Chapter 11: De-party-ture
Two long weeks after the joyful celebration Yoh and Anna (together with Amidamaru) had waited in the Asakura Temple for the gang's victory party. Yoh was really excited and wondering what kind of party his friends was throwing for him. What are they doing now? Had they choose the good food? He was like that for the whole two weeks (except for he was napping and eating) so Anna was really pissed off.
While Yoh was having the time of his life, Anna on the other hand was sort of doing something, something Yoh doesn't know, she always meditating in the shrine and most of all she was not making Yoh's life a hell; just like she promised in the eve of the coronation.
Still Yoh was curious why Anna was always inside the prayer room and meditating; he wants to believe that Anna was going to be that after the party because she doesn't promised him that she'll never give him chores to do.
"You don't need to know." That was always Anna's answer to him when he asked her what was she doing inside the prayer room. He does not know why he was so keen in knowing what Anna was up to. She might be planning a more dark strategy to make his life a hell for the rest of his life, he thought in horror.
But aside from Anna being Anna, he appreciate the whole temple, the shrine, the blazing sun, the mild breeze in the afternoon that makes his napping time comfortable, his family out there supporting him with Anna and Amidamaru. Except for the food (Spirits are the ones who cook those times for Tamao was in Funbari with the gang)
"I am getting hungry." Amidamaru said dreamily. Yoh snort a laugh, spirits cannot be hungry; they're dead. They were walking to the street a few blocks to the inn. "If you are getting hungry, I am starving to death!" Yoh exclaimed.
"That's because you didn't ate the food in the temple before we left." Anna snapped. "How could I eat those, it taste—" Yoh think for a better term to describe it, "Wicked… I mean they don't look edible to me." he finished. "If I just cook those, how could you stand the spirits cooking?" He said grinning.
"If you think its good; it would be." Anna retorted.
It was getting dark when they had arrived in the gates of the inn; it was disturbingly silent.
"Wow! It looks like it was deserted" he said looking at the inn.
"Or haunted." Amidamaru added.
"It was haunted Amidamaru; why is it silent, I can't wait to step inside." Anna said coldly as she open the gates that slightly cried.
They reached the wooden door, Yoh knocks gently. No one answers. He knocks again and no answer at all. He cast an anxious look to Anna. He grab for the door knob. A clung noise was heard and echoed through their ears.
"It was open?" Amidamaru muttered quietly.
"Anna's forehead wrinkled a bit. With the look of her face Yoh knows that Anna had figured out what the gang was up to.
Yoh gently open the door, the living room was empty. "Where are those guys?" Yoh asked. In a split second rushing footsteps was heard banging in the stairs.
"We're here!" Yoh shouted. The noise became closer and closer and two pesky animals zoomed to them knocking them down. "What the—?"
"Konchi and Ponchi! Come back here!" Tamao shouted rushing after them not knowing that they had arrived.
"If I'll catch you two!" she shouted again, "Ahhhh—" she was tripped in Yoh's leg.
BANG! Crashing noises occurred. "Ma—Ma—Master Yoh!" she blurted in surprise. "How long—how long had you been there?!"
"Just a while ago." He got to his feet and offered a hand to her.
"So… Konchi and Ponchi were still pesting you for the past two weeks." Anna concluded.
"I—sort of, Miss Anna." She retorted blushing furiously.
"Where are the others?" Yoh search the room.
"Yoh!" a loud cry towards them rushing Horo-Horo, Manta, Lyserg, Chocolove, Faust (and Eliza), Pirika, Ryu and Ren tumbled them.
"We really missed you Yoh!" cried Chocolove and Ryu.
"How touching." Anna said with a disgusting tone. The two completely ignore Anna.
"Why was the inn so completely silent?" Yoh asked. Everybody grinned except for Yoh and Anna.
"We've been planning of surprising you, Master Yoh but—" Ryu explained
"But these pesky animals had ruined the surprise am I right?" Anna continued with a cold tone.
"Yes! Ma'am Anna, how did you—?"
"Basically it was obvious." She snapped at him. "So much for that, had all of you had prepared for the party?" Everyone nod their heads meaning 'yes'. "Very well then."
"YAHOO! LET THE FEAST BEGIN!" Chocolove roared with excitement. Ren sighed but did not argue with him.
Tamao led their way in the beautifully decorated room just like the ones in the coronation ceremony. Those blue full moon decors tumbled them and a long wooden table. Everyone sat in the tatami mat. He can see the big wide smile in everyone's face. "I haven't prepared the food, I'll just go down and check those." She said softly.
