Title: Alpha and Omega

Anime: xxxHolic

Pairings/Characters: Plainly dou/wata; a one-sided dou/haris; the usual cast and my OC characters (I don't know if I'm planning to add any more characters, heck, these people are good enough. 8D);

Rating: T for now (should I raise it now? Oh well, the blood isn't that bad. xD)

Disclaimer: I only own what's mine; xxxHolic, sadly, is not one of them. Even the lyrics aren't. DX

-

Trouble

-

Purr pussycat you have so many lives to live

Claws out dig deep and scratch away the skin

You know you own the night so go howl under the full moon

These streets are filled with killers and comic book goons

-

Iris' hands were used to handling fabric and needles, and despite the fact that the costumes she made were complicated and expensive, she was really good at making them.

Her fingers slid in and out of the fabric in her hand as easily as it was to wear it, all the time humming contentedly as she worked. It was sometime near midnight, and usually she would prefer sleeping early- but not today. Haris had not arrived yet, and the said twin had no extra key to the house with her.

Vinx was already sleeping, and even from her position before the kitchen table, she could hear the low grunts of the said beast as it slept easily in the cold night. Iris risked looking outside the window- hoping to see the familiar figure of her sister- and found none.

A sigh escaped her lips, and gently she laid the clothing in her hand upon the wooden table before her. And to think that things were about to turn back to normal- but now, after everything that had happened at the Dimensional witch's shop, she saw Haris even less. Perhaps it was because of the obvious fact that Doumeki did not like her back- but hadn't she stated already that she didn't care?

Leaving the costume she was working on in the kitchen, she padded her way over to where her phone rested, and quickly dialed her sister's number.

It rung once, twice. Iris gripped the side of her phone with apprehension, praying to all the gods that would listen to keep her sister safe, for Haris was her family, damn it. Without her, how else would Iris live on?

And maybe the gods were listening, for after the third ring, her said twin picked up at last, and Iris was too happy to care if she sounded shaky over the phone. "Haris, what's keeping you? It's so late at night..."

Her sister sounded hurried. "Iris, I'll come home, don't worry. Shut the doors, lock the windows. Whatever happens, stay inside. Do you understand?"

Iris paused for a moment before voicing out her concern. "What do you...?"

"Make sure Vinx is outside, and that he never leaves the front of the house." Haris said quickly, and obviously there was no time for any protests; "You have to pay attention. Stay. In. The. House."

Iris nodded, and after realizing she was communicating over the phone, she added a quick "Yes."

Then the phone line went dead.

Iris was left staring at the receiver for a few moments, tempted to call again. Haris had never sounded so rushed in her life- and if she did, it was a rare occurrence too. The auburn-haired girl frowned in worry, a small crease forming in between her slim eye brows.

To actually request locking down the house...

She stared out the window where Vinx stood, seeing the dark silhouette of the family beast tense in the already shrouded background.

A lightning flashed, illuminating the insect eyes, intent and ready for action.

-

Haris had been walking down the dark streets towards the drive where their house stood when something fell behind her.

It was a loud, resounding noise- something a person as vigilant as she might find impossible to ignore. Shoulders tensed, she slowly looked back, her arms already extending a few inches off her sides. It was the kind of stance she pulled off whenever something caught her without a weapon since it was easy this way to tackle 'it' before it attacked.

Only except if the said 'it' was heavy or came in groups.

It was funny how the lamp posts refused to illuminate the patch of darkness seemingly trying to swallow the empty streets. Even funnier as to how the shadows danced with the light not moving at all. Narrowing her hazel eyes to slits, she took a wary step forward, with the other still behind her, ready to jump back if something snapped at her.

There came a low growl, and a series of tiny feet scampering in the darkness. Haris drew her attention away for a moment, her eyes searching the pavement and the streets for anything that can be used to whack monsters senseless, finding none. An irritated snort escaped her lips, and once it did, something sprang from the darkness.

She jumped back only a second earlier as claws pierced the ground she had been in, and an even shorter period of time to catch a glimpse of her pursuer- long dark hair and razor sharp teeth on an almost human face- before she turned around and broke into a run.

