A/N: Hey, Howdy, Hey! ZareEraz here with an update! Sorry once again for this being a week late, but at least you didn't have to wait a month for an update! Teehee. I hope you enjoy these two fun filled episodes and don't forget to review! :3

Chapter Five: The Monkey's Paw and the Red String

"It's lovely. A perfect day for cleaning the warehouse, don't you think?" Yuko asked, lounging on the porch with some miso soup and a snack to tide her over from breakfast. She uncrossed and re-crossed her legs under her purple kimono and sipped her soup. The birds chirped and the witch made sure not to spill anything on her kimono or orange obi. "Relaxing." She sighed.

"Sure it is!" Watanuki hissed, walking by with another of Yuko's countless chests from the storehouse. There were tarps all over the yard, spread out like a picnic blanket with all the odd objects from storage strewn all over. It looked like the warehouse had thrown up everywhere. Watanuki put down the latest trunk and sighed, putting her hands on her hips. She'd changed into some black slacks and a white shirt after school for cleaning and finished off the housewife look with her apron and head cloth. "Look at all this! How much junk can you possibly fit into that warehouse?!"

"Let's see…" Yuko said, thinking while tapping her chin with one slender finger. "A lot!"

"YEAH I THINK I NOTICED THAT!" Watanuki shouted, waving her cloth duster in the air. "Do you realize that you're a pack rat!? You don't even need half this stuff anyway!" Yuko just smiled her I-drank-three-bottles-of-sake-while-you-were-out smile and it ticked the raven off. She spun around the randomly opened a box. "Porcelain dishes thrown into a box at random and there's dust covering everything! If you're going to keep all this stuff can't you at least TAKE CARE OF IT?!" The girl started wacking the objects around her with an old gray kimono coat and then took to the cleaning with a vengeance, her duster acting out her frenzy as a cloud of dust rose into the air. "De-de-de-de-de!" Yuko just watched, a sweat drop running down her head.

"Hey! What is this?" Watanuki asked grabbing a weird black ball.

"Mokona!~" The pork bun unwrapped with a pop and Watanuki screamed in surprise and threw the creature high into the air. The fur ball came crashing down and started hopping around the menagerie of objects cackling at the flailing girl.

"What are you doing in there?! You could break something!" Watanuki chased after the mokona, determined to catch it and roast it.

"Ha! Ha!" Mokona taunted. Watanuki ran after it, passing by Maru and Moro beating dust out of a rug with Yuko's red bat and Fai's blue and gold wing staff. She caught the fur ball as it jumped into the air and nearly squeezed the life out of it when it cackled at being caught. Watanuki looked up and saw the twins with the rug a few moments later. They were dressed in their summer attire: both in short dresses with their respective angle and devil theme and neither was wearing shoes or socks.

"Hey! Be careful! You'll damage it if you hit it too hard!" Watanuki cautioned the twins. And then she noticed that one of the white butterflies decorating the red rug was flying around. Maru would take a swing at the butterfly with the red back and then her pink haired twin would try to catch it with the staff, both girls missing with each swing. "It's moving!" Watanuki stared wide-eyed at the butterfly.

"You can't blame it," Yuko said, walking over. "I'm sure the butterfly just doesn't want to be hit."

"I understand, " Watanuki started, waving the hand that wasn't holding Mokona. "It's just that normal patterns on carpet don't move." But nothing about this place is normal, she thought. I should not be surprised, I should be used to things like this by now!

"Well, yes, but I got it as compensation for a job a while back. I do hope the butterfly doesn't escape. Then it will just be a normal carpet again." Yuko said, pouting just a tiny bit.

"Do you own anything normal?" Watanuki asked bluntly, looking at the spread of boxes and vases and chests that littered the courtyard. "Or is everything like that?"

"That depends on what you mean by 'like that.'" Yuko and Watanuki's eyes panned around the storehouse's contents. "My storehouse is out of the ordinary, yes." The butterfly in the carpet got fed up with bats and staffs being swung at it and decided to float off the carpet, peeling its existence into the air and fluttering away. The twins ran after it, trying to pin it down and laughing the whole time.

"Then don't you think you should be taking better care of it?" Watanuki asked with a disdainful gaze, swiping her finger across a box and rubbing off the dust that clung to her skin.

" I do maintenance once in a while."

"Like this?"

"Calm down. All of these things are just here to rest. To wait for the time when they will be needed to change hands again." Yuko and her slave looked at the lamps, vases, boxes, bottles, books, chairs and other assorted objects and Watanuki was once again astounded by how much junk the witch had hung on to. "I provide them with temporary housing, that's all."

"Housing?" The girl asked.

"Yes, that's right." Yuko picked up a compact and clicked it open. Inside was a beautiful black butterfly design, much like Yuko herself. "Most of these things will pass onto other people eventually. Whether or not their new owners are prepared or not for what they will receive." The witch finished up ominously, staring into the compact.

"Excuse me?" A woman's voice called from behind the pair and the mokona. Yuko and Watanuki turned to see who it was. She was a brunette, wearing a green, three-quarters sleeved shirt and white pants. She looked familiar to Watanuki, but the girl couldn't place her. "I was wondering if I could take a look at these things here. I'm doing a study of folklore and I visit antique shops and individual homes for material. I understand that people are reluctant to part with antiques, but I can learn a lot just by looking at them for a while. That's why I stopped by: to have a look. I won't be a nuisance."

"Of course," Yuko said, taking a few steps forward, smiling mysteriously. "I never stand in the way of that which is inevitable." Watanuki's eyes widened at Yuko's favorite word not dealing with alcohol. I always get a bad feeling when she uses inevitable in a sentence. It makes me think that something bad's going to happen or its one of those "life lesson" times. "So which object caught your attention?" The lady instantly walked over to a small, wooden dresser and picked up the object sitting on top of it. It was a bluish-white tube with a cord knotted around the top and flowering designs raised on the surface.

"This one!" She exclaimed, holding the object with both hands. "What is it? Do you know?"

"What do you think it is?" Yuko asked, her feline voice purring.

"It looks like some sort of artifact, but I can't be sure." The woman turned the tube this way and that, studying it and then shook it, hearing a rattling inside. "Is there something inside of it?"

"Yes." That was Yuko's warning voice, the voice that she used on Watanuki when she was in a bad mood or the one she used for those life lesson moments.

"Do you think I could borrow this for a few days? I can't help but feel that there's something special about it!"

"I'd advise you against it." Yuko cautioned.

"Oh," the woman's face dropped. "Is it very valuable?" Her eyes were shining with a curious light, and the obvious disappointment on her face did nothing to curb it.

"No, it's not." Yuko shook her head. "Not really. You may borrow it, but listen to this warning and listen carefully: don't open it. Don't ever look inside." The woman thanked Yuko profusely and whisked herself away after saying goodbye. And then Yuko pestered her employee to get back to cleaning and Watanuki reluctantly obeyed, grumbling the whole time she's dusting and wiping down all of the witch's stuff. The sun climbed into the sky and then sunk down below the buildings of Tokyo as the day dragged on. As the sky turns orange with sunset, Watanuki looked up from trudging back and forth from the garden to the storehouse and then looked at Yuko. The witch was smoking her pipe, the ashtray set next to her thigh.

"Do you think she'll listen?" Watanuki asked, thinking about their visitor from earlier that day. Yuko turned her head towards the seer. "I mean that woman from earlier. Do you think she'll open it?"

"Who knows?" Yuko replied, setting down her pipe. "Could you tell? Were you able to sense the presence inside that container?"

"Nope. Not at all." She answered.

"Good. Then at least I know it was sealed properly."

"You think there's something dangerous inside it?" Watanuki asked, her concern showing through her voice. "Then don't you think we should let her know exactly what she's getting into?"

"It's only dangerous if she doesn't heed my admonition. If she does open it, then I'm afraid she's on her own. I gave her a warning. But she's the type of person who never learned how to listen." Watanuki nodded and then continued walking back and forth between the garden and storehouse, putting Yuko's treasure trove back into the building, hopefully a little more organized then when she first saw it. Of course, Watanuki didn't know how she'd organized the collection, but it didn't really matter, everything fit back inside and that was most of the job anyway. She cooked Yuko's dinner with minimal fuss and left the shop for the evening, walking home just as the stars twinkled on. The next day, her class was on cleaning duty for their floor after school and she'd gotten stuck cleaning the hallway with Doumeki.

"Don't think I'm out here with you because I want to be!" Watanuki snarled as she grabbed the broom and stalked into the hallway. "I'm still mad at you for kissing me!" She hissed, softly enough that only Doumeki could hear her. Imagine if anyone else knew! I'd be targeted by all of his fangirls and I'd never live it down because I've professed to just about everyone in the school how much I hate him!

"The thought never crossed my mind." The archer replied, but the glint in his eye told her otherwise.

"Yeah, I bet it didn't!" Watanuki turned with a huff, her green skirt flying up behind her and started sweeping. "Just get to work." Doumeki shrugged at the girl's rude attitude and started wiping the windows down, always staying within four feet of her sweeping. He shut up and she shut up and Watanuki quickly forgot that Doumeki was there, instead, she opted to hum to herself, backing up with sweep the hallway. She kept walking backwards until she hit something…well, actually, someone, knocking whatever was in their arms to the floor and letting the broom she was holding clatter to the floor as well.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Watanuki apologized as she bent down to pick up the fallen books and notes.

"Oh, hi! It's you!" Watanuki looked up, the voice talking to her sounding very familiar. It was the brunette from yesterday, only this time she was in a blush pink women's suit and skirt and looked like a teacher. "You were at the shop I went to yesterday!"

"Uh huh." Watanuki said, confused by the woman's presence.

"So I guess this is your school! I start tomorrow as a student teacher. What a coincidence!" The lady stood up and the seer stood up too, handing back the books she'd knocked out of the woman's hands. "Small world, huh?" Watanuki just nodded dumbly. "I'm so glad I happened to pass by that shop yesterday."

