VII. Unexpectedly
"What did you say?" Anna's eyes widened in shock.
Yoh hurriedly wiped at his eyes as he realized that the rest of the gang had joined them on the roof. "Er…"
She pushed herself off of the floor and sat up. "Repeat what you just said."
Yoh could feel everyone's eyes on him as they awaited his answer. "I said…" He mumbled it out.
Ren stared at him. "We can't hear you."
"I said that I love her, happy? I know it's cheesy and stuff and you probably—" Yoh shook his head, his face already bright red. "How is this possible?"
Anna kept blinking in disbelief. "I…I don't know. I'm supposed to be dead right now."
Matamune came forward and coughed into his bandaged paw. "If I may, Oh-Oni? But I suppose I really should be calling you Anna instead now." Everyone turned to him in surprise. "Remember Hao's curse: You must learn how to love and be loved. Although you will never admit it, you have indeed learned how to love. Yoh's confession just proved that you have learned how to be loved as well. Thus, the curse was broken."
"But by doing…all of that, it's just supposed to break the curse. Not bring me back to life…" Anna rubbed her forehead in confusion.
"Ah, but you see, remember what he said afterwards? He said that by breaking the curse, it will give you new life."
She nodded. "And we assumed that he meant that I'll be able to resume my life as a human again. Not literally give me a new life. I see…"
Redseb couldn't handle it anymore before he exploded. "So this means we're free now?!" he blurted out loud.
Matamune smiled. "Yes, Redseb, it's time to go home."
"Finally!"
Redseb, Anna, and Matamune all gaped. "Seyram, you can talk?" Tamao managed to squeak out.
The little girl merely rolled her eyes.
"I'm sure the village would love to have all of you stay with us," Pirika offered happily. "And I'm sure my brother wouldn't mind having you with us in particular." She winked at Tamao as Horohoro squawked in protest.
"After we take out the trash." Ren cracked his knuckles. "I had Bason contact the Gandhara. They'll be arresting all of Hao's followers and locking them up in Mu."
"What makes you think that Mu will take them?" Pirika pursed her lips in skepticism.
"Do you honestly believe anyone will think they're sane when they say they saw a huge giant thing that was on fire descend from the sky?"
"Point."
"Where are you going?"
Anna turned around before exiting through the door that would take her back down to the castle. "Downstairs to clean up. An entire destroyed castle will be hard work to put back to order for one person."
Yoh jumped up onto his feet. "What are you saying?"
Anna raised an eyebrow. "Well, you and your little village friends will be going back down to Onsen and taking my servants who are no longer bound to me in any way. So might as well start cleaning up if I'm going to live the rest of my human life here—"
"Come on. You know that we would all love for you to join us in the village."
Her arm dropped to her side, her mouth slightly agape. "You…mean that?"
"Don't act like it was unexpected. Of course I do!" Yoh held his hand out to her and with that, he opened a different door. A door that led to a new life filled with the love she had missed out on in her previous one. "It's time to go home."
"Redseb, settle down! I can't put your cloak on you when you keep moving like that," Tamao said as she tried to pin the little boy down. "There, now that wasn't so hard."
"Tamao, I don't want to wear this! It's choking the life out of me," he grumbled, pulling at the collar.
"You have to remember that Onsen is much colder than in the castle."
Horohoro poked his head into the room and smiled. "Ready?"
"Just about. Seyram! We're leaving now!" Tamao smoothed out the skirts of the dress Horohoro had bought for her a few days ago and smiled. "Let's go."
The four of them set out of the house, Redseb and Seyram momentarily flitting back and forth between Tamao and Horohoro and any new, wonderful things they found fascinating on the way to the council hall. "Finally…" Tamao looked so happy that she could've burst.
"Hmm?"
"It's been so long…They finally get a chance to…" She smiled sadly. "To be kids."
Kororo tackled the two children, sending them tumbling. The white snow wolf wagged her tail happily and seized Seyram and Redseb by the hem of their cloaks and dragged them into the warm council hall. Horohoro and Tamao simply laughed and joined everyone inside.
"…and that's how we defeated Hao!" Pirika finished her story, triumphantly slapping her palm down on the wooden desk for emphasis.