"Are you the one who cooked the food?" Yoh asked her with a look that Christmas had arrived early this year.
"Er… yes Master Yoh, but everyone helped." Tamao replied flushing a deep shade of crimson in her face.
"Including Ren Tao." Chocolove added dreamily. Yoh instantly spun his head to his Chinese friend and grinned at him. Ren suddenly found his fingernails very interesting, Horo-Horo scowled.
"Alright, I'll be going down now… do you want some tea Master Yoh, Ma'am Anna? The food is not yet cooked." She again asked the newly came guest. They both shook their heads that means no. "Pirika can I have a hand?" she turn to her blue-haired friend, "And you too Ma'am Ann—" Tamao cut off. Everyone fell silent, no one ever thought Tamao, sweet, kind and silent girl asked Anna to help her.
It was as if Doom's day had arrived at the inn, an eerie, deafening silence filled the room and all heads turn to Tamao. "I mean, er—If it wouldn't hurt…" she blurted out with Yoh thinks full of nervousness with her voice wavering.
That is definitely the worst insult to Anna, everyone thought. He heard Horo-Horo murmuring something to Ryu. Ren was staring at Anna with a serious look. Chocolove, who was fallen silent, did not crack a joke. Manta on the other hand who was beside him exchange glances to him.
"Er—" Tamao again said with nervousness.
"Alright then, I'll help you both." Anna replied coldly to her. Everyone in the room blinked to what she had said.
"Ok. Let's go down." Tamao said slightly afraid and led the two girls to the paper door and heard them walking to the steps. Everyone's mouth fell open even to Yoh.
"Yoh-kun…" Manta said to him with a great disbelieve.
"Not now Manta…"
"Huh? Why?"
"I want to enjoy the moment… Anna taking orders to other people…" Yoh exclaimed.
"Yoh! You should not tell those things infront of Anna." Manta said still looking in the open paper door and expecting Anna emerging through there and lunging a powerful fist to punch him on his nose and cost it to fly out of the window.
"The first one?" Yoh said dreamily.
"No! The last one!"
"Hey Yoh!" Ren called back his attention; he caught his Chinese friends face in the other side of the long wooden table. "Is Anna doing alright, I think she was ill!"
"Nah, just being weird a lot lately." He answered grinning. "So, what are you doing the past two weeks?" He asked his small friend still grinning.
"Me? It was not kind of hell, I mean like Anna bossing around, it was fine." Manta instantly said. "We have difficulty in disinfecting this inn, we had just left this inn for just a couple of weeks and then it was gone dirty and filthy, like it was not cleaned ages ago."
"I suppose that had happen." Yoh said grinning again endlessly. "Spirits like to treat this inn into a party place…" he again said, "For themselves." They both laugh at Yoh had said.
"And come to think of it, someone's helping us to prepare and cook food." Manta shared to him.
"Who? Is that Ryu? He's excellent cook!"
"No. Ren." Manta leaned to him closely so that no one can hear him saying it. "Like Anna, he is behaving weird a lot lately; Horo-Horo thinks he's planning something. But I don't think so, He's just changing."
"Speaking of Horo-Horo, is he still digging those creamy boat tarts Tamao baking?" Yoh asked still remembered how his Ainu friend fancies those tarts, especially made by Tamao.
Manta snort a laugh but soft enough not to be heard by the people inside the room, "He's been sniffing those for the whole two weeks, and Tamao got really pissed of last week to him but in the end she was force to bake a tray for him everyday. No one knows why she done it. I suppose Horo-Horo had said something to her or even blackmailed her."
"I really don't think Horo-Horo could do such a bad thing." Yoh said.
"Do you think Horo-Horo is not a greedy git?" Manta said ridiculously, "He'll do everything to get hold of those boat tarts!"
"Hey Yoh, how was your stay at the temple, was it boring?" Lyserg joined them in a sudden.
"Er…not much, I was actually enjoying it." Yoh said truthfully. "Anna was not making my life a hell!" he exclaimed. Again, Manta search to the paper door to see Anna her hands in her electric blue beads.
"Good for you, we had the time of our lives here in your inn. We are disinfecting the whole inn, full of live insects. It was a shock to see those; they're big enough to suck all our blood from our body."
"The spirits love them here, when I had moved here it taken me some time to disinfect them too." Yoh retorted and picturing out how he had manage to be alive after entering the main door of the inn.
"Yoh, I have to tell something to you!" Ren called him in the end of the table, Horo-Horo beside him. Yoh gulped down his throat. He means something.
