A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry this is a month late but I had tons of homework for school and couldn't find the time to write much! I hope you really enjoy this chapter because I had a fun time writing it! Be sure to let me know if you did like it or not in your comments because I love hearing from you guys! Well, let's go! Happy reading! :3

Chapter Four: The Flower and The Rain

"Anyone here?" Watanuki called at the empty cashier's counter. "Hellooo?" She called again, rocking back and forth on her toes and heels as she stood in the quiet drug store. She'd been sent out to get a hangover remedy for Yuko's late night drinking habits and was not happy about trekking around town trying to find this little drug store under an overpass. She could hear cars zooming by overhead as she waited at the counter. Why did I have to come to this specific drugstore? What's so special about Green Drugstore? "Excuse meee! Helllooo? Is anyone here?"

"Coming!" Came a call from the back room. A cute boy with sandy, blondish-brownish (Watanuki really could not tell) hair ran out to the counter in his apron with a huge smile on his face.

"Can you tell me what's the best thing for stomach pain?" Watanuki asked, her hands going down to her skirt to pinch the fabric.

"Ekikyabe, but we might be out." The boy turned to look at the shelves of drugs behind him, his hand grazing over several boxes. "Let's see…Hey! Do you know if we have any ekikyabe left?" The boy yelled down the counter. Another employee came out of the back room, a tall, dark and handsome type and he placed on of his hands on the shelves, not coming out of the back room all the way.

"Depends. Do you want regular or S type?" The dark one asked. The blondish, brownish haired guy turned back to Watanuki.

"Take you pick, cutie." He said with a relaxed smile.

"Uh…well whichever is the most effective." Watanuki replied, a slight blush coating her cheeks at being called a cutie. She twirled her finger around her short pony tail, her black locks looping around over and over again. The cute boy ran into the back room with the other one and both came out scowling at each other but the happy boy smiled at Watanuki again as she paid for her purchase and then walked out of the drugstore, waving back at both the employees as the door shut behind her.

She walked for forty five minutes across town to get back to Yuko's shop, sighing in relief when the mansion came into view behind the tall business buildings that surrounded it on three sides and the girl nearly skipped up the path to the door. She slid her shoes off in the entry way and made her way to Yuko's receiving room.

"I'm back!" The seer sang as she slid the door back to enter the room.

"That's wonderful, but for heaven's sake, could you keep it down?" Yuko was strewn all over her couch, her pink sleeping kimono almost falling off her boobs as she lay down. The witch's hand was massaging her forehead, her hangover from drinking yesterday still taking its toll. "My head's pounding!" Watanuki moaned in non-pity, and just stared at Yuko.

"Quietly! Quietly!" Maru and Moro sprang in front of their mistress, hands clasped together as they whispered to Watanuki.

"Have you no sympathy for my current state of dehabilitation?" Yuko asked mournfully. "I think I may be dying!"

"It's just a hangover!" Watanuki said, pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance at Yuko's drama. "You're not dying! You'll be fine!" She reached into the shopping bag and pulled out the drug so she could twist off the cap and hand it to Yuko. "Here. Drink up."

"A hangover plus a lack of sleep is deadly, trust me." Yuko limply reached up her arm and took the ekikiyabe and swallowed down the whole bottle. As she was doing so, Watanuki noticed something in the room that she hadn't before. There was a small table and on the table was a labtop hooked up with a mouse and a pitcher of water and a glass next to it.

"What's that?" Watanuki asked, leaning closer. "Yuko! I didn't know you owned a computer!"

"The net!~ The net!~" Maru and Moro sang, grabbing each other's hands and jumping up and down. Yuko stood up and finished off the drug, smiling hugely. "Water?" The twins asked, Maru pouring and Moro holding the cup. They'd somehow slipped past Watanuki's sight and snagged the water right off the table she was looking at. The twins handed their mistress the cup and Yuko downed that too.

"So! Shall we get going then?" The witch asked, an uncommon smile splitting her face.

"The mistress is changing clothes!~" Maru and Moro sang as they ran off to Yuko's room for her clothes.

"There's something I want to buy." Yuko said seriously.

"Great. I'm calling it a day." Watanuki pivoted around and held her hand up in goodbye. She didn't want to deal with Yuko's antics today. "I'll see you later."

"Nice try, Watanuki." Yuko's claws came up and grabbed the seer's shoulder, catching her before she could run for it. "But you're still working." She yanked the grimacing teen back, her cat-ate-the-canary smile stretching across her face. Mokona was getting a drink of water now, interrupting the conversation with a satisfied, "Delish!" as it finished its drink. Maru and Moro ran back into the room with a change of clothes and two seconds later Yuko was dressed.

Today's outfit was a fashionably striking one. Yuko was wearing dark tan pants with a purple and white cloud pattern on it wrapped around the left calf, and a little blue purse on her right hip, a white belt, a wide shouldered, maroon, long sleeved crop top (so show off her flat, gorgeous belly) with the same cloud pattern on her upper arm, a dark ribbon necklace that matched her eyes and swept her long, luxurious hair up into a high pony tail with her bangs and customary long from pieces of hair hanging loose.

"Alright! Let's shop!" She said, with a smile that could rival a hyena's.

"Okay. One: Where are we going? And two: How are we going to get there? You know I don't have a license." Watanuki asked as she trudged over to Yuko.

"Oh, we're not driving." Yuko said all innocent-like.

"Ooookay. So we're taking the train?"

"We're walking." The witch said, turning away mysteriously and folding her arms.

"So…where are we going?" Watanuki asked again.

"Ginza." Yuko stated like it was no big deal. (1)

"Wait! GINZA?!" Watanuki's mouth dropped. "That's nowhere near here, Yuko! Do you realize how long that will take?!"

"Not long at all, actually!" Yuko walked over to a set of sliding doors that Watanuki either hadn't noticed or had just showed up within the last few minutes randomly (doors tended to do that in Yuko's home). "Have a little faith. I know a short cut." Yuko slid one of the doors open, a mass of black and blue swirly vortex peeking through the other side.

"What the hell is that?!" Watanuki sheriked, running over to see the void. A cool wind blew into her face as the seer and the twins joined Yuko in front of the "shortcut." The raven could see not end to the void, a shiver running down her spine

"You like it? I made it myself!" Yuko bragged. "It makes these long trips a tad more convenient." Mostly Watanuki was just creeped out, not impressed.

"Oh okay. It's just a cold, dark, windy tunnel." Watanuki quibbled. "There's nothing to be afraid of." Only she really was afraid.

"Maru, Moro, Mokona" Yuko addressed the twins and the fur ball. "Take care of the house while we're gone."

"Be careful!~" The twins smiled and waved, holding each other's free hand. "Watch your step!"

"And good luck!" Mokona called. Yuko grabbed Watanuki's collar while she wasn't paying attention and dragged the girl into the tunnel. Watanuki screamed and wriggled around in her grip, her legs and arms going off in all directions as she flipped out, her groans and shrieks and weird noises echoing around the void. The twins slid the door shut behind them and now Watanuki had no clue how to get back to the shop, even if she wanted too. After some time, Yuko was tired of dragging the girl and dropped her on the cold floor and calmly walked on ahead. Watanuki sprang to her feet and carefully, frightened, followed, her hands reaching out to her employer should she need to grab something to use as a shield. Watanuki's whimpers still reverberated around her, bouncing around the tunnel. She slipped on the cold floor, spinning and twirling around with a scream as she tried t get her feet again. She did, nearly in the splits when she stopped moving and waited a moment to catch her breath. She stopped breathing when she felt something slimy, sickly and definitely not the floor slid under her feet. Her face turned blue at the smell of boy's gym socks and decaying trees and she stood stock still until it passed.

"Y-yuko? Did you see that?" She whispered, still not moving. "I think there's something in here with us!"

"Look!" Watanuki jumped as Yuko replied, her over active imagination startling her. "If yo ucan't keep up I'll leave you here!" The witch threatened as she kept walking on. Watanuki took one step, trying not to be left behind when she slipped again, her foot lost and she slid around the tunnel with graceless screams. What seemed like forever later, the pair of them popped out of a dressing room in a department store and sauntered on through like there wasn't a void on the other side of the door.

"Was our little walk to much for you? You're out of breath." Yuko teased, hands on her hips. They were standing out in the middle of the street in the heart of the Ginza shopping district. The Wako building was right behind them in all its Neo-Renaissance glory as swarms of people passed the witch and her panting, considerably unhinged employee.

"I'm sorry if I freaked out a little, okay?!" Watanki snapped as she clenched her fists at the damn woman. "But that was weird!" She was crying now. "You just have this-this…thing in your house! With all these creatures crawling around it!"

"Hmm." Yuko hummed a she walked away. "Now I'm sure that shop was around here somewh-"

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENTING TO ME!?" Watanuki screamed, drawing lots of looks as she dashed after Yuko. They walked for several blocks, passing store after store and Yuko refused to answer the seer as she shuffled behind. "Oh, I get it. It must be Ignore Watanuki Day." The girl slumped her shoulders in defeat.

Yuko stopped suddenly and snapped her head around looking at something.

"I'm not just a mindless servant, you know." Watanuki continued, thinking that Yuko was listenting to her. "I have feelings too." Yuko walked backwards quickly and plunked her hands on the glass of a shop, pushing the wide eyed face into a display of alcohol.

"My dear friend, I've missed you!" She said (as if to a lover), her finger drawing circles on the glass next to a particular type of sake. "You have no idea how hard it is to find this brand of sake! Be sure to pick some up before we leave!" Yuko ordered.

"Why won't you just ever listen to me?!" Watanuki shouted, throwing her hands up into the air. Yuko ignored her and started walking again, this time with Watanuki stomping behind her in agitation. They finally reached the shop Yuko had intended to go to a bit later. It was called Mikado Sports and as the name stated, it was a sports equipment shop. Watanuki watched Yuko browse a selection of bats, her arms crossed and confusion evident on her face. Yuko picked out a red bat and swung it with her expert skills that beat the girl in many a baseball game. "Are you serious? This is what you wanted to buy?"

"That's right!" Yuko smiled, swinging the bat again and bringing it back in front of her. "Oh yes, this'll do just nicely."

