A/N: As promised, I updated today! By the way, I would like to thank explicit-simplicity, BabyKaoru-Sama, Holy Girl, fate-star, kimbie-animegal-sasusaku-sa…(It's not complete from the page I'm looking at, sorry!), Prime Objective, acho0bl3ssU, and Hannah-asakura for all of the reviews. Thanks a bunch, guys!
Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.
Chapter 3
'I hope Ryu and Manta will find Anna there.'
"Bye, guys!" Yoh called to Ryu and Manta from his window, "And thanks."
"Bye, Yoh!" Manta and Ryu both waved at Yoh before they rode off on Ryu's motorcycle.
A sigh escaped from Yoh's lips as he turned around and sat down on his futon again. He had spent the whole day trying to find time to think on his own. After Ryu and Manta came, Lyserg, Horo-Horo and Pirika came by. Then Chocolove came followed by Jun and Li Bai Long. Faust was even visiting his room after every few hours to give him a check-up. Next thing he knew, it was three o' clock already. Yoh looked at the door. 'I think I have some time to think now. I hope nobody will come over for a while.'
He reached under his pillow and pulled out a small photo album. He had pulled this out earlier after lunch but was forced to put it aside when Chocolove came. It was no ordinary album that contained solo pictures of him and all of his friends. It contained him alright, but it also contained a childhood friend of his. Only the pictures he shared with Anna are in there.
He ran his fingers against the black leather cover and against the gold lettering; Yoh Asakura & Anna Kyoyama. He had only opened this album to put pictures of Anna and him inside, but he never looked back at the old ones. Yoh frowned. He had never looked back to their past for years.
Slowly, Yoh opened the album to the front page where he and Anna had drawn themselves when they were children. Yoh drew himself as shaman king with spirits floating around him while Anna drew herself surrounded by trees and standing beside Yoh who held a really big sword. A small smile appeared on Yoh's face as he remembered when he asked her to draw on the first page of the album.
Yoh was six years old that stormy night while Anna was just five. She couldn't go home yet so she was forced to stay in Yoh's house until the storm ceases. She was sitting beside the window in the living room while Yoh sat on the floor staring at her and humming his favorite song to himself. Both of them were bored but couldn't find anything to do.
"Yoh…" Yoh looked up and saw his mother carrying a thick black leather book on her hands.
"Why don't you show Anna your album?" Yoh's mother kneeled beside Yoh and gave him the thick black photo album and a box of crayons, "Both of you can draw on the first page."
"Mmm…" Yoh stared at it for a while, "Okay."
Taking the album from his mother, Yoh went to Anna and showed her the album. "Hey Anna, let's draw!" Like Yoh, Anna stared at it for a while before agreeing.
Yoh took a black crayon and drew a line in the middle. "You draw first. I'll take the bottom part." The rain has finally stopped when both of them finished their drawings. Proudly, they presented it to Yoh's parents and they were each rewarded chocolate as a reward. It was near midnight when they finished eating and Yoh's parents insisted that Anna should stay overnight. Yoh took this as a chance to show her the pictures.
The two lied down on their stomachs and Yoh opened the photo album between them. "Look, Anna!" Yoh pointed a picture of him and Anna when they were three years old. It was Anna's birthday and she was dressed in a little pink kimono. She was smiling as Yoh hugged her. "Do you remember that day? It was the first day I met you."
Anna shook her head with a frown. Yoh grinned, "That's okay, Anna. I only remember a little! You looked so cute back then!" He added with a blush on his face.
Anna looked at him and smiled, "Really?"
"Yup! Until now…" Yoh scratched his cheek and looked back at the album in embarrassment. He smiled again when Anna snuggled closer to him.
"It's cold!" She complained. Yoh chuckled as he pulled their blanket over their shoulders and continued to point out their pictures.
"You looked so cute back then, Anna…" Yoh whispered into the air as he stared at a stolen shot of him tickling her to death. "But now…." He skipped to the most recent picture. It was taken a few months ago when they and their friends spent three days in one of Ren's cruise ships.
"Uh…why are we wearing these again, Ren?" Yoh asked as he struggled in front of the mirror to tie his necktie properly.
Ren gave him an exasperated sigh, "I told you, my aunt just came on board with my mother. She's going to leave tomorrow for Europe and she hasn't seen me at all during her stay. My mother insisted on having this party for her!"
Manta looked at Ren who has an annoyed looked on his face, "You don't like seeing your aunt, do you?"
"Whenever my aunt comes here, she never fails to say how grown-up I am now." Ren straightened his jacket and adjusted his tie, "And, when she sees me, she would hug me and give me loads of slobbery kisses. Ugh! She even squeals a lot. I can't stand her!"
Manta blinked, "She's almost like my aunt. But my aunt sings a lot and she never squeals."
"Whatever." Ren opened the door, "Let's go before my mother comes here to get us".
"Wait!" Horo-Horo held up his necktie, "I don't know how to tie my necktie!"
After Ren taught Horo-Horo how to tie a "stupid" necktie, the three went to the hall and met Ren's Aunt Chu. Ren was right. His aunt gave him a bear hug and covered his face with kisses. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one who got the hug and kisses. One at a time, Yoh, Manta, and Horo-Horo got their own set of hugs and kisses. And, just like what Ren said, Aunt Chu gave out an ear-splitting squeal.
"I told you so." Ren muttered to them when they finally got away from Ren's aunt.
As the three wiped there faces, Yoh suddenly noticed that the girls were missing. "Where are Jun, Pirika, Tamao, and Anna?" Yoh looked around.
