SOY: and here you go, chapter two! Thank you so much for the attention this fic (and the series as a whole) received so far!

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Rating: T

Warnings: third of a series of connected stories under the name 'Takane no Hana'. Fix-it fic for XXXHolic, takes place at the start of volume 15 of the manga. Will branch out of canon and move on from there.

Disclaimer: I do not own CLAMP manga.

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Reflection that Binds

Chapter 02 – Silence

Yukito was sitting quietly in a corner of his and Touya's bedroom, his breathing even.

When they'd had to decide where they would be more comfortable to stay for the dream sessions, neither Touya nor Yukito had wanted to use their bedroom at first, but in the end what had made them change their minds was the fact that of all the rooms in their house, that was the one they were completely at ease into.

It was the first one they had decorated, and they had bought the bed together, awkward and young even before they had been married, and the familiarity and comfort it gave them was exactly what they both needed during that time.

Surrounded by mementos of his and Touya's life together, Yukito could easily concentrate on his task, one hand pressed against the earring Yue had given Touya in a dream.

Feeding power into Touya so that he could travel through dreams was tiring, but compared to how many times he'd had to do it before, this was nothing; the worst part was the boredom, which had been a problem during the first few weeks they had started scouting through the dream-world in search of Yuuko.

Yukito had to keep a steady flux of power passing through the earring, as if he gave too much Touya would have an overload and Yukito would faint, but if he gave too little the connection would break and Touya would be startled awake. It had happened more than once at first, as they had to learn through first-hand approach.

Now, with years of practice behind him, Yukito could easily allow his mind to wander a bit, though not enough to do anything strenuous that would distract him –no television, not even a book. At most he could stare at a picture or idly let his mind wander. At least he did not feel that as a bad thing; Yukito was a quiet person with an active mind, and while he did enjoy doing things, he had just an equally good time by thinking, which is what he did during those nights he spent awake for the sake of Touya.

As it was, now his thoughts were focused on what Touya was doing in the dreams, hoping that Watanuki had managed to find his way to the Sensou-ji, so that they could start their lesson.

Having finally found Watanuki… Yukito at times still thought it to be a dream.

They had spent so long searching for him, without even knowing how he would look now, that being able to talk to him so often, and even see him… it was a blessing, and Yukito could see it every day in Touya's eyes.

The happiest one was obviously Touya –it was the last link to his sister, who had been left behind just like him, but Touya did not seek him for the sake of Sakura either. He simply wanted his nephew back.

In the past Yukito could spend hours teasing Touya about his sister complex, and nowadays he thought he could do the same about his 'nephew complex', since there was a particular skip to his step now that wasn't there before, like he'd suddenly lost a decade the moment he had met with Watanuki.

It made Yukito feel just as young and happy.

Yukito's train of thoughts was shattered when Touya shifted in his sleep, and then suddenly shot up in the bed, breathing laboured.

"Touya?" the link between them was severed, and Yukito stifled a gasp when some energy that had been shifting in the earring returned to him with a snap. "What happened?"

Touya gritted his teeth and brought one hand to his head, pushing his hair away from his eyes. "I… something was there".

Yukito hadn't expected this, and he was instantly filled with worry. "What do you mean with… how's Kimihiro-kun?"

Touya slammed his fist on the mattress at his side. "That stupid kid thought to run away from me, and I think he shifted elsewhere while he was running… I lost him and I have no idea where he is".

Heart seized in a tight grip of worry, Yukito tried to stand, though he wobbled a bit, and Touya did the same, looking rattled. "Touya, what do you think we should–"

"I don't know," Touya looked lost, and angry, and Yukito mirrored those feelings as well. "If he's still in a dream, I need to go back there and help, but he could be anywhere and I don't know how to…"

The ringing of the phone, sudden and loud in the silence of the night, startled them both.

For a long second, they remained frozen, staring at each other in shock, as the ringing continued on, undisturbed.

"Who…?" Yukito turned around, but Touya was faster –he ran past him and into the corridor, hand shaking as it reached towards the phone.

"At this hour, with such a timing…" Touya gritted his teeth and picked up the phone, abruptly stopping its ringing.

There was a moment of silence from the other end, then "He's safe," he heard in Yuuko's calm, even tone.

"Yuuko-san," Touya clutched the receiver in one hand, head spinning. "You know…?"

Too much had happened in such a short time, and the passage between dream and reality had left him reeling and scared, his heart racing in his chest and adrenaline keeping him high-wired.

He was worried, angry and scared, and hearing Yuuko sound so calm and collected did nothing to calm him down.

"Yes," she answered, and Touya could picture her smiling slightly from the other end of the phone. "I am perfectly aware of what happened".

"Then, how–"

"The creature that attacked you at the temple was born due to an unique set of circumstances," Yuuko replied casually. Touya could not see her, but she was twirling the cord of the phone between her long fingers, stretching it as far as it could go. "It was dwelling in the dream world because the omikuji deal with fortunes, and those are loosely attached to reality. It was attracted by the presence in the dream that was the most powerful at the time, which made it wake from its slumber, but had it not been Watanuki, perhaps the creature would not have awakened at all".

Touya felt his blood turn cold. "Will it…"

"It will not bring Watanuki any harm. In fact, the creature already attached itself to someone else, and Watanuki is presently running to his house to check on him".

