Celebrations
by Apple-chan

Disclaimer: insert witty disclaimer remark here

A future fic of sorts. Set approximately 11 years after the Anime. It's Funbari Onsen's 3rd anniversary, and everyone's coming. Lots of fun, lots of chaos, lots of madness are expected. And yeah...LOVE. Can't forget about that.^_^

Spoilers: The whole Anime series.

Warnings: PG-13 for adult situations, mild swearing, and the lot.

Others: All of this is made-up. I don't think I have to tell you, though, because I'm sure you knew that.=)

This is the morning after all the guests arrived.



Chapter 2 - The Children


"Tick...tick...tick...BEEP!" The clock beside Asakura Yoh's side of the futon sounded loudly the second it struck four a.m.

The said person sleepily opened one eye, then he groaned and turned to his other side, placing a pillow on top of his head to drown out the sound of his alarm clock.

"BEEP...BEEP...BEEP..." The clock continued to drone on its annoying ticking sound. It should be noted that the clock's alarm sounded more like a car horn than a normal clock. It was much larger than a normal clock too. Meaning to say, if Yoh doesn't turn off his alarm clock anytime soon, chances are, his whole family, who were in the room with him, will all be awoken indefinitely. Which won't be good for him. It definitely won't be good for him.

But Yoh continued to ignore his alarm clock. He slept on for a good five minutes more...until a figure rolled over on top of him, and a small hand sleepily removed the pillow from his head and with the other hand, forced his eyes open.

"Just three more minutes..." He slurred out, gazing sleepily at the face of the person who was forcing him to wake up. "Onegai, Anna...please let me sleep a little more..." he yawned and tried to take his pillow back.

The pillow was yanked away from his reach. "I'm not Kaachan..." The figure, who was actually his daughter, yawned.

"Keiko..." Yoh murmured as he continued to reach for his pillow. But, as it had been removed from his reach, he wasn't having much success. "Give me back my pillow and go to sleep..." He closed his eyes again.

"Turn it off, Touchan..." Keiko murmured as she tried to force her father's eyes open again.

"Mmmrrghhh..." Yoh groaned. Reluctantly, he rose up from the futon and clicked the alarm clock shut. He then gently placed his daughter back beside Anna, who was sleeping on the side of the futon opposite him. Keiko was in between the two of them.

Keiko kissed his cheek as she was put back beside her mother. "Arigatou, Touchan..." In a matter of seconds, she had fallen asleep again, curled up against Anna.

Yoh smiled at the two of them fondly, marveling at how alike the two of them were. Keiko was Anna's perfect clone--not only in looks, but in the way she can just ask anything of him and he will do it, no questions asked, no complaints whatsoever. The only difference was that Keiko was much more...mild-tempered than his wife. Well, she probably got that from me.

"Tou...chan!" Yoh looked up as a small sound was heard from the bottom of his side of the futon. Realizing who it was, he stood up and went to the small crib where Ren-chan slept. The little one-year-old kid had probably been woken up by the clock. He had probably also felt that his father was awake, and had called him because he was hungry.

"Ohayo gozaimasu..." Yoh greeted his little son softly before lifting him out of the crib and handing him a bottle that he had taken from the nightstand beside the heater. Ren-chan began to suck on the bottle eagerly, his eyes full of happiness. Gently, Yoh put his son down on top of his side of the futon and allowed him to walk over it for a little bit as he changed into his training attire.

From the corner of one eye, Yoh observed Ren-chan keenly as the little boy began to walk towards his sleeping Neechan. Yoh pulled on his jogging pants quickly, wondering what his son was going to do. The boy primly placed down his almost-empty bottle on his feet. And then he sat down beside his Neechan...and started stroking her hair, like he thought it was the most beautiful thing on earth. Keiko stirred slightly, but she smiled in her sleep.

Ren-chan gave a small clap. "Nee...chan..." he whispered gleefully. Then, he leaned over...and gave his Neechan a feather-light kiss on the cheek.

Yoh finished changing his clothes and looked on at that little scene, his heart extremely warmed. Almost everyday, that's what little Ren-chan does--he wakes up at the same time as his Touchan, and as Touchan changes his clothes, he approaches his older sister and watches her sleep. Then he strokes her hair. Then, he kisses her. Even at such a young age--one, at that--it was clear that Ren-chan adored his sister. The little boy was obviously no different from him. He loved his daughter very much...adored her to the very ends of the earth. Of course, he loved his wife, too...but his love for her was different--she was, after all, the being who had helped create all his children. The woman who bore them for nine months, nurtured them for all she, he, and they were worth--that was his wife. His love for her reached far more than the earth itself--it transcended time, and space. He loved her more than life; and he loved her more than death. He loved her more than with all his body; he loved her more than with all his heart and with all his mind--he loved her more than with all his soul.

