Disclaimer: Shaman King belongs to Hiroyuki Takei and Shonen Jump, not me.

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Nevertheless, at six sharp the following night, there was a knock on the door.

"They're here!" Keiko yelped. "They're here, they're here!" She skidded on the hall carpet and yanked the door open. "Mom…hello," she said.

Kino squinted up at her. "Your hair is longer," she commented.

"Yes, well," Keiko said. "I thought you said you were bringing Anna."

"She's over there," Kino said. She snapped her fingers. "Anna, say hello."

"Hello, Mrs. Asakura," Anna said in a low, tight voice. She was even more skeletal than she had been on her last visit. Her dark eyes were huge and sunken in her head, staring at her surroundings. Thin pale hair hung around her hollowed cheeks and scraggled across her thin shoulders. The worn-out black dress she wore only served to make her thinner and sallower. This is the wild little creature?

"Anna, it's…uh…nice to see you," Keiko said. "Do you have your suitcases?"

"She's got them," Kino said. "Anna, take them up to our rooms." Anna nodded and slipped past Keiko.

I'm starting to see where the child gets her mental problems, Keiko thought. Out loud, she said, "Dinner's ready, Mom."

"It's not takeout, is it?"

"No, Mom."

"And you didn't cook, did you?"

"No, Mom. Yoh and Mikihisa made dinner for us. All your favorites," Keiko said, forcing cheerfulness into her tone. "You've never mentioned what Anna likes, so-"

"She'll eat plain rice," Kino said sharply. Then she paused. "Well…it is an occasion. I'll allow her to have some soy sauce." Keiko rolled her eyes.

"Hi, Grammy!" Yoh said, bounding towards his grandmother. Where does that boy get all his energy? Keiko thought.

"Calm down," Kino said. "That sort of hopping about is better suited to a grasshopper, not the Shaman King."

"Mom, he's ten. You know, ten? Like the age where boys usually hop around like grasshoppers?"

"Hello, Mother," Mikihisa greeted, gliding through and interrupting what could have been a potential catfight. "How was the trip?"

"Not as bad as the last one," Kino said. "But not by much."

"I'm glad," Mikihisa said. "Where's Anna?"

"She's the new bellboy," Keiko said. "We ought to get her a little uniform. The cap would look cute on her."

"She's carrying our bags upstairs," Kino said. "She is the slowest child I have ever seen."

Keiko noticed the pale, sharp face appear at the old woman's elbow. "Uh…the slow child has arrived," she said.

Kino tapped her cane against the back of Anna's knees. "Say hello, Anna," she ordered.

"Hello, Mr. Asakura," Anna murmured obediently.

"And your fiancé too, or are you an idiot?"

"Hello," Anna said.

Yoh fidgeted. "Uh, hi…," he said awkwardly. Anna stared at her feet when she spoke, never raising her dark eyes to look at him directly.

"Why don't we go sit down," Mikihisa suggested.

Yoh leaned over to his mother as they headed towards the dining room. "Mom, she looks like a wax sculpture from a museum," he whispered.

"Yeah, and she talks about the same amount as one too…" Keiko whispered back. She gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry. I set it up so you're sitting between me and Dad. We played rock paper scissors, and he lost, so he sits next to his mother and I sit next to the wax sculpture." Yoh stifled a giggle.

"Where's that husband of mine?" Kino asked as Keiko started to serve the food.

"Hatchi," Mikihisa said. "There was a tanuki wreaking havoc. An emergency." He handed bowls of rice to Anna and Kino. Anna whispered her thanks.

"Anna, you can't eat that much," Kino said. She pulled the bowl from her hands and proceeded to scrape about half of the contents back into the serving bowl. "I'm allowing you soy sauce, and that's enough for tonight. If you continue to eat such large amounts of food, you'll be fat. And no Shaman King in his right mind will want a fat queen."

"Oh, that's all right. Yoh likes 'em built for comfort and not for speed," Keiko said.

Yoh's ears turned red as he elbowed her hard. "Mother," he hissed.

"I'll ignore that comment," Kino said. She handed the bowl to Anna. "That is a proper portion for you. Be grateful."

The others continued their meal, but it was a bit disconcerting to watch the painfully thin blonde eat one grain of rice at a time, savoring the taste and making the tiny amount last.

When dinner was over, Kino promptly sent Anna off to bed. Yoh offered to clean the kitchen, thereby escaping. Mikihisa and Keiko sat stiffly on the loveseat in the living room, facing Kino in the armchair opposite.

"So..." Mikihisa started. "How long are you staying, Mother?" Keiko braced herself for the answer. When Yoh was born, Kino stayed for almost two months. It was pure hell.

"Oh, I'm leaving tomorrow," the old woman said.

"Well!" Keiko said. "That's not much time for a visit! I thought you said you wanted to get Anna out of the house, in a new setting." Mikihisa shot her a glance that clearly said Don't invite her to stay!

"I said that I am leaving tomorrow," Kino said. "Anna will be staying with you."

"How long?"

"Indefinitely."

"Mother, you can't-" Mikihisa began.

Keiko held up her hand. "Mom," she said. "We'll take Anna, on one condition."

"What is that?" Kino inquired, nostrils narrowing.

"That Mikihisa and I will be given free rein to raise her," Keiko said.

"Fine," Kino said with a wave of her hand. "Do whatever you like. She's a brilliant itako, but I can't seem to quite make her into the proper companion for a king." She leaned forward. "To be quite honest, I think there's something wrong with her. You know…in her head. "

"Oh, well," Mikihisa stammered. "We'll…uh…take good care of her."

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Author's Note:
Here we are: Evil!Kino and Abused!Anna. I swear, I write them like this all time. Can't seem to get away from that.

More Gilmore Girls dialogue. Huzzah!