Without further ado… I hope you would enjoy this chapter as well.
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Chapter 5
Monday:
Hao and Pirika started on their training. They started with basics of course. Hao was teaching Pirika some moves that she could master when faced with a nemesis.
Hao was very much surprised on how agile this young lady is.
"Are you sure that you never spar with anyone before?" Hao asked quite pleased after their training.
"To be honest… I never did spar or whatever with anyone before. I train my oniichan so I just know some stuff… I also learned some moves from my oniichan and his friends while watching them train." Pirika answered cheerfully.
"Really. Have you ever read my journal? You know that by embracing my beliefs you could be stronger." Hao said in a very tempting tone.
Hao was at it again but alas, the young Ainu was not easily persuaded.
"No thanks! Like we agreed before I don't want to be your follower!" Pirika pointed out.
"Oh, okay just trying. But I really am amazed… you can control ice without even a power spirit."
"The only power spirit for me is Kororo! I don't want anyone else!" Pirika shouted at him.
"Okay. I will not force you anymore. Let's just continue with the training."
"Not again! I'm exhausted." She winced but Hao just smiled.
Tuesday:
Ren finally went out of his room and no one dared to say anything about the incident. They knew that Ren was still not fine so who knows what would happen if they would remind him of the tragedy.
"So what do you plan now?" Jun asked everyone (except Ren) as they settled inside a room and talk about the issue at hand.
Jun was starting to worry about her brother. He hasn't been eating. He doesn't want to talk to anyone… he was lifeless.
"As the wife of the head of the Asakura clan, I suggest that we go back to Japan first and there find the two." Anna said, as Yoh just kept quiet.
"Maybe they would go back to Hokkaido." Horo added being specific, Japan is such a huge country.
"Why do you say that?" Jun asked.
"Just my instinct. I mean Pirika would definitely want to go there than anywhere else." Horohoro said proudly.
"That's stupid." Anna muttered, deliberately making Horo hear it.
"Oh Tamao! Anna called me stupid!" Horohoro wept mockingly as he turned towards Tamao.
"Horo-kun! Please be serious." Tamao plead and so Horohoro stopped.
"Talking about being serious… where's Chocolove?" Manta reminded missing a bit Chocolove's funny antics.
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Actually Chocolove was entertaining the maids that are suffering from his ever-corny jokes.
That's when he saw Ren passed by.
"Sorry but that's all folks. I still have to make someone else smile." Chocolove said and with that he left.
As soon as he was gone the maids rejoiced. But Chocolove didn't notice that he was catching up to Ren already.
"Ren! Why the long face?" Chocolove asked, stretching his face.
"I don't have time for your jokes. Please just leave me alone." Ren wearily said.
"Phone? Alone?" Chocolove jokingly said as he dressed as a cell phone.
Ren just continued to walk as Chocolove anticipated Ren's attack. But this time he didn't get any.
Thus, making him more determined… not to make him laugh but to make him at least react at his jokes. Chocolove missed the old Ren… even though he was not laughing at his jokes… he still appreciates him for responding at the very least.
Wednesday:
Hao after assessing the girl's ability and bloodline… he decided to make a step further.
"What! Are you serious?" Pirika shouted at him after he ordered her to freeze the whole waterfall.
"Yup. I am."
Pirika tried and tried but her furyoku can't even freeze half of the waterfall. Because of too much force exerted she fell on her knees to catch her breath.
"Come on… don't tell me you give up already." Hao whined. He was sitting on a rock while watching Pirika. Somehow this activity doesn't bore him at all.
"You used to train your brother right… now I guess you know how he felt back then." Hao said.
Pirika just pouted.
Hao then chuckled.
"Come on Piri. This is just a waterfall. You could do it."
"Better said than done." Pirika muttered while standing up.
With that Pirika tried again but she failed once more, Hao upon seeing this he thought might need more encouragement.
"Piri!"
"What?"
"Do you want to see your oniichan without him seeing you back?" Hao asked.
Pirika was somehow interested. She missed her brother badly that even seeing him would make her feel a little bit better.
"How?"
"Master that technique first and then I'll tell you." Hao said, as he grabbed an apple from a tree beside him and ate it.
