Note: Hiya! I'm back! Sorry for the delay! Computer isn't really functioning the way I want it to! Anyway, Hope you enjoy this chapter! To give you an idea of what to expect of this chapter, I shall give a short summary first.  On their way to school, Yoh, Hao and Anna finds out what happens to their friends and where they had went to during the three years. Meanwhile, the others find out how popular Anna and the twins are in school. That's basically it. Enjoy!

Chapter 3: School Life

"Look! There she is!" "Hot as always!" "Wow! She tied her hair up today!" "Go on, ask her for her number!"

"Hahahaha, Miss Anna seems to be real popular around the school campus." Tamamura Tamao said nervously, clutching her school bag tightly in her hand as they made their way down the school walkway to the old white building. "Tsk. Pests. I've already made it clear to a few of them that I'm engaged." Anna said irritably as she stomped past a group of boys who were gaping at her. "It's only the second day of school, though…" Hao said cheerfully. "Mari wish Mari was as popular as Miss Anna…" Marion said, cocking her head to one side so that her long pigtails fell over one shoulder. "Oh, cut the crap already. I didn't ask for this popularity, anyway. So tell us what you were all doing for the past three years." Anna said shortly. "Jun and I were back in china, at home, boring our pants off." Ren rolled his eyes and glared at HoroHoro, who had accidentally stepped on his foot. "Oops. Sorry about that." HoroHoro gave Ren a toothy grin. "HoroHoro, Pilica and Ryu were with us too." Jun said politely. "Oh? I thought Horo-boy hated Chinese cuisine? He must have starved over at your house then." Anna smirked. "It's HoroHoro, if you will. And I still hate Chinese cuisine." HoroHoro scowled. "Anyway, Ren and Pilica are engaged, so is Ryu and Jun." Manta said quietly. Yoh grinned at his friends. "Congratulations!" He said before staring down at Manta. Manta saw Yoh's gaze, and sighed. "Yeah, Yeah. I'm still a shorty." He said. Yoh and Anna exchanged glances, and Anna said, "No one said that. In fact, Yoh and I think you've grown a little." Manta stared at Anna in surprise. He hadn't expected her to be this nice. "Er……" "So, tell me, Manta, what have you been doing?" Yoh asked pleasantly. "Studying, of course." Manta grumbled. "I told him to join Mari, Macchi and I on our holiday tours, but he had to stay at home because his dad didn't allow him to come out with us." Tamao said shyly, pointing to Marion and Matilda. "Yeah! We had a fun time running all over the world, didn't we, Mari?" Matilda cried enthusiastically as she hopped up the steps. "Mari certainly did enjoy herself." Marion said quietly. "Haha! Wow! Bought any souvenirs for us?" Hao teased. "Nope! Why should we?" Matilda retorted heartlessly. "Huh! Matilda's heartless!" Hao said, and stuck his nose in the air, strutting ahead. Anna got impatient, and threw a pebble at him. "Will you stop that, Asakura Hao! Do you know how annoying that is!" She yelled. "Ow! What was THAT for!" Hao yelled back indignantly, only to receive as slap from Anna.

The whole gang roared with laughter(with the exception of Anna and Hao, of course), and Manta said, "Wow! I thought I'd never see Anna do that again!"

"Anyway, Lyzerg, What were you doing?" Yoh enquired politely to the small, green haired boy who still had the kind look in his eyes and warmth in his smile. "Nothing much. I was at America, attending a course that trains new detectives for the past three years. Matilda, Tamao and Mari dropped by to visit me while they were at America, and we had so much fun together." Lyzerg replied cheerfully. "Mm, I see! So you were working hard too!" Yoh said.

They had reached a junction now, and Anna stopped walking. HoroHoro crashed onto her. "Idiot." Anna said coldly. "Well, sorry!" HoroHoro said indignantly. "Anyway, the middle school is on the right. Tamao, Marion and Pilica, take good care of yourselves. We'll meet back here after school to walk back together." Anna told them. "Bye!" Pilica told Ren and HoroHoro. "See you later, Pilica." Ren said. "Bye Mari!" Matilda waved at her best friend. "See you, Tamao!" Yoh called, and the three of them ran towards their school, while the rest turned left and headed towards their high school building.

