I sat down the rock and watched Anna walk towards me unsteadily, her hands holding on against the wall to be sure she wouldn't fall over.
"Can't you get any faster?" I asked, knowing at once how she would react.
I wasn't wrong. Her eyes blazed with anger.
"You do know…that I just let go of the wheelchair just a week ago," she said, wincing. Her legs were still hurting, I know. It was just I couldn't resist making her a bit mad – her display of glorious female fire makes her so breathtakingly beautiful to me.
Shirayuki-hime ran towards her, followed by a more energetic and hyper Brownie. My eyes crinkled into a smile when I saw her eyes soften. The two creatures were always her weakness.
"Hai, you two will eat, just wait," she said. She then turned her attention back to crossing the some five feet between us. Her steps were light, even a bit shaky, but very determined.
It had been two months since I challenged her to live and be strong for my brother. She had been getting along with it very well, if I may say so. Her housemates told me that she had slowly returned to normal, even eating with them in the dinner table at times. She could also entertain Yoh's friends without bursting into tears anymore. They spoke no thanks, but I could feel it when they look at me and give me occasional smiles.
I didn't count the days that passed by – I would get lost in the moments that I was in her company. However, I would be reminded by the growth of Shirayuki-hime and Brownie, and the little changes in the Dragon Lady herself.
"Your hair has grown a bit longer," I said out of the blue, startling the itako. She self-consciously touched the tendrils of her soft, golden hair. I smiled at what she did. "Don't cut it anymore. I like it – makes you femininely soft."
I saw her cheeks color slightly, to my amusement. I knew my brother was never verbally demonstrative with his undying admiration for the itako's beauty, thus explaining her shock whenever I give her bluntly spoken compliments.
"I didn't grow it long to please you!" she snapped, then continued on her struggle to reach me. She had to let go of the wall now- there was nothing to hold on to anymore but herself – as she crossed to the other side to reach me.
Minutes later, she collapsed by my feet, relieved to finally reach her destination.
"That was satisfactory," I said, glancing at the skies. "But you do have to hasten your pace."
"You're helping me to walk, not to run a marathon," she snapped.
I paused, then laughed. "You're right, but you bored me back there." It was a lie, of course. Watching her every graceful move is anything but boring, but I wanted to see her mad again.
I wasn't disappointed. Her almond-shaped eyes burst into angry flames. "You don't have to do this then! I can walk on my own! I don't need you to look after me anymore!"
I chuckled. "Your sense of humor has no sense."
Her eyebrow arched. "Speak for yourself." She forced herself to stand up, holding on to the edge of the rock I was sitting on, shunning away the hand I was offering to her.
I let out a laugh of pure delight. "The way you're groping on the rock I'm sitting on, you might end up touching something else."
Her face turned crimson. "Damn you," she hissed before finally accepting my hand.
When we returned to the Asakura House, we found Ren Tao seated patiently in the living room. When he saw Anna, he got up quickly.
The itako nodded at him, and they both sat down. I lingered in the living room, pretending to look at the patternless pattern of the walls.
Ren shot a look at me, but knowing I won't go, he turned to my sister-in-law again. "Anna, my sister wants to invite you to take your vacation in our hometown in China," he began.
She was about to speak up when he interrupted her. "Do not worry about the stress of the travel. Our private plane can charter us back and forth China and Japan, and I will ask Faust to come with you for your medical security."
She looked down at her lap. "It had been two months since his death…I don't think I can afford to do a vacation."
"When then will you be ready?" he asked.
"Check on her after two decades," I said.
"Shut up!" Anna cried, to Ren's astonishment. Even more so when I immediately obeyed the itako.
"Please tell your sister that I thank her for inviting me…but not now…maybe someday, but not now," she said wearily.
I fought the urge to laugh. I knew I was right in saying two decades.
I paused when Ren reached over and patted her hand. "I understand, and nee-san will understand you too. I'm just glad that you can already walk without the wheelchair."
She smiled a little and nodded. "I'm glad too."
I suddenly went to the itako and pulled her up the seat roughly. She let out a cry.
"What the hell do you think are you doing?!" cried Ren, aghast at my roughness.
"It's time for her bath," I said, smiling insincerely at the Chinese shaman. "I still have a lot of things to do so I better get started on that one chore."
Anna's eyes widened. "Bath?!!" She couldn't protest because I had already carried her in my arms out of the living room.
"Are you crazy?!!" she yelled, intending to disable my eardrums. "You never give me baths! What were you thinking when you implied to them that we're that intimate?"
"Nothing," I shrugged. "I just feel like saying it."
"Damn you! Now what will he and Yoh's friends think of us?!! Of me?!!" she snapped.
"That you are a hygienic woman who takes baths everyday?" I guessed, my mouth twitching.
"Damn, it's not funny!" she screeched. "Yoh just died, and here am I, getting intimate with his brother, the same person that nearly took Yoh away from us for good?"
My smile vanished. I deposited her back to her feet. She swayed a little, and I steadied her with my hands. "Never bring that up again, do you understand?" I asked quietly, looking at her grimly.
