Addiction

by ZareEraz

Fem!Watanuki! Watanuki has been able to see spirits for as long as she could remember and one day she meets a mysterious woman who says she can grant the girl's wish to be free of them, but at a price. The seer is then forced to work in the witch's shop as payment and also team up with a guy she hates and a black fur ball she wants to cook. But it's all just inevitability...

7. The Ghost Story and The Sprite

A/N: ZareEraz here! Don'tthrowbricksatme! *hides behind her computer* I'm so, so, so, so, so sorry that this has taken so terribly long to get out, but I hope you think the wait is worth it! I can't wait to see what happens next! :3

Chapter Six: The Ghost Story and The Sprite

The sun was high in the sky, its heat beating down on the Tokyo buildings, its bright light blinding the in the hot afternoon. The cicadas were singing under any plant in which they could hide, the heat being even too much for them. In this humid, blazing summer weather, there was only one thing to do about it: complain. And one person had the complaining down to an art.

"Uuuuuug. Soooooo hoooooot." Yuko sighed and slipped lower into the deck chair and looked forlornly up at the sky. There wasn't even a breeze to rattle the wind chime. "Soooooo hooooot!" The witch was desperately overheating, even with Maru and Moro fanning her. The twins were in their little summer versions of their normal clothes, and they didn't seem to be having a problem with the heat, just worried for their mistress (who was shifting her feet around aimlessly in a tub full of ice).

"Can't…move…" Mokona moaned with Yuko, its little body flung over the side of her ice tub.

"Try to hang in there, mistress!" The twins said, fanning a little faster. Yuko repositioned the bag of ice on her forehead and leaned back dramatically in her wicker chair.

"Why does summer in Japan always have to be like this?" She moaned. She was sweaty all over, her bun soaked in perspiration, sweat sliding down her skin and into her light, blue-dyed summer dress. Even with the barest amount of clothing she was still hot. "Its miserable!"

"Hi everyone." Someone else was moaning now, her voice forlorn as she walked up with a tray. Watanuki was in a bad mood too. "Yuko! You have to hear this! This is terrible!" The seer was walking all hunched over, like the weight of the world was on her shoulders as she walked down the porch towards the shopkeeper, making sure not to tip her bowl of flavored shaved ice.

"This chick is even more dismal than a Japanese summer. I wonder what's wrong with her now." Yuko sat up, preparing for the worst Watanuki could offer her.

"I'm not going to be able to see Wari for an entire month! I may die!" The girl moaned.

"Oh. How terrible." Yuko didn't sound the least bit sympathetic.

"Ug! How am I supposed to make it through the summer?!" Watanuki set the tray down at Yuko's feet before collapsing to her knees in melodramatic fashion and throwing her arms up in the air. Yuko groaned at her performance, but when she glanced down her face turned from sheer mockery to delight at the sight of the flavored ice and a few well picked cherries and orange slices. Yuko reached for the bowl and Watanuki picked it up and met her halfway, A slight breeze whisked through the wind chime, causing it to clink on the porch as Yuko took her first bite of the shaved ice. She hummed her approval as the cool treat, smiling widely and taking another fruity bite.

"Well, of course! I can understand why you'd be so worried about him over the summer," Yuko said, getting into the conversation.

"What do you mean 'worried about him?'" Watanuki asked, leaning forward with her hands on her knees.

"The beaches, the bright blue sky, the balmy, star-filled nights!" Yuko recounted. "Summer is the season of romance!~"

"How could you say something like that?!" Watanuki flipped out, clapping her hands on each side of her head, her eyes wide with horror. She fell forward and smacked her head on the ground, kicking her legs in protest while she was at it. "Wari isn't the type to have a summer fling! Never! No!"

"You'll find love and heartbreak are important parts of being young." Yuko continued.

"The love I think I could deal with but I want nothing to do with heartbreak!" Watanuki moaned, sitting up on her knees again. "What if he happens to meet someone else over the summer!? Eeeeeyyyaaa!" Watanuki eyes went wide again. Mokona just chowed down on its bowl of shaved ice while the girl was having her meltdown.

"Alright then." Yuko interjected before Watanuki's moans summoned up the dead. "Why don't you just ask him out on a date yourself?"

"A date!?" Watanuki hands came down to her knees again, clenching and unclenching nervously as a blue appeared on her sweat cheeks. "Believe me I would ask him out in a millisecond if a could…but I get so nervous when I'm alone with him!" The girl admitted.

"Fine." Yuko said, her shit-eating , plan-scheming grin on her face. "Then make it a group date."

"Huh?" Watanuki looked up at the witch.

"Let me give you some guidance since you're a little nervous." Yuko's slender hand came up and pulled off one of her dress straps seductively and leaned back with a mischievous glint in her red eyes. "Just follow my lead and he'll…be…yours."

"Oh, yeah! Baby!" Mokona cheered, using its spoon as a microphone. Watanuki apron strap fell off her shoulder and her glasses slanted on her nose at Yuko's display, a goofy grin on her face. She didn't know what Yuko had in mind, but it had to be good. But it was probably scandalous at the same time.

"I have a perfect idea for your first date." Yuko continued.

"Perfect!" Mokona repeated.

"Definitely." The witched nodded.

"Definitely!" The twins repeated.

"Yeah? What's that?" Watanuki asked excitedly. Yuko's smile got bigger.

"We'll tell ghost stories!~" Watanuki's other apron strap slipped off her shoulder in disbelief at the ludicrous idea.

"Yay! Ghost stories!~" Maru, Moro and Mokona cheered, waving their arms in the air.

"That's not remotely romantic!" Watanuki protested, shaking her head and waving her hand in front of her face.

"Now that that's settled, why don't you run along and invite Doumeki, m'kay?" Yuko stood up and steped out of her tub of ice, her wet footprint splashing on the porch.

"Huh?" Watanuki's mouth dropped in true horror.

"Ghost stories should be told in the proper atmosphere!~ Doumeki said something about living in a temple, right?" Yuko placed her hands on her hips like everything had been decided. It had not in Watanuki's mind.

"So what?!" Watanuki glared at the woman she knew who's only purpose in life was to make her miserable. "I don't want that guy involved in my date!"

"We'll rent a room in the temple and tell ghost stories all night long!" Yuko triumphantly pumped in arm in the air, like everything had been decided. "Hyakumonogatari time!" (1)

"Watanuki's first date!~" Maru and Moro jumped up and down as they cheered.

"We'll party all night!~" Mokona added.

"Watanuki's first date!~"

"Why?!" Watanuki wailed as everything was decided for her. She was not happy with the way things were going (but then again…she never was happy with the way things were going when they involved Yuko in the first place). And so, they ended up at Doumeki's temple that evening after the sun had set. Yuko was dressed in a normal yukata this time (black with purple butterflies and a yellow obi), her hair pulled up in a simple bun with her signature strands hanging on either side of her face and one hanging down her back from her bun. Watanuki was in a light blue yukata with darker blue swirl designs and a black obi and her hair was just in her normal pony tail. They were waiting in front of the temple for Wari to show up, Watanuki tapping her geta on the ground in nervousness until she heard the smack of sandals on the temple's path. Wari was jogging up in his blue yukata, his curly hair bouncing around cheerfully.

"Hi guys!" Wari greeted the pair. "Wow! This is just the perfect place!"

"That's just what I said! Good to see you, Wari!" Watauki walked up to her crush, swaying with every step like a cat's tail.

"I haven't seen you in a while, Yuko! Thanks for inviting me tonight! I'm really excited" Wari said to the witch.

"Glad you could make it." Yuko smiled. Mokona leapt out of the shop owner's bag and into Wari's hands.

"Hey! Doing well?" The fur ball asked.

"I'm doing very well! And how are you doing?" Wari asked back.

"I'm good."

"You are as charming as ever, my boy." Yuko said. She tipped her hand in front of her mouth to whisper to Watanuki (who was still blushing like a fool). "Don't you think, Watanuki?"

"Absolutely!" The girl replied. She tucked her hand behind her head and turned toward Yuko. "See how cute he looks?! Tonight will be great!"

"Don't get your hopes up. He could be more than you can handle." Yuko warned with a smile.

"I know that!" Watanuki's embarrassed look disappeared and her arm came down as she geared up for an argument. "I know that! With a boy as handsome as Wari I know I'll have plenty of rivals to deal with!"

"Well, true…but that's not exactly what I meant." Yuko replied, her smile dropping off. Watanuki was about to open her mouth to continue arguing when she noticed someone important was missing. The girl's head snapped in direction of the temple and spotted Wari talking with Doumeki. She growled in jealously and possessiveness, a huge cross vein forming on her skull.

"Hi, Doumeki! Thanks for letting us come over!" Wari said to his classmate.

"Yo." The archer replied, straightening his burgundy yukata. Watanuki clenched her fist, shaking it in Doumeki direction. She was so pissed that Wari was paying attention to that jerk again instead of her!

"You'd do better to swallow your pride and make friends with him." Yuko said slyly as Mokona hopped up on her shoulder.

"What?! No way!" Watanuki snapped, clenching both of her fists now as she turned towards Yuko. "He's just renting us a room here! It's not like I have to bond with him of all people!"

"Well, I guess you'll figure it out soon enough." Yuko sighed, walking towards the temple with her geta clacking on the path as she went.

"What'd she mean? I wonder." Watanuki mused, watching the witch go. She never really understood Yuko most of the time and right now was no exception. While Watanuki was lost in thought, Yuko had made it to the temple's steps and then she called out to the girl to get her to hurry up and come inside so the ghost stories could start. Watanuki growled at her and then clomped her way into the temple. Try as she might, the girl couldn't avoid nodding a hello to Doumeki when he said hi, but she did not respond to his remark on her looking nice. She just huffed and walked up the stairs. Unfortunately, Watanuki tripped over the teeth of her shoes in her haste and started to tip backwards. She was just about to go tumbling down the stairs when a strong pair of hand wrapped around her shoulders. She tipped her head back and nearly conked Doumeki in the chin. He'd stopped her fall, bracing her body and then setting her back on her feet. She just growled at him and reluctantly said thanks so Yuko wouldn't get mad her for being rude. Doumeki was always doing things like that for her…it just didn't meant that she had to like him for it. Yuko and Wari giggled at Watanuki's bad mood and entered the temple in front of the seer and archer. They walked into the one of the temple's huge rooms and Yuko went to the doors that led out on to the porch, her hands on the frame as she listened to the night birds chirping and the humming of insects. And then she slid the door shut, smiling like a pleased cat.

"Oh, this is an ideal situation for our little get-together." She said. Her three little helpers were kneeling on the floor, Watanuki next to Doumeki (not by choice, mind you) and Wari next to him. There were several objects resting by them, including for candle stands, a bowl of water and several candles.

"You sure it's alright? Us telling ghost stories in here?" Watanuki asked Doumeki, pushing up her glasses as she whispered for no reason. "Isn't that room in use?" She continued, nodding to the doors next to them.

"Yeah, but it doesn't matter." Doumeki replied unemotionally.

"Not to you. But it will be inconsiderate to them if we make a lot of noise in here!"

