Disclaimer: Shaman King is owned by the wonderful Hiroyuki Takei
Author Notes: Thank you for the reviews! I bet you didn't expect this to continue.. well maybe some of you. Anyways, after this there will be another chapter after this… but don't expect it *too* soon! Although I do want to finish all my fics before school starts… Hmm.. I just have to stop seeing Mr. Procrastination every day…
Warning: OOC… PWP, fantasy, mature events and fluffy-ness… Horribly written… due to tiredness, depression, sadness and stubbornness. ^__^;;;
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RRRRRRRIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNG!
Stifled moans replied the droning tone from the phone Manta bought for the inn years ago.
"…Yoh…" Anna whispered as their kiss broke unwillingly. She looked up into her husband's eyes, watching his gaze slowly descend from her sight to her lips. He brushed his lips against hers once again as his arms mischievously crawled around her back.
"Shouldn't you get that?" She mumbled, reluctantly pushing him away.
"Get what..?"
"The phone. It's ringing… Can't you hear it?"
"Phone… OH! Hehe.. Didn't hear it for a while," he nervously grinned as he stood up and headed towards the phone.
"Yeah.. I'll bet that.." Anna muttered, her stare following his path. The television remained as loud as ever. The weatherman continued to walk from side to side of the screen pointing at faded patterns that loomed over a dot labeled as Tokyo.
Yoh picked up the phone on the fourth ring, "Hello?"
"It's about time, Yoh-kun! What took you so long?" The voice impatiently retorted.
"Manta!" Yoh exclaimed, recognizing his best friend's voice, "This is a nice surprise. Is there a reason you called?"
"Well, I was browsing around online sources and it mentioned that the likelihood of a blackout in Tokyo is expected to happen if the weather keeps up."
"And…?" Yoh dully asked as he sat beside the phone, his strength suddenly weakening.
"And?! And?!!!!! Yoh-kun! In a blackout, all electricity will fail us! And possibly telephone lines and internet servers will suffer for several hours… Arrrgh! Forget that! How are you going to see? The outside is already dark and once the blackout strikes, how are you going to walk around the inn without hitting the wall?"
"We'll manage. Although making dinner might be a little… difficult," Yoh ran through a series of scenarios in his mind. The one that worried him the most was cutting himself and not even knowing it. Pushing all thoughts he aside, he smiled, "Everything will work out somehow. Maybe the power will return before I make dinner."
Manta snickered, "That's what I thought!!"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Fortunately for you, I have been surfing around long enough to predict events such as these. Check your mail, Yoh-kun! I sent you a box of candles, because I knew you probably wouldn't have been prepared."
"Really? Ah! Sankyuu, Manta," Yoh smiled, "You're a lifesaver. Can you hold on while I grab it?"
"Sure."
Yoh placed the phone beside the receiver as he raced towards the main door. "I'm getting candles that Manta sent us!" He called out to Anna as he slipped on his sandals, "He said there's going to be a blackout later on!!"
"Okay... But put on your jacket… It's really cold and I don't want you to get sick!" she cried out, her voice hinting a teeny bit of concern.
Yoh smiled as he wore his light colored trench coat. He grimaced as slid the door open slightly. Chilly winds immediately flooded in the opening, whistling as they made the entrance. Pulling aside the rest of the door, he stepped outside into the monochrome city. The mailbox was a few strides away and was covered in snow, making it barely visible as it camouflaged with its surrounding.
Inserting the key, Yoh turned the object until a click was heard. He opened the small wooden door and smiled knowingly as a brown wrapped box stood inside. Taking the package into his right arm, he was surprised that such a small box with just candles inside could way so much. Closing the mailbox, Yoh headed back inside the house.
He flung off his sandals and nudged them off to the side. He hung his coat on the rack as he raced into the living room.
Setting the package aside, he picked up the phone, "I'm back. That box is heavier than I thought it would be."
"Well, the package includes 5 taper candles -- good if you use it like a torch, 20 pillar candles and a few aromatherapy candles -- Jasmine and sandalwood, the ones most widely known for a blend of romance … it was something I wanted to add because sometimes you and Anna-san might want to... Ehehe... You know."
Yoh blushed at the suggestion, "I-I guess."
Manta laughed on the other end, "So, back to my very first question: Why did it take you so long to answer the phone? Or should I even ask?"
Fading into a deeper shade of crimson, Yoh replied quietly, "I was kind of… pre-occupied.."