"What does that mean? What can I do? I made Kimihiro go there, I should be able to do something! Is it something I can pay for?"

Yukito heard this and stood straighter, as he had slouched a bit before, caught up with the fatigue. If there was another price to pay, he would give half of it without thinking about it, especially if it could help Watanuki. He shifted closer, enough that he could hear Yuuko in the silence of the room.

"No, this is not something you will have to pay for, Touya-san," Yuuko replied, pursing her lips. She paused again, considering the subject, then smiled to herself. "This is something Watanuki-kun will have to see for himself, as it is hitsuzen. It is not in your hands to do anything, though nothing prevents you from calling the store tomorrow to check up on him, hmm?"

Touya wondered for a moment, idly, whether he would have to buy another phone the following day, as he was clenching the receiver so tightly he felt it would snap in his hand.

"You can't ask me to stand on the side and let Kimihiro face… that creature, whatever that was, on his own," he hissed in the phone, shaking his head. "I didn't search for him for so long just to see him slip through my fingers right when I'd just found him!"

Yuuko sighed in the phone, and her voice after that was weary. "It is not yet the time where your presence in Watanuki's life will help make that choice," she murmured softly, but loud enough that Touya heard it. "You already changed him, and that outstretched hand has already made his future different. No, this is something that Watanuki needs to learn on his own, and it is a matter of his own heart that will have to be resolved by him, and him alone. You can be present, you can offer your help, but in the end he will be the one to make up his mind about this".

Touya closed his eyes. "I can't stand by and watch him do everything alone," he whispered just as wearily.

"Touya-san, what you did not realise yet is that when it comes to hitsuzen, even looking on from the side is enough to change one's future".

The phone call clicked shut, and Touya was left listening to the empty tone of the phone until he finally shook himself and placed it back down.

The rage had been washed away, and now he was just weary, tired and worn out.

"Tomorrow morning, we will call," Yukito caressed his face with one warm hand, then cradled Touya's head in his arms and held him close, offering him as much support as he could. "Even if this is all we can do for him, we'll do it".

Touya nodded his consent and closed his eyes, abandoning himself to Yukito's warm hug, fists clenched tightly at his sides.

The streets were completely empty around him.

Watanuki ran without even looking at his surroundings, barely aware of the weird shadows flickering in the dark around him; he barely noticed when he scraped his knuckles on a narrow curve of the street, brushing past a wall to keep going, and if he happened to slip and stagger he just kept going, righting himself up without stopping.

Heart pounding in his chest, he had stumbled out of bed, confused and dizzy, and the horrifying realisation that he had been forced out of the dream-world hit him like a punch.

He had left Doumeki there, at the mercy of that creature.

Watanuki did not hesitate, and barely bothered to put on his clothes as he left the store in a hurry, shivering in the chilly air of the night as he passed past the kekkai and into the street, headed for Doumeki's house.

He did not know what he would do –or what he could do– in such a situation, but he couldn't let Doumeki face the creature all on his own, especially when Watanuki was the one who'd brought it to him. It was his fault.

If Doumeki was hurt because of him… again…

'No, I can't think like this,' Watanuki shook his head, panting harshly as he turned the last corner and finally caught sight of the outer wall of Doumeki's house in front of him.

There he skidded to a halt, eyes widening in shock as it occurred to him that while in the dream-world he had no compulsions about property, now he was not in a dream and as such if he were to enter the house without permission, Doumeki (and his mother) would probably have something to say about it.

Still, his worry about Doumeki was stronger than that.

"Kyuu?"

Startled out of his hesitation, Watanuki felt something slither against his back, fur tickling him and making him squirm as he bounced around, digging one hand inside his shirt and tugging a very excited Mugetsu out of it. The kudakitsune had been sleeping coiled around his neck and had woken up when he'd shot out of his bed, but after that Watanuki hadn't paid any attention to the little creature, too busy getting dressed and running out of the store.

"You… you came with me?" oddly touched, Watanuki tapped the fox's head with one finger before redirecting his attention towards the house, eyes alight with determination. "Please lend me your strength, Mugetsu," he asked.

With the Kudakitsune with him, he felt like he had a little edge against the creature, and just his presence was a huge reassurance.

Without wasting time anymore, he ran inside the temple grounds.

Just like in the dream, everything was calm, and he headed immediately to the window of Doumeki's bedroom, feeling more like a stalker now than in the dream as he peeked inside.

The room was not enveloped with the dark smoke, which was reassuring, and Watanuki's eyes zeroed on Doumeki's body, only to recoil in shock when he noticed that there was something around him that he couldn't see but that he could feel, even with the wall and the window between them.

It was a sensation not unlike what he had felt when the spirit had touched him in the dream, only fainter, but still enough to make him feel sick.

He opened his mouth to call Doumeki's name, but then clamped his teeth shut. He could not wake up the whole house and the neighbourhood just to get Doumeki up, but…

He tapped on the glass of the window insistently, trying to strain his senses towards Doumeki, forcing himself to ignore the sick feeling he got in order to try and sense deeper than that, to find that creature, but to no avail. He had only a vague understanding of the spirit world, but the mechanics of his own powers were still an incognita for him.