"Trust me, it won't be a problem." Doumeki went on.

"Wow!" Watanuki scoffed. "Aren't you polite?!"

"Now, then…" Yuko sat down next to the pair and reached for the bowl. "Watanuki, you take this. Place it in the unlucky corner. That's south west, if you didn't know." Yuko handed the girl the bowl filled with water. The seer glared at Yuko because, yes she did know that the southwest corner was considered unlucky, but then decided not to argue and stared into the ripples for a moment before doing as she was told. "Place the four red stands in each of the corners." The teens did as instructed. "And next…we have the candles." Yuko lit one of the candles and placed it in the holder by her knees. The flame flickered blue in the darkness, wavering with its unearthly light. "Everyone, please use this flame to light a candle for yourself. Then take it to the stands in each corner. There you go, just like that." Each of the teens lit one candle and walked it to their respective stands, placing the lights in the bowls on top. When they all sat down again this is how they were positioned:

Watanuki was sitting in the direction of the southwest corner of the room, where the bowl of water was next to the candle stand. Going clockwise, the doors to the outside were on her left and Wari beyond that, sitting in the northwest corner. The next room's doors were on the curly-haired boy's left, with Yuko next to him in the northeast corner. There were a few displays and shelves on the wall to the witch's left and Doumeki next to them in the south east corner, and then another set of doors to his left and completing the circle back to Watanuki with the incense bowl in the middle of it all.

"Now, the preparations have been complete." Yuko said ominously. "Well, there are a few other prepcautions we could take, like lighting one hundred candles and arming ourselves with talismans, that sort of thing." Yuko paused and looked at her little helpers. "But tonight, this simplified version should be fine. Yes, the cast is complete." Another pause. "Now…shall we start telling our ghost stories?"

Yuko picked up the candle sitting next to her and blue it out, making the darkness even deeper with only the four candles in the corners of the room. It was downright creepy, and it was going to get even more so.

"We'll, start with Wari." Yuko turned towards the boy.

"Alright. This is a story about a family," Wari's voice got really solemn, his blue eyes becoming hollow as he spoke. "A handsome husband, a loving wife, and their little boy who loved his mother very much. They seemed like a happy family. One day, the wife had discovered her husband had been unfaithful and they began to argue. Shameful that he had been found out, and angered by his wife's words, he raised his fist again and again, until everything was quiet." Inside the room, it almost felt like they could heard the body of the wife falling to the floor, the silence echoing the story. "He looked down," Wari continued. "She wasn't breathing. He'd beaten his wife to death. If anyone found out, he knew he'd spend the rest of his life in jail. He would have to hide the body. But first, he'd have to come up with something to tell the one person who loved her most of all: his son, who was so devoted to his mother. What could the husband say to keep his son from asking questions?" Watanuki could just picture the husband's desperation to hide his secret, the scraping of a body being dragged across the floor loud in her ears. "He decided to tell his son that his mother had taken a trip. He explained that there was no time to say goodbye because she left so quickly.

"Each day, the husband worried about his son asking about his mother. He lived in fear of that moment. He knew it wouldn't be long before his son realized that something was wrong." Wari paused here, the tension in the room building. "Two days passed, and then two more; and the son still didn't ask about his mother. After a week, the husband couldn't bear it anymore. He decided to ask the child about his mother. He asked his son, 'Aren't you lonely without your mother?' The boy looked at him blankly for a while, a confused stare on his face. And then he said, 'But dad, mom's been next to you the entire time.'"

Watanuki was sweating, her head tipped to hide her scared expression. The candles around them seemed to be sparking and squealing, upsetting the girl even more. Watanuki plus ghost stories never mixed, and the girl knew that some of what Wari had said could be true for someone, because vengeful ghosts like the wife could come into being at any time. It was just to real for the seer for her to shrug it off. She peeked up and Wari was smiling like normal.

"And that's how the story ends." Wari picked up an incense stick and lit it, placing it in the bowl when his story was done.

"Wari, you're quiet the story teller," Yuko complimented.

"Thank you! Was it scary enough? I hope it wasn't boring."

"It wasn't boring at all," Doumeki replied, looking at Watanuki. 'In fact, it seems to have had an effect on at least one person here." He teased emotionlessly.

"What are you trying to say, moron?" Watanuki's fear flared into anger, clenching her fist at the archer.

"Exactly what I said." Doumeki looked away, unconcerned with the girl's outburst.

"I wasn't scared at all!" The seer protested. It may had just been a story but I've seen too many weird things in my life for anything to seem entirely fictional! But I wasn't scared!

"Right!" Yuko clapped her hands together again and smiled. "Shall we continue?"

"Yeah, I'll go next then." Doumeki folded his arms and started telling his story. "This is a story I heard from my grandfather." The boy's voice took on an eerie tone, just like Wari's had done, coating the tale in an uneasy invocation.

"A student moved into an old apartment to live by himself. His first night there, he went to bed and started to doze off. And when he was juuust on the verge of fall asleep, he heard footsteps walking around on the tatami mats, the noise creaking and groaning over the floor. But there was no one there and the student hid under his blanket. A bit shaken by this, the student visited an old friend and got some protective charms. He hung them on the walls of his room, one talisman for each wall." Doumeki paused and Watanuki started sweating again. And she swore that someone shifted on the tatami mats of their rented room just to make her jump. It was Yuko…probably. "And then…later that night as he lay in bed, the spirit appeared, materializing as a dark cloud in the shape of a man's head, arms and torso with no legs. At first he thought that the charms kept the spirit from coming near as it circled around his bed. But in the end…he was wrong." Doumeki's voice suddenly turned malicious and cruel, clotted with malice just like the spirit's in the story. Watanuki jumped, but then realized that the voice she'd heard was just in her head and Doumeki had been speaking normally. But Watanuki wasn't the only one who reacted. Wari gasped and jumped back.

"How scary! That story was really scary, wasn't it?" He said, clenching his hands together.

"Yeah…yeah it was." Watanuki was trembling now, her hands covering her mouth. And then she realized that Doumeki could see her being scared and punched her hands down into her lap and glared at the archer. "But don't you dare make fun of me for saying it!" She hissed hotly.

"Huh?" Doumeki said with a slight sarcastic look on his face.

"Don't look so smug!" Watanuki snapped.

"Doumeki, your grandfather was the head priest here for quite some time was he not?" Yuko asked.

"That's right. 'Til the day he died." The boy replied.

"Then I imagine that he often saw spirits."

"He said he that he did. He was also supposed to be a very talented palm reader."

"I see," the witch hummed. "You must've gotten your blood from him." Her statement confused Watanuki, and she looked from the witch to her classmate. Doumeki looked at her while she looked at him. Their staring contest was interrupted when someone from next door moved, the walls rattling. Watanuki jumped back onto her butt, a half-scream choking in her throat. The doors were shaking and rattling, like something was trying to get out. Watanuki's eyes widened in fear, a sweat drop rolling down her cheek as her breath quickened. She was really scared now.

"Don't you hear that noise?!" She asked fearfully, pointing towards the door in between Yuko and Wari. "Is someone in there?" She asked, turning to Doumeki.

"You could say that." Doumeki replied.

"What's with that half-assed answer!? Is it someone you know?" Watanuki picked herself up and sat on her knees again, tryin to act just a little not-scared-shitless.

"Yeah. A parishioner. Only his remains though." Doumeki was dead serious when he said that, so he wasn't lying. Watanuki was frozen in her spot, just watching the archer place his incense stick in the pot while carefully holding back his sleeve so it wouldn't drag through the said in the pot. The doors kept rattling the whole time. "We're keeping him here until its time for the funeral."

"Do you think a family member could be in there with him?" Watanuki gulped and pointed towards the doors. "Maybe?" She asked hopefully.

"There's nobody alive in there. That's why I told you it didn't matter if we made noise tonight." Doumeki looked at the door, his voice calm. Nobody else seems troubled by the fact that a dead person was making a lot of noise in the next room, only Watanuki was voicing her concerns. So she tried again.

"Could there be a window open in there?"

"There aren't any windows in that room." Doumeki shut her down. A particularly loud bang had the girl jumping back again. The doors rattled harder, faster, as if the corpse was desperately trying to get out.

"You see," Yuko said, drawing Watanuki's attention. "It's just like I said: the cast is finally complete."

"What are you talking about!? You can't include a dead guy!" Watanuki protested. She stood up and walked over to Wari who was sitting next to the rattling doors for some reason. Oh, he was praying for the deceased. "Let's get out of here, Wari! Telling ghost stories in a place like this is absolutely insane!"

"You can't leave." Yuko interrupted. Watanuki looked over her shoulder at the witched. "There's a protective barrier surrounding us. You can't leave it in the middle of the ceremony."

"There's a barrier?" The raven asked.

"Yes, it was created by the four candles. It will protect us as long as we remain within it's bounds." Watanuki looked at the candles and then down into the incense pot, the smoke from the sticks gliding up into the air. "But I make no guarantees if you leave its protection." Watanuki shivered at the thought of not being protected even if she hand't realized she was being protected in the first place.

"So what now?" She whispered.

"We stay within the candles until out storytelling is complete." Yuko's insistence on keeping up the "date" premise annoyed Watanuki back into her old self.

"You've got to be kidding!" She yelped. The raven knelt next to Yuko and put up her hand to whisper. "It's not a good idea for me to be telling ghost stories with a dead body here!" Yuko scoffed at the girl.

"You haven't seen any spirits yet, have you?" The woman asked.

"Well…" The girl sat back, surprised. "I guess is haven't." Watanuki remembered that Yuko had said the Doumeki had that special power to ward off spirits and the girl looked at the archer. He just looked back at her. Yuko turned her head from Wari to Doumeki and then back to Watanuki.

"Well, don't get to comfortable. I suspect that will change before too long." Her comment had Watanuki trembling again. "Tell me Wari."

"Yeah?" The boy replied.

"Will you be alright if we continue this?" The witch asked the boy.

"Yes, once you start something, it's important that you see it through to the finish." Yuko chuckled evilly, her hand reaching out and cupping the boy's chin, her face drawing closer as if she was going to kiss him.

"You're a brave boy, Wari. Do you know that?" Their lips were inches apart now…

"AAAHHHH!" Watanuki screamed (for entirely different reasons than being scared), throwing her arms up in the air. "Her fangs are out! Wari's going to be eate-" A hand flashed out and smacked the girl in the face.

"Quiet!" Yuko commanded sulkily. The incense smoke suddenly dipped down, flowing across the room instead of up. A sleeping Mokona sniffed as the smoke drifted by its nose and it cracked its eyes open a smidge when Yuko clapped the kids to order again. "Why don't we continue with our story telling, hm? If everyone's ready?" Everyone was ready, already back in their spots.

"Sure…I'm ready." Watanuki said shakily.

"Of course!" Wari responded. "Who's next?" Everyone's head turned towards Watanuki.

"It's you, right?" Doumeki asked. Watanuki's head dropped.

"Let me guess: you didn't prepare a ghost story for our little celebration tonight, did you?" Yuko teased.

"No I have one ready…it's just that…" Watanuki looked up. The room darkened as the candles burned down. And she began her story, reliving a horrible memory at the same time.

