by Alena S. Anigor

The night was pleasantly warm when Yoh opened the front door and stepped outside slowly, his sandals clinking lightly against the wooden porch.

He raised his head and looked up, smiling happily when he saw numerous stars twinkling and shining in the dark sky. With a soft sigh, he sat down and leaned back slightly, supporting his weight by his hands. A warm, summer breeze fluttered by and he closed his eyes; almost wishing he could spend the night outside.

He needed some fresh air after taking a quick shower. Since it was midsummer and the temperature inside the house was almost unbearable, the only thing he got left to do was to go outside. Besides, the night seemed perfect for stargazing and he opened his eyes to glance at the shiny dots on the dark background. With no moon to illuminate the sky, the stars were more visible, shining vibrantly at him, mirroring in his dark eyes.

He wondered for a brief moment what his wife would say when she would find their bed empty, but he knew Anna needed more space now than before, anyway. He grimaced slightly, ebony orbs closing briefly in contemplation and he sighed heavily this time, realizing that just when he thought girls couldn’t get any scarier, Anna managed to prove him wrong.

But despite the situation, a small smile grazed his lips when he thought about her and what lied ahead of them and he opened his eyes to gaze at the sky, calmly observing the constellations and creating imaginary shapes in his mind.

÷

The itako sighed heavily and frowned at the unfolded sheets and the empty futon. She knew she had spent a great amount of time in the bathroom; perhaps even more than she should have, but in her condition she thought that was perfectly normal. After all, she had been told about the side effects of her situation and it was no wonder she needed more time to herself.

She sighed again and glanced at her rounded belly, now already visible under her yukata. Unconsciously, she raised a hand and pressed her palm against her belly, patting it somewhat awkwardly.

She still couldn’t get used to it, even after five months had already passed. Not to mention the whole ordeal with morning sicknesses...She shook her head and took a few steps forward until she reached the window. She looked outside and let out a ‘hmm’, noticing the familiar figure sitting on the porch.

She turned around and headed across the room, determined to go to him and tell him to go to bed already. It was becoming rather hard for her to walk up and down the stairs constantly and she huffed in annoyance, glaring at the wooden stairs in front of her. She was still grateful Yoh wasn’t by her side because she didn’t know what was worse – to have no one to help her or to have an overly concerned Yoh towering over her like a hawk, watching her every move and gushing about how she shouldn’t go anywhere on her own. It wasn’t like she was crippled for crying out loud!

She touched the cold surface of the wall for support and stepped down carefully, her swollen tummy slowly becoming an obstacle. She was taking deep breaths, slowly making her way down the stairs.

She hated the thought of waking up early in the morning only to storm out of the room and go hug a toilet seat. It had become a daily routine to wake up with a feeling of her stomach turning and having to jump out of the bed in a hurry to reach the bathroom on time, all while yelling at a bewildered Yoh to stay in bed because she would be fine.

She stopped halfway down the stairs to offer her legs a little rest, catching a glimpse of the kitchen and the living room. They were both empty at the moment, but that wasn’t really a surprise. Yoh’s friends suddenly stopped visiting them, probably making a joint decision to leave them alone until those nine months finally passed and the house was safe to enter again. She almost smirked impishly when she remembered the look on their faces three days ago.

She was experiencing one of those mood swings and couldn’t help but feel happy and cheerful. She couldn’t resist the urge to go and hug Yoh while he was in the middle of chatting with Ren, HoroHoro, Ryu and Manta. She even ruffled Manta’s hair playfully, announcing happily that he would be in charge of buying diapers, smiling the entire time. The short boy’s eyes bulged out and he started to cower back in fright, Ren, Ryu and HoroHoro gaping at her in astonishment. While Yoh just smiled nervously at the scene, the rest of them cautiously took a few steps back until they were close to the exit and them scampered away, their spirits included. Amidamaru wisely chose to disappear, leaving only Yoh in the living room to smile awkwardly at a smiling Anna and a terrified looking Manta.

She scoffed, taking another step forward and stepping onto the wood that squeaked slightly. It seemed like they were more scared of a happy, chipper Anna than her usual, cold, indifferent self. And she thought she was making some progress...

Even Ryu refused to cook for her further when she demanded from him to make something he couldn’t even define, her choice of food making others behind the table nauseous and their faces taking the color of Lyserg’s hair.

