Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King
CHAPTER ELEVEN – Dreams, Food and Phones
Ren's glowing eyes fluttered open as he came to. The first thing he caught sight of was the soft face of the Ainu boy. His blue hair framed his cheeks and an adorable smile rested upon his lips. His arms held Ren in a protective grip as he made small sleepy noises and cuddled closer.
"Ren..." he mumbled in his sleep. Ren's eyes widened.
'He dreams of me?' he thought in shock. He had only just begun to accept that Horo loved him.
"Horo Horo... What are we doing?" he whispered, fearing the answer and prepared to bolt.
"I love you...please don't hurt me...let me help...I just want you to be happy." he whispered softly, and tears began streaming down his face as he slept on.
"I can't love you yet, but I'm willing to give you a chance." Ren whispered into his ear. Horo smiled slightly.
"Just don't leave me." he mumbled.
"I won't, Horo. I promise." Ren said softly, reassured that Horo was honestly trying to make him happy. He stared intently at the sleeping Ainu, trying to uncover any memory of him from before.
"I want to remember you, I really do." he sighed in defeat, his warm breath tickling the other's nose. Horo's eyes slowly blinked open.
"Ren? Watcha doin'?" he asked groggily.
"Trying to remember." he answered.
"Oh. Any luck?" Horo asked hopefully.
"Only short flashes of scenes that I can't piece together; all night I dreamt of all these faces I don't know, voices calling me and fragments of conversations with a lot of yelling. It's so familiar... But it makes no sense." Ren told him.
"Don't worry too much... you don't need any more stress than you have. There's plenty of time to put it together." Horo said worriedly, eyes full of concern.
"I'll try. You can let me go now." Ren said, blushing bright red. Horo Horo released his hold on the smaller teen and got up. Ren made his way to the little kitchenette and busied himself salvaging food from the cupboards.
"You can cook?" Horo asked, scarcely believing his eyes as the Chinese shaman turned on the stove.
"No, I just want to start a fire." Ren said sarcastically. Horo grinned. Ren may not remember, but at least he was still Ren.
Suddenly, the phone began ringing. Horo's eyes landed on the small object.
"Who knows I'm here?" he wondered aloud.
"Answer it." Ren commanded, barely seeming to pay any attention to the loud machine, though inside he was bursting with anticipation.
"Hello?" Horo asked anxiously.
"HIIIIIIIII!" Yoh's screeching voice shot out, causing Horo to drop the phone a moment.
"Yoh?" he asked carefully.
"You Betcha! Guess what! Guess what! Guess what!" he yelled, and Horo envisioned him jumping up and down in excitement.
"YOH! Stop bouncing off the walls!" Anna's voice yelled.
"Sorry, Anna." Yoh said meekly.
"What's up, Yoh?" Horo asked uneasily as he put it on speaker phone.
"I'm gonna have a baby!" he yelled.
"I didn't know that was possible, Yoh." Ren said, having crept closer to the phone.
"Huh? ...OH! Not ME, Ren! I meant I'm going to be the FATHER of a baby!" he amended.
"Does Anna know?" Horo asked, winking at Ren, who smirked mischievously.
"Huh? ...She's the one who told me." Yoh said.
"Then why aren't you dead? Anna would kill you if she knew." Horo stated.
"Huh? ...She's the one having the baby..." he said.
"OH! THAT explains it!" Ren said, feigning surprise.
"EWW! Bad mental images of you and Anna in bed! Bad images!" Horo yelled.
"...You two are impossible... You're wasting my time. This is long distance." Yoh said.
"Sorry, Yoh. We were just joking with you. Boy or girl?" Horo asked.
"Don't know. We're still deciding if we want to find out or wait and be surprised. The countdown has begun! Only eight months, one week, and five days until baby!" Yoh said happily.
"That's great. Congratulations, Yoh." Ren said awkwardly.
"Hi, Ren. How are you coping?" Yoh asked.
"I..." Ren looked at Horo for help.
"He's doing okay. We were sort of hoping you could explain what the situation is, exactly. What are we dealing with, here?" Horo asked.
"Nothing, anymore; Rahu and Ketu are back where they belong for good this time. Now all that remains is Ren's memory. You see, Rahu cursed you and you turned to stone the moment you shared that kiss. Pilika and I went to the Great Spirit, and I managed to integrate long enough to cure you both, but Pilika had to choose one of you to forget everything.
It's my fault, really. I... I'm just not strong enough to integrate with the Great Spirit like that. I wore myself out the first time, and I'm afraid if I try to help Ren, I may lose my life. I just can't do that to Anna... or to my kid. The best I can do for you now is to offer my moral support. It may be years before I'm comfortable with the Great Spirit, and then it depends on whether or not Ren even wants to remember. He may decide he's happy just creating new memories. You did tell him that many of his memories were not the happiest of tales, didn't you? The few I know I wish I could erase from my mind." Yoh said.
"Yeah, I told him." Horo said.
"Well, I got to go before Anna catches me on long distance. Oh, and just to warn you, only Anna, Pilika and I know about the whole memory thing, and I heard Jun is on her way to see Ren, what with all the trouble he's having. Bye!" Yoh hung up quickly.
"Horo... I want you to tell me more. I want you to tell me anything I should know before Jun arrives. I don't want to hurt her." Ren said quietly.
"Are you sure you can keep up the old attitude? Being Ren as she knows him really isn't easy. He had a sort of aura about him. A damned-be-to-all-who-get-in-my-path aura; just one look and you could see his confident, arrogant, cocky personality. He shot insults to anyone who glanced at him sideways and had a temper to match, not to mention the sarcasm he practically reeked of. However, he always treated women with the utmost respect, especially Jun. He looked up to her, I suppose. Do you want to be like that?" Horo asked.
"If only to keep her happy, yes." Ren answered with finality.
"Let the lessons begin." Horo grinned.