A/N: Hey guys! This is a request from suntan140 for a Tsubasa Chronicle/xxxHolic crossover. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it! :3
Prompt: a oneshot of Tsubasa Chronicle and xxxHolic crossover where Watanuki's and Doumeki's ancestors were in love but their families forbid it, so to be together they kill themselves and Sakura's feather made it so their souls could live on. To get the feather back Watanuki has to confess her feelings to Doumeki.
Another Silly Love Story
Once, long ago...there was a small village that was built high in the mists of Mount Mitake. This village was home to a shrine that had been built by the monks living there, each generation bestowing hard work and spiritual energy to the sacred sight. In this family of priests, there was a young man who was very talented in the spiritual arts and was destined to inherit the shrine when his own father passed away. He was loved by all the people of the village except one, a young girl who was talented in her own right – a priestess like maiden with the ability to see and sense the spirits that resided on the mountain.
No one else possessed this power to see spirits, a curse that had been bestowed upon her family's blood when they assisted in vanquishing a powerful demon many decades ago and the woman was loathed because of it. The villagers shunned the girl and isolated her, but only the young monk was nice to her. And she hated him for it. Every time he reached out in friendship, she turned away from his words and rejected him. The monks of the shire were not pleased with the man's outstretched hand to the girl, but the young monk persuaded them to leave him be, saying that all the creations of the earth should be loved, even they who possess the taint of demons. The maiden's family was not pleased as well, a bitter resentment for the priest's prosperity and good blessing a bitterness that they harbored for a very long time.
Nonetheless, the young man pursued the maiden, failing in his every attempt to befriend her and his concern for her well being turned into something deeper, so much so that he could not forget her image even for an instant. The maiden, however, refused to even think about the monk and preferred spending her days wandering among the lotus flowers of the mountain and bathing in the pure river that lazily wound through the forests.
It was on one such walk that the maiden was attacked by a dangerous demon and had to flee for her life. The young monk was following her up the mountain, trying once again to declare his love for her when he heard the commotion. The monk rushed to the maiden's aid, but being unable to see the horrible demon, he was injured as he tried to protect the woman from the invisible enemy. Crying out in despair, the maiden fell on her savior and begged for him to help her, to live, just this once. She promised to love him if they survived, never to leave his side as long as she lived. The man accepted her request and with her power to see the evil spirit, vanquished the demon with his own spiritual power, saving them both from a horrible death.
In those moments of terror, the young maiden realized, despite her passionate declaration, she had truly come to love the young man and beneath the moon and the lotus flowers blooming on the mountain's side, they reveled in their love. Returning to the village, they were met by both families of the man and woman and were torn apart from one another by hatred and disgust. The young monk was locked in the shrine as punishment for falling in love with the tainted girl and she was sent far up the mountain to live alone in a hut without the company of a living being.
Several months passed and the lover's souls long to be together. One night, the young monk escaped from his confinement and made the perilous journey up the mountain's sheer cliffs, accompanied by the sounds of the river and the path of lotus flowers. The monk reached the hut where his lover was confined and embraced her. They knew they couldn't live there together, for the woman's family visited often to bring her food and clothes, and they couldn't live in the village together either. Lost in the despair of the impending separation, the maiden and the monk cried out their sorrow and hatred for the injustice that had been forced upon their love. They decided that if they could not live together, they could at least die together, and took their lives while in each other's arms.
When their bodies were finally found, the hut had been flooded by the river and lotus flowers had bloomed on the skin of the lovers. The families wept the loss of their young, the hatred between them dulled for the moment of mourning as the young lovers were buried in a field of flowers, never too see the light of day again, but to always rest in each other's arms in eternal night.
"Man, that story we read in class today was so depressing." Watanuki grumbled as she walked home with Wari and Doumeki. "I mean, The Tale of the Dying Lovers? The teacher couldn't come up with a better story to study?"
"I really liked it myself. The tragic stories are always the best." Doumeki replied.
"You're beginning to sound a lot like Yuko, jerkass." Watanuki snapped.
"I thought it was really romantic that the lovers couldn't be without each other." Wari commented. "I think everyone deserves someone like that to love them.
"Oh, really?~" Watanuki cooed. "Well, I do admit that that was pretty cool, but did they have to kill themselves? Couldn't they are just left? Gotten off the mountain or something?"
"Loyalty to one's family, position and birthplace were a big deal hundreds of years ago. I bet that they couldn't bear to leave their home anymore than they could leave each other." Doumeki explained.
"Thank you Mr. Know-It-All!" Watanuki glared at the archer, ticked at him but kinda interested in what he had to say.
"If that's not tragic, I don't know what is." Wari agreed.
"It's just tragic that we had to read it." Watanuki restated.
"Shut up." Doumeki replied.
"Don't tell me to shut up! You shut up!" Watanuki yelled and Doumeki just plugged his ears in response. Wari laughed at the pair.
"You two are so funny! I'd bet you'd make a great couple!" He chuckled.
"Don't say that Wari!" Watanuki whined, hating how even her crush thought they'd go well together. The trio had to split off at the next crossroads, Doumeki heading to the temple, Wari going home and Watanuki going to work. Once she was at the shop, Watanuki started getting ready to clean, telling Yuko all about her day at school, including the story they read in class. Surprisingly enough, Yuko was very interested in that particular story.
"That's one of the classics, Watanuki. So tragic, and so passionate!~" The woman praised, leaning back on her couch, holding her pipe up in the air while she dramatically laid her hand across her forehead like some starlet. "Destined to be together, but cursed by hatred and death instead!"
"Why does everyone think that tragedy is a good thing? Why can't there be a happy ending?! Why did they have to die? I just don't get it!" Watanuki huffed, tying her head handkerchief tightly around her hair and shrugging on her apron for cleaning.
"As I've told you before Watanuki: all the best love stories involve amputation." Yuko puffed her pipe appreciated. "This one just happened to involve the premature amputation of life. How tragic."
"They say the story is based off of real events but I honestly doubt that." The girl sighed, continuing on with the information their teacher had explained after the reading.
"I wouldn't be so sure. Most stories have at least a grain of truth to them."
"My teacher said the same thing, saying that the Mount Mitake in the story is the real mountain today and that the shrine is the famous Mitake Shrine that sits near the summit. She also told us that many unexplainable things happen on sites people visit and that the same lotus flowers that grow in the forests are similar to the ones that grew hundreds of years ago." Watanuki explained, fixing her glasses. "And even though I'd like to say that all of this is a coincidence, I know you'd just shoot me down."
"Nothing is coincidence…" Yuko started.
"Only that which is inevitable." Watanuki finished with a sigh. "I think you're brainwashing me."
"I think you might me right!~" Yuko teased. "Now be a good girl and fetch me some snacks and beer!" She said with a puff of her pipe.
"And for me too!~" Mokona demanded, hopping out from the ceiling and landing on Watanuki's head.