Around his neck, Mugetsu squeaked softly and gave Watanuki a warning tug, determined to get him away from the window.

"What…? Mugetsu, why are you– augh!"

Mugetsu tried with all his might to get Watanuki to follow him away from the window, looking so frantic that Watanuki paused in his attempts to wake Doumeki and stared at him. "Mugetsu, this is no time to get in the way! It's Doumeki, and I have to help him! Why do you want to stop me…?"

Of course, the little Kudakitsune could not answer, but that did not make his attempts to get Watanuki away any less desperate. He could feel something more than Watanuki himself could, as the spirit was more attuned to things like that than Watanuki ever could be, and he could feel the rotten miasma coming from Doumeki's body with much more clarity, and it scared him.

"Mugetsu, stop it!" Watanuki made to turn around again, and Mugetsu tightened his hold around his neck, tugging with all his might. "Mugetsu, no!"

"Oi".

Watanuki reacted instinctively, turning around with an angry frown. "My name is not oi!"

Then he blinked.

In his squabble with Mugetsu, he had turned away from the window, and now that he was looking again he found himself facing a somewhat unsettled Doumeki standing at the window, holding it open with one hand, and looking down at Watanuki with a small frown.

If this had been any other occasion, he would perhaps have laughed at Doumeki's bed hair, but as it was all he could do was stare with his mouth hanging open in shock.

"… D… Doumeki!"

Watanuki darted forwards, and grabbed Doumeki by his arm, checking him over, almost expecting to see some kind of physical damage or proof that the spirit had attacked him, but he could find nothing.

Doumeki allowed himself to be manhandled without a word, as he was far too tired and confused to see Watanuki in his garden this late at night and his brain couldn't exactly process what was going on.

It was also really cold in his pyjamas and with the window open.

"Is this a dream?" he asked instead, the frown still present.

"Of course not! Though… you don't remember anything, do you?" Watanuki pressed his lips into a thin line. "No of course not, you were sleeping even there, so…"

"You are making no sense," Doumeki informed him. "What are you doing here".

"I was… I was…!" Watanuki frowned, then looked down at Mugetsu, who was calm and was not tugging him away anymore. "Why aren't you trying to stop me now?" he asked.

Mugetsu made a small sound, then curled around Watanuki's neck and rubbed his cheek against him, as if asking him to focus. Watanuki blinked and looked at Doumeki again, and his eyes widened when he could feel nothing coming from him anymore –no miasma, no bad feeling, nothing.

Just the same Doumeki as always, and awake too.

"I just… I…"

Doumeki observed him for a second, noticing the way his fists were clenched and how Watanuki refused to look at him in the eye, and sighed.

"Come in, my room's filling with cold air".

Then, instead of going to open the main door for Watanuki, he simply slid open the window fully and offered Watanuki a hand.

"Coming in from the window?!" forgetting for a moment the situation he had been into just moments prior, Watanuki glared at the other, then composed himself and covered his mouth with both hands, as he did not want to alert Doumeki's mother of his presence. "That is… that…"

"My mother's room is near the entrance, and she is a light sleeper. She won't hear your yelling from there, but if I pass by her door she will wake up, and then we'd have to explain why you're standing in front of my bedroom window in the middle of the night".

Faced with Doumeki's deadpan words, Watanuki felt his cheeks redden in embarrassment, and mounted over the window, sliding inside the room and pointedly ignoring the offered hand.

Doumeki quickly closed the window behind him, and instead of turning around to look at Watanuki for an explanation as to why he was there, he made to leave the room.

"Where… where are you going?" Watanuki's hand darted out to grab the edge of Doumeki's sleeve, not wanting to lose sight of him now.

Doumeki looked down at where Watanuki was holding him for a few seconds, puzzling over the situation, then he looked up. "Tea," he said, as if it was obvious.

Watanuki hesitantly let go of his sleeve, and thankfully Doumeki did not mention the way his hand was trembling. "Come," he said instead, acknowledging Watanuki's unspoken ask without fail.

The two walked down the corridor, moving down the other way from Doumeki's mother's bedroom, and reached the kitchen in complete silence; Watanuki slumped down at the table and observed Doumeki put up a pot of water on the stove and take out two cups from a cupboard, marvelling at the sight of something so… domestic and normal.

After the panic he'd felt in the dream and the frantic urgency while running to Doumeki's house, this was an abrupt change.

It was, in a way, deeply anti-climactic.

"You are… are you feeling ok?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly.

Doumeki turned to stare at him, eyes narrowed a bit, then nodded. "Shouldn't I be?" he asked instead.

Watanuki waited until the water was boiling and he had a steaming cup of tea in front of him tightly clenched in his hands before he finally recounted everything that he had seen in the dream, and how he had been startled out of it and had ran all the way to the temple, only to be unable to wake Doumeki up.

Getting the whole story out, even if with fumbling words and not really coherent, helped Watanuki calm down even more, and with seeing Doumeki in front of him, apparently fine and unharmed he was finally able to let go of some of the panic in his chest, the knot loosening and making him slump a little against the table. Around his neck, Mugetsu continued to rub his little cheek against his chin, a clear attempt to comfort him.

Doumeki allowed him to finish, then stood up and circled around the table, stopping at his side and waiting until Watanuki looked up at him.

"Do you feel anything now?"

