Goodbye
by Apple-chan

Disclaimer: insert witty disclaimer remark here

AnnaXYoh. A look at what happened right before Yoh left for America. Was 2-part, but is now 3-part.

Spoilers: For episode 25 of the Anime

Warnings: Utter weirdness. Lots of utter weirdness.

Others: OOC-ish. Or maybe not. You decide.=)

Part One: Anna

Come Back to Me

The day after tomorrow, he's leaving. He'll be going to America for the rest of the Shaman fight. He'll be there for...a couple of months, maybe even a year. He won't be lonely. He'll be with his friends.

And as for me...I'll be here. I'll be waiting.

I'll be waiting for the results of the Shaman fight.

I'll be waiting for the day he comes back, as the Shaman King.

I'll be waiting patiently for him.

And if he loses, I'll...I stopped briefly at that thought.

He won't lose.

He won't.

He can't.

He -will- win.

I know he will.

He will.

But what if he loses? There was that stupid voice in my head.

You have to consider that, Anna. The battles he will be facing, they are a matter of life and death, whether you choose to believe it or not.

And his enemies will be stronger. Much, much stronger than his previous opponents.

Will he survive?

He will, I thought confidently. He has to.

If he doesn't, I'll...I'll kill him.

It wouldn't make sense, though, would it? That awful voice was back in my head again. I mean, you can't kill him, not if he's already dead...

Shut up, I said to the voice. He -will- survive, if I had anything to say about it.

But you don't. Stupid voice was very pessimistic.

Yes I do, I insisted. I'm Kyouyama Anna the Itako. I'm very powerful. Of course I have something to say about it. And I say he -will- survive. He -will- win.

Right, right. Keep telling yourself that. The stupid voice was mocking me.

I am annoyed. Very annoyed.

"Anna..."

"What?" I snapped, glaring at him. At Yoh. The object of my thoughts.

He had finished brushing his teeth, and as of the moment he was cringing. I wonder why he was cringing.

Oh, yeah. I was glaring at him. And I just snapped at him, when I didn't even mean to. I groaned mentally.

I wonder if it was possible to exorcise the stupid voice inside my head...

"Ah...ano...you...want to take a walk with...me...?" He asked with hesitation.

"Walk?" I repeated, more calmly this time. And I stopped glaring at him. It was that stupid voice's fault anyway, not his.

He nodded.

"In this weather?" It was very cold outside. I wonder why he wanted to take a walk. And with me, at that.

"Uh-huh." He smiled. That stupid, idiotic smile.

I won't be seeing him smile like that for a very long time, I thought.

You'll miss him. That stupid voice inside my head was back.

Shut up! Of course I wo...I stopped dead at that thought. Will I...?

"Anna?" He was talking again. Talking to me.

What were we talking about again? The...the walk. Yes, he asked me to take a walk. In the cold.

"Okay," I told him.

His eyes lit up as he grinned. "Great!" He exclaimed as he went to his room to put some clothes on.

I wonder how long I'll have to wait until I see his eyes light up like that again...

*~*~*~*~*~*

Then, there we were, near the lake. He was leaning over the railings with a wistful smile on his face.

"Three months, isn't it?" I asked, standing beside him.

He looked at me and nodded. "Three months to get to Patch Village..." he murmured to the lake.

His voice. His soft, calm voice. Even when he was grumbling, he was calm. Even when I trained him too hard, he was calm.

I wonder how long it will be until I hear his voice again...

You'll miss him. That stupid voice again. Why don't you just admit it? Why don't you just admit it to yourself? More importantly, why don't you just admit it to HIM? Why don't you tell him?

Tell him...?

Would it even matter...? I mean, I trained him so hard. I'm sure he would be glad to be rid of me for a prolonged period of time. All I've ever been to him was a slave driver...

No, that's not true. That voice again.

Of course it's true. I'm nothing more than...

You're his fiancée. That should tell you who you are to him.

But he doesn't like me. He only puts up with me because his family...

