Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King, nor any of the characters from the original manga. Hiroyuki Takei owns Shaman King. I own myself and all of my characters, that including Sofia Faust and Hana Horutari. I own the plot and rights to this fic.
Author's Note: This is set just after Eliza is reunited with her spirit again, thanks to Anna. We love you, really. Anyway, time for translations! The first to come up is when Sofia says 'Was falch ist' which means 'what is wrong?'. When Faust says 'Nichst' it means 'nothing.' 'Was' is 'what' again. 'Mein kind' is 'my child'.
Suddenly, she was gone.
Sofia had came into Ren's life rather quickly, and most unexpectedly. At first her presence had been unwanted. He'd still been awkward about friends. And the discovery of fond feelings was even harder for him. From a simple reunion of friends, to a walk to the phone booth, to treating his wounds, to the Halloween Party. That's where it had started. The party, then further on to the plane ride and fall, then to lunch.
She had came in, swept him away, and now...
... now suddenly, she was gone.
"Faust is gonna be apart of mine and Ryu's team." Yoh explained as they walked up to the building they were staying in. The sullen walls with old aged concrete greeted them with a depressing state.
"Steam!" Piped up Chocolove out of the blue. HoroHoro punched him in the arm and sighed.
"I told you, if you're gonna be on this team, cut it out!" He barked. With an irritable sigh, he ran a hand through his blue spikes."Ryu's still being stubborn about Lyserg though." HoroHoro added, folding his arms. Chocolove rubbed his arm.
"Isn't Faust the crazy guy though? Rememb--" That got another punch. "Oww man! I didn't say anything!"
But that hit had been from Ren. He flexed a fist as a warning before dropping it to his side. Sofia walked beside him with Hana, sweat dropping.
"Ren..."
"He's on my team. He needs to know his place." Chocolove backed away nervously as Yoh opened the door to their building. Inside the cracked sandstone concrete ground was even more of an eyesore. A few futons with blankets were laid out with the shoe mats at the door.
Anna, Faust, Eliza, and Ryu were all piled into the room. Faust in his wheelchair with Eliza by his side, Ryu was on one of the futons with Anna standing before them as if the dictator of them all.
"It's about time." She fingered the beads around her neck playfully. The others looked up as they entered, and Faust came up to Sofia in his wheel chair, Eliza pushing it. "What took you so long?" Yoh scratched the back of his head lightly.
"It's a big village. Took a while to find them."
Sofia and her father matched quite well. None of the ground had seen the two together before, but when they did it was obvious they were related. The pale skin, lifeless eyes and shocking blonde hair. Long, thin forms and of course, the broken and tattered limbs covered in bandages.
"Sofia..." Faust took in a deep breath, looking her over quite fondly. The young Faust furrowed her eyebrows together.
"Was fa--." But before she could even finish, she was enveloped into a hug with Faust's good arm, the other wrapped into a cast. Sofia blinked a few times and slowly reached up to his head. "Was falch ist?" Though she could tell nothing was wrong. Faust was happy. Overjoyed really. She felt an involuntary smile tug at her lips and her eyes started to water. Faust's fingers tightened at her clothing and he smiled.
"Nichst, little one. Nichst. Your mutti is home." The one eye on Sofia's small face, that wasn't covered with gauze, widened a good inch.
"W-was?" Her hand trembled on her father's head, but another hand came to calm it. A smooth and warm one.
"Mein kind." A sultry and soft voice came to comfort her. Eliza came beside Faust, hugging Sofia as well. Faust allowed her to take the girl into her arms, watching the show of affection. "You've grown so much, mein kind."
Sofia looked confused, surprised, shocked and, overall, overwhelmed. All emotions which fell to the same emotion that was finally emitting from her Mother. Her mother was no longer lifeless without expression or feeling. Sofia could feel the emotions and a warmth that came and made her lips tremble.
"Mutti...!"
Suddenly, she was gone.
Sofia had been reunited with her mother. The Fausts were a family again. They had found their happy ending. That was the end.
At least, for Ren it was.
Now that Sofia was with her mother again, they had years to catch up on. Years of talking, adventures, trials, tribulations and THEN some. They spent all kinds of time with each other, and of course with Faust eighth. The Patch village was now home to their quality family time.
Where was Ren in all of this? He wasn't there. He could barely get a conversation from Sofia considering she was always going off somewhere else. She didn't have time for him. She had forgotten him. Pushed aside so easily. For two weeks, no more lunch time chats, peaceful moments and certainly no more talking in German for him.
Even though Sofia had always been blind, it was the first time he actually regarded that she didn't see him.
So for those two weeks without her, he trained mercilessly. If she chose to forget him, then he would forget her as well. If she could just stop and push him from her mind, so could he. He certainly wasn't one for hoping she'd come back. If she was gone... she was gone.
And he certainly couldn't do anything about it. Could he now?
"Master Ren?" Ren glanced over to the spirit.
"What?"
"Shouldn't you take a rest? You've been at this all day."
"Hmph, how many times have I heard that?"
