After a long wait, here's chapter 6 of Ice Cream Boy. The next chapter of A Girl Called Anna 2 would be out soon as well, so please look forward to that. I have recently added a new Detective Conan one-shot, please review that if you have the time too. Oh! Almost forgot! I just made a Friendster account, and I would love it if all of you could add me. My e-mail can be found on my main page, please add me if you have the time. Back to the story. The plot thickens. Chapter 6 of Ice Cream Boy. Please read and review!!!!!

CHAPTER 6

There was something oddly suspicious about Hao's smirk.

It was not his usual one; that merely laced the curves of his mouth. This time it seemed to crease around his entire face, the entire body of his being having a gentle chuckle about a joke that nobody but himself knew about. And Yoh did not like this new smile of his brother's much. In fact, it made him quite nervous.

"Good evening." Hao's voice came out in a gentle purr. "Dear brother."

"Good evening." Yoh replied nervously. There was a brief pause, the two brothers awaiting for the other to fill up the silence. And when neither spoke up for some time, Yoh finally broke the silence. "What do you. . ."

"Have you spoken to Anna much?" Hao interrupted.

"Anna?" Yoh questioned.

"The young lady whom I so luckily have the acquaintance to be my secretary. Have you spoken to her lately?"

Yoh paused before understanding the question. "Yeah." He replied. "We were just eating dinner together when you asked me to come here."

"Is that right?" Hao said, grinning broadly. "And since when have the two of you become such close friends?"

"We aren't THAT close. . ." Yoh said uncomfortably.

"My word, dear brother. . .are you blushing?" Hao said at the sight of Yoh's displeasure.

"No, I. . ."

"By any chance, could there be a possibility that you. . .like this girl?"

Yoh smiled softly. "Of course not, Hao. She's your girl-friend, isn't she?"

Hao gave him an incredibly ugly look before turning away from him, glancing at Tao Jun for a second. She looked back into his eyes, bewildered; wondering what he was trying to tell her by simply a look. Then Hao turned back to Yoh. "She certainly seems to like you very much." Hao continued steadily.

"As a friend, perhaps." Yoh said, shrugging lightly.

A strange flicker ignited in Hao's eyes. "That's not enough." He said quietly.

Yoh turned to face him. "Pardon?" he asked.

Hao smirked, his expressions darkening, glancing up at Tao Ren, whose finger was already steadfast on the trigger, awaiting for Hao's request. Hao smirked and looked up at the stars above. "It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" he said quietly.

"Yeah." Yoh said awkwardly.

Hao grinned.

"Pity that this might just be one of the last times we spend it together." He said softly.

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On the roof, Ren grinned.

"I take that as a cue to shoot." He said softly, finger ready to press down on the trigger.

"Nope," came a soft voice behind him, her hand on his shoulder. "That would be the cue to stay the Hell away from Yoh Asakura."

Ren, eyes wide, spun around. Then he smirked and stood up to his full height, which just barely beat the girl's height by a few inches. "You must be Anna." He said softly. "The girl that Hao's killing this boy for."

"Not anymore, he is." Anna said, taking a shuddering breath.

"And you think that you can stop me by yourself?" Ren said, his lips twitching.

"I'm an eye witness." She said, flicking out her cell phone from her pocket. "I just took a picture of you along with details of what you did, and I already have it ready to be sent to my friend from the police station. All it would take is one second to press the send button, and you'll be hunted down by the police around the whole of Tokyo." She glared at him. "It's up to you to decide."

Ren raised his eyebrows at her, his fingers leaving the gun on the rooftop. "Clearly you're no ordinary brainless bimbo secretary brought in by Hao." He muttered under his breath. He grinned. "No wonder Hao's interested in you."

"What the Hell does Hao want with Yoh, anyway?" Anna said through gritted teeth. She had been bluffing about the whole cell phone story, and all she had was her word and her stature between herself and a professional hitman with a gun. Cold sweat began to fall above her face, although it was chilling outside.

"You haven't guessed yet?' Ren said, smirking. "He wants Yoh's head splattered across the sidewalk. As soon as he says 'flames' to Yoh, I'll pull the trigger." His voice was full of swagger and confidence; a voice from a man who left a trail of blood wherever he went. "And I'm going to do just that."

"You're ready to go to prison for killing that man?" Anna said, struggling to keep her voice calm.

"No, I won't have to." Ren said, wrenching his gun from the roof side, pointing it to Anna's head, a sickly smile on his face. "All I have to do is kill you first, wouldn't I?"

"Shit." Anna muttered.

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"W-what do you mean by that?" Yoh asked nervously. "Are you going off somewhere or something?"

Hao chuckled softly, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Not anytime soon, brother." He said before turning to Tao Jun. "But I guess that there's always the chance that something might happen to either one of us after tonight."

Jun nodded softly, dialing the phone number to her brother's phone.

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Ren licked his lips.

"Any last wishes, Anna?" he asked.

