Memories can be a wonderful thing
Or they could be your worse enemy
They can bring a smile to your face
But sometimes you wish they would erase.
-Annaka
The memory of loosing a parent is so hard at any age
You just can't understand it and get worked up into such a rage
The memories of life can be so happy or so sad
But you go on everyday with the good and the bad
-Asakura Hao
My body tingles as I lay there still feeling your body wrapped around mine
I close my eyes and notice that there is nothing I can do but dream
A memory of what we have, what we are
My heart pumps hard as I open my eyes and turn to see you with me
The scent of you makes me wonder what could happen now?
They say "A memory will last a life time"
I say "A memory will only last a life time as long as you can keep it alive inside of your heart"
There is one thing that should be said
Daisuke.
-Asakura Yoh & Kyoyama Anna
________________________________________________________________________
Anna continued to tow Yoh by the hand; he didn't seem to mind much, he just smiled while being pulled.
Anna found a small coffee joint further down the street, she dragged the brunette into the joint with her, and she deposited Yoh in a seat plus ordered hot chocolate for the both of them.
They both drank it in silence, waiting for a waitress to come and take their order. Finally when their hot chocolate was almost gone, a girl with orchid colored hair came up to them; her hair was in a high spiky ponytail, with her bangs framed to one side of her face, then two locks of hair were loose behind her bangs.
She wore a white fluffy apron over a pink school jacket, under the pink school jacket was a white blouse and she had on a purple skirt that came down to her mid-thigh. It was the same uniform he saw Misaka wear everyday.
She dully looked at her notepad, not bothering to change her gaze over to Yoh and Anna. "May I take your order?" she asked, her tone as dull as her expression.
Yoh seemed a bit confused at the hostess's un-perkiness, but the small blonde across from him seemed perfectly at ease. She crossed her legs from under the table and held the cup of hot chocolate in her tiny fragile hands. "A good woman smiles when greeting her guest." She curtly said.
For a second Yoh froze. What happened to the nice childish Anna? He questioned. He wondered if the waitress would be mad and spit in their food or something because of the way Anna just talked to her.
The girl looked up from her notepad and smiled at Anna. "Ah, Kyoyama-sensei! You came once again to visit me, huh?"
Yoh looked from Anna to the hostess, and back to Anna. Kyoyama-sensei? He wondered why someone older than Anna would call her sensei. The lavender-pink haired girl gazed in his direction, raising a brow at his adorable lazy-like expression.
'Oh, my,' the orchid haired hostess's rather loud mental voice intruded Yoh and Anna's consciousness. 'My, oh, my.'
This town seemed to turn heads at the sight of Yoh. Strange. That never happened before at his home town…or in the shaman fights. Though this was only the second girl hear that had shown any interest in him. 'I wonder how they would be with Hao?' he asked himself, trying not to laugh at the thought of girls chasing his older brother.
The waitress placed her notepad under her arm, straightened her apron, and gave a slight bow. "Welcome to the Osore Café, I'll be your hostess for the time. Can I get you anything?"
Obviously her question was directed towards Yoh, but yet it was Anna-chan who answered her.
"You could start by giving us refills." She suggested curtly, taking a last sip from her hot chocolate. Yoh immediately agreed. "Hai. Refills would be good."
'Mmm! What a voice!' "Oh, er, yes! Sure thing!" she replied still dazed by Yoh's voice.
Yoh laughed in his head. 'She likes my voice?' Across from him Anna was frowning as the hostess struggled to write their orders down on the notepad, catching a glimpse of Yoh every few seconds.
'Your voice is not all she likes' she told him. Yoh grinned; it was cool to be able to talk to Anna this way. Though he didn't enjoy hearing other girls' thought, they were a bit…to the extreme.
"So," the waitress began, obviously trying hard to get Yoh's attention on her. "You're new to Machiosore?"
'Machiosore? Is that what this place is called?' he wondered. Across the table he say Anna look up at the ceiling and back down, a nod, a secretive one too, the waitress didn't notice a thing.
"Hai, I'm here on business." Yoh responded. It seemed like the most casual thing to say. He hoped that the girl wouldn't ask more about it. But to his dismay she did.
"What kind of business?" she asked, still writing on the notepad. Seriously, how long does it take to write two hot chocolates?
Yoh pondered in the back of his head, searching for a good answer. "I'm here to look for someone who could be the sponsor of my wife's new soon-to-be inn." He said. Give the guy a break, all he had been thinking of all day was how much he wanted to get back to Anna, you can't blame him for mentioning her in his sentence.
'Damn, he's married.' "Ah, I'm sure Kyoyama-sensei can help you with that!" –Yoh looked at Anna- "Her father is a doctor in the Oyamada Company, well more like a doctor/scientist. He also examines causes of deaths and stuff like that."
Anna's father in the Oyamada industry? Somehow this fact bothered Yoh, sort of like a bad gut-feeling.
Anna sneezed and immediately caught Yoh's attention. He jerked up out of his seat and handed her a napkin. "Are you okay, Anna-chan?" he asked her.
"Hai. It was just a sneeze." She replied, grabbing the napkin and blowing her nose into it. Yoh smiled and Chizuru cleared her throat.
"Kyoyama-sensei, I just remembered I wrote an article last night and was hoping you could give me your opinion." –She placed an article on the table- "I felt like using this as my topic since nothing like this has ever happened in this town. Please read it while I go get your refills."
She took the empty mugs off the table and placed them on a round wooden tray she carried on one arm, then she winked at Yoh on her way out. Yoh blushed and returned his attention back across the table. Anna was cheerlessly looking down at her hands which were both placed on her lap.
"Anna-chan?"
Anna didn't answer. Instead she shoved the document across the table over to Yoh. He picked it up with two hands and looked at it. He only had to read the title to figure out the source of the girl's downcast.
SHIO YUI'S UNKNOWN MURDER
You can imagine the cold chill that went down Yoh's body as he read those words, the picture of Yui's cold dead body in her room with the trails of her blood…
He shook the image out of his head. Not wanting to think about what other things Anna was capable of.
"I had one of those headaches last night…and well…"
She didn't have to finish, Yoh saw it all in her head; her pain, the spirit balls, the shriek, the oni, all of it. How Hao could ever tolerate reading minds ALL the time he would never understand. You could see everything, every single memory and thought in their head.
Yoh was about to say something until he was interrupted by a friendly booming voice. "~Anna-chan~!" the voice sang.
Yoh looked behind him. Cadm stood there in a dirty white apron, drying his hand with a rugged dish towel. He gave them that lively smile. Yoh smiled back, so did Anna.
"Taking another break, Cadm-tou-san?" she asked, her voice cheerful and happy.
"Hai! I just came to check up on my two favorite people in Machiosore!" he said, giving Yoh a hard pat on the back.
Yoh blinked before pointing to Anna and himself. "You mean us?" he asked cluelessly, earning a giggle from the small blonde.
Cadm laughed. "Why else would I take a break from my shift?" he asked, now use to Yoh's absentmindedness.
Yoh blinked once more. "You work here too?" he asked, referring to Cadm also selling artifacts in the morning.
Anna sighed. "You're a bit slow, Yoh-kun." She accused.
"And you get headaches too much," Cadm pointed out. "What else is new?"
Anna frowned; she crossed her arms in front of her and gave a small pout. "I can't help the fact that I am headache-prone." She complained.
Yoh busted out laughing. "It's the first time I see you act your age, Anna-chan!" he laughed.
Anna frowned even more. "Is that wrong?" she asked.
Yoh tried hard to speak between the laughter. "No, hahaha, its cute." He admitted.
Anna's frown softened at Yoh's compliment. Cadm took the newspaper and gazed at it, reading the first page, and then flipping to the next. "Its fine, Anna-chan. It's not like Misaka-san is suffering from her sister's death." He told her.
Yoh nodded. He too noticed that Misaka was pretty cheerful this morning, as if her sister hadn't been viciously murdered by an unknown creature. Well unknown to humans at least. Anna closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair.
"Shio-san is just shallow." The small blonde coldly stated.
"That's not very nice, Anna-chan." Yoh complained, a smile tugging the corners of his lips.
Cadm flipped to the next page of the article while Anna gave a soft shrug. She stood up out of her chair and straightened out her pink dress, the same she wore yesterday. Then she turned to Cadm and gave a small bow.
"Arigatou for the chat, Cadm-tou-san." She thanked, walking over to Yoh and slipping her small hand into his. "We have to leave, but I'll come back another time. Let's go Yoh-kun!" she happily said.
