Hey! A big thank you to all the reviewers! Thanks for all the encouragement and such, and I'm glad you like the story so far. I hope you will continue to enjoy it. Oh and snow-angel-anna has already updated her story, miracles, so check it out. This chapter will come in 2 parts…I was in the middle of writing it when I realised, it's too long! Oh wells…enjoy chapter 5!
Chapter 5- Riding with you (Part 1)
Kaede awoke to the sound of her alarm. It was seven in the morning on Sunday. The day she had been dreading. Kaede regretted agreeing to the outing to the theme park. The last place she had been to with a whole family was a theme park, and after her parents' divorce, she had never gone to a theme park again, for fear that she would recall the painful memories.
Her parents had quarreled constantly, and Kaede had always been caught in the middle. On several occasions, they had even brought up the subject of divorce, but it had still come as a shock to Kaede when they had actually divorced. She had hoped and prayed so hard that it would not come down to that.
Kaede shook herself out of her thoughts. She would be with her friends this time around, so it would not be so bad…would it?
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After Kaede had freshened up, she changed into a body-hugging shirt with long sleeves and a pair of bellbottom jeans. As she left her room, she grabbed her coat and scarf and threw them on. It was October, and winter was nearing, so it was getting cold.
When Kaede entered the dining room, she saw that everybody was already seated around the dining table, waiting for her. They were all wearing jackets or coats to protect them from the cold, except Lyn, who was wearing a loose-fitting hooded jersey shirt with baggy jeans.
Kaede was worried for a moment before realising that Lyn had placed her jacket on the table. She had thought that Lyn had been moronic enough to forget that she would need a jacket.
"Why did you bring Kwan Dao today? You can't be thinking of training at the theme park, can you?" Yoh asked Ren curiously. "I just felt like it…" Ren replied. "Well, you are not going to bring it along." Anna told Ren coldly. "I wasn't planning to…" Ren growled, standing up and placing Kwan Dao against the wall.
Yoh got up and walked to the door and the rest followed. Just when they reached the door, there was the sound of someone bashing on it. Yoh slid the door open and Horo Horo stomped in.
"What happened? I thought you were back in Hokkaido?" Yoh asked, confused. "My father chased me out of the house…said he wanted me to come to school here and learn to do something with my life. Dude, can I stay here?" Horo Horo asked, grimacing a little.
Yoh looked at Anna, who rolled her eyes and nodded her head with an exasperated sigh. "Well, I'm glad someone finally realised how useless you are…" Ren said, smirking.
Horo Horo glared at Ren, then looked curiously at all of them. "Where are you guys going?" Yoh grinned. "We were heading to the theme park…wanna join us?" Horo Horo's eyes lit up and he nodded eagerly, dashing up the stairs.
"Elephant…" Ren muttered, a disgusted look on his face. Lyn stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. Horo Horo was really making as much noise as an elephant. A moment later, he came stomping down the stairs.
As they were walking out the front door, Ren suddenly stopped, as if remembering something. He then turned and walked back into the house, leaving the rest wondering what he was up to.
When Ren came out of the house, he had Kwan Dao in hand. "I thought I told you not to bring it along?" Anna asked, narrowing her eyes.
"I wasn't planning to, until this stupid Ainu came along, then I figured that it would be…useful…" Ren smirked, fingering the weapon's blade suggestively. Horo Horo stared at him, stunned, then took a step back.
"Enough already. Lets go." Anna said, walking away from the En Inn. The others followed, leaving Faust to look after the inn with Eliza.
When Faust entered the dining room, he noticed a jacket lying on the table. Lyn had forgotten to take her jacket.
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From where he was sitting with Horo Horo on the train, Ren couldn't help but cast glances at Lyn, who was sitting on the other side of the aisle with Kaede. She was talking to Yoh, who was seated facing her with Anna, and Ren noticed that Hao was staring at them from where he was seated behind them.
"Shit! I left my jacket behind!" Lyn exclaimed, standing up. Kaede stared in astonishment at her outburst, then shook her head in exasperation.
Lyn remained standing for awhile, then shrugged her shoulders and sat back down. "You sure you'll be fine without a jacket?" Kaede asked worriedly. Lyn nodded her head, grinning sheepishly.
Horo Horo gave a start when he noticed a small smile playing on Ren's lips. He had noticed that there was a look in Ren's eyes, a look that had never been there before, whenever he looked at Lyn. That look conveyed many mixed emotions, such as sorrow and joy, but the two emotions it conveyed most strongly were tenderness and…love.
