Title: Legacy
Universe: XXXHolic/Petshop of Horrors
Theme/Topic: Prerequisite
Rating: PG-13
Character/Pairing/s: vaguely, lightly DoumekixWatanuki, Himawari, Yuuko, Count D
Warnings/Spoilers: None I can imagine—probably some OOC and stupidity tho.
Word Count: 1,464
Summary: (XXXHolic/Petshop of Horrors Crossover) D gives Yuuko a gift.
Dedication: meme drabble request for miyukis4—the prerequisite part is um, SORT OF THERE. BUT NOT REALLY I'M SORRY. Also for cheloya—CONGRATS ON FINISHING!
A/N: I don't have my Petshop of Horrors manga with me right now, so this is all going from my very murky memory. Apologies for WRONGNESS.
Disclaimer: Not mine, though I wish constantly.
Distribution: Just lemme know.

"It's an egg," Watanuki said.

It was an egg. An egg in a box that looked like it cost more than the street he lived on granted, but an egg nonetheless.

"Yes," Yuuko said, and smiled down at it mysteriously. "A special gift from an old friend."

"That's…very nice," Watanuki said warily, and continued dusting around the room.

"I can't accept it for myself though… its potential would go to waste," Yuuko told him then, smoking thoughtfully on her pipe. She turned to look at Watanuki expectantly after a moment.

"Should I…fry it for you?" Watanuki asked, supposing that Yuuko might be in the mood for her post fourth-cup-of-sake pre fifth-cup-of-sake snack or something.

She laughed. "Now that would be waste. And I doubt the good Count would be very pleased with me."

"A present from a Count?"

"A very famous one."

"Really?"

"Not any one you would have heard of."

He blinked. "Oookay."

She closed the lid to the box. "I'm going to call Doumeki-kun!" she announced then, out of the blue and sounding excitedly sly about something. It immediately set Watanuki on edge.

"Why? What's going to happen? It's just a… decorated type of egg, right?"

She looked at him with that knowing, entirely off-putting smirk of hers. "You'll see."

He decided to ignore her for the rest of the day.

Which proved…ineffectual at best, first of all because she was Yuuko, and second of all because about fifteen minutes from midnight that very night, he found himself—after a significant and boring train ride-- standing on the beach holding the egg box.

Doumeki was next to him. Silent, just like he'd been for the entire significant train ride.

"I can't believe she made us ride six hours on the train just so we could get to the beach," Watanuki mourned, thinking of another weekend wasted running ridiculous errands that may or may not threaten his life. "This is crazy."

Doumeki blinked.

"And you! You don't even work for her. You just show up whenever she calls. I don't understand you. You could avoid all this."

Doumeki shrugged. "She said it was a good opportunity."

"FOR WHAT?"

Doumeki shrugged again. "Dunno."

Watanuki slapped a hand to his forehead. "Figures."

Doumeki just watched the waves rolling onto the sand at their feet, serene as ever.

Watanuki watched him watch the ocean for a little bit, and then sighed in resignation.

"At least the view is nice," he conceded, tucking the egg box under his arm.

"Aa," Doumeki agreed. "Try not to ruin it by talking."

Watanuki bristled, his attempt at making peace immediately screwed up by the big dumb statue with the smart mouth. "SO," he began, glaring, "WHAT'D YOU DO TODAY? I THINK THE BEACH IS GOOD FOR MY ALLERGIES. THE SUKIYAKI BEEF WAS ON SALE AT THE MARKET THIS WEEKEND. I GOT A PAPER CUT. I BOUGHT SOME NEW MANGA. THERE WAS A LITTLE OLD LADY FEEDING A STRAY DOG BUT WHEN A BUM ASKED HER FOR CHANGE SHE HIT HIM WITH HER SHOPPING BAG AND RAN AWAY. WEIRD RIGHT? I HATE YOU."

Doumeki stuck his fingers in his ears and watched the waves rolling onto the sand at their feet, serene as ever.

Watanuki glared harder, like it would do something. Gave up when it didn't and checked the time again.

Five minutes until midnight.

The egg box tucked under his arm didn't feel any different than it had this morning, despite Yuuko's reassurances that its potential would be made known once the two of them got to the ocean with it.

