Midnight Cemetary Walk
by pinkpuruu
All standard disclaimers apply.
As for author's notes, let's just say I got the idea in my head and just did it. Heh. So enjoy.
It had happened one night, during one of his daily nighttime strolls around the cemetery.
Yoh met the ghost while she sat mourning atop of her tombstone. A simple sight, but something about her drew him to her. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the marker was that of a man's. The woman, realizing that she was visible to him, begged for help, and how could Yoh deny her?
It wasn't the first time that he had been possessed by a woman spirit; the first had been the ghost of a female student at his school who committed suicide because of a failed relationship between her and her teacher. The teacher still worked there, of course, feeling bound to the school because of his misdeeds. Yoh had approached him, with the student in possession of his body, and remembered quite clearly how close his face had been to the sensei's and how much he wanted him… until the girl somehow found peace in the meeting and left, leaving a very flustered teacher and a bewildered Yoh. He never really liked being possessed by women.
But he was never really good at turning them down either.
He strolled out of the cemetery, took the bus miles away, traveling through shabbier and more desolate parts of town. In the back of his mind, he feared for Anna's reproaches when he returned home, but the further he traveled, the more familiar the houses and run-down stores seemed.
The bus stopped at a barely existent bus stop, and the woman willed Yoh's legs to stand and climb down. Although it was pitch dark and the only light on the street was an ephemeral light bulb that sputtered weakly in a lamppost, giving off only a dim golden beam. Yet this barely mattered to Yoh, who calmly made his way down the streets, hands nervously wringing each other and unconsciously fluffing down his hair.
He stopped in front of an empty house that smelled of burnt vegetables. He noted dully that it was an abandoned shop, possibly devoid of any living thing inside save a few starved rats looking for spare morsels. He wondered why the woman would want to come to a place like this, but didn't question her wills and stepped forward, shoving the broken door open and slipping in.
The air inside was surprisingly thick and warm. Yoh had to remove his downy winter coat and tie it around his waist to ward off the barrage of warmth. The woman resiliently stepped towards the back of the store where the sound of crackling laid. The room was small, hardly a closet, yet three men sat stubbornly inside warming their hands to a small fire that they kept on the floor. They didn't speak, merely stared with deadened gazes at the flame, clutching their tattered rags closer to their frail, weakening bodies.
Yoh could feel the sympathy of both his and the woman's, yet she somehow managed to step past them and into the far corner where a withered man sat, hugging the only blanket for warmth. She crouched next to him.
The man was shivering violently, his eyes opened but barely seeing. He was aged, sparse white hairs growing on his wrinkled head and hands that were crinkled and worn with time. Yoh was surprised that in the conditions, he was still living.
The woman reached out to place a comforting hand on the man's shoulder. The man immediately stopped shivering, and turned his sightless eyes upon her. His mouth formed the words, but no sound came out. She gazed at him sadly and with pity as his shaking hands reached out to touch her. But the stopped him with a tender kiss on his cheek.
Then, she leaned towards his ear, and began to speak softly, but clearly. Yoh was surprised at the words she said.
"I want you to stop trying so hard just for me," she said. "It's okay to be selfish for once."
And with that, she drew away. The man gave her a stricken look. Then with a lingering touch of the cheek, his face broke into a toothless smile, and he drifted away. She made sure to cover him with the blanket before leaving. That is, after giving Yoh's coat to one of the men before exiting.
She left Yoh standing in the middle of the desolate street, with only the sputtering lamppost to keep him company. Needless to say, he was left horribly lost for a few hours before he hitched a ride onto another bus and made his way back home.
Many shoes, umbrellas, hangers, and pans were thrown his way once he reached home. Anna angrily made her way up to him and slapped him strongly across the face as soon as he took off his shoes. Her face was flushed, and her hair was rumpled from restlessly lying in front of the TV, waiting. He noted the steaming tea sitting on the table and the her red eyes, before apologizing ruefully, scratching the back of his head, and laughing a bit at his own forgetfulness.
She gave an irritated humph, not forgetting her threats of his impending doom. Then, she roughly shoved him out of her way to collapse in her room for a well-desired night of sleep. He stood in the doorway for a few minutes, chilled by the cold night and his lack of a jacket, before giving a small sigh.
That night, he had been the one to step into her room. She didn't take note of his presence until he had pulled the covers over him and draped his arms over Anna. Her eyes opened blearily to watch him ease into her futon, not a worry on his face for her angry reaction.
Yet she found herself too fatigued and surprised to make a move and merely allowed him to take her into his arms. The dark curtain of the night that blanketed over the room seemed to change everything. So she allowed this, just this once.
She had nearly fallen back to sleep again in the comfort of her fiancée's warmth when she felt him leaning towards her ear. She jerked slightly at the sensation, but Yoh's hand kept her down so that she would hear his words.
"I want you," he breathed, "to stop trying so hard. Just for me." Anna turned her head, just slightly, so that her black eyes would stare up into his. He refused to look at her, only gripping her waist tighter with his hands and shifting into a more comfortable position so she could sleep well.
"What are you talking about?" Anna asked, bewildered. Yoh let out a warm breath that ruffled her hair slightly, and he closed his eyes slowly, tiredly.
"…Never mind. Let's just sleep, okay?"
Something in his voice left no room for question, nor left any possibility of him repeating his statement. But something deep inside her stirred, and left her quite breathless. It was only until she felt Yoh's slow breathing on her neck did she relax into a slumber and feel asleep.
The next night, after Yoh's daily walk in the cemetery, he came home to find Anna already asleep in her bed, sleeping peacefully. He smiled, and quietly slid the door back into place.