Yoh smiled and waved goodbye to Cadm, heading out the door with Anna's tiny hand in his. "See you back at the house!" he yelled.
Cadm nodded and when the two were out of sight he began to chuckle. "You won't be coming to the house tonight." He said.
The waitress came back with two mugs of hot chocolate in her hands, she blinked when she saw that only Cadm was at the table. "Ano…she left without paying." She told Cadm.
Cadm looked up from the article in his hands and let out a sigh. "Just take it out of my pay check…"
---
"Brrr. It's freezing!" Yoh announced as they walked. Anna's small fragile hand was still in his, he noticed that her hand burned as if it were on fire or was dipped in boiling water, but he chose to ignore it. Anna's warm hand felt good against his frozen one.
"I think its fine out." Anna said smiling, "I like it when it snows, it feels nice and everything looks so pretty."
Yoh smiled. It was true; everything looks pretty in snow. 'Especially Anna.' He added in his head. How many times had he seen Anna in the snowy white flakes of snow and yet she looked flawlessly perfect? But when he sees her in this small form, he can't help but to see her as an adorably cute kid. Yet she was still amazingly flawless.
"You sure you're not cold?" he asked her looking at her small shivering body, her tiny lips trembling slightly as if her teeth were about to chatter. But yet she shook her head no.
"I'm fine. I'm a big girl, I can handle a little cold." She told him, obviously determined to keep her word, yet her body said otherwise.
"I don't think you can, Anna." He told, beginning to worry she might catch a cold or something. He had one before at her age and he remembered it was as if his body ran entirely out of energy, no kid has to go through something like that. Especially as full of energy as Anna.
"It's Anna-chan." She corrected him in a childish yet bossy tone.
"Huh?"
She sighed. "Anna, is your wife. I'm Anna-chan." She explained "I prefer to be called with chan at the end; it makes me feel my age."
Yoh couldn't help but smile. Only Anna would think of such things. He agreed to keep calling her Anna-chan, and she grinned, showing perfectly white teeth in her luminous smile.
"Yoh-kun, do you love your wife?"
Yoh looked at the ground hiding his red cheeks, but his expression not embarrassed, but soft. "Hai." He replied, now looking ahead. "We even have a kid."
Anna's brows shot up, she stopped dead in her tracks, and let go of Yoh's hand. Yoh thought he must have said something that disturbed her. Instead Anna twisted on her toes to face him and, to his surprise, started jumping up and down excitedly.
"Kya! You have a kid?! Kawai~! Is it a boy?! Does he look like you?! What about Anna-san? What's his name?! Kawai~ Yoh-kun is a 'tou-san!!" she said taking a leap after every sentence she said.
Yoh began to laugh, his headphones fell off his head, he bent over to pick them up, still laughing. "You really are a child Anna-chan" he laughed.
Anna stopped jumping and frowned, a small pout forming at her tiny lips. "Not entirely…" she protested.
Yoh smiled and petted her head of blond locks. "That's true." He agreed, still laughing. He placed his hand back beside him as Anna fixed her long hair. "Anna-chan, do you like kids?"
"Hai~!" she replied while spinning 'round and 'round a few steps in front of him. "When I" -spin- "get older." –spin- "I want…" –spin- "a son!"
A son? So she's had that wish since she was this young? The desire of having a male offspring. It wasn't strange. Many Japanese families preferred a male offspring rather than female, due to carrying the family name and all, but a child like Anna doesn't think about those sorts of things do they? It didn't seem normal for them to.
"Why do you want a son?" he asked her. It was a question he'd wanted to ask Anna since that night before he left for America. That night when she told him that is she were to get pregnant, she wanted a son.
Anna stopped spinning and turned her body to face him; she placed an arm behind her back and leaned forward to him. Yoh leaned in, ready to hear her answer.
The small blonde placed her index finger over her lips. "That's a secret." She whispered and went back to spinning her way down the road.
Yoh dropped to the floor. "That's not fair Anna-chan!" he protested, lifting himself off the cement road.
Anna gave a small smile and giggled, running off ahead, out of his sight. Yoh sat on the ground and crossed his legs, resting his head on one hand, and let out a sigh. 'Anna-chan is a bit energetic.' He let out another sigh 'That's a secret.' Her childish voice rang in his head.
"Wah~ that's too bad." He yawned sadly. He leaned back and put his arms behind his head, laid down on the ground, and closed his eyes. "I really wanted to know why Anna wanted a son."
****
She just stood there, frozen in place, staring at him with surprised eyes. He had said yes to her, something she did not expect.
Yoh on the other hand scooted to the right to make room for her, then he sat up and stared back at her. He gave her a warm smile, and she slowly walked over to where he was. She stopped at the futon and Yoh pulled the covers off, she then laid herself beside him and he pulled the covers over the both of them.
Both lay facing the opposite direction from each other, neither saying a word.
Then there was a soft snore, Anna winced and turned to face her snoring fiancé, she smiled at seeing him so sound asleep.
She looked over his soft resting face, suddenly without noticing she reached out to touch it; her hand gently touched his face, tracing his smooth features.
Then her finger landed on his lips, she felt the wind of his breathe reached her fingers, and she immediately pulled away, finally realizing what she was doing.
She let out a sigh and looked at him once more. She didn't want him to leave; she wanted him to stay with her, by her side forever.
But yet he was doing this for her…
He was keeping his promise, the promise he made to her on that day.
'Why couldn't I just run away with you when you asked me five years ago?' she mentally asked wishing she could go back and run away with him where no one could find them.
She wished for so many things at the moment.
She wished she could tell him who she was.
She wished she could run away with him forever.
She wished she didn't have to be rude to keep him away from her true self.
She wished…she could kiss him…
She hung her head and shook it. She couldn't possibly be thinking of that…could she?
Once more his sleeping body caught her gaze; she shifted closer to his resting body and leaned in towards him, slowly closing the space between them…but then she stopped.
It wasn't fair to Yoh if she did without his permission, she couldn't do it without his permission.
She pulled herself away and sat up, looking down at her hands.
"Anna?"
She froze at the sound of her fiancé calling her name; she hesitated, but dared to turn her head.
Yoh was there gazing at her, wide awake.
"Weren't you asleep?" she blurted out without thinking.
Yoh hung his head and blushed. "Ano…I though it would help you sleep if you thought I was asleep so…"
Anna's eyes grew at his words, he wasn't asleep, not even when she was...it was now her turn to blush; she looked down at the covers, away from his gaze,
She then felt two soft and warm, gentle hands cupping her face…it was Yoh.
She stared at him as he angled her head to face him, "Yoh…"
Yoh was blushing madly as he brought her face close to his; thanking the Lord that Anna had not slapped him yet. Instead she let him guide her face to his, her eyes full of wonder, his eyes full of warmth and determination.
He stopped as soon as Anna's face was only an inch away from his; he raised a brow and sheepishly asked "Can I?"
Anna hesitated for a moment and saw Yoh's face slowly come down as she thought about it for more, then she gave a soft nod.
Yoh reddened some more before finally closing the small space between them.
His lips pressed onto hers, sweetly and softly kissing her with plenty of love.
Then the kiss increased in passion; Anna's arms wrapped themselves around his neck, greatly deepening the kiss, Yoh's hands strayed from her cheeks to her waist, carefully placing it there.
They didn't notice anything, not even as they fell back, lying back down on the futon, their lips still moving in perfect synchronization.
Anna's robe began to fall off her shoulders, it fell down to her elbows, but her chest still remained unexposed due to Yoh being over her.
It wasn't until Yoh felt Anna's hands untangle themselves from around his neck, and were now pulling off his yukata, that he realized what they were doing.
He pulled himself off of her, leaving her whimpering on the futon, desiring for more.
"Gomen Anna! Gomen!" he yelled pulling himself further away from her.
Anna sat up looking at him, confused. "What are you apologizing for?" she asked, her breaths still uneven.
Yoh looked at her, now noticing that her yukata no longer covered her chest, he blushed some more and looked away.
"For…um…almost…" –He pointed to her bare chest- "…you know."
Anna looked down, finally noticing her loose yukata; she pulled it up and kept it there with one of her hands.
"There's…no reason for you to apologize, Yoh." She told him, not bothering to look at his red face.
"But we almost MADE LOVE!" he shouted, he froze at the words, then hid his face in the covers, realizing what he just shouted out. "I shouldn't be allowed to be here with you…" he muffled into the covers.
