WOOHOO another SK fic... and I haven't even posted the first yet... another Yohna

Anna/Yoh/Len(ren)/Tamora(tamao)/Trey(horohoro)/Morty(Manta)/Choco(Chocolove)/Zeke(Hao): 14

Rio/Faust: 21

Jun/Pai Long (Pyron):19

Most others that I possibly neglected to mention:(FYI: this doesn't include ghosts) late teens/early twenties

(P.S. I will use Itako and Medium as adjectives for Anna interchangeably)

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King.

In a room on the second floor of an adobe-type house in a place called Dobe Village (Patch Village). Three shaman slept soundly. The fourth person in that room, who was not in fact a shaman, was restless in his sleep. If you had been watching this boy closely for a few days, you would have noticed the same thing happening every night. The boy's name:

Morty Oyamada

Medium

It was at this point that the short boy Morty awoke in the room with a start. Panting yet again from the scary recurring dreams that hounted him.

'Only a dream, Only a dream' He continuously reminded himself.

The boy had once again awakened the lazy brunette next to him. Yoh Asakura sighed deeply. These dreams his friend was having had started to worry him. Even though his friend wasn't a shaman, Yoh thought these dreams could actually mean something. It wasn't that strange that a human had spiritual contact, especially this human since his best friends were shamans.

"Alright, Morty," Yoh started, repeating what he had said to the sweating human four nights now, "It was only a dream, go back to sleep," Even though the young boy had been reminding himself of that mentally, it calmed him to have it reassured. And, for the fourth time, the young Morty went back to a peaceful sleep, with no dreaming.

The sound of Yoh's voice had, however, awakened the other two shaman originally sleeping soundly.

"Master Yoh, we really should sleep, no? The sleep loss will wreak havoc on our performance in the shaman tournament," said the tall shaman with black hair and an eccentric hairdo.

"I know, Rio, but you can't very well help Morty's constant dreams. He's been dreaming about his mother a lot lately,"

"I know your worried for him Yoh, but is there really anything you can do for a nightmare?" the creepy-looking shaman next to Yoh said.

"You tell me, Faust. You're the doctor,"

"Bad dreams are just a part of life, Yoh. We can't help Morty's condition. If the dreams are about his mother, then the only thing that will probably stop the dreams for Morty is seeing her,"

"Easier said than done," Yoh grumbled, laying down his mat once again.

The three shamans were asleep in minutes.

"YOH ASAKURA!" came a call from down the hall. (I RHYMED INTERNALLY!)

Those in the bedroom had no doubt who the call came from. That was Anna Kyouyama, Yoh's no-nonsense fiancee. She sounded angry. No one wished to cross Anna when she was angry. The only one who may have done it and come our unscathed was, well...Yoh.

Morty looked around the room, intent on getting Yoh up and moving before Anna could wreak her destruction upon them. But Yoh wasn't there.

A breathless and fuming Anna Kyouyama knocked down the door. "Where-is-Yoh!" she managed to say.

"WELL!"

"Ummm..." Rio ventured. Anna turned sharply to look at him. "Miss Anna... we don't know,"

"WHAT!"

"Well, um... He was gone when we got up,"

"WHADDYA MEAN HE WAS GONE! I WANT TO KNOW WHERE HE IS AND I WANT TO KNOW NOW!"

This got the three shaman up and moving. They all sprang out of bed, all offering in mumbled garble to go look for him. Running out the door, the shaman were gone when Anna let a satisfied smile grace her features. The smile was gone as quickly as it had come and Anna walked passively to the kitchen.

Morty, Rio, and Faust found Yoh dripping and sweaty outside the house they were staying in.

"Yoh what are you doing?" Morty asked.

"Umm, I'm finishing the training Anna set up for today. I was hoping, if I got it done, that Anna would let us go someplace today."

"Well, in case you weren't here for Anna's outburst a few minutes ago, Anna's looking for you, and she's mad,"

"Oh, okay then-"

"Oh, okay then! Yoh, I just said Anna's mad at you and all I get is an Oh, okay then!"

"Lemme finish Morty! Tell her I'm outside. Then I want you guys to stay inside. I stand more of a chance against Anna if I'm alone... which may sound odd,"

All nodded. Morty Rio and Faust went back inside. Yoh started doing push-ups. Moments later, Yoh heard the sound of hard footsteps. Those of his fiancee. He hoped this would work.

"YOH ASAKURA I-... what are you doing?"

"I'm finishing up the 100 push-ups on the end of your training list for today,"

"But- you didn't know what training I would give you today!"

"Anna, I know you make up my training schedules in your spare time. I know you keep them on Morty's laptop. I know how you sort them. I looked up the schedule on Morty's laptop and printed it out early- no biggie,"

Anna was for once struck speachless... so she was reduced to glaring. She got her voice back, "And why are you doing this?"

"Well, Anna, I was hoping that we, as in all of us, could go to a certain spot in the village I saw yesterday, for some R&R. You can't deny we need it, Anna. And you can't deny we've earned it. So I'm asking your permission first, Can we go?"

For the second time in moments, Anna was speachless. Her mouth hung open. She closed it, glaring. "Fine, see if I care,"

"Well," Yoh said, getting up. "You're coming too," He walked up to Anna, planting a soft kiss on her cheek, "Thank You, Anna dear,"

And now for the third time, Anna Kyouyama stood outside the house at Dobe village, dumbstruck and utterly speachless.

"Yoh!" Trey greeted, as Yoh walked into the living room. Yoh paused. Trey then walked around him, inspecting. He moved Yoh's arms and legs.

"Well, he doesn't appear to be harmed in any physical way... no blood anywhere... and most importantly, not large spot on cheeks..."

"Trey, she didn't hurt me,"

GASPs from everyone.

"What? C'mon guys...Anna's not that bad, You just gotta know how to talk to her."

"I congratulate you, Master Yoh, on getting out of Miss Anna's clutches unharmed," Amidimaru said.

