Shaman King Fan Fiction ❯ A Gift of Love ❯ Mortis ( Chapter 41 )

Did I…just really kill off my own OC? … I have such a sick mind. Poor Ren. I was surprised at the reaction to Pin-Mei's death. I'm happy that she was embraced by you guys. Makes an author feel good. The utter show of emotion was surprising also. 12 reviews for one chapter, new record, and it couldn't have been for a better one. Ch24 had held the record for the most at 9 (rape scene), so I feel blessed…and I probably sound like a ninny so I'll stop.

 

In case you were wondering, yes, I did cry while writing it.

 

One part I hate is that now I don't whether to refer to Pin-Mei as his fiancée or his wife. Ah well, we'll use both… since you guys know they can't really be married since there wasn't any sort of ceremony or anything. Ren will call her his wife because of that “Tao Pin-Mei” scene (which is my fave part btw), and everyone else will call her his fiancée. Sorry if you get confused. I just squirm every time he calls Pin-Mei his wife. Makes them sound old.

 

There's a holiday in America this weekend (no school!), so I'll try to do some more sketches and get them up on my site. I know I keep saying I'm going to do this, but I should at least give the deceased a face, right?

 

Notes: Spoilers from eps 59-60. You get a cookie if you can guess what it is before we get to it.

 

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A Gift of Love - Chapter Forty-One: Mortis

 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

Rong stared at Ren. His arms, hands, and chest were covered in the blood of his beloved. His smile was malicious, his eyes a reflection of the rage, pain, and sadness that was swirling around inside of him. Both were on the brink of psychotic.

 

Rong lowered her eyes. “Is Lord Ren able to control his emotions?”

 

The group looked at her. “What?”

 

“He said he can control the power he has now, but is he able to have all that rage inside of him and still fight without a clouded mind? If he can't, then he'll be joining Lady Pin-Mei soon.”

 

Jun ran up to her. “Why? What's going to happen to Ren?”

 

Rong turned to her. “They will use that anger against him. They're masters of manipulation, remember? They can put so much doubt in his mind that he'll end up destroying himself. If that happens, our chances are looking pretty bleak.”

 

“Then let's go help him!” HoroHoro cried and began running toward his friend. Rong slapped him in the chest to stop him.

 

“If I know anything at all about Ren, I know that he wouldn't allow it. You'll just be a casualty in the crossfire.” Her eyes shifted to Pin-Mei's lifeless body. “But we need to get Pin-Mei out of there. I won't let that one glimmer of hope vanish from Lord Ren's eyes.”

 

Jun looked at her, confused. “Glimmer of hope?”

 

She nodded. “Before he wiped away the last of his tears, I saw a light in the corners of his eyes. Even if it's in vain, he's hoping that she'll somehow come back.” Her eyes narrowed. “As long as he believes that, I'll do everything I can to make that hope become reality.”

 

Yoh walked up to her and smiled. “You've become attached to him pretty quickly.”

 

She shot him a glare. “You better not have meant that the way it sounded.”

 

“Hehehe, no. I just mean that you're already so loyal to him.”

 

A slight blush appeared on her face, but then quickly disappeared as she looked back at her master's body.

 

“I am bound to Lord Ren because he is Lady Pin-Mei's first and only love. She loved him enough to die for him. I won't let her sacrifice be in vain. I will help him any way that I can. But first…” Her eyes shifted between the two lovers in front of her. “I have to figure out how I'm going to get in there and get Milady's body away from harm.”

 

About thirty feet away, Ren was grasping Houraiken tightly, his own blood running down the hilt. Suo sneered at him.

 

“What a pathetic human being,” she said. “He believes he can beat you with force alone. His anger will be his downfall. You should have no problem with him, dear.”

 

Kai grinned darkly. “Of course not. He's weak. He's lost himself over Pin-Mei. He can't think straight right now.”

 

His mother nodded. “So go kill him, or distract him at the very least. I need time to prepare the ritual.”

 

“Certainly, mother.” He chose a sword from the rack next to him.

 

“Mistress, what should I do?”

 

Suo turned to her right. “Oh, Ma Ying.”

 

Ren glared at the spirit. “MA YING YOU TRAITOROUS BITCH!!!” he shouted over. “HOW COULD YOU ALLOW SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO HAPPEN TO PIN-MEI?!! I CHOSE YOU BECAUSE I THOUGHT THAT YOU'D BE LOYAL TO HER, NOT STAB HER IN THE FUCKING BACK!!”

 

She looked at him, her eyes sad and fearful. “Master Ren, you don't understand! I did love Pin-Mei, but some things were more important to me…”

 

“You bitch…” he growled.

 

Suo turned to her. “Thank you for offering your services to us, Ma Ying Taphan. You will help us greatly…”

 

She removed a tag from her sleeve and slapped it on Ma Ying's forehead. She froze, then glowed before exploding. Suo gathered the spirit particles in her fan and then waved them to the ground, where a fire appeared.

