Offering a Taste

Notes: This is my first Shaman King fanfic, so forgive me if it sucks. It's set sometime before the end of the anime, while they're still in Patch Village (or whatever it's called, I had really bad subs). It's LIME, not LEMON. I can't write good lemons, so don't get your hopes up. If you like it at all, please review! Thanks. He is not what he seems and she knows it. He smiles a lot, nodding occasionally or waving as if he were an old friend. Anna resents this, wondering why he bothers keeping up this façade while in the presence of someone who can see right through him. It's almost insulting.

She sips her tea calmly, lifting her eyes to meet his. "Your visits are never without reason. What is it this time?"

Hao sits across the table from her, making himself annoyingly at-home in her motel room. He is smiling, as usual. "Maybe I just want to have tea with you."

Anna feels even more insulted. She sits her cup down gingerly. "In that case, you can leave. You've finished your cup."

Hao looks at the empty cup in front of him. "Could you pour me some more?"

Anna's brows itch to knit together and form a frown, but she doesn't allow that. She reaches for the container of warm tea and fills his cup again. It's best to discover your enemy's intentions before starting a fight. When Hao appeared in her room, seemingly out of no where, she decided to be civil.

"Thank you," he says politely, taking a drink.

Anna watches him, partly out of caution, knowing full well that he is capable of anything, and partly out of curiosity. It is almost like looking at Yoh, except for the longer hair and the perpetually confident expression.

Hao looks up at her. "You are right, though. I do have a reason for visiting."

Anna folds her hands on the table in front of her, signaling that she is ready to listen.

"I think you would be a lovely addition to my little group. You are far more powerful than even Yoh realizes, and far too beautiful for him to ever appreciate. If you come with me, I can guarantee you an easy life."

Anna narrows her eyes. "Am I supposed to be jumping at that bait? What sort of easy life will I have without being married to the Shaman King?"

Hao laughs. "Oh, but you will be married to the Shaman King."

Anna lifts her cup for another sip of tea. "Yoh will be the Shaman King. I will be married to Yoh. These are facts, not hopes."

Hao's grin broadens slightly. "He doesn't realize how lucky he is, to have someone who believes in him so strongly."

Anna's face doesn't falter, but something in her aches. Hao had just spoken aloud the thought that had plagued her for months. She takes another sip of tea, fearing the thought of loosing her resolve. "Sometimes it takes Yoh time to come to realizations."

"A trait not shared by his twin, I can assure you," Hao tells her, his eyes deliberately moving up and down what is visible of her form, "Were you to be my bride, I would certainly show appreciation."

"By promising not to eat me, perhaps?" Anna asks.

"Of course I wouldn't eat you. Unless of course you want me to."

Anna immediately regrets her choice of words. She is used to Yoh and his clueless tendencies. He would never even consider that the phrase "eat me" would have more than one meaning. At least not in open conversation. Her eyes become more narrow as she realizes that she feels another ache. Yoh is so innocent, compared to Hao.

She decides that she shouldn't allow Hao to think he has the upper hand. She leans onto the table, her chest pressed against the surface slightly, "And what would you do if I did?"

Hao doesn't look surprised, which in itself surprises Anna. "Come sit on the table in front of me and I'll show you."

Anna is silent for a few moments. Now her bluff had been called. She takes another sip of tea and tries to avoid direct eye contact with Hao, who's face seems inexplicably sexy all of a sudden. Yoh's face looking at me that way, desiring me, wanting me…

Hao leans forward against the table too, long strands of hair falling across his face. "What is it? Afraid of betraying Yoh? Don't worry, Anna. I would never tell him."

Anna crosses her arms across her chest. "And of course I believe every word you say."

Hao smiles charmingly. "I may kill and burn and destroy, but I don't lie."

Anna stares at him skeptically.

Hao leans back. "Are you even sure Yoh would mind? Or are you having to fight him off you these days?"

There it is again. That ache. Anna knows that Yoh has expressed little interest in her, romantically or sexually. Now she knows that Hao knows this as well. How does he do that?

She reflexively runs a hand through her hair. "Regardless of Yoh's interests, I'm sure he wouldn't be happy to find out I've been sleeping with the enemy, so to speak."

Hao lifts his brows. "Are you certain of that?"

Anna says nothing. She starts to wonder if Yoh really would mind. He's never been very protective of her, but that could be because she's never been in any danger. But he never shows jealousy when Ryu or Tamao's spirits ogle her either. Would he even care if she openly started seeing someone else?

Hao is still grinning. "I can give you many things you want. Many things you desire. All you have to do is join the winning side."

Anna shifts uncomfortably in her sitting position on the floor. "I'm not going to join you, no matter what you promise. You may as well give up and leave."

Hao sighs. "All right. Perhaps we can talk about this another time, when you've had time to give it more thought. However… it would be a shame to let this be a wasted trip, don't you think?"

Anna's eyes widen very slightly, curious of whether his implications match her suspicions.

"Are you sure you don't want me to… how did you put it… 'eat you'?"