"Master Ren..." Ren sighed.
"I don't CARE Bason. I NEED to train."
Ren loaded on two more bricks to the pile that was slowly growing up to his chest. There was just enough that it would actually need a car to demolish.
It was far past the hours of sun light, the moon taking its place and shining with silver beams upon the desert village. Little and large buildings, home to not only the Patch tribe but to the Shaman King tournament participants. Some with little lights, others that had faded dark long ago. For it was no only far past the hours of daylight, it was always far past the hours of sleeping.
But sleep had always been a rival of Ren's.
Ren stood in the night, bare-chested with only his pants cuffed below the knees and shoes to protect him from the below zero temperatures. But his thin figure refused to shiver nor allow one goose bumps.
"At least put your shirt back on. Deserts are known for the freezing nights." Bason pleaded, pointing out the discarded clothing against the wall with his kwan dao. Ren answered with another 'Hmph!'. Bason sighed and watched his Master work.
Ren flexed the joints in his hand and took in a deep breath. He closed his eyes, calming himself. He let out the breath, letting everything go. The distant sounds of civilization, the bitter wind that swept through his hair and pants, and the cold ache in himself. This was his only way to detach himself, like she did.
All he saw was the mound of bricks. Representing the hurt he felt. Just him and the bricks.
Ren opened his eyes again. He drew his right leg up, back then struck forward at the pile of bricks. Stepping back, he then punched against them. Finally, he ducked down, keeping his right leg stretched out to the side before sweeping along the ground towards the heap.
The three attacks caused a flurry of dust to rise of from the broken materials. Though after a few moments, the dust cleared from the wreckage. Wreckage was definitely the word for it.
The bricks were in rubble, spread apart a good deal farther from their once mighty pile that had rose up to Ren's chest. But now they lay in pieces. Defeated and a good deal broken.
Ren sighed, his jaw clenched down the pain in his leg and arm. They reddened quite quickly, preparing to bruise and blemish. He took in a shaky breath before sighing. He smirked to himself.
"And you said I needed a rest." He laughed lightly at the spirit who merely sweat dropped.
"You never cease to amaze Master Ren." Ren turned to what was left of the bricks confidently.
This was more than just training for the Tao boy. This was his way detaching himself from his feelings. Sofia had her empathy to hold down but Ren had his general affection to keep quiet. This was how he dealt with Sofia.
Suddenly, something snapped to Ren's attention. He blinked, the back of his neck prickling lightly. He glared and turned around back to the building. His amber gaze scattered across his surroundings. His body grew tense; instinctively going for his kwan dao. But before he could reach it someone stepped out from beside the building.
Sofia stood there. Dark, tatty clothes and all. Frankensteiny sat at her feet, leash tied around his neck bone. A sheepish grin played on her pale face cast in moonlight.
Ren blinked a few times before his eyes sharpened to a glare. No... she couldn't. He was so close. She couldn't do this. Not now.
"What the hell do you want?" He snapped. Before he knew it his skin rippled with goose bumps. Bason peered over before growling low in his throat.
He knew what trouble this girl had caused his master. And he certainly would want no more of it. His master had been through more than enough in this lifetime. This girl would only cause more problems for Ren.
"You're an idiot."
Ren swallowed down the words. Sofia stared down at the ground near his feet with the same amused look. What would come to follow them? 'You're an idiot. Why would I ever like you?' 'You're an idiot for ever thinking we were together.' 'You're an idiot softy.'?
Sofia stood in silence for a little while longer and shook her head. "You're an idiot."
"Yes I heard that part. But that doesn't answer my question." Her dark smile grew as much as Ren's anger. So now she'd came to rub it in?
"I CAME to knock some sense into you." She placed both working arms on her hips. During the two weeks of ignoring, Sofia's arm had grown out of its sling and her head injuries had healed over. Though of course, he had not been there for the time she had them taken off.
Despite her words, she didn't give a sly smile or an 'I told you so' smile. Her face turned more sympathetic than anything. He scowled to meet it.
"Oh REALLY?"
"Yes. Because you're an i--"
"I GOT that part!"
"Ah but you don't know why." She shook an annoying little finger at him. Ren's fists tightened over the kwan dao. How dare she treat him like a child? How dare she act so above and superior to him? This stubborn annoyance of a girl, despite her image, was no sweet angel. "And I'm only treating you like a kid because you decided to ACT like one."
Ren chewed on the inside of his cheek. 'Damn her empathy.' Sofia took his silence as an invitation to continue.
"You're an idiot because," here it came. The process of his pride being stripped away. Yes he was an idiot. An idiot of ever letting his affection take advantage of him. "you actually thought I would PURPOSELY ignore you." Ren looked up, Sofia's smile had faded. This was a different look. A look of disappointment.
"What?"
"My mutti came back to life, I spend time with her and suddenly 'oh no! She's not paying attention to me!'" Ren's expression had turned from scowl, to confusion, to incredulous. "Honestly Ren, I'd've thought you to be more mature than that."
