Celebrations

by Apple-chan

It's been past seven months since the Funbari Onsen Inn celebrations ended...what has happened so far during that span of time? Set 11 years after the Anime. AnnaXYoh, RenXPilica, TamaoXHoro, LysergXJeanne...and then some. [COMPLETED]

10. Chapter 8: Realizations and Confessions

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. And yes, everyone is finally here!^^ Lots of silliness, weirdness, and of course, lots of love!^_^

Spoilers: The whole Anime series.

Warnings: PG-13 for adult situations and mild swearing. Warnings for chapter length (This chapter is a record-breaking 117k file).^^;;;

Umm...lots of things happened here. Yup.^_^



Chapter 8 - Realizations and Confessions


"Koroku, catch!" Asakura Keiko instructed the little golden-brown puppy as she threw a toy bone up into the air.

"WOOF!" The little puppy exclaimed as it ran towards the direction of the bone, jumped in mid-air, and subsequently caught the bone squarely in its mouth. Then, the puppy ran towards Keiko and dropped the bone at her feet, wagging its tail happily.

Keiko gave the puppy a pat on the head. "Good boy," she declared fondly. Raising her head up, she gazed inside the windows leading towards the dining hall, where her parents, with her Uncle Ryu, Aunt Jun, Auntie Tamao, and a couple of maids were fixing up the area for the dinner which was to commence in about half an hour.

The little blonde-haired girl was in the garden, playing with her new puppy, with her little brother Ren-chan. Everyone else was at the Tea Room. Meanwhile, her two older brothers had gone back up to their quarters to clean up and change their clothes, due to the fact that the twins' previous clothing had been ruined altogether by the mini-cake fight that they had earlier.

"Nee-chan!" Little Ren-chan exclaimed as he clapped his hands and hugged his older sister. He gazed down curiously at the puppy by his feet, before turning his gaze back up to his sister.

Keiko smiled at him. "Pat him on the head, Ren-chan," she told her brother softly, inclining her head at Koroku.

Ren-chan smiled sweetly, and then, looking back at the puppy, he slowly reached his pudgy hand...and gave the dog a light pat on the head.

Koroku barked with excitement once, before jumping towards Ren-chan, causing the little boy to fall over the grass. He giggled happily as the puppy licked his face eagerly and wagged its tail joyfully.

Keiko was debating on whether she should lay down on the grass as well to join in the fun when her mother called out to her. "Keiko? Come on in here."

The little girl jumped and ran towards the window to peek at her mother. "Are we gonna eat now?" She asked eagerly, looking from her mother to her father to her two aunts and uncle.

"In a few minutes," Her father answered. "We're just about done cleaning up the mess your brothers managed to create," he added, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Anna frowned at her husband, swatting him on the head with a fan. "We -could- have avoided it all if you and Hao hadn't encouraged them." She said dryly. Then, she turned back to her daughter. "Pick up your brother and bring him inside, too." She paused, thinking. "...And you can bring Koroku in, too, if you like," she added, with a slight smile.

Keiko nodded. "Hai!" She said excitedly as she ran back towards her brother to do what her mother asked.


*~*~*~*~*~*


Asakura Anna looked up as her twin sons finally entered the dining hall about five minutes after Keiko, Ren-chan, and Koroku did. "About time. Are you sure you're both cleaned up?" She asked, left eyebrow raised as she surveyed the two of them critically. The twins were now wearing identical black pants and button-down polo shirts; Yohmaru's was blue-green while Yohnta's shirt was blue-violet.

"Yes, Kaachan." Yohmaru answered meekly, trying hard not to flinch as his mother looked around him and his twin. "We've taken a bath again and we've changed our clothes," he added for good measure.

His mother frowned thoughtfully at him and Yohnta. "You're sure?"

"Hai." Yohnta nodded vigorously. "You can even ask all the spirits. They were all there, watching us dress up. Even Spirit of Fire," he added upon spotting his Uncle Hao.

Anna spun around to glare at the long-haired shaman. "You let that...THING of yours in HERE?" She demanded. "And YOU," she turned to her husband, "you allowed HIM to bring that THING of his in HERE, DIDN'T YOU?"

Yoh winced, then gave his wife a pleading look. "I'm pretty sure Spirit of Fire wouldn't do anything bad, ne, Oniichan?" He gazed at his brother meaningfully.

Hao nodded. "Nothing to worry about. Spirit of Fire is very obedient. He doesn't do anything...unless I tell him to. But I won't do that, of course," he added quickly upon seeing the murderous look on his sister-in-law's face. "Anyway," he said, changing the subject, "...it looks like we're all here. And it appears that it's just about time for dinner," he smiled cheerfully at everyone. "So why don't we all sit down and enjoy this wonderful feast while it's still hot and fresh, ne?" He smiled sweetly at Anna.

"You'd better hope that THING doesn't do anything at ALL or you'll have me to answer to," Anna told her brother-in-law darkly as she stomped towards her husband and sat down beside him.

"He won't," Hao assured her cheerfully. He turned his gaze thoughtfully at the large dining table laden with various Japanese, Chinese and Western main courses and desserts. "Hmm...I wonder which ones I should eat first. Looks like Ryu-san and Tamao-chan have overdone themselves this year." He tapped his chin and smiled at Opacho beside him.

Yoh, who was at the center of the dining table, chuckled slightly. "Just eat everything you want, Oniichan. I think there's plenty more where everything came from. We've got a lot to be thankful for this year." He smiled brightly at everyone. "What are you waiting for, you guys? Go on and eat!"

His statement was met with a loud chorus of agreement from everyone.

Everyone, that is...except for his wife. She was frowning thoughtfully at her plate and at the dishes in front of her. Then, she turned her head to her husband and focused her frown on him. "Where's my cheesecake?"

"At the dessert table," Yoh answered. "I'll get it." He stood up, took one of the two whole strawberry cheesecakes and set it down in front of his wife. "Is this all you're going to eat?" He wondered, frowning at the dessert and looking up at Anna with concern.

"Yup," She replied with a sweet smile upon seeing the dessert. "I don't want anything else. I don't need anything else." She declared.

Yoh shook his head, smiling slightly as his wife sliced the cheesecake. Her eating habits when she's pregnant is really...something else...he gazed fondly at his twin sons, his daughter, and his youngest son. Every single time it happens, it's always different...it was different with the twins...and with Keiko, and Ren-chan, and now...he gave a small, contented sigh. Ah, well...no matter how different it may be...no matter how she may get when she's pregnant...she's still Anna. The woman I fell in love with. The woman I vowed I would spend the rest of my life with. The woman I promised to take care of--no matter what happens...

He surveyed the food around him thoughtfully, debating on what he should eat first. He looked at his wife again and smiled as she gave a soft, blissful sigh. She caught him looking at her and smiled sweetly at him as she took another bite of the cheesecake.

And I'll take care of her...I'll take care of her, and I'll take care of our family.

Always.


*~*~*~*~*~*


"WELL," Hao announced, as he stood up, upon seeing that everyone had already almost finished with their dinner and were moving on to dessert, "now that everyone is ALMOST finished eating," he continued with emphasis, "I would like to propose a toast for my brother, my sister-in-law, my nephews and niece, and for this place," he gave Yoh a questioning look. "...If I may, that is."

Yoh smiled at his twin brother and nodded. "Sure, Oniichan." He turned to his wife. "Ne?"

She gave Hao a glare. "My kids are not allowed to drink wine." She said curtly.

Hao smiled unfalteringly. "Not a problem." He snapped his finger and a maid approached, awaiting his orders. "Get six bottles of the wine I brought this morning. And three bottles of the sparkling grape juice." He added. The maid nodded and exited towards the north door to the kitchens. After a minute or so, she reappeared, along with two other maids, all three of them holding three bottles each.

The long-haired shaman clasped his hands together and grinned brightly. "Pour the grape juice for the children," he instructed one of the maids. "...And for everybody else, the wine, please." He then gave Yoh and Anna a meaningful look. "Dear sister-in-law, pardon me...but I need to ask if it's quite alright for you to drink wine in your condition." He raised a questioning eyebrow at Anna.

She looked back at him blankly. "What condition?"

Hao sighed. "You know...your DELICATE condition," he supplied meaningfully.

The pregnancy. He was talking about the pregnancy. "What the..." Anna glared at her husband. "Did you tell him?"

"Me? No." Yoh shook his head. "But like I told you, Anna...I think all of them might have known it before we did." He added, inclining his head at his friends and at his brother.

"How did HE know?"

"I know everything." Hao replied matter-of-factly.

"Know about...what?" Jeanne wondered, turning to Lyserg with a questioning look. "Did I miss something important while I wasn't here?"

"Nothing much, just...Anna-san's pregnancy, that's all." The Englishman answered with a brilliant smile.

"Anna-san, you're pregnant?" Jeanne exclaimed with surprise.

"Kaachan, you're pregnant?" Yohmaru and Yohnta exclaimed in unison.

"Kaachan, does that mean me and Yohmaru Oniichan and Yohnta Oniichan and Ren-chan are gonna get another little brother or sister soon?" Keiko exclaimed, jumping out of her chair and running towards her mother. "Sugoi!" She said cheerfully, wrapping her arms around Anna.

Anna smiled fondly as she hugged her daughter back, then she turned to Lyserg incredulously. "Who told you?"

"Well...we suspected for a while...but he confirmed it for us," The green-haired young man said, tilting his head towards Hao.

The long-haired shaman snorted. "Suspected it for a while? Really now," he said sarcastically. "As I recall, all of you guys sounded pretty surprised when I told you."

Ren, who had been listening to the whole conversation thoughtfully, glared at him. "Of course we were surprised," he retorted dryly. "We never actually thought our suspicions were correct. That's why they're called 'suspicions,' you know."

"Right, right," Hao said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "...Ah! Wonderful," he remarked as the last goblet was filled with wine. He then turned his gaze back to his sister-in-law. "I'm going to ask you again: would it be safe for you to drink this?" He raised his wine-filled goblet questioningly.

"No thanks, I'd rather not," Was the curt reply. "Even if I wasn't pregnant, I don't trust anything that comes from you."

"I didn't tamper with any of this, if that's what you mean," Hao said with an affronted look. "This particular wine is distributed all across the country and the whole world, and it's very famous, extremely good, and perfectly safe, I assure you," he added for everyone else's benefit.

"Hmm..." Yoh examined his own goblet thoughtfully. "Well, just to prove to everyone that it's safe, you should drink first, Oniichan."

Hao rolled his eyes and shook his head. Trust is very hard to gain, isn't it...? "Very well," he decided. "I'd like to say that I wish you, my brother Yoh, and you, my sister-in-law, and your children good health, long life, and happiness," he paused, smiled at them, then continued, "and I sincerely hope that this place will continue to be as blessed and as prosperous as it is now...wait, scratch that. I sincerely hope that this Inn of yours will have more blessings, be more famous, -and- experience more prosperity in the years to come." And I wish...I sincerely wish that someday, sometime...preferably soon...I will be able to gain your trust and love completely...wholeheartedly...He smiled at everyone brightly as he raised up his goblet and drank.

Yoh smiled at his brother, at his wife and his children, and at his friends, before he followed suit and drank from his goblet as well. Everyone else followed soon after. The kids and Anna drank grape juice from their goblets.

"Well then," Hao proclaimed cheerily, looking at his brother and sister-in-law. "If I remember correctly, the two of you -had- something to announce, but seeing as how everyone already knows, I don't suppose it would still be necessary to do any announcement, yes?"

Anna glared darkly at him. "This is all your fault," she muttered.