"Why did we have to come to Ginza for a bat? This isn't the only shop that sells them. We could've gotten one closer!" The girl used logic for once, trying to get Yuko to understand how ridiculous she was.

"Yes, but not a red bat. This makes so mch more of a statement ." Yuko caressed the red metal, smiling devilishly, Watanuki's logic thrown out the window by nonsense. The seer's face deadpanned, completely stupefied.

"Okay, are we done yet? I'm bored." Watanuki asked as they walked down the street once more, the bat slung over her shoulder in its case because Yuko didn't want to carry it.

"Shopping? Yes." Yuko replied as her sandal heels clicked on the pavement.

"What are you going to use this bat for anyway?" If Watanuki could've seen it, Yuko's face was dominated by her scheming smile. They walked out into a more open area of town, entering a residential complex.

"Just one more little task to complete." Yuko stated, walking along the crosswalk toward a huge apartment building.

"Hey! Wait-wait…what?" Watanuki scrambled to catch up and ended up trekking to a high floor to a specific apartment and then the witch proceeded to ring the doorbell an annoyingly numerous amount. "I'm guessing this is an acquaintance of yours?" The seer asked.

"Not quite. She's a customer."

"This is a business trip? Huh." Watanuki was going to say more when the door finally opened and Yuko finally took her finger off the bell.

"Yes?" The woman behind the door was very beautiful. She had long, wavy brown hair that fell to her butt and was dressed in house sandals, a pink sweater top with a white collared shirt under that and a white skit that fell to her knees.

"Sorry to barge in like this, but I'm here to grant your wish." Yuko replied.

"Wish?" The woman asked her odd pinkish/purplish eyes confused.

You've got to be kidding me! Watanuki screamed mentally, disgusted at the fact that they'd walked all the way out here to buy a stupid red bat and meet with a person they didn't even know they were coming! But, despite the odd introduction, they were invited inside and the lady prepared a snack in the kitchen for the pair as they sat down at the table. Yuko was sipping tea quietly, and Watanuki was looking around the apartment, noticing the fake tree in the corner, the red highchair at the table, the toys strewn all over the floor and the couch. A clock was ticking, each tock loud and poignant as they sat in silence.

"Please forgive me. I know the place is a mess." The woman apologized.

"It's fine." Watanuki consoled.

"No need to fuss over us." Yuko added, taking a sip of her tea. Watanuki leaned sideways and shielded her mouth with her hand as she whispered to the witch.

"Hey, are you sure this is alright? Showing up at her house unannounced?"

"Calm down." Yuko replied softly. The lady picked up the tray she'd been placing snacks on and walked over to the opposite end of the table to sit down after she'd placed the tray on the table.

"You're Kindo, aren't you?" The housewife asked, looking at Yuko. Watanuki was lost again, her head tipped to the side in confusion.

"Yes. And you're Hana-Hana. Am I right?" Yuko asked in return. (2)

"Huh?" Watanuki let the question slip out before she could stop it.

"Our usernames." Hana-Hana explained. Watanuki looked around and noticed the pink laptop open on a small table, complete with mouse, mouse pad, all the cords and a cute pink flower as a desktop.

"Oh, I get it! You met on the Internet!" Watanuki realized.

"'Kindo' is from the literary masterpiece Macaroni Horenso, the best manga to come out of the 70's!"

"Ug." Watanuki groaned at Yuko's fangirl-ness. "On which sight did you two meet?" (She was almost too scared to ask.

"Girls For Magical . It's truly addictive." Yuko said, a mysterious smile accompany and eye sparkle. Watanuki just groaned again. So you're one of those, huh?

"It's such a pleasure to actually meet you in person!" Hana-Hana gushed. "You're posts are certainly the most insightful and entertaining I've read. I must say, I really enjoy reading your blogs! I'm surprised to find out you're such a young woman and so knowledgeable! You're really popular with all the bloggers!"

"Ug." Watanuki sighed.

"Now, let's discuss your last email, shall we?" Yuko's voice took on her business lilt, the mysterious mixing with the serious. Hana-Hana's smile dropped, her eyes looking down and her face uncomfortable. She sighed.

"I can't seem to give it up. The Internet." Watanuki leaned in closer, curious again. "I've always been responsible, but lately, every time I sit down in front of the computer, I get sucked in." She paused here, thinking. "I get in this zone where nothing else matters. Last night, I sat down at five and at nine I realized I hadn't fed my son."

"That's not good." Yuko interjected.

"I know." The clock ticked loudly in the silence.

"And yet this hasn't made you stop. You're still addicted." Yuko's eyes narrowed. Hana-Hana gasped, but didn't reply. "Why can't you let it go?"

"I don't know." The housewife looked down, not meeting Yuko's cranberry eyes. "I guess I'm not ready."

"And now?"

"This time I'll do it for sure. I'll quit! I'll do it!" Hana-Hana said, the falseness of her statement ringing into Watanuki's ears.

"Let's say you quit…then what?" Yuko asked.

"Simple: I'll keep the computer out of sight until I break the habit." Watanuki saw Hana-Hana's arms moving, presumably rubbing her hands together under the table. "Once I no longer need to be online, I can slowly work it back into my life."

"Tell me,"

"Yes?" Hana-Hana looked up at Yuko.

"To stop a habit you have to consider why you want to quit in the first place. What is it that brings you back to it? And why do you find it so difficult to stop?" Yuko picked up her cup and sipped her tea.

"Sorry…I'm not sure what you mean." The housewife replied.

"What is your main motivation for stopping?" Yuko asked pointedly, her cup clicking on the table harshly as she set it down, fingers still wrapped around it.

"Well, my husband says it's becoming a problem." Hana-Hana's hand came up to her cheek, her eyes dodging Yuko again

"In other words, you have you quit because your husband says so?" Hana-Hana gasped again. Yuko's eyes hardened, staring into the woman. "And are you in the habit of letting your husband order you around? Do you always do what he says?"

"No, it-it isn't like that." The housewife shuddered. Watanuki gulped, Yuko's scary face weirding her out. "My husband is a loving, understanding man. This is the first time he's ever told me to give something up."

"I see." Yuko let go of her tea cup, one of her hands cradling her cheek as she leaned on it.

"And he's right. I'm always in the Internet. It's like I've built this whole other life for myself. The other day my son asked me why I don't play with him anymore."

"And why is it necessary that you play with your son?" Yuko asked. Watanuki looked at Yuko, thinking the answer to her question was obvious. "Enlighten me." Watanuki's head snapped over to Hana-Hana.

"Because he's my son. He needs me. My family is important to me, I don't ever want them to feel like they're neglected."

"What's wrong with that? Why can't you neglect your family?" Yuko asked, Watanuki turned to her again and then looked back at Hana-Hana.

"Well I-I don't want to lose them." The woman's scramble to answers and her apparently discomfort were plain on her face.

"Why's that?"

"Why? Because I love them. That's why."

"But that hasn't been enough to make you quit in the past." At this point, Watanuki's head was just flipping back and forth between the women like she was watching a tennis match.

"Uh-" Watanuki coughed loudly, the tense atmosphere broken by her need to give them some privacy.

"E-ex-cough-use me!" She said, getting up and shuffling away in her house slippers to get a tissue from the kitchen.

"The desire to quit has to come from you, otherwise you will inevitably fail." Yuko yanked out her favorite word as she explained the situation to Hana-Hana.

"I know. I-" The housewife looked down.

"No. No more excuses."

We might be dealing with something bigger than a spirit. The seer grabbed a few tissues to wipe her hands off as she glanced back at the table.

"You want to stay away from the computer, is that correct?" Yuko asked, leaning over on both arms.

"Yes."

"Good. Because soon you will lose whatever little control you have over this obsession. You're ability to choose, its fading." Yuko's voice got even more serious, if that was even possible.

"Okay. I've chosen." The clock ticked ominously, counting down the seconds, the shortening time that Hana-Hana had to pull herself together.

"Well then," Yuko pointed at the desk across the room with a hard finger. "In that case, you must never touch that computer again." Hana-Hana looked at the computer for a moment and then looked away.

"Okay." Her voice was barely a whisper at this point, cowed by Yuko's interrogation.

"Watanuki!" Yuko said cheerfully, all signs of seriousness vanishing with her content smile as she stood up. "Our job here is done. Time to head home." Watanuki was confused and off-kilter by the one-eighty Yuko had just pulled. The clock kept ticking.

"Is that it? Isn't there anything else?" Hana-Hana asked as Yuko opened the door with Watanuki behind her, smoothing her unruly skirt down. Her voice was almost desperate. Strike that, it was desperate.

"For instance?" Yuko asked, her blue purse slung over her shoulder like a lot of school boys carried their bags, her hand resting near her neck. Watanuki and the witch looked back by the door, the girl's hand gripping the bat bag.

"Don't you have any advice? Anything?"

"You already made the decision to quit; what's there for me to do?"

"Yeah…I guess you're right about that." Hana-Hana looked away.

"Stick with it and you'll be fine." Yuko walked out the door and Watanuki followed, just like always. Yuko started to shut the door but then popped her head back in for one last comment. "Remember: you made a promise to yourself!" She smiled and shut the door with a click.

But instead of going home, Yuko dragged the girl to a café and sat her down on an outside table and ordered two cups of coffee with lots of cream. Watanuki was still confused but she'd learned to roll with it. When the coffee came she picked up her teacup and took a sip

"So, now that we have time to talk," Yuko started, "How's it going with Wari?"

"Huh?" Watanuki took her cup away from her face and gave Yuko a funny look. The question had nothing to do with anything right now, which was more or less the witch's style. "Uh…what do you mean?"

"Thing's progressing smoothly, hm?" The woman asked, one elbow on the table, her hand in her hand again and the other was resting on her crossed legs.

"Not exactly. Doumeki keeps butting in." Watanuki huffed, irritated just by the name of her worst enemy.

"Yes, yes, yes. That's nice glad to hear it." Yuko replied, distracted by something.

"There you go again!" Watanuki snapped, clanking her teacup down on its saucer in annoyance. "You didn't hear a word I said, did you?! Listen, if you're not interested in what I have to say, then don't start the conversation in the first place." The seer took another sip of coffee. She wasn't expecting and answer from her boss, but when one didn't come it still ticked her off. Yuko wasn't even looking at her! "It's been a pleasure, but if that's all, I'm going home." Watanuki grumped, miffed at Yuko's treatment of her this entire day.

