A/N: ZareEraz here! Hi guys! Yes, I'm still alive :3 Sorry for the long wait, but here's the next chapter for you! I hope you enjoy it and happy reading!

Chapter Eighteen: The Rumor and The Resolution

Well, it certainly wasn't the strangest thing to ever happen to her. Watanuki was pretty sure that she'd gone to bed after making lunches and doing her homework, and yet somehow she was standing in the temple's courtyard, in her pajamas and staring at Doumeki. Well, she knew it wasn't Doumeki at this point – rather it was his grandfather, Haruka. He was wearing a simple kimono and geta and was looking up into the trees that lined the temple's paths. Sensing her arrival, the young man turned and smiled (definitely not something she saw on that particular face often) and greeted her.

"Yo."

"Good evening," Watanuki dipped her head in a quick bow. Even though he looked her age, the seer could never really forget that he was a whole generation older than her. It would've been creepy to hang out with Doumeki's grandfather in any other context…but her life with Yuko had ramped up her expectations on weirdness.

"The season for cherry blossoms has ended," Haruka mused as Watanuki was getting the grasp of her dream. They both looked up into the branches of the nearest tree, observing the greenery and the birds rustling in the leaves. "Even though birds often came to rest in its branches, this year it seems to have an exceptional amount of birds coming to it."

"It seems so," Watanuki replied. "Just before summer arrived, hundreds of flower petal fell from this tree."

"It looks like someone wanted to used the cherry blossoms to show their appreciation," Haruka gave the girl a knowing look, and Watanuki remember that this tree was the one where the spirit of the princess-looking woman had stayed over the course of spring. Watanuki smiled, remembering that day when they played mahjong underneath the blossoms. Haruka liked that cute look on her face, and he could tell that she was thinking of a good memory. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a moment to puff a cloud of smoke into the air before continuing. "A girl likes to stop by and view this tree often; she's a cute one."

"A girl?" Watanuki didn't know who he was talking about off the top of her head, but after thinking for a moment, an image of Kohane flashed in her memory. The first time she'd met the girl was when she had been watching the spirit woman possess that old cherry tree near the river.

"It's Kohane!" Watanuki stated, her eyes widening. Does she come to the temple often?

"So her name is Kohane?" Haruka asked, tapping some ash off of his cigarette. It disappeared before it even hit the ground.

"She can see things other people can't…just like me," the raven continued. Haruka almost instantly corrected her.

"There are no two people that are the same," he started. "The things that they see might not be the same, the things they think about could also not be different." Watanuki frowned at her friend a little bit, confused. If I wanted a Yuko-lesson I would've just gone to her.

"Haruka, what do you-" As if anticipating her question, the young man began his explanation.

"The two words 'same' and 'different' shouldn't be used so carelessly." As he opened his mouth to continue, Watanuki's eyes suddenly burned and she woke up from her dream. Her eyes opened as sunlight streamed in through a crack in her curtains. She threw her blanket over her head and groaned in frustration.

"Why can't people ever explain things to me simply?!" She sat up and yanked her curtains open, letting the morning sunlight bathe her room. "He does the same damn thing that Yuko does." She grumbled, getting up to put her futon away. She sighed and started getting ready for school, her thoughts swirling around Haruka and Kohane and why people felt the need to tell her that she and Kohane were different. Yuko had done that too, if she recalled correctly. Kohane saw spirits, the raven saw spirits, no one else could see them, so they were essentially the same. By the time she was ready to leave, the seer exited her apartment with no more answers than when she'd woken up.

Her school day began as it usually did, walking to school, meeting up with Wari and Doumeki at some point along the way. Doumeki greeted her with a kiss, which caused her to blush and Wari chuckled at them, calling the pair sweet. Their morning classes passed uneventfully and in what seemed like no time at all the trio was outside having a picnic for lunch. The raven ended up talking about her experience with Haruka and their discussion about Kohane.

"Speaking of which, why haven't I seen her on television lately?" Wari asked.

"Maybe…she's choosing what programs to show up on," Watanuki replied. Both teens faces got a little worried for a moment, all of them knowing that Kohane was coming under fire from the media outlets.

Wari's eyes popped open when he remembered something. "I heard her usual program was supposed to have recorded a live segment, but it was suddenly canceled."

"You didn't know?" Doumeki piped up as he stuffed his face full of Watanuki's cooking, making it seem like she was the only one out of the loop.

"You mean that you knew?" She accused, finding that hard to believe because the archer was not invested in television programs like Wari was.

"I saw it on the internet," came the reply.

"Liar! You don't even have a computer at your place!" Doumeki didn't reply, but instead popped a giant piece of sushi in his mouth all at once, making an "om" sound. "Don't just gobble down the food! At least savor it!" The raven jumped to the feet to lightly smack his head. "Do you know how much effort and heart I put into making those sushi rolls?!" And then without being asked, she began dramatically acting out the process of making their sushi lunch.

"First I have to peel the carrot, then chop the mushrooms and then fry the eggs!" Each description came with hand actions but before she could get too far into it, Doumeki interrupted.

He was looking down at another piece of sushi in his hand and asked, "Then where's the dried shrimp?"

"Sorry!" The girl shouted, not sounding sorry at all, "I didn't put any in because it takes the most effort to make!" Wari giggled at the couple, enjoying their usual routine. Watanuki switched into pamper mode as soon as she heard the boy's laughter and snatched up one of the tiers with sushi in it. "Wari can eat the ones in the middle because they are the best!" She smiled and knelt in front of her former crush, offering the box to him. Her voice instantly changed to a condescending tone when she addressed her boyfriend, her fangs popping out. "Doumeki can just eat the ones on the ends because he's being such a picky ass!"

"The end of fish cakes and sausage taste the best," Doumeki replied, not missing a beat to mess with his girlfriend.

"That's true!" Wari agreed. "When I eat cake, I always like to eat the ends of it last!" Watanuki was appalled that Wari would agree with Doumeki and side against her! And then she realized, that Wari would want to eat the ends of the sushi…and Doumeki had eaten them all!

"Give them back!" She shouted, grabbing the archer by his collar and shaking him. "Give the ends back to me!"

"I already ate them," he replied, completely ignoring the fact that the raven was assaulting him.

"But I'm very worried," Wari's quiet voice interrupted the shenanigans and yanked them back to their previous conversation.

"Kohane doesn't seem to be the kind of person to just take a day off," Doumeki observed. Watanuki sat back down, her angry energy draining out of her.

"I wonder what happened…" she mumbled. "Perhaps she overworked herself and got sick?"

"We have a half day tomorrow and I don't have to go to club activities," Doumeki stated, "I'll go check up on her with you."

"Huh? You're saying that I should go see her with you?" The raven asked. Doumeki gave her a deadpan look.

"If you don't want to go, then don't."

"Who says I'm not going?!"

"Then go."

"Of course I'm going!" Watanuki's energy was back and she got right in the boy's face. "Even if I'm not going with you, I'll still go!" Wari was laughing at them again.

"You two really are so cute together!" He smiled at his friend and chuckled again.

"You've got to be kidding me! He drives me nuts!" Watanuki pointed and accusing finger at the archer only to find out that he was gobbling up food again. "Slow down, you pig!" She squealed.

"But it's good," came the emotionless reply.

"Then savor it!" Wari laughed again, happy that the three of them could share these moments together.

The next day when Watanuki made it over to Yuko's shop, she set about making Kohane a bento lunch and explained that she was taking part of the afternoon. She promised that she'd be back later to do her regular chores and make dinner. When she started making the bento and the entire household decided that they needed to watch her make it. Yuko was standing behind her wearing tasteful, purple robes, her long hair pulled up into a simple bun at the back of her neck and Maru and Moro were watching beside her. Mokona was on the counter, but Watanuki make sure that the pork bun didn't get any fur or paws in her stuff.

"You're making a very nutritious lunch," Yuko observed, watching as Watanuki rolled a perfect tamagokai omelet.

"So you're going to Kohane's house to eat a bento with her?" Mokona asked, folding it's little arms. "Isn't that kind of suspicious for a T.V. star?"

"Normal people would be shocked!" Yuko gasped teasingly, playing along with her companion. "I don't think you understand what a huge paparazzi scandal this could be!"

"Doesn't understand!~ Doesn't understand!~" The twins sang, dancing around the kitchen happily.

"Leave me alone!" I'm going no matter what you say!" Watanuki snapped, placing the omelet on a plate and slicing it up. Yuko had to cover her face so that spit didn't get her as the girl yelled. She turned away in a huff and the second she wasn't looking, a mischievous glint sparkled in Yuko's and Mokona's eyes.

"Got it!" Yuko cheered as she snagged a piece of tamagoyaki in her greedy fingers and popped it in her mouth.

"Ate it!" Mokona seconded as it did the same. Watanuki gasped in shock as she realized that the pair had eaten the ends of the omelet.

"Damn it! You always eat the ends!"

"That's because they're the best!" Yuko winked.

"Yeah!" Mokona added. Watanuki sighed, resigned to always lose out to those two.

"Hey, Yuko?" She started. "You know about the reviews regarding Kohane, right?" Yuko nodded, having seen some of the turmoil on T.V. and when she was browsing the web. When Watanuki was finished making her bento the pair went off to find Yuko's computer to search the web. Yuko opened up a browser and searched for Kohane. As she scrolled down the search results, the worry in Watanuki's stomach balled up tigher and tighter as the page kept going down. Yuko clicked open one of the sights and Watanuki's eyes bulged. The slanderous remarks had quadrupled since the last time she checked the net.

"There are even more than before!" She cried out, her worry growing. People online were calling Kohane all sorts of names, swearing at her, threatening her…it was horrible to read.

"How cruel…" Mokona sighed, jumping up on Yuko's shoulder. "They're not holding back at all." Yuko went back and opened up another page and it was even worse than the first. And then the third was worse after that.

"This isn't just going overboard," the raven breathed. "Just a few weeks ago, everyone loved Kohane! Now look at this mess!" Watanuki looked at the screen again as Yuko opened up a page where someone had doctored a picture of Kohane with blood dripping down her face.

"The way people think can easily be infected," Yuko replied, her eyes growing a bit sad as she watched humanity tear into the girl's reputation. Another picture popped up and someone had removed Kohane's head and replaced it with a skull. "As long as it is interesting, people can easily be influenced by those around them." Yuko's cranberry eyes shined with the light of the computer screen, their depths scanning through the lines of slander. "On the flip side, bad intentions are always more exciting than good intentions."

"That's horrible…" Watanuki's eyes flitted to the floor. She didn't want to read anymore, her heart already hurt too much.

"Is Wari going today?" Yuko asked, looking up from the screen.

"What?" The girl was so caught up in her thoughts that she did process the question.

"Is Wari going with you to deliver the bento?"

"No…he said that he had something to do today."

"Is that so?" The witch's voice took on an eerie tone. "That's a good thing."

"Huh?" Watanuki was so confused but the woman refused to explain what she meant. It wasn't long after that that she went to meet up with Doumeki, bento in hand. The two of them were walking down the street, only having a vague location in their heads. The pair was walking side by side and since Doumeki wasn't much of a conversationalist, Watanuki took it upon herself to make the conversation with herself.

"I wonder what Kohane likes to eat," she mused.

"Don't know," Doumeki supplied.

"Maybe I should've made sandwiches instead," the girl continued, placing her hand on her chin. "Do fried eggs make it look like I'm being skimpy?" She asked the question, but didn't really expect and answer back. But that didn't mean that she didn't get one.

"I wonder." A cross vein popped out on the girl's forehead at the vague comment and she stomped to a stop and pointed an angry finger at her boyfriend.

"You were the one who said he was going to come along so if you're going to answer my questions, can't you at least have some insightful input?!" She snarled, turning on her full angry mode. However, her rant was cut short when two women passed by and their conversation floated into the teens' ears.

"I heard that psychic girl disappeared," the one was saying.

"Finally! I was thinking that I finally didn't have to see her," the other added.

"That weird girl doesn't act child-like at all. It's creepy."

"It's disgusting."

"I know! The review online are quite heated too! The television company must not want her anymore so they pulled the plug on her."

"Doesn't that make her look like a clown?" They both giggled. The women kept talking but Watanuki was done listening. Her anger was boiling, but it wasn't directed at Doumeki anymore. She was just so mad at the way her friend was being treated! How could people be so mean to someone they didn't even know?! Her free hand clenched into a fist, her nails digging into her skin and she was so furious that she was trembling. Doumeki noticed just how upset she was at the women, and decided to get the girl back on track before she started yelling at them too.

"We still have to deliver the bento," he stated, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. Watanuki jumped a bit, surprised by his touch. She looked up, their eyes meeting and a silent conversation passed between them. Doumeki's eyes conveyed that he understood what she was feeling and Watanuki's eyes told him that she understood why he was moving them along. It didn't take a single word for them to start walking again. They went down another block or so and turned a corner when Watanuki recognized a street name.