"Get off me!" The seer batted away the fur ball and went to do as she was asked. Then she was ordered to do the washing, dust the shop, clean the floors and go outside to sweep up the garden. Watanuki grumbled the whole time she was going chores, cursing Yuko's name and wondered if she'd ever have a light work load.
Watanuki was out sweeping the garden when it happened. She'd just been enjoying her quiet time when Mokona came bouncing in and head butted the poor girl (on purpose or on accident, Mokona was getting stir fried for dinner). The black fur ball was chased around the garden by a furious Watanuki and just giggled at her the whole time. Watanuki gave up after a while and went back to viciously tossing up dirt into the air with a vengeance in her broom when something changed. The air got heavy around her and a bulge grew out of the sky.
"Oh crap!" Watanuki tried to run as the bulge fell down to the ground but she noticed it too late and it landed on her, pitting her face down in the dirt. When the dimensional bubble popped, and dissipated, the seer found herself being sat on my Kurogane and stood on by Sakura. "Ow." She groaned under the weight of the tall man and the cute girl.
"Oh! So sorry Watanuki!" Sakura apologized, instantly jumping off the girl's legs, her traveling cape and Clow Country clothes fluttering gracefully behind her.
"Next time, move out of the way." Kurogane grumped, rolling off the girl's back before he crushed any of her bones with his weight. He pushed his black cape out of the way before he could trip on it.
"Be nice, Kuro-puu. I'm sure dear, little Watanuki didn't mean to get stuck under us." Fai teased, worming his hands out of her furry, white coat sleeve and poking the raven's cheek.
"Stop it, Fai." The girl growled, smacking his hand away and trying to swipe his hood over his head and suffocate him.
"Ooo! So scary!~" The blond smiled and backed off before that could happen, waving his hands in front of his chest in mock fear.
"Watanuki's here!~" A high pitched annoying voice squealed.
"Watanuki's here!~" An almost identical voice repeated.
"Oh no! Get away from me!" Watanuki jumped up to run away only to be tackled to the ground by the two mokonas, the black and white monsters jumping all over her and causing the girl to pull out her best swears and threats to stew them both.
"Watanuki! Watanuki Born on April First!~" The fur balls chanted, dashing around as the girl tried to grab them, her hands swiping back and forth, but they just kept hopping around her body like it was a climbing wall and taunting her until she lost it, everyone else laughing at the display. Finally, Watanuki just threw her hands up in the air, the mokonas flying up with her temper as she stalked inside the shop.
"Yuko! Syaoran and his friends are here and Mokona is driving me crazy!" Watanuki announced, barging into Yuko's receiving room. The witch was right where Watanuki had left her, only she'd changed clothes into her black moon dress that she always wore as the "Dimensional Witch" whenever she contacted Syaoran's group. Her hair was pulled up into a fat loop on her head, the draped headpiece cloths framing her face and the rest of her hair cascaded down onto her couch and the floor.
"Excellent. That means that what they're looking for is here." Yuko puffed another cloud of smoke into the air.
"One of Sakura's feathers? You think one's really here?"
"I wouldn't be surprised." Yuko said, "Those feathers have ended up in many worlds and many timelines. It's even possible that Sakura's feather has been here for centuries and the same can be said if it's been here a few minutes." Watanuki shook her head, the conversation getting to deep and complicated for her to wrap her head around.
"Time-space travel makes no sense. They've been traveling around forever looking for the princess's memories and you're saying the feather could've just showed up?" Watanuki's head cocked to the side, her eyes white and hollow. "I just don't understand how that's possible."
"Do I need to explain it again?" Yuko prompted, her eyes narrowing.
"No! No!" Watanuki waved her hands wildly, trying to avert a lecture.
"Well, as you already know, each world in each dimensional neighborhood has its own time line." Yuko began.
"I said I didn't need any explanations!"
"When Sakura's feathers scattered, each piece of her memories found a new place to rest. Since each world is already disconnected from each other, the feathers entered the worlds' timelines at different times. It's like how a day here on Earth is twenty four hours and a day on Venus is two hundred and forty three of our days, resulting in a day five thousand eight hundred and thirty two hours long. Venus is like a world's timeline that is far less along than another world like Earth that has already experienced more time. Understand? That's why some feathers land on a world hundreds of years before Sakura comes to collect them, and why feathers also appear only a few years or even days before their group lands on a world." Yuko paused to look at her little worker and Watanuki just stared back at her.
"I think you just confused me more." Watanuki confessed, her eyes completely lost in Yuko's explanation.
"You're hopeless." The woman sighed, and went back to puffing her pipe. "Why don't you go make a snack for our guests? I have a feeling that they're tired from their journey."
"Sure, I always do the cooking." Watanuki complained, miffed that she was being hustled off to the kitchen without even getting to visit.
"It's your job. Go do it." The seer stuck her tongue out at her boss and just as she was about to leave, Syaoran and his friends wandered in with their strange clothing and with Doumeki (surprisingly) following behind. Both Mokonas were sitting on Kurogane's shoulders, pissing off the swordsman with their incessant chatter. But then the white Mokona's eyes suddenly opened wide, the blue startling and made that noise it made when a feather was nearby. This startled the black Mokona and its eyes went wide in surprise, the deep black scaring Watanuki every time she saw it. And the noise the black Mokona made surprised the white Mokona and its eyes shocked open again and the cycle of startled Mokonas continued (whether it was on purpose or as a joke, it was pissing of Kurogane).
"Shut up you little fur balls!" The man roared, his voice whipping the mokona's ears back behind their heads as they laughed and clung to his shoulders.
"Kuro-puu is mad!" The white Mokona squealed.
"Mad! Mad! Mad!" The black Mokona giggled. They both jumped up to Kurogane's face and each kissed a cheek before dodging his angry fists and using Watanuki as a springboard to leap into Yuko's hands.
"You're funny Mokona!~" Yuko said, referring to both creatures.
"I'd say it's a part of Mokona's 108 Secret Techniques, but being funny is part of Mokona's natural charm!" The white Mokona stated, saluting cutely.
"I just like to piss people off!" The black one piped up. "Especially Watanuki!"
"Shut up or I will grill you up for dinner!" The seer growled, leaping towards the fur balls. Doumeki reached out and grabbed her waist, holding back the seething girl as she kicked and flailed.
"Calm down, Watanuki." The archer said.
"What are you doing here anyway?!" Watanuki snapped, twisting in Doumeki's arms to flip her body around so she could glare at him better.
"I have some of Yuko's manga that I need to return."
"Well, return it and get out!" The seer commanded, trying to untangle herself from Doumek's arms.
"No. I heard that you're making food. I'm sticking around."
"I hate you, you glutton!" The seer broke out of Doumeki's grasp and got dumped on the floor in the process.
"You two are so cute!~" Sakura giggled, clapping her hands together.
"We are not cute and we are not together!" Watanuki shouted in indignation. Doumeki just plopped his hand down on the seer's head in response, ruffling her already messy hair. The white Mokona's eyes popped opened again (for real this time) and distracted everyone.
"Mokona senses a feather!" It chirped.
