DarkTaoAngel: I hope you reviewed my last chapter, and bear with me, as the next chapters will not be as long as the first one was. I thank you all for reading; this will be a long story, so keep reading!
Pirika swayed on the spot, unable to fully support herself, and fell to the ground, not painfully, but enough to keep her there for a while. Tears slowly obscured her already blurred vision, staining her clothes that were already coated in blood with the salty substance, but none of that mattered to her at this moment. She was thinking about what Yoh had said, and she knew the answer, but it was hard to get out in words because it made the statement sound final, as though he could never come back. Choking back further tears that threatened to leak out, she uttered those words, unable to say them without getting a raspy throat, as tears flowed freely down her face now.
"H-he isn't here… h-he was… defeated…." She put less emphasis on the last word than the others, which was barely audible, little more than a whisper.
She wished she had not said anything after she had, because of the reaction of those that had heard was almost as unbearable as witnessing it as she had so painfully done only a day ago. The truth was as she had said it, he had been defeated by Hao, Yoh's twin, and the Yin to his Yang, who was trying, and succeeding to become the Shaman King, to everyone else's disapproval, where no one could do anything.
Everything went silent at Pirika's statement. Powerful and unbelievable words, especially because the Ren they had known would have never admitted defeat, let alone to someone more powerful than him. But on the other hand, they knew to trust the words that she said, because they were often true, and this was no exception.
They would have questioned Pirika more than they did, but just when they were going to continue a maniacal laugh filled the air, sounding the start of Hao's rule over earth. Yoh and the others, many against their free will, jumped into battle with him, leaving Pirika alone, hurt, and grieving.
This continuous silence gave her much time to think, about what had happened to her earlier, about Ren, and about the voice that she had heard calling out to her. She was not even all too sure how she had gotten there, or where she was for that matter. All she remembered is her, Yoh, Horo, and Ren came to the 'Soul Underworld' or something like that, where they fought Hao and she watched, having only come there in the first place because she was with Ren when the call for him came. She had no choice but to stay there because there was no way for her to get back without Ren.
She clenched the necklace that was still tied around her neck. It was in the shape of a small bird with outspread wings, silver in color, with a single word engraved on the back, but Pirika could not make out what it said. As she looked down at it she felt like she would cry once again, but no tears formed, due to the fact that the sadness in her heart could not be expressed by emotions, only by thoughts, which all involved horrific scenes from earlier in the battles and unseen blood. What had happened to him only she knew, but if it were up to her, she would not have to know, and she fully wished she hadn't had to be around to watch it. She knew he was dead, she had watched it happen herself, but even now she didn't believe it, more that she hoped against all odds that it would all have been just a dream, one that she could wake up from any time now.
The fighting started to sound in the background, but Pirika ignored it, her thoughts of Ren were all that she was preoccupied with at the moment. Blasts being fired from both ends sending many flying backwards, bleeding profusely landing roughly on the hard pebbled ground, only to get back up fighting again.
If only he were here, this would all be different, everyone would be happy and the fighting could end. The blood shed would stop and the darkness would almost all go away. He left and now everything is a disaster, and I never got to say that I loved him... Pirika thought, still keeping her never-ending hope, and praying that the voice would come back and tell her what she should do next.
No voice came however, and the fighting came to as Hao was defeated by a last minute blow delivered by Yoh. No trace of him was left behind, and many thought he had just disappeared from the face of the earth. Many people died, the ground coated in blood, but the fact that Hao was gone made everyone at ease, safe once again. Pirika, Yoh and the others that had survived made their way out of the 'Soul Underworld' and back to wherever they lived, to greet their families when they got back.
Pirika was still troubled by what had happened to Ren, and both her dreams and her waking hours were spent thinking of him, but it could not be helped by anyone. Though the others tried to snap her out of the trancelike state she was in, and tell her it was all over now, she still believed that it really wasn't.
She wanted to hear that strange voice again, because she thought it could have had something to do with Ren, but for now she kept the necklace because of him, keeping her hope along with it.
DarkTaoAngel: Kinda weird ending, but the next chapter is going to be a flashback, so it will be weirder. Hope you liked it, and please review, your reviews mean so much to me; thank you for expressing your feelings towards my work!