Whoo, here we are, at the start of chapter 24. Whether this is good or bad news to you, this and chapter 25 will be the confirmed final two chapters of this story. The good and better news, however, like I had so often hinted, is that these two will be the LONGEST chapters I have ever written. This is a historical moment everybody. Or not, but whatever. Well, I guess I'd better begin. Here's chapter 24 everyone, please enjoy it as much as I had fun writing it. Please read and review.
CHAPTER 24
Hao returned home at around three in the morning. The pale moon had disappeared into the many clouds in the sky, leaving him in darkness as he struggled to open the door. Forgetting he had the ability to create fire, he was about to ram the door down until he heard it open quietly; and there Sumiko stood, looking at him somewhat blankly. " Welcome back, Asakura." she said quietly.
" Yeah." he muttered, stepping past her. " What are you doing up so late?"
She opened her mouth to speak before shifting her gaze from his questioning face to her feet. " Nothing, Asakura." she said quietly. " I couldn't sleep, that's all."
" Hmm." Hao said, stepping past her, opening the refrigerator behind her. " Well, you should see Opacho if you're having problems with sleeping. Hell, I had a severe case of insomina once and that little tyke cured it up for me in just a case of six days. Of course, every night he would sit by my bed and stare at me until I finally fell asleep, which would not be for hours. He's a really good friend, you know. There was one time where. . ."
Sumiko was not listening, but picked up her book, pinching the lemon between her lips gingerly.
" . . .Hey, which reminds me, I want to bring you somewhere to eat tomorrow." Hao said, grinning at her. " It's a new japanese restaurant that just opened. . .not. . .long. . .ago. . ." His words trailed slowly as he slammed the fridge door shut, his eyes wide and he turned his head to face Sumiko, who was looking back at him expressionlessly. " Oh my God," he muttered, slapping himself on the head. " I forgot. . .were you waiting up for me?"
" Yes." she said placidly.
" Oh, Holy Jesus." Hao muttered, slapping himself on the head once more. " Are you angry at me?"
" No." she said.
" Oh." he said, rather unconvincingly. There was an extremely uncomfortable silence that passed between the two of them, and he scratched the back of his head. " Are you in the mood for late night supper?" he asked her, and her eyes widened.
" You have school tomorrow, Asakura." she said.
" It's today, if you want to be technical." he said jokingly, but she did not laugh. She barely cracked a smile, and the grin faded from his face. " I'm hungry." he lied, and she cocked her brow. " That shop's open 24 hours a day anyway. Care to accompany me?"
At this, a small smile filled up on her unhappy face, which caused his heart to miss a beat.
" Yes." she said.
A blush appeared on his cheeks, and he waited until it had resided before grinning back at her. " Alright, that's great." he said to her, bouncing up upon his feet gleefully. " I guess I'm just going to take a shower or something. It'll take me less than half an hour, I promise."
" Okay." she said, nodding her head quietly. Hao smiled at her once more, ready to run up the stairs when he stopped, and turned around to face her once again. " By the way," he said to her. " You said you were going to visit Ejio. How is his condition? Is he getting a speedy recovery?"
" Yes, I expect he is." Sumiko said sullenly.
Tell him. She said to herself.
" Well, that's good to know." Hao said.
TELL HIM. She yelled at herself, her heart thumping painfully against her ribs.
And for once, Hao heard her thoughts.
" Tell me what?" he asked.
" I. . ." she stuttered, her heart hammering against her ribs. For a fleeting moment it seemed like she was going to speak before she shook her head, looking away. " It's nothing." she muttered. " Nothing at all."
He blinked at her, staring straight into her eyes, almost desperately trying to find reason within the words she spoke. When he received nothing but an emotionless notion back at, he turned his back to her, and started to walk away again.
" I'm in love with you." Sumiko blurted out, and regretted doing so quite soon after.
He turned around, the third time now, but the expression on his face was quite unlike the others. It was a strong mixture of shock, puzzlement and amazement, and he simply gaped at her for a full ten seconds; her expression faltering, now being exchanged with a rather offended look, almost defiant. " What. . .did you just say?" he asked her, his eyes wide in exclamation.
" I said. . ." she whispered, forcing her legs to stop shaking, willing her lip to stop trembling, to force her eyes to look back into Hao's. " I said. . .I love you." she finished, her voice throbbing with emotion. She had shaped the last three words slowly and carefully, almost deliberately, as if it were a kiss. She took a step towards him and they were barely noses apart now. She gazed at him with her large beautiful eyes, her peach soft lips open in a vague wondering expression that enchanted Hao. Almost by instinct now, he bent down, their lips inches apart, their eyes still never breaking contact. They stayed in this difficult position for around half a minute or so before she shut her eyes, standing up on a tip-toe, pressing her lips against his, meeting his gently.
At first he just stood there, frozen; his heart, which seemed to have swollen to an unnatural size, was thumping painfully against his ribs. Soon he was brought back to his senses and kissed her back, his hands wrapping around her waist, and it was at this when he noticed just how slim she was. Her hands were on his collar at this time, pulling away from his lips to press small kisses onto his neck, and he moaned appreciatively. Suddenly Anna's face flashed before his eyes, and he blinked, pushing Sumiko away from him.
Both of them were breathing hard. Sumiko was watching him in dazed wonderment, before looking down at her feet, sighing depressingly. It was this moment when Hao noticed just how many years she had seemed to age in just the past few minutes. They stood away from each other for another few minutes until Hao spoke again, his voice throaty and tired. " I'm sorry," he whispered, but she did not look up to meet his eyes once more. " But my heart is set upon someone else."
There was silence for another couple of minutes before she spoke, her voice so calm that Hao almost felt guilty. " Is it Anna Kyoyuma?" she asked. It was not a demand. It was not a statement. It was just a question, waiting patiently to be answered. He noticed there was not a tinge of jealousy that iced her words.
" Yeah." he said simply.
She finally looked up, and once again there was nothing shown on her face. " It's alright." she said, a little too firmly. " I'm used to it. Not the first time, anyway."
Not the first time. . .?
" Who else did you fall for?" he asked her, his hand blocking the pathway for her to leave the kitchen.
She looked down at her feet.
" I don't think it is of any concern to you, is it?"
He flinched at the coldness of her tone, his hand lifting to clear her way.
" No," he said silently, after a moment. " No, I guess it's not."
She walked past him, and he chewed on his bottom lip anxiously before calling out, " Are you still following me for a late night supper?" he asked her, a forced smile on his face.
" Is it alright if I go to bed?" she asked him, her back facing him. " I do not feel hungry at the moment."
His smile sagged and he nodded, turning away.
" Yeah," he said depressingly. " It's alright. Goodnight."
" Goodnight, Asakura." she said, and he waited until the sound of her footsteps had disappeared up the stairs before sitting down on the table behind him. He slammed his fist against it, making a hole in it immediately, splinters piercing into his knuckles. He grimaced and sighed. " God, what a depressing week." he muttered, walking over to the cupboard to look for a pair of tweezers. " She has sweet lips, though." he muttered under his breath. " Almost makes you wonder how she gets it from all those damn lemons she sucks all day."
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" Why the Hell are you reading that during breakfast?"
Yoh blinked and peeled his eyes away from the book in his hands to look at Anna, who was pointing her chopsticks at his copy of ' Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde', her eyebrows raised at him in question. He snapped it shut, placing it on the table in one short, fluid motion. " Well, if it bothers you, I won't." he said calmly, picking up his chopsticks to resume eating.
" I didn't say anything about it bothering me." she said irritably, her lip curling. " I was just wondering why you chose this moment to be fascinated about that book. I read it a couple of times before, and it didn't bring much of an impact over me." It was at that moment when she looked at him with an expression of dawning, and glared at him piercingly. " Unless. . .you did not finish reading those two chapters Yoro-sensei asked us to look at before stepping into his classroom. . ."
" No, I finished it," he said quickly, because she was in the process of throwing the cooking pot at his face. " It's just that Yoro-sensei told me it would be better to get a head start on it before the class, as he told me that my grades needed improving and if I wanted to get a passing grade at the end of the year I would have to work doubly hard." Yoh personally thought it was a rather well told lie, but Anna's eyebrows were raised so high that they were in danger of disappearing in the fringe of her hair. " Alright, that's a lie." he said hastily, and she smirked at him. " He told me that Hao had left some clues for me inside it."
