Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King or its characters.
"I don't understand why you do all that stuff." Hao asked Jeanne as they walked home.
"I do it simply because I want to. You wouldn't understand; you're a demon of the darkness." Jeanne said.
"Perhaps, and what does that make you? An angel of light?" He asked, challenging her.
"I'm simply a servant of God, that's all." She said.
"Well, some things will never change; it's in our blood. But some things do." He said.
"And what do you mean by that?" She asked.
"Nothing." He replied with a grin.
"You know, you're not making it any better for me to place your position." She said as she frowned.
"Well, sometimes it doesn't really matter where you stand. Just as long as you feel you're doing the right thing." Hao said mysteriously. Jeanne looked at him in awe. He looked down at her and smiled.
"Well, when did you get so wise?" She asked.
"When I was spared. I do realize that I was wrong, but truth is in the eye's beholder. Though I still dislike humans, I've learned to tolerate them. My brother has defeated me, yes, but he has spared me to make me learn this fact. I may still do evil, but it is true that we all have evil inside." Hao said as he let out little sighs.
"My, you have changed." Jeanne admitted.
"True, but some things haven't changed…" He said as he looked ahead in a dazed manner.
"Like what?" Jeanne asked curiously.
"Like nothing." He said quickly as he looked downwards.
"But-" Jeanne began.
"It seems to me the polite and quiet Jeanne-chan has changed." He said quickly, teasing her and with that, she quickly quieted down. They approached the large estate in silence and entered in silence. They were quite surprised to see that the house was silent.
"Perhaps they're still out." Hao said as he wondered.
"No, it's almost dinner time and Anna-chan doesn't like tardiness." Jeanne said as she looked down the hallways.
"Well, they are somewhere." Hao said as he placed himself on the couch and turned on the television. Jeanne feeling out of place walked to her room.
She sat quietly on her bed, thinking over today's events. But one question still remained in her mind, why did he kiss her. 'Maybe he did love me. But then if he did, I would've messed up. I didn't give him the chance. Or maybe the kiss was just a spur of the moment, accounting nothing.' Pirika thought, but she had an instinctive feeling that it wasn't just a coincidence, getting wrapped up by the moment. All she hoped for was that he'd return soon, but then she bit her lip. 'What if he doesn't come soon? What if he never comes back? What if I'm actually wrong? He'll never want to talk to me again; he'll never want to see me again.' Pirika sat up straight and panicked. But she remembered hearing from Tamao that he'll be back for the wedding. She didn't know what she was going to do, or how to prepare, but she knew one thing. She knew just how important Ren Tao was to her. A knock on her door made her snap out of her thoughts.
"Come in." She said hoarsely. Tamao opened the door and closed it gently. She walked over to her friend's side and looked at her.
"How are you doing?" She asked. Pirika managed a slight nod.
"Well, Anna-chan told me to tell you that she wants you to be her maid of honor." Tamao said. Pirika looked at her with a bit of surprise and awe.
"But how? What about you?" Pirika asked.
"Don't worry about it, I'm already the food preparation person, so I'll have plenty of work in my hands." Tamao said and smiled sweetly.
"But, who's the best man?" Pirika asked, her spirits already lifting.
"Um…I'm not sure. You'll have to ask Yoh-sama or Anna-sama." Tamao lied as she excused herself to prepare dinner. Pirika felt a sudden excitement run through her. She's the maid of honor! She had much to prepare for and lots to do. She quickly got out of bed and walked out, totally forgetting about the situation with Ren.
Ren rode in the limo alone, with Pai Long as his driver. He had ordered him to pick him up because of the situation he just went through. He sat in the back seat, wondering about what he did today. He was furious with himself that he did that to her, one to have kissed her, two to have nothing to say for it. When he saw just how upset he was, he decided this little time off thing. Perhaps she was going to hate him for the rest of her life; perhaps it was for the best. But he still had to go to his best friend's wedding and then after that, he'll never see her again. His cell phone rang loudly, interrupting his train of thoughts.
"Hello?" He said gruffly.
"Hey, Ren?" he heard on the other side of the phone. He recognized it was Yoh.
"Yoh? Sorry for the abrupt exit, but I promise I'll be back for your big day." Ren assured his best friend.
"Um…yeah, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I want you to be my best man." Yoh said. Ren silently gasped.
"What? Me?" Ren asked, stressed every word.
"Yeah. Is that okay?" Yoh asked. Ren paused for a second but Pirika's words rung through his head. ' "He gave you a second chance, did he not?"' He remembered. For his best friend, he'll take on such a big task.
"I'll be honored to play such a part on your big day." Ren said, and smiled at himself.
"Great. I'll see you there. Bye." Yoh said and hung up. Ren pressed 'End' on his phone and sighed.