Shaman King Fan Fiction ❯ A Gift of Love ❯ Confrontation ( Chapter 23 )

A filler character from BLEACH is named Ran'Tao. I found this witty. Thank you for your time.

 

This was originally going to be two chapters, but I figured I've made you guys wait long enough for some excitement of any sort, so I just meshed them.

 

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A Gift of Love - Chapter Twenty-Three: Confrontation

 

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“Pin-Mei, we need to talk about something…” Ren said as he walked into her room.

 

He was met with a flying shoe to the face. As it fell, clearing his vision, he saw three girls standing in front of Pin-Mei, who was on a small platform in the center of the room, her back turned and partially bare.

 

“Don't look, you pig!”

 

“Even if she IS awfully cute!”

 

“Um…she's indecent…”

 

He stared at them. “Who the hell are you?”

 

“Rong!” a tall girl with short dark red hair said.

 

“Ling!” piped one with turquoise buns.

 

“Shu…” whispered the shortest, who had chin length silver hair in a headband and glasses.

 

“We're lady Pin-Mei's maidservants!” they said in unison.

 

Ren looked at them with a weirded out face. “Riiight…” He took another step towards his fiancée. “Now, Pin-Mei--,”

 

“Don't be a perv!” the three girls cried. Pin-Mei giggled.

 

“It's okay, everyone,” she said turning around, her robes covering her. “What is it, Ren?”

 

He stepped toward her again. “What the hell is this?” He held up his Kwan Dao. Club Photo stickers were plastered all over the pole near the blade.

 

Pin-Mei looked worried, then quickly turned back around. “You can show him out now.”

 

“HEY!”

 

She turned around again, still scared.

 

“I just wanted to make sure you had some too…and that you're thinking about me…”

 

He sighed. “Of course I'm thinking about you. Why wouldn't I?”

 

She bowed her head. “I don't know…”

 

He brushed her hair from her face. “Just don't put any more on, okay?”

 

“Okay…”

 

Rong unfolded her arms. “Okay now that that's done…GET OUT!” She punted him out the door. He landed on his face in the hall

 

“Jeez…you'd think I was some random pervert, not the guest of honor…” he grumbled as he stood up and dusted himself off.

 

“I'll come get you when I'm ready!” Pin-Mei called.

 

“Don't come back until then!”

 

“We're almost done!”

 

“So…um…please wait outside…”

 

Ren watched the door slam before turning to go back downstairs, where guests were beginning to arrive. As he looked to the entrance hall, he squinted his eyes.

 

There was a tall woman in her mid-forties wearing a long black dress and robes standing and talking to his parents. They didn't seem all that pleased. Zhang showed up, looking very angry and proceeded to yell at the woman. He looked about ready to strike her, En held him back. In the end, Zhang relented and left. The woman smiled behind a fan, then looked up at Ren on the balcony. Her eyes were cold and full of malice, and they seemed as though they were trying to piece his heart. His parents spoke to her and seemed to lead her into the large dining hall were the party was being held.

 

Who the hell…?

 

He heard the door behind him open. He turned around to see Pin-Mei standing in the doorway, dressed in a traditional Chinese dress and robes. The dress was dark purple, and the silk from under the sleeves was white. A pattern of butterflies graced it, as always. Her hair had been braided and put into two loops close to her ears. As he looked her over, he could see the clips he had given her nestled at the base.

 

“You look nice.”

 

She fid her face behind a paddle-shaped fan. “Thank you…” She looked at him. “You don't have your tongari up?”

 

He looked irritated. “No. I was told to look a little more mature, and apparently that isn't a mature hair style.” He sighed and closed his eyes. Then he felt a hand next to his cheek. Opening his eyes, he noticed that Pin-Mei was touching the fallen hair.

 

She smiled. “It's so soft. I like it.”

 

Ren turned his head in an effort to get his hair out of her reach. “You can stop touching it now.”

 

“Fine.” She pouted, but then smiled again. “Do you like mine?”

 

He looked at her hair again. “Yes, but,” he said, touching one of the loops. “Didn't you want to wear it down?”

 

She hid herself even more. “Yes…”

 

“Then why aren't you?”

 

“Lady Pin-Mei, you should have told us you wanted it down!”

 

“You'll look even cuter!”

 

“Um…I know a good style…”

 

He turned her around and gently pushed her back into the room. “Go on.”

 

They came back out ten minutes later. Pin-Mei's hair was down and a small tail of hair was on either side of her head, kept in place by Ren's clips.

 

“She insisted that the clips stay in.”

 

“She's so cute when she blushes!”

 

“Um…she must really like them…”

 

Ren smiled at her. She was still covering herself with her fan. He took it from her and handed it to Ling. “You don't need this.” Then he took her hand. “Let's go, everyone's waiting.” He started leading her down the stairs, his black robe with gold dragons flowing behind him. She nodded as if she had a say in the matter and allowed him to take her down to the dining hall. Her maidservants watched them leave.

 

“He's all right, I guess.”

 

“I'm so jealous that he gets her!”

 

“Um…they seem to love each other…”

 

The other two turned to her. “Well, DUH!”

 

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As they entered the room, Pin-Mei squeezed his hand. Ren turned to her.

 

“What?”

 

“I don't like crowds.”

 

“Just stay close.”

 

She nodded. As they were about to continue, a middle-aged man and woman stopped them.

 

“Oh Ren!” the woman exclaimed, “how nice to see you!”

