Shaman King Fan Fiction ❯ A Gift of Love ❯ If You Are My Love ( Chapter 51 )

Past curfew again. Fix it tomorrow.

 

I think that this will have 54 or 55 chapters. So no, this isn't the last one.

 

I thank you for your patience while I get this chapter up. It's been hectic lately, and I was taken away from this for a while.

 

Just to say this again, I have nothing against Hao. He's actually my second favorite character. I apologize that he didn't have a moment where he was viewed as a not-evil character. I guess I was too focused on making conflict. Sorry.

 

Notes: The italicized section is a dream Pin-Mei has.

 

“Fufufufufu” is the traditional Japanese bad guy laughter.

 

“Ti liàn” means “purify”.

 

“Bakana” means “nonsense/impossible/that's stupid”, a phrase Ren uses many times in the anime xD

 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

A Gift of Love - Chapter Fifty-One: If You Are My Love

 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

HoroHoro gazed down at Ren's motionless body. He sighed.

 

“You better wake up soon. There's a cute girl who's going to be real sad if you don't.”

 

“…Don't call my fiancée cute.”

 

“Oh, sorry about that.” He blinked, and then looked down again. Two yellow eyes stared up at him. “REN??!!”

 

Ren squeezed his eyes shut. “Shut up. I have a headache, and you're being obnoxiously loud.”

 

“Sorry…” He turned to the others, waving his arms. “HEY YOU GUYS!!! REN'S AWAKE!!!”

 

Ren squeezed his eyes shut again as the others ran over.

 

“Ren!” Jun cried. She knelt beside him, wanting to hold his hand, then cradle him, but doing neither because of the overflow of emotions hitting her all at once. She just kept whispering his name over and over again.

 

Ren ignored her for a moment as Rong came into view.

 

“Rong,”

 

“Yes, Milord?”

 

“Shut him up please.” He used his head to motion to the blue-haired boy on his left.

 

“WHAT??? WHAT DID I DO???”

 

Ren closed his eyes and grunted again. “As soon as possible.”

 

“Ren, c'mon!” But he was stopped by the audible cracking of knuckles. He looked up to see Rong with a devilish look on her face. “Rong, Rong, come on. You wouldn't really hit me, would you?”

 

“You're making my Lord uncomfortable, HoHo. You know how I feel about that.”

 

Ren looked from one to the other. HoHo? “On second thought, I think the intimidation's enough. You can stop.”

 

Rong sighed and lowered her fists, not saying anything except “Yes, Milord.” Ren studied her, and found what he was looking for, a look of relief in her eyes. He smirked, then made a move to get up.

 

“Hey, not so fast!” HoroHoro cried as Ren put pressure on his wrists in order push himself up.

 

He winced as his weight hit his ankles and his legs trembled. He looked at his limbs and saw simple red dots, like ink from a permanent marker, where the swords had hit him. His breathing came in gasps as the pain hit him. Alive or not, the pain he felt when he died was still there. Pain…in his heart.

 

“Where's Pin-Mei?” he asked, the words almost reluctant to leave his mouth, afraid of some sudden catastrophe.

 

Before anyone could say anything, Anna spoke first.

 

“She's dead.”

 

Ren snapped his head up, his eyes wide.

 

“That's what you were afraid I was going to say, right?” She gave a small smile and stepped aside, revealing Pin-Mei's body on the ground behind her. “Well, she's not.”

 

“Oi, Anna, that was harsh…” Yoh whispered.

 

Ren just stared at the body on the floor. He tried to run, but staggered, tripped, and headed for the ground. Rong swiftly slid across the floor and in front of him, catching him. He regained his footing, nodded at her, and continued on. When he finally reached Pin-Mei's body, he allowed himself to fall to his knees as he studied her. Her hair was down, released from the faux tongari. Her stomach was taped up, recovering from the wound her mother had inflicted on her. Suo's blood was splattered on her face, and Ren's shirt was drenched in it.

 

Ren took his sweatband off and carefully wiped the crimson liquid from her face. For a moment, all he could do was stare, but that quickly wore off. He held his hand near her mouth to affirm that she was, in fact, alive, and smiled when he felt her moist breath against his fingertips. He wanted so much to hold her right then, but with the limited strength in his wrists at the moment, he doubted that he would even be able to drag her. Rong saw the yearning in his eyes and placed Pin-Mei in his lap, allowing him to cradle her.

 

Tears almost came, but he promised himself that he'd save it for when she could actually see him. Besides, he wasn't going to cry in front of the whole group. But as one snuck out, he lowered his head and hid it behind hers, burying his face in her hair.

