2. Peeling the Banana

Yoh was completely disarmed by Anna's sudden forthrightness. He wanted to express his disbelief of her words and actions, but a lump had formed in his throat to match the one that was rapidly taking shape under the towel around his waist.

"Don't be shy, Yoh," Anna said from her reclined pose on Yoh's bedroll. She was, he noticed between his shallow breaths, nearly done unbuttoning her top. Even as he watched her reach her hands behind her back to wrestle with her bra strap, he still couldn't believe that any of it was actually happening.

The black bra slid off Anna's chest and landed unceremoniously on the floor. Yoh couldn't help himself from gazing into the breasts that were now exposed to him. Compact and perky, with delicate pink nipples, they seemed to beckon to him, and he knew there was no hiding his excitement anymore – he was very aware of how hard she was making him.

He watched transfixed as Anna delicately licked her fingertips. "This is how I like to start," she said, gliding her hand down from her lips and past her neck to her breasts. She was fondling them now, grazing her nipples with her palms and fingertips, and Yoh was still speechless.

"What's going on, Yoh? You look like you've seen a ghost." She smirked and added, "And I hope for their sake, they know better than to interrupt us."

"N-nothing, Anna," Yoh replied, surprised by his sudden ability to speak. "I just wasn't expecting this. I thought you'd kill me for touching myself, but now … My God, Anna, you are just …"

"Just what?" she asked, momentarily pausing and letting her hands slide to her midsection.

"Just … beautiful."

A delicate blush rose on Anna's cheeks. "Yoh," she said after a slight pause that allowed her to get back to the task at hand, "usually I close my eyes and think of you when I do this. But you're right here. Lucky me." Anna's eyes were locked onto Yoh as her hands continued their caressing. Her expression was one Yoh had never seen before – a lazy-eyed, fugal, almost trance-like stare.

"You think of me? While you're …?"

"Who else would I think of? You're the sexiest guy I know. No one else even comes close." Yoh was about to respond, but he felt Anna's eyes take him in, bit by bit. He felt her gaze play upon his handsome face, his toned chest, his well-defined shoulders, sinewy arms and flat torso, and noticed that Anna's hands grew more vigorous the more her eyes wandered. Soon her hands were no longer at her chest, but had migrated to her waist, where they were tussling with her skirt. Before long, her hands were victorious, having managed to slide the skirt down past her shapely legs and ankles to its resting place on the floor beside her.

"And then, once I'm good and ready, this is what I do next."

Yoh watched, mouth agape, as Anna slipped a hand down the front of her pink panties. He could only see her knuckles moving up and down through them, but even he knew what she was doing under there. Anna was doing her best to maintain her gaze on Yoh, but her eyes started to close with pleasure. Before they did, however, she motioned Yoh closer with her other hand.

Yoh took a tentative step forward, still wrestling with lingering concern that this was all an elaborate hoax, but soon his desire won out as he closed the gap between Anna and himself. Feeling somewhat silly for towering over her recumbent figure, he knelt beside her.

"That's better," she said softly. From such close proximity Yoh could appreciate Anna's beauty so much more. Her perky nose and delicate chin bobbed gently in time with her fingers, and soft moans were now starting to come forth from her slender lips. He absolutely loved her body, too, and he lost himself in staring at her nubile torso, so much so that he didn't notice a delicate pink garment sliding off a slightly lower part of her body...

When he did notice – and it wasn't long before he did – it sent his mind reeling. Yoh had fantasized about seeing Anna nude before, of course, but reality defied expectations. In the altogether, her body was absolutely stunning. Yoh took a moment to appreciate her as a complete package before Anna's busy fingers distracted him and drew his attention elsewhere.

He watched with rapt attention as she slowly slid a single finger inside, and could only guess at what motions it was taking on from there, but judging from Anna's euphoric face, she was quite good at it. Slowly, without stopping, she opened her eyes and gave Yoh a significant look. "Don't you want to join me?" she asked, in a voice bumpy from half-stifled moans.