"Yeah, wu-yeah." Was all the raven could manage, hardly getting in a word edgewise. The woman searched around her bag for a moment and pulled out the container from yesterday.

"This artifact drew me in somehow. I still don't know what's inside, but it feels like it has its own energy." Her words triggered Watanuki's worries from yesterday, her eyes narrowing in worry, her eyebrows knit with concern.

"Yeah, I just wanted to say-" Watanuki started, but was cut off by the woman's cell phone going off. She reached into her bag again and opened the phone, taking the call and ignoring the girl in front of her.

"Hello? Yes, professor. Yes. I'm on my way to start on some research for my thesis." The lady walked away with her phone call. Watanuki was distracted by a pair of hands by her butt.

"What are you doing?!" She screeched, whirling towards Doumeki who had just pulled her skirt down.

"You're skirt was caught on your shirt and everyone could see you panties. The strawberries are cute." The archer didn't want anyone to see Watanuki's panties, her skirt flying up when she'd bumped into the teacher, so he'd graciously tugged the offending fabric down, only to get yelled at in the process. Watanuki blushed, but couldn't really get mad at him for peeking because he did help her, but he did peek and she should get mad but he'd just saved her the embarrassment of having everyone else see her panties besides him but-oh it was so confusing!

"What's that tube she has?" Doumeki asked, effectively distracting the infuriated raven haired girl.

"I have no idea, but she got if from Yuko's shop yesterday." Watanuki informed, worried again as the woman continued talking to her superior.

"Well, she seems eager to open it." Doumeki shrugged.

"Why's that?" Watanuki asked.

"She said she still doesn't know what's inside it. Makes it seem like she's trying to find out."

Doumeki's logic was sound and that's what worried the seer.

"Yes, I'll definitely be on time! I'll see you then!" The woman hung up the phone and Watanuki took her chance.

"Uh, excuse me…"

"I need to get going. Bye then!" The woman turned around and took off down the stairs, Watanuki's hand still outstretched towards her.

"No! Hey! Don't go!" She ran towards the stairs and swung around the corner to watch the teacher run into Wari, who was coming up the stairs at the time. They bumped into each other at the landing and the tube fell out of the woman's hand. They all watched it fly into the air and Wari reached down and caught it in his hand. Then, one of two weird things happened: the tube rippled, its appearance fluctuating and then settling back into a solid object.

"I'm sorry." Wari apologized, handing back the tube to the teacher. She took it back in her hand and then the second strange thing happened: the cord unwound itself and fell limp, the canister sliding open and releasing a cloud of black smoke that Watanuki guessed only she could see.

"It opened!" The seer gasped in horror and surprise as she dashed down the stairs.

"It's just sticks." The woman said, looking at what was inside. Watanuki saw what looked like a shriveled up, brown, wrinkly hand wrapped up in white cloth, the image of an eye sewn into the fabric. The woman's eyebrows scrunched together and then rose in surprise. "Wait! This could be a Monkey's Paw!" (1)

"A Monkey's Paw?!" Watanuki whispered, her eyes wide.

"I've seen a picture of one in a book. In folklore, it's an item that grants wishes."

"Uh, yeah, okay. But how can you be sure it's not a fake?" Watanuki asked. Doumeki walked down to where everyone else was, one hand in his pants pocket and came to stand next to Watanuki.

"I can't say for sure. At first I thought it was an ancient talisman that had been passed down for centuries but now I think it's something even more extraordinary! I'll need to do some tests to verify its authenticity, of course, but I already know in my gut that this is the real thing!"

"I wouldn't do that…" Watanuki said quietly.

"How about this: I wish for it to rain from now until tonight." The woman said, looking right at Watanuki. There was a snap from the Monkey's Paw and a sharp wind blew up, snagging leaves off the trees outside. A few seconds later, the sky darkened and a shower started. In a few minutes, it was pouring and everyone at school was complaining that they hadn't brought umbrellas today because it was sunny and they were going to get soaked. The teacher had left long ago and so had Wari, but Watanuki was still on the staircase, sitting with her head in her hands and her rival at her side.

"Oh, just go away Doumeki." She sighed.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked back, tilting his head down to try and see her face.

"I'm not the one in trouble this time." Watanuki admitted, worried about that teacher. She sat for a few minutes longer and then stood, leaving without so much as a goodbye to her classmate.

"So, she caused this rain?" Yuko asked when Watanuki finally made it to the shop, lounging on the porch in her red and purple moon kimono as it continued to pour.

"Yeah." Watanuki answered, kneeling on the floor and toweling off her wet hair.

"Well, given the power of that object I suppose it would be easy enough to do."

"The Monkey's Paw…is it real?" The seer asked. Yuko poured herself another glass of whiskey and topped off Mokona's cup as well.

"Yes, it is. But she's not compatible with it." Yuko pick up her cup and downed the contents.

"Not compatible? So it only works for some people?"

"It grants anyone's wish, but the outcome varies. She falsely assumed she could control it."

"If she isn't able to control it…what will happen to her?" Watanuki asked, dragging the towel off her wild hair.

"That really depends on her. Whatever happens, there's no turning back for her now." Yuko finished ominously.

The next day was sunny, all trace of the rain evaporating with the good weather.

"Hello!" Watanuki sang as she slid open the door to her classroom. She received no reply from anyone, everyone in the room to busy talking about something.

"Oh, hey! How are you?" Wari asked the girl as she walked up, looking at all the clusters of students in the classroom. Watanuki smiled brightly for her crush, noticing just how perfect his white, short sleeved shirt was pressed and how cute his short curls looked to day with his radiant smile.

"Wari! Good morning! Did something happen?" Watanuki asked, looking at her gossiping classmates again.

"It's strange. All the water in the pool's disappeared." The boy answered and Watanuki walked over to the window to look outside and sure enough, the pool was empty and there was a crowd down there looking at it too.

Now, if someone had been a fly on the wall, they would've noticed that one student teacher was looking at the pool like all the others, standing outside the chain link fence and then walked off. If they would've followed that student teacher into the school and to the Music Preparation Room where all the instruments were stored, they would've noticed that she went in and locked the room behind her. Then, they would've seen her kneel on the floor and pull something out of her purse and open it. And then they would've heard her speak.

"I need to test it out again." The woman said, looking at the Monkey's Paw. "That rainstorm could've been a fluke. Something impossible…" She thought for a moment. "I know! What about the mirror I couldn't afford in the antique shop? I know there's a great history behind it but they won't come down on the price. I wish for that mirror." There was a snap and then a clank as something fell to the floor behind the woman. She turned around saw a teal shine on the opposite end of the room. She stood up and then laughed with joy as she knelt to pick up the mirror she'd wished for. It looked like a flower with a square and diamond design on the back accented with red stones. "This is the mirror! There's no doubt! This is amazing!" The woman looked at the Monkey's Paw.

"It looks like two of the fingers are broken." She noticed, the tips jutting out to the right. "I get it! For each of my wishes that the Monkey's Paw grants, a finger is broken and there are two: one for the rain and one for the mirror." I'd advise you against it. Yuko's voice sounded in her head, but she just shook it off. "It'll be fine. I'll show you I can handle this with no problem!" A black smoke that the woman couldn't see crept out of the tube and crawled along the floor, flooding the room with thick clouds of foreboding stink and evil aura.

Now, if that same fly on the wall was perched in Yuko's show, they would've heard the phone ring in the late morning, waking the shop's mistress from her beauty sleep. Yuko was still buried under her pillows and blankets, her pale hand snaking out to snag the phone out of its cradle by her bedside and disappearing under the blankets once again.

"Hello?" She answered sleepily. "Oh, hi! It's good to hear from you." A pause. "Yes, I had a feeling it might head your way. It flew away from here the day before yesterday. I know, I think the butterfly is just more comfortable in your shop." She was talking about the butterfly from the rug who'd escaped the day that Watanuki cleaned the storehouse. Yuko's free hand shot out of the sheets and pulled them off of her body, the witch emerging from her cocoon. "It's gone? The mirror's been stolen. I see. It must've been very difficult for someone to acquire that. Yes, of course. I'd be happy to look into its disappearance for you. I think I have a few ideas. Just be patient for a little while longer. There can be no turning back for the person responsible." Yuko said goodbye and hung up the phone.

The next time Watanuki saw the woman with the Monkey's Paw, she was standing in the hallway with Doumeki, arguing over something stupid, but she shut up once Doumeki wasn't paying attention to her and saw what he was looking at. The teacher walked up to the pair, smiling cheerfully.

"Hello again!" She greeted them.

"You seem to be in a really good mood." Watanuki commented.

"You can tell?" She asked, still smiling. The woman giggled and smiled brighter. "I got something I've been wanting for a really long time."

"What's that?" Doumeki asked.

"It's this antique mirror I've had my eye on but could never afford. I've been dying for a chance to study it." She leaned in closer to the pair, her eyes alight with a mischievous glint. "So I asked the Monkey's Paw for it." Watanuki cringed at the mention of the paw. "It was amazing! Right after I wished for it the mirror appeared! It's just like I thought: this is the real thing!"

The woman held out the paw and opened the container. A cloud of black smoke slithered out and wrapped around her and the things closest to her. Watanuki cringed again and her hand flew up to plug her nose as the stink of burned animal hair, decay and garbage reached her nose. She could feel Doumeki's eyes on her, studying her reactions.

"I noticed that whenever a wish is granted, one of the finger's breaks. Since two of them are broken, it means I still have three wishes left!" The teacher informed them, nearly giddy with excitement.

"But, wait…that's-" Watanuki tried to spit out her own warning, but Doumeki stepped in front of Watanuki, like he was trying to protect her from the evil presence of the Monkey's Paw with his pure aura.

"You know how the legend goes, don't you? Horrible things happen to whoever uses the Monkey's Paw." Doumeki stated, getting Watanuki's warning out more eloquently than she could. Just another reason to hate him, the seer grumbled mentally.

