---- me back. Will now continue from where I left off… ----

Yoh brought me back to bed again, as Horo Horo and Ren watched in unconcealed amazement – whether it was for Yoh who was gutsy enough to touch me that way, or for me who didn't snap at him (as Kyouyama Anna would do under normal circumstances), I do not know. I do not care either. My mind was too tired to even reflect.

My fiancé placed the towel on my forehead again, then felt my neck. "Still warm…maybe I should ask Ren to do the cooking instead. I'll ask Horo Horo to buy medicines…yes, that's what I'll do. And I'll stay here with you, just in case you get sick again."

I could only watch in fascination. Asakura Yoh was never the planner, but hearing him decide so quickly and so firmly…

Once again, I was in doubt if Yoh would really be henpecked at all.

"I'll be back," he said, then dashed out of the room. Outside I could hear his friends screaming as if in protest.

I was not surprised a bit. His friends and I had never been close chummies.

~*~

"Oh please, Horo Horo! Just this once!" I begged.

"Look, Yoh. If it were you who was sick, I would go out and buy those freaking paracetamol tablets, come hail, snow, heat waves and storms. But the fact is, it's that dragon lady who's sick, not you. You are my friend, not her." Horo crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I haven't forgotten yet how she made me work so hard in cleaning the house when I first lodged here."

"Ren?" I turned to my other friend hopefully.

"Hmp. I haven't cooked for anyone in my entire life, not even for myself. Why would I suddenly cook for someone like her?" he asked.

I sighed. "Very well." I reached for the apron and tied it around my waist. As they watched, I started chopping the vegetables. I then went to the stove and put on a pot with boiling water. I went back to the vegetables I was chopping, and after which, I turned to the plates on the sink that I haven't washed yet. I then remembered Anna, so I filled a basin with some water and hurriedly brought it to her room.

Ren and Horo looked at each other, then groaned.

"Where's the money?" asked the Ainu wearily when I came back.

"Huh?" I didn't get the chance to answer because Ren was already untying the apron I was wearing.

"We'll kick ourselves for enslaving ourselves in Anna's service voluntarily, but never mind. We hate seeing you suffer alone." Horo grinned, then took the money from my hand.

"Go to Anna already. She needs you to be beside her," instructed Ren, then he paused. "Did I just say that?" he muttered.

I grinned gratefully. "Ren…Horo…thank you!"

The Tao rolled his eyes. "Hey, don't start crying. It's no big deal!"

~*~

"I am impressed," I said when Yoh came into the room. "You were able to ask your friends to do those things you told me?"

"They're really kind, Anna." He flashed me a grin as he sat down beside me. He took the towel and rinsed it again in the basin's water. "They just pretend to be otherwise."

"They must be really good actors. They are really convincing," I remarked wryly as he laughed.

"They adore you, Anna," he said, tucking me in with a light blanket. "You are one of the most unique women that they have ever met. They aren't just vocal about their admiration for you."

I smiled. "Thanks."

"A-Ah, Anna, you're smiling!" Yoh burst into delighted laughter. "Wow, just when I thought that my day is not lucky today."

I was stunned. Why was he so happy when all I did was merely smile?

~*~

I left Anna after she fell asleep. I went back to check on Ren. Good thing I did, because the table was already covered with flour everywhere. A pile of dirty pans were on the sink, plus a not-so-smiling Ren was fighting with the sticky soup in the pot. I dared not ask anymore what transpired between him and the kitchen utensils.

Bason was hovering beside him. "Master, I told you, you put too little water."

"Oh shut up! Who do you think you are, knowing much more than your own master?" snapped the Tao. "If I didn't know better, you too were a brat back when you were living, and you haven't tried cooking yet in your entire life yet."

"But Master, basing from common sense, using too little water may hasten the cooking, but your soup will turn out to be dry and-" The spirit noticed me standing by the doorway, watching them. "Master Yoh, please enlighten my master's mind!"

Ren glared at his spirit. "Are you making it sound like I have no common sense at all? Me, Ren Tao?" He glared at me then. "You told me to cook, so you better be hands-off from this, Asakura. This is my territory now!" With that, Ren started laughing like a mad doctor.

I sweatdropped. "Ren…"

"What?" His eyes turned lethal again. He had stopped laughing.

"Nothing," I sighed. "I think I better start cleaning up now and-"

I did a double take when I saw Shilva wiping the floor. He blinked too, then bowed reverently at me.

"W-What is he doing here?" I whispered to Bason.

"Er…"

"I was informed by Horo Horo of your fiancée's situation, so I decided to help you out." Shilva smiled. "How is she?"

"Oh, she's resting right now," I said, grinning. "Thanks for asking." I looked around. "Um, where is Horo Horo then?"

