A/N: ZareEraz here! I know this has been a long time coming so I hope it was worth the wait! These two episodes are some of my favorite and I hope I did them justice. Enjoy and don't forget to review and let me know if you liked it! Happy reading!

Chapter Twelve: The Promise and The Choice

Spring had finally come to Japan, the cherry blossoms blooming vibrantly in the chilly air that had yet to warm. Chilly air that Watanuki was currently standing out in and doing the laundry in, as well. It was freezing but the girl had a job to do and she had to do it fast or else she'd be in trouble. Watanuki smacked someone Yuko's pillows together, shaking out all of the pent up dust in it so that it'd be nice and fresh for the next time she used them. Once that was done, she hurried over to the porch and set them down, brushing off her smock and undoing her head handkerchief for a short break.

"Alright, what's left?" The girl asked herself, starting to count out her list of chores on her fingers. "Starch the sheets, sweep and mop the entire house, oh! And arrange fresh flowers (which was something she'd become quite good at while working for Yuko). "Magnolia or witch-hazel?" She asked herself. "God! I've got to hurry!" The seer looked around frantically, trying to remember if she needed to do anything else. "I'm dead if the house isn't spotless by the time Yuko gets back!"

The raven ducked down and grabbed her laundry basket and whirled around, dashing up the steps, tripping and falling spectacularly on her face. "Ow…owowowow…" The girl groaned, her elbows, knees and face aching from her mishap. Then she heard something behind her that was out of place for the quiet shop. It was a woman's laugh. Watanuki fixed her crazily skewed glasses, stood up and turned around to greet the guest, seeing a woman that could've been the age of her own mother, or perhaps a little older, dressed in a fine pink kimono with a teal colored traditional coat wrapped around her. Her graying brown hair was pulled into a large bun on the nape of her neck and held in place by a single chopstick.

"Um…" The girl started. "Can I help you?" She quickly walked up to the woman and smiled politely. "Sorry, Yuko's not in right now but I can take a message."

"Yuko?" The woman asked, her eyes laughing. "Who's that?"

"That's odd that you didn't stop by to talk to Yuko." Watanuki replied, but in all honesty, stranger things had happened.

"Well, I just happened to see you as I was passing by." Her hand came up gracefully and hovered near her lipsticked and smiling mouth, just like how princesses used to do in old paintings. She was a real lady! "You looked like you were having so much fun. I couldn't help but say hello. Sorry for bothering you."

"No, it's okay." Watanuki assured her.

"Oh…" The woman gasped, looking above Watanuki's head, her gaze sweeping across Yuko's shop, admiring the architecture. "You have a lovely house!"

"Actually, ma'am, it's a shop." Watanuki corrected politely.

"Really?" She said, disbelieving, but not entirely casting away the possibility. "What kind of shop is it?"

"Well…" Watanuki tried to think of a good way to explain Yuko's shop without sounding psychotic and crazy. "I guess you could say we sell a little bit of everything in there. The woman dropped her gaze back down to the girl.

"And are you the owner's daughter?" The mere thought sent shivers up the girl's spine, just thinking about being Yuk's daughter. It was horrifying. "Helping out around the house?"

"It's my after-school job." She replied matter-of-factly.

"Such a nice girl, helping out your mother like this." The woman smiled again, or just smiled bigger since she'd never stopped smiling.

"No-she's not my-" Watanuki started, but she was interrupted by the phone ringing inside the shop. Both she and the woman looked towards the door.

"Well, you should probably go and get that." The woman sighed, a smile still on her face.

"Oh yeah." Watanuki replied, bowing to the woman. "Goodbye!" She ran towards the house and the insistent ringing of the phone, but the girl did look back once, to see the woman smiling at her and waving goodbye. Watanuki smiled, wondering if that was what a mother was like. She didn't know herself because her mother had died when she was very young. But it was a nice thought to think of the woman in that capacity. But right then, the girl had to throw those thoughts away and kick off her shoes haphazardly as she dashed into the house for the phone.

"Telephone!~ Telephone!~" Maru and Moro sang, kicking their legs up in the air. "Pick it up you lazy bones!~" They laughed and cartwheeled away from the table with the phone on it in opposite directions.

"Yeah, I know!" Watanuki threw open the doors and ran for the phone, wondering why Maru or Moro didn't just pick it up. "I know I'm coming! Hello?"

"Well, it took you long enough." Yuko's voice came in on the other end, muffled and broken up by static. "Things are taking longer than expected here, so I won't be home today." The static continued with every word.

"That's too bad." Watanuki shrugged. "I just bought some of that asahori bamboo that you like."

"You did!?" Yuko's voice got incredibly loud as she got excited and Watanuki had to do a Doumeki and hold the phone away from her ear as the witch shouted. "Why didn't you say so sooner!?"

"Mokona wants some bamboo too!" The fur ball's voice butted into the conversation, just as loudly as its mistress'. Watanuki sat down in one of the two chairs next to the table and placed the phone back to her ear once they were done.

"Fine, I'll just save it 'til tomorrow then." The girl sighed. "Even though you're supposed to eat it right away." A loud bust of static came in through the phone, like Yuko was calling from really, really far away and it was hurting Watanuki's ears.

"You'd better have it because it looks like I won't be home tomorrow either." Yuko said through the static. "Actually, I might be gone for quite a while."

"Really? For how long." The seer asked. Apparently there wasn't any need to get so frantic about the chores today. What a waste.

"I don't know. Consider yourself off until I get back." Yuko replied.

"Okay then." Watanuki looked out the doors and into the yard, thinking about all the things she could do while Yuko was away and how nice it would be just to take care of herself…and Doumeki's lunches, she guessed.

"I know! You can make the asahori bamboo for Doumeki! Wouldn't that be cute!?~" The witched teased.

"No! don't say another word or I'm hanging up on you!" Watanuki blushed, thinking about how since that first night when Doumeki brought over Matsuzaka he'd been coming over once a week to have dinner with her, for no reason at all apparently other than to eat and make her life miserable…in a good sort of way.

"Fine, fine! I'll bring you back some souvenirs."

"Sure, thanks. I'll see you when you get back. Take care."

"You take care." Yuko hung up suddenly, her strange and pointed words hanging in the air along with the busy signal from the phone.

"That was weird. Well, weird for Yuko." Watanuki said as she hung up the phone. She thought about it for a minute and then decided that she didn't care, forgetting all the chores she was supposed to do for another day and heading home. She did actually make the bamboo and shared it with Doumeki no less when he popped up at the house that night, as if his food radar had led him there by magic.

The next day, Watanuki was in quite a good mood while she walked with Wari, blushing as he conversed with her crush.

"Oh, I see! You like every kind of sweet except marshmallows!" The girl exclaimed.

"They're okay, I guess, but their texture is really weird." The boy said, shaking his head slightly so his curly hair bounced.

"Right, right! I agree!" Watanuki instantly replied. "They're gooey and fluffy too!"

"Mmm hmm!" Wari agreed. "Marshmallows are so strange!"

"Yeah, I couldn't agree more!" Watanuki stood up tall and took on a know-it-all voice. "But did you know that marshmallows are made from the roots of the marshmallow plant, hence the name?" Watanuki pushed her glasses up her nose like and evil genius, showing off her faked intelligence.

"Wow, really?" Wari smiled brightly. "Is there anything you don't know, Watanuki?" Watanuki could've died from the boy's cuteness and blushed even pinker.

"No one's as awesome as that smile on your face!" She gushed, and started doing a little dance.

"Oi." Someone said, but the girl was too busy talking.

"Now that I know that you don't care for marshmallows I know what candy to buy you for a special surprise!~ I'm going to get the perfect sweets for my sweet Wari!~"

"I said, 'oi.'" A monotone voice interrupted Watanuki's dance as she moved out into the hallways. And it was a voice she found irritating. Watanuki whirled on Doumeki and growl, baring her fangs furiously.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" She snapped.

"Are you leaving?" He asked, unfazed by her normal sour mood.

"Yeah, so!?" The raven crossed her arms angrily.

"Doumeki, are you going to archery practice today?" Wari asked, sticking his head out of the classroom and noticing the brunette in his black hamaka and white kimono top.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"You've been practicing so hard lately!"

"The competition's coming up." As they spoke to each other, Watanuki pouted and then growled and then a cross vein appeared on her forehead as Doumeki once again butted into her conversation with Wari!

"Can I cheer you on again?"

"Sure." And that's what made the girl snap. WHY DO YOU WANT TO CHEER HIM ON?! Tears of frustration sprang to her eyes as he pulled a funny face that drew Doumeki's attention to her.

"Working today?" Doumeki asked the seer.

"Why do you want to know?!" She stalked up to him and got right in his face.

"Will Yuko be there?" The archer asked next.

"No! She's gone!"

"Gone where?"

"Geez! You're nosey!" Watanuki turned away from her classmate with a huff and crossed her arms sourly. "If you really have to know, she's out on business!" Doumeki stared at the girl intently, trying to riddle out this ominous feeling that had just made itself known in his stomach. It was as if something bad was going to happen, and he could feel it. And when something bad happened, Watanuki was usually in the middle of it. But she'd caught him staring at that point, disturbed by the look on his face. "What's with you!? What's your problem today?!"

"The pipe fox…where is it?" Doumeki's eyes narrowed slightly. Watanuki blinked at him in shock and confusion, wondering about the sudden change in conversation.

"Come on! Do I look like his keeper?! He's back at Yuko's shop!"

"Carry him with you." Was all Doumeki said, wanting her to have at least the protection of the spirit, even if he couldn't be with her for whatever was going to happen. He just hoped he was wrong and that nothing would happen.

"Hey, why? What are you talking about?" Watanuki asked in rapid fire. But Doumeki had already turned around the started walking away, heading towards archer practice that would keep him busy all night. "What the hell is his problem today?" The girl huffed, putting her hands on her hips.

"You two get along so well! Almost like a couple! Isn't Doumeki great?" Wari said cheerfully as he laughed. Watanuki fell over in mortification, dying where she lay in the hallway as she was compared to being Doumeki's girlfriend again.

"I don't get it! Why is Doumeki so popular?!" Watanuki grumbled to herself on the way home, another cross vein popping out of her forehead. "People see him and smile and when I see him all I want to do is wring his stupid neck!" A quite laughter stopped Watanuki ran mid-curse and she turned to see who it was. "Oh! The lady from yesterday!" Today she was wearing a burgundy kimono with a yellow obi and pair with a brown haori and a purple shawl on top of that.

"I apologize for laughing but you were making such silly faces just now, I couldn't help but giggle." The woman chuckled again. Watanuki blushed a little, liking the fact that this woman wasn't afraid to approach her, even when she was spouting off about Doumeki. Most people avoided her when her face looked so murderous.

"Well, I didn't mean to make them but if they made you smile...all the better!" Watanuki reached her hand behind her head and scratched at her hair shyly. The woman smiled at her again, her deep brown eyes warm, and just a little bit sad.

"Mind if I walk with you?" She asked.

"Not at all!" Watanuki smiled wider and walked back a little to join the woman by her side before they ambled along.

"Walking home from school?" The woman asked, taking note of the girl's uniform.

"Yeah." Watanuki replied.

"Don't you have any after school clubs to do to?"

"Just the going-home club!" The seer chuckled a little.

"Well then…what about your part-time job?" The woman asked.

"I'm off until my boss get's back." And what a relief that is! The girl grinned again.

"If you don't have anywhere to be…would you like to spend some time together?" The woman asked. Watanuki blinked in surprise.

"But…I don't even know your name! And why would you want to spend time with someone like me?!" Watanuki flailed a little bit, getting a giggled out of the woman again as she started acting funny.

"Those are easy questions." The woman replied. "I'm Mayuko, and I want to spend some time with you because you're such a sweet girl, I can tell." Watanuki blushed at the compliment.

