Chapter One
At the hospital...
Yoh stared at the floor, a very empty expression on his face, 'Why didn't I do something?' he asked himself over and over, but no answer came. Manta sat beside his friend, looking from the last door they had taken Anna through, still unconscious and on a stretcher, to Yoh; a look of concern nearly twisting his face into something almost unrecognizable. He reached out his hand to pat his friends back, but some intuition made him decide that it was best not to. "Lord Yoh?" A voice asked. Yoh nearly jumped out of his skin and he almost labouredly replied, "Yes Amidamaru?" "Do you think Miss Anna will be all right?" he asked. Yoh sat up straight and looked towards the door, and sighed, wishing he could give his friend an answer, that he could give himself one, he remembered how it felt to feel how limp Anna's body was as he held her head in his lap at the store trying to wake her but to no avail. "At least she's still breathing," Yoh replied more to himself than to anyone else. Manta sighed; it wasn't like Yoh to give such a bleak assessment to any situation. Yoh went back into his trance, looking towards a television set but not even seeing a single one of the images on the screen. About a half an hour later a doctor finally emerged from the door where Anna was. Yoh and Manta perked their heads up, Amidamaru did too but of course no one else saw him. "Yoh Asakura?" the doctor asked, looking down on a chart that he held on a clip board in his hand, pushing his glasses further up on the bridge of his nose. "Yes?" Yoh asked, feeling as though his stomach just hit the floor and his heart freeze, 'Please God, let her be okay,' he quietly prayed. "It says on Miss Kyouyama's file that her next of kin live in Izumo but that if anything should happen to her that we're supposed to contact you, may I ask why if you don't mind?" Yoh stood up. "'Happen to her?'" he repeated all the color leaving his face. The doctor looked at him and chuckled lightly, "Not to worry, she'll be fine." "Oh, well, she and I were raised by my grandparents and we both live together in Tokyo now, and they're still in Izumo," Yoh replied, sighing with relief. "Live together?" the doctor asked, raising an eyebrow. Yoh nodded but then realized what the doctor thought he meant his natural color and then some returning to his face, "Oh... no, no, not like that. We live in the old Inn... separate rooms I assure you." The doctor blushed at his error. "I see, I suppose that's a good enough reason to treat you as her next of kin sense that's what her medical file says. You may come and see her if you wish, however your friend will have to wait until she is moved into a regular room, which I think will be tomorrow, late afternoon if not before." Yoh nodded. "Is that okay?" he asked Manta. Manta nodded, "Of course, I need to be going if I can't be of any more use, I have cram school tonight and I'll just prevent you from seeing Anna. Call me when you hear anything more," Manta said as he bowed to the doctor and excused himself. Yoh started to turn to follow the doctor but then asked the doctor to wait on him for a moment. "Sorry Amidamaru but could you go into your tablet and stay with Manta tonight?" Yoh asked. Amidamaru obeyed and Yoh caught up with Manta, "Manta can you keep Amidamaru tonight?" "Yoh, but why?" Manta asked, reaching out and taking the tablet. "Because, I need to make sure Anna is okay and I don't want to be distracted." "Well, okay, as long as he stays in the tablet while I'm at cram school." "Thanks!" Yoh said, hugging Manta quickly then running back to the doctor.
"Ready?" the doctor asked. "Yeah," Yoh replied. "W-what's wrong with her?" Yoh asked, his worry returning. "We're not one-hundred percent sure, but we think she might be anemic, but it didn't affect her much before she got a virus and so she didn't notice any weakness to speak of. The virus is potentially serious but with proper treatment and rest she'll be as good as new in no time." 'That's so like her... ignoring that there's even anything wrong," Yoh thought as he felt his heart and stomach felt as though they moved back into their proper placement in his body. The doctor opened the door of Anna's room and allowed Yoh to walk through before him, and then he turned and shut the door. She looked as though she slept peacefully, the only thing different was that she was in a hospital gown and a monitor that measured her vital signs was hooked up. "When she wakes up, which could be any minute now or it could be a day or two, if her vital signs are okay and the tests come out as we expect them to she'll be able t go home and recover from there. And unless you have any other questions I have some work to do. If you need anything you can go into the lobby and ask the receptionist." Yoh nodded, "I'm fine, thank you," as he sat in the chair that was next to Anna's bed. The doctor smiled and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
"Hey," Yoh said softly to the still sleeping Anna, "You pull through this okay? If you're not around there won't be anyone to yell at me." He reached out instinctually and brushed her hair out of her face with his fingers. She breathed in deeply, but still didn't wake up. Yoh sighed and studied the lines of her face, it seemed like she hadn't changed a bit sense they met in some ways, but in others she was a completely different person. He looked up at the beeping monitor and back at her, "You know I'm always here for you, don't you, Anna?" he asked. Yoh felt tears begin to form in his eyes but he fought them back as best as he could, only allowing one to fall onto Anna's hand, "Come on, you have to wake up. I...I can't live without you. I know the doctor says it isn't serious but I'd like to know one thing that hasn't been serious that has happened to us?" He knew she couldn't answer but it helped to talk to her somehow, at least she was still around to talk to. Then for the first time he realized how different things would've been had his grandmother never taken Anna in. There was so much he took for granted about her, but in the end somehow he knew that she would always be his teacher and his friend, his first friend. Without her he wouldn't have ever been content to be a Shaman, she was the only thing that kept him from being alone. "Maybe that's why Grandma and Grandpa..." he began to muse but then stopped himself and decided to leave well enough alone in his own mind.
