DAY 8

"Good morning, Anna," he said nervously.

His voice startled her, but she refused to appear alarmed. She sat upright in the bed slowly and rubbed her eyes before staring blankly at him across the room. He was sitting in his usual chair with an uneasy smile and fully dressed.

"Good morning, Yoh," she replied calmly.

He hesitated and clasped his fingers together in his lap before glancing at the floor and then back into her eyes.

"Thank you for the ring," she said plainly. "It's beautiful."

"You like it?"

"Yes."

"I'm glad," he said with relief. "I know I should have given it to you in person, but-"

"It was a nice surprise."

Yoh was unsure of Anna's mood since her facial expression revealed no emotion, and her tone was completely vague. She sat on the edge of the bed and glanced at her hand for a moment before dropping it in her lap. He grew increasingly uncomfortable with her silence since she was staring at the wall behind him, and decided to speak.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked with concern.

"Yes," she replied quickly without returning his stare.

He glanced at his lap in disappointment but was quickly distracted when he saw her flinch.

"What's wrong, Anna?" He stood abruptly from his chair.

"I'm fine. Stop asking me questions like that. It's annoying."

"Okay."

They stared at each other silently for several moments before she spoke again. "Are you still having your date tonight?"

"It's not a date."

"You and Tamao will be alone in her house, and she's cooking dinner for you. That sounds like a date to me."

"Do you not want me to go?" he asked with slight irritation. "I haven't seen her in a few days."

"No, I don't want you to go."

"What?" Yoh stared at her with a frustrated frown. "Why?"

"It should be obvious to you, Yoh. All of this...should be obvious to you."

"What are you saying?"

"Is that why you gave me this?" She raised her hand. "You thought I wouldn't bring it up?"

"What? No..." He hesitated

"Are you in love with her?"

Yoh stared at her with his mouth open for a few seconds. "What?"

"Do you want to marry her instead of me?"

"No!" He frowned. "Why would you ask me that?"

"Are you attracted to her?" Anna continued without addressing his answer.

"What kind of a question is that?"

"Do you want to have sex with her?" Her eyes narrowed.

Yoh stood in front of her with an expression of great discomfort and folded his arms over his torso. He didn't speak and stared at her with his mouth slightly open.

"It's a yes or no question," she demanded as her voice elevated.

"Where is this coming from?"

"I'm assuming then your answer is yes, since you won't spit it out."

"You've got this all wrong, Anna," he sighed. "Tamao is my friend-"

"Yes," she interrupted, "you've already told me that story. Now I want the truth."

"I'm telling you the truth." He rubbed his face with his hand.

"I don't know what to make of this. You're not telling me everything. What else am I supposed to think?"

Yoh didn't respond.

"You've already slept with her?" she growled.

"No!" he said angrily. "Will you just stop?"

"Yoh, you're an adult," she said abruptly as she stood and headed for the door. "You'll make your own mistakes, and I can't stop you. Do what you want."

"You're overreacting, Anna. I...don't even know what to say."

"You spend too much time with her, and it's inappropriate. But, if you won't listen to me, I can't make you," she said calmly as she exited the bedroom and slammed the door.


The restaurant was mostly empty with the exception of an old married couple seated near the exit. Ryu enjoyed sitting in rounded booths for some reason, and since he had been the first to arrive they were forced to indulge him. He sat in the center, forcing Lyserg to sit on his left and Manta on his right. When Horo arrived minutes later he sat beside Manta, and they began a meaningless conversation about the weather.

"Where's Yoh?" Lyserg interrupted suddenly. "I thought he was coming."

"Oh no," Ryu replied. "He's getting ready for his date."

"Date? With Anna?" Lyserg asked with a coy smile.

"Yeah, you would think so, right?" Horo said with a frown. "He's talking about Tamao."

"A date...with Tamao?"

"Well, technically it isn't a date," Manta corrected them. "They're just having a nice friendly outing."

"That none of us are invited to," Horo sighed.

"That's weird," Lyserg replied after brief hesitation.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks so." Horo scratched his nose.

"Well, Ren should be here soon," Ryu said, abruptly changing the subject. "He said he would come."

"Ren's coming?" Lyserg asked with a slight frown.

"Yeah," Manta said. "I haven't seen him in weeks."

"Oh, there he is," Horo said as he approached the table.

"Hey, Ren," Manta said happily. "Glad you could make it."

"I have a light schedule today."

"You sound so stuffy, Ren," Horo teased. "You should really get out more."

"I have to...go," Lyserg said abruptly and slid out of the booth.

"Of course you do," Ren said coldly.

"What?" Ryu protested. "You just got here."

"I forgot...I...have some things to take care of." He was mumbling as he stood quickly, avoiding Ren's piercing eyes, and hurriedly exited the restaurant.