"Psst! Anna!" Yoh hissed. "Mm?" Anna turned to face Yoh, who was sitting on the row next to her. As Ryu and Jun were older, they are in a year three class, but the remaining people- Manta, Lyzerg, Ren, Matilda and HoroHoro were in the same class as Anna, Yoh and Hao.

"A note from Sakurami." Yoh handed Anna a neatly folded piece of paper while jabbing his thumb at Sakurami, a male classmate with messy brown hair and droopy eyes. "Oh," Anna took it, and without reading the contents, she ripped the paper into two. Her friends gaped at her, and Sakurami looked shock. Then, Matilda, who was sitting beside her, collapsed into a lapse of giggles and Hao exchanged grins with Yoh. Their Biology teacher, Mr. Konoe, got irritated by Matilda's constant giggling and glared down at her. "Would you like to share the joke, Miss Matisse?" He demanded. Matilda glanced at Anna, who nodded, a sudden spirit of mischief eating into her. Matilda got up slowly, a wide grin spreading on her face. "Very well, sir, I shall tell."

"Anna, a note from Shiruzeki."

"Tear it and throw it away."

"A note from Keita."

"Tear it and throw it away."

"A note from Kyo."

"I said, tear it all and throw it away."

Lyzerg, Hao and Yoh stared at the blonde girl in amusement while Matilda giggled. Manta just sat there, amusing himself with Anna's stubbornness. She had been saying "Tear it and throw it away" for the past 10 minutes since Matilda had blurted out that Sakurami had been rejected by Anna, and they had retired for break after having a good laugh at Sakurami. However, love letters had flooded their dining table slowly and Anna was getting really annoyed. Yoh, Hao, Lyzerg, Ryu and Jun(who had joined them for break) was helping Anna sort the letters while Matilda continued to giggle at the unfortunate incident. Anna just sat and sipped her drink while ordering the rest to tear and throw away the notes.

"My dear sis-in-law, will you just tell them you're part of the Asakuras already!" Hao asked in annoyance as he ripped the paper into two and tossed it aside. "All right, then. I'll tell them now." And Anna got up and walked to the stage right at the end of the canteen. She grabbed the microphone, and faced the entire herd of high school students from year 1 to year 3.

"Now listen up," Anna began as the boys began to goggle at her, "I'm already engaged, you hear? E-N-G-A-G-E-D. Have you guys gotten it into that puny brains of yours?"

Matilda gaped at Anna and Jun began to laugh helplessly. "If that isn't what I expected Anna to do!" She said good-naturedly as all the other boys around began to leave, looking crest-fallen when they heard Anna's words. Girls were staring at her, apparently awestruck at her boldness.

"If you want to know who my fiancé is, I'll tell you. But you buggers had better leave him alone after this, or you'll get it from me. Asakura Yoh, the younger twin of Asakura Hao. He's my fiancé. Now quit bothering us, you hear?" Anna commanded, and stepped of the stage, stomping her way through the amazed crowd back to her own table.

"You just had to bring my name up, do you!" Hao hissed at her. "Err….. I think Yoh is the embarrassed one, you know." Manta said, chortling.

The day finally ended, and, tired of all the "Is it true that Yoh is your fiancé" and "Are they really engaged" questions that have been flying around the school, Yoh and his friends were glad to get out of school. Tamao, Marion and Pilica had heard about the bizarre incident as well, and got a good laugh out of it as they strolled back home, recounting their individual happenings during school that day spiritedly, despite being tired and laden down with homework.

Matilda Matisse's diary entry for the day:

Miss Anna is WAY cool! The way she stood up on stage today and declared that she was engaged to Yoh…..WOW! I really admire her courage! She's just amazing! Anyway, School was really fun today, since I got to tease a new classmate for being rejected by Miss Anna! Heehee! The work was average, but I could have sworn that if Lyzerg wasn't around to help me I would have had a hard time catching up with the class! Oh wow! Pilica says that Miss Anna and Yoh are locked up together in a room! Let's go see what they're up to! After all, Miss Anna did mention that high schoolers can't mind their own business!

Matilda Matisse