Another place and already dark, Anna was washing dishes with Manta. Humming softly, Manta rinsed while Anna was drying off and looked out the window at her husband, who was sitting in silence under a tree, looking lost in thought at the stars. Sighing heavily, Anna bitterly shook her blond-haired head and turned back to the plate in her hand, fading away from hope.
5 years had passed since the shaman fight stopped and the death of Yo's twin brother Hao. Not exactly sad, as she found herself, that perhaps one could only question the correctness of it, but Yo himself came and couldn't get over the fact that he had to kill his own brother instead of, as he said, listening to his heart to have. A phrase that Anna knew who had taught it to Yoh. Matamune, Yoh's first ghost, who sacrificed itself with the silent acceptance of the promise to save Hao, so that she could overcome her hatred and gain confidence in Yoh. Hard to understand that it couldn't turn out differently when Anna sadly remembered how Yoh felt about a promise and even more about Matamune.
But firstly, as she thought, Yo had no other choice at the time, otherwise they would all have been killed by Hao and secondly… what else should Yo have done! Hao would definitely not have let himself be talked to, had attacked her even more, more aggressively than Yoh had tried and even if he had, everything hated him down to the blood. His brother would have had no future if Yo had hit him without killing him, because the wounds his brother had torn in others were deep, too deep. As deep as in himself? Anna didn't want to know what the patches or even the X-Laws would have done with Hao if he had been beaten and they could have captured him. And she herself knew only too well from her own past how difficult it was to control this gift instead of the abilities of oneself.Not to see what is being shown to you but to be able to read the full truth in the feelings of others like in a book, no matter whether you want to or not. To feel betrayal even before it happens, to hate because you can no longer bear the pain from the environment, to be rejected because you are different, to question, or to already know what others at this age cannot yet grasp. Pain, mistrust and no hope for beautiful things were, as Anna knew, the only real things that the gift of spirit knowledge brought with it and did not let her know whether to laugh or scream if this ability was seen as a gift or only a curse-like ability for those affected wanted by others for more power. Because it brought nothing good. Neither for her owner nor for others, because thoughts weren't hidden for strangers in vain, thought Anna as she reached for another plate.
Yo would probably not have been able to help him anymore and so it was, as it happened, the best solution for Anna. She hated Hao to the last, but she knew that if he were born again in 500 years and would still carry the same hatred within him. Would be even stronger and it was her offspring who would have the problem with Hao. With an even smaller chance of a peaceful ending and without Matamune or Yoh as Hao's second half with the same strength as Hao himself. Not a rosy thought as Anna felt and she hoped that Hao might learn something from the fight with his brother. Only a little bit of the wish for a life without hatred could arise again, as she herself knew, already worked a miracle. But how realistic was this after a thousand years of hatred in those, as they only realized much later, that Hao had suffered more torture in hell than living here among his equals, where he was only to be killed again before he was born thought Anna with a cold chill remembering her back.She knew only too well what it meant to feel the innermost wishes and thoughts of other people and she was still as grateful as she was then Yoh that he had managed to free her from the shackles of this gift by destroying her O-onida demon. Sure, Anna admitted that the first year without this ability to recognize betrayal at an early stage was hard, but not nearly as hard as the years before with the gift. She could understand Hao's hatred, yes. But it didn’t change anything, neither that it was Hao himself who chose the path of blood, nor how unfair she felt that breaking Yoh from it didn’t seem to have protected his brother from herself as much as she did, Anna thought with deep pain Feeling helpless when she watched Yoh like now but didn't know how to help him as he could help her.

Manta, who had meanwhile finished washing the dishes, first saw that Anna was looking at the plate completely in her mind and had piled up the dishes to be dried. Since he was too small to see over the windowsill, he could only guess that it was Yo who was bothering Anna. He, too, had noticed the quiet but serious changes his best friend had made and was no less worried about why this could be so.
