Once again, let's look at the facts: over the summer, I got in the middle of intense negotiations centered around the fact that the summer camp where I worked for seven weeks was having some issues with forking over my paycheck. (Ahh, the joys of computer glitches). I also freaked out over the prices of textbooks for college. Do you think this would be the case if I was the owner of the rights for either InuYasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale or XxxHoLiC? No. No I wouldn't. (Ok, maybe the salary bit. But definitely not the textbooks!)

— - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — -

The instant that Kagome saw Himawari in the hallway after school two days, she knew that her happy respite from any Himawari-related Watanuki rants was at a close. She resisted the urge to sigh sadly. As sweet and lovely as Himawari was, Kagome could tell that there was something ever so slightly off about that girl, and it made her uncomfortable about how close she was to Watanuki. Still, that did not stop her from recognizing that the other girl was her friend, and that she was a very definitely a part of their group. She just hoped that she was not the girl that the fortune teller had mentioned that she would trust greatly. As long as Himawari had an aura that Kagome could tell warped things, she was not going to be able to trust her completely. Thus it was that she was present for the presentation of giri-choco to her two male friends. Himawari had even gotten her a small package of the dark chocolate that she favored. Kagome had handed over the jar of chocolate balls that had been living in her locker since Valentine's Day in exchange. As expected, Watanuki went into gales of joy at the fact that his beloved Himawari was giving him Valentine's Day chocolate... right up until he discovered that Doumeki had received them as well. At that point, Kagome decided that it was probably in her best interests just to head over to the shop alone, said a quick goodbye to Himawari and Doumeki, and made her escape.

Alas, with an employer such as Yuuko, her escape could not last long. A few hours later, she began needling Watanuki in the middle of the supermarket where they were grocery shopping.

"Aren't you glad you received chocolate from Himawari-chan? You and Doumeki together?" Kagome face met her palm at Yuuko's words. Watanuki psychotic rant mode in a public location, here they went.

"DON'T PUT ME TOGETHER WITH HIM!" Watanuki raged. Kagome's eyes widened suddenly as she thought of something. "You'll also have a male friend whom you will always fight with, and your relations will run deeper." Her lips curled into a slightly evil smile. Well, well, well. It looked like at least part of the old Fortune Teller's words had come true. She wondered if she should let that little tidbit of information slip to her rather excitable co-worker, or if she should keep her mouth shut. One look at the slightly crazed look in Watanuki's eyes, and Kagome decided to keep her mouth shut and maintain her sanity.

"That makes the fourth chocolate you've received this year!" Yuuko informed the still ranting Watanuki, who halted mid-yell.

"Huh? How do you get four?"

"Well, I gave you chocolate balls, so that's one. Himawari-senpai gave you a box, so that's two. The Zashiki-Warashi gave you the creepy ghost fondant, so that's three..." Her eyes narrowed in concentration before it clicked, and she had to resist the urge to snicker. Trust Yuuko-san to think of somethink like this. "And then Yuuko-san gave you real fondant, so that's four." Yuuko beamed.

"Exactly, Kagome-chan!"

"WHAT KIND OF GIVING IS THAT?"

"The manipulative kind." Kagome answered promptly.

"It is one definite kind of giving," Yuuko assured him cheerily, "There are all sorts of ways to use words!"

"Why, you..." Watanuki began, but was cut off by the loud conversation of two college aged girls.

"Buy that one!"

"But that fish is a little too expensive, we could go wrong buying a fish that is too high priced."

"But doesn't it look good? Let's get it!" That seemed to settle it as the two girls, who Kagome now noticed appeared to be twins, or at the very least sisters, placed the fish in their cart and continued onwards.

"Next! What'll we buy?"

"Let's get some steak for when we realize we made a mistake with the fish."

"Oh, you just don't have enough confidence in yourself!" Kagome stiffened. She had heard phrases like that a few too many times, and all from InuYasha. Granted, his were usually a little crueler, but it held the same sense of comparison, the same sense of never being able to measure up to an unachievable standard as this girl was receiving from her twin. She felt a pang of sympathy. She knew how much that hurt.

"Wow! Identical twins, huh?" Watanuki exclaimed, not noticing the evident discomfort on Kagome's face, and the icy coldness on Yuuko's as she watched them go. "Oh, Yuuko-san, are you getting hungry for fish?" Silently, Yuuko reached out and smacked him upside the head.

"I was thinking," She added somberly, "That those twins are going to eat steak tonight." Kagome shivered slightly. She did not like the implications of Yuuko's words.

— - — - — - — - — - — - — - — -

Kagome was getting ready to head over to Yuuko's when she saw Doumeki walking around with a clipboard. Curious, she waved, and headed over to him.

"What are you doing?" Doumeki sighed, looking annoyed.