"Join you? I'm right here, Anna."

"You know what I mean, dummy."

"No, I don't," he said, bewildered.

"Okay, fine," she shot back. "Play dumb. I'll spell it out for you, Yoh. Take off that towel and let me watch you jerk off."

Yoh, who was in fact not playing dumb, suddenly felt cowed. "W-what?"

"You heard me," came the reply.

Yoh made it as far as putting one hand on the knot in his towel before nerves stopped him.

"All right, Yoh," she said upon seeing his hesitation. "I'm not going to force you. But can you at least tell me why you don't want to?"

Silence reigned for the moment in the room. Finally Yoh said, "You can probably guess."

Anna frowned for a moment, but then she sighed. "Yoh, it truly saddens me that you feel … inadequate. Look, can I show you something?"

Anna looked deep into Yoh's eyes. He saw something he didn't usually see there – something earnest, vulnerable, sensitive – and it reassured him that he could trust her. "Okay. Show me."

She put her hand on the knot in his towel and, when he made no effort to stop her, untied it deftly.

The towel wafted to the floor around Yoh's knees. Anna pointed at Yoh then, only she wasn't actually pointing; she was presenting him with her finger.

"Yoh, like I was just showing you … this one finger is all I use when I pleasure myself. And believe me, it's more than enough to get the job done."

Despite his self-doubt, Yoh was still rigid with excitement – Anna's nude form wasn't quite enough to extinguish his arousal. She put her finger next to his hardness and said, "See? You're bigger. Much bigger."

Yoh looked down and saw that Anna wasn't lying. "Much" bigger was perhaps an overstatement, but her finger was clearly shorter and a lot thinner. A faint smile of relief sprang to his face.

"Honestly, Yoh, I was afraid you were banana-sized. That's why when I saw you earlier, I couldn't stop watching. It was a huge relief. No, more than that. It was hot, Yoh. You made me so horny." She looked at him with her disarmingly candid eyes again. "And I still am. So please, if you feel like it ..."

With renewed confidence, and feeling pretty horny himself, Yoh nodded and watched as Anna lied back down and slid the same finger she had just shown him back inside herself. He took this as an invitation to start, too, and as he did so Anna moaned softly.

"It's so much better," she said, "when we're both doing it ..."

Yoh couldn't disagree. He hadn't ever enjoyed himself before like he was now; watching Anna and her perfect figure was such a departure from the usual that he felt himself going faster and faster in excitement, spurred on by her moans –

"Yoh." Anna grasped his arm. "What's the hurry?" she asked. "Let's make this moment last."

That brought him back down to Earth.

"Kiss me." The look in her eyes told Yoh that she would have liked nothing more. Without hesitation, Yoh arched his body forward and braced himself with his hands, so that his face was inches away from hers. He could feel her moans upon his neck. The tangible exhalations of passion cowed him slightly, and he hesitated. But he pressed on, aligning his face with hers, and gave her a timid kiss on the lips.

"Like you mean it, Yoh," she said. Taking a deep breath, he redeemed himself with a better effort – a passionate kiss that compelled him to move his knees over between Anna's legs for stability. Not bad at all for a first makeout session, Yoh thought as he grew more accustomed to the feel of Anna's lips suckling on his. He was even emboldened enough to let his tongue bridge the gap between their lips.

At that, Anna reached out and put her fingers around Yoh's wrist. Before he could figure out why, she had guided his hand down past her belly button. Soon her hand was coaxing his finger into the right spot; Yoh's instincts took over from there. With a little experimentation, he found a motion that Anna clearly enjoyed.

"Are you sure you've never done this before?" she managed to get out between little moans.

"This is all new to me," Yoh affirmed. "Wonderfully new."

