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...

9. The Twin and The Other Twin

A/N: ZareEraz here! Hooray! It didn't take me almost two months to get this chapter up this time! Hope you enjoy it!

Surprise! Contest time! Watch episode 15 of xxxHolic and pay attention to the movie theater's walls! If you can tell me who's on the posters I'll do a request fic! Make sure to post your answer in the reviews and don't forget to comment on the chapter if you like! Happy Hunting! :3

Chapter Eight: The Twin and The Other Twin

"Wow! I can't believe how giant these new shopping malls are!" Watanuki gasped, walking down the central pathway with Yuko as they were out shopping. The new mall had to be at least four stories with walk ways crossing up all off the floors like a weave above her head, and as she marveled Yuko started walking faster, looking fabulous in her sleeveless purple top and hip-hugging white pants. "Wait up, Yuko! Where are you going?" Watanuki reached out her hand to grab the witch's shoulder, but never quite got to her.

"There's a gourmet market downstairs, so that's our first stop." She said, placing a hand on her hip.

"That's a great idea! I love food!" Mokona poked its head out of Watanuki's yellow shopping bag. Watanuki ran to catch up to Yuko, her heels seeming to have taken on supernatural properties in speed as she plowed ahead. She stepped onto a down escalator and the seer leapt on after the woman.

"Are you crazy!?" Watanuki yelped, flinging her arms all over the place as she argued. "People don't come to the mall for food! They come to buy clothes and jewelry and stuff!"

"My dear girl, you have so much to learn." Yuko leveled her eyes at her slave, folding her arms gracefully.

"Yeah! Loooser!~" Mokona seconded.

"Get ready, Watanuki. We're about to enter an endless wonderland of culinary delights. They reached the lower floor by this point and Watanuki had stepped into a wonderland, just like Yuko had told her she would. There were cases of food, displayed under bright lights, low lights, out in the open…whatever presentation the chefs decided was the best for each dish. And it wasn't only Japanese food, but food from all over the world. It was a paradise of culinary achievement and fine cooking-ship. Yuko dashed over to one case after another, looking in all the windows at what there was to be had. "Fantastic! Potatoes au gratin! Sheets of Arashiyama tofu! And look at that French-style Gran Maison roast beef!" Watanuki looked at the fantastic food and couldn't help but be impressed…until she saw the price and her admiration vanished like her wallet would.

"Look at the price!" Watanuki yelped, her hands waving frantically in front of the case. "I can make au gratin potatoes, tofu, roast beef and anything else they've got. I can make it for you at the shop." The girl defended her expertise in the kitchen, trying to save her wallet and her pride as a chef. But she did hate the fact that she was trying to get Yuko to get her to cook…it was completely unfair of her to do this to herself.

"Don't be silly," Yuko turned towards the girl, the long ends of her hair that hadn't been pulled into her bun swished with her. "That has nothing to do with it."

"Yeah!" Mokona piped up.

"It's not that I'm saying there's anything wrong with your cooking," Yuko pivoted around to gaze out at the expanse of delicious food she had yet to look at. "But every now and then I'd like something different."

"Seriously!? But if you're happy with what I make, then why would you?!" Yuko walked over to a wine tester table that had a huge rack of bottles sitting behind it and a waiter in a black vest poured her a glass of the red alcohol. Yuko look a long, sensuous sip and then started talking again.

"Don't you think you're overacting just a little bit?" Yuko said, turning back to the counter.

"I slave away every day over a hot stove for you! And this is the thanks I get?!" Watanuki threw her hands out. "This is all just a big joke to you, isn't it?!"

"I see." Yuko stated smoothly. "So you're saying you wouldn't like a night off? I'd thought that you'd enjoy a meal you didn't have to prepare yourself. I was going to share this with you, you know." Watanuki's angry face dropped and a smile replaced it.

"You were going to share with me? That's so nice of you!" Watanuki was genuinely surprised because Yuko was very territorial about her food, and she rarely missed a chance to make Watanuki's day demanding and irritating with cooking and cleaning so it was nice, now that she knew she didn't have to cook for both of them tonight.

"I understand, Watanuki." Yuko said, smiling like a Cheshire cat. "You're jealous, aren't you?" The witch poked her finger into the girl's nose.

"Watanuki's jealous!~" Mokona teased from inside the shopping bag.

"The way a wife is jealous of a mistress' charms." Yuko looked from plate to glorious, sparkling plate of food and smiled lustfully. "And this is like the mistress' boudoir."

"Knock it off! It's not like that!" Watanuki protested.

"Calm down. You shouldn't be jealous. I give you plenty of things."

"You've got to be kidding me, Yuko. I've never gotten anything from you. Not even a straight answer." Watanuki said, her face dead pan.

"I give you work and chores I need done," The witch held up her fingers as she counted. "I give you all my laundry to clean and I give you all the ingredients to cook my meals…oh, I know! I'll give you some ingredients from this gourmet market and you can cook us a nice Chinese meal!~" Yuko finished, her smile getting wider.

"Oh, come on! Give me a break!" Watanuki balled up her fists at her side and pouted, squeezing her eyes shut so she didn't have to look at Yuko's face.

"Well, maybe later. I've given you enough for now." Yuko said ruefully.

"That's not what I call 'giving!'" Watanuki snarled, getting her face right up in Yuko's.

"Ah, but it is." Yuko shifted into mysterious teaching mode, sliding her pointer finger down her jaw line. "You see, words have a special power...they are actually living entities."

"They're living entities?" Watanuki, asked, confused once again as a sweat drop rolled down her cheek.

"Ooo! Let's get that one!" An excited female voice called out.

"But flounder is so expensive…" A quiet male voice answered, trailing off. "What if I make a mistake cooking it?" Watanuki and Yuko both turned to look at the pair standing in front of a meat display case. The girl was wearing a bright yellow sweater-jacket, a cream blouse paired with a green skirt, and the boy with her was wearing a red jacket with tan pants. They looked very similar, both with brown hair (only the girl's was longer and curled into ringlets near the ends and the boy's was just wavy all around and fell to his shoulders).

"But doesn't it look awesome!?" The girl held up something so she could read it. "It says that it was flown in from England's Strait of Dover! Isn't that amazing? I'll take that one!" The girl turned toward the clerk at the counter and pointed to a flounder in the case.

"Wow. They look so much alike!" Watanuki remarked. "Are they twins?" The clerk handed the boy a bag with the flounder in it and they both walked away with their shopping bags.

"Thank you," The soft-spoken boy told the clerk.

"Do we need to pick up anything else?" The girl asked.

"We should buy some meat, just in case I mess this up." The boy replied. "Something less expensive."

"Geez, bro! You are such a worry wart!" So they are siblings. "Why don't you just chill out already?"

"But I can't cook really well…you know that." The brother answered.

"Better than I can!"

"Wow, are they twins? They almost look exactly alike, aside from the boy's hair. But if they were the same gender, I think they'd be identical!" Watanuki said, looking up at Yuko. She didn't say a word, just stood there with her arms crossed, watching the siblings walk away. Watanuki looked after them as well, wondering what Yuko could be thinking. "Don't tell me that you've changed your mind and that you want fish instead of Chinese..." Watanuki started. Yuko changing her mind was never a good thing; usually what came out of it was more complicated than the original thought. "Would you just pick one? And stop drooling over those guys' groceries." In a flurry of movement, Yuko had reached into the shopping bag, pulling out Mokona with one hand and had slammed it on top of Watanuki's head, the frown on her face very evident.

"I wasn't drooling, thank you very much." Yuko hissed back, leaning down to Watanuki's height and placing both hands on her hips. Mokona just sat on Watanuki's head, happy for the change of view.

"Oh yeah? They why were you staring at them like that?" Watanuki shot back.

"I was just thinking that they were going to be eating meat tonight…instead of flounder." Yuko's cranberry eyes slid over to where the siblings were disappearing around a row of cases and out of sight.

"Hm?" Watanuki looked from the siblings and then back to Yuko, still confused. But she didn't have long to be confused because then Yuko was dragging her all around the floor looking for things to eat that night and Watanuki ended up carrying it all back to the shop and then cooking it.

"I wonder what I should make Yuko for dinner tonight." Watanuki mused, walking out of the school's grounds the next day, placing her fingertip on her chin as she thought. "Maybe she would like my chilled capellini with tomatoes? Wait…I think she's going out for cocktails so maybe I should just clean instead." The girl's train of thought skidded to a halt and derailed, as did her walking. "What is the matter with me?! It's like I'm actually starting to enjoy all the works she'd loaded me up with! DAMN IT!" The girl scratched her head with a fury as she snarled and then she stopped suddenly, staring at the boy from yesterday who'd just wandered out of a side road. Today he was wearing a white shirt with black buttons and gray pants and shoes, and his head was hung down, like he was looking for something. He wandered back into the street he'd walked out of, his head still down. "He's one of the twins…the siblings from the mall."

Watanuki started walking towards where the boy had disappeared, turning right into the side street. The boy was kneeling on the ground, his fingers ghosting across the pavement.

"Is there something wrong?" The boy's head shot up.

"I lost a contact. I think it fell out." The boy turned and looked at Watanuki and she finally got an up-close view of his face: sad brown eyes, and cute smile and that wavy hair that framed his cheeks.

"It's around here somewhere?" Watanuki asked, tiptoeing so she didn't accidently step on the contact.

