Well, in college I'm in an East Asian Studies course. We learned that for a young person to call their elder siblings or relatives (including parents) by their names is very rude. So, I guess that says a lot about Ren, considering how he sometimes calls En by his given name instead "father" or the like.
Also, in Confucianism, Ren is the most important virtue, meaning benevolence and humanity (though the word we'd be looking for is Lian if we wanted it to refer to Ren directly). Yi, loyalty and righteousness, is also a virtue. I honestly didn't know this while choosing his name O.o We also studied Daoism/Taoism, so when my teacher wrote "Dao/Tao" on the board in kanji, I squealed since the character is written the same as Ren's surname. -fangirls- Okay, that's enough of that. At least you hopefully actually learned something from my dumb notes this time :D
Notes: Please excuse the limited use of "fangirl Japanese" in this chapter.
By this time, I think we can assume that Ren is now the head of the family, so any mention of scions or heirs now refer to Ren II.
Disclaimer: The anime/manga Shaman King 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 Seventy: I'll Make You Love Me
"I don't like him," Ren said as he took a fighting stance. His father did the same.
"You were never very trusting to begin with."
His son charged at him and threw a punch at his face, which he dodged by sidestepping to the left. He grabbed the outstretched arm and hit his son with a palm-heel strike to the cheek. He paused.
"Interesting..."
"What?"
The elder Ren landed a roundhouse kick to his ribs, sending him to the ground. He stood over him.
"How you refuse to let others in-" He moved to execute a low punch, but his prey rolled to the side, escaping him.
The boy kick-flipped off the ground to regain his stance. He charged, looking to perform a side chop to the neck, but again his father evaded the attack. Ren pulled his son's arm, causing him to bend over and expose his back.
"Yet, with me you're wide open."
He elbowed him on the back as he kneed his stomach. The boy hunched over, falling to his knees and assuming the fetal position on the ground. Ren took a few steps back to admire his handiwork.
"You're harsh in tone and personality, but soft on the battlefield, and for that I blame myself."
After a few gasps and deep breaths, the younger Ren looked up, slight pain still visible on his face. "What does this have to do with my problem?"
His father sighed and shook his head. "What I'm saying is yes, be on your guard, but until he does something genuinely suspicious, don't go for his throat. Keep your hand raised and in formation, but don't let it leave your side just yet."
Ren sat for a moment clenching his fists and gritting his teeth. "But doesn't his interest in Lien bother you?-!" he cried suddenly.
The man closed his eyes for a moment in thought. "I suppose it does slightly. I don't want a repeat of what happened a few years ago."
Lien's brother bowed his head, remembering the hurtful incident. "I don't either." He slammed his fist on the ground and looked away. "Damn that Seta! If he'd stop being such a wuss and confess to her, we wouldn't have to deal with this!"
"Think about who his father is; it took him nearly four years to propose to Rong. It took me about a week."
There was silence. Ren finally sighed. "If you want me to judge him for myself, get him to come over and I'll test him. Will you feel more secure about letting him be around Lien if I approve of him?"
"I guess." He looked away as he got up. His father grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.
"It took me a while to realize this myself, but there's no shame in asking for help," he said. "It by no means makes you weak."
The twin looked down. "Maybe."
The next day at school, Tadashi wasted no time in getting Lien's attention.
"I found this on my way to school and it made me think of you. Here, I want you to have it." He handed her a lily.
She took it nervously. "But my name means 'lotus'..." she started to say.
"There's always tomorrow, isn't there?" He smiled at her. She did also, but hers was a little more awkward. Tadashi glanced to his right to see Ren glaring at him.
"You're here," Ren said, holding his hand as high as his nose. "You need to be here." He brought it down past his chest. Tadashi frowned, but knew that if he wanted to stick around, he would have to obey him.
"Tadashi-kun!"
The boy turned to see a small group of girls behind him. They were all staring at him with googly eyes. He wasn't pleased, knowing that he was on the spot, especially with Ren analyzing his every move. All the same, he put on a smile.
