Author's Note: Okay so I am a terrible person and forgot to release a chapter on Monday. Instead I will do 1 today and another tomorrow. Also there are more dreams/memories in this chapter. I hope it doesn't get confusing. Memories/dreams are in italics.
Chapter 2
She lay in bed tossing and turning as another strange dream filled her mind. It had been a full week since the first one that had woken her in a cold sweat.
#
"I don't understand Ren-kun. Why do you want to hide this from your sister? What's the point of keeping us a secret?"
Only glancing down at her, Ren kept walking. He had been trying to avoid this conversation and still reassure her at the same time, but it wasn't working.
Jun would arrive tomorrow and he needed her to be cooperative.
"You know I care about you Piri. This just isn't the time to tell anyone yet."
"What do you mean tell anyone? I'm pretty sure the others figured it out a while ago." She was getting whiny and it was starting to irritate him, but he had been expecting it so he kept his cool.
Maybe she deserved to feel this way. He was keeping things from her, but it was in an attempt to protect her, or at the very least keep her from worrying. This was his problem and he didn't want to bring her into it.
"I don't want my family to find out yet. It isn't time for that."
A few tears filled her eyes as she stomped her foot and quit walking, making him turn back to face her. "It's just Jun! She's your sister Ren-kun. She loves you. Why would she care?"
Ren growled at her stubborn nature. "Pirika don't do this. Not here, not now."
"Oh I'm sorry is there a better place to discuss the fact that you're ashamed of me? If there is I'd love to know about it."
"I'm not ashamed of you snow bunny. This just isn't the time."
"Isn't time for what?" she asked, tears finally falling.
Sighing he gave in. "My parents shouldn't know yet, alright? If Jun knows there is a chance she would let something slip."
"You don't think they'll like me," she whispered sadly.
Putting a hand on her back he pulled her into motion again. "It's not that. It won't be anything specific to you. My father has had my entire life planned since the moment I was born. It's going to be quite a surprise when he finds out I have no intention of playing his stupid game."
"But if you actually want to marry me he's going to need to know eventually."
Giving a disgusted grunt he moved his hand away from her. "If I could do this without him knowing I would. I'd rather go back through hell than deal with that man."
"I thought you straightened things out with your father years ago."
"Hardly, I got him off my back for a time, but nothing will keep him from trying to control me."
"Then why are you with me Ren-kun," she asked sadly, as if afraid of his response.
"I care about you," he told her simply.
"Then why don't we just run away?"
Giving a sigh Ren answered honestly. "As much as I despise even the thought of him, they are still my family. I've run the clan for years now and I don't want to leave them. If it wasn't for you I would have gone back after I finished school. How I would have survived being around him that much I haven't a clue, but it's home so I would have managed somehow."
The pair of them stayed silent for a few minutes until they got close to the Usui's apartment when she finally looked up at him hopefully. "I'll do what you want while she's here if you promise me something."
Opening the door and heading for the stairs he hid a small smile. "And what is your request?"
"Promise me you love me Ren-kun. That I'm not just a game."
As he shut the door of the apartment behind them he gave her his casual smirk and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. "Stupid snow bunny," he whispered, a soft tone in his voice that was only used for her.
It wasn't what she really wanted, but she knew Ren, and that was the best she would get from him. Actually, for him, it was extremely sweet. So after looking down sadly at the ring still on her finger she pulled it off and slipped it into her pocket.
#
Just like the last time, she woke up in a panic and left the bed so she wouldn't wake Hao. Hopefully she could sleep later, it wouldn't happen now. Between being awake half the night all the time and the way the training exhausted her she had no sleep schedule. She just napped here and there. Before she left the tent she grabbed her dagger and headed out to the lake again. Something about this dream was even more unsettling than the last one.
If Ren had been serious about her, he would never have asked her to hide what they had. All of their friends must have been in on the joke because otherwise they would have stepped in to help her. Besides, if her brother didn't care, no one would. Most likely Ren knew that if his family found out there would be questions asked that he wouldn't want to answer.
Sure he had said all the right things and had given her a good excuse, but now she didn't buy it. She believed some parts of the dreams were true because she could feel it, but others she was unsure of.
When she got to the shore she slipped off her sandals and stood in the shallows, running through some of the routines Hao had taught her. If she was going to try and think this through she might as well do something useful at the same time.
