Yes, Pin-Mei's pregnant. Yes, this is the last child. I draw the line at three. Pin-Mei herself would probably stop at around eight or ten. Ren would use children born fourth and on as target practice when going through his Kwan Dao forms. -nods- -is called by DSS-
Notes: You may be wondering why Pin-Mei is using tags now. Well, she never got another main spirit since Ma-Ying was extinguished, so like Jun, she chose tags instead. She just didn't get a kyonshii to go with them. And of course Jun could still mop the floor with her if they were to ever face off. I'm also just acting like Jun chose to stay with Pyron and wasn't sent off to be married. (Honestly, can you see her with anyone else?)
I don't know if Ran can actually do this, but to be in the Tao family she has to have some sort of power, ne?
Regretfully, since the Ainu language is on the decline, I couldn't find a list of Ainu names. Upsetting. But I was fortunately able to find a list of random Ainu words. I chose "Seta" which means "dog".
A kendama is a Japanese toy where you try to get a ball, attached to a string, to land on a pin with the flick of your wrist. This is much like the "ball and cup" game in America. If you've played Tales of Symphonia, it's the weapon that Genis uses.
"Nakama" is a Japanese word for an extremely close friend. More than a best friend, more than a comrade or ally. This person is with you through thick and thin, and you would risk your life for them. Some opt not to translate this word into English, citing that it has a much deeper meaning than any other word could describe.
Most children go through a stage where they say that they are going to marry their opposite sex parent.
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-Six: The Tao Who Believed She Could Fly
Ren's eyes shot open as he heard Lien's scream. He sat up in bed, gently pushing Pin-Mei off of him. She looked up, groggily wiping her eyes.
"Ren, come back to bed," she said, reaching out to him as he motioned to stand. She grabbed his hand, but he just touched it lightly so as not to seem cruel and just swat it away, then took slow steps toward the door.
He heard glass breaking, then running. As the steps got closer and louder Ren reached for his Kwan Dao next to the window.
Lien burst into the room. She then slammed the door shut and locked it, first with the doorknob, then with the small chain to further block it from opening. Tears streaming down her face, she ran and jumped into Ren's arms, who quickly dropped his weapon in order to receive her. He was astonished at how much she was shaking. Her eyes were wide, and she was crying inconsolably.
"Lien, what the heck is going on?" he asked her.
"It...It's Ren..." she whispered. She stopped.
"What about Ren?"
"He...He's trying to kill me,"
Ren looked at Pin-Mei, their eyes meeting. He didn't know if she was thinking the same thing he was, that she knew what was causing this. But he did know what she was thinking about their current situation.
He's turning out just like you.
He looked away from her, shutting his eyes tight. He didn't want to revisit those days, that other life he had lived. The King of Spirits had pardoned him; he didn't need to think about his past mistakes anymore. Those awful memories hadn't been plaguing his dreams like they occasionally would in the months before he was finally granted penance. Things were different now. He had a wife, a son, a daughter; all of whom he loved dearly. He had no need for those feelings of hatred anymore. He was powerful on his own.
He absentmindedly rubbed Lien's left arm in an effort to calm her, but she let out a sharp whimper. He looked at his hand. It was covered with blood. He looked at her arm. There was a deep cut in it.
Lien saw his gaze. "When I was running away, Ren swiped at me. I didn't think that he got me, but I got cut anyway."
Despite it not being something he would usually do, Ren kissed her forehead. Then he placed her on the bed where Pin-Mei put her hand on her child's wound in order to heal it. Ren picked up his Kwan Dao again and waited.
He could hear footsteps coming down the hall. They were slow. Painfully slow. The boy was giving them time to let their fear build, teasing that he didn't know where they were by opening the doors of every room he passed and pretending to look inside.
"Lien...Come back to bed..." he called. "You're not afraid of your Niisama, are you?"
There was a series of slashing sounds, then the door fell in pieces. The two Rens stared each other down, then his son looked past him.
"Lien, so this is where you went. I've been looking all over for you."
