Author's Note: This one's a bit of a short chapter, but I felt it needed to be written. Please enjoy more of the xxxHolic part of this fic, as well as a surprise omake. ;)
Aristania: Li could very well force a hostage situation or attempt to. He'll certainly be knocked off balance when Sakura finally appears, but that's not for a while yet. As of yet he hasn't been able to get his hands on any of the cards, which is frustrating to him. So at the very least something will happen when he finally tries to get a hold of them. It may just be that Yuko will get him after all. :P Thanks again for reviewing so promptly. :)
Gemini24: Sorry, Touya isn't going to meet his great-grandfather quite yet, though he might in the next chapter. Yue will definitely be playing a part in this story, as will his relationship with Touya. Though a few other things need to happen in the story first. ;) Thanks again for the review. :)
Shadow: I'm glad you enjoyed my Urahara omake a few chapters ago. I had fun writing it. ;) Thanks also for your previous reviews. Hopefully the next chapter will have more Touya in it for you. This one primarily focuses on xxxHolic and Yuko though, so fair warning. :)
"Little do you know Touya Kinomoto, I've been waiting for you" Yuko whispered to the image in her sake cup with a knowing grin. She was going to enjoy seeing Yue again. After all, it had been more than two hundred years since their last meeting, the moon guardian was overdue for being flustered out of his delicate demeanor. "Oooh Watanuki!"
"What do you WANT now? Could it possibly wait a bit, like maybe until after that curry you requested is finished?!" her thoroughly annoyed employee bellowed from kitchen.
"Oh but it's important...don't you want to know what going to happen?" Yuko teased idly. "Something's going to happen that will undoubtedly effect you very very soon."
Watanuki rolled his eyes before carefully turning the stove to simmer and walking out to the witch's sitting room.
"What?" he asked in a bored tone. "It can't possibly be any worse than spending a day listening to you complain about your hangover. Again."
"I want you to go to the bus stop on block 50 two days from now" Yuko told him "and wait for two young men and their chaperone."
"What you mean like little kids? I'm not a babysitter! And Mokona most definitely does not count!"
The black floppy eared creature which had been napping on beside the witch on a couch cushion, abruptly woke up and got in Watanuki's face.
"Mokona is not a baby! Mokona is several hundred years old! Watanuki is a baby compared to Mokona!" the black creature answered back.
"Mokona is old" Maru said.
"Watanuki is the baby!" Moro said excitedly.
"Watanuki is the baby!" the they chorused.
"Will you all just shut up!" Watanuki screamed, clearly agitated by their antics as usual.
"I'll pay you a fair price for doing so, Watanuki" Yuko assured him. "I won't have either of them kiss Doumeki."
Watanuki's face blossomed a deep red.
"What?! Why would I even CARE if that jerk does something like-like that!" the teen said as he attempted to scoff at Yuko's offer. "Why would anyone WANT to kiss him?! That's just crazy-"
"Oh but Watanuki, YOU want to" Yuko said with a knowing smile as she laid her cup down on the floor. "Don't you?"
"NO!"
"Then I won't promise anything" Yuko said with a nod "if you don't mind then I'll-"
"NO! Wait! Keep that idiot out of this!"
"Very well" Yuko said seriously "if that's how you feel about it. Doumeki won't be coming to the shop tomorrow."
"Good! I don't want to see that smug jerk's face ever again." Watanuki said triumphantly.
"Now I know that's not true. You'd miss him if he was truly gone." Yuki insisted "The price of getting him back once you'd realized your feelings might be too costly for you to afford."
"I wouldn't care if-"the teen began, but Yuko interrupted him.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you" Yuki replied in a sing song voice "there are spirits out there who are powerful enough to whisk him off if you're not careful. These things tend to come true when one wishes hard enough, even without my help."
Watanuki looked around warily. He'd worked for her long enough to know better than to question Yuko's judgment when she said things like that.
"I'm sure King Jareth would be happy to have him in his realm. He was in such a tizzy after that nice girl turned him down."
"You're not making any sense" the teen said with a sigh "what're you babbling about now?"
"Oh the goblin king of course" Yuko said pouring more sake into her empty cup. "He spirited away something precious when a young girl asked it of him. Goblins follow a different set of rules. You have to actually ask them to take away an object or a person you no longer want or need. Though some, usually the young and foolish, tend to do this without thinking and often lose something of a much greater value."
