Meh, went back over this too. Not sure when I'll start writing this again but I know I will finish it. Might take a while though.
Discalimer: Once again I don't own Shaman King but Bootz is completely mine.
A Girls Best Friend
Part Four: Hay Fever
Bootz leapt and ran around the garden, rolling in the mud and grass. He'd never been so happy in his life! This place was huge! There were flowers and even a small pond!
As he ran around, Anna watched him from the porch. Large, Small and Happy had gone somewhere, which was why he had been let out. He had gathered that Anna didn't want the others to see him. He wasn't sure why, they were, after all, his family now.
But then again, he thought, she is a female, and no one understands females!
He saw her sit down and look up to the sky. He came to sit beside her and also looked up, to see if it was anything interesting.
She must be looking at the clouds.
He suddenly saw something growing amongst the tulips, a single daisy, standing out, being completely different, and not giving a damn about it, just trying to get on with what it was doing.
A bit like Anna!
Bootz started to look back and forth between Anna and the flower. Then he finally got what his brain was trying to tell him. He trotted over to the daisy, plucked it from the ground and began to skip back towards Anna. He came up to the side of her, placed his head on her thigh and yipped for attention.
She kept looking at the clouds. "What now?" She asked it in a voice that he knew was meant to warn him that she was annoyed.
"Look what I have!" She turned to look at him. "For you!" He yipped again when she looked at the flower in his mouth.
She was silent for a while; a smile slowly began to form on her face. She took it from him and began to twiddle it between her fingers, looking at it in a dreamy sort of state.
He smiled; pleased to make her so happy. He jumped a little when he felt her hand start to stroke him. Then he relaxed and lay down beside her, closing his eyes.
They stayed like that for some time before Bootz smelt something. He stiffened, Anna must have felt this because she had stopped playing with the flower and stroking him. There seemed to be five people coming.
He got up to get a better smell as well as to hear these intruders. Anna stood also, probably to get a look.
He relaxed a bit when he realized three of them were Large, Small and Happy. But the new two smelt of a high place, with trees, rivers and most of all; snow. He looked at Anna for some reassurance.
She was scowling again; Bootz knew she did that a lot. But she didn't seem worried about these two newcomers.
"Go back to my room, Bootz." She commanded.
"Right!" He yipped back as he began to make his way back inside.
She whipped round. "And be quiet!" She hissed. He whimpered as he made his way upstairs, wondering just how big his new family was.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
As Bootz ran around, Anna watched him, he reminded her of Yoh in so many ways; the carefree attitude, the way of finding pleasure in such small things.
The respect for me.
The pound had said that they couldn't have him till tomorrow, so she was stuck with him for now.
Great, she thought, another Yoh to look after.
She sat down and looked up at the clouds.
I wonder why Yoh enjoys this so much?
She suddenly felt calm, as though all stress and other problems had just floated away. She closed her eyes and barely sensed it when Bootz came up to the side of her then walked away again.
She felt his head on her thigh and heard him yip. She opened her eyes but didn't look at him. "What now?" she asked in one of her warning voices. He yipped again. She looked at him, and then when she looked at the flower in his mouth he yipped once again.
Defiantly like Yoh, he always gives me flowers.
She smiled and took it from him. Beginning to play with it with her fingers, she hardly noticed her hand begin to stroke Bootz.
She began took think about Yoh.
His big brown eyes, his sweet smile…
She blinked.
What the hell is wrong with me?!
Bootz suddenly stiffened, she half-heartedly stopped thinking about Yoh and stood up, maybe she could see what was wrong.
She heard Yoh laughing with the others. Her scowl came back to her face when she realized whom the two new voices were. Pirika was all right but her brother…
Great, Horo horo's back in our house.
"Go back to my room, Bootz." She commanded.
He yipped back as he began to make his way back inside.
She whipped round. "And be quiet!" She hissed. He whimpered as he made his way upstairs.
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Yoh's spirits were at one of their high points. He had gone out for a walk. He'd said to Anna that they were going to the graveyard, but hey, the graveyard and the ice-cream parlour aren't that far away from each other.
In there he'd seen a very familiar and very friendly face, well, two faces. Pirika and Horo had been sat at a table, Horo had been nursing his wounds from training while Pirika went on at him about how lazy he was becoming.
They had walked up, with Yoh in lead, and asked whether they'd like to share a table. Pirika didn't talk much, being four boys and one girl, not to mention the ghosts. But Horo launched into full story-mode telling them every detail of what had happened since they had last seen each other. Four days ago.
Horo and Pirika had decided to stay in their hotel for as long as possible before they were kicked out. "It's not that we don't want to stay at your place, Yoh," Horo had explained. "It's just, it cost us so much to get into that place, we may as well stay until we have to pay the bill in advance for next week!"
They had been on their way to the house when they'd stopped for refreshment. Yoh thought he might as well tell Horo about the present for Anna so while Manta and Ryu distracted Pirika, Horo helped Yoh wrap Anna's present.
"And why are you doing this again?" Horo asked at least ten times.
"Because I want to show Anna how much I appreciate her being there all these years." Yoh's always answered with a grin.
Horo snorted, "Whatever makes you happy." He said nothing more on the subject afterwards.
As they came closer to the house, Manta asked them what they'd been up to.
"Oh, you know, working hard, training and just pumping up really." Was Horo's answer.
"That's Horo talk for stuffing his face and sleeping all day." Pirika mumbled. They all laughed as they came down the street, Horo went bright red. Suddenly Yoh heard a dog from inside the house.
Odd.
Everyone else looked confused too. "Did you hear that?"
Everyone nodded his or her head. "You didn't get a dog while we were away, did you Yoh?" Horo asked.
Yoh knew he was joking. But Manta still answered.
"Yeh, sure, we've even added a water-slide for your amusement, Horo." They all laughed.
But still, it sounded as though it came from the house.
As he came though the arch he saw Anna, standing in the doorway, a scowl on her face. He smiled back and her scowl grew.
As they made their way towards her Horo sneezed, they looked at him and Anna raised an eyebrow.
"Damn hay fever." He muttered.
End of Part Four
A/N: They just keep getting longer don't they?