Affinity

By Kitsune Ears

Disclaimer: xXxHolic, Tokyo Babylon and X/1999 belong to CLAMP. Not mine.

Chapter 1: Tokyo Girl

Of all places in Tokyo, Watanuki Kimihiro is terrified of Ueno Park the most.

He had been an orphan for six months when his guardians decided to take him there to distract his mind of everything supernatural and funereal. And it worked nicely, for little Kimihiro was immediately astonished at the beauty of the avenues and sculptures, the richly carved designs of Toshogu Shrine, the cute penguins of Ueno Zoo, and the hundreds and hundreds of sakura trees that seemed to be everywhere, shading his path with their ancient, contorted limbs.

Dazzled by thousands of people of all ages, the shy, bereaved boy soon grew bold and darted into the crowd, which grew thicker and thicker as he ran up the avenues.

As he progressed, Watanuki realised most people seemed to cluster around a gigantic sakura tree, and he really couldn't blame them, for that was the most beautiful tree in the whole Park, heavy with pink blossoms and mysterious branches it seemed to rule all everything around like an Empress. Feeling a strange surge of fear and adrenaline hammering into his heart, but fascinated all the same, he circumnavigated all those Ueno visitors and drew closer with careful steps towards the bark, for the welcoming, gigantic tree looked like something to be approached with deep respect and awe.

His path was suddenly blocked by a short-haired girl. She wore a strange white outfit that made him think of priests and magicians. She was not scary, but Watanuki thought she looked a little worried and cross.

"Little boy, this is not your place. Go away before he finds you."

He blinked and looked over the girl's shoulders, where the transfixing pink branches crisscrossed the sky as if reaching for him. The girl, as if realising he was not going anywhere, let out an exasperated sigh, placed her hands on her hips and then smiled spiritedly.

"Look, I will take you back to your parents. He is particularly fond of special boys like you and you shouldn't be here at all."

"Mom and dad are gone." Watanuki informed vaguely and then smiled, pointing in the Shinobazu Pond's direction. "But my guardians are over there."

That seemed to be information enough for the girl, who immediately grasped Watanuki's long sleeve and dragged him across the masses of people, away from the beautiful sakura tree. Watanuki stumbled after her with his little legs, wondering why the girl was in such a hurry, but enjoying her company all the same.

He spotted his guardians and ran to them merrily, just to find out they had been worried to death.

"Kimihiro! Where have you been?"

Watanuki was too innocent and excitedl to feel guilt right away. He had seen beautiful things and found a new friend. He wanted to let his guardians know. Sure they would understand.

"I found this huge tree and there were many, many flowers." he said, opening his arms wide to show how big the tree was. "Then came that nice girl over there and she helped me find you in the middle of all the people!"

His guardians exchanged strange, concerned looks. They knelt gently by his side and held him close.

"Kimihiro honey. There is no girl. No people. It's Winter darling. The Park is pretty empty."

Watanuki turned around with a tiny gasp, just to find out the girl in the strange outfit was gone. But the hundreds and hundreds of people were not. And for the first time, Watanuki realised they were all staring at him.

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Note: I like to play with the idea that little Subaru and Kimihiro would react to the Sakura tree differently because although they are both seers, they are also different people. Little Subaru was a Someragi, an exorcist in training who was well versed in Order magic, while Kimihiro seems to be more into intuition and the forces of nature. You will see more of that later. :-)