"ALTHOUGH," Hao continued, the bright grin never leaving his face, "I believe a hearty congratulations is in order, ne?" He placed his goblet down on the table, approached his brother, and gave him a slight pat on the back. "Otouto. I wish the both of you my sincerest congratulations." He said with a cheerful smile. "I'd kiss your wife's cheek, but you know..." he motioned with his hands.

"Thank YOU, Oniichan," Yoh said quickly, standing up and giving his brother a hug of thanks. "You don't need to kiss my wife, thanks." He added dryly.

Hao chuckled. "If you say so." He shook his head as he hugged his twin back, then spoke once again. "You're welcome, brother. And good luck with that new kid. Speaking of which," he continued, "I do believe three of your main staff wish to give something to you, not only in honor of the anniversary of the Inn, but also for the little kid," he paused, throwing Tamao, Faust, and Ryu a meaningful glance. "Am I right?"

Tamao nodded and stood up quickly. "Anna-sama...Yoh-sama...ummm, Faust-san and Ryu-san and I got you something," She looked at Anna and Yoh, then gazed back at Faust and Ryu as she continued, "We couldn't really think of anything we could give you...so this was just kind of...spur-of-the-moment. It's nothing much," she added quickly. "Faust-san, Ryu-san, could you bring the box in?" She asked the two men.

Both Ryu and Faust got up at once. "Hai," they said in unison as they exited the dining hall area, and then came back after a minute or so, carrying a large package.

Anna stared at the package curiously before she turned to Tamao. "What's in the box?"

Tamao smiled slightly. "Just some...things for the baby...and for you, as well, Anna-sama," she added. "I know you've given away all the clothes and stuff that you had when you were pregnant with Ren-chan...and now that he's growing up as well, a lot of the things that he's got right now would probably be too big for the upcoming baby, so the three of us thought that it would be nice if you had some..."

"...New clothes, maternity needs, and baby stuff," Faust said with a smile at the blonde-haired woman. "Take a look."

Narrowing her eyes, Anna stood up and slowly opened the package. She drew in a little breath, then looked up at Tamao, Faust, and Ryu, surprise evident on her face. "...There's about a million things here. You didn't have to do this," she said with a headshake.

"Why? What's the matter?" Yoh stood up, went to his wife and peeked inside the large, partly-opened package. He whistled. "Wow. We could probably open a maternity clothes shop and baby shop with all this..." he grinned sheepishly at the three. "Anna's right, you really didn't have to do this...but I'm not refusing anything. Thank you," he told them gratefully.

"Yoh," Anna poked her husband rib and frowned at him. "We can't accept all of this. I mean, this is just too much..." her voice trailed off.

"Iie," Ryu said brightly, shaking his head. "You deserve all of this. It's not even enough, considering what you've done for the three of us."

"Uh-huh." Faust agreed. "So you're going to have to accept all of this, whether you like it or not," he added.

"That's right." Tamao said with a nod. "So um...happy anniversary and congratulations, from the three of us," she said with a smile at Yoh and Anna.

Anna sighed, gazed at the three of them, looked back at the package, gazed at her husband, then turning back to the three, she smiled faintly. "Thank you. I just...I don't know how...I mean, just..." she shook her head and flushed slightly. "You know how much I..."

Yoh chuckled, squeezing his wife's shoulders affectionately. "She says thank you from the bottom of her heart," he told Tamao, Faust, and Ryu. "And me, as well. I thank the three of you from the bottom of my heart," he added with a smile.

"You're very welcome, Yoh-sama. Anna-sama," Tamao said brightly, exchanging a smile with Faust and Ryu.

Anna looked over at everyone else. "Don't tell me...-all- of you have gifts for us too...don't you?" She asked.

Their friends, and even their children, just smiled.

"Kids... you too?" Yoh asked with surprise.

The twins nodded. "Yup," they said in unison.

"It's that...thing covered by a cloth at the Tea Room, isn't it?" Their mother asked.

"YUP!" Keiko said loudly, while cradling Ren-chan in her arms. "Bring it over here, Yohmaru Oniichan, Yohnta Oniichan!" She told her brothers.

The twins left their seats and went to the Tea Room. They came back, carrying something covered in a white tablecloth in between them. They placed the object at the dining table and Keiko took off the cloth with a flourish.

Anna surveyed their kids' gift thoughtfully. "It's a diorama, and it looks like..."

"...the Inn," Yoh finished, examining the three-dimensional miniature version of the Funbari Onsen Inn. "...Wow. It looks exactly like this place..." he frowned as he noticed a passel of human-like figures all around the diorama. "Are those little things...us?" He asked the children.

"Hai!" Keiko said with a nod. "I made them," she announced. "Yohmaru Oniichan and Yohnta Oniichan made the Inn using wooden sticks, and me and Ren-chan painted the whole thing! Do you like it?"

"It's beautiful," Anna declared softly, giving her daughter and her three sons a big hug. "Thank you."

"Uh-huh," Yoh agreed, enfolding his family in his arms and smiling at his children. "We'll have to display that near the front door so that everyone will see it." He said with a grin.

Anna smiled one last time at her children and her husband, and then turned to everyone else with a resigned look on her face. "You know, we don't invite you guys here every year so that we can receive gifts from you. You don't need to give us anything."

"We know." Lyserg answered with a smile.

The blonde woman gave a resigned sigh. "But you're all going to give us something anyway, right?"

"Yup," Horo-horo answered with a grin.

Anna rolled her eyes and held up her hands in defeat. "Fine, then." She said, smiling faintly. "What do you have for us?"

Chocolove was the first one who approached, holding an envelope. "All-expense paid tickets for all my shows in London next year," he said with a grin. "It's my way of apologizing for not being able to make any jokes at all this week." he added.

"Thanks." Yoh took the envelope and stared at it thoughtfully. "We'll get to go to London next year. Thanks a lot, Chocolove."

Manta was the next one who announced his gift. "I already had it brought upstairs," he said, smiling at Yoh and Anna. "You'd probably be able to guess what it is. When you two had this place built, the first one I gave you is the one that you use for the databases. The second one is at the front desk. The third one is custom-made for Yohmaru and Yohnta. Then the one I just gave to Keiko-chan is the fourth. This new one's made especially for just the two of you." He finished.

Anna narrowed her eyes at the short young man. "Another computer? Not that I'm complaining or anything, Manta...but you've already given us enough..."

"Nope, I haven't," Manta countered. "That's why I'm giving you another one. Ne?" He smiled sweetly at the Itako.

Yoh smiled gratefully at his best friend. "Manta, I don't know how to thank you..."

"Just use the computer I gave you, Yoh-kun. That's good enough as a thank you." Manta grinned.

"And you two," Anna said, when the Tao siblings started to stand up, "you give us something every single time you're here. Don't tell me you still have something for us now?"

Jun smiled. "Of course we do, ne, Ren?" She told her brother.

"Hai." Ren nodded. "More things for good luck," he added, nodding his head at the four valets by the exit of the dining hall. In a few moments, four packages about the size of an adult were brought in. The four valets unwrapped and unpacked the boxes to reveal four expensive-looking Chinese vases with intricately-patterned designs. "Something for the first floor this time," the Chinese shaman said with a smile.

"They're beautiful...and probably very expensive. You can't give us those things," Anna protested.

"Money is not an important matter to the Tao family," Jun said with a smile. "And besides...if it's for this place, and for you and Yoh-kun, it's worth it."

"Very much worth it." Ren agreed, smiling at Anna and at Yoh.

"Well...thanks a lot, you two," Yoh said finally, grinning sheepishly at Ren and Jun. "You know, you two can come and stay here anytime you like. All the time, if you wish. For free. It's the least we can do."

"Thanks, Yoh." Ren replied with a chuckle.

"You two," Yoh turned to the Ainu siblings. "I'm sure you also have something for us, right?"

"Yeah," Horo-horo said with a big grin. "...but the thing is, we can't bring them in here."

"They're outside," Pilica explained. "Come and look."

Yoh and Anna looked outside the windows leading towards the front entrance of the Onsen. The front garden entrance already had plenty of plants and flowers in bloom before...but the couple were stunned to see lots more beautiful flora decorating the entrance and the flower boxes. It looked like some sort of fairy paradise. "It's beautiful..." Anna murmured.

"We also added a couple of more flowering plants to the courtyard and the gardens," Horo-horo added. "Pilica and I were experimenting on some of the plants a bit...and we were able to come up with several new types of flowering plants. Most of it are here."

"And more butterbur, of course." Pilica added dryly, smiling at her brother.

"I'm sure," Yoh said with a chuckle. "Thanks a lot, you two. Everything's so beautiful."

"Don't mention it," Horo-horo replied. "Just make sure I can still come here every day to get free food."

"Oniichan!" Pilica hissed, smiling with embarrassment at Anna and Yoh.

A laugh. "Sure. Anything for you, Horo-horo," Yoh answered good-naturedly. He looked around the dining hall thoughtfully, then, spotting the green-haired Englishman, he said, "Lyserg? Don't tell me you have something for us, too...?"

"Actually," Lyserg spoke up, "Jeanne and I have something for you and Anna-san."

"Yes. We do." Jeanne agreed.

"Conjugal gift again?" Hao commented with a slight raising of his eyebrow.

"Shut up," Lyserg retorted, then, turning back to Yoh and Anna, he said, "it's something we got from Venice. You can bring it in now!" He called out to the four valets who brought the vase earlier. They came in, carrying the large, brown package that could have fit in a 21-inch TV set. The four men unwrapped the package carefully. As soon as the contents of the package was revealed, Anna turned to Lyserg and Jeanne with an awed look on her face.

"Those are beautiful." She said softly, not taking her eyes off the figures.

"You can say that again," Yoh murmured, staring at the four glass figurines-cum-vases. The glass had intricately detailed patterns in them, which just shows that the figures were sort of...hand-crafted.

"Venetians specialize in these things," Jeanne explained. "The art of glass-blowing. They're pretty much custom-made, so to speak. We watched them as they were being heated up, molded, and everything...we just knew we had to get you something from Venice...so we did." She added with a smile.

"Jeanne...Lyserg...thank you." Anna told them gratefully, shaking her head with awe. "We don't see the two of you often...but know that you're always welcome to come here, for free." She added.

"Hai." Jeanne said with a nod. "Thank you, Anna-san. Anyway..." she paused, then brought out a box wrapped in light pink from underneath the table. "...I got this in London, just before I left. It's sort of an...apology gift, for arriving so late..."

"I've told you plenty of times, there's no need for you to apologize." Anna took the package gratefully and unwrapped it. "...Strawberry pound cake...?" She looked up at Jeanne with surprise. "I've been craving for strawberries for several days. How did you know...?"

A shrug. "Just a lucky guess, I suppose," Jeanne replied with a bright smile.

"...Oniichan," Yoh uttered as his gaze turned to his twin brother, who had been quietly observing everything with a cheerful smile on his face.

"Yoh," Hao acknowledged his brother with a smile.

"Have you got something for us, too...? I really hope it's nothing enchanted..." He gave his brother a meaningful look.

Hao shook his head. "I've given up on putting a spell on things. It always backfires. Anyway, what I have for you...is..." he paused as he dug into his pants pocket for something. "...Ah! Here it is!" He held up a small, maroon box with flourish.

Anna narrowed her eyes curiously at the small box. "What's that?"

Smiling sweetly at his sister-in-law, Hao tossed the box to his brother, who deftly caught it. "Take a look."

Yoh glanced at his brother, then gingerly opened the maroon box. "...It's a key," he said with surprise.

