A Very Good Liar

Disclaimer: As much as I wish it so, Shaman King will never be mine. God knows the havoc I'd unleash. This fic revolves around RenPirika, though there are hints of YohAnna and HorohoroTamao.
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Chapter Eight
Hard to Explain
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During their stargazing, Ren often found himself staring at Pirika, rather than looking at the stars with her. 'I can't believe that I've finally got you back, Pirika...Hell, maybe I won't even have to cancel to engagement...but that can wait until tomorrow.' he thought as he glanced back up at the stars. He then felt a sudden weight on his shoulder.

Looking down, he saw that she had fallen asleep against his shoulder. He smiled a little at how peaceful she looked. He took a final glance at the stars before hooking his arms underneath her knees and shoulders. The Chinese shaman was surprised that Pirika hadn't woken up, but merely grinned and carried her, bridal style, into the hotel room.

Ren carefully set her down on the right side of the bed, pulling the blankets overtop of her. Pirika only snuggled deeper into the pillow she was now resting on. 'She's quite a heavy sleeper...' the purple haired teen man thought, walking over to the closet in search of more blankets. Once he had grabbed the spare blankets and another pillow, and after he had set up his bed on the couch, he quietly shut the doors that led to the balcony. His golden eyes widened when he heard Pirika stir slightly at the soft "click" that seemed to resound off of the walls, but his held breath was let out slowly once he heard her settle once again.

He lifted up the covers he had placed on the couch and prepared to become wrapped in their warmth, but was stopped by a groggy voice, "Ren-kun, you don't have to sleep on the couch. There is more than enough room on this bed for the both of us." Pirika said, yawning slightly when she finished. "But that wouldn't be proper, Pirika!" he stated, even as he entertained the thought of holding the Ainu as she slept.

"No but's, Tao Ren. Just lie down next to me and go to sleep." the azure haired woman managed through another yawn, obviously tired. Ren grabbed the pillow he had previously stolen from the bed, and made his way to place the said object back where it belonged. "Fine, but if my sister decides to make any nightly visits, you'll be the one to explain why we are in the same bed."

"I can live with that." Pirika mumbled, her arm reaching behind her as Ren climbed under the covers. "What?" he asked, confused about why she had her arm outstretched underneath his nose. "Give me your hand." Ren complied, still not catching on. Once the Ainu's fingers were clasped with the Tao's, she pulled his arm around her waist, forcing him to spoon her.

"Pirika!" he yelped in startlement. Sure, he liked the position they were in, but this was quite a step farther from holding hands and kissing. And, even though they had held each other like this before, it was so long ago that every familiar feeling he was experiencing was new. He remembered how he used to sneak into her room and hold her close to him just like this, being careful to wake up before Horohoro could barge into the room and catch him laying with his little sister.

"I roll, so sue me. At least now I won't roll off the bed." Ren stiffened slightly, not sure whether he should trust her reasoning, but he relaxed when she squeezed his hand lightly.

"Goodnight, Pirika." he whispered, resting his head next to hers and tucking his knees into the groove that her own body made. "Goodnight, Ren." she spoke slowly, fighting a losing battle against the comfort that sleep offered, after all, it had been a long day. The night was filled with little tossing and turning, and a smile graced each sleeper's face as they dreamed.
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The next morning
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Ren awoke first, his fiancé wrapped up in his embrace, a tranquil expression on her features. The Chinese shaman smiled a little before leaning down to kiss her cheek lightly. This awakened the ocean eyed girl, who stretched in the purple haired man's arms.

"Good morning, Ren." Pirika said as she began to sit up, stretching again. The Chinese shaman blinked as sunlight shined through the glass doors that led out onto the balcony. "Good morning, Pirika." He pulled the covers off of his shoulders and reached for his suitcase. "You hungry?" The Ainu asked him, to which she received a slight nod, "I'm going to take a shower first, though, and then I'll raid the fridge for something." She gave a slight nod, "I'll shower once you're done, then."

