Ch 5. A Star Falls Across the Sky

AN: Gomen means sorry

Manta's visit was a short one; he left the following day. There were many duties for the business man to attend to. In turn, the lack of companionship caused Yoh to grow restless inside. It was true that he was the Shaman King, someone who could fulfill any wish. Thus, his wish to live a relaxing life had come true. That was all he wanted. He didn't care for power or greed, so he chose not to meddle with the political affairs of the world. In fact, few were aware of his existence as the Shaman King. The ones who were aware, mostly the shaman community, respected him and obeyed his requests to live in peace.

But along with age and everything else, he learned to feel loneliness. His main spirit, Amidamaru, had passed on a few months after the wedding. Yoh had known they wouldn't need to fight for awhile. If the occasion arose, Anna would simply summon him, so it was okay. It was okay even if Yoh would miss the samurai.

Cool air caressed Yoh's chest and his loose shirt billowed with the breeze. What a strange thing, weather is! Just a few days ago it had been as chilly as winter. Now he couldn't tell whether it was spring or autumn.

Light footsteps shuffled behind him. He shifted his head to see Tamao approaching him with a tray of tangerines. The awkward teenage girl peered down at him. "Uh…Yoh-sama, I thought you might want a late night snack." Her voice quivered.

Yoh answered with a motion for Tamao to sit on the wooden deck with him.

She obeyed after setting the tray between them. She studied him a little. His eyes were on the shimmering stars above. Seeing his chiseled face and gleaming eyes up close, Tamao's heart fluttered.

"Look, a star just fell across the sky!" Yoh startled her with the remark. It was like she had just been caught staring at his face.

"Do you mean a shooting star?"

"Wow, that's the first time I ever saw one. It's beautiful."

"You should make a wish, Yoh-sama. I've been told shooting stars can grant wishes." However, she didn't dare make a wish of her own.

He slowly turned his handsome face in her direction. "Is that so?" he asked while smiling at her.

Feeling embarrassed by the attention he was giving her, Tamao blushed. Yoh, however, was already back to stargazing. Taking advantage of it, she went back to examining him. Everything about him was wonderful to her, the way he kept his hair longer than most men, the way it glistened under the sun, and now under the stars. Even the trace of his jaw seemed perfect. Then there was also the way he wore his dress shirt unbuttoned, the way it would often flap in the breeze. It revealed a defined chest and toned abs, evident of a body that worked hard under the sun.

Yoh shifted his head to look down at his feet. When he leaned down, pieces of his long bangs strayed over his eyes. At that moment, Tamao wanted to reach over and fix it for him.

And then she did, without thinking.

Stunned, Yoh could only stare back at the apprentice. Their faces were now so close that their noses nearly touched. And out of impulse again, Tamao closed her eyes and brushed her lips against his.

The trance was soon broken when she felt him firmly push her back. Eyes open, Tamao shrieked at her own actions. A look of genuine shock had replaced Yoh's usually calm demeanor.

Immense heat permeated throughout her body. Frantic thoughts raced in her head. Keep it together! Keep it together! You must think of some explanation!

But it was too late; Yoh began to say things she never wanted to hear. "Gomen, Tamao. This is entirely my fault. I---never made it clear. Never made it clear that you shouldn't wait for me."

You mean I shouldn't be in love with you, Yoh-sama.

First her heart stung. Then as the painfully long moment continued to pass, the poison starting in her heart began to seep out. It flooded her entire body, eventually making her numb enough to stagger backwards. He continued on though, averting his eyes from Tamao. "Gomen. I've never had the intentions of misleading you. Never. Yet, knowing perfectly well how you feel about me, I stayed silent. And I stayed silent much longer than I should have. Tamao, you deserve a happy life of your own. You don't need to cast that aside for the Asakura family; you've already done so much."

Tamao shook her head profusely, tears beading off her eyelashes. "I know, I know….I've known it all along that you can never return those feelings! I've accepted it. This time…I just….I'm sorry."

Yoh didn't know how to respond. He just looked at her sympathically.

A look that Tamao couldn't bear to see anymore.

"Please Yoh-sama, forgive me. Forget that I did such a foolish thing." She abruptly fled, leaving Yoh by himself.

"Tam---" Much too late, she was long gone. He clenched his fist and slammed it down on the deck. "Damn it all! Why does everyone around me…"

"Although you're the Shaman King, why isn't everything as easy going as you intended?" The voice stunned Yoh. His eyes widened when its owner slowly stepped out from the shadows of the trees.

"What are you doing here?"

The world basked in the light of dawn. The sky was clear and the air cold. Today was the sixth day of Anna's retreat and she started it off with wading in the river. She doused her whole head into the azure water and shivered. What she was doing there, she really wasn't sure. All she knew was that she needed to clear her head, and this was one way of helping her stay collected.

Her concentration was rudely broken by his voice. She turned her attention to him while her chest heaved from both her heartbeats and the cold.

"You came all the way here to do that, Anna?"

Anna straightened up her posture and glared at the intruder. Water beaded off of her forehead and into her eyes, but she did not blink. Only silence ensued. He grinned at her with the kind of arrogance that others mistook for charm. He took notice of the damp hair that plastered her sharp face, the swelling of her red lips, and the creamy skin under the drenching, transparent robe.

Anna felt his eyes roaming over her body, but she was too dignified to scramble for cover. Indifferently she said, "I have no business with you, Asakura Hao."

Hao shook his head teasingly, his long hair swaying from side to side. The rays of the waking sun played on the mix of mahogany and plum hues in his strands. "I came all the way here to see you. How icy. You're the kind of flower that survives in the snow."

"Don't waste my time with your poetry."

"Please forgive my insolence. I get a little brash when I'm worried."

"If you mean to say that you're worried about me, then you're also wasting your own time."

His grin transformed into a smirk. "Isn't the water too cold? Especially for someone carrying a child?" Anna's eyes widened. Satisfied with the reaction, he quickly added, "You should take better care of yourself, sister-in-law."

"I see you haven't lost that ability."

"I may have lost all my furyoku abilities, but yes, I do still have that ability." Then his air changed and he scratched the back of his head in a comical way. Hao beamed at her. "Well actually, I can't read them as clearly as before. Especially, yours."

Anna walked towards him, droplets forming at the base of her white robe as she stepped out of the water. "Get to the point, Hao." Impatience ignited her dark eyes.

Yoh's duplicate didn't answer immediately. He glanced down at Anna's bare feet; they were tiny and pale.

"What are you scheming this time?"

"Scheming? No. You should trade that accusation for gratitude." Anna waited for him to continue, this time wearing a scowl on her face. "I visited my little brother the other night. I also delivered the good news of your pregnancy. Of course, I added a little bit of flavoring to the story."

He foresaw the consequences of his remarks, but did nothing. With a swift motion, Anna slapped Hao hard across his left cheek. He let her slap him because, hell, he sort of missed it in a morbid way.

06/12/05--Funny, I was totally waiting for someone to say that this story needed more plot. I know that I've never been a plot driven writer, so I honestly can't make a good plot for this story. So it's all about angst, man! As far as what Anna is thinking….I thought about making her thoughts more accessible to readers, but I think it also compromises a lot. For this story, I think it's more effective to have people guessing what she's thinking, based on her mannerisms, gestures, expressions….you get the idea. I was drawn to SK because of that. For example, you kind of know that Yoh likes Anna, but he's never obvious about it. It's the subtly that keeps fangirls like me wanting more! On the other hand, Tamao is probably the only one I feel comfortable with portraying what she is thinking. For some reason it's okay to really show she's suffering. Poor girl!

10/30/05—Revised & reposted.