Chapter Seven
Remorse
How many times Yoh wished to stay in bed until he liked. On that cold morning, his wish finally came true. He rubbed his eyes, dark circles under, and as he stepped outside his room it was as if the air inside the house was on fire. Hao was moody, apparently. As he climbed down the stairs the living room was empty. The kitchen too. He heard his parents conversing in another room, and took his chance to take on his shoes and get straight out of there.
"-the way he politely endures is too suspicious. He's too calm, like he has the advantage." Said Mikihisa.
"It's a ploy, a rather obvious one. But it still works." Nodded Keiko and looked at Anna worriedly. "Time is on his side, and while Yoh's mulling over his regrets… Hao is getting stronger. He'll break the seals soon and we can't do anything afterwards."
"But I can't go behind his back," said Anna with a sad face. "he needs time to get over it, until then… he wouldn't listen."
Keiko put her palm on her small shoulder.
"I know Yoh can be quite… slow at times. But we're doing it for his sake. He will not have to fight alone again." She added with a determined look.
"Yoh will get over it, once Amidamaru is back with us." Said Mikihisa standing up from the coffee table.
Anna stood up too, then turned her head to the side.
"I better go find him." She said and left.
"Leave it to us, children." Mikihisa sighed to her disappearing figure. "I see. We should've never drag you into this to begin with."
"Let's finish it, dear." Keiko stood up and moved her limbs to freshen up.
Mikihisa nodded.
—-x—-
She found Yoh fast and easy following the steps he left in the snow. He was shivering and tired, and took extra long to drag along the pathway. Before she could catch up, Anna stopped and just looked at his back. He was sad and angry, she could sense. And filled with worry that made her unsure what to do. It was not the Yoh she got so attached and used to. As if there were a part of him, buried deep within, she could never see before, and it finally surfaced.
She took a long deep breath, and run to meet him.
They walked by the frozen river, mostly silent, lost in their head while staring empty-eyed at their reflections.
"I'm sorry that you have to go thru this. Anna." He broke the silence, abruptly.
She stopped and turned at him, eyes full of surprise.
"It's my fault. I should've found a better solution. I should've acted sooner. So that he wouldn't be here anymore."
"You did all that could be done, Yoh. It was never fair to expect you to have a chance against him. But you did beat him. Now you can beat him again."
He opened his lips to disagree, but kept silent. There was nothing to be said. The question he had, why it happened, that way, and why with him, nobody had an answer for.
She sent him a faint smile and tucked at his arm to lead back home. She had been shivering in the chilly morning enough.
On the way however, Yoh spotted the dark smoke swirling above their lot. They rushed to the house, fearing the worst. The snow melted in the garden, and the house was black, the woods split and burnt. They covered their faces as the hot air flowed out from the doorway and clenched their lungs.
"Go get help!" Yoh pushed Anna away to keep her safe from the toxic gas.
As he walked inside, the floorboards cracked loudly under his weight. He headed fast into the guest-room, or what was left of it.
"Mom! Dad!" He rushed at their bodies, lying motionless in a splash of blood. He tried his best to wake them up, to no avail. He looked around with wide, shocked eyes that were full of red veins from the heat and anger.
"HAO!"