Disclaimer: By now everyone should know that I do not own Shaman King.
Elemental-Zero: Thank you for telling me about the chapter not showing up. Thank goodness it's just a scare but it shows that somebody actually cares! And yet another thank you for telling me about the signs. I am a little clueless on that… 'hangs head'
MeeLee: Thanks to your suggestion to sneak a little writing between classes, and the fact that I'm not a very attentive student with an ultra-short attention span, chapter 9 is done… Yupz, I liked the one-shot you wrote… you really should do it more often… I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint…
Lady girl: Eh… hehehe… Even if Horo does speak Ainu, I can't. So, most prob I can't handle the language. And your wonderful reviews may cause my already inflated head to swell even bigger… but I'll update fast cause of readers like you XD
.freefaller.: As for Hao, I kind of screwed up on trying to keep to his character. Oh no, what if he ends up like some weird psychopath? I'm kinda crazy myself anyways… oh well… thank goodness for the one day only school holiday… it gave me time to type.
FallenTruth: oops, I've to trouble you to check with your aunt. So sorry, but I AM lazy by nature, you know… in fact, I might just be one of the laziest students in class. I think I am anyways. Hehe, update your story more often! 'hopes fervently that your computer will no longer go insane'
Btw, I've realized that you guys are regular reviewers, so I just want to say, I appreciative you guys' reviews a lot… Do keep 'em coming XP
The Beauty of Silence — Chapter 9
The smirk on Tao Ren's face widened when he saw Horohoro in a fluster. Serves him right for not practicing for almost two weeks. I'll bet his skills are all getting rusty. Wielding his Horaiken (the sword that was his family's heirloom) with absolute ease, Ren took on the offensive, leaving Horohoro no choice but to use his ice shield for defence. Beats me why I decided to use Horaiken today, it's not like he's such a big challenge or something. He knew the Ainu had potential, and though he never liked to overestimate his opponents, he had learned that underestimating them could be even more deadly. But this was, after all, a friendly match. Why does this little practice feel so important to me? It's just part of training, that's all…
Horohoro cursed under his breath as his ice shield took blow after blow from Ren's Golden Slash Dance. What the hell is he thinking of? Bringing me to this desolate beach to kill me? Geez, I thought he turned nice for a change! The sand dunes all around didn't help. All the sand swirling in the wind limited his vision, and he couldn't rely on his hearing to pinpoint where Ren was. Damn Ren. What's his motive? He knew he was losing his cool, and this posed yet another disadvantage for him — one must always stay calm and remain levelheaded in battle. Heck that now. He couldn't decide whether he was more frustrated with his hearing impairment or his inability to read Ren's thoughts at the moment, and this added to his confusion. Horohoro dodged a direct attack, retaliating with his icicles, but none of them found his mark. He could catch fleeting glimpses of Ren or his weapon when he was near, forcing him to duck only at the last possible moments, giving him almost zilch chances of getting back at the Chinese shaman. Which added to his annoyance.
Tao Ren couldn't help but smirk again as he realized that Horohoro was losing his focus. It didn't bother him in the least bit that his own vision was limited as well, except that the irritated look on the hot-tempered Ainu's face would have been an amusing sight to behold. Baka. His incessant cursing is giving his position away. I bet he forgot all about anger management. His main purpose wasn't to give his teammate a humiliating defeat; it was more like a good deed. Unappreciative baka. Suppressing another smirk, he delivered more blows towards the source of the harsh breathing, wondering when the ice shaman will finally realize what he could to make his defeat less crushing. After all, he has no chances of defeating me, be it the past, present or future.
Argh! This is getting pointless. He's just toying with me, I know it. Wait till I get him. I'll give him the trashing of his life! He could feel Koloro within his oversoul, and realized that the Koropokkur had been worried for him all along. She was willing him to calm down, to flow with the nature around them, and to turn things to his advantage. His powers do stem from nature, it's only right if he readjusts his temper to suit the peaceful sea. If I can't hear Ren, why do I let him hear me? Using his imperial ice formation attack to create icicles literally everywhere within a 10m radius, he took the time gained to stabilize his footing and find inner peace, though it was pretty difficult for someone with such a short temper as him. His always knew his temper was bad, and recently, his temper had been worsening. He now realized, with a pang, that this must have caused Pilica to worry and be upset. I'll apologize when I reach home, why inflict unnecessary distress to my dear sister's who's always been there for me? Perhaps that's why she's been crying at night. Damn, why did I reject her training outright? I must've been downright tactless.
Ren increased the intensity of his attacks when he felt that the battle was beginning to get more serious. The Ainu, after such a long time, had finally mustered enough sense to withdraw his second disadvantage. Ren had always known to remain impassive during a real fight. Getting all emotional gets you nowhere. Oh well, perhaps he can learn something out of this little practice after all. Ren's amber eyes narrowed slightly as a long-range attack came too close for his comfort. Jumping lithely into the air, he prepared for an aerial attack. His eyes widened slightly in surprise as Horohoro dodged the strokes completely with his eyes closed. An aspect of the battle had changed completely; the swirling sand was to his disadvantage now. Heh! Maybe he's better than I thought. Just as well, he is a useful member of the team.
