Shaman King Fan Fiction ❯ A Gift of Love ❯ Who's Suffering Now? ( Chapter 38 )

I hate chapters like this because I need to be picky and choosy about when I let Ren cry. I mean, he's Ren; I can't have him crying every time something bad happens.

 

I bought the Shaman King GBA game “Master of Spirits”. The dub names are killing me. Apparently, I have to defeat some person named Len Tao -twitch-

 

I seriously don't think I've had Bason say anything besides “Bocchama!” this whole story. Go one-word vocabularies!

 

I won't feel offended if some of you write reviews that include “I HATE PIN-MEI!!” after this chapter. Go crazy.

 

Notes: There's going to be sex talk in this chapter, because the “rape” is going to be a hot topic. Nothing horribly explicit, like organs or anything, but this is still a warning, just so you can't say I didn't warn you.

 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

A Gift of Love - Chapter Thirty-Eight: Who's Suffering Now?

 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

“Hua…why?”

 

She only pushed the blade closer to his throat.

 

“I'll never forgive you for what you did - NEVER!”

 

She swung at him. Ren dodged it by jumping backward, then flipping across the room. Just as he regained his footing, she was in front of him again, swinging madly. He dodged them, then met her with him own blade. They pushed against each other until Ren overpowered her and hit her across the room. He stared at her.

 

Why is she doing this? Wasn't she just telling me to come and rescue Pin-Mei? Wait…How can that even be her if Suo was just asking for my help to bring her back?

 

He smirked. “Nice try, Suo,” he called over to the evil woman. “Even I know that can't really be Hua since she's dead. Don't insult my intelligence.” It must be a fake of some kind. Like they created a body that resembled hers and stuck a spirit in it. “Bason! Hyoi Gattai! In Houraiken!” He got ready for the next assault.

 

To his surprise, Suo was laughing behind her fan. While he was distracted, Hua almost got a clean cut on him. He blocked and shallowly slashed down the center of her chest. Then he gave a tremendous kick to her midsection that sent her flying backwards and into a wall. Her back hit it in full force. A cloud of dust rose as she slumped to the ground.

 

Ren panted as he looked at her. Before the dust could settle and allow him to have a clear view of her again, Suo's laugh made him snap his head in her direction.

 

“What's so funny?” he yelled over.

 

She acted like she was trying to stop herself, but obviously wasn't. “Forgive me, I just find this fight so entertaining! I couldn't have asked for a better show! Now that I've seen you in action, Tao Ren, I understand why my daughter ran to your mother the moment she knew she was pregnant. She somehow knew she was going to have a girl, although a boy would have been so much better. A gift of foresight it would seem.”

 

“Foresight?”

 

“Of course. Hua was exceptionally talented. In addition to healing, she had a foresight ability that showed itself every so often. Of course, the effect that those talents had on her body was…unfortunate.”

 

Ren gripped the sword tighter. “What do you mean?”

 

For a moment, Ren thought he saw a look of genuine sadness on her face.

 

“Her body was frail. It didn't take much for her to get tired to the point of collapsing. It's the curse that comes with receiving powers that most shamans don't have these days.”

 

“And knowing that, you still forced her to have a baby!”

 

“You're complaining? Would you rather not have met Pin-Mei?”

 

He stopped, then stared at the floor.

 

“Ha! You didn't think of that, did you? If Hua had not become pregnant, you'd still be back at your castle - by yourself. Alone, just like a good little shaman should be.” She smiled at his further pained face. “You think I wanted my daughter to die? She was supposed to win the Shaman Fight. With her abilities, it would have been easy for her.”

 

Ren chuckled and lifted his head. “If you really believe that, you're even more ignorant than I thought,” he said. “There was one opponent there capable of killing all the other participants. Unless Hua had the power of a god, or goddess, she would have been no different.”

 

Suo gritted her teeth, then softened and let out her own small laugh. “You still forget that I hold the winning hand, Tao Ren. I still have Pin-Mei.”

 

He clenched his fist, realizing she was right. “Where is she!” he yelled.

 

She put on a look surprise. “You didn't notice her? She greeted you as you came in.”

 

“Lord Ren, are you aware of the phrase, `There is no animal so dangerous as a woman with a broken heart?'” Kai said laughing.

 

His eyes widened. “What?”

 

More faux shock. “Hm? Shouldn't a husband at least know what his wife looks like, even if her hairstyle is slightly different?” She looked as if she were deep in thought. “Wasn't Hua's hair violet and not black?”

 

It was then that Ren remembered why Hua had looked slightly different. She was shorter, and had black hair. The only person who could pass for Hua and had black hair…was Pin-Mei. Then why were her eyes blue?

 

“Pin-Mei, where are the blue contacts I told you to wear?”

