A/n: I'm doing this chapter in third person, as it switches perspective between Watanuki and Doumeki. Sorry for the lateness, but I'm swamped.

"He can run, but I'll catch up to him easy enough. Did you forget that he's blind?"

"He won't let himself be caught that easily."

"Oh, aren't you just the supportive boyfriend."

Doumeki could feel the dig of sharp fingernails bite into his collarbone, the spider's face distorting into a gleeful smile as he pressed him into the fence and trapped him even further.

"You better start worrying about yourself." The spider warned, the black and thin spider legs inching closer to his face as he squirmed away from the sharp tips. "You're going to be just as blind as him if my claws get into you." It said, snapping noises accompanying that threat.

Doumeki was hit by a burst of sudden energy. May it be fright for his life, fright for Watanuki's or both, he was able to shove the spider away with his forearm. The momentary break, just what he needed, as the spider rushed forward to corner him again but was met with his foot, as he planted it firmly in its midsection and kicked it away.

It fell backwards and he scaled the gate without a moment's thought, his fingers burning from the feel of the iron under his skin as he twisted clumsily over the obstacle. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he had took off in a run, not even looking behind him to take note of the spider's position. He only had one thought, one need coursing through his head. It was the need to find Watanuki and the need to get away from the spider.

Watanuki stumbled against something that was blocking his path, his palms feeling blindly over the smooth, glass surface, and not at all comprehending why there seemed to be a huge glass wall in front of him.He felt his chest go hot with panic. What if this was some kind of trap and he had walked right into it? And what had happened to Doumeki? That idiot…he had been so stubborn to the end. God, he wished he had stayed behind. Even if it would have angered Doumeki, he would have just had to deal with it and…

Watanuki pounded against the glass, a hollow thumping sound resembling the one in his chest.

He should go back. He should go back and try to find Doumeki and make sure he was all right. Make sure…

He was blind. Blind as a bat and couldn't even make it back if he wanted to. He had just ran in one direction when Doumeki had shouted at him and he had not thought about anything else, but that stupid driving voice, foolishly reassuring him that everything would be fine and that he would find him. They would see each other again.

Why wasn't Doumeki here? He'd promised him.

Watanuki feeling up against the boundaries in front of him, walked without caution to his left. He'd already fallen so many times that the threat of reliving more bruises and cuts on his hands and knees didn't faze him.

He kept to his scuttle across the wall and his foot finally brushed up against something. He put his hand out and felt the wispy ends of what seemed to be a houseplant, the pot that it was kept in shook when he tapped his foot against it, the soil scratching around in the container.

He crossed over it and suddenly his gut connected with something cool and smooth. It was jamming him in the stomach and it didn't take long to figure out that it was the handle to the door. He grabbed onto it and it opened easily enough, permitting him easy entry into whatever lay beyond.

It was one thing to be chased, but to be chased without his eyes to help guide him, to warn him made the experience terrifying. His heart felt like it would mangle him in his chest if it beat any faster, the pulse in his neck beating like a butterfly and making his skin tingle, as his fingertips brushed over the unknown surfaces of this place. Everything felt grainy and dusty, and he could hear the distinctive sounds of crickets chirping somewhere over his head. He could even feel sunlight warming one side of his shoulder, where the material of his shirt had slipped down and exposed a corner of his neck. Even though he had entered into a building, it still very much felt like he was outside, his feet knocking against potted plants and flowers, the sound of flowing water and the buzz of insects giving him a good idea as to where he was.

It seemed that he had walked right into a greenhouse, a pretty big greenhouse since he had been walking for some time, tripping up here and there, and bumping into shelves that held more plant life.

He heard something rustle and he automatically ducked down, his hands going over his head. He scooted over when he felt his knees brush over a shelf. His ears registering with him that whoever this was, they were coming towards him and if he called out right now, like he wanted to, if he called out Doumeki's name then there was a chance that Doumeki would answer back. Although there was also a chance that someone entirely else would answer back and that he would not like the response. He swallowed the yelp in his throat, pressed his body down to the floor and crawled under the low shelf next to him. He closed his eyes tightly, even though it wouldn't make a difference either way. He bit his lip to keep his breathing from overwhelming him and pressed his face into the crook of his elbow. Whoever was moving through the greenhouse had abruptly stopped on the side of where he was hiding. He hoped that he hadn't chosen a place that could be easily seen from the side. His hands had brushed up against plants, so his saving grace would have to be the heavily leafed ornaments and their sprawling reach over everything. He hoped they covered him well.