"Making the rounds. My year has clean-up duty, and since I'm one of the class representatives, I'm stuck making sure everyone works." Kagome smiled wryly.

"Let me guess: No one actually wants to do anything?"

"Got it in one. Speaking of which..." He gestured over to where Watanuki seemed to have spaced out over his broom. "Shall we?" Kagome grinned, and joined him in walking over to her co-worker. Once they were within ear shot, they could hear Watanuki's mumbling.

"Bonds that only humans can use, huh?" Doumeki glanced at Kagome who shrugged in equal confusion. She had gone home early last night to study for a rather massive English test, and had missed out on some of the explanations of what Yuuko had meant at the supermarket. Doumeki nodded, took a deep breath, and yelled. "HEY! No trying to get out of the clean-up job!" Watanuki jerked up and started screaming right back.

"I'M NOT TRYING TO GET OUT OF ANYTHING! WHAT ABOUT YOU? WHAT ABOUT SWEEPING? WHAT ABOUT THE TRASH?"

"Ahhh, Watanuki-senpai? He's a class representative. He's making rounds." Kagome explained gently.

"ARRRRGH! WHY IS A JERK LIKE YOU A CLASS REPRESENTATIVE?"

"In my class, nobody announced their candidacy, so the class voted for whoever they wanted for representative. Ask anybody you want." Kagome's eyebrows rose. Doumeki really was popular, if everyone voted for him out of the entire class. Kagome had been perfectly happy to blend into the background. Besides, no one had known her, so she wasn't exactly an ideal candidate.

"BUT THAT MAKES IT HARDER TO UNDERSTAND! WHO WOULD VOTE FOR A JERK LIKE THIS? I WANTED HIMAWARI-CHAN TO MAKE THE ROUNDS AND CHECK ON ME!" He wailed. Kagome rolled her eyes, and Doumeki looked equally annoyed.

"Kunogi is making rounds at the gym."

"Now, it's only right for Himawari-chan to be our representative, I voted for her too! She's so cute, and smart! Himawari-chan is the best!"

"Himawari-chan's aura is also warped." Kagome muttered darkly. Doumeki caught her words, and frowned slightly in a way that asked for elaboration. Kagome shook her head in response. There was no way she would say anything about Himawari and her warped aura in the presence of Watanuki. It was not worth the rant she'd receive in exchange. After nodding in understanding, Doumeki effectively changed the subject.

"What were you saying about bonds?"

"DON'T GO EAVESDROPPING!" Watanuki shrieked.

"If you don't want to be heard, don't say things out loud." Doumeki informed him coolly. "Now spill it."

"WHY DO I HAVE TO TALK ON YOUR ORDERS?"

"Watanuki-senpai, could you please explain what you were talking about?" Kagome put in angelically, "It sounds like it has something to do with those twins we saw at the supermarket yesterday." Immediately, Watanuki went down from rant mode to a significantly calmer version.

"Yeah, it had to do with them. I saw one of them in front of the store last night. She'd lost her contact, and I helped her look for it. We didn't find it, though. Not really surprising, because it was starting to get dark, but Yuuko said it was significant."

"Really?" Kagome asked, a bit confused, "Why?"

"Well, when I offered to help her look for it, she said that we probably wouldn't find it, and there was this weird ripple effect when she said so. It was pretty weird. Yuuko said that we were bound not to find it, and then started talking about bonds, and bonds that only humans can use. I didn't really understand it, honestly..."

"So, in the end you weren't able to find the contact?" Doumeki asked suddenly.

"Didn't I just say that?" Watanuki snapped back.

"And... you're sure those twins are really human?" He demanded. Kagome hid a smile behind her hand. Watanuki might not realize it, but Doumeki was worried about him. Definitely fulfilment of the fortune-tellers words.

"Huh?" Aaaand... apparently Watanuki had not even thought about a different possibility.

"It's happened before. That... what did you call her, the one who stole my soul..."

"The Zashiki-Warashi." Kagome supplied helpfully.

"Right. The Zashiki-Warashi wasn't human. So, there's at least a chance that these twins aren't either. After all, they really seem to like you don't they?"

"What does THAT mean?" Watanuki snapped.

"Ghosts and stuff. They really seem to like you. Maybe the Zashiki-Warashi wasn't a bad spirit, but you can't guarantee that all of them won't be."

"E-even if that's true, it doesn't have anything to do with you!" Watanuki informed him sulkily, while Kagome shook her head sadly. Classic Watanuki denial. Doumeki's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, it does." Kagome blinked in surprise. For once, Doumeki had decided that he was not going to put up with Watanuki ignoring their friendship over his crazed idea that they were rivals over Himawari. This was new. Watanuki hesitated for a moment, before replying.

"Ok, one of them did take your soul for a while, but–"

"That's not what I meant." Doumeki growled, "If something happens to you, I..." He trailed off for a moment, then continued in a distinctly lighter tone of voice, "I may never be able to eat a boxed lunch again."