Indeed, as lovely as it clearly was for Anna at that moment, Yoh was enjoying it too. The sensation surrounding his finger was indescribable, a contradiction in terms, soft and supple yet firm, slippery yet offering resistance. He imagined it surrounding his hardness, and the thought alone was enough to get him to start stroking himself again with his free hand. From his vantage point on his knees, Yoh watched the fruits of his labor. Anna, for her part, was thoroughly enjoying not only his handiwork, but the show as well. But she, too, was fantasizing about his manhood as she watched him stroke it. She wondered what it would be like to have something distinctly larger than his finger slide inside of her...

She reached behind her and blindly felt for her school bag. Her fingertips brushed against the serrated edge of a foil packet. She smiled. "Yoh..."

He took a break from his endeavors and looked up. Anna had a packet between her fingers, its corner dramatically torn open. She withdrew an object from it and tossed the empty packet aside.

"I never thought I'd get to use this information so soon after my presentation," she said as she sat up to get within reach of Yoh's erection.

It felt, Yoh thought, a thousand times better than he had imagined. It wasn't his fantasy anymore – Anna was really there, right in front of him, unrolling a condom onto him, just like he had imagined in the bathroom with the baby oil minutes earlier. But a devilish smile played upon her lips as she stopped in the middle of her task. "Oops."

"What do you mean, 'oops'?"

"I have to … fix this," she said, and took his shaft in her hand. She spit on it and started to jerk it slowly. Anna's dainty hands were able to get a surprising amount of play on Yoh's shaft. It felt warm and smooth, interrupted by a vein or two, and its girth was more than satisfying in her hand. Although she had no point of reference for it, it seemed to her that it was almost painfully hard, inasmuch as making any body part that rigid must cause a little discomfort. In fact, it seemed to squirm with agitation as she continued to stroke it. She didn't seem to be adjusting the condom – or the part she had unrolled, at least – at all. Yoh wondered aloud, "How is that fixing … you know what, I don't care."

"Do you like it?" Anna asked. "The, um, adjusting." She took Yoh's grunts as a yes. Slowly, Anna finished unrolling the rubber down Yoh's shaft, but not without more "adjusting" and "fixing". He looked quite satisfied.

"Your first time wearing one?" she asked. He nodded. "How does it feel?"

"A little tight and kinda slimy," he admitted.

Anna clicked her tongue. "They don't tell you about that part in sex ed class. Sorry I couldn't warn you."

She returned to her reclined position on Yoh's bedroll. Yoh was getting his finger in position for a second round, but Anna stopped him.

"No, Yoh. That's enough. I'm ready."

"Ready? For what?"

"A titillating game of Dance Dance Revolution. Yoh, you idiot," Anna sighed. "Do you think I'm giving another demonstration here with you? I want you. Inside of me."

The words seemed to inject pure adrenaline into Yoh's bloodstream. He already felt so wanted, so coveted, so desired, by Anna's eyes and actions, but her words almost elevated him to another plane of existence. Driven by his own desire and Anna's request, he maneuvered himself before Anna's recumbent figure. Once again, he grabbed a hold of his hardness, but this time he was guiding it between Anna's legs. Dulled somewhat by the sheath he was wearing, he nonetheless sensed that he had found his target. Anna involuntarily moaned as she felt his hardness graze her most sensitive part.

Encouraged by this feedback, Yoh took his tip and rubbed it up and down Anna's lips. He sensed that this was making her want him all the more urgently, as evidenced by the way she started to thrust her hips into him slightly. But she soon blustered, "God damn, Yoh, is this where the phrase 'beating around the bush' comes from?! You're killing me."

"Huh?" Yoh looked up and saw Anna's face, flush with … anger? Passion? Something, anyway.

"I'm ready for you. I've been ready. Way before I caught you whacking off. Yoh, I've been waiting for this moment forever. And now all you can do is tease me?!"

"Tease you?"

"Yes. You're teasing me. Just the tip?! I want to feel all of it. Make it happen, Yoh. Just don't be too rough."

"With pleasure, Anna," he said.