" Clues?" Anna said, the smile on her face diminishing. " From Hao?"
" That's what he said." Yoh said, shoveling food into his open mouth.
" So Hao's using the strength of teachers again. . ." she muttered, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.
" Again?" Yoh asked, confused. " What do you mean by that?"
" Well, he made use of Seika-sensei to make you fail that test not too long ago, forcing you to drop the subject." Anna said tightly; the pity she felt for Hao just yesterday was burning out quickly. " I asked Seika, and he told me that Hao did that so as to make sure that you would be in one less class with me."
" That's not possible." Yoh said disbelievingly.
" That's what I thought of at first." Anna said heavily. " But after what Hao told you fellas in the coffeeshop, it's not hard to believe that, is it?"
" What are we talking about this time?" came Horo Horo's voice from the front door, and Anna's face hardened considerably. He stepped past Yoh and dropped down on a chair next to Anna, grinning at her. " Hey, good morning, pretty lady. You and your fiancee alright?"
" Right until you came." she said menacingly.
" We were talking about Hao." Yoh said quietly, and Horo snorted so loud that Ren, who was coming in from the front door, jumped slightly at the noise.
" Come on, forget about him." Horo said. " We invited him to the party, but that's as far as I'm willing to- - -"
" You what?" Anna said, turning sharply to Yoh. " You WHAT?"
" He invited Hao to the party." Ren said glumly, shutting the door behind him, and the three of them turned around to face him. " I placed his name on the guest list."
Anna raised her eyebrows at the chinese shaman. " And I thought you were the smart one." she breathed.
" Listen, it was not me who wanted to invite the psycho maniac!" Ren said indignantly.
" And you're saying this is all me to blame?" Yoh asked.
" Yes!" Anna, Horo and Ren shouted.
Yoh seemed like he was about to rebuke, but fell silent, sinking into his chair. " Well, then, fine." he said glumly. " Just cross his name off the list then."
" That's more like it." Horo said briskly.
" Pirika already wrote his name on a separate invitation card, but I'm sure she hasn't sent it out yet." Ren said, scratching the back of his head in thought. " Remind me to tell her in school today."
Horo sighed.
" I thought Hao would have at least learnt his lesson by now."
" A leopard never changes his spots." Ren said wisely.
" But, it's not Yoh's fault." Horo said, trying to smile at him, but Yoh was looking at the floor, ignoring him completely. " It's not Yoh's fault Hao's twisted."
" Don't forget wicked."
" Evil." Horo added helpfully.
" Mean." Ren said, bobbing his head.
" Sick in the head."
And even as the insults raged on, slowly getting more and more crude, Anna glanced over at Yoh who was determinedly avoiding her gaze. There was something different about him; and she had the sudden image of a volcano about to erupt. She was about to speak when he rose from his chair violently, grabbing his chair which was just nearby. " I think I should be able to go to school by myself today." he said curtly.
Anna's eyes were wide, and she rose to her feet.
" By myself, Anna." Yoh said sharply, before walking out the door, slamming it behind him.
Anna was staring at the slammed shut door in absolute shock; Ren and Horo staring at her with amusingly wide mouths. This was the first time that they had ever seen him openly rude to her, and they were sure that she, above anyone else, was the most shocked by this. She turned to them, her eyebrows raised. " Did. . .Yoh just. . .?" she asked them.
" Yeah." both of them said, not even bothering to let her finish her sentence; they already knew what she was going to say.
" What on earth could he be angry about?" she asked incredulously.
But by the looks on their faces, it seemed like she would have received a more respectable answer from the book that Yoh had left behind on the table; Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
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Lyserg was in the library once more, typing steadily on the computer, once in a while frowning at it as though it had wronged him before continuing. It was after a moment when he looked up from it, calling out to Jeanne who was on the same duty as him, and she turned around to face him. " You called, Lyserg?" she said to him sweetly. " Yeah," he said, his brow furrowing. " I'm doing the school's records, you see. The librarian asked me to do the records of Yoh and the gang first, seeing that I didn't have to look anything up. In other words, starting with the easier ones."
" Right." Jeanne said patiently.
" What is Anna's full name?"
" Anna Kyoyuma." she answered. " Is that all?"
" No, not quite." he said. " Is she a single child?"
Jeanne's mouth opened before shutting slowly, looking at Lyserg with somewhat of a bemused expression. " You know. . .I never really bothered to ask her. . ." she said, drawing a finger to her delicate lips. " I don't think she has any brothers and sisters, though, or else she would have told us."
" Us?" Lyserg asked.
" Yeah, we were having a slumber party, you see." Jeanne said casually. " We were playing Truth Or Dare, and nobody dared to ask Anna any personal questions if they treasured their lives. Tamao then, very boldly, asked Anna who was her closest friend, and she said it was her cousin."
" Cousin?" Lyserg said blandly. " What's his name?"
" Her, actually. But you've lost me there." Jeanne said, shrugging. " You could ask her yourself."
" No, it's okay." Lyserg said. " I just asked you to save time, but there are a large amount of files in the back cabinet. . .if I could just look under the sir name of Kyoyuma. . ."
" There will be no need for that." Jeanne said brightly, shutting her eyes tight, her hand reached out as though asking Lyserg to hold out her hand. Feeling rather stupid, he almost reached out for her fingers when a single folder zoomed out and fell into her open hand. He withdrew very quickly, his face glowing red.
" There you are." she chirped.
" Thanks." Lyserg said sheepishly. " I almost forgot you were the most powerful female shaman in the world."
" Actually, Anna rivals me in that."
" Right." Lyserg said, before looking through the dusty folder, frowning once again. " Hello, what do we have here?" he muttered. " Anna's next of kin is. . .Kino Asakura."
" Well, that certainly clears everything up." Jeanne said brightly.
" No, you don't understand." Lyserg said, scratching the back of his head in question. " That's Yoh's grandmother. There aren't any names besides that."
" Well, that can't be right." Jeanne said, her smile faltering. " I distinctly remember Anna telling me she had a cousin. Two cousins, come to think of it."
" Well, that can't be right." Lyserg said, impatient now. " I'll just fill in Kino's name."
" But I was always curious about Anna's past." Jeanne spoke, slowly, almost deliberately now. " Weren't you?"
" Not really." Lyserg said, and at the sight of Jeanne's offended look, he changed tact immediately. " Not that I don't think it'll be interesting of course," he said hastily. " But I think it would be best if we just minded our own business."
" That sounds all very well," Jeanne muttered, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. " Unless. . ."
" Unless what?" Lyserg asked, uneasily.
" Well, Shamash should be able to help us out." she said pointedly. " I was thinking of delving deep into Anna's past memory. As long as you and I keep Anna talking about her past for longer than a minute, Shamash should be able to read into her thoughts for that minute, and give us a glance at her childhood. Sort of like downloading a video, if you would."
" Er. . .right." Lyserg said. " Why are you so curious, anyway?"
" No reason, actually." Jeanne said, blushing slightly at his question. " It's just that. . .Anna is one of my closest friends, and she only told me about her and Yoh finally sleeping together when I pressed her on about it for nearly an hour. You would think that- - -"
" ANNA AND YOH WHAT?" Lyserg gasped out loud.
" Shh!" Jeanne said, looking terrified now. " I'm not even supposed to tell anyone, Anna made me and Pirika swear. . .oh God, I'm going to have to erase your memory. . ."
" I won't tell anyone." Lyserg said hurriedly, backing away from her. She gave him somewhat of a reproachful look before smiling slightly. " I guess I could just ask you to keep it a secret?" she said, and he bobbed his head, deeply relieved. " Anyway," she continued. " She never really told me anything about her, and. . .well. . .something inside me is just simply craving for more." she paused for a moment before looking up at him pitifully. " You must think I'm some nosy bitch, right?" she said.
" Never!" Lyserg said loudly.
" Shh!" Jeanne said, pressing her finger against his lips as people in the library looked up from their books once again.
" So. . ." Jeanne said, chewing on her bottom lip. " Do you think you'll be able to help me out?" she said, and her little spirit bobbed up beside her, nodding to her. She beamed at it and looked at Lyserg hopefully. He raised his eyebrows at her before nodding his head in a resigned sort of way.
