Author note: in the next chapter things will start to get ugly, so read with caution!
Chapter Two
The midday sun in Yokohama shone down on the young couple, hand in hand, lost in a world of their own. It was much too hot for May. Yoh's shirt was sticking to him already and they were both dying for something to drink.
"How about we go and get lunch, Anna? I'm starving...not to mention thirsty and boiling hot," he complained, attempting to drag her into a nearby sushi restaurant.
"All right, all right, oh whinging husband! And don't drag me!" Anna mused, pulling Yoh's shirt away from his back. It was soaking wet. "Eurgh, how much do you sweat?" she questioned disgustedly. They entered the cool restaurant together, thankful for the air conditioning. Yet again an ominous figure lurked somewhere in the shadows, watching with jealous eyes the happy couple holding hands and kissing over the table.
Revenge! Victory will be mine!
After lunch Anna and Yoh trailed back to the hotel to lounge by the pool and take a quick swim. On their waythrough many winding streets and narrow alleys, Anna thought she caught a glimpse of a somewhat familiar river of long brown hair, but perhaps it was just yet another anonymous passer-by. How did it feel to be a duck in a world of chickens, a brown cow in a field of white ones, the odd one out? For the first time in months, perhaps years, she found herself wondering something deep, meaningful even. Lost in a daydream, she hadn't noticed that she and Yoh had arrived back at the hotel. He waved a hand in front of her face.
"An-naaa? Hellooooo? You were miles away," he reminded her. "Sometimes I wonder what goes on in your head." He stroked her short blonde hair, and for once she didn't pull away. She curled her arm round his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. Maybe Yoh was the only one who realised there was more to her than met the eye. After all, only a duck can lay a duck egg.
That night, Anna and Yoh went to a karaoke party. It was hilarious to watch your husband on a stage screaming Green Day and Bob Marley and all the rest. It was fun to drink too much punch and join him on the stage singing I Got You Babe, but the best thing was to dance.To squeal and wave your limbs around crazily, to rest your head on your husband's shoulder, smirking andsticking your tongueat the people sitting moodilyon the barstools, drinking and not dancing with anyone. They went home at one in the morning, their arms round each other. Anna's eyes sparkled with pleasure and life, and though it was late at night she felt no hints of fatigue. On the other hand, Yoh was yawning at the salsa and had nearly gone to sleep by the slowdances, desperately trying to keep up with Anna's newfound vitality. They finally reached the hotel, Yoh almost collapsing in a heap on the floor, Anna bouncing up and down at his side, poking him through the glass double doors. They piled into the lift with about seven other seriouslypissed partygoers, all yelling rowdily and snogging anything blonde that moved, including Anna, because Yoh was too tired and she was too drunk to care. The lift stopped at their floor with a cheerful ding, Anna dragged Yoh out of the lift while blowing kisses to several people of both genders, and inserted the key into the lock of Room 402. The couple somehow managed to stagger their way to the bed, pull out some crumpled nightclothes from under the pillows and put them on. They tumbled into bed, the annoying digital alarm clock (Ren's idea of a wedding present) practically screaming the words ONE TWENTY THREE AM! Anna pulled Yoh on top of her.
"Yoh, come on!" she screamed, her eyes wide with passion and ecstasy.
"Anna, shut up. You're drunk," Yoh groaned.
"I swear to drunk I'm not God!" Anna replied indignantly, fluttering her eyelashes.
"Oh yes you are. You drank too much of that disgusting punch stuff. Let me go to sleep," he whined, but only half-heartedly. Her body was the most powerful magic...perhaps he had better take advantage of the situation?
The elderly couple in Room 302 sat up in bed, sighed and shook their heads, trying to block out the screaming, passionate shouts and jangling of bedsprings from upstairs. Somewhere, somebody could be heard banging the ceiling with a broom or a mop or something while kindly but firmly yelling in Japanese, "Oi! You! Keep it down!". In rooms 400 to 450 there were people putting on earmuffs, groaning and burying their heads under pillows. There had been a lot of people at that party, after all, and whoever it was banging away in Room 402 were not the only ones! After perhaps half an hour and about four broken beds, the screams, shouts of "More!" and worse had subsided, and all over the hotel people were clicking off lights, sighing, and attempting to go back to sleep. Anna and Yoh did the same, holding each other close and hoping nobody would notice that some of the springs in the bed had collapsed.
Anna woke up the next morning feeling absolute crap. Her head was thumping and her stomach hurt. Yoh was already awake, searching through a bag for a box of aspirin.
"Shit...I have a massive hangover," Anna groaned, rubbing her head. "What do they put in that punch! And why is the bed sagging like this? I'm complaining to management!"
"Er...perhaps you'd better not do that...because, erm, er...what happened last night," Yoh said with all the subtlety of an elephant falling off a cliff into a lake. He went red and tugged at the collar of his shirt.
"Oh. My. God. We didn't, did we?" Anna said, putting her head in her hands.
"Hubba hubba," laughed Yoh. He expected Anna to swear, slap him or bang her head on something, but instead she laughed as well.
"I bet those old codgers downstairs weren't happy!"
"Oh no! There was banging of brooms on ceilings and all!"
Anna laughed so much she almost split her sides. "I can't believe we did that! We must have been really...you know...to make the springs break," she gasped. "Uh-oh, I bet I was way too drunk to bother with protection. Remind me never to touch anything alcoholic again. I hope they have a pharmacy near here."
"Damn! I knew there was something else I needed in that chemist down the road!" said Yoh, slapping his forehead.
"That can wait. Let's go out for ice-cream."
"What, at 10am? We haven't even had breakfast yet! Oh, Anna, take one of these for your head." He chucked a box of paracetamol at her.
"Come on, hurry up and get dressed, you lazy bum! I'm hungry," Anna complained, prodding Yoh in the back.
"Ow! Anna, that hurts! Quit it! Okay, okay, I'm getting dressed! If you'd only stop poking me!"
Anna laughed. "You're learning."
In the next chapter:
Anna and Yoh's trip out for ice-cream gets nasty when Hao arrives on the scene, as does a rather helpful teenager and her boyfriend!