"What can I do for you ladies?"
The giggled and squealed. "Can you say something for us in Japanese?"
He grinned mischievously. "Of course." He thought for a moment, then chose a phrase. "Urusai, baka kuso atama."
The girls clapped and squealed again. "Thank you!"
"You sound so cute when you speak Japanese!"
"You're so cute, Tadashi-kun."
"Thank you," he replied, his fake grin not worn out yet.
"You're welcome! See you!" They ran off.
Ren tried to hold back a snicker. "'Shut up, you stupid shit heads'? How mean."
The Japanese boy shrugged. "We're not in Japan, so they shouldn't use "kun" with me. Even if we were, I barely know them, and I never let people who I didn't know call me "Tadashi-kun". They're going to find out what happens when they use words when they have no idea what they mean." He leaned over to the girl seated in front of him. "But you can call me Tadashi-kun if you want, Lien."
Lien just breathed in the aroma of the flower she had been given. "You said that you found this on your way to school. Where do you live?"
He seemed slightly discouraged, but brightened his smile to hide it. "Just a half mile from here. Not too far."
"With your parents?"
Tadashi's smile turned sad. "No. By myself. My father died in an accident last year, and my mom left when I was very young, so I barely remember anything about her. My relatives think she's dead. So it's just me in an apartment my mom supposedly left behind for me."
"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you upset or anything! I just didn't know! I'm so sorry, Tadashi!" she cried, arms flailing.
He smiled at her. "You're so kind. I wonder if my mom was as kind as you are..."
She blushed, then stood up. "I-I'm going to go buy some water!" she cried, then ran out of the room.
Ren sighed. "Can you tone it down a little? You're going to overwhelm her – and I won't like that."
"Okay, okay," his classmate relented, putting his arms up in front of him.
"She may be apprehensive about accepting your charms, anyway. It's already hurt her once."
At this, Tadashi tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
Ren looked down, unsure if he should be revealing such a private incident so quickly. Finally, he looked up again. "In seventh grade, a boy in our class asked her out," he began, his eyes seemingly full of regret. "She refused. She didn't even know him that well. He asked her again the next day, and she hesitated, but still said no. That night, my mother and I told her that if this boy was asking so much, his feelings were probably genuine. He asked her again the next day. She said yes.
"But a few days later, the boy was with a group of his friends when Lien came down the hall. The boy asked her again if she would go out with him, barely able to keep a straight face. Then he and his friends huddled together and laughed."
Ren looked up from his book as Lien burst into the library and collapsed on top of him, her face covered in tears. He made her kneel on the floor and he joined her.
"What's wrong? Why are you crying?"
"Liar...You said his feelings were genuine," she whispered.
He stared at her, not sure if he could believe what she was insinuating.
"Now it hurts..." She clutched her chest. "It hurts so much..." She choked and hiccuped a few times before looking at him with spiteful eyes. Her voice was so raspy and worn that he could barely hear her. "...I hate you...I hate him...I hate all boys...All of them except Papa...He's the only one who loves me..." She crumbled and hid her face.
"It had been a joke," Tadashi whispered quietly.
Ren nodded. "Since then, she hasn't even shown any interest in finding a boyfriend. That incident ruined it for her." He glared at Meihou. "That's why I say if you hurt her, I'll kill you."
The boy nodded. "I understand. I guess I never thought people would go so low."
"When people know about the type of family you come from, for them, there is no 'low'."
"Why? What's wrong with your family?" He paused. "ARE YOUR PARENTS GAY?"
"NO! My parents are happily heterosexual, thank-you-very-much." He grinned as he remembered his father's words. "As a matter of fact, why don't you come over for dinner sometime and meet them? You can see for yourself."
Tadashi's eyes widened as he hit his hand with the bottom of his fist. "Great idea!" He rubbed his chin in thought. "A good boyfriend should go and introduce himself to the girl's parents." He nodded, approving the idea in his mind.
