#

Chapter 6

#

When he opened her door she showed no signs of having heard their conversations so he didn't confront her. She would bring it up before long, her patience nowhere near as evolved as his.

It had been more than four months since he had seen her dressed up this way. She wore a small sundress like she usually did in the summer but instead of being made of a silkier fabric, like the dress Hao had supplied her with, it was a simple cotton. That was much more her style. It was a black dress with a pale pink ribbon wrapped around her waist. Her blue eyes were accented by the brown eye shadow she wore. Add in the few small braids worked into her hair and ponytail to finish it off and she was back to the girl he remembered.

When she looked like this he couldn't take his eyes off her. The shiny pink color on her lips made her smile glow and her eyes were sparkling with excitement. "Time to go?" she asked hopefully. Nodding he walked out, knowing she would follow.

#

"Where are we going Ren-kun?" she asked.

He had yet to tell her what his plans were; instead he was just leading her around the city. "We're just going to make a few stops around town," he told her simply, smirking when she tried to glare at him.

"If you won't even tell me where you're taking me, will you tell me how much farther it is?" she asked with a pout.

Turning a corner, he led her out into the school yard of the high school they had all gone to. The pair of them walked until they came to the gym doors.

Once she was standing just outside them he walked over to a tree and leaned against it, hoping this would be enough.

Knowing what he was trying to do, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The area was quiet because school wouldn't be out for a number of hours, but she could remember the sound.

#

She had spent the last half of her day crying and trying to come up with a way out of this. It had actually been so bad the teacher of her last class had made her sit in the hall because she couldn't control herself and was a distraction. What other people thought didn't matter at this point. They all saw her as a freak so this would be just another quirk to them.

Knowing there was nothing else she could do, she went to the gym entrance like she had been instructed. Walking out the doors into the snow she moved about ten feet away from the building before she looked around for him.

He was standing in a shadowed corner not far away looking smug. All she wanted was to punch him right in the face but she had slapped him as hard as she could only hours earlier and she was amazed he hadn't reacted then. Trying it again would really be pushing her luck. Ren always got even and then some.

There had been a few of his ex-girlfriends that had slapped him, or at least tried to. Before they ever made contact he would grab their wrist and push it away, knocking them off balance. He never hurt them. Despite his cold attitude he was too much of a gentleman for that, but he was not afraid to gently put them in their place.

As far as she knew, no one had ever hit him before, well, except when the guys were messing around. Over a dozen girls had tried to at one point or another, but each of them failed. If she hadn't been so upset she might wonder why he hadn't stopped her. He was strong enough and fast enough that she never would have seen it coming.

For whatever reason he hadn't, but really that wasn't important. All that mattered now was she still lost the fight. Standing there stubbornly she considered walking away. Her instructions were to meet him here and she had done that. She was here, he was here, and they both knew it. Nothing else had been promised.

Just as she turned she realized how stupid it was. No matter how much she hated this idea, Ren was right. Horohoro would never let her quit, no matter how many times they had to move to give her a fresh start. Each relocation would cost more than they could afford and she would never be allowed to get another job. If the Tao could actually help her, maybe this wouldn't be all bad. Wrapping her arms around herself for comfort she walked over to him.

"Smart choice," he told her with a cocky grin, earning only a glare in return. "Come with me," he instructed as he started walking away. It was difficult to keep up with him since she wasn't used to this speed, but she stayed close enough until they arrived at his apartment.

Before she followed him inside, she looked around, hoping no one would see her. People knowing she was failing out of school would be better than what they would assume happened when she went to the highly desired Tao's apartment after school.

She hated how much more attention the guys of their group got than the girls did. Her brother, Yoh, Ren and even Chocolove were all but stalked by the schools female population, while Pirika, Tamao, and Anna were avoided.

Ren led her into his apartment, not bothering to say a word. Once inside he put his own things down and headed for the living room. "Get your things out. I can't help you if I don't know what you're struggling with." Spending the afternoon sobbing had worn the blunette out to the point where she didn't care enough to fight, choosing instead to pull out all of her books.

Lying on the floor he lifted her notebooks and started flipping through them to see her notes and assignments. Every page he saw made him want to laugh more. It was no wonder she was struggling. Her thoughts were scattered and random. If there was any order at all he couldn't see it.

She hadn't been lying when she said she was struggling with everything. It didn't seem like there were any classes she was actually keeping up with. Giving a sigh he massaged his temples. This was not going to be easy.

"I know you can fix this, but you are going to need to meet with me every afternoon so we can get you caught up. None of this will be worth anything if you aren't able to learn anything while you're in class."

"I work every Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday along with any day I can pick up a shift," she snapped.