"Hey, Kohane told me before that her house was this way-" She started to point down the street, but cut herself off when she saw a house that couldn't be mistaken. It would've been like any other normal house that lined this particular street, however, the walls around the yard and part of the house had been trashed. There was red paint splattered on the front of the house, the walls were covered in slander, calling Kohane a fake psychic, a fraud and other hurtful things, and trash was strewn in front of the gate and had been tossed inside the fence. The damage done to the house was testament that people had come to harass the young girl, to torment her. Watanuki's heart went out to the poor girl and her name was on her lips as she marched up to the gate. She pressed the call button several times but the intercom didn't seem to be working.

"It's broken," Doumeki said, stating the obvious. The seer was too worried about her friend to snap at him for stating the obvious. So, she tried yelling instead.

"Excuse me! Is anyone there?!" The girl yelled, hoping that if Kohane was inside that the girl could hear her. A few moments later, one of the green door swung open with a creak and Watanuki's eyes widened as she took in the form of the small girl. Kohane was wearing a long white dress with a rose colored cardigan, but what was shocking was that she had big bandage wrapped around her forehead and there was another bandage stuck to her cheek. She'd been in some sort of accident…or maybe someone had hurt her!

"Kohane!" Watanuki called to the girl, her heart clenching. Before she knew what she was doing, the gate was open and she was running up the path to the door. "You're hurt!"

"I fell from the stairs in the studio," the girl replied in her soft, little voice.

"Did someone…" Watanuki hated to ask but with all the shit going on, someone could've had a part in her injuries.

"I think someone pushed me," Kohane stated, her voice just as calm as ever. Watanuki's heart broke just a little bit in that moment, seeing just how alone and hurt her friend was. She just wanted to wrap her up and drive all the nastiness out of her life. She leaned down an encompassed the child in a hug, wishing that could do more. The girl's body was so small next to the seer's, but she already carried such a huge burden on her little shoulders.

"I'm so sorry…" Watanuki whispered, holding back a tear that threatened to fall. "…If only I was here for you sooner…" Kohane gasped at the sincere words. That was the first kind thing that had been said to her in a long time…in fact, that was the last kind thing that someone had said to her since she'd met Watanuki. It felt…good. It felt good to touch someone, to be hugged by them. Kohane's small arms came up and wrapped around the raven's body, hugging her back.

Doumeki watched the pair, seeing this girl for only the second time, but already understanding that she meant the world to his girlfriend. And if Kohane meant the world to Watanuki, then she would have his support and friendship as well.

Watanuki let go gently, ending the hug but she took her friend's hand, showing her the food she'd brought for them to share and Kohane invited the pair inside with her. The interior of the house was messy – clothes and shoes thrown everywhere, it hadn't been cleaned in quite a while, unopened mail was scattered on a table and the sink was full of dirty dishes. Watanuki couldn't hear anyone else in the house…was Kohane all alone like this all the time? Where was her mother? The girl walked out of the kitchen and came back with a green stool, setting it down next to one of the two chairs at the table.

"There are only two chairs for the dining table," she explained simply. "You'll have to sit on this…I'm sorry." She handed the stool to Doumeki while Watanuki placed the bento on the table.

"Do you live with your mother?" The seer asked. Kohane went to grab several hat boxes that were left on the table and moved them into the parlor before coming back.

"Yes, I do."

"Did you go to the hospital to get treated for those injuries?" Watanuki's inner mother was coming out and all she wanted to do was make Kohane feel safe and loved.

"I didn't," came the frank reply. "If there aren't any wounds on my back, I can deal with them myself." Watanuki became more and more concerned as she realized just how alone and mistreated her friend was…it wasn't right. Silence prevailed after that for a few moments while a clock on the wall ticked the second by. None of them appeared to know what to say but suddenly their silence was interrupted by the phone ringing. Watanuki jumped, feeling fidgety. It rang once…twice…but Kohane didn't move to answer it. It rang again…and then a fourth time before the answering machine picked up.

"There is nobody to answer you call right now, please leave a message."

A beep sounded, beginning the voice message and a man's voice came from the other end of the line.

"Go die. Go die. Go die. Go die. Go die. Go die…" hearing those words over and over again cause Watanuki's chest to tighten up, the malice in the man's voice causing her tremble. He had to take a breath before continuing to chant "go die" but was then suddenly cut off.

"There is no more room to record." The machine lady's voice interrupted the message. Then disconnection beeps sounded until the phone went back into sleep mode. Both the archer and the raven were stunned by the display and neither knew what to say once again. The clock kept on ticking quietly behind them.

"The voicemail is already full, so it's alright," Kohane stated.

"It's not alright," Watanuki voice was hard, but it was also very caring. Kohane's eyes opened wide as the raven walked around the table and knelt down to take her hand. "It's not right at all, Kohane." The teen's eyes were swimming with unshed tears, but she had such a protective fire in them that Kohane was taken aback by just how much this young woman cared for her. "Maybe you are very strong and think this is alright…but to me…I don't think it's alright."

"Why?" She whispered, looking a little confused as to why Watanuki was so emotional for her.

"Because I love you, Kohane." Those simple words brought a surprised expression to the little girl's face, a small gasp leaving her lips. "It's very painful when you see someone you love get hurt," Watanuki explained, "I'm very worried about you."

"Love…?" The word left her lips as a question, as if she didn't know what love was or what it felt like.

"Yeah." The raven's grip on the young girl's hand tightened.

"You love me, Kimihiro…?" She asked. Watanuki nodded, bringing up her other hand to encompass Kohane's hand in both of hers. The young girl looked down, gazing at their hands for a moment before speaking again. "Just now, I was trying to imagine…what I would feel if you were the one who fell down the stairs and got hurt. Or if the phone rang and those people were saying mean things to you…" Her beautiful green eyes were clear, even if her face gave away very little emotion. "I think…I'd be hurt too. Does that mean that I love you too?"

"If that's so, it makes me very happy to hear you say that," The seer smiled brightly. Kohane nodded in return and placed her free hand on top of her friend's. They stayed like that for a moment or two before Doumeki's stomach growled, causing Watanuki to giggle and scold him for being such a brute when they were having a moment. Doumeki just shrugged and Kohane's smile got a little bigger.

"Alright, Doumeki has spoken; let's eat!" Watanuki unwrapped the bento while Kohane flitted around the kitchen for plates and chopsticks. The raven unpacked the two tiers of food she cooked and started dishing up food. "These are egg rolls, those are sweet…" she pointed to each food as she named it. "Those are curry, that's egg with beans and those are spring rolls. The rice balls, staring from the right are plum, Bonito flakes, salmon and kelp. Here you go, Kohane!" She handed the girl a plate of food and realized that while she'd been explaining, Doumeki had dished up his own plate and had started eating without them.

"Oi! Don't start eating on your own!" A cross vein popped out of her forehead as she yelled at her unruly boyfriend. "Didn't we say we were eating together?!"

Doumeki looked up at her, mouth full of food, and said, "Itadakimasu."

"Cheater," the raven grumbled after he gave thanks for the food. Kohane looked at the funny pair, feeling something warm in her chest. I want what they have, she thought to herself.

"You two have such a good relationship," she said, drawing the conversation her way.

"Geez, I wouldn't say that." Watanuki shook her head, remembering several times when Doumeki caused her nothing but grief.

"But you two are talking with each other," Kohane explained. "I can't talk with my mother at all. We just talk on our own."

"Would you like to talk with us?" The raven asked, smiling sweetly at the girl. She nodded in reply, looking a bit happier. "In that case, our relationship between us is pretty good too!"

"Tea." Doumeki interrupted yet another tender moment by demanding that Watanuki fill his cup for him.

She hooked and irritated thumb in his direction and began sassing again. "At the very least, it's better than with this bastard over here!" She then turned to glare at the brunette. "And why the hell are you ordering me around?!" But before she could really give him a tongue lashing, Kohane picked up the thermos of tea that was next to her on the table and turned towards the archer. Her small gesture curtailed the one-sided argument and Doumeki graciously offered her his cup. She poured the tea, the fresh smell curling warmly into the air. When she was done, Doumeki put a comforting had on her head, stroking her hair softly.

"Thank you," he gave her a kind look (even if his mouth wasn't smiling). Kohane was beginning to understand that Doumeki's happy face was only a little different than his regular face, but she was happy all the same.

Suddenly, Watanuki's hand had Doumeki's wrist in a vice-like grip and yanked his hand away. "You bastard! You're messing up her hair!" Doumeki pushed his hand over to her head and stroked her hair in response, causing her ponytail to slip. "Damn it! Now you're messing up mine!" The archer just took a sip of tea.

"It's hot. It tastes good." He replied, ignoring his girlfriend.

"Listen to me when I'm talking to you!" Kohane smiled at their antics and the pair's eyes widened in shock. That was the first smile they'd seen on her face. She seemed to be feeling much better now. Watanuki wished that this happy moment could last forever, that she could spend time with Kohane, see her smile and share a good meal with her and Doumeki.

However, the happy moment didn't last forever and the small girl stiffened as she heard familiar sounds coming from outside. The door creaked open and someone came inside, slamming it shut behind them. All three kids stiffened, listening to Kohane's mother complaining and yelling as she dropped her shoes in the genkan.

"Those damn producers!" She hissed, her shoes clunking to the floor one by one. "They were begging us to be on their shows before and yet they are cancelling all of our showings and everyone is making fun of me! Where the heck are you? Answer me!" Her footsteps started coming closer and closer, making their way down the hall toward the kitchen. "What the heck is with your low power crap?! Come! I need you to go purify yourself and start another veggie diet! No matter what happens, we have to get on the next program!"

This is not going to be good…she's angry, Watanuki had time for one final thought before all hell broke loose.

The door to the kitchen swung open, revealing a very impeccably dressed woman who was furious at the same time. Kohane's mother was a beautiful woman, just like Watanuki remembered her being. She had Kohane's hair, but shorter, and her blue eyes were angry instead of calm. She looked very professional in her blouse and skirt outfit, however she was anything but professional when she saw the two strangers in her kitchen. She stopped shouting, her beautiful face morphing into shock and her designer purse fell to the floor with a thunk. She stared at the teens before her eyes went to her child, her child who was sampling food her mother had not prepared. She was eating eggs! Her eyebrows trembled over a wrathful glare and her mouth opened again to snap at the unexpected guests.

"Who are you people?!" She demanded. Watanuki stood up and started to explain who they were but she was cut off when the woman turned her attention back to her daughter. "What are you eating?!"

"Tamagoyaki. It tastes good." Kohane simply answered the question, her chopsticks still holding a piece of egg. Her mother stalked over to the child and harshly smacked the chopsticks right out of her hands. They clattered to the ground, the egg breaking and making a mess on the floor.

"Haven't I told you enough times that you shouldn't eat anything that involves killing?!" Her voice got louder as she continued to shriek. Doumeki and Watanuki were silent, stunned by the woman's behavior and Kohane looked at the ruined egg for a moment before replying. She looked her mother straight in the eyes and calmly spoke back.

"There is no doubt that killing is wrong, but to have no appreciation for the dead and not even let it serve its purpose – to even lay its purpose to waste like you did – isn't that even worse?" She questioned. The girl didn't look intimidated at all as she reprimanded her own mother.

Finding herself backed up against a wall, the woman's gaze shot over to Watanuki, her glare becoming even fiercer. The seer didn't want to admit it, but she was terrified of the mother's wrath.

"It was you two, wasn't it?!" All her anger and frustration and resentment came barreling towards the seer as the accusations started flying. "You were teaching my daughter such worthless things!"

Wanting to say something, wanting to appease this anger somehow, Watanuki began to apologize and explain why she and Doumeki were here. "I'm sorry we entered your house without your permission, but-"

"Get out of my house right now!" The woman screamed, demanding that they leave.

"But we just-" The seer shrunk back as her voice got harder, louder and angrier.

"I said get out!"

"I just wanted to talk to Kohane-!" A spark of Watanuki's energy came back as she realized that if they left, Kohane would be left to deal with this anger alone. But her effort amounted to nothing.

"GET OUT!" The woman screamed, her hand whipping out and grabbing the thermos of tea that Kohane had put down minutes before. She swung her arm forward with all her might and hurled the contents at the girl in front of her. The tea splashed against Watanuki's shocked face, dripping down her arms and torso as steam rose into the air. For a second, she didn't feel anything but the shock of what had just happened. But then the pain came crashing down on her. Everywhere the hot tea ran burned. Her skin was on fire, stinging and crying out in pain. She could barely move as the pain began to wrack her body. Every muscle tensed up in response and her face contorted in agony.

