Author's Note: Happy new year, all my readers! I thought I'd start off 2006 with another 2 chapter update before I go back to school... Well, the next two chapters are quite important to the story, so I hope you enjoy them!
Oh... and I'm sorry if Ren seems a little OOC in this chapter. It seemed kind of right to me, but I don't knowhow everyone else will look at it.

"Hey, Ren."

Ren barely turned at the sound of his name as he heard footsteps behind him. It was Yoh.

He had been sitting alone in the yard for a few hours, watching the sun set over the rooftops of Funbari, and Yoh had been the first person to approach him yet. He saw Yoh sit down next to him from the corner of his eye.

"It's nice out here tonight, isn't it?"

Ren nodded, silently, golden eyes reflecting the blood red of the setting sun.

Neither spoke for a few moments, until Yoh started, "Ren-"

"I know what you're going to ask, and I already told you; I don't know where he is."

Yoh stayed silent once again, after being cut short so suddenly.

Ren felt a little uneasy when Yoh said nothing, and hesitated. "What makes you think that I would know anything about him, anyway?"

"Because Horo trusts you," Yoh said, simply. "You two are really close."

"We are not!" Ren snapped, feeling his face flushing a little. He was thankful that Yoh's eyes hadn't shifted from the sunset.

Yoh let out a knowing laugh, and stood up beside Ren. Perhaps he realised he was chasing a lost cause? He put a hand on the shoulder of the Chinese.

"'If you love something, let it go. If it doesn't come back, it was never meant to be'. I think that's how the saying goes. Maybe you should think about it."

Ren's eyes widened. "And you're trying to tell me that I care about that baka Ainu!"

"I know deep down, Ren," Yoh said, gently, hand still on his friend's shoulder. "You care quite a lot."

Ren felt his heart pound against his chest as he heard Yoh's piece of advice. He was silent for a moment, Yoh's words still reeling around his mind. Casting his eyes to floor, he managed, "But aren't those words just comfort for an aching heart?"

"What do you mean?"

"People say it to make others feel better. If they have lost someone in these sorts of circumstances, if the person that means everything to them never returns, they will just convince themselves, 'then it was never meant to be'. They surrender all their hope to simple words," Ren was surprised at how deep his own words sounded. He guessed it wouldn't be hard for Yoh to guess his feelings now – but for some reason, he was beyond caring.

"What I'm trying to say is; Horo will come back, wherever he has gone. Because things like this are meant to be," Yoh said, before turning and heading back into the inn, deciding Ren needed some time alone.

"But what can I do against tradition?" Ren muttered to himself, gazing still as the sun disappeared below the buildings, wondering how Horo was doing, so far away from him.