xxxHolic : Novelization [Chapter One]

There are a great many strange things in this world...
But no matter how odd or incredible something may be...
If a human does not touch it...
If a human does not see it...
If a human is not involved in it…
It is simply something that happened.
Simply a matter that fades with time.
Humans.
Mankind.
Homo sapiens.
Humans are the most profoundly mysterious living things in the world!1

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Chapter One:3

“I told you...GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!” he yelled at the spirit. It was, shall I say, “glomping him”, like it was trying to eat him...which it probably was.
“Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!” He kept running. No one looked, since no one could see it.
“I decide to go out for a short walk and these enormous things start to chase me! What the hell is the problem?! And why doesn’t anybody seem to see it?!”
More glomping.
“GET YOUR FAT BEHIND OFF ME!”
By then, the thing had smashed him to the ground and lay on top of him, trapping him in a corner.
“CUT THE CRAP!!” he yelled, bamming the street with his palm.(Which would look very obscure to see this sight.)
He lay his hand on the fence he was backed up to. In the peril, the thing disappeared, almost evaporated into thin air, as they say it.
“Eh?” He fist stared at his hand.
“What was that? Ah-“ He looked at the house the fence belonged to.
“This house sure is weird!!”
That’s when it pulled him.
The, let’s call it, ‘invisible force’ started to push him towards the doors.
“Wha-? H-Hey!! Hold on a second!”
He grabbed out towards the fence, in search of something to hold on to.
“I said wait!! It’s not right to walk into some body's house without asking!”
The ‘invisible force’, having no ears or magic breaking order, pushed on, towards the door and the oddity house.
“EEEYYAAHH!” He was forced into the house with a last press.
“Welcome to our humble home~!” two girls chimed in before him. One with two long blue braids and one with a short pink ‘do with small balls of hair on top, these two were truly a sight to behold to a normal human. Especially the fact these were not wigs and were not dyed.
“No…That is…I’m not...” he stumbled upon his words, not really explaining his situation very well.
“Mistress, we have a guest~!” the pick hair girl laughed.
“Mistress, we have a guest~!” the blue haired one repeated in the same manner.
They shot their hands out and grabbed onto him, tugging him forwards through the building.
“No… I’m really not...” He tried to form the correct words. “L-Look! My legs ran in here on their own!”
Seeing as they reached were they were going, the girls stopped.
“That’s proof that your coming to visit was ‘Hitzuen’”, a voice slipped out from the door.
The pink haired child pushed the door open wide.
There sitting on the couch in there was a woman. Stringy black hair lay limp over the couch, contrasting with her pallid white skin. She was holding a pipe. It was lit, but unoccupied.
“Hitzuen?” he asked her.
She lifted her head slightly, going on to tell him, “ ‘Hitzuen’…A naturally foreordained event. A state in which other outcomes are impossible. A result which other outcomes are impossible. A result that can only be obtained by a single causality and other casualties would necessarily create different results. So reads the Kodansha Japanese Desk Dictionary, Second Edition,” she finished her explanation.
“...And?” he asked, lifting one eyebrow so.
“...You’re rather stupid, aren’t you?” she countered.
“You’re a stupid kid~!” the pink headed one sang out.
“You’re a stupid kid~! the blue haired one repeated.
“What’s your damage?!” he yelled at them.
He went on. “Excuse me. I’m not really a guest. I happened to touch your fence and after that, my body’s been acting strangely. That is to say, my legs started to move on their own. I know it sounds like I’m making up excuses…”
“That is because there is a ward on the fence.”
“What?”
“ ‘Ward.’ ('Kekkai’) A restriction placed on an entrance so as not to interrupt buddisht training. A set of boundaries. Inner sanctum and outer nave. Exit and entry forbidden. Kodansha’s-"
He interrupted. “ENOUGH OF THAT!!”
“You...have a bad temper, don’t you?” she asked her rhetorical question.
“A bad tempered kid~!”
