A New Anna…
By: Anna-chan99
Chapter 02: The New Anna
As I did to the first chappy, I edited this chapter. I wasn't really satisfied with the old one, so yeah, I changed it. :3
Disclaimer: Anything you find here, except the plot, does not belong to me. Got it? grins
(x)
"Anna-san? Anna-san?"
A worried call rang in Anna's head repeatedly, awaking her from her slumber. Her eyes slowly opened and she wearily sat up, feeling awfully groggy. She rubbed her eyes and carefully observed her surrounding; it seemed that she was laid on a bench just near a fairly colossal house and there was a pink haired girl gazing at her, worry written all over her eyes.
"Anou…" Anna stated meekly as she coughed. She could barely move because of the stabbing pain in her head and the rest of her body was numb, fortunately. If her body were to lose its numbness, she would be extremely in pain right about now.
At the faint sound of Anna's voice, Tamao clasped her hands together, sighing in relief. She smiled weakly at the itako staring at her and inspected her carefully. She had minor injuries on her head, but severe ones' starting from her shoulders down to her knees. She seemed bewildered about everything that occurred, as well.
"Are feeling alright, Anna-san?" Tamao inquired softly as she tried preventing her lips to tremble in fear of Anna's healthiness.
"Hn? Anna? Who is she?" Anna asked curiously, looking around for anyone the pink haired girl might be speaking to.
With eyes wide in shock, Tamao gasped and glanced tearfully at Anna. What the 'accident' did to Anna was worse than she had predicted. Much worse. Seeing Anna's innocent and bewildered face made the tears escape her eyes, and, being afraid to worry the amnesiac Anna, she politely excused herself from her and headed towards Pirika, who was currently searching for who ever hit Anna.
"They'll see, Tamao-chan, I'll find out who did that to Anna-chan and I'll make onii-chan handle them!" Pirika exclaimed angrily, fist clenched tightly.
Pirika had no idea of Anna losing her memories, making Tamao a tad afraid to tell her so. Seeing as she was now, anger was all she felt, and it replaced all the innocence and cheeriness she had, for now at least.
She knew better than to keep it from her, though.
"Pirika-san," Tamao called softly, gently dragging her to where Anna was sitting. "Anna-san, s—she lost her memories." She continued on, eyes darted on the ground.
Tamao looked forlorn at Pirika's reaction. Tears were forming on Pirika's face and she was biting her lips, obviously trying not to quiver. "Nee, Tamao-chan, could you bring the groceries Anna-chan bought?" Pirika inquired as she gloomily smiled at her. "I'll go tell Anna that we're going home."
Tamao meekly nodded then grabbed the paper bag on the ground. She started making her way back to the house, shooting a worried glance at Anna and Pirika every once in a while. Apparently, Anna was feeling very weary and instantly fell asleep again and Pirika was carrying her on her back. Thank goodness she was as light as she looked!
Minutes later, Tamao, Pirika, and Anna made it back in the estate, and headed right to Anna's room. There, they laid her in her futon and placed a soaked cloth on her forehead. Pirika had asked Tamao to bring the food to Ren and the others and said that she'll take of Anna so she needn't worry.
"Oh, and, Tamao-chan," Pirika whispered softly, glancing at the still sleeping Anna, "Please don't tell Yoh-kun and the others, they're going to be really worried."
With another meek nod, Tamao headed downstairs, head hung low. She repeated in her mind that she was merely going to hand Yoh the food, excuse herself, then go straight upstairs—no need to speak of the incident.
She took a deep breath and sluggishly entered the kitchen, where she was greeted by Horo-Horo and Yoh.
"Anou…Anna-san told me to give this to you." Tamao stated uneasily, handing over the paper bag to Yoh.
"Ah, sankyuu." Yoh thanked in his ever-so-cheer tone, although it was somewhat mixed with worry. "By the way, where's Anna?" He inquired curiously, eyes searching for any signs of the blonde Itako.
"A-Anna-san was getting tired; sh-she said that she would eat dinner after her nap." Tamao mentally scolded herself. She was lying! Lying to the person she cared most! Her eyes were still focused on the ground and she felt afraid to look at his face. She couldn't handle the guilt anymore.
"Mm, I see." Yoh answered softly, smiling at her. Both Horo-Horo and Ren knew it was a false smile, but said nothing, knowing that the timid prophetess was going to die with worry if she knew.
