"Owwwwowww!"
Birds scattered as something gray and smoky shot up from the bright
foliage of the forest. It disappeared behind the golden fingers of the
sun, and was gone from all sight. Then, just as birds began settling
back into their nests, another cry broke the sound barrier and the same
smoky missile shot back down to the muddy ground. There was a mighty
crash, and all the trees within a ten-foot radius were splintered.
Horohoro sat in a crater of mud rubbing his now drenched blue head. His
normally spiky locks now hung in clumps around his shoulders, and were
in dire need of a hairbrush. The rain had not ceased last night whilst
Horo had made his way to the Tao residence, and a loss of sleep for a
night had not done well for his complexion.
Sometimes, he doubted his sanity.
Why am I doing this?
He thought to himself and he slipped on another loose rock. He slid a
few feet, before regaining his balance and dragging himself back up the
hill. I mean…what he said to me…being so cold…I shouldn't go after him…but my…my heart…it won't stop aching…
Out of breath and wishing he hadn't left his snowboard at Yoh's house,
Horohoro finished climbing the cliff and stood, looking out at the
luscious Tao Castle. The sight literally took his breath away.
Horo collapsed in a muddy, wet heap at the top of the hill, Kororo shrieking.
"Yoh? Are you sure it was safe to
let Horohoro go alone?" Manta paced back and forth in front of the
television, blocking his best friend's view of the show. Yoh sighed
again and stuffed another piece of chicken in his mouth. He set down
the chopsticks in his hand and looked directly at the pacing brunette.
"I told you already, Manta. It wasn't safe to let him go, but we have
no choice. Let Horo do what he's got to do." Amidamaru took this
opportunity to leave the room before things got really ugly.
"Asakura Yoh! What are you thinking?" Manta stood directly in front of
the Shaman King, hands on his hips. "How could you let him go like
that? He could get himself killed!"
"Who could get himself killed?"
Tao Ren chose that moment to walk in the door.
Around them, the world froze. Nothing seemed to stir as two pairs of
black eyes stared into a single pair of bright yellow ones. A bit of
rice hung from Yoh's mouth as Manta's eyes took on a blank, dead stare.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he
raised an eyebrow and set his dark backpack next to the doorway. He
shed his windbreaker, hung it up on the peg on the wall, and went to
stand in front of his two other friends. "And who's going to get
themselves killed? Well? Answer me!"
Manta keeled over backwards, letting the shock take him. Horohoro was as good as dead, now.
"R-R-R-Ren! What are you doing here?" Yoh pointed a shaky finger in the
general direction of the youngest Tao as if he were seeing another
spirit. "We thought you went back to China!"
"I did…is there something wrong with wanting to come back?" something
wasn't right here, and Ren was determined to get to the bottom of it.
"What's going on?"
Yoh followed Manta's cue
and keeled over as well, looking much like a dog playing dead.
Amidamaru materialized behind the short Chinese shaman.
"Master Ren, Master Horo left a few days ago. He said he was going to
go see you. Why are you here and not there? Did he not let you know?"
Went to China…in search of…me? But…why…?
Betraying nothing, Ren picked up his backpack and turned out the door.
"I'll send Bason after him. For now, I think I'll go take a nap…" he
yawned for emphasis and trudged up the stairs, leaving behind two very
faking dogs, and one baffled ghost.
There was something cool on his forehead. It was wet, too. Either way, it felt good.
Horohoro smiled contentedly and relaxed, willing himself to sink back into darkness.
Snow was falling. The cold, beautiful flakes blanketed the ground like a snug fur coat. The sky was dark, seeming to take you through hyperspace with the white dots looking like stars. Everything was so cold. Horo could stand the cold, but this was something different…something more…sorrowful.
"Kororo?"
His voice echoed through the vast wasteland of snow and reverberated back to his own ears. There was no poof and happy giggling that he was so used to.
"Hello? Anyone there?" he took a few tentative steps forward. Then, everything crumbled beneath him. He was left clinging to a single glass edge of life.
"Hello? Someone help!"
The cold edge froze his fingers and began spreading down his arm. Ice crystals sprouted and created one weird gauntlet. Black eyes could just make out different patterns covering the front.
Just as he thought he would die in this desolate place, frozen and forgotten, something warm touched his fingers, and the warmth melted the ice. His hand found it locked in a death-grip with someone else.
Horo looked up, shaking crystals from his now stiff hair. His eyes widened as he realized who was pulling him up.
"Ren…"
The Chinese shaman's eyes were shadowed as his mouth moved. Horo couldn't hear what was being said, but he had a feeling he knew, because a moment later, he was plummeting down into the freezing, dark hold. His body froze completely. When he hit the ground, he shattered into a million pieces. A million pieces of broken heart.
"Ren!"
The blanket fell from his shoulders and pooled around his waist. Cool air struck the Ainu's bare chest, reminding him of his frozen nightmare.