"Well then you will meet me after school Wednesday through Friday and I will go to get you after you're finished on Monday and Tuesday." Gritting her teeth she nodded. She may not have any real friends but that didn't mean she wanted to spend all her free time with a cold hearted man like Ren. For now though, she didn't have a choice. "Good. Now pick any subject and we'll start there."

#

Throughout the entire memory she had been furious, hurt, and scared, but when it faded there was a small smile on her face. Looking over at the man who had upset her so greatly that day she giggled. She had seen it as him being mean and hateful to her, but it was just the first hint that he cared. Maybe if she hadn't been so blind she would have seen it earlier.

"Do you want to stay here for a bit longer or should we move on?" Pirika looked around the area slowly, trying to remember if this building hid any more secrets.

Deciding there was nothing of much importance she moved over and placed her hand on his arm. "Show me more," she instructed, eager to remember as much as she could.

#

They were about halfway to the tea shop she used to work at when she stopped. "What did onii-chan mean when he said he didn't want you to believe you had nowhere to go?"

"Pirika I do not want to do this now," he told her coldly.

"Well I guess we should just wait then because these past few days have been filled with things I was happy to do right when I had to do them!" she snapped sarcastically. Every memory made her less intimidated by his harsh manner. She wouldn't be spooked off now.

Turning around he walked back to her, expression guarded. He looked angry, but Pirika could tell he was just really uncomfortable. "What do you want to hear from me?" he asked sadly. "What do you expect me to say?"

"I want you to tell me the truth, all of it," she pleaded. Taking his hand gently in hers she led him away from the sidewalk and towards a tree. Sitting down at the base of it she pulled him down next to her. "Ren I left with you that night despite the fact that I had no good memories with you, at least none I was sure of. In the end I chose to trust you and I risked everything. If you had been lying, I never could have gone back to Hao and I would have been alone with no idea who I even was. I listened to what you had to say despite how scared I was. Please Ren-kun, haven't I been in the dark long enough?"

"Have I ever told you that I don't like you," he told her angrily.

Giving a giggle she rested her head on his shoulder. "I love you too Ren-kun."

She didn't have to see it to know that small smile was on his lips. Glancing around to be sure no one could see them he put an arm around her and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

They sat there silently for a few minutes until he was ready to talk. Leaning up against him this way it could have taken all afternoon and she wouldn't have minded, as long as he finally told her. "I spent the first month searching the entire country. I-." Ren didn't even know how to explain what had happened after he had lost her. "I fell apart I guess. It took that long before I was thinking clearly enough to do more than wander around aimlessly." Knowing how difficult this was for him, she placed a reassuring hand on his leg. "Finally it occurred to me that whoever did it had to have had a reason. It took a while, but I thought of the only person I knew who wanted to get rid of you."

Although she had known how his father would feel about her, Ren had never told her himself, hoping to protect her. "You assumed your family had me dealt with," she suggested softly.

"After searching the compound I went to confront him. He said that he had been planning to do something, but someone else had gotten there first. I didn't know whether or not I believed him, but if it was true I thought he could help me find you. Long story short he was glad you were gone and had no interest in getting you back." Looking down at her, he knew he would make the same choice again, despite the results. "I walked away from it all after that. I can never go back because of what I did."

"I don't understand Ren-kun. How can you walk away from your family? Why would you?"

"If he thinks it will get my focus back where he thinks it should be, he will not hesitate to kill you. I told him I was done with it all. Even if I found you safe I was done with him and the rest of the worthless family. Now getting rid of you is too much of a risk if he can't guarantee I'll come back. Yoh, your brother, and all of the others know how he feels and if anything happened to you again that would be their first stop. No matter how powerful he thinks he is, he knows he can't win against all of them, not anymore."

She had known that Tao Yuan was capable of murdering anyone who stood in his way, and she was certainly doing that, but hearing Ren say he would kill her was terrifying. "Ren-kun, I-I'm scared," she whimpered.

Despite her fear Ren gave a small smile. Getting to his feet he pulled her up and looked her right in the eyes. "Pirika I will never let anyone hurt you again and we are never going to China. I plan on staying with you for as long as you'll have me." The idea of Ren leaving his family and country for her was hard to process, but something told her he meant every word.

Then he did something he had never done before. Right there, out in the open, without even looking around to see if they were alone he kissed her. When they pulled apart her fear was gone, replaced by a nervous, excited smile and a light blush.

"Come on, there's a few more places I wanna take you," he told her as he walked away, pretending the kiss had never happened.

Laughing happily she ran to catch up with him, deciding to try and grab his hand. He pulled away at the last second, but seemed only amused and not angry. "Don't push your luck snow bunny," he advised with a smirk. At this point nothing could have bothered her so after giving a giggle, she followed, giving him the distance he wanted.

#

The first memory came the moment they walked into the tea shop. It had only been a few weeks before the accident, just after Jun's visit.

