DarkTaoAngel: This update isn't too terribly late, so I hope I didn't keep any of you waiting for very long! I've been drawing lots lately, and I've been really busy, but I think you'll like this chapter. You all must know by now how much I like torturing Ren, so I'm sorry if I made it seem like he's going to die. He still might! Read this chapter to find out. Not that many plot twists here, but it's still a good chapter. Please review!

This chapter is officially dedicated to my new friend, Freak (Carly)! I hope you like this! I'll update as soon as I can (and don't completely spazz out at getting this dedicated to you, you deserve it! Enjoy!

And then he heard it. The soft, steady beeping of a machine. It was faint, but still there. His eyes scanned the room, and his heart jumped as he saw it. It was the machine that had been hooked up to Ren when he'd arrived, the very same type of machine that had been hooked up to him in the other room as well. It was not making the same low buzzing sound as before, but now more like a soft, rhythmic beeping. And it could only mean one thing…

"He has three broken ribs, and it looks as though his left arm is broken also. He's suffered some head injuries, though luckily nothing fatal. We're still unsure of why his breathing stopped earlier, but it's fine now. Both of his arms had a bit of hypothermia when he arrived, but that was easy to take care of. Lucky you brought him in on time; another few hours and he might not have made it."

Horo stared at Ren in shock. It was difficult to believe that someone as invulnerable as Ren could become so weak in such a short amount of time. He was pale, his body shaking with every gasping breath he took, and he looked much thinner than usual. Of course, he hadn't eaten in days, and judging by the trail of blood Horo had followed to find him, he'd been walking for quite a while as well.

"So… is he going to be alright?" Horo asked, unsure of whether he even wanted to know the answer. Sure, the doctor had told him that his breathing was fine, and that he was alright so far, but how much more would his frail body take before all of that changed? He'd been through so much that it was a miracle that he'd survived, but he still had much more to survive still. Horo held his breath as the doctor cleared his throat and began speaking.

"Well, we do think that he will live, yes, but he'll need to be cared for greatly for the next few weeks. We'd like to keep him here at the hospital for at least another day, not in the Emergency Room anymore, of course, and observe his progress, but as soon as his breathing returns completely to normal and we get his arm in a cast, he will be let out. You must care a lot about him to have come all that way to save him." Horo had to tell the doctor about what had happened to Ren, for medical purposes, and so the doctor knew all about him coming to Ren's aid in the middle of the freezing weather. Of course, he had left out a few details, but for the most part, he'd told him everything.

"Yes… I do." Was Horo's only answer; he took one last glance at Ren, seeing him as he fought for breath, beads of sweat rolling down his face as he gasped in his sleep. It almost brought tears to Horo's eyes to see him in such a state, but the doctors had told him that Ren would probably get better. Probably. For such a small word, it meant the world to Horo at that moment.

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The next morning, Horo got a call from the hospital. At first he thought that it had to be bad news, after all, why would they be calling otherwise? But then he remembered: the doctor had told him that when Ren got better he would go home, and that he would get better soon. But, could it really only take one day to get his breathing returned to normal?

Horo answered to phone, still a bit apprehensive, but tried to make his voice sound casual rather than anxious.

"Hello?" Horo said, his voice a bit high, but other than that mostly normal sounding.

"Are you…" he paused a second, as though checking a paper for something, "Mr. Usui?" the doctor's pronunciation was a bit off on Horo's last name, but at least he got it right. Though he probably had to check the form Horo had filled out when he'd brought Ren to the hospital two days ago to find out what his name was.

"Yes, I am." Horo said, wanting to say more, but his voice was already cracking. Was he really that stressed about what could have happened to Ren?

"I am one of the doctors that operated on your friend, Ren was it, the other day, and I'm calling to tell you that he's gotten quite a lot better, and if you wish, you may come back to the hospital some time today to pick him up."

Horo couldn't believe his ears. Ren was alright?

Would he be awake when Horo came to get him?

Would he get completely back to normal soon?

Would he ever get back to normal?

What if he never did?

"O-okay. Can I come and pick him up now?" Horo said once he finally found his voice. He could hear the doctor fumbling with something on the other end of the phone, and it was a minute before the doctor said anything at all.

"If that is convenient with you, then I don't see why not. He'll probably be sleeping; he was just given a quite powerful dose of pain medication, which also acts as a sleep-aid. He'll probably be out of it for a few days, and he will need to take some various medicines daily, but his breathing has returned pretty well to normal. So yes, you can come and get him now."