"Okay!" She shouted and so she looked at the waterfall once again.
Thursday:
Ren was still down in the dumps…yesterday Chocolove was making him suffer with thousands of jokes that doesn't even make his mouth twitch.
Now let's go to Chocolove who was strumming a familiar tune in his guitar.
"Do you ever feel like breaking down? Do you ever feel out of place? Like somehow you just don't belong, and no one understands you. Do you ever wanna run away? Do you lock yourself in your room? With the radio on turned up so loud that no one hears you screaming?
No you don't know what it's like. When nothing feels all right. You don't know what it's like to be like Ren…
Everybody now!" Chocolove sang with his guitar as he stood outside Ren's room, deliberately making Ren hear his noise.
"To be hurt! To feel lost, to be left out in the dark. To be kicked when you're down, to feel like you've been pushed around… to be on the edge of breaking down when no one's there to save you. No, you don't know what it's like. Welcome to Ren's life!" Chocolove sang at the top of his lungs…
Finally the door opened for him. Ren peeked from inside. His eyes were dark and murderous.
Chocolove gulped.
"R-ren…" Chocolove whispered, clutching the guitar like his life depended on it.
"Do you bring any food?" he asked.
Chocolove then stood straight, with a big question mark on his head.
"Um… wait here." he then ran away and went back with a platter filled with Chinese delicacies on his hand.
"Yeah… I did," Chocolove finally said.
Ren glanced at the food first before letting the joker came in.
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Ren was eating very shabbily as if he never ate a thing in two years. Well in fact he had not eaten anything for days so Chocolove can't really blame him.
"Good thing you finally let me in your lair. What are you up to now doctor?" Chocolove asked dressed in his mad scientist assistant mode.
Ren still continued eating.
"Oh Ren come on… you don't even hit me anymore when I crack up some jokes." Chocoloved whined.
"Doesn't that make your life a little better?" Ren asked, mouth full.
"B-but Ren… seeing you like this make me a little depressed. You know how I love teasing all of you. Especially you."
"I'm just not in a good mood today."
"I know… but if not now when will?" with those words from Chocolove, Ren stopped eating, "Ren. I witnessed what the two of you have gone through while planning for Horohoro and Tamao. Remember that time when you caught Pirika we were all like… what's going on between these two. Then it just hit us… we didn't realize it at first but you two were such a perfect couple."
"So what?" Ren muttered as he reaches for his glass of juice.
Chocolove sighed, he hated being serious even when faced with problems. But this time he must be serious… okay scratch that… he'll try to be serious.
"I know I promise Pirika I'd never say this but I can't help it. You know what Ren, on that same day she shared something with me… she said that she'd never like you… ever! But as she said that her eyes were betraying themselves for I can see that there's something in her that says that 'I actually like Ren'…" Chocolove narrated as he switches to Pirika mode in her last statement.
"Really?" Ren asked, eyes-wide.
"Berry! How about sherry?" Chocolove jokingly said switching into another costume.
"Damn it! I'm serious here!" Ren finally shouted as he punched Chocolove's soul out of its body.
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After a while Chocolove finally got over what Ren did, but aside from being alive his smile also signified another thing… happiness… Chocolove did his mission well.
Friday:
Pirika finally got that technique worked out pretty well… hey she almost got crazy over her triumph because she made the whole waterfall freeze like a stone.
"Hao…" Pirika called while the two were eating their lunch.
"Hmm?" he inquired, upon hearing her sweet voice.
"Are you training me for the sake of tempting me to be your disciple or is it because you want me to master my furyoku so that the ice won't be able to devour me anymore?"
"Neither."
Pirika stopped and looked agape at the onmyouji beside her. His face was full of truth and she was never doubtful about his words even for a minute.
"What?" she can't bear to ask.
"I want to cultivate your skills. That's my reason. Let's just put it like this… your furyoku is still sleeping and I want to develop that in any way I can, like what I did to Yoh."
"But if I master it fully… can I… in any chance defeat the curse?" she asked waiting eagerly for his answer.
The Asakura turned to her and smiled,
"Sorry… it can't help you."
