"What's the occasion of this festival? Festivals should have occasions, right?" Pirika asked curiously.
"How would I know?" Ren glared at her.
"One… because you live here. Two… because they say it's something about Chinese and Three… you're Chinese." Pirika said in a know-it-all tone.
"Just because I'm Chinese doesn't mean I know what the hell this festival is about!" he glared at her once more.
"Don't you know any err… holiday or something in the Chinese today?" Pirika looked at him.
"As a matter of fact I do…" Ren said tapping his chin.
"What is it then?" Pirika asked him.
"Why are you so interested in finding out anyway?" Ren asked her.
"I don't know… it sounds like it's going to be interesting." Pirika shrugged.
"It's the Chinese's Valentines Day today…"
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Festival
Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King
Dedicated to: silver moonlight
Note: The second installment is here… so have no fear! I said I would continue this so I did, even if a flamer told me not to… *sigh*
Summary: A festival leads Ren to be closer to a certain Ainu because of a certain festival and a tale told to him by his dead grandfather once…
MUST READ: Italic means one's thought when he or she is talking don't get confused… ^___^
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"How sweet!" Pirika suddenly exclaimed making Ren irritated.
"What's so sweet about that? It's just another mushy occasion in which couples get an excuse to make out." Ren muttered. All they do is try to prove their love but somehow they end up breaking up. At least I'm sure that'll never happen to me.
"No it isn't, it's a wonderful and sweet event!" Pirika exclaimed, and again it seemed as if there was once more another battle dawning with the two of them.
"Sweet… what else is next? You'll turn all lovey-dovey?" replied Ren sarcastically.
"I personally think there's nothing wrong with Valentines Day! It's a wonderful day for people to find the one they love!" retorted an angered Pirika. Love is the best thing there is, it was what all Ainu women told her.
"Love? Hah, and I thought friendship and camaraderie was corny…" laughed the Tao. Love is nothing but a joke, a laughing-stock for humanity.
"I thought you have friendships?" Pirika asked Ren as a defense mechanism since she wasn't able to think of a good retort.
"I do… but I still don't think being all lovey-dovey is entertaining, I find it disgusting." The Tao countered. Love is disgusting, only weaklings love, they need it to trick other people, the only time I found love admirable is with Yoh and Anna, and sad to say Horo Horo and the pink-haired girl. Family love is okay… but what she's talking about is… disgusting.
"You seem to find everything disgusting." Pirika told Ren eyeing him. Is he even human? All humans know how to love…
"I don't find power disgusting, do I?" the Tao said sarcastically.
"Hopefully not, that would mean you were disgusted with everything, you won't be human then." Pirika looked at Ren. Human or not, I think all no matter what know how to love, why not him then?
"Human, who said I am human? I'm way better than human, Horo Horo's sister." Ren said arrogantly.
"How can you be better if you don't even know my name?" Pirika asked him.
"I'm too good to bother myself with you." Ren said.
"Too good in bragging maybe…" Pirika told him.
"At least I'm good in something." Ren retorted, soon starting another row.
"Even if I'm not good in anything, at least I'm normal." Pirika countered.
"What do I care anyway?" Ren muttered soon ending the meaningless fight, going into silence once more.
'This guy really has an attitude problem…' Pirika thought as she grumpily sat down soon finding herself to stare at the wonderful night sky.
"I guess I should have stayed home…" muttered Ren, oblivious to the fact that Pirika was listening to his every word he said.
"Why, is there some sort of party going on tonight?" Pirika asked Ren. If there is a party, I wonder why he would have preferred to stay here… is he really that anti-social?
"If you consider funerals as parties, yeah…" Ren replied grudgingly.
"Did someone die?" Pirika said shocked. He might not even be real, there has been a death and he doesn't take pity or care at all.
"Yeah… so what?" Ren replied, "Never knew the man; he was closer with Jun."
"Who is this person anyway?" asked Pirika, "he must be a distant relative for you not to care…"
"He's my grandfather, if that answers your question." Ren replied shortly.
"Your grandfather!" she shrieked, "How could you act like you don't care at all?" I thought even a person like him would care for his family, especially the way he treats his sister, maybe her sister is just special…
"Because… I don't care at all." Ren replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Why?" Pirika shouted.
"No, all he did was just to tell stories like and all the things that show, one was getting old." Ren muttered.
"That's not a reason not to care!" Pirika yelled.
"I always thought Ainus had close family ties, you people a few in the world already anyway." Ren commented not minding Pirika's outbursts.
"How could you not care?" Pirika ended her fit shaking her head in disappointment.
"I don't think I didn't care… I just think that when one's gone they're gone… even he told me that. There are no second chances in life." Shrugged Ren, "Once you lived your life once, it's over." That was one of the things my grandfather said that actually made sense. It was nice for him to be sensible for a change, yet exactly after he said that he began saying all those mushy and disgusting stuff about love.
"I don't believe that… you should at least care…" Pirika said. I don't believe him… he's insane!
"The word 'care' is not in my dictionary." He replied in a straight forward way.
"As if you have a dictionary…" she muttered under her voice, "Don't you care for your sister then?" she said attacking the most known weak spot in Ren Tao.
"That's different…" stuttered Ren, blushing. Jun, she was different… She was the first one aside from Bason that showed me she cared for me genuinely, after her came Yoh and the others. I believe in friendships but not love.
"So you do care about her…" Pirika said in a smart-alecky way.
