Shaman King Fan Fiction ❯ The Masquerade ❯ China, here we come! ( Chapter 6 )

Hi guys! I'm back! Okay, I know every other author out there always says you're reviews have made me so happy and have pushed me to write more! But seriously, it's true. Anyway, today's my birthday!! So, consider this like my birthday gift (even if I'm the one who's having her birthday), and you're reviews could be your birthday gift to me! :::hint, nudge::: Anyway, enough of my blabbering. Oh, and the party's still not here. Sorry! Maybe on the next chapter.

Oh, and I just noticed I haven't been making a disclaimer. Sorry! Me no own SK or any of its characters.

Jun, with the air of elegance that never seems to leave her, walked calmly to the Tao training grounds, looking for her beloved little brother. Sure enough, Ren was there training without a shirt on. (AN: Okay, you can stop drooling now. :::laughs::: )

She looked around, spotted a small table with a tea set, walked over to it, poured herself a cup of tea, and watched for some time. She knew that he wouldn't stop training anytime soon so she took out the book she brought along with her. When she finished the book, which might I add, had about 3,000 pages in it did Ren finally take a break and walked over to sit down across his sister.

Jun put down the book and looked at Ren. Ren stared back, clearly wanting an answer. After all, Jun knows that he doesn't want to be disturbed especially when he's training.

"You do remember the masquerade ball that's coming soon, right?" she asked even if she already knew the answer. "Hn. (AN: I just HAD to borrow Hiei's infamous quote!) What about it?" he replied drinking tea that his sister poured for him.

"Well, you know that Yoh and the gang are coming tomorrow and-" Jun started, only to be cut off by Ren. "Why? There is no need for this ball. It's a waste of precious time that I can be using to train instead. Besides, I never asked for it anyway. It's pointless." And with that, Ren took the last sip from his tea, seemingly thinking that the discussion has ended and he has won.

Unfortunately for him, Jun was a Tao too. One of the qualities she shared with her little brother was stubbornness. Plus she's older and knows a lot of things that even Ren himself doesn't know.

She was not about to give up. After all, she swore that she would get Ren and Pirika together no matter what. Not even her precious little brother will stop her.

So she went on. "We all know you didn't ask for this, Ren. But this is one of those things that you don't have a say in." she told him calmly. She ignored the fact that Ren was glaring at her and kept going.

"We know that you take your training seriously, which is good. But everyone needs to take a break and let loose once in a while. That includes you, Ren." Ren opened his mouth and was about to say something, but Jun glared at him.

It was a glare that struck fear in the young warrior's heart, therefore effectively shutting him up. "You WILL go through with this, Ren, whether you like it or not. I am your older sister, and I'm telling you to do this." Jun said in a no-nonsense tone.

Ren sent back a glare that will normally make the victim paralyzed with fear. Unfortunately for him though, Jun is his older sister and was not affected by it. "I don't care, dear sister. I refuse to go to this ridiculous party." Ren said huffily, standing up and almost making the chair he was sitting on tip over.

Jun, however, did not falter nor flinch. She simply closed her eyes, took a sip of her nearly finished tea, successfully making Ren even angrier without even trying. "Sit down, Ren. Like I said, you do not have a say in this. You WILL go to the ball and everything else that's been planned for you, no matter what, even if I have to resort to blackmail."

Ren, having had more than one encounter with one of Jun's plans where she did resort to blackmail, was stunned for a few seconds. He then snapped out of it and narrowed his eyes at his beloved sister. "You wouldn't." he said, trying to convince himself more than his sister.

"I would." Jun replied. And with that, she drank the last bit of her tea, knowing this argument was over, while Ren seethed quietly, partly because he knew he'd never win against his sister.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^with Yoh and Anna^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Yoh was very surprised. Anna's just not the kind of person who smiles a lot and shows emotion (other than anger) purposely and visibly. He jumped up and frantically ran to Anna.

He put one hand to her forehead and one on his own, muttering things that Anna couldn't quite make out (AN: Hehehe…make out..hehehe…. :::gets pelted with stuff::: Ow! Okay, okay! Jeez. Sorrrrrrrrrrry!) She was surprised at the sudden action and a look of surprise was pasted on her face.

This just made Yoh even MORE worried. Ann didn't know if she should be angry that Yoh didn't think she could be anything but angry or bossy or if she should be happy and smile because Yoh was concerned for her or if she should giggle at Yoh's kawaiiness (AN: I know it's not a word. So sue me! Wait!! I didn't mean it literally!), so she just looked at Yoh, confused.

