Even if I have only one review, I'm still happy that someone paid attention to my story! ARIGATO!
On with next chapter and as usual, the disclaimer is: Not connected with Shaman King! (Nemu, Satsu and Kitsu is my characters, I'll delve more into them into the future)
And I read one book bout Shaman characters lately and realised that Lyserg's father is not an exorcist. Well, well, what can I say? They're not shamans anyway. Hahahahahhaahaa...
Chapter 5: Something about Anna
Ren sat by the windowpane of the car, silently rubbing his eyes from slight exhaustion, not noticing whatever was happening outside. The blurry images of trees and people passing his eyes did not really attract his attention now, so he looked back inside and plopped back on the soft leather cushion seat, closing his eyes. He really need some sleep now; these two days are really wearing him up…
"Bocchama, we have arrived."
"All right, thank you, Bason." Ren murmured, as he took his bag and walked out of the black Mercedes Benz wearily, his body pose somewhat bending forwardly as they walked.
"You should sleep after your lunch. I'll take care of Jun-bocchama…"
"I'll take care of her." Ren murmured. For the past two days (the night before Ren first arrived at school), his sister had been having high temperature fever and somehow, it had not cease, not even till today. Ren sighed as Bason opened the door and he entered.
"Bocchama, I protest, you are not having enough sleep! Don't worry; Lee and I are adept enough to take care of Jun-bocchama, we're servants after all!" Bason said proudly, looking at Ren in a somewhat paternally loving way. "You only had two hours of sleep yesterday, you know, and then you were off to school on that freaking early hour… It will definitely take a toll on your physical being if you lacked sleep tonight!"
"Bason… I'm the one that caused this quandary! If I had behaved well, we would still remain in China, living in that mansion, not disowned here in this foreign land with nothing!" Ren snapped, flinging his bag on the sofa as he headed for Jun's bedroom. "If anything happen to any of you, I'll have to be responsible!" Bason kept silent as he trailed behind Ren.
"Bocchama's home!" Another masculine voice announced as Lee Pyron appeared beside them, draped in an apron and holding some soup. "I have to give this to Jun xiaojie, your lunch is at the table!"
"That can wait." Ren replied coolly as they walked together. "What about Jie?" the raven haired man shook his head as they reached Jun's door.
"Still the same as yesterday, I think we really should find a doctor…"
Ryu grimaced at the voice on the other side as he picked up the phone. It was now eight o'clock at the night, but he had not left the school. Tons of paperwork on his table was proof of his busy and hectic lifestyle, a life glued to him ever since being appointed headmaster six years back.
A life he chosen to keep his emotions in another corner…
Ryu scoffed at that thought and placed a blue coloured file his secretary had left for him, a report on student's extracurricular activities for the week that he was perusing the minute before to the table to focus on the conversation.
"Yes, Anna-san?"
"I hear there's an available job for me."
"Er, yeah, so there is."
"I'll be there tomorrow approximately at eight. Anything I need to do, any form to fill?"
"… You just report with Masako, she's my secretary."
"All right, I will report tomorrow. Oyasumi."
With the phone gag firmly back at place, Ryu wiped his sweat and took a deep breath. Anna was as always, frank and straight to the point. It was just relieving that she's not being scary now. Taking a sip of his double layered caffeinated coffee, Ryu felt new surge of energy searing in him. With a steeled determination, he focused back at the job at hand, smiling slightly.
A picture on his table smiled back at him; a woman dressed in a beautiful pastel dress with a straw hat on her head, cuddling a baby girl by the countryside.
Kyouyama Anna was a woman of grit, stubbornness and infamous temper. Many males (and females alike) were exposed to her iron lady-like trait before and was afraid of her to the bottom of their very hearts. Mention her name and get a room of cold sweated audience. See her at the supermarket and at least one metre radius around her will be void of human presence. In short, she is everyone's nightmare and dream; a woman everyone wishes to emulate but was also terrified of. Of course, this lady will surely attract her fair share of suitors, isn't it? Well, there was one such experience, but, um…
"Anna-san, can you be my girlfriend?" a handsome young man dressed in a white tuxedo asked, hand clutching a bouquet of sweet smelling roses, kneeling in front of Anna in a room filled with soothing pale lights shining over them, over a candlelight dinner filled with scrumptious food and 82' wine in a well known Italian restaurant, kneeling in front of her and gazing at her with a 'you're-my-one-and-only' look.
Supposedly the best environment ever to propose courtship, isn't it?
