Chapter 13: I've never felt so helpless in my life
REN'S POV
"Guess what happened while you two were gone?" Horohoro asks dully. A week has passed since Mariana and I went to Canada. She seems much better now, no longer miserable about that guy's death. Although now she's picked up this odd habit of staring at me most of the time, assuming I don't notice. As if! And when I look back at her, she looks quickly away, pretending she wasn't staring at all. She's so weird.
"No! I hate things happening when I'm absent" She pouts, making me automatically roll my eyes "What happened?"
"Lyserg had his first fight" Horohoro sits down on the living room sofa and turns on the TV "We saw it. He's with the X-laws now, just like we thought" He reaches for the remote and puts on the news.
"How did he do?" I sit beside him and Mariana on my other side.
"Not bad" He shrugs "They won" We listen to the news quietly for a while. When the most important ones end he says "We found out who's the head of the organization. It's this strange girl who calls herself Iron Maiden Jeanne. She has a very powerful spirit"
"Interesting" I acknowledge "I'll watch out for their next match to see that"
"I'm really sorry to have made you miss it, Ren" Mariana says apologetically for about the thousandth time.
"Oh my god cut it already!" I snap "It's not as though I gave you my arm, you know?"
"You are so good" She grins. I watch the TV intently to avoid her gaze. Why does she have to make such a big deal about it? Out of the corner of my eye, I see Horohoro giving her a wink behind me. I raise a inquiring eyebrow at him and he just grins.
"What was that?" I growl.
"A secret between Mariana and me" He sniggers stupidly and Marian laughs.
"Idiots" I roll my eyes again.
"Hey guys" Chocolove calls walking down the stairs "I'm ready now, let's go" Today's Yoh's team first match. It's been ages since I last saw any of them fight. It will be interesting to see whether they have improved at all.
(Three hours later)
After having breakfast at a nearby coffee, we set off to the stadium. We wish the guys good luck and go to find seats. Their opponent is the Ice team. It doesn't take very long for me to predict the end of the match, the Funbari Onsen is clearly better. They do seem to have improved, Yoh has a new oversoul. Apparently, they've learned the Chou Senji Rakketsu.
Bored with the dullness of this fight, I leave ten minutes into it. Exactly like I expected, not a block away I can feel the Ice team's oversouls vanish, while the Funbari Onsen's ones can still be detected. So obvious, no point staying. Maybe I can take this time to train a bit. So much has been going on lately that I hardly have the time to do so anymore.
I'm halfway back to my place when the feeling of a strong furyoku close by hits me like a windstorm. I think I can tell who this is…
"Hi!" Yes, I was correct. Hao. "Good evening, Ren" He jumps right in front of me.
"Hao?!" Bason exclaims alarmed.
"Worry not" Hao smiles "I'm only here to talk. I even missed the end of the match to talk to your master"
"Talk?!" Bason sounds even more alarmed now.
"Ignore him" I say calmly "Let's get outta here" I turn around to leave.
"I completed the Chou Senji Rakketsu a thousand years ago" He tells me "Aren't you interested?" He pauses "You already knew about it, didn't you? You've seen me in America 500 years ago with Lilirara, right?"
"So what?" I ask giving him my back.
Hao sighs "I know how you're feeling. Yoh has grown so much and you wish to catch up. But not everyone can grow strong"
Irritated by his pointless chatter, I get out my Kwan Dao and point it right at his neck and still facing away from him "Spit it out already" I growl "If you have something to say, say it. I'm not stupid, I wont get provoked by that"
"Just as I thought" I look at him and see him smirking "You don't act as rash as you look. I like that. I was right about you" He smirks even more "Let's team up"
"I can teach you the Chou Senji Rakketsu. Unless you learn it, you wont be able to surpass Yoh"
"Fucker!" I snarl loudly "Are you looking down on me?!" I oversoul and attack him. And then I feel it. He blocks my strike with an immense furyoku, covering the Kwan Dao with his cape. Shit!!! I've never in my life felt something like it! His oversoul surrounds mine, overpowering it easily.
I distantly hear him saying "Yeah, I knew this would be your reply. But you'll join me some day. I'll be expecting you, Ren"
He leaves, walking slowly. I stay motionless right where he left me, still in shock. At that moment, half my Kwan Dao falls down completely shattered, the other half in my hand. His oversoul destroyed it effortlessly. How can someone possess such a terrible amount of power?