Multi-tasking should be able to help her as well because when she confronted all of them they wouldn't fight fair and attack her one on one. Hao had said he would keep the others away, but if anyone got past him she needed to be prepared.
Once she was started she went back to her thoughts on her dreams. Some parts of her dreams brought strong feelings that were impossible to ignore. For instance, when the combination of Ren and his father came up she was overwhelmed with fear. Something told her the deep hatred Ren had for him was real.
Why she didn't know. The other bits were still foggy, but that fear and hate were as strong as anything else she had felt so far. As true as that was though, she still didn't believe Hao was lying. She must have been extremely naïve to believe his bull shit excuse about not wanting them to know yet. The entire idea just screamed that he was trying to cover something up.
All she had wanted was for him to tell her that she wasn't a game and that he loved her. He had done neither. It was as if a little kiss could make her ignore the lies he was telling. Now she was sure that the ring she wore had come from him, but it was probably a token to keep her from asking questions for a little longer.
What hit her deepest was the fact that she had fallen for it. She had actually been stupid enough to believe he loved her. And the others had just watched it happen. They had to have known what he was doing, but no one stepped in. Ren and her brother had played games with her and then attacked her and they did nothing.
Pirika may have been confused by a lot of things right now, but she knew, without a doubt, that she would make them pay. Before she could let her thoughts play through her mind any longer her sword suddenly melted. She had to clear her mind to realize Hao had done it.
He was standing behind her with a knowing smile. "Problems my pet?"
Giving a defeated sigh she moved out of the water and sat down on the rocks. "I'm just confused," she admitted softly.
Hao sat next to her and started running a hand up and down her back. "What about?"
Biting her lip she tried to decide what to say. She had been about to tell him the truth but something held her back. Choosing to trust her instincts she said the next thing that came to mind.
"I don't even know who I am." Since this had also been bothering her it wasn't actually a lie.
"Who you were doesn't matter," he told her simply. "The only important thing is who you could be." His answer didn't seem to help her at all as she stared out over the water. There was a smug look on his face as he grabbed her chin and turned it towards him.
Leaning in he kissed her deeply. At first she responded, but when he touched her leg the end of her first dream came back to her. She could see Ren coming towards her and the happiness that had filled her when the Chinese man's lips had met hers. In that one moment she had felt so content.
Suddenly it was as if she had been electrocuted and she pulled away with a gasp. Hao must not have felt it because he just tilted his head. "Something wrong pet?" Her heart was racing and her thoughts were an indecipherable jumble.
"N-nothing. I'm fine," she assured him.
"Did you remember something?"
"No I didn't," she said, glad she didn't have to lie this time. Something inside told her she shouldn't let Hao know about how conflicted she was, but when she lied, he knew. She didn't know how, but she would see a glint of frustration in his eye. He didn't know anything specific, only that she wasn't telling the truth and it was getting hard for her to keep up the smiles.
For now she needed time and space to think things through. "I-I need to be alone," she sputtered, jumping to her feet and running towards the forest. As if she wasn't confused enough before, her reaction to Hao's attention made her cry she was so confused and desperate.
When she reached the shelter of the trees she slowed, but kept up a light jog. Where she was going didn't matter, she just wanted to be alone under the stars. Finally she fell to the ground sobbing.
The shock she received when Hao touched her leg terrified her. It had come out of nowhere and she didn't have a clue what it meant. The pain had been real, but had stopped as soon as his hand had pulled back.
Was it possible that there was a part of her buried deep inside that remembered more than she thought? Or was it that the dreams of Ren had more of an impact on her than she realized. If the former was true, how could she learn what it had been trying to tell her? However if it was the latter, why was she comfortable around Hao in every other circumstance.
Well that wasn't entirely true. She trusted Hao more than anyone at this point because he had cared for her and was helping her, but when he called her his pet she felt a little ping inside. It could have been fear, regret, even disgust, she didn't know.
The shock had to have come from somewhere and if Hao didn't feel it that meant it had to have been just her. Pirika couldn't help but feel just as helpless as when she had first opened her eyes. If anything this was worse. There was little to panic about when your mind was a blank slate, but when it was a web of miss matched stories and memories she didn't know where to start.
