Disclaimer: Only the idea is mine, nothing else
A/N: Okay, here's something I've worked on, on and off. Hope it's up to par for standards. Enjoy, or I'll send Pegasus after you /\\\
Also, it's not finished, I'm warning you now, and I'm rather slow for updates. Like… Reeeeeally slow. So, enjoy what's here, and when I get in the mood to/find some time to, I'll try and add more. THERE IS MORE, I PROMISE!!
Warnings: shonen ai, language here and there, unbetaed, currently unfinished
Rating: T
Within ReachWatanuki noticed the spirit the very first time it began following him. The distinct smell of the ghost came to him as he left his apartment one autumn morning and headed off to school. This wasn't a new occurrence. Spirits were everywhere, after all, and he'd seen hundreds over the years.
Instead of acknowledging the ghost, he kept his eyes straight ahead of him and went his way. If it didn't know that Watanuki could see its kind, it would probably leave him alone in time. Yuuko had once told him that spirits are attracted to him because he gave off a pleasant scent. It made him irresistible for many of the ghosts that crossed his path, and he hated that. Not was it only that the ghosts alone could pick up on the scent, but he couldn't get rid of it. It was his very soul, Yuuko explained. His rather unique soul.
Day three of being followed to school by the spirit Watanuki realized that it had been coming closer and closer to him every day. It floated perhaps only feet away from him, trailing along in his wake. He didn't dare look its way, afraid of being attacked. Strangely enough, it stopped at the school gates each day and was gone by the time final classes let out, giving him a safe passage home.
Watanuki would have liked to have been able to question Yuuko about the ghost, but she was currently away from her shoppe on a little mission of her own. He consequently had more time to himself to study and rest rather than appearing at her shoppe each afternoon and working until he was exhausted. He was glad for the extra time, but also a bit nervous. The last time the Witch had traveled away from her home Watanuki found himself in a spot of bad luck. Fortunately he was able to see his way around it in time and recovered quite nicely.
On the fourth day Watanuki wasn't able to ignore the spirit any longer. It was close behind him now, its stench invading Watanuki's nose without reprieve. He felt cold at his back, knowing that the spirit was mere inches from him. A tentacle of smoky ectoplasm snaked over his shoulder, touching his neck. A shock of ice shot through his neck, freezing his veins and making him tense up. The wisp of smoke curled around his throat, widening and touching as far up as his chin and as far down as his chest. He couldn't refrain from seeing it now. There was no way he could keep his eyes from looking down at the smoke, and then to the left, where he saw a large dark shadow falling.
No sooner had he glanced the creature's way did he snap his attention back ahead of him. It was too late. It knew he could see it. He squeezed his eyes shut and suddenly shot off. His arms and legs pumped frantically, trying to put space between him and the ghost. He wasn't too far from the school now, so if he could just make it…
Sprinting through the gate, he only slowed down after skidding safely inside the school's doors. He chanced a look backwards, relieved to see nothing behind him but the doors and a few early students milling about. He ended up walking briskly through the halls, still nervous and agitated. Straightening his uniform, he set his bag on the floor and opened his locker.
"Oi."
He jumped, heart rate spiking again. He looked behind him to see Doumeki standing a few feet away. The apathetic faced teen regarded him closely, making Watanuki shudder.
"My name's not 'oi,' you jackass," he said slightly annoyed, but not having the energy to chew him out over their daily battle. He turned back to his locker and tugged out a few books.
"You all right?"
Watanuki paused, halfway to putting the books in his bag. Why was Doumeki concerned for him? It was strange, hearing those words from the other teen's mouth. Even though Doumeki periodically came to his rescue, he'd always confronted him with his stern expression and silence. Occasionally he'd say something relative to the mission that they were on, but he never once asked if he were okay.
"I'm fine," he said quietly, shutting his locker and walking away from the other boy. Doumeki watched as Watanuki headed away from him. He frowned. Something was up, whether the bespectacled teen wanted to admit it or not.
After having walked home without being harassed by anything supernatural, Watanuki was in a considerably better mood going to bed. Waking in the morning though presented some problems.
'It's going to be out there,' he thought, covering his head with his arm to block out the rays of sun that filtered in through his bedroom window. With a groan he crawled off his bedroll and staggered out of his room to get ready for school.
It was fifteen minutes later when Watanuki was finally ready to leave his apartment. He had his school bag in hand as well as his and Doumeki's lunch. Yesterday's lunch had passed quietly, with Himawari on vacation with her family. Just Domeki and himself were left behind. Watanuki was admittedly distracted all through the period, thoughts focused on his next exam, what he'd cook as a gift for Himawari's return, and most importantly, on the aggressive spirit that was haunting him at the moment. Strangely enough, Doumeki hadn't demanded any specific type of food like he usually did. Without any direction, he just made some saury Yakizakana and a little bit of Daifuku for desert.
