[Fic] Pitfalls of Inui-based Drinks
Title: Pitfalls of Inui-based Drinks
Author: doumeki
Rating: PG
Series: xxxHOLiC, Prince of Tennis
Characters/Pairing: Watanuki/Doumeki, Yuuko, Inui, Fuji, Yumiko
Word Count: 1,135
Author's Notes: For aoyagi, because I am helpless against her.
"I am not stopping by the Green Drugstore to get you more Eki-kyabe! Deal with the hangover! Maybe it will teach you not to drink so much!" Watanuki screamed into the phone before hanging up on his boss.
"Oi," a voice drawled behind him. "Be quiet."
Watanuki whirled around, facing Doumeki Shizuka. "My name is not 'oi,'" he ground out. "It's Watanuki, or is that too difficult for your pea-sized brain to remember?"
Doumeki smirked and started walking, leaving Watanuki to trail behind and fling insults at his back. "Are you even listening to me, Doumeki?" he yelled.
"Oi! Watch out!" the taller youth called right as Watanuki collided with another pedestrian.
"Saa, Inui," the fallen pedestrian's companion sweetly remarked, "aren't your glasses supposed to help you see?"
Watanuki stared at the other boy on the ground in a daze before snapping back to himself and lending the fallen boy a hand. "I'm so sorry!" he apologized. "I should have been looking where I was going."
The bespectacled youth took Watanuki's hand and heaved himself from the ground. "there is a ninety-nine percent chance that I am at fault," the boy replied smoothing before turning to the brunette who stood next to Doumeki. "Fuji, shall we go?"
Fuji-- or at least, that what Watanuki assumed his name to be-- merely smiled before responding. "I'm sure Tezuka won't mind if we're a few minutes late." He paused before turning to Watanuki and Doumeki. "I'm afraid that we couldn't help but hear about your problem."
Watanuki shivered under Fuji's stare and he felt Doumeki step closer to him. If he needed it, the archer would help him. "What problem?" he asked the shorter boy.
There were a few minutes of silence where Fuji and Inui stared at Doumeki and Watanuki. Finally, Fuji spoke. "You need Eki-kyabe, correct?"
Doumeki nodded, placing a hand on his companion's shoulder to keep him quiet.
A water bottle with "Inui" neatly printed in kanji appeared in front of Watanuki. "This is better than any hang over remedy you can buy in the store," Inui informed him. "A sip is enough to clear it up."
Watanuki stared at the container distrustfully. "You're just willing to give us this? What's in it for you?" Months of working for Yuuko had taught him that nothing came for free; there were always strings attached, a price to be paid.
"Nothing," Fuji replied, blue eyes glinting dangerously in the sunlight. "We only ask that you tell us how quickly the drink took effect."
Doumkei took the bottle from Inui and put it in Watanuki's bag. Watanuki thought about protesting, but he trusted Doumeki, and if Doumeki thought it safe to take the bottle, so be it. "How would we contact you?" he asked the two in front of him.
"There is a tennis match between Seishun and Rikkaidai downtown next Thursday. The game starts at ten, so meet us at nine in front of the check-in tent." With that said, Inui and Fuji began walking away.
Watanuki watched the two go with a frown on his face. He looked at his companion before continuing towards Yuuko's shop. Doumeki fell into step beside him, and the rest of the walk continued in silence.
They said goodbye at the gates and Watanuki watched Doumeki begin the walk towards his family's temple. A part of him that had been getting louder and louder told him to call the archer back, keep him a little longer, but he ignored it and turned to enter the shop.
Maru and Moro greeted him and he followed the cloying scent of freesia into the parlor and spotted his employer sprawled on the floor, three bottles of sake strewn around her. Watanuki sighed and removed the water bottle from his bag before moving towards her. "Yuuko-san, I thought you had a hang over."
"I do," she moaned. "I thought more sake would drown it out."
He rolled his eyes and helped her into a sitting position before handing her the container. "Drink this," he instructed.
"What is it?" she asked as she took the bottle and opened it.
"Hang over remedy," he replied.
She shrugged and took a gulp of it. Her eyes bulged and rolled to the back of her head before she passed out
"Oh no!" Watanuki cried, rummaging through his pocket for his cell phone. Quickly, he dialed Doumeki's number.
The other end rang once before, "Oi."
