Notes: If you never picked up on what's going on with Pin-Mei, I'm telling you in this chapter.

Just to remind you, it's currently October.

Disclaimer: I do not own the anime/manga Shaman King. The story and its characters were created by Hiroyuki Takei. All original characters made specifically for this fanfiction and any tie-in/spinoff pieces were created by Jezebel Parks.

A Gift of Love – Chapter Sixty-Three: Missions Fulfilled

After the dance, Pin-Mei took to circulating around the room and mingling with guests. Ren was supposed to do the same, but chose to just stand off to the side sipping wine with HoroHoro.

"Yes, well, thank you for coming," Pin-Mei said to an elderly couple as she rose from her chair. She began walking back over to the Usui/Asakura table, ignoring the pitter-patter of small feet behind her. As she stopped in front of a chair at the table, Xue kept walking and bumped into her. Pin-Mei turned and smiled down at her.

Ren frowned. "What are you doing, following her around like that?"

The young Ainu smiled. "Xue wants to be like Mommy! Xue's practicing so she can protect auntie's baby after it gets born!"

Rong laughed. "I think she's more like Pin-Mei and how she used to follow Ren around when they were little." She grinned at him.

Ren stared at her, then walked away. "Whatever."

Pin-Mei just smiled again and sat down. HoroHoro followed his friend across the room.

"What's up? You seem a little stressed."

Ren sighed. "Part of me doesn't feel like any of this is happening. Like it's just a dream. Things like that just reinforce that it's not." He stared into his glass. "I'm married now. She finally belongs to me. She's finally all mine...But soon it's not going to be just the two of us anymore."

HoroHoro grinned. "That's right!" They looked over to where Pin-Mei was holding Xue's hand against her rounded stomach. Xue's eyes widened and she giggled, jumping up and down. "She must be due any day, right?" He took a sip of wine.

"The doctor said it'll be about another three months," Ren replied casually.

HoroHoro covered his mouth to prevent himself from spitting out what he had just drank. He looked up at Pin-Mei again.

"You're fucking kidding me!" he cried pointing at her. "Rong wasn't even that big when she was nine months pregnant! Something's obviously wrong here! Either that or that's an awfully big baby!"

"You're overreacting," Ren said, still placid. "It's been five years since you've seen a pregnant woman, so you probably don't have a clear picture of what one at this stage looks like. Nothing's wrong with her." He glanced at his wife listlessly, thinking of what had happened over twenty years ago. "...I've made sure of it."

Pin-Mei looked up from entertaining Xue and their eyes met. She closed hers with a smile and gave him a gentle wave. Ren raised his hand slightly and dumbly waved back at her. HoroHoro grinned and nudged him.

"Look at you! Getting all bashful just because she's waving to you!"

Ren pushed him away, his face slightly colored. "What the hell are you talking about? She's the one who blushes over every single little thing I do to her, even after all this time. Even now, five years later, she gets bashful when we have sex! She can't do the same to me!"

His friend rolled his eyes, the devilish smirk still on his face. He put him in a headlock and began to noogy him.

"I know what it is! You love how helpless she is right now, and you feel all manly because you got her pregnant. Seeing her like this makes you more attracted to her. No need to deny it! I went through the same thing when Rong was pregnant. Better make the most of tonight!"

Ren pushed him off again and tossed his head. "Unlike you, I think about more than just sex when it comes to my wife," he said in a superior tone.

"Suuure you do."

He was about to turn to argue with him when Pin-Mei called him over. She giggled to Rong and the others as he approached her.

"What is it?"

She took his hand and placed it where Xue's had been. She smiled. "You're the only one who hasn't done it yet."

He blinked and looked down at his hand. "What?"

"Can't you feel him?"

"...No."

Her smile faded a little, trying not to seem bothered. "Oh...he must have fallen asleep..." She dipped her head slightly.

"WAKE UP!" Xue screamed, then smiled, as if she had done her job. Her mother narrowed her eyes at Ren.

"At least lie, goddammit," she growled, careful to make sure that neither the bride nor her daughter could hear them.

