Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King so please don't sue me. I will not be responsible for any sudden bursts of tears that this fic may cause or the up and down feelings that you may experience from reading this. I've based this off the anime series with tiny hints of the manga and drama cds. I've only just begun to get into the manga series so excuse me for starting off a bit late.
Chapter 11 – Thank you
"Anna?"
"What Yoh?"
"Do you remember that night?" Anna knew instantly what Yoh was referring to, but she hid the blush that threatened to come out at the reminder of that incident.
"What night?" Instead she played dumb.
"You know, that night you were with Hao."
"What about it Yoh?" Yoh scratched his nose and built up his courage.
"What exactly happened that night?"
"Nothing. Nothing happened that night."
"But I thought.." Yoh was trying to recall what had happened that night, but he couldn't clearly remember it since Hao had been in his body. He wasn't sure what Hao had done to Anna, but he could faintly recall that Hao had slept beside Anna that night. Though Yoh didn't find anything wrong with that since he had also done the same thing the night before he had left Tokyo to go to America for the second round of the Shaman Fights. Yoh had been glad for her comfort because it had given him the courage that he had needed to say goodbye for now to everyone that had to remain in Tokyo.
"Nothing happened Yoh." Yoh stared at her and slowly nodded accepting her answer. She stood and walked out. Yoh watched her go and wondered what was on her mind. Though she said nothing had happened that night, he hadn't missed the slight cover up as she had asked what night he had been talking about. He grinned and imagined that she probably knew, but didn't want to share with him. He trusted her enough to know that nothing serious had happened, but Hao had said that something had happened. Yoh wondered what it could have been.
Flashback:
Yoh had moved his head onto Anna's lap and she didn't push him away.
"It hurts Anna.." Hao revealed the scars that Yoh had received from Anna's oversoul, from the Oni that her mind had created. She kissed the scar and hoped that the gesture alone would be enough to heal his wounds. "Will you stay with me Anna?"
"Of course, I am the wife of Asakura Yoh." She lied down beside him and closed her eyes. "Go to sleep Yoh. You need your rest." Hao reached out and wrapped an arm around Anna's waist and pulled her closer to him. "What are you doing Yoh?!" She was ready to kick his ass.
"Just for now. Please Anna.." She was going to slap him, but instead patted his cheek playfully.
"Go to sleep, baka." Hao slowly nodded and closed his eyes holding Anna close to him. "Go to sleep Yoh." She slowly began to drift off to sleep. 'It's all your fault, baka.' Were her last thoughts as she went to sleep.
Hao continued to lay there with his eyes closed. New wounds were forming inside of him as he felt the warmth of the person that he was falling in love with next to him. 'Could this be punishment for the things I've done wrong or am I am I still learning what its like to live? Yoh… do you ever feel this way, little brother?' Yoh looked up from his meditation at the sound of his older brother's voice.
"Hao?" Yoh turned his attention back to his meditation and the one thought that directed his intense training. 'I want to go back... back to Anna.' Partially his feelings were driven out of fear that she would kill him for leaving and letting Hao take over his body. His other feelings were of the love he felt for his fiancée and how he wished that he could have spent more time with her. If only he had known a way to convey his feelings to her. He wanted to know if she would accept his feelings. He wanted the courage to tell her. He wanted just another opportunity to see her again. He wanted the strength to overcome his fear of her and the traumas from their earlier years together. He knew it had all been done with his best interests in mind, but he couldn't help with the mental scaring that had been done to him in the process. He wanted to overcome his fears and become a powerful Shaman. He still wanted to be Shaman King, not just for himself, but also for her.
Yoh had spent the first couple of days sleeping in his mind. If that was possible at all, but he had went to sleep only to wake up and find that it was all real. Hao had really taken over his body. After that he had dedicated his time to figuring out a way to get out and the only conclusion that he had come up with was to let go of his mind. The technique was often called an out of body experience and Yoh could faintly remember his grandfather explaining the process to him. He had been barely paying attention and trying not to fall asleep at the aspect that someone's soul could leave their body for a certain period of time and live to tell about it, but in order to do so. They had to have a strong will and a powerful mind. He wasn't sure if he had both. He just knew that he had good taste in music. He wondered if Hao was listening to his music right at that moment and it motivated him to work harder.
Hao was not listening to Yoh's music at that moment since he was sleeping. He hadn't really touched any of Yoh's things besides digging through his clothes to find stuff to wear. He had come across a pair of Yoh's boxers that had highly amused him with its marijuana leaves all over it. He wanted to know if his little brother smoked weed since it was something given to them by Mother Nature and came from the earth so that meant it was good. He also glanced over to Yoh's bed covers that had the same design on them. He wouldn't be surprised if he would come across a marijuana plant growing somewhere in Yoh's room soon or later. Yoh pushed such thoughts of his older brother from his mind and concentrated again on the task at hand. With a lot of meditation and deep thoughts of Hao listening to his music, getting fresh with Anna and eating his oranges. It was more than enough to push himself into that state of being.
