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 Yoh and Anna's daughter's birthday. Almost everyone is here!^^ Love, madness, love, weirdness, love, silliness...and love. Yeah.

Spoilers: The whole Anime series.

Warnings: PG-13 for adult situations, mild swearing, implied sex, sexual innuendos (ha-ha), chapter length. And a long end note. My end notes are getting longer lately...^^;;;; And uh...I think certain parts of this are bordering on uh...R...so...um.*sweatdrop*

Others: I have decided that I will never ever divide any of my chapters again, no matter how long they get. I'm getting confused by the numbering fanfiction.net uses for my chapters. Take for example, this is only chapter 5, but alas, it is listed as chapter 7. Trivial, I know...but it confuses me...so there.

Same day as the previous chapter. It's sometime around noon. The point of this chapter is...uhm...I'm not really sure. The preparations...? Yeah. That and uhm...the finding of Yoh and Anna.^^;;; Yeah (that's not much of a point, though, is it...?).



Chapter 5 - Thoughts and Feelings


"Yoh, are you sure it's there?" Asakura Anna asked her husband for the fourth time as they got up the stairs towards the seventh floor. It was about three in the afternoon. All of their friends, as well as their four children were somewhere around the Inn. The couple was heading up to the Asakura living quarters to look for something. They had ridden the elevator partway, and had decided to take the stairs when they reached the fourth floor.

"Positive." Yoh, who was trudging up the stairs behind Anna, answered. "I left it there."

"Why the heck would you leave something like that there? And why do you need me with you? You could have gotten there on your own." The blonde woman stopped abruptly as they reached the seventh floor and turned around to face her husband.

Yoh scratched his head. She -had- a point. "Um...I just do." He said with a sheepish grin.

Anna frowned, then turned back around and started towards the north wing. "Why did Yohmei-sama and Kino-sensei leave so soon? And Oji-sama's gone, as well." She wondered aloud.

"Jii-chan's not used to being away from the main estate these days. He gets sick easily, so Baa-chan and Oyaji had to accompany him back. The old man says he's planning to return here tomorrow, though." Yoh replied as he followed his wife. They walked a little bit more...and finally reached the front door of their quarters.

"Are you really sure it's here?" His wife asked him again as they entered the room. Anna looked around. "What does it look like, anyway?"

Yoh followed his wife inside the room. "Uh...I'm not sure. I forgot. I just know that I left it somewhere here..." He walked towards the sofa, got on his knees, and looked behind it. Upon realizing that whatever it was he was looking for was not there, he moved to the other sofa and looked as well.

Anna watched her husband crawling along the living room with a small smile on her face. He was like a little kid who had lost his favorite toy, and wanted to do everything he could to find it. It was pretty cute, actually...

After a couple of minutes, Yoh stood up. "It's not here," He announced.

His wife rolled her eyes. "How are you so sure? I thought you said you've forgotten what it looks like."

"I just know that it's not here," Yoh insisted stubbornly. Then, his eyes lit up. "Wait! I remember now! I think I left it in the bathroom..." He gave his wife a pleading look. "Anna...could you help me look there? Please?" He gazed at her like a little puppy dog asking for food.

Anna tried to look as serious as she possibly could. She wanted to say no to her husband, but the instant he flashed her that smile of his, coupled with that puppy-dog look...she was lost. "Alright," She said with a resigned sigh. "Come on." She walked towards the bathroom, with her husband at her heels. Upon reaching it, she turned around and gave him a look. "Are you really, really, -really- sure that it's here?"

Yoh nodded vigorously. "Hai."

She narrowed her eyes at him, but turned back around, twisted the doorknob, and swung the door open. She slowly stepped inside and looked all over the place. "So...you remember what it looks like?"

"Uh..." Yoh scratched his head and stepped inside the large, bedroom-sized bathroom. "I'll know when I see it," He finally said.

Anna rolled her eyes at him. "How am I supposed to help you if I don't even know how it...AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!" She exclaimed as she stepped on a bar of soap and slipped across the bathroom floor.

"WATCH OUT!" Yoh rushed and caught Anna in his arms as she fell. Unfortunately for him, when he stepped forward to catch her, he also managed to step on the residue the soap had left behind...and he slipped as well. The two of them skidded across the bathroom floor, with Anna holding on to Yoh, and him holding on to her. And then, they both lost their balance and fell into the waterless bathtub.

Or rather, Yoh fell into the waterless bathtub, back-first, with a bump, and Anna fell on top of him. The brown-haired shaman had valiantly tried to shield his wife from any harm whatsoever by wrapping himself all over her, and, just before they fell, he managed to prevent her from getting hurt by making sure he fell into the tub first.

"Ouch." Yoh grimaced, not taking his arms off his wife. "That hurt."

Anna, who had landed front-first on top of her husband, gazed at him with concern. "The twins and I are going to have a loong talk tonight," She said firmly, checking Yoh up for broken bones and bruises. "Honestly, leaving out the soap like that...you could have gotten badly hurt."

"I'm fine." He hugged Anna closer to him and gave her a grin. "What about you? Are you hurt anywhere?"

She shook her head. "I'm perfectly alright, thanks to you." She placed her arms around his neck and kissed him, then she rested her head on his shoulder. "Ne...you were trying to protect the baby, weren't you?" She murmured questioningly.

"I was trying to protect the both of you," Yoh corrected. "And a slip as minor as this can't hurt me that bad. I'm very tough," He told her proudly, stroking her hair.

A chuckle. "Yeah, you are." She continued to snuggle up against him.

They were silent for a couple of minutes.

Until Anna remembered something. She raised her head up and looked at her husband. "Yoh...what were we looking for again?"

Yoh scratched his head and grinned at her sheepishly. "Ehehe...I can't seem to remember."

Anna glared at him and rolled her eyes. "We weren't looking for anything at all, were we?"

"Um. You got me."

"You just wanted to get me alone, didn't you?"

"Hai. Guilty as charged. Are you angry?"

A smile. "Iie."

"Good."

"Yoh..."

"Yeah?"

"Did you lock the door?"

A cocky grin. "Uh-huh. It's the first thing I did when we went in here."

"...good." A seductive smile. "So...what are you waiting for, then?"

"...oh yeah."


*~*~*~*~*~*


"Oniichan, I'm dying! Let me have that dumpling!" Yohnta shouted without taking his eyes off the TV screen.

"What? I'm dying, too! Get your own dumpling! Why are you fighting Lu Bu, anyway? You're not supposed to be fighting him..." Yohmaru shot back at his twin. He, too, did not take his eyes off at the screen. The twins were at their playroom at the south wing of the seventh floor of the Onsen, and they have been there for some time now. They have been playing video games non-stop since morning, and had only taken a break for an hour to eat their lunch.

Normally, someone would have told them already not to play video games this long, but everyone at the Onsen seemed to be busy preparing for the celebration that was to take place the next day...particularly, their parents, who were the only ones who would have stopped them. None of their aunts or uncles have the heart to stop them from doing anything...all of them were too fond of spoiling Anna and Yoh's children. Most especially their Uncle Hao, who had given the twins the PlayStation 2 for their birthday last year, and had also succeedingly given them most of their DVD game collection. Although their mother disapproved of the way they spent too much time with the machine, instead of doing much more important things, like the database expenses for the Onsen, she couldn't very well stop them from playing, for as Yoh had pointed out to her, they were still children, and having something like that for them to play with was only healthy.

Of course, part of the reason why Yoh didn't want Anna to stop the twins from playing with the machine was because...he sometimes played with it himself.

"I thought I would try, okay? But he's killing me with just one blow...he's skewering me with that...long...thing..." Yohnta muttered as he pressed the buttons on the controller. "Argh! I need to escape! Oniichan!" This time, he took his eyes off the screen long enough to pull on his brother's shirt with his right hand. He kept his left hand on the controller, and moved the left joystick with his thumb.

"Take his horse! You got him off, now take his horse and run away!" Yohmaru muttered without looking at his brother. "Go on! I'll distract him long enough for you to...aaargghh! Now he's killing me! Get back here, Yohnta, help me out!" He shouted to his brother without looking away from the screen.

