Quick update, given I was so late with the last chapter. Hopefully it will go back to the normal fortnightly updating after this. Is anyone aside from Shaami still reading this out of interest? Lol, anyway, time to shut up. Laters.

There was definitely a tense air around him as he started to wake up. Yoh sighed internally; this was not really the way he wanted to start the day. He had expected that reaction however, so it was just something he was going to have to deal with as best he could. He could feel Ren's presence between him and the others, so he could only assume the purple-haired boy had been trying to give him the time he needed with Hao.

"Arigato Ren." Yoh said softly, finally opened his eyes and sitting up.

Ren looked round with almost a relieved look and nodded. "It's about time; I know you're lazy but still."

Yoh smiled at the brusque response, at least something was okay and normal. "Morning everyone."

Anna glared hard at the light greeting. "Morning? That's the best you can come up with? Get explaining, now."

"I'm going to leave and give you all a chance to cool down. You're over-reacting and not thinking straight. You should really trust my judgement more. For anyone willing to be mature about it, I'll answer queries and concerns but not right now."

"What makes you think I'm just going to let you leave?"

"I don't mean to sound callous, but what makes you think you can stop me? We all know I'm the strongest one here and I've learnt a lot more since you last knew. I 'am' leaving now, whether you like it or not, if you want to be reasonable later, then we'll talk, those are the rules."

Yoh slipped some clothes on and walked out between them, most too shocked to even think about trying to stop him. Ren followed shortly behind, grabbing Yoh to collect a few things before they left. In all the commotion he had forgotten Ren's arrangement for them to go to China.

"I'm impressed; who knew you could stand up for yourself?" Ren jibed.

Yoh smiled slightly at the attempt to lighten his mood. "A rare occurrence I know but sometimes these things have to be done. This is important and I'm not going to be bullied by someone who doesn't have the first clue what's going on."

"You spoke with him about what you needed to? Do you really think it's safe?"

"Everything is fine Ren, things have changed; we have new options now. He still gets what he wants but it's done without bloodshed and the reishi gets blocked to prevent repeat performances. I just need a little more time on both projects and everything will be okay. Nantoka naru."

"I trust you, you know that. I just want to know that you're sure and not just doing this because you feel you need to, that's all."

"It would be a lie if I said it wasn't because I need it but I wouldn't do it if I didn't think it was safe to. I understand the risks involved but I hold no doubts that things have changed and that providing it's handled properly, it's okay to be closer to him."

"Understood. I'll stand by you, even though I'm not particularly sure about some of this."

"Thank you Ren, I appreciate your help and support. It's much easier having someone I can count on, rather than trying to handle everything all by myself."

"You're welcome. You've done a lot for me and I've never known you to be wrong about anyone yet."

Yoh nodded his acknowledgement and stepped out of the house, more than pleased to be out of the oppressive atmosphere. He knew certain individuals had been listening to their conversation and he hoped that it would help appease the situation somewhat. More likely than not Anna would contact his family and none of them would like the idea but he hoped that his friends would be more open and accepting as Ren was.

Being firm made the situation easier to deal with but it probably wouldn't have helped much with their anxiety. Still, hopefully knowing that Ren was aware of the situation and didn't try to stop me might help. I know they're worried and I know that being so insensitive and firm wouldn't have helped with that but nothing good was going to come out of that situation.

Like I said, once they're willing to be reasonable and actually talk to me, I'm quite happy to explain, but while they're not going to listen to a word I say and just intend to yell at me, I'm not going to waste the effort. I've done as much as I can for the time being, I know they're not happy and I know they didn't expect a response like that from me but it can't be helped.

We've spent enough time together and I've made enough accurate observations on people along the way for them to have a little faith, like Ren does. If they choose not to, then there isn't really an awful lot I can do about it. I'm not willing to throw everything away that I've been working so hard on for what I know to be unfounded concerns. Hao isn't who he was at the tournament and this is the best path for me to walk. I believe in myself and that's good enough.

"Are we going now?" Yoh asked.

"There are a few hours before we're scheduled to leave but we will be going today." Ren replied.

A few hours with nowhere to go and nothing to do, I know how I'd prefer to spend them but it wouldn't really be fair to do that. I can't leave Ren bored with nothing to do while I go wandering the cosmos, not after everything he's done for me lately. Probably I should offer to train with him but unless we did more sparring, I think it would be more me teaching him and I'm not sure he'd like that very much.

