Yups, still with the babysitting…hmm….but! At least this chapter came in quicker! Unfortunately, though, that means this chapter is a little on the short side. But its still pretty long…y'know I'm not even sure if it's possible for me to write a 2 page or 4 page chapter…I always write more than 10…But I should really stop rambling on and on about that because you guys said you don't mind, so thank you for that : )
Oh and there's one thing I forgot to do in this chapter…and you'll probably realize it when you're done with the chapter. But I apologize in advance, I totally forgot and the chapter just followed easier the way I wrote it. And ugh, I'm really sorry…I couldn't think of a chapter title…so I'm stuck with this.
Thank you all for your wonderful reviews!!
Please, Enjoy!
Chapter 5:
"A Sickness"
It had now been about a month and a half since Anna came to live with me. She's coming along great too. The "wall" around her seemed to be slowly coming down. She was starting to act like she used to back in school. She was starting to get comfortable and that somehow made me feel unusually content. Sure Anna wasn't at her social peak, but Anna was never very social anyway. I knew that she was happy. I didn't just "hope" that, I knew that.
She's been working here for about a half-a-month. She's really got a knack for it too. She says being an Inn Hostess is fun, and she brings in a lot of customers for the Onsen. But most of the customers are boys, so it makes me wonder. Hao says it's because she's cute, so the boys flock to her and believe what she says. I…guess that's all right, I mean she's getting more customers, right?
"Yoh?" Anna said getting his attention, "Just, what exactly are we doing again?"
"We're going to paint some signs," Yoh smiled, "So make sure you're dressed in some old clothes that you don't mind getting paint on. If you want, you can borrow some of my old pants."
"Okay, thanks," she said as Yoh handed her a pair. Then she left to change. While she changed, so did Yoh. He changed in his old clothes, which was some baggy faded pants and an old white wife-beater. Anna came down stairs wearing a pair of Yoh's faded pants and a black tank-top that didn't cover her belly button, she was also wearing a red bandana, "So who's taking the day off to paint with us?"
"Let's see, Ren, Pirika, Horo-Horo and Tamao will be joining us later on," Yoh said getting a jacket out, "Here. Can you hold this?"
"Why?"
"W-well," Yoh gave a sheepish grin, "It might rain today."
"What? Why the hell are we painting outside when it might rain?"
"Well, I didn't know it would rain when I took the day off for us," Yoh scratched his head, "Besides, it looks pretty nice outside, I don't think it'll rain."
"Hmm," Anna looked at him skeptically as she tied the jacket around her waist.
After he made sure that they were ready, Yoh and Anna walked outside to where the painting would take place. There, Horo-Horo, Pirika, and Ren were. They were already opening the paint and deciding on what colors to use.
"Well, there's a plus to this," Anna said standing with her hands on her hips, "Hao isn't here."
Yoh laughed, "You'd break Hao's heart if he heard you."
"What he doesn't hear won't hurt him."
"He's probably inside sneezing at this very moment."
Anna just shrugged, but little did she know; he really was sneezing.
"Are you guys ready?" asked Pirika, "Lyserg was kind enough to draw out a couple of signs for us. Now all we have to do is paint them!"
"Alright!" Horo-Horo shouted, "Less work for us!"
"Don't be an idiot, it's still going to be hard," Ren crossed his arms, "Try not to screw up, there's no second chances."
"Aw, Ren, don't ruin the moment," Horo-Horo sulked.
"Guys, don't start," Pirika picked up a paint brush, "Let's try to finish as quickly as we can. I heard it was going to rain today."
"Great job, Yoh," Ren uncrossed his arms, "Next time check the weather before you schedule a day to paint."
"I'm sorry," Yoh gave a sheepish smile, "I'll check next time for sure."
After picking a color scheme, they got started. It probably shouldn't have taken so long, but each of them were afraid to mess up, so they took their time. Painting wasn't as easy as they had thought and after about an hour and a half, Tamao had finally come over with some snacks. So they decided to take a break.
"How many signs have we got done?" asked Yoh.
"Only two and a half," Horo-Horo said, "Can you believe that? There's 5 of us, and in an hour and a half, we only have two and a half done."
"Out of how many?" asked Tamao.
"Seven," Ren crossed his arms, "And it seems like each sign takes us a half hour. So will this take us three and a half hours?"
"Maybe more than that…" Yoh said looking at the sky, "It's starting to get cloudy."
"I hope it doesn't rain," Pirika said looking at the sky as well, "We're all out here in short-sleeves or sleeveless clothes. And think about all the hard work we just did…"
"If it does just so happen to start raining," Anna started, "We should, as quickly as possible, take the signs inside."