"Listen you..."
"I said, get out of my way!"
They turned their heads toward the door leading to the hallway where the voice had come from.
"Not until we're done with you!"
"Yeah! You already have Ren for a brother – now you want Tadashi for yourself, too?"
"You're so selfish Lien!"
"No, listen, he's just -"
"Shut up!"
Ren stood and went to dash out of the room when Tadashi jumped over his desk and joined him. When they made it to the hall, Ren's eyes went cold as he saw Lien being held against the wall, holding her hair as a group of girls, led by Suān, pulled on it mercilessly.
"HEY!" They all froze and stared at him. "Let go of her. NOW." They obeyed. "Now, apologize."
"Get on your knees and beg for it," Tadashi said as he came up behind him.
The girls stared at each other, then after a nod from their leader, they got down on their knees. "We're sorry! P-Please forgive us! We promise we won't pull your hair again!"
"It's okay..." Lien whispered, dumbfounded at the power the two boys had over her enemies.
Tadashi sighed and shook his head. "Gee, Ren, I dunno...I don't think this is good enough..."
Ren took on a similar tone. "Strangely enough, I have to agree with you." He stared at the girls with such cold eyes that they shivered. "Promise to never touch her again – period."
"We promise to never touch you again..." the girls repeated in timid whispers.
Ren went over to his sister and put his hand on her shoulder. "Good. Now get back to class," he said darkly. The girls whimpered and scurried back into the room. He glared at them even after they were out of sight. When he returned his gaze, Tadashi was standing in front of Lien.
"You okay?"
She nodded dumbly. He gave her a small smile as he reached into the breast pocket of his uniform's blazer and produced a small plastic comb.
"You might want to wash it a little or at least run it under some hot water, but you can use it to fix your hair."
"Is...it really that bad?"
"It's just puffing out a little where they pulled it," Ren said as he lightly touched a piece of hair.
"Oh, I see..." She fidgeted, then turned to hug her brother. "Thanks...I'm sorry that you had to get involved."
He rolled his eyes and sighed as he lightly hugged her back and patted her head. "Fool. I did it because I wanted to."
She smiled. "Still, thank you" She turned to head to the bathroom to groom herself, but then she seemed to remember that Tadashi was there as well. After a few moment, she awkwardly touched his arm. "Thank you," she said with an equally awkward smile, then ran off.
The two boys stared after her in silence. Suddenly, Tadashi let out a squeal and pumped his fist in the air.
"Yes! She touched me! It's only been two days and she touched me!" He did a touchdown dance in a circle before Ren decided he had had enough and gave him a swift kick to the rear, sending him to the floor. The boy moaned, then stood, rubbing the wounded area. "Oi, you didn't need to kick my ass over it."
"Don't get too comfortable just because she touched you," Ren said with folded arms. "You still have to get the approval of our father before I'll even think about letting you near her again."
"That's right...What kind of guy is your old man anyway?"
"The kind that would kill you if he heard you say that. He doesn't look old either; he still looks like he's still in his twenties because of how well he takes care of himself."
"I see..." He thought for a moment. "I heard you and Lien talking once – Why do you call him 'Father' while she just calls him 'Papa'?"
Ren shrugged. "She's just what you'd call a 'daddy's girl'. She'll go sit on his lap while he's reading and hug him even though he doesn't usually like it. He hates the random kisses she gives him, complete with the "mwahh!" sound effect, but he doesn't get mad at her as often. I guess it puts me at a disadvantage whenever he has to settle our disputes."
Tadashi tilted his head. "Why is that?"
"He holds me to a higher standard because I'm the oldest and he was the one who taught me how to act as I got older. Everything I know came from him."
"You mean to say that you're not a 'Mama's boy'?"
Ren paused as he remembered the smiling face of his former self. "No. My father didn't want me to be weak like that."
Tadashi sighed. "Jeez...Your poor mom..."