And there had never been a more appropriate use of that phrase, for it was pure pleasure that Yoh felt as he moved his hips just right and, looking into Anna's eyes, slowly pushed his hardness into her. Anna felt it too, and despite wanting to return Yoh's passionate gaze, she closed her eyes, overcome with the sensation.

Yoh, sparks running up and down his spine, pushed himself completely inside Anna. He was engulfed by a pleasant warmth and tightness, one which far outstripped his own hand, baby oil or no.

"Yoh," she said softly as he withdrew just as slowly as he had entered. Finding himself enjoying that sensation as well, he started to work himself in and out, feeling Anna's walls pushing against him with every thrust. Anna started to moan, her face the very essence of ecstasy.

"Anna," he replied, placing his hands upon her knees and gently pushing them up. The new angle delighted his partner, and she gave little exclamations of pleasure in cadence with his thrusts. He ran a hand through her blond hair and brushed a few stray strands off her face. "God, you're so beautiful."

"You're not so bad yourself," Anna said, putting a hand against his chest. She could feel his pulse racing with passion, and knew hers was as well from the heat she sensed emanating from her face. "And I can't believe you were worried. I love everything about your dick." She hesitated, "Except –"

Yoh drew back at this. "Except? Oh no, what did I do? Was I too rough?" Concern replaced passion in Yoh's eyes. "What don't you like about my –"

"The condom," Anna said, her voice thick with passion.

"I - I don't really like it either," Yoh admitted after a second of reflection, "but we have to use one …"

"Maybe, maybe not," Anna said, a mischievous smirk now playing on her lips. Yoh gave a little gasp at her words. "Aren't you a little curious what it feels like without it?"

"Of course, but -"

"Just try it for a bit, really slow," Anna cajoled. "I've got a whole box, you can just put another one on later." Not that she left him any room to protest - her fingertips were already around the base of his shaft, undoing the work they had done a few sensuous moments earlier.

Having fully denuded Yoh of his sheath, Anna took a moment to admire his manhood in its full glory. "It's so perfect," she said, and her words made it throb visibly in delight. "Now let's see what it feels like."

Yoh lined himself back up, his entire body trembling with nervous excitement. "Are you sure?" he asked as he was inches away from recommencing their union.

"I've never been more sure of anything," came the reply, and so Yoh inched closer, and closer, until…

As he entered, Yoh was ironically reminded of his exit from the pitch-black cavern in which he had exiled himself for a week as part of his training. Emerging from sensory deprivation into a sudden onslaught of light, of scent, of sound, where once there had been virtually none - it was the closest thing he had ever experienced to what he was now. He could feel before, but now he could feel. As he slid deeper inside Anna, he felt the unadulterated pleasure that only skin-on-skin contact could provide shiver, wave by wave, down from his tip and straight to his brain.

He stopped his forward thrust as the last of his shaft was engulfed by Anna's moistness. He savored the sensation of being entirely surrounded by warm tightness for a few moments. He leaned forward to get a better look at Anna, and he could tell she was enjoying herself at least as much as he was. "Now we're as close as can be," she whispered, locking eyes with him.

"Now," she continued, "give it to me. Nice and slow."

Obeying Anna had never been less of a struggle. He slid himself in and out of her delicately, feeling every inch of his hardness gliding upon her most erogenous zone. Her moaning grew unfettered as Anna lost herself in Yoh's gentle thrusts, and before long he was joining her with soft grunts of his own, their sounds harmonizing in a symphony of sensuousness.

Yoh, maintaining his tempo, leaned in and kissed Anna tenderly. He shifted his weight to free up his supporting hands, and began fondling her breasts delicately. Anna was moaning into Yoh's mouth now, and she began to push her hips into Yoh, wanting him deep inside her. Anna's breasts, Yoh found to his delight, were the perfect size for his hands. He felt her nipples grow ever harder as his fingertips worked their magic. Soon he wanted more than just his hands to experience Anna's lovely chest. He started trailing his kisses down the side of her neck, making a gradual beeline to his eventual target…

"Yoh!" Anna blurted as he took her nipple between his lips and sucked gently. In very short order, his tongue joined in. Not wanting it to feel left out, Yoh moved his head over and began giving her other nipple the same measure of oral attention.