"W-Why?" She can't believe that all this won't be able to help her achieve her greatest goal… is she doomed to be like this forever… is there no other cure for this?
"Heisha… the woman that gave your great grandmother that curse… I know her. Even I don't like her; she tends to be obnoxious sometimes. But the only thing I am fond of her is the tremendous strength of her furyoku… thus, she is very powerful especially if she's angry."
"Thanks for discouraging me… deliberately."
"My pleasure. Tell me again if you need someone to talk to. I'll happily bring you down." Hao said, smirking.
Though he's not funny Pirika can't help to giggle… she seemed to be used to his sense of humor now.
Saturday:
Since Ren hit Chocolove; the only person that can take Ren's food to his room was Chocolove. What wonders can his jokes do to this heartbroken Tao?
Knock, knock
"Come in, Chocolove." Ren shouted expecting the joker once again.
When the door swung wide-open it wasn't the guy he's been expecting. It was Horohoro, the last person he'd expect to come.
"Horohoro? Why are you here?"
"To see my brother-in-law of course." He said jokingly, wearing that smile that looked a lot like the one Pirika always wear.
"Shut up! Where's Chocolove?"
"Hmm? Did you already forget about my sister and settle for him? My, Ren are you gay?"
Ren finally got angry and marched in the Ainu. His pointed hair was comically growing longer as Horohoro just walked backwards.
"Are you really pissing me off?" Ren glared as he cornered the Ainu to the wall.
"No," Horohoro said in mock surrender, "just joking. I didn't mean to do that."
"Good! You know that it's not good to joke about," he paused and stepped back, "her." He sighed as if Pirika's name can't escape his throat.
"My sister… I know… but why aren't you looking for her? Why are you just locking yourself up in your room?"
Ren immediately punched the wall just about an inch away from Horo's face.
"You can't understand. You just can't," Ren looked up to him, his face can't conceal the tears threatening to fall down, "This is the first time I'd love somebody The very first time I actually cared about someone who is not connected to my family… she was my reason to be open to my emotions, and I never felt anything like that in my whole life."
Horohoro patted the shoulder of his friend as if consoling him. But when Ren saw Horo's eyes he can't help to remember Pirika once again, though Horo's eyes are not really blue… just the thought of her own Ainu orbs make his feelings become unstable once more.
Ren walked away and sat in his bed, slamming his head in his hands…
"Horohoro… you once said that you're sister are very special. Now I know what you mean. Her cheerful giggles, her wonderful eyes and her sweet lips. Oh how I want to hear them, see them and touch them again… I'm madly in love with her!"
"Then follow her!" Horo suddenly shouted almost forgetting the fact that Ren still didn't know about Hao's call.
"What?"
"Um… what did I say again?" Horo said, trying to deny it. 'Why can't I keep my large mouth shut?' He thought.
But now Ren stood up, walked towards Horohoro and grabbed him tightly.
"What did you say? Follow her? Where? Where is she?"
"Did I really say that?"
"Where is she? Damn it Horohoro spill it out already! Do you know where the hell Hao kept her?" The Tao madly shouted, his ire almost exploding.
"Oh, All right! She'd be going back to Japan in Monday… she called us last Monday. We didn't tell you because…" The Ainu then stared at his yellow eyes, dangerously.
"Because..." Horohoro was keeping it all in… but now… after being accused like that...
"YOU were busy locking YOURSELF up in YOUR room! I know that you can't take it but being like this?" He shouted at the top of his voice.
Ren was just looking at his friend… it was only now that he realized that he wasn't the only one grieving about Pirika's lost. 'How could I be so… selfish? Damn he was her brother… I almost forgot about that!'
"Do you think that Pirika would like to see you… like this? If I were she I would not lose hope even if I were in the hands of the vilest Shaman in the world. You know why? Because I know that somewhere out there, a boy would still be strong for me… he'll be my hero. For her Ren that boy is you, you are now her knight… I'm out of the picture now. So please take care of her."
Then there was silence for a while. Ren was just staring at Horohoro.
"Thank you, Horohoro."
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So please review this one… thanks again for reading this!
Disclaimer can be found in the past chapters.