Yoh glanced towards his wife, who raised an eyebrow at his abrupt secretive behaviour. He chuckled bashfully as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Oh ho ho ho! I knew it. You don't have to hide it, Yoh-kun…" Yoh could have sworn that he heard a smirk somewhere hidden in there. "I guess I'll leave you two alone now. I have some things I have to look into before the blackout strikes anyways."
"Alright. It was nice talking to you again… Bye." Yoh placed the phone back on its receiver as he joyfully skipped across the room to where Anna sat.
"Now… Where were we?" Yoh beamed as he drew closer towards her body.
Anna answered his question by capturing his lips in an arousing kiss. The blanket that was originally covering them had fallen on the floor, forgotten by its users. Pushing her lover onto the floor, Anna let her hands roam soothingly across his bare exposed chest.
"So what did Manta say about a blackout?" she sighed as they broke away for oxygen. She rested her head on his chest, having his arms tightly wrapped around her midriff.
"All he said was… that there was going to be one… and that it'd be a good idea to have candles lit… so we wouldn't crash into… things," he panted as he spoke.
Anna smiled at his fatigue, pointing out, "Well.. we should get ready and set up the candles.. that way we won't have to crash into anything when we struggle in the blackout."
"Reasonable as always."
"I am the wife of Asakura Yoh, you know," she smirked, "I'll grab the lighter from the kitchen and you set up the candles."
"Yes darling." Yoh sat up to watch Anna leave the room, feeling an instance of nostalgia. He pulled away the brown wrapping paper and opened the package. Other then an attached note on top, the contents were exactly as Manta had described: taper candles, aromatherapy candles and pillar candles. Tugging at the note, Yoh read the memo aloud: "I hope you and Anna-san enjoy the blackout. Candles do more than just light the room, you know. They can also set a romantic mood in an evening alone together. If you know what I mean. Wink. Wink. Best wishes. Manta."
Yoh found his cheeks begin to heat up enormously as he put the note aside. He wondered out loud, "I wonder when the black out is…"
Little did he know, once his coincidental words were spoken, the room darkened into a pitch black. All the objects that sat around the room were no longer visible. The television shut off, the clocks stopped, all traces of light had disappeared and if it were any normal city resident, the next events that would follow would be screams of panic and painful wall crashes. Of course, this boy wasn't an ordinary city dweller. The only things that occurred was the fact that his vision was engulfed by darkness and a realization that hit him that he really wasn't closing his eyes -- that and that the blackout had finally strike. Even though it was in the afternoon, the snowy season shortened the hours of sunlight, leaving the house darker than usual.
"Anna?" he called out as he slowly rose to his feet, holding one of the long candles as Manta had instructed him to.
"Yoh…?" came a faint reply soon after, "Stay there."
Turns of the spark wheel could be heard clicking furiously, giving Yoh an uneasy feeling that the lighter had failed them.
"…It's not working. There are matches in the kitchen…" she began quietly after muttering a few cuss words.
"…But..?"
"They're in the very top cupboard above the stove… I had to put it there after what happened the last time we let a drunk Horo Horo play with it," she sighed as she slumped down on the floor.
"Well... what should we do now?" Yoh sighed as he looked around the room, hoping for a small glint of light to miraculously appear. Even though his eyes have adjusted to the dark, everything was still rendered in complete blackness.
"We have to go to the kitchen… obviously. But first we have to find each other," she responded rationally, "Take the box of candles with you."
Relying on only his sense of touch, Yoh placed the candle inside and closed the box and cradled it into his arms. He leaned on the walls hoping that it would be the path to find his wife in the dark. "Psst. Anna… Where are you?" He put down the package and slid it side by side with his feet -- like playing a game of soccer. Yoh began to amuse himself with this action until the box slid out of the reach of his left foot.
"What are you doing? Yoh?"
Her voice seemed very close to where he was now and he continued to walk ahead with the guiding wall. "An--nu--oof."
His legs had suddenly hit something hard of some sort that he couldn't recall being there when the light was on. He fell on his knees before his hands prevented the rest of the fall.
"…Ow.." the object seemed to have winced aloud.
"An-Anna?" Yoh answered as he realized the object he had hit… wasn't at all an object to begin with.
If the lights had turned on at that moment, it would have revealed a red-faced Yoh in a crawling position on top of Anna. Yoh's knee rested on the floor in between Anna's legs and Anna was on the floor with a knee slightly bent upwards.
"S-so-sorry!" Yoh stuttered as he pulled Anna up as best he could in such a dark situation.
