"Hyuuga-chan, let's bring him to Yuuko."

"Who is Yuuko?" - Kira asks but receives no answer.

Despite not knowing who this "Yuuko" that Watanuki mentioned, Kira complies without any questions. Maybe this "Yuuko" is someone she should meet. After all, Watanuki, Doumeki, and Himawari weren't too surprised to hear that she could see things beyond this world.

The rest of the school passes extremely slowly. When the bell signifies 5 PM, Kira and Watanuki rush to the infirmary to get Doumeki and head to a small park about 10 10-minute walk from the school.

"I cannot enter that person's shop." - Doumeki covers his right eye.

"I will go in. You guys stay here. Hyuuga-chan, would you mind looking after him for a bit?" - Watanuki rushes toward an old-style manor after receiving her nod.

"Doumeki-san, why did you say you couldn't enter that person's shop?" - Kira initiates the conversation.

"Because I don't need to." - he answers shortly, does not look up at her.

"Who is Yuuko?" - she waits a moment before asking again. She needs answers.

"Someone whose Watanuki is working part-time for and who handles extraordinary things. I'm not so sure either, Hyuuga-san." - Doumeki speaks without looking at her - "Watanuki may be a better person to answer your inquiries."

"Ah, no worries, Doumeki-san." - she smiles, pointing at the manor that Watanuki disappeared into 10 minutes ago - "Is that her shop?"

"I can't see it," - Doumeki shakes his head - "to me, it's just a block of land. There is nothing there."

"…" - Kira nods and continues staring at the shop as they fall into a heavy silence, which does not last long as Watanuki returns after another 5 minutes.

"What did Yuuko say?" - Kira makes the first move.

"She will handle it. We should go home." - Watanuki looks blankly at Doumeki - "I will help you home, Doumeki. Hyuuga-chan, sorry I cannot walk you home."

"It's okay, please don't worry about me." - she smiles encouragingly, but deep down, she senses something is wrong.

As the boys' shadows disappear, she enters the old mansion that Watanuki walked out a moment ago.

"Interesting." - Kira raises her brows at the sensation the moment she steps through the gate.

She cannot make out what it is that she just felt, but her confusion is short-lived when she is immediately greeted by a pair of twins.

"Helloooo, we are Maru and Moro. Master is waiting for you." - the twins speak in unison and grab Kira's hands, dragging her right into the manor, passing a long hallway toward a traditional Japanese room with double doors.

The double doors open, releasing a woman in an extravagant kimono who seems to expect Kira's arrival. The woman is half sitting, half lying down at the center of the room, a pipe in her right hand as smoke from her thin lips fills the entire room.

"You are Yuuko, I assumed." - Kira asks before bowing respectfully. It is not difficult for her to realize the age gap between them. Born into the Shadow world, reading faces and expressions is part of the skill set that she needs to master in order to survive.

Yuuko has long and straight jet-black hair with a length that Kira assumes would pass her hip if she stood straight. Her skin is pale or borderline translucent. Her lips are thin and painted red, which fits the red lily pattern on her kimono. Even though Yuuko is sitting/lying down, Kira can see that she has a tall and slender body. Kira has to try very hard to keep her jaw from falling on the ground at how stunning yet eerie Yuuko is.

"Some people call me that indeed," - Yuuko releases another smoke cloud - " But I go by many names, The Dimensional Witch, The Space and Time Witch, The Far-Eastern Witch."

"Dimensional Witch, what does that mean?" - Kira swallows.

As if Yuuko can hear her thoughts, she smiles gently:

"No need to be scared, I'm not that type of witch. All I do is run this shop which grants people's wishes. And I can see that you have a wish."

"Granting wishes, don't be ridiculous. There is no such thing in this world," - Kira huffs but deep down, a light of hope rises.

"Believe it or not, it's up to you. But something tells me that you already do." - Yuuko gazes at Kira, half smiling half not, as they fall into a deep silence.

When Kira is about to break the uncomfortable silence between them, a mysterious black smoke creeps into the room behind her. The black smoke continues to expand before it meets the white smoke from Yuuko's pipe, creating an invisible barrier separating them from the black smoke.

"What is it?" - Kira automatically takes a few steps back, trying to remain calm while inadvertently closing the gap between her and Yuuko.

"A guest and a warning," - the smile fades from Yuuko's face. She stares at the black smoke without blinking, as if she is silently fighting it.

