Hello again! Here's another OC-centric chapter. I'm thinking of writing a spin-off focusing on Ren and May. In other news, I quit my job. Not that I didn't like it or anything, but there's a huge disadvantage in sharing a car with your freelancing mother, and of course, her jobs take precedence, since she pays the bills. You'd think I'd have more time on my hands, but I'm still pretty busy. Report cards came out, and I have a B, which is practically like failing to me, so I'm going to be spending a lot of time studying calculus. Oh joy.
Ayame left the fight Funbari vs Ice Men fight not long after Ren. He'd said that the winner was obvious, and Ayame had to agree. Anyway, she wanted to check on May, who had gone back to the house to get some sleep. AJ walked quietly with her, beating out a continuous rhythm with her fingertips, perhaps to a song that only she could hear.
"Makes you wonder what they're fightin' for," AJ suddenly spoke up.
Ayame glanced at her. "What do you mean?"
"Well, everyone I've talked to has all these dreams, and things they want to accomplish," AJ said. "But I don't know what those ice people would want if they're already so sure of themselves. Seems like once you know who you are and what you're good at, you should leave the fightin' to those of us who ain't all that sure."
"Perhaps it isn't about what they want," Ayame suggested. "But rather what they need."
"Ain't it kinda the same thing?"
"Not to me," Ayame replied. "You don't need luxury to survive, but people fight for it anyway because they want to have it."
AJ thought for a little while. "You need love, though."
Ayame nodded. "Yes, you do need love."
"That's what I want," AJ said gently.
"Love?" Ayame asked. "Is that what you're fighting for?"
AJ nodded. "I know you probably don't understand where I'm coming from, seeing as you've been married 'bout as long as the world's been turnin', but I got somebody back home who I'm not allowed to marry. Well, I wanna change that. You know I'm turnin' eighteen pretty soon, and I want to be able to choose who I marry without anybody gettin' in my way. That's why I'm here: to fight for love."
Ayame looked at AJ, and saw in her friend's mind a young figure, with black hair, a nice smile, and a pierced lip.
"She must mean a lot to you," Ayame said, a gentle smile on her face.
AJ blinked once at the comment, but then eased and blushed a little. "She means everythin' to me. And if the law won't let us marry, then maybe if I win the fight, I'll make it possible for everybody like me to marry the person they love. And if I don't win, then I'm goin' to college and studyin' law. If I can't make a difference through my power, then I'll make a difference through my words."
Ayame nodded. "Then I wish you good fortune, AJ. I have no doubt that you'll achieve your dreams someday."
As they walked, the ground seemed to become covered in rolling mist. The sky had started darkening earlier, and night would soon fall. Ayame felt grateful for this. It had been a long day, and dinner followed by sleep seemed like a fine idea at the moment.
"Ren!" AJ suddenly called.
Ayame looked forward, seeing Ren standing with their back to them in the middle of the street. He seemed to be looking down, and he was holding something. As they got closer, Ayame realized that the long pole in his hand was the remnant of his Kwan Do. It looked as if half of it had been burned off completely.
"What happened to you?" AJ asked, seeing the state of his weapon.
"Nothing," Ren said through his teeth.
"What did Hao want?" Ayame asked, almost casually.
Ren's fist clenched, but he didn't answer. He began to stride away angrily, his whole body tight with rage. Ayame could see that he was heading back to the house, too.
"Check on May when you get back, please," Ayame called to him. "Tell her AJ and I have gone to get some dinner." He didn't respond, but Ayame knew that he'd do it. AJ gave her a confused look, as this had obviously not been the plan. "I think he should get some time to his own thoughts. He'll tolerate May, since she probably won't be moving for the next few hours. Why don't we go congratulate Yoh?"
AJ shrugged. "I'm following you, oh fearless leader."
May turned over gently in her futon, trying to remember where she was. Her room was dark and the ever-present pounding in her head reminded her of that day's fight. She listened intently, wondering what had woken her up, when she heard the sound of footsteps outside her door. There was a soft knocking on the other side.
"Who is it?" She called, starting to sit up.
There was a brief pause before she heard the reply. "It's Ren."
"Come in," she said, finally pushing herself up. The door slid open, and Ren walked in, his expression as hard as usual. He plopped himself down next to May's futon and closed his eyes, rubbing his temples.
"Did something happen?" May asked.
Ren opened his eyes and looked at her for a few moments. "How's your head."
"Fine," she lied. She didn't like how worried he looked.
He reached forward, laying the back of his hand on her forehead. "Liar," he said. "Lie down. You have a fever."
"You need to tell me what happened." May said, crossing her arms in defiance. "I bet it has to do with Onii-chan's fight, huh?" She looked past him. "Where is everybody, anyway? How long have I been asleep?"
"Only for a few hours." Ren replied. His eyes were still narrowed, but May was glad that he was actually talking about something other than her health. "Yoh's fight is probably over by now." He remained silent for a few moments, but May waited patiently. She'd ignore any sort of pain to help with whatever troubled him. Ren finally saw that she wasn't going to back down. He sighed. "What do you know about the Cho Senji Ryakketsu?"
May's eyes widened a little, although given with whom she was talking, this wasn't a surprising line of inquiry. "Only what Ayame's taught me."
"So you've learned it?" Ren said, his interest suddenly perking.
"Not…not very well." May said, feeling uneasy. She dropped her eyes, looking at her hands. "Ayame…asked me not to…"
"Not to teach me?" Ren asked, rolling his eyes.