Anna looked at her yukata and a soft pink glow came upon her cheeks. "So what if we did? There's…nothing wrong with that." She said.
Yoh jerked his head up to stare at her with wide eyes. Nothing wrong with that? Was she feeling okay?
"Unless…" she hesitated "you do not find me attractive. Or don't have any desires..."
Yoh's hands flew and grabbed her arms "No Anna! That's not true! I…" he hesitated with his words "I think you're…*gulp* the most…most beautiful girl I know…" he finished quietly, his face so red you could mistake it for a tomato. He jerked a pillow out front behind him and slammed his face in it.
Anna just looked at him; her heart was pounding so hard she was surprised Yoh couldn't hear it. He actually found her attractive? Her who tortured him dearly and nearly kills him with her dark, emotionless façade?
"Then, will you make love to me?" she asked innocently, biting her bottom lip, hiding the fear she had of his rejection.
Yoh wanted to say yes, he had the urge to, but… "I can't, Anna."
Anna fought back tears that were forming in her eyes; there was now a lump in her throat. "Why?" she hoarsely asked.
Yoh dropped his arms and looked away from her. "What if I hurt you?"
"You won't."
"What'll I tell people if they find out?"
"They don't need to know."
"It's not right."
"We're engaged, Yoh."
"But Anna what if…what if you get pregnant?" he asked worriedly, a lump forming in his throat at everyone's reaction to a pregnant Anna.
Anna didn't look worried, her face was blank, there was something in her eyes, but Yoh didn't know what. She was silent, not answering to his question, and for a second Yoh thought that maybe she gave up, but this was Anna.
She turned her body to face him, then she got closer to him, and positioned herself in his arms, Yoh froze. Stunned by the sudden touch of her perfect, fragile, body in his arms; he looked down at her, as she placed her head on his well built chest.
"Anna…" His throat was going dry, he felt it, boy how much he wanted something that he knew what was wrong. How much he loved her.
"-if that happens"-she said- "then I want a son."
What could he say? She wanted him to make love to her, heck; he wanted to make love to her. But yet what if he left and then in the tournament he would happen to…not make it.
"No, Anna." He answered her.
Anna felt tears forming at her eyes again; she pushed herself out of his arms and began to walk, away from him. Then Yoh reached out and grabbed her right arm, she turned to look at him, and at that instant he pulled her right back into his arms.
He held her tightly against his perfect bare chest. "I can't, Anna, I can't!" he moaned with agony.
"Please Yoh," she said, her plea was muffled against Yoh's skin "Please."
He felt a sharp pain in his chest as he heard her pleas and felt her tears against his chest. He wasn't agreeing with her because he didn't want to hurt her, but yet…she was already in pain.
"I understand if you don't love me-" she muffled against his chest.
That did it. In an instant, with amazing reflexes, he pulled her to him and kissed her with fierce lust and sweet love that he had been holding back.
She surrendered herself to him, allowing him to do whatever he desired with her, allowing each other to show their passion, their need, and…
Their absolute love for each other.
****
"Say AH, Yoh-kun!" a childish voice said, interrupting Yoh from remembering his memories of that night.
He opened his eyes, Anna-chan stood over him looking down at him, her small head blocking Yoh from the rays of blinding sunlight. In her hands was a cup and a small plastic spoon. Yoh sat up, blinking the sleepiness away from his drowsy eyes.
"Ah? What was that an-" the small girl stuffed his mouth with a spoonful of something cold that froze the inside of his mouth.
"AH! That's cold Anna-chan!" he yelled out, squirming up to his feet, earning a giggle fit from the small girl.
"Of course its cold, Yoh-kun, its shaved ice." She giggled, popping a spoonful of it into her mouth. She began walking again with Yoh trailing at her side.
"How can you be eating shaved ice in the winter time?" Yoh asked, blowing warm air into his hands. Anna shrugged and popped another spoonful into her mouth.
"I dwon't fweel thwat itz culd" she said with her mouth full of ice, she gulped it down and smiled. Yoh laughed. "Besides…" she said taking another spoonful "Its orange flavored!" she announced.
The brunette blinked. He never thought that Anna like oranges, she always threw out his, and she's always eating apples not oranges. "I didn't know you liked oranges, Anna-chan." He told her, not believing it himself.
Anna had the spoon in her mouth, she looked at him and blinked, then she nodded and took the spoon out. "Hai. My Onichan kinda made me like them."
"How did he do that?" Yoh asked. He tried hard to make Anna like oranges, but never succeeded. He wondered why that was.
She gave a sort of secretive grin, throwing away her empty cup and spoon in a nearby trashcan. "I'll show you one day." She answered, that grin still on her face.
Yoh frowned and tucked his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "You keep too many secrets." He protested.
She didn't answer, instead she looked ahead at the road they walked on, it wasn't until they arrived downtown, that she asked him something. "Yoh-kun…"
"Hmm?"
"Why do you want to know why I want a son?" she asked, her gaze now on his serious face. He took a few more steps before answering her in a honest tone.
"Because Anna said the same thing to me before we…"
"Fornicated?" she suggested, raising her both her brows at him.
"What?" Yoh blurted out, looking at the girl in absolute confusion.
"Fornicated, it means you made love before marriage." The small girl replied, walking with her hands behind her back. "It's a harsh word, but it's what you two did." She casually explained.
"But we're engaged so…"
The blonde shrugged. "Maybe there's a way around that if you're engaged, I don't know. I'm only seven."
Yoh smiled at that. No matter what age she was, Anna was always mature for her age, or at least, too serious for her age. He found it pretty funny that she was using her age as an excuse for something she doesn't know.
"Yoh-kun, when she told you she was pregnant what did you want her to have?" she asked him, curious to get inside his head.
Yoh looked at the ground as they walked, watching his feet step over each rock. "I didn't have time to think about it." He replied softly "By the time I found out, she already gave birth to Hana."
He watched her expressions from the corner of his eye. First her eye brows shot up in surprise, the they lowered in thought, finally her head gave a small nod, her expression was now one of understanding. So much understanding that it seemed impossible to see one on a girl her age, yet here she was with that expression planted across her features.
"She was scared." She said, earning a look of astonishment from Yoh. She turned to look at him, there eyes locking. Yoh noticed there was a sort of fire in her eye, the kind he saw in Hao's eye when he would try to read his mind. Yoh now understood. The girl was trying to enter Anna's mind through his memories of her.
"She was scared you would die." She dully said, her eyes lost in Yoh's head, searching for more. "That you would die because you would about her and the lid too much. Because that is your nature, you can't see people in pain without doing something about it…urg!" she grabbed her head and scrunched down in a ball.
"Anna-chan?! Are you okay?! What's wrong?!" Yoh yelled kneeling down beside her as she twitched in pain. She stayed like that for a while with her head buried in her hands, trying to endure the pain that she could never get use to.
Then it stopped.
"Anna-chan?" the boy asked. The girl lifted her head off her head and looked at him with eyes of pain. Yoh just waited, waited until she seemed able enough to say something. Finally she lifted her head and tried to get up.
"Gomen." She weakly said. "I should know better than to try to read minds when it hurts me."
"Its fine, really." Yoh said, trying to comfort the small child. He saw how she had trouble getting up and turned his back to her. "Here, get on." He kindly ordered. The girl obeyed, she placed her small hands on his shoulders and pushed herself on his back.
Yoh carefully pushed himself up on his feet, carrying the small girl on his back; she didn't weigh much, so it was pretty easy to walk with her on his back. "You okay back there?" he asked over his shoulder. He felt her squirm a little before answering. "Hai. I'm just a little dizzy." She responded.
"Maybe you missed your nap time?" Yoh jokily suggested. Anna pushed herself higher on his back, bringing her head on top of his shoulder; out of the side of his eye he saw her lips press together into a thin line.
"I'm seven not five." She said, a bit annoyed but yet trying hard not to smile. Yoh just gave his grin and immediately her frown faded.
She rested her head on his shoulder and kept it there, her head turned so she could see his face better. She eyed him; his smooth face was always planted with a smile or a grin on his lips, his chocolate eyes were always soft and full of warm kindness, and the long strands of his brown hair under his orange headphones reflected the shine of the now orange sun.
Orange sun? She lifted her head, how long have they've been wandering around Machiosore? The sun was slowly disappearing behind Mt. Osore, the colors of the sky were no longer shades of blue but shades of red and yellow.
