SOY: And this is seriously last part! Also, longer than the other ones… but I really crammed in all I could, and I even had to cut a few scenes too… anyway! hope you like! Please hang in there for next part!

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Rating: T

Warnings: second of a series of connected stories under the name 'Takane no Hana'. Fix-it fic for XXXHolic, takes place at the start of volume 14 of the manga. Will branch out of canon and move on from there.

Disclaimer: I do not own CLAMP manga.

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Ripples of Fate

Chapter 03 – The Edge

"It's not that she is a bad cook," Watanuki found himself saying, looking down at the bento box he was holding with a cross expression. "It's weird, you know. That woman knows how to cook. I was afraid she'd be the kind who washes rice with detergent, but… no, she can use a kitchen knife properly, and she can measure ingredients correctly, too…" he paused, and sighed. "She really doesn't need to take cooking lessons from me at all".

The stairs that led to the roof of the school were empty save for the three of them.

The day had started with a light rain, and Watanuki had accepted Yuuko's offer and grabbed the umbrella that had been mended by the spirit owl, grateful he would not get wet.

Still, despite the warmth provided by the memory of sun shining around him, keeping him dry and safe from the rain, Watanuki had been in a weird mood up until lunch time, when he'd joined Doumeki and Himawari in their secluded corner to eat together.

The roof, usually perfect place to stay for a lot of people, was avoided by most students of the school for reasons that, if asked, they would be unable to explain; Watanuki knew why, of course –the amount of miasma he had to breathe when he got too close to the door leading outside was enough to keep him away too– but this wasn't something he could tell anyone else aside for the two teens sitting with him.

Still, this meant that the stairs leading to the roof were a quiet corner to retreat to when their outside spot was not viable, such as during a downpour. It provided them with privacy, so that Watanuki could babble about spirits without anyone else overhearing.

This time, though, he was not complaining about that.

He'd had his first cooking lesson with that woman the previous day, something he'd been dreading, but things had gone better than expected, if not for a few details that still bothered him, but at least he thought that if he could share the story with Doumeki and Himawari, maybe he could feel a little better about it.

He hoped.

"Is that so," Himawari looked confused, too. She'd been the one to ask Watanuki about the lesson, since she knew how on edge he'd been because of that, and the answer had left her baffled.

Tanpopo chimed in as well from his usual perch on her shoulder, looking just as cute as always.

"No, really –the hardest thing was to keep Mokona from eating all her food!" Watanuki sighed, feeling tired just at remembering that.

Mokona had been almost impossible to keep hidden away, and much to Watanuki's embarrassment and annoyance, he had succeeded in eating at least a few things he hoped the woman wouldn't notice went missing.

At least… and that he could admit, if only to himself, Mokona had indeed helped him feel a little less awkward and on edge about the cooking lesson.

In fact, it was just like when Yuuko had offered Watanuki to bring the Kudakitsune with him to meet Touya and Yukito –a way to make him feel safe while somewhere foreign.

Still, he had been unable to fully relax despite how polite and warm the woman had been, whereas at Touya's house he had managed to relax and feel welcome.

"So what did you make?" Himawari asked, making Watanuki look up at her again.

"Since it was the first lesson, I thought to start with something easy," he replied with a shrug. "We made these –potatoes with soy sauce and sugar".

He grabbed a small container he'd kept aside from the bento boxes, and offered it to Himawari and Doumeki, who both eagerly picked from its contents –well, mostly Doumeki, really, who never hesitated when he had to stuff his mouth with food.

Though Watanuki couldn't help but think about what Haruka had said –how Doumeki only ate things he trusted.

Himawari seemed interested, so he quickly told her the recipe, since it was, indeed, something easy to make.

"Ah, that's amazing Watanuki!"

"No, not really, that's really easy!" he replied, feeling embarrassed at her cheerful praise.

Her eyes widened then. "Oh, I just remembered… didn't you go see Kinomoto-san too? We didn't get to talk yesterday because I had a lot to do during lunchtime, but I really wanted to ask!"

Watanuki smiled warmly at that, the mention of Touya acting like a switch for his mood, and nodded eagerly, not noticing the sharp look Doumeki sent him, nor the way he paused in his methodically polishing his bento box.

"Yes! He was kind enough to prepare some food too, so we shared with the sandwiches I made while we visited the temple," he started, looking really pleased. "And–"

He was interrupted by loud sound of a bell chiming, and Himawari's face fell. "I'm sorry, I have to leave early, it's my turn to be on class duty today… thanks for the food, Watanuki! Bye Doumeki!"

Watanuki waved at her, making sure to remind her they would go get some cake soon, and when she disappeared from sight he turned to look over at Doumeki, about to comment on his continuous munching when he noticed that Doumeki had stopped eating and was looking at him.

"Wh… what?" Watanuki hastily reached for his face, thinking he had some food there, but he couldn't find anything. "What's wrong Doumeki?"

"Who is Kinomoto?"

It was half a question half a demand, and Watanuki was taken aback by his tone, feeling annoyed before he realised that Doumeki was actually worried about him; and while he remained annoyed that Doumeki did not trust him to go anywhere on his own, he had to grudgingly admit he didn't have a good record for safety either.

"He's one of Yuuko's customers," Watanuki replied with a pout, looking to the side. "I was sent to his house to gather payment for his wish," with every word he could see Doumeki's mood darken, and Watanuki felt his own annoyance grow to match it. "Hey, you don't have to look that displeased! I can go wherever I want, whenever I want!"

"Why didn't you ask me to come with you?"

"There was no need for that, Yuuko said there would be no danger," he replied with a shrug. "But Mugetsu came with me anyway, so I didn't need you at all".

Something shifted in Doumeki's expression, and Watanuki had the feeling that he'd said something wrong again.

"Well, there was nothing to worry about, anyway," he grumbled, wanting to dispel the uncomfortable aura. "He was really nice, and he invited me to go back to visit Asakusa's temple since I said I'd like to see it…"

"So you went back," Doumeki said, tone oddly blank.

"Yes, of course I did! I wanted to, he… he and Yukito-san are nice people," Watanuki felt aggravated because he had to defend Touya to Doumeki, so that he wouldn't think the worst about him. Just thinking about the two men made him smile a bit wistfully. "They have some power themselves, and they agreed to teach me about dream walking, too".

He hadn't meant to say that, but the words left his mouth anyway, and he quickly gasped and covered his lips, flustered.

He'd thought he would keep the news for himself, at least for a bit (he had no idea if he would be able to learn anything, after all) but since he had managed to gather the courage to ask, and both Touya and Yukito had looked more than happy to help him even when he'd asked so much… Watanuki had felt happy.

It was nice to be around the two, and he was glad they didn't mind seeing him again.

