And they say "If you love someone, let them go. If she returns, then she is yours and you are really meant for each other."
Chapter 9: Someone's Return II
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It was a day, a day like just any other day. There wasn't much action or exciting things to do but lie down and wait until miracles happen. And that was what Yoh was exactly doing... minus the miracle part.
Under a tree at the back of his house, he was lying on the grass and didn't much care if insects come crawling under him. Listening at the headphones on his ears, he shifted to a more comfortable position until a soft feminine voice woke him.
"Yoh-kun?"
Yoh opened an eye and peered at Tamao's face. He grinned.
"Tamao!"
"Hi, Yoh."
"What's up?"
"Uhm, well Yoh, I just came here to ask something. Am I disturbing you?"
"Nope. Okay, let's go inside!" Yoh stood and dusted his clothes. He ushered the way inside while Tamao followed suit.
"Any drinks?" He offered.
"Tea would do."
"Okay. Please wait here."
Tamao made herself comfortable by sitting down. It was sure lonely living alone, she thought. Basically not alone if you count Amidamaru but then again, Amidamaru is not human. Maybe he was once with a nasty reputation but he is a spirit now. She also wondered why Anna left. The itako didn't even tell her of her plans. If you try to analyze the situation, Yoh is a decent, kind, fun, respectable guy. And it's not like he hurts women for fun or are they having problems like most couple do. Anna being the itako that she is, wouldn't even let Yoh do that to her and in the first place, Yoh never did that to anyone. Now as Tamao watched him set down the cups of tea, she couldn't help but feel pity for him. She knew his friends tried to cheer him up during the shock of knowing that she left him. If there was anything she could do...
For now Tamao realized that Anna was wrong, very wrong for leaving Yoh.
Yoh sat across from her. "So, what's up Tamao?" Yoh asked as he watched Tamao sip her tea. She set her cup down and looked directly at Yoh.
"Anou, Yoh-kun, I am just concerned and wondering, have you heard anything of Anna yet?"
"Anna? I haven't." He answered casually. Casually. As if it didn't affect him.
"Sou ka." Pretense. All pretense.
"Tamao, I was suppose to ask you that too. But it looks like you don't know too." He inquired.
"H-hai...I just thought that maybe some news has come up."
"You are still thinking of her ne?"
"I still do Yoh-kun, I'm worried. She didn't tell me a word of her leaving."
"I see."
A sudden knock at the door surprised Tamao, that she almost knocked the cups down.
"Oh gomen! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She said in a nervous tone that Yoh just laughed.
"Daijobu."
"I'll get the door." Tamao strode to the door with her flustered face. She opened the door and what she saw shocked her.
"Anna?" Tamao squeaked.
"Konnichiwa! Sorry, I'm not Anna but that's ok, I get that. Aya. I am Aya. Is Yoh-kun here?" Aya explained while smiling naturally. Tamao, too stunned to speak , only stared speechless at Aya and her striking resemblance then her gaze drifted to Yoh.
"Oh. Oh! Sorry!" Tamao bowed politely. "Yoh-kun is here. Please come in."
"Thank you."
The two went inside. Tamao proceeded to get another cup of tea for Aya, still disbelieving.
"What's up Aya?" Said Yoh grinning as if he enjoyed what was happening.
"Look." She opened a small container with several sweets in it. "I made cookies, so I thought I'd drop by and share it with you." Aya explained, smiling widely, seemingly proud of herself.
"Wow, thanks!" Yoh tasted one cookie while Aya stared at him, waiting for the result. He made a thumbs up for Aya while she laughed.
"Dozo." Tamao returned from the kitchen carrying the tea for Aya and seemed composed now. Yoh thought this maybe the perfect time to introduce the two so he did.
"Tamao, I want you to meet Aya. Tamao is a close friend of ours. Aya, this is Tamao. I met her in town when Horo Horo and me were strolling out of boredom." At this point Yoh was already eating his second cookie.
Aya gave Tamao a warm smile. "Nice to meet you, Tamao-san. Please have some." She offered.
Tamao picked one and in exchange, smiled too. "Thank you."
Aya then left, leaving Yoh and Tamao together. Tamao was still in awe even after Aya left. Yoh couldn't help but laugh.
"You know, Tamao, I can't blame you."
She shook her head. "Anou Yoh-kun, gomen."
"That's okay. I was worse than that; at least you could control yourself."
"But she looks so much like Anna..."
"Is she? Then I am lucky."