"Mmhm. I think so."

"Why don't I help you look for it?" Watanuki offered with a smile. "I'm sure we can find it! Two sets of eyes are better than one."

"That's kind of you." The boy said as Watanuki knelt down and started running her hands over the concrete.

"Don't worry about it! I could use the good karma!" Watanuki chuckled ironically. But even with good karma, spirits are still going to come after me, damn it all.

"I really appreciate your help." The boy stood up, his gaze still sweeping the ground. "Although…I'm pretty sure we won't find it." Watanuki's eyes widened and her head snapped up. She could hear a ringing sort of sound, similar to the sound your ear hears when your ear drum's been whacked or you start hearing muscles near your ears. It reminded Watanuki of when someone runs their fingers around the rim of a glass and the sound just echoes and bounces around in the air. Watanuki stared at the boy, mesmerized because now, there were invisible ripples radiating out from him, and she was pretty sure that only she could see them…which meant a spirit was involved.

They looked for so long that when Watanuki finally got to Yuko's shop that evening, it was late enough that she had to prepare something simple for dinner and Yuko was not happy about it, leaning into the kitchen with her long yellow dress (the one with the open neck line and long sleeves and a color that clearly didn't reflect Yuko's current mood) and loomed over the girl as she cooked. It was uncomfortable to say the least to have a witch brooding over your shoulder, and even more so that when you sat down across the table from her that she just stares at you with disdain. Watanuki hid behind her tray as Yuko glared at her.

"So you spent so much time looking for his contact lens that you didn't have time to make capellini for dinner?" Yuko miffed, picking up a chopstick full of noodles and munching on them moodily. She held the noodles over a small bowl, that way she didn't drip any on her dress as she sucked them into her mouth. "Instead…we get plain old soba noodles."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I lost track of time." Watanuki apologized. Mokona just sat on the table, quiet for once because there were no extra plates to pick food off of and Maru and Moro were just sitting on the other side of the table like huge dolls, watching their mistress eat silently.

"Well, nothing wrong with a bowl of old fashioned noodles and these are quite tasty actually." Yuko's bad mood evaporated just as quickly as it had come, letting everyone finally relax.

"Yay! Noodles!" The twins cheered. "Tasty!"

"You know…we looked all over and yet, we never did find it. It's odd." Watanuki stated, thinking that telling Yuko might offer an explanation. The witch sipped her sake and then rested her chin on the back of her hand, thinking.

"I'm not surprised." Yuko replied.

"I guess she was right, the odds were against us. It was getting dark and the contact was so small." Watanuki reasoned, shrugging.

"That isn't the reason." Yuko countered.

"Hm?" Watanuki looked up from the tray on her lap.

"You didn't 'happen' not to find it…you just couldn't find it."

"What do you mean?" Watanuki asked, watching Yuko put her cup down.

"Before you even began looking…you were being foiled in your search." And then, one of those weird moments happened, where insubstantial, scentless smoke appeared to flow from Yuko's sake cup (it didn't always come from her cup, but it did this time) and enveloped the room. "Living beings can be bound by so many things…the so called 'natural laws', the set passage of time, the vessel you think of as your body, the spirit you think of as your mind. These are the chains that bind all living things." Watanuki liked into her tea cup, pondering Yuko's words.

"Chains?" She asked quietly.

"Yes. These are the bonds from which you cannot break free. But, did you know? There is one chain that humans can wield all by themselves."

"Chains?" Doumeki asked.

"Mmm hmm." Watanuki paused for a second, still mulling around in her thoughts when she noticed who was sitting by her. "Hey! How did I end up here having a hamburger with you, jerkass!?" They were in a burger joint together, both sitting at a counter looking out into the street, eating fast food after school and Watanuki hardly even remember getting there in the first place. The girl leapt to her feet and waved her fists in the air. "And how did I end up PAYING FOR IT!?" Doumeki lifted up his burger and took a bite.

"I guess you got distracted while you were going on about chains, and restraints and being bound and stuff like that. Sounds like BDSM. Do you like that stuff?"

"Would you just shut up?!" Watanuki snapped, blushing wildly. Does he like that stuff? The thought flew through the girl's mind and left as quick as it had come. The girl then froze, noticing all the stares directed at her and quailed, plopping down back into her seat. "You make me sound like some kind of weirdo with weird hobbies!" She hissed, still blushing.

"I don't know about weird hobbies but you're definitely a weirdo."

"Leave me alone!" The seer growled.

"Come on, tell me the rest of it." Doumeki prompted the girl, wanting to hear the rest of what Yuko said as he reached across and swiped some of Watanuki's fries.

"Like you care!" She snapped back, swiping the rest of her fries before he could swipe them and then moodily munched on a bit of burger.

"Come on. You know you want to. And it's better than talking to yourself, right?" Doumeki pointed out. He had valid reasons, but mostly he just wanted to see Watanuki lost in thought again. It was cute when her face was relaxed (if slightly confused) and calm for once. The girl didn't speak right away, still thinking so Doumeki had to prompt her again.

"So…this twin with the contact lens, is he human?" Doumeki asked, trying to get the ball rolling.

"Hmm?" Watanuki's head popped up when she stopped staring at her burger.

"Couldn't it be possible that those twins are spirits like Zashiki-warishi?"

"I don't think so. I'm pretty sure Yuko would've said something if they were." Watanuki went back to staring at her burger and Doumeki was getting tired of this halting conversation.

"Well, think about it. You do tend to attract them." Doumeki went on. "You know…spirits and things like that. And although Zashiki-warishi wasn't that much of a problem, who knows what could happen with those too."

"Okay, maybe you have a point but it's none of your business." Watanuki looked away from Doumeki, irritated that he was butting in, but found it kind of nice to talk to someone about it besides Yuko and her confusing trains of thought.

"Is too." Doumeki argued, his voice never straying from anything but mild, monotone interest.

"Look, just because you saved me a couple of times doesn't mean anything." Watanuki said, trying to draw the line somewhere with their odd relationship.

"It's not that. It's just. If anything were to happen to you…" Doumeki started. Watanuki looked at him, half skeptical and half hoping that he'd actually say something nice for once. "…where would I get my lunch?"

"I'm NOT your personal MEAL TICKET!" She smacked him on the head, her hopes dashed and her anger kindled.

"Are you finished with this, miss?" A girl asked, reaching down to grab Watanuki's empty tray (her burger was still in her hand). Watanuki looked up and saw the girl twin with the long, curly hair dressed in the green uniform and visor of the restaurant.

"Wait, it's you!" Watanuki gasped. "Sorry I wasn't more help in finding your brother's contact."

"So, you're the girl who stopped to help him! I'm his younger sister!"

"Well, please tell your older brother that I apologize." Watanuki smiled. She tilted her head toward Doumeki. "They look so much alike, except for the hair."

"Really?" Doumeki said, looking up at the girl twin.

"Even our parents used to mix us up!" The twin smiled. "So is this guy a friend of yours?" She nodded to Watanuki's companion.

"Unfortunately." The seer replied unexcitedly.

"Hello." Doumeki replied in the same voice, greeting the girl.

"I'm so sorry for your trouble. Bro told me about how long you were looking even though it was so hot out yesterday. And after all that work, I can't believe he didn't ask for your name! It's just like him though, he's such a scatter brain sometimes." The twin shook her head.

"Don't worry about it." Watanuki brushed it off. It wasn't a big deal and the boy twin must've been stressed and just forgot anyway.

"Oh, I know!" The girl twin smiled widely. "Since there are two of you and two of us…why don't we get together for tea later?" Later when Watanuki and Doumeki were standing at the meeting spot, Watanuki finally lost it... again.

"Where did that come from?!" She shouted, stopping her feet. What she didn't know was that her uniform skirt had gotten caught on something and was now flipped up in the back, clinging to her jacket and Doumeki was leaning over to get a good peek at today's selection of underwear: red strawberries. The archer smiled, enjoying the view until the girl nearly shrieked off his eardrum so he had to stand up straight and clap his hands over his ears so they didn't bleed. "What even happened to old fashioned modesty and decorum and guys doing all the asking!? And she even asked me and I'm a girl!" In the process of yelling and stomping, the girl's skirt fell back into place and the boy sighed, missing the show already. Watanuki saw Doumeki's hands over his ears and grabbed his uniform shirt collar to shake him roughly. "Are you even listening to me, you big jerk!?"

"Were you waiting long?" The girl twin, Emiko, called walking up to the pair with her brother, Tomoyoshi. (1) Apparently, Emiko just called him Tomo for short and said that they could do the same and that he wouldn't mind. The girl was wearing a purple, ruffled shirt and skirt combo with a white, long-sleeved shirt underneath. Tomo was wearing a similar outfit from when Watanuki had seen him last: a white coat with gray pants and shoes.

"Oh, no! We just got here ourselves!" Watanuki let go of Doumeki's collar, hoping that their dates hadn't seen her trying to whiplash his head off.

"Oh good!" Emiko smiled brightly. Her brother was standing behind her with his head tipped down.

"It's nice to see you again." Tomo said quietly.

"Well, shall we then?" Emiko said, starting to walk across the street. Doumeki reached down and picked up his school bag first and Watanuki followed suit, brushing off her uniform skirt to make sure it wasn't flipped up.

