Hello everyone! My first time writing anything other than Inuyasha. Since the 2021 Shaman King remake, I've been really hyped, so couldn't resist trying my hand at writing some SK fanfiction. Honestly, I'm not sure how this turned out - out of character, in character, too much fluff?. Let me know your thoughts in the comments, please excuse the grammar mistakes if any!

Hope you enjoy it! And whoever you are, thanks for your time reading this, it means a lot to me.

UPDATED: 03.06.2021 - small grammar mistakes and timeline added.

TIMELINE: After Anna moves in with Yoh, before the Paylong fight.

Chapter 1 - The deal

At first, Yoh thought he was imagining it from all the training Anna had put him through or that it was actually part of the training. There were those moments, once or twice a day, when Anna would just literally scare all the ghosts away, including Amidamaru and the house would just be empty. Yoh thought she was doing that while he was away running too, but Amidamaru informed him it only happened when he was at home.

He thought the reason was that she wanted peace and quietness and to be left alone. After living so much with his grandmother, she was probably more comfortable with silence and having the space more to herself. However, he quickly noticed Anna's comfortable and lonely silence included him.

What usually happened? Anna would boss all the ghosts around and send them in different missions to spy on the neighbours or the latest shop prices and would instruct them to be away at least for one hour. Then she would send Amidamaru to some random destination far away in the town and demand from him to come back using a different route by guiding himself through the connection he shared with Yoh. Yes, Amidamaru got lost a couple of times. Yoh remembered Amidamaru crying to him about it.

During those times the house was ghostless, it so happened that Yoh didn't have any training, so he was happy to do whatever around the house…well sometimes that included chores. At first, Yoh didn't notice, but then he realized Anna was always around him or found something that made her be around him. Yoh cooking? Anna suddenly felt like reading at the table. Yoh napping in the living room, she would be watching TV. Yoh sitting on the porch listening to music, she would suddenly feel like enjoying the weather outside.

And then it became plainly noticeable to Yoh. Anna seemed to sit closer to him at times or even stare at him. He asked a couple of times if there was anything going on, but she would quickly dismiss him annoyed.

All things considered, it finally clicked to Yoh.

"Anna is following me around the house, Manta, I swear!" Yoh confessed to Manta on the school break while they were walking outside the building.

"She's probably making sure you're not slacking with housework."

"No, you don't get it, she follows me when I'm not working or training either."

"And what does she do?"

"She just sits there. Or stares sometimes."

"Uhhm, maybe she's thinking of ways for you to train in your spare time." Manta thought.

"If I may join in…" Amidamaru suddenly interrupted.

The two boys nodded eagerly for an explanation.

"Yoh-dono, have you considered that maybe Anna might enjoy your presence? You are her fiancé after all…"

"But Amidamaru, Anna only likes to torture Yoh, are you sure this isn't some kind of new training of her?!" Manta enquired in disbelief.

"It might be Manta, I don't know for sure…I'm not there to carefully inspect the situation, Anna has turned me into a walking town GPS, I think I know at least a quarter of the town by now and I could run town tours for ghost tourists…"

"What do you think, Yoh? You've been strangely quiet and…" Manta paused and his smile grew wickedly. "Yoh, you're blushing, you wouldn't be happening to like that she's enjoying your presence, would you?"

"It's just a warm day, Manta, I'm not blushing."

"Suuuuure." Manta and Amidamaru nodded grinning.

"Look, I'll investigate this and find out what's happening."

"If Anna finds out and beats you to death, I'll cover your hospitalization." Manta offered.

"And I'll let get Manta to call the hospital to pick you up as soon as I find you!" Amidamaru joined in.

"How supportive of you two!" Yoh complained crying as they both started to walk back to class.

It was one of those moments when it was only him and Anna. They were in the living room. All of a sudden, Yoh went into the kitchen. Shortly and a bit surprising Anna followed with her magazine in her hand.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for an apple, you taught me healthy eating is good for me."

"Good." Anna simply replied and sat at the table to read her magazine.

Yoh grabbed his apple, waved and left to sit on the porch.

'One minute, two minutes, three…' Yoh counted and Anna appeared.

"Lighting's so bad in the house." She replied irritated as if she read the question in his mind, making him once again wonder if she was able to read minds again. But then, if she could, she would be aware of his plan by now.

She sat about one meter from him, reading her magazine. He looked at her and she snapped:

"Is there something on my face?"

"No, not at all, I was just…" Yoh defended but then noticed the magazine cover in her hands "…is that the TV programme?"

"SO WHAT?!"

"…from last week?"

