Author's note: This is the shortest chapter I believe. Don't panic, they get longer again after this. Also, remember, if a # is in italics you are still in that same memory. If a # is regular you are either entering a new memory or are back to the present.

Lastly, I will not post on Monday. We are going to be out of town celebrating the holiday weekend. Posting will resume on Thurs.

#

Chapter 5

#

Walking into the room everything looked familiar, like the prayer stick she had carved him sitting on the desk by his wallet. His broken board was stashed in the corner and a partially finished one was leaning on the wall beside it. Even the dirty clothes and other things all scattered as a mess on the floor was right.

As much as she wanted to see her brother for a bit, this was awkward. She didn't know what to say or think. The only real memories she had right now of him were from the pictures in her room, besides that she just had a happy, safe feeling.

After watching her carefully he gave a sigh. This was going to be harder than he expected. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "For breaking your board."

Now he laughed. "Oh Piri, it's just a piece of wood. I've broken them before and I'm sure I'll break a dozen more. It'll take me less than a week to carve a simple one out. As long as you're safe, I'd be willing to make a hundred." His carefree words made her smile. Giving his hand a final squeeze she sat down on the bed.

Deciding she might as well get the hard part over with first she pointed to the scar on her wrist. "Did you do this to me?" she asked fearfully.

The dark look in his eyes made her shrink back in fear. "You really don't know anything do you?" he asked, managing to keep his voice light.

She felt ashamed of herself for forgetting everything. Horohoro made her feel safe, he had taken care of her, and now she was accusing him of hurting her all because of something Hao had said to her. Why couldn't she just have let it go? Hao had admitted that he had used her, but still, the lies he told wouldn't leave. This one was the worst; maybe because it had actually left a scar she knew there had to be a story behind it.

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember. I tried to ask Ren-kun about it but he said you had to tell me, that it was before we met anyone here." Tears filled her eyes. "I just want to know what happened," she pleaded.

"Pirika this isn't a good story. It's one of the worst memories I have, beaten only by the past few months and what happened with Damuko. You don't want to remember this one." While he was speaking he reached over and started running his thumb over the pale scar on the side of her wrist.

Not knowing was a nice thought, but if she only remembered the good things in her life, could she even be the same? "Onii-chan-," she started gently, "if I learned anything from all of this, it's that what you've been through makes you who you are. I can't run from the bad things and still be me." Finally she smiled. "Besides, good always comes next."

Horohoro smiled as he watched his happy, chirpy sister return. "Alright, you've made your point. But, umm, where do I start."

Thinking back to how things had gone with Ren back in the motel she knew she wanted to remember it on her own if possible. That way there could be no question about how real it was, but in every other case she had something to trigger it, a picture, or a dream, something. How could she remember something that she didn't have any piece of?

"I want you to try and help me remember it. Tell me something that might bring it back, when it happened, or maybe why, anything that could help."

Taking a deep breath, Horohoro thought back to the one of only two nights he had spent his entire life trying to forget. "It was about six months after Damuko died that I learned you had been lying to me for years. Seeing you in that much pain, knowing that I had failed you just like I failed her, I-I've never been that angry. Once you said that was the only night you ever feared me."

Closing her eyes and emptying her mind there were things flitting around but she couldn't grasp any of them. "More," she pleaded desperately. The feelings of regret and terror already filled her, but she couldn't give up. She was obviously stronger than he was, because he couldn't bring himself to tell her how careless he had been, how blind.

Closing his eyes, he spoke the first words that came to mind. It was what he had yelled at her when she had been thrown into the bedroom they shared. "It was him wasn't it?

Every time you told me you were just clumsy and tripped. I trusted you and you've been lying to me for years." Although he had only whispered the words, they echoed through her head as if he had been yelling at her, just like all those years ago.

#

Pirika peeked into the kitchen. She hadn't eaten either lunch or dinner because she had sassed back this morning and their father was punishing her. Seeing that he wasn't there, she walked in quietly, being too hungry to resist anymore. Going up on her tiptoes she stretched her arm out onto the counter, hoping to find anything edible.