 

“Yeah…Hi…” He had no idea who these people were, and he wasn't really interested in finding out.

 

The man leaned over to look at Pin-Mei. “This must be the lucky lady,” he said.

 

His wife chuckled. “She looks just like a little doll!”

 

“Oh, yes! She looks so young! Not a day over thirteen!”

 

“How absurd! Eleven or twelve at most!”

 

Ren looked over at Pin-Mei, who looked down at her chest then at the floor. Her eye twitched. It was obvious that she didn't like being thought of as so young. To her, it was insulting. He turned to the people in front of him.

 

“She's almost fifteen,” he said, silencing the couple. They instantly looked embarrassed.

 

“Oh, I see it now! Of course!”

 

“I just didn't get a good look at her face! Oh yes! Look at how grown up it is!”

 

Ren gave them a fake smile. “Excuse us.” He lead Pin-Mei away and further into the crowd.

 

“My parents said to meet up with them when we were ready.”

 

She nodded. They passed the last two people in their way, and there were his parents.

 

Pin-Mei stopped dead in her tracks.

 

Ren looked back at her, annoyed. “Pin-Mei, you know how much I hate it when you do this. Can't you just--.” Then he noticed her face.

 

She stood there, shaking, pale-faced. Her eyes were wider than he had ever seen them. They were filled with horror and fear. It almost scared him to see her like this. He swallowed.

 

“Pin-Mei…what's wrong?”

 

She moved her mouth, but nothing came out. A quivering finger rose and she pointed straight ahead of them. He looked, then understood why she was so shaken up, so scared. No, terrified. She tried to hide behind him, letting him feel every small tremor of fear her body gave out.

 

Talking with his parents was the woman dressed in black who had given him such cold eyes.

 

Fan Suo.

 

“Sh-sh-she's h-here…Father said she wouldn't be here…why is she here?...This can't be happening…”

 

He put his hand on her right shoulder and pulled her close to him.

 

“Try not to be afraid. I'm here. If she tries anything…” He pulled her closer to whisper in her ear. “I'll poison her food.” As he had hoped, he won a small smile from her. “Just stay close to me. I'll make sure nothing happens to you.” He squeezed her hand and kissed her. “Let's go. Don't let her know you're afraid. It's what she wants.”

 

They started again toward the three adults. His parents smiled as they came over. He ignored Suo as he planted his feet firmly on the ground to show he wouldn't be moved. She was looking at him with that icy stare again.

 

Ran turned to her son. “This is Suo, Pin-Mei's grandmother,” she said cheerfully. He somehow felt that this cheerfulness of hers was fake.

 

“Ran, we should go tend to the other guests,” En suggested. She agreed and they left the old woman and the young couple alone.

 

Suo put on a fake smile. “Well, you're certainly a handsome young man.”

 

Ren reciprocated the action. “Why thank you.”

 

She looked to her granddaughter. “Come here, Pin-Mei. Can't you even say hello when you haven't seen me for more than two weeks?”

 

Pin-Mei tried to stand tall as she walked over to stand in front of her. Suo grabbed her chin and turned her head from side to side, like the Don had done back in Japan. She frowned.

 

“Why is your hair down?” she asked.

 

“Because I like it down,” Ren said. Suo glared at him, then returned to her granddaughter.

 

She rubbed a few fingers across Pin-Mei's cheeks. “You haven't been using your mother's cream, have you?” She looked at her eyes. “And where are your contacts?”

 

Pin-Mei looked away from her. “…No…I haven't been using it…”

 

“Ignorant girl,” she growled. “And the contacts?”

 

“I…um…ran out…”

 

“Lies! All LIES!” Suo cried. “And now Feng tells me that you were drinking milk again! Can't you do one thing I tell you to? He also says you haven't gotten any better at the DaDao.” She looked at her dress.

 

“Purple…” she said in disgust. “Where is the navy blue dress your mother wore?”

 

“Back at home,” Pin-Mei said.

 

“Why?”

 

“I don't like navy blue. I like purple.”

 

“Why you--!”

 

SLAP

 

Ren stared at what he had just missed. Pin-Mei's head was turned to the right, her cheek burning.

 

He had let her get slapped. In front of him. After he had told her he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

 

Suo scoffed at her. “Now look at what you made me do! Your face is worse off than before! If you had half the beauty your mother had, then maybe we wouldn't be in this mess!”

 

She raised her hand to slap her again. Pin-Mei braced herself, but never felt it. She looked up to see Ren standing in front of her, her grandmother's wrist in his hand. He glared at her with eyes that could be mistaken for daggers. When he spoke, his voice was low, sharp, and cold.

 

“Don't you dare lay a finger on my fiancée.”

 

“What?”

 

“You heard me. And I've heard enough of you. Don't come near her again.”

 

“You wretched Tao child!”

 

Ren smirked. “What of my name? It gives me pride. But Fan? All that means is cage, or fence, and that's what I think is going on here. You're caging Pin-Mei as if she were a bird, not letting her do what she wants. You even lay your hands on her. Well…”

 

He reached his free hand back to hold hers.

 

“…When she becomes part of my family, she'll be under my jurisdiction and in my care. Until then, I don't want you getting anywhere near her. If you even try to slap her one more time, I'll have the guards kill you on sight.”

 

He gave her his coldest stare.

 

“Pin-Mei is my fiancée- hurt her, and I'll kill you.”