"You know, I'm sorry we couldn't find it." Watanuki said as she drew level with Tomo. He looked at her, a little confused. "Your contact lens." She clarified and he nodded back at her. The four of them were all walking down the street, Doumeki walking next to Emiko and Watanuki next to Tomo. The girl twin looked back at her brother and his date and smiled, stepping closer to Doumeki in the process. That kind of ticked Watanuki off – but not because she liked Doumeki she just hated it when he got all the attention from the opposite sex!

"I hope you don't mind walking for a few more blocks." Emiko said to her date.

"Not at all." He replied, acting just like his usual self. Watanuki sighed in relief, hoping that the extra attention didn't go to his head.

"Well, the food is really wonderful. It's worth the extra walking." The girl twin replied.

"Please forgive me. I was all the way home before I realized that I didn't ask you your name." Watanuki turned to Tomo when he spoke. He was looking at the ground and not her, his wavy hair draping down the sides of his face.

"Hey, it's okay! Don't give it another thought." Watanuki gave him a bright smile.

"I don't know why but I always forget stuff like that. I'm so absent-minded. I can be so stupid." Tomo was smiling softly when he said those things, but Watanuki was worried about him. He was putting himself down a lot.

"Don't say that." She replied, trying to get him to stop dwelling on the negative.

"Sometimes I can't help but feel like a burden to my little sister." Tomo looked up finally, watching Emiko smile and talk to Doumeki.

"It looks like you and your sister are really close." Watanuki commented, diverting the subject.

"Yeah, but we don't have any other siblings." Tomo frowned. "So we always get stuck doing stuff together."

"You know what? I don't have any brothers or sisters so I wouldn't really know, but it sounds kind of fascinating…having a sister that has a face that looks so much like yours?"

"Yeah." Tomo sighed.

"Oh! Absolutely! I'm just crazy about Japanese sweets!" Emiko's conversation with Doumeki interrupted Watanuki and Tomo's.

"Yeah? What about dango?" Doumeki asked. (2)

"Yeah! We seem to enjoy a lot of the same things!"

"I guess…that even though the two of us look so similar. We're completely different." Tomo's voice echoed at the end as he spoke. There it is again! That feeling…Watanuki thought as she listened to the ringing noise like someone swirling their finger around a half full glass resonate around her, rippling out of Tomo.

They walked down a few more blocks and came to the café that Emiko recommended. They walked in and were seated at a round table in the middle of the floor. Watanuki was sandwiched in between Doumeki and Tomo and Emiko was sitting across from her and was sitting next to Doumeki. Tomo immediately picked up the menu and started looking, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

"So," Emiko started, "You both said you liked sweets earlier, right?"

"Sure!" Watanuki replied.

"I do." Doumeki said at the same time.

"Do you guys eat out much?" She asked.

"You mean to go out shopping and all that?" Watanuki asked, smiling nervously.

"Sometimes. I guess it depends." Doumeki replied.

"Depends on what?" Tomo asked, looking up from the menu.

"You mean…it depends on your girlfriend?" Emiko's eyes shifted over from Doumeki to Watanuki. Oh, hell no! I'm not going to get labeled as that ass' girlfriend!

"Nope!" Watanuki waved her hands in front of her face. "I'm not his girlfriend and I don't have a boyfriend!" Watanuki pointed to Doumeki, frowning hugely.

"Ah! That's too bad! Dating is just the greatest, right?" Emiko smiled at Doumeki, suddenly smug. Watanuki watched her and Doumeki and then turned to Tomo.

"Of course." He sighed, looking even more down that usual. The weird invisible ripples were emanating from him again, confusing Watanuki on what exactly he was doing to make them. But then Emiko interrupted her observation and ordered a variety of sweets they could all try (with Doumeki's input, of course). After they had all eaten (with Doumeki getting along famously with Emiko and Tomo staying silent most of the snack-meal) the four of them ended up outside the café.

"Thanks! It was great!" Watanuki said to the twins.

"Yeah, it was fun." Doumeki added.

"It was! I had a really fun time talking with you guys!" Emiko smiled.

"Uh…" Tomo started to say before his sister interrupted.

"Say, Doumeki!" Emiko interrupted. "You know that movie we were just talking about? Would you like to go see it with me?"

"Hm?" The archer replied.

"Why don't we all go together? I think I can get us a set of discounted tickets through my job. Well?" She waited for the reply. Doumeki looked over at Watanuki, his eyes holding the ghost of the question. The seer's first instinct was to be pissed off at him – why is he looking at me like he needs permission?! I'm not his mother! – and then she realized that he was asking her about the spirit issue instead.

"Uh, I'm kind of uncomfortable in movie theaters." Watanuki chuckled nervously, putting her hand behind her head in embarrassment.

"Really? Why?" Emiko asked. Well, that was blunt. But it was an innocent question, I guess.

"Well, you see…they're dark." And infested with spirits! Damn, that was a lame excuse.

"Do you have another friend that you could ask to go, Doumeki? As they say, the more the merrier!" Emiko just brushed off Watanuki and it ticked her off but then she noticed Doumeki's body language. He doesn't seem like he wants to go. Someone should keep an eye on these two. And it's not because I'm worried about him or anything like that!

"I'm in." Watanuki spoke up with a fake smile.

"Really?" Emiko asked.

"Yeah, I think I'll be fine. Once in a while is okay!" As long as Doumeki's there, the spirits shouldn't bother me.

"Oh, that's great! This'll be fun!" The girl twin smiled even wider, her eyes lighting up in excitement. She started rummaging around in her purse but kept talking. "Just a sec, I'll make the call right now and order our tickets! You've got to strike when the iron's hot, right?" Emiko stepped away, beeping buttons on her phone and placing it against her ear.

"Yeah, I guess so…" Watanuki breathed, knowing that her comment fell on deaf ears because the girl was already talking on her phone.

"Of course." Tomo sighed, his voice echoing. The ripples appeared again, ringing in Watanuki's ears, but they got louder and slightly higher pitched as they went on. "It always happens like this." The ringing was messing with Watanuki's head and making her feel nauseous. She placed her hands over the eyes and glasses, swaying a little with dizziness.

"Please stop…" She whispered. Tomo looked up and the ripples faded away.

The date ended after Emiko's phone call and they all went their separate ways. Watanuki ended up at Yuko's shop.

"So first it was tea and now you've got a date at the movies?" Yuko teased, juggling three small sacs full of beans that looked like little Mokonas in different colors. She was wearing her red smoke kimono and the purple obi with the lace on it that she wore when she sent Watanuki out in those ridiculous headphones to take care of the Angel game. Mokona was sitting below her and was juggling three sacs as well. Maru and Moro were getting into their mistress' drawers and pulling clothes out.

"It's not a date, Yuko." Watanuki stated as she unfolded the kimono that Yuko was going to change into, her red kimono with the white rose patterns and the huge yellow bow she loved to tie in the front.

"What did you say?" The witch asked above the sound of Maru and Moro and the sacs clicking sound as they hit her and Mokona's hands. "Sorry, you're going to have to speak a little louder than that."

"About those twins…" Watanuki asked, turning her head over her shoulder. "They are human, aren't they?"

"Did they seem inhuman somehow?" Yuko asked, watching her sacs go up and around and down and up again.

"That's not what I meant by that." Yuko let her white Mokona bean bag flip high into the air and caught it on her head, one hand close just in case it fell.

"Yes, they're human." She answered, shifting on her seat. Maru and Moro had now gotten into Yuko's obi drawer, taking several out and were running around with them in both hands, like streamers at a festival and they were laughing in delight. But Watanuki was going to have to fold them up and put them away later, which meant more work. The girl straightened her apron and head handkerchief and went back to the kimono she was working on. The girl sighed in relief that both the siblings were human. "I think you're over reacting about nothing."

"Yeah…maybe…" The seer breathed. And then her voice went back to her usual peeved tone as she untangled a knot from one of the kimono's sashes. The girl ignored the circus behind her and went back to talking about the twins. "I might be wrong but the younger twin seems really interested in Doumeki. Not that I care about that but it makes me feel weird."

"It makes you feel like the odd one out?" Yuko teased, smiling while she went back to juggling with three sacs.

"Odd one out!~ Odd one out!~" Maru and Moro sang.

"I assume that's what you're sulking about."

"I'm not sulking!" The girl hissed, stopping all conversation about her being concerned about Doumeki and another girl before Yuko could tease her some more.

"Sulking!~ Sulking!~" The twins echoed.

"Something about it just bothers me that's all!"

"Perhaps you're thinking, 'Why is Doumeki paying so much attention to her? Why doesn't he like me?'" Yuko did end up teasing the girl, using a cute pouty voice.

"NO! That's not it!" The girl spun on her knees so she could glare at Yuko directly in the face.

"Don't be jealous!~"

"I'm not jealous!" Then Watanuki hung her head, helpless to stop the teasing. "Would you please just listen to me?!"

"Alright, I'll listen to you." Yuko's face turned serious, but Watanuki couldn't take her completely seriously while she was still juggling. "After I'm done juggling." Watanuki sighed. An hour later – when Yuko finally got tired of not dropping the damn bean bags even once! – she changed into the red kimono with the yellow bow and finally listened as the girl explained the twin situation and the weird ripples.

"What you're sensing is a wave." Yuko said from behind the paper screen.

"A wave?" Watanuki asked, sitting outside of Yuko's room while she changed. Maru and Moro slid open the screen and Yuko poked her head out.