 

Rong's eyes widened. “Ma Ying was…extinguished…”

 

Suo cackled with delight. “She was so foolish! I told her that she would be able to complete her revenge if she helped us, and she BELIEVED me! After all these years of watching her master deal with me, she actually thought that I would help her! It's too good!”

 

Ren stared at the ground, his fist clenched even tighter. “How many more people do you have to kill before you're satisfied!!”

 

He let out a cry and charged at them. Kai smirked as he headed toward him. Suddenly, Ren was stopped in his tracks. Everyone watched with wide eyes. Even Suo raised her eyebrows.

 

Rong had stepped in, her nine-sectioned chain whip wrapped around Houraiken. Ren's eyes flared at her.

 

“Rong, let go -- NOW.”

 

“Forgive me, Lord Ren, but I cannot do that. The way you are now, this is a losing battle. I know what I'm asking for seems impossible, but please, calm down. You can't fight with a mind this clouded. You're doomed to lose!”

 

He shook with anger. “Calm down? You want me to CALM DOWN?!! DID YOU SEE WHAT JUST HAPPENED?? MY WIFE IS DEAD!! PIN-MEI IS DEAD!! IF YOU THINK I'M GOING TO SHOW THESE DIPSHITS ANY MERCY, YOU'RE WRONG!! DEAD WRONG!!!”

 

She lowered her head until her bangs covered her eyes.

 

“Milord…I…I know that Lady Pin-Mei is gone, and I know that you feel as if something inside of you has died…and I'm sorry to say something so selfish…but you're not the only one who misses her…”

 

“This is perfect! Rong, I couldn't have done this without you! He's going to love these, thank you!” She smiled. “You're always there to help me, no matter what. Thank you.”

 

She lifted her eyes to show him the tears that had begun to fall. “I do too…and so do they…” She looked over at Yoh, Anna, Jun, Manta, and HoroHoro.

 

He followed her eyes. His eyes widened.

 

“Manta…”

 

“Doll!” She picked him up and cuddled him. “I'm NOT A DOLL! Put me down!”

 

“HoroHoro…”

 

“Squeee!! Ice! Do it again! Make ice again!!” “I've done it twenty times already!! Kororo's tired!!”

 

“Anna…”

 

“…Is that even humanly possible?” “You think I'm lying to you?” “Um…no…but…um…” Her face went completely red. “It's just weird to think about…especially with him.”

 

“Neesan…”

 

“Would he use this?” She held up a Bowflex catalogue and pointed to one of the machines. Jun studied it. “I suppose he would. I don't see why he wouldn't.” “How do I know which one to buy? There's a lot of them…” “I'm not quite sure…I don't know much about these things either.” Pin-Mei looked at the catalogue again. “I'm getting this one.” She pointed to it. “That's the most expensive one!” “But that means it's good, right?”

 

“Yoh…”

 

“So what does this thing do again?” “You take this black thing, called a record, and place it here, then put the pin on it. Then you put on the headphones and the music starts playing.” “Wooooah…I've never seen one of these before!” She put the headphones on. “I can hear singing!” “Yeah, isn't Bob great? Hehehe.”

 

“They're suffering too…We know our pain is nothing compared to yours…but please…don't make her sacrifice be in vain. Don't rush in there with only anger as your weapon. If you do, they'll kill you. We'll think of something, just don't let yourself die.”

 

He hid his eyes from her.

 

“I'm not saying that she wouldn't want you to kill those two. She wasn't usually a person for revenge, and even though she would never say it out loud, I'd seen it in her eyes once or twice. She wanted them dead. You can do what you want with them, but you need to have a plan.”

 

As they both straightened, each releasing their weapons, Rong looked at Ren's head. She couldn't see over it. She smirked at herself and shook her head. He looked at her.

 

“What?”

 

After another small chuckle, she went to walk past him.

 

“You're finally taller than me. Took you long enough.” She really is yours now. I give up.

 

“PAY ATTENTION, FOOLS!!”

 

They both looked at Kai, who was now holding Pin-Mei's body. He smirked and pressed a talisman to her forehead. Her spirit rose from it and he dropped the body to the ground.

 

“How very careless, Tao Ren,” Suo said. “You were so consumed with anger that you didn't even notice him retrieving the body.” She looked over to the fire, which now contained a small pile of female bodies. “We have all the ingredients we need. I will begin the ritual.”

 

Ren's eyes widened. “NO!” He rushed at them.

 

“Milord, wait!”

 

It was too late. Ren had snapped. Again.

 

Kai quickly wrapped the spirit in restriction beads to keep her tangent and threw her over to Suo's feet. He brandished a sword and met Ren head-on.

 

“I really think you should listen to the Wei girl. She has already fought with me, and may be able to give you some tips,” he taunted.

 

“SHUT UP!”