"Yeah, dude! How'dya do it?"

Yoh ignored them and walked to the sink for some water.

After a dinner at Silva's restaurant, Yoh brought them all to his 'spot'.

It was beautiful, Anna would give him that. A lake with a waterfall, plenty of rocks to sit on, trees to climb in, clear view of the stars, and even a natural hot spring next to the lake.

'Yoh sure knows how to pick 'em,' Anna thought.

It was a good thing Yoh had told them all to bring bathing suits, otherwise half of the spot's luxuries would have been spoiled.

Yoh and the rest quickly changed in the woods and jumped into the lake. But Anna just sighed. The lake would be too cold for her. No she would prefer the hot spring.

Anna slowly relieved herself of her clothes, slipping on the black bikini she had brought with her from Funbari. Anna thought it would be a nice change from her usual conservative self.

A figure silently laughed from behind the trees. He watched the retreating figure of the Medium and thought over the brilliant plan.

Anna quietly slipped into the hot spring. No one noticed her.

'They must be having too much fun,' she thought. 'Remind me to give Yoh extra push-ups next time,'

She started as she heard something inside the woods. Or at least she thought she did. Anna shrugged it off.

A few yards away, Yoh watched as Trey playfully splashed Tamora with the cold lake water. Tamora shrieked. Pilica then splashed her brother for splashing the prophetess. Len then splashed the Blue-haired girl for lack of anyone elso to splash her. This started the splashing war. Water was flung everywhere. Pretty soon, everybody couldn't help but join in, with the exception of Faust, who was paying too much attention to Eliza, and Choco, who was in a tree thinking up jokes.

Everyone was having a marvelous time, and Yoh decided it was time for a break. Noticing a female missing, he asked Morty,

"Hey Morty! Do you know where Anna is?"

"Well, no, Yoh, I haven't seen her,"

"Really? I know she came, but where is she?"

"I'll go look, Yoh"

"Hey! Thanks Morty,"

Morty got out of the lake, now feeling cold, and decided to go look for his best friend's fiancee.

In the woods, the being sighed.

'What the heck is taking the Itako sooooooo long to get out of that hot spring?' it thought.

His attention was captured when he heard someone entering the forest.

"Anna?" the young boy called. "Anna? Where are you?"

The thing knew what "Anna" was. It was the Itako he desperately needed for his plan, but...what? This boy didn't have a guardian ghost. He could just as easily use this boy.

'Actually, it would be easier. He has nothing with which to put up a fight," dwelling a moment on Anna's shikigamis.

The being smiled.

Morty felt a creepy sensation over his small body...

and then nothing.

Yoh was waiting in the lake for Morty to come back.

"Man, what's taking the little guy so long?" He mumbled aloud.

"Hey, do not worry, Master Yoh. Morty can take care of himself," Rio ventured.

"Uh, no he can't Rio. He has no guardian ghost, no communication, and no weapon,"

"Ah, I see what you mean,"

They were jolted from their conversation by the arrival of their subject.

"Hey Morty!" Yoh started, "Did you find Anna?"

Morty didn't answer.

"Morty?" Trey waved a hand in front of the short boy's face.

"Hey!" Choco started, "Maybe-" He was promptly met with Len's fist.

"Don't even start to joke now!" Len threatened.

"Morty? Are you feeling okay?"

Morty remained silent.

Morty then took out his mallet.

"Wait-- Morty? Mallet?..." Pilica trailed off.

Morty swung the mallet, directly at Yoh.

Yoh dodged, immediately getting out of the lake. He was followed by the rest of the gang that was in the lake, and met Faust and Eliza on shore. Morty charged at the gathered gang, causing them to split up. Morty then swung wildly around, trying to hit anyone within reach. He missed all of them the first time. He paused, then began to swing wildly again. This time he hit someone. Pilica was knocked twenty feet, into Len Tao. Everyone paused, astounded at Morty's power. Trey ran over to help his sister.

Morty stopped, panting. Yoh and the others gathered near the lakefront.

"Morty? Why are you doing this?" Yoh tried to reason with him. "What's wrong?" Yoh then saw the enormous amount of orange-glowing furyoku surrounding the tiny boy. "He's been taken over," Yoh decided.

"By what?" Tamora asked.

"Probably a stray spirit," Yoh replied to her, turning back to Morty, he said, "Morty try to fight it!"

Morty stepped toward him.

"Morty! I don't want to hurt you!"

Another step.

"But I can't allow you to hurt anyone else either!"

Another step.

"Then why don't you let me deal with him?" came a voice. The gang turned to see a figure.

They gang watched as a dripping Anna exited the hot springs in... a bikini!

The male's present dropped their jaws to the ground. All with the exception of Faust, who was too busy looking at Eliza, and Morty, who was under the control of a spirit. The females present then looked with contempt at the males upon whom they were crushing, with the exception of Eliza, who was too busy with Faust.

At once Anna whipped out her Medium rosary.

"After all, I can't have my Yoh getting tired before his match tomorrow," she said, pinching Yoh's cheek, causing glares from males who were watching, and causing Yoh's temperature to rise.

"B-b-but Anna we don't have a shaman fight-"

The Oracle Bells chimed.

"Tomorrow? At noon. Team Oracle."

"Oracle? What kind of a name is that?" Choco asked. Only he would talk about something so stupid at a time like this.

"Anna, how did you know-?"

"Call it intuition," She replied. She turned to Morty, "Well, Morty. If you survive this, you'll have housework for weeks,"

Everyone cringed. "Uh, Anna? Try not to-"

"It's okay, Yoh. I've got a plan,"

She held her rosary before her. She started muttering an incantation. Morty took two steps toward the Medium.

A spirit appeared beside Anna. It was a woman, long blonde hair, bluish eyes. She reminded Yoh of someone.

'...Morty?'