"Oh please, that's just another old story." The teacher smiled confidently, sliding the container shut. That's rich, coming from someone who studies folklore! "I've got this under control!" And with that, she turned on her heel and walked down the hallway without another word, a happy bounce in her step and two very unhappy children in her wake. Watanuki told Yuko what she had learned when she went to work later that afternoon. The witch was flower arranging in a teal and dark blue striped kimono, her hair up in a fantastic bun as she listened to the girl sitting on her floor.

"Something cannot be born from nothing." Yuko said after listening, clipping the stem of a huge pink flower and placing it on the arrangement bowl. Maru handed her the next flower, sitting with Moro by their mistress. "For every wish that must be granted, proper compensation must be paid. For everything given, something else is taken away." Moro handed another flower to Maru who handed it to Yuko.

"So you're saying the water from the pool was used to make it rain?" Watanuki asked.

"Probably. That would be my guess."

"And the mirror?"

"I received a call from a friend of mine who owns and antique shop. It seems a precious mirror of hers has gone missing. It disappeared recently from her shop." Watanuki sighed in disappointment of that teacher's behavior.

"So what do you think will happen to her? Wil she be alright?"

"You can't do anything to help her." Yuko stated firmly.

"Why not?" The witch brandished her current pink flower like a staff or a sword, pointing it at Watanuki's face harshly.

"The real question is: how long until we can eat that cake you're baking?" The girl flipped out at the reminder, standing up in a hurried mess and running out the door.

"The cake! I completely forgot about it!" She threw the doors open and ran down the hallway to the kitchen.

"Time for cake!~ Time for cake!~" Maru and Moro chanted, running down the hall after the seer. Yuko was left all alone for the moment and quietly placed the next flower in her arrangement.

"The object has been given freedom, and there is no one with the power to stop it. No owner truly owns it and there's no telling where this will end." She held up another flower right below her nose, the petals cupping her face as she sat under the butterfly ceiling of her home.

Now, pretend that that fly on the wall is back and it's in the library, watching a certain young woman with a certain artifact writing her thesis and failing at it. She's furiously scribbling on her notepad, but isn't making much progress when her phone goes off. She takes it and leaves the quiet study area for the hallway, answering her phone on route.

"Yes, things are moving slower than planned, but I'll definitely finish on time." She spoke into her phone. "No, don't worry. I've got it under control." (But her voice doesn't sound controlled or calm at all.) "Yes," she says unhappily after a particularly long pause and hangs up. The woman sighs and walks back to her desk space and her very, very short thesis paper to begin writing again. After just a few pen strokes, she's clapping her hands to her head in frustration.

"This thesis is so conventional!" She hisses, displeased with her work. She looks around, trying to calm herself and looks at her paper. This thesis is the most important thing I have ever written. It will determine my standing in the field! I don't want it to be like every other paper on folklore! It has to be original…impressive! Like nothing anyone has ever written before! The woman looks in her bag and sees the Monkey's Paw, just waiting for her to use it. She picks it up and if she could see it, black smoke creeps out of the canister even though it's not open. She smiles and knows exactly what to do.

The next day at school, Watanuki's class is having timed trials for running in gym and she's determined to beat Doumeki this time! They were lined up at the start point, a group kids from her class and Doumeki standing right next to her. The gun went off and the two of them are flying down the track. Watanuki used all her strength and speed to keep up and Doumeki looked like he wasn't even breaking a sweat. That pissed her off. They crossed the finish line one right after the other, Watanuki just two steps and a tumble behind Doumeki as she clumsily skidded to a stop. The girl sank to the ground, tired from the sprint and she gave a sly glance to Doumeki (who was standing up with his hands on his hips and wasn't even breathing very heavily) as Watanuki panted. She growled and was about to hiss at him when Wari walked up.

"Hey guys!" Watanuki sprang to her feet faster than the blink of an eye, smiling happily and clapped her hands together.

"Oh hi, Wari!" She gushed.

"You guys are fast!" The boy complimented, referring both to Watanuki and Doumeki (just to keep it fair).

"Oh! You saw?" Watanuki played dumb like she hadn't been trying to impress anyone. "He normally doesn't run that fast!" She pointed to the boy behind her, trying to puff herself up in front of her crush.

"Shut up. I just didn't want to make you look bad." Doumeki replied, (telling the truth this time and not just trying to rile up the seer). "I was keeping you company."

"Don't give me that, 'you're so slow you make a snail look fast' bit! I can outrun you any day!" Watanuki snapped, clenching her fists up by her neck to look threatening. Wari laughed at the two of them and he was joined by another person laughing very loudly. The trio turned and saw the lady with the Monkey's Paw giggling to herself, smiling like a lunatic in the middle of gym class.

"What's that all about?" Wari asked. The woman's phone went off in her pocket and she dashed across the track to get out of the way so she could pick it up.

"Hello?" She answered. "Yes? Right! Yes! Thanks so much, professor! Yes! Yeah. See you later!" She snapped her phone shut and grinned like a monkey that had just stolen someone else's bananas.

"Sounds like good news!" Wari commented, drawing the teacher's attention to their little group.

"My professor says he's very impressed with my thesis!" She bragged. "This is awesome! He said it was the best he's ever read!"

"Congratulations!"

"He said he's even going to show it to a publisher! If everything goes well after that I could be published by the end of the year!" She was too happy for Watanuki's taste, especially if she had an artifact that grants wishes and she's already stolen a mirror with it.

"Wow! That's great!" Wari was still cheerful, even as Watanuki and Doumeki watched, one getting m ore and more worried and the other acting impassive.

"The Monkey's Paw gave me all the materials I needed to write a truly great paper. Once I had the mirror, all it took was a little extra research!"

"Remember the legend, this may not be as good as you think." Doumeki warned softly, but the teacher wasn't listening and Watanuki was truly beginning to see (and believe) what Yuko said about her not listening.

"I only have two wishes left. I need to use them wisely."

"They Monkey's Paw looks scary." Wari commented. "Are you sure it's okay to use it? It might be really dangerous."

"It's not dangerous for me to use," The woman reassured, her ego getting in the way of her common sense. "There's a reason that I found it. I think it wants me to use it!" Okay, did she just hear what came out of her mouth? Watanuki checked her smiling face. Nope. She didn't notice how creepy that sounded. Doumeki turned his head away, his eye brows tilted in frustration and gave up trying to warn the woman. She was too far gone. But Watanuki wasn't giving up just yet.

"But, maybe you shouldn't-!" Watanuki started.

"It's fine!" Why do people keep interrupting me?! "Sure, it's harmed others, but it won't hurt me." Watanuki let the subject drop, the uneasy feeling inside of her roiling up into her throat as the woman walked off to help with gym class.

Now, the fly on the wall is back and this time it's with Yuko, not long after the conversation during gym class. Yuko was standing in the storehouse, looking at all of her newly cleaned treasures and thinking about the Monkey's Paw, the one that got away. She though that Watanuki did a really good job at cleaning up, even the wide walkway between shelves and shelves of the objects was swept and mopped. She smoothed out a nonexistent wrinkle in her purple dress and fixed the huge red flowing on her choker.

"Every person who has found that object thought they owned it. Unfortunately for them, it is inevitably the other way around." Yuko started walking down the storehouse's hallway, leaving the vases she was looking at to their post. "The Monkey's Paw always seeks control…and finds it. But of course, the woman doesn't realize this. She began her journey with her eyes closed…she is no longer in control of her destination." Yuko walked out of the storeroom and the little fly followed her and then escaped out a cracked window to fly above the city. The next destination it was headed too was the train station a good distance from the shop. The little fly buzzed above the crowds at the station, making sure not to get hit by someone swinging a magazine or a newspaper at it. The fly whirred over to clock and stuck to its face, looking around. It would've seen a woman dressed in yellow with gray pants running, her heels clacking on the ground. If the fly kept paying attention, the woman would skid to a halt at a specific platform and looked at her watch, frowning and biting her lip.

"Oh no! I can't believe I over slept!" She grumbled to herself, looking at the train schedule posted on the electronic boards. The green and yellow clock face read 7:26 am and the digital clock said 7:37 so something was wrong with one of them and she didn't have time to be confused about the time. Today is the last day of classes and that means that my class is supposed to be observed by the principal. The woman worried and then the intercom notification sounded and she listened to the announcement fearfully. Nothing else could go wrong. It just couldn't.

"The express train expecting to leave from platform one is having delays." The woman's mood plummeted, checking her watch again to calculate time. Great, now I'm really going to be late now. The clock moved one minute forward. The woman bit her thumbnail in agitation. If there was an accident that delayed the train the principal would understand! I could prove this wasn't my fault and surely she'd let me pass! A snap came from the woman's bag and her eyes widened in horror, looking down. The woman next to her took a shakey step forward and tripped, falling onto the track. It all happened int slow motion as the teacher watched it all happen, the flow of her hair, the graceful way she fell…that is, until the train hit her. Then everything sped up as the tain zoomed by, taking the unfortunate victim with it, her blood smeared all over the tracks. The train screeched to a halt as fast as it could and everyone was screaming. The teacher was still, in shock and horror. She looked down and saw a long pink heeled shoe lying on its side right next to her. She thought about the pool water, the mirror and now…

"Oh no!" She gasped, pulling out the Monkey's Paw and trembling as she held it. "Did-did that count as one of my wishes?!" She stuffed the thing back into her bag and cowered as rescue and police teams swarmed the platform in response to the accident. People were herded away and sent to other platforms for transportation as the accident was dealt with. The teaher was one of those people, corralled onto another train after being questioned and then sent on her way. She arrived to school hours late and was immediately called to the principal's office to expain her tardiness. She told the principal about the accident and why she was late, her harried and shaken appearance helping her plea. She left the office with a "Thank you for understanding," and scurried down the hallway, biting her nail again.

Watanuki, Doumeki and Wari were in the hall at the time and saw the teacher. Watanuki also saw that there were little puffs of black smoke following the woman and she clicked down the hall. The seer plugged her nose as the teacher flew by, smelling like blood and burned dog hair, ignoring Wari's greeting and disappearing around the corner.

