Disclaimer: Shaman King belongs to Hiroyuki Takei and Shonen Jump, not me.
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Yoh snickered quietly to himself. Everything was going as planned.
His brilliant plan began with an announcement at school that the newest physical education unit would be swimming. Swimming. Ha! Swimming was his favorite sport. But Anna…
His mother called it a well-grounded phobia. His grandmother called it a silly fear. His grandfather called it hilarious. But whatever it was, the Asakura adults knew quite well that Anna Kyoyama, the most fearsome itako under the age of twenty (actually, the most fearsome itako besides his grandmother), was terrified of water. It had to with a rather bad fall into the river when she was young and still a novice at the school. The accident calculated to a total of fifteen minutes of a sobbing four-year-old trapped in the freezing water, and afterwards her passionate declaration to never again go near water that was not in a glass or a small fishbowl.
But high-schoolers couldn't get out of the PE class by telling the gym teacher they were afraid, and besides, Anna certainly would never tell. Yoh himself only found out after eavesdropping while his mother and grandmother were on the phone.
That's why he had corralled all of his friends to come to the local pool, under the guise of getting ready for the PE unit. And that's why Anna was sitting on the edge of the pool alone, wearing a swimsuit and a scowl.
Yoh looped an elastic around his ponytail. "Last one in has to iron Hao's pants!" he called.
Hao pulled a face. "Hey, that's not very nice," he pouted. He flipped his hair over his shoulder. "I, for one, am just going to sit out here and work on my tan." He winked at his twin as he took over a lounge chair behind Anna.
"Suit yourself," HoroHoro said as he and the others dove into the pool. Yoh resurfaced at the six foot mark, shaking his wet hair out of his eyes. The others stayed closer to the more shallow part, starting up a game of some sort.
Yoh swam towards Anna. She was staring at the depths of blue water, her mouth occasionally twisting with worry. She looked cute, though, in her blue and white gingham tankini. Her long blonde hair had been caught up in a high ponytail. "Hey, Anna," he called, treading water towards her. "Don't you want to come and swim?"
"Shut up," she snarled.
Yoh caught Hao's eye and nodded. His older brother quietly got up and came closer. "It's really nice and cool," he cajoled. "You'll have fun."
"Leave me alone," Anna glowered.
"C'mon, Anna-"
"No!!"
She opened her mouth to protest some more, but Hao snuck up behind her and, with a single push, shoved her into the water. Anna screamed as she plunged into the water. Yoh grabbed her before her chin even got submerged, but she clawed at him in terror.
"Hey, hey, calm down," he said, ducking her fingernails. "I've got you." He used her blinding panic to maneuver to the center of the pool at the six foot mark, so she would be forced to stay with him.
Anna's screams subsided. She stared at Yoh. He didn't know what horrified her more- the fact that she was in water, or the fact that he was holding her. "Let go of me!" she screeched.
He shrugged. "As you wish."
To her it felt like he dropped her in the deep water, but in reality Yoh kept his hands within a few inches of her. "Don't let go!" Anna screamed. "Please don't let go!"
"All right, all right," Yoh soothed as he took her back. Anna wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight death grip and buried her face in his shoulder. She began to shudder.
"I- I can't swim," she confessed in a tiny voice. He smiled and stroked her back. "Please…please don't let me drown."
"Of course I won't let you drown," Yoh reassured her. Anna clung to him with every ounce of strength in her tiny body. "You trust me, right?" She nodded. "Then let me teach you to swim."
"No, please, just put me back on the side," Anna whimpered. She was shaking. "I'm going to drown, I'm going to drown…"
Yoh tightened his grip around her. "As long as you can feel me you won't drown," he promised. He ran his hand up and down her thin back, feeling every vertebrae. Her long wet hair clung to her cheek and curled around his fingers. "Let me teach you to swim."
"But I'm scared!" Anna whispered.
"But I'm here," Yoh countered. "Come on, honey. Keep your arms around my neck and you'll be just fine." He slipped his hand down her leg and brought both of her legs up to float. "Just relax."
"Relax?"
"Trust me," he grinned. "Relax and let the water buoy you up. You'll float just fine." Anna closed her eyes tightly and let her legs drift. "See, you're doing fine! Now, just kick a little." Yoh treaded water, letting Anna's light kicks propel them both along the surface of the water. She opened her eyes and stared up at him solemnly. Yoh kissed her lightly on the forehead. "That's my girl," he smiled. He picked her up and set her on the edge of the pool. "That ends our swimming lesson for the day."
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Author's Notes:
This began life as a songfic for the Plus One song "Go Crazy." Now all that remains is the title.
And this is fluff. Fluffy fluffy fluff.