His love for her was...something that could not be put into words.

His love for her surpasses words.

He sighed at his thoughts. Every morning, he acted like this. Like...like some crazy, lovesick teenager--and he was twenty-four years old. He was an adult. He should start thinking like an adult. Shouldn't he?

But every time he thought of his wife...he always went from being a rational (as least, as rational as Asakura Yoh could get, which wasn't much) adult to a blubbering, irrational teenager.

It's not really my fault. It's just that...I still can't believe that...we've lasted so long...

He gave a small chuckle. Maybe I really am still a teenager.

Leaving Ren-chan at the futon, he went over to the other room where his twin sons slept. Yohmaru and Yohnta often accompanied him during his early morning training, mostly because Anna insisted that they needed to become stronger than their Touchan. Even though Yoh often reminded her that, since he was already the Shaman King, the twins do not need to do any training because they weren't going to be asked to participate in any Shaman Fight in the near future, she still insists that they need to get strong, and besides, some exercise would be good for them. Although he sometimes protests over some of the things his wife makes him do, Yoh has never disobeyed her, and he wasn't going to do so anytime soon.

As soon as he reached the door of the twins' room, he gave a grin. The two of them have a really funny way of sleeping. Although Yohmaru and Yohnta were alike physically, down to the very last hair, and even though they were both very smart for their age--too smart, in fact, that one can even call them child prodigies--emotionally and otherwise, they were very different. As the older of the two by five minutes, Yohmaru, supposedly, should have been the role model older brother for all of his siblings, most particularly his younger twin. Unfortunately, or fortunately for him--Yohmaru was not at all older brother material. At least, he wasn't what older brothers typically are.

In a perfect world, the older brother is the mature, responsible, and hardworking one. The younger brother was the immature, semi-responsible, and semi-hardworking one. But as this is a non-perfect world we're talking about, nothing is ever what it should be--or at least, what it should be according to the perfect world. Yohmaru was one of those. He was the non-typical older brother, to say the least. He was lazy, always slacking off from his responsibilities, and does not like working at all. His maturity was also questionable--but then again, he was only five years old, so that's pretty much ruled out. He pretty much takes his after his father through and through--even down to his obsession with BOB and headphones and sleeping, and down to that total and utter and complete love and adoration he holds for his mother.

Yohnta, on the other hand, would have fit the role of older brother perfectly. Although he and his twin were both very, very smart--he was the one who was more into it than his brother. For one thing, even though Yohmaru can do the things Yohnta can do, he just prefers to slack off and sleep. Yohnta, however, prefers to do things responsibly. The twins' mother usually lets them handle some of the work at the Onsen--mostly guest listings, expense databases and anything that has to do with computers. Anna started giving them this kind of responsibility ever since they learned how to work a computer, which was when they were two years old and the Onsen had just been built. Anyway, every time they needed to do those kinds of work, Yohmaru often just...slept on while Yohnta did all the work. It was only during those rare times when Yohmaru felt like doing something (besides sleep) when he helped. Otherwise, it was Yohnta all alone, or with his father. Yes--Yoh helped his son out, sometimes too. He was, after all, the one who taught them all the stuff (with a little help from his best friend Manta, of course). Anyway, the hardworking and responsible Yohnta obviously took after his mother--with the temperament toned down a bit, that is. His adoration for his father was another indicator that he took after his mother--although he definitely doesn't admire his father's laziness, everything else beyond that...everything that was Yoh--everything that was his father, he definitely loves.

Anyway, even the differences between the twins was evident in the way they slept. Yoh had to smile as he looked over at one of his sons, and then the other, alternating between them every couple of seconds and fighting the urge to laugh out loud.

On the left futon, slept Yohnta, who was as immaculate when asleep as he was when he was awake. He was lying primly and properly on his back, with his arms across his stomach, his hands folded properly, making him look like he was a...corpse?!? Yoh winced at his own analogy. He was brought back to attention as Yohnta began to speak.

"Fifteen. Line five, column six, fifteen hundred yen," He murmured. He unclasped his hands at his stomach and gave his hair a small flick, then he placed his hands back across his stomach and refolded them together again.

Yoh chuckled at that. Even when asleep, Yohnta was doing work. He wasn't just like Anna, he was also like Manta. Manta. He and Anna hadn't made a mistake when they decided to name his son after him and his best friend.

