Every Time
Written by Zephyr Wyndrose
a random one shot
X x X
Based on the song by Britney Spears...
X
Notice me
Take my hand
X
He was out with his friends again.
She stared out from her window, her eyes full of hurt and depression.
X
Why are we
Strangers when
X
She walked out of her room, trying hard not to look at his door while passing.
They hardly talked to each other anymore. As a matter of fact, the only time he ever talked to her was a near cheerful morning greeting, a "hi" every afternoon, and a good night before bedtime.
X
Our love is strong
Why carry on without me?
X
He had confessed after the Fight, two weeks after, at a beach. He told her that he loved her.
She hadn't said anything, but she knew that he knew.
They loved each other for only a short summer. They were so happy, always with each other and never an inch from each other's reach. But sometimes, he would look at her expectantly, as if waiting forsomething.
After that, he began to distance himself from her. He began to hang out with his friends more. But he still wanted something from her. She didn' t know what.
As he grew into his late teens, he lost all interest in her. He began to like cars, money, rock and heavy metal...
He was no longer the kind, innocent, and caring Shaman King she had known and loved. He would smile ever so often, and she could still see the old him in his eyes.
Even Amidamaru was wary.
X
Every time I try to fly
I fall without my wings
I feel so small
I guess I need you baby
X
The hot tea made her feel slightly better, but her heart was still broken. She still loved him. Very much.
But...
She wanted the old him back. She would give anything to turn time backwards and say that she loved him, back when he had confessed. Perhaps that would have made a difference.
The door creaked open, and two pairs of feet thudded into the house.
X
And every time I see you in my dreams
I see your face, it' s haunting me
I guess I need you baby
X
He stumbled in...
With a girl was under his arm, giggling like a maniac.
He caught sight of her.
She looked at the girl.
Her heart shattered. Her already splintered, punctured, and torn heart flew into bits.
She fought desperately to keep her mask on.
"Asakura Yoh, how dare you bring in a stranger without permission," she said as calmly as possible.
X
I make believe
That you are here
It' s the only way
I see clear
X
The girl giggled again and looked at him. "Who is that bitch?" she slurred.
"I dunno...my mom, I guess?" He laughed along with the girl.
Her fists clenched in her dress, her eyes filling up. She still loved him...
But not this him.
"Well, I guess there' s no point in asking," she hissed through her teeth. "I guess our engagement is broken."
He hiccupped and laughed again, swaying on the spot, not answering.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I loved you, Asakura Yoh. I loved you with all my heart and soul...
"But you betrayed my trust. I hope you' re happy."
The girl raised an eyebrow. "What...she talkin' 'bout?"
He laughed and shrugged. "Who cares..."
The blonde girl glanced at the new girl. She was rather pretty, if your definition of a 'pretty' girl was someone with a bust bigger than her brain. Not too witty, but that fit him perfectly. He was never really smart anyway.
She stormed up to her room, suppressing her tears for as long as possible.
She still loved him...
Even after all that, she couldn' t stop. The old him, the young, thirteen year old innocent him still controlled whatever was left of her wretched heart.
X
What have I done
You seem to move on easy
X
She carefully folded all her things, her tears staining the surfaces.
There were only a few, so she was done in a matter of minutes.
She slipped her hand into the knot that tied the package, her eyes scanning the room.
Everything had gone by so fast that it was hard to register. Eight years of memories...not especially fond memories, but she spent every minute loving him. Eight years...and he betrayed her trust the moment he allowed another woman, a woman he was interested in, set foot in the Onsen.
Her eyes caught a framed photo and a box on her table.
Walking over, she wiped her tears away and stood before her desk.
It was a frame with two pictures in it; one was of the present him, with his hair slightly spiked, wearing a black muscle shirt and loose black pants with various chains dangling from the pockets.
The second was taken four years ago and dated the twelfth of May.
His fourteenth birthday. Yes, she remembered that day. He seemed so happy and innocent, still the sweet him that she was so deeply in love with.
Her fingers brushed the box that the frame sat on, old and worn with dust blanketing the lid.
He gingerly pried it open and blew away the dirt.
A necklace and a strange wrist gadget, still lying dormant under the dust, waited for her.
The necklace...it was all that was left of Matamune in the material world. She remembered that it was Matamune who sacrificed his life to save her from her own Oni. She remembered how shocked she was that Yoh, a mere boy of ten, managed to defeat such a powerful Oni with only a cat spirit. Yoh never gave up on her, even when she tried to make him go away. She tried as much as she could to make him stay away, so that he wouldn't get hurt, but he never left her. And in the end, he was the one who saved her.
But he had taken it off on his sixteenth birthday, saying that since Matamune was already gone and his spirit was at peace, so he didn't really need to remain attached to it.
She had retrieved it from the garbage disposal and kept it without his knowledge. Now, as she looked at the impeccable metal, she was glad that she did.