"Why not just join me?" he asked, a grin making its way across his face. He laughed once he looked at Pirika's flabbergasted expression. "You should have seen the look on your face! Priceless!" Ren exclaimed, amused. He grabbed a black t-shirt from his suitcase, slinging it over his shoulder, and began to reach for his black cargo pants. Just as his fingers closed around the material, he felt something soft slam into the back of his head.

"What the Hell?" he said, confused as he turned around, black boxers and cargo pants clutched in his left hand. Pirika stood on the bed before him, proudly holding a pillow, a smirk clearly visible on her lips. "You're such a pervert, Tao Ren!" she said as she threw her pillow at him again. This time, however, Ren had grabbed his own pillow with his right hand and blocked her blow. He copied his girlfriend's smirk as he swiftly, but lightly threw the pillow at her.

His well-planned throw was dodged and, for his treachery, he received a pillow to the face. He laughed as he held up his hands, "I give up! It was only a joke, I take it back! Just stop whacking me with the softness!" Pirika laughed a little, and then raised a hand to her chin in mock-thought, "Hmmmm...no." she stated simply, as she raised the pillow to throw it at him. She would have succeeded, too, had Ren not decided to grab her ankle and pull her back down onto the bed.

Ren laughed at her squeal of surprise, rolling over next to her. Pirika pouted fakely, and looked at the shaman lying next to her, a smile gracing her face. Ren leaned in, kissing her deeply. Just as Pirika began to respond to the kiss, he pulled back, grabbing his clothes and running toward the bathroom, laughing. "Made you stop hitting me, didn't I?" he asked with a chuckle, but had to duck his head inside the bathroom and shut the door as another pillow was thrown at him, only to slide, harmlessly, down to the floor.

He heard her laugh slightly as he turned the shower on, the clothes he would be changing into resting next to the sink. As the hot water washed through his hair, rinsing out the herbal shampoo that had previously clung to the tongari he sported, he thought of many things. The engagement was the one that weighed the heaviest on his mind.

They were once engaged, years ago, but then Pirika had made a call to his father, thus ending the entire engagement. He never knew why she did that, as Pirika refused to tell him. So he respected her cold wish, and they grew distant. This ski trip is the closest that they've been since their last engagement.

They never did talk about why the engagement was canceled, or what Ren did wrong. Eventually, though, Pirika cooled down, believing that it was too late to really salvage their relationship and engagement. So the Tao had to settle for nothing more than friendship.

Ren smiled as he pulled his shirt on, the steam on the bathroom mirror finally beginning to fade.. Sure, things may have been rocky for a long time, but they were almost in the clear. The only thing he had left to tackle was the engagement. How could they act like they weren't in love now? What would be the point?

Ren took a deep breath as he opened the bathroom door, "Pirika I think we need to-" he had been about to form a complete sentence, but was interrupted by a pillow smacking him in the face. He heard his girlfriend laugh as she darted past him, locking the bathroom door behind him. "How vindictive." Ren chuckled, picking up the pillow and tossing it onto the bed.

The purple haired man opened the cupboards. Chinese food was great and all, but he only liked to have one thing for breakfast: cereal. He found what he was looking for, and knew that Jun had put the boxes in there. Ren munched happily on his Froot Loops (AN: I don't own those...), waiting for Pirika to finish her shower. Once she did, he had finished his cereal and was watching as she poured a bowl of her own.

"You still like Froot Loops, I see." she said, amused. He nodded and smiled, but his smile was soon replaced by seriousness as Pirika sat down and began to eat. "Pirika, you remember how we used to be engaged, right?" Ren's girlfriend stared at him, her spoon halting midway to her lips, "Of course, how could I forget?"

"What do you think would've happened, had our engagement never been canceled?" he asked softly, "Do you think that we'd be here today? Would we be married? Would we live in China? What do you think?" Pirika thought for a moment, "Well, Ren-kun, if we were still engaged, then I'm sure that we would have been much closer over the past few years, so who knows where we would be now?"

The Chinese shaman nodded, "True. Now then, can we clear the past up a little, Pirika-chan? Why did you call my father and end our engagement?" Pirika knew that he would eventually ask this, so she blushed and mumbled, "I thought that you were having an affair with Yuna-chan." This caused Ren to choke on his own spit, "What! She's my cousin!"