" If it means that much to you." he muttered.
She planted a kiss on his cheek before holding his hand within hers. "Thank you." she said. " We'll corner her later."
The feeling of her lips still on his cheek, the look on her face and the warmness of her fingers stunned him for a moment. It was a long silence before he muttered, " Oh."
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Anna sighed, entering the library shortly, her hands in her pockets. Ignoring the boys who looked up from their books at her, she strode straight for the counter, where Jeanne and Lyserg sat, grinning at her. She made her way to the desk, dropping several books on the counter, sighing. " Hello," she muttered. " I borrowed these two weeks ago, is it alright if I return them before the date's due?"
" Of course." Lyserg said nonchalantly.
" Alright," Anna said, turning her heel to walk away.
" Hey, Anna, wait." came Jeanne's voice from behind her, and she shifted her body slightly to face her. " I'm supposed to do these forms for the school. Do you think you could help me out with them?"
Anna raised her eyebrows.
" Isn't that your job?" she said.
" That's why she asked for your help." Lyserg said silently, typing steadily on the computer. " I would help her, but I'm too busy on the task already at hand."
Anna looked at the two of them for a moment before sighing heavily. " Fine." she muttered. " Wait right here, I'll go downstairs and get Yoh here or something. . ."
" You told me he was angry with you." Jeanne said pointedly.
Anna stopped in mid-step. " Oh, right." she muttered. " I totally forgot about that. Well, never mind that. I'll just call Horo Horo up here as soon as I can."
" No, actually, it's you I need." Jeanne said persistently.
" Why me?" Anna asked sharply, suspicious now.
" Don't worry, it's nothing big." Lyserg said, nervously now. Jeanne was right, Anna was an incredibly bright girl for her age. " It's just basic personality forms that would look good in your GPA. I need you to help me fill up yours and Yoh's, if you don't mind."
" Can't you just check it up?" Anna asked, suspiciously still.
" Yeah, but since you're here, she wanted you to just fill it up to make it less troublesome."
" For you or for me?" Anna said sarcastically. " Give it to me then. And hurry up with it."
" No, you just tell it to me, and I'll write it down. I'll understand my own handwriting."
" And you wouldn't understand mine?" Anna said menacingly.
Jeanne looked at Lyserg nervously, and he shrugged.
" Whatever." Anna said, sitting down on a chair opposite Jeanne. " Fire away."
Lyserg switched on his stopwatch. One minute starting. . .now.
" Who's your next of kin, Anna?" Jeanne asked, scribbling on the parchment.
" Kino Asakura." Anna said in a bored tone.
" And do you have any other close relatives besides her?" Jeanne pressed on.
" Nope." Anna said simply.
Barely five seconds had passed. Looks like Anna was harder to crack than they expected. Jeanne looked edgily at Lyserg, who immediately sprang into action. " But I heard Yoh tell me you had a cousin." he said, looking at her curiously. She blinked, raising her eyebrows at him. " But I never told him about my cousins, or anything much, to think about it." she said. " What exactly did he tell you?"
" Nothing much," Lyserg said hurriedly. If he made the slightest of mistakes, she would find them out immediately. " He just mentioned that you had a cousin."
" No, I don't."
Jeanne chewed on her bottom lip. " But you mentioned having two close cousins during the sleep over, remember?" she said, almost accusingly. " Tamao asked you a question during Truth or Dare, and you said that. . ."
" I was just lying when I said so." Anna said simply. Something was going on and she did not like it. The only way she could get out was to obvious lie her head off. " Tamao asked me a stupid question, and naturally I gave her a stupid answer. You didn't expect me to answer that seriously, did you?"
Jeanne blinked. Come to think of it, it really was kind of stupid.
" So you lied during the choice of Truth?" Jeanne said shrewdly.
Anna blinked, taking a moment to understand the question. " Oh," she said. " Yeah. Who actually takes the game seriously, anyway?"
" I did, actually." Jeanne said stiffly. " I didn't think you would lie openly to us anyway."
Anna raised her eyebrows. " Are you getting angry at me for that? Come on, Jeanne, I thought you were more mature than that. You know I never takes these games seriously. When we were playing Hide and Seek I was watching television in the neighbour's living room."
" So that's why we couldn't find you!" Jeanne said, sounding outraged.
Lyserg resisted rolling his eyes and glanced at the watch. Forty seconds had passed. If only Jeanne could keep Anna talking. . . " How many cousins do you have, actually?" Jeanne persisted.
Anna blinked, and she seemed to be thinking about something for a moment before shrugging. " Two." she said, and it was at that moment when a minute had passed, and Lyserg's stopwatch let off noisily. She turned to raise her eyebrows at him, their eyes meeting, and it was that moment when she knew. Actually, they did not know if she knew or not. But somehow, she seemed to know. She got up to her feet, smirking at the both of them. " Well, now that one minute has been used up and you asked me that important question, I see no need to answer the rest, right?"
She knew.
Somehow, she always knew.
" Yeah." Jeanne said.
Grinning, Anne made motion to move until Jeanne called out to her and she stopped. She turned and Jeanne was watching her with a tearful expression. " Are you angry at me?" she asked.
" Not at all." Anna said, smiling. " I'm just amused by how far you would go to know about my past. Nice try, by the way. But you were, I'm very sorry to say this, very obvious."
With that, she walked off. The two of them looked at each other; Shamash bobbing up beside Jeanne. " Well," Jeanne said in a voice falsely cheery. " Let's see what the memory is."
A bubble of vision appeared before Shamash like a television set, and they looked into it. There was nothing there, but a swirling vortex of black. " She destroyed her memory!" Lyserg gasped. Jeanne sighed. " Anna's just too smart for her own good." she muttered, and Lyserg was forced to nod his head feverishly beside her.
" You never change, do you, Jeanne?" came a casual voice from behind them; a voice Lyserg recognized and hated. He stepped before Jeanne, Morphine appearing by his side, his eyes appearing in little slits. There Hao stood, smiling at the two of them. " You were always the girl who wanted to know as many things about her friends as possible. Not that that's a bad thing, actually." he added as Jeanne's face showed hurt.
" Don't take a step closer to her." Lyserg snarled.
" Oh, come off it, Lyserg, she can defend herself better than you can." Hao said calmly. " I'm not here for a fight; all I want is to talk to her."
" Oh yeah?" Lyserg said, glaring at him. " Like what you wanted to do to Yoh?"
" Not exactly." Hao said. " I accidentally overheard your little conversation with Anna."
" Accidentally?" Lyserg said scathingly. " Accidentally?"
" And I think I might be able to help you." Hao said to Jeanne, ignoring Lyserg completely. Her eyes were wide with question. " ' How', you ask." he said. " Well, a person may modify her memory, but she cannot destroy it. Please examine closely. . ." he went on, a finger lighting up in a small flame. Jeanne just looked at him blankly as he took a step closer to the black screen that was before Shamash.
" Jeanne, stop him!" Lyserg said urgently. " He's not someone to be trusted."
Ignoring him once more, Hao dipped his finger into the memory, swirling it gently, the colour changing from black to a milky white; looking very much like bubbling milk. Jeanne and Lyserg glanced at each other for a moment before turning to Hao once more. " I don't think Anna knew I could do this." he said cheerfully. " You're very lucky she decided to allow you to keep the memory. If she chose to take it from Shamash, I wouldn't be of much help. . .oh, here we are!"
They peered past his shoulder, and a room came slowly into view. The strange thing was that the furniture was all on the ceiling, and Lyserg and Hao raised their eyebrows at Jeanne, who said hurriedly, " You must enter the memory before it comes into focus." she explained.
" Well then, can I come along?" Hao said brightly.
" Are you kidding?" Lyserg said, his eyes bulging.
" No, it's alright." Jeanne said, giving Hao somewhat of an appraising look and Lyserg spun his head around to face her so quickly that there was a distinctly snapping sound. " We would never have been able to see the image if it weren't for Hao anyway," she said to him. " Anyway, Anna mistrusts Hao so much at the moment that she wouldn't believe anything he says anymore anyway."
" Ooh, that hurt." Hao winced.
Lyserg was looking from Jeanne to Hao so many times that his eyes were just a blur. After a while he sighed depressingly. " Alright, then." he said miserably. " You can come along."
