"Don't stop sweeping!!! If I catch any one of you resting, I'll add ten more kilometers in your jogging later!" yelled Anna when she saw Horo Horo and Yoh standing in the middle of the gravel pathway, panting heavily. In just a span of four hours, Anna had made them chop two hundred pieces of wood for charcoal in the nearby mountain, swim through the whole course of the river from the boundary of the vast seventy hectare Asakura compound to the boundary of Izumi, and do the laundry in the house without the convenience of a washing machine.
Right now, they were being ordered to clean the kilometer-long path towards the temple.
"Yes Ma'am!" said the two boys in unison.
She glared at them. "Stop yakking and start moving!" she continued reading her pocketbook. "Tribe boy, I want you to sweep faster because you still have to draw my bath."
"That is the last straw!" Yoh watched as his servant threw the broom down. "I'm serving Master Yoh, not you! Why should I draw your bath?"
"Because I said so," she said coolly.
Yoh picked the broom up. "No problem. I can draw your bath for you, Anna."
"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me by my first name?" she snapped.
He looked at his servant, who brought out a mini pad where the data on Anna's behavior were jotted down. "Forty five?"
Horo Horo nodded. "Got that in one." He rolled his eyes. "Why are you obeying her? Do you really believe that this special training of hers can give us more outcomes other than possible amputations, dehydration, or nervous breakdown?"
"Well, let's just put it that way," said Yoh, eyes twinkling. "If we don't become stronger fighters, we can become better housemaids."
Anna's eyes narrowed at them. "I don't like it when people talk about me behind my back."
"I'm sorry!" said Yoh quickly.
It had been half a month ever since Anna and Yoh were engaged unceremoniously by the latter's grandmother. Since then, the usually lazy bum Asakura Yoh and his tolerating guardian Horo Horo became instant slaves to Anna, who was really enjoying the power she was given as the fiancée of the Shaman King.
She stood up. "Get my bath ready in three minutes. The water must be lukewarm." She then headed for her room.
"Be sure to get a divorce when you do get married to her," whispered Horo fiercely to Yoh. "Can you imagine what your life would be like, waking up everyday to cook and clean and send the kids to school while she lies in front of the TV, munching on junk food? I won't be too surprised if it would be you who would give birth to your future kids as a part of your special training."
He couldn't help but grin at his friend. "It won't happen anytime soon. I'll cross the bridge when it's crossable."
"Heh! It's 'when you get there', Master Yoh!" corrected Horo. A naughty smile then spread on his face. "But she's really cute, eh?"
Yoh blinked. "Yeah. So?"
"Take away her obnoxious attitude and give her the personality of, say, a typical airhead shoujo in manga series, and she's the perfect wife material!" said the servant, clapping his hands excitedly.
"But then, that's not Anna anymore," said the future shaman king, grinning at the thought. Kyouyama Anna in a Belldandy mode was scarier than her real self. In the short period that they had spent together – not together together, but together in the simplest sense – he had come to get used to her attitude.
Unfortunately, Horo Horo wasn't as understanding. "I'm glad she's not my fiancée. I would have opted to commit suicide instead."
Amidamaru suddenly appeared with us. "If you commit suicide, you still won't escape her. She's a spiritualistic medium, and she can call you forth anywhere anytime and any moment she pleases, just to torture you." He then started crying to his Yoh-dono how Anna's beads were killing him slowly.
Yoh sighed. "Don't worry, Amidamaru. I will try to talk to her later."
Horo Horo bowed solemnly. "I wish you make it out alive when you do."
He laughed, then gasped. "I think there's this one thing I forgot to do…"
"Anna's bath!!!"
"Is it warm enough?" asked Yoh, putting more wood to the furnace that was connected to the bath inside the house.
"No. Not yet," she said curtly.
He sighed, then put more wood again.
"Where is that annoying blue-haired freak?" she asked all of a sudden.
"S-Still sweeping," he replied.
"Tell him that he should be finished by the time that I finish my bath," she said.
"Don't be too hard on him and Amidamaru," he said. "I'm the one whom you must train hard."
"Who are you to dictate me on my plans? I'm the one in-charge," she said.
"Yes, but…you should take it easy," he said slowly.
