Title: Just Right
Rating: K+
Genre: General
Summary: Anna's POV. Anna takes advantage of the onsen's solitude and spends a late afternoon contemplating while practicing guitar with Ryu.
Disclaimers: Shaman King © Hiroyuki Takei. "Crossover" © J. David Lindsay.

He's too perfect.

I had never really thought about it before, but for the past two months, Ryu and I had been left alone in the onsen more and more frequently. Yoh has been using his friends to get out of training; He goes to Manta's during the week, insisting that they're studying. I hardly believe that. He probably has the water-meatbun doing all of his homework. Friday nights he provokes Ren, they fight, and then he gets Faust to announce he's too injured to train and will need a couple of days of rest. I'll give Yoh points for growing cleverness, but it's only a matter of time before he slips up, or Ren and Manta simply refuse to be a part of his schemes any longer.

Ryu is a lot different. I have yet to hear him complain about his training or chores. It's not often you find a man who enjoys extra training and preparing every meal every day. He has a strange kind of wisdom about him; one that the others never seem to notice. I've seen how he talks to Yoh and Manta. He even spoke to Ren that way during the tournament once. I suppose it comes from being the leader of his gang. But as of late, he seems to always have something to smile about.

For somebody who isn't even the Shaman King, he's too perfect.

I bit into one of the freshly baked cookies I had brought in to snack on while watching the news. If there was anything Yoh could have bribed me with, it was these cookies. Fortunately, Ryu was the only one who knew how to make them, and nobody knew that I had developed quite a sweet tooth for them. And right now they were somewhat of a treat.

The day was long, even for my standards. I had to complete three final exams that day: One for Math, Social Studies, and an oral exam for English. Afterwards, I had to meet with Yamazaki Advertising to finalize the documentation for Funbari Onsen's first television ad. Now that Yoh and I had finished highschool, the onsen could open for business. With Tamao as a maid, Manta in charge of bookkeeping, myself as the manager, Faust as the onsen's therapist, and Ryu as the chef, the future seemed promising. All we needed now was the advertisement, and except for the missing theme song, it was almost finished already.

And then I felt myself frown. I hadn't heard Ryu practising the theme that evening. In fact, I didn't even hear a shamisen playing. But there was the sound of a guitar playing just upstairs. The only one I know who plays a guitar is Uncle, and he was back in Izumo. I stood up and briskly walked up stairs. Without hesitation I followed the strumming and walked into Ryu's room and gave him an unamused glare.

"Oh! Miss Anna!" he greeted in a startled tone, and then smiled weakly. "Is something wrong?"

"You're supposed to be practising for the ad," I replied, a little angry that he was goofing off. Didn't he realize how little time there was before he had to be in the studio? "That isn't a shamisen."

"Well, Miss Anna," he replied nervously, "I'm having difficulty with it. I've had much more practice with an acoustic guitar, so I thought..."

"This is a Japanese hot spring resort, Ryu," I replied harshly. "Not an American ranch. It leaves a bad impression on potential clients."

"I-I'm sorry Miss Anna," he replied while bowing his head, and then looked up to be. "But, if it must be on the shamisen, why not hire a professional player? I've only had a month to practise, and I haven't progressed very well."

"So you think you know about business?" I replied, agitated that he was questioning business decisions.

"No, Miss. I just think..."

"Well stop thinking," I replied icily, and then crossed my arms over my chest. "The fees for a second-party to the hotel would be more costly. Funbari Onsen is a family business, and any publicity will rely only on the family."

Ryu gave me a strange look, as though I had surprised him somehow. I may have asked him why he looked at me like that, but before I decided to he bowed his head to hide a small smile. "I see, Miss Anna. I'm sorry."

I frowned for a moment, and then closed my eyes while thinking about the song he had been playing before I had interrupted. It had been rather simple, but nice all the same. He wasn't a professional player, but his ability was about right if he wanted to play for his friends. "What were you playing?" I asked, finally letting my curiosity have its turn.

"Um... It's called 'Crossover'," he replied while giving me a questioning look.

"Show me how to play it," I instructed while walking over, and then settled myself into his lap. I imagine we must have looked like some cliché from out of a movie, but Ryu was the kind of guy who was easy to learn. He was quite outgoing with girls. Even Tamao. But that was when he had space. It was like his attraction for girls was afflicted with claustrophobia. As soon as the distance between himself and a girl feel into a more intimate region he would choke, and from there he would do what he could to keep from doing something stupid.

Right now was a perfect example. His muscles were tense now, and he was fidgeting in an attempt to bring some sort of distance between our bodies, even though it was virtually impossible at this point. I brought the guitar into my own lap, and then studied its design carefully. After deciding I was satisfied with it, I glanced back. "How do I hold it?" I asked cooly.

"Um..." He began talking in some sort of gibberish, still uneasy with the proximity of our bodies, and made a frustrated groan as I began trying to make sense of what he said. "No, bring your left hand higher," was the first thing he said clearly. I deliberately placed my hand too high, and then waited for him to react. He was obviously more annoyed than nervous now. His body was much more relaxed and he finally began sitting properly again. I smiled a bit as he reached around me and took my hand to place it where it belonged. "Have you ever even played?" he demanded.

"No," I replied cooly.

He sighed while shaking his head. "You're not going to be playing anything until you learn how to hold it," he said, and then reached his other arm around me to hold the guitar. "Like this." After showing me, he took my hands and placed them where they belonged. The next ten minutes were spent getting used to the variety of ways to hold a guitar, and then finally he let out a long sigh.

"Let's try some chords," he said thoughtfully, and then he leaned against me while finding his fingering, and soon after strummed three chords. "Don't hold your thumb down too hard," he said after demonstrating the chords. "You want to shift chords quickly without ending up with sores." He cupped his hand over mine to help my find the right amount of pressure, and then allowed me to play the chords. Of course, I did know the basics for playing. And I could easily learn faster than I was letting the lessons go, but by this point I was simply too comfortable to race through. I tilted my head so his chin could rest lightly on my shoulder as he went on to show me more chords, and I smiled faintly at the sensation his goatee caused. Nobody had ever dared to tickle me before, so I couldn't be sure if that was the sensation. It was a pleasant one, though, and I wondered if Yoh would ever produce one as nice as this.

"Miss Anna?" I looked to Ryu quickly, startled by his sudden questioning tone, and found him staring at me with a faint blush. "Are you okay, Miss Anna? You look flushed suddenly."

I stared at him for a moment while composing myself inwardly and externally, cleared my throat, and then looked at him calmly. "I'm fine," I replied, and then glanced to the clock and found an easy excuse. "Ryu, it's getting late. Make dinner, and after you eat I want you practising on the shamisen again."

"Yes, Miss Anna," he replied with a quick nod, but he didn't move. "Um, Miss Anna?"

I frowned, and then slapped myself mentally when I realized he wouldn't be going anywhere until I was out of his lap. I got up swiftly and brushed myself off. "Make it a quick meal tonight," Anna said with a frown. "The boys are having their own little graduation party at Ren's. They won't be home tonight." With that I turned on my heel and left the room, and then smiled as a heat seemed to begin radiating in my face.

I suppose I misjudged Ryu. His act of deviancy was certainly evidence that he wasn't as perfect as I had thought he was. But as I returned to the living room, I couldn't help thinking something.

Perhaps he wasn't perfect, but somehow that made him just right.

A/n: Omg! I think I might be starting to appreciate Anna. : S Anyhoo, reviews (the constructive kind) are greatly appreciated.