TABOO
Autor notes: I'm so happy that you actually liked my first Shaman fic. To reply some of your doubts, I'll answer them at the bottom of this fic.
Disclaimer: Shaman King and Yoh's preference for oranges are not mine. (Wusai-dono! Arigato!)
Chapter 2: Oranges.
Both children were sitting eating their meals properly. No single word was exchanged during the dinner, there was a strange silence between Kino-san and Yohmei-sama.
Yoh sporadically looked at his mentor and the old lady, both of them were glacing each other and nodding in silent agreement. Now he wished so much to read minds. And then he reminded he fell asleep during that lesson.
He started to grin sheepishly to his plate, gaining Yohmei's and Tamao's attention.
"Yoh-sama? Did you like dinner?" Yoh's trance was vanished by her shy voice. She was blushing hardly but smiling kindly anyway. He replied by smiling cutely at her, sometimes just sometimes he wished that Anna could smile like that.
But when he remembered that cold and piercing smile, his illusion's sank down in mind.
"Hai! Oiishi yo, ne Anna-chan?" He looked around to see her. But as he looked at her, his smiled fainted into a thin line. Her eyes were so cloudy almost lifeless. Her eyelids were almost closing and her breathing was slow and heavy.
Was she sick? Of course not! She was Anna Kouyama the never ill itako apprentice!
He shook his head destroying that stupid idea, returning his attention to the ouji board pre-reader. She wasn't smiling nor blushing. Her pink strands of hair were covering her face giving her a bluish mood.
He gulped as a big piece of fish almost stuck on his throat.
'Yoh! I'm such a bad bad boy! Now it's Tamao-chan! I'll have to apologize to her too! Geez! I promise never ever live with a girl again!'
He sighed as he silently endeared for his promise. However things weren't as good as the little shaman thought about them, because Yohmei and Kino were now claiming for there attention.
"Since the Asakura Family has few descendants we need strong successors for the next Asakura generation." Yohmei began, clearing his throat a little.
Yoh could sense that something wrong was going on, he looked at his left and found the little pink-headed girl quivering a little, her eyes were wide and blank. Did she already know what was going on?
"We have you Yoh, as the asakura successor and you need someone quite strong to be your companion." Kino-sama continued the grumpy old man's speech.
The young shaman scratched the back of his head frowning puzzled and wryly. 'Companion? What did ojii-san mean with that?'
"As a reply to your thickness Yoh, your companion will be the Shaman King's Wife." Yoh sweat dropped at the huge vein popping out from his grandfather's forhead.
Then the explanation struck him straight on the gut. He was almost 9! And he was getting married with a big fat woman in a white kimono?!
"Yoh no baka! You're not going to marry right now! For Kami-sama's sake! We have chosen you the perfect girl for you! Until you are mature enough for marriage, she will be your fiancée." Yohmei's vein was now getting a strange color, the Asakura boy observed.
"And…a-and who is she?" Tamao was stuttering, Yoh's dense manner vanished as he saw her. She was still trembling and her eyes were watered with tears. Yep, indeed he was THICK, he should have asked that question, shouldn't he?
However, this was Yohmei's time to remain silent, now he realized the pure and innocent feelings the little pink headed girl had for his grandson.
As well as the way that she already knew the answer, was more terrifying to look at her seeing that her powers were destroying her silently, slowly.
But Kino-sama was more coldhearted than Yohmei was. And with all resolution and ignorance of Tamao's feelings she said slowly.
Anna Kouyama.
The three children were frozen, each one in their simple kind to be. Yoh was static without breathing nor blinking by his side Tamao's blurry eyes were spotting the tatami floor. She already knew and she already prayed Kami-sama that her predictions weren't true.
And Anna's black eyes just opened a little, but inside the darkness of her eyes were now consuming her soul. She stood up and asked permission to get to her room.
"Anna-chan, you don't need to hide your illness. I've been teaching you for years, plus I know so much about you. Don't try to hide how much you hate me right know." The wise old lady almost grinned impishly. The Kouyama girl stopped her tracks clenched her fists and kept walking again.
"Sometime you'll learn to love him and then you'll thank me." Her smiled turned into a kind and sincere one. But Anna was just to far to listen. Though Yoh did listen as he started to think about it, Anna-chan was his… fiancée. Furthermore she was so unhappy for being him and not someone she loved.
He looked down at the table but smiled anyway, he understood her well. Maybe if he was a little bit older he would act the same. However like she sometimes said (or shouted) he was just an immature kid.
"Well, what do you think son?" Yohmei asked after seeing all the display between Kino-san and her learner.
"Eto… I'll have to say Tamao-chan I'm sorry." He beamed sheepishly scratching the back of his head again.
"Nani?! I didn't ask what you are going to do! I asked about the engagement!!" Yoh wondered how a vein could pop like that so many times in a day.
"I'm tired, may I go to sleep?" He smirked delightedly as he saw his grandfather almost grabbing his neck to strangle him.
"Yes you may Yoh-kun, your ojii-san is dangerously emotional right now. Don't worry, I'll take care of him." So much calmness scared the hell out of him. At time, the little shaman wished he could be like her. He stood up and ran upstairs to lay down on his futon.