He took a step forward, but his father's blade blocked his path.
"Ren, don't you even think about entering this room," the wielder warned.
His son drooped his head. "Is that so?" He raised his weapon.
As he swiped at him, Ren blocked it with ease. "You're at a height disadvantage. It's foolish of you to challenge me like this." He pulled back. "This doesn't have a sharp blade, so you won't be cut deeply, but unfortunately, for the first time, I feel the need to reprimand you."
As he swung, his son looked up at him with tearful eyes.
"Please don't, Papa," he whispered.
Ren froze. His son grinned and thrust his weapon forward. By the time Ren had snapped out of his trance, it was too late to fully dodge, so he moved to the side, allowing the ribs on his right side to be impaled.
"Papa!" Lien cried as Pin-Mei held her back.
"Lien, just stay here. You'll only cause more trouble," she warned.
She quickly reached into the drawer of her nightstand and pulled out a small pile of tags. She threw them about as she discarded the ones that weren't needed. Finally, she chose one and chanted its phrase before throwing it. It landed on her son's forehead, sending small shockwaves through his body. He fell to the ground. With one eye shut in pain, Ren looked down at his son's back. It was cursed by the Tao family emblem.
Pin-Mei panted lightly, then put her head in her hands. Lien looked at her.
"Mama?"
"I never want to make that decision again," she whispered. "...Whether to watch my husband be killed in front of me, or to hurt the son whom I know doesn't mean any of this..." She looked up as Ren put his right hand on her head, using his other hand to hold his wound.
"When this is all over, I'm sure he'll forgive you." He looked to Lien. "But for now, Lien, gather your mother's tags, and be quick about it. We don't have much time. I need to hide the both of you while I figure out what I'm going to do about Ren."
"What do you mean, Papa?"
He narrowed his eyes. "Didn't I just tell you to do something?"
She jumped. "Yes, Papa." She scurried about the room picking up Pin-Mei's tags.
He felt a warmth on his side as his wife began healing his wound. He looked down at her, lost in thought. When she noticed his gaze she smiled weakly, as if trying to reassure him. His face remained placid as he touched her cheek.
"Pin-Mei, you're the one who needs hiding the most."
She tilted her head curiously. "Why is that?"
"He wants to cause as much suffering as he can as a way of soothing his own. The moment he sees that you're pregnant, he'll attack you, leaving only one of you alive; the one that would suffer the most from losing the other."
Her eyes widened and she clutched her stomach. "How do you know?" she whispered.
"Because...that's what I would have done."
"Ren..."
"One tag isn't going to solve things tonight," he said in a low voice so Lien couldn't hear. "He won't be down for long. He's stronger than last time...Things may get bad."
"How...bad...?"
He looked over at Lien, who was still busy collecting, then back at Pin-Mei. He leaned over and whispered in her ear. She covered her mouth and shook her head, then grabbed onto him.
"Please, don't...Do anything...just not that..."
He looked away from her. "If he kills you, he's taking not only you, but the baby also. You're willing to accept that?"
"Why does this night have to end with anyone dying at all? No one said it had to!" she said in a raised voice.
Lien looked up, her face fearful. "Someone's gonna die?"
Pin-Mei saw her fault and reached out to her. "No, no, of course not, honey. Mama and Papa would never let anyone in the castle die."
"Really?" he daughter responded as she walked over to them, the seals in her hands. She looked worried now.
"Of course! You know how strong your father is!" Pin-Mei said excitedly, like a cheerleader trying to pump a crowd with zeal. She softened. "And you know what that means, right?"
Lien blinked at her, then shook her head. Pin-Mei smiled.
"It means that you're strong, too!" She poked her nose. "Remember, that, okay?"
Lien blinked, then smiled. "Okay!"
Ren smiled weakly, but then regained his cold gaze as he heard a moan. He snapped his head back to see the hand of the demonized version of himself twitching. The paralysis spell wouldn't last much longer. He took the pile of tags and stuffed it into Pin-Mei's robe, then took her into a cradle position in his arms. In her condition, there was no way that she would be able to run without harming the baby.