Now who's being pessimistic? Stupid voice could even stand to be sarcastic.

You were the one saying he wouldn't win.

Haven't you ever heard of teasing? No, of course you haven't. You're Kyouyama Anna, the Ice Queen. You can't tell the difference between a teasing remark and a serious remark.

That's not true!

Isn't it? I really want to kill this voice now. Come on, admit it...

Alright, alright. I'll miss him. I'll miss seeing him and that idiotic grin on his face. I'll miss hearing his calm voice. I'll miss his weird laugh. I'll miss his grumbling. I'll miss the breakfast, lunch and dinner he makes, and training him, and ordering him around, and...

Whoa there. Stop. That was very good. A little overboard, but very good nonetheless.

Great.

Now, YOU tell HIM.

No way. No.Way. No.Freaking.Way.

Oh, come on. Stupid voice was teasing me again. And I was allowing it to tease me. I'll kill it someday...

"Yoh." Was that my voice? Oh, yes. That was me talking.

He looked at me questioningly. "Yeah?"

"I..." Great. Just great. I was taking the advice of the voice in my head. Someone please kill me now. "I..." I shivered.

"You cold?" He asked with concern.

I nodded, not trusting my mouth to say anything.

I sat down on a bench. A few minutes later, he tossed me a can of tea.

Warm tea. I held it up and rubbed it against my cheek gently. "Warm..."

He smiled at me.

God, this is what I'll miss most about him. His sweetness.

"You were saying?" He asked.

I was saying? Oh. I was talking. Right. "I...Yoh, I..."

Go on, go on! The stupid voice was cheering me on. I swallowed, then gazed squarely into his eyes. "If you lose, I will never forgive you."

He was surprised, but he grinned. "I know. I won't lose."

I smiled with satisfaction. "Good." Take that, you stupid voice.

You have a lot of faith in him, don't you? The stupid voice just won't give up.

Yes, I do. I thought with confidence. He -will- win.

Alright, I give up. The voice said in resignation. I believe you.

"We should be getting home. It's late." I stood up and turned to leave.

I brushed off dust from my skirt and started to walk towards home...when a pair of arms enfolded me.

Embraced me.

Yoh.

I could feel my heart thudding in my chest. And the pain that was constricting there suddenly broke free.

And I felt the tears fall down my cheeks.

"You can slap me now if you want," He murmured against my back. "I don't care. But this is the only time I'll get to do this. I need to do this before I leave. I want to remember you. I want to remember what I'm coming back for."

I couldn't answer him. I just felt the tears continue to fall.

THIS is what I'll miss the most...

His love.

"Are you angry with me?" He murmured questioningly.

I shook my head, still not trusting my voice to speak. And I wasn't angry. Not when I was crying. Not when he was hugging me.

Not when he was loving me.

He gave a sigh of relief. "Good." Then, I felt his arms around me tighten.

"Yoh..." Gathering up my courage, I started to speak. I gently touched his hands, his arms around me.

"Anna...?"

"I..." I took a deep breath. "I...." I'll miss you. I'll miss you. I'll.Miss.You. Why was it so hard to say?

"What is it, Anna?"

I shook my head. Even like this, I still couldn't say it. I already had my guard down. I had nothing to lose.

So why couldn't I say it?

"Just...just...come back to me, okay?" I muttered.

His arms around me tightened even more. "I will." I thought I could feel him smile, even if I couldn't see it. "Of course I will."

"Yoh."

"Yeah?"

"I..." I swallowed. "I'll miss you."

He chuckled. "I'll miss you too."

And that stupid voice inside my head did a victory dance.

Maybe it wasn't so stupid after all.

TSUZUKU.

End Notes:

Told you it was weird, didn't I? =)

Updated July 2, 2003 for grammar, spelling and typo errors. Updated again July 14, 2003--just the note above.

Very big thanks to those who reviewed Angels and Immortality. Hope you liked this bit of weirdness as well. Part 2 will be posted next week.

Reviews will be very much appreciated.