"That drink killed Yuuko-san!" he yelled hysterically into the phone.
A minute of silence followed the dramatic declaration before Doumeki replied, "Are you sure she's dead?"
Watanuki thought about it for a second before saying, "I don't know. I think so. She just collapsed."
He heard a sigh from the other end before the taller teen spoke again. "Check her pulse, Kimihiro."
Butterflies started fluttering around in his stomach as he checked the pulse point on Yuuko's neck. It beat steadily, and he relayed the information to Doumeki. The archer told him to move Yuuko somewhere more comfortable and wait for her to wake up before he hung up.
Watanuki stared at the phone in his hand and bit his lip. Doumeki had been calling him 'Kimihiro' every so often, and it still shocked him to hear anyone call him by name. He shook his head as if that could dislodge the thoughts and began his chores. He left Yuuko to Maru and Moro.
Yuuko woke up as soon as he had started cooking dinner. "What was that stuff you gave me, Watanuki?" she asked.
"I'm not sure," he replied. "Some junior high kid gave it to us."
He glanced at his employer to see her eyes narrowed. "What were their names?"
Watanuki blinked. "Fuji-kun and Inui-kun, why?"
"I have to make a call," she announced abruptly and walked out of the kitchen, leaving a confused Watanuki behind.
+++
"Hello, Fuji residence. Yumiko speaking," a soft feminine voice answered.
"Yumiko-san," Yuuko purred.
"Ah, Yuuko-san! I was wondering when you would call. I trust my present found you well?" There was an edge of laughter in Yumiko's voice. "I wasn't sure if Syuusuke would be able to get it to you."
"No. Your brother got it to me quite well," she replied. "Whatever was it for?"
"You want to quit drinking, correct?" Yumiko questioned.
"No, but that doesn't answer my question, Yumiko," Yuuko answered impatiently.
"Just think about this: every time you drink so much you wake with a hang over, Inui-kun's Aozu will be waiting for you to clear it up." Yumiko's voice sent shudders through Yuuko, and the elder Fuji knew it.
"That's cruel," Yuuko pouted.
"It's hitsuzen," Yumiko replied before hanging up. "It seems I owe Syuusuke a reading about Tezuka-kun," she sighed to herself before shrugging and going back to her room.
Author: doumeki
Rating: PG
Series: xxxHOLiC, Prince of Tennis
Characters/Pairing: Watanuki/Doumeki, Yuuko, Inui, Fuji, Yumiko
Word Count: 1,135
Author's Notes: For aoyagi, because I am helpless against her.
"I am not stopping by the Green Drugstore to get you more Eki-kyabe! Deal with the hangover! Maybe it will teach you not to drink so much!" Watanuki screamed into the phone before hanging up on his boss.
"Oi," a voice drawled behind him. "Be quiet."
Watanuki whirled around, facing Doumeki Shizuka. "My name is not 'oi,'" he ground out. "It's Watanuki, or is that too difficult for your pea-sized brain to remember?"
Doumeki smirked and started walking, leaving Watanuki to trail behind and fling insults at his back. "Are you even listening to me, Doumeki?" he yelled.
"Oi! Watch out!" the taller youth called right as Watanuki collided with another pedestrian.
"Saa, Inui," the fallen pedestrian's companion sweetly remarked, "aren't your glasses supposed to help you see?"
Watanuki stared at the other boy on the ground in a daze before snapping back to himself and lending the fallen boy a hand. "I'm so sorry!" he apologized. "I should have been looking where I was going."
The bespectacled youth took Watanuki's hand and heaved himself from the ground. "there is a ninety-nine percent chance that I am at fault," the boy replied smoothing before turning to the brunette who stood next to Doumeki. "Fuji, shall we go?"
Fuji-- or at least, that what Watanuki assumed his name to be-- merely smiled before responding. "I'm sure Tezuka won't mind if we're a few minutes late." He paused before turning to Watanuki and Doumeki. "I'm afraid that we couldn't help but hear about your problem."
Watanuki shivered under Fuji's stare and he felt Doumeki step closer to him. If he needed it, the archer would help him. "What problem?" he asked the shorter boy.
There were a few minutes of silence where Fuji and Inui stared at Doumeki and Watanuki. Finally, Fuji spoke. "You need Eki-kyabe, correct?"
Doumeki nodded, placing a hand on his companion's shoulder to keep him quiet.
