Disclaimer-Shaman King does not belong to me.
Author's notes-Thank you to all my reviewers!
Double checking the image of herself before the mirror with her dress against her, Pirika jumped when she heard the knock of her door.
"Pirika, it's me. Can I come in?" Anna called.
Pirika blushed furiously as she threw the dress down on the bed to answer the door. "Yes, yes, of course. Come in." she told her.
Crossing her arms before her as she walked into the room, Anna looked around for a moment before meeting her friend's eyes.
"I just came by to check on you, see if there was something you might want to talk about, like why you've been acting so strangely. Your brother is very concerned. You're usually the one that's protective of him." she told Pirika.
"You're right. I guess I can trust you, since you were the one that encouraged me on whom to invite to the party. I'm not used to everyone paying so much attention to me." she told Anna.
"Do you regret sending that invitation to Ren? You said yourself that he probably wouldn't accept." Anna said.
Pirika blushed again. "No. He's the reason for my behavior. I guess it's pretty obvious that I like him. I didn't want my brother to know. He's not very fond of Ren." Pirika said.
Anna nodded, understanding completely. "Given their history, that's understandable, but I trust Yoh's judgement about people. He believes that someone that can spirits has to have some good inside. If you can see the good in Ren, then Yoh must be right." Anna said.
Anna watched the fair haired sister of her almost twin sibling Trey pick up from the bed a very pretty floral minidress to show her.
"That's why I bought this. I wanted Ren to maybe see me the way I see him, to find me attractive as a girl, not just as Trey's sister." Pirika said.
"Well, it's definitely not my style or taste in clothing, but I'm sure it'll look nice on you. Hurry and get dressed before Ren and Jun arrive." Anna said, walking away to leave.
"Wait...Anna? Since you know my big secret, maybe you can tell me what's going on with you and Yoh?" she asked her.
Anna smiled at her. "Yoh and I are in love. There's really nothing more to it than that." she told her.
Pirika nodded. "I understand." she said.
Sighing with relief after unburdening herself, Pirika decided not to waste any more time getting dressed in the new outfit she had chosen to wear that night...
"Now why doesn't it surprise me in the least to see that you have been put to work decorating the dojo for tonight's festivities?" Ren teased Yoh, as he, his sister and Li Pailong made their way up to the walkway of the Asakura house.
"I see you've decided to make it. Welcome! You're a little earlier than we expected, but that's cool. I was catching a little night air while I finished up last minute decorations." Yoh told him.
"You're as accepting of Anna's outrageous demands as usual, Asakura. I'm sure she appreciates your efforts." Ren told him.
Yoh laughed. "I'd rather do this any day than endure another one of her training schedules, even if they were responsible for my being in tiptop shape. Hello Jun, Li Pailong." Yoh said to them.
"Good evening, Yoh." Jun said, fanning herself with a small ornate Chinese paper fan.
"Greetings, Yoh." Li Pailong said to him.
Yoh smiled as he heard Manta run out from inside the house to greet Jun's guardian. "I thought I heard Li Pailong's name mentioned! It's nice to see you again, Mr. Pailong." Manta said.
"You don't have to be so formal, Manta. You can call me Li. Mistress Jun told me that you wished that I might teach you some of my moves. I would be most pleased to instruct you." he told Manta.
"Cool! Well, come on in, everyone. We're just getting dinner finished now." Manta said.
"I don't know how you put up with Ren's abuse, Yoh. I guess that makes you a better man than I am." Trey told Yoh.
Ren snorted at his rival. "Nice as always to see you, Horo Horo, I'm sure." he told him.
Trey rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms around him. "Charmed, I'm sure." he replied in a mocking english accent.
"Trey, please! You promised you would be nice tonight to all the guests." Pirika said, as she walked into the room.
Trey sighed. "You're right, I did. I'm sorry...hey! What are you wearing?!" he exclaimed.
All heads turned to stare at Pirika, who had attempted to walk out quietly to greet the two Tao siblings without drawing attention to herself.
What she didn't know was that her efforts to impress the young Chinese shaman she liked so much had paid off. Ignoring what he knew would be a disgrunted reaction from Pirika's brother, Ren still tried not to stare at the outfit she had chosen to wear. Pirika was blushing even harder than when she had put on the dress, not realizing how short and form fitting the dress really was.
It was nearly as short as the black dresses her friend Anna favored to wear, and clung to her still developing hips and small breasts. She could feel Ren's eyes on her, but was afraid to meet them in case he didn't approve. It had thin spaghetti straps at the shoulders and she had borrowed a pair of Anna's wooden sandals to complete the outfit.