Before she had a chance to find anything, something came crashing down on her wrist making her scream out in pain. Looking over in terror she saw her father standing over her holding a now cracked beer bottle. It had been months since she had been in this much pain and tears were pouring down her face. "Daddy I'm s-sorry I was just s-so hungry," she cried.

Grabbing her bleeding wrist he pulled her sharply forward until she was only inches away. "That was the point you little brat. When you misbehave you need to be punished," he hissed. He never yelled at her, only whispered in her ear, but that just scared her more. After giving another scream of pain as he squeezed her wrist he slapped her.

"If you don't be quiet and your brother finds out how pathetic you are, you won't even have him to help you clean up the blood." Biting her lip hard she kept herself from crying out again. Pirika adored her brother more than anything else in the world and she never wanted him to see her cry this way.

After the first time her father had hit her, he told her that if Horohoro found out he would be ashamed of how weak she was. At first she hadn't believed him, but with how her brother had loved their father she started to wonder.

Once she worked up the courage she asked him what he would think if someone let others hurt them and he had told her that he thought everyone should be strong enough to stand up for themselves. He hadn't understood what she had been talking about, and with all the shaman training he had been doing he assumed she had been talking about that.

Since then she had come up with some stupid excuse for every bruise and every cut, even the few broken bones she had gotten. Her brother's opinion of her meant the world and she was more afraid of him finding out than of her father hurting her.

"Daddy please stop you're hurting me," she begged.

"You deserve the pain," he told her. "You killed your mother and you deserve more punishment than I could ever give you. Just be thankful that I let you live at all."

Things were going just like they always did as he smashed the bottle against her shoulder, shattering it. Still biting her lip she whimpered as the glass crashed over her.

Seeing him lift the jagged bottle neck he still had she used her good arm to protect her face.

#

Horohoro had gotten frustrated with his training and had snuck away early even though his dad would be disappointed. He had been planning on seeing if Pirika wanted to go out to the fields to visit the Koropokkur, but walking into the house any good thoughts were ripped from his mind at what he saw.

Unlike his sister, his father loved him. It was obvious that he was the favorite, but he saw their dad as a good person and thought that he would never hurt anyone. He was always encouraging Horohoro, or telling him how he would save the Koropokkur and their people. All of those wonderful images were shattered when he saw his bleeding sister crying and cowering as their father went to hit her.

When the hit Pirika had been expecting never came, she opened her eyes. Her stomach dropped at the sight of Horohoro punching their father repeatedly while screaming, "put her down!" When he released her it was purely out of surprise. Once he collected himself he punched his son hard in the stomach, sending him crashing backwards into the wall.

"Onii-chan!" she yelled fearfully as she tried to crawl towards him, only to fall when she tried to use her injured arm. Before her brother could run to her, his father grabbed his arm and all but dragged him to the room the siblings shared. He pushed him forcefully into the room and slammed the door before going back over to his daughter.

Putting a hand around her throat he pushed her against a wall. "I will make you pay for corrupting your brother," he told her coldly. Even if she wanted to respond she couldn't. Her tiny hands were pulling desperately at his fingers just so she could get in a tiny breath here and there.

She was about to give up when a loud knock echoed through the house. Glancing quickly out the window he saw the trainer Horohoro had been working with standing outside.

"I will deal with you in the morning," he hissed as he threw her into the room with her brother and locked the door behind himself.

Pirika couldn't even bring herself to get up off the floor so she was just sitting there sobbing when her brother walked over, shaking with fury.

"It was him wasn't it? Every time you told me you were just clumsy and tripped! I trusted you and you've been lying to me for years," he shouted.

She wished her father would have done away with her right then rather than having her brother this angry with her. "Onii-chan, I-I'm sorry," she managed between her sobs.

"Why wouldn't you tell me?!"

Pirika couldn't even bare to look up at him, knowing the hate she would see. "Daddy t-told me that if y-you knew you w-wouldn't love me anymore. You're a-all I have and I d-don't wanna lose y-you. "

At her tearful words he really looked at her for the first time. Here she was, cradling her arm, crying, and trembling in fear, fear of him. The sight hurt him more than seeing his father hit her had. He was blaming her for not telling him, but he should be blaming himself for not protecting her. From this moment on that would change, he vowed. No matter what it took, he would keep her safe.