Anna let out a shuddering breath before grinning back. "What do you gain by killing me, anyway? A shot to the head will be too slow to paralyze me immediately. Plus, my friends already saw your female accomplice's face just now. They'll immediately suspect her first." She licked her dry lips. "And she mentioned Hao Asakura. Not to mention the fact that I've got your picture in my phone to the nearest police station. . .the three of you would be caught in no time."

"Don't be daft." Ren said. "I already know that you did not take a picture of me in the first place. It's dark on this rooftop. Your phone would have been forced to use a flash. And secondly. . ." his grin widened. "I know you would have been too afraid to act rationally. You ran all the way here, didn't you?"

Anna sighed.

"But I'm amused to why you would come all the way up here instead of confronting Hao straight on. Why were you so sure I would be here?"

"Hao never does things by himself in fear of getting the blame." Anna said wanly. "I knew that he would have hired someone to do the job where he could finish the job for him. I suspected something was up with Hao since last night, so I checked his cell phone for last numbers, and I found yours on the top of the list." She glared up at him. "The number one hitman in Japan."

Ren grinned, amused. "You're smart." He said softly. "Almost too smart to be under the wing of Hao Asakura. Why would you do so, anyway?"

"It's my secret." Anna said curtly.

Ren blinked, something crossing his mind. "Unless you're the related of that Kino Asakura who lost all her property to Hao Asakura, and she was forced to give her granddaughter to Hao as a . . ." he rubbed his chin before turning to Anna's shrewd expression. A look of glee filled his expressions. "Are you planning on. . ." he started, until the cell phone in his pocket started ringing.

There was a lapse of silence before Ren nodded to himself and answered it. "Hello?" he said softly, before smirking. "About time."

He put the phone down, and turned to Anna. "It has been fun talking to you, Anna." He said to her broadly. "But unfortunately, I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill Yoh Asakura. If you would excuse me. . ."

"You can't kill him!" Anna cried, losing all calm now, her voice breaking due to the panic.

The Chinese hitman turned to face her, a look of curiousity on his face. "Why do you care so much for this person, anyway?"

Anna's eyes widened.

"Why. . .do. . .I. . ." she said slowly.

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"What's going to happen?"

Hao grinned. "Nothing much." He muttered softly under his breath. "All that will happen is that the world would come crumbling to your feet. . ."

Tao Jun smirked, a soft chuckle emitting from her lips.

Yoh did not like the sound of that; a shiver went down his spine.

". . .Seas will crash down upon themselves. . ."

The wind howled.

Ren listened on the rooftop attentively, the microphone chip in his ear. "C'mon. . ." he muttered. "Say 'flames' for me. . ."

". . .skies crumble. . ." came Hao's voice, like the dull crack of a whip.

Tao Jun's laughter echoed throughout the empty streets.

Hao's grin widened.

"And the flames of Hell are sent to your knees."

Ren grinned. "There you go." He said, tensing on the trigger.

"DON'T!!!" Anna screamed.

Yoh blinked at the sudden sound, Hao's eyes widening.

"Anna. . .?" he whispered throatily.

Ren flinched, pressing down on the trigger.

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Gunshot.

The deafening sound of a bullet piercing through skin sent shockwaves through Anna's brain. Her faded eyes staring straight through Ren to the hollow moon that was overbearing the night. The silence was even worse that the gun shot. The horrible sound of an aftermath; the deadly minister after the kill.

Ren gathered his equipment up steadily and walked past her, his hands in his pockets. "My job here is done." He muttered under his breath. He wrenched open the door before turning around to take one last glance at her.

She was still looking forward, her back looking ever so haunting to him.

"Be grateful I didn't aim for him head." Ren said steadily. "I hit his left arm, which was strong enough to cause bleeding, but not strong enough to kill." He slung his bag over his shoulder, slamming the door shut.

"Yet."

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Anna found herself running down the street.

She found herself praying.

She found herself crying out to the Heavens.

She found herself helpless. . .for the first time in her life.

Snow was steadily starting to fall down from the skies above.

Anna's breaths turning into pants as she ran down the long flights of stairs leading to the bottom floor of the basement. It was as she wrenched the door open when she saw Yoh lying on the floor in a pool of blood, Hao and Tao Jun nowhere to be seen. "You stupid. . ." Anna cried out, bending down so that she was above Yoh. "Yoh!" she cried out. "Yoh! Can you hear me?"

That stupid smile again.

"Anna." He whispered. He looked up at the starry sky, and the snow that had just stared to fall. "You know, if I bundled up all this snow onto a wafer piece we could have an ice-cream cone right about now."

"Idiot!" Anna cried, tears falling from her eyes. "How can you joke about a situation like this?" she looked around her. "I'm calling the cops. . ."

"Anna."

She turned to face him; and heard the last words he said before he passed out.

"Don't. . .tell them about. . .Hao."

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Ten thousand dollars found themselves on Tao Ren's lap in the backseat of Hao Asakura's car, a broad smile filling his face as he counted the bills one by one. Hao grinned at him as he made himself a cocktail from the mini bar. "I trust that all the cash in authentic and suitable for your taste?" he murmured.

"Yes, indeed." Ren said, folding them into his pocket before frowning at him. "I still don't understand why you asked me to. . ."