"Not yet." So she was listening that time. "There's more. Now we're waiting." Yuko's mischievous smile was back as she looked at the raven.

"Waiting? But for what?"

"The result." Suddenly it was like all the people typing on their computer's in the café suddenly sprang into focus, the clacking of their keys almost deafening to the girl. They sat in silence. Ten minutes passed and Watanuki was getting bored again when something happened. Inside the café, electrical interference was popping up on all the screens, a desktop of a pink flower on every single computer and TV.

"What's this?"

"Hey! Wait a minute!"

"What is going on here?!" Everyone on their electronic devices was shouting and asking questions about what was going on, but Yuko knew and Watanuki knew what had happened. Hana-Hana had gotten online, the pink flower on everyone's screens a testament to it.

"Hey, look." Watanuki told Yuko. The witch sighed.

"We didn't even have time to finish our first cappuccino. What a shame." Yuko took one last sip from her cup and paid for the coffee, walking out of the café and back onto the street. They made a beeline back to the apartment building and nearly ran across street to get to it. And then, instead of taking the stairs like a sane person (and Watanuki didn't even know how she did it) but Yuko dragged the seer up the side of the building and landed on the terrace, leaving the girl half-on half-off the balcony rail. Watanuki was just about to rip Yuko a new one for once (one does not strand one's employees off the side of building) but Yuko have her the "sh" sign and sneakily unlocked the screen door of the apartment (from the outside no less) and peered into Hana-Hana's house. She was on the computer, a crazy, wide-eyed look in her eyes and she was talking to herself as a notification sound beeped.

"Ah! An IM! I haven't heard from Kurari in so long! I guess one response wouldn't hurt!" The light fromt the screen shone in the housewife's eyes, lighting up her demented face. "Ah! A new update is available! Well, I have been waiting for this one…"

"Is that all it takes for you to give up on yourself?" Yuko said, mysteriously. Hana-Hana didn't know where the voice had come from, so she turned around as if a ghost had been speaking to her. And then Yuko made her grand entrance, scaring the shit out of Hana-Hana whilst flinging the drapes off of her body in majestic fashion while Watanuki continued climbing up the side of the railing like an idiot. "I thought you understood. Was I mistaken?" Hana-Hana stood up in surprise and tripped over her chair, falling down on the floor in a heap.

"This has really got to stop. Like now. Gah!" Watanuki had one knee and her other foot on the railing when she lost her grip and her body weight dragged her forward so she crashed on the ground face first.

"Watanuki, your yellow underwear is showing." Yuko said as she advanced on Hana-Hana , the epitome of creeper.

"Well, don't look!" Watanuki snapped, sitting up in a flash and yanking her skirt back under her.

"I'm sorry! I-I was just sending a goodbye email to my friends." Hana-Hana confessed a half-truth, half-lie.

"Really?" Yuko asked, sounding like a parent who'd just caught their kid on a porn sight and they'd lied about it. "That looks like a website to me," Yuko pointed out, glancing at the screen.

"No! It's not what you're thinking, I promise! I was just checking to see if a novel I've wanted had come in!" Hana-Hana cringed as Yuko walked right up to her and knelt in her face. "I swear! I was only…" Hana-Hana looked away from Yuko, her voice fading away as her lies bottled up.

"I'm not the one you need to convince." Yuko said firmly taking the housewife's chin and making her look into her deep red eyes. They ignored Watanuki now, like they were in their own little world right in front of her. There, but not quite there. "You didn't let me down, you let yourself down. You can say you'll stop, you can swear that you'll quit, you can claim to change but empty promises aren't going to save you."

"I know!" Hana-Hana whimpered, her voice cowed by Yuko's harsh reality. "As soon as I'm finished with this last email I'm gonna stop!"

"The best tools you have in life are action and sincerity." Yuko stared at Hana-Hana, the woman's eyes boring deep into the quaking housewife. It was like Yuko was staring into her soul, revealing all its dirty secrets. "Whether you quit a bad habit or start a good one, full commitment is necessary."

"You mean…my commitment towards my family?" Hana-Hana asked softly.

"No, not them. This isn't your family's problem. You must be committed to yourself." Yuko's hand came up to Hana-Hana's ear, cupped her face and then stroked down her jaw and came to rest on the woman's lips.

"My family…they mean everything to me…"

"Yes, that may be true, but they are not the one's making this choice. Sometimes you have to put yourself first to help the ones you love. This is the only way. Learn to make your own decisions instead of relying on others to make them for you. Otherwise, those decisions will never be made." Watanuki watched the whole exchange in silence, having nothing to add to it and not quite sure Yuko would want to butting in anyway. "Look closer and you will see that the world you're immersing yourself in is just an escapes, any happiness it brings you just a façade, intangible and unfulfilling." Yuko's wandering hand came to rest on Hana-Hana's clenched fist, unwinding the fingers and taking her hand. Yuko stood up, her considerable height looming over the housewife.

"So you can let it go…or embrace the fantasy. It's your choice. So choose." Yuko yanked the woman to her feet and righted the chair to sit Hana-Hana down in it in front of the computer, hands on the housewife's shoulders, lips by her ear. "Quit thinking about what everyone else wants you to do, don't think about your son's need for you, ignore your husband's affections. There's another world right here, filled with pleasures far superior to those you find in real life. Sometimes the right choice is the most tantalizing." Yuko's hands squeezed and the little bubble they were surrounded in popped, bringing the women back into the apartment with Watanuki. "So come on: it's time to choose your future and live it." Yuko walked around to the side and replaced her hands to the front of Hana-Hana's shoulders.

"I…" The clock ticked on the wall as Watanuki watched, her face worried that the woman didn't want to stop her addiction, that she'd succumb to it and be lost to everyone outside of the computer. "…want to quit. I want out."

"Out of what?" Yuko asked.

"My internet obsession." Hana-Hana looked away. "I just want to get my real life back." Watanuki sighed in relief, smiling a little. Yuko stood up with her hands on her hips.

"Do you think you can do it this time?"

"Yes, I can. Can you do me a favor?" Both women were smiling now.

"You need a little help?"

"Yeah."

"How many computers are there?"

"Just that one." Hana-Hana looked at her computer.

"So that's the only thing that standing in your way."

"Yes." The housewife's voice was quiet again.

"Excellent. Then I think I can find you a way out. Of course, in exchange, I will exact a price." Here we go again, Watanuki thought as the smiled just a little wider.

"Money?" Hana-Hana asked.

"No. I don't want your money." Yuko looked around, tsking as she did so. She spotted something and smiled deviously, pointing to the object she chose. "But I will be taking that chair there." It was an red high chair, presumably for the housewife's son.

"The highchair? But why?" Hana-Hana asked.

"Yeah, why?" Watanuki asked snarkily, giving the chair a dubious look.

"Is it a deal?" Yuko asked, ignoring both females.

"Yeah, okay." Yuko whipped a huge black marker about of her bag and twirled it around her fingers like a badass about to do something cool, suddenly clenching it in her right fist. She held up her other hand open behind her.

"Watanuki," She said strongly, "The red bat." The seer unslung the bag from her shoulder and held it out to Yuko unzipped. Yuko reached inside the grabbed the red bat, flipping the marker's cap off with her thumb and started writing. Watanuki's face morphed into one of confusion and embarrassment as Yuko started inscribing kanji on the bat with harsh strokes. "Name's are more important that you'd expect."

"Wh-what are you doing?" Watanuki asked skeptically.

"See, naming something empowers it, whether an object or a person. Whenever you attach and name to something, its potential function in the world around you changes accordingly."

"I fail to see how that helps our present situation." Watanuki replied, still staring at the witch like she was crazy. Hana-Hana was doing it too. Yuko held up the bat when she was done, half of her face peeking out from behind the name "Zan Tekken," meaning "steel-cutting sword." Watanuki figured out instantly where this was going.

"Che! You've got to be kidding me!" She screamed. Yuko stood in front of the computer in a swordman's stance, the bat clenched in her hand resting near her left hip, her right hand coming to draw the "sword" from its "sheath." "Hold on a second!" Watanuki squealed, trying to stop the witched before she did something crazy. Hana-Hana gasped in realization about five Yuko-minutes behind Watanuki. (It was really starting to scare the raven just how much she could predict her boss' actions…her brain must've been evolving into something twisted like Yuko's.) Yuko's thumb came out off the bat, releasing the "sword" from the "sheath" like a real samurai and she drew out the bat and swung it behind her head.

"Hmmmmmm!" She hummed, readying her strike. Watanuki and Hana-Hana kept screaming at the most certain property destruction that was going to happen. "Hah!" Yuko's arms snapped down as the bat ran through the laptop and out under the table. The computer split in two like it really had been cut by a sword. Yuko hummed in satisfaction and swung the bat onto her shoulder.

"Consider yourself liberated. There's nothing more to worry about. You're free!" She said knowing (and smug too).

"Whoa! You didn't even nick the table!" Watanuki exclaimed as she flailing around the desk. She was used to this stuff at this point, the fact that a bat cutting a computer was somewhat normal, but what really impressed her was that Yuko hadn't wrecked anything else.

"Since that's done," Yuko started as she walked around the table, her hand coming to rest on the high chair. "I'll be taking my payment. Whatever happens from this point onward is up to you." Hana-Hana gasped again (must just be her involuntary reaction to anything), watching as Yuko scooped up the chair and Watanuki and strolled out the door, leaving the woman and her broken computer standing in the apartment.

"Wait, Yuko! You can't just leave!" Watanuki said as she was dragged out the door. Yuko shut the door behind her and proceeded to walk down the stairs, dropping Watanuki with herself, the bat and the highchair.

"Slicing her computer in half…well I guess that's one way to keep her off the net." Watanuki mused as she shouldered both the bat and the chair on opposite arms and followed a sauntering Yuko down the street. "Only, its extreme."

"The stunt served its purpose." Yuko said, positively beaming at her theatrics.

"Uh huh."

"She needed to cut to ties to that machine, not that she won't find another."

"Wait, but you said you'd help cure her!" Watanuki pointed out.