"At least… we found each other now.." she replied as she felt Yoh's hand tightened over hers.
Yoh reached the candle box while holding Anna's hand. When he got a firm hold of the package he carried it under his arm, leading his wife blindly towards the kitchen. Anna raised a hand outwards so she could identify or at least have a clue on where they might be in the large inn.
'Why didn't we buy that flashlight when we still could see a few weeks ago?' Anna wondered, 'Are we in the kitchen? Funny we have lived here for years and we don't even know where the rooms are in a power failure. Wait. Is this it? Thank god! It is! It is!'
"Yoh. We're here," she spoke as her hand traced the rim of the cool stove element. She raised an arm to make sure the first thing she'd hit when climbing up wouldn't be the top stove cover.
"It's good. Now put the candles on the counter or floor so I can go on top of your shoulders," Anna commanded.
Yoh placed them on the floor since the floor was the only thing he could feel for the time being. "Wh-Wha? Bu-but… Why don't you go on top of the counter and I'll… break your… possible falls?" Yoh asked fidgeting anxiously.
"Too risky. I trust my husband more than the counters in the dark. I might slip off an unseen edge."
"I'm flattered… but what if… what if.. I lose balance and.. we both fall?" Yoh grimaced as the thought played in his mind.
"You're saying that you would let your precious wife fall?" she questioned with a menacing tone.
"I-iie.. of course not!" he quickly answered, knowing that this verbal battle had already been lost.
"Good.. now crouch."
Yoh obeyed as he bent his knees slightly, allowing Anna to climb up his back slowly. So far it would look as if Yoh was giving Anna a piggyback ride, with Anna's legs dangling from behind Yoh's waist and her arms tightly wrapped around his neck. She used the countertop to thrust her position higher. Eventually, she sat comfortably on Yoh's shoulders as she reached for the door of the cupboard.
Yoh, on the other hand, was struggling to keep his balance as well as keep Anna safe from falling. His left hand held Anna's thigh and his right hand grasped her leg. He positioned himself so Anna would neither fall backwards nor forwards. He was sweating like crazy beneath the weight and was trying to focus on objects that could divert his immoral thoughts.
After a few trials and errors of trying to open the cupboard containing the matches, Anna finally felt the small box under her palm. She shook the pack to make sure that there were still some matches left.
"I got it. Try to get on your knees so I can get down… Unless you want me on your shoulders for a really long time," Anna teased.
Yoh tried to bend his legs but a sudden numbness stopped his movements. 'Crap… not now..' he thought as his hand fell on to the stovetop. His legs shook furiously as he slowly began to feel temptation knocking in between his legs. 'Not good!!' He slowly crouched down, leaning on the support of the counter in front of them. Luckily, his knees touched the ground before his legs gave away.
Yoh let out a deep sigh when Anna reached the floor safely. 'Close… Maybe a little TOO close,' he thought as he felt his heartbeat return to normal. He heard the candle box open and rustled through nosily.
"Need help?" Yoh asked curiously.
"Light the matches… I'll pass them to you. Where's your hand?" She asked, waving her arms, hoping to meet his arm in midair.
"I got it.." Yoh replied reaching towards her hand as the matches fell into his palm. He carefully held the edge of the box as the lightly pulled it open. Picking up a match, he closed the box and brushed the tip against the side. The match lit up the room instantly and for a moment it seemed to have blinded the two of them.
Anna held up a taper candle, "Hurry."
Yoh slowly placed the tiny flame over the tip of the candle. Within seconds it was lit, filling the whole room with a dim glow. Yoh gazed at Anna as a small smile formed on her face. Even though the flare was tiny, it didn't fail in capturing the very essence of her beauty. The colours of the flames was reflected in her eyes and her face glowed a faint orange tint.. It was like a blush of some sort. Yoh, of course saw this… Which made this one of the many reasons why he was having a difficult time keeping his eyes off her.
Unfortunately, Yoh had also failed to realize that he was still holding the glowing splint and as the flame scurried further along the stick, his fingers were the first to realize it.
"Yowwwwch!" he cried as he flung the stick up and down, letting the oxygen around him to blow out the flame. Yoh dropped the match as he blew on his finger, "Owie."
"Yoh! Are you okay? I thought you put that out after you lit the candle… Here, lemme see," Anna offered as she took his index finger with her free hand. She inserted the candle into a holder Yoh seemed to have overlooked before. Her fingers gently caressed the small burn, sending Yoh into another blank stare at his wife.