She would sort it out though, at least enough so she could feel safe with Hao. He was all she had now and she couldn't lose him too. It was possible that both her dreams and what Hao told her was true, even likely maybe. At least that was the conclusion she had come to recently.
The only question that didn't answer was why she felt that electrical current. Closing her eyes, she leaned against a tree, hoping the smell of the grass and the sound of the wind blowing through the branches would bring something to her.
#
"Bocchama maybe we should go back."
"Damn it Bason I have no use for them. At best they will slow me down and she doesn't have an unlimited amount of time. With every hour that passes her odds decrease."
"Maybe they have learned something more."
The warrior had spent the last few days trying to convince his master that his friends weren't against him, and that they cared about her just as much as he did. The problem was Ren's mind was beyond his reach. All he could do now was try and guide him with the kind of logic he couldn't avoid.
Ren had proved that he would happily go to any length to find her so that was all he could use against him. There was a chance the others could help him, but for them to get that chance they had to be able to catch him again. Bason wanted to find Pirika much as Ren did. Ren's feelings for the girl, no matter how reserved, couldn't be hidden when they were joined this way.
No matter what type of oversoul was used, you always felt a connection to the other. Pirika meant the world to Ren and it was proved to Bason again and again, each time they merged. "You haven't gotten any new information since the accident, they could have learned much in that time."
Ren turned around to respond but was suddenly zapped as if by lightning. It hadn't been all that painful, just unexpected enough to bring him to his knees.
"Bocchama what's wrong?"
"I don't know," he snarled, forcing himself to his feet.
"Are you alright?"
"Damn it Bason I don't care about me. All I know is that she is running out of time and I have nothing!"
"Then we should return to the onsen. At the very least you can be sure you have all the relevant facts." Ren couldn't shake the dread that had remained after the electric shock he had received. He didn't know what it meant, but he was going to get a lot more forceful.
#
Leaning against the large pine tree she had been lulled to sleep by the sounds of nature. Things like the wind, the water, and the animals made her feel safe in a way nothing else could. The next dream came then, only hours after the second.
#
"What aren't you telling me?" She asked through her tears.
"I'm telling you everything you need to know," he snapped. He already wasn't happy about being called back like this and her whining made him want to destroy something.
"You've done this three times now and you never say a word about where you're going, just that you might call."
"It is family business, it has nothing to do with you."
"Nothing to do with me? Your father calls you up out of the blue and you drop everything to go to him. You promised you would take me to the dance this weekend!"
Grabbing a few things from his drawers he continued packing his bag, trying hard not to lose his temper. "You know I have no patience for things like that. I only agreed to shut you up!"
Pirika took a step back and even her tears stopped. He regretted his words the second he saw her reaction. She recoiled as if he had slapped her and in her mind he basically had.
Saying he had done it to shut her up was a low blow and he knew it. One of Pirika's biggest fears was how annoying other people found her. Ren knew that. In truth he thought her childish antics were cute most of the time.
When he told her he had done something just to shut her up it made her think he really did see her as a childish brat. He knew it would hurt her, he was just upset, with this fight, with his father, with everything.
He didn't move to stop her as she stepped forward and slapped him hard across his face. "Maybe I won't be waiting here when you get back." Spinning around she headed for the door.
"Damn it snow bunny you know you don't mean that," he called as she slammed the door of the apartment.
Most likely she was planning on walking home and though he would rather have delivered her, he didn't have time to try and win her back at the moment.
That could be dealt with later, right now he had to get back or deal with his father's temper. Once he was finished packing he left, making only one quick call.
#
Horohoro had been waiting for her to get back and when she did, he gave an amused smile. "You really messed up this time buddy," he muttered under his breath, seeing the state she was in.
Pirika was prone to overreacting and he suspected that's what had happened here. Well that and Ren had been stupid like usual and lost all control of his temper. She had pushed past him and went straight to her room, sobbing the entire way.
Following slowly he found her sitting on her bed with her head buried in her hands. "Let's talk Piri," he suggested softly.
"I-don't-wanna-talk," she sobbed. "I just never-wanna-see him again."
Wrapping his arm around her he tried not to laugh. When she was upset she could get overly dramatic. Even if things were worse than Ren had said, she would feel better in a few days and regret this whole thing.
"Pirika you need to settle down a bit."
"Oh so you're taking his side?" she asked angrily.
"I'm not taking sides Piri. I think you're both over reacting."
