Cold Snap
Title: Cold Snap
Pairings: One sided Doumeki/Watanuki on Doumeki’s part. It gets stronger in later chapters.
Summary: Yuuko has a time-sensitive job for Watanuki and Doumeki and if it doesn't get done the wisher will have to wait another year. Complications arise however, when Doumeki catches a cold. Of course, as usual, it will somehow end up being Watanuki's fault!
Rating: pg-ish for swearing
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It was the coldest winter in Japan’s recent history. The loud moaning from inside a certain wish-shop could attest to that. “Watanuki, put some more wood in the stove, the fire’s going out!” Came a plaintive whine from the parlor, where Yuuko was wrapped in a long fur robe, dragging on her pipe with a steady hand.
“Yeah, more wood!” Chimed in a high-pitched, squeaking voice.
“More wood, more wood, Mistress is cold!” Two children’s voices added their own song to the chorus.
“Alright, alright, hold your horses. Do you want these hot toddies or not? I can’t do both at once.” A thin, bespectacled young man came into the parlor carrying a tray filled not only with the hot toddies (a western recipe Yuuko insisted Watanuki follow out of his mixed drink book) but heated up sake and piping hot meat buns as well. “Here, don’t eat and drink it all at once now.”
His warning seemed to fall on deaf ears as Yuuko and Mokona began to make short work of the alcohol, and the two little girls helped themselves to the meat buns. “Oh Watanuki, you know exactly how to make this cold snap bearable! You’re going to make a wonderful house wife one day!“ She giggled at the horrified look on Watanuki’s face, and quickly changed the subject. “How’s school?” Yuuko’s voice turned lazy as it drifted over to the wood burning stove, which Watanuki was busily feeding.
Sitting back on his heels, Watanuki frowned to himself. “School is school. Himawari-chan is out of town, taking care of a sick uncle or something like that. She’s keeping up with all her studies, though. My precious Himawari-chan is SUCH a good student!”
A brilliant flush rose to Watanuki’s cheeks and he would have lost himself in rhapsodizing about the so-called love of his young life, if Yuuko’s next question hadn’t dragged him back to Earth with a resounding thud. “And Doumeki? How is he doing? I haven’t heard from him in awhile.”
Watanuki turned angrily on his boss, a flush of a different nature rising to his whole face. “What the hell do you have to bring that jerk up for? I was perfectly happy thinking about dear little…”
“Yes, yes, Himawari-chan is amazing, I‘m sure. Divine beyond all earthly reason. Now, about Doumeki?”
“He’s alright I guess. I mean, he’s got a cold, just like half the school does, but other than that he‘s fine, I think.”
“A cold? Are you sure he’s alright?”
“Yeah, that is, I think so. He’s been coming to school and everything, so I don’t see why he wouldn’t be alright.” Watanuki looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. “He missed gym though. That’s unusual for him.” Stubbornly he shook himself. “But whatever he wants to do is his business, not mine. He can miss the whole semester of gym, for all I care! Like that stupid jock needs to be in better shape anyway! What do you care, anyway?”
“I only hope his cold is better by tomorrow. I have something I need the two of you to do, and it has to be tomorrow night.”
Watanuki looked at her curiously. “What is that?”
“I‘ll tell you before you have to go.” There was another drag on the pipe before she spoke again. “Tell Doumeki that he needs to meet you at the abandoned elementary school at eleven o’clock on the nose tomorrow night.”
“Yeah but, if he’s still sick…”
“Having a cold won’t kill him, Watanuki. Letting you go alone, or even with a weaker form of protection could very well be the end of you, however. In fact.” She stretched herself in a cat-like manner and got to her feet. “I think I’ll just cut out the middle man and talk to him myself. Knowing you, you might tell him the wrong time, or the wrong location.”
“What did you say!?!? I’m not a complete moron, I know how to give that stupid jerk a simple message like that! When I’m at school tomorrow I just say ‘hey Jerkface, be at the abandoned elementary school tonight at eleven’. Simple as that!”