"Fine. No sense in putting that jerk off on someone else" Watanuki chagrined. "And you said we'll be having only three guests tomorrow?"
"Well four" Yuko answered "but the last one won't be eating anything. He doesn't even know he's coming to see me just yet."
"I wish I didn't have to see you" Watanuki mumbled as he sloughed back to the kitchen. He hoped the curry hadn't gone cold by now after the time it had taken for Yuko to actually tell him what she meant. He swore that talking to her was like pulling teeth sometimes.
A few minutes later Yuko picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number.
"Yes, Doumeki" she said sweetly. "You won't be needed tomorrow after all. Apparently Watanuki says he has everything under control."
"What?! What the hell are you telling that overgrown ape about me now?" Watanuki shouted from the kitchen. "Don't think I don't know what you're up to!"
"I'm sure he'll be safe enough as our guests aren't of a violent nature." Yuko continued. "Be sure to ask him about it later during your dinner date."
"Our WHAT?!" Watanuki said rushing into the room and grabbing up the phone. "Don't you dare think that you and I are going anywhere, Doumeki Shizuka! Do you hear me? I-"
"So yes, Watanuki will be there at nine on Thursday." Yuko said retrieving the phone from Watanuki.
"I will NOT!"
"With the noodles he's made especially for YOU! Oh I guarantee it!"
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
"Oooh alone at the temple! How romantic!"
"I am not setting one foot through that temple gate" Watanuki said firmly with his arms folded across his chest.
"Oh don't worry, I'll have Mokona fly you over" Yuko replied offhandedly before she said her goodbyes to Doumeki and hung up. "It's very important that you go see him then."
"Oh and why is THAT?" Watanuki asked defiantly.
"Why because it's the 7-5-3 Festival of course" Yuko said as if her meaning were obvious. "There are going to be lots and lots of children visiting the temple at that time. Doumeki's going to have his hands full. He'll be in need of a friend's loving support at such a time."
"Dammit, I'm not helping him babysit! Didn't I just get finished telling you that I'm not a babysitter?" Watanuki fumed.
"Yes yes, well nonetheless the price for your not participating in what I have in store for our guests" his employer said with an eerie smile. "Unless you want to see what I have in store?"
Watanuki gulped. No he was pretty sure he didn't want to know that particular detail.
"Fine. I'll go" he said through gritted teeth.
"That's a good boy, Watanuki" Yuko said cheerily. "Now bring me more sake!"
000000000000000000000
"Welcome to my shop" Yuko said warily eyeing the figure standing in the darkness of the entryway "I've been waiting for you."
"I've heard of this place" the figure said "it's really cute. Though my brother and sister might not think so. Small places make them nervous."
"And she wouldn't?" Watanuki put in.
"Oh excuse me, I didn't see you there" the figure said with a giggle "and no, small places are more of a security issue. My sister is one of our generals. She doesn't know I'm here, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything should you happen to see her. I don't want her to worry about me."
"I'm surprised you came here without a bodyguard of some kind" Yuko commented. "What about that young man in your entourage? He's sworn to protect you after all."
"I'd rather not worry him either. Suzak-he is rather paranoid about these things. He might think I was meeting with my brother and follow me." The figure stated. "My brother doesn't need that kind of trouble. I didn't realize it until I saw him with our younger sister the other day."
"What exactly is your wish?" Yuko asked.
"I want my brother and his best friend to get what they want" the figure said, remaining in the entryway "if it's all the same, I'd rather not reveal my identity for security reasons."
"I understand" Yuko said "and you've already paid the fee for the second request."
The figure faltered slightly, wondering what awaited her once she returned for the evening. If she was able to get back the way she came. She didn't know if other-worldly portals actually were in the long term.
"Think carefully before you ask about the price for the first" the witch cautioned "because that particular wish will cost you dearly."
"But you are able to make it happen" the figure said "I want to do this for them, because the two of them have already given me what I wanted. So I accep-"
"NO!"
"Don't do it!"