"Anna-chan?" Yoh asked, wondering why Anna was squirming on his back again. He saw her as she pushed herself off his back and landed on her feet.
"I'm late for my class placement exam!" she shouted out, her eyes huge and full of panic; Yoh felt her tug at his hand and pull him forward, they were now running at an amazing speed, so fast that Yoh could barely see the trees and stores they passed as they ran. Who knows how long they'd been running when they finally came to a stop to catch their breath.
When Yoh looked up he felt his eye grow ten times normal size. The building they were at was impossibly huge, Yoh had never seen a school so large. Its structures seemed as if they were made of blue-green marble over smooth bricks which seemed unnoticeable to the naked eye. But what surprised Yoh most of the place was that its windows were so big that the hallways were almost viewable from the outside.
"Wow." He awed. "It's huge!"
Beside him, Anna nodded while she pushed Yoh through the school gates and past the double door entering the halls of the enormous school. Yoh was still amazed as he walked down the school's hall with Anna pushing him forward.
"Onichan's going to kill me." The small girl muttered under her breath.
Yoh noticed her breathing was a bit uneven; he turned around, picked her up and placed her on his shoulders. She blinked and Yoh laughed. "I think your invisible, Anna-chan, I'm sure no one has the ability to do anything to Yoh." He told her.
He began to run, jogging with the small girl on his back. He didn't have to run much, he could hear the thoughts of people coming from a hallway to his right; Anna got off and went to the first door to her left when they got to the hallway.
Yoh watched her go inside; he closed the door behind her and then pressed his ear against the wall, both curious and eager to listen.
YOH'S P.O.V.
As soon as I pressed my ear against the cold wall I found myself inside Anna-chan's head on the other side of the wall. I could see and hear everything she did; to me it felt like a natural thing, as if I had done it all my life. Maybe it ad something to do with me being part of Hao, I don't know, I was more concentrated on making sure Anna-chan wouldn't have another one of her "headaches".
Through her thoughts I saw a man sitting at a desk reading a newspaper. The scene began to move so I'm guessing she was walking up to the front desk, her soft ringing voice taking over the room. "Ano…sumimasen?"
The man laid his paper and looked at Anna-chan, his eyes widening at the sight of her. I heard him swallow and his heart seemed to accelerate as Anna-chan approached him.
I could instantly tell that he was attracted to Anna-chan. But honestly, who wasn't? I remember my face was exactly like his, eyes wide, pink cheeks, a look of awe. Even as a seven year old Anna is every aspect of perfection, and though in my time I saw her every day my heart still tried to pump its way out of my chest.
*sigh~* how I miss her…
But this, this was wrong. This guy was a man no less than his mid-30's, and he was attracted to a seven year old……it disturbed me.
"What can I do for you, beautiful?" the man asked, his sharp eyes ran up and down Anna-chan's tiny body.
How can she stand there perfectly calm when this man is eyeing her that way? She must know what he's thinking at the moment, yet she stands there as if she didn't hear any of his thoughts. I felt like going in there and just pull her out, but I knew better.
"Everything will work out in the end." I told myself, knowing that that usually calmed me. I took deep breathes and pressed my ear against the wall once more.
"I'm here to take my class placement exam." She began in her childish voice.
I saw the man's face change from anticipation and astonishment to understanding. "You one of those home schooled kids trying to enter the school?"
"Hai."
It never occurred to me that Anna was ever home schooled, not counting her training with grandma of course, but I always thought she went to school. But if she worries about her headaches why enroll her in school…?
"Ah, I don't know what to tell you kid…the exams already started and there is only 25 minutes left of the exams…" the man said apologetic, leaning back against his chair.
'As long as she doesn't smile I'm sure I won't give in to a seven year old so easily' I hear him think.
There was a mirror behind him, it almost covered the whole wall, so I could see Anna-chan's expressions and movements pretty well.
She gave him a smile, exactly what he was praying she wouldn't do. "Then aren't I wasting my testing time talking to you?" she said curtly.
The man's breathing stuttered at her smile, and his thoughts all gave in. "Tell you what I'll do. I'll give the teacher in the testing room a call and describe you to him. Let him make the decision."
What would describing her to the teacher do? I mean I'm sure there were lots of small long haired, brown eyed, seven year old blonde's in this place. Right? Though something was still troubling me about Anna-chan enrolling herself in school…who put her up to it? Her mom, brother…dad?
The guy was already at the phone, dialing a few numbers that Anna-chan easily remembered in her head after one glance.
I decided I would switch heads for a bit, so I lowered 'my ability' over to the man instead of Anna-chan.
'This better be an emergency.' I heard faintly from the other end of the line.
"Well there's this girl who came take the exam…"
'I fail to see the emergency in that. Testing is almost over and-'
"You think I don't know that? Look she just doesn't look like any other kid that's come to take it so I thought-"
'What does she look like?'
"Well…" I saw his eyes drift toward the mirror in front of him, he looked at Anna-chan trying to find a word to describe her; Anna-chan seemed as if she didn't feel his gaze or hear the conversation. But I knew better, Anna (seven years old or not) knew everything. "Well, she looks like a child model! That's what she looks like!" Anna-chan smiled. "She can't be any more than seven, flawless and peachy skin, long golden hair down past her waist, chocolate brown eyes—sound familiar?"
The way he described her so well made me feel as if he had been looking at her up and down without stop.
'What's her name?' The teacher on the other end of the phone asked, his tone sounded curious. Did the description ring a bell?
"What's your name kid?" the man asked Anna-chan, who blinked as if she had been dozing off. She gave him her name and went back to looking at the tiles on the ground. "Kyoyama. Does that help?" he asked into the receiver.
For a moment I heard nothing from the other end of the phone, dead silence. I saw Anna-chan frown in the mirror, she noticed it too. Then I heard faint shouting on the other end of the phone, and a new voice, childish and female, was heard on the other end of the line.
'Listen here,' the new voice said 'try to control yourself for a moment, clear your mind and try to look at the girl without her noticing.'
The man did as he was told, looking at Anna-chan through the mirror as the voice kept on talking. 'Does the girl have an unbelievably mature expression?'
"Hai, but what's-"
'Now this is important. Look at that girl's eyes; do you see sort of a fiery flame in them? As if she's doing something you can't see?'
The man squinted at Anna-chan's reflection. "Hai."
'AND she's indescribably gorgeous?'
"I said that didn't I?"
These are one of the moments that I am usually lost at. Why was this person asking so many questions? Did she somehow know about Anna-chan? I gritted my teeth. I had a real bad feeling, that same feeling I felt last night before Shio Yui's death. I knew something was wrong.
"Why is your head against the wall?"
I flinched. Anna-chan appeared beside me, looking at me in confusion. When did she leave the room? While I was pondering my thoughts? She just stood there waiting for an answer, and I just shrugged, a bit…thankful that only at certain times could she read my mind. "I fell asleep against the wall." I lied.
She seemed to take in that answer, because she gave off a smile, then turned around. "I'm going to take my exam." She told me, her voice struggling not to laugh at my laziness.
I blinked. She was planning on taking an exam with only 20 minutes left? For a second I was about to tell her that was a bit crazy, but then I stopped. I knew for a fact that the Shaman Queen is meant to have multiple gifts, Cadm told me last night while I was trying to get over the whole Anna's-first-oni-killing-Shio-Yui thing.
Could intelligence be another gift too? I used to use the power of spirits to get high marks on test, while Anna would get high marks without ever using any spirit. It would really explain how my Anna knew almost everything.
Anna-chan looked over her shoulder at me, I grinned at her and felt her tiny warm hand slip into mine again, pulling me over to the door where she was supposed to take her exam.
"Wait for me here." She ordered. Then a smile crept up her childish face, "And don't fall asleep against the wall."
I laughed. "Hai."
She went into the room and through the large window the room had I saw her walk over to the teacher and she instantly began explaining why she arrived late.
I watched, not bothering to read anyone's mind, I thought I had enough mind reading for one day…
"Ano…sumimasen?" I heard a voice call out.
My head turned to my left. A woman, mid-20's maybe, stood there. She had long, and I mean LONG, light blonde hair that came to her knees, but it was tied in a loose side braid. Her eyes were green and full of kindness and warmth, her skin was pale yet she looked healthy. She had on a white turtle neck dress under a long, pinkish, pea coat.
I blinked. "Ah…hai?" I responded, probably sounding stupid. But it surprised me that this lady could see me, wasn't it that normal people couldn't see me unless I was with Anna-chan or they had something to do with Anna's reason for a closed heart?