Looking up without meeting Ren's eyes, she took in the outfit that Ren had chose to wear. Always so dark and mysterious in his favored black, the black brocade tunic and matching loose pants brought out the firceness of his golden eyes with it's satin gold trim and majestic gold dragons. Pirika nearly swooned then; Ren was so ridiculously handsome.
"What the hell are you looking at?" Trey shouted at Ren.
"Trey!" Pirika exclaimed.
Ren waved a hand in his rival's direction with a snort of disgust. "You really should mind your own business, Trey. I believe it is not up to you at whom I look at in someone else's home." Ren said.
"If it's my sister you're looking at, you're damn right it's my business!" Trey shouted.
"That's enough, Trey. Ren, Jun and Li Pailong just came to enjoy the party like everyone else. Let's put our differences behind us for one night, okay? Please?" Pirika asked.
Trey smiled at his sister. "Fine. I'll do it for yours and everyone else's sake." Trey agreed.
Sharing a glare between them, Ren and Trey walked into the main room of the dojo, where tables had been set up in which to serve all the food.
"It seems as though you went through quite a bit of trouble." Jun commented, smiling as she saw her guardian walk in behind her with Manta in tow.
"Oh no, no trouble. Ryu, Manta and Trey have been looking for excuses to cook a big meal. Me, I've just been looking forward to eating it." Yoh laughed.
Yoh and Anna shared a smile between them as she joined him by his side, he and Manta hungerily eyeing the spread before them. Enough for twice as many people as were there, they were all tempted by the mouthwatering smells of greasy homemade cheesburgers, freshly grilled salmon, steaming hot pizzas with lots of melted cheese, an assortment of various cold sodas, fresh buttery popcorn, bowls of chips and dip and delectable cinnamon rolls for dessert.
"You guys have really outdone yourself." Anna commented.
"The fish and the cheeseburger add-ons were my idea. No sense in eating unhealthy just because we're having a party." Ryu told them.
"I'll definitely second that. Well, let's not waste any more time. Let's eat already. I'm starving." Anna said.
At she and the others began to make their plates, Anna's eyes fell upon a small hidden object on the table. She picked it up to inspect it. "What is this? Who does this belong to?" she asked.
Ryu looked up with widened eyes, recognizing the object in question. "Oh! I'm sorry about that, Mistress Anna. That's my bad. I'll just put this away..." he began.
"No, wait!" Yoh and Anna said at the same time.
Ryu stared at them. "What?" he asked.
Yoh laughed nervously as Anna frowned to hide her embarrassment. "That's okay, Ryu. A tiny bottle of liquor like that never hurt anybody. You can leave it on the table. We don't mind if you indulge around us." Yoh told him.
Anna nodded with a slight blush. "Yes, it's fine with us." she said.
Tret cocked an eyebrow at the couple, knowing fully well that the pair had been eyeing that particular brand while shopping with their biker friend a few hours before. It seemed they wanted to shift the blame to him, but it was more likely that the couple had plans to quietly liven up the party if needed. Not one to indulge himself, it wouldn't have surprised him if he found out Ren was one to occassionally drink, from the way he was trying to hide his staring at his sister.
Every once in awhile he caught Pirika catching Ren's eyes with her own, shyly avoiding his gaze. What is she up to with Ren and that revealing dress, Trey wondered. He decided to distract himself by playing DJ in the corner of the room, resting along the wall with his guardian Kory by his side. From where he was sitting, he could see things the others couldn't, like the fact that Yoh and Anna were holding hands beneath the table whenever they weren't busy eating. It was pretty obvious that they had feelings for each other, and Trey couldn't help but feel happy for them. They really were a very happy and good looking couple.
Manta, Ryu and Li Pailong were laughing at some kind of mutual joke, and Jun was observing as she ate politely beside them. Ren and Pirika, however, only seemed to have eyes for each other, the dark haired shaman's guard down in order to appreciate her completely.
Realizing that she needed a napkin that wasn't quite within reach, Pirika looked up into Ren's eyes as he held out a napkin to her.
"Thank you, Ren." she told him.
Ren's eyes widened as their fingers brushed against each other's as he accepted the napkin from him. Seeing the rise in Trey's aggravation as he watched them, Amidamaru and Bason plotted together to help distract the young shaman along with Kory's help.
"Manta, perhaps you, Ryu and Li Pailong can convince Trey to be the referee in a mock battle between you and Jun's gurdian?" Amidamaru said.
"I believe that would be up to Pailong, if he is willing." Jun said.
"I would be honored, Mistress Jun." Li Pailong said.
Reluctantly agreeing with their plan, Trey followed the group out to the back yard with a last hard glare at the rival who had his sister's attention.
