A Very Good Liar
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Disclaimer: As much as I wish it so, Shaman King will never be mine. God knows the havoc I'd unleash. This fic revolves around RenPirika, though there are hints of YohAnna and HoroHoroTamao.

I don't own 'Hanging By A Moment' either. Lifehouse does, take it up with them.
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Chapter Three
Interruptions Are Annoying
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"Hello, Tao residence?"

"This is Tao Jun, would you please connect my parents?" She could hear nervous shuffling as the servant realized who he was speaking to. "Of course, Mistress Jun." There was a pause as the manservant linked her phone call to her parent's room. "Hello?" A deep voice echoed into the receiver. It was her father.

"Hello Daddy, Ren has a request." She could hear a dull silence as her father looked at her mother. "What is it now?"

Jun knew that she might regret telling him, her parents were very strict and followed tradition to a fine point tip. 'I better be getting something out of this, Ren...'

Jun cleared her throat and prepared for her father's barrage of curses. "Ren wants you to cancel his engagement."

"WHAT!" the powerful voice bellowed into her ear. She could hear her mother take the phone from her enraged father, who could be heard loudly cursing his son in the back ground. Ran's melodious voice now filled the receiver, "Why would he want to do that, dear? This is only the second time that he's-"

Jun sighed, "Yes, I know...He's not in love with Pirika...He was wrong and doesn't want to get married."

She heard her mother gasp and her father swear. En wrenched the phone from his wife's petite grip and hissed into the phone "We paid a fortune to arrange all this again, and my own son has the indecency to..." Jun heard a pause as her father tried to calm himself. "Tell him that we need to talk, knowing him he asked you to do it."

"Yes Daddy. I'll have Ren call you." She heard her mother take the phone and shoo her father away, "Don't worry about him, tell Ren we're discussing it."

"Oh no, we're not! Getting married is good for him, we already paid a fortune! He's just trying to squirm his way out of something he doesn't want to do! I say we let him squirm!" She could hear her father shouting, she could also mentally see her mother rolling her eyes at En's useless rants.

"Your father loves you, I'll speak with you later dear."

"Goodbye, Mom." She put down the receiver and sighed with relief. She had no clue what exactly Ren had gotten himself into, but whatever it was she hoped that she had nothing more to do with it. Trying to talk her father into something he didn't want to do was hard enough, and she had a feeling that she wasn't a fifth of the way there.

Sure enough, Tao En called back...
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With Ren
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Ren walked to the checkout desk and glanced at he clock. He was fifteen minutes early, and yet, instead of walking away to do something more interesting, he sat down on one of the ornate benches.

Nothing seemed to pass the time besides thinking of Pirika. Though every time he thought of her, he forced himself to think of something else. This made the time until their hour was up pass agonizingly slow.

When he next glanced at the clock, he still had ten minutes. He restrained himself from yelling at the innocent looks people were sending at him and tried to think of anything besides Pirika. ' Why the hell is he looking at me, he has green hair?' By his next glance he had run out of patience, mental insults, and he was getting worried. The clock said that she was five minutes late.

Had he been paying attention, he may have noticed the clerk at the checkout desk discussing the room situation with the azure haired woman Ren was waiting for.

"No, I'm sorry, but we're fresh out of two bed rooms. Your room number is forty-four A, correct?" Pirika grumpily nodded, " Yes, it is." The clerk tapped a few keys on the desk computer, and smiled. "You're engaged, guests whom are engaged get a rooftop room that includes kitchen, bathroom, and living room utilities. But those rooms have only one bed."

Ren seems to finally have noticed her, because he walked up to her and listened to the quarrel. 'One bed!' He saw Pirika's mouth drop open at the clerk's sentence, she immediately blushed and vigorously shook her head "Oh no, I'm not engaged! There must be some kind of mistake!" The color drained out of Ren's face, 'Dear God. She's going to murder me...'

A plan came to mind, it was pure genius. He tapped Pirika's shoulder and asked, "What's the problem, Pirika?" She turned, finally noticing the Chinese shaman. "They think we're engaged! And our room only has one bed!" she shouted incredulously. Ren turned to the man at the counter, "There must have been a mistake, we aren't engaged and don't plan on getting married until we're twenty-five," Ren could see the obvious discomfort on Pirika's face, so he forced the blood to rush to his face and said, "And we don't sleep together..."

