Chapter 7 Vacation in Paris

"Where will you spend the coming Festival?" Anna asked.

Yoh and Anna were sitting at the porch swing in the garden when Anna popped that question. Anna was quietly reading a book while Yoh was listening to his Walkman.

Yoh sighed.

The Festival...

He forgot about that...

It is a time wherein all Shamans gather in Izumo for a weeklong celebration.

Ever since he was 12, he spends the Shaman Festival out of the country with his friends. They just have to make sure that they would be back in time for the closing festivities.

They've been to Rome, Greece, Egypt, and the West Indies...

This year, they planned to spend it in....

"Portugal."

Anna stared at him. "Now, I'm really sure that you're a rich kid."

If you only knew... Yoh smiled. "Want to come?"

"I don't spend the Festival out of town." In fact, she doesn't go out of the house for that whole week. She can't risk being found.

"Time for a change."

"I'm not that rich to pay for a trip to Portugal." Okay, that was one big lie. Considering the money she saved the last six years plus the money her so-called family left her, she was rich enough to tour the world.

"I'll pay for you."

"You barely know me for a week."

Yoh laughed. She's good at alibis. "5 days to be exact. So what?"

"I don't want to go to Portugal."

Yoh closed his eyes and leaned on Anna's shoulder. He smiled. "Where do you want to go then?" Moments later, a cry of pain was heard.

The doors burst open, surprising Hao, Horo, Ren, Manta, Chocolove, Pirika, Lyserg, and Tamao.

Horo grinned. "Finally, the run-away prince is back!"

"Bon jour!" Yoh greeted. "Change of plans!"

They all gaped at him. Minutes earlier, they were discussing about their coming trip to Portugal.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Ren demanded.

"We're all going to Paris!" Yoh cheerfully replied. "We'll spend the whole week there!"

Chocolove laughed. "He's kidding." He stopped when he saw the seriousness in Yoh's face. "You're serious?"

"Why in the world in Paris!" Manta asked, perplexed.

"You said you wanted to go to Portugal!" Lyserg exclaimed.

"Blame it on his sense of direction!" Hao playfully replied.

"Paris! The city of lights!" Pirika said, dryly. "I still like Portugal..."

Ren smirked. "Because the rest of us don't want to go to Paris, except for Yoh's brother here who expressed no opinion whatsoever, then we'll go to Portugal without Yoh." The others nodded in agreement.

"I think that's not possible anymore, Mr. Spike." grinned Hao. "You see, my brother here..."

"I just cancelled all our reservations!"

A cry of anguish was heard throughout the palace. "You did what!"

Tamao shook her head. "You cancelled our reservations that took me half a year to finalize just like that! Just like that!"

"He's crazy!" Horo-Horo said in a daunted voice.

"So as you see, we don't have any choice." Hao smirked. "We'll all go to Paris, whether we like it or not, or you may be given the freedom just to stay in the palace. We're stuck to Paris no matter what! Just as what Tamao said, it took her half a month to finalize the reservations... there's nothing else we could do except to enjoy Paris! The music... the cafe... Why don't you all take advantage of the situation?" He grinned at Horo, Ren, and Lyserg.

"What!" They all cried. Hao laughed.

"So it's settled then!" Yoh exclaimed. "I already booked our tickets! First class!" He began distributing them.

"First class tickets?" Lyserg asked, puzzled. "Don't tell me..."

"What's this?" Anna asked.

Yoh smiled. "Mademoiselle, un billet de premiere classe pour Paris!"

Anna found herself smiling at him. "Really! We're going to Paris!"

Yoh grinned. "Uh-huh! We'll leave tomorrow."

Damn! That was her best smile yet....

"What's the next thing we'll do?" Horo sleepily asked. They were all at the airport in time for their flight, which was at 4 am. They were all drinking coffee.

"We checked in our baggage, our passports and tickets have been approved..." Lyserg paused. The fact is, today was the first time they'll be riding on a public plane, and honestly, they have no idea what to do. "The list says all we have to do is wait for our flight."

Ren sighed. "I can't believe this. We're all members of the royal court and look what we just did. If we just used the private plane..."

"We can't use the private plane without Yoh." Manta corrected.

"Where's Yoh anyway?" Pirika asked. "I haven't seen him ever since yesterday. Wouldn't he be coming to Paris with us?"

"He's on the next flight." Tamao informed. "At 8 am."

"What would he be doing on a separate flight?" Ren cried. Out of nowhere, Hao laughed. They all exchanged that oh-my-he's-gone-nuts-look.

"He knows something...." Lyserg said.

Yoh and Anna reached the airport by 8:45, roughly in time for the 9 am flight. Good thing the flight was delayed for 30 minutes because of some technical problems.

Anna started to scold Yoh. "If I didn't wake you up, you sleepy head, we could have missed the flight...." She paused and turned. At the same time, Yoh turned too.

"Master Yoh! Master Yoh!"

Yoh smiled. It was Amidamaru. He waved at him. "Amidamaru! Over here!" Once Amidamaru was with them, Yoh introduced him to Anna. "Anna, this is Amidamaru, my power spirit."

Anna merely nodded. She was shocked with the aura she was sensing right now. No doubt, it belonged to the Spirit. It was unbelievable, the spirit was too powerful. What more its master?

Yoh immediately sensed Anna's thoughts. "Amidamaru, I think you forgot something."

Amidamaru looked at Yoh. "I'm sorry, Master."

Before Anna knew it, the strange aura she felt earlier was gone. The atmosphere seemed normal again. Before she could say something, their flight had been announced.

Yoh picked up their bags. "That's our flight. Let's go."

Anna watched him from a distance.

You're keeping something from me, Yoh, and I don't like it.

"Remind me to kill Yoh, the next time I see him." Ren mumbled.

"Remind me never ever to ride on a public plane again." Horo muttered.

Tamao grinned. "You didn't enjoy the flight?"

"The food was bad. The service was bad. The cushions were bad. The movies were bad. The whole flight was worst." Chocolove dryly replied. "Everything was bad. How do you expect someone to enjoy the flight?"

"That's the problem with spoiled brats." Pirika laughed.

"Speaking of Yoh," Lyserg said, "Why was he on the next flight?"

Hao smirked. "One good reason. He's with someone."

"Yoh is with someone?" Horo asked in a perplexed voice.

"Oops. I slipped!" Hao said, shaking his head. "I thought you all knew."

"We didn't know anything, Mr. Wise Guy!" Ren cried.

Hao flashed his silly smile. "Don't tell me you didn't notice yet... My brother's frequent, disappearance, his strange behavior, his real smiles and cheery mood... Of course, there's something, or rather, someone behind those."

Everyone froze, slowly digesting the news.

Manta was the first to voice out his thoughts. "Yoh found the girl?"

**END

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