Well, THIS chapter certainly drained the life out of me. Put up a voting poll lately actually. Please go there and just vote for your favourite couple in Shaman King. I would really appreciate it. The website is: ' http/ Just copy and paste. OR, just go to my account profile and just click on the WEBSITE. Okay, thanks in advance for those who vote!Chapter 16 everyone!

CHAPTER 16

" You want to what?"

Yoh raised his eyebrows at Ren, his hands on his hips, clearly annoyed that he had not listened to what he had just said carefully. " I want to invite you and Pirika to dinner with Anna and me. I thought it would be fun to go out with another couple for once."

" First of all," Ren said, pointing out two fingers, counting them off slowly. " You and Anna don't seem like anything of a couple to me, and second of all, don't we always come over to eat dinner at your house anyway?"

" That's different, Ren." Yoh said. " This time it will just be the four of us."

" Sounds plausible." Ren said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. " Who's paying?"

" Split between you and me." Yoh said matter-of-factly.

" Oh." Ren said, sounding disappointed. " And why are you suddenly wanting to eat dinner with another couple with Anna, who currently denies the very fact of your existence?"

" Because I felt like eating dinner with another couple, and Anna currently denies the very fact of my existence." Yoh replied, sighing depressingly.

" Oh." Ren said, grimacing. " I see."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Anna was sitting in the coffeehouse by herself, looking out the window dreamily. She was not sure what she was doing out here, actually. The first thing she remembered was walking out of this very same coffeeshop a few minutes ago, and then, after seeing that Yoh and the rest had left soon after her, she soon entered, knowing this was the least possible place Yoh would go to. She twirled her straw in her drink loungily, and let out a depressed sigh. She did not know what she had saw in Yoh before, anyway, she thought furiously, now pounding angrily at the drink with her straw. He was such a chauvinist pig, such a pervert, such a horny piece of- - -

" Excuse me, miss?" came a voice, and she looked up.

A rather attractive looking young man was looking down at him, a confident smirk on his face. She raised her eyebrows and looked behind him and noticed three other men behind him, grinning at her. She sighed. Not another person with irritatingly corny pick-up lines.

" What is it?" she asked, bored.

He appeared to look confused. Apparently he was not used to being put down by girls. " What were you expecting me to do, start licking the soles of your feet?"

" Well, if you want to do that, that's perfectly fine with me." he said, smirking.

Great, she thought. Another Hao wannabe.

" Sorry, not interested." she replied simply.

He seemed to be even more surprised by that, and looked over his shoulder at his friends, who were looking equally surprised. Looks like he was known by his chummies to be fantastic with girls. ' That was just perfect,' Anna thought smugly, acting as thought she could not see the very pervertic things the man's friends were telling him to do, and just crossed her legs and waited to deflate his ego even more.

" Have I met you somewhere before?" the person asked her.

" How original." she said dryly. " Never heard that one before."

He blinked, and she just looked back at him blankly, even though inside her she was laughing her head off. This was just what she needed; someone she could just insult openly, to pass her anger of Yoh on.

" What's your sign?" he asked persistently.

" No entry." she said. " Any others? Are you going to ask me what book I'm reading? Unfortunately there's nothing propped up in my hands, but if you wish so, I could get one from the nearby library."

" What do you do for a living?" he asked, almost desperately now.

" I'm a cross-dressed." she replied.

He laughed it off. " You're good." he said.

" And you're bad." she said sourly. " Aren't you embarrassed?"

" Not to the least." he said mildly. " A friend of your wanted me to come over here and let you heal your anger off your boy-friend. He seemed to think that that would make you feel better anyway."

She blinked. " And who is he?"

" His name is Hao Asakura." the person said, sitting down next to her. " The runner-up to the Shaman King, wasn't he? Pity he lost though. . .he was my idol for a point of time."

" That idiot." she muttered silently.

She got to her feet, undoubtably aware that Hao had indeed cheered her up. Not that she would admit it openly though. She turned around and smiled at the person. " Thanks for that anyway." she said to him, before walking out. He looked at his friends, and they shrugged at him.

" She's hot when she smiles." one said.

" Amen to that." another said.

" Was it really worth being embarrassed in public like that just for ten bucks from Hao?"

" Worth every cent." the person said, smiling.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Yoh stood in front of Anna's door, taking in a deep breath before releasing it, before taking another and releasing it. This went on fort a pretty long time, and Amidamaru looked at him anxiously. " What's the matter Yoh-donno? You're acting like a woman in pregnancy! What's that exercise called? It's. . ."