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Either Yuuko wasn’t listening, or couldn’t hear him from the other room, where she was giving a very congested Doumeki her directions. Wrapped in a thick robe, warmer than the usual garb he wore while at home, Doumeki made an almost sorry figure while talking to the shopkeeper. He leaned wearily on the small table, his palm flat on the wood. “Yeah, tomorrow night at eleven sharp. I can do that. I think I can find them. He left them to me, after all. You need me to what? Yeah, I’ll be alert. I promise, I won’t do or take anything to dull my mind or contaminate my body. Excuse me one second…” Pulling the phone away from his face, Doumeki sneezed violently, muffling them into the sleeve of his long robe. “Excuse me. Thanks. Yes, I’ll see you then. Tell him not to be late.” With the phone safely back in it’s cradle, Doumeki blew his nose hard and wadded up the overused handkerchief, tossing it in the laundry basket. He was going to need to wash his clothes soon, but doing laundry seemed like so much work. It was impossible to hang clothes out to dry in weather like this, and a trip to the launder mat was out of the question right now. Sniffling, Doumeki went back to his room, his head throbbing. Going on a task with Watanuki, while normally enjoyable, was going to prove to be painful if he wasn’t feeling better by the next evening.
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The day dawned clear, icy and not a bit warmer than it had been over the past few weeks. Doumeki shivered as he turned up the heat on the gas run space heater and buttoned up the front of his uniform. He rested the palm of his hand against his warm forehead and tried to sniffle through his stuffy nose a couple of times before giving up and taking a fresh handkerchief from his top drawer. He used it a bit regretfully, as it was his last clean one, which meant that he would have to leave for school early if he wanted to get more. The shop was more than a little out of the way, but he really didn’t mind. Maybe he could use its location as an excuse to walk to school with Watanuki and get him to talk about the job they were set to do together.
The trip to the store was slow and a bit more painful than Doumeki thought it should be. His body ached and his head seemed to pulse with every step he took. The shop he normally bought his handkerchiefs from was close to Watanuki’s apartment, though he could probably find the same brand closer to home. However, even if they didn’t have an assignment together, Doumeki found himself wanting to go to school with Watanuki anyway. It really didn’t make logical sense. The other boy was loud, annoying and had more energy than three people could use in a day, but there was something about him… Something that made Doumeki feel drawn to him every time he saw him. Maybe it was just something that was inevitable, as Yuuko said, but he sort of hoped that he would have gotten to know him anyway.
With the handkerchiefs purchased quickly, Doumeki loitered outside of Watanuki’s apartment complex, hoping he hadn’t missed the other boy. “What the HELL are you doing here, Doumeki!?” The shrill voice behind him assured Doumeki that Watanuki certainly had NOT left for school yet.
When Doumeki turned around, Watanuki closed his mouth suddenly. Doumeki looked worse than he had the day before, and here Watanuki had hoped that he would at least feel up to going to school, not to mention the task Yuuko had outlined for them that night. “Geez, why didn’t you stay in bed today? You look like hell and you already told Yuuko you’d go on this fool’s errand with me tonight. At least we have the day off of school tomorrow, so you can go home and die then. And seriously, what the HELL brings you all the way out here? You know you take a totally different route to get there than I do, right? Or is your fever so high it scrambled your brain? In which case GO HOME AND GET SOME SLEEP YOU BIG DUMB JERK!”
Unsurprisingly, Doumeki’s hands were braced against his ears during the majority of Watanuki’s rant. When the body next to him ceased to flail, Doumeki cautiously lowered his arms and looked down at him. “My head is pounding and your loud voice isn’t making it feel any better. I came here because the shop down the street is the only place I know of that sells this brand of handkerchiefs, and I ran out this morning. It was too cold to hang out the clothes and going out to wash them was too much work.” He pulled out the handkerchief he’d grabbed that morning and brought it up to his face, sneezing into it forcefully. He turned away from Watanuki to blow his nose.
“That sounded like it hurt.” Watanuki could have kicked himself for feeling empathy toward that guy, but still, who hadn’t been knocked down by a cold from hell? It was only natural to feel for him in some capacity, right? However, empathy or not, Watanuki was justifiably annoyed. “You mean to tell me that you came all the way out here to buy some STUPID HANDKERCHIEFS?” He glanced at the clear plastic bag in Doumeki’s hand. “I use the same kind. I could have given you one when you got to school if you needed them that badly. And they aren’t uncommon, I’m sure you could have found some much closer to home. And now I’m stuck walking with you the whole way! God, how come everyone thinks your so great? You’re the dumbest guy I’ve ever met. I thought idiots couldn’t catch colds. I swear you should have the best immune system around!”
“Too loud.” Doumeki complained, putting a finger in the ear closest to Watanuki. Then he looked down at him, a small glint in his eye. “So give me one of your handkerchiefs.”
“I’m not giving you one of my handkerchiefs when you just bought your own! Why should I?”
“Because I’m guessing that yours is already washed and softened and these aren’t. I’d give you one of these as a trade, if you want. That’s an even trade, right?” He was already opening the wrapper of one of the packages.
