Ashuri: I am so sorry. It's been almost eight months without an update and I said I was. (Bows) I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you a promise. I got laid off in January and now I have all the time in the world. So hopefully there'll be more updates, if your all still interested. Thank you all for the reviews =D So um here you go.

Horo and Ren: she does not own shaman king.

Chapter four: Insane Jealousy.

By the time they had returned home, they still had not uttered one word to each other. Ren was still quite satisfied with his little outburst and Horo it seemed had nothing to say on the subject, which was first.

It didn't really bother Ren as much as it should have. He felt the silence was some what comforting, especially after the annoyance of the last few weeks, and that maybe this silence would make Horo rethink his actions just a bit and things would go back to normal. However Ren knew Horo a little too well.

And that thought was stretching reality a little too far.

Parking the car, Ren exited it and retrieved the things from the trunk. Horo stood idly by, not offering his help. Making a disgruntled noise, Ren roughly shoved some of the bags into his arms, grabbed the rest and went to unlock the door.

Silent and angry or not, Horo was going to help out.

They took the stuff into the kitchen and Ren set about putting things in their proper place and Horo retreated to the living room where he sat on the couch and returned his hand to his face, hiding his eyes and was either staring at the wall across from him or the floor.

In any other case this would have made Ren go and comfort him, but there was nothing to say about it now.

In fact, Ren had figured that Horo would immediately run off to Yoh's, which he seemed prone to doing, if something happened that he couldn't deal with. Which is where he had thought he had gone when he couldn't find him in the store.

If Horo had a problem with Ren, he went to Yoh. What Yoh could do about the situation, Ren didn't know. Give some boring ass speech about how Ren was Ren and that they shouldn't fight and la de da.

Ren didn't see how Yoh could help Horo at all. Actually he didn't think anyone could help him or their relationship. He more then figured they were beyond help at this point. And he rather Horo go elsewhere then Yoh's.

Standing there at the counter, a small sudden realization dawned on him. This made him embarrassed and feel quite childish, and over all very stupid.

He didn't like Horo going to Yoh's.

Ren clamped his palm to his forehead and muttered, "What are you, a girl? He's your friend. He's not going to do anything."

It was so stupid, so pathetic, so-

"Ren."

Ren removed his palm from his face and looked over at Horo as he entered the kitchen, with a very solemn look on his face. "What?" Ren snapped, a little more forcefully then he intended.

Horo took a breath and said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about the store and everything else. But I think that maybe we should take a break for a little while." This sentence was said very slowly and carefully in fear that Ren would attack him.

Ren just looked at him. The word break not registering with his brain.

"The reason I say that is, we're both obviously confused and stuck on what we want, and maybe we should take sometime to think it over and then I won't be pushy and you won't cause scenes in stores," Horo finished.

Ren continued to stare. He couldn't bring himself to say something.

"So um, I'm going to go to Yoh's," Horo said turning slightly.

Ren pulled out of his silent state, with angry, jealous face and tone. "Yoh. Why is it always Yoh? Seriously I think you spend more time there with him then you do with me."

Horo turned and looked at him clearly surprised. "What? He's my friend, why wouldn't I see him?"

"Are you sure he's just a friend?" Ren sneered. "Maybe it's a little more. Maybe you say your going there but then you meet him elsewhere for a little jig-jig in the park hm?" He almost slapped himself for using a Sweeney Todd reference. Damn that soundtrack, he thought.

"Ren, you're over reacting. We are friends. And besides he's married," answered Horo as though Ren had forgotten that little detail.

"That doesn't mean squat,d" said Ren. "Married people cheat all the time, on other married people or non married people, because they're unhappy in their relationship. And I can think of no one as unhappy as Yoh being married to that woman."

"It never bothered you before," said Horo.

"I didn't think about it before, and now that I have I realized that I don't like it," responded Ren. "Not one bit."

"Well it shouldn't. Nothing is going to happen. I am severely devoted to you," answered Horo. "No one else will ever take your place."

Ren shoved this statement aside. "How am I supposed to know that when you run off to him every time something goes wrong? He's like your rebound buddy or something!"

"Ren, you're throwing things way out of context."

