Full Summary: After a few months of being apart, Kishu decides to pay Ren and his friends a visit. But that visit starts a better relationship for two of Kishu's friends. Packed with crazy antics, awkward situations, dramatic scenes, mischievous plans, witty humor, and a lot more. Pairings include- Tokyo Mew Mew: Lettuce+Pai, Ichigo+Kishu, Taruto+Pudding, Ryou+Keiichiro. Shaman King: Jun+Pyron.
Chapter 1: An Encounter with a Crazy Man
In The Shaman Dimension
It had been around a month or two since Kishu left for his dimension. Lyserg had left to join the X-Laws and Ren and his friends had met a new companion, Chocolove. Jun, Anna, Faust, Eliza, Tamao, and Manta who joined them right after Kishu left are still with them, and they have been traveling together for what seemed like a longer time than it actually was. They had explained to Anna and the others about the encounter they had had with Kishu and all his friends, but they Anna not believe it. They had just reached Patch Village, where the second round of the Shaman fight was to be held. Ren had lately been thinking a lot about his brother, and been slinking off in the middle of the night to think with Bason. He had also been thinking of the encounter with Hao he had had about a week ago, when he had asked him to join him and his comrades, to fight against Yoh and his friends. Ren had still not given him his answer and none of his friends new about the offer.
We join Ren at a waterfall near the village with Bason, sitting in the grass at the waters edge and meditating alone and peacefully. Or so he thought.
"REN!" exclaimed two voices from behind him.
Ren immediately jumped out of his mind, and almost slipped off of the edge and into the water.
"What was that for you idiot?" snapped Ren getting up and turning to the annoyances that had so rudely awoken him. It was of course, Horo Horo and Chocolove.
"I just thought…" Horo Horo didn't finish. Ren shoved him into the water, and he landed belly down with a huge splash. He turned to Chocolove, and threw him in to, he didn't even have a chance to defend himself.
Ren straitened his hair and stared down at the water.
Horo Horo and Chocolove emerged frowning. "Hey!" Horo Horo said spitting out water.
"Master Ren…forgive me for speaking without permission, but you could have handled that much smoother…" said Bason.
"Excuse me? What was that?" Ren said coldly.
"I-I'm sorry, it was nothing Master…" stuttered Bason.
"That's what I thought." Ren said turning to Horo Horo and Chocolove, who were climbing awkwardly out of the water.
"Brrr! That water sure wakes you up at this time of the night!" said Chocolove shivering, fluffing his afro back up to its normal hight.
Horo Horo was apparently not concerned about his wet clothes and hair, for he was from the North. Kororo, however, was not so forgiving. She was shaking the water out furiously (for the little Koropokkoru had been in Horo Horo's hair at the time he fell) and decided to give Ren the cold shoulder until he apologized, which she knew would probably be never.
"What are you doing following me out at this time of night?" asked Ren, annoyed at this disturbance.
"We just wondered where you've went every night we've been here." Horo Horo said shaking out his wet spiky hair.
"Yeah, we have a right to know, we are your team mates Ren, and you chose us yourself." Chocolove said, followed by a sneeze.
"Well that's no reason to go spy on someone." Ren said crossing his arms.
"So you don't like people spying on you?" said another voice from atop the water fall. It sounded much like Yoh, but unfortunately it was someone much, much more evil.
They all turned to see Hao, with the spirit of fire behind him. He was grinning a menacing insanely wide grin, his long, long brown hair blowing in the small breeze, making him look even more insane. Chocolove was afraid of him for a second. At Hao's ankles was none other than Opacho, smiling almost as wide as his master/friend.
"What do you want Hao?" exclaimed Horo Horo pointing at the crazy man standing at the top of the water fall.
"Ren." He said grinning wider (if that was possible)
"WHAT?" screamed Horo Horo and Chocolove in unison.
"About a week ago, I asked Ren here to join me in my quest to become Shaman King. I never got my answer for I was interrupted by you two." Hao explained a little impatient (which was odd for him).
"So that's what you were doing there?" asked Chocolove.
"Yes. Now Ren, what is your answer?" asked Hao narrowing his eyes to slits.
"No." Ren said simply.
"What was that?" said Hao, his smile changing to a frown. "Did you just deny my friendship?"
"Yes."
"What?"
"I said yes."
"You are refusing to join me? Why is that?"
"I don't wish to fight along side you, I do not believe in your reasons for becoming Shaman King. If you had asked me a few months ago, I would have said yes. But I have changed, Hao."
"But I am not only asking you to fight with me, I want to be your friend as well. Don't you want to have friends, Ren?" said Hao, a hint of smile returning.
"I already have enough friends." Ren said gesturing to Horo Horo and Chocolove, who by now were more confused then they had been for a long time.
"Friends?" said Chocolove, a tear forming in the corner of his eye.
"Yes, but don't tell anyone." Ren said rolling his eyes. Chocolove sneezed again.
