Disclaimer: The characters within this story all belong to CLAMP.
Warnings: Mentions of Yuko-based plots and a paranoid Watanuki (again. xD).
Summary: Young Watanuki has no idea what he's getting himself into when he applies to the Lord Doumeki for help.
Completed: February 1, 2010
AN: Sorry this is late, guys. I was having some issues uploading. D: Fortunately, it looks like FF.N managed to get it all sorted out so please look forward to the daily pieces once more. :D

Doomed
by: Kagome-reincarnation

"M'lord, I beg of you," Watanuki bowed before the man to whom his family paid their taxes. "My sister is sick, and my neighbor, also." He was a bit annoyed by the fact that he'd been pushed so far as to have come to beseech the lord of their home. As much as he disliked it, though, the Lord Doumeki came from a royal line that was famous for taking care to look after their peasants.

There were several moments of quiet, and Watanuki fought off the impulse to look up – to see if the lord was even considering his request. When the lord finally did speak, it was a relief, because it meant that Watanuki could straighten himself out as opposed to remaining in the position he'd held for so long.

Although he'd been told he was fairly flexible by his mother before her untimely death, he doubted it was pleasant for anyone to bend so sharply at the waist for so long.

"Take what you need," the lord said, gesturing towards another in the room. "He shall see to it."

Watanuki moved to thank the man, but the lord held up a hand. "But, should you accept aid from me, you must render to me any and all services I require of you."

At this, the peasant froze. Any and all services? It was… a rather suspicious offer, and he was a bit worried. He hesitated before bowing once more.

"So long as it remains within the law, I shall hear and obey," he accepted. When he straightened again, he didn't meet the lord's eyes – this time in deferment. Now that he'd directly accepted that the lord was in a position superior to his own, he had, essentially, declared that he himself was inferior. It wasn't an idea he liked, but his sister was deathly ill, and Obaa-chan could only do so much on her own before she'd fallen to the illness as well.

Without waiting for a response, he followed the quartermaster. "You're doomed," the quartermaster announced as soon as they were out of the hall. "You're absolutely, bombastically, completely doomed."

Watanuki scowled at the woman. "How rude; I don't even know you!" He held back a glare of contempt because he needed her for the medicines she held the keys to… Or the healer, if that became necessary. "Besides, he continued, why would I be doomed?"

The woman stared at him for several moments before chuckling. "You," she said, "Are you any good at cooking?"

Watanuki eyed her warily before giving a quick nod. She shook her head and moved to pat him on the shoulder. He tensed, unhappy with her familiarity. They were strangers, but she was getting far closer than protocol dictated.

"What does that have to do with anything?" he demanded, his expression growing suspicious.

She shook her head, grinning. "Have you heard of milord's stomach and tastes?"

The boy frowned. "No – in what way does this pertain to me?" He paused, freezing in movement as he realized something – what if his lord was secretly like all the spirits? "I-is he going to try to eat me?!"

The woman stared at him oddly for a moment before bursting into laughter. She was laughing so hard, in fact, that she'd doubled over and been forced to hold onto a post to keep from falling.

"What?"

AN: I've listed a word below for those that may be confused.

obaa-chan - Obaa-chan means grandmother. It's a polite way of referring to elderly women that one becomes familiar with and, of course, a familiar way of speaking with grandmothers.