The clerk was also put into discomfort as he caught the glances that the crowd that they were attracting threw at him. He sighed and looked sincerely apologetic as he said, "I'm sorry, but we cannot change your room. I also apologize for the mistake, our management looked into it and gave you a rooftop room. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, the resort could give you the access to areas that regular guests are not allowed to go to, such places that can only be attended by engaged or married couples. Consider it our way of making the most of your situation and apologizing for our mistake." The clerk was now bowing profusely and muttering useless profanities about the resort management.

Ren nodded curtly and glared just because he liked the effect, "Good, and what can you do about the single bed?" The clerk gulped loudly and avoided the gaze of the Chinese shaman before him. "There is nothing I can do, sir." The 'sir' comment made Ren smirk. He liked making the taller, older man feel smaller than himself.

Still, Ren sighed. This meant one of them would be sleeping on the couch, he would probably end up being that person too. "Stop calling me 'sir', Mr. Tao would suffice." He inwardly laughed as he saw the clerk's eyes widen. "Tao Jun is my elder sister. No need to look surprised!"

His amusement at the man's embarrassment would have continued, if Pirika had not nudged him in the ribs. It made him wince, as she was pointedly staring at him. He got the message and reluctantly turned away from his fun. Pirika sighed in relief and dragged him to their room.

Since there was nothing else to do and no conversation had started, Ren took in the majesty and splendor of the fine establishment known as the Shaman Ski Resort. Everything, even the benches that were occasionally placed near a wall, was ornate and looked expensive. Jun must've had to do a lot of convincing to get her father to go with the billions that she probably spent on the furniture alone. Luckily, though, the Tao fortune was very expansive to everyone except Ren, who had lost his share for his disobedience to his father, Tao En.

There were many people in the halls, though none gave the pair a fleeting glance, being too absorbed in their partner to care. Ren openly showed his disgust, he was practically drowning in the sweetness and absurdity of it all. 'PDA should be banned. ' Ren silently vowed that he would never do anything remotely close to the act of placing one's lips on any part of another's body. But he couldn't help but wonder...

'I wonder if I'll ever get to kiss Pirika like that?' he thought as he gazed upon a couple that were sitting on a bench, kissing their partner sweetly and intimately. Ren, after realizing what, exactly, he had thought, started gagging. Pirika, however, took no notice of this whatsoever. She continued to drag Ren to the elevator, who cussed himself out the first three stories they traveled upwards for thinking of such sin.

Pirika chose at this time to talk, "Where would they get the idea that we're engaged? That's disgusting! I mean, we aren't right?" Ren, surprisingly, felt slightly hurt at her words. "Not anymore...but looking at the bright side of things, we get a fifty inch television." Pirika glanced at Ren,"Where did you learn to look on the bright side of things?"

Ren grinned, "From Yoh, Asparagus Head-" He stopped as she hit him over the head. Okay, maybe he deserved that. "Not to mention my sister has been making me talk to her more, and you know how enlightening that can be, and... And you." They were both blushing when Ren said this. Pirika turned away, "You don't have to say that. No one's here..."

Desperate for changing,
Starving for truth,
Closer to where I started,
I'm chasing after you.

Ren sighed and caught her chin in his fingers, forcing her to face him. "I'm serious. You look on the bright side of everything, even when your brother was beaten by both Yoh and myself. You helped me..." Pirika turned beet red and was reminded of the time she had almost kissed the yellow eyed shaman.

I'm fallin' even more in love with you.
Letting go of all I've held on to.
I'm standing here until you make me move.
I'm hanging by a moment here with you.

She could've sworn that Ren was closer to her than he had been a moment ago. But then she realized that she too, was moving toward him. Ren's eyes showed a hidden emotion that she could not place, but they definitely held truth.

Forgetting all I'm lacking,
Completely incomplete,
I'll take your invitation,
You take all of me.

Her mind was screaming for her to stop looking into his hypnotic pools of gold. But her struggle was futile. Her breath had been stolen from her lungs and her voice long since gone. She didn't even so much as gasp when Ren put his hands at her waist and started pulling her closer to his body.