"Ah...it's hot…" she moaned, her voice barely a whisper.

In an instant, Doumeki's hand was wrapped around her wrist. "Close your eyes," he commanded and she did just that. "Where's the bathroom?" He asked, leading Watanuki where Kohane directed him. She was by her friends' side in the next moment.

"This way," she indicated a hallway and ran towards the bathroom. Doumeki followed close behind, pulling the blinded seer with him. None of them were paying attention, but Kohane's mother was still complaining, her eyes taking on a crazed look.

"W-what? Who told you to just barge in and teach my kid such things?" Her daughter walked back into the kitchen after showing the teens to the bathroom, the water beginning to run as she faced her mother.

"Mother." The simple word had the woman gasping, as if she was afraid of the small girl in front of her. "I don't care what you do to me. It's fine if it is only me who you are doing it to." The woman was trembling, with anger, frustration and a little bit of fear now as her daughter fixed her with an unyielding stare. "But if you hurt the people that I love, I won't forgive you." Kohane's words were spoken softly, but they carried such weight behind them that they were definitely a threat. The child had such power that her mother didn't know what to say and eventually just wandered off to another room, her emotions in turmoil.

In the bathroom, Doumeki had the raven kneel near the bathtub and turned the cool water tap to get it going. He looked at the seer, worry flickering in his eyes. Her short-sleeved shirt was soaked through and the burning tea was running down her face, neck and arms. Red marks were already starting to appear on her skin and despite her best efforts; tears were slipping out of her eyes as the pain escalated.

"Kimihiro, here." Doumeki took the girl's hands and placed them under the running water, the coolness rinsing away the tea and some of the pain. He carefully took her glasses off and reached over to set them on the counter. Watanuki had started pressing water to her face, easing her burns. Doumeki grabbed a small hand towel and held it under the water, soaking the cloth through before handing pressing it delicately to Watanuki's neck. She gasped at the sudden touch, fearing that he'd cause her skin to sting, but he was so very gentle as he cooled her neck.

A soft sob escaped her lips, the sound barely heard above the running water. "Shizuka…it hurts," she whispered, blinking back tears once the area around her eyes was clean. The archer placed a comforting hand on her back and soaked his hand towel again to dap the other side of her neck.

"Here," a quiet voice came from behind the pair and they looked to see Kohane holding a First Aid kit and a fresh towel. Her eyes flickered with worry, but she was being very brave for her friend.

"Thank you." Doumeki took the kit from the child and he handed his hand towel to her, switching jobs to rifle through the kit for bandages and burn relieving medicine. "Help Kimihiro with her neck and shoulders, okay?"

"Okay," Kohane nodded. The girl helped her friend unbutton the top of her shirt so that they could dab and run cool water over her neck and collarbone. Watanuki was still sniffling, but her few tears had ceased. Kohane helped dry her off, very carefully, and became even gentler when the seer flinched in pain.

"I'm sorry, Kimihiro," the small girl apologized.

"It's not your fault, Kohane." Watanuki did her best to smile, but her face still hurt and so she didn't quite make it. Once dry, the raven leaned against the wall while Doumeki took it upon himself to bandage her up. The burns on her face and neck were the worst ones, so after gently applying burn cream, he placed bandages on her cheeks, on either side of her neck and one on her collarbone. Her arms weren't too bad, so he didn't apply bandages, but he still rubbed cream into her skin. Watanuki would flinch or twitch if he hit a sensitive spot, but she relaxed more as the burning sting eased away. The last thing he did was put a bandage on her forehead, finishing up with the worst burn areas. Kohane cleaned the seer's glasses for her and handed them her so that they wouldn't get left behind. Watanuki hooked them to her shirt pocket and took a look at herself in the mirror while Doumeki was putting the kit away.

She sighed, seeing what a mess she had become. She felt a small hand delicately take hers and looked down to see Kohane looking up at her. It was then that Watanuki noticed something that they both shared now.

"Hey look," she pointed to the mirror. The young psychic looked in the mirror too and saw what Watanuki was seeing. She was pointing at their foreheads. "We match." She knelt down and rested her bandaged head on Kohane's. Doumeki knelt down and rested his head on top of both of theirs.

"I never want you two to match like this again," he said in his monotone voice. His comment caused Watanuki to laugh dryly and Kohane smiled a little. Then, Doumeki asked an all important question, "What are we going to do about the bento?" All three of them looked at each other, unsure of what to do after the lunch caused such a mess for everyone in the house.

"I have an idea," Kohane stated, leaving the bathroom and coming back a few moments later. She had grabbed the bento boxes and Watanuki's wrapping cloth. "Mother won't like it if I eat the eggs, but I can have rice balls." She placed the box with the tamagoyaki in front of Doumeki and handed her guests their chopsticks. She placed the other box by her and sat down on the floor, taking a rice ball in her hand and munching on it quietly.

Watanuki smiled at her and sat down. "That sounds like a great plan." When she looked over at Doumeki, his chopsticks were already in his mouth and she glared at him for his bad manners. She hissed in pain as her forehead protested her scrunching her face and then Doumeki was polite for the rest of the visit so that she didn't feel the need to get mad at him.

The pair left the house without incident a short while later and Doumeki walked his girlfriend back to Yuko's shop. They stopped in front of the gate, knowing that they would have to part ways now. The archer reached out and gently took both of the seer's hands in his, conscious of her burns and turned her towards him. He leaned over and gently kissed her hair, then her forehead and her nose before finally reaching her lips. Watanuki blushed and returned his kiss softly, the warmth of his lips soothing and comforting. She wasn't even going to complain about how they were in public, that's how good it felt after the day's stressful events. When they parted, they looked into each other's eyes, his bronze locked onto her mismatched gaze.

"Come to my place if you don't want to go home," he offered. "It's closer than yours."

"If I go to your place, you'll probably jump me," she snarked, risking a smirk and causing her skin to sting.

"You were the one who almost jumped me last time," he reminded the girl. She blushed harder, remembering the embarrassing incident with the sake.

"Oh shut up. Get going, you creep!" She was pouting now, but Doumeki still took time to give her one last kiss before letting go of her hands. She waved at him and watched him start his walk down the street before turning towards the shop. He paused to look back, seeing her vanish before his eyes.

When Watanuki was inside, she finally let her face slip. She had been trying so hard to seem at least a little okay, but her skin was aching and pulling and she really just wanted to jump in a tub of ice. The second Yuko saw what had happened, she shooed the girl into her own room and made her lay down in the luxurious bed, calling for Mokona to bring ice bags. She grabbed Watanuki a fresh shirt and made her change into it and threw the tea stained one into the laundry pile for the girl to do later. Watanui settled down into Yuko's bed and gratefully placed and ice bag on her cheek when Mokona hopped up onto her pillow. The twins came in, singing something about chopping, but Watanuki was too worn out and in pain to pay much attention. Mokona placed a second ice bag on her other cheek and held it there to soothe the burns.

"Thanks to Doumeki's proper first aid, it looks like you won't have any scars," Yuko said, her voice even but still sounding relieved, nonetheless. The girl didn't stir from the bed. "Oh? No reaction." Yuko mused. She was standing by the bed dressed in a rose and thorn decorated kimono and pulled the gossamer curtain aside to get a better look at the seer.

"I'm glad that you were wearing glasses," Mokona said, looking worried. "If the tea got in your eyes, that would've been dangerous." It hopped toward the top of the girl's head and rested the ice on her forehead. Maru and Moro came over and pushed aside the curtain, both of them holding something in their hands. They both hummed and placed something all over the seer's face before happily going back to the table.

"What's this?" Watanuki touched her face, feeling a piece of something cool on her skin.

"It's cucumber. They're quiet effective on burns," Yuko explained. "Potatoes are great too…would you prefer potatoes?" Oh geez, Yuko's going to make me into some kind of vegetable salad.

"Cucumbers are fine, but I feel like a green worm now." The twins though the raven's comment was hilarious and started singing and clapping their hands together.

"Green worm!~ Green worm!~ Watanuki worm!~" They sang, giggling the whole time.

"Why didn't you dodge?" Mokona asked, drawing Watanuki's attention to the top of her head. "Aren't you quite flexible with all those weird movements?" It teased her mercilessly.

"Weird movements!~" Maru and Moro were singing again.

"Mokona is right!~" Yuko added. Watanuki didn't even dignify them with a response and just grunted in irritation. She closed her eyes tiredly after that, feeling the rest of her energy begin to fade away. "Sleep for now," Yuko prompted kindly. "You'll have to do something for Doumeki too, since he took such good care of our Watanuki."

"Why do I have to?" She groaned, finding that she was always in debt to Doumeki for something or other.

"Yeah, yeah," the witch waved off her complaining. "If its food, making an extra portion for me," she demanded. "If it's sexy times, well, keep that to yourself!~"

"I'm not doing that!" Watanuki shouted, wincing as her skin stretched.

"Mokona will keep you company, so make me some too!" The port bun hopped off the pillow and slipped into the sheets with the girl.

"Maru too!~" The bluenette lifted the sheet and slid into bed followed closely by her sister. "Moro too!~" The three of them started wiggling around Watanuki and messing up the sheet. Watanuki was trapped between all of them and finally was able to sit up and throw the sheets off so she could breathe.

"Quit disturbing the patient!" She shouted, feeling Mokona running around by her feet from under the sheets. The twins just giggled and each grabbed an arm and pulled her back into bed with a squeal. They snuggled up to her, replacing the ice bags and Mokona made itself a place on her chest, pulling the sheets up when it laid down. Yuko smiled and turned to leave when Watanuki called out to her.

"Yuko."

"What is it, Watanuki?" She paused and looked back.

"Her mother never once called Kohane by her name," she began. "She didn't see her as a child and even got mad at her like an adult would get mad at another adult." Yuko could see the worry in the raven's eyes, but she knew that there was nothing that the teen could do for the girl at the moment. So she gave her the only advice that she could.

"Go to sleep, Watanuki." She said it kindly, before walking about of the room to find some sake to drink.

It was a week or so later when Kohane's mother was finally back in a good mood. The girl was sitting at the kitchen table, the previous mess in the sink having been cleaned and the house was looking orderly again. She had a mirror out in front of her and was applying a much smaller bandage to her forehead. She was pretty much healed up now. Her mother walked in, and took off her expensive jacket and straightened her purple blouse. She was smiling.

"Isn't this great? We finally got ourselves a job!" She said happily, flipping her perfectly curled hair. "Tanimura seemed like he was some important person, and going to him was the right choice after all. And we even got Kawakuchi to help us too! This program is going to be a big one for us, especially since you haven't shown up in a while." When Kohane didn't say anything, the woman's anger sparked. "Are you listening to me?!"

"I'm listening."

She glared at her daughter. "Don't fall from the stairs this time or pull any little tricks. Just show up like a good girl and do your job. Since this is a special program, if the ratings are good, it might be shown again and again." Kohane put her first aid supplies away as she listened to her mother. "Answer me. Okay?" Her mother was looking directly at her now, her eyes hard. Kohane didn't really feel like answering, so she didn't. Her mother's eyes narrowed and her hand came up, trembling as she decided whether or not to slap the child for her insolence. She clenched her hand, making the decision not to mark the girl's face and sulkily placed her hands on her hips instead. "Why can't you just answer 'yes' like a good kid would? I'm doing all of this for you! If this situation we're in goes on, you'll be forgotten! Are you fine with that?!" She smacked her hands down on the table, watching her child warily.

"Is it bad to be forgotten?" I won't be forgotten, at least not by the people important to me. "What is the point being famous if you are pushing yourself too hard, begging, or even using money?"

"Then…then what other kind of worth do you have?" Her mother countered, surprised by her daughter's question. "Aside from being a psychic, what can you do?" Kohane found that that was an interesting question to ask a nine-year-old, but she didn't call her mother out on it. "Everything you eat, everything you wear, everything we have is because I work hard to get your jobs, otherwise we couldn't live this well!" Kohane didn't respond, knowing that her mother was going to think she was right no matter what she said. "Don't be so childish anymore. Think about what you're saying, okay?" She marched out of the room, leaving Kohane to herself once again.

A few days after that, Watanuki was in the library with Wari, looking at books for a project. Her burns had healed up nicely and she was only wearing a small bandage on the back of her hand and her neck now. As the pair were searching, Wari brought up the special program that Kohane was going to appear on.

"A special program?" The girl asked, pausing while reaching for a book.

"Yeah, psychics like Kohane and other spiritualists go to places were people die to see if they can film any spirits," the boy explained.

"I see." Watanuki looked down at her bandaged hand and thought about the day they went to Kohane's house. "She hasn't shown up in a while."

"But as long as she's healthy, it's okay!" Wari tried to cheer up his friend by giving her a big smile. "I have to watch it!"

