Chapter Summary: If Anna thought the incident at the hospital was the highlight of her week, she was gravely mistaken.
Warning: Slightly sensual scenes. Swearing. Attempted assault. Prohibited drugs.
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AN APPLE A DAY – Chapter 16: Friendly Chaos
Her glare was silent yet deadly.
"No."
Another person narrowed his eyes to feign annoyance, yet the wayward smirk told that feeling aggravated was the last thing on his mind. Trying to convince her to do things, and succeeding at it, had always given him that feeling of thrill. A rush of excitement with a bit of something odd he couldn't put his finger on.
It had become his hobby. No. It became his sport.
"No? Hmm. Funny. You seemed to enjoy it the last ti—"
"What part of 'no' do you not understand?" Her intensified death stare was enough to make a boulder crumble. She was partly furious that Hao was developing a habit of ambushing her after work.
For some reason, she didn't need to drive to the hospital that day since he dropped her off in the morning, so she was planning on taking public transport; but obviously, her friend had other plans.
"Anna, it won't even take ten minutes."
"Exactly! No way I'm spending even two minutes with you driving and me riding that… thing!"
Hao's vision dropped over to where his companion gestured at. He pouted as he caressed it as if it was his wounded lover.
"I think you hurt her feelings. She's named her after you, you know." He continued to pat the rear end of his motorcycle.
If not for her eyes almost rolling at the back of her head, Anna would've been gagging upon hearing that unnecessary information. She chose to ignore his attempt at mockery for she knew it would please him more to see her so worked up for something as simple as naming a motorcycle after her.
"You can name that thing after 'Tom Cruise', and I still won't ride it." She must've been desperate enough to choose the name of her forever celebrity crush just to prove a point, and it was Hao's turn to gag at the thought.
The man suddenly had the urge to travel to Hollywood just to strangle someone.
"Come on, Anna. You agreed to have a little bit of fun this weekend at my club."
"Hao, I'm a doctor. I have NO weekends. It just so happened that I'm off on a weekend." Anna sounded as if she was spitting facts from National Geographic.
She fished out her work phone from her pocket and Hao instantly knew that she was about to drag their conversation with her usual spiels about 'most doctors being on-call anytime an emergency or adverse event occurs' and blah, blah, blah.
None of which that made him give a shit if he was going to be completely honest, but since it was her talking and not just any other woman, he still pretended that he was taking the information in even though all he really wanted to do was to sling her across his shoulder and spank her 'til she submits to his every whim.
"Okay, forget about the weekend. You just look quite tired with life you need to unwind for a bit." He reached out to charmingly brush off a wild strand of hair from her face, which Anna stopped— not surprisingly— by slapping his hand away.
"See? So snappy. Are you on your—" Hao decided not to finish his words when he saw Anna's fist twitch. He still valued his life somehow.
"Look… I know you've already been to the The Great Spirits with…" He paused for a moment, careful not to trigger her by mentioning a certain name that starts with a 'Y' and ends with a 'H'. "Your colleagues… but just check out the place. Take a good look while I work and you enjoy, then tell me what you think."
Anna threw him an aggravated glare.
"First of all, I'm so sorry that I don't live up to your Victoria's Secret Angel standards with the way I look. And second, why do I even need to be there? So I could spend my night watching bimbos flirt with you? It's not even one of our scheduled work nights."
For a second, Hao really considered just grabbing Anna by her hips and swinging her across his shoulder just to drag her towards their destination, all while telling her how she was the most stunning woman he has ever met in his life.
But this is Anna.
He can always bet his limbs, or worse, his precious hair, but he knew none of the antics forming in his mind about forcing her to do things his way would work.
So, he decided to play bait.
"Okay, first, no, I am inviting you to my newly established business because your feedback is quite important to me. And yes, if you don't want me asking as your friend, then I'm doing it as your boss. So consider this as work night if you want." Hao searched Anna's eyes for any hint of offence she might have taken when he pulled out the 'boss card' on her, but she remained stoic as ever.
"Also, NO. On the contrary, I will be there to break the necks of any pervert who tries to get their hands on you while you're having fun."
Anna's eyes still reflected a hint of disdain despite her countenance easing up.
Hao revealed his wild card.
"Fine. I'll let you drive."
If Anna halting in mid-sentence, then shutting her mouth with a raised brow wasn't a sign that he piqued her interest, then he didn't know what else to call it.
A smirk manifested on Hao's lips, and it extended wider the moment Anna finally held her palm out— after giving it much thought— now waiting to receive their ride's key.
Success! Damn, I'm good.
The long-haired man grabbed one of the two blood-red helmets that hung from his motorcycle and approached the blonde. Enjoying the significant differences from his height of one eighty-three centimetres versus her mere hundred and sixty-four, he placed it gently around her head and carefully adjusted it until it was snug.
Despite feeling the hefty weight of Anna's eyes on him while she just let him put the headgear on her, Hao didn't back down on their staring contest, and he even dared to flick her dewy forehead after he was done with her, even though all he wanted to do was to place a loving kiss on it.
He handed her his keys, and he could swear he heard the blonde muttering a sassy "finally," under her breath, before he helped her climb up their ride. It was a blessing that she wore pants today. It'll be much easier for her… and him.
