Indiscreet Minds

by Mafaldyna

Chapter 1

"The beginning of the storm"

The day lapsed, slow and cold. The gray clouds covering the firmament in addition to the earsplitting thunders that could be heard gave a somber aspect to the residence and its surroundings. Each one had returned to their occupations since the food had finished.  

"Well, it's very cloudy, isn't it Yoh ? " 

"Yes," His best friend answered looking at the sky. For some reason the drastic atmosphere change made him feel uneasy.  

One year had already passed since the Shaman Fight was over. Anna made him keep training although not as often as before, which was a relief for him.  

Perhaps the sensation was due to his increase of power that made him feel presences or changes in his surroundings more easily. Discarding the impression that he had, he had been resting comfortably under the tree before it began to rain.  

Anna was in her room reading. She had not passed unnoticed the storm that approached promptly. Something was going to happen.  

She lifted her eyes off the book, and directed her gaze toward the window. In a section of the garden were Horo, Pilika and Ren. Apparently Horo and Ren were discussing as always and Pilika was playing referee.  Anna observed even further, and her gaze found Yoh. He seemed relaxed as usual. At the other side of the garden was Manta with his 'small' encyclopedia.   

Suddenly she saw how something pinkish left the house and, loading a tray of sandwiches, went to them. She walked away from the windowsill, not without giving a last look of concern to his fiancé.  

Yoh lifted his eyes up to where his fiancée had been. He gave a sigh and turned to try and wake his friend up. 

PIIIIIIIIIIIII!! Pilika had taken out a hooter of nowhere stunning the other two.  

"Why did you do that woman!!!???" A Super-deformed Horo yelled at his sister. 

"For you to stop arguing with Ren!" Pilika answered unwillingly. 

"Yeah, sure, 'For you to stop arguing with Ren!'" Horo imitated.  

"Argh! Shut up!!" Ren aimed at him with his kwan-dao, looking threatening. 

"What? do you want to fight?" Said Horo Horo adopting a fighting stance.

"Brother!! I told you to leave him alone!!"  

"It will be better for you to leave, girl… if you don't want to be hurt," Ren warned her with his cold voice. Pilika didn't know how to react; after all she was defending it. First she felt sadness and then displeasure. 

"Hey! How ungrateful! I was of your side!!"

"Well, I don't need anybody on my side!  I'm the great Tao Ren!" He said proudly. 

"Wait a moment! Aren't you supposed to be on my side because I am your brother?!"

"Shut up!!" Yelled both Pilika and Ren, leaving Horo dumbstruck and continuing their discussion.

"Who do you think you are to shut my brother up? Only I can do that!"           

"Well look! I've already done it!!" 

"Hey! Nobody has any right to shut ME up!" Horo interrupted. Soon, the whole trio was fighting, everybody on his or her own side. But while Ren and Pilika's yelling increased, Horo detected the scent of something that made him give in.  

"Food!!"  

Tamao Tamamura didn't know what hit her. She only knew that the sandwiches she had made for Yoh were no longer there.  

"The sandwiches! Have they disappeared?"  She looked incredulously at the tray.  

"Sheapp... 'ose 'nds ov shingsh yusht shappen…" Horo commented with his mouth full. 

"Eh??" 

"I said..." he swallowed "... that those kinds of things just happen." 

Tamao looked at him and later to the tray and so forth.  

"You ate up everything!!" She murmured in a sad voice. "And I..."  She was interrupted by.... 

"No, look, it was my fault ... I didn't mean it... I could not avoid it..." The girl kept looking at the ground.  

"It's just that it was delicious and..." when he was saying this, she lifted her head smiled. Horo blushed a little. 

"Then I will make more." After that, she entered the house leaving a confused Horo.

A chill went through the young itako's back. Beginning to feel suffocated for being alone in the room, her mouth resembled sand because of its dryness. She reached toward the dresser to take a sip out of the glass of water that was there, but when she was near to make contact with it; the glass broke in many small shards that extended to the floor and cabinet, leaving a brilliant road on the floor mixed with the red substance in her hand.  

"Bad omen." It was all she could murmur before hurrying to grab her red bandana and to go to the exit.  