"If you know his side then you already talked to him. Does he think you can convince me he's sorry?"
Giving a sigh, Horohoro gave her a last squeeze before standing up. He knew his sister well enough to know she needed to cool off for a bit.
"He really does care about you Piri; more than any of us ever thought he could. I know you don't like it when he leaves like this, but his father is a bastard.
He's trying to do right by you at the same time as pleasing him. Don't give up on him just because you both lost your temper." Pirika didn't respond as he shut the door and left her alone.
#
She woke up crying again, but this time she wasn't worried about the weird sensation she felt with Hao. If her dream was true like she suspected it was, Ren had slipped up once, and shown her his true feelings.
She didn't know if she would have forgiven him without her brother's urgings, but what mattered was how her brother tried to ignore the fact that he had hurt her. As her brother wasn't it his job to protect her, to keep her safe when her boyfriend used her? How could she ever trust someone who betrayed her like that?
Standing quickly she looked around, trying to determine which direction the camp was in. Just as she gave up she heard an amused voice speak from behind her.
"Are you lost my pet?" Hao cooed softly. Seeing him, the man that had saved her, all of her worries were suddenly gone.
"I'm sorry Hao," she told him, hugging him tightly. She was too close to see the satisfied smile he gave, knowing she was wrapped around his finger.
#
Hao didn't try and kiss her again until the next evening. She held her breath as he moved in, but the shock didn't come until his hand slipped down to her hip. Like before she pulled away sharply.
"D-don't touch me!" she cried instinctively.
He momentarily gave her a cold look, but he managed to hide it with innocent confusion quickly.
"I'm sorry, I'm j-just not ready," she stuttered, trying to make up for her bad reaction.
"It's all right my pet," he assured her, his voice still cool. "You'll come around before long."
His tone made her look down ashamed. "Thank you Hao," she whispered. "I just need some time to straighten things out." Running the back of his hand across her cheek, he nodded. After placing a last kiss on her lips he stood and walked away.
Looking up to the sky she started crying in frustration. She trusted Hao and knew that he was trying to help her, but her body betrayed her. Those stupid dreams were making part of her wish she could go back to being oblivious to Ren's intentions because she missed being so surrounded by people.
She was actually missing something she couldn't even really remember. It made her want to scream. It made her feel more out of control than she thought possible.
The hardest thing to accept was she couldn't go back to before. She knew now what they really thought of her and she couldn't ignore it. Now all she could do was trust Hao to keep her safe and get her what she deserved.
#
Week after week had passed and Hao had finally started letting her work on her own more often. Usually he liked to be within sight of her, he said it was in case something happened to her again. Still, it was nice to be alone, at peace.
At the moment she was out on the far side of the lake training with Oyuki, but she was struggling to focus.
"Is something wrong Mistress?" The snow spirit asked as Pirika started staring off into space for the fourth time in the last hour.
"What?" she asked, being pulled back down to earth.
"You seem distracted. Is there anything you would like to discuss?"
"No, I'm fine," she answered, putting down her knife and sitting on the shore.
Not fooled, Oyuki stayed close. "Have your dreams returned?"
Looking over she considered her friend. She knew Hao wouldn't be pleased to hear about her dreams so she hadn't spoken about them with him. He always told her she needed to stop dwelling on the past. It would only hurt her and she already had enough fuel. The others at the camp hadn't opened up to her much, so as a result she hadn't really talked them over at all. Maybe this could be her chance to sort through them.
"Yes. They started up again a few nights ago."
"What were they about?" Giving a sigh Pirika thought back to the dream she had only that morning.
#
Although she had been expecting her brother home soon, she hadn't been expecting him to bring anyone else along. But she could hear him out in the living room talking to someone. There was another voice responding, but it was too faint for her to distinguish.
Curious, she walked out to the living room to see what was going on. The pair of them had been waiting for her, Horohoro sitting on the floor and Ren standing near the kitchen. Her brother was smiling but Ren was cautious, waiting to see her reaction.
She didn't really know how to react. At first she was overjoyed to see him, but then she remembered she was supposed to be angry. Working hard she managed to keep all emotion off her face and she was pleased to see he looked a little worried.
"Why are you here?" she asked coldly.
"I just want to talk," he told her gently.
"You don't talk. You don't even listen all that well."