In fact…

"There's going to be a festival there this weekend, and they asked if I'd like to go with them," he said, jutting his chin out and daring Doumeki to say anything. "I've… always wanted to see the Sanja Matsuri, so I'm going!"

Doumeki was glowering, Watanuki noted, and he wondered why he was taking it so personally when there was nothing to be worried about. He hadn't seen creatures at all lately, nothing that would chase him around, nothing at all, so…

"You… you don't have to worry," he added, cheeks flushed at the forced admission. "I'm not going to be in any danger whatsoever".

Doumeki snorted. "Dangers seem to find you whether you want them to or not," he replied, and shoved some food in his mouth, munching on it with more force than necessary before shooting another glare at him. "When?"

"I'm… I'll be going this Sunday!"

Doumeki was still looking at him, as if expecting something, but Watanuki had no idea what. If he thought he would suddenly change his mind, just because Doumeki didn't want him to go, then he was sorely mistaken.

This was something Watanuki wanted to do for himself, so what?

"See if I make you inarizushi ever again," he muttered under his breath, even though he knew perfectly well, as did Doumeki, that he would end up making inarizushi again for sure.

As a last attempt to veer the conversation away from this weird stall, and acutely uncomfortable under the fixed stare of Doumeki, Watanuki picked another small box he'd placed on the side and shoved it under Doumeki's face.

He'd saved up a portion of potatoes that the woman had made, since they'd done enough between the two of them to fill up more than just a couple boxes, and had brought them over. Watanuki did not know what had made him uncomfortable about the woman in the first place, nor why he'd felt the need to bring the food with him and offer it to Doumeki, but after what Haruka had said, and after he cryptic words from Yuuko, Watanuki had felt an inexplicable need to see for himself.

"Here. Why don't you try these potatoes too?"

In fact, that had been one of the things he'd wanted to do since the start of their lunch period. Watanuki watched Doumeki observe the food, then pick one small, round potato with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth.

He had expected… well, anything, really, but not… not Doumeki to stop chewing instantly, making a weird, disgruntled face.

"Eh? What's wrong?" Watanuki took a step towards Doumeki, a sliver of worry inside his stomach.

For a moment, Doumeki did not answer, one hand covering his mouth. Then "these… did that woman make these?"

"Ah…? Yes, following my instructions. Since I had no idea of her actual skills, i made her do a slightly simplified version, but it's based on my recipe so the taste shouldn't differ much at all…" he looked up, frowning. "Why? Are they… do they taste bad?"

"… no".

"Then what's wrong? Usually one would have to fight you to get you to stop eating…"

Doumeki refused to answer though, and this, together with his already odd actions about Watanuki going to Asakusa, settled heavily on Watanuki's shoulders.

Even talking with Yuuko afterwards did not help to shed any light on the situation, although it did make him happy to see her and Mokona eat the food he made with such gusto, and he was left pondering over Yuuko's words for the rest of the day.

He had no idea what sort of 'something else' could there be in food, nor why that woman's food had tasted different to Doumeki and not to Yuuko and Mokona.

And yet… in a way, while it was weird and confusing, the fact that of all people, Doumeki had decided that his food was good –that he enjoyed it in a way that he couldn't with other people's food…

Had he ever seen Doumeki eat store–bought food? He did not remember. He knew he drank things –not just alcohol with Yuuko, but in general. When they'd had the double date with the twin girls from the local college, he remembered Doumeki drinking. But whenever they went out with Himawari, he could not remember a time he'd seen Doumeki eat.

No cakes, no food –not even onigiri that were not made by Watanuki himself.

That was…

Well, both annoying and gratifying.

It did mean that Watanuki's food was good, even with Doumeki's horrendous table manners, and maybe Doumeki did recognise the something that existed in his dishes that the woman did not have. Now, he wouldn't ask, not at all… but it still made him feel good. Since he could not taste anything himself, at least this way he knew that there was value in his food.

It was not until Watanuki was in his bed, with both Mokona and Mugetsu curled up at his side, already half asleep, that another thought hit him –if his food was, in a way, a window to his true self, the person he was that he could not remember being, did that mean that Doumeki's appreciation for his food meant Doumeki liked him?

Well, Watanuki's sleepy mind corrected, of course Doumeki liked him, or he wouldn't be around him, right? They were friends, weren't friends supposed to like each other…?

And with that fleeting thought, barely coherent, Watanuki fell asleep. He slept through the night, his sleep untouched by any visits, and when he woke up the next morning, he couldn't quite remember what he'd been thinking, though he had the distinct feeling he had been thinking about Doumeki.

Sunday morning found Watanuki awake earlier than he was used to.

He had slept over at Yuuko's again, despite his determination not to overstay his welcome –then again, nowadays he found it hard to remember ever going back to his cramped, empty apartment, not when Yuuko's extra bedroom was starting to become his own– and in his excitement for the day, he had decided to cook as much as he could.

Mokona, disgruntled at having been shaken awake by an hyperactive, overly excited Watanuki, had dropped back into the blanket nest and dozed off instantly, while Mugetsu had followed Watanuki to the kitchen, trying and failing to be useful and only managing to get covered in flour and leave imprints on everything he touched, including first and foremost Watanuki's face.

Watanuki hadn't planned on making anything specific or special, and yet when he finally put together the bento boxes to bring with him, he found out much to his dismay that he'd prepared six of them; since Yukito ate two on his own, that left two extra ones that he did not remember even making.

Awakened by his rustling and cooking, Yuuko came to inspect his work, a knowing look in her eyes, and when she asked if those were her portion of his food, Watanuki shook his head and showed her where he'd put her food, that she would share with Mokona too.

"Just don't drink too much sake with this, or it'll alter its flavour," he told her, knowing already it was a lost cause. "Still, I never made this much extra food before… that's weird, I thought I calculated the portions correctly…"

Yuuko watched him mumble and check over the desserts for a moment more before leaving the kitchen.

"Well," she murmured to herself with a pleased grin, her naked feet making no sound against the pavement, "your powers are growing again, Watanuki~"

She glanced out of the shop at the clear sky, satisfied to see that it would be such a good day, then retired inside to take a bath and get properly dressed.

"I'm off, Yuuko-san!"

Watanuki hurried out of the front door of the store, jumping around while putting on his shoes as he tried to balance all the food boxes. He had decided to bring the extras with him too, and with all the desserts, he wasn't even sure if he would manage to carry everything to Asakusa.

As he turned the corner of the shop's fence, he almost slammed into someone's chest, and he backed away, a polite apology on his lips…

"D-Doumeki?!"

Doumeki was standing in front of him, looking bored and imposing as usual, and the two shared a long look as Watanuki's brain rebooted itself.