#

Pirika had just gotten off work when Ren walked in. Her typical smile fell when she met his cold eyes. Walking over cautiously she greeted him. "Hi Ren-kun, is something wrong?"

"We need to talk." Was all the response he would give before he led the way to his apartment.

#

By the time they got inside she was basically in a panic. "You've been lying to me," he snapped.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she tried to explain, but he had little patience and snapped back.

"Your grades." Finally understanding she dropped her head.

A few weeks earlier one of the other girls at work had quit suddenly and Pirika had a chance to pick up a bunch of hours on a regular basis. Horohoro had been talking a lot about moving north this summer and she knew the money would help a ton. She only had one month left of school and she had stopped studying in order to make time.

As a result her grades had started to fall again. Although she was keeping up with most of her current assignments, they were having countless tests this close to graduation and she didn't have time to study. It wasn't a big deal to her. She would fail at least a class or two, but she might still graduate and that was all that mattered. At least to her. Ren would be a different matter entirely, but she hadn't expected him to find out.

Over the last two years they had spent less and less time on her homework as she started learning her own good habits and they had other things they wanted to do together. This semester he had only helped her occasionally when she asked for it. That was definitely going to change now.

"I didn't lie to you," she told him, knowing it wouldn't do any good. "I just didn't tell you everything."

"Well you are going to tell me everything now."

Letting a few tears slide down her cheek she went over and sat on the bed. "My hours at work doubled and I just couldn't keep up. The money is better for us than a few stupid last minute grades."

"Why do you think I wasted all that time helping you?" he asked angrily.

Pirika gave a shrug, "I don't know, because you wanted to spend time with me? Because you weren't sure if you liked me and wanted to get to know me better?"

Finally he gave a forced smile. "Stupid snow bunny, I've known how I felt about you for years."

"Wait? If you've liked me for that long why didn't you say anything earlier?"

Showing her his cocky smirk he gave a careless shrug. "Your brother would have killed me if I had done anything before you turned sixteen so I had my fun while I could."

If she hadn't heard the teasing tone in his voice she would have been offended, but she wasn't. Despite the fact that he said he had cared about her for years, she guessed he had been nervous and wasn't sure if he would ever tell her how he felt. Not only would he hate to be denied, but if things ended badly, his friendship with Horohoro could have suffered permanent damage. He would have needed to be sure it would be worth the risk.

"Getting back on topic-," he started, pulling her sharply from her daydream and back to their fight. "If I had just wanted to ask you out I would have. I spent endless hour after hour working on your school work because I wanted to help you. It was important to me that you succeeded and after all of this I will not let you throw everything away."

"But I need this job! A few stupid classes don't matter in the scheme of things. I can quit if I want too."

"It does matter!" he shouted. "What you are going to quit is that damn job so you can start studying again."

"But Ren-kun I can't!" she cried desperately.

His eyes took on a cold look she hadn't seen him use towards her in as long as she could remember and it made her flinch back. "I care about you Pirika," he told her, keeping his voice even and distant. "I will not sit back and watch you give up for a bit of cash. If money is what you're after I'll give you as much as you want, but if you give up on school now, after all the work you put into it, I'll walk away."

Her reaction was just what he expected, she broke. "Y-you can't l-leave me!" she stammered.

Moving forward he wrapped his arms around her. "I don't want to. I want to stay with you forever, but I can't watch you fall, I won't."

"Graduating won't help me so why should I bother?"

"You can't know it won't be of use. If something happens once you go up north and you need extra money that simple piece of paper could help more than you know." Knowing this wasn't working all that well he sighed. "If you won't do it for yourself do it for me. I'm always going to take care of you. We're engaged, you don't need to worry about money anymore."

"Would you actually leave me?" she asked in a whisper, ignoring his reassurances about not needing her job.

Taking a deep breath he paused. He had been furious when he learned about her troubles because he felt they had lost a level of trust. He had let his anger take over. Ren didn't even know if he could walk away from her. She gave him more strength than she would ever know. His words had been an overreaction and he knew it. "No snow bunny, I wouldn't, but that doesn't mean I won't walk away for a bit. You obviously don't understand how important this is."

At this point she didn't care how important it was. All that mattered right now was that he wasn't going to leave her and she buried her head in his chest to cry in relief.

He may not have planned it out this way, but he had accidentally scared her into submission. Although it looked like he would get what he wanted, he felt bad. This wasn't how he wanted to do it. He wanted her to reset her priorities willingly. Once again, his temper had gotten the best of him and the price was her fear. Knowing it was too late to change anything he just gave her an extra squeeze and let her cry.

#

When Pirika made it back to the present she was sitting in a chair at a corner table. Ren must have led her over after the memory started. Judging by the look he wore, he had an idea of what she had just relived. Knowing what was going through his mind she gave him a tiny smile and he relaxed. "I forgave you before Ren-kun," she reassured him softly.

