I know what you're thinking. Another chapter? So soon? You must be mad! Yes, my Asamada friends, indeed. Not within the same year, but relatively closer to the other chapter. So, I'm not sure if I'm really happy about this chapter yet…and it may yet be subject to changing…but I think I'd like to get some feedback on it, if you don't mind. If there's something that yo might think isn't right or if someone has lost character…I haven't watched this show in a very long time and actually never saw the entire series…but if you find errors, please humor me. Well, enough adieu…fic-ness!

I came to the Asakura mansion briefly a few days later to say hello. Most everyone from the party the other day was still there. This wasn't unusual though, since most of them lived there anyway. Yoh was so generous, because he let people stay in his house for free. Anna on the other hand, was not. She demanded that everyone do something around the house to earn his or her keep. But even stranger, she made Yoh do most of the dirty work even though he was basically the owner of the house. I wasn't made to do any chores because I had my own place to live, but I helped out anyway, just because it gave me some extra time to spend with Yoh-kun. These were my favorite times of the day; it gave me the opportunity to commiserate with him about how harshly Anna treated him, though deep down he knew it was for the best.

Anna…she was so outright when it came to orders yet so reserved when it came to showing her feelings. The weird thing is, even though she is the one object between Yoh and I…I should be angry with her, right? I should harbor some sort of jealousy or something, right? Oddly, I did not. I understood that they were probably destined, that they were the right matches for each other when all was said and done…but I still believed that there as a chance for Yoh and I too. After all, I have thought about what might happen when Yoh and I would finally be together at last…what did I have to offer him? What could I do for him? Did he really need me anymore? Had I really done so much to help him achieve his goals in the first place? But Yoh had been the first to confess his feelings for me, so…I wondered how much he had really thought about the situation. Would we be openly together or would we remain casual around friends so they wouldn't know? Did he know that we might be looked down upon if everyone knew? Or maybe he had thought about all of this, and maybe he just depended on the strength of his friendships to keep their respect. If that was true, I hated to think that our being together was a potential black mark on his spotless reputation. And if they didn't take it well, I wouldn't be able to stand the fact that I had been the sole cause of this trouble…me and my selfish thoughts…

On top of that, where would I find time to be with him? After cram school had ended, my father recently gave me new company internship privileges. Reviewing company stocks, mergers, and tedious busy-work like calculating sales, I was now so swamped with paperwork on top of my regular homework that I barely had regular sleeping hours. The long hours at my desk lasted forever. It seemed my schedule couldn't have time to see him, yet it happened every minute I closed my eyes.

"Manta…" I heard him whisper. I felt his arms around me, and pulling me close. We were back in my shower again, only this time we weren't wearing as much. Yoh's body was so beautiful because he worked hard every day in training. The steam curled around our bodies and solidified on his chest, making his muscles glisten. I could feel his firm body pressed against mine, and I felt myself blush deeply.

"Manta…"

"…Yoh-kun…"

"Manta…? Manta!"

"Hmm?" I murmured unintelligibly. I looked up, out of my reverie, to find Father standing over me.

"Manta? What are you doing, daydreaming when you're supposed to be working? Don't let me catch you again!" He barked. "It's one o'clock in the morning anyway. You have school tomorrow. Get to bed."

"Yes, Father."

"Manta. If this continues to happen, you can consider yourself not part of this family. We've had enough of your slacking off. Do you hear me, boy?"

"Yes, Father."

"Now, go to sleep."

"Yes, Father."

I trudged past my desk, and walked into the bathroom. I looked at my face in the mirror. As I looked, I noticed the rings forming under my eyes from fatigue. I had put up with this man my whole life. I had endured his abuses, harsh comments, bruising remarks about his son. It seemed I would never be the son he wished for. I wondered why I tried so hard to please him all of these years. I wished I could go far from here, far from my family, my life…nothing seemed to be going right. My life was boring, stressful, tedious, and exhausting. I wanted to be successful, yes, but was this the only way? It was all I had, anyway. I had always been so buried in my work so I had no friends…or was it the other way around? If I quit working…where would I go? What would I do? How would I live? Who would be there for me? I didn't have Yoh anymore...actually, I had never had him. I wouldn't allow myself to have him even if I could. I wasn't worth it. I'm not anything. Like my father implied, I'm worthless.

The next day at school I could barely hold my head up. I might have fallen asleep in class if I hadn't been so adamant on paying attention. I wouldn't allow my mind to stray any more; it had gotten me into enough trouble already. I wouldn't entertain those thoughts, and I wouldn't tease myself into believing somehow they could happen. I considered my love for Yoh-kun to be terminated. I couldn't fit him in my life and neither could he. It simply wasn't meant to be.

These thoughts continued in my mind as I walked home from school that day. I practically sleep-walked, I could feel my legs were like lead, and my eyelids were so heavy…every step was such an effort…the sun was way too bright…until a loud blast from a passing car sounded and an angry-sounding man yelled "Get out of the way!" from the driver's seat…and sudden force pulling my jacket and a flash of white and I was on the other side of the road. I shakily murmured "Wha…?" and looked up to see my savior.

