School Daze: Chapter Nine

By KonpeitouChan

"Ne, Anna."

"What," Anna said. "Move your arm, would ya?"

Yoh looked up at the once again blue sky, obediently raising his arms up as Anna redid Yoh's bandages. The heat last night had caused Yoh to move so restlessly that they began to come undone. A fresh, white shirt was folded neatly by Anna's knees and somewhere in the house, Manta hummed to the almost rhythmic shake of the washing machine.

The afternoon had started out with a courtesy meal by Ryu, who was eager to show them a new recipe from cooking school, and now he was taking a cool, shower inside. His hair had become greasy from all the heat and cooking oil.

Yoh rubbed his chin carefully as Anna checked himself over. "What would you say if I grew my facial hair?"

Anna, satisfied with her work, tossed him his white polo. "What's gotten into you?" she asked as she quietly sipped her tea.

"Well, I met this guy. At your exam? His name was," Yoh carefully slipped his shirt over his head and paused, "Uryuu. I think. You know, the tall guy at the basketball court with the fox eyes. Very Japanese."

"Of course."

"Anyways, he had a goatee going on," Yoh continued. He took Anna's cup from her and sipped out of it.

Anna grabbed her cup back. "So what?" she said, drinking her tea. "Do you want to grow a beard, too?"

Yoh reddened. "What? Well, I don't know," he laughed. "But doesn't he look so cool?"

"Not everybody can pull off something like that and get away with it, you know," Anna said curtly. "I'd imagine he'd have a masculine jaw line."

Yoh was quiet for a minute. Then, he gave her a fishy look with his lips. "Say, Anna?"

"What?" she asked impatiently.

"Do you think I'd look cool --?"

"No."

Yoh hung his head. "Aw. No way."

Anna ignored him. "Your face is too delicate." She pushed the empty tea cup towards Yoh, hinting at him to put it away. "You're too pretty to grow a beard," she said.

She was merciless.

"I'm not a girl, Anna," Yoh cried. "Pretty, she says. Delicate, she says. Why can't I be cool and manly like Uryuu? I sound like a flower." He stood up with the tea cup and stared at it hard. "My God, I'm a teacup."

Anna patted his head as she walked past him. "There, there," she said generically as she rolled her eyes, and she walked into the house. "Now stop being such a baby and get inside. I want you to sit down and let your wounds heal. I'm tired of going out and getting more bandages."

"But Uryuu…" Yoh cried.

Impatient, Anna threw a slipper at him. It bounced off his cheek and flew out of the garden and into the road, hitting a passer-by.

Yoh followed after her, his spirit broken, and paid little attention to the cursing outside the gates. He swayed up the stairs and around the top floor. "Manta…" he said with little enthusiasm. "Manta, you don't think I'm delicate, do you?" No answer. "Manta, Manta, Manta. Where are you hiding?"

He peered into every room taking a moment each to appreciate the cleanliness before he walked downstairs. "An-na! Where's Manta?" he yelled.

There was a commotion at the front door so Yoh quickened his steps. He had hoped Manta wouldn't be leaving yet.

"Yoh-dono!" Amidamaru appeared at the last step of the stairs. "There is a boy at the front door, claiming he had been hit with a slipper!"

"Aw man," laughed Yoh as he headed towards the door. He started to hear arguing as he saw Anna stepping out of the living room to find out what the noise was. She inquired as to what's going on but all Yoh could do was shrug.

"Look, buddy." Yoh could hear a boy's voice. "I'm just returning the slipper that fell out of the sky."

"No shit! Dai, grow a backbone, would ya," said another boy. "Okay, listen here. I don't care what you say. You must be crazy throwing slippers at people and having such a stupid haircut like that."

Then Manta's voice spoke up. "Now, Ryu, don't listen to him."

"No, I will not! How dare you slander my hairstyle!"

"Relax, Roy! You're not making this better. I'm sorry, sir! I just wanted to return it, that's all! Uryuu stop him!"

Anna ran towards the door, leaving Yoh behind, "if they break anything, I'm going to break their legs."

Yoh ran after her but came too late as he heard skin on skin action. "Ouch…" Yoh could tell by the sound that everybody at the door's skins must feel really raw. He turned a corner and was surprised at the sight at the door. Five men were all on their knees, apologizing to Anna for all the commotion, trying to endure the burning sensation on their cheeks.