Pleased, he gave her a nod. The memory must have lasted far longer than she thought because someone placed a cup of tea in front of her and passed Ren a bottle of milk.

Mumbling her thanks she took a deep drink. Although she worked hard to spur on the memories they weren't easy. When they were finished her heart would be racing and she got the same cold sweat she woke up with when she had her dreams with Hao.

After having gone through over half a dozen memories today they were starting to take their toll and she was getting tired. Looking up, she saw Ren watching her carefully, aware of her exhaustion. "I'm fine," she assured him. He clearly didn't buy it, but let it go all the same.

The pair of them simply sat there together quietly, Pirika happy with how perfect it felt. Since she had woken up she felt like every silence needed to be filled with something, but here, with Ren, nothing was fine. It was nice actually.

Finally she asked something that had been bothering her from the beginning. "Why me?" she whispered nervously. Normally a two word question wouldn't make all that much sense to Ren, but he was used to this one.

Giving a smirk he looked away. He had been asked that question a lot when they had first started dating. None of them had meant anything bad by it; she just wasn't the girl anyone expected him with. The last time had been less than three weeks ago.

#

His mind hadn't really come back at any one specific point over the last few days. It was more like, the longer he hung in these chains, the more his mind settled. He hadn't felt the pain from any of the beatings his father's torture puppets had administered. How could he, when fears of what she was going through filled him?

Ren had no idea how much time had passed when he heard the dungeon door swing open again. Closing his eyes he readied himself. A few times they had released him to bring him over to a different toy they had, and if they did it again he was ready to fight. Every other time they had subdued him quickly, but that only made him more desperate, and desperation could lead to the extra strength you needed.

His plans were proved pointless when he heard a soft laugh from in front of him. "It looks like you could use my help again little brother."

Looking up sharply he saw Jun and Lee Bai-long standing in front of him. "No I've been staying here because I want to," he snapped sarcastically.

Just giving him a smile she moved forward and unlocked the chains binding him. Bai-long helped steady him since he was forced to support his full weight for the first time in days. He staggered at first, but managed to get his feet under him before long. As soon as he was steady, he headed for the door, his sister trailing not far behind. Nothing could slow him until he was out of the house and on the edge of the compound. Turning back to his sister, he looked her carefully up and down.

"You can't stay here," he told her coldly.

"I don't plan on it," she said sadly. "I thought I would accompany you to the airport then go traveling for a few months. Once his temper has cooled I'll come back."

"Well I won't be," he informed her.

It was clear she didn't understand. "But why? He'll calm down eventually, you know that." The steady, deadly gaze that met her own had her shrinking back some.

"I am going to find Pirika and I'm never going to let anyone take her away again. He admitted he wanted to kill her to 'save' the family's future. Now that I know his intentions, all I have to do is make it clear nothing will make me come back."

Before she could answer, he turned and started heading towards the stables. His movements were slow because of the trauma his body had endured and he knew he couldn't get very far on foot. He would rely on Hakuoh to take him to the airport and would bring the beast with him. The horse meant a decent bit to him and as he had no intention to ever return, if he wanted to see him again, the horse had to come.
Jogging to catch up, Jun continued to question him. "Even if you do find her alive, what will keep father from killing her for simple revenge?"

"She is alive!" he cried angrily before taking a deep breath to control himself. "I know she's alive. I can feel it." His last words were whispered as they entered the stable. Once he made it to the right stall his voice had its normal confidence back. "He won't risk hurting her because he won't get anything out of it and he knows it will be the last thing he ever does. I have every intention of telling Horohoro and the others what he had planned. The bastard knows better than to think he could take them all out at once."

As he spoke he readied his horse and after glancing over his shoulder he saw Bai-long was doing the same to the animal his sister favored. Looking over her brother thoughtfully, Jun saw it for the first time. He had a desperate but loving look in his eyes she had never seen before. It had to be because of the blunette girl. It was clear that he would stop at nothing to be with her again.

Seeing him motion behind her she turned and saw Bai-long reaching his hand down to pull her up in front of him. By the time she was safely on, Ren was fully prepared and they set off. He tried to ride hard for a bit, but after less than a minute it was clear his body couldn't handle the strain.

Knowing her brother as she did, Jun knew he wouldn't slow down for himself. Still, he would be of little use to anyone if he collapsed before they got more than a few miles. Letting his pride off the hook she motioned for Lee Bai-long to slow the horse. "Ren please, I can't go this fast. We need to slow down, at least for a while."

