Yeah, OK. I'm here, sick like anything, coughing like crazy, but whatever.

This is the last chapter folks. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Seriously, it was great fun.

CONCLUSION
When Yoh woke up, his body was aching all over.

That didn't surprise him at all. What surprised him was the fact that Anna was asleep next to him, on the floor.

"Yoh-dono," Amidamaru appeared, hovering with a concerned expression on his face. "Are you… all right?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Yoh said, his usual cheeriness kicking in. "I'm a bit hungry, though."

Amidamaru smiled. Yup, he was fine.

"Naa, Amidamaru," Yoh said suddenly, looking at Anna's unconscious form. "How long has she been here?"

"As soon as she regained consciousness," Amidamaru said. "That was… yesterday, I believe."

"Eh? How long have I been out?"

"Two or three days. Your body is quite strong, Yoh-dono."

"Must be because of all the training," he found himself saying. He looked at Anna again.

Anna was having bad dreams again.

She didn't have nightmares since she was much younger, she realized, as she regained consciousness.

"Aa, you're awake," she heard someone saying.

She froze at first, because she heard that voice before. It was a voice of cold, hard, burning…

"Anna?"

Anna blinked, and then remembered all that had happened.

Of course she knew who it was. It was Yoh, and he was now looking at her with a genuinely concerned look on his face.

She looked at him. For a moment, that's all they did. Look at each other.

Anna didn't know she could feel so relieved to see him. At the same time, she felt a bit held back. It was hard not to, considering Yoh was Hao's twin brother.

Yoh blinked, and opened his mouth. But Anna cut him off by hitting him quite soundly on the head with a loud BONK.

"Itai!" Yoh cried. "Annaaa…"

"Yoh-dono!" Amidamaru appeared, looking at his master with a cross of concern and… well, amusement. Sure he pitied Yoh (it was Anna, after all…), but it still looked kind of funny.

"Leave," Anna snapped at Amidamaru. He looked surprised.

"Wha--?"

"Please," she said then, less hostile. "I need to talk. To him."

"Very well," Amidamaru said respectfully. He disappeared.

"A-anna?" Yoh said meekly.

BONK!

"Itai!" he yelped. His eyes were watering something fierce.

"BAKA!"

"Eh!"

"You could have gotten yourself killed!"

There was a stunned sort of silence. Not because Yoh didn't expect that kind of thing from Anna. In fact, he knew it was only a matter of time (though even then, it was painful…).

What had brought about shock was the fact that Anna had tears coming out of her eyes.

"Anna…"

BONK!

"Listen to me when I talk to you!" she said angrily. "You risked everything by challenging him. You could have been killed."

"I know!" he said, somewhat indignantly. What he did was for her, after all. "But how else would I save you?"

"If I didn't come on time, what then?" she asked, eyes flashing with her strong character.

"He wouldn't kill me," Yoh said quietly.

This was something they both knew.

"Even then… do you realize how badly injured you are? If I meant anything to you at all, you could have had the sense to train and meet him at the Shaman tournament. I can take care of myself!" Anna stopped. She slid her hands back into the sleeves of her yukata. "I can take care of myself."

Yoh shrugged. "It all worked out in the end, right?"

"Baka," she said, but she didn't hit him again.

"Anna…"

"Hm?"

"What did he do to you?"

She tried to keep her face straight, but there were still some tears. "Used old powers. 'Kidnapped' me, without taking my physical form."

"I know that. I mean, what did he do to you?"

"…"

He was serious now, and she knew she couldn't avoid the question.

"…I'm fine," she said. And then she added, "If that's what you're asking."

"That was what I was asking," Yoh said, taking a relaxer's pose. He lay down with the back of his head resting on his hands, hauntingly like Hao. "But I don't think you're telling me the truth."

She took a defensive. "Are you calling me a liar?"

He opened one eye and looked at her straight in the eye. "…"

Anna sighed. They both knew she was giving hollow lines. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm going to go—" she began to mumble out. But then Yoh sat up suddenly and took her hands into his.

She mentally cursed as he studied the bruises on her wrists. They were faint, but quite obviously painful.

"Did he do this?"

The question was more like a demand. He was angry, she could see.

She pulled away. "Maybe."

His face grew somber. "I'm really sorry, Anna…"

"Hm?"

"I didn't protect you like I should have. If I lost you… I don't know what I would have done. Truth is… if I did like you said I should have, if I waited until it was proper time to fight Hao… I still may have lost you… and…"

He stopped himself, but he didn't need to finish. Anna caught the slightly red glow on his cheeks. It made her blush through her tears. She was thankful he didn't see it.

They sat in silence for a while.

"Hey, Anna."

"Hm?"

"Don't cry anymore," he said, smiling at her brightly.

Anna touched her cheek, embarrassed. But the tears couldn't stop.

He looked at her, worried. "Eiha, it's okay. We're all okay, ne?"

Yoh pulled her into a warm hug.

Anna found herself hugging back.

Yoh will be Shaman King.

That was a fact, not a hope. Kyouyama Anna never, ever had any doubt at all that Asakura Yoh would be the Shaman King. None at all. It was a fact in itself.

And…

When it came to Yoh's feelings for her…

She looked at him, her eyes softening. He looked up, caught her stare, and smiled.

"Yes, Anna?"

That easygoing expression on his face was something she liked about him, though she often blamed it for revealing to the world just how lazy her fiancé was.

"…Nothing, I'm going to bed."

She shivered when she said it. He noticed this, and then draped a blanket around her.

"…Why don't we watch the stars first?"

Anna saw through him, of course. He was trying to take her mind off what had happened. If things went on the fortunate side, she would asleep in his arms without any worry of Hao's treacherous powers.

"Hai."

She agreed, because she did want to forget about what happened. Because she did want to see the stars.

And because maybe, she did want to fall asleep in his arms.

After all, she was finally sure he cared for her, too.

FINISHED!

Whoa! I'm finally done!

All in all, I'm not totally satisfied, but I actually finished it. I can go back and fix it later on, anyway.

To the reviewers, we go!

The following get a hug and a jar of guava jam:

anitaking3

lovebaby

sazzy1

Dark Angel Alchemist

Darkness Falls

BluRosEs

Sweetkukumalu

Trey Racer

REBEl4000

hannami08

pendulumxswing

Thank you so much for the reviews!

The following get a bigger hug and a bunch of bananas:

Kendricks Alashane

Holy Girl

Thanks, you guys, for reviewing . Reviews are like candy—so sweet!

The following get an even BIGGER hug and a plate of blueberry muffins:

sweet-but-evil

YamiandAnzuForever

Tone

It's really nice to know that you're following the story, and/or are really excited about stuff to happen. I hope I haven't let you down in any way.

And last (but certainly not least, because here the people reviewed times four), the following people get not a hug, but a GLOMP, and a strawberry shortcake. Yum!

Sakurayumi – Hope nothing confused you any more! Yes, I appreciate your reviews, because they totally make my day!

Nyago – I LOVE your reviews! They make me smile, and they make me want to keep on writing! I hope you enjoy this fic!

The following get hit in the face with pie for not reviewing:

Sireen Silverspinner – You SUCK, Siri. ;p

(note: she's my best friend, I'm allowed to tell her that. Move along, move along…)

And if I've forgotten anyone at all, I am really, really sorry. As you should know, I am quite an unreliable person. So… yeah. Don't kill me.
poof!

(Side note: Author is hopelessly unreliable. In other words, if you are expecting all that stuff, don't count on it too much. XD Gomen ne, minna-san.)