With a sigh, he headed over to the window that faced out the front of his apartment. Sliding a finger in between the blinds, he lifted them and peered out, eyes darting about in search of the spirit. Without fail, the large, wispy creature floated back and forth across the street, waiting for Watanuki to appear. His stomach twisted, remembering his fear yesterday. How would he outrun it this time? It was even blocking his path. Maybe he could slip out the back of the apartment complex and take the long way around.
The idea failed in his mind as he thought on it. The spirit would smell him immediately and be on him before he could even start running. Oh, what a dilemma. He bit his thumbnail, his heart rate already speeding up. What was he to do? He looked back out the window, trying to gauge how big the monster was and how many teeth it had, and was shocked by what he saw.
Who, rather. Doumeki came walking down the street, paused to slowly look both ways before crossing, and stopped outside his apartment building. As he walked, the ghost moved out of his way, keeping a fair distance from the archer. Watanuki's eyes were as wide as saucers at having witnessed this. Instead of standing in front of his window and marveling at this new development until Doumeki got tired of waiting and left, he grabbed up his school bag and the lunches again before shooting down the apartment stairs, quick as a whip. If Doumeki did decide to leave without him, he'd probably not be able to get to school at all.
He tentatively pushed open the main doors, afraid that Doumeki had already left, or that his appearance was an illusion. The other teen was still there, and when he heard the door creak open, he looked to see a pale and drawn Watanuki peeking from a small crack in the door.
"You see it, don't you?" he whispered, slipping out the door and making sure Doumeki stood between him and the spirit.
"Yes," came his curt reply. He didn't even look towards the giant smoky ghost hovering just yards away from them. Watanuki swallowed convulsively, suddenly feeling very cold. He hated being afraid, but that was the emotion his life was primarily built on. That and loneliness, but he wanted to feel neither at the moment, so he stuck close to Doumeki's side as they began the trek to their school.
"Why is it that you repel them?" he grumbled, hating that Doumeki, of all people, warded off spirits. It could have had something to do with the fact that he worked at a shrine, helping his family perform funerary rights for the deceased, but Watanuki knew it was something else. Perhaps his soul had a scent as well.
To his statement, Doumeki remained silent, walking at an almost slow gait. If Watanuki hadn't spent as much time around him fighting off the supernatural as he did, he wouldn't have been able to tell that Doumeki wasn't relaxed at all. He was merely poised. If the spirit were to make a move, he would spring into action like always. And for this, Watanuki felt safe.
Watanuki felt the spirit float over to his side, a cold gust of wind chilling him and raising goose bumps all down his arms. He shivered, scooting a few inches closer to the taller boy. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't have done this, they both knew this, but Watanuki didn't start to rant about how much he loathed having to be near Doumeki, and Doumeki didn't give his little, annoying smirk. They just walked.
Finally they reached the school, leaving the ghost at the gates. As soon as Watanuki felt warmth returning to his shivering body, he put some distance between himself and the archer.
"Are you all right?" Doumeki said, for the second time in two days. Watanuki glanced at him, feeling as though he'd be surprised every time he expressed concern. It was very un-Doumeki like.
"Yes," he said shortly, parting ways with him to seek out his locker. Doumeki shook his head, watching Watanuki's retreating back a moment before heading off to his own locker.
Lunch came around a few hours later and Doumeki waited for the bespectacled teen from under one of the trees of the school grounds. It was a few feet from the entrance stairs they usually sat at, but he figured they would enjoy the grass just as well. He saw Watanuki exit the building and look around, somewhat perplexed.
"Oi," Doumeki called, grabbing his attention immediately. Watanuki spun around to look at him, a slightly annoyed expression on his face.
"Is my name that hard for you to remember?" he groused, dropping to the ground next to the taller boy. From his bag he pulled out both of their lunches, practically shoving one at Doumeki. Doumeki accepted it and began eating like he always did. Watanuki didn't even comment on having not received a thanks for making the meal. He just started eating his own Yakizakana in silence.
Of course Doumeki finished first. He wasn't one to waste time with food in front of him. He used his next few extra minutes to surreptitiously take in Watanuki's current state. Luckily the other teen was too distracted to notice.
Watanuki was paler than usual, with dark circles cupping his mismatched eyes. He seemed disinterested in his food, picking at it and staring off at nothing in particular. If he kept this up, Doumeki was sure he'd notice a drop in weight as well. This wouldn't do at all. Watanuki was very thin and wiry to begin with.
"What?" the object of his observation asked, having caught him staring.
