This is my entry for SK-fan7's contest: craziest pairing! I think that Anna/Ryu is pretty much as strange as it comes. I'm not even sure if this really counts as a pairing, but… well, make up your own mind ;)

As You Wish

Anna had never really liked Ryu before going to America. He was a shallow, immature man with an odd taste in fashion, and whose clumsiness and general incompetence had once nearly got Yoh killed. Still, she had kept him around because he was a hell of a better cook than Yoh, and could clean the house twice as fast as Manta due to having legs that were probably five times as long. If she was honest with herself, she had particularly enjoyed punishing him when his work didn't live up to her standards. He was a push-around, a weakling, a servant. He folded to her will even easier than Manta, and she had always liked the sense of power and control he had given her.

She had changed during the Shaman Tournament, of course. He had too. So while she softened her speech, found that there were actually people she cared about and – spirits forbid – attempted to show that by cooking every so often, Ryu had gone in the opposite direction. He had toughened up in a way she never could have imagined. Whether that was down to Mikihisa's training or simply his own resolve (and Anna knew which one she thought was more likely), there was no denying that he had become more of a man.

(Sexy, even.)

The one thing he never lost, though, was his servitude to her. She liked that, too. But his submission to her was no longer simply the naïve gesture of a man who wanted to be needed. This was a different kind of respect, something he seemed to think she had earned, and Anna found in turn that she was coming to respect him back. He worked with an air of humility, a willingness to serve for service's sake, and it intrigued her.

He worked without complaining. At first it annoyed her that, when she gave him an order, he would pause what he was doing, look up at her and say, "Yes, Miss Anna". It was always that. "Yes, Miss Anna". She wanted him to at least gripe about it like everyone else did, but he was always so willing to work, so willing to please.

(She hadn't meant to take advantage of him.)

Don't get her wrong: Yoh was still the most important priority in her life, and no one was going to replace that. But she was gratified by Ryu's attentions and impressed by his dedication.

Since realising that she was pregnant and revealing it to Yoh, Anna hadn't felt particularly in control anymore. If ever she even stood up too quickly, Yoh would be by her side, making sure she was alright – which, in a way, was sweet and pretty endearing. But it enraged her inner empress that she couldn't deal with it by herself. Ryu offered to take over some of the menial jobs that had always belonged to her, like doing washing from time to time, or changing the sheets.

(If Yoh had offered, she would have refused, but it seemed okay to concede to Ryu.)

It was inevitable that, at some point, she would have to confront all this and get it the hell done and over with. She didn't love Ryu – that would be absurd. But she had stopped denying to herself that he was, maybe, worthy of her attentions, and she saw absolutely nothing wrong with admiring something from afar.

Except, it didn't stay afar.

One afternoon, when Yoh and Manta were out at the cinema together (she'd said no when they initially asked, and then relished in their pleading until finally giving in like she had always intended), and Tamao was working in the kitchen, Anna was sitting on her bed reading a magazine when Ryu came in. He immediately apologised, murmured something about coming back later, and began to back out of the room again. Before she could stop herself, Anna said,

"No. It's okay. Come in."

She put down her magazine and watched him as he reentered the room, looking at her with those soft eyes of his.

"Yes, Miss Anna."

He began to empty the bins, emptying their contents into a large black bag he was carrying. He didn't glance at her at all while he was working and so, with a feeling of something like jealousy – or maybe it was just her ego being hurt – Anna opened her mouth again.

"Come and sit on the bed next to me," she said, swinging her legs down to the floor.

He looked at her in momentary confusion but, seeing only her blank stare, quickly did as he was told, with a quiet, "Yes, Miss Anna."

He sat, and looked down at his hands. Anna felt another stab of annoyance.

"Ryu, could you pass me my magazine please."

He looked up, and Anna watched as his eyes flickered to the magazine, sat on the bed just inches from her hand. He met her gaze again, steadily.

"Yes," he said. "Miss Anna."

And somehow then, Anna knew. Something passed between their locked eyes, and Anna realised that it wasn't just her. She looked into those eyes – those eyes that had changed so much since they had first met, eyes that no longer held a pleading look for attention – and she worked it out. She'd been admiring Ryu from afar without knowing that he was admiring her back. He wasn't humbly serving her because he felt it was the right thing to do; no, he was serving her because, maybe, he thought that he loved her. And every, "Yes, Miss Anna," that had come out of his mouth was a confirmation of that. It wasn't just, "Yes". It was, "I'd do anything for you".

Ryu held her gaze as he reached over for the magazine, leaning closer until their noses were almost touching.

Out of impulse, out of pity, out of a desire to prove to herself that her power over this man extended that far – Anna closed the gap between their mouths and kissed him.

It was short, and sweet, but she quickly pulled away and looked at his reaction. His mouth was hanging slightly open, as if he couldn't quite comprehend what had just happened. But he hastily recovered, clearing his throat and backing away.

"Your magazine, Miss Anna."

He held it out to her. Anna stared at it for a few moments, all of a sudden unsure whether to take it or not. Eventually, she slowly reached out and took it from him.

Ryu cleared his throat again. "Miss Anna—"

"You may go," said Anna, calmly, staring down at her lap. And she continued staring as Ryu didn't move for some moments. Then she heard him pick up the black bag, its rustling sounding like the whisper of gossips, and didn't look up again until she heard him exit the room and the door was closed with a soft click.

.

.

.

(Afterwards, she thought about what she had done and decided that she didn't feel guilty about it at all.)

AN: This was actually very fun to write. I haven't written a non-AU SK story in a while!

I'm wondering whether the title reference is slightly too vague for people to get. Oh well, if you know where it's from, cookies for you!

Anyway, please leave a review if you enjoyed it!

~Anna