He looked back down at Pin-Mei again. She looked dejected. However, she was at the point where her moods had become unstable due to her pregnancy, so he tried not to take it too personally. He closed his eyes and sighed.

A sudden vibration tickled his palm, and he looked up at her. She was all excited again, as she always was when this happened.

He smiled warmly at her. "I felt it."

Her smile grew wider and she held his hand. The other couple watched them, their own smiles gracing their faces.

"Well, I suppose this is as good a time as ever to tell you guys," Rong said as she motioned to grasp HoroHoro's hand.

The Tao couple looked up at them with questioning faces.

"I'm pregnant again,"

They just stared at her. Suddenly, Pin-Mei squealed.

"This is fantastic, they'll be able to play with each other!" She clapped her hands lightly.

A few of the other guests heard the commotion and walked over to the table to congratulate the women on their pregnancies. Some of the female guests stayed and a roar of shrill voices soon filled the air.

"You must be so excited about becoming a father, Lord Ren!" one guest said turning to him.

He looked up, then turned his head away. "Yeah..."

Pin-Mei looked at him, seemingly concerned. "Are you okay?"

He put his glass on the table and once again removed his robes and placed them on the chair next to him.

"I need some air."

He turned and quickly exited the room.

Rong cracked her knuckles. "Jeez, what the heck is wrong with him, today? He just keeps leaving." She turned to Pin-Mei. "I'll go get him." She was about to leave when there was a tug on her wrist.

"No...I'm the wife...I'll go."

She turned to see Pin-Mei looking at the floor, a bereaved expression on her face.

"Pin-Mei..."

"But first..."

Rong leaned over. "Yes? What do you need?"

"Um...Can you help me up?"

Ren stood on the balcony and looked up at the sky. The innumerable stars flashed and twinkled as he searched them for answers. Finding none, he looked down again and sighed.

"Oi, Aibou, why are you so down?"

"What are you doing here, Yi?" the groom grumbled not looking up.

His ancestor appeared next to him, seated on the rail of the balcony. "You don't need to be so grumpy...In fact, you shouldn't be! Your fiancée finally got a chest, you got married, and now you've got a kid on the way! I'd be ecstatic if I were you!"

Ren sighed again. "You're too simple to understand what having a child is going to do to our relationship."

"Oooh! I get it!" the spirit squealed. "You're pissed because you're not going to have her all to yourself like the greedy bastard you are! You're worried that the sex is gonna go down!"

"What is it with you people and sex? Am I the only man alive that thinks about more than that?"

"Um...Ren?"

"What?" he called back in an impatient tone. Then he froze and turned around. Pin-Mei stood just a few feet behind him, a look of concern still on her face. "What are you doing out here?"

She looked at the floor. "Well, you left when everyone came over and started talking about the baby...so I was worried..." She glanced up at him. "Ren...are you upset because of the baby?"

Bingo.

"No, of course not. What gave you that idea? Why would I be jealous of something like that?"

Silence.

"I never said you were."

"Erk-"

"Ren...You're...jealous...?"

"Of course he is, darling. Even the most upstanding men can become jealous when an intruder is involved- and when I say intruder I mean baby. Your father was the same way..."

"Hua, stop telling our daughter lies!"

"You tell him, bro!"

"Hua's right, Yi! You did the exact same thing!"

"Did not!"

"You most certainly did!"

"See, Zhang? I'm not lying!"

"Yes you are!"

"That's ri-"

"ALL OF YOU STOP!"

The spirits froze and looked to the groom, who was obviously low on patience and about to snap.

"All of you. Inside. Now. I'm trying. To have. A conversation. With. My wife."

The spirits trudged into the party as Pin-Mei waved to all of them. Her hand fell slowly as she turned back to Ren.

"Ren...I...I'm sorry if I pressured you into letting me get pregnant...If I had known you were going to feel like this, I would have waited...Honestly, I would have...I..."

"Stop saying stupid things."

She looked up at him.