Now I'm fallin' even more in love with you.
Letting go of all I've held on to.
I'm standing here until you make me move.
I'm hanging by a moment here with you.

Ren was reminded of just how close he and the azure haired Ainu had gotten over the past two days. He had shared some of his deepest secrets with her that he had a difficult time explaining to his sister over the course of eleven years. He had agreed to do whatever she wanted, if that's what she wanted, when they got to the resort.

I'm living for the only thing I know.
I'm running and I'm not quite sure where to go.
And I don't know what I'm diving into.
Just hanging by a moment here with you.

He recalled that he had wanted to kiss her awhile ago. And he found himself looking towards her lips. A symbol of purity, innocence, they drew him in. Before he could take control over his actions, his hands wove their way around her waist, unconsciously pulling her snug against his body.

There's nothing else to lose.
There's nothing else to find.
There's nothing in the world,
That could change my mind.

'It wouldn't be so bad to kiss her would it?' the purple haired boy thought. 'We're just acting after all. Yeah, that's all this is...Acting...'

There is nothing else.
There is nothing else.
There is nothing else.

Pirika subconsciously wrapped her arms around his neck. Surprise lanced through Ren's eyes, but it was soon quieted as he fell into a trance, staring at her lips. She knew that in the next few seconds, the inevitable would happen...

Desperate for changing,
Starving for truth,
Closer to where I started,
I'm chasing after you.

No matter how loudly his mind screamed that this was wrong, it felt right to him. Ren remembered what he told Jun. He told her that Pirika was his best friend. He knew that the inevitable would happen, she wouldn't be his best friend anymore...

I'm fallin' even more in love with you.
Letting go of all I've held on to.
I'm standing here until you make me move.
I'm hanging by a moment here with you.

But he didn't care at all as he stooped to claim her lips, he knew he wouldn't lose her, because the inevitable has the sickest sense of humor. And he knew that he had, somehow, fallen in love with an actress...

I'm living for the only thing I know.
I'm running and I'm not quite sure where to go.
And I don't know what I'm diving into.
Just hanging by a moment here with you.

Pirika knew it was there, the whole eleven years she had known the arrogant bastard that now stooped to kiss her, the spark that kept her from having a civil conversation with Ren. She was just so afraid, she had denied it since she saw his handsome, glaring face. But she had a feeling that he felt it too. The inevitable fact that would change her life, was always right in front of her... She had fallen in love with a very good liar...

Just hanging by a moment.
Hanging by a moment.
Hanging by a moment.
Hanging by a moment here with you...

Just when their lips were about to connect the elevator halted on the fourteenth floor, making a ding as the elevator doors slid open. Passerbys and people waiting to use the elevator smiled at the pair. Ren and Pirika both turned tomato red and pulled reluctantly away from each other. They willed themselves to forget what happened as they stepped out of the elevator, but their efforts went to waste.

On the way to the hotel room, Ren was mentally kicking himself, angry for allowing himself to forget that it was a prank and thinking that there was any chance she wasn't acting. 'But in the elevator, she wrapped her arms around my neck... That has to mean she feels something... No, she couldn't love an arrogant, Chinese, sadistic, sarcastic, violent person like me.' He thought thinking back to their argument in the car. He remembered how sincerely he asked her what she liked about him, and how truthfully she answered.

Pirika said nothing to Ren as she led the way to forty-four A, she was so involved in her thoughts that she wished she could just sit down on one of the benches. 'He couldn't have meant what he said, what he was about to do. But he held me close and looked sincere... Maybe that was my mistake... Falling in love with a very good liar.'

Both of their thoughts were cut off abruptly when they reached the room. Elegantly carved into it were the number and letter symbols that would be the indication of where they would spend the next three days together. At this thought Ren seriously considered sleeping in the car.

Pirika slipped the key card into it's slot and opened the door when the light went from red to green. As they walked in the room Ren stared in awe. Pirika had done that earlier, but was not nearly as surprised as Ren was.