The glare he gave her showed he didn't buy it, but his pain was so bad he wasn't going to fight either. For a moment he considered leaving her on her own, but if Yuan discovered what she had done and caught up with her there would be hell to pay. He couldn't risk her getting hurt for helping him. Pulling back he slowed Hakuoh to a quick walk. Confident that his horse could manage on his own he leaned against the beasts powerful neck to rest, savoring in the ability to close his eyes.

Finally curiosity got the better of her and Jun asked the question that had been on her mind from the moment he first said her name while confronting their father. "Why her?"

When he opened his eyes, they were slightly glazed over as he let thoughts of her flood his mind. "Everyone asks me that," he admitted softly.

Seeing how truly happy he was, Jun couldn't help but smile. "And what do you tell them?"

"The reason I love her is the same reason everyone wonders why I chose her," he explained simply.

She tried not to gawk when he said the four letter L word she never thought she would hear from him, but it was difficult. Ren was so lost in his thoughts he failed to notice his sisters reaction.

"Pirika is everything I'm not. She's always happy. She loves life regardless of what happens. She's kind, thoughtful, childish, innocent." A dark look crossed his eyes as he said the last word, but it quickly faded. "When I'm with her, nothing else matters." As if he suddenly realized what he was saying he shook himself sharply. "I hope your quite satisfied with that answer because that is as soft as I ever plan on getting," he told her sharply.

Looking away Jun let her smile grow. Anything or anyone that could make her brother this happy was worth it. If this girl was what made him so passionate, she was glad she was able to help him.

#

"Are you gonna answer me or not?" Pirika asked, pulling him from his memory. Focusing on the real world again he looked over at her. She liked the gentle look he gave her. "I want you because you're everything I'm not. You're better than me in every way and you make me a better person."

Pirika blushed at his words and looked away, just like he had expected. He smirked at how predictable she was. It was just one more thing he liked. She was cute like this. He stared at her for another few minutes before speaking again.

"Have you had enough of this place or do you wanna stay for a bit longer?"

Pirika looked around the shop at the hustle and bustle and she thought. "Give me a few more minutes here," she suggested. Ren nodded, willing to wait as long as necessary for the memories to come back.

Knowing there wasn't much he could do right now, he pulled out his phone to check a few things while she relaxed and tried to get something to trigger. It wasn't long before something did.

#

Pirika was in the middle of a huge rush when Ren walked in and her shift was supposed to be over. Seeing she was going to be a while he took a seat and pulled out his new touchscreen smart phone to do whatever it was he did for the family. She had gotten a glimpse of him, but didn't have more than a moment to think about it.

When all the people were helped, she was able to clock out. Ren was so absorbed in his work he didn't notice her sneak up behind him. Well at least he pretended not too. Biting back a giggle she came up behind him and covered his eyes with her hands. "Guess who?" she coaxed, the laugh finally slipping out.

"Must I actually play this foolish game?" he asked, sounding annoyed. Anyone else would have shied away given his tone, but she wasn't fazed. She could feel the way his lips turned up in a slight smile. The action made her let her guard down for a moment and that was more than enough.

Since the room was full Ren wasn't concerned with drawing attention to their corner table. Reaching up quickly he grabbed her wrists and spun her around in front of him. Pirika couldn't stop laughing once she managed to find her feet again. She loved it when he did things like that. He forcefully got his way but he was still careful not to hurt her.

Her eyes were locked on his and he could tell she desperately wanted to kiss him, but she held back. Her desire made his smirk grow. Standing up he pushed her towards the door. "We should get back. Your brother will be home in just over an hour so if you want to do anything and not let him know, now is the time."

A blush crossed her cheeks and she smiled, giving him a nod. She loved when they could just sit in her room and make out, but she wasn't ready to let her brother know about them yet. Judging by his actions, Ren didn't seem to mind keeping him in the dark either. While she had been thinking Ren had gotten a bit ahead of her so she ran to catch up.

#

This memory left her smiling instead of just tired. Ren watched her carefully and though he knew it must have been a happy memory, he had no way of knowing what happy memory. In the end that really didn't matter. The only important thing was how she smiled.

"So where are we going next?" she chirped, getting to her feet.

Doing the same and then heading for the door he shrugged. "You'll know soon enough." With that he didn't plan to say another word until they got to the next place they were going.

Ren had at least two more places he was going to take her tonight and the time was the final decider as to what would go first. It was only three in the afternoon and she wasn't showing any of her usual hunger signs so he headed in the direction of the park.

It was usually rather obvious when she was hungry because she got sassier than usual and more than a little crabby. She was well aware of this weakness, and though she tried to stop it, she never could. He doubted even losing her memories would take it away.

It was about two blocks before she deduced where they were going and she was nearly giddy as a result. Only a few of her memories had taken place here, but each was wonderful and she was eager for more. All of her restraint was required not to pull Ren the remainder of the way.