As she did so, she heard the scampering of feet once again following closely behind her, made more prominent by the silence around them and the surprising lack of oxygen in the air. She had to slow down soon to catch her breath, but with that thing hot on her heels, it wasn't a very wise thing to do. So she did what deemed appropriate- making a sharp turn and climbing over someone's backyard.

The wall was high enough, and though the barbed wires on the edges were worn and frayed, several thorns made their way into her skin especially as she hauled herself over- making sure to swing her legs high enough to avoid the edges- the tall granite walls.

She didn't wait to see if the monster would follow her, quickly running past the shrubs and trees that decorated the small lawn, using the car parked at the back to easily vault over the barbed walls by simply running atop it and using the new-found boost to jump over the lower wall. As her feet met the pavement, causing her body to slightly crumple in on herself, there was a loud crash and a sound of tangled limbs and scraped metal- well, that bought her some time.

She turned the street, skidding to a halt behind a large garbage bin, ignoring the unpleasant fumes coming from it. Squatting, she allowed herself to take in mouthfuls of air, willing her racing heart to return to normal as soon as possible. If she was going to face this alone, she would at least need to be a bit ready.

Then an idea came to her: what if the monster turns to Iris? What then? It obviously knew who to strike, after all, and it was no ordinary monster. She had not seen anything like it around the ordinary streets of Japan- monsters were entirely different from spirits, no matter how close they seem. Spirits were invisible to the ordinary eye unless if it chose to be seen- monsters were as clear as day to anyone who sees it. Period.

And the 'untamed' kind had a more rusty smell to them, like fresh blood.

As she dug her hand into the pocket of her jeans (ignoring the stinging pain in her hand) with the intent of warning her sister, her phone rang. Blinking at the slight convenience of it all, she extracted the phone and smiled in relief when she saw who had bothered to call- Iris, obviously.

She clicked the 'talk' button and held it to her ear, making sure to hunch as low as possible and to whisper.

"Haris, what's keeping you? It's so late at night..." Iris' voice was shaking.

Explanations could wait till later. Warn her first. "Iris, I'll come home, don't worry. Shut the doors, lock the windows. Whatever happens, stay inside. Do you understand?"

"What do you...?" Iris sure was persistent.

"Make sure Vinx is outside, and that he never leaves the front of the house." She paused for a quick glance. "You have to pay attention. Stay. In. The. House."

There was a slight pause, and then a small, "Yes."

Haris had only clicked the phone off when something hard slammed into the garbage bin hiding her from view.

-

There were two things that roused Doumeki in the middle of the night- two simple little things that were only new to him recently, really- when usually he was someone difficult to wake at all.

One was the lack of another body in his arms, a body so skinny and small that it never made itself known in the first place, but somehow without it he found it impossible to sleep comfortably. The other thing was the lack of another presence on the futon with him, which would usually have the missing body in a heap of blankets on it once the said body had given up on being a stuffed toy for anybody else. Blinking, Doumeki rose from his position, looking around- and as his amber eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, his gaze fell upon the boy he sought for.

Clad in a very loose get-up of 'Doumeki's spare pajamas', Watanuki closely resembled a small child- which was funny really, and something worth to jibe at, weren't it for the tension in the boy's skinny frame. The pajama top barely hung from bony shoulders, the v-neck exposing pale collarbones and smooth skin underneath. The boy was sitting up, his legs splayed on each side, and Doumeki mentally took note of how the posture resembled a girl's- making sure to file the information away for future 'references'.

He crawled towards the form once he recognize the sad expression on the boy's face- one he usually wore when there was somebody getting hurt instead of him, someone who wasn't as lucky as to having an exorcist like Doumeki by his side. It was times like these when Watanuki would blame the world for directing misfortune on someone else who wouldn't have been on the spot if he were outside himself. Doumeki thought that such was rather selfish, something having him think that the bespectacled boy was a masochist, but in the end he couldn't bear branding the boy that. Besides, Watanuki was more of selfless anyway.

"Kimihiro," the archer called softly, putting a firm hand on an exposed white shoulder. Using first names was something to get used to.

