Shaman King Fan Fiction ❯ A Gift of Love ❯ Suddenly Alone ( Chapter 27 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
I kinda feel bad for Ren. I'm kinda messing him up. He's going to have serious problems…and it'll be all my fault. I feel so evil…in a bad way. I promise you'll stop getting picked on, Ren!
Ren: Good, you big meanie! -sits in corner and sucks thumb-
Jezzy: Stop being so OOC.
I never mean for Ren to look like the bad guy when they're young. Ren's just being “old” Ren. Any grammar errors in chibi-Pin-Mei's sentences are intentional.
Sometimes, for the sake of emotion, I will use an exclamation point instead of a question mark.
Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King. If I did, I'd FINISH THE DARN THING. THAT IS SO NOT AN ENDING!!! ZOMFGBBQKTHXBAI!!! I also do not own Bowflex. I have no desire to own that company. Unless Ren was the mascot. Then I'd own that thing faster than Hao pwnt his opponents in the Shaman Fight.
Notes: The italicized section is a flashback to ten years before. It's a continuation of the flashback from chapter five.
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A Gift of Love - Chapter Twenty-Seven: Suddenly Alone
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Ren sprang awake, breathing heavily. It had all been a dream. He breathed a sigh of relief before turning to tell Pin-Mei about the strange nightmare. As he looked to his left, his eyes widened.
She wasn't there.
Then he noticed his closed fist and opened it. Some of it hadn't been a dream. He looked at the clips, rose ring and engagement ring that lay in his hand. He kept shaking his head.
This isn't happening…
He leaped out of his bed and bolted to Pin-Mei's room.
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Ren slammed the slider door open and ran out into the rain. It poured down on him, and his tongari soon fell. He looked around, but all the rain made it impossible to see anything.
“Pin-Mei!” he called out.
He could barely even hear himself over the sound of the rain hitting the roof and stone walkway. His skin was already beginning to feel raw. The rain was already creating large, deep puddles. Even the koi pond's level had risen. It was too dangerous to be out here. But that was all the more reason to find her.
He ran to his training spot and looked to her sitting place on the rock. It was vacant. Uneasily, he looked toward the koi pond. If she had jumped or fallen in there, there was virtually no chance that she was alive. All the same, he ran over and called for her. Hearing nothing, he looked around for the next place to search.
The closest thing to him was the armory, so he ran over and tried to open the door. It was locked. She couldn't be in there. He was running out of places to look. It didn't look good for Pin-Mei. There wasn't much time left. If he didn't find her…
“Shut up, don't think about that. I'll find the little brat, then put a cowbell on her so I'll know where she is all the time, then she can't run away.”
He ventured into the bushes. The rain was partially filtered out through the trees. His vision and hearing improved as he walked further and further in. As he was walking, he spotted a piece of navy blue cloth on the ground. He picked it up and examined it.
“Definitely hers. She has to be close by.”
Surrounding him were the thick trunks of the many trees in the yard. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a piece of cloth quiver. He ran towards it and looked over, then breathed a sigh of relief.
There was Pin-Mei, curled up in a ball, crying like a little baby, soaked to the bone. He kicked the root she was huddled near and she looked up at him. She looked scared, but then clung to his legs.
“Wahhhh!! Niisama!”
Ren rolled his eyes. “You cause a lot of trouble for me, you know, you little brat?” He suddenly got angry. “Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you, huh? Now I'm soaked and my hair's a mess, not to mention how much my clothes are killing my skin right now. If I get sick, you're really gonna get it!”
“I'm sorry, Niisama! But…I was so scared! I thought the water was gonna eat me! I thought I was gonna die! I…I love my mom, but I don't want to be with her yet!” She continued to cry into his legs.
He looked down at her, then straight ahead. For a moment he thought he saw someone standing off in the distance, but as he blinked, they vanished. He discarded the illusion and looked back down at her. He had had it with her clinging to him, but he knew that if he kicked her off, she'd just cry more, so he manually removed her and placed her a few feet in front of him. She ran back and hugged his legs again.
“What is it with you?” he yelled at her. “You're always around me! You follow me everywhere! I hate it! And then you throw a goddamn barbell at me! I'm just so sick of having to take care of you!”