She exhaled loudly when she finally reached the hall and left the support of the wall, letting her hand slide down the wooden boards. She headed forward where the object of her curiosity was still sitting relaxingly, watching the stars twinkling at him. She stopped at the doorway and put her hand on her belly, her breathing becoming even again. He turned around suddenly when he thought he heard a funny noise and his eyes widened slightly, his body shifting quickly until he was standing in front of her.

“Anna!” He exclaimed; the worried expression already plastered all over his face. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “What are you doing here? You should be up in bed! How did you...”

She glared at him and he stopped babbling, knowing that look all too well by now. It clearly said ‘Shut up, Yoh!’

“I was going to ask you the same thing, Yoh,” she replied smoothly and he blinked in confusion, glancing at his watch to see what time it was. He yelped slightly and scratched the back of his head, smiling uneasily at her and sweatdropping.

“Ehehe...sorry, I guess I kind of...lost track of time,” he muttered and grinned sheepishly. She just sighed and shrugged, not being able to stay mad at him after receiving a small portion of his infamous, boyish smile.

“What were you doing here, anyway?” She asked him and took a step forward to stand next to him. He glanced up and pointed at the sky, still smiling softly at her.

“Watching the stars...they’re really beautiful tonight,” he said gently and then quickly outstretched his hands to help her sit down. She promptly swatted them away, throwing a warning glare in his direction.

“I just...want to help you, Anna,” he murmured and she sighed loudly when she finally managed to settle on the porch, leaning back slightly with her belly sticking out proudly beneath her sleeping robes.

“I know,” she said simply and let him put his arm around her shoulder when he settled beside her. He leaned down a bit to kiss her cheek and she blushed slightly, still not being used to his demonstrations of affection.

“Are you cold?” He asked her after a moment of silence and she shook her head in response, not saying anything. Her eyes were fixated on one of the stars, watching it twinkle and shimmer brightly, and she leaned her head on his shoulder slowly, relaxing in his embrace.

A comfortable silence ensued in which they both stared thoughtfully at the sky until Anna suddenly broke it with her question.

“Hey, Yoh,” she mumbled and he responded with a soft ‘hmm’. “Are you scared?”

He blinked and looked down at her, observing her pensive face. He shifted a bit to get a better look at her and she glanced at him, dark eyes searching his.

“Scared? Of what?”

She was quiet for a moment, until she looked at her hand on her tummy, her palm stroking it involuntarily. “Of this.”

He looked down and realized what she was talking about. He stared at her hand for a while, thinking about her question and about the jittery tingles he would get when he would hear about the risks of pregnancies. She continued, voicing his thoughts out loud.

“I’m still...we’re still so young,” she added and sighed heavily when she felt her back aching slightly. She looked at him expectantly and saw the odd look in his eyes. It wasn’t the one of his usual, excessively worried looks, but something different, something more...deeper.

Her lips parted in wonder and she blinked when she saw him smile reassuringly at her the next moment, the cloud of worries and anxiety disappearing in his eyes.

“Yeah, but...I’m really happy, you know?”

She was staring at him for a long time, the only sounds coming from crickets and night animals around them, not comprehending once again how could he have such faith and be so optimistic about everything. He smiled lovingly at her, putting his hand on top of hers, making her jerk slightly. “We’ll make it, I’m sure, so...don’t worry!”

She shook her head absentmindedly, wondering how on earth could he be so sure, so positive, have such belief in her, in them that nothing could make him doubt.

How do you think he became Shaman King? A little voice in the back of her head whispered and her eyes widened slightly, her heart skipping a beat when she could feel something akin to relief sweeping over her, making her close her eyes and let him embrace her again.

“Yeah...” she whispered with a small smile grazing her lips. She opened her eyes a moment later when he suddenly lifted her up off the porch and she yelped slightly, finding herself in his arms again, only a few feet above the ground.

“It’s a long way up those stairs,” he said when she gave him a questioning look, “and we should go to sleep.”

She let him carry her back into the house without a word, her yukata swaying slightly underneath her as he led them through the living room and towards the stairs.

She smiled secretly, putting her hands behind his neck and in his hair. She felt better after sharing this conversation with him, more relieved and at ease...even the thought of waking up in the morning to go hug the toilet seat didn’t seem so bad anymore...He trusted her and had trust in them and when she thought about it – that was all that mattered.

She looked at him questioningly when he suddenly stopped in the middle of the stairway, looking at her with a somewhat surprised look and panting slightly.

“Boy, you’ve certainly gained weight!”

She glared at him, this time her voice accompanying her message.