"I didn't know that!"

"How could you not know, Pirika?" Ren asked, slightly sick at the idea of having an affair with Akira Yuna. "You guys never acted like cousins, so I assumed that all of the attention she gave you was affection! And, she was never mentioned as your cousin, so I had all the right to assume those things!" Pirika stated, blushing harder, and staring at her Froot Loops.

The Ainu's boyfriend sighed and ran a hand through his hair, this was quite disturbing news. "How long have you known that she's my cousin?" Ren asked, hearing a quiet reply from Pirika, "Since yesterday."

"What! Hey, that explains why you were acting so weird when we got off the elevator with Kotaro...I can't believe you thought that I was cheating on you with Yuna!" Ren spoke, laughing a little at the absurdity of it all. Pirika laughed, too, but her mirth was halted at the confused shaman's next question, "Pirika-chan, you know that I love you too much to ever even consider having an affair, right?" The azure haired woman nodded, so the tiger eyed man continued, "Then what did Yuna and I do that led you to believe that I would do such a thing to you?"

Pirika gave a sad smile and began her tale.
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Flashback, Ren - Fifteen years old, Pirika - Fourteen years old, Yuna - Fifteen years old, Yoh - Fifteen years old
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Akira Yuna sat on the rooftop next to Tao Ren, watching the sky fade from orange to black. It was a quiet moment that they shared, simply drinking in the dieing light. His cousin turned to face him, and sighed, "Well, Ren-kun, I can see that you and Pirika are happy together. I will go back to China with no regrets and inform Uncle En of these developments. I am truly happy for you, my cousin."

Ren nodded, and glanced in Yuna's direction to see that she had tears forming in her eyes. Sympathy rose up inside of him and the purple haired shaman tapped the dark haired girl's shoulder, "What's wrong, Yuna?" he asked, concerned. The said girl turned her chocolate gaze onto him, wiping away her tears, "I've just been here for so long. Now that the tournament is over, I'll be going back to China. I've made so many friends in Japan, and I don't really want to go back...'cause I like it here."

With that, she looked over at her cousin, "Ren, do you remember how close we used to be when we were young?" she asked. This query was received by a tiny nod and slightly pink cheeks. "Well, why aren't we that close anymore?" This question surprised the fierce eyed teen, and he cocked his head to the side in thought, "I guess we just grew up. I had my shaman training to worry about, and you had other concerns. We just aren't kids anymore, I guess."

Yuna sadly smiled at his words, "We used to have a lot of fun, didn't we, Ren?" Her words caused a grin to make its way onto his face, "Yes, I remember the games of tag we used to play, and how Jun-san would yell at us to quit running inside the mansion."

"And then I would stick my tongue out at you from behind Jun-san's back, and you would take to chasing me again." Yuna laughed a little at the thought, but then another sad smile swam across her features, "We just grew up, Ren?"

"Yeah, maybe we grew up a little too fast, huh?"

"Maybe not." Yuna whispered, making Ren lean a little closer, "What?" Yuna smirked dangerously at her unsuspecting cousin before reaching out and poking him hard in the chest, much to his surprise and utter bewilderment. "Tag!" she whispered in his ear before leaping off the roof and onto the ground below.

Ren's tiger-gold eyes widened, but soon narrowed as he remembered how his cousin always managed to elude being "it". She was always good at tag, but with his shamanic training, the Tao was almost certain that he was better than her now. The age-old battles that were waged and unfinished between the cousins then took control, forcing Ren to act childish once again as he jumped down to pursue the laughing girl.

"Come on, Renny! You can do better than that!" Yuna shouted as she narrowly dodged one of Ren's grabs. "You're not going to escape this time, Yuna!" he growled out playfully, lashing out again at her as he chased her through the backyard of the En Inn. Right as his fingers were about to close around the fabric of her shirt, she turned sharply, surprising Ren, but only momentarily, as he was right behind her, reaching out again.