The other thing was his old Oracle Bell, from the Shaman Fight five years ago. He had worked so hard for it and achieved his Oversoul with Amidamaru.
X
Every time I try to fly
I fall without my wings
I feel so small
I guess I need you baby
Every time I see you in my dreams
I see your face, it's haunting me
I guess I need you baby
X
The screen flashed on as she rubbed it, the name 'Asakura Yoh' and the Japanese flag glowing. She smiled ruefully, remembering when he had tried to convince her that it wasn't a pager from his new 'girlfriend'.
"...and he was like, hiccup goddamn it, you're..."
She sucked in her breath and held the two items to her chest. She could hear her heart thundering in her chest as their footsteps slapped, synchronized, on the wooden floor.
They passed without even looking.
Exhaling, she snapped the Oracle Bell onto her wrist and draped the necklace around her neck.
It was the closest she could get to the old him.
Grabbing the frame, she slid the two pictures out and gazed wistfully at the picture of his fourteenth birthday.
He was smiling in that special way of his, chaste and undiluted. His heart back then was pure and had faith in all living things. Everything will work out in the end, he would say. She smiled again, her happiness true. Yes, Yoh...everything did work out in the end, just like you always said...
She buried the picture in her clothes and held the other one firmly in her hands. She walked out without looking back, her heart set.
She went into the kitchen and turned on the stove. Holding the picture over it, she watched as his spiked hair caught fire and began to curl.
Walking out, she gently laid the flaming picture over the hot spring and watched the fire simmer.
X
I may have made it rain
Please forgive me
My weakness caused you pain
And this song is my sorry
X
She looked into the closet, whacking away cobwebs and dust mites.
There.
The Harusame...
He had tucked the sword away, believing that he would have no more use for it.
It would be the one thing to help her meet the old him again.
Clutching the bag in her hands, and gripped the sword tighter and walked out.
The streets were silent and peaceful, just like her mind.
She hoped it would be this way in the morning...
The lake came to view; it was the same lake he and she had gone to the night before he had journeyed to America.
She grabbed the picture inside her clothes and flung the bag into the water.
There were no ripples; the bag merely plunged into the tranquil water and sank to the bottom, harming no one, disturbing nothing.
She drew the sword and placed the picture of him four years ago under her dress, covering her heart. The Harusame had never before been stained with innocent blood. It had been held by so many powerful people, all with powerful souls and will.
I'm coming, Yoh.
She then climbed to the top of the rail, ignoring the sign warning not to lean over. She felt an utter peace overwhelm her. Was this death?
Breathing one last time, she smiled up at the sky.
"Yoh..."
X
At night I pray
That soon your face
Will fade away
X
"Anna..."
The voices were loud and soft, but she could still hear someone calling her.
"Anna..."
She opened her eyes wearily, a bright light in the sky.
Where...?
"Ah! You're awake!"
She turned her head and blinked.
"Yoh...?"
He smiled back, his earphones slightly askew. "I didn't want to bother you, but it's kinda late and the sun's going down, so..."
Anna frowned, her mind whirling. Was this Heaven or something?
She rubbed her chest, a stinging feeling at her heart. She...had committed suicide, hadn't she? Was that the cause?
She looked at her hand. No blood.
The Harusame, she saw, lay by Yoh's side, its sheath gleaming in the last rays of sunshine. At the corner of her eye, she saw a brilliant cerulean hue: the ocean's waves washed over the sand, eroding the sand and smoothing out the bumps. There was no metallic stench of blood in the air: only a salty smell and the smell of pine after a rainfall.
Yoh blinked and smiled apologetically. "Sorry...um...you were sleeping and I got sleepy and I fell asleep while listening to Bob...I guess my earphones were a little heavy..." he chuckled nervously.
"You...were sleeping on my chest."
"Err...yeah." He scratched the back of his head.
"And…um...Anna...I have to tell you something."
Anna narrowed her eyes. He was wearing his necklace...his hair wasn't spiked...he still listened to Bob...had the Yoh with she 'killed' herself over been a dream?
"Um...I...uh...um..."
It was five years ago, two weeks after the Shaman Fight, and they were on the beach. Yoh was still Yoh, she was still Anna...
"I...um..."
Her lips curled into a tentative smile. Maybe...
"Spit it out already," she said, reiterating her words from five years ago.
Yoh's face turned three shades of red and he made strange movements with his mouth. "Um...Ai...Aishteru..."
Anna paused, looking down at her hands. She could feel Yoh's intense stare on the side of her head. Should she answer, or should she remain quiet?
No. Last time, she had stared at him and nodded. She did not answer. Was this the answer he wanted, the thing he had always looked for?
"...and how long have we known each other?" Her mind was filled with jumbled thoughts, trying to figure out the best way to voice her affections for him and not sound like a royal fool.