 

He snapped his head to the wall where the girl had fallen to the ground. The clip on her head had broken and fallen out to bring Pin-Mei's bangs back into place. He suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe. He could see red on her chest. Blood. He had slashed her chest. The very person he was trying to protect. He had told Zhang he refused to hurt her again. And now he had.

 

“PIN-MEI!!” he screamed as he ran over to her. His mind was racing. All he could think about was making sure she wasn't dead.

 

As he got closer, he could see her pulling herself up and supporting herself with the wall, seemingly removing the contacts. He felt a wave of relief wash over him.

 

“Pin-Me--,”

 

He stopped short as she lifted Minbouken and pointed it at him. He stared at it with wide eyes.

 

“Pin-Mei, wha-,”

 

“STAY AWAY FROM ME!! DON'T TOUCH ME!!” she screamed as loud as she could. The look in her eyes wasn't that of fear, but of pure hatred.

 

He reached out to touch her, thinking that he could calm her down if he did. “Pin-Mei…”

 

She swung her blade and pointed it at him again.

 

“I'LL KILL YOU I SWEAR!! DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!!”

 

He did anyway, and she swung at him again. Nimbly, he dodged and was up against her, his hand over hers, which held her weapon. He removed it from her hand and threw it to the ground. With her right wrist in his left hand, and his right hand against the wall, he leaned in and kissed her, trying to recreate their first back in Tokyo.

 

At first, Pin-Mei was frozen, her eyes wide in surprise. But then she regained her senses and pushed him away. She pulled back and slapped his left cheek. Ren took a few steps backward, his head still turned from the impact of the slap. He squeezed his eyes shut for a few moments, breathed deeply, and opened them again.

 

“How do YOU like being slapped, huh?” she yelled. She touched her own cheek; the one he had slapped the last night they were together. The hand turned into a fist. “I'll never forgive you, you hear me? No matter what you do I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!! I'LL KILL YOU IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!!”

 

He rubbed his eyes lightly with his right hand and slowly turned to her.

 

“I'm sorry, Pin-Mei…” he said. “I'm so sorry.” The tears he had been trying to hide started falling. “If I had done a better job protecting you, then this wouldn't have happened…I just don't know how I can make you understand how much I wish this hadn't happened…I know I hurt you…I know you've been suffering…and I came here so I can take you home and make that suffering stop…Pin-Mei…I love you, more than anything, and I want to make things right…I want to take that pain away, but you need to let me do it…”

 

“I've let you `do it' enough.”

 

“…What?”

 

She gave him the most piercing glare. “Forgotten what it feels like to be inside me already? Was I that worthless that you can't even bother to remember the experience? Am I not as good as your concubines?”

 

He stared at her. Hua had told him and shown him that Jun had come in and stopped him from…doing it. But now Pin-Mei, the victim, was telling him he had followed through with it. Was he supposed to tell her that she had imagined it, that she was still a virgin? How was he supposed to tell her that she was wrong when she had obviously lost all faith and trust in him? Had Hua been wrong about everything?

 

She scoffed at his surprised face. “You still don't remember? Well then I'll tell you. You pinned me down on that bed and ripped my clothes off, then your own. You covered my mouth so I couldn't scream when you broke into me. You must have done it at least two or three times. I was in pain the whole time, but you didn't care. All you cared about was yourself and your own pleasure. Because of what you did, I'll probably be pregnant soon.”

 

His eyes widened.

 

“But I can't stand the thought of having a child with your blood coursing through its veins inside of me, so after I kill you, I'll do the same to myself.” She glared at him, his face even more disturbed. “I would have given it to you if you waited, but you just couldn't wait.”

 

She bowed her head so he couldn't see her eyes.

 

“No matter how many times a day I shower, no matter how long I'm rinsing myself under the water, I come out feeling as dirty as I was when I went in. You've stained me. The only way I can be clean again is if I kill you. Even if it's only for a few moments before I'm dead also, I want to be pure again.”

 

She raised her head.

 

“So if you really love me at all, you'll let me kill you.”

 

Ren was the one with a bowed head now. “It's true that I love you, and that I'm willing to die for you, but this isn't what I meant. I meant that I'd sacrifice myself so that I could protect you. If you're just going to kill yourself after you kill me, then I can't do that.” He looked at her. “Pin-Mei, I don't want to fight you. Let's just talk.”

 

“…I hate you…”

 

“…What…what did you say?”

 

“I HATE YOU!! I HATE YOU TAO REN!! I HATE YOU!!”

 

Ren's eyes were wide with an unfamiliar feeling- horror. He couldn't breathe. He just wanted to throw up. The words kept repeating themselves over and over in his mind. She had said she wanted to kill him, but he wasn't ready for those three words.