"I'm here!" The Ainu waved, smirking. "I brought some people along to cheer Anna up."

I felt my jaw drop when I saw Lyserg, Ryu, and Chocolove behind him. "H-How did you…bring them here?"

"Actually, Ryu invited us to take a vacation here in Japan. We arrived in a most opportune time, I think," said Lyserg, looking at the distressing state of the kitchen.

"So, Anna-okami is sick?" asked Ryu. "Why?"

"She's pregnant," chorused Ren and Horo. I could only sweatdrop as everyone looked at me in shock.

"She's pregnant?" Faust suddenly came into the room, looking concerned. "Then we better check on her!"

"Um…Faust, actually…" I rubbed my cheek as he hurried into Anna's room.

~*~

I still couldn't get over three things. One, that Faust was asking me over and over if I was sure that I wasn't pregnant. Two, that the entire bunch of Yoh's shaman friends were present. Three, that they went here to cheer me up.

"Here, Anna. Let me tell you a joke to cheer you up," said Chocolove, grinning excitedly. "Who is it that can ride a taxi cab anywhere without paying at all?"

"Ren Tao the Carabao!" answered Horo at once, immediately gaining him a homicidal glare from the boy.

I shrugged. "The driver of the taxi cab."

Chocolove blinked, then cried. "Ahhh, she knew my joke already!"

"Come to think of it, I've heard of that already," said Yoh.

Ryu stepped in front of everyone. "Here, let me sing for you, Ms. Anna!"

"No thanks," said Lyserg, sighing. "You scared Jeanne-sama already; no use in scaring Yoh's fiancée."

Under normal circumstances, Kyouyama Anna would have thrown them out of the house, pronto. But then, for some strange reason, I felt warm and cozy all over. Soon, I felt myself forgetting about my fever. I was lost in the steady stream of cheerful conversations, laughter, and fun in the company of the people I never thought as friends, but most certainly were.

Manta and Amidamaru then arrived, eyes wide.

"We just left for a couple of hours, and we already have a party here?" asked the midget, eyes wide. "And why does the kitchen look like an after scene of Godzilla's devastation?"

I raised an eyebrow when I heard what the midget last said. "What happened to the kitchen?" I asked quietly.

All eyes on Ren Tao. He started to sweat nervously. "W-Wait a minute…"

"Down," I said quietly. The others immediately retreated away from Ren.

"What? Why should I-" The rest of his words were drowned when Yoh clamped his hand over the Tao's mouth. "A-Anna, w-we'll clean up, right?" He turned to the others, who could only nod. He then dragged Ren with him out of my room.

Within half a minute, I could hear a bustle of activities in the kitchen – plates being washed, floor being scrubbed and swept.

I smiled smugly to myself. Not a bad day. I got extra maids for free.

~*~

Soon, it was dark. I stretched lazily, then turned to Horo and the others, who were seated side-by-side on the floor, exhausted from the crash house cleaning we did.

"Your girlfriend is scary," said Ren, rolling his eyes. "But she's scarier when she has a fever. Take good care of her, so we won't be subjected into this torture next time."

I nodded, panting.

"We better go." Horo picked his snowboard, as the others stood up too. I flashed them a grateful grin. "Thank you for dropping by to help me look after Anna!"

Lyserg smiled. "You're welcome."

Ryu nudged the boy. "Let's go play billiards first."

"OK!"

"Count me in there too!" said Horo excitedly.

"I didn't know that billiards exist in the mountains too," said Ren, smirking.

"We're not that left behind!"

Smiling, I shut the door, then exhaled. Amidamaru suddenly appeared beside me. "Are you ok, Yoh-dono?"

"Of course!" I grinned. "I'm glad they came to visit me and Anna." I went into the room and found Anna seated already, looking out at the doorway, as if waiting for me.

Amidamaru bowed to me and disappeared. I then closed the door and sat beside her. I touched her forehead and smiled in relief. "Your fever is ok now."

She nodded

"I hope you had fun awhile ago."

"The soup was horrible."

"At least give Ren an A for trying."

She nodded.

I got up and took her shawl, then wrapped it around her shoulders. "Faust said that it might be possible that you will still have chills tonight, so it's best if we are one step ahead."

She smiled timidly. "Thank you again."

I smiled wanly. I knew that once Anna gets well, she would forget about her smiles again. I scolded myself for being so negative. I had to thank the heavens that she was going to get well soon. Besides, I've already memorized her smiles more or less. They would never be erased in my memory anymore.

I pushed her down her bed gently, then tucked her in. I then took the towel and placed it in the basin again. The entire night, I did my best to remain awake, changing her towel often to help disperse heat from her body. However, some hours before dawn, she started shivering uncontrollably. My eyes widened. I knew it was the chill Faust was talking about!