Yoh noticed and was still worried because she was showing emotions again, but he smiled at her nevertheless. "Please don't be mad, Anna. You just don't usually show emotions. Don't get me wrong. I'm ECSTATIC that you're finally showing emotions. It's just that it's such a sudden change that I thought it might've been a side-effect from an illness you have that nobody but you knows since you're not the kind of person to show emotions and all…" he explained to the still-confused itako.

`So….does this mean Yoh wants me to show my emotions? Should I? What about my reputation with the others? They won't listen to me anymore if I change. Plus my sensei told me before that emotions are signs of weakness. I cannot just ignore her. She's my sensei. She's what made me a powerful itako! :::sigh::: This is just too confusing. I'll wait for a while. And I still have to ask Yoh, even if he did sound like he wanted me to let them out. I have to tell him everything. Yeah…maybe he can help.' Anna thought.

Yoh didn't know if he should be worried or not. `Anna was pretty quiet….but Anna's always been quiet. So I shouldn't worry…right? But the Anna I'm seeing today didn't seem like the kind of person to keep things bottled up. Argh! This is confusing. But she's Anna. She's always been so unpredictable. I'll wait for her.' Yoh thought to himself.

Anna looked up at Yoh to find him still looking at her. She closed her eyes, then opened them a minute later and directed them at Yoh. "I…I…Yoh…" she started. Yoh was surprised that Anna looked confused and was stuttering. But he knew that she wanted to tell him something.

He didn't want to pressure her though. So he said: "Anna…" At this Anna turned to Yoh with a hint of anger one her face because Yoh cut her off, but listened to what he had to say anyway. Yoh caught the anger and sweatdropped. "Aaah…sorry for interrupting you…but I just wanted to tell you something."

And with that, Yoh kneeled in front of Anna and put his hands on her shoulders firmly but gently. "Anna, I'm your fiancée. I'm your friend! You can tell me anything. You don't have to think twice about it. But I'll understand if you wanted your privacy and didn't want to tell me. I won't force you to, alright?" he smiled and kissed her on her forehead, not noticing Anna's heavily blushing face.

Then he sat on the bed next to her and to him. So now Anna's back was pressed to his chest. His arms wrapped around her waist and his chin was resting on her head. (AN: Did you guys think that Yoh was going to ask Anna to marry him right away? Ehehehe….:::gets pelted with UFDOFAR-Unidentified flying dangerous objects from angry readers/reviewers. Okay! Okay! I get the point! Yeesh…)

Anna was surprised at first but relaxed quickly and put her arms on top of Yoh's and leaned back against his finely exercised body, thanks to her rigorous training. Yoh was too happy to be confused so he buried his nose in her hair and smiled. "Thanks Yoh." she whispered.

"No prob. Now…what were you saying before?" "Hm?" Anna opened her eyes sleepily. She didn't even notice she was falling asleep. Yoh chuckled. "We'll talk about this another time, okay koi? Even the great Kyouyama, Anna needs her rest." he teased.

Anna chuckled lightly and hit Yoh playfully. "Fine. I'll sleep." So she stood up and did her nightly routines with Yoh - you know. Changing, (AN: GET YOUR MINDS OUT OF THE GUTTER!), brushing, etc. When they were done, Yoh asked Anna to sleep with him, (AN: Geez. Anything I write turns out sounding dirty!) and Anna happily agreed.

So they both went to bed with their legs tangled, Yoh's arms around Anna's waist protectively, pulling her to him firmly yet gently, Anna's head leaned against Yoh's chest and her hands curled up in small child-like fists, pressing onto Yoh's chest.

She never explained her situation with Yoh, but she didn't care right now. She showed emotions today for the first time in who knows how long, and it felt great. There's lots of time to decide, but right now, she was warm, snuggled up comfortably, and protected in her beloved prince's arms.

And she's contented with that for now. She felt Yoh kiss her forehead, smiled, and snuggled even closer, feeling his arms press around her even tighter.

"Goodnight, Anna." Yoh whispered. "Goodnight…………………….koi̷ 0;." Anna whispered back and pecked Yoh on the nose then cuddled back in his arms, falling asleep right away.

Yoh was so surprised that he just kinda stayed there in shock for a bout five minutes. Then he smiled dreamily and looked down at Anna. He kissed her forehead, snuggled a little, and fell asleep right away.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Next day, still with Yoh and Anna^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Anna woke up, yawned, stretched, you know. The usual. She looked beside her and smiled. Yoh was still there, sleeping peacefully. His breathing was even and his arms were still wrapped around her protectively.

She leaned up and kissed him on the forehead. She looked back at his face, and was slightly shocked seeing Yoh with a big smile on his face, his eyes wide open and looking directly at her. "Well, if that's how you're gonna wake me up every morning, we gotta do this more often!" he grinned.