While shaking his head as he got to his feet and headed for his room, Horohoro couldn't hide a small smile. Stopping beside her, he spoke softly, only loud enough for her to hear. "Now would be the time to ignore that stubborn streak Piri. I promise you'll regret it if you don't."
Her eyes locked on Ren as her brother shut the door. Thoroughly overwhelmed she took the seat her brother had just abandoned. Ren waited for a few moments before he took the spot beside her. He was careful to give her some space, afraid of upsetting her.
"I'm sorry," he told her gently. "I didn't mean what I said."
Keeping her eyes locked on the floor she shook her head. "Yes you did," she snapped.
Ren gave a small smirk. "Fine, but I didn't mean it like it sounded. You know how much I hate being around people. I agreed to take you out because I got tired of your begging."
"I shouldn't have to beg!" she cried out desperately. "It shouldn't be a chore for you to go out with me!"
"I like taking you out, I just prefer it be more private. If it'll make you happy I'll bring you to a dozen movies or restaurants, you know that. You just need to decide whether that's enough for you."
"And what about you leaving every time someone beckons you home?"
His gentle look was gone at the thought of his father's summonings. "I am trying to fix that but there will always be times when I don't have a choice. I don't like leaving you like that and I only do it when I don't see another way. If you can't live with that just tell me now."
Looking up at him, she was surprised to see he was nervous. He needed her to hear this, but he knew she might choose to walk away and he didn't know if he could handle that. After her tantrum the day he left he accepted that, at the very least, they needed to talk about this. Still, he didn't like it.
"Sometimes I hate myself!" she spat.
"Why?" Ren asked in confusion. He expected her to be angry with him, but why would she be angry with herself?
"Because I don't know if I want to keep loving you."
Her words hurt him, but since he still didn't understand he tried not to panic. "What are you talking about?"
Looking up at him, her eyes were filled with a mix of anger and pain, cutting him deeply. "I want to be mad!" she cried angrily. "I want to hate you but I-I can't stop loving you and I hate it."
Ren didn't really know how to respond. She had just admitted she still loved him and wasn't angry, but also said she wished she could hate him. For now it would be better than nothing.
"I don't wanna lose you snow bunny," he whispered before he got to his feet. "Call me if you want to talk." Was the last thing she heard before he left. Now that she was alone she tried to sort through her tormenting emotions.
#
Being all but cast aside during Jun's week long visit had been harder than she had ever expected it to be. By now it was a habit to look over at him and smile when he spoke, to spend time alone with him nearly every day, it hurt to be ignored for this long.
Part of her knew Ren hadn't meant it, but still. They had been planning on going out to dinner and a movie tonight, but Ren would be here any minute and she was still in her pajamas, laying on her bed, and trying to stop her silent tears.
Ren had obviously been expecting this because when he walked into her room not long later he was dressed casually and not in any hurry. Not waiting for her to give any response he sat down beside her. It took a few minutes but she finally spoke to him.
"How can I think you care about me when pretending I didn't exist was that easy for you?"
"It wasn't easy for me," he told her simply. "This week was one of the hardest I've ever had."
"Why should I believe that?" she asked, still not meeting his gaze.
"Stupid snow bunny, I've been with you for over two years. In that time, I've seen you nearly every day, brought you to the playground more often than I care to remember, seen more sappy movies than I knew existed, and still never gotten you to sleep with me. If you think I would have that much patience for anyone else you're delusional."
Smiling through her tears, she thought about it. Before her, he had never set foot on a playground and you could probably count the number of chick-flicks he had seen on one hand. What really stood out the most though was the fact that they hadn't ever had sex.
Of course he had tried half a dozen times, but when she asked him to stop he always listened. He had been with more girls than she cared to think about before her, but Ren was her first boyfriend and so she had never been with a guy before. She was scared, and he respected that in a way she had never expected.
He ran his thumb gently over her hand, stopping when he felt her bare finger. "Where is it?" he asked, more than a little hurt that she was still keeping it hidden. Reaching up she pulled a chain from under her shirt that hid her ring.
Carefully unlatching the hook she placed the chain on her nightstand and let the ring sit in the middle of her hand. After waiting for a few minutes he took it and slid it back onto her finger. He saw it as a good sign when she didn't try and stop him.
