CHAPTER 3: Permit

schye

"Horohoro likes you, Ren," Anna had said to Ren.

Those words had broken through my defenses and shattered my pride.

"I do not," I vehemently disagreed, complete with the shaking of my head.

"You do, too," my sister countered. I felt a stab go through my chest at that moment—my own kin was turning her back on me.

They've broken my pride and offended my very spirit.

I felt very low, indeed.

On a brighter note, though, Ren only looked like he was just told that I, Horohoro, could eat a live chicken. (Which in actuality wasn't all that bright a note but more of a less darker note—ugh!).

"Although it is hard to say that you like a person—very hard to admit to liking someone of the same gender," Chocolove put in, "it is always harder to say 'iskibiratsiboopisiribabapbloopikiritbitkiribit'."

I stared at Chocolove. I refused to look at the others, but I felt them also staring at Chocolove.

"That was a joke, people," Chocolove said in an exasperated voice. "You people need to have higher IQ transplants."

"We don't have low IQ's," Ren (finally!) snarled. "You need a brain transplant."

Chocolove blew his cheeks out and set his arms akimbo. "Then Horohoro needs a sex transplant!"

That was the final blow. I felt my pride shatter into a thousand million pieces.

I looked at him sharply, drew a deep breath and made a graceful exit.

I just hoped that they hadn't noticed that I was practically clutching my tattered ego against my equally battle-wrought chest.

"I think you hurt his feelings," I heard my sister say as I walked away farther.

You think?

Walking away, I came to the astounding realization that my friends hated me with such vengeance that my predecessors will be cursed for all eternity.

How have I come to this much astounding realization, you ask.

Sign #1: They have humiliated me even more when I thought that I've already reached the point that I could no longer be humiliated.

"Horohoro! Damn it. I swear I didn't tell Anna you're gay!"

Yoh, you idiot, I do not need the broadcast.

Yes, Yoh has followed me.

Yes, I could tell Chocolove was with him.

Yes, I was running away from them as fast as my legs could carry me.

Yes, they were running after me.

Yes, everyone heard I was gay.

I had to save face, you see.

"I'm not gay," I called. "I'm bi actually!"

Sure, that probably didn't help my reputation. But what the heck! These people won't see me again.

Sign #2: They do not share in my grief.

"Horohoro!" Snort.

Chocolove, god dammit! Forgo the snort!

"We feel for you!" Snort. Pause. Snort

And people ask why I'd love to hate him.

"Your pain is my pain!" Muffled guffaw.

Hell fire and damnation!

Sign #3: They do not have respect for my privacy.

Escape is the best form of… well, escape.

I figured a secluded sot in the park would give me quiet.

Some trees, lots of grass, lots of shade—that sort of place.

I found that particular place.

Too bad Yoh and Chocolove were right on my trail.

"Wow. This place looks like a forest," I heard Yoh say.

"Talk about phallic symbols," said Chocolove.

I stopped in front of a tree and heaved a deep breath.

Maybe these trees wouldn't tell on me if I murdered these two.

Sign #4: Sign number four refuses to surface in my mind.

I could've sworn I've thought of a fourth sign.

I sighed. All this pressure's wearing out my genius.

Of course, I realize that I've to face them (despite the fact that my brain refuses to function well). I took some fresh air in to my lungs, calmed my nerves and turned to look at the two of them.

Sign #5: They bring along the one person I wish never to see ever again.

I shut my eyes tightly when I realized that Ren Tao was standing in front of me.

To my utter mortification, Ren Tao did not vanish when I opened them again.

I pursed my lips together. "Hey."

"Hey."

I panicked. Hey? As in, "Hey, where do you want to be buried?" hey? I turned my horrified eyes towards Yoh and Chocolove, who grinned at me and shrugged.

Maybe Ren wouldn't mind if I requested that he kill them too.

"So," said Ren.

So? As in, 'So, you want it to be quick or do I add in some form of torture?'?

I gulped.

"You like me, huh?"

Was it just my imagination or was Ren Tao's voice considerably kind?

"Er…" I shifted my eyes around. Dare I be honest?

Ren Tao glared at me.

I gathered all my dignity and said, "Yeah, right." I smirked. "Do I look gay to you?"

And add a supercilious lifting of a brow and what do you get?

Diced Horohoro—if Ren's expression was to be taken into account.

I swear I could never understand what goes on in Ren's head. You tell him, you like him, he frowns; you say you're not gay, and he still frowns.

I shook my head, wishing Ren'd quit looking at me like he'd happily murder me in cold blood.

"Ren, you've grown to be a quite an overconfident bastard, haven't you?"

Ren let out a smirk that rivaled my own. "No, not confident. I just figured that if you were gay—"

"If being the operative word," I interjected.