" Excellent." Hao said cheerfully. " Time stops when you're in the memory, am I quite right, Jeanne?"
She nodded her head.
" Well, shall we enter?" Hao said.
Jeanne smiled.
" Okay." she said. " Lyserg?"
Lyserg said nothing but nodded.
" Excellent." Hao said once more.
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Inside the room there were two people; one was an elderly woman who was scribbling anxiously on a piece of paper, her face screwed with concentration. Beside her was a young girl of seemingly nine, and it was not hard to tell that she was Anna Kyoyuma. Though she was nine there was still something distinctly elegant about her, and she seemed to carry herself with the air of a queen.
" Right." the elderly woman muttered. " Now that that's done and out of my way. . ." She put her pen down and turned around to look down at Anna. There was a frown on her face, and her mouth opened to speak when there was a rapping on the door. She jumped a mile before wiping the sweat off her brow. She seemed much more childish than the mundanely calm Anna. " Come in." she said, trying to offer Anna a smile, in which she did not return.
The door opened, and there stood Kino and two young children, both looking haughty and bored.
" Sumiko?" Hao gasped, his hand to his mouth. The other two raised their eyebrows but otherwise ignored him, still staring intently at the image before them.
" This young lady is Sumiko, and this little boy is Ejio." Kino said lazily, and the other woman nodded her head; with every bob sweat droplets fell to the ground like rain. " You haven't changed one bit, Saya." Kino muttered before gesturing for the two kids to sit down next to Anna. They dropped to their feet, staring at Anna emotionlessly who was gazing back at them with equal unenthusiasm.
" Well, isn't this swell." Saya said, clapping her sweaty palms together. " I hope the three of you know exactly why you are here?"
None of them answered; Anna scratched her head boredly, Sumiko sucked on a lemon quietly, and Ejio was busy plucking strings out of the tatami, slowly piling it up before him. " Right." Saya said, her eyebrows raised. " Well, if neither of you are clear, then I guess I shall tell you. Kino has chosen the two of you to be the guardians of young Anna. You were chosen because you were not only seen as the most capable mediums, but were also coincidently her cousins."
Ejio let out a little cough, dropping a string onto the pile before him.
Saya gave a glance at Kino, clearly asking her to take over.
" Well, I guess that's all we have to say to you three." Kino said, clapping her hands together, earning a jump from Saya. " We're going for a drink outside. Please let us know if you need us for anything."
" Are you seriously going to leave these three 10-year olds alone together?" Saya said, her eyes bulging as she drew Kino to a side. Kino merely chuckled. " My dear Saya. . .those two kids are mediums. Both of them are currently 500-years old. 510 to be exact."
" WHAT?" Hao gasped. The other two jumped at the sudden noise, but ignored it anyway. But Hao was staring down at the miniature Sumiko with unflattering shock. It was then when it suddenly seemed to make perfect sense. When Kino mentioned to him that they were the same age as him, she meant 500, and not 19. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as the puzzle seemed to piece itself together before him. Before Ejio fell into a coma, he yelled at Ren saying that he was more than twice his age. Hao should have been sharp enough to pick up from that.
" Who exactly are you?" Anna asked the two of them pointedly.
Sumiko said nothing, so Ejio spoke. " We're mediums." he said to her, stacking up the third layer of his stack of straw. " We have no real names; but you can call us Ejio and Sumiko for reference sake. I can control matter; ice for example, fire for another. My sister can control. . ."
" Anything." Sumiko said simply, looking up to meet the eyes of Anna. Anna did not flinch, but gazed back almost equally haughtily. " Weather, earth. . .you name it."
" Must be very useful." Anna said quietly.
" Not as useful as you would think." Sumiko said darkly. Anna raised her eyebrows at her but said nothing, rising to her feet. Ejio stopped in the movement of stacking up the fourth layer, looking up at her. " Where are you planning on going, Anna?" he asked her.
" I'm bored." Anna replied, walking out the room, Sumiko following her. Ejio made motion to follow, but Sumiko shook her head at him before following Anna.
Hao, Jeanne and Lyserg hurried behind them.
" Where are you planning on going?" Sumiko asked, repeating her brother's question.
" I'm going for a walk." Anna said quietly.
" Where to?" Sumiko asked her.
Suddenly, a blinding pain of remembrance overcame Hao, and his heart hammered painfully against his chest, his eyes bulging. He turned his attention back to the scene before him, but by then the image before him was dimming and fading, like a television with bad connection.
" Damn, that's all we could get in a minute." Jeanne muttered. " Time to head back."
It was as they swirled back to the library when it all came into sense to Hao.
" You can read minds, can't you?" Sumiko had yelled at him in the hospital ward.
She knew.
How and why, he was still not sure about that yet.
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Yoh was lying down on the roof of the school, looking up at the skies dimly. He had forgotten the reason why he was so angry at Ren, Horo Horo and Anna already, but somehow he just did not want to meet them. Childish as it sounded, Yoh just wanted to stay mad at them for a full day until they apologized. Well, that ought to give him a lot of time alone, he thought dully, as Anna and Ren were never people who liked to admit they were wrong. Anna, over anyone else, liked to believe that everything she said was right, and nothing that came out of her mouth was false or was a lie. He crossed his arms across his chest. Well, he was going to have to ignore the three of them for as long as he wanted, then. He did not want to look at them, he did not want to hear the sounds of their voices. . .
" Yoh?"
He jumped and sat upright, turning around to see who had called his name. There stood Anna, looking down at him reproachfully. She looked utterly beautiful; she had makeup on her face, and he suspected he had just been to the bathroom to spruce herself up. " Oh, it's you." he said dully, lying down against the roof once more, willing his heart to beat normally, and coaxing his erection to subsede. She chewed on her bottom lip; she could not think of one reason for Yoh to be mad at her, yet somehow she felt strangely guilty. Did he always feel this way when she was angry?
" I brought you your book." she said quietly, setting the copy of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde onto the roof tiles below her. " Thanks." he said, not looking at her. She looked at him with a confused expression on her face, but he continued to ignore her. " What are you so angry about, Yoh?" she asked him. " Did I do anything to offend you?"
Oh. Now he remembered.
Anger returned to him, an he glared at the skies as though they had offended him too.
" Well, if you can't remember, then I won't have to tell you."
She flinched, stepping back like he had just slapped her, her eyes wide with shock. She watched him continue to lie there before sitting down beside him. He did nothing, and for a moment there she almost thought he had fallen asleep. " Is this because I don't trust Hao?"
" No." he lied. " What is it to me if you don't trust him, anyway?"
" Yoh. . ." she said, chewing on her bottom lip uncomfortably. " You know why I don't trust him. He betrayed you twice already, once trying to kill you and all of us. I can't think of a reason why you wanted to invite him to the party anyway."
Yoh said nothing, but Anna noticed he had balled his hands into tight fists.
There was a moment of silence that passed before she sighed, getting to her feet. " Goodbye, Yoh." she said, turning around to walk away.
" So what you're saying is, I was wrong to trust my own brother, is that it?" Yoh said, his temper rising.
She stopped in mid-step, eyes wide.
" I didn't mean that. . ." she said hastily.
" Then what did you mean?" he fired up angrily.
" You trust people too much, that's what I'm saying!" Anna said.
" Even if he's my brother, is that right?"
" Yes!" she said, a spark of irritation igniting within her. " Yes, that's exactly it!"
He turned around now, and she was shocked to see that his eyes were filled with tears. " I never thought you would think of that too, Anna." he said angrily. " Maybe from Ren, but never from you. It was you who said you were feeling pity for him for once."
" That's a different- - -"
" It's not his fault he was in love with you, right?" he said, his voice rising now. He remembered why he was so angry at the three of them. Somehow, them insulting Hao had brought out the man within him. " Fine, you can argue that it's not right to steal one's fiancee from another. But did he? There were countless times where he could have murdered any one of us, or even forced himself upon you. Why did he not do that?"
" He must have- - -"
" HE'S MY BROTHER, DAMN IT!" he roared, and she stepped back, looking terrified for once. " WHY ARE ALL OF YOU AGAINST MY OWN FLESH AND BLOOD? HE'S NOT A BAD PERSON!"