"Yeah…" Watanuki kept thinking about it even as the conversation turned to other topics and when she got to the shop that day, she asked Yuko if they could watch that program in a few days. She agreed and Watanuki was a bundle of nerves until the day of the program.

On the set, everyone was getting ready for the special, the sound engineers were checking microphones and set specialists were checking the grounds and finalizing placement. Several of the show's cast were already there and two of them were very upset at the situation.

"Say…why is that child going on with us?" A lady in her fifties was complaining to a manager about Kohane being on the show with them. She was well dressed in a red blazer, gray skirt and a pink blouse, but she was clearly not happy with the situation. Standing next to her was a tall monk in blue and yellow robes. Both adult were crossing their arms, displeased that their expertise was being undermined by the presence of a child.

"Please don't say that, ma'am." The set manager was attempting to appease the pair.

"It'll be troublesome if we're called fakers because of her. Don't you know how bad her reputation is?"

"I understand and that's why I've thought everything out carefully." The man replied. "You two are the actual main characters of this special."

"What do you mean?" The monk asked.

"We'll make it look like she was just a tag along. We'll film carefully and make sure you stand out."

"Kohane is here!" One of the other employees announced the girl's entrance on set. The child came to the door and bowed respectfully to all the cast and employees in attendance. She was wearing an elegant blue dress with puffed sleeves that was very mature looking for a girl her age. Her long hair was free down her back and she wasn't wearing any bandages anymore. The trio talking together nodded at her and went back to their conversation.

"Please just go along with it."

"I see," the woman nodded.

"So that's how it is." The monk seemed pleased as well.

By the time the program started, Watanuki and Yuko were sitting in front of the T.V. rice crackers on hand with tea and sake. Today, Yuko's outfit was a flattering, long-sleeved dress made out of purplish-gray fabric with blush pink collaring. Her hair was wrapped up in a huge bun with a band that matched her dress. Mokona was on the table too, happily crunching on a rice cracker while the commercials came to an end.

"Tonight, we have five of the most famous psychics gathered together with us." The announcer began. Watanuki clenched her hands together, nervous for her friend.

Please let everything go well…please…

"In this famous haunted place, they will use their powers to find the spirits that linger here." The host was a well dressed man in his fifties and the psychics were sitting next to him all in a row. "Let's start with introductions: The youngest psychic is Kohane Tsuyuri." The camera switched to show Kohane on her chair. Her wounds were all healed up and she looked very pretty. Watanuki's heart settled a little as she saw that her friend was looking better. However, she didn't get many applause as she name was announced. Her reputation was still being attacked and the public still didn't like her.

"Representing Japan, we have…" the host continued on with introductions as Watanuki pour herself some tea. However, she was so riveted to the show that she overfilled the cup and continued to tip the teapot until the lid started the slid off and pilled tea on her hand.

"HOT!" She shrieked, dropping the pot and waving her hands around to get some cool air on them. Yuko smiled at the silly girl.

"You're really nervous," she chuckled.

"You're weird movements are getting weirder and weirder all the time! Spaz!" Mokona teased. "Calm down, Watanuki!" The girl slapped her hands on the table.

"I know! I know!" She snarled back at the puff ball as the audience gave enthusiastic cheers for the remaining psychics and the show really began. Will Kohane really be fine?

"Well then, let's begin." The screen in the studio flickered to life and a picture of a house came up on the screen. It showed images from inside the house, like the stairs, the rooms, etc. and all of it looked to be in good condition. "No one has lived in this house for ten years, yet it doesn't look to be deserted at all. Could this be because of a spirits' influence?" The host paused for dramatic effect before turning to his guests. "Alright, everyone! Let's begin the spirit viewing. Here is the first question: what kind of spirit resides in this house?"

The older woman who was sitting to Kohane's left began speaking first. "It is a man."

"That's right, and a very young one as well," the monk in blue robes to her left continued the comments.

"I see…he's wearing a western suit," the man next to him added. He looked to be a Japanese priest or monk himself, wearing formal kimono.

The last psychic, a young woman with stylish hair and clothes was the last to speak. "I am thinking that his suit if a military uniform."

"A military uniform? Has the spirit appeared yet?" The host gave a dramatic reaction, turning to the camera.

"It seems that he died in was, and now he's finally returned home," the woman in the red blazer spoke again. "But his family is already gone and he can't go anywhere else."

"Is this why he became a spirit connected to this one place?" The host asked.

The young woman picked up next. "It's more accurate to say that he's frantic rather than depressed."

"If only there was someone to give him guidance, the poor thing." Blazer Woman spoke again, commenting on Stylish Woman's thoughts.

"I see, I see," the host nodded as the psychics built on the spirit's description. He then got a cue from off screen from the director and changed gears. "Oops, let's hear from Kohane as well! Kohane, why are you so quiet? Do you see something?" He prompted the girl to speak.

"I see," she replied, keeping her voice even but loud enough for the audience to hear her.

"What do you see? Even though I ask that, the other have already told us." His snide remark caused the audience to laugh and several of the psychics were looking very smug. Kohane wasn't bothered though, and didn't react to anything going on around her.

"There are two people,"

"Eh? What?" The host looked confused now.

"There are two people, one male and one female," Kohane went on. With this revelation, the audience started chattering quietly, surprised and disbelieving.

"That has to be wrong," Blazer Woman objected. "There's only one person."

"There is no one else, I can assure you of that," the monk added, attempting to box the child in.

"Do you really see that?" Stylish Woman asked.

"E-even if you say that…" the host looked a little uncomfortable as the situation escalated, even with a smile plastered on his face. The audience laughed at Kohane a bit.

"Little girl," the monk began, "Are you purposely saying something different from us?"

"We'll give you the time you need, so calm down and take a good look," Blazer Woman added.

"If you can't really see something, but say that you do, that's disrespectful to the spirits," the other man advised.

"What is the truth, Kohane? What do you see?" The host dragged the question back to the girl.

"There are two people," she stated clearly. The audience was making noise again, not quite believing what was going on.

"My, my this is getting troublesome," the host went on. The monk interrupted him before he could say something else.

"It's alright, don't be like that. Let's at least hear her out."

"As expected of you, how gracious! Then, let's hear her out. What do you see, Kohane and how does it feel?"

"The girl, twenty one year ago…either in July or August, was killed during that summer." The answer caused the audience to gasp. They definitely weren't expecting that.

The host was shocked too as he continued to speak. "Killed? Well, this is rather shocking."

"Are you for real?" Blazer woman snapped.

"What do you mean?"

"The four of us say that there is only one spirit. There is no way that all four of us are wrong at the same time!" The other adults nodded.

"It is hard to believe that's the truth," Stylish Woman added.

"Stop lying!" Blazer Woman glared at the child next to her.

Kohane was just as calm as always. "I'm not lying."

Watanuki's heart was pounding as she watched her friend face down four adults that were ganging up against her. How was she going to get out of this one?

"Kohane…" Watanuki whispered, worry etched on her face. Yuko was intently watching the T.V. as well, but her face was composed as the camera closed in on the child's face. This was getting interesting.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Watanuki sighed as she walked down the street. The program that Kohane was on yesterday hadn't ended very well for her and the seer was just as worried as ever. She glanced at all the small shops around her, making her way down a pedestrian mall in the direction of school. She didn't have the heart to window shop like she normally would (nor did she really have the time to…she was only out of her apartment about a half an hour earlier than usual), and just lazily glanced at displays as she passed by. It wasn't until she walked near a bookstore that something actually caught her attention. The seller was placing new magazines and tabloids out on his shelves when a very familiar face drew the girl's attention. Her eyes widened as she saw Kohane's face plastered all over the tabloids, slanderous headlines and defaming criticisms shouting at anyone who would stop to look.

"Oh my god…" Watanuki's hand reached out and grabbed a copy, her eyes quickly scanning all the insulting comments.

"Yeah, every paper has that kid as the front page this week," the bookseller commented, nodding a polite hello to the seer. He went back to grabbing more magazines and putting them up. "It's kind of amazing that a small child like her learned how to deceive people and then acted so nonchalant about it. I've never seen a more adult-like kid."

Watanuki felt sick to her stomach as she put the magazine back on the shelf. She trudged away, her limbs feeling a heavy as she continued her way to school. That heaviness turned to dread when she approached a large window T.V. that was showing a talk show. The raven recognized the host from the program Kohane was on and some of the other psychics were there too. She stopped to listen for just a bit, the knot of worry in her chest growing bigger with each moment.

"There are a lot of doubts about the famous psychic girl, Kohane Tsuyrui, and her supposed abilities. She was once the most popular psychic, but now has come under scrutiny." The host started off the segment and then the camera switched to Blazer Woman. She was tapping her glasses as she spoke, looking quite miffed while doing so.

"According to me, concerning clairvoyance, spiritual seeing and being a psychic, one must be an adult and have accumulated life experience to talk about it properly," she stated. The screen changed to a shot of Kohane before changing back. "On the other hand, her perceptions might be extra sharp because she is a child. Who really knows?"

"No, does she really even have abilities at all? There're already questions about whether or not she has psychic abilities," the big monk from yesterday continued. "Nobody has proved the reliability of her claims up until this point. This is the media's problem because they made her so famous in the first place."

"Our television station has invited one of those individuals who have witnessed and exorcism be preformed by Kohane." Now there was a young woman sitting in front of the camera, wearing plain, but nice, clothes and a censor bar obscured her face for privacy. Her voice had been distorted as well as she began to talk.

"One of my ancestors had a painful death, so I asked her to just pacify his soul. She didn't seem to give off much of a presence." The woman started to look a little distressed and the station began showing other sinister looking pictures of Kohane as she continued to talk. "It felt like she was just staring at me, and it didn't even last for thirty minutes. I remember this clearly because I had to pay her a month's worth of my wages." Watanuki's eyes shot wide open, her blood beginning to boil as this lady framed Kohane to be a scammer.

"That's not possible!" She hissed, knowing that Kohane would never cheat someone and knowing that her powers were real.

"Well, that's to be expected," a young woman next to Watanuki started talking with her friend. "I knew that she was a fraud."

"Hey, didn't you say Kohane was quite cute in the beginning?" Her friend jabbed back.

"She fooled me! Serves her right!" She argued. The pair walked away from Watanuki but all the seer wanted to do was go find Kohane and wrap her up in a big ball of love. This is bullshit! The media should not be harassing her this way and people need to back off! They don't know anything about her!

She didn't get a second opinion on the matter until she got to school. Wari was very interested in talking about the young girl and after Watanuki relayed what she'd seen that morning, the boy voiced his thoughts.

"The five psychics program seems to be a setup. Now it feels like anyone can say what they want about her because she was the one who was different from the others. It really scary with everything going on now." The boy gave her a soft smile, seeing how down she was. "And it's just because she didn't explain enough, so they all misunderstood what she said."

"You're wrong!" Watanuki blurted out, wanting to defend her friend.

"Huh?" Wari gave her a shocked look, surprised by her sudden outburst. It was at this moment that the girl realized that she'd just declared that her former crush was wrong right to his face and she panicked.

"Wait! You're not wrong, but you are wrong-but it's actually what you said that was wrong-how do I explain this?!" She started sweating as she mouth moved faster than her brain and she couldn't seem to get out what she really wanted to say. She grabbed her head and groaned, shaking it back and forth while trying to find the words and Wari's shocked expression turned into a concerned one as he watched this all go down. Thankfully, help arrived before Watanuki shook her head right off her shoulders.

A deep, calm voice inserted itself into the pair's conversation, stating exactly what the raven was trying to verbalize. "So what you're saying is that Kohane wouldn't be wrong, correct?"

"Yeah! That's right!" Watanuki's face lit up as her thoughts were explained succinctly. Then she whirled around to find her boyfriend inserting himself into their conversation…AGAIN. "Why do you keep barging in like that?!" She raised an angry fist at the archer.

"Am I wrong?" He countered, giving her his usual stoic look.

"You're not wrong!" She admitted, still sounding mad for some reason. "There's no way that Kohane would make up stuff or say things on a whim!" Suddenly, the energy drained out of the body and she mumbled the next bit. "She probably, definitely, wouldn't say any of what people are saying." Her shoulders slumped and Doumeki watched and all the girl's worries became apparent in her expression. Watanuki couldn't hide anything from him. And as the bell rang for class, he already knew that she was probably going to do something rash.

And that's why he cornered her by the shoe lockers after school.

"Where are you hurrying off to?" He asked, watching her take out her shoes and put her uwabaki slippers back in.

"None of your business," she shot back, putting on her shoes.

"You're my girlfriend; it is my business," he replied. "You're going to her place, aren't you?" He knew that he was right when she stiffened and made a noise.

"What about you? Don't you have club activities?"