"Is she that special?" Horo Horo asked, looking at Ren. "Shut up, you stupid Ainu…" Ren growled, tilting Kwan Dao towards Horo Horo.
Horo Horo backed away, but continued speaking. "You like her, don't you? So what's so special about her? You don't really trust people easily, and since she walked away from you battle, I would think you have even less reason to trust her…" "Just shut up! I don't like her." Ren growled, brandishing Kwan Dao.
Jun laughed from where she was sitting facing Ren and Horo Horo. Ren might try to deny it, but she had noticed the difference in his behavior when he was with Lyn. "That girl…She's good for Ren, isn't she?" Jun asked Pai Long who nodded thoughtfully. "He does seem happy when he's with her…"
Lyn laughed when she saw Ren waving Kwan Dao at Horo Horo wildly. "Those two…are really close, aren't they?" Yoh nodded, grinning. "It's been like that since we became friends…"
Lyn glanced at Kaede from the corner of her eyes. She had been extremely quiet since they had left the En Inn. This was probably very difficult for her.
Lyn remembered the time she had asked Kaede whether she wanted to go to the theme park. Never would she forget the look that had been in Kaede's eyes. It had been so scared, so sad. At that time, Lyn had wanted to cry for Kaede.
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"So what stupid ride are we going on first?" Ren asked, making his voice seem bored. "Roller Coaster!" Hao, Yoh, Horo Horo and Lyn shouted at the same time. Ren couldn't help but grin a little at the enthusiastic expression on Lyn's face.
Ren immediately straightened his face, hoping that no one had noticed, but Yoh and Horo Horo were looking at him with knowing smiles on their faces, hinting that they had caught that grin.
"I'll sit here and wait for you all…" Jun said, sitting down on a bench near the queue for the Roller Coaster ride. "I'll wait here with you." Anna said, sitting down next to her. Jun looked at her and nodded.
"Ren…give me Kwan Dao would you?" Jun asked Ren with a sigh. Ren reluctantly loosened his grip on Kwan Dao and handed it to Jun.
Lyn grabbed Kaede's wrist and pulled her into the queue, and Yoh and Horo Horo stood to one side, grinning as they let Ren enter the queue before they did. As Ren walked past them, he noticed them exchanging mischievous glances.
"You guys had better not be thinking of trying anything funny…" Ren growled at Yoh and Horo Horo. "Don't worry…we're not thinking of trying anything funny…" Yoh replied, grinning mischievously.
"That had better be the case, or else…" Ren narrowed his eyes at the two of them. "Or else?" Horo Horo asked, raising an eyebrow cheekily. Ren rolled his eyes and walked into the queue. Yoh looked at Horo Horo and grinned.
"We're not thinking of trying anything…we are going to do!"
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"I want to sit right in front! Can we? Kaede?" Lyn asked, jumping up and down excitedly when it was their turn to ride on the Roller Coaster. Kaede's eyes widened and she shook her head, biting her lips.
"Alright then…I'll sit with you at the back…" Lyn said, disappointment written all over her face. "Why don't you sit with someone else in front? I'm sure Kaede wouldn't mind…" Yoh suggested, ruffling Lyn's hair.
Lyn perked up a little, looking at Kaede hopefully. Kaede smiled, shaking her head resignedly. "Yea sure…go ahead…" Lyn laughed and clapped her hands with glee, then skipped towards the first car of the Roller Coaster excitedly.
Ren stared at Lyn in amusement as she skipped towards the first car. "Why don't you sit with her?" Horo Horo asked, grinning suggestively. Ren flushed slightly. "Shut up…"
When they were nearing the cars of the Roller Coaster, Ren saw Yoh and Horo Horo exchange glances and grin widely. Before he could react, they pushed him into the first car with Lyn, then clambered into the second car behind them, laughing loudly.
Ren flushed as he sat down next to Lyn. She turned around and stared at him in surprise. "Why is your face so red?" She asked innocently. Behind them, Yoh and Horo Horo roared with laughter. Ren sighed and shook his head. It was better that she didn't realise his feelings for her.
"Morons…" Hao muttered, staring at Yoh and Horo Horo. Kaede stared up at him in surprise. Hao smiled at her, shaking his head. "Never mind…well, we came here to enjoy ourselves, so lets go…" Kaede stared at Hao's back as he walked towards the cars of the Roller Coaster, then ran after him.