"Alright, thanks." Horo said, hanging up the phone and trying to contain his excitement. After everything that had been happening lately, it was very difficult to believe that Ren could still be living, let alone perfectly fine. Well, as fine as would be expected after all he'd been through.

Horo's mother wasn't home, but he didn't feel the need to leave her a note. He didn't need to wait for her to come home, and the hospital wasn't that far away. Horo was seventeen, and as such age, a perfectly respectable driver. Well, almost perfect at least. Getting his keys and locking the house, Horo got in his car and left for the hospital.

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When Horo got to the hospital, he was handed a variety of pill bottles and instructions on how often to give Ren each of them, as well as a list of problems that could occur within the next week or so, given the constantly unstable condition Ren was still in. It appeared that Ren would be sleeping a lot off and on for about the next week, so that wasn't much of a problem.

Ren was wheeled out in a hospital-provided wheelchair, still asleep, his head hanging down slightly. He looked peaceful, the last thing that most people would be if they'd had to go through what he had. Of course, he was sleeping, so that was part of it. But, despite all of that, there was still something different about Ren. Horo just couldn't figure out what it was yet.

After everything was said and done Horo was allowed to take Ren home with him. Of course Horo wasn't going to make Ren, in his condition, go back to Japan, especially not in such weather, and his home was always open. He knew that his mother wouldn't mind, though he knew that she probably was not home yet. Her shopping, however often it was and could be, took much longer than most people took in one month to shop. And she never brought that much home with her. Sometimes Horo wondered just what she did on her shopping trips when she wasn't really shopping.

Horo thanked the doctors for taking care of Ren and left the hospital, Ren still soundly asleep in the wheelchair. The wind was blowing gently, but not too bad. It was a bit surprising, especially considering how bad the wind was up on that mountain. It was hard to believe that he was still in Hokkaido, because that was where the mountain was, but the weather was far worse there. It wasn't even snowing at that moment where Horo was. Horo's house was only a few blocks down from the hospital, so getting Ren there would be no problem, even if he wasn't driving.

Horo pulled his jacket a little tighter around himself. It was getting a little colder out, and that made him wonder what it was possibly like for Ren in that freezing weather for days. He looked down at the smaller boy with concern, taking off his own jacket and putting it over Ren instead. He needed it much more than Horo did.

The rest of the walk to Horo's house was quite uneventful. Ren slept the whole way, and though the weather got a bit more chilly, Horo had no complaints about giving Ren his jacket to keep him warm. Finally, after about fifteen minutes of silence, Horo's house came into view. Horo smiled, knowing that as soon as he reached his house, he would be pretty much rid of all concerns regarding Ren. They'd made it this far, and they only had a little way to go.

As soon as Horo got back home he had to find a room for Ren to stay in. luckily, his house had a small guest bedroom, just large enough to keep one bed and one dresser. It was really all that Ren would need, though, seeing as he hadn't brought anything with him anyway. Well, he had, but none of it had made it thus far. Horo found Ren a few extra blankets from the hall closet and placed them at the end of the small bed. He then picked Ren up and carried him to the bed, putting him down gently, so as not to reopen any of Ren's wounds or hurt his broken arm or ribs. He unfolded the blankets he'd brought in and layed them over Ren, tucking them around his sides slightly as a mother would to their child so that he wouldn't get cold. After his hypothermia just barely being cured, the slightest cold could still harm him.

That didn't last long, as Ren turned to his side, the blankets all falling over him and slipping to the floor. Horo sighed and pulled them back up over him. Ren looked cute when he slept, almost like a small child. Although comparing Ren to a child was not really something that most people would do, it was still true. Ren looked childish and innocent as he tossed in his sleep, shivering slightly from the cold. He could be so needy sometimes.

Horo knew that the doctor had said that Ren wouldn't wake up for a while, but Horo knew that Ren would probably be hungry when he woke up, so fixing him something to eat would probably be best. Horo thought about what Ren would probably like best, and decided on soup, since it would be warm, could be reheated, and was easy to make. He got everything ready, not that there was much to do anyway, and the soup was ready quicker than he thought. He knew Ren wouldn't wake up for some time now, but he brought the soup in anyway, on the off chance that he did.

Like he thought, Ren was still deep asleep when he brought the food in. he set the bowl of steaming hot soup on the dresser a little way away from the bed. Horo was going to find something else to busy himself with, but just as he was leaving the room, he heard a small voice behind him.