"AM I SUPPOSED TO KEEP MAKING YOU LUNCH?" Kagome giggled behind her hand, her eyes full of understanding. She knew that Doumeki had deliberately changed what he was going to say at the last minute, probably because Watanuki was not really ready to hear that Doumeki was worried about him as a friend.

"At any rate, I saw them too, Doumeki-senpai. They were definitely human." She glanced at her watch, wincing. "And, unfortunately, I have to run. Yuuko's expecting me early since archery got canceled. I'll see you at archery in the morning, Doumeki! And Watanuki, you might want to finish sweeping soon. Yuuko's expecting you to stop by around dinner time." And with that, Kagome darted off to Yuuko's shop.

— - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — -

The next day during morning practice, Doumeki told Kagome about the strange encounter with one of the twins from the day before.

"The worst part is, it looks like I'm all but going to have to go with Watanuki when he meets those twins, just to keep him out of trouble. I have a bad feeling about those girls." He also had a bad feeling about the fact that the girl had invited him along too, even though she had never met him before. Kagome nodded with a sigh.

"Watanuki-senpai does seem to attract an inordinate amount of trouble, and the fact that he doesn't know how to channel his powers to deal with it tends to make him a walking target for the nastier spiritual elements. I should know, I wasn't quite as bad as he was when I first found out about what I could do, but I chalk that up to the fact that I figured out how to do basic channeling within a few days. Still, I had help, and if I hadn't, I would have been a goner." She closed her eyes, looking depressed. Doumeki had no idea what was going through her head, but if it made her look like that, then he did not like it. He plowed onward with his plan to keep his sanity during this little outing.

"So, do you think that you could just so happen to accidentally turn up at the café? Between the two of us we should, in theory, be able to keep anything too bad from happening." Kagome hesitated, clearly reluctant.

"Well... I wasn't really invited..."

"You wouldn't show up with Watanuki and I," Doumeki hastened to assure her, "We would just so happen to see you there, and invite you to join us." Kagome smiled slightly, but it did not quite reach her eyes. Doumeki did not like it. Seeing Kagome this upset about something was surprisingly unpleasant.

"Really, Doumeki-senpai, I don't think it's a good idea." She paused for a moment, chewing on her lower lip. Doumeki could see her internally debating whether or not she would elaborate before her eyes cleared and she continued, "I don't particularly want to be a third wheel, and besides, I probably won't be very good company. Tomorrow was the birthday of a recently departed family member." Doumeki winced. He knew how that felt

"I understand. I'm not exactly pleasant company on my grandfather's birthday myself. Were you... were you very close, then?" He regretted the question almost immediately as Kagome teared up.

"Yes. I took care of Shippou a lot. My little brother used to joke that he was practically my son." She said softly, and Doumeki wanted to slap himself for being so inconsiderate as to make her remember something that obviously made her so sad.

"I'm sorry." He said, and put his hand on her shoulder. "I'll deal with Watanuki. Hopefully, he won't make too much of a fool of himself. In the meantime," he gestured to the now vacant archery targets, "We're up." The pair strode forward to take their shots, their thoughts turning to happier places.

— - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — -

The day after Watanuki and Doumeki's outing with the girls, Kagome walked up the stairs of the subway station and directly into a solidly male chest. She yelped and nearly slipped back down the stairs. Instead, she found herself caught by a very strong arm.

"Careful." Doumeki told her, looking amused. Kagome blushed, knowing that she liked her current position entirely too much.

"Thank you. Ummm... what are you doing here?" She asked as she moved to stand next to him. It was a valid question, as it was the weekend and she could not come up with any real reason for him to be passing her subway station.

"Waiting for you." He answered calmly. " I asked Watanuki if you were working today." Kagome blush deepened. She was secretly very pleased with the news. She had no idea why he had felt the need to come see her, but she was definitely happy about it.

"Oh. Well, thank you." Doumeki shrugged, and started walking in the general direction of the shop.

"Not a problem. It's a little too early for most of the shrine visitors and a little late for the early morning types. And you're going to have to take the lead. I don't have a clue where Yuuko's shop is, beyond 'relatively close to the school'." Kagome giggled and nodded, before the boy continued, "Watanuki didn't make too much of a fool of himself, other than going into a Kunogi inspired rant that was relatively brief. The girls were fairly normal, although the younger one seemed to be oddly pessimistic, and the younger one..." Doumeki shuddered slightly, "Was entirely too clingy. Why would she be clinging to a second year high school student? She's a second year college student!" Kagome could not resist. She laughed, really smiling for the first time since the anniversary of her meeting Shippou the day before.

"She didn't understand personal boundaries very well, did she? Turn here." She directed, and Doumeki did so.

