He wasn't looking forward to lunch, but for once, Doumeki didn't show up. He had a peaceful and wonderful encounter with Himawari, who had profusely told him happy birthday, and the sun was shining and bright. How could the gloom and mess of this morning compare to that? She'd even given him a present too! He'd eagerly opened it, not wanting to wait, and had gushed his thanks over the chocolate that she had bought for him, even though he kept trying to give her the chance to lie, even once, that she made them herself.
The rest of the day he wished he could forget about, since he got severely reprimanded by his teachers for his missing homework and somewhat sloppy dressing. It wasn't his fault he didn't have time to iron it out! Spirits and Yuuko were hardly conducive to housework or schoolwork, especially when he had to spend at least until three in the morning hanging around Doumeki to exorcise some old, broken down house just so he could fetch the witch some old cloak that she swore had magical properties. She had said it was a magical work robe that a tricky magician had used, apparently the same one that had made the real version of the toy wand he'd found on his first day of cleaning.
He didn't believe her for a moment.
But life went on and thankfully the day was over. He stood by his locker to exchange his soft-soled school shoes for his street shoes when he saw it, stuck far in the back corner where it wouldn't immediately be noticed, as if the person who had put it there had been of two minds whether they wanted it to be found.
Curiously, he reached out and held it in his hand. It was wrapped in black wrapping paper, the shiny foil kind that while pretty, easily rips and is extremely hard to work with. He tilted it in his hands, for a moment not interested in what was inside, and merely stared. Whoever had done it had done a masterful work job. He'd only seen one that nicely and perfectly wrapped in store bought gifts, but there was no doubt it was hand-wrapped. No store would have let the tape be that noticeable.
With a tad bit of trepidation, he put his shoes down and even as he stood there in only his socks, he opened it. It was a small and thin box, the kind bracelets usually came in. Even more curiously, he undid the latch and opened it. Inside there was no bracelet, but a pen. It was, like the box and wrapping, black, but edged in silver. It wasn't extremely overdone, but elegant in its simplicity. It wasn't one of the clicking kind, but one that had an actual cap on the end that you'd pull off to write with.
His eyes drew down in confusion as he pulled it out, and on closer inspection, there were symbols, words, etched into it. He couldn't read them all that well, since they, like the pen itself, was extremely old, but it was clearly talking about protection. A charm of some sort?
Watanuki glanced around. Maybe someone had mistaken his locker for someone else's. And though he was certain he wasn't supposed to find him, he did. He'd know that faint tuft of black hair anywhere, that glimpse of a wide shoulder before it disappeared. The bespectacled boy rushed to the end of the row of lockers, but Doumeki was gone. What had he been waiting there for?
He glanced down back at the pen and finally noticed something he hadn't on first inspection. Right at the very tip of the cap of the pen, very tidily but minutely written, was a name.
Doumeki.
Impossible! The pen was older than Doumeki and why on earth would he give him that! But the character next to it, that indicated the first name, were so worn he could not make it out. Was it possible that it wasn't the archer's? Then why did the name say Doumeki?
The bell rang again, reminding him that he had to be off the school grounds now, since no clubs practiced late that day and the school was closing. He hurriedly pulled on his shoes and it wasn't until he was stuffing his soft-soled ones into the locker that he found something his eye had overlooked before. It was a small white piece of paper.
Watanuki stuffed both pen and note in his pocket as he grabbed his book bag to leave. Yuuko was going to kill him if he was late.
It wasn't until he had a lull in his chores later that he could look at the note and the pen again. The writing was clear and legible, but something that also hinted of the stoic personality that had written it. And considering that the note started off with "Oi", he had no doubt who had composed it.
'Oi, here. Happy birthday.'
"What's that, Watanuki?"
Watanuki jumped a little at Yuuko's sudden presence. "Wh-what!"
"Did you get a present?" Her eyes latched onto the pen and they almost gleamed. He knew that look. It was the same look she'd had when he had mentioned all the books in Doumeki's library at the shrine. "Ooooh, a protection pen!"
"A what?"
"Well, rumor had it years ago that if you had a protection pen, the more you wrote with it, the more protected you became. See the writing? But this is very old and powerful!" She leaned over his shoulder, and her perfume filled his nostrils. "Ohhhh," she muttered, as if some revelation had occurred to her.
"What is it?" He never liked that tone of voice with her. It usually meant trouble or teasing of the highest order.
"No wonder it's so powerful! It must have been made by Doumeki's grandfather."
His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "How would you know that?"
Yuuko gave him her most mysterious smile. "Because the character for Doumeki's first name is different and it's so old it has to be. I remember the feel of the protection wards from the library very clearly."
Watanuki decided not to ask how she knew what Doumeki's first name was, as he was certain he'd never mentioned it. His eyes turned back to the pen, and he glanced at the note briefly. Happy birthday, huh? Even if it was from that damn, annoying Doumeki, it was the first real present he'd had in years, not counting the chocolate he had gotten from Himawari of course.
"What are you going to do with the pen?" she asked, leaning in the doorway.
He shoved it in his breast pocket and turned around to make the witch her dinner. "Keep it of course. What else?"
-end-