Hao had to stop Anna from taking off just as soon as she turned on the engine. He didn't let her speak protests when he quickly took his leather jacket off to urge her to wear it. Luckily, she took no further offence to that. She was clearly excited to lead the way.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Anna snorted as she felt Hao encircle his arms around her waist from behind her, the moment he climbed the motorcycle.
"Ma'am I'm just the passenger now. I have no idea what you're talking about."
She could almost hear the malice in the cretin's voice, and she knew he had a mischievous smile on his stupid face even if she couldn't see it.
Funny enough, Anna felt a peculiar kind of warmth when she felt his chest pressed against her back, but she shrugged it off as quickly as possible, feeling lucky of their current position or he would've definitely noticed the blush that stained her cheeks.
"Any funny businesses, my elbow can still reach your gut in a not-so-gentle manner, understand?" Anna twisted one of the motorcycle's handles to rev the engine. "And I don't care if you're my boss or my friend."
Hao snorted, forever amazed at Anna's cheeky retorts, and the woman returned the favour with a smirk.
Their laughter echoed through as they took off the hospital's lobby.
. . . . . . . . . . .
"Cheers to the freaking weekend! Drink to that, yeah!" Horo Horo raised a mug of his beer in the air, spilling some through the process as he sang along to the music. The person who was seated next to him, grunted in disgust.
"Tz, I wonder if you'll still be able to laugh once that on-call phone rings." Ren muttered monotonously with a taunting smirk, nodding his head towards Horo Horo's work phone that was conveniently placed at the center of the table to ensure that he'll see it when someone calls him for emergency duty.
Horo Horo almost had a vein popping on his head. Ren didn't have to remind him about work when they were out enjoying themselves.
"So, remind me why we're here again?" He continued, ignoring Ren, as he surveyed his surroundings— dim-lighted room, blaring multicoloured lights, a stage at the front where a DJ was skilfully mixing music, and a bar with extensive drinks menu on the side. Young people were everywhere, having the time of their lives. He practically had to yell due to the loud noises in the background.
Suddenly, something caught his eye. Amongst the women whom he already knew—Tamao, Jeanne, Ren's older sister, Jun and his very own sister, Pirika, who all looked like they were enjoying themselves on the dancefloor— was a lady with pitch black shoulder-length hair. Her bangs framed her face adorably, and her smile was one of the sweetest he had ever seen in his life.
Apart from the short white off-shoulder dress that she wore, which he tried his best to ignore so as to not get certain thoughts in his head, a glass of drink was propped in her hand while she conversed with Pirika, both of them swaying lightly to the music.
"Who is that?" He accidentally thought out loud while making a mental note to ask his sister about her new-found friend next time.
His companions—Manta and Ren reacted with raised brows while taking a swing at their beer bottles, except Yoh, who ever since returning from America, was now refraining from consuming more than one serve of alcohol— craned their necks to glance at the object of his gaze.
They were all sitting at an elevated lounge at the corner, inside the nocturnal establishment.
"Look at you, stalking on some random girl out in the club when I thought you came here to spy on your little sister." Ren sniggered.
Pirika was seen gleefully dancing with the club patrons on the dancefloor, looking pretty in her light blue sequined jumpsuit.
"Huh?" Horo Horo replied with eyes in slits. "You can't fool me, Ren! I know you agreed to tag along because you were the one who wanted to snoop on Jun nee-san!"
All the participants in the conversation, turned towards another lounge where Ren's older sister was attracting several male patrons.
Ren chose not to comment on that. However, HoroHoro, decided to further his jeering.
"And Ren, Jeanne looks like she's enjoying herself over there without you. Hahaha!"
Ren's cheeks turned a deep shade of red upon noticing Jeanne, who was casually laughing sweetly while taking photos and videos of the other girls. She was all dolled-up in a short silver dress that complimented her long and curly ashy hair.
He stirred his eyes away, a blush still on his cheeks, then he forced his eyes shut to keep himself from smashing his beer bottle on his friend's head.
"Funny, I don't actually remember telling you about tonight," Ren retorted.
"Excuse me? I, on the other hand, was particularly asked by Lyserg to meet tonight." Horo Horo perked up from his seat. "Speaking of which, where the bloody hell is he?" he spoke in a feigned British accent which made everyone chuckle except Tao.
Yoh noticed Ren seemed wary at the mention of his fiancée, and the spiky-haired guy was about to clap back another insult, obviously to stir away his friends' attention from his sensitive side, so he decided to break the chain of his companion's 'drunken hatred'.
"Speaking of Jeanne, Ren… the two of you seem to be on limited speaking terms. Is everything alright?" the brunette asked.
Ren seemed hesitant before answering. "We're fine. Just some jitters before letting our families know about us, you know."
Yoh and Manta nodded, immediately understanding the bigger picture when Ren mentioned the word 'family'.
Oh, that's right!
They all had an idea enter their minds. If Lyserg was coming to town, then it also meant Jeanne's brother's return.
Shuddering at the thought, Horo Horo finally read the room and so he sympathised with his friends.
"You know, for once, I am glad that I didn't come from a family listed on the 'filthy rich' group. At least I can freely choose to be whatever I want to be and be with whoever I want to be with."