"It's the key to your brand new car," Hao corrected. He glanced up at the wall clock. "...well, it's just about time. I believe -your- car is already here. Come on," Hao stood up and headed out of the dining hall, nodding expectantly at his brother.

"Where are we going?" Yoh called out as he stood up to follow his twin.

"You're taking your new car for a test drive," Hao called over his shoulder. "And I'm coming with you...just to assure your wife," he added, with a meaningful glance at Anna, "...that the car is safe for everyone to ride in. I haven't tampered with it. Not that I'm going to," he said quickly. "It's the latest model in my company's line of cars. It should be more of a bestseller than the previous model, I expect. Not that being number two in the bestseller car list is a bad thing, mind you."

Yoh grinned at everyone and smiled at his wife. "We'll be back in a few minutes, guys!" He called out as he exited the dining hall.

"Yoh, wait!" Anna called after her husband, but he had already gone out the front door, following his brother.


*~*~*~*~*~*


"About time you came back," Anna greeted her husband as he came in through the dining hall, with Hao behind him. "...What took you so long?" She demanded, her hands on her hips.

Yoh smiled sweetly at his wife. "We just drove around the block a couple of times. I didn't think it would take that long." He paused, brightening. "You should see the car, Anna. It's dark red, it's got an on-screen map with a locator displayer, and it's even got a TV. It can even go on auto-drive mode." He shook his head. "It's quite a car."

"But of course," Hao called out smoothly from behind his brother. "For my Otouto and his dear family, I reserve only the best." He grinned. "Do you like the car, Yoh?"

"Yeah," Yoh grinned at his brother. "It's...I don't know how to thank you, Hao Oniichan. We can finally sell that old white car..." he mused as he put an arm around Anna. "So...what were you all doing while we were out driving?"

Anna frowned at Yoh's arm, looked suspiciously at his face, then shook her head. "...Waiting for you. And while we were doing that, Manta and that assistant of Hao's," she paused, glaring meaningfully at the long-haired shaman, "decided to begin the final round of their chess tournament. We were all watching." She shrugged her shoulders and pulled away from Yoh, inclining her head towards Manta and Opacho, who were sitting across from each other at the newly-cleared away dining table, chess board and pieces positioned at their front, and with the two of them glaring at each other all the while. All of Yoh and Anna's other friends, plus their four kids and the puppy, were gathered round them, eagerly awaiting the next move.

"Who's winning?" Yoh wondered as he walked towards the center of the ongoing chess match.

Lyserg looked up as he approached and shrugged. "No one just yet. They're both being overly cautious..." his voice trailed off as Manta finally moved another one of his pawns forward.

Opacho smirked at Manta's latest move, then she looked up upon seeing her master. "Hao-sa..." she paused, looking over at Hao critically, before turning to Yoh. She looked back and forth between them several times before shaking her head and shifting her gaze back to the chess match.

"Ne, Anna..." Yoh approached his wife and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Did you put away all the gifts?"

Anna looked murderously at the hand on her shoulder, shrugging it away before she answered. "Yes, I did." She inched away from him and went back to watching the chess game.

Yoh moved closer to his wife and flashed her a hurt look. "Why are you pulling away from me?"

His wife inched away even more as she turned round and gave him a withering glare. "I don't know. Why don't you ask yourself?" She replied dryly.

A sigh. "I don't know what you're talking about." Yoh said helplessly, flashing his brother a look. He walked closer towards his wife and pulled her hand gently. "Anna..."

The Itako forcefully pulled her hand away from him and stomped away. "Try touching me like that ONE MORE TIME and I SWEAR, I WILL KILL YOU." She told him darkly.

"But Anna..."

"I'M WARNING YOU, ASAKURA HAO."

This time, Yoh, who was actually Hao, posing as Yoh, gave his sister-in-law a look of surprise. "Wow. How did you know it was me?" He scratched his head Yoh-style, undid the thin ribbon he had used to tie his hair, and shook off his long locks.

"I -know- what my husband looks like. And although the two of you are identical, I can easily tell you apart from each other," Anna retorted. "And besides that...I -know- what my husband smells like. And he -certainly- doesn't smell like cigarette smoke wrapped in wine. You do." She told him icily.

Behind Hao, the real Yoh, who was posing as his brother, gave a loud sigh as he took off the dark brown hair extenders and Hao's earrings, tied his hair back up, and tossed the earrings at his twin. "See, Oniichan? I told you it would never work. As long as we have Anna around, exchanging places and posing as each other will never work." He added.

Anna exhaled as she stared at her husband disbelievingly. "You ACTUALLY agreed to IT? What the HELL were you THINKING?" She demanded. "And YOU," she turned to Hao, glaring, "Do you have a serious DEATH WISH or are you just itching to TRY MY PATIENCE?" Her last statement ended on a shout.

Yoh and Hao winced simultaneously. They looked at each other uneasily.

It was Yoh who spoke first. "We didn't mean anything bad by it," he said nervously. "Hao Oniichan and I just wanted to see if it would work." he added. "And..."

"...And now that we know it wouldn't, in the future, we won't even attempt to do it again!" Hao supplied quickly as he put his earrings back on. "Ne?" He gave his brother a look, and the two of them nodded simultaneously.

The blonde woman stood still for a couple of minutes, glaring at both her husband and brother-in-law. Finally, she walked towards them and smiled sweetly at her husband.

Yoh sighed with relief upon seeing the smile. "So you forgive us? Because you know...OUCH!" He groaned and rubbed his head, then he gave his wife a wounded look. "What was that for? I thought you'd forgiven us." He looked over at his brother, who was also rubbing his head and groaning.

Anna gave them a triumphant look as she flexed the fingers of both of her fists, which she had just simultaneously smashed on both her husband's and brother-in-law's heads. "That makes me feel SO much better." She remarked as she stomped away from them.

Hao and Yoh gazed at Anna as she walked away, both of them continuously rubbing their heads and groaning. Then, they looked at each other.

"Remind me never to get that wife of yours angry again." Hao told his brother as he continued to rub his sore head.

"Remind me never to agree with any one of your schemes again," Yoh shot back, rubbing his sore head as well. "Here, take your boots back, they're kind of hot on the feet." He said as he took off Hao's shiny dark brown boots from his feet and tossed them at his brother.

"I like them," Hao declared as he pulled on his boots. "Hmm..." he frowned thoughtfully as he surveyed everyone who was watching Manta and Opacho's chess game critically. "Hey you guys," he called out loudly, "Are you particularly satisfied with just watching that chess match over there? I mean," he paused dramatically as he got everyone's attention, "don't you all want to participate in some kind of game yourselves?"

Ren glared at him. "What kind of game?"

"Yeah. What kind?" Lyserg wanted to know.

Hao smiled sweetly at the two of them. "Your favorite game, Ren-kun. Poker," he announced cheerfully, producing a deck of cards from his pocket with a flourish.

Horo-horo looked at him incredulously. "What the HELL is your obsession with POKER?"

"Ah. Funny you should ask," Hao sat down on one of the chairs on the other side of the dining table and rested his chin on his folded hands. "I happen to be one of the major shareholders of one of the most popular casinos here in Japan. I won't tell you which one it is, though." He smiled brightly. "Anyway, I thought to myself: since I am part owner of -that- place, I ought to know how one of the famous casino games are played." He looked around them. "So...who wants to join?"

"What's in it for us?" Pilica piped up, earning her a warning look from her brother.

Hao smiled at Pilica. "Well," he said thoughtfully. "I haven't thought about that." He paused. "What do you all say we..."

"No gambling at MY Inn." Anna said firmly. "I don't care what you all want to play, just make SURE there's no MONEY or PROPERTY involved in it, is that CLEAR?" She gave Hao a meaningful look.

He sighed. "Very well," he agreed. "The punishment for the losers in this game is..." There has to be something around here that we can use...ah, there. "A goblet of wine." He finished. "The person who manages to get the lowest rank of card combination is going to have to drink one full goblet of wine." He flashed everyone a questioning look. "Are we agreed on that?"

"...Yeah. Alright." Ren nodded. "There's no point in watching Manta's chess match this early on, anyway, since nothing's happening." He walked towards the other side of the room and sat down on the chair to the right of Hao.

"I guess I'll join in," Lyserg decided. He turned to Jeanne. "What about you?"

Jeanne shrugged, smiling hesitantly. "...I've never played Poker before. Marco never allows me to play card games, but maybe this time around I could..." She told him. The two of them sat down beside Ren.

"Count me in!" Horo-horo exclaimed as he plopped down on the seat across from Ren.

"Oniichan, I'll play too!" Pilica sat down beside her brother.

Tamao looked around her, then gave a resigned sigh. "Alright, me too." She sat down beside Pilica.

Hao grinned brightly at the six of them, then turned back to the others. "Who else?" He looked round them. "Faust?"

The blonde doctor shook his head. "Too much wine is very bad for the health."

"Chocolove-kun?"

"Nah." The person being addressed shook his head. "I'll just stay here and watch the chess match. I'll probably end up losing, anyway."

"Anna?" Hao winced as his sister-in-law glared at him again and stomped out of the dining hall. "Otouto?" He turned to his brother.

Yoh shook his head, his gaze following his wife's retreating back. "I can't. Sorry." He apologized. "Anna!" He called out as he ran after her.

Hao smiled sympathetically at his brother, before he looked back at his niece and nephews. "I'd let you kids join in, but your mother would probably kill me."

"That's ok, Uncle Hao." Keiko said, smiling cheerfully.

"Yeah." Yohnta agreed.

"We'll just watch Uncle Manta's chess game." Yohmaru added, grinning brightly at his uncle.

"Alright." Hao said with a nod, then turned to the six with him. "Where's Ryu-san and Jun-san?" He wondered aloud.

Ren grunted. "Somewhere around here. Ryu and Neesan have been chasing each other all over the Onsen ever since dinner ended." He muttered, glaring darkly at the table.

"Ah." Hao said with understanding. "Good for them." He remarked as he shuffled the cards expertly. "Now then...let's begin."


*~*~*~*~*~*


"So...all I need to do is make sure that my hand has at least a pair...is that right?" Jeanne whispered to Lyserg as she examined her hand of cards thoughtfully.

The Englishman shook his head, not taking his eyes off his own hand. "It's really not that simple," he whispered back. "The easiest you need to get is a pair, that much is true...I mean, it's not the lowest rank in poker, at least," he paused. "But considering who we're playing against, I'd have to say you might need to get...something more than just one pair. Something like..."

"...What's this?" Hao looked up from his hand and raised an eyebrow at the two of them. "Is that...whispering I hear? Really now, you two should reserve that kind of thing for the bedroom," he remarked, shaking his head and returning his gaze to his hand of cards.

Flushing slightly, Lyserg glanced up briefly to glare at Hao, then looked back at his hand. "I was just explaining the rules of poker to her," he muttered.

"Are you saying that convent girl here...doesn't KNOW how to play poker?!?" The long-haired Englishman said with surprise. "Don't the French -or- the English know any card games at all?"

"OF COURSE WE DO!" Lyserg and Jeanne snapped in unison.

"I KNOW how to play poker. I'm VERY good at poker," The green-haired Englishman growled.

"As for me, I just don't make it my habit to learn about card games, that's all," Jeanne added matter-of-factly. "There are much more important things that I prefer to do."

"Ah," Hao nodded agreeably. "Like going on coffee dates with Mr. Detective here, I presume?"

Jeanne blushed quite profusely at this, but she managed to glare at Hao. "Going on dates is NOT my primary priority." She retorted.

"But you're not denying it."

"No, I'm not. Is there a problem with that?" She asked pointedly.