"Lien, we're going. And you have to run really fast. Don't stop unless I tell you to. You understand?"
The little girl clenched her fist and pumped it triumphantly. "Yes, Papa! I understand!"
He smirked at her. "Okay. Now go! I'll be right behind you."
She nodded and started sprinting down the hall.
"We're going to the Ryuyou no Ma," he called up.
Lien kept running but looked back. "Why are we going there?"
"Because we need to hide for a few moments to clear our minds and figure out how to deal with this. And we need to wake up Jun, Ran and En also."
She nodded. "Okay! Leave it to me!"
The Tao family gathered in the basement.
"Where is my grandson?" Ran asked anxiously. "Shouldn't he be here as well?"
Ren shook his head. "He's the reason we're camping here for a few minutes so I can sit down and think about what I'm going to do."
Lien looked up at her mother. "Niisama will be okay...won't he?"
Pin-Mei looked down at her with pained eyes, but tried to smile. "Of course, Lien. Papa's going to go save him and then we can all go back to sleep."
Lien seemed to sense her worry, but pretended to be satisfied. She smiled. "Okay, just asking!"
Smashing could be heard.
"He's looking for us," Ren observed. He turned to look at his mother. "Ran."
She nodded. "Yes, I'll seal the door." She stood in front of the open doorway and held up a tag, chanting the words written on it with her eyes closed.
"Ren..."
He turned around to see Pin-Mei sitting in the infamous dragon chair, her arms outstretched, her head drooped. Pity filled his eyes and he sat down to embrace her.
"Everything's going to be fine, I promise," he whispered. He pushed her away gently and wiped her tears away. "So don't cry, alright? Nothing bad is going to happen."
They looked up when they heard the doors close. Ren lowered his head and closed his eyes in thought.
"If anyone has any ideas of how to do this without killing Ren, I'd love to hear them."
Silence.
"Wonderful."
He heard Pin-Mei shifting restlessly beside him. "Pin-Mei, would you please stop moving around? I can't think when you're squirming." There were a few whimpers and then she shook his arm.
"Ren!"
He didn't open his eyes. "What?" His tone was curt.
"Open your eyes!"
He obeyed but growled at her. "What is it?"
"LIEN'S GONE!"
Ren bolted upright. "What?" He looked around the room. The little girl was nowhere to be found. "Did any of you see her leave?" Everyone shook their heads. His fist clenched and he punched the wall. "DAMN!" She barely knows how to use a weapon or anything...She has no means of which to fight...Ren's going to kill her!
"Ran, please! Unseal the doors! I need to get Lien!"
Ren looked back to see Pin-Mei clinging to his mother in desperation. She shook her head sadly.
"I'm sorry, Pin-Mei. The doors won't budge for another thirty minutes."
Pin-Mei started pounding on the double doors, tears streaming down her face. "But what if he kills her? Things won't be the same without her! I don't want to lose my little girl! SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!"
After a nod from her brother, Jun walked over to her, one hand behind her back.
"Pin-Mei..."
She turned around angrily. "What is it?"
Jun just smiled and pressed the tag against her forehead. Her eyes widened, then slowly closed. Ren caught her as she fell and placed her back in the chair.
"Now what?" Jun asked.
"All we can do is wait...and hope for the best..." En said quietly as he watched Ren tend to his wife.
"Um...Ren? Is there anything I can do to help the situation?"
Ren looked up to see Da-Xia's spirit standing to the side of the throne. He thought for a moment, then looked up at her, still serious.
"HoroHoro and Rong were on their way here for a get-together. They should be almost here. Go find them and tell them to hurry. They may be able to save Lien if Ren gets violent with her."
The spirit smiled. "Of course."
Ren gave her a nod of gratitude, then looked around. "Where's Yi? I would have thought that he would be all over something like this."
Her smile faded. He looked at her with remorseful eyes.