She avoided my gaze. "The truth hurts, doesn't it?"
"You have no idea how much, but it's none of your business anyway," I replied.
Her eyes blazed again. "Yet you barge into my peaceful existence, then meddle with my life, then start ordering me around. I am your business and you aren't mine. How about that?"
My eyes twinkled. "I'll allow you to make my life your business too, but you'll have to marry me first."
Her eyes widened in shock, and her hand automatically slapped my face. I touched my swollen cheek, then smiled at her. "Must I remind you at what I told you before, dear one?"
"What-"
I grabbed her hand that slapped me, then used it to pull her closer to me. "That the next time you slap me, I would punish you in my own ways?" I whispered huskily.
I felt her soft body tense in my arms. "Let me guess…I saw these in movies already…you'll kiss me?" Her voice shook, but she bravely met my gaze, telling me that no kiss could ever punish her.
"Worse," I said, bending down to lean to her ears. "I'll make you wash all my clothes, including my underwear." I suddenly let her go and began to take my clothes off.
"Wha- stop it!" she yelled frantically. I didn't bother to listen. My mantle was on the ground already, and I was unbuckling my pants already.
"H-Hao!" she cried desperately. "I-I'm sorry!"
I paused from my act of pulling my pants down. "Pardon me?"
"I-I'm sorry…"
"No…say my name again."
Her cheeks turned red. She looked down at the floor. "No…"
"Do it." I threateningly placed my hands on my trousers again.
Her eyes widened, then she looked at her lap. "H-Hao…"
I felt my mouth curve upwards in a very pleased smile. I began to button my pants again. "You have this strange lovely way of saying my name and making it sound like a melody. Thank you, Anna." I gathered the mantle by my feet. "You are forgiven, as long as you call me by my name."
Our conversation was cut when Kino arrived, holding Shirayuki and Brownie. "Your pets are already complaining of hunger. You must feed them already." The old woman didn't bother to ask anymore why a heavily blushing Anna was seated on the floor while I was hurriedly putting on my mantle.
"Master Hao looks so happy," noted Opacho as the two of us lied down the grassy land, staring at the stars.
"That obvious?" I asked, laughing quietly. Beside me, Shirayuki was lying on my arm, sleeping. She must have exhausted herself from the chases with Brownie.
"Master Hao looks happier tonight than the time he had learned to control the Spirit of Fire. Opacho is very happy too," my servant said.
My mouth curved again when I remembered how she called me by my name. That happening was good enough to let go of the chance seeing Anna laundering my clothes.
"Very happy," concluded the little Opacho upon seeing me smile again.
tsuzuku
"Can't you get any faster?" I asked, knowing at once how she would react.
I wasn't wrong. Her eyes blazed with anger.
"You do know…that I just let go of the wheelchair just a week ago," she said, wincing. Her legs were still hurting, I know. It was just I couldn't resist making her a bit mad – her display of glorious female fire makes her so breathtakingly beautiful to me.
Shirayuki-hime ran towards her, followed by a more energetic and hyper Brownie. My eyes crinkled into a smile when I saw her eyes soften. The two creatures were always her weakness.
"Hai, you two will eat, just wait," she said. She then turned her attention back to crossing the some five feet between us. Her steps were light, even a bit shaky, but very determined.
It had been two months since I challenged her to live and be strong for my brother. She had been getting along with it very well, if I may say so. Her housemates told me that she had slowly returned to normal, even eating with them in the dinner table at times. She could also entertain Yoh's friends without bursting into tears anymore. They spoke no thanks, but I could feel it when they look at me and give me occasional smiles.
I didn't count the days that passed by – I would get lost in the moments that I was in her company. However, I would be reminded by the growth of Shirayuki-hime and Brownie, and the little changes in the Dragon Lady herself.
"Your hair has grown a bit longer," I said out of the blue, startling the itako. She self-consciously touched the tendrils of her soft, golden hair. I smiled at what she did. "Don't cut it anymore. I like it – makes you femininely soft."
I saw her cheeks color slightly, to my amusement. I knew my brother was never verbally demonstrative with his undying admiration for the itako's beauty, thus explaining her shock whenever I give her bluntly spoken compliments.
"I didn't grow it long to please you!" she snapped, then continued on her struggle to reach me. She had to let go of the wall now- there was nothing to hold on to anymore but herself – as she crossed to the other side to reach me.
Minutes later, she collapsed by my feet, relieved to finally reach her destination.
"That was satisfactory," I said, glancing at the skies. "But you do have to hasten your pace."
"You're helping me to walk, not to run a marathon," she snapped.
I paused, then laughed. "You're right, but you bored me back there." It was a lie, of course. Watching her every graceful move is anything but boring, but I wanted to see her mad again.
I wasn't disappointed. Her almond-shaped eyes burst into angry flames. "You don't have to do this then! I can walk on my own! I don't need you to look after me anymore!"
I chuckled. "Your sense of humor has no sense."
Her eyebrow arched. "Speak for yourself." She forced herself to stand up, holding on to the edge of the rock I was sitting on, shunning away the hand I was offering to her.