 

“I love you, Ren…I love you so much…”

 

Inside, he felt himself crumbling. He was alone again. No one loved him. He thought he'd never have to worry about loneliness again after she had told him she loved him. He felt as if he had taken it for granted. Now, she hated him, and wanted him to die.

 

“You can't mean that…”

 

She glared at him. “Do I LOOK like I'm kidding?”

 

He stared at the floor, his eyes still wide. “No…”

 

“Bocchama!”

 

“What?”

 

He snapped his head up just in time to see her picking up her sword. Ma Ying appeared next to her.

 

“Ma Ying, you have to stop her!” he called over.

 

The spirit looked at him apathetically. “Why would I do that? If Lady Pin-Mei wishes you to die, then why would I deny her that pleasure?”

 

“What?”

 

A look of extreme anger grew on her face. “This is not only her revenge, but mine as well.”

 

He stiffened. “Revenge? For what?”

 

Her eyes pierced him. “One hundred years ago, your family was sent to murder the emperor of Siam. I was the leader of a group of his guards, and my husband led another. Your ancestors killed him. You took my love away from me, and I died hoping that I could someday avenge his death.” She grinned. “My chance came ten years ago when you awoke me from my grave and trapped me inside that memorial tablet and gave me to Lady Pin-Mei. Once she told me you were of the Tao family, I knew that my chance for retribution would soon be arriving. And now, thanks to Lady Suo and Lord Kai, and of course Lady Pin-Mei, my chance has come.” She laughed. “Prepare yourself, scion of Tao. This basement shall be your tomb.”

 

Ren couldn't believe all these things being thrown at him at once. Pin-Mei hated him and wanted him dead, and now Ma Ying had revealed she wanted the same. A fight was inevitable. One of them was going to bleed, if not both.

 

“Ma Ying! Hyoi Gattai! In Minbouken!”

 

He looked down at Houraiken. With its power, if he used it, he would surely kill her. He put it away and took out his Kwan Dao, taking a moment to look at the stickers of him and Pin-Mei.

 

I'll bring you back, Pin-Mei. Then we can go home.

 

“Bason! Hyoi Gattai! In Bason-tou!”

 

He had barely looked up when she was right in his face. He quickly blocked and they went into a deadlock. Ren was simply blocking, but Pin-Mei was trying as hard as she could to break his guard and move in for the kill. Their blades shook under to force being exerted on each of them.

 

“We don't need to do this, Pin-Mei.”

 

They jumped apart, and she charged at him again. As they crossed blades again, she began bashing him as hard as she could, trying to push him backwards.

 

“Yes. We. DO!”

 

Jumped back and charged yet again. He blinked and she disappeared. Surprised, he looked around. He couldn't see her. Suddenly, he could feel cold steel on the back of his neck. He stiffened.

 

“I didn't think it'd be so easy to get behind you. Have you gone soft, Ren?”

 

He ran and turned so he could face her. She had a smug look on her face. He couldn't comprehend her increase in speed.

 

How was she able to get behind me? Did she get that much better in a month?

 

Suo smiled at Kai. “He thinks she got stronger,” she whispered to him, trying not to laugh. “He doesn't realize that he's just being weak right now. He's holding back more than he realizes. As a result, Pin-Mei currently has the upper hand. He'll keep losing confidence until she finally kills him. Then she'll kill herself, and our precious Hua will be back with us.”

 

Kai smirked. “I can hardly wait.”

 

Pin-Mei looked at her former lover the same way he had when he was able to get behind her during their last duel - as if he were a fool. “Ren, darling, if you come over here now, I'll make it nice, quick, and clean. I can't promise it'll be painless, but three out of four isn't bad, right?”

 

Ren just continued staring at her. The Pin-Mei that he knew would never talk like that. He had told her to never call him “darling” again. At this point, he would have taken any affectionate word she had for him, but this wasn't what he had in mind.

 

It's almost as if she's…

 

Then he saw it.

 

Where he had slashed her shirt, the fabric was ripped open down the center just enough so he could see a picture of a bird locked in a cage - the Fan family curse seal. Everything she had said, everything she had done to him here was the result of a curse. Pin-Mei was a prisoner in her own body. But he couldn't figure out why she wasn't crying like he had. She was more in tune to her emotions than he was, so she should have started crying by now. So why…

 

“You finally see it.”

 

He looked behind him where Suo was standing on the stage. She was fanning herself.

 

“Ooh, what a show! Great entertainment! You two have such great chemistry! How else could a show be this enthralling?”

 

He gritted his teeth. “SUO!!”

 

“Oh goodness, there's that temper again.”

 

“Release Pin-Mei NOW!”

 

“I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, if we did, then you two would just run off together, and I simply can't have that. However, you could free her yourself…”

 

“HOW?”