"You guys will forever be lazy slackers if I take it easy," she said. "Especially you, Asakura. As the future shaman king, you must be always ready to face people who will challenge your rank. You must be able to show them that you can defend your rank and prove that you are the rightful bearer of that great title."
"That sounds nice," he said.
Silence.
"Anna?"
She didn't bother to call his attention for calling her name again – he wouldn't listen anyway – and wearily asked what was on his mind.
"What about you? What is your dream?"
A long pause ensued before she finally spoke up. "I have forgotten already. Such things like dreams or fantasies don't exist in my vocabulary because they are not real, therefore insignificant."
"My dream is to be a shaman king, because that is what my folks taught me to dream. However, deep inside me, there's one dream that is not related at all to being a shaman." Yoh grinned. "My dream is to be happy."
"H-Happy?"
"Yep. Lying lazily under the shade of the tree makes me happy. Listening to my walkman is happiness for me. Eating great food can make me happy too. But the happiness that I dream to find is one that I won't outgrow and vice versa. One that I know will keep me happy in my entire lifetime."
Yoh put in some more wood. "To find that thing is my dream. Because I will eventually grow bored of lying down, or my walkman would run out of batteries, or my food will be digested already, never to return. I want to find something that would mean everything to me."
"Quixotic," said Anna after awhile. "Such thing does not exist."
"I'm still hoping to find it." He said as he grinned.
No more was said. He just kept on placing wood after wood in the furnace.
"Hey," said Horo suddenly, passing by Yoh. "Isn't she done with her bath already?"
"Hmm?" He frowned. "That's strange. She's not coming out yet."
"The water is boiling already. You can stop putting wood already," said Horo Horo when he noticed that the flames were roaring. "You might burn her already."
Yoh's eyes widened. "Uh, Anna? Anna, are you ok in there?"
Horo slapped his hand on his forehead. "I knew it. He didn't know how to draw a bath." It was Tamao who always prepares Yoh's bath for him.
"Anna? Anna?!" Yoh's voice was rising in panic.
No reply.
He freaked out. "Argh! I cooked her alive!" Without thinking, he hurried into the bath, removed his shirt, and covered with it the wet body of the unconscious Anna. He lifted her out of the water and laid her on the ground. "Anna?" Dread was forming within him when she wasn't replying.
Horo came in too, alert. "How is she?"
"She's not responding," he said.
"Did she drown? Try giving her a CPR," said Horo.
"CPR?" Yoh's eyes widened. He looked at Anna grimly, then back at his servant. "What's that?"
Horo Horo sighed. "It's like this. You press down on her chest, then at the same time, you breathe into her mouth." He took out Kuroro and demonstrated the chest pushing. He leaned down towards his spirit, then grinned. "Nah, I won't kiss you. I try to stay wholesome all the time."
"K-Kiss?" he echoed feebly. He looked at the girl and clenched his fists. "I respect women. I value their chastity above all things…"
"If you won't do it, I'll do it-" He was starting to say when Amidamaru appeared. "Horo Horo, she is Master Yoh's fiancée. Don't you dare!"
The servant looked disappointed, but he turned to his master. "Hurry up, Master Yoh!"
"Uh…alright. If it will save her…" He gulped, then leaned down towards her face, eyes closed. As he inched closer to her, he could feel his heart race. She smelled like bunch of roses – sweet, young pink ones, in fact. It was enough for him to not notice that Anna's face wrinkled, to Horo and Amidamaru's shock.
Her eyes slowly flapped open as she yawned.
At last, Yoh noticed that she was already awake.
But it was too late.
His lips were brushing hers gently already.
And Anna's eyes were wide open, gaping at him.
"She didn't believe me when I said I was just practicing CPR," narrated Yoh wryly when his best friend, Oyamada Manta came to visit him that day.
"Um, Yoh-kun, let me get this straight," said the little boy. "You are suddenly engaged to a girl that you caught bathing in a brook and is now taking revenge at you by training you like hell day and night. Suddenly, this afternoon, you thought she drowned and you saved her, and tried to perform CPR but it turned out that she just slept off. Now you look like a victim of World War II." He looked at Yoh's swollen face then sighed. "She sure can slap very well."
"It must be a talent," agreed Horo Horo, coming in with a tray of drinks for all of them. He sat down with them. "Forgive me for saying this, but I am thankful that it happened. Now that she-devil is not tormenting us for the meantime. She must still be recovering from the trauma you gave her, eh, Master Yoh?"
