Of Dreams and Wishes

Hi! Thanks for wanting to read this fanfic. I hope you like this story.

All my current knowledge regarding xxxHolic manga stem mainly from Wikipedia and some other sites, but I did read some manga chapters for references for certain details the anime doesn't provide. As such, this fanfic would mainly follow xxxHolic anime with some addition from the manga.

However, I would be changing the order of the episodes around and wouldn't include all the cases, so don't complain if you find that my fanfic doesn't follow the same chronological order as in the anime and manga.

Of Dreams and Wishes takes place after the Inuyasha series, with changes with its ending and certain details. Also, most of the characters from Inuyasha and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles would not appear as often as the xxxHolic main characters and Kagome.

I find that the whole mess with Kimihiro, Li Syaoran, Li Sakura, Li Tsubasa, and Princess Tsubasa is just way too complicated to put into Of Dreams and Wishes in detail. So, I'm going to heavily gloss over it, and would only be adding the bare necessities where able.

For those who are interested romance between the characters:

While there may be hints of it, there won't be any actual romance in at least the next few chapters. The characters' current selves aren't ready for it yet, even though Kimihiro has a strong puppy love for Himawari.

Kagome — issues with her time immunity, which she is still coming into terms with it at the moment

Kimihiro — issues with his self-worth, or lack thereof, which is slowly changing

Shizuka — general communication issues; and he never did seem to be interested in having love relationships at this point in time

Himawari — issues with her tainted aura, which I would be further addressing later (those who have already watched and/or read xxxHolic already know the details)

Yuuko — well… let's just say her issues has something to do with her frozen time and her role as the Dimension Witch, which I would be further addressing later (those who have already watched and/or read xxxHolic already know the details)

Sesshoumaru — he's… well… he's Sesshoumaru, enough said (you'd understand a bit more in this chapter)

In other words, romance would be slow to come because their minds aren't ready for it yet. However, their relationships would deepen on their own without the character's conscious awareness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Vocabulary

Hitsuzen — inevitable, fated

Ofuda — protective wards on parchment / paper wards

Sengoku Jidai — Feudal Era

Shikon no Tama — Jewel of Four Souls

Miko — priestess, shrine maiden

Miko ki – priestess energy

Jaki — miasma, evil energy

Youki — demon energy

Youkai — demon

Daiyoukai — great demon

Inu — dog

Kumo — spider

Kami — god

Zashiki-warashi — vestal sprite; supposed to bring fortune when staying with a household, but fortune declines when zashiki-warashi leaves

Karasu tengu — crow-billed goblin

-tachi — and co; company; group;

Osuwari — sit; it's Kagome's command word which triggers a spell on Inuyasha's rosary, sending him flat onto the ground

Kazaana — wind tunnel; it's a curse Naraku placed on Miroku's grandfather, which was eventually passed onto Miroku; kazaana sucks up everything in its path like a black hole; when kazaana grows too big, it would completely destroy its carrier

Otou / Otou-san / Tou-san / Otou-chan / Tou-chan / Otou-sama / Tou-sama / Chichiue / Oyaji — father, in different forms of endearment and respect

Ojii-chan / Jii-chan / Ojii-san / Jii-san / Ojii-sama / Jii-sama — grandfather, in different forms of endearment and respect

Gomen ne — I'm sorry

Chapter 9 Grudge of Spiders

Five hundred years… Has it already been so long?

Sesshoumaru swirled the red wine in his glass absentmindedly, golden eyes gazed off into the distance. If he closed his eyes, he could still picture the toothy grin which had never failed to be directed towards him from the one human girl who trusted him and loved with all her heart and soul. He had never told Rin he had loved her as well. But there had never been any need to. She had known from the very start.

On her deathbed, just as he had been about to say the words that had never uttered his lips since he had been born, one of her trembling wrinkled hands had rested on his cheeks, and with a breathy whisper, she said, "I know, Sesshoumaru-sama." She then shook her head. "No… chichiue. I have always known. I love you too."

And then, wearing her last toothy grin, Rin had passed away from this world, leaving behind an inu daiyoukai, howling to the heavens of his sorrow.

