Title: Shizuka: Quiet

Author: Sparda219

Summary: Doumeki is always there for Watanuki, always ready to help him and protect him and, in return, all he gets is scorn. One day, a strange man approaches him, with an enticing proposition...

The sunshine on Yuuko's peculiar homestead made the odd little house glow with a cheerful light. The sheer oddity of such a home in the middle of Tokyo never seemed to strike anyone, most likely a spell of Yuuko's, but Doumeki certainly always noticed. Must be those spiritual powers of his or something.

It had become a normal affair, and normal was as laughable a word as ever, to stop by Yuuko's and see what was going on. It was always more interesting than staying at his house all day when he didn't have to help around the shrine and besides that, Watanuki was always there after school. After wandering off to drop his things at the shrine and give a quick prayer for his grandfather, it was off to the shop.

"YUUKO-SAN! WHAT THE HELL? Why are these dust bunnies ALIVE?"

Ahhhhh. Sweet music. At least, Watanuki's screaming was always a source of amused pleasure for Doumeki. He always got himself into the most entertaining situations.

Without bothering to announce himself, the tall boy toed his shoes off at the front door and padded into the house. He followed the banging and screeching until he found the source of the commotion, an irritated Watanuki in his very cute bandana and apron. The bespectacled boy appeared to be battling against a small army of what seemed to be animated balls of dust and assorted fluff with tiny pointed ears. The duster flashed and a score of the little beasts met with a foul end. Doumeki experimentally aimed his foot over one of the stragglers and brought it down with a satisfying "ploof" noise. It was most decidedly done for.

"Interesting."

At the low murmur, Watanuki spun about on his heel and pointed dramatically. Doumeki sighed internally.

'Here it comes.'

"DOUMEKI! What do you think you're—ARRRGH!"

The fuzzballs seemed to have regrouped and formed a second wave. Watanuki was toppled under them, a tangle of limbs under a sea of dust bunnies. Doumeki couldn't suppress his amused chuckle. Watanuki was tapping his fingers on the floor, quite annoyed with the state of his world and the bunnies appeared to be, well, PURRING. The little things were practically vibrating with delight.

"I don't need YOU laughing at me, Doumeki! What do you want anyway?"

'Just to see you.'

Is what the big teenager would have liked to stay, but he settled for a non-committal shrug and a puff of air as if being there annoyed him, even if he chose to show up. Before Watanuki could continue his griping binge, a melodious voice pierced the musty air.

"Watanuki-kun! I've got another job for you!"

Yuuko Ichihara flounced from around the corner, staying carefully on the other side of the shoji door so as not to sully herself with the dust flittering about the room. It would be a tragedy to ruin her outfit after all. Today she was wearing a pattern Doumeki swore he saw on a race car once. Black blouse and shoes, but the dress had flames licking up the sides and Yuuko's long black locks were pinned up with picks that were shaped like fire.

"Oh, good. Doumeki-kun is here as well! Saves me a phone call. There's a VERY important wish we have to grant! I need the both of you to go. Doumeki can even provide his own bow, so I won't need to charge either of you extra!"

"Bow?"

"Doumeki?"

"Yes, and yes!"

Yuuko was positively bubbling over with happiness. Whatever her client was going to have to pay her, it was going to be ENORMOUS. The witch placed a finger on her lower lip, as if just realizing something.

"Hmmm... Actually, now that I think of it, I will have to lend you something. Doumeki's power isn't going to be enough, not if it's as stubborn as he says it is."

Yuuko searched her person and produced a slip of paper and a pen, who knows where she was hiding them. Her eyes seemed to glaze over as she furiously wrote upon it, using long, powerful strokes. Afterwards, her customary smirk was replaced upon her features. She folded the slip and handed it to Doumeki.

"Here. It will adhere to your bow. Make sure not to miss, now. And don't worry, it's a cheap one!"

Doumeki sighed again. He knew as well as Watanuki that nothing of Yuuko's was EVER cheap. And that smile of hers was positively EVIL. The archer shook his head and proceeded back to his house.

"I'll be back here in half an hour."

The tall boy ran a hand through his messy hair and trudged back to his shoes. THIS was going to be yet another messy affair.

And back in the room, Watanuki stopped and once again pondered the purring mass resting on his back.

"Don't just leave me like this! Doumeki? Yuuko-san?"