After 5 minutes, the black smoke slowly retreats and disappears suddenly, like how it first appeared a moment ago. Once certain that the aura has completely evaporated, Kira lets her guard down and looks at Yuuko:

"What warning? From the spider?"

"Heh, you sure still have the eyes." - Yuuko releases another smoke cloud, speaking without looking at her - "And no, that was not from the spider. It was from someone who is far more dangerous and powerful than the spider."

"What did it say to you?" - Kira swallows while eyeing Yuuko. She has so many questions. What did you say to Watanuki? What happened to Doumeki's eyes? What can she do to cure her sight? What can Yuuko do as a Witch of Space and Time? Are there any limitations to the wish she can grant?

"Everything happens for a reason, Kira. You are entering my shop for a reason, and in time, you will have answers to all your questions."

"How do you know my name? I haven't introduced myself."

"Watanuki told me when we were speaking earlier." - she smiles.

"Ah. So, what did you tell Watanuki-kun earlier? What happened to Doumeki's eyes?"

"It's a spider's grudge." - her voice is light like what she just said is completely normal.

"Because he destroyed the web?" - Kira raises a brow.

"Yes. Spiders are the worst when it comes to holding grudges. Because Domeki-kun destroyed its home, it takes what is considered equally valuable. An eye for an eye, as people say."

Kira huffs - "So what can we do to take it back?"

"You don't have to worry about it. It has been taken care of." - Yuuko smiles again, but Kira knows it's never that easy, especially when it comes to the dark world.

"Everything happens for a reason. Everything has a price." - a sound echoes in her mind, and she immediately understands the purpose of this wishes-granting shop.

"What did he pay to get Doumeki's eye back?"

"Smart girl." - Yuuko sits up and walks toward Kira - "No wonder..."

"Stop with all the mystery talk. Tell me, what did Watanuki pay?" - Kira is borderline yelling at this point as all her patience drains away.

"An eye for an eye, my dear child." - Yuuko is inches away from Kira's face. Now that she is standing, her hair is knee-length, and she is almost a head taller than Kira. At such a close approximation, Yuuko is even more beautiful with her still black cat eyes, straight nose, and fair skin tone.

"So he offers his eye in exchange for Doumeki's. How stupid!" - Kira judges silently before asking Yuuko - "Is there no other way?"

"Instead of worrying for other people, what about yourself? What do you want from my shop?"

"It seems like you know the moment I walked through that door what my wish is." - Kira crosses her arms, challenging.

"There is a steep price for what you want, even higher than Watanuki's." - she smiles knowingly.

"What do you mean?" - the conversation is going so South as Yuuko circles around.

"You guys are sharing a similar…issue. However, it seems like yours is far more gifted or complicated compared to his," - Yuuko stops in front of her and stares into Kira's eyes - "Hence, the price you have to pay is significantly more, Hyuuga Kira."

"How does she know my last name? Is this her ability?" - Kira hesitates, regretting entering the lion's den without any preparations.

"Heh, don't be so tense, I'm a good person." - Yuuko taps Kira's shoulder, assuring her.

"Only those who are not saying that they are good." - Kira rolls her eyes - "If you are not going to give me an answer on how to take back Watanuki's eye, I should take my leave now."

"There is only one way to take Watanuki's eye back, which is to face the thing you fear the most, dear child. Are you ready to do that to someone who you barely know for…3 days?"

"Ah, it seems like we are more connected than me and my family. At least he shares the same burden as I do, and I understand how heavy it is. I want to help him just as much as I would like someone to help me right now."

Yuuko does not speak another word, just looking at Kira carefully, like she just figured something out. Kira takes the dreadful silence as the queue to leave. But before she steps outside the shop, Yuuko's voice drips into her ears.

"Doumeki's grandfather was a shrine keeper, old magic and spells are documented in the library. You may find something if you visit the shrine."

Kira looks back at the mansion before stepping past the gate, wondering why she feels so uneasy inside. Second to reading facial expressions, assassins are extremely sharp with their surroundings. When her foot hits the ground outside of the mansion, she immediately knows the reason behind her uneasiness.

"Kami-sama, this place…does not belong to this world," - she bites her lips - "No wonder Doumeki cannot see the mansion nor step inside."

Tsuji Private High School, Class 10-4, Thursday

As if things cannot get any better, the first thing that catches Kira's eyes today in class is a patch over Watanuki's right eye, which renders Kira speechless.