"Not at all. I made it as clear that I wasn't interested as I possibly could without actually saying 'I'm not interested', but she still didn't stop." A wide grin split across Kagome's face.

"Do you have any idea how many high school boys would kill to be in your shoes right now?" Doumeki glared.

"If they want her, they can have her. I'm not interested. Please tell me you aren't doing anything tomorrow afternoon, and you wouldn't mind doing me a huge favor. Please." His desperation was blatantly apparent, causing Kagome's grin to slide into a smirk.

"I take it you and Watanuki got invited to do something else, and you are in desperate need of some back up who will actually understand what's going on?"

"Yes. I refuse to enter a movie theater knowing that I'm probably going to have to sit next to her, especially when the movie that they invited us to is a horror film." Kagome winced in sympathy.

"You'd just as soon dodge the bruises on your arm?"

"Exactly."

"Weeeeeell..." Kagome pretended to consider, before smiling, "As I'm not doing anything tomorrow afternoon, and the archery club needs you to keep your arm in good condition for the tournament in a few weeks, I suppose I could help you out, provided that you allow me make snide comments about how their 'spirits' are completely unrealistic under my breath." Doumeki's mouth twisted into his trademark smirk.

"Isn't that half the fun of horror movies?" Kagome smile widened.

"Oh, good, so I won't be snarking alone. None of my friends from middle school understood why I would just stare at the screen going 'you know, according to all the old stories, that's not how a vengeful spirit works...' while they were shrieking. It only got worse after I actually had experience with the things."

"I know exactly what you mean. It's pretty clear that horror film writers haven't bothered to do anything beyond the most basic research." Kagome sighed.

"And they do it because no one but shrine brats notice it. Can you say 'we are losing our cultural heritage'?" Doumeki snorted.

"No doubt about it. Why do you think shrines are doing so poorly?" Kagome nodded glumly.

"The really scary thing is that for a few years, I thought that it didn't matter. I mean, they were just a bunch of old stories, how could they possibly have any affect on the real world?" Her smile turned bitter, "I listened, but not without complaining. Now? I'm the one looking at the old scrolls in the shed, digging for information." Doumeki nodded.

"I think all shrine kids go through a stage like that. I know I had one, but it stopped pretty quickly when my grandfather got sick. I guess I couldn't help thinking that if they meant so much to the old man that he felt the compulsive need to make me listen to them, even when I know it hurt his throat to tell them, there had to be something true to them." Kagome nodded in understanding as they turned down the alley containing Yuuko's shop. After a short distance, Kagome stopped in front of the gate.

"Well, there it is. Thanks for walking me, Doumeki." Her companion's eyes narrowed.

"Kagome... there's nothing there. Just an empty lot with a gate." Kagome blinked, then she smiled.

"So, that's what the barrier was there for. I wondered." Seeing Doumeki's confusion, she explained, "The shop's there all right, you just can't see it. It's not an ordinary shop, after all." Doumeki's eyes narrowed.

"Elaborate." Kagome sighed.

"Ok. Yuuko has a magical barrier around the shop, probably to keep nasty stuff out, for the most part. Apparently, it also serves an alternative function." She wondered how best to explain what she was fairly certain the barrier did. After a moment she had decided on her method. "Doumeki-senpai, you prefer to take care of yourself, correct?" He looked at her as though she was slightly insane.

"Yes, of course."

"If you want something, then you put in the necessary effort to get it. You don't try to take short cuts, and you thus far haven't encountered anything that really needs the help of the occult, beyond what you yourself can do, to take care of."

"Right..." Kagome saw the beginnings of comprehension in his eyes, and continued.

"So you wouldn't need the sort of aid that Yuuko provides. You're not a potential customer, or an employee–"

"I might as well be." He muttered darkly, leading Kagome to giggle.

"True. But you still aren't on the pay roll. At any rate, you don't really need to see the shop. So the barrier around it keeps you from doing so. If you had a the eye that sees spirits, instead of the ability to exorcize them, you'd probably be able to see it anyway." Doumeki nodded slowly.

"My grandfather talked about shields like that a couple times. He said they were notoriously tricky, and really hard to set up and maintain." Kagome nodded fervently.

"Oh, they are. Believe me, I've tried. I can't manage anything near as elegant as this one, though. I'm lucky if I can conceal everything inside it." Doumeki shook his head slowly.

"Is there anything you can't do?" Kagome laughed bitterly, the old words echoing in her ears. Kikyou wouldn't have messed up that shot. Kikyou could actually use her powers. Kikyou was more powerful... She knew all too well how limited her abilities were. InuYasha had made certain of that.

"A lot. I'm not that powerful, and I'm only half-trained at best." Doumeki snorted.

"Liar." Kagome glared.

"What? I am not!"