"I'll make sure I cook something good then!" He exclaimed happily or falsely happily, at least. He flashed another grin at Tamao then readied his ingredients, preparing to cook it. When he heard footsteps leaving the kitchen, he released a sigh and vaguely frowned at the boiling water in front of her.
"Anna..." He whispered gently, his eyes filling with melancholy.
(…ooo…)
Where am I? Why am I here? Who am I? Anna's eyes snapped open as she felt another string of pain in her head. My head hurts a lot, too. Her thoughts drifted off when she heard a cheery voice, calling her. Bewildered, she turned to where she heard the sound originated and glanced at her, confusion present on her face.
"P-Please pardon my bluntness, b-but may I know who you are?" Anna inquired politely yet unsurely, carefully examining the blue haired girl. She looked awfully familiar, but she couldn't put in mind who she was and where she had met her before.
"My name is Pirika, Anna-chan." Pirika stated softly, smiling gently at her.
Anna? So I am Anna! The blonde-headed girl mused, glad to know at least one thing about herself. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Pirika-chan." Anna said politely, grinning cheerily. Wait…did she just—
"Waah!" Pirika cried hysterically pointing her finger at Anna's face. "Anna-chan, y—you SMILED!" She continued, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Eh? Is it wrong to smile?" Anna inquired naively, tilting her head sideward.
At the realization of the innocent Anna in front of her, Pirika felt an abrupt urge to do something she never thought she would ever do or even think of doing. She smiled anxiously as she pondered on her little plan…
"No, of course not!" Pirika exclaimed, laughing nervously. She patted Anna's shoulder and smiled softly at her. "In fact, you always smile. You're a very cheerful girl and you're very energetic, too!" Pirika continued, it took her a moment before she realized what she had done and immediately resented her actions. She found it ironic, how angry she was at who ever crashed into Anna a while ago when she was only making things worse. Her mind didn't even register that Yoh and the others would get suspicious of the new Anna, not until now.
"So that's what I'm like!" Anna cried, sounding very cheery and relieved to hear what kind of girl she was. "Arigato!" She gave Pirika a brief hug then slowly stood from her futon.
"Wait! Before you go down, I'll tell you all about your friends, alright?" Pirika asked softly, thinking that it might be best if she knew more about Yoh and the others. Perhaps she would be lucky that telling Anna about the others would help regain her memories. Telling Anna that she had lied about her character was harder that she deemed. Much, much harder.
She couldn't help but feel guiltier when she caught sight of the overexcited Anna whose ears were perked up, ready to hear all about her friends.
(…ooo…)
As soon as Pirika finished speaking with Anna, Anna made her way downstairs through the living room and to the kitchen. Pirika had told her to go to the kitchen to get some eat, exclaiming that her fever would worsen if she had nothing in her stomach.
As Anna entered the kitchen, seating on an empty chair, an Ainu, who Pirika mentioned was her brother, came in and greeted her…in a not so welcoming tone.
...A friend of yours is called Horo-Horo, he is my stupid, one and only brother. Like all you of your other friends, he's a shaman and he has spirit friend named Kororo. Oh, and believe me, he's extremely annoying...
Greeting him with a smile, Anna wondered why everybody looked so shock when they saw her smiling. She thought she always smiled? Then again, she might be simply imagining stuff.
"Nee, Anna, are you sick or something'?" Horo-Horo questioned, not because he was worried, but because he wanted to annoy her…as always.
Anna shook her head and grinned happily. "Hai, that's why Pirika-chan said I needed to eat!" She exclaimed, her voice filled with enthusiasm, which was sort of uncanny- considering that she was supposedly sick. "Thank you for asking!"
"I guess I'm the one who's sick then." He mumbled incoherently, eyes rolled, as he made his way out to the living room.
As he entered the living room Horo-Horo jumped on the couch Ren was sitting on and shook his head madly. Sighing, he placed his arms on the back of his head and shut his eyes. True, Anna's strange actions did worry him a little, but then all his worry and doubts disappeared at the sight of her ecstatic visage, she was so cu—
"Oi, Horo-Horo!" Ren bellowed, irate, as he continuously waved his hand at Horo-Horo's face.
"Eh?" Horo-Horo blinked twice in confusion before realizing what was happening then his cheeks abruptly turned crimson. But, after seeing Ren's sneering face, his face quickly turned back to normal.
"What!" He questioned crossly, eyes glaring at the Tao.
Ren merely smirked, eying him suspiciously. "Well, well, well, looks like our Ainu has something or rather someone in mind. Care to tell us?" He said mockingly, smirk still in place.