“Fine, I guess that makes sense. But I’m only giving you one. I might need the other one myself today.” He handed Doumeki a soft, white piece of cloth and took the stiff, new handkerchief in return.
Doumeki looked at the square for a couple minutes before tucking it into his bag for later, after the one he was using currently was utterly spent. “Thanks. So you don’t mind if I just keep it, then. If you’re keeping that one, I mean.”
“Yeah, yeah, keep it. I really don’t want it after you’ve blown your nose in it anyway. That’s so gross.”
“It’s not like I’d give it back to you without washing it or anything like that.” Doumeki sniffled and turned away, sneezing again. “Excuse me…”
“You know what else really annoys me about you, Doumeki?” Watanuki began, as if they had been discussing the matter at length before he interrupted them with his sneezes. “You pick and choose when you’re going to be polite. Normally you’re rude, then you say excuse me after you sneeze which is something you can’t help. Why don’t you say excuse me when you butt in on other people’s conversations instead?”
“Hey, tell me about this job of Yuuko’s. She didn’t give me any details.”
“Are you even listening to me?! I’m…” Watanuki cut himself off when to topic turned to something serious. “She only gave me a rundown of it herself. She wants us to meet in the park after school today so she can give us all the details. She wanted me to tell you to remember what she told you…” He sounded confused. “What did she tell you?”
“She doesn’t need to worry about it, I remembered.” Doumeki’s voice was only a shade harder than normal. Someone who didn’t spend every waking moment with him, like Watanuki felt like he did, wouldn’t have noticed. “Don’t worry about it.” He coughed deeply, then sniffled and stood up straight, slinging his bag over his shoulder again. “Hurry up, we‘re gonna be late.” He groaned inwardly. So even a nap before this task was going to be impossible, if he wanted to do his laundry that afternoon.
“Hey you jerk, don’t tell me to hurry up, you were the one who stopped! And you didn’t answer my question, what did Yuuko tell you?”
“If she wanted you to know she would have told you too.” God his head hurt, his body hurt, and, frankly, trying to keep up with Watanuki’s loud mouthed flailing was starting to feel like more of a chore that he was wanting to deal with right now. But really, he only had himself to blame. After all, he was the one who’d waited to walk to school with him.
Watanuki sighed, returning to the conversation at hand. “She said this job has something to do with a spirit that only shows up in a certain place. Cursed land, she called it. I’ve read stories about that school in the past. I guess when it was still running, a lot of kids died. Not always at the school or it would have been shut down way soon than it was, but a lot of the kids who died over the few years it was open went to that school. I guess a rich guy wants to reopen it. He came to Yuuko’s shop and told her that he wanted to make sure the grounds were safe. And that’s where you and I come in, I suppose. She wants us to take purifying… things, I don’t know what, she didn’t tell me, to the school and try to get rid of the spirit existing there.”
“So that’s why she told me not to take anything for this…”
Doumeki’s voice was low, but Watanuki had sharp ears. “Wait, she told you not to take any medicine for your cold? That sounds… almost dangerous considering that we’ll be out late and you look like hell.”
“Chemicals aren’t exactly pure, now are they? I drank some lemon-ginger tea before I started off for school. I’ll be fine.” Doumeki sniffled softly and rubbed the bridge of his nose, were a sneeze was starting to try to make itself known. “She told me that she wanted me to have any chemicals out of my system before tonight so I shouldn’t take any medicine for the next twenty-four hours.” He sneezed three times, stopping in his tracks again to catch his breath.
Watanuki sighed, the feeling of sympathy welling up in him, unbidden. He did his best to mask it, but Doumeki looked so ill and knowing that he couldn’t take anything for it made Watanuki feel bad for the guy. “That sounds pretty horrible. Are you sure tea did the trick?”
Doumeki nodded and sniffled, rubbing at his aching cheekbone. “Yeah, I feel better than I did when I woke up this morning.” Doumeki opened the door to the school and nodded at Watanuki. “See you at lunch. I hope you brought something warm.”