"Exactly, just like the rise and fall of water, the fluctuations of sound and light, even electromagnetism. Oscillations that come from a single source…oh and one more thing: a wave can create a pull that is impossible to resist." Watanuki looked up at the witch, half of her questions explained and half that just got more confusing with that last comment.

The next day at school when the teachers were having several students run tasks for them, Watanuki ran into Wari as she was carrying assignment sheets. She smiled and said hello to the cute boy and then started to tell him about theĵ day before and the delicious café (which she wanted to invite him to go to with her).

"Oh! You went to that tea shop?" Wari asked as they walked down the hall. "That place serves excellent food. You sure have good tastes, Watanuki!"

"Actually, I just happened to find it by chance!" The seer lied, playing it up.

"I really love that place." Wari smiled and his whole face lit up and sparkled. Watanuki blushed at his cuteness and then tipped back by its sheer force on her soul. She leaned into a backbend that almost had her head touching the floor and then slunk into a kneeling squat with her flyers as the boy just watched her curiously. Wari is just…too cute! "Are you okay, Watanuki? Are you dizzy? Do you want me to carry the print outs for you?" Wari leaned over his rolled up poster and looked down at the girl. She shot up in a split second, not wanting to trouble her crush and shook her head really fast.

"Oh no! I'm fine! Just fine! Hey – you wouldn't want to go there with me sometime, would you?" As soon as the question was out, a problem arose in the girl's brain. Wait…who did he eat with there before? Could it be…?

"I went with a few of my friends in class once." Wari replied. An embarrassed zing shot up Watanuki's spine.

"Wait…did I just ask that out loud?" She inquired, hoping to high heaven that she hadn't (but probably did anyway).

"Hmm? Say what out loud?" Wari asked.

"Oh, never mind! It was nothing! Really!" Watanuki brushed it off. But...she decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to take a page out of Emiko's book and ask Wari out. "Listen, would you like to go get some cake with me?"

"Actually, I prefer noodles." Doumeki replied, standing right next to Wari.

"BWAAAAH!" Watanuki threw her handouts up into the air where they scattered all over as she pulled a Matrix back flip and flopped on the floor in exasperation.

"You running errand for the teacher too?" Wari asked.

"Yeah." Doumeki replied. Why does he always show up at the exact wrong time?! Watanuki glared at the unwanted interruption as she picked up her printouts. "Why don't you meet me today in homeroom? That way we'll be able to leave together." The way Doumeki said it sounded like they were going out.

"Yeah. Fine!" The girl hissed, picking up the last of her paper.

"Going somewhere?" Wari asked Doumeki. Watanuki's head shot up in panic, the thought that Wari really thought that they were going out flashing through her brain.

"No!" She interjected harshly.

"To the movies." Doumeki undermined that with his neutral voice. Watanuki's jaw hit the floor. Wari's going to think we're dating! NOOO!

"Just the two of you?" Wari asked. Watanuki dropped her papers again as she stood up and tried to figure out a way to fix the situation.

"There's going to be four of us." Doumeki answered. That's even worse! Now he's going to think that I'm going out with someone else!?

"Oh?"

"I think they said they were college students." Now he's going to think I'm a gold digger and that Doumeki's a cougar hunter…but I don't really care about that big, stupid, jerkass! "We're meeting them at the Sakashita bus station."

"Oh, the one in front of the woman's college?"

"Wait! It's not what you think, Wari!" Watanuki waved her hands in front of the boy's face, trying to distract him and explain the situation.

"I hope it's an interesting movie! Have a good time!" Wari smiled brightly, looking completely clueless to Watanuki's plight.

The seer was so moody after that encounter that she couldn't even look at Doumeki for the rest of school or while waiting at the bus stop. After a few minutes of silence, Emiko and Tomo walked up, the former being all bright and smiley and the latter being all gloomy as usual. Emiko was wearing a blue skirt and shirt today and Tomo had paired a green, long-sleeved shirt with his gray pants, but he had ditched the coat this time. They all said hello and then made their way to the movie theater. Emiko fished out their tickets from her purse and got them in the theater in no time at all. They took their seats with Emiko sitting next to Doumeki, Watanuki next to him and Tomo next to her. The movie itself wasn't really interesting to Watanuki – it had something to do with a school girl with either supernatural powers or weird things just happened to her (kind of like Watanuki's whole thing with spirits and such) – and right now on the screen there were fish flying through the air and the girl was floating after them.

Wari didn't seem concerned at all that I was coming here with someone else! Watanuki frowned in her seat. The girl shook her head a couple of times and smiled. No, no! He was just being nice! He wanted me to enjoy the movie! He didn't want me to be upset! But then her eyes widened in concern and her chin dropped to her chest in depression. But that means that he doesn't care that I'm going out with other people. But wait! He wasn't worried about Doumeki either…so what does that mean? The girl's head snapped up and then she realized she was worrying about something dealing with Doumeki again. I am such a loser. On the movie screen, another girl was dragging her body over to the fish-girl in the black uniform, a black fog drifting onto the screen. In the right corner of the theater, a gruesome spirit did the same, rising up from the seats. But as usual, only Watanuki could see it.

Several more spirits rose up from the seats of the theater, their looming presence sending shivers up the girl's spine. They were all around her, writhing and wriggling in the dim theater and eyeing several of the humans in there. It figures that they'd show up during the scary part, Watanuki sighed. Of course, they'd show up eventually anyway. Spirits are so predictable, and that's why I avoid dark places like movie theaters! Even though they're predictable, they're still scary. The spirits were still wiggling, but they weren't coming any closer to the girl and that was odd because they always tried to get at her. Watanuki gave Doumeki a sideways glance, frowning at his stupid face. But with him here…I should be alright, as long as he doesn't ruin it. Right at that exact moment, Doumeki noticed Watanuki staring at him and decided to tease the girl, just a little.

"Don't tell me you're scared?" He said, eyeing the girl.

"Of course I'm not scared, you jerk!" Watanuki whisper-yelled back (they were in a theater after all). But man, am I irritated! Someone screamed onscreen and Emiko dove into Doumeki's left arm, hiding her face in his sleeve.

"I'm sorry about that." She apologized, looking up at Doumeki's unemotional face.

"It's okay." You idiot! She's obviously making a pass at you! That's the oldest trick in the book! Watanuki frowned again.

"It's scarier than I thought it would be!" She whispered back. "I don't know what I would do without you to hold onto. You make me feel safer somehow." Emiko smiled cutely. She's got a pretty tight grip on him, Watanuki observed. She didn't know if that made her mad or jealous or both. I wonder if normal people can sense Doumeki's ability to ward off spirits. Watanuki looked down at Emiko's hands (still wrapped around Doumeki's arm) and turned to look at her own "date." Tomo wasn't even paying attention to the movie, just sadly looking down at his hands and their white-knuckled grip on his pants.

"Are you okay?" Watanuki asked, wanting to make sure Tomo was doing alright. His head slowly came up, his eyes opening to look at hers. "Is it too scary?" Watanuki felt kind of stupid for asking a guy that question (but hey, even guys get scared sometimes), but Tomo just shook his head.

"No. I'm fine." He went back to staring at his hands. I'm guess I'm not the type guys like to open up to. Watanuki looked back to Emiko (who was still leaning into Doumeki's arm) and Tomo (who was still not making eye contact with anyone) and then the girl looked up at Doumeki's passive face, illuminated by the screen. I wonder if Tomo would rather talk to Doumeki over me. But if so, then why hasn't he?

As Watanuki was looking back to Tomo, he shivered, his whole body convulsing and a spirit behind them hissed.

"I want to go." Tomo whispered, the echoey sound resonating in Watanuki's ears again. The waves appeared again and the seer knew that Tomo was doing that weird thing again. "I wish I could leave." He whispered again. With those words, the ringing took on an urgent tone, like sirens on an ambulance and the spirits in the theater started reacting, shifting closer and growling at the boy sitting next to Watanuki, their yellow and red eyes blinking excitedly. The girl flinched at seeing so many spirits crowding in on them that she almost bolted for the door, if she hadn't needed to grab her pounding head, the waves of sound bouncing around in the skull until it throbbed.

And then, something fell on Tomo's hand. It was bright red and spread like a drop of water when it hit the boy's skin. Watanuki looked down at the drop and then up at her "date's" face. There was blood running down the center of his forehead, splitting into twin trails of red when they hit his nose, the liquid still dropping onto his hands as he gazed straightforward. Watanuki opened her mouth to scream, but never got the chance.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Waves…like the rise and fall of water…the fluctuations of sound and light. Electromagnetism… oscillations from a source that are impossible to resist.

Waves…that which swells and subsides.

Waves…that which is born and spreads.

Waves…that which one cannot dispute.

"No I can't do it. I'll just mess it up. I can't do anything right." Tomo's voice echoed in Watanuki's mind.

Chains…the laws of nature, the passage of time, the vessel we think of as out body, the ego we call the mind.

"Even though we look alike…we are completely different." He spoke again in her head as the girl wordlessly tried to scream at the blood on her date's face.

There is only one chain that people have the power to control…

"I want to go." Tomo had whispered a few seconds ago, his words rippling out from his mouth. Drops of blood were falling from his face, flecking his hand with blood as they splattered on his skin.

"What's the matter? Are you alright?!" Watanuki stood up in her seat and grabbed Tomo's shoulder, completely forgetting about the movie.