"Shut up. She knows what she means to all of us." He shifted. "My father is rarely openly affectionate. He'd rather express his feelings in private or by doing things that show love. I guess I got that aspect of my personality from him. But my mother's been living with it since she was even younger than us, so she knows that we care about her, even if we don't tell her so. Besides, our little brother is more than happy to accept any hugs and kisses she wishes to give."
"That may be so, but don't you think she'd be happy to get a hug once in a while? More importantly, one from the first child that she brought into this world?" He shook his head sadly. "I'd give anything to switch places with you."
"Why? So you can be a creep and be around Lien all the time?"
"No." He looked up. "You have the ability to decide whether or not to hug your mom...I don't."
With that, he went back into the classroom.
"Since Valentine's Day is coming up, we're going to do a mini-unit on how this occasion is celebrated around the world," Ms. Wong said as she passed out a red mini-notebook to each of her students.
There was a mixture of squeals and groans. Ren sighed. Again this year his desk would be crowded by girls eager to have their chocolates accepted by him. He remembered being quite surprised when he was first offered some a few years ago.
"Ummm...Ren? C-Can I talk to you somewhere?"
Ren looked up from his book to see a classmate of his with long brown curly hair who he recognized as the girl who had sat behind him until the seating change a few days before. She seemed to be holding something behind her back. His eyes narrowed. No one ever spoke to him or Lien – why now? He followed her out into the hall all the same, knowing that once the matter was dealt with, he could go back to reading in peace.
"What is it?" he asked impatiently.
The girl blushed and took out a heart-shaped box of chocolates from behind her back. Ren stared at them speechless.
"I...I love you! Please go out with me!" she cried.
So many thoughts were racing through his mind. 'I can't possibly say yes to this. I don't even remember this girl's name. I have to decline gracefully...'
"I'm sorry, but I can't accept them. I know you must have worked hard to make those chocolates, and that in itself says a lot about what a passionate person you are, but that devotion is for someone else. I'm sorry."
She stared at him, then started crying.
"I promise you, someday you'll find the person that will love you just as much as you love them."
The thought of having to go through that again this year made him want to drink a gallon of milk and stay home sick.
Amidst the groans, Lien clapped her fingertips together. She loved Valentine's Day because it was the one day where she had an excuse to show her brother how much she loved him. She always gave him special chocolates that she made with powdered milk so that they were safe for him to eat. He always accepted them with a hug and a smile, thanking her for changing the recipe to fit his needs.
Lien and Pin-Mei always made their chocolates together. However, Lien never saw her mother give anything to her father, nor him giving anything to her. After careful deliberation, she had concluded that her father was a shy person deep down and was embarrassed at the thought of showing affection for his wife in front of his children, and therefore only showed love when the two adults were alone. Her brother knew that he just didn't like putting on shows.
"Ehhh? No White Day?" Tadashi whined as he leaned back in his chair. "What a rip-off."
Lien looked at him curiously. "White Day?"
"It's a holiday where men basically reciprocate any gifts given to them by girls on Valentine's Day by buying them something or taking them somewhere." Ren explained, his voice devoid of any excitement.
"Yeah, that's right," Tadashi said. He grinned sweetly and rested his head on his fist. "But if there's no White Day here, I guess I'll just have to give you my gift on Valentine's Day."
She quickly snapped her head away. "That won't be necessary...I-I already know who I'm giving my chocolates to, anyway."
He chuckled. "I don't mind not getting anything. Just tell me what your favorite color is so I can get you something nice."
She hesitated, looking at Ren, who rolled his eyes.
"...White," she said finally.
"Ah, white. The color of purity." He winked at her. "Okay, it's a pure white present for the pure maiden."
Lien, frowned, a hurt look in her eyes. She hid her face by putting it on her desk and folding her arms over it.
"She thinks you're making fun of her," Ren said in a low voice.
"TAO! NO SLEEPING!" Ms. Wong yelled from across the room.
Lien picked her head up to reveal slightly reddened eyes. Ren glared at the boy seated behind her.