"What the hell are you doing here?! I told you I was going to–"

"I'm coming," Doumeki said, his tone final.

"Eeeh?!" Watanuki exploded on him, waving his arms and the bags around, the bento boxes carefully stacked inside rattling together. "How can you be this daft?! I was invited over, not you! You can't presume to accompany me when nobody is even expecting you! Who the fuck do you think you are–"

Doumeki, motions familiar and practiced, brought one finger to his ear and looked away, only returning to focus on Watanuki when he noticed him calming down a bit.

"I wanted to come," he reiterated, which only sent Watanuki into another angry, loud rant. In order to make him stop, Doumeki focused on another subject. "Did you make inarizushi?"

Watanuki opened his mouth to curse at him again and reply that no, of course he hadn't made that stupid dish, since Doumeki was not the receiver of his lunch today, then shut it so quickly his teeth clacked together painfully.

He did actually prepare inarizushi, yeah. And not just that, but a few more dishes that thinking back, happened to be some of Doumeki's favourites.

Again he opened his mouth to curse Doumeki's presence to hell and claim that it was just a coincidence for him to have prepared that, and once again he couldn't speak at all. Obviously, even for this sort of thing, it couldn't be just a coincidence now, could it? Yuuko had truly conditioned him well.

Had Watanuki known, somehow, that Doumeki would come too, inviting himself over like the rudest, most annoying person in the world?

No, he couldn't have known at all, and yet… and yet, the extra bento boxes, filled with Doumeki's favourites, were carefully stashed inside his bag and Doumeki had no intention to leave at all.

Oh, he knew him and his stupid stubborn ass –he would not go back on his decision and would just follow Watanuki around, whether he wanted him to or not.

With nothing else to do, Watanuki deflated.

"You carry these!" he ordered, shoving the bag into Doumeki's waiting hands. "Just do your part and keep your trap shut! Let me do the talking and maybe Touya-san will not see you for the rude oaf you are!"

Doumeki simply hummed, holding the boxes like they did not weight a single ounce, and contented himself with following Watanuki to the nearby metro stop.

During the whole trip to Asakusa, the two did not speak, though Watanuki kept stealing glances at him every few minutes, unable to be truly annoyed at Doumeki butting in.

He knew that Doumeki was worried, but his way of showing it was far too brash, and even when Watanuki had assured him there would be no danger, Doumeki had still wanted to make sure.

Still, it wouldn't do to let this ruin the day, and he hoped Touya and Yukito would not be bothered by the addition of a fourth party for the day.

They left the metro and exited the station, Watanuki looking around with wide eyes as there were already far more people around even this far from the temple, and Doumeki stepped at his side, perhaps a little closer than he would have liked, eyes scanning their surroundings.

Watanuki took notice of a few dense concentrations of smoke surrounding some of the passers-by; he'd gotten used to seeing them every now and then while groceries shopping, or during some errand for Yuuko, but if there was going to be a matsuri festival, there might be more around of those, and their smell was still far too disgusting for Watanuki.

"Watanuki-kun! Here!"

Watanuki turned around, his small frown melting into a happy smile as he saw Yukito waving at him from the other side of the street. He waved back enthusiastically, and hurried over there with Doumeki at his heels.

"Yukito-san, I had no idea you would be waiting for me here!"

"Touya got worried because there's a lot of people this early on," Yukito replied with a small smile. "So he sent me here to act as a mighty guardian of sorts, if you don't mind!"

Watanuki chuckled at that, then he was reminded of Doumeki's presence at his side when he felt him stiffen. "Ah… Yukito-san, this is Doumeki Shizuka, he decided to come with me to the matsuri, I hope you won't mind him tagging along?"

Yukito turned towards Doumeki, and the two exchanged small bows. "Not at all! The more, the merrier! Nice to meet you Doumeki-kun. Watanuki-kun has told us a lot about you, so it's nice to put a face next to a name…"

Doumeki glanced over at Watanuki, obviously wondering what Watanuki had said about him, and Watanuki felt his face grow hot, so he looked away, distinctly embarrassed.

Yukito looked at them and smiled, then pointed to the right, "Touya's waiting for us near the Kaminarimon, so follow me!"

If Yukito noticed how Doumeki's pace kept him at Watanuki's side all the time as they travelled through the busy streets of Asakusa, he did not comment on it. He did notice that Doumeki at one point covered one eye with a hand and stared at him, and did not remove his hand even when Yukito turned around to look at him quizzically, not until Watanuki elbowed him hard in the side and turned towards Yukito with a sheepish smile.

"Haha, ah, don't mind him! Just… one moment ok?" he tugged Doumeki back a couple steps, just enough that Yukito wouldn't overhear them. "What do you think you're doing?! He's not a spirit!"

Doumeki did not answer him, but he did lower his hand. "What did you tell them about me?" he asked instead, tilting his head to the side.

"Nothing good!" Watanuki reacted as expected, taking a couple steps away from Doumeki and pointing one finger at him. "That you keep demanding food from me and that you're an irritating oaf!"

"Hmm".

"Don't hmm me!"

Despite this sudden stop, the three managed to reach the Kaminarimon without much fuss, and Watanuki was left amazed by the sea of people already packed there.

A lot of people were tourists, but the amount of Japanese people was still astounding, for someone like Watanuki who lived in a less crowded area. Asakusa truly was a busy district all year long…

It was worse closer to the temple, but there were a lot of small clusters of smoke around, and Watanuki squirmed a little closer to Doumeki whenever one passed by too close, throat constricting at the putrid smell of 'bad habit'. Doumeki kept his eyes trained around, fingers itching for a bow he did not have, and for a moment he regretted his choice to leave it at home.

"Touya! We're here!" Yukito waved one arm towards the huge entrance of the temple, and Touya walked quickly towards them, a disgruntled expression on his face.

"There's a lot of spirits hovering nearby the temple grounds," he muttered as an explanation when Yukito and Watanuki were close enough to hear him over the excited chatting of the surrounding people. "It's always like this every year, but maybe it is not a good idea to–" his eyes fell on Doumeki, then on how close he was standing to Watanuki, and the grimace became more pronounced. "Who are you?"

"Doumeki Shizuka," Doumeki bowed politely, introducing himself this time, and Watanuki grunted at him. "I will be joining you for the day".

Touya's frown did not ease even after the presentations, and Doumeki straightened his back, meeting Touya's eyes squarely. The two seemed to stare each other down for a long moment, while Watanuki's eyes moved from one to another with growing worry.

Yukito turned towards Watanuki with a cheerful smile that contrasted with Touya's frown. "Say, Watanuki-kun, they're selling small charms nearby, do you want to buy one for your friend Kunogi-kun?"