"Iie, of course not," Hao replied, smiling sweetly at the maiden.

"Good." With a final glare at the long-haired shaman, Jeanne went back to examining her cards. "Ne...Lyserg, what's the highest possible combination that can come up on my hand?" She whispered.

"Royal straight flush," Lyserg whispered back. "You know, five consecutive cards from ten to ace of the same suit. That doesn't happen very often, though..." he paused, gazing thoughtfully at Ren, Horo-horo, Pilica, and Tamao. "...at least, it doesn't, with normal people...but Ren-kun almost always gets that hand every single time we play. He's the expert at this game," he added.

"Really?" Jeanne looked up from her hand to glance briefly at the Chinese shaman, then returned her gaze back to her cards. "Umm...what if you don't have any pairs...or the same kinds of cards...or the same suit of cards? What if they're all really...different?"

"High card," Ren spoke up from beside Lyserg, without looking up from his hand. "Mixed suits with no pair or the same kind," he explained. "It's the lowest rank you can possibly get." He frowned at his hand.

Jeanne groaned slightly, then gave a resigned sigh.

Lyserg looked up from his hand and gazed at her with concern. "What's wrong?"

The young woman shook her head and gave him a reassuring smile. "It's nothing, really. But I do believe..." she paused as she lay down her cards, face up, at the center of the table, before continuing, "...that this counts as a high card." She looked briefly from Tamao to Pilica to Horo-horo to Hao, and then Ren, and finally, Lyserg. "Doesn't it?"

"Hmm..." Hao slapped his hand of cards--a flush--down on the table and examined Jeanne's hand thoughtfully. "...Why yes, that's a high card, alright," he paused, smiling brightly. "...And the lowest possible high card combination, at that. It looks like you're the lucky first victim for tonight. Everyone else, show your hands, please." He stood up, took a newly-opened bottle of wine from a nearby small table, and poured a hefty amount in one of the goblets. He walked back towards his seat and handed the goblet to Jeanne with a flourish. "Drink up, convent girl."

She snatched the wine glass from his hand with a glare. "I am NOT a convent girl. I am a MISSIONARY. Recognize the difference." She said icily.

"Right, right." Hao waved his hand casually, the grin on his face widening as Jeanne gulped the whole glass straight up without missing a beat. "...Wow. You certainly know how to drink wine. Very impressive." He remarked. Then, turning back to the others, he asked, "So...who's the lucky winner?" He paused. "Or do I even need to ask?"

"Royal straight flush. Ren-kun," Lyserg answered, inclining his head at the hand of cards in front of Ren. "How the hell do you do it? How do you manage to always get so lucky?" He wondered, shaking his head disbelievingly at the Chinese shaman.

Ren shrugged. "I don't really know. I guess I'm just lucky when it comes to card games. Always have been." He muttered.

"Well, second round's gonna be mine, remember that," Horo-horo said, with a meaningful look at Ren.

Ren snorted. "Good luck," He said sarcastically. He frowned deeply at the cards in front of him, stole a glance at Pilica beside Horo-horo, and sighed helplessly. He smacked his fist lightly at his forehead.

Hao, who had seen what Ren had done, smiled mock-sympathetically at him. "No need to be cruel to yourself, Ren-kun. It's not really your fault that you're lucky in games of chance and yet -totally- hopeless when it comes to other things," he patted the Chinese shaman's shoulder. "It's just the way the world works, ne?"

Ren fumed silently and resisted the urge to punch the long-haired shaman. The sad truth about all this is that...he's right. He's freaking right. Dammit.

"All you really need is some GUTS, you know," Hao continued, shaking his finger in front of Ren. "However, it seems like you haven't got any, and you have no idea where to get one." He sighed forlornly. "Ah, well...I guess that's just the way it has to be..."

"GODDAMMIT!" Ren stood up and slapped his hand forcefully against the table, sending all the cards flying. He leaned towards Hao, utter fury written on his whole face. "I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU AND YOUR INSULTS. I'VE HAD IT WITH THIS GAME. I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU!" He snarled. Then, with one last glare at the long-haired shaman, he slid out of his chair and stomped out of the dining hall...but he stopped by Manta and Opacho's chess match briefly to pick up little Ren-chan, who was watching the game along with his siblings.

"REN-KUN!" Pilica gazed with concern at Ren's retreating back, before turning her head and glaring at Hao. "Hao-san, what WERE you THINKING?" She demanded.

"I didn't do ANYTHING!" Hao protested. "I was merely stating facts. How was I supposed to know he was gonna get angry?"

"He's been edgy for a while now, and you KNOW that," the Ainu woman pointed out, her dark blue eyes flashing, "and just this afternoon while we we were having cake, he came in and he...never mind!" She shook her head and sighed with impatience. Glaring at Hao, she got up from her chair swiftly and started out towards the direction Ren disappeared to.

"Pilica, what are you DOING? Where are you GOING?" Horo-horo yelled demandingly, frowning at his sister.

"I'm going after Ren-kun!" She called out over her shoulder. "You guys go on with the game without me, Oniichan! I'll be right back!" And with that, Pilica was gone.

"...Well," Hao said cheerfully after a couple of minutes, "...Losing two of our participants is highly disappointing, but as they say, the show must go on," he turned to his four remaining companions as he reshuffled the cards, "so...shall we continue?"

Horo-horo glared at Hao. "This is all your FAULT."

"It's a game of chance," Hao threw back at him. "If you're so set on blaming someone, please blame chance and not me. Ne?" He added sweetly.

"Horo-horo-kun...let's just go on with the game. I'm sure they'll be back soon." Lyserg assured. Without Ren-kun around, I'll probably be able to win a couple of games...

Horo-horo glared at Hao one last time. "...Alright." He relented.


*~*~*~*~*~*


Ren sighed deeply as he looked around at the place where his feet had managed to take him right after he stomped out of the dining hall.

The courtyard. This is the courtyard. Setting Ren-chan on the grass, he slumped down wearily across one of the benches and looked up at the night sky.

Dark blue. The sky is dark blue at night...like Pilica's eyes. And light blue, or azure in the morning...

...like her hair.

He gave another long sigh. No matter where I am, everything just reminds me of her. Everything. The sky...the flowering plants...he brought his gaze down to the azure lilies that decorated the whole courtyard, along with several other types and colors of flowers. Everything reminds me of her...and reminds me of how stupid -and- incredibly cowardly I've been these past couple of days...

More correctly, how incredibly cowardly I've been for the past six years.

SIX YEARS...six LONG years, and I still haven't told her how I feel about her...

"Ren-jichan...?" The Chinese shaman looked down as his little nephew spoke. The little boy was looking up at him questioningly.

Smiling faintly, he picked up Ren-chan and sat the little boy down beside him on the bench. "You know...sometimes I wish I was your age again," he said with a wistful sigh. "That way, I wouldn't be having these kinds of problems..."

Ren-chan nodded at him, almost as if he actually understood...maybe he did. "I'm an idiot," Ren confessed to his nephew. "I'm an idiot, and I'm a coward."

The little boy continued to look up at him, as if urging him to go on. "When I first met her, I didn't think anything of her at all. I mean..." he paused, "back then, she was just...Horo-horo's little sister to me. No one I needed to bother about. Not someone worth knowing. She wasn't a shaman, and at that time, I was only concerned with the shamans I had to fight..." he patted Ren-chan's head. "I was mainly concerned about your father, and about your Uncle Hao," he frowned slightly. "...nothing else really mattered to me at that time...except probably for my sister, your Aunt Jun, but other than her...it was just me.

"I was selfish," he admitted. "Friendships aside, I only really pretty much cared about myself...and about getting stronger and becoming the Shaman King. But since your father," he pinched the little boy's cheek playfully, "has already taken that throne, I guess I'll just have to settle for second best. Or third, if your Uncle Hao has anything to say about it," he added after a thought. Sighing, he continued. "...that uncle of yours. You'll have to forgive me for saying this...but I hate him." He declared with a dark frown. "I hate him, and I hate the way he does things. And as of right now, what I hate the most about him is the fact that he KNOWS how I feel, he KNOWS I'm having a hard time confessing my feelings, and he's RUBBING it in my FACE, like he did just a while ago." He shook his head. "I'm really sorry I dragged you into this, Ren-chan. But the truth is...you're the only one I know who will listen to me...as in really listen." He rubbed his head wearily. "Ahh, what am I doing talking to a one-year-old kid?" He muttered under his breath.

"Ren-jichan!" The little boy climbed up on Ren's lap, folded his pudgy arms across his little chest, and continued to look up at his uncle expectantly.

Ren smiled, hugging his little nephew close. "Sorry. I know you understand me even just a little bit." He paused to breathe in deeply. "Anyway, I don't know when exactly the transition happened...I really don't," he sighed. "All I remember is that...I had a realization. It was like...the day before, she was just a stranger to me, nobody important. But when I woke up the next morning, she suddenly became someone so...so...precious to me. All of a sudden, she was one of the most important people in my life. I think I might have...I don't know." He shook his head helplessly. "...I might have had an epiphany of some sort. It was as if...how do I put this..." he scratched his chin thoughtfully. "...it's like I can't imagine a time in my life when she wasn't there. It's like...she's always been a part of my life. It's so weird." He chuckled a bit as the little boy wrapped his small arms around him.

"She's always been a part of me, and I never even knew. I was never even aware of it...at least, until six years ago." He laughed. "Isn't that funny? The first time I actually thought I fell in love was when I was seventeen. My first love...and she was sixteen then. It's like some kind of a movie.

"And back then, I never even thought it was -really- love, did I? I was thinking at that time that it might be just some sort of infatuation...that maybe she was just too beautiful in that bridesmaid's dress...and it was just my hormones overreacting. I mean, I was holding her thigh, for crying out loud!" Flushing slightly, Ren continued. "But time passed by, and I still couldn't get her out of my head...that's when I started to ask myself: does infatuation really last -that- long...? It doesn't...right?

"If I had been merely infatuated with her, then I could have forgotten her over the years or gotten tired of her presence...but the thing is, the more I saw of her, the more I knew of her, the more my feelings intensified." He gave a resigned sigh, gazing back up at the sky. "Listen to me, rambling on and on about love like a sick teenager. When you grow up, don't be like me, alright?" He told Ren-chan firmly. "Don't waste your time trying to figure out if you love someone. If you think you have feelings for her, say it immediately. Don't follow my example. And don't lose your courage," he added.

"Or better yet..." He said after some thought, "...don't fall in love at all. It'll break your mind, believe me. Just take a look at me--one minute, my life and my world was all straight and planned and organized, but the next minute, everything's been turned upside down--all because I fell in love." He frowned. "But if it's really...inevitable...that is, when you grow up...and you -do- manage to find someone and fall in love with her...I just hope you won't end up like me. You see, Uncle Ren is such a big coward. He's loved Aunt Pilica for six years...yet it's taking him such a long time to admit it to her. He'd much rather prefer to shout at her, make a fool of himself in front of her, or just...quietly gaze at her from a distance..." He closed his eyes and leaned against the bench rest, while heaving a final, resigned sigh.

"...Ren-kun?"

Ren's eyes snapped open upon hearing the familiar voice. With Ren-chan in his arms, he stood up, whipped his head about...and he almost died.

Pilica.

She was standing there, in the courtyard, with her hands clasped behind her, dark blue eyes looking up at him with concern. Her long, azure dress reached down to her toes, but he could see her feet peeking out from beneath the hem. She was wearing light-blue slippers. She shivered slightly as the cool night air blew, making her hair flutter about. She sighed and tossed her hair back with a small flick of her hand. She had a silvery bracelet on her wrist. She was wearing a silvery necklace, too. And a pair of earrings to match...