"SPIRIT FORM!" Anna cried. Everyong, with the exception of Yoh, gasped. A ball of light appeared in her fist.

"She can do spirit form!" Trey Racer asked, disbelievingly.

"Well yeah!" Yoh replied, "She's the best of the best!"

"SPIRIT CONTROL!" came Anna's next cry, as she brought the ball close to her chest.

"She can do spirit control!" Len asked, finding new appreciation for the Itako.

"Like I said, she's the best. What good is being able to summon spirits if you can't use them?"

Anna stood up straight. Her usual stoic face was now filled with emotion, as Anna was not the one controllong her body's actions anymore. Yoh could see worry, fear, and to his surprise relief on her face.

"Morty," Anna called.

Morty froze. "M-m-mother?"

Now everyone (including Yoh) was completely shocked. Anna had called forth Morty's mother?

"Yes, Morty. How are you? I've been wanting to see you for such a very long time. Come here now, son. And give your mother a hug,"

Morty willed himself to move, but found he couldn't.

"It's alright, Morty. The spirit inside cannot control your actions. You are in charge of yourself Morty. Fight it. Come to me,"

Morty dropped the mallet.

"Yes, that's it, son! You are in control. I want to see you, Morty. Let me, please,"

Morty slowly started stepping toward Anna. Anna threw her arms out in expectation, and dropped to her knees.

Morty took a few more small steps. The orange furyoku around him started to decrease. Morty picked up his pace. The spirit was yanked from his body as he ran to Anna.

Yoh felt a pang of jealousy toward Morty as he tightly hugged the dripping-wet-Anna-in-skimpy-bikini, but as long as Morty thought Anna was his mother, and not his fiancee, he was okay.

It was a sight to behold. Anna hugging someone.

This sight was then disturbed.

The spirit, thoroughly angry at his plans being ruined, decided to unleash his fury upon those who had ruined it.

He swung his mallet at the two hugging teens, with such a force that could only be rivaled by Yoh's double medium.

The ghost inhabiting Anna suddenly left her, leaving Anna very conscious of her surroundings and of her position. Anna was then made aware of the swinging mallet.

Anna pushed Morty, "Morty! Move!"

SMACK

"ANNA!"

Yoh caught the flying Anna in his arms, cradling her, willing her to wake up. "C'mon Anna don't leave. Please live, please," Yoh quietly begged. Yoh could see the beginnings of a horrible bruise. The mallet had cought her dead center in the stomach.

The spirit, satisfied with his revenge at the moment, departed.

"Anna!" Morty said, seeming to have found his legs and an idea of who actually was hit, ran to the life saver.

Everyone ran over to Yoh, who they heard mumbling, "Come on Anna wake up." over and over.

"Perhaps we should bring Anna home," Tamora said.

Yoh nodded, not showing any signs of letting his fiancee go.

Anna awoke as Tamora and Pilica were changing her out of the bikini. Thoroughly embarassed, she let them continue, since she was in immense pain.

When they had dressed her in a bathrobe with her pajamas under it, Anna's pain had dulled, allowing Anna to stand up. Anna really didn't want to bend over, however.

They gave Anna a cup of tea, hoping that would help her pain and calm her down.

When Pilica and Tamora left, Yoh was the first one in.

"Anna!" He started "Are you alright? Are you feeling okay-"

"I'm fine, Yoh. You shouldn't be thinking about me, but about your match tomorrow. Besides, I can take care of myself,"

'Yeah,' Yoh thought, 'That's why you were unconscious for an hour and needed help to stand up,'

Morty sullenly entered the room. He felt guilty about Anna's injury, but also he felt sad about his mother.

"Hey, Shorty," Anna started. "Next time, try not to get taken over by a powerful spirit,"

Morty smiled, that was the closest Anna would ever get to a joke. "Ummm, Anna? Since you were able to call my mother, that means she's dead, right?"

"Well, wouldn't you know if she was dead?"

"Well actually, she went missing a few years back. No one knew what happened to her, but since you got her spirit, she must have died, right?"

"Actually, no," Anna said. This got surprised looks from the boys in the room. "There are certain circumstances for an Itako to obtain a spirit when a body is in suspended animation,"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, there are times when a spirit can be called even if it still has a body on earth. To explain it, think of the world as two planes, the dream plane, and the living plane. There are times after you go to sleep, where the body's spirit has not yet reached the dream plane, and can be called by a medium. However the spirit can only be used while the body is still sleeping. Then theres one where a body is in a coma or has amnesia, where the right spirit is not present. Since the body is not currently using the spirit, it can go to the dream plane, or be called by a medium,"

The two boys looked stunned.

"So, to put it simply, Shorty, your mother may be alive, but just unconscious, in a coma, or sleeping. Or she could be dead,"

"Really? She could be... alive?"

"Yes"

"And you could find her?"

"Yes"

"Will you?"

"Yes, but only if you two boys can give me time to prepare. There are certain things Mediums must do before a summoning,"

"Yes Anna!" Morty said, practically running out the door in anticipation of Anna's findings. Yoh lingered.

"Are you sure you're alright, Anna? You took a pretty hard fall. Maybe you should wait until tomorrow to do this. It would give you time to rest and relax. Maybe time to get better-"

"Yoh. You saw Morty just run out of here. He's so excited to see his mother again. He's waited years to see her, and tonight I showed him his mother. Now he's asking me to find her,... and I will,"

"Anna..."

"Now go. Play with your friends now. I'm sure they're waiting for you,"

Feeling slightly guilty about taking advantage of Anna's injury, Yoh sat down on the bed and hugged her.

"Thanks, Anna... for doing this,"

Fourth time today Yoh had struck the woman speechless. This time she also had a small blush creeping up her cheeks.

Usually, Yoh would await the slap that would come, but seeing as Anna was in pain right now, he decided to leave before she mustered enough energy to give him a slap.

"C'mon, Yoh!" Manta begged at the door, "We gotta leave Anna alone now!"