"You told me to run away..." Yohnta muttered as he reluctantly moved his character back to where Yohmaru's character was on the screen. "I'm -still- dying, you know...waitasec, HE'S SEEN ME! Oniichan!" He yelled as he furiously pressed the attack buttons on the controller and moved the left joystick.

"Yeah, well...he's still fighting me! Let's do a musou together! Quick, before he...aaarrrghhh!!!" Yohmaru groaned as his character was thrown onto the ground by a man with a big spear with violet ribbons on his head. The man with the big spear also simultaneously threw Yohnta's character on the ground.

"Aaargghhh! Get up, get up! Come on, one last time, we can still..."

"AAAAAAARRRRGGHHHHH!!!!" The twins groaned out in unison as both their characters were simultaneously killed by the mighty, spear-wielding Lu Bu. A fast music was played, at the same time that the words "Player 1 Slain" and "Player 2 Slain" flashed on the screen. After a brief sequence, the words "Game Over" flashed on the screen.

Yohmaru stared at the TV screen with a thoughtful look on his face. Then, he turned to his brother. "We should just run away next time."

Yohnta frowned at the TV screen. "I just thought I'd try." He muttered.

"I tried fighting him before, in the duel. He killed me in one blow."

Yohnta looked at his brother incredulously. "You played without me?"

"I played with Touchan." Was Yohmaru's answer. "He told me to run away from the guy...but I didn't listen."

"You should have told me that it was Touchan who said that."

"What? My words aren't as reliable as his? I'm older than you." Yohmaru pointed out.

"Not by much." Yohnta shot back. "Five minutes...that's nothing. We're still the same age."

"I'm -still- older." Yohmaru insisted. Then, he shook his head. "Never mind..." He looked around the room, smiled at Ren-chan, who was right across from them, playing with his toy blocks, along with Amidamaru, Bason, and Mosuke. "Where's Keiko-chan?" He asked the three spirits.

Amidamaru smiled at him. "Oh, are you two finished?"

Yohmaru smiled back. "Yeah. Yohnta got us killed."

"I did not!" Yohnta protested.

"Kidding." Yohmaru said with grin identical to his father's. "So...you guys know where she went?"

Mosuke grinned at the twins. "Keiko-chan went out with Tokageroh. She said she had something to ask your parents."

Yohnta raised an eyebrow in Anna fashion. "Really? Something about tomorrow, maybe?" He gave his brother a meaningful look.

Yohmaru sighed. "Don't remind me," he muttered. "Let's make a pact right now that we will never ask Uncle Manta or Uncle Lyserg or anyone else to take us to that section of the game shop." He grimaced at the memory.

"Oh, yeah." His twin grimaced as well. "Girly PS2 games...I'd never thought there would be tons of them..."

Bason, who was playing with Ren-chan, looked up. "Why, Yohmaru-sama, Yohnta-sama? Was it bad?"

Yohmaru shook his head. "Not really. Just...pink." He frowned. "Too pink for my taste."

"Yeah." Yohnta agreed. "And that game we bought...anyway, I'm pretty sure Keiko-chan will love it."

"She should," Yohmaru said darkly, "that game cost us several months' worth of allowance. If it wasn't for the love of our sister, I never would've..." His voice trailed off as he shook his head and grinned. "It would be worth it to see her smile, at least."

Yohnta nodded and grinned as well. "Yeah."

"Speaking of gifts..." Amidamaru spoke up. "That thing you four were making for Yoh-dono and Anna-dono...are you done yet?"

"Almost." It was Yohnta who said this. "All we need are the little figures Keiko-chan is making, as well as a little something from Ren-chan." He smiled down at his little brother. "Ne?"

Little Ren-chan looked up at his Niichan and bobbed his head. "Hai!" He said cheerfully in his small, cute voice.

Yohmaru grinned at him. "He's learning fast." He gave his little brother a pat on the head.

Little Ren-chan laughed and clapped his hands. "Nii...chan!" He said playfully.

Mosuke chuckled. "Pretty soon, he'll be speaking fluently, just like the two of you when you were a year and a half," He told the twins.

"Hmm..." Bason looked at Yohmaru, Yohnta, and Ren-chan thoughtfully.

Just then, a small figure with long hair burst in from the door and ran towards the brothers, with a human-like green spirit floating beside her. "Yohmaru Oniichan! Yohnta Oniichan! Amidamaru-chan! Mosuke-chan! Bason-chan!" Keiko fell onto the floor in front of her brothers as she tried to catch her breath. After a couple of minutes, she looked up at everyone and pulled pleadingly on her brothers' hands.

Yohnta gazed at his little sister with concern. "What happened?" He looked up questioningly at Tokageroh as well as he said this.

"Kaachan and Touchan are GONE!" Keiko exclaimed desperately. She looked close to tears.

Yohmaru narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at his sister. "What do you mean, 'gone'?" He wondered. He looked up expectantly at Tokageroh.

"She...she wanted to talk to Yoh-san and Anna-san..." He said in a panicked voice. "We came to the main room downstairs...and they weren't there."

"They said there were just gonna be there if anyone asks," Keiko said, "but when we came...THEY WEREN'T THERE!" She burst into tears.

The twins looked at her in alarm. Then, they gave each other a meaningful look. "Keiko-chan, don't...don't cry," Yohmaru told his sister soothingly. "Come here." He held out his arms to his sister. With a loud wail, she came into her brother's arms and buried her face against his shoulder. He ran his hands gently along her back, whispering comforting words to her. He then looked at Yohnta expectantly.

Yohnta was busy interrogating Tokageroh. "Are you sure you looked everywhere?" Beside him, Amidamaru, Mosuke, and Bason watched with concern. Ren-chan just looked over at them innocently, while playing with his blocks.

Tokageroh looked lost. "We looked...in the main room." He finished lamely.

Yohnta raised an eyebrow. "Just there? There are tons of places here where Touchan and Kaachan might be. Did you ask anyone?"

"Well...Keiko-chan said it wouldn't make sense to look anywhere else if the two of them said they were going to be in the main room. And they weren't." Tokageroh muttered.

"They could have gone out, or something," Yohnta muttered thoughtfully. He looked over at his brother, who had just succeeded in calming their little sister down. "We should look for them," He announced.

Yohmaru gave a nod. "You're right." He agreed. "For all we know, they could still be somewhere around the Inn. We should split up," He said to Keiko-chan, Yohnta, and the four spirits. "We'll cover more ground that way. But all of us should pass by the north wing, in case Kaachan and Touchan decide to stop by there anytime."

Yohnta nodded. "Umm...okay," He decided. "Keiko-chan, you and Tokageroh and Mosuke go down the fourth floor and scan all the rooms from there, down. Oniichan and I will scan the rooms from the fifth floor up. And Ren-chan..." He looked at his little brother thoughtfully.

"I'll take him," Bason spoke up. "We'll go down and scan the gardens, the kitchens, and the onsen."

"I'll go with you," Amidamaru said.

"Wait a second, this arrangement is wrong." Yohmaru protested. "Yohnta, we should split up."

"It's fine," Yohnta insisted. "Bason, you and Amidamaru can take care of him, right?"

"Hai." Amidamaru nodded. "Leave him to us."

"Then it's settled." Yohnta looked over at his brother and sister. "Keiko-chan: fourth floor, downwards. Stop by the north wing occasionally. Got that?"

Still sniffling a little bit, the blonde little girl nodded. "Hai. Let's go, Toka-chan, Mosuke-chan," she said to Tokageroh and Mosuke. She walked out the door, with the two at her heels.

"Ren-chan...um, Bason and Amidamaru: gardens, kitchens, onsen. Drop by the north wing too."

"Hai." Bason was the one who answered, but as soon as he did, little Ren-chan stood up and gave a nod, then, he started to walk out the door, with the two power spirits accompanying him close by.

"Oniichan," Yohnta turned back to his brother as soon as everyone was out the door. "We should go, too."

"Hai." Yohmaru gave a brief nod. "Ne...you -do- know that they aren't really missing, right?"

"Of course." Yohnta sighed as the two of them went out the door. "But we should find them anyway, just to console Keiko-chan."

Yohmaru sighed as well. "...yeah, I guess you're right."