"Something's wrong with her." Doumeki noted.

"So you can tell?" Watanuki asked, coughing.

"I can't see what you're seeing, if that's what you mean. But I can tell something's different."

"Now that you mention it, she does look worried." Wari added.

"And I think it's more than her final exams that are bothering her." Doumeki finished.

She was in the Music Room again, crouching on the ground and holding the Monkey's Paw container open, peering inside.

"There's only one left!" The teacher said as she saw the fourth finger broken. "I was only thinking it…I didn't mean for it to count as a real wish!" Her phone when off and she took it out of her bag to answer it. It was her professor. She sank to the ground and listened to what he had to say.

"Professor?" A pause. Her face dropped. "There's been a misunderstanding." Another pause. She sprang to her feet, her voice going up half and octave as the conversation went on. "No! Wait! I didn't steal anything! Yes, I was in the library that day doing research…but I wouldn't take someone else's materials!" Another pause. "It's the truth! How do you know that that paper was the original?! Have you considered the possibility that they were the one who copied from me?!" Her eyes went wide as the professor went on. "They…submitted all their notes to you…over two weeks ago?!"

The woman looked down and for the first time she saw the black smoke creeping out of the container, swirling around her hands like possessive little snake. She nearly screamed and dropped the Monkey's Paw, holding her phone tightly as the case clanked on the floor.

"Please, wait! Professor?! What about publishing?!" She was desperate to prove her innocence now, pleading that she wasn't in the wrong, still concerned about career even at this moment. He hung up, the busy signal resonating through the room, in her bones. She was finished. The teacher let her arm go limp, her cell phone crashing to the ground and skittering off. She felt an ominous presence in the room, clouding up her vision her mind.

"Does this mean that someone is going to realize that the accident this morning was my fault too?!" She whispered, horrified at the possibility. She remembered the woman at the train station bumping her shoulder and she'd gotten mad (whether the memory was true or not she believed it). "I pushed the woman standing next to me. So that means…the police are…" Her eyes were wide, her face twitched, a sort of madness overtaking her. Someone was banging on the door now, the loud knocks startling the teacher. Her eyes went even wider in fear as the banging continued. She looked at the shaking door, the hinges squeaking in protest to whoever was trying to barge in and get her. She trembled on the spot, completely terrified. The police! They're coming to get me! The door knob jiggled harshly, clanking and rattling as it was forced to turn this was and that.

"NO! Stop it! No more!" She screamed, grabbing her head and cowering. She glanced down and saw the Monkey's Paw sitting on the floor, out of its container. She rushed for it, snatching it off the floor and holding it up. "Do something now! This is because of you! I just want to disappear! Just make me disappear!" She yelled, commanding the Monkey's Paw to do something…anything!

The last finger snapped.

A black smoke tentacle curled out from the break as the seal bandage fall away. The Monkey's Paw fixed all its fingers and flexed them, readying for the last wish. The five fingers reached for the woman's throat, grabbing and squeezing as hard as they could. She couldn't scream, she couldn't breathe, her neck nearly snapping with the force of the paw's grip. The woman grabbed at the paw with both hands, trying to pry it off and get some air but it wouldn't let go, no matter how hard she scratched and clawed. She was running out of time, running out of air in her lungs. She fell backwards, her eyes bugging out, her face turning blue. One of her hands reached up, trying to grab anything. She tried to scream, but there was no air now. Her brain was telling her to get air but she couldn't and her body convulsed on the floor in agony. Her lips were blue, her organs and lungs deprived of the oxygen they needed to function. The banging on the door continued, someone still trying to break in. She waved her hand in one last ditch effort to do something, anything. She was suffocating and the Monkey's Paw just gripped her tighter, snapping her neck like she'd snapped its fingers. Her hand fell, and she disappeared from the world.

Outside the room, two girls were quietly, politely knocking on the door, trying to get in. Watanuki, Doumeki and Wari were walking down that hall at the time and saw the girls.

"What's the matter?" Wari asked as they walked up.

"Isn't that door unlocked?" Watanuki asked.

"No." One of the girls replied.

"It should be open during the day," Doumeki added, shoving his hands into his pockets as Watanuki fiddled with her skirt.

"Here. Let me try." Wari walked up to the door and barely touched the knob when the door creaked open. "That's odd." Watanuki walked over and looked in. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the room, just the instruments and a cell phone somebody must've dropped. Doumeki hummed in question as he looked in too. "I wonder why it wouldn't open." Wari asked, looking at Watanuki. The girl shrugged and Wari closed the door again and walked off. They began walking down the hallway again, Doumeki ordering Watanuki to make sushi for tomorrow's lunch and the girl flew off the handle, the stress of finals and the Monkey's Paw business finally getting her to lose it.

Back at the shop, Yuko was taking a phone call.

"I see. Well, I'm glad it showed up." She said into the phone. "Alright. Goodbye." The witched hung up the phone, pleased that the missing mirror had been returned. But she did have a suspicion as to who – or what – had returned it. She walked down the hallway and into the storehouse, her purple, sleeveless dress flutterin behind her. She walked over to and empty spot on a shelf and noticed that it wasn't empty anymore.

"So, you're back." She said to the Monkey's Paw, talking hold of the open container with both hands. "It's over then. You always win in the end…don't you?" Yuko looked down at the whole paw and sighed. She lifted up her right hand and pointed, a glowing white ribbon materializing and whinding around her and the Monkey's Paw, her hair billowing with it. "People are always more likely to do something once it's been forbidden. And after they've crossed that line…there's no telling what they are capable of doing to get what it is they want. The things for which a person wishes often reveal more about them than they'd like." The ribbon moved in the air with Yuko's long locks, dipping and weaving in an intricate dance. And then it hooked onto the Monkey's Paw, wrapping itself around the artifact and pulling the rest of itself in until all of it was encasing the paw.

"Hello!" Watanuki called from the entryway, opening the door just as Yuko finished. The witch smiled and sighed, putting down the container on its stand.

"Oh well." She walked out of the storehouse and shut the doors behind her. In the darkness, the container started to move. It slid shut ever so slowly until it hit the edge of the container, and then clicked closed, securing its prize for the next owner.

Sometimes that's just the price you have to pay.

Nobody ever saw that student teacher ever again. It was as if she'd disappeared.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

"Hi, Watanuki!" Wari said as the school bell rang for class.

"Oh hi, Wari!" The seer looked up from her school bag to greet the cute boy. "What's going on?"

"I was wondering if you knew about something called the red string of fate." The boy asked.

"Sorry? The red string of what now?" Wari held up his right pinky finger and started to explain.

"It's a theory that suggests that soul mates are connected eternally by a red string tied around their pinkies." Watanuki leaned in closer, trying to see this string that Wari was talking about, but failed to do so, even with her second sight. "It's from this book. I was reading it last night." Wari reached into his bag and pulled out the book to show Watanuki.

A book about soul mates? The girl wondered, striking a thinking pose with her hand on her chin, glasses glinting intelligently. I wonder why Wari decided to show this book to me instead of one of his guy friends. Maybe because it's not very many or some such idiocy as that. And then the perfect thought hit her. No…could it be that this is an indirect confession?! Watanuki blushed and clapped her hands to her face in Watanuki fashion, flowers blooming all around her as she shook her head in delight. He's too shy to come out and say it so he disguised in a philosophical discussion! At last! Wari sees what I've always known! We're meant to be together! He's saying that our pinkies are connected by the red string of fate! Watanuki was off in her own little world and didn't notice a disturbance in the Force until it spoke.

"The pinky has been long considered to have a direct, even mystical connection to the heart." Doumeki explained. Watanuki's happy face vanished, her smiled dropping into a pit of despair, and the twinkle in her eyes flickering out like a candle. She groaned out loud as the turned and say the boy standing next to her.

"Come on!" The girl jumped back, her arms flailing into the air as she recoiled. Every time I make some progress with Wari, this guy shows up! The raven was crying in bitter disappointment, hiding her tears behind her arm. Then a huge cross vein formed on her head, signaling an imminent explosion of fury and rage. "Doumeki…" The girl growled threateningly, her teeth raring to rip out this throat and her clenched fists ready to punch his face in. And Doumeki did what Doumeki was prone to do: keep explaining.

"It is from this connection that the idea of the red string of fate originated as that which binds certain individuals to each other." The archer finished up his explanation while holding up his pinky finger.

"That's amazing!" Wari complimented, walking over to stand near his classmate.

"Wari…!" Watanuki whimpered, tears running down her face.

"Centuries ago," Doumeki started again, "Noble women who were forced into arranged marriges would cut off their left pinkies and bestow them upon the men they truly loved." Watanuki jumped back again, horrified, and Wari's face fell.

"Ah! That's awful." The seer said, holding up her left pinky and then shoving it behind her back, her face turning blue. "They just cut them off!?"

"Yes, that way, the string that bound them to their soul mate wouldn't be betrayed. It's from this custom that the pinky promise began." Doumeki went on.

"Wow, Doumeki you sure do know a lot about this stuff? Hoping to impress some lucky girl?" Wari teased. Watanuki shuddered inside and wondered by Wari was so nice to that jerk and pitying the girl who Doumeki might be trying to impress.

"My grandfather was a priest. He used to tell me folktales and all kinds of weird stuff."

"Your grandpa? That's really cool! He must be an interesting man!" Wari smiled cutely. Watanuki's heart shriveled up and fell out of her chest. It was time to cut in on their little conversation.

"So you're saying that you believe in the red string of fate, Wari?" Watanuki asked coyly, pushing and elbowing Doumeki behind her as she took center stage with her crush. "You really believe that soul mates whose pinkies are forever connected by a bit of colored yarn?" The question was said in a slightly sarcastic, mostly serious way.

"Yep!" Watanuki fell over in disbelief, grabbing her hair like a crazy woman and gasping as she crashed to the floor.