Finally, halfway across the yard for the third time, Ren decided that he'd spent enough time being "it", so he tackled his cousin round the middle, landing so that he took the brunt of the fall. Yuna laughed as the purple haired Chinese smirked through the dirt on his face and said quietly, but victoriously, "Tag, you're it..."

"About time, Ren." Yuna stated as she stood up, brushing the specks of dirt off of her shirt, "Did you have to tackle me, though?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as he got up and tried to wipe the dirt off of his face. "Hey, you've tackled me before! Several times, in fact!" Ren stated indignantly, but he laughed with the raven haired girl anyway. Until she hugged him, that is.

"What the-" the Chinese shaman muttered, but he was interrupted, "Shut up, Ren. Just hug me." Yuna said, still not letting him go. "Why? I haven't done anything to deserve this sort of punishment." he asked quietly, beginning to reach his arms around the chocolate eyed girl. "You helped me be a kid again. Thank you, Ren-kun." The said teen smirked as he finally embraced his cousin back, "I had to get you back for all of those times that I was 'it'."

They released each other and started for the roof once more, unaware that someone stood upon the roof, glaring through her tears down at them both before running inside and asking Kyouyama Anna for the telephone.

Pirika had only seen Yuna get off of Ren and then hug him, she couldn't hear any words that had been spoken and had not known that they were playing tag before she arrived at her and Ren's nightly meeting place. She had hoped to find Tao Ren sitting on the roof, as she had arrived slightly later because Horohoro had eaten more than usual, thus creating more dirty dishes for Pirika to take care of, but found, instead, an empty roof and her romantic rival hugging her boyfriend.

Anna handed over the wireless phone to the distressed girl, scowling at the tears that were plainly forming in Pirika's eyes. The blond watched as the Ainu ran up the stairs, dialing a number that she knew by heart. Asakura Yoh, the Shaman King snuck up behind his fiancé, snaking his arms around her waist and kissing her on the cheek, "I cleaned the dining room, living room, and bathrooms can I please be done for the night?" the brown eyed boy begged. Anna smiled slightly, "Only if you go and see what's wrong with Pirika."

Yoh raised an eyebrow, "Alright, what's wrong with her?" Anna shook her head, "I'm not sure, that's what you're going to go find out." Yoh nodded in concern, kissing the future Shaman Queen's cheek again before he walked toward the stairs after his friend.

In her room, Pirika wiped away the tears that were falling, listening to the phone ring. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she heard an elderly servant say, "Hello, Tao residence?" Pirika took a deep breath, preparing herself for what she was about to do, "This is Pirika the Ainu, could you please put me through to Tao En or Tao Ran?"

"One moment, Lady Pirika." he responded. There was a brief silence as the elderly man connected her to the main bedroom of Tao En and Ran, but the deep voice of the head of the Tao Clan soon rumbled through the receiver, "Hello, Tao En speaking."

"Otou-san," she spoke meekly into the phone, "Its Pirika." The large man's voice instantly became more gentle, "Pirika-chan, what is wrong?" Ainu inhaled sharply and spoke quietly, but surely into the phone, "I want you to terminate my engagement to your son."

The large man's surprise was plain, and could be heard as he nearly choked on the air he was breathing, "Pirika-chan, why would you want me to do that?" En was truly confused by this young girl's wish, as he was led to believe by Yuna's occasional phone calls that Ren and Pirika were getting along spectacularly well, and even seemed to be falling for each other.

"Please, Otou-san, I just need you to do this." The sob that nearly escaped her mouth wasn't missed by the only father figure that she'd ever had. "Pirika-chan, what has Ren done?" he asked sternly, his anger growing with every word. He heard an audible hiccup from the other end, a sure sign that she was holding back tears. "Please, Otou-san? I really don't want to explain my need for this." She still loved Ren. In fact, she loved him enough to allow him to love someone else. She didn't want to cause him any trouble with his parents.

