A/n: Finally, finally. Oh the drama.

Chapter 13: Love and War

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Take and fight for what was mine.

The words echoed in Aya's head as she lay on her bed that same night. She still couldn't understand it. Take and fight for what was hers. Yoh might have been hers before and for a time but now? After she left, after leaving Yoh behind, Aya didn't think Anna has anymore property. Anna doesn't own anything. Anna doesn't own ANYONE. Not Yoh. Not ever.

She had tossed and turned but still couldn't find the urge to sleep. She remembered the recent events that day. After Anna had left her, she pounded her fists on the kotatsu in front of her. She fought the urge to cry. If Yoh had seen her cry, she didn't know how he would react and he might think Anna-san did something horrible to her. But she was beyond that. She isn't a girl who would use tactics such as that to get something that she wants. However, she still couldn't find the emotion of hate for Anna. She had composed herself before she left the room to greet everyone with grace, not even paling, as if nothing happened. Anna acted as if nothing had transpired between them too.

Aya rolled on her bed. She tried to will the pain inside that she was feeling. It hurts when you want something so bad, someone so bad, but you can't have them. The pain is too much to take; if only you can teach a heart to love someone so easily. But you can't. And Aya knew deep inside that the war she is now in, she won't be able to win. It's a horrible feeling. Horrible indeed.

But what's more horrible than not trying at all? Fighting back the tears that threatened to fall again, she slept.

---

Anna sat down on the porch with the lights turned off. She took with her the cup of tea she had prepared for herself, which she habitually took before going to sleep. The aroma is refreshing, and so much calming… which is, what she really needed right now after the recent events that day.

She tried to recall them one by one in her head.

Now that she had time, she could criticize Aya more properly. The moment she had entered the room, everything seems to be still around her. But hate her she did not, even for her apparent attraction in Yoh. Anna sighed. Whatever mess had she gotten herself into?

Take and fight for what was mine…

"What?" She suddenly heard herself saying, suddenly at lost as to where those words came from. She narrowed her eyes as the recollection brought her to a conclusion. It came from her. Anna had said the exact words to Aya just as she was about to leave the room, about to leave the crying girl. Crying. Hah. She herself wouldn't even bat her lashes for Yoh. But more than that, she grimaced at having said that. She mentally kicked herself. No, it would be more effective if she would just kick herself physically. It could never have come from her. She is known as cold and unfeeling right? Save for the times that she feels anger and would lash out at anybody of course.

She imagined if she would just let Yoh go, all the effort of coming back would be useless. What was her purpose? She had returned on impulse, without much thinking, or at least if you don't count the sleepless nights that she had spent and the tears that would just dry up on her cheeks, then that's not thinking at all. Stupid Yoh. Anna thought. Maybe she should just punish him altogether and add more piles of work for him.

Whatever outcome her actions may take, she would have to face it. She doesn't know how long she would have to supply reasons to herself (which is exactly ridiculous since she didn't need to lie to herself), how pathetic they may be.

She had been nervous when she had faced Aya though she knew deep inside, out of pride, that she had no reasons at all to feel that way. She sighed again. She ran her hands through her hair and feeling rather irritated; she wanted to slap herself for rash actions. Very rash indeed.

She raised her hand and closed her eyes, readying for the stinging slap she would give herself.

But the slap never landed.

A hand had held her wrist midway. She looked at it surprised and at the owner of the hand which had held her. Yoh grinned mockingly down at her, his face full of humor. It took more moments before she collected herself and was able to pull her hand from his grasp. Annoyance filled her as she registered his mocking face. Of all things, he had caught her in a stupid act. Her eyes turned from its reverie to irritation. She glared one more time at Yoh who seems to enjoy himself in his grinning, that didn't even notice that Anna was practically glaring at him. Giving up, she looked forward and sipped her cup, now suddenly interested in the bamboo shoots from the wide lawn.

"You know better than to disturb people in their privacy. You could have made your presence evident." She said rather coldly.

"Oh... but I did make myself evident right?" The grin never faltered. "What were you doing?" His brows furrowed.

"Nothing."

"And why are you alone here? Gee, it's already eleven."

"What are YOU doing here?"

"Nothing. I was wondering where you were. I thought you left the house." He seated himself beside Anna and rested his arms behind him.

"And where would I go?"

"Anywhere. You met Aya right?" Yoh looked at her. Is that enthusiasm filling his face?

"Yes. Nice girl. So?"

"Yeah…" He answered gleefully, glad that both are getting along well.

"How long have you been friends now?" Anna asked unsurely. Her words were chosen carefully. Even now, she didn't know if it would be right to have the right to claim his heart.

"I just met her downtown about a few weeks ago along with Horo Horo when I carelessly stumbled unto her." Yoh explained.

"You stumbled into her?" Anna questioned raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, I didn't know she was in the way anyway."

"Oh. Typical of you."

