Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King…sigh.

Chapter Three: When and Where

The Shaman Convention takes place every year, at the same time and place. It's a time for shamans to mingle, to interact and maybe even have a fight or two, all in good fun. And at the midst of it all, is the Shaman King. The one shaman that all the others have come for. His words, his advice and his solution to the problems others would bring is the main highlight of his event.

"I hate going to this thing!" Yoh groaned as he buttoned his shirt.

Manta straightened his own collar in front of the mirror. "This is what you get for being Shaman King, I guess." He said, "Besides, I thought you liked helping all those shamans."

"I don't mind the helping part; it's the speech part that's really getting to me."

"Oh." Manta turned to face Yoh, "Speaking of speech, do you want me to help you?"

"Sure, I guess." Yoh paused. "Maybe I should've let my brother win after all."

Manta laughed.

"Yeah. He's great at speeches. He always seemed to have one ready."

Yoh joined him in laughter.

"Yoh? Are you done yet?"

The voice came from beyond the door.

"Just about. Why don't you come in, Utsumi?" Yoh called back.

The door opened and Utsumi walked in. She smiled at Manta, who returned the gesture.

"Len called. He said they were going to meet us there, instead." She said.

Yoh thought for a moment. "What about Horo-Horo? Did he call?" he asked.

"No. I suppose we'll just meet them along the way." Utsumi said with a smile.

Yoh grinned at her. "Yeah, I guess we will. Can you tell Ryu we'll be going soon? You should finish up, too."

Utsumi nodded. "Yoh, don't forget to bring the food, alright?"

"How could I forget that?"

Utsumi laughed gaily and kissed Yoh lightly on the cheek. "Hurry up, Yoh." She turned to Manta, "You, too. Manta. We can't be late." She then strode out of the room.

Manta looked at Yoh with a grin. The Shaman King frowned and began to turn red.

"What?"

His friend just whistled. "Oh, nothing." He said in a teasing tone.

"Ha ha. Very funny."

"We're here. Patch Village."

Anna opened her eyes at the sound of Keiji's voice. She was trying sleep during the whole trip, with no success.

"Need some help, Anna?"

Anna turned to look at Keiji's smiling face. How can he be so cheerful at this time of day? She thought. Nevertheless, Anna hauled herself from the car and began straighten her skirt. She looked around.

"Where's Master Shotoku?"

Keiji closed the car door behind her. "He told me he'll just meet us in our room, later on." He answered.

"Room?"

"Oh that's right!" Keiji whacked himself in the head, "This is your first Shaman Convention, right? They actually provide us rooms since we would be staying for a week."

Anna nodded in understanding.

"Come on. I'll show you around." Keiji grabbed Anna's hand and began to lead her inside the building.

"The dining hall is all set, sir. About 10,000 chairs, that's more than last year…"

Yoh nodded absentmindedly.

"Now about dinner, sir. We're not sure if we should serve fish or the steak…"

At the mention of food, Yoh perked up. "Why not serve both?" he suggested.

"An excellent idea, sir. But about the flowers…"

"Yellow roses would be wonderful."

Yoh whirled around and found Utsumi standing right behind him. She gave him a wide smile.

"It's my favorite, remember?"

"Uh, yeah. I remember." Yoh turned to face his companion once again, "Yellow roses it is then."

The woman nodded and began to write it down. Before she could ask another question, Yoh beat her to it.

"Have all the guests arrived, yet?"

The woman shook her head.

"Tell me when they're all here, alright? And can you find Silva and tell him I want to talk to him? Thanks." Yoh hurried in case she decided to ask if he would prefer paper napkins to cloth ones. He honestly didn't care.

But the woman just bowed obediently and left.

"You shouldn't treat your subjects like that, Yoh." Utsumi scolded, lightly.

"I wouldn't really call them "my subjects"."

"That's besides the point."

Yoh scratched his head. "Yeah, well. What do I know about flowers and linens? It's not like I became Shaman King for that stuff."

Utsumi raised her eyebrow, teasingly. "Why did you become Shaman King, then?"

"To save the world." Yoh replied with a grin.

Utsumi moved closer to him. "That's what I like about you, Yoh." She whispered and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Suddenly, Yoh felt very uncomfortable.

"Uh, maybe we shouldn't do this here, someone could walk in any minute." Yoh said, entangling himself out of Utsumi's arms.

Utsumi frowned.

"We better get going anyway. I need to talk to Silva." Yoh added, grabbing hold of her hand.

"Well…alright." Utsumi gave in reluctantly.

They walked on, holding each other's hands, with Yoh thinking,

What's wrong with me?

Anna rubbed her wrists. Keiji grabbed held them so hard, they hurt.

At least I finally got away from him. He's nice, but why does he always have to be… there?

Even she was finding it hard get the right words for him. To be honest, she was feeling guilty of thinking these things. He was always so nice to her, sometimes, too nice. As usual, he was hovering around her a little too close for comfort.

Anna sighed. What am I complaining about? I should be grateful I have at least one friend.

She turned around a corner and then stopped. She stared.

The two people in front of her stopped as well. But only the guy registered the same shocked expression of Anna's.

Nobody moved for a moment. After a few seconds, the guy spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Anna."

And in Anna's head, she replied,

Yoh.

a/n: Hey! Thanks for the reviews, guys. Continue, though. Tell me if I'm making mistakes or what. And if you have questions, just ask. By the way, did I take too long to update? What's the normal time for updation, anyway?

To:

BluRosEs: No, Anna's not a sewing machine worker. As for the other question, you have to read to find out. (I know, I'm cruel. Sorry.) Tnx for reviewing!