Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King

Horokeu Usui stared at his blank screen, the glare reflecting in his sky blue eyes. He scowled and furrowed his brows, trying desperately to concentrate, but inspiration still evaded him. A few beads of sweat began to form on his forehead as he leaned closer to the monitor.

"Having fun staring at an empty computer screen, or are you just constipated?" a familiar voice chuckled behind him. He jumped up and screamed when he saw Ren had been leaning extremely closely to him while looking over his shoulder for the whole time.

"Ren, don't ever do that again! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" he breathed heavily, slumping back into his seat. Ren shrugged.

"So, care to tell me exactly why you were just looking helplessly at the monitor?" he asked in an amused tone of voice, apparently, he was having a lot of fun doing this.

"I can't think of a subject to write that thirty page report we have in English. I only have one month to finish it." Horo sighed dejectedly.

"Hmph. Is that all? I'm already halfway done with it!" Ren boasted with a smirk.

"Oh. What'd you do it on?" he asked innocently.

"...Nothing." Ren dismissed the question as he turned tomato red.

"Ah, c'mon! Maybe it'll give me inspiration! Please, Ren?" he begged, giving his best puppy dog pout, which wasn't very good; he was cuter trying to act like an angry cat.

"I'll give you inspiration. Do it on me! The god-like body here on earth!" he said sarcastically.

"Hmm...okay! I'll have to follow you around and watch your interactions with the human population, and can I crash at your place to watch your daily routine, habits, and home life?" he brightened up considerably and began to get excited.

"Nani! You weren't supposed to take me seriously!" Ren yelled, his blush returning.

"Aww...c'mon, Ren! I've been trying to think of something for two months already! I'll never be able to come up with something else this late!" Horo begged, eyes pleading. Ren looked away.

"N-No, Ainu-baka." he said weakly. Horo Horo's face darkened, eyes the only window showing his pain.

"Why do you always insult my race? What's wrong with being an Ainu?" he asked.

"...Because Ainus are always causing trouble!" Ren snapped, mentally kicking himself when he saw the ice shaman's reaction.

Said shaman's eyes saddened and he clenched his fists, running out so Ren wouldn't see the tears stinging his eyes. He didn't know where he was going; he just wanted to get as far away from there as possible. He tore through the kitchen and out the door of the Funbari Onsen, racing to the park. He sped down the paths, following a dirt road to the side, to a protected clearing, where a small, crystal-clean pond rested peacefully and the nature and animals were at ease. He climbed atop the tallest rock and stared out over his little haven. He closed his eyes and sighed, finally allowing his sorrow to spill out over his eyes.

"Why does he hate me so much? What did I do to him? I've only ever tried to befriend him. He doesn't see how much it hurts when he does that. I-I love him, and he'll never know because all he does is hurt me." he sobbed aloud, unaware of the other presence.

"Every cloud is supposed to have a silver lining, but why don't I find this one! It's not fair!" he shouted at the stillness.

"I-I love him. Stupid Tao Ren." he mumbled. Kororo and several other ghosts that haunted that place for years appeared beside him, trying to comfort him.

One of the female ghosts said, "Oh, Horo, why don't you tell him this? Perhaps he returns your feelings, and he pushes you away to deny them. If you just keep coming here to sob, your problems will never be solved. He can't read your heart."

"Yes, you've been coming here for the past two years, ever since the Shaman Tournament." a gruff, male voice said.

"Every time I try to tell him, someone interrupts or he hurts me. I don't think I can take much more pain." he sniffled.

"Bring him here. No one could want to bring pain to another here, and no one else knows about it!" a little girl's ghost suggested.

"Ko-Koro-Ko!" Kororo squeaked, nodding.

"Is that true?" Ren said behind him. Horo Horo whirled around, eyes wide.

"Uh, Ren, I, we, I." he tried to come up with an excuse, but before he knew it, strong arms had encircled his waist and warm lips were crushed against his own in a heated kiss. As quickly as it began, it ended and both were left gasping for breath.

"Ren..." Horo whispered.

"Horo, aishiteru." Ren said breathlessly as he pulled him into another passionate kiss, their tongues dancing together. The ghosts took that as a hint and disappeared immediately. When they parted again, a long silence took over.

"So, what is this?" Ren asked, referring to the beautiful scene. Horo smiled.

"My haven. It's where I go to think. I found it just before we left for the Shaman Tournament when I was getting rid of an evil spirit. It turns out, the spirits here just wanted gravestones, so I made them some." he answered, shrugging.

"It's beautiful." Ren commented, and then smirked mischievously.

"But not near as beautiful as you." he added. Horo blushed as Ren's eyes traveled up and down his body.

"W-Well, nothing is quite as sexy as you in your battle gear." he said.

"I'm afraid I disagree. You are oh-so-sexy when you wear your casual black tank top and shorts." Ren grinned evilly.

"Oh, really? Make me believe that." Horo challenged, licking his lips. Ren pushed Horo onto his back and kissed him hard for a good minute before pulling away.

"Okay, I believe you, but if you like me in them, you should see me without them." he quipped, causing Ren to groan. Looking down, a bulge was growing beneath the thin fabric of his pants. Horo took the distraction to his advantage and flipped them over so that he was now in control, and he pulled off his shirt, tossing it aside. He leaned down and kissed his lover again as his skilled hands worked off his shirt...