DISCLAIMER: I do not own XXXHolic. But if I one day finally hone my spidey senses so I can go and live in NYC and save people daily, I will. (Which is probably never. XD)

Perfect Circles

Chapter One

Yuuko was in a good mood.

It helped that she had two bottles of vintage imported brandy last night, her favorite baseball team had won the champions, and the next day hangover lasted hours less than usual.

She was in such a good mood, in fact, that she finally decided that Watanuki deserved some pointers in controlling spirits, lest he should get himself into deep trouble; which was usually her doing in the first place anyways.

Not that she'll be admitting to that anytime soon.

With a series of claps and pauses, Yuuko's two soulless servants appeared in a billowy pink 'poof'. She loved theatrics. "Watanuki-kun has to do something very important today, so as soon as he comes through the door, he must see me immediately, understand?"

And with double nods and a resounding "Hai!" the two repeated the witch's claps and disappeared the same way they came.

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Watanuki was having an equally good day, if not better than his employer. He had been handed back a test that had the highest score of the grade, was recruited to captain in his PE class, did not see Doumeki at all, none of the spirits decided to chase him that day, and best of all, Himiwari-chan had sat with him all throughout lunch, with a friendly banter between the two.

He didn't even mind that he had to go to his job as a 'housemaid' in Yuuko's eccentric store, and just about skipped all the way there. He wrenched open the door with a huge grin and walked in, only to become face to double faces with-

'Uh oh.'

"Watanuki-kun must see mistress immediately! Watanuki-kun must see mistress immediately!" Maru and Moro squealed while one took his hands and dragged while the other circled him and pushed from behind.

"H-hey!" Watanuki feebly countered as he was led through the house, banging into walls as they turned corner after corner after corner...

Eventually, they arrived to their destination, with the reluctant hostage still wincing at the aftermath of the journey.

"Had a good day?" Yuuko questioned with a small smile, taking note of the rather large bruise on her employee's head as she watched him running headlong into a cabinet outside of the room.

Watanuki gave a smile as well, even though he was still hurting from the bruises and scratches that he received.

"Well, that's good, it'll be helpful for what you're about to do today…"

"Huh?" Watanuki asked confusingly, as his boss seemed to never really care for his mental well-being, as she would often use him for her sadistic ways.

Yuuko grinned. "I'm going to teach you how to make perfect circles."

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She gracefully got up from her antique psychiatrist chair and walked out of the room, with Watanuki tagging along. Going down two floors and crossing a hallway, she led them to a smaller room that was sparsely furnished, with a small table in the corner and some cushions.

On the table were a brush and an inkwell all set up for them, while Yuuko strode over to the closet to find some paper.

"Circles," she explained as she sat down at the table, "are universal symbols of boundaries. They also represent continuity and enlightenment, so there are a limited number of circles used for purposes like these." She dipped the brush into the inkwell and began to apply pressure onto the paper in a smooth curve. "A spirit's size is judged by it's own strength, and will fluctuate to it's own accord. Most spirits will fit nicely in circles slightly over fifty centimeters in diameter on average, but proportionally wrong sizes, no matter if it's too small or too large will not work." Her hand steadfastly went around at its meditating pace, and would occasionally stop to darken her lines.

"With incantations or extra precautions, you can also lengthen the duration of the boundary circle, defend yourself, and even control the spirits' conscious thinking, but even without the extras, a good circle can hold for a few vital seconds at least." She finally finished and handed the brush to Watanuki, who couldn't wait to start. He eagerly took it with a genuine, "Arigatou!" and began-

"Oh, and can you fix me a peach cobbler? They should be in season by now..." Yuuko airily requested, causing Watanuki to inwardly facefault, wondering why she couldn't have told him earlier. Nonetheless, he got up and stalked off to the kitchen, dragging his bruised ego behind him.

Seemingly oblivious to her employee's chagrin, Yuuko also added, "And make it bigger than usual! Doumeki's going to come over as well today..."

And suddenly, Watanuki's day wasn't going as well as he thought.

End Chapter One.

EDITED A/N: Thanks for reading! As I'm currently in the process of revising the story, my schedule on the fic may change a bit, butit is about 99 likelyI'll stillmake the weekly deadline…thing.

Reviews will be greatly appreciated! (Anonymous reviews are accepted as well…) D