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Ren smiled when he saw Lyn laughing at the thrill of the ride. Nothing ever seemed to faze her. His hand twitched towards hers before he could stop himself. As his fingertips brushed past hers, he felt a tingle run down his hand.
Ren snatched his hand away just as she turned to look at him in surprise, flushing furiously and holding his breath. Ren breathed a sigh of relief only when Lyn had turned away.
Kaede bit her lips, grabbing Hao's hand and squeezing it tightly as the Roller Coaster rushed downwards. Hao looked at her in surprise and laughed. "Your fighting style involves jumping down from high places, so shouldn't you be used to this kind of thing?"
Kaede shook her head. "When I'm jumping down, I'm in control of my body, but I can't control this machine, can I? Besides, things are different in a battle…" Kaede bit her lips, expecting Hao to laugh at her, but he simply nodded in understanding.
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After they had gotten off the ride, they walked to where Jun, Anna and Pai Long were waiting. Ren immediately grabbed Kwan Dao and started slashing it at Yoh and Horo Horo.
"That's all the thanks we get!" Horo Horo shouted, laughing. "If you don't shut up, you are so dead! Ren shouted, chasing Yoh and Horo Horo even more furiously then ever.
Lyn looked at Kaede, who was standing at one side quietly. Wasn't there anything she could do to make this outing an enjoyable one for Kaede?
Kaede flushed suddenly and looked down at her feet, and when Lyn looked at where her gaze had been a second before, she saw Hao, smiling at Kaede. She didn't understand what was going on, but she just had a feeling…
By this time, Ren had stopped chasing Yoh and Horo Horo, and was standing silently beside Lyn. Lyn grinned and grabbed his hand, pulling him after her. She walked towards Kaede and grabbed her wrist with her free hand, then pulled the two of them after her. "Hey Yoh…lets split into different groups and do what we want, yea?"
Yoh smiled when he saw Lyn pulling Kaede and Ren behind her. If Ren was truly unwilling to be with her, he would have wrenched his hand from Lyn's long ago. No matter how he tried to deny it, he enjoyed being with Lyn.
Hao stared as Lyn pulled Ren and Kaede away from the group. "What is she up to?" Hao muttered under his breath and ran after them.
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Ren growled as he came to another dead end. Lyn had brought Kaede and him to the maze of mirrors, telling them that it would be fun. Well, he wasn't having much fun. He kept ending up at dead ends and having to backtrack.
Everywhere you looked, there were mirrors, and even more mirrors. Where they didn't have mirrors, they had transparent panels to create illusions of people going down other halls in the mirrors.
Ren growled as he approached another dead end. He felt like slashing the panel apart with Kwan Dao. Just then, he heard the sound of running feet behind him, and before he knew what was happening, he felt something crash into him from behind and he stumbled forward. He turned around to shout at whoever it had been, but froze when he saw that it was Lyn.
Lyn was on her bottom, blinking in confusion. "Sorry! I thought you were one of those illusions!" Lyn laughed, jumping up and running forward. "Wait! It's a…"
WHAM!
"…dead end…" Ren finished his sentence a second too late. Lyn had run straight into the transparent panel ahead. Lyn shook her head, dazed, then stood up shakily.
"Are you alright?" Ren asked concernedly. Lyn nodded uncertainly. "I think so…I've just had the wind knocked out of me…that's all…"
Ren shook his head and grabbed Lyn's hand, blushing slightly as he did so. "Do you need a babysitter wherever you go? Come on…I'll look after you…" Ren said gruffly. Lyn grinned and nodded gratefully.
"Watch out!"
CRASH!
"In front of you!"
WHAM!
You're such a klutz
Slamming into everything
You get me all worried
But you're cute that way
"Finally…It's amazing how many things you can bang into even with someone leading you…" Ren muttered as the walked out the exit of the maze. Lyn grinned sheepishly, then slipped her hand away from his and walked towards the exit counter.
"Miss…could you do me a favour? When a boy with long brunette hair and huge earrings and a girl with blonde hair and hazel eyes have both exited the maze, could you tell them that Ren and Lyn have gone ahead? Thank you…"
Ren stared at Lyn in shock and she grinned mischievously. "I don't know why, but I just have a feeling this will cheer Kaede up…well, lets go before they come out!" Lyn said, running away from the maze exit. Ren stared at the exit for a second, then ran after her.
Muahaha! Lyn and Ren left Hao and Kaede alone! Does that mean more room for fluff in part 2? Maybe…who knows? -evil grin- Anyways, please remember to review! Thanks!