They all nodded in agreement and decided that it would be best to get started again. They all got up and got their paint brushes ready and went to their signs. Ren, Pirika and Horo-Horo were on one, and Yoh, Anna and Tamao were on another. They figured that with these numbers, they could get more things done.
"Yoh! Watch it!" Anna glared as Yoh got some red paint on her arm.
"Ah, I'm sorry," Yoh smiled.
Anna took the blue that was on her paint brush and put some on his face.
"A-Anna!"
"Now we're even."
"I didn't do it on purpose!"
"Doesn't matter," she said returning to painting the sign, "You still did it."
Tamao started to giggle and Yoh looked at her, which made her laugh even more.
"Hey…just what are you laughing at?"
"Your…your…" Tamao started to laugh harder, "…face!!"
Yoh supposed he looked pretty ridiculous with a blue mark on his face. Yoh had his paint brush ready though, "Oh, yeah?" Yoh put a small mark on Tamao's face, "Who's face is hilarious now?"
"Yoh-kun!" Tamao shouted; it was driving her crazy now that she couldn't see it. Tamao got her paint brush full of white paint and struck his other cheek. Now his had white on his right cheek and blue on his left.
Anna smirked, "Didn't see that one coming, did you Yoh? Who ever thought shy little Tamao would do that?"
"Hmph," Yoh smirked as his paint brush just-so-happened to graze her face, "Didn't see that one coming either, huh?"
"YOH!" Anna yelled, "You're lucky I don't dump your face in that paint bucket!!"
Yoh started to laugh and Tamao let out little giggles (as to not upset Anna). Then Yoh calmed down a bit, "Okay, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to the first time. But we really need to get back to work. Truce?"
"Hmm..." Anna leaned closer to Yoh and gently put her paint brush to his nose, leaving an annoying spot he couldn't see, "Truce."
"Argh, Anna!"
"Hey, you started it, I finished it."
Yoh gave a small laugh as he continued to paint. The tip of his nose tingled and he could see a little blue on it. He tried wiping it off, but it didn't quite work. It just spread a little. After a while, he heard Tamao giggling and saw Anna smirking. Yoh tried to laugh it off "You're lucky we called truce."
"Oh?" Anna said still smirking, "I think it's you that is lucky we called truce."
Yoh laughed, "You're probably right."
After about another hour, they finally had 4 signs done, which meant they only had 3 more to do. But before continuing on, they decided to take a little break while most of the signs were drying. Whilst on their break, they started to discuss where they should hang the signs up.
"Yoh," Ren said, "Since you're the tallest, you lift the sign next to the wall and we'll see if it looks good or not."
Yoh grabbed a dry sign and held it over his head as best he could.
"Uh," Pirika had a thoughtful expression on her face, "It needs to be higher."
Yoh got on his tip-toes.
Pirika shook her head, "It still doesn't look good there. It needs to be higher to look good."
"Well then," Horo-Horo pointed his thumb to Anna, "Have her get on his shoulders. She's the tallest girl."
"Will…that be safe?" Tamao asked cautiously.
"Of course it would be," Horo-Horo said confidently.
"Well it's up to Anna," Pirika slowly looked over to Anna.
"And Yoh," Ren looked to Yoh.
"Well I don't mind," shrugged Yoh, "I think it's more if Anna trusts me."
Anna crossed her arms. Of course she trusts him, it's just it wouldn't be the most comfortable thing to do, "I…I guess."
After a little bit of awkwardness, Anna had finally somehow gotten on Yoh's shoulders, without either of them getting hurt. Yoh had knelt down and Anna had wobbly gotten on, and then Yoh slowly and cautiously tried to stand up. Then as he stood up, Anna breathed out a little, "Whoa…"
"Are you alright?" Yoh asked as he securely held onto her and tried to look up at her. Yoh's hair was tickling her belly, and his hands were firmly on her thighs.
"Y-yeah," Anna seemed a little nervous, but then it changed to a firmer tone, "I'll never forgive you if you let me fall!"
Yoh laughed a little, "Now, why would I do that?"
"Ok, be careful…" Pirika said as Ren handed Anna the sign.
Anna carefully picked up the sign and held it right about where Yoh's face was, "Tell me where to put it."
"Okay, a little higher," Pirika put a hand on her hip and the other was signaling "up".
"Here?"
"Just a little more."
"Now?"
"Ah, a little more—perfect!" Pirika clapped her hands, "That'll do! The sign looks perfect there, doesn't it?"
Tamao nodded while Horo-Horo gave a little confident laugh, "It doesn't look bad at all! We did a really good job!"
"But it was all thanks to Pirika," Ren crossed his arms, "Don't act like you designed them or did the color scheme. If it was up to you, these signs would look like crap."