Silence assumed the night. Yoh still sat staring up the sky, a faint smile marking his face and still Anna sat, sipping her tea quietly, fortunately calm as she had always been. Sometimes she would really be amazed at how she could keep her emotions from leaking unlike some other people. She was highly tolerant if not stoic. It was sometime before any of them spoke again and this time it was Yoh.

"You look alike. Have you noticed that, Anna?" Anna risked a glance at him before she stared right in front again. There was something unreadable in his eyes and she just couldn't tell.

"They say."

"I thought she was you. I thought that the day I met her… was the day you would come back to me."

This time Anna did look at him. She did look at him as if she was seeing him the very first time and she had just noticed that he was there. Yoh's face held no smiles now, he had turned serious and was looking at her with the same intense eyes that Anna thought briefly, he had only used for her. And then he grinned again.

She said nothing. What should she say anyway? And if she did have to say anything, how would she say it that she wouldn't sound desperate for him, though she knew a tiny part of her was indeed desperate for him? She kept quiet. She stared angrily in front of her for her lack of verbal guts.

And then there was silence again. She had almost forgotten that he was there and she wasn't alone. She didn't even look at him when he shifted. Her tea cup is now empty and the night's becoming awfully cold. She shivered slightly.

Yoh seemed to note her slight shivering. He decided to act out of instinct, forgetting altogether that Anna was quick to temper and she wouldn't let such stupid things happen. He placed an arm around her, moving closer to her. She stiffened with the contact.

He ran his hands along her arms and he applied a gentle pressure to make her lean into him. He was surprised when she complied, her head resting on his shoulder while his hand still ran up and down her arms in an effort to make her warm. He didn't know why he did it anyway after all the itako could really be quite unpredictable. She was always unpredictable. He reasoned that maybe because he saw how cold she was. Maybe because he was cold too. Maybe, just maybe part of him wanted to.

And that seems to take the majority of it.

It was sometime before she relaxed. Her gaze was far away. Her breathing had been even, he thought she had already fallen asleep. Just suddenly she had felt so tired. It was out of pride that she had thought that, this isn't actually right. But what is right? And right now, she could forget all that she is and what she stands for. And this could go on forever.

He leaned and kissed her forehead as she closed her eyes, letting her guard slip for the first time since her arrival. "And I thought you would never return." He whispered quietly.

For a while he thought she had fallen asleep when he gazed at her closed eyes. Her relaxed form leaning into him, he was still holding her. Her skin was cool against his. He could feel the smoothness of her arms as he held her. He could even smell her hair as he took everything in. This moment could stretch on forever and he wouldn't even care. He could lose everything he had but never her. He had recalled how desperate he had been when he found out what she did and even more forlorn when no reasons would come to mind for her rash actions. And right now he was just thankful.

It was after a moment before she spoke again. This time in a soft if somewhat sad and quiet voice, barely heard through the quietness of the night.

"But I did return."

---

Later that night, Yoh had carried her sleeping form into her room. She had fallen asleep in his arms. As he lay her down and tucked her in a warm blanket, it made him realize that beneath the cold and impassive itako, she was fragile. She can't be always so strong all the time. He grinned. Why does she have to pretend to be so strong every time?

He stared at her for the longest time, enjoying the closeness that he had for maybe tomorrow, she would be so guarded again. This was after all, the first time that she had let her guard down. After sometime, he felt sleep overtake him and feeling much more lazy to trudge into his own room, he had found himself lying beside her, holding her hand. And he slept.

---

Aya tapped the container she was holding and bit her lip. Finally she let out a sigh and knocked at their residence. And again. She heard footsteps from the other side and smiled when the door opened to reveal Yoh.

"Ano Yoh-kun, ohayo!" She greeted.

"Ohayo, Aya." Yoh greeted warmly as he made way for Aya. They headed straight to the living room and sat. Anna had been there already, reading magazine.

"Ohayo, Anna."

She glanced up to meet hers and it registered slight surprise. "Ohayo." Aya smiled back at her and sat down. Yoh had already sat opposite Anna on the kotatsu. Aya sat too and placed the container she was holding on the table and flushed slightly. Yoh and Anna looked at it curiously.

"Uhm… It was my grandfather's death anniversary. I cooked up something so I… I thought I would come over and share it."

"WOW! You made this all by yourself?" Yoh asked gleefully, apparently relieved that Anna wouldn't have to make him cook for lunch.

"Hai!"

"What's it called?" Anna said.

"Carbonara. I know people here rarely do this kind of dishes but I love pasta!"

"I think I remembered Aya cooking before!" Yoh interjected. Anna's eyebrow raised.

"You cook?"

"Yes but mostly dishes concerning pasta's. My mom taught me that."

"I see." And Anna turned back on her reading.

"But why cook on a death anniversary? That seems weird…"

"Yeah, but when my grandfather died, he didn't want us to be sad. Our love for food must have been inherited down on us. So we cook special meals every death anniversaries."