" Yoh, I- - -"
" DIDN'T YOU NOTICE HE WAS JUST SMILING HIS WAY THROUGH HIS TEARS ALL THESE YEARS? HE'S A LONELY MAN, ANNA! A MAN WHO HAD A HOLE IN HIS HEART SINCE HE WAS YOUNG, AND NOW THAT HE FINALLY FINDS SOMEONE WHO CAN COME TO THAT SPECIAL PLACE INSIDE HIS HEART, HIS BROTHER IS THE ONE WHO STEALS HER AWAY FROM HIM!"
" But that- - -"
" HE HAS BEEN HIDING HIS LOVE FOR YOU INSIDE HIM FOR MORE THAN SEVEN YEARS! ISN'T THAT A SIGN OF LOYALTY TO ME?"
" You could- - -"
" HE'S A GOOD BROTHER, AS HE IS A GOOD PERSON! WHY DO YOU HATE HIM SO MUCH?"
" I never said I hated him. . ." Anna said, her eyes watering.
" THEN WHY DON'T YOU. . .?"
" I don't want him to come between you and me, alright?" she yelled, tears falling from her face.
He opened his mouth to shout, but shut it slowly. He was staring at Anna, who had wiped her tears away from her face hastily. " First of all, it was not I who was insulting him, it was Ren and Horo Horo." she said angrily. " So before you yell at someone, get that right first."
" Oh." he muttered, his face reddening.
" Secondly, the only reason I did not attack Hao was because you insisted he was a good person. Thus, it was I who persuaded the others to trust him. You don't think they just trusted him straight away, did you?"
" No, I didn't." he mumbled, feeling stupider and guiltier by the second.
" And thirdly," she said hotly, the tears falling from her face, unstopping. " I was always cold towards Hao because I was afraid with the fact he looked so similar to the man I loved that I would grow liking to him, and he would use that to his benefit."
Yoh's mouth opened to speak, before shutting.
" I. . .I don't know what to say." he said slowly.
" Then don't." she said coldly, making motion to leave. He chewed on his bottom lip, stepping forward, grabbing her by the shoulders, whipping her around to bring her into a hug. She gasped, her eyes widening. " I'm sorry." he whispered. " It's just that. . .everyone's just giving Hao these snide remarks and. . .I know that he's. . .not a bad person." he held her tighter towards him. " Please forgive me." he whispered, pressing his lips on her forehead. " I love you. I love you so much."
Her widened eyes shut, and she leaned her head against his shoulder.
" Yes," she whispered. " I know."
They stayed locked in that embrace, and he smiled into her hair. " God, you're incredible." he muttered.
" Thanks." she murmured, unable to hide the smile creeping on her face.
" You smell incredible too." he whispered, nibbling on her ear.
" Yeah, I thought if you were really angry at me, I could seduce you into forgiving me."
" Pity you didn't try that." he whispered, his hand grazing her thigh.
" Well, didn't you become bold after our first night?" she whispered.
" Don't you like it?" he said throatily, kissing her neck hungrily.
" Well, it was a big improvement from the wimpy Yoh weeks ago." she said. " Think you can prove how much you've changed?"
" Oh, I think that's highly possible." he whispered, his fingers delving into her skirt.
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" I guess the two of you made up?" Pirika asked the two of them, her eyebrows raised, as she sat down on Ren's lap. " Yeah" Anna said, flushing, as she and Yoh entered the classroom together. " How did you find out?"
" Oh, after a while, you sort of catch on to these things." Ren said, smirking. " And by the look of glee on Yoh's face, and the flustered look on Anna's, you guys made out on the way too?"
Both of them blushed.
" Alright everyone, get back into your seats." the teacher called out, entering the classroom, and there was a groan of disappointment that rang out from the students as the noise level subsided. Yoh gave a small grin to Anna, who reluctantly returned it before getting back to her seat. She made her way to the back of the class, and he promptly took the seat next to her. " Yoh," she said, after a moment of silence. He turned around to look at her hopefully. " I really hope you would take care to listen in this class." she said pointedly, and the smile faded from his face. " You already have three failing subjects, and you need at least five passes to get into an A class next year."
" Oh." he said, disappointed. " Was that it?"
" Yes." she said. " That was it. Now pay attention in class. If I catch you dozing off, I'm going to slap you in front of the entire class. If you think for one second that I won't dare. . ."
" I believe you, I believe you. . ." he said, shivering from her glare. It was at this moment when he regretted not sitting down next to Horo Horo, who was in the middle of the class. He slunk into his seat, sighing. He thought that after the incident on the roof she would at least soften up to him, but somehow she seemed even more ferocious than ever. Were all girls like this after sex? He made a reminder to ask Ren later on.
" Yoh. . ." Anna said, breaking the pen in her hand threateningly.
" I'm listening!" he said, terrified. " I'm listening!"
She glared at him for a moment before lifting her hand in his direction.
He raised his eyebrows.
" Er. . ." he said. " Are you short of cash?"
" I want a pen, dumbass." she snarled. " Or do you want me to break your neck instead?"
He fumbled with his pencil case and held out a pen. She snatched it from him. " Thanks." she said. " Now pay attention. I want you to get a distinction in this class, got it?"
" Yes, Anna." he muttered.
" . . .Well, we're on plant life, today, so I really hope all of you studied hard." the teacher said, before raising his eyebrows at the students inside the class; finally settling on Yoh. " Asakura!" he called out, and Yoh jumped. Anna rolled her eyes. " Yes, sir?" Yoh asked nervously. " This one should be pretty simple to answer." the teacher said. " What is a diatom?"
Yoh glanced at Anna, who was twirling the pen between her fingers.
" Anna!" he hissed out urgently.
" Figure this one out yourself." she muttered, not looking at him.
" Asakura!" the teacher called out, a little louder this time. " What is a diatom?"
" Er. . .when you call somebody, there is a moment of time before they answer, and as that happens, there is a ringing song that is in your ears, and. . ."
" Diatom, not dial tone!" the teacher interrupted, amid laughter from the fellow students. Anna slapped her hand against her forehead miserably. " Oh." Yoh said dimly.
" God, that Asakura guy sure is an idiot." one girl whispered to her giggling friend.
Anna's ears pricked, glaring at the back of the female.
" Asakura, I want to see you after class, do you hear me?" the teacher said sternly.
" Yes sir." Yoh said gloomily.
" Kyoyuma, would you care to answer?"
" Diatoms are tiny one-celled organisms that live in water." Anna said effortlessly. " They contain chlorophyll, which- - -" she paused at the look on Yoh's face, their eyes meeting for a moment before he looked away.
" Yes?" the teacher said, egging her on. " Go on."
" . . .I'm not sure about the rest." she said.
Yoh's eyes widened as he looked at her.
" What?" the teacher asked Anna. " This is simple concept, Anna. Are you sure that. . .?"
" I guess I forgot." she said firmly.
She looked away from the unflattering shock on the teacher's face and glared at the girl and her giggling friend, almost daring them to make a comment about her. They noticed her stare and turned back to the teacher. " Very well then." the teacher said, disappointment in his voice as he looked at Anna. " Very well. Well, diatoms contain chlorophyll, which they use to contain sunlight into energy, through the process of photosynthesis. A diatomn secretes a hard substance that forms a surrounding shell, protecting its single, soft cell. The shell consists of. . ."
" Thanks." Yoh whispered into her ear.
" About what?" she asked, her face impassive.
Silence.
He smiled.
" Nothing." he muttered.
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Seika-sensei entered the teacher's lounge briskly, shutting the door behind him. Before him there stood Yoro with a very pretty young lady with strawberry blonde hair. He raised his eyebrows, hesitating for a moment. It was a while later before Yoro finally noticed him, and grinned at him, beckoning him to step forward. " This is my fellow associate, Seika." he said to the young lady, waving in his direction. The girl raised her eyebrows at him.
" I still can't believe you decided to become a teacher, Yoro." she said witheringly.
" Well, I decided to follow in your footsteps." he said, grinning.
She raised her eyebrows and said nothing, turning her heel to walk away. " I'll see you sometime soon, I guess." she said, walking out the door.
" Yeah." Yoro said brightly. " Goodbye."
Seika waited until she had left before muttering, " Beautiful girl."
" Very." Yoro said. " But unfortunately, she's taken. Did you want to talk to me about something?"