"No, I said I'd help her choose. Success is entirely up to her."

"That's one way of looking at it, sure. Of course, some might say you swindled her." Watanuki poked slyly.

"I suppose you could see it that way, but consider this: if my assistance to her had been greater, then the price would be greater as well. Remember Watanuki, the universe requires balance." Yuko paused, deep in thought. "This way, I was still able to help her, but the only thing she lost was a chair." There was no need to discuss the subject further, Watanuki understood. So instead, she just smiled and wanted to get home quickly. She was so done with this day.

"So tell me: are we taking the shortcut again?" She asked hopefully.

"No, we're taking the train." Yuko replied with a yawn.

"Train?! Why?!"

"Because I feel like it!"

"Do you know how ridiculous I'm going to look on the train with this stuff?" Watanuki shrugged her shoulders to emphasize the bat and the highchair. "Can't we just walk? I'll take that tunnel, even! I can deal with the weird monsters in it, I swear!"

"No." Yuko denied the girl and started walking toward the train station.

"Yuko!" Watanuki ran after her, the bat and highchair jabbing her in the back and armpit. "Come on!"

"Quit whining, Watanuki!" On the way home, Watanuki only looked a little ridiculous and the upside was that no one wanted to crowd or bump into her on the train (sharp chair corners and pokey bats will do that). And the other good thing was that once they were at the shop, Yuko set the girl straight home without having her cook and elabrorate dinner or somesuch other excruciatingly complicated chore like that. Just a brisk goodbye and here's your stuff and the girl was back out on the street walking home, batless and chairless.

Once in her apartment, the seer dumped her school bag in her room and didn't even bother with dinner, just cleaning herself up and getting to bed. Watanuki slumped onto her futon at the end of the day and wondered why she still put up with Yuko. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders, an answer not presenting itself. She reached for her own laptop, the day's events prompting her to log onto her favorite site once the machine had booted up, her prolonged absence from the forum apparent when most of the bloggers online contacted her immediately to say hi and get a new story or two. UndergroundtheTown was a popular site for supernaturalists to compare odd goings-on events and strange occurrences (which no one knew for sure were true or not) and Watanuki was quiet popular among the chat rooms. She got tons of requests for her supernatural stories every time she logged on as Little_Crane_Seer, her most common chatters being LadyNotLuck, Silent Bronze Statue, Rudy-Eyes, Stealth Shadow, ButterflyGraffiti, Notusic, AngelWings208 and Neko Weow. They were her adoring followers, the only people who ever treated Watanuki like she was popular and it was enough for the seer that these people listened to her (even if they didn't fully believe her stories). In the real world, she was a weirdo. Here, she was the goddess of spooky stories, the guru of the supernatural (all of which were true and had actually happened to her at some point or another – whether people believe them or not was another thing entirely).

The only problem was that ButterflyGraffiti was just creepy and was just as popular as Little_Crane_Seer and Silent Bronze Statue was sorta stalkerish – the oaf weaseling into all of Watanuki's conversations and chat sessions with other bloggers. Watanuki fended off Silent Bronze Statue with a metaphorical bat and spent the next hour relating some more spirit stories. She glanced up at the clock a bit later, the hour speeding by much more quickly than she'd expected. Watanuki left the forum and shut down her computer, stretching her arms above her head. She didn't want to be on the net too long or else Yuko might come after her with that red bat of hers.

The seer got up, changed into her sleeping shorts and tank top, brushed her teeth, did some homework and then went to bed. Curling up onto her futon, Watanuki drifted off to sleep after she'd placed her glasses where she could reach them, the click her keyboard still ringing in her ears.

Out in the night, ButterflyGraffiti logged off as well, her mysterious smile shadowed by a cloud passing over the moon as she sat at her small table. She reached for the beer Watanuki had left out for her and took a sip, giggling to herself over Little_Crane_Seer's conversations tonight as she crossed her long legs and lounged in her kimono. "How very amusing." She said, putting down the beer can with a clunk, the condensation sliding down the aluminum surface.

Silent Bronze Statue was also logging off now that Little_Crane_Seer was nowhere to be found. He rolled out the kinks in his neck and put his computer away. Lying down on his futon, he closed his bronze eyes and wondered what Watanuki would be making him for lunch the next day.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

"I'm sick of all this rain. Enough's enough already!" Watanuki grumbled as she walked down the street, shielded from the downpour by her purple umbrella. Her shoes were soaked at this point, her socks were wet (and that was never a comfortable feeling) and a little while ago a car drove by her and splashed water all over her skirt (once again, not a comfortable feeling). "With all this rain I can't hang the laundry to dry and Yuko's been on my case to air out the futons." The girl sighed. "Sure would make my life easier if it stopped." Just then something knocked the girl on the head really hard and she shrieked in pain, letting go of her umbrella to hold her stinging head. She instantly got soaked by the downpour.

"I'll curse you!" A voice snapped from behind the raven. Watanuki turned around and saw a chick dressed in a black, Goth Lolita dress with poofy, frilly white socks on her feet, black heels, black gloves and sporting the reddest hair the seer had ever seen pulled into two high pony tails and swirled into one curl on each side of the girl's bangs. "If it didn't rain there'd be no vegetation! And then where would we be, Ms. Rain-Hater?" The girl swung her purple with white frills umbrella up onto her shoulder and scowled at Watanuki.

"Uh…I'm sorry?" Watanuki said. She didn't know it she was say sorry for wishing the rain to stop or if she was saying it like "I beg your pardon" sorry. Either way worked, she guessed.

"I'll forgive you this time, Kimihiro Watanuki." The girl swung her umbrella again, this time out in front of her and almost in Watanuki's face. The seer got splashed from the water coming off the umbrella and (never mind that she was already soaked) proceeded to wipe off her face in a hilarious manner. "I've come here to give you a command!" The girl stated proudly.

"What?!" Watanuki took a few steps back from the crazy person, flailing her arms around.

"You heard me. Now take me to Yuko!" The red head demanded haughtily. Watanuki was about to refuse and put the Goth chick back in her place when he was jabbed in the stomach by the tip of that damn girl's umbrella. The seer gasped in pain and was then grabbed by her collar and hauled off to the shop anyway, the Goth pulling her like a suitcase. Once at the shop, Watanuki was dried off and the red headed Goth was seated on a mat in the dining room with Maru, Moro and Mokona to entertain her.

"Rain! Rain! Falling down!" Maru sang, skipping past the red head happily.

"Falling! Falling! To the ground!" Moro sang as she skipped in the opposite direction.

"No umbrella! You'll get wet!" Mokona cackled as it hopped past.

"Let's just how wet you get!" The trio chorused together. Maru and Moro waved huge leaves on top of the Goth, going into a Japanese song about rain next.

"Rain, rain, falling, falling!" Maru sang.

"Rain even more!" Moro continued.

"If you don't have an umbrella, raise a leaf instead!" Mokona chortled. (It sounds better in Japanese!)

"Nice to see you've regained some composure," Yuko said, standing next to her little employee outside the dining hall. They were watching the customer, peeking out from behind the screen door as the twins and Mokona kept singing. "You looked like crying Nobita when you walked in. Good thing you dried up those tears." Yuko giggled as Watanuki snarled. (3)

"I was not crying! It was the rain!" Watanuki hissed, peeved at being teased. "So what exactly is she anyway?"

"She's and Ame-Warishi."

"Huh?"

"A sprite that controls the rain." They watched Mokona jump into Ame-Warishi's hands and dance around, its ears popping up cheerfully.

"You mean – like a demon?"

"No, not at all. She's much more powerful than that." Yuko took this moment to make her entrance into the room, Moro putting down a pillow for her to kneel on.

"Excuse me! Why do I have to sit on this reed mat? It's scratchy!" Ame-Warishi complained loudly.

"To protect the floor from moisture." Yuko said, elegantly sitting down in her red and yellow kimono. "Now, what can my Watanuki do for you? Do you have some special task for her?"

"What does she mean, 'My Watanuki?'" The raven grumbled from behind the door.

"Well, as a matter of fact, I do." Ame-Warishi stated frankly.

"I see. Then I take it it's something that will require her unique abilities.

"Yes, actually."

"Great…now what is she getting me into?!" Watanuki sweat-dropped and grimaced.

"Very well." Yuko agreed.

"I'm so screwed!" Watanuki concluded looking away from the pair. It's like Yuko is bartering me away! (Which, she kind of was.)

"I'll need payment for her services." Yuko continued.

"How much?" Now it really feels like I'm being sold!

"Something equivalent to the task, naturally." Watanuki threw her hands into the air, her pointy teeth making an appearance as she silently raved about her current situation. Why is Yuko negotiating?! Don't I get a say?! I'm the one doing the work! The girl banged her head on the ground and then had to spit her pony tail out of her mouth when it got caught on her tongue from all the flipping.

"Okay. But just bear in mind, if this turns out to be some sort of scam, you'll have rain clouds following you wherever you go. We clear on that?" Ame-Warishi threatened in a non-threatening way.

"Yes." Yuko turned her head around in Watanuki direction. "Attend to our guest!" She called. Watanuki slammed the door open in a defiant lunge and waved her arm across her body dramatically.

"I'm not your slave!" She shouted.

"Yes you are!" Yuko chuckled and then sent the girl for tea and snacks while she got the details of the job from Ame-Warishi. A few minutes after tea had been brought in an the ame-warishi downed her glass, the seer was surprised to find herself being pushed out the door with an umbrella in hand with hardly a goodbye or instructions on what she was supposed to do! Yuko waved from the porch as Ame-Warishi shoved Watanuki down the street, poking the raven with her umbrella to get her to move.

"I can walk on my own!" The girl snapped at the red head, swatting her back with her own umbrella. She quickly put the umbrella over her head when the rain half-soaked her in two seconds and then shivered all the way down the street. The pair made their way to Doumeki's "place" as Yuko had instructed them to do and Watanuki was not happy that they were picking up her rival, her soaked clothes just making the whole situation worse. Her grey jacket was now itchy and scratchy, the fabric chaffing her elbows and armpits and her skirt was sticking to her legs. She was a mess and not that she wanted to look nice for Doumeki of all people, but being (mostly) put together was the seer's pet peeve and she was not put together on this rainy day.