"Where is it?" Syaoran asked, the first word he'd spoken since he'd arrived.
"Mokona can't tell…its faint and really…what's the word?" The fur ball thought for a moment, pacing around Yuko's hand. "Immaterial! I can't get a good hold on its location."
"Well, that's just great." Kurogane grumped. "Now we're stuck here with the witch for who knows how long!"
"Be nice, Kurgi!" Fai admonished lightly.
"Since we're here and I don't want to hang around, just send me home already!" The swordsman commanded.
"Sorry, it's not time yet for you to return home!~" Yuko replied. "Now," she clapped her hands together. "Watanuki! Get the sake!"
"I'm not your slave!" The girl snapped, jumping to her feet, fists clenched.
"Hop to it!" The black Mokona waved its little paw in the direction of the kitchen.
"I don't take orders from you!"
"Watanuki! You're so funny!" Fai chuckled. The rest of the company laughed the girl's antics and she was shoved out of the room by many eager hands ready to eat.
Not only did she have to cook dinner and get alcohol, she also had to provide Syaoran and his friends with normal clothes and filing away Yuko's manga that Doumeki returned to her. The girl was scurrying across the shop like a mad woman, trying to get everything done while babysitting Maru and Moro who just happened to wake up as the party was starting. Soon, dinner was underway and everyone was eating cheerfully (except Watanuki of course, she was busy cooking) and the party lasted deep into the night with many arguments between Yuko and Kurogane and several wrestling matches involving the Mokonas and Watanuki and Kurogane. Syaoran and Sakura intelligently stayed out of the mess and Fai was busying egging it on with Yuko and Doumeki was just there to eat. After hours of entertaining, Yuko retired to her rooms and everyone else found places to sleep – since they couldn't do anything about the feather for now – and Watanuki dragged herself back to the kitchen to clean up all the dishes and cooking equipment. She had just gotten started when she heard a pair of footsteps in the hallway. A cross vein popped out on the girl's forehead and she groaned in irritation.
"No Yuko, you can't have any more sake! Go to sleep already!" She snapped.
"I'm not Yuko and I don't want sake." It was Doumeki who spoke and Watanuki turned to see what he wanted. She was surprised to see a pile of dirty dishes in his hands.
"Are you bringing me more work to do?" She asked, turning back to the sink.
"No. I can to help." Doumeki set the dishes down and grabbed a drying rag, plucking a wet dish out of Watanuki's hands and wiping it off.
"I don't need your help!" Watanuki growled (even though there were way too many dishes for just one girl to handle and she really would've liked some help – just not Doumeki's).
"Shut up and deal with it." The archer replied, and kept drying dishes.
"Whatever." Watanuki shrugged and went back to washing. They didn't speak, the silence deafening to anybody else, but comfortable for the two teens. The calming, repetitive chore of washing dishes more pleasant with company, even Watanuki had to admit that. She didn't necessarily hate Doumeki anymore, she just didn't know how to act around him now that that loathing had dissipated, so she just acted the same as always. For the most part, she was fine to spend time with the archer, but she didn't want anyone else to know that and she was coming to like all the attention and protection he gave her (she would never admit that either). A half an hour passed in companionable silence and soon the dishes were done and all that was left was a girl with pruney hands and a boy who's had was still reaching out for another dish.
"There's no more." Watanuki informed him, rinsing off her hands. Instead, Doumeki's outstretched hand reached for Watanuki's. "What are you doing?!" She squealed.
"You cut yourself." He said, taking the injured hand in both of his softly. He put a slight pressure on one of the girl's fingers and squeezed out a few drops of blood.
"Must've been a knife I nicked myself on. No big deal." Watanuki shrugged it off. But Doumeki was having none of that. He reached for the first aid kit that the cook always kept in the kitchen cupboard and washed and dried her hand again, applying a bandage over the cut and sealing it off. Watanuki stood quietly as he worked, touched by his concern for her. After he was done and the kit put away, they just stood facing each other, the silence between them now awkward, and charged. Doumeki spoke after a few minutes of Watanuki not looking him in the eyes, holding her injured hand in her other one.
"Let's go to bed." Doumeki took her unhurt hand and led the girl down the hallway. Watanuki tripped in her distraction and exhaustion, stumbling into Doumeki's back.
"Sorry." She mumbled.
"S'okay." They walked to Watanuki's normal room when she slept over at Yuko's and found that Syaoran and Sakura were camped out in there and already asleep. Watanuki rolled her eyes at the theft of her space and yanked Doumeki towards another room. Fai was in that one, snoring on a futon and the next room they check had Maru and Moro passed out and sprawled over too beds. In the next one, Kurogane was meditation or sleeping cross-legged (Watanuki really couldn't tell) and they left him alone before he could fly off the handle at being disturbed.
"This is ridiculous." Watanuki grumbled. They checked another room and found it empty and equipped with two futons and generic robes that seemed to have everywhere. "No use in trying to find and empty room. The Mokonas will probably magic themselves into every single one of them." Watanuki yanked Doumeki inside and then ordered him to turn around so she could change. By the time she'd (embarrassingly) removed her clothes and shrugged on her sleeping yukata, she found Doumeki already changed and standing in the corner, not looking at her.
"Done?" He asked.
"Yep." Watanuki dragged out her futon and Doumeki did the same before they both flopped down on them. Why do I always end up in situations like this with him? It's annoying. In all honesty, Watanuki was completely fine and used to sharing space with Doumeki, having slept over at his temple several times. They never spoke in the dark and they just let the other sleep, both minds occupied on the other person in the room. Doumeki was no different this time, watching Watanuki yank out her pony tail and letting her hair fall down to her shoulder blades. She plucked her glasses off of her mismatched eyes and set them down next to her futon and then threw the blanket over her body.
"Night." Doumeki called.
"Yeah, yeah. Night." She replied, wondering if Doumeki liked her hair down because he wouldn't stop staring at it.
Both teens drifted off to sleep in each other's company and Watanuki fell into a very odd dream.
She was standing in a rural village, the street filled with people and animals coming and going and generally being loud. Watanuki looked around and noticed that she was dressed in a woman's kimono, detailed with flowers and a flashy obi. Her head also felt heavy and she reached her hands up to feel a full, twisting hairdo pinned on top of her skull with chopsticks and everything.
"What the hell is going on?" The girl whispered, but her question was interrupted by a man running up to her, dressed in black and white monk's robes, a huge smile on his face.
"Renge!" The man called, holding up his hand in greeting. He looked like Doumeki with his short brown hair, tan skin, but his eyes were different, happier and he was smiling widely. Definitely disturbing.
"Leave me alone, Tama!" The words flew out of her mouth before Watanuki was even aware of it. Her body also started moving without her consent, pivoting on her geta and starting to run as fast as she could in her confining clothes.
"Renge! Please stop!" The man named Tama called, weaving in between people on the street to catch the girl.
"Run, Renge! He's gaining!" A man shouted from the bar and his friends laughed as she passed by.
