Ren: Behold the climax!
Dezi: Or the plot.
Both: We don't own gravitation, or XXXHolic but it would be awesome if we did.
Kureno: What with the dramatic voice?
All: Enjoy…
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Chapter 5
"Who the hell are you?" Yuki yelled as he saw a woman in a kimono drinking tea at his table.
"Eiri Usugi I presume?" the woman asked.
"You presume right." He said. "And who are you?"
"My name is Yuuko Ichihara and I am here to take back one of my costomers." The woman said.
Yuki tensed. Shuichi walked in the room and stopped when he saw the pale woman.
"You're the Time Witch?" Yuki asked.
"Yes, I am here for Kureno Usugi. Can you tell me where she is?" She asked.
Before either man could talk, there was a knock at the door.
"Ah, yes! My employees!" Yuuko said happily and opened the door to reveal two boys with dark hair and bi-colored eyes. One was taller looked absolutly bored, whist the other had on glasses and his large eyes were looking around with concern.
"Where's Kureno?" He asked. "Did she do it?"
"No, Watanuki…" Kureno's voice said softly. "I didn't find love…"
Shuichi ran to Kureno and wrapped his arms around her.
"Please!" He begged. "Don't take her away!"
Yuki went in front of them and asked "How long do we have with her?"
Yuuko stared at them with amber eyes "…until sunset…"
"Sunset?" Both Shuichi and Watanuki asked.
"Yes..." Yuuko said. "If you want to stay here in this time, you must love before five o' clock."
Kureno looked at her parents and bowed her head. Shuichi hugged her tighter. Kureno stared at her Mother and noticed his sad, distant stare. She also saw the look on her father's face.
"What's wrong?" Kureno asked.
"We'll see you again…maybe…" He said, stroking her cheek.
"What?! No! No! Don't do it! Don't do it!" She started shrieking. She pounded her fist on her Mother's small frame.
She was sobbing now. Yuuko walked to them and put a hand on Kureno's shoulder.
"She's right Mr. Shindo." She said. "Even with the sex-change, she cannot be born again."
"What?" Shuichi asked.
"Just knowing about the future can change it." She said gravely.
"And if she was to be born to you, and you try to continue your lives together, the scars will simply be larger and we may be right back from where we started." She said. "Kureno entered my shop, made a wish, and paid a price. Do want that all to be in vain?"
Shuichi held Kureno tighter to him. "What did she pay you?"
Yuuko reached into her sleeve and pulled out a silver lighter. The lighter had something engraved on it and a sticker on its side. She handed it to Shuichi.
"No matter what lies beyond, we walk together hand in hand." Shuichi read. "Happy first anniversary, Eiri…"
He turned it over to see a sticker that had two pictures; one from their first date and one where they were both in white tuxes. He felt tears sting his eyes, it was a wedding portrait. He hugged it to him.
"You gave Kureno that before you killed yourself." Yuuko explained. "She held it for four months before coming to see me."
"Where was I?" Yuki asked. "When she went to see you?"
"If I remember correctly…" Yuuko said. "You tried to be a single parent, but sank into a depression so deep; Kureno said that you had died. When she left, you burned down your house, along with you and Shuichi's ashes in it."
"So we both died in the end." He said.
"Rather romantic in a sense, and ironic, seeing as you used your books to start the fire."
"So there's nothing we can do?" Shuichi said.
Yuuko looked down at the man. Then she sighed.
"Kureno must find love by sunset, or she's gone…forever…"
"Yuki!" Shuichi yelled. "It's half past four!"
He threw Kureno over his shoulder.
"Come on!" He yelled.
"He thinks he can find her love in an half an hour?" Yuuko asked.
"He'll die trying." Yuki said.
"Hm, interesting, I'll remain here. Watnuki, Doumeki, assist them please."
"Eh?" Watanuki asked.
"Come on, Kureno's helped you before." Doumeki said tugging his arm.
"Don't pull on me!" Watanuki yelled.
"Oh, shut up."
Yuki didn't like the idea of having this strange woman in his house with Riku, but if Kureno trusted her.
"Help yourself to anything." He said, and followed with the two boys.
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Hiro sat in the staff lounge at NG, depressed out of his mind. He was about to get something to eat when he heard a tires screeching in the parking lot.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
"Hiro!!!" Shuichi's voice called.
