, sounding between annoyed and indifferent. One couldn't tell which it was.
"Ren… Hey, don't go calling me Usui. That sounds so formal and makes me sound like some old businessman or something. Horohoro is fine."
Ren stayed quiet for a moment, staring at the senior. "…Horokeu is fine." He didn't know why the third year asked to be called something that his friends called him by.
Horohoro waved a hand at him. "Fine, fine. Horokeu is fine. You're a junior, aren't you?" he asked, seemingly interested and trying to make conversation with the younger boy.
"Yes, I am…" Ren muttered, not used to being addressed at all.
"You must be really smart, having classes with seniors and all."
"I guess."
"You don't speak much, do you? Well, that's okay. I can usually keep a conversation going on my own. You're Chinese right? Tao… Are you from that wealthy famous company?" Ren simply nodded. "That's so cool. Your parents must be rich and everything. Do you live with them?"
The Tao shook his head. "No, I live alone."
"You live all by yourself?! Doesn't that get lonely?" Horokeu asked, surprised. He wasn't aware that he had just repeated the exact same words that Yoh had said two days ago when finding out this information.
The Chinese boy simply shrugged, although he did find it amusing how the bluenette had said the same exact thing as his brunet friend did. "I don't really care. I prefer to be alone. I like the peace of it."
"That's kind of understandable, I guess. Personally, I'd be lonely, but I guess people have different tastes. You didn't come to class yesterday, did you? I still saw you around though."
"Oh… Hao was annoying me outside and didn't let me go to class," Ren explained, not really wanting to go into the unpleasant details of the conversation they had the preceding day.
"Hao? You're friends with Hao too?! Why don't I know these things?"
The junior interrupted him suddenly, looking rather ticked off. "I am NOT friends with that… that…" he trailed off, not sure what to call Hao, but his expression working as a substitution for the left out words.
Horokeu looked at him sympathetically then. "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. Don't worry. Don't take anything that he says or does personally… unless it involves his brother of course. Then you should watch your back. But I'm sure it doesn't, does it?" He looked at Ren in question.
Ren lowered his gaze a little nervously, not giving an answer. What had he ever done to Hao anyway?
"Does it?" Horokeu asked, looking surprised. Ren still didn't answer. "It does! Hey, I'm really sorry then, but don't worry, he can't do anything too drastic. Hey, why don't you come eat lunch with us today?"
The younger of the two looked at him oddly. "Lunch? For what?" He wasn't certain what exactly Horokeu meant by what he had previously said. What was the problem of being involved with Yoh?
"Hao really isn't a bad person at all when you get to know him. I'm friends with him. If he sees you're with me, he's bound to leave you alone!" Horokeu knew that that wasn't exactly true, but if it got Ren to come to lunch with them, then…
"Really? I'll go," Ren answered a little too quickly.
---
Okay, so maybe he was desperate to get Hao off of his back, but as long as he got that accomplished, he really didn't care how it was to be done. Ren had agreed to meet up with Horo by the vending machines down at the cafeteria, so that's where he stood now, waiting for the third year bluenette. For all he knew, Horo could've just tricked him to come here, but something told him to just go along with it anyway.
"Ren!" a voice called. The one in question turned around to face Horohoro, who was running up to him now. "Sorry I took so long. Teacher held me up in class." He came to a stop in front of the junior.
"It's alright…" Ren muttered, used to people being late.
"Let's go, right?"
---
"Ren?" Ren immediately thought that this was a bad idea when he heard the familiar lazy voice call his name. He saw Yoh sitting at the lunch table that Horo had taken him to, next to some guy with a weird hairdo. His thoughts were confirmed even further when he saw that girl Yoh had been talking to the other day, sitting on the other side of the guy with the hairdo, and closer to where he himself was currently standing. Yoh immediately stood from his seat. "Come sit," he said, motioning for Ren to come to that side of the table, and scooting his chair closer to the hairdo guy to make room for Ren. He pulled another chair over and held it out, waiting for Ren to take a seat.
The junior wasn't sure if he should go sit or not but a slight push from Horo told him to go, so he did, although hesitantly. He timidly sat in the seat Yoh was holding out for him and muttered a quiet thank you. Yoh just smiled and then sat back in his own seat, next to Ren.
"This is my friend Ren," Horohoro explained. The young boy's eyes slightly widened. That was the first time anyone had called him a friend. He decided not to say anything and let Horo continue. The bluenette pointed to the first person to his right, who was a girl with pink hair who appeared to be rather shy. "This is Tamao," he moved on. "Anna." Anna merely nodded, not looking like she cared. "Ryu." So, the hairdo guy was called Ryu… "You know Yoh." He continued past Ren. "Lyserg." Ren recognized the green-haired boy from one of his classes. He was a junior too, unless he was a really dumb senior who had to retake his junior classes… But he did look younger.
The introductions were made and Horohoro was about to take his seat between Tamao and Lyserg when someone crashed into him. "What the…?!"
"Horo!!! I got the last pack of cookies!!" A hand waved a pack of cookies in front of Horo's face.
Horo looked only a little annoyed at the longhaired guy, who seemed familiar to Ren, even though he could only see his back. "Yeah, that's really nice, Hao. Let me eat now," Horo pushed him aside and sat beside Tamao, leaving room between himself and Lyserg for Hao to sit, which he did.
Then the Asakura noticed Ren's presence. The junior was desperately trying to avoid eye contact in hopes of not getting recognized. "Ren! ♥ I didn't know you were here! Have a cookie," Hao said, holding out the pack towards the Chinese boy.
Said boy glared up at him. Why was he acting so friendly all of a sudden? "No thank you. Cookies give you cavities." He couldn't be nice to Hao no matter how hard he tried.