"Good morning, Hyuuga-chan!" - Watanuki waves and offers her a bright smile.

She nods but remains silent.

Throughout the entire class, Watanuki remains lively while continuously lying about his eye to their classmates.

"Stupid!" - Kira curses loud enough for Watanuki to hear before stepping outside of class. She does not understand why she is angry at Watanuki's kindness. What accident? He sacrifices himself his right eye, for Doumeki's as a trade with the Dimensional Witch.

Her doubt is confirmed when she sees Doumeki using both functional eyes for Kyūdō (弓道). Without much thinking, Kira walks inside toward Doumeki. Up close, she is suddenly conscious of how tall Doumeki is and how broad his shoulders are, which reminds her of someone.

"What do you want?" - Doumeki's stern voice thankfully saves her from a terrible thought.

"Can I come to your house later?" - She does not waste any time, and her directness makes the archer next to Doumeki stumble and miss.

"What for?" - but it does not affect Doumeki at all. He unwaveringly hit the center with perfect form.

"Good job!" - the coach approaches, smiling with pleasure - "And who are you?"

"I need to speak to Doumeki-san regarding a very important matter, sensei." - she bows and starts retreating toward the door.

"Meet me at the front after class." - he drops the sentence, receiving a few whistles from others. But to both of them, there is nothing but fear for their friend.

"Doumeki? Hyuuga-chan?" - they are caught by Watanuki on their way back to Doumeki's shrine - "Where are you guys going?"

"To my place," - Doumeki shrugs and continues to walk toward a shrine that slowly reveals itself at the corner of the street.

"Yuuko said his shrine may have something to help with your eye." - Kira slows down to wait for Watanuki to catch up with them and fill him in on their plan.

"Heh? You spoke to Yuuko?" - and she explains everything happened yesterday after he and Doumeki went home.

"So we are the same?" - Watanuki speaks without looking at her as they ascend the steps leading into the shrine.

"Yeah…well, if it makes you feel better, my issue is worse than you." - she smiles.

"I don't think that makes me feel any better." - Watanuki replies, scratching the back of his head.

"Whatever, I lived my whole life with this, so it doesn't bother. It's just…"

"Come in here quick," - Doumeki calls out from one of the rooms on the right.

"What is it?" - she steps inside, coughing slightly at all the dust.

"Did you hear anything?" - Doumeki asks, eyeing around at the dark room filled with a few stacks of very old and fragile-looking books - "I'm going to find some candles. You guys start searching."

"Hey…hey, aren't you helping? Doumeki, Doumeki…" - Watanuki calls after angrily - "I'm sure he is trying to avoid working and have us do all the work instead."

"You can rest, Watanuki-kun, I can search." - Kira smiles and begins to search.

"No..no..I will help…" - Watanuki's sentence cuts short as he uses his right hand to cover the right eye over the white patch.

"Hey, hey, what is it?" - Kira abandons the book in her hands to help settle Watanuki down to a sitting position - "You need to rest; let's go outside, it's too dusty in here."

"Nothing, I'm fine, Hyuuga-chan. I thought I saw something."

"Just rest, okay?" - she drops the sentence before stepping back into the room - "I need to find the cure quick."

After 30 minutes into the search, the sun settles, and daylight diminishes, so Doumeki lights the candles he brought earlier.

As Doumeki and Kira are both consumed in their search, a deep silence covers the atmosphere, and every sound, no matter how small, is amplified.

Their heads pop up when the rattling sound is getting closer and closer, louder and louder. They look at each other, remaining completely still and trying to locate where the sound comes from.

After a few seconds, the rattling noise disappears. They wait for another few seconds before getting back to the search.

And finally.

"I found it," - Doumeki speaks calmly and gives Kira the book - "Here."

The title of the page is "How to get your sight back from spiders."

"First, wash your stolen eye with water from a well during full moon…" - she reads out loud, failing to realize how the rattling noise has gotten closer and louder. Until the sound is dangerously close, her senses rush back. Her ears perk up as her eyes scan the surrounding room for the source of the noise. Nothing - "Where is it?"

"What is it? Is it a snake? " - Watanuki walks in as he, too, hears the rattling noise.

"Seems like it's coming from Watanuki's bag." - Kira points out. But before they can verify, a tiny thin, string-like creature crawls out of the bag and launches itself directly at Kira like an arrow.