" Yes," Seika said importantly. " Yes, as a matter of fact, I did."
Yoro blinked.
Silence.
" And. . .?"
" Take a seat." Seika said. Yoro obliged, and Seika sat down opposite to him. " I want to talk to you about the student Hao Asakura." he said, and there was a flicker of interest that sparked across Yoro's face. " Yes, I've heard of him." Yoro said, his face impassive. " I believe there's more to the two of you than that." Seika said suspiciously.
" I don't fool around with my students." Yoro said lightly.
" I didn't mean that way!" Seika snapped. " You made a transaction with him, didn't you?"
" Yes, as a matter of fact, I did."
Seika sighed, rubbing his sore temples. " The same thing happened to me too, Yoro." Seika said, looking up at the emotionless colleague. " Somehow, both of our cases happened around that Yoh Asakura boy. I found out that you chose the book Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde just so he could prove a point to his brother?" When he received no answer, he went on. " The same thing went for me. He made me fail Yoh in my class when he actually passed for the first time in three semesters. If you ask me, I think he's up to something. I think he's deliberately trying to make his brother flunk his year."
" Oh, I don't think that's so." Yoro said, chuckling, getting to his feet.
Seika glared at his back.
" Yoro, if you're planning to make an alliance with this boy. . ."
" I'm not planning to do anything." Yoro said, turning around, a smirk on his face. " But my advice for you is to just stay out of it. It has nothing to do with the two of us, and I think it would be best for us to just mind our own businesses."
" You know what's going on, don't you?" Seika said, getting to his feet, the realization suddenly hitting him.
Yoro blinked. There was something in his eyes that Seika barely caught before it had disappeared; being instantly replaced by a cheerful grin. " No," he said simply. " No I don't. But you don't see me trying to understand what I can't grasp, right? Have a coffee and a long rest, Seika." he said, walking off. " You're going to need it."
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" I expected more from you, Asakura."
" Yes sir."
" You have the ability to get higher."
" Yes sir."
" I want you to concentrate on your studies more, do you hear me?"
" Yes sir."
The teacher looked at Yoh suspiciously before glancing at Anna, who was leaning against the door of the empty classroom they were, her eyebrows raised at the both of them. He seemed to make a decision of his actions, looking away from Yoh to step past him, and Anna stepped away to let him get out the door. " I sincerely hope you can ask some of your friends to help you out with your homework. There's Ren, for one. Lyserg should be a pretty good choice too."
" What about Horo Horo?" Yoh said.
The teacher chose not to answer that, his hand on the door handle, pulling the door open. " Oh, and of course, Anna here." he said before leaving the room, a small smile on his face.
Yoh let out the breath that he was holding, and looked down at Anna, who was looking at him reproachfully. He sighed and scratched the back of his head. " You're angry at me, aren't you?"
" Not as much as I am disappointed." she replied.
He sighed.
" Yoh. . .I know that you're a clever person," she said, her hand resting on his shoulder comfortingly. " It's just that you don't pay attention in class enough. Why can't you pay attention in class?"
He glanced up to look at her before looking back down at his feet.
" You'll laugh." he mumbled.
She raised her eyebrows. " When's the last time you remember me laughing?" she said, and when he did not answer, she said, " I laugh with you. I don't laugh at you."
He finally looked up at her.
" It's because of you." he said, and her eyes widened. " When you're near me, I sneak glances at you, my mind is filled with you. . .I just can't help it."
" That's not a reason for you to. . ." she interrupted, her face furious although her cheeks were burning. Then she stopped, her eyes wide. Something crossed her mind, and she just stared at Yoh in sudden realization. His raised his eyebrows at her. " What?" he asked, sounding hurt. " I really do."
" No, it's not that. . ." she said hastily, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.
" Then what?" Yoh asked, cocking his head.
" Nothing." she muttered, turning away from him.
" Anna. . ." Yoh called out from behind her, and she stopped.
" Yes?"
He took two quick strides to her and pulled her into an embrace, kissing her cheeks softly. Her eyes widened and said nothing. It was at the moment when she was about to pull away when she felt his hand graze her breast, and she moaned silently. Taking this as a sign of acceptance, he quickly removed the tie from her shirt, letting it float gently to the floor before unbuttoning her shirt quickly.
" Again?" she said incredulously, as Yoh shrugged the shirt off her shoulders impatiently, his teeth nibbling on her shoulder feverishly. " We just had sex thirty minutes ago!"
" Sorry," he muttered, a small grin on his face. " Not my fault you're so arousing, right?"
" Ass. . .hole." she muttered, turning the last word into a whimper as his tongue swooped down to her breast, licking it feverishly. Then her eyes widened as she heard the sound of students rushing past the classroom. " Yoh!" she said urgently, but he ignored her, his hand struggling to unclip her skirt now. " Not here. . . there are. . ." she started, but was silenced by his lips pressing against hers.
She let out gasps into his mouth, and he moaned in success into her mouth as he succeeded in unclipping her skirt finally, and let it fall in a pool at her feet. " God. . ." she whimpered. " Yoh. . ."
" Damn, I love it when you say my name," he muttered, his fingers delving into the silk panties she wore, a finger inserting into her immediately, earning a raspy moan from her. " Say it again, will you?"
" Over my dead body." she said tightly.
" Suit yourself," he smirked, removing her panties as quick as day, removed himself of his pants and slid himself into her. She let out encouraging moans, grabbing onto his tightly, and he smiled into her ear. " Say my name."
" What. . .happened. . .to. . .pitiful. . .Yoh?" she moaned, biting down hard on his earlobe.
He winced, but smiled. " You don't think my thoughts about you revolve around you studying, do you?"
" Fuck. . .you. . ." she gasped.
" Hard or slow?" he said charmingly, thrusting into her quicker and quicker, and she let out a gasp of pleasure. He quickly removed her bra and let it fall to the floor. " Oh shit, Anna. . ." he muttered, his member hardening beyond imagination, gripping onto her tightly.
" Y. . .Y. . ." she breathed raspily.
" Yes?" he muttered, kissing her neck.
It was a minute later when she came, covering her mouth with her hand to prevent herself from screaming out loud, and within seconds later at the sight of her face in pleasure he came before her, drawing himself out of her in time before lying down on the ground beside her, sweat ridden on both their faces. They sat there panting for a few minutes before she turned over to smirk at him. " I still didn't say your name." she said smugly.
He raised his eyebrows at her before sulking.
" Damn." he muttered.
" But you're always welcome to try your luck some other time." she said to him slyly.
He grinned.
" I will." he said, cuddling her towards him. " I definitely will."
She said nothing, a smile creeping up on her face.
It was a moment later when Yoh seized the comfortable opportunity to pop in the question as casual as humanly possible. " So Anna. . ." he said to her soothingly, as they got back into their clothes. She turned in his direction, waiting for him to continue. " . . .Do you think it would be alright if I. . ."
" Invite Hao to the party?" she said, raising her eyebrows.
" Yeah." he said sheepishly.
She gave him somewhat of an appraising look before shrugging. " Whatever you wish." she said, pulling her clothes back onto her body, glancing at his beaming face before chuckling. " It's your party, isn't it?"
He grinned and stuffed his hands into his pockets.
" Alright." he said. " I'll tell him to come over first thing after school."
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' Come right over for dinner with me and Anna. I need to tell you something.'
Hao blinked as he stared at the note that Sumiko had blandly handed him. " Your brother Yoh asked me to hand this to you, Asakura." she said to him sullenly. " He called at around three in the afternoon; not too long before you returned." He said nothing but look from the note to her before lighting the note up in flames, it immediately burning into a crisp of ashes. " Thank you." he said numbly.
" No problem." she replied.
They stood there in uncomfortable silence.
" Look, Sumiko. . ." he started.
" I suggest you go." she said cuttingly. " He's waiting for you."
He opened his mouth to speak, but after a moment he shut it, turning his back onto her once again. " Alright." he said quietly. " I guess I will."
" Goodbye, Asakura." she said, walking away.
He stood there in a silent beyonding for a moment before turning around once again. " Sumi. . ." he started, until he noticed she had disappeared from sight. " . . .Ko." he finished, hanging his head.