She stared up at him, then took a few steps back. “Niisama, come here.”
He glared at her, but then bent down. She cocked her head as she looked at the dried blood around his nose. A look of extreme guilt appeared on her face. “Close your eyes,” she said. After a groan, he did. She smiled and then kissed him on the nose. He flinched and grabbed it as if she had hit him instead.
“What do you think you're doing?”
“Daddy says that mommy used to kiss places that hurt, and they got better. I wanted your boo-boo to get better.”
“It's a cut, so call it a cut. Only two year olds use the word boo-boo.”
“I wanted your cut to get better.”
He stared at her. “Get up. We're going inside.”
“I am up.”
“Be quiet. Just come on.”
He stood up and started heading for the house. She ran up next to him and held his hand. He shook her off. She frowned, then ran to grab his hand again. Again, he shook her off. When she tried for a third time, he slapped the hand away and turned around angrily to face her.
“Why won't you just leave me alone?” he yelled.
Pin-Mei looked slightly hurt, but tried not to waver. “I really like Niisama,” she said quietly. “Niisama pays attention to me. Niisama takes care of me. Niisama was the only one who came to find me. I know that Niisama is a good person, even though he's mad all the time.”
The last thing she said was a little surprising to him. Ren turned his head so he didn't have to look at her. He wasn't going to soften for this brat.
“I'm not going to be here for a lot more time…but I want to spend the rest of the time with Niisama. I know that Niisama doesn't like me a lot, but I like him…”
“You still haven't told me why.”
“Niisama is really kind.”
“Pshhh…”
“…And cute too.”
He stopped. She didn't just say that, did she? Isn't four too young to go around saying people are cute and that you like them? Honestly, she was so weird. All the same, he finally turned back toward the house and let his right hand dangle at his side.
“Come on, let's go. I'm sick of being wet,” he said harshly.
After a moment, Pin-Mei smiled and ran up to him, gripping his hand once again.
He looked over at her.
“Brat…”
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Ren slammed Pin-Mei's door open.
“Pin-Mei?”
She didn't reply.
Refusing to believe she wasn't there, he desperately searched the room as he had done only a couple days before. He ripped the sheets off, hoping to find her there. Nothing. Her wardrobe was bare, as was her bureau. All traces of her had been erased from the room. Not even a single strand of her hair could be found. He ran outside.
She'll be there, he kept telling himself. She was there before. She's almost always outside. I'll find her there. She'll jump out, say something stupid like `I got you!' or `Just kidding!', I'll get mad, but then we'll go back inside, and it'll be just like before…
He ran to his training area. Not there. She wasn't in the armory, either. He ran into the woods, getting a little frantic. He searched among the trunks, and, not finding anything, darted toward the beach.
She'll be there, throwing rocks again…
But when he arrived, she was nowhere in sight. He looked around, turning this way and that, walking backwards at times as he turned.
“Pin-Mei!” he kept calling out. “You've had your fun, it's time to come out! This isn't funny anymore!
A rock came up behind him and he tripped, falling onto the sand. He lay there for a few minutes, trying to take in the situation and decide what to do next. Slowly, he got up and went back inside the house.
As he walked by the hall leading to the weight room, a sudden glint of hope appeared before him.
Of course! I didn't check there!
He ran and opened the door, expecting to see her sitting on her bench with her cooler of milk, waiting for him. It was empty. Still he had to look. When he went to look on the left side of the room, he froze.
A machine that he didn't recognize was sitting in the corner. He walked over to it and set the rings and clips and slip of paper on a nearby window sill. He ran his hand over the metal and the padding. It was one of those all-in-one home gym systems. A Bowflex. It had pullies for lifting weight as well as structures for bicep curls and rowing, and everything else he needed.
“How did this…”
“That was Pin-Mei's gift to you.”
Ren turned to see his mother standing in the doorway. He could tell she was trying to smile, despite the situation. She walked toward him.
“As she left, Suo ordered her to take it back. But she insisted that it stay here. She really wanted you to have it. She said that she knows nothing about gym equipment, but she thought this was a good one since it was expensive.”
