Chapter 2- When We First Kissed
"132... 133... 134..." Yoh gasped for air as he fell flat on the floor. Anna's intense training really knocked him out of it.
"Get up Yoh. You still have 1048 more push ups to do." Anna commanded. "Unless you want to transfer them to the miles you are running."
"135,136,137!" Yoh immediately started doing push ups again but this time, in a much faster pace.
"I knew you would see it my way." Anna said with a satisfied nod. "And after this you have your arm exercise." Yoh stopped in mid-air.
"Arm exercise?" It sounded familiar but he couldn't quiet pick up.
"Yes. You will have to balance 3 jugs full of water for 30 minutes." Anna told him. Yoh's mouth fell open.
"But that is what you made me do in Patch Village!" He told her. "And you didn't even click the start button!"
"I know. But look at you now. You are Shaman King." She told him bitterly.
"Exactly. I am shaman king. So why exactly do I have to do this now?" Yoh complained. Anna placed a 34 pound weight on Yoh's back, causing him to fall flat on him face.
"Now continue doing your push-ups with this on top of you." She commanded and walked away, leaving Yoh crying waterfalls of tears, anime style.
A few minutes later, Manta stopped by.
"Yoh-Kun. Daijoubu?" He asked his just about dead friend.
"You... tell... me." Yoh said breathlessly. "Emergency room... Right now..." Manta gave Yoh a sorry smile.
"Yoh-Kun is so poor." He said with sympathy. Amidamaru suddenly appeared beside him.
"Yoh-Dono has made a big improvement since last time though." He told Manta. "It only took him around 5 hours to do 2038 push-ups with a 30 pound weight on his back." Yoh cried water falls of tears again... anime style of course.
"I know. I had to run with a wheel chair the next day. At one time, Amidamaru had to push my wheelchair home!" He told Manta who sweat dropped.
"Poor Yoh-Kun." He said with a small smile. "Anything I can do to help?"
"Yah. Bring me to the emergency room right now." Yoh told him. "And an orange if you don't mind." Manta laughed.
"Anna-San threw away the oranges so I don't think I can get you any. And if I slip you one, she might find out and have my head as a mop." He told Yoh who sighed.
"Either that or you would have to do the exercise with me." Yoh told him and they both laughed at the thought of that.
"Are you done yet Yoh?" Anna's voice startled them. "Well, well, well. Look who's here. Manta. Good, you could use a little bit more exercise." Manta gulped. Not good.
5 minutes later
"Y-Yoh Kun!" Manta yelled as he gasped for air as he continued laughing. "W-What kind of Laughs training is this?"
"I have N-No clue." Yoh told him as he laughed. Anna had ordered them to hang onto a bar with a pool of ice cold water below them so if they fall, they will be ice cubes. She also ordered Ponchi and Konchi to tickle them with feathers to make it harder.
"Why does... Laughs Anna have to... Laughs drag me into Laughs this with you?" Manta asked as he tried to fight off the tickling but couldn't.
"Keep quiet or else you will have to hang on twice as long." Anna commanded with her arms folded, her face was strict and hard.
"B-But Anna! Laughs The shaman tournament is over. I was crowned shaman king so why do I have to keep doing this?" Yoh asked as he continued laughing.
"What? Did I just hear that you want this training to continued for another 3 hours?" Anna looked at them from the corner of her eyes and they both froze. "Ponchi, Konchi, keep this up for another 3 hours." Everyone moaned and the spirits stopped what they were doing.
"But Anna-Hine-Sama. Our arms are tired." Ponchi told her.
"Yes and Yoh-Sama's arms must be tired too." Konchi agreed.
"Hey! What about me!" Manta yelled out.
"Keep quiet all of you. Or else each and everyone of you will be doing exercises for the next 5 hours without your meal." Anna scowled. They all cried waterfalls of tears... Anime style.
Flashback
"Yoh..." A ghostly whisper flew by Yoh. Yoh mumbled something and turned over.
"Yoh..." Yoh, being Yoh ignored the whisper and continued to sleep.
"Funga Fu Fu..." Yoh muttered in his sleep. A small smile appeared on his face.
"Yoh!" The whisper was a bit louder this time.
"What is it?" Yoh sleepily sat up and folded his arms. "I was just about to eat the last orange and win the orange eating contest!" He blinked when he saw no one. "Hello?"
"Hello there Yoh-Dono. My name is Amidamaru." A spirit behind him told him. Yoh jumped and turned around. "I am sorry if I have frightened you." Yoh screamed.