Ren just rolled his eyes at her antics and slowed his pace to aggravate her slightly. It took Pirika a few minutes to realize what he was doing, but once she did she glared at him. "Not so slow Ren-kun!" she whined.

It turned out they didn't need to go all the way to the park to coax out another memory. The way his eye twitched at her tone was enough for her to fade gently to a previous time.

#

Ren was walking away from her, ignoring her pouting lips and stomping feet. "But Ren-kun I want ice-cream!" she whined in a high pitched voice. As much as he wanted to simply ignore her while she was acting this way, he despised that whiny tone she used.

They had only been together for a few months and she had acted like this a time or two, but it faded quickly. This time it didn't. Normally if she didn't get her way she just gave up, but right now she seemed determined.

"Stop ignoring me!"

Finally he snapped. "Would you quit that," he ordered angrily as he spun around to face her. Her eyes grew large in surprise, obviously having not expected such a sharp reaction.

"Do not whine like that," he clarified, guessing she wasn't sure what he was upset over.

The Ainu girl's face scrunched up thoughtfully. "Why?"

When he started speaking again it was with a glare. "Why do you think?" Since she was still standing there thinking about something, he decided to keep walking. Her classes ended next week and so not only did she require extra help to prepare for her tests, but Ren also had studying to do since he would graduate in a few days.

As a result of all the work they needed to do he met her immediately after school if she didn't work and they started as soon as they arrived at one of the apartments. As the semester had passed, they had been spending less of their time on her homework, choosing instead to spend all of their free time doing things like going to the park or out to eat, just things they could do together.

But that only ever happened after he had looked at both her schedule and homework. They never went out, or spent all that much time making out, unless

Ren knew it would be easy enough to finish everything necessary in the time remaining.

Today was not one of those days. In the next week Pirika had a few papers due and a number of tests, so Ren had been all but forbidding fun time for them.

She still struggled a lot and needed more help than she was willing to admit just to stay afloat.

They hadn't just gone out together in nearly two weeks and it was driving her crazy. Finally she smiled and gave a small laugh. She decided that she wasn't really asking for that much and she didn't really want to give in this time, so she would play dirty to get her way.

"Okay," she chirped happily.

Hearing her confidence Ren was cautious. "Okay what?" he asked, watching her carefully from the corner of his eye.

"I'll stop whining," she told him. He had just started to smirk when she continued, her words catching him off guard. "-but only if you take me for ice cream first."

His first reaction was anger at her unfair bribe, but seeing how cocky she was he buried that. Actually he was rather impressed with her. He hadn't expected her to be that comfortable with using threats, but it seemed to come naturally. Although he wanted to tell her no, just for the simple reason that he didn't want to be played by her, he didn't. Instead he changed the rules a little.

"If you stop whining and get enough work done, I will get you ice cream tonight." Pirika put a finger up to her chin, debating. After a few moments she smiled and nodded. Ren tried to hide his smirk as they started for his apartment again, but she could see he was happy.

Just as they walked off, he added one more thing. "If you ever whine like that again I'll make sure you live the remainder of your life without another bite of ice cream," he threatened. Just giving a smile, the blue eyed girl pretended she didn't hear his words, knowing he didn't really mean it. He just wanted to feel a little more control.

#

Of course that had been far from the last time she whined. It was something that she had always done because it had worked just as well on her brother as it had on her boyfriend. Habits kept up for that long were hard to break, especially if you didn't really want to.

Ren had never grown to accept it, still hating every time he heard her take that tone, but he had gotten better at ignoring it. In her defense, she had tried hard not to annoy him, which meant that she almost never used it against him just because she wanted something. The only time she did it was when she was crabby and frustrated.

Part of the reason Ren usually let it go was because of that. The only time he lost his temper about it was when it was intentional.

She had been back to the present for seconds when she was pulled away again.

#

"I said no." he told her firmly, his patience running out quickly.

"You haven't even listened to me yet!" she whined. Although she really wanted her way, she had known getting it would not be easy and she would have to push him.

She was angry that he wasn't listening, but if she just started yelling and lost her temper he would have won, so she bottled it up and whined as best she could. It was a card she had played only once since she discovered how useful it would be and since it had worked then and the first time, she expected it to work now as well.

"I've heard enough," he snapped.

"Tattooing is very important to my people," she explained.

Instead of giving in Ren was losing all control. The last line of whining pushed him so close to the edge. "You aren't with your people anymore," he yelled. "You didn't go back to them for a reason, whatever it was so now, you're here, in Tokyo, with me, and I have no intention of letting a sixteen year old brat do something stupid!"

"You can't stop me," she goaded.