"Never cause such a commotion while my soaps are on," Anna said with a frown. "Get out of here," she said to Ryu and Manta, who seemed more than happy to leave. She turned to the three remaining boys. "And you three. Who are you to start a fight, huh?"

She stopped in front of the boy with a slipper in his hand. Anna nudged his shoulder and demanded that he stood up. With a frightened look on his face, the boy whimpered when Anna grabbed his shoulders and held him against the wall.

Yoh gasped as he finally recognize who Anna was terrorizing. "Daisuke?"

Daisuke looked up with tears in eyes. "Yoh-kun!"

With a scowl on her face, Anna let Daisuke free. He scrambled on his weak legs and took Yoh by the shoulders. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know. A sandal came from the sky. Gotta return… I said. So Uryuu… But Roy--!"

Daisuke stopped and turned back at Roy. He grabbed him by the collar.

"What!" Roy said, flinching. "You don't just return something that's hit you in the head to its owner! Right, Yoh?"

Yoh could only nervously laugh.

Still holding Roy by the collar, Daisuke cried hysterically. "It's because of Roy! He promised he wouldn't cause a fight. I didn't mean to make anyone angry. I swear. He wasn't even the one who was hit…"

Getting off his knees, Uryuu rubbed his cheek, staring at Anna and her look of authority. She was totally unaware of him there and he didn't care for her to give any acknowledgement.

Daisuke looked over at Anna and sat on his knees, he apologized for all the trouble they were causing. "Sorry, Kyouyama-san."

"Shut up, Daisuke. I know you've got this polite thing and all but it's about time you learned street smarts!" Roy continued arguing.

All in one movement, Anna pushed Daisuke out of her way and grabbed Roy by the collar and kicked him to his knees so her eyes would meet his. It was a quite comical because Anna was more than a head taller than Roy.

"So," she said coolly, "you broke down my door? I know a guy like you. Running into things without thinking."

Roy swallowed hard because he knew what she was saying was true. He frowned. "Y-yeah, sorry."

Anna let go of Roy and started heading back into the living room. "How about you get me a new door. It better be there before tomorrow morning. Thanks."

There was a silence at the front door until Yoh sighed and squatted at the door. "You really kicked down the door, huh." Suddenly, Yoh began to laugh. He laughed at the door and he laughed at the boys. "Anna really scared the bejeebers out of you, didn't she."

The boys, still a little shaky, stared incredulously at Yoh.

"Well, you guys said you wanted to meet her, didn't you?" as Yoh helped Uryuu up. "Luckily she was in a good mood today."

Uryuu grunted as he got up to his feet. "My cheek disagrees."

After pulling themselves together, the boys co-operated with Yoh in replacing the door Roy had broke down. They left the onsen and headed towards the city. Manta and Ryu stayed with Anna, getting ready for the dinner that'd welcome Yoh when he got back.

"Why do we have to go all the way to the east side of the city?" complained Roy. "There's a bunch of door shops nearby the train station."

"I don't know if you haven't noticed but my house still uses shoji doors," Yoh pointed out as they turned a corner. "Barely anybody uses those anymore except maybe the temples. And don't ask me, Uryuu's the one who's leading us."

Uryuu stared sleepily at the sky, and with a deep, lazy voice he asked, "Scared of the east side or something?"

"N-no," Roy said defensively.

"Well, it is kind of scary, Uryuu," Daisuke said. "And it's getting pretty dark, too."

Yoh was puzzled. "What's wrong with the east side?"

"Nothing," Uryuu answered. "The property value there is a lot cheaper than the rest of Funbari so more of the bottom of working class lives there. The ghetto, I guess."

"Ghetto?" repeated Yoh, totally unfamiliar with the lingo.

"Really underdeveloped," Roy said. "A lot of illegal stuff happen there. Hustlers and gangs hang around there."

Uryuu said nothing.

"Oh wow," Yoh said. "Sounds kind of scary."

"It's not that bad," Daisuke said, looking at Uryuu sideways. "Good people live there. You're totally exaggerating."

Roy just shrugged.

They walked up to a little shop with rusted bars at the window. Yoh could tell that they were just there for show. A good, strong whack with a chunk of metal would easily snap the brittle iron. Uryuu immediately walked in and a little bell rang as they entered.