…oh. This woman could have done something to bring out Anna's façade, what was her relationship with Anna?
"Is this the class placement exam room?" she kindly asked me, a soft smile on her face.
"Hai. You have a family member in there?" I casually asked. I really wanted to know this woman's connection to Anna, though she looked as innocent as a newborn.
"Yes I do," she said smiling, tilting her head slightly to the left. "My daughter is in…there." She looked through the window and her gaze fell on Anna-chan at the front desk. "Oh dear," she whispered to herself, bringing her hand up to her mouth. "Did she arrive late?"
I think that lately I've blinking in confusion too much, but I can't help it. I find myself in lots of confusing things. The woman turned to look at me, her green eyes seemed to move to my headphones, raising a brow at them.
'Orange headphones?...' "Oh!" she gasped. I'm thinking she must have realized something that I missed. "You must be Yoh-san!" she said, saying my name as if she had known me my whole life.
"Hai," I said waving a hand happily up in front of me. "Asakura Yoh, nice to meet you." Even though she was a stranger, I always found out it is easier to be friends with strangers rather than enemies.
She gave a soft smile and slightly bowed forward. "I'm Kyoyama Akiko, nice to meet you."
Kyoyama…then this woman was Anna's foster mother. The one who, along with her father, abandoned her? I felt a lump form in my throat, and I tried hard to make it go away…it didn't work.
"You're……Anna-chan's mother?" I asked hoarsely, trying to hide the pain in my voice as I said those words.
'Foster mother' I heard her sadly correct in her head. There was a glimpse of pain in her face, but it immediately disappeared and was replaced by a smile. "Hai, I'm Anna's mother."
Ah, that's right, Anna's real mother died after giving birth to her. Then her aunt had to decide between leaving her on Mu where Hao could easily find her or had her over to humans where Hao would never think she would be…
And Akiko-san must've been the one who found her…
"Did she just arrive?" she asked me, her green eyes full of worry. I can't blame her; it's a real problem when a student comes late for an exam, for everybody, not just the student.
"Hai," I said apologetic, scratching the back off my head. I have a habit of doing that when I'm about to apologize or about to do something I know was foolish. "Gomen, we kind of lost track of time…"
Akiko-san shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'm just glad she was enjoying herself with a friend." 'Seeing that she had no friends, besides Cadm-san, a few days ago' "I'm just worried about her taking the test in 15 minutes."
"Everything will work out in the end." I told her in my carefree mood. I grinned and she smiled back. She didn't seem to be the type of person who would abandon a child; I wonder what happened at that time…?
NORMAL P.O.V.
"Come on Edward, don't be an arse!" a heard a voice call out not to far from Yoh. "Just for a few days maybe. I won't do anything bad to her…"
Edward and Misaka were walking down the hall, a boy with wild unruly orange hair was chasing them, pleading something that Edward didn't seem to happy about.
"No." Edward strictly said. "It's disgusting and illegal. You'll end up in jail."
The orange haired boy decided to make Edward see it from his point of view "If that happens, then I just show her to the police and they'll see my point."
"I already told you no!" the blonde shouted, irritated enough.
Yoh watched as the orange haired boy hung his head and left, walking back in the opposite direction from which he came.
Misaka and Edward kept walking until Edward spotted Yoh; he stopped dead in his tracks and glared hard at the brunette. "What are you doing here, Cadm's relative?" he asked, his tone sounding quite menacing.
Yoh opened his mouth ready to give the explanation once again, until Akiko interrupted. "Edward, what kind of tone are you using with people? You should know better." She said to the blonde, her tone disappointed.
Edward lowered his head. "Gomen, mum." He apologized through his gritted teeth.
It took about ten seconds before those words sank into the brunette, his eyes growing wide in exclamation of the fact he just heard. "YOU'RE ANNA'S BROTHER?!" he shouted out, his headphones falling off his head.
Misaka began to giggle, as so did Akiko, Edward just shook his head. "Dimwit." He accused under his breathe.
Yoh sheepishly laughed, he scratched his head and bent over to pick up his headphones, dusting them off with one hand. "Gomen, I just didn't think you were her brother."
"What did you think I was then?"
"Probably another of Kyoyama-san's admires." Misaka muttered under her breath.
"Another one of who's admires?" a ringing voice asked curiously. Anna had just come out the door, a secretive smirk planted across her face. "Hey mum." She greeted Akiko.
Yoh had his eyes wide as he looked at the small blonde. "Y-you finished your exam?" he asked. Anna gave a smile and nodded. "Hai, I did right in front of that sensei's face so he wouldn't think I cheated."
Akiko looked at her daughter in disbelief; she knelt down and raised a brow. "But…that was ten minutes, Anna." She pointed out to her small daughter.
"Indeed it was." A voice said from the door. A man in a black tux stood there, his face absolutely serious and scared. "I just checked your answers Miss Kyoyama, you seemed to have aced every question." He informed her. His tone sounded as if he was accusing the small blonde rather than congratulating her.
Anna looked at her mother's worried face and took a step back to Yoh's side wrapping her small arms around him the best she could. "They were easy questions…" she told them, trying to hide herself from their thoughts of disapproval.
Edward narrowed his eyes at his sister. "Those questions were all the way to college level." He informed her. Anna buried her face in Yoh's jacket, her brother had that face, the one that showed he knew she wasn't normal, she didn't like it one bit; Yoh bent down and patted her head.
"Indeed they were." Sensei sighed. Here, standing in front of him, was a child genius who had appeared out of nowhere. Okay, maybe not nowhere, but her previous residence was unknown. Sensei knew that he should expect great things from the girl...whatever "great" meant, but yet he had his doubts about the girl.
The teacher cleared his voice. "Even though I saw you take it with my own eyes, Miss Kyoyama, I still cannot face myself to believe that all you did was flip through all the questions and just solved them all in ten minutes."
"I believe her." Yoh admitted, earning gazes from all of them, including Anna. He just smiled at them and kept patting Anna's blond hair. "You should know by now…Anna-chan has her talents."
Akiko smiled. "True." She said kindly.
Sensei continued talking after Yoh's brief interruption.
"Well, if those are your scores then I don't know where to place you because, based on your test a result, your…skill is beyond any college student." He paused and continued. "Basically, you don't even have to attend any school at all."
Anna's eyes grew she pushed herself out of Yoh's arms and stood in front of Sensei "But I want to go to school!" she shouted in a childish wine. "If I didn't then I could've just not taken the exam! But I really, really, want to go!"
Yoh's eyes widened and his head jerked down to look at the small girl in horror. Anna-chan wanted to go to school? Why on earth would anyone want to go to school?
The sensei seemed equally surprised, yet all he did was straighten his face, and clear his throat. "Well…if that's the case…I suppose I could enter you in with the high schoolers…"
Yoh heard Anna's brother groan in protest. 'I'll have to keep an eye on her if he does that! All those low life perverts actually wanting her…' Yoh shuddered as he heard Edward's thoughts come into his head.
The sensei gave a sigh and walked right back in to the exam room. 'All those high schoolers in there taking the exam and a SEVEN year old turned out to be the genius! Well there's also that little orange-haired girl…'
When the Sensei left out of their sight Akiko let out a sigh and looked out the window. "Oh, dear. It looks like rain." She said pointing to the dark clouds outside that dropped droplets of water from them. She turned her gaze to Yoh. "Yoh-san where do you live?" she asked concerned for the boy's way back home.
Yoh realized why she was asking him that. It didn't look like it was going to rain very lightly, it look more like a thunder storm outside. "Ano…all the way on the other side of town." He responded.
Akiko's lips formed themselves into a straight line. "Ah~ I feel bad." She said, lowering her head. "It's because you were bringing Anna here that you cannot go home so easily."
Yoh placed his hands in front of him. "No, its not that! I decided to come and bring Anna-chan-"
Akiko clapped her hands once together. "I know! You may spend the night at our place for tonight! We have plenty of extra rooms!"
"Plenty is an understatement." Edward muttered under his breath. "It's more like too many extra rooms."
Anna looked up and smiled at Yoh, her smile was contagious because as soon as Yoh looked down, an involuntary sheepish grin spread across his face.
She grabbed his big hand and pulled him along with the rest of them. Yoh followed only because he remembered the reason he was here, he was here because he wanted to know why Anna had ever shut her heart out to others, and he had to go to one of the sources he knew…Kyoyama Akiko.