“What do you mean you hope I brought something warm? It’s winter and it’s freezing! What sort of an idiot do you think I am? Of course I brought something warm! But not for your benefit! Because it’s COLD out you MORON!” Watanuki found himself yelling at an empty stairwell, then shrugged, and turned to go to his class. Stupid Doumeki anyway…
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The school day passed in an odd, foggy state, with Doumeki not really able to focus on any of his classes. The thought of the park meeting weighed heavy on his mind. It was going to be cold and tiring. However, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t been expecting something like the looming meeting when Yuuko asked him to bring certain books on purifying rituals from his grandfather’s old collection. He begged off of gym again, choosing to take the study time to read up on the books instead. He hadn’t even thought about them since his grandfather passed away, if he’d even thought of them then. They didn’t have any of the folk tales he’d enjoyed as a child in them, and even the pictures themselves were dull and lifeless, so he wasn’t very interested. Still, they were old, the dialect in them almost dead. It was enough that Yuuko even knew that he had them to convince Doumeki that they were important.
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The park was deserted, (even though it normally would have been over-run with children who were just getting out of school). Yuuko figured it would be. Had counted on it, actually. Only people with very urgent business would even think about being outside with the weather this cold. “Ah, boys, how was school?” She got to her feet, her steady gaze on Doumeki. Watanuki hadn’t been exaggerating when he said Doumeki looked terrible the day before, nor had her own ears deceived her. The young man looked down right sick, pure and simple. He was unnaturally pale and his eyes and nose had an unhealthy red tint to them. Still, it really couldn’t be helped. If she were to go herself, the price would have been more than the man would have been willing to pay. If she sent her errand boy, however, the price could be cut in half due to his inexperience. “I’ll make this quick so that you can try to get some sleep before tonight, Doumeki.” She held out a long hand. “Did you bring the books?”
With a slow nod, the books were handed over, then Doumeki turned away to fish a handkerchief out of his pocket. As he sneezed, Yuuko selected one and searched for the page she needed. “Ah yes, here we are.” There was an amused smile playing on her lips while she waited for the end of something as mundane as a sneezing fit. “Are you finished?”
“Yeah… Sorry about that.” Doumeki turned away to tidy himself a bit and sounded as close to embarrassed as he ever came.
Yuuko laughed to herself. “Nothing to be sorry about, I just wondered. Now,” Doumeki cradled a canned coffee in his hands as Yuuko got down to business. “Living at that school is a spirit with a rather strong grudge against the owner of that land. Any owner, as the grudge is attached to the land itself. The story goes that several years ago, hundreds, maybe, the owner of that land made a bargain with the spirit for good crops. In exchange, the owner would have to be willing to give up the life of his first born, be it boy or girl. When time came for the land owner to pay up, he found that he couldn’t go through with paying the price, so he hid the child with relatives and told the spirit that he had died in childbirth. This, of course, angered the spirit, who had been planning to take the child with him to the underworld after he was dead, and raise him as his own. So the spirit cursed the ground, saying that nothing would ever thrive there again. Be it crops, homes or businesses. And once a year, on the day the child would have been sacrificed, the spirit comes back to look at his handiwork and be sure that the curse is still in place. That is where this book comes in.” She fingered a particularly old book, then handed it back to Doumeki. “I’ve marked the page you’ll need to use. Read it carefully, word for word.”
Doumeki took the book and out it back in his bag, nodding. “I understand.” He swallowed painfully and rubbed his nose, sniffling.
Before he could move to leave, Watanuki spoke up. “I don’t get it, Yuuko, I thought you said that even in the spirit world it was serious business to kill someone. Why would that spirit ask for such a heavy price?”
“Well, I just told you the legend as that man told me. I have no way of knowing if it’s true or not, or embellished or not. The so called child might have been something that would be seen as lesser value in this day and age. A cow, perhaps, or, more likely given the nature of the story, the best of his first crop. We have no way of knowing.” Yuuko leaned back against her hand. “Of course, there could be another explanation. The spirit could have been acting under orders from something vastly more powerful and more evil. A demon, maybe, which would make the request for a child more understandable. Even so, it’s the spirit’s curse you’re dealing with, not a demon, so you’ll be safe. As long as the two of you stick together and Doumeki reads from that book correctly.” She gave the pair a cheerful smile. “Now, Doumeki, you go home and get some rest. Watanuki, you have dinner to make before you go out. For a cold day like this, I think I’d like something warm and filling. Anything really, as long as it goes with hot sake.”
“Yeah.” Mokona chimed in. “Make us some dinner and sake!”
Watanuki scowled indignantly. “So Doumeki gets to go home and sleep while you crack the whip at me! How is that fair?!”
“You aren’t sick.”
“And if I was?”
“I’d give you a break. Unpaid, of course.”
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Rising to his feet, Doumeki walked away from the bickering pair. He had started to allow his mind to wander when they started to talk about topics unrelated to the task at hand. His head ached and he really did just want to sleep until he was needed. The laundry would have to wait once again.
