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Last night your shadow fell upon my lonely room
I touched your golden hair and tasted your perfume
Your eyes were filled with love the way they used to be
Your gentle hand reached out to comfort me
-I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night, by The Electric Prunes
"Can I sleep with you tonight?"
He should have been shocked by the question. It was so unlike Anna.
"...yes."
Part of him wondered if he was dreaming. He'd avoided her all day. Purposely snuck off to bed in hopes she would do the same. Guild could have easily invaded his subconscious, leading to such a form of self-punishment. She'd spent so long torturing him during his waking hours, he might as well finish the job in his dreams.
Except...it really wasn't, was it?
A dream.
Or unlike Anna. Not really.
Yoh didn't move when the sliding door shut behind her. He didn't acknowledge the padded footsteps as they grew closer to his futon. He didn't flinch at the rush of cold at his back when she lifted the covers, nor the warmth that replaced it as her weight settled into place.
For a brief time after, all was still.
It was quiet. Suspiciously so. Not once since moving into the Funbari Onsen had they known such quiet. Or stillness. Day or night, at least one of the younger spirits was up to something. Peace came from simply ignoring the madness around them. Which meant it was inevitable they should be interrupted.
Yet, on that night of all nights, everything was still. Even Amidamaru was conspicuously absent.
As if the spirits themselves knew.
Anna shifted against him. Yoh felt a slight pressure at his back. The collar of his sleeping yukata tightened. Hairs that weren't his tickled the nape of his neck. An arm snaked its way around his chest. Holding him tight.
He closed his eyes and tried to picture the girl behind him then. Her face. Her expression. One she never born in front of any witness, living or dead. The way her body curled into his, making her seem smaller than she already was. During the day, Anna's presence towered over even Ryuu's impressive stature. They'd all been subjected to her torturous electric chair pose, every shaman left cowering beneath her steeled gaze. From her metaphorical throne above, she was as feared as she was loved.
And she was loved. Very much so. Enough that Yoh knew with certainty the moment he stood at full height, she would be the one to look up at him with a warmth that rivaled the hot springs themselves. Like an active volcano ready to erupt at any given moment.
That night, however, the volcano lay dormant.
Along with his ability to breathe.
Too tight! His lungs strained against her vice grip. I can't...
A second realization came to him just as quickly: the back of his collar was wet.
Is Anna...crying?
He didn't dare ask the question aloud. Thinking it was enough to leave him tense, though he was (nearly) certain Anna had long ago lost the ability to read his mind. Somehow, that never stopped her from knowing exactly what he was thinking. Or at least freely interpreting such thoughts to suit her mood.
His shoulders slumped. A hand came up to rest over hers.
"Anna..."
The pressure against his chest let up. She tried to pull away, but he held onto her that much tighter. His will overruled hers. She settled. A lazy smile appeared on his face at the minor victory, even though he knew she wouldn't be able to see it. His thumb absently stroked the skin above her wrist. She let it.
"I'm going to miss you. It really is too bad you can't come to America with us."
She scoffed. "Liar."
"I'm not lying."
"Yes, you are." Her hand balled into a fist against his chest, though it lacked its usual intensity. "Don't act like you won't immediately start slacking off the moment you get on that plane. Admit it. You've hated every minute of my training. All I ever did was torture you."
Well...she's not wrong.
"You're right." He bit back a sheepish laugh. "I did hate it. I complained to Manta constantly. I probably spent as much energy trying to figure out ways to avoid one of your sessions as I did surviving them." He glanced over his shoulder. Through peripheral vision, he saw moonlight reflecting off a sea of gold. She was hiding behind her hair. "But, you know..."
He turned over until they fully faced one another--or would have, had her head not remained bowed. Yoh caught a glimpse of moisture on her exposed cheek.
"I get it. Why you pushed me so hard. It was to make me stronger. Not just strong enough to win my fights, but strong enough to survive them."
Her head shot up, eyes wide and glistening.