"Ahhhhhh! IT'S AN UGLY SPIRIT!" Yoh yelled as he took a long tree branch and started hitting Amidamaru on the head with it. "GO AWAY! EAT SOMEONE ELSE'S SOUL! LET ME LIVE!"
"Wait! No! Stop!" Amidamaru yelled as he floated away. Yoh got up and chased after him smacking him in the back with the stick.
"Go away spirit!" Yoh yelled still chasing after him.
"Maybe I should have just left you alone." Amidamaru muttered. Yoh gasped.
"That's right! I was about to eat the orange!" He yelled at the spirit and jumped on top of him. "I should beat you for that! Watch out! Hai-Ya!" And with that, Yoh smacked the spirit who started floating everywhere, trying to shake Yoh off of him but Yoh clung tightly onto him.
"Get off!" He yelled at the little boy who was still smacking him and poking him with the tree branch in his hands. "I am not trying to eat your soul! I promise!"
"No way! I can't trust you! And you ruined my dream!" Yoh yelled and smacked the spirit even harder. It was amazing because whatever hits spirits is suppose to go right through them. "I want my oranges back!"
"It's a dream! You can dream about oranges again!" Amidamaru yelled out. Yoh paused for a second thinking.
"That's right..." He said nodding. "I can... But still. I wouldn't have to re-dream it if it wasn't for you!" Again, he started smacking the spirit. "And that would be perfect for you because when I am sleep, you can easily eat my soul!"
"No, no, no!" Amidamaru floated away in attempt to run away from little 5 years old Yoh but couldn't.
"Come back here you soul eating spirit!" Yoh yelled throwing a pebble at Amidamaru who floated down to the floor. Yoh kept his distance and kept throwing pebbles and rocks at the spirit.
"Please! Yoh-Dono! Stop it! That really hurts!" He plead, covering his head. Something big landed on his head and knocked him out cold. Yoh blinked and slowly walked towards the spirit.
"Ne... Ne..." Yoh poked the spirit with the stick in his hand. "Ne Medamaru. Ne?" Yoh crouched down and poked the spirit again. So throwing a rock at the spirit really can knock him out... Then again... It was more of a boulder then a rock.
A half an hour or so later, Amidamaru woke up. The spirit shook his head and rubbed the back of his head.
"What happened?" He muttered.
"You wanted to eat my soul." Yoh said jokingly and smiled.
"Spirits don't eat your soul Yoh. If they did, they have nothing better to do then." Anna's stick and obvious voice boomed behind them. Yoh turned with a wide grin.
"I know that spirits don't eat souls Anna." He told her. "But why did you come out here in the first place? I know you have 'better things' to do." He quoted the words 'better things' with his fingers. Anna blushed a bit and glared at him a bit.
"You were screaming like a crybaby." She told him folding her arms.
"But I thought you said you don't care about me." Yoh tilted him head to one side. "Does that mean you care about me?" Anna blushed even harder but her glare just deepened.
"Keep dreaming." She muttered and walked way. Yoh smiled.
"Ne, Midamaru. Do you think she likes me?" Yoh asked as he turned to the spirit but never heard his answer because Anna threw her sandal at him and kicked him out. Amidamaru hovered over Yoh.
"Y-Yoh-Dono. Daijoubu?" He asked but just got a small groan and a snore. The spirit sweat dropped. This Yoh Asakura boy was very strange.
End Of Flashback
It has been about 3 hours since their arm exercise began and they were still hanging on. Ponchi and Konchi were still tickling them and Anna... Well she was still inside watching her favorite sope-opera.
"I can't hold on Laughs any longer!" Manta gasped.
"Me Either." Yoh said as he laughed. "How about we just give up and go for a swim? I like swimming."
"I don't!" Manta yelled and continued laughing. "I don't Laughs know how to swim!"
"Don't worry. Laughs it's only Laughs a 5 feet pool." Yoh told Manta.
"Actually it's 7 feet Yoh-Sama." Konchi corrected Yoh.
"Whatever, I don't care." Yoh told him. "I can't take it anymore. Cow-A-Bunga!" Yoh let go of the bar and jumped down into the pool, holding his breath as he hit the water. When he hit the floor he looked up and pushed himself up and shook his head when he poked his head out of the water and looked up with a smile.
"That was fun and refreshing!" He said looking at Manta who was still hanging form the bar. Now Konchi was tickling him as well so Manta is hanging from the bar with 2 spirits tickling him. Talk about pressure! "Come on! Jump Manta!"
"No Laughs Way!" Manta yelled trying hard not to laugh.