Then he leaned down and Anna's heartbeat quickened by about 100 times. She put her hands on Yoh's chest. Just when she could feel his hot breath on her lips, did Yoh pause. Less than an inch away! He tightened his grip around her and pulled her even closer.

"May I?" he whispered. Anna, who's eyes were fixed on Yoh's lips, closed the small, teeny tiny gap between them as an answer. Her hands slip up and wrapped around Yoh's neck, while Yoh tightened his grip on her hips and pulled her even closer - if that was even possible.

They shared a wonderful kiss. It was soft and gentle, yet loving and passionate at the same time. Who knows how long they stayed like that. They finally broke off after quite some time then smiled at each other. "Wow" was all Anna could say. Yoh just grinned at her.

"Come on. We've gotta get ready. We're going to China today, remember?" Anna told him. Yoh grinned and his eyes were brightened with that childish light once again. "Oh yeah!" he said, literally jumping off the bed, nearly making Anna fall off.

"Woo hoo! China, here we come!" he said, jumping up and down like a child. Anna just smiled and stayed quiet. Yoh ran out, probably heading to the bathroom. After a minute or so, he came back, poked his head around the doorframe wearing a goofy, teasing smile he was trying to hide but failing miserably.

"Hey, Anna," he called, catching her attention. "I'm gonna go take a bath. Care to join me?" he grinned and quickly tried to move away, knowing Anna's temper. Apparently, he didn't move quickly enough. A pillow hit him right in the face.

It slid down to the floor and Yoh saw a very red-faced Anna on the bed with a vein on her head, twitching and trying to contain her anger. Yoh laughed and put his hands in front of him defensively. I was just kidding, Anna!" he sweatdropped.

Anna twitched once more and Yoh took that as a cue to leave. "Well…uh…I….um…gottagobye!" and ran off quickly to get ready for the trip.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^With Ren and Jun a little later in the day^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Ren glared at his sister. Jun merely smiled. "Well the plane's ready. You had better go. And please try to be decent, at the very least." She pleaded. Ren glared at her once again and got on the plane, waiting for it to get to Japan.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^With Tamao^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Tamao was in her room skipping, twirling, dancing, giggling, and just making some last minute packing, adjustments, planning, etc. She giggled once again. "Ooh! I can't wait! This is going to be so much fun! I wonder who else is going to be there. Well, knowing Ren-sama's family, I'm sure there'll be lots of people there."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^With Ryu and the Dead-Enders^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"So, everyone ready?" Ryu asked with Tokageroh floating close by him, looking bored and anxious at the same time. Answers of: "Yes, boss," "Yes sir!" "Aye, aye" and various others were heard. "Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Ryu shouted happily. "Yeah!!!" And with that, they took off to the airport.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Yoh and Anna^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Anna was waiting near the front door with all her stuff and Amidamaru. "Yoh! What's taking you so long?!" she shouted. Pounding footsteps were heard from upstairs. "Just a minute!!!" Yoh yelled back. "Hurry up!" Anna yelled somewhat impatiently. Amidamaru appeared. "I hope we don't miss the flight. Anna just looked at him. "We won't. We're early, actually." Yoh stumbled on the stairs, quickly trying to get down. "Ready!" he panted. "Let's go then." said Anna. They took their stuff, locked the door, etc., and then were on their way to the airport.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^HoroHoro and Pirika^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Nii-channnnnnnnn!!!!!!!! What are you doing?!" an impatient Pirika yelled. Kororo, who was standing beside her, jumped, startled. Pirika looked down at it (AN: Sorry! I dunno if Kororo's a guy/girl.:::blushes embarrassedly:::). "Oh sorry…" she apologized. Kororo just smiled at her to let her know it was alright.

Then, a: "Hold your horses, lil' sis!" was heard. "Well hurry up, then! You're gonna make us miss the flight!" Pirika shouted even louder. "Alright, already! I just need to get some stuff!" Horo yelled. Quick footsteps were then heard and a panting Horo appeared. Pirika glared at him. "About time. Come on. We've gotta go." Pirika then started for the airport as the other two followed her.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Airport^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Everyone was already there, waiting for the plane to arrive. Anna was sitting quietly looking at everything she can and drinking some tea they bought earlier. Yoh was sitting beside her, drinking some pop and had an arm wrapped around Anna's shoulder. Everybody noticed, but didn't say anything - either in fear of what Anna would do, or just enjoying the new Anna.