The look on her face—and the giggles—had been positively terrifying. But his fate was pretty much sealed the moment she'd put a finger to her lips thoughtfully and suggested that if Watanuki absolutely didn't want to go, she could maybe call Himawari to keep Doumeki company on the long train ride instead.

That was positively the last thing he wanted in the world. Even more last than the thought of having to go with Doumeki himself.

Though he still couldn't see why he couldn't just go with Himawari-chan in the first place.

"One has to be Doumeki-kun! We have to have the necessary components, after all! Besides, it'll make the result much more fun," Yuuko had sing-songed, and sent her charge off with a merry wave and the instructions to bring back extra sake and snacks on his return trip.

Watanuki eyed the giant stone statue of stupid cretin standing next to him and wondered what was so special about him and this egg that they had to be on the beach together at midnight.

He checked his watch again.

"Oi," he said, and reached out to poke Doumeki, who still had his fingers in his ears.

Doumeki blinked and looked at him. "Time?"

"Almost."

He held out the box to the other boy, who flipped the lid open.

They both stared at the egg.

"Looks the same," Doumeki pointed out, unhelpfully.

Watanuki checked his watch again. "Forty seconds," he said, and didn't really know what to expect. "I hope it's not something that's going to eat us."

Doumeki didn't say anything.

After forty seconds, it began to glow. The container got notably warmer.

"It is going to eat us!" Watanuki exclaimed, and nearly dropped the box. Doumeki caught it and grabbed the paranoid idiot's hand, putting it back on the little chest like Yuuko had told them to do.

"Try not to talk," he told the other boy calmly, and watched the egg with the same calm he'd watched the ocean with earlier.

Watanuki would have responded with something appropriately indignant and outraged, except that right after Doumeki finished speaking the egg flashed brilliant and white, momentarily blinding them both.

Unable to see, the two boys heard something akin to a roar and the beat of wings, a warm, foreign wind hitting them both head on and almost knocking them over.

"IT'S GOING TO EAT US!" Watanuki shouted in an almost I-told-you-so manner as he shielded his eyes from the light and fought to keep standing.

Doumeki didn't say anything in return, and when the light faded and the wind stopped and everything went back to normal—just like that-- both boys blinked and looked down at the container they were still jointly holding.

They stared.

"Huh," Doumeki said, and voiced exactly what the two of them were thinking as they peered into the now empty box.

"That's it? That's all? We came all this way for that?!"

A beat.

"Well, we still have to buy snacks," Doumeki reminded him, unhelpfully.

A few months later, as the good Count was just about finished settling fully into his new shop, he received an unusual—but not wholly unexpected-- guest.

A little girl that wasn't walked through the doors of the pet shop that sold love and dreams that afternoon, and kind as ever, D smiled and welcomed her to his humble home with tea and sweets and genteel conversation.

"Honlon," he said afterwards, when he was guiding their new guest to her new home. "May I present to you, your…sister."

The three headed dragon looked down at the small two headed one standing at D's side. She hoped that the dimensional witch's choice had been wise. Not that she didn't love the part of her that was Kanan dearly, but even so, the choice had seemed rather… unorthodox, as far as dragon births went.

She stared at this new sister, studying.

"So… is it even more of a pain in the ass to have three heads instead of just two?" one of the younger dragon's heads asked after a moment, without preamble.

Kanan snorted.

"OH MY GOD WHY DO YOU JUST SAY THINGS WITHOUT THINKING, DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW STUPID YOU SOUND?" the other head demanded, and snapped her fangs at her sister's.

The first dodged the attack deftly, ignoring her other half in lieu of regarding Honlon with unguarded interest. "Hi, neesan."

Honlon stared.

"Hi," Junrei answered politely, when Shuuko didn't say anything.

D smiled. "I'm sure you'll both get along swimmingly."

That said, he left the pair to bond, and stole into his own room, picking up the phone. He dialed a number that wasn't a number really, and waited patiently for an answer from the other end.

"Hello?"

"Very entertaining choice, Yuuko."

She giggled, and he supposed she was already well into her cups for today, which wasn't wholly unexpected.

"I thought it was," the dimension witch said after her laughter abated slightly, voice rife with self-satisfaction.

D quirked a smile. "And I'll see you for tea this Sunday then?"

"Of course! I'll even bring the proud mother and father. And something to spike the cha with."

D's eyes glittered amusement. "Delightful."

END