"I-I'm Watanuki." She stuttered, acting all embarrassed.

"It's nice to meet you." Mayuko smiled at the girl.

They ended up in a forested park, sitting in a small clearing of trees on two little animal seats that kids would rock back and forth on as if they were riding the animals. It was a strange place for two adults to hang out, but ever since Watanuki had started working for Yuko, she'd spent an abnormal amount of time in parks like this, to satisfy the witch's desire for childish enjoyment.

"Are you sure this place is okay?" The seer asked, after they'd both sat down. The girl was on the blue fox and Mayuko took a seat on the yellow one, rearranging her kimono and shawls gracefully as she did. Watanuki shivered a little in the brisk, spring breeze that hadn't quite let go of winter yet."It's a little chilly."

"No, it's perfect." Mayuko said, looking around. She reached for her can of coffee and started to open it.

"Let me get that for you!" Watanuki reached out her hand and Mayuko handed the can over. The girl popped the tab easily and handed it back. "And here you go!"

"Thank you." Mayuko took the can in both of her hands, like one would hold an Eastern tea cup. Watanuki smiled and picked up her own can and opened it. They were quite for a few minutes, sipping their coffee as the wind blew the loose leaves this was and that, the park quite so early in the afternoon. Watanuki glanced over at her companion and noticed that she was drinking the coffee that the girl had bought for her, she was just staring at it with those sad eyes again. Is something wrong? She doesn't look very pleased to be spending time with me…did I do something to upset her? She was so happy just a few minutes ago…

"It's been a dream of mine to have coffee in a park like this for a long time…" Mayuko said softly, interrupting the girl's thoughts. "Do you think that's strange?"

"No, no! I don't really think that's strange at all, ma'am." She said.

"You're lying! I can tell by your face!" Mayuko pointed to Watanuki's face and teased her a little. The girl blushed, knowing that she'd been caught, but Mayuko didn't seem to mind at all. "This is nice," She continued, looking down at her coffee. "You know, I always wanted to do things like this with my daughter." Watanuki's eyes widened as the woman continued to speak, understanding that she'd lost her daughter much like Watanuki had lost her own parents.

"I wish that we could've gone on walks, and maybe visited the park, sat and talked over a cup of coffee. But we never got the chance. She passed away some time ago." Watanuki didn't know what to say, so the wind filled the silence with its quiet blowing. "I miss her so much." Mayuko continued. "She'd be about your age now, I guess. I can only hope that she'd grown into a nice, polite girl like you."

I'm not that polite, or sweet like she thinks I am. I'm not really that nice either if I really want to be honest. I just make people mad and rant about other people's faults and ignore my own most of the time. I'm not even good at keeping my emotions in check and that usually pisses people off. I'm not the right person to comfort this woman. I'm not the girl who should share her dream with her.

"And now, my dream has been fulfilled. And it's thanks to you." Mayuko reached out and touched Watanuki's hand. The girl looked up into her face and saw that no matter who she was or who she thought she was, she'd made Mayuko happy…and that's all that really mattered, she guessed. She'd just keep the annoying bits of herself a secret.

"No, no. It was nothing." The girl shook her head.

"If that's the case…I'd love to do this again sometime. If it's okay with you." Mayuko continued, inviting the girl to spend more time with her.

"Uh…yeah, sure! If you want to!" The girl's blush deepened. Mayuko smiled and they sat and talked for a while, over cups of coffee.

When Watanuki got home she left her shoes by the door like normal and set her bag and keys down on the kitchen table like normal, but then she sat down at the table and just stared up at a picture on top of her cabinet and that wasn't normal at all. She didn't even make herself dinner or even a snack. She just sat there and stared at the picture of her and her parents that she kept out of sight, mostly to keep the pain of the loss at bay. It wasn't something that she liked to think about too often, but in that picture, with her mother's hand in her own, her father's on her back…she looked happy. And they were happy too. It was the only picture she had of them but her mother looked so beautiful in her green kimono – a kimono that Watanuki had kept in pristine condition since she'd passed on – and her father looked so handsome in his crisp white shirt and tie. Watanuki still had some of his things too, like the yukata that she'd let Doumeki borrow after the Demon Parade or some of her father's books. But even as she gazed at the picture, the golden sun light of the evening didn't touch her parent's faces, like the world itself refused to let them live, even in a simple picture.

Watanuki's heart clenched, her old grief bubbling up. She felt her chest constrict, as if the mental pain was making itself known physically and she coughed a little, as if she was starting to get a cold.

"That's so sad!" Wari said, after hearing the story about Mayuko and her daughter the next day at school. "I wonder if her daughter passed away when she was little."

"Sounded like it." Watanuki stared down at her half eaten bento lunch. Wari was enjoying his, but she just didn't have much of an appetite today.

"So, are you guys going to see each other again?" Wari asked as the girl packed up her uneaten lunch.

"Yep! We're getting together today after school." The girl smiled cheerfully, excited by the thought of seeing Mayuko again.

"I bet that lady is really looking forward to it!" Wari grinned. "I know I would! You're so much fun to be around!"

"Yeah? You really think so?" Watanuki's face warmed with her blush, enjoying the compliment her crush gave her.

"Yeah! Especially when you do that comedy routine with Doumeki!" Watanuki's arms and legs shout out in mortification as she fell off of her seat and partway down the stairs they were sitting on. But she sprang right back up and waved a hand in front of her face to dispel any misunderstanding that Wari had about them. Sure, they worked together a little bit and he had saved her a couple of times…and she cooked for him…and he came over to her house sometimes…but they weren't friends! No way! Okay…maybe…maybe they were friends…but they didn't get along!

"That thing we do…I wouldn't exactly call it a comedy routine…" More like him pissing me off and me wanting to choke him to death!

"Oh, really?" Wari looked confused.

"I thought you were doing the Dumb Guy and the Witty Guy." Wari shrugged.

"We don't but if we were would I be witty or dumb?" Watanuki asked in curious anticipation.

"That's easy!" Wari's smile was back. "You're obviously-" He stopped for a second.

"Yeah?" Watanuki waited.

"But it's too bad Doumeki couldn't join us." Wari had completely derailed his train of thought. Watanuki's arms and legs shot out in mortification again and she fell off of her seat and down the stairs for a second time. "He's been so busy with practice that he's been skipping lunch a lot!" Watanuki sat up and held up and angry fist. And I even keep making him lunch! The girl glared at the unopened bento that was supposed to be Douemki's. That jerk is now spurring my fabulous cooking, that ass!

"You heard him." Watanuki said, leaping back into her seat. "He said 'practice over food.' And I thought that something like that would never come out of his mouth! It's his loss, dumb jock." And yet, I keep making him lunch! What is wrong with me!?

"You even went through the trouble of making lunch for him." Watanuki brightened up at Wari's note of her dedication. "That's just too bad."

"Oh, no. It's no big deal." Watanuki straightened her gray jacked like a professional. Though it is a big deal when you notice it, Wari my sweet! "I didn't mind at all! As long as I was making lunch for myself."

"No, I meant him not being here." Wari corrected the girl. Watanuki's smug face dropped into the depths of despair at the thought of Wari actually wanting Doumeki around. It was devastating that she wasn't enough good company and that Wari would have such an attachment to that bastard! Her nightmares were coming true! Nooooooooo! He likes Doumeki!

"Doumeki's got the archery club all fired up!" Wari continued. "With him on the team they've got a chance at winning the championship this year!" And Watanuki could just see his smug face in the archery range as he hit a perfect bull's eye again and again! It pissed her off.

Down in the archery range, Doumeki sneezed as he made another shot, the arrow flying perfectly despite the interruption and landing a perfect hit.

"Someone must be talking about me." He mumbled as the other archers ooooed his skill.

"But having him in the club doesn't really effect his chances of winning, does it?" Back on the stairs, Watanuki was trying to play down Doumeki so Wari's and his love wouldn't bloom.

"Sure it does! The other archers say that he's the most skilled one in the club!" Wari was beaming now and Watanuki's face looked like death. "Remember when we cheered him on at the city competition? He was amazing that day!" Wari looked like sunshine itself and Watanuki collapsed to the floor in a gray cloud of depression.

"Um…" The girl started, peeling herself off the floor. "Do you mind if I ask you something Wari?"

"Sure, what?" The boy looked at her and Watanuki's heart started beating really fast.

"I know this is a little forward of me, but…" The girl steeled her courage and just tried to spit it out. "Is Doumeki..someone…you'd…" like?! Was the last word but the bell rang before she could get it out.

"Oh, there's the bell!" Wari said standing up. "We don't want to be late to class, do we?" Watanuki was foiled again and fell over, rolling down the stairs until a wall stopped her.

"Really?" Mayuko giggled at the girl's story about lunch and couldn't stop laughing. They were sitting in the park again, but this time they'd chosen a bench by a water fountain, the happy gurgle of the water filling in the quiet moments of their conversations.

"It's not funny! Don't laugh!" Watanuki huffed, but the woman kept laughing at her. She frowned and blew a flower petal off her nose when one fell on her. The wind whipped though the trees, as chilly as ever, kicking up blossoms in its wake.

"Oh, I'm sorry! But it's just so cute!"

"It's not cute! It's more like pathetic, if you ask me." The girl slumped over on the bench, her head almost touching her knees.

"Oh, come on now." Mayuko said softly. "This Wari, you like him, don't you?" Watanuki shot straight up at the comment and her face turned bright red.

"O-of-of course I do!" She stuttered. "As a friend!" The seer added in hastily, still blushing. "Oh, who the hell am I kidding! To me…he's the most wonderful guy every!" Watanuki's face perked up just thinking about the boy.

"I really hope this Wari boy feels the same way about you, Watanuki.' Mayuko said sincerely, her face lighting up at the girl's antics.

"Mmm hmm." The girl replied shyly, wishing that they could spend all their time together. Mayuko was just so sweet and kind to her, just like a real mother.

"Oh, the wind's picking up." The woman noted. "It's getting colder. You should be getting home now." But Watanuki didn't want this visit to end so soon…she wanted to stay just a little longer. "You don't want to worry your family."

"Uh, I won't." Watanuki replied. I haven't told her that I have no family to go home too… "You see…I actually live by myself."

"So do your parents live far away?" The woman asked politely, pulled her rose-embroidered shawl around her a little tighter, almost covering up her blue kimono completely.

"No," The girl shook her head. "I don't have any. They passed away." Had Watanuki been looking Mayuko's direction, she would've seen the woman's face morph into shock, completely taken aback by the girl's admission, before her knit her eyebrows together in grief and understanding.

"I'm so sorry." Her voice was even quieter that it usually was, full of pain. "I shouldn't have asked you about that."

"No! It's okay, really!" Watanuki tried to comfort the woman by hurriedly putting her fears to rest. "It happened a long time ago! Don't worry, I'm fine!" Mayuko's hands came out and held one of Watanuki's, her warm fingers gripping hers tightly.

"No matter how long ago it was, you never forget the loss of a loved one in your life." She said it with such knowing and sorrow in her voice that it made Watanuki stop and think about her loss for a moment, something she hadn't allowed herself to do for a while. "That pain never really goes away. I know, trust me."

Watanuki stared into Mayuko's eyes, finding something in there that she could related to, could know and understand. They shared a grief, and that was okay. The girl closed her hand around the woman's and squeezed them tightly, biting back tears as she tried not to cry. She couldn't cry, that would make Mayuko sad and she hated seeing her sad. So instead she let a few minutes pass in silence, as they took a moment to understand one another. And then, Mayuko let her hands go and they parted soon after, both of them consumed with their thoughts.

Watanuki made her dinner in silence that evening after she got home, the time void of her usual babbling and humming. She worked on the next day's lunches as well, testing some sauce to see if it needed more salt. She started coughing, this bout a little longer than her last one while she'd been walking home, her lung aching for air once she was done.

