Title Broken China

Author Kyrie Sanctus

Rating PG-13 for Shounen-ai situations.

Begun September 27, 2003

Finished ???

Chapters 3/??

Synopsis Unfortunately for Ren, Jun has invited Horohoro to accompany them to China. But perhaps, Ren's disgust at this situation is just a cover up for the feelings he hasn't realized he could have for the shaman of ice? A bit plotless, just a device for fluff. HoroRen.

Comments Well, the title does NOT refer to the many plates I've broken in trying to come up with an idea for a HoroRen story good enough to post on FF.net. Instead, it's about China. You know, the country? Broken. Not literally broken, but rather.. .. It's symbolism! Ren's feelings about Horohoro going to China with them are like.. Mixed, you know? The inspiration for this came from me buying a Chinese dictionary and looking up the word 'peach.' Yep. That's how it all got started.

Dedications this goes out to Tanjo, for being the one who made me interested in the Chinese language in the first place. Katie, for no darn reason. Krissy, for always being the little inspiration in my life, and whoever else writes HoroRen fanfics. Because I didn't want you to be alone anymore!

Disclaimer I own no rights to Shaman King, it's plots, or it's characters. Those are all belong to the masterful Hiroyuki Takei. However, I do own the Chinese dictionary used in making all of these pretty Chinese words possible!

Broken China

Dance Three: Acting Chinese

After unloading the train, the foursome stood, waiting to be picked up. Ren had returned halfway through the train ride to the next country, but hadn't said much of anything to either Jun or Horohoro. He couldn't help but feel completely alone in the world. He sighed, glancing, every once in a while, over to his companions.

Horohoro was looking around excitedly. This reminded Ren that his last visit to China hadn't been a pleasant one. Instead of arriving on peaceful terms, they had both come with a purpose more than visiting family. Ren's muffler concealed a smile. Perhaps he was thankful that Horohoro had come along that one time?

No, that can't be, he thought, shaking the thought from his head. I didn't need that idiot then. I don't need him now. Despite what Jun says, I am perfectly fine on my own. I need no one. I am Tao Ren, damnit.

Jun sighed. "I suppose father thought we were arriving on the 5:00 train. She looked around, through the hustle and bustle of the Chinese street they were stranded on. "I suppose we could get some lunch? We've got 3 hours before father will come to pick us up."

So, the decision was to get some lunch. They chose a restaurant and sat down, all placing their bags beside the chair they had chosen to reside in. After they ordered food ( Jun ordered for Horohoro ) and ate, Jun decided it was a good idea to call their father, taking Bailong with her.

Ren was relaxed in his chair, looking around at his familiar homeland. The knots in his stomach were easing, and his unseen homesickness was being cured. Then, leaning forward, he watched Horohoro across from him, who was ogling the China that surrounded him.

"Idiot," well, Ren was the type to start a conversation with an insult. "You act like you've never been here before. Get that stupid look off of your face already."

Horohoro pouted. "Well, I've been here before, but never to enjoy the sites.. I mean, when we came, we went straight for your house. We didn't stop to look around or anything."

Ren felt a surge of pain in his chest again. He opened his mouth to apologize, but clamped it shut before he could say anything. "Yeah. We came here to save your sorry ass from your Dad."

Two seconds flat, Ren had his kwan-dao to the Ainu's neck. His eyes were bulging, and his hands were raised in surrender. "I was kidding, I was kidding!" Ren sat back down, his kwan-dao, almost magically, disappearing as fast as it had been retrieved. "We were all worried about you."

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, I don't need your help."

"Needed it then, didn't you?"

"Do you want me to get the kwan-dao back out?"

"Er--no, sorry."

"Thought so."

Ren was still annoyed, however, as Horohoro was still turning in his chair to look at people walking by, or staring over his shoulder at certain buildings. It was when he saw Jun and Bailong returning, that Ren finally stopped worrying about how bad Horohoro was making him look, and perked up his ears to what Jun had to say.

"Well, I have some good news and some bad news," she started as Bailong pulled her seat out for her and she sat down, taking a sip of the tea she'd left on the table. "The bad news is that father can't come pick us up until tomorrow." Ren's face was stricken with horror, Horohoro's with excitement. "The good news is, he has set up a room in a hotel for us to stay the night. Unfortunately, we've only got 3 rooms, and I'm not sleeping with Bailong or either of you. So you will both share a room, and Bailong and I will have our own."