"Bro! Blood is running down your face!" Emiko jumped to her feet when she saw her brother's wound. Tomo looked at both of them curiously, his hand tentatively touching his forehead and coming away red. He stared at his own blood, like he didn't understand what he was seeing. Doumeki was immediately moving, brushing past Watanuki, grabbing his school bag and holding out a hand to Tomo.

"Come on." He said, but when the other boy didn't take his hand, the archer grabbed Tomo's wrist and yanked him out of his seat. The pair of boys walked out of the theater, the pair of girls following close behind. The theater doors opened, letting in a burst of light as the boys walked out.

"Did he bump his head before you got here?" Watanuki asked Emiko.

"He falls down all the time, but he hasn't fallen down today." She explained, wringing her hands together as they watched the door close in front of them.

"There's nothing around here that he could hurt himself on." Watanuki said, stopping to take another look around. Maybe it was a spirit. No. I would've noticed. The seer and Emiko finished walking up the aisle, opening the door to the brightly lit lobby to see Tomo sitting on a couch under a slew of movie posters and Doumeki was holding out a handkerchief to him. Tomo accepted the cloth and wiped his face off, looking up afterwards to smile at Doumeki affectionately. And Watanuki's brain did what Watanuki's brain did, and instantly clapped Tomo and Wari together as guys that liked Doumeki romantically (even if it wasn't true and she was just fabricating the whole thing). The grateful look that the boy gave the archer halted Watanuki in her tracks, halfway peeking out the door, because she felt like she shouldn't interrupt.

"I want to go." Tomo's words echoed in Watanuki's head again, reminding the girl that he wanted to leave the movie…and now he had. Emiko pushed past the seer and sat down next to her brother, placing both hands on her shoulders. Doumeki just stood by them, hands shoved into both of his pants pockets.

"What happened, Tomo? You can tell me." Emiko prodded.

"There's no need to worry about me. I feel just fine now." Tomo replied, smiling softly to alleviate his sister's worry.

"Really?" His twin asked. "That's great, but…"

"Something's off." Watanuki whispered, more to herself than to anyone else.

"I'm sorry for making you worry." Tomo apologizing to his sister. "But seriously I feel fine."

They decided not to go back into the movie and for that, Watanuki was grateful. She'd had enough weirdness on this date to last a lifetime, and that was saying something, coming from a girl who dealt with the supernatural every day. Doumeki and Watanuki walked to the bus stop and then walked in their separate directions after Doumeki had teased Watanuki for being scared in the movie theater again (which he did in his usual voice but she still blew up at him). In the end, Watanuki ended up back at Yuko's, but this time instead of cleaning, she was put in charge of playing with Maru and Moro. The girl disregarded her apron and head handkerchief and knelt next to the twins in one of the shop's many rooms, staring at the karuta cards scattered face up on the floor. (3)

"Here's your first clue: If the dog keeps walking he'll hit Mokona!" Mokona called out, holding up a card to its face so no one could see it.

"Got it!" Maru called, placing her hand over the karuta card with a falling dog and Mokona on it.

"Got it!" Moro called happily, sliding her hand under her twin's. She held up the card triumphantly. "You lose!" Maru frowned angrily.

"Second one: If you pile up Mokonas, they become a mountain!"

"Got it!" Maru called first, placing her hand over a card with black and white Mokonas piled up like a mountain.

"Got it!" Moro called, sliding her fingers under her twin's again. Maru frowned again, even angrier.

"No fair! You cheated!" She accused her pink-haired twin.

"That's ridiculous. I didn't cheat!" Moro said, turning her head away with a smile. As Watanuki listened, she noted that this was one of the rare times were the twins weren't repeating or copying each other's words.

"Here's the next one: The white Mokona hides while the black one doesn't!" The fur ball called, holding up another card.

"Got it!" Moro called, placing her hand on the card.

"Got it!" Maru called after her, sliding her fingers under Moro's and smiling mischievously.

"I got it!" Moro argued, upset that her blue-haired twin was doing exactly what she had done.

"This one's mine!" Maru gloated, holding up the card.

"Now look who's cheating, huh?" Moro snidely remarked.

"Not cheating, just better!" Maru argued. Mokona continued before they could argue more.

"Rescue the Mokona from the inferno!" It called.

"Got it!" Moro called.

"Got it!" Maru slipped her finger under again. Then their hands kept sliding under the other's in a contest to see who could cheat more to get card.

"Got it!"

"Got it!"

"Got it!"

"You think he did it to himself?" Yuko asked over the continued calls of "got it" as the twins fought over the card, referring to the movie theater incident the girl was telling her about. Yuko was wearing a butterfly themed dress today that Watanuki had to help her put on before she joined the game. There was a huge blue butterfly over Yuko's breasts, two hooked over her biceps, two that made a bracelet on each wrist and a matching necklace around the slender column of the witch's throat, her purple skirt draping gracefully around her legs and onto the floor. She held up the one karuta card she'd acquired during the game up to her chin, watching her employee with her cranberry eyes.

"That's crazy, right?" Watanuki asked, scooting back as the twin's crawled all over the cards, blocking each other and falling all over the floor. "But how else could he just get hurt?" The girl brushed her gray skirt down, smoothing out non-existent wrinkles.

"He said he wanted to get out of there, yes?" Yuko asked. "Just before it happened? And the odd sensation you felt at that moment, was it the first time you had felt it around this boy?" The girl thought for a moment, and then several instances popped into her head.

"His contact lens!"

"I'm pretty sure we won't be able to find it."

"That's right." Yuko nodded. "What you felt was a wave. You had no hope of finding the lens because he restricted you from discovering it."

"Then what you said before, about the one chain people can control…its words, isn't it?" Watanuki asked, the pieces finally clicking into place. Yuko leaned on her kyousoku, her breasts getting pushed up as she bent over the arm rest. (4) One of those weird moments happened, the ones were insubstantial smoke appeared everywhere as she picked up her pipe and this time, the cards scattered across the floor glowed too, their images turning white as Yuko spoke.

"Indeed. They are frightening, words…once they escape a person's lips, they cannot be called back. Once heard, they cannot be ignored. Still people throw them are far too lightly, often unaware of the chains they create." That strange ringing was back in Watanuki's ears, but this time, the sound wasn't' hurting her, even though she knew Yuko was causing it. Instances of the waves Yuko was talking about echoing in Watanuki's memory, all of them having to deal with Tomo.

"What if I make a mistake cooking it?"

"I can't help but feel like a burden to my little sister."

"Words are alive…and they can set the course of a person's future." Yuko's painted lips moved smoothly, mesmerizing Watanuki as she watched the witch speak. Yuko had said something like this before, when she was helping the housewife with the addiction to the internet. Names have power. And what were names? Words. Ripples appeared around Yuko's lips, confirming what Watanuki was just starting to understand as the witch smiled.

The next day, the words Yuko had spoken to her took Watanuki to Doumeki, her thoughts worried about Tomo and his sister. But all day long she kept getting interrupted by people as she was trying to bring up the subject to her classmate and then she got pissed at herself for trying to talk to Doumeki willingly at all so she shut up about it until school ended. And then Doumeki had gone to archery practice before the girl got a chance to catch him after school so she ended up watching him from just inside the doors of the club, leaning against a row of cubbies as she simmered in her worried thoughts and her dislike and confusion at wanting to talk to Doumeki about all of it.

The archer was dressed in his practice clothes – white gi, black hakama, and tabi socks – and fired and arrow that nearly hit the bull's eye of his target, zipping through the air and missing all the other scattered arrows that his classmates had fired. Doumeki took his stance again, swinging his bow up and notching his second arrow above the fingers of his left hand as he drew the bowstring back with his right. His gloved fingers shifted slightly as he lined up his shot and then the teen released his arrow, burying the tip right into the center of the target with a twack! Doumeki brought his arms down, twisting his bow into his body and moved his hips forward and then back a couple of times to loosen his muscles from standing so rigidly for all of practice. He turned towards the cubbies and started walking out to get a drink when he saw Watanuki by the doors. The girl had gotten off the lockers before her rival had turned around and was leaning against the doorframe to the outside, pretending like she hadn't been watching the brunette the whole time and also pretending that she wasn't impressed with him. When she heard Doumeki's footsteps, she turned her head over her shoulder too look at him, worry creasing her eyebrows. Doumeki instantly knew that she wanted to talk and nodded to his club advisor before leaving the range.

They walked outside and the pair made their way to a set of sinks on the side of the range building. Doumeki pulled out his towel as the girl sat down on one side of the sinks, folding her skirt under her so it didn't flip up (much to they boy's disappointment). The archer walked to the other side of the sinks as the girl started talking, listening intently to her as he opened up his gi to get the fabric off his hot skin, turning on the water spigot.

"So what do you want to do?" Doumeki asked, after Watanuki had explained what Yuko had told her and that she'd been worrying about Tomo for a while now.

"Hm?" The girl asked.

"About the twins." Doumeki clarified, wrapping his newly wet towel around his neck and patting his sweaty skin. "Are we going to see them again or not?"

"It's not really my decision, now is it?" The girl snapped back, her voice upset for reasons she couldn't understand.