 

The group smiled, knowing that the battle had finally ended, and that the two lovers would be able to go home and finally be together. As Rong thought of this, her smile faded slightly. She knew there might not be a happy ending just yet. Knowing what she had to say, she knelt in front of him, clenching her fists on her knees.

 

“Um…Lord Ren?”

 

“What?” he whispered, his face still hidden behind his fiancée's head.

 

“There's something you need to know…”

 

His eyes peeked over Pin-Mei's head. “What is it?”

 

Rong stared into yellow mirrors of silent happiness. She felt like a mother who was about to return all of her son's birthday gifts.

 

“She…Lady Pin-Mei…She might not remember you…”

 

His head left his beloved's quickly, staring at her with wide eyes. “What the hell are you talking about? What do you mean she might not remember me?”

 

“Well…because…”

 

“It's alright, Rong. I'll explain this.” Zhang came to sit before the boy, his face serious. “The reason you came back was because Hua used a sacrificial resurrection technique, allowing her to take your place and send your soul back to your body.” He motioned to his wife's lifeless body a few meters away.

 

Ren stared at it. “She's not…actually taking my place is she? She's not going to the Chamber of Avici, right?”

 

Zhang solemnly shook his head. “I don't know. I'll find out when I go back to look for her.” He straightened. “But back to the subject at hand. In order to use this technique, she had to put her blood on her hands, and hold yours so a connection could be established.”

 

Ren looked at his hands. They were covered in dried blood.

 

“Before her, Pin-Mei was going to attempt to use that technique herself. Her blood is also on your hands. Hua stopped her before the connection was fully made, but with Pin-Mei's blood on your hands, there may be some side effects on her. Her memories of you may be lost forever.”

 

Ren stared down at Pin-Mei's sleeping face. All those memories they had shared…gone? The time they had spent together ten years ago, his birthday, Tokyo…his proposal…all gone? A void made its way into his heart, leaving him with a dark and hollow feeling. He looked at her sadly.

 

“It doesn't matter,” he said finally. The group watched him, confused. He smiled weakly. “It doesn't matter if she has no idea who I am. We'll do everything all over again. I'll treat her like the brat she is. I'll take her back to Tokyo and recreate those memories. I'll tell her what we are to each other. I'll do it all over, again and again until she remembers.

 

“No matter what happens…I won't give up on her.

 

I never will.”

 

“That…was so…beautiful!!”

 

Ren looked up to see Yi bawling his eyes out in a comic fashion. Da-Xia patted his shoulder gently, looking as though she was used to his sensitivity. Ren glared at him.

 

“Now I'm beginning to think you were adopted.”

 

Yi wiped his eyes. “Now that's just mean! Come on, Aibou, it's time to be HAPPY!!! You have your fiancée back and everything's going to be all hunky dory!” He laughed, but when he noticed that his descendant wasn't, he stopped abruptly. “Oi, Aibou, don't go emo on me now.” He grabbed his shoulders and shook him. “YOU HAVE SO MUCH TO LIVE FOR!!!” he cried in a dramatic tone.

 

Ren punched him in the face. “You're really annoying.”

 

Yi grinned. “Yeah, she said that when we first met.” He used his thumb to point over his shoulder at his wife. “But she learned to love me, and you will too! We're going to spend quality time together and be bestest pals! Oh Aibou!”

 

He went to put his arms around him, but was met with a foot to the face.

 

“What did I tell you about touching me?”

 

“Do it, and do it often?”

 

“NO!! NEVER DO IT!! THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN TOUCH ME IS—”

 

He stopped and looked at the girl in his lap.

 

“…Pin-Mei…”

 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

“Hello? Someone? Anyone? Can someone tell me where I am?”

 

Pin-Mei wandered around in the darkness looking for any sign of life. Suddenly, a spotlight appeared behind her. She looked to see a toddler with long black hair and cruel eyes.

 

“Why are you being so loud? You're so annoying…”

 

Pin-Mei stared at the girl. “Who are you?”

 

She scowled at her. “Do we really look that different?” When Pin-Mei didn't answer, the girl let out an annoyed sigh. “I'm you. I'm the darkness you try to hide from everyone. But that darkness came out when you fought that bitch.”

 

Her older self could only hold her slightly frightened stare.

 

“Do you think --- is still going to love you after seeing that darkness?” the young heir questioned. “I doubt it. You blew it. Nice job. Now you're just going to have to live all alone and die an ugly old hag. You already have the ugly part down, now we just need the old part to kick in.”

 

The young heir grabbed Pin-Mei's hand and led her further into the darkness.