Ren's protest to this didn't take more than 3 seconds to arise. But it was beaten down by Jun's retort. "No buts."

Ren and Horohoro opened the door to the hotel room to find…

"One bed?"

"This is not happening to me."

"It's okay," Horohoro assured, walking over to a chair and setting his bag down before pulling the zipper on his coat down to it's hem. "I can sleep on the floor. I don't have a problem with it." He pulled his jacket off and just tossed it casually to the chair, stretching his bare arms up, his black tank-top coming with his shoulders to expose some stomach.

Ren kept his same scowl and placed his bag on the bed, unwrapping himself from his muffler. He placed it on the hook hanging from the wall that separated the bed from the bathroom, and pulled his heavy coat from his shoulders, draping it over the chair beside the bed.

Horohoro sat down in the other chair at the table and looked out the window. The sun was still high in the sky. Going to bed wasn't to be fathomed. He sighed with a smile and continued to gaze out the window, until he could feel a pair of piercing golden eyes staring straight at him from behind. He looked over his shoulder, to find Ren watching him from across the room.

Ren's eyes quickly averted, and Horohoro raised his eyebrows. "Ren?"

"Hmm?"

"You wanna.. … go for a walk?"

"Tch. No."

Horohoro pouted. "Please?"

"… Fine."

So both boys bundled up, and exited the room.

When they returned, Horohoro was pink the face but smiling, and Ren was, of course, scowling, his mouth and nose tucked into his yellow muffler. As, once again, they both shed their clothes, Ren having to turn on the light as it had gotten dark since they had gotten back, Horohoro collapsed backwards on the bed. "That was a nice walk."

Ren sat beside him to pull his boots from his feet, happy to be back inside.

"Would you stop bouncing around already?" Ren glowered the bluenette, who was bouncing along beside him. "It's making you look like even more of an idiot than you already are."

Horohoro desisted, but the words Ren had added on to the end of that plea of his occlusion hit Horohoro like a brick 20 seconds later. "Hey! Take that back! I'm not an idiot." However, the question of his idiocy had been dropped as quickly as it had come up. Thankfully for Ren.

"Move," Ren commanded pointedly, unfolding the blankets from the top of his bed. "I'm going to sleep."

Horohoro moved off of the bed slowly, but did not make himself a place on the floor. "I'm going to go talk to Jun." He headed for the door and was out. Ren sighed, happy to be alone, but wondering what was up with the sudden connection between his sister and the Ainu imbecile anyway…

"Jun?"

Horohoro opened the door of the room Jun was staying in to find her laying on her bed in a jade green robe, inspecting her toenails. Her hair was in a low ponytail, and her dress and coat were hanging on a hook on the wall. On the bed beside her was a spread of magazines, and a small cosmetics bag.

"Oh! It's you! Come in!" She folded her legs underneath her and picked up a bottle of green nail-polish, uncapping it and starting to run the bristles over her long, manicured cuticles.

Horohoro sat on the bed across from her, and watched her for a moment. "So?"

"Oh, yeah! .. Well, we went on a walk."

"And?"

"I couldn't.."

She sighed, capping off the bottle after finishing one hand, she blew on it, watching his nervous twitching across from her. "I see. Scared?"

His lip twitched. "Yeah."

"Don't worry. You've got plenty of time."

"… I know."

"Good."

Author's End-Notes Aah, suspense. Don't you love it? Sorry for taking so long with this one.. I promised myself that I would get this fanfic out to you guys as fast as I could, but it's a little bit harder on the week than during the weekends, you know? That, and I have Driver's Ed in the afternoon, so my me-time is cut in half. UGH, why can't they just give me a car and let me GO? XD

Anyway, I hope you liked it. Not any fluff in this chapter, but it's building up to it. Well.. Okay, Em0tions will say that the kwan-dao moment was fluffy, but.. She's a hopeless romantic. XD Anyway!

If you liked it, please review. If you hated it, please review. If you think I'm a crap writer and that I need to quit at it before I put all of the actually talented writers into cardiac-arrest, please review then jump off a bridge. Just kidding.