I absent-mindedly touched my cheek, smiling.
"Master Hao?" asked Opacho, looking at me strangely.
I grinned. "What is it with women that I cannot comprehend? Why are they so emotional? Why can they be so stubborn?" I looked down at the piece of bread that Opacho and I were sharing. "How ever did Yoh manage to survive someone like her? She is a labyrinth."
"What is puzzling Master Hao so much?"
"My sister-in-law." I chewed on my bread thoughtfully. "My brother is gone, and no tear in the world can bring him back. So why is she still mourning? It's been days already."
"Maybe Master Hao should not bother about her anymore."
I chuckled. "I can't let Yoh down." I finished my meal, then stood up. "I'm going to see her again."
"And get slapped again, Master Hao?"
"Yes, and get slapped again, Opacho." I smiled. "However, I won't be very indulgent this time."
"Maybe Master Hao should change his strategy," suggested the servant.
"Hmm?" I looked at Opacho curiously. "Tell me about it."
"Maybe Master Hao should try to sympathize with her instead of antagonizing himself."
I rubbed my jaw. "Anna is too smart. She'll know immediately my insincerity."
"But helping her out…isn't Master Hao sincere about that?"
I paused, then shrugged. "I don't know…but one thing is for sure. I'm very bored, and I need something to do. Visiting her suffices. That, and for my brother."
I was back in the Asakura house, and to my amusement, Yohmei was standing guard, as if expecting me.
"What are you planning to do with Anna?" he asked grimly.
I chuckled. "So until now, you don't believe me? Yoh asked me to look after her."
"Don't think of trying to pull anything funny, Hao."
I grinned. "I won't pull anything that won't make Anna laugh. You have my word." I then headed for her room.
Just like the other day, I found her seated on the wheelchair, holding Yoh's picture. I felt something pinch within me. Why is it that when I died, no one cared enough to mourn for me that way? Was I really that evil? That unloved?
She turned to me, sensing my presence at once. Her eyes, swollen once again, turned steely. "Not again."
I laughed. "Yes, I'm checking on you again." I looked at the untouched breakfast tray by her table. "I see. You're acting like a brat again."
She exhaled sharply. "I'm not hungry."
I ignored her. I took the tray and bit on the muffins. "Hmm….good. The pink-haired girl must have worked really hard on these. Yum, they're luscious!" I reached for the glass of orange juice. I sniffed it, then grinned. "Freshly-squeezed. I wonder what time did Kino wake up just to squeeze the best oranges for you."
She bit her lip, looking away.
"Oh well, it's a shame for them to go to waste. I might as well eat them." I continued to bite on the muffins. "Mmm…your cooks here can put to shame the restaurants downtown anytime. Not only because of the superb cooking, but because they put a lot of care into these dishes." I smiled at her, who was looking at the food tray, eyes shaking. She suddenly wheeled towards me, reaching for a muffin too. I pretended to look out at the window, enjoying the scenery as she finished the rest of the muffins.
I then noticed Yohmei and Kino looking at me from the slightly ajar door, astounded. After so many days, Anna was finally able to eat.
"I'll be back tomorrow to check on you again," I told her as I was about to leave. She didn't reply. Her eyes were cast on the scene outside her window. I grinned, then strode to leave.
I met Mikihisa standing in the hallway. I grinned at his bird mask-covered face. "Ei, otoo-san!" I greeted sarcastically.
"Shut up." He crossed his arms. "Kino and I just want to thank you for what you did. You helped Anna to eat."
"Just doing my job." I shrugged, as if it was no big deal.
"She was deeply hurt by what happened…she had cared for Yoh since childhood…so you must understand why it isn't so easy for her." His voice softened.
I was getting disturbed by the awareness of something tugging within me. I grinned carelessly. "People come and go, it's a fact of life."
"True. But some people stay for awhile, touch our lives, and we never ever forget that moment. That is what Anna is going through now."
"Nonsense. Emotions make human hearts weak."
"You'll take a second thought on that later. What Yoh did for Anna, protecting her till the end…that's beautiful strength, Asakura Hao. And it came from the human heart…from the same emotions you ridicule, which is love." Mikihisa watched me walk away. "You would understand this someday, Hao, or you would be half a man. There are things that are far stronger than your Spirit of Fire. Haven't you learned your lesson yet in the shaman fight?"
I pretended not to hear him. No, I couldn't allow his words to disturb my mind. Humans are weak creatures, the human heart even more so. Love drives people to destruction, just like how Yoh died for love and how Anna was starving herself because of love.
And I don't intend to be a victim of such foolishness too.
The next day, I was on my way again to the Asakura House when I noticed the commotion of small children by the roadside. I was about to ignore it when I heard a soft cry, as if coming from a child. That got me – even shamans like me are vulnerable to children.
I saw a couple of week-old kittens crying at its mother cat – ran over perhaps by a vehicle. I clicked my tongue – just because of one man's recklessness, a life was thoughtlessly taken. Once again, my belief on human inferiority was reinforced.
One kitten licked the mother's unmoving face, as if trying to wake it up.
"Grieving," I thought. I then remembered Anna. An idea came to me suddenly.
I could feel how the whole Asakura House was gaping at me. Yohmei said nothing when he opened the bedroom door of Anna for me, then shut it after I was let in.
Anna turned to me in her usual icy manner, but paused when she saw what I was holding.
A basket of fluffy white and brown kittens. And me holding it was quite a scene perhaps on her mind.
"I found them on my way here," I said nonchalantly, placing the basket on the table. "Their mother got ran over by a thoughtless driver, and I know that if I leave them on the streets, they might not survive. So I brought them here. I know a lot of you can take care of them."
Her eyes looked eagerly at the smaller, more playful brown kitten. I obliged and took it, then handed it to her. The cat started to cry, and Anna quickly pressed the little one on her neck, nuzzling her cheek against its furry warmth.
I had to smile at the scene. "I forgot to ask whether you have a history of asthma."
She turned to me for a moment, then shook her head.
I knelt down and took the white one. "Alright, we'll have one each."
She nodded. The kitten she was holding has already pacified. "I'll call him 'Brownie'."
I sweatdropped. "Isn't that a name of a puppy?"
"I don't care."
"OK then, I'll call mine 'Shirayuki'."
"I didn't know you were a fan of Disney cartoons."
I held the kitten up. "Fur as white as snow. Snow white."
Her mouth twitched. "Oh. OK." She petted her pet kitten then looked at the kitten I was holding, much more behaved than Brownie. "Can I hold Shirayuki-hime too?"
"By all means." I handed her carefully the white kitten, and she hugged it against her breast, her finger smoothing its fur.
I smiled proudly. I should have guessed earlier the therapeutic effect of animals. Well anyway, I was just glad that she was holding on to something aside from the picture of my deceased brother.
"Arigatou…"
I blinked, and turned to Anna. She wasn't looking at me – but no one else was in the room, and unless the kittens could talk…
"You're welcome," I said, my eyes on the sleeping creatures on her chest. "Lucky things," I said in mock envy.
She glared at me, but she didn't mutter profanities, perhaps afraid to wake the little ones up.
That night, Opacho watched as I fed Shirayuki with bread moistened by milk.
"Why did Master Hao suddenly decide to have a kitten?" asked Opacho.
"Oh, don't be jealous. You're still my favorite pet," I laughed, then turned to the small white kitten. I smoothed its tiny head with my finger, all the while feeling the smile on my face.
Maybe the animal was doing its therapeutic magic on me too. I then remembered Anna, and I concluded that she was working wonders on my boredom too.
tsuzuku