"Come on! We can go for ice cream!" Yoh yelled up. "My treat!"
"You just Laughs want ice cream and Laughs to get away Laughs from Anna." Manta continued laughing. Yoh shrugged.
"Yah but come on. There will be less tickling and pain then what you are doing now." He told the little boy.
"But Laughs I can't Laughs swim!" Manta told Yoh.
"Don't worry. Ponchi can catch you." Yoh told him with a sheepish grin. "Right Ponchi?" The spirit froze. Surely he was kidding right? "Come on! It's not that big of a jump." Manta laughed a little bit more before yelling.
"Alright!" The spirits sighed. They can finally stop tickling the little boy.
"Catch him ok guys?" Yoh looked at the spirits who froze again.
"Yoh-Sama, he is heavy." Ponchi complained.
"I can hear you, you know!" Manta yelled down at them. Yoh laughed.
"Come on. Just catch him ok?" He said looking at the spirits who sighed and nodded. "Ok. Come on Manta!" Manta gulped and looked down. The pool of beep blue water looked deep and he didn't exactly trust Ponchi and Konchi because they were more like the prankster spirits... Or as he and Yoh would call them, The Prank Twins.
"Well... Here goes nothing..." Manta muttered as he let go and felt his whole body drop, plunging down towards the deep dark water ready to swallow him up.
"And now!" Yoh, Ponchi and Konchi all caught Manta before he hit the water.
"You see? I told you we would be able to catch you." Yoh told him with a grin. Manta looked nervously up at Yoh.
"Y-Yah... Thanks Yoh-Kun." He muttered.
A Half Hour Later
"So Yoh-Kun... How exactly did you and Anna-San get engaged anyway?" Manta asked as he and Yoh sat down on a bench in the park. Yoh hummed a bit as he thought, his face looking up at the sky.
"Hmmm... Well I can't really remember much of it..." He told him. "I remember kissing her and then getting smacked because of it and then Jii-San told me something but I didn't hear anything he said because it sounded very boring and I was kind of in a hurry. Next thing you know it, Anna's my fiancé." Manta nodded as he licked his ice cream.
"I see." He muttered. "So you didn't argue or anything?" Yoh shook his head.
"Nope. I barley knew what they were talking about." He told Manta.
"How come?"
"Because I fell asleep when they told us about the arrangement." Yoh said with a laugh.
Flashback
Little Yoh skipped outside in his usual fashion and made his way through the yard of the Asakura manor. He skipped off to the little pond and stopped to look at the fish that lived in it, as if hypnotized by them or something. After a few minutes later, he snapped back and remembered why he came outside. He quietly walked towards a window and peeked in. He always did this around 2 in the afternoon. This was where and when Anna had her training lessons.
Yoh blinked and smiled when he spotted Anna meditating. He made sure to keep his mind as blank as possible so that she couldn't read his thoughts as he watched her. She was an interesting girl... Anna Kyoyama. She may be abusive at times and cruel... not to mention mean... cold... dark... evil... and just about every mean word you can think of, Yoh still found her interesting. He watched her with calm, lazy yet desiring eyes. He tilted him head to one side as he watched her. She was taking slow breaths and her eyes remained closed.
Yoh found himself wondering how Anna would be like if she wasn't so cold. She would most likely be like any other girl... Or maybe perhaps, she might be like Tamao. He didn't really know since he knew that once Anna, always Anna. Nothing can change about her, or else... She just wouldn't be Anna. He blinked when he noticed that Anna had finished meditating. He ducked so that she wouldn't see him by the window when she turned.
A few minutes later, Yoh heard her and Kino's voices. He strained to hear what they were saying but there was no such luck. Yoh looked through the window again and saw Anna nodding her head with understanding.
"Now, pack your bags Anna. You will leave immediately." Kino told her. Yoh's eyes widened. Why did Anna have to go? Did she do anything bad? He wanted to ask but they would know that he was ears dropping and punish him for that. Not to mention, Anna would be furious at him and he would be in the spirit world way before his time. Yoh frowned, wondering what to do.
"Yoh-Dono, why don't you just go ask Anna why she is packing up." Amidamaru asked as he appeared behind Yoh.
"Yah... But knowing Anna, she won't tell me." Yoh said with a sigh. "But it is worth a shot. Thanks Midamaru!"
"No problem Yoh-Dono." Amidamaru said with a smile. "And it's Amidamaru not Midamaru." Yoh smiled.
"Midamaru and Amidamaru sound the same, so who cares." He told him as he ran off.
"I do..." Amidamaru muttered and Yoh laughed.