"It's just going to take time to adjust, that's all. It's something new. You wanted a child, so I gave you one. I could have chosen to wait as well, but I didn't, so don't think that you're at fault." He turned around and placed his hands on the rail as he looked over the balcony. "Maybe I wanted this for my own selfish reasons. To prove that I'm capable of raising a child..." He gripped the banister. "...To prove that I can do it better than my father."

"I know you'll do wonderfully. You've done such a wonderful job taking care me these past few months, not to mention years."

He snapped his head up and then turned around. "Pin-Mei..."

She walked over and embraced his left arm, leaning against it. "If I didn't, I wouldn't have wanted to have children with you in the first place." She nuzzled his arm. "There are so many of your qualities that I want them to have. If I couldn't have them with you, I wouldn't want to have them at all."

Ren chuckled, almost nervously.

"What?"

"Just sounds like something Hua would say, that's all."

Stop acting like her...I don't want you to end up like her...

"Wow! This place is so big!"

"You say that about every country we visit."

"But it's true!"

At Pin-Mei's request, they were spending their honeymoon in the New England region of America, namely Massachusetts. Ren was thankful that it was much quieter than some of the other states, but it hadn't occurred to him until they had arrived that it was one of those states with a so-called "Chinatown" in it. Of course, Pin-Mei was dead set on going there. He was able to put it off until the second to last day of their trip, when he finally relented and took her out into the "mimic town".

"I want to go in this store!" she squealed as she looked into the shop's window.

"Go right on ahead," he said in an encouraging voice. He was indulging her, but there was no reason why he had to go into these stores. Plus, there was an odd smell in each of the stores that just bothered him to no end. He watched her go inside, then leaned against the building and folded his arms.

"It's been a long time, Tao Ren,"

He looked up. "Silva? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question. This isn't exactly within walking distance of your home."

"I have my reasons, none of which I am choosing to disclose to you. Now what do you want?"

The Priest sighed. "As abrasive as ever." Yellow eyes glared at him threateningly. "Anyway, there is something of urgent matter I need to-,"

"REN! Look! They actually had something that fit me!"

Ren turned his head as Pin-Mei walked quickly out of the store.

"Nice," he said stoically as she held up a purple maternity blouse. He was used to this by now. Praise her for buying something she liked and she'd be as happy as a clam.

As she put her findings back into the shopping bag, she looked up and saw Silva. The two blinked at each other.

"Who is this?" they said in unison, pointing.

Ren sighed as he left the wall. "Alright, Pin-Mei, that's Silva, an officiant from the Shaman Fight. Silva, this is Pin-Mei, my wife."

Pin-Mei smiled. "Oh, so YOU'RE Silva. Ren mentioned you once or twice when he was telling me about the Shaman Fight. It's so nice to finally meet you." She held out her left hand, unintentionally showing off her engagement ring and wedding band to show that the scion was speaking the truth. The priest could only stare at it, dumbfounded.

"W-W-W-W-W-W-WIFE?"

"Isn't that what I said?"

The wife in question just blinked again. "'Something wrong?"

Silva quickly tried to regain control of himself. "I just didn't expect you to be able to find a mate so quickly, that's all."

Ren glared at him. "'What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

The priest ignored him and looked to the young woman standing near him. "Now, if you'd excuse us, Mrs. Tao, there is something very urgent I need to talk to Ren about."

Pin-Mei stood there for a moment with a blush. It was the first time anyone had called her that. While she was daydreaming, Ren tugged her over to him.

"She stays," he said, leaving no room for argument. "Anything you have to say to me can be said in front of her."

The native sighed. "Very well." His gaze became more intense. "Ren, I need you to come with me right away. You, along with Yoh, HoroHoro, Lyzerg, and Chocolove are needed for a very important matter. I suppose you could even call it a mission."

Ren tilted his head. "What do you mean, 'mission'?"

"The five elemental spirits have suddenly become unstable. We need you and the others to tame your respected spirits and restore the harmony between them. If you don't, the results could be-,"

"Nope. Not doing it."

"W-What?"

"You heard me. I'm on my honeymoon. I'm not dropping it because of some sudden "mission" you have. You're going to have to find someone else to take care of your problem."

