My favorite chapter. And probably the one that will really knock you off your seats in surprise. Okay, maybe not. But this one will unveil a truth that will surprise you and you know me, I love "making commotion". xD

This is it. The big one. The turning point of this story.

So, what are you waiting for? Start reading!

***

"He didn't take it very well," Takeshi said grievously. A loud sigh escaped from his lips. "What am I gonna do?"

Anna frowned. She wasn't very good in giving advice when it came to broken friendships. She paused before answering. "I think you should just let him cool off. Think about things. Some problems have ways of solving themselves without your help."

Takeshi sighed again. "I hope you're right."

Anna moved from the foot of Takeshi's bed to his side. She looked at him worriedly. "So how are you?"

Takeshi cocked a brow. Didn't I just answer that minutes ago? "I told you, I'm feeling better."

Anna eyed him suspiciously. You have a record of acting contrary to what you really feel, Takeshi. "Is that the truth?"

Takeshi wanted to throw up his arms…if he could do that. "Yeaahhh…do we have to go through that all over again? I'm fine now. After all, you saved me."

Anna fell silent. Memories from last night exemplified in her head. She couldn't let go of the incident and all that happened; it was probably one of those times wherein she'd let her emotions loose and it was one of those times when she really felt so scared. This incident was probably second to those times when Yoh was about to die.

"Oh yeah, now that I mention it," Takeshi began, smiling gratefully, "thank you for saving my life, Anna. I owe you big time."

Anna fell silent. "No, we're just even."

Takeshi knew she was talking about that time when he'd saved her from En Tao. But, now that he thought about it, did she really need saving at that time?

"No, not really," Takeshi said, sighing. Switching the topic, he began to ask about what really happened last night. "What happened…after I passed out?"

Anna flinched. She hated it when she had to talk about this…again. "You didn't just pass out. You weren't breathing…and your heart wasn't beating anymore."

What…? Takeshi shivered. "You mean…I died?"

"No!" Anna didn't want to hear that word again. "You almost died, you did not actually die!"

"But you said I…"

"Then why are you still alive after everything that's happened? You can't bring the dead back to life, so if you had died, then we wouldn't be talking right now!"

Takeshi grew quiet. She has a point. He sighed for like the umpteenth time. "Thank you."

Anna crossed her arms. "You don't have to repeat it over and over."

"No, I want to. If you weren't there, I would've lost everything. I owe my life to you, Anna."

"Well, if you hadn't been so stubborn, then none of this would've happened!" Anna responded back reproachfully. "You had to act like a hero again…and we would've lost you…"

"I didn't want you to get hurt," Takeshi said in justification. "I was trying to protect you."

Anna glared at him knowingly. "Takeshi, I didn't need protecting. I can take care of myself." Takeshi knew that, and the revelation made him feel the more stupid. Anna continued. "Maybe it's time you start facing the fact that now, it's you who needs a hero. Not me. Not Yoh. Not anyone else. It's all you."

Takeshi decided to concede. Anna was right, after all. "Alright, alright. I agree. I was a fool. I was stubborn. I admit it. So can we just forget it ever happened?"

"It's not as simple as that!" Anna almost screamed. She was trying to keep from losing it…and her temper. "Why do you act as if this is no big deal?!"

Takeshi reeled back. "I'm not acting as if this is no big deal! This is a big deal!"

"Well, you don't look it!" Anna shot back intensively. "You don't know how hard it was for me to watch you suffer last night…to watch you die... You don't know how painful it was to see you trying to hold on to your life, and how there was nothing I could do but watch as doctors tried to keep you alive. And you don't know just how scared I was when I thought I was going to lose you! That we were going lose you!"

Takeshi tried to calm her down. "Hey, hey. Look, I'm okay now. See?" He forced a reassuring grin. "I'm alive. I'm recovering. So stop worrying."

Anna glowered at him. "You don't understand," she began. "You know I lo—"

"Yes, I know you love me," Takeshi said, in a tone that sounded as if he was hearing this for the millionth time already. "I know."

Anna opened his mouth again to continue, but Takeshi cut in, undeterred by the itako's growing irritation at constantly being interrupted.

"And I also know you love me more than you're supposed to," he said soberly. "You told me." He paused. "And I want to talk about that."

"There's nothing to talk about," Anna said coldly. "What else do you want to know? The truth is plain and clear."

"Maybe the truth about you is plain and clear," Takeshi said quietly, "but mine isn't. You still haven't heard my side…my take about it."

Anna rolled her eyes. "I know what you think. You think it's going to destroy my family. You think it's infidelity. You think I'm acting inappropriately."

"And it's true," Takeshi said with conviction. "I still say the same thing. You can't love me. It's not right."

"What do you know about right, Takeshi?" Anna shot him a stony glare. "Right is subjective. How do you know what's right and what's not? I know my feelings are right, simply because I can feel them in me."

"Well, right back at you, Anna. True, right is subjective. But how do you know your right is right? Because you felt them? Frankly, that's not enough."

