Training Shedule
Chapter 2: Making Decisions
It was already 8:30 when Yoh woke up. He quickly got down, planning to cook breakfast, but as soon as he reached the first floor, a sizzling sound and an aroma of delicious bacon and eggs welcomed him. He decided to go to the kitchen, and on his way, he noticed the cleanliness of their house.
"Ohayou," Anna greeted blankly while pouring another cup of scrambled egg on the pan.
"Ohayou," Yoh replied, smiling sheepishly.
He sat down as Anna placed his breakfast on the table. She, too, sat down opposite him.
"Um… is that mine?" Yoh asked shyly.
Anna merely nodded.
He smiled saying, "Itadakimasu!" He was about to start eating when he noticed that Anna didn't have something to eat.
"Won't you be eating breakfast?" he asked, concerned.
"Done already," she replied coolly.
While he was eating, he suddenly asked, "By the way Anna, were you the one who cleaned the house?"
"Yah."
"Why- I mean, shouldn't I be the one to clean the house and cook breakfast?" he added seriously.
"What can I expect from you, waking up late?" She raised an eyebrow.
He forced a stupid-like laugh. "Hehehe…"
"And besides…" she added, arms crossed in front of her chest.
"Besides, what?" he asked attentively.
"I left the bathroom and the laundry for you," she continued.
"Gee. I thought it's the prize for being the shaman king," he mumbled sweat dropping.
"Were you saying something?"
"Nothing." He shook his head, forcing a smile. "But… since I'm already the shaman king… don't you think it would be rightful enough to stop training… or even just to reduce my training. You know it's my greatest dream to be the shaman king so that I can have the privilege to relax and slack off everyday. Please…"
"Yoh, being the shaman king doesn't mean being free from shaman fights."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"There could be some aspiring shamans who would challenge you to get your throne, so you should still continue to train. But… since you have fulfilled your oath, I'll think about it." With that she stood up and got out of the kitchen.
Yoh then continued eating, hoping that his fiancée will approve his proposal.
Afterwards, he went outside to respire some fresh air. To his surprise, he saw Anna sweeping their yard. With no hesitation, he quickly approached her and offered his help.
"You want me to help you?"
"No thanks."
But as if not hearing her reply, he took the broom and did the sweeping. He just gave her his usual smile when she looked at him. She decided not to mind it anymore but she thought, 'I will surely miss those smiles and grins when I leave.'
Breaking the silence, she said, "Yoh, about your training proposal... I will allow you to have lesser and lighter trainings. Saturdays and Sundays will be your day-offs, and the level or difficulty of your training will depend on you."
Out of nowhere she got a piece of paper and handed it to him.
"That's your new training schedule. The house chores are included there. You need to do house chores everyday, but unlike before, you are not forced to do all of them in one day. You can do the laundry and clean the bathroom every two days. Cleaning your room, sweeping and mopping the house should be done every morning, after you finish your jog. As usual, you don't have to clean my room. You'll have no other choice than to cook all your meal everyday. Fair enough?"
"Very much!" he answered very happily.
"But… you're not sick, aren't you?" He touched her forehead.
"Shut up!" She pushed his hand.
"Just promise me that you will follow your training schedule and train well, ok?" she reminded with a small curve on her lips. "Oh, and try to discover new powers or techniques."
"Hey, you speak as if you'll be leaving me," he joked.
"Yah. I will," she stated blankly.
"Huh?"
"I'm going back to Izumo this Monday."
"But why so early? School's not yet finished and…" he objected somewhat sadly. 'And I was planning to ask you to go to Magic Land with me.'
"Well, you will not be needing me anymore to train you, and transferring to another school is easy." she reasoned.
"So promise me that, ok?" she said changing the topic.
"Alright. But please don't go. I will miss you… My day will not be complete without you scolding me."
Anna was stunned with that. She didn't know that she was someone 'missable'.
