Disclaimer: DON'T OWN SHAMANKinG CHARACTERS

DEAR READERS: so glad all of you liked it.. dontworri it wont end that soon.. so much more to come… more and more mroemroemore.. wahhahaha

And DON'T WORRI.. Hao is not OUT YET

Ch.21
Yoh turned away from me. He didn't seem to want to see me the way I was. I could feel my face…it was swollen. Hao's fingers had been clutching my mouth hard to keep me quiet. But, there was something on my mind that bothered me more than the pain and abuse I felt. I wanted to know why Yoh came back. After all those things I had said to him.

"Yoh," I said in a quiet voice. Yoh looked at me and leaned in to hear better as I continued, "Why did you come back? I mean, how did you know?"

Yoh gave me a smirk. "You're dumber than I thought, wifey."

I frowned at the title "wifey". So even in time such as these, Yoh can't be normal.

"I didn't even leave the park. I was sitting on the curb thinking about what you said and I decided what I wanted."

"What?"

"I was deciding what to do about us. You seemed happy without me. And then, I looked and saw Hao running by. It was weird because his shirt was open and there was a bit of blood stained on the corner. And…he was sweating. I thought he had murdered you…"

"I wish he had," I answered, looking away.

"But then, I looked back towards the woods and saw a bit of smoke rising and I ran in there. I knew you must be in trouble. Either that, or he was burning your dead body to be rid of the evidence."

I chuckled as I pulled Yoh's shirt tighter around my shoulders, "You're so imaginative."

"Well, I wasn't worried or anything," Yoh said, realizing that he had to cover the fact that he cared. He seemed to have decided that he wasn't going to care about me anymore, "I just can't get in trouble for the murder of my future wife. What would your mom think of me?"

I rolled my eyes. But somehow, Yoh was making me feel better. Being close to him and his obnoxious remarks made me feel like I was at home…it was something familiar to me…I had been trying so hard to run away from everything that I knew. I had been trying so hard to find change and a new and better place to be…but…I realized…that my place was at home. I belonged here with the things that I knew…with the people who knew me best…with Yoh…there was no denying it.

I was home.

Yoh was my home.

We sat in the alley alone for a few more minutes and for some odd reason or another, I had this great urge to just hug Yoh, or if not hug, than to lean on him. Yoh's shoulder was within my reach, so all I had to do was to cock my head to one side and let my weight fall onto his shoulder. It was all so easy, and all so hard at the same time. How could I do that? That would be showing my emotions for him! That would be…against everything I had worked so hard to deny!

Suddenly, Yoh tossed his head, making his fair hair fall away from his eyes to his ears. He seemed to be thinking about something very important. After a gentle sigh, he said, "I told your mom that our engagement was off."

I choked and turned to Yoh asking with tears in my eyes, "What?"

Yoh stood up, avoiding eye contact with me, "You've had it hard enough...I understand you now. You can't be happy with me around right? You want me gone right?"

"Yes...but..."

"Then, there's no argument needed. I already realized that. You'll find someone great for you. It's certainly not me."

I tried to speak, but Yoh continued.

"It's okay, Anna. I understand. There's not need for you feel sorry for me. I think it's perfectly normal for you to feel that way. You're always telling me how horrid I am...and after what you said in the forest, I called your mom and told her that I wanted it off. She'll never know it was you...she thinks I found someone else."

"Yoh..."

Yoh cringed as he heard me call his name, "It's fine, Anna...perfectly fine. I'm just going to move on with my life. It's not we were in love, right?"

This was all too sudden. I couldn't believe it.

"And with everything that happened to you tonight, I think I want to do you a favor and make things easier for you...if you're going to be going through the healing process after tonight, it would be better if I wasn't here to make things harder."

"Yoh…it's not like that…"

But Yoh seemed decided. He picked me up and just as we exited the alley and got into his car, the fire trucks started to come calling around the corner. The blast of their horns broke the silence of this cursed night. I watched the red and yellow lights flash, making Yoh's skin look like it was illuminated. He gently placed me into the front seat and pulled the shirt lower so that my thighs didn't show.

Then, in silence, he got into the driver's seat and began to drive. I watched a fountain of water burst forth from a hose as it quenched the fire's fury. They had put out the fire...so easily...just as Yoh had put me out...so easily...

Note: MAN.. isn't it getting better?.. ONE PROBLEM AFTER ANOTHER ONE..