Faust lifted the white sheet all the way off of Ren's body. Horohoro couldn't help but notice how much thinner and paler he had become.

"Watch closely," Faust said. "If you mess up, there's no reversing nothing, you hear?"

Horohoro nodded nervously, ready to do anything the shamanic doctor asked of him.

"Okay," Faust said, reaching out and placing his hands in a slightly overlapped position on Ren's chest. "Put your hands like that on top of mine, kid," he instructed.

The Ainu slowly raised his hands, attempting to copy Faust's position. Slowly and carefully, he placed his hands down on the doctor's hands, shifting them to get the specific angles. "Is that right?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Faust approved. "That'll do fine. Now, concentrate real hard and concentrate your furyoku into your hands and out, as if you're pouring life into your pal. You got that?" His hands were now glowing with the spiritual energy emitted.

Horohoro tried to do the same, and presently, his hands began glowing as well with his furyoku. "Please, god...please...please...please let it work...please bring him back..." he pleaded silently under his breath. There was a long silence as Horohoro tried concentrating with all his might.

A concerned expression crossed Faust's features. "Something ain't right," he said quietly. "It...it's not working."

A panicked expression flew into Horohoro's features. "What!?' he exclaimed. "What am I doing wrong?"

The doctor shook his head. "I don't know. Let's start over and try again, okay? You've gotta concentrate harder, kid."

His heart pounding, Horohoro placed his hands back onto Faust's, concentrating as hard as he could, although it was making his head hurt the slightest bit. He let his furyoku flow freely from his body into Ren's, praying silently.

After what seemed like an eternity, Faust finally motioned for Horohoro to stop, smiling proudly. "We did it, kid," he said, wiping the sweat from his brow. "He'll be waking up real soon."

A grin came across Horohoro's face. "Really? Gee, I don't know how to thank you, doctor."

"Forget it," Faust said, waving his hand casually in the air. "Now you just stay here 'til he comes back around, yeah?"

Horohoro looked at Ren intently as the exhausted doctor walked off to his office to fill out some papers and whatnot. He waited, his heart beating painfully. He could have gone wild with impatience right there, but right when he thought he was going to lose it, he caught a slight movement out of the corner of his eye.

"C'mon, Ren...wake up..." the Ainu urged encouragingly. His eyes lit up and his mouth fell open when he saw Ren's eyelids begin to flutter. "That's it..." he whispered. "Open your beautiful eyes..." He grasped Ren's limp hand tightly.

The Chinese boy's eyes slowly opened, taking their time to readjust their vision. He looked up to see Horohoro anxiously looking down at him and holding his hand. "H-Horohoro...?" he whispered weakly. "Is...is that really you?"

"REN!" Horohoro practically screamed, throwing his arms around his neck, holding him in a tight embrace. "Oh, thank god, Ren...I thought I'd lost you forever..." Tears streamed down his cheeks, and soon, he realized Ren was silently crying too.

"It's alright," Horohoro assured, gently stroking Ren's hair and using the back of his hand to dry his tears. "You're okay now, and that's all that mattters, right?"

"I wouldn't exactly call him okay," Faust interrupted, stepping out of his office.

"Huh?" said Horohoro. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well," Faust said, "Techincally, since he died and was brought back, it's like he's been born again, sort of. Of course, he's still the same mentally and physically on the exterior, but his body still needs to take the time to kick back into its normal functions, you know? I'll have to keep a close eye on him, and he'll needs lots of rest."

Horohoro smiled at Ren. "Rest a lot, you hear me?"

"I will."

Horohoro rose to his feet and stretched. "I'd better go, Ren. I'm not supposed to be here, but I am, for your sake."

A slight blush crept across the Chinese boy's face at those words. "You didn't have to..."

The Ainu grinned. "Yeah, I did. Well, I'll come back to see you later, okay?"

Ren nodded. "I...I'll be waiting for you...Horohoro."