"H - how did you know?" Anna struggled to ask between moans.

"This is how you like to start," Yoh said with a bashful smile.

"Yoh, this is so much better than my finger. Don't stop."

He hesitated. "I should. This isn't safe -"

"Don't. Stop." Anna pushed her hips into him for emphasis. "I trust you, Yoh."

He grunted with the force of her thrust. "Trust me?"

"You know. To pull out."

But Yoh wasn't quite at that point yet, so he pushed his worries aside and pushed something else back into Anna with slightly more urgency. She put her hands at his sides, pulling at him, trying to compel him to go a little faster, and he picked up on her signal.

"Anna…" Yoh whispered hoarsely as he continued his thrusting. A pressure started to build within him, one that was pleasurable to maintain yet begged to be broken, but he knew he had to fight it. Nonetheless, Anna was telling him in no uncertain terms with her moans not to dare slow down.

"Yoh…" Anna was no doubt feeling the very same pressure build within her, too. "More. Don't stop."

Yoh hastened to comply, but was unsure of how much longer he could maintain his pace. The ineffable sensation of pleasing Anna with his hardness was building to a fever pitch and threatening to overwhelm him. He was now fully on top of her, looking into her eyes whenever they weren't shut with passion, taking in the magnificent view of Anna's face in the throes of ultimate satisfaction. Anna, too, was being carried to new heights of ecstasy as her lover picked up his pace, and felt the irresistible pressure mounting within her with every passionate thrust as well. She was rising to the occasion, her face pink with arousal, her voice laced with pleasure as it called out Yoh's name…Yoh...Yoh...

"Yoh!" she said once more, this time with urgency. "I'm about to cum."

"Me - me too," Yoh said. "I gotta stop and pull -"

"Oh, fuck it," Anna said, with a look that left no room for rebuttal. "I love you, Yoh. Shoot it inside of me."

"W - What?!"

"Did I stutter? Yoh, let's cum together."

Yoh knew he had already passed the point of no return, and Anna's firm grip on his toned buttocks sealed the deal. Throwing aside any notion of the consequences, he gave her one final thrust - and one last great shuddering moan - and felt himself losing the battle against the tension that had built to a head inside him. Needing to unleash itself, it did so in great milky spurts that shot hard against Anna's walls and filled her with a pleasant, sticky warmth. But as that happened, Anna too capitulated against her head of tension, and she half-sighed, half-moaned as it released itself in a series of sensual throbs that made her wetness contract against Yoh's hardness in cadence with his spurts. Their entire bodies shook as the tension continued to let itself out and satisfaction started to let itself in. Yoh felt himself pulsing as shot after shot issued forth from him, and allowed himself to enjoy the feeling of Anna pushing against him with her orgasmic throbs. At last Yoh and Anna's moans quieted as Yoh ran dry and the last of Anna's tension twinged at her body.

The conductor had put his baton down. The concert hall now lay silent. Their Symphony No. 1 had concluded its final movement.

They floated together on cloud nine for what seemed like an eternity. No one - and no spirit - dared disturb their sacrosanct afterglow. Yoh gingerly withdrew himself and took a spot beside Anna on his bedroll. They both had so much they wanted to say to each other, but words would not come; only the faint, vaguely embarrassed smiles of bashful lovers came forth. But, at that moment, there was no need for words. Nor was there room for thoughts of upcoming Shaman Fights, or room to think about the myriad obstacles that stood in the way of the future Shaman King. There was only room for Yoh and Anna and a love that mostly expressed itself tacitly. But from time to time, as Yoh and Anna both discovered that day, it's a nice change of pace when love becomes … explicit.

Thank you for reading! I humbly ask for your honest criticism.