Hao looked at him oddly. "Nonsense. I eat them all the time and still have perfect teeth." He ate a cookie as if it would prove his point.
"No one cares about your teeth, Hao…" the boy beside him muttered, resulting in him getting everyone's attention.
Hao looked over at him. "Aw, come on, Lyserg. You of all people should know how perfect my teeth are," Hao smirked and draped an arm around the younger boy's shoulder. "You're just being selfish. You don't want anyone else knowing about my perfection."
Ren just watched this scene unfold in confusion, while Yoh chuckled beside him, as did Horo and even that really shy-looking girl Tamao. Why was Hao so openly flirting with Lyserg?
"Hao! Leave my darling Lyserg alone!" hairdo guy suddenly exclaimed, pointing at him accusingly. Hao didn't look amused.
Lyserg looked ticked. "Would you both stop it?!" He pushed Hao away from himself and scooted closer to the Chinese boy.
Horohoro laughed at this behavior. "Sorry, Lyserg. I should've made him sit on the other side of me." He scratched the back of his head.
"As amusing as this is to watch," Anna started, closing her eyes in an annoyed manner, "Hao, stop flaunting over everyone as if you're desperate for some attention." As soon as she said that, the girl proceeded eating in a calm manner. She somehow bothered Ren, though he still wasn't sure why. Subconsciously leaning closer to Yoh, he pulled out his own bento and placed it before him.
As soon as he opened it up, Yoh was gaping over it. "That looks so good! Do you really prepare this by yourself?!" The brunet's hands were not on the junior's arm, as he tried getting a better look at it, his eyes glowing with obvious want. His actions attracted attention to Ren's bento. Everyone leaned forward to look at it and let out a sound of awe. That is, everyone besides Anna, who was noticing that the junior got too much attention from Yoh.
"That looks really good," Ryu commented for all of them.
Horo nodded. "Most any of us get is a small bento without too much inside."
Hao's comment came next. "Ren-chan! Be my wife!" He grabbed both of Ren's hands across the table in a proposing sort of way, making everyone immediately back off from the food. Ren didn't notice the slight change in Yoh's eyes, being too caught up in whatever it was Hao was trying to pull.
There was a long pause of silence. Slowly everyone shifted away little by little, especially Lyserg, who was between the two. Finally, Ren snapped. "Do I look like a woman to you?! I'm going to be nobody's wife!! Especially not yours!"
"You could pass for a wo…" Hao started but got cut off immediately.
"Shut up!" Ren snapped back, jerking his hands away.
Yoh decided to cut in. "Um… Hao, leave him alone…" he said nervously, trying to calm Ren down by putting one arm on the back of his seat.
Hao's eyes turned to his brother and then back to Ren. A smirk found its way onto his face, which suddenly reminded the boy of the earlier threat. The junior quickly pushed Yoh away. "Leave me alone…" he muttered, going back to his bento.
Yoh glanced at him oddly. He hadn't done anything, so why did Ren push him away? The subject easily changed to a more normal one – basketball. Hao was on the basketball team with Ryu and Horohoro, so they got busy talking about that. Anna just quietly ate her lunch, from time to time glancing over at Yoh and Ren to make sure they weren't up to anything. Tamao just listened to the conversation, being too shy to join in. Lyserg ate his food, from time to time making a comment on something in the conversation.
Unbeknownst to the rest of the group, Yoh was clutching onto two long strips of paper in one hand – the one closer to Ryu. Occasionally he glanced downward at them but every time just ignored them. He finally put them into his pocket, deciding to worry about them later, and folding his hands over the table, laying his chin down on them.
Ren muttered something then. "It's not polite to put your elbows on the table…"
Yoh glanced over at him curiously. "It's a school cafeteria. Manners get you no where here…"
"I don't care. It's still not nice, or graceful…" he trailed off.
The Asakura lifted up to sit straight. "Sorry," he said. The younger one didn't know why Yoh had bothered listening to him then, nor did he know where the following words that passed his own lips came from.
"You want some of my lunch?" The Chinese boy moved the bento box a little closer to Yoh in offering. "I can share."
The brunet stared at it for a moment before his face broke into a smile. "Thanks. ♥" Ren blushed slightly and put the box in between them. Only then did he realize that they only had one set of chopsticks. Being too caught up in sharing the lunch, the two never did notice the dark look they were receiving from the girl across…
---
It was time to go to class and everyone put away whatever they had out. Ren carefully put away his now empty bento box. His cheeks were a little flushed from the slight intimacy, while Yoh just sat there looking blissful from the delicious food. The next class they had together. Horohoro, Hao and Lyserg went off together, Hao being the one to drag Lyserg with them. The rest of the remaining five walked out of the cafeteria together. Yoh was chatting to Ryu about something but the Chinese didn't bother listening in on it. Tamao and Anna also talked about something. Eventually, they split up, leaving Ren alone with the Asakura. Ren blushed when Yoh suddenly gave him a half hug from the side, smiling blissfully. "Thank you for the food. ♥"
"Ah…" Ren merely nodded, unable to say anything in reply, his cheeks pink. The two approached class, entering together.
---
TBC
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Jyun Hwa – Omg, I'm an idiot. I wrote this out around a month ago and was going to make it longer (I actually wrote more but never typed it up yet)… But now I decided to just post it as it is and make the rest part of chapter four. I think I've also decided to start making shorter chapters so I update faster, but I'm not sure if I'm going to do that yet. Anyway, what I'm writing here for… Don't expect any updates until after May probably. I have midterms, and AP tests, and rehearsals every day, and concerts, so I'm really busy and rarely home. (Although, after May, June means finals --... So I don't know yet. We'll see.) Ciao.