Then Horo-Horo and Ren started to fight and Anna started to wobble a bit. She was feeling rather…uncomfortable, having Yoh carry her like this, and especially hold her like this. Besides, it wasn't like the sign was very light either.
"Anna, are you okay?" Yoh held a little tighter as she wobbled a little.
"Argh," Anna gave a little frustrated sigh, "Excuse me? Are we done here?"
"Oh," Horo-Horo and Ren stopped fighting and Tamao stepped a little closer, "I think it's all right if you come down now."
Anna handed Tamao the sign and Anna hesitated. How was she going to get down? Then she felt something wet drop on her head. She put her on hand on top of Yoh's head and the other onto Yoh's shoulder as she looked up.
"Huh?" Yoh looked slightly up when he felt Anna's hands on him. When she looked up and fell slightly back and she gasped, but Yoh quickly kept the balance, "What's wrong, Anna?"
She felt a drop on her cheek, "…Rain…"
"Rain?" Yoh looked up a bit and felt a drop fall on his nose, "Oh no…"
The rain started to pick up its pace and everyone frantically tried to cover the paint. Horo-Horo started to somewhat panic, "After all this hard work!!"
"Shut up and get this stuff inside before it starts to pour!" Ren shouted while covering up the paint.
Yoh carefully, yet quickly knelt down and helped Anna get down from his shoulders. He took his hands off her thighs and she used his hands to hold onto while she got off. After she got off Yoh stood up and point to her waist, "It's time to wear that jacket."
"But it's yours," Anna untied it from her waist, "You brought it for you."
"Yeah, but you've been holding it, you deserve to wear it."
"But it's yours!"
"You wear the jacket," he put it on her shoulders; "I don't want you getting sick."
"You'll get sick too," she said putting her hands on the jacket.
"Don't worry about me," Yoh looked towards the scrabbling people and saw a board lying there, "Ah! We need to pick it up before it gets too wet!"
Anna sighed as she put her arms through the sleeves of the jacket and followed Yoh to where the board was lying, "I'll help too."
"Are you sure? You don't have to…" Yoh asked while bending down to pick up the board.
"Yes, quit doing everything yourself," she bent down as well.
They lifted the board over their heads to help protect them from the rain. "Great," Yoh mumbled, "Now we're going to have to wait until it's dry to paint again."
"Don't worry," she looked over to Yoh, "We don't need the signs that bad, plus, we've already got half of the signs done anyway."
He laughed a "Yeah, you're right." Then he turned to the rest of the group, "Hey, guys! Don't worry I'll get this other stuff! You guys just go inside and figure out where to put all this stuff!"
Yoh and Anna both heard various forms of okay. Anna somewhat rolled her eyes as she looked at Yoh. He was looking the other way towards the rest of the group. His hair was somewhat wet and dripping down onto his arms. It was the first time she had ever really seen or paid any attention to his muscles before; she didn't even notice how strong he was. Carrying her was probably a breeze. He did say that he knows how to defend himself and he was used to carrying things like this. Yoh was obviously not the cute little boy Anna once knew. He was now a handsome muscular young man.
"Anna? Are you all right? Your face is all red."
"I-I'm fine!" Anna looked away. She didn't even realize she was blushing.
"I hope you're not getting sick!" Yoh lifted the board with one hand and used the other to feel Anna's forehead.
"Stop," Anna shook her head to get his hand off, "Let's hurry and get inside so I don't get sick!"
"Oh, r-right," he removed his hand from her forehead and they started to walk towards the inn.
"Besides, worry about yourself," the blush started to disappear, "You're only in a wife-beater. If anyone's going to get sick, it's you."
"Don't say that, Anna," Yoh's eyebrows furrowed, "Now you got me scared; you're always right…"
"You probably just jinxed yourself," she said as they finally got to the doors.
They got inside and put the board down. The others started to prop the signs up so that they wouldn't get the floors wet. Yoh signaled the others to come and help out with the board while he said, "I'm going back outside to get the paint and to see if there's anything else that needs to get inside."
They all nodded except for Anna. Anna sighed while Yoh went outside and she followed him, "You're determined to get sick, aren't you?"
"No, I just don't want anyone else to get sick. You should probably get back inside."
"No, I'm helping," she said while picking up some paint, "But hurry up."
Yoh nodded, "Alright."
After carrying the paint in, she looked back at Yoh who was still out there. She shivered. If she was wearing a jacket, and she shivered, how cold is Yoh? It seemed like he was taking his time picking everything up. It was really pouring and Yoh wasn't going fast enough for her taste, "Yoh! Come inside now! You're soaked! You can't even tell that you're wearing a shirt anymore!"
"Alright, alright," he said while grabbing just a few more things, "I'm coming!"
