Disclaimer: If I owned Shaman King, I won't have to bother about writing fanfiction now, would I?
Note: Last chapter. Yay!
Midnight Interlude
written by: da*mouse ®
Chapter 3: Interlude
It was late, she supposed.
Midnight.
The skies were as black as ink, the wind still howling, pulling, tugging at her. With an abrupt motion, she turned, heading for the house.
The jacket he brought for her laid in a heap on the stone-cold ground. It didn't occur to her to pick it up, so she left it where it was.
The house was really dim, as dark as the midnight skies. She knew, presumably, he had gone to bed, and far long before.
But she was wrong.
As she passed by the kitchen, she was startled by his voice.
"Anna." He said simply.
She stopped just outside the door, indicating that she had heard him, but made no move to look at him.
He approached her, gripping a teacup in his hands. His dark brown hair was spiky and uncombed, his appearance disheveled.
"What is it?" She said, keeping her eyes straight ahead, her tone brusque.
"I should be asking you that question." He said.
"Nothing." Her reply was calm, smooth, and quick.
"Don't lie to me, Anna."
It was then she swerved around to face him, her eyes glittering, her fists clenched. "Don't judge me."
"I just want to know, what's wrong." He said, his own tone calm, and matching the control in hers.
For once.
"Nothing." Anger laced her voice. She glared at him, and moved to go. But he caught her wrist with a quick movement.
"Why?" His voice was slightly raised, that one single word bellying everything he felt, and she knew.
She whirled around again, and shook her hand free with a fierce gesture. "Shut up, Yoh."
He started, and she cut him off with a deathly look. Turning, she began to ascend the stairs, only to be stopped by his voice.
"It's cold out there, isn't it?"
Cold.
The hand rested on the stair banister trembled slightly at his words. But her posture was rigid, unyielding.
"I don't know. I can't feel it." She said curtly.
He walked towards her slowly, the cup still in his hand. He held it out to her.
"The tea is bitter. I've added water, and it's still bitter." He said simply.
Bitter.
She gripped the banister so hard that her knuckles whitened.
"Anna…"
The hand fell limply to her sides.
A slight tremble of her shoulders, and then she was still. Motionless.
Moving forward, he put an arm around her waist, and pulled her to him with one swift gesture, his other hand on the side of her golden head, pressing her to his side.
Surprisingly, she didn't resist, but she didn't reciprocate either. He held on to her for a few moments, until she stiffened, and then pushed him away. Without a word, she began climbing the stairs again.
"Anna, don't turn away." He called, a despairing tone in his voice.
She paused.
The wind howled, descending upon the silence that transpired between him and her.
Cold.
"I can't feel…the cold…" She whispered, almost inaudibly.
He heard.
"It's all right…." He began, and then she cut him off.
"Don't you understand? I can't feel." A desolate tone. Lost.
Can't. Feel.
Anything.
He understood.
"Let me be with you." He said.
Let me…be with you.
A long silence followed his words.
And she rejected him.
"No."
She would turn him away. And he would go.
She reached her room, pushed open the door, and shut it with a thud. He was left at the bottom of the stairs, staring upwards.
They were separated.
He put down the cup, and almost mechanically, walked to the front door. He shoved it opened, and walked out to the cold. The wind ruffled his hair, clawing into his skin, the icy sensation stabbing at him.
He saw the jacket on the footpath. Left there.
Bending down, he picked it up, pressing it to his face.
Cold. Bitter. Pain.
She saw him out there, through her window. She saw him picked up the jacket she had left behind. And she saw him kneeling there, where she had once stood.
She turned away, crumpling into a heap.
It was my choice.
The tears would not, and could not, come.
-Finis-
da*mouse ®
posted 7th
November 2003
5.50 a.m.
Mummy Ringo: Yup, that's the end of my first completed fic. And Anna did remain cold – whether it's her choice or not, I'll leave it to Mummy Ringo [and the rest of the readers] to interpret. ^_^ Thanks so much for Mummy's continued support: Nezumi appreciates every single bit of it.
Kat: Thank you so much for the lengthy review, and thank you for all the thoughts you put into this crappy piece of work. I'm glad you enjoyed my writing, but unfortunately, this is really turning out to be that kind of ambiguous fic that you don't prefer…sorry. I can't really explain and frankly, I don't plan to explain…I hope this is not too great a disappointment for you. I really appreciate all the constructive advice, and will be keeping everything in mind the next time I write.
Shirayuri: Thanks again for the great advice – hmm, you and Kat seemed to differ on the OOC-ness of Yoh, although I myself thought he's rather out of his usual characteristics, heh. Sorry for that choppy writing thing…I tried to tone it down a little…but then again, I don't know when is too much…hope it won't spoil the reading for you. Once again, THANK YOU. I appreciate every word of your review.
unpredictable.l: Thank you for so generously supporting my fic in spite of the OOC-ness of the characters. ^_^ Hope the final installment of this fic will satisfy you.
Shy-Lil-Dreamer, Ice Wave, Itako No Anna Asakura, Mafaldyna, GoddessLD, KISS, Chris-Redfield26, CheetorX, Mouse-kun: Thank you so so so much for reading and reviewing. It means a lot to me.
*
Completed, and it won't be continued unless demands are too high and I felt too guilty. Personally, I would leave it the way it is. I don't really know what drove me to wrote this ending – even with depression and all, I did want to end it happy happy…but it…just…doesn't go, I guess.
Okay, I think I am going to get killed though, so bring it on! *_*
Once again, apologies for the lousy characteristics of Yoh and Anna. I promise not to write again when I am depressed – at least, I won't publish it.