Kneeling down beside her he wrapped his arms around her battered body. "I will always love you Piri," he promised; "No matter what happens." When she tried to hug him back she bumped her arm and a shot of pain made her cry out. Remembering how it had been bleeding Horohoro pulled back and lifted it gently.

She winced but managed to stay quiet as he touched the area around her cut. It was a large gash on the side of her arm from where the bottle had broken but that wasn't what was really hurting her. He had seen a number of broken bones between the two times she had broken her arm and the time he had landed wrong after a snowboarding trick and broke his leg and he could tell her arm was broken just above her wrist. Standing up he walked over to the dresser and pulled out a scarf she had made him.

After going back to his sister he started wrapping it, hoping to give it at least a little support until he could get her some real help. "But onii-chan why aren't you angry? You got hurt because of me," she asked as he finished.

"Nothing is your fault little sister," he told her soothingly. "Lie down and get some rest. I promise I will keep you safe." Reaching down he helped her to her feet and led her over to the bed. The moment her head hit the pillow she started drifting off.

"But onii-chan I'm hungry," she whispered.

"Just sleep now. We can eat later."

It felt like only minutes had passed when she was being shaken awake. Giving a whine she tried to roll over but was pulled into a sitting position instead. "It's time to get up Piri," Horohoro told her softly as he started moving around the room again.

Using her good arm she rubbed her eyes and gave a large yawn. "But onii-chan it's still dark out."

He smiled sadly at how she had already buried the events of the night before and had an innocent, cheerful, yet tired, smile on her face. "I know, but you need to get dressed." Although she was confused, her brother didn't seem to be in a mood to explain so she just shrugged and grabbed out some clean clothes. Whatever he was planning must be important because he was putting off sleep for it.

She struggled a bit, but with some help from Horohoro she managed to pull on a sweater and skirt. "Now what?" she asked as he pulled open the window.

"Now I need you to trust me," he told her as he kicked out the screen.

"O-okay," she stuttered nervously as he threw his board over his shoulder and two fully packed bags out the second floor window.

"Do you have Mem?" he asked, turning back. Not knowing what to say she just nodded. "Good, now stay quiet and follow me," he told her as he climbed up and went to jump.

"Wait I don't understand!" she whispered desperately, trying to pull him back into the room.

Looking her right in the eye he took her hand. "I'm getting you out of here."

Suddenly she panicked. "B-but where am I going? I don't wanna go anywhere! I wanna stay with you." She relaxed a bit when he gave her his goofy grin.

"Two bags Piri. We're running away and I promise I will never let anyone hurt you again." After wiping a few tears from her eyes he jumped out and landed smoothly on the ground.

"Your turn," he called up.

"Onii-chan I'm scared," she cried, eyes barely able to look over the sill.

"Pirika I will catch you but you need to trust me. We're running out of time." Looking back she let her eyes search the room she had spent her childhood hiding and crying in.

Filled with new determination she turned back and tried to climb up. Having only one arm she couldn't manage it and was about to start crying again when Mem came up behind her and helped her up. Glancing one last time at the distance to the ground she closed her eyes and jumped.

The landing was softer than she expected. Opening her eyes she found herself in the safely of her brother's arms, just like he had promised. With a huge smile, she gave him a kiss on the cheek before he set her down. Looking up at the window again they saw her green reptilian friend leap out, landing easily beside them.

Grabbing both of the bags, Horohoro held one out towards his sister, but pulled it back quickly and threw them both over his shoulder. "Ready?" he asked. Pirika was absolutely glowing as she looked up at him. Despite everything that had happened this was the best day of her life. Her father would never be able to hurt her again and her brother still loved her. When she nodded he grabbed her hand and together they ran.

#

Horohoro felt hopeless as he watched her relive it all again. She was sitting in front of him, eyes open and darting around in a panic. The only thing he could do was hug her until it was over. Eventually she dissolved into tears and buried her head in his shoulder.

Once she had gotten ahold of herself she pulled back and looked up at him with a smile. "S-sorry," she muttered embarrassed as she wiped away her tears.

"I should be sorry. I promised I would never let anyone hurt you and I failed." Pirika tilted her head to the side as she looked at the brother who had spent his entire life caring for her. She couldn't help herself from laughing, even though he seemed confused.