Hao had now almost lost his temper, which was hard for Hao to have happen to him. "I am only going to ask one more time Tao Ren. Will you fight along side me in my quest to become Shaman King?" he said, a vein pulsing in his temple. "Think about it Ren, I am a lot stronger than, those two. I can help you to gain power to defeat my brother once and for all. Isn't that what you want?"
"I can defeat him on my own, Hao. I will be the Shaman King. In turn, I will defeat you as well. So still, my answer is no.
"You heard him, he said no." said Chocolove putting his elbow on Ren's shoulder.
"Don't touch me." Ren said shoving his elbow off.
"Fine. Than I will fight you for you." Hao said smirking.
"What?" said Horo Horo.
"Ren, I will fight you. If I win: you join me. If you win: you get the glory of defeating me, the all mighty Hao Asakura." Hao said raising his chin a little.
"You can actually see his head getting bigger." Chocolove whispered to Horo Horo.
"Don't speak about Hao-sama like that!" scowled Opacho at Chocolove.
"And what if I refuse?" asked Ren.
"Than I will kill your sister." Hao answered removing a strand of hair from his face.
A look of fear struck Ren's face for a moment, but he quickly recovered himself.
"Ah, have I struck a soft spot Ren?" asked Hao, amused at his discomfort.
"You wouldn't." said Ren.
"Oh, but I will. And you know I can, don't you." Hao said smiling what almost looked like a sincere smile.
Ren hesitated. "Fine. I accept."
"Good. I knew you would." Hao said.
"We should go Hao-sama…" said Opacho looking up at his master/friend.
"All right Opacho." Hao said petting his little friends head. "I shall see you at noon tomorrow, Ren, right here." Hao and Opacho disappeared into thin air, and were gone.
The three stood in silence for a full three minutes. It was Bason who spoke first:
"Master, we should head back to the diner, the others will be worrying."
Ren looked at Bason, and then nodded slightly. They began to walk back to the village, still in silence.
But again, the silence was broken a moment later.
"So…Ren…how do you suppose you will be able to defeat Hao? I mean, you are strong and all, but Hao is like…god strong." Horo Horo said watching his feat as he stepped.
"I really don't know." Ren said slowly.
"Come on you guys, lets stop all this sad gloomy behavior, and tell a joke or something!" said Chocolove, trying to brighten the mood.
"Are you going to tell it?" asked Ren.
"Of course!"
"Then no."
"What?"
"You know why. You're jokes all suck." Horo Horo chuckled punching Chocolove's arm playfully.
"Hey! They do not!" said Chocolove frowning.
"Yes they do." Ren said, a hint of smile showing on his usually angry face.
"Well, I did manage to brighten the mood!" said Chocolove smiling.
They arrived at the diner just then, Silva and Kalim were behind the counter serving tea to Yoh and Anna, and everyone else was sitting somewhere or another around the diner.
"There you are!" said Jun jumping up and grabbing Ren's arm. She pulled him to the table her and Pyron were sitting at. Chocolove and Horo Horo sat down next to him. "Where on earth have you three been?" asked Jun shoveling rice onto a plate she got especially for Ren.
"Um…actually, we had an encounter with Hao." Chocolove said awkwardly.
Everyone in the diner stopped eating.
"What?" asked Jun.
"He asked Ren something." Horo Horo said.
"What did he ask?" asked Ryu sitting at the next table.
"He asked me to join him." said Ren casually drinking a sip of milk.
"WHAT? You said no, right?" said Yoh jumping up.
"Of course, what do you take me for?" snapped Ren.
"Oh, ok then, that's all good." Yoh said settling back into his seat.
"There's more." Horo Horo said between bites of food.
"More?" asked Manta, who was down at Yoh's ankles, just as Opacho had been for Hao.
"Yeah, Hao challenged Ren to a fight. If Ren wins, he gets the glory of defeating Hao, if Hao wins, Ren joins him, but if he refuses," Horo Horo paused. "Jun is killed."
"What?" said Jun, shocked that she had been involved.
"I said I'd accept." Ren said taking another sip.
"How do you expect to defeat him? He is like, all powerful man." Yoh said searching for some granola in his pocket.
"Well, we're going to fight with him." said Chocolove, sneezing again.
"You are?" asked Ren.
"Yeah, of course, unless Hao says we can't…" said Horo Horo sucking down a piece of cake.
Ren paused, and smiled. "Thank you."
Everyone finished dinner, all trying to avoid the subject of Ren and Hao, and then started up to there rooms. Ryu, Faust, Manta and Yoh went up first, all being forced by Anna. They were followed by everyone else, all taking there sweet time. Jun hugged Ren goodnight, and went up right before Ren, Chocolove and Horo Horo, who eventually all went up to their room as well.
Chocolove and Horo Horo fell asleep fast, the snoring was enough to keep Ren up, but that's not why he lied awake in his cot, nor was the fact that he was fighting Hao the next day. It was actually the fact that he was missing his brother. For the first time in his life, he missed someone who was not Jun.