 

Ren over souled Houraiken into a Kwan Dao and swung at Kai. He blocked it and gave a quick thrust at his chest. Ren quickly tried to dodge, but the blade grazed his left shoulder. He flinched and grabbed it reflexively.

 

“YOU'RE WIDE OPEN!” Another thrust, this time at his face.

 

Shit!

 

At the last moment a chain wrapped around it and tossed it away. Ren looked up to see Rong, Yoh, and HoroHoro standing between him and his adversary.

 

“Pretty careless of you, Ren. You're usually better than this,” HoroHoro said looking back at him and grinning.

 

“Shut up!” he yelled.

 

“Just a joke, man. Just a joke.”

 

Yoh looked at Ren. “Hehehe. Don't worry, we came to help. We're not going to let you die, Ren.”

 

“Yoh…”

 

Rong glanced at him over her shoulder. “It's my duty to protect you and help you reach your goals, Lord Ren. That's what I've been raised to do.”

 

“But you're Pin-Mei's--,”

 

“I am, but I also have to protect the things important to her. When the person I am supposed to protect dies, until I am put to death, I protect the one they loved most. And that's you.”

 

He was silent. She turned her body slightly.

 

“You seem convinced that there's a way to bring her back, and I'll trust you on that. That's a mission I'll gladly give my life for. I will help you in any I can.” She smiled at him.

 

“Rong…”

 

“That being said,” she turned to face the Fans again. “What do you want us to do, Milord?”

 

Ren stared at the floor. I may have to use it. No. I think I have to. I promised Zhang I wouldn't die…but I don't think it really matters anymore. As long as I kill them. That's all that matters.

 

“Time,” he said. “I need you guys to buy me time. I have an attack that can kill them, but I need time.”

 

HoroHoro looked at him quizzically. “What sort of--,”

 

“Understood,” Rong cut in.

 

“Hey! I wasn't--,”

 

Rong grabbed him by the shirt. “A good soldier never questions his lord's orders,” she said coldly.

 

He tried in vain to detach her hand from him. “He's not my lord, so I can question him if I want! I am older than him anyways.”

 

She yanked him close to whisper in his ear. “Number one: Age has nothing to do with anything. Lady Pin-Mei was almost five years younger than me, and I followed all of her orders. Number two: Do you mean to tell me that he has never done anything for you that you owe him for? Has he ever helped you in a pinch? Saved your life? Maybe just been a friend?”

 

The Ainu stared blankly at her. She was right. He had. Ren had almost died because of him. Now here he was, complaining because Ren had asked them to buy him some time so he could get revenge for the death of his fiancée. He realized that he owed him at least that much.

 

Seeing the revelation on his face, she grinned. “Alright, then.” She unhanded him and turned back to Ren. “Just tell us what to do.”

 

Ren nodded. “I'll be in the back of the room. Just make sure I'm not disturbed.” He was about to turn to go, when he heard the sound of a body hitting the ground. Slowly, he turned around. He felt like he was stabbed.

 

Kai had picked up Pin-Mei's body and thrown it at him. She was like a rag doll on the floor, her limbs just landing in whatever position they happened to. The wet blood from her chest smudged the floor. Her braids were coming out, and her clothes were disheveled, the rip in the shirt now becoming a little more revealing. He clenched his fist and looked up at him.

 

Kai smiled at him. “Thank you for letting us borrow the body. We're done with it, so you can have it back.” He smirked. “Have fun with it.”

 

Ren clenched his fists as tightly as he could to restrain himself. He stiffly walked over and picked her body up, cradling it once more. Up close, he could see how pale her body was now. Her body was already getting cold. He hated the feeling. Without a word, he turned to walk over to where Jun, Anna, and Manta were. After clutching it once more, he set her down on the ground, resting her against the wall. He stared at her before turning to Jun.

 

“Watch her for me,” he said walking away.

 

She nodded. “Of course.” She looked at Pin-Mei, then saw that Ren's shirt was still in her lap. She looked at it sadly. “Pin-Mei…”

 

Kai chuckled, and Rong whipped her head around to face him.

 

“You won't be smiling in a few minutes, you bastard.” She turned to the other two. “This one's mine. Concentrate on protecting Lord Ren.” They nodded and ran after him.

 

“You'll regret that, Wei Rong,” Kai said.

 

She grinned. “I have a score to settle with you, and I won't regret spilling your blood just as Lady Pin-Mei's was.”

 

They readied their weapons and lunged at each other.

 

“Ren!”

 

He turned to see Yoh and HoroHoro rushing up to him. “Why aren't you two with Rong?”

 

“She wanted Kai to herself for a while,” HoroHoro said.

 

Ren nodded and looked at the fight before him.

 

“Okay, do your thing so you can kill these guys!”

 

“Don't worry, we'll be right here,” Yoh said grinning.

 

Ren went to stand near the back of the room, his eyes hidden behind his bangs.

 

I'll kill them for you, Pin-Mei. And if this guy can't help bring you back, I'll come join you.