"Well, that's weird." She said, wheezing a little. "I hope I'm not catching a cold. I'll lost my sense of taste." The girl tried the sauce again and decided that it didn't need anything else. Feeling a little better after her cough, Watanuki filled up the bento boxes with rice and hummed a little tune while she did it. Outside her window, the crisp spring winds blew fitfully.

"Sorry I'm late!" Watanuki called, walking up to the bench where Mayuko was waiting for her the next day. The bench was near a large walkway that over looked a small river and Mayuko looked so peaceful sitting there, lightly brushing her fingers across her brown kimono coat. She glanced over at Watanuki's call, smiling her usual smile. "I've been running a little slow today, have you been waiting long?" The girl asked, carefully holding the lunch she's wrapped up for the woman yesterday. The girl was a bit tired, but she wasn't too tired to miss meeting with her new companion.

"Nope." Mayuko shook her head once, still smiling good naturedly.

"Um…here you go." Watanuki held out the bento box, her hand holding the knot of the orange wrapping cloth. "I made lunch for you. It's kayaku rice." (1) Watanuki blushed, scratching her head nervously. "I just thought that you'd be hungry. Cooking is a hobby of mine…I just hope the rice didn't turn out to salty." Oh great! Now I'm rambling! Mayuko reached up and took the box in both of her hands, staring at it without saying a word. A moment passed in silence and Watanuki started getting nervous, thinking that she didn't like kayaku or something like that.

"You don't think this is weird, do you?" Watanuki held up her hands and waved them, a little bit embarrassed at being so forward about her passion for cooking.

"That's not it." Mayuko held the lunch to her chest as if it were something precious. "I'm touched, this is so sweet. Thank you." Watanuki smiled and then ran over to the vending machine just a little down the way, purchasing their customary coffee and then ran back to Mayuko, her skirt flipping up in the wind. But Doumeki wasn't around to see it so she didn't notice that her yellow panties were showing a little bit as she sat down."

"Here you go." The raven handed her friend a can of coffee.

"Thank you." Mayuko took the offered can and popped the tab open. "So, how's your job?"

"Good. It's pretty quiet." Watanuki said, popping her own coffee open. "Um, you see…my boss – the really demanding one – she's out of town. So I have plenty of time to myself.

"Oh. Well, enjoy your time while you have it. I'm much sure you'd rather spend it with your friends that you would with me."

"To tell you the truth, I don't have many friends." Not including that jerk, Doumeki! "Besides, talking to you like this makes me really happy." The girl blushed a little, like she always seemed to do around the older woman.

"You know, I was just about to say the same thing." Mayuko looked at the girl and they shared a smile together. Watanuki's heart soared and she felt all light and floaty and she was really, really happy.

"You know what? I'll make lunch again sometime!" She offered. "If there's something you really like, let me know!" Mayuko nodded, accepting the offer. But then her face got really sad, her smile turning into a frown.

"Just…just don't push yourself." She cautioned softly, taking the girl's hand in her own. Watanuki nodded, wanting to please her. But she would still make lunch. They chatted for a while and then both women got up to leave for the day, promising to meet tomorrow. As Watanuki turned to leave she got a giggle.

"What is it?" She asked, still smiling from her visit.

"Well…" Mayuko started. "Watanuki, those are nice panties – I really like the yellow – but…I don't think that you want everyone to see them!" The woman laughed a little louder, covering her up mouth behind a graceful hand. Watanuki blushed a deep red as her hands flew behind her to feel her butt, touching on her flipped up skirt. She yanked it down hurriedly and screwed up her face in embarrassment. Mayuko just laughed at her, loving the way the girl was so full of energy.

They met again and again, sometimes taking walks around the park while Watanuki told funny stories or they sat some place quiet just to talk or to spend a few moments of their day in comfortable silence. They always had coffee and they always smiled together and every once in a while, Mayuko would take the girl's hand, squeezing it gently. Watanuki started to feel like this was what having a mother would be like (well, a mother who wasn't demanding, selfish, odd and always teasing her like Yuko was. It was nice, to have some regularity that didn't involve spirits or chores or mountains and mountains of orders for food. She could just be a simple girl for a little while in the company of Mayuko and each day they met, it was a little harder to leave, even if the weather was chilly enough to keep everyone else out of the park. Watanuki always waved goodbye cheerfully and when she turned around, she didn't see the sad looks that crossed Mayuko's face as she turned to leave as well.

A few days later, Watanuki and Wari's class was outside for gym, the chilly air of spring neglecting to warm up a bit. They were all dressed in their gray and white sweat suits, bundled up against the cold weather as best they could, but Watanuki couldn't seem to get a little warm at all, rubbing her arms fitfully again as she felt the ache down to her bones.

"So, did you hear the bad news?" Wari asked the girl, walking up to her as she shivered. "We have to run laps today."

"Yeah, I heard!" Watanuki tried to sound cheerful, but she fell a little short. She shivered again, the crisp breeze running straight through her as she started to cough. The girl's coughs ached as well, pulling at her lungs and making them hurt; her breathing was painful and sounded wet to her ears. The raven covered up her mouth so she wouldn't get Wari sick, but she kept coughing for a few moments.

"Oh, that doesn't sound good! Are you okay?" Wari asked, his smile slipping off of his face as he watched the girl. She held up a hand to brush her fit off.

"It's just a cold I've had for a few days." She coughed lightly again in the middle of her sentence. "I'm sure it's nothing." The coughs got worse, harder and more violent and when she could breath, the girl was gasping for every breath. Her chest convulsed, bending the girl forward in pain as she tried to catch her breath, only to be thwarted by another coughing fit.

"That doesn't sound like nothing and you're really pale." Wari said, looking at the girl intently. "I really think you should go see the school nurse."

"No, I'm fine. Trust me. It's no big deal." Watanuki suppressed the coughs for a few seconds to get out her clipped sentences, but she was back at it again once she'd finished, the lack of air to her lungs causing black spots to appear in her vision. Everything looked really far away, even Wari who she knew was right next to her. She coughed again and again, each convulsion worse that the last until she finally collapsed, Wari's outstretched hands falling short as he reached to catch the girl. She fell, hitting the ground hard as she blacked out.

"Watanuki! Watanuki! Watanuki!" Wari called the girl's name but she didn't respond. Doumeki heard his yells from across the soccer field and came running as fast as he could. Already, there was a crowd forming around Wari and Watanuki, but he pushed past them and was met with the sight of his classmate collapsed on the ground, unmoving and Wari's hands fluttered above the girl, not touching her as he called her name.

"What's wrong?" Doumeki asked, kneeling down to gently touch Watanuki's face. He could feel her breath on his fingertips, so she was still breathing.

"Watanuki was coughing really bad, she couldn't' breath very well and then she just collapsed!" Wari explained, his voice a little frantic. Doumeki's hand pressed itself against the girl's forehead, looking for a high body temperature, but finding none. So it's not a fever, but she was coughing…a cold?

"We should go to the nurse." He said, scooping the unconscious girl up into his arms princess-style. Watanuki's limp body fell into his as he stood, her head rolling to rest on his chest, one of her hands dangling towards the ground, the one closest to him tucked across her torso.

"Right!" Wari agreed. He called to the teacher that Watanuki was sick and they both then took off for the nurse's office. Doumeki would never admit this out loud, but he was really worried about he girl, the bad feeling that he had been carrying in his stomach for a few days starting to roil around as he held the girl. She was unresponsive to his running, her head bouncing uselessly, but at least she'd stopped coughing.

They made it to the nurse's office and Doumeki checked his classmate in, laying her down carefully on the bed and pulling the blanket up so that she could at least get warm Watanuki remained asleep but her breathing was still labored and she'd cough every once in a while. Doumeki softly took off her glasses so the girl didn't roll on them or damage them while she was unconscious and set them down on the table next to her bed before retreating to the wall by the door. Wai was stuck around, so Douemki did too, worried and leaned his butt against the door, folding his arms as they waited for Watanuki to wake up, the gnawing sense that something was wrong sitting in his stomach.

She did wake up, eventually, her blue eyes blinking in confusion she opened them. Everything was blurry, but she could see a ceiling and a light fixture, so she wasn't outside anymore. She blinked a few more times, trying to orient herself as her vision took a few moments to stabilize. The girl heard someone beside her and turned her head to see who it was.

"Are you feeling any better?" It was Wari! Wari was watching by her bedside! But the girl was too worn out to freak out like she usually did.

"What the hell happened to me?" She asked slowly, her voice still raw from her last bout of coughing.

"You passed out cold during P.E." A monotone voice supplied the answer. Watanuki's temper immediately flared and she sat up with a hot glare directed at Doumeki.

"That doesn't explain what you're doing here!" A cross vein popped out on the girl's head, her head that was currently spinning from the rush of blood flowing away from her head when she sat up too fast. Doumeki rolled his eyes. Such an ungrateful idiot, he thought.

"Doumeki's the one who carried you here." Wari explained. "He's so nice, huh? It's he the best?" The curly-haired boy smiled and Watanuki's pissed off face snapped into one of mortification.

"What?!" She could barely breath, but for entirely different reasons this time. Wari stood up and jogged towards the door, sliding it open.

"I'm going to tell the nurse that you're up." He said, before sliding the door shut again and disappearing. Now that Watanuki was more awake, she could fully appreciate the depression that came when Wari left her alone with Doumeki. It was so unfair! And after he'd waited by her bedside!

"Thanks…" She mumbled despondently. Doumeki turned to look at the girl, his eyes narrowing, a displeased look on his face. The girl recoiled a little as his intense gaze fell on her, not having seen much emotion from the archer when they weren't in a dangerous situation. It was unsettling.

"Ehg!" She vocalized nonsense at her discomfort. "What?! What do you want?!" She said defensively.

"A cold, huh?" Doumeki asked.

"I guess that's what it is." Watanuki grumped, looking away from his face, his eyes too….something…to keep looking into.

"But…no fever." He continued. The comment made Watanuki realize that the archer had been close enough to feel her skin, which was disturbing…but it was the tiniest bit comforting to know that someone had noticed her condition. Even if it was Doumeki. But, being Watanuki, she blew up.

"And how the hell do you know that?!" She snapped. And then she gasped in realization. Wari said he'd carried me! And then the girl was thinking about Doumeki hoisting her unconscious body onto his back and balked in mortification. But the funny thing was that her situation was even worse than she imagined because he didn't piggy back her (which was bad enough) but carried her princess-style in front of the whole class (which was even worse). But even so, the image of the piggy back ride was horrible enough. Watanuki looked away towards the wall, her face the look of horrified death as she addressed no one. It's going to take years of therapy for me to forget that image! The girl nearly started crying.

"You're sure it's not related to spirits and stuff?" Doumeki was speaking again, his eyes narrowing further as he thought of all the trouble Watanuki could get into with Yuko gone and him busy. It was nerve wracking actually, when he thought about it. Having a cold was the least of her worries, but it could lead to worse things.

"Nope. Besides, I haven't even seen them lately." Watanuki finally found her glasses on the nightstand and slid them onto her nose, the world finally coming into focus.

"Hmm." Doumeki made his normal noise, but it seemed deeper and more angry than anything else. It was starting to scare Watanuki…while pissing her off at the same time."

"What the hell is your deal today?!" She snapped, slapping her hands on the bed.

"There's an old saying that states 'idiots can't catch colds.'" He said, poking at her intelligence and her condition at the same time.

"HEY! I'm not a-!" At that moment, all of Watanuki's energy disappeared, her cold taking its toll on her body. She slumped over with a groan, almost folding in half as she collapsed to the sheets.

"So what happened to the pipe fox?" Doumeki asked pointedly, walking up to the girl's bed. "I told you to carry it." And the fact that she hadn't done the one thing that could at least protect her a little irked him. He just wanted her to be safe and it looked like she was trying to do the exact opposite.

