Hey, everyone!

Jeez sorry it's been so long since I updated, I promise I didn't do it on purpose! I didn't even realize it had been this long? and honestly I have no excuse other than I got distracted by a cosplay project and just generally can't conceptualize time. I realize also that I left you all on sort of a cliffhanger, which was a dick move on my part and I'm sorry.

Anyway, enough excuses, I hope this chapter was worth the wait!

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to xxxHolic and I'm making no money off of this.

Watanuki fumbled for his glasses and shoved them on, staring around frantically. The room was empty, but he was sure he'd heard, no felt, the words in his head and chest.

"Yuriko?" he whispered.

'Come outside!'

Without pausing to think, Watanuki scrambled to his feet and sprinted out onto the dark, empty beach. "Yuriko?" he called, but only the lapping waves answered. A sudden breeze blew up around him, lifting the sand and raising the hairs on the back of his neck.

'In the forest!'

Watanuki looked around frantically and caught sight of an entrance to a lantern lit path off in the distance. He sprinted towards it, sending sand flying.

'Hurry, please!'

"I'm coming!"

He paused at the foot of the path to catch his breath, then hurried into the forest, the piney smell filling his nostrils and darkness pressing upon his eyes. "Yuriko?!" he called, devoutly thankful for the red orange glow of the lanterns the deeper he went. It was amazing how much darker places were without all the light pollution of a major city. An owl hooted off in the distance and Watanuki stopped again and bent over, his hands gripping his knees, the soles of his bare feet burning from running and breath coming in sharp gasps. "Yuriko?!" he called again, sounding increasingly desperate. "Where are you?!"

"Watanuki?" He started and turned, knowing a moment of pure terror as Yuriko appeared out of the darkness like a ghost, wearing that same white nightdress from his dreams and looking pale and gaunt.

"There you are," he said, though this vision wasn't at all reassuring and his heart was pounding faster than ever. "Are you okay? I was worried about you when I didn't see you at dinner." She tilted her head to the side, and as her hair fell away, her gold necklace stood out grotesquely against the tendons in her neck.

"You were worried?" she asked, coming closer. Watanuki took a sharp breath in and knew a powerful wave of nausea, but stood his ground.

"Of course! But Yuriko, I think I know what's wrong, I think I can help you!"

"There is no help," she replied, simply, and her mouth slit open into a sinister smile. "I'm leaving my husband. He can't help me, he's rejected me…" She was coming closer, backlit by the lantern though her eyes still seemed to glow. Watanuki continued to stand his ground, pressing the back of his hand against his mouth. However, very suddenly he realized just how alone he was and wished more than anything that he'd woken Doumeki. He had no weapons with which to defend himself, or even a shield against her magic's influence.

"I'm sure that's not true!" he cried, terrified, his heart pounding and throat throbbing sickeningly. "It wouldn't be if he knew the truth!"

"The truth?" Yuriko laughed, and the sound made Watanuki's skin crawl. "That everything's my fault? That I'm defective? That I ruined our relationship?"

"No!" Watanuki exclaimed, doing his utmost not to be sick. "It's your necklace! I think there's something in it that's making you feel this way, it's not your fault! I can help you, please!" Yuriko laughed softly again and stepped right up into Watanuki's space. Her eyes glowed red in the lantern light.

"No one can help me, Kimihiro Watanuki…" Frozen with fear and sickness, Watanuki couldn't even cry out as she leaned in closer, her lips parted, but then,

"Stop!"

In the split second of Yuriko's distraction, Watanuki scrambled away and looked around wildly for who had spoken. Though of course, he knew from the fact that he had stopped feeling sick that it was Doumeki, standing under a lantern with his bow drawn, Renjiro beside him looking petrified.

"Yuriko!" he cried in a broken voice.

"We have to get that necklace off of her!" Watanuki yelled, his voice shaking but determined, "but be careful!" Renjiro and Doumeki exchanged a brief nod, then charged forward.

"NO! STAY AWAY!" shrieked Yuriko, looking utterly deranged in the black night and red orange light. However, Renjiro threw his arms around her and held her steady from behind, pinning her arms by her sides.

"I won't stay away! You're suffering and I can't stand it! I love you more than anything, Yuriko, do you understand that?!" She screamed and struggled as Watanuki seized the necklace's gold chain, which was hot to the touch and pulsing as if it had a heartbeat. Repulsed, but determined, Watanuki swallowed a fresh wave of sickness and managed to break the chain at one of the fine gold loops near the clasp. He threw it onto the ground where it twitched horribly in the red light.

"NO!" screamed Yuriko, but Doumeki raised his bow, drew back an arrow of pure white light, then released it. It shot right through the pendant, shattering it in a blinding blaze. Yuriko let out a piercing scream, and as the light faded slowly into a shimmering haze her body stiffened grotesquely, then went limp in Renjiro's arms. There was a soft hissing noise and all four of them heard one final scream in their chests.

Then all was still.