'I thought you would be relieved if I'm not here…'
"That's the stupidest reason I've ever heard, Yoh." She smirked, "Just remind yourself about the inhuman trainings I gave you, and you will surely refuse to miss me. Anyways, you can visit me there if you want to."
Both of them remained silent in their places. ("Woosh…" the wind blows)
"I'll start doing the laundry. After you're done with that, clean the bathroom," she ordered, leaving him outside.
'Anna why do you have to leave?'
Anna was putting the dirty white clothes in the washing machine when she saw Yoh starting to clean the bathroom. Yoh seemed to mind her departure. This made her undecided of it.
Later that day
After Yoh's afternoon nap, Manta called him.
"Yoh, do you have something to do this evening?"
"Nope. Nothing important. Today's my day-off."
"Really? How did that happen?"
"Long story. Tell you later. Anyways, what made you call?"
"I would just invite you to a concert. Simple Plan with Larc n Ciel. Wanna go?"
"Sure."
"Ok. I'll meet you there now."
"Here? Ok."
As soon as he put the phone down, he went to Anna's room to ask permission.
Anna was currently watching her favorite anime and as usual, was lying sidewards on the clean floor with her head cupped on her right hand (got it? ), when someone knocked on the door.
"Come in."
"Sorry to disturb you. I'll just ask permission to go to a concert with Manta. Will you allow me?"
"Sure. Have fun," she replied, not looking at him.
"Do you want to come with us?"
"No thanks."
"Ok. Take care, Anna," he smiled.
"Shouldn't I be the one to tell you that?" she asked, sitting up and looking at him.
"Then tell me."
"Do I have to? It's so corny, ya know."
"Yup."
"Ok then. Take care, Yoh."
"By e." He smiled at the forced Anna, then left.
The concert went well. Many people watched it. Hyde, the vocalist of Larc N Ciel, had a new hairstyle, and as usual, Simple Plan members wore black clothes.
The next day, Yoh was able to wake up earlier than Anna, but only to be surprised by the new message in his oracle bell. It was read as:
How's my brother? Is he enjoying his shaman king life?
Well, you better enjoy it now 'cause I'm going to take it from you.
I challenge you, Asakura Yoh, to a shaman fight in which your throne is at stake. Meet me in Fortune City. It's near Patch Village, so it means it's also in USA. Your journey to here can help in your training, that's why I decided to conduct it here.
The Great Spirits have already approved this. All I need is your answer. Just reply if you accept my challenge. Besides, it's the shaman king's duty to defend his throne, so I know you won't fail me, my dear brother.
You still have three months and five days to live- I mean to prepare, so train well otouto. See you on August 17. Good luck!
And by the way, happy birthday!
"Hao…"
Yoh remembered what Anna said yesterday about shaman king challengers. He also remembered that today is the 12th of May, which means his and his twin brother's birthday. "Gee, I almost forgot about it."
Then with full courage he answered back and accepted the challenge. He wasn't really sure about that but he still accepted it, knowing that if he were to ask Anna, she would order him to do so. He also greeted his brother, happy birthday.
'I better not tell Anna about this challenge. It will only give her something to worry about. But… can I handle this matter myself?'
"Hahhhhh," he sighed. "Better start training now. I'll defend my throne for my slacking-off privilege and for our happiness. I can do it!" he encouraged himself, raising his right fist.
(AN: Asking where Amidamaru is?)
"Hey where's Amidamaru?"
"Right here, Master," answered the spirit appearing at Yoh's back.
"So, do you know about my new training schedule?"
"Hai."
"How about the challenge?"
"Hai."
"So, wanna have some training?"
"Even if it's your day-off?"
"Yes. No need to waste time. I need to get very strong in three months."
And so, Yoh began his jog, even without eating breakfast. It was still dark outside but he didn't mind.
Right after he left, the phone rang. Continuously, to be exact. Non-stop.
"Who would call this early? It's just 4:23 in the morning, for goodness' sake," the annoyed Anna protested as she looked at the clock on the table beside her bed.