"Well," The seer started, using most of her energy to lift her head to look at her companion. "I haven't had a chance to stop by Yuko's yet." Free time will do that to you. The things that used to take up your time just disappear until they head butt you again and suddenly, you have no desire to them at all. It was like that while Yuko was gone: Watanuki had no desire to go to the shop.

"Hm." Doumeki gave her a pointed look.

"I promise…I'll stop by soon." Watanuki didn't have the energy to argue with him, so she just gave in, acting a little bit bashful at her lack of resistance.

"Will you really?" Doumeki asked, crossing his arms and not budging an inch on the issue.

"Hmm." Watanuki made a Doumeki noise, glaring at the archer with a little bit of her usual fire. They stared at each other for a moment before Watanuki looked away. "Don't look at me like that you jerk!" She shouted, finally expending all of her energy and flopping back down on the bed. "Sleepy…" She mumbled, and then she was out.

Doumeki sighed and reached down, pulling the blanket back over the girl and placing his hand on her forehead, checking for the fever that wasn't there. Wari walked in a few minutes later with the nurse, but they both found Watanuki asleep again and Doumeki was sitting in the chair next to her bed. The archer and Wari returned to classes after that, but the nurse wanted Watanuki to rest a little more and promised to make sure she got out of the school okay, since Wari had French Club to go to and Doumeki had practice still. Watanuki did wake up before school ended and managed to drag herself down to the girl's locker room and change back into her skirt and blazer, getting out of school ten minutes after the final bell. I have…to go see…Mayuko. The girl stumbled out onto the street, the gray sky above her threatening a little rain or even snow, still tired and sick, but she had a promise to keep, so she would keep it.

"Sorry I'm late!" The seer called as she walked into the park. Mayuko was waiting for her at the fountain, sitting on their bench, the cleaned bento box and wrapping cloth by her side. "Thanks for waiting again." The woman stood up and waved as Watanuki shuffled over, but dropped her hand as the girl stopped to cough, not looking well at all.

"You poor thing!" She said, rushing over to the girl's side. Watanuki coughed violently, having to stop walking completely to keep her balance as she hacked."What's wrong? Are you sick?" Mayuko asked, a little frantically, placing her arms around her shoulders and leading her to the bench to rest.

"Yeah." Watanuki gasped. "Whatever I've got is making me really dizzy." Her vision was swimming and she could barely distinguish between Mayuko's purple shawl and peach colored and pink kimono, all the colors running together.

"Come sit down." Mayuko sat the girl down on the bench, keeping her hands on the seer's shoulders. "You should've got straight home and rested."

"I can't cancel on you." The girl whispered, not wanting to leave the woman alone, not wanting to miss a visit.

"I'm sorry." Mayuko said as she sat down. "I feel like I'm forcing you to come see me."

"No! You're not!" Watanuki protested, not wanting her companion to ever feel like that. "I'm the one who wants to-" She was cut off by another fit of coughing, each one wracking her body. And then she remembered – she hadn't gotten Mayuko's coffee yet, the coffee they shared together, the coffee that she wished she could drink with her own daughter. The girl stood up shakily. "Damn…your coffee…" Mayuko was up in an instant, pushing the girl back down onto the bench.

"Sit down!" She ordered softly. Once the girl was sitting again, the woman reached up her hand to Watanuki's forehead, holding back her kimono sleeve with her other hand so it wouldn't get in the way. Watanuki blushed, taken aback by her motherly care, even though she'd started to think of Mayuko as a sort of mother to her.

"That's good, you don't have a fever." She said, placing her free hand on her own forehead to check a normal temperature against Watanuki's. Their eyes met and Mayuko realized that she'd slipped into the mother role with a girl who wasn't her own child and she got a little embarrassed, pulling her hands back and tucking them into her chest. "I-I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Watanuki said softly. "It just reminded me of something, that's all." The girl smiled at the memory of her own mother. "When I was little, and was sick, my mom and dad used to check my temperature the same way you did." Watanuki remembered the feel of bigger hands on her cheek, her forehead, remembering hope it felt to be cared for by her own parents. "You know…how you said it made you feel to drink coffee with me the other day?"

"Yes." Mayuko nodded.

"Well…I actually felt the same way when you were checking my temperature." The girl blushed a little redder, sheepish now that she'd reveal a little bit of her own affection towards the woman. "But I don't feel that way when I check my own temperature. In fact, it's just the opposite!" She joked. "It's strange! Just looking at the numbers on the thermometer make me worried about how sick I am, so I try not to do it when I'm feeling really bad. But that's just me, I guess." Suddenly, there was a pair of arms around the girl, holding her close.

"So sweet. You're such a nice girl, Watanuki." Mayuko whispered, hugging the raven a little closer. Watanuki leaned into the huge, smiling a little as she was held. This is nice…to be held like this again…"You should go home and get some rest."

"I'm fine." The girl replied, but then she started coughing again and Mayuko rubbed her back for her, doing what little she could to comfort the girl. Once she stopped coughing, the woman placed her hand on the girl's cheek.

"Take care of yourself." She said.

"Okay." The girl nodded. They parted soon after that and Watanuki started the walk home by herself, the empty bento box and her school bag in her hand. When she reached a certain intersection, she noted that she was pretty close to the shop and Doumeki's words came back to her about stopping by Yuko's and getting the pipe fox, just to be safe. You know, for such a huge jerk, he really thought of everything. I'm surprised that he remembered the pipe fox.

"Since I'm in the neighborhood, I really should stop by Yuko's." The girl said to no one in particular, and turned to the right and started walking down the street. The shop came into sight a few minutes later, peeking out from in between those two office buildings and Watanuki walked right through the gate and up to the door, coughing all the way.

"Is anybody home?" She called in the genkan. A few second later, excited feet pattered across the floor.

"Watanuki!~ Long time, no see!~" Maru called, turning the corner first.

"Watanuki!~ Long time, no see!~" Moro repeated, on the heels of her twin. They laughed and danced around as the girl coughed a little again.

"Yuko's still not back yet?" The seer asked. "How's everything with you two?" The twin's smiled disappeared suddenly and they got all serious, but Watanuki didn't worry about it. They were like that all the time. The phone started ringing in the other room. "Oh! I bet that's Yuko!" Watanuki had to admire the witch's timing if it really was her, but she was like that all the time. The girl walked down the hall and into the room with the phone to pick it up. "Coming!" She called, knowing that she wouldn't get an answer until she picked up the phone.

"Hello?" She greeted the other person on the line.

"Long time, no talk, Watanuki." Yuko's sultry voice came in from the other end.

"Oh, hi, Yuko! How's everything going?" Watanuki grabbed the phone consol and set it on the floor, wanting to lay down while she talked. She was still so tired.

"Busy. I still can't come home yet.

"You're been gone a long time." The girl noted, kneeling down. She was getting dizzy again.

"There are a lot of things I have to take care of." Yuko replied the static that accompanied all her recent phone calls spiking up and distorting her voice. "So it seems that some unfortunate things started to happen despite the fact that I told you to take care." The witch's voice got deeper and more pointed as she spoke, as if she was raising and eyebrow on the other end of the line.

"Wait, what things?!" Watanuki asked, not understanding what she was getting at. Nothing unfortunate had happened! "What are you talking about?!"

"Well, you are sick, aren't you?" Yuko asked, as if she already knew the answer.

"Wait, how did you know that?!" Her sudden intake of breath caused another fit of coughing and the girl covered her mouth with her hand as she forced air out of her lungs, each cough getting more and more wet. Her lungs hurt, her chest ached and she couldn't breathe, she couldn't do anything except hack and wheeze. She coughed particularly hard, retching all the way from her lower torso, her lungs flaring up in pain as something fell into her hand. The girl blearily looked down at what it was, seeing only red. Her eyes widened in shock as she started down at the blood she'd just thrown up, her vision swimming. She'd retched blood, she'd retched blood! That wasn't good, that wasn't good at all! What should she do?! What could she do?! Her blood pooled in her hands, flecks spattering across her skin and shirt cuff before running down her wrist as her hand trembled, staining her sleeve. She couldn't thing straight. What should she do?!

"You've been seeing that woman…" Yuko's voice floated up from the phone. Watanuki stared at it in horror before bowing over and hacking again. She could taste copper of her blood on her tongue, feeling more slip out from her lungs. She was losing her vision now, everything running into one big blur of black and grey and yellow before going completely dark. She collapsed, unable to breathe, her hand flopping to the floor, throwing the phone down.

"Watanuki? Watanuki? What's wrong? Watanuki!" Yuko's voice was fading as she called through the phone. The girl's eyes slid shut as she passed out, her blood staining the tatami mats under her. The phone disconnected, the busy signal blaring in the otherwise quiet room.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

An invitation. A smile. A promise. They can tie you to a certain place…a certain time.

Would you like to spend some time with me?

Secrets. Memories. Confessions. They can tie you to a place even more closely, more securely.

My dream has finally been fulfilled…thanks to you.

You should've gone straight home and rested!

I can't cancel on you.

So sweet. You're such a nice girl, Watanuki.

Bonds. Communion. Sympathy. They tie you down, hold you, and entice you…

There was a thump, the sound of a phone being disconnected, the blaring busy signal echoing in the quiet room.

She was moving, but not moving at the same time. She was being pulled…dragged…by someone. There were cobblestones under her as her eyes opened. Her knees dragged across them, scuffing her skin. She's have scratches, but she really didn't care right now. She just wanted to go back to sleep. Being awake was painful. She ached all over. Her mouth tasted weird. Her skin felt sticky, clammy. Her chest hurt. She just wanted to sleep. But there were voices. They were saying something…oh. It was her name.

"Watanuki…"

"Watanuki…"

The girl moaned, her body being dragged one more step, two steps. Her arms were being held up, her head dangling down towards the ground. She opened her eyes a little more.

"Watanuki." Two voices called her. Maru and Moro were carrying her. Watanuki looked up to her right. Moro's side. The pink-haired girl's eyes looked really sad. She wondered why.

"Maru and Moro, cannot go outside the gate." She said in her high-pitched voice.

"We're sorry." Watanuki's head rolled down and then up, looking to her left. Maru's side. "But this is as far as we can take you." The blue-haired girl finished. Oh. We're outside the shop. I was in the shop…Yuko called…I was sick…the girl remembered the blood and she tried to be shocked, but she was too tired. Everything would be better if she just went back to sleep.

"We're sorry." They said together. "Someone else…will take you the rest of the way…"

"What do you mean…by that?" Watanuki whispered. Maru and Moro dragged the girl up, almost to her feet and then pushed her back, letting her fall out of the gate and onto the street. They really aren't going to come outside the gate…the girl thought. I'll just hit the ground and lay there. I wonder if the street will make more of my blood come out…that wouldn't be good…I already coughed up enough…The girl fell, the pavement coming up on her face pretty fast. She was about to hit the ground. She closed her eyes so she didn't have to see it. But she never hit.

Something jerked her to a stop, her collar nearly choking her. She opened her eyes again and turned her head to the right – Moro's side – to see who it was.

"Dou…meki…: She whispered. Oh…he looks pissed. And he did, for once. Doumeki's eyebrows were furrowed, slanted over his eyes, his mouth pulled into a predominant frown. She's never seen Doumeki like this…it was kind of scary. But Watanuki didn't have time to be scared because she was unconscious again, everything fading to black again.

Doumeki glared down at the girl he'd caught falling. She'd suddenly appeared out of nowhere, the gate behind her leading to just and empty, weed-filled lot, and yet, she fell out of it anyway. Doumeki looked Watanuki over as he pulled her up by her jacket and then scooped his arm under her knees and then shifted his other so that he could support her torso and chest. She was pale, much paler than she'd been at school and her breathing was erratic, but at least she wasn't coughing. He could see that someone – probably that Maru and Moro that Watanuki had told him about – had probably cleaned her up a little before dragging her ass outside. There were blood stains on one of her shirt cuffs, but no blood on her skin, and her mouth had been wiped too, judging from the few small, red streaks that he could see on her lips, which means that she had been coughing up blood.