*~*~*~*~*~*


"Hmm..." Yoh gazed thoughtfully at the taps by his feet. "I wonder what's gonna happen when..." He reached over Anna's shoulder for the biggest and middlemost tap.

Anna looked suspiciously at her husband. Just a little while ago, they were kissing. They were kissing pretty intensely, and she was enjoying it. She knew he was enjoying it too...and then all of a sudden, he broke the kiss. She was disappointed when he did that...and curious as to why he did. Curious as to why he had ended their kiss all too early for her liking.

And now--she was feeling annoyed, because what had caused him to pull away was...a large faucet. "Don't even think about it." She warned upon seeing him reach for the tap.

Yoh's hand stopped on top of the faucet. He let go of it, sat back, and looked at his wife. "Why not?"

She rolled her eyes. "We'll get wet."

He looked at her blankly. "Is that bad?"

"And we'll get our clothes wet." She added.

"And -that's- BAD?" Yoh continued to gaze at her blankly.

Anna rolled her eyes again. "Of course it is. Do -you- want to get wet?"

Her husband gave a cheeky grin. "I wouldn't mind getting wet...only with you, of course."

She flushed, upon realizing what he was implying. "But our clothes..."

"Then we'll take them off." He gave another grin, looking her over from head to toe. He liked her better without the clothes, anyway...he reached over his wife again...and turned the largest faucet on.

"AAARRGGHHH! IT'S COLD! YOH!" Anna shrieked, struggling to stand up...but her husband had his arms firmly around her waist, holding her against him. "I'm drenched." She gave him a cold, hard glare.

Yoh just gave her a sweet smile, undaunted. He was used to her glares now, just as she was used to his...idiocy. Most especially her glares in this kind of a situation. He found it...strangely seductive... "Me, too..." He murmured, roving his eyes all over her...DEAR GOD, she was beautiful...

Anna's breath caught in her throat as she saw the way he was looking at her. "Yoh...you're...wet, too..." She managed in a breathy, shaky voice.

A chuckle. "Yeah..." He was enjoying staring at her...and enjoying the way her cheeks were turning a deeper and deeper shade of red...and the way her eyes darkened as she looked him over. Beautiful...extremely...beautiful...

"Your...clothes..." Anna's voice was barely above a whisper now. "They're..."

"...wet? Yeah, I know." Her husband's voice was husky as he gently took her face in his hands and pulled her even closer against him.

Anna allowed him to pull her closer and her arms unconsciously drifted around his neck. "Yoh....I--" her words disappeared into nothingness as his mouth came over hers to silence her, and she forgot all about the water, the cold, her clothes, and the fact that she was drenched...she forgot everything as he kissed her, and she kissed him back, and slowly, slowly...the two of them sank into a deep, blissful oblivion.


*~*~*~*~*~*


"Oh, that's...beautiful..." Eighteen-year-old Jeanne murmured as she gazed at the sun which was just beginning to set, casting its orange rays across Venice's magnificent surroundings...and to the gleaming water of the Grand Canal.

Twenty-two-year old Lyserg Diethyl took his eyes off the setting sun long enough to gaze and smile at his companion. "Yeah..." He straightened out his dark green pants and sat down on the cool, damp surface of the gondola. Then, he turned his eyes back to the setting sun.

"Isn't this wonderful? There aren't a lot of people around...it's like this whole place is ours today..." Jeanne, who was still standing, smiled as she continued to gaze at the setting sun. A cool breeze blew, making her silvery-blue hair flutter softly across her face. She sighed and tossed her hair back with a graceful flick of her right hand.

"We should do this more often." Lyserg told her, watching the sunset at the corner of his eye, while at the same time, gazing at Jeanne. He was so used to her by now, and he had long abandoned the practice of addressing her as "Jeanne-sama," or "Maiden-san," or "Lady Jeanne." She had never liked being called by those names, he found out. She preferred having people call her just "Jeanne," plain and simple. In Lyserg's opinion, it suited her quite perfectly. Although her other previous titles were very fitting to her, he thought...just the name "Jeanne" held enough beauty in itself. The name...simple, clear, and plain as day, was just like the person it belonged to--simple, clear, though not in any way plain--and beautiful.

"OOOF!" The gondola shook as a stronger wind blew this time, causing Jeanne to slip and lose her balance.

"CAREFUL!" Lyserg stood up and tried to steady her....but without much success. Undaunted, he fought hard to keep his own balance, and placed his arms around Jeanne's waist to keep her from falling...still, to no avail.

Jeanne turned around to face him, heightening the dilemma even further. "We're going to fall." She announced, looking at him.

...and making his already racing heart thud even faster. "I know." He managed, looking back. He still had his arms around her. He tore his gaze from her for about a second to look up at the sky.

The sun had already disappeared, and now, thick, dark clouds loomed threateningly overhead. Then a large, cold drop fell onto the Englishman's cheek. And then another, and another. And another.

Until it turned into a full-blown rain shower.

"It's raining," He said, stating the obvious, and turning back to his companion.

She was looking up at the sky. A small smile was playing on her lips.

They were on a gondola, in Venice. And it was starting to rain. It was starting to rain very hard. He should be caring. He should be caring that he was getting drenched. He should be caring that -she- was getting drenched along with him. But he didn't.

A much, much stronger wind blew. It shook the gondola hard enough for it to teeter on the edge of toppling...if it had no passengers. But as it is, it had two, plus the gondolier. Which made everything worse.

Used to this kind of a situation, the old gondolier carefully balanced himself down and sat on his gondola. He was safe from being thrown overboard, for the time being. However, the same can't be said for his two passengers, who have been on the brink of falling overboard ever since the second wind had blown earlier.

"...okay," Lyserg said in panicky voice. "Calm down," he added, more to convince himself than his companion.

Jeanne smiled at him in amusement. Yes, they were on the brink of falling overboard. Yes, it was raining. Yes, she was drenched. Yes, -he- was drenched. But she looked like she didn't mind at all...not when she was with him. Yes...it was obvious that she didn't mind at all. Not one bit. "Stand in the center," She whispered softly to him.

The green-haired young man gave a nervous nod, and did as he was told, taking her along in the process. For, all throughout his panic about falling, and his nervousness, and the rain, he had somehow managed to forget that he still had his arms around her.

Unfortunately, they were a tad little bit too late with their movements, for the wind chose that time to give an even much stronger blow.

Lyserg cursed silently as he and Jeanne were finally thrown overboard into the great waters of the Grand Canal.

"Two million yen for your thoughts!" A loud voice chirped cheerfully.

Annoyed at getting his musings interrupted, the green-haired young man known as Lyserg looked up at the offender. His facial expression transformed from mere annoyance to full-blown fury as he realized who it was. "Do you mind?" He snapped. "I'm trying to think here." He stopped leaning across the balcony and instead, rested his back against the wall and folded his arms across his chest.

The offender, who was none other than Asakura Hao, grinned as he continued to hang upside down at the roof of Lyserg's room balcony, his dark brown hair falling across the railings like dark brown waterfall curtain. "Thinking about convent girl again?"

At this, Lyserg started blushing furiously. "I'd really like to kill you sometime," He growled out.

Hao smiled sweetly. "I know." He replied cheekily. "But you can't...not right now, at least."

"Unfortunately." The green-haired shaman muttered. He saw his power spirit approach, and then, flutter beside him. "Morphin, go back inside. I'll deal with this guy on my own," he whispered to the fairy spirit, who gave a slight affirmative nod and drifted inside the room.

"We haven't even finished our poker game yet!" Hao announced gleefully.

Lyserg rolled his eyes. "I'm not interested. Not anymore." He wondered why he still bothered trying to kill this guy, anyway...the Bible said you had to forgive and forget at some point, no matter what the sin was...right?

"Ah." Hao nodded with understanding. "You want to wait until Miss Convent Girl gets here, yes? Is she your lucky charm?"

Lyserg groaned. -Now- he remembered why. He wanted to take this guy off the face of the earth--this time, not just for the sake of his parents, but for the sake of his own sanity. "I told you, it's not a..."

"...convent. Hai, hai." Hao waved his had carelessly. "Boarding school, and she graduated last year. Which was why -she- was in Venice with you. I take it that the two of you were celebrating her freedom, yes?"

