A/n: So I've never read past volume seven, since I don't think Volume 8 came out here yet, or hasn't come out in any of the bookstores near me. I don't know what happens after, so everything I write here is totally made up. No Spoilers people, for all those who are at my level. For the rest of you, who have read further ahead, just think of this as an AU type thing.

"Shizuka?"

"Yes, grandfather."

"Why is your friend wearing a bandage over his right eye?"

I couldn't hide anything from him.

"You noticed the…"

"How could I not? Such an emphatic curse."

"He got it from the spider by the huge Kuro-matsu."

"Oh Shizuka, why did you not come to me before?"

"This is my problem."

"Yes, but there are such things as aid, Shizuka."

"I don't think it's that easy."

"You're too stubborn. Is that the reason why you've been going through all my books?"

"There's nothing on a spider's grudge."

"Well of course there isn't. Not in any of those books. You won't find a published manuscript for such things. I have compiled my own cure and procedures in a book. It's hidden under the staircase and my hopeful wishes are that it may never see the light of day."

"Under the staircase?" I was getting up and my grandfather immediately put his hand out to stop me.

"Ah, you are too brash sometimes Shizuka, but I cannot fault you, since you are the splitting image of your father in that aspect."

"And my father was the splitting image of you."

"No. We were very different. Now tell me child, what do you plan do to with this book when you get it."

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Shizuka, I will tell you this, but do not take offense or think that I'm going senile. That spider will not simply allow you to override its curse. It will take a sacrifice. A sacrifice that your friend may have to pay."

"Can't I pay it for him?"

"Shizuka, do you understand the consequences of any of this? I'm asking you right now because it seems like you don't."

"Will it take my eye permanently?"

"Are you afraid?"

"No. If it will take my eye in exchange for Watanuki's then-"

"Then what? Will it make him happy?"

"It will make me happy."

"That's selfish, Shizuka. I never raised you to be like that."

"He's suffering. He's not speaking to me about it, but I know he is. Something's worrying him, but he just keeps…lying to me."

"He is a very resilient young man."

"Too resilient, grandfather."

"You are suffering from the same wounds."

"Then what should I do?"

"He wants his eye back?"

"Yes, but even that had taken a lot of persuading."

"You love him?"

"…"

"Come now Shizuka. I am not blind. Neither am I deaf."

I guess there wasn't going to be any surprise from this end when I asked Watanuki to marry me.

Heh. Watanuki though would probably die of shock, but that wouldn't stop me from putting--jamming if I had to--that damn ring on his finger.

"He's…special to me."

"You children. Your father was the same way when he was in love with your mother. I don't think I've ever seen a boy act more stupid in my entire life."

"Grandfather?"

"Yes child?"

"I want to try. Everyone around me from day one has been telling me how impossible this is and for some reason I don't understand why?"

"It's because you've never had to come up against something like this. You've been blessed with many things Shizuka. For something to not go your way now, it is understandable."

"I still want to try. I want to get his eye back."

"Then I will help you, but keep in mind, that this spider is not to be trifled with. It will eventually find out what you are trying to do and it will come for penance. And when that time comes Shizuka, I will not be able to help you. Even if you are my dear grandson."

"I understand, grandfather."

……………………………………………………………………………………………

"Draw water from a well on the night of a new moon…

Wash the missing eye socket with water. Then take the water…

And lure the horuda uramigoto into the very well…

Using the very same water.

It will turn white inside the well when all is forgiven."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Why do you have butterfly nets?" Watanuki asks Maru and Moro as they take turns running after one another in front of Yuko's shop while swiping their nets ineffectively at whoever was "it" at the time

I'm leaning up against the wall that runs along the shop.

Technically, I wasn't breaking any rules, since I was not in Yuko-san's shop. I don't think the sidewalk counted as her territory.

"To catch." Maru singsongs in response to Watanuki's question.

"To catch." Moro repeats.

Watanuki looks confused and I can't blame him because I'm confused too.

Maru suddenly drops her net over Watanuki's head.

"Butterfly." Maru singsongs again.

"Pretty butterfly." Moro repeats.

"Arggh." Watanuki kicks, and screams, and finally comes free of the net, "Yuko-san better not be late. I'm counting on her to be the master of ceremonies." Watanuki looks up; the moon was almost translucent in the blue evening sky, "She better hurry up. We still have to go to your temple."

"My grandfather's getting the well ready."

"Really? Wow." Watanuki snickers, "Then I don't even have a use for Yuko-san," he says hauntingly and the older woman is suddenly ramming her high-heeled boots into Watanuki's spinal column via launching herself at him, feet first and squealing "Weeee" at the top of her voice.

Somehow she just pulls it off.

Anyone else though…

"Watanuki, I'm hurt. You shouldn't talk about your trusted and beloved employer like that, especially when she's here to save the day."