"Alright, guys, let's do this!" Yoh said enthusiastically. "I've got a curfew so we've got to move quick."

They barely pooled together enough to afford the door, only managing enough after Daisuke haggled on the price a bit. The journey back was a little tougher because the little shop did not have delivery. The sky was now a crimson red as they walked by the beaten down streets, carrying a large door.

"So do you guys live nearby?"

"Well, me and Roy live in North Funbari," Daisuke explained. "All three of us go to school there. Tokyo High is just a couple of streets down of our school."

Yoh whistled. "That's an awesome area. Manta lives there, too. Isn't it for wealthier people?"

Roy laughed. "Our parents are but we're not."

"Yoh," Uryuu said. "I've got a question."

"Shoot."

"Is she really Anna?"

Daisuke and Roy flinched while Yoh nodded and laughed at them.

"She's a hell of a lot different than what I'd expect her to be," Uryuu mumbled.

Roy chimed in. "Yeah! How'd you ever find a girl like that! Maybe we ought to rethink her training us."

"Well, I didn't find her," Yoh said. "She's a podigy of my grandma from the mountains around Izumo. They chose her 'cause she punched, tackled, and dropkicked the lazy out of me."

"So you live with your grandma now?" inquired Daisuke.

"Nope." Yoh eased the door into the train car and they all sat down to give their tired legs a rest. "Manta and Ryu are usually over so we usually have company."

"The maju bun and the dude with the weird hair?" repeated Roy. "What, you live by yourself?"

"Stupid, of course not," Daisuke said. "Not in that big old house."

Uryuu raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you're not telling us you live there with--"

"Anna?" Yoh finished. "Of course."

"You guys are living in sin," Roy said with a frown. "Damn you, Asakura. Not one girlfriend and you're already living with a girl."

Yoh crossed his arms. "Everybody says that. What's so wrong with living with a girl? I don't see what's so bad about it."

Daisuke's face turned red. "Well, not bad… exactly."

"What're you talking about?" Yoh asked. "Are you ok? You look kind of… red."

"It's the heat!" Daisuke said quickly.

"So you're parents are OK with you living with her?" Uryuu asked.

"They were the one's who sent her to me."

Roy stood. "Don't tell me you're so naive that you don't even know…"

"Know what?"

"So you two have never…"

"Never…?" Yoh frowned. "What's with you guy and not finishing your sentences. If you want to know, they made her my fiancée because they knew I needed somebody to help me through the Shaman Tournament and she was the perfect one because she wanted to marry the Shaman King and she was convinced that I'd win.

"But now that it's over…" Yoh trailed off. He crossed his arms. "Well, I didn't want to leave Tokyo. I guess all I've got now is studies and since I live in that big ol' place, I like her company. I guess she could leave if she wanted to but she decided to stick around. Which is, you know, good for me 'cause if she left I'd, I don't know, feel so weird."

Roy pinched Yoh's cheeks. "Aw, that's cute. So wait, are you two going to Tokyo High together?"

"Yeah," Yoh smiled cheekily. "I got the athletics scholarship at my school while she got the academics. She doesn't know about me getting one, though, so you all better keep it on the hush-hush. It's my way of saying thanks."

Roy pinched his cheeks again. "Aw, stop, you're going to give me a cavity, ya sweetie."

"Why do live in the middle of nowhere, Asakura?" Roy complained as they lugged the door down the dusty road. Up ahead they finally saw the house but by now the sun was completely gone and the sky darkened.

"Just a little further!" Yoh encouraged. "Gonbatte yo!"

Finally reaching the gate, they met Manta at the door.

"You guys can put that down. The food's nice and hot, Yoh," Manta jumped excitedly.

Yoh smiled. "Guys, I'd like you to meet Oyamada Manta, my best friend, he's going to Tokyo High next year," he introduced. "Manta, this is Uryuu, Daisuke, and Roy. They'll be joining us at school!"

"Nice to meet you," they all exchanged.

"Aren't you a bit young to be going into high school?" Daisuke squatted down and poked Manta.

"No, I'm not! I'm as old as you all are!" Manta yelled. "Now come on, let's eat!" and he ran back into the house.

Daisuke stretched and looked up at the sky. "Man, it's getting late. We'll see you tomorrow then?"