And he was staring at her. Yes, he was definitely staring at her. And he couldn't help himself. "How long have you been here?" He managed to ask, not taking his eyes off her.

Pilica's cheeks flushed slightly...more from the fact that he was staring at her than at his question. "Not that long," she said softly as she took a deep breath and walked towards him. It wouldn't make much sense if I told him that I heard everything he was saying to Ren-chan...it might only serve to dishearten him more...and I don't want to do that to him...

And besides...I need to hear him say it right in front of me, not in front of Ren-chan. I want him to tell me. I want him to tell me...so that I can tell him how I feel, as well..."Why did you run off like that?" She asked as she leaned against the bench Ren was sitting on earlier.

Ren shook his head. "Hao was getting on my nerves." He said simply. He continued to look at her, from head to toe, his gaze lingering quite particularly at her face. He stopped short and frowned thoughtfully at her necklace. Where have I seen that necklace before...?

"Ren-kun?" Pilica gazed self-consciously down at her dress, at her hands and shoulders, and briefly touched her hand at her neck. "Is there something wrong? You're frowning at my neck," she added.

"Where did you get that necklace?" Was the reply.

The Ainu woman gave him a look. "You gave it to me," she said with surprise in her voice. "It was a whole set, with a bracelet and a pair of earrings and an anklet," she added, raising her right foot up and showing him the silver anklet. "You gave it to me for my birthday last year. Don't you remember?"

"I do now," Ren answered, walking towards Pilica and leaning in to take a look. "Yeah, I remember." He nodded thoughtfully. "I was helping Neesan shop for clothes when she saw those...and she said they would probably look really good on you...and when I saw them, I just knew that I had to get them. I had to get them for you..." his voice trailed off. He turned his head away, blushing.

"You always give me something every single time we see each other," Pilica remarked softly as she took his chin in her hands and turned his head back towards her so she can look into his eyes. "You know you don't have to give me anything....yet you still do."

He looked back at her, not anymore caring about embarrassment or other trivial things. "I WANT to give you things," He insisted. "So that at least...even if we don't get to talk often, you'll always know...you'll always remember that I...that I'm here, and I care about you."

Pilica nodded. "Thank you. Thank you for everything you've given me." But I don't really need material things, Ren-kun. Just...just you. You're the only one I need. Seeing you every single time...catching even just a glimpse of you, or your smile...that's more than enough for me...

Ren smiled. "You're welcome. And thank you. I'll never give you material things again," he vowed, smiling brightly.

She practically melted as he continued to smile at her...and felt her cheeks getting hot upon being aware of his last statement. I just said it out loud...that's...that's why he's smiling at me like that...

"At least," Ren continued as he dug something out of his pants pocket, "after this, I'll never give you materials things again," he produced a mushed and semi-dried-up single azure lily from his pocket and handed it to the Ainu woman. "While I was sitting in the garden yesterday, I saw this...and it reminded me of you."

Pilica took the lily from his hands and held it up against her cheek, smiling slightly. "This lily..." She shook her head and laughed softly.

"What's so funny?" Ren wondered, frowning.

"I'm not laughing at you, Ren-kun," She told him quickly. "I just remembered where this lily came from. If you got it at the garden near the dining hall window, then...this came from the set that Oniichan planted." She gave him a smile. "For a while there, I had a brief memory of you and my brother fighting over nothing back at Patch Village, eleven years ago," she shook her head. "Even back then, you and Oniichan were the same. Fighting's just become more of a routine for you two, am I right?" She asked. "Ren-kun?"

Ren was staring at the azure lily in Pilica's hand with a look of disbelief on his face. Horo-horo planted this thing...? The flower that reminded me of his sister was actually planted by HIM?

Did I just give her something that actually came from her family? From...HER?

No.Way.

How can you confess to her like this? How can you confess to her when, in your mind, the memory of the fact that you've just given her something that already belongs to her is bothering you?

...Dammit. "Will you...excuse me for a moment?" He asked Pilica, holding out Ren-chan for her to carry. "I need to do something."

"Sure." Pilica stared at him curiously, but she nodded and took the little boy from him. Her gaze followed Ren as he walked slowly towards the back of the door leading to the dining hall, out of her view. "Ren-kun? What are you doing there?" With Ren-chan in her arms, she went to where the Chinese shaman was...and gasped when she saw what he was doing.

...Ren was currently rapping his head against the wall. "Ren-kun!" She placed Ren-chan down on the grassy earth and, turning back to Ren, she pushed him aside so that she was between him and the wall, thereby stopping the dark blue-haired shaman from what he was doing. "Why are you hitting your head against the wall?" She demanded, her hands on her hips as she looked up at him incredulously.

"Because I'm stupid." He muttered in reply.

Pilica rolled her eyes heavenward, and with a sigh, she cradled his head in her hands, rubbing the spot on his forehead which was sore from being hit against the wall. "You're NOT stupid," she emphasized. "Or at least, you weren't...not until you did that."

Ren bowed his head and averted his eyes. "I'm stupid." He repeated.

The Ainu woman exhaled. "You're NOT--"

"I just gave you something that was already technically yours," Ren continued as if he hadn't heard her, "that azure lily. It reminded me of you, and I never realized it was one of those plants that came from you and Horo-horo and I--" He stopped abruptly as she placed a finger against his lips.

"Shut up," She whispered. "NONE of that matters to me. The fact that you thought of me when you saw that flower, -that's- what matters." She raised his head up and looked squarely into his eyes...those beautiful, penetrating golden orbs. "Alright?"

He nodded, an odd expression crossing over his face as he gazed back at her. "You're beautiful." He breathed out.

She could feel the warmth flooding her cheeks again. "Thank you. I think you might have hit your head a little too hard," she added jokingly, trying to lighten the mood...but he continued to stare at her, much like he did before...only this time, his gazes were hotter, more intense. She could feel her heart pounding frantically in her chest.

He shook his head, leaning even closer to her as one of his hands reached up to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "I didn't hit my head that hard...this has nothing to do with that," he murmured softly as he continued to caress her hair, "...it has more to do with you, and with me...and my feelings for you." He drew in a breath. "Pilica, I...I love you. I have for a long time. I've loved you ever since I was seventeen. I've loved you ever since that time at the wedding. I've loved you for six years...or maybe even more. Maybe I've loved you before we even met. Maybe I've loved you before I even knew how to love, I don't know. I just know that I do." He held his breath as he awaited Pilica's reaction.

Her smile conveyed a thousand volumes, yet only carried one message...one message that she sent straight to his heart. "I know."

"You do?" Ren gazed at her with surprise.

She nodded. "I overheard you telling Ren-chan just a little while ago." When she heard him groan, she added quickly, "You don't have anything to be ashamed of. Ren-chan understands a lot more than we give him credit for."

"It's not that," Ren said in a muffled voice as he buried his head against Pilica's neck. "It's just that I was saying some pretty weird things..."

"You were saying that you love me," She countered as she took his face in her hands and stroked his dark blue hair, pointy thing and all. "If you think that's weird," she began, "...then is my telling you that I love you too also weird? Because I do, you know." She said in a rush, her cheeks going from light pink to bright red.

Ren straightened up and stared at her, his eyes wide. "You do?" He said for the second time that night.

"Uh-huh." She smiled brightly.

"Pilica-bachan!" Little Ren-chan wrapped his small arms around the Ainu woman's legs and looked up at her with a sweet smile.

Ren smiled down at the little boy. "He just learned to say your name. Smart kid," He bent down and patted his little nephew's head, before straightening up and returning his gaze to Pilica, a questioning look in his eyes. "Why do you love me?"

Pilica smiled fondly at Ren-chan, then, she turned back to Ren and gave him a look. "Do I need to have a reason for loving you? I just do." She paused as she reached forward and smoothed out the stray hairs at his forehead. "I don't know much about this...I don't even understand it a whole lot, but...maybe it isn't really something that's meant to be understood. I love you. I don't know why...I just do." She turned to him. "WHY do YOU love ME?"

"Well..." Ren frowned thoughtfully. "I don't really know. Like I told Ren-chan, I just realized it one day...that I love you. I never understood why. I just...knew. I knew that I could never imagine my life without you in it. It's like you've always been there." He laughed softly and shook his head. "I told you it was weird." He sighed as he fondly ran his hands all over her hair. Then, his hands moved slowly downwards to stroke the nape of her neck. Now that he had told her everything, and now that -he- knew what she felt as well, he felt like he could do anything. Anything at all...

...Like maybe even kiss her. "Yeah, I heard you saying that," she murmured, closing her eyes and sighing as she savored his touch. You don't know how long I've waited for this...you just...don't...know...

"I guess...maybe you're right..." He whispered as he leaned closer..."we don't need to understand..." Gathering up the last remaining bit of his courage, he moved even closer...leaned his hands against the wall...and then, finally, lowered his mouth to hers in a sweet, gentle kiss.

"Uh-huh. We don't," Pilica said, nodding with agreement as she slid her arms around his neck and received his kiss, her whole being melting blissfully against him.

Below them, Ren-chan wrapped his arms happily around both his Uncle Ren's and Aunt Pilica's legs, gazing up at the both of them with adoration as they continued to kiss each other.


*~*~*~*~*~*


"Wow...you overwhelm me with the way you hold down your alcohol, convent girl. I'm very impressed," Hao remarked as Jeanne downed her third goblet of wine. They were in the third round of the poker game, and Jeanne had been losing for three consecutive times already.

The young woman slammed the goblet down on the table forcefully, glaring at the long-haired shaman. "This is just -not- my day," she muttered, shaking her head to clear off the after-effect of the wine on her head. She could feel the warmth crawling all over her face, which had nothing to do with embarrassment and everything to do with the wine.

Lyserg gazed at the young woman beside him with concern, before shooting Hao a meaningful look. "Could you give her a break? She's new to this game." He paused. He then turned back to Jeanne. "Maybe it would be better if you stopped playing for a while..."

"No!" Jeanne shook her head quickly. "I can do this. I'll be fine," she assured him. She went back to Hao and flashed him a challenging look.

Hao sat back and gazed at her with surprise. "Are you asking for another round?"

"Hai." The young woman nodded her head without flinching.

The Englishman groaned mentally as he looked up into the ceiling. He had never dealt with a semi-drunk Iron Maiden Jeanne before. A delirious Iron Maiden, yes, but a semi-drunk one...it was probably the first time this has happened, anyway. He wondered what Marco would say if he finds out...

Lyserg sat up in alarm. Marco-san. What the bloody hell am I supposed to say to him if he finds out that I've allowed Jeanne to become semi-drunk?

...He'd kill me.

He would -definitely- kill me.

I definitely can't allow this to happen, he thought to himself. Glancing at Jeanne again, he gave another mental groan...But the thing is, it already has...damn.

I have to do something to prevent further damage...He looked around him, searching for options...Hao, the bastard...Horo-horo-kun...nope, I don't think I can ask help from him...Tamao-san...he paused as he looked at Tamao thoughtfully. Quija board...palmistry...fortune telling...tarot cards...got it. "Tamao-san," he said brightly, smiling at the pink-haired fortune teller, "...I almost forgot...weren't you supposed to update Jeanne on the current status of her fortune TONIGHT?" He added with meaningful emphasis, giving the woman a pleading look and motioning with his eyes to Jeanne beside him.