"I've got the day off." The pair stared at each for a moment, sizing up the other's stubbornness to let the subject drop or not. Doumeki spoke up first. "Roll cake."

"Huh?" Watanuki was so confused at his statement.

"I'll come with you if you make a strawberry and crème fraiche roll cake."

The girl snapped and pointed an accusing finger at her boyfriend. "Yours doesn't look like a face that deserves a roll cake! And anyway, who the hell asked you to come along?!"

"Well, if you're fine going by yourself, that's okay," he calmly replied. Then Watanuki remembered what happened last time…Kohane's furious mother…the hot tea…dealing with the burns and pain for what felt like forever…and then she quickly reconsidered going by herself.

"Fine then! When I make some for Yuko and Kohane…I'll add a portion for you too," she grimaced, caving in to his demands. She turned on her heel and started walking away, but paused to look back at the brunette. "Come on! Hurry up! I'm going to be late getting to Yuko's so we have to hurry!" Doumeki rolled his eyes slightly and began following the girl, taking her free hand so that they could walk together. The second his fingers closed around hers, she began blushing. It was cute. She squeezed his fingers back, letting him know that holding hands was alright, and he made a mental note to try something more intimate when she was in a less frazzled mood. Maybe he'd put his arm around her waist in public next time. That thought plus holding Watanuki's hand right now made him happy.

The walk to Kohane's house was not as leisurely as it had been the time before, but it was still pleasant to spend some quiet time with Watanuki. She wasn't even complaining about something, so that was an added bonus. They walked in companionable silence until they neared the young girl's house, and when they were right around the corner, the seer's brow furrowed, her worry evident.

"I hope she's there…" Suddenly, the pair was startled by a loud car honking at them as it zoomed up next to them. It was a white van and the pair watched as two people jumped out of the back, one holding a microphone and the other a camera. Those two were in such a hurry as they ran around the corner that the one with the camera bumped into Watanuki, nearly knocking her over. Thankfully, Doumeki slipped his arms underneath the girl's armpits and caught her before she could fall. Slightly flustered, Watanuki leaned onto Doumeki's weight for a moment, letting her brain catch up to her body before they both went to peek around the corner.

When the pair peeked around the corner, they saw the pandemonium unfolding in front of Kohane's house. Twenty to thirty people were crowded around the front gate, holding microphones, cameras and scripts. People were shouting over each other while others were recording and everything was so chaotic. Watanuki started running towards the house, Doumeki following close behind her, until it was too crowded to get through.

"This paparazzi is crazy," the archer commented, getting jostled by a crew. He saw Watanuki's eyes harden, her jaw set in determination. Here we go, he thought, knowing that once the girl had her mind set up, nothing was going to stop her, so he got ready to have her back.

"Excuse us! Please move!" The seer started pushing her way through the crowd, weaving behind and in front of people to get to the gate. Doumeki was right there with her, his hand placed on her waist so that she would know he was there. The raven pushed aside a man who whirled on her, glaring as she shoved past him.

"Onlookers should get out of the way! You're a nuisance!" He snarled at her, but backed up just a bit when he saw Doumeki's hard stare glaring back.

"We're not onlookers!" Watanuki snarled back. "We have business here." That caused everyone's heads to turn and suddenly, the paparazzi was clamoring over each other to get to the teens. Microphone were shoved in their faces and Doumeki had to hold several people away as the barrage of questions started.

"Who are you?"

"Are you an acquaintance of Kohane's?"

"What business do you have with her?"

"What is your opinion on the latest development in her career?"

"Please move out of the way!" Watanuki pressed forward, moving people out of her way forcefully when necessary.

"What's your name?"

"Hey, come on! Answer!"

It took a few minutes before the pair was able to make it through the gate and shove it shut behind them. Watanuki breathed a sigh of relief once the gate was closed, however, her relief didn't last long. The yard was even dirtier than it was the late time that they'd visited. Trash was strewn everywhere and the vandalism had gotten worse as well. The girl's hand was shaking as she reached for the door handle, fearing the mother's retribution for coming back, but she pulled open the door because Kohane was more important than any harm her mother could cause.

"Excuse us!" She called into the house, waiting for a reply. When none came, the raven stepped into the house and took off her shoes. Doumeki did the same and they started to make their way down the hallway. The house was still as messy as it had been for their last visit, but it somehow seemed worse. All the lights were off, the plants that had been barely hanging on were now dead and dry, bags and mail were left on counters and on the floor and there was a rotting smell coming from the kitchen. It was horrible to see just how bad the living conditions Kohane and her mother were living in and Watanuki's stomach rolled. Then, from inside the house, the sound of splashing water reached their ears.

"The bathroom," Doumeki stated, pushing his girlfriend forward. They dashed into the house, heading straight towards the sounds and arrived to witness a terrible sight. Kohane was sitting in the bathtub, completely clothed, as her mother dumbed buckets of cold water over her body. The young girl was curled in on herself, her knees tucked into her chest, her arms wrapped securely around her legs.

"It's because you ate those impure things!" Her mother snapped, dumping another round of water on her child's head. "That's why your powers have waned…I have to purify you!" She bent down to fill her bucket again and was about to continue with the ritual when she was interrupted by a shout.

"Kohane!" The girl's name was out of her mouth before she could stop it, drawing the mother's attention.

"What are you people doing in my house?!" The woman snapped around, her eyes glaring daggers at the intruders. "Get out of here! You're impure!" She threw water at the teens and soaked both of them. Doumeki was the first to recover and moved to grab the woman's wrist, holding her in place and locking his fingers in an iron grip. Watanuki grabbed a towel and rushed over to the tub, glaring at the mother. Seeing a mother abuse her daughter this way made her heart break. There's no way that she would ever do this to her own children and she couldn't even fathom how another mother could do this to hers! Mama-Bear-Watanuki called out to her friend and held out the towel with both hands after she'd opened it.

Kohane responded very slowly, her head moving at a snail's pace as her dazed eyes finally recognized who was there. "Kimihiro?" She whispered, her voice devoid of strength.

"Kohane." Watanuki smiled at her gently wrapping helping her out and wrapping her up in the towel.

"Don't touch her!" Kohane's mother slapped Doumeki's hand away, a crazed light sparking in her eyes. "You know you're the ones who made her useless, don't you?! What are you doing?! Stop it!"

That woman needed to be distracted and Doumeki knew just how to do it. He pointed to the window and simply stated, "There's someone at the window." The woman gasped, horrified that her behavior might've been caught by an outsider and she instantly shut up. She covered her mouth and composed herself as much as she could. Of course, it was a lie, but now it was finally quiet. Watanuki bundled Kohane up and took her out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. Doumeki was following close behind. The seer sat her friend down at the table and began drying her off, taking her care to be gentle. Doumeki kept a wary eye out for the girl's mother, but also watched over his friend and girlfriend. He was soothed to see Watanuki care for the girl, making sure she comforted. She'll make a good mother, someday, he mused.

"Kohane, why did things have to come this far?" The raven mumbled, working water out of her long hair.

"It was a cleansing," Kohane confessed. "Because I became impure and was unable to spiritually see properly." Watanuki's worries continued to grow. Her voice sounded so weak…she felt fragile as she dried the girl off, like her little shoulders could snap in her hands.

Doumeki studied the young girl as well, noticing that she looked slightly gaunt and pale, similar to how his grandfather used to look when he fasted for long periods of time. This prompted the archer to check the fridge and the freezer, finding that both were empty. "How long?" He asked.

"The whole time."

"Without even eating?" Kohane nodded in reply. The girl's answer drew a gasp from Watanuki and something inside her just kind of snapped. She didn't care about anything else, she just wanted Kohane to be safe. She didn't care if she was attacked by the girl's mother again, she didn't care if the paparazzi terrorized her, and she didn't care if people called her crazy for doing it, but she was going to get Kohane out of this place.

"Kohane, let's get out of here," the raven stated, her voice as firm as her resolve.

"Huh?" The girl looked up at her friend with the question in her eyes when the door slammed open. She was back. Even though Watanuki feared the woman's anger, she wasn't going to let her get in the way of Kohane's health and safety. Her hands trembled on the girl's shoulders, but she knew she had to take a stand.

"You'll be much better off than staying here," she said, making it clear enough for everyone in the room.

"What are you trying to do?" The mother's voice was angry, but angry in the way that her words hissed out from between her lips. Watanuki turned her head to stare the woman down. If looks could kill, the seer would've been dead.

"I'm going to have Kohane eat and sleep properly."

"Properly? And then?" The crazed look in her blue eyes was getting worse by the moment. "Do you intend to look after her forever?" The words came out as half a threat and half a dare. Watanuki didn't buckle, but stood firm, letting the silence that followed speak for her. "Can you really do that with this strange girl?!" Now she was shouting, raising her fists. "She had eyes that look as if they can see right through you, as though they're looking down upon you!" As she spoke, Kohane turned those unfathomable eyes on her mother, locking gazes with her. Despite the harsh treatment and abuse she'd endured for the past weeks, and even before that, her green eyes were incredibly strong and calm.

"I'm going." It was a fact, not a question. There was not room for argument in the child's voice.

For a moment, her mother was stunned, shocked even, her eyes widening, her mouth gaping open. But her shock was quickly replaced by anger and bitterness. "I'm fed up with all of this! I'm tired of being dragged around by you!" She turned around slowly and slunk away, disappearing down a hallway and slamming a door shut. The tension in the room popped, all three of them feeling it easier to breathe now that she was gone.

Watanuki finally smiled and knelt down next to the girl. "Kohane, I'm proud of you."

"I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize," her smile deepened. "If the one I care about it…if you're in pain, then I'm in pain. That's why I want you to become happy for me, Kohane."

"For you, Kimihiro?" She asked. The raven nodded and hugged the girl.

"Now, let's get you changed and then we'll go to a safe place, alright?" Watanuki took the girl's hand and helped her stand.

"Okay," Kohane nodded back. She started to lead the teen to her room, but Watanuki had one more thing to say.

"Doumeki, grab our stuff! We're going to Yuko's!" He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the raven, but obediently when to grab their bags from where they'd dropped them in the hallway.

After Kohane was in a fresh dress, the three of them put on their shoes and went out the back door. They avoided the paparazzi by trespassing through several neighbors' backyards with Doumeki doing the heavy lifting of getting the girls over tall fences. As compensation, he looked at Watanuki's underwear each and every time he had to boost her over something, which she did not appreciate. (She was wearing mint green panties with navy polka dots. Once they were in the clear, the trio walked down the streets in relative peace. Watanuki had one of Kohane's hands in her own and Doumeki was holding the other. The girl was comforted by the warmth she was feeling from both of them and she could sense how much the pair trusted and loved each other by the way they talked (and argued/insulted in Watanuki's case) the whole time they were walking to wherever this Yuko person lived. It wasn't long before they arrived as a weird looking building set between two tall buildings. It looked so out of place, but at the same time, Kohane could sense that it was always meant to be there.

"Here?" She asked. Watanuki nodded.

"This is Yuko's shop. She's a little strange, but everyone here is nice."

Doumeki leaned down near Kohane's head and asked his own question. "You can see it?" She nodded. He gave a little sigh, still just seeing the vacant lot of weeds that he'd always seen. The girl noticed this slight frustration and let go of the archer's hand to tug on his sleeve. He leaned over again and she patted his head softly.

"It's okay if you can't see it," she stated. "You may never need to see it, but someday you might." The brunet was comforted by those words and patted her head as well.

"Stupid Doumeki, can't even see the shop!~" Watanuki teased, sounding all superior.

"Clearly it's for people like you who are too stupid to solve their own problems," he retorted in his monotone voice. However, there was a little bit of a challenge in his eyes. "Except you, Kohane," he added. The raven bristled like an angry and was about to open her mouth and let him have it when Kohane tugged on her hand, taking a step towards the shop.

"I'll get you back for that!" Watanuki hissed as she passed through the fence.

"Make me a roll cake," Doumeki called back, beginning his own walk home.

"Jerkass!"

Watannuki led her charge up the path and let her in the shop. The second they both entered, Maru and Moro ran down the hallway to greet the part-timer.

"Watanuki!~ Watanuki!~" They sang, their pattering feet accompanying their cheerful voices. The stopped short when they saw that their favorite slave was not alone.

"A customer?" Moro asked.

"A customer?" Maru repeated. Kohane observed the two young girls, finding their presence strange, but comforting nonetheless, before gazing upon a stunning woman. Yuko approached the pair in a blazer, skirt and frilly, white blouse, looking the picture of professional and sophisticated. Her cranberry eyes were warm, a playful smile gracing her lips.

"You had a bit of trouble leaving the house, didn't you?" The witch asked the question like she already knew (and she probably did).

"Ah…yes," Watanuki answered.