Sitting up slowly she leaned her head up against his shoulder. Ren was glad she couldn't see the smile he gave as he put one of his arms around her. He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head, glad she had basically forgiven him.
"Why don't we go to the park for a bit," he suggested. Looking up at him with a giggle she nodded.
#
The sun had just started setting when she used her feet to stop the swing she was on. Knowing she wanted to talk he sat on the next swing and waited for her to be ready.
"I love you Ren-kun," she started gently, "but you can't keep me hidden forever. If you really want me, that means you're family is going to need to know."
"Pirika you don't underst-"
"Wouldn't it be worse if they found out on their own?" she interrupted.
Although he hated to admit it, she did have a point. If he told his father, he would be there to deal with the fallout, but if he found out on his own Ren would have no control or knowledge of what happened next.
"You finish school in mid-May. After that we can go to China for a few days."
Although she expected to be relieved, a knot of worry filled her stomach. The idea of meeting his parents solved her concerns of their relationship never moving forward, but it also terrified her. Still, since this was what she had wanted, she would be strong.
#
Something made her think that she had never met his parents. She didn't know why, but just like before when she somehow knew Ren's distain for his father was real, she knew she hadn't met them.
Oyuki waited, listening carefully as she described the expansions of her earlier dreams. "If you are correct and these dreams are past memories, the fact that you never met his parents should answer a number of questions for you."
Looking over curiously she tilted her head a bit. "What question could that answer?" Pirika asked the snow woman.
"If he didn't want his family to learn about you, he had little time to act. He had promised that he would bring you in a number weeks he had only that long to make sure you were dealt with."
The spirit had a point and it hadn't occurred to her before this. She had wanted to think that he had agreed to bring her because he did care about her, but everything told her that simply wasn't true. It had basically been a month since she had woken up in an empty tent.
Hao told her they thought she was dead and most likely it was true. If they knew she was alive they would have wanted to finish the job, unless of course they simply didn't care. Judging by the wounds she had though, she was lucky she had survived and that would mean their intention was to finish her off.
Not only did she have a head wound, but her arms and legs had been covered with shallow cuts and a large patch of roughed up skin on her shoulder. The cut on her head hadn't been all that deep as far as she could tell, but it had bled a lot and had to be what caused her memory loss so it might have been worse than it looked. With that much damage they had to have been confident she would die and if Hao hadn't come along she would have.
Still, she would have given anything for Oyuki to be wrong, for Hao to be wrong, for her to be wrong. No matter what she wanted though, she couldn't deny the facts. They had abandoned her.
If they had been smart they would have made sure to finish her off then and there, because now she would make them pay and they would never see it coming.
#
"Maybe there is something to your idiotic insistence," Ren muttered under his breath, turning south towards the city. "I think it might finally be time to pay them a little visit."
Although this was what Bason had been waiting for, the cold smile his master gave assured him that this wouldn't go quite as he wanted.
#
"Bocchama we should go inside and speak with them."
"Silence Bason!" Ren hissed coldly. "I have given you orders and I expect them to be followed."
"Yes Bocchama," he said sadly, giving an obedient nod before he disappeared.
Ren had told him to get as close as possible and learn what he could, but he was not allowed to let them sense him. He was waiting about a mile away.
Although there was a chance Bason could go undetected, with them on high alert as they were, Ren would never get close enough.
#
"You have been gone over thirty minutes. You better have something worth it," Ren hissed.
"They were discussing their next actions so I believe I have learned everything they know."
"By all means, take all the time you need. We aren't really in a hurry." His cold sarcasm hurt, but Bason steeled himself, knowing he didn't mean it. At least not in his heart.
"After spending the first week or so looking for her or a body and finding nothing, they do not believe she is still within the city."
"Damn it I figured that out weeks ago. Give me something helpful!"
"Because of how badly you were injured, and her strength, they think someone had to have taken her."
For a moment it had been hard to understand who would have wanted to hurt her. She was sweet, gentle, caring, and innocent. Sure she could be a little rough when training her brother but she was trying to help him in the only way she could and never meant to hurt him. He had never seen her do anything just to hurt someone. Who would ever hurt a girl like that?
Then it he saw it, and it knocked the wind right out of him, like a hammer to the chest. There was one person who would want her gone, out of the picture, away from him. Although he hadn't told his father anything about her or the future he was determined to give her, it would have been easy enough to find out. He rarely showed her any affection in public, mostly because it wasn't his way, but the truth had been guessed easily enough after the ring appeared on her finger.