Anna raised Yoh's finger close to her mouth. Catching his gaze following her actions, she gently placed a kiss on the tip of his finger, "Better?"
"Yeah… but it kinda.. burned me on my thumb too…" Yoh began slowly. His eyes dropped down to her soft parted lips as she slowly placed a kiss on his thumb.
Anna watched her husband gulp nervously as she began to brush her lips against each one of his fingers. She brought his hand to her cheek and crept forward to steal a kiss from her husband. Yoh pulled Anna closer as their kiss intensified. The candlelight continued to flicker behind them, dancing in rejoice as it continued to light up the room.
" I have an idea…" Anna smiled as she traced an invisible line across his cheek. Using it as a guide, she planted several kisses along the hidden mark. "Why not go into the onsen… And have ourselves a romantic getaway?"
"Everywhere I'm with you IS a romantic getaway..." he pointed out as their lips brushed against each other's once more.
"You know what I mean… We have candles…"
"Aromatherapy?" he asked, recalling the two different blends that Manta listed over the phone.
"I admit… some of your friends are pretty smart. So what do you say?" her fingers danced teasingly along his bottom lip.
"A relaxing bath time with my beautiful.. gorgeous wife… how could any guy ask for more?" Yoh grinned.
Anna smiled as she pulled her husband up in a standing position. "Let's go then."
~~~
Yoh set up the aromatherapy candles around the waters of the indoor onsen. The hot spring didn't require electricity, being that it was semi-natural with a few not electrical-running tubes installed. Slowly, he dabbed the candlelight from the kitchen to each of the large candles.
Once they were lit, the room had suddenly taken on an amorous feeling. Almost as if the moon came by for a visit, showing off its radiance through the windows. The water reflected the image of the flickering lights around it. Yoh glanced at the rippling shades of the flames and leaned in closer to see his wavering reflection.
Anna left to undress in her room, mentioning that she had to tie her hair before she came in. Yoh on the other hand, only needed a towel around his waist… even though it wasn't completely necessary.
Gradually, the scents of the candles filled the air, leaving Yoh to question if this whole day might have been just a simple dream. If he could describe the smell that he couldn't stop sniffing in one word… it would be… heaven. Enticing each of his 5 senses one way or another and even tugging at another feeling inside of him.
Yoh stepped inside the hot spring, holding the towel around him securely as he felt the warm water tingle his skin. He sat down with his arms relaxed on the edge. 'This is a life…'
"Yoh," a voice called out from behind.
The dark-haired boy whizzed around, "…Anna.."
A faint blush crept on her cheeks as he continued to stare wordlessly. Yoh has rarely ever seen Anna's hair tied up and when she did it on special occasions, it left a gaping expression on Yoh's face. His eyes roamed all over her body, savouring her perfect figure. Anna shifted her weight on her left foot as she readjusted the towel wrapped around her chest. Yoh's gaze followed her as she stepped into the onsen. Yoh curled his arms around her waist, but not before an intimate kiss was shared between them.
"I could get used to this…" Anna sighed as her husband sent a trail of kisses down from her shoulder. She was sitting in his lap -- which could really give someone -- anyone, the wrong picture. Their towels were still wrapped around their personal areas, of course.
"You're a very addictive drug, you know?" Yoh announced with a grin. He placed his mouth over her neck and lightly fondled the area with his tongue, causing Anna to moan quietly. Yoh stopped and unexpectedly seized her lips with his own.
Minutes passed and still all that could be heard were their tongues mingling passionately as well as an occasionally moan. Preoccupied as they were, they didn't notice the room lights flicker on and off consistently, each blink longer than the last. Pretty soon the lights began to work, brightening up the whole room.
Anna was the first to notice that the power had returned. ".. Look.."
"Ah!" Yoh cried as he noticed the change, "Looks like I don't have to make dinner in the dark… But somehow… It looks like the mood we set is ruined.." He gave a small pout to show his disappointment.
Anna giggled, "Maybe we can fix the mood.." She rose up slowly, climbing out of the hot spring. Heading for the light switch, she turned the brightness dial counter-clockwise, dimming the lights and then turning them off altogether.
"How's that?" she asked, heading back into Yoh's open arms.
"…Much better…" he smiled. Yoh pulled her close once again, enjoying her presence wrapped in his arms.
Prolonging the moment, the couple relaxed in each other's arms. Their heartbeats could be heard beating softly in unison. In even thumps they would beat as one.
And for now, nothing else mattered. (Unless you exclude Yoh, because he had to worry about what kind of dinner he has to make.)