Ren couldn't help but let out a small laugh. “She's so naïve.” He snapped back to reality. “Where is she? Where's Pin-Mei?”
Ran gave him a remorseful look. “She's gone, Ren. She went back home.”
“What?” He took a step toward her. “Why? If she was leaving, then why didn't she wake me up?”
She looked at the floor. “Ren, darling, turn around.”
He didn't understand, but did as she said. Then he felt her gently run her fingertips down his back.
“Mom, what are you doing?”
She shook her head sadly, then retrieved a mirror from her sleeve. She turned him so his back was to the mirror-lined wall, then handed him the hand mirror.
“Move it so you can see your back.” He did, and then he saw it.
The scar from curse brand.
“What the hell is that?” he asked as he lowered the mirror.
“It is the remnants of a curse brand.” She sighed, knowing what she had to say next. “Last night, according to Xu Zhang, Xu Kai placed a curse on you. As a result…you…you tried to rape Pin-Mei.”
CRASH
Ren dropped the mirror and stared at his mother. “Don't…don't even joke about that…I would never do that…Never…I promised her I'd wait…no matter how long it took…I'd never try to take that away from her…”
She looked at him sadly. “Jun broke into your room after she heard Pin-Mei scream. When Zhang, your father, and I arrived, you were on top of her. Her robes were undone…she was practically naked in front of you…You were holding her wrist to the mattress, and she was crying. You both were.
“The guards pulled you off of her, and she came over and touched your face. You said her name, and the guards knocked you out and were taking you away when she pleaded with En not to throw you downstairs. …We put you in your bed…and Pin-Mei went into her room and cried all night until they left.
“Suo demanded that the engagement be annulled, and at the time, we didn't understand what was going on, so we had to comply with her. As they left, Pin-Mei made your father promise not to throw you in the torture chamber. She looked awful…circles under her eyes, her eyes themselves were red and puffy, her face was tearstained…I think she knew what was going on from the very beginning.”
Ren swallowed. It was hard to take all of this in. “…What do you mean?”
“She knew you didn't mean to take her. She kept saying that she forgave you, that you didn't mean it, and that it wasn't right for you to be punished. In her eyes, those tears you cried came from the you inside that knew that what you were doing was wrong. She wouldn't leave until she knew that you'd be safe from any punishment whatsoever.”
Ren by now had drooped his head so that his bangs covered his eyes. “I see…”
Ran tried to comfort her son. “Please take comfort in the fact that she cared about you very much, and that your wellbeing was very important to her.”
He stood rigid for a moment. “I'm going to her house.” He walked past her on his way to the door.
“You can't Ren.”
He stopped. “Why not?”
“Zhang made us promise that you wouldn't come looking for her. It's dangerous for the both of you. This is Suo's doing, and if you go to take Pin-Mei, a lot of danger could befall her if Suo knows you're coming.”
“THEN WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO??” he yelled, turning to her.
“Wait.”
“Wait?”
“Wait. They aren't even home yet. Wait and see what unfolds. Maybe things will work out on their own.”
“You expect me to sit here while that witch goes on controlling the life of the person I love!”
“I'm sorry, Ren, but there isn't anything else that can be done right now. Please, if you really love her that much, you'll wait.”
He stared at her for a few moments, then went back and sat on the Bowflex bench. “Fine.”
“Ren…”
“Can you leave, please?”
“Of course…” She looked at him sadly before she left and closed the door.
The moment it closed, Ren released all the anguish that he had held inside from his mother. He put his face in his hands and let the few tears that were allowed to escape come, although they did not accurately show the amount of grief he held in his heart.
As he collected himself and prepared to go back to his room, if not only to place Pin-Mei's discarded jewelry somewhere in a drawer, he noticed the slip of paper. It had never occurred to him to read it, so he picked it up and unfolded it. As he read it, his eyes became more pained.
He dropped it and punched the wall as hard as he could, making a large hole. He slumped down the wall to the floor and put his forehead against it, a few more tears escaping. The slip of paper fluttering down to the floor, its writing facing toward the ceiling.
“Keep the promise you made me on the beach.”