Watanuki shook his head. "No, and Mugetsu doesn't either, or he wouldn't have let me get close," he said. Mugetsu let out a soft crooning noise, then unrolled from Watanuki's neck and pushed himself forwards until he bumped head against Doumeki's hand. "You… do you feel any different?"

Doumeki shook his head, then scratched his throat absently. "Maybe the purifying powers I have chased the spirit away," he offered, as he had no other explanation at hand.

Watanuki looked at him, lips curved in a displeased frown, but he had to admit that it sounded possible. He had thought to go to the store, or even towards the main temple grounds at the Sensou-ji to exorcise the creature and force it to go away, and Doumeki helped him keep the spirits at bay, so it was possible that it had worked for that one too?

He sipped the tea absently and watched as Doumeki returned to sit down in front of him, careful to keep him where he could look at him.

There was still a nagging feeling deep inside him that something was wrong, an irrational fear he couldn't really quench that it was his fault, but Doumeki looked fine, and he could feel that presence no more, and…

He yawned, feeling incredibly tired. The adrenaline that had kept him up and running until then was gone, and Watanuki felt a wave of fatigue hit him.

"I should… return to the store," he muttered, shaking his head and standing up.

He was reluctant to go, but he had to get out and calm down, and they had school the next day, and…

"I'm going to unroll the spare futon," Doumeki stated, standing up again. "Come on".

Watanuki, startled and surprised, looked up. Doumeki was staring at him again, almost like he was expecting something, but Watanuki had no idea what and he was too tired to refuse. He rubbed his eyes and got up, stumbling after Doumeki, feeling somewhat relieved but also angry at himself for imposing on him.

It hit him like a brick only later, when he was sliding inside the futon and watching Doumeki flick the lights of the room off, that this was the first time he'd slept at his house, ever.

It didn't seem that long ago when he had been thinking the same about sleeping so often at Yuuko's house, and how natural it felt to stay there whenever he could, how familiar and homey it was there, but here… here it was different.

This was Doumeki's house.

He had been invited at his house often, and sometimes Yuuko had invited herself and him along to drink, and once Mokona, too… but this was different. He'd never overstayed his welcome.

"Doumeki…?"

He only received a soft grunt as a reply, but it was good enough.

"Is it ok…?"

"Watanuki," a long pause, so long Watanuki started to feel annoyed. "Sleep. We have school".

"I know that! It's not like I can sleep at will like you! What kind of mindless drone can drop asleep just by wanting to? Not me!"

Doumeki hummed. "Make me tamagoyaki in the morning".

"I'm not your personal cook, you oaf!" Watanuki's reaction came as expected, offended but not too loud since he was still mindful not to wake Doumeki's mother.

"Tamagoyaki," Doumeki replied with conviction, almost able to taste the delicious egg rolls that he would get for breakfast in the morning, and Watanuki's soft grumbling reassured him that he would, in fact, get them.

After that, satisfied with himself, Doumeki did not speak anymore, though that did not mean he fell asleep, either.

Watanuki tugged the blankets up to his nose, peeked into the darkness to where Doumeki's bed was, and sighed. Doumeki seemed normal. Nothing was wrong. He had even demanded food from him like usual, so maybe he had been right. Maybe Doumeki's latent exorcising powers had been enough to bounce the creature out of him and make it go away.

It was somewhat reassuring, but at the same time Watanuki couldn't help but worry. He had been useless, and that feeling stung.

He could still remember Doumeki's motionless body in the dream, and the creature slowly descending on him, and the image was burned in his mind, so even if he could see him apparently fine, Watanuki was still unable to truly relax, even as tired as he was.

In the end, Watanuki was still the first one to fall asleep, tossing and turning for a while before finally finding the right position and succumbing to his fatigue, Mugetsu happily curled up with him, already deeply asleep.

Doumeki remained awake in the dark, eyes straying towards the futon with his unexpected guest every now and then. Even if he couldn't see Watanuki's face from where he was, he was still there, and he could see him breathing evenly in the silence.

With what Watanuki had told him, it was no wonder Doumeki found it hard to fall asleep now. He could not remember any dreams from before –not that this was unusual– and Watanuki's tale had seemed like a fantasy rather than reality. If he hadn't trusted Watanuki to tell him the truth, he would have dismissed his worries, but of course, he couldn't.

There was an itch in the back of his throat, and Doumeki pressed his tongue flat against it, trying without avail to scratch it, then coughed, trying to keep quiet, but Watanuki did not even stir, lost to the world.

Shaking his head, Doumeki finally fell into a deep slumber.

The room was once again enveloped in darkness, and with both occupants sleeping, there was nobody to notice the coils of smoke lifting to hover around Doumeki's face and neck, shifting silently in the dark.

The next morning when Watanuki woke up, he found Doumeki already awake and busy sweeping the garden outside the temple.

Watanuki waved at him, relieved to see him up and acting normal, then put himself to work in Doumeki's kitchen, because a promise was a promise, after all.

Doumeki's mother did not seem to be surprised to see him armed with a makiyakinabe and in the process of making tamagoyaki in her kitchen so early in the morning, and despite Watanuki's embarrassment and attempts to explain himself she waved him off with a knowing smile.