Yoh turned to the right futon, where Yohmaru, the older of the two, slept...and found himself fighting the urge to laugh again. Yohmaru was snoring slightly, like his father does. He was sleeping in a somewhat...very...well...uhm...*cough* position. He was sprawled on his back, with his whole body spread all over the futon like...like Jesus on the cross, only, the soldiers didn't do a very good job of nailing him to the cross, for his hands were crooked, and his feet were...astride. Okay, maybe not Jesus on the cross...more like the loser in a wrestling match, sprawled upon the fighting ring. Yoh groaned at his weird analogies. He really watched way too much television.

Seeing that his sons were sleeping so peacefully, Yoh decided that...just this once, they can sleep through training. He was just going to have to compensate for it some other time. He really didn't want to wake them up...not when they were sleeping like that...and looking like two brown-haired angels. He really didn't have the heart to.

He went back to his own room to pick up a small towel and Ren-chan, who he was taking outside with him. Just before he leaves, Anna stirs in her sleep.

"Yoh..." She murmured as she looked over at her husband sleepily. "Training?" She yawned.

He nodded, smiling. "Hai." He went over to her and gently bent down to give her a kiss. "I'm taking Ren-chan along, alright?" He murmured as he stroked her cheeks, his other hand holding on to his little son.

Anna nodded, then yawned again. "And the twins...?" She whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck and turned her head to receive his kiss.

He chuckled. "They can sleep through it, just this once. Alright?" He stroked the hair at her nape softly.

"Hai." His wife nodded one more time before he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her.

This always happened. Every time they kissed, THIS always happened.

He had only intended on giving her one short, sweet little kiss. But the second their mouths touched...he was lost. SHE was lost as well.

Kissing her was like heaven. Kissing her was like...a weird, indescribable experience. It was something that never got old. It was always new, always refreshing, always like every single time...was the first time.

And just like each and every time...just as he was willing himself to pull away...he always ended up pulling her closer, against him. Just as he had thought he'd had enough, he always ended up clamoring for more.

And those little moans she made at the back of her throat only heightened his desire.

Their mouths moved over each other's gently, again and again, breaking apart, only to fuse back again. He tasted her mouth, her tongue, her breath...he took every inch of her, as he gave her every inch of himself in return. For the two of them, kissing was more than just an ordinary physical experience. It was more of the spiritual kind...the celestial kind. The kind that many people only dream of having. The kind that cannot be put into words without losing its essential meaning.

The kind of experience that...just when you thought you want to stop, you only end up prolonging it even more.

It was like you don't want to stop because there might be some point sometime somewhere that something which comes only once in a lifetime might come...and stopping would mean missing this once-in-a-lifetime thing.

Yet, at some point, you really have to stop. And once you do, you realize that the once-in-a-lifetime thing you've been waiting for...was already there. It had always been there in the first place.

Yoh reluctantly broke the kiss. He looked over at his wife's face as if to memorize every contour, every single curve that made her so singularly Anna. "I'd better go. Ren's waiting for me outside."

Anna nodded and gave him one last kiss before she dropped back down on the futon and fell asleep. Yoh smiled at her one last time, picked up Ren-chan (who had not moved the whole time his parents were kissing and had only looked over at his Neechan cheerfully), stood up and walked out of the room.

Outside, Ren is already waiting for him. He was wearing his training uniform that consisted of a red sleeveless shirt, dark blue jogging pants and shoes. He was also leaning across the wall beside the door of the Asakura's family room, tapping his foot impatiently. He raised an eyebrow as his friend got out of the room.

"About time. What took you so long?" He asked, throwing Yoh a suspicious look.

Yoh grinned at his friend. "I was asking Anna's permission." He gave a cheerful shrug. "It took longer than I expected." Actually, it was the kiss that took longer than he expected...not that he was complaining...

Ren just rolled his eyes as he took Ren-chan from Yoh. "I'm sure it did." He said dryly. "We'll, let's go, then."

"Hai." Yoh nodded and followed his friend out of the main wing to the staircase.


*~*~*~*~*~*


It was around five in the morning when little Asakura Keiko finally woke up, upon hearing a strange noise in the bathroom. She sat up on the futon, rubbed her eyes and yawned, stretching her arms like a kitten. She looked around her and realized that both her parents were already up and about. Briefly, she recalled that her Touchan had gotten up sometime ago, probably to do his early morning training. A little peek at her little brother's crib proves that her father had taken Ren-chan with him again.

But where was her mother? This was what Keiko wondered. Her mother couldn't have left her out here in the room all alone...and then she suddenly remembered the strange noise that had woken her up. She recalled that it came from the bathroom. Could Kaachan be in the bathroom?

A second later, there it was again. That noise. It really -was- coming from the bathroom. Keiko gingerly stood up and walked, gazing at the half-open bathroom door curiously. "Kaachan..." she asked tentatively. "Are you there?"