The person wasn't moving from where they were standing and Watanuki felt panic course through his vein like liquid ice. Doumeki would have called out to him, not stayed quiet.

He heard the feet moving away and he continued to stay under the shelf, his knuckles gripping his shirtsleeve as he tried to calm his racing heart down. He could hear the glass door of the greenhouse open and then close with a click.

Knowing that he needed to move and find a way out of here, he began to drag himself from under the shelf, his hands reaching out, his fingers suddenly grazing against something that hadn't been there before.

It was…cobwebs.

"Watanuki."

He didn't care if that thing could hear him, if Watanuki heard him, then it would have all been worth it.

"Watanuki."

But the other boy was nowhere in sight as Doumeki walked through another courtyard, gazebos still dotting the landscape.

There'd been two directions to go in. What if Watanuki had chosen the other way and was hiding out there…

He should head over there right now…but what if Watanuki was here and he was just hiding out in one of these gazebos, waiting for him to come get him. Watanuki wouldn't chance calling out, or he hoped Watanuki wouldn't chance it. Not in his condition.

He'd stay quiet--hopefully--so it was up to Doumeki to find him. If he thought about it like a game of kakurenbo, then his heart might not hurt him so much.

Doumeki, looking into one of the gazebos couldn't stop his relief from flooding over him when he saw the white of Watanuki's shirt peeking out from the side of another gazebo.

"Watanuki." He called and he stepped inside the gazebo, his heart dropping when he realized that it was Watanuki's shirt, but the owner wasn't anywhere near. Then something hit him as hard as bricks in the back of the skull. Watanuki wouldn't just leave his shirt here…

He bolted out of the gazebo and suddenly the inside ignited, like a switch had been triggered. He watched it char and burn, his nose filling with the scent of smoking wood.

"That was a pretty good trap, wasn't it?"

The spider was back. His smiling face poking out of a gazebo at Doumeki's side, as he walked out of it casually, but Doumeki's eyesight wasn't on him, as he saw Watanuki, his body made to sit on the bench in the gazebo, something that looked like cobweb restraining his hands and legs. The cobwebs also plastered over his stomach and chest and stuck to the surface behind him, so he was tied down to the gazebo. A wisp of it was clinging to his mouth so to effectively restrain any noise that he could make.

Doumeki tried to move towards him, but a dangerous swipe from one of the black legs protruding from the spider's back and he had to rethink that strategy. He got his bow ready and aimed his spiritual projectile at the spider.

The spider leaped back and landed right on the handrail of one of the gazebos, his body hunched over as he stooped there and looked like a spring ready to jump forward. "I gave you the option of leaving, but now you don't have that option anymore."

Doumeki released his arrow and it shot through the air like a sparrow cutting an arc in the sky. The spider leaped out of the way and the arrow sliced through one side of the gazebo, the wood splitting like hairs.

Watanuki squirmed in his restraints and Doumeki tried not to focus on how scared he looked. He stretched back his bow and released another shot, and the spider dodged it by jumping to the side. He released one after the other, his hands tingling with the sensation of spiritual energy leaving his body in mass amounts. He could almost taste it on his tongue, the feeling vibrating on the back of his neck.

The arrows whooshed through the air and the spider was made to leap around like a puppet, almost looking like a puppeteer was tugging fast on his strings. His body bent in all directions, his limbs flailing out as he came back down to earth and crouched, readying himself to dodge another round of shots.

Doumeki's brow was covered in sweat. He'd never done successive attacks. Usually it only took one arrow, but not with this thing. He had to restrain his movements somehow and fast, before he lost out to fatigue. But the spider, not waiting for him to take offensive again, threw out webs. Doumeki, dodging them by the fraction of a hair, tried again to come around the spider and make it over to the gazebo that kept Watanuki prisoner. However the spider flung his legs out, one sharp end catching Doumeki by the cheek and the shoulder. Blood splattered against the lawn, the dark red complementing the blades of grass.