"Ah! Y-yes, but…"

"Let's go before even more people arrive, or we won't get to buy one!" Yukito took Watanuki's elbow and lead him away from Touya and Doumeki, who still did not look away from one another.

"But Yukito-san, why–"

Yukito offered Watanuki a small, secretive smile. "I'm sorry you've been caught up like this, but since you've told Touya about your problems with spirits, he's been a bit worried, so…"

"Oh, but he shouldn't worry about Doumeki! That guy might be an irritating oaf but…" Watanuki looked away from Yukito, and brought one hand up to his eye. "He's not a bad person at all".

Sensing there was something that Watanuki was still not feeling comfortable enough sharing, Yukito backed down a bit, and pointed at the stand with the charms. "Let's just buy a charm, then we can go back to those two, hmm?"

Watanuki nodded with grateful smile.

Touya waited until he was sure that Watanuki was far enough that he wouldn't hear, then he stepped closer to Doumeki. "I can sense spiritual powers from you," he stated without inflection.

"Purifying powers, just like my grandfather," Doumeki confirmed with a curt nod. He had yet to look away from the man, not at all intimidated.

"Can you see spirits?"

Doumeki shrugged. "Only with this eye," he pointed at the eye he shared with Watanuki, but did not elaborate at Touya's confused stare. "It's enough".

Touya's eyes narrowed a bit, but then he nodded, apparently accepting the answer for what it was. "Did you think I was a spirit?"

Doumeki brought his hand up to cover that eye, deliberately doing it slowly, and stared at Touya for a long time before removing the hand again. "Now I don't," he replied. A pause, then "You want to teach him to walk through dreams".

Touya was taken aback, not having expected Watanuki to share the news with anyone yet, but saw no reason to hide it, especially since Doumeki seemed to know already. "He asked us to. I have no plans to hurt Watanuki-kun," he said. "Yuuko-san wouldn't have allowed him to come this often otherwise".

Doumeki did not say anything, but he acknowledged Touya's words by relaxing slightly.

Touya opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by Watanuki hurrying past him to go back at Doumeki's side, who stared at him with a knowing look.

"Oh, shut it," Watanuki muttered, glancing around at the crowd with a pout. "It was just someone's 'bad habit', nothing dangerous!"

Doumeki made a small noise under his breath. "Did you get the charm?"

"Yeah, I did!" Watanuki smiled and pocketed a small package. "The cutest charm for the cutest girl~"

Yukito and Touya shared a look, Yukito smiling as he grabbed Touya's arm. "If we don't move now, there will be far too much crowd to see the procession," he chided. "And there's still a lot to see!"

Watanuki found himself walking in front of Touya and Yukito, always with Doumeki at his side, looking around with wide, curious eyes.

There was just so much to see, between the new stands erected specifically for the Sanja Matsuri and the tourists and people from all over coming to watch the parades, Watanuki had his hands full with things to look out for.

Yes, as he had expected, a lot of people around him had 'bad habits', but as he had Doumeki clinging to his side like a sticky piece of nori seaweed, he did not have much to worry about them.

As for spirits… yes, there were a lot, just as Touya had said.

Most of them were things Watanuki had no words to describe –some were attached to people, vague translucent silhouettes fading away in the sunlight, while others were spirits like he was used to seeing, though he did not know any of them.

The temple had enough pure aura to dispel most dark creatures, as he could see that some of the spirits vanished the closer they got to the temple grounds or were repelled if they tried to go that way, while others did not seem to have any problem passing from one side to the other. He wanted to know more about them, fascinated at the differences, but Yuuko was not around, and he felt a little too self-conscious to ask Touya instead.

It was a different sort of situation from what he was used to see –Watanuki usually ran from spirits, and definitely did not openly stare at them (with so many people, even his curiosity wouldn't be noticed, so he felt free to gawk without shame)– so he found himself approaching this in a new way.

Spirits usually were things to be wary of, some were scary, some were just annoying, a few friendly but overall most of them were confusing and weird. Watanuki had always disliked them until he had started to meet some good ones (the Zashiki Warashi, and Mugetsu, and the Oden kitsune family, and even Ame Warashi despite how disgruntled she always was around him), but he couldn't help the fascination he felt for this world he was starting to see in a different way.

Yes, spirits were still attracted to him, but lacking the dangerous, annoying blobs of darkness and smoke that had plagued him since he could remember, he was less scared of things he couldn't understand.

Maybe it was a bit Yuuko's fault, because at her side he'd always approached the unknown with less wariness, but he found himself less intimidated by the many spirits than he would otherwise be.

He was approaching that world as a human who had the ability to see it, and for a moment he forgot everything about the bad sides of having these powers –all the people surrounding him, except for the three he was with, had no notion whatsoever that between them were spirits, creatures who shared their space without sharing their world. This was a new perspective he had.

"Can you see them?" he leaned a bit towards Doumeki, lowering his voice. "There's a lot of them around".

Doumeki glanced at him, then covered his eye with one hand.

He was not sure if he would be able to, because he could only see things if Watanuki felt a strong rush of emotions, but he focused on a spot Watanuki was subtly pointing at him, and he found himself staring at a small, sturdy spirit with a shaved head and elongated ears.

Doumeki had long since gotten used to seeing weird things, being around Watanuki so often, but it was always a novelty to be able to see things such as spirits just like this.

"Yeah".

He inched closer to Watanuki, who let out a snort.

"I'm not afraid," he said, and he meant it. "The temple keeps the darker ones at bay, and your aura is enough to do the same for the 'bad habits', so I can relax".

The comment was offered with such easiness that Doumeki blinked in surprise. Just to get Watanuki to admit that Doumeki was useful for something was a hardship, and it would be accompanied by words of denial or excuses to diminish his worth right away, because that was what Watanuki did whenever Doumeki helped with something.

It was a familiar routine.

This change was unexpected.

The only time Watanuki had acknowledged Doumeki's help was after they had returned from the TV program station with Kohane. Even then, Watanuki had acted like Doumeki's presence was something he could count on, but the way he'd mentioned it had irked Doumeki in ways he could not explain. It was like he'd been cheated out of something, Watanuki's matter-of-fact tone and plain look ruined by his weird mood, by how introspective and… separate from reality he had looked then.

Doumeki hadn't liked to see him like this.

This Watanuki though… he was not like that. He looked more alive than Doumeki had seen him, aside for his bouts of ranting and flailing around. He looked more present, which made all the difference to Doumeki.

"Did you hit your head too hard when you bumped on me this morning?" he asked.

"What are you–" Watanuki glared at him, feeling offended, then elbowed him until Doumeki inched away from him. "If you think I'll let you come anywhere with me ever again you're sorely mistaken!"

"I'll just come," Doumeki replied, and even though he did not smirk, there was an amused tinge to his voice that said it all.