Anna feels her cheeks burn. Is this what it's like to blush? Yoh has never said such things to Anna, or looked at her so seductively. She shakes her head. "I'm not that desperate yet."

Hao leans against the table again. "Really? Funny that you should think of me as rock bottom, you being in love with my identical twin."

Anna feels heat through her body. She's actually embarrassed, without knowing exactly why. She ponders the situation. Would it be so wrong to simply experience something offered to her, something Yoh had refused her? She stands up.

Hao looks up at her, looking more and more confident with every passing second. "Don't worry. This will be strictly between us."

Anna doesn't allow her expression to reflect the indecision and nervousness she feels inside. She walks slowly to other side of the table and sits down on the edge of it, right in front of Hao, who smiles brightly. "A wise choice," he says, shoving the fabric of her dress up her thighs with his hands.

He leans into her, kissing her arms and her neck and her chest through her dress. She is surprised by his tenderness, and though she becomes tense and her hands nearly shake, she can't deny that she is feeling more and more aroused. Hao obviously has experience, as his hands and mouth move expertly over her body. She winces at the thought that Yoh can never be like this.

Finally Hao opens her legs, and Anna leans back onto her elbows and closes her eyes. He is an expert at this too, she notices as she struggles to contain a moan. She has never felt sensations like this before, and painfully wonders if she ever will again. And in only a few minutes, she feels such a powerful release strike through her body that she can't even form words when she cries out, gasping.

Hao looks up at her, a look of pure satisfaction on his face. He's good and he knows it, Anna thinks bitterly. He extends a hand, then pulls her back to a sitting position when she takes it.

"I hope this little sample has showed you what you could have. Call on me anytime, if you change your mind."

Anna glares at him, wondering why she suddenly feels so empty. She already regrets what has happened, and now the sickening stain of betrayal seeps into her skin. How can she look Yoh in the face now?

Hao is standing up, obviously preparing to vanish, when the door opens. Anna whirls around to see who has walked in, who has caught her in such a shameful scene. Yoh stands in the doorway, looking between Anna and Hao.

"Hao… what are you doing here?" he asks, his eyes narrowed in a way that only Hao can provoke.

Hao looks at Anna, who is sitting on the edge of the table, her face drained of all color save for the red blush on her cheeks. She has already pulled her dress back down to cover herself. "Just having a chat with your fiancée."

Yoh looks at Anna quickly. "Are you alright?"

Anna nods silently.

Hao grins. "Oh, I assure you, she feels quite… elated."

Yoh looks back to him. "… What?"

Anna looks up at Hao, her eyes frantic. He wouldn't possibly tell Yoh, would he?

"She's delicious you know. There's a certain nectar to her that I haven't tasted ever before. You should try it sometime, Yoh."

Yoh's eyes go wide, Hao's words starting to sink in, but still too unbelievable to completely understand. "What are you talking about?"

Yoh looks at Anna again, who is looking at the floor. His eyes shift to the table beneath her. A few inches from her left hand is a small piece of white cloth, bunched up into a wad. It takes a few seconds for Yoh to realize that it's her panties.

Yoh's mind doesn't have time to register the shock before Hao speaks again. "She's really very lovely. She struggled, bit, kicked, screamed. It was all very erotic."

Anna looks up at him sharply. Is he implying that he forced himself on me?

Hao goes on. "But we both knew that she was no match for me. I take what I want, and no one can stop me. Maybe next time I'll take her virginity."

Anna blinks, completely surprised. Not only has Hao left her completely blameless, but he has let Yoh know that they did not actually have sex, and thus, she is still pure.

Suddenly a bright blue light fills the room, and Anna looks at Yoh. He is holding his large sword, pointing it at Hao murderously. "You… you did that… to Anna…"

Anna looks back and forth between the two boys. Hao smiles at her. She feels guilty, but at the same time a deep, heavy sense of happiness is spreading through her. She has never seen Yoh so angry, never seen his eyes so full of rage. It is rage for her, for what Hao has supposedly done to her. Yoh did indeed mind. Yoh must love her as well. She stands up and walks over to him, putting her arms around him.

"Yoh, please… let's just forget this ever happened… please."

Yoh puts his free arm around her. "But, Anna, I can't let him just walk out of here after what he did to you!"

Hao laughs, smiling at both of them and disappearing into thin air. Yoh rushes forward with his sword, but Hao is gone before he can even swing it. Yoh turns to Anna. "I'm so sorry. This is my fault. He wanted to hurt me, so he went after you. I should've expected this. Enemies like him always go for the ones you care about the most."

Anna felt tears welling up in her eyes. "Care about the most?" she asked.

Yoh blushes slightly, scratching the back of his head. "Well… yeah… of course you're the one I care about the most. I love all of my friends, but you… you're not just one of my friends, Anna. You're…"

Anna runs to him, wrapping her arms around him again. "Yoh… oh Yoh… I'm sorry!"

"For what?" he asks.

She wipes her tears away and looks up at him. "For doubting you. I always thought that I believed in you one hundred percent. But when it came to your feelings for me… I really doubted you. It won't happen again."

Yoh smiles, holding her. "I love you, Anna."