"Lucky? Is he your girlfriend?" Tamao seemed confused.
"Yes and no. I am lucky and she is not my girlfriend, Tamao." Yoh beamed. "They are two different people. At least they almost have the same looks. She reminds me so much of Anna."
"Do you still think about her?"
"I sometimes do, but not quite often. I try not to, it only makes me sad."
"Are you hoping she would return?"
"Some part of me still does. The other half doesn't want to. Some part of me wants to move on; maybe Anna is never coming back." He grinned.
"I miss Anna too..." Tamao blissfully said as she sipped her cup.
"I want her to come back. Are you sad here alone?"
Yoh was a little surprised by the direct question, but half-grinned anyway. "Before yes, but now...Maybe a little but not that much."
"That's good to hear then, Yoh-kun." Tamao smiled.
"Yeah."
"I must be going now, thank you!" Tamao stood up and bowed before heading needing for the door.
"Sure no problem. Tamao, would you like to come over for a little get-together tomorrow?"
Tamao blushed. "Oh, that's great! I would!"
"Ok! But can you do me a little favor?"
"What is it, Yoh-kun?"
"Can you invite friends to come over?"
"Y-yes, I would."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome!"
Tamao left and as Yoh closed the door, he remembered Aya and he felt the sudden urge to go after her and invite her too. Now, that wouldn't be such a bad idea, would it? Actually he felt good about it. Isn't it about time that he enjoy himself? They used to do the get together every year anyway, so there's nothing wrong with that. Absolutely nothing.
Impulsive , he left the house to go after Aya.
"Master Yoh, where are you going?" Amidamaru floated from behind.
"I'm going to invite a friend of mine..." Yoh grinned.
"I see. You seem happy. Why would you conduct a get together?" The spirit piped in, genuinely confused. Yoh just shrugged and placed his hands behind his head walking.
"I don't know, maybe because I haven't seen my friends in a long time, besides we use to do this every year right?" He smiled confidently.
"So Master Yoh, where does your friend live?"
---
"Master Yoh, where exactly does you friend live?"
"I think I… forgot?" The shaman laughed not caring if they're lost.
"Yoh!" A female voice behind them called. Both Shaman and spirit turned around to find Aya running toward them.
"I told you we'll find her..." Yoh whispered to Amidamaru. He beamed proudly as if persons that you look for just appear of nowhere. "Nice timing."
"Oh really? Why?" Aya was heaving with both hands on her knees.
Amidamaru leaned close to Yoh's ear. "Master Yoh? Your friend is Anna? Why didn't you tell me?"
As if on cue, Aya snapped his head to Amidamaru's place and straightened up. She walked towards Amidamaru sizing him.
"I am not Anna, I am Aya." She introduced, smilingly.
"Pardon me Aya-san, you look very much like Anna-san."
"Oh? Do I?" She laughed. "So they tell me. But please call me Aya." Aya grinned at Amidamaru who was still staring at her incredulously.
"Hai, Aya-san."
Aya's eyes suddenly averted to the whole spirits form. "Why you are so big and uh, kind of transparent. Oh and uh, you're drifting, no more like floating. Why you're a...a...a..."
"..."
"What are you?"
"He is my power spirit." Yoh answered for him, casually.
"Oh. A spirit. Yeah, hmm...a spirit."
"..."
"AAAAAaaahh!" Aya's shrill voice penetrated the broad daylight as she fainted suddenly. Yoh caught her in his arms just before she hit the ground.
What happened Master Yoh?"
"I don't know..." Yoh was trying to fan the lying, still unconscious Aya on a near bench. When Aya finally opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Yoh peering down at her and she suddenly jolted upright, looking around.
"Hey have you seen that?" She frantically asked.
"What?"
"You know? That floating thing? That spirit!"
"Oh you mean him?" Yoh grinned as he pointed to Amidamaru behind him.
"Yeah him."
"Me, Yoh-dono?" Amidamaru pointed at himself.
"HIM!" She jumped out of the bench and backed out a few distances away. "Don't let him get near me!"
The shaman strode purposely towards the scared girl. "Aya, I'm a shaman remember?" He held his out his hand to her, smiling, reassuring.
"He is my spirit. Don't worry there's no harm in him. It's typical for people to be scared, ok?" He grabbed her hand and led her back to the bench. Aya could only follow.
"Amidamaru this is Aya, ok? Aya this is Amidamaru." Yoh grinned at them expectantly. Aya seemed to calm down seeing the stationary spirit.