Watanuki turned his head to lock eyes with Doumeki, smiling a bit. "Sorry. I was just...thinking."

"Of what?" Doumeki pressed, settling himself beside his companion and sitting up as he did so; "What's bothering you?"

Golden and blue eyes turned glassy, as if in thought. "There's something out there," he said simply.

Then someone was knocking on the apartment door.

-

Iris knew for a fact that Haris would never ever call for help, much less would she ask her own twin sister for guidance. It was always like that: Iris getting into trouble, Haris busting in with Vinx to save the day. Sometimes it was embarrassing enough to mention it over dinner.

And though Haris never rubbed it on her face, she could see the automatic tension in her sister's frame once it concerned Iris' safety.

It was irritating. The younger twin hated being a burden to anyone, even if it was clear that she couldn't handle it by herself. Haris had been increasingly tired over the past few days, especially after the incident at Yuuko's, and she found it absolutely disappointing that even little things like Iris' safety had to come first. Whatever was happening to her twin out there, and whatever the said twin told her to do only earlier, she had to try to come to her aid.

Of course, it was pretty obvious that she couldn't do it alone. The last time she had tried to tackle a monster with Vinx, she ended up being saved by her sister again, and it was shameful to think that she had only made things a lot difficult for a seemingly easy kill. She needed someone who was just as strong as her sister, and just as fierce- Doumeki.

Bothering the archer this late at night? Why, she would understand if the said man would shut the door in her face as soon as she tried for an explanation. Doumeki had no intention of having to do anything with Haris- that much she knew- and surely waking him at such an ungodly hour would at least cause her to be screamed at. Or something.

But she had to try. Haris sounded so terrible and scared over the phone even if the said girl would deny it. Twins always knew best, she guessed.

As soon as she finished securing every opening in their home, she left the front door and locked it behind her, patting the key in her jeans. She walked slowly over to Vinx, who was still sitting up straight as if waiting for something to appear,

"Vinx," Iris whispered, reaching up and pulling the circular head gently towards her. "Vinx, we need to get Doumeki. And save Haris. Will you let me?"

"Not safe," grumbled the beast in reply, and Iris shivered as a particularly cold wind passed, as if confirming the statement said.

"We have no choice," Iris prompted, tugging slightly. "Haris is in trouble, I can feel it. Please Vinx." She directed the insect-like eyes to her face and they stared at each other, Iris seeing herself reflected in every prominent square in the monster's eyes. "Please."

Vinx slowly nodded, bending low so the girl could climb aboard safely. "They're probably at Watanuki's," she said, once settled. "We should start there. It's only two blocks away."

For an airborne monster like Vinx, two blocks would only take barely a minute. Vinx landed safely before the apartment building, Iris jumping off of him and running full speed to climb the stairs. Once she reached the room number where Watanuki was staying in, she knocked, making sure to keep it constant enough to be heard despite the lack of ferocity.

She was about to give up when the door finally opened, revealing a tired-looking Doumeki.

"Ah, Doumeki-kun, my apologies. It's just that Haris is in trouble and I didn't know who to turn to, I know Vinx would help me but-" She was help up by a raised hand.

"Explain later." the archer looked back to see Watanuki approaching him, slippers in hand. Doumeki then turned to the girl with a nod. "Let's go."

Iris wanted to hug them both at that point.

-

Haris quickly rolled out of the way as the garbage bin threatened to pin her to the wall, landing unsteadily on her feet. By the dim light, she could make out the same features she had seen on the monster a while ago- and a few more add-ons too.

In fact, it was terrifyingly familiar. The pale face and insane-looking eyes, rotting sharp teeth and thick dark hair- she felt as if she had seen it somewhere, minus the gory features. There was no time to think about it, though, since the monster was intent on killing her right then and there.

Another blade came into contact with the gravel where she had stood. Cursing silently, she got to her feet after an unsuccessful backwards cartwheel, with the beast hissing angrily before her. She couldn't run or hide forever- she had to deal with it, once and for all.

