A Festival And A Musical Box

Written by: Adriana (hikari)

Date: Sunday 27, April 2003.

Disclaimer: As you all know, Shaman King belongs to... meeee!!!!! ¬.¬ Yeah, right. Umm, Shaman King and all its characters belong to Hiroyuki Takei-sama. But *grins evilly* in my dreams, Yoh will always be mine!!!!!!!!! (in a whisper) and according to that test....

***

Still in her uniform, she wandered through the school grounds. She didn't like being there in first place, not a bit. She frowned. She looked over at the rest of the students and teachers, all happy and excited about the Valentine's Festival. It was a major event as many games, food stands, and little shops were displayed on the school yard and classrooms. Giggling noises filled the air... She sat on a bench and closed her eyes in disgust. Suddenly, she remembered she was alone. Why was she there, she didn't knew herself. She was just there. This was a thing that just happened to her, Anna Kyouyama.

He was desperate. The young boy had been looking for the Itako for a long time. When he had reached her room she was already gone. He searched in every place inside the old house and its surroundings, but found no track of her, except for the red bandana on the entrance floor. Not even Amidamaru, who was looking around the area, had found her. He decided that school was the only option left. She would surely be at the festival.

'The festival...' When he thought about it he became angry, angry at her. Yes, very angry indeed, for he had wanted to invite her to the festival but his plans were completely ruined by her when she ran away from their house. Yoh ran through Funbari-gaoka's streets heading for the local high school.

She decided there was no use sitting there, doing nothing. After thinking it too much, she finally stood up and walked between the crowd. She looked at the tiny gift shop that had been quickly put up the day before. Teddybear, bunny, and frog plushies, necklaces and rings, frames, candles, pink & purple notepads, and many other 'girly' stuff where set in tables and shelves. She walked some more.... Looking spitefuly at the games, she had walked away from them. Instead, she walked over to a Japanese pizza restaurant, where she ate a couple of okonomiyakis. She hadn't notice how hungry she really was.

But still, she was bored. She found herself once again, and for the tenth time, thinking about him. 'IIE!!' she scolded herself. 'Not tonight! I won't do this to myself, it's making me go mad. It wasn't like I wanted or expected him to invite me anyway....' Her thoughts were cut off by the waiter.

"Here," he handed her a glass of water, "you seem thoughtful." The man smiled cheerfully, a jovial look in his eyes.

"Umm, yeah. Arigatou..." She accepted the glass and took a sip of water.

"Dô-itashimashite," the waiter responded but she didn't hear... once again she was inmerse in her thoughts.

He wasn't aware when he had reached the school nor when he crossed the entrance. It was until he bumped into someone when he realized he was already at his destination.

"Asakura!" the voice of the Math teacher ringed in his ears. "Look up when you're walking, young boy!"  he scolded.

"Uh... yes sir." He bowed, "I'm sorry, Tamano-sensei."

He didn't wait for the teacher to say a word and dashed to look for the blonde girl. He had thought of getting a glimpse of her. 'That way!'

"Youngsters!!!" the teacher sighed.

Anna continued looking around the place when she stopped her steps. She stood there once more... The gift shop in front of her seemed to attract her. Something inside of it... yet she couldn't figure out what it was. She was curious and for a moment she had forgotten her past thoughts. She glanced around, catching every detail from the smallest things to the biggest, from the products to the tiny, old woman that attended the local. She then noticed a star-shaped music box on the corner of one of the shelves. The small object held a magnetic-like force that had drawn her the very moment she had laid her eyes on it. Its dark color emphasized the golden sakuras that created a pattern on its top surface.

Yoh had been walking randomly around the place. He spotted several classmates and asked them if they had seen her, but didn't have any luck. Even when they did saw her, by the time he arrived the place, she wasn't there anymore. 'She wasn't at the okonomiyaki restaurant.' The young shaman sighed as his spirit arose from the mortuary tablet.

"Master?" the samurai looked concerned at the boy's tired face.

"Daijoubu, Amidamaru," he responded and waved his hand.

"Yoh!" a voice, almost a shriek, came from behind him.

"Huh?" He turned around but found no one.

"Down here," the voice instructed.

He looked where he was told to. "A! Manta, it's you. Hey there!" Both boys smiled at each other.

"So, are you looking for Anna?" his tiny friend questioned.

He smiled nervously. "Hai," he gave his friend a weak smile, "how do you know?"

"Eeto, you'll see. First I see you running like crazy around the school grounds as if there was no tommorrow," he explained as if this was supposed to happen every day, "Then, I see Anna walking alone, lost in her own world. So I figured out... you know," he finished his sentence.

"Ha, ha." There, again, was Yoh's nervous laugh.

"I saw her entering a gift shop near the basketball court," he simple stated.

"Ano... orei," he ran off, "see ya later!"

As if this was meant to be, Anna's fingertips reached for the box and opened it. A soft melody was then produced. It was soothing... relaxing. The delicate notes flowed and her body was soon swept by the music. It was somehow a nostalgic tune, and memories flashed through her mind. 'Yoh...' An uninvited blush crept upon the pale Itako's cheeks. This was very unlike her, the whole situation itself was very... ackward. She would usually not be at some festival alone, she wouldn't be in one of those 'girly' shops, and certainly, she wouldn't be dancing at that same shop in front of everyone to see her, included the old lady behind the counter. But hey, what else mattered? She was so self-into that she didn't notice a presence coming over, strong yet familiar, as well as a hand that extended towards her and took one of her own.