Yoh turned and smiled at his fiancee before fully exiting.

Anna was still speechless as she watched Yoh leave. The blush that was there had reddened. Anna then turned back to her practice, trying to forget about Yoh's actions.

'How does he make me do that?'

She lifted the beads. "I call forth from the world of spirits... Margaret Oyamada,"

Anna had no doubt that Mrs. Oyamada would be here. After summoning a spirit once, it is easier to summon it again, so she really didn't have to say the whole ritual again. She felt slightly guilty about lying to the boys, but that would be okay after she found the body of Mrs. Oyamada.

The spirit Anna had called earlier that day appeared in front of her.

"Good Evening, Mrs. Oyamada. I trust you remember me?"

"How could I forget! You let me see my son," she looked around for the boy. "Is he here?"

"Yes, he's downstairs. Okay, let's get to it. I called you here to ask you if you still inhabit a body somewhere. If you're still alive..."

"Oh, well. The last thing I remember is falling down into the sand. Oh Yes! I was on a plane, and then the plane was attacked going over the desert in America. It crashed, and I was the only survivor. I stayed there a few weeks, and then began to wander the desert, hoping to find a way out. I must have collapsed,"

"Okay, so you said you were at a desert in America?"

"Yes,"

"Do you remember where this desert is?"

"Oh yes!"

"And you could show me where you are?"

"Yes, ...but it's highly dangerous. I don't want to put you in danger,"

"You won't. I've been in worse situations than this. I can handle what you can throw at me... and more,"

"Alright, then. Tomorrow,"

"Tomorrow,"

Anna arose earlier than she usually did. This would give her time to prepare for this upcoming challenge. She took a shower, being careful to be quiet. She then changed into her usual black dress and red scarf (only the latter was on her head). She then grabbed a black bag and started packing it full of what she may need.

"Sunscreen, okay. Now water,"

She went downstairs. Nobody was up. She grabbed two canteens from the cupboard and filled them with water and ice. Then she went to the cooler and grabbed five water bottles and a pack of ice.

"Never can be too careful," she told herself.

She was startled from her scavenging by the clock telling her it was later than she wanted it to be.

"Oh, Drat!"

She then heard sounds coming from the stairs. She turned to see Morty quietly coming downstairs.

"Anna? I didn't hear you get up,"

"Shorty," she acknowledged.

"Uh, Anna? If you don't mind my asking, what did you find out last night?"

Anna ignored him, not wanting to bring up the subject.

"I am going out to run an errand. Don't expect me to be back for the shaman fight,"

"But, Anna! Yoh needs you!"

"No he doesn't!" she snapped back, "He needs you guys more than he needs me,"

Morty couldn't believe Anna thought Yoh didn't need her. "But Anna!-"

"Besides. You guys can give him support, and not harsh training. He'd rather hang out with you than do said training. He's never needed me. I'm just a flaw in his life... and I can take care of myself, while Yoh can take care of himself,"

Morty was flabberghasted at Anna's sudden outbreak.

"Goodbye, Shorty,"

Morty was silent as he watched Anna quietly slip out the door.

"This it?" asked the blonde girl.

"Yes!" said the spirit next to her.

"Okay then," the blonde said as she and the spirit walked, or glided in the spirit's case, into the harsh desert.

Yoh Asakura awoke after a strangely peaceful night of sleep. Morty had not had a nightmare, and Rio had not snored. He looked next to him to find Morty gone.

"Oh, well. I expect he went to bug Anna about what she found last night,"

Yoh got up and took a shower. He trained his mind to focus on the upcoming shaman match. After the shower was when he noticed what time it was.

"10:30!" Yoh yelled.

Anna hadn't woken him up.

However, his yell had awakened everyone else in the house.

This meant the fights for the bathroom began.

Trey was in the lead to the guys bathroom, when he was tripped by Choco. Choco then made to make a joke, wherefore he was punched by Len, who made it to the bathroom a split second before Rio did. The rest sadly made the bathroom line. Trey was first, followed by Choco, who was in front of Rio.

The girls watched the boys sadly and walked to the girls bathroom. They had this all worked out. Tamora would make breakfast while Pilica was in the bathroom. Jun and Pilica would then train their brothers and eat while Tamora was in the bathroom. And then Jun would be in the bathroom while everyone else ate breakfast. Anna usually got up before anyone else, and therefore didn't have to fight for the bathroom.

"Guys! The fight is in an hour and a half!" Yoh shouted to his team.

"What!" everyone shouted.

"Wait-- Anna didn't wake us up!" Trey said.

He was right.

Usually, Anna would call at an early hour to wake up her fiancee, inadvertantly waking up everyone else.

"Then... where's Anna?" Choco asked the inevitable.

"She told me she had an errand," Morty answered, coming up the stairs. "She said she wouldn't be back for the fight,"

"WHAT!"

"I don't know. She just said that you guys don't need her for the fight, she had an errand, and she wouldn't be back."

"But... why?" Yoh pleaded.

"I... don't know," Morty observed. Yoh could see that there was obviously something wrong with the little guy.

'Does she really think we don't need her?' Morty thought. 'I mean, just look at us! We can't even get up on time without her!' Morty walked past Yoh and into the room to get changed. Yoh followed him.

"Morty?" he asked, after they had reached the room and the door was closed. "There's something wrong. What is it?"

"Nothing,"

"Morty, I know it's not nothing,"

"You should concentrate on the fight. I'll tell you after,"

"Promise?"

Morty hesitated. 'Anna could kill me for telling Yoh,' "I...promise,"

The blonde felt dizzy. She had been walking with the spirit for hours, and the spirit showed no signs of knowing if they were headed in the right direction. She knew being out in the desert with minimal protection could be hazardous to her health, but she kept walking.

Because of thier late start, the gang arrived at the stadium minutes before the start of the match. Team Oracle was already waiting.

Team Asakura had never seen or heard of this team before.

