Summary: Anna thinks Yoh's slacking with his training when she discovers him in a disused storage room early one day. But why's he there anyway? And who knows what'll happen when she closes the door behind her?

Written: In about 5 hours during the night of 8/4/07.

Rating: T for innuendo, crude humor and coarse language.

Notes: This story was very challenging to write, because I wanted to try something different. You will notice that this story is ENTIRELY dialogue with NO dialogue tags, descriptive paragraphs, etc…only spoken words. This format that has its own unique advantages…and disadvantages. It also turned out more humorous than I had expected, but I'm not sure if that's a good thing. Please give me your opinion on this; if it proves popular and worth the extra effort, I may do it again in the future. On with the story…

The Best Gift

Kiss #4

"Somewhere in this pile of junk, it has to be--"

"YOH! There you are! Either that was the fastest twenty-five-mile run you've ever done in your life, or you're holding out on me. You wouldn't do that, would you?"

"NOOO! Anna, don't let that door close--"

Slam!

"I'll open it again once you fess up, slacker. How many more miles do you owe me? Judging from the time, I'd say six? Let's make it ten…no, twelve, to be safe."

"Anna--you kicked the doorstop--and the door's closed now--"

"Brilliant, Holmes. Such clever deduction. But that's not what I want from you right now. No shirking on my watch."

"But the door…if it's closed and we're both in here and no one else is home--"

"You pervert!"

"Owww!!"

"And you'll get another slap if you're not out the door jogging in the next five seconds. We understand each other?"

"N-no, Anna, you don't get it…The door…if it's closed and we're both in here, then…"

"Oh! Now that you mention it, it is getting pretty stuffy in here. Maybe I should…ugh…erm, maybe it goes this way…Yoh, come here and jiggle this for me…"

"It's no use, Anna. That's what I was trying to tell you."

"You're kidding me…For the love of Buddha, I can't believe this. What kind of former inn has rooms that lock people in?"

"Probably the thousand-yen-a-month kind."

"Argh…if this is some kind of trick so you can avoid running those miles you owe me, you've got another think coming!"

"Search me. I left the door open halfway with a doorstop. Wasn't trying to hide from you or anything."

"Don't give me that tone. And what the hell were you looking for up here anyway? You must have wanted it really bad to have cut out on your jogging for it."

"I, uh…This!"

"Yes, Yoh. I fully believe that. You came up here searching for a stained T-shirt…Ugh, it's just too hot to chew you out in here!"

"Well, maybe you should take off your to--OWWW!"

"The only reason I didn't slap you harder, is because I figured maybe you're delirious with heatstroke. Now then, how do you plan on getting us out of here?"

"Me?! I didn't kick the doorstop away and slam the door closed!"

"And if you had just run your full twenty-five miles this morning, you wouldn't have had time to come up here in the first place! And I never would've needed to come up here searching for you. Ipso facto, it's your fault."

"Ipso facto…sounds like an exotic Greek island."

"Yoh Asakura…sounds like an idiot. And a bad debater."

"Maybe I am. But I do know I woke up almost two hours before dawn to make time for this today."

"You expect me to buy that line?"

"Anna, think about it. Breakfast was all ready and, I'm guessing, stone cold by the time you got to it, right? And I was long gone by then."

"W-well…okay, maybe you're telling the truth for once. But you know what that doesn't change?"

"What's that?"

"Oh…I don't know, maybe…uh, the little fact that I'M STUCK IN A SWELTERING STORAGE ROOM WITH YOU!"

"Anna, you wound me. You don't enjoy spending time with me?"

"You're kidding, right? Please tell me that was sarcasm."

"I enjoy spending time with you!"

"Yoh-dono!"

"Huh? Since when do you call me tha--Amidamaru! Thank God…"

"I thought I heard a commotion. I don't believe I've ever seen this particular room…"

"Amidamaru, I need you to head downstairs, you'll find my backpack on the table…Could you bring that up to me, please?"

"…Dumbass."

"I…I am afraid Anna-san is correct, though her phrasing may be less than appropriate…Yoh-dono, you--and your belongings--exist on a different material plane from mine. I cannot bring you anything of yours."

"Oh…that's right. Well, thanks anyway, Amidamaru."

"I shall try my best to assist you, Yoh-dono. I will not tarry when I return."

"Classic. Sometimes I just need a reminder of the genius I'm going to marry someday."

"Cut me a little slack, Anna, it seemed like a good idea at the time!"

"Filling blimps with hydrogen seemed like a good idea at the time. Speaking of time, looks like thanks to you, we're going to have lots of it…so getting back to my original question, what were you looking for up here?"

"J…just a couple of tools, that's all."

"Tools?! You mean like this hammer that's completely rusted through? Or maybe the hacksaw that's probably more dangerous for the user than it is for the wood?"

"I…well, all right, fine. I…used to keep a…journal and I hid it up here a few months ago."

"Mff…heh...Hahahaha! Yoh! You have a diary?!"

"A journal! There's a big difference!"

"Yeah, I'll say. I bet the cover on your book of personal secrets and innermost thoughts has a manly picture on it, thus transforming it from a girl's diary to a guy's journal. Vastly different."

"See…this is why I decided to hide it…"

"Oh, this is just gold. Now I've got to find it before you do."

"No! Ugh…"

"Hmm…I haven't seen you this agitated in awhile. You must be keeping some juicy secrets in there."