On the other side of the door, Sumiko clenched down on her lip painfully hard. " Don't cry again," she whispered to herself, clutching her heart painfully, as she heard Hao leave the household, shutting the door firmly behind him. " Don't show weakness once more. . ."
" Sumiko-san?"
She turned around, and there stood Opacho, looking up at her curiously. " Is everything all right?" he asked her worriedly at the sight of her face. " Are you going to cry? Are you okay? What's wrong?"
" Everything's fine, Opacho." she said stiffly. " I'm okay."
Opacho watched her for a while before nodding and toddling off. " If you need me I'll be upstairs with all of Hao's other friends, alright?" he called out to her from the stairs. She nodded her head and said nothing. How long she stood there she did not know, but suddenly she opened her eyes, staring fixedly at the door.
" Kino." she said sullenly.
The door opened and there stood the familiar old woman, a walking stick in her hand, a small smirk on her face. " You're getting better at the sixth sense, Sumiko." she chuckled. " I didn't even have to tell you to practice. Even Hao took longer than you to master this art."
" What are you here for?" Sumiko asked.
Kino raised her eyebrows at the obvious iciness of the girl.
" I've walked for quite some time to get here." she said quietly. " Can you get me something to drink? I want to speak to you in private for a moment."
Sumiko looked at her suspiciously for half a minute before lifting two glasses onto the table, the tea kettle in her hands. " Thanks," Kino said gruffly. " I really appreciate it." Sumiko said nothing, finished pouring the drinks into the cups and sat down on the seat opposite next to her. Kino took a sip of tea for a moment before setting it down. " I came to ask about you and Hao Asakura."
" Oh." Sumiko said dully. " Well, you have nothing to worry about anymore. He. . ."
" Shot you down." Kino finished. " I know."
Sumiko looked at her shrewdly. " I didn't know you had Seer powers."
" There's no need for those powers at this point of time." Kino said, her lips twitching. " You're so easy to predict."
At this, Kino half expected Sumiko to start shouting at her again, but she said nothing, taking a sip out of her own cup of tea. " Are you still angry at me for using you?" Kino asked her.
" Not at all." Sumiko replied. " There's no use in getting upset. It just drains your energy, and it does nothing more than giving the person who hurt you vindictive pride for depressing you."
Kino raised her eyebrows.
" You're back to your old self again." Kino said.
" Is that good or bad?"
" At this point, I don't know what to say anymore." Kino said quietly now. " But somehow, when I look at you now, I feel somewhat depressed."
" And why's that?" Sumiko asked.
Kino stretched her legs and gave an involuntarily shiver. " How to I describe it. . ." she muttered, rubbing her chin quietly. " It bring me back to the days when you were still crossing the world with Ejio. . .that was right before you started guarding Anna for me. You were cold. . .impassive. . .but you were more like a placid lake that bore a silent monster within, waiting to snap its jaws at anyone who dared to swim through."
" Yeah, it was a crocodile." Sumiko said impassively. " It was made into a movie, wasn't it?"
" Yeah, ' Lake Placid'." Kino said, smirking now. " Can't believe you spotted me plagiarizing."
Sumiko smiled back. Kino smiled back for a moment before sighing.
" Ejio woke up from his deep sleep yesterday." Kino said quietly, and Sumiko's eyes widened. " He should be able to be admitted from the hospital tomorrow."
" That's. . .great." Sumiko said uncertainly.
" Isn't it?" Kino said loungily. She stayed silent for a moment before looking deep in Sumiko's eyes in question. " Do you still love Hao Asakura?" she asked her.
Sumiko blinked.
Did she. . .?
Kino waited.
Sumiko seemed to sag in her seat for a moment before sighing.
" Yes, I do." she said. " But there's not any use in saying that anymore, isn't there?"
" Yeah, there's not." Kino said. " But now that Yoh and Anna are together already, your job is done. There's no need for you to stay in this household anymore, and you can leave first thing tomorrow."
Sumiko's face remained impassive before nodding.
" All right." she said. " I will."
Kino nodded gravely before getting to her feet. " Thank you so much for the tea, Sumiko." she said. " It was delicious."
" Don't mention it." Sumiko said silently.
Kino reached the door. " Here's a suggestion." she said, turning around, her eyes meeting Sumiko's once again. " Try confessing to him once more." she said. " If he shoots you down, then I guess. . ."
" I can handle things like this very well myself, thank you." Sumiko said, her voice rising.
" Alright." Kino said opening the door. " Turns out you haven't changed as much as I expected." she finished quietly, slamming the door behind her.
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Dinner was normal.
Fish.
Rice.
Eel.
Polite conversation.
The calm before the storm.
" Thanks for inviting me to dinner, Yoh." Hao said quietly, picking up a piece of eel with his chopsticks and laid it into his bowl carefully. Yoh smiled at him and stuffed rice into his mouth. " Hey, there's no problem in that. I don't see anyone else complaining, right?" At this, both of them involuntarily glanced at Anna from the top of their rice bowls. Anna, on the other hand, said nothing, but took a sip of water from her class, ignoring the now blatant stares from Hao and Yoh. Hao let out a small sigh before looking back at Yoh. " You invited me here for a purpose." Hao said, pausing between mouthfuls of food. " Care to tell me?"
" Oh, right." Yoh said cheerfully, taking a glance at Anna who had stayed quiet for the entire conversation. Her eyes met his and merely shrugged before getting back to her food. He raised his eyebrows before turning to Hao. " Hao. . .I wanted to invite you to the party Anna and I are hosting."
Hao's eyes widened, before smiling witheringly.
" Much obliged, dear brother." he said. " But I don't think I want to be beaten to death by all your dear friends."
" We both know they can't lay a finger on you if you had an intention to kill." Yoh said, his lips twitching. " Anyway, I'll make sure nothing happens to you. How about that?"
Hao stayed silent for a moment before shutting his eyes.
" Sorry." he said simply. " I have no reason to go, and even if I did, I have no intention to."
Yoh's eyes were wide with shock, but Anna nodded her head silently; she knew that would be his answer from the start. Even if Yoh was willing to forgive him, he was still unable to forgive himself. They continued eating in silence until Hao suddenly rose to his feet, the empty bowl of rice in his hands. " I'm finished." he said. " Is that all you wanted to tell me? Because I have something else to do tonight."
Yoh turned to Anna, who sighed gravely.
" Yeah," Yoh said. " That's all I wanted to say."
" Very well then. Thanks for the food." Hao said, disappearing behind the wall leading to the kitchen.
Yoh sighed miserably, dropping his chopsticks onto the table depressingly. Anna opened a shut eye to look at him before getting to her feet. " I'll try to convince him." she said to Yoh, whose eyes widened. " After all, I'm the only person in the world who he actually likes, anyway. Besides you, of course." she added.
" Thanks." Yoh said gratefully.
" No problem." Anna answered.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door. The both of them glanced at each other, and Anna turned to answer it. " No, I'll do it." Yoh replied. " You talk to Hao."
Anna nodded before disappearing through the same wall leading to the kitchen.
Eyebrows raised, Yoh went to the door and opened it expectantly, and his eyes widened at the sight of a woman with such sheer beauty that he just stood there for a moment, spellbound by her appearance. " Asakura. . ." the girl said to his, a lemon wedged between her teeth. " I thought you would have left by now. . ."
Yoh blinked. " No, not just yet." he said, confused.
" Oh. . ." she said.
" And. . .who are. . .?" he started.
" I'm going to be leaving in less than a day." Sumiko said to him, almost tearfully. She tried to ignore his confused looks, and instead brought her attention to the buttons on his shirt, letting the lemon fall out of her lips to the ground. " I know I've already said this before, but. . .I'm in love with you."
Yoh's eyes widened.
Just who was this girl. . .?
" Look. . .I'm sorry, but I'm in love with Anna now." he said to her, and he watched her face sag with sadness. " I'm really sorry. . ." he said, scratching the back of his head. " Plus, I'm not even familiar with you." A lone tear fell down Sumiko's face and she sighed, looking down at her feet. Well, that was it. The final step was done. She turned to look away to wipe the tear out of her eye hastily.
" Oh." she said. " Never mind then."
Silence.
" Are. . .you and Anna together?" she asked.
" Yeah, I guess you could say that." Yoh laughed.
" I thought she was in love with your brother?" Sumiko pressed on.