Yukito chuckled at their squabbling, and when Watanuki turned to look at him, still frowning, he waved one hand. "You two are really good friends," he said, eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Ah… uhm, y-yeah," Watanuki turned around and hurried ahead, passing by a small crowd of people who were slowly undressing to reveal extensive, colourful tattoos on their bodies.

Watanuki paled a bit and kept walking, almost choking on the dark, thick smoke surrounding them.

Doumeki looked back at Yukito, who was beaming at him, then at a frowning Touya, then at Watanuki's retreating back, and quickly made his way to follow him, puzzling over his sudden entrance into some sort of parallel world where things stopped making sense.

"It feels like when Sakura brought back that kid from Hong Kong all over again," Touya muttered to Yukito, scuffing against the ground with his shoes.

"So you feel twenty years younger and ready to pick a fight with someone over half your age once again?"

Touya sent him a glare, but did not protest when Yukito intertwined their hands together, tugging him along so he would follow Watanuki and Doumeki through the crowded street.

"C'mon, you grumpy ol' uncle," Yukito nudged him with an elbow. "Or the younglings will get lost in the crowd".

Touya smiled a bit, and they hurried past the yakuza members getting ready to join one of the main parades.

They spent a few hours just aimlessly walking through the shops and the stands in the area surrounding the temple, catching a few groups getting ready to try and join the parades, until Yukito's stomach grumbled and they sat down to eat Watanuki's meal.

The streets were by then so full of people that they had to retire away from the temple and into one of the side streets just to find a nice place to sit down, and even there they had a hard time finding a spot with nobody in it.

A few policemen regarded them with boredom written all over their faces but did not bother them, though Watanuki kept glancing at them and fidgeting.

Their moment of rest didn't last long, since there was still a lot to see.

One of the mikoshi that were being brought around since earlier in the morning happened to pass by them as they were browsing some of the souvenir stands, trying to keep away from the crowd, and Watanuki's eyes were wide as he watched the procession happen in front of him.

People kept pushing and shoving the big temple reproduction down the road, while some of the men he'd seen undressing before were standing on top of the poles people were using to drag the mikoshi around, proudly displaying their tattoo-covered bodies for everybody to see.

Watanuki had to back away from them as the mikoshi approached, bumping into more than one person as he did so, because the dense, dark smoke surrounding the man in front of the mikoshi was too overpowering for him, but thankfully that did not detract from the sight.

Doumeki quietly placed himself in front of Watanuki, not enough to cover his sight but enough to keep even the smoke at bay, for which Watanuki sent him a grateful look while covering his mouth with one hand.

"It bothers you a lot, doesn't it?" Touya leaned down, trying to make himself heard above the commotion and the yells as the mikoshi passed by.

"Ah–"

"My powers are not strong enough that I can see everything you can," there was almost an edge of regret in Touya's voice, and Watanuki wondered why. "Sakura was… the same as you. her powers grew stronger with time, At first she could not see spirits or other creatures, while I could, but afterwards she could sense a lot of things I couldn't".

Watanuki found his attention move away from the mikoshi to Touya, surprised that he would talk to him about her like this but grateful at the same time.

"Shaoran was the one who taught her to control what she could sense," Touya continued. "Since my powers were pretty stable, I had no need to learn, but I might be able to remember a few pointers that might help you block out things you do not want to sense".

"What? So… there is a way for me not to be bothered by that?" Watanuki now fully turned towards him as the mikoshi slowly made its way down the road and the men carrying it turned the corner. "But Yuuko-san…"

"It's probable Yuuko-san would have taught you that too," Yukito smiled down at Watanuki, "but I think she was waiting until your powers were more stable".

"Stable?" Watanuki turned from one man to the other, confused.

"Your powers are greater than mine and you are still young, so it's probable they will keep growing with time," Yukito replied. "I can feel them a little, which is why I can say that, but by the stories you told us, you weren't capable of controlling them before, right?"

Well, that somehow made sense to Watanuki.

He had been seeing creatures long before meeting Yuuko, but as he slowly grew to realise there was something else wrong with him, and as he slowly decided to cling to his existence, Watanuki hadn't seen those creatures anymore, but he'd seen other things that he had never been able to before.

With his erratic behaviour and powers attracting creatures, Watanuki wouldn't have had a chance to block things out, but now… maybe now he did?

Would Yuuko tell him, or was she waiting for him to realise and ask it himself first? But Touya was offering, and Watanuki was actually happy to accept, this time.

"Well, I wouldn't mind if you could help, yeah–"

"Of course, if your bodyguard doesn't mind," Yukito glanced up to where Doumeki was hovering, arms crossed on his chest, and smiled at him, receiving a blank look from him and an incensed one from Watanuki.

"He's not my bodyguard!"

Doumeki snorted. "I do tend to–"

"If you value the bento boxes I make you every day you will not complete that phrase!"

Doumeki rolled his eyes, deciding not to bother with it.

Once the mikoshi was well out of sight, and the crowd had stopped acting up and pushing closer to watch it, Touya pushed Yukito and Watanuki down a side street, so they could pass through to the next main road, hoping to see another one of the mikoshi pass by before it was too late.

"Oh, isn't it you, kid? Watanuki-dono!"

Watanuki blinked and stopped, twisting his head around to see who'd just called out his name.

The side street was full of people and most of them were minding their own business, but he could see nobody looking at him.

"Up here, kid!"

Watanuki looked up, and was met with the familiar sight of the owl spirit, Kyomaro, sitting comfortably on top of the fence of a shop, his bag of umbrellas around his neck. "Kyomaro-san! What's up with the 'dono'…?"

"You're a customer, kid, it's only proper to address a customer with their name," the owl shook his head and fluffed up the feathers around his neck. "Here to watch the matsuri?"

"Yes! I…" Watanuki looked around, but as he had expected, nobody was even looking at him, except for Doumeki, Touya and Yukito. He waved them over, embarrassed. "Ah, sorry! Touya-san, Yukito-san, Doumeki, this is Kyomaro-san, an umbrella mender".

Touya and Yukito exchanged a perplexed look, then both bowed, while Doumeki simply moved closer to Watanuki, eyes widening a bit as he took in the sight of the owl spirit.

"Is the umbrella working fine for you, kid?" apparently used to the staring, the spirit turned to look at Watanuki.

"Yes! It still works perfectly!" Watanuki smiled, then hastily shuffled his bags until he found the bag of desserts he'd packed before, which was still mostly full. "Do you want one? I made a lot and we wouldn't be able to finish them all…"

While Watanuki and the spirit named Kyomaro chatted happily, apparently uncaring about the sight they made, Touya and Yukito glanced around, surprised to see that nobody in the surrounding area was paying them any attention.