" Lamaze breathing, I know." Yoh replied shortly. " I'm just getting ready to ask Anna if she would like to go to dinner with me, Pirika and Ren. I have to make it seem optional for her, even though it's not optional for her, because in the start it was optional for Pirika, but I made it not optional for her because I made Ren's optional become not optional even though his not optional was already not optional from the beginning because if Ren knew that his optional was not optional from the start then he would purposely make it seem like he doesn't know his optional is actually optional which would make his optional really be optional by saying no, which would turn Pirika's optional stay optional because Ren's not going, which would turn Anna's not optional optional because she always kept it optional in the first place, which would leave me in a five-star restaurant by myself."

Only because he was with Yoh for many years did it make Amidamaru understand vaguely what Yoh was saying. He rubbed his chin. " That's got to put you on a tight stick, Yoh-donno." he said. " But personally I believe that by acting like Anna's optional is not optional from the start would make it seem like you know that she knows that you know that she would make not optional optional from the start."

Yoh nodded.

" Sounds plausible." he said. " But I'm just going to stick to the original plan if you will." he sighed and placed his fingers on Anna's knob. He looked at Amidamaru and got a comforting smile back.

" Good luck." Amidamaru said.

" Thank you." Yoh replied, before opening the door.

He entered, and took a step back, alarmed at what he saw. She had her reading glasses over her eyes, a huge book propped against her knee. She looked up at him with a slight frown. She was not angry like what he had expected, or irritated which he would have secondly proposed, but she was not exactly jumping for joy at the sight of him either. The sight of her made him breathless. She was wearing a tight-fitted singlet with short pants that rode up to her upper thighs, and her glasses added to the effect of her beauty. He gulped in breath. Was it just him, or had she grown more and more beautiful over the past few days?

" Yes, Yoh?" she asked.

He scratched the back of his head nervously. " Well. . ." he started, as unsmoothly as a person could have. She just sat there on her bed, watching him skeptically. " Ren and Pirika are going out for dinner, and they asked the two of us to tag along with them."

" I would have thought they would have wanted to shag in private." she said simply. " After all, that's what all first dates are like anyway."

" Besides us, anyway." he muttered.

" What was that?" she asked sharply.

" Nothing." he said nervously. " So? Do you want to go?"

She gave him somewhat of an appraising look before getting back to her book, not looking back up at him again, crossing her legs so she was looking down at the huge book below her. " Sorry, I'm in no mood to dress up." she said.

" It has really good food." Yoh coaxed.

" Not interested." she answered, flipping the page.

" Ren's paying." Yoh lied.

" For his and Pirika's share." she said plainly.

" It's a Five-Star restaurant." Yoh offered.

There was a strange familiar flicker that fell across her eyes, and Yoh almost thought that she was going to agree when she looked back down at her book. " I'm sorry Yoh." she said. " I'm just in no mood to go out for dinner."

" Anna. . ."

" Get out, Yoh."

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

" Come on Yoh, don't get that depressed." Pirika said to Yoh soothingly, massaging his shoulders gently. " Just because she didn't agree to go to dinner with us doesn't mean that she's angry at you or anything. She could have really meant what she had said. . .maybe she really is not in the mood for eating out, you know? There are just times where women are like this. . .don't worry about it."

Yoh sighed and leaned against the wall in his room; Pirika letting go and returning to Ren's lap once again. " You really think so?" he asked her doubtfully.

" I'm sure of it." Pirika said brightly.

" That's a bunch of bullshit and you know it." Hao said calmly, and Pirika glared at him. " I bet all of us in here know. . ." he paused for a moment, his eyes threading through every person in Yoh's room; Pirika, Ren, Horo Horo, Yoh and Lyserg. " . . .that Anna is a person who would rather die than let out on a fantastic feast. Hell, she had a fever once remember? And she got all the way up from her room to the kitchen just to eat Ryu's long-awaited meal." The other nodded silently, remembering the incident. After all, it was not something that many could have easily forgotten. " Which shows that she would go to a Five-Star Hotel even if she had four wisdom teeth pulled out. Yoh, surely of all people, you would know that the most clearly."

" Yeah I do." Yoh said gloomily.

" What the Hell are you doing, Hao?" Ren asked acidly.

" I'm just stating a fact," Hao said calmly, lighting himself a cigarette slowly. " Unlike you others who just try to make him feel better by spouting false truths and lies. . ." he started, grinning at Pirika, who looked away sulkily, earning a reproachful glare from Ren as he patted her head restfully. " I help him by telling him the truth. First things first, Yoh. Make dinner for us, won't you?"

" What?" Yoh asked with raised eyebrows.

" It'll seem sweet." Hao pressed on.