Yoh entered the inn dripping wet. As he put the stuff in his arms down, Anna observed his state and backed away slightly, "Uh! You're soaking wet! You're dripping everywhere!"
Yoh laughed as he stuck his head out the door and shook his hair out like a dog, "Brr…its cold!!"
"Yoh!" Anna said a little disgustedly as she got wet a little.
"Here, Yoh," Tamao approached Yoh, handing him a blanket, "We got you this in exchange for doing all the outside work. Sorry."
"No, no, it's fine!" Yoh smiled.
Anna shivered, "Let's hurry and get to our room so we can change!"
They quickly walked to the B level. Upon entering, Anna rushed to the room and changed into much warmer clothes. Yoh went to the bathroom downstairs and towel dried his hair and changed into warmer clothes as well. When Anna was done, she came down the stairs sneezing.
"Bless you," Yoh said as he heard her sniff, "Say, how about we take a nice warm bath?"
"Are you kidding? The Private one's probably got a line by now."
"You can't use the public one?"
"No," Anna crossed her arms, "And before you ask why: It's because I don't want my scars to be the topic of gossip."
"Oh, I see," Yoh said slowly, "But taking a nice hot bath will make you warmer, so I think it's worth the wait!"
Anna rolled her eyes, "Fine. Meet me upstairs."
Yoh smiled. After he gathered up his bath supplies, he met Anna upstairs and they made their way to the bath house. As luck would have it, the private baths weren't as full as they thought. It seems as though everyone was too cold to wait in line. So Yoh and Anna went their separate ways and decided to meet back outside of the bath house area.
Yoh came out first and patiently waited for Anna. He wondered when she had gotten in and if she's been in there long. Luckily she didn't take too long. She walked over to Yoh and he smiled, "Ready?"
Anna merely nodded and followed Yoh back to their rooms. She felt warmer, but she was still rather cold and she could feel a headache coming on. She wondered how Yoh felt. If anything, he should get sick, unless he had one hell of an immunity system.
Once entering their home, Yoh decided that he was going to make some Hot Chocolate and asked Anna if she'd like some. She nodded and as he headed towards the kitchen, he said, "If you want, you can pull out the bed and we can lay in it."
Anna didn't really give it much thought, but she nodded and pulled it out anyway. She could hear Yoh sneeze a couple of time from the kitchen and she shook her head; he was getting sick. When she was done making the bed, she hopped in and got under the covers. She shivered as she pulled them closer to her.
"Here," Yoh said as he entered the room. Anna lifted her head as he made his way to the 'bed', "Ah, you have the right idea!"
Anna sat up as she took the cup and scooted over so Yoh could sit. He looked at her and smiled. Then he lay on his stomach, facing the television. Anna soon followed him and pulled the covers over them. It was really quiet. The television wasn't on, and they could only hear the pouring rain. For once, Anna's soap opera slipped her mind.
Yoh smiled as he took a sip of his hot chocolate, "It's nice, listening to the rain, don't you think?"
"Yeah," she said sipping her drink, "Do you think we'll be sick tomorrow?"
"Hm. Maybe."
"Thanks, Yoh. It's just what I wanted, to be sick," Anna said sarcastically.
"You didn't have to help me!"
"Yes! Someone had to help you! Quit trying to do everything on your own!"
"But I'm used to it," Yoh almost whispered as he looked at his Hot Chocolate. Then he looked at Anna, "More importantly, are you feeling sick?"
"Um…" Yoh scooted closer to check her temperature. He put his hand on her forehead gently. He pushed away a few strands of her hair and his cold hand made contact with her warm forehead. This action made her jump a little. He put his other hand on his forehead and leaned even closer.
Anna got the chills as Yoh put his forehead on hers. She started to fear that she was blushing, "W-what are you doing?"
"I can't tell…" he focused on her forehead.
"Idiot. We're probably the same temperature," Anna tried to break away, "We're probably both sick."
"Hmm, maybe you're right," he slowly backed away and took his hand off her forehead, "Oh, your face is red."
Anna buried her head in the sheets of the bed, "I am sick."
"I'm sorry," Yoh took a sip of his Hot Chocolate, "Are you cold? Do you need another blanket?"
"No," she lifted her head so her chin rested on the sheets, "You're probably sick too. You probably won't feel it now, but I bet you anything you are."
"Great. I probably am," he rested his chin on the sheets as well; "I'm kinda tired. Are you?"
Anna nodded, "Yeah, a little."
"Whadda'ya say we take a nap?"
Anna laid her head down a breathed an, "Okay."
After a little while, both Anna and Yoh got up to take their cups into the kitchen.
"Great," Anna put a hand to her forehead, "I'm starting to get a headache."
"Well, if you don't mind," Yoh made his way to his bed, "You can sleep with me."
Anna paused.