One last strange noise...then the sound of running water reached the little girl's ears. "Kaachan?" She called again. "Is that you?"

"Hai," A muffled voice, sounding like it was being muffled by a towel, was the answer.

Keiko approached the bathroom and gently opened the door fully. "Whatcha doing?" She looked up at her mother, who was wiping her whole face with a white towel with dark blue stripes. "Are you sick?"

Anna placed the towel on the rack and shook her head. "I'm fine," She told her daughter. "I just vomited a little."

Keiko gazed up at her in surprise. "You puked?" She asked. So it -was- her mother who had made the strange noise today. And yesterday, as well. And the day before...

Anna rolled her eyes. "I vomited," she corrected.

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Why don't you know?" The little girl continued looking up at her mother curiously.

"Keiko..." Anna said warningly.

"Am I being nosy?"

"Yes!" Anna agreed at once, pulling her daughter's hand towards the bathtub. "You need to take a bath. Come on."

As Anna ran the hot water in the tub for Keiko, the little girl stepped inside the bathtub and looked on as her mother prepared her bathing things. "I'm sorry for being nosy," She said quietly.

Anna smiled as she poured water on her daughter's head. "It's fine, Keiko."

"Really?" Little Keiko's eyes widened and she grinned as Anna shampooed her hair. "That's good!" She said cheerfully as she played with the foam that got onto her shoulder. "I don't want to upset Kaachan, ever," she proclaimed.

Anna chuckled. "That's good. But you can never upset me. Not ever," She assured Keiko.

"But..." Keiko looked up thoughtfully as she scrubbed herself. "how come...you're always frowning...every time I'm with Uncle Hao?"

Her mother sighed. "That's different," she told the little girl. "HE'S the one who upsets me, not you."

"Why?" Keiko turned around and looked at Anna with questioning in her eyes. "Uncle Hao is nice...isn't he? Why does he upset you?"

Pouring water over the girl's head to rinse out her hair, Anna sighed again. "That's...something between your father, your Uncle Hao, and me."

"You won't tell me?" Keiko gazed at her mother hopefully.

Anna stroked the little girl's wet head and smiled. "Not right now. Maybe someday, when you're older."

Keiko jumped up excitedly. "When I'm older? Like...like..." She gazed around eagerly. "On my birthday?"

Her mother groaned mentally. It -is- her birthday in two days... "No...ten years more," she told her.

Keiko's face fell. "Oh."

Her mother nodded sympathetically. "It's the way it has to be," she added with a nod. "Now, sit back down on the tub. Let's finish your bath." She paused. "I'll take my bath as well." She declared after a thought.

That statement made Keiko grin. "REALLY? Me and Kaachan are taking a bath together! Sugoi! Ureshi, ureshi da ne!" She exclaimed.

Anna smiled as she stepped out of her clothes and into the bathtub with her daughter.


*~*~*~*~*~*


After the two Asakura females had gotten themselves thoroughly bathed, their teeth brushed, and had wrapped themselves into their respective bathrobes, they stepped out of the bathroom and prepared to get themselves dressed.

"Keiko," Anna took her daughter's clothing out of the dresser--it consisted of a dark blue short skirt and a white short-sleeved cotton kid's blouse--untied and took off her daughter's robe, and began pulling the clothes over her. In a matter of minutes, Keiko was fully dressed, and her hair was brushed neatly. "Do Kaachan a favor and wake Yohmaru Oniichan and Yohnta Oniichan up."

Keiko bobbed her head. "Hai!" She exclaimed cheerfully, before sprinting off towards her brothers' room. Anna sighed and gave a small chuckle as she dressed up. It was really hard to believe that, even though Keiko took after her in looks, most of the time they were so different in other aspects. Although Yoh always told her that Keiko took after her more than she took after him, she never believed him. How could she? She was never that cheerful, that eager, that sweet...was she? A frown was an alien expression on Keiko's face, whereas it was most certainly at home on hers. So looks aside, they didn't resemble each other at all. They were as different as night and day.

Weren't they?

"The way she cries...and the way she can demand anything from me...she is so much like you...it's actually...wonderful..."

When Anna was still carrying Keiko all throughout the nine months, Yoh always told her that at the time, he had thought she was the most beautiful, the sweetest, the loveliest woman to ever grace the face of the earth...and she had never grown out of that unthinkable beauty, even after Keiko was born. Even after Ren-chan was born. Even now.

"And it's not just you physically...it's...it's everything. Everything about you. You might not realize it, because you grew up differently, but...when Keiko grows up...she'll be just like you. I'm sure."