Hiro looked in the peep hole to see Kureno in Shuichi's arms. He sighed and opened the door. Shuichi held Kureno up and started waving the girl in front of his face like a rag doll.
"Tell Kureno you love her!" He yelled.
"What?"
"You heard me!" The smaller man said. "Tell Kureno you love her."
"Shuichi, this doesn't involve you."
"It so dose involve me, Hiro!!!" He yelled.
"Shuichi?" Ryuchi's voice called from a room. The pop star came into the room, followed by Tohma and K. Suguru and Sakano, who were discussing a song, came out of the recording booth.
"Shuichi, I'm sorry, but your cousin-"
"Shut up!" Shuichi yelled. "Tell her you love her, because I know you do!"
"What?" Hiro asked.
"You do! You do!" Shuichi yelled. "You're totally in love with her! I can see it!"
"It's too soon, Shuichi! What the hell is wrong with you guys and saying 'I love you'?" He yelled.
"Hiro!" Shuichi whined as his lover entered the room. "If you don't tell her you love her, Kureno will disappear forever!"
"Stop over exaggerating!" Hiro yelled.
"He's not."
Hiro looked at Yuki, who now had Kureno in his grasp. It wasn't that he was there that surprised him; It was the fact that he looked dead serious.
"Kureno will have to leave us, if you don't tell her that you love her." He said.
"What?"
"Shuichi, tell them," Yuki said. "And try not to babble."
Shuichi nodded and took a deep breath.
"Kureno's from the future and is trying to stop it from happening, because I get a sex change to have her, but get depressed and shoot myself, then Yuki gets depressed and burned the house down with his romance novels, which is really ironic by the way, so Kureno goes to a time witch to try and find us now to stop me from getting a sex change, but because of that, she wont exist, so we had six days to find her a lover, so we picked Hiro cause she had a major crush on him and he really seemed to like her, but he wasn't ready for a commitment, so now there's a witch in our house waiting to take Kureno back to a cold empty world and we don't want her to, because Kureno is our daughter-slash-love-child and we don't want to loose her and we only got ten minutes to do it!!!"
"What?" Hiro asked.
Shuichi grabbed his collar and started to shake him like a rattle. "Stop saying 'WHAT'!!!"
"Please Hiro!" Shuichi said.
"Shuichi, this is…insane!" Hiro said.
"But Hiro, look at her!" Shuichi yelled. "She's my daughter!"
Hiro stared at her, and then sighed. "Yea, she is…that only makes it harder."
"Why?" Shuichi whined.
"Because, what if I want to marry her?" He asked. "Could I really marry my best friend's daughter?"
"Hiro…" Kureno called. The tiny girl looked up into the guitarist eyes. "I love you Hiro…If I were to disappear in five minutes, I want you to know that." She looked around the room.
"This past week has been like a dream, I got to sing with my Mother, dance with his idol, play with my little brother, drink tea with my Father, hang out with my Mother's friends and kiss my first love. This is all I need to take back with me." She said. "The fact that I was able to save this…this wonderful life you all share and just…be a part of it…"
"Kureno…" A voice called.
Yuuko was in the door way. Kureno bowed her head and walked to the woman. They slowly walked into the elevator.
"No!" Shuichi yelled and ran to the doors. He pounded on the now closed doors, and then ran to the stairs.
"The roof…Shuichi!" Yuki yelled and took off behind his lover.
He saw the boy frozen in the door-way, a look of fear on his face. He looked in his direction and gasped.
Kureno was floating right over the edge of the building. Floating, as if she were going to be dropped. Yuuko was also in the air, a shimmer of air around her as she disappeared. Her assistants were no where seen.
"Kureno!" Yuki yelled.
"Daddy…" was all the girl whispered.
"Three minutes…" Shuichi gasped. "We still have three minutes!" He yelled and jumped on the edge.
"Stop! You'll fall!" Kureno yelled.
As if on cue, a strong wind blew, making the singer grasp on to the gate. Shuichi climbed over it, now completely on the edge. He held on to the metal bar, the only thing saving him from certain death. He stretched his hand out to his daughter, tears welling up in his eyes.
"Kureno!"
"Your gonna fall!" Kureno wailed. "Why are you doing this?!"
"Because Kureno!" Shuichi yelled against the wind.