"And now," came Silva's voice, "The Shaman fight between Team Asakura and Team Oracle is about to begin!"

Both teams exchanged angry glares.

"FIGHT!"

Both teams called out their guardian ghosts. Both Rio and Faust started giant Tokogeroh and Eliza, but Yoh didn't make his move yet. He still wanted to have enough furyoku for the Double Medium if he needed it.

The other team wasn't able to perform Giant Spirit control, and so they stood like puny ants to the Giant spirits.

Team Asakura knew they would win, but just as Rio was about to attack

"Wait Rio!" shouted Yoh.

"Master Yoh?"

"Look at that team. Does that spirit seem familiar?" Yoh pointed to the man with orange furyoku in the middle.

Both Rio and Faust gasped.

"Isn't that the spirit that took over Morty and hurt Lady Anna yesterday?" Rio asked.

"That's right, Rio," Yoh said. This got him mad. Very mad. Yoh could almost rival Anna when he was mad, although you usually would never see it.

Within 2.2 seconds, Team Oracle was on the ground.

Yoh stood with his spirit control on the other side of them. He didn't need giant spirit control, or the Double Medium to beat this team.

Silva was shaken from his thoughts. "Uh... the winner Team Asakura!"

The crowd cheered.

"That was a great match Yoh!" Tamora praised.

"Yea!" Choco chimed in. "You didn't need Giant Spirit Control or the Double Medium to beat them! Never mind not needing Rio or Faust!"

"Yea, dude! Before you KO'd 'em, I thought you were gonna blow a gasket!" Trey said.

"Yes well they shouldn't have messed with Lady Anna yesterday then, right Yoh?" Rio said.

Yoh didn't answer.

"Master Yoh?" Rio asked again.

"Yo! Earth to Yoh!" Choco said. An idea formed, "Hey Yoh! Look! It's Anna!"

"What?" Yoh asked, revived.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! I knew it! I knew you were thinking about her!"

Yoh's blood boiled. He hit Choco straight into the lake.

This left the others staring at him.

"That was a great punch dude!" Trey finally broke the silence.

"Yea! Almost as good as one of Anna's!" Pilica said.

The blonde's knees felt week. She still hadn't had any water, yet.

'Maybe now's the time, then,' she stopped, almost falling over. 'That took more out of me than I thought,'

The blonde shakily opened the canteen, spilling some water.

The spirit looked at her, its expression sad and worrisome. But it knew the Itako wouldn't yield. It had been inside her body. The Itako was a stubborn as anybody.

It was late in the evening. Yoh had come downstairs to mope about Anna, after deciding locking himself in his room wasn't good enough. He came to the living room, where all the males of the gang were gathered. He was getting really worried about her.

'None of Anna's usual errands take this long,' Yoh argued with himself, 'I'm sure she's fine,' he told himself, hoping that he would feel as reassured as the words sounded. It didn't work.

"Oh, come on man!" Len said, watching Yoh mope. "It's not like she's really done anything for you, besides put you through hell and back training!"

"...So you think Anna's never done anything for me?"

"...I suppose that's what I'm saying,"

"I kinda agree with Len, Yoh," Morty piped up.

"You think so too Morty?" Yoh said, interested. "You out of most people here should know Anna does stuff for me. She's done stuff for you too. Probably more stuff than you or I even know,"

"What?" Morty asked. He then thought.

And then he realised. "Wait-- you mean like the time she bought me ice cream?"

stares

"Well, she only kinda half did it. She asked me to go get the groceries, giving me the money bag. When I got to the grocery store and was paying, I noticed a coupon for a free ice cream at the store. I couldn't help myself! After I ate it, I thought Anna was gonna go balistic! But she just took the money bag back. I thought she just forgot about the coupon, but now I realise, Anna doesn't really forget, does she?"

Yoh smiled.

"I suppose she helped me too," Trey said. "I asked her to help me with the laundry that she ordered me to do, but she just said to ask Tamora. I learned a lot about the pink haired prophetess that day," he said, a blush creeping onto his cheeks.

"Miss Anna has probably done more for us than we'll ever know," Rio said.

The blonde was so relieved when she found her target. The spirit beside her entered the body lying on the sand. The blonde then knelt next to the body, and took out bottles and bottles of the water she brought along, as well as the ice. She wrapped the ice in her scarf, placing it on the body's head, and opened the body's mouth. She poured one of the many bottles in, hoping the body would swallow it and start to rehydrate.

The body twitched.

It opened it's eyes and smiled at the blonde. The blond then began to give the reawakened woman someting to drink.

Soon, the woman could stand. The blonde helped the woman, and supported her as they started the journey back.

"Thank You so much Anna," Mrs. Oyamada said, as they walked through the blue cave. "I honestly don't know how to repay you,"

"No need," Anna replied. "Well, you know where we're staying, go. I need to do something first,"

"If you say so,"

Anna watched Morty's mother walk down the path...

Then promptly technicolor yawned into the nearest trash recepticle, fainting on the bench next to it.

A man walked along the road. He sighed. The team he used as pawns was defeated last round. He had hoped to get rid of their opponents before he would have to face them.

He spotted a girl lying on the park bench.

A smile crept onto his face.

Maybe facing them wouldn't be so bad after all. He took the girl's necklace.

Yoh and the others had fallen into silence, with lack of things to talk about.

"Morty?" came a call from the front door. Morty's head snapped up.

"Mom?" he whispered.

"Where is everybody- Morty!" Mrs. Oyamada had made her way down the hall, and then caught sight of everyone in the living room.

"Mom!"

Hugs

"Hey, Mrs. Oyamada!" Yoh greeted, "Ummm, you didn't happen to see my fiancee while coming here did you?"

"Well, if you mean Anna, sure I saw her. I've been with her all day!"

"...All...day?"