As he ran to his room, he heard some soft sobs he slowed his steps and turned to knock the door.
No one answered and the sobs subsided…
"Tamao-chan moushikaneru, for making you cry… I really love the way you cook and the way you smile at me when I'm punished with a hundred katas. And…" the door opened and the little girl was dressed in her yellow pajamas with little pink cats.
She wasn't smiling she was just staring at nothing with a teared stricken face, and in her hands was a bowl full with oranges.
"Nansorya?" He asked baffled he never expected to be replied with oranges.
"Anna-san has a terrible cold, Yoh-sama as her fiancée must take care of her." She replied looking at him with nothing but a fake smile. He half smiled and took the bowl.
"Tamao-chan boku wa…" he tried to say but the door was silently closed. He sighed as he leaned on the door. He will never live with women, maybe if he talked with Anna about that matter she could understand.
'That's right! The fact that they were engaged didn't mean that they really had to do what engaged people had to do, ne?' He was now smiling, he will enter to her room, tell her his idea and there wouldn't be a commitment at all.
But his head started to swirl in confusion as he entered her room; he hadn't knocked because her ki indicated that she was sleeping so she wouldn't be waiting to throw him things.
Now he had to wake her up and make her eat the oranges. He leaned his hand on the futon to turn her around. It was lightly wet…
She has been crying again, at this time he was biting his lip with great remorse. He sat back on his feet and looked at the knife and the bowl of oranges.
"Tamao-chan told me you're sick…" he started. At first he felt quite stupid talking to someone that was actually sleeping and not caring about he said. However… it wasn't as bad as he thought more about it…
"And… uhm… do you know that oranges have a lot of vitamin C?" he took one of the oranges and stared at it closely.
"Because no matter how weak they seem…sometimes they are rather strong… I mean, can make you strong by eating them of course." He frowned at its rounded shape turning it from all sides.
"Sometimes you can get oranges wrong, you know? They try to make you feel better… and then with a noble… cause… they get things upside down…but oranges are good, they always try to be good for you…" Now he tried to throw it then catch it with the other hand. Then started to stroke it to his chin, thinking.
"Sometimes you think oranges are always round, like they have no problems at all, but I think oranges have problems too. Like, uhm… being cut by an evil butcher to make a salad… or eaten by me or you…" He frowned again and shook his head.
"Ok that was a stupid reason to defend oranges but who knows? If wacky people say plants feel, why shouldn't oranges feel too?" He asked to no one in special, he was more like giving a monologue than a dialogue with the sleeping itako.
"Oranges will like you! If they give strength to people at least they would like someone strong to share their strength with."
"Maybe you don't like oranges at first, but I'm sure if you taste them well maybe your relationship, I mean your… vitamin relationship would workout." Now he took the orange to the floor and started rolling it, still biting his bottom lip he continued.
"Or maybe oranges are weaker than you and maybe you don't want to taste them… it's ok, no one's forcing you or anything…but maybe oranges like you already…" Between all the darkness a soft blush was adorning his face. His hands were too busy with the orange right now.
"Eto… I'll leave the oranges here… and a knife to cut them… hope you feel better on the morning." He stood up leaving the orange in the bowl again. He heaved a sigh and exited the room after whispering 'take care'. He closed the door and went to his own.
The futon sheets wrinkled silently as the owner moved into another position. Her eyes were focused in those round things he talked about so lively. She sat down leaving her strands cover her eyes; she took one orange and glanced at it for a long time.
She cut it, and then with her thin lips sucked the citrus and sweet juice from it. Her tongue removed any trails of juice from her lips enjoying it leisurely. She left the other half back into the bowl with the knife aside. Then she went back to sleep.
Maybe and just maybe she was starting to like oranges at all.
The ghost of a smile taunted her lips drowning her into a pleasant dream.
End of Chapter 2
So what do you think? Should I continue an older Yoh and Anna fluff chap? The oranges idea was of Wusai's, well not exactly the way I used them, but the idea orange caught my attention since I read Journals. Now to your reviews that I so greatly appreciate!
Grammar and Spelling mistakes: I'm so ashamed of them, but at least you understand what I try to say on this fic. I apologize greatly! I corrected Yohei to Yohmei (thanks!)
Anna and Yoh's Childhood: Since I have never read the manga (bad Suu-san!) I had no idea they talked about their childhood so twenty. I've watched the anime and I wasn't conformed to the little information they gave. As you may see Anna and Yoh are 8 years old, almost 9. I know they didn't meet at that age and the way the engagement thing wasn't as they told on the manga. But hey! I haven't read the manga and I had to use my little brain to imagine how it was. So excuse me if it wasn't exactly as the manga said. Maybe I did it differently so the 'oranges' issue' could be developed during this fic.
P.S. Anna DID hear all the 'oranges' monologue ^_~
Possible Chapter 3: I have plans for a third and last chapter about Anna and Yoh being a little bit older (present time maybe). Bratty 'As she saw him sleep' mentions a common idea with me, that Anna assembles a rose, I share that too. And Yoh is going to explain it… if you thought that the oranges thing was insane, maybe the possible next chapter will be even more insane! He he he! Tell me what you think.