Yoh rolled his eyes, "I meant sleep in the same bed."
"I know what you meant," Anna paused to think, "I…I guess."
"Okay," Yoh hopped in bed and Anna slowly approached it, "What's wrong?"
Anna opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Yoh smiled as he lifted the covers and invited her in like he used to, "You can trust me."
"I…I do. It's just…" Anna slowly got in and Yoh put the sheet over her, "…really nostalgic."
Yoh gave her a gentle smile. Not his normal goofy smile, but the warm, kind, soothing smile that he only showed Anna, "Yeah, takes me back."
Anna gave a warm smile that she only shows Yoh, "At least this time I didn't have to climb through a window."
"And Hao's not here to complain," Yoh closed his eyes. He then, gently, like he used to, said: "Goodnight, Anna."
For some reason, that made Anna's heart flutter. She smiled as she looked at his peaceful "sleeping face". This time there was nothing to fear. She didn't have to worry about Haijime or Kyosuke or anyone. Yoh was with her, and she could finally fall asleep peacefully. She closed her eyes and fell asleep with a soft smile on her face.
Yoh woke up freezing. It was already dark and if he had to guess, he'd say it was around 10 P.M. He could still hear the rain and he was shivering. He looked over at Anna who was still sleeping and shivering slightly. Yoh slowly got up and the room was spinning and his head was pounding. He felt his head. It was burning, but he was freezing. He woozily went to the closet to get out the extra blankets.
He coughed a few times as he put the blankets over the other sheets and slid in the bed. He was still so cold, but not as quite as he was before; his shivering stopped. He felt extremely exhausted as he looked over at Anna. He could hear her soft breaths, "You're right again, Anna. I'm sick."
She didn't respond and she probably didn't hear. She just kept sleeping and breathed softly while clutching onto the sheets. Yoh reached over and touched her forehead. Her body jumped a little bit, but she didn't wake up, she just mumbled something under her breath. Yoh frowned as he gently caressed her cheek, "I'm sorry I got you sick."
Anna got the chills at Yoh's touch. Yoh, still frowning, reluctantly removed his hand from her soft face. He pulled the covers over her more and her body seemed more relaxed. Yoh just stared at her. He was so tired and his head was pounding, but sleep wouldn't take over him. He could do nothing but stare at Anna and hope that soon he'd fall asleep.
I remember from when we were little that when of us had trouble sleeping; we'd stare at each other. I know it sounds weird, but seeing her relax, relaxed me. I'd usually fall asleep before she did, but in the off chance that I woke up in the middle of the night, I'd just stare at her. So many things were going through my mind at that time. Why was she so afraid at night? Why did her mother marry Haijime, even though she was obviously unhappy? Why was Anna always running away? At that time, none of those questions were answered until long after. But now I didn't have to worry. Even if Kyosuke was still after her, the likelihood of him finding her is slim and I would protect her no matter what.
A sad, yet nostalgic smile was placed on my lips. She has grown so much. She hadn't changed much, but even if she won't admit it, she was much happier here. She'll probably be mad at me tomorrow now that we're both sick. But by the way she was sleeping s peacefully, she didn't look too sick. I couldn't help myself; I just had to scoot closer. Our foreheads touched for a little while. For some reason, hers cooled mine down a bit.
"…Yoh…" she whispered as she got the slight chills.
I smiled and scooted back a little, "Goodnight Anna."
She wasn't awake, but I know she heard me because a small smile graced her lips.
The next day, Yoh woke up with a start. His stomach was twisting and turning; he could feel yesterday's snack traveling up his throat. He jumped out of bed and covered his mouth; he wasn't sure he was going to make it. As he recklessly got out of bed and ran to the bathroom, he slightly crashed into a few things and knocked a few things over. He barely made it to the bathroom.
Yoh had no time to close the door. Anna had heard all the disgusting and vial noises coming from the bathroom. She woke up and rubbed her eyes. She looked towards the bathroom as she sat up. She could now hear the water and Yoh rinsing out his mouth. Then she could hear Yoh mumble, "Shit…" Yoh didn't strike Anna as a curser, so he must be feeling pretty sick if he did. Anna got up and made her way to the bathroom.
"Yoh? Are you all right?" Anna peeked in; it smelled horrible.
"I, uh, missed a little," Yoh gave a sheepish smile.
"Ew, Yoh," Anna backed away and covered her nose, "I'll get you a towel."
"Thanks," he mumbled. He leaned his head on the sink and closed his eyes; his head pounded. Crap. Here it comes again.
Anna could hear him throw up again. Anna shuddered as it sounded so disgusting. At least he was in the bathroom this time. Then Anna reached the bathroom and he was rinsing out his mouth, "Here."
"Thanks, I'm sorry."