“A bad tempered kid~!” the girls rang out
“ENOUGH OF THAT TOO!” he yelled to them.
“Your name?” she asked.
“What?”
“What is your name?”
“Kimihiro Watanuki,” he answered.
“That’s spelled with the characters for April First.. The ‘Watanuki’ part.”
“Eh?! How did… I never said how it was spelled!” Watanuki was amazed by this woman. (As would I be.)
“Your birthday?” She had a smile plastered on her face, probably because she was enjoying his reaction.
“A-April First.”
“Who would ever give out their name and birthday to a complete stranger?!” she made a comment, showing how amusing she thought this was.
“THEN WHAT ARE YOU ASKING FOR?!”
“We aren’t connected, are we? With the knowledge of a person’s name, one can lay hold of a piece of the persons soul. With the knowledge of a birthdate, one is able to lay hold the plot of the life path birth to present to from now onward.”
“Um...Hello?” Watanuki waved his hand to her.
“You wish to know my name?” the woman asked.
“No, I wasn’t asking that-"
“It’s Yuko. Yuko Ichihara,” she told him.
“And yet you tell me anyway.” Watanuki was a little bit annoyed by now.
“Of course that is an assumed name,” Yuko said.
“AND YOU LIE ABOUT IT TOO!”
“These children here,” Yuko said, pointdedly ignoring him, "are,” she pointed to the blue haired girl, "Maru," now pointing to the pink haired girl, “and Moro.”
“By the way, their full names are, Maru-Dashi and Moro-Dashi. Cute names, don’t you think?” Yuko asked, all the while Maru and Moro singing, “Cute, Cute~!” in the background.
“THEY ARE NOT CUTE NAMES!”
“I’ve had it!” Watanuki started towards the door. “You guys make no sense, so if you’ll excuse me!”
“Are you going home~?” Moro called out.
“Are you going home~?” Maru also chimed in.
“I’M NOT HERE BECAUSE I WANTED TO BE!”
He stopped at the door to the room.
That same, odd force.
“I told you once. ‘Hitzuen’. There is no such coincidence in this world. The only thing...is Hitzuen. Your face says you do not believe,” Yuko continued. “Very well. You have something in your pocket. Pull it out.”
“Excuse me?”
“Do not argue! Pull it out!” she ordered.
He stiffly pulled out the watch which was in his pocket. He handed it over.
“A fine watch. It’s counted fifty years since it’s started. With this...Ah, but never mind. This will do.”
Pulling out some sort of –plate was it?- Yuko set it on the ground.
“Kimihiro Watanuki,” she said, facing it.
“Your birthplace is not where you live now. You have moved several times. You were left in an unusual family situation. Those you live with are not you parents. Presently, everyone living under the roof of your house has different family names. You have a deft hand and are good at house work. That is good, because you situation forces housework on you. Right now, and since the time you were young, you have always worried. However, that is because of your family reasons. You-”
She glanced up from her plate and looked him in the eye.
“-can see magical things. It is thanks to the blood that flows in your body. Your blood attracts these magical things.”
“How...?” he asked, dumbfounded.
“You told me your real name and your birthday,” she replied matter-of-factly.
“So it’s like this then…”
“Of course, you just have to decipher to understand it. So if it’s like I said,” she continued, slowly pulling the antique clock from the plate’s water, “this watch is mine.”
“You just wait a second!” Watanuki yelled. “Why is the watch yours?!”
“It’s payment, of course. For everything you desire, you have to pay an equal price in return. You can’t get nor give more. Can’t be more or less. Must be in balance. Or else, there’ll be ‘mishaps’.”
“What?”
“Whether it’s to a person’s physical self, or the hidden fates, or spirits from another world.”
Watanuki, mystified by what the hell she was saying, didn’t reply. Regaining himself, he argued, “But, I never asked you for anything!!”
“Put this away for me,” Yuko told Maru and Moro, ignoring Watanuki.