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"This was the training you had to do with Ashcroft?" Macchi asked looking at the extremely dazzling and illuminatingly clean spa room.
They submersed themselves under the warm water, letting all the troubles sink down into the water. Kanna snorted. "Have you seen how disgusting this place was? Besides I didn't want to be down there with that damn Maiden's mother."
"Mari thinks Kanna was trying to let her anger out by cleaning." Mari dully said, her tiny pale jaw under the water, blowing small bubbles with her lips.
Kanna closed her eyes and laid her head back, frowning. "That could be it too I guess…" she admitted.
Macchi raised a brow as she wrapped the towel around her short coral hair to keep it from getting wet. "Why do you seem so mad? I thought Mari was the one who had mood swings."
"Mari does not." The blonde protested, her green eye dully looking at the sparkling blue water in which her body was submerged in.
There was a small pause as Hanaguimi stayed hushed, each one lost in their own memories of why they were angry/sad/scared, the thoughts that haunted them until their precious Lord Hao had gone and saved them from those wretched lies and harsh hate that took over the each of them.
"You know what seems to piss me off the most?" Kanna asked her two teammates.
Matilda and Marion both raised their heads to look at her, both eyes curious and willing to hear their friend out. Because Hanagumi all shared the same dream, the same wishes, the same…feelings.
"The fact that we are so easy to read." She finished, letting the younger shamans to think about the meaning behind those nine little words.
Easy to read. Everyone can see right through them; noticing that at times…they were in pain, they were lost, they were hurt, killed, destroyed, and because of it they developed hatred against all the kinds of simple-minded humans that destroyed them.
"Mari…does not like the fact that people know what Mari fears." She said grabbing her legs and pulling them close to her under the water.
"I don't see it that way." Macchi softly piped up, her eyes full of tiny tears that dropped into the water with a tiny splash. "I always believed that my memories…are the pain that made me start to bloom…that's why I was able to say it to Tao Jun and the others…the pain is still in us so if we don't open up…how will we, as Hanagumi, ever bloom?"
"We don't." Kanna protested. "Adding on to your metaphor, Matti, we are dying flowers with no hope of ever blooming."
"Mari…does not want to be a flower." The blonde girl frowned in disagreement.
"Well get over it. Hanagumi is the name Hao-sama gave us and we will respect it! We are The Flowers and I will die with that name if it means giving respect to the one who saved us from our hellish life!!!!" the blue haired leader ordered, standing up and stomping her foot down hardly.
Marion flinched at Kanna's tone of voice, her green eyes widening so much that you could get lost in them thinking they were a large forest of trees. Matilda sank her head into the water, only allowing her carrot colored hair to be above it.
Kanna sat back down into the hot spring, allowing another silence to take up the room. None of them had said a thing; their loyalty to Hao-sama was thin. After he tried to devour their souls they've been wondering who to trust in such a cruel and cold world. They came up with nothing.
Macchi sighed and rose her head up from underneath the burning hot water. "I wish Ren-kun were here…" she sighed, not noticing that she had just said her thoughts out loud. She turned to her teammates who had a look of suspicion on their pink faces.
"What?" she said with her British accent wondering why in the world they were looking at her like that.
"Mari thinks Matilda is getting close to that Tao Ren boy." Mari informed showing a sigh of fear at the word 'boy'.
Matilda's face was pink, though her teammates could not tell of it was because she was blushing or it was because of the heat of the spa. "Hey Marion how were Horohoro's boxers?" The peach hair girl teased the blonde, getting the subject off of her.
Mari's face grew red as she remembered the scene with the cat. "Mari does not like boxers! Mari does not like boxers!" she yelled, dipping her face harshly into the waters. Macchi just laugh. "How many times is that, Marion? Or did you see something else when the cat ripped his pants off-"
"Stai zitto! Mari thinks Matilda should stai zitto!" the blonde ordered, her green eyes burning in total rage, contrasting with her flushed face. She grabbed Chuck who was laying on the floor behind them and aimed it at Macchi, who was still laughing her pigtails off. Marion glared at her "STAI ZI-"
"BOTH OF YOU HALT DEN MUND!" the bluenette yelled in German, ordering the two girls to shut up. She was now pissed off more than before.
The two younger flowers sighed and sat back down. One of the little things they were taught was to fight, never to stop and think of why they were this way, but yet that is what they did.
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****
Yoh walked around his new home in his yukata, eying the place as he walked down the large halls, the place Anna had bought for their stay in America was similar to the one back on Funbari hill. "Why do we even need a house so big?" the brunette asked himself out loud. He sighed.
Anna, Tamao, and Manta had all come to America to support him, they had gotten the location of the Patch village through a senior Itako in Los Angeles had been investigating it and sent all the information to Anna.
Yoh smiled to himself and sat down on the porch of the big house. He looked up at the stars, he wasn't expecting Anna to come all the way there; he was sweating like crazy when he heard her commanding voice back at the village. And when he yelled at her saying she was paying way too little for a pure silver Patch key holder he swore he saw cherry blossoms blow through the wind around the both of them.
Not to mention his friends were stunned when he agreed to her training him. He couldn't help it though it was the way she said those words.
'At any rate I'm worried about you getting weak. No one else will do anything about it, so I'm not going to let it happen.'
Did those words have a secret meaning? He sighed. Anna was so hard to understand.
"Why are you out here in the cold? In a yukata out of all things." That ringing voice asked behind him.
He didn't have to but yet the brunette turned his head face the gorgeous blond itako that watched him with her chocolate eyes.
"I was thinking…" Yoh responded, purposely trailing off so he would have to tell Anna what he was thinking.
"About the fight with that stubborn Maiden?" she asked sitting down beside him, their bodies only inches away.
Yoh sighed. "Now that you mention it…even though she acted so kind and innocent when she asked me to join those X-Laws…The Maiden is…"
"If you say cute I'll slap you with my left hand." Anna threatened menacingly making Yoh shiver in his spot. "I'd though you wouldn't go so low as to liking another girl because you almost saw her chest." She uncomfortably mumbled, shifting her weight around to find herself cozier.
Yoh slammed his hands on each side of the ground beside her and shifted forward, their faces only centimeters apart. "I didn't look at it, Anna! Okay maybe a glimpse when she got out of the Iron Maiden—but it wasn't on purpose I swear!" he sputtered out in worry that Anna thought he would look at other girls when he had her.
Anna's face was grim. "So you did see it. Oh I'm sure you enjoyed looking at another girl's chest, didn't you?" she said raising an angry brow at her husband.
Yoh huffed. "I'm trying to tell you that I didn't! Anna the only chest I enjoyed seeing was you-" he stopped in mid-word, his face turning blood red. Anna just stared at him, both shocked and stunned from his words, a soft pink glow across her soft peachy features.
"Okay," she muttered, biting her lower lip and looking away from Yoh's flushed face. "How very…flattering."
Yoh pushed himself away from her and hung his head in the spot he was before. "Gomen~. I didn't mean to…"
Anna smiled, "You're too gullible, Yoh."-Yoh laughed at that- "So what are you planning on doing with that Lyserg kid? Are you really going to do nothing about it?"
Yoh's smile collapsed, instantly turning into a thin line, he looked up at the millions of stars in the sky, eying the small illumination they gave off to the night. "I am going to do something about it."
"Besides becoming Shaman King, Yoh. You're already going to win the tournament-"
"Are you sure? What about what Chocolove said about the three God-class shaman groups?" he asked.
Anna didn't answer. Instead she found it ore comforting to look up at the stars, the same as Yoh. Yoh knew he wouldn't get an answer, it didn't matter to Anna if there were three powerful groups in the shaman fight, Anna…always believed in him. Yet there had been something that has always bothered him.
"Anna, would…would it be easier for you if I…dropped out of the Shaman Fight?"
Anna jerked her head in his direction, her eyes humongously wide in shock. "Iie." She ordered him "You're not going to drop out whatsoever."
"Only to make it easier for you, Anna. You seem in a really bad mood and-"
She cut him off. "How would that make it easier for me, Yoh?"-She lowered her head and, to Yoh's surprise, she rested it on his arm- "If you drop out…then I can't be your wife." –Yoh jerked his head down to look at her- "Kino will immediately break the engagement and…" –Her lower lip trembled- "and then it would all be for nothing."
Yoh thought about that. He knew exactly what Anna meant by 'then it would all be for nothing'. Every touch, every kiss, everything they did that day before he left…he would've taken Anna's virginity for nothing. He looked at Anna thoughtfully for a while before his fingers threaded through her hair. She turned to him quizzingly, a look of confusion on her face.