Yuki climbed over the gate also, holding his lover against him as he hooked an arm around the bar and his fingers grasped the singer's waist. He also reached out to Kureno.
"We're your parents!" Yuki yelled. "And…we love you."
Kureno's eyes widened. Then she smiled, tears welling in her eyes.
"I love you too…" a voice said.
Kureno looked to her parents' side to see Hiro grabbing their shirts. His face was red and his hair messed and everywhere due to the wind, but to Kureno he looked like the most handsome man she had ever seen.
"Ah, so it is done!" Yuuko's voice called. The woman was behind Hiro and smiling.
"So Kureno, I tell you to find love and you find triple!" she said, flicking her wrist.
Kureno slowly floated into her parents' arms. Hiro pulled them over and they all fell down in a mess of limbs. Shuichi looked up from under Hiro's leg.
"So Kureno gets to stay with us?" He asked.
"Yes, she dose." Yuuko said. She then clapped her hands together. "Well, we must be going! I hope to see you again Kureno, maybe soon...Good-bye!" She said shimmering into the air.
Kureno smiled, then started laughing. And then she tackle-hugged her mother and father.
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"You ready?" Shuichi asked.
"Yup!"
"You look beautiful Kureno."
"Yeah, but you look amazing, Mom!"
"Thanks."
"Do you hear that?" Kureno said. "It the march!"
"Oh! Well let's go."
"I wish they could see us…"
"Its bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other before the wedding!"
"Well, I guess we all cant live up to your name." Kureno said.
"Kureno, before we get in line…I want you to know, that today, it's just…"
"Mom, it's been a year since that day I knocked on your door…I know, I love you too."
"Well, let's go."
"Well there's the bride!" K said happily and offered his arm.
"Come on Mom…Its time!" Kureno said and grabbed a bouquet of purple and yellow roses. She handed them to Shuichi. "Go on Mom."
Shuichi took a deep breath and smoothed out his white tux before taking his bouquet and K's arm. He smiled as Kureno, in her lavender dress stood next to Hiro. It wasn't every day you got to be your mother's maid-of-honor.
As they made their way down the isle, Kureno could see her Father in a matching white tux looking at both his husband-to-be and daughter. Kureno giggled and gave him a wink.
As the priest, Tatsuha, started the ceremony, Kureno's mind wondered as she looked at her Mother and Father. So much had happened in the past year; Riku's first day of school, Christmas, her being enrolled into high school, her in her father's show and introduced as his 'adopted daughter' due to his cousin recent death, hooking her Uncle up with Ryuchi…and Hiro proposing to her.
Yet there was still so much to come. She smiled to herself as she broke out of her trance to hear the words she always wanted to since she was a little girl.
"Do you, Eiri Yuki Usugi take Shuichi Shindo, to be your lawfully wedded husband, through sickness and heath, for better and for worst till death do you part?" Tatsuha asked.
"I do." Yuki said, causing Shuichi to blush.
"And do you-"
"A thousand times yes!" Shuichi chirped.
"Fine, kiss already." Tatsuha said.
Kureno giggled as her father suddenly dipped Shuichi and kissed him.
Riku covered his eyes, and then peeked in between his fingers. Kureno took his little hand in hers and nodded at him. Riku raced to the other side of the arch his parents were under and grasped a white satin ribbon. Kureno grabbed the one on her side and nodded again.
Both sibling's pulled and the large velvet heart that was above the couple tipped over, causing yellow and purple rose petals to rain over the congregation. Shuichi smiled and laughed as Yuki led him out of the temple.
Shuichi turned to the girls and lifted his bouquet. The girls crowded behind him.
Shuichi threw it over his head and closed his eyes. The bouquet twirled, the ribbon holding it coming undone. Shuichi turned and saw the crowd part to reveal his sister, Maiko, holding the flowers and Suguru holding the ribbon. Suguru held it out to her, blushing. Maiko smiled sweetly at him, her cheeks a light pink color. Shuichi laughed and joined his husband in their car.
Kureno held Riku's hand as her parents' took off. Riku looked up at her.
"Are we a family now, Sissy?" He asked.
She hugged her baby brother. "Sweetie, we always were!"
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Kureno: Yay!
Ren: That was fun; we should do it again sometime.
Dezi: Yea, well that's all folks!
Ren: Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Dezi: Review please!
All: And thank you! (Bow, lights dim)