Shaman King Fan Fiction ❯ A Gift of Love ❯ Ren to the Rescue ( Chapter 9 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

While I was working (at work… like all poor teens do), I was thinking about what I was going to write for this part and parts in the future. This lead to delayed reactions to customer questions and sometimes forgetting to give people their change. It was worth it.

Lately, I've been listening to two/three songs while writing this: “Passion”/ “Sanctuary” by Utada Hikaru and “Lullaby” by Origa. They have a mystic feel to them in my opinion, and I recommend buying their cds. I actually bought the Kingdom Hearts II soundtrack with “Passion” on it last weekend. Awesome cd. It even has the orchestrated version of “Passion” on it. Instrumentals are an author's best friend.

I've been slipping in some half-subtle references to other anime. Have you noticed? Teehee.

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A Gift of Love - Chapter Nine: Ren to the Rescue

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“Forget about her? What do you mean?”

The shopkeeper shook his head. “You have almost no chance of getting her back now.”

“Will you just tell me what the hell happened?” He had no time for this. Every second this old man kept him, Pin-Mei was getting further and further away from him.

“She was standing here as you told her to do, when some men in black came behind her, covered her mouth, and dragged her off.”

Ren was stunned. “How could all that happen without me noticing?”

“Young man, these men are masters at what they do,” the shopkeeper explained. “They are part of the Syndicate named Fork-Ids. They specialize in human trafficking. Not even the police know where their base is. The chances of you getting that girl back are very slim.”

He began to walk off.

“Like I said, forget about her.”

Ren could only stare after him. Forget about her? He couldn't. Not this way. He may have forgotten her ten years ago, but it was different now. Children can forget things easily…but teenagers can't.

It's nice to see you again.

Niisama…what do I have to do to make you notice me?

Look! I'm doing it!

Wow! Look at all the snow!

I promise to be here when you get back!

It may have been only a few days, but they had already done so much. She had been a pest before, but…

She's my pest.

He looked up at the sky.

I'll find you, Pin-Mei. I promise.

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“Hey, Boss! Look what we found!”

A large man sitting in a leather swivel chair with a cigar wheeled around. Three of his associates were standing before him, two holding a struggling girl, who kept crying out in Chinese.

“What is this girl babbling about?” one of the flunkies said.

The boss smiled. “Chinese, eh?” He snickered as he took a puff of his cigar. “Don't find many of those in Japan. She'll sell for a lot.” He leaned in to the girl. “What's your name, miss?”

What is he talking about? I don't know what he's saying… I'm so scared... I wish you were here now…

“Ren…,” she whispered.

The boss scowled. “Ugly name. We'll have to give her a new one.” He waved them away. “Go tie her up somewhere. Don't damage her.”

The men smirked and carried her away.

Pin-Mei still had only one word still on her mind.

Ren…

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“You two, make dinner,” Anna commanded pointing at Yoh and Manta.

“But Anna, it's only three,” Yoh reasoned.

“Then make it a big one so it takes longer to cook.”

The two boys sighed. Their ears perked up as they heard a knock at the door.

“Sorry, Anna! Dinner will have to wait!” Yoh cried as he and Manta rushed to the door, eager to escape their fate.

When he slid the door open, he saw Ren, barely standing and breathing heavily, on the front steps.

“Ah, Ren! You came back to visit! How nice!” Then he looked around and saw that Pin-Mei wasn't with him. “Hey, we're your girlfr-,”

“Pin-Mei's been kidnapped!” Ren cried looking up at him.

Yoh's smile faded and became serious. “Come on in,” he said.

When they were able to sit calm Ren down a little bit, he told them what had happened.

“I'm sure she'll be fine, Ren,” Yoh said trying to comfort him. “We'll help you get her back.”

“It was foolish of you to leave her there,” Anna said coldly from across the table. “If you were really concerned about her, you would have taken her with you. Syndicate crime is going up these days, but of course you wouldn't know that.”

