Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King

CHAPTER FOUR – Down the Drain

Friday. Generally Horo Horo's favorite day of the week, but today just wasn't normal. Today most of his things moved to the Tao mansion, and tomorrow he joined them. He would then have to live in the same house as Tao Ren, the boy he loved and hated at the same time.

He hadn't slept at all that night after he'd gone home. Questions floated around in his head and no answers could satisfy them. He had spent countless hours mulling over Ren's words, ending with them mixing into a painful blur that slowly destroyed him. Now he was on his way to school, his shoulders slumped and his eyes lowered, completely in his own little world of depression.

He felt numb, like his whole world had been drained of color and he was drowning in the middle of it. He didn't see the hand reach out and jerk him into the alleyway, didn't feel the punches and kicks that beat him, didn't notice the pain as he dragged himself up and to school. He didn't see himself get a late pass, or walk down the hallway with teachers' eyes on him. He ended up in Mr. Silva's room. He handed him the pass and slumped into his seat, staring at his desk in boredom that he no longer registered.

"You! What happened to you?" Ren hissed at him. His eyes flickered briefly in that direction before squeezing shut in the pain of hearing his voice and seeing his face.

"Speak up! What happened?" he poked him hard in the back with his pen.

"Nothing." he sighed dejectedly, turning his face away and leaning it on his desk.

"Nothing doesn't beat people up." Ren shot his own words at him.

"So what? It's my business." Horo mocked him. Ren growled under his breath and turned back to the front. After class, Ren grabbed Horo by the wrist and dragged him to the boys' bathroom, slamming him into the wall.

"Okay, Horokeu, you remember the rules to our game, right? You are going to give me what I want, and I want to know what the hell is up with you!" he snapped.

"Nothing happened, okay? Just a stupid gang took my money. It happens to everyone." Horo said, attempting to push past him, only to have his back meet the wall again.

"They didn't rape you, did they?" he asked, almost looking worried.

"No. What do you care?" he asked defensively. Ren smirked.

"Because I have to get them back, now. No one touches my bitch and gets away with it." he answered.

"Just, stop it, Ren! I'm not your bitch! What do you care if I'm hurt? You hurt me worse than anyone else ever will! What do you care if I get raped? You raped me last night! What do you care if anything happens to me!" he asked, tears he had suppressed springing to his eyes.

"Horo... I..." he tried to speak, but Horo cut him off.

"No! Just leave me the hell alone! You've done enough damage already!" he shouted, running out the door as fast as he could and leaving Ren in shock.

"Horo..." he whispered nearly inaudibly. Horo ran out the double doors at the entrance of school, jumping down the steps. His throat began to burn as he just kept going, not caring where he was headed, as long as he got away from Ren.

He found himself in the park where he and his sister used to hang out before she got too old to enjoy spending time with him. His eyes wandered over the small pond as he made his way to the middle of the bridge, seating himself on the bench there. Memories filtered through his mind until he recalled one particular afternoon.

FLASHBACK

"Onii-chan?" Pilika asked as they stared out over the calm water.

"Hai?" he replied lazily.

"Do you think you'll ever fall in love?" she asked.

"What brought this on?" he asked, turning to face her.

"I don't know... I guess it's just that if you can do it, maybe I can, too." she said with a faint smile.

"Well... I don't know, really. I have a feeling I might, but you can't completely trust a hunch. I think that if I do, I'll know it. Don't worry about falling in love. I'm sure you'll fall in love, Pilika. You're just that kind of girl, and you are my sister, after all!" he laughed and gave her a playful nudge before returning his stare to the ripples in the clear water below.

"Do you want to fall in love someday?" she asked next.

"Sure. I'd love to. I have my dreams of a future. Someone who loves me, maybe some kids, a house with a warm fire in the winter, possibly a pet, and a good job. Most people are lucky to even get the house and job, though." he answered. They stood there in silence, enjoying the sight of the sun beginning to fade away in the distance, painting the skies in many colors.

END FLASHBACK

Looking back, he realized he had never said that the person would be a female. "Maybe my subconscious already knew..." he sighed, standing to go home as the sun's light grew fainter. When he got home, he locked himself in his room again, causing his mother to proclaim that he was in another one of those teenage phases.

'If only she knew... I will never recover...' he thought, tears once again streaming down his face into his pillow as he sobbed out his sorrows. He never went for tutoring that day, unable to bear seeing the cause of his pain again. The next day he stayed plugged up in his room until afternoon, when he was called to go to their new 'home,' which he had dubbed, the Hell Hole. He sat in the back of the car the whole ride, silent as a stone.

When they got there, Ren answered and tried to talk to him, but he rushed to his room and locked the door behind him. He leaned against the door and slowly sank to the ground. His eyes trailed over the room, memories flooding his senses. He stood and slowly walked forward, looking at the spot on the ground where it had taken place. Finally, he reached the bed, plopping onto it while his eyes refused to remove themselves from the place of torture. Hours passed unchecked until a knock came to his door.

"Horo! Time for dinner!" Pilika called happily.

"I'm not that hungry. Maybe later." he replied, averting his eyes to the ceiling.