"Do you know why I trained you so hard?" she asked.

"Because you were sadistic and wanted to kill me?" he guessed, obviously clueless.

"It was because you gave up everything to get me out. You left the people who could help show you how to do things to complete our goal. I blamed myself and refused to let you lose your dream because of me." Now Horohoro started laughing too.

Pirika placed a quick kiss on his cheek before she stood up and walked over to the window. Everything felt perfect as she let the wind blow through her hair. He watched her for a bit before he spoke, "Ren said you remembered things when you see pictures, right?" Turning towards him she nodded. She was a little confused. Her brother had never really had any pictures around, maybe because his room was always such a mess there wasn't any place to keep them.

"Yeah, I can remember when I took them, why?" Reaching over he grabbed his wallet off the desk and flipped it open. "I kept this with me from the day I left," he told her as he passed over a folded piece of paper. Opening it slowly she saw it was a picture, ruffled around the edges from being carried around for so many years.

It had been taken only a few months before she had met Yoh and the others for the first time. Horohoro was sitting cross legged and she was kneeling behind him with her arms wrapped around his shoulders. He was reaching up and was holding both of her hands. Although they were both smiling, Pirika's eyes were shining and you could tell she had been crying. Behind the pair was a large field with Koropokkur moving around everywhere.

#

"But I don't understand why I can't come with you!" she cried angrily as he packed some of the food away, leaving her with most of it.

"Pirika, I told you. Tokyo is a huge city, way bigger than anything we have ever seen before. Even the people will be different and I wanna make sure everything is safe. Just give me a month or two and once I've got it figured out you can come too."

"Onii-chan I've never been alone for that long. What if I can't do it?"

Horohoro laughed at her. She was picking at straws at this point. "I've had you doing everything by yourself for long enough. You know where the old abandoned house is if the tent were to burst into flames and Mem won't let you go hungry."

Knowing she was losing the battle she put her lip out in a pout and stomped her foot. "What if I forget you?"

His stupid grin caused her to struggle to keep a straight face. "If you forget me we have a number of other problems. Now I'm done packing and I'm not leaving until morning so are you going to spend our last few hours together pouting or do you want to play with the Koropokkur?"

She had been avoiding accepting the fact that he was leaving her for weeks now. Realizing that she had less than half a day with him she broke down. Falling to her knees she wrapped her arms around herself and started to sob.

"Oh come on Piri, don't do that," he pleaded. He hated to see her cry this way, or at all really. Sitting beside her he wrapped an arm over her shoulders. "Pirika it's just for two, three months at the most. Then we'll be together again." Seeing he wasn't getting through to her he reached over to his bag and pulled out a poorly wrapped box. "I had been going to give this to you tomorrow before I left but if you promise to stop crying you can have it now."

It took a few minutes but eventually she got herself under control, only sniffling occasionally and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Once she was done she looked up at her brother expectantly. "Greedy brat," he told her with a smile, making her laugh. Rolling his eyes he handed over the package.

At this point she was just bursting with curiosity. What could he possibly have gotten her? Ripping off the paper she opened the box to find a brand new camera. Her mouth fell open, unable to say a word as she ran her fingers over it. It was simple but high quality, the type she had only dreamed of.

"B-but how?" she finally sputtered.

"I've been saving little bits here and there for months," he admitted. Pirika didn't know whether to be more impressed that he had gotten her something she had wanted so much, or the fact that he had enough forethought to plan something so long term.

"This way you can take pictures while I'm gone and I'll be able to see what happens."

There were tears in her eyes again as she looked up at him, but this time they were from excitement. "Thank you onii-chan!" she squealed, hugging him tightly.

He hugged her back for a bit, rolling his eyes in exasperation. Horohoro loved his sister more than anything, but her emotional outbursts drove him crazy. Sometimes he wished he had a brother instead. Boys were far more predictable. Although he would never trade her, it was a nice idea to toy with.

Finally he pushed her away. "Enough," he told her, showing more frustration than he actually felt. It was hard being upset in any way when he knew he was going to miss her too.

"I wanna take a picture first so you'll have something to remember me by!" she insisted happily. After rolling his eyes again he agreed and waited patiently while she set the timer.