"You still can't find him?"
She shook her head. "It's been nearly nine months now...I'm afraid he's gone...that I'll never see him again..."
"I'm sure you'll see him again, even if it's in another life."
She smiled weakly and wiped away a tear. "Yes, that's true." She looked up. "I'm off." She vanished.
Ren turned back to Pin-Mei. He placed his hand on her pregnant belly and closed his eyes. After a few moments, he opened them slightly, looking at the ground.
"If that's true...Da-Xia, I'm sorry."
Lien ran down the corridors of the dungeon, her eyes scanning the walls for a weapon she could use. She finally walked over to it and picked up a small DaDao. After swinging it a few times she decided it was usable and continued running. As she made it out of the basement she headed toward the main hall, the same one where Ren had fought his father years ago. She stopped in the doorway.
Her brother was on his knees in the center, a small amount of light from a chandelier above him pointing him out to her. His head was in his hands. She slowly walked towards him.
"Ren..."
He looked up at her slowly. "Lien..."
As she approached him, he grabbed her and pulled her down so he could hug her. Her eyes widened. His whole body was shaking.
"Lien...I'm...I'm scared..." she heard him whisper. "There's someone inside me...someone who isn't me...He has Father's voice...He tells me to hurt people...to kill them...When...When Suōshǐ and his friends were hurting you, I told him that if it meant I could save you, that I'd let him take my body...Now all of this has happened...I'm so scared...that..he's going to take over completely...That I'll kill you...and Mama...and Papa...I don't want to...but he might make me..."
His sister looked at him with pitied eyes and hugged him back. "Just fight him, whoever he is, Niisama. You're stronger than you think."
He shook his head. "No...He...He told me that he was the one who made me strong, and that if he leaves I'll just be weak again...I don't want to be like that anymore...Father likes me better this way...I...I..."
"It's okay, Ren," Lien whispered. "Let's just go back to Mama and Papa. They can help you. They-wait...what are you..."
Her brother's hand wrapped around her throat and gripping it tightly. Lien grasped it, trying to pry his fingers away so she could escape. It was no use. Her brother was already stronger than her. She was helpless.
"Foolish girl...Your father is so intelligent, but it doesn't seem as though you were fortunate enough to inherit that trait. No one but you and your mother would have fallen for such an obvious trap. When it comes to people you love, the both of you are as bright as a subway tunnel."
Lien's vision was blurring. She reached out to him. "Nii...sa...ma..."
He grinned and clenched his fist tighter around her. "That's right. Struggle, suffer. That's the way you humans live. It isn't until your last few moments of life that you realize that your lives are insignificant. Only the strong survive, and that, Tao Lien, isn't you."
As Lien's eyes began to close, a ball hit him in the nose and he dropped her. After clutching his face, he looked down to see something the size of a baseball attached to a string. It seemed to glow with a pale blue light.
"Okay, Kiro, come back!"
He watched as the string retracted, taking the ball with it until it rested on the top of a kendama. Xue smiled.
"Nice job, Kiro! You got him to drop her!" The ball seemingly smiled and chirped at her happily.
"My turn!"
Her brother, a boy dressed in a vest decorated with Ainu markings and black pants, sailed over on his snowboard and grabbed the unconscious Lien, saving her from the demon's evil clutches.
"Nice one, Seta!" Xue called.
The boy gave a shaky thumbs up. "This hero stuff isn't as hard as I thought it'd be!"
"Seta, get back over here before I have to come over there and take that snowboard."
The boy's face turned slightly pale. "Yes, Mom."
He cruised back over to the doorway where Rong was standing with her arms crossed.
"Oi, Rong, don't be so hard on him. At least he saved her," HoroHoro said coming up behind her.
She turned to him. "Says you. This is no time to show off, this is serious!" She took out her sectioned whip as HoroHoro produced his ikupasuy. "Da-Xia told us that we have to stall Chibi-Terror here until Ren is able to get out of the room Ran sealed."
"Yeah, yeah, I hear you."