"I see. Gomen nasai." Aya bowed.
"Daijobu desu."
She seemed to lighten up to the usual her and asked Yoh, "What were you doing in town?"
"Searching for you." Answered Yoh, raising his hands and placed it behind his head then looked up at the sky.
"Huh? Why me? I just went to your place remember?"
"Yeah, but this sudden idea came to me. We're going to have a get together party like we use to do each year. Wanna come?"
Aya looked at Yoh happily. "Do I get to meet your friends?" She clapped her hands together, eyes twinkling.
"Yeah."
"Cool! Of course I will."
"Great!"
"Ei, you want me to cook for you?
"I can handle it. Be my guest."
"Nah, I want to help."
"Oh okay, whatever you want. Careful though, you get to see lots of people with spirits."
"Oh?" Aya suddenly looked doubtful as if reconsidering the offer. Yoh suddenly felt alarmed, did he say something wrong?
"Oh?" Aya repeated. But then she laughed and tapped Yoh's shoulder. "That's okay. I can get used to them." She winked, which actually made Yoh's heart double over. What is it? Did he actually think that Aya looked cute when she winked? This caused Yoh to stare rather stupidly at Aya for a whole minute while Aya waved her hand in front of Yoh's face.
"Uhm...Hello? Hel-lo! HELLO?" Aya giggled.
"Oh, sure, sure." Yoh was removed form his trance and laughed.
"Then I better get going. See you tomorrow then! And thank you!" Before she went away, she practically hugged Yoh before she walked away, waving to both shaman and spirit. Yoh could only stare in surprise for the sudden action and warmth as Amidamaru looked curiously. He laughed and pocketed his hands. He turned his head at Amidamaru who was smiling at him and grinned too.
---
Everything was practically arranged, with Tamao helping Yoh. The work became easier when Aya arrived and carried foods that she made herself. Horo Horo arrived with her imouto, Pirika, first above anyone else. He would be the first to arrive at any gathering when foods are involved.
"Hi, Yoh!" Horo Horo greeted Yoh followed by his sister.
"Yo."
Pirika whacked her brother on the head. "You behave yourself, nii-chan." Then to Yoh, "Hi Yoh!"
"Hi Pirika."
"OW!"
"Come on, let's wait in the living room." Pirika pulled Horo Horo by the arm.
"Hi, Aya!" Horo Horo called to Aya upon seeing her at the kitchen.
"Hello!" Aya waved. Pirika turned to her brother and stopped walking then peered inside the kitchen.
"Who?"
"Aya. She was our friend."
"Hi!" Aya showed herself to Pirika.
"Hello. Aya? You're Anna!" Pirika said.
"No, I'm not." She smiled at the female Ainu.
"Horo, please explain." Yoh patted Horo Horo as the Ainu pulled his sister.
"Come here."
"I guess that will happen over and over again ne, Yoh-kun?" Tamao appeared from inside.
"Hai, Tamao-chan."
"Oh, well." Aya sighed. "Anyway we're almost done. All we have to do is wait for your other friends."
"Right."
A knock can be heard from the door and Tamao excused herself to lead whoever it was, in. She opened the door to let the Chinese Shaman in, followed by Manta. No, they didn't come together. Ren was ahead of Manta who obviously avoided the company of Ren. Tamao smiled to herself for she couldn't blame Manta. Tao Ren could scare almost anyone upon seeing him with the stance that he carries. They were led to the living room where in Yoh and the others were already having fun, including Aya, whom everyone almost liked. Who wouldn't anyway? She had a good personality and cheerful attitude...contrary to... She cut the thought off before he starts thinking about something else. She returned with the others and joined the conversation, which seemed so animated.
Is this really true?
As usual they were laughing again at how Horo Horo is bullied by her sister. It seemed almost like a show that everyone enjoyed.
"Ouch!" Horo Horo complained.
"Shut up!" Pirika hissed.
"Not again..." Yoh groaned inwardly. Tamao and Aya were laughing again. Ren kept looking at Aya, again, as well as the others, still disbelieving. Was the thought of someone looking like Anna impossible? Coincidence? Does it look like some big joke? Probably these were some of the questions that keep running inside everyone's mind. Answers that can be answered in time. It's still too early to say that since a lot of things will happen.
A lot of things will going to happen. TONIGHT.
A couple of minutes more a soft knock on the door was heard, but when Tamao opened it, found no one. She heard Yoh shout inside. Nice visitor, there is a thing such as a door you know?