Anna placed the last bit of cloths into her suit case and doubled checked again. She was too busy packing that she didn't notice Yoh walking in.
"Whacha doing?" He asked with a curious look. Anna jumped and turned around to give him a deep glare.
"None of your business." She told him rudely and continued packing.
"Why are you packing? Are you leaving?" Yoh asked her with a frown.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I am." Anna told him. She didn't look at him though. She just kept packing.
"How come?" Anna was starting to lose her temper.
"Because I want to." She told him as she slammed her suitcase shut and was about to drag it out when Yoh stopped her.
"Don't. Please stay Anna." He begged. "Please..." Anna blinked. Why would he want her to stay in the first place? All she did was smack him and yell at him. He should be happy that she was leaving.
"I don't want you to leave Anna. Please stay." Yoh begged again. "Onegai."
"Let go." Anna told him.
"Please Anna. I promise not to bother you again." Yoh told her.
"It's not about you." Anna muttered as she tried to pulling on the suitcase again.
"Then what is it?" Yoh asked her, refusing to let go. "Is it something you did wrong?"
"No. It's nothing now let go!" Anna yelled at him. Yoh shook his head as his grip tightened.
"Not until you tell me why." He told her.
"I told you. Because I want to." She told him.
"But why? You love living here Anna." Yoh frowned. "Don't you?" Anna didn't answer. She just looked away. "Anna..."
"I have to go." She told him as she yanked the suitcase out of his hands and dragged it out the door.
"Wait Anna." Yoh grabbed her arm and swung her around, as he pressed his lips on her's. Anna's eyes widened with shock. What the hell was he doing to her? Yoh backed away a few minutes later.
"Promise me you will remember me Anna." He told her. "Promise me..." Anna's face blushed as she stared at him with shock. Oh no he just did not do that to her. Anna lifted her hand and slapped her.
"Don't you ever kiss me again!" She told him. "Ever!" She turned and stormed out, dragging her suitcase after her. Yoh's eyes turned big and round as tears rolled down his cheeks and he let out a small whimper. That was it. She's gone... But maybe he could still stop her. Whatever she did wrong, he might be able to help... 'I'll get her back.' He thought as wiped away his tears and quickly ran to Kino and Yome's room.
"Jii-San! Baa-San!" Yoh yelled as he slid open the door furiously. Kino and Yome looked up.
"What is it Yoh?" Yome asked in a calm tone.
"Why is Anna leaving? What did she do wrong?" Yoh asked his grandfather. "It's my fault. Whatever she did wrong was my fault." Kino and Yome stayed silent looking at Yoh for a moment before Yome sighed.
"Yoh, Anna didn't do anything wrong." He told him.
"Then why is she leaving?" Yoh didn't understand. If Anna didn't do anything wrong, then why does she have to leave?
"It is all part of Anna's training Yoh." Kino told him and sipped her tea calmly. "She must make it through the icy mountains alone. It's been a tradition for all the itako students here." Yoh blinked.
"When will she come back?" He asked her. Both elders stayed quiet. "Answer me!" Yoh knew that he shouldn't have yelled at them but he wanted to know badly. He knew that he was going to get punished for yelling at his grandparents but he didn't care. He was worried about Anna. To Yoh's surprise, Yome didn't punish him for yelling. He just sighed.
"I do not know Yoh." He told him. Yoh blinked.
"What do you mean you don't know Jii-San?" He asked.
"We are not sure if Anna will come back." Yome told him and closed his eyes. "She might not come back alive." Yoh's eyes widened.
"Why did you send her off to her death!" He yelled. He didn't wait for an answer. He turned and walked to the door. "I am going to find her and bring her back." He bolted out there in a flash and ran to his room to grab a few things before he left. He was positive Anna didn't pack anything warm and he himself definitely needed a weapon. He barley knew spirit control let alone Over Soul, but he didn't care.
"Y-Yoh-Dono! What are you doing?" Amidamaru asked as he appeared next to Yoh.
"I am going to save Anna." Yoh told his spirit.
"B-But Yoh-Dono. There will be a big snow storm tonight and it is a very dangerous mountain." Amidamaru tried to convince his master to change his mind but once Yoh decides on something, he doesn't change his mind. Amidamaru tried to chase after him and convince him to stop but Yoh had already slipped out the window.
Awwww... This chapter has mixed emotions I think. It is funny at first, and then it turns to loving and all. Hmmm, so what do you think? The part where Yoh begs Anna to stay was very sweet I think... Anyway, this flashback will continue in the next chapter!