There was a long stretch of silence on the other end before Pirika heard En say quietly, "Alright, my chibi tenshi, I'll break off the engagement...but I still want you to call me if you ever need anything. You are still a part of this family, do you understand?" He heard a weak "yes" and continued, "And if Ren has done anything wrong, just wait and he'll come around. Call the minute you change your mind, if ever." He could tell that she needed some time alone, so he said, "I love you, my chibi tenshi, Pirika-chan. Promise to call if you ever need anything?"

"I promise. I love you, too, Otou-san. Good bye." with that she hung up, leaving a very large, forlorn man staring at the receiver in China. Sadly, that was the last time that Pirika had ever called him her father. She rarely called, and it was usually just to ask for some help in buying a plane ticket to visit the Patch Village again.

Yoh waited until he couldn't hear mumbled words coming from inside the room before he knocked on the beam of the sliding door, "Pirika-chan, can I come in?" he asked through the door, hearing the muffled sobs inside. There was something very wrong with his friend, and he was going to find out what it was, else his concern might drive him to the end of his wits.

He slowly slid open the door, walking in cautiously in case Pirika had been angry at him. "Pirika, what's wrong?" he asked kindly, moving to sit next to her on her futon. Pirika hiccupped as she tried to stifle her tears, leaning into the arm that Yoh put around her shoulders. "You can cry all you want, Pirika-chan." So Pirika didn't hold it in any longer, she buried her face into her good friend's shirt and cried for a good twenty minutes before she could speak coherently.

Yoh gently grabbed her shoulders and held her out at arm's length, "That's better. Can you tell me what's bothering you now?" Pirika hesitantly nodded and then shrugged out of her brown haired friend's hands, "Yoh, you and Anna-san have known each other for many years, right?" To this, the Shaman King nodded, "Yes, ever since we were children she's made me cry." Though he had meant that in a joking manner, it just seemed to make the situation worse.

"Wait," he said, putting his hands up defensively, "I didn't mean it that way! Please don't cry again, Pirika-chan." The ocean eyed girl sniffled a little and wiped away the tears that had begun to form at Yoh's words, "You guys fight a lot, don't you?"

"Oh, you noticed that, huh?" the warm-hearted shaman asked with a smile, "We don't fight as much as we used to, but we've had plenty of years to work out our differences. We still fight, but they usually don't matter because we love each other too much to hold a grudge for that long...even though Anna can hold a grudge for a really long time!" Pirika laughed a little at that, but was gloomy once again as she asked, "Have you or Anna ever done anything to ruin your engagement?"

Yoh's eyes widened slightly, "Well, Pirika, the truth is, I don't think we could've gotten out of our engagement even if we'd wanted to. Our families are dead set on continuing the shamanic bloodline. I'm just thankful that Anna never wanted to break it off. Why do you ask all these questions about Anna and me? I came up here to see what was wrong with you."

Pirika sighed, "My boyfriend...I saw him with another woman. We were engaged, and I just ended everything...but I still love him." Yoh's eyes were wide open by the time she had finished, "I didn't even know that you had a boyfriend, much less that you were engaged...does Horohoro know?" He received a nod, so he continued, "It could've been a mistake, but, then again, it might really have been what you saw. I remember once, before the tournament began, that I came home with a string of Silva's hair on my shoulder. Anna went berserk and wouldn't listen to me when I tried to explain that I wasn't having an affair, and that Silva was a man."

Pirika laughed at Yoh's tale, cheered slightly by his embarrassing story. "The point is, Pirika-chan, you don't have to forgive him, but you should, at least, get an explanation. Who knows, maybe you just need to sit down and talk. Could you explain to me what you saw, exactly?"

"The woman who has been trying to steal my boyfriend away from me since we met was on top of him, they were laughing, and then they embraced each other." Pirika stated coldly, malice staining her eyes an even darker blue. "Wow, Pirika-chan, I don't know what to say. It sounds really bad, but you're the only one who can decide what to do about all of this." Yoh stood up, giving her a hug before he turned to leave, "I hope you're feeling better, even if I didn't really help."