"Tama! Go get her!" Another patron of the bar cheered, holding up his sake gourd in salute. Watanuki glared at him and the man shrunk back from her gaze, taking another guzzle of his drink. As she ran past, Watanuki caught sight of her mother coming out of a shop. The woman saw her daughter running and the girl knew she was thinking about how unlady-like it was to run, and then sniffed disdainfully as she spotted Tama running after her daughter. Watanuki ignored her stuffy mother as she called out for her to behave herself. She kept running, dodging walkers and animals and winding around the back alleys until she broke out of town. She took the unmarked paths, dashing into the forest as the lotus flowers whispered in the breeze all around her. She was glad she'd worn her most tattered kimono because tromping through the undergrowth did not help her appearance. She stopped running when she reached the river, kneeling down and cupping her hand to get a drink and to dab her face.
"Is he gone?" She whispered to her reflection. Watanuki eyes widened in shock as she stared down at her own face in the water. But it wasn't her face either. The chin was too soft, her eyes were too wide and innocent looking to be hers and they were a deep brown, not her normal blue. "What's going on? Is this a dream?" Watanuki asked.
"Renge!" A voice called. It was the monk!
"Tama! That bastard should've given up by now!" Watanuki swore, the words not her own. She also realized that her name was Renge, at least in whatever dream this was. Renge/Watanuki ran stood up and started running again as the monk's voice called after her.
"I love you, Renge! Why can't you accept me?" The monk shouted, his voice floating up over the trees and the flowers.
"Because you're a nuisance and my family would kill me if I ever loved you!" The girl whispered viciously. Her family was cursed by a demon many generations ago and now everyone, including Watanuki could see and sense yokai near them. This power branded the whole family as witches and heretics and no one really liked them, the village only tolerated them living there because it did come in handy to see what was going on when supernatural things began happening. The only person who seemed to like anyone from her family was that monk Tama, and he insisted that he loved her! Ha!
As much as she wanted to be loved, Watanuki refused to let her rival have that satisfaction of having her. He'd been pursuing her for months, claiming that he wanted to be friends and somehow his declarations of companionship had turned into declarations of love. It was annoying to be sure, but it was also nice because someone besides her controlling mother and distant father was paying attention to her, trying to know her. Watanuki kept that warm feeling locked away in her heart, not willing to let another person into her world. And then there was the family rivalry between the monks and her relatives and that was nothing to trifle with.
As she was thinking and running, Watanuki tripped, crashing to the ground and rolling into something big and warm and stinky. The girl rolled back to sit on her behind and looked up, her brown eyes widening in horror as she realized that she'd just disturbed a demon of the mountain, a huge black bear. Watanuki started backing away slowly, trying to sneak out before the yokai noticed her but his malicious red eyes swiveled towards her and its serrated mouth opened in a huge roar, shaking the mountain and scaring all the birds from the trees. Watanuki froze in horror as the demon, unfolded itself from its sitting position, huge black claws sliding out and the huge animal came to its feet and roared at its prey. Watanuki ran, leaving her sandals behind as the bear demon snapped its huge jaws to eat her. It missed the small girl to quick to catch and she disappeared into the bushes, her heart beating wildly in her chest, her breath short even as she wanted to scream. The bear followed, its huge bulk knocking down trees in its pursuit.
Its paws swiped at the girl as she tried to lose the demon, but her blood was to alluring for the bear to give up easily to the troublesomely quick prey. The demon roared again, the force pushing Watanuki off her feet and sending her flying into the river. The freezing water shocked all the sensation out of her body, water flowing into her lungs and a claw reached down into the water to scrap against the girl's leg, opening up a foot long gash in her calf. Watanuki screamed underwater, her open mouth releasing bubbles to the surface as her red blood spilled into the river. She needed air. Watanuki kicked to the surface despite her leg, the water freezing most of the feeling on her skin. She broke the surface, screaming and wailing in pain and horror, clawing her way to the shore to try an escape her impending death. That heart wrenching scream tore through the air, alerting the monk to her location.
"Renge!" She heard her name shouted and the girl's heart froze as the man who pursued her ran to her air. She didn't want him here. She didn't want the demon to get him. She didn't want to pull something so pure into her tainted curse's mess. She didn't want Tama to die the horrible death she was going to.
"Run! Tama! Get away!" She screamed back, crawling onto the shore of the river and limping into the bushes as the bear ran towards her. She screamed again for the monk to run but he was already there, dropping his bow and pulling the bleeding girl into his arms.
"Renge!" The monk held her close, yanking her off her injured leg.
"No! Tama, run! The demon's coming! Leave me!" Watanuki tried to push the man away, trying to save him before the demon got any closer.
"No! I'm not leaving you!" Tama shouted back, but Watanuki broke his grip and shoved him away. "Where's the demon?" It was too late, the bear yokai was already on top of them, his claws digging into the monk's shoulder and throwing him into a tree.
"Tama!" Watanuki screamed in agony as her pursuer was thrown away from her and she limped over to his bleeding body. Every step was torture, but she kept going, her leg leaving a trail of blood on the forest's floor. The bear demon was too busy licking the blood off his paw to immediately attack the girl and she fell upon the bleeding monk's body, checking the wound he'd suffered because of her. It was deep. Too deep. "Tama! Tama, don't leave me here!" She cried, terrified of being alone, terrified of being the cause of death to the man she loved.
"I'm not going anywhere." The monk replied weakly, coughing up blood.
"Tama! Please, don't die! I couldn't stand it if you died because of me!" Watanuki cried, tears falling from her eyes and landing on his cheek. "If you live, I promise to never leave you side! I promise to love you just like you want me to, you idiot!"
"Good." The man smiled confidently. "Show me where the demon is and I'll get rid of it." Tama sat up, ignoring his wound and feeling around for his bow. "Damn! Where is it? Renge, where's my bow?"
"Over there!" The woman looked down and pointed to where the monk's weapon had fallen when he'd been hit. "I'll get it!" She stood to go but a hand on her wrist stopped her.
"Don't! Let me get it! I need you to tell me where the demon is so I can exorcise it! I can't see exactly where it is even if I can sense the evil aura."
"No! You stay here, I'll get it and bring it to you." She argued.
"You can barely stand let alone run!"
"I'm doing it!" Watanuki's stubbornness won out and she dashed towards the fallen bow, her sever limp only hindering her a little as her blood raced. Her movement drew the demon's attention again, the bear's huge head swinging towards her as she skidded to the ground to scoop up the bow. Now she only had seconds to do something. She ran back to Tama, the bear roaring and running after her. "Tama! It's right behind me! Aim high!" She threw the bow to the crouching man and he caught it in his hand, holding his injured shoulder. Watanuki tripped, so relieved that he'd caught it that she lost her footing. The bear was only seconds away from crushing her or tearing her apart limb from limb, its salivating mouth breathing rank air onto her skin.
Tama drew his bow, looking at where Renge was collapsed as the evil aura drew closer. He didn't need an arrow. Taking a single calming breath to gather his strength, a shining arrow of pure energy materialized on top of his fingers and notched into his bow. Renge screamed as she was scooped into the air, screaming for the monk to shoot. He did, aiming high at the demon he knew was there but couldn't see.
