Shaman King Fan Fiction ❯ A Gift of Love ❯ POP! ( Chapter 16 )

Longest chapter yet. Took me two days to write. We all saw it coming (at least I think). So here it is…

 

Fluff Chapter Part Deux

 

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A Gift of Love - Chapter Sixteen: POP!

 

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The next morning, instead of waking up alarmed, Ren was able to smile and pull Pin-Mei close against him. He wrapped his arms around her stomach, and then…

 

“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!”

 

Pin-Mei sat up, lost her balance, and fell off of the bed and onto the floor.

 

“You're such a jerk, Ren!” she yelled.

 

He chuckled. “It's your own fault for getting so excited so easily.”

 

“Don't you DARE tickle me again!”

 

“I won't if you keep your guard up.”

 

“I was sleeping!”

 

“Not my problem.”

 

She pouted and he went over and knelt beside her. “I thought you weren't going to act like a child,” he said with a cocky smile.

 

She saw her fault, but tried not to waver. “I don't care.”

 

He put his hands a few inches away from her ribs. “Don't make me tickle you again; I won't be gentle this time.”

 

“No, no, NO!”

 

Too late. He attacked her, and she was reduced to a crumpled ball on the floor, gasping for air. Finally, he let her up.

 

“I'm going to go make breakfast,” he said. She was too breathless to protest, so Ren was able to perform his task in peace.

 

As he was cooking, he heard the shower turn on. He tiptoed over to the door and pressed his ear against it. He could hear her get in.

 

Perfect.

 

Ren went over to the phone and called a few places.

 

“Yes, make sure that no one else comes in. Don't worry, I'll pay you for it.”

 

He hung up and dialed another number.

 

“You're absolutely SURE it's going to snow? Alright, then. Just make sure it's really clean. Immaculate. If it wasn't sand, I'd ask you to make sure it was sparkling.”

 

He heard the shower shut off, and he hung up the phone. A few minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom, dressed, but her braids were not in yet. As she moved to begin the process, Ren stopped her.

 

“What?”

 

“Don't,” he said holding her wrist. “I want you to wear it down today.”

 

She met his gaze, and her mind started racing. She couldn't remember the last time she had worn her hair down. It had always been in braids.

 

“Why…?”

 

“Because I like it like this.” He put his hand through her hair. “It makes you look older, more mature, and I like that.”

 

She blushed at the thought of being mature. Her eyes drifted away from him. “O-okay…”

 

He smiled and kissed her cheek. “Thanks. I promise I'll do something nice for you today to show my appreciation.” She nodded, still red from his words.

 

He was doing this on purpose. He wanted to put her in a dreamy mood, even if it was out of character for him. Tonight, everything had to be perfect. He had to make sure she'd never forget this day for as long as she lived.

 

“You hungry?” he said casually. She nodded, still under his spell. “Well come on then. I worked hard on this, so don't go letting get cold.” She nodded again and sat down and began to eat the plate of French toast, sausages, and hardboiled eggs in front of her.

 

“You made a lot today,” she said softly.

 

“Yeah, just felt like it. I wanted to make you something that you probably don't get to have a lot of.”

 

“Oh.” She bit down on her fork even though it was emptied of food. He could tell she was still red because she dipped her head down in an effort to hide her face with her hair.

 

He liked teasing her; that much was true, but even when she acted like this with no effort on his part, it was still cute.

 

“Hurry up,” he said. “We have a lot to do today.”

 

“Alright.” She got up to put her plate in the sink, but he took it from her.

 

“Allow me,” he said as he removed the plate from her hands and put it in the water filled tub. “Go put on something nice. I'm taking you out today, and casual just won't do.”

 

She nodded quickly and ran back into their room.

 

“I am just too good at this.”

 

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“Where are we going first, Ren?”

 

“Tokyo Tower.”

 

“Is it big?”

 

“Oh yes.”

 

“I don't like heights that much.”