"Ren! How can you say that? You're the only one who can tame the Spirit of Thunder! If you don't come the world could be thrown into chaos!"

"I'm sure it can hold on for another three months."

"What?"

"Can't you tell that my wife is six months pregnant? I'm not leaving her so close to her due date."

The two argued back and forth until Pin-Mei lightly tugged on her husband's arm. He looked down at her. Her head was bowed.

"What is it?"

"Go."

"What?"

"I said I want you to go. If it's something that only you can do...then...just go..."

He turned to face her. "No. I already promised you that I'd never leave you while you were pregnant, and I'm keeping my word. I'm not going to be like Yi."

"Please, Ren..." She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "If they really need you that much, then please, just go."

"Are you trying to get rid of me or something?"

"No! I...I just...You're so strong now...They need you and your strength to tame the spirits...If the fate of the world really is on the line, then please, go with Silva. I'm fine going home by myself."

"Pin-Mei!"

"Please..." she whispered over and over again as she clung to his arm and sobbed into his shoulder.

He looked down at her. "Fine...I'll go."

January 13, 2008

Ren jumped off of Hakuoh and raced into Tao Castle at full speed. He raced up the stairs to the room he and Pin-Mei shared, but when he opened it, she wasn't there.

"Lord Ren, the delivery is taking place in the medical wing," Wen, one of Pin-Mei's maidservants, said as she passed him carrying a large pile of red towels.

"Of course!" He spun around and bolted past her, accidentally sending her to the floor, the towels surrounding her. She sighed and began picking them up.

As he ran down the steps, he tripped and found himself tumbling down the large flight of stairs. He landed on the floor with an audible thud.

"Ren, darling, are you alright?"

He lifted his head and saw his mother peering down at him. He quickly picked himself up off the floor and started sprinting past her.

"Ren, darling, you're heading in the wrong direction."

He skidded to a stop.

"The medical wing is the other way."

Ren turned on his heel and ran down the hall in the opposite direction. A few nurses were running around the halls, and he nearly collided with both. Finally, he made it to her room. He threw the door open and approached the threshold.

For a moment he just stood in the doorway, staring at her. She was laying in the hospital bed with her legs propped up. Her face told him that she was already tired, but still, she was able to smile.

"Hey..." she whispered hoarsely.

He walked over and sat in a chair next to the bed, then grasped her right hand in both of his.

"You made it, I'm so glad..."

"Of course I did, fool...Like I'd miss something like this."

"Did you finish what you had to do?" she whispered, seemingly not by choice.

He nodded. "Yes. Everything's alright now. Just forget about it."

"Oh...alright..." She tilted her head and smiled. After a moment, she reached out and touched the hair that now hung past his shoulders. "Hee...You never did get it cut. You were going to when we came back, but..."

"I didn't have time to think about something as trivial as that. I just had to get used to it."

"No barber shops on the way?"

"Don't be foolish."

Ren sighed and pulled out a hair clip. He brought some of the more troublesome pieces to the back, folded them upward, and snapped the clip into place. Pin-Mei smiled and clapped at his new skill.

"You'll have to let me braid your hair sometime."

"No, no, I won't."

"Aww...Ren, you're no fun." She started giggling, but stopped when she noticed how disgruntled he looked. "To be honest, I really like it like that. I think you should keep it like that for a while."

He looked away from her. "I'll think about it." She giggled again, amused by how different he looked.

She quieted as she heard a tapping noise. He was horrified when she placed her hand on his left thigh, stilling it. She smiled.

"You're jittery...I've never seen you like this. Are you really that nervous?"

He removed her hand from his leg and held it. "Silence."

Suddenly she squeezed his hand tightly. He looked at her face and his eyes softened slightly.

"You're in pain, aren't you?"

She said nothing, only bit her lip and nodded slowly.

"You can scream if you want."

"NO!" she yelled, making him jump. She looked up at him, her eyes full of determined passion. "I won't make a sound. I'm the wife of Tao Ren, and I will not shame myself by screaming."