#

Once the memory passed she looked up unsure. "I-I never expected you to keep it, even then."

Seeing her shock he smiled. "I've had it with me every day," he admitted. If she hadn't lost her memories this way he never would have told her that.

He didn't think it was a weakness as Ren would, but he didn't really like telling people how much of a sap he could be for her. Of course it wouldn't matter anyway. They all thought he was just a goof, and he didn't mind. Still it felt weird.

Looking between her brother and Kororo she bit her lip fearfully. "I'm worried about Mem," she whispered, trying to hold back a new wave of tears. Truthfully Horohoro was a little worried as well, but he had spent more weeks than he wanted to think about in utter panic and he needed a break.

Reaching out he took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "I know Piri. We'll find him somehow, I promise."

Taking a deep breath to calm herself she nodded. "Kay," she whispered softly, going back over to the window.

The siblings sat there together until lunch, speaking occasionally. Neither of them really needed words at this point. They were both so happy to be together again that was all that mattered.

#

When the pair walked into the kitchen everyone else had already gathered and was dishing up. The only people not moving were Ren and Anna who were standing in a corner whispering to each other. Seeing them together like that made Pirika nervous. It was stupid to look very far into something so innocent, but Hao's whispers of Ren cheating still echoed through her ears.

The biggest problem was that she would never understand why Ren cared about her. Everyone was in awe when the Tao and Ainu had gotten together. They had nothing in common. Ren was rich, short tempered, from a well-known family, great in school, egotistical, and refused to show anything but a cold heart. Pirika on the other hand was basically an orphan raised by her brother, spending her entire life struggling to get by, happy, giggly, childish, and struggled in things that required any focus at didn't really make sense and no one had seen it coming, but they all knew it was real, not that any of them would humiliate Ren by pointing it out. He may be cold, and rarely show her any emotion, but they had known Ren for a very long time and saw all the little signs.

Pirika couldn't see it though. The only thing she could accept was she was the luckiest girl in the world to get the attention of a man like him. She was oblivious to the way he watched her as she walked past him, or the tiny smile he couldn't quite hide when she acted like she was six years old.

What made her really panic was the reaction Ren gave when he looked up and saw her watching them. Muttering something quickly, he walked away from the blond, not letting his eyes leave the blunette who kept staring. Not knowing why his sister had paused Horohoro grabbed her arm and pulled her further into the room.

Pirika, Anna, and Ren were all quiet as the group ate, only listening as the others chatted happily. Anna didn't seem to notice the way Pirika let her eyes dart back and forth between her and Ren, but he did. He could guess what she was thinking by the betrayed look she wore. There was nothing he could do about it right now and even if he could, she wouldn't believe him. All of her trust was lost after what Hao had done to her and it would take time to get it back.

Pirika had done little more than nibble at her food and both Ren and her brother had noticed. After she cleared her plate and walked out, Ren followed her up to her room. Tears filled her eyes as she looked out the window again, not knowing Ren had leaned up against the door frame.

"I had been planning on to take you out for a bit but if you keep crying this way you certainly won't seem the part. Bloodshot, swollen eyes won't have you looking very attractive."

He had startled her so thoroughly that her tears were gone instantly. "R-Ren-kun I'm sorry I didn't know you were there," she muttered.

His gaze was cold, but he tried to soften his next words. "Have I lied to you yet?" he asked.

Biting her lip she started to shake her head but stopped suddenly. "Only about going home," she whispered softly.

Although he understood her reluctance it was starting to drive him crazy. "Pirika I have told you nothing but the truth. You have my word."

A desperate urge to believe him filled her, but she was still slightly wary. He had told her that he had gone back to China but he never gave her any specifics. There was also an unshakeable feeling that there was something he wasn't telling her. It could be a little detail he was holding back or that the entire thing was made up, all she knew was something wasn't right. "Not the whole truth," she whispered, eyes meeting his for only a moment before she let them dart away nervously. An uncomfortable silence filled the room until he spoke.

His words were far softer than she had expected, and it gave more insights than he would usually willingly give. "No," he admitted, "not the whole truth."

"But why? Why don't you trust me? What are you keeping from me?" she asked desperately.