"Aniki!" Yoh greeted his brother who sat quietly on one seat, smiling lazily. Glad to surprise everybody with his arrival.
"Hi!" He waved a gloved hand. His eye suddenly fell down on Aya, who was looking at him with a furrowed brow.
"Where have you been?"
"Oh. Touring?" Hao answered casually as Tamao entered the room cautiously and didn't bother asking what happened. Yoh laughed at his aniki, while the others continued blabbering after the silence. Even Manta stopped reading the magazines.
"Anna?" Obviously, it was addressed to Aya, who was sitting beside Tamao, still staring curiously at Hao and to whomever he was.
"Anou...aniki, iie."
"I thought Anna ran away?" Hao crossed his arms over his chest and stared mischievously at Yoh.
"How did you know that?" Yoh said, surprised. Did the news reached that far or was it just Hao was here around somewhere?
"I know."
"Oh...okay." Yoh explained everything, like he usually did when someone questioned the Aya-Anna.
"I wonder why a girl ran away from you, Yoh..." Hao taunted, looking thoughtful. "You should have just given her to me."
"What?"
"Or maybe you should wait for Anna to come back, and maybe you could give Aya to me?" Hao grinned sardonically, enjoying the shaman's reaction as Yoh groaned inwardly.
"Tamao-chan? Why do they look alike? Only that guy's hair is longer."
"Hao was Yoh's brother. Twin brother." Tamao explained for the benefit of Aya.
"Sou ka."
"Ren, are you gay?" Horo Horo asked Ren seriously, peering at his face, which suddenly showed anger.
"Nani! Kisama!" Ren looked ready to raise hell's battle cry. "No, I'm not. Are you?"
"I look like nothing of a gay, do I? So of course I'm not."
"Go bother someone else!" Ren said through gritted teeth. "If you make anymore accounts on my gender, I will kill you!"
"Who told you that you have the permission to kill my brother?" Pirika piped in. Horo Horo was already smirking at the Chinese Shaman, for he would always loose with his sister's mouth. Everyone enjoyed Horo Horo's attempts to anger the Tao. Tamao stood, smiling, decided that it's already time to eat and for the sake of stopping the arguments between Horo and Ren.
"Ne, minna-san. Let's eat!" Tamao offered. Upon hearing the word eat, Horo Horo stopped arguing and quickly followed Tamao.
"Matte, Tamao! Let me help!" Pirika offered. Aya, seeming the only girl left, followed too. Yoh and Hao eyed her from the moment she stood and followed the other girls. Ren composed and arranged himself.
"You like her don't you?" Hao punched Yoh's arm playfully.
"Mou? She's a friend." Yoh answered, trying to avoid anymore direct questions from Hao as Hao nodded off.
7.30 p.m.
Yoh, being the last one, followed but not before the doorbell rang the third time. He searched for Tamao, who was busy but looked at Yoh, with her brows furrowed.
"Are you expecting anymore, Tamao?" He asked.
"No, Yoh-kun. I am not expecting anyone anymore. The others cannot come due to unexpected circumstances.'
"That's okay. I'll get it."
Yoh trudged to the door, ready to greet whoever was it.
A lot is going to happen.
Tonight.
Tonight.
He opened the door and smiled and greeted the visitor, even it was devil himself.
"Konban--" But it wasn't the devil. Nothing like it. Much more than that. He knew he would be seeing that countenance again, those eyes, the face that he used to stare at but not now. He didn't expect it to happen now. Tonight.
The aching familiarity drowned him...
When he opened the door, it seemed like some heavy air had hung from the place and he regretted opening the door at this specific time. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time or wasn't he? Why didn't he just let Tamao open the door?
Anna stood at the door, unmoving just looking at Yoh's face with something unreadable in her eyes. She was wearing her bandana and dress and she looked tired but she still held herself gracefully... Yoh could only look at her. Is she really Anna?
Truth lies only in ones eyes...
"A-Anna?" Just as Yoh said it, Anna suddenly fainted, unconscious. He caught her, his senses leading his actions. Now as Yoh held Anna in his arms, gently touching her cheek, he tucked a loose wisp of hair behind her ear. A lot of emotions were surging through him, battling... In resignation he could only put her arms around her unconscious form... Embracing her, and not long though unnoticed, a tear ran down his cheek as he held Anna even close.
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A/n: revised as of 3/27/2007. OMG I'm late for school.