"You don't look well," he said quite bluntly. Watanuki's eyes narrowed.
"I told you, I'm fine," he ground out, stabbing into his lunch with renewed vigor. Doumeki knew if Watanuki started up with his temper he'd probably snap his chopsticks and blame it on him. Instead of saying something else he was sure would anger the boy further, he sighed and turned his head away. Watanuki's animosity faded quickly, his heart not into it. He was too stressed to fight at the moment. All he wanted was to be left alone by the spirit and to not have to fear being eaten or possessed or even eviscerated by the damn thing.
The warning bells rang, letting them know that lunch was about over. Doumeki stood, school bag in one hand and garbage from his lunch in the other. He tossed the trash as Watanuki packed up his own unfinished food and stood, brushing off his pants. Approaching the smaller teen, he placed a hand on his shoulder. Watanuki looked up at him, curiously surprised.
"It's going to be okay," he said, then let his hand drop and turned back to the school. It was Watanuki's turn to watch him walk away, puzzled though he was. Doumeki was watching out for him. This would have elicited rage and rants from his part on any other day. He couldn't bring himself to do it. He felt warmth settling in his at this revelation, but not from anger. Watanuki felt protected.
He sniffed, looking down and fussing with his bag and trying to convince himself that he wasn't overly emotional at the moment. It meant nothing. Doumeki was often times charged with looking out for him during their missions. The fact that they weren't involved with one at the moment shouldn't be any different. He just didn't want to deal with the wrath of Yuuko is all.
Watanuki scoffed, wiping at his eyes and striding purposefully towards the school. He'd sort all this out later.
Once again, Watanuki found himself surprised at something Doumeki did. Doumeki stood near the gates at the end of school, bag slung over his shoulder and a patient look on his face. Watanuki forced on some indignance and stomped his way over to him
"I don't need an escort, you know," he growled, walking past him. Doumeki fell into stride behind him.
"I know," he said.
"Then why are you following me? I've got enough stalkers to deal with!"
Doumeki was silent.
"Honestly, I'm not a child! I can very well take care of myself!"
"I never said you were," Doumeki offered flatly. He scanned the street carefully before returning his gaze to Watanuki.
"Do you see it?" he asked. Watanuki slowed from his clomping gait to look back at the taller boy.
"No, why? Do you?" he was suddenly nervous all over again.
"No."
Watanuki stopped ranting. He kept his eyes ahead of him now, wondering why it was the spirit only followed him to school. His thoughts shifted back to Doumeki, wishing he knew the real reason for his concern. He felt shame for spouting off at him upon seeing the taller boy waiting. Doumeki only wanted to help and he was being ungrateful. He hadn't been raised with bad manners, so why was he acting this way?
Before he could come up with his conclusion, they had arrived at his apartment. Watanuki hesitated. He looked to Doumeki, who was waiting for him to go inside.
"Uh, listen…"
Doumeki stared at him, expecting more. When it didn't come, and Watanuki didn't seem to know what he wanted to say, Doumeki spoke.
"You all right?"
Watanuki started. That was the third time he asked. He bit his lip, looking anywhere but at the teen in front of him. He smiled reflexively, it appearing more like a wince than anything.
"Yeah," he said, turning and disappearing through the front doors of the apartment complex. Just once Doumeki would have liked them to leave each other instead of ending their conversations like this.
Inside his room, Watanuki cursed himself again for being so rude. Why couldn't he just- because it was Doumeki, that's why! He chewed his lip till his suddenly jumped in pain, surprised at what he'd been doing. No use in getting so worked up over the situation. It was bad enough to have a stalker spirit, but to add his inability to be friendly, or even half pleasant, to Doumeki to his list of problems would only fray his nerves. As well as his poor lip.
But what could he do? He was virtually trapped unless the spirit made a move. That way Doumeki could shoot at it, or Yuuko could help him exorcise it. Otherwise it'll just be considered harmless and he'd get stuck walking with it for the rest of his school career. Watanuki grumbled unhappily. That wasn't very likely.
With nothing else to do for the night, he set about making lunch for the next day. Again, the archer had neglected to tell him what he'd wanted, so Watanuki made a standard bento box. For dessert he made Ohagi and set that aside nicely so it wouldn't get smashed with the bento.
Watanuki sighed as he settled down on his bed roll. Another night his brain wasn't ready for him to relax. His body was exhausted, but he couldn't sleep. Instead, he tossed and turned till the early hours of the morning before he finally drifted off into a restless sleep.
saury Yakizakana- Grilled fish.
Ohagi- oval-shaped sweet made from sticky rice coated with sweet red bean paste.
Bento- Japanese lunch box that may contain a variety of different foods.