Even with all his powers, he had been unable to prevent his pack (and yes, Inuyasha's pack had become an extended pack of his) from slipping away, like grasping water with bare hands.

When the last of the first generation of his pack (he refused to see their descendents as his true pack) finally left for the afterlife, he had closed off his heart to everyone else. He didn't need close relationships. He didn't want to experience the loss he had felt for not being able to protect his pack. He was their alpha. The alpha was supposed to be capable of protecting everyone in his pack, but they had placed their trust in him to do so. And yet, here he was, alive without his pack.

Inuyasha's pack had, of course, reassured him that he won't be the only one left — the strangely-dressed miko was from the future; they would be able to meet again.

Sesshoumaru hadn't put much stock in that. Time-travelling. Humph. He had heard of better tall tales. Besides, even if it was true, the miko was human. She too would leave him within a few decades at most.

At first, he had resolved to stay away from the Higurashi Shrine and its surrounding area as to not meet up with her. (She would be safe in this era. The Shikon no Tama was gone. She won't be bothered by youkai. And even if she came cross any, she would be able to protect herself.) But then he had heard about the miko who now worked under the Dimension Witch and who had done Ame-warashi a favour.

There had been no doubt in mind who that miko was.

He had pondered over whether he should meet her or not, but he also had his pack's last wills to consider. And so, in the end, he went to meet her.

It was a pleasant surprise to find out what the Shikon no Tama had done to her in its last moments.

Higurashi Kagome was pack. She was a pack member who wouldn't disintegrate in the sands of time.

Finally… after so long…

XxXxXxXxX

She had been living at Kimihiro's apartment for a little more than a week now, adding her own touch for decorations here and there (and using her miko ki to reinforce the various ofuda). Of course, since it was so small, they had to share a bedroom, but it was alright (though Kimihiro had acted rather awkward at the beginning). She was used to sleeping with others nearby from her adventures in Sengoku Jidai. In fact, it had gotten to the point that she felt it difficult to fall asleep without another presence nearby — Buyo at the shrine; Moro, Maru, and occasionally Mokona, at the shop.

In a way, Kagome was glad that Kimihiro had met that spirit, despite the emotional pain it had brought him — it had opened up her eyes to his loneliness. Now that she knew what had been ailing him, it had been glaringly obvious how he tended to stay at the shop for long hours to avoid going back home and how his aura unconsciously reached out to others (that was probably a factor for spirits' attraction to him). She was a complete idiot for not realizing it sooner.

Now, his aura seemed lighter, happier; and unlike before, it didn't seem to be constantly clawing for other auras like a starving beast.

Kagome smiled, nodding as Kimihiro gushed about the wonderful Himawari-chan (his crush was really cute, but his fawning could get tiresome after a while). Hearing a soft moan, she turned to see her other friend covering his right eye.

"Are you alright, Doumeki-kun?" she asked, frowning. "Your eye has been bothering you since lunch, hasn't it? Do you need to see a doctor?" Not to mention, his aura had been shifting weirdly as well.

"No. They wouldn't be able to help." The exorcist lifted his hand away, revealing the spider web-like markings stemming from his right eye. "I've never heard of a disease where you get these markings and your eye won't open."

Her hand, glowing light pink with miko ki, hovered of his eye, probing at its aura. "I… can't purify or heal this. It's not a result of tainted energy or an illness." She cocked her head to the side. This felt somewhat familiar. Where…? Oh, right. "This feels more like a curse. From a… spider?"

Wait. Speaking of spiders… Earlier this morning, she and Kimihiro-kun had passed by Doumeki-kun's temple on their way to school, as usual. Since there was still quite a bit of time before school started, they had decided (well, reluctantly so, for her roommate) to help him sweep the grounds. Kimihiro-kun had accidentally gotten caught in a spider web and Doumeki-kun had destroyed it to free their friend. Could it be? Was it actually the home of a lesser youkai?

She could easily sense strong youki, but it took intent and concentration to do the same for ones form lesser youkai since they tended to be really faint. Curses could be used to torment their victims, but they would also be used if the opponent was too strong to face head on. And Doumeki-kun was definitely too strong for a lesser youkai.

