Scene 2
Shopping
"Anna wait up!"
Yoh shouted, ignoring the fact that the whole aisle of shoppers could hear him. It was hard to manage two trolleys packed to the brim with groceries, let alone having to chase her around the crowded aisles of Heico Supermart. (Sorry if I got the name wrong, it was a wild guess)
"Eh Anna," he mumbled, after finally catching up to her.
"Could you slow down? I can barely keep up with having to push two trolleys and with you walking so fast it's kinda hard to catch up."
She looked at him, her brown orbs searching his.
"Here, I'll push this one." Her hands reached out to his, removing the handle from his grasp, before shifting her attention to some special wasabi sauce that was on sale.
Ordinary people would think nothing of the gesture. But Yoh and Anna were by far, not ordinary at all. After the tournament, Yoh found her gentler, kinder even. She definitely didn't scold him and slap him as much. The last time he got her Legendary Left was about 3 weeks ago, when he drooled on his pillow so badly that Anna threw the pillowcase away. It was an improvement, no doubt about that.
Yoh smiled wistfully, happy that he witnessed the little acts of love that his fiancée would show every now and then. Even if they didn't mean much to everyone else, they meant a lot to him.
Anna picked up the bottle of wasabi sauce, taking the opportunity to sneak a glance at him. He was smiling like the idiot that he always was. She loved it though, that smile, for reasons she herself could not comprehend.
She read him like an old book. They knew everything about each other and along with it came a certain level of respect and comfort.
And love.
"Are you just going to stand there smiling like an idiot, or do you want me to make you push this trolley as well?"
"Uh-hehehe…sorry Anna." He murmured, before pushing his trolley alongside hers.
It wasn't before long they stopped again, this time near the cutlery section. Anna looked at a pot, with the advertisement boldly exclaiming,
"NO STICK! NO HASSLE! NO HEADACHE! USE KEIKOKO POTS TODAY!"
She smiled inwardly, reminded of the fact on how these companies would be proven wrong if Yoh were to use them for cooking. That boy was just a mess in the kitchen.
Once, she phoned home to tell him to cook some rice because she had to stay back in school for some supplementary lessons, only regretting her decision when she came back to find the rice cooked beyond edibility, with the grains sticking to the pot like glue.
When she looked at him for an explanation, she only got that idiotic smile. As always.
"Eh Anna, look! It's this pot again! Remember that time when you called me to-"
"Yes Yoh, I remember. Don't need to get so happy over it." She replied, unable to stop the small smile forming unknowingly on her face.
Yoh beamed at her, touched that she remembered that small incident. Of course, he remembered the sore left cheek as well, but that didn't matter.
"I hope you can cook better now. " Anna muttered, her eyes looking at his for a moment, before turning away.
"Hehehe…maybe you could let me try tonight?" Yoh smiled, hopeful that he would get a second chance to prove that his culinary skills had improved.
"Nice try, but if you're cooking I think I'm better off eating instant noodles tonight."
"But Anna…"
"No buts Yoh. Now get in line and start queuing before I get mad."
"Hai…"
He was always so obedient, she thought. Typical Yoh, always listening to her, never putting up resistance at all. Sometimes she wondered who had the power in their marriage. But she loved it that way, when things were not complicated. It was never complicated with him.
Suppressing a smile, she patted him on the shoulder.
"Hmm?" He grumbled, turning around to face her.
"You've been humming the new Bob Love album all week. Do you want to get it?" Anna asked, deciding to let him spend some of the excess money that they had received from the Asakura family back in Izumo.
Immediately his eyes widened and a broad smile formed on his face.
"Can I?" Yoh's voice responded, full with glee like that of a young child.
She nodded, before hearing him explode with joy, along with some fist pumping in the air.
"But…"
His voice lowered, afraid at what Anna would demand next.
"You have to learn how to cook rice. Promise?" she stated, her terms loud and clear.
"I promise! Thank you Anna!" he loudly exclaimed, invisible to the glances and stares he was attracting.
"Quieten down Yoh, everyone is looking at us!"
Alas, her pleas fell on deaf ears, as she watched him continuing to cheer as if he had become a millionaire in an instant. She suppressed a grin, but to no avail. Yoh just made her happy.
After paying, they lugged the groceries back home, with Yoh doing most of the work. They put all the groceries in their gigantic fridge, before going out as promised to get Bob Love's new album at their local CD shop, a couple of blocks away.
"Ne Anna…" Yoh shifted his gaze to her as they walked out of the inn together. She looked at him, not stopping her strides.
"I was wondering…do I have to learn how to cook the rice myself, or can I learn it from you? Does it still count?"
She sighed, not surprised at his comment.
Oh Yoh…some things never change.