Watanuki watched as the arrow flew directly into the bear demon's eye, the animal yowling in pain and throwing her out of its mouth and into the trees. The bear vanished a few seconds later, light breaking out of its skin and its body breaking off into the sky, purified and killed by the arrow.
Watanuki landed hard on a branch and it snapped, causing her to fall through the tree and crashing to the ground. She rolled to her knees, her body aching and screaming at her to stop moving and she looked for Tama. He was still crouching on the ground, breathing heavily and holding his tore shoulder.
"Tama!" Watanuki screamed, her body lurching to her feet as she stumbled towards her savior. She crashed into the man's arms, finally feeling safe within his embrace. "Tama, you're alright!"
"You are too. You're safe. Thank god." Tama whispered into her hair. "You're safe, Renge." He breathed.
"Tama, I thought you were going to die!" Watanuki sobbed.
"You were going to die twice over and still you ran towards that demon! How stupid can you be?" The monk laughed.
"Be quiet! I was so scared!" The woman hissed.
"I know. I know you were." Tama chanted, stroking the woman's hair, feeling her breath on his skin, the warmth in her body. "I thought I'd almost lost you. I'd die if you weren't here."
"I'm not going anywhere." She said, echoing his own words. She looked up at his face and reached up her lips to kiss him. That surprised Tama but he kissed her back after a few moments, holding his lover tighter. After they broke away from each other, he asked a question.
"What happened to not being able to stand me?" He smiled mischievously.
"I love you more than I can't stand you." She replied. He laughed heartily and pulled her close again.
They returned to the village late into the night, having stay in each other's arms for far too long and not long enough. Bandaged to the best of their ability, Tama helped Watanuki limp back, and she was careful not to hurt his own injury. When they returned, Tama gave his lover one last kiss before they separated for the night. Unfortunately, someone saw them. As the lovers walking into the village holding hands for a few moments more, both their families rushed out into the silent streets, shouting and cursing their names to the heavens as hands grabbed Watanuki and Tama, pulling them apart in all the confusion and hatred, the man and woman screaming for each other as they were torn away.
"Tama! Tama!" Watanuki screamed, yelling her lover's name as she was dragged backwards.
"Renge! Renge!" He was calling her name as well, the horror of the situation marring his handsome face. Watanuki struggled against her mother's hands, her father's strong arms, reaching for her love. "Renge!"
"Watanuki. Watanuki." Something was holding her down now, the darkness of her vision now complete as the commotion in the village faded away, replaced by a single, dead pan voice.
"Watanuki!" The seer shot awake at the sound of her same, sitting up fast and head butting whoever was holding her down.
"Ow!" She complained, rubbing her sore head as the weight on her arms disappeared and landed on her legs. She opened her eyes and found Doumeki sprawled on her futon, on hand on his head. "What the hell, Doumeki? Why are you on my bed?"
"You were gasping in your sleep, and rolling around, thrashing. It looked like you were having a nightmare." Doumeki replied, not getting off the girl's legs. "And you kicked me."
"Well soooorry!" The girl slurred. "I can't control what I do when I'm unconscious!"
"Was it a bad dream?" Doumeki asked, trying to get into the heart of the matter.
"Uh…well…" Watanuki floundered on what to tell her classmate. "It was odd. I was being chased by a demon but I wasn't myself and this annoying guy was following me, declaring his love. He saved me. Its kina like that story we read."
"Well, that's odd." Doumeki stated.
"Yeah, I blame it entirely on the story." I'm not telling him that the monk dude looked like him. She looked around the room and realized that it was still dark. "Ug, I have a bad dream and the world can't just let it be morning? I'm never getting back to sleep now!" She complained.
"If you shut up it will be quiet. The quiet will help you relax and then I can go to sleep." Doumeki said, flicking the girl in the forehead. She glared at him hotly.
"You're a bastard, you know that?" Watanuki shoved the boy off her and back onto his own bed. She rolled back into her blanket and listened as Doumeki settled down again. The silence was deafening.
Watanuki mused over her dream and how similar her dream was to her own situation with Doumeki. She was irritated by him most of the time, but he was useful when she as in a pinch, he always ate her cooking and for the most part, she could tolerate being around him. He followed her around and tried to meddle when she'd rather he not, but he was kind – in his own way – and always looked out for her. It was the same with Tama and Renge. And that's what scared her the most. In the dream, Tama had gotten hurt because Renge hadn't been strong enough to deal with her problems alone, and Watanuki had already done that with Doumeki. The girl's eyes narrowed, her hand coming up to feel her one bronze eye. And then the red eyes of the bear demon flashed in the girl's mind and she broke out in a cold sweat, the fear of her dream rushing back into her blood. She trembled, the demon's veracious screams echoing in her ears, the pain of his claws ghosting across her skin. She whimpered in fear, having never faced and evil like that before in her life and was glad that her spirits were mostly harmless (even if they did want to eat her soul). Watanuki's breathing sped up and she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep now that she'd recalled the monster from her nightmare.
Suddenly, there was a warm weight by her back, cradling her as arms wrapped around her body. Watanuki's eyes flashed open and she turned her head to see Doumeki holding her.
"What are you doing?!" She whispered, frightened by his sudden appearance and surprisingly comforting touch.
"You were tossing again. And trembling. And I didn't want to get kicked for a second time." He whispered back, resting his chin on the girl's hair, spooning her body with his own.
"Well, get off me. This is creepy." Watanuki replied.
"Just go to sleep." Doumeki didn't move and was quiet no matter what Watanuki said to him. She eventually just gave up and got used to him holding her, opting to get a few hours of precious sleep instead of dragging out her misery. But it felt kind of nice to be held. She hadn't been held like this since she was a child, when her parents were still alive. It was nice. Watanuki's eyes drifted shut and she unconsciously snuggled into Doumeki's arms, content to have someone beside her.
However, the next morning was a disaster when Maru and Moro crashed into their room, finding the pair still snuggling on the one futon and they giggled and laughed all through breakfast, whispering to each other, "Lovey-dovey! Lovey-dovey!~" Watanuki scowled at them and of course Yuko teased her about it when she found out but what really strained Watanuki that morning was the work load she had. She had to prepare breakfast for eleven people all by herself, Syaoran, Sakura, Fai and Kurogane still camping out until the feather could be found and the extra void that was the white Mokona didn't help either. It also didn't help that the white Mokona sensed the feather again during breakfast when Watanuki tripped and fell into Doumeki's lap – causing chaos – but the fur ball couldn't pinpoint its location, frustrating Syaoran and ticking off Kurogane. Fai and Sakura seemed okay that the feather was nearby but unattainable at the moment; it just gave them all a chance to rest a bit and impose on Yuko. Only, they were imposing on Watanuki too and she had enough troubles with out five more mouths to feed. Not that she didn't like spending time with Syaoran and his friends, it's just that she had been stuck in the kitchen the whole time they'd been visiting. By the time the seer had prepared the day's lunches, Doumeki was waiting to get out the door and on the way to school. Watanuki was so tired she could barely stay on her feet as she put on her shoes in the genkan.