"It might be kind of girly, but two people destined to be together for all of eternity, nothing's more romantic that that." Wari gave his cute smile again. Watanuki's head popped up.

"You're right. That's true! Of course!" Watanuki beamed as she stood up and elbowed Doumeki back another step, turning to hiss at him. "Go away." And then she sighed in relief, the conversation officially interrupted with her mad skills. And by mad skills…she meant clumsiness. And then Doumeki was pointing at something.

"Watanuki, your skirt's folded over again." He stated calmly. The girl's face lit up like a sunburn as she froze in place. "The pink ruffles are okay, but I think I like the blue lacy ones better."

"Doumeki shut up!" Watanuki threw her hands onto her butt and yanked down her skirt. Thankfully, Wari didn't see and the class was so used to Watanuki yelling at Doumeki that none of them were really paying any attention to anything she said. The seer wheeled on the archer, glaring holes into his head and was about to rip him a new asshole when the teacher called the class to order and everyone rushed to their seats, soul mate and underwear conversations suspended for the time being.

Wari, Doumeki and Watanuki spent the lunch period outside, enjoying the warm afternoon and their short sleeved shirts to the fullest. It would've been quieter though if Watanuki stopped snapping at Doumeki for every little thing and if Wari would stop giggling at their so called "comedy routine" and agitating the seer and Doumeki only made it worse when he made his requests for tomorrow's lunch. By the end of the day, Watanuki was all Doumekied out and was glad to be rid of him as she went to her job and he was to his club practice. The only bad part was that Wari had French Club and couldn't walk with the raven haired girl. She distracted herself from this absence by going over what she needed to do at work today so Yuko didn't nag her for everything.

Okay…so today I'll need to do laundry, and then I can get started on dinner…I wonder if she'll want – Watanuki's train of thought was interrupted by a very loud argument involving a girl and her boyfriend. They were in the alley that Watanuki had just walked by and the girl back pedaled to see what was the matter. They man was wearing a T-shirt and jeans and the girl was dressed in a frilly yellow top and skirt. The man was clutching his briefcase and trying to touch the girl and she was having none of that.

"Would you just leave me alone!?" She yelled.

"Please! Just listen!" The man said, grabbing onto the girl's arm.

"Let go of me!" She broke his grip and started walking down the alleyway towards Watanuki.

"Just give me a chance, please?!" The man caught up to her and grabbed both of her shoulders, pulling the girl to face him.

"No, listen to me! I never want to see you again!" Watanuki carefully walked up to the pair, wanting to disrupt the dispute before someone got hurt or into trouble.

"Excuse me…" The raven started. They both looked at her, one set of eyes desperate and the other pissed off. The woman took this opportunity of distraction and broke the man's grip again, flipping her long, curly brown hair as she ran past and accidently hit Watanuki with her huge white bag. The girl stumbled back to regain her balance and looked up again to find the woman gone. She looked at the man, and he just clutched his briefcase in both arms, curled in on himself and slunk down to the other end of the alley and disappeared as well.

"Wonder what that little drama was all about." Watanuki said, shrugging and heading back on her way to Yuko's shop. Once she was there, the first thing Yuko had her do was make a snack, get some beer and then head out into the sunny afternoon to do the laundry, just like the girl predicted. She washed all the sheets and futon coverings and blankets and then started hanging them up in the yard. Maru and Moro went to take a nap after bugging the girl for a better part of an hour while washing and Mokona was the only one to hang around, hopping up and down on Watanuki shoulder as she hung up the sheets. Watanuki was almost done hanging everything up, throwing the four to last blanket onto the drying rack, straighting out one side.

"Now the other side!" Mokona ordered cheerfully, hopping up and down on the girl's apron. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and fixed her head wrap while walking to straighten the other side of the sheet.

"I'm glad this rain finally cleared up." She said as she pulled the wrinkles out of the sheet. "This whole city would've been on big puddle if it had kept up much longer." Watanuki smiled at Mokona and turned to check on Yuko, who was sitting on the porch. Or was supposed to be sitting on the porch. "Ah!"

"Wah!" Mokona joined Watanuki's gasp as they both turned to see their mistress collapsed on the porch, her arm around a pillar and her kimono in disarray.

"Uh…sooo…hot…" Yuko moaned.

"Yuko, get up!" Watanuki commanded, worried about her boss. She ran over and knelt on the steps, taking the woman's hand. "I think the head has gotten to her! Hold on, Yuko! I think you just need some water! Come on, let's go inside and get you some!" Watanuki hopped over the prone woman and nearly tripped and collapsed as well in her rush to get Yuko something to drink. She grabbed the woman's waist and hoisted her up to throw her arm on her own shoulders. She nearly buckled under the taller woman's weight on her slight frame, but the seer was determined and dragged Yuko's ass inside and to her receiving couch where she dumped Yuko's ass onto the cushions and ran off to get some water. When she came back with the water bottle and handed Yuko a cup of it, the witch grabbed it greedily and tipped it back, chugging the glass in just a few gulps.

"Much better!~" Yuko sighed, gasping after her chug.

"Well, that's good to hear." Watanuki sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "It certainly is very hot out there today. You need to drink regularly to avoid dehydration." Watanuki lectured, finding herself acting like a mother to the older woman – and not for the first time. Then a scent reached her nose, one that was very familiar and shouldn't even been in the room at the moment. "Wait a minute…" Watauki picked up the water bottle and sniffed the contents, confirming that there wasn't any water in the bottle and that it was, indeed, alcohol. "This isn't water!"

"Mistress decided to replace the bottled water to something more suited to her delicate tastes." Mokona informed the girl, its voice a snooty, pompous, mischievous tone of mockery from her shoulder. Like a shoulder devil. Or maybe just a devil.

"And why would she do something like that!?" Watanuki snapped, throwing the bottle back on the table and turning to the mokona.

"Because her lazy servant didn't think to do it first!" Monoka huffed indignantly, folding its arms.

"Yeah, there are reasons for that." Watanuki shot back, bringing up one finger to adjust her glasses in a suave style.

"Now Mokona is thirsty too!" The fur ball raised it's hand, a nice pink blush on it's cheeks. "Get me a cup!" It ordered as it held out on furry paw.

"I'm tired of being ordered around by you, fur ball!" Watanuki shouted, Mokona "wha-ed" and then started giggling, its ears flying up with the force of the girl's rant.

"Now, now, you two! What does it matter? I'm feeling better after all!" The pair looked down to see Yuko smiling, lounging and talking like she always was. Watanuki sighed, wondering for the millionth time how much Yuko could make if she was and actress. A lot by the looks of it whenever she wanted to weasel in more alcohol when Watanuki was around. "And now," Yuko started naughtily, "Since I'm in such a good mood…I'll let you see something particularly special." The woman reached down seductively into her breasts and pulled out something from between them with a flourish, the move hot enough to knock three men out of their minds. However, it didn't faze the teenaged girl and she just focused on what was in Yuko's hand.

"Huh? A pipe container?" Watanuki asked, leaning in and studying the purplish case with the golden floral pattern raised on its surface.

"Yes, yes it is." Yuko affirmed, her fingers going to the lid to pull it open. "But it contains something better than a pipe." Something furry popped out of the end.

"Oh! It's a brush!" Watanuki looked at the creamish-tanish tip, leaning in closer with Mokona. And then the brush moved, snaking out into a twirl of brush. "Ah! Why is it moving?!" The brush twisted around and around until its…face…got right into the girl's and blinked at her cutely with its little back eyes, its little ears twitching. Everything paused, just for a moment. The snake-thing was almost out of the pipe container, Yuko was still on the couch, and Watanuki and Mokona were frozen, leaving backwards with both their arms stuck at odd angels. And then the snake thing leapt, curling around Watanuki's neck as she tried to ward it off squeaking and Mokona jumped off the seer and landed on Yuko.

"What is this thing!?" Watanuki yelped, as the thing twirled around her head and spiraled around her neck several times, becoming a furry necklace.

"It's a pipe fox!" Yuko cooed.

"A what?" Watanuki asked, looking at Yuko with a stumped look on her face. "What's a pipe fox?"

"Look! Don't you see his cute little tail?" Yuko asked. Watanuki reached up and pried several strands of pipe fox off her neck and looking at it.

"I'm sure is adorable, but I can't quiet tell which end's supposed to be the tail." Then she gasp in surprise as the pipe fox tightened its grip on her neck and started choke her.

"Well, he seems to have taking a liking to you." Yuko commented, smiling like she'd just pinched some of Watanuki's sweets without her noticing.

"He's trying too – ug, oof – strangle me!" Watanuki squirmed around, attempting to yank the pipe fox off her when Yuko raised her hand up. The fox saw the offered hand and snaked around Yuko's pinky and wrist, letting Watauki's blue face breath as she panted.

"I received him as compensation. Aside from being the perfect pet, this little guy has an amazing spiritual power." Once Watanuki had enough air in her lungs to look up, she saw that the pipe fox still had a hold on her left pinky as well as Yuko's.

"Let go!" She ordered, trying to get the pipe fox to do just that.

"What's wrong?" Yuko asked, leaning her head on her free hand. "Don't you like your new friend?"

"No! He's swell!" Watanuki twisted around and wedged her stocking-ed foot onto the fox and tried to push him off her finger. It didn't work because the pipe fox seemed to stretch with each push and his grip on Watanuki's pinky just tightened further.

"I almost forgot!" Watanuki started as she put her foot down and looked at her and Yuko's connected pinkies. The pipe fox squeaked from Yuko's side as it nuzzled the witch's hand. "Do you believe in that red string of fate thing, Yuko?" Yuko was queen of all things supernatural, so Watanuki figured it would be a good idea to ask her if it was real or not.

"Hm?"

"I only bring it up because Wari brought it up today while we were talking in class." The girl blushed at the mention of her crush.

"It's possible." Yuko replied.

"Wahoo!" Watanuki cheered, fist pumping in excitement of her string connecting to Wari.