"Its fine," Anna looked at him through the corner of her eye; she couldn't stand to see the mess, "See? You're sick. You're not going to work today."
"Yeah, I know. I'm not going to argue with you."
"Wow, you must really be sick if you're not going to argue with me about work."
"Well, I feel like crap," Yoh held his head, "Don't even say 'I told you so'."
"I don't have to," Anna crossed her arms, "You already know I was right."
"Uh," Yoh weakly looked at Anna, "And you? Are you all right?"
"Well, as of right now, I have a slight headache," Anna put a hand on her head, "But I don't have a fever. I think I have a cold."
Yoh started to clean his mess, "Are you going to work?"
"Yeah. I'll take some medicine. I think I'll be all right."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, unless," Anna felt Yoh's burning forehead, "you need me here?"
"Uh…" Yoh just stared at her.
"Yoh! You're burning up! Just a second," Anna left and then came back with a wet cloth in her head. She gently put it on her forehead, "Feel a little better?"
"Um, a little," Yoh closed his eyes and rested there a little. Then, after a while, his opened his eyes and returned back to cleaning his mess, "Yoh should go to work. We can't both call in sick."
"I guess you're right. Hao will get suspicious…" Anna mumbled, but then said louder, "Are you sure you'll be alright?"
"Yeah, no problem," Yoh weakly smiled as he finished cleaning his mess.
"Alright then," she then pointed a demanding finger at him, "I'm going to get ready. I want you to go back to bed and if you need anything, call me."
"Okay," he weakly nodded as he tried to get up.
"Need help?"
"Nah, I'll be all right," he got up, "You should get ready. You don't want to be late."
Anna nodded as she made her way out of the bathroom and up the staircase. Yoh made it to his bed and lied down. His head hurt so much that he could hardly stand it. He closed his eyes and wished his pain away. He wanted to take some medicine, but he didn't feel like getting up. And he didn't want to bother Anna too much either because she was sick too. Not as sick as he was, but she still was sick. Anna wasn't the type to show her weaknesses, so she wouldn't show it if she was sick. The only one she might show is Yoh.
Anna came down some minutes later, fully ready. She gathered a few things and then walked to Yoh's beside, "Okay Yoh. Here are some tissues, a trash can, and here's a bucket just in case you can't make it to the bathroom."
"Thank you Anna," Yoh weakly smiled, "Oh, before you go, can you give me some medicine?"
"Sure," Anna headed to the kitchen where they kept the medicines. She poured a glass of water and gave Yoh some pills to help his headaches, "Need anything else?"
"No, I'm okay," Yoh closed his eyes, "I just need some rest."
"Alright then," Anna turned to leave, "See you later. Remember, call if you need anything."
Yoh merely moaned and tried to get to sleep. Anna quietly walked out and made her way to the lobby area. She really didn't feel like going to work today, but Yoh was much worse off then her. She had a headache, and the pills she took seemed to be helping (as of now). She also had a running nose, which she hated, possibly more than the headache. She made sure that there was a trash can and a tissue box near her by the front desk and started work.
After about an hour and a few customers, the bright and non-sick Julie approached the desk.
"Hello, Anna," Julie smiled, "How are you?"
Anna moaned in her head; Julie will just add to her headache, "I've been better."
"What's wrong?" Julie cocked her head, "You sound stuffy, are you sick?"
Anna gave her a dull look; as if Julie was asking the obvious.
"Oh, uh, sorry," Julie was a little taken aback, but recovered quickly, "What time is Yoh working?"
"He's sick."
Julie's eyes widened, "What? And he's home alone?"
Julie was acting as if Yoh had a deadly disease, "Hey, he insisted that I go to work."
"I-I see," Julie looked down, "Well you have a nice day. I hope you get better! Excuse me!" She said with a slight wave and turned to leave.
Anna gave a slight wave. Julie's presence was unnecessary and she wondered why Julie always persisted. Julie must've gotten the hint already. Surely she knew Anna didn't really like her presence, but she comes almost everyday to chat with her. She probably wasn't even interested. She probably only talked to Anna to get information about Yoh. Almost every time they talk, Yoh is brought up. But Anna didn't care. She didn't want to talk to Julie anyway.
After hours of torture, work was finally over and Anna could finally go home and rest. Anna held her head as she opened the door to her home. She undid her hair and un-tucked her shirt as she walked down the stairs, "Tadaima."
"Shh!" A blonde beauty put a finger to her lips.
Anna stopped dead in her tracks. There, Julie was there. She was there sitting on the side of Yoh's bed. Anna could almost feel her jaw drop. What was Julie doing here?
"He's sleeping," Julie softly smiled as she looked at Yoh.