"Late night?" Yuko teased, leaning against a wall in her sleeping kimono. Her sleeves were falling off, nearly exposing her chest but still just barely covering her up.
"Oh shut up about it already! I had a bad dream." Watanuki complained. Doumeki was waiting for her outside, and they'd be late if she didn't hurry.
"A dream? How very interesting." Yuko mused.
"Yeah, I blame it on that stupid story from yesterday."
"Oh?" Yuko asked.
"Yeah, the dream followed a similar stream as The Tale of the Dying Lovers. It was about this girl and a monk and I was the girl and got attacked by a yokai. The monk saved me and apparently I fell in love with him." Watanuki said snarkily. "Just before I woke up they were separated, just like in the story."
"How very interesting." Yuko repeated, her cranberry eyes unreadable. "How do you know that it was just a dream?" Watanuki scoffed.
"How could it not be? It was just my over active imagination." The seer started walking out the door.
"I wouldn't be too sure. Sometimes the truth is hidden between layers of fantasy and myth." Yuko replied mysteriously. Watanuki paused for a moment, thinking on her words and then headed out the door, her brain now occupied with the fact that Yuko probably knew more than she was letting on. As usual. She began walking down the street when several voices called out to her.
"Have a good day!" Sakura shouted, waving from the shops gate in her jeans and frilly pink blouse. Syaoran smiled and waved as well, yanking down his green shirt when Mokona tried to crawl around in it. Fair was there too, smiling mischievously like he did, fiddling with his blue and white jacket and Kurogane leaned against the fence like some sort of gangster, all decked out in black.
"See you when you get back!" Syaoran shouted.
"Bring Mokona some yummy food for dinner!" The white fur ball called, jumping up and down from where it jumped onto Kurogane's head.
"You shut up, you fur ball!" Watanuki shouted back, waving a fist at the creature.
"She sure is lively every time we see her!" Fai chuckled as the seer ran to catch up to Doumeki. "It's a nice change from your grumpy attitude." The wizard poked his friend's cheek.
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." The swordsman huffed, smacking his hand away.
"I like Doumeki too. He's always so kind to Watanuki." Sakura commented. "Just like you are to me, Syao."
"I suppose so." The boy answered, watching as Watanuki caught up to her classmate and then started yelling at him for something or other, waving the bento sack above her head. Must be nice, to express your love to someone and have them remember it. He smiled at the pair and then they all went inside to make a game plan to find Sakura's feather.
Doumeki walked with the girl to school, picking up the adorable Wari on the way so Watanuki could gush over the boy for the millionth time. The trio made it to school on time, slipping into their seats a few minutes before class started. The day passed slowly for Watanuki, stuck between boredom with her lessons, worry about Sakura's feather and exhaustion, it was no wonder she fell asleep at lunch time, leaning against a tree with Wari and Doumeki. The pair of boys shared a secret smile (well, Wari smiled anyway) and just let her sleep, Doumeki eating his lunch and half the girl's without any problems.
Watanuki was in a small hut, a threadbare mat her bed with a few cooking implements and a small table as her only possessions. Her meager pile of clothes was thrown in a corner, waiting to be washed, but she had neither the energy, not the heart to do it. She was tired, dirty and lonely, having been stuck in this hut for months, watched over by her family and kept away from Tama. Ever since that night they were found together, she hadn't seen nor heard any news about her lover. She couldn't go on living like this! Watanuki picked up one of her sandals that was lying on the floor and threw it at the wall in a fit of rage, screaming at the unfairness of it all.
"If only I could see him! Them I'd be able to go on, instead of stuck in this despair I feel just waking up every morning." Watanuki started to cry, the aching in her heart to much to bear. She wanted to see Tama, to touch his face and have him hold her close. It was agony to live without him, but what could she do? Her family watched her like a hawk, making the journey up the mountain every few days to bring her food and check on her and even if she did leave, every time she walked outside, Watanuki couldn't figure out a way to get back home. Her family had successfully stranded her up on the summit with no means to find her way back. There were no paths and her mother left the hut using a different route each time. It was frustrating and the helplessness was driving Watanuki out of her mind. She sat in her hut all day, listless cooking her meals and pining for her lover. This had been going on for months with no end in sight. Until one evening when everything changed. Watanuki was lying on her mat, trying to sleep in her squalor when she heard footsteps outside her prison. The girl sat up carefully, knowing full well it wasn't her family because they had already come and left just that afternoon. The girl backed herself into a corner, ready for anything when the voice she so longed to her called out to her.
"Renge?" The voice whispered. Watanuki began to cry, tears running down her cheeks as she ran for the door and burst out from behind the covering.
"Tama!" She cried, leaping into the monk's arms. He embraced her, holding her close and running his hands all along her body to make sure she was real. Watanuki squeezed his body tightly to hers, feeling his warmth and praying that this wasn't just another one of her illusions, the dreams that made her wail in despair when she woke up in the morning. "You're here! You're here! Oh, Tama!"
"I'm here, Renge. I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting." The monk pressed kisses on his lover's skin, her cheeks, her lips. They cried, their reunion much longed for by both of them.
"Let me see your face," Watanuki said, placing her hands on his cheeks. His face was still like Doumeki's, but not, the resemblance akin to how Doumeki looked like when compared to his grandfather. The same, but not "Where were you? I've been sick with worry for all these months." Watanuki asked, wiping the tears from her eyes and then hugging Tama again.
"I was imprisoned at the shrine for my sins. I only just escaped last night and came looking for you. I followed your mother up the mountain and then waited for her to leave so I could see you." The monk explained. "Oh, how I missed you!" He leaned down and kissed Watanuki on the lips, his hands soft on her cheeks.
"I've missed you too. I longed to see you every one of those miserable days we were apart." She confessed."I can't go back to those lonely hours…not after I've seen you again. But how can we? We'll be found out and they'll separate us again."
"Renge, I wish to be with your forever!" The monk declared.
"But Tama, our families forbid our love! We cannot stay on this mountain together, we would have to live separately in the agony of being so close and yet, not being able to love each other fully. And we cannot leave, you cannot abandon the shrine and I can't leave my family."
"Then I see no way for us to ever be together." Tama sighed, hating the whole mess.
"There is one way…" Watanuki whispered. "We can stay on the mountain and stay with our families and still be together."
"How?"
"We can die." Her voice was barely audible, the horror at what she was suggesting terrifying to her. "I won't live without you, not again and I can't do that while we still live. As long as we're alive they will never understand us, our love." Tears fell down her cheeks again, the injustice of their lives pricking her very soul.
"You're right, but could you really end your life? Could you take away all that has been given to you?" Tama asked quietly.
"Yes, if it means I get to be with you in the afterlife, I will gladly take my life. I see no other way." Watanuki looked up at the monk, a fire sparking in her dark eyes.