Ren stared at the table. “I know… I just…”

“Make all the excuses you want. It won't change the fact that she's now a money-maker for the Fork-Ids syndicate. Stop being so weak. That girl's made you soft, and you can't be like that if you want to get her back.”

He nodded.

“Oi, Anna, that was a little harsh,” Yoh said.

“The truth hurts sometimes.” She got up and laid down in front of the TV.

“She's right…since Pin-Mei appeared I've become weaker.” Ren stared into his cup of cocoa. Just seeing it made him feel sick.

“Just because you like someone doesn't mean you can't still be strong. In fact, you should be strong because you care about her.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I guess you're right.” Then he saw the smile on Yoh's face. “No! I mean NO! I just need to get her back because it'll cause trouble if I show up alone! Otherwise, I couldn't care less.”

“So your face is red with utter determination?” Manta asked. Ren punched him on the head.

“Well, Amidamaru is out floating around to see if he can find anything out. We'll find her.”

“Thanks, Yoh.”

“Yoh-Dono!”

The group looked to see Amidamaru enter to room.

“Amidamaru, did you find anything?”

The samurai nodded. “I heard some men talking about a girl they just brought in. What is curious is that they said her name was `Ren'.”

Yoh and Manta looked to the real Ren, whose face was frozen.

She had called out for him. Even if she doesn't know what was going on, she's scared. It made him even more desperate to find her. “So where is she?!”

Amidamaru was a little phased by his sudden outburst. “They are in a building east of the cemetery. It is large and mildly run down.”

Ren stood up. “Alright, I'm going.”

“Hey, Ren! We should wait until we have a definite plan before we go to rescue her.”

But his words fell on deaf ears as Ren took out his portable Kwan Dao and ran out.

When he was out of sight, Yoh smiled again. “It's still nice that it's so important to him to get her back. Much different from when he first came to Japan. Hehe.”

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“Okay, boys, bring the girl over here. I want to evaluate her.”

Pin-Mei, her hands tied and tape over her mouth, was pushed over to the boss.

“Did you get that translator?”

“Yes, boss.”

“Perfect.”

He stood up and walked around her. She tried to keep her eyes low and not look at him. He grabbed her chin and turned her head from side to side, looking at her face.

“Tell her to look at me,” he said to the translator.

The translator did and she looked up, not just because she was told to, but out of pure surprise that someone who spoke her language was there. Her seller got a good look at her eyes and grinned.

“Nice and black. That's what we like to see. That alone makes her valuable.” He looked down her body. “It'll make up for this.”

He patted her chest. Pin-Mei screamed through the tape and tried to evade his touch. He frowned.

“Keep her tied to a chair in a dark room. It'll give her…personality.”

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Ren ran up to the building, momentarily hiding himself behind one of its walls. He could hear two of the syndicate members talking.

“Did you get to see that new one that just came in?”

“No, did you?”

“Just a glimpse. But I hear the boss thinks he's going to make a killing off of her. Chinese, ya know? They're always in demand.”

“Is it true the Don actually touched her?”

“Yeah, she didn't like it too much. Tried to pull away. Don told them to lock her in a dark room tied to a chair, to `give her personality'. Whatever that means.”

“He IS one of the craziest bastards in all of Japan.”

“True…”

Ren clutched his Kwan Dao tightly to keep from exposing himself. All of it just infuriated him. Touching her, treating her like an object, tying and locking her up…

“Hey, you guys! Guess what! Don says we can have a little fun with Wonton!” a third man said.

“Who?”

“You know, the new girl. The Don thought it was a better name than Ren.”

“Right. So, by fun, you mean…”

“Yeah.”

Ren felt sick. He knew what they meant.

I won't even give you the chance to look at her again.

He rushed out each of the three men out with a series of punches and kicks.

“A wonton is a dumpling, not a girl. Bastards,” he said, and walked up the stairs to enter the building.