"But if it exists, I seriously doubt that the end of the string is always connected to only one person." That wiped the smile off of the seer's face.

"Hey, wait! What do you mean?!"

"It seems we have a customer." Yuko interjected abruptly. The pipe fox chose Yuko to wrap around and let go of Watanuki, twirling around the witch's wrist. Watanuki ran out of the room as quickly as she could to greet their guest and Mokona took this opportunity to drink what was left of the vodka in the bottle and then laughed gleefully and hiccupped.

"Hello! Sorry to keep you waiting!" Watanuki ran out to the genkan (i.e. entryway) and saw the same girl from the alleyway standing in front of her. "Oh, you're the girl from before!"

"Thank you so much for your help earlier!" The girl smiled and bowed gratefully, standing up straight again and holding on of her hands under the other. "I couldn't get that guy to leave me alone! I can't thank you enough, really."

"Oh, no. It was nothing at all!" Watanuki waved both of her hands in front of her face humbly. "I'm just glad I could help! Did you come here because you're an acquaintance of Yuko's?"

"Yuko?" The girl asked. "No, I don't know her. I just ended up here somehow. What a coincidence, huh?"

"Oh, I see." Watanuki smiled apologetically, half knowing that it wasn't chance and half hoping that it was. "That is strange."

"It was no coincidence." Yuko's voice drifted in from the hallway. "There is no such thing as coincidence in this world…only inevitability." Yuko walked up to the genkan and folded her arms thoughtfully. The pipe fox was wrapped around her neck like one of those ringed African necklaces and kept still. "The fact that you are here today means that you have something you want to see come true."

"You mean…a wish?" The customer asked.

"Yes. I can grant any wish you have. Provided, of course, that payment is made." There was a pregnant pause and the girl looked deep in thought, her eyes casting downwards and her smiled fading.

"I can't think of anything like a wish, per say, but I have been having trouble with my pinky lately. I can't move it very well."

That's strange, Watanuki thought. It's just like that other woman. She remembered the last time this had happened with the woman who wouldn't stop lying and she also remembered how badly that incident ended. Watanuki took her glasses in her pointer finger and thumb to fix her glasses and looked at the girl. Black smoke was drifting up from her finger in a cloud of old perfume, burnt skin and cigarette smoke.

"Let's talk about hat bad habit of yours." Yuko stated ominously.

"Huh? What bad habit." The girl asked.

"Oh, it couldn't be that hard to come up with at least one." Yuko said slyly. The girl's gaze dripped again and she pulled away, acting nervous like she had something to hide.

"Sorry. I have to go. I have an appointment I have to keep." The girl wasn't smiling anymore as she backed away and walked toward the door.

"An appointment?" Yuko asked.

"Yes, I'm going to meet the man I'm seeing right now so I need to be on my way. He really does care for me, so he'll be worried if I'm late." As she spoke, the girl held up her right hand, and smoke started pouring from her pinky again.

"Hm. Alright then, I'll give you this." Yuko held up a silver ring in her hands.

"That's very kind of you, but what is it?" The girl asked.

"It's a ring."

"And if I wear it…will my pinky go back to normal again?"

"It's possible, but first you have to choose whether or not you want to wear it." Yuko's cranberry eyes narrowed. "Similarly, you have so choose whether or not if you're going to stop that bad habit of yours." The girl thought for a moment, and then walked forward to take the ring, her fingers trembling as she plucked it from Yuko's hand and then quickly bowed and walked away. The door clicked shut behind her.

"There was smoke coming out from her pinky, just like that other girl."

"So you noticed that too, did you?"

"Uh huh. So tell me," Watanuki turned to her boss. "Is the same thing that happened to the other girl?" Yuko didn't say a word, she just gave Watanuki a look that told her everything. "Okay! I'm going out for a bit!" Watanuki threw off her apron and head handkerchief and ran out the door after she got her shoes on. The pipe fox sprang into action, snaking from Yuko's neck to Watanuki's and tightening itself reassuringly. Watanuki grabbed at it, making sure he didn't choke her before leaving him alone as she ran out the door.

"It's good to see that in some ways, Watanuki will never change, but I'm afraid that she'll find out that this girl's bad habit is a little different from the last." Yuko said as she watched the girl go, her words unheard.

Where is she? Watanuki asked in her brain as she ran through yet another shopping district of Tokyo, looking for the customer. I swear I saw her come this way! The pipe fox had slithered into the seer's shirt, winding around her waist and breasts like a lecherous demon until Watanuki yelled at him to stop, drawing the attention of people all around her. She then started running again after the fox had settled in between her boobs and stayed there. Geez! Whatever. If he'll stop moving, I don't care where he sits! After running a few more blocks the pipe fox suddenly moved.

"Ag! What are you doing!?" She yelped as the pipe fox weaseled his way out of her shirt and yanked Watanuki to the left, nearly pulling her neck off as she stumbled sideways. The fox dragged her down an alleyway and out back onto the main street, right were the customer was getting mad at someone on her phone.

"Do I have to explain every little thing?" The girl snapped on her phone. "Look! I just don't think we're meant to be together! Why can't you let it go? I'm sorry, but I just can't change how I feel! Why don't you understand?! Don't call me anymore!" She hung up with finality and snapped her phone shut. The girl sniffed irritably and shoved her phone in her bag, looking up again. A huge smile bloomed on her face and she quickly put on a pair of red glasses and ran towards someone, her girly voice on.

"Oh, Yoshik! I hope you haven't been waiting long!"

"No, I just got here a second ago." The dude she ran up to was really tall and had purple-blue hair for some odd reason and was wearing gray pants, a red punk shirt and a purple jacket, hands stuffed in his pockets and a look on his face that said I'm-cool-and-I'm-going-to-let-you-think-you-think-that-you're-this-cool.

"Are you sure? I'd just hate it if you were mad at me!" The girl grabbed onto his arm and did that weird girly thing where she kinda rubbed against him and acted all cute with her sing-song voice.

"I couldn't be mad at you." He replied coolly.

"I'm so glad!" She smiled and Watanuki's glasses slid down her nose in disgust as she hid behind a pole like a stalker. I'm going to throw up because of all this sweetness. Alright then, I guess she was meeting someone after all. The seer fixed her glasses and watched the pair laugh and run around like idiots, the girl pulling her guy along like some pet.

"I was just thinking…tomorrow's your day off right?" The girl asked as Watanuki trailed them through the shopping district.

"Yeah, I guess it is." He replied.

"Then why don't we go somewhere?" She suggested brightly. "Please, I'd love to spend the day with you!" She snuggled into the arms she was holding as they walked.

"Where?"

"Anywhere! As long as it's with you!" Watanuki choked down bile as she continued to listen, the sugary tone of the girl upsetting her stomach. Nobody will ever catch me talking like that!

"I have an idea: how about that amusement park that's across town?"

"Really? Awesome!"

"I heard it's really cool. Besides, I know you've wanted to go there for a really long time." Yoshiki placed his hand on the girl's head, ruffling her hair softly.

"Thanks, Yoshiki! You're the best boyfriend a girl could ever ask for!" The girlfriend smiled cheerfully, taking the hand on her head in her own. "Let's promise!"

"Alright, sure." Their pinkies hooked together and they shook them up and down to make a pinky promise.

"There were go! This proves we're bound by the red string of fate." She said, smiling. "There! Now it's you and me forever!"

Cross my heart, hope to die, swallow a thousand needles is you lie…

"Wha?" Watanuki looked around for the child singing the creepy pinky promise song, standing up from her hiding place behind a tent sign and looking around. But there weren't any kids that were singing in that moment and when she looked back at the couple, they were running across the crosswalk as the walk signal flashed to get out of the road. She ran to catch up with them when the pipe fox yanked her back by her neck, choking the girl and dragging her back onto the sidewalk. A second later, a huge truck flew by, missing Watanuki by inches as it careened past along with a bunch of other cars that would've been crashing into each other if the girl had been hit.

"Oh! You were just saving me!" Watanuki said to the pipe fox gratefully. The little rascal squeaked and then proceeded to twist, snake and tickle Watanuki all over her body, making her laugh like an idiot in the middle of a street full of people. "Hey!" The pipe fox dove into the girl's collar and curled up in between her breasts again, sticking his head out of her shirt collar. They both spotted the couple at the same time and watched as the girl's pinky emitted that same black smoke from before. That smoke again…the girl mused, watching the cloud envelope the boyfriend as well as they walked away. Watanuki still couldn't figure out what her bad habit was because it wasn't lying like the other woman's had been. She'd said she was going to meet someone and she did – no lie. The seer's head tipped to the side and the pipe fox squeaked in response, not giving her any answers.

Watanuki went back to Yuko's where she mused about her encounter. She went home very late that night and thought about it before she went to sleep. At school the next day, she stewed about it, still not having any answers. Her confused sour mood was plunged even further away from happy when she was stuck cleaning up the soccer balls with Doumeki.

"Why am I the one helping you clean up after practice?! I have better things to do you know." She hissed, picking up a ball and tossing it into the wire bin with the other balls. Doumeki was standing a few feet away from her in his blue and white gym shorts and shirt (respectively) and juggled a ball with his feet before kicking it right into the bin. He tried it again and missed, the shot pinging off the rail and bouncing. Great, now I have to chase that one too! Watanuki glared at him, pulling down her high cut blue bloomer summer gym shorts (well that was a mouthful and Watanuki hated them because they looked like underwear too) as she crouched down, tossed in another ball and then stood up.

"Yeah, I'm sure your schedule is packed," Doumeki replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?! For your information I happen to be a very busy woman!" Watanuki felt something slither up her spin and around her stomach, tickling her. She threw her hands up in the air and wriggled around like a fish on a hook, twirling, crunching, swiveling, stomping and jumping while making strange noises at the same time.

"Well, that's and interesting dance. Is that your way of lodging a formal protest?" Doumeki teased in his own way (mostly his face and voice stayed the same, but he loved poking at the raven).