"Well, yes! The girl said she was going to save me! So she and I spent all day looking in the desert for my body. It was tiring, mind you. Especially for that poor Anna. She was the one affected by the most heat, seeing as she had a body both ways. She said she had to run an errand now,"

"Well now we know what Anna's 'errands' are," Len said, sardonically.

"WOULD YOH ASAKURA PLEASE REPORT TO THE MAIN HEADQUARTERS. IT'S A MATTER OF HIS... GIRLFRIEND,"

"Anna..." Yoh ran out the door.

Yoh arrived at the "main headquarters" in a matter of minutes. After all, Anna had trained him... and the "main headquarters" was a tent near the entrance to Dobe village.

"Anna? Where is she? Is she alright-"

"Your fiancee's in there-" Golba said, pointing. Yoh ran off before she could finish.

He halted at Anna's "door" though, blood creeping into his face at what she was wearing, or lack of it.

'Calm down, Asakura it's just like Anna in a bathing suit. Just like in that... bikini. This is not helping! Wait-- Is that black lace?'

Yoh was started from his thoughts by the sight of Anna's stomach. It was purple and blue, a large circular bruise having formed from yesterday's pain. He walked over to her, tracing his hand over the bruise, forgetting what she was (or wasn't) wearing, in his concern for her.

She was hot.

(Not in that sense, although I'm sure Yoh would agree, but temperature wise)

She had to be running a fever. A high one at that. He couldn't see her like this. He didn't want to see her like this.

The strong Itako, His strong Itako, lying in a bed, bruises all over, painfully hurt, running a fever,... and unconscious.

Golba appeared at the door, watching Yoh as he fondled the girl's stomach. She smiled.

'Ah, young love,'

Yoh turned to see the old woman. "She's running a fever," he said.

"105.8" Golba answered. Yoh paled. "And, so you know, she's suffering from heat stroke. What has she been doing?"

"She didn't tell me, but from what I've found, she's been out in the desert all day searching for someone. She found that someone, but not without a price, apparently,"

Golba nodded. "We're trying to help her as much as we can,"

Anna twitched, then reddened. She started to sweat. She became restless, arching her back in some unknown pain.

Yoh ran to her, attempting to calm her down, trying to get her to relax. Golba ran over too. She felt the Itako's forehead.

"Her fever's spiked!" Golba said, putting the other hand on Anna's forehead, they glowed blue, cooling Anna down and helping her to relax.

Anna soon went limp. Yoh's Oracle Bell rang.

"A shaman fight? But I just had one this morning!"

"Oh! So you were the unlucky team the planners were talking about!"

"What?"

"They had to give some unlucky team shaman fights two days in a row, guess that's you,"

"Master Yoh!" came a call from the front of the tent. It was Rio. Yoh exited Anna's "room" so as not to let Rio see her (especially in what she currently was wearing).

"Did you get the message?" Rio asked.

"Of course Rio! Who are we fighting?"

"Team Cheaters."

"I believe that's Cheetahs my friend," Faust said coming up behind Rio. "How's Anna?"

"Unconscious, bruising, fever of 105.8,... oh yea! and suffering from sunstroke. At least there's no exposed blood,"

Faust and Rio shivered.

"May we see her?" Rio asked.

"No!" Yoh said, "I mean... she just finally got settled into a comfortable sleep. We don't want to disturb her,"

"Right. So will you be staying here for the night, Master Yoh?"

"I don't think so, Rio. Anna's in good hands, and I don't see what good I'd do," he turned to a medic, "Can you tell me when Anna Kyouyama wakes up?"

The medic nodded.

"I can't believe they'd give you a shaman fight two days in a row!" Trey said, as the boys got ready for bed.

"Yea, we haven't even had a fight yet!" Choco joined.

"Well, that last had to do with Anna, I suppose this one will too," Len said.

"Whaddya mean, Len?" Yoh asked.

"Well, think about it. Anna gets hurt, the next day you fight the team that hurt her. Anna's in the hospital, tomorrow I can only assume you'll have to fight someone who helped put her there,"

"But no one did help put Miss Anna there, she was suffering from the desert," Rio chimed.

"Maybe, maybe not. It's hard to tell sometimes if the cause of an injury was natural or caused by shamanic abilities," Len defended his opinion.

"Well, we'll see," Faust said.

In the next room, they heard the girls.

"I feel sorry for Miss Anna," Tamora was saying, "So many injuries!"

"She'll come through, though. She has to! We need her!"

"Not as much as Yoh needs her. Now off to bed!" Jun shunned Tamora and Pilica into their room.

The boys gave Yoh sympathetic looks as they passed him on the way to their rooms.

"This shaman fight is between Team Asakura, and Team Cheetahs." Nichrom said.

glaring

"FIGHT!"

Rio and Faust started off with giant spirit control. They were met with two other spirits from Team Cheetahs.

Yoh stood back, surveying the team. He had to find their strategy so he could come up with one to use against them. His eyes dwelled a moment upon the third member of the opposite team. One of his hands was on his head, as if in great concentration, the other clutched something behind the man's back.

Yoh soon stood, confident of what the strategy of Team Cheetahs was, and yelled up to Rio and Faust.

"They rely heavily on upper body attacks! Try hitting the lower body!"

Soon both teams were on the ground panting heavily.

"You analyzed our strategy well," one said.

"But we do have more strategies," the other said.

"Well, then. Perhaps you should change your team name?" Rio suggested.

"No. Our team name stands for what we are. Like a cheetah, we are fast-" Ran zigzags

"-spotted-" ummmm, you don't wanna know.

"-and when all else fails... cheaters to the end," The final member of the group held up the object behind his back. It was a necklace, blue, with a red tassle on the end. The necklace was surrounded by a large amount of furyoku.

"Anna..." Yoh said.

"Yes, boy. I believe this belongs to your girfriend. Here comes the cheating part. Jono here is putting a lot of furyoku into this object that happens to be connected to the girl Anna Kyouyama's soul. If he heats this thing up with his powers, you've got a fever spike like you've never seen," Yoh gritted his teeth, "And, here's the best part. If the necklace breaks, she dies!"