Throwing a quick glance towards Pirika's unnamed black-haired friend, then at the nearly empty bottle in his hand, the junior doctor surprised himself with the words that came out from his mouth.
"Damn, I'm drunk."
The others laughed at his antics.
It was Manta's cue to face Yoh. "Well, now is a good time to tell us about your story as you promised."
This time, it was now Yoh's turn to appear reluctant. He heaved a deep sigh before facing Ren and Horo Horo who now had expectant faces.
It takes a lot of courage to be a man, they say. There was no going back.
"I realised that I'm still in love with Anna."
Horo Horo's eyes bulged whilst his mouth formed a huge 'O', before it turned into a wide toothy grin.
Manta already knew about it, and he was actually both surprised and proud with Yoh finally being able to admit his feelings to himself.
Ren crossed his arms in front of his chest, eyes shut with a smirk. "Took you long enough to say that."
"Was I that really obvious?" The brown-haired man chuckled, and all he received were snickers and sarcastic eye rolling.
"Man, I'm so happy for you! But I feel sorry at the same time. I mean… have you told her yet?" HoroHoro asked the forbidden question and the other two waited eagerly for the answer.
Yoh winced. "Well… kind of… but also… no?"
If not for their blank expressions, Yoh's friends looked like they wanted to hit him.
"What the hell do you mean by that?" Ren challenged.
"Erm, let's say for the past few months we sort of…" Images from the night he spent with Anna flashed in Yoh's mind and he took time, carefully choosing his words. It didn't help that they were in the same exact same place were he and Anna was, too, that night before their passionate tryst. "Re-connected."
His friends' brows rose at him, so he continued. "I thought we were doing great as friends. We were fine for a while, but then she started distancing herself once again after learning my intentions."
"Well, did she reject you upfront?" Manta had to ask.
A sad smile crept on Yoh's lips. "Said there are things even doctors can't fix."
There could be complete silence amongst their group if they weren't for Horo Horo mumbling a silent swear word, and if they weren't surrounded by a crowd. A wild one, at that.
"Maybe it's a blessing in disguise, you know? After everything that she's done." Ren's voice was cold, yet his eyes reflected warmth towards his friends.
"Ren, how could you say that? We still don't know Anna's side of the story for sure." Manta countered.
"Yeah! Imagine if she was Jeanne. Would you not try to at least forgive and forget?" Horo's question caught Ren off-guard.
They all glimpsed at Yoh who had an apologetic smile towards Ren.
"Maybe she really has moved on, though. Maybe I should just—"
Horo swung his arm and hooked it around Yoh's neck to pull him close so he can send his message loud and clear directly to his ear.
"Listen, Yoh. I'm feeling extra courageous, and I know it's probably the alcohol talking but, if you really believe Anna has moved on, which I am sorry to hear about, why don't we try and ease the pain by enjoying the night while waiting for Lyserg, yeah?" Horo Horo boisterously slapped his friend's back. "How about a dare, huh? HUH?"
Manta and Ren looked at each other, probably debating whether they should hear Horo Horo's proposal or if they should just shut him up for good.
The blue-haired guy proceeded when no protests came.
"Look. See that door to the far left?" He pointed with wobbly hands, but Manta, Ren and Yoh glanced at the direction, anyway, only to find the ladies' restroom sign.
"At the count of five, the very first woman— I mean, except anyone who is almost the same age as your mom, of course— who walks out of that door will be officially declared as your destiny. A.K.A your soulmate."
Manta almost fell from his seat.
"That's… that's not exactly how you find your soulmate." Ren narrowed his eyes and almost hurled Horo Horo upside down.
The brunette was speechless, still trying to assimilate the information.
Horo Horo pouted at his friends.
"What? Don't you dare tell me you cannot get any woman who walks out that door, Yoh. When you first came back from abroad, you didn't seem to have trouble going around sweeping any girl here in Izumo off from her feet."
Yoh's cheeks pinked at his friend's brutal criticism.
"I-it's not that. It's just—" he tried to reason out, but was unsuccessful.
"Fine. If you succeed in getting your 'soulmate's' number, I will walk up head-on towards my crush over there and ask for hers. Deal?" Horo Horo pointed at Pirika's mystery friend, then reach out to shake Yoh's hand without giving his friend a chance to say 'no'.
By this time, Ren face palmed, and Manta was red as a tomato from all the crazy talk and booze.
"Ready?" Horo Horo swivelled Yoh from his seat to have him face the club's ladies toilet door from a distance. The other two, defeated, just went with the flow.
In the background, a Taylor Swift song started blaring through the speakers, making the fans in the crowd grow wilder.
Killing me slow, out the window
I'm always waiting for you to be waiting below
Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes
What doesn't kill me makes me want you more…
"Here we go! 1… 2… 3… 4… 5."
As if the gods and fate connived to make Yoh's life on Earth more excruciating, there came out from the malevolent door was Kyouyama Anna, in perfect cue, creating a perfect view.
To say that she was stunning— in her mid-length spaghetti-strapped midnight blue dress that showcased her left thigh with a slit and back with a low cut— was understatement. She was also wearing make-up that was smoky enough to enhance the fierceness in her eyes.