Tamao looked confused for a moment, but upon seeing the silvery-blue haired young woman's current state, she nodded quickly. "...Hai! Jeanne-san," She stood and walked faster than lightning towards the maiden, "you'll have to come with me. I need you to ask me some questions so I can update your fortune for you. It...might help to explain a couple of things about your life!" She said, pulling on Jeanne's hand and helping her stand up.

"Huh? My fortune...?" Jeanne stared blankly at Tamao as she allowed the woman to pull her along towards the Tea Room.

"Yes!" Lyserg said loudly, standing up as well and leading Jeanne out by the shoulder. "You were telling me about it earlier this afternoon, remember?"

"I was...?" Jeanne looked up questioningly at the green-haired Englishman. She never noticed he was actually quite tall...he had the most beautiful eyes, too...the most beautiful green eyes...

"You WERE," Lyserg insisted, fighting the urge to look away from her...bloody hell, a man could drown in her eyes and never wish to be saved..."I'll come with you. We can go back to the poker game later. Horo-horo-kun, you and that bastard go play without us for a while. This won't take long!" He called out to the Ainu man.

"WHAT?" Horo-horo stood up and gazed incredulously at Lyserg, Jeanne, and Tamao's retreating forms. He glared down at the long-haired shaman. "Why ME?"

Hao smiled cheerfully. "Sit down, Horo-horo-kun. Let's continue our game. Although there are only two of us now, it doesn't matter. It will still be fun." He declared as he reshuffled the cards. Out of the corner of one eye, he glanced at Lyserg and Jeanne briefly, patting himself mentally on the back. It's not over yet.

...Not by a long shot.


*~*~*~*~*~*


"Your unexpected bad luck is caused by the Wheel of Fortune," Tamao explained as she turned the card face-front. "It was reversed for you ever since two days ago...but this is my reading for tonight." She frowned thoughtfully at the right-side-up Wheel of Fortune card. "It appears that your luck is about to change," she told Jeanne.

The young woman nodded vigorously. "That's a relief," she gazed at Lyserg, then turned back questioningly at Tamao. "What about the poker game?"

"Caution against gambling is symbolized by the reversed Wheel of Fortune. It...might be alright for you to play again sometime later tonight," The pink-haired fortune teller replied.

"Good." Jeanne smiled with satisfaction. "...Can you tell me what I am feeling right now? Because I'm confused." She added.

Tamao shuffled the tarot cards expertly, then pulled one out of the stack. "The World, reversed." She announced. "This card means that you are...hesitant about something. You feel hesitant about something. You're about to make a decision."

"What kind of decision?" Jeanne asked blankly.

Tamao shook her head. "You're the only one who knows that. Think back carefully on what you need to do with your life. You probably have a lot of decisions to make...one of them is more important than the rest. That's the one this card is referring to."

"...And what about my decision? How can I be sure that I'm making the right choice?" Jeanne persisted.

The fortune teller pulled out another card from the stack. "The Lovers card. This means that you should trust your intuition and not your mind." She paused to smile at the maiden. "You should listen to what your heart is saying, because whatever this decision you need to make is, it needs an answer from the heart, not the mind."

Jeanne sighed helplessly as she leaned against Lyserg's shoulder. "I don't get any of this," she muttered against him. Why does being this close to him feel so...natural to me...?

Lyserg smiled sympathetically at her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and smoothing out the hairs at her forehead. "Think it over. Or feel it over. Whatever," he shook his head, smiling faintly at Tamao. "That's what she needs to do, isn't it?" She's drunk. She's leaning against you because she's drunk. Just like that time in Venice...she hugged you because she was delirious. Don't make anything big out of this, Lyserg Diethyl. It's no big deal. No.Big.Deal. She's just drunk, otherwise, she wouldn't do this...she would never do this...

But it doesn't change the fact that she feels so incredibly darn good against me...so...darn...good, aaarghh, bloody hell...what am I doing...?

Tamao nodded. "Just remember, Jeanne-san," she said softly, "no matter what happens, you'll always have the two most important people in your life to help you out." She pulled out two cards from the stack. "The Pope and the Hermit symbolizes one of them, and the other person is symbolized by--" she pulled out two more cards, "--the Strength card and the Star," she finished.

Jeanne sat up with a start at that, but she didn't pull away from Lyserg. "Who are they...the most important people in my life, who are they?" She asked.

"I can't tell you," Tamao said with a brief headshake, glancing meaningfully at Lyserg. "...you yourself should know who they are, I've told you that before. It's up to you to figure it all out. These are people in -your- life, after all."

The silvery-haired young woman turned her head towards Lyserg, smiling faintly. He's one of the most important people in my life right now, that much is true...but is he my Pope and my Hermit...or is he...my Strength and my Star...?

The green-haired Englishman smiled back at her. "Think it over before you sleep tonight. I'm sure the answer will come to you in time."

"...Hai," Jeanne nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Tamao-san. You've been wonderful."

Tamao smiled brightly. "Glad I could help."

"OH, CONVENT GIRL..." Hao's voice echoed loudly from the dining hall, reverberating up to the ends of the Tea Room.

Jeanne's head snapped up and she stood up abruptly, taking Lyserg with her, pure irritation written on her whole face. "WHAT THE FREAKING HELL DO YOU WANT, ASAKURA HAO?" She called out in a voice as loud as Hao's.

Hao turned his head and peeked inside the Tea Room. "...There you are!" He said cheerfully. "Are you and Lyserg-kun just going to continue making me wait? I'm very eager to have another game with the two of you." He declared brightly.

Lyserg glared at Hao, and nodding gratefully at Tamao, he pulled on Jeanne's hand and walked towards the long-haired shaman. "We're not interested in playing another round of poker with YOU," he said pointedly. "...right, Jeanne?" He turned to his companion.

She was staring off into space, but upon seeing Lyserg's concerned look, she snapped back into reality. "YES, WE ARE!" She answered loudly.

"WHAT?!?!?" Lyserg gazed at Jeanne incredulously...and he groaned. He forgot about the fortune. It appears that your luck is about to change...he shook his head. He -really- hoped that fortune was accurate...he didn't know what he was going to do if ever Jeanne got totally drunk...he had -no- idea how he was going to deal with it...

"WONDERFUL!" Hao remarked gleefully. "You're accepting my challenge, yes?"

Jeanne plopped down on her seat and gave the long-haired shaman a mockingly sweet smile. "I sure am!" She pulled on Lyserg's hand, and the green-haired shaman had no other choice but to sit down, with a resigned look on his face.

"Are you NOT scared of losing again?" Hao asked the maiden, resting his chin on his hand.

"I WON'T lose," Jeanne said decisively. "Tamao-san told me that my luck is about to change. Prepare to get drunk, Asakura Hao," she told the long-haired shaman in a challenging tone.

Lyserg looked up at the ceiling and prayed.

Hao grinned widely as he shuffled the deck of cards again. "I'm looking forward to this, Iron Maiden Jeanne. Lyserg-kun," he added, giving the Englishman a conspiratorial wink. "Horo-horo-kun, I know you've been DYING to get out of my crutches..." He told the Ainu man meaningfully.

Horo-horo blinked, then he breathed a sigh of relief. "I can go now?" He said in a slightly slurred voice. "Good!" Shaking his head to ward off the after-effects of the four goblets of wine he had managed to ingest, he stumbled out of the dining hall and disappeared.

"Well, then...let's do it." Hao began to distribute the cards to his two companions, smiling at the both of them all the way.

Lyserg sighed with resignation as he accepted his cards. Hopefully, Jeanne would give up on this just before things start to get out of hand...

"Bring it on." The Englishman groaned mentally as the silvery-blue haired maiden flashed Hao a challenging look.


*~*~*~*~*~*


"Nnngghh..." Horo-horo groaned as he swayed backwards, lost his balance and fell back-first on top of a table. Where the -hell- am I...? He wondered half-sleepily as he rolled over onto his stomach and forced his eyes open to gaze at his surroundings.

Something dark pink met his eyes. "Go away," He muttered to the dark pink whatever-it-is. "I don't like pink."

The dark pink something glared at him. "You're on MY table. MOVE," the...thing ordered him.

"Where am I?" He wondered aloud as he tried to clear his vision. He looked away from the dark pink thing and focused his blurry eyes on something else...something cream-colored, sort of yellowish, and round, with something red on top. -This- one looked particularly edible...he reached for it with his hand...

Something forceful and very painful hit him before he even got anywhere near the edible thing. "Ouch," he groaned as he absently rubbed the red spot on his hand, blinking several times and shaking his head.

"You're in the TEA ROOM," A sharp, female voice emphasized...a voice that was quite familiar...

The Ainu man blinked two more times. "Ahh, that's better..." he exclaimed as his vision finally cleared and focused. He looked around him. "Where am I?" He wondered for the second time that night.

Someone sighed exasperatedly nearby. "I SAID, you're in the TEA ROOM," The same sharp female voice earlier said dryly.

Horo-horo turned his head to the source of the voice...and he stood up from the table quickly upon realizing who it was. "YOU!"

Tamao shrugged as she relaxed in her seat. "Me. So what?"

"What are -you- doing here?" He demanded forcefully, wrinkling his nose as his eye caught the pink-haired fortune teller's dress.

She gave him a look. "I should be asking that question, NOT you." She replied coolly.

Horo-horo frowned at her, backtracking briefly on his thoughts...he remembered playing poker with Hao...he remembered losing to the lunatic four consecutive times...he remembered drinking four full goblets of wine...he remembered Lyserg, and Jeanne, and Hao's challenge...Hao telling him he could leave, and him leaving...him stumbling out of the dining hall, and then..."I remember now." He announced.

"Oh, that's good then," Tamao said sarcastically. "Now, would you MIND leaving? I'm a little busy right now."

The Ainu man ignored her and focused his eyes upon the strawberry cheesecake at the cake stand behind her. So...this is the cream-colored yellowish round thing with something red on top that I saw earlier...hmm...cheesecake...he started to reach for the dessert again...

The same forceful and painful thing that had hit him earlier met his hand once again. "OUCH! WHAT THE -HELL- WAS THAT FOR?" He shouted out at the pink-haired fortune teller.

She glared at him as she waved her hand threateningly. "That's ANNA-SAMA'S. You are NOT ALLOWED to touch it," the woman retorted pointedly.

"Why NOT?" Horo-horo demanded.

Tamao rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "Didn't I just say it?" She said with exasperation. "That cheesecake is NOT yours. Do you always make it a point to touch things even if they're NOT yours?" She asked dryly.

"No, I DON'T," The Ainu man said defensively. "Why do you need to reserve this for HER?" He looked around. "...she's not even anywhere in here. And BESIDES, why don't you just go and make ANOTHER ONE?"

"BECAUSE I CAN'T!" Tamao shot back. "We're all out of strawberries, and we're all out of cream cheese. Yoh-sama will buy some more of the stuff tomorrow morning, but as of now, this is the only one left. I don't want to be held responsible if Anna-sama runs amok...because she might."

"Well, THAT'S good news," Horo-horo replied, brushing off Tamao's hand and -still- reaching for the cheesecake.

The pink-haired fortune teller pushed him away forcefully. "I TOLD you, that's NOT yours. Can't you get that through your THICK HEAD?"

"I WANT IT!" The Ainu man shouted stubbornly.

"WELL, I'M NOT GIVING IT TO YOU!" Tamao shouted back. "I'M NOT GIVING SOMETHING I WORKED SO HARD ON TO A DRUNK IDIOT SUCH AS YOURSELF!"

"I'm NOT drunk!"

"Yes YOU ARE!" She insisted. "Just take a look at yourself. You just landed on top of my table a little while ago. You would have fallen unconscious if I hadn't slapped your hand. And besides that, you SMELL like wine!"