"Yoh?..."
Yoh brought her into his arms, causing faint pink flushes on both their faces. To hide his embarrassment he buried his face in her hair, taking in the smell of her sweet shampoo, and began talking under the cascade of sunlight that was Anna's hair. "We could always…run away together. Like I told you five years ago. I won't be breaking my promise because I leave the choice to you."
"Idiot," she hoarsely mumbled into his chest "I can't do that to Kino and the Asakuras…I owe them my life. You will become the Shaman King, Yoh…you're not the only one who needs that world you want to make."
There was a long, dead silence as they both stayed in each other's arms, hugging the other close to each other and not wanting to let go.
"What are you thinking about?" Yoh softly asked the perfect definition of beauty which he held in his arms.
Anna glanced upwards at him, and gave a gentle shrug. "You."
"Me?" he asked, looking and feeling very much surprised.
"Yes." Then she frowned at his previous response. "Why?" she asked. "Is it that strange for you to know that I'm thinking about you?"
"N-no," he stammered. "I just…" he trailed off. "Do you think of me a lot?" he asked curiously.
"Hai." She seriously responded. "You don't think I'm so heartless that I don't think of you, do you?" She glared up at him, raising a brow in the process.
Yoh grinned. "Iie, I can hear the beat of your heart pounding against my chest."
Anna blushed and pushed her body away from him, placing a hand over her chest, clutching it tightly. Yoh's face fell into a small frown. "Anna." The blonde itako stood to her feet and turned her head away from her fiancé's gaze.
"It's best to go to bed now, Yoh." She quickly said before he could open his mouth for any questions. "We never know you might have another fight tomorrow and you're required to sleep."
"Will you sleep with me?" Yoh casually asked, no secretive intentions in his voice. Yet that didn't seem to stop Anna from turning three different shades of red until Yoh noticed that she had misunderstood him.
"Ah! No, not like that Anna! Really! –Not that I wouldn't mind it aga—Ah! No, I just meant…" He shouted out, his face bloodshot red as he let out all of his breath and banged his head with his fist.
Anna suddenly relaxed, she couldn't help but smile at him, she leaned down and grabbed his hand pulling him up along with her, "No funny business, Yoh." She strictly ordered "It's ONLY sleep tonight, okay?"
"Hai." Yoh cheerfully agreed, a wide grin across his face as he and Anna walked to his room to sleep, to just fell the day end in each others arms, sleeping and dreaming of the one thing they loved…each other.
*****
Yoh opened his eyes and found himself in a very unfamiliar room, he sat up and eyed the space with drowsy eyes, then he remembered. He was in the Kyoyama residence. He had spent the night there because Cadm's house was too far away from the school, not to mention it began to thunderstorm.
He got up off the futon which he was sleeping in, throwing back the covers and jumping to his feet, then he left the borrowed room and decided to hang around the living room downstairs. He went down the steps and threw himself on top of the couch with a big sigh.
The Kyoyama residence was huge, almost as huge as his Grandparents' house; Yoh wondered why Anna always seemed to have a thing for big houses. 'Hmm' he thought.
He couldn't even think about sleep at the moment, every time he would close his eyes he always had a flash back of him and Anna. "Ah~, this is getting troublesome." He sighed softly, hanging his head.
At the moment, he wished Anna were with him, he didn't really like to be away from her, even if it's been only 3-4 days.
"Trouble sleeping." A female voice asked from the stairway.
Yoh turned to view the voice and saw Akiko standing at the stairway. Her clothes were the same as when they left the school, so she must've not been sleeping before.
He saw her walk over to the living room area and sit on the couch across from his, looking at him with worried eyes.
"Was the futon not to your liking, Yoh-san?" she asked worriedly.
Yoh shook his head and grinned. "No, it's not that…ano…I just can't sleep that well—lately I mean."
"Something on your mind?"
Could he tell her? Would it affect anything if he told her? That his mind was on his 15 year old who had his child? He did wish he could talk to someone besides Anna-chan about Anna. But yet…it would be best to keep quiet…
"Ah, you're thinking of your wife…?" she then said, turning the small statement into a question.
Yoh looked at her, stunned, this woman…does she…have some sort of shamanic power? It wouldn't make any sense at all! But then how…
He saw her smile, a soft, motherly smile. He placed her hands on her lap and slightly chuckled. "Gomen," she apologized cupping her lips with her hand to keep from bursting out in laughter at Yoh's expression, "but it's just…Anna said you blush every time you think of your wife so I guessed you were."
Yoh blinked. He was blushing? He didn't realize he was. He just scratched his head and let out a small laugh. "Ah, so that's how you knew…" he sheepishly responded to her.
She gave a soft nod, that motherly smile still across her young looking face. Yoh was amazed on how young Akiko looked. She didn't look anymore than her early 20s! Yet she had kids. Yoh knew she was not Anna's real mother, Anna's real mother, Asana, died a bit after giving birth to Anna. It was all the stress of Hao appearing and torturing the Patch until he knew enough about Anna that killed Anna's mother.
"Do you wish to talk about what is keeping you up?" the young blonde asked him.
Well it couldn't hurt could it? I mean she was once a part of Anna's life. "It's just that…well, I miss my wife." He said, hesitating to say the words. He didn't hesitated for any reason other than embarrassment, even though he loved her greatly, Yoh found it hard to tell other people of his love for the Queen.
"Believe it or not, but that's actually very common between couples." She replied, her tone cheerful yet understanding.
Yoh just smiled at her answer. "Is it really? I never knew." He lied. In fact he did know, he knew from Faust and Eliza and many others he'd seen, yet he and Anna somehow felt different.
"You really love her?" Akiko asked. She felt this was the most important question to ask young love. This boy was married and had a kid, he seemed like one of the kindest boys she ever met, yet did he love the girl?
"Hai. I do." A blush forming once more across his smiling cheeks.
Now came the second most important question she could ask him. "Why?"
Why? Yoh had honestly never thought of that in all those five years he's known Anna. Why did he love Anna? No…why was he asking himself this?
He loved her because she loved him.
People always thought that he was lazy, strange, a fool, and many other things. Anna loved him because he was all those things. And he loved her because she was the first person to show her love for him. And she said it with such honesty and ease.
'I have begun to love this man.'
He didn't know why but at the first sight he had of her, he felt it. It was a shock of warmth, but it wasn't warmth he had ever felt. It was a burning fire that raged inside of him, electricity that burned through his body, a pumping heart that accelerated so abnormally.
Her cold façade hardly frightened him anymore; it only gave him determination saying this is what I fight for. He fought for her.
He opened his mouth and let his explanation flow with the thoughts that came from his heart.
"Honestly…I don't know how to answer that."
Akiko raised a brow, Yoh went on.
"The first thing that enters my mind when I wake up is Anna. The last thing on my mind before I close my eyes at night is her. It's all about her. I seriously didn't know what to do. I think of Anna everywhere I go. At the time, it didn't help that we lived together. She always wanted something special, but she ended up with me. Our marriage may have been just an arrangement but I always thought it was fate that pulled us together." –he hung his head, so Akiko would not see his crimsoned face—"It's always been only Anna I had eyes for. No one else could make me smile the way she did. Life seemed so much better with her around. I greet each day with a smile because I know I will see her. I bid each day good bye with a smile because I saw. I couldn't be happier because I know that she'll always be at the end of something. There's really nothing that I wouldn't do for her…"
Akiko smiled once more, her green eyes shining with the moonlight that came from the window behind Yoh. "That's a good answer." Her smile brightened "I think the love you have for your wife is great!"
Yoh looked up from the ground, his face now a light shade of pink, his famous grin was on that pink face, shining along with the many things that illuminated the night.
Akiko closed her eyes and smiled, "I hope one day my little Anna will find someone as well…" she trailed off, lost in her own tiny thoughts.
Yoh couldn't help but to ask a question he had been dying to know since he'd been walking with Anna-chan this morning. "Kyoyama-san…"
"Hai?"
"Why does Anna-chan want a son?"
Silence. A dead, wiggle-in-you-seat uncomfortable, silence. For a moment Yoh thought he wasn't going to receive an answer until he heard the green-eyed blonde sigh.
"She told me about that once too…*sigh*. Anna…believes that no man will ever love her." She began, looking down at her hands.
