Hope you like what I've set out to show!
The Client...
Laying around on a Saturday morning, without any worries about school, or work, or even spirits! Not a care at all…the only thing that made this better for the raven haired teenager was the ever so sweet and cute girl laying next to him, one arm wrapped around his while the other was draped over his bare chest.
It was what he wanted more than anything else in the world…apparently she had just gotten out of the shower, his long haired princess, as it happened to be wet, but he didn't care; the wet scaly feeling on his chest felt wonderful…wait a minute…
"Himawari…chan?" The bespectacled boy curiously asked out loud. Glancing downwards, he yelped instantly at the dead eyes of a fish staring back up. "Whaaaaagh!!!"
--
XxxHolic
--
"Watanuki's awake!" chirped a squeaky voice. Bouncing about, the small black creature hopped out of the room, leaving the shrieking boy to flout about on the hard topped floor.
"Watanuki's break-dancing!" "Watanuki's break-dancing!" two young voices sang out simultaneously. The door to the kitchen opened further, allowing two girls to start circling around the boy with giggles and cheers. Suddenly pausing, the bespectacled boy jumped to his feet, only to slip on the fish lying on the floor. Three white cards were suddenly held up in the air, each held by the two girls and the small black creature.
"Ooh, a twenty eight…your score gets better every time, Watanuki…" A tall and statuesque woman commented. Draped in a long and elegant silk kimono, she walked over to the downed teenager, who currently was grasping his head and wincing from the crash. "Of course, handling our snack is an odd time to fall asleep, ne, Watanuki?" She purred as she leaned on the counter.
"Asleep?" he groaned, finally standing up and resting on the counter to hold his weight up. Opening his eyes, he yelped for a second time that day, as the woman's face was uncomfortably close to his own, causing him to stammer backwards to the kitchen sink.
"That hurts…" the woman teased, fainting backwards into the arms of the small blue and pink haired girls. Amusing as it was for her, Yuuko stood back up and walked casually towards the center counter, and began pouring her own saucer of sake. "You haven't been sleeping well, Watanuki?"
"Mokona want, haha!" the small black creature chirped and held up a saucer.
The teen was simply surprised now, not so much her question, as it was that Yuuko was doing something she could have easily just asked him to do…Watanuki shook his head at the thought, and walked towards the counter, picking up the floored fish on the way. By the time he flopped the snack-to-be onto the cutting board, Yuuko had already poured a second saucer for the small black creature standing next to it, happily gulping down the liquid once she had finished.
"Perhaps I could do something to help you…" Her face stern and serious, she leaned closer to the boy until her mouth was next to his ear. Slowly, her lips pursed into a shrewd smirk, "…for a price…" she whispered.
"Geez…" Watanuki groaned from irritation. A soft set of clicks caught his attention, which had apparently caught the others' as well. Without removing his white apron and bandana, he left his employer and Mokona to finish what was left of the liquor while the two girls happily followed him to the front.
"Irasshai!" "Irasshai!" the two girls greeted the bewildered young woman standing at the entrance. She looked around her surroundings, unsure if where she was or how she got there…it was a look that Watanuki was used to seeing on the faces of the store's 'customers'.
"I'm sorry," the woman predictably said, "I…don't know why I'm here…"
"Hitsuzen…" he said softly to himself, catching the woman's green eyed glance with his own. A strange feeling came over him when their eyes met…perhaps not so much as butterflies in one's stomach, as it was-
"Irasshaimase." A firm hand grasped his shoulder, causing Watanuki to squeal girlishly. "I see you've met my dear Watanuki…" Yuuko smiled and approached the young woman.
What does she mean, 'hers'? He couldn't help but think in reaction.
"Watanuki, please get us some drinks while I see to the customer…"
"Some drinks!" "Some drinks!" the two girls cheered and dragged the young man back to the kitchen. Before disappearing behind the screen, he saw the tall Yuuko making her usual speech, about wishes and the so called 'fair exchange' as payment for her services…
--
Perhaps he hadn't been sleeping well lately…it could very well be Yuuko's fault in the first place; running him haggard late at night, or sending him on nigh suicide missions for simple things such as alcohol…though the dreams themselves, or what remnants of memories he had of them really had nothing to do with his day to day life. It doesn't matter right now anyways; he thought to himself, if I don't hurry, Yuuko-san's just going to find another way to pester me…
With a practiced hand, Watanuki managed the drinks, the food, as well as the utensils and plates that would be used. He had learned from experience that clients normally wouldn't be interested in the snacks, but it seemed that Yuuko and Mokana would gladly finish whatever was left over. Now piling all of the snacks onto one tray, he carefully balanced his way through the old fashioned style hallways, toward the back veranda where Yuuko normally took those unfortunate souls who want a wish. It was something about the nature of wish granting, as well as the weird snake-predator-like way she spoke.
"I heard that Watanuki." the woman in question mockingly hissed. She waited patiently for him to place the tea cups and plates onto the table, and then made a shooing motion with her hand.
"How did…?"
She chuckled slightly at the young man's sudden skittish behavior, before taking a sip of the hot tea in the small porcelain cup. "Telepathy is quite an easy thing to imitate, dear Watanuki…" Yuuko's hazel brown eyes leered up at him like a cat's, leaving the young woman client to watch the strange drama unfold in front of her. "And judging from your reaction…you were thinking something that you would've regretted saying out loud…ne?"
Watanuki was stuttering now; ridiculously loud and flailing about as if to distract the two women from the current situation. By some strange stroke of luck though, a 'ting' of a bell saved him—the chocolate for his dear Himawari-chan's birthday candy was ready to be molded. "I'll…I'll get that!" he chuckled nervously, and more than readily jumped away from the situation to duck back into the kitchen. The two girls excitedly followed him back inside, leaving Yuuko and the young woman alone at the table to their snacks and tea.
"So, Marisu-san…" Yuuko said in between sips of the hot beverage, "Have you made up your mind, as to what wish you'd like to make?"
Glancing downwards to her own cup sitting on the table, the young woman's eyes flittered in thought over the proposal. A store that grants wishes…for a price… "Well, Yuuko-san…" the young woman started, "For the past few days…I haven't been sleeping very well…"
Some words from the Typewriter
What's up, XxxHolic fans? Typewriterman here, posting my very first fic based on this awesome series! I have several things running through my head right now, so I'm not entirely sure if I want to delve into just a regular 'straight up' fanfic, or go ahead with my crossover idea...
If you have any opinions on the matter, I'd love to hear (read) it!
...legalities...
I am in no way affiliated with CLAMP other than being a fan of their work...well that, and I'm not a female manga-ka...heheh...