Horo-horo glared at Tamao and sniffed himself. "No, I DON'T!"

"YES, YOU DO!"

"EXCUSE ME, COULD THE TWO OF YOU TONE IT DOWN A NOTCH, PLEASE?" Hao called out from the dining room. "We need a little bit of peace and quiet here so that our dearly beloved Jeanne-sama can concentrate."

"MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS, LUNATIC!" The Ainu man yelled loudly.

"I DON'T NEED silence just to be able to CONCENTRATE, Asakura Hao," Came Jeanne's defensive and half-drunk voice.

"Horo-horo-kun...Tamao-san...just please, lower the volume a bit, will you?" Lyserg's voice was pleading. And panicky.

"Yes, alright. Sorry!" Tamao called out to the dining hall. Then, in a lower tone of voice, she turned back to the annoying presence with her. "Go away." She muttered.

"No." Horo-horo shot back, jumping up on top of the table. He sat down and leaned forward expectantly towards the pink-haired fortune teller. "I'm not leaving until you give me a slice of that cheesecake."

Tamao rolled her eyes to the ceiling impatiently. "I already told you, I CAN'T. I made that especially for Anna-sama. It's the only dessert out here that no one else can touch but her. Why don't you just choose something else?"

"Because I want that cheesecake," Horo-horo said matter-of-factly.

The pink-haired young woman exhaled, then, she stood up and slammed her hands down on top of the table. She then leaned forwards until she was practically nose-to-nose with the Ainu man, her rose-pink eyes flashing menacingly. "You.Can't.Have.It!"

"Why..." Horo-horo leaned closer, "...not?" He gazed squarely into her eyes. Yes, that's it...way to go, Horo-horo...you just managed to bring out the evil in this woman...WAY TO GO.

I mean, just look at her eyes...they're like...fiery roses...who -else- has got that color of eyes...but -her-?

Oh, hell. You must be really, really drunk if you're starting to think like this. You're starting to sound as if you like this woman. You're starting to sound as if you're...attracted to HER...

Oh, shit...

"Aaaarggh!" Tamao whipped her head about and groaned out loud, ignoring the weird thumping sounds inside her chest that had begun the moment she became...TOO close...to the Ainu man. This has nothing to do with him. This has nothing to do with him at all. It has to do with the fact that I'm very annoyed -and- very angry right now. I am -so- incredibly annoyed. At him. And so incredibly angry. And irritated. And impatient. And...

Oh, GOD, he's still looking at ME. Please, stop looking at me...

Horo-horo jumped down from the table and walked threateningly towards Tamao. Although she was standing up, she was at the side area of the Tea Room, where the end of the walls meet, meaning, it was highly possible that the Ainu man would be able to corner and trap her, and she would have no means of escape. "Give me the cheesecake," He ordered.

"No." She glared at him as she stepped back, bringing her closer towards the wall. She groaned mentally. This is -not- good. This is NOT good at all...

Oh, GOD, he's got the most amazing blue eyes...wait, what the hell am I thinking?

"Give.Me.The.Cheese.Cake." The Ainu man punctuated each word with a step forward. This is so much fun. So much better than poker. So much better than food, even. And definitely much better than dessert...or cheesecake...GODDAMMIT, she doesn't only have eyes like roses, she smells like roses, too...okay, that's it! I'm drunk. I really am drunk. I am so very very drunk...

"No.I.Will.Not!" Tamao continued to glare at him as she took several cautious step backwards...any minute now, and she was going to hit the wall. She was going to get cornered. She was going to get cornered by him.

Somewhere deep inside her mind, she realized she should have been bothered by that fact. Should have.

But she wasn't. She wasn't bothered at all. Not when he was looking at her like that. His voice was threatening, his movements were threatening, but his eyes...

His eyes...

He was looking at her like he wanted to...like he wanted to...

Oh, God, NO. No.Way.

You need to escape, Tamamura Tamao. You need to do something so you can get out of there. You need to do something, fast. Looking around her, she searched for an option...the cheesecake...no, no, that's for Anna-sama...she looked out the window...trees, flowers, lilies...light blue...woman...Pilica-chan! "Pilica-chan's been gone for a long while now, hasn't she?" She told the Ainu man in a rush.

Horo-horo stopped abruptly, looking at the pink-haired woman as if he had just remembered something that he had forgotten but he shouldn't have forgotten because it was so important. "Yes. She has. And what does that have to do with my cheesecake?" Now that she's mentioned it...where the -hell- is that sister of mine...?

"Nothing!" Tamao said quickly, thinking hard and fast. Pilica-chan...ran off...dark blue...Chinese...Ren-san! "Except that Ren-san's been gone for a while now, too."

The Ainu man continued to look at her through narrowed eyes. "You think I care about that?" Of course I do. Of course I care about that. Pilica's been gone for a while now, and so has Ren, and they're probably together right now doing goodness knows what...but I'd rather not think about that. It's not important. My sister can take care of herself.

There are much more important things on my mind right now, like...like strawberry cheesecake. Strawberry cheesecake with dark red strawberry ripple and lots of strawberries and creamy pink icing and rose-pink eyes and pink hair and creamy skin and ruby red dress and red lips and...

WHAT the HELL?

I'm NOT describing cheesecake anymore, am I? I'm describing HER.

Oh, hell. I really -am- drunk...

"Of course you do!" The pink-haired young woman pointed out, nodding her head and averting her eyes. "She's your sister!" Please stop looking at me like that, I'm NOT a cheesecake...I should have given him even just one slice...now he's looking at me like...like he wants to...eat me.

That analogy should have bothered her. Should have.

And when he started to walk forward towards her again, she should have been alarmed.

And when he moved even closer and leaned both of his hands against the wall on either side of her head, she should have panicked.

But she didn't.

And she could have shouted for help...but she didn't. She couldn't...because the moment she opened her mouth to say something, his mouth came swooping towards hers, silencing her with a kiss.

And she couldn't speak anymore. She couldn't shout. She couldn't even think.

She didn't want to.

She was falling...she was falling, falling fast...

She should have been bothered...but she wasn't.

Nope, she wasn't bothered at all.

Not one bit.


*~*~*~*~*~*


"Ryu-kun...don't you think it would be better if you'd just STOP running?" Tao Jun suggested as she cornered Ryu off to one side of the kitchen. "I know you're pretty tired," she added upon seeing the man gasping for breath.

Ryu paused to look at her briefly, then he averted his eyes. "I can't." He muttered. I don't know what I might do to you if I did...I might...do something that's...way over your values...and my values...

Jun sighed as she leaned across the kitchen counter. "Would you like to know WHY I'm chasing you?" She asked, undoing the ribbon on her hair and tossing her head back, causing the silken dark green mass to fall over her shoulders like waterfall.

Ryu glanced back at her then...and found that he couldn't stop staring. She was just too beautiful..."Yes, please. I'd like to know." He managed to say as he continued staring at her.

The Chinese woman rested her chin on her hand. "Do you remember six years ago...you know, Yoh-kun and Anna-san's wedding?" She paused as she awaited for an answer. When he gave a slight nod, she continued. "Do you remember getting drunk?" She frowned. "Wait, let me rephrase that...do you remember drinking?"

Ryu stared at the green-haired woman, thinking all the while. Remembering. "I think I do," he answered finally. "But...wasn't everyone else drinking, too? I mean, even Yoh-Danna and Anna-Okami were drinking...at least, right before they left without telling anyone..."

Jun waved her finger across his face. "That's where you're wrong," she corrected. "...between the two of them, only Anna-san was drinking, and I do believe she only drank one glass of champagne. As for Yoh-kun...-he- wasn't allowed to drink much because -he- was the designated driver for the two of them." She gave him a meaningful look. "That aside," she continued, "do you remember who you were drinking with?"

Ryu gave her a confused look before he answered. "Ren, Horo-horo...Manta, Lyserg, Chocolove...Faust...Mikihisa-sama...and the Danna's twin brother," he ticked off his fingers thoughtfully. "I still don't understand what this has to do with--"

"Hao-kun," Jun interrupted. "You were drinking with everyone else...and with Hao-kun. If I remember right, every single time there's a celebration in the Asakura family, -he- never fails to get at least one person drunk at the party...and Yoh-kun and Anna-san's wedding is no exception."

Ryu's brain snapped up and began to function again. NOW he remembered. The long-haired twin brother of his Danna had offered him--and everyone else--several bottles of his late boss's company's expensive wine. Although most everyone else had declined, something inside of him...willed him to accept...and he did. And that night, he had managed to dispose of three and a half of the six full bottles of wine that Hao had given him..."I got drunk," he announced.

"Yes. Yes, you did," Jun straightened up as she gazed over at him with surprise. "You finally remembered. Good. Now," she continued, looking back at him expectantly, "...do you remember what you did right after getting drunk?"

The person being addressed frowned at her. "No...not really..." he gave her a curious look. "Why? Did I do anything bad?" He wondered.

Jun's eyes fell and she gave a resigned sigh. "No, no you didn't." She answered sadly. You didn't do anything bad...other than the fact that...you chased me around the reception hall and managed to kiss me...though I don't think I could really consider that as bad, could I? After all...if I really thought that what you did to me then was bad...I wouldn't be chasing you around right now...would I? "Well...I guess it doesn't really matter now. It's irrelevant if you don't remember it." She began to tie her hair back up and prepared to leave the kitchen. This is just...a one-sided thing...I shouldn't have bothered after all...She walked towards the door leading out of the kitchen.

"Jun...san?" Ryu pulled on her hand before she took any further step. "Can't you just please tell me what I did?"

The Chinese woman gazed down at his hand, before she softly pulled away and looked up at him, shaking her head. "...It doesn't matter," she told him with a sad smile. "If you don't remember...then maybe it's for the best. I'll stop chasing you now." And with that, she walked towards the door and disappeared, leaving an incredibly confused Ryu behind.


*~*~*~*~*~*


"Anna, come on..." Yoh told his wife pleadingly as he followed her out of the dining hall towards the hallway lobby. "I really didn't mean it. Please don't be angry anymore..."

Anna stopped abruptly, whipping about to glare at her husband. "I'm sorry, do I know YOU?" She asked coolly.

"OF COURSE you know me," Yoh replied blankly, scratching his head in puzzlement at her question. "I'm your HUSBAND," he emphasized, flashing her a wounded-puppy-dog look.

The blonde woman rolled her eyes to the ceiling, walked towards the reception table and leaned against it with her back facing him, for a good fifteen minutes or so. She was NOT going to allow him to wheedle his way out of this one. Honestly, allowing the twins to engage in a food fight is fine, but posing as Hao...and EVEN worse, letting that lunatic twin brother of his pose...as HIM...that's so way way -way- WAY beyond unforgivable.

Yoh's hand slowly crept on top of her shoulder after a while. She shook him away forcefully. He gave a resigned sigh. "Please, Anna...I swear to God, I'll never ever do something like that again," he vowed. "Ever," he added for good measure, walking around her a little bit so that he could look at her...but she refused to face him. "Pleeaase...?"

"Give me one GOOD reason why I should," was the curt reply.

"Umm..." Yoh scratched his head thoughtfully. "...Because uh...I'm your husband?"

Anna turned her head slightly and raised an eyebrow at him. "ARE you?"

"Of course I--"

"How can I be SURE you're not still HAO posing as my HUSBAND?" She asked steely.

Yoh winced. He paced back and forth across the hallway floor for a long, long while, cursing himself silently over and over again. How can I prove to her that...that I'm YOH and -not- HAO? Do I really need to? I mean, isn't that already obvious...? I have short hair, I'm not wearing earrings, and I -don't- smell like wine or cigarette smoke. I mean, didn't she already say that earlier tonight...?