Watanuki stared, horrified, at the necklace for a moment, but then he heard a soft thud and turned sharply around. Renjiro had sunk to his knees, still holding Yuriko cradled in his arms. "Yuriko!" Watanuki cried, and he and Doumeki were at his side at once. "Yuriko?!" Watanuki repeated, terrified. Renjiro shook her gently, then began to cry when she didn't respond. "Yuriko, please wake up!" Doumeki placed his hand on Watanuki's shoulder, but he didn't shrug it off. Instead he turned to face him, his eyes wide with fear. "Should we call Yuuko-san? I-"

"Wait," said Doumeki, firmly but not unkindly, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. Watanuki fell silent and turned back to Yuriko, staring at her so hard it was as if he could will her to consciousness with just a look. He bit down on his lip to stifle the frightened cries trying to escape his throat, and for a moment the only sounds were the forest, the ocean and Renjiro's crying. A soft breeze rustled the trees, then,

"What…" Yuriko began to stir, and all three of them cried out in relief. Renjiro helped her sit up, then took off the jacket he was wearing over his pajamas and draped it around her shoulders. She rubbed her eyes and looked around, clearly bewildered to find herself outside. "What happened? Why am I-" she spotted Doumeki and Watanuki and covered her mouth against her cry of surprise. "What happened?!" she asked again. "The last thing I remember is the hike, but then-"

"It's all right, you're safe now," Watanuki told her, unable to stand it. "It was your necklace!"

"My what?" Watanuki gestured at its remains in the pool of lantern light. "Oh! Oh my- What do you mean? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Let me explain," said Watanuki, as calmly as he could. Yuriko still looked utterly bewildered, but nodded. Doumeki took his hand off Watanuki's shoulder and placed it in Renjiro's upper back to soothe his continued crying. "Doumeki and I, we're not actually a couple thinking of divorcing," Watanuki began, "I'm sorry for lying to you, but we actually work for a shop that, well its real function is to grant wishes, but our boss collects and trades in magical objects." Doumeki raised his eyebrows at the "we," but Watanuki didn't notice, he was staring too intently at Yuriko, willing her to understand. "She sent us here to find something, she said we'd know when we saw it, and it ended up being your necklace. I think there must have been some kind of curse on it, but I'm no expert, really…" He knew he wasn't doing a good job explaining, but Yuriko's eyes widened.

"I got the necklace from an antique jewelry store, I didn't think there was anything weird about it," she said, but then gasped, "but that was when we started having problems, wasn't it?" She turned to Renjiro, who was still crying without restraint. "I had no idea what had come over me! It was like I couldn't express myself, or all my words were just," but she broke off, clutching her chest. "Oh no, Ren… I'm so, so sorry!" Renjiro's crying doubled in intensity and he held Yuriko tightly to his chest, his tears falling into her hair. Doumeki and Watanuki drew back a bit to give them a moment, but then Yuriko carefully pulled away from her husband's embrace, held the sides of his face and kissed him on both eyelids before once more addressing Watanuki. "So you're telling me I wasn't crazy? That it was the necklace making me act that way?"

"Yes," said Watanuki, his throat burning, "but Doumeki destroyed it, so you shouldn't have anything more to worry about." Yuriko closed her eyes in a moment of sheer relief, and when she opened them she was staring fiercely at Watanuki and extended her hand. Watanuki took it, and experienced no physical symptoms for the first time.

"Thank you," she told him, her fierce tone matching her expression as she squeezed his hand almost painfully hard. Watanuki just nodded, unsure what to say, but then she let go of his hand and stroked her husband's hair. "Ren?" He wiped his eyes and looked her in the face. "I am so, so sorry for how I treated you," she said, very seriously.

"It's-" he started to say, but,

"No. I know it wasn't my fault if I really was cursed, but I'm so sorry for how I behaved. Even at the time I knew it was wrong, but it was like I had no other option, like I'd lost control over my own feelings or something, and I couldn't even explain it to you!" Her eyes filled with tears. "I can't imagine how much that must have hurt you, or how scary that must have been, and I'm so, so sorry. I want to use the rest of our time here to recover from this, and if there's anything I can do that will help, please tell me!" Renjiro just nodded, tears still pouring down his face. "Can you forgive me?"

"Of course," he said, and he kissed her soundly on the lips before hugging her tight against his chest. Doumeki's hand was back on Watanuki's shoulder, and again, he didn't shrug it away.

"Thank you," Yuriko told Doumeki and Watanuki again, tearfully, and both of them smiled real, genuine smiles. Watanuki felt his heart skip; he'd never seen Doumeki smile like that. Doumeki extended his hand and helped all three of them to their feet. Renjiro made sure Yuriko was steady, then seized Watanuki and pulled him into a rib cracking hug.

"Thank you so much!" he whispered.

"It's, it's nothing!" Watanuki cried, his face burning. "It's just part of the job!" He felt almost overwhelmed by their gratitude, but of course he was thrilled to have been able to help. Renjiro let go of him and hugged Doumeki too, and his face broke into that smile again. "You must be exhausted," Watanuki said to Yuriko, who nodded, still smiling tearfully. Renjiro let go of Doumeki and took her hand.

"Let's go back."

YAY! Seems like everything is going to be all right, although we all know Doumeki and Watanuki still have more to talk about. Also Yuriko's apology game is on point, like, that's enviable!

I think of reviews when I summon my kekkai, leave me some!