Lyserg glared at him, his cheeks never losing the red color they had gained earlier. "I had an out-of-the-country assignment that time in Venice," He said defensively. "At the same time, the Westminster Missionary assigned her to the same place. It had been a mere coincidence."

"Hmm..." Hao raised an eyebrow thoughtfully, which, to Lyserg, looked weird, considering the man was hanging upside-down. "So she -is- a convent girl." He declared.

"She is NOT!" Lyserg snapped.

"She works in a convent," Hao pointed out. "The Westminster Missionary is run by the Sisters of the Westminster Cathedral, you know." He then gave a grin. "Would you rather I call her a -nun- outright? Because that would make your relationship with her...extremely..." he paused dramatically, "...forbidden."

Lyserg sighed exasperatedly and held up his hands in defeat. He was tired of denying the status of his and Jeanne's relationship to a lot of people...especially this guy. During lunch earlier, for example, everyone demanded that -he- tell them the real score between him and Jeanne...not that there really -was- much to tell...but still, they had all insisted...

"So...taking an expensive ride in a gondola around the Grand Canal...was that part of your investigative job, too?"

The green-haired young man bit back a groan and glared at Hao. "You SAW us?"

The person being addressed rolled his eyes. "As I've been telling you a million times, I was in Venice at the same time that you two were. The city is not that big, and besides, the Grand Canal goes all the way around it, so I could have seen you wherever I was." A teasing grin. "As I recall, when I saw you two, you were in a very...shall we say...COMFORTABLE position..." He shook his head. "Really, Lyserg-kun. Leave it to you to take advantage of that kind of a situation."

Lyserg turned into a wonderfully shocking shade of red at this comment. "I WASN'T taking advantage of her," He growled out. "I was trying to make sure she didn't fall overboard."

"Yeah, but she did anyway and so did you," Hao said gleefully. "And I'm pretty sure you enjoyed that...wet clothes display..."

"AAARRRGHH!" Lyserg banged his fist on the wall of his room, then he grimaced in pain, for the wall was pretty hard. "I don't wanna talk to you anymore." He muttered. "Go away." He said darkly, his eyes flashing menacingly at Hao.

Hao rolled his eyes at this. "Fine," he said in a mock-hurt tone. "I'm leaving you to mull over your own problematic denials." And with a conspiratorial wink, the long-haired shaman raised himself up and in a few moments, both hair and head of Hao disappeared from view.

"And don't come back!" Lyserg called out for good measure. He leaned over the railings and raised his eyes up, frowning at the balcony roof.

A knock sounded at the door. "Come in." He called out. The door swung open and in came a short young man--his friend, Oyamada Manta.

"Are you ready to go?" Was Manta's initial greeting.

Lyserg smiled at him. "Just about." He and Manta were going out to pick up Manta's gift for Yoh and Anna as tribute to Funbari Onsen Inn's anniversary, as well as Manta's gift for Yoh and Anna's daughter, who was also celebrating her birthday.

Manta looked around the room. "Did you bring your gifts for them straight from London?"

The green-haired young man shook his head. "I had them delivered. They're supposed to get here tomorrow." And Jeanne was supposed to arrive -before- tomorrow, he thought with concern. I wonder what's taking her so long...

"Ne...what's taking Jeanne-san so long? She doesn't usually arrive this late." Manta voiced out Lyserg's thoughts exactly.

Lyserg sighed. "I don't know." Jeanne usually arrived before everyone else did, along with Marco, but she was late this time. He was getting -very- worried...

"Well, she's a strong woman, anyway, so I'm sure she'll be fine," Manta declared, trying, somehow, to put Lyserg's heart at ease.

The person being addressed gave a faint smile and a brief nod. Placing his thoughts and worries aside, he asked, "So...you ready for that tournament yet?"

Manta flushed a little and frowned thoughtfully. "...yeah. Kind of." He said after a couple of minutes. "I lost last time, but it's not going to happen again, not this time." He said firmly, decisively.

"I'll cheer for you." Lyserg told him with a grin. "You know, you never told me what's in it for either one of you in that tournament..." He gave Manta a meaningful look.

The short young man flushed even more and glared off into space. "Nothing much, really." He muttered.

"Then why is it such a big deal for you to win?" Lyserg persisted.

Manta frowned at his friend. "You're starting to act like Hao-kun."

Lyserg groaned. "Fine. Don't tell me." He muttered. "Come on, let's go to that..." He stopped mid-sentence upon hearing a couple of voices by the door.

"I don't want to knock. You do it." The voice sounded like one of Yoh's twin sons.

"You're older. You do it." Another one of Yoh's twin sons.

"Not by much, you said that yourself! And besides...he might not want to be disturbed..."

"But Oniichan! This is for Keiko-chan..."

A sigh. "Okay, okay!" A pause. "Why do -I- always have to do everything?" The voice muttered.

A couple of seconds later, there was a faint knock. "...Uncle Lyserg?" A small, hesitant voice.

"Yohmaru?" Lyserg called out. "What is it?"

"Umm, can we come in?" This was Yohnta.

"Yohnta?" Manta spoke up. "What's the matter?" He walked towards the door and opened it. In came Yoh's twin sons, sounding a little bit breathless, and looking worried.

"Touchan and Kaachan are missing." Yohmaru told his two uncles.

Lyserg narrowed his eyes at this. "They are? Are you sure?" Yoh and Anna were too old to be missing, so why...? He and Manta exchanged a look.

"We're trying to find them," Yohnta explained. "Keiko-chan was the one who told us they were missing. We've already looked in the living quarters, and they aren't there." He exchanged a look with his twin, then looked up at his uncles. "It's for Keiko-chan." He added with a small sigh.

Manta grinned slightly at this. Maybe the twins were smart, but they never let that intelligence get in the way of dealing with something like this. It was obvious that the twins -knew- that their parents weren't missing, but were only doing this in order to console their sister. The devotion they had for their sibling was quite astounding. But then again--these two are Yoh and Anna's children...and those two are the the epitome of devotion, if there was such a thing.

"So...will you help us find them? Just for Keiko-chan," Yohmaru looked up pleadingly at Lyserg, then at Manta. Beside him, his twin did the same thing.

Lyserg turned to Manta. "Is it alright with you if we hold off our errand for a while?"

Manta nodded. "Yeah. Come on, you two. Let's go look for them."

The twins looked at each other and grinned. Then, the two of them simultaneously pulled on their uncle's hands: Yohmaru, Lyserg's; and Yohnta, Manta's. Together, the four of them marched out of the room to look for Yoh and Anna.


*~*~*~*~*~*


"Yoh..." Anna said her husband's name in a breathy whisper as she tangled her fingers in his unruly hair, her clouded eyes fluttering open and close again and again as he kissed her neck...and his mouth moved further lower...

Yoh chuckled against her skin as he continued to kiss her...dear God, she was the most addictive drug there ever was on the planet..."I think I heard something outside..." He murmured as his hands moved up to caress her face, and then, it moved downwards again as he caressed her shoulders...and down lower as he touched every single inch of her. She was soft all over...and it made him insane just thinking about it...and touching her drove him into a mindless state of unending desire...for her...only...her...

"Ummm..." Anna moved against him, and she leaned down to capture her husband's mouth in a long, searing kiss.

The large faucet was still open. The water was cold, and close to overflowing. But neither wife nor husband cared much.

Finding that they had become too drenched and heavy for comfort, the couple had earlier decided to shed their clothes...but of course, as neither of them wanted to pull away from the other, taking off offending garments had proven to be a very tedious task. The two of them had solved this minor dilemma by alternating taking off each other's clothes, coupled with heated kisses and touches along the way.

Anyway, the final question had been where to put the wet clothes...Yoh and Anna had resolved this by merely throwing all their undergarments, and Anna's dress, and Yoh's shirt and pants, haphazardly around the large bathroom. As neither of them were fully aware of where they were throwing, the clothes had ended up falling to different parts of the room...take for example, a certain familiar-looking undergarment belonging to Anna was on the window...while a piece of garment that looked...strangely like Yoh's had ended up falling on the doorknob. Even unconsciously, the two of them certainly knew how to throw...and where.