The entire room had been fashioned as neatly and ornately as the Tao mansion, though it was not as Chinese. 'Does it matter? I'm going to spend most of my time arguing with my parents about the engagement, I won't have time to spend gawking at the decorations.' For some reason Pirika entered his mind. He looked over at her, admiring her beauty. He wouldn't have called it beauty, he would've called it the sunlight that shone in through the window reflecting off of her face.

He watched her walk out onto the balcony. It took all of his willpower to not run out just to make sure that she was okay. 'Of course she's okay. She's just walking out onto the balcony... But what if she falls? And I can't catch her because I wasn't there...' He was so involved in his internal conflict that he had not removed his eyes from Pirika's back.

Pirika cold feel his stares like they were boring holes into her spine. She turned around and saw Ren standing on the other side of the room. She grinned and walked closer to the edge of the balcony. She laughed when Ren took a step closer to the doorway out onto the balcony, and still stood ten feet away from the door. "What's wrong, Ren? Care to join me out here?"

She smirked when Ren looked from side to side and shook his head, "I think I'll stay inside, thanks." He frowned when Pirika laughed at him again, "What is it that you find so funny, pray tell?" She grinned as she prepared her taunt. "Nothing, unless you count the great Tao Ren being afraid of heights humorous, that is."

Ren blushed and crossed his arms, glaring at Pirika. "That's got nothing to do with it." Pirika laughed again, "Oh my God, you really are afraid of heights! That was just a guess, but I thought that a Tao isn't afraid of everything." Ren blushed and took a threatening step forward, "I am not afraid of heights!"

"Are too."

"I'm not afraid of anything!"

"Except being tickled and heights."

"I am not afraid!" He spat out the word like it was a hot piece of coal. Pirika grinned and beckoned him closer, "Why don't you prove that by coming out here? Unless you really are afraid?" Ren gritted his teeth and stepped towards the balcony until he was in the doorway. Truth was that he really didn't like heights, and his fear that had been shoved away for years returned full blast. He stopped there, and looked up at the taunting, Ainu girl.

Panic seized his heart when he saw her sitting on the ledge. He wasn't even thinking when he ran over to her, lifted her off the ledge, and set her on the stone bench that was placed conveniently nearby. Pirika sat on the bench, blushing as he didn't remove his hands from her waist. The way Ren rushed over, she had been afraid that he meant to push her off, but he had only lifted her up and placed her on the bench. His hands were warm through her sweater, her ocean blue eyes locked with his.

"You should be more careful, you could've fallen..." he murmured, a deep truth crossing over his features as his gaze and expression softened. She was close to him again, he fell in love with her all over again. And there was nothing he could do as he started to, for the second time that day, lean down to press his lips to hers. He kneeled down so he was at her level instead of stooping, his arms working on their own as he pulled her closer.

"I could have lost you...I don't want to lose you to a ledge..." he whispered, his breath tickling her face as they began to close the gap between their faces. Pirika was beet red, remembering that he'd said that phrase years ago on a different balcony, but she made no attempt to pull away, or shirk his touch. His warmth as he pulled her closer was lulling her to sleep almost. Barely conscious, she was awoken when she felt his lips lightly press against hers, as light as the wind can weigh on a bathroom scale. A shock went through her body at the small touch. She was disappointed when he looked up at Horohoro, letting Pirika slip out of his arms.

"What do you want?" Ren agravatedly questioned the brainless Ainu, who was clueless as to what he had just interrupted. Horohoro waited until Ren stood up from his kneeling position and said, "I was wondering if you two wanted to join us, we're going to go to the arcade!"

Ren frowned, "Who's 'we'?" Horohoro had a large smile pasted on is face when he said, "Yoh and Anna, and Tamao and... and... uh..."

"You?" Ren supplied, smirking at the stupidity of the Ainu man. "Yeah!" Horohoro said, acting like the enthused little boy he is. Ren rolled his eyes and was about to say something when Pirika cut in, "Sorry, we're still putting away our things. We'll see you in an hour or two, okay?" Horohoro grinned slyly at Ren, which completely freaked him out. Both of the boys watched her as she walked back inside the room. Ren only looked up from her when Horohoro cleared his throat.