It made him wonder exactly what Doumeki had told his mother, to see her so uncaring and accepting of a guest who had appeared unannounced in the night, but he decided not to dwell on it, especially with the fact that he had to finish cooking first.

He was, though, perfectly aware of her sitting down behind him, and her eyes on his back as he busied himself with the rest of the recipe, then with the bento boxes for school; since he was not at Yuuko's house he could not prepare the usual ones, but Doumeki's mother brought him some spare boxes to fill, and he took them with a grateful smile, making her smile back at him.

"You are quite good at cooking, Watanuki-kun," she told him when he finished filling the box for Doumeki, closing the lid and placing it on top of his own. "Your parents taught you well".

"Thank you," he told her, feeling warmth blossom in his chest at the gentle words. He hoped he was making his parents proud at least with that. "Ah… this is for… uh, here," he flushed and offered her a plate of tamagoyaki rolls already sliced in bite-sized pieces.

"Oh my, those are delicious!" Sayaka said, swallowing a piece and then quickly grabbing another. "Shizuka always says your food is good, and I admit I was a bit envious since he's been eating more of your meals than mine, but this is really good!"

"Ah!" Watanuki, flustered and agitated at the compliment, waved his arms in the air and looked away, smiling happily at the woman's words. "Don't say these things, I'm sure your food is better than mine!"

"Well, we're not in a competition, so I'll accept your words for now, until I can have you eat what I cook so you can say that again," she winked at him, and Watanuki's smile turned softer at the implied invitation.

He was glad to be so welcome in this house, and he could see the family resemblance in Doumeki's mother –her smile was so similar to Haruka's one that Watanuki felt a pang of regret, because this woman would never be able to see her father again, while he conversed with him often in his dreams.

Doumeki returned inside the house massaging his throat. After waking up, he'd noticed it hurt a bit while greeting his mother, scratching while he had to explain her about Watanuki's presence; he had rationalized that it was probably because of the cold air he'd let in the room the previous night, but had refrained from telling Watanuki anyway, knowing that the other was already throwing up a fuss because of the dream spirit Doumeki had not even seen, and admitting he might be getting sick would get him too agitated for Doumeki's liking.

So, instead of mentioning it, he ate the tamagoyaki Watanuki had prepared while he was cleaning around the temple grounds, and watched as he made some small talk with his mother, who kept stealing glances towards him and smiling maybe a bit too pointedly for his liking.

Truth was, Doumeki had never brought a friend home before. His mother was expressing her pride and pleasure in finally getting to meet one of her son's friends, especially one that received so much praise –at least in regards to his food– from Doumeki.

It wasn't that Doumeki was averse to having friends, or having company over. It was simply that despite having a lot of people around who enjoyed his presence and wanted to be around him, he preferred to keep to himself, as he only ever got close to people he found interesting… and this far, that list included only two people.

He really did not mind that one bit.

"We're going," he finally said, interrupting one of his mother's tales about his childhood. Watanuki seemed rather disappointed, since it was one of those stories that normal people would consider embarrassing –Doumeki had no such compunctions though, as he believed that childhood was comprised of silly and stupid things that would be retold with fondness later on in life, so there was no point getting embarrassed for things one did as a kid– but bowed to Doumeki's mother, grabbed the bento boxes, and left with Doumeki.

Once they were on the street, without a word Doumeki grabbed the bag with their lunch from Watanuki and carried it, still remembering Watanuki's words from what felt like a lifetime before, on how they should share the weight and the burden between them; Watanuki observed him take the bag, scrutinizing him for a second, then looked away.

Doumeki had always been particularly good at observing things rather than acting on them, which was mostly a good thing, and lately it did not take much to notice that Watanuki seemed to act differently towards him –not warmly per se, but less defensively. Doumeki idly wondered what that meant.

As the silence between them stretched on, not an uncomfortable one but simply a silence, Doumeki stole a glance at his companion; Kohane had asked him to help Watanuki, because something would surely come, and Doumeki had to admit that while he was willing to do what he could, it was difficult to be prepared for something he did not know about.

If only Yuuko could be less cryptic, Doumeki would at least feel less wary about the future, even if he did not look the part. If anything, Touya had been far more open about things, and the guy had only met Watanuki a couple weeks before.

Thinking about Touya and what his possible relation with Watanuki could be made Doumeki frown and he felt his mood slowly get worse, so instead of focusing on that man, he steered his thoughts back to Watanuki, who was safer territory.

With how much time the two spent with each other, it was no wonder most of Doumeki's already restricted world seemed to circle around Watanuki, but for someone who had spent most of his life keeping to himself, having only casual friends but nothing that seemed to take his interest, being around Watanuki was… weird.

The words he'd said to Kohane during their visit to the old lady's house had been true –he had not given much hope to whatever existed between them. Not at first. Or at least he had tried not to, but despite how annoying Watanuki could become, and how many times his attitude made Doumeki want to leave, he never did.

He did like Watanuki.

The fact that at times he felt like Watanuki did not like him, or at least did not want to admit to liking him too, or even to enjoying having him around, was part of the problem, and Doumeki hadn't lied about that either.

And yet… it wasn't the entire truth either. Watanuki seemed different lately, and had not rebuked Touya and Yukito's mentions of them being friends as he would have done in the past –and even when Himawari had called them good friends, Watanuki had not denied it.