And he was met with nothing but the sound of purring, living dust bunnies.

It had taken fifteen minutes to brush all of the dust out of his hair, and so Watanuki was in a rather foul mood. Doumeki simply endured the grumbling and simply enjoyed sitting next to Watanuki on the train. His bow was in its wrap and rested between them, and he patted his shirt pocket to make sure the slip of abnormal paper was still there. He didn't want to go and waste whatever it was he had to pay Yuuko with and lose it all of a sudden.

Their destination was some way out of the city and even into the country, so it was going to be a pretty long train ride. After a while, Doumeki started to realize that the low grumbling that had been his background noise over even that of the train had gradually stopped. He turned his head from his observation of the blurred surroundings and glanced down at the other boy. He really was too cute sometimes.

Watanuki had fallen asleep. His head bounced gently with the rhythm of the train, tussling his soft, short black hair ever so slightly. His eyes were shut gently behind the glass panes of his spectacles and his lips were parted just a bit. Doumeki contented himself, during little moments like these, to just look for a while. He didn't dare go beyond looking. The boy already hated him enough just for existing, let alone for touching him or, dare he think it, kissing him in his sleep. A shadow of something like longing and desire crossed his dark eyes as he watched the sleeping figure, listening intently to his breathing and watching every flutter of his eyelids or scrunching of his brow.

And somewhere else on the train, painted lips smiled contentedly.

"Now I know his price."

Watanuki stretched and yawned as they stepped off the train.

"Ahhh. Good nap. Hey, it's an archery range."

Yuuko never did say where their job was going to be, just to get off at this stop and that their destination was right across the street. Doumeki was silent as always as the crossing light played its tune, wishing travelers safe passage across its street. He even seemed to be more pensive than usual.

"What's eating you, Doumeki?"

The other boy made a show of rolling his eyes as he was snapped from his half-depressed reverie.

"Che. Nothing you have to worry about."

"Whatever."

The uneasy silence was broken as they reached the front gate of the range. A nervous looking boy about their age was standing there in an archery uniform. He had black hair cut short and was wearing wire-rimmed glasses, looks like he didn't even bother to change out of his hamaka and haori, odd. He fidgeted a bit as the duo reached the front steps.

"A-are you the guys that sensei hired?"

Watanuki just rose an eyebrow.

"Ummmm. I suppose we are, but..."

"GREAT!"

The boy grabbed Watanuki by the shoulders and bowed at the same time. Doumeki's eyes narrowed warily.

"You've got to stop it! It just attacks out of nowhere. It almost got me! Good thing sensei warned me, though I don't know how he could see it. You've got to get rid of it, for the good of our archery club!"

Watanuki sweatdropped slightly and patted the boy on the back reassuringly. Doumeki felt a little sour jealousy creep into him at the simple act of reassurance. He shook his head slightly to clear it.

'Keep it together, Shizuka. Don't lose your cool when there's a job to do.'

"Don't worry, now. I'm Watanuki and this is... Doumeki. We're the guys your sensei sent for. Whatever's in there, we'll get it."

The other boy bowed and thanked the pair profusely, then stood aside and let the two other boys in. Despite all of his reassuring talk, Doumeki could see the nervousness creep into Watanuki's stance. He even jumped when Doumeki put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't get scared. Just tell me where to shoot."

"Who's scared? I'm not scared!"

"Suuuuure."

Doumeki drawled as he undid the button on the top of his bow sheath. He slid the weapon out and carefully, reverently, strung it. As he prepared the bow in the small anteroom, the boys heard someone on the range, the thunk of arrows hitting a target was as clear as day.

"S-say. Wasn't this place abandoned a minute ago."

"Well, we are supposed to have a target or something."

Doumeki stood, bow at the ready. He stepped forward and slammed open the shoji door that led to the range, his eyes sweeped left and right, but he couldn't spot whatever it was that was shooting earlier. Watanuki stepped past him and proceeded towards a firing position.

"Hello there."

There was an older teenage boy there, tall and strong and handsome looking, with light brown hair that was slightly spiked. He held a bow loosely in one hand and was wearing a fine blue haori and red hakama. He smiled at Watanuki as the boy drew close and had a small blush on his face.

"Oh, Takaru! Wh-what are you doing here so late?"

Watanuki was confused, and Doumeki was even more confused. Who in the hell was Watanuki talking to?