 

“Don't worry, I'll take care of you.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

She grasped his hand as they entered the elevator. He looked over at her to see that she had squeezed her eyes shut, afraid of the ride.

 

“Hey, don't you trust me?”

 

She opened her eyes. “What?”

 

“I told you I'd protect you, but you're still scared…do you not trust me?”

 

She looked ashamed. “I…I do.”

 

“Then you have no reason to be afraid.”

 

The elevator stopped and he led her out onto the platform. Pin-Mei looked around.

 

“There's no one here. Is this place unpopular or something?”

 

“Maybe… Come here, look over the railing.”

 

“I'll fall!!”

 

He smirked. “Not just by looking, fool.”

 

She whimpered and did as he said. Suddenly, he picked her up and set her on the bottom railing. She got nervous.

 

“Don't worry. I've got you.”

 

She was shaking, but she breathed deeply and tried to calm down. “Okay.”

 

He held her tighter. “Instead of looking down, look forward so you can see the city.”

 

She did, and smiled.

 

“What do you see?”

 

“There's a park on top of a building… and there's a huge TV screen on the side of another building… I think I can see someone having a concert; I think I hear it… and… wow… some sunlight is streaking through some clouds… It's so pretty…”

 

He smiled. “See? Being up high isn't so bad, now is it?” He put her back down on the ground.

 

“No… It's not…”

 

“Do you think you can trust me now?”

 

She hugged him. “Yes. Yes I can.”

 

He patted her, then gently pushed her away. “Come on, we have other things to do.”

 

“Like what?” she asked as they walked into the street.

 

“We're going to that electronic store.” He pointed to a shop named Ingo. “There's something I want to get you.”

 

“What?”

 

“You'll see.”

 

He walked down an aisle, grabbed a box, paid for it, and they left the store. When they reached a rest area, he opened the box and handed her a minicomputer. She looked it over curiously.

 

“What is it?”

 

“It's a translator. You can translate Chinese to Japanese and back again. I thought you'd like it so you won't feel so lost.”

 

She smiled again and hugged him. “Thank you!”

 

He patted her head again. “You're welcome, now there are still a couple of things to do before we go to dinner.” He held her hand as they started walking down the street.

 

“Where are we going now?”

 

“I'm going to take you to get your picture taken.”

 

She looked confused. “Why?”

 

They entered a studio. He turned to her.

 

“So I can look at you even when you're not there.”

 

As her face turned red again, a tall, pretty woman came up to her and touched her shoulder. “Are you ready?”

 

“She is,” Ren answered for her. As the woman led her away, Pin-Mei looked alarmed.

 

“Ren, what's going on?”

 

“Don't worry. Just do what she says.”

 

She kept looking back at him until they took her into a room and closed the door. He sat on the couch in the lobby and waited. He took out the box and opened it to look at the ring. It was in its place. Sparkling. Perfect. He closed it and let his head tip back until he was staring at the ceiling. He closed his eyes.

 

“Please…just let this go well…”

 

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About forty minutes later, a studio aid gently shook him awake. He opened his eyes and stretched as he stood up.

 

“Sorry. I must have fallen asleep.”

 

“No problem, sir. But Kiriya-san (the photographer) wanted me to tell you that she's ready. Come with me.”

 

Ren followed him into a hallway which led to an outside garden. It was lush with cherry blossom trees, green grass, and a crystal clear lake. He looked around and saw Pin-Mei standing on a small arched bridge.

 

“Pin-Mei!”

 

She heard him and turned around. She smiled and gave a small wave, but then quickly turned back around. As he approached the bridge, he saw what she was embarrassed about.

 

She had been dressed in a dark purple kimono with white butterflies and a red obi. Her long hair had been pulled back a large clip with a butterfly on it. A little bit of makeup was on her face; lipstick, blush, and mascara.

 

“Just as I thought,” he said.

 

She turned around, startled. “What do you mean?”