Team Cheetahs laughed.

"You wont dare touch us now," the second said.

"Or maybe you want to get rid of her," said the first, "From what I've seen, the Kyouyama girl is the worst person there is! She trains you like nobody's buisness, doesn't show gratitude, and is never ever friendly!"

"Yea! She's never done anything for you! Why not get rid of her?"

"Anna's-never-done-anything-for-me?" Yoh asked through gritted teeth.

"Oh dear," Faust said.

"You really shouldn't have said that," Rio said. "Master Yoh will not like that,"

"Anna's-never-done-anything-for-me!"

"Here we go," Faust said, "I knew all those pent up emotions would come out sometime,"

"Anna's done everything for me! Are you even aware of what Anna does for me!" Yoh paused. "No. I didn't think so! Anna is my best closest and first friend. She was the first person who really understood me. I saved her once. She felt endebted. She started training under my grandmother to be an Itako. She gave up her emotions for me! She gave up any life she could have had to train me! She gives me a reason to fight!"

"And I am not going to let her down the one time she actually needs me!"

"Let's go Yoh!" Rio said. Yoh's speach had kinda been a pep talk.

"Right behind ya!" Yoh said.

They all performed giant spirit control, with the exception of Yoh, who did a Double Medium.

This fight ended.

"Winner, Team Asakura!"

The stadium erupted with applause. Team Cheetahs cheating days were over, recieving great joy by the teams still in the tournament. Rio and Faust waved to the crowd as they cheered.

All of this went unheard and unseen by Yoh, who was rolling Anna's necklace in his hands.

"Anna?" Yoh asked. He stopped in the doorway at the sight of his fiancee... again.

"It's alright, Yoh. We're fiancees. And from what I heard, you didn't have a problem with it when I was unconscious," she raised her eyebrows.

Yoh blushed. "Hehehe... I thought I'd bring you back your, uh, necklace. It's what was controlling the fever,"

"Well,...thank you,"

"...wait-- what?"

"I said 'thank you' Asakura! Am I really that bad?"

"...Sometimes,"

"What!" Anna tried to move to smack him, but this ended up in falling back down out of pain.

"Sorry, Anna,"

Anna breathed heavily for the following few seconds.

"Anyway, I'll be out of here by tomorrow, so I can hit you then,"

The doctors had told Anna to drink a lot of tea, and take plenty of hot baths, as they would help the pain. The latter is what Yoh and Anna were currently doing,

...only in the hot spring with bathing suits.

Anna had decided to wear the same black bikini. This particular factor made Yoh seemingly uncomfortable, especially since he was stroking Anna's back with a hot towel.

Anna was unusually quiet, for just the two of them. She usually would hold a conversation with Yoh if it was just the two of them. But Anna was deep in thought tonight.

'Was what Len said really true? Did Yoh really make a big deal about me in the fight? I really thought he wouldn't care. I mean- I care about him- a lot- but I never really thought that... Oh yea that feels good... I mean- I never thought that...please Yoh stop doing that, I won't be able to think if you keep doing tha-...okay, keep doing that, that one felt good,... nggggggh Yoh,'

Unfortunately for Anna, the last of her musings came out audibly, and Yoh stopped.

Yoh had full well heard what Anna said, or more moaned, but he decided to make a game of it, "What was that Anna?"

"Nothing, Yoh!"

"No, really. You said something,"

"No I didn't!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes yes yes!"

"No no no!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!... I mean- No!"

"There! You said it yourself!"

"No I didn't!"

"...Look Anna, I heard you,... moan,... so really-"

"You're just hearing things. I didn't say anything, and it had nothing to do with you!"

"Oh! I think it did, especially since you're being so defensive,"

"I... I...-"

"C'mon Anna? Is it that hard to say something to me?... I mean, didn't I save you at that last shaman fight?... At least I expect you've heard about the fight, right? I mean, Pilica is a little bit of a blabbermouth, not to mention a romantic!"

"I suppose I need to thank you, and apologise,"

"Apologise? Anna you didn't do anything wrong! You saved Morty's mother! That's the best thing a friend could do! Don't pretend like you don't care or anything. I can tell you do. Before you left you showed me that. You said that Morty asked you to find his mother, and that's exactly what you were going to do. And you did it! Not without putting yourself in danger, though...

What I don't understand about you Anna is why you think you're alone. Why do you always have to do everything alone? You could have asked me for help with Mrs. Oyamada, but no... you had to do it yourself. And you almost got killed! Mrs. Oyamada told me how tired you were. The heat was getting to you. Why didn't you stop? Mrs.Oyamada would have understood. Why are you so proud and stubborn that you won't admit you need help- admit you need someone to help you live. I've always been here. At Osorezan, when we lived at Funbari, and even here, right now. I never would have been able to survive this far if it weren't for you, Anna. I have no problem in saying it...

So why can't you just say you need someone?"

Anna didn't answer. Yoh could tell she was thinking.

"Why can't you let someone in? Why can't you let someone love you, Anna? Why keep to yourself? It must be lonely, being you, Anna. You won't let anyone get close to you. Not even me, and I've known you for eight years. We've been engaged for eight years. You've known Tamora for seven years. She's so shy. She's tried to know you, Anna. Upon meeting you, we've all tried. Tammy and I were just the ones who could stand to live with it for such a long time...

The others... It's not that they don't like you, Anna. It's just that they can't stand being left in the dark about something. And you are a mystery to them. Just one big mystery. They don't like the fact that they can't figure you out, Anna. All they see is the mask you put on for everyone. That hateful mask that says 'I don't care, leave me alone or you will hurt...badly'. But you do care, Anna. And I think that's what makes you the way you are. You care... almost too much, like me. That what makes us similar. Only you can't show it. You can't show it for some unknown reason, to me at least... Now, I'm not asking you to change, Anna. I would never do that. I just think you shouldn't hide behind the mask anymore,"

You turned to get out of the hot spring, but stopped upon hearing Anna's voice.