" Not as long as I'm here." Yoh said, smiling reassuringly. " I will love her to the end of my days."
Hot, wet tears were falling from her face now, and she struggled to remain calm. " Oh." she croaked. " Well then. I guess. . .Congratulations."
" Yeah." Yoh said uncomfortably. " Look, do you. . .?"
" Goodbye, Asakura." she said, walking away. Rain started to fall down from the sky and he chewed on his bottom lip. " What's your name?" he yelled out. She stopped, her eyes wide. Was he pulling some sort of cruel joke? Or was this just what Hao Asakura was? A person who forgot the names of women who he had already. . .?
" It's Yakumo." she said, almost sarcastically. " Goodbye, Asakura."
" Goodbye." Yoh said quietly, watching her walk away. " And I'm sorry."
It was a moment later when Yoh's eyes widened. She called him Asakura. By any chance she could have thought he was Hao, his brother?
Too bad Sumiko was too heartbroken to even think of the possibility that Yoh, Hao's sibling, could have been a twin brother
Too bad.
It was just too bad.
And the rain continued to fall.
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Hao sighed, placing the bowl into the sink, turning around, and jumped slightly at the sight of Anna standing at the door, her eyebrows raised. " Well, this certainly is a change from the old Hao Asakura." she said plainly. " What happened to all your quips? Your insults? Your cheeky comments?"
" Oh?" he said, " You missed me?"
" I didn't say that." she said defensively.
His eyes bore sadness, but yet he still smiled.
" I know." he said. " I'll be going off now."
She watched him leave for a moment before leaning against the sink behind her. " I remember I asked you this question before," she called out to him, and he stopped in mid-step. " What are you running away from? Not from me again, I hope?" He paused before turning around to meet eyes with her. " What do you still want with me?" he asked her. " It's obvious Yoh had to coax you to invite me along to this so-called party of yours. . ."
" I didn't say that either."
" Don't lie through your teeth." Hao snarled, his voice suddenly turning nasty, and she flinched. " I know you dislike me, and I'm actually okay with it now. But why the Hell did you make me look at you again? I don't want to steal you away from Yoh anymore. Frankly speaking, I'm God damn tired of it, and all I want now is a life without you, without Yoh, and without any of Yoh's stupid friends inside it."
Anna didn't flinch. She merely gazed back into his eyes which now bore so much resentment she was surprised it wasn't spelt out on his pupils. " You would be very lonely." she said quietly.
" Better lonely than hurt again." he snarled.
" What?" she snapped, annoyed now. " Are you still in love with me?"
Silence.
Her eyes widened.
" You. . .You still love me." she said, so quiet that she almost didn't hear it.
" Yes!" he said. " Oh course I am. What did you think? I was silently in love with you for over five years and you think I could suddenly hate you after all those years of wanting you?"
" No." she said silently. " I guess not."
" Great." he said. " Glad we have an understanding."
" Then why don't you take me away?" she asked, and he blinked. " If you love me so much then why don't you try to take me away with you? Don't give me that 'good brother' bullshit. Don't say because I'm powerful. We both know that your skills are still way over mine. Why don't you use force to take me over?"
" I. . ."
" Oh, because you love me so much, and you don't want to see me hurt?" she said sarcastically. " Don't give me that shit either. I could wipe my ass with that rubbish. I guess your love for me isn't that strong after all."
" But I. . ."
" Or could it be because. . ." she said, crossing her arms across her chest. " Your love as a brother for Hao still overpowers your love for me as a lover. Is that right?"
" SHUT UP!" he yelled, his eyes wide with fear now, his hand reached out, blasting a mouthful of flame in her direction. Merely raising a hand, it dissolved in mid-air. " Well, you certainly have weakened." she said sullenly. " Or is it because. . .you can't bear to hurt me again?"
He cursed under his breath and ran over to her, slamming her against the wall behind her. She winced in pain as he brought his face within inches from her. " Well then," he said nastily. " What were you saying before?"
" You. . .can't. . .bear. . .to. . .hurt. . .me." she said through clenched teeth. They glared at each other for a few more minutes before he dropped her, and she fell to the ground, brushing herself off. " What are you true intentions, Hao?" she asked him, her voice gentle now. He flinched and looked up to meet her eyes. " What's your true facade? Are you upset? Are you angry? Are you. . .lonely?"
His eyes widened, and watched her in bewilderment before stepping away. For the first time in her life, she saw true fear in his eyes; and as he stepped back to the door, he resembled like a child lost from his parents, and all he wanted to do was to find his way home.
" I don't want this. . ." he muttered. " I don't want. . ."
" What don't you want?" she persisted.
He looked up at her now, his eyes suddenly solemn.
" Don't try to understand me, Anna." he snarled.
" And what's stopping me?"
The continued to glare at each other for another passing moment.
" Come to the party tomorrow." she said. " It means a lot to Yoh."
" And with what reason should I?"
" I just said it." she said quietly.
He fell silent.
At that moment Yoh entered, his face worried. " Hao," he said, and Hao turned at the call of his name. " A girl just now came to our door. By any chance do you know her?"
" What's her name?" Hao said, finally looking away from Anna.
" Yakumo." Yoh replied.
Hao shook his head.
" Never heard of her." he said. His eyes continued to watch Anna closely before walking away. " By the way, Yoh." he said quietly as he stepped towards the door. " I think I might have some time tomorrow."
He glanced at Anna, who smiled at him.
" Great!" Yoh said, surprised, but glad. " Be there at eight, alright?"
His eyes never left Anna.
Happy now? He almost seemed to be asking her.
Very. She seemed to reply.
And in a burst of flames, he disappeared from the Asakura Household.
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Jeanne was lounging inside her room peacefully when there was a knock on her door. " Come in," she called out. At that, the door burst open; a man in a white suit did a full cartwheel and bowed down before her, a phone in his hands. " Jeanne-sama," he said, his voice quivering with every ounce of respect. " Someone is on the phone for you."
" Thank you, Marco." she said, smiling sheepishly. You would think that after thirty over times of the same routine she would get used to Marco doing gymnastics before her, but it still brought a smile to her face. " Who is it?"
" It's Anna Kyoyuma." Marco said.
" Oh, is it?" Jeanne said, beaming, taking the phone from him. " Thank you."
He was now bowing so low his forehead was practically digging into the floor now. He nodded; or at least, there were three dull thuds against the ground, and he walked out the room in quick strides, shutting the door behind him. " Hello?" Jeanne said into the receiver. " Anna, is that you?"
" Hi," Anna said on the other end. " Did you get the invitation card?"
" Yes, thank you so much." Jeanne said. " Thanks for inviting all the X-Laws, it means a lot to me."
" Anything for a friend." Anna said, scratching the back of her head. " But I didn't call for that. We have school tomorrow, right? Do you mind lending me Shamash tomorrow? I have to question a few people."
" Oh?" Jeanne asked, her eyebrows raised. " Who?"
" I was thinking of Ren, Horo Horo, Lyserg, Chocolove, Yoh. . .Opacho too, if necessary."
" Wow." Jeanne said, startled. " What's this about?"
" I need to find out about what Hao's plans are." Anna said tightly. " Every single point. . .clue. . .fact. . .everything that I can use to find out about him."
Her hands clenched on the phone in her hands.
" No matter what cost."
END CHAPTER 24
Well, this one certainly was lengthy. In case some of you have not been able to guess, Shiho Miyano from Detective Conan made a short entrance in this story; she was the girl who spoke to Yoro. Not much use of that, I just thought it would be slightly amusing. Anyway, we're down to the last chapter. The last one will, I hope, be triply long as fast-paced. In that chapter, everything you have been wondering will finally be answered. However, I'm sorry to the readers who wanted Horo Horo X Tamao romance inside this story; I'm afraid I will not have enough time to squeeze that into the final chapter. The reason why I added Ren X Pirika was to hint of Hao's control of Ren, and nothing else. Well, besides to please you Ren X Pirika fans, that is. What is to become of Anna and Yoh? Whose side is Hao Asakura on? Will Yoh's friends finally forgive Hao? What is to become of Sumiko? The countdown is over. The last chapter is set. It will hopefully, be done in less than two weeks.
PLEASE LOOK FORWARD FOR THE ENDING OF ' A GIRL CALLED ANNA'