TBC
Pairings: One sided Doumeki/Watanuki on Doumeki’s part. It gets stronger in later chapters.
Summary: Yuuko has a time-sensitive job for Watanuki and Doumeki and if it doesn't get done the wisher will have to wait another year. Complications arise however, when Doumeki catches a cold. Of course, as usual, it will somehow end up being Watanuki's fault!
Rating: pg-ish for swearing
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It was the coldest winter in Japan’s recent history. The loud moaning from inside a certain wish-shop could attest to that. “Watanuki, put some more wood in the stove, the fire’s going out!” Came a plaintive whine from the parlor, where Yuuko was wrapped in a long fur robe, dragging on her pipe with a steady hand.
“Yeah, more wood!” Chimed in a high-pitched, squeaking voice.
“More wood, more wood, Mistress is cold!” Two children’s voices added their own song to the chorus.
“Alright, alright, hold your horses. Do you want these hot toddies or not? I can’t do both at once.” A thin, bespectacled young man came into the parlor carrying a tray filled not only with the hot toddies (a western recipe Yuuko insisted Watanuki follow out of his mixed drink book) but heated up sake and piping hot meat buns as well. “Here, don’t eat and drink it all at once now.”
His warning seemed to fall on deaf ears as Yuuko and Mokona began to make short work of the alcohol, and the two little girls helped themselves to the meat buns. “Oh Watanuki, you know exactly how to make this cold snap bearable! You’re going to make a wonderful house wife one day!“ She giggled at the horrified look on Watanuki’s face, and quickly changed the subject. “How’s school?” Yuuko’s voice turned lazy as it drifted over to the wood burning stove, which Watanuki was busily feeding.
Sitting back on his heels, Watanuki frowned to himself. “School is school. Himawari-chan is out of town, taking care of a sick uncle or something like that. She’s keeping up with all her studies, though. My precious Himawari-chan is SUCH a good student!”
A brilliant flush rose to Watanuki’s cheeks and he would have lost himself in rhapsodizing about the so-called love of his young life, if Yuuko’s next question hadn’t dragged him back to Earth with a resounding thud. “And Doumeki? How is he doing? I haven’t heard from him in awhile.”
Watanuki turned angrily on his boss, a flush of a different nature rising to his whole face. “What the hell do you have to bring that jerk up for? I was perfectly happy thinking about dear little…”
“Yes, yes, Himawari-chan is amazing, I‘m sure. Divine beyond all earthly reason. Now, about Doumeki?”
“He’s alright I guess. I mean, he’s got a cold, just like half the school does, but other than that he‘s fine, I think.”
“A cold? Are you sure he’s alright?”
“Yeah, that is, I think so. He’s been coming to school and everything, so I don’t see why he wouldn’t be alright.” Watanuki looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. “He missed gym though. That’s unusual for him.” Stubbornly he shook himself. “But whatever he wants to do is his business, not mine. He can miss the whole semester of gym, for all I care! Like that stupid jock needs to be in better shape anyway! What do you care, anyway?”
“I only hope his cold is better by tomorrow. I have something I need the two of you to do, and it has to be tomorrow night.”
Watanuki looked at her curiously. “What is that?”
“I‘ll tell you before you have to go.” There was another drag on the pipe before she spoke again. “Tell Doumeki that he needs to meet you at the abandoned elementary school at eleven o’clock on the nose tomorrow night.”
“Yeah but, if he’s still sick…”
“Having a cold won’t kill him, Watanuki. Letting you go alone, or even with a weaker form of protection could very well be the end of you, however. In fact.” She stretched herself in a cat-like manner and got to her feet. “I think I’ll just cut out the middle man and talk to him myself. Knowing you, you might tell him the wrong time, or the wrong location.”
“What did you say!?!? I’m not a complete moron, I know how to give that stupid jerk a simple message like that! When I’m at school tomorrow I just say ‘hey Jerkface, be at the abandoned elementary school tonight at eleven’. Simple as that!”