Double checking the image of herself before the mirror with her dress against her, Pirika jumped when she heard the knock of her door.
"Pirika, it's me. Can I come in?" Anna called.
Pirika blushed furiously as she threw the dress down on the bed to answer the door. "Yes, yes, of course. Come in." she told her.
Crossing her arms before her as she walked into the room, Anna looked around for a moment before meeting her friend's eyes.
"I just came by to check on you, see if there was something you might want to talk about, like why you've been acting so strangely. Your brother is very concerned. You're usually the one that's protective of him." she told Pirika.
"You're right. I guess I can trust you, since you were the one that encouraged me on whom to invite to the party. I'm not used to everyone paying so much attention to me." she told Anna.
"Do you regret sending that invitation to Ren? You said yourself that he probably wouldn't accept." Anna said.
Pirika blushed again. "No. He's the reason for my behavior. I guess it's pretty obvious that I like him. I didn't want my brother to know. He's not very fond of Ren." Pirika said.
Anna nodded, understanding completely. "Given their history, that's understandable, but I trust Yoh's judgement about people. He believes that someone that can spirits has to have some good inside. If you can see the good in Ren, then Yoh must be right." Anna said.
Anna watched the fair haired sister of her almost twin sibling Trey pick up from the bed a very pretty floral minidress to show her.
"That's why I bought this. I wanted Ren to maybe see me the way I see him, to find me attractive as a girl, not just as Trey's sister." Pirika said.
"Well, it's definitely not my style or taste in clothing, but I'm sure it'll look nice on you. Hurry and get dressed before Ren and Jun arrive." Anna said, walking away to leave.
"Wait...Anna? Since you know my big secret, maybe you can tell me what's going on with you and Yoh?" she asked her.
Anna smiled at her. "Yoh and I are in love. There's really nothing more to it than that." she told her.
Pirika nodded. "I understand." she said.
Sighing with relief after unburdening herself, Pirika decided not to waste any more time getting dressed in the new outfit she had chosen to wear that night...
"Now why doesn't it surprise me in the least to see that you have been put to work decorating the dojo for tonight's festivities?" Ren teased Yoh, as he, his sister and Li Pailong made their way up to the walkway of the Asakura house.
"I see you've decided to make it. Welcome! You're a little earlier than we expected, but that's cool. I was catching a little night air while I finished up last minute decorations." Yoh told him.
"You're as accepting of Anna's outrageous demands as usual, Asakura. I'm sure she appreciates your efforts." Ren told him.
Yoh laughed. "I'd rather do this any day than endure another one of her training schedules, even if they were responsible for my being in tiptop shape. Hello Jun, Li Pailong." Yoh said to them.
"Good evening, Yoh." Jun said, fanning herself with a small ornate Chinese paper fan.
"Greetings, Yoh." Li Pailong said to him.
Yoh smiled as he heard Manta run out from inside the house to greet Jun's guardian. "I thought I heard Li Pailong's name mentioned! It's nice to see you again, Mr. Pailong." Manta said.
"You don't have to be so formal, Manta. You can call me Li. Mistress Jun told me that you wished that I might teach you some of my moves. I would be most pleased to instruct you." he told Manta.
"Cool! Well, come on in, everyone. We're just getting dinner finished now." Manta said.
"I don't know how you put up with Ren's abuse, Yoh. I guess that makes you a better man than I am." Trey told Yoh.
Ren snorted at his rival. "Nice as always to see you, Horo Horo, I'm sure." he told him.
Trey rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms around him. "Charmed, I'm sure." he replied in a mocking english accent.
"Trey, please! You promised you would be nice tonight to all the guests." Pirika said, as she walked into the room.
Trey sighed. "You're right, I did. I'm sorry...hey! What are you wearing?!" he exclaimed.
All heads turned to stare at Pirika, who had attempted to walk out quietly to greet the two Tao siblings without drawing attention to herself.
What she didn't know was that her efforts to impress the young Chinese shaman she liked so much had paid off. Ignoring what he knew would be a disgrunted reaction from Pirika's brother, Ren still tried not to stare at the outfit she had chosen to wear. Pirika was blushing even harder than when she had put on the dress, not realizing how short and form fitting the dress really was.
It was nearly as short as the black dresses her friend Anna favored to wear, and clung to her still developing hips and small breasts. She could feel Ren's eyes on her, but was afraid to meet them in case he didn't approve. It had thin spaghetti straps at the shoulders and she had borrowed a pair of Anna's wooden sandals to complete the outfit.