"Such a determined spirit. I'm glad that hasn't changed." Tama smiled, saddened that they had to resort to such drastic measures to stay together."If you've decided, then I won't argue. I won't be without you again." Tama pulled his lover close again, squeezing her into his chest, feeling her heartbeat in her chest. They kissed and held each other for the entire night, spending their last night in each other's arms, weeping for themselves and for the world that had denied them their love. Just before dawn, Renge took her one knife she possessed, the metal heavy in her hands, and slid it into her breast. She felt the cascade of blood run down her chest, the warm liquid crimson in the dim light of morning, hardly reflecting the pain and agony of dying that she was feeling. But she just smiled at her lover, coughing up blood.
"I l-lo" She tried to speak, to tell the man that she loved him one last time, but her mouth wouldn't work anymore. Tama smiled sadly, and took her into his arms, sliding his own knife into his chest, his warm blood washing over her own. Their hearts were so close in those moments and then they were gone, their empty bodies falling to the ground in a tangle of limbs as the life left their eyes, a flash of light the last sight they saw.
Watanuki jumped awake, hand on her chest where she'd plunged the knife in her dream.
"Watanuki?" Domeki asked concern in his eyes as he stopped packing up the bento lunches. Wari was also looking at the girl, watching her scared expression.
"Are you alright?" The curly haired boy asked softly.
"Yeah," the seer replied. "It was just a dream. Just a dream." Doumeki gave her a sideways glance, knowing that two dreams that terrified Watanuki in one twenty-four hour period was not a good sign. And then, Watanuki distracted him from ask any questions by noticing that most of her lunch was gone, and she certainly didn't eat it and ripped him a new one as he plugged his ears. Wari just chuckled at the both of them and finished packing up the lunches as the bell rang.
For the rest of the day, Watanuki's mind was preoccupied with her dreams and the story they were studying in class, seriously doubting that is was a coincidence that both the dreams appeared similar to the lover's story (almost word for word). It was so strange and the return of Syaoran's group right at this time when there was a feather about was just too much to handle for the girl. When she returned to Yuko's shop towing Doumeki in by the arm, she was on a mission to get some answers out of Yuko when the white Mokona's eyes shot open and it declared that a feather was nearby. That had Syaroan, Fai, Kurogane and Sakura running out the door to try and see if they could locate it, dragging Watanuki along for the ride along with both Mokonas. Doumeki opted to drink sake with Yuko instead of helping and Watanuki shot curses at him as she was yanked out the door again. Hours of searching turned up fruitless and Watanuki was so done with everything. So was Kurogane by the murderous look on his face as she yelled at Mokona.
"I thought you said you sensed a feather!" He accused, holing up the fur ball by its ears.
"Mokona did! Mokona swears! But it's gone now." The rabbit-like creature swung back and forth and kicked the swordsman in the face, dropping to the ground to hop onto Watanuki's shoulder. "When Watanuki walked in this afternoon, Mokona sensed it!"
"You're right, Mokona." Fai agreed. "Every time you've sensed a feather, we were all together in the shop. So maybe it's still there."
"But we've been in the shop all day and Mokona didn't sense the feather then." Syaoran noted.
"You're right. We would've found already if it was in the shop." Fai agreed.
"So then, what do we do?" Sakura asked. The four humans and one Mokona looked at each other.
"Go back and get some dinner?" They all chorused, looking at Watanuki.
"I hate you all!" She hissed, stomping back to the shop, the group following chose behind her.
"We've been stuck here for days!" Kurogane complained, giving up on the karuta game he was playing with Maru and Moro by throwing his cards into the air. "Are you sure you're not hiding the feather, witch-lady? Just to keep us here?" The swordsman asked, pointing an accusing finger at Yuko lounging on the couch.
"I have nothing to hide." She replied, nonplussed while smoking her pipe. "Though, some people might…" Her eyes flicked to Watanuki and the girl felt shivers go up her spine.
"And while you're at it, give me back my sword!" The black-haired man demanded.
"No can do!~" Yuko sang. "That's the price you pay to travel through worlds. You can't have it back."
"Just shut up about it already." Watanuki complained as she passed the doorway while wiping down the wood floors in the hall. "I'm sick of hearing about that stupid sword."
"And what would you know of it?" The swordsman snapped.
"Well, I know where it is and how clean I keep it." She replied flippantly.
"Wait! Where-" Kurogane was cut up when Watanuki rushed down the hallway with her rag and the white Mokona clobbered his face.
The last few days had been a mess of frustration and futile searches for Sakura's feather and Watanuki had been plagued by replays of dreams she'd been having, always waking up in a cold sweat when the demon bear attacked her or when she skid a knife into her chest. There were bags under her eyes and she was tired all the time now, ready to drop to the floor at any minute. She'd also been having a nagging sense that she needed to tell someone something, but had no idea who or what she needed to say that something too. It was downright peeving.
Later that evening, when Watanuki went out shopping because the ten people living in the shop had eaten everything, she was so distracted from her fitful nights' sleep and general annoyance at everything else that she didn't notice the spirit following her. She went from shop to shop, using her coupons like a good little housewife, lost in her thoughts as the spirit drifted closer and closer, clinking its claws and waiting for the right moment to strike. Watanuki was on her way home when it happened, just a block or two away from the shop when the spirit pounced.
The spirit tackled the girl, scattering her grocery bags across the street as it pinned her down. Watanuki struggled to push it off her but it was too heavy and she was crushed into the ground, all the air knocked out of her so she couldn't even scream. The spirit chuckled wetly, licking its serrated teeth and drawing ever close, its rank breath washing over the girl and nearly choking her to death. It was going to eat her. It was going to eat her and the protective barrier of the shop was too far away to be of any help.
"Help!" Watanuki gasped, hoping that someone wouldn't hear her and coming running. She'd even take that jerk Doumeki helping her out. Heck, she might even kiss him for it this time because now the spirit was dripping rank saliva all over her chest as its tongue swept closer to the girl's face. Watanuki struggled and kicked, but the spirit wasn't going anywhere, blinking its red eyes in satisfaction of its meal. Its maw opened, teeth poised for the kill as it dived. Watanuki squeezed her eyes shut. A bright flash of light streaked past, visible even in the girl's dark eyelids and suddenly, the weight on her stomach disappeared. Watanuki's eyes popped open, and she saw that the spirit who was about to eat her was nowhere in sight.
"Are you always his helpless?" An irritating voice asked. Watanuki sat up and found Doumeki staring at her, bow in hand and manga sticking out of his school bag. Tears sprang to the seer's eyes and she dashed up, grateful that she had been saved (even if it was Doumeki who did the saving). She stumbled to her feet and ran to hug the archer, surprising them both.
"Doumeki! I thought was going to die that time!" She cried, the tears stuck in her eyes now running down her cheek. "Thank you!" Finally Watanuki realized that she'd just hugged her rival that she had feelings for and that his arms were around her again, her skin heating up where they touched. Doumeki was looking down at her, pleasantly surprised by her behavior but still a little confused.