Doumeki sighed, and then listened to the girl's breathing again, debating whether or not he should take her to the hospital just to be safe, but Yuko had told him to take Watanuki back to his temple, and that probably meant that she was not going to need a doctor's help right this second. She'd probably be okay. But that was too many 'probablys' for Doumeki. He glared down at the girl in his arms again, cursing her stupidity and knack for getting herself into trouble, knowing that she couldn't see it anyway. He started the long walk home, each step taking him further and further away from the shop that didn't exist for him.

For the second time that day, Watanuki blinked her eyes open in a completely different place from where she'd closed them. She started up at the single light she could see and the wood paneling of the ceiling, trying to figure out where she girl was lying on something soft – a futon – and a blanket covered her up to her neck. It smelled of lemons and sandalwood…a smell that was familiar to the seer…oh, that's right. That was what Doumeki smelled like. Which means…

"Where am I?" Watanuki asked, already half knowing the answer. "This place…"

"I brought you to my house." Doumeki said.

"But…" The raven drew her hand up to her face, rubbing her eyes, remembering why she was feeling like shit in the first place. Oh, that's right…I didn't feel well…I was coughing up blood…"How come?" She finished her sentence.

"Because I got a telephone call from Yuko." Doumeki replied. Watanuki rolled her head in the direction of his voice – to the left – and spotted the archer leaning against the sliding doors of the room, his left knee propped up, his left arm slung around it while his right one rested on the floor. Their school bags were tossed on the floor and he was still in his uniform, probably having come straight after archery practice or possibly having skipped the end of it altogether, just for her. "She said, 'go to the shop.'"

"Why?" Watanuki asked.

"She wanted me to pick you up, I guess." Doumeki sounded like he didn't know if that was the reason for him being there, but it certainly had worked out better for Watanuki that way. She still felt like death had a grip on her throat and lungs, but she couldn't taste copper anywhere in her mouth so that was an improvement. And Doumeki had taken off her gray uniform jacket so she wasn't too hot under the blanket and that was considerate, as much as it pained her to admit it. He wasn't as bad as she made him out to be and now, she could kind of see his compassionate nature, under all that stone-face and superior attitude, of course.

"She said you're in danger." Doumeki replied. "And that…" Doumeki turned his head down towards his companion. "And at this rate you could completely disappear."

"Disa-?" Her reaction would've been more fantastic and spazzy if she'd had more energy, but at the moment, all Watanuki could do was widen her eyes in shock.

"I think she means you might die." Doumeki's voice became a little quieter, like he didn't even want to utter what might happen, as if saying it would make it happen.

"But…why would-" She started, rolling her head back straight and trying to wrap her head around the possibility that she might die without doing anything dangerous. She hadn't even been seeing any spirits lately so what was happening to her?!

You've been seeing that woman…

Yuko's voice came into her head from the phone call she'd had with the witch just a little while ago. Watanuki laid her arm down on her stomach, over the blanket and gripped the material in her trembling fist.

"But…but she's never done anything to hurt me…" The raven whispered, neglecting the fact that Doumeki might not being understanding a word she was saying. "I've never felt sick either."

"Can you think of anything else it might possibly be?" Well, he's got some idea what's going on…maybe Yuko said something.

"Uh…" But she couldn't.

"Face the facts. You said you hadn't see any spirits lately…what else could it be?" Doumeki was being very logical about this, but Watanuki…she didn't – couldn't – believe it.

"She can't be…" The girl held back some sudden tears that sprang up to her eyes. "I know she's not a bad person."

"But you don't even know if she's human or not." Once again, a very logical answer. But this…this was a matter of the heart.

"Even so…even if she's not…I made a promise to her…" Watanuki could barely keep her eyes open, still exhausted and sick and just tired of trying to riddle out what Doumeki wanted her too. It didn't matter if Mayuko was human or not…she was still a person, one with her of set of pain and suffering and just wanted to spend some time with her. "To meet her later…at the park." Watanuki's eyes slid shut again as she drifted back into a restless sleep, confident that she could at least rest safely at Doumeki's. Her face looked sunken in on itself and more pale than when Doumeki had first picked her up, her body physically looking taxed and tired even while resting.

Doumeki didn't know how things were going to turn out this time, especially with Watanuki being so stubborn about her promises, even if they were making her sick and killing her. She was Watanuki and if this was something she chose to do, then he would be there to keep her safe. That's the only thing he'd ever tried to do, despite the girl's best efforts to get into trouble and almost kill herself for others, and this time was no different. He guessed that's why Yuko called him to bring her here, because he cared so much for her and potentially had the ability to protect the one he loved. And he did love her…her and all her loudness. But, with an inevitable fate of death predominantly looming in front of her, Doumeki was seriously worried this time, almost to the point of forcing the girl to stay at the temple where she'd be safe, where she could rest, but Watanuki would hate him for it.

So, instead, Doumeki leaned forward, shucked off his jacked, using it as a pillow, and laid down to sleep next to the seer as if his sheer proximity could keep her safe, promising in his own way that he wouldn't let anything harm her if he could help it.

And that's where Watanuki found Doumeki when she woke up later that evening. The girl groggily opened her eyes, genuinely grateful that she hadn't awoken in some other place like she'd been doing all day and rolled her head to where Doumeki had been sitting to see if he was still there. He wasn't. In fact, he was a lot closer to her (and probably more so than he'd originally intended because he was taking up half the futon at this point) and she yelped in shock before remembering that her throat was still raw and instantly regretting the action. The ache had dulled a little and it was still there but her voice was loud (and scratchy) enough to wake Doumeki from his own nap, his bronze eyes opening almost instantly.

"What do you think you're doing?" Watanuki whisper-hissed, a little peeved about the lack of space between them. It wasn't like she didn't appreciate his presence or anything, but the last time she'd slept with Doumeki (and that phrase sounded really horrible in her head) he'd been half naked and he'd also changed her into pajamas while she was unconscious. She was just being cautious, no matter how good or innocent his intentions were.

"Sleeping." The brunette replied sitting up and scratching his head.

"I can see that!" Watanuki hissed a little louder, setting off a short bout of coughing. Doumeki watched quietly as the girl rode out her fit and reached behind her back and shoulders to help her sit up and breathe easier. (And he could've sworn that he heard a 'thank you' mixed in with all the coughing but he couldn't quite be sure.)

"Water?" He asked, once Watanuki finished coughing, breathing heavily to catch her breath again. "Tea?"

"Water." Watanuki replied, not even fighting his offer at this point. She was too sick and tired to protest. "Then tea."

Doumeki nodded and left, heading towards the kitchen to make some tea, but he asked Watanuki if she needed help getting to the bathroom if she needed to go. To that, the girl threw her school bag at him and called him some very bad names. At least she's still herself, Doumeki sighed to himself and went to get her a glass of water and start the tea. He returned with the glass shortly after he left and handed it to his companion, letting her drink it slowly before taking the empty glass back to the kitchen. After that, he finished making tea, placed two plain, Japanese-style cups on the tray with the pot and walked back to his room where the seer was, hearing soft coughing noises every now and again. She was still sitting up, looking down at her hands in her lap despondently. She still hadn't reached for her glasses and her hair was falling out of its pony tail at this point, but she made no move to fix it. She was just staring into space.

The archer set the tray down on the floor and walked behind the girl, kneeling down and gently untying the ribbon that kept her hair up. It cascaded down in a river of black, the tips brushing her shoulder blades and Doumeki ran his fingers through her hair, trying to brush out at least some of the tangles. Watanuki didn't say anything, still spacing out, but her head leaned back into his hands slightly, liking soft movements, similar to a cat liking its head being petted. Doumeki gently combed the girl's hair for a few minutes before clumsily pulling it back up into a pony tail and tying up the ribbon again, wondering how girls made it look effortless. It was as this point that Watanuki finally came back to the present and noticed that Doumeki had been playing with her hair, but it was too late to chew him out about it because he was moving away, walking on his knees over to the tea tray. Watanuki blushed, berating herself for letting him pet her like some animal and took the offered cup of tea without looking in his eyes, trying to hide her blush under her bangs. But he saw it, and it was still one of his favorite things about Watanuki – how cute she looked with pink cheeks. But of course, he said nothing, knowing that if he did, she could and would rip his head off for teasing her.

So they drank tea in silence, the quite of the room their only other companion. They didn't even need to speak at this point because that's how well they knew each other. After their previous discussion, Watanuki knew that Doumeki was worried for her, but he also knew that she wasn't going to break a promise she had made, and that's the way they were. So they stayed silent, neither giving in to the other, but neither denied the other their worries either. Eventually, Watanuki knew it was time to go home (after three pots of tea and one – very embarrassing – trip to the bathroom with Doumeki's held since she was still weak). The girl slowly put on her jacket, feeling her body ache and moan at her to stay and sleep and do nothing, but nevertheless, she still buttoned up her jacket and picked up her school bag. Doumeki walked her to the door and slid it open for her, gently taking her arm to steady her when she wobbled, woozy and weak as she was. He also helped her put her shoes on when they reached the front stairs of the temple, insisting that she sit down in few words and slipped on her shoes for her so she wouldn't get light headed leaning over to tie up her laces. Watanuki felt a little helpless in those moments, but she was a bit too tired and worn out to care. She just wanted to be home in her own bed.

"I'll walk you home." Doumeki said when he was done tying her shoes, sutubly hinting at his worry.

"No. I can't be any more indebted to you at this point. My bento lunches can't afford it." Watanuki chuckled weakly and gave him a sarcastic smirk.

"It'll be free." He replied. Watanuki tipped her head, her black bangs falling over her face, obscuring her eyes and cheeks.

"Nothing in this world is free." Her sounded voice was solemn and slightly bitter, but before Doumeki could say anything she started hopped down from the porch and into the front courtyard. "Only inevitable, remember?" The seer chuckled mirthlessly, her footsteps echoing softly on the cobblestones. She reached the temple's gates a few moments later and disappeared around the corner and out of sight, leaving behind the man who watched her go.

The next day at school, Watanuki still felt horrible, wracked with shivers and lethargy that usually accompanied a cold, but she still didn't carry a fever. The morning was spent trying not to hack her lungs out in class and gym was spent sitting out on the sidelines and trying not to fall asleep where she sat, Doumeki's eyes always trained on her from the corner of his eyes. And then it was lunch. Watanuki walked through the cafeteria holding her lunch tray tightly, the school-prepared udon and tofu sloshing just a little bit with each step. Wari called out to the girl when he saw her approaching.

"Over here, Watanuki! I saved you a seat!" The girl smiled, happy that her friend had thought of her.

"Hey, Wari." She replied softly, her lethargy creeping into her voice.

"You know, I never thought I'd catch you eating cafeteria food. You didn't make your lunch today?" The boy asked as she sat down next to him at one of the many tables.

"Nah, I just didn't feeling like making one today for some reason." She replied. Wari leaned in closer and got a good look at the girl. Sure, she looked tired and a little pale, but she seemed a little better than yesterday.

"Well, at least you look like you're feeling better today." Wari commented. "I was so worried when you collapsed!"

"Oh, sorry about that." The raven blushed in embarrassment, picking up her disposable chopsticks and breaking them apart. "Oh, I almost forget to give you something!" Watanuki reached into her school bag and brought out a small, ribbon-wrapped package. "Here you go, I hope you like it. Sorry, I got is from a store."

"I bet I know which store!" Wari smiled, pleased with the gift. "It's from the one on the west side of the park, right?"

"I was going to make something myself, but I kind of ran out of time."

