A/N: Here's another chapter! Please, please, please review…There are more than a thousand hits for this story but it only has 70+ reviews…please help me out here. Okay? Thanks to all those who reviewed. I love you all! So there, read on!

Italicized words – thoughts (or dreams)

Words between " " - dialogue

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King but I own this plot.

Almost Perfect

By pentuppassion formerly known as anime-ted goddess

Chapter 11

"We're nearly there, everyone!" the guide announced, sounding very excited. It's true; they were only half an hour away from the rest house of the Tao's. Everyone was glad to hear that they would soon be able to see what's in store for them in this trip. They were looking forward to getting there before the sun sets.

"Yeah, what do you guys think we should do first?" Manta asked the group.

"I'm hungry." Yoh suddenly blurted out and everyone else sweat-dropped. At that, Yoh put up his hands in front of him in defence and said, "Hey, eating isn't such a bad idea! We haven't even had a decent lunch, you know."

"Run laps when we get there." Anna said flatly. "No laps, no dinner."

"What? But… Anna… " Yoh whined. All memories of the night before seemed to have gone from his fiancé's mind.

The whole gang laughed hard at the couple's bickering when suddenly, Horohoro felt something. There was a feeling in his gut that made him stop laughing and walking. Tamao who was walking beside him was the only one who noticed the sudden change in his expression. His face was fear-stricken, it seemed. He went pale and had gotten sweaty all of a sudden; it was strange.

"Everything alright?" Tamao's concerned voice brought him back to reality. He noticed she stopped walking, too, and her face had a very worried expression on it. She then took his hand in hers and gave it a soft squeeze. Horo tried to smile, thankful that Tamao was there.

"It's nothing, I just had a feeling."

A very bad feeling…

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!! HHHEEEEEEEELLLLPPP!!!!" her eyes were tightly closed as she prayed inwardly for someone ----anyone ----- to rescue her. Please… please… please….

As if answering her prayers, a pair of strong hands grabbed her by the arm and gave it a powerful pull. She felt muscled arms encircle her into an embrace, as if the person was trying to cover her whole body, protecting her. As she was trying to figure out who her saviour was, the person suddenly spoke.

"Pirika, hold on tight." It was barely a whisper but she instantly recognized to whom that deep voice belonged to. It could only be Ren's. Before she could think any more about what was happening, a branch that was sticking out at the side of the cliff scraped her arm and resulted in a bleeding wound. She cringed slightly at the pain, and apparently, Ren felt her reaction.

The man holding her close quickly reacted to this. She felt herself being shifted to one side so she and Ren could exchange places. That was when there came a series of scratching leaves and breaking branches around them. Pirika, though, did not feel anything except a few light scratches caused by some occasional twigs grazing her skin. She was curled up safely in Ren's arms; his body was shielding her from all the wounds and scars.

She did not notice that she was crying and shaking with her sobs. All she felt was how Ren's body cringed and tensed as the branches hit his back quite harshly.

In a few moments, they landed on the ground with a resounding thud. Ren's back was first to hit the ground, his arms involuntarily let go of the Ainu girl and fell limply to his sides.

Pirika, who was still curled up on top of Ren's unmoving body, looked at the young man who saved her. At that same time, Ren looked up at her also and their eyes met. Surprisingly enough, the young Chinese smiled, seemingly satisfied, as he spoke softly.

"You're safe now, Pirika…" then he fainted without another word.

The young Ainu's eyes widened with fear and worry. She went over to his side and shook his shoulders slightly. "Ren! Ren, wake up!" Her pleas were now accompanied by her tears. "Please Ren… w-wake u-up… sob…p-please…"

She wept but she didn't really understand why. She tried to calm herself knowing that if she didn't, she won't be able to do anything to help the young man in front of her.

After a while, her sobs subsided and she was able to think straight. She studied Ren's unconscious form carefully. She noticed that his clothes were damp with sweat, torn in several places and has blood seeping through it. His arms had countless wounds and bruises caused by the fall, and his face, too, had its own share or scratches.

Pirika felt guilt stirring inside her as she continued to look at him. All she could do now was to stare and cry. She couldn't help but think about the night that she claimed to hate this young man in front of her.

I am so stupid! How come I never think before I say anything?! Now that I think about it, I am not that furious about what he did. It was just so confusing back then…argh! I can't believe myself… this is probably the most confusing week I would ever have in my entire life…

She decided to let Ren's head rest on her lap. Then, she took off her headband and with it, she wiped the blood, dirt and sweat from the young man's face.