 

She laughed. “The only way for an outsider to break the curse is to stab the cursed in the center of the seal…she might die, though.”

 

He looked at Pin-Mei, who was seemingly frozen, as if awaiting instructions. What a fucking choice. Then he realized something.

 

“Pin-Mei isn't an outsider, so why can't she just break it herself?”

 

Suo sighed and shook her head. “Pin-Mei IS an outsider. Her father is a mere human. It has contaminated our bloodline. She's weak because only one of her parents was a shaman. Have children with her and your bloodline will become impure as well. I don't know how your mother convinced your father that the blood would still be pure with children from that girl, but she must have a way with words. In a way, I'm saving your precious Tao bloodline; you should thank me.”

 

“SO WHAT?” he yelled.

 

She was startled. “What?”

 

“I don't give a damn about bloodlines.” He looked at Pin-Mei, clenching his fists. “I'd rather mess it up and be with someone I love rather than keep it pure and be with someone who couldn't care less about me. And she's NOT weak. She has to be pretty damn strong to put up with all the shit you put her through. Anyone else would have committed suicide by now.”

 

She sighed again, dismissing him. “The short of it is, Tao Ren, Pin-Mei hardly has any of the Fan family qualities. It took a level 8 charm to fully place you under the curse; it only took a level 2 for Pin-Mei - one level above a normal human being. Unlike you, she won't be coming to her senses anytime soon. Her soul is totally encased and her will is in my hands. Speaking of which…”

 

She turned her attention to her doll. “Pin-Mei, darling, you may continue. Kill him.”

 

“Yes, grandmother.” She charged at Ren.

 

He jumped over her, but failed to notice that she had stabbed Minbouken into the ground, wires attached to the hilt. She skidded about twenty feet away and spun around. Still in the air, he looked at her from over his shoulder. She smirked.

 

“AYWER'S REDEMPTION!!”

 

She pulled the wires as hard as she could. Her sword began spinning, starting off slow, then getting faster and faster until a cyclone formed and engulfed him. He was tossed around inside, his furyoku being stolen from him. It ended when he was tossed out. He slammed into a wall and fell to the floor.

 

He felt so tired. The vortex had taken every last bit of furyoku he'd had inside him. Bason appeared next to his master, obviously concerned.

 

“Bocchama!”

 

Ren turned to him. “I think this might be close to the end. I don't know what that attack was, but it was pretty damn good. I'm exhausted…I couldn't Hyoi Gattai even if I wanted to.” He looked up as she approached him.

 

“Well, well…Look what we have here,” she said with an evil grin. “And here I thought you were strong. My mistake.”

 

He just looked up at her, not saying anything.

 

“Aww, don't look at me like that. I almost feel bad for you. Don't worry, it'll be over soon.”

 

She raised Minbouken over him, getting ready to slice through his heart. He tried to protect himself by raising his Kwan Dao to block, though his arms still felt weak.

 

She laughed at him. “Silly boy.”

 

With that, she brought the blade down. Ren closed his eyes and waited. Nothing happened. Slowly, he opened one eye, then both. He looked up at her, his eyes wide.

 

She was frozen, her eyes just as wide as his. He looked at his Kwan Dao, and noticed the club photo stickers. They had stopped her. Something in her had remembered that night.

 

“Can we do it? Pleeeeease?”

 

“Fine. ONE SHEET.”

 

“Will you smile? I want to be able to look at it and think I made you happy.”

 

“Yeah...fine…but only because you asked me to…”

 

“Pin-Mei?” he whispered to her earnestly.

 

Her eyes darkened and became their usual black again. “What…what am I doing…?” She looked at him, and then at her sword. “Ren…” She started crying. “What have I been doing?”

 

Suddenly, she grabbed her chest and screamed. He could see the crest glowing. Behind her, Suo was putting more furyoku into the seal to regain control over her. Pin-Mei clutched her body and stared at the ground.

 

Pin-Mei…Can you hear me, Pin-Mei?

 

She looked up. “Yes I can hear you.”

 

Ren looked at her. Who was she talking to?

 

Pin-Mei…Your time of decision…it's now.

 

“You mean that choice I have to make?”

 

Yes…You can save yourself, or you can save Ren. Which will you choose?

 

“Myself or Ren…” She screamed as more pain came to her chest.

 

You must decide quickly. Suo will soon regain control over you, and then Ren will inevitably die. One of you has to. Will it be you…or him?

 

“Me or him?” More pain.

 

DECIDE!

 

She gave a weak smile and picked up Minbouken and raised it. He watched her. “What are you doing?”

 

“Well…If only one of us can live, I choose…”

 

Ren's eyes widened.

 

“PIN-MEI!!!!!!!!!!!”