Disclaimer: I do not own xxxHOLiC and its characters. But I do own my imagination.
Warning: It may seem a little boring at first... but that's mainly due to me trying to shorten this fic to be a one-shot. I think I've said this many times before: I can't write one-shots (=v=;) So anyway, enjoy... :x ~SEi
"Thank you for shopping here! Come again soon!"
Doumeki left the convenience store with his bag of snacks and started to head home. Suddenly, he stopped; through his right eye, he saw a calm river coming closer and closer to view. As he walked closer, a little boy standing by the river came into view. Then, the vision disappeared.
Doumeki frowned. What is he doing...? He started walking once more but then curiosity (and worry) got the best of him and he abruptly turned, heading for the river.
It was a long way to the river since it was the opposite direction of the temple, and closer to the opposite end of the city, but as Doumeki walked on, he thought maybe it was a good thing to come this way. Spring was in full bloom and everywhere, sakura trees colored half the horizon with pink petals. The blue sky was full of pure white cumulus clouds and birds flying this way and that. Doumeki plugged a finger in his ear when he heard the screeches of two cats fighting each other nearby, but smirked a little, thinking of how Watanuki acted.
When he left the sakura trees behind, the sun beamed brightly at him, having him to use his arm to shade his eyes. The sunlight was brighter here too, because he was by the river and the water gave a really good reflection of it. Seeing the river (kind of), he walked towards it until the hill sloped downward. He carefully climbed down and walked a little closer to the beaming river until the bridge nearby cast a shadow upon him. He put down his arm and stared.
Watanuki was with the little boy, of whom was crying. Watanuki didn't notice Doumeki standing in the shadows. He was kneeling before the boy so that they were face-to-face and Doumeki watched as the bespectacled teenager said a few encouraging things (he guessed) and tried to smile. The little boy tried to stop crying and smile but he broke into harder sobs of which Watanuki sighed and reached out to put a hand on the kid's head so as to pat it.
Then, Doumeki noticed Watanuki take his hand back and then glance his way with a smile. And that was when Watanuki started singing. As if Watanuki wanted Doumeki to hear, his voice was loud but soft and gentle. "An old man turned ninety-eight... He won the lottery and died the next day... It's a black fly in your Chardonnay... It's a death row pardon two minutes too late... Isn't it ironic ... don't you think..?"
The little boy bit his lip and took his hands away from wiping his tears away. He concentrated on Watanuki's song; it sounded like the seer was trying to tell a story, and he loved listening to stories, especially at night when his parents sat on the edge of his bed with his mom telling the story and his dad giving great imitations for sound effects...
" ... Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly... He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids good-bye... He waited his whole damn life to take that flight... And as the plane crashed down he thought... 'Well isn't this nice...'...And isn't it ironic ... don't you think...?"
The little boy couldn't help but nod frantically. Tears still fled his eyes but he left them alone. He continued to listen to the seer's song. "Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you... When you think everything's okay and everything's going right... And life has a funny way of helping you out when...You think everything's gone wrong and everything blows up in your face..."
Watanuki gave a small smile. He took the little boy's hands in his own and shook them. "It wasn't your fault they died. They died to protect you. That's why, Hiro-kun, don't think about doing that, okay? Your parents probably would be very sad if you did so..."
Second-grader Hiro sniffed and nodded. But he couldn't hold his tears back anymore and he ran forward and clung to Watanuki. Watanuki smiled and patted Hiro's back gently. "Now, now, your grandparents are probably worried about you so be sure to go home right now and apologize, okay?"
After a few passing seconds, Hiro let go of Watanuki and nodded, putting a serious face on. Watanuki patted his head one more time before Hiro ran off down the path. As the boy ran off, Watanuki saw two spirits flying behind him. They were smiling and bowing to Watanuki. He smiled back and then called, "Hiro-kun!"
The little boy turned back at his name. From far away, he heard Watanuki say: "Your parents really and still love you so keep on smiling!" Watanuki saw Hiro put on a huge grin and yell, "I know!" before waving and then going off again.
Watanuki waved to Hiro's back and then slowly put his hand back down. He sighed heavily and then scratched his head. How tiresome... but... He glanced over at Doumeki who was now sitting down on the grass eating his snacks. He went over to him and sat down next to him. He reached out and stole a chip from the bag and crunched on it before Doumeki could react. Doumeki stared at him with a surprised face before smirking.
They continued eating in silence before Watanuki said in a singsong voice, "It's like rain on your wedding day...It's a free ride when you've already paid... It's the good advice that you just didn't take... And who would've thought ... It figures..." He chuckled lightly and looked at Doumeki. "Well, isn't it ironic?"
"What is?"
"... Everything."
Doumeki hesitated before answering. He looked away and said, "Isn't it more inevitable than ironic?"
"Ha ha, so Yuuko-san's words got into you."
"..."
"Well, that's obvious..."
There was more silence before Watanuki continued singing in a soft voice, "... Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you..."
"..." Doumeki ate the last chip from his snack bag. He threw the chip bag back into his grocery bag and got up. He patted himself of grass and dust before reaching his hand out to Watanuki. "Let's go home?"
Watanuki looked at him before taking the hand and smiling. "Yeah, okay." Then they both started walking uphill to ground level.
Halfway through, Watanuki slipped but Doumeki caught him. He was pulled up with Doumeki's strong arm and he staggered to stand up straight. Doumeki steadied him and asked, "You okay?"
Watanuki blinked and then laughed.
"What is it?"
Life has a funny, funny way of helping you out...
"Nothing much." But he kept a grin steady on his face.
Well, I guess that funny way is Doumeki.
FIN.
A/N: Sorry lol, I have this weird way of wanting to write in manga-form. So if it sounded like you were reading a manga instead, then yay! ^-^
Well, that's all. Hope you enjoyed this one-shot! I think. ~ SEi
Lyrics used from the song: Ironic - Alanis Morissette I love the lyrics so much. The song itself is okay though.