"Oh, I'll buy that you're not fully trained, but not powerful? Please. If you can make barriers of any kind at all, if you can channel energy at all, with minimal training? You're powerful. According to what my grandfather told me, it takes years for miko and houshi to be able to do anything like what you're talking about without a trade-off. I can do my exorcising because I can't see what I'm dealing with, so that's my trade-off. You? You can see it, you can purify, you can do so much, even though you've only known about your abilities for a few years. Why the hell do you think you're not powerful?" He sounded almost... almost angry that she did not believe his words. In all honesty, Kagome had never thought of it that way, always comparing herself to Kikyou and what she had been able to do. There was no way to explain to Doumeki without explaining everything. She looked down, hiding her face.

"I know what I've been told. Thanks for walking me. Yuuko's waiting for me.

"Kagome– "

"I'll see you tomorrow, Doumeki." And Kagome ran, trying to outrace the words that threatened to undermine her entire knowledge of self and power.

— - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — -

The second she arrived at the movie theater the next day, Kagome went on the alert. She would need to make a nonchalant appearance, preferably after the sisters showed up. She glanced around, trying to find the boys and spotted them next to the twins from the supermarket with relative ease. Poor Doumeki, it was blatantly obvious that the younger sister was interested in him. Deciding to be a good friend, Kagome walked up quickly, calling

"Doumeki-senpai, Watanuki-senpai, is that you?" Doumeki looked up, and Kagome had to resist the urge to laugh at the blatant relief on his face.

"Kagome-chan!" He called back, motioning her over to their group. Kagome was startled by the sudden addition of 'chan' to her name. Doumeki never called her 'Kagome-chan'. She had always been 'Kagome', and she was not really sure how she felt about the sudden change in address. Still, she hurried the rest of the way over with a smile.

"I thought that was you two! Are you going to see a movie as well?" She asked, her voice oozing with innocence. Doumeki had a sudden coughing fit, and could not seem to look her in the eyes at her words. It was Watanuki who answered.

"Yes, we are! The new horror film that came out last week."

"Oh! I've been wanting to see that one too. I've heard good things."

"So why don't you join us, Kagome-chan?" Doumeki put in immediately. Kagome could not help but notice the younger sister's irritation at Doumeki's invitation and added another layer of sickeningly sweet sugar to her smile.

"I'd love to!"

"I'm sorry to interrupt," the younger sister put in sharply, not sounding sorry at all, "But who are you, exactly?"

"Oh!" Kagome faked her surprise, "I'm sorry, but I didn't know you were with them. I'm Higurashi Kagome."

"Kagome-chan is in the archery club with me and works with Watanuki at his part time job. Kagome, this is Sasaki Hikari and the girl next to Watanuki is her twin, Sasaki Kaori." Doumeki explained. Kagome smiled brightly at the older girl.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Hikari smile looked just a bit forced as she offered her polite agreement. Doumeki watched in amusement before turning towards the cinema. "Well, shall we?" He asked, smirking a bit as he looked at Kagome. She smirked back, moving next to him and very effectively separating him from Hikari as they entered the theater.

The movie progressed more or less as expected. Kagome managed to arrange things so that she and Doumeki were on the end, with Doumeki on the outside and herself between him and the now highly annoyed younger sister. The two shrine children took a great deal of enjoyment from criticizing the film, all the way to outright laughter.

"Oh come on," Kagome groaned as the dead girl's spirit gently took her sister's wrist.

"Sister, please come with me? Are they serious?" Doumeki asked stunned. "A spirit seeking vengeance on the older sister who arranged for her to get killed in her place would not ask politely. She'd take," He paused consideringly, "Or just kill, depending on how she was feeling."

"I know, right? Kami, don't the screen writers do any research?" She paused for a moment, before adding in an undertone, "I've dealt with one of these, and believe me, Mayu wasn't this nice. She nearly killed her brother without a second thought." Doumeki nodded.

"That's what grandfather said about the ones he dealt with, too." Suddenly, Kagome felt a disturbance in the air, almost like the chiming of a bell. She whipped her head around to look at its source, and gasped when she saw blood flowing down the older twin's, Kaori, she thought Doumeki said her name was, face. Within moments, the group had panicked, gotten up, and left the theater. Kagome had taken care of the first aid aspect of the situation, and was startled to discover that there was not any trace of an injury on the older girl. She shivered. This screamed occult, and it made her very, very nervous. She glanced at Doumeki, letting him see the worry and discomfort in her eyes. His own eyes seemed to take in her sentiments before hardening slightly. He came to stand next to her, before turning to Kaori.

"Are you alright?" His question was completely innocuous.

The fact that he placed a comforting hand on Kagome's shoulder was not.

- — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — -

"It was really weird." Watanuki said the next day at work, "She was looking over at you and Doumeki, and said 'I want to leave now', then next thing I know, there was blood pouring down her face. Her words can't have had anything to do with it... could they?"

"It can be exactly that." Yuuko answered calmly from her place reclining on the couch.