"Takeru-kun, what is this freaking smelling thing you're offering me?" Anna spat in disgust, holding a hand over her nose. "Ah, the lights are blearing my eyes! The food looks unpleasant, I really felted like vomiting! Why are you still showing the terrible smelling things?!" Anna closed her eyes in loath as she swept the roses away, Takeru looking at the floor with bulging eyes.
"I… I bought that for ten thousand yen!"
"Everything is not right! Argh, I cannot believe you will even call me out to this hell-like place! I hate Italian food, you know?!" In the midst of her tirade, Anna had walked near the candles and knocked them over the poor man's coat.
"Argh! Argh! I used my whole month's salary to buy this!!" Takeru cried. Anna looked at him in horror. "Oh no! My coat's on fire!"
"I'll help!" She immediately poured some wine on his coat to try to extinguish the fire, but instead she succeeded only in making the fire growing bigger. "Takeru-san! Oh my god, what have I done? I'll call the police!" Anna exclaimed, ignorant to the pleas that are getting more intense. She ran out from the restaurant on supposed claim for help; making the other customers lend a hand in the process and creating riot.
Unfortunately, she never returned.
(She did not spare him because she said he was dumb enough to propose before the meal, which was the thing she looked forward most to in a date.)
Said suitor stayed in the hospital for a month for serious burns (the people in the restaurant realized too late, an hour later, that Anna would not call for any help, while the restaurant did not have not have fire extinguisher to smother it, poor guy), became bankrupt (all his money's gone just for this purpose) and got his heart broken for eternity (the last time Anna checked, he was still single and unattached).
Now, Anna was not exactly evil and wicked in the first place. The one man that made her became the person she was today were not evil at all as well.
Nevertheless, some things cannot be underestimated; sometimes, a person should be treated only with moderation…
"Anna-chan, this is Ryu-niichan! We are childhood friends, you know." Silva beamed. Four year old Anna looked up at a teenager with an abnormally long length of hair pointing frontward, holding a wooden sword. Said teen smiled kindly at her. Anna frowned and hid behind Silva, suspicious of this newbie. Silva laughed while patting her head. "Ryu, Anna-chan here is still a little shy; her parents are out of the country working; and I'm busy today; I suppose you can help me take care of her for a day?" Silva asked; looking at his friend. Ryu nodded willingly.
"Of course I will, my dear friend, she is so kawaii! Well, I'll take over now. I thought you have classes? You better leave quickly!" Ryu advised, looking at his watch. Silva nodded and pulled Anna out from his back.
"You two have fun, all right? I'll be back before six, I promise!" Silva assuaged the little girl, and then sat on his bicycle. "Ryu will be nice to you, I swear! If he mistreats you, you can tell me and I'll hit him fro you!" With that, teenaged Silva rode away. Anna stared at the disappearance that was familiar and looked back to this unfamiliar face. Ryu knelt down and tried to hold her hand but Anna backed away, her eyebrows twitching in uncertainty. The teen bit his lip and the child blinked in curiousity.
Suddenly, a rose came out from Ryu's hand and he offered it to her.
"A beautiful rose, just for an attractive lady, would you please talk to me? I'm called Ryu, I am sixteen this year. I hope we can become friends!" Anna blinked even rapidly, head tilting to a side, puzzled. Ryu gingerly placed the rose in her grasp and held her hand at the same time. "Don't be afraid of me, all right?"
"Ryu-niichan?" was all Anna said. Ryu's lip curled.
"Yes, Ryu-niichan, though you can call me kaljuu-niichan!" Ryu offered, making a face. Anna suddenly cracked into a bubble of a laugh at his expression and Ryu stared at her awestruck. "You know, you look really pretty when you laugh; surely, many men will fall for you in the future! I will tell them, Anna-chan is mine, you cannot snatch her away!"
"Really…?" Anna asked, somewhat warming up to him. Ryu carried her up and placed her in his arms, nodding.
"Sure, now, now, let our princess and this handsome knight here, which is me (Anna giggled again) go on a journey, eh?"
With that, their friendship began.
A blooming friendship took a twist when Anna was seven. She was running home from school with her report card to show to her Ryu-niichan. He had been telling her to study hard and now she had got flying colours! Pleased with herself, she had just reached Ryu's door when she saw him and a girl kissing in front of the porch. She stopped abruptly on her tracks, shocked by the scene she saw.
A weird expression rose in Anna, something she could not decipher; though she knew what kisses meant by then; a symbol of love among two individuals. And she could see clearly they were deeply in love. She turned back and ran, tears falling out immediately.
She knew, her Ryu-niichan will be snatched away from her very soon, and she hated that feeling.