Anna bit her lip. She knew Takeshi was talking sense. But she wasn't about to back down so easily. "I know what I'm doing, Takeshi. You have to trust me."

"I do trust you!" Takeshi said in dismay. "But not like this! Not this way! You have a husband! You've pledged eternal loyalty to Yoh, and you're just gonna break it because of sudden, familiar feelings you used to have for an old flame?"

"I'm not breaking my oath of loyalty to Yoh!" she argued back, getting angry. "I still love him, and I love my husband to death! How can you say something like that?!"

"I told you; love and marriage doesn't work like that! When you love, you love only one person, the one person you want to spend the rest of your life with! You're not supposed to love two men at the same time!"

Anna opened her mouth to justify her actions and feelings once again, when Takeshi threw her a piercing glare and said, "And don't you dare start with that right-is-subjective nonsense again. You know what I'm talking about. You know I'm talking sense. We can never be together the way you want us to."

Anna was silent. She didn't know how to justify herself after what Takeshi had just said. Finally, when she found her voice, she said, "Are you…dumping me?"

Takeshi raised a brow. Dumping? You sound like a teenage girl, Anna. You know you're twenty-four years old, right? "We were never together. So you can't say I'm dumping you."

Anna held her breath before saying, "I want to know why."

"Why what?" Takeshi asked, confused.

"Why you really don't want us to be together."

"It's not about not wanting, it's about the fact that we literally can't be together!"

"Exactly!" Anna felt her hands unconsciously clench into fists. "I want to know why!"

Takeshi rolled his eyes. We are so not getting anywhere here. "Why do I have to repeat it over and over again? It's not—"

"I don't want to hear another one of your stupid infidelity nonsense," Anna said, evidently about to burst with anger. "Maybe you're right; but you also said something about the truths about you. That there's still something about you that's still not plain and clear."

Takeshi silently slapped himself. Dammit. She remembered? She actually heard that?

"Yes, I heard that," Anna said icily. "If there's something you don't want people to know about, then don't say your thoughts out loud."

Takeshi steeled himself. I really don't want to have to tell this to her.

"What did you mean by that? Answer me!"

Takeshi swallowed. He began to think hard. Before I came back, the Asakuras were a happy family. Well, maybe their kid can be a little angsty and the parents aren't around a lot, but they had no marital problems at all. All were faithful to one another. This is all my fault. If Anna didn't get to see me, none of those old feelings of hers would've resurfaced. Her family would've been safe. Takeshi sighed. Maybe I should tell Anna about me. About the truth.

"Anna…if I hooked up with you," Takeshi began, boldly locking gazes with the itako, "I would be committing infidelity, too."

Anna felt her stomach lurch. Did he mean what I think he means? "Why?"

Takeshi paused. It's time.

"Anna…I'm engaged."

(Author's note: Nope, we're not ending the chapter here. Not yet. Read on!)

Takeshi remembered when he regained consciousness last night, when he temporarily regained consciousness. He was about to say a name. The only thing that came out of his big mouth was, "An…"

But Takeshi wasn't about to say Anna's name. The name that was about to come out of his lips was "Andrea". It was a different name, a different girl, and she was the woman he was going to marry in a few months.

"I…" Anna bowed her head down, speechless. She wanted to cry, but strangely, she didn't. Something about her felt that knowing about this was the right thing. This was what's meant to be. And even stranger still, she felt relieved knowing about it. "Who is she?"

Takeshi cleared his throat. "Andrea. Also a Japanese-American. We met in high school, a year after I left…this world…seven years ago." He paused; he wasn't sure if he should continue. "I took up history; she took up political science. We liked each other, and the rest is history."

"How did that happen?" Anna said quietly.

"Whaddya mean how?" Takeshi said incredulously. "We fell in love. You should know how it happened, of all people. You know that feeling…when you know this person is the one and you just know deep inside that you want to spend the rest of your life with this person…so I proposed. She agreed."

"How long?" Anna then asked. Takeshi frowned, confused. Why's she asking in broken sentences?

"How long was I…?" Takeshi began. "How long was I engaged?" he then added, guessing.

Anna nodded. She thought it was better not to say so much.

"Since two weeks ago," Takeshi said, a little too proudly. "Andrea was pretty busy, so we decided to hold the wedding after two months."

Anna fell silent for about the umpteenth time. Sure, it usually didn't feel so uncomfortable being quiet for so long, but this time, it didn't feel so relaxing at all. Takeshi decided to take advantage of this and said gently, "See, Anna? Things are really different now. We have our own lives to lead, our own paths to follow. We can't be together. Think about Yoh. Think about Hana. Think about your family. The family you've always wanted to have." Anna looked down. Takeshi continued. He was getting through her, finally. "Didn't you always yearn for a proper family to love and care for? Now you have your wish. Your dream. So don't just take it for granted. Cherish it…while it's still there." Takeshi paused. He smiled. "And don't say it's too hard to forget about me. You know that's not true."