"How did he do that?!" Bason asks horrified "Did he already have an oversoul in his cape?"
"No" I respond quietly "He did oversoul. But I have no idea what his medium was"
"But how…"
"I said I don't know how!" I hiss enraged "The only thing I know is his furyoku is terrifyingly big" I take a deep breath to calm down "Let's go home"
(Five hours later)
"Been having fun?" Mariana jokes when she enters the house and finds me lying down on the sofa and watching something about panthers on Animal Planet. Behind her come Horohoro and Chocolove. I shrug in response.
"You've been doing this all afternoon?" Chocolove asks. I nod "That's so unlike you. Haven't you gone training or something?" I shake my head monotonously. Chocolove and Horohoro rush to the kitchen, to attack the fridge I'm sure. Mariana sits on a chair as I'm stretched all over the sofa.
"Can't you find something a bit more boring, please?" She says sarcastically. I ignore her.
Horohoro and Chocolove come back with large amounts of food in their hands. "Hey, make space, there're people here" Horohoro stands next to the sofa, waiting for me to move.
One well sent glare from me and with a Hmph!´ he sits down on the floor with Chocolove, their backs against the sofa. Can they possibly get any louder? All was quiet and nice and they just had to arrive to ruin it, didn't they?
Horohoro snatches the remote control from the edge of the sofa and changes the channel "I think Scrubs is on"
"Hey!" I snap reaching over to take the control back "I was watching that!" I change back to Animal Planet.
"But Animal Planet is boring, Ren" Chocolove whines.
"Tell that to someone who actually cares" I lye down again, feeling Mariana's intense gaze on me.
"Don't be such a prick!" Horohoro protests "We are three here that don't like this. You're the only one interested in those stupid panthers!"
"Why don't you go to Yoh's then?!" I retort crossly "I'm sure he'll be more than happy to watch whatever crap you idiots want to watch!!"
"Yeah, right" Chocolove snorts "As if Anna will let us even look at the remote"
"I repeat myself, go tell that to someone who gives a damn!!!" I all but yell irately.
"WHAT THE FUCK'S UP YOUR ASS?" Horohoro stands up furiously.
I stand up too "NOTHING!!! JUST YOU MERE PRESENCE IS SUFFICIENTLY ANNOYING! I WAS PERFECTLY FINE HERE ALL BY MYSELF! WHY DON'T YOU GO FUCK YOURSELF!!!
I ran upstairs and slam the door hard, the house actually shakes a little and I hear something break outside. I pound hard on the wall several times out of frustration, leaving a big fracture. When I'm finished, my knuckles are bleeding. Ignoring the pain, I lock the door and throw myself in my bed.
It's all Hao's fault. How on earth did he get so strong? At the present, there's no chance any of us can face him. He's way out of our league. How are we supposed to match him?
A knock on the door interrupts my train of thought. "Ren?" I hear Mariana's voice. I pay no attention to it and close my eyes. She tries the door and, finding it locked, she knocks even harder. "Come on, Ren!" Stay quiet, she'll go away eventually. Indeed, after some more knocking she leaves me alone. And then, I hate myself for feeling a little bit disappointed at her giving up so fast.
I stare at the ceiling for some time and then I hear noise coming from the window. Bewildered, I turn my head to look at it to find Mariana on the tree right next to the window, trying to open it. Amazingly, she manages and enters with difficulty.
"Damn it. That was harder than I thought it would be" She has leaves all over her hair and clothes, both a mess by now. I snort slightly and she smiles. "Now, are you going to tell me what's up?"
"Hao" I grunt "He approached me when I left the match"
"No!" She goggles at me stunned "What did he want?"
"To join him" I scowl "As if!"
"Really? What did you tell him?"
"To wait a sec so I could pack my things to move places" I reply sarcastically.
"Come on" She whines.
"I attacked him" I say shortly.
"No!" She gasps "And?" She asks eagerly. I point at my left where my now useless half Kwan Dao is lying "Oh no!" She walks over to it to inspect the damages "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine" I sigh tiredly "But you have no idea. He has the most powerful furyoku I've ever encountered. I've never felt so helpless in my life" I close my eyes.
"That sounds awful" I hear her coming closer to the bed and then she places her hand over mine on the bed.
"It is" I open my eyes to look at her "I don't see how any of us could win against him"
She points at the bed "Can I?" I move over to let her lye down at my side. For the rest of the day she stays there next to me, staring at the ceiling in thought. This keeps getting more and more complicated.