Manta cast an odd look to him so is Lyserg. He just shrugged to them pretending he does not know anything about Ren was going to say to him. He walk straight to them and sat in the futon. Manta and Lyserg with Ryu got themselves into another conversation.
"Listen… We just wanted to know if he had—you know…" Ren said very careful of saying it to loud.
"Oh! That!" He simply said with a fake surprise, at least he could notify them his comeback, but it was not the good timing to tell…
The paper door now clung open and the three girls entered the room. "So, is the food ready!" Chocolove yelled excitedly and sniggering after taking to Tamao's spirits.
"Just a moment." Tamao said.
"Why didn't you take the food here upstairs?" Horo-Horo said impatiently, to the look of his face he was madly hungry.
"They soon fly upstairs." Tamao said fanning herself and shot a odd look at Horo-Horo.
"Fly? As in literally fly?" Horo-Horo again asked her with a tone that's-impossible! Pirika giggled next to him, He shot a glare to his sister. Tamao held a foot-length wooden stick and tapped it in the table thrice.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
"What's with the stick?" Horo-Horo again commented with an impatient and grunting tone.
Next thing they knew, the door again swung open and flying dishes in a tray gently came to the table. Horo-Horo's mouth opened with disbelief, so with the others. They could see the victorious look at Tamao.
The plate of rice balls gently came down infront Faust. He looked amazed. A large mug full of something color orange with heavy white froth stand over the table.
"What are those?" Ren pointing the large mug of unidentified liquid. He examine it every bit of it as if it was a poison.
"No need to worry, that's only candy beer." Pirika responded with again suppressed giggles.
Faust raised an eyebrow, before he could say a word Tamao butt-in. "I think what's in your mind Mr. Faust. It is just a cola, I just invented the name. Because it looks like a beer, you know the froth." Tamao explained.
"Just a cola!" Chocolove said disgusted, he thought he can taste a true beer and pushed it away from him.
"It tastes like a beer. But not having alcohol content." Pirika added to the disappointed Chocolove.
"It is!" Ryu shrieked with joy. "Now I can drink with Master Yoh! I mean it is not making you fell sleepy!"
Tamao nodded. Yoh grinned to Ryu.
"Wait a second…" Horo-Horo interrupted them. Everyone spun their heads to the Ainu boy. "How long had you been bewitching things?" He said with an accusing tone to Tamao nodding to her.
"Oh!" Tamao jumped, "I didn't bewitched them, Horo-Horo. That's ridiculous! I just ordered the spirits of the house to help me. With a split second several ghost materialized to the room. Horo-Horo shrieked with fright.
"Let's toast to Master Yoh! The new Shaman King!" Ryu lifted his mug of candy beer and offered a toast to everyone.
"To Yoh!" Everyone chorused. And lifted their mug as Ryu had done. They gulp down their candy beer. To Yoh's opinion it taste like something weird, he hadn't tasted a beer before, it just tasted something different, he thought.
Ryu slam his mug down and pulling his sleeve to wipe his lips. "Wow! I like it Tamao!" Ryu said with glee. Yoh put down his mug. It taste like sweet but a bitter taste lingers in his mouth. The froth covered his mouth.
"Yoh! The foam is in your mouth, it's like you had a beard." Manta noticed it and commented, everyone laugh.
"Did anyone says leprechaun!" Chocolove yelled at the top of his voice lifting his mug. Everyone fell silent.
"Faust, can you pass the rice balls?" Ren said to him urgently, "So I can stick those foods inside this fat-mouthed-comedian!" he said.
Yoh grinned, he was alarmed that Manta had said to him that Ren was a bit changing, he can see the first time he met Ren, very cold and snobbish. He thought it was Jun who was encouraging to be 'soft' sometimes. He reached for his bowl of eel with special sauce, looks inviting he thought.
"I had cooked that Master Yoh, especially for you." Ryu reminded him and was in crimson in face. He does not know if in shyness or with the candy beer. He grab those metal chopsticks and start eating, it was perfectly delicious!
"It was good we had organized this kind of party." Faust said putting down his chopsticks. "The party that the Great Spirits had thrown for you was not that good like this one, Master Yoh."
"Yes, I definitely agree on that." Manta instantly blurted, finishing his rice ball. "Those psychos are not suppose to be invited in the coronation." He said angrily.
"Who's psychos?" Pirika muttered innocently.
"X Laws." Lyserg responded.
"Oh, they're just horrible! They are murderers!" Pirika said angrily, Horo-Horo tug her in the rib. "Oh! I am sorry Lyserg! Gomen ne!"
"It's alright, that was true." Lyserg said guiltily.