For some reason, she seemed deep in her thoughts while she walked back to her seat next to the bar, but that only added to her over all appeal. Some men were already stealing glances at her as she carried on inside her own bubble.
Everything must've played in slow motion in Yoh's mind, judging by the look or utter surprise and longing through the windows of his soul.
And it's new, the shape of your body
It's blue, the feeling I've got
And it's ooh, whoa, oh
It's a cruel summer
It's cool, that's what I tell 'em
No rules in breakable heaven
But ooh, whoa oh
It's a cruel summer
With you
. . . . . . . . . . .
Unknown number: Are you sure you can trust your friends?
Anna's brows furrowed upon seeing the message on her phone. For sure, scammers and trollers were rampant nowadays, but she had a strong feeling it was directed to her on purpose. She just gotta find out why.
Anna: Who are you?
Unknown number: That's not what you should be worried about.
She exhaled in frustration.
It wasn't even in her plans to be where she was at that moment— in a night club which was dominated by darkness and loud noises, let alone, inside one of the said night club's toilet stalls, while reading a random text message from someone who could possibly be a stalker, or worse, a serial killer.
But it was all out of the blue and it sure wasn't some random act of mischief.
She just knows it. Why? She was so used to it back then.
Anna: I have no plans on wasting time. If you don't want to tell me who you are, at least tell me your agenda so we could get this over and done with.
A whole couple of minutes passed but there were no replies.
Ready to shrug it off and to mark the message as 'spam', she took a good look at her reflection in the wide mirror before her.
The person staring back at her was drop dead gorgeous. Most definitely above than the average woman seen partying in the club. But there was something about her that she didn't like.
That's because she couldn't recognize her at all.
There was an uncertain feeling that was gnawing at her since God knows when. Her mind unexpectedly drifted to the events in the operating room earlier that day— her happy colleagues, the fun, the singing… HIM.
Just visualizing Yoh's carefree laughter and joyful mood made her smile without her even knowing it.
It took her a moment before snapping back to reality which made her straighten herself up. The blonde brushed a few strands away to tame her hair that was styled in waves. She smoothed her dress and turned her heel after taking one good look at herself, preparing to leave, when her phone chimed once again.
Unknown number: Doesn't this look familiar to you? : )
Anna's pupils dilated and everything in her mind went blank after seeing the latest message that contained a screenshot of a conversation that took place years ago.
There's no stopping the surge of several memories now.
She was looking at the most beautiful display of sunset in her life.
Inhaling a breath of fresh air as she marvelled at the mixed hues of gold, fire, and orange of the sky that was laid before her— thanks to the floor to ceiling windows of the hotel suite located in quite a strategic place in Tokyo.
Sitting in the plushest bed while being bundled-up in the comfiest blankets that shielded her naked form from the cold air, she fluttered her eyes as she felt a set of familiar strong arms wrap around her from behind.
Her lips curved in a serene smile.
"I know what you're thinking, and the answer is 'no'. I don't want to miss viewing the sunset."
A chuckle vibrated from the person behind her, tickling the hairs on her left ear, sending butterflies all the way to her stomach.
"And what is it exactly do you think I have in mind?" A low voice continued to tickle her senses, together with the kisses that he was deviously planting down her neck and her shoulders.
A moan irrevocably escaped her mouth as she shut her eyes in bliss. It was a struggle, but she stood her ground.
"Yoh, I don't actually have to read your mind just to know what's on your mind. I mean—" She moaned once more when she felt him slide a hand on her right breast, while the trail of his kisses on her skin became wetter due to his tongue.
He was literally caging her from behind with his legs dangling on each side of her petite frame. She was thankful for the sheet,s which she had wrapped around her body beforehand, therefore she couldn't feel the direct warmth from his bare skin.
Otherwise, she knew she would lose the battle and succumb to his unlawful seduction. To hell with the sunset viewing.
"Hm? Is it wrong for me to have my girlfriend occupying my mind all the time… naked, totally flushed and screaming my name in vain?"
A rush of blood reached her face. She could literally see Yoh's smug smirk from behind her.
His palm grasped her left hand and managed to reveal it out from the blankets. Her view came in contact with a 1-carat solitaire round diamond ring nestled on her fourth finger.
Simple. Classic. Timeless. And as Yoh described himself…
Just like her.
The thing glistened magnificently as soon as it came contact with light. Yoh brought her same hand to his lips to plant a chaste kiss on it.
She was sure that he could've given her something over six carats, a humongous, rare, and precious stone worthy of being displayed in a museum, but he wouldn't. He didn't. All because he knew she wouldn't like it that way.
"Oops, I meant… fiancée," he murmured proudly against her ear.
Anna chuckled at her partner's antics. She was drunk with so much happiness, she was starting to doubt if it was still healthy for her heart.
If it was a dream, then she wanted out of it, stat. But everything remained in front of her, nothing disappeared, despite giving herself a good pinch.
"Hey, I was meaning to tell you this but, do you mind if I throw a little dinner to announce the engagement? It will be something intimate, I promise. Just with the guys and your friends, of course."
Anna craned her neck sideways to get a view of Yoh's face. Her eyes reflected some worry. Yoh knew exactly what the source was.