"You helped a lot, Yoh-kun. Thank you." The Shaman King smiled, "I may seem like an easy going guy, but I'll take on anyone who takes away a friend's smile, okay?" Pirika nodded, trying to hold back tears as she remembered that Ren used to say something similar to that when she cried. Yoh was just trying to help his friend, he didn't know that Ren had caused all of this, as the Chinese and the Ainu decided to keep their relationship a secret. They did this, mostly, because Horohoro felt that it wasn't really anyone's business because "it wasn't final", and because he was still picking fights with Ren.

Yoh left the room and Pirika began to cry silently, tears leaking down her cheeks at the sheer betrayal that she felt. After another hour, Pirika had worked out all of her tears and had lain down. Just as she began to do that, Ren knocked quietly on her door, coming in once he heard no response. He frowned when he saw the tearstains on her cheeks. He knew, now, that distress kept her from meeting him tonight.

"Pirika, what's wrong?" he asked, making his way toward her. He was stopped by the icy glare that she sent his way, "Don't come any closer, Tao." Befuddlement made itself clear as day on the purple haired shaman's face, "Why did you call me that?" Pirika stood up and turned around whispering, "You come in here and act like everything is okay, and then expect me to just ignore how much you've hurt me?"

"What the Hell are you talking about, Pirika?" he asked, very confused now. "We are no longer engaged, I have called your father, and he has ended our relationship."

"Why would you go and do something like that when we're-"

"In love?" Pirika finished. Ren nodded, his frown starting to disappear with the hope that his girlfriend was finally coming around. "Not anymore, Tao Ren." The said boy's mouth dropped open at her statement, "What the Hell happened Pirika? What did I do?" This only seemed to anger her further as she spoke a little louder, "You don't know what you did! Fine then, until you figure out what you did wrong, I refuse to converse with someone so low. Please exit my room."

"I'm not moving until you tell me what the Hell I've done wrong!" Pirika stared coldly at him, "Don't make me get Yoh." Ren's tiger-gold eyes shone with confusion, hurt, and anger, but he said one thing before he exited the room, "I still love you, and I'm sorry for whatever I did. If we can talk about it, then that's great, but if we can't...then, please, don't just ignore me. You're too big a part of my life for me to live with you doing that." With that, he exited the room, pushing the tiny box that had been clasped in his hands into his pocket.

There were two people crying that night.
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Present time
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The entire time that his girlfriend was talking, Ren's eyes got wider. When Pirika was finished, she looked up at him to see that he was staring at her, as if in a daze. "Ren-kun. I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions and I should've talked to you about it." she said, a small tear forming in her eye at the realization that the entire thing was a mistake. "You're right, you should've talked to me about it." the purple haired shaman said, running a hand through his hair again, "But if I'd have seen you and Kotaro like that, I would've jumped to conclusions, too."

Pirika wiped the tear out of her eyes and welcomed the embrace that Ren leaned over to give her. "It's in the past, though, we can't change it. We just have to make up for all of that lost time." Ren said quietly, leaning in to press his lips to hers. "One more question, though." Pirika said, before Ren could kiss her. He sighed, but nodded for her to continue. "What were you and Yuna doing before I saw you two together?"

Ren laughed a little as he remembered it, "As bad as it may have looked, it was completely innocent! We were, of all things, playing tag before you saw us! I had tackled her, but made sure that I took the brunt of the fall. Yuna hugged me to thank me for acting like a kid and playing with her." Pirika laughed slightly, too, and met him halfway for her kiss.

'This would be a good time to bring up the engagement...' Ren thought as they parted. So he cleared his throat, "Er, Pirika-chan, was I a good fiancé?" he asked, working his way up to the explanation. Pirika smiled and said, "My happiest memories were always with you."

"Well," he gulped, "Then I have to confess something." He grimaced as he saw the confusion laced throughout her gaze. "Pirika, our little prank on your brother led to our-" he was interrupted by the dreaded beep that seemed to haunt him. The door was pushed open and the foreboding figure of Tao En grumpily walked into room Forty-Four A, the petite Tao Ran following behind him.

"Ren, what is going on?" he demanded, his deep voice abrasive in the purple haired shaman's ears. Tao Ran put a soothing hand on her husband's elbow, and said, "Yes, Ren, at first it seemed like you wanted the engagement, and that you and Pirika-chan were in love again, but then we received a call from Jun and she told us that you no longer wanted the engagement."