"Let's not talk about those mad people…" Anna said irritably. To Yoh it seems Anna wants to let the conversation in a new direction so Lyserg won't be hurt.
Lyserg again drunk his candy beer down and slamming it to table empty. "Another mug?" Tamao offered the pitcher to him.
"Me too, Tamao-kun!" Ryu said to her.
And so the whole gang drank down those candy beers Tamao made and those delectable dishes they had prepared for Yoh.
Yoh felt his head going to explode any moment, and his vision became blurring. His head was gone into circles and he wants to throw up but only thing he had done was to lay in the table and easily drowse off…
Yoh cannot fell anymore his body and he can still see the room with his friends like circling madly.
Next thing he knows he woke up, felling dizzy. Still his head was making him mad. He search the room, everyone was sleeping. He guess that the candy beer that Tamao gave them made them sick. Manta was beside him, sleeping soundlessly. Horo-Horo was in the other end of the room sleeping with his mouth open wide as if hundreds of fly can have a ball. What makes him woke up is Ryu's loud snoring who was beside Ren. The two girls were also drowsing off—Tamao and Pirika.
He managed to stand and walk towards the paper sheet door to go to the bathroom to wash his face. There was a mistake in Tamao's candy beer, she might had forgot not to add alcohol on it. He walks into the dark hallways of the inn. It was dark, they haven't opened the lights before going to the dining room. It was midnight, he thought.
He dances all the way to the bathroom and stir the faucet and splashes of water came in. he washed his face. It was odd, he thought. Where is Amidamaru?
"Amidamaru?" he called his samurai warrior.
Nothing came. He called again, no one appeared. Why would Amidamaru be gone? Is he sleeping? But if he was he can see him sleeping, where is he? A mad idea came into his head, had Amidamaru drank the candy beer?
He rubbed his hair, that was mad! Really mad! He made again his way back to the room but something gave him interest to go down the landing and go to the main door of the inn. He stepped the steps of the stairs. It gently cried.
"Amidamaru?" he called again.
He heard someone move in landing but cannot see for it was dark. "Is that you Amidamaru?" he said innocently.
It didn't answer. He heard again, stomps of feet. 'Who was that?'
"Is there some one else here?" he asked stupidly. He did not got any answer.
He finally got down the flight of stairs. It was dark, and not to mention his head was making him dizzy.
The main door of the inn opened and light came in the shadows of the lit lamp outside. He saw the familiar shadow. Shadow of a girl—it was Anna.
"Anna?" he asked incredibly, "What are you doing there?"
Anna did not answer and drag something, something like a bag.
"Er… Anna, I don't think it is the best time for a walk, it was midnight…" he trailed off…
Anna stared at him for a moment and started to walk outside the door.
"Hey! Anna!" he called her and followed her quickly. Anna came into halt. Yoh froze. He saw Anna holding a small bag, the bag she got when she move in the inn. "What is that?" he asked now in a more serious tone.
"This is…" Anna said coldly to him and gestured at her red bag like her bandana. She wore her usual clothes, "a bag, Yoh."
"I know, I am not stupid."
"Good." She said coldly and faces him. "I can go now without further explanation."
"What do you mean, Anna-chan?" he asked. Is Anna going away or something?
"You said you were not an idiot."
"I did."
"Then, don't ask me stupid questions."
"Bu—t?"
Anna again started to walk again.
"Anna-chan!"
Anna faces him again and to the look on her face Yoh thinks is was extremely angry this time. "What?" she said angrily but not loudly.
"Why are you going away?" he asked.
It was a long time of silence in the place. Yoh was sweating now.
"Because I want to." Anna finally retorted after five minutes of silence.
Why does she want to leave the inn, she really like the hot spring and most of all she will be the wife of the shaman king that she can boss around?
"Because I want to. I repeat." She said noticing the look on Yoh's face.
He hesitated to reply but he said, "But why?" Anna gave him another of her death glares. Yoh just stared back at her. "Isn't this what you want? To be the shaman king's wife? To live in a better life… without worries?"
"I had told you that because I want you to be the shaman king."
"And now I am the shaman king, what is the purpose of leaving?"
"You know Yoh, isn't it obvious?"
"Obvious—What?"
"That I really despise you."
It touched a nerve, even though Yoh heard every insult from Anna he had not heard her saying those words to him. "But you really love bossing me around do you?"
"Yes I do."
"Then…"
Anna walk towards him slowly, Yoh stepped back he might get another slap form her. "Yoh…" she trailed off, still walking towards him. "You are the most idiot person I had misfortuned to know… is it that obvious that I had just been told to train you…"
Yoh still did not say anything. His mouth had gone dry.