"I can't believe you guys did all of that without me!" Chocolove seethed, scowling. "Why do I always miss all the fun stuff?" He crossed his arms in front of him, Mic nudging against his legs in a futile attempt at comforting him.
"You're telling the story wrong." Anna frowned as Yoh shrugged and gave the Ainu girl a Well-what-can-you-do look.
Ren nodded in agreement. "That isn't how it goes at all," he snapped dismissively. "Let me tell it—"
"She's back! She's back!"
"Jun?" Pirika asked breathlessly. "Ren, she's back! Come on!"
The leader and her new husband stepped out of the wedding carriage, the Tao girl looking quite happy with herself. "Hello, everyone!"
"Jun, took you long enough…" Horohoro grinned up at his co-leader.
"Sorry, sorry," she said smilingly. "Ah, I see some new faces here! So, did I miss anything while I was gone?"
Horohoro and Tamao simply exchanged looks. Pirika giggled nervously. Ren rolled his eyes. Yoh reached forward and put his hand on Anna's shoulder. Redseb and Seyram looked up innocently at her.
"Nope. Nothing. Nothing at all."
Later that evening, Jun decided to kidnap her brother for some much needed sibling bonding (to his very obvious dismay of course).
"Ren, how do you like being leader?" She looked at him proudly as she ran her finger around the rim of her glass.
"I'm a Tao. How do you think it feels?" he smirked.
She laughed. "Good, good. That's perfect then." Her brother leaned forward. "Since Bailong and I are married now…and we want to start a family soon…I…I don't think I would be able to perform my duties as village leader very well. And I talked to a lot of the villagers and the elders and they said you were a tremendous leader. The best in a long time." She rifled through her dress pocket and extracted out a simple black lacquer rectangular box.
"Jun, as much as I would like to retain my power as leader and keep either of the Usui siblings from completely destroying the village with their antics, I still must ask: are you completely sure? Because you are still very talented—"
"I've never been more certain about anything in my entire life." His older sister folded her hands in front of her. "You and that Usui girl…you make a very formidable team. Great cooperation and team dynamics, I must say. And…I'm sure if father were here, he'd say the exact same thing."
Ren blinked at the sudden mention of their father. "Ah. Well, this is…unexpected."
"You know it is true, Ren. He was an outstanding leader. And I'm sure you will be too as well." Jun smiled. "He would be extremely pleased with you right now." She opened the box and drew out a retractable sword
"The Sword of Thunder…"
"…has been passed down from Tao leader to Tao leader ever since history has been recorded…"
"…they say that the Tao ancestor who forged it fashioned the sword out of the very essence of thunder, directly from the deity of the skies."
Jun raised her eyebrows in pleasant surprise and nodded. "Someone's been doing their homework."
"I've been waiting to be leader for years, big sister. Of course I would know the legend of the Sword of Thunder." Ren stared admiringly at the ebony and ivory yin-yang crest, the centuries' old Tao family symbol, that dangled from the hilt of the sword.
Jun flicked her wrist and extended the sword to its full length, the blade glinting familiarly in the light of the council hall's fire place. "As Tao leader, I hereby bequeath unto you, Tao Ren…"
"So…"
"Feh, I can't believe you left the entire village in its time of need!" Pirika shook her head.
"I already told you why I needed to leave. Anyways, you got to be leader like you always wanted, didn't you?" Horohoro protested.
Pirika nodded sadly. "Yeah. That reminds me, it's time for me to return your powers to you isn't it?" She stood up to prepare herself for the ritual. "As temporary Usui—"
Horohoro sighed loudly, grabbing her by the wrist and yanking her down. "Sit back down. I wasn't finished yet! See, that's exactly the reason why I wanted to talk to you."
"What are you—"
"Pirika, let's face it. I'm not the best of leaders. In fact, I suck at it—"
"You're being a little harsh on yourself…"
"No. Really. And I know it. And the village knows it. And Jun knows it. And you know it. And heck, even Redseb knows it and he's only been here for a week. I just wasn't…meant to be a leader. It wasn't what the Great Spirit destined me to do. On the other hand…" He looked up at his sister.
Pirika's eyes widened and her mouth began opening and closing (causing her to look like a very surprised fish). "Horohoro. Horohoro. Big brother. Are you serious? Really? If this is a joke, it's not very funny!" Pirika held her breath. "Oh, Great Spirit."