"Its not?" Doumeki asked, wondering why Watanuki didn't think it was her decision when she was obviously worried about Tomo. It actually kind of got to Doumeki, his pride pricking slightly as the girl he liked was worrying about some other guy.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten!" Watanuki snapped again, whipping her head around to glare at Doumeki as he wiped off his neck with his towel. "You're the one who planted an in when you asked Tomo for your handkerchief back! And if Tomo's going to return it, Emiko can't be far behind." Watanuki was confused as to why she was feeling defensive about Emiko, maybe it was just that she clung to Doumeki too much. Doumeki almost smiled just a little bit when he realized that in her own way, Watanuki was jealous about Emiko, even if she didn't really like Doumeki.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't call that an in. I really don't care." Doumeki replied. The handkerchief wasn't important. What was important was that Watanuki was defensive about it, and that made all the difference.

"What do you mean, you don't care?" The seer asked, confused.

"It's just a handkerchief. It's not that big of a deal if I lose it." Doumeki dropped his towel into the sink and folded his arms. Maybe Watanuki would take the hint and realize that Doumeki didn't really care about Emiko either.

"What? Seriously?!" Watanuki frowned, tisking. "Both of those twins seemed pretty into you. Even Tomo of all things!"

"You think so?" Doumeki said, his voice holding a challenge.

"Like you didn't notice!" Watanuki growled, her sharp teeth popping out. She was pissed that apparently the jerkass couldn't even tell when people where signaling that they were into him! It just wasn't fair that he got all the attention from girls and apparently guys as well when she was having trouble getting the one guy she liked to even notice her romantically! "They couldn't have been more obvious if they'd hung signs around their necks! So don't stand there playing dumb!" Doumeki plugged his ears as Watanuki's rant reached its loudest volume, closing his eyes so he wouldn't have to see her scary angry face.

"Alright, fair enough." He admitted that both the twins were not subtle about their attraction to him, even Tomo. And Doumeki was definitely into girls so the boy didn't interest him. And panties. He liked panties too. "But what about you?"

"Hm?" Watanuki angry face melted away and she pushed her glasses back up on her nose.

"You still haven't answered: are we going to see them again or not?" Doumeki wanted this to be Watanuki's decision. If she didn't want to see the twins again, he wouldn't push it. The girl sighed and dropped her head to her chest.

"There's really no reason for us to go out again. I'd just be dead weight." Doumeki rolled his eyes at the girl, disappointed that she felt like the fourth wheel to their group when he clearly wanted her there, but she didn't notice either the eye roll or his desire to be with her. "Still…that poor boy is very trapped…chained down by his own words."

"So what have you decided?" Doumeki asked for a third time. Watanuki shook her head as she moaned in frustration.

"Now that I know about his problem, I can't exactly ignore it. I feel like I should warn him." Doumeki didn't say anything and a drop of water fell from the spigot he'd been using, the small noise filling the pause. "Not like he'd believe me anyway. He'll just laugh at me and call me crazy." Watanuki's head sunk even lower. "I'll just come off looking like some nut job." Years of pain and rejection coated her words, and Doumeki was only beginning to understand the hardship of Watanuki's gift when it came to other people. The spirit aspect of it he understood – the haunting and harassing was easy enough to comprehend because of his grandfather's stories and his own experiences when he tagged along on Watanuki's errands – but something about the way Watanuki talked about sharing her gift to others tipped him off that the girl had been called crazy and a nut job every time she tried to tell someone about the spirits or tried to help others with spirits and supernatural happenings they couldn't see. It made the archer sad to see that Watanuki now lacked confidence in herself because of things that happened in her past, her own set of chains weighing down her convictions to help others on the off chance she'd be rejected and laughed at again. Doumeki decided that he was going to help her change that, in whatever way he could.

"If you think it's the right thing to do then you should do it." Doumeki said firmly. Watanuki looked up at him, surprised at his words. "If you say it's pointless, aren't you just doing what he does?" Watanuki's mouth was working, but no words were coming out, her stunned silence letting Doumeki continue. "Tell you what; I'll even come with you."

"Uh…really?" Watanuki stood up, still in shock. She's obviously not used to people offering to help her with these things, even though I've been doing it for a while now, Doumeki noted.

"Pick up the tab and we'll call it even." No need to rush things, Doumeki concluded, adding just a bit of normalcy to lighten up the conversation. The seer fell over in a different kind of shock and then leapt to her feet in an instant, eyes blazing and fists clenched in fury.

"You're looking for a free lunch!" Watanuki shrieked.

Still, despite having the issue of the tab hanging over her, Watanuki agreed to meet the twins again and the next afternoon found them at the Rira Caffe where Emiko worked. Watanuki and Doumeki went in and Emiko waved at them from the counter, pointing to a booth where her brother was sitting before returning to her customers. Watanuki walked over to the booth and sat down first, sliding into the seat as Doumeki sat down next to her on the outside seat. Tomo was sitting across from both of them, fiddling with the buttons on his red shirt nervously and he wouldn't really meet either of the teens in the eye.

"Um, I'm sorry. I washed you handkerchief for you, but the stain wouldn't come out so I bought you this one." Tomo dug around his bag and pulled out a new handkerchief, holding out the wrapped package to Doumeki with both hands.

"Thank you." Doumeki replied, taking the thin box and placing it in his school bag before closing it up again and setting it next to Watanuki. Tomo finally looked up at the archer, before blushing slightly and hiding his face in his hair again. "I'll get us some drinks." Doumeki said, getting up at walking away.

"Uh, okay." Watanuki said after him. Both the girl and the boy watched Doumeki walk up to the counter where Emiko was.

"Hello! May I take your order?" The girl twin asked, smiling brightly at her new customer.

"Do you like him?" Watanuki asked, placing her elbows on the table and folding one hand over the other to rest her chin on them. Tomo didn't have to answer; the surprised, embarrassed look on his face gave it away. So he really does like that ass. Damn, that Doumeki for stealing everyone's heart. But despite her jealously towards Doumeki and his growing crowd of fangirls (or boys, in this case) she still smiled at the boy twin. "Don't let the sour look fool you; he's not going to bite you or anything. You should try talking to him." I can't believe I'm chalking him up to a guy! Tomo looked back over his shoulder nervously, his eyes flitting towards Doumeki.

"I don't know. Wouldn't it be weird for me to admit that I like another guy? And besides, I can't compete with my sister. Look at her. She's always been so much more confident and outgoing than me. If I tried to compete with her I'd just fail miserably. Why should I even try?" Tomo's hands came up and he threw them over his face. The ripples that only Watanuki could see started coming from all directions, surrounding the boy as he spoke.

"Don't say that!" Watanuki interrupted. Tomo's head popped up, surprised and the ripples disappeared. "You'll never know unless you try, right? You shouldn't talk yourself down so much!" Watanuki encouraged. I can't believe that I'm giving self esteem advice to a guy! "Try saying that you do have good qualities! 'Kay?" The girl smiled brightly.

"You think so?" Tomo asked, giggling. It was the first time Watanuki had heard him laugh.

"Absolutely! Just saying it makes a big difference! Trust me." Watanuki smiled, already seeing a slight change in the boy's body language.

"So, just focusing on my good qualities won't make me feel so bad?"

"Right!" Just then, Doumeki returned with drinks, holding one out to Tomo.

"Here. It's a milk coffee." He said.

"Huh?" Tomo replied.

"It's what you like, right? When we were out the other day I remembered you ordered one to go with your cake." Tomo just stared at Doumeki in shock. "It's my way of saying thanks, for the handkerchief." Tomo smiled brightly.

"Th-thank you!" He took the cup with both hands, hiding his blush behind his wavy hair. Watanuki smiled at the boy twin and he smiled back, finally looking happy.

"And iced tea for you." Doumeki said, handing Watanuki her cup. The girl was also surprised that he'd remembered her favorite drink, but didn't let it show, taking the cup and raising an eyebrow at him. The rest of the meeting went smoothly as they all chatted (or at least Watanuki and Tomo talked, Doumeki only nodded a few times and spoke even less) and by the time Watanuki got to Yuko's shop that day, she was so happy that she didn't even complain about cleaning and hummed and danced in the kitchen as she prepared a sugary dessert.

"Someone seems chipper today," Yuko commented, leaning against the kitchen's doorframe in the yellow dress she'd been wearing the other day.

"Chipper, chipper, Watanuki!~ Chipper, chipper, Watanuki!~" Maru and Moro chanted, joining in Watanuki's little dance.

"Don't keep me in suspense." Yuko said, walking up to the island counter and eating a cherry right out of Watanuki's bowl. The girl didn't even care and just kept whipping up cream, swishing the bowl over her head as she danced.

"Doumeki and I met up with those twins again – well, mostly the older brother." Watanuki revealed.

"Hm."

"And thanks to yours truly, he got a new outlook on life." Watanuki lifted her whisk out of her cream for a moment before putting it back in and setting the bowl down. "You know, you were right – about our words being alive and stuff. And I completely get it down that chains don't have to just bind people, they can connect and link us together too!" Watanuki slipped on her pink oven mitts and leaned over to open the over door and take out the small cakes she'd been baking. "I just got him to say something positive about himself and his whole demeanor did a three-sixty. Words really are amazing." The girl placed the hot pan she'd just taken out of on a large hot pad.

"Yes, but still…the words we speak are not the only ones that bind." Yuko said softly.

"Huh?" Watanuki turned around to discover that Yuko and the twins had disappeared, as did half the cream she was whisking. She just shrugged and went back to the hot cakes, slicing fruit and making more cream.