It was weird –they could feel there was no barrier of any sort to prevent people from taking notice of a high school teen talking to thin air– but it looked like no one saw anything weird. In fact, Touya noticed with growing alarm, a person walked right by Watanuki, and while his eyes moved both sides, he did not look alarmed –he actually didn't look like he'd seen anything weird at all.

"Why…" Touya started, but Yukito elbowed him.

They both turned to look at Doumeki, who was staring straight at Watanuki, hands clenched into fists at his side and a darkened expression on his face.

"Doumeki-kun…?"

"Is it just because of your powers that you can see him…?" Doumeki's question surprised them, and Touya felt some annoyance at that.

"The spirit–" he started, but Doumeki shook his head, making him stop. Still Doumeki said nothing afterwards, making Touya's annoyance grow some more, but they had no time to say anything because with a wave, Watanuki said his goodbyes to the owl spirit and turned around to look at them.

"Kyomaro-san said he came here to harvest some memories from the shrine today," he told the three, not noticing the shift in mood. "He suggested for us to go get an omikuji since today is a particularly good day to get one… something about… is there something wrong?"

"No, it's just…" Yukito looked at the retreating spirit, then back at Watanuki. "Weren't you worried about being seen talking to…?"

It took Watanuki a second to realise what Yukito meant, and his reaction to the question wasn't what the three were expecting at all. "Oh, that… no, not really," he smiled wistfully, for a moment looking so distant that Touya felt his heart constrict painfully, and stepped forwards without even realising it, one hand coming up to ruffle Watanuki's hair before he could stop himself.

"Well, that spirit suggested to draw a fortune, right? Then let's go," Touya recovered from his slip-up by quickly walking down the sidewalk and glancing back at them. "We can avoid the crows if we go down this way".

Yukito hurried to follow him, glancing back at Watanuki for a moment, and Doumeki silently reached Watanuki's side. Watanuki almost expected Doumeki to say something –he had noticed he looked tense– but instead what Doumeki asked was, "Is that the one who fixed your umbrella?"

"Yeah," Watanuki and Doumeki hurried across the street to reach Touya and Yukito. "Doumeki…"

"Is there dessert left?"

"Oi! Of course there's dessert left! What kind of question is it? You overgrown bottomless pit–"

It was easier to get Watanuki angry than it was to get answers out of him –and it made him lose that distant, aloof air. Doumeki did not like to see him like that. It reminded him too much of how sometimes Watanuki looked like he would disappear if Doumeki happened to look away.

It made Doumeki not want to look away, either.

There was a small line of people in front of the dispensers of omikuji, and by the time they managed to get to the front, there was a small crowd of teens standing close by, inspecting their fortunes while clamouring and chatting loudly. While Touya inserted two 100 yen coins in the slot, shaking the box to get a number stick and holding it out for Yukito to do the same, Watanuki idly looked around, instantly stiffening when he noticed a faint curl of smoke surrounding one of the girls closest to him.

He didn't want to be too obvious as he squirmed away, so he tried to focus on something else instead of the smell, hoping they would get away from the teens soon enough.

"You shouldn't have done that, Ruko-chan," he heard one of the girls say in a hushed done, though they were all giggling. "Didn't you know it's bad to put the fortune back and pick another?"

"Waa~? But I wanted a daikichi, not a hankichi one!" the girl with the smoke surrounding her neck spoke up. "It's not like these things are real anyway, but I just wanted a good one to bring home!"

"Watanuki-kun, it's your turn," Yukito called out, and Watanuki hurried forwards, shuffling through his pockets for a coin but unable to find it. Doumeki reached out from behind him and slid one inside the offering slot instead, and Watanuki glowered at him a bit.

"I had one," he muttered, still unable to find it.

He shook the box and picked a number, then checked the corresponding drawer in front of him and opened it. There were many rolled up fortunes to pick, so he just grabbed the top one and closed the drawer, opening it to reveal a suekichi –a future blessing.

"Oh, you got a good one," Yukito peeked from above his shoulders.

"It says I'm going to be lucky with my love life," Watanuki read out loud, "And that luck will be with me in form of Sakura flowers".

The fortune paper then went into further detail about things, but Watanuki shoved it in his pocket, deciding to read it fully while on the train back home. As he did that, his fingers found the coin he'd been searching earlier, so he took it out with a triumphant cry. "There it is! Here, Doumeki! I don't want to be indebted to you!"

He hurried forwards and slid his coin into the slot, smirking at Doumeki, who simply shrugged and shook the box before picking his own drawer.

The moment Doumeki opened it, Watanuki felt a sudden chill, and shivered, looking around. He'd felt something, but he didn't really know what. Was it a spirit? But this close to the temple it shouldn't be possible…

"Ah," Doumeki had unrolled his fortune, and it was suekyou –a future curse.

"Haha, now that's unlucky!" gloating a bit because for the first time since ever, Watanuki had gotten something lucky while Doumeki hadn't, Watanuki nudged him in the shoulder with such a smirk that Doumeki turned around and stared him down. "Don't find yourself trapped within false roads… huh?" Watanuki shook his head. "That doesn't make much sense…"

"Hmm".

"Can't you say anything else? I bet you'd like to have my lucky one now~" Watanuki waved one hand in front of his face. "But no, I'm going to keep that one!"

"Good," Doumeki said, looking serious and making Watanuki look at him. "Keep it with you".

Then, ignoring Watanuki's confused 'huh?', he turned around and walked away from the fortune dispenser, reaching the wall where people tied their bad fortunes, and quickly placed his own there as well, making sure it was secure before returning to the others.

"Well, that's done," Yukito patted Touya's shoulder, being the only one to notice Touya's growing glower, "There's still some time before you two have to go back, so how about we have another round at the stands out there?"

As they walked away from the crowded steps of the temple, Watanuki couldn't help but glance back a few times, the weird feeling following him for a long while, until it finally grew fainter as he left the temple grounds and was pushed back into the crowd of people watching the parade of another mikoshi.

Still, it took him a while to relax again, and if he kept closer to Doumeki, neither of them mentioned it.

It was later in the afternoon when Watanuki and Doumeki had to leave and walked back to the metro line, with Touya and Yukito in tow.

All the food gone, Doumeki was now carrying just the empty boxes, while Watanuki had on him a few goods he'd bought as a gift for both Himawari and Yuuko tucked away in a bag, which he knew they would enjoy.

"Thank you for inviting me today," Watanuki looked up at Touya and Yukito with a smile, then elbowed Doumeki, who bowed.

"Thank you for having me today," Doumeki parroted, keeping his voice blank as he stared specifically at Touya.

Watanuki rolled his eyes. "Still, I had fun today, I've never seen so many people together ever!"