Judging by her fri4nds' expressions, they had similar thoughts.

Kagome frowned. "The methods of breaking a specific curse depend on the curse itself, but, in general, you can break it by casting a counter-spell, disrupting the curse if it is incomplete, having the caster break it themselves, or killing the caster. In some cases, you could even transfer the curse to something else."

"Then let's go to Yuuko-san!" Kimihiro exclaimed, glancing at Doumeki worriedly. He probably blamed himself for their stoic friend's condition. That lovable self-sacrificing idiot.

The exorcist shook his head. "I can't enter her shop."

"What do you mean by that?"

She laid a hand on her increasingly agitated friend's shoulder. "Kimihiro-kun, Yuuko-san's shop is a place that straddles between dimensions. Not everyone is capable of seeing or entering her shop. Only those who meet certain criteria could get through her barrier. Doumeki-kun isn't one of them. Even if he followed us, he would see a very different image than we do and we would disappear right before his eyes when we step through the fence."

Kimihiro huffed, turning around on his heels, dashing away. "Kagome-chan! Stay at Doumeki's temple for the night!"

Staring at the back of her friend, who was growing more distant by the second, Kagome bit her lips. She had a really bad feeling about this…

"Are you sure it's alright if you don't follow that idiot?" Doumeki asked.

She nodded. "Yeah… Yuuko-san cares for him a lot, so she wouldn't like Kimihiro-kun do anything too stupid under her watch." He'd better not! Otherwise, she'd somehow produce subjugation beads and osuwari his ass to the opposite side of this world. "Besides, I want to check out your storeroom and see if there're any books on your curse."

That night, a strange wind rattled the storeroom and swirled around Doumeki, when the door opened. When it finally died down, his eye returned to normal. But Kagome couldn't shake off the bad feeling she had earlier.

XxXxXxXxX

Kagome frowned. Kimihiro was uncharacteristically subdued. What happened after they parted? He didn't do anything stupid, did he?

Doumeki seemed to have similar thoughts as he pulled Kimihiro's arm, making him turn around, revealing the white medical patch over his right eye.

Her breath hitched. There were no coincidences in this world. Last night, Doumaki-kun's right eye returned to normal. And today, Kimihiro-kun's…

Miko ki rushed throughout her body, vying to be used, to do some damage, to do something, anything, about this situation. Her knuckles whitened. She wanted an open field where she could shoot arrows as she pleased. Yuuko-san's shop was too crowded. She didn't want to destroy anything important.

Slamming Kimihiro's back to the nearest wall, Doumeki ripped off the eye patch, sending his glasses to the ground with a clatter. The eye underneath had clouded over, turning blue to grey, and its pupil didn't react to light either — their friend was now blind in his right eye.

She won't be able to fix it. She can't heal something that had already been stolen. The only way to fix this was the get it back.

"You bastard," Doumeki growled. "Go call her," he demanded. For the first time since she had met him, her friend showed blatant anger on his face — eyebrows pinched, eyes narrowed, mouth scowling, teeth clenched. "I can't go into that shop, so call her."

He harrumphed. "School's about to start, so why should I—?"

The taller male slammed his hand on the wall beside Kimihiro's head, cutting his words off. "Call her."

Kagome took a few deep breaths, forcing her wild miko ki to submission. It wasn't the time to let her fury and frustrations get better of her. She placed her hand on his shoulder. "Doumeki-kun, calm down. Getting angry won't solve anything. We could deal with this after school's over." Then molten pink-purple eyes stared into sky blue and dull grey. "As for you, Kimihiro-kun, can't say I'm happy with your choice of action, but I also can't say I don't understand why you did it either. I just wished you could've waited longer until we find a better solution." She tugged on Doumeki's sleeve. "Come on, let's get going. Or we'd be late."

XxXxXxXxX

It was hard concentrating like this — her thoughts kept straying back to her friend's eye and her energy would consequently stir beneath her skin. It was probably worse for Doumeki-kun, who was in the same class as Kimihiro-kun. Kagome sighed.