Honestly a part of Doumeki was wondering whether it was Watanuki who had been possessed by a spirit, rather than him, because Watanuki's slow change of mind about him was unexpected, though not unwelcome. Still, it was weird. Doumeki wondered whether there would be a catch somewhere.

In a way, his own thoughts about Watanuki were not exactly what he had let Kohane know, either –but Doumeki was not one to share his thoughts so easily, as words could be easily misconstrued and twisted, and there was more to it than even he could think, but at least Kohane had seemed to know what had been left unsaid anyway, because the warmth in her eyes when she had clutched his hand, the moment they had shared as both of them cared for Watanuki more than simple words could convey, had been obvious enough.

As he once again looked at him walking at his side, Doumeki found himself meeting Watanuki's gaze –those mismatched eyes one of which belonged in part to him. Watanuki, unlike what he would have done before, did not look away in a haste, muttering something uncomplimentary about him, and instead withstood his gaze for a few seconds –and when he did look away, he did it without hurry and perhaps a little bit too subdued.

"How…" Watanuki stopped there for a moment, then seemed to come to a decision because he stared at Doumeki again, this time in defiance. "I made inarizushi for lunch," he said, jutting out his chin.

Doumeki's eyes slipped down from his eyes for a second, then he looked back at the street. "And shogayaki?" he asked, and it was a testament of how much their weird friendship had changed that he did not know exactly what to expect.

"No! I wouldn't inconvenience your mother by doing something like that in her kitchen!" Watanuki huffed, crossing his arms. "She had some burdock root, so I made kinpira gobo instead. She said you don't mind that".

Doumeki cleared his throat, still finding it itchy, but said nothing. It was true he liked it –his grandmother used to make it with some extra dressing because that was the way his grandfather liked it.

Watanuki seemed to take that as a consent because he nodded to himself with the smallest upwards curve of his lips, looking pleased, and Doumeki tightened his grip on the bento box.

"I'll make shogayaki next time," he said, acting like he was making a huge favour to Doumeki, but that tiny smile was gone again, and Doumeki knew that despite how casual he tried to act, Watanuki was still out of sorts because of the previous night.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could say that would put Watanuki's mind at ease, and Doumeki's throat was still scratchy, so he just hummed and left it at that, hoping that Watanuki would see that nothing was wrong and calm down.

It seemed that the trip between Doumeki's house and the school was shorter than ever, because they reached the school in what felt no time at all, and then split ways, Watanuki back with the bento boxes and Doumeki left empty handed, watching the other leave while absently massaging his throat.

Then he turned around and went to his class.

Because of unforeseen circumstances, for the first time since ever Watanuki was the last one to arrive to their usual lunch spot.

He was rarely late –ever since he could remember, Watanuki had always been the first to get to their meeting place, with Doumeki or Himawari or both arriving right after him, so it was surprising even for him when he realised he was running late, and lunchtime had already started without him.

Watanuki had been about to leave his class as usual when someone had attracted his attention, for no particular reason at all; it was a girl, one with short cropped hair and glasses, and she looked rather unassuming, sitting a few seats behind him during class, but today there was something different about her that made Watanuki hesitate.

He did not know her at all –in fact he had never spoken with anyone in class other than the few times he had shared a project, or answered a question about some thing or another– so he didn't know why today was so different from any other day, but Watanuki spent a few minutes shuffling with his things and glancing at her, trying to understand what was wrong…

And finally he realised it was the headband she was wearing; he could feel something coming from it, but he had no idea what he was feeling, nor whether it was good or bad.

Watanuki stood up from his seat, determined to understand what was so weird about a headband that had attracted his attention, but by then it was too late –the girl, who had been chatting with one of her friends, stood up and left the classroom, and though Watanuki grabbed his things and tried to follow her, once he got in the corridor he could not find her anymore. it was only then he realised he was late for lunch, and forgot all about the girl, determined to seek her out afterwards, and hurried towards his usual lunch spot.

He flopped down next to Himawari, an apology on his lips as he looked up, hands already digging into his bag for the bento boxes, and then stopped when he noticed that both Doumeki and Himawari looked tense and grim, and a wave of dread washed over him, all thoughts of the girl and her weird headband vanishing from his mind.

"What… what's wrong?" he asked, fingers tightening around one of the lunch boxes.

Himawari turned towards Doumeki, who looked sour and annoyed, one hand coming to touch his throat, then she looked back at Watanuki. "Doumeki-kun can't speak," she said.

The words didn't quite register in Watanuki's mind, and he found himself chuckling hesitantly, almost as if expecting some sort of follow-up to that. "Er… I know he's not the best conversationalist ever but…"

"No, I mean it, Watanuki-kun," Himawari shook her head, still looking really worried. "He was called to answer a question in class and he couldn't say a word!"

Watanuki felt something in his stomach drop. "Doumeki?"

Doumeki swallowed, a look of distaste on his face, then opened his mouth and seemed to try to say something. Nothing came out –no sound, not even a huff.

He had been fine, he really had –it was just a constant itch in his throat that had given him some trouble all morning, but during the few classes before lunch time that itch had progressed into an uncomfortable feeling close to pain, and then he had been unable to speak when asked to.