So moving on...after a couple of minutes, Anna became aware that, just a while ago, there had been voices outside...and her name...and her husband's name were being called...she broke away from him and strained her ears a little further. Frowning thoughtfully, she said, "Was that the twins?"

"Yeah," Yoh answered, while at the same time pulling his wife back towards him.

She gazed at her husband as she allowed him to pull her closer into his arms. "Were they looking for us?"

"Uh-huh." Her husband nodded and grinned. "Should we tell them where we are?" He said huskily as he moved his hand lower...and lower...

"Ahhh..." Anna closed her eyes as she moaned. His touches and caresses were driving her to insanity...and distraction. "N...no..." She breathed out. "Let's....not..."

"...okay." Yoh murmured as he leaned forward to kiss her again.


*~*~*~*~*~*


"Zero." Horo-horo glared as he slapped his cards down at the table in front of Tamamura Tamao. Horo-horo's cards consisted of a ten and two fives.

Tamao glared back. "Nine." She said pointedly as she slapped down her own cards, which consisted of a five and a four.

"Hey, can you show your cards? Pilica?" Chocolove said to the young woman across from him at the square table. Horo-horo and Tamao were at the other two sides of the table, directly across each other.

Pilica turned her head back to them. "Huh? Oh. Here." Her chin was resting on her left hand, and she reluctantly put up her cards, which consisted of two fours. She then returned her gaze outside.

The four of them--Horo-horo, Tamao, Pilica, and Chocolove were playing Lucky 9 at the tea room. The penalty for the losers in the game was something unique--the person or persons with the total card value of 9 gets to spread powder on the face--or faces as the case may be--of the person or persons with the lowest total card value. They were on the second round of the game, and since Chocolove had been losing successively during the first round (he was starting to look like a geisha because of all the powder on his face), the other three had decided to cut him some slack and allowed him to be the dealer, because the dealer was, for obvious reasons, exempted from the dilemma of losing. Tamao had been the dealer for the first round.

Anyway, as of the second round, Tamao seemed to be winning, while it was Horo-horo who was losing. Pilica, meanwhile, was neither losing nor winning for the second -and- even the first round. It was altogether lucky for her that she got neither the lowest or the highest card values, because it was just as well. She wasn't paying much attention to the game. Her eyes have been busy looking out the windows leading to the garden ever since the duration of the first round, and now, during this second round.

Which was part of the reason why Horo-horo was in such a bad mood (the other part was the fact that he was losing--and to Tamao, at that). He knew very well why his sister was looking out the window. He knew what her reason was. Or, more correctly--who.

In the garden, by the tea room, in one of the benches beside the row of lilies, sat Tao Ren. For some reason, right before they finished lunch, Ren had been in a bad mood. At the second that lunch was finished, the navy-haired Chinese shaman had immediately retreated to the garden, and when they had turned to follow him, he had subsequently growled at all of them--even at Pilica, who had been quite shocked by the outburst.

Horo-horo wondered why Ren was in such a bad mood. Of course, the fact that Hao had mercilessly teased him again all throughout lunch could have been the reason, but then again, the long-haired lunatic teased everyone--except probably his sister-in-law...-not- that anyone would ever get the courage to tease Anna...except for Yoh, maybe, but that's another thing altogether.

So anyway, it couldn't have been that. So what was it, exactly, that got Ren so angry--angry enough to growl at everyone...even Pilica?

This was what Horo-horo wondered...and unbeknownst to him, this was what his Imouto was thinking about, as well. Why had Ren-kun growled like that? Is he mad at me? Did I do something wrong? The expression on the young woman's face gradually turned from concern to forlornment. Did I maybe say something bad...? A sigh.

Horo-horo, meanwhile, seethed silently as he came to a realization. Granted, the realization -had- been coming to him in bits and pieces for a long time now, but this was the first time he had ever outright admitted it to himself. The realization had something to do with his sister, and with Ren.

It's quite obvious, he thought to himself. I don't know why I never noticed...perhaps it's because I refused to believe it. And I still do. Uh-huh, that's right. I refuse to believe that my sister is in love with Tao Ren. Even though it's very obvious that she -is-, still, I refuse to believe it. Yup.

He personally couldn't quite imagine -why- his sister had fallen in love with Ren. She obviously had no taste, because Ren was loud, rude, and brash. And plus, he frowned too much. And he thought too much. Ren and his sister wouldn't be a good match at all. His sister was too cheerful and too..well...sweet, for a sister. Of course, she was very brutal, too...actually, her brutality exceeded all her other qualities...but still...if he really had no choice, and if it were up to him to choose who she would fall in love with...he would never choose Ren for her. He would never -ever- choose someone like Ren for Pilica. Never. He would choose a man like...himself--a sweet, understanding, caring, sensitive, not to mention handsome--man. Yes, he would definitely choose someone like himself for his sister.

Of course, he would probably never find anyone like that. And its not like Pilica was ever going to allow him to choose for her, anyway...but still...

Anyway, it wasn't like he had anything to worry about with regards to Ren, for his friend obviously had no interest in Pilica...Horo-horo swallowed. Right? I mean, earlier today, he blew us off...HER included...that should mean that he wasn't interested in her, right?

Right...?

I mean, sure...he blushes quite a lot every time that...lunatic or anyone else teases him about...Pilica...but that was just him getting embarrassed about his love life, -not- necessarily Pilica...right?

"Would you quit frowning?" An irritated Tamao said to him, interrupting his thoughts. She was leaning forward towards him, armed with a handful of baby powder. "I don't want to get any of this on your eyes, it would hurt." She paused. "And close your mouth."

Horo-horo, who had been glaring off into space for the most part, now focused his glare upon the pink-haired fortune teller. "What are you doing...? Auuughhh!" He coughed as Tamao quickly slapped the powder onto his face, and as he was talking, some of it got into his mouth.

Tamao sat back triumphantly, brushing the powder off her hands. "I told you to close your mouth, but did you listen? No."

"I hate this game." Horo-horo muttered, glaring darkly at her.

"Hn." The pink-haired woman smiled with an air of arrogance.

"I think we should end this," Chocolove decided, looking at the two of them and narrowing his eyes at Pilica. "You two are pretty competitive, and Pilica here...." He looked down at the cards which lay forgotten in front of the azure-haired young woman, "seems to be out of it."

Horo-horo frowned at this, at the same time that Tamao smiled. The two of them saw the expression on each other's faces and glared.

"What are you so happy about?" Horo-horo demanded.

"None of your business!" Tamao shot back.

Chocolove sighed and rolled his eyes. "Quit it, you two." He laid his chin on his hand and yawned. "So...did you guys get gifts for the little kid yet?"

The Ainu man continued to glare at Tamao. "Last week. Got it from our village." He muttered in answer.

"A couple of days ago," Tamao replied, glaring back.

"And for Yoh and Anna?" Chocolove persisted.

"Fields." Horo-horo growled.

"Bought it with Ryu-san and Faust-san," Tamao growled back.

Chocolove glanced at Pilica, who still had her eyes on the garden, looking forlorn. Once and a while, she sighed. He then turned back to the other two. They were still glaring at each other. He rolled his eyes. "I give up," He muttered.

"UNCLE HORO! AUNT PILICA! AUNTIE TAMAO! UNCLE CHOCOLOVE!" An incredibly loud and high-pitched voice shrieked, causing Horo-horo, Tamao, and Chocolove to jump, and causing Pilica to snap out of her thoughts. From the doorway burst in a breathless, and very exhausted-looking little blonde-haired girl, with a human-like green spirit behind her. The little girl immediately rushed towards Tamao and burst into tears.

Tamao's eyes widened in surprise as she bent down and hugged the little girl. "Keiko-chan...what's wrong?"

Little Asakura Keiko looked up with a tear-streaked face at her two aunts and two uncles. "Touchan and Kaachan are MISSING!" She said, her lower lip quivering. After a couple of seconds, she started wailing again.

"Hold on a second," Horo-horo said in a gentle voice, which surprised his three companions. "Are you sure?"

"Tokageroh-san...are they really missing?" It was Pilica who asked this from the power spirit.

Tokageroh scratched his head. "I'm not really sure..."