"I was your trainer and that's all. Now that my work is finished I shall go on to my life."
"What life—?" he managed to ask her weakly.
"Never you mind." She retorted coldly. "Had you remember what I had told you the eve of your inauguration?"
Yoh nods in agreement.
"I will give you a gift." She said in a low tone and grab Yoh's necklace with some kind of a fanged pendant.
"Er—that is my necklace, Anna-chan." He informed her.
"Yes it is." She said and without warning, she pulled it tight, breaks the pendant into two, and threw in the porch.
"Ahh—my—necklace—!" Yoh screech and followed his eyes in the broken necklace. "Why did you do that?" he asked her with a hint of anger in his tone. He can't understand why Anna break his necklace, he turn his gaze to her, she was emotionless, really an itako.
Anna shot a dangerous look at him and said in a cold tone, "That necklace symbolizes our engagement." She said. His heart fell when he heard Anna said those. It was true; it was the sign that he and Anna are betrothed. Is that means…
"I gave you your freedom, Yoh." Anna said. "I am sorry for all the horrible life you had when I had made your life miserable, it was part of the Asakura family plan." She said and finally bowed at him with respect. "This is the last time I could call you on your first name, and maybe this is the last time I could talk to you." And she walked away, opening the gates that gently cried and trotted away, away from the inn. He now sees her red bandana for miles away.
He was still standing; alone, he doesn't know what to do. He was shaking; he doesn't know why he is shaking—with fear, with anger. His lips was gone drier, he could feel something in his insides. He wants to scream but he can't. Why would Anna want to break the engagement? Does he really such a bum that she doesn't like him? And what the hell his family plans for him? He was the world's stupidest person, he made a promise that he'll not refuse to her gift. How stupid he was, it was the only thing he regret of doing it.
The morning sun gently peeps out of the clouds. Another day has come.
"Yoh! Yoh!" Manta was tugging him hard. He opened his eyes slowly and rays of the sun tumbled to him and a worried Manta swim to his senses.
"Er… Manta… how are you? Good Morning!" he lazily greeted his small friend. He realized they were in the main door of the inn. He had slept there.
"Yoh-kun… why did you sleep over here?" He asked him curiously. "It was about ten in the afternoon. Tamao's candy beer backfired." Manta explained.
"The candy beer?" he retorted. He nearly forgot about the party.
"Hi Manta, Yoh, Good morning!" Horo-Horo greeted the two dreamily. To Yoh he was still sleepy. "Had you two made breakfast?" Horo-Horo asked and scratching his head. "I reckon this is called 'hangover,'" Horo-Horo added.
"I think, Tamao had made a mistake. She let us drank a real beer. That's why we all drowse off." Manta said to the Ainu boy.
"Er… Yeah…" Horo-Horo said still scratching his head. "What are you two doing there anyway?" and he search in the hallways. "I reckon we should make breakfast before Anna-chan gets berserk."
"Anna-chan?" Manta asked. "I haven't seen Anna in the dining room and anywhere in the inn."
"You sure?" Horo-Horo said with delight. Yoh got to his feet. His head is not moving into circles now. "I mean, she might got a walk or something." He added.
"Good. We should start to cook before she comes back." Manta said.
"Right." Horo-Horo agreed and went to the kitchen. Yoh tried to stop them.
"What Yoh?" Horo-Horo snapped at him angrily as if he had eaten his boat tarts without permission.
"Don't strain yourself making breakfast." Yoh said sadly.
"I get it; you want us to make lunch instead." Horo-Horo snapped. Manta exchange glances to Horo-Horo.
"No! I mean, don't strain yourselves making breakfast for Anna." He said. "She won't be coming back."
Manta and Horo-Horo's mouth fall; they can't believe what Yoh had said. They stared Yoh from head to foot.
"Can you repeat it again?" Manta asked five minutes after a long silence.
TBC.
A/N: Hi there readers, it was a long time. Sorry for the long updates, I was gone busy for school works and of course; I was busy also for my new fic. (Check it out!) I do hope you like this chappy for I had spend months to make this. I know this is another cliffhanger but the next chapter you'll soon find out how Yoh can cope with his new responsibilities without Anna around.
Poor Yoh! Will his friends help him to forget Anna or it is the other way around?
Please read and review. It means a lot to me.
Vienne louis jean Spellman…
Maraming Salamat! Thank you! Domo arigato gozaimasu! Merci! Grazie! Vielen Dank!