"...three years. No...four." Yoh answered. He seemed puzzled.
"And how long have you felt that way?" She stared at the sun, now disappearing into the horizon.
"...since I met you." he replied quietly.
"When did you realize it?" Would this work? Anna felt doubt, for herself, crawl into her heart.
"Right before I left for America..."
"...you really are dense, Asakura Yoh. Three years ago, I told Ohoni that I loved you. You could have told me anytime,"
Yoh looked down at his hands for a moment, trying to make sense of her words. He always was a little thick.
"Really?" He finally got it. His eyes were sparkling and his face was now a slight pink.
Anna raised a delicate eyebrow and grinned. "Have I ever lied to you?"
Yoh stared at her for a few moments before laughing sheepishly and replying with a meek "Um...no?"
"I thought so,"
X
"Anna!"
He pulled up on his motorcycle, waving and smiling sweetly, as always. She smiled back and put her books in her bag, closing the clasp, and standing up gracefully. She bade goodbye to her study group and ran to her fiancée. She could hear, even from this distance, her friends swooning over the gorgeous sixteen-year-old and chatting about how lucky Kyouyama Anna, soon to be Asakura Kyouyama Anna, was to already have someone she knew she was going to spend the rest of her life with.
Yoh removed his helmet and stood on one leg, balancing his motorcycle. At his 6'1" stature, he was only taller than Anna by a head. He greeted his fiancée with a hug and a steaming open-mouthed kiss. She could feel a leather-gloved hand on her thigh. Her tongue teased with his, whipping about playfully, ending the kiss with a small chuckle as she felt Yoh try to pull her back.
"Well, hello to you too," she said, breathing hard. "And please tell me before you do that. I could get a heart attack,"
Yoh grinned boyishly. "Aw, c'mon, Anna...I hardly ever get to kiss you anymore."
"Nuh-uh!" Anna protested. "You kiss me every night, you pervert!" She nodded pointedly to the hand that appeared to be attached to her leg.
"Okay, I only kiss you like twice!" Yoh retorted, removing his hand and replacing it on the handlebars. "Right, Amidamaru?" Yoh glanced at his pocket, where a rectangular shape protruded.
The samurai spirit familiar materialized, nodding in agreement with his master. "Hai, you two hardly do anything anymore, except cuddle each other at night, feed each other at breakfast, stare at each other until Ren-sama slaps Yoh-dono on the head, and-"
"Okay, okay, I get the point!" Anna interrupted, laughing.
Yoh smiled brilliantly and replied, "There you have it. Even Amidamaru agrees."
"Shut up. You'll get to kiss me more than enough when we're married."
Yoh laughed and tossed Anna her helmet. "Even places not on your face?"
The blonde itako turned a shade of pink and punched him in the side. "Hentai!"
Yoh laughed loudly, holding up his arms in mock surrender as he sat back down. Anna regretted letting Yoh become so forward with her. He was no longer afraid of her death glares or her slaps.
Anna threw her bag on the backseat and put on her helmet. Adjusting the strap, she pulled her dress down and held onto Yoh's waist tightly as he sped off.
She smiled. Glancing at Yoh, who was trying hard to drive slowly for her safety (and failing miserably), she knew she'd made the right decision.
X
Every time I try to fly
I fall without my wings
I feel so small
I guess I need you baby
And every time I see you in my dreams
I see your face, it's haunting me
I guess I need you, baby
X
He stared, dumbfounded, at the tombstone.
It said that she, his fiancée, had committed suicide with a sword and had drowned in a lake.
She could never drown in a lake. She was an itako, a powerful, invincible itako and his Queen.
"Anna..."
He still loved her.
He wouldn't be able to stop. He knew that.
What if things had happened differently? What if he had pushed her for an answer?
Raising the Harusame, he stared at the dried blood, the blood of his fiancée. Licking the blade, he pressed a kiss against the crimson stain and smiled.
He pressed the sword to his heart, and plunged it right through. He felt his ribs crack, his heart writhe, and the blade exiting his body through his back.
He felt no pain. Just an eerie calmness, as though he was at utter peace.
I'm coming, Anna...
X
...owari...
X
I was depressed and I wrote this on a whim. So sue me.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything in this story except the sluttish girl and the humble plot. And to all fans out there, I truly didn't mean to make Yoh so...well, not Yoh. I was just really depressed over nothing, and I was listening to Evanescence and Britney Spears to clear my mind. But when I listened to 'Tourniquet' and 'Every Time' in succession, I thought up of a very evil plot. Mwahahahaha...yeah.
You can decide for yourself what happened. I don't know whether it's a happy ending or a sad ending.
Oh, and 'Every Time', evidently, belongs to Britney Spears, and 'Tourniquet' belongs to Evanescence.
Review, please! This is my first time, so be nice...but don't hold back. I accept flames.