"We'll tell my family about it together soon after, alright?" he reassured.
The Asakuras weren't exactly the main cause of her worries at that time, but she just nodded with a soft "okay," to keep Yoh's heart at peace for the time being.
It wasn't a good time to spoil the moment. They watched the sunset in complete awe.
A week later…
It was raining hard, but her heart pumped against her ribs harder.
Shaking off the few raindrops that had reached her white floral dress, and her well done hair, she entered the grandest 5-star hotel in all of Izumo, courtesy of her fiancée's family's fast expanding business.
Her eyes danced at the sight of sparkling matte gold chandeliers and sophistically panelled halls.
A lady from the concierge greeted and escorted her once she said the name which held their reservation.
Butterflies made her gut squeamish again. It was such a strange feeling.
Maybe because she could never be used to the lifestyle of the rich and powerful, but now she would be marrying an heir of the richest family in all of their region, and even possibly, in Japan.
She knew Yoh promised that tonight would be a simple celebration with a limited number of people, but nervousness kicked in when she saw the place. Still, she wouldn't reproach him for it. It was how he was raised—in the presence of the glamour and lavishness— after all.
The hotel attendant continued to lead the way until they reached a glass door with a pretty gold door handle.
The scene took her breath away as soon as she entered the room.
Albeit the décor being minimalist and the atmosphere, intimate, she couldn't help but appreciate the pretty little details here and there.
Being welcomed by their closest friends— all looking lovely in their smart casual attires, congratulating her with wide smiles on their faces— she gaped at the ceiling draped with some warm string lights, and the setting made of candles and wildflowers on the long table.
Anna paused for a bit to gather her thoughts.
Everything looked like it was taken out of a rustic, whimsical, fairy tale.
It was perfect.
The only thing that was missing though was the future groom. For some reason, Yoh was nowhere to be seen and this made her blink in confusion.
"He just had to attend to some urgent matters quickly. He'll be back." Anna whipped around to see Hao with a neutral expression.
"And why do you look like you need to go to the toilet soon?" she attempted at a joke.
A melancholic smirk appeared on Hao's face before he shook his head.
"You just took me by surprise with this announcement, is all. Whatever happened to the 'I want to be the best Pediatric Surgeon in all of Japan' spiel?" He poked Anna's forehead softly with his forefinger. "Yoh also just entered Medical Internship. Are you sure the two of you aren't moving too fast, Anna?"
The woman pouted and it took all of Hao's strength not to fall into her rare cuteness trap.
"Why? Can't we reach our dreams even after we've settled down and—" a thought crossed her mind and she partially looked away. "Started a family?"
The guy who wielded the same face as her fiancé's just shrugged as if accepting hard fate.
"Whatever you want, m—" he caught himself in mid-sentence, "our queen." Hao gave her a wider smile, albeit his eyes, still brimming with— what was it— sadness? "But remember, nothing would be easy once our family finds out."
Anna nodded her head solemnly, understanding her best friend's genuine concern. But before things got a little too awkward between them, she caught a glimpse of a familiar object on the corner of the table.
"Wait, is that his phone?" she questioned out loud, and Hao asked her if she was even surprised that Yoh accidentally left something as important as his phone while in a hurry.
The thought made her chuckle. They knew him too well.
Hao's phone rang all of a sudden and he made a hand gesture that told her he will be back after stepping out to answer the call. Anna walked towards where Yoh's phone nestled itself.
"Anna!" she heard Tamao squeal from a distance. "You look so lovely! Come take a picture with us!"
The blonde turned to see Tamao and Jeanne taking selfies near the flower arrangements at one corner. She told them to just give her two minutes and she will join them after.
Lifting Yoh's smartphone, she smiled at his choice of wallpaper. A photo of them taken during his graduation a few months ago, a delicate smile on her face, and a wide toothy grin on his, while a sunflower garland hung around his neck.
She entered the phone's passcode right after the prompt, and she saw the missed calls that came from herself from about half an hour ago.
'No wonder why that idiot wasn't answering,' she thought with a scoff.
She was about to put the phone inside her bag for safekeeping until he came back from his mini detour, but a message notification popped out of nowhere.
Anna Y.K.: What? Such a player! Be careful, you might follow in your uncle's footsteps. Haha! ;P
She frowned in an instant.
Did Yoh knew another person named 'Anna' besides her?
Why was this person messaging him so casually?
Well, she was a hundred percent sure that it wasn't her texting him now, so who was this Anna, really?
Driven by instincts and intense curiosity, she tapped to open the message even though she wasn't the type who comes snooping at her partner's phone. She almost regretted it when what she saw made her gasp out loud.
There was a long thread of messages between Yoh and this other woman, and it included both of them routinely asking each other how they were and setting dates to meet each other.
She read the last few exchanges.