The professor had looked surprised, then concerned, when he had pressed one hand to his throat and tried to say something once more, and then had allowed him to go to the infirmary for a quick check, not wanting him to be in class while sick.

The nurse had been unable to find anything wrong with him, simply dismissing it as a cold when Doumeki had written down that he had caught some cold breeze the previous night.

"Doumeki-kun has been told to go home, but he wanted to…" Himawari trailed off when Doumeki leaned forwards and plucked one of Watanuki's bento boxes from his slackened hands, opened it and proceeded to stuff his mouth with food. "Well, he likes your meals a lot, Watanuki-kun," she added with a sheepish look, a small smile making a fleeting appearance on her lips before disappearing again.

It was obvious she was worried, and Watanuki wondered if she was afraid that Doumeki's weird situation was her fault. After all, Himawari lived counting down the days when her friends would notice about her curse bringing misfortune to others and leave, and even if Watanuki had promised her he would not go, and Doumeki's powers nullified her curse, she still couldn't help but try and distance herself from them even now in fear they would end up seriously hurt one day.

Eyes wide, he pointed a finger at Doumeki. "Don't worry about that oaf! That's just a cold, a cold! Guess he's an exception to the 'fools don't get cold' rule, huh?"

That made Himawari smile a bit again, even if it was just as hesitant as before, and she shook her head. "It's just that…"

"Yuuko-san said that Doumeki is impervious to that," he interrupted her. "Absolutely!"

Doumeki paused with his chopsticks hovering in front of his mouth, and nodded.

The lack of grunts and hums and other assorted small sounds was weird, and it made Watanuki more aware that something was wrong. Obviously, he could dismiss this sudden situation as just a cold, as the school nurse had said, but…

But that would be just deluding himself, and lying to Himawari.

"It is my fault, isn't it?" he asked quietly. Then he looked up from his hands to meet Doumeki's eyes, jutting out his chin as if to dare him to deny it. "It'd be easy to say it was just a coincidence that you got a cold right after last night, but…" but they both knew that there was no coincidence in this world.

Doumeki took a deep breath and swallowed. The food was just as delicious as always, but it was hard to enjoy every bite when his throat hurt every time he swallowed. Still, between that uncomfortable feeling and missing lunch, it was obvious which one he chose, especially when the food had been made by Watanuki.

He deliberately picked up another piece of inarizushi and shoved it in his mouth, eyes narrowed a bit and staring Watanuki down as he munched on it. Somehow, it seemed like he conveyed the right message, because Watanuki's tense shoulders dropped a bit, and he looked away with a small pout.

"Doesn't matter," Watanuki said, one hand clenched in his lap and the other still holding the remaining bento boxes. "You're coming with me to the store".

Doumeki weighted the pros and cons, cringing when he swallowed again, then nodded, and Watanuki's expression cleared instantly.

After all, if this was truly just a cold –however improbable that could be– Yuuko could do nothing about it, and Watanuki would calm down. And if it was something else, well.. then she might be able to help.

Himawari looked between the two of them, waiting for Watanuki to explain what he meant, so he quickly filled her in. He tried to keep the descriptions down to the bare minimum, not wanting to relieve the fear he had felt when the monster had attacked him, nor the sheer panic when it had turned its attention to Doumeki instead, but his trembling hands were easy to notice, even if she was nice enough to pretend not to.

"We're leaving as soon as he's done eating," Watanuki stared at Doumeki for a moment, not really believing that he could eat even when something like this had happened, but since this was Doumeki, it was hard to be really surprised about it. "So just hurry up!"

Doumeki rolled his eyes at that, and to show what he thought about it, he made a show of perusing the contents of his bento for a few seconds, his next bite taking a long time to move from the box to his mouth. Watanuki glared at him, but his anger at Doumeki's brushing off his condition was subdued by the worry he felt.

"I…" Himawari looked between Doumeki and Watanuki, then she straightened her back. "Can I come too?"

"Himawari-chan…" Watanuki hesitated. "Is it ok…?"

"Doumeki-kun is my friend, and you're my friend too, Watanuki-kun. I don't care if I miss class, this is more important and if I can do anything…"

Watanuki nodded, knowing how she felt. At least she had the reassurance of knowing this was not her fault.

Doumeki silently finished eating his lunch, while neither Watanuki nor Himawari were in the mood to eat, so they tried to fill the uncomfortable silence with their talk, though both obviously had their mind elsewhere.

Yuuko was standing in front of her shop when Watanuki, Himawari and Doumeki arrived, and it was obvious by the way she was draped in front of the entrance that she would not let them come in, but she smiled graciously at them and then her eyes zoomed on Doumeki, narrowing a bit.

"So, that is that, huh?" she said, a wry smile on her lips.

Watanuki glared at her. "Yuuko-san… what is that?"

"That is that, obviously," she replied, then she stretched. She was dressed more modestly than usual, with a top with long sleeves that rolled down her arms like silk and a long, wavy skirt, and Mokona was sitting on her shoulder, and she was grinning at them.

In a way, Watanuki was glad that she was still smiling, since whenever she lost that grin it meant things were bad.

"Yuuko-san, do you know what happened last night?"

"Of course I do. After all, you were sleeping in my store, Watanuki-kun," she pressed one hand on his shoulder, a small touch to convey some modicum of reassurance, then she motioned for them to start walking. "But the street isn't the right place to talk about these matters, so let's all go to Doumeki's house!"

