Intensity
She forgets sometimes that he isn't what she is used to. Staring at him while he lay beside her under the morning light summons old memories. His long hair, suave smile and gentle voice makes her heart ache. When she looks at his face, she sees the same thing.
He isn't the same man.
Anna wishes that she didn't push him forward too much. She wonders why she always wants him to win; she never examines herself. All she knows is that she must push him to become the Shaman King to save the world. All she wants to see is his victory.
But victory came at a heavy price.
Her love, the Shaman King, no, her Yoh Asakura, is taken away from her. Instead of warm arms she has cold breezes. His smile is burned into her memory. He has gone to the world of spirits- though she knows it well, she cannot follow. That hurts her.
She reaches forward to brush the bangs away from his face.
Hao sleeps soundly like a child with an open mouth. His eyelashes curls at his cheeks. In the arms of fake death, she can imagine that he is who she wants him to be. She always wants Yoh.
"I love you," Hao says without opening his eyes. "Do you love me too?"
Anna's nails presses tiny crescents into her palms. Her voice is low and soft. "I'll love you too."
The brown-haired young man doesn't answer but turns over to the other side. She wants to reach out and catch his hand; she wants to kiss the pain away from him.
Yoh has asked her to love Hao instead of him. His love for mankind is greater; his sacrifice is more precious. She knows when to step back and let fate run its course. Her feelings are stowed away at the depths of her heart. So she follows his orders blindly.
Anna tucks the softest brown strands away from Hao's face. She presses a kiss on his temple. Droplets of tears rain down on his smooth cheek.
"Just give me time," she murmurs "and I will learn to love you."
Hao doesn't say anything. But she reads his heart and realizes that he's always loved her. It is a love that is as strong and intense as Yoh's. It burns with a fire that nothing could extinguish. His heart yearns for her.
She lies down and spoons with him. Hao deserves a chance to show his intensity. She couldn't cling to Yoh's memory forever.
Somehow that eases the hurt.
A/N: Written for amilasuriga. It's been a long time since I last steped into the Shaman Kingdom. Hah. I feel happy that I still know Anna.