Anna blushed madly of embarrassment and if Yoh would have been sitting closer, he was sure she would have slapped him. He was reading the TV programmes too, he knew how the latest one looked…

"Wait Anna, what's happening, why are you following me around the house? Did I do something? Is there something wrong?" Yoh asked when he saw she was about to leave.

"Is there something wrong in a fiancée wanting to spend some time alone with her future husband?" She bit back as venomously as possible in an attempt to keep her guard up, but her blush didn't disappear.

"Oh." Yoh muttered once again surprised. Amidamaru had been right. Sure, Yoh loved Anna and she said he loved him too, but he didn't expect her to actually show it this plainly. Or that she would plainly be seeking his affection? All the pain from the hard training and just training takes a lot of his time and keeps his mind busy with anything else than his current relationship with her and sure he somehow likes her around and well he knows despite the pain she gives him, she's actually being supportive and is helping him achieve his dream and…

"Yoh…I'm going to watch TV…" Anna said half determined, half concerned looking at Yoh.

At this point Yoh realized he's been starring blankly at her. His mouth kept opening and closing and his face was red as a tomato. He finally managed to mutter:

"No, no, that's perfectly fine, he wouldn't mind, I mean the fiancée wouldn't mind, I mean I wouldn't, aahh!" Yoh watched Anna's expression change from bored to annoy and freaked out he'll be hit, so he closed his eyes and covered his head by the end of the sentence. He might be at a relatively safe distance from her, but she still had the magazine.

When he opened his eyes, she wasn't there anymore. Instead of being relieved, he felt rather sad that he scared her away or that he wasn't able to say something better. She finally opened up and he ruined the moment with his shyness.

He was about to go after her and try putting into words a better-formulated sentence when she suddenly returned with a glass of water. She threw it in his face.

"What…" Yoh asked confused while looking at Anna and her usual face expression.

"You looked as if you were about to suffocate."

"Oh."

"And it seems you are losing your ability to talk. Which is not necessarily a must in the Shaman King competition, though that might affect the way you communicate with Amidamaru and that might be indeed bad…"

"Let's spend time together!" Yoh blurred out still blushing but less looking like he's about to 'suffocate'.

"If you want." Anna shrugged and sat down on the porch looking at nothing in particular. She put the glass down at safe distance.

Yoh sat down, next to her, their shoulders touching, earning a shocked face from the girl.

"Is there something wrong in a fiancée wanting to stay closer to his future wife?" Yoh countered with a similar sentence to her previous one and with his wide typical smile on. A blush still crossed his features.

"Shut up." She raised her hand.

He flinched and closed his eyes in fear, yet didn't move an inch. The hit never came. Instead, he felt a soft hand touching his shoulder, half embracing him from behind.

"We're spending time together, deal with it, you asked for it…" Anna said blushing, her voice sounding a bit soft, despite the hint of threat in it.

She would never admit it, but yes, she was craving for his affection. And mostly for just having him to herself. No friends, no ghosts, just them, so she can feel that peacefulness and easiness that only came when she was in his presence. Damn, she loved him and, damn those emotions for him that made her feel those annoying butterflies. And made her scare everyone from the house. It made her feel weird, weak and not like herself…yet part of her wanted to discover these emotions and embrace them because they made her happy. And she wanted to feel those positive feelings and keep anything negative away in fear of having to face her past again. And most of all, she just wanted to be happy with him. She loved him, after all…and he loved her, didn't he?

Yoh released a breath he wasn't aware he was holding up. He started smiling again, but this time, you could tell this was the smile of a person in love, happy, yet dreamy and holding a hint of hope for more such moments in the future. He leaned in and rested his head on her shoulder.

Anna's hand trembled around his shoulder and then slowly moved lower around his arm. She was blushing and staring at him plainly and he knew it, but let her do as she pleases. He closed his eyes.

She felt nervous and wondered if he could tell her hands were sweaty. She was trying her best to erase that dumb smile from her face that he also had on, but it just stayed there despite her best effort. Her head slightly hurt and the world seemed to be spinning around. Was it from smiling so much for the first time in a while or was that some weird effect from being so madly in love with someone?

"Breath Anna, I don't think we're ready for CPR." Yoh said his eyes still closed.

Anna released a long breath, then the meaning of his words suddenly hit and this time she really wanted to slap him. Her left hand was busy, so she was about to use the right one when she realized he was holding on to it with one of his own.

"You're beautiful when you smile." Yoh said grinning, testing his limits and at the same time, enjoying the moment in his own way.

Anna remembered she had her feet free, dangling from the porch, so she managed to give him a kick with her foot on his ankle. It lacked its usual force. 'Damn those emotions, they're making me weak." She complained. Feeling her frustration, Yoh spoke:

"Let's make a deal. Let's keep those moments to ourselves and not tell anyone about it. We can enjoy each other's presence peacefully and alone during those moments and continue our normal lives outside them. Alone, just the two of us."

