Confusion is lovely. Hence, this fic (though it won't be severely convoluted in the first chapter.) Funny thing is, I saw boiya had said that she wished someone would do something with a similar storyline to what this will be. I guess great minds think alike, because this had been a while in the making. But, thanks to her, I decided to start posting. ^_^ I think it will also be a number of different genres as the chapters go on, though not an extremely long fic.
Disclaimer: I'll tell you a secret: I actually own Shaman King. Problem is, the characters all like Hiroyuki Takei better, so they left me for him. Sad, isn't it?
Actual vs. Appearance
"There's nothing like a peaceful Sunday afternoon," decided Yoh with a smile. His music was playing in one corner of the room, the day was warm, and all was quiet. Content, he lay on his bed and closed his eyes to catch an extra nap, humming along with the music.
BANG.
The door slammed open, startling him from his blissful reverie. Anna stood in the doorway, a generally apathetic expression on her face. "Did you get all the groceries for dinner?" she asked.
"Yesterday, Anna."
"Our cleaning supplies?"
"I got another bucket yesterday, and we have enough of everything," he said.
"Training?"
"I did it all this morning."
She was quiet for a moment. "Go out and run."
"What??" But she was already steering him out of his room and toward the yard.
"Run for two hours. Then you can come back."
"But…I already…"
"No arguing," she went and turned on the TV as he sighed dejectedly and left, tripping on a stone on the sidewalk on his way out.
The temperature shot from pleasantly warm to oppressive as soon as he began to run at a decent pace. The sweat was already starting to trickle down his face by the time the sounds of Anna's sitcom had faded away.
An hour later, he passed a small park with a large spreading tree. The shade looked seductively cool as the sun continued to beat down mercilessly. As if to increase the appeal of the park, a cool breeze ruffled the leaves and Yoh felt his resistance melting. He looked around quickly and then sat down with a happy sigh. "Just for a little while," he told himself. "Anna will never know…" he paused. He glanced about again to make sure, but no one was in sight.
He smiled slightly to himself and lay back, lulled by the quiet of the day. He closed his eyes to savor the feeling of nature around him.
He was floating in a blissful wonderland, admiring the cheerful neon colors. To his joy, he discovered a pile of giant oranges, each as tall as he. Eagerly, he managed to pull off a section of skin from one, spraying himself with a tangy mist of juice. Mouth watering, he leaned forward for a bite. But the orange wasn't there, and he was falling forward.
Yoh awoke suddenly with his face in the grass. He sat up in a panic; he hadn't meant to fall asleep. Anna would be furious if she found out he had been slacking off! He jumped up and raced off; if he didn't make it home in time to cook dinner, he'd…well, he didn't want to think about what would happen to him.
Yoh made it home just on time, but only by sprinting all the way there. To his surprise, Anna wasn't waiting impatiently by the door for him to start dinner. He entered quietly, and went into the living room. The TV was still playing, but Anna wasn't there. In fact, Yoh noticed as he hit the power button, it was playing a show he knew she didn't care for. He shrugged. She must have started dinner on her own and forgotten to turn off the TV.
In that case, he decided, he could head upstairs for a shower before dinner. Pulling off his shirt as he headed toward the stairs, it struck him as peculiar that even the kitchen was silent. "She must be taking a nap," he told himself. "I sure wish I could."
He was almost at the stairs when a streak of red on the kitchen floor caught his eye. He sighed. "Anna-chan must have left her headscarf lying around. I guess I better pick it up. I wish she'd learn to clean up after herself." He covered his mouth suddenly, looking around and wishing he could take those rebellious words back. Fortunately, an irate Anna did not materialize next to him, and he began to breathe again. Slinging his shirt over his shoulder, he walked into the kitchen to retrieve Anna scarf.
Only, he realized with a shock that it wasn't her scarf. It wasn't even cloth at all. It was a stream of fresh blood, trickling lackadaisically from a larger pool of crimson that had collected on the linoleum.
And lying in the middle of the blood was Anna, her eyes closed and her wrists slashed open.
To be continued…
Well, continued if people actually care what happens. So review! ^_^