"Xue will go first!" Xue cried hopping forward.
Rong reached out for her. "Xue don't! We have no idea what he's capable of!"
"It'll be okay! Trust Xue!" her daughter replied smiling. She skipping up to the possessed Ren and held out her kendama. "Remember last time Xue let you use this, and you got it on the first try? That was amazing!"
Ren grinned. "I'll get you on the first try, also, you little bitch."
Xue's eyes widened and she covered her mouth. She turned to look at her parents. "Mommy! Daddy! Ren said a grown-up word!"
"Xue get back here!" HoroHoro cried.
Xue tossed her head, turning back to Ren. "Xue can be serious too, ya know."
Ren closed his eyes and chuckled, then looked at her. "We'll see."
Xue pressed a small button on her kendama and pulled back. "Go, Kiro!" she cried as she launched the ball.
It sailed toward him seemingly catching him off guard. But as it neared him, Ren swung his Kwan Dao, cutting the string. The ball bounced twice before settling on the ground.
"Oh...wow...wasn't expecting that..." Xue said, dumbfounded as she stared at her broken weapon.
When she looked up, she saw an attack was headed for her. She shrieked and tried to shield herself with her arms. Then she heard the blast being deflected. She looked up with wide eyes to see her little brother, now almost seven, standing in front of her.
"Neesan, you gotta be a little more careful. He would've gotten you there." He glared at Ren. "Ren, you're my best friend, my nakama...but when you attack my family like that, our friendship is worth nothing. You're my enemy." With a cry and an over souled snowboard on his arm, Seta charged at him. Ren just grinned.
"Bring it...Nakama."
Seta swung at him and blinked. He was gone. His friend appeared next to him and kneed him in the stomach. As his saliva hit the floor, Ren sneered as he grabbed the back of Seta's vest and whispered in his ear.
"I'm not your friend, you half-breed."
He tossed him into the air a little and was about to kick him across the room when his leg was frozen. Rong dove and caught her son a moment later. Seta struggled in her arms.
"Let me at him! I'll smack that grin right off his face! That jerk!"
"Seta, CALM DOWN!"
Seta turned to her, tears in his eyes.
"My best friend just called me a half breed...You have no friggin' idea how I feel!" he said in a loud whisper.
Rong bowed her head. Her son hardly ever cried, but here it was understandable. Ren had been his best friend. They had shared how hard it was at school when people picked on them, they had laughed and played together, grown up together. Now, this person who was like a brother to him had called him the name kids at school had so often used - a half breed.
HoroHoro stepped in front of them. "Seta, that isn't the Ren you know. He's been taken and possessed. The spirit that resides in him now only wishes to hurt you, even kill you. Ren, your nakama, would never say that to you and you know that." He looked back at him and smiled. "All the same, I'm sure that when this is over, he'll apologize to you because that's the type of person he is. Like Pin-Mei, he's over apologetic."
He heard ice cracking and looked to see the Ren had shaken the ice off of him.
"Fucking Ainu," he muttered. He felt a blade at the back of his neck.
"What have a told you about insulting people?"
Ren grinned. "Father, you've come out of hiding, finally. You were setting a poor example for me by running away with your tail between your legs."
"Cut the shit," his father said in a hostile tone. "I know who and what you are, and you certainly aren't my son."
The boy turned. "So what will you do, Tao Ren? Will you kill me now? Or will you give me time to make you regret rejecting me? Just bear in mind that this body will be hurt as well." He pretended to slit his throat with his thumb. "Unless this pathetic boy can overpower me, when I die, he dies as well."
"I've already told Pin-Mei about that possibility, and though she wishes to avoid it, I will do it if I must," Ren replied, seemingly without the least bit of emotion in his voice.
"Ren..." HoroHoro whispered. "Don't you care whether your only son lives or dies?"
Ren bowed his head. "I do...of course I do. He's my son...But I know that he's selfless." He lifted his head. "If it came down to him dying or him hurting any of us, he would choose himself."