He sighed.
Amidamaru appeared. "It's all your fault, Horo Horo! You shouldn't have put that ridiculous suggestion into Master's head!"
"Yeah!" seconded Manta. "Yoh would never think of that outrageous idea in the first place if not encouraged by the likes of you!"
"Likes of me? Hey!" said Horo crossly. "I think you should blame Master Yoh too. He wouldn't do something that he didn't like to do."
Yoh nodded. "He's right."
Amidamaru and Manta's eyes widened. "So you liked it?"
Yoh shrugged. "Yeah," he said as if he just mentioned that he liked doughnuts or Bob CDs.
Horo Horo smiled triumphantly. "See?" He suddenly clasped Yoh's hands and pressed them to his face. "These hands were able to touch her naked body. Transmit to me all her scents and skin, Master!"
Manta wanted to pummel Horo Horo for his pervertedness, but Pirika appeared. Upon seeing what her brother was doing to Yoh, she screamed.
"Onii-chan, how could you?" sobbed Pirika. "I was so glad at first when you're not having a girlfriend yet, but I didn't know it was because you wanted a boyfriend! How could you? Oh, I would die in self shame and pity! Ah, my brother's a gay!"
Horo Horo wanted to tear his sister apart. " I told you, I'm NOT!"
Yoh grinned. "I already have a fiancée, Pirika."
This calmed the girl down. "Really?"
"Yes!" cried Manta. "And about what you saw awhile ago, they were just playing around!"
"Really?" sniffed the girl. "Thanks, Kuroro."
"It's Manta."
"I don't care. You and Kuroro will make a lovely pair."
"SHUT UP!!!"
"What's with all the noise?"
Yoh slowly turned around and saw his fiancée standing behind them, arms crossed. "Anna?" he asked awkwardly.
She looked at Yoh, and for a moment, he thought he saw her eyes shake, but they became blank once again. "You and Horo Horo better get started on the 50 km run."
"Right!" said the two quickly, going towards the stock room to get the weights.
Manta looked at the girl in awe. How was it possible that her mere words could send two tough guys like Yoh and Horo Horo in a flurry?
"You, water meat bun," said Anna, turning to him.
He cringed.
"Get inside and start washing the dishes."
"But I'm just a visitor here!" he protested.
"I'll start counting. One…"
Manta hurried into the house, wailing all the way. Now he understood how she could bring his friends down on their knees, begging for her mercy.
Anna turned to Pirika next. "And you, stop crying."
She was about to retort when Anna spoke again. "You should be proud of your brother. He has the making of a great fighter."
Pirika was stunned by the unexpected compliment from the unexpected person.
Anna turned back and retreated to her room.
"How is my grandson?" asked Kino after she finished her training for that day.
Anna nodded. "His endurance is improving."
"Never thought I would hear the word 'progress' and my grandson's name at the same sentence." The old woman sighed.
"He is destined for greater heights," she agreed.
"And I want him to make it there… with you," said Kino, smiling meaningfully.
"One forty nine…one fifty…"counted Yoh as Anna watched him somewhat distractedly. Horo Horo had long finished his 150 push-ups earlier this afternoon, so it was just the two of them out in the garden that night.
"One fifty one…one fifty two…"
Anna looked at her fiancé's face, and remembered how it looked like when it was just inches away from hers. She felt like she wanted to punch somebody.
"One fifty three…one fifty four…one fifty five…"
But she couldn't stop thinking of the peculiar warmth she felt when his lips were on hers. No one had ever dared to touch her that intimately before.
"One fifty six…one fifty seven… one fifty eight…"
He's my fiancé. I shouldn't have beaten him up for that.
"One fifty nine…one sixty…"
Anna blinked. "You did extra ten push-ups?"
"A way of apologizing for being ungentlemanly," he said, grinning uncertainly. "I'm sorry for kissing you without your permission."
She couldn't understand why she was secretly touched by what he did. Instead she said, "Ten more push-ups, then perhaps I can forgive you."
His face lit up. "Sure, Anna!" He returned to the ground, doing ten more push-ups.
I may forgive it, but forgetting it is another story.
tsuzuku
I do not have anything against Belldandy, mind you. She was just the first female anime character that entered my mind who would obey whatever her master says.