He was so sure...

"And I don't think there's anyone else in the world I'd rather have her be like...but you. Just you."

Just me...

"You're the best person she could ever dream to be like. And she -will- be like you. You can bet on that."

-I'm- the best person...

"She might be named after my mother, but...she's you. She's me, and she's you. I've always thought that I would be the luckiest man on earth if I could have a little girl just like my wife. And when she came along...it was the fulfillment of my dreams. I have two of you--what other man is blessed with that luck? But...I knew it wasn't just luck."

No...no, it wasn't...

"It was you."

Anna smiled faintly at that thought. It wasn't just luck. It wasn't just me, either.

It was...you, as well...


*~*~*~*~*~*


Keiko giggled as she gazed down at her older brothers who were asleep in their respective futons.

Yohnta had now shifted from his position earlier. He was still primly and properly stiff on his back, but this time his hands were at his sides. He was frowning a bit, too. "Oniichan, don't you fall asleep again! You're going to help me out! I can't do this alone!" He murmured in his sleep. He scratched his head for bit and returned his hand to his side.

On the other futon, Yohmaru had shifted his position as well. From being sprawled on his back earlier, he was now lying on his stomach, his arms stretched and spread all over the place, his legs astride. He looked like one of Keiko's stuffed toys after being smashed down by a foot while it was lying on the floor on its stomach. Keiko giggled at her own analogy.

She slowly tiptoed and approached her brothers' futons. She sat down gently in between the two of them. Then, she tapped them both on the shoulder. They didn't even stir. She crawled at the bottom and pulled their feet. "Yohmaru Oniichan, Yohnta Oniichan," she called to them. "Wakie, wakie! Come on!" She then pulled on their hands. She repeated the process of tapping their shoulders, and pulling on their hands and feet while calling them several times.

After several minutes of pulling, Keiko lost her patience. She sat down at the bottom of their futons, in between them. She took a deep breath, and then, she shouted at the top of her lungs: "WAKE UP YOU TWO!"

The two figures on the futons stirred. Finally.

"Aargh..." Yohnta murmured sleepily, sitting up and yawning. "You didn't have to shout, Kaachan."

"You could have just...tapped my shoulder or something, Kaachan." Yohmaru yawned and sat up as well.

Keiko frowned at the both of them. "I'm NOT Kaachan." This was the second time she had been mistaken as her mother. She wasn't as tall as her mother, was she...? "Get UP, you two," she urged.

"It's Keiko-chan," Yohmaru yawned again as he reluctantly started to stand up.

"Oh, yeah..." Yohnta yawned as well as he got up.

Keiko's eyes widened. "Yohmaru Oniichan...Yohnta Oniichan...watch out for the..."

BUMP! "IITAAAIII...." Two voices winced simultaneously, rubbing their heads at the same time. Yohnta had tried to get up from the left side of his futon, which was undoubtedly Yohmaru's right side. Yohmaru, on the other hand, got up from his futon's right side, undoubtedly, Yohnta's left. As they were both still half-asleep, this had resulted with them simultaneously getting up and...yup, you guessed it--bumping heads.

Keiko had witnessed this whole scene, and was now giggling madly on the floor at the bottom of their futons. The twins looked at each other with half-sleepy eyes. It was Yohnta who tossed his pillow at his brother first.

"Itai! What'd you do that for..." Yohmaru murmured as he yawned and lazily took his own pillow and threw it at his brother.

Yohnta had his eyes closed when the pillow hit him. He groaned, then retaliated by taking hold of his futon, thinking it was a pillow, and throwing it at his twin. This resulted in him getting thrown along with the futon. He landed in a heap on top of his brother.

"Get off me..." Yohmaru yawned again and tried pushing his brother off, but Yohnta looked as if he had fallen asleep again.

"Five more minutes..." He told his brother, then he drifted off again.

Keiko giggled at her brothers, then, not wanting to miss out on all the fun, jumped on the futon on top of Yohnta.

"Ouch." Yohnta muttered, trying to roll over, but not having much success due to Keiko on top of him. "Keiko-chan, I can't move..."

"Both of you get OFF me..." Yohmaru muttered from down below them. He was squashed underneath his twin, who was squashed underneath Keiko, meaning, he was the one carrying all the weight. "I can't breathe..."

"What is going on in here?"

The three children looked up as their mother entered the room, a stern look on her face. Anna frowned as she saw the mess of the futons they had made, but they looked so adorable that she just wanted to smile in spite of everything.

Not being able to say anything, Yohmaru just grinned at his mother sheepishly.

Yohnta was speechless as well. He smiled a smile similar to his brother's.

