"Anna?" Yoh asked as he looked at the blond. It certainly looked so much like Anna. The same eyes and the same face and the same blond hair, except this Anna was smiling. Her aesthetic face was lit up with happiness and joy. As she stared back at Yoh, he knew that this wasn't Anna. It may look like her but that smile, it wasn't Anna's. She was also not urbane like the regular Anna. This girl acted like a mere child. She had such levity around her aurora and not a care for anything in the world. She grinned at him like a four year old, and she looked so happy and innocent that Yoh had to grin back at the smiling figure. For the first time in days, Yoh smiled his sappy little smile.

"Me Anna," she replied, pointing to herself as if to clarify the idea that she was Anna.

She then motioned with her hands to what was below her. Yoh took his eyes off of the girl and saw, to his amazement, a huge crystal lake glittering in the sunlight. Rays of light played on the glittering mass of water, reflecting every color of the rainbow off of the waters and making such a vivid color on the surface. Yoh gasped as he looked at what seemed to be paradise.

"It's be-uuu-ttii-ful," the little girl said proudly, having accomplished such an amazing feat.

"Yes, it's quite beautiful," replied Yoh, almost dazzled by the lake. Then, the little girl blocked his view and stood in front of him.

"You not dead. Why you here?" she asked him as his gaze turned back to her. The girl got straight to the point.

"Well I'm looking for Anna. Do you know where she is?" Yoh turned his thoughts back to Anna. As much as the little girl in front of him looked like Anna, he knew she wasn't it. Where could she be?

"I," the girl pointed to herself again. "Anna. Me is Anna."

"But you're not the Anna I know. She's probably older than you. And she probably doesn't smile as much. She looks so much like you, yet you're not her. Have you seen her?"

"No. Me Anna," the little girl seemed irritated now. She was trying to make Yoh understand but Yoh knew that the little girl wasn't his Anna, or was she? "Me is Anna."

"But you're not Anna. She looks like you, but you're not her," Yoh tried to be civil with the little girl and tried to make her understand who he was searching for but she didn't seem to understand what he was saying and trying, herself, to make him understand.

"No, no! Me is Anna," the little girl was screaming now and looked to be on the verge of tears. "Me is Anna. A part of her."

Yoh was lost in the last words. A part of her. So this little girl was a part of Anna? But how could that be? Anna didn't act like this. This little girl isn't part of Anna. This is was so confusing for Yoh that he didn't even realize the little girl burst into tears in front of him. Coming to his senses, he sat down on the grass and placed the girl on his lap. She was very small and fit perfectly. She was still crying though and her eyes were very red and puffy now. Yoh gently placed her head on his chest and stroked her long blond silky hair. He whispered into her ears comforting words and he rocked back and forth, as if rocking a baby to sleep. Soon, the cries stopped. Her little head popped out of Yoh's chest and stared at him with those smoky raven black eyes.

"You nice," was all she said as she stared at him and he stared back at the angelic face. The more time Yoh spent with her, the more he knew that this wasn't his Anna. He loved the little girl and seemed to know her from somewhere yet this wasn't Anna…or was it? She seemed to be someone close to him yet her thoughts and activities were so alien and distant.

"Me is Anna," the little girl was trying to explain again. She was still in Yoh's arms and she was snuggling towards him as if she was snuggling against a big teddy bear. "Me is a part of bigger Anna. Me is little Anna. Me is inside of her, 'though me don't show up much. Bigger Annas is meanie."

The little girl stuck her tongue out at the idea of another Anna. Another Anna? Now this is bizarre. I come searching for Anna and I find more than one, mused Yoh as he listened to the sweet little girl.

"She don't let me come out. Me like to play. She dies. Me die. Other Anna die too," this time, the little girl sounded sad. But soon, she recovered and was the happy, energetic girl.

"Other Annas?" asked Yoh when he saw the little loquacious girl take a break from the chattering.

"Yes. Other Annas. The big ones. The mean ones. The mean ones don't like me," this time, the girl was scared and she was fidgeting with something in her shirt.