Yoh could hardly believe it as he felt himself beginning to float since the feel of it was different than existing in his own mind. And then he saw it. He was lying next to Anna with his arm wrapped around her, but he was above them and he could see that the two of them were asleep. He suddenly felt himself getting upset. Why was Hao's arm around Anna? Had Anna been cheating on him? He couldn't believe it even though Hao was using his body. It just wasn't right. He tried to concentrate and move closer to the two of them. 'Anna.' He called into her ear, but she didn't respond. Was she really that tired? What had she been doing? All kinds of weird images started popping into Yoh's head and he began to lose concentration. Sweat dripped off from his brow as he tried to call her again. 'Anna!' But there was no response as he felt himself slipping. And then he was in his mind again. 'Damnit!'
Anna blinked and opened her eyes. She moved her head from side to side to look around the room. She thought she had heard someone calling her, but there was no one there. She glanced over to Yoh and saw that he was still asleep so no one had been calling or he would have woken up. She released a pent up breath that she had been holding and closed her eyes again, only to fall into a deep sleep where a dream overtook her and the realization that Yoh wasn't himself was dawned upon her.
Present day:
Anna watched Yoh as he sat on the windowsill and gazed out into the night sky. The stars illustrated the light that burned throughout the darkness and Yoh felt as if he suddenly understood. In all the previous times that he had stared up at the night sky as he watched the stars come out. He had always found peace in the serenity of the moment, but it was different now. He could feel nature calling out to him.
"Yoh?" Anna could feel that something was bothering Yoh. He turned to look at her and smiled. It was the same old Yoh that she remembered, but his feelings were deep. Tumbling through a moment that she couldn't even grasp. He placed his hand against his chest, slightly covering his heart.
"I can feel it." He continued to grin at her. "There's this warmth inside of me now that wasn't there before." He looked up into the sky and closed his eyes. "Its like I'm finally home, that a part of me had been missing." She continued to stare at him. She wanted to believe that it all was finally over, but as she watched him. She noticed a change in him. A new aura radiated around Yoh, an aura of understanding, of enlightenment.
'What happened to you, Yoh?' He felt as if he had just opened his eyes for the first time, as if he were seeing the world for the first time.
"I don't really know." He let his hand drop away from his chest and peered outside. "When Hao entered my body after you had called him, I could only feel one thing. There was only one thing on our mind." Anna waited for him to continue and tell her what he was babbling on about, but he didn't continue. Instead he shrugged. She took that as her cue and turned to leave. "Anna?" She paused beside the door, but didn't turn back to look at him.
"Yes Yoh?"
"He meant it. Everything he said was true." She didn't need for him to say who he was referring too because she knew who it was.
"Ah." Was her only reply and she stepped out of the room. He continued to stare at the night sky as that warmth continued to subsist inside of him.
'Do you really understand Anna? Just how much Hao.. how much I love you.' This new feeling that burned brighter than the Spirit of Fire, inside of Yoh was the realization that he loved Anna and that for the first time. Hao and him had come into an understanding of just what was most important to them. It was Anna. She had been the answer to everything all along. Yoh knew that the only reason Hao had left was to protect Anna. He had believed that it was the only thing that he could do for the one he loved, but when Anna had called him back in spirit to enter Yoh's body. What exactly had she been thinking? Had she known the danger of bringing Hao back into Yoh's body? It had been her choice to call him back so that he could protect Yoh from his groupies or had she known that Hao would refuse her nothing and would come to protect her, the one that he had come to cherish so much. Anna blamed it all on Hao that the band of Shamans had gathered in their courtyard and she wanted Hao to fix it without the cost of Yoh's life.
Back in Anna's room, she sat in her own windowsill and stared up at the night sky. A single star among the rest burned brighter and seemed to twinkle down at her as if it were winking at her. She was happy that everything had turned out fine though she couldn't express it. She was glad that Yoh was back and that Hao had finally passed over. A small, but silent smile replaced the cold hard mask that she often wore as her thoughts turned to the one thing that she had left unsaid.
"Thank you... Hao."
~Owari~
A/N: As you can see, Hao didn't get Anna in the end. Or did he? XD But Hao has gone back to where he belongs for the moment and everything has gone back to normal for Anna and Yoh. Or has it? But this ends my fic, "That voice." Hope everyone enjoyed it cause I had fun writing it though originally I hadn't intended to write anymore of it other than a one shot. Can you believe this whole fic could just be left alone at a one shot? I don't think so. I believe that there could have been something between Hao and Anna if Yoh hadn't been born. It kinda makes me wonder what would have happened if Yoh hadn't been born and if they had raised Hao to become engaged to Anna in hopes that he wouldn't try to kill off the human race again. XD But that's an idea for another fic. I don't know if I'll write it though since I have some other fics that I'm working on. I STRONGLY believe in the Yona coupling and sorry for any moments that people may have thought the characters were OOC, but again I had to apply some of those if this were to happen though it really wouldn't happen type of moments. Fic writers can be creative like that. XP I have to say the best thing about this fic was the HaoXAnna fan or any future fans of this coupling that I created by writing this. Yay!!!! Now I can go back to dedicating more time to my SK cosplays. Ja minna!