" That's true, I guess." Pirika said, looking over resentfully at Hao.

He smiled at her falsely. " Thank you."

" You're welcome." she said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

" And why should I make dinner again?" Yoh asked.

" It'll seem sweet." Horo said witheringly.

" To who?" Yoh asked. " To you?"

" Anna, smart boy." Hao said.

Yoh seemed to ponder on that for a moment before nodding his head and reached to open the door when Anna stood there in appallingly sensual clothes. His eyes widened to no extent as he looked at her up and down; all the way from her see-through singlet to her tight shorts to her fishnet stockings.

" Pirika, let's go." Anna said simply.

Pirika blinked.

" Where to?" she asked, her eyes still scanning Anna's skimpy clothes furvitively.

" Where else do you think?" Anna said placidly. " To a club."

Yoh got to his feet, eyebrows raised.

" I thought you were in no mood to go out." he said.

" I changed my mind." Anna answered placidly.

They just stood there, looking into each other's eyes; Yoh searching into her depths desperately, with Anna just staring back in calm defiance. Ren looked sideways at Hao, who gave him the slightest of winks in the fastest speeds of history. In that second he got it, and stood up to his feet. " Let's go, Pirika." Ren said to her, patting her on the shoulder, and Anna and Yoh broke their eye contact, looking at Ren surprisingly. " I'm in the mood to club anyway. But I won't go if you don't want me to, of course." he said to Anna, looking sideways at her.

Anna gave him somewhat of an appraising look before nodding her head silently. " I don't mind I guess." she said slowly. " Meet you downstairs in ten minutes."

" Alright." Pirika said, before looking doubtfully at Ren.

" Don't let her stay out alone." he said soothingly.

When she turned around, he and Hao caught each other's eye.

" You're either extremely cunning, or one thoughtful piece of crap." he muttered.

" It's one with the other." Hao said, grin broadening. " I care for my brother deeply."

" So do I." Ren said, almost defensively.

" Really?" Hao asked in mock stupidity. " You have a brother?"

" Oh shut up." Ren snapped, walking out of the room, slamming it unnecessarily hard before he left. Hao smiled furvitively to himself in a corner before getting up to his feet, squashing his cigarette into a nearby ash tray and started to make his way out the door. He was so used to getting caught smoking by Anna that the new her sort of shocked him. He was expecting merely a small change in her behavior, but that was it. Looks like some things were not going according to plan after all.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

They had entered Barry's Den, which was practically swarming with beautiful girls and handsome guys. Ren himself felt unnaturally nervous as he looked up at the terrible amount of skin that his girl-friend and his sister were showing to the public to see. Just as Ren shut the door behind the three girls, a rather attractive-looking blonde winked at him before making her way to the bar. He raised his eyebrows, amused, and almost forgot that he was not single anymore as he noticed Pirika walking over to him, a look of doubt in her eyes.

" Did that girl wink at you?" Pirika said.

" No." he said jokingly. " Actually, I don't know. I was too busy trying to look up her skirt."

She gave him a playful swat in the shoulder before looking around excitedly. " Do you want to have drink?" she asked him, after a moment of silence. Between them, I mean. There was no such thing as silence in a club. He just gave a shrug and followed her all the way to the bar, glaring at guys who checked her out on the way. They sat down together, and Ren was looking almost distinctly sulky now. Which was something that was never missed by the watchful eyes of Pirika. " What's wrong?" she asked him quietly.

" Nothing." he said shortly.

Pirika looked around the club, and quickly addressed the problem that Ren had. She smirked at him and pressed her lips against his earlobe, and he jumped slightly at that, but did not pull away. " Is little Ren-kun getting jealous with all the attention I'm getting?" she whispered throatily.

" No I'm not." he snapped, but gasped as he felt her hand on his swollen member, and looked at her in shock. She just winked at him as she continued rubbing him with immense speed. " Oh, Pirika. . ." he moaned. " Quit it. . .not in a public place like this. . ."

" Shh. . ." she whispered, pinching him slightly and he gasped. " Your sister's coming along."

That was the thing he had dreaded the most.

" Hi guys." Jun said cheerfully.

" Hi." Pirika said smilingly.

" Hello." Ren choked.

" Are you feeling alright, Ren?" Jun asked. " You're looking awfully flushed."

" I'm. . .okay." Ren gasped as he felt Pirika's hands unzipping his zipper, her hands reaching into his pants. " I'm just feeling winded that's all."

" I'm sure." Pirika whispered softly into his ear, and Ren thanked God that the club was noisy and dark enough to prevent her from being heard and seen of what she was doing. " God, you're long."