Horohoro shivered from something other than the cold as a tear froze midway between his closed eye and his mouth. He pulled up the soft, feather-filled blanket and wrapped it around his shoulders in an attempt to rid the empty feeling growing inside of him. It did no good. He shivered and choked beneath the blanket, willing himself to keep quiet and to himself.
A door opened quietly behind him, but he made no move to acknowledge it. At this point, the icy chill of his nightmare had frozen over his senses, and dulled his thinking.
"Are you awake, Horohoro?"
Horo couldn't bring himself to answer. His sense and brain were still frozen over. Or he was still in shock. He knew that voice…and it wasn't one he wanted to hear.
"Horohoro?"
He ignored Jun; continuing to stare out the window
at the serene, misty, green forest. Mountains were
hazy and dark in the background, giving off a peaceful vibration.
However, it did nothing to ease the erratic beating of his heart.
"Tray!" she shouted, finally losing her patience. She grinned when he whipped around, eyes big as angry dinner plates.
"Don't use my dub name! You know how the readers hate it!" Jun shrugged.
"Then you should answer me the first time."
"Ah, bite me!" he turned his back and returned to staring out the
window. Two large birds flew in lazy circles just outside.
"Don't tempt me. Horo, what happened? Why did you
collapse? Why are you here?" Jun pulled up a chair next to the bed and
sat down, crossing her legs. She took on the look of someone sitting
down for a long story.
Horo opened his mouth to answer, the shut it.
Instead, he took to looking around the room. It was a dark green room,
sparsely lit with a single tall lamp; it was decorated with a purple
dragon winding around the pole. The carpet was a bouncy green so dark
it looked brown. There was a dresser in one corner, a bookshelf and a
bed, in which he was currently about to pass out on. On top of the
dresser, there was tiny, fat Buddha figurines, flying dragons, Tigers
pouncing, and birds circling. There was even a tiny miniature of what
looked like a Chinese martial artist with a gigantic blade.
"Where am I?" he asked quietly, still facing away from Ren's sister. Why does everything in this bedroom remind me of Ren?
"Why, you're in Ren's room, of course. Though I really can't figure out what you'd be doing here. Ren's back in Japan. Unless you were here to see me!" she giggled and winked, making Horohoro blush slightly.
The blue-haired shaman flew out of the bed and landed in front of her.
The blankets stuck out of the back of his shorts, and one of the
pillowcases was caught on his foot. He tripped, busted his lip on the
carpet, and succeeded in knocking over Jun's chair.
"Ren's in Japan! What are you talking about!" he
started pounding the floor in a fit of a baby-tantrum. "Dammit! I came
all the way out here, risking my ass going through that cursed forest,
pass out, and I find out he's in JAPAN? I could…I could…faint…" he
slumped to the floor in a mock-faint.
Why would Horohoro go to China looking for me? It just doesn't make sense! The way he ran out of the hospital room that night…I thought he hated me. Feh. He probably does. He probably came all that way just to mock and torment me in front of my family. Well, Jun would understand…but everyone else…?
Ren finally gave up pondering the ways of the blue-haired Ainu and settled back against the bed he usually slept in when he visited Asakura Yoh. The crisp sheets hardly made noise as he rolled over and prepared to go to sleep. The wind ghosted in from the open window of the upper floor. It danced over his body, making him relax enough to fall into unconsciousness fairly easily.
He couldn't see anything, but he could smell rain. It wasn't far off, and it smelled good. Something sounded behind him.
"Who's there?" Ren whipped around only to come face to face with Darkness. "Hello? Answer me! I know you're there!"
His bangs fluttered in front of his eyes. The wind circled about him, stirring up dry leaves. They scratched the ground with rotted fingernails. Lightning cracked and the rain started to pour. Ren was drenched in seconds, his purple hair turning black with the wetness.
There were more noises, then laughter.
"I can hear you, you know! Show yourselves!"
Lightning sliced through the sky again, sizzling in the air just above him. His fish fin spike fell around his shoulders.
Something akin to silk slid around his body and this was the first time he noticed he was naked. He welcomed the feeling. Somehow…it felt right. Characters shimmered in the darkness that became his body…his mind.
"Ren…Ren…"
"Horohoro!" he would recognize that voice anywhere! Ren looked around, trying to pierce the darkness that became his home with cat-like eyes. "Horo! Where are you?" he tried to run forward, but something kept him rooted.
"Ren. Why did you betray me? Ren! How could you!"
A gigantic ice cicle descended upon him from the unknown. He felt every nerve of his body split in half. Ren looked into the face of who could had once been his lover. Now…only…now…
"Horo…horo…"
Author's Notes: Sorry this took so long to get out! School's almost over so…yeah. This chapter isn't as written as well as I'd like it, but hopefully it isn't that bad. Please leave a review!
Story title: Demon's Eye by Deep Purple
Chapter title: Jumper by Third Eye Blind