"No, that's okay! You didn't have to do this but thanks, Watanuki!" Wari took the gift and smiled. "I also have a gift for you, for White Day! Here!" (2). Wari held up a small package for the girl.

"Thanks." Watanuki smiled and took the gift gratefully. Before she could say anything else, Wari was looking at something over her shoulder, distracted from the conversation.

"Hey, look. There goes Doumeki." Wari said. Watanuki turned to see the archer walking down the hall in his uniform, bag in hand, passing in front of the cafeteria for a few moments and then disappearing behind the wall that held classrooms. "The competition's getting close. He's been really busy.

"Yeah, I guess so." Watanuki said, wondering that if he was so busy, then why had he taken care of her yesterday.

"Are you going to the tournament?" Wari asked. Watanuki flipped around in shock, a sweatdrop on her cheek.

"Why would I?" She asked, recalling that the last time she'd been to one of Doumeki's competitions Wari had practically dragged her there.

"To cheer on Doumeki!" Wari replied with a smile.

"I don't…" The girl started, thinking about everything that had been happening to her over the past week or so. She was sick, Doumeki and Yukok thought that she could die, she hadn't seen any spirits but something was wrong and it wasn't getting better. She thought about all of this in about a second and then finished. "I don't think I'm going to make it." Her voice was soft, holding a million meanings.

"Don't strain yourself, okay?" Wari asked, concern written in his dark green eyes.

"Okay," Watanuki agreed. But that didn't stop her from going out in the cold to meet Mayuko after school, stumbling her way slowly towards the fox seats that sat in the small clearing of trees. When she reached the toys, no one was there except her. She was alone. Mayuko wasn't coming. She's not here…she's not going to come, is she? Just when I resolved not to break my promise…she didn't come. But before the girl could think any more, she heard footsteps behind her and turned to see who it was. Mayuko. The woman was standing in her yellow haori and orange kimono, her hair pulled into a side pony tail, and unreadable look in her eyes. Watanuki smiled and waved, a warm feeling bursting into her chest as she walked up to her companion and led her to her customary seat on the yellow fox. Watanuki sat down on the blue fox and they shared a moment of quite with each other.

"I'm so glad." Watanuki started, "I thought I wouldn't be able to see you today." As she spoke, the cold air around her tickled her throat, making her cough a little as she tried to adjust. She placed her hand over her mouth to as she coughed, and Mayuko was looking at her, concern written all over her face, her dark eyes sad. "Don't worry…it's o-okay -" The girl got out before she was coughing again, trying to keep it under control.

"We shouldn't…" Mayuko started to speak as Watanuki finished coughing and her body calmed down. The seer looked at the woman waiting for her to go on. Mayuko didn't look at her. "We shouldn't meet like this anymore." The statement shocked her, her eyes going wide, her heart almost skipping a beat. Not being able to see Mayuko…someone who made her feel loved and safe just like her own mother had all those years ago? It was impossible to think about after they'd spent so much time together. Watanuki gasped, but Mayuko still wouldn't look her in the face. "I think it would be better for both of us."

"But why?!" Watanuki's voice had taken on a desperate tone, not wanting to lose her companion so soon. "If I've said something to offend you, I'm sorry!"

"No…" Mayuko denied.

"If it's me you're worried about, please don't, I'm here because I want-" The girl stood up wanting to do something to stop this conversation but she just ended up coughing all over again, her lung starting to ache from the cold air.

"That's not it." Mayuko said quietly, her head still down. "I had fun…thank you for that. It's okay now." Watanuki took two steps forward, her hands coming up slightly to reach out to the woman.

"But you said you always felt lonely!" She argued, finally able to speak. "You told me that! I-"

"I have to go." Mayuko said quickly, standing up and walking down the path she'd come.

"Wait!" Watanuki stumbled after her, feeling like her heart was being torn in two, like she was losing something she'd just barely begun to know and love. The girl tottered after the retreating woman, but before she got very far, another fit washed over her and she had to stop walking just to balanced, the physical ache and loss of breath mirroring her own inner turmoil. Don't go! Come back! Her heart called out to Mayuko but she didn't come back. She kept walking away, almost running as she tears slid down Watanuki's face, unable to speak to call her back, only able to hack and wheeze as her sickness prevented her from saying anything to comfort Mayuko, from saying that she wanted her to stay.

Mayuko disappeared into the park's little grove, turning around a tree and vanishing down the path. Watanuki wouldn't be able to catch up to her in the condition she was in. She could barely stand, but she still managed to wobble her way down the path as well, one hand over her mouth as she coughed, the other reaching for something that wouldn't come back to her. She felt completely empty now, having lost something precious to her so suddenly and without warning, and she walked home in a daze, not knowing what else to do. She didn't even turn on the light as she entered and she was so worn out and defeated that she just grabbed her pillow and collapsed on the floor of her room. She didn't even bother with a futon and just turned on her little heater and lay on the tatami mats despondently, not even changing out of her uniform.

She slept fitfully all night and skipped school the next day, having no desire to see anyone or to go out and do anything. The day passed in bouts of coughing and restless naps and no food, because she didn't want to eat anything or make anything. She didn't even leave the house to try and visit Mayuko…she might not even be in the park so what was the point? Mayuko didn't want to see her so she shouldn't go. But it hurt, it hurt not to try.

The natural light in her room eventually started to fade as the sun traveled towards night, but she didn't do anything. She still didn't want to eat, she didn't do her homework, she had no desire to check on the shop or call Yuko, Wari was probably doing homework and Doumeki was busy with archery practice, so she couldn't call either of them (not that she wanted to call Doumeki, but it would be nice to hear his steady voice as this turmoil roamed around inside of her). The girl slumped even further into the floor as the shadows of day deepened into twilight.

The only things she did manage to do was cough over and over again and think about all the places that she'd met and talked with Mayuko. The bench by the fountain…the fox seats…walking by the koi pond…the bench by the wide walking path and the river…Mayuko was sitting on that bench, looking down at her hands folded in her lap. She could see her. The cool spring wind was whipping loose leaves all over the place, ruffling the woman's hair as she sat in silence, all alone. The sun was behind her, slowly setting, the shadows of the benches and the lamp post growing longer with each passing minute. Mayuko finally looked up, her head turning left to watch the path stretching into the distance, each of its lampposts unlit. She was looking for someone, waiting for someone…but they weren't coming. She looked the other way, hope still on her face until she saw that that path was empty too. She looked down at her hands again and sighed, still lonely.

Watanuki awoke, the vivid dream swimming before her eyes. She was crying, tears slipping down her cheeks and onto her pillow. It was so real, the dream was Mayuko's reality, it always had been until Watanuki showed up. And it had been Watanuki's reality for so much of her life as well. She'd been alone and she knew that loneliness very well. It was horrible, to be without friends or family and the loneliness could only be filled by someone else. You couldn't fix it on your own very well and even if you did…it wouldn't last very long. That's what Watanuki had felt for so long until she met Yuko and Maru and Moro and Mokona and Wari and Doumeki and all her spirit friends (no matter how unreasonable or crazy they were).

And that's why she had to go. Mayuko needed her.

"She was crying…I can't do this." Watanuki sat up, her despondency lifting, her heart filling with the need to visit the park, to see her. "I won't hurt her." The girl wiped away her tears and grabbed her glasses from next to her pillow. She pulled herself to her feet and steadied herself as much as she could before staggering towards her door. She looked a mess and she knew it, no jacket, dirty white school shirt, wrinkly green skirt, her hair was loose and tangle by not seeing a brush all day, but she was still going. Watanuki lurched another step towards the door. "I have to find her."

The phone started ringing, its insistence cutting through the quiet of the girl's apartment and Watanuki knew that with such perfect timing to her going out when it hadn't rung all day it had to be Yuko. But she didn't care what Yuko was going to say or try to make her stop, this was something she had to do. Something only she could do. "I'll find her." She stumbled out of her apartment and hazily slipped on her shoes, leaving the shrill ringing of the telephone behind her.

Watanuki may not have a fever, but her head felt like it had one, her thoughts all jumbled and hazy, and her vision swimming and disoriented. She was sweating, even in the chill night air as she tottered down the rows of houses to the park. She probably looked like a walking mess, but she had to go, she had to keep going, that's all she knew she had to do.

"I have to go." She whispered, "If I'm not there for her…she'll be alone." The image of Mayuko sitting alone on that bench swam in front of her eyes, pulling at the girl's heart. She couldn't do that to her, it hurt too much. So she kept walking, the darkening clouds and the setting sun the only witnesses to her agony.

They also saw Doumeki too. The young man was in the archery range, all lit up for the club, practicing for the tournament, the sound of whizzing arrows and the thunk they made when they hit the target almost constant in the night air. Doumeki was quiet and sullen that evening, his teammates chalking up his pinched eyebrows (something they normally didn't see) to concentration and pressure since he was the best archer on the team. But they were totally wrong. As Doumeki set up his next shot, hooking that arrow into his bow and pulling it up to shoot, his body in a perfect stance, he was worrying about something else besides the tournament.

Watanuki hadn't been at school that day. She hadn't even shown up or called to let the school know that she was staying home or that she was sick. She hadn't said anything to Wari (whom she told most everything) and Wari was the only one who'd seen her leave the school the day before. Doumeki hadn't had the time to call her home or check on her in person to see if she was okay, but in all honesty he knew already that she wasn't doing well. She was sick, probably dying according to Yuko and he was here, at archery practice, because of his own obligations to the team. He should be with her, to protect her or at least make her feel a little safe, to have some kind of company whether she liked him or not. Doumeki knew that she'd been seeing that woman, the woman that Yuko had hinted at was making her sick. She shouldn't be visiting someone that was harming her, but Watanuki felt an attachment to this woman Mayuko and if she could be with her for whatever reason it was, she would be. And on that thought, with the pull of the bowstring, the slight chafe of his glove on his skin, his eyes lined up with the bull's eye on the target, Doumeki let go and made his shot.

His bowstring snapped violently, sending his arrow into the embankment where the targets were set up and missing completely. The bottom half of the string fell to the floor, the top half whipping him in the face slightly with its recoil but Doumeki still brought his left arm down to rest on his hip with professional ease and tucked his bow under his right forearm. He looked down at the broken bowstring with a cool glare, his thoughts still swirling around Watanuki, the bow string itself mirroring much of his thoughts. This was a breaking point of some sort.

He was done practicing for the night. He knew it. He had to leave.

So Doumeki turned away from the range and excused himself, only taking a few minutes to restring his bow and put on his practice zori before leaving, carrying nothing but his convictions and his weapon with him.

The sun had set, the evening fading to dusk as Watanuki lurched down the wide walking path that followed the river. She was almost to the benches where they'd met and talking for hours. She was almost there…almost there…if she could just get there…to make sure Mayuko was alright…that she wasn't lonely…then everything would be fine. Watanuki made it a few minutes later, a few dozen feet away, looking at the lone figure sitting on their bench. She was there, she had been waiting. Mayuko was like the one brilliant thing in the deepening dusk, her bright pink kimono and light pink shawl the only real colors in the shadowed evening. Watanuki smiled, her heart leaping as she saw that despite Mayuko's wish not to see her, that she'd still been waiting. She did want to see her…she did still care. Watanuki took another step forward, the noise drawing Mayuko's attention, her head coming up to look at the girl.

"You came back." She whispered, her face part shock, part worry and part knowing. Watanuki was still smiling, even as sweat rolled down her skin, even as her body aches and groaned, even as she weakly walked over, her shoulders slumped, and sat down heavily, so tired.

"Sorry I'm late." She whispered, her voice not nearly strong enough to talk. "I hope you didn't get too cold waiting." Mayuko sighed. Watanuki opened her mouth to say something, but a cough came out instead, triggering her lungs to keep coughing and hacking. She slapped her hand over her mouth, not wanting Mayuko to catch whatever she had and rode out the fit.