"Bu-but to seriously injure oneself like that..." Watanuki protested. Kagome shrugged.

"Girls who cut themselves do worse. Besides, she wasn't hurt at all. She didn't have a cut or anything. I should know, I've had to deal with a lot of injuries in the past, and she definitely didn't have one."

"I imagine that Kaori-san wanted to leave very badly." Yuuko commented thoughtfully, "And you've felt this sort of vibration from her in the past, haven't you, Watanuki?" His eyes widened.

"That day with the contact lense..." he whispered.

"Yes, and you never did find that contact lense, did you? She tied the bond herself." Yuuko agreed firmly.

"Then, what you meant about the bonds only people can use," Watanuki hesitated before continuing, "They're words?" He was startled at the way Kagome stiffened next to him. Kagome did not usually startle at anything supernatural.

"Yes. They're scary, you know." Watanuki frowned slightly. For once, Yuuko seemed to be speaking more to Kagome than to him. That was... really unusual. He turned to watch his co-worker, noticing her knuckles had gone white from gripping the ceramic bowl she had been drying too tightly. "You can't take them back once they've left your mouth. You can't act as if they were never said. And without knowing how tightly they can bind, people continued to use them. Words have life, and power. In time, they can even bind one's right to life." By this time, Watanuki was startled to discover that Kagome had gone completely white. He watched her slowly set the bowl down on the draining board before turning towards Yuuko, her head tilted so her bangs hid her eyes from view.

"Yuuko-san, I forgot that my mother asked me to come home a little early tonight. May I go now?" Yuuko's smile took on a mysterious edge.

"But of course, Kagome-chan."

"Thank you, Yuuko-san." Watanuki stared as a clearly rattled Kagome collected her bag from the corner and all but ran from the shop.

"What was that about?" Watanuki asked, confused.

"Unpleasant memories, I would imagine." Yuuko said calmly. "Now, go get me some sake, would you, Watanuki?"

"YOU ALCOHOLIC!"

- — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — -

Things seemed to calm over the next several weeks. Other than a brief meeting involving just the boys at Hikari's place of employment, the group had little to no interaction with the twins, something for which Kagome was infinitely grateful. She did not want to have to think about words binding people. That brought back painful memories, reminding her of her own lack of worth. She did not dwell on InuYasha's constant comparisons between herself and her previous incarnation very often, but those two brought them to the surface for whatever reason. Then March 12th happened.

She, Doumeki, Watanuki, and Himawari were chatting outside of the high school before they left for work or home when one of the twins approached them.

"So this is where you go to school. I didn't recognize the uniform." Himawari looked a bit confused, prompting Kagome to lean over and give a brief explanation while Watanuki greeted her.

"Hello, Hikari-san." The girl giggled.

"Actually, I'm Kaori-chan. A lot of people are mistaking me for my sister these days. It seems I'm more chipper. It's thanks to you, really. I took your words to heart, and I've stopped telling myself that I can't do things. Instead I'm saying 'you won't know until you've tried'! I haven't failed as much since then!" Watanuki grinned.

"That's great! In the future try to say 'it's sure to go well'!" Kaori smiled back.

"Mm! Well, I've got to go. I have a job at one of the nearby cafés. Say, why don't you all come try it?" The teenagers looked at each other, debating.

"Weeell... Yuuko-san probably wouldn't mind too much if we were a little late..." Kagome said hesitantly. Doumeki shrugged.

"Sure. I'll go, if everyone else does." Himawari beamed.

"It sounds like fun!" Watanuki went into rapturous mode.

"If Himawari-chan wants to, then we will definitely go!"

"Great!" Kaori said cheerfully, "Follow me!"

The café proved to be one of those cutesy cafés that struck fear into the hearts of all entrants with a certain degree of sensibility. Kaori left them to await their table, while she hurried to the back to change into uniform. As soon as she departed, Kagome and Doumeki shuddered slightly.

"Don't get me wrong, I like cute things as much as the next girl, but this? This is more than a little disturbing." Kagome murmured.

"You won't get an argument from me. Although, I will admit, it suits her down to the ground." Doumeki muttered back. Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Oh, that it does. That it does."

"This café is so adorable!" Himawari gushed, leading Kagome to roll her eyes. They had just been seated when a voice called out,

"Oh! Hello!" The group turned to look, and found themselves face to face with Hikari. She was beaming, mostly at Doumeki, Kagome noticed with a feeling of growing irritation. "Do you mind if I sit here?" She asked, indicating the empty seat between Doumeki and Himawari. Just as Doumeki opened his mouth to answer (with an emphatic 'no', if his facial expression was any guide), Watanuki answered for him.

"Oh, sure." Kagome resisted the urge to cover her eyes with her hand. Watanuki really could not see what was in front of his face, could he?