"What?" he asked the now serious faced Horohoro, who still grinned at him, but with slightly less vigor than before. "You know what." Ren frowned at the over-reacting boy, "Actually, no I don't." That made Horohoro frown, 'Trying to avoid the subject, huh? Well, you've got another thing coming my dear brother-in-law...' He jumped down onto the balcony, landing with a thud on his ass (AN: Pardon my French.). He grumbled as he rubbed his backside, trying to get up and regain whatever dignity he had left. He got right up in Ren's face and pointed his finger at the slightly shorter man's nose, saying in a deadly whisper, "Don't you even think about sleeping with her!"

Ren blinked several times. He honestly expected something different. But he grinned and decided to tease the Ainu man, "Actually, I was planning on screwing her senseless." Horohoro's eyes widened at the gall Ren showed. His face turned a pale shade of purple as he shouted, "DON'T YOU TOUCH MY SISTER! I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL MURDER YOU, YOU'LL RUE-"

"The day I was born. Yes, I know. I was just jerking your chain." Ren said as he grinned at Horohoro, who was slowly inching closer to Ren. "Pirika, tell your brother that he's overstayed his welcome." Ren called into the room, crossing his arms in front of his chest in victory. Horohoro smirked at Ren and whispered, "Yeah right, she's not going to-"

"Onii-chan, go have a fun time with Tamao. She's probably tired of waiting for you, considering how long she waited for you to fess up to your infatuation with her!" Horohoro's jaw dropped open, Ren's smirk widened and he whispered, "Ouch...Sayonara (Good bye) Asparagus-Head!" Horohoro would have struck him if Pirika had not walked out onto the balcony. She pushed her brother through the doorway and out the door of the room, him shouting profanities all the way.

"Don't you dare touch her, Ren! Stop it Pirika, that hurts!" He shouted when Pirika grabbed hold of his ear. When they were in the hallway she scolded Horohoro for yelling so loudly, among other things. Horohoro and Pirika both turned red when Ren snuck up behind the female sibling and snaked his arms around her waist, resting his head on her shoulder. "Yes, Horohoro, you were yelling much too loudly. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to get back to unpacking." He said as he nuzzled Pirika's neck, making her grow even more red from embarrassment. Horohoro did not find it amusing, like Pirika secretly did, in fact, he was purple with rage. Ren made quite a show of leading Pirika into the room, kicking the door shut with his foot. He heard a thud as Horohoro leaped for him but hit the door instead.

The pair laughed as they heard Horohoro moan in pain and crawl away. They continued to laugh as Pirika's weight brought them to their knees, and soon to the floor, Ren falling on top of her. They slowly stopped laughing, Ren had managed to grab her wrists and hold them above her head. Reminded of the last time they ended up on the floor, (AN: When we found out Ren was ticklish.) they blushed at the proximity of their faces, and the position they were in.

But, having already been interrupted three times, Ren wasn't going to give up that easily. He knew who he loved, and what he wanted from her, and he severely hoped he got it. (AN: Not that, you hentais perverts, lechers!) His breathing got heavier as he shifted his weight off of her wrists and onto his knees, which were being pulled up, making him straddle her waist.

Pirika blushed at their new position, but was startled when Ren moved his hands from her wrists to her own hands. He closed his fingers around her hand. She did as well, looking up at him as he pulled her hands away from above her head. She blushed when he lifted her fingers to his mouth, kissing them tenderly.

"I just want to kiss you..." he whispered, moving her hands from his lips to his neck. They automatically started pulling him closer, as he braced his arms on either side of her head. 'I just want to kiss her, I want to know what I'll be missing out on... Is she actually accepting me? Who the hell cares, she's here and I'm here, and that's all that matters...' Ren thought as he lowered himself down slowly on her.

Pirika's blush was long gone as she thought, 'He wants to kiss me? Does that mean... No, it couldn't. But why did I have to fall in love with such a damn good liar!... But he looks sincere... And I want to kiss him too...' She continued to pull him downwards, despite the warnings that her mind screamed at her. Just as their lips were about to meet there was a loud beep, signaling that the door was open.

As infuriated as Ren was at the distraction, he really wanted to kiss her. He would have succeeded to, if Pirika did not turn her head at the last moment to look at their visitor. As a gasp came from Pirika's mouth, a groan of disappointment flew from Ren's as he buried himself in her hair and desperately tried not to cry.