"Mean Annas?" Yoh had heard of Anna being mean but more than one? This was getting weirder by the second.

"Yes. Other Annas like me. The ones in her. Me and other Annas, a part of her. We a part of Anna," Yoh looked at the girl. She looked so innocent and sweet and waiting for him to say something. So this was part of Anna? It must be the childish part of her. Then Yoh saw what the little girl was fingering. It was the same pendant he had given Anna right before she died. The little girl was stroking the cherry blossom with her creamy white fingers.

When she saw Yoh looking, "You gave me. To keep me safe," Yoh nodded along with the girl, not sure if he understood or not. Then she took the fingered the clasp of the necklace and took it off. It dangled in her hands and the pendant shined brilliantly in the sun light. The different colors of glass gleamed and twinkled. Then, she opened his palm and gently placed the necklace in his hands.

"For you. To give to real Anna. Keep Anna safe. Keep all Annas safe." Then, the little girl raised her head and kissed Yoh on the forehead. The kiss burned into Yoh and the last thing he saw was the innocent little smile on her face before darkness consumed him.

Yoh tried to adjust to the darkness around him but he couldn't see a thing. He tried to feel around him for the little Anna. But she wasn't there. There was no warmth around him as in the meadows. There was no sunlight or a bright blue sky. There was no bright green grass under his feet. All there was was darkness around him, nothing more. It didn't seem like he was standing on anything, just floating in the air. Yoh strained his eyes and put his hand in front of them but that, he couldn't even see.

There was nothing but darkness. Feeling as if he had been there for eternity, he wondered where his friends might have ended up. Did they see the little Anna too? Or was that only him? Where could they have gone? And where is Anna? If the little Anna was right, then how can he meet the actual Anna, the one that they all make up? This was getting more confusing by the second and soon, Yoh melted into sleep, or at least he thought it was.

Suddenly, a report rang out. Opening his eyes, he could see nothing but darkness, as usual. Where did the explosion come from?

Yoh didn't make a sound as he strained his ears. Suddenly, he hurt a swish of a dress. He heard the clanking of someone's sandals. Someone was coming…There was still darkness but his hearing had improved. He knew someone was there and they were getting closer by the second. Still trying to strain his eyes, he could see nobody, so he used his other senses. Sniffing the air, he could smell a weird perfume. It smelled so much like the one Anna would wear sometimes. It was actually exactly the smell of Anna after she had gotten out of the shower. Is this Anna? Yoh wonders, Or another one of those "a part of her" things like the little Anna was talking about? And if it was, was this the mean one?

Then, all of a sudden, the perfume hit his nose. He breathed in the sweet scent of cherry blossoms mixed in with incense and the sweet smell of herbs. The walking stopped too and so did the swish of a dress. He could hear the breathing of someone right behind him. Yoh grabbed the necklace and its pendant. Whatever it was, he was prepared. He was the Shaman King after all and nobody scares him…except maybe Anna.

Suddenly, he felt his limbs numb. He couldn't move a single muscle as he stared into the darkness. Fear crept up his spine and goose bumps raised but then, a picture of Anna filled his mind and the fear resided. He knew what he was here for and no matter what happens, he was going to get her back.

He felt something by his ear and wanted to squash it, but he couldn't move. The tickle became breathing. Somebody was there. Then a harsh hiss filled Yoh's ears, one that he knew so well…

"Welcome to your nightmare, Yoh."

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Ah, a cliffie again. Well I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, even if its immensly short. Sorry that the first paragraph was filled with weird words but I'm doing studying for SAT's and the best way to learn vocab is to use it, or so my teacher said. I was going to update this weekend but since I'm going away, I decided to be nice and update now. The next chappies will be up soon hopefully next week. So the immature voice of little cute Anna was needed since I wanted to make her seem really young but I hope I didnt go overboard. The idea may sound weird but I hope you all like it. Enjoy and please review!

Love,

Lale the Assassin