The thunders were louder than before. All those that were outside stopped doing whatever they were doing and prepared to enter to their houses. Yoh had already woken Manta up. When he was to enter he bumped into someone.  

"Sorry Anna-chan. ^ ^" 

Yoh saw Anna go past him and make her way out of the house. 

"The storm has already begun, where are you going?" He asked with an imperceptible tone of concern.  

"I'm going out. I won't take too much time. 'I need to get out of here' "

"No, you can't". Yoh answered quickly, getting an icy glare from the young lady, which made him sweatdrop ^ ^U    

"Tell Manta to have the dinner ready before I come back." Saying this, she hurried her pace and left. 

"Nooo! Matte! I'll go with..." He didn't have time to finish the sentence. Anna had already left.  

The hours passed and the rain fell on the whole city. Yoh had told Manta what Anna said. Tamao offered to help him and both prepared the dinner.  

Yoh waited on the porch, watching the entrance. A look of concern showed in his eyes. Anna hadn't yet returned and he didn't have the slightest idea of where she could have gone. If the storm worsened she would not return. It was strange that she went out this way, and more knowing of what she was risking at.  

Something should have happened. He remembered the way she looked at him moments before when she was in the window, and believed that he had not seen it. She had been uneasy, but why? 

"Hasn't she returned?"  

"No." His voice agreed with his eyes. 

"You really worry about her, scamp ^^ " Horo said while giving him a small nudge as if pointing him out. 

" Hehehe…Yeah, I guess so ^ ^  "

"Who would have thought it from laidback Yoh!"  This comment made them both laugh. It was pleasant to have friends like Horo-Horo that always came up with jokes and games. The silence lasted a moment before it was broken again by Horo-Horo. 

"The storm's just beginning. I don't believe it will be over for a few days."

"If this continues this way, she won't be able to return. I'd better go look for her..." He stood up and went up the stairway. 

"Aahh..." Horo exhaled a sigh of resignation. "I will see what Pilika and Ren are doing."       

He went to get his coat, but he decided to stop first in another room. He only opened the door of her room to see the crystals of the glass lying on the floor.  

"It's broken in very small shards…"

He found it strange; when something breaks accidentally, there are always big pieces.  

"Anna..."  

There was not a single person in the streets. A blond girl stood alone in the Shinto temple's courtyard.  

'I feared so'.  

"This rain is not natural." She said out loud after having checked the curse of the water in one of the small ponds in the place.  

"It is raining very hard for you to be in this place, don't you think so?"  

The voice at her back startled her. ' I didn't feel his presence'. 

She turned around and saw a youth of her age looking at her stolidly.  She was aware of his gray eyes; in spite of the smile that his lips showed, his eyes did not share it. On the contrary, they seemed to have no life. She tried to read his mind but she was not able to. ' Where did he came from? ' 

"Are you alive?" 

The question caused the individual to laugh openly, an action that Anna did not like at all. Although it looked somewhat innocent, it didn't cause her to trust him.  

"Shouldn't you treat the wounds in your hands?" As she had been in her ponderings, she had not noticed that he had taken her hand in his. She struggled to free herself, but the young man's hold was strong.  She was ready to hit him when he let her free. She was surprised; her hands didn't have any signs of blood or cut and they felt slighter.  

"Who are you?!!"  Exclaimed Anna in a defensive tone while taking out her rosary.  

"My name is Ikuko. A pleasure, Anna Kyouyama." While saying this, he made a short reverence. 

"If you know who I am you should know that you won't be able to make me nothing."  Still defensive. 'What the hell does this guy want and what did he do to my hands?'  

"They came back to life." He answered, making Anna suspect, and then narrow her eyes in alert. She was going to attack him...  

"Sweet dreams..." He murmured and, in the blink of an eye, he had Anna in his arms.

TBC...

×Author notes: There is the first chapter! How is it? I have no idea if Anna can read the water, I know she can read the thoughts, but the other I invented ^^U

Dedications to Marineneko for to be my beta!

~Kookiez: thanks for tell me, I've already change that (it's just in my country is len).