"Conquered fear to climb, a moment froze in time, when the girl who first he kissed promised him she'd be his."
"Tsuyuri."
"Yes, Doumeki?"
"There's something you need to hear."
"Is everything alright?"
"Everything is fine for me, but it's about Watanuki. He's…gone."
"Gone? How is that possible, and why? We know it's not possible for him to leave!"
"That's what I'm afraid of. I don't know what's wrong, and I don't know how to find him. Something strange is going on here."
"Oh, Doumeki! Please be careful!"
"I will. I…don't know when I'll be back."
"I understand."
"I'll explain later. Goodbye."
She knew Watanuki was precious not only to her, but to him as well. She knew he'd take something like this very hard, after all he had spent so much time with him, protecting him from all that she couldn't. For that she was not jealous, but actually she admired him for it.
What would not rest easy with her was the fact that he shared a closer connection to Watanuki than she ever could. It was their hitsuzen, after all…but that only made her feel worse; she hated herself for being jealous of something no one had any control over. It was stupid, but it lived in the very depths of her heart and she kept it locked away as best she could. She was his friend, first and foremost, and she admired his devotion and strong will, and she wished him nothing but the best.
And after so long, that admiration and respect she felt had slowly, ever so slowly, turned itself into the first buddings of love. He was the one person who could identify with her on a deep level of her feelings for Watanuki. He could understand all what the three of them been through. Doumeki understood Watanuki better than anyone, put his everything on the line for him, and was there through everything, the mysterious, the threatening, and even the teasing jests. Even everything about the girl Watanuki had loved for so long and her feelings about him. Everything. He took it all in stride, never asking for help, always so strong.
For that, she'd do anything to help him. While she loved Watanuki, she was finding more room in her heart for Doumeki too, although in a slightly different way. They were so different after all. But as long as they were married, she'd direct her energy to Doumeki, to making his life better. It was something she could do, and it was better for her to concentrate on something she could reach than something she couldn't. In fact, ever since they had been living together, she'd taken extra care of the house, arranged his clothes each morning before he went to teach at the University, and prepared his breakfast and lunch to take with him each day. But she knew better than to try and prepare dinner for him. As of yet they had never shared that meal together, and usually she visited the old witch in the neighborhood at these times, and she never expected this to change.
When Doumeki never returned that night, she went to check on him at the old shop where she suspected he might be. She could not enter the shop – but she did notice a new tree in the usually empty lot. Albeit it was no normal tree – a supernatural aura surrounded it, something that without her psychic abilities she believed she would not have been able to see. And she got closer, she could see that there, under that tree, lay Doumeki, asleep.
She remembered being torn. She knew his dedication to seeing Watanuki home was immense. He'd stay there for days on end if it meant Watanuki was safe. But she wondered how long it would be until he got what he waited for, if it ever happened. What if he really was gone forever?
As the days went by and Watanuki continued to be missing, she watched his sanity wear away every night he returned from waiting for Watanuki. He was missing workdays, remaining haggard in appearance, and missing even more meals than usual. He still refused her suppers. And most of all, he spent a lot of time sleeping. And she genuinely worried for his health. She couldn't stand seeing him like this, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him to stop.
She began to lose all the reasoning she had built up in her head. The realization slowly began to sink in, that she'd never see Watanuki again. She began to worry about both herself and Doumeki, and decided once and for all that Doumeki was her future and there was nothing that could change that.
She'd make herself fall in love with him, no matter the cost. And she'd make him love her. It was the best thing for both of them to move on together.