Anna looked at Yoh as she started to descend down the stairs. He was sleeping there somewhat peacefully. Anna was totally caught off guard at Julie's presence, but she didn't show it, "Have you been looking after him all this time?"
Julie softly nodded as she moved a strand away from Yoh's face. This didn't sit well with Anna. She went and sat next to Julie. Not that she wanted to, she just wanted to sit next to Yoh. Anna placed her cold hand on Yoh's forehead and he got the chills. His eyes weakly opened. He first saw Julie and then looked at Anna, "…Anna…"
"Tadaima," she whispered.
Yoh gave a weak smile, "Okaeri."
"How are you feeling?"
"Well, a little better since Julie came to help me out."
Something sank in Anna. She didn't know what, she just knew it did.
"She made me some American style soup," Yoh's eyes weakly looked at Julie, "I think it was called 'Chicken Noodle.' I couldn't really taste it, and I threw most of it up, but I bet it was great." He sheepishly smiled.
"I have some extra if you'd like some…" Julie offered.
Anna shook her head, "No thanks. Don't have much of an appetite."
"Oh! The time!" Julie exclaimed, "It's time for Yoh to take another pill, Anna can you get it from the kitchen?"
Coming to her home uninvited was one thing, but giving her orders in her own home was another. Normally Anna wouldn't do it, but Yoh was sick, so she didn't argue. She got up and went to the kitchen only to find that the tube of pills was empty. Anna re-entered the room, "There are none left."
"Anna," Yoh weakly looked at her, "Can you please get some more?"
Anna froze. Why didn't Yoh ask Julie to go? Anna was sick as well, she didn't want to go outside. But Yoh looked so pitiful…to deny him would be a sin. Anna's eyes narrowed, "Are you sure we should be trusting this medication…what if it makes things worse?"
"Oh, don't worry about that," Julie smiled, "One of the things I'm studying over here is medicines. I studied back in the States too, so you shouldn't worry."
Anna now had no choice. Yoh gave a sheepish smile, "You can use my money…it's on the counter."
"Fine," Anna was angry as she grabbed the money and made her way upstairs to change into warmer clothes. She put on some pants and boots and wore her beige jacket and red beanie. Once out of the room, she just left without saying a word to them.
Anna knew the town well enough to make her way to the nearest Pharmacy now. That still didn't change the fact that she didn't want to go though. Why couldn't Yoh just ask Julie? And why did she let them boss her around like that without any form of argument from her? Perhaps she was getting soft. She sighed. She didn't like being soft and she definitely didn't like how weak it made her feel. She was taking orders from Julie and Yoh! She was getting softer on Yoh. She had to start keeping him in line; she was not going to start to act weak and let people walk all over her. She won't ever let that happen again. She had control now and she wasn't going to lose it to anyone. Not even to Yoh.
She then entered the Pharmacy and quickly looked for what she was supposed to find. Then again, this was Yoh. Yoh wouldn't take advantage of her and his intentions were probably good. But why…why did it hurt so much when Yoh had asked her to go and not Julie? Anna grabbed the medicine and just stared at the box. Did he ask Anna to go so he and Julie could have some more alone time? Or did he simply ask her to go because she was already up?
Anna paid for the medication and walked by to the Inn with her hands in her pockets, contemplating on why Yoh sent her instead of Julie and why this was bothering her so much. The only thing Anna knew for sure now was her extreme dislike of Julie and her extreme headache that just kept getting worse. And it seemed as though the Inn couldn't be farther and the thoughts weren't going to be settled until she reached the ever-far Inn. She did though eventually made it back, but at the cost of an extreme headache in the effects of her cold and deep un-answering questions that roamed in her mind.
"Tadaima," Anna said as she entered. She took off her beanie, her jacket and her boots and threw them in her room. She descended down the stairs to be greeted by another surprise. Julie was wearing some of Yoh's clothes. Anna opened her mouth to say something but Julie smiled and said, "Welcome home."
Anna went to the bedside and looked at Yoh with an eyebrow lifted. She wanted to ask, "What's the meaning of this?"
And as if Yoh could read Anna's mind, he responded, "I threw up on her…so I gave her some of my clothes. Sorry, Julie."
"Oh, it's all right."
"I got you your medicine," Anna handed Yoh the bag and went to go get water.
Yoh sat up when Anna returned. He put the pills in his mouth and swallowed some water. Yoh stuck his tongue out, "It's so disgusting."
"But you have to take it," Julie took Yoh's cup when he was done with it.
"I know," Yoh touched his head, "I hope it's gone by tomorrow."
"I doubt it," Anna crossed her arms, "Now lay back down."
Yoh slowly laid back and closed his eyes…he just hoped the pills' gruesome taste wouldn't come back to haunt him.
"Julia," Anna said, looking at her.
