DarkTaoAngel: Thank you to all those that reviewed, I never had thought that this story would be quite so popular! I have only four more chapters left of this story, so the next few might be kind of long!
Yoh was shocked at first when he saw Ren, not looking himself at all, but still alive. After the realization hit him, however, he asked not questions, just smiled and invited Ren to the fight. Hao was furious that his plan to kill both Ren and Pirika had failed, but he had complete pride in himself that he could change all of that with a simple attack laid upon each by the Spirit of Fire. That left Ren and Yoh in very difficult positions, Hao was fired up with a great amount of furyoku, and they had no chance against him; but still they fought, for all of those that they love.
Pirika reached Horo, fell to the ground, and prayed that he would be alright, all the while trying to fight back the tears that engulfed her eyes; they had never left and she was afraid that they never would. Pirika closely examined her brother who, apart from being unconscious and hurt, was just fine. That was reassuring news to her after so much had happened to her, she still had him, and hopefully she would have Ren and Yoh with her after this was all over as well. Horo was alive and well, for the most part, though bleeding profusely, the attack from Hao could have done much worse to him had Yoh not saved him quickly. Pirika tried to slow the bleeding and, in an attempt to wake her brother so that he could help Ren and Yoh, she slapped him across the face; he remained asleep, possibly just to find out Pirika's reaction. Pirika stopped and looked up to the window overshadowing the fight between Hao, Ren, and Yoh. It appeared that Hao was finally tiring out, but Yoh was almost out of furyoku from having fought for so long, and Ren had quite a few nasty looking cuts on himself as well. Ren and Yoh had a slight chance of defeating Hao at last, but it was still a very slim chance all the same; Horo could not even help them now, even if he did wake up.
It was then that the intense battle began to get interesting. Hao was actually losing, though the others were as well, all they needed to defeat him was another, much more powerful attack, or another fighting shaman, none of which they had. If only Horo would just wake up…Pirika thought, then he could help Ren and Yoh…
Horo stirred in his consciousness, giving sign of life at last, and, after a while of utter nothingness, he awakened, taking Pirika by surprise as he quickly jolted up into a sitting position. He was still in pain but he was able to stand, which was what he did upon realizing where he was and what was going on around him. He knew that Yoh was in trouble, having been unconscious when Ren had appeared, and he wanted more than anything to help him. When he had passed out the last thing he had seen was Yoh, about to collapse himself, and Hao, still fighting as though he had just started not too long ago.
Horo stood up, fighting back the pain from his bleeding and possibly sprained ankle long enough to stand, before leaning back into falling position once again. Pirika rushed up to help him, having him lean on her for support, but he shook her off and told her that he needed to stand on his own if he was to help Yoh. Pirika did not want him to leave so shortly after he had woke up, but there was no use in arguing with him, after all, and she allowed him to go on and fight, hoping that Ren and Yoh would win before Horo even got up the stairs to where they were fighting.
Pirika wanted to help, but she thought that she would probably get in everyone's way if she even tried to do anything, so she stayed put, waiting. She looked up into the room from time to time, the same room where, so long ago, she had come just to think; then she had started coming there to cry about Ren when he had died; and now there was a fight going on in the very same room that had held sadness for so long. She hoped that the sadness would finally be put to an end, and the happy days would return, where she and Ren could come to that room together, just to be together at long last, having been apart for much too long for their liking. She knew that Ren liked her, maybe even more, and she felt the same about him. It was hard enough for Pirika to let him join the fight, but the worry about him, Yoh, and her onii-san, was far too great for her to just step aside and let the past repeat itself, but she had no choice.
It was at that moment, when Pirika was busy pondering the future, and her future more particularly, that a yell pierced the evening sky, as sharp sounding as screeching against a blackboard, and as eerie as any scream could be. Her heart sunk at the thought of who it was, and she did not want to believe it, but she knew it was true, and Pirika knew right away who had just screamed. It was Ren….
DarkTaoAngel: I know that my chapters are becoming a bit dull, but I promise to make the next few a bit more climactic! I would like to get about five more reviews in the next few days, and then I plan on writing the next chapter, as school is taking up most of my time now. Please review in the mean time!