“What really is this place?!” Watanuki asked as Maru and Moro ran off.
“A shop,” Yuko replied, like it was the stupidest question that she’d ever heard.
“Hah?”
“A wish-fulfilling shop.
“Fulfilling wishes~,” Moro said from the doorway.
“As long as master can do it,” Maru continued, “any wish can be fulfilled~.”
“As a trade, I will take anything of equal value...such as—-souls.”
Watanuki ignored this comment as that she was completely and utterly schizophrenic until a small white sliver slithered onto the background. Watanuki toppled to the ground and crab-ran to the wall. The sliver had disappeared back inside.
“Ahahaha!” Yuko laughed. “So weird. So weird. No matter what your actions are so weird.”
“WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!” Watanuki yelled at her.
“I won’t kill you.”
“Ne?”
“Murdering people is a dangerous thing, which I won’t do. No matter for what reason, killing a person gives the killer a heavy weight.”
“Weight?”
“Yes, very heavy. You will be ruined.”
“Wha...what?”
“Others will come after you. Anyone who knows won’t ever kill anymore. Because it is not worthwhile.”
“B...But, souls!”
“Souls have different meanings. Souls can represent a person’s important things. To fulfill a wish, your soul is presenting those important things as a trade. I will take an important thing of yours should you want to fulfill your wish.”
“So that is why—-I said I don’t have a wish!”
“So you think that not being seen doesn’t matter? Too simple!”
“This...”
“No problem. Just pretend that you see nothing. Then...then the magical things will no longer be attracted to your blood.”
“Really?”
“Master said she will help you~,” Moro said to the left of Watanuki.
“She really will help you~,” Maru said to the right.
“Really?”
“I can see your eyes and blood that say you are annoyed. All right. I will fulfill your wish then.”
“I DIDN’T ASK YOU FOR ANYTHING YET!!” Watanuki told Yuko, finally standing up.
“It does not matter now. Your fate has already been decided.”
“Ah?”
“You and I. Our relationship is already deeply connected. Whether it is a meeting by chance or a major event, every occurrence will affect the future...because a man’s path of life is not only unstoppable, but also never ending. The smallest thing, the shortest amount of time, the littlest piece or record or memory...the fate that accompanies you will never disappear.
“Ah...” Watanuki said, his brain to compute and confirm the words he just heard. “This...what does this mean?”
“Everything in life has a meaning or purpose, of course. Our meeting has a purpose, and your entrance into my store has a purpose too. And your wish?”
“...I don’t know is this counts as a wish...”
“Just say it.”
“...I...I can see magical things, things that follow me. I only wish that no spirits or ghosts would dodge my footsteps wherever I go.”
“Is that what you want?”
“Uh...”
“All right. Let me fulfill your wish then. But...the price?”
“Are you really a business woman?!”
“I told you before that this is a store, didn’t I?”
“Said it~,” Moro repeated.
“Said it~,” Maru repeated, all of them still slightly pestering Watanuki in a dark corner of his brain.
“I...I’m going to give up,” Watanuki told Yuko.
“We do not accept forfeits,” Yuko told him.
“CAN’T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE TO COOL?!” Watanuki asked a smug-faced Yuko.
Yuko swiftly pulled a mirror up. The mirror was bordered by a dragon design.
“Mirror, Mirror, Mirror appear!”
“Let us meet you, mirror~,” Moro and Maru sang along.
“Wha?” Watanuki asked.
“The mirror is not reacting. Must be a generation gap.”
Watanuki appeared on the mirror.
“Ah,” Yuko said, staring down at the mirror. “You are stubborn. That is quite serious." Then, in a slightly boasting-like voice, "Work here, then."
“Wha? By work you mean in this shop?”
“When your diligence has balanced out your wish, I will fulfill it. Just work.”
“He is a janitor now~!” Maru and Moro sang out cheerily.
“Hey, I’m only doing this thing for your benefit.”
“THIS WAS YOUR INTENTION ALL ALONG?!”