"I can see that I've interrupted something... I'll just..." Ren froze when he heard Jun's voice. He reluctantly looked away from his prize and towards his sister, the person who had interrupted his kiss. He found himself blushing a beet red, Pirika was doing the same underneath him. It was then that Ren realized their suggestive position. He refused to make eye contact with Pirika as he rolled off of her, then got up and brushed himself off.

He reached down and helped Pirika up, trying to be casual. "Arigatou (thank you), Ren..." He weakly nodded as he walked over to Jun, "No, it's okay. You weren't interrupting, what do you want?" Jun was furiously blushing, she could see right through her Ottouto (little brother), she had walked in on something big. "I need to talk with you." Ren nodded and walked out of the room, Jun followed.

They walked a distance away from Pirika's hearing range when Jun turned to Ren. She looked embarrassed as she said, "Gomen nasai (I'm very sorry) if I interrupted you, but you needed to hear the news. You said you didn't love Pirika, so I assumed that nothing would be going on... You weren't going to-"

"No! Nothing was going on, it was irrelevant. And I don't love her, she's my best friend!" Jun grinned and took hold of her chance to tease her brother, "Ren, you were going to kiss her. She had her arms around your neck! Something was going on, and I want to know what."

Ren sighed at his sister's straightforwardness (AN: Is that even a word?), and put his hands in his pockets. "I put her arms there, I just wanted to kiss her, it's not like it's serious or anything..." He winced at his sister's squeal of delight, then she grabbed his shoulders and peered into his eyes.

"You weren't forcing yourself on her, were you? I want the truth, Ren." she said, the happiness in her voice completely evaporated. Ren's eyes widened and he blushed, trying to tear himself from his sister's iron grip. "No! Now let go of me, I only wanted to kiss her!" Jun seemed satisfied with her brother's answer and went back to being happy.

"That's good, Ren, if you wanted to kiss her then you obviously feel something for her!" Her rants went on for a few more minutes, Ren rolling his eyes at her enthusiasm. "What's the news you had for me?" he interrupted her. Jun stopped ranting and her face paled a little, "Umm... Well, I talked to mother and father, and father says that he wants to talk to you..." Ren growled out, "Of course he wants to talk about it! Why the hell can't he just call it off!"

"Hethinksgettingmarriedisgoodforyouandhe'scomingtotheresorttotalkwithyouandseePirikaagain!" Ren narrowed his eyes, "Say that again..."

"Well, he thinks that getting married is good for you and he wants to see Pirika again, he's always had a soft spot for her, so he's decided to come to the resort." Jun prepared herself for the onslaught that she thought Ren would throw at her. She looked sideways at her brother, who was rapping his head against the wall.

She rushed over to Ren and pulled him away from the wall. "Stop it, Ren! There's a way around this!" Ren grimly smiled, "And what might that be? The way I see it, there's no way out of this but causing myself so much pain that I'm sent to the hospital."

Jun grabbed him before he could go back to the wall, "I told father that you were not in love with Pirika, if he comes and sees that, then he'll cancel your engagement." Ren looked up at Jun, hope in his eyes. "He said that?"

Jun bit her lip, "No, but Mother is coming. She always manages to convince him to do things he doesn't want to. So all you have to really do is convince Mother!" Ren sighed as he leaned back against the wall. He slid down to the floor and muttered, "Let's hope that you're right... For Pirika's sake if nothing else."

Jun would have said something, but was interrupted when Eric came running up. "Mistress Jun, there is something we need to discuss. It involves the-" he was cut off when he noticed the sulking Ren. A large grin appeared on his face when he recognized the Chinese shaman.

"Could we speak privately?" Jun nodded and turned to her little brother, "Ren, Father wont be here for a week, an important business trip has come up. Why don't you and Pirika go have some fun? Not too much fun though." She grinned when Ren blushed, "It's not like that!" Jun shook her head, "Just go unpack your things and go to the arcade with Yoh and the others, enjoy your stay here! It was kind of the whole point I built the resort, you know, to let others have fun. See you."