That was the last straw. "Maybe not but I'll be damned if I help you," he hissed. The fire in her eyes assured him that she had been pushing him intentionally and it just made him angrier. Moving close to her, his eyes were icy cold, actually scaring her for a moment. "I would suggest you do not mistake me occasionally letting you have your way as a weakness. If I give in it is a choice. You will never be able to control me and I'm saying there isn't a chance in hell I'm going to be a part of this in any way." Seeing the little trickle of fear she tried to bite back he paused, gaining more control over himself before continuing, his voice softer, but with the same bitter edge to it. "Do not try and play me like that again," he warned. "Now go home. Your homework can be dealt with later."

Although she knew deep down, Ren would never do anything to hurt her, her instincts were still powerful, and they were telling her to get out, so she did. Even if she had stayed, they were both too worked up to do anything but fight more, and things were bad enough right now.

In Ren's defense, the reason she wanted to get tattoos was the same reason he was so upset. She said it was for her people, for traditions, but Ren had been marked for those reasons and he hated it. The scars all over his body and large black tattoo that covered his back were constant reminders of things he would rather forget.

Although things with his father had softened years ago, it had only been short term. Since then things had gone downhill and the hatred he had for his father, and in turn, his entire family, grew daily. They had tried to work things out, but Yuan would always be controlling and Ren would always live his own life.

In the end, it was all just a mess he wanted to pretend didn't exist. He would have given anything to get rid of the way he was marked by his family, and he didn't want her to feel that.

Although no one knew the exact reason the siblings had left home, it was clearly something extreme. If the topic was ever brought up Horohoro would get angry and aggressive while Pirika would become very still and pretend nothing had been said.

One day Ren would figure it out, but for now, the only thing that mattered was that things weren't good for them. When Ren's back had been done he had been fine with it. That was long before he had met Yoh and the others. As a result, he knew better than anyone how much it could hurt to be so clearly tied to something you hated. She didn't understand it, and hopefully never would, but he didn't want to risk the possibility, even if she hated him for it.

That and her whining plan had actually backfired. The moment he guessed her intentions it only made his stance more firm. Judging by how determined she was, he guessed she had gone to her brother first and had gotten the same reaction, if not worse.
Now his only hope was that when he went to help her either tomorrow or Sunday, she would leave the subject be.

#

When her eyes focused again her emotions were a mess. She was happy that she was remembering things, sad that they weren't good things, and some of her anger had bled through, leaving her a conflicting jumble.

"Are you finished?" she heard Ren ask softly. Looking around for the first time, Pirika realized where they were. She had stopped only a few blocks away from the tea shop. Unlike all the other times when she had fallen back in time, the pair of them were in the middle of a busy street, with people all around pointing and whispering.

Suddenly she was overcome with a mix of shame and embarrassment. Trying not to let tears take over she attempted to run away, but was so exhausted she could barely keep her feet under her. Just before she fell to the ground Ren grabbed her by her waist and kept her from falling to her knees. Keeping his arm tightly around her, they walked a block and turned the corner, just to get away from prying eyes.

Once they were slightly more alone she pulled herself free and sat down on the sidewalk. "Just give me a minute to rest, then we can go to the park," she said, more than a little breathless.

"We aren't going to the park," Ren snapped.

Looking up she thought he was angry at first. "Please Ren I wann-"

"NO!" he all but yelled cutting her off. "You can't stand up on your own, you're shaking uncontrollably, you can't stop crying, and you haven't even begun to catch your breath! We are going back to the onsen right now." His words were harsh, but before she could get worked up she saw why.

He wasn't angry, he was worried. It just wasn't an emotion he felt comfortable showing, so he hid it. Fully accepting how exhausted she was, she nodded and allowed him to pull her to her feet. He was the only thing that kept her standing or moving forward. Actually she couldn't even remember the whole walk back. When they got back to the inn it was basically empty.

Everyone seemed to be using the newfound knowledge of her safety as a reason to finally rest for a bit. She certainly didn't blame them. They must all have been driven mad over the last few weeks, and it was her fault. The very least she could do now was let them relax.

Even if she hadn't wanted them to be here, it wouldn't have mattered. The last few memories had wiped her out. As soon as Ren helped her up to her bed she fell down onto it and cried. The result of having so many emotions overtaking her was absolute chaos and she couldn't control it any longer.

Knowing there was little he could do, Ren just stood near her silently. He had a feeling she would cry herself to sleep, similar to when they were at the motel and she became overwhelmed. Her tears seemed to go on for hours, but really it was only about thirty minutes before she stilled and new tears no longer fell.

There were a few things Ren wanted to do while she was asleep but he wanted to make sure she was well under first, otherwise the noise of him leaving could wake her. So far it didn't seem like she slept very deeply and she really needed the rest.

She had been quiet for nearly half an hour when he slipped silently out of the room. Although they hadn't seen a sign of Hao all day, he wasn't going to take any chances. The moment the door was shut he summoned the Spirit of Thunder. "Stay with her," he commanded. "Do not leave her side under any circumstances." Not really waiting for a response, he turned and headed out to the yard.

