Kimihiro Watanuki, Yuko Ichihara, Shizuka Doumeki, Himawari Kunogi, Mokona, Maru and Moro: © CLAMP

Fukinkou Akuyushi, Shiroimi, Kuroimi, Shinyou Dekinai, and Shinrai Dekinai : © ShadowTheHedgehog92 (me)

A/N: Not only is this the first fic I have written in a VERY long time, it's also my first try at a xxxHolic fic, so try to bear with me. Also, an important little detail: this fic likely takes place somewhere in between the end of the "regular" (first) xxxHolic anime and the beginning of xxxHolic Kei, largely because I've only seen a little bit of Kei at the moment.

PROLOGUE

"Surely I haven't wandered into the wrong shop…"

He pessimistically glanced out the nearby window, his long black hair covering nearly half of his face. The sky was still a dismal gray and it appeared as if the rain had begun to fall harder over the past couple of minutes he had been in this place.

He had heard a good deal about this place, this little shop in the middle of the city that could grant practically any wish. From what he had heard, he had expected this place to be much more mysterious and magical, and to his disappointment it seemed very ordinary, in fact it almost seemed (to him) more like a house than a bona fide shop.

"Why so quiet?" said the voice of the one who had greeted him moments before. "Aren't we ever going to get down to business?"

He turned away from the window and looked across the table, pushing the hair away from his eyes. She, the owner of the shop, was looking at him with much gravity.

"You obviously have a wish," she said, "otherwise you wouldn't have come here. And you seemed to be in quite a hurry to speak with me; you didn't even have time to tell me your name."

"Fukinkou Akuyushi," he told her. "But why do I bother?" he added irritably. "Look at this place! There's nothing special about it! And nothing too special about you either, Yuko…am I really to believe you can grant my wish? Really now?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly in anger, but she tried to remain at ease. "Uncertain now, are you?" she said with a bit of a sly grin. "Just set your doubts aside and tell me, Fukinkou."

He sighed irately and shifted his bright yellow eyes away from her, still reluctant to tell his wish. "I want to be greatly skilled in magic," he said, sounding rather irked, "but my attempts have been nothing but pure trouble." He remained silent and cheerless for a moment after he spoke, as though he did not want to speak further.

"Go on," she urged. "I'm listening."

He grudgingly turned his eyes to her once more. "I'm apparently not powerful enough to do it correctly, because most of my attempts have nearly killed me."

"That's because you are dealing with a kind of magic that humans are not meant to be involved with," she replied firmly.

Almost immediately her words ignited a explosive spark within him. "I came here to have a wish granted," he shouted furiously, "not to have you tell me what I can and cannot do!"

"Tell me your wish then," she said.

"Fine then," he said, trying to calm himself down. "My wish…is to be immortal."

"You want to be immortal so you can dabble in your particular choice of magic without fear of death," she said.

"Exactly," he replied.

She was silent for a moment, pondering his request. "I will grant your wish," she said, "but I require payment."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few thousand yen.

"Not that kind of payment," she said, pushing the money away. "Any wish I grant requires a payment of equal value. In your case, the payment is…your humanity."

He gave her a perplexed look. "What do you mean by that?"

"It means that you will technically remain flesh-and-blood," she replied, "but spirits and other supernatural beings will regard you as one of their own."

He grew silent and contemplated her words for a minute. With beings like that on his side, he could become an exceptionally mighty sorcerer…exactly the goal he had been aiming for. "What kind of spirits and supernatural beings are we talking about here?"

"All kinds," she said.

A very pleased smile slowly came across his face. "Perfect!" he exclaimed joyfully. "And to think I doubted you! I accept the payment fully!"

She sighed and had an almost somber look on her face as she got up from the table. Still, she proceeded to place her hand on top of his head and close her eyes as though she were extremely focused and thinking very deeply.

"You are now immortal," she said, slowly taking her hand off his head. "Your wish is granted."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" he exclaimed. "You are truly remarkable!"

She said nothing, she only continued to look at him gravely. "You may leave."

"Of course," he said with a bit of a chuckle, getting up from the table. "With my wish granted, I have no reason to remain here anymore." He grabbed his umbrella and began to walk out, but turned and thanked her passionately one last time before he finally headed out the door.

She remained standing there for a long while after he had gone, deep in thought. "I tried to warn him," she said to herself sorrowfully, "but he'll learn his lesson soon enough."