Ren just stared at her. It had been so long since he had seen such an intense look in her eyes. It was obvious that despite the fact that she was, to him, helpless in her current state and had been when he left her, she had forced his family's pride on herself and made herself more independent. He wasn't daft, obviously. He knew that this was a painful process, and who knew how long she would be suffering through it. After a small sigh, he patted her hand.

"Well, if you ever feel like it, just know that I won't think less of you if you do."

She smiled weakly, then lowered her head and grit her teeth again as another wave of pain washed over her.

It wasn't long before the room was swarming with nurses, running around, getting towels, cold cloths, and other necessities. The dull roar of the women giving Pin-Mei instructions was the only sound that was audible, artfully drowning out the slight whimpers she would let out.

Ren said nothing, only whispered things directed to no one. Even he couldn't hear what he was murmuring. When it seemed as though the pain was at its greatest, he took to putting his forehead on their joined hands, as if to soothe the painful grip she had on him.

He looked up when she fell back against the pillow. Cheers and clapping filled the room as the head nurse held up the tiny baby.

"...What is it?" Pin-Mei asked facing the ceiling, her eyes closed.

"A boy."

Ren watched the smile spread across her face as she opened her eyes. She had done her job, what she had been "chosen" to do. She had given birth to an heir, and the Tao family would continue.

The nurse suddenly handed the baby to Ren in a blanket. He stared at it, almost holding it away from him. He didn't know what to do with this thing. It wasn't his area. Pin-Mei turned her head to look at it.

"He's...beautiful..." she breathed, using the curled index finger of her right hand to stroke its cheek.

He looked at her. She was positively glowing. He could see the huge amount of pride and happiness in her eyes. He almost told himself that he had never seen her happier, but quickly dismissed the thought, not wanting to be outdone by this...thing...

"Ren..."

"What?"

"No...Not you...him...His name is Ren..."

Silence.

"You're actually naming him after me?"

She looked up at him, still stroking her newborn. "Of course. I said I would, didn't I?"

I want the boy to be just like you…I even kinda want to give him your name…and um…stuff…

There she was with that memory again.

She let out a weak laugh before suddenly retracting her hand and biting the finger she had been using to caress her son. The nurses rushed back in and surrounded them. Ren just looked around at them, his mind blank. It was over...She had done her job...So why was she still suffering?

"What's going on?"

The nurse from before turned to him. "I don't think she's done yet."

His eyes shot open as the baby Tao squirmed in his arms. He couldn't offer her his hand again because he was holding the infant. She was truly suffering through this all over again, this time by herself.

As his son's cries echoed throughout the room, Ren looked down at the child in dismay. For the first time in years, he was lost. He had no idea what to do. Then he remembered his wife's earlier ministrations. Slowly and hesitantly, his thumb made its way over to the small, chubby cheek and gently brushed over it. Almost instantly, the tiny Tao calmed down, as if comforted by knowing that someone was there. When he went to reposition his hand, a tiny hand wrapped around his right index finger and sucked on it. Ren blinked at the little one for a few seconds, its eyes still closed.

Suddenly, the eyes opened. Tiny yellow eyes so much like his own looked right at him. As he continued to look down at the newborn, his mouth turned up ever so slightly.

Maybe this father thing won't be so bad after all.

Just then, more cries rang out. Ren looked up to see the nurse holding another baby.

"What is it?" he asked, despite himself.

"A girl."

She laid the baby next to her mother's head. Pin-Mei turned her head slightly to look at her.

"So what is this one's name?"

She looked up at Ren, who was smiling warmly at her. Her gaze fell to the baby beside her.

"...Lien..." she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Ren gazed at the second baby. It was much bigger than the one he held in his arms.

"What a good brother Ren is..."

He looked up and at the nurse.

"Seeing as how much smaller he is, he must have given most of the food to his sister in order to make sure she would be healthy...even at his own expense." She sighed wistfully. "I can tell he's going to grow up to be a brother that takes very good care of his little sister."

Ren looked at his son, then his daughter. He smiled.

His smile faded as he looked past her.

Pin-Mei's eyes were closed.

From what he could see

she wasn't moving.