Ever wondered why Yoh's always grinning? Anna has the same question. And she decides there's nothing to do but go straight out and ask him. Yoh gives her a very simple...very true...answer.

The authoress tinkers with a great deal of sheet metal, gears, nails, screws, and the like, muttering to herself. She spots the reader.

Ehe...pretend you didn't see that...that's my invention, the Anime/Manga Character Dupicator/Modifier (TM). It's meant to duplicate the character/characters of choice from any manga/anime so that I can play with them whenever I want and not feel guilty about having to kidnap them from their rightful owner.

A nail flies off with a boing and the authoress sweatdrops.

As you can see...it's not working. But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy the fic. I'll have it finished by the time I finish the third chapter of A Castle's Hospitality.

The Reason Behind The Grin

Cobalt Rose

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Anna had never understood. Not really at any rate, why Asakura Yoh always grinned. No matter what she did to him, he would keep grinning. It was annoying to say the least. It wasn't that she didn't like that carefree, lazy grin of his, so typical of him…she liked it and its laid-back way of remaining on his face. But that was not the point. Everyone, even his evil twin brother Hao had times where they would stop smiling and crack and….and…freak out or something!

Anna gripped the remote in irritation, her eyes staring straight through the TV and back into herself to the thoughts that cluttered her mind. There were so many questions.

Why is he always grinning?

What makes him so happy?

Why does he grin no matter what I do to him?

Why?

She shifted, sitting up on the couch as Yoh entered the living room.

"Yoh, come here."

The boy in question was grinning, though there seemed to be a sort of apprehension that hung around him. The itako couldn't blame him. She had never, after all, invited him to the couch during a soap.

"Hai Anna," the brunette replied as he sat down on the couch next to her. For a moment the two were silent, both staring at, but not watching, the TV.

"Why are you always grinning?" she demanded brusquely, still glaring at the television.

---

Yoh blinked a moment, kind of confused. "Because."

Anna rolled her eyes in irritation. She couldn't even get a straight answer about it from her fiancé. "I mean really Yoh, why are you always grinning? Life's not that great," she told him sarcastically.

She could feel him looking at her now, and unwillingly, her gaze slid over to him, looking from the corners of her eyes. And that infuriating grin was still there.

---

"I'm always grinning because…"

"Because…"

For once he was trying to draw out the answer. He had planned telling her for so long, practiced in front of a mirror while she was gone, to the point where it was so easy…would have been so easy for it to slip past his lips and become real…

"I'm always grinning because I love you."

---

Anna blinked as Yoh got up and walked to the kitchen. She could hear him cooking dinner now, could imagine that grin on his face. But she was struck dumb.

Maybe there's something good about that grin of his after all…

And for the first time in Anna's life, she could feel a grin spreading across her face. More than a smile, less than a smirk, and before it faded into a calm smile, Yoh, coming to announce dinner, managed to see it.

---

Review people! It's just a short drabble. I'm entertaining thoughts of writing a companion piece...Anna saying that she loves Yoh...after all, Yoh's the only one who's made a confession today...but that darned machine of mine...

gears and bolts bounce off the Anime/Manga Character Dupicator/Modifier (TM) with various noises

...is still not ready. Maybe when it's done...

Cobalt Rose / Tenri Kage