"Leave her alone for a while, okay?" He gazed at her, as if trying to read her mind. "She's frustrated because she doesn't really know if she can trust you yet."
Tadashi looked at her sympathetically. "Is there anything I can do to let her know that it's okay to trust me?"
Ren shook his head. "Just let her be. She'll get overloaded if you keep going."
"...Alright."
After classes ended and Ren had gone off to practice, Tadashi ran to catch up with Lien.
"Lien, listen-"
"Don't talk to me."
"What? Come on, can't you at least hear me out?"
She opened the school's main door and looked back and him, her eyes full of scorn. "Don't you get it? I'm not going to be part of your little game. Act your age and not your shoe size. We're in high school, only a few steps away from being out in the real world. You can't play with people's hearts like this!"
"I'm not! I've meant everything I've said! What makes you think I'm toying with you?"
"You've only known me for two days and you're acting like some Casablana towards me, offering to buy me gifts and bringing me flowers..."
He stared at her. "Don't you mean 'Casanova'?"
Her face creased in frustration, thinking he was once again making a fool out of her. She threw the door open and ran out of the building. He followed her.
"I said leave me alone!"
"Not until you accept that I'm serious about you, Tao Lien!" He caught up with her and grabbed her wrist. She stopped and snapped backwards, her back hitting his chest. His arms draped over her shoulders, hugging her neck. "I promise you that I'm not trying to make you cry – it's just the opposite. I want nothing more than to see you smile."
But she was already quivering, a few of her tears falling on his hands.
"Ren told me about what those boys did to you a few years ago. I promise you that I'm not like them. I really do like you."
"Yeah? And what about me? What is it that makes you like me so much?" she snapped, trying to wipe some of her tears away.
He smiled. "You're just adorable. You're kind, you're funny, you're modest, you're creative..." He turned her around to face him. "Wow..."
"What?"
He smiled again. "You're even beautiful when you cry."
She jerked away from him, turning around. "L-Liar...People are ugly when they cry...Their faces get all wrinkly and their eyes get all red and puffy..."
"I know. That's why you're amazing."
"LIAR!"
He wrapped his arms around her again. "Is it a crime that just seeing these qualities in you attracted me from the moment we met?"
"I...I don't love you. I love someone else," she whispered.
"That's fine. I'll still be here when they make you cry, like a knight that always comes to the aid of his princess. I promise."
She started crying harder. "Do you have any idea how guilty that makes me feel? Doesn't it bother you that I don't have any feelings for you?"
He was silent for a moment. "Well, yeah, a little, but when you care about someone, you want them to be happy above all else. It doesn't matter if you're with them or not. As long as they're happy."
"You're...You're so stupid..."
"No...I'm hopeless."
Ren patted his face with his towel as he left practice. He was exhausted not only because of how hard he had worked, but because his teammates had seemed too preoccupied with other things to concentrate on their routines. He had to kick their asses before they realized he wasn't going to tolerate idle minds on his team.
As he walked down the hall toward the school's main entrance, he heard the sound of feet gently hitting the tiled floor as well as small grunts of frustration. He looked down one of the halls to see the girl who had run into him a couple days ago hopping up and down in an effort to reach something on a rafter above her. Failure seemed imminent.
"You just can't seem to stay out of trouble, can you?" he said stoically as he approached her.
She flinched at the sound of his voice and turned around. Her face instantly turned red from embarrassment. "Be-Be quiet! It's not my fault!"
He looked up to see her school bag balancing on the top of the rafter. "That's not the best place for that."
"I know! I didn't put it there!" she cried. "Some boys were upset about a rule that the student council passed concerning where they could store their sports bags when they're not practicing or at a meet. And since I'm the council president, they took it out on me by "storing" it in a most inconvenient spot."
Ren was staring up at the rafter, studying it. "Hold this," he commanded, shoving his duffel bag against her chest. She looked at him, confused.
"W-Wait, captain!"
"Do you want your bag or not?" he growled impatiently.