"Save the day." Maru chirps.

"Save the day." Moro repeats.

They wave their nets in the air enthusiastically and it catches Yuko-san's attention for some odd reason. "Time to go." She says, breaking her eyes away from the two girls and the colorful handles of the butterfly nets.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

We arrive shortly thereafter and Yuko-san trounces off ahead to go meet my grandfather. By the time we reach the well, they're already having a conversation about…?

"Yuko-san!" Watanuki shrieks, trying to get the woman to stop asking my grandfather about his family lineage and where did he get those cool robes…

"Well then shall we get down to business," Yuko says, as she clips around my grandfather and pokes her head down the well.

"Will this do?" My grandfather asks and Yuko-san smiles and throws out a hand dramatically into the air. "It's like I did it myself. You have no idea how hard it is to get good help these days."

Watanuki growls under his breath.

All I knew was I didn't do it.

"Can we get on with it?" Watanuki asks impatiently.

The sky is already fast turning a dark color, the moon gradually becoming whiter and whiter as the starless darkness contrasts and further brings out its luminance. Yuko has a wooden ladle in her hand. She dips it into the well and swirls it around before taking it back out filled to the brim.

Watanuki is taking off his bandage so Yuko hands the dipper to me.

He sits down on the ground and I lean over him, my hand covering his good eye so he's staring up at me from the white mist of the non-seeing eye.

He suddenly gasps.

"What?"

He quickly answers a, "…N-nothing."

Nothing, huh?

I carefully tip the ladle over and it pours right over the eye in a slow trickle. He blinks and I move my hand to the cheek under his blind eye. My thumb goes under his eyelashes and I press the pad of my thumb down on his skin so it's pulling his eye open more.

The white of his eye reminds me of freshly fallen snow, or icicles that have just formed when the moon's light catches the moist glare of his eye as I continue to cleanse it.

The water has trailed in erratic paths down his face, down over his lips and his jaw, down his throat and his neck. The collar of his shirt was wet.

His mouth was a little open and he was looking up at me with his glass-like eye, and if Yuko-san or my grandfather hadn't been standing right there, I knew I would have kissed him.

I pull away and let the last of the water trail down his cheek. I gather up more water from the well in the ladle and then I'm waiting for him to follow after me as I prepare to walk to the Kuromatsu tree.

My eyes flicker over briefly to where Yuko-san is standing and I notice she has one of those small, knowing smiles on her face. I can't shake the feeling that I should go back and ask her why she's smiling like that, but I know she's not going to tell me.

We reach the pine tree and for some reason, it looks bigger than usual.

"Here, give me the water." Watanuki puts his hand out.

I don't hand it over and I don't explain myself either, as my reasons should be pretty obvious. I don't want him acting as the bait.

"What are you doing?" He says impatiently.

I continue to ignore his demanding tone.

"Give it to me." He says again, and then he's cursing and grabbing my arm.

"You're going to make me spill."

"Stoppit." He says again, "Why are you so stubborn? Give it here before that thing shows up." He curls his hand around my bicep. "Dammit, give it to me." He's acting really antsy, more than usual. He looks around suddenly with a panicked expression. "He's coming, you idiot. C'mon."

Now I know he's not telling me something.

"You can see him, right?"

"Shizuka," he warns again. "He messed with your eye too, so maybe you can see him."

Why is he changing the subject?

"So where is he?"

"I don't know." Watanuki says curtly.

Wait, something isn't adding up here. "Then how do you know he's coming?"

He rubs his blind eye again and it's starting to both annoy and worry me.

"I can…" he rubs his eye again, "He can see us." Watanuki whispers and he's looking all around.

What is he talking about?

"How do you know that?"

"Look, just…" He stops, his hand still reaching out for the ladle. He then goes completely still, his eyes widening and I turn around to face whatever it is that has him so spooked.

Standing right above us is the spider.

I can actually see it.

It's huge.

"Give me the water." He says with a faked, brave tone and I can't take my eyes away from the spider that's probably bigger than my front door. It walks down the tree, all eight legs moving slowly and cautiously, like it takes some time for it to figure out which legs to move first.

"Shizuka!" Watanuki says impatiently. He's freaked out and I know there's another reason behind it other than the spider's proximity.

I just can't figure out what.

Something reflects the light of the moon above us and I turn my head in that direction only to see what looks like thin, silvery threads branching out from the dark Kuro-matsu tree, a net of it swaying in the gentle, cool breeze.

I put my hand out with the ladle and try to draw its attention.

It doesn't look like it notices me though.

It just continues to move forward slowly. I can hear each leaf and each branch its legs come into contact with. Its skinny, but large, black body gracefully scaling down the tree without snapping a branch.