Anna Y.K.: Hey! You're engaged? How dare you not tell me that? *pouty lips emoticon* [Received at 4:40 PM]
Anna Y.K.: But kidding aside, don't you think you're rushing into it? [Received at 4:42 PM]
Anna Y.K.: How did your family react? Wait. Do they even know? [Received at 4:45 PM]
Yoh: Haha! Sorry about that. Got so busy lately. Anyway, do you want me to pick you up tonight? [Received at 5:01 PM]
Yoh: Well, I did kinda propose out of instinct but, we'll see once we get over our honeymoon phase. Afterall, she's just one of my family's employees. [Received at 6:18 PM]
Anna Y.K.: What? Such a player! Be careful, you might follow in your uncle's footsteps. Haha! ;P [Received at 6:58 PM]
Anna felt her lungs constrict and she wasn't sure if it was just her or if was the air suddenly lacking oxygen in it.
There were more incoming messages that arrived after she painfully tore her blurring vision away from Yoh's phone.
To make matters worse, not even letting her catch her breath, her own mobile rang, and it took her several seconds before finding the strength to answer it.
She knew that night was going to be a long one when the person on the other line told her an alarming news that made her knees buckle, almost making her fall to the ground, if not for a man catching her in time.
When she looked up, her eyes—that were now swimming in tears— were met with another chestnut pair that was so much alike to the love of her life's.
"Did you also receive the call?" Hao mumbled with utmost sincerity; his face upset. Anna could only manage an absent-minded nod.
"I'll drive us there."
The screenshot sent to her by her unknown informant was the exact copy of what she saw on Yoh's phone that day.
Unknown number: Did you really think Yoh would say such things about you, Anna? I'm so disappointed. Where was your trust?
She stared at her phone in a mindless daze, exhausted from the wave of devastating memories that came to her just now.
So, her unnamed messenger knew who she was?
Not even bothering to reply, all she did was to barge out of the ladies' room, determined to drown her pain with one of the most common ways.
. . . . . . . . . . .
"So tell me again, how the hell did you ever let that woman go? I mean, look at her!" Horo Horo slapped Yoh's back while he continued to blabber insensitive comments. Luckily, the latter just remained dumbfounded just by co-existing in the same room with his ex.
They all watched as Anna sat adjacent to the bar, pocketing her mobile phone in her purse. Their eyes almost fell out of their sockets when a recognizable man with long brown hair tied in a ponytail appeared from the other side of the bar, placing a glass of drink in front of the blonde.
He smiled at Anna sweetly, but his face quickly changed to worry when he spoke to the lady. Swiftly pulling off his apron from him, he stopped everything that he was doing and exited the bar to sit next to her, obviously trying to comfort her for something.
"Holy shit! Is that Hao?" Yet another scream came from tipsy one. However, that garnered Ren and Manta's attention and they went equally shocked as Horo Horo was.
Yoh remained passive as he already knew about his twin returning to their city from a week ago.
Horo Horo abruptly whipped his head back to their table, sweating profusely after seeing Hao turn his head to acknowledge them.
"Shit, shit, shit! Did he just see us?"
Ren rolled his eyes. "Okay, so now we have a drunk half-wit with anxiety and a hopeless lovesick puppy. Anyone else want to add to that?" He looked at Manta who offered him an embarrassed smile.
"Is it too late to join?" A familiar voice interrupted them, and the members of the group spun their heads to the source.
"LYSERG!" they all exclaimed in unison, making a few other customers glare at them in disgust.
"Nice to see you, man! How you've been?" Manta chirped.
"Yeah, how's London?" Horo Horo joined, briefly forgetting about Yoh's brother.
"Glad to have you back, Lyserg." Yoh muttered sincerely but clearly distracted.
Lyserg didn't fail to perceive this, and he immediately caught a glimpse of Anna with Hao in the background. His jaw tightened but he kept his cordial aura.
He asked Yoh how things are with his new house—which he helped build—and Yoh just managed a shy chuckle, saying it's the best home he's had in years.
"Oh man! Anyone heard from Chocolove yet? It would've been sick if he was here, too," added Horo Horo, and the others seemed to agree.
Ren nodded at Lyserg to greet him, briefly apologising in advance for Horo Horo's unhinged version courtesy of alcohol. He also wanted to mention the absence of Yoh's presence ever since he saw Anna that night, but he kept his mouth shut.
It was just in time when Horo Horo lunged at him as revenge for all his tactless insults.
Such friendly chaos ensued.
"Whoah! Whoah! Children, please!" A newcomer with a smug smirk on his face approached the group with two rampaging blockheads on the side. "Seriously, you're scaring all of my customers," he said casually, settling a pail of chilled beer bottles on their table.
The others stared at the Hao suspiciously.
"Don't worry, it's on the house," the brunette reassured.
Ren and Horo Horo glared at him while still trying to choke each other.
"He started it!" the blue-haired one reasoned out and the one with spiky hair asked him to shut up.
"Wait a minute, 'your customers?'" Lyserg ignored his friends' immature display of madness and addressed Hao.
Hao looked impressed at how quickly the guy with polished green hair and preppy clothes caught up.
"Welcome back to you, too, Deithel." His mischievous grin grew. "And yes, you're right. Welcome to my domain. 'The Great Spirits'."
"You bought this building? Does gramps know?" Yoh finally spoke in a passive tone, his face expressionless.
"Missed you too, little brother." Hao replied mundanely but continued when he was met with a cold stare. "I don't know. Maybe? The old man literally denied me as part of your family just a week ago on national TV. So honestly? I don't give a fuck." The older Asakura replied casually, a playful smirk not leaving his mouth.