 

He touched a piece of her now wavy hair and trailed it down to her forearm. He pulled her closer to him. “You look beautiful,” he said, and kissed her forehead.

 

“S-stop teasing me…” she said quietly.

 

He chortled in her ear. “I'm not teasing.”

 

Kiriya walked up to them. “We're ready to begin shooting.” She looked at Pin-Mei's face and frowned. “They put too much blush on again. Honestly…” She turned and walked away, probably to scold the makeup people.

 

Ren smirked at her. “No, I really don't think that's it.”

 

Pin-Mei just tried to hide her face with a fan she had been given. He decided that he had to get her out of the funk he had put her in.

 

“Pin-Mei,”

 

She lowered the fan a little. “W-what?”

 

“Make sure these come out good, because they're expensive and I'm not going to throw down all my money for them.”

 

She closed the fan and pouted. “Why do you have to be so mean?”

 

“I'm not being mean at all. I'm merely motivating you to look good in these pictures. Just do that for me, alright? I'll make it up to you, I promise.”

 

“When?”

 

“Tonight. Promise.”

 

She was still pouting. “Fiiine.”

 

He watched her trot over to where the cameras were. Kiriya seemed to tell her to smile a little more, at which time she tried but just couldn't do it. He rolled his eyes.

 

“Brat. Just because I teased her.” He walked over to her. “Hey, I forgot something.”

 

“What?”

 

As she turned to face him, he moved in and softly placed his lips on hers.

 

“That's what. Now take some good pictures for me. It shouldn't be hard for you.”

 

She nodded silently, still under his spell. Satisfied, he walked away and watched her from afar as she easily smiled when told to.

 

Although they didn't tell him to, he smiled also.

 

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When they had finished, Ren decided it was finally time to head to the restaurant he had chosen for dinner. As they walked, Pin-Mei once again stopped short.

 

“What have I told you about doing this?”

 

“What's that?” She pointed to a large booth on the sidewalk.

 

“Hm?” He looked and saw what she was pointing to. “They call that a Club Photo booth. You get your picture taken and they make it into a lot of stickers so you can stick them everywhere.”

 

Her eyes lit up. She grabbed his arm. “Can we do it? Please?”

 

“You can.”

 

“No! I want to have you there with me.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because, I only have that picture from ten years ago…I want a new one so I can have you with me, too…I mean… I got my picture taken for you.” She looked a little sad. “I just want to be able to look at you whenever I want to, too.”

 

He sighed. With her pleading face, he just couldn't say no to her. “Okay, but ONE sheet. No more.”

 

“Will you smile?”

 

“What?”

 

“Will you smile in the picture?”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because I want to be able to look at it and think that I made you happy.”

 

He was a little taken aback by her answer. Before she could get a look at him, he turned his face away from her. “Fine. But only because you asked me to.”

 

She smiled. “Thank you.”

 

“Come on, let's get this over with.”

 

They got in the booth and went through the program.

 

“Wow! You can choose a frame! This is so cool!”

 

“Calm down.”

 

She chose a butterfly frame, then sat back, looking pleased with herself.

 

“What is it with you and butterflies?”

 

“Well…since you bought me the hair clips, they make me think of you.”

 

His cheeks got a little hot, but she didn't notice.

 

“Look! They're gonna take the picture now!”

 

He looked up and saw the countdown on the screen. He had promised her a smile, and he couldn't break his word. Just before the picture was taken, he wrapped his arm around her

 

and smiled.

 

It wasn't forced. It wasn't to tease her. It wasn't because she was acting cute.

 

It was something else.

 

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“That food was good!” Pin-Mei said as they left the restaurant.

 

“Well, I thought you should try something new.”

 

“Hehe. I liked it!”

 

“I can tell.”

 

They arrived at a beach. No one else was there. They walked to the edge and looked out over the moonlit water.

 

“I don't think I've ever had this much fun before. This has been the greatest week I've ever had.” She paused. “And to think I thought that I wouldn't get to see you.”