"Well, I'm not Takaru. My name is..."

"Takaru? What's wrong with you? Why are you doing this?"

Watanuki drew back in surprise as the handsome boy stepped forward, looking scared and angry. It was as if the ghost was fast-forwarding through his memories. And it did not look like things came to a good conclusion. In another violent mood swing, the boy reached out and began throttling Watanuki. Doumeki's eyes widened in horror as Watanuki grabbed at something that wasn't there and gasped for breath that didn't come as he was raised into the air.

"WHY? WHY DID YOU DO IT? I give you my heart, you told me you loved me and for WHAT? So you could deny it to save face? So you could break my heart and let those guys find me and try and KILL ME?"

Watanuki tried to scream in horror from a closed windpipe as cuts erupted with blood all over the apparition's body. The immaculate hakama and haori suddenly blossoming crimson blood flowers and bruises darkening across his face and arms, the handsome ghost suddenly looked like a gruesome parody of what he once was. Bloodstained teeth were bared in a snarl of heated rage and claret soaked brown locks plastered to his forehead over hateful dark eyes.

"I LOVED you Takaru! And now we'll DIE together!"

Doumeki ripped the button from his shirt pocket as he reached into it for the paper slip. Unsure of what to do, he just presented the slip to his bow, where it practically jumped from his hand to wrap around and melt into the bowstring. The string began to glow, and Doumeki got the distinct feeling that it was going to pack a SERIOUS punch. He raised the bow, trying to figure out where to fire from the way Watanuki grasped the air. The choked whimpers he made locked a cold vice around Doumeki's heart, and his eyes hardened.

'Now or never. This must be what Yuuko-san meant by 'don't miss.' I won't!"

With a shout of violent determination, Doumeki released the string with a sharp twang, and a beam of pure spiritual force left it with such intensity that even Doumeki himself could see it. The beam slammed into thin air.

"O-only wanted YOU. Takaru. Only... you..."

The ghost's eyes rolled back into its head as it dissolved from the blast, slowly disappearing into nothingness. Its hands faded away and Watanuki slammed into the wooden floor of the archery range, gasping desperately for air, hands twisted into the front of his shirt. His vision was blurred and he could hardly hear anything. He felt himself pressed to something warm and broad, supported by caring arms. He could barely hear the whispers of comfort entering his ears through warm breaths, but it helped all the same. His breathing gradually slowed, a large hand patting his back and another cradling his head as he spilled tears into Doumeki's shirt.

After a short sobbing fit, Watanuki stopped crying and suddenly tensed.

"Let GO OF ME!"

Doumeki was the stronger of the two, but he was so startled that he let go anyway. Watanuki stood quickly, utterly mortified at the position he was just in. He rubbed his eyes roughly and turned on his heel to start walking towards the door.

"Well? We're done here, right? Let's get going."

Doumeki wanted to tell him to slow down, that he still needed rest. He wanted to tell him that he was worried and why the hell didn't he just tell him to shoot in the first place? He wanted to say anything, really. But he just couldn't find the voice.

The trip back was nearly unbearable, the silence heavy and uncomfortable. When they got back to Tokyo they walked until they reached the crossroad where Doumeki had to split off to get to the temple. After a curt bow from Watanuki, the two parted ways.

Doumeki got halfway home before his frustration overflowed. He suddenly stopped, dropped his bow and punched the wall next to him, probably startling the people who lived on the other side. He groaned in emotional pain and leaned heavily against the wall.

"Why. Why can't he love me back? Can nothing I do ever be enough? Can nothing I do make him look away from Himawari and look at ME?"

"Actually. There certainly is something you can do."

Doumeki looked up, startled at the man who suddenly appeared as if from nowhere. His eyes narrowed at his strange appearance. He was wearing a robe with a wide collar in a myriad of colors. His face was deathly pale, most likely with makeup, and his lips and eyelids were painted blue. He reminded Doumeki of some kind of evil onmyouji from those movies, all fancy and painted up like a clown.

"Who are you?"

The man's sapphire painted lips spread wide in a smile. His dull black hair was down to his waist and held in a high ponytail, turned a sickly color by the yellow streetlamps.

"I, Shizuka dear, am your wishgranter."

Somewhere across town, Yuuko shivered.

Onmyouji- A Japanese spellcaster based on the Shinto faith.

There's chapter one down. Thanks to my beta Kiki!