Sorrowful Seraphim: Alright this chapter is written in Ren's POV because I thought I needed to inform you on what Yoh's friends are doing after he disappears.

Disclaimer: Do I need to bother with saying it again? Fine, I do not own Shaman King.

Warnings: RenxHoro fluff, No yaoi, BUT… I PROMISE there WILL be yaoi in the next chapter! I promise.

I decided to rest my legs for a bit. I couldn't believe this was happening. Yoh had disappeared, we'd found a pool of his blood, and we found scorch marks next to it. That could only mean one thing: Hao had captured Yoh.

Every thing was in turmoil. No one was sure of anything. HoroHoro kept bothering me about who should be the new leader while Yoh was gone. Lyserg kept ranting about how he was going to kill Hao. And Ryu… well Ryu would repeatedly break out into crying every time Yoh's name was mentioned, which just happened to be every five minutes.

I'd had just about enough of this. The noise was unbearable. The answers to all their problems were so obvious. I was actually contemplating whether or not to just leave them all there.

"DAMARE!" I shouted fiercely at the top of my lungs. That got their undivided attention. "Now, will you all just stop acting like chijin and at least pretend you've got some sense!"

Horo narrowed his eyes. "You're one to talk, Ren. I'd almost say you don't care about Yoh at all!"

I wasn't about to accept that the Ainu could talk to me that way. "Of course I care about Yoh! That's the point I'm trying to get across!" I'd just noticed Ryu had broken into tears again. "Ryu! Stop your pointless whimpering! That's not going to bring Yoh back! What we need to do is calm down! Then maybe we can think of a plan."

Amazingly they all listened to me. They all sat down near the fire. We had decided to leave the cave three days ago, after almost a week of searching for Yoh within the endless cavern. After we found the gruesome scene, we knew there was no hope of finding him there.

We were traveling toward another small town. But now, none of us were really in the mood for asking about Patch Village. I promised to myself, that no matter what, I wouldn't let this team fall apart. I secretly promised that to Yoh too, if he's still alive.

I ventured from the campsite to a small stream. Deciding it would be a good place for a drink, I bent down and cupped my hands, letting the water flow into them. It was quite serene actually, until I heard footsteps behind me.

A figure sauntered out of the shadows. I, only realizing it was Horo, after I'd nearly pulled out my kwan do. I rolled my eyes and ignored him, until he started 'ahem' ing to try and get my attention.

"What do you want, you Ainu-baka?" I sneered rudely. I didn't want to insult him right now, but I was not in the mood for his idiocy.

"I just wanted to ask you something, while we're alone." That last part caught my attention. I stood up and faced him, awaiting his inquiry.

"Well… I was just wondering…" He was extremely hesitant. That was bad, seeing as Horo was far too outgoing. I started to regret allowing him to question me. "Ren, do you like Yoh?"

I raised an eyebrow. "That's it?" He nodded unsurely. "Of course I like Yoh, Horo. That's why we're called friends." He smacked himself, no really, he actually smacked himself.

"I didn't mean like that, Ren." I wasn't entirely sure what he was getting at, until it hit me full on exactly what he was asking.

I felt my face turn extremely hot. I turned away from him, intent on keeping him from seeing my blushing figure. "What… what are you saying, Horo? You think I'm gay?"

"I wasn't… well… pointing that out, I was just wondering… you know… cause you seem upset…" I was getting irritable now.

"I'm upset! What about Ryu! And you ask me if I, the great Tao Ren am in love with Yoh! What are you thinking, kisama!" I immediately took back what I'd just said. I knew I'd sounded a bit too serious. I expected some cold comeback from Horo, but none came. I thought he'd left after my outburst and Ibegan to feel guilty.

A warm hand was gently placed on my shoulder. As I was turning around, an arm wrapped around my waist. Horo had just pulled me into a passionate kiss.

I could feel my face burning, and I attempted to push him away, but my body wouldn't obey any longer. My arms seemed to move of their own accord as they snaked their way around his neck as I leaned into the kiss. I closed my eyes and kissed him back.

I didn't know how long we were there, but it felt like a blissful eternity to me. Horo finally broke the kiss and I gazed into eyes with my flushed face. He looked surprised when I pulled my self closer to him.

"Ren?" He whispered. "Shush Horo." I cooed into his ear. He seemed to understand, so he pulled me tightly against him as I buried my head into his shoulder.

I knew we must have looked like quite a spectacle. Tao Ren in the arms of HoroHoro Usui, but I didn't particularly care anymore. I barely heard someone approaching, but it didn't matter. No sound registered to me, other than Horo's warm breathing, until the approaching person spoke.

"Err… Am I… um… interrupting something?" We immediately let go of each other and turned to see Lyserg looking quite embarrassed that he'd just walked in on two boys having a moment.

Both Horo and I were speechless. I attempted to speak, but it came out as nothing but a small grunt. "You guys don't have to worry, I won't tell anyone. I swear." All Horo and I could do was nod at Lyserg's words. We hastily walked back to camp, I in the lead, Lyserg behind me, and Horo following up the rear.

I didn't get a chance to speak with Horo for the rest of the night. I knew he was avoiding me, humiliated by his earlier actions. If only I could tell what I felt. Unfortunately, not even I knew how to put those to words.

Sorrowful Seraphim: Aw… Ren's in love with Horo…. That's so cute. Alright, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please REVIEW!