"H-Horo?" he heard Ren say, in little more than a whisper. Horo turned around sharply, a wide smile breaking across his face when he saw that Ren was already awake. His eyes were open slightly, though not much, and he had his right arm behind his back to keep himself propped up a little, though that didn't last long because he couldn't use his left arm, and he was still weak from being in the hospital. After he'd stopped breathing the doctors had done surgery on him, and the stitch marks on his chest could reopen at any time. Horo quickly ran to Ren's side and gently pushed him back, not wanting anything worse to happen to him.

"Ren, you're awake!" Horo said, trying not to shout, though the urge to was almost overwhelming. Ren nodded slightly, coughing a little bit and weakly laying his head back against the pillow again.

"Hai. W-where am I?" he added weakly, Horo having to strain his ears to hear him. "What hap-ppened?" he said, seeing his left arm in a cast. He took a deep, gasping breath and looked up at Horo with dull golden eyes. Horo's smile faded slightly as he saw the condition Ren was really in. He was breathing shallowly, and he looked the weakest Horo had ever seen him.

"Y-you… you got hurt pretty bad. I think you were trying to get to Hokkaido and…" Horo took a deep breath, trying to find a way to say what he knew he had to, but Ren beat him to it.

"T-the jet c-c-crashed, didn't it?" he said, stuttering from either the cold or because his breathing was still so shaky. Or maybe it was from both.

Horo nodded, glad that he hadn't had to tell Ren that himself. Partially because he didn't know what to say, but also because he did not think he could bear Ren's reaction if this was all new information to him.

"Oh, here, I made you something to eat. I thought you might be hungry." Ren nodded his head vigorously, regretting it immediately as his head began to hurt.

Horo brought the soup over and set it gently on the nightstand next to Ren's bed, within his reach should he want some.

"It's probably too hot now, but you can eat it whenever you want to. I'll come and check on you later. Call me if you need anything, okay?" Horo said, getting up and making a move to leave the room.

"I-I'm s-sorry…." He heard Ren say. He turned around and saw that Ren was crying. It wasn't very much, but there were a few small tears leaking out of his eyes and flowing slowly down his face.

"What? You're sorry? For what?" Horo said, utterly amazed that, after everything that Horo should be sorry for, Ren was the one who had apologized to him.

"F-for telling you that I h-hated y-y-you. I r-really don't. I'm so s-sorry." Horo was shocked. After all that had happened to him, Ren still felt bad about what he had said to Horo so long ago? Horo had forgotten about that almost instantly, but Ren must have felt really bad about it.

Ren felt that bad about it?

Was that what this was all about?

Had Ren really come all that way and risked his life for that?

To tell Horo that he was sorry?

Horo was the one who should be sorry.

After all, now he knew that it was his fault that Ren had almost died because of him.

It wasn't Hao's fault…

It was Horo's.

Horo ran to Ren's bedside and dropped to his knees on the floor beside him, pulling Ren into a loose hug. He could feel himself crying, though he told himself not to. He kneeled there in silence for a few minutes, not letting Ren go. He never wanted to let Ren go ever again. They were both crying now, but not a bad kind of tears. Horo slowly let Ren go, still crying slightly.

"No, don't say that. I'm the one that should be sorry. You almost died, and because of what? Because of my mistakes. I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry…." And he pulled Ren into another gentle yet loving hug.

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Horo had since left Ren's room after Ren had fallen asleep again. He's busied himself with the dishes, since he knew he didn't do them nearly enough, and he had nothing better to do anyway. After a few minutes, however, he heard the lock on the front door click and the door slide open. That meant his mother was finally home. He had a lot to tell her.

A tall woman with waist-length blue hair, quite like Pirika's had been, stepped into the house. She was wearing a suit-like black dress, but she looked like a kind woman. She immediately pulled Horo into a tight hug.

"Oh, I missed you so much, sweety! How was your day?" Horo's trip to the mountains of Hokkaido had taken only one day, and his mother had not known where he was going. He had left before she had come home, and called her the night after to tell her that he would be staying overnight somewhere. He hadn't wanted to tell her exactly where he was going, however, incase something did happen to Ren, or if she started to worry.

"Uh, mom, I have something to tell you." Horo said, wondering just how he would put into words what had happened. His mother had never met Ren, nor any of his other friends, as they had never come to Hokkaido. It had been a long time since Horo himself had set food in his homeland.