It was common knowledge that the two had been spending time together for the last two years with how he met her at her work and walked her home from school frequently. He had been hoping to introduce her to his parents and judge their reaction before worrying about them. His father would be furious, that much was guaranteed, but what he didn't know was how far he would go.
Ren had been lying to Pirika when he told her his parents would love her. In truth they would most likely hate her, but he couldn't have told her that. She had been nervous enough as it was. Part of him had been afraid that they would attempt to hurt her, but he tried to convince himself they would just be furious enough to limit his access to money or something else as a punishment, hoping he would come to his senses.
Having expected this he had been hiding money away for over a year. He knew if they cut him off he would never live quite the same again, but he had stockpiled enough that he could live comfortably for the rest of his life. It had actually been easy with how vast the family fortune was to pull some from here and some from there.
What if his father had taken action earlier and tried to get rid of her. How could he have missed something so simple? It had to be him. No one else had a reason to harm the Ainu girl.
If Yuan had wanted to get rid of her it was possible that he had caused the accident in the first place and had one of his numerous assassins grab her before he came to. A deeper anger than he had ever felt filled him and he made his choice. He was going to China. Now.
#
Horohoro walked over to where Yoh was standing, leaning casually out the window. "You felt him?" he asked, more than a little upset.
Giving a sad sigh, Yoh nodded.
"Why didn't we stop him? He might have known something that could help us."
"If he came here it was because he wanted to know what we know. That means he doesn't have any more answers than we do. He's too worked up to be thinking clearly so he probably hasn't come to the conclusions we have."
"What do we know that could possibly help him?"
Yoh looked back out the window. He suspected that if Ren learned they thought someone took her, he would instantly think about his father. "Maybe he has a better idea of who might have taken her."
Finally Horohoro understood. "You think his father has her!" he snapped, but Yoh stayed calm and shook his head.
"No I don't, but I think Ren will. With how little he trusts his dad he needs rule that possibility out himself."
"Why don't you think he has her? He has a bigger motive than anyone else we've thought of."
"Well first there is the fact that Ren did everything possible to keep his family from finding out about her, but even if they did, this wouldn't be how they would have dealt with it."
"What are you talking about? The Tao family has more assassins than most people have friends!"
"Think about it Horo, if he had wanted to get Ren's focus back on their family he wouldn't have taken her. The best idea would have been to have her poisoned or something that looks natural. With her missing Ren is going to search forever until he gets answers."
If possible Horohoro paled further. "So you think he couldn't have done it because he would have just killed her?"
"Yeah. There obviously isn't anything here that will bring Ren back to the way he was before, maybe something there can."
"I'm scared Yoh," he whispered softly, not able to keep the images of his sister, dead and bloody in the Tao dungeons from his mind.
Although it was a struggle to stay calm and confident, Yoh gave his friend a smile. "Don't worry buddy, everything will work out. We won't stop looking and neither will Ren. You can see how much he loves her just as easily as the rest of us can." His words had made some impact, but all he could really do was watch Horohoro try with all his might not to fall into despair.
#
Pirika wasn't surprised to find Hao waiting for her in the tent they shared. What did surprise her was the frustrated, almost upset look in his eyes. "I have reason to believe you are struggling with your memories."
Looking around the room she noticed that Oyuki wasn't here. The spirit must have told Hao about her dreams, and then left because she knew how angry Pirika would be. Maybe the ghost just thought she was helping, but still, Pirika felt betrayed.
"I've just been dreaming," she told him simply, hoping this wouldn't turn into a big deal.
"Dreams don't upset people this much. Something about them is bothering you. What is it?"
Pirika knew he wouldn't let this go so she lay down on the bed and looked up at the top of the tent. "I think they're memories." The cold look he wore was just what she had expected. He insisted that dwelling on the past would only be bad her, stall her recovery.
"What kind of memories?" Hao showed extreme patience with how calm he kept his voice, despite his obvious anger.
For the shortest of seconds she felt as if she was remembering something important, something about Hao, but it was gone long before she could grasp it. Shaking her head she pushed it aside easily.
"They're all different. Either Ren or my brother are in them."