I let out a laugh of pure delight. "The way you're groping on the rock I'm sitting on, you might end up touching something else."
Her face turned crimson. "Damn you," she hissed before finally accepting my hand.
When we returned to the Asakura House, we found Ren Tao seated patiently in the living room. When he saw Anna, he got up quickly.
The itako nodded at him, and they both sat down. I lingered in the living room, pretending to look at the patternless pattern of the walls.
Ren shot a look at me, but knowing I won't go, he turned to my sister-in-law again. "Anna, my sister wants to invite you to take your vacation in our hometown in China," he began.
She was about to speak up when he interrupted her. "Do not worry about the stress of the travel. Our private plane can charter us back and forth China and Japan, and I will ask Faust to come with you for your medical security."
She looked down at her lap. "It had been two months since his death…I don't think I can afford to do a vacation."
"When then will you be ready?" he asked.
"Check on her after two decades," I said.
"Shut up!" Anna cried, to Ren's astonishment. Even more so when I immediately obeyed the itako.
"Please tell your sister that I thank her for inviting me…but not now…maybe someday, but not now," she said wearily.
I fought the urge to laugh. I knew I was right in saying two decades.
I paused when Ren reached over and patted her hand. "I understand, and nee-san will understand you too. I'm just glad that you can already walk without the wheelchair."
She smiled a little and nodded. "I'm glad too."
I suddenly went to the itako and pulled her up the seat roughly. She let out a cry.
"What the hell do you think are you doing?!" cried Ren, aghast at my roughness.
"It's time for her bath," I said, smiling insincerely at the Chinese shaman. "I still have a lot of things to do so I better get started on that one chore."
Anna's eyes widened. "Bath?!!" She couldn't protest because I had already carried her in my arms out of the living room.
"Are you crazy?!!" she yelled, intending to disable my eardrums. "You never give me baths! What were you thinking when you implied to them that we're that intimate?"
"Nothing," I shrugged. "I just feel like saying it."
"Damn you! Now what will he and Yoh's friends think of us?!! Of me?!!" she snapped.
"That you are a hygienic woman who takes baths everyday?" I guessed, my mouth twitching.
"Damn, it's not funny!" she screeched. "Yoh just died, and here am I, getting intimate with his brother, the same person that nearly took Yoh away from us for good?"
My smile vanished. I deposited her back to her feet. She swayed a little, and I steadied her with my hands. "Never bring that up again, do you understand?" I asked quietly, looking at her grimly.
She avoided my gaze. "The truth hurts, doesn't it?"
"You have no idea how much, but it's none of your business anyway," I replied.
Her eyes blazed again. "Yet you barge into my peaceful existence, then meddle with my life, then start ordering me around. I am your business and you aren't mine. How about that?"
My eyes twinkled. "I'll allow you to make my life your business too, but you'll have to marry me first."
Her eyes widened in shock, and her hand automatically slapped my face. I touched my swollen cheek, then smiled at her. "Must I remind you at what I told you before, dear one?"
"What-"
I grabbed her hand that slapped me, then used it to pull her closer to me. "That the next time you slap me, I would punish you in my own ways?" I whispered huskily.
I felt her soft body tense in my arms. "Let me guess…I saw these in movies already…you'll kiss me?" Her voice shook, but she bravely met my gaze, telling me that no kiss could ever punish her.
"Worse," I said, bending down to lean to her ears. "I'll make you wash all my clothes, including my underwear." I suddenly let her go and began to take my clothes off.
"Wha- stop it!" she yelled frantically. I didn't bother to listen. My mantle was on the ground already, and I was unbuckling my pants already.
"H-Hao!" she cried desperately. "I-I'm sorry!"
I paused from my act of pulling my pants down. "Pardon me?"
"I-I'm sorry…"
"No…say my name again."
Her cheeks turned red. She looked down at the floor. "No…"
"Do it." I threateningly placed my hands on my trousers again.
Her eyes widened, then she looked at her lap. "H-Hao…"
I felt my mouth curve upwards in a very pleased smile. I began to button my pants again. "You have this strange lovely way of saying my name and making it sound like a melody. Thank you, Anna." I gathered the mantle by my feet. "You are forgiven, as long as you call me by my name."
Our conversation was cut when Kino arrived, holding Shirayuki and Brownie. "Your pets are already complaining of hunger. You must feed them already." The old woman didn't bother to ask anymore why a heavily blushing Anna was seated on the floor while I was hurriedly putting on my mantle.
"Master Hao looks so happy," noted Opacho as the two of us lied down the grassy land, staring at the stars.
"That obvious?" I asked, laughing quietly. Beside me, Shirayuki was lying on my arm, sleeping. She must have exhausted herself from the chases with Brownie.
"Master Hao looks happier tonight than the time he had learned to control the Spirit of Fire. Opacho is very happy too," my servant said.
My mouth curved again when I remembered how she called me by my name. That happening was good enough to let go of the chance seeing Anna laundering my clothes.
"Very happy," concluded the little Opacho upon seeing me smile again.
tsuzuku