The figure turned abruptly to find two young men panting behind her in the shop's front yard. One boy had jet black hair and sharp purple eyes and she could remember a time when they'd been softer. The other had dark brown hair and bright green eyes. He wore a white jump suit that was tinted black and crimson in places, with the Britannian national seal on the collar, and light green diamonds positioned on each of the upper arms.
"I can't lose you!" the two of them exclaimed at the exact same time.
"Suzaku? Lelouch? What're you two doing here?" the figure asked as she stepped out into the yard. A patch of light from the setting sun shone brightly on her pink hair, that had been mopped up into a tight bun. "I didn't even know I was coming here until today."
"Witch, what kind of game are you playing?" Lelouch wanted to know as he stood up straight to face Yuko.
"I must say I'm surprised the two of you managed to get here, much less travel through time without paying the price it would normally take" Yuko mused. "Unless you got help from him." She eyed the two young men speculatively. "I see. You did."
Yuko shifted her gaze toward the front gate.
"He can't enter the shop, because you're already fulfilling his wish" she commented. "As are you simply by being here, Euphemia li Britannia."
"I'll admit I'm perturbed by your very presence, Witch as it reminds me very distinctly of one of my constant compatriots" Lelouch said "but I fail to see what exactly you're referring to."
"You mean the guy who lead us here, Lelouch? I don't see the point in hiding it now that she already knows" Suzaku pointed out.
"Suzaku, this is why you suck at stealth missions" Lelouch commented lightly "you're too honest for your own good."
"But S.S. didn't make any secret of wanting to help us" Suzaku insisted. "And he did tell us about the portal."
"That's because he's too kind for his own good, I suspect the years have changed him quite a bit" Lelouch mused. Then he lifted an eyebrow at his friend.
Suzaku backed off while holding his hands up in surrender.
"Surely you're not suggesting that I-...that he-"
"That's exactly what I'm saying" the dark haired teen said. "I'd know those eyes anywhere. How many native Japanese have green eyes? The probability rate is phenomenal, I assure you."
"Let's just go home" Suzaku said in a defeated tone. "I don't know how much more of this I can take right now."
"I agree. Euphy, I'd like you to come with us now" her brother said "we'd rather work toward our goals than receive them through less than equitable means."
"That means so much coming from you Zero" Suzaku said accusingly "the number of times you've taken innocent lives by less than savory means is no better."
"As opposed to the number of Japanese losses you caused as a ten-year-old" Lelouch retorted.
"Why don't we talk about this somewhere else?" Euphemia suggested.
The two of them turned to look at her.
"We should probably take care of the Special Administrative Zone before we get into details" Lelouch said finally.
"Then you and I are both going somewhere so you can explain to me how exactly you managed to get yourself killed?!" Suzaku said in an annoyed tone. "Because-"
"That hasn't happened yet. Remember?" his friend reminded him.
Suzaku looked at him with a surprised expression.
"Do you think this changes anything?" the Japanese teen wondered.
"I'm fairly certain that we're attempting to change things anyway" Lelouch countered. "So it makes little difference right now."
"What are you two talking about?" Euphemia said looking mildly disturbed.
"We'll tell you later Princ-I mean Euphy" Suzaku said. "We should probably just leave."
The three of them left, with Euphemia saying a polite goodbye to Yuko, Watanuki, and Maru and Moro who were being unusually silent at the moment.
"Well that was certainly entertaining" Yuko commented.
"Aren't you disappointed that you lost a customer?" Watanuki wondered.
"Not this time" Yuko said slowly "I've rarely seen a price reputed to have spilled as much blood in a single year. Much less two."
"You're not going to tell me, are you?" Watanuki said in a bored tone.
"You can't afford the price" his employer said wisely. "As it is, an immortal being was barely able to pay it himself."
The last part is an invasion of Code Geass into the storyline for those who aren't familiar with the anime/manga. I couldn't resist putting it in a Clamp storyline, however brief. The characters in it are Lelouch vi Britannia, Suzaku Kururugi, and Euphemia li Britannia (Lelouch's sister and Suzaku's sort-of girlfriend). It's a complicated universe and the storyline is AU for those who were wondering. :P
Also, the 7-5-3 Festival takes place in Japan on November 15th. It's a time when five-year-old boys and girls aged 3 or 7 are taken to the local shrine to pray, and receive prayers for, their safe and healthy future. (This is wikipedia's explanation of it anyway.)