Everyone, including a few onlookers, felt the air around them just got thicker.
Yoh avoided gazing into his brother's eyes, his body language clearly suggested that he was feeling awkward even with the slightest interaction with him.
Uncharacteristically, Manta was the first one to break the silence and invited everyone to accept Hao's humble offering instead by taking one bottle out from the bucket on their table.
It seemed to work out well for all of them when Horo Horo and Ren straightened up and re-joined the group as if nothing happened, which also prompted the others to restart another round of conversations, except for Yoh who remained aloof. His friend's challenge from earlier is now completely forgotten.
After a while, Horo Horo blurted out something that the others, except Hao, were afraid to point out.
"What's wrong with him?" He joined the conversation after coming back from the toilet— pointing at the younger Asakura— a little more sober after draining some alcohol from his system.
Out of curiosity, the young men followed Yoh's line of sight to trace the source of his worries and it all went back to Anna who was still sitting demurely, crossed legged by the bar with a martini in her hand.
It wasn't a surprise that there were now four men that were desperately trying to get her attention, offering her free drinks and sugar-coated words.
Hao's countenance differed but he remained calm. He produced a brief chuckle while further lounging on his seat as he watched the blonde like a hawk.
'This will be good,' he thought, waiting for Anna to release her pent-up tension towards those four unsuspecting guys.
Lyserg stood up from his seat and approached his troubled mate. He rested his arm around Yoh's shoulders to pull him away from his trance, but the brunette didn't budge one bit.
"Hey, Yoh. Everything alright?" he asked.
"It's spiked," Yoh replied absent-mindedly, eyes still fixated at the lady in blue.
"Huh?" everyone replied, bewildered by his words.
"Anna's drink. It's spiked!" the brunette said in a clearer and more serious tone.
Yoh watched in horror as he saw Anna lift the glass to her lips, completely ignoring the men who were harassing her.
Yoh sprung up from his seat in hopes of preventing Anna from consuming her drink, but he was too late. The blonde chugged the alcohol down like she was drinking milk.
The four men all cheered as they watched Anna in awe, thinking it was a sign of her accepting their undivided attention, but they were obviously wrong. Every single one of them flinched when the woman suddenly got up from her chair and threw them a nasty glare.
One of them recovered quickly and even approached Anna, making him dangerously close to her. Another one followed suit and sat next to the blonde. Within a few seconds, the four males were boxing in on their target.
Hao's mood also switched suddenly from carefree to overprotective mode upon hearing his brother's concern. He hurriedly followed him to rescue their damsel who looked far from being distressed.
He had trust in Anna to be able to defend herself from mere club perverts, but he wouldn't gamble the odds now that she was drugged.
"Which one?" The older brunette asked his brother while they marched towards Anna, both of them suddenly working together like wolves in a pack.
"The one wearing black," Yoh answered, still staring ahead.
"Got it."
The twins reached the spot from where Anna was staying. A murderous countenance remained on their faces towards the four men who was surrounding her, particularly 'the one in black'. Their friends watched in awe at the quick change of the twins' attitude with just the mention of Anna being possibly thrown into harm's way.
When Ren and Horo Horo noticed that the members of the other group weren't about to back down, they all motioned to follow the twins, leaving Manta and Lyserg in charge of watching over the other women in their group.
"Ren!" It was Jeanne who called out. She caught up to her fiancé pretty quickly after they noticed the commotion.
"Don't join the fight." She mumbled, grabbing Ren's arm, her eyes, pleading.
"Jeanne, I need to help my friends."
"But it's Anna. Leave it to the Asakuras. You don't have to get in trouble, too!"
Ren scoffed disbelievingly at his woman. "Exactly my point. It's Anna. Your friend. I don't understand how you're okay with us not helping her."
With that, Ren dragged his arm free from Jeanne's hold and marched towards the guys.
Anna had trouble understanding why almost everyone was suddenly rushing to her aid. She knew she had the situation under control but after realising that she got preoccupied about her mystery texter earlier, she started to doubt herself when her vision started to double, and her balance became wobbly.
She was fortunate that Yoh was watching her like a tiger throughout the evening. He knew Anna was a smart woman, but unfortunately, intelligence can be trampled on by the determination of four men with twisted intentions. He saw how the guy in a black shirt deftly dropped a dissolvable substance in Anna's drink when she was being distracted by the other three. Clearly, they weren't new to this kind of thing.
Without enough time to react, a familiar person grabbed Anna by the waist to escort her out of the ugly scene that was about to take place. She was startled as her amber orbs met determined chestnut ones, staring at her with so much concern.
It was not easy to drag her away, though. Her growing confusion made her resist her saviour's advances at first.
She also caught a glimpse of Hao coming in hot.
"Yoh? Hao? What are you two doing?"
"Alright, dickheads! Party's over!" The older twin announced against the men by the bar, ignoring Anna's question. He engaged with a death staring contest and he pushed one of the strangers out of his seat to interrogate him even further.
"Who—whoah! What do you think you're doing?" said the guy who spiked the girl's drink.