"And here I could've sworn it was gay," muttered Chocolove to Yoh.

I glared at him. Oh why did I leave my board?

"As I was saying," Ren said, sending Chocolove a warning look, "if you were gay—"

"Then he won't ever have a girlfriend?" Yoh suggested.

Ren spoke quietly, then, "If you two don't leave us alone, I won't be responsible for whatever will happen to you two."

Yoh and Chocolove gulped.

"Right," said Yoh. "Er, let's go find Anna and the others," he said.

"Let's."

Watching the two of them leave, I didn't know whether to feel relieved (that it was just the two of us, Ren and I, alone) or threatened (because it was just the two of us, Ren and I, alone!).

"Those idiots," I heard Ren say as I watched with dawning mortification Yoh and Chocolove's leave.

I was alone with Ren Tao who was asking if I were gay. I felt my courage abandoning him for the roller coaster ride.

I stared at Ren. "You know, maybe I should leave too, seeing as I'm an idiot myself, and I dare not offend your presence and all that…" I babbled.

Ren looked at me pointedly.

God, I'm an idiot.

I turned around. I was prepared to make another exit. I was prepared to be categorized as an idiot. Heck, I was prepared to barter my soul to Faust if only he'd make me disappear in front of Ren right at this moment.

"Horohoro."

I winced. I didn't like that tone. It was too—normal, kind, nice. Not Ren.

"Yeah?" I dreaded facing him, so I didn't. Confronting my fears was the least of my worries right at that moment.

"Are you really gay?"

"No." Technically, I wasn't. I just liked Ren. I could appreciate girls. I like them cute, and pretty. I do. It's just that I'd prefer Ren over them any day.

I was not gay.

"Really?"

"Really." I hope.

"Oh."

Was that disappointment I hear? I could no longer stand the degradation.

I turned around, so I could see his face. "Why're you so disappointed about? Were you hoping to mock me until my dying day if I had been gay? Oh, that's just typical of you! You could just go and mock everyone.

"You mock Chocolove because of his nose. You mock Chocolove because of his jokes. You mock Chocolove because he is Chocolove.

"You'd probably mock Yoh because he eats the meat on his ramen last. You'd probably mock Ryuu because he's not too physically aesthetic. You'd probably mock Tamao because her hair is pink! Pink! Of all colors! PINK! You have no care about how others—"

"I won't mock you if you really do like me, you know."

"—feel! You are a largely uncouth—Eh? What did you say?"

What did he say?

Ren's eyes didn't meet mine when he replied, "You heard me."

"No, I didn't. I refuse to believe that I heard what I heard."

Great. I'm even in denial mode.

Ren looked at me sharply. "Refuse then, for all I care! It's not like I like— oh, shoot it." Ren shook his head. "Forget I even asked."

Then, it was Ren's turn to walk away.

I took a deep breath. I may have been out of my wits because I called him. I did. When he looked at me, his face was so straight that I thought it was—er, very, very straight. (See! I was out of my wits!)

"What?" he growled.

"Am I reading this correctly?" I asked tentatively.

"Reading what?" he snapped at me. "You're in denial. I'm in denial. We both are in denial."

"And yet, denial is not a river in Egypt," came Chocolove's voice from around us.

"You just had to say that, geez." Oh, great. Yoh, too.

"I think that was rather funny," a voice, undeniably my sister's, said, giggling. My sister. My sister.

I sighed; there was no hope for privacy after all. "You guys better come out now," I called out. "It's not like you're quiet as mice anyway."

Then there was Anna, there was Tamao, and there were Manta and Ryuu (who didn't even bother to meet us a while ago!), and (surprise!) Yoh, Chocolove, who looked like he was hyperventilating, Ren's sister, and my sister, who waved at me, and said, "Good luck."

My life sucked.

"What are you doing back here?" Ren directed the question to both Yoh and Chocolove. "I thought you went away already."

"See, we did," started Yoh. "But we met them halfway through and they wanted to know what was happening so we led them back here," he ended.

Ren stared at them.

"We're awfully sorry?" Yoh offered.

"You might as well get it out," Anna told Ren and I. "If you like each other, then you like each other. If you don't, then get over it."

I stared at Anna, dumbstruck. Apparently, she is the type to raise the 'Respect Gay Rights' banner.

I heard Ren sigh, and as I turned to face him again, he said, "Alright. I like you. There."

I stared at him. Was he serious?

A/N: I apparently can't just make this in three chapters. I couldn't make me a proper ending, and my friends wanted me to post already. :'( They did give me probable (?) endings though. I either write "The end" at the end of the page, I write "... and rocks pelted them from above, and they all died", or "...and Horohoro and Ren found themselves a nice, private place and ... #!" Bother them.