 

“Why would you think that?”

 

“It just happened so many times before. I would be scheduled to come and spend time with you…but something would always happen and it would be cancelled.”

 

He looked at her. Now he was interested. “Like when?”

 

“Six years ago. You got sick, and my father didn't want me to get sick also.”

 

“What else?”

 

“I was supposed to visit the following year, but father forgot.”

 

“He forgot?”

 

“Yes, that what I have heard.”

 

There was a pause.

 

“Any other time?”

 

She was quiet for a few seconds. “The last time we were supposed to come before this was three years ago, so we could celebrate you coming home from the Shaman Fights. At the last minute, your mother called and told us that there was a family problem, and that it would be best if I wasn't there.” She looked at the sand. “I was so disappointed… I think I might have cried.”

 

He looked at her with a bit of pain in his eyes. That “family problem” was when he rebelled against his father and finally decided to change himself for the better.

 

I could have met her sooner…

 

“You wouldn't have liked the person I was then,” he said.

 

“I sincerely doubt that.” She gave a small smile. “I remember feeling so happy when my father told me I'd get to see you again, that I almost wanted to cry. You were only six the last time I saw you, and I liked you then, so I know I would have liked you three years ago.”

 

“Your father must have been disappointed when I didn't win.”

 

“Maybe… but I couldn't care less about being Shaman Queen or anything like that. It doesn't guarantee us happiness.” She looked out at the water and giggled. “I almost want to go in.”

 

“You can't. It's too cold. You'd get sick.”

 

She looked up at him. “Would you take care of me?”

 

His heart was beating so fast and loud he swore she'd be able to hear it. He took a deep breath.

 

Now.

 

“You tell me I always have, so why would I stop then?”

 

“I don't know…”

 

“In fact, I don't think I ever want to stop.”

 

She felt his body move and she turned to him.

 

But he was getting down on the ground.

 

On one knee.

 

With an open box.

 

With a ring inside.

 

Pin-Mei froze and clasped her hands over her mouth. “Ren… what…”

 

It started snowing. She looked around, up at the sky, trying to let this all sink in. He just looked up at her and smiled.

 

“Our time here together has changed me in a way that I never thought possible. I wanted so much to see you smile, to hear you laugh, just to see you happy…I've never felt that way before…about anyone. I didn't mind having you around, having you watch me, having you touch me… When you weren't there, when I thought that I was going to lose you, I felt so empty inside for those few hours that for the first time in a long time, I cried. I realized that I need you to be with me.

 

“Now that I've been with you, and spent time with you and learned all about you, I know that you're the one. You accepted me even when I was full of hatred, and you accept me now. You said that you felt content sleeping next to me. You know what I felt? I felt complete. I can't let another person try to take you away from me. I want to claim you for myself. Now.

 

“So will you fulfill this selfish desire of mine and stay with me forever? Will you allow me the pleasure of being able to call you mine? Pin-Mei, will you marry me?”

 

She just kept looking at him, tears flowing and just totally losing it. “Ren…”

 

“At least you're not calling me Niisama anymore, or this would be awkward.”

 

He succeeded in making her laugh through her tears, calming her down.

 

“Do you remember the question, or do I need to ask again?”

 

Even though she was still crying, she smiled. “Ask me again.”

 

“Will you marry me?”

 

She nodded quickly. “Yes.”

 

He continued smiling as he took the glove from her left hand and slipped the ring on it. As he stood up, he held it so she could see it.

 

“The cut of the center diamond is called a princess cut.” He looked into her eyes. “And that's the way I'm going to treat you for the rest of our lives…like a princess.”

 

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When they got home, they went straight to Ren's bed. He kissed her neck as he pulled her close to him. She fell asleep with a burning sensation in her that she had never experienced. When she told him about it, he had a simple answer.

 

“It's something that I'll remedy the night we get married.”