"…and in return?" Anna asked trying to act nonchalantly, yet curious.

"In return, we'll be honest with our feelings. No more shying, no more hitting. We work on this relationship together, so none of us looks like it's about to suffocate or feels weak and till you, I mean we no longer sees it as a weakness. How about that?" He asked with a huge grin on his face. He rose his head from her shoulder and opened his eyes so he can see her reaction.

Her surprised face confirmed his suspicion - she was seeking his affection, yet she was afraid to face her emotions. Her emotions have caused her so many problems in the past it was no wonder she was scared. Yet, she never pursued positive ones, so Yoh assumed that was the motivation that made her start following him around the house shyly, yet not bold enough to act or say anything.

He could read her so well at times that she wondered if she's passed her reading mind ability to him. Silence. The surprised face turned quickly into neutral face. Anna tried to process the information despite the flow of emotion that were trying to overcome and 'suffocate' her. She was stronger than them. She should be!

If her hand wouldn't be unconsciously squeezing his arm, Yoh would think his words had no impact on her at all judging from the deafening silence and her neutral expression. She'll leave a mark if she doesn't stop soon. The other hand, however, seemed limp. He started playing with her slim fingers to keep his own emotions in check and distract himself so he can manage whatever comes next.

"Not Manta, nor even Amidamaru." She finally muttered.

"Not a soul, dead or alive. Not even my grandparents. Just us." Yoh encouraged.

Anna's neutral face became serious, but her grip on his arm finally softened.

"Deal." She muttered and leaned on his shoulder so he won't have a clear view of her face and sudden smile.

"Pinky promise?" He asked with a childish smile extending his pinky to her.

"You already owe me a promise, where's my Shaman Queen crown?" She teased.

"I'm working on that one and I can work on this one, too."

"We'll work together on both. We're in this together, don't forget." She replied locking her pinky with his.

"As if you would let me." He said and this time, he put his hand around her, half embracing her. He also leaned in.

He could fill her nod in his shoulder satisfied with his answer. Maybe this promise was as best as the first. Maybe better? She smiled. Maybe sitting there on the porch, leaning on each other and smiling like two crazy people madly in love wasn't that bad either. And for the first time since she returned and started living with Yoh, she felt maybe having butterflies in her stomach and emotions wasn't that bad. They were positive after all and she was happy. They were happy.

"So when I finally gathered the courage to ask why she's been following me around she snapped back and said if you are so curious I'll give you your new hell training much earlier and so on." Yoh explained.

"I KNEW IT! She was indeed up to creating you another hell training! I'm so sorry to hear that Yoh! At least she didn't beat you to death, I almost wrote the check for the hospital just in case…" Manta said worried the next day when they met at school during the break.

"You didn't look so upset when I came back, so she must have not hit you very bad either." Amidamaru said joining the conversation.

"Well, I managed to convince her I need food to make it out through the training and I've actually bargained for at least one meal a day, so there was something to be happy about."

"That's a good deal, Yoh-dono! I'm sure you'll make it out alive at the end of it!" Amidamaru encouraged.

"He'd better because he promised me to be Shaman Queen." Anna said suddenly appearing behind them.

"Anna!" They all jumped in fear.

"Bell's ringing, better not be late!" Manta said and started running ahead.

"I've never explored all the school routes and undergrounds, be right back!" Amidamaru said and disappeared.

Anna eyed him suspiciously.

"What good deal?"

"Told them about the new training. And how I get to eat." Yoh told her as they were walking back to class together.

"Good." Anna nodded believing him.

They walked in silence. As they were about to enter class, Anna stopped and turned to Yoh. People passed on the corridor, barely noticing them, too caught up in their own thoughts.

"Yoh…"

"Yes?"

A light blush appeared and her mouth slightly curved in a tiny almost invisible smile.

"I'm looking forward to later today".

Yoh broke into a big, yet characteristic grin. His eyes sparkled with joy and love.

"Me too, Anna."

"Just us." She timidly extended her pinky finger.

"Just us." He agreed locking his pinky finger with hers.

Then they left their hands fall.

"Now let's go, invisible chair for at least 2 hours." She said changing to her usual self.

"Yes, Anna."

But somehow the training days didn't look that gloomy and hard anymore. Because now Yoh also had something to look forward to in between them. And this also made him feel that he'll never feel lonely like before. Kind of the same he felt that day he lost a dear friend, but in turn saved a soul and made a new friend. One he was going to spend his life with and, once again, like that day, he never felt happier about it.