Disclaimer: xxxHOLiC © CLAMP
Warnings: post-series speculation, slash implications
Summary: A trial by fire can be difficult, but it's not always the pain which hurts most.


Héritier de la Sorcière

He realizes now what he didn't back then: no matter what answer he'd given, it would have been a lie.

Yes, that conversation was long, long overdue, but it couldn't have come at the worst possible time. He was still reeling in some ways, having just been informed of the true nature of his long term of employment, and hearing those words he'd waited to hear for so damned long was bittersweet.

He hadn't given a real answer, and he knows the reason is because anything would have been a lie. If he had said, thank you, but I cannot return your feelings, he would have been lying because he had loved and needed Doumeki for over two years at that point but hadn't been brave enough to say anything. If he had said, thank you, I accept and return your feelings, it would have been a lie because he could not, could never force his beloved into the world he himself had no choice but to become part of.

So he had told the easiest of the lies: I need time to think. That was a lie because he already knew his own heart. It was a lie because pursuing the relationship was no longer an option in his life.

Watanuki Kimihiro walked away that day and began the slow process of disappearing from everyone's memories.

His trial by fire had been hard, a long road that he had walked first alone and then with him by his side. Even giving up his memories - those precious, bitter memories that were now long-restored as had always been intended in the end - had been only part of his lessons, only a small part of the test to see if he would be suitable in the end.

And when it was all over, when the worlds were lapsing back into their natural orders, Ichihara Yuuko had pronounced him ready to take his place as her heir.

It truly was bittersweet. The one thing he had been working toward for years, since the day he had been invited into her shop - for he'd had no wish at that time - was finally in his grasp, but he no longer wanted a lonely existence. He wanted to have a chance with Doumeki, wanted to see if the feelings they so obviously shared would grow and flourish.

Yet he was the heir to the Dimensional Witch, and that was a job that left no room for lasting attachments. Humans grew old and faded with time, and he was no longer remotely human. He would never be human or mortal again, not until he was ready to choose his own heir. It had been five years, both so little time and so much, and already he could see the signs of aging in his eternally youthful mentor. She would be leaving soon, he knew that, to say her final goodbyes to friends in this world before asking him to send her to the one place she most wanted to be. From then on, she would be mortal and prone to the ravages of time, and he could tell from her eyes that she was ready for it.

And when she decided it was time, he would no longer be her heir. He would be the Dimensional Witch, the Sorcerer of Time and Space. Eventually he would earn his own title to add to that list, as all those before him had, but that would be only after Yuuko was gone; just like eventually he would choose a name to use for those who may possibly ask for one.

For now, though, he would simply be Kimihiro, because Watanuki was gone forever.

The sound of footsteps draws his attention, and Maru appears to inform him that a customer has entered. Kimihiro thanks her and stands, allowing his bitter thoughts to be put aside for now. He will have time later to think on the things he has lost and can never have again. He will have time later, when the shop is quiet and he can retreat to the comfort of his kitchen, to reminisce over the love he was forced to leave behind.

Kimihiro is the Heir, and he is still learning.

It doesn't mean his heart has frozen yet.


Another title note (apparently the theme for this trilogy/tetralogy is French titles): Once again I'm abusing iGoogle. The title this time loosely translates to "The Witch's Heir." Yeah, that's where the hell Wata--I mean, Kimihiro disappeared off to. Yuuko is officially retiring.

And yes, this is the second part of the trilogy or tetralogy, since I'm still not sure if I can polish it off to just three chapters. We'll see, though.