"Damn it Pirika it has nothing to do with trusting you. I can't talk about things easily and you know that." Taking a deep breath he managed to calm himself. "Leave it alone for now. It isn't important. Instead, change into something nice and we can go out for a bit, like we used to."

Thinking about the memory she had of the night he had proposed and how much fun she had going out to eat, to a movie, and to the park, she smiled. "Okay."

He was relieved when she relaxed, knowing it would buy him at least a little more time before he had to tell her what had happened when she was missing. Giving her one last long look he left her alone to get ready.

#

"Horohoro I need to speak with you," Anna told him before he walked away.

Turning back into the room he looked at her curiously. "I was gonna go talk to Ren for a bit."

"It won't take long," she told him simply. Shrugging he walked back over. "Last night you told your sister you thought Mem would come back on his own." Not liking where this was going he just looked away. "You don't really believe that though do you?"

Glancing around to be sure Pirika wasn't within listening distance, he sighed. "No."

"Why?" she asked, refusing to let it go.

"Sure, Mem was a chicken. He was too shy to show himself around anyone, but he was always there when she needed him. Even if it was a fight she could never win, he never abandoned her." As much as he hated to admit it, Horohoro knew something bad had happened. Since the time he had pulled her from the frozen lake, Mem had never really left her. After he had followed them back, he had sat beside the bed until she had been well enough to get up again. During the time they were with the others in Tokyo and America, he had stayed within range of her, hidden from sight. "Pirika needed Mem now more than ever. Nothing should have kept him away." Thinking about his sisters treasured Kappa had kept him up most of the night. Something had kept him away from her, and Horohoro was afraid they would never get him back. He hadn't wanted to say anything last night or earlier today because it would break her heart.

Without saying another word Anna walked out, leaving Horohoro completely lost. Knowing the Ikato wouldn't tell him anything until she was ready, he gave another shrug before he headed up to speak to Ren.

#

He found the other man waiting outside Pirika's room, looking more than a little upset. "Hey dude I wanna talk to you for a minute." Once Ren looked up Horohoro motioned him across the hall. Having an idea of what was coming, he followed. Once the door was closed he started. "What are you planning on doing from here?"

"I don't know!" Ren snapped angrily, making his friend smile.

"Well it isn't like you have all that many choices."

"I am well aware of my options thank you." Despite his abrasive reaction Horohoro knew this entire thing had really upset him.

Even when his father had tortured him in an attempt to make him submissive during the shaman fights, Ren had refused to just walk away from his family. Instead he chose to fight for the right to stay, knowing he would likely fail and die. Back then he couldn't have cared less if he died, but now they could hurt Pirika and that would be worse than any torture they could use on him. He would rather turn his back on his family than risk them harming her.

As hard as it had been, Horohoro had always trusted Ren with his sister, but there had always been that nagging worry about what his priorities were. When Ren had gotten back, half beaten, for first confronting his father and then begging for help, his choice was clear. He had given everything he had for her, clan, home, future. Now he had nowhere to go.

"I'm going to go North in a few days to look for a job. Once I save enough money I'm hoping to buy some farmland."

"Yes I know and if you don't take her with you right away she will follow you in a matter of weeks."

Horohoro was the one to smile now. Ren had been sure what this would be about, but he was only partially correct.

"Pirika loves you, it's obvious. You make her happy and most of all you keep her safe. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't want you to think that you don't have anywhere to go. Come back with us Ren. You can either live with us or find a place nearby, I don't care."

His words shocked the smaller man, leaving him speechless. Sensing something Horohoro looked towards the door.

"She's been there since the start," Ren hissed, obviously angry about her snooping.

"So why didn't you say something? You haven't told her yet, have you?"

"No I didn't tell her, she isn't going to believe me so why bother."

"Have a little more faith in her dude. You know more than anyone how confused she is."

Not answering he walked silently to the door and opened it, expecting to see her standing there, but she must have run back to her room.

Taking a deep breath he glanced quickly back at his closest friend. "Thank you, for your offer. I'll think about it." Horohoro gave a small smile as Ren walked out. No matter how tough he acted, Horohoro knew Ren had as many emotions as anyone else. Sometimes it was nice to see the proof of it.

#

AN: Read and review. Show me Shaman King still have fans out there.