"...You okay?" she asked worriedly.

"Yeah..." he lied, and he heard her footsteps as they traipsed off to eat.

The next day, he moped around his room, telling everyone he wasn't hungry and didn't want to come out. Others no longer mattered to him and he just wanted to be alone with his deepening depression.

That night, his mother knocked on his door, demanding that he go eat, but he ignored her, off in his own world he was visiting more and more frequently. A few minutes after she left, Ren came.

"Open up, Horo!" he demanded.

"Just go away! Leave me in this hell you created for me! You're just a fucked up bastard and I never want to see you again!" he yelled back, hiding his face in the pillow as he cried again. Dark circles were beginning to form under his eyes and he hadn't eaten for days.

"Horo! I... I've been thinking... I really do like you. I love you. I was just afraid to admit it to myself; afraid that by admitting it, I would be punished, or you would be hurt. Just like when I was punished for being your friend. I knew that if it continued, my father would get rid of you, so I said those things. I love you, Horo Horo... Please, come out. At least eat." he pleaded, his voice cracking.

"N-No! You'll just cause me more pain! I-I hate you! I hate you, Tao Ren!" he shouted. He heard the faint sound of feet padding away and mentally kicked himself. He hadn't meant to be so harsh, and now he had hurt Ren, which in turn hurt himself.

The next morning, he decided to come out. He could at least pretend to be happy. It wasn't fair making people worry like that. Biting his lip, he applied make-up to his face to cover the rings and made his way down to wait outside the door for Pilika like he always did to walk to school. However, he hadn't expected Ren to come out first.

"Horo! Are you okay?" he asked, concern radiating from his voice.

"Hn. Yeah, I'm fine, bastard. Why don't you leave me be and go fuck yourself?" he grunted, faking anger.

"Horo, I... Fine." he said, angrily, turning sharply and stalking off. Eventually, Pilika emerged and the two of them made their way to school, where they split up to their classes. However, Horo simply went to the school's roof, having already decided school was a waste of his time. He only stayed on the grounds for his sister's sake, now.

As he sat, he considered what Ren had told him the night before. Perhaps he was wrong to judge him so quickly. That thought went flying out the window, though, when he saw Ren holding hands with a cute girl, who was leaning her head on his shoulder at lunchtime. Jealousy and hurt welled up within him and he ran off quickly. He ran to the park again and huddled up on the bench, refusing to cry anymore.

"I don't need that bastard. Let him screw around with that bitch." he muttered to himself.

"Of course you don't need him. You won't need him if you join us. You'll get stronger, and no one will ever hurt you again." a calm voice said. He looked up and saw some kids from his school that were known for their crime sprees, drug usage and violence. They were commonly called the X-Laws and had accepted it as their gang title. He remembered Lyserg and Jeanne used to be members, but they didn't like to recall their experiences.

"What do you want?" he asked coldly, glaring up at the leader, Marco. He was in no mood to talk to people.

"You have what it takes to be an X-Law. We will ask you once, and only once, do you want to join?" he asked.

"I..." he began, fully decided that he would refuse, but then the image of Ren flashed through his head.

"Of course." he said, a stony smile curving on his lips. They nodded in confirmation and grinned slyly, leading him off to a store.

"Now, Horo, all you have to do is go in there and lift us a few packs of cigarettes and a few bottles of alcohol." Marco instructed, pointing to the small drug store. The others began chuckling behind him and Horo realized it was a joke. His glare returned in full force and the smile slid from his features. He stalked across the street and straight into the store, snatching the requested items. The clerk stopped him.

"Hey, you're underage! Shouldn't you be in school?" he asked, attempting to take the stuff back. Horo slammed his fist into the poor man's face. Then he landed a few more punches and kicks, leaving the man unconscious on the ground. He walked out and back to them, dropping the goods at their feet.

"...You actually did it?" One of them asked in disbelief.

"Duh, bitch." he answered. They nodded in approval and formally welcomed him.

"Now that you're with us, you'll have to stop hanging out with those freaks you call friends. We are your family, now, so we all look out for each other. Who was it that hurt you? We have to avenge you and teach him what happens when he messes with our brother." they said.

"Oh, I'll get that lying son of a bitch back, but not that way. I want to make him suffer. I want to watch him plunge into the depths of despair, just like he watched me." Horo Horo growled, anger creeping up within him again.

"Let's get out of here before that clerk gets up." Marco ordered.

"No need. He's a dead man. He isn't getting back up." Horo said emotionlessly. They all stared at him in horror, beginning to edge away.

"Marco is the worst of us, and he never even did a thing like that." the youngest squeaked out.

"Then maybe Marco isn't strong enough to be the leader. Maybe Marco needs some guts." he said, turning to Marco, who backed up into the wall. He walked up to him and punched him in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain.

"If you bastards aren't strong enough, you can all just go to hell with that freak! You got a problem with it?" he snapped at Marco.

"N-No, Horo-sama." he choked out. He grinned.

"Horo-sama? I like that. I like that a lot. Let's go." he ordered, and they all followed him, the stolen items in tow.