She did...didn't she?

So...how come she sounds like she wants me to...he stopped abruptly at that thought, his whole body frozen in mid-step as he realized. This is a test, Yoh. She's trying to see if you really -are- you. You're going to have to do something...something that only -you- will think of doing. Something like...He paused as an idea dawned on him. A slow grin spread across his face.

"Anna, please stay here, okay? I'll get you something...just so that I can prove to you that I'M really ME." He flashed his wife a reassuring grin before he walked out of the hallway lobby and headed towards the Tea Room.

"Yoh, wait--" Anna turned her head a bit and tried to catch up with her husband, but he had already disappeared. She sighed. I didn't mean for it to go this far...I didn't mean to worry him like that...I just wanted to find out...up to what lengths he would go to just to gain my forgiveness...I wonder if I might have overdone it a little bit...She paused, gazing curiously at the doorway he had disappeared to. The Tea Room...what's in the Tea Room...? She wondered.

About five minutes later, her husband came back, carrying something in his hand. Anna turned her head away and stared at the wall, trying her best not to look like she was waiting for him.

"I'm back," he greeted, setting down the tray he was holding on the side of the reception table nearest to his wife.

Anna turned her head slightly and looked down at what he had brought...the remaining one whole strawberry cheesecake, a small knife, and a fork. She hid a small smile as he took hold of the knife and sliced her a fairly large piece. Then, he cut a small chunk from the slice with the fork and held it in front of her like some sort of peace offering.

And Anna couldn't help it. She turned around to face him completely, the smile finally breaking out of her face. "So...this is what you got...?"

"Uh-huh," he nodded his head vigorously as he continued to hold out the fork laden with cheesecake in front of her. "I know it's probably not enough for you to forgive me...but I really wish you would," he added hopefully.

This time, the smile on her face evolved into a full grin. She just couldn't help herself. He was just so incredibly handsome whenever he asked for forgiveness...it honestly made her knees a little weak..."Alright then," she said finally. "You're forgiven."

Yoh's eyes widened. "Really?" He started to grin. "Good."

His wife continued to smile at him, amusement and affection...and a whole lot of love evident in her eyes. She then eyed the cheesecake-laden fork he was holding out in front of her with a slight raising of an eyebrow. "Are you going to give that to me, or are you just gonna continue holding it up like that?" She asked, a hint of teasing in her voice.

"Oh, yeah..." he grinned sheepishly. "Here."

Anna closed her eyes and opened her mouth as he gave it to her, savoring the sweetness of the strawberries and the taste of the cream cheese...and the warm, sweet kiss that followed after it. Sighing with pleasure, she slid her arms around his neck and kissed him back as the fork he was holding fell from his hand and he moved forward to lean her back against the table, his arms automatically pulling her close and wrapping around her waist.

Just like every single time they kissed, the world seemed to disappear into nothingness. Time stood still. Only the two of them existed, and they were in an endless, bottomless, blissful oblivion. Nothing else mattered--no one else mattered to them but each other...

No one else mattered to Anna but HIM...the feel of his arms around her, his breath against hers, his steadily rising heartbeat against her own...and the softness and sweetness and warmth of his lips and his mouth and his tongue as he caressed hers lovingly, over and over again...yes, this is definitely my husband...definitely Yoh...because no one else can make me feel like this...no one else, except for him...just him...ONLY him...

Oh, GOD...this is Heaven...I feel like I'm kissing an angel...holding an angel in my arms...if this is a dream...please, let me not wake up...if I'm dead, and if God asks if I want to live again...I'd choose death, if it would mean having this angel...holding this angel...kissing this angel...and loving this angel for eternity...Yoh's eyes were closed as he felt--and savored--every kiss, every single touch...every single breath that she gave, every single heartbeat...every single inch of her that she offered to HIM...and only him...being in her arms was pure Heaven...and he didn't think anything else was more perfect than that...he did -not- want anything else...

"Yoh," Anna spoke as they broke apart after a couple of minutes, both of them breathless and looking incredibly dazed. She still had her arms wrapped around his neck. She didn't want to move away...not when being this close to him felt so incredibly good...

"Yeah...?" Yoh murmured breathlessly as he tangled his hands in her silky hair, his lips still about half a millimeter away from hers.

"You're...Yoh. My husband," She whispered against his mouth, nodding her head with confirmation.

"I am." Yoh agreed. "...And you're Anna, my beautiful, wonderful wife." He added, grinning slightly. Upon spotting the cheesecake, his brows furrowed suddenly, as if he remembered something.

"...Yoh? What's the matter?" Anna asked, touching his furrowed brows with concern.

"Nothing." Yoh's face had contorted into a funny-looking startled expression. "I just...well," he exhaled slowly as he continued, "When I went to the Tea Room...I...THINK I might have seen something I shouldn't have..."

"What?" Anna looked over her husband's face curiously. "What did you see?"

"I saw...um," he coughed, "I saw...Horo-horo. Well, I actually only saw his back, but uhm..." he gave another cough. "...I saw Tamao, too. And she was..." he shook his head as his voice trailed off. "I shouldn't have seen it."

"WHAT did you SEE?" Anna persisted.

"Kissing," Yoh replied quickly. "I saw them kissing. It's nothing...let's just forget about it...it's not our business anyway..."

"Horo-horo?" The blonde woman had a very startled expression on her face. "...And Tamao? Are you SURE?"

"Yeah," Yoh scratched his head as he nodded. "She's the only one with pink hair around here. I'm pretty sure it's her. And I'm pretty sure that it was Horo-horo's back I saw, too..."

"Wow." Anna said with surprise. Horo-horo and Tamao...there were sparks...and there were those arguments they've been having frequently...STILL, I never would have thought they would actually...she shook her head. Strange things usually happen every single time the Asakuras have some sort of a celebration...THIS -definitely- counts as one of those...

"You can say that again." Her husband agreed.

"TOU...CHAN!" Ren-chan's voice, coupled with two sets of footsteps, startled Yoh and Anna. They broke apart from each other as Ren and Pilica, with the Ainu woman holding Ren-chan, entered the hallway lobby.

"Anna-san, Yoh-san," Pilica greeted the two of them brightly. Upon closer observation, it seems that her cheeks were quite flushed, and her hair was tousled quite a bit. "What are you two doing here?"

Yoh smiled at her and inclined his head at the tray on the table. "Eating cheesecake," he answered matter-of-factly, eyeing Ren's somewhat tousled state and cheerful grin curiously. "Where did you guys come from?" He asked, with a meaningful look at Ren.

The Chinese shaman smiled at his friend...SMILED, -not- smirked, Yoh noted. "We were at the courtyard, talking over some things." He paused, patting Ren-chan's head affectionately. "I brought him with us. I hope you don't mind."

Anna shot him a look. "It's not like we can do anything about it now, could we?" She retorted dryly.

Ren winced slightly, but he managed to smile at Anna. "Sorry. Next time, I'll ask for your permission first." He grinned again. "Anyway, we're going up. It's getting late." He looked at Pilica and she nodded, holding out Ren-chan to Yoh and Anna.

"What time is it?" Anna wondered as she took her youngest son from the Ainu woman. The little boy immediately wrapped his arms firmly around his mother's neck, but not before holding out his cheek to receive a goodnight kiss from his Aunt Pilica.

"It's past ten," Pilica replied, inclining her head at the wall clock. "We've had a good time tonight, thanks to you and Yoh-san," She told Anna gratefully.

"Yeah," Ren agreed as he smiled fondly at Pilica, and gave Ren-chan one last loving pat on the head. "It's been another great year." He told Yoh.

Anna frowned thoughtfully at the clock. "It's past TEN? Where are the twins and Keiko? They should be sleeping right now, it's way past their bedtime..." She gave her husband a questioning look.

"I think they're still watching Manta and Opacho's chess tournament," Yoh told her, smiling slightly.

"...Yoh-kun. Anna-san," Jun's voice sounded from the direction of the pathway leading to the kitchen. In a few moments, the Chinese woman appeared. "Pilica-chan. Ren," She exclaimed in surprise upon seeing her brother...she looked back and forth between her brother and Pilica several times, noting the obvious closeness, as the realization occurred to her...and a knowing grin spread across her face. "Should I be congratulating you, my little brother?"

Ren's face colored as he glanced at Pilica, before he turned to his sister with a warning look. "Do whatever you want. Where's Ryu?" He asked, peering behind his sister for the other man.

Jun sighed forlornly. "In the kitchen. I left him there," she added, heaving, this time, a resigned sigh.

Pilica looked up with concern at the older woman. "What happened, Jun-san?"

"Nothing much," The Chinese woman replied with a reassuring smile at the Ainu woman...her future sister-in-law, she noted. "Nothing a good night's sleep can't cure, at least. Speaking of which," She paused, flashing her brother and Pilica a questioning look. "...are you two on your way up? Can I walk with you, or am I going to be the third wheel?" She added, with a teasing grin at her brother.

Ren rolled his eyes, smiling slightly at his sister. "Of course you can come with us, and NO, you're not going to be the third wheel," he answered dryly. It would be wonderful to get to walk with two of the most important women in my life, he thought. Smiling down at Pilica, he held out his arm. "Shall we go?"

"Hai." Pilica smiled up brightly at him as she took his arm. Turning back to Anna and Yoh one last time, she said, "Again, thank you for a wonderful evening, Anna-san, Yoh-san."

"You're welcome," Anna said with a smile.

"Uh-huh." Yoh nodded in agreement.

"Neesan..." Ren held out his other arm to his sister with a meaningful look. "Are you coming with us or not?"

"Of course I am!" Jun exclaimed as she ran towards her brother, and pinched his cheek playfully before taking hold of his arm. "Oyasumi nasai, Anna-san, Yoh-kun, Ren-chan!" She called out to the three Asakuras as she, Ren, and Pilica, trudged up the stairs.

Yoh and Anna smiled as they watched the three go up. Then, Anna turned to Yoh. "We should go check on the children. And we should go and make sure that brother of yours hasn't done any sort of damage this time," she added, frowning darkly as she thought of Hao and of what he might have done.

Yoh smiled at his wife reassuringly. "Don't worry. It will all work out, somehow." He paused. "I mean, just look at Ren."

His wife snorted. "About time he got his act together," She said dryly. "Come on, let's check on the dining hall."

"Sure," Yoh nodded. "But before that..." He inclined his head at the strawberry cheesecake. "You should eat all of that first."

"Are you going to feed it to me?" Anna asked him sweetly.

A chuckle. "Do you even need to ask?"



TSUZUKU.



End notes:

Uh...sorry this is so freaking long...^^;;; I swear, I'll *never* write a multi-character-centric fic ever again...it seriously hurts my head...

Ah, yeah...I was going to prolong Hao and Yoh's scheme of posing as each other...but Anna wouldn't let me.^^;;;

To monique-179..."OOC" means "out of character" and "tsuzuku" is japanese for "to continue," or roughly translated as "to be continued." And in case you were also wondering..."owarimashita" means "finished."^^

Again, yuri maxwell, I owe my life to you for two things here: the Venetian glass-blowing thing, and that casino-thing suggestion...I do hope you'll -never- get tired of researching for me.^^

And yeah, in case anybody noticed (does anyone actually LOOK BACK at those chapters...?), I changed the titles for Chapter 4 and Chapter 5. Ff.net was fooling with my format...and the title for chapter 5 was weird, anyways...^^

Reviews will be very much appreciated.