"Excuse you?" Now he was angry. "I'm sorry I decided to REACT to being completely shut out for two whole weeks! How long am I supposed to wait until you're done playing 'mother and daughter' with a corpse who knows how to talk!" He was done with playing nice. If Sofia wanted to rant at him, she could go ahead and try. Ren happened to be quite good at it.
"Oh yes. I'm really immature for being glad my mutti came back to me. Excuse me for showing EMOTIONS."
"Towards something that is DEAD! And has BEEN dead for a long time!"
"But NOW she's back! She's my mother! But noo, Lord forbid I should be loving my famil--" Sofia stopped herself before she could finish. Though it was far too late. She could feel his back stiffen lightly and his face redden in anger. What scared her most was that he did not speak. And he didn't need to. Feelings of betrayal swept over Sofia, enough to make her cry.
A silence was exchanged between them. Small chatters were here and there around the village at some of the businesses. Crickets chirped in harmony, dogs barked in the distance. And somewhere, a tumbleweed bounced by.
"Ren I--" She heard a rustle of movement. A sharp pain came to her leg, telling her Ren was obviously walking on an injury. "Ren I'm sorry for what I said, and I'm sorry that you feel like a betrayed you." Though he listened, he didn't stop moving. Ren picked up his shirt and kwan dao and was now looking for his jacket and scarf. "But I'm not sorry for being with my mutti. And to be honest, I feel like YOU've betrayed me."
That caught his attention.
He stood up straight with a glare. " I betrayed YOU?" The accusing tone came into play and Sofia was glad to hear him speaking to her again. She could deal with not seeing him, but not being able to hear him killed her.
She stood her ground when she answered him. "At the first sign of doubt in me you immediately assumed it was over. That just because I decided to be around my mutti more than you, you thought I had forgotten you." She paused, one hand reaching to the material of her long-sleeved shirt, fiddling with the fabric. "The first sign of trouble you just gave. You didn't even care if we were together or not. If something went wrong you just figured I didn't care." Her lifeless, blue eyes turned sad. "You didn't even trust me enough to second-guess your doubts in me."
Ren took in the statement, the explanation. He closed his eyes and sighed irritably. Here he had been, all ready to be angry and rant at her, and now she decided to make him feel guilty. His anger dissipated and his tense muscles dropped. What did he do now? Anger, he was used to. He could deal with anger. But guilt... Ren didn't like guilt.
Ren just wasn't cut out for this whole relationship 'thing'. Affection, second-guessing, doubts, trust? This was all so new to him. And he wasn't sure he could handle all of it at once. Fighting and battles of death he could handle. Relationships he wasn't so sure.
But he looked up at Sofia, the moon's rays over the dark land making her show up in black an white. Her hair bright enough to look silver to match her skin, but her clothes too dark and were the perfect contrast. The only color to show were her eyes. The pale, crystal blue eyes that saw nothing yet could see everything in him.
Ren looked to Sofia, and for some reason he had faith. He had faith in himself, not enough to be positive to succeed. But enough to try. He wanted to at least try to be enough for her.
He threw down his shirt and folded his arms. "You better not be hoping for a 'sorry'." He answered calmly. Sofia's expression lightened to curiosity, pursing her lips together. "Because you're certainly not getting one out of me."
Sofia smiled and shook her head. "No, no. You don't need to say it." She walked a bit closer to him. "But I AM sorry for yelling at you before." Ren stretched out his arms.
"Well I suppose even Germans make mistakes." Sofia giggled, combing her fingers through her hair. "How long were you standing there anyhow?" He asked, absently dragging the blade of the kwan dao along the ground.
"Ohh, a little around 'at least put your shirt back on.'" Ren's ears reddened, remembering his lack of clothing around his chest. "How can you stand staying out here without your shirt? It's freezing!" She rubbed her arms and Frankensteiny helped her find the Chinese teen. He sniffed up at his bare ankles and at the cuffs of his pants.
"More will power. I barely feel it." He lied. His goose bumps hadn't faded any since he'd been talking.
"Liar." She smiled to herself and reached out for him. Ren blinked and caught her arm.
"What do you want?" He asked, curious to her actions. She looked to be mulling something over. Sofia raised her head a little though involuntarily kept her gaze aimed forward at his neck. She stepped closer to him, taking what was once a foot distance to only a few inches.
"To keep you warm." Soon enough, two arms were wrapped around Ren's chest to reach the middle of his back. His amber eyes widened quite a bit at the warm embrace he'd just been taken into. Now he knew he was blushing. His face was now the warmest thing on his body. Though the front of him where Sofia had placed herself was catching up.
One hand twitched in indecision, the other gripped his kwan dao tightly. Sofia had hugged him before, yes. But this was… intimate. The dance had been more awkward than anything. It had been the start. This… this out of no where was intimacy at its best.
"Urg! You're so cold!" She exclaimed, rubbing her hands over his goose bumped back. Ren sweat dropped. She giggled at his reaction and traced her hands from his back to his chest. "Ren, could I...?"