CHAPTER 1 - The Picnic

The birds chirped loudly enough to wake her up. It was a start.
Anna Kyouyama woke up at exactly 7:11:05 in the morning. Her alarm clock told so. When she got out of her bed, she heard noises coming from downstairs, particularly in the kitchen. 'Yoh and his friends again.' she thought. Then, she headed to the bathroom.

It was six years now after the Shaman Fight wherein Yoh Asakura won over Hao and was proclaimed the Shaman King. After that, they had all come back to their normal lives. Yoh and Anna were still engaged but none of them talk about it.

It was September 29, 2004, exactly a week after Anna turned eighteen. Yoh and his friends were in the kitchen. (It was their favorite hangout.) Ren, Horo-Horo, Ryu, Lyserg and Chocolove were doing their stuffs when Manta asked Yoh a thing. "So, Yoh. Anna is now 18, when do you plan to get married? The two of you?"
At that question, Ryu stopped cooking, Horo-Horo and Ren stopped struggling with each other and Chocolove stopped cracking jokes to Ryu. They all looked at Yoh. However, Lyserg was listening to Yoh's headphones and obviously did not hear what Manta had said.
Yoh blushed. It was the first time that the topic about their marriage was opened after the Shaman Fight. He did not know what to say. He just smiled at them.

When Anna arrived in the kitchen, all of them behave themselves. Ryu continued his cooking while Horo-Horo, Ren and Chocolove just sat beside Yoh, Manta and Lyserg. They did not want to make Anna angry at their 'stupid' stuffs (according to Anna herself) early in the morning.
"So. what do we have for breakfast?" Anna asked Ryu.
Ryu answered proudly. " Ms. Anna. for today we have my specialty.." He placed a dish with cover on the table. ".Tamago Sushi!" Ryu uncovered the plate and looked proudly of himself.
Anna looked coldly at the sushi, then at Ryu. "We already had it last night," she said, and then looked at Yoh. "Hadn't we, Yoh?" She asked him. But Yoh seemed preoccupied by some things that caused him not to hear his fiancée. Anna raised an eyebrow at him. She didn't want herself to be ignored especially in front of people. "Dare not to answer my question huh, Yoh?" She said dangerously. Everyone looked to Anna and then to Yoh. Manta, who was right beside Yoh, poked him. Yoh, on the other hand seemed to come back now in the real world and felt the nervous gazes of his friends to him. "Sorry. just thinking of something. Well.what did I miss?" He looked at Anna, then at the Tamago Sushi. Anna was about to retort when Yoh said thoughtfully, " We already had this yesterday and last night, hadn't we, Anna?"

At that morning, Yoh went out with his friend to go to the hospital and pay a visit to Dr. Faust. Anna had beaten him up again. Poor Yoh, he didn't even know what was the reason why he was beaten up.

The next day, Anna was watching TV when Yoh arrived with his friends. Anna looked at them (they all froze from nervousness) for some seconds, and then returned her gaze at the television. Yoh and his friends occupied the kitchen. They were preparing for the picnic Yoh had set for the day. Again, they were doing their stuffs. Chocolove was cracking jokes at Manta. "You know, you could be a great basketball player." Ryu was preparing the foods, as usual. Horo-Horo and Ren were arguing about Pirika. "You like my sister, doesn't you, Ren?" Lyserg was helping Ryu in silence. Yoh was peeking at the living room. He didn't want Anna to catch them preparing for the picnic. Because Anna was exempted from the picnic Yoh had planned.

Anna was watching TV when the doorbell rang. Since she was the only one near to the main door, she got the door. The sight of the visitor, not the sight surprised her, actually, but at the attire of the visitor. It was Tamao, dressed up in a tube tank top and a very short skirt. She was holding a medium-sized basket. "Good day Anna-san, is Yoh-kun in there?" She asked. Anna studied her coldly. She like neither her outfit nor her voice when she pronounced the words 'Yoh-kun'. " They are in the kitchen. may I know the reason why are you here?" Anna asked. "Oh. sorry, Yoh-kun invited me too." Tamao said sincerely. Anna raised an eyebrow. "Invited you where?" "At today's picnic.! Why, aren't you coming?" Tamao asked. Anna looked surprised. Yoh was planning picnic today and did not even tell her nor invited her to join them. Was she really that outcast at Yoh's circle of priorities? Yet, she stayed calm and pretended that she knew everything. "I don't go to stupid stuffs like that." She answered, then turned her back on Tamao and continued to watch TV. Tamao, however, was not anymore surprised at her behavior. She had known her for years. 'Still not changing.' she thought about Anna. "Okay. well. I will go to the kitchen now, Anna-san." She said. When she didn't receive any response from Anna, she walked and went to the kitchen. She saw Yoh and the gang.

When they saw her arrived, their jaws (except for Yoh, Ren and Lyserg) dropped. "Tamao. is that really you?" Ryu asked the newcomer with his eyes shaped like hearts. "You look pretty" Manta added. "Whoa. Petty? No. she doesn't look like a petty." Chocolove joked. Horo-Horo could not find the right words to say. "T-Ta-Tamao. you.you." But Tamao didn't give any attention to them. Her focus was on Yoh. She headed towards him. "This is for you. thanks for inviting me!" Yoh just smiled. "Don't mention it. Thank you for this, too!" Tamao blushed.

Anna could not concentrate on the TV show she was watching after what she learned from Tamao. She was actually angry with Yoh for not saying just a single word of his plan to her. It was okay if he did not invite her to come but it was not okay that he ignored her as a part of his life. The first reason why she was so angry with Yoh was that, she happened to be his fiancée. She was there for him as the half part of his life. But just a simple picnic. She was so hurt. Maybe Yoh already forgot that she was his fiancée. She had to remind him that. After all, after all those years, she had fallen in love with that stupid, lazy, carefree boy. She was not strong enough to let him go. She felt lonely and at the same time, stupid. Maybe it was because of what she did to him yesterday. it was not his fault that he was not listening to her. why did she beat him up? Anna wanted to cry at the moment but fought back. What would the tears do to her? Would it help her? She tuned off the TV and headed to her room. She was going with them even though she was not invited.

Tamao was happily narrating some stories to them when suddenly she remembered Anna. "Yoh-kun, aren't you going to force Anna-san to join with us?" She asked innocently. Yoh looked at her. "Well. she doesn't know anything about this." Tamao looked confused. "But Yoh-kun. I talked to her earlier. she. she. she said she didn't want to go!" Yoh looked at her, nervously. "You did not tell her about the picnic, did you?" Tamao was about to answer when the kitchen door slid open. It was Anna.