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Either Yuuko wasn’t listening, or couldn’t hear him from the other room, where she was giving a very congested Doumeki her directions. Wrapped in a thick robe, warmer than the usual garb he wore while at home, Doumeki made an almost sorry figure while talking to the shopkeeper. He leaned wearily on the small table, his palm flat on the wood. “Yeah, tomorrow night at eleven sharp. I can do that. I think I can find them. He left them to me, after all. You need me to what? Yeah, I’ll be alert. I promise, I won’t do or take anything to dull my mind or contaminate my body. Excuse me one second…” Pulling the phone away from his face, Doumeki sneezed violently, muffling them into the sleeve of his long robe. “Excuse me. Thanks. Yes, I’ll see you then. Tell him not to be late.” With the phone safely back in it’s cradle, Doumeki blew his nose hard and wadded up the overused handkerchief, tossing it in the laundry basket. He was going to need to wash his clothes soon, but doing laundry seemed like so much work. It was impossible to hang clothes out to dry in weather like this, and a trip to the launder mat was out of the question right now. Sniffling, Doumeki went back to his room, his head throbbing. Going on a task with Watanuki, while normally enjoyable, was going to prove to be painful if he wasn’t feeling better by the next evening.
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The day dawned clear, icy and not a bit warmer than it had been over the past few weeks. Doumeki shivered as he turned up the heat on the gas run space heater and buttoned up the front of his uniform. He rested the palm of his hand against his warm forehead and tried to sniffle through his stuffy nose a couple of times before giving up and taking a fresh handkerchief from his top drawer. He used it a bit regretfully, as it was his last clean one, which meant that he would have to leave for school early if he wanted to get more. The shop was more than a little out of the way, but he really didn’t mind. Maybe he could use its location as an excuse to walk to school with Watanuki and get him to talk about the job they were set to do together.
The trip to the store was slow and a bit more painful than Doumeki thought it should be. His body ached and his head seemed to pulse with every step he took. The shop he normally bought his handkerchiefs from was close to Watanuki’s apartment, though he could probably find the same brand closer to home. However, even if they didn’t have an assignment together, Doumeki found himself wanting to go to school with Watanuki anyway. It really didn’t make logical sense. The other boy was loud, annoying and had more energy than three people could use in a day, but there was something about him… Something that made Doumeki feel drawn to him every time he saw him. Maybe it was just something that was inevitable, as Yuuko said, but he sort of hoped that he would have gotten to know him anyway.
With the handkerchiefs purchased quickly, Doumeki loitered outside of Watanuki’s apartment complex, hoping he hadn’t missed the other boy. “What the HELL are you doing here, Doumeki!?” The shrill voice behind him assured Doumeki that Watanuki certainly had NOT left for school yet.
When Doumeki turned around, Watanuki closed his mouth suddenly. Doumeki looked worse than he had the day before, and here Watanuki had hoped that he would at least feel up to going to school, not to mention the task Yuuko had outlined for them that night. “Geez, why didn’t you stay in bed today? You look like hell and you already told Yuuko you’d go on this fool’s errand with me tonight. At least we have the day off of school tomorrow, so you can go home and die then. And seriously, what the HELL brings you all the way out here? You know you take a totally different route to get there than I do, right? Or is your fever so high it scrambled your brain? In which case GO HOME AND GET SOME SLEEP YOU BIG DUMB JERK!”
Unsurprisingly, Doumeki’s hands were braced against his ears during the majority of Watanuki’s rant. When the body next to him ceased to flail, Doumeki cautiously lowered his arms and looked down at him. “My head is pounding and your loud voice isn’t making it feel any better. I came here because the shop down the street is the only place I know of that sells this brand of handkerchiefs, and I ran out this morning. It was too cold to hang out the clothes and going out to wash them was too much work.” He pulled out the handkerchief he’d grabbed that morning and brought it up to his face, sneezing into it forcefully. He turned away from Watanuki to blow his nose.
“That sounded like it hurt.” Watanuki could have kicked himself for feeling empathy toward that guy, but still, who hadn’t been knocked down by a cold from hell? It was only natural to feel for him in some capacity, right? However, empathy or not, Watanuki was justifiably annoyed. “You mean to tell me that you came all the way out here to buy some STUPID HANDKERCHIEFS?” He glanced at the clear plastic bag in Doumeki’s hand. “I use the same kind. I could have given you one when you got to school if you needed them that badly. And they aren’t uncommon, I’m sure you could have found some much closer to home. And now I’m stuck walking with you the whole way! God, how come everyone thinks your so great? You’re the dumbest guy I’ve ever met. I thought idiots couldn’t catch colds. I swear you should have the best immune system around!”
“Too loud.” Doumeki complained, putting a finger in the ear closest to Watanuki. Then he looked down at him, a small glint in his eye. “So give me one of your handkerchiefs.”
“I’m not giving you one of my handkerchiefs when you just bought your own! Why should I?”
“Because I’m guessing that yours is already washed and softened and these aren’t. I’d give you one of these as a trade, if you want. That’s an even trade, right?” He was already opening the wrapper of one of the packages.