She leaned down and kissed Ren's forehead, much to his embarrassment. "Don't do that!" he yelled, vigorously rubbing his forehead with his sleeve. Jun giggle at his antics, "Gomen (sorry), I just couldn't resist, your just such a handsome young man. Pirika's a very lucky woman." She laughed when Ren turned an interesting shade of pink. Ren glared at his sister as she and Eric walked to the elevator.

He got up and walked back to room forty-four A, stopping in front of the door and smiling. 'I think you're wrong Jun... I think I'm the lucky one, lucky to have her even in just the way I do now...' He inserted his key card and walked in at the green signal. No one came to greet him at the loud beeping noise, the azure haired Ainu girl was nowhere in sight.

All of their things had been put away into the drawers that were provided by the management. He frowned, she did this all by herself, he was too busy to help her. A post-it note was stuck to the TV screen. Ren grabbed it and read the elegantly written words;

'Dear Ren,

I put away all of our things, your stuff's in the left section on the drawers. I put your laptop on the table, your spear is in the closet. You were out there talking with Jun for a while, mind if I ask what about? Never mind... about earlier... are you feeling okay? I'm in the shower right now, so stay out of the bathroom for a bit!

Thanks,

Pirika'

He crumpled up the note and threw it in the trash can. He went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. It was chock full of different kinds of foods from Ren and Pirika's different nationalities. He closed the refrigerator and opened the freezer. He jumped back at what he saw.

Piled among the different frozen foods, was a cake. It was chocolate with white frosting and had 'Happy Engagement' scrawled in light blue icing on the top. "Shit!" Ren whispered, taking out the cake and setting it on the counter. He got out a black plastic bag and shoved the cake into it's depths. Like he needed to remember (AN: Take note of the sarcasm!)...

He then deposited the bag in the trash can that was under the kitchen sink. He took a good look through the rest of the room, looking for any more surprises. He found a few stand up notes that said various forms of 'Happy Engagement', even a couple numbers for different wedding planners. Exasperatedly, Ren shoved the things into the black bag.

He heard something through the living room wall as he researched the room for any unpleasant reminders. It was a girl ordering around a guy, the guy seemed to be apologizing profusely. Ren grinned and walked out of the apartment, toward forty-four B. He knocked gingerly on the door, fearing that one of the people behind the door might not appreciate his intrusion.

"Yoh, get the door."

"Hai (yes), Anna." Yoh went to the door and opened it to a smirking Tao Ren. "Hi, Ren!" Yoh smiled at Ren. Ren still smirked, "You're the Shaman King, Yoh. Does she really still push you around?" Yoh rubbed the back of his neck and grinned at the purple haired shaman, "Yeah, but she's gonna be the Shaman Queen. How did you know that this was our room?"

"I heard you through the wall, my room number is forty-four A." Yoh grinned slyly at Ren. "Why does everyone keep doing that?" Ren yelled at him, quite frustrated. "Because it's fun to tease you! And don't you mean 'Pirika and I share room forty-four A'?" Ren blushed and glared at Yoh, "So what if I didn't specify?"

"Hello, Ren." Ren was startled when Anna appeared next to her fiancé. He took a step back, just in case she chose to slap him for his disruption. She had a mean slap. "Come on in." She pulled Yoh back into the room, Ren followed uncertainly. Their room looked about the same as Pirika and his own room. With one difference, their fridge probably only contained Japanese food. And they probably didn't mind the cake...

"How did you know our room number, Ren?" Anna calmly asked the nervous shaman. "I heard you through the wall, I was in room forty-four A." Anna nodded at his satisfactory answer, "Who were you visiting?" This question confused Ren, "What do you mean? That's the room Pirika and I were given."

The itako's eyes widened and she stared at Ren incredulously. She opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out. So she sat there for three minutes, staring at Ren. At least until Yoh got worried and tapped her shoulder, "Are you okay, Anna?"

She snapped out of her stupor and her gaze hardened until she was glaring at Ren. Who was slowly edging backwards, lest she strike him. "You two are engaged?" Yoh blinked at his friend and fiancé, feeling like he was missing a piece of the puzzle (AN: Yoh can be dense at times. Ne?)