It stops when it reaches the trunk of the tree, the large shadow overlapping us and making everything darker.

Watanuki suddenly covers his blind eye and hisses.

I put my hand on his shoulder.

I can't even tell if it's looking at me. Its eyes are too many and too small for me to count and keep track of. Watanuki's breathing has now grown heavy and he's freaking out for some unknown reason. I know he's seen weirder things before. A large house spider shouldn't be so shocking.

But something is clearly frightening Watanuki.

"Snap out of it." I tell him.

He's pale and he's sweating a little. His hand goes over his blind eye again as he swallows harshly. "I can see…what it sees. My eye…I'm looking through..."

He's not making any sense.

I push Watanuki to the side, because I don't want the spider to be confused between Watanuki and me. I want it to focus on me. I need it to focus on me; I need it to clearly see that I'm the one holding the ladle with the well water in my hand.

"C'mon," I say under my breath. "Look at me." I wish I could tell which direction it was looking in.

It slowly moves down the tree trunk, its legs finally touching down on the ground. I back away and prepare for it to come in my direction. Then out of nowhere it takes off and scurries towards…Watanuki!

It's going straight for him and not me, even though I have the water in my hand.

What…?

But Grandfather's notes had said it would come after the well water. It had said it would come after the well water.

"Wash the missing eye socket with water. Then take the water…

And lure the horuda uramigoto into the very well…

Using the very same water."

Wash the missing eye…with water…take the water…the very same water.

Take the very same water…

Dammit, did it mean the water I'd used to cleanse Watanuki's eye?

Running forward, I toss the ladle away, grab Watanuki's hand and head in the direction of the well. I look back and sure enough it's still chasing after us. It was chasing after the well water that still clung to Watanuki's skin. It had never been after the ladle. I'd read this whole thing completely wrong.

I turn the corner and spotting the well, I notice immediately that my grandfather and Yuko-san were no longer around. But this wasn't the time to worry about that. I had to get that spider into the well.

"It's chasing after me." Watanuki says, and I turn around and catch the scared look on his face. I squeeze his hand.

"Don't worry." It was the only thing I could offer as comfort.

"It's chasing after me," he says again and suddenly I can feel his hand slipping out of my grasp. I look back just in time to see him rip his hand away from mine and time seems to slow down as I stumble forward without his hand.

"That thing is following me. I have to draw it into the well." His hand was still covering over his eye like it was hurting him, and he ran past me and in the direction of the well. I had to jump out of the way because the spider had charged right past me.

"Damn," I call after him. I hold my hand in yugamae, readying my spiritual bow for the shot.

"Don't shoot it!" Watanuki breathlessly yells at me as I reach kai, the full draw with everything lined up perfectly and I'm completely ready to unleash my spiritual energy.

He runs right towards the well and then he's jumping right on the ledge and turning around to face the spider.

I hold my shot and my breath, waiting for it to get within my sights.

It reaches him and Watanuki suddenly jumps back and the spider jumps forward, and instead of falling into the well as planned, his legs spread themselves out so he's hovering over the hole and not…in it. And compared to the size of the well hole, the spider is huge. I don't understand how we were supposed to get this thing into the well when he was so much bigger than it.

Watanuki was still standing in front of it and panic took over my limbs and I was suddenly firing the shot. It nailed him right in the thorax, his form warping, his body shriveling, and twisting, and evaporating into smoky, thin air.

We stare out blankly for a while.

"It's…dead." Watanuki says dazedly, breaking the silence that had built up around us. He turns towards me, "Is this…supposed to happen?"

I…don't know, so I don't answer back. I just walk over to the well and look down.

The book had said that the well water would turn white if the grudge was forgiven.

I put my hands on the edges of the well, and I stare down deeply into its abyss. The night has made it almost impossible to tell what the water looks like and I stick my head down the well, straining my eyes to see what color it is now.

"Oi, stop that." I hear Watanuki shout.

But I don't heed his warnings, because I'm too busy trying to figure out what we did wrong because the water's not white.

Watanuki, sensing my distress asks, "What's wrong?"

I lift my head out of the well and tell him quite frankly, "I think I messed up."

"What?" He asks again, and he's moving towards the well and looking down.

He gasps, "It's…red."

"Like blood."

A/n: Mwahahahaha. I like cliffies, I also like reviews so feedback appreciated.

Horuda-uramigoto: Grudge-holder. I'm not even sure if it's correctly translated so I guess just take it as it is.

Kuro-matsu: Japanese black pine, I believe it's sacred. Although I'm not too sure, but it would make sense for the spider to take up residence there and it would also make sense for this tree to be in Doumeki's temple grounds.

There are seven different stages in Archery:

Yugamae is the first and it's readying the bow.

Kai- the sixth stage, which is the full draw, is when the archer is ready to release.