"I've told you about how they pretended to care so they could get what they wanted."
"But what did they want? They didn't get anything! I never slept with Ren and my brother never made me do things I didn't want."
"My pet, I was there when they attacked you. I saw them walk away from your bleeding body."
Batting away the tears she forced her voice to stay even, knowing she couldn't let Hao see how shaken she was. "I just wish I could remember the bad things too," she muttered.
"You just aren't ready yet," he told her, his voice softer. "Those memories will come eventually, but it is too soon for you to handle it." Seemingly satisfied with how things had gone he started kissing her. The kissing didn't bother her, and she responded happily until his hands started searching her chest.
Without a real thought, she pulled back with a slight whimper. At least her reluctance made slightly more sense now. If she really had been with Ren over two years and she never let him have her, why would she give herself to a man she had only been with a number of weeks?
"I have given you everything you want?" he told her in frustration. "Why would you still deny me?"
"I'm sorry Hao, but please, please give me more time." His normally warm brown eyes were cold and distant as he headed for the door. "I've given you everything you've ever wanted. Soon I will expect something in return."
Once he was gone she rolled over, pulled a pillow to her chest and started to cry silently. For some reason she was terrified, more so than she could ever remember being. Hao had saved her, healed her, and taught her everything she would need to get the revenge she wanted, but something made her hold back. Whatever it was, she couldn't keep it up much longer.
#
The flight took forever with how impatient he had become, but finally he had arrived and kwan dao in hand, he headed inside. First he decided to search the house. If he had kept her alive she would most likely be hidden in the dungeons. It would be near impossible to make Yuan admit to anything if he was simply confronted, so he would save that for a last resort.
After looking through the dungeons and the few dozen other places in the house he could have hidden her Ren knew he had no other choice. He would give anything to have her back, even if it meant killing his father. It was late, after sunset when he saw them all sitting in the dining hall. His mother and sister were there as well, but that wouldn't stop him, not now.
Walking in silently, no one knew he was there until he had his blade at his father's neck. "Where is she?" he asked coldly, anger only rising at the calm collected look his father gave.
Both the women gasped and moved forward but a single cold look at Jun had his sister moving back and getting their mother to do the same. Ren wasn't going to let anyone interfere with this, no matter what it took.
"I'm afraid you will have to be more specific Lian."
"Pirika! Where is she? She disappeared the day we were coming here and has been gone for weeks. I can't believe it took me this long to figure it out but now that I did you will answer my questions."
"I had nothing to do with the loss of that savage girl you clung to. I will admit that when I heard about it weeks ago I was nothing but pleased for whoever had acted. It saved me the trouble of dealing with the girl myself."
"Stop lying to me," Ren hissed, absolutely livid. "You were planning on doing something the moment you found out who she was."
"That may be true," he admitted, "but I had no hand in what happened to her." Clenching his jaw Ren tried to decide what to do. He wasn't sure if he believed him, but if it hadn't been Yuan, there was still a chance he could help find her.
"If you had nothing to do with it then I beg you to find her for me. I will do whatever you request after that, but you will get nothing until she is safe."
Moving quickly Yuan reached up and snapped the wooden handle of the kwan dao before he threw it to the ground. "If she had you this weakened I'm glad she was dealt with. You are the heir to the Tao clan and such behavior will not be tolerated. You said you would look out for the interests of the family but despite our lines dying out you choose a woman who could never further the clan. Trusting you was a clear mistake."
Before Ren could react the larger man jerked out and knocked him hard into the far wall with an attack aimed at the center of his chest.
#
Pirika was jerked from sleep that evening as well, but for the first time it hadn't been because of a dream. Actually, she didn't have a clue what had woken her. She tried to figure it out, but all she knew was it was hard to breathe. Beyond that thinking was difficult.
It wasn't that her chest hurt. It felt more like her lungs had shrunk or there was something heavy on her ribcage. She knew neither was true of course, but that was the only way she could describe it. At the very least the wind had been fully knocked out of her.
The question was why. All she was doing was lying in bed.
For some weird reason she thought it was related to the shock she had gotten when Hao had touched her. The situations had absolutely nothing in common, but still she couldn't shake the feeling.
Although it was ever so slowly getting easier to breathe, she got no more sleep that night.
#
AN: Please read and review. It will let me know the love for Shaman King isn't dead!