Keiko just grinned at her mother cheerfully. "I woke them up!"

Anna shook her head, smiling slightly. "Good work. Don't do it so messily next time, you just wrinkled your clothes. And you two," She aimed this at the twins, "get up and fix your futons before you take a bath. Do it fast, hear? We'll be going down to breakfast in a while."

The twins nodded. "Hai!"

"Oh. And Keiko-chan," She stopped and turned around before she exited the room. "Get off your brothers and come with me."

Keiko nodded and jumped up. "Ja ne, Yohmaru Oniichan, Yohnta Oniichan!" She waved gaily to her brothers before skipping out of the room, trailing after Anna.


*~*~*~*~*~*


Anna was folding the large futon in the room that she shared with Yoh when a loud noise was heard from outside. It wasn't actually a noise--just a couple of loud voices. Upon closer inspection, she realized that one of the voices belonged to her husband. The other was undoubtedly one of his friends--Ren, she supposed. The other, much smaller voice was Ren-chan.

And then the door to the room opened and in came father and son. Yoh popped his head inside the room he shared with his wife. "Ohayo," he greeted as he set down Ren-chan inside his crib. Ren-chan sat down and began playing with his toys, while Keiko looked on. After a couple of seconds, she started playing with him.

"Ohayo." Anna replied as she finished her folding. She sat down at one of the chairs beside the nightstand. She looked up at her husband, who was still standing, and he gave her a grin. Seeing that her husband was now in his usual white shirt and dark pants instead of his training attire earlier, she asked, "You've taken a bath?"

"Hai," He nodded. "Ren and I took Ren-chan to the men's onsen. I think he had a lot of fun." He inclined his head towards his son, who was still playing in his crib, but was now fresh-faced and wearing clothes identical to his father's.

Anna rolled her eyes. "Being stuck for almost an hour in an onsen with two grownups? I'm sure he did." She commented dryly.

Yoh grinned at her again. "You're cute, rolling your eyes like that," he remarked, sitting down in the other chair beside the nightstand.

She could feel the heat flooding her cheeks. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Uh-huh." Her husband gave a laugh. "You're really more beautiful when you blush," he added as he resumed gazing at his wife. He could honestly look at her forever and never get tired of her face...

Anna rolled her eyes again, and, to eliminate further embarrassment, she stood up, took a weaning bottle from near the heater and walked over to Ren-chan's crib. "He needs to be fed milk before breakfast," she muttered, handing the bottle to Ren-chan, who took it greedily and began to drink. "What did you do with him, Yoh? He looks hungry enough to eat the whole bottle."

Yoh stood up and walked over to where his wife was. He ruffled Keiko's hair as he passed her, then wrapped his arms around his wife. "He ran around the garden with Ren. We should really hire him as a permanent babysitter, you know. He's good with Ren-chan."

"I'd advice against it," Anna murmured, laying her cheek on her husband's chest. "He might start acting like Ren. As it is, his hair lengthens on end whenever he cries. Our son's been hanging around too much with him."

"Well..." Yoh paused, resting his chin on top of Anna's blonde head. "We can't really blame him, can we? He's got a special fondness for our son. We named him after Ren, after all."

Anna glared at her husband. "That was YOUR doing."

"Ah. So it was." Yoh grinned sheepishly at his wife.


~*Flashback: One Year Ago*~


"Guys," Yoh told his friends, who were sitting in the room near the garden area at the Onsen, "I need your help." He sat down at one of the empty armchairs and sighed.

Five men looked up as he went towards them. Ren looked at him curiously. "What's your problem?"

"Anna." Yoh replied, sighing again and rubbing his forehead wearily.

Lyserg looked at Yoh as well, abandoning the chess game he was playing with Horo-horo. "What's wrong with Anna-san? Is it the baby?" He asked with concern.

"Nah." Yoh shook his head, grinning slightly. "The baby's fine. You might all be allowed to see him in a couple of hours."

Horo-horo looked up thoughtfully from his chess pieces. "Another boy, huh? You're good, Yoh." He commented.

"Well, it wasn't just me..."

From the other side of the room, Hao laughed and walked over to his brother. "Of course it wasn't just YOU, Otouto." He ruffled Yoh's hair playfully. "Mating among humans is something that should be thoroughly enjoyed by both participants."

Chocolove snorted as he moved one of Lyserg's pawns forward. "The evil guy is speaking like a textbook. Don't listen to him, Yoh."

Yoh just gazed at his brother and groaned mentally at the memory of what just happened a couple of hours ago, when he was in the room where Anna and the baby were. She had proceeded to promptly throwing the vase with flowers beside her when he had insisted that they name the little kid after his brother.