"N-nani? What do you mean? I was just thinking of...of what Pirika would be doing to me tomorrow. T-the training stuff, y'know?" He said uneasily, cheeks turning crimson once more.
"Sure." Ren stated sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "You'll tell me what's on your mind sooner or later. Preferably sooner." He sneered, smirked afterwards.
( ...ooo ...)
"Wah! Arigato, Tamao-chan!" Anna thanked happily as she finished eating her dessert.
You see, Tamamura Tamao had checked up on Anna minutes ago, and accompanied her; waiting as she ate. She even cooked her dessert! But it wasn't enough to erase the guilt heavily placed in her heart.
"A-ah, no problem, Anna-san. I was delighted to make it for you." She replied ever-so-shyly, feeling rather joyous that Anna was being kind and sweet.
"Nee, Tamao-chan! Is it alright if you call me Anna without the '-san'? It sounds better and it's too formal for friends!" She exclaimed happily, beaming cheerily.
"Alright, Anna-s…Anna-chan, no more '-san's'" She giggled tenderly. Her eyes steadied on Anna's bubbly face, smiling gently. "You're so sweet and polite." Tamao whispered softly, oblivious that she had said it aloud.
Confused, Anna looked at her, eyes filled with innocence. "Eh? I not supposed to be? Gomen!" She cried, bowing apologetically.
Tamao rapidly shook her head and started washing the dishes, avoiding Anna's sweet, innocent face. "Iie, you're acting exactly as you were before you lost your memories. So, don't worry."
Anna giggled with joy, overjoyed to hear that she was acting as she should. She had just then realized that Tamao was busy washing the dishes and offered to help her.
"Oh, it's alright. I'm almost finished." The shy girl replied gleefully. From that sound of her voice, she sounded less timid and more comfortable around her.
"Okay!" Anna exclaimed as she lightheartedly saluted. "I'll go check out this huge house now, okay?" She asked animatedly, overexcited to see where she lived.
Tamao nodded and smiled at her. "Remember to be careful, okay?" She requested gently as she waved goodbye at her.
Anna gave her a 'thumbs up' and headed outside, humming joyously.
( ...ooo ...)
This house is so cool! It's so big and the people here are so nice! I wonder what I used to do here before.
All of a sudden, an ear shattering noise echoed in her head. Her knees weakened and she dropped to the ground, wincing in pain. She tried to ignore the pain, inhaling the fresh air to calm herself down, and meekly pushed herself up. She couldn't possibly remain outside, now that the wind was picking up.
She started making her way back inside when the gleaming stars caught her eye. She halted for a moment and stared at the attractive heavenly body. She continued on walking, eyes steadied at stars, and quickened her pace. Being too distracted by the enchanting sky also made her oblivious of the Tao right ahead of her. When she finally realized that she was about to crash into him, it was already too late.
The two of them instantly fell to the ground which angered the short-tempered Tao. "Watch it—" He halted abruptly, eyes widening in shock. "A-Anna?"
"Aah, gomen ne! I didn't look at where I was going and—"
...His name is Ren Tao, he was an enemy once, but Yoh became his friend and turned him good…eventually. It was about time, too! I mean really, he's so anno—. Anyway, he has this purplish hair that is funnily it's kind of sticking out on top his hair. He has really scary golden eyes and, like the rest of your friends, he's a shaman too!
"Ren-kun?" Anna blinked innocently and helped herself up, sticking out her arm to help him stand. Grinning, she waited patiently for him to take her outstretched arm, but appeared dazed. "Anou, Ren-kun?"
Mouth parted, Ren stared at the girl in front of her before taking her hand. His cheeks turned pink as he caught a glimpse of her cheery, naïve grin. With the aid of Anna, he held himself up and quickly let go of her hand.
"Daijobu?" She asked worriedly, thoroughly inspecting if he had any wounds. "I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to bump into you like that!"
"I-I'm alright." He found himself stuttering like an idiot. He mentally kicked himself, forcing to turn his pinkish cheeks to its normal color. What the heck is wrong with me? "Don't worry." He added silently, turning his back on her.
"Alrighty then!" Anna giggled childishly as she waved goodbye. She then entered the estate, humming joyously once again.
x-Tsuzuku
That's two chapters edited. I hope you guys liked it. I'm really sorry for cutting out Lyserg and Jeanne, though, but I couldn't really make them fit in the later chapters so I just had to take them out.