"Why not the shop?"

Yuuko, who had taken a few steps away from him, turned to look above her shoulder, eyes narrowed. "That thing should not come into my store," she replied, and Watanuki shivered. "Besides, I want to drink some expensive sake afterwards~"

Watanuki bit down on his lower lip, refusing to give in to his need to scream at her to be more serious for once, please, and instead followed her, keeping his eyes glued to Doumeki all the while, not wanting to let him out of his sight.

Aside for rubbing his throat every now and then, he did not seem any different from before, and that was the only visible symptom that something was wrong, other than the loss of his voice.

For a moment, he entertained the hope that this would be easy to solve –that Yuuko would know what to do, that everything would be fine.

They arrived at Doumeki's house not long afterwards, and Doumeki led them to the guest room, where he left to get the drinks, and returned quickly, sitting down next to Watanuki and Himawari.

Yuuko accepted a cup of sake with a gleeful smile, but soon schooled her features into seriousness. "It is a spirit of bad fortune," she said, sipping her sake and looking down into the depths of her drink before looking up. "They are usually small and harmless, and they are created from the excess of bad fortune that the omikuji tied at a temple contain. Usually the aura of a temple is enough to dispel them quickly, and when the omikuji's ink fades away with time, so do they".

Watanuki glanced at Doumeki, then he thought back at the fortune slip that Doumeki had tied to the temple. "Wait, so–"

"Yes. This particular spirit was attracted to Doumeki because his fortune was tied to that same place. His bad fortune was not what started the creature, though. That was triggered by something else –someone discarded a fortune and placed it back inside to be picked again".

Watanuki's eyes widened. He had not been paying attention, but he could vaguely recall someone at the temple that day who had mentioned rejecting a half-fortune, because they had wanted to get a big one. "Yuuko-san, how could something like that create that sort of spirit?!"

Yuuko closed her eyes, and took another careful sip of her sake. "Fortune telling through omikuji isn't as accurate now as it was in the past, and nowadays the papers that have the greatest chance to actually foretell a person's fortune are those handpicked by a miko at a temple, because their purifying aura calls forth a true fortune-telling that is specific to the person it is given to," she smiled wistfully, stretching her legs to the side. "But temples with a constant influx of people have the chance to trigger real fortunes even through the automatic dispensers, especially in the right situation. Days like the Sanja Matsuri, which call forth spirits and humans alike in the same place, happen to do exactly that. And while rejecting a normal fortune wouldn't be bad, per se, rejecting a real one tailored specifically to a person… it is like rejecting your own future. It is 'selfish'".

Her smile made Watanuki shiver, and he instinctively pulled back a bit, and he shared a look with Himawari.

"So that fortune paper is what caused the creature to appear? But how was Doumeki involved?"

"The half-fortune omikuji was a real fortune-telling paper, and when it was rejected it absorbed the 'bad habit', and it contaminated every single negative paper slip that was in the same drawer slot, so they would also become 'real'. Doumeki just happened to choose one of those. He tied the omikuji to the stand in order to leave his bad fortune behind, and that would have been it, if Watanuki hadn't happened upon the creature at the wrong moment".

Watanuki swallowed. "So it really was my fault…" he tightened his hands into fists on his lap.

"The veil between dream and reality is thin for spirits, and even more for those that deal with fortune and misfortune," Yuuko replied, her voice even. She was looking directly at Doumeki now, though, not Watanuki, though she kept addressing the latter. "That creature would have been there nonetheless, trapped within the barrier of the temple, and your presence there was unexpected, but you can't take the blame for attracting the spirit just with your presence. You are quite the snack for those creatures, after all".

Watanuki shook his head, and still did not look up. "At least I should have been faster, but I brought that creature right to Doumeki… what… what is it going to do to him? What can I do to get it to stop?"

Yuuko refilled her sake cup slowly, and did not speak until the last droplet in the glass was still, then she peered into it for a long moment. Watanuki remained calm, waiting, until she looked up at him.

"That creature was attracted by Doumeki's suekyou omikuji, which stemmed from the same source as the spirit and acted as a link between them. Because of that, Doumeki's purifying powers did not work, and now that the creature is seated inside him, it is absorbing what it believes is Doumeki's power source," she took a long sip, and pointed the now empty cup at Doumeki's throat. "His voice first, because it mistakenly thought that Doumeki's exorcist powers could be used through a chant," then she shifted her aim lower, to Doumeki's chest, "and after that, it will slowly suck away his powers bit by bit, until they are all gone".

…–…–…–…–…–…

Glossary:

inarizushi - sushi rice stuffed in pouches made of seasoned and fried abuurage (tofu skin).

tamagoyaki - omelettes made of rolled up egg. It's a sweet delicacy easy to make.

makiyakinabe - it's a rectangular omelette pan used to make tamagoyaki.

kinpira gobo - braised burdock root (kinpira is a way of preparing roots like carrots and similar, sauteed and simmered with soy sauce and mirin).

shogayaki - pork grilled with ginger, it's a popular dish that can be also made with beef, but it's more common with pork.

omikuji - fortune readings (as seen in the previous fanfic).

suekichi - future curse (one of the various results a fortune paper can have).