"This is a story about a girl. A very young girl who was walking home from elementary school one day when something unusual happened." Watanuki saw that little girl, dressed her skirt and short-sleeved shirt and standing in the middle of the road. She stopped walking when she spotted a can. The girl kicked the can and it went flying down the street before clanking on the concrete, the girl running after it. "The girl reached the crossroads and saw a strange man approaching from the right." The girl's head turned, forgetting all about the can she'd been kicking and looked at the man dressed in a suit and top hat. His footsteps were crisp and clear on the pavement, resonating in the girl's head. He was all gray, even his skin. "She thought it was odd that the man was carrying an umbrella on such a sunny day. But it was more than that. He seemed…unapproachable somehow…as if they were separated by something more than just a few feet of pavement. The girl was relieved when the man passed her buy." The girl in Watanuki's memory was now running, her little pony tail bouncing behind her.

"When she came to the next crossroads...there he was again." The girl watched the gray man walk by her again with his blank eyes. "Was it possible that she was in a hurry and taken a wrong turn? Was that why the man reappeared?" The girl looked behind her, looking at the crossroads she'd just come from. "For some reason this encounter frightened the girl. Something about it felt wrong and the girl ran. And then…" Watanuki saw the girl stop at the next crossroads, seeing the gray man walk in her path again, this time with beady black eyes leering at the child as he passed. "There he was again. The girl clenched her eyes shut until his footsteps had faded away. And when she looked up, he was gone."

Silence, except for the crackling of the candles floated around the room. Watanuki didn't say another word.

"Well, it's over. That's the end of my story." The girl looked up sheepishly.

"That's was really creepy." Wari said sympathetically, but Watanuki could tell he was lying.

"Yeah, I'm really terrified." Doumeki stated flatly.

"Well, excuse me!" The girl snapped. And then her head sunk down again. "That really happened to me," she admitted.

"Are you serious? That was a true story?" Wari asked. "I wonder who that man was." Watanuki didn't know what to tell him, so the girl just picked up her incense stick, lit it and put it in the pot with the others.

"I bet you saw a ghost." Doumeki answered. Watanuki looked at him in shock.

"Wait, a ghost? You really believe in them?" She asked pointedly.

"Well, yeah, of course I do."

"Oh, okay then." Watanuki said disbelievingly.

"Haven't I told you that a thousand times?" Doumeki asked, his voice almost annoyed, but not quite.

"I was just checking!" Watanuki snapped. "Why am I the only one who can see them?" She asked forlornly. "Man, I wish I didn't have the ability to see spirits."

"You must admit it comes in handy." Yuko interrupted the girl's pity part of one. Watanuki looked up at the woman. "The girl in the story was lucky in the end, wasn't she?"

"Why do you say that?" The seer asked.

"Well, if she hadn't run away when she did then she might not be alive today."

Silence accompanied Yuko's statement, the fact that Watanuki probably should've been dead weighing on the air.

"The number four is said to lead to the realm of the dead. To meet someone at a crossroads four times would be unfortunate." The witch continued.

"I thought it was just a myth." Wari whispered fearfully.

"Have you ever seen a room in a Japanese hospital with the number four in it?"

"Now that you mention it, no I haven't." The teen replied.

"Standing where four roads meet…kinda makes you wonder about the fourth world, also known as the underworld." Doumeki added. "Crossroads can sometimes grant one access to the fourth realm."

"You're quite knowledgeable about these things, aren't you?" Yuko asked.

"Just something I heard from my grandfather."

"Hey! If you two are done chatting, can we get on with this thing!?" Watanuki asked, pissed that this was taking even longer because those two wouldn't shut up.

"So Watanuki," Yuko turned towards the snarling girl. "Was the girl able to find her way home safely that afternoon? Was the rest of her walk quiet? Or did something else happen along the way?" Watanuki thought back to her walk, but couldn't remember anything after the third meeting, the girl in her memory just standing in the street with her long shadow reach out behind her.

"Sorry, but I can't remember." The girl hung her head again.

"Alright." Yuko smiled again. "Then I supposed it's time for my story." She finished ominously.

"I'm kinda scared to hear yours. I'm sure it's going to be terrifying." Watanuki shivered as she spoke. Yuko smiled devilishly, her hand coming up to touch her yukata collar.

"Look behind me." The witch began. The incense smoke drifted towards Yuko and the room with the corpse in it. "You see that shape on the screen? Does it look familiar?" Watanuki looked behind the witch and saw a mass of shadows moving around, like a collection of spirits roiling around in the netherworld. Then the shadows merged into one, becoming the gray man in Watanuki's story, top hat and all. The girl gasped loudly, jumping backwards in fear. The man's umbrella appeared on the screen too and then he disappeared. The ceiling creaked next, the wood bending under someone's weight.

"The ceiling just moved." Doumeki noted.

"Yes it did. Interesting." Yuko replied just as calmly.

"It's kind of like someone's moving around up there." Wari added. The three of them watched and listened as the creaking and groaning of wood moved around the ceiling and then spread to the rest of the room. "Wait, it's coming from all over."

"It almost sounds as if someone is crawling around on all fours." Doumeki noted again. Watanuki could not believe how calm they were all being! She was freaking out and about ready to piss herself.

"No!" Watanuki clapped her hands to the side of her head and screamed. Then a huge quake knocked her on her stomach and elbows. The whole room was rattling now, shaking and quaking violently. "A-an earthquake?!"

"No." Yuko's smile had disappeared. "Take a look inside the water dish." They all turned to see the bowl. There was nothing out of the ordinary, except…that everything was.

"With all the shaking, the water should be moving!" Watanuki yelped, looking at the completely still surface of the bowl.

"But the barrier is in danger." Yuko said, the shaking getting more violent. A huge creaked and shake had Wari toppling over and Doumeki was the one to catch his shoulders. Even in danger, Watanuki's jealously still flared up at the sight of Doumeki touching Wari (even though there was nothing really going on).

"Doumeki! You lay off!" Both boys looked at the girl. Wari's eyes widened frightfully, the boy's hand pointing behind the girl.

"Watanuki! It's behind you!" Wari shouted. Watanuki couldn't see, but the man with theumbrella was looming behind her on the screen, splitting up into a hoard of swirming bodies. Another huge quake as the girl screaming and one of the candle stands tipped and crashed to the floor, the candle flickering out. The rest of the candles went out, leaving the room in darkness.

"The barrier's been broken." Yuko intoned. The quaking and creaking got even more violent and the spirits on the screen pushed their way into the room. White hands burst from the screen, wriggling and clawing at air until one of them reached for Watanuki. She looked too late and her collar was snagged as the seer was pulled into the screen, the hands all grabbing onto her and holding her. She screamed and tried to pull away, but the hands were too strong, yanking on the girl's clothes and body so tightly that she was having trouble breathing. The spirits pulled on her harder, trying to drag her through the screen as if they wanted her to join them in death. One of the hands was clenching around Watanuki's throat now, cutting off what little air she had left as she shook with terror.

"Quickly, Doumeki. You need to pick up the bow that's in the alcove." Yuko instructed. Doumeki did as he was told, turning around the grabbing the bow from off its stand. "Now, fire towards the screen." Wari ran to Watanuki's side, trying to think of something to do.

"Watanuki!" He gasped. If the girl hadn't been so busy trying to breath and get away from the spirits, she'd have been ecstatic that her crush was worried about her.

"But I don't have an arrow to shoot." Doumeki told Yuko, his voice showing the tiniest bit of worry and concern for his classmate.

"If it's you shooting, then you won't need one." Yuko replied. Doumeki stood, his eyes narrowing as he took his stance. The bow came up, his right hand pulling back on the bowstring while the left held the bow and pulled forwards. He aimed towards Watanuki and the spirits holding her captive. He took just a moment to look at Watanuki's terrified face as the struggled against the bone white hands that clawed at her skin and hair, yanking her this way and that in their desperation to have her. Watanuki needed Doumeki right now and that was something that the archer took very seriously.

His will set, Doumeki aimed his shot, a shining golden arrow materializing in his bow. He released it, sending it flying towards the spirits and piercing it in one of its heads. The spirits screamed in agony and a dark mass of gloop spilled through the hole Doumeki had made in the screen as the shadows vanished. Watanuki dropped to the floor, gasping for breath as the glob sunk down over her.

"You hungry?" Yuko asked, holding up Mokona in her hands.

"Yeah!" The fur ball's black eyes shot open wide and a it started sucking in the mass of spirits like a vortex. A few seconds had passed while Mokona was gobbling up the huge mass of spirits and then it shut its mouth when the last of them were sucked into its gullet. "Wow! That was quite a feast!~"

"Well, good. I'm glad you enjoyed it." Yuko smiled.

"Ug." Watanuki, Doumeki and Wari all groaned in disgust at the display Mokona had just put on.

"Now, who's ready for a snack!~" Yuko asked, looking at the teens. Just the mention of food after seeing Mokona eat a whole bunch of angry spirits tipped Watanuki over the edge. She'd been scared shitless, choked, mauled by a bunch of spirit and subjected to Mokona's eating habits. She ran to the bathroom to throw up what was left of her dinner. "Bring the watermelon back with you!~" Yuko called after the girl.

Watanuki hurled in the sink, apologizing mentally to the temple, and then washed her mouth out when her stomach stopped heaving. She wiped her clean mouth off and looked at her face in the mirror. She was pale, sweaty and wore out, the bruises on her neck beginning to form. Geez, how and I going to explain this one at school? Watanuki took a few grateful breathes before steeling herself and walking out of the bathroom. She then proceeded to find the watermelon Yuko had mentioned and cut it up into triangles before walking back into the rented room.

The lights had already been lit and everyone was outside on the porch. They all dove in on the plate Watanuki was carrying and started chowing down on the fruit. Watanuki still didn't have her appetite back yet, so she refrained from taking a piece. Mokona bit into its piece loudly, munching away, still hungry even after eating.

"That was amazing!" Wari said to the pork bun.

"Wari, aren't you a little creeped out by that thing?" Watanuki asked. The seer was sitting in between Doumeki and Wari, the girl's crushed on her right, with Mokona next to him and Yuko next to it. She finally felt better enough to at least nibble on a piece of watermelon and took one before Mokona ate it all. "You saw what it did! It sucked up a big ball of angry spirits!"

"Don't call me a thing!" Mokona retorted.

"It was still pretty amazing!" Wari replied.

"Yeah! Did you hear that!" The fur ball snarked. It's more like 'disgusting' if you ask me, the girl thought, turning back to her fruit.

"Speaking of amazing…" Wari continued. "You're such a great shot, Doumeki. How'd you shoot that bow without an arrow?"

"Dunno." The archer replied.

"So what was that thing that went flying?" Watanuki asked.

"Energy." Yuko answered.

"Energy?" Watanuki repeated. All three teens looked towards the witch.

"Doumeki has a power that drives away evil spirits and demons." Watanuki looked at Doumeki incredulously. He wasn't even looking at her and just took antoher bit of watermelon. "This impressive talent of his comes from his family lineage. Much like yours, Watanuki." Watanuki just scowled at her classmate as he chewed.