Anna appeared behind Yoh. "What're you all doing out here still? Hurry up and get inside already. I hate wasting food."

"Excuse me?"

Yoh held out a hand and led the three boys into his home.

Sure enough when they reached the table, another three plates were set up. Hesitantly, the three boys sat at their plates.

"Yum! This food looks so good," Yoh's mouth watered. "Compliments to the chef! Where's Ryu? We can't start without him."

"Sit down, Yoh, here he comes," Anna said as she sat respectively between Yoh and an empty spot that belonged to Ryu. She looked at the new guests. "Why do you all look so confused. You should be thankful I convinced Ryu to set out plates for you. And I stopped him from putting laxatives into your desserts. He was pretty upset some guy he didn't even know had insulted his hair, however stupid it is."

The boys looked at each other, a little ashamed, and also a bit more hesitant to take the food. Uryuu poked around his bowl with his chopsticks.

Quietly Ryu came into the room. "Alright," he said with a little less enthusiasm as he usually has. He sat at his spot and avoided contact with the boys, a little embarrassed.

Yoh stared in disbelief at Ryu. As did Roy, Daisuke, and Uryuu. Anna sat there quietly and Manta just smiled. Ryu's hair was not styled as his signature pompadour. In actuality, it was slick down with the ends curling at the neck. He got rid of his white cat suit and instead, wore a shirt with its collar up.

"I think you have something else to say, right, Ryu?" Anna asked, breaking through the silence.

"Ryu, what'd you do --" Yoh started.

Ryu cleared his throat, his face red. "We're glad to have you three here tonight. I am more than happy to share this wonderful meal," he recited robotically. Ryu sighed.

"That's being the better man, Ryu," Anna nodded in approval. "Itadakimasu."

"Itadakimasu," everyone repeated. They all reached for their chopsticks and began to pick up their food.

Yoh made a 'mmm' sound and patted his belly. "Wow, what is this stuff?"

"Grilled lobster," Ryu answered.

Yoh was surprised. "That's pretty pricey, isn't it?"

Ryu shrugged.

Trying again to engage him in conversation, Yoh continued talking. "So, Ryu, you look good."

"I ran out of gel."

Roy put his chopsticks down in shock, Uryuu and Daisuke looked up at him. He bent over in a bowing position. "It's nice!"

"You know what, I'm not trying to please you. I don't even know who you are," Ryu said angrily. He blew air out of nose from frustration. Ryu stopped for a second and looked at Anna, who was still eating her food with content. "Okay," he breathed out calmly. "It's okay, Roy-kun."

Again, Roy bent over. "Ryu, I'm really sorry about how I behaved this afternoon," he said as he picked himself up again. "I feel like such a jerk. I never would've expected to come back here and find a plate set out for me. Arigatou gozaimasu."

"Yeah, thanks," Uryuu added.

Ryu looked straight into Roy's eyes. For a moment there a stillness in the room. Finally a smirk curled at the side of Ryu's face and he shrugged it off. "It was Anna who convinced me to. As if I'd send you guys home at this hour without food. And you seem sincere. I'd be the jerk if I held a grudge. Now let's lighten the mood already. I've got something important to say."

Yoh smiled widely. "Alright, that's the spirit!" As he took in more food appreciatively.

"Well, everyone," Ryu said. "This may have been my most passionate meal yet. Nothing was spared because this is a really important dinner."

"You tell 'em, Ryu," Anna said.

Manta smiled pleasingly at Ryu's change in mood.

"Everyone!" Ryu said with a really wide grin. "I'm going to America to study culinary arts!"

Holy crap, sorry guys. Like, I know every chapter is like this, with this lame apology at the end of each of them but seriously. My bad. I had this chapter on my hard drive but I never realized that it was actually completed 'til now. Luckily, I chose to procrastinate today and re-organize all my files.

If I ever said I was busy as hell with school, I was lying. 'Cause now I get nervous about going to the washroom 'cause I'll be wasting like five precious minutes. It's terrible, I tell ya. I have no clue what I want to do and my guidance councillor won't get off my friggin back. Sigh. Well, while waiting for the next chapter (which will be WAAAY in the future) try reading Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. It's absolutely fantastic. I'm obsessed with this series.

Thanks for the continuous support, everyone!