"What's going on with you?" He asked, knowing that several things had to have been going on for the girl to lose her normal sense of cool like this. And that's when it all came spilling out. All the details of the dreams she'd been having, every little worry and irritation caused since Syaoraon's group had shown up and every other worry about everything else. And Watanuki was fine with telling Doumeki all of this because he wouldn't judge her, he wouldn't push her away like other people had and because he cared about her. And Watanuki loved him for that.
The girl stopped mid-rant when that thought crossed her mind and suddenly, she felt the urge to tell Doumeki that she loved him…but she was too tongue tied to do it now.
"What's wrong?" The boy asked when the seer didn't go on complaining.
"Uh-well…I-uh.." Watanuki couldn't make a coherent word, so tongue tied by Doumeki's sheer closeness. She knew she needed to say it, had been needing to say it for a long time, but she just couldn't work up the nerve too. That is, until she looked into Doumeki's eye and saw completely devotion and love swirling around in them. He'd done so much for her, given up so much so he deserved to hear her say it. Watanuki blushed, her nervousness making her skin burn. "I love you." Watanuki whispered, the precious words floating into Doumeki's ears like something remembered from long ago. Watanuki blinked her eyes, confused.
"What is it?" The archer asked, hoping she wasn't regretting say those words he'd wanted to hear for a long time.
"I just feel…as if that's something I've wanted to say to you longer than I've known you. Something that was unfinished." She answered truthfully. "I know that doesn't make any sense but that's how I feel."
"No, I get it. I feel the same way when I tell you I love you, Kimihiro." Doumeki smiled softly at the girl's embarrassed (and flattered) blush and Doumeki took her hand. Suddenly a bright light shone out from their clasped hands and the couple watched in awe as a shining feather grew out of their fingers until it floated into the air.
"Is that…?" Watanuki breathed, looking at the perfect feather and its strange markings.
"I think it is." Doumeki answered. Watanuki reached out her free hand and pinched the feather between two of her fingers, holding it tightly like it was going to fly off somewhere. The feather glowed brighter as Doumeki leaned down to look at it too and suddenly, two lights burst from the feather and floated above the pair's heads.
Two people materialized, resting in the air with their glowing bodies. One was a woman who looked similar to Watanuki, with dark hair and dark eyes, dressed in a fancy kimono and the other was a man in monk's clothes and flashed a bright smile.
"Renge? Tama?" Watanuki breathed, coming face to face with the people in her dreams. They nodded.
"Are they the people from your dreams?" Doumeki asked. Watanuki nodded.
"And from The Tale of the Dying Lovers. That is their story."
"Thank you." The woman's voice interrupted, reaching down to stroke Watanuki's cheek. Her had was so warm. "You said the words I never finished, young lady." The woman smiled. "I never finished telling him that I loved him before I died." She nodded to the man.
"I am also grateful that our wish was finally granted." The man bowed low to the two teens.
"What wish?" Watanuki asked.
"The wish that our feelings would live on and be passed down to our descendants, that they too could find the love that we weren't given the chance to keep." Tama took Renge's hand and smiled at her. "I just never expected our souls to live on as well."
"That is a pleasant surprise to us both." Renge smiled back.
"So, you're saying that this feather is what allowed your souls to live on all these years? That the whole time you've been waiting for me to admit that I love that jerk over there?!" Watanuki asked, pointing a finger at Doumeki.
"It didn't have to be you, but I'm glad that it was." Renge answered. "Seeing two young people in love makes me so happy, and I'm glad that both our families' differences have finally been forgotten."
"And now, we can rest." Tama finished.
"Thank you, for everything." Renge and Tama bowed to them again. "Now I wish that your love may never falter. Live happy lives that we could not."
"I'll try, but I don't know how well I can, seeing that I might be stuck with him forever." Watanuki jerked another thumb at her companion.
"Shut up." Doumeki stated.
"Being alone is worse." Renge said, smiling sadly.
"Yeah, I know how that feels." Watanuki replied. Renge and Tama waved goodbye and disappeared in a cascade of brightness that reached up to the sky. Watanuki found herself crying again, sad to see them go. Doumeki took her hand and the girl wiped her eyes embarrassingly as the last of the light faded.
"I feel like I just barely got to know them." She whispered, her throat choked with tears.
"It's okay. They're together now and they're at peace." Doumeki said calmly.
"I know that you moron." Doumeki stopped Watanuki from talking by leaning down and kissing her full on the lips, surprising the girl, but in a good way.
"Well, finally!" A voice belted from the shadows. Watanuki was startled by the sound and flipped around to find herself face to face with Yuko, the Mokonas, Syaron, Sakura, Fai, and Kurogane. She blushed even deeper.
"WHAT ARE ALL OF YOU DOING HERE?!" She shrieked, completely mortified that her confession had been watched by so many people. Scratch that…they were spying!
"Trying to find Sakura's feather of course!~" The witch explained. "Syaoran figured out that Mokona could only sense the feather when both you and Doumeki were in the same room, so we came to get you two together. But it seems you've already done that for us." Yuko smiled devilishly.
"Now hurry up and give Sakura her feather so we can get out of here." Kurogane demanded.
"But I wanted to stick around and see what happens with these two." Fai argued. "It could be fun!~" Arguing broke out between those who wanted to impose on Yuko longer and those who wanted to keep searching for the feathers, the issue of teasing Watanuki and Doumeki coming up several times and Watanuki was so pissed off that she threatened to toss the feather onto another world if they didn't shut up. And then a mad scramble for the feather commenced as Watanuki ran away with it to make good on her threat, Kurogane and Syaoran dashing after her to make sure that didn't happen. Fai joined the chase for the fun of it and Sakura ran to get her feather back. The Mokonas hopped around everywhere, tripping people when it was convenient (especially when Watanuki ran past) and giggled the entire time. Yuko and Doumeki watched from the sidelines, enjoying the festive atmosphere.
"You're going to have your hands full with that one." Yuko said, watching the speckle unfolding before her.
"I know. But she's worth it." Doumeki replied.
"I think so too." Yuko agreed.
"MOKONA! GET OFF MY FACE!" Watanuki yelled as the white and black fur ball leapt onto her glasses. She cursed like the best sailor and then ripped the creatures off her face, losing her grip on the feather. The dimension travelers all scrambled for it, crashing into each other and landing in a pile, the Mokonas plopping down on top once they'd finished falling. Watanuki yanked down one of her eyelids with her finger and stuck her tongue out at the dog pile.
"Well…she's worth it most of the time." Yuko amended, giggling at the immature display.
"Agreed." Doumeki replied.
Note: The names Renge (lotus) and Tama (ball, sphere, or soul) refer to the lotus flowers that grow on Mr. Mitake and the Tama-gawa, a river that runs down the mountain and into Tokyo.
A/N: All done! Don't forget to RXR! :3
P.S. If you want to see another silly love story, watch episode 9 of xxxHolic. Title inspiration comes from there.