Anna looked up at him. She couldn't help but smile at that, feeling amused. It could be kind of amusing when Takeshi was shoving truths into her face. Well, most of the time.

"It's not at all hard to forget about me," Takeshi continued, still grinning. "It's actually pretty easy. Don't force the whole Takeshi's-back issue when you actually don't need to. It's all in your head. Stay focused; keep your head and emotions at level."

Anna nodded. Something told her he was right. The hell with the concept of right-is-subjective. Takeshi was being very logical and he was right.

Takeshi also paused, thinking.

He remembered the "Oni" symbol on his arm. Was it possible that Anna had noticed it, too? It was impossible for her not to have seen it and grazed suspicion on it. But if she had noticed it, wouldn't she have brought the issue up with him? Takeshi had a sinking feeling and a big hunch that the "Oni" had a strong connection to his purpose in this world. Why he was sent here in the first place. It was easy to point the finger at marital difficulties at this moment, but Takeshi knew it better to look beyond the obvious. There was definitely something else at work here, something else wrong. And he knew it had something to do with that "Oni". Worse, he had a strong feeling it was connected to the Asakuras somehow. When Yoh and Anna were kids, they killed an Oni. Well, Yoh did. It was the Oh-Oni, the one that was transformed into Anna's famous beaded necklace by Kino Asakura.

Takeshi wasn't going to rest until he found out about this "Oni" and how was his purpose of being here connected to it. He flashed a sideway glance at Anna. Takeshi bit his lip nervously. But Anna shouldn't know about this. If she knew, who knows what she'll do? Takeshi swallowed. If this is something Anna and Yoh can handle, then why call me to come and help when I don't even have my old powers anymore? I'm practically useless. I have to pursue this on my own…without the others knowing…but how?

Suddenly, an idea hit him. He inwardly smirked. This might hurt Anna, but this was for the greater good. And anyway, this was a sure-fire way to kill two birds with one stone. Or two problems, rather.

"Anna."

Anna quietly looked at him. "What?"

"I don't want to be a burden to you guys anymore, so…"

Anna quickly caught on. She found that unacceptable. "Burden?! Takes—"

"Look, I'm doing you a big favor," Takeshi said, smiling and trying to sound more convincing. He grew serious. "I want you to forget about me. But with me still being here, I don't think that's going to be humanly possible. Everything was going just swell until I came back. My return sparked old feelings, feelings I didn't really intend to let loose."

"If you're going to say this is all your fault," Anna began coldly, "then don't say it. It's not because of you I'm acting this way."

"Don't be stupid, Anna," Takeshi said reprovingly. "We both know it's because of me. Stop trying to deny the facts."

"I'm not trying deny the facts," Anna said stubbornly.

"You are," Takeshi shot back pointedly. He paused. He blinked away for a second and looked back into Anna's eyes. "This…this is the last time you'll see me."

Stunned, Anna threw Takeshi a horrified look. "What…did you just say?"

"Anna, I'm leaving," Takeshi said flatly. "If I want you to have a happy family, then I have to make sacrifices."

"There's no need for—"

"There is. When a family is in turmoil, and both parents are incapable of helping themselves, it's only right for an outside force to make a move to right the wrongs of the family." Takeshi grinned. "So that's what I'm doing."

Anna felt helpless. She tried not to show it, but it still seeped through her voice and facial expression. "But—"

"No buts. This is final. And you have to accept that, Anna. After all, this is for your own good. And for Yoh's and Hana's. I'm doing this for your sake, so you better not start complaining about it."

Anna grew quiet. She knew she had no say in this. There was absolutely nothing she could do to change Takeshi's mind. Takeshi Himura always says what he means, and he always means what he says.

Takeshi inwardly smiled and sighed sadly, all at the same time. It was painful to make the itako feel the way she was feeling right now, but Takeshi knew it was what he needed to do.

Takeshi did love Anna, but not the way Anna wanted. She was like a sister to him, a sister he never had. He was an only child; he didn't have a sister. That was why when he had gotten over his old feelings for Anna, he became a little too overprotective.

His role was different, and it was harder. He had always considered himself as Anna's make-believe older brother, and that was his role. To find out about the mystery of the "Oni" and to protect the ones important to him.

Takeshi looked at Anna, sombre. He smiled bitterly. What kind of "brother" would I be if I didn't protect you?

***

So how do you guys feel? That's it. The official end of the TakeshixAnna pairing. At least, the romantic part of it. Start focusing on a somewhat brotherly or friendly relationship between the two, from now on. Just to remind you guys, unlike Anna, Takeshi never did harbor romantic feelings for her, not since seven years ago.

Anyhow, it's going to be quite the roadtrip from here on out. Watch that you don't get left behind. xD

And since I wrote and published two chapters for today, don't expect the next one to be up so soon. Just stay on the "alert".

Furthermore, don't forget to review, guys. There are two new chapters posted, so I'd hazard a guess you've all got a lot of stuff to say. ;) Later.