"You're both like, 'Whoo, lets be with two people at the same time because we're dumb and don't know what monogamy is,'" said Ren, ignoring Horo's last statement.

"Mono-whatsit?" Horo tried.

"Exactly. Case it point," stated Ren.

"That doesn't prove anything," Horo said angrily. "Just cause I don't know what a word is doesn't mean I want to be with someone else while I'm with you. I want to be with you and no one else, I just think we need to work on our relationship again because-"

"You're trying to force me to marry you," interrupted Ren.

"-you're not willing to try something different beyond your comfort zone," Horo finished, folding his arms and giving a semi-mean look to Ren.

"Don't you dare turn me into the enemy Horo," growled Ren. "I have been more then accommodating about stepping out of my comfort zone. And if I hadn't you wouldn't be here. You'd be living on the street or living with dear old Yoh as you so seemingly want to do."

"God Ren, just drop. I don't want to be with Yoh!" Horo insisted.

"Then why go there?"

"Cause he's my friend, and sometimes I need to get away from you, cause your insane!" said Horo, his voice rising.

"And you're just figuring this out now?" said Ren with a laugh.

Horo threw his arms up in exasperation and turned towards the door. "You're driving me insane!"

Still laughing Ren said, "Ha. Join the club, we've got jackets."

Horo grumbled something and Ren watched him walk to the door. As he did so, his mouth went dry and a sickening feeling over took him, but his anger and jealously beat it down. He still followed Horo to the door.

"I'm going," Horo said.

"That's right you run off to Yoh's," Ren sneered, his arms crossed.

"Don't you ever get tired of me leaving?" Horo then asked.

"No because you always come back," answered Ren.

"Well one day I won't."

Ren laughed again. "Yeah sure okay."

Horo rolled his eyes. "I'll return when you've stopped being stupid and insanely jealous." He pulled the door open.

"I am not jealous," retorted Ren.

"Yeah sure okay," mimicked Horo.

"Besides all you do is run away," said Ren.

"Because all you do is push me away," retorted Horo.

"Then don't try to get me to do things I don't want to do."

"It's a symbol of love, Ren."

"No it's a symbol of entrapment," answered Ren.

Horo sighed angrily. "Same fight all the time."

"And who's fault is that?"

"Yours."

"It is not. Its yours you big lummox."

Horo sighed again. "I'm leaving."

"Good. Get out of here."

Horo walked out the door and Ren stood in the doorway, with a very insane look on his face, he was defiantly not in the right mind anymore. He didn't understand the whole obsession with leaving and going to Yoh's. Or rather he wanted to pretend he didn't.

Once Horo had disappeared from his line of sight, he closed the door and walked around a bit.

"Well why? Why would he do that? Because he's a lummox. And we're going to have a lovely garden party and you're not invited. Hee."

Ren stopped walking. Damn movies.

He looked at the door and then around the house. It was silent and empty like a tomb. He stood there for a long time. Jealousy and anger ebbing away, it always seemed to happen to late. After Horo had left because it was the only thing Horo could do. Angry Ren equalled bad Ren.

Ren sighed. It had been a long time since a fight of this magnitude and even longer since Horo had actually left him. The arguing needed to stop and he didn't think that marrying him would solve anything, it would just make it worse.

Finally he moved and sat on the couch. What was he going to do now, his anger may have left but Horo's was still there and nothing he said right then would make a difference. He would have to come up with some sort of plan to make Horo understand or at least fix things.

He sighed again. He didn't know what to do. He needed a plan but he couldn't think of a plan yet because he had to make sure he didn't go insane within the next few days. It was going to be hard work, but he needed to patch things up.

Ren sat in silence, no longer comfortable with there, missing Horo's rambunctiousness. A single though crossed his mind.

Ren, you're a dumbass.

Ashuri: well there you go. Its short, I'm sorry. But I don't have many ideas right now I need to think of something. But you can help.

What would you like to see happen next?

References: jig-jig from the song alms!alms! From the sweeney todd soundtrack, its not in the movie. And the lummox lines are from Pirates of the Caribbean three.

Anyway, questions, comments, ideas? Please leave a review.