"Bet you didn't see this one coming. Pretty unexpected, huh?" She stared at him dumbly. "Would you, Pirika Usui, mind being the permanent, official leader?" Horohoro winked at her playfully.
His sister simply shrieked and tackled him.
"I'll take that as a yes." He pulled out an ivory box and opened it.
"Aaaah, that's—that's—!"
"Yup." He held up an ornately fashioned prayer stick covered in intricate carvings. "The Ikupasi." He handed it to her as she excitedly examined the wooden sword-like artifact.
"Wow, dad sure did a great job with this…" She ran her hand over a carving of two small children that was meant to represent herself and her brother.
"Well, he should've, considering he claimed that he was communing directly with the deity of rain when he was carving it." Horohoro shrugged.
Pirika bit her lip as she came across the charm of the wolf at the end of the Ikupasi. "Our family crest…"
"You've been the best leader since him. He would be proud of you, Pirika. And what you've done for the village."
"Hmph, if he were still here, you mean." She poked at the somber looking wolf before Horohoro plucked the oversized prayer stick from her hands. "He'd be proud of you too..."
"Nah, I was just lazy and worthless to him." He shrugged. "But he put his entire soul into making this, so it's like…it's like he's still with us. And we're here to make sure that he's never forgotten. That we all are never forgotten. We can do this by passing the Ikupasi down from leader to leader. And don't you ever forget that." He bopped her on the nose with the end of the Ikupasi.
She scrunched up her nose and nodded. "Yeah…"
Horohoro cleared his throat. "As Usui leader, I hereby bequeath unto you, Pirika Usui…"
"Hey, Anna. Can I…can I talk to you…"
"I want a traditional wedding with only a few guests."
"Wait—"
"And a single floor house."
"Wha—"
"And to open my own hot springs."
"Uh—"
"And only one son. That is not up for negotiation," Anna said mechanically without looking up from her book.
Yoh's face reddened. "Er…wh-what?"
"You heard me." Anna's mouth was set into a firm, unyielding line.
Yoh grinned. "Let's get married. What do you say?"
The girl closed her book and looked at him as if she were about to close a business deal. "I've been waiting one thousand, eighty years to hear that."
"So…"
"Leave it."
"So…"
"Leave it."
"So…"
"Leave it."
"About that buffalo, Kalim," Silva poked at Kalim mockingly.
"Leave it alone, Silva."
"A deal's a deal…"
Kalim paused hesitantly. "I already lost my buffalo, Silva…"
"What? How?"
"In…another bet…" Kalim hung his head. "I bet that Yoh wouldn't ever ask Anna to marry him. She bet that he would propose by the end of the week. It's like…it's like she's psychic!" the elder cried mournfully.
"Huh, so they are getting married. Talk about unexpected." Silva shook his head. "But…whom did you lose the buffalo to?"
"Horohoro!" Tamao called happily. "This man gave me his buffalo. Where shall I put it?"
"Huh? Was it Kalim's? He's the only one in the village who has one. How did you manage that? He loves that animal."
Tamao put away her ouji board and all of her other divining equipment. "Lucky bet."
"Remember last night when you said that you don't think the Great Spirit destined you to be leader?" Pirika asked as she and her brother watched Tamao chase after Redseb and Seyram with the two wolves.
Horohoro nodded. "What of it?" Conchi bounced on top of Redseb.
"When you told me that…it sounded like…" Pirika tapped her finger against her chin thoughtfully. "Like…you found out what the Great Spirit did destine for you to do. What…what would that be?" Tamao went over to tend to a scratch Seyram got when she fell on the ground.
Horohoro grinned sheepishly. "I know this is going to sound crazy but I think…I think it's, I dunno, fate that I met her. I think…the Great Spirit up in the sky wanted me to meet her and be with her. And take care of her because everyone knows she deserves it after 1080 years or so."
Pirika smiled as Tamao comforted a crying Redseb after Ponchi took off with his ball. "I remember…the first day you met her. You came back down to the village, blabbering about how you saw Damuko. I hope…" She paused, unsure of how to phrase her thoughts. "I hope that Tamao doesn't just become a replacement for whatever wound Damuko left in you."