He groaned out loud and Jun looked at him, worried, and touched his forehead. " What's wrong with you?" she asked him, concerned. " You're not having a fever or anything."

" Maybe he's just nervous by clubbing, that's all." Pirika said, her voice innocent, but her clever fingers breaking every sexual law there was possible.

" Yeah right." Jun said, laughing. " Ren clubs more than a packet of cards."

It was then when he came, and he gasped out, dropping the glass that he was holding, spilling it all across the floor, crashing the glass, bucking his hips and groaned out loud as her hand left him, beaming at him.

" Seriously. . .are you. . ." Jun started.

" I'm good." Ren gasped. " I'm okay."

" Of course you are." Pirika said.

Jun raised her eyebrows at them before walking off. Ren glared at Pirika, who just smiled brightly back at him. " That was totally uncalled for." he growled. " I'm going to get back at you for that. What if I was caught by my sister?"

" I'm sorry." she said pitifully. Whether she was acting or not, she did it really well, and even Ren who was in no wrong, sighed and rubbed his sore temples. " Can you give me some tissues?" he asked.

" For your face?" she asked innocently.

He glared at her and said nothing.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Hao was sitting in his armchair, his chin propped up on his palm, his head deep in thought. " We had a short Ren moment quite early before," he started slowly. " Then, we had a Horo Horo moment with Anna, which is just as equally nasty. We need more than that to make Yoh angry at Anna. . .am I not wrong, Opacho?" he asked his little friend, who looked up at him with his huge eyes innocently.

" Correct, Hao-sama." he replied.

" Thank you." Hao said.

There was a definite moment of silence that followed that, Hao continuing with his train of thought, Opacho by his feet, looking up at him curiously. It seemed like he did not know whether it would be better to stay quiet and continue watching his master, but just shrugged it off and opened his mouth to speak when Hao broke into his speech. " You want to know why I'm helping my brother end up with the woman that I love don't you?" he asked good-naturedly, and Opacho nodded his head furiously. Hao opened an eye and looked at Opacho. " And you also think that me and her are a much more suited couple?" he continued, and Opacho nodded once again.

Hao chuckled.

" Arigato, Opacho." he said.

And he did not say anything else after that.

The next moment was something that would seem to have somewhat of a serene quality; Hao now looking watery eyed, his hand resting on his chin, looking out of the window in faint reminiscent. Opacho looked at him before looking at the ground, and got to his feet, leaving the room slowly, taking one last look at his master before shutting the door behind quietly. Hao didn't even seem to notice his friend's disappearance, opening his mouth to speak, his words coming out in a faint slur. " Why do I help him, you ask?" he whispered.

" Because I choose to." he finished, nothing answering him except for the faint blow of the evening wind.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000

" Hey beautiful!" a boy who had been clinging around Anna for the past fifteen minutes yelled at her once again. " What's your phone number? You still haven't told me!"

" And for a good reason." Anna said serenely, drinking out of her drink quietly, appalled how this person could last with her coldness for a full quarter of an hour, which was commendable. The only person who could get that far was Yoh and Hao. That was all. Then she felt her heart pang at that name. " Yoh." she whispered to herself, still ignoring the boy who was trying his best to invite her over to his house for dinner. Sure she hated him. Sure she thought he was a pig that wanted nothing but to see her cry or angry or her heart broken. But he had done so many things for her in the past that made her laugh and smile too. . .Was she being too harsh towards him?

She stood up so quick from the bar that the person jumped back, before grinning at her. " What's up?" he asked her. " You're going to go back with me after all?"

" Dream on." she snapped, making a move to leave when she stopped. Something went through her head, just like a flashback from the past.

" Come on Anna. . ." Pirika whined. " It's going to be fun. Plus, you could just give them your number, and purposely let Yoh get it. Imagine how cute he would look and act when he's jealous! Didn't you ever wonder how he would be like if suddenly guys started calling you, requesting for you to go out with them?"

She rubbed his chin thoughtfully before turning around to look at the man, who grinned as jauntily at her as possible. She smirked. Seriously speaking, as long as he didn't speak and just stand there without talking, he actually was really good looking. Not to mention his screwed up attitude would piss the Hell out of Yoh. " Want to come over to mine?" she asked, her hands on her hips, earning a cheer from the person.

Ren and Pirika saw this and nodded to each other.

They took out a notebook and ticked this step off the list that Hao gave them. Pirika tickled Ren's chin lovingly. " Why don't you even have half the style that Hao has?" she asked.

He sighed.

" I don't know." he answered. " Whatever he is, he's a bloody genius, if there was one that could be named."