"I have no desire to be anything like this moron!" She stated forcefully.

"What are you so upset about?" Yuko asked, holding up her piece of watermelon. "When you get into trouble with anything supernatural, Doumeki has the power to drive them off for you." Mokona took this opportunity of explanation to jump into Wari's hands, cuddling and giggling with the boy.

"But it's so humiliating to have to depend on a jerk that like that for protection!" The raven retorted, her pride concerning independence bruised. And then the girl remembered something, turning off her bad mood in the process. "Oh, Yuko. What'd you mean before, when you said the 'cast was complete?'"

"The parishioner's corpse was our last member." Both women looked back into the occupied room. "I wanted to show you what each of you is capable of. That spirit became our unwitting star. Thankfully, we had you here to attract it, and of course, Doumeki was here to drive it away." Said Doumeki was now not paying attention to the conversation and went about lighting an oil lamp with an automatic lighter.

"But why did you invite Wari?" Watanuki asked, looking at the boy who'd walked over to the plate of watermelon and was now holding a piece up for Mokona to chow down on while diving straight down in the air. "Is he supposed to be a part of this 'cast' you keep talking about?" Yuko turned to look at Wari too.

"I guess I should tell you…" She started answering. Watanuki waited, holding her breath because Yuko was actually explaining things for once. "But not just yet!" Well, there went that. One moment of clarity from her and then she goes back to normal!

"Why are you torturing me?!" The girl wailed. Yuko just laughed and kept eating her slice of watermelon.

After they were all done eating the watermelon, Wari bid the group good night, waving cutely from the temple's walk before disappearing down the street. Yuko and Mokona were busy getting drunk on the porch and Watanuki was clearing up the dishes to take to the kitchen after she'd been forced to cook a midnight snack – and by "midnight snack" Yuko had meant a full dinner. She had so many that she was going to have to take two trips and left the rest on the porch. What she didn't expect was that Doumeki was going to pick up the second set and follow her. She reached the kitchen without knowing she had a shadow and plunked the dishes down into the sink with a sigh. The second plunk startled her and she whirled around to find Doumeki adding his dishes with hers.

"Say something if you're coming in!" She snapped, putting a hand to her chest to quell her frightened heart.

"Sorry. I brought the rest of the dishes." He replied.

"I can see that!" Watanuki whirled around again and turned on the sink to wash the dishes. Doumeki leaned against the counter, watching the girl.

A cross vein popped out on her forehead as she washed, but the girl ignored the archer, instead taking to the dishes like a demon. The only bad thing was, there weren't many of them to keep her busy and she ended up flying through the load. The other bad thing was the Doumeki started drying them and putting the dishes back in their cupboards, getting the job done even faster. After that was finished, there was just a girl and a boy standing silently in the kitchen.

"Can I help you with something else?" Watanuki huffed.

"I helped you tonight." Doumeki stated.

"Yeah, so?" The seer asked.

"I want something." Those words sent Watanuki into a panic, her heart beating rapidly and her breath coming up short. The last time Doumeki wanted something from her it was that damn kiss that she couldn't forget. What is he going to want this time?! The girl wanted to know and didn't want to know at the same time, but obviously she was going to find out whether she liked it or not.

"W-w-what do you want?" Watanuki asked, thinking about the kiss that happened just a few rooms over in this very temple. Thinking about his lips on her and the scent of sandalwood and lemons that had haunted her for days. Thinking about how she might not hate Doumeki as much as she used too and how that was starting to scare her, more than the spirits she'd just dealt with.

"I want you to hold my hand and walk with me." Doumeki replied, completely serious, his eyes hot and molten as they started into Watanuki blue ones.

"Wha-? I-I-" The girl couldn't form a coherent word, let alone a sentence. She was expecting an outlandish request like French kissing or sex (that's how she thought all teenaged boy brains functioned) but this might be slightly less worse because it was still a prolonged punishment to spend with her enemy. But, she was the one who accidently started this whole repayment thing with the lunches and then the-the…kiss incident, so she had to see it through. Watanuki squeezed her eyes shut and stuck out her hand, looking away from it like it could make things any better. She felt a warm hand – much bigger than her own – take her fingers gently and squeezed hers tightly. Watanuki cracked her eyes open and saw that Doumeki really was holding her hand, and he wasn't being weird about it like she was. She relaxed just a little and he was then pulling out onto the porch and into the temple's backyard, just walking in the cool evening air.

The breeze picked up Watanuki's hair and made it flutter behind her, doing the same thing with her yukata as they walked hand in hand. The back garden was beautiful in the moonlight, all lit up when the clouds disappeared from the moon and pleasantly shadowed when they passed over again. It was well maintained, the hydrangeas Doumeki had mentioned blooming well and the cobblestone path was swept and devoid of weeds. It wasn't as bad as she thought it would be, even if the silence between them was a little awkward. Watanuki wanted to say something to break the quiet, but she couldn't think of anything and just kept opening and closing her mouth futilely. It was Doumeki who broke the silence. But first, his free hand came up and gently touched the bruises on Watanuki's neck, his movements feather-light so he didn't cause her any pain. When she looked into his eyes, she swore she could see regret and relief reflected back at her. And then he suddenly stopped and swept the girl into a tight embrace, his arms wrapping around her shoulders and back, pulling her close enough to smell the lemon body wash on his skin.

"I'm glad you're safe." He whispered into her flighty hair.

"What?" Watanuki whispered back.

"I was worried about you when those spirits attacked. I'm glad I could help you." Doumeki squeezed her closer for a moment and then let her go. Watanuki swore she felt lips on her hair, but she couldn't be sure.

"Yeah, well…you're useful sometimes." Watanuki said softly, really at a loss for what she should say. Doumeki took her hand again and they continued walking. She squeezed it once in comfort

Little did the pair know that a pair of cranberry eyes and a pair of black eyes were watching them from the porch, both amused and secretly pleased that they seemed to get along. At least a little bit.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Watanuki was slaving away in the kitchen…again…but this time she was in her own kitchen, so it wasn't quite as horrible as Yuko's. At least she didn't have a dimensional witch breathing down her neck for food and sake. But, the witch was responsible for the girl having to get up at four in the morning (her telephone ringing shrilly in the early morning and her above-neighbor stomping on the ground to get her to shut it up) and she was really, really pissed off about it.

"Damn that Yuko. Damn that Yuko. Damn that Yuko!" She hissed as she ground her soaked rice into a paste in the hot morning sun and then checked on the red bean paste she had made. "And I'll show, Doumeki! That jerk! She growled. "How's that you cold-eyed – Always acting like some big, smug buffoon!" Watanuki always insulted Doumeki when she was doing hard work now, and grinding rice and bean paste was the perfect opportunity to vent out all her frustration – (Yuko would've called it sexual tension, but Watanuki would've smacked her down from that one). The girl paused, letting her wooden mortar rest against the bowl, wiping the sweat off her face. She picked up a pinch of her food, squished it to check its texture and then she popped it in her mouth.

"Delicious." She looked straight ahead with a smirk to rival Yuko's. "Too delicious." Watanuki then packed the rice into twenty eight oval shaped balls with skilled hands and let them set. And then when the rice balls could be handled again, she wrapped bean paste around them, completing her ohagi. (2) By the time she was done, it was already afternoon. She packed up all the ohagi in three different bento boxes and grabbed a purple wrapping cloth to tie hold them all. She then changed out of her sweaty, dirty clothes and into a pleated blue skirt and a ruffled short-sleeved, white top for the hot day. Slipping on some ballet flats, the girl walked out of her apartment, locking the door behind her and making the miserable walk to Yukos shop.

"Man, its hot today!" She grumbled. "Who knew July 14th could get this hot?! I think this is even worse than last year!" Watanuki said as she walked up the path to Yuko's door, pulling her shirt away from her sweaty chest. "Hey! I'm here!" She called as she walked in the door.

What the girl found waiting for her in the genkan was enough to have her cringing away in fear. Yuko was kneeling in a full, teal and blue kimono with Maru on her right and Moro on her left – both girls kneeling as well in their summer versions of their devil and angel outfits.

"Oh goody! We've been waiting for you!" Yuko smiled her you're-such-a-good-girl-Watanuki smile, her hands placed in front of her knees in traditional Japanese style.

"We have!" Mura said, bowing.

"We have!" Moro repeated, bowling. Mokona jumped from one wall to the other in excitement.

"Oooooooohagi!" The fur ball cheered, cannon-balling right into Watanuki's face, causing the girl to bend over backwards with a grimace on her face! "Ohagi! Ohagi!"

"Hooray for ohagi!~ Hooray for ohagi!~" Maru and Moro chanted, taking the girl's bentos without a fight and Mokona jumped on top of the lunch boxes as it was carried away.

"A simple thank you would be appreciated!" Watanuki growled and the twins and the fur ball carried off her hard work.

"Such a nice Obon gift! Good work!" Yuko cheered, sliding into Watanuki's face with a thumbs-up.

"I'm all for honoring one's ancestors but celebrating the Obon festival doesnotrequireyouwakingmeupafoura.m.!" (3) The girl ranted out, not even taking a breath in between words. Yuko's hand came up to cup her chin and leaned in close like she was going to kiss the girl, her cranberry eyes molten with warmth.

"Now, now, Watanuki. Don't ruin this culinary achievement with a temper tantrum. There's nothing wrong with starting the day early." Yuko reassured.

"You woke me up at four a.m.! That's not 'early' that's torture!" Watanuki's cross vein got bigger and angrier as she yanked her chin out of Yuko's grasp.

"Aw! Someone's angry!" Yuko cupped her own cheek and teased the seer."

"Yeah! Angry!" Maru teased, her head peeking around a wall. Moro's head was stacked on top of hers.

"Watanuki's shaking!" The pink-haired twin giggled. Yuko had somehow instantaneously teleported over there was her head was stacked on top of Moro's.

"Scary!~" She cooed. They all ran into the dining room when Watanuki roared, coming after them with teeth and claws. Mokona was already sitting on the table, opening up the bentos when Yuko slid into her seat with Maru and Moro bookending her.

"Behold! Ohagi!" The mokona said as it presented the ohagi to everyone else. Each sweet was in its own little sleeve, sitting perfectly aligned in the box. Watanuki could swear she heard trumpets in the background as everyone gasped in delight. She went to the kitchen and made up some tea really quick and then returned to the table and sat on her cushion.

"Don't get too excited!" Watanuki warned, pouring the tea. "This is the first time I've ever made ohagi." Yuko picked up her chopsticks and then used them to pick up a sweet, taking a nibble. She blushed in satisfaction, slapping her left hand to her cheek. Maru and Moro popped up with their hands on their cheeks and all three of them coursed, "Yuuuummmmyyy!~"

Mokona had three ohagi on one chopstick like a shish kabob and ate all three one right after another.

"Watanuki! You sweet, ballbuster you!" Yuko scooted around the table at the speed of light and draped one of her arms around the girl's shoulders and ran her free pointer finger down the seer's face as she made and unpleasant face behind her glasses.