"Watanuki-kun, that reminds me… shouldn't you buy the ticket now? There's a lot of people waiting in the station too, if you wait too long you might miss the train back," Yukito touched Touya's arm and then led the teen to the ticket machine, leaving Doumeki alone with Touya once again, while Watanuki glared over at Doumeki hoping to convey to him 'be nice' without speaking.

Touya sighed as he watched Yukito and Watanuki leave, but when he turned around to stare at Doumeki, he found the kid looking at him with such a penetrant gaze that it made him uncomfortable, even if he was the adult one.

"Did anyone ever tell you not to stare all the time?" he grunted out, and Doumeki did not reply, but he did look away, eyes seeking Watanuki and Yukito as they waited in line to buy the tickets. "What did you mean before?"

He did not have to specify, since Doumeki knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Sometimes…" Doumeki looked uncomfortable, and for the first time he did look his age. "Sometimes people don't seem to notice him".

Touya did not reply to that. It could have meant anything, really, but he felt instantly chilled to the bone. He waited for Doumeki to continue.

"Lately, I have been accompanying him when he goes to buy groceries. I've seen the way he stands in front of the cashier, waiting. There are times he waits for a long time before one takes notice he's there, even if…" Doumeki paused, as if his words physically hurt him "even if they were looking his way all the while".

Touya swallowed. That was not what he'd expected to hear.

Doumeki did not add about the things he had noticed while they were at the TV Program station, how the guards had bypassed Watanuki to focus only on Doumeki. How that hadn't been the only time he had noticed it.

"He acts like he expects it," he said instead, looking angry, "like it doesn't bother him".

"But it does," Touya murmured. "Was that why you asked whether it was my powers that made me able to see him?"

Doumeki shook his head. "I don't know," but he really meant 'I don't know why he wants to be around you' though he did not say that.

Touya brushed one hand through his hair. He looked over at Yukito, and his eyes softened as he watched him talk with Watanuki. They were both smiling. "I do not mean any harm to him".

Doumeki followed his gaze, and for a moment, neither spoke. Then, without looking away from Watanuki, "What did you ask to that woman?"

Touya snorted. "That's a personal question to ask," he said with a small sneer, then he turned serious. "I was… searching for a person".

Doumeki hummed, but said nothing more. Touya wondered how much was too much, and how keen was that kid, who barely spoke and who kept a blank expression most of the time. He sighed, and rubbed his temples.

"Listen," he said. This was not his sort of thing, not really. Yukito would say it better than he ever could, and without all the reluctance either… but Yukito was with Watanuki, and he could not switch positions with him. "We're on the same side here. There isn't much I can say when I appeared without warning and you have no reassurances whatsoever about why I decided to stick around but… if there is one thing you can believe, is that I have every intention to keep that kid here, no matter what".

Doumeki looked back at him, eyes narrowed and contemplative, one hand slipping inside a pocket of his vest; Touya had no idea what he was doing, but Doumeki was clutching the egg Yuuko had given him, knuckles white around it. He didn't even know what it was, or why he'd been given it, or whether he would have to use it, or what for, but it was the one thing that even Kohane had noticed –something that he could use for Watanuki. And until he had the answers to all those questions he would cling to that egg and keep it on him all the time, just in case.

A reminder, maybe, that somewhere along the line, he'd gotten far too invested, and did not want to back down anymore.

"Is there anything you can say?" he asked instead.

Touya stared at him, at his stance, and Doumeki fought the urge to look away, because for a moment he felt this man –this incognita, someone who had appeared one day, gotten close enough to Watanuki to invite him over more than once, someone who had power– was looking right through him, and reading more than Doumeki wanted him to. Instead he kept himself still, and did not look down.

"I knew someone who was like him, you know".

Doumeki fought the urge to stiffen as Touya's tone changed, turning into something softer, and it reminded Doumeki of the way his mother spoke about her own mother, who was no longer with them.

"She thought she was so good at keeping things hidden, as if by keeping her worries to herself she could keep others from worrying, but… she just didn't see that all she did was make us more worried," Touya shook his head. "I did the wrong thing –I waited. I thought she would notice, that she was just taking longer to realise we were all waiting for her to open up instead of confronting her about her silences. I cared for her, and did not want to push her into opening up if she was not ready. I thought being patient, showing her we were there for her, would be enough".

Touya breathed deeply, looking at Watanuki but seeing someone else –his little sister as she had been before Shaoran had appeared in their lives. There had always been something up with her, both Touya and his father had noticed, and even Yukito, but none had said a thing. They had respected Sakura's space, hoping that she would one day explain why there was so much sadness in her eyes. Why she kept looking into the distance, waiting for something that did not come.

When she'd brought Shaoran back, things had changed –Touya had hoped she would open up to him then, finally tell him what made her smile so sad. He wanted to help, but he had waited still. He'd believed she would tell.

And then things had happened so quickly afterwards –her marriage to Shaoran, and then the birth of their first child. Sakura and Shaoran had worked hard into teaching their little kid about his heritage on both sides of the family.

Touya had still waited, because he had felt that something was up, and he'd hoped then that Sakura would tell him. That she would trust her big brother at least with that.

And by then, it had been too late. Before he knew it, Sakura and Shaoran were gone. His nephew was gone. She had failed to see that by waiting, she'd effectively kept them away, and Touya had been wrong too.

He should have talked to her. Made her aware that he knew something was up, and then allowed her to decide what to tell him… but he'd waited for her to make the first move, and that had been a mistake.

Sakura had never noticed that they knew something was up, and that they were waiting for her to open up to them. So nothing had been done by either side. And now it was far too late for regrets.

What she had been keeping hidden from them had to be revealed by another Sakura through the mouth of Yue, so that Touya could finally have at least what little closure he could.

"Watanuki is like her," Touya continued, and looked back at Doumeki, trying to convey the right message. "He hasn't noticed yet. He might know there's people around him who care for him, but he hasn't realised that he has to reach out too. And just like her, he will not notice unless someone speaks up. I was unable to do so with her, and I can't… it is not my place to do so with him, even when I notice something is wrong, with the way he keeps things to himself".

And it hurt to admit, because all Touya wanted was to be that person. He wanted to make up for his mistake with Sakura, and help Watanuki who was going through the same thing.

But Watanuki did not trust him the way he trusted his friend, Doumeki. Only someone like Doumeki could reach out to Watanuki now. Touya could be there, he could do his part and make a place for himself and Yukito in Watanuki's life, but Doumeki was the only one who could confront him at the same level. Touya could have done so with Sakura, but hadn't.

Doumeki was the one who could do it with Watanuki, if he didn't make the same mistake of Touya.