"I knew it was going to turn out like this." Mayuko said as the girl beside her endured her sickness. Watanuki paused to breath for a second, looking at the woman, a little confused, but had to look away as her lung forced more air out of her body. Her coughs were wet now, threatening to hack up phlegm or blood and Watanuki didn't want Mayuko to see that if it did happen so she turned her head away. "I knew that the more I saw you, the more time we spent together…the more you'd suffer. This is my fault." Watanuki panted, finally able to breathe again.

"I…I was told that." She said, admitting that she knew, at least in part, that Mayuko was responsible for her sickness.

"Then why did you keep coming back?!" Her voice was still soft, but Mayuko was greatly distressed at Watanuki's destructive behavior, even if it meant that they spent time together.

"I guess because…when you're lonely, it seems…that I'm lonely too." The raven whispered. She didn't see it, but Mayuko's face held realization and worry and her eyes started to shine like she was going to cry. It hurt her to know that this young girl, the wonderful, beautiful, kind young woman was suffering because of their relationship. And yet, she did it because she wasn't worried about her, she was worried about Mayuko herself. That hurt her almost as much as it comforted her.

Watanuki had another fit, this one so strong that it hand both of her hands on her mouth, her body folded over on the bench as her torso convulsed, each cough sounding worse than the last. Mayuko watched, conflicted by her own emotions for her companion, wanting to reach out and comfort her, to let the girl know that she was there for her, but knowing that she'd only make it worse if she did. She didn't want to hurt Watanuki anymore. But despite her want to comfort, despite that her hand came up on its own, floating above the girl's back, she still held back. She held back because she knew if she touched her again, it might kill her. So she drew back, her eyes darkening with want and worry and sorrow. Watanuki fell to the ground, slipping off of the bench and another her knees, still coughing, still hurting and unable to get in a good breath. It was horrible to watch, but Mayuko held back. She held back a few moments more, stuck between wishing she could help and wanting to end the girl's pain but know that it would kill her this time. She'd have Watanuki's blood on her hands if she did. But the girl couldn't breathe, she couldn't speak and she was suffering, unable to do anything but let her body convulse in pain as she coughed and coughed and coughed. Finally, Mayuko couldn't stand not doing anything anymore and got up to kneel down next to the girl, her hand reaching out in comfort…

"Don't touch her." A harsh, deep voice commanded. It was filled with venom and anger, enough to make Mayuko withdraw her hand, fear spiking down her spine. She looked up. A young man she'd never seen before was walking towards them, dressed in a white kimono top and black hakama, a bow tucked under his arm. He looked like a serious individual, his face angry, his steps harsh on the pavement. He steadily walked towards the pair, his eyes trained on Mayuko, freezing her in place with their intensity.

"Is that…Doumeki…" Watanuki huffed out in between pants as she tried to catch her breath. Mayuko understood now, it was a friend of Watanuki's, someone else who cared for her. "I knew you'd go and see her no matter what I said to you." He said, his statement directed at the crumbled girl on the ground.

It pained Doumeki to see her like that, completely defenseless and vulnerable, even if the woman next to her had nothing but the best intentions for their time together. He would not let anything hurt her as long as he was living if he could help it. He was there to protect Watanuki. That's the way it always had been since their meeting, but now it was so much more. He loved her. He loved her with every fiber in his being and he would not let anything take her away from him, even herself. That was the choice he'd made, despite however Watanuki felt about it.

"So it turns out she wasn't human after all."Doumeki said once he'd walked up in front of them, several feet away. He'd started hard at the woman next to Watanuki and saw that despite her human form and kind face, he could see the bench through her form, she was a spirit. A spirit that was killing Watanuki. The pair stared at him for a moment, the silence stretching between then, but Doumeki had already made his choice.

He stepped his right foot back, his hands at his hips and he brought up his bow steadily.

"Don't do it." Watanuki pleaded, knowing what he was doing. Doumeki didn't have a normal arrow, so that meant…

"Out of the way." He commanded, not leaving any room for argument, tossing his head to emphasize his point. He drew up his bow so he could grab the newly strung bowstring, and then pulled his bow forward with his left hand and his right hand back. The bowstring stretched and lengthened, pulling taut, straining against the strength of his arm.

"Leave her alone!" Watanuki found the strength in her voice to shout, hating seeing his bow, the bow of someone she respected and loved, pointed at someone else that she loved. It was the worst feeling. She wanted them both, but she couldn't do that. She'd lose one or the other or both at this point. She couldn't have it both ways, she knew that, but she just had to try, to try and stop him before he did something that he couldn't take back. Before he broke her heart.

Doumeki's bow was set, his face a mask, his eyes holding only determination and anger.

"Stop! I said don't do it!" Watanuki felt her skin go cold, her breath almost stop as she leapt in front of Mayuko. No, it couldn't end like this. He had to stop! Didn't he know how much this was going to hurt her?! Wasn't he supposed to protect her? To be on her side? To stay by her? To help her be happy? Isn't what he wanted? It was what she wanted! What she'd wanted and almost had for a long time now. And he was going to destroy it! Stop, Doumeki! Don't do this! Don't!

Doumeki did it. He let go of the bowstring, letting his arrow fly.

It came at them, a bolt of light shooting towards Watanuki's chest quickly and without mercy. It would probably pass through her because she wasn't a spirit, but she was going to stay right there and take the hit anyway. She had to protect Mayuko! That was her choice. But Watanuki forgot that Mayuko had a choice as well.

And she chose to let go of Watanuki, to protect the girl in the face of the consequences.

She shoved the girl out of the way, the arrow piercing her chest as she cried out. Her shawl fell from her arms and disappeared, her body lighting up as Doumeki's power of exorcism purified her.

"Why…?" Watanuki whispered, staring in horror at what Doumeki had done. There was light all around them and it was beautiful, but all she could see was the darkness without Mayuko's smile, no matter how short of a time they'd spent together. Mayuko turned to look at the girl, an expression of peace and happiness glowing on her face.

"I'm not lonely anymore." She said, her voice echoing as if she were already gone. "You've brought me so much happiness…from our time together. I'm not lonely anymore because I was able to be with you." She reached up and touched the girl's face, no longer afraid of hurting her. She couldn't hurt her anymore, it was a relief. Watanuki's face crumbled, horror turning into sorrow and grief. Her body was disappearing, her feet gone and then her legs her torso…"And you won't be lonely anymore either." Her chest and hands and kimono sleeves were fading away now too. "Because whether or not you realize it, there are people around you who need you. There are people who don't want to lose you."

Mayuko smiled, her hand ghosting over Watanuki's as the girl reached for her. She looked so happy…right before she faded away into wisps of smoke floating away in the dusk. Tears ran down Watanuki's face as one string of smoke sank down. She cupped it in her hands for only a moment before it too disappeared, taking every bit of Mayuko that she had known away forever. The girl sobbed, the sound escaping her. Doumeki was the only one who heard it.

"Why?" She asked Doumeki, her voice hard, even in sorrow. "Why did you shoot her?! Is it because she wasn't human?" Watanuki whispered, curling up into herself as her grief overtook her.

"It wasn't that!" Doumeki snapped, still angry with her. Couldn't she see? Didn't she know how devastated he'd be if he lost her? Could she not see that? "I made a choice." He said, and now he'd have to deal with the consequences. If Watanuki hated him, so be it. She wouldn't be alive to hate him if he'd done nothing, and he'd rather her live and hate him then die. Her eyes already held some of that hate and it hurt him deeply, but she was alive.

Watanuki looked up at her classmate, tears falling from her eyes. She knew that they would never be the same again. Their relationship had changed and they could never go back to the way they used to be. Doumeki was staring down, his gaze hard. This was the most emotion she'd ever seen him display for a long period of time and it was scary. Doumeki was scary when he was mad…but Watanuki couldn't quite tell what he was mad about. Was he mad that the spirit was making her sick? Was he angry that Watanuki went to see her anyway? Was he mad that she was causing trouble for him again? She didn't know. Watanuki hated seeing Doumeki like this, even in her grief at losing her companion couldn't shut out that feeling of regret and discomfort that Doumeki was mad at her. Watanuki coughed a few times, the shudders of her chest distracting her from her thoughts. She hacked and wheezed until the fit was over. She looked up at Doumeki again, not wanting to admit that he was right, that her sickness wasn't something that she could handle on her own, and that she couldn't have gotten over it with Mayuko there. She didn't want to admit anything to him, especially after what he had done. Her eyes narrowed, glaring at him for a brief moment and then she collapsed, the archer's hard face looming to the side and then fading away into unconsciousness.

Watanuki opened in her eyes to light in a new place, but it was familiar. The paneled ceiling was staring down at her and she was resting on a futon, a red blanket draped over her. She knew where she was even in those first moments were sleep and reality were still jumbled together. She was at the shop.

"So…you're finally awake." Yuko was there, sitting next to the girl with her arm propped up on one upright knee in a light pink kimono with an elaborate necklace curling down her chest. Her hair was down, some of the black strands draping over her body and Watanuki's as well.

"Yuko…" Watanuki started, surprised to see the witch there unexpectedly after such a long absence. "What about your work?"

"All finished." The woman replied. "Without incident."

"That's good." Watanuki sighed.

"On the other hand, I'd say that you'd seemed to have suffered a lot of incident."

" You could say that." Watanuki smiled a little at the understatement. "I've been dealing with stuff like this a lot lately."

"I guess you have." Yuko answered, a small smile on her own face.

"I suppose Doumeki carried me here?" Watanuki asked, loathing the fact that she'd been helpless again and had to rely on Doumeki after what he'd done.

"Yes." Yuko nodded in affirmation.

"I am so pathetic." The girl sighed.

"I guess you are." The witch's smile got a little bigger. Watanuki chuckled dryly.

"Now that was just mean." The seer paused, finding the right words to say to her boss, her emotions all mixed up. "I sorry, Yuko...that I didn't listen to your warning." And probably blatantly ignored the second one, she added silently.

"It's okay. You made a choice. You wanted to see her, even though you knew you'd put your life in danger." Yuko leaned in a little closer. "It's just like I've always told you…a person can wish for anything they think they want. It can be happiness or unhappiness."

"I don't get it." Watanuki replied, still not understanding her words.

"No matter what you wished for it's the result that matters." Yuko leaned down even further, resting her elbows on the floor, her face inches away from Watanuki's. "As long as you don't regret the result, it's alright. Do you understand now?" Yuko paused, letting those thoughts sink in. "Doumeki had to make a choice, just as you had to. He chose to shoot, even if it hurt you…even if it caused you to hate him." The snap of the bowstring echoed in Watanuki's head, the sound pricking her guilt. She didn't know how to feel about Doumeki…he did save her…but he also hurt her. "So that he could stop you from disappearing."

Tears sprang to Watanuki's eyes, knowing that Doumeki cared for her that much, knowing that he'd saved her from dying. But it still hurt, it would always hurt in some way.

"So now you have another choice to make, Watanuki." Yuko's voice grew more serious, her cranberry eyes watching the girl. "About how you're going to treat Doumeki from now on." Yuko sat up and leaned back on one of her hands, the other returning to her knee. "You haven't yet asked me what she was."

"No." Watanuki shook her head. "It doesn't matter what she was. So what if she wasn't human? She was loving and kind to me" Yuko stood up and walked towards the outside doors of the shop, intending to let Watanuki rest.

"Very well." Yuko replied, sliding the door open. "Then I will tell you only this: The things she said before she disappeared were absolutely true." I don't want to lose you, were the unspoken words that Watanuki heard as well. More tears came and Watanukit threw her arms over her face, chuckling wetly.

"Of course, you'll make me pay for that by working for you more." She said.

"Oh absolutely." Yuko said, her voice returning to her seductive drawl. She walked out of the room and slid the door shut behind her. Watanuki was left alone with her tears and her grief.