Looking up without meeting Ren's eyes, she took in the outfit that Ren had chose to wear. Always so dark and mysterious in his favored black, the black brocade tunic and matching loose pants brought out the firceness of his golden eyes with it's satin gold trim and majestic gold dragons. Pirika nearly swooned then; Ren was so ridiculously handsome.
"What the hell are you looking at?" Trey shouted at Ren.
"Trey!" Pirika exclaimed.
Ren waved a hand in his rival's direction with a snort of disgust. "You really should mind your own business, Trey. I believe it is not up to you at whom I look at in someone else's home." Ren said.
"If it's my sister you're looking at, you're damn right it's my business!" Trey shouted.
"That's enough, Trey. Ren, Jun and Li Pailong just came to enjoy the party like everyone else. Let's put our differences behind us for one night, okay? Please?" Pirika asked.
Trey smiled at his sister. "Fine. I'll do it for yours and everyone else's sake." Trey agreed.
Sharing a glare between them, Ren and Trey walked into the main room of the dojo, where tables had been set up in which to serve all the food.
"It seems as though you went through quite a bit of trouble." Jun commented, smiling as she saw her guardian walk in behind her with Manta in tow.
"Oh no, no trouble. Ryu, Manta and Trey have been looking for excuses to cook a big meal. Me, I've just been looking forward to eating it." Yoh laughed.
Yoh and Anna shared a smile between them as she joined him by his side, he and Manta hungerily eyeing the spread before them. Enough for twice as many people as were there, they were all tempted by the mouthwatering smells of greasy homemade cheesburgers, freshly grilled salmon, steaming hot pizzas with lots of melted cheese, an assortment of various cold sodas, fresh buttery popcorn, bowls of chips and dip and delectable cinnamon rolls for dessert.
"You guys have really outdone yourself." Anna commented.
"The fish and the cheeseburger add-ons were my idea. No sense in eating unhealthy just because we're having a party." Ryu told them.
"I'll definitely second that. Well, let's not waste any more time. Let's eat already. I'm starving." Anna said.
At she and the others began to make their plates, Anna's eyes fell upon a small hidden object on the table. She picked it up to inspect it. "What is this? Who does this belong to?" she asked.
Ryu looked up with widened eyes, recognizing the object in question. "Oh! I'm sorry about that, Mistress Anna. That's my bad. I'll just put this away..." he began.
"No, wait!" Yoh and Anna said at the same time.
Ryu stared at them. "What?" he asked.
Yoh laughed nervously as Anna frowned to hide her embarrassment. "That's okay, Ryu. A tiny bottle of liquor like that never hurt anybody. You can leave it on the table. We don't mind if you indulge around us." Yoh told him.
Anna nodded with a slight blush. "Yes, it's fine with us." she said.
Tret cocked an eyebrow at the couple, knowing fully well that the pair had been eyeing that particular brand while shopping with their biker friend a few hours before. It seemed they wanted to shift the blame to him, but it was more likely that the couple had plans to quietly liven up the party if needed. Not one to indulge himself, it wouldn't have surprised him if he found out Ren was one to occassionally drink, from the way he was trying to hide his staring at his sister.
Every once in awhile he caught Pirika catching Ren's eyes with her own, shyly avoiding his gaze. What is she up to with Ren and that revealing dress, Trey wondered. He decided to distract himself by playing DJ in the corner of the room, resting along the wall with his guardian Kory by his side. From where he was sitting, he could see things the others couldn't, like the fact that Yoh and Anna were holding hands beneath the table whenever they weren't busy eating. It was pretty obvious that they had feelings for each other, and Trey couldn't help but feel happy for them. They really were a very happy and good looking couple.
Manta, Ryu and Li Pailong were laughing at some kind of mutual joke, and Jun was observing as she ate politely beside them. Ren and Pirika, however, only seemed to have eyes for each other, the dark haired shaman's guard down in order to appreciate her completely.
Realizing that she needed a napkin that wasn't quite within reach, Pirika looked up into Ren's eyes as he held out a napkin to her.
"Thank you, Ren." she told him.
Ren's eyes widened as their fingers brushed against each other's as he accepted the napkin from him. Seeing the rise in Trey's aggravation as he watched them, Amidamaru and Bason plotted together to help distract the young shaman along with Kory's help.
"Manta, perhaps you, Ryu and Li Pailong can convince Trey to be the referee in a mock battle between you and Jun's gurdian?" Amidamaru said.
"I believe that would be up to Pailong, if he is willing." Jun said.
"I would be honored, Mistress Jun." Li Pailong said.
Reluctantly agreeing with their plan, Trey followed the group out to the back yard with a last hard glare at the rival who had his sister's attention.