"I certainly protest but I am not DANCING!" Watanuki shouted, waving both fists at the brunette as she struck a majestic sumo squat.

"Hm?" Doumeki noticed something moving around under Watanuki's shirt and reached out to ninja grab it as it made a pass at her collar, catching the pipe fox in his fist. Watanuki sighed in relief from being tickled. "So what is this thing?" He asked, holding the wiggling fox as it tried to get back to Watanuki.

"It's called a pipe fox." Watanuki replied, still out of breath from her dancing and tickle attack.

"Oh, yeah? A real pipe fox?" Doumeki continued, looking at the wavy, snake-like creature.

"Oh, it's real. So you've heard of them?" Watanuki held up her hand the Doumeki let the pipe fox wind around her wrist.

"Just another thing my grandfather taught me about. They have some pretty cool powers." At that moment, the soccer coach came out and yelled for the two of them to hurry up so he could close the equipment room and all talk was suspended as they busted their butts to clean up. Watanuki showered and changed and started walking home in her summer uniform and be on her merry way. However, she had an unwanted companion.

"Don't you have some club to get to or something?!" Watanuki growled, shaking yet another fist at Doumeki as he walked with her.

"Not today. Is that why you're following me around everywhere?" He asked, one hand in his pocket and the other holding his school bag in that manly way – slung over his shoulder.

"Geez, I just happen to go this way too!" The raven snapped, putting her hands on her hips and snarling. The pipe fox decided that this was a good time to make a second appearance and yanked the girl (by her neck) to the left, down a side street (on one foot) and into a commercial area. "Will you cut it out!?"The girl hissed at the creature as Doumeki followed calmly behind. And then she looked up, the pipe fox finally letting her go and she spotted the girl from yesterday in yet another skirt and dress top at an outside table of a café. She was sitting with a blonde haired boy wearing a bandana, who was stirring her cup and placed it in front of her. The red glasses were gone and she looked so much more mellow that yesterday. She was digging around her purse and pulled out a cigarette, and the man with her smiled and lit the joint for her. She puffed a cloud of smoke into the air and her companion held up the ashtray to take her cigarette as she then picked up her cup and sipped. It was like the roles were reversed: she was now the one being doted on instead of doing the doting.

"Is there a problem?" Doumeki asked, breaking the silence of the seer's study.

"No, it's just that that woman over there was a customer in Yuko's shop yesterday." She said, looking back at the archer. "But it almost seems like she's a completely different person now." Watanuki watched the woman take another drag of her cigarette with a worried look on her face. Doumeki watched Watanuki calmly. Knowing that the girl was concerned for the customer-woman, the archer made the executive decision to help her out and give her a nudge.

"Come on." He said, walking towards the café.

"Hey! Wait! Doumeki!" The girl ran after him, whispering for him to stop the whole way. The boy marched right into the café and led Watanuki to an outside table. He sat down normally but she decided that it was better to slink behind the table and then hide her face behind the menu to peek at the couple. Doumeki just folded his arms and looked at her. This is not how I wanted to spend a first date.

"So I don't know how, but I ended up in this weird little shop," the woman started, fiddling with her ring and then taking it off, holding it in between her pointer finger and thumb. "And this weird fortuneteller lady practically forced me to take this ring." She held it up to her companion so he could see it.

"Really?" He asked.

"She was saying all this strange stuff like if I wore this thing it would make me feel better." The woman set the ring down and picked up her cigarette again, holding it over the ash tray.

"Well, that's good. You told me that you haven't been feeling well lately and I've been getting kind of worried." He smiled and brushed something off of his black, short sleeved jacket and then gave the woman all his attention.

"Aw, that's sweet. But you know, just being with you makes me feel a little better." Her snarky attitude dropped away as she smiled. "Who needs some stupid ring when you've got a relationship like this, right?" She puffed a cloud of smoke into the guy's face and he blushed and smiled, obviously smitten by her. "Ah! Is that the time? I've really got to get going."

"Y-you have to leave already? I was kind of hoping we could grab a bite to eat or go see a movie together or something." The nice atmosphere was broken by the woman's sudden announcement about leaving and her date was flustered by it, watching his date rummage around her bag for her things.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I promised some friends I'd meet them over at the amusement park this afternoon."

"Just some friends?"

"Yeah, it's no being deal. I'm just meeting a few of my girlfriends from high school." The woman took out a mirror to fix her hair and then applied some more lipstick, holding up the same mirror to do it.

"Oh." He was clearly disappointed that she was leaving, but happy that it wasn't (supposedly) a guy she was meeting. "So when do you think we could get together again? Maybe next Sunday?"

"I can't. I 'm supposed to shopping on Sunday. I think I could probably make next Tuesday work, though." She put the compact back into her purse and if anyone could see inside, they'd find out that the woman had several different cell phones and at least two of them were blinking in that moment. "Why don't we get dinner that night? I've been craving Chinese food lately."

"That sounds good. I'll see if I can made some reservations." The guy affirmed their plans.

"Great. Consider it a promise." The woman held up her hand and he held up his, there pinkies hooking around each other.

Cross my heart, hope to die, swallow a thousand needles is you lie…

Watanuki was hearing that child's voice again and looked around for the one singing. She couldn't find anyone, but she did find Doumeki looking at her funny. The woman walked away from her table, distracting the girl and she and Doumeki followed her out (the archer acting normal and the seer holding up her school bag to cover her face like that would make her more inconspicuous) as the guy took out his phone to find the "place with the perfect Chinese food."

Little did anyone of them know the ring was still sitting on the table.

A bus, two trains and five arguments later, Watanuki and Doumeki ended at the amusement park for operation "Colored Yarn" following "The Girlfriend." The Girlfriend was running up to the park's entrance and grabbed that same pair of glasses from yesterday and put them on, her run turning more girly with every step after that.

"I'm sorry!" She called, the sugary, girly voice back on as she ran up to the guy from yesterday. Yoshiki.

"Hey." He said, still cool in his white suit jacket and black T-shirt.

"The seminar ran longer than I expected and I had such a hard time getting out of there!" The Girlfriend grabbed onto the dude's arm just like yesterday, all lovey-dovey and sweet unlike her other personality. "Forgive me?"

"Yeah, it's no problem." Yoshiki's face changed as he smelled something. "You know, you smell a lot like cigarette smoke."

"What? No way! I've told you before: I'm not a smoker. Yes, you are, Watanuki corrected as she hid behind a pole. "Oh, it must be my stupid professor! He was smoking through the entire seminar! He's really disgusting! I mean, how inconsiderate can you get?"

"Yeah, I know." Yoshiki and his girlfriend walked into the park and Doumeki and Watanuki weren't far behind. Doumeki paid to get it.

"I'm glad we came on a day that's not too crowded!" The Girlfriend said.

"Yeah, me too." Yoshiki agreed.

"Oh! Let's ride that one!" The woman pointed to a ride.

"Yeah, let's go." And they ran off, leaving Doumeki with Watanuki (who was behind a rooster console).

"Ordinarily, you wouldn't be my first choice of people to go to an amusement park with." Watanuki stated to Doumeki, coming out from behind the rooster. Doumeki decided not to tell the girl that he was enjoying himself with her and just poked the girl in the head. She growled at him and stomped away. "I just don't understand why she's acting like a completely different person." The seer grumbled.

"She'd got a different personality for each guy." Doumeki noted. "This one looks like her favorite." The couple ran to get in the line for the roller coaster and Doumeki grabbed Watanuki's hand and pulled her into the line as well.

"What are you doing?!" She hissed as they continued watching the girlfriend and Yoshiki from ten people back.

"Following them, duh."

"But do we have to do it from here?" Watanuki griped.

"What? Don't like roller coasters?" Doumeki teased.

"No…it's just…" Watanuki didn't really answer and then the line started moving. They ended up on the same train as the girlfriend and her date, and Watanuki was nervous as she was strapped into her seat. Doumeki could tell she was worried, but he didn't know what about, just watching as her hands clenched and unclenched in her lap. As the rest of the passengers were getting checked, Doumeki reached over and placed one of his hands on hers to calm her down.

"What's wrong?" He coaxed, his voice slightly softer than usual. Watanuki was easily spooked and worried and concerned a lot of the time (annoying as well) but this was a different type of worry. She looked up at the brunette, startled by the contact of their hands and swallowed loudly.

"People have died here." Was all she said and Doumeki nodded, completely understanding the spiritual turmoil the girl might be feeling. "It's not that they were recent or really, really horrible, but the feeling lingers for a long time. I might throw up."

"Well, do it over there if you do." He said, not letting go of her hand.

"I hate you." And then they were off. Up, down, left, right, around, and upside down, with Watanuki screaming the whole time. Doumeki just sat there calmly as the rollercoaster whipped them all back and forth, the wild ride being enjoyed in a more subdued manner. The couple they were stalking seemed to be having a good time as well, laughing and screaming where they sat, at least, from what the archer could see. Watanuki was not having a good time. She was scared to death of her handlebar popping up and ejecting her out into the air to fall to her death. She was also scared of the train derailing and of it stopping right in the middle of a loop de loop, keeping them hanging upside down in an eternal blood rush. The only good part about the ride was that Doumeki's hand never left hers, his calming presence keeping her sane, even if she despised the guy. She was so glad when it was over that she ran to the bathroom to throw up her relief.

Doumeki kept an eye on the couple while Watanuki was in the bathroom as they hopped from ride to ride until the seer emerged, disgruntled and chewing a piece of gum. After about an hour of refusing to go on any other rides, Doumeki apologized for the one ride he'd made her go on by buying dinner: burgers. He lounged against a wall while Watanuki sat on the ground, moodily eating her burger as they watched the girlfriend and Yoshiki.

"Oi." Doumeki said, drawing the girl's attention to the couple and the guy was patting the girl's head for the millionth time that day, fixing her hair or just being affectionate. She stood up, shoving the rest of her burger in her mouth in a very unlady like fashion.

"Look!" Yoshiki pointed to a side attraction. "Let's do that one next."