Watanuki and Ame-Warishi kept walking, the rain sprite occasionally poking the seer when the arguing dropped off (and sometimes it was just for fun to tick Watanuki off) and every passing minute was torture for the raven. When they finally reached the address that Yuko had given Watanuki the seer was relieved to be there. Maybe the Goth can bug Doumeki now, that'd be nice, Watanuki sighed, then she looked up. Ame-Warishi was entering a huge, ornate gate, heading into a temple's grounds. Watanuki peeked in, making sure this was the right address before letting her mouth gape open. Doumeki lives in temple?! It was gorgeous, even in the rain. The grounds were clean (and wet), there were multiple (wet) buildings with traditional sweeping rooftops that were well kept, and the entire complex was huge (and wet)! Watanuki couldn't deny that she was a little jealous that her rival got to live in such a nice place. She thought back to her tiny apartment with the lights that flickered no matter how many times she changed the bulbs and the heating that never really worked in the winter and the air conditioning that never really worked in the summer and all the other little problems that Doumeki probably didn't have. After she got over being jealous, the seer stewed, the water that clung to her skin evaporating as she heated up. Before even crossing the grounds to catch up with Ame-Warishi, the devil himself walked out of the biggest building on the temple grounds.

"Oh, boy. Look whose come crying in the rain." Doumeki said as she crossed his arms, his version of a smug face evident (his face looked the same, actually but Watanuki could tell he was smug). He was dressed in a matching blue kimono top and loose pants, his geta sandals slapping on the steps of the temple as he walked out. "You look just like Nobita."

"I am not crying!" Watanuki snapped, taking her defiant lunge and waving her blue umbrella at the archer angrily. "My face is wet because I've been walking in the rain for an hour! I'm only here because Yuko told me to come and get you, don't ask me why. I'm amazed I found you at all with the size of this place, it's obscene! How much space do you need?! Do you realize how many houses you could fit in this garden alone?" Watanuki cut off her rant as Ame-Warishi ran over to Doumeki and started sniffing him, going from one side to the other. She sighed and blushed as the seer and the archer just kind of stared at her like she was idiots.

"This is such an unusually fresh essence." The rain sprite gushed, clapping her hands together as she sniffed some more.

"Who is this?" Doumeki asked, not phased the weird attention.

"She's an Ame-Warishi." Watanuki replied, stepping under the lip of the roof with the archer and closing her umbrella up.

"Your friend here is a spirit?" Doumeki asked. If either of them were looking in the sprite's direction they would've seen her face morph into a monsterous make up. She wielded her purple umbrella like a sword and smacked the classmates in the face.

"Uh." Doumeki responded as he was smacked.

"Ah!" Watanuki gasped and grabbed her head with both hands.

"Putting me in the same class as spirits, I'll curse you both!" Ame-Warishi growled. "And that's just for starters!"

"He's the one who said it! Not me, okay!" A cross vein popped out on Watanuki's head as he pointed and accusing finger at Doumeki. The archer just rubbed his head with one hand.

"Was that really necessary?" He asked. Ame-Warishi just pouted.

"These two are complete idiots." She smiled. "But together they might just work!" She pointed at the pair.

"I'm not an idiot! He is!" Watanuki complained, flailing around. "Stop lumping us together!"

"Shut up." Doumeki plugged the ear closest to Watanuki with his finger to plug out her latest rant. Before another word could be said, the rain sprite was dragging Watanuki, Doumeki, a blue umbrella and a red bamboo umbrella out into the rain to their next stop. It was Wari's beautiful house, so Watanuki really didn't mind trekking across town to get there. She rang the door bell happily and hummed as she waited for the cute boy to answer the door. Doumeki just stared at her and Watanuki ignored him. When the door finally opened, Watanuki expected Wari's happy face, she just didn't expect the hair ribbons tied into his curls as well. It was like a three year old had attacked the teen's head with ribbons and elastics.

"So, you've come crying to me, just like Nobita." Wari said, giving Watanuki's wet face a bright smile. The girl blushed under her umbrella and waved off that comment.

"I'm not crying!" The seer said sweetly. She snapped around to Doumeki angrily as he plugged his ear with the hand not holding his own umbrella. "Keep your mouth shut, Doumeki! I know what you're thinking!" She cut off his comment about being mistaken for Nobita again before he could make it.

"So what brings you guys out in this weather?" Wari asked nicely.

"Uh…well…I was just…I was…" Watanuki started, unable to get out the question she needed to ask her crush.

"We need and item of yours. Something personal." Doumeki stated outright when Watanuki couldn't do it. The girl flipped out, pissed that Doumeki has asked Wari instead.

"Hey! Not so straight forward!" She chastised.

"Personal?" Wari asked, stepping under Doumeki's umbrella.

"Yeah." Doumeki replied. Watanuki was mortified. What is happening?!

"Just anything?" Wari asked, looking up at the taller boy.

"Right." Doumeki said down to the shorter boy. He's being so nice to him! This is like some confession of love! Wari, why?! Watanuki was twirling around the pair in despair, holding her head as she really did cry this time.

"How about this?" Wari pulled two white ribbons from his curls and held them up to Doumeki. "My neighbor's daughter put them in my hair today when they visited but they're really my mother's ribbons. We were playing and I didn't have the heart to take them out when she left. Will they work?"

"Do you think these will do?" Doumeki asked Watanuki, only she wasn't paying attention, just spinning around in the rain, and waving her arms in annoyance.

"No way! I can't believe it! He's wasting his time on someone like Doumeki!" The girl squealed, flailing around and getting soaked again.

"Idiot." Doumeki stated.

"Watanuki is always so full of energy!" Wari smiled as the two boys watched the girl make a foo; of herself. After some more pleasantries and goodbyes, Doumeki and Watanuki each took a ribbon and started walking down the street with their umbrellas, the seer slumped in a depression.

"You know, Wari is nice to everyone!" Watanuki said through clenched teeth, sneering at Doumeki. "So you're nothing special!"

"If you're using that logic, you're not special either." Doumeki shot back, giving the girl a (slight) look. They walked back to the rain sprite, who was hiding behind a light pole, her dress and umbrella poking out and giving away her position.

"Well, were you successful?" Ame-Warishi asked, peeking out from behind her pole.

"Yeah." Doumeki nodded.

"Why are you hiding?" Watanuki asked as the sprite inched behind the pole again.

"Why do you think? So I'm not exposed to that Wari guy!" She replied cryptically. "I don't know why someone like you would want anything to do with him with your predisposition!" She got into Watanuki's face, a annoyed expression on her own.

"Uh…?" Watanuki said, not understanding what the problem was.

"You're hopeless." The sprite sighed and started pointing at the pair. "You. You. Ribbon. Ribbon. Check! Let's go! We're moving on!"

"To where, exactly?" The seer asked.

"I need you to help me. I was hoping to handle this on my own, but I just can't." Ame-Warishi's haughty personality disappeared as her face dropped, a worried look replacing it. "I already tried, and failed." There was silence between the trio, the rain plinking on the ground and their umbrella's the only sound. "I need you."

The next thing she knew, Watanuki was walking in a park with Doumeki and not Ame-Warishi, like they were on a date or something. Which they weren't.

"I don't get it. How am I supposed to help her? Sure, I have an eye for spirits but I really can't do anything but see them."

"Yeah, I noticed. Why didn't you tell her that?" Doumeki asked.

"Because if I did, Yuko would tear me apart!" Watanuki's rant hurled spit in Doumeki's direction and he tipped his umbrella to shield himself from both saliva and Watanuki's noise. Once she was done, the umbrella came back up and they continued walking. "Besides, that ame-warishi seemed really desperate. I couldn't say no."

"Then you have to do it."

"I know that, moron!" Watanuki raised her umbrella this time, waving her other fist at Doumeki as he shielded himself again with his umbrella and plugged one of his ears. "If you were listening I was just saying that we might be in over our heads!"

"This is the place." Doumeki stopped walking.

"Huh?" Watanuki looked around the park, shaking her head to get the rain off her glasses. It was nice and big, well kept and deserted in the rainy weather. In the center of the park there was their destination, a huge flowering plant the color of purple sunsets. The pair walked to the plant and stopped in front of it, unsure of what to do next.

"What's this plant called?" Watanuki asked. "Hydrangea?"

"Hmm. And it's a big one." Both teens looked up to the top of the plant. It was sitting on a huge mound of dirt, enclosed by tiles and pavement in a big circle. The hydrangea plant itself was about four or five Doumeki's tall (about five to six Watanuki's), towering over the pair.

"I had no idea they could grow to this size." Watanuki stated in awe. "And look at that color." She pointed to a blossom cluster near the bottom that was a deep red, like blood.

"Yeah, we have these same shrubs around our temple," Doumeki explained. "I've seen white, blue pink…but red? That's a new one."

"So…what do you think she wants us to do?" Watanuki asked, taking a step away and turning around, looking across the park for a clue of some sort. She felt something, like ice cold fingers walking up her spine and the girl shivered. Something's watching me. She looked around, wanting to see the spirit before it surprised her.

"What's wrong?" Doumeki asked, noticing the girl's uneasiness as he crouched over the plant.

"Uh…its nothing." She walked over to him, not wanting to admit this out loud, but the closer she was to Doumeki, the safer she felt. "I kinda felt a chill, but…maybe it was my imagination."

"You can be kinda dramatic." Doumeki said.

"You want dramatic?! I'll SHOW you dramatic!" Watanuki pointed a harsh finger in the archer's face, taking her defiant lunge for the third time that day. She felt something grab her ankle. The raven looked down and saw that she'd been caught by some of the hydrangeas, the red ones."Uh…" She grunted when she couldn't take a step closer and wiggled her leg to free herself.

"Huh?"

"Hmm."

"Huh?"

"Get caught on something?" Doumeki asked as Watanuki bent down to untangle her leg.

"Yeah, and it's really on there. I can't get it off without ripping the flowers." Watanuki juggled her umbrella onto her shoulder as she pulled at the plant wrapping itself around her leg. She looked down at the blossoms holding her leg and then into the hydrangea plant. "Look! There are more red ones below!" Watanuki felt something odd about this plant, a shifting deep inside the blooms, like a living presence. She leaned in closer to get a better look when something shot out of the plant. Black swirls of aura flew into the air and made a bee line for the seer, wrapping around her body as she shielded her face from them. They closed in on her, covering up everything until there was only blackness.