Her brother nodded. "I know. I think…I think at first she kind of did. And she knew it too. But then I realized that she's so much more than just a simple substitute. She's too much of her own person to ever be just like a bandage over that wound. She's Tamao." He looked at the pink haired girl fondly as she carried Redseb on her back. "And I can only hope she'll have me."
"That's surprisingly insightful, Horo."
"I know, right? Kind of unexpected, considering it's me. Anyways, enough about my life. What's your first decision going to be as official leader?" He leaned backwards in his chair.
"Well, Ren and I were talking about it…I think it would be smart to enact some reformation concerning the Book."
Horohoro raised his eyebrows. "Really? Why is that?"
"Just because of the whole Oh-Oni fiasco…it really showed how outdated and ridiculous some of the rules and regulations are because we choose to guide the entire village according to an ancient text that hardly applies to us now."
He nodded. "I see…"
"And we don't even know who wrote or how credible it is. I mean, we all believed that the elders were you know…like the law of the land. That they had our best interests at heart. And then we found how corrupt and selfish and stuff they were before." Pirika began wildly gesturing with her hands as soon as she knew she was on a roll. "We can't let a simple text guide our village, especially when each member of Onsen is so different and complex. At least, we can't interpret the Book literally when making decisions, you know?"
"Surprisingly insightful, Pirika." Horohoro smirked.
"I know, right? Kind of unexpected, considering it's me," she shot back.
And thus, that's the end of the trials, tribulations, and eventual happiness of the villagers of Onsen. In a matter of a few months, Yoh and Anna were married with Silva presiding over the traditional ceremony. Anna did indeed open a highly successful onsen, its business further supplemented by rumors that the place was run by a 1098 year old former demon. And much to Anna's dark delight, she hired Matilda as a waitress, fresh out of Mu, and works her to the bone. Both Anna and Yoh travel frequently to many different countries. The reason for this is still unexplained. However, their constant absence has caused Hana to be virtually brought up by Tamao. The two also indeed had one son whom they named Hana and officially adopted Redseb and Seyram. Redseb has since stopped calling Yoh "Mister" and now alternates between "big brother" and "dad." They all live together in (surprise) a one floor house.
Tamao actually did accept Horohoro and it was only a matter of time before the two finally got married. They happily tell everyone that for now, Ponchi, Conchi, and Kororo are enough children for them at this point. Horohoro later also found out that the Great Spirit had destined him on doing two things in his life: caring for Tamao and beginning reforestation in the surrounding land of Onsen. Tamao occasionally is receiving lessons from Hang Zang-Ching and is alternating her time between training to become the hostess at Anna's onsen and becoming a relatively famous enka singer. Most of the time, Tamao watches over the onsen since Anna is gone most of the time. Both Tamao and Horohoro frequently visit the Asakura household and have become a second mother and father to Seyram, Redseb, and Hana. And he has never called her Damuko since.
Ren and Pirika eventually became known as the greatest leaders of Onsen and they did in fact reform and modernize the village, greatly boosting Onsen's wealth, wiped out a large amount of the corruption in the village's legal system and worked to improve conditions in Mu. They issued a formal apology on the behalf of the elders to Anna and nominated Matamune to fill in Nichrom's spot as elder. It was nearly inevitable that the two would somehow (not that either of them would admit it) confess their feelings and end up together. The two often visit Jun and Bailong who are trying to start a family (no success yet). Ren set up a trade system and frequently leaves Onsen to establish relations with the other villages and cities, leaving Pirika totally in charge of the village. And she wouldn't have it any other way.
Kalim never did get his buffalo back. And he never did find out that Tamao kept winning all of their bets because she was a diviner.
And, as expected, they all lived quite happily ever after.
The End.
A/N: oh my goodness! it's over. so how did you like it? =) of course I wouldn't let Anna die! what are you? crazy? please, please, please leave a review. I'd love to hear what you think. I tried to retain the integrity of the original Beauty and the Beast story (which is my favorite Disney movie of all time) while adding some other aspects like the whole village leader thing and let me tell you, it took a lot of work and thinking and planning to write Yoh and the Oni. especially this chapter. a thousand apologies to the folks who are keeping tabs on Critical Condition. this chapter took forever to write and it was painful and long and drawn out. kind of like giving birth. but now i'm ready to solely focus on writing Critical Condition. i would love to hear from you! review and happy days =)