 

“Where are you taking me?” Her voice was shaking.

 

“Fufufufufu…Don't you want to get out of here?”

 

“Y-Yes…”

 

“Then just keep quiet and follow me.”

 

Pin-Mei swallowed and allowed the two year-old to lead her further into the darkness. They stopped when they came before some bubbles. In each one, Pin-Mei could see a memory. The lighter bubbles had happy memories, and the black ones had sad memories.

 

“Why are these here?” she asked turning to the little girl.

 

“Memories. Duh.”

 

There was a popping sound. She whirled around and saw that the light colored bubble in front of her had vanished, a black one in its place. A dark feeling appeared in her heart, causing her to wince. Another pop, and another good memory was lost, replaced with an awful one. Pin-Mei fell to her knees as the popping continued. When it finally ceased, she looked at herself.

 

She was four years old again.

 

“What's going on?” she shrieked.

 

When she looked behind her, her fourteen year-old self came into view, a malicious grin on her face.

 

“So where are those precious memories of Him that `kept you alive' now, hmm?” she cackled. She shoved Pin-Mei's head and she fell to the floor. The evil spirit laughed “So where is He now, hmm? Is He coming to save you?”

 

Pin-Mei looked at her, perplexed. “Who's `He'?”

 

After staring at her a moment, the spirit fully burst into laughter. “He used to be so important to you, but you can't even remember Him now!!! If only He could see this!! How absolutely hilarious!!!”

 

More dark bubbles appeared. Pin-Mei was pinned to the ground in pain. “Stop it…it hurts…”

 

Her dark self flashed another evil smile. “You forgot these bad times because of Him. Now, we can relive them TOGETHER!!”

 

Just as she felt as if she was going to suffocate, a soft, warm hand caressed her cheek.

 

“Calm down,” a voice said. “You'll be fine. He told me to come save you because he can't be here right now, and I would never disobey him.”

 

She looked up to see a woman in her twenties with warm black eyes. She helped Pin-Mei stand up and stroked her again. Pin-Mei could see her long black hair that hung just above her ankles and elegant purple robes that trailed on the floor.

 

“What are you doing here?!” the evil Pin-Mei yelled over, her face creased in anger.

 

The woman smiled. “I'm just showing her the way out. You were helping her find her way, weren't you? At least, that's what you told her, isn't it?”

 

Minbouken appeared and the spirit grabbed it. She smirked. “Without a weapon, you're as good as graveyard dirt, you old hag!”

 

The kind smile remained on the woman's face as the imposter charged at her. Calmly, not taking her eyes off her attacker, she reached into her sleeve and produced a fan. She spread it waved the fan at the spirit.

 

“Ti liàn,” she whispered.

 

White light shined from the silk weapon and the specter dissolved with a pitiful scream. The woman knelt on the ground, a tired look on her face. Pin-Mei rushed to her side.

 

“Are you alright?” she cried.

 

“Yes, don't worry about me. You have to run from here.”

 

“Why?”

 

“He's waiting for you. And there are trials that may present themselves along the way. He's eager to see you, so you must get there as quickly as you can.”

 

Pin-Mei cocked her head. “Who's `He'?”

 

The woman looked at her sadly, but then forced a smile and put her hand on the shoulder of the four year-old body. “Just go. Don't worry about it now. You'll remember Him eventually.” She pointed behind them. “Run along now, Pin-Mei.”

 

Pin-Mei nodded slowly and ran in the direction the gentle finger told her to. As she vanished, the voice of a small child echoed in the darkness.

 

“Mommy!”

 

The woman turned and smiled. A little girl with long navy blue ran to her and threw her arms around her. “Mommy! I was so worried about you! When you ran off, I got scared you'd get hurt!”

 

“I'm fine, sweetheart.”

 

“Yeah, she's old enough to take care of herself. Both you and Father seem to forget that.”

 

They looked behind them to see the girl's brother, a boy with firm limbs, purple hair and piercing yellow eyes. As he moved into the spot of light the two females were in, a tongari came into view.

 

“Honestly, though…Tell her next time you have to go somewhere. She gets so damn worked up.”

 

His mother smiled. “Alright I will.” She giggled a little. “When you act like that, you remind me of your father.”

 

Her son blushed. “B-Bakana…Foolish woman…”

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

Pin-Mei ran through the darkness, avoiding the creatures and bats that appeared along the way. She felt the floor give way and she fell, landing in a pool below her. It wasn't until some of the liquid made its way into her mouth that she realized what it was.

 

Blood.

 

She screamed and flailed, but her limbs were suddenly captured by strong hands and pulled her deep into the pool. With the small, fragile body she was in now, she had no chance of escaping. She screamed hoping help would come in some form.