"You'll get it in due time, Ren." Hao said. "I've already made the calls. An ambulance is on its way to pick up my brother, and they'll make sure that he does not lose his life." He smirked. "You did a good job purposely not aiming for his head. My whole plan would be ruined if you did that."

"Kind of stupid of you asking a hitman to not kill a person." Ren said incredulously.

"Just as I told you, my dear Ren. . ." Hao said, swirling his drink so that it clinked lightly inside his glass. "Not yet." Ignoring Ren's look of pure amazement, Hao looked out the window at the falling snow before grinning maliciously.

"Let's see you make a damn ice-cream cone now." He muttered.

And the car drove off into the distance.

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"You're. . .Anna Kyoyuma, are you not?"

Anna nodded solemnly at the doctor before her, and he smiled at her reassuringly. "My name is Doctor Faust, and I will be treating Yoh Asakura. What is your relationship with him at the moment?"

"God, everyone seems to want to know that these days." Anna muttered under her breath. Faust looked at her appraisingly, and she looked up to him. "He's. . .a friend." She finished, somewhat lamely. Faust smiled at her softly, pressing the clipboard to his chest. "I don't think it's just that, young miss." He said. She looked up at him, and saw his warm expression. "I've seen that look you gave to me when you brought him in here. And I know. Because I've been there before."

"What do you. . ."

"My wife died three years ago."

Anna's eyes widened before looking down on the floor in shame. Faust smiled at her and patted his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Do not worry." He said confidently. "I will not let your friend die. I'll lay my life on the line before that happens."

Anna felt her eyes well up with tears before wrapping her arms around him. Faust's eyes widened in surprised before smiling warmly, patting her back comfortingly. "Everything's going to be okay." He said. "Trust me."

There they stayed in a locked embrace for a moment until they heard the hurried sound of footsteps across the medical ward. Faust turned to them and smiled sheepishly. "Alas, someone finally got their muddy shoes all over my polished floors. I was awaiting for this moment to happen." He turned and left Anna to be alone with her friends. "You may enter the room to visit Yoh now. He's still unconscious, but I'm sure that he would love your company." He gave her one last smile. "After all, the last thing he asked me was that if Anna was okay." He cocked his head sideways. "Does that name mean anything to any of you?"

Horo smiled softly and patted Anna on the shoulder comfortingly.

"Yeah." He said, as Pirika brought Anna into a hug. "It meets everything to all of us." Horo nodded at Faust. "Thank you."

Faust nodded back.

"You're quite welcome." He said, exiting the halls. "Although I would appreciate it if you cleaned your shoes before entering my hospital."

Horo gave him a sheepish look before glancing at Anna. "Let's go visit him." He said softly. Anna nodded and walked to the door, her hands pausing before clenching the door handle. Her eyes shut before opening it.

There lay Yoh in his bed. . .

With Hao Asakura standing beside him, flowers in his hand.

"Ah." He said cheerfully. "Have you come to visit my brother too?"

Horo's eyes went wide, Pirika clasping her hands before her face fearfully.

"HAO ASAKURA!!!" Anna roared, taking a step forward in anger.

"Careful now." Hao said, his hands in his pockets delicately. "We don't want to disturb the dear boys' rest, now, do we?"

"Says the one who tried to kill him."

"Easy with your words, now." Hao said pleasantly. "There's no need for spouting words of accusation without any evidence."

"I. . ."

"You what?' Hao said, his grin widening. "You're going to go against me in court by telling everyone that you saw me kill my own brother?" he took a quick stride forward. "You should know that no jury can convict me."

"Hao. . ." Anna growled.

"At least you're calling me by my first name now." Hao said, his lips twitching. Then his eyes turned strange; changing him to someone else. "This is the first time I've seen you lose your cool so openly. You must care for this boy very much." He pulled his hand out of his pocket to stroke his chin. "And why's that? You only know him for a few days and already you're so close to him."

"There are some people whom you can tell of their pure heart just by looking at them, Asakura." Anna said plainly. "Whereas people like you stay murky in the gloom of the darkness." She glared at him maliciously. "And that will never change."

Hao paused for a moment, looking her dead in the eye before nodding and stepped past her. "I'll see you at work tomorrow. And if Yoh can make it, tell him I'm giving him the entire week off."

"What a kind boss you are."

"That's how I can continue to stay at the top."

There was a momentary silence, and Horo and Pirika could sense something changing in the atmosphere at those last words. A full minute passed before Anna and Hao turned to each other at one precise moment, smirks on both their faces.

"Is that so?' Anna said softly.

Hao paused before grinning. "Precisely so."

"Well then . . ." Anna said silkily. "Be prepared for the world to be brought down to your feet." Her smirk widened. "At your appending doom."

Hao grinned.

"Interesting." He whispered.

And the hospital room fell silent.

END CHAPTER 6

Well, there's a treat for all those who patiently waited for me for more than one year. I hope you found it appealing. From here on there will be more Yoh/Anna moment, more interesting characters developing and the battle of wits and power between Hao and Anna. Please read and review!!!!