"My older sister surprised me by saying that she got a job here," Hikari continued as she sat down, "At home, she's such a klutz! Always breaking plates, I hope she's alright." Kagome frowned slightly, noticing that Hikari's voice seemed to raise as she berated her older sister's clumsiness.

"I wonder..." She murmured, before turning slightly. Sure enough, there was Kaori, walking towards them in her uniform. It was very evident from her defeated posture that she had indeed heard what her younger sister had wanted her to hear.

"Deliberate?" Doumeki's voice said very softly near her ear, making her jump slightly before relaxing.

"Yes. I can't believe she would do something like that." She murmured back, "My little brother would never talk about me being a klutz at my job if I worked as a waitress."

"Can I get you something?" The very obviously subdued Kaori asked.

"I'd like a cappuccino, please!" Himawari requested cheerfully.

"Ah! Me too!" Watanuki added hastily, stars readily apparent in his eyes.

"I suppose I'll take a milk tea..." Hikari said slowly, sounding concerned. Doumeki shrugged, turning to Kagome and asking

"Split a pot of green tea with me?" Kagome smiled, hoping that she wasn't blushing furiously like she thought she was.

"Sure."

"Then we'll have that." Doumeki said calmly.

"I've got it." Kaori said softly, having hastily scribbled down their order. "It'll be right out." Kagome watched her walk away, looking defeated, before she looking down to study her lap carefully.

"I don't get it. She was fine earlier." Doumeki muttered. She sighed softly, understanding the reasoning far too well for her liking. How often had she done the same after a particularly nasty round of comparisons and insults from InuYasha?

"It's a side effect." She said quietly, so quietly that she was relatively certain Doumeki would not be able to hear her over the three way chattering coming from the other occupants of their table. "If someone you love tells you that it's impossible, it usually is." Doumeki's head turned towards her lightning fast.

"No, it isn't." He contradicted. Kagome smiled bitterly.

"Heh. You say that because you haven't had it happen." Just as Doumeki opened his mouth to argue, Hikari's voice broke into their reverie.

"You'd better be careful! If you drop that pot, it'll be a disaster!" The pair turned just in time for Kagome to feel a magical vibration in the air... and see a pot of hot tea being dropped right over her lap. Or, rather, she realized, right where her lap would have been, if Doumeki had not grabbed her around the waist and hastily pulled her to his side.

"Th-thank you." She muttered, blushing furiously.

"Any time." He assured her.

"I'm so sorry!" Kaori gasped as she moved to start cleaning up the mess of tea and ceramic pieces. Kagome smiled at her reassuringly.

"No harm done. Here, let me help you with that."

"No, no! I've got it–"

"I told you working here would tax you far too much to do you any good!" Hikari berated her older sister. Kagome could almost see the threads of the words wrapping around Kaori, binding her in place, and shivered.

"I– I..." Kaori started, only to be interrupted by her twin once again.

"Look at your hands, they're covered with cuts!" Kagome followed the sister's advice, and saw several bandages, probably for insignificant cuts that were standard to a waitress's job, on Kaori's hands. "If you work at a job like this, your wounds will never close!" A vibration filled the air, and almost immediately the cuts on Kaori's hands began to bleed profusely. She looked at Kagome, almost as though sensing the kinship that the two shared, and whispered.

"I... I didn't..."

"What happened?" Hikari interrupted, "Did you hurt yourself again?" She took her sister's shoulders, seeming to almost beg, but Kagome thought she could see a glimmer of triumph in the younger twin's eyes as she took in her older sister's condition. "Please! You really have to quit doing work like this! You're bad at talking to strangers, so who can expect you to take orders? And remember that time at the coffee shop when you burned your leg with hot coffee? If you do that too many times, it'll scar!" Taking in Kaori's fearful, defeated expression, one all too similar to one she herself had worn for months at a time in the Sengoku Jidai, Kagome snapped.

"Stop it! Can't you see you're making it worse?" Hikari turned on her, startled and angry.

"She's my sister! I'm just worried about her–"

"You don't know that any of that's true!" Watanuki said sounding just as angry as Hikari, before turning to the obviously depressed Kaori and adding "If you start worrying about failing again, you'll never do anything! Regrets are for after something happens."

"But what if something serious happens?" Hikari asked, anger still evident. Kagome began to wonder how much of this was about Kaori's safety, and how much was about family politics and dynamics when a calm hand was rested on her shoulder.

"Then she'll take responsibility for the actions she chooses to take." Yuuko's voice came from over Kagome's shoulder. She knelt next to Kaori and continued to speak soothingly, "It's easy, isn't it, to be tied down by pessimistic words? 'I can't', 'it's impossible'. If you say those words, or allow others to say them," Here she glanced back at Kagome, who was sitting as still as a marble statue and was slowly going equally white, before continuing. "It's so easy to fail."