No or seldom laughs, only a pretended happy smile, which would not deceive even a blind person, voluntary training so as not to say that Yo was gone before Anna could even think of shooing him. And always just this apathetic looking at the stars, as if he were expecting an answer from them. All in all ... something was wrong with his friend and that tremendously, Manta finished his deliberations and felt how he would like to sigh inwardly just like Anna.
Because why now, when everything should be so peaceful and happy, was the question which all employees who had seen Yoh since a year.Hao was dead and would not be able to harm anyone for at least the next 500 years, receiving the punishment he only considered appropriate. Anna and Yo were married and happy together. But the most important thing ... Anna was pregnant and, if he hadn't misheard it, it was already five months, which made the entire Asakura family overjoyed. So everyone should be lively and happy?
The opposite seemed to be the case with Yo and no one except Anna and Amidamaru seemed to be able to explain why. All of them had noticed the changes that Yo had visibly gone through for about a year, but nothing had happened at that time that would represent a cause for this change. Absolutely nothing, and when she asked what it could be, Anna was even more insistent than Amidamaru, Manta thought pityingly and looked up at Anna, who was still mute.
"Hey Anna, just let me dry off the rest. You'd better rest, you look tired to me," said Manta out of consideration for the pregnant woman, who looked up in irritation, but then smiled with relief.
"Thank you Manta", she just said and pressed the tea towel into the hand of the smaller one, who then quickly jumped from his chair to push it closer to the plates to be dried.

But instead of going to bed, Anna stopped in the hallway and looked at the front door. Briefly she considered whether she should risk it or not, but then turned on her heel and went out into the courtyard to Yoh, who, like everything else in his immediate vicinity, didn't seem to notice her, as always. Only when the young Itako sat down next to him and put her head on his shoulder, he winced and looked into the questioning face of his wife.
"Did I scare you? Sorry", Anna said cautiously so as not to put Yo into the tension that could arise too quickly for the last 4 years.But he only twitched the corner of his mouth briefly as a sign that everything was alright, before he looked silently at the stars again as if nothing had happened. Anna did the same for a moment, tried at least to find something nice in this situation, but then had to sigh after a few moments, which Yo didn't seem to notice again.
These were the situations that Anna had slowly started to hate for 5 years. Nevertheless, she snuggled closer to Yoh to at least get more of his warmth, if he didn't seem to notice her. Not that she didn't love Yo anymore. On the contrary, even more than ever after he saved her soul 10 years ago. But she was worried about him ... very worried, because all his new behavior was so absolutely atypical and almost contrary to the previous one. Almost like she did in her childhood and Hao his whole life ... and that, or just scared her. Fear that Yo would change even more and withdraw until no one could get through to him. He would end up like those he helped escape the fate of loneliness. A thought that brought pure tears of worry to Anna's eyes. Her thoughts threatened to go black when she felt the impotence that Yoh with his impenetrability caused in those who had at some point started to like him.
"Please", Anna whispered rather in a whisper that Yoh should finally tell her what was clearly beginning to tear him open from the inside, that it should not end like he had saved many from. But as usual, Yoh didn't hear this either and didn't seem to notice how Anna hid her face behind his shoulder.
Yo, who thoughtlessly gazed at the stars the whole time and didn't really know what to do, think or even feel, felt how Anna snuggled closer to him, but he only looked up when she finally started to tremble slightly."If you're cold then go in. I'll stay outside a little longer!", Yo said and looked briefly at Anna, who looked at him in surprise because of the briefly swung, worried sounding undertone. Better than no emotion at all, Anna thought with relief, even if it was only very small and of even shorter duration. Because no sooner had Yo spoken about it, he turned away and looked up again blankly at the stars.
"No, okay, I'm not cold. If necessary, I still have you as a warm holder Yo", Anna said in an attempt to cheer her husband up a little teasingly, but instead of smiling as usual, Yo grumbled and shrugged the corner of his mouth. Anna noticed this out of the corner of her eye, but since she couldn't understand him and something else had just occurred to her, she mistakenly gave the clenched hands no meaning.
"Do you still know that the others will come tomorrow, even all of them, because your birthday is