"I do… but she's my sister…" Ren replied forgetting the fact that the answer he gave contradicts the points he made a while ago.
"Your grandfather is you grandfather." Pirika countered, fully knowing that she has the edge in this verbal war. You can't win… I got you cornered.
"I know that, but he… umm… isn't female?" Ren said hoping that she would take that answer, making him free from this predicament.
"What has gender have to do anything about that?" Pirika asked knowing that Ren said that only to save himself from his humiliation under her.
"I guess I feel more open with women, do you accept my answer?" Ren muttered. She's taking advantage of the fact that I care for my sister, this onna… She'll learn her lesson.
"Prove it." Pirika retorted oblivious of the fact that Ren was edging near her.
"Don't mind if I do…" Ren said huskily kissing her on the lips for a short span of time. It was nothing but a short peck on the lips, not even a kiss yet it meant something to me. Not matter how hard I try to deny it; I was wondering why did I share my first kiss with her? Of all the people I chose a childish, whining Ainu. I thought I was better than this.
For a while Pirika just stood there dumbfounded until what Ren did finally registered in her mind… This b*st*rd stole my first kiss, the kiss that was reserved for her soul mate. Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she shouted, "Y-You… stole my first kiss… you… you…" before she could even continue Ren just replied as if not minding at all.
"It's was a harmless lip-lock, no one would care." Ren said as if he didn't care. I don't care for her, I never did but seeing her miserable like this tears my heart apart, if I have a heart. If I don't have a heart what is the thing that is beating and feeling sympathy and another feeling I can't understand?
"Y-You would never understand… you don't even know what love is. You are just a mindless, greedy, sadistic, cynical and arrogant bastard." Retorted Pirika running away to what Ren inferred as her apartment. I rarely curse… but Ren, he's horrible; I guess I played a game that was impossible to beat. A game in which I tried to open up the secret level… the secret level in which I tried to open and find Ren's so-called heart.
*******
Ren stood there stupefied; it was the first time in his life that he didn't get angry with the fact that a person just insulted her. Maybe it's true; I do open up more with females… What should I do? I practically did a mortal sin to her. Why do I care so much about her? I practically just began talking to her tonight. Should I apologize? Never, I never did that in my whole life… okay, maybe once when I was five and chewed on my sister's new dress but she was my sister! Why am I thinking so much of this anyway? Was there a drug on my drink? Dangit, what the hell? I better go home, if Horo Horo finds out what I did, he'd try to kill me but end up in prison because his efforts would be in vain. That would mean this Pirika-girl would hate me more.
"I'm home." Ren said as he went straight to his room, changing his kimono with more comfortable and fitting clothing.
"Are you home, Ren?" a voice he knew to well, asked him.
"Yeah, I'm here aren't I?" replied Ren irritated to Jun.
"Didn't you have a good time?" Jun said sitting down beside him, "Did something happen?"
"N-Nothing, why would there be?" Ren replied. Is onee-san a psychic? Why does she always seem to know what on my mind?
"I can here you stutter Ren, can't you tell your sister about it?" Jun pleaded.
"I made a girl cry, are you happy you know?" Ren replied after seeing the look on Jun's face he couldn't refuse. I guess this is why Pyron is so devoted to Jun…
"You never cared about making girls cry before…" noted Jun, "You stuck gum on a girl's hair when you were 3 in China, bit your teacher when you were 4 and never let go until she allowed you to go home, you threatened your classmates who want to ask you out in the private school here you are going to right now with a spear. They all cried like babies. I don't get why this girl can make you feel guilty… though I'm not saying it's bad…"
"I don't know either; can you help me out Jun?" Ren pleaded. This must be the first time I pleaded but this is a time of a lot of firsts for me. What has a few hours with that girl done to me? Am I slowly changing to the thing I'm disgusted with most? Am I falling in love? Oh God… please no.
Jun smiled as she watched her brother plead, this was the first time for her to see Ren like this, vulnerable and asking for help. I don't know who this girl is but surely her greatness makes me admire her. She can change Ren in a few hours, and that change is in a good way.
*******
Pirika sat alone in her new apartment with her brother, she couldn't believe that now, she would be living in the same city with that b*st*rd. I want to forget him but he just can't leave my mind. He still is the handsome Ren but he did something awful. I don't know why but I can't find myself to hate him, even after all that he did… is this… what they call true love? If so… why did I fall for a man like that?
Planning to just cry herself to sleep, Pirika was about to go to his room when an extremely worried Horo Horo entered the apartment…
"Pirika! Why didn't you tell me you wanted to go home earlier?" Horo said cheerfully, his face expression dramatically changed when Pirika turned around, revealing her in tears.
"Konbanwa… onii-chan..." Pirika greeted as Horo rushed to her side.
"What happened to you Pirika? Why are you crying?" Horo said wanting to comfort his crying sister "Is it something your overly cute brother did?" Horo said unable to keep his mouth shut of compliments of himself for just a few moments.
"Iie onii-chan, don't worry, I can handle it myself… I must do this on my own." Pirika said smiling weakly.
"If anything worse than you thought you happen… remember I'm always here…" Horo Horo said patting his sister on the head knowing his sister was not taking no for an answer, Ainu people were stubborn that way.
Pirika nodded, Anyway… I don't know how it can get worse that this.
Tsuzuku
Takari-san: This turned out like this… I know I said it would be a two-part story but it was just too good to stop writing it. This is my final decision… this'll be 3-5 chapters long… R/R!