The after school snack the next day was very gratifying and Watanuki's good mood carried over from the day before, so she was very pleased when she unveiled the pièce de résistance of the meal by bringing out the variety of cakes she'd created yesterday.

"Oh wow! Watanuki, did you really make all of these yourself?" Wari asked in awe.

"It's no big deal. I'd just thought that I'd try out baking some cakes like the ones from the café you like so much." Watanuki replied, putting her head behind her pony tail and rubbing her head embarrassedly. The three of there were at the park, Watanuki and Wari sitting on the play animals and Doumeki on the wall with the cake box on the ground in between them.

"Aw, they're perfect! I would've never noticed the difference!" The boy complimented. A tan hand shot out and grabbed a cake with lots of fruit on it and Doumeki took a bite immediately.

"Damn it, you jerk!" Watanuki screamed. "Who said you could have the first pick?!" Wari reached inside the shopping bag he'd brought along and held out a can of coffee to the archer.

"Here you go!" Wari smiled.

"Thank you." Doumeki said, sticking the cake in his mouth and holding it there while he grabbed the drink.

"Wari, what are you doing?! You don't need to put yourself out by bringing him coffee!" The seer said in a concerned, sweet voice. And then she rounded on Doumeki and growled.

"What's wrong? Just help yourself." Doumeki told the girl, popping the last bite of his cake into his mouth and taking a drink of coffee.

"I don't need your damn permission!" Watanuki snarled. A laugh behind the girl stole her attention and Watanuki turned to discover Tomo watching them.

"Looks like you're having fun." He smiled sweetly as the wind tossed his wavy hair around his face. He looked different today, even wearing the same gray pants and white coat that Watanuki had seen him in the most, so it wasn't the clothes that had changed him.

"Good afternoon!" Watanuki said, standing up to greet the boy twin.

"Having a picnic with your friends?" Tomo asked as he walked up.

"Kinda." Watanuki blushed. Tomo nodded to Doumeki and Wari (who she hadn't met yet). "So what are you up too?" Watanuki leaned in and got a good look at the boy, smiling at the changes. He seemed a lot happier now. "You're so cheerful now."

"Thanks to you! I'm more confident now." Tomo smiled again. "I used to have this ritual where I'd convince myself that was going to fail at something before I even tried it. I thought about what you said and lately I've been trying to say that you never know until you try. It seems to be working for me too. Ever since I started thinking that, I've been messing up less." His smiled faded just a little. "But it could just be my imagination." Watanuki shook her head.

"Don't be hard on yourself. You've just got to keep at it! Instead of saying, 'you never know,' try saying, 'I'm positive things will go well!'" Watanuki smiled at the boy.

"I'm positive things will go well…" He said, smiling again.

"That's perfect!"

"Would you like some?" Doumeki interrupted, giving Tomo a cake.

"Thank you!"

"Hands off, Doumeki! You can't just give stuff away that doesn't belong to you!" Watanuki ranted. Doumeki slapped his hands over his ears. "I made those, you no good thief!" Tomo chuckled at the pair.

"Would you like to have a drink with us?" Wari offered, holding up and extra can of coffee. Tomo smiled with Watanuki.

"You're boyfriend?" The boy twin whispered to the girl.

"Eek! Well-I-um…he…No! We're, we're – what I mean is-" Watanuki flapped her arms around like an idiot while trying to explain things, but the words were getting all garbled up as they left her mouth. Doumeki took this opportunity of Watanuki's distraction to snag another cake.

"Then Doumeki's?" Wari asked, and Watanuki was taken aback for a second, not used to someone being so open about guys liking guys. And then she snapped into defensive mode and waved her hand in front of her nose.

"No, definitely not. He wouldn't give that jerk the time of day."

"Oh." Tomo replied, blushing slightly. Watanuki looked back at Doumeki and then to Tomo. The boy twin stopped blushing and ate his cake. "It's delicious. And this is a perfect day for a picnic. Right now, it really seems as if things are going well."

"Mmm hmm." Watanuki nodded.

"By the way, I was wondering…if you're not busy…I'm working part time at the café now if you'd like to drop by." Tomo offered.

A few days later, Watanuki took him up on his offer.

"Seriously…what did I do to deserve this?!" Watanuki said between clenched teeth as she glared at her unwanted companion. Doumeki just stared back. "Can't I go anywhere without you tagging along?!"

"He invited all of us, if I recall." Doumeki pointed out. Watanuki repeatedly slapped her hands on the table, tears streaming down her face.

"That's not the point! I wanted to come with Wari! Not you!" The girl broke down on the table, crying dramatically. Doumeki just picked up the menu and started to pick out sweets he wanted.

"But Wari had piano lessons this afternoon." Doumeki reminded the girl. Her head came up and Doumeki got a good look at mournful Watanuki-face.

"I knoooow! Buuut…!" The girl's head plunked back down on the table as she continued to cry. Footsteps approaching the table caught the girl's attention and her wailing instantly stopped as she looked up and smiled. But when she saw Tomo's face, her smiled dropped of her own. Tomo was standing in front of them, wearing the butler/waiter uniform of the café: white, crisp shirt, black pants, a small black apron around his waist and a black tie.

"Good to see you again." The smile on the boy's face looked fake and when he looked at Doumeki, he crawled back into his shell. Tomo hid his hands behind his back, but not before Watanuki saw the bandages around all of his fingers. "So, uh…what can I get you guys?"

"Uh, I'll have the cake plate with tea." Watanuki answered, smiling awkwardly.

"Make that two." Doumeki agreed, closing the menu.

"'Kay." Tomo bowed to them both and reached to take the menu. "I'll have that right out." Watanuki blinked and watched him walk away, a weird glowing aura surrounding the boy twin's body.

"What happened?" Watanuki asked. "When we were talking to him at the park, he seemed so cheerful." Doumeki remained silent.

"Hi, guys." Another familiar voice called. Doumeki and Watanuki both looked to see Emiko coming towards them. "Would it be alright if I joined you?" The girl twin smiled, smoothing out her yellow cardigan and green skirt before sitting down at the empty seat on their table.

"Yeah, sure." Watanuki said.

"When my brother told me he wanted to work here I was more than a little worried." Emiko placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands. "I told him that I might not be a good idea, the way he's dropping dishes at home, so I come by to keep an eye on him." As she was speaking, Emiko's twin was coming back with a tray holding tea cups. He was taking very slow, deliberate steps, the cups rattling with each footfall. His face was pinched in worry and concentration.

"You watch him? Often?" Watanuki asked.

"Sure!" Emiko replied.

"Are you that worried about him?" Doumeki questioned.

"Yes. We're siblings, isn't it natural for me to want to fuss over him?"

"Be careful with that tray. You're about to spill those cups." Emiko called to her brother as he walked toward the table. Watanuki gasped as she heard the echoing that meant words were taking effect and a ripple slid through the air and wrapped itself around Tomoyoshi. "Watch your balance. Don't slouch or you'll tip the tray!" Watanuki's head snapped towards Emiko, watching the ripples sprout from her lips and travel to her brother. Tomo stopped in the middle of the floor and it was all Watanuki could do to watch multiple sets of echoes wash over the twin. "See? Now customers are watching you. They can see you're nervous. Pay attention! No spilling!"

Tomo's hand came out with one of the tea cups, shaking, and he trembled so badly that the cup did tip off the saucer, the hot tea splashing on Doumeki's arm and the tea cup shattering on the floor.

"How embarrassing. Forgive him." Emiko asked Doumeki as she took out her handkerchief and dabbed at the tea on his arm. Tomo just stood there, frozen, like he couldn't believe what he had done either.

"It's no big deal." The archer said.

"You see? This is why I begged you not to get a service job." Emiko continued, talking to her brother again.

"I'm so sorry! Let me help you." Tomo finally started moving, grabbing his own handkerchief and leaning towards Doumeki's arm with one of his bandaged hands.

"Stay back. Just stop! You're hopeless!" Emiko commanded softly. Tomo did stop, frozen as each new sentence created ripples and the ringing sound that messed with Watanuki's head. "All you do is screw up. Look at those fingers! It's only been a week and he's already maimed himself. I swear, every time I'm in here you get worse. Mom and dad would have a fit if they knew how much trouble you cause." Watanuki's head was aching from all the noise and the ripples that Emiko kept creating, and her words seemed to start making Tomo's hands bleed at the mention of his cuts he probably had under the bandages.

"I failed. I knew I would." The boy whispered, looking at his bleeding hands.

"The smartest thing for you to do now is just quit." Emiko stood up when she was done cleaning Doumeki's arms and took her brother by the shoulders. "You don't even like talking to strangers, much less serve them. Being a waiter isn't for you, there's no shame in that. It's better for you to stay home and calm your nerves and relax, that suits you. It's worthless for you to push yourself at something you're not good at." Watanuki's head pounded and she had to squeeze her temples with her hand to even pay attention to what was going on, but the ripples kept coming, the eerie sound kept ringing and she was aching inside and out by what Emiko was saying.

"Right? Come on…quit." Emiko finally stopped talking. Tomo sank to the ground, completely zoned out. Watanuki's head cleared a little as she shot to her feet. She could finally see the final product of Emiko's words. Tomo was completely weighed down, the spider's web of chains that bound him up plain to see now, but of course, only to her eyes.