"But, tardiness is tardiness!~" Yuko grinned, her Cheshire cat smile making an appearance as she turned to walk back down the hallway. "You'll have to work overtime to cover for it!" The seer groaned in annoyance and defeat, clearly having expected her boss to be just a little lenient with her today. The witch paused and looked back at their young guest. "The bath is ready," she said, her smile softening.

"A bath!~ A bath!~" The twins sang, dashing over to grab Kohane's hands and drag her into the shop.

"With Moro!"

"And Maru!" Watanuki smiled as the twins ran off with their new friend, confidant that they would take care of her while she prepared dinner.

While choruses of "bubble, bubble, bubble!" and "White Mokona impression!" were could be heard from the bathroom, Watanuki was preparing a simple dinner up in Yuko's receiving room. They were having hand-rolled sushi, and the raven hoped that this was "pure" enough for Kohane's diet. She also hoped that it was light enough not to upset the girl's stomach, seeing as she hadn't eaten anything for quite some time. She was also listening to Yuko explain why Kohane had been right on T.V.

"Huh?" The girl set out soy sauce and plates as she finished setting the table.

"What Kohane said was the truth," Yuko stated again, rolling her eyes at having to repeat herself.

"I knew it!" The girl cheered, a huge smile on her face. "The other psychics were lying, weren't they?"

"They were telling the truth too." Now she was confused again. Watanuki made a face. The witch launched into her explanation, not leaving her hanging for once. "What they saw was indeed correct, in some interpretations.

"What do you mean?"

"The spiritual seers saw the ghosts that were displayed on the T.V. at the time. However, Kohane saw through the entire house that the presenter was showing them.

"Then, it's just like she said…"

"There is a ghost of a murdered woman lingering there." Yuko voice took on that ominous tone it did when she was being serious. "She also saw the other ghost who lost his life in a war."

"Then why didn't she say anything?"

"Because it would've been pointless. The other seers couldn't see the girl's ghost," Yuko replied, sipping sake from a cup she'd just poured for herself. "To explain something to others who can't see or feel it is incredibly difficult. Isn't it?" Clearly Yuko was poking at Watanuki's little spirit problem, and the seer had to admit defeat.

"Yes, it is," she sighed.

"Sometimes people will deny the things that they cannot understand or grasp," the witch went on. "They may even categorize things that do not fit into the world they are comfortable with as bad." Yuko pausing, taking another sip from her cup. "Except Doumeki; that boy is a saint. Make beautiful babies with him!~"

"YUKO!" Watanuki blushed from the tips of her ears all the way down to her toes.

"Now back to the original topic-" the woman attempted to move back to her previous thought but Watanuki wouldn't let her.

"You don't get to tease me like that and then brush it off as if nothing happened!" She was a fuming ball of anger and embarrassment.

"If only people could just leave the things that they don't know as simply that," but she did succeed in brushing the raven off and continuing on just the same.

"Damn you!"

The adult conversation was interrupted as the doors to the receiving were flung open and the twins came running in, giggling and shouting as Mokona ran behind them. The pork bun was wearing a small towel turban on his head (where Yuko got a towel tiny enough for that, Watanuki would never figure out), and chanting for beer as it hopped towards the table. Kohane tailed along after the troublesome trio, looking refreshed and more relaxed.

"Are you all warmed up now?" Yuko asked gently.

"Yes," Kohane nodded, she even smiled! It was the first smile that Watanuki had seen on her face the whole day, and seeing that calmed some of her worries.

"Relax as much as you want," Yuko offered. "You can stay for however long you like." The young girl looked surprised by the offer, but she was soon waved over by everyone at the table.

"We have hand-rolled sushi on today's menu," Watanuki informed her, smiling brightly. She led Kohane to a spot at the table. Yuko was at the head with Kohane on her right and Watanuki on her left, with Moro sitting to Watanuki's left and Maru right across from her. Mokona went wherever the hell Mokona wanted to go.

"Itadakimasu!" Everyone but Kohane gave thanks for the meal and started to dig in. When Kohane looked a little confused, Yuko stepped up to explain.

"'Itadakimasu' conveys thanks for the life you are receiving, whether that life is plant or animal. It's the same."

The girl nodded, understanding. "Itadakimasu," she said, looking at the yummy food around her. Mokona hopped up towards her, jumping around platters of ingredients, holding a bottle of sushi mayonnaise and a piece of nori.

"Mokona's recommendation is to make a roll with avocado and crab stick with mayonnaise!"

"The fact that it's a crab stick and not real crab is the ironic bit of that," Yuko commented, gracefully guzzling her sake. "Sushi will all that fatty tuna is great as well." Watanuki dished out rice from the big tub in the center of the table, making sure everyone had enough for a first round while the other's talked.

"You're extravagant," Watanuki groaned.

"Mmmmm!~ This sake is great!~" Yuko cooed, finishing her cup. "Watanuki! Refill me!~"

"Already?! There were four bottles out here! And it wasn't that easy to get!"

"Extravagance! Extravagance!" The twins chimed in.

"Something a little heavier would be good next!" Yuko was already thinking about new liquors to drink before the raven had even handed her cup back.

"Oi, Watanuki!" Mokona called, shoving a whole roll in its mouth. "Get us some chawanmushi!" (1).

"Chawanmushi!~" The twins sang out again, giggling.

"Chawanmushi! At this time?!" Watanuki needed at least an hour to make the egg custard, there was no way there was time for that now that they had started eating!

"Make it! Make it! Hurry up!" The trio demanded. Kohane giggled as the usual chaos ensued at the dinner table, feeling very happy for the first time in a long time. The raven smiled as she saw Kohane enjoying herself and didn't even mind leaving the table to make chawanmushi. The evening passed joyfully. The twins played cards with their new friend and they read stories together while Mokona and Yuko pestered Watanuki for drinks and snacks. After a few hours of the usual shenanigans and several story times later, Kohane was tucked up in bed with Maru, Moro and Mokona. The kids were all tuckered out and the twins each snuggled a side of Kohane while Mokona konked out on her feet. It was really cute to see as Watanuki slid the door shut quietly. She sighed and massaged a knot out of her shoulder before heading back to clean up the kitchen. There was the usual amount of dishes to be done and it was after ten o'clock by the time the girl finished, hanging up her apron and throwing the dirty towels into the hamper. She yawned and peeked out onto the porch to see Yuko quietly reading and drinking wine and decided that she would just go to bed. However, something strange happened as she was headed off to take a bath and it was something that rarely happened in the shop. The phone rang.

Startled by the loud noise, Watanuki freaked out for two seconds before dashing through the house to silence the contraption before it woke up Kohane and the gang. She slid into the table as she attempted to slow herself down and yanked the phone off the receiver as she stumbled to her feet.

"Hello?" She was interested to see who was calling this late at night.

"Oh, the number Yuko gave me works." She'd recognize that voice anywhere.

"Doumeki!? What are you doing calling this late at night!?" She hissed, trying to keep her voice down but still express her surprise and anger. "Kohane is sleeping!"

"Oh, sorry." He paused for a moment. "I just wanted to talk to you." Well, this is odd for him.

"Why? We just saw each other this afternoon," she replied, twirling the phone cord in her hand. Yuko still had one of those old rotary phones so the spiral cord went around and around her fingers before it was unwound and then rewound once again as she talked.

"…" Doumeki paused, leaving the seer hanging for about a minute or so.

"Well?"

"I missed you, Kimihiro," he admitted. The sound of his confession caused the girl's heart to skip a beat and she began to blush. Thank heavens he couldn't see her right now. When did I become such a blushy mess for that man!?

"Oh…really?" She couldn't think of any good retort to throw back at him because she was genuinely surprised by this display of affection. Usually Doumeki would tease her and then demand some kind of food…that's how these things were supposed to go! What was she supposed to say to him when he wasn't sticking to the program?!

"Yeah." There was a pregnant pause as the raven struggled with what to say next that didn't sound insulting. "Did you miss me?" Doumeki fished for an answer, sensing that she was struggling.

"Well…yeah, I-I guess," she stumbled over her words. How the hell was she supposed to talk to him normally? "We didn't have much time together today."

"No, we didn't."

And another pause. This was way awkward.

"I'm just going to come out and say it," Watanuki sighed, "I don't know how to talk to you right now." She could feel Doumeki rolling his eyes.

"How's Kohane?" He asked, trying to get onto a familiar topic.

"She's doing much better." The raven breathed a sigh of relief, as their conversation started to flow normally. "She was smiling at dinner, Yuko prepared a bath for her and now she's sleeping. Maru and Moro adore her and Mokona had a fun time playing with her too. I got some good food in her."

"You're food is very good," he agreed.

"Damn straight it is!" Watanuki grinned smugly. "I'm the best!"

"And so humble too." Even if his voice was even, Watanuki could just sense the sarcasm radiating from the archer.

"Are you making fun of me!?" She yelped, gripping the phone tightly.

"Yes," came the calm reply.

"Well you don't have to be so blunt about it!" She huffed.

"Oi."

"My name's not 'oi,'" she snapped.

"I love you," the declaration came out of left field and Watanuki's mouth opening and closing like a fish's.

"I…I love you too," came her timid reply. It was a super sweet and unexpected moment…but then he had to go and ruin it.

"Make katsudon for lunch tomorrow. I'll come to your place." (2)

"What makes you think I want to cook for you on a Saturday?!" The regular Watanuki was back lightning fast.

"Because you're the best, remember?" He threw the girl's words right back at her. She was trapped and he knew it.

She growled at him, hoping her anger was clear through the phone. "Fine, you ass! But be there at noon sharp or I'm going to lock the door on you!"

"I'll be there at 11:45," he promised, not one to miss a free meal. "Good night." And then he hung up. Watanuki was left starting at the humming phone in her hand as the disconnection tone droned on.

"Did he call me just to tell me what to make?" She asked. The walls didn't have an answer for her, but it was pretty clear what his intention had been. "Shit!" She yelled, slamming the phone back onto the receiver, pissed about being duped in the cutest way possible.

"Watanuki, there are children sleeping!" Yuko called out to the girl while she was on her way to the kitchen. The seer slapped her hands over her mouth. "And tone down the profanity while she's here, please." The witch winked and went on her way to find some rice crackers to munch on. It wasn't long before both she and Watanuki went to bed, the shop becoming silent as midnight approached.

Kohane found herself waking up to the quiet sleeping noises of the twins. Warm sunlight hit her face as it shined through the paper doors of the shop. She blinked slowly, letting her eyes get used to the light as she sat up. She was still sandwiched between the twins and Mokona was snoring somewhere in the blankets. The girl sat up carefully, rubbing her eyes and realized that this was the most peaceful she'd felt in a long time. She contemplated the feeling and concluded that it must be because everyone here was so nice to her. They touched her, played with her, called her by name…all the thing she wished her mother would do. She didn't have to be anyone but herself and that was…refreshing.

Kohane brushed her messy hair out of her face and listened to the sound of birdsong outside. There was another sound too; someone was chopping something in the shop. That must've been Watanuki. The girl was excited to see her friend and carefully creeped her way out of the bed. Her little bare feet pattered across the floor, her borrowed nightgown fluttering around her legs as she went to the kitchen. There was Watanuki, cooking breakfast for the household, and looking like a mom in her apron. The seer heard someone approaching and turned to find her friend looking bright eyed and bushy tailed.

"Good morning, Kohane!" She greeted the child with a smile.

"Good morning, Kimihiro." She was smiling too.

"I'll have breakfast ready in a minute," the raven explained. "I've made the miso soup with Shimeji mushrooms and Japanese mustard greens. Do you like that?"

"I think I do." To be honest, Kohane mostly just foraged for food in the morning by herself. Her mother was usually at meetings, finding jobs or shopping, so she'd just leave home schooling work for the girl to do and let her fend for herself. But, those times that he mother did make breakfast, she remembered liking it.

"That's good," Watanuki smile got bigger. She went back to cooking, but Kohane spoke a few moments later.

"It's almost time for me to go home." The statement surprised the seer and she nearly dropped her cooking chopsticks into the soup. "I'll be going back."

"Kohane…" Watanuki's worries from yesterday attacked her in full force. She fretted about letting the child go back to that dirty house, to a mother who was scared of her and mistreated her, and she fretted about how Kohane was going to hold up in front of the media when her mother was clearly unstable. She didn't know why Kohane wanted to go back. "Why?" The question slid past her lips before she could stop it, but Kohane seemed to be expecting such a response.

"Because I'm worried about her," she replied, her face even. She seemed very adult in that moment, even more so than usual. Of course, Watanuki thought to herself. Kohane had a good heart. If she really wanted to go back, who was she to stop her? (Of course, if things continued to get worse, she'd call the cops on Kohane's mother.)