She bolted to her left as the monster took an unsteady swing at her, the cool blade almost grazing her bare shoulder. She skidded to a halt and bent to pick up the dented wide lid of the garbage bin, and as the monster pounced towards her in another attack, she swung the lid at full force and it came into hard contact with the beast, causing it fall back into a wall.

Panting, she broke into a run once more, turning left to where the river was located. She slid down the slanted walls towards the river bank, bending to wash away the blood flowing from her open wounds on her hands. The water was cool, and the coldness lessened the pain, but she had no time to enjoy the relaxation. Soon, the monster would smell her blood, and eventually follow her down here.

She only had a vague plan as to how to get rid of her pursuer, one that needed the river and a metal pipe. She looked around, knowing full well that there was a litter of construction metals somewhere under the bridge, and approached the whole lot once found to look for a metal rod.

It was as if lady luck had finally started to shine upon her, for there was a three-inch thick pipe underneath the mass of cardboard and wood. As soon as she stood with her weapon in hand, a loud monstrous noise reverberated in the air, and something like nails down a chalkboard as her opponent finally made it down to the river.

As expected, the weight of the monster was too much for it to properly saunter off to a stop after sliding down the slanted walls towards the river, and it stood almost off-balanced by the edge. Wasting no time, Haris ran back to the beast, hitting it with a hard blow on the human-like face. The force was enough for it to be completely put off its balance and fell into the cold waters of the river, its blood-curdling scream echoing in the night.

Haris watched the series of struggles before jumping into the water herself, metal rode straight down the monster's open mouth, legs apart and face contorted into a somewhat sadistic smile. Another win, she could say.

The water flooded in around her, and as she opened her eyes she could see that her opponent had finally ceased moving. With the pipe down its throat, it floated lazily downwards, causing the dirt around them to swirl around as it hit the bottom. From this point, Haris could see clearly who her opponent truly was, or at least what it looked like when it was alive.

Dark thick hair. The pale features and zombie-like face weren't much of a help, but the hair was enough for her to recognize him.

He was the murder victim on the streets back then, the one they saw on TV once they came back from their trip to Canada. The police had shown a picture of the victim on air, and a few days later it was all over the newspapers that the said victim's body disappeared from the wake it was held in.

Someone was obviously playing necromancer.

Haris swam back to the river bank, walking towards the stairs upward with shaking legs. She was tired. Oh, so tired.

And, as if the gods were mocking her, she was forcefully pinned down by a mass of hissing things- she instantly knew what they were, and proceeded to blocking the entrance to her body by shutting her mouth, but the spiders had no intention of possessing her. Yet.

They seem to be following a leader- and as she was waiting for sounds that might belong to a gigantic spider, all she got was a brief chuckle.

Human?

She opened her eyes to see who had the nerve of laughing at her- ignoring the gross sight of thousands of spiders crawling over her skin and the feel of web and tiny feet- and saw before her a young man dressed in a formal suit, with long dark hair pulled back to a ponytail and a gentle touch of a goatee and beard on his smooth chin. His appearance deemed rather deceiving, though.

"Who are you?" Haris asked, her face devoid of emotion- of fear.

"They call me 'Ousama'," said the man gently, smiling at her. "But you can call me Darius, Haris Manson."

She was too pissed and too distraught for jokes. "What do you want?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Darius said, raising his hands in a shrug; "You killed one of my creations. I need a replacement. And a mighty one at that," he bent down to leer into her face, but she refused to quiver as his crimson orbs met her own hazel gaze. "But then again, you are worth far more than what our dear Watanuki-kun had given me,"

"Dream all you want," Haris said through clenched teeth. "I won't be as easy to kill."

"Perhaps," the man leaned back and snapped his fingers, and in a moment she was actually being swallowed alive by the mass of spiders, drawing from her a series of half shouts. "But who said I wanted you dead anyway?"

"Let her go!"

-

A/N: FINALLY. It took me forever to properly arrange my ideas into this chapter. Sorry it took me so long, people. Besides, it's almost over. Almost. 8D

I'm too lazy to proof-read or anything. Maybe I need a beta-reader. XwX;