She looked at the ground. "Well, I need it to do my homework..."
"Then don't complain."
He rubbed his palms together before jumping and gripping the rafter. He hoisted his torso over it, grabbed the bag, and jumped down again. The girl stared at him in awe.
"That was amazing."
"Whatever, just take the bag." He held it by his index and middle finger and offered it to her. She slowly took it from him. "Ai-Li, was it?"
"Yes..."
"Let's see if you can stay out of trouble for more than two days," he said with a smirk.
Her face turned red again. "I can't help it!" she cried.
He grinned minimally, then picked up his bag and headed for the door again. Ai-Li stared after him for a few moments, then suddenly remembered her manners.
"Thank you, Captain!"
Without looking back at her, he waved her off.
"Nice hair," Lien said smirking as she watched a classmate of Níu-Năi's braid his long dark green hair.
The boy blushed. "Shut up. Chun wanted to do this."
She looked to the small girl with long lavender hair seated behind him. The girl, Chun, was a classmate of his that seemed to have a weird fascination with him, but especially with his hair. Even when he told her of his shamanic background as a means of scaring her off, she only seemed more enthralled. Just his luck. At nine, he had his first fangirl.
As she braided the last of his hair, she sat back and admired her work, happy as a clam. "All done, honey," she said, beaming.
"Don't call me that!" He shouted as he looked back at her.
She lunged and hugged him. "You look SO cute!"
Níu-Năi looked at his sister. "Help me..." he whimpered.
Lien laughed and turned away. "Sorry, I've got homework!" she said before skipping away.
He reached out to her. "No! Sis! Come back!" He finally accepted his fate and fell flat on the floor. His "girlfriend" took this as a sign that he wanted to cuddle and hugged him tighter.
"Those two are so funny," Lien said as she walked into the living room where Pin-Mei was sitting reading a book. "Why does he keep inviting her over if she tortures him so much?"
Her mother giggled. "I think there's just something about her that attracts him, whether it be emotionally...or spiritually. Maybe it's because she's one of few people that accept him at school, who knows? Emotions like that just can't be explained in words."
"I see..."
As silence filled the room, Lien thought about Tadashi's words.
"Mama?" she said suddenly.
She looked up from her book. "What is it?"
"If...If Papa didn't love you, would you still treat him the same way you do now? I mean, would you still want to do everything you possibly could for him, or would you just stop caring?"
Pin-Mei thought for a moment. "If he didn't love me, I'd probably do more for him than I do now."
"What? Why?"
"Because we all want to be noticed and loved. If he didn't love me, I'd work harder to earn praise or even half a smile." She put on a smile of her own. "When people want others to love them, they sometimes do the most extreme things, or even many small things every chance they get in order to earn approval. I've never had to deal with someone reacting that way to me, but I'd like to think that I would be kind to them and smile."
"But what if you can't stand what they're doing? What if they just keep doing things for you and you don't feel that you can do things back?"
Pin-Mei looked at her. "Be kind to him and accept him as a friend."
"But-!"
"Think about it. If he's working so hard to impress you and get you to love him, don't you think that maybe it's because he's lonely? Maybe he'd even be happy with you telling him that you appreciate what he does for you. Do something to make him smile."
Lien sat in an armchair, staring at the floor. "Am I pretty?"
Her mother nodded. "Of course you are. You get your looks from your father, after all."
"I'm serious!"
"Lien, I know you may disagree, but looks really don't matter when you're looking for someone to love you. Take myself for instance: My face was slightly round, I was as flat as a board, and I was so thin that if your father hadn't treated me so much when we went out to eat I probably would have looked like a skeleton. No exactly a dream girl, right?"
"I refuse to say anything on the grounds it may incriminate me."
She laughed. "You're always so thoughtful."
Lien blushed. "Maybe..."
They heard the door slam, signifying that her brother was home. He walked in, a tired look in his eyes.
"Welcome home, sweetheart," Pin-Mei said cheerfully. "How was practice?"