As much as he'll pick things up from me and follow my lead, he likes to work things out for himself. Ren is the type of person to push himself to be the best that he can be, relying on himself and his own strength, rather than being led by someone else, which is respectable enough but sometimes he needs to loosen up about it. Being so rigid all the time doesn't do him any favours.

I guess he wouldn't really be Ren otherwise though, that is one of his defining features after all. If he's happy with it then that's all that really matters, we have to be ourselves and follow our hearts or really, what's the point? That's the only way someone can hope to lead a life without regrets.

"What are you thinking about?" Ren asked.

Yoh glanced over to him. "What to do in the meantime."

"Knowing what you're like, breakfast should probably come first, after that, I'm sure we can find something to do."

Yoh grinned and nodded, food was probably a good idea and without Anna present he could get away with eating whatever he wanted, whether it was good for him or not. Breakfast was important, so as long as he ate something, it should be good enough. Where was the fun if you couldn't have the things you enjoyed and had to live with things you didn't?

Ren's comment suggested that he was willing to do something non-shaman related as well, which could potentially be highly entertaining, though Ren might not agree. Getting the boy to partake in normal activities would definitely be worth getting his head bitten off over. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that and the purple-haired teen would actually enjoy himself.

He didn't have the first clue what Ren might enjoy, which wasn't a particularly promising start but breakfast would give him some time to think. Ren would probably want something Chinese as he always did but Yoh was definitely not in the mood for that, something sugary sounded like a much better idea, though it had been a while since he'd been allowed to have a cheese burger, so that was always another option.

It's nice that he's being so easy-going about things, not that he really ever seriously argues with me, but all the same… I wonder if he has something in mind for us to do, I didn't really get that impression but I guess it's possible given he made the comment. Either way, as long as things are stress-free I don't really mind what we do, I just want to chill out for a while.

Back to food, maybe I should just have both, we have got a long trip to go on after all, so it wouldn't hurt. If I have shaved ice of some description it isn't really all that bad for me either, it's just hydrating. Hopefully should I need to blag to someone else that reasoning will suffice, though I won't hold my breath. Ren should just leave me to do what I want though, even if he does comment on it.

Yoh sat on the park bench grinning, this was definitely the kind of breakfast he enjoyed, though he knew it was something better left as a rare treat. He and Ren had compromised and had gone their separate ways to get something to eat before meeting up in the park. Surprisingly Ren had also gone for a rather unhealthy option, so Yoh had nothing to worry about with his own choice.

He supposed Ren probably needed it as comfort food as much as he did, something nice for all the stress and concern. It would never be called comfort food to Ren of course, since that wasn't something he would ever need, that was something girls did when they broke up with their boyfriends, not him. The thought was enough to make Yoh laugh, though he managed to contain himself, lest he have to explain to Ren.

"That was good." Yoh stated when he had finished everything.

Ren nodded. "Not something I would normally do but as a one-off, yes, it was."

"Any ideas or preferences?"

"No, you know this place better than I do."

Yoh nodded, that was true, though it didn't mean he had any idea of anything the Tao would enjoy doing that was readily available in the city. They had spent a lot of time around one another but that was generally concerning shamanism rather than just 'hanging out' and he didn't want to sit around talking as that was about all they would have to do on the journey.

"Completely random idea, but what about the arcade? I don't expect you'd really consider playing games but it could be an interesting experience and with all the fighting games there are, you might pick up a few new moves or ideas."

Ren looked dubious but didn't decline immediately; instead he gave it some careful consideration. The argument was a valid one, theoretically at least. It was a new avenue to look down for some quick ideas and possible way to improve further, but the idea of going into one of those places with all the idiots that were guaranteed to be present was certainly not an incentive.

"Very well, I shall see what I think, though I reserve the right to leave at any time I see fit."

"Sure, that sounds fair."

Yoh smiled as he led the way to the arcades, he hadn't expected Ren to agree so easily, so it was a pleasant surprise, which solved the problem of how to waste some time. He knew Ren would be put off initially but hoped that once they got playing the purple-haired teen would enjoy himself. It wasn't the sort of thing he usually did either but he was open to trying things and if he could play and learn at the same time as he had suggested, it would be worth it.