"WE'VE LOOKED EVERYWHERE!" Keiko exclaimed desperately. "WE LOOKED AT THE LIVING QUARTERS, AT THE WHOLE FOURTH FLOOR, THIRD FLOOR, SECOND FLOOR, AND HERE AND WE EVEN ASKED UNCLE FAUST BUT THEY WEREN'T ANYWHERE!" The last statement ended on another wail.

Pilica gazed at the little girl with concern, and she also bent down and gave her a hug. "Don't you worry, Keiko-chan...we'll find them."

Keiko hugged back and smiled up at Pilica, and at Tamao, and then at Chocolove and Horo-horo. "You'll help us look? REALLY?"

"Uh-huh." Chocolove smiled at the little girl.

Horo-horo nodded and scratched his head. "So, anyway...where should we look?"


*~*~*~*~*~*


"Was that Keiko?" Anna asked breathlessly against her husband's lips when he finally broke the long kiss. Upon being aware that somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind, she heard her daughter shouting for her and her husband outside the bathroom just a little while ago, Anna raised her head up. Keiko had also been talking to Tokageroh, and saying that if her parents weren't with Faust, where could they be?

"Uh-huh." Yoh took her face in his hands and gently coaxed her back against him.

Anna relented, resting her head against his neck. "She went to Faust first, then here?" She asked as she pressed feather-light kisses on his neck, then she gently moved lower...and even lower...

"Uh-hm. I think they're looking for us." Yoh bit back a groan as her mouth reached a sensitive part of him.

"Shouldn't we tell them where we are?" She murmured huskily against his skin. She continued to kiss him...and touch him...just as he had done to her earlier...

"Do you want to?"

A seductive grin. "No."

"...thought so." Yoh remarked, smiling impishly.


*~*~*~*~*~*


Tao Ren pulled out a stem of azure lily from the row of flowers at his front and held it to his face, inhaling its sweet scent. Then he placed the flower down beside him and sighed. Not even the beauty and sweet scent of a flower can do anything to bring him out of his bad mood. Normally, plants or flowers or animals or children would have been enough to make him forget his problems. Not this time, though. His mood was -way- beyond bad...it was...shall we say...somehow dark. Very dark.

And he didn't even know why it was such a big deal. After all, his sister was old enough...she was getting on for twenty-eight...she was old enough to make her own decisions. She should be able to take care of herself, no matter what happens...right?

But still...Ren glared darkly at his feet. Ryu. Why, of all people, did it have to be...him? I wouldn't have minded if it had been someone else, like...like...he paused at that thought.

...who?

Leaning against the bench rest, he took a long sigh, and gazed up at the bright afternoon sky. Who else is there? He frowned thoughtfully. Yoh's got Anna, Lyserg's got Jeanne no matter how much he denies it, Chocolove's got...Mic, and Hao's got...himself. Manta's got...Hao's assistant as a chess partner, at least...and Faust has Eliza, and Horo-horo...he glared at the sky...he's got...cake...and Tamao, but he doesn't know it yet...and then the kids...he smiled faintly at this thought...I can't very well pair my sister up with either Yohmaru, Yohnta or Ren-chan, can I? That would be like...well, that just wouldn't be right, not to mention the fact that Anna might just skin me alive if I even think about it...

So that about leaves...who? Me, of course. But I guess I'm ruled out, for obvious reasons. I'm the younger brother. And besides, I have...he turned slightly pink...Pilica...I hope. With his right hand, he felt beside him for the azure lily he picked earlier. He gently held it in his hand like it was the most precious thing on earth. He then raised it up to meet his eyes...somehow, -this- reminds me of her...I wonder why. He smiled to himself. The azure color...it's like...her hair...and just like her... it's simple. Simple, yet beautiful. Extraordinarily beautiful...he slowly brought the flower close to his face, and then, closing his eyes, he kissed its smooth, open petals. It smells wonderful, too...he savored the texture of the flower against his lips for several minutes...then, opening his eyes, he placed the flower back beside him on the bench with a defeated sigh.

We've been here for several days and I -still- haven't told her...is it always going to be this way every single time I'm here? I promise myself that I would tell her, and then when I get here, I lose the nerve, and then I end up going home feeling extremely cowardly and stupid...? He wanted to kick himself on the head. Dammit, Ren...where's that courage of yours when you need it? Huh? Where the hell is it? Stuck inside the Hou Rai Ken...?

Ren groaned. He stole a glance at the tea room where Pilica was...and winced. She looks so sad...why the hell does she look so sad...? He gave another wince as he realized.

Oh, yeah...he fought the urge to groan again as the memory came over him.

You -want- her to love you, yet you do something as stupid as...SHOUT at her, for no particular reason...really, Ren, how intelligent of you...he wanted to rap his head a million times over with a sledgehammer...why in the world did he shout, anyway? Oh, yeah...they were following him to the garden. Right. And he was in a bad mood, and he didn't want anyone to disturb his bad mood. Right.

And he was in a bad mood because of...his Neesan. And Ryu. His Neesan was following Ryu around the place. Right after lunch ended, Ryu had retreated back to the kitchens to continue preparing the food for the next day...and his beautiful, sweet, wonderful, kind, and intelligent Neesan had run after the guy like there was no tomorrow. And -that- had made his blood boil. And -that- was why he was in such a bad mood.

Right.

And I shouted at Pilica because of that...placing his head on his hands, the Chinese shaman finally let out the groan that has been threatening to come out of his mouth. Remind me to kill myself the next time I do that.

What was -he- so angry about, anyway? Looks aside, and weirdness aside, Ryu wasn't really a bad guy. Granted, he really doesn't have much of a face, but well...looks aren't everything, right? And well...if his sister likes the guy...who was -he- to argue? He was only the younger brother. Okay, okay...so he -was- the future head of the Tao Clan...does that matter? It's not like he could order his sister around. It's not like he could tell her that she was not allowed to like Ryu...right? Could he do that? Ren grimaced. That's...something that the old man would do...he frowned darkly as he thought of his father, Tao En, who, after he was defeated by his son and his son's friends, had subsequently mellowed down and stopped ordering his two children around...for a while, at least.

So...I'd just have to accept the fact that Ryu...-might- just become a part of my family in the future. From the way it was going, it was only so much time until Ryu gives in to his sister...his Neesan could be very persuasive if she wanted. Hell, she could.

Ren groaned again as he shook his head. Aaarghh...what a life.

"BOCCHAMA!!!" Ren looked up from the bench as he heard a familiar voice call him. It seemed to be coming from the front area...he stood up as he saw little Asakura Ren-chan slowly walking towards him, with his power spirit, Bason, and Yoh's samurai spirit, Amidamaru, in tow.

"Bason," The Chinese shaman greeted them as they approached, and then he bent down and picked up his little nephew and namesake. "What's wrong?" He noticed that the two spirits looked distressed.

Amidamaru was the one who answered. "Keiko-chan told us that Yoh-dono and Anna-dono are missing."

Ren smiled at his nephew, who gave him an innocent smile, and then he pinched the little boy's cheeks playfully. "Really?" He raised an eyebrow at the two spirits.

"Hai." Bason said with a nod. "We've looked in their living quarters, and all over the first floor, but we couldn't find them."

"Hmm.." Ren looked at Ren-chan thoughtfully. "I haven't seen them anywhere near here since lunch. Are you sure you looked everywhere?"

"Everywhere in the first floor and in the north wing of the seventh floor, Bocchama," Bason replied. "Yohmaru-sama and Yohnta-sama told us all to split up so we can cover more ground."

"Smart idea." Ren agreed.

"Bocchama...can you help us look again?" The warrior spirit gazed at his master hopefully.

Ren paused for a while, wondering if Yoh and Anna really -were- missing, before he finally nodded. "...alright. Let's look around all over this floor again. Then we'll scan all the other floors again, to be sure." He decided.

"Hai...Ren-jichan!" Replied the small voice of Ren-chan, who was looking up at Ren with utmost adoration.

Ren smiled at the little kid, then he looked at the two spirits. "Let's go." Just before they retreated from the garden, he carefully took the azure lily from the bench and deposited it inside his shirt pocket.