"Julie."
"Right," Anna didn't really care, "I can take it from here."
"Oh, uh, are you sure?"
Anna nodded with a cold glare. She wasn't incompetent.
"Ah, okay," Julie started to get up, "I'll check up on you later, okay Yoh?"
"Alright, thank you Julie," Yoh weakly smiled.
"Anytime," she responded as she made her way to the door.
"Oh, and Julie, don't worry about your clothes. I'll wash them and return them to you tomorrow!"
Julie gave a slight laugh before ascending up the stairs, "Okay, same here."
After Anna heard the door close, she turned her attention on Yoh and glared.
"Wh-what?"
"I told you to call me if you needed help!"
"W-well, I didn't think I needed it," Yoh nervously said, "And besides, Julie came."
Anna's arms were still crossed as she looked away.
"Is there something wrong about that?"
"Y'know, I could've helped you."
"I know, but I didn't want to disturb you."
"It wouldn't have been disturbing me. It would've been saving me…I have a killer headache."
"Oh, I see. I'm sorry," Yoh scoot over a bit, "Come take a nap with me…that is if you're brave enough."
"What do you mean?"
"I could throw up again."
"Well, then you're going to wash my clothes," Anna was going to take his offer.
Yoh laughed as he lifted the blankets up for her. Anna slipped in and got comfortable, "What would you do if I threw up?"
"Where?"
"Anywhere."
"Well if you were to throw up in the toilet or over a trash can, I'd hold your hair back."
Anna gave a slight smile, "And if I threw up on you?"
"I'd be a little grossed out," Yoh laughed, "Poor Julie was so gross out, but she helped me clean up anyway."
Anna frowned at the mention of Julie. Why did he have to bring her up?
"What's wrong? Headache?" Yoh put his hand to her forehead.
"Something like that," his hand was still there. He kept his hand there and just stared at her, "What?"
"Nothing," Yoh continued.
"Why are you staring at me?"
Yoh removed his hand and closed his eyes, "No reason."
Anna was a little confused, but she was more tired, so she didn't press the subject.
"Goodnight Anna."
"'Night Yoh."
While it seemed as though Yoh fell asleep quickly, Anna did not. She closed her eyes, but was still a little troubled. She hated how soft she was getting and although she didn't want to admit it, she hated how close Yoh and Julie were. Sure Yoh always showed kindness to women, but for some reason Julie was different. She liked Yoh, and it was unpredictable to Anna if Yoh felt the same. But every time she saw them together, he was always smiling or laughing and she was always the angelic figure. Definitely not like Anna. Yoh will always be nice to Anna…no matter what. But it seemed more to Anna that Yoh pitied her…her presence suddenly seemed like a burden (or so she thought) on Yoh. She was someone he had to take care of.
Anna opened her eyes and narrowed her eyes at Yoh. She was not going to be a burden. She could take care of herself. She turned to face the other way. Her back was now towards him. She didn't need him protecting her…and he probably didn't need her at all. Maybe it was just her headache bothering her. Or maybe she was finally being truthful. Either way, she didn't want to think about it. She shut her eyes tightly and hoped that she'd fall asleep quickly.
Yoh closed his eyes, but he wasn't asleep. His head pounded and he was sure it would be awhile before he got to sleep. He had heard Anna move, and this made him open his eyes. His eyes met her golden locks. He had wondered why she had turned over. She was probably uncomfortable. It was understandable. He had been lying in that spot pretty much all day and it had probably lost its comfort.
It had seemed that something was bothering Anna. And it didn't seem as though it was just her cold bugging her. I could be wrong, and I hoped I was. Ever since she got home she had been acting a little down. Usually it was just her personality, but lately she's been acting so comfortable and relaxed and it now seemed unusual to act like she was. She couldn't be mad at me, could she? I mean, I don't know what I did wrong. Maybe I'm over-reacting. My fever's probably getting the better of me. It's probably just me thinking everything is weird. She's probably perfectly in the right mind.
Okay so I'm an idiot. I totally forgot about Anna and Hao's date!! Hao didn't even appear in this chapter!! Ugh! I'm so sorry! The date is in the next chapter I promise! It fits better there anyway. The next chapter is a long one too…its turning out to be longer then the prologue (I think) so brace yourselves! But you'll enjoy it, I promise or…or I don't know. But I'm pretty sure you'll like it!! I'll try not to take too long writing it! Thanks so much for reading!
PREDICTION FOR THE NEXT UPDATE: probably a week, week and a half. But…if you review…we can see if we do it sooner ; )
So thanks so much for reading!! Please tell me how you liked it! And if I can improve in any way, please let me know! Words of encouragement are greatly appreciated as well. So please, if you can: review!!
Until next time: Ja ne!