"Yeah, thanks, but spare me the flattery will you?" Yuko poked the girl's cheek. "Here, have some tea. I added some persimmon so it's bitter." Yuko turned her head away as Watanuki held up a cup for her, tapping her lips thoughtfully.

"Hm, thoughtful…but I think a nice shochu would suit me better right now. I got some as an Obon gift." Yuko said, her satisfied blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Another excuse to get sloshed!?" Watanuki shrieked, jumping into Yuko's shot.

"Red! Bean! Paste! Rules!" Mokona said delightedly, it's long tongue licking the remnants of the treat of the trays.

"Which do you prefer?" Watanuki asked sitting down at the table again with her own cup of tea after pouring Yuko's alcohol. The witch was now lounging on her porch chair with her kimono falling open everywhere like usual, drink and snack in hand. "The chunky tsubuan or the smooth koshain? Its really just the difference between Eastern Japanese style and Western."

"Both are delicious." Yuko concluded.

"In spring its botamochi and in autumn its ohagi, even the name changes with the seasons!" Watanuki continued.

"Sounds…!" Maru started.

"…Yummy!" Moro finished. Both of the twins had crumbs on their face and Watanuki reached over with a handkerchief to wipe their cheeks.

"But it seems that people call it ohagi no matter what time they're talking about." The seer was still talking, not even caring if anyone was listening. A red bean pinged onto the floor as stuff got shifted around on the table and Yuko stood to pick it up, rolling it between her fingers. "You know, I've never understood why everyone only eats them on holidays."

"Because like most long-held beliefs, it's become a tradition." Yuko replied, looking at the bean in her hand. "Many ancients believed that the red azuki bean acted as a charm against disaster, so many prepare ohagi on memorial occasions to avert the misfortunes of the dead."

"Oh! That's fascinating." Watanuki nodded in understanding, sipping her tea.

"Watanuki, thanks a bunch!" Mokona said as it pushed the three stacked bento boxes over to the girl across the table. It was rubbing its tummy appreciatively. The girl looked at the boxes with a disgusted look on her face and then opened up the top one.

"Hold up! You ate the whole bento already!?" Mokona burped in response.

"We set one aside for you." Yuko said, grabbing her drink and pointing down. "It's on the table, there." Mokona picked up the plate and held it over its head.

"Here ya go! Eat up!" It said.

"Thanks, but I'll pass." The girl replied. "Believe me, I had my fair share when I was making them."

"Oh really?" Yuko asked. "Then maybe you can share your portion with a friend! Someone special, perhaps? Obon is the time for gift giving."

"Someone..special…as in…?" The girl asked quietly, thinking it over. The image of cute Wari popped into her head. "YES! That's it! This would give me the perfect excuse to go see Wari!~"

Watanuki leapt to her feet and snagged the last ohagi from Mokona, skipping down the hallway with the treat above her head.

"This is going to be great!~ HA!~ HA!~" She made it to the kitchen and started pouring the rest of the tea she'd made into a thermos, placing the ohagi in a box for her crush. "Ohagi will win him over!~ He's going to love it!~" She sang as she packed up. "WARIIIIII!~ Here I come! Aha!~" The girl was out skipping and dancing in a heartbeat leaving the shop far behind.

"It's a shame that things don't always go the way people want." Mused Yuko at the table with her drink, still rolling the red bean in her fingers. "Such is life…she'll just have to learn!" Maru and Moro giggled over their cups of tea, no remorse for the poor raven-haired girl to be found.

In no time at all, Watanuki was in front of the Kunogi's house, ringing the bell at the gate to get Wari's attention. Ring!

"Huh?" Ring! "Why doesn't he answer?" Ring! "Maybe he's taking a nap!" She said hurriedly, trying to come up with some excuse as to why her crush was taking so long to come out. "I bet he's in the shower and can't hear anything!" Ring! "It is hot today!" Ring!" That's it!" Ring! "Or maybe she's putting down the last piece of huge jigsaw puzzle and can't tear herself away!" Okay, now she was getting desperate. Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring! "There's no way he'd be with that jerk Doumeki, right?!" Watanuki didn't notice it but she'd been standing in front of Wari's house for two hours making up excuses and breaking her own heart. A firefly drifted past, its tiny light going unnoticed by the distraught girl standing in front of an empty house.

"WHERE ARE YOU, WARI?!" The girl screamed to the heavens, having run to the nearest park and climbed up to the top of the slide that looked like a mountain.

"Mommy? Why's that lady screaming?" A little boy and girl were looking up at Watanuki, very confused about what she was doing.

"Children! Come along!" The mother ran up and herded her two kids away from the freak. "Don't make eye contact with her!"

"Aw…" Watanuki groaned. She fell backwards tumbling down the slide and bopping her head on the ground as she slid to a stop. She didn't even care. Watanuki picked herself up and trudged to the swing set, sitting down and listlessly rocking back and forth, her thermos and single ohagi sitting next to her. She hadn't noticed yet, but the sun was sinking lower and lower in the sky, the night almost there. "It wasn't supposed to happen this way…" Watanuki slipped into a daydream, one where everything went right.

"Aw! This ohagi looks delicious!" He'd say, taking the treat lovingly. "Wow! You really made this all by yourself? Amazing! Is it okay if I eat it now?" Watanuki would blush cutely, looking up at the boy shyly.

"Of course! Dig in!" Watanuki would reply. And then he'd take a bite.

"It's delicious." He's say, his voice mostly emotionless and annoying. Something was wrong with that picture but Watanuki was too busy gushing to care too much, looking over at her unwanted companion with a stupid, lovesick expression on her face. Doumeki was sitting on the swing next to the seer, eating the ohagi , clearly knowing that the girl was daydreaming.

"You think so?~" Watanuki asked, still not noticing who was next to her.

"Umhm." Doumeki nodded, still chewing. There was a moment of silence before Watanuki got it.

"GAAAAHHHHH !" The girl screamed, watching as the ohagi she'd made disappeared into that jerkass's mouth. She flailing around, making the swing flail with her. "You ate the last of my lovely ohagi, you jerk! How could you do this to me?!" Watanuki's hand clapped themselves on Doumeki's face and she shook his head back and forth. She snarled with her pointy teeth, "Spit it out! Spit it out! Spit it out right now!"

"Doumeki popped the rest of the ohagi into his mouth in response. Watanuki's face turned blue in mortification and her jaw dropped to the floor. In the next instant, Watanuki was sitting on the ground in a ball of sadness and grief, holding the empty box were her gift to Wari used to be. Rivers of tears were running down her face, her eyes desolate because her chance to see Wari and give him a gift had slipped away. Doumeki was busy pouring himself a cup of tea from the thermos whilst she was being a drama queen.

"It's not like you were going to eat it. So what's the big deal?" He asked. "And I'm not sure what you did, but you were reported to the police. Now I realize that you were just being loud."

"I don't want to hear another word from you!" Watanuki yelled back. "Listening to you will just cause me more grief!"

"Don't be so melodramatic." Doumeki chastised.

"You don't understand because you're an ignorant fool! I believe Yuko about those red beans granting good luck! That's the reason I wanted Wari to eat the last one!" Watanuki leapt up again, pointing angrily and stomping her feet to vent her frustration at the bastard in front of her. Doumeki screwed the lid to the thermos back on when he was done. "HEY! Are you listening to me?!"

"Calm down. He couldn't eat it anyway. He's out of town in Karuizawa and won't be back until the twentieth."

"Huh?" Watanuki asked, her angry expression dropping.

"Read for yourself." Doumeki fished out a postcard from his pocket and handed it to the girl.

"A postcard?"

Hello and Summer Greetings! A voice that sounded like Wari's said in Watanuki's head.

This is Wari's handwriting! The girl screamed internally, her body going to grayscale with shock and jealously! How did Doumeki get a postcard from Wari?! It wasn't fair!

"You look surprised." Doumeki noted. "Didn't you get one?"

"Of course!" Watanuki lied, a cross vein popping out on her head. "I don't carry it around with me!" She handed the postcard back.

"Yeah, right." Doumeki replied, knowing she was lying and knowing that she would actually carry it around with her if she did have a postcard from her crush. He put the note back in his pocket calmly as the girl lost it again, collapsing onto her swing in desperation.

How did he get a postcard from Wari and not me?! It's not fair! He gets mail from girls all year round and from Wari too?! How does that bastard get all the luck?! It isn't fair! I just isn't fair! Watanuki couldn't stop crying, hating Doumeki, hating Doumeki's popularity and hating that she'd been forgotten by the one person she didn't want to be forgotten by.

Watanuki sulkily sat down in her swing and started pumping her legs to work out more frustration, her swing getting higher and higher, and her skirt flying up. Doumeki just watched the girl go back and forth and back and forth, noticing that her skirt was flying up. His eyes locked onto her butt as he watched for his opportunity to see her panties, but for some reason, there was just a blank, shapeless black space under her skirt.

"Watanuki…why…?" Doumeki asked, noticing something was wrong with the girl's panties as he tried to take a peek at what she had on today.

"Ha! You were trying to look up my skirt weren't you?!" Watanuki pointed accusingly at the archer. She leapt off the swing and faced Doumeki, leaning over with her hands on her hips, her legs spread apart dominantly. "Well, I beat you this time! Aha!" Then the girl flipped around and flicked up her skirt extravagantly and wiggled her butt to show Doumeki the bootie shorts she'd put on over her panties so he couldn't see them. "Take that, you pervert!" She sang triumphantly. Doumeki wasn't going to tell the raven, but he was fine not seeing her panties today, as long as she kept wiggling her butt back and forth in his face.

It was during this display of immature one-upping/semi-erotic booty dance that Watanuki noticed a firefly hovering around her. She stopped her childishness and stood up straight watching the light bug, drift around and around. The seer tried to touch the firefly, but it floated away. Watanuki watched the bug and Doumeki watched the girl until she noticed another girl sitting on the furthest swing from the pair of classmates, because the firefly had drifted in that direction.

She was a pretty girl, with straight cut blue hair and big brown eyes and she was wearing a cute pink dress and jacket with strappy sandals. She was just sitting on the swing, looking down at her hands as the evening shadows deepened with the setting of the sun. Watanuki was wondering how she didn't even know the girl was there.

"When did she get here?" The raven asked. Doumeki didn't reply and just looked at the girl as well. She seemed to notice the two pairs of eyes on her and gave the teens a sideways glance. And when she did see that two people were looking at her, the girl jumped in her seat, startled, and then looked away while blushing even deeper.

"Is she scared of us?" Watanuki asked.

"Beats me." Doumeki answered, leaning over on his knees. Watanuki looked at the girl as she shrunk into herself, her face getting even redder and looked at Doumeki looking at the girl. The previous hate-rant she'd been thinking about earlier popped into her head, concluding that the girl had a crush on Doumeki. The seer grimaced.

Ah, another Doumeki fan! She grumbled in her head. I don't get it! What about him makes all the girls swoon? He's a cold, callous jerk with an attitude problem, that's what he is! Watanuki put her hands on her hips and sighed, shaking her head in defeat. She walked over to the girl and could feel Doumeki's eyes on her as she strolled past him.