*~*~*~*~*~*


"...I think that was Ren-chan, with Amidamaru, and...that spirit of Ren's." Anna murmured, a couple of minutes after the voices died down.

"...Bason. Good thing they didn't look here." Yoh grinned as his mouth wandered across his wife's neck.

Anna sighed with pleasure as she tilted her head to give him better access. "...they're strong...but not so smart, are they?"

"I think they're just too busy looking out for Ren-chan."

"So...you think we should get out now?"

"Do you want to?" His hand was caressing her back, repeatedly...and then his fingers shifted to her front.

"Ummm..." She murmured. "...not yet."

"Knew you were going to say that." Yoh gave another cocky grin.


*~*~*~*~*~*


"Hey Ren!" Horo-horo called out as a disgruntled Ren, holding a smiling Ren-chan, and followed by Amidamaru and Bason, came down the stairs. "Did you find them?"

Ren gazed at his friend and shook his head wearily as he set down Ren-chan on the floor. "No. We looked everywhere." He roved his eyes across the hallway, and upon setting his eyes on Keiko, who had approached Ren-chan upon seeing him, he motioned for Horo-horo and Chocolove to come closer. "I think they must have locked themselves somewhere." He said, lowering his voice so that the little girl wouldn't hear.

Horo-horo smirked. "Maybe they wanted to be alone..."

Chocolove snorted. "Yeah."

"But uhm..." Pilica, who had heard the short exchange, spoke up. "I heard you guys talking this morning at the onsen, and you said that Anna-san was...I mean...is -that- allowed...?" She looked at Ren questioningly.

Ren blushed, shot Horo-horo a furtive glance, and upon seeing that the Ainu wasn't paying attention, gave Pilica a small smile. "If they're doing it, then maybe it is." He answered in what he hoped was a normal, casual tone.

Pilica felt the heat rise up to her cheeks. He just...smiled at me...which means he's not...angry or anything..."R...really?" She managed, smiling back.

"Uh-huh." Ren smiled at her again. She really is as beautiful as a lily...he continued to smile at her as he placed his hand over his shirt pocket where the azure lily was.

They stayed like that, blushing and smiling at each other for a good couple of minutes.

Tamao, who had witnessed this whole scene, smiled slightly to herself. Wanting to help out a friend, she walked and positioned herself in between Ren and Horo-horo, and very subtly...but successfully blocked the Ainu man's view of both Ren and Pilica.

Every single one of them looked up as Lyserg and Manta, with Yohmaru and Yohnta came down the stairs this time. Like Ren earlier, the four of them also looked quite disgruntled.

Keiko jumped and glomped her two brothers upon seeing them. "Did you find them? Did you? Did you?" She said, looking at the two of them and at Lyserg and Manta hopefully.

Lyserg gave the little girl an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. We looked for them everywhere, but we couldn't find them."

"Keiko-chan..." Yohmaru said seriously, "we've been looking for some time now. Maybe they just went and locked themselves inside one of the rooms or something...and they didn't wanna get disturbed..." He gave his twin a meaningful look. "...ne?"

"Hai." Yohnta gave a brief nod, and looked at Keiko pleadingly. "Let's wait for a little while. Maybe they'll turn up soon. We've wasted enough time already."

"NO!" Keiko shook her head stubbornly. "We -have- to find them! We'll find them, I'm sure of it! They're not hiding anywhere! They're lost, and they want us to find them! They want us to rescue them!"

Ren, who was listening to this conversation, fought the urge to laugh out loud and hurt the little girl's feelings. If his suspicions about Yoh and Anna were correct, he doubted if the two needed rescuing. As to finding them--he doubted if they would be too thrilled if they were found...especially if they were busy doing...stuff...

"Uncle Faust!" Everyone looked up as Faust, with Eliza close by, got down the stairs. As soon as he was down, Keiko glomped him. He was wearing a disgruntled look similar to what the others had been wearing just a little while ago. "Did you find them?" Keiko looked up at the blonde man hopefully.

"Iie." The blonde man shook his head as he leaned back wearily against the front desk. "Eliza and I looked everywhere, all around the second floor, and until the fourth floor, too."

Keiko slumped down on the floor and sighed. The good thing was, at least she wasn't crying anymore. She must have gotten pretty tired of crying.

"But the good news is that one of the guests at the fourth floor saw the two of them coming out of the elevator," Faust added with a smile.

Everyone at the lobby gazed at him with interest. "What'd he say, Uncle Faust?" Yohmaru and Yohnta asked at the same time.

"Well...-she- said that Yoh-kun and Anna-san seemed to have been heading up to your living quarters," The resident doctor answered them. "She said they were talking about something they needed to look for."

The twins narrowed their eyes identically and gave each other a meaningful look. "But we already looked there...and they weren't..." Yohmaru's voice trailed off as something occurred to him.

"Wait a second," Horo-horo said loudly. "Did any of you look again inside the north wing at the seventh floor even -after- Yohmaru, Yohnta, Keiko-chan and Ren-chan did?"

"Well...no." Ren frowned thoughtfully. "Bason said they already looked, and they weren't..." He paused as something dawned on him, and he looked at his power spirit. "Are you sure you and Amidamaru looked -everywhere-?"

The warrior spirit scratched his head. "We did..." He looked over at the samurai spirit. "Didn't we?" He asked.

Amidamaru nodded. "We did...I think," He scratched his head in similar fashion.

"We thought it wouldn't be necessary to look again since the twins already searched the place before." Lyserg told Ren.

"Uh-huh." Manta agreed. "It would have been pointless." He added.

Ren turned to Chocolove. "Did you ask Mic to scent around for Yoh and Anna? That would have been the easiest way to find them."

"Hmm..." The person being addressed frowned. "It didn't occur to me."

The dark blue-haired Chinese shaman rolled his eyes. "Great."

"Hey everyone," Ryu emerged, from the kitchens. "Did you find the Okami and the Danna? They're not in the kitchen, or anywhere around in here in the first floor."

"They're not in the onsen either!" Jun's voice sounded from across the hallway. "I looked everywhere there. I asked around at the men's onsen as well, but they hadn't been seen." As soon as she spotted Ryu, the Chinese woman grinned.

"Umm...I'd better go back and continue preparing the food for tomorrow! Gotta run!" As soon as he saw Jun, Ryu immediately sprinted back towards the kitchen.

"Ryu-kun, wait for me!" Leaving Pailong by the front desk, Jun sprinted off towards the kitchens as well.

Ren glared for a moment at his sister's retreating back, then turned back to everyone again. "We know where to look now," He announced.

Keiko looked up with interest. "Where, Uncle Ren?"

Patting the little girl's head, Ren smiled. "Seventh floor. They're somewhere around there, if my guess is right."

Lyserg looked at him questioningly. "We've looked there already. Why should we look again?"

Ren raised an eyebrow. "There's something we missed," he replied dryly. "Something that just occurred to me now." He motioned for everyone, sans the children, to come closer, "...let's wait for a couple of minutes first. If what I'm thinking is true, then Yoh and Anna would need some time to..." he gave a smirk, "...make themselves look presentable, for everyone's benefit. You know--wherever they are..."

"So...did you figure out where my dear Otouto and his wife are?" A voice cheerily called out from the top of the stairs.

Everyone looked up as Hao ceremoniously got down the wide staircase, with his assistant, Opacho, hopping beside him. "Don't tell me..." Ren said sarcastically, with a glare. "All this time...you -knew- where they were?"

"But of course." Hao answered smoothly. "After all, I'm Asakura Hao. I--"

"--know everything. Right, right. We've heard that before. Where are they?" Horo-horo demanded.

The long-haired shaman raised an eyebrow. "Why should I tell you?"

Ren glared at him and inclined his head at Keiko. "She's the one looking for them." Keiko looked up at Hao hopefully.

"Ah." Hao shot Keiko an apologetic look. He then turned back to the others. "You'll find them soon, I'm sure." He nodded confidently.

Horo-horo, Ren, Lyserg, Manta, and Chocolove gave identical groans. "WHERE ARE THEY?" The five demanded simultaneously.