"What a let down," Ryu said with a frown. "I wanted to spend more time with him."

"I guess you can sit over there, Ren," Manta said sadly.

"You see," Horo said as he pointed across the table, "that's why I wouldn't work for you."

"Why?" Ren asked as he sat in the booth beside Ryu.

"Because I would hate you too!" He laughed at himself and hit the table with his fist. "Did you see how fast he got out of here? He didn't even look at Ren!"

"Things are complicated," Ren replied blankly. "He'll learn to deal with it eventually."

"What did you do to him?" Manta asked worriedly.

"He's an adult. I didn't do anything to him he can't handle."

"I wonder what she's going to wear," Ryu said randomly.

"What?" Horo and Manta asked in unison.

Ren stared at him with slight apathy as he elaborated.

"She has the most beautiful legs. I hope she wears a skirt."

"You're not going anyway!" Horo scolded.

"And, maybe a shirt that stops at her hips. Her hips are gorgeous."

"Ryu, um..." Manta bit his bottom lip and stared at the table.

"It sounds like you've been paying too much attention to her," Ren said blankly.

"How can you not notice her?" Ryu replied in defense. "She's...so...hot."

"Okay, stop it," Horo said angrily. "Seriously, Ryu. That's creepy."

"Creepy?" Ren mumbled.

"Is it creepy that I fully appreciate the beauty of a woman? It's undeniable, Horo. You can't look at her and not see how incredibly sexy she is."

"Shut up," Horo groaned.

"Well...she is pretty," Manta said with a sheepish smile.

Ren shrugged his shoulders.

"Can we talk about something else please?" Horo interrupted with obvious discomfort.

"Ren, you must be joking." Ryu dismissed Horo's request. "You're a liar if you say she's not hot."

"I'm a man," Ren sighed. "I've noticed."

"Have you ever noticed how full her breasts are?" Ryu asked after a brief pause.

"...Yeah," Manta replied with embarrassment.

Ren nodded without speaking.

"She didn't wear bras much until recently, and now that they're bigger her nipples are more visible," Ryu explained.

Horo clenched his teeth and glared at him angrily, but the others ignored him.

"I thought maybe she was just cold," Manta said nervously.

"She's cold year round, Manta?" Ren added with a sarcastic tone.

"I think she's gone up at least one cup size since last year."

"Ryu, if you don't shut up I'm gonna knock you out," Horo balled his hands into fists.

"Would you rather he talk about Pirika?" Ren asked calmly.

"Horo always does this when Ryu talks about Tamao," Manta replied.

"Well...Pirika hasn't filled out as much as Tamao, but she's still pretty sexy," Ryu added.

"YOU CAN'T TALK ABOUT MY SISTER LIKE THAT!" Horo yelled at him.

"Come on, Ryu," Manta sighed. "Pirika should be off limits."

"No one's talking about Jun," Horo growled.

"My sister is a very beautiful and sexy woman," Ren sighed. "I wouldn't be angry if someone else stated the obvious."

"It seems odd that they spend so much time together," Ryu said with concern.

"What are you talking about?" Manta asked in confusion. "Who are you talking about?"

"Yoh and Tamao. He spends more time with her than he does with Anna."

"That's because he's an idiot," Ren replied. "We all know this."

"I think this date is a trap," Ryu said with a frown.

"Why?" Manta asked as he rested his folded arms on top of the table.

"Well, as Ryu so eloquently explained to us," Ren said, "Tamao is a sexy woman. And since we all know he's attracted to her, they shouldn't be alone in her house. What's hilarious about this is that he doesn't seem to know what's going to happen."

"Do you think he would...sleep with her?" Manta asked worriedly.

"I would," Ryu said quickly.

"But, he wouldn't cheat on Anna, would he?"

"I think he's already fantasized about it," Horo said angrily. "He's so stupid."

"He wouldn't admit to such a thing," Ren added. "That's why he keeps putting himself in these situations. He's testing the waters."

"And, it's not fair to Tamao," Horo sighed bitterly.

"Is she a virgin?" Ryu asked.

"What?" Horo growled and clenched his teeth.

"I don't see how that's relevant to this discussion," Ren said, dismissing him.

"What should we do?" Manta asked apprehensively.

"What can we do?" Horo asked angrily. "We can't go over there and drag him out of the house."

"I don't even know where she lives," Ren added. "Just cross your fingers and hope he's not as much of an idiot as we think."

"I'm hungry," Ryu interrupted. "We should eat something."

"Ren, what are you getting?" Manta asked.

"Just tea," he replied.

"Well, I'm hungry too," Horo sighed as he slid out of the booth. "Order for me; I'll be back."

"What do you want?" Manta called to him as he headed toward the back of the restaurant.

"I don't care," he said. "Something big."