"Hello." She said to the girl. The bluenette's head shot up, a shocked look on her face. She took two steps back on her swing, her hands going to the chains to balance herself. "I'm leaving now, so my seat's free," Watanuki continued, gesturing to the empty spot by Doumeki. "I thought you might want it."

"No-I…uh…" The girl said softly in her high voice. She was very timid, looking down even as she was speaking.

"Oh, it's okay, really. There's nothing to worry about!" Watanuki smiled and waved the girl's protest off. She mentally punched herself. Why am I playing matchmaker for my rival! This is degrading! "Well, I'm heading out so you two have fun! Bye!" Watanuki started walking away when a hand grabbed the back of her shirt.

"Wait! Please…" Her voice was even soft when she was "yelling." The girl was holding onto the raven's shirt, and then quickly let go of it when Watanuki looked back, acting like a startled squirrel. "I'm sorry…but I don'-well… I mean…"

"Look," Watanuki said, turning around again. "Just relax, you don't have to say it. I know when I'm a third wheel."

"It's not like that! You don't have to leave!" The girl was looking up and then she turtle again, clenching her hands and tipping her head down. Watanuki sighed again. Maybe I should stick around to keep the conversation going? Typical. Oh, well. I guess I'm stuck. Watanuki cleared her throat and waved Doumeki over quietly. He just looked up at her. "Get. Over. Here." She whispered through clenched teeth, taking a lunge and using her whole arm to wave this time. The girl stood up behind her, trying to say something but Watanuki just laughed nervously and tucked her hand behind her head.

"Ha, ha. Oh, sorry! He's really not such a bad guy once you get past his flaws!" Watanuki walked behind the girl and scooted her along towards her previous seat. "Like being quite rude, unfriendly, insensitive, pigheaded, antisocial, heartless, selfish, impudent and uuugggly." On the word "ugly" Watanuki had the girl sitting in the swing and the seer kept going, leaping over the park's rail and towards the hippopotamus. She looked back once and then jump-straddled the hippo and leaned on her elbows over its head. "It's alright! Just pretend that I'm not even here!" Both the archer and the new girl were looking at Watanuki until the girl turned towards Doumeki and found him looking at her. She squeaked like frightened mouse and looked away for the millionth time.

"E-excuse m-me!" She was blushing even redder now. "You two were talking…and I-I just butted in." Doumeki didn't say anything to that.

"Aw, man. Would you say something to her already?" Watanuki whined from the hippo, now dubbed the "third wheel seat." She was leaning over it head now, one arm wrapped around its ears and the other resting on its forehead. "Why does he get all the girls? Excluding me, of course!"

"This might not make sense to you but I was hoping to give a gift to someone special to me."

"So what's stopping you?" Doumeki asked. The girl stood up and walked around in front of the brunette.

"I was in a hurry tonight and forgot to bring the gift with me." Watanuki watched the girl spin around the smile, clapping her hands together. "But then I discovered yours! Right here!" Watanuki gasped as the girl's hand touched Doumeki's torso, sinking through his clothes and skin, a gushy sound coming from the intrusion. Doumeki's face was showing emotion this time, his mouth open in shock. The girl just smiled at him, a light coming from her hand as she pulled it back out. Watanuki was frozen in place by shock as the girl's hand brought out the whole ohagi that Doumeki had eaten, the treat floating and glowing above her fingers. "Wow! This ohagi looks delicious!" The girl exclaimed.

Doumeki slumped to the side in the swing, his eyes falling shut as his body went limp. Watanuki was over by him in two seconds, catching under his armpits before his head smacked against the ground. He was heavy, but she managed to hold him upright as she knelt and he sat on the ground.

"Doumeki! Hey, now." She shook him, but got no response from the oaf. "Please, just wake up! What's wrong?" Doumeki was out and nothing was waking him up, not even Watanuki's grating voice. "What did you do?" The seer asked, looking up at the girl holding the floating ohagi. She cringed and backed away, tears forming in her eyes.

"Um…I just…uh…" Watanuki let her founder. "Well…I just needed a gift…that's all I wanted. I didn't mean to hurt him." She finally said. The tears started to fall and she ran off, pink dress and all.

"Hey! Hold on!" Watanuki called after her. And then she couldn't believe what happened afterwards. As the girl was running across the park with Doumeki's ohagi, a whole swarm of blue fireflies converged on her, surrounding and flying with her. They bunched up under her feet, like glowing path until she reached the edge of the park and then they exploded, throwing the girl into the air as she flew away with the fireflies. The girl in the pink dress vanished into the night sky, the bugs' lights glittering like stars as they faded away too.

"She can fly?!" Watanuki said when she got her tongue working again. She was still holding onto Doumeki, his warm body a dead weight in her arms. "Girl's don't usually fly, right? That means she…"

"…isn't human." Yuko's face dropped out of the sky and finished Watanuki's sentence with an ominous tone. Obviously the girl flipped out, scared shitless and tossed her arms in the air, tossing whatever was in her arms as well. Watanuki and Yuko (who was leaning her body through the swing and holding onto the chains) both looked up as Doumeki was sent flying into the railing that surrounded the swing set, his head crashing into the metal bar with a glorious gong sound.

"Uh…" Watanuki said, looking at the unconscious body of her rival, his arm thrown over the rail while the rest of him slumped like a dead body.

"That made a great sound. If he wasn't knocked out already, he certainly is now." Yuko commented. Watanuki "oooed" in sympathy for the headache he was probably going to have when he woke up. Watanuki and Yuko both looked at each other for a second before scrambling to grab Doumeki and hoisted his limp body over to a bench, working like a team of bumbling paramedics. He was too tall to stay completely on the bench, so even with his head at one end, most of his legs were falling off. Yuko yanked down on one of Doumeki's eye lids, checking for movement and then let his skin snap back into place.

"My, my. She did quite a job, taking his soul like that."

"His soul?! So that means…" Watanuki trailed off. "If we don't find her, he'll stay like this?"

"Permanently."

"Did this happen…because Doumeki was here…with me…?" Watanuki stood up straight as she asked her elongated question. Yuko stood up as well, dusting off her blue halter-top dress and yanked out a blue popsicle to match.

"Possibly. It's not every day that you come across a girl who can fly. She isn't something one would so easily meet." Yuko shoved the popsicle into the mouth.

"So what you're saying is that this is really all my fault, huh?" Watanuki's pointing finger kept flipping between her and Doumeki's body.

"Hm." Yuko replied, affirming Watanuki's suspicions.

"Grrrr!" The girl clenched her fists together and made a snap decision. Since it was her fault that Doumeki was in trouble she was going to fix it. She didn't like leaving messes messy. "What do I have to do to get him back to normal?" Yuko stopped licking her popsicle and gave the girl her sideways smile.

"Oh, it would be my pleasure to tell you!~" The witch smiled brightly. "Of course, it's going to cost you!~" She waved her popsicle back and forth teasingly.

"Ah…gee….ta…da…humph!" Watanuki vocalized. Yuko took that as a "yes."

"I'll just have you work some overtime. Enjoy!" Yuko walked away while Watanuki agonized over saving Doumeki, her rival and bitterest enemy, running her hands all over her face and head in irritation. Yuko stood in the middle of the part and brought up her lips to give a shrill whistle. A big white bird flapped and chirped up in the sky. Watanuki walked over to Yuko to watch the same bird fly closer and closer. The bird's wings flapped, sending up a huge gust of wind as the massive monster landed. Watanuki was speechless, watching a bird that had to be as big as a house landing in the middle of the park and blowing her and Yuko's ruffled skirt back a few feet.

"What the hell is that?!" Watanuki asked, shielding her face from dirt and rocks that were flying into the air. The huge while bird touched down, and its head came forward, revealing that it was a bridle and a pilot.

"Ah!~" Mokona lifted up its goggled and smiled smugly.

"It's absolutely perfect, Mokona! Good work!" Yuko gushed, swaying back and forth. The fur ball struck a dramatic pose, a light twinkle issuing forth from its face. "Well, what are you waiting for, Watanuki. Climb aboard and go after her." Yuko said, hands on her hips. The raven pointed to the giant bird with a terrified expression on her face.

"What?! On that?!" She screeched. Apparently she offended the bird because it started cawing at her, waving it's wings in protest. Watanuki was once again scared shitless in the face of that giant hooked beak.

"Quit your whining and get on!" Mokona called from the reins. Watanuki grumbled as the bird calmed down and finally just gave up, knowing that her getting on that bird was inevitable if she wanted to save Doumeki. She grabbed onto the bridle to struggle her way up on to the creature's back. She was having a hard time finding a good foothold and was hanging in mid-air. Yuko just calmly licked her popsicle.

"Watanuki, pull your skirt down. It's caught." The witch informed the girl. Watanuki growled and let go with one hand to yank her skirt down with a vengeance.

"Maybe I should have clarified that I wanted your help without getting killed!" The seer shot back at Yuko. The girl finally threw her leg over the bird and settled in behind Mokona, hanging onto the bridle with a white-knuckled death-grip.

"One more thing." Yuko said, completely serious this time.

"Huh?" Watanuki asked, looking down from the considerable height she was currently sitting on.

"You have to hurry. I'm afraid you don't have much time to find her and recover what she stole. You have until day's end until he remains comatose forever." Watanuki spared a look at Doumeki's still form before Mokona got in her face with that smirk of its.

"Time to fly!" The pork bun announced, snapping the reins. "Ha!" Watanuki screamed as the bird took off, spreading its wings and flapping them hard unitl they were airborne.

"And don't worry about Doumeki! I'll look after him!" Yuko called, her pony tail flying behind her in the gusts of wind the bird made. "Mokona? Take care of your co-pilot!"

"Roger! I got her!" The mokona called down, pulling on its goggles and aviator cap. Watanuki was too busy wailing to pay attention, her eyes wide as they got higher and higher. And then the bird had to dive down towards the ground and then swoop up like it was trying to scare her to death, and of course, the girl screamed as loud as she could. And then they were up. Watanuki still had a death-grip on the bird so she didn't fall off, but when she finally cracked open her eyes, she was met with an amazing view of the whole city and the darkening night sky.

"Ah ha ha! Mokona! I can't believe it! This is incredible!" The girl shouted, looking out over the bright lights of the city. Everything looked so tiny from this height, like little ants and doll houses. "You can practically see the entire city!" She, of course, had forgotten that the entire city could probably see her on a giant bird but she couldn't care less.

"Oi! You! focus on your task!" Mokona barked, calling Watanuki back into focus. "It's a search! We're not sightseeing!"

"Fine, I'm sorry!"

"Go, birdie! Up!" Mokona snapped the reins and the bird flapped its wings hard, startling the seer into another round of shrieks.

"Is that really necessary?!" Watanuki snapped.

"The higher we go, the better chance we have of finding her!" Mokona battled the girl's mood with logic.

"I think that's high enough!" The girl whimpered, not excited to fall to her death if something happened.

"Yahoo!" The fur ball whooped.