"Will Watanuki be okay?" Maru ask as her mistress stepped out onto the porch.

"Tell us, will she?" Moro asked, standing next to her twin with Mokona on her head.

"She will okay, right?" Mokona asked.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine by tomorrow." Yuko answered. The smiles on their faces at the news were priceless. Maru and Moro hugged each other and then grabbed hands to jump around and Mokona hopped onto the floor to do a little dance of its own.

"She's going to be okay!~ She's going to be okay!~" The twins sang. Mokona jumped up into Yuko waiting hand.

"I think we should take it easy too." Yuko said to the furball. "I haven't taken a trip like that in a while and I'm spent."

"Me too!" Mokona agreed.

"Maru and Moro have to make the bed for the mistress!" Moro said to Maru, grapping the blue-haired girl's hand and skipping away.

"We need to prepare her a nightcap too!~" Maru replied. They laughed and then realized that they were right next to Watanuki's room and needed to be quiet so she could sleep. They shhhed each other, fingers over mouths and then started to tip toe away. "Watanuki is sleeping."

"Tip toe."

"Tip toe."

"Tip toe."

"Tip toe." They said back and forth as they tip toed around the corner.

"Good night." Yuko whispered to the closed door next to her. "And sweet dreams too." And then she too walked down the porch and disappeared around the corner.

"WAAAARRIIIIII!" A joyful yell called to the boy at school the next day. Wari turned around and looked down the hallway to see who it was.

"Hi, Watanuki!" He called back. Watanuki laughed and skipped down the hallway, practically shining as she carried her homemade bentos with her. "Looks like you feel better!"

"Yeah! I feel terrific!" Watanuki spun her skirt flying up behind her. "I made a special lunch today so let's eat together! Just you and me!~ The theme is 'spring' and the menu is going to be a surprise!"

"Sounds great!"

"Not as great as you are, Wari!" Watanuki spun again, smiling like an idiot.

"I can hardly wait for lunchtime!" Wari looked past the girl and saw Doumeki walk into the same hallway they were in and started walking in their direction. Watanuki noticed that the boy wasn't paying attention to her anymore and turned around to see what was up. Doumeki was walking towards them. He looked the same as he always did, but he didn't "oi" her like normal or make her mad or do anything. He just walked up to them, looking at the girl and saying nothing before walking right past the pair. Watanuki dropped her head, having agonized over her new choice all night about how she was going to treat Doumeki. Eight footsteps passed her before she said something, the noise of the school seeming to fade away with her words.

"Wait, Doumeki." She said. Three footsteps later he stopped, waiting for her to speak without turning around. He was prepared for most anything, screaming, ranting, denial, hate. He was ready for anything that she could throw at him, but she wasn't speaking. So he did turn, and looked at the girl and held back his desire to tell her that her skirt had flipped up somehow and that her panties were showing. Now was not the time for that. Besides, he might not get to see those panties anymore if she hated him, so he stayed quiet. He waited for the angry words and hurt expression that would be on her face. He waited for it. And it came. Kind of.

"You can come to lunch too, if you like. Wari and I can't eat all of this alone." Watanuki stuck her hands on her hips, pouting. She couldn't see it but Doumeki turned to her, his eyes wide in surprise, his mouth open in shock. She was inviting him to lunch, even after what he did to hurt her. She was offering a restart, an olive branch.

"Hmm." He said, smiling a little. "You got salmon rolls? I'll join you."

"HELL, NO!" Watanuki leapt right into his face and gave him a piece of her mind, just like she always did. Doumeki leaned back dramatically and plugged the ear closest to the girl. "WHAT DO YOU THING I'M RUNNING?! SOME KIND OF CATERING SERVICE?! It happens that I made tri-color rice balls today!"

"That's all you got?" Doumeki sighed, unplugging his ear and folding his arms. "Well, I guess I'll join you." He said begrudgingly, disappointed in the menu.

"You son of a-AHHHHH!" Watanuki's fangs popped out and she wiggled and flailed like a pro, still getting pissed at Doumeki. "Why do you have to say it like that!?" Wari laughed at them cheerfully.

"You too get along so well, don't you? You're the best of friends!" The curly-haired boy chuckled.

"This stiff is not my friend!" Watanuki screamed.

"Those rice balls better have some salmon in them." Doumeki added.

"I'm not your personal chef!" The girl retorted.

"What about sour plums?"

"NO! But there's still good!" She amended, still trying to please him for some reason.

"Whatever. Next time you'd better make inarizushi." Doumeki replied.

"Why do you always want inarizushi!?" Watanuki wailed.

"Guys, we'll be late for class." Wari said, grabbing their attention as he walked towards class.

"Whatever you say, Wari!~" Watanuki agreed. "Come on, jerkass!" Watanuki grabbed Doumeki's hand and dragged him towards their classroom. Doumeki let himself be dragged, looking down at Watanuki's skirt, which was still flipped up from her walking or spinning or flailing and he was enjoying the view.

"Purple today, huh?" He said. The girl flipped her head around to snap at him for saying things that didn't make sense when she saw him looking down…down towards her skirt. She blushed bright red at the thought of Doumeki looking at her panties again and threw down his hand to pull her skirt down.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SOMETHING SOONER?!" She howled, completely embarrassed, and in front of Wari too!

"Too cute." He replied, shrugging. Wari laughed at them and Watanuki cursed under her breath. She stalked off to class leaving both boys in her dust but they'd catch up soon enough, they always did.

Lunch went better than Watanuki expected, especially when Doumeki wasn't too impressed by her cooking today, but he had more than his share which made it better. She really did like sharing meals with those two, no matter how annoying Doumeki was or how hopeless she was with Wari. It was comforting to know that at least she could be with them for a little while. The rest of the school day passed without incident, as if the universe were giving the seer a break after her adventure with death the last few days and Watanuki was happy just to be a normal girl with normal problems for once. And at the end of school she said goodbye to Wari and Doumeki insisted on walking her to Yuko's shop, and so he did and she let him. Watanuki had something she wanted to say to Doumeki, so this was the perfect time too…the only problem was she didn't know how to approach the subject with him. And after a few minutes of walking down the street in silence, wrestling with her thoughts, she just decided to go for it. Doumeki had gotten a little ahead of her, noticing that the girl was lost in her thoughts but let her be all the same until she figured out what she was going to do.

"Hey, Doumeki." Watanuki called, going with the blunt version of her plan and catching up with her classmate.

"Hm?" The archer replied, slowing down his pace just a little. He gave the girl a sideways glance, hoisting his school bag over his shoulder.

"Remember that rain check you owe me?" Watanuki started, hoping he remembered that he owed her a favor for one. "The one from the incident with Zashiki-Warishi?"

"Yeah." Doumeki was interested to see where this was going.

"I want to cash it in." Watanuki said, her voice all business-like but her face was starting to blush in embarrassment.

"Okay, so what do you want?" Doumeki stopped in his tracks, turning to face the girl. She stopped right next to him and glared the boy in the eye.

"I…I-I…" Oh, god…I can't believe I'm saying this…after everything I've done to discourage this kind of thing… Watanuki shut her eyes and blushed deeper as she finished. "I-I want you to kiss me." Doumeki's eyes widened ever so slightly, showing the girl his surprise, but that was soon replaced by a small smile.

"Why?" He asked, wanting to know why she'd changed her mind.

"Well…" Watanuki still had her eyes screwed shut as she spoke. "I wanted to thank you for helping me not disappear, but I couldn't think of anything besides making you food because I always make you food and I remember that you liked kissing me – like after the hydrangea thing and when you stay over to dinner you try to kiss me – and I thought that you'd like it if I asked for one. As thanks." The girl finally took a breath after getting all of that out in one sentence and peeked one eyes open to see Doumeki's reaction. He was smiling at her! And it looked good on him too, better that stone face he usually had one.

"Okay." Doumeki said, touched by her admission.

Watanuki blushed even brighter as the archer leaned down to her face. He wasn't that much taller than her, but the time it took him to get down to her seemed like forever and Watanuki almost got cold feet but then his hand came up to her jaw bone and held her in place. She blinked quickly, her eyes trying to focus on his face when he was so close but then his lips were on hers. They were soft and warm and gentle as Doumeki kissed her, chastely pressing against her own. His hand came down from her face and wrapped around her along with his other arm, pulling her closer as they kissed. Watanuki, unsure of where to put her hands, left them on his chest where they'd been trapped, feeling his heartbeat under her fingertips. It was a nice kiss, not at all weird or perverted like Doumeki could be sometimes, and Watanuki found herself content just to say there in his arms for a little bit, but Doumeki was pulling away just a few moments later and she kind of felt bad that it had been so short.

"And now we're boyfriend and girlfriend." Doumeki stated. Watanuki's brain short circuited in response.

"I never said anything about you being my boyfriend! You're an ass, you know that?!" She yelled, untangling herself from his arms.

"That's no way to talk to your boyfriend."

"You are not my boyfriend and I am NOT your girlfriend!"

"That's not what it sounded like earlier. You said you wanted a kiss, so that meant that the attraction was mutual."

"Well, your ears are stuffed with cotton! I said I wanted a kiss, not-" Doumeki swept in and kissed her again.

"What was that for?!" Watanuki hissed, when her mouth was free.

"You said you wanted a kiss again."

"I-" Watanuki geared up for another retort when Doumeki put his finger over the girl's lips.

"Just shut up and be my girlfriend already." Doumeki's bluntness had the seer at a loss. She looked around for an escape, but couldn't find any (that and Doumeki's hand was still clamped to the back). And besides, they had been acting like a couple for quite some time now, what could it hurt if they actually became a couple?

"Fine. Since you're so insistent about it." She conceded.

"Then let me see your panties." The archer said, leaning down to grab the girl's skirt.

"NO!" Watanuki slapped his hand away and kept her hands on her skirt to hold it down. "PERVERT!"

"But we're dating now. Come on. Let me see." Doumeki teased her in his monotone, reaching for her skirt again.

"No! You already saw them today!" She shrieked, running down the street, trying to get away from him. Doumeki was hot on her heels, a smile shining in his eyes.

"I didn't get a good look."

"You shouldn't even be looking!" Watanuki ran faster when she saw him catching up but she couldn't out run Doumeki for long and he caught her in a hug once she was within arm's reach.

"You're funny." He said, kissing her neck once before she shoved her hand in his face and pushed, trying to pry herself out of his arms.

"Get off me! I am not funny!"

"Just shut up and let me hug you, girlfriend."

"Stop saying that!"

"What? Girlfriend?" He repeated.

"Yes! That!" She snapped.

"Girlfriend. Girlfriend. Girlfriend."

"Stop it!"

"Girlfriend."

"I said stop it!"

"I'll stop if you hold my hand." Doumeki offered. Watanuki's blush was back, self conscious at the thought of holding his hand in public, but if it got him to shut up then what the hell. Doumeki held out his hand and Watanuki hesitantly placed her hand on his. He closed his hand over hers, entangling their fingers and pulling her down the street once again on their way to Yuko's shop. A few cherry blossoms fell around them, swept up by the brisk breeze of a spring that was just starting to warm up, following two teenagers as one tried to peek at the other's panties and the other yelled in his ear for his efforts.

To be continued…

A/N: And there you go, they're finally dating! I LOVED writing this chapter because there was so much angst and so much room for conflict and relationship development. Very complex chapter, mmhmm. I'll see you all next time!

Note 1: Kayaku is a rice dish where the rice is boiled and then meat or fish is added into it.

Note 2: I've already kind of explained this one in several of my Valentine's and White Day fics but we'll do a quick over view again. On Valentine's in Japan, girls give boys chocolates, whether or not they're romantic chocolates/candies for a crush or boyfried, or obligation chocolates for friends/co-workers. On White Day, one month later, the boys return the favor by getting or making gifts for the girls they received chocolates from.