The act of Ren saving him at the Shaman Fight nearly fifteen years ago flashed in his mind. He smiled faintly.
He really is like you.
"I won't make the mistake of showing you mercy like I did last time. You're holding my son hostage, but sadly, I will no longer be taking the bait."
"Sad for your son," the demon whispered.
Ren held up Houraiken. "Bason!"
Silence.
His son laughed. "I'm sorry, were you looking for this?" Bason appeared above him in chains.
"My lord!" the spirit cried out. "Please forgive my insolence!"
Ren narrowed his eyes. This apparition had stolen his main spirit. He could call on the Spirit of Thunder, but that would surely kill him, something he wanted to avoid if at all possible. He would have to fight without an over soul.
"It would appear that I have the upper hand, Father." The malicious grin on his son's face was almost haunting.
The boy swung his Kwan Dao at Ren, who blocked and countered. As they exchanged blows, Ren kept looking at HoroHoro out of the corner of his eye. Finally, the Ainu figured out what he was trying to tell him.
"Ren wants us to get Lien out of here. He knows that she needs Pin-Mei to heal her right now. Let's go,"
His family nodded and ran out of the room and down the halls, Rong leading the way with Lien in her arms.
"Where do you think they are?" HoroHoro called up.
"I'm not positive," Rong called back, "but I think I have a pretty good hunch."
They burst into the Ryuyou no Ma, causing the Tao family to stop what they had been doing and take notice. While all seemed to show concern for the young female heir, it was Pin-Mei who practically leaped off of the dragon chair and took the child into her arms. She immediately placed her hand on the girl's chest and began the healing process.
"What happened to her?" she whispered listlessly.
"Ren attacked her, it seems," Rong said.
Xue and Seta sat on either side of her, watching the body intently. Rong smiled slightly at the immense look of concern in her son's eyes. He had lately become a boy who was trying to be cool and show off, but hardly ever did anything dangerous or engaged in anything that he was aware would hurt him greatly. Now, he had taken it upon himself to go and rescue Lien. He had raced into the house ahead of his family, though he had to wait for them anyway as HoroHoro and Rong were the only ones who could navigate the castle without getting lost. Still, it was the thought that counted.
Lien soon opened her eyes and sat up. Pin-Mei hugged her.
"Thank goodness..." she whispered. "I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you."
Lien hugged her for a moment, then looked around. "Where's Ren? And Papa?"
"We had to get you out of there," Seta said earnestly. "Ren was about to kill you!"
Lien looked at the ground. "Ren..." Her eyes widened as she looked up again. "Mama!" She clung to her. "Ren's suffering! He's scared, Mama! He told me!"
"Lien," Rong said sadly. "Ren's saying things he doesn't mean right now. He's probably-"
"NO!" she cried as she grabbed her heart. "I felt it! I can always feel if he's happy or sad or mad or scared- anything! He's SCARED! He didn't want things this way!"
"I know Ren doesn't mean any of this, Lien, but..." She drooped her head so her bangs covered her eyes. "If your father can't separate Ren from the spirit controlling him, he may have to kill him."
Lien's eyes widened. "NO!" She ran out of the room.
"Lien!" her mother cried as she reached out for her. She put her head in her hands. "Lien..."
Ren back flipped as he dodged the demon's attack. As he landed, his ankle twisted, causing him to lose his balance. His son slid and knocked him off his feet, and he fell onto his back. Suddenly, the boy was standing over him, pointing the blade of his Kwan Dao at his father's neck.
Their fight had led them outside. They were now on the terrace of one of the castle's highest floors. It hadn't been Ren who wanted to fight in such a confined area. His adversary had led him there, knowing that he would have less maneuverability.
"It's a shame, really," the boy said. "You weren't able to completely bury the feelings you have for your son and fight me like I was truly an enemy. You've gone soft, Tao Ren. When you had me, you wouldn't hesitate to eliminate anyone who was in your path to greatness. Now, you're just a teddy bear."
"I don't need you," Ren said defiantly. "And neither does he!"