The spider didn't look like he wanted to back away yet, and he dove at him, his legs spearing out and one going right through Doumeki's side, the instant pain flaring up and sizzling on his nerve endings. Doumeki bit back a pained grunt, his body being pulled forward of the spider's accord, as it tugged him closer through the gap of his wound. He winced and blood was pouring out of his side, like it would never stop.

"Dead human, that's what you're about to be." The spider grimaced, the disgust apparent in his face as he sneered down at him. That mocking smile no longer in place, but pure hatred.

Doumeki coughed and felt his chest heave like it wanted to upload his lunch.

"Coming into nature's territory. Did you really expect anything less? You think that curse is just gonna go away if the grudge-holder dies. The only way that grudge is getting lifted is by the will of the grudge holder, nothing more, nothing less. You can try to kill me, but even if I did die, that grudge will just pass to another spider and then what, stupid human. What are you going to do then?"

Doumeki despite the bleeding and the suffocating words stood straighten, his hands catching the spider off guard and forming into his bow stance. The spider's eyes widened, as it had not expected that he would have enough strength, or even be conscious enough through all the blood loss to raise his hands.

"I'll rip through you." The spider warned. "Like you have enough energy to-"

The spider watched the meshes of energy unravel and gradually build themselves around Doumeki's form, the light becoming the shape of an arrow.

"Have you forgotten what position you're in?" The spider said. Its voice more high pitched than usual.

Doumeki didn't answer, just strengthened his foothold.

"You can't!" The spider's eyes went wild as it watched Doumeki take position. "I'll rip right through you before you can even-"

"At point blank range, I'll still kill you." Doumeki said, his voice clear and direct as ever.

"But I'll just turn around and kill you too." The spider shot back, like that was supposed to deter him.

Doumeki nodded his head. "So be it."

He pulled back the spiritual arrow in the bow, until there was pressure winding along the muscles in his forearm and the spider flinched so hard Doumeki felt it through the wound in his side.

"You can't actually be serious?"

Doumeki didn't say anything.

"Even after telling you all those things, you're not going to kill me, are you? It would be pointless. It would be more than pointless."

"Then raise the grudge." Doumeki said.

"I can't do that."

"But you said you could. The grudge passed onto you, so remove it."

"I--what the hell is wrong with you? I'm about to kill you and you're still worrying about a grudge that's not even been placed on you. Does that…does that boy mean so much to you that you'd risk your life like this?"

"Yes."

The spider gave Doumeki an exasperated look. "So you'll just die and be alright with that?"

"Yes."

The spider sighed, "Oh man I wasn't expecting this. Persistent souls like you always turn into revenging ghosts when you die and I sure as hell don't want you hanging around here when that happens."

"I guess I'll haunt you forever then." Doumeki said, his face still very serious, his hands filled with the intent to release his arrow.

"Shit." The spider looked less than thrilled about this prospect. "I'm not going to be taken down by some human…but I don't want to be stuck with a ghost plaguing me for my entire existence."

"Remove the curse then." Doumeki provided.

The spider shook his head. "I can't do that. There's a balance to these things. I'd have to give something in return and well…that's not going to happen."

"Can't I pick up the slack for you?" Doumeki again provided and winced, because the spider's sharp leg was still puncturing his side.

"You could…but do you-"

"Yes." Doumeki said, not giving it a thought. Only seeing a way out of this.

The spider gave him a strange look. "Alright then. If you…you could die, you know?"

"Doesn't matter." Doumeki answered.

"I thought so." The spider closed his eyes and the air got suddenly suffocating. Doumeki given no choice, but to stand there and withstand the rancid winds. He could almost taste sulfur in the air.

The spider opened his eyes slowly, blinking wearily, his face an utter mask.

"You smell that? That's the backlash for doing something stupid, like removing a grudge before its run its full course. That's the makings of another grudge, a curse against the grudge holder. I'll be needing something from you to cleanse it."

"What?" Doumeki asked. Ready and willing to give anything and everything to be rid of this nightmare.

"Blood." The spider said, his eyes hardening and without a second's hesitation, the spider ripped his leg through Doumeki's side. Doumeki collapsed to the floor in a daze, his side burning fiercely and his lungs feeling like they would give out on him soon from the pain. His eyesight was blurred and getting hazier with each passing moment, but before he could pass out, he could hear the far off call of his name from a familiar voice.

A/n: Next chapter will be the last. I'll try to get it out on time. Also Kakurenbo means hide and seek.