Why did Kimihiro-kun have to act so rashly?

It was almost like dealing with her second family again — Inuyasha always jumped into the fray without any prior planning besides the thought of beating his opponents up with brute force; Miroku-sama had almost died by sucking up too much shouki with his kazaana for the sake of keeping his friends and Sango-chan safe; Sango-chan was ready to sacrifice almost everything for Miroku-sama and Kohaku-kun.

Then again, she wasn't really one to talk, was she?

How many reckless things had she done in Sengoku Jidai?

Too many to count.

But even not even the most reckless of her second family members had done what Kimihiro had. Sure, they had taken on numerous injuries for each other; but when it came to curses, they had worked together to break the affected individual free, instead of transferring the curse over to themselves.

As soon as they pass through the barrier of Yuuko's shop, she was sooooo going to give that boy a piece of her mind. How dare he do something as idiotic as this without consulting any of them first! Did he think that they would've been pleased? Well, she sure wasn't. She was seething mad.

XxXxXxXxX

It was so early in the morning that mist still hung in the moist air, even so, he waited. Then, footsteps sounded, and he looked up to see the person he wanted to meet.

"To call me out this early, it's going to cost you," Yuuko greeted.

Shizuka gestured over to the seat opposite of his, inviting her to sit down. "If there's something I can give, then by all means. So please, return Watanuki's eye to normal." It was his fault the spider had a grudge on him. That idiot wasn't allowed to interfere, definitely not in this way.

"The one who stole Watnuki's right eye is the spider. The same one who planted a spider web on your right eye. Watanuki asked me how to make the spider hate him more, so that the grudge would be transferred over to him. And so I did."

"Why?"

She smiled nonchalantly. "Because that was Watanuki's wish."

His eyes narrowed. "Even though you knew he would end up like that?"

"Yes," she answered without a pause. "To grant wishes, that is what the shop is for. Because humans are strange creatures, even though from one person's perspective, something may seem unfortunate, to another, it may bring them happiness."

That made sense. Jii-san had often told him of the things people would sacrifice just for something they wanted, regardless of the suffering brought about by said sacrifice. "Then can you please tell me how to get his eye back from the spider?"

"I cannot do that."

Shizuka clenched his fists, using the pain to physically hold himself back. "Why not?"

"As I have already told Kagome-chan, to restore that eye, the wisher's right eye would be taken in exchange. For wishes of the same calibre, I have a rule of giving the one who arrived to me first a higher priority.

His frown deepened. He really wanted to stray from the teachings engrained within him and bash something up right now, preferably that idiot or the spider. Any one of them would do.

Her lips tugged into an amused smile. "You're angry, aren't you?"

"I'm not, not at you," Shizuka replied truthfully. After all, if that rule hadn't been put into place, who knew when certain wishes would stop. If he lost his right eye due to his wish, Watanuki would've undoubtedly done the same, and the cycle would never end.

"But you are angry at Watanuki?" He didn't bother to reply. "It's alright to be angry. That child still doesn't understand how painful it can be for a person to be sacrificed for. Especially when it is someone important. He doesn't understand all of that yet. You just have to get mad at him and teach him that."

Saying a quick goodbye and thank you to Yuuko, Shizuka left the park, speed-walking back home. If Yuuko-san and Higurashi-san couldn't fix the problem, then he would just have to find a way that would.

XxXxXxXxX

Kimihiro gasped, bending over with a hand covering his right eye, which wasn't obscured by the eye patch. Kagome dropped her book onto the table and scrambled over to the kitchenette. "Are you okay?" she asked, sending a stream of healing energy into him. "Is your eye hurting?"

He shook his head, straightening up. "No. Suddenly, I was seeing two different images at the same time. But it's alright now. It has stopped."

Kagome frowned. "The spider didn't take your eye. It only took your eyesight, didn't it? Your eye is probably still connected to your eyesight, so you could still get images from it." That was also probably why her friend had yet to truly feel the loss of his eye. Even though he couldn't see out of his right eye, a part of him is still aware of how his eyesight wasn't completely out of his reach yet; he still had a chance to retrieve what was lost.