"So your mother and I have come to see, in person, what the truth is." En finished, his gaze softening as he saw that Pirika was in the room as well, though she seemed to be very confused by this whole ordeal. "Ren, what's going on?" she asked quietly. Jun walked into the room and watched as the man that everyone else was staring at sighed and turned to the woman he loved.

"Pirika, as my Father and Mother have made plainly clear, our little prank that we pulled on your brother has led to our engagement. Horohoro had called my parents two days ago. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't think that it would make you very happy to know that we were engaged, again. I can see that I've made the wrong choice." Ren smiled sadly, "But we're in love, right?"

His smile got brighter when he saw the now clued-in Ainu give a small smile of her own as she nodded. Ren held up a finger as he rose out of his chair and headed for his suitcase, bringing back a tiny, black velvet box. He then proceeded to kneel in front of his girlfriend, regardless of the gasps of delight from his mother and older sister, and the grunt of surprise and pride from his large father, "I've had this ring since I was fifteen, and I had planned on asking you to marry me the night that our previous engagement was canceled. So I'm going to ask you properly, now."

Ren held out the box, opening it to reveal one of the most beautiful diamond rings that Pirika had ever seen. "Pirika of the Ainu, will you marry me and make up for lost time?" he asked with a true smile. Pirika mirrored his own expression, though she cried tears of joy, and held out her finger so he could put on the ring. "Yes, Tao Ren, I will marry you..." she whispered, all too happy to kiss him back as his lips met hers.

The Chinese family looked on as the eighteen year old man and seventeen year old woman embraced, whispering their "I love you's and kissing as if there was no one else in the room. "I'll take that as a yes." the largest family member said, causing the couple to look around them and laugh in slight embarrassment. "I knew that you and my little brother would come around eventually." Jun said with a laugh, receiving an embrace from the betrothed girl. "Welcome back to the family, Pirika-chan." Ran said, her eyes shining as she embraced her future daughter in law. "Thank you Ona-chan, Okaa-san. I love you both."

As she stepped in front of the man that towered above everyone else in the room, her smile grew wider. "You were never not a part of this family, Pirika-chan." Tao En spoke quietly, reaching down to the woman he had always considered his daughter. Pirika gladly accepted his warm hug as he lifted her into his arms, "I love you, Otou-san." she whispered, bringing tears to the old man's eyes. "I Love you, too, my chibi tenshi."

Ren watched all of this in mild fascination, before the two women of whom he was actually related to ran over to him, squealing in delight. "About time, Ren!" Jun said as she hugged him from the left side of his body, "Yes, I was beginning to worry." Ran said from the right.

"There was never anything to worry about, Okaa-san." Pirika stated as she was set down by her father-to-be. Her ocean eyes caught Ren's golden ones as she walked over to him, taking him by the hand. "We've been in love since we were first engaged." the purple haired shaman finished for his fiancé, tucking some of her azure hair behind her ear. Then they kissed again, no longer a care in the world.
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Whew...that took forever to write. The truth of the matter is, I didn't know what I was going to say happened when Pirika canceled their first engagement...until about two hours ago, that is!

To clear up any prior confusions, I am not dead, nor suffering any illness (except insanity). I haven't updated in so long because I haven't had very much time on the computer or the internet! I would also like to state that, to explain any OOCness, in case it was missed, the characters are all around the age of eighteen, so they're bound to change a little from when they were teenagers to young adults! Also, Ren is in love, people who are in love, generally, generally act differently with their loved one than they do with everyone else. I also had to change the dollar signs to dashs because the library computers don't let me save what I edit on the documents!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review and all of that other great stuff! As of the posting of this chapter, this story has ninety reviews...wow, you guys flatter me too much! I'd like to give a big shout out to my reviewers, you guys are awesome! And I would like to thank all of the readers, but I would appreciate the reviews!

Don't worry, there is still one more chapter (maybe even two)! I hope that you can all bear with me until then! Again, please review!