Touya did not know that, but he was not the only one who had noticed this –Doumeki's grandfather had seen the bond his grandkid and Watanuki shared, and he'd chosen to be seen by Watanuki with an appearance closer to Doumeki's because of this. He had been able to save Watanuki for this same reason, too.

Doumeki inhaled sharply, and looked down, his hand still clutching the egg in his pocket. His other hand was closed in a fist and was shaking slightly as he took in Touya's words and understood them.

Neither said a word after that, but there was a weird sort of understanding growing between them that was stronger than any words could be.

On the other side of the street, Watanuki peeked at the two that were waiting for him and Yukito to come back and sighed.

"Yukito-san…?" he started, sliding the money inside the machine and waiting for the options to appear on the display.

"Hmm? What is it, Watanuki-kun?" Yukito looked down at him, polite and smiling, and Watanuki looked away.

"Thank you for inviting me to the matsuri," Watanuki didn't look away from the ticket dispenser so he would not see Yukito's face. "You've spent the whole day minding me and Doumeki when you could have had some time for yourselves, so… thank you. I had fun today".

Yukito grabbed the tickets from the machine before Watanuki could, holding them out of his reach so Watanuki had to turn around to look at him.

"I know usually it's Touya saying this, but it was no problem at all, Watanuki-kun," Yukito offered Watanuki his tickets with a smile so warm Watanuki couldn't not return it. "Touya and I, we truly do not mind having you around. We… ever since Sakura and Shaoran…" Yukito paused, feeling the pressure of magic on his throat, and swallowed. Watanuki took that for grief, and winced. "Well. It's been just the two of us, for a long while after that," Yukito continued. "Having you around makes Touya look happier than he's been in a long while, and I am not about to say it's just him. You're a nice kid, Watanuki-kun, and we enjoy spending time with you, and if we can help you learn something… well, that knowledge is made to be shared by others who live within this kind of world. Please consider this an invitation to come see us anytime you want, and if we can come visit you too, that would be nice too, no need to make sure of this every time, ok?"

Watanuki's cheeks were a bit red, both in embarrassment and happiness, and he nodded, meeting Yukito's eyes. "Yes, I understand," he floundered a bit with the tickets, then glanced over at Touya and Doumeki. "Uh, is it ok if… maybe Doumeki will butt in– I mean, maybe he might want to come next time too, is that ok or–"

"Your friends are always welcome, especially those you seem to mention so often," Yukito's smile was blinding, and Watanuki covered his face to try and hide his fluster.

"Yeah, thank you".

"Now let's go back before they start a competition or something," Yukito nudged him, and Watanuki jerked up.

"Wha– why… Doumeki wouldn't–"

"I know Touya," Yukito winked, "and those two can be pretty similar, don't you think so too?"

"Ah? That oaf and Touya-san?" Watanuki shook his head. "Impossible!"

Yukito's smile seemed to reach his ears then "oh, but that's because I didn't tell you of that time he and Shaoran had a competition during a matsuri… they ended up trying to beat each other at four different games while Sakura tried so hard to make them stop…"

"Eh? Really? Why did they do that?"

"Touya didn't like Shaoran much at first," Yukito chuckled, one hand covering his mouth to convey the truth to Watanuki much like one would with a secret. Watanuki's eyes widened. "He wanted to make sure Shaoran would treat Sakura right, and I always thought he had a little bit of a brother complex…"

Watanuki shook his head in disbelief, "he doesn't look like the sort of person who would do that," it was a bittersweet thought, but it made Watanuki smile softly, thinking about a younger Sakura and Shaoran being happy. "But… what does that have to do with Touya trying to do the same with Doumeki?"

Yukito's smile turned into something mischievous, and he winked again. "That would be telling now, wouldn't it?"

Watanuki watched Yukito walk back towards Touya and Doumeki with a small frown.

For a moment, he stood still in front of the ticket dispenser, the sun warm on his skin, and watched Touya, Yukito and Doumeki on the other side of the street, waiting for him.

Doumeki joining them hadn't been too bad at all. Watanuki had worried he would intrude, that things would feel awkward then, but they hadn't.

He'd had fun.

There was something nudging him at the back of his head, almost an insistent prodding for him to notice something, but Watanuki couldn't understand, for the life of him, what it meant.

He was a bit too content, maybe –warm and satisfied– and it was weird to realise how rare it had been for him to feel this way, before. Now, he could think up countless times when he had felt happy, ever since meeting Yuuko, and Mokona, and Doumeki and Himawari and Kohane, and now with Touya and Yukito.

He felt like he could reach out with one hand and finally grasp the something he was missing –that little puzzle piece he'd need to figure stuff out– but then he blinked, and Touya called his name, and Watanuki hurried forwards, bags clutched against his chest as a reminder of the day he'd spent with them, and decided that he could wait a little bit more to think about it.

On the trip back home, with Doumeki sitting at his side, Watanuki found himself wondering, selfishly, if he could get to have more days like this to look forwards to.

…–…–…–…–…–…

Note: I'm sorry if that was hard to notice, but I'd like to point it out just in case… Watanuki cooked more than his fair share before his trip to Asakusa in this chapter, and later he chalks it up to Doumeki's appearance, while Yuuko mentions his 'powers growing'. This was an indirect homage to CCS's Sakura, whose powers grow enough that in one chapter she prepares one extra chocolate heart for Valentine's Day, and sends it to her grandpa. There, Kero-chan mentions that her powers have grown so much that she knew how many chocolates to make even without realising it.

Glossary:

Sanja Matsuri – famous Shinto festival in Asakusa, takes place in late May (so in time with the current events of xxxholic). The celebration fills the district with people from all around, and it spans in the arc of three days. The ending day, Sunday, sees the parade of three Mikoshi (see below). Yakuza members bare their bodies to proudly display their tattoos and direct and carry the mikoshi around. During the other days, smaller mikoshi are carried around (mostly by women and kids), and there are other shows, like those of Miko and Geisha. There are plenty of stands selling things and food during the matsuri.

Matsuri – Festival.

Mikoshi – portable shrine or palanquin. Specifically, the ones carried around during the Sanja Matsuri are reproductions of the shrine of the Sensou-ji temple. They are black-lacquered and decorated with sculptures and with gold leaf. They weight around a ton each and were quite expensive to make (around 40 million yen).

Omikuji – fortune paper slips that are sold in temples. You can either receive them from the miko working at the temples or through some dispensers. You put the amount of money required, shake a box and extract a stick with a drawer number. Then you open the drawer and select one of the rolled up papers inside, which contains a pretty detailed fortune in it. There are different fortunes from 'big fortune' to 'big curse'.

Dankishi, hankishi, suekishi, suekyou – various kinds of fortune paper slips. Dankishi is big fortune, hankishi is half fortune, suekishi is future fortune and suekyou is future curse.