Yesterday, as soon as she was alone with Yuuko, she had asked how Kimihiro's eye could be returned to normal, just like her other friend did this morning. However, unlike Doumeki, she had been given the choice to sacrifice her eye in return, since she hadn't been a part of Kimihiro's wish. But she didn't take the offer. She couldn't. If she did, both boys would be emotionally hurt by her actions. And who knew what they would be willing to do, willing to sacrifice, to get her eye back. It would've become a never-ending cycle of sacrifices until they didn't have anything left to give.

"Kimihiro-kun?"

"Hm?"

"I won't be coming home tomorrow, so you don't need to prepare dinner for me," she replied, setting up the table.

He paused in scooping up their beef stew and turned around to blink at her. "Why?"

"I'd be staying at Doumeki-kun's temple for the night. We're searching for a way to get your eye back."

His eyebrows furrowed and he frowned. "It's okay. You don't need to do anything. I'm alright with this."

"But we're not!" she yelled, slamming her hands on the table. "We're not," she repeated in a softer voice. "Kimihiro-kun, it was your choice to sacrifice your right eye for Doumeki-kun's. We respect that. So, please… respect our wish to find a way to reverse the damage."

XxXxXxXxX

Himawari was worried.

Watanuki was unusually cheerful, as if he was forcing himself to feel that way to suppress his darker emotions. Whenever Doumeki was around, he seemed to be alternating between staring at Watanuki's eye patch and glaring at the same teen's back. Even Kagome had caught their weirdness. She was often seen writing in a notebook, mumbling to herself, before shaking her head and crossing something out. When Himawari asked her about it, she would smile and say that she was simply brainstorming ideas for one of her person projects. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the truth either.

She wasn't stupid. Her friends were definitely hiding something.

And it was probably related to the supernatural.

She knew that wouldn't be much help compared to the three of them; after all — Watanuki was employed by Yuuko, who seemed to often deal with the supernatural, so he probably had some skills as well; Kagome was a miko; and Doumeki also have some sort of exorcizing abilities and he lived in a temple. Still, wasn't see their friend? Why must they leave her out of their problems?

Then again, she was such a hypocrite, wasn't she?

Here, she was complaining about being left out of their business, but at the same time, weren't she, Kagome-chan, and Doumeki-kun also keeping a secret from Watanuki-kun?

Himawari knew she was being selfish for not telling Watanuki what would happen to those who stay close to her. She was scared. She honestly enjoyed Watanuki fawning over her and his blatant happiness for being with her. She didn't want it to stop. She was scared that once she told him the truth, he would turn away from her. She didn't want to lose his friendship.

But at the same time, she wanted him to really look at her. She wasn't the princess he viewed her as. Why couldn't he see what Doumeki and Kagome saw? Why must he remain so ignorant when he had the ability to see spirits? Why?

She wanted him to know. She didn't want him to know.

She fought with herself every time she saw him.

Sometimes, Himawari hated herself for it.

XxXxXxXxX

It hurts. It hurts. Where am I? What am I doing here?

What is that? Blue? Ah, right… I was trying to get my precious person's right eye back. And then… And then…

It's getting really hard to breath. It hurts. It hurts. It's like my body is slowly being burned from the inside out. It hurts.

I'm sorry I'm not any help. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

So, please don't come here. Please. I don't want you harmed.

XxXxXxXxX

"Still nothing!" Kagome growled, slammed the book shut, and leaned backwards until she was lying on the ground. It had been four days since they had first started the search (though back then, it had been for Doumeki-kun instead of Kimihiro-kun), and yet, they still hadn't been able to find any spells to get back his eye. "It looks like our only option is to find the spider with Kimihiro's eye and take it back," she sighed. That, was, of course, easier said than done.

Just then, a very familiar youki reached her senses. Kagome scrambled up and rushed out the storeroom, dimmly noting that Doumeki had followed suit, just in time to see Sesshoumaru land from the sky.

"Miko," he said, monotonously.

She bowed slightly back in greeting. "Sesshoumaru-sama, what brings you here?"

"They are your pack members. It is your duty to deal with the problems they have caused."