Horohoro smiled a little. He was sure Ren would be impressed to a certain degree, even if he doesn't want to show it. By stilling his thoughts and confusion, he discovered he could achieve some form of absolute focus, rely on sensing itself than his five senses. Since Ren was a strong and aggressive shaman, his Furyoku feels a little overpowering in a way. If he tries hard enough to sense the air of aggressiveness, he would be able to pinpoint where Ren and his attacks were. Imagine, being at a disadvantage due to the presence of your aura. Hmm, I've never been able to sense people's shamanic powers so clearly. Maybe it's because there are neither sounds nor sights to distract me now. Kudos to Koloro for making me relax and actually think.
Shaking his head slowly in a way that was sure to incense the Ainu, Ren couldn't help but flash his trademark smirk at the ice shaman glowering with anger as he removed the cool blade of Horaiken off his neck. He had won, as was what he expected, but it had been a narrow win. If Horohoro's Furyoku wasn't spent, and the battle dragged on, he really couldn't guess what the outcome of the battle will be. He wouldn't be about to admit this any time to Horohoro, but at a point of time he had unnerved him. Yes, the great Tao Ren had been unnerved by a stupid Ainu. How humiliating. I guess I did underestimate him this time. Deep in his heart, he knew he didn't really mind, he was more of being proud of his teammate. Not that he was going to show it. Using a nearby stick, he wrote in the sand with it, writing out choice taunting words that were the direct opposite of what he was thinking right at the moment.
Though Horohoro was not exactly what you would call a graceful loser, he admitted that he did indeed lose to the arrogant Chinese shaman. Reading those words upon the ivory beach sparked off his short fuse again, and before long, they were arguing all over again. The sand made it much easier, and Ren's new rule was that Horo had to write too, and he had agreed, as it seemed interesting. Now, they were equal. Kind of anyway. The surge of adrenaline supplying him with vigour during the battle had not yet died down, and he truly missed the feeling of exhilaration that the hormone gives him. He missed having a shaman fight, heck, he even missed Pilica's torturous training routine. Perhaps he had Ren to thank for reminding him of the old days, for showing him how he could still remain as a shaman, regardless of all that had changed. Thanking Ren secretly was one matter, thanking him outright in person is yet another impossible matter. Why did Ren become so nice? I didn't know he bothered. Disappointment that he couldn't quite place welled up deep inside of him when he read that the only reason why Ren was doing all these was because Pilica had asked him to, and also due to them receiving an impending challenge from another shaman team and that his presence was required. Why do I feel this way? Shouldn't I feel appreciative of Pilica's actions instead? Why do I hope that she hadn't done anything, and that Ren did it out of his own choice?
I didn't lie to that idiot. I just withheld additional information from him. So what if I wanted to help him too? I know I'll do this even if Pilica hadn't ask, so why don't I tell him and demand a word of thanks, or a gesture of gratitude? Ren hadn't noticed the sudden crestfallen look that Horohoro had before it was smoothed out to be that of his usual grinning face, deep in his own thoughts. Like that of a child, the ice shaman nudged Ren eagerly, pointing towards the amazing view of the sunset that they were entitled to from their position on the beach. Ren couldn't help but allowed a small smile; he had felt lonely at times when he was viewing the sunset by himself on this same position. It was his secret retreat, and the question of why he actually brought that Ainu here still stumped him. The sunset looked all the more beautiful with someone sharing it with him, and though he knew it was too good to be true, for a second he just wished that this moment would be eternal. Thank goodness he had forgotten all about seeing me use sign language. I knew I could count on his lousy memory. Then again, why do I mind how he thinks? I never used to care…
Hao Asakura slammed the windows just as he saw the pair returned. Both had looked so happy, so contented. He had known all along about Horohoro's hearing impairment even before he was discharged, and it never cease to amaze him just how stupid the lot of them were. Pathetic fools, have they all forgotten that I can read minds? Why are they still able to remain happy? Is there something special about them, or does the problem lie with me? If that blundering slave of his hadn't committed that inexcusable mistake, would the same things have happened? Not only had they become more detached, on the contrary, they have gotten stronger. Even Ren and Horohoro have been getting closer, though they probably hadn't admitted to themselves yet. Everything's going wrong for me. Will it be better if I just retire and give up being the bad guy? Argh, I even doubt myself right now…
Author's note: Okay, here it is, chapter 9, done despite a mountainous pile of schoolwork and a lot of school activities. So you guys better review… XP Anyway, adrenaline IS a hormone; in case anyone found the sentence funny. Blame it on my Biology classes if you must. Anyway, this week will be hell, but after these few days, I'd have more time to update sooner till I reach the next hectic point. Lolx…