"Well, I'm glad you're having fun at least!" She smiled. "We do have a better view from up here but she could be anywhere right now." Watanuki looked, down and around as they flew and then, looked up towards the full moon. And that's when she spotted the girl. She was floating in front of the moon, her body silhouetted up against the light, holding the ohaji with her fireflies gliding around her, Doumeki's soul even brighter than the moon. "That's her! Right up there!" Watanuki pointed at the girl.

"Huh?" Mokona asked, looking to the side.

"The moon! What are you doing?! Get us up there fast!" The girl ordered.

"Hold on tight!" Mokona snapped the reins again and steered the bird to the left. Watanuki barely hung on as she was buffeted by the sudden increase in wind, but managed not to fall off.

"Hey, you! Flying girl!" Watanuki called as they came up behind the chick. She looked back, startled that someone else was up there with her, let alone the girl from the park. "Don't be afraid! There's been a mistake! I just want to talk to you!" The girl jumped and started flying higher and faster, leaving the bird and its passengers behind. "Hey!"

"Maybe I should do the talking." Mokona jibed.

"For your information she's not running from me! This big chicken scared her off!" Watanuki shot back.

"She's getting away!" Mokona said needlessly.

"I can see that! Shut up and go faster!" The bird picked up speed, flapping hard and the winds in the sky got even sharper, tearing at the girl's clothes. They inched closer and soon Watanuki could shout at the flying girl again.

"Will you please just wait!?" She called when the girl looked back. The girl didn't say anything, she just closed her eye and ducked her head, the tears trapped in her eyes finally released into the night sky. They disappeared instantly, but a new sort of trouble was just beginning.

"YAH!" A group of voices from even above the bird yelled, vying for vengeance. Suddenly, five short guys in blue clothes, red scarves riding yellow surf boards dropped around Watanuki's bird, diving and flying this way and that, ignoring all wind direction and speed.

"We're surrounded!" Mokona stated, watching the new arrivals as well.

"I can see that!" Watanuki replied. Suddenly, once of the dwarves stopped in Watanuki's face, starling the raven. Now that she had a close look at the guy, he was wearing sharp pointy sunglasses like those ones you see in anime, had a tuft of blonde hair sticking straight up on his forehead and had little white wings on his back. He was not happy to see Watanuki, his arms crossed angrily.

"Hey! You think it's funny making her cry!?" The short man demanded.

"Uh…" Watanuki was still trying to process the dwarves on surfboards thing.

"You made her cry!" Another one came to hover by the first.

"Yeah! Made her cry!" A third joined the first two, pointing an accusing finger at the girl.

"Bad guy!" Another snapped, peeking out from behind its board.

"Very bad!" The last one accused (with his sunglasses).

"And every bad guy…" The first sunglass one started. They got into a formation like a five on a dice, with two on top, one in the middle and two on bottom, clearly preparing for something.

"…must be punished! Shiiinnnggg!" They all chorused. All of a sudden, the five dwarves were pulling out giant white fan like the ones you see in comedy shows to hit people. And that's just what they were going to do. They charged, trying to hit Watanuki but she was flexible, dodging and ducking each attack as it flew past her. They came back again and again, trying to knocked the girl off or to hit her, either one.

"Hold still!" One of the dwarves yelled.

"Accept your punishment!" Another called.

"Are you people crazy?! You're going to get us all killed!" The girl yelled, hanging onto the bird's bridle, they were in a turn so the bird was tipped sideways and Watanuki had no footholds, so her legs were flying and kicking around uselessly.

"Hold still and accept your punishment!" Another dwarf stuck the two threats together and they all charged into for another round of attacks.

"Reflection would've been enough!" Watanuki cried, dodging attacks again. Finally, the bird got fed up with the fight being fought around it and took one giant flap to jettison itself to the left, knocking the dwarves to the right.

"Did we shake 'em?" Watanuki looked back, still holding on as tightly as she could. "No! No! No! They're coming back! Fly faster!"

"No problem!~" Mokona laughed, snapping the reins. As the dwarves came in for the attack, the bird flapped and shot backwards.

"MISSED!" The flying men chorused. That happened several times as the five men charged in, but the bird would just fly in a different direction or drop out of their trajectory.

"You jerk!" One man snapped.

"That was awesome, Mokona! Good work!"

"I'm just doing my job!" The fur ball turning around. "But you keep messing up!" The girl's pointy teeth and giant cross vein came back as she shook a fist at the rabbit.

"What are you doing you idiot!? You dropped the reins!" Watanuki screamed.

"Ah! They're too far away! I can't reach them!" The pork bun tried to grab them but couldn't. Without Mokona driving, the bird just kept lying straight and Watanuki had to jump from left to right to left to right to avoid getting smacked off the bird with the giant fans. And then she was barely hanging on again without any footholds. The leader with the glasses was floating in front of her, holding his fan above his head in triumph.

"There's no escape for you now!" He crowed, bringing the fan down hard. Watanuki outsmarted him, leaping backwards before the fan could hit her, and grinning smugly. And then she realized that she had out-dumbed herself and was falling through the sky, the bird flying on without her.

"HELP ME!" She screamed, dropping out of cruising altitude.

"Watanuki!" Mokona screamed, but the girl was falling without her co-pilot.

The world was below her, above her, sideways and upside down as the girl spun and twisted, skydiving without a parachute. The ground was getting closer and closer, the wind ripping scared tears out of the seer's eyes, the horizon corkscrewing as the rotated around and around and around to her death. She threw her hands up like there were going to do any good now as the buildings of the city got bigger, not to pretty anymore now that she was going to be splattered on them. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the impact when something amazing happened.

The fireflies of the girl surrounded her with their blue-white glow, creating a giant sphere and making the girl float. She was still screaming, but now she was stopped, spinning around and around and not going anywhere. Watanuki stopped screaming when she saw the flying girl standing on a roof, holding her hand up as a few fireflies danced around her. Her hand was glowing, controlling the bugs as she brought Watanuki down safely to the roof. The raven jumped down, stumbling a bit and then looked in awe as the little lights streamed into the sky.

"Sorry about that. Are you alright?" The girl asked, still holding the ohagi. She didn't seem scared anymore, her voice calm and even (but still quiet).

"Yeah…"

"Why'd you stop us!?" The dwarves on surfboards stopped in front of the two girls, still a considerable distance away and protested that Watanuki hadn't died.

"Why'd you stop us?!"

"She's bad!"

"She's awful!"

"She made you cry!"

"Why save her!?"

"No!" The flying girl yelled back. "You're wrong about her!"

"Sic 'em birdie!" Mokona zoomed up behind the men and chased them back into the sky with everyone screaming.

"Um…" Watanuki said, turning to the girl. She gasped and got shy again.

"Ah!"

"Thanks for your help. You saved my life." Watanuki smiled softly.

"This is all my fault." The girl was blushing in embarrassment this time. "I'm sorry, but I really needed this ohagi to give as an Obon gift." The girl held up the glowing sweet in her hands. Watanuki nodded, remembering how much she wanted to give that same ohagi to Wari only a few hours ago.

"I know that. But if doing that takes the recipient's soul then it defeats the purpose."

"Uh…" The girl looked like she didn't understand.

"Uh, I know you only wanted to give Doumeki a present but he can't very well accept it if he's coconscious. He needs his soul returned." Watanuki waved her hands around as she explained to the girl what had happened.

"Oh no! Not him." The girl shook her head. "I wanted to give this too…" Her voice faded away, but she held out the ohagi to Watanuki. "…to you." Watanuki was stunned and it was all she could do to take the ohagi in her hands as the girl left it floating in front of her face.

"Happy Obon." The girl's face was redder than a sunburn as she blushed even deeper. Now Watanuki was confused.

"What…?" She started.

"Kimihiro Watanuki!" A voice called harshly. A chill ran up the girl's spine. She knew that voice! "Is that all you have to say?!"

"What?!"

"There you go again! Can't you say anything else? Ug." Watanuki and the girl both looked up as Ame-Warishi dropped out of the sky with her umbrellas, Goth loli and all. The sprite landed on the roof and closed her umbrella with a snap.

"Ame-Warishi!?" The sprite smacked Watanuki on the head with her umbrellas as she spoke. "Gah!"

"You dummy!"

"Ow!" The girl rubbed her head.

"I have no idea what she sees in you!" The rain sprite sighed, resting her weapon on her shoulder. "AND YOU!" She turned on the flying girl. "You're completely missing the point!"

"About what?" The girl asked, apparently knowing the sprite.

"About the Obon gift! It's about honoring one's ancestors, the deceased! It's a custom that's exclusive to the human world. Giving someone a gift because you like them is a completely different holiday altogether!" The fling girl's face went from confusion to shock in an instant, clapping her hands over her mouth.

"Oh no! I messed up!"

"I swear, you're the most dimwitted girl I've ever met! The two of you were made for each other!" Ame-Warishi sighed, hands on her hips.

"Um, I'm lost. What's going on?" Watanuki asked, looking between the two girls.

"I don't know what to say! How embarrassing!" The flying girl whimpered.

"Well, if you're an acquaintance of Ame-Warishi's then I guess you're a-"

"Zashiki-Warishi." The rain sprite filled in. (4)

"A protective sprite?!" Watanuki gasped. Zashiki-Warishi turned around and blushed deeply again, turtling into her shoulders.

"I don't know what's come over her, but she rarely visited a place so populated with humans. She can't stomach their ill-will and maliciousness." Ame-Warishi prattled on. The protective sprite flipped around again and started pulling on the rain sprite's sleeve urgently. "Which is why she takes refuge in the cold air of the mountains. The Karasu Tengu keep her company." (5) That bit of information clicked in Watanuki's brain.

"Oh I see. That's where these war-crazed goblins come in." Watanuki pointed to the five dwarves foating above her head and snapping their fans angrily.

"Yep." Ame-Warishi nodded.

"I'm coming for ya!" Mokona shouted, the bird diving bombing the tengu again with lots and lots of cross veins popping up on its head. Watanuki made a sympathetic face as the goblins were chased off again.

"Mokona! Leave them alone!" Watanuki called to the fur ball.

"Aaaawwwww! That's no fun!" The mokona whined in disappointment.

"Well," Ame-Warishi started, "We've got to go. I'm a busy lady."

"Yeah, I suppose so." Zashiki-Warishi agreed softly. The rain sprite opened up her umbrella and took her friend's hand. The three girls looked at each other, the zashiki-warishi and Watanuki looking at each other most of all. The seer didn't know what to make of a girl giving her a romantic gift, but she supposed it was somewhat like Wari and Doumeki's (supposed in her brain) relationship. Odd, but nice.

"Come. You know staying here too long is bad for you." Ame-Warishi reminded. They were ready to go. "So long, Kimihiro Watanuki." They were lifted up into the sky, both girls surrounded by fire flies with the tengu following close behind and shouting insults at Watanuki. They rose up into the sky and went through a vortex of fireflies, disappearing into the night with the bright lights. Watanuki was left standing on the roof alone with the glowing ohagi. At least the bird came back for her.

Once back at the park, the raven spotted Yuko making a sand castle in the sandbox, but the bird's landing, blew it over. Yuko didn't seem to mind too much and just stood up to greet her slave and Mokona. Watanuki jumped off the bird and Mokona jumped onto her head. And then the bird took off again, flying out into the night.

