Yoh watched Anna out of the corner of his eye. She seemed all
right...and yet, there was something different about her.
They'd been married for only a month. The wedding took place a week after Anna's sixteenth birthday. His family was anxious for an heir, and upped the wedding day by several years. Of course, he didn't mind much. He was practically married to Anna, anyway. Placing the ring on her finger only cemented it.
Two weeks ago they had returned from their honeymoon and tried to settle back down. It wasn't too different at home from before, except now they went to a local community college instead of high school, and they shared a room and a bed, instead of Anna sleeping in the room across from his. Her room was vacant now.
Suddenly Anna turned around. "Yoh? What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing's wrong," he said.
Anna pulled a face. "You were giving me that look again, weren't you?" she said.
"What face?" Yoh asked, blinking.
"You know. The one where your eyebrows crinkle up and your eyes squint," Anna said. She stood on tiptoe and kissed his forehead. "There. Is that better?"
"Perfect," he said, bending to kiss her lips. She was only too pleased to agree.
*****
A sharp noise startled him awake. Yoh sat up, rubbing his eyes. The bedroom door was open, letting weak light from the hallway stream in. From across the hall the bathroom door was ajar. He heard the noise again, a harsh retching gasp. Yoh got up and walked to the bathroom. His wife was leaning over the sink.
"Anna?" Yoh pushed the door to the bathroom all the way open. "What's wrong?"
"I think I'm sick," she said in a small voice. "I threw up."
Yoh wrapped his arms around her and scooped her up like a sleepy child. "Are you okay, baby?" he asked, kissing her temple.
She cuddled against his chest. "Hai, now," she whispered.
Yoh carried her into their bedroom and laid her down on the futon, pulling the blankets around her slender body. She looked like a sad little waif, with her big dark eyes and her soft honey colored hair. He brushed his lips against her forehead. "Stay in bed today, Anna," he said. "I'll come home right after classes."
"Mm-hm," she murmured drowsily, her eyes struggling to stay open. Yoh kissed her cheek. She was already asleep.
Anna was fine when he came home, even to the point of taking seconds at dinner. Secretly he was relieved. She had to be feeling better. Maybe it was just a little bug or something that made her sick.
The next day she was able to go to class with him. Pilika and Tamao worried over her to the extreme. "Are you sure you should be here? What if you're really sick?" Pilika fussed.
"Maybe you should have stayed home, Anna-san," Tamao said.
"Don't be so annoying," Anna scowled. "I'm perfectly all right."
"See? She's fine," HoroHoro shrugged. "Now, if she was going around with a smile on her face and calling everyone 'sweetie pie,' now, that's when I'd be running around preparing for the apocalypse."
Anna surprised them all by snapping out, "Do you think I'm that harsh? Am I that mean?" Then she surprised them even more by suddenly bursting into tears. "I'm not evil!" she wailed.
Yoh took her hands. "Hey, calm down, sweetheart," he said. Anna stared at the ground, her chest heaving in an effort to hold back her sobs. "HoroHoro was just teasing. Nobody thinks you're evil. Understand, Anna?" She nodded, still staring at the tiled floor. "Anna, look at me." Anna obeyed, tears on her pale cheeks. Yoh kissed them away. "Don't cry any more, sweetheart," he admonished gently.
His worry level was going sky-high- which, for Yoh, almost never happened. He drifted off in chemistry class, thinking about her. What if she really was sick? What if she had cancer? What if she was going to die of leukemia, like the girl in the movie they saw? Yoh didn't realize he was staring at the ceiling, a look of pure horror on his face.
Suddenly Tamao reached over and patted his knee. "Yoh-san," she whispered. "Wake up."
"What's bothering you?" HoroHoro asked. "I really didn't mean to make Anna cry."
"Sh!" Ren hissed. "We shouldn't be talking in class."
Pilika shrugged. "It's Mr. Bowers. He won't care. Spill, Yoh. What's wrong?" she asked, tugging her chair over towards his.
"Something's wrong with Anna," Yoh confessed. "But I don't know what."
"What class is she in right now?" Tamao asked.
"Lit. I hope she's okay. I just want to get her home," Yoh sighed.
"She'll be fine, Yoh," Ren said. "We only have an hour left."
This wasn't very reassuring.
*****
Yoh waited outside the literature room for Anna. She was one of the last ones to come out, and her face was paler than usual.
"Are you all right?" he asked. "I was worried about you."
"I'm fine," she reassured him. "Nothing's wrong with me at all."