He was attracted by some tune and ended up at the same shop his friend had talked about. He was surprised when he found her... dancing with her eyes close, smiling! He was dumbfounded. He tried everything: he had pinched himself, slapped himself, rubbed his eyes, winked repeatedly, even asked some passerby to punch him, hit him, or something, but no, what he was seeing wasn't a dream. His sudden shock turned into a smile as he watched the spectacle in front of him. She seemed to be floating as she made soft, quiet moves. Natural dancer, he thought.

He walked over to her and took her hand, not caring about the watching people and that the old lady that was giving an odd stare to the girl, was now giving another one to him. No, he didn't care, because they would never understand how rare and precious was a thing like this for him. Yoh just needed to touch her, to feel that she was real.

"Would you like to dance with me?" he said pulling the girl closer.

At first she was startled when her waist was circled by his strong, bare arms. His short-sleeve uniform shirt was unbuttoned. His headphones and collar on their usual place. His smile was contagious and soon after, she returned the gesture in a timid manner. 'Definitively... today is the "I am not myself" Day,' she thought ironically. She rested her hands and her right cheek on his chest, feeling its rising and fall. Anna smiled at herself when she felt his muscles tense up at her touch, but then loosened as he sighed.

She raised her head to look up at him. His breathing had accelerated and his heart had been beating wildly since the moment he saw her. But now, having her so close, he felt a sudden lack of air and thought his heart was about to explode. How long had he been waiting for a moment like this to happen? He didn't have enough time to think about it, he was lost in her small, dark eyes, a shine twinkling in them. The music had stopped time ago, but they were still dancing.

"I thought that you..." her voice, a murmor, broke the silence.

"Don't do that ever again," he interrupted her, his face still smiling. "The next time I want to ask you out, you aren't going to run away, promise?"

She merely nodded. "I promise."

"Good." He said and then laughed as her hot breath tickled his chest and caused a chill to run through his spine.

"The box." He just managed to say, startling her once more. 'What? What is he...?'

"The music box..." He parted from her and walked to the shelf were it rested and lifted it up. He walked to the counter, where the old lady looked at him with a weak smile plastered on her face.

"You... you want it?" the woman asked slowly.

"Hai, obaa-san. Would you sell it to me? Onegai-shimasu." he looked over at the expectant girl, "I believe my GIRLFRIEND liked it very much."  The old lady nodded and he paid the box.

Anna blushed at the comment and he laughed. She breathed slowly, looking at her shoes or else the floor. The Asakura boy was the only one to cause such reaction on her. She saw him walking to her and raised her head up and glanced at him.

"Here." He handed the box as she locked her gaze on those golden sakuras once more. She held the box tightly, closing her eyes, as if trying to save this one memory.

"Arigatou," she whispered.

She was standing there, in front on him, eyes closed, her cheeks still held a slight blush. The image haunted him and her face taunted him. An impulse, no, a need made him move even closer to her. He leaned and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. He saw as her eyes widened in shock and looked straight into his with confusion written all over them. On the other hand, he was, by now, wanting to run away as fast as he could but his legs paid little attention to his pleas. It was his turn to blush, and his tan-skinned cheeks were soon stained with a bright pink.

"Dôshite?" she muttered.

"Ummm, that is... ha, ha... I..." he scratched his head absentmindedly. "Arigatou gozaimasu... for dancing with me." He bowed nervously and heard her sigh. Yes, he wanted a response, but knowing Anna, she would efficiently change the topic.

"Yoh... Let's go home," she finally blurted, never leaving her tight hold on the music box.

"Huh?" He sweatdropped, 'yes, she did it.' "Anna, but..." he tried to dessist on the idea.

"I said... lets go home. It's getting late," she said taking his hand and pulling him along.

"But I wanted to dance some more," he pleaded teasingly.

"I promise I'll dance with you once we arrive home..." she said stopping to turn and see him. A mischievous glint appeared on her dark eyes and a grin formed on her lips. Yoh gulped. "Only if you thank me the same way you did before."

"Hai!" a bright smile invaded his profile, "ikimashô!" He held her hand even tighter and dragged her, running as fast as he could. "Come on, Anna!" He laughed.

"Yoh!!!" the girl cried as she began to laugh as well.

A long night was awaiting for them, and hopefully, many others would.

End

***

A/N: Hey there! Umm, yeah I'm back... even if you didn't want to!!! *laughs histerically* Oh, where was I? Yeah, as I was saying, I'm back with this little fic, which is actually the longest of all I've written... u.u Well, I hope you liked reading it. I know Anna and Yoh are a little OCC and that some parts might be confusing to some. But... who cares? While *MY* Yoh is happy, everything is fine. By the way, thanks to everyone who has reviewed past stories. Ja ne!

iie = no

arigatou = thank you

dô-itashimashite = you're welcome

-sensei = professor

daijoubu = it's all right

a! = oh!

hai = yes

ano = uh

orei = thanks

obaa-san = grandmother, old lady

onegai-shimasu = please

dôshite? = why?

arigatou gozaimasu = thank you

ikimashô! = lets go!