"Welcome back! How did things go?" Yuko asked, leaning into her hip and resting her hands on her waist.

"Well first we got chased by a group of Karasu Tengu…" grumped while shakily walking over to her boss.

"Bye, bye!" Mokona shouted, waving at its birdie friend and interrupting the raven-haired girl.

"Apparently, making someone cry is a serious offense because they were out for blood. And later Ame-Warishi showed up…that was fun." The seer reported sarcastically. "And then she returned the ohagi." Watanuki and Yuko both looked down at the floating sweet in the girl's hands.

"Oh, how romantic!~ Risking life and limb all so she could give her true beloved the last ohagi!" Yuko clapped her hands together and swayed from side to side, and then finished it off with a twirl and flicked up her stilettoed foot.

"Yeah, yeah." Watanuki replied, still trying to figure out how the heck Zashiki-Warishi knew her and knew enough about her to have a (maybe) romantic crush on her. It was odd…so odd, but it made Watanuki smile a little. At least she had one admirer, and she was nice too. Yuko spun up to the girl and poked her in the cheek.

"You little devil you! I can't believe that you got an ohagi from that Zashiki-Warishi!~ She must like you!"

"Yeah?" Watanuki blushed and tucked her hand behind her head. Mokona jumped high into the air and Yuko held out her hands to catch the falling fur ball. "Do you really think she's likes me? I mean, she's a girl!" But Watanuki was still blushing.

"Way to go!~" To Yuko and Mokona, it didn't matter who was a boy and who was a girl…it was all just a grand adventure!

"Wait-hold on!" Watanuki's good mood disappeared when she realized that the ohagi she'd received was hers. "Wasn't this the ohagi I made?!"

"That's right." Yuko's girly mood was replaced by her calm mood. "This ohagi has the distinction of being made by someone with the power to see spirits, then consumed by one who exorcises those spirits and finally, retrieved by a Zashiki-Warishi and lavished with all the affection in her heart."

Watanuki looked down at the remarkable ohagi and smiled at its glowing light. And then she realized something else.

"Seems like a lot of trouble for a snack." She sweat dropped, tipping her head as she scowled.

"In any event, you should hurry up and give that back to Doumeki." Yuko reminded the girl, walking towards the park bench where the unconscious boy lay. Watanuki flipped out.

"That's right! In the end, I don't get to eat this at all! And I have to give it back to the bastard who stole it!"

"Come on, this is no time to argue." Watanuki trudged over to the bench where Mokona was sitting with Doumeki and knelt on the ground, despondent and gloomy.

"She gave it to me! This is so unfair!" Watanuki grumbled.

"Place it above his stomach." Yuko instructed. Watanuki did as she was told and held the ohagi over Doumeki's torso and let it go. The glowing snack then grew brighter as it sank back into the archer's body, rippling into his shirt and skin and disappearing. Watanuki leaned forward towards the boy's face, resting her hand on the bench and waited. Her fingers were trembling, nervous that she was too late, that she hadn't been careful enough with the ohagi and a million other concerns. A few seconds later, Doumeki's eyes opened and he turned his head towards the relieved girl and was surprised to find that she was smiling at him. He sat up, surprised to see Yuko waving at him too. "Hi!"

"Uh, hi." Doumeki looked back between Watanuki and Yuko, watching his classmate stand up.

"What happened to your hair?" The brunette asked, looking at the bird's nest that was her pony tail. Watanuki squeaked like Zashiki-Warishi as her hands flew to her head, patting her probably wild hair. She then proceeded to pat down the rest of her windblown outfit and brushed off as much of the dirt as she could.

And while she was doing that, Doumeki's head kicked him in the brain.

"Here's where you thank me for saving your life." Watanuki prompted.

"My head is throbbing." Was all the archer said, rubbing his head again.

"Yeah!" Mokona piped up. "I bet!" Watanuki made and overly innocent face, remembering how she'd thrown Doumeki into the railing earlier and decided to not tell him about that.

"Ooooo! Guess what?!" Yuko cooed, running and jumping onto the bench with Doumeki.

"What?" Doumeki asked, looking at the witch.

"I've got good news! Watanuki was the recipient of a special ohagi from a cute girl!~"

"Ohagi?"

"And you went and ate it you big jerk! Ate it all!" Watanuki fumed.

"Am I missing something?" Doumeki asked, scratching his head in confusion (even if his face didn't show it).

"Do you want all the gory details?!" Yuko asked the archer excitedly.

"Sure."

"Truth is…" And then Watanuki wasn't pay attention to them, she was too busy watching a firefly lazily floating up and up and up until it disappeared into the night sky. "And then she said…and then she said…"

"Uh huh." Doumeki replied. "Wow."

"That's not even the best part!" Yuko sang.

"Okay…" And the story telling went on until Watanuki got fed up and wanted to go home. She'd been on a while ride today – being woken up at four, making loads of ohagi, dealing with hyper Yukos, having her heart soar as she went to Wari's and then having it crushed when he wasn't there to eat her last ohagi, and then Doumeki had to ruin it all and then his soul had gotten stolen and then she'd had to ride a huge bird, fight of Karasu Tengus and brush shoulders with Ame- and Zashiki-Warishi all to bring back Doumeki's soul. She was dead tired now. The girl snapped at Yuko to shut up and grabbed Doumeki's hand, yanking him to his feet and then pulled him so they'd start walking. Her hand fell away after the archer was walking next to her.

"Just look at all the trouble I had to go through for you!" The girl grumbled. I am never playing matchmaker again! It's just too much trouble!" The seer threw her hands in the air and huffed.

"You know, I didn't want you to play matchmaker." Doumeki said, drawing Watanuki's attention.

"Huh?" She asked.

"Before the girl showed up. I was fine right where I was." Doumeki was talking about how he was fine being with Watanuki, but she was thinking about the swing set.

"You were fine on the swing?" She asked. Doumeki sighed at her think-headedness and rolled his eyes.

"What was that for?!" The girl shouted.

"Okay, what do you want?" Doumeki asked, quickly changing the subject.

"What?" Watanuki asked back confused by his question and the conversation whiplash.

"This time you helped me." Doumeki stated. "So I need to give you something just to be fair. What'll it be?" The boy was being serious. And Watanuki was floundering. She stopped in her tracks, her face filled with shock and then buckled down to think about what she wanted, hand on her chin. She thought for several moments, trying to come up with something that she wanted but couldn't think of a single thing she'd want that jerk to do for her.

"I don't know! I'm going to have to take a rain check!" She admitted snarkily.

"Really?" Doumeki asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Yes! I can't think of anything good right now! I have a golden opportunity and I can't waste it because you're the one who's always saving me all the time! This doesn't happen often!"

"Whatever." The boy just started walking away from the ranting girl.

"Hey! Don't just leave when I'm talking to you!" She pestered, running after him. "Hey! I wasn't done talking!"

"Well, I was done listening."

"You bastard! You're such and asshole, Doumeki!" The archer plugged his ears as Watanuki got going again. Yuko just laughed and rolled her eyes at them. She watched Watanuki rant and rave and watched as Doumeki tried to lift up her skirt discretely as a tease and then she blew up at him again, her voice even louder and more annoying as they left the park.

It wasn't until later when Watanuki realized she'd left her thermos at the park and had to get out of bed to run back to get it.

The next day when Watanuki walked into work, she had a letter. It was from Wari!

Hi! I hope you're making the most of your summer break! How are things going with you? Don't work to hard! Take care! - Wari

"He wrote me a letter! Ahhhh! I got one too!" Watanuki cooed, holding the piece of paper close to her heart, her face cute in her blush. "But…uh…" The girl flipped the letter over and looked at the mailing address. "I wonder why he sent it care of Yuko?" Watanuki was crying again.

"Who cares?" Yuko sighed, lounging on her couch in her red kimono with the white flower designs and the huge yellow bow. "Just get me some more wine."

"Get it yourself!"

To be continued...

Note 1: Hyakumonogatari (A Gathering of One Hundred Supernatural Tales) was a popular parlor game in the Edo Period. It was a Buddhist inspired game where people used three rooms, lighting 100 andon (those square lamps you see, its paper stretched over a frame, burning oil in a stone or holder on the inside of the frame) in the third room and positioning a single mirror on a table. When the sky turned its darkest, the participants would start telling ghost stories, scary folk tales, ghoulish encounters and supernatural encounters. When the story ended, the story-teller would walk through the second room and into the third room, extinguishing on andon, take a look in the mirror and then walk back to the first room. This continued with each story, the third room getting darker and darker as the participants neared the one hundredth tale, creating a safe haven for the evocation of spirits. However, the game was usually halted at the 99th tale because the participants would fear invoking the spirits they had been summoning.

Note 2: Ohagi is a Japanese sweet that is made of rice that soaked for about six hours and then azuki [or anko] paste (sweet red bean paste) is hand packed around the pre-formed rice balls. Ohagi is a sweet that has a different texture of bean paste than Botamochi (which is basically the same thing. Botamochi is made in the spring and ohagi is made in the autumn but a lot of Japanese people now refer to both sweets as "ohagi." Another fun fact is that the name botamochi come from the Botan (peony) flowers that bloom in the spring and the Hagi (Japanese blush cover or Lespedeza) that blooms in autumn.

Note 3: The Obon Festival or just "Bon" Festival, is a Japanese Buddhist holiday to celebrate one's ancestors. It evolved into a family reunion holiday where people return to their ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors' graves. The spirits are said to visit the family shrines on this holiday. The festival lasts three days on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month. The Kanto region – Tokyo, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures – celebrate Shichigatsu Bon by the Gregorian calendar on July fifteenth, Eastern Japanese go by the old calendar and celebrate Hachigatsu Bon (the most common time) in August and Kyu Bon's (Old Bon) time frame changes every year due to the lunar calendar and is most common in the northern part of the Katno region – Chugoku, Shikoku and Okinawa prefectures. This festival had been celebrated in Japan for over five hundred years and ohagi is the celebratory snack.

Note 4: A zashiki-Warishi is a spirit that is said like notice, and must be cared for as one would raise a child (like Ame-Warishi takes care of Zashiki-Warishi), but too much attention will drive it off. The sprite is child-like in disposition and is prone to playing harmless pranks and tricks (sorta like when Zashiki-Warishi stole Doumeki's soul, she didn't think she'd hurt anybody). Zashiki-Warishi can be found in old, well-maintained houses and once a sprite resides there, it brings the residence good fortune and if the sprite ever leaves, the house will fall into a steep decline and ruin.

Note 5: Karasu (meaning crow, blackbird or raven) Tengu (heavenly dog) are considered a type of Shinto god or yokai. The tengu are spirits who look like birds of prey, or are a mix of avian and human characteristics. The first tengu were pictured with beaks, which were humanized and evolved into long, goblin noses that you see on those scary red masks in Japan. Buddhism long held that tengu were very disruptive demons and the harbringers of war (much like Zashiki-Warishi's friends), but their image was gradually softened into protective – and still dangerous! – spirits of the forests and mountains (where Zashiki-Warishi lives).

A/N: And that's all folks! Let me know what you think in the comments! :3