“Fine, I guess that makes sense. But I’m only giving you one. I might need the other one myself today.” He handed Doumeki a soft, white piece of cloth and took the stiff, new handkerchief in return.
Doumeki looked at the square for a couple minutes before tucking it into his bag for later, after the one he was using currently was utterly spent. “Thanks. So you don’t mind if I just keep it, then. If you’re keeping that one, I mean.”
“Yeah, yeah, keep it. I really don’t want it after you’ve blown your nose in it anyway. That’s so gross.”
“It’s not like I’d give it back to you without washing it or anything like that.” Doumeki sniffled and turned away, sneezing again. “Excuse me…”
“You know what else really annoys me about you, Doumeki?” Watanuki began, as if they had been discussing the matter at length before he interrupted them with his sneezes. “You pick and choose when you’re going to be polite. Normally you’re rude, then you say excuse me after you sneeze which is something you can’t help. Why don’t you say excuse me when you butt in on other people’s conversations instead?”
“Hey, tell me about this job of Yuuko’s. She didn’t give me any details.”
“Are you even listening to me?! I’m…” Watanuki cut himself off when to topic turned to something serious. “She only gave me a rundown of it herself. She wants us to meet in the park after school today so she can give us all the details. She wanted me to tell you to remember what she told you…” He sounded confused. “What did she tell you?”
“She doesn’t need to worry about it, I remembered.” Doumeki’s voice was only a shade harder than normal. Someone who didn’t spend every waking moment with him, like Watanuki felt like he did, wouldn’t have noticed. “Don’t worry about it.” He coughed deeply, then sniffled and stood up straight, slinging his bag over his shoulder again. “Hurry up, we‘re gonna be late.” He groaned inwardly. So even a nap before this task was going to be impossible, if he wanted to do his laundry that afternoon.
“Hey you jerk, don’t tell me to hurry up, you were the one who stopped! And you didn’t answer my question, what did Yuuko tell you?”
“If she wanted you to know she would have told you too.” God his head hurt, his body hurt, and, frankly, trying to keep up with Watanuki’s loud mouthed flailing was starting to feel like more of a chore that he was wanting to deal with right now. But really, he only had himself to blame. After all, he was the one who’d waited to walk to school with him.
Watanuki sighed, returning to the conversation at hand. “She said this job has something to do with a spirit that only shows up in a certain place. Cursed land, she called it. I’ve read stories about that school in the past. I guess when it was still running, a lot of kids died. Not always at the school or it would have been shut down way soon than it was, but a lot of the kids who died over the few years it was open went to that school. I guess a rich guy wants to reopen it. He came to Yuuko’s shop and told her that he wanted to make sure the grounds were safe. And that’s where you and I come in, I suppose. She wants us to take purifying… things, I don’t know what, she didn’t tell me, to the school and try to get rid of the spirit existing there.”
“So that’s why she told me not to take anything for this…”
Doumeki’s voice was low, but Watanuki had sharp ears. “Wait, she told you not to take any medicine for your cold? That sounds… almost dangerous considering that we’ll be out late and you look like hell.”
“Chemicals aren’t exactly pure, now are they? I drank some lemon-ginger tea before I started off for school. I’ll be fine.” Doumeki sniffled softly and rubbed the bridge of his nose, were a sneeze was starting to try to make itself known. “She told me that she wanted me to have any chemicals out of my system before tonight so I shouldn’t take any medicine for the next twenty-four hours.” He sneezed three times, stopping in his tracks again to catch his breath.
Watanuki sighed, the feeling of sympathy welling up in him, unbidden. He did his best to mask it, but Doumeki looked so ill and knowing that he couldn’t take anything for it made Watanuki feel bad for the guy. “That sounds pretty horrible. Are you sure tea did the trick?”
Doumeki nodded and sniffled, rubbing at his aching cheekbone. “Yeah, I feel better than I did when I woke up this morning.” Doumeki opened the door to the school and nodded at Watanuki. “See you at lunch. I hope you brought something warm.”