Just then one of Anna's classmates walked past. "Go home and rest, Asakura," she admonished. "We don't want you fainting on us again."
Yoh cupped Anna's face in his hands. "You fainted in class?" he asked. "That's not okay. It's really, really not okay!"
"Yoh, don't worry about me," she said.
"Too late," he said, picking her up. "Come on. I'm taking you home, and then I'm going to call Faust to have him take a look at you."
"Yoh!" she protested. "I'm telling you, there's nothing wrong with me." But Anna didn't seem to mind Yoh carrying her all the way home.
He took her home, tucked her into bed, and then called Faust. Eliza picked up the phone, but promised that her husband would be over as soon as possible. True to her word, Faust appeared less than half an hour later.
"So what is wrong with the child?" Faust asked.
"Well, she threw up yesterday," Yoh began. "She's been a little irrational, and then she fainted in the middle of class today."
Faust looked thoughtful. "Hm...that sounds interesting," he said. "I'll take a look at her."
Anna was sitting up in bed, reading, when Faust came in. She raised one eyebrow. "So my paranoid husband called you?" she said.
"He has good reason," Faust said. "If my Eliza was having problems like you are, I would be concerned as well."
Anna set down her book and folded her hands. "I don't think there's anything wrong with me," she shrugged. "Maybe it's just the flu."
"Maybe. Or it may be something more serious," Faust countered. "Let me examine you, and then we'll decide, all right?"
Anna only shrugged again and let him do an examination. He listened to her heart. It seemed a little erratic to him, beating faster than normal. Faust frowned. "Can I ask you a few questions?" he asked.
"You're the doctor," Anna said.
"When was your last bleeding?" he asked.
Anna's ears turned red. "Last month," she said. "I'm a few days late, but that's normal for me."
"And how is your appetite? Do you think you've been eating more than usual?"
"Well...now that you mention it..." Anna stammered. "I have felt hungrier lately."
"And now, for the most embarrassing question of all," Faust said. "Have you...been with your husband lately?"
Now Anna's entire face was pink. "Y-y-yes," she said. "Why? What do you think is wrong with me?"
Author's Note: Can you guess?! Can you guess?! A.o.G. guessed right away!! **salutes to A.o.G.** I'll update this one soon, I already have the story completed.
They'd been married for only a month. The wedding took place a week after Anna's sixteenth birthday. His family was anxious for an heir, and upped the wedding day by several years. Of course, he didn't mind much. He was practically married to Anna, anyway. Placing the ring on her finger only cemented it.
Two weeks ago they had returned from their honeymoon and tried to settle back down. It wasn't too different at home from before, except now they went to a local community college instead of high school, and they shared a room and a bed, instead of Anna sleeping in the room across from his. Her room was vacant now.
Suddenly Anna turned around. "Yoh? What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing's wrong," he said.
Anna pulled a face. "You were giving me that look again, weren't you?" she said.
"What face?" Yoh asked, blinking.
"You know. The one where your eyebrows crinkle up and your eyes squint," Anna said. She stood on tiptoe and kissed his forehead. "There. Is that better?"
"Perfect," he said, bending to kiss her lips. She was only too pleased to agree.
*****
A sharp noise startled him awake. Yoh sat up, rubbing his eyes. The bedroom door was open, letting weak light from the hallway stream in. From across the hall the bathroom door was ajar. He heard the noise again, a harsh retching gasp. Yoh got up and walked to the bathroom. His wife was leaning over the sink.
"Anna?" Yoh pushed the door to the bathroom all the way open. "What's wrong?"
"I think I'm sick," she said in a small voice. "I threw up."
Yoh wrapped his arms around her and scooped her up like a sleepy child. "Are you okay, baby?" he asked, kissing her temple.
She cuddled against his chest. "Hai, now," she whispered.
Yoh carried her into their bedroom and laid her down on the futon, pulling the blankets around her slender body. She looked like a sad little waif, with her big dark eyes and her soft honey colored hair. He brushed his lips against her forehead. "Stay in bed today, Anna," he said. "I'll come home right after classes."
"Mm-hm," she murmured drowsily, her eyes struggling to stay open. Yoh kissed her cheek. She was already asleep.
Anna was fine when he came home, even to the point of taking seconds at dinner. Secretly he was relieved. She had to be feeling better. Maybe it was just a little bug or something that made her sick.
The next day she was able to go to class with him. Pilika and Tamao worried over her to the extreme. "Are you sure you should be here? What if you're really sick?" Pilika fussed.