It was when Ryu tied the knot with Jeanne a year later, did she know that feeling she had felted so strongly was called love. Her heart was played with, smashed around, and left alone. Surely, she told herself it was nothing; after all, one day they must grow up and apart, but deep inside, she knew; she cannot forgive Ryu for what he did; his action of betrayal. She hated Jeanne even more; she was the culprit that had snatched her Ryu-niichan away.
That day, Anna hatched a plan in her head; an immature one, nonetheless, but it was something Anna knew must be done to show Ryu that she, Kyouyama Anna, was also a girl and worthy of his attention. She was his Anna-chan, he was her Ryu-niichan!
She grew cold to everyone, becoming an icy princess, and sealed her reputation totally the day Ryu and Jeanne came to show their newborn to her.
"Anna, this is our baby! Ryu wanted to let you give her a name; can you help us do the honour?" Jeanne had said oh-so-gently, but it sounded like darts to Anna's ears. In a moment of anger, she slapped Jeanne, making Ryu and Jeanne stare at shock at an eight year old Anna.
"You two are very noisy. Please leave." Anna said arrogantly. Ryu touched his wife's reddened cheek, and slapped Anna back, eyes in anger.
"You must be respectful to Jeanne! She's your onee-chan!"
"I don't care." Anna replied in spite, although tears were welling in her eyes and the pain on her cheek was actually in more pain than thought (feelings can attribute to the intensity of one's pain, she learnt later). "I don't want any onee-chan, you understand? Don't find me anymore; I don't want to see any of you! You two bore me a LOT." Walking haughtily from the blissful couple (although her eyes were reddening profusely and she was biting her lip to control the tears), Anna never turned back to see the hurt expression on Ryu's face.
With that incident marking its territory, Ryu and Anna drifted apart; for fifteen years, Ryu became like the others; fearing her scary glares, her one-liners, and her emotionless attitude. In an effort to get Ryu to notice her more, she had instead failed even miserably.
When Jeanne and their teenaged daughter died in a car crash a year ago, Ryu's world fall apart. He became less aloof, colder; more stressed. To the outside world; he was no longer the warm; funny; happy person. In short, he changed. Anna and Ryu met again during their funeral. Although Anna wanted really much to comfort Ryu; to tell him it was all right; she will be there for him; she knew it was impossible. Jeanne held Ryu's heart so tight and so long; that when its let go Ryu could not let another enter his heart so easily; while she had been so distant and out of his reach; no longer the little girl that used to follow Ryu to the amusement park to play or the little bright bulb that used to cheer Ryu up whenever he was sad with her cheery demeanour. She was not naïve however; she knew his heart will open again one day; but this time; she is determined to be the only one inside.
Sometimes, she would still regret for letting Ryu away. Another part of her felt miserable for hating Jeanne and their daughter without knowing them well. Nevertheless, above all, she is still confused why after so long, whenever she glanced at those raven eyes and weird shape of a hair that changes according to the owner's wills and emotions, her heart will still jump unpredictably and speedily. A friend told her before, "True love comes but once".
Maybe it is really true love for me…
Now that there was a chance for her to come back in Ryu's life; she practically jumped at it since Silva knew how much his niece loved his oblivious best friend (that was the reason why he even offered her the job at the first place). Another chance to be near Ryu again; Anna would not let it go away for nothing.
She will prove to Ryu, she is capable of mending his heart.
"Moshi-moshi, is this Ryu-san?" She murmured at the phone. A minute pause, then the voice replied.
"Yes, Anna-san?" Anna's heart stopped. It was so unbelievable that after so long, he still recognized her!
"I hear there's an available job for me." Anna murmured at last, feigning calmness; a thing she was very good in doing after so long.
"Er, yeah, so there is." His voice was not exactly welcoming. Nevertheless, Anna did not give up.
"I'll be there tomorrow approximately at eight. Anything I need to do, any form to fill?" Another pause, then…
"… You just report with Masako, she's my secretary."
"All right, I will report tomorrow. Oyasumi." When the gag was placed down; Anna did not let the gag go, but instead she tightened her grip and took a sigh.
I hope this will work.
Well, please comment on this chapter. I know becoming icy for guys attention may be thought as cliche and stupid, but what can you expect from an eight year old? Sometimes the way children sees things are different from adults...
Glossary
Jie-(elder) sister
Xiaojie- miss
Kawaii- cute
Kaljuu- monster
Yep, there was a crossover. From Cardcaptor Sakura, the surname of Daidouji Tomoyo was used as the name of the school. I picked it because Tomoyo-chan was always holding a video camera; in this story it was watching over most of the happenings of the main characters. And yeah, Toya like to call Sakura kaljuu, just a reference shared (for Ryu and Anna), I DO NOT SUPPORT INCEST! Please review. Arigato.