"Not just you," May said quickly. "But…well, yeah. It's not because you're not supposed to know, though! It's just so..." She shook her head. "I wouldn't know how to teach it to you even if I could."
Ren looked away, his fists clenching. He looked ready to punch the nearest thing, and although May knew that he would never hurt her, her caution still rose considerably.
"Hao asked me to join him." Ren suddenly said, still looking at the floor rather than at May.
May's eyes widened. "What?"
"He told me he'd teach me the Cho Senji Ryakketsu." He continued. "And when I tried to attack him, he destroyed my medium." He looked back at May, but his gaze was hard. "This woman, Ayame, has the power to destroy him. I know she does. And yet she chooses to stand aside while he continues to manipulate the world around him."
"Ren, it's not—"
"She preaches good versus evil and yet returns to that demon every night." Ren's tone grew darker and harsher. "She is stronger than any of us but she does nothing against a murderer. Do you still think such a woman is worthy of being close to you, when she will only destroy you when she gets the chance?"
"And what would we have done to you?" May lashed back, tears threatening to fall. "Or have you forgotten who you were before you met us?"
"That's not—"
"To hell it's not!" May said. "You were a murderer, too. You were just like Hao, and don't you dare deny it. And Onii-chan never dared to turn his back on you. And Ayame has been nothing but kind to you, even though she knows exactly what you've done. Is it so wrong to have compassion?" She covered her mouth her hand, tears falling down her cheeks. She looked away from him. "I never turned my back either, Ren. Doesn't that mean anything?"
Ren stared at her for a few moments. "I fucking hate it when you cry." He suddenly stood and walked out, slamming the door behind him.
May let her tears fall silently. She still wasn't sure why she was crying, but his last comment bit at her heart. He thinks I'm weak. She drew her knees up to her chest, ignoring her wound and the ever-present heat. A distant voice told her she should get some rest and allow her fever to break, but her mind wouldn't quiet down. She laid in her futon, still crying and praying for somebody, anybody, to come and take away this pain.
She eventually managed to fall asleep, but nightmares plagued her mind. She saw Anatel from Team Niles, as Lyserg's dousing crystal wrapped around his body. As blood burst from his arms and torso, the man suddenly changed into May's father, Mikihisa, wearing his usual bird mask. He looked as if he was attacking somebody, and she suddenly heard somebody calling her name. In the shadows, she saw a figure who seemed to be several people at once, all being attacked by her father. She saw Yoh, then Ren, then Lyserg, and the figure suddenly fell to the floor, unconscious, her father standing over it. But it wasn't her father anymore. It was Hao. And the person on the ground was her. Hao lifted his hand, and May knew he was going to kill her.
May opened her eyes. There was sunlight streaming through the open window, and it took her a moment to remember where she was. She could see Ayame and AJ, both fast asleep in their futons. She turned around, and something fell from her forehead. It was a towel that still seemed to be a bit damp. Someone must have put it on her forehead while she slept.
Suddenly, Ayame began to stir. She opened her eyes, facing May.
"Good morning," May said softly.
Ayame rubbed her eyes and stretched her body. "Morning," she muttered, propping herself up on her elbow. "How's your head?"
May reached towards the back of her head. The pain was almost completely gone. "Better."
"You had quite the fever last night." Ayame said. "It looked like you were having a rough time. I probably should've come back sooner, but at least Ren seemed to be taking good care of you."
"Ren?" May asked, her eyes widening.
Ayame nodded. "I asked him to look after you. He was in here when AJ and I got back. I think he liked the silence. He looked like he needed some time to think."
May looked down at the towel in her hands. So he'd come back after their argument. He hadn't just left her to suffer alone. Had he always been so kind?
AJ looked as if she was coming back into consciousness as well. She looked over at her teammates. "Who's fightin' today?"
Ayame searched for her oracle bell, which had somehow ended up at the foot of her futon. She pressed a few buttons. "Hanagumi," she said.
AJ's eyes narrowed. "Ain't they with Hao?"
"Yes," Ayame replied. "Kana, Macchi, and Mari. They're very maladjusted and a little sadistic. I don't like them very much. The fight will be short, though."
"Why's that?" AJ asked. "Are they strong?"
"Stronger than average," Ayame said. "As most of Hao's companions tend to be. But they'll be as quick as they can to end the fight in order to move on to Hao's."
May looked at Ayame. "Hao is fighting today?"
Ayame sighed. "Against one of the X-laws' teams."
The three of them sat in an uneasy silence, all thinking of what this could possibly mean. The X-laws existed for the purpose of destroying Hao. What would they do now that they finally had a chance to fight against him? What would Hao do to them? Ayame thought she had a pretty good idea.
They finally decided that they should watch the match anyway, if only to get an idea of what Hao's fighting was like. Up until now, they'd only seen his companions fight. So, along with everybody else, the three girls trudged over to the arena, none of them quite prepared for what was to come.
Please don't worry. There will be plenty more AyamexHao moments in the future, I just don't want to skip over important plot points or miss a chance at seeing Ren being nicer than he wants you to think he is. Deep down, Ren is a puppy.
I think I've decided to study history and literature in college. I know it's kind of a little early to say, and I'm probably going to change my mind come spring, but I've noticed that I really, really love looking at culture through the way people express themselves in writing. Hopefully studying about it will help me improve my own writing, because I want to go on to write original works and whatnot. Or maybe I'll be a hipster. Who knows?