"I will NOT," Anna had growled, her eyes menacing, "have my son named after that LUNATIC!" She had then taken hold of a crystal drinking glass beside the vase earlier and tossed it at her husband's head.

CRASH! The glass had shattered against the wall as Yoh's head evaded its projectile by a fraction. "Anna..." He had pleaded after her. "It was just a suggestion..."

"Well, go tell your suggestions to SOMEONE ELSE!"

"Alright, alright," Yoh had raised his hands up in defeat as she threatened to throw something else at him...a hairbrush. -That- would hurt. "I'll ask my friends. Then I'll come back here with a list." He had sprinted out of the room in record time, afraid for his life.

Hao gazed at his younger twin thoughtfully. "She didn't want the little guy named after ME?"

Yoh looked up from his musings and gazed back at his brother. "You heard my thoughts?!?" He said incredulously.

His older twin chuckled, shaking his head. "Not quite. I guessed." He sat down on the armrest of his brother's chair.

Yoh groaned. "You guessed right. I can't think of ANY more names. She doesn't want me naming the kid after you. She says you're a lunatic."

"So I am." Hao agreed. "But you could have named him after the old man, the old guy, or the old lady," He suggested, referring, respectively, to Mikihisa, Yohmei, and Kino.

"She doesn't want any more "yoh" names. She said the twins were enough. As for the old man...well...he's the one who refused. And I can't have him take a female name," he added, referring to his grandmother.

"Yoh..." Horo-horo in the other chair gazed at Yoh and grinned. "I have a suggestion."

Yoh looked up in interest. "Yeah?"

"Uh-huh." Horo-horo nodded vigorously. "I think...you can name the little kid....Horo-horo! After me!" He said triumphantly.

Ren snorted. "Yeah, right. The poor little kid's going to be made fun of when he grows up." He looked over at Yoh. "You'd better just name him after me. It's short, and easy to remember."

"You should name him after me, Yoh! Chocolove! Chocolove will be a good name for the little kid!" Chocolove exclaimed.

Lyserg rolled his eyes. "Your name sounds like a rapper's name, Chocolove-kun. No offense meant," he quickly added. Then, turning to Yoh, he said, "I wouldn't mind if you named him after me, Yoh-kun."

"Now, hold on a MINUTE! I suggested my name FIRST!" Horo-horo shouted. After he shouted, an argument between him, Ren, Chocolove and Lyserg ensued. All four of them clearly wished to have the little kid named after him.

Yoh groaned. "This doesn't solve MY problem, you guys..." He muttered, placing his face on his hands.

Hao gazed at the four arguing shamans in amusement. "Hmm...I wonder..." He looked over at his brother thoughtfully. "I think I know a way to solve this AND your problem, Otouto."

Yoh looked up. "How?"

His twin smiled sweetly. "HEY...HEY, THE FOUR OF YOU!" He shouted, then whistled loudly to gain their attention.

The four shamans glared at him. "WHAT?" They demanded.

Hao continued to smile sweetly. "What do you say...we settle this in a game of cards? Whoever wins gets to have Yoh's son named after him," He brought out a deck of cards and shuffled them expertly. "Are we all agreed?" He looked over at his brother as he said this, but he was met with a loud chorus of agreement from the four who were arguing. They had sat down and awaited his distribution of the cards.

Yoh sighed. "I really hope this can solve it."

Hao smiled. "Oh, it will. trust me." He began to distribute the cards to everyone except Yoh. Although why no one actually protested to Hao being the dealer of the cards, we can only guess.


*~*~*~*~*~*


"Well, gentlemen," Hao announced cheerfully. "Show your hands." He gestured to the table in front of them graciously.

Horo-horo triumphantly slapped down his hand. "Hah! FULL HOUSE! Beat that!"

Chocolove sighed, then reluctantly pulled out his hand. "Junk."

Lyserg sighed, then smiled faintly as he gently placed his hand on top of the table. "Four of a kind. Oh, well. Maybe I'll win next time."

Hao put down his own hand, which consisted of three pairs. He then looked over at one person who still hadn't shown his hand. "Ren-kun?"

Ren was silent. He was still holding on to his hand. But a slow grin was forming on his face. Then, he started to laugh. An evil, psychotic laugh.

Yoh looked at his friend warily. "Ren...are you alright?"

Horo-horo snorted. "He's probably gone crazy because of his loss."

"Probably gone loose because of losing." Chocolove commented.

Lyserg looked at his friend with concern. "I do hope he'll be alright."

"HAH!" Ren finally slapped his hand on the table with so much force that it made everyone jump. "I.AM.THE.BEST!"

Everyone leaned forward to look over at Ren's hand...and it was...