Back at the shop, Yuko wondered if the pair had figured it out yet, taking a long drag from her pipe and puffing smoke into the air.

"The rain just won't stop!" Maru said, sitting out on the porch.

"Just won't stop!" Moro repeated, sitting across from her twin. Mokona sipped some tea on Yuko's table.

"What do you think?" Yuko asked. "Have the kids figured it out yet?" The witch asked.

Watanuki's eyes opened to darkness. She was lying on the ground in the same defensive position she'd been in when the black tentacles grabbed her, but the hydrangea plant was gone, the rain was gone and so was Doumeki. She was alone in the darkness, her white shadow the only company she was privy to. She looked around. Nothing was in sight, just darkness.

"What is this place?" She asked, but there wasn't anyone to answer her. She didn't know what to do and just started walking in a random direction, having nothing to orient herself she was as good as lost anyway. Her footsteps clacked round her, echoing ominously every time her foot hit the ground. She walked a little further and started smelling something. She took an experimental sniff and immediately wished she hadn't. The seer clapped her hand to her face to pinch her nose, trying to block out the stench and wrestle down her heavig stomach at the same time. "Ug, what is that smell? It smells like rotting meat and…cheap perfume?" Watanuki looked out into the darkness for the source of the smell. It was almost like she could see the ribbons of stink wafting toward her. Then she heard someone crying, the sobs echoing off the air. The raven walked toward the sound, her footsteps following her and after a few minutes, she saw a small girl crouching on the floor, her white shadow splayed out in front of her as she cried. The girl had her hands over her eyes, her tears falling on her white and pink dress. She was young, maybe seven or eight at the most, and her short brown hair was pulled into two twin tails on top of her head, her bangs held back by barrettes. Looking at the girl, Watanuki's maternal side felt bad for such a small child and came up to bat.

"Hey, what's wrong?" The seer asked, her voice calm and smooth, just like her own mother's when she'd been upset.

"I can't go." The girl sobbed, not looking up. "But I know I need too and I'm running out of time!" She wasn't making any sense, but it didn't matter. Watanuki knelt down next to the girl and smiled softly.

"Are you lost? Where do you live? I can help you." The girl rushed the seer, her small arms wrapping around the teen's small breasted chest and burying her face in Watanuki's jacket.

"I don't need to go to my house!"

"Okay then, where?" Watanuki asked, her arms wrapping the girl into a hug.

"It's just…I don't want to go there alone!" The girl's head popped up and the seer saw her cute face for the first time. "I guess I'm too scared." The girl tried to wipe the tears out of the eyes, but more replaced the ones she got rid of.

"It's okay to be scared." Watanuki said softly, rubbing circles on the child's back to calm her. "I'm scared too."

"Will you help me? If I had you, I just know I could make it." The girl sniffed, her fingers gripping Watanuki's jacket tightly. "Please." Her voice echoed around the pair. "Please come with me." The girl let go of Watanuki's chest and grabbed her sleeve, pulling her to her feet and started walking in the darkness. Watanuki was surprised at the girl's 180, she was raring to go now, her tears all but dried up as she took the raven's hand and gripped it tightly in her own.

"Okay." Watanuki said, following the girl, slightly hunched over because of their height difference.

"I'm so glad you showed up." The girl said after a little while of walking. It was odd. Watanuki could hear her footsteps as she went, but the girl's feet weren't making a sound. She must be wearing soft-soled shoes. "I was alone here for so long, calling out for help. But then they told me to be quiet. They told me it was useless." The girl looked back at Watanuki, tears in her big blue eyes.

"Just what do you mean by 'they?'" Watanuki asked, a little apprehensive.

"The ones who were here first. I came later and I don't think there's room for me." The girl looked away. "The thing is…I didn't end up here on my own."

"Who were the first ones here?"

"You've already met them." Silence ensued as Watanuki kept walking with the girl. She clapped her hand over her mouth as the rotting meat stench hit her full in the face, causing her nausea to come back in full force. The girl gasped and looked back at Watanuki, smiling. "This way!"

She ran forward but Watanuki's grip on her hand tightened, a fear rising up in the seer and she stopped in her tracks. The little girl was yanked to a stop too, and looked back at Watanuki with a confused look on her face.

"Hey, what's the matter?" She asked brightly. They stood together and looked into the darkness ahead.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Watanuki narrowed her eyes toward the blackness. "I think we should stop."

"But you have to go with me!" The girl was crying again, grabbing onto the seer's arm and pulling her. "I don't want to go alone! You say it's bad but I need to go!" She screamed.

"No! You cannot take her with you!" A chorus of women's voice said, falling from bright lights like the rain, one word, one voice for each light that fell. They were distorted and muffled, but they were insistent and harsh toward the girl. Watanuki didn't know what to make of them.

"Yes I can! She's coming with me!" The girl screamed back, holding on to Watanuki so tight that the teen couldn't feel her fingers anymore. More lights fell from…wherever up was in the darkness.

"Please, young woman! You must take the child with you!" They said.

"What do you mean?" Watanuki shouted up. "You just told me not to!"

"I'm scared!" The little girl shrieked, pulling on Watanuki again. "Let's go!"

"No!" The voices rained down again. "Please! Not that way!"

"Hey! I know you don't like me being under you so please, let me leave!" The girl shouted up.

"Under?" Watanuki asked, still confused.

"Stop being mean! I didn't want to come down here in the first place!" The little girl pulled Watanuki's arms so hard that the seer stumbled forward and started walking again, led by the child.

"Please! Don't let her take you that way!" The voices called, falling from above them again. "If you go that way, you won't be able to return! Heed my warning or you'll never return to the bright place!"

"I don't want to be here alone anymore!" They were running now and Watanuki realized something.

"The smell…its coming from the girl." She whispered. The little girl was still screaming.

"Don't listen to her! Once we get there you'll understand! There are so many there but it's still lonely so you have to be my friend!" The girl let go of Watanuki's hand to run on and tripped, falling to the ground. The raven caught up and helped the little girl pick herself up, the pieces all falling into place.

"I get it. This girl is…" Watanuki whispered, holding the little girl. She cried into the seer's jacket again, holding on tightly. "I think it's best if we don't go that way." Watanuki said to the little girl.

"Then, where am I supposed to go?" She sobbed, letting go of Watanuki to cover her face as she cried. Something wet hit Watanuki in the back of the head and ran under her collar and down her spine. She shivered at the cold and looked up as more drops fell from above them. There were more drops…rain, rain was falling. And something else was snaking down from the up. It was a white…ribbon. It was the same ribbon that Watanuki had in her jacket! Watanuki dug around her shirt and brought out the ribbon Wari had given her and held it in her hand. The ribbon came to life, reaching upwards towards its mate. Watanuki looked at both ribbons and stood, pointing upwards.

"We go up."

"But I don't want to." The girl sniffed.

"Well, why not?"

"Because…I'm dirty now." The girl started sobbing again, quietly letting her tears hit the ground. "I'm different from before…everyone will say I'm gross." Watanuki smiled knowingly.

"That's just silly."

"It's not silly! I know they will!" The girl wiped at her eyes again. Watanuki reached down as she knelt and took the girl's hands tightly, lovingly in her own.

"I don't think you're gross." She said, a sad, comforting smile on her lips. "Come on. Let's go." They both stood and the little girl grabbed onto her waist again, with her free arm, hiding her face but holding on tightly. "'Kay, here we go." Watanuki held up her stretching ribbon higher and the ends snaked to each other and connected. The long ribbon grew taut and Watanuki gripped it tightly as the pair was pulled up through the darkness.

Watanuki opened her eyes, the raindrops on her glasses making it hard to see. She was lying face down under the hydrangea plant, the purple-blue flowers surrounding her. Rain splattered on her skin, soaked her clothes. There was a fresh scent all around her with a hit of that sweet rotting scent. It was fine. The smell wasn't as strong now, even if it was right next to her. Watanuki turned her head and smiled softly again.

"Thank you for coming with me. It must've been awful to be alone for so long, but you don't have to be anymore. You can rest now." Watanuki was looking at her hand, the one tightly clutching the last three fingers of the little girl, her wrist and arm bones half buried in the dirt under the flowers. She squeezed what was left of the girl's fingers and palm one last time before her other arm was yanked above her head. Watanuki gasped and noticed that she was still holding the ribbon Wari had given her. She looked up, following the ribbon to the dirty hand, up the dirt clad arm, to the dirty shoulder and neck all the way up to the dirt streaked face of her rival and reluctantly tolerated companion.

"Uh, Doumeki!" She snapped, sitting up. Then she looked around and noticed that it was so dark out, and the street lights were are. "Hey! What the-!? Why's it so dark?"

"You idiot." Doumeki said crossly. This time some of his emotions did come through his voice and it surprised Watanuki.

"Huh?"

"Nevermind. I'm tired." He sighed, sitting down in the dirt.

"You're tired!?" Watanuki hissed, "I'm the one who did all the work!"

"Well, you'd be tired too if you'd been standing in the rain for hours. Ten exactly." Watanuki looked up and saw that Yuko was standing next to the pair under her huge purple umbrella. She'd changed clothes into a high collared purple robe with grey under robes and had pulled the top of her hair back with a huge red flower. Mokona jumped onto her shoulder as a way of announcing its presence.

"Ten hours?!" Watanuki gasped incredulously. "Wait. What are you doing here, Yuko?" The witch ignored the girl and knelt by Doumeki, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"You did very well." They shared a look that Watanuki was not a part of and she felt like she was missing the pieces again.

"Huh?" And that's when Watanuki realized how wet she was, how much she ached and how cold she was (and it wasn't just from the rain). She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself and tried to stand, to get somewhere dry. But her body was handicapped by the cold (she didn't have great balance to begin with) and her foot slipped in the mud and she toppled over into Doumeki.

"Ow. Watch it." The brunette said as the girl fell on him, but she couldn't concentrate on him when she felt like a block of ice.