"Nothing like that…Ouch! What the hell is this…"

"Geez, there are a lot of books in here…A Compendium of Japanese Classics, Let's Cook with Okra!, Lady Murasaki's Lover…That last one must be yours, Yoh…"

"Oh, give me a break. All the books are in your part of the pile? Dammit…"

"…50 Ways to Suicide with Honor…Aha, what's this?"

"Crap! Dah I mean, that's just a…sticker album, you should just throw it away."

"Oooooh! Now let's see… 'I felt kinda bad for denying that I knew the short kid I met in the graveyard yesterday, Manta, in class today. But it's weird for me, being sort of an outcast, I've never really had friends before…'"

"Argh! Give it! Give it back!"

"Sheesh, relax. This is really compelling reading, even if your spelling is atrocious. The sensitive side of Yoh! Your untold story! This is better than any soap opera I've ever seen…Ahem, 'Today Ice Queen Anna added 10 miles to my run because I left the edge of the sink wet. I made a bet with Amidamaru that she was dropped as a baby, that's why she's such a bitch now. He thinks she was deprived of attention as a child. I wonder when I'll find out, I really want to know, it might explain why she whips me so bad…'"

"YEOW!!!"

"For your information, it's because you're such a screw-up!"

"I…You're right, I'm sorry, Anna…"

"You better hope for your sake that you wrote at least something good about me in here! Hmm… 'Today while taking a shower I saw myself in the mirror and noticed I had started growing my first underarm hai--' Ewwwww! Yoh! That's sick! I don't wanna know about that!"

"Er…well, you said it yourself, my 'personal secrets' are all in there. Besides, I warned you to give it back! And if you thought that part was bad, you should probably stop before you get any further."

"That was pretty gross, but maybe there are more juicy parts to make up for that in here… Ah! 'I was lying in bed last night and unable to sleep, my mind wandered, and I thought of Anna, and I couldn't stop thinking of her. I really don't understand how someone so nasty can have such a great face and body. I thought of things I'd never before contemplated, and I felt very guilty but I couldn't help myself, and I made sure everyone was in bed and I thought of her, and for the first time I--' OH MY GOD! That is possibly the most disturbing thing I've ever read!"

"Yowch!!! I guess I deserved that one…I'm sorry, Anna! I couldn't help it, you know, I am at that age when…I go through … changes … and I never thought you would ever read that…not that it makes it better, but…"

"After all that sick crap, this damn journal owes me some good stuff. This looks promising… 'Anna gave me the day off from training today, for my 15th birthday. It's kind of hard to believe I've been living with the Ice Mistress--' Ooh, I'm a mistress now, nice to see a little originality on your part… '…for two years now, although it felt like about 50. Anyway, Manta gave me a sweet Monte Blanco pen, it looks really cool, but I'm not used to writing with it, hope I can read this later! Anna's gift to me was a promise not to slap me all day, which doesn't sound so great unless you realize how often and hard she slaps. But the best gift--' The best gift wasn't my promise not to slap you all day? Why don't I just pay you back for the ones I missed back then?"

"Anna, just keep reading that part…I think it'll explain something."

"Have it your way… 'But the best gift arrived from my grandpa in the mail. It was a short note, attached to a framed portrait of Anna. The note said, 'If you can do well enough to make her smile, that is a reward--and gift--in itself.' I looked at the picture more closely, I turned it over, removed it from the frame, convinced this was another one of my grandpa's lessons, that there was money or something hidden in there--' Yoh, this isn't exactly helping your case… 'but then I realized the photo was better than money, or anything else for that matter. Anna was stunning in the picture, her golden hair like a halo around her breathtaking face, with inviting, wide eyes and a smile, something I'd never before seen her do.' Oh, Yoh…that's actually kind of sweet, you know…"

"It was a stupid thing to write. It's all stupid. Maybe you should stop--"

"No, this is a good opportunity for me to see what you really think about me. It's kind of a rush… 'I stared at the little square of color for a long time, wondering why I had never seen Anna look at me the same way she had at the camera the instant the photo was taken. I hate the Ice Queen, and the person in the picture was her, but at the same time was someone completely different…somebody I knew I loved, or at least could love, could see myself marrying someday. And I thought for a long time, what can I possibly do to bring out that smile from her pouting lips, melt the ice in her glorious eyes? I don't know, but I hope someday I figure it out, and she will smile at me, maybe even kiss me…'"

"Anna, please, I…I must have written all that at three in the morning or something, I was delirious, don't take it seriously--"

"No, Yoh. This…I don't know why you kept those thoughts secret. It's a relief that I'm not wasting my love on someone who hated me."

"Your…love?"

"Of course, stupid. I mean I might not get all drippy like they do in the soap operas, but, c'mon, do you really think I'd let someone annoy me so much sometimes if I didn't love them?"

"I…"

"Yoh, I've been right behind you when you were on the brink of death. And just because it looks like I'm always unaffected doesn't mean that I don't cry into my pillow with worry when no one's around to watch. I'm not comfortable wearing my emotions on my sleeve, that's just the way I am. But I didn't know that you thought of my smile so highly…"

"Th-there it is…and Anna, it's just like I wrote in my journal…so perfect, so beautiful…What did I do to earn it?"

"Well, unlike this damn door, you finally opened up to me."

"I…I love that smile…and I love…what are you--mmmmm…"

"…mmmm…"

Creak.

"Ahhhhh!"

"…mmm…oh, Anna--MANTA?!"

"I…uhm…Amidamaru led me here, I found the key…but it looks like the two of you are…busy at the moment, maybe I should come back tomorrow…"

Slam!

"No! Manta, come…mmmm…never mind…"

"…mmm…"