Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King.

Elemental-Zero: Now I'm feeling bad. You said it was a great fict, and this miserable chapter just about blew it. This seriously isn't my best. :( On a happier note, I just wanna tell you how happy I am to know your hearing's coming back! I know I mentioned this before le, I just felt like telling you this again… lolx, and I'm sure nobody'll mind your lil outburst :)

MeeLee: Another reason for me to feel bad. You actually kowtowed to me! I can't believe it, I mean, you'll a GREAT author and everything, and one of my fav. 'gushes' And yeah, I go school all year round, it's kind of season-less here. Man, I wana see REAL snow.

Lady girl: Beats me what Hao's gonna do. Lolx, I guess you'll just have to wait and see… As for Horo losing, I just felt like writing it that way… nah, it's shouldn't be 'poor' Horo, he did learn someth useful that day… haha

Jiao-chan: Thank you, and do continue to read it 'smiles'

Freefaller: Not that lazy? You gotta be kidding. I'm skiving off homework right at the moment. I hate tests. Absolutely loathe them… oh well…

Strife-lover: Hao a 'sweet little thing'? I don't know about that, but boy, did you surprise me with the nine reviews. But it's wonderful to know that it was good enough to get you to review… the praises must be inflating my head a lil too much… lolx

The Beauty of Silence — Chapter 10

"Stop complaining or making lame jokes if you want to keep your ass," Ren glared hard at the Afro, stopping him, from what felt like the millionth time that day to share a 'joke'. Chocolove had decided against answering, for the Kuan Dao pointed at him told him of his fate should he continue on, instead turning to Horohoro for help. Miraculously, the Ainu had remained almost silent throughout their long journey to this ridiculously high mountain where their training was supposed to begin.

Tao Ren rolled his eyes. Why was he stuck with a joker for a teammate? True, it was he himself who had picked Chocolove, but maybe, just maybe, he's regretting that decision now. Going on in quick, long strides, he mentally shut all noise that Chocolove was making out of his brain as he took in his surroundings. They were at a mountain that he didn't know the name of, training for their upcoming match with some stupid team that was dumb enough to challenge them. Even after the Shaman Fight, he had been diligent enough, working hard on his usual routine, but he couldn't say the same for the other two. At least, as he had learned from his last fight with Horohoro, his standards didn't drop by much. Now to work on the stamina part.

Horohoro looked around casually. He didn't mind mountains. In fact, the higher the mountain, the more at home he'd feel. Heh, I'll like to see how the almighty Tao Ren likes the cold. Let's see, a thousand meters ascend equals to a decrease in temperature of about 6˚C. If it weren't for my lousy mathematical skills, I'll have been able to scare Chocolove by telling him just how much it's gonna freeze up there.1.Watching Tao Ren getting irritated sure was fun, especially when it isn't yourself who got him annoyed. Sure, Chocolove had a knack for making people feel like bashing him up, and it tempt him to do just that more often than not, but Horohoro didn't really dislike the comical, yet unfunny shaman. It was the midst of autumn, and the leaves upon the trees were ablaze with colours, and personally, Horohoro felt that it was a shame to be training in such a scenic place. If any 'little' fighting practices commerce, he was sure that the trees would suffer. Shame that Koloro isn't here. She'd have loved it. The floor was a mosaic of autumn colours, with auburn, gold, hazel, russet, vermilion etc. leaves lying scattered across the ground, and with each passing minute, more were joining the growing piles. The fact that he had been staying eerily quiet was a ploy to spook Chocolove out. In actual terms, he couldn't really stay quiet for more than an hour, though in the last few weeks, he had just proven that wrong. Can't imagine what possessed me to stay that silent. He knew Chocolove would be unnerved by the unnatural silence that passed between the three of them, worrying himself silly that something might be desperately wrong and that a joke would be necessary to lighten the mood. Which was what lead to the annoyance of the Tao in the first place.

The species of trees were changing subtlety ever as they walked. Birches, oaks, maple trees and thorn bushes laden with berries were giving way to the taller firs and pines, signaling that the temperature were getting lower and lower. Tao Ren was determined not to show any signs of feeling cold, for they were signs of weakness. He had commanded, with some degree of surprise and displeasure from his teammates, that they were to go training without their spirits accompanying them, just like how normal sportsmen and sportswomen train when a competition was near. Sometimes I wonder if I'd be better off being a normal guy, without Shamanic powers and everything. At least going out will be a whole lot easier. Koloro had at first been adamant about sticking with Horohoro no matter what, until Lyserg had been 'kind' enough to lend him Morphine's cage to lock Koloro in. Horohoro had been outright angry and offended over it, till Koloro suddenly agreed to stay in willingly. I guessed she wanted her owner to get stronger too. Or perhaps she just wanted to have a tea party session with Morphine. Two pint-sized guardians eating and drinking from puny utensils and dining ware, interesting. Jaguar Mic had been threatened with total annihilation should he dare to follow Chocolove, and the Afro shaman had decided to make a joke out of this, though the end result proved that it wasn't the best decision he had ever made. Hao had offered to do the annihilation bit, but was turned down by Ren. Bason was no better, he had looked at Ren in his chibi spirit ball mode with those large tears in his huge puppy eyes, and it had taken a lot of Ren's willpower to turn away from him. Now I'm wondering if it's actually worth all these troubles to get here.