"Sure! Looks like fun!" The girlfriend agreed. They walked hand in hand to the entrance as an automated voice called announcements.

"Test your love! Place your hands in love's guillotine! If your love is true, your fingers will be unable to be cut. If not…the blade will sever your red string of fate that ties your finger together!"

"So? Are you ready for the challenge?" Yoshiki asked.

"Y-yeah. Sure." The girlfriend looked nervous as she walked in with him.

Doumeki's hand came up and landed on Watanuki's head as they followed, rubbing her hair just like Yoshiki did to his girlfriend. Watanuki was not impressed.

"What are you doing?" She growled lowly.

"I wanted to see what it felt like." He replied nonchalantly.

"Well, stop it! You're messing up my hair! And we have better things to worry about!" Watanuki batted his hand away and went to fix her fly-away hair that he messed up when suddenly, Doumeki's arms were around her waist and she was being lifted and up twirled over to the other side of the archer, to avoid getting bumped into by other pedestrians. Watanuki was so close to Doumeki in those seconds, his sandalwood scent snaking up her nose and making her head fuzzy. She was pressed up against his hard chest, her breasts and arms trapped against him, innocent and devilishly naughty at the same time. She felt his muscles coil around her solidly and she was pretty sure that he could break her in half, strong even if he didn't have the bulk behind it. And with that thought, Watanuki realized that she was complimenting her arch enemy. So for good measure, when he set her down from the unexpected lift, she stepped on his toes. Of course, he said nothing and probably didn't know it was intentional (and honestly, the raven wasn't heavy enough to inflict much damage) but it gave her a sweet, secret satisfaction to know that she at least got him back.

"What was that for?!" She snapped, brushing off his arms and trying to get her pounding heart to calm down.

"I didn't want you to get bumped." Doumeki pointed to the two girls who'd nearly bowled the seer over, to busy in their animated conversation to apologized for the near-miss.

"Well, I don't need your help, thank you very much!" Watanuki huffed, trying to forget Doumeki's smell and just how close their bodies had been.

They followed the couple inside the auditorium, the pair already getting their hands strapped into the guillotine and it was an honest to goodness guillotine with a drop blade and everything! Watanuki got nervous for her own pinky just looking at it.

"This thing's kind of intense, isn't it?" Yoshiki asked, looking at his date with a smile. Her lips twitched in response, her nervousness showing through. The assistant had them hook pinkies where the blade would fall and then strapped both of their wrists in with a click. As the lock clasped, a huge cloud of black smoke burst from the girl's pinky and floated over the whole stage with a menacing aura and then disappeared into the blade.

"Oh no!" Watanuki shouted as she saw what was going to happen.

Cross my heart, hope to die, swallow a thousand needles is you lie…

"That again?!" Watanuki said looking around for the singer.

"What?"

"Can you seriously not hear anything?!" She snapped at her classmate.

"Nope." He replied.

"You're useless!" She hissed, her tone bringing out the pipe fox from her boobs. "Whenever that girl links pinkies with someone I hear this kid singing some creepy song!"

Cross my heart, hope to die, swallow a thousand needles is you lie…

Doumeki's eyes narrowed as he saw something up on the stage and then the guillotine's blade began to drop. The girlfriend dropped her head, squeezing her eyes shut in fear.

"No!" Watanuki breathed. The blade flew towards their fingers and the pipe fox sprang, glowing, and flew between the blade and the couple's fingers. A burst of light blinded everyone on stage including Watanuki and Doumeki. The seer threw her hands up to shield her eyes and only looked up once the light had dissipated. Everyone else was acting like nothing strange had happened, so maybe only she saw the light. The girlfriend's eyes were still squeezed shut but when the attendant started moving she opened her eyes and looked at her still-whole pinky, wiggling it experimentally. As her wrist was released, she held up her hand and then sighed when she saw that there was nothing wrong with it. Watanuki sighed as well, knowing that things could've been a lot worse. The pipe fox emerged from the girl's collar and she smiled at him.

"It sure is lucky for those two that I have you around today!" Watanuki praised the pipe fox for his quick action as he snaked around her head and nuzzled her cheek. She blushed and petted the creature softly.

The guillotine blade was lifted up again and the girlfriend watched it climb, holding her hands close to her chest.

"There you are! Hey! You forgot your ring!" Watanuki, Doumeki and the girlfriend turned at the familiar voice, and Watanuki hid being her school bag.

"It's Sakikawa!" The girlfriend gasped, hand at her mouth.

"I figured it was pretty important to keep this with you." Sakikawa held up the silver ring that the girlfriend had left at the café when she took it off.

"Uh…" The brunette stumbled over her words.

"Okay, who the hell is this kid?" Yoshiki took a step in front of his date, completely pissed off.

"Wait, I don't when what's going on here." Sakikawa started. "You said you were just coming to the park with some of your girlfriends."

"Uh…well, you see…" The girl stuttered.

"Why don't you tell me what's going on?" Yoshiki demanded, turning to the girlfriend.

"Can't we just try one more time!?" Another familiar voice shouted. "We were meant for each other!" It was the glasses man from the alleyway yesterday! He was hiding in the shadows of the auditorium's seats, but stepped out when he spoke.

"What? What is this? What on earth is he doing here?!" The girlfriend yelped.

"I know it was wrong of me to come but I couldn't help myself! I just- I just missed you so much!" Watanuki stayed "hidden" behind her school bag, fearing what was about to explode between these three guys and the girl.

"Leave me alone!" The girl shouted.

"That's it!" Yoshiki interjected. "Explain yourself now or I'm leaving." He was really mad.

"I've come to ask you…again…from the very bottom of my heart: please just marry me! You said before that we're bound together forever by the red string of fate!" The glasses man shouted to the woman.

"You said that to me too! Didn't you tell me that we were tied together by some invisible red string?" Sakikawa asked.

"Me too!" Another voice piped up.

"Same here!" Someone agreed.

"That sounds familiar." Another grumbled. Seven or more other men walked into the auditorium, all of them clearly looking for the girlfriend.

"Abe? Daishiro? Shinpei? You're here. But why now? I don't understand what's going on!" The woman asked, confused by the appearance of all her boyfriends.

"Oh, yeah?" Yoshiki growled. "Well you are certainly not alone on that one!" He grabbed his date's wrist harshly. "You told me you weren't seeing anyone else! You promised me! Remember?"

The woman's only response was to bow her head and sink to her knees, faced with all her old lovers and current boyfriends and the broken relationship that she really wanted was slipping away.

Watanuki and Doumeki left soon after that, not wanting to get involved with or watch the sticky mess of untangling all the girl's strings on the guys and the archer left the seer to go to her job.

"There you have it! Thanks to this little guy nobody lost any appendages today. He really is a good pet." Watanuki finished telling Yuko the afternoon's exploits as she petted the pipe fox who was still wrapped around her neck.

"That's too bad. All the best love stories include amputation." Yuko said, puffing her pipe while lounging on her couch. She was wearing an elaborate get up this evening, done in a light blue and with purple patterns on her dress with its customary slit up her legs and disconnected, ruffled sleeves. Her hair was pulled into two large loops at the back of her head.

"So…I guess this red string of fate is just a silly folktale." Watanuki sighed, thinking about the girlfriend's deception.

"She was just using it as bait. To lure in a good man. But unfortunately, her plan seemed to backfire as she caught more fish than she could handle." Yuko puffed her pipe and looked at the downtrodden seer. "No great loss. The last thing the world needs is another silly love story."

"You're bitter." Watanuki pointed out. "Someday, Wari will fall in love with me and our story won't be silly! I won't give up!" The girl declared.

"I have some bad news for you…" Yuko started, smiling like a cat.

"Huh?" Yuko sat up and reached out her hand to the girl, holding it up flat.

"Kimihiro Watanuki, I have the power to see you fate." She intoned. Watanuki stumbled back a few steps in surprise. Yuko didn't even ask for something in return this time. The raven swallowed loudly. "I know the name of the person to whom your string connects."

"Yeah?! Who is it?!" She asked breathlessly, hoping it was Wari.

"It's Doumeki, of course. Who else would it be?" Yuko replied, dead pan. Watanuki's soul drifted out of her mouth and she collapsed on the floor in mortification and horror.

"Just kidding!" Yuko teased, winking over her shoulder as if she was talking to someone else. Watanuki sobbed on the floor and the pipe fox slithered out of her shirt, squeaking and kissing the girl on her cheek.

"Or not."

Note 1: The Monkey's Paw comes from a supernatural short story of the same name, written by W.W. Jacobs in 1902. The story revolves around Mr. and Mrs. White and their adult son Herbert. Sergeant-Major Morris is a friend of the White's the introduces them to the Monkey's Paw, its power of granting any three wishes and of the paw's journey. The last owner of the paw used his third wish for his own death. Morris throws the paw into the fire after having a bad experience from using it but Mr. White saves it and Morris gives him a warning but White ignores it, only thinking about how it can be used. Mr. White wishes for 200 pounds (English money) so he can pay off his house. Herbert White goes to work the next day at a local factory and is killed in a machinery accident. Although the employer disclaims tortuous responsibility for the accident, the firm makes a goodwill payment to the Whites. The payment is 200 pounds. Ten days after the funeral, Mrs. White (mad with grief) asks her husband to use the paw to revive their son, and he reluctantly does so. A short while later, there is a knock at the door and Mrs. White tries to unlock the door. Mr. White knows he cannot let their revived son in because his appearance will be too hideous to handle, this is because he was asked to identify the body after the accident and found it mutilated. It has also been buried for more than a week. While his wife tries to open the door, Mr. White makes his third wish and the knocking stops. Mrs. White opens the door and finds no one outside.

The variations to the Monkey's Paw in xxxHolic and the original is that the paw in the episode grants five wishes instead of three and is implied to almost always kill or make the owners disappear for their final wish, which is not the case in the short story because Mr. White is still alive after the final wish, even if his son and the previous owner are dead.

A/N: There you go! See y'all next time!