"I-its s-s-so c-c-c-co-o-old…" She stuttered, her teeth clacking together as her body convulsed in shivers. Doumeki was instantly rolling her into his lap and holding her hand, all signs of his supposed tiredness gone.

"She's freezing." He stated, turning to Yuko and holding Watanuki closer to him even though he was just as wet as she was.

"Well, after what she went through I'm honesty not surprised." Yuko sighed. "Come on. We need to get you two into a bath." Watanuki completely agreed and tried to stand up but her attempts were thwarted when Doumeki scooped her into his arms princess-style.

"H-hey! L-l-let g-g-go of m-m-me-e-e!" She protested, banging a weak fist against the archer's broad chest.

"You can barely stand and you can't stop shivering. Give it a rest." Doumeki shot back. Yuko walked over with the brunette's umbrella open and Watanuki's closed under her arm. The witch held the umbrella over both of them and layered her own on top so they could all walk along in relative dryness. Watanuki was about to protest about being carried again, but decided against it. Even if he had been sitting out in the rain for ten hours, Doumeki was still warmer than her by a little bit and it was nice not to have to walk in the rain for a while.

"Fine." She huffed, masking her relief behind irritation. "Just this once." Yuko smiled coyly and the three of them started making their way back to Doumeki's house.

It was a long walk and Doumeki almost dropped Watanuki several times as he stumbled through his exhaustion, but seeing Watanuki shivering in his arms kept the archer going and Watanuki didn't complain vocally when he stumbled, just happy to be carried by something slightly warmer than the rain. Once they finally made it back to the temple, Doumeki let Watanuki have the first bath, carefully depositing her in the wash room and showing her where everything was before backing out to go dry off a little so he didn't drip all over the floor. Watanuki nodded as he left and slowly peeled off her wet clothes and plopped them into the corner by a drain and dumped bucket after bucket of warm water over her frozen body. She shivered with the sudden change in temperature and washed herself carefully before sinking into the hot bath for a needed soak. The warmth melted into her skin down to the bone and she felt better after fifteen minutes. But then Yuko had to show up and start teasing her about being carried about Doumeki and how she was taking so long in the bath because she wanted to look good for the archer and finally Watanuki snapped back at her to be quiet and got out of the bath, her relaxing time ruined by the woman's pesky presence. Watanuki dried off and hung up her clothes (careful to hide her lacy underwear where Doumeki couldn't see it) and slipped into the dry yukata that Doumeki had provided her with.

The seer came out of the bathroom in all her blue clad glory and ran right into Doumeki's still-damp form. The seer couldn't even look him in the eye as she nodded her thanks and ran off to find Yuko, still tripping over her own feet from exhaustion. Doumeki didn't say a word, but watched her go with a look of concern and relief shining in his eyes.

Yuko was in one of the many rooms in the temple, sipping a can of beer and eating pizza, waiting for her employee while listening to the still falling rain from the open porch. Watanuki sat down and threw a towel over her hair to finish drying off as she started to tell Yuko what had happened.

"And then, out of nowhere these huge shadows shot out from under the hydrangea and suck me into it. I didn't know so much time had passed. To me, it only felt like ten minutes or so." The seer said from under her towel. She yanked it off her head and just knew her hair was in a fly-away mess.

"And yet, it's one in the morning." Yuko stated, looking at the clock on the wall.

"That little girl was all alone there. What was that place anyway?"

"The border between this world and the beyond. A rest stop for lost souls." Yuko informed the girl solemnly.

"That horrible smell…that was death, wasn't it?" Watanuki asked, her stomach turning at the thought of that horrible place.

"I'm afraid so. Though you visited what is often called the world of the dead, it is better described as a collecting point, one of many scattered throughout the afterlife. The place beyond held the souls that trap, harm or cause the death of others." Mokona took a huge gulp of alcohol out of its can to break the ominous talk and popped some snap peas into its mouth.

"Why would a child end up there?" Watanuki asked.

"You say she begged you to come with her, right? She wanted you to lead her into the world of the dead because she was lonely. She almost killed you." What Yuko said shocked Watanuki, her freezing body and stiffness after her adventure now making sense. I was almost killed.

"I see." Watanuki sighed, her eyes drifting to the floor as she thought.

"Even though she may have been unaware, murder is as serious an offense to the dead as it is for the living. That voice that warned you about following her, that voice that called out to you in the darkness…that was the hydrangea."

"A flower?" Watanuki asked, thinking about the golden lights that fell in the blackness. "That's what was responsible for restraining us?" She then remembered the flowers wrapping themselves around her ankle before she'd been pulled under. "So it was trying to save the girl as well."

"Yes, but it wasn't only the hydrangea helping." Yuko pointed a finger at the girl. "Doumeki was there too."

"Yeah, whatever." The girl said after a pause in the conversation, putting on her dumb face.

"Watanuki WAKE UP!" Yuko said, her voice rising as she grabbed Mokona and smacked the pork bun on the seer's head. "You were close to dying out here and yet, miraculously here you sit, alive! How do you reconcile that?" Yuko was upset and Watanuki had never seen her this way before. It was kind of scary since the witch was calm or mischevious most of the time.

"Water droplets started falling from above and then I looked up and saw a ribbon."

"The one holding the other end of that ribbon was Doumeki. By the time I arrived, he'd been working for hours. From the moment you'd disappeared, he'd been digging below the hydrangea, tirelessly, disregarding his own safety. He'd feared that you'd been buried alive." Yuko tried to impress upon her charge the seriousness and devotion that the boy had shown to her, remembering Doumeki discouraged face and worried eyes when she'd walked up to him in the rain, his umbrella tossed aside like his own well being. He'd only been thinking about Watanuki.

Yuko stood in front of the hydrangea plant, watching Doumeki kneel in the dirt and scoop handfuls of dirt out of the ground, looking for Watanuki. He stopped when he noticed the woman's presence and looked at her, worry etched into his eyes, his body.

"No matter how far you dig, you won't find her, Doumeki." Yuko said, smiling softly. "At least, not that way."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" He asked, his voice weary from work. Doumeki wasn't normally one to ask other people for help or advise, he was the one supporting others, this concession illuminating just how worried he was about the girl.

"Do you still have the ribbon?" Yuko asked. Doumeki dug into his pocket and pulled it out, the white cloth pristine in his dirt encrusted hand.

"If Watanuki still has hers then you are connected. Simply hold it and she will find her way back to you. Until then, can you wait for her here?" Doumeki's answer was simple: he knelt back down, getting comfortable for what would turn out to be a very long, agonizing wait for both of them. Yuko stood next to him, watching and waiting for Watanuki to come back.

"You mean he sat out there, for ten hours?!" Watanuki asked. Shocked by her classmate's actions.

"Yes, in the rain, his arm still injured from your last scrape. And I never once heard him complain. You owe him your thanks." Yuko sipped her beer. The door slid open and the devil himself came waltzing in after his bath, a towel slung around his shoulders. Watanuki looked over at the boy and then looked away as he shut the door behind him.

"The police confirmed the girl's identity. Her clothes match a description filed in a report last year." Doumeki informed the two women and one fur ball.

"Good. Sounds like the police have all the evidence they need to close the case." Yuko nodded as she spoke. "Finally, her troubled soul can be free, her remains unearthed and properly laid to rest. That little girl's spirit should be able to find the peace it needs to move on."

"Yeah, at last." Watanuki sighed. Doumeki held out something to Yuko, an amulet with a crescent moon and a bat flying through it.

"This amulet belonged to my grandfather. It should cover your fee." Yuko handed the object to Yuko and she deposited it in her robes.

"Hmm, I believe it is more than adequate." Yuko hummed happily. Consider your debt paid for telling you about the ribbon." Watanuki watched the exchange and then turned away in a huff, the fact that Doumeki had to pay a price to find her disturbing and pricked her heart in an uncomfortable way. Mokona hopped over to Watanuki and poked the girl in the arm.

"Nudge, nudge!" It poked. Watanuki glanced behind her shoulder with an annoyed look and saw Yuko looking back.

"Say 'thank you!'" She prompted quietly, a hand over her mouth and a smug look on her face. Watanuki snorted and Mokona jabbed her in the chin this time for emphasis.

"Come on! Just do it already, Watanuki!" The fur ball teased. Watanuki turned to look at Doumeki.

"Something to say?" He asked pointedly.

"I-ah…I was just…pa! Paa-ya-tha-than-yayayayaya!" Watanuki was physically unable to get the words out for her sworn enemy and just started making strange noises whist flailing around. Doumeki just turned away and plugged his ears.

"I thought if I came by you'd be completely wiped out by your adventures, but I guess I underestimated your stamina." The group looked outside to see Ame-Warishi standing out in the rain in her Goth Lolita dress, hand on her hip and umbrella on her shoulder. "Thank you. You did great." She smiled warmly as a surprise.

"You're very welcome." Watanuki walked over to the railing, careful not to get wet again as the rain sprite walked near her. "I'm just glad that I could find her down there. I guess…you must've really cared for her to have gone through all this trouble."

"You must've misunderstood me." The nice smile was gone and the old Ame-Warishi was back, haughtiness and all. "Why should I care about a stupid human?" Watanuki's eyes widened in shock. "All I cared about was the hydrangea. It has the special distinction of being a spirit flower which helps balance and govern the rain. It's a rare and perfect gift that you humans take for granted and it deserves my protection. The hydrangea's petals were turning red from the blood of that girl's corpse. The filth of a corpse is deadly poison to a spirit flower. I had to get rid of her."

"So to you, the girl was just-" Watanuki started.

"The enemy." Ame-Warishi finished harshly.

"I see." Watanuki said sadly.

"Humans never help us, so why should we help them?" The rain sprite was serious. "All they do is get in the way and destroy things they don't understand." Watanuki looked at her, wondering how someone, even a spirit, could think so low of another being, a whole group of people. "Don't worry, I'll settle my payment to you shortly." Ame-Warishi was looking at Yuko now.

"Fine." The shop owner replied. The rain sprite walked out into the garden and folded up her umbrella with a flourish. Starting at her feet, the girl's body disappeared, turning into raindrops before vanishing. Watanuki watched her go, sad that the conversation ended on such a sour note. Ame-Warishi spoke again when her droplets got up to her waist.