He sat there for about ten minutes, just waiting, hoping that Anna would wake up, but after a short while he got fidgety despite himself. He thought for a brief moment about going home but decided against it before he even finished thinking it through, Anna would need someone there when she woke up, he didn't want her being alone, even though if she were she'd claim she didn't care. Even if she didn't he did. He reached down into the bag that he carried from school to the store where Anna had fallen and in turn to the hospital. He got out a manga, looked at it, then looked at her, sighed and put it back away. She'd want him to do his homework so he decided to get started on it. And with that he opened his Math book and began writing.
Several hours later Yoh put the last school book away and as he did the bag fell over, causing a light thudding sound. He jumped a little seeing as it startled him in contrast to the silence of the room. All that could be heard was the steady beeping of the machine and Anna's breathing. He bent down and picked up the bag and steadied it against one of the legs of the cast-iron bed. He heard Anna moan in her sleep and jumped up as quickly as he could, was she really going to wake up? She squirmed lightly and changed her position in the bed, but didn't wake up. "Well at least she's conscious," Yoh mused. 'Oh great, now she can hear me, I've gotta be quiet,' he thought. He crossed his arms and placed them on the edge of the bed, putting his chin on them. He looked up at Anna's face intently for a while, but then began to feel sleepy. 'I need to go to bed...' he thought, looking at the watch on his arm. He thought about getting up but then looked back at Anna, 'But I can't leave her.' And so after some debating with himself he decided to stay. He fought sleep as long as he could, but within fifteen minutes he was sleeping lightly with his head on his arms.
Wow, Four Reviews currently... the most I've ever had in this short an amount of time. Please tell any fellow Shaman King fans about it if you like it... oh, and if you like YuYu Hakusho read my best friend's fanfics... (I have some; they just aren't too good...) Her pen name is AmaraMia, Arigatou!
At the hospital...
Yoh stared at the floor, a very empty expression on his face, 'Why didn't I do something?' he asked himself over and over, but no answer came. Manta sat beside his friend, looking from the last door they had taken Anna through, still unconscious and on a stretcher, to Yoh; a look of concern nearly twisting his face into something almost unrecognizable. He reached out his hand to pat his friends back, but some intuition made him decide that it was best not to. "Lord Yoh?" A voice asked. Yoh nearly jumped out of his skin and he almost labouredly replied, "Yes Amidamaru?" "Do you think Miss Anna will be all right?" he asked. Yoh sat up straight and looked towards the door, and sighed, wishing he could give his friend an answer, that he could give himself one, he remembered how it felt to feel how limp Anna's body was as he held her head in his lap at the store trying to wake her but to no avail. "At least she's still breathing," Yoh replied more to himself than to anyone else. Manta sighed; it wasn't like Yoh to give such a bleak assessment to any situation. Yoh went back into his trance, looking towards a television set but not even seeing a single one of the images on the screen. About a half an hour later a doctor finally emerged from the door where Anna was. Yoh and Manta perked their heads up, Amidamaru did too but of course no one else saw him. "Yoh Asakura?" the doctor asked, looking down on a chart that he held on a clip board in his hand, pushing his glasses further up on the bridge of his nose. "Yes?" Yoh asked, feeling as though his stomach just hit the floor and his heart freeze, 'Please God, let her be okay,' he quietly prayed. "It says on Miss Kyouyama's file that her next of kin live in Izumo but that if anything should happen to her that we're supposed to contact you, may I ask why if you don't mind?" Yoh stood up. "'Happen to her?'" he repeated all the color leaving his face. The doctor looked at him and chuckled lightly, "Not to worry, she'll be fine." "Oh, well, she and I were raised by my grandparents and we both live together in Tokyo now, and they're still in Izumo," Yoh replied, sighing with relief. "Live together?" the doctor asked, raising an eyebrow. Yoh nodded but then realized what the doctor thought he meant his natural color and then some returning to his face, "Oh... no, no, not like that. We live in the old Inn... separate rooms I assure you." The doctor blushed at his error. "I see, I suppose that's a good enough reason to treat you as her next of kin sense that's what her medical file says. You may come and see her if you wish, however your friend will have to wait until she is moved into a regular room, which I think will be tomorrow, late afternoon if not before." Yoh nodded. "Is that okay?" he asked Manta. Manta nodded, "Of course, I need to be going if I can't be of any more use, I have cram school tonight and I'll just prevent you from seeing Anna. Call me when you hear anything more," Manta said as he bowed to the doctor and excused himself. Yoh started to turn to follow the doctor but then asked the doctor to wait on him for a moment. "Sorry Amidamaru but could you go into your tablet and stay with Manta tonight?" Yoh asked. Amidamaru obeyed and Yoh caught up with Manta, "Manta can you keep Amidamaru tonight?" "Yoh, but why?" Manta asked, reaching out and taking the tablet. "Because, I need to make sure Anna is okay and I don't want to be distracted." "Well, okay, as long as he stays in the tablet while I'm at cram school." "Thanks!" Yoh said, hugging Manta quickly then running back to the doctor.