Kagome cocked her head to the side. "Er… What… are you talking about?" As far as she knew, her 'pack members' were her second family since Inuyasha was technically their alpha. Did they somehow manage to do something beyond the grave? Please, don't say they've ended up like Kikyou.

"One of your charges has recently lost an eye to our world."

She nodded, raising an eyebrow. Her charges? Since when were they her charges? Then again, considering Sesshoumaru's inu pack instincts, they probably were. And just how did he know about Kimihiro's situation?

"The eye contains enough energy to grant a power boost, so many have been fighting over it. If you still wish to retrieve it back, you must do so before it is eaten."

Kagome winced. Good news: they still had a chance to get back his eye. Bad news: it was like the Shikon no Tama all over again; and they were on an ever-changing time limit, depending on when the current owner decided to absorb it. Just perfect…

"Um… Sesshoumaru-sama, do you know who is currently in possession of it?"

"Jorougumo."

XxXxXxXxX

Yuuko lightly fanned herself with the tengu fan, smiling. Watanuki was becoming more and more like Clow by the day, not just in looks. Both of them were just as reckless, just as thoughtless about the people who care for them, and just as strangely charismatic — somehow picking up loyal companions here and there despite not being completely aware of it.

But, unlike Clow, Watanuki had yet to learn how to value himself as his friends valued him.

Kagome had outright blown up at him as soon as they had entered her shop, out of sight from prying sights, on the day the miko discovered the result of his wish. That had been really entertaining. Yuuko didn't even know Kagome had such a large set of lungs. The little miko had yelled at an increasingly fearful Watanuki for two hours straight. Needless to say, that boy had resolved to never make her that angry ever again.

Still, one's personality trait wouldn't easily be changed by an incident or two. It would take time and patience on his companions' part to eliminate Watanuki's low self-worth.

Are they up to the task?

She couldn't wait to see what hitsuzen had in store for them.

XxXxXxXxX

Shizuka dashed into the house and called Yuuko's shop as soon as Higurashi disappeared with Sesshoumaru-sama. Confronting Jorougumo was their last chance of ever retrieving back Watanuki's eye. If they failed, no spells could get it back.

While his sense of pride as a male and a friend rebelled against him to allow her to do it on her own (the inu daiyoukai had made it clear that he won't directly take part in this), his logic compelled him to stay. Higurashi was more experienced in these matters; and she was no defenceless girl, especially when it came to supernatural creatures.

Besides, there was something that he could do.

Fifteen minutes later, they were once again seated at the park.

"Why have you call me out again, Doumeki-kun?" Yuuko asked. "Do you have a wish?"

"Yes. You've told me that I can't wish for Watanuki's eye to be restored, right?"

"That's correct."

"Then can you take my right eye and give it to Watanuki instead? That wish would work, wouldn't it?" In-between his research, Shizuka had thought long about a way to get around Watanuki's wish, and this was the only solution he could come up with.

The shopekeeper smiled, crimson eyes half-lidded in amusement. "There's no need for you to give up your entire eye. I can just as easily take half of your eyesight instead. As long as you give me a proper payment for my work."

He nodded. Her idea was better than his. This way both of them would still have two working eyes. "Alright. It's a deal. Give my eye to Watanuki if they can't get it back. But, if his eye is restored, would you be able to return my eyesight to me?" Truthfully, he didn't really mind either way, but he would rather get his options straight first.

"Of course." Her hand hovered over his right eye. "This is going to feel odd, but make sure to not move from your spot."

XxXxXxXxX

The worn-down building was covered with youki and jaki, making her miko ki automatically rise to the surface. However, most importantly, beneath that, she could sense Kimihiro and kudagitsune's aura. Notching on arrow on her bow, Kagome took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and focused on the origin of the youki. A clear image of Jorougumo came into her mind.

There!

Her eyes snapped opened and she released her arrow. It flew through the air like a pink shooting star and vanished before it hit the building walls. She had faith in her abilities and the bow she had retrieved from Azuma Mountain. That arrow would definitely hit her target.

Seconds later, a screech pierced through the air and the youki and jaki in the around were completely purified.