...A Royal Straight Flush.

Hao whistled. "O~kay. Then it's settled!" He said cheerfully. "Ren-kun won this game, and is now bestowed with the great privilege of having my little nephew named after him!"

Horo-horo, Chocolove and Lyserg stared at Ren incredulously. Ren just continued laughing like a maniac.

Yoh grinned at his brother as he stood up. "Thanks a lot, Oniichan. I owe you one."

Hao waved his brother away. "Think nothing of it." He said breezily as his brother sprinted out of the room to go to his wife.


~*End Flashback*~


"Honestly," Anna said dryly. "Deciding our son's name by a poker game? Only that lunatic will think of something like that."

Yoh chuckled. "I think he's proud of it. You know--being a lunatic. Speaking of lunatics," He glanced at the clock. "The twins -are- in the bath, aren't they? How long have they been in there?"

Anna glanced at the clock. "Around half an hour or more, I think. That's strange," She frowned. "They don't usually take that long. Can you check up on them? I'll just put out their clothes." She told her husband.

Yoh nodded. "Hai." He proceeded to the bathroom. He knocked first. "Oy. Are you two still alive in there?" He placed his ear briefly against the door. He could hear a lot of splashing and some voices. He turned the door handle and swung the door open. He stepped inside.

A thick layer of soap foam hit him squarely on the face. Almost immediately, the voices ceased. Yoh calmly took a towel from the rack and gently wiped his face, grateful that none of it had gone to his eyes. After he finished, he looked over at his twin sons.

The two of them were looking at him with identical wary looks on their faces. Yoh fought the urge to laugh out loud again as he gazed at his sons. Their whole faces were covered completely with soap foam, making the both of them look like identical white blob creatures. Yohmaru was in a position that looked like he was ready to fight his brother at the expense of all the foam in the world. His dedication, even if it was just to a foam battle, was astounding. Clearly, he and Anna hadn't made a mistake when they decided to name their older son after him and Amidamaru. Yohmaru was like him, but he was quite like Amidamaru as well.

"Touchan..." Yohnta said in a low, quiet voice. He, on the other hand, was frozen on a defensive position. Always cautious, that was Yohnta. Just like Manta.

Chuckling, Yoh shook his head at the two of them. No matter how smart they could get, it was clear that the twins were still five years old, and just like any five-year-old, they both still love to play and have fun. "Your Kaachan is getting worried. Rinse up, you two. We'll be going downstairs for breakfast in a few minutes."

The twins gave identical nods. "Hai!"

Still chuckling to himself, Yoh closed the door and went back to the room where his wife and other two children were.


*~*~*~*~*~*


It was almost seven-thirty in the morning when the twins finished bathing, brushing their teeth and putting on their clothes. Clad in identical white shirts and dark pants, Yohmaru and Yohnta, together with their parents, Keiko, and Ren-chan, prepared their things and got ready to go downstairs.

"Kaachan, I'll take Ren-chan for you." Yohmaru grinned at his mother as he held out his hand and she carefully placed Ren-chan in his arms.

"Careful. Don't drop him." She told her son warningly.

"Is everyone ready?" Yoh was on the door, with Keiko-chan holding on to his hand. "Let's go!" He started to open the door, when beside him, Anna suddenly fainted. "A-anna?!?!?" He caught her in his arms and gazed at her face worriedly. "You alright?"

After about half a minute, Anna opened her eyes to find a concerned husband gazing at her. She nodded, straightening herself up. "I'm fine. Just had a bit of dizzy spell." She rubbed her head and took several long breaths.

But Yoh didn't look convinced. "You're sure?"

At that time, Keiko took the opportunity to jump into the conversation. "Kaachan puked this morning!" She told her father gleefully, earning her a frown from her mother.

Yoh's eyes widened as he looked over at his wife again. "You did?" He wondered what was wrong with her. Then, a realization came upon him. "Anna, are you...?"

She glared at him. "I don't know," She muttered. "I'm not sure yet."

Yoh scratched his head and looked up thoughtfully. "But if you are..." He paused, thinking. "how'd that happen?" he asked blankly.

Anna sighed and rolled her eyes. "HOW do you think?" She replied dryly, shaking her head. "Forget about it. Let's just go already."

Yoh nodded, still wondering about it. "Hai." And with that, the six Asakuras got downstairs for breakfast.



TSUZUKU.



End notes:

Thank you for all your wonderful reviews. More AnnaXYoh coming in the next chapter. For all of you PilicaXRen, TamaoXHoro, and LysergXJeanne fans...mou sukoshi, onegai! They're all coming very, very soon!=)

Reviews will very much appreciated.