"Ready?" the doctor asked. "Yeah," Yoh replied. "W-what's wrong with her?" Yoh asked, his worry returning. "We're not one-hundred percent sure, but we think she might be anemic, but it didn't affect her much before she got a virus and so she didn't notice any weakness to speak of. The virus is potentially serious but with proper treatment and rest she'll be as good as new in no time." 'That's so like her... ignoring that there's even anything wrong," Yoh thought as he felt his heart and stomach felt as though they moved back into their proper placement in his body. The doctor opened the door of Anna's room and allowed Yoh to walk through before him, and then he turned and shut the door. She looked as though she slept peacefully, the only thing different was that she was in a hospital gown and a monitor that measured her vital signs was hooked up. "When she wakes up, which could be any minute now or it could be a day or two, if her vital signs are okay and the tests come out as we expect them to she'll be able t go home and recover from there. And unless you have any other questions I have some work to do. If you need anything you can go into the lobby and ask the receptionist." Yoh nodded, "I'm fine, thank you," as he sat in the chair that was next to Anna's bed. The doctor smiled and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
"Hey," Yoh said softly to the still sleeping Anna, "You pull through this okay? If you're not around there won't be anyone to yell at me." He reached out instinctually and brushed her hair out of her face with his fingers. She breathed in deeply, but still didn't wake up. Yoh sighed and studied the lines of her face, it seemed like she hadn't changed a bit sense they met in some ways, but in others she was a completely different person. He looked up at the beeping monitor and back at her, "You know I'm always here for you, don't you, Anna?" he asked. Yoh felt tears begin to form in his eyes but he fought them back as best as he could, only allowing one to fall onto Anna's hand, "Come on, you have to wake up. I...I can't live without you. I know the doctor says it isn't serious but I'd like to know one thing that hasn't been serious that has happened to us?" He knew she couldn't answer but it helped to talk to her somehow, at least she was still around to talk to. Then for the first time he realized how different things would've been had his grandmother never taken Anna in. There was so much he took for granted about her, but in the end somehow he knew that she would always be his teacher and his friend, his first friend. Without her he wouldn't have ever been content to be a Shaman, she was the only thing that kept him from being alone. "Maybe that's why Grandma and Grandpa..." he began to muse but then stopped himself and decided to leave well enough alone in his own mind.
He sat there for about ten minutes, just waiting, hoping that Anna would wake up, but after a short while he got fidgety despite himself. He thought for a brief moment about going home but decided against it before he even finished thinking it through, Anna would need someone there when she woke up, he didn't want her being alone, even though if she were she'd claim she didn't care. Even if she didn't he did. He reached down into the bag that he carried from school to the store where Anna had fallen and in turn to the hospital. He got out a manga, looked at it, then looked at her, sighed and put it back away. She'd want him to do his homework so he decided to get started on it. And with that he opened his Math book and began writing.
Several hours later Yoh put the last school book away and as he did the bag fell over, causing a light thudding sound. He jumped a little seeing as it startled him in contrast to the silence of the room. All that could be heard was the steady beeping of the machine and Anna's breathing. He bent down and picked up the bag and steadied it against one of the legs of the cast-iron bed. He heard Anna moan in her sleep and jumped up as quickly as he could, was she really going to wake up? She squirmed lightly and changed her position in the bed, but didn't wake up. "Well at least she's conscious," Yoh mused. 'Oh great, now she can hear me, I've gotta be quiet,' he thought. He crossed his arms and placed them on the edge of the bed, putting his chin on them. He looked up at Anna's face intently for a while, but then began to feel sleepy. 'I need to go to bed...' he thought, looking at the watch on his arm. He thought about getting up but then looked back at Anna, 'But I can't leave her.' And so after some debating with himself he decided to stay. He fought sleep as long as he could, but within fifteen minutes he was sleeping lightly with his head on his arms.
Wow, Four Reviews currently... the most I've ever had in this short an amount of time. Please tell any fellow Shaman King fans about it if you like it... oh, and if you like YuYu Hakusho read my best friend's fanfics... (I have some; they just aren't too good...) Her pen name is AmaraMia, Arigatou!