"Itadakimasu!" an excited Yoh shouted before sinking his teeth into the succulent, red flesh of the watermelon in his hands. He had been sitting amidst a field of watermelons, hungrily devouring his 'stolen goods'.

Closing his eyes, he let the cool juice of the watermelon flow down his throat as he savored its sweet taste.

"Y-Yoh Dono!" he was suddenly alerted by the alarmed Samurai.

"Ah, I'm so sorry but I really was starving! I'll pay you back another day," Yoh promised, his eyes still shut, to whom he had presumed was the owner of the garden.

He was wrong.

"What are you doing stealing watermelons?" It was the steel cold voice of his obviously ticked Fiancée.

He was SO dead.

"Yoh-Dono, you really shouldn't have done that, you know how scary that girl can get." His guardian spirit reprimanded quietly.

Yoh chuckled softly as his eyes slowly wandered towards his fiancée. His ebony eyes watched her, their usually carefree expression now replaced by a deathly serious glint. Seeing this, Amidamaru quickly vanished in a puff of smoke, realizing his presence was probably not needed.

Well, it was now or never. Heaving a sigh, the chocolate-haired boy stepped up beside her, hands in his pockets, in an attempt to strike up his usual, carefree stance.

A capricious breeze tossed at his bangs and tugged at her scarlet scarf. She had been standing at the edge of the cliff, arms crossed in front of her chest. "Hao… He has no intention of become the shaman king. Am I right?" her eyes were still fixated on the sparse landscape that stretched out before them.

"Aah. I realized it when I heard his voice in the Gate of Babylon." He shivered as his twin's dreaded words rang in his ears. "He said he's obtained enough power already from devouring Shamash. He…"

She turned to face him, "can simply obtain the Great Spirit himself, without having to go through the tedious task of winning the Shaman fight." She finished for him.

"Yeah." His knuckles had gone white by now, "I came here, all the way, just to become the Shaman King." His eyes met hers and he shut it.

Just so I could get us an easy life, Anna.

"But now I," He lowered his head, unable to meet her eyes, "I've got to back out."

Because I don't want him to kill anybody anymore. She had heard his unspoken thoughts. And if that was the way it had to be, she understood.

"I," He tried hard to suppress the tears that were slowly building up behind his eyes, "I'm sorry," the words hit the air no louder than a whisper. He couldn't have been any more remorseful.

I can't be your Shaman King.

His eyes were shut. He was ready to take on anything she could lash at him. For he was sure, no one in the world deserved it more than he did.

SLAP. It felt as though he had been hit by a bullet train travelling at full speed. He had endured the Legendary Left Hand a million times, but none of which hurt as much as this.

"Idiot," she breathed, glaring daggers at the brunette who stood before her. His head was bowed like a 7-year-old, silently awaiting the reprimand that was soon to come.

"Even so," she stopped to tug a stray behind his ear.

It doesn't matter if you're not the Shaman King.

"I will still be…" her hand lingered on his face as a soft smile crept across her own, "Asakura Yoh'swife."

Because you'll always be my king.