" Einstein?" Pirika asked.

Ren flushed.

" Yeah, him too." he snapped.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Anna entered the house with the person lagging behind her, who said he was by the name of Yorokobi, which she knew was fake from the very second that he said it. She knew people like him would never tell girls his real name just in case they were clingy and tried to look him up in the name directory or something. " Follow me." she said, and he followed her with no resistance at all. She was about to guess where Yoh was when he popped out from his room, grinning at her as he saw her right before him.

" Anna!" he said brightly. " I. . ."

But he stopped in mid-speech at the sight of "Yorokobi" behind her. He looked at her, and she tried her best to keep her face straight. That was mainly because she was smirking her head off inside her mind, and also to keep herself from being swarmed with guilt. " This is Yorokobi." she said plainly, waving at the person behind her, who seemed to get the hint that he had to be as suave as possible, and smiled at Yoh, his hand outstretched. Yoh took it before leaving it quickly, still staring at Anna questioningly.

" Where did you guys meet?" he asked in mock politeness.

" In the club." she answered.

" Who's this guy?" the person said.

" I'm her fiancee." Yoh answered.

" And I'm her boy-friend, what the hell." he retorted.

They glared at each other before Yoh finally spoke up, turning to look at Anna who was beside him. " Anna, is this your idea of a joke?" he asked quietly. " Because if you ask me, I don't think it's very funny."

" What kind of a sick bastard would she be if she made a joke like this?" the person sneered.

" Stay out of this." Yoh said coldly.

" What are you going to do if I don't?" the person snapped.

" Yorokobi, quit it." Anna started.

" Yorokobi?" Yoh said in mock happiness, totally ignoring the fact that she was currently on his side at the moment. " Hasn't he allowed you to call him Yoro-Yoro by now?"

" Don't talk to me in that tone, Yoh." she said, voice so sharp it could cut through steel. " It's not for you to decide on who I can meet or who I can't, in a club or not."

" Yorokobi" felt a shiver go down his back.

Yoh Asakura?

The winner of the shaman fight?

If he let HIM get angry. . .

" Yeah, you're right, it's not." Yoh said angrily, him and Anna oblivious of the fear of the person right next to them. " Besides the fact that you're my FIANCEE?"

" Well, there's some fine print for you!" Anna yelled.

" Er. . .I think I'm going to go. . ." Yorokobi said nervously.

" No you don't have to." Anna said firmly.

" No, I'm late for my. . .bango lessons." he said lamely before tipping right out the door.

She raised her eyebrows.

She didn't think it would be THAT easy to get rid of him. She had been planning to force him to leave after getting Yoh insanely jealous, but this was better all the same. She was about to tell this to Yoh, and how she had forgiven him when she noticed him glaring at her.

" What, you're going to yell at me for chasing away your boy-friend?" he shouted.

" No, it's not that, Yoh. . ." she started.

" I know, I know. . .I AM your FIANCEE after all, aren't I? Unless you already have gotten down to the terms of divorce already anyway. . ."

" Yoh. . ." she said, almost pleadingly.

" I mean, I can't stop you from SLEEPING around with every guy you meet, right?" he ranted on.

She stepped back, like he had slapped her.

" Maybe it's my fault. . ." he said haughtily. " Maybe it's just my fault that I'm forced to marry a WHORE and everything. . ."

It was at that when her hand whipped across his face, and he stepped back, wincing at the sharp pain that was grazing his cheek. He was about to say something else when he noticed that there were tears in her eyes. " Don't you dare call me what I'm not, Yoh Asakura." she whispered, hate lacing every single of her words as she stepped past him and disappeared into her room, slamming the door behind her.

He stood there in the hallway for a long time, and as Anna fumed in bed, waiting for him to enter and apologize to her, glaring at the night of the hall that was streaking below the door of her room, did not see him past her door, and only shut her eyes as she heard the click of the bulb and the fading of the light.

END CHAPTER 16

The flashback that Anna had in the club was in chapter 6 with Pirika before she went to the club with them. You see how things are starting to replay? By the way, that was not the scene in which Yoh gets angry. There's still one last one, which will be coming very soon. . .very soon. Maybe in chapter 20 or 24. . .I'm not sure. For all those angry fans of Yoh and Anna, don't worry! I'm still getting this on! Something will happen along the way, so don't worry! Chapter 17 will hopefully will only take me some time. But I most likely won't get to touch my computer starting tomorrow, so today may very well be the last time I will update. In the next week, that is. So please read and review me! And vote for your favourite couple in my poll on my user profile under WEBSITE or in my author's note above! Thank you!