"Hao, what the heck is going on?" Anna repeated her question, now starting to get annoyed. Even though she was already used to them being overprotective of her ever since they've become good friends, she didn't understand why they were acting so territorial all of a sudden. Her judgement was beginning to be clouded by alcohol—or so she thought—and the thumping beat of the loud music around them simply didn't help.
Anna felt Yoh's protective grip around her waist tightened as he was technically dragging her to a secure distance, away from her attackers.
On the other hand, Hao grabbed the guy's shirt in an intimidating way. "What did you put in?" he threatened in a low voice.
"What? Who are you anyway?"
"What did you put in Anna's drink?" the brunette repeated, using-up all his willpower to prevent himself from just hitting the jerk squarely on the face. The fool was trying to act dumb when he was clearly guilty.
Morbid thoughts of Anna being taken advantage by a low life like him just made him instantly lose his cool.
"Oi! Answer the question, dumbass!" Ren joined in.
The guy in black flashed a devilish smirk, completely ignoring Hao and Ren.
"Oh, so Anna is her name. Thanks. We've been asking her that for the last ten minutes but she's a tough cookie.
Another arrogant dude chimed in as a form of ridicule against Anna's friends. Undoubtedly, they were also under the influence of some prohibited drugs.
"Yeah, I wonder how tough she can be when I stuff my rock-hard goods in her pretty little mo—"
Yoh exhaled hard as the fool finally struck a nerve.
Making sure that Anna was fully attended by Jun from a safe distance, it only took him four quick strides to reach the offender and push him with such brute force, enough to make the cretin stumble a few steps back.
"You better to get out of here now. Get out and never come back." Yoh's voice was deep and threatening, his eyes screaming 'murder!'
Several gasps came from the crowd as they witnessed Yoh's outburst. His friends were also surprised to see him that way. It wasn't everyday they'd get to see Asakura Yoh burning with such anger, such rage.
As if the tension wasn't enough, one of the four men came out from nowhere, lunging for Yoh, only for his face to be met by Horo Horo's fist.
"Yeah, take that you perv!" the blue-haired doctor yelled which now caused panic amongst the party goers.
Some club patrons went screaming and some came rushing towards the exit when a brawl between two groups of men became inevitable.
Hao pushed away the guy whom he had in his clutches just a while ago but that didn't stop the latter from retaliating with a punch which ended up landing on air when Hao dodged it perfectly.
The brunette cracked his knuckles and threw a solid one back at the man, which sent him flying towards the bar, breaking some of the high stools.
The second tried to help his friend by creeping up from Hao's back but too bad for him, the younger Asakura saw through his moves quickly to prevent him from settling a direct hit.
Within seconds, the twins were dragging the two towards the exit.
The third guy was able to grab Horo Horo's hair and was about to force his face onto the floor, but Ren was able to intervene by grabbing his hand and planting a blow to his gut.
Usui flashed his friend a thumbs-up as approval for his good timing, and Ren returned the favour by mocking him with a thumbs-down.
They were about to burst out laughing when they didn't anticipate the fourth guy revealing a Swiss knife from his jacket, and within two seconds, effectively burying the bladed weapon onto Ren's thigh.
Jeanne let out a horrified screech as she went running towards her fiancé, and it caught the attention of the twins who quickly went to Ren's aid.
Horo Horo tried to chase the two remaining attackers— who instantly went scrambling towards the exit once they've seen blood and when they realized what they've done— but he failed.
Jun had tears welling up in her eyes upon witnessing her younger brother get struck by someone but didn't leave Anna's side until Tamao came to replace her.
Everyone was busy tending to Ren when all of a sudden, a terrified Tamao went yelling, too, calling out for help when she tried catching Anna who collapsed next to her. She started assessing her consciousness and panicked when she couldn't get any response.
This quickly caught the twins' attention, who went to her their side in no time.
"What happened?" Hao asked, now clearly in the worst mood.
"I don't know! At first, she was still responding, and then… and then…"
"It's okay, Tamao." Yoh kneeled next to his sister in a gentle manner and with the most calming tone. "I'll take her with m—"
He was reaching for Anna when a hand grabbed his wrist. He wasn't surprised when he saw Hao towering above him.
Both of them became locked in a heated stare.
"Not so fast, little brother."
. . . . . . . . . . .
A/N: I think I suck at fight scenes. My deep apologies. LOL!
For those who have read my other fanfics, the club scene may be quite familiar to you. That's right! I sort of revamped (or just plagiarised myself) the chapter named "The Do Over" from my fic, His and Hers. I dunno, but I always like the idea of the twins defending Anna from a bunch of losers. A dear friend of mine, FruitySmell, also commented before that instead of just the twins, it would've been lovelier if it was the whole gang who defended Anna, hence, some of the changes here and there (and also minus Chocolove, 'cause I got other plans for him. Hihi). Though I do believe that I slightly got better at writing since then, or is it just me? *nervous laughter* xD
Another thing, if you like spicy and lemony stories, then kindly check out my new fic: "Teach Me How To Live." Caution: it will be very hot.
Also, I decided to add a photo of Hao's motorcycle in Chapter 14 since I forgot to last time (only available in Archive of Our Own). If you're curious, kindly check that out. Another caution: it's sexy. LOL!
Again, send me some love! ;3
Song playlist:
Cruel Summer – Taylor Swift