Kagome dashed in, barely noting the five tiny karasu tengu following her on ski boards. (They must've been outcasts of their clans. She had never seen karasu tengu with such weak youki and tiny wings.) She followed Kimihiro's aura down the stairs and into a large room, possibly the remnants of a ballroom.

"Kimihiro-kun! Are you okay?" she asked, rushing over to her friend. He was kneeling by an unconscious Zashiki-warashi's side, barely keeping himself awake, while the nine-tailed version of kudagitsune stood nearby on watch.

"Ka-kagome-chan?" he replied weakly, before slumping down beside the sprite he was protecting.

She placed a hand on the two of them, sending a steady stream of miko ki into their system to purify all traces of the kai they had absorbed.

"Miko-sama, is Zashiki-warashi going to be okay?" one of the karasu tengu asked, fidgeting on his ski board. "Is she? Is she?" his companions echoed.

Kagome nodded. "I've already purified away the jaki, so they'd be just fine with some rest. Come on, let's get out of here. I'll carry Zashiki-warashi," she said, lifting up the light sprite with ease. "Kudagitsune-kun, could you carry Kimihiro-kun?" He yipped in reply, licking the face of his favourite person. "Karasu tengu-tachi, could you lead the way?"

XxXxXxXxX

Though Reizan was a bit too misty for her liking, the air here was so full of pure energy that her mind was instantly brought back to a time when youkai freely roamed the lands, a time when she was surrounded by the warmth of her second family. It was no wonder that Sesshoumaru recommended this place to stay ay if she didn't want to make a home in the human or youkai world.

But, she really would rather not live here. She didn't think her mind could take it if she was constantly reminded of Sengoku Jidai due to the abundance of energy. Being trapped by the past was really dangerous to one's sanity and happiness.

The teen using her lap as a pillow shifted and she paused in the middle of petting his hair (it was really soft! Like Shippou-chan's).

"Duns'op," he mumbled, leaning against her hand.

Her fingers threaded through his hair again and he sighed in contentment. "Are you feeling better now, Kimihiro-kun?" she asked.

His eyes — one sky blue, the other a dull grey — blinked blearily up at her. "Ka… go… me… chan? Whacha doin' 'ere?"

"I was planning to take your eye back from Jorougumo, but…" Her smile took on a bitter edge. "I arrived too late. I was only successful in purifying Jorougumo, and the jaki out of your and Zashiki-warashi's systems. And nothing else. Oh, she's alright now. The karasu tengu are busy fussing over her." She lightly touched his right eyelid using her free hand. "Gomen ne, Kimihiro-kun…"

Kimihiro shook his head, holding onto that hand. "No… I'm the one who should say sorry. I was ready to give up more body parts to save Zashiki-warashi. But, Jorougumo said that she didn't want things that I would so readily give up. She also said that I was devaluing Zashiki-warashis efforts to retrieve my eye by harming myself further." He chuckled, tears trailing down his cheeks. "Funny, isn't it? The enemy was the one who opened up my eyes, or my remaining one anyhow." Letting go of her hand, he laid his on her cheek. "Gomen ne, Kagome-chan, for not listening to you. And maybe even Doumeki. I'll try to value myself more from now on."

Kagome smiled. "Yeah, you'd better. If you try to pull this sort of stunt ever again, I'll search for the spell for the subjugation beads Inuyasha wore and make sure to put them on you."

Kimihiro laughed weakly. "Er… yeah…"

She was definitely going to watch over her more closely now. Who knew when he would forget his promise in favour of a more urgent situation?

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What do you think of my ninth chapter? Please Read and Review. I would love to know how good and how bad my fics are. If you want to flame me, at least make it constructive criticism.

I wanted to write a chapter without touching Kimihiro's POV. What do you think of my portrayal of Sesshoumaru, Kagome, Shizuka, Himawari, and Yuuko?

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize from the xxxHolic, Inuyasha, and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles aren't mines; they belong to their respective owners. Anything else belongs to me. Please ask for permission and getting it before taking my things.

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May fantasy guide your writing through it all - Dementra