Yoh still looked between his friend and fiancé, looking very lost indeed as Ren took a big step backwards. "Well, you have to swear not to mention this to anyone or I'll burn out your pupils with a hot stick."

"Whatever." Yoh said, this comment was coupled with a glare from his fiancé. When Ren blushed it was real, this was sacred information that had been confined to the darkest parts of secretdom (AN: Again, is that even a word?), should he really trust the Shaman King and Queen with it?

"Pirika and I have known each other for eleven years, since I was six. When we were young we were meant to wed by twenty-one, like you two. It didn't work out, so the engagement got cancelled a year after the tournament..." Anna blinked and said in an I-get-it-now tone, "That's why you and Pirika weren't able to have a civil conversation the entire time you stayed with us."

"It also explains why Horohoro always fought with you over pointless things."

"Well, Horohoro hasn't always hated me..."

"What do you mean?" asked Anna. Yoh scratched his head in confusion (AN: And you thought he got it by now...). "We used to be best friends, until... I went back to China. Heh, then he kind of blamed me for making his sister cry when I was forced to leave by my father."

"So... You two have been engaged longer than Anna and I?" Ren blushed harder and said "Yeah, we have..." Anna's glare subsided, "Fine, now that you have answered my questions you may leave." Ren glared at her, only to receive one back. "I could've left before... I just didn't feel like it." with that he left the room.

As he made his way back into the room, he noticed that the bathroom door was open. Ren looked around for Pirika, but no azure caught his eye. Ren simply shrugged it off and walked over to the table. He sat down and opened his laptop, enjoying the small pleasures that had been bestowed upon him by the value of money.

He got online and looked for the resort's homepage. He found it and clicked on a link that would take him to a list of the different things that the resort had listed as activities. Some that caught his eye were: Indoor Pool, Arcade, Gym, and, of course, Snowboarding/Skiing on Spirit Mountain.

Then he remembered the areas that he had been given access to by the unlucky man who had been at the check-out/check-in desk. He looked until he found the link, when he clicked it brought him to a short list that included: Spa, Mountain Climbing, Bar (AN: Don't worry, no underage people are allowed, I just wanted to mention it for the older guests.), and a Theatre.

"Not bad, not bad at all... Jun's overdone herself this time." he said as he looked at the list of activities again. He was distracted from his viewing by a sigh that came through the open doors of the balcony. He didn't even bother to shut down his laptop as he lost control of his body, which pulled him out onto the balcony.

'What the hell? There's no one out here...' he observed as he scanned the full length of the balcony, not having the time to fully appreciate it's majesty earlier. He heard a humming from above and looked up at the ladder that was attached to the wall. He looked warily above as he clutched the prongs on the infernal contraption.

It was a short climb to the roof top of the resort, but Ren took his time to secure a firm grip on each prong as he made his way upward. Never once did he look down, for vertigo is not a good thing to have at such a high altitude. He exhaled a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, relief finally allowing him to take control of his senses as he climbed onto the rooftop.

He gasped for air and resisted the urge to kiss the gravely surface of the ceiling that capped rooms forty-four A through forty-six C. Looking up at the humming noise his jaw dropped. For there, in the orange glow of the setting sun, sat a beautiful maiden whom he would love to rush to, just to lift her into his arms to hold her. Pirika, a child of Heaven itself, was humming a foreign tune. And Ren, the spawn of Hell's own Lucifer, was captivated, realizing his love for the angel for the fourth time...
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Thanks for all the reviews! Two chapters and I already have nine reviews, wow!

Anyway, I have a character all set up for Pirika's old friend (Thanks, DayDrEaMiNg-child), so if you still want to contribute ideas, that's fine, I'll mix them all together somehow! Appreciate it! You will be given credit!

Now, if you choose to recall, Ren had admitted to himself he loved Pirika in the elevator, but what about the first two times? If any of you are still reading out there, I apologize for everyone's OOCness. Sincerely I do.

Next chapter focuses on a flashback, the first time Ren realized he loved Pirika. In the flashback Ren is six years old, Pirika is five. And as an explanation for the ages, love knows no boundaries. Stay tuned for my next chapter; Playing With the Butterflies. Confused? Good, stay that way.