"Maybe you should have stayed home, Anna-san," Tamao said.
"Don't be so annoying," Anna scowled. "I'm perfectly all right."
"See? She's fine," HoroHoro shrugged. "Now, if she was going around with a smile on her face and calling everyone 'sweetie pie,' now, that's when I'd be running around preparing for the apocalypse."
Anna surprised them all by snapping out, "Do you think I'm that harsh? Am I that mean?" Then she surprised them even more by suddenly bursting into tears. "I'm not evil!" she wailed.
Yoh took her hands. "Hey, calm down, sweetheart," he said. Anna stared at the ground, her chest heaving in an effort to hold back her sobs. "HoroHoro was just teasing. Nobody thinks you're evil. Understand, Anna?" She nodded, still staring at the tiled floor. "Anna, look at me." Anna obeyed, tears on her pale cheeks. Yoh kissed them away. "Don't cry any more, sweetheart," he admonished gently.
His worry level was going sky-high- which, for Yoh, almost never happened. He drifted off in chemistry class, thinking about her. What if she really was sick? What if she had cancer? What if she was going to die of leukemia, like the girl in the movie they saw? Yoh didn't realize he was staring at the ceiling, a look of pure horror on his face.
Suddenly Tamao reached over and patted his knee. "Yoh-san," she whispered. "Wake up."
"What's bothering you?" HoroHoro asked. "I really didn't mean to make Anna cry."
"Sh!" Ren hissed. "We shouldn't be talking in class."
Pilika shrugged. "It's Mr. Bowers. He won't care. Spill, Yoh. What's wrong?" she asked, tugging her chair over towards his.
"Something's wrong with Anna," Yoh confessed. "But I don't know what."
"What class is she in right now?" Tamao asked.
"Lit. I hope she's okay. I just want to get her home," Yoh sighed.
"She'll be fine, Yoh," Ren said. "We only have an hour left."
This wasn't very reassuring.
*****
Yoh waited outside the literature room for Anna. She was one of the last ones to come out, and her face was paler than usual.
"Are you all right?" he asked. "I was worried about you."
"I'm fine," she reassured him. "Nothing's wrong with me at all."
Just then one of Anna's classmates walked past. "Go home and rest, Asakura," she admonished. "We don't want you fainting on us again."
Yoh cupped Anna's face in his hands. "You fainted in class?" he asked. "That's not okay. It's really, really not okay!"
"Yoh, don't worry about me," she said.
"Too late," he said, picking her up. "Come on. I'm taking you home, and then I'm going to call Faust to have him take a look at you."
"Yoh!" she protested. "I'm telling you, there's nothing wrong with me." But Anna didn't seem to mind Yoh carrying her all the way home.
He took her home, tucked her into bed, and then called Faust. Eliza picked up the phone, but promised that her husband would be over as soon as possible. True to her word, Faust appeared less than half an hour later.
"So what is wrong with the child?" Faust asked.
"Well, she threw up yesterday," Yoh began. "She's been a little irrational, and then she fainted in the middle of class today."
Faust looked thoughtful. "Hm...that sounds interesting," he said. "I'll take a look at her."
Anna was sitting up in bed, reading, when Faust came in. She raised one eyebrow. "So my paranoid husband called you?" she said.
"He has good reason," Faust said. "If my Eliza was having problems like you are, I would be concerned as well."
Anna set down her book and folded her hands. "I don't think there's anything wrong with me," she shrugged. "Maybe it's just the flu."
"Maybe. Or it may be something more serious," Faust countered. "Let me examine you, and then we'll decide, all right?"
Anna only shrugged again and let him do an examination. He listened to her heart. It seemed a little erratic to him, beating faster than normal. Faust frowned. "Can I ask you a few questions?" he asked.
"You're the doctor," Anna said.
"When was your last bleeding?" he asked.
Anna's ears turned red. "Last month," she said. "I'm a few days late, but that's normal for me."
"And how is your appetite? Do you think you've been eating more than usual?"
"Well...now that you mention it..." Anna stammered. "I have felt hungrier lately."
"And now, for the most embarrassing question of all," Faust said. "Have you...been with your husband lately?"
Now Anna's entire face was pink. "Y-y-yes," she said. "Why? What do you think is wrong with me?"
Author's Note: Can you guess?! Can you guess?! A.o.G. guessed right away!! **salutes to A.o.G.** I'll update this one soon, I already have the story completed.