"Hahh… I'll surely kill this caller if he would talk about a nonsense topic. Rrr…" she muttered as she marched angrily to the phone in the hallway.
"Hello. GOOD morning. What do you want?" she said stressing the word "good" while answering the phone call.
"Good morning, Miss Anna," replied by the calm voice from the other end of the line. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but I really need to talk with you. But first, may I ask, do you still remember me?"
Anna quickly recognized the voice of the caller even from the first word he said. She was stunned for a while but not long enough for her to respond, "Y-you… Hey, how did you know our phone number?"
"Well I just happen to have my own ways of knowing."
And so with that their long conversation began.
Yoh, on the other hand, with Amidamaru, was jogging at the velocity of 20 km per hour heading north.
Then, turning to different directions, they have passed the park, the school and even the Funbari Train Station, and after 1 ¾ hours, the were in an unfamiliar place
Yoh stopped for a while after noticing the unknown-to-him surroundings.
"Amidamaru, do you think we're still in Funbari?"
Amidamaru shook his head. "But I'm sure we're still in Tokyo, Master."
He smiled.
"We better go back now, I still have to cook breakfast."
"Yes, Master."
Suddenly, they heard a bark.
"Is that my stomach, saying he's hungry?"
"No, Master. It's… a dog."
They looked at their back, and saw a big dog, looking at them furiously.
"Yeah, an angry one."
Then, it started chasing them so they ran as fast as they could.
After passing through many obstacle courses with Yoh and Amidamaru, like falling iron bars, rolling barrels and , the dog finally got tired and stopped chasing them.
"I think… he stopped… already," said Yoh while panting. "Let's… rest… for a while… okay?"
"Hai"
But unbeknownst to them, another obstacle course was waiting for them. While they were walking back home, they have encountered many fast-driving vehicles, which almost hit them. Good thing, Amidamaru was a spirit and Yoh was fast enough to dodge them.
After that, it rained very hard. They were still on the streets so they had to run again.
Back in Funbari Inn, Anna's visitor was about to leave.
"I better get goin'. They'll arrive any minute now. Jaa."
With that he jumped to different roofs and then disappeared.
After a minute, Yoh and Amidamaru arrived, while Anna was still outside.
'So that's why he was still training today,' Anna thought.
"And just where have you two been?" she asked, pretending not to know, with her arms crossed in front of her chest and an eyebrow raised.
"Ah… we… I…" Yoh stuttered.
"You trained?" Anna asked.
"Ah… Something like that…" Yoh replied.
"Why? Don't you want two day-offs a week?" Anna asked again, panicking Yoh.
"No, no. It's not like that… I just…" he reasoned out.
"Never mind," she finally stated, ending the conversation.
Then, they ate breakfast together.
While they were eating…
"Otanjoubi," Anna suddenly said, breaking the long-lasted silence.
(RN: Sorry if I'm over-using some words… By the way, Japanese word translations are on the end of this chapter. Just in case you're not familiar with them. )
Yoh looked at her and smiled. "Thanks."
Minutes later, Yoh spoke again, "Umm… Anna… can I ask you something?"
"What?" she replied coldly.
"Would you mind going to Magic Land with me? Please… Don't worry. I'll be the one in-charge with all the expenses. Please…"
"Huh? Why me? Don't you wanna come with your friends?"
"'Cause you're one of my friends," he answered back with no hesitance. "Besides, I've never been in an amusement park with you. Just consider this as a birthday request. So, please come with me… "
To be continued
Translations:
Ohayou – good morning (informal/plain version because "ohayou gozaimasu" is the formal one)
Itadakimasu – literally means "I'll take it"
usually said before eating
Otouto – younger brother
Jaa – see you
Otanjoubi – I think it's the informal/plain version of "Otanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu", which means "Happy birthday"
Rei-chu's Notes: At last, chapter 2 is completed and uploaded! Thanks to all those who submitted their reviews!