Yoh interrupted, completely confused by the woman's words. "But there are tons of guys who-"
"Who only find her attractive." Akiko pointed out; Yoh nodded, this much he understood. "She somehow believes she's different, and that for that reason people will move away from her, so she'll take any opportunity to get married. Even-"
"An arranged marriage…" Yoh finished, nodding in understanding. Akiko went on.
"Hai…sons…usually end up looking like their fathers, so she says that she wishes for a son just incase anything happens between her and her future husband. Anything from divorce, affairs…"
"Death."
'I want a son.'
Now it made sense. She didn't want just any son; she wanted his son…because she loved him so much that she wanted a son to remember him by. Someone who looked like him had his smile…everything.
A small smile spread across his illuminated face. "I understand now." He was completely taken in his thoughts that he didn't realize Akiko-san had moved up off the couch in front of him.
"Yoh-san?"
Yoh shook his head. He looked at Akiko-san who was now at the stairway walking up the steep stairs.
Akiko just smiled warmly. "I'll be going to sleep now, please enjoy your stay here." With a small bow she went up the stairs, leaving Yoh alone once again with his thoughts.
And he did the one thing he wished to do at the moment.
Close his eyes and let the memories of him and Anna flow into his subconscious mind…
****
Yoh woke up and stared at the dark ceiling, his arms behind his head. 'Was it a dream?' he wondered.
He looked to his side, the spot there was empty, no Anna in sight. He sighed in disappointment, how badly he wanted that dream to be real, to feel Anna like he had and fully be able to call her his.
But that had only been a dream.
He sat up and looked to the end of the futon, some clothes were neatly folded there, he slowly picked them up and put them on, still lost, thinking of his dream with a sheepish grin.
Then he headed out of his room.
He walked down the hallway and stopped at Anna's room, he felt like knocking and telling her goodbye, but after that dream he had he knew he couldn't look at her without blushing.
Instead he walked down the stairs.
The inn was silent, not a soul or spirit spoke.
He stopped at the living room and looked at the clock, was it really that early he wondered.
Then he heard almost silent footsteps behind him, soft, almost silent footsteps that echoed its sound through out the silent in. He turned around and saw Anna walking to him in her robe.
Yoh blushed and looked down at the floor; Anna stopped a few feet away and looked at him. She studied his red face which hung down staring below him, she let out a sigh.
"Honestly Yoh, I'm not hurt." She said.
Yoh jerked his head up and stared at her wide-eyed. "So last night really did happen?" He asked himself out loud.
Anna arched a brow. "What did you think it was, Yoh?"
Yoh blushed. "A dream." He said smiling nervously "A really good dream."
"Okay." she muttered, coming closer to him. "How very . . . flattering."
Yoh turned away from her walking body and looked at the door. Anna stopped and followed his gaze to the door. Yoh saw her face frown.
"You…were planning on leaving without saying goodbye to me." She stated, her face in a sad-looking frown.
"Gomen." He answered, looking back at her.
She sighed and smiled at him, a soft playful smile.
She took the few last steps over to him and wrapped her arms around him, Yoh felt his knees go weak and he fell back into a couch behind him.
"Anna?" he asked surprised by her sudden actions.
She didn't lift her head off of his chest; she kept it there as Yoh wrapped his strong arms around her body and buried his face in her hair. He loved her. Oh how he loved this woman that at the moment was in his arms, filling him with an embrace that he felt he could be lost in forever.
"Yoh?"
"Mmm?" he muffled in her golden locks.
"I love you." She told him.
Before he could reply, Anna got up off of him and made her way out of the living room, leaving Yoh there wit those words echoing in his head.
****
________________________________________________________________________
WELL READERS THERE YOU ARE, CHAPTER 9! YAY. *JUMPS UP AND DOWN IN JOY*
SORRY IT TOOK A WHILE, A HAD A BIT OF WRITERS BLOCK… BUT HEY WHO'S COMPLAING? (DON'T ANSWER THAT)
WELL THE IDEA OF THIS CHAPTER CAME TO ME FROM Hpcs2 - Suprema Onmyoji Isah, SHE'S THE ONE THAT SAID I DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH YOHxANNA, SO EVERYONE THANK HER.
I'M TELLING YOU GUYS, I WRITE WHAT YOU ALL WISH TO READ SO YOU WANT SOMETHING IN THE STORY JUST TELL ME!
NOW THE FLASHBACKS ARE PRETTY OBVIOUS (OR TO ME THEY ARE) THE FIRST ONE WAS OF THE NIGHT YOH LEFT TO AMERICA, THE 2ND ONE WAS OF THE FIRST DAY IN THE SHAMAN FIGHT (YOU KNOW TEAM THE Ren FOUGHT THEN X-I AND SO ON) THEN THE LAST ONE WAS OF THE MORNING BEFORE Yoh LEFT TO AMERICA.
HOPED YOU LIKE THIS CHAPTER! AND IF YOU DIDN'T REMEMBER WRITER'S BLOCK!!!
OKAY PEOPLE, NOW LETS SEE HOW YOU ALL DID WITH MY LITTLE 'GUESSING GAME' ON SORAGUIMI.
*checks all reviews*
*shakes head*
IS IT REALLY THAT HARD??? I'M PRETTY SURE I MADE THEM EASY, HMM……
WELL CHECK HOW YOU DID AS I WRITE BACK TO YOUR REVIEWS.
THANKS TO:
KyaKyaNya: yep Annaka wuz pregnant. Dang good math! Yeah she's only 2 weeks pregnant because her and Hao made love the night when Yoh and Anna went to sleep in the Great Spirit.
Usui_Pirika~~: Nope no Pirika in the previous chapter, or this one…gomen, for the next one! And as for your guess of Emmetto's power…excellent guess! Emmetto's power does have to do with numbing people's senses!
Ja 01'Loving you Always': ah it's really no prob! I like to thank my readers by putting their names at the end of each chapter. ^-^ haha well lets say Annaka and Hao got a bit *cough* busy *cough* after Anna revived her in my previous story. But personally I preffer to leave lime out of stories but it depends on my readers really. As for Nianna…I'll have a spoiler on that at the end of the thank yous. ^-^
hannami08: Why thank you, I had fun writing that part. Haha ^-^
Nightglider-star: ah the great Nightglider-star-Senpai! May I say I loved your story, um which one was it…oh yea, NEED. Lovely story. Haha though u seem to appear when a guessing game is involved haha. Well you guess on Soraguimi is……wrong. Gomen but not even close, but hey there is still time to guess. :D
Hpcs2 - Suprema Onmyoji Isah: Glad to have my biggest fan back!!! I thought you left me for a while…glad I was wrong. Well are you happy with the YohXAnna in this chapter? Yea sorry about all the OC characters but keep in mind, Anna's PAST is unknown to many so NOONE (minus Takei-senpai) knows who was ever in her past, so OC characters are kinda needed in her side of the story… BTW I went to your profile and realize ur Brazilian! I didn't know~! I'm Costa Rican! Do ya speak Spanish too?
Boblove: yea congrats! Annaka wuz Pregnant. ^-^ surprising twist huh? Well Anna is VERY strong I guess… how else would she score that high? Hahaha. AAAHHHH u guessed right!!!! Arisu does see the future!!!!!!(GOMEN FOR THE SPOILER PPL!!) but not like Tamao does…Arisu is more special…n u'll see why soon.
Tsuchi-Saikoro: your guesses are…wrong. Gomen. Still time to guess though. I have a small spoiler for what is going to happen to Nianna, though it's like another guessing game…
PinkanAngelTamao: yup she wuz pregnant. Haha yea I thought some ppl would find it funny.
Rosewell: Ren seems to like to say what's on his mind. Haha. The powers are more like Hao's Reishi, not elemental powers. Yes your guess on Wilhelmina is correct(the second guess). Congrats! U got the hardest one right!!!!
WOW THAT'S A LOT OF REVIEWS! *COUNTS ALL OF THEM* 10 REVIEWS FOR ONE CHAPTER. KEEP IT UP!!!!!!!!
WELL NOW IT'S TIME FOR MY LITTLE SPOILER GUESSING GAMES!!!!
SPOILER!!!!!!!!!
Okay people this spoiler is on Nianna. You remember tat she's made from four of the five elemental spirits right? And also that she has defects. Well next she's going to receive a 'shock' that will change one of her defects. And it has to do with……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Asakura Hana!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Boy will Nagehiko get jealous)
HAPPY GUESSING!!!!!!!!!
YohAnna4eva/ Crystel Hidalgo