Pirika was sitting down and playing with Kororo, Tamao was sitting beside her, either talking to Pirika, playing with Kororo, or talking to HoroHoro who was sitting beside her drinking some pop. Now, whenever she would talk to Horo, there'd always be a permanent blush on both of their faces.

Only Pirika noticed, but she didn't do anything. She just giggled and thought of ways she could get them together. Manta was sitting beside Anna, reading a book, Ryu and his gang was sitting across from everyone else, and Amidamaru and Tokageroh were floating in the air, talking to each other.

Not long after, the PA turned on and announced that Yoh and the others were supposed to go to the nearest booth..thingy..(AN: Sorry! I've only been to an airport once! Well, twice if you count the airport where we landed.) Once there, the woman gave them instructions on where to go, when, went over some rules, blah, blah, blah.

Half an hour later, the gang went to gate number 18514. (AN: If you write down the alphabet and number from 1-26, the letter R will turn out to be the 18th one, E will be the 5th, and N is the 14th. Thus, 18, 5, and 14.) Once they were in the plane, everyone said their greeting and such to Ren, which he acknowledged with a small "hn.."

He then turned to the window and put his chin on his palm, his elbow resting on the armrest. Since everyone was used to this, they thought nothing of it and went to find seats they found to their liking. Yoh and Anna were sitting beside each other and so were Faust and Eliza, Lyserg and Jeanne, Ren and Pirika

(AN: She probably wanted to know if she could get him to talk even a little or something), Ryu and Chocolove (AN: No, they're not gay. I just needed them to sit somewhere.) and Manta was in the pilot's….uh…place thingy..he wanted to study what they're doing. The Dead-enders just picked out whatever seat was left.

They basically just did whatever they wanted and were allowed to throughout the whole plane ride. Pirika tried talking to Ren but he just ignored her. Her patience was wearing thin, but she continued. Sometimes, she'd just try and annoy the heck outta him. Yoh and Anna were in each other's embrace, sleeping the whole plane ride.

HoroHoro was making Tamao laugh, and at one point, they both fell asleep - Tamao's head was on Horo's shoulder, Horo's head was tilted to the other side, and his arm was around her shoulder. Chocolove was trying to make Ryu and some of the Dead-Enders laugh, Amidamaru, Tokageroh, Bason and sometimes

Kororo were talking and laughing, Lyserg and Jeanne were engaged in a polite conversation and also fell asleep with Jeanne's head on Lyserg's lap, and his arm wrapped around her. Faust and Eliza were cuddling and sweet-talking erm..whispering..to each other and looking out the window sometimes, and Pirika was either playing with Kororo or still trying to persuade Ren to talk to her.

Finally he did, (and almost startled Pirika into speechlessness) remembering his sister's begging, and somewhat surprisingly, Ren was actually talking more than he usually does. Ren even cracked some small half-smiles once in a while. Pirika noticed, but decided not to let Ren know, just in case he puts his guards back up and stop talking again.

Inside, though, she was grinning madly, giving herself pats on the back, and jumping for joy at this unexpected turn of events. So she just pretended nothing happened and continued on. Ren, apparently, knew exactly what he did. He wanted to see what Pirika would do.

He was glad she didn't overreact and stuff like that. Although, he wasn't thinking about it for very long. The both of them were having so much fun that they completely forgot about what just happened…..for now. At some point, they too fell asleep. Pirika was lying on Ren's chest with her mouth slightly open in a smile, her breathing calm and even.

Ren was smiling, but you wouldn't know that unless you looked closely. He had on arm wrapped protectively around her waist, and the other was supporting her and making sure she didn't fall. His nose was buried in her hair breathing in it's flowery scent unconsciously. It was obvious that at the end of the plane ride, a lot of things have changed.

When they got off at the Tao family's private airport, well…I'm sure you know who was walking beside who to the mansion. Some are holding hands, some are not, some are walking awfully close, and…well, you get the idea. When they got to the mansion, Jun and Ran welcomed them. They all went to a certain room and Jun explained some things.

Apparently, a lot of the rooms are being…renovated..so to say. So, everyone, including Ren, has to be partnered up with a person and they'd have to share the same room…

READ ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What did you guys think about the "renovating"? :::hint:::

And this is where I end it. :::grin::: Hehehe…I'm sorry for the wait! This was supposed to be up last Saturday because it was my birthday and…well…yeah. But, as you can see, this chapter was meant to be long, and, because it was veeeeeery late, I decided to make it even longer! Sorry if it's sort of a cliffy. But I thought that was a good place to end it. Oh, and I know that on my author note at the start of the chapter it said "today is my birthday" but no. My birthday was on the 7th. So…yeah…review please! Be happy with the extra long chapter! And feel free to email me for any reason. Bye now!