"They're probably still getting ready." Horo-Horo said, "Girls always take long to get ready at times like this. They all have to do their make-up and pick a nice dress to wear." Horo-Horo snorted.
"Jun, Tamao, and Pirika would take time making themselves pretty but…" Manta grinned, "I don't think Anna would care about how she looks like! I bet she's going to wear the same kind of black dress she wears everyday!"
"I'll take that bet, Manta."
The three turned to see Jun, Pirika, and Tamao standing in front of the door. The three looked stunning that night. The boys found it quite hard to keep their eyes off of them especially Ren who was staring unblinkingly at Pirika. Yoh stared at Tamao who looked back with a blush that she tried to hide with her hand.
"Sorry we're a little late. We had to dress up Anna." Jun explained.
"Where is Anna?" Manta asked.
Jun, Tamao, and Pirika stepped aside letting the large wooden doors open to reveal Anna. The boys' mouths opened as they gaped at her. Yoh couldn't believe his eyes. He had never thought he would see her as beautiful as she was now. He couldn't believe what the three did to her. The long blonde hair that she usually tied in a low ponytail was laid down with a silver clip that sat on it to keep a part of Anna's bangs away from her face. A glittery black spaghetti strapped dress replaced her short black one and, instead of her red bandana, a long red shawl was placed around her trying to conceal her bare shoulders. Yoh took his eyes off of her dress and looked at her face. The other girls had gotten make-up on her but it was very light. It was just enough make-up to brighten her face a little. Anna noticed him looking at her but she looked down at the floor and pulled her shawl tighter around herself. Yoh could swear her cheeks were red.
"Whoa! Is that really you, Anna?" Horo-Horo asked.
"Of course it's her." Pirika said, "We did a pretty good job, didn't we?" She crossed her arms in pride.
"You sure did!" Manta said. He looked up at Yoh who was still staring at Anna. Manta grinned and nudged him, "You don't want to leave Anna there on the doorway, don't you?"
Yoh shook his head and, with a slight push from Horo-Horo, he went to her and held out his arm. He smiled at her, "What about you? You don't want to stay here all night, do you?" Placing her arm around his, Anna shook her head and looked down at the floor again. Yoh's smile grew wider and, as he lead Anna inside, he glanced at Tamao who was looking back at them with a frown.
"Hey, Yoh!" Horo-Horo yelled and held up a camera when the two looked at him. "Smile!"
That was the first time he ever saw Anna look so shy and so pretty. "You looked so cute when we were children, Anna." Yoh smiled, "But now…you're beautiful." With a soft sigh, he closed the photo album and leaned on the wall.
"Tamao…" He muttered. He closed his eyes and recalled all the days when Tamao had taken care of him and all the times when she looked so cute with her face all red. Not once had she yelled at him and tortured him with brutal training. She had always been so gentle and so kind. She always listened agreed with him even if his ideas were quite stupid. And she always supported him all the way. She is a girl like no other. No…wait…she isn't.
Yoh could find a nice girl like Tamao anytime and anywhere. But, to find a girl like Anna, he would have to search really hard. He can't just find a bossy and annoying girl who he can put up with. And he can't just find a girl like her who had loved him ever since childhood and had waited for him for so long. He would have to search the whole world to find someone like her.
He closed his eyes tighter and tried hard to recall how he felt whenever one of them was near. Whenever Tamao helps him and takes care of his wounds, he could never stop himself from imagining what it would be like if she took care of him for the rest of his life. Whenever Anna was around, he felt tired and tortured. He often wished she would stop ordering him around and give him some rest. Sometimes, he would enjoy looking at her annoyed face when the others do something wrong. But, when she would just be quiet or when she talked to him calmly, he felt as if he could take the whole world in one big battle. When something was troubling her, a need to cheer her up always rises up inside him. When he sees her again after a very long time…he felt like his whole world was coming back into place. And when she left…it came crashing down burying him in sadness…
Yoh opened his eyes in surprise. 'I was in love with Anna and it took me this long to notice it?" He bit his lip and gripped his hair, 'I should've noticed it before! Urgh! I should've have gotten myself to think earlier!' He quickly got up and ran to the door, 'I have to follow Ryu and Manta!' But, as soon as he opened the door, Amidamaru appeared and stopped him.
"Where are you going, Yoh?" The spirit asked.
"Back home, Amidamaru." Yoh replied as he went through Amidamaru and headed for the stairs.
Amidamaru went in front of him again. "But, Yoh, you haven't fully recovered yet. Faust told me you had a slight fever earlier."
"I'm okay, Amidamaru." Yoh told him, "I feel perfectly well."
"No, Yoh." Amidamaru shook his head, "Even if you're well, I'm not letting you go. Ryu and Manta told us not to let you leave."
"But, Amidamaru, I've already realized that…" Yoh looked down at the floor, "That I love Anna."
"You do, Yoh?"
"Yes." He answered. "That's why I have to go back home and look for her so I can tell her immediately."
"I still won't allow you to go, Yoh." Amidamaru said, "You have to wait until Ryu and Manta comes back tomorrow. If they fail, then I would even come with you to look for her."
"But Amidamaru…"
"No buts, Yoh." Amidamaru smiled, "Why don't you try to sing for her or something. Who knows, maybe the wind will take your voice to her."
Although Yoh was disappointed, he smiled up at the ghost. "Okay, Amidamaru. I'll wait until tomorrow. And I'll even write a new song for her too." He added as he turned around and went back into his room. "Thanks!"
Yoh shut the door close and leaned on it as he stared at his guitar. "Let's just hope the wind will find her so she can hear me."
A/N: Please review! The next chapter might be posted the day after tomorrow (I have to attend something).