"Sou da ne…"

"Well, I hope you appreciate it. I did put extra effort on it." She smiled at the both of them. Anna continued reading though while Yoh was helping himself up.

---

"Just what the hell does she think she's doing…?" Anna muttered under her breath. The meeting that afternoon had somehow made her angry. "And he's actually enjoying it." She glared at Yoh who was carrying the trash. Due to her irritation, which she vented all out on Yoh, thinking he was pretty much the cause of it, she dumped all the impossible tasks on him, glaring at him, seething and treating him coldly.

So he seemed to enjoy her company. So what. This was not the reason she kept piling Yoh with lots of things to do. He can't complain. "He can't." She muttered again, turning a page in her magazine that it ripped off. She exhaled harshly.

Are you jealous?...

I'm not. He won't lie.

Things have changed already, especially when you're gone... How sure are you now?

I don't know.

Memories are missed. Vanished into the flowing of time…

I believe in it.

What else are there to believe in?

I believe in memories.

He went back in, tired from all the work he had to do. Suddenly, the works that Anna had piled on him increased ten-fold from the usual. Clean the windows. Scrub the bathroom. Dust off the furniture. Trim the lawn. Wash the clothes. Sweep the floors. And various others that he didn't want to remember. He just… grinned. That's just typical of her. Typical.

The sky that had been fair this morning had turned a dark shade of gray and the breeze had turned chilly. He swore he could almost smell the rain. Summer must be ending and like a television, it had its commercials. Rain.

He held the glass of water and drank it. Cold and refreshing, it flowed through his throat. Replacing it, he went in search for Anna and he found her by the living room, the door leading outside wide open. She was staring blankly.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The drops had finally fallen. It was raining. The cold gust of wind sent stray drops of water in. She might just catch a cold, he thought.

"Anna, why didn't you close—"

"Do you like her, Yoh?"

She turned to him with a blank expression but her eyes was boring into him, searching his very soul. What was happening to her? He was surprised but looked back at her, coolly. His eyebrows frowned in confusion.

"Who?"

"Aya."

He chuckled lightly. "Anna, she is a friend. Is this the reason why you're treating me coldly and piling me this impossible amount of chores?"

"Answer me honestly." She prodded him more. Now his face lost all its humor and he sat down in front of her, a table separating him from her. The rain hammered loudly now.

"I am answering you honestly."

"You seem to enjoy her company… a lot."

"Yes I do."

"I see." And she stood. He followed.

"Stop this, Anna."

"What?"

"Are you jealous of Aya?"

Silence.

"She can cook for you."

"Anna…"

"She took care of you while I'm gone."

"…"

"Did you mistake her for me? Treated her like you treated me when I'm gone?"

"…"

"Answer me Yoh! Damn it!" Her voice was laced with anger now. She was raging. He just stared at her. What would she want to hear?

"Would you like me to lie, Anna? There are choices I have to make. To lie to you would mean not to hurt you. To tell the truth is something otherwise." They met eye to eye, neither moving.

"You were never good at lies, Yoh." And she sneered and glared at him.

He sighed. "Yes. I treated her as if she was you."

Truth had begun to unfold before our very eyes… For a long time the bleeding heart of both sides endured…

"Maybe… you should go to her."

"Are you jealous, Anna?" He asked again, taking a step closer to her.

"What am I to you now?"

Answers hidden… Questions never answered.

He touched her shoulders lightly. "What do you want me to do Anna? You left me for three months. You left me without a word except that one written in paper. What do you want me to think? I searched for you everywhere. I thought you left me forever. I was forced to forget you. If you were here would you think I'd go running to someone else?!" He felt a little anger creep up into his voice. He sighed again. "Aya was… unexpected."

She let out a breath harshly. "Well, you won't need me now, Yoh. This is all a joke."

"Stop this, Anna."

She let out a cruel laugh. A laugh he hadn't heard before. "What now, Yoh?"

"You're leaving. Again."

As if she couldn't take it anymore, tears ran down her cheeks as she stood, looking at the only person she had loved. She didn't want to leave again. She wanted the truth. She wanted to tell him everything. She was falling apart.

"Why did you leave me, Anna?"

She just stared as more tears fell.

"Answer me." He held her cheek with the palm of his hand, feeling the softness and smoothness of it.

"I was… scared." To admit it would be like baring her soul. The pain that she had hidden away would be seen. So vulnerable. She whimpered like a child that needs to be held. Yoh took her in his arms and place an arm around her back and waist. He just held her close. "I was… afraid you won't need me anymore."

"No. I don't need you."

"What…?"

"I don't need you. I want you."

Silence.

"I'll have no one else but you."

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A/n: I changed my style of writing because from this moment on, things get serious. I just had to continue. I had to review everything from the start and it seemed pretty sucky. So the question you guys I'd like to answer is "would you want me to rewrite the whole fic or not?" If everything seems okay to you, then I wouldn't bother. Of course majority wins. Enjoy. R+R. Thanks for still reviewing.