"I'm really sorry, Ren…I'm…really, really sorry…"

"Here we are!" Jun eagerly welcomed them all in their rest house. The sun was setting and they could see the orange-coloured sky above them. It was a long and tiring journey but as they surveyed the place, they felt it was damn worth it.

The moment they arrived, they saw a tall, hotel-like establishment looming over them. Not so far away from it was a beach surrounded by fine white sand. It might even be thought of as a private one since no other building or house can be seen anywhere near the place except for that or the Tao's.

"It's awesome!" Manta exclaimed, breaking the silence. "You really own all this, Jun?"

"Well, my father does, so, yeah." Jun replied modestly. "Shall we?"

"You bet!" everyone said in unison.

The gang was led into the house and were each assigned a room of their own. Everyone except Horohoro stayed in to fix their things; the young man decided to go out at once and wait for his sister to arrive. Yoh noticed this and followed him out.

"They sure are taking so long." He whispered to himself. "I wonder what's keeping them…"

If thet Ren did anything to my sister, I'm going to freeze him to death…

"Hey, Horo!" Yoh's voice came from behind him. The brown-haired young man was running towards the Ainu. "Any sign of Pirika and Ren?"

"Nah, still nothing." Horo had a downcast look on his face when he replied. "I'm worried."

"Hey, she's with Ren. I'm sure he'll take care of your sister." Yoh tried to reassure him.

"I know… but still…"

"Tell you what, if they're still not here in a couple of hours, we'll go looking for them. Okay?"

Horo thought about it for a while and decided that he probably should be more patient. "Yeah, okay."

"C'mon, let's go." Yoh put an arm over the Ainu's shoulder and steered him towards the beach. "She'll be fine." He added with a smile.

I hope so…

This is it. This is what I've been dreaming about for days and it happened already. Now I know who saved me; it was Ren. It was always him. He's always around me and I never realized it until now. Whenever I'm in trouble, he would pop out from nowhere and help me out. He was just always there. I can't believe I was that stupid not to notice! And that kiss…surely it must mean something…

The young Ainu's memory of that day was still very clear in her mind. The clearing, the tree, Ren lying on the ground sleeping while she stared, and the look in his eyes that sent shivers down her spine… whatever he showed there in those golden orbs that day, he showed them all to me in his actins all the days after that. The pain and sadness, it was all crystal clear…I must be part of the reasons why he was that way.

"And I ran away when he kissed me…" she whispered to herself. That must've hurt…

After he kissed me, I ran away and shouted to the whole world how much I hated him. There at the roof, I cried my eyes and my heart out. How could I be so blind then? He was so good to me even before and then he kissed me…probably his way of confessing…and I freaked out and hated him for all the wrong reasons. And he was still so kind after that! I feel so bad right now. I feel like I'm the worst person ever…

In her guilt, she cried some more. Her heart seemed to be shattered into little pieces as she thought more of what she had done to Ren. She realized how cruel she had been to him and how unfair it was to the young man.

To think, I was so insensitive when it came to him…but still, he saved me. He could have died back there!!

"You brat!" Pirika scolded the unconscious form of Ren. "You shouldn't have saved me! Now I feel even guiltier about everything I did to you!" She tried to continue ranting despite of her sobs. "This…this… is a-a-all y-your…f-f-fault, Ren…"

She threw insults at the young man, how big of a fool he was and that he was stupid and reckless. She didn't mean any of those things though; she just needed an output. Slowly, her energy faded away and her crying became silent tears. Her guilt wouldn't leave her.

Suddenly, she felt a warm hand touch her face and wiped her tears away. Knowing it as Ren's, she cried even harder.

"Ssshh…please, stop crying now, Pirika…" Ren managed to say as he stroked the Ainu's soft cheek and wipe the tears off her face. "It's okay…"

"B-b-but…"

Ren slowly sat up, his back facing Pirika, then said, "It's okay…I know already."

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END OF CHAPTER

A/N: what is Ren talking about? Find out in the next chapter! by the way, i'm sorry if Pirika cried a lot in this chapter. there's more in the next one. anyway, REVIEWS are very much welcome!! I want to know what you guys think and if you have any suggestions on how I should end this story, please feel free to tell me about it in your reviews. Thanks!

I'm wondering, should it be a happy or a sad ending?