"What are you doing, Manta, are you trying to get yourself killed??" An angry Yoh cried at me.

"Y-Yoh-kun, I-I…" I stuttered.

"Manta, are you alright?" He sounded less angry, and more concerned now.

As I looked up at him, tears began to well inside of me…the tears of the emotions that had been bottled up inside for the past few days brought out by the sudden shock suddenly erupted from me. "Manta-chan…what's wrong? Let me take you home, and we can talk about it, alright?"

We arrived at the Asakura mansion just as Anna was making up the grocery list needed for dinner that evening. I hoped that someone else could do the grocery shopping, because I really needed to talk to Yoh. "Yoh. Here." She handed the list to Yoh without even looking at him. Ryu and Lyzerg watched from the corner. Ryu, noticing Manta's condition, took the list from Anna instead.

"Ryu…" Anna said. "That list was for Yoh."

"I'll take it tonight, Anna. Besides, since I am the Great Master Chef, I need to be able to select the choicest of ingredients for my fair Lyzerg-dono!"

"Fine." She said, and returned to watching her soap opera.

"Thanks," I heard Yoh whisper to Ryu as we passed up the stairs to Yoh's room. We walked inside, and Yoh closed the door behind us. He sat me down on his bed, and waited for me to begin. The silence in the room and our location was very reminiscent of the first time I had told Yoh that I loved him. It seemed so long ago. I stared at the floor. My face still felt numb from crying so much, and my eyes stung with dryness. With one hand he lifted my face to look into his, and our eyes met. He looked at me with concern, reading deeply into me, and I felt he understood my thoughts exactly.

"Manta, it was your father again, wasn't it. Manta, I…I'm so sorry. You really need to get out of that place; it isn't making you happy at all. Manta, please come stay here with me!"

"But Yoh-kun, I…what if something happens between us, what if someone finds out? With me actually living here that makes the chances even greater for a slip-up to happen…and…"

"Manta-chan…they already know."

"…WHAT!?"

"I hoped you wouldn't mind if I told them…but now I understand you wanted to keep it a secret…so please forgive me."

"No, Yoh-kun, that isn't it…ah, what do you mean they already know!? They weren't acting any differently?"

"Close, true friends should be able to know things like this and not be changed right? After all, the person was probably already like that before and they didn't know, and that doesn't really matter as far as friendship goes. Besides, real friends should be there for each other."

"W-What about Anna?"

"Ah, well, that's another story. I haven't really figured out how to tell her yet."

"What do you mean you haven't figured it out yet?"

"Well…its kind of difficult. You see, we don't know exactly when my Baptism will take place, and…when that happens, I'll need to take a partner, and that's where the trouble starts. I'm kind of apprehensive about talking to my Grandparents about changing the arrangement…but they know I've always been different. I don't think it will be that much of a surprise to them. But I do think they'll be disappointed. But it can't be helped."

"What are you saying, Yoh?"

"I'm saying I'm breaking the engagement no matter what. Whether they approve or not, I won't be married to Anna. I may be able to work out a situation where Anna's family receives the same treatment as if they were aligned with the Shaman royal family, without actually being married to me."

"In ancient Kingdoms that happens a lot, the new King has fake papers made declaring him the one and only true ruler of the people…so the same could be done, having Anna and her family being related to yours so that they receive benefit too…" I recited from memory of our history text like a robot…but then it hit me. I gasped.

"Wait, Yoh-kun…so then…you mean…"

"Manta-chan…"

"Uhhhhn…?"

"I know my being made into Shaman King may not even happen for a few years to come, or even tomorrow…but I…"

"Yoh-kun…"

"I want you to be mine. Manta, I don't know how I would have done anything without you, you mean so much to me, you've always meant so much to me, it just…took a while to realize it. Manta-chan, I would like for you to be with me."

Such kind and soothing, yet powerful and earth-shaking words. My heart was in shock. I could barely breathe. In the last two minutes my entire life had just turned three hundred and sixty degrees AND upside down. I got so dizzy. I was already so fatigued and…now…I felt myself become weaker, how was I still sitting up? The room was so hot, my head was spinning…and I fell away from Yoh onto the bed, unconsciously.

When I woke up, I found I had placed inside the bedcovers. The lights had been turned off, and the light outside was gone. My heart jumped when I thought about how late I was getting home and how my Father would flay me alive when I got home…but then… I remembered that somehow that didn't matter anymore…because…my heart jumped again, but this time for an exciting reason – Yoh wanted me. He wanted me. He understood everything, and still…he wouldn't have it any other way. My savior. I laid back down, the butterflies calming to a dull roar. I heard the noises of dinner happening in the dining room downstairs. I wasn't hungry though, because I still felt a little groggy from crying so much before, but I could hear Yoh's voice among the others' playful tones, and felt a wave of relief wash over me. I lingered a few moments, cherishing the newfound peace in my life, and slowly got out of the nice, warm bed to seek my friends in the room below.