"Ug." The sprite groaned. "I don't know why, but for some reason, Yuko thinks you're the exception." She said mysteriously.

"Huh?" Watanuki pointed at her dumbfounded face with her finger as the girl continued to disappear. "Wait!" The sprite vanished with that cocky smile on her face and left a very confused Watanuki sitting on the floor. "Hey, Yuko! What was that about!?" The girl asked as she turned around.

"Cheers!~" Mokona and Yuko called, clinking beer cans. Somehow, the food in the room magically multiplied and Doumeki was snacking as he opened his first can of beer.

"What did she mean that I was the 'exception?'" Watanuki pleaded, getting on hands and knees in her frustration and then sitting up to run her hands around her head. "Come on! Just tell me already! Why won't you tell me?! I need to know!" This time she really was crying.

"Ah! This beer is delicious!~" Yuko complimented Doumeki as she sipped her new can.

"Oh yeah! And the edamame is great too!" Mokona agreed. Watanuki was still freaking out over Ame-Warishi's last words when all three of them called for more food and alcohol.

"Silly little girl! You really are a crybaby!" Yuko teased.

"Just like Nobita." Doumeki finished. "Couldn't agree more."

"Poor Watanuki!~" Mokona drawled as the girl rolled around on the floor in her own little world of distress and never getting her way.

Several hours later, after Yuko, Mokona and Doumeki were done partying; the witch and the fur ball went home tipsy and Watanuki was left to change back into her, now dry, school uniform and get ready to leave. She was in one of Doumeki's many bathrooms, pulling on her troublesome skirt and buttoning up her gray jacket when she heard footsteps outside the room stop at the closed door. She turned to the mirror in the bathroom and grabbed her spare hair elastic to put her raven locks back up into its customary pony tail.

"Did you need something?" She asked irritably. She'd been dragged through the rain on multiple occasions today, soaked, yanked under a plant with a dead girl, soaked again, teased in the bath, scolded and kept up to all hours of the night/morning – or whatever time it happened to be now.

"No. Just checking on you." Doumeki said from the other side of the door. Watanuki's temper prickled at the invasion of privacy.

"I don't need to be baby sat. I'm not falling into anything else to day if I can help it, so you can just go away, you jer-wah!" Watanuki tripped over her borrowed clothes (which she'd left on the floor) and tipped backwards, falling into the empty bathtub despite her earlier words, and crashing painfully on her elbows and ass. "Ow!" She yelped. Doumeki was in the room in an instant, taking stock of the situation and grabbing Watanuki's wrist to pull her out of the tub.

"You were saying?" He asked, his eyes holding a mischievous gleam even as his face was a dead pan. Watanuki looked up and blushed.

"S-s-shut up, pervert! What if I was naked?!" She snapped yanking her wrist out of his hold and rubbing her sore backside. They stood there in silence for a moment, maybe six inches apart and Watanuki couldn't help but notice that Doumeki had a appealing scent – a mix of lemons (his family's body wash, since Watanuki smelled like lemons too) green tea and sandal wood and something fresh she couldn't quite identify. It was a pure scent, just like Ame-warishi had said. Watanuki was shorter than Doumeki so right now she was looking at his broad chest, inches away from those hard muscles that all the girls in school went gaga over. His archery practice really helped define his chest and arms and Watanuki knew that already, she'd just never been this close to them before. I really should thank him for helping me. He did sit in the rain for ten hours, waiting for me to come back. I should do something…she thought, trying to distract herself from muscles.

"What do you want?" The asked softly, blushing slightly.

"Huh?" Doumeki asked, not understanding the question.

"W-well, last time you helped me I started making lunches for you every day." She said, her voice still quiet like someone could overhear them at any moment. "So, is there something you'd like, f-for today?" She blushed even redder, bowing her head more so he couldn't see it. Callused fingertips were at her chin, pulling her head up to look their owner in the face. Watanuki's blue eyes met Doumeki bronze ones and they just looked at each other for a moment. Then Doumeki's hand moved away and tapped his cheek.

"A kiss. Here." His voice was deep and dead serious.

"Wha?!" Watanuki gasped, her voice suddenly gone. Doumeki tapped his cheek again, insistent.

"Just once."

Watanuki blushed deeper, her anger at him fighting with her embarrassment. Where did this come from?! That ass! Watanuki bit her lip, and Doumeki looked at her biting her lip. His eyes bore into her, and he leaned in slightly closer while she leaned slightly away as he moved closer. I know I said I wanted to do something for him but…but…anything but this! Doumeki kept watching her and Watanuki's face got redder and redder as the seconds passed, her heartbeat speeding up by his odd request and sheer proximity to his body.

"Fine! Just once!" She yelped, uncomfortable and hot in the situation. If Doumeki ever smiled, she was sure he'd be smiling now. Grinning like a sick bastard, more like it. But he just tipped forward a little bit and waited for his kiss. Watanuki clenched her fists in resolve and glared at the cheek she was supposed to kiss. Two seconds, three seconds, four seconds passed as she wrestled with her pride and dislike of the archer and then nodded in decision. She stood up on tip toe to reach his cheek, screwed her eyes shut and puckered her lips for the quickest kiss of all time. Only Doumeki was quicker.

In less than a second, his hand came up to Watanuki's jaw, ear and neck, controlling her movements and turned his head so that their lips met. Watanuki's eyes shot wide open in shock as their mouths meshed in a surprisingly heated kiss and she struggled to pull away. But Doumeki wasn't having any of that and snaked his free arm around her waist, pulling the raven right up against his body in a fierce embrace. Watanuki pushed against him, her arms pounding against the archer's strong body but she was trapped, making disgruntled noises to voice her protest as Doumeki's lips moved against hers. After what seemed like an eternity (which in actuality was only about five seconds), Doumeki released a furious Watanuki (although he didn't want to) and prepared for the onslaught.

"You asshole!" She screeched. Doumeki plugged his ears and leaned away from the seething girl. "You slippery, stealing, horrible excuse for a human being!" She yelled, digressing into a tangle of indistinguishable curse words and insults, all directed at the archer.

"You said I could have something, so I took something." Doumeki stated calmly, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"It was supposed to be on the cheek!" Watanuki screamed, waving her fists at the boy.

"I changed my mind."

"Like HELL you did! You planned that from the start, didn't you?!" Watanuki fumed. "It doesn't matter!" The seer waved her hand in a harsh cut off. Watanuki didn't want to hear anything from Doumeki as she stormed out of the room and down the hallway. "My first kiss – the one I was saving for Wari – was just stolen by that jerkass bastard!" She muttered to herself, unaware that the jerkass bastard was following her.

"So that was your first kiss? Good." Doumeki said, startling Watanuki out of her thoughts and causing her to jump ten feet into the air. Good thing the temple's ceilings were high. Doumeki had a sudden smug satisfaction that not only had he successfully gotten a kiss from Watanuki, it was her first kiss.

"Don't do that!" Watanuki snapped, referring to sneaking up behind her. "And it is not good! That wasn't for you!" She hissed.

"But I'm glad I got it." He replied, unfazed. Watanuki's retorted died on her lips, the archer's frankness stunning her.

"Uh-I-wha-" She couldn't string a coherent sentence together, her brain shutting down from the stress of her tiring day and the fact that she couldn't do anything with the Doumeki problem. She just stuck her tongue out at him and stomped out of the temple, grabbing her umbrella on her way and opening it. She scurried off into the rain, leaving the whole awkward mess behind her

Later that night (or was it morning?), Watanuki was lying in bed thinking (and fuming) over the kiss. She brought her fingers up to touch her mouth, her other hand wandering over her neck and cheek where Doumeki had held her steady and her waist still seemed to burn where his arm had pulled her closer. Why did that asshole do that anyway?! I don't even like him! She grumbled to herself, rolling over on her futon and growling, her fingers still lingering over her lips, her heart beating excitedly.

In his own room, Doumeki was lying on his back, staring at his hands. I kissed Watanuki today. He smiled ever so slightly, the corners of his mouth flipping up before snapping back down into his usual dead pan. He could still feel her skin on his fingertips, her body pressed against his as she struggled underneath his hold. She was annoying to be sure, but sweet and kinder than anyone expected her to be. And she always kept her promises. She was still making him lunch every day and she consented to his second request for helping her. Now Doumeki just had to think of what else to ask for next time he saved Watanuki's ass.

"What should Watanuki give me next?" Doumeki whispered to himself, putting a lot of thought into the matter.

Watanuki sneezed in her apartment, shivering under her blankets and hoping that she was coming down with a cold instead someone talking about her. If it was Yuko, it meant more work. If it was Doumeki, it was probably something perverted or downright weird. If it was Wari…fantastic! But that last one wouldn't happen in a million years because Wari was just too oblivious to Watanuki's advances. The girl sighed and really, really hoped she was coming down with a cold. If she was sick, Yuko couldn't complain about her not cooking (and getting her sick) because it was her stupid errand that got her into this whole mess. And if it was Doumeki…she was going to slap him. Watanuki sneezed again.

"Damn it!"

To be continued…

A/N: And that's a wrap! This has been the most enjoyable chapter yet to write so I hope you liked it as well! See you next time! :3

Note 1: Ginza is a major, popular upscale shopping district of Tokyo. It is full of internationally renowned department stores, boutiques, restaurants and is recognized as one of the most luxurious shopping districts in the world. It has the highest concentration of western shops in Tokyo and houses many leading flagship stores and fashions houses of the world. For example: Sony, Chanel, Carolina Herrera, Doir, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Apple all have stores and/or flagship shops there. Interestingly enough, each Saturday from noon until 5 pm, the roads are closed off to traffic, allowing pedestrians to walk freely in the streets as they shop. This is called Hokosha Tengoku or Hokoten (for short).

Note 2: "Hana" in the Japanese language means "flower," so Hana-Hana's username is literary "Flower-Flower." This name also corresponds to her pink flower desktop.

Note 3: Yuko is referring to the manga/anime series Doraemon (first published in 1969), and the second main character in the series Nobi Nobita, a fourth/fifth grader who wears a yellow polo, shorts and has glasses. In this scene Yuko compares Watanuki's likeness to this character and the fact that he looks like he's been crying out in the rain, similarly to how Nobita sobs at least once every episode in his own series due to his crybaby personality.