 

The hands suddenly released her. Another one grabbed the collar of her shirt and yanked her up. After the blood was promptly cleared from her eyes, Pin-Mei examined the figure before her.

 

“Rong?”

 

The maid servant smiled. “I'll always be here for you, Milady.”

 

Her red hair was slightly longer, as if she had forgotten to trim it, and she was older, maybe thirty. As she set her Jouchama on the ground, she turned and pushed her in the direction of a spot of light. “Go there! Go! He's waiting for you, Milady!”

 

She did. She followed the light and arrived at a plane full of grass and hovered over by a darkened sky. As she took a step forward, a bolt of lightning landed in front of her. Pin-Mei yelped and cowered, her instincts refusing to let her up just so she could find a better hiding place.

 

She heard something between a roar and a groan, causing her to look up. A large horned spirit stood over her. Lightning came from the horns and its body seemed to be constantly sparking. Its large claw-like hands reached for her. She whimpered, building up to a scream and curled up into a ball, a poor defense mechanism.

 

“Spirit of Lightning! That's enough!” a deep voice called.

 

The elemental obeyed its master and flew over to him, its energy spiraling into a jewel of thunder. Houraiken. Pin-Mei cautiously looked up. The skies were clearing and the plain now seemed calm. Flowers and trees graced its landscape, and small animals scurried here and there. Only then did she notice the calm lake in front of her.

 

She squinted as she stood up. There was a figure on top of the water. Not laying on it, not standing in it; standing on top of it. With cautious curiosity, she inched closer to the bank of the lake.

 

It was a man, his back turned to her. Black and gold robes covered his body and he held Houraiken at his side. Squinting a bit more, she could see his navy blue hair in a permanent tongari. Part of her was still curious, and wanted to examine the seemingly regal man before her, but as she looked down at the water, dread overcame her. She remembered she couldn't swim.

 

The man suddenly spoke to her, causing her to look up again.

 

“Come here, Pin-Mei.”

His voice washed over her like a warm breeze, wrapping her in a tight embrace and calming her confused heart. She almost took a step towards the water, but looked down at herself. Her clothes were still covered in blood, and it was still wet.

 

“I…I don't want to ruin your expensive clothes, sir,” she whispered meekly.

 

He sighed. “Fine. I'll make it so you don't have to worry about that.” In one quick movement, he threw off the robes, allowing them to dissolve into the air. He now stood in a red shirt with black fasteners, black pants, and black slippers. “Now you have no excuses. Come here, Pin-Mei. Now.”

 

The child fidgeted. “I can't swim. The water's gonna eat me!”

 

There was a slight chuckle. “The water won't harm you. I promise.” He turned around to face her. A kind smile was on his face as he held his hand out to her. “Come.”

 

Allowing her inhibitions to leave her, Pin-Mei took a deep breath as she slowly stepped onto the water. It rippled under her feet, but supported her without the slightest fault. Reassured, began running toward her caller. With each step, she could feel herself returning to her true body. By the time she reached him, her fourteen year-old body had been restored.

 

The man apparently had expected her to land in his arms, a look of slight disappointment on his face when she stopped in front of him. He dismissed the feeling as he pulled her close to him. Her eyes widened slightly, her body frozen; unable to return nor reject the embrace.

 

“Why are you holding me?” she whispered.

 

A barely audible sigh escaped him. “You really did forget. It's alright. It's not your fault.”

 

“Forget? What did I forget?”

 

He looked into her eyes. “I don't look the least bit familiar to you?”

 

She studied him, then shook her head slowly. “No…No, I'm sorry, but I don't know you at all.”

 

After a moment, he smiled weakly. “It doesn't matter. We'll just do everything again. Like we did before. Just us. With no one to take you from me…”

 

She inhaled as he kissed her neck. “This feels…familiar…”

 

He smirked at her. “You would remember that.”

 

They looked around. Everything was going white. He smiled at her.

 

“Good, you're finally waking up. Make sure you remember.” He stroked her hair. “Now you'll be able to fly away like a butterfly without that woman around…I knew there was a reason why I bought those clips.”

 

“Wait, but who are you? Can't you at least tell me?”

 

He looked into her eyes again. “You already know. I can see it in the way you're looking at me. Inside, you know who I am. I have nothing to fear…He has nothing to fear…”

 

She was beginning to vanish. “But wait! How do you know me? What am I to you?”

 

A cocky smile. “I know you better than anyone else. Because you…”

 

She vanished.

 

“…are the best birthday present I ever received.”