Horohoro wondered if 'tormenting' Chocolove was just yet another stupid way to ignore the lack of sounds. True, the last match with Ren had shown him that participating in a Shaman Fight was not out of the question for him, that it was not game over after the accident, yet he also knew that it would be impossible to assume that everything would become normal back again. No point taking it out on Chocolove. He concentrated all his efforts into 'admiring' the scenery, going through everything he saw mentally once, trying to figure out if it would be okay to steal a few berries to stock up for a snack later on or to load as many pine cones as possible into his backpack for they make good fuel. His observation skills had improved sharply, and he could actually notice little details that he wouldn't be able to last time. Oh well, at least there's a silver lining in this dark cloud. If he just put in enough effort into things, he would forget, momentarily, just how odd the lack of sounds were.

Tao Ren gave Chocolove yet another of his infamous stares as he finished explaining the training schedule. They were to separate into three groups, which meant that they would be alone, and were to make their way up to the summit as fast as possible using three different routes that he had made out. The slowest member would be punished by doing a hundred push-ups, sit-ups etc. in the thin mountain air, and he had made it clear that he would not save them if they fainted half-way completing the punishment. With that, he gave Horohoro the map of the region they were in, with a few scribbled instructions at the back and left, ignoring the other Afro shaman's loud wails that he was being unfair. Life's never fair anyway.

Argh! How do you read a map properly? Horohoro had been wandering about the same patch of coniferous forest for about ten times, and wasn't about to admit that he was lost. He knew that Ren had given him extra help, and had been trying, though without much success, to commit to memory whether he was to turn left or right at the turning points. Chocolove had only been given verbal commands, and knowing that the Afro's memory wasn't the best you can get gave him little relief. He was lost, and the word terrified him. The sky was getting darker, and he knew that dusk was settling soon, for the light colours of the clouds after sunset had gradually dulled and darken to form pale violet and green streaks across the dusty gold sky. Night would arrive soon.

The Chinese shaman willed his feet to stay still, though if he could, he would be pacing up and down in frustration. Even Chocolove had made it here in one piece, why can't the Ainu-baka? He knew he was worried, yet didn't want to show it as openly as Chocolove. Perhaps my instructions weren't clear enough, argh! I should have just marked every single turn clearly on his map. I knew he was stupid, but not this stupid! The cold air did not make this any better, and the sound of Chocolove's teeth chattering was adding to his disturbance. They had waited 'patiently' at the supposed meeting point for almost three hours. Just as Ren had expected, he was the first to arrive, but he had been surprised when the Afro shaman was the next to reach this place. Of course he had been trilled when he knew that he could punish the Ainu, he knew that the cold wouldn't affect him as much as it affected them, but three hours? It was plain ridiculous. Night was falling too, and in unknown terrain, being unable to neither hear nor see clearly in the dark would be downright dangerous. Ren frowned slightly. Perhaps they should start searching for Horohro right this moment.

The shadows of the fir trees were faint, merging at times with the darkening path. Horohoro did not dare to look up, for the tall trees looming above him creeped him out. He had lost all sense of direction a long time ago, and couldn't even tell which way was upslope or down slope. Everything was eerily silent and still, as if trapped in a picture that was none too surreal. If admitting that he was lost would get him to Ren or home right away, he would have gladly put down his pride and do it immediately. He had been lost once, when he was young in a place that was strange to him, and had not enjoyed any moment of it.

Flashback

Five-year-old Horohoro was excited. After all, this was the first time that he was allowed to enter the city with his family. He had been jealous when the much younger Pilica would be following, but that did not dampen his spirits by much. This would be an enjoyable brand new experience, with new sounds and sights to feast on. He was positive that everything would be memorable, but little did he know that it would be unforgettable in another less pleasant way.

"Mommy, Daddy, where are you?" Upon arrival, they had reached an intersection whereby tons of people were milling around. Holding Pilica's hand in his, he had been told to just walk straight till they reach a clear point where they would be less people. Horohoro had obliged, eager to get away from the large crowd. Now, all he could see was a thronging sea of faces, and none of them looked friendly or approachable. The tall buildings, which had excited him when was first saw it, now looked remote and unnatural to him. Being so short, the many faces looming above him had scared him. He knew that crying in a panic would just cause unnecessary alarm for his younger sister, and crying when he was a male would make his father displeased. Many people just walked by them, not even giving them a second glance. Horohoro hated the stifling humidity and heat of the city, and the jostling crowd that seemed to be forever in a rush. Was there no one that he could approach for help in the big, unfriendly city?

End flashback

The Ainu shook his head in an attempt to rid himself of his thoughts. Truth to be told, he did cry at that time, for it was a good five hours before his parents had entered the police station to claim them. He knew he was lucky that a traffic police had noticed the two young children wandering about looking lost, but to the five-year-old him, that had been a most terrifying experience, and he had wondered briefly, at that point of time, what would happen to the two of them should their parents never find them. At least Pilica had been with me, so I was not alone. I wished Koloro was beside me… Damn that Tao Ren. Will he actually bother to find me?

(1.This, according to my textbk, is known as the Lapse rate, and explains why places with a higher altitude are colder. Beats me why Horo knew about it. XD)

Author's note: Sorry about the lack of action in this chapter. Next one might not be much better. Argh! The schoolwork and tests are getting to me! I'm bored most of the time; perhaps that was what lead to this somewhat boring chapter. Haiz, there's not much suspense in this chapter too, and I sincerely apologise for that. Major, major leaving school exams would commerce soon, at least the prelims would, and I'm in a mad rush to clear my backlog of homework. Urm… I think I blabbered too much nonsense. So, as usual, please remember to review, they are the incentives for my writing (or typing)… lolx