"She smiled and reached up to until her hair handkerchief. "I'll take you back when you're ready."

"Awwwww!" The pair in the kitchen was joined by a sad chorus from Maru and Moro and Mokona as they peeked their heads in. Kohane turned to smile at her new friends.

"Thank you so much for playing with me. It was really fun." The troublesome trio dashed up to her, their faces sad.

"Come back and play, okay?" Maru asked (well, she was being demanding actually).

"For sure!" Moro added.

"Promise!~" They both sang. Kohane nodded and held out her pinky finger and the twins hooked their pinkies with her. Mokona jumped up and wrapped its arm around the pinky promise, since it clearly didn't have any pinkies.

"We'll be waiting!" Maru stated.

"Yeah waiting!" Moro agreed.

"Let's get everyone breakfast, and then we'll go, okay?" Watanuki placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder and she looked up with her big, green eyes. She smiled and nodded, and then giggled as Watanuki instructed the twins to go wake up Yuko – to jump on her if they had to! They saluted and ran off, giggling and calling out for their mistress.

Breakfast was as lively an affair as dinner had been the night before – everyone was laughing and having a good time while all of them were crowded in the kitchen. Then, all the girls got ready together (which was everyone except Mokona, but Mokona would not be left out!). Moro helped Maru put her long, blue hair into pony tails while Watanuki brushed Kohane's hair out, and Mokona helped Yuko pick out her accessories for her kimono, grabbing a very stylish hair pin and obi cord for the witch. Once everyone was ready, it was time for Kohane to say goodbye. Dressed in freshly washed clothes, the young girl waved to her friends as she left the shop. Yuko smiled kindly at her, the twins were jumping up and down, waving and shouting goodbye, and Mokona jumped up to Kohane's face to give her one more kiss. Watanuki smiled as she watched their displays of affection, and as she was watching, she suddenly remembered something that she could give the girl to ease the burdens of her world.

The seer asked her to wait outside for just a moment as she ran back into the shop. When she came out, she was holding her gift, but didn't tell Kohane what it was for. She then reached for her friend's hand, holding her smaller one in her bigger one. Kohane gave the shop one last wave before they set out for her house. The walk took longer than usual, but it was because the pair was enjoying each other's company too much to hurry along. But soon, they were a few blocks away from home when Kohane let go of Watanuki's hand and turned to her.

"Here will be fine," she stated.

"You sure?" The teen asked, looking around for any paparazzi.

"Yes," she nodded back. Then, Watanuki gave the girl her last gift of the day. She squatted down and held out the balloon string she'd been holding onto since they left the shop. The balloon was one of the ones that she'd received from the Dream Buyer, the yellow one in fact, and now the seer was left with one. But it was worth it. "Here, this is for you."

"A balloon?"

"Yes, it will grant a dream to whoever holds it," the raven explained.

"But my dream has already come true," a smile graced the little girl's face. "I wanted to laugh and eat a meal with someone that I cared for." It was such a simple dream, but thinking about how much Kohane must've wanted some form of human companionship, affection and love had Watanuki's eyes blurring with tears. She still held out the balloon.

"Then this one will be for your next dream," she smiled back at her friend, making sure that Kohane had a good grip on the string before letting go.

"Thank you." The pair hugged, Watanuki enveloping the girl's body in her arms, squeezing her, trying to press all the happiness and love she could into the gesture. Kohane's little arms wrapped around her tightly, returning the same amount of love. Tears pricked Watanuki's eyes as she held her friend, wishing with all her heart that things would work out for the best. The hug lasted a few more moments before the child's arms slackened and the raven released her. Kohane was smiling softly and waved as she turned to walk down the street. The seer waved back, trying her best to smile as she watched the girl get smaller and smaller and then disappeared around the corner. She knew that even with the girl gone, her thoughts would linger on her for a long time.

And to Doumeki's disappointment, the raven's thoughts remained on Kohane as she cooked in silence once she'd gotten back to her apartment. Doumeki had been waiting for her, sitting outside her front door for a good twenty minutes before she trudged up her stairs. She didn't even really snap at him, nor do any of the normal Watanuki-things she did when he was around; she just opened the door and let him come in after her. She did the same thing while preparing the katsudon, only smacking his hands away when he reached for snacks instead of yelling at him or getting on his case. It was kind of nice to not be yelled at, but at the same time he was a little jealous that she was not focused on him. He could tell that she was worried about Kohane, and he was just as concered, but he knew that she could stand up for herself, just as she had stood up to her mother. Even if her worry for the girl was considerate, what he really wanted was for Watanuki to pay attention to him.

He stared at her while they ate, and when she caught him staring, the raven would give him a annoyed, "What?" and he's just hum back at her and return to eating. That happened about three times before Watanuki just started to consciously ignore him, rolling her eyes. But she was still quiet and still not being like herself.

Doumeki even helped clean up to try and get her in a better mood before leading the girl to her living room/bedroom. He plopped them both down on a couple of sitting cushions (Watanuki had bought them when Doumeki kept showing up at her apartment) and when he finally decided to take some initiative, Watanuki foiled him by reaching for her manga. Slipping into their normal visits-at-Watanuki's-house routine she leaned against the wall and cuddled up to Doumeki as he sighed internally. His arm went around her shoulder and he leaned his head on hers, both of them reading in the quiet. That lasted about ten minutes before Watanuki kept glancing away from the page and stared off into space. She stopped turning the pages in a timely manner, and then she stopped reading altogether. Clearly her mind was still worrying, like it did, but Doumeki found that this was a perfect chance to grab her attention.

"You are infuriating," he stated bluntly, flicking the girl's forehead with his thumb and middle finger. She snapped out of whatever funk she was in and started yelling at him.

"Oh-hoho, what is it this time?!" She snarled, glaring at him.

"You stopped reading," he pointed out, his head gesturing to the manga in her hands.

She grunted at him. "Were you really that interested in it?"

"Not really."

"Then why get on my case about it?!"

He shrugged, "You're irritating me."

She tossed the manga across the room, the book hitting the wall and then the floor with a thump. "You already said that! So what's the real problem then?" She was glaring at him, a fire sparking in her eyes. Doumeki was enjoying himself now…she was fun to poke at.

"Hm," came the noncommittal reply. This ticked her off even more. His own eyes held a kind of challenge and Watanuki didn't like how he was dodging her questions.

"If you have a problem with me you might as well tell me what the hell it is to my face!" And speaking of faces, she shoved hers right into his, mismatched eyes locked onto bronze ones, her hand gripping the collar of his shirt. They stood at a stalemate for a solid twenty seconds before Doumeki finally spoke up.

"Pay attention to me." His reply was soft, but it was spoken firmly.

"Huh?" Watanuki's anger quickly devolved into confusion. The archer swept her up into a tight embrace, pulling her body against his and in the process, forcing her to straddle his lap. She was surprised by the suddenness of his hug, but feelings of love and comfort resonated with her as she settled into his arms.

"I am here, now, but your mind is elsewhere," the teen whispered, his breath ghosting past the girl's ear. "I want you to think of me when we're together." His sudden confession stunned the raven. Doumeki had always been this strange mix of being upfront, but not being completely clear about what he was thinking about. His actions mostly displayed what he was thinking or feeling, but now he was talking about what he was feeling and it was odd, but refreshing.

"Are you jealous?" She teased, wanting to poke fun at his unusual honesty. It was not a fun kind of tease, but Doumeki derailed the seer before she got too far.

"Yes." A small sound of surprise escaped her lips before she could stop it. "You were thinking about Kohane." It was more of a statement than a question. She nodded, wondering where exactly he was going with this. "I know you worry about her, but she's going to be fine. She's strong."

"I know, but she's still a child…I can't help but worry." Watanuki's mind was already getting pulled back into her thoughts, her same concerns and anxieties coming to the surface again. Doumeki's large hands ran up her body, rubbing soothing circles on her back. She leaned into his broad chest, resting her head on his shoulder, her grip on his shirt softening until her hands were just pressed against him. When had she started feeling so relaxed in his arms? When had his constant presence stopped being an annoyance? When had she started to want to be held by him? She couldn't pinpoint when it happened…it had just happened. She could feel his heartbeat against her hand, strong and steady. Her own heart was pounding in her chest, the rhythm becoming faster the longer he held her. One of his hands stopped rubbing her back and traveled up her spine, sending and electric shiver that made her shiver, and came to rest on her neck. He gently held the back of her neck and prompted her to come up and face him. She knew her cheeks were flushed but she knew there was no hiding it from him.

"You can worry all you want," he started, his eyes molten with emotion. "But not when I want to kiss you." The raven's eyes widened, but before she could say anything, his lips were firmly pressed up against hers, warm and tender. It lasted only a few seconds before he pulled back and inch. Watanuki knew that her face was even redder now, but Doumeki thought it was so cute how she got riled up so quickly. His next kiss was firmer, more insistent, as his tongue flicked out to taste her lips. She gasped, opening up her mouth to him, her hands running up his shirt and around his neck. The arm on her back tightened, pressing her flush with his body and the one on her neck went up to tangle in her hair, yanking her ponytail out. She moaned into his mouth as his hand gripped her hip, and she broke away for air gasping. The archer leaned forward to kiss her ear, earning himself a shiver and then she made this adorable squeak when he took her earlobe in his teeth and yanked on it gently.

"You're cute," he chuckled, his low voice sending tingles across her whole body. When he laughed…it just sounded too good! She was blushing even harder now; her skin felt like it was on fire everywhere he touched.

"S-s-shut up!" She stuttered, hiding her face in his hair. The archer chuckled again, causing that same rush to zing through her body. Doumeki could practically feel her embarrassment radiating off her body and he smiled softly.

"I only told the truth." He kissed her hair and brought his hands down to her rear, scooting her flush against him. She yelped at the contact, her spine shooting straight, and then suddenly remembered that the last time they did this she was wasted and now that she wasn't, this was really embarrassing and arousing at the same time. Doumeki kissed her cheek sweetly, his breath ghosting across her skin. "You're so beautiful. I love you, Kimihiro." As he whispered his love to her, Watanuki felt her heart pound in a way that it never had before. It throbbed painfully in her chest while simultaneously melting. Somehow, without her even noticing, Doumeki had taken a strong grip of her heart, and even if she never wanted to admit it, she knew that he already knew it. The good thing was that Doumeki was exactly the same, and he couldn't even imagine a life without cranky Watanuki in it.

The only appropriate thing she could think of to say in response was, "I love you, dummy," before quickly averting her gaze from his so that she didn't melt into a puddle right there.

He pulled her into another kiss, this one hot and rough and Watanuki felt his heartbeat pounding just as fast as hers was where their chests pressed together. His tongue was in her mouth, hers in his and when they finally broke for air, they were panting, heated eyes locked on the other's.

"I want to make love to you," the archer whispered, his voice laced with desire.

"Oh gosh! Don't say it out loud!" Watanuki covered her face with her hands, mortified at his bluntness (though honestly, she shouldn't expect anything else from him).

"You're kissing me, sitting in my lap and you're still embarrassed?" Doumeki rolled his eyes at her. "Idiot."

"Don't call me an idiot! I've never done this before and that last time anything happened I was drunk!" The seer's anger cut through her embarrassment for a moment and then she found that the archer had somehow undone her shirt buttons and was beginning to pull it off. He pushed her hands down and yanked her shirt off, tossing it away, forgotten.

"I almost like drunk you more," he teased taking in the sight of a half-naked Watanuki. The bra would need to go though.

"Oh, shut up!" Watanuki's blush spread down to her chest, and she resisted the urge to cover herself up by grabbing at the man's shirt. He allowed her to pull it over his head and then she was allowed to appreciate the gorgeous upper body that Doumeki's archery activities had granted him. She'd seen him shirtless a few times…that time when he slept over…that time in the bath…but it was different this time. This time, she wanted to see him and hold him and touch him. And clearly he did too.

Doumeki smiled, leaning down to start leaving kisses on the raven's collarbone and chest. Each warm touch had her sighing and writhing against him, the contact between their bodies spurring his own passion. He undid her bra with a click, and that fell away as well, forgotten and tossed away. Sucking in a breath, Watanuki dug her fingers into his hair and pulled him into her chest, wanting to feel more. He chuckled, the noise going straight to her belly, churning the warmth gathering there. Her thoughts became mush in her brain, hardly coherent as she held on and enjoyed the ride. Oh gosh, h-his tongue…! Noooooo…don't suck that! She was soon a shivering mess in his arms, but the noises she made and the scratches she left on his body had the archer in the same state. Once he was satisfied that he'd given her chest enough love, Doumeki hugged her tightly one more time. The raven felt the powerful warmth emanating from his body against her bare skin, his broad shoulders and arms easily encasing her. His rough, calloused hands caressed whatever skin they could touch – his years of training pressed intimately into her body. There was no going back now, they both knew that.