"Yoh…Yoh…"she whispered urgently.

I immediately clasped her hands. "Anna?"

~*~

It was so cold…I could feel my thin, fragile body shake violently. The blanket around me was providing no adequate warmth from me. It was so cold…

I could feel my eyes welling up with tears. I wanted warmth…I needed warmth. All of a sudden, I heard myself calling out my fiancé's name over and over.

I felt something hold my hand. It felt warm. It felt good. But I wanted more. "Cold…Yoh…"

"I'm here," I could hear his familiar voice whisper. "Wait, I'll go get thicker blankets."

"D-Don't leave me alone," I cried, panicking. I didn't want the warmth to disappear! I might die!

"I'm here," he repeated, firmer this time. "I won't go anywhere."

~*~

I could see Anna was really shivering. I panicked. I didn't want to leave her, but I must make her warm too. There was only one source of heat in the room.

I carefully crawled beside her in the bed. "I know that you'll kill me when you wake up in the morning, but this is the only solution I can think of right now." Using my furyoku, I did my best to transfer as much heat to her body as possible. I imprisoned her in my arms, urging her silently to stop shivering.

I am here. I have more than enough warmth to last her beyond the night.

I heard her sob. "Ssh," I murmured. "Anna, it's ok. I'm with you. I'll keep you warm."

~*~

I suddenly relaxed when I felt warmth radiating all over me. It felt so good – nothing ever felt this good in my whole life. Suddenly too, I couldn't stop myself from sobbing.

"Ssh. Anna, it's ok. I'm with you. I'll keep you warm," Yoh's voice whispered to me reassuringly.

"Yoh…" I held on to him as if he was my lifesaver. He was so warm…I could never have imagined that he had so much tenderness in him, which was slowly warming me from the toes up.

I looked up at him, eyes clouded. He smiled at me fondly, then tucked a stray strand of my hair behind my ear. His mere touch could chase away all the bitter chillness I was feeling.

Such magic – I would never have believed if I hadn't felt it personally. No, it was beyond magic. It was a miracle.

My trembling hand reached for his face, and he caught it, He brought it to his lips. Oh, his lips felt tenderly warm too.

"Yoh…"

~*~

I blinked several times just to snap me out of my daze. With the vulnerable Anna in front of me now, and so intimately close, I might end up doing something stupid.

Like…

Damn. I was doing it already.

~*~

I felt my eyes flap open in surprise when I felt his lips tentatively touch mine. It was heartbreakingly reverent and hesitant, as if giving me a chance to pull away.

I didn't; he was the warmest thing I could hold on right now. I need him badly, and at the same time, I want him with all my heart.

With all my heart.

I did not resist, and his kiss deepened, making time and the world freeze. Suddenly, I felt the chill disappear into nothingness. It was only me and him, and this magical warmth brought by our first kiss.

Fireworks, stars, lights…I saw none, perhaps because my head was breaking. But when I opened my eyes and looked into his, I saw all of them rolled into a very special emotion.

Love.

I know mine echo the same feelings too. Finally spoken and revealed.

I felt lightheaded with happiness. I smiled at him and laid my head against his chest.

I then fell asleep.

~*~

The feelings that had puzzled me so long – the combined feelings of protectiveness, respect, fondness, trust, and devotion I have for Anna were cleared in one single moment of freedom.

I felt myself getting sleepy too.

Tomorrow, when we both wake up, it would mean one big change between us.

I'm not sure what it would be, whether it would be for the good or not.

But having her next to me was good enough for me.

If she forgets all of these tomorrow, I can take it. I had this night to cherish.

I hugged her tighter, pulling her close to my heart, where she had always been secretly ever since.

 O w a r u Pinoy Omake

For the Filipino readers, in case you are bored, try singing this little ditty out loud.

The Manta theme song

(to the tune of Lactum --- the infant milk)

Manta, Manta, isang taon ka na!

Lason, lason, inom ka nang inom

Tantanan mo na, si Yoh at Anna

Manta, Manta, Inom lang nang inom!

(Manta, Manta, you've already turned one

Poison, poison, jus keep on drinking it

Stop tagging along with Yoh and Anna

Manta, Manta, just keep on drinking it!)

Or this one: (pinaaalalahanan na wag maging sensitive as pananalita ng munting awitin ^__^ )

The Ren theme song

(to the tune of Pen Pen de Sarapen)

Ren, Ren nasarapan sa kutsintang 'di maasin

Hao, Hao, kinarabao, kinantuten

Sinipit, namimilipit

Hinto, tulak, bumubukaka

Sa labi kumagat!