He heaved a sigh. "The usual, except for a few devoted members, I'm surrounded by imbeciles."
"Oh? What makes you say that?"
"They're just getting all paranoid about the meet on Friday. We're fighting a team that has won the regional championship a number of times, so they're convinced we're going to lose. Useless cowards..."
"Well, just do your best, Ren." She brought her fist as high as her shoulder and shook it in support.
"Threaten push-ups and leg lifts!" Lien cried.
"Just suggest to the adviser that there are a few problem members. Give them a warning and then throw them off if they continue. Simple," his father said as he strolled into the room.
The younger Ren inhaled. "I don't know. Maybe if we lose the meet. Otherwise, I'll just train the few that actually believe in the team."
There was a scream. Moments later, Níu-Năi ran into the room and jumped into his mother's lap, quivering.
"What is it, honey? Is something wrong?" she asked, concerned.
He pointed to the doorway, where Chun had appeared, a huge smile on her face.
"SHE KISSED ME!" he cried.
Chun shrugged, showing not a hint of regret. "It's his own fault for being so cute."
Ren walked over to his son, removed him from his wife's lap, and placed him on the ground. "You're too old for that. Now go on."
"B-B-BUT WHAT IF SHE DOES IT AGAIN?"
"You'll live, trust me."
"I'll give him a cootie shot!" Lien turned to her brother. "Just like I gave you one. You were so scared that you were going to die when I kissed your cheek. You were a riot!"
Ren rolled his eyes. He never liked to be reminded of his change. "Yes, yes. I was naïve, but I'm not like that anymore, and I never will be, so I won't be falling for your stupid tricks."
Speaking of stupid...
"Anyway, I invited a friend over for dinner. He's a new student, so I thought he'd feel more welcome if we got to know him. He's coming over tomorrow night." He and his father exchanged glances. Lien stared at the floor, an unreadable expression on her face.
Pin-Mei just stared at him. "You...invited someone over?"
"That's what I said."
She was silent for a moment, then jumped up with an excited squeal.
"KYAAA! This is so great! You two never invite people over!" She clapped her hands together. "Huan!" she called.
The twenty year-old maid appeared. "Yes, mistress?"
"We're going to be having company over tomorrow night for dinner, so could you go tell the cooks to prepare their best meals for that night?"
There was a flash of scorn, but she smiled brightly. "Of course." She left the room. Ren stared after her. There was still something about her that he didn't like.
"Oh I can't wait! What should I wear? Kyaaa!" she practically danced out of the room. Her family stared after her.
"Is she really almost forty?" Lien said finally.
The elder Ren sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I ask myself the same question every night."
Just then, the phone rang.
"I'll get it," the heir said getting up. He went into the study and picked up the receiver. "Hello?"
"Hey, Ren! How goes it?"
"Oh, hi, Seta." He hid a small smile from himself. Despite the changes he had gone through, one of the things that hadn't changed was how close he and Seta were. "So to what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?"
"Well, um, I want to come over next week."
"That shouldn't be a problem. What day?"
"...The fourteenth..."
Ren smirked. "You finally have the guts?"
On the other end, Seta was bright red. "Sh-Shut up! You've never had to confess your feelings to anyone! You have no idea how nerve wracking it is!"
"Point." He paused. "But you better not chicken out this time. You don't want someone else to snatch her because you were too much of a coward to do so yourself."
A long, dramatic pause.
"Wait...What are you talking about?"
"I'm just saying make your move or lose out." He was trying to decide whether or not he should outwardly tell him of his apparent rival for Lien's affection.
"There's...someone else, isn't there?"
Ren could almost hear his friend's heart sink. He knew that if he didn't say something quick, cracking might be next.
"She doesn't seem interested, but feelings can change, you know? Just do it when you get here, and hopefully she'll accept."
"...Right..."
He thought for a moment, then smirked.
"Hey, Seta..."
"Yeah?"
"Why don't you call tomorrow night, too?"