Doumeki lifted the girl up, his hands supporting her weight, her arms and legs locked around his body, and stood up to take the few steps that had them tumbling onto the girl's futon. And that's basically where they stayed for the rest of the day. They lounged around, enjoying each other's company…and then not enjoying it when Watanuki would get annoyed with Doumeki, but then enjoying it when he made her flustered with a kiss (or something a little more illicit). And so the day passed, and the night was spent tangled together on a freshly washed futon cover and blanket.

When Watanuki returned to the shop the next day, her worries about Kohane had set back in. However, they were tempered by the peaceful (if exhausting) day she'd spent in Doumeki's company. She didn't feel quite as desperate to protect Kohane as she'd been before. The short respite from her worries had calmed the uncontrollable panic she'd felt, but her motherly concerns still remained.

"You're still worried?" Yuko asked the girl when she walked into her receiving room. The witch was dressed in a simple, purple kimono and lazily smoked her kiseru pipe.

"Of course…" came the quiet reply.

"She'll be just fine."

"You say that so easily," Watanuki sighed, wondering how Yuko could be so confident about everything all the time.

The witch smoked her pipe thoughtfully for a moment before reply, "Of course…Kohane has the strength to choose. And she has the strength to accept whatever consequences come with those choices. Do you understand how exceptional that is?"

"To choose?" Watanuki thought about it for a minute, but she couldn't quite see what Yuko was getting at. It also didn't help that her thought process was interrupted by the twins and Mokona bursting through the door and tumbling into her demanding snacks and playtime. And then Yuko started making outrageous demands for her lunch AND dinner and Watanuki was then up to her neck in chores and playtime. But, such was life when you worked at a shop that grants wishes run by a particularly selfish witch.

That evening, Kohane made her way to the old house that was featured on the psychic program where she appeared. She didn't see what happened inside, but when could see the repercussions of it. Inside, a dilapidated crumbled, leaving a huge hole in the wall that reached nearly from floor to ceiling. Along with the rubble, several fragments of bones crashed to the ground, finally unearthed. Kohane stood by the house's porch, waiting. The ghost of a young woman appeared before her. She had short brown hair and was dressed in an out-of-date dress, but she was very pretty.

"I'm sorry," Kohane apologized, "You wanted to keep on sleeping, right?" The young woman smiled softly and shook her head. She stepped off the porch and walked toward the girl, disappearing into a display of light as her soul was finally set free. Kohane smiled, happy to see her move on. She could now rest in peace.

The discovery of the woman's bones in the mansion completely turned the public's opinion on Kohane. The media was all over her again, visiting her house wanting interviews with the young psychic. They were baffled and shocked that the young girl had actually been right, having seen more than all the other psychics that were on the program and they all seemed more than happy to sing the girl's praises.

Wari, of course, was up-to-date on everything. He had a magazine at lunch that talked all about Kohane and how she'd singlehandedly outshone all the other psychics involved and helped reveal the young woman's secret murder. "Kohane is so amazing!" Wari smiled, happy that she wasn't being attacked anymore.

"What the hell is all this?" Watanuki scoffed, leaning over to read some of the article. The trio was sitting up on the roof for lunch, since it was such a nice day. "Just a little while ago they were calling her a hack and putting her through hell."

"Isn't that just how it is?" Doumeki stated-asked with a mouth full of steamed red bean bun. "The way of the world. The media's such a circus."

"Doesn't it get on your nerves?! You're a cold-hearted bastard!" The raven shot back. "Do you have any idea of the emotion trauma they put her through?" Doumeki turned and gave the girl a look that simultaneously said "I was there you dumbass" and "You're an idiot." Watanuki did not appreciate that look and stuck her tongue out at him behind Wari's back.

"That's why they say that rumors only last for 75 days," he shrugged, stuffing another bun in his mouth.

"And what the heck does that mean?!"

Wari interrupted the two before a one-sided fight broke out. "I think what Doumeki means is that no matter what people say, if you remember that they'll eventually forget all about it, then it won't bother you as much.

"Well, that's the gist of it," the archer agreed.

"Great!" Wari gave one of his dazzling smiles and Watanuki couldn't help but be jealous that Doumeki's dumb ass was understood by Wari of all people!

"Waarrrrriiii! Why do you understand what that jerk is saying!?" The girl leapt to her feet and in Watanuki fashion, began making weird movements and dancing around in frustration. "Doumeki! Be grateful that Wari is acting as your proxy! And don't go acting all smart!" And in Doumeki fashion, he ignored the shouting idiot.

"It's it enough that we know what kind of girl she is?" He stated, getting profound.

"Yeah…I know…" Watanuki reluctantly agreed, figuring that he won this round.

"Yeah!" Wari smiled brightly and Watanuki was blinded by his radiance.

"Kohane is a lot strong than you because she doesn't get anxious over everything," the archer gave the girl a slightly pointed look as he insulted the seer. He so loved pushing her buttons. "Idiot."

"WHO'S THE IDIOT!?" Watanuki stomped her feet and her fangs came out as she yelled at her boyfriend. But then she suddenly stopped, surprising her friends. She didn't usually give up that easily. The raven had a look of realization on her face. "Yuko said something like that," she started. "She said that Kohane is strong."

"Strong?" Wari asked.

"There's no way what happened wouldn't leave a deep scar on such a young child like her, but she…" Watanuki remembered how confident she'd looked when she decided that she was going back home, despite living with a mother who made her life almost unbearable and having the world against her. She was strong…probably one of the strongest people that Watanuki knew. She smiled, feeling very proud of her friend. And then Doumeki had to ruin the moment.

"You're really an idiot."

"WHAT WAS THAT?! Say that to my face!"

"I just did."

It didn't help that Yuko agreed with Doumeki when Watanuki made it to the shop that afternoon. The witch was sipping green tea and eating some of the seer's yummy red bean jelly when the raven finished telling her the story.

"Doumeki is right, you know," she smiled, setting her cup down and taking another bite of jelly.

"Not you too, Yuko," the girl groaned.

Maru and Moro popped up on either side of their mistress, waving their hands, smiling and dancing as they sang, "Watanuki~ Watanuki~ doesn't understand!" Just before she could react, the seer's eyes trailed off towards the T.V. (Yuko had been lounging and watching the news when Watanuki showed up). She recognized the house being shown on the television immediately.

"Hey! That's Kohane's house!" There were tons of people crowded outside, just like they'd been when Watanuki and Doumeki had visited that first time. All four of them listened to the broadcast, all silly songs forgotten.

"We are at the residence of Kohane Tsuyuri, who unearthed the murder incident with her spiritual sight." The news lady continued after a short pause. "We have just learned that she will be leaving here today and moving to a new address" Watanuki gasped, shocked that her friend was moving. "According to the email we have received from Kohane's mother, who also works as her manager, she will retire from her spiritual seeing activities and does not plan to give out any more interviews." The lady kept talking, but Yuko had heard enough to understand.

"I see, so she chose." She smiled, quite pleased with the outcome.

"And since we have only just seen a glimpse of her abilities, her retirement can only be called extremely unfortunate." Watanuki stopped listening after that point, her mind trying to grasp the fact that Kohane was leaving when they'd just barely started their relationship. It was a sobering and sad fact…one that had Watanuki walking the familiar streets towards the girl's house the next day.

The walls of the house had been scrubbed as well as they could, but the lingering remnants of the graffiti and harassment were faded, but still visible. The gate was chained shut and it definitely didn't seem like anyone was living there anymore. The raven peered in between the iron gate and kept searching, hoping to see any sign of her friend, but found none. She sighed and let her gaze fall to the ground. Her eyes widened as she saw a bright yellow balloon lying there, popped. She smiled. Whatever dream Kohane had, it had been granted. She left with a bounce in her step, happy that her friend's wish came true, even if she didn't see her for a long, long time.

The late spring days turned into summer, and summer eventually became early fall, but Watanuki never forgot Kohane. She lived her life knowing that one day they'd meet again. She went to school with Wari and Doumeki, she worked at Yuko's shop, and she ran normal errands and she ran crazy errands. She spent ruckus-filled nights partying with Yuko and Mokona, she spend quiet nights tucking the twins into bed and reading them bedtimes stories, she spent long nights studying and making bento lunches and she spent sweet nights with Shizuka. But on one brisk fall day, the seer found herself heading to Doumeki's temple, on her way to school. She usually just waited outside the gate for him to come out, but this time, she felt the need to go inside the courtyard. The cherry trees were brilliant greens and yellows, the wind having ripped off several piles of leaves off the branches already. It wouldn't be long before all the leaves started changing colors and falling to the ground. As she walked onto the temple grounds, a small, lone figure drew the seer's attention.

It was a young girl, dressed in jeans, sandals and a flowing cream-colored shirt. She was standing under a particular cherry tree, gazing up into the branches. It took Watanuki a moment to recognize her, as the young girl had bob-length hair when she used to have hair down to her knees. But…there was no mistaking her.

"Kohane!" She nearly dropped her school bag as she shouted happily and ran towards the girl. Kohane turned to look in her direction, her moss green eyes soft.

"Kimihiro!" The raven's name came out as an exclamation, but it was the Kohane kind where it was much softer sounding than it should be, but nonetheless happy. When Watanuki was close enough, she leaned down to get more on the child's level, still smiling.

"Are you doing alright?"

"Yeah." The two girls smiled at each other again. It was as if their very souls resonated with each other, happy to finally see the other again. Very few words were spoken, but it was as if months of time spent apart was suddenly resolved, leaving neither wanting for anything other than the familiar company. Watanuki reached her hands out, book bag and all, and hesitantly went in for a hug. Kohane smiled a bit more and wrapped her arms around the seer. She was then enveloped by arms much bigger than hers, the warmth of the body around her warming her as well. When they parted, the two of them were nothing but smiles. Watanuki stood up, but kept Kohane's hand in her own. As they stood under the tree, Watanuki recognized that she had found the girl here once before.

"This is the tree that princess watched over," the raven said. The girl made a noise of agreement. "It was because of you that she was able to move on, Kohane. And the woman in that house was happy to be found, right?" The blonde nodded.

"She said she was killed by a person she liked."

Watanuki was shocked. "A person that she liked?" For a second, she imagined Doumeki trying to kill her and just couldn't do it. But maybe…he didn't like her back as much…

"She really, really, really liked that person a lot," Kohane continued, "and that's why she didn't feel sad when she was killed. That's why…if I didn't say she was there, she probably would've slept for much longer."

"I talked about it with Yuko after it happened, and she said that the woman has gone to a place that she needed to go to." Watanuki felt the same way about the woman Kohane saw as she did when she found the little girl under the hydrangea; now they were both in a better place.

"That's good." The pair stood in silence for a few moments before the young psychic looked towards her friend. Having caught Watanuki's gaze, the girl looked into her mismatched eyes for a few seconds longer before speaking again. "Kimihiro, I should go now."

"Oh…okay." Watanuki smiled happy that she, at least, got to spend a few minutes with the girl. They both turned when a pair of footsteps approached and Kohane's mother was waiting a few meters away. The girls smiled at each other again and then Kohane started to make her way over to her mother. As she left, Watanuki couldn't help but call out her name again, a question on her lips.

"Kohane!" The young girl turned around. "That balloon, did it help you realize your dream?" She got a happy nod in response. "What was your dream?"

"I wished that my mother wouldn't suffer anymore." Watanuki's eyes widened, astonishment painting her face. How selfless can one child be? Almost everything she's has been for someone else… The raven looked back at Kohane's mother, seeing a distinct change in her demeanor. She was not freaking out about Watanuki being by her daughter like she had the two other times. She was quietly standing back, seeming calm and collect. She was a very different person now than what she had been. Watanuki couldn't help but grin. "I see. See you later, then!"

"See you later." The girls waved at each other and the moment became even sweeter when Kohane's mother reached out and placed her hand gently on the girl's shoulder. In that one gesture, a huge abyss of neglect, frustration and abuse had been mended. Watanuki's eyes blurred tears as she watched mother and daughter walk away together. Kohane was so strong…strong enough to make her dreams a reality. And that was all Watanuki could wish for.

To be continued…

Note 1: Chawanmush is a steamed egg custard. It is usually eater as a dish during a meal rather than dessert because it contains savory ingredients. Such as, fish cake, sea curchin, ginkgo nuts, salmone roe, shiitake mushrooms, etc. Since egg custard can't be eaten with chopsticks, it is one of the few Japanese dishes that is eaten with a spoon.

Note 2: Katsudon is a popular dish that combines a deep-fried pork cutlet and eggs in a sweet and salty broth. Usually served over right, katsudon is considered "soul food" or "comfort food."

A/N: See you all next time! :3