"Who is she? Do you know her?" She could hear Hikari asking Doumeki and Himawari in awe.

"She's Kagome and Watanuki's employer." Doumeki answered shortly, before turning his attention back to what Yuuko was saying. He knew it would be important for Kagome as well as for Kaori. He did not know where Kagome's confidence in her power had gone so awry, but he had a feeling that what Yuuko was saying had a great deal to do with it.

"If your condition makes you happy, then you can stay that way. However..." Here she trailed off, glancing back at Kagome, as if to let her know that this applied to her as well, "Is this sense of ease more important to you than the joy of doing something you were sure would go well?" Tears slid down Kaori's face, and Kagome's eyes were suspiciously watery. "Do you have a wish?" Kaori nodded, "It has a price. Are you willing to pay it?" Again, a nodd. "Very well." Yuuko took Kaori's face in her hands before continuing "Your wish will be granted. What is your wish?" The air started vibrating again, so much that Kagome almost thought that she could hear a ringing through the air.

"I want to change!" Kaori begged. The ringing got louder, then abruptly stopped all together. Kaori got to her feet slowly, but confidently, before looking around. Fortunately, not many people were in the café and the strange event went unnoticed, thus dodging a great many awkward questions. "I'll go back and get another pot of tea for you. Would you like to order anything, ma'am?" She added politely. Yuuko smiled, and pulled up a chair.

"I'll take some of your cherry blossom tea. I've heard good things!" Kaori responded with the same.

"Of course! It'll be right out!"

- — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — -

Two days later, Kagome found herself laughing hysterically at Doumeki's story from the day before as he walked her to the subway station from a late archery practice.

"You're joking." She managed through a fit of the giggles, "Not just one of them, but both? I mean, I knew Hikari liked you, but Kaori too? Poor you! And to think, they both confessed on the same day!"

"Within the same hour." He muttered darkly. "It was awful. I felt bad enough about turning them down, but so close together? I felt like a jerk." Kagome looked away.

"You're not." She told him quietly, "A jerk, I mean." Doumeki turned to look at her, a slight smile on his face.

"Thanks." Kagome answering smile was wider.

"Any time." Doumeki wondered if she had any clue that he was having problems with focusing on anything else. He did not understand why exactly the situation with the twins had resonated so strongly with Kagome, but he did know that she had been out of sorts ever since the incident with Kaori spontaneously bleeding in the cinema. Hopefully, her mirth was a sign that she was getting back to normal. Brushing his side with his school bag reminded him that he had another task he needed to complete, one that might, he hoped, help get some of the left over shadows out of her eyes.

"Hey, Kagome. Hold out your hands, and close your eyes." He instructed firmly. Kagome looked at him as though he were mildly insane.

"What?" He looked away, scowling slightly.

"Look, it's White Day, and I didn't get your gift wrapped in time, so you'll just have to live with this. Hands out, eyes shut." Laughing, Kagome did so. Doumeki reached into his bag studying his offering carefully before placing it into Kagome's arms. He had questioned Watanuki and Himawari about Kagome's preferences, trying to figure out something that Kagome would like without coming out and saying that he wanted to go out with her. They better have been right. He had no desire to be wrong, not in this case. "Ok, you can open them." When she did, Doumeki was rewarded with a squeal of delight at the stuffed fox with a white ribbon tied around his neck in her arms.

"Awww... it's adorable! I love foxes. Thank you Doumeki-senpai!" Doumeki had to turn away so she didn't notice the blush starting to cover his face.

"Shizuka." He told her, "I call you by your given name, you can do the same." He glanced over at her to see how she took this direction. Her face was currently going redder than the fox in which she was trying to hide it.

"Oh. Okay... Shizuka-senpai." Doumeki fought down the urge to grin broadly as they walked the rest of the way to Kagome's subway stop. This walk had proved amazingly productive. Best of all, he would not be forced to destroy Watanuki for being incorrect in regards to Kagome's fondness for foxes. After all, the boy was one of his best friends, and it would be a shame to lose his primary source of entertainment.

- — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — -

First of all, let me say that I am so, so, so, so, so very sorry that this took forever and three days to get out. I never meant for it to be so, but first came summer job as a camp counselor, then came going back to college, then came college, and with it rush week, and this chapter got shoved to the sidelines. It didn't help any that I despise this story arc, and it defied my ability to put in Kagome. I will say that once I realized how the fact driven home by this arc, namely the ability of our words to negatively affect those closest to us, I did manage to find the connection I needed to make it work. All the same, this was probably the chapter that has varied the most from the original arc set forth in XxxHoLiC thus far, therefore offering a new kettle of fish and challenges.

To my old readers who have stuck around this long to wait for it, I hope this chapter makes up for the wait! And to those of you who like the growing Kagome/Doumeki tension, I hope this chapter offered you many, many fun squealing moments. I know it offered me a few!