It frightened her at times how well Yoh understood her. For all her outward insistence that her only goal in life was to become the Shaman Queen, the one thing she had always wished for more than his victory was his return. And he knew. Had he always known? The thought of anyone being able to read past her mask of indifference was unsettling enough. For it to be the one person she truly loved...the one person she couldn't lose...
The same person who would soon be beyond her reach in every way...
...it was unbearable.
"And I did." She sealed that fear away. The mask was back on. "Your family entrusted me to make sure you would become the next Shaman King. I did my duty. You've surpassed every expectation, and now..." A crack appeared. "...you don't need me anymore. There's nothing else I can do for you. That's why there's no point in me going to America."
His brows rose. Then his lips twitched. "Now who's the liar?"
Her eyes narrowed and he poorly suppressed his amusement. Retaliation on her end would never come. Not that night.
"I mean it, Anna." Courage guided his hand to brush back the strands still falling over her eyes, leaving her face fully exposed. Another crack in her mask appeared. "I've only made it this far because of you. I'm alive because of you. The way those fights could have gone if I hadn't been through your training...I owe you more than you realize. So to say that I don't need you anymore..." His expression twisted into its usual grin, softened by the shadow of night. "Besides, did you forget that we promised to get married?"
I'm alive because of you.
The irony of him claiming that, of all things, she wouldn't realize. Not when she owed him the very same thing: her life.
"Idiot," she muttered. He was so close. They were so close. The urge to smile back at that unwavering optimism was almost irresistible. "We made that promise when we were kids. Technically, your family made it for us." Her gaze averted, falling upon her open hand resting between their pillows. "Don't misunderstand. I fully expect you to honor it one day, but...you can't expect me to believe you'd have asked me yourself if your grandmother hadn't set it up."
The urge to quip about him being too lazy to even propose was strong. Hell, if Anna had never entered his life, she'd sooner have believed Tamao to strike up the courage to ask him herself.
But would he have fallen for Tamao if--
"What if I asked you now?"
All trains of thought came to a screeching half. Anna was left speechless, thoughtless, her mouth agape. Unable to contain the final cracks shattering her mask.
"Huh?"
To his credit, Yoh took little outward pleasure in catching the girl who could once literally read his mind so off-guard.
"Forget grandma. Forget family tradition." The words came so easily to him, as if it weren't the first time he'd done either. "If I were to ask you to marry me right now, would you say 'yes'?"
Her breath caught in her throat. So many presumptions she'd made about him dissipated into the night. That lazy little boy whose goal in life was to be as lazy as possible...whom once seemed to fear her more than death itself...was meeting her gaze as no other.
Hers wasn't the only mask to have shattered that night. Hours before they were to be separated once more, she had caught a glimpse of the True Yoh. The selfless, kind, gentle, strong, brave young man she trusted enough to love.
The one who loved her back.
Her eyes softened. Her lips twitched upward.
"If you want to find out, you'll have to ask me."
It was exactly the reaction Yoh anticipated. His expression didn't waver as he shifted just enough to free his right hand. He brought it up to meet hers. Their fingers intertwined between them. When he offered a tentative squeeze, she returned the reassurance he sought.
"Anna...will you marry me?"
Under the glow of moonlight, Anna looked as serene as he'd ever seen her as she silently nodded.
Warmth flooded Yoh's senses. Warmth and adrenaline, the latter fueling his urge to lean forward and place a First Kiss upon her lips. He had next to no idea what he was doing, reacting and responding to impulse alone. For once, he knew Anna wouldn't belittle his lack of training. Not the way she returned the kiss with equal warmth.
When they separated, he rested his forehead against hers. Reveling in the strength of their renewed bond. Both their cheeks were red. His felt like they were on fire.
"Now you know for certain I'll come back," he told her softly. "Because I have one more important promise to keep."
He committed the look she gave him then to memory.
"You'd better. Otherwise, I'll summon your spirit back and show you a whole new meaning of the word torture."
She was joking.
Probably.
Mostly.
A violent shudder wracked his body at the thought.
"Yes, Anna."