A water bottle with "Inui" neatly printed in kanji appeared in front of Watanuki. "This is better than any hang over remedy you can buy in the store," Inui informed him. "A sip is enough to clear it up."
Watanuki stared at the container distrustfully. "You're just willing to give us this? What's in it for you?" Months of working for Yuuko had taught him that nothing came for free; there were always strings attached, a price to be paid.
"Nothing," Fuji replied, blue eyes glinting dangerously in the sunlight. "We only ask that you tell us how quickly the drink took effect."
Doumkei took the bottle from Inui and put it in Watanuki's bag. Watanuki thought about protesting, but he trusted Doumeki, and if Doumeki thought it safe to take the bottle, so be it. "How would we contact you?" he asked the two in front of him.
"There is a tennis match between Seishun and Rikkaidai downtown next Thursday. The game starts at ten, so meet us at nine in front of the check-in tent." With that said, Inui and Fuji began walking away.
Watanuki watched the two go with a frown on his face. He looked at his companion before continuing towards Yuuko's shop. Doumeki fell into step beside him, and the rest of the walk continued in silence.
They said goodbye at the gates and Watanuki watched Doumeki begin the walk towards his family's temple. A part of him that had been getting louder and louder told him to call the archer back, keep him a little longer, but he ignored it and turned to enter the shop.
Maru and Moro greeted him and he followed the cloying scent of freesia into the parlor and spotted his employer sprawled on the floor, three bottles of sake strewn around her. Watanuki sighed and removed the water bottle from his bag before moving towards her. "Yuuko-san, I thought you had a hang over."
"I do," she moaned. "I thought more sake would drown it out."
He rolled his eyes and helped her into a sitting position before handing her the container. "Drink this," he instructed.
"What is it?" she asked as she took the bottle and opened it.
"Hang over remedy," he replied.
She shrugged and took a gulp of it. Her eyes bulged and rolled to the back of her head before she passed out
"Oh no!" Watanuki cried, rummaging through his pocket for his cell phone. Quickly, he dialed Doumeki's number.
The other end rang once before, "Oi."
"That drink killed Yuuko-san!" he yelled hysterically into the phone.
A minute of silence followed the dramatic declaration before Doumeki replied, "Are you sure she's dead?"
Watanuki thought about it for a second before saying, "I don't know. I think so. She just collapsed."
He heard a sigh from the other end before the taller teen spoke again. "Check her pulse, Kimihiro."
Butterflies started fluttering around in his stomach as he checked the pulse point on Yuuko's neck. It beat steadily, and he relayed the information to Doumeki. The archer told him to move Yuuko somewhere more comfortable and wait for her to wake up before he hung up.
Watanuki stared at the phone in his hand and bit his lip. Doumeki had been calling him 'Kimihiro' every so often, and it still shocked him to hear anyone call him by name. He shook his head as if that could dislodge the thoughts and began his chores. He left Yuuko to Maru and Moro.
Yuuko woke up as soon as he had started cooking dinner. "What was that stuff you gave me, Watanuki?" she asked.
"I'm not sure," he replied. "Some junior high kid gave it to us."
He glanced at his employer to see her eyes narrowed. "What were their names?"
Watanuki blinked. "Fuji-kun and Inui-kun, why?"
"I have to make a call," she announced abruptly and walked out of the kitchen, leaving a confused Watanuki behind.
+++
"Hello, Fuji residence. Yumiko speaking," a soft feminine voice answered.
"Yumiko-san," Yuuko purred.
"Ah, Yuuko-san! I was wondering when you would call. I trust my present found you well?" There was an edge of laughter in Yumiko's voice. "I wasn't sure if Syuusuke would be able to get it to you."
"No. Your brother got it to me quite well," she replied. "Whatever was it for?"
"You want to quit drinking, correct?" Yumiko questioned.
"No, but that doesn't answer my question, Yumiko," Yuuko answered impatiently.
"Just think about this: every time you drink so much you wake with a hang over, Inui-kun's Aozu will be waiting for you to clear it up." Yumiko's voice sent shudders through Yuuko, and the elder Fuji knew it.
"That's cruel," Yuuko pouted.
"It's hitsuzen," Yumiko replied before hanging up. "It seems I owe Syuusuke a reading about Tezuka-kun," she sighed to herself before shrugging and going back to her room.