“What do you mean you hope I brought something warm? It’s winter and it’s freezing! What sort of an idiot do you think I am? Of course I brought something warm! But not for your benefit! Because it’s COLD out you MORON!” Watanuki found himself yelling at an empty stairwell, then shrugged, and turned to go to his class. Stupid Doumeki anyway…
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
The school day passed in an odd, foggy state, with Doumeki not really able to focus on any of his classes. The thought of the park meeting weighed heavy on his mind. It was going to be cold and tiring. However, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t been expecting something like the looming meeting when Yuuko asked him to bring certain books on purifying rituals from his grandfather’s old collection. He begged off of gym again, choosing to take the study time to read up on the books instead. He hadn’t even thought about them since his grandfather passed away, if he’d even thought of them then. They didn’t have any of the folk tales he’d enjoyed as a child in them, and even the pictures themselves were dull and lifeless, so he wasn’t very interested. Still, they were old, the dialect in them almost dead. It was enough that Yuuko even knew that he had them to convince Doumeki that they were important.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
The park was deserted, (even though it normally would have been over-run with children who were just getting out of school). Yuuko figured it would be. Had counted on it, actually. Only people with very urgent business would even think about being outside with the weather this cold. “Ah, boys, how was school?” She got to her feet, her steady gaze on Doumeki. Watanuki hadn’t been exaggerating when he said Doumeki looked terrible the day before, nor had her own ears deceived her. The young man looked down right sick, pure and simple. He was unnaturally pale and his eyes and nose had an unhealthy red tint to them. Still, it really couldn’t be helped. If she were to go herself, the price would have been more than the man would have been willing to pay. If she sent her errand boy, however, the price could be cut in half due to his inexperience. “I’ll make this quick so that you can try to get some sleep before tonight, Doumeki.” She held out a long hand. “Did you bring the books?”
With a slow nod, the books were handed over, then Doumeki turned away to fish a handkerchief out of his pocket. As he sneezed, Yuuko selected one and searched for the page she needed. “Ah yes, here we are.” There was an amused smile playing on her lips while she waited for the end of something as mundane as a sneezing fit. “Are you finished?”
“Yeah… Sorry about that.” Doumeki turned away to tidy himself a bit and sounded as close to embarrassed as he ever came.
Yuuko laughed to herself. “Nothing to be sorry about, I just wondered. Now,” Doumeki cradled a canned coffee in his hands as Yuuko got down to business. “Living at that school is a spirit with a rather strong grudge against the owner of that land. Any owner, as the grudge is attached to the land itself. The story goes that several years ago, hundreds, maybe, the owner of that land made a bargain with the spirit for good crops. In exchange, the owner would have to be willing to give up the life of his first born, be it boy or girl. When time came for the land owner to pay up, he found that he couldn’t go through with paying the price, so he hid the child with relatives and told the spirit that he had died in childbirth. This, of course, angered the spirit, who had been planning to take the child with him to the underworld after he was dead, and raise him as his own. So the spirit cursed the ground, saying that nothing would ever thrive there again. Be it crops, homes or businesses. And once a year, on the day the child would have been sacrificed, the spirit comes back to look at his handiwork and be sure that the curse is still in place. That is where this book comes in.” She fingered a particularly old book, then handed it back to Doumeki. “I’ve marked the page you’ll need to use. Read it carefully, word for word.”
Doumeki took the book and out it back in his bag, nodding. “I understand.” He swallowed painfully and rubbed his nose, sniffling.
Before he could move to leave, Watanuki spoke up. “I don’t get it, Yuuko, I thought you said that even in the spirit world it was serious business to kill someone. Why would that spirit ask for such a heavy price?”
“Well, I just told you the legend as that man told me. I have no way of knowing if it’s true or not, or embellished or not. The so called child might have been something that would be seen as lesser value in this day and age. A cow, perhaps, or, more likely given the nature of the story, the best of his first crop. We have no way of knowing.” Yuuko leaned back against her hand. “Of course, there could be another explanation. The spirit could have been acting under orders from something vastly more powerful and more evil. A demon, maybe, which would make the request for a child more understandable. Even so, it’s the spirit’s curse you’re dealing with, not a demon, so you’ll be safe. As long as the two of you stick together and Doumeki reads from that book correctly.” She gave the pair a cheerful smile. “Now, Doumeki, you go home and get some rest. Watanuki, you have dinner to make before you go out. For a cold day like this, I think I’d like something warm and filling. Anything really, as long as it goes with hot sake.”
“Yeah.” Mokona chimed in. “Make us some dinner and sake!”
Watanuki scowled indignantly. “So Doumeki gets to go home and sleep while you crack the whip at me! How is that fair?!”
“You aren’t sick.”
“And if I was?”
“I’d give you a break. Unpaid, of course.”
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Rising to his feet, Doumeki walked away from the bickering pair. He had started to allow his mind to wander when they started to talk about topics unrelated to the task at hand. His head ached and he really did just want to sleep until he was needed. The laundry would have to wait once again.
TBC