Hao sighed dramatically. "Oh, come on. Most of you here -are- shamans, correct?" Except for Pilica, the kids, and the spirits, everyone who was there nodded. "Well then...you should be able to sense where they are, because I certainly can. Their spirits are jumping up and down energetically as we speak." He paused, then chuckled. "Ooops! There they go again." He gave a meaningful grin.

Ren rolled his eyes in annoyance. "We don't have time for this. Can't you just tell us? Come on...where are they?"

Hao just smiled sweetly and said, "That's for me to know, and for you to find out." And with that, he walked back up the stairs, Opacho behind him.

Everyone stared at him incredulously as he walked back up.

Keiko gazed forlornly at her favorite uncle's retreating back, wondering why he just dismissed her like that. Then, turning to everyone else, she said with a pout, "Ne...Uncle Hao is so mean sometimes, isn't he?" Turning her head to the staircase where her long-haired uncle was, she called out in a loud voice, "UNCLE HAO! YOU'RE A BIG MEANIE!" She sniffled. "I DON'T LIKE YOU ANYMORE!" She stamped her foot, sat down on the floor, and stuck her tongue out at the staircase. "Meanie..." she muttered under her breath, with a frown reminiscent of her mother's on her face.

At the staircase, Hao heard the declaration and winced. He was going to have to talk to Keiko soon, if he wanted to redeem himself in her heart...he shook his head. Although he loved his niece and nephews to ends of the earth, much, much, more can be said about the love he felt for his brother...and if his brother wished to be alone with his wife for a little while, Hao would do anything in his power to make sure that his wish gets granted. He sighed. Even if it was at the expense of the happiness of his favorite niece...his -only- niece...

He gave another sigh. Ah, well...that's the price I have to pay for wanting my brother to have a little fun...he gave a slight grin. You had better make this worth my time, Yoh. You'd better make sure you're having fun...because I'm doing this at the expense of your daughter's love for me...

"Hao-sama," Opacho asked her master as they got to the second landing, "why didn't you tell them where Yoh-sama and Anna-sama are?"

Hao grinned at his assistant. "Why? So they can stop my dear Otouto and his wife from having a little fun? I think not." He shook his head. "Anyway, I'm sure they'll find Yoh and Anna soon. Meanwhile..." He smiled wickedly. "my brother and his wife can continue to enjoy themselves for a good couple of minutes more, ne?"


*~*~*~*~*~*


"So...should we get out now?"

"Why are you asking me? You were the one who got us in here in the first place."

"Oh, yeah." Yoh turned back to kissing his wife. "So...do...you...want...to...?" He punctuated each word with a kiss.

"...no." She kissed him back, her arms around his neck. "Let's stay here a little while longer."

"I think they might be looking for us again now. -All- of them, not just our kids."

"...let them look."



TSUZUKU (desu).



End notes:
Updated August 30, 2003. Changed the chapter title because ff.net is ruining my format.^_^;;;

End of first half.^^ Thanks for all your beautiful reviews. You guys are wonderful.^_^ I love you all, seriously, I do. Anyway, I do believe there's about four or five chapters more to go (read: 4 or 5 long chapters), plus the epilogue. Hmm...can't believe it's been more than a month since I started this...and would you believe: so far, excluding all of my opening and end notes, from the prologue up to this chapter (in Verdana 9 font) this fic is exactly 94 pages long...? I mean...wow.^^

Disclaimer: I don't own PlayStation 2. Sony does. And Dynasty Warriors 4 is owned by Koei and W Omega Force (I think). For those who didn't understand that part...Lu Bu is one of the strongest characters/opponents in this game. Dumplings are items which recharge your characters' lives. Musou is the special magic attack. This is an action game based from the Chinese Romance of the The Three Kingdoms (Legend?), if I'm not mistaken. The goal is to wipe out the boss, and get stronger along the way. In that particular part of the game the twins were playing, Lu Bu was just a diversion so that they couldn't get to the main boss. He wasn't supposed to be challenged, because challenging him means death (as you've seen in the story). Anyway, am I ranting...? I'm sorry, I just *really* love this game...okay, Apple-chan's gonna shut up now.^^;;;

Venice...does not belong to me. Neither does the Grand Canal. Or the gondolas. Though I'm sure you knew that.^^

Lucky 9 is a card game and it does not belong to me. If you don't happen to know the rules of that game, and wish to know, I'm just an email away.^^ And that powder penalty for the losers...I got that from an acquaintance, but according to his rules, just a *dot* of powder is enough punishment...I made it a little bit extreme by making the penalty a *handful* of baby powder.^^

To the YohXAnna fans...hope you liked this one. Ahahaha...hentai Yoh.^_^ I LOVE Yoh when he's being hentai...and Anna...submissive Anna...gotta love her.^^And by the way, she was on top all throughout that whole...scene...

Incidentally, the bathtub scene reminded me of the shower scene (pure genius) in Frozen Ray by Kira. Although I had already written most of this (bathtub scene) when I read that fic, let's just say...I got inspired.*grin* Anyways Kira-chan, as I love that fic of yours so much, I'm plugging it. So, to anyone who hasn't read it, please go read!^^ That's Frozen Ray by KiraX105. Yeah.

To the LysergXJeanne fans...just a little more patience!^^ Anyway, hope you enjoyed that itty-bitty scene as much as I enjoyed writing it...for I did enjoy writing it...yes, I did.^^ And uhm, Lyserg...his name, as I found in my research, is Lyserg Diethyl (from lysergic acid diethylamide, I believe). With a y, not an e. Yeah. Gomen, gomen, gomen...what an incredibly grave mistake. I shall not make the same mistake again, I promise. It's Diethyl. Diethyl. Right. Yeah. Diethyl. Jeanne Diethyl...hmm...has a nice ring to it...

To the RenXPilica fans...I do believe Ren needs to get his head hit with a sledgehammer.^^ Kidding. It's just that he turns into a blubbering idiot whenever Pilica's around...it's so exasperating. Will he ever get his act together? Well...we'll find out.^_^

To the HoroXTamao fans...can I just say that -this- particular pairing is the hardest to develop...? Seriously. But I'm working on it. I have their story all mapped out up here*taps head*

To the JunXPailong fans...I'm -so- sorry. Since this is a post-canon fic, I just don't think it's fair for Jun to be paired up with...a kyonshi. I'm sorry, but that's what he is. I like him, though. But if the circumstances had been a little bit different-like say, if Pailong -had- been alive, then by all means I would have paired him with Jun firstly. But, regretfully, he's dead. I needed someone to pair off with Jun, and...Ryu was my only option. And besides, I was feeling pretty sorry for the poor guy.^^;;;

To the Hao fans (I -know- there are a lot of you out there...) how do you like him here so far?^_^ I love him, that's why I've transformed him into a nice guy. The reason why he's trying to hook everybody up is because...he's bored. He's a billionaire with nothing to do, for crying out loud. Wish I was._ Ah, well.

Speaking of Hao...da*mouse: I can't really think of anyone (in the series) appropriate to pair him up with. Of course, I could always give Anna a twin sister, and name her Apple, but that would be...really weird.^^;;; So I won't. Anyway, Yoh's enough for Hao. And I'm glad you liked the way Hao is here...I like it too.^^ I like Hao good. You like Hao good, but you're writing him bad...and that's good, too. We all love Hao, good -and- bad, ne?*grin*

And the floor plan...*sweatdrop* eh...did that when I was uhm...watching a soap opera. I was getting bored, is why. It took about a day to do. I had to make a sketch first...I know I -could- have scanned my sketch, but...it was a very scary sketch. Seriously. So I just mapped it out verbally. I'm better at that stuff than at sketching, anyway...I -suck- majorly at sketching...

unmei: if you -do- succeed in making a sketch for the Onsen, I would be eternally grateful to you.^_^ But if you can't, it's fine. It isn't really that necessary. Ne...there are actually two of you who sort-of-kind-of volunteered to sort-of-kind-of do this for me. Thank you so much. Even if you don't get it done, -still- thank you so much. It's the thought that matters, anyway.

Oh, and in case anyone wanted to know, I got my computer fixed. Yeah. Couldn't stand it not working properly, so I reformatted it and re-installed Windows XP. I lost all of my files...my thesis included.;_; Ah...should have made a backup...at least I have a bound copy...but still...;_;

Reviews will be very much appreciated.