The demon smirked, then laughed. "This boy needed me like he needs air and water. He was so weak that it was child's play taking over his body. Like taking candy from a baby...except now that baby realizes he's been had and wants his lollipop back." He paused, letting Ren soak in the silence. "Can you hear that? Your beloved son screaming in terror? Soon, his soul will completely deteriorate and this body will be mine. Tao Ren II will be no more."
Ren's eyes shot open at this. As cold of a person as he had been all his life, he had realized after the teasing started that he wanted give his children the love he himself hadn't received growing up. That's why he had opted to take his son outside every evening to teach him martial arts and the Kwan Dao. He had understood that the love he gave Pin-Mei and the love he gave his children were different things. At times, he had even envied her for how their children ran right up to her and jumped into her arms while they seemed to shy away from him.
But he had noticed that the more time he spent with Ren, the more willing the otherwise timid boy was to approach him. Being the narcoleptic she was, Pin-Mei would sometimes fall asleep before her own children's bedtime, leaving them without a story. While Ren had been the one to occasionally tell of the adventures he and Pin-Mei had years ago, Pin-Mei was the one who would take any picture book her children gave her and read it aloud to them before tucking them in at night. All the same, little Ren had waddled over to him one night, one of his three favorite books, The Faithful Friend by Robert San Souci, in his hands.
"Your mother's asleep," he had said before going back to his green tea.
"But...um...you're...not...asleep..." his son replied, hiding his face behind his book.
"No, I'm not."
"Will you...um...read it to me?"
Ren didn't look up. "You've been reading since you were three. You're perfectly capable of reading it yourself."
The boy's head drooped. "But I want Papa to read it to me..."
"Why does it matter?"
"Because...I...I love you, Papa, and I want to spent more time with you."
Ren stopped and looked at him. The boy was looking away, his face bright red. After a moment of consideration, he put down his cup and got up.
"Alright, come on."
"You accepted me because of all the pain your own father caused you. Maybe your son accepted me for the same reason."
"No, he didn't," Ren whispered, his eyes hidden.
The hellion's smile faded. "What was that?"
Ren looked up at him with dagger-like eyes. "Ren accepted you because he thought that what he was doing was right. He was only thinking about saving Lien. The consequences he himself would face didn't cross his mind for an instant. You tricked him and stole his body." He smirked. "He doesn't want you anymore. Now, you're only a nuisance to him."
The fiend's eyes flared as he raised his weapon. "Burn in hell you impudent human," he muttered as his grin returned.
He was about to bring it down when he heard murmuring.
"I...I'm a Tao just like Papa...I...fear nothing...I'm strong and fearless...I'm a Tao..."
He looked up to see Lien clinging to the post that connected the rails that lined the terrace. Tears were apparent in her eyes.
"Lien, nice to see you again," her brother said, shifting his weight so it all rested on the chest of the man under him.
Lien flinched. "Niisama..." she said slowly. "I know you're in there, and I'm about to prove it."
She stood on top of the rails, barely touching the pillar. Ren's eyes widened.
"Lien? What are you...?"
She reached into her night shirt and pulled out a tag. He read the word.
Sleep.
The demon laughed. "What do you think you'll accomplish by doing that besides killing yourself?"
Lien remained firm, her hair tossing in the wind. "I'm going to wake up my Niisama."
"LIEN! Don't you dare do this!" Ren cried.
She looked at him, more tears filling her eyes.
"Papa, I love you very much," she said softly. "I know I never really say it much nowadays, but remember when I was little? I even told everyone that I was gonna marry you because I thought you were cute. Mama thought it was funny..."
"LIEN! GET DOWN FROM THERE!" Ren screamed. His heart was thumping in his chest. His mind was shutting down. He couldn't even move to force her down himself. All he could do was watch helplessly.
"I love you, Papa, Niisama...Tell Mama I love her, too."
"LIEN!"
She let go of the post and pressed the tag against her forehead.
Her eyes closed.
She fell.