"Sure, what is it dear?" she asked, her voice sweet and soft. Horo still didn't know how to tell her, so instead he gestured for her to follow him, and led her to the room Ren was staying in.

When she got there she saw a pale, skinny boy she didn't even know, his arm in a cast, shaking and gasping for breath. She was completely shocked, and wasn't sure what to ask first; how he got there, who he was, or what had happened to him. She decided on the last one.

"What happened to him? Is he alright?" she asked, true concern showing on her face as she watched him once again fight for breath. He'd been doing that all day, so it was nothing new to Horo, but he could understand why she would think something would be wrong with him.

"Mom, this is Ren, one of my friends from the Shaman Tournament. The doctor said he was going to be alright, so you don't have to worry." Horo knew he should have said more, but he thought that he should first assure her that he would be fine, and then let her ask what she needed to know.

"Doctor? You were at the hospital? Oh my God, Horo, his arm's in a cast and he's covered in bandages! What in the world happened to him?"

"Well, his jet kinda crashed in the mountains, and he was stuck there for a few days before I found out he was there and went looking for him. That's where I was two nights ago. There was another guy with him, the pilot, but he died when the jet blew up. He had to have surgery, but the doctors say he'll live, so I figured he could stay here until he got better." Horo said, watching as his mother's face slowly developed a shocked expression.

"His jet blew up? Surgery? Someone died? Oh God, Horo, how is this boy even alive now? He was out in this storm? For a few days? And you were out in it, too?" she asked, still trying to register all that had happened. She looked back at Ren, seeing his small, skinny frame and how he was shivering and wondered how he had even stayed alive for a few hours, let alone days, out in that storm.

"Yeah, I know it's bad, but I had to! He's my best friend, and I couldn't have just left him there! I'm sorry, but I can't let him go back to Tokyo like this! So, can he stay with us for a little while? At least until he gets better?" Horo pleaded, knowing only too well that his mother couldn't resist his pleading.

"Of course he can! Do you honestly think I'd say no to that? He can stay as long as he wants. So, has he woke up yet?"

"Yeah, he did a few hours ago. But I don't want to wake him up again, he needs his rest, so lets leave." Horo said, walking to the door. His mother followed, still not believing what had happened, but knowing better than to doubt her own son.

"Oh, I almost forgot! I letter came for you today. I got it on my way in. Here." She said, handing him a small envelope with no address on it. It was completely blank. Horo opened it in curiosity, and found that he wished he hadn't opened it at all. It was written a bit scribbled, on yellowish paper, and it said:

Horokeu,

I heard about Ren, that he's going to be perfectly fine. But remember, all that can change in an instant. You remember the deal I made to you, right? Give up, trying can only get you so far. You'd forgotten I was even a threat, didn't you? While you were too busy focusing on your precious Ren, you never once stopped to think that he might not live at all, right?

You have two options to choose from. You can join me, and watch from afar as your friends stay living. Or you can forget I ever sent this letter, and watch closely as all of your friends are killed because of you. Remember the pain of almost losing Ren? I wonder what sort of pain you'd feel if you really did lose him…

You have one month to decide. Say your goodbyes now, or you'll never get to say them… I'll be waiting…

Hao

Horo read the letter a second time to make sure he'd read it right. He had completely forgotten about Hao. One month? What should he do? Oh, Ren, I don't want to leave you again, but I don't want to see you hurt. How am I supposed to decide? Should I tell anyone? I don't want to go to Hao, but I promised Ren I wouldn't let him get hurt again. I can't let anyone die just because I don't want to do something. If that's what it takes to prevent anyone from being killed, then I'll have to accept Hao's offer. And I still have one month to say goodbye at least…

And then he heard it, the sound of a choked scream coming from the other end of the house… the guest bedroom. It was a painful scream. He recognized the voice immediately... It was Ren…

DarkTaoAngel: Alright, about this chapter. It isn't that eventful, but believe me, it will get better. Oh, and by the way, Ren's arm isn't broken, just fractured or something like that. The doctor said it 'looks as though his left arm is broken' but it really isn't. It'll heal faster if it isn't, and I want it to heal in a few weeks to a month. Nothing much about this chapter, but did you really expect me to kill Ren so soon? Read the summery! I still have a HoroRen lemon to write in a few chapters! So, review if you want me to write a lemon or not, and I'll update as soon as I can, okay?