"No! Don't listen to your sister!" Watanuki argued, walking around Doumeki and Emiko and knelt next to Tomo. "Everyone stumbles from time to time, especially when trying something new! But that's when you have to dig your heels in and try harder! You never quit!" Tomo didn't respond, he didn't even move. Watanuki tried one more time. "You just have to believe in yourself!"

"And what is something bad were to happen to him? Then what?" Emiko piped in as she knelt, wrapping her brother in her arms and turning defensive on Watanuki, staring her down. The seer had no answer for her.

"One must take the responsibility for one's own choices." A soothing voice said next to Watanuki, a warm hand resting on her shoulder. The girl looked up and saw Yuko standing above her with a fork in her hand, wearing an attractive red dress. She'd probably been eating in another part of the café and the girl just hadn't noticed.

"Yuko!" The woman licked her lips.

"Words have power. Pity has no comfort when you're consumed by doubt." The witch said, looking down at the twins. Yuko licked her lips again, like she wanted to savor the situation. "And if you enjoy living underneath someone's thumb, then there is no harm being tied down by the limitations they place on you." Watanuki stood up to get out of Yuko's way and Doumeki stood to take Emiko out of the way as well. The witch knelt down in front of Tomo. "Just think, whatever comfort you feel now is nothing compared to the joy you'll feel when you're free to tell yourself, 'things will go well.'"

Tomo's eyes filled with tears, his obvious unhappiness spilling down his cheeks.

"You have a wish, right?" Yuko asked softly, seductively. Tomo nodded, ever so slightly. "I require payment for my help." Tomo nodded again. Yuko's hand came up to the boy's cheeks, softly touching the tears staining his face. "Very well. May your wish be fulfilled. What is it that your heart desires? Tell me."

"I want to change!" Tomo breathed, his aura changing from a cold blue to a bright gold, the invisible webs and chains surrounding him sparkling and breaking.

The next day, Watanuki and Doumeki found themselves back at the Rira Caffe, waiting for the older twin to show up. Watanuki was antsy, her feet tapping on the ground as she sat next to Doumeki and she couldn't stop looking around, until the boy walked in.

"Sorry for making you wait." Tomo said as he walked up. Both teens turned around at his voice and Watanuki gasped at the change that had happened to the boy. He was smiling again like he was at the park, but all of his wavy hair was gone. His short cropped hair was vastly different from the curtain of locks he used to hide behind.

"You cut your hair!" The girl stated in surprise. Tomo placed a bag in front of Watanuki that had his hair in there for Yuko.

"It's my payment for Yuko's assistance. It's not much, but I hope it's enough." Tomo sat down and looked at the pair. "Why the sad faces?" (It was mostly Watanuki's face he was talking about because Doumeki looked the same as ever).

"Your hair…" Watanuki started.

"Trading my hair for a new life sounds like a bargain to me." He smiled brightly. "Besides, since I've cut my hair I've noticed all kinds of changes. Look at my hands!" The boy held up his fingers. There were fewer bandages on it than there were before. "I've still got a ways to go but it looks like my scars are healing up nicely. It's great! Who knew that trying something different could make such changes?"

The conversation paused, and Watanuki smiled, finally able to see just how much Tomo had changed.

"That being said, I have something to say." He turned serious, staring right into Doumeki's eyes. "Doumeki, I thought you should know that I like you." Tomo blushed slightly at the confession. There was silence for a moment as Watanuki stewed in her seat, waiting for Doumeki's answer, her suspicions about Tomo liking Doumeki right, for once.

"Thank you, but I'm not you're type." Doumeki bowed as he rejected Tomoyoshi's confession and Watanuki was and wasn't surprised at the same time.

"I figured as much." Tomo smiled, seemingly completely aware that Doumeki was not into guys like that. Emiko walked up behind her brother, in her work uniform and holding a tray of drinks.

"I guess we both got shot down." The girl twin smiled and sighed at the same time.

"But I'm glad I told him." Tomo replied.

"It's true. Giving it up as lost before saying anything is no good." Emiko agreed. "I've reflected on that." They both laughed. "'Kay, onto the next part."

"The next part?" Watanuki asked.

"Yep!" Both twins said as Emiko walked away to help some customers.

"We were hoping that we could continue our tradition of going and getting cake together." Tomo explained. "Just four friends hanging out.

"As long as the cake's good." Doumeki answered.

"Great then! I'll go get us some tea." Tomo got up but then stopped, turning back to the pair. "Thank you."

A bright ripple washed over Watanuki and even though she was the only one who could see it, she was sure Doumeki could feel it too.

"And to think," Watanuki said as they walked away from the restaurant a little while later, "If you had convinced me that there was nothing I could do to help, then that's one thank you we would have never been able to hear."

"What?" Doumeki asked.

"Tell you what," Watanuki said, slinging her hands behind her head as she walked. "Tell me what you want for lunch tomorrow. The sky's the limit. What's it going to be?"

"Star fruit." Came the answer.

"What?! I'm giving you a choice and that's the best you can come up with?!" Watanuki said, outranged that Doumeki didn't ask for anything really hard like he usually did. When she accomplished those difficult dishes, it was like she could throw it back in his face that she could do something way better than him. "Fruit?! That's not a real meal!" She huffed, and folded her arms.

"Fine. Tessa then." Doumeki conceded, choosing one of the hardest things he knew.

"Ug! Are you crazy?! Do you have any idea how hard it is to prepare tessa without killing someone?! It's almost impossible!"

"Then, make up for it with tecchiri." (5) A familiar, silky voice floated toward the pair from behind. Watanuki and Doumeki both turned toward the source, finding Yuko standing in the middle of the street in a purple, ruffled shirt and a long, brown skirt. "I like mine with a soft roe."

"Soft roe!" Mokona repeated, jumping out on Yuko's shoulder.

"Why would you want a hot stew in the summer time?" Watanuki inquired, stomping up to the witch.

"Delicious food transcends stereotypes." Yuko replied haughtily. Doumeki walked up behind Watanuki and nodded his agreement, folding his arms in the process.

"I was thinking along the lines of a light lunch! You're asking too much of me!" Watanuki snarled. Doumeki had the perfect comeback.

"Say to yourself, 'I'm positive things will go well.'"

"Don't throw my words back at me!" The girl yelled right in his face, shaking an angry fist at the archer. "I know what you're trying to do and it's not going to work!" Doumeki just plugged his ears in response.

"By the way," Watanuki started, turning back to Yuko, "Pardon me for saying, but I couldn't help but notice that you're not eating at home much lately. Is that because you've been trying different restaurants?"

"Oh, what could you be talking about?" Yuko asked.

"If you keep eating out like that, it'll catch up with your waistline!" The seer teased. Yuko's eyebrow cocked menacingly and she smiled like the Cheshire cat. Mokona 'oooed' in anticipation of what was to come.

"Watanuki, I'm glad you've taken an interest in my culinary habits." Watanuki blanched at her tone, knowing she had just said the exact wrong thing. "From now on, you can prepare all of my meals, healthy selections of course." Watanuki's face went paler than it usually was as she realized just what she had done. "I guess you'll practically live in the kitchen, won't you?" Yuko was still smiling, her mouth still spouting out evil words.

"I'm sorry, Yuko!" Watanuki tried to apologize before things got even worse. She looked to Doumeki for help, but he just looked away, leaving her stranded between a witch and a hard place because Mokona turned away from the girl too.

"I'm so proud of you for shouldering such a huge responsibility." All Watanuki could do was smile awkwardly as she landed herself in the deepest shit ever. "Don't be shy with your menu ideas, people!" Yuko pumped a fist in the air as she strode past the quailing girl.

"Soft roe!" Mokona shouted.

"Fugu." Doumeki added, walking away as well.

"Tecchri!" Yuko cheered.

"Fish eggs!" Mokona seconded.

"Star fruit." Doumeki added again.

"Tecchri!"

"Fish eggs!'

"Star fruit."

Watanuki's face twitched in horror.

"Fuck!"

To be continued…

Note 1: Emiko means smiling child. Tomoyoshi means quiet twin, combining Tomo (twin) and Yoshi (silent or quiet). I fused the two together but there are actually people names Tomoyoshi, including Tomoyoshi Miyazaki (I had to look people up with the name Tomoyoshi and he popped up first) who worked on games such as ActRaiser for the Super Nintendo, Inuyasha: The Secret of the Cursed Mask and the Ys games.

Note 2: Dango is a Japanese sweet dumpling made of mochiko (rice flour). It's eaten all year long, but certain seasons have certain flavors. Three or four dango are usually served on a skewer and if you've seen Clannad you know how cute they can be when you give them faces! :3

Note 3: Karuta cards descend from either Portuguese playing cards or Eawase, which was first played with oyster shells as a matching game. The game that Maru and Moro are playing is from the Eawase – a popular pastime for nobles in the Kamakura Period. Eawase games consisted of participants being divided into two teams and then each player would create paintings or poetry on a predetermined topic which were then judged by their peers. The simpler version of this game was to matching pre-painted images, like Maru and Moro's game where Mokona is describing cards and the twins are trying to find the card that matches the description.

Note 4: A kyousoku is a Japanese separated arm rest that can accompy a zabuton (a commonly used cusion for sitting on the floor) and a zaisu (a legless chair). When all three are used together, the resulting piece of furniture looks like a legless Western chair with only one armrest.

Note 5: Tessa is a fugu (pufferfish) sashimi dish and tecchiri is a boiled fugu dish.

A/N: There you go! See you all next time! :3