#

Although he planned on calling Jun quickly, his real reason to get away was to think. His only purpose for the last however many weeks had been finding her. Coming up with a plan past that was pointless at the time. Now though, life was going to move on in a matter of days and he didn't have a clue what to do.

Actually he had never really planned for the future. Part of him had always known he wouldn't be able to bring Pirika back to China on a permanent basis, but he hadn't wanted to accept that, so he hadn't come up with an alternative.

Now the facts were clearly laid out. She wasn't safe anywhere near his family. Now that he knew what it was like to lose her, he could never let it happen again. The problem was where did that leave him? Deciding to deal with the chore first he pulled out his phone and called Jun's number. After he got this over, he could decide his future.

Ren didn't know whether to be pleased when his sisters voice mail came on because he hadn't really known what to tell her, or upset because it would be less time before he had to start making tough decisions.

He kept his message to her short, just saying that he had gotten Pirika back safe and wouldn't be coming back home. The idea of adding his thoughts on severing ties with all of them crossed his mind, but he knew it wouldn't go over well. She would most likely fly here immediately and refuse to leave. That would just be one more thing he didn't want to deal with.

Once he was finished, he hung up his phone and looked around the empty yard, wondering what he could do to spur his thoughts. Finally he decided that he should train. He hadn't worked out at all since she had gone missing, and that had been more than long enough. That and training had become second nature to him years ago, so it allowed his mind plenty of time to wander.

After getting into an easy enough rhythm he started to debate with himself.

However he decided to solve this, leaving her was not an option. He never would have thought it was possible, given his past, but he loved her more than anything. She was the only bright spot in his life and he couldn't throw that away no matter what the cost.

There were only two options remaining for him. Either he had to go up north with the siblings, or somehow convince her to go elsewhere with him. Of course each option had littler choices within it.

If he wanted to go somewhere else with her, where would they go? The possibility of going to a different part of China was there, but he couldn't see it being worth the risk. That and she would have to learn a new language, and even with his help, that would take months. She would never be comfortable in China. Ren knew and accepted that. There was more than enough cause for her fears.

Where else would he even want to take her? He didn't have ties anywhere else. Neither of them really enjoyed living here in Tokyo. They had only done it as a matter of convenience. It certainly wasn't a location he wanted to spend any more years than needed.

The best option right now would be going with them. That was definitely the best for her. She would feel safe and accepted back in Hokkaido with her brother.

If Ren chose to go north, there were still things to be decided. Horohoro had said he could live with them, but did he want to? When he had moved to Japan to go to school with the others he had been required to do some adjusting to his life style. There were no longer servants to do anything he wanted. After a few weeks of struggling he had gotten into a routine. He never ate at his place, choosing to go out to eat or go to the onsen or the Usui's apartment.

In the beginning he had hired someone to come in and clean, but they hadn't even been dating for six months when Pirika threw a fit and told him it was a waste of money. She had insisted on doing it all herself and since she seemed to truly enjoy it, he had given in.

Basically all of that added up to the fact that he didn't like chores of that sort, and would do anything to avoid them. From what he had learned of the way Pirika and her brother planned on living it would be unavoidable and he wasn't exactly sure how he felt about it. They liked to work with their hands and were happy with the idea of farm work.

The only kind of manual labor Ren enjoyed was training or fighting. He preferred being able to get his work done sitting down on a computer. If he didn't live with them it wouldn't be as awkward, because if he was living in their house he might be expected to do the work as well. Was he willing to do that to her happy? Probably, but he certainly wouldn't like it.

Horohoro had also suggested he could find his own place. Although the extra freedom would be enjoyable, he would be with her less. Or, more probably, he would be with her all day and having a separate place would just be a frustration.

It was unlikely she'd want to stay with him, though she might just to make him happy. She would really want to be out in the middle of countless fields containing both food and Koropokkur. That was what she wanted, what she had always wanted.

Hakuoh was also an issue. He was a large horse, certainly not an apartment pet. The best thing for him would be open space and fields, something he could get on a farm. He couldn't expect them to deal with the beast. Not only was he a decent bit of work, but he could also be temperamental and aggressive at times.

Finally he just lay back onto the grass and looked up at the clouds. He had an idea of what he intended but didn't plan on bringing it up yet. Really there was only one thing he could do to keep her as happy and safe as possible. She deserved that and more, so that is what she would have.

#

AN: I said I would post it so here it is, but I will be honest, I'm debating taking it all down. It seems that maybe the love for Shaman King has faded. Either that or maybe my writing is crap (also possible.) I've gotten no reviews except for someone warning about the end of time and it is pretty discouraging. If I do decide to pull it I will add a chapter with the explanation. We shall see.