"You're right, Yoh... I do hide behind a mask. I do it for a reason... that you do know, just not blatantly. You knew I came to Kino's school. But do you know why?"

Yoh scooted back over next to her. She still hadn't turned around.

"I was hurt, Yoh. Mentally and Physically. My parents, you know, were irresponsible. Because they weren't... I had to be. That's what made me care too much. I started to worry about them, knowing some of the stuff they did was wrong. They said I was almost like their parent, instead of the other way around, and they would beat me for it, trying to purge me of the bad habit. I learned to hide my worry, and then I wouldn't be hurt. They liked the new me, the one that didn't show emotion. They thought I was better off that way. But one night it went too far. My father caught my mother... with another guy. I had started to know this man and what he would do to my mother, sometimes in plain view. I knew it was wrong, and kept my mouth shut. When my father found out, he went into a fit of rage. I had packed my bag earlier in the evening. I had found my new 'powers' earlier, and knew something would happen. I ran to my room, took the bag, climbed out my window and started across the mountains. The day I got to the school was the day I saw their obituaries in the paper,"

"Anna... I didn't-"

"You would have found out sooner or later. I preferred it was sooner. I kept the mask because, after having used it for years, my parents had finally purged me of the habit of showing I cared,"

"... But you know, Anna, nothing like that will ever have to happen to you again," he said, draping his arms around her. He had accidentally pushed his arms to her chest, but she didn't seem to notice.

"What?"

"You're with me now. You know I don't hurt people, unless it's necessary,...

And I would never hurt you," (AWWWWWW THE SAPPINESS!)

"I do know that Yoh. I've known that since I first met you. But I still couldn't stop the mask from returning to my face every day,"

Yoh now was feeling very uncomfortable with his hands in the position they were in. Anna noticed now, and seeing him be uncomfortable, tried to tease him. She brought her arms up, tightening them around his. Yoh was quite uncomfortable now. They were having a moment and he had to go and ruin it with his... um thoughts. Anna let a seductive smile grace her face. Of course, Yoh didn't see, as he was rather preoccupied with his... um thoughts.

"And you know, Yoh," Anna said, turning in his arms, so that her chest was now pressed against his, giving him a rather good look down her top, and increasing the wrongness of his... um thoughts. A blush crept up his cheeks. Anna was having a fun time pondering what he was thinking of.

"...I think I'll be able to let down my mask...right now,"

Her face inched closer to his on this last line. By the time she had finished, Yoh was really longing to touch those lips, to own them, to claim them for no one but himself.

He couldn't stop himself... he had to. Even if it meant getting slapped by Anna in two seconds, he had to.

Anna, nevertheless, was still surprised when his lips clamped over hers. She knew he had been thinking of this, especially in the last two seconds, but no matter how much she could have prepared herself for it, it would have been a surprise. She smiled upon his lips, trying to think of what other situations his thoughts had led him to.

Yoh pulled her closer, crushing her into him. She didn't care about the pain from her bruise. His tongue lapped her lips and begged, more than he ever had for food, for entrance to her mouth. Gasping, she granted it, immediately overcome by his almost hostile takeover of something she had considered hers. After getting over the initial shock, she decided not to give her mouth up without a fight. Her tongue immediately was put into action. Yoh was surprised when he felt her tongue on his, interrupting his plans to make a blueprint of her mouth embedded in his memory. They began to duke it out, a battle that Yoh won.

Yoh pushed Anna up against a rock, deepening the kiss. But this was stopped when he felt the need for air. Considering that they were new to kissing, this was quite a long kiss. They panted in the hot spring, holding each other close. Yoh kissed her neck up and down as she caught breath. Anna breathed in his scent, relishing in the feel of his hair and his kisses.

"Nggggggh, Yoh," Anna moaned, this time not afraid if he would hear. Yoh smiled while kissing her neck, hearing Anna's vocal enjoyment of his excursion. He moved to her nape, recieving a groan in return for his efforts. His hands moved from her waist to massage her back, whilst her hands combed through his hair.

Yoh once again felt the need for air. He stopped his assault on her neck and nape, and panted into her neck.Her hands were mixed up in his hair and they held each other for a few moments, letting themselves cool down from their steamy confession of love, in the hot spring.

Yoh backed away from her, just now slightly afraid of what she might do to him, although she seemed to have enjoyed it too.

"You know, right?... That I love you,"

"After just now," Anna said with a smile, "How could I not,"

"And you know, right?... That I love you too," she continued.

"Yea, I know,"

They came together for another kiss.

And that, dear reader is where we shall leave them to their own devices.

END

YAY! Another Yohxanna ficcy! I do love Yohxanna ficcies! I hope you guys do too, and that when (and if) you read this, you will review and tell me how I am at them,

because if you don't,

I WON'T KNOW IF I AM THE WORLD'S WORST YOHXANNA FIC WRITER!

And I do want to know...your opinion does count for something, unlike at school or anything where they take what you say, attempt to change it, and then discard it altogether because they couldn't pull it off.

And, I would very much appreciate it if the comments were positive, because, even if I think that a yohxanna is a sucky fic, I still appreciate the fact that the writer at least tried to write a fic. And if you don't like the couple Yohxanna...

why the heck are you reading this fic?

It blatantly says YOHXANNA in the summary. And if you don't like yohxanna, why bother?

And that doesn't mean that I don't like other couplings, and it might just be me but, I appreciate any person that writes a fic, even if it's the ship that I dread... HAOXANNA. It's not that I don't think that those who write haoxanna fics are bad, it's just that I truly think the set couple is yohxanna, and really don't like reading fics with any other Annaxsomeone relationship. And I...

I'm rambling aren't I?

I'd better stop before I hurt someone.