storypaint (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
storypaint) wrote2009-10-06 10:50 am
storypaint) wrote2009-10-06 10:50 am
Pandemonium (Clow/Yuuko)
Title: Pandemonium
Fandom: xxxHOLiC
Length: 739 words
Prompt:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
31_days: 5 Oct 09 // the cat learns a festival dance; comment_fic: XXXholic, Clow/Yuuko, Yes you got your spell on me baby / Turning my heart into stone / I need you so bad - magic woman / I can't leave you alone
Pairing: slight Clow/Yuuko
Other: As a reminder, the Hyakki Yako was the demon parade that Doumeki and Watanuki went to in volume 6 (ch61). Akari the cat-demon seemed to know Yuuko very well-- I'd be surprised if the witch hadn't been to one before, at least once.
Excerpt: "I owe you many debts," Clow answered easily, his hands tracing over the hozuki, "but you don't have many friends, do you, Yuuko-chan?"
She'd known Akari the cat demon for several decades, on and off, in the manner of cats, before she was invited to the Hyakki Yako.
"Bring a friend," the cat said with a knowing grin. She only invited Clow because, as she told him, she wanted him to owe her a debt.
"I owe you many debts," he answered easily, his hands tracing over the hozuki, "but you don't have many friends, do you, Yuuko-chan?"
She stomped on his foot but wrapped her hand around his in the manner that the cat had prescribed.
"And this is a rather friendly procedure," he began, a statement which would probably have earned him another footstomp, except then they were there, in the midst of the procession, with creatures of all shapes and sizes.
"Fascinating," Clow breathed, and even Yuuko was momentarily taken aback. Neither of them were unfamiliar with the spirit world and its denizens, but this was something special. They were crossing into that world, instead of its citizens crossing into theirs.
It was dangerous, even to people with power as strong as theirs. Even in her surprise, Yuuko did not lift her hand from Clow's.
"You're going to lose the procession," an inugami called to them. "Don't be late! The Hyakki Yako happens only once a year, you know."
"Of course," Clow answered smoothly, meeting Yuuko's eyes. She nodded and they followed.
"I wonder if it's only the Japanese demons who get together in this manner," he said as they walked along, "or if the others plot their own family reunions."
"It is the sort of question you would ask," Yuuko shot back, more vehemently than necessary because she had no idea.
Something in the hozuki seemed to shield their identities from the creatures around them. They were known by some of the travelers here, but Yuuko doubted that would matter if something went wrong. Akari was a cat demon, and he had some cat-like traits-- a joy in walking a fine line was one of them. She shared that joy, however, and was grinning as they approached the tree.
"It is rare we get ones such as you here," the tree said, and Clow stiffened. "Such dreamers," it continued, almost sighing. "Don't lose something as pure as that."
Yuuko looked up and met Clow's eyes. She looked away swiftly.
"Ah, sake~!" she said happily when the nectar flowed. "Do you smell that, Clow?"
He smiled. "I do." And he cast another glance at the tree before they dissolved back into the human world.
The moon was nearly overhead. One of their prices for walking the spirit world had been time, clearly. Yuuko's eyes focused on the familiar frame of the shop before she tugged the hozuki away from Clow, holding it in her arms.
"Hey!" he protested. "You're going to share, aren't you?"
"Perhaps," she said. "But then again, I've had to put up with you all evening. I need booze in exchange for that."
"I was very good, I thought," he answered, a smile tugging at his lips. "I didn't mention, for example, that for the two of us to go together, we had to hold the hozuki like a newly-married couple holds the knife for a wedding cake. Or that you were making the Yukionna jealous with your beauty. Or that you are still a dreamer, unless you'd call the tree a liar."
"You are insufferable," she hissed through her teeth.
"Oh, dear, I did end up saying them. My mistake," he said, with no apology in his tone. "Why don't I pour you the first cup to make up for it?"
"You'd better!" she answered, scowling, thrusting the hozuki into his arms. He smiled at her sweetly.
"It is always nice to have someone else to drink with, isn't it?" he said.
"I should have left you with the demons," she answered. "But then again, they might not have noticed."
He just laughed and stepped into her kitchen to find some glasses. When he returned, she accepted one and drank it swiftly, pausing only a moment before demanding a refill.
And so they whiled away the rest of the evening until the dawn, when Clow collapsed into a drunken sleep, head in her lap, muttering something about the beauty of the sunrise. The sake was the best Yuuko had ever drank, and she herself was more than tipsy.
When she drifted off to sleep herself, she dreamed normal dreams, but she knew that those weren't the ones that the tree and Clow had meant.
But those she wouldn't admit to, not just yet.
Fandom: xxxHOLiC
Length: 739 words
Prompt:
31_days: 5 Oct 09 // the cat learns a festival dance; comment_fic: XXXholic, Clow/Yuuko, Yes you got your spell on me baby / Turning my heart into stone / I need you so bad - magic woman / I can't leave you alonePairing: slight Clow/Yuuko
Other: As a reminder, the Hyakki Yako was the demon parade that Doumeki and Watanuki went to in volume 6 (ch61). Akari the cat-demon seemed to know Yuuko very well-- I'd be surprised if the witch hadn't been to one before, at least once.
Excerpt: "I owe you many debts," Clow answered easily, his hands tracing over the hozuki, "but you don't have many friends, do you, Yuuko-chan?"
She'd known Akari the cat demon for several decades, on and off, in the manner of cats, before she was invited to the Hyakki Yako.
"Bring a friend," the cat said with a knowing grin. She only invited Clow because, as she told him, she wanted him to owe her a debt.
"I owe you many debts," he answered easily, his hands tracing over the hozuki, "but you don't have many friends, do you, Yuuko-chan?"
She stomped on his foot but wrapped her hand around his in the manner that the cat had prescribed.
"And this is a rather friendly procedure," he began, a statement which would probably have earned him another footstomp, except then they were there, in the midst of the procession, with creatures of all shapes and sizes.
"Fascinating," Clow breathed, and even Yuuko was momentarily taken aback. Neither of them were unfamiliar with the spirit world and its denizens, but this was something special. They were crossing into that world, instead of its citizens crossing into theirs.
It was dangerous, even to people with power as strong as theirs. Even in her surprise, Yuuko did not lift her hand from Clow's.
"You're going to lose the procession," an inugami called to them. "Don't be late! The Hyakki Yako happens only once a year, you know."
"Of course," Clow answered smoothly, meeting Yuuko's eyes. She nodded and they followed.
"I wonder if it's only the Japanese demons who get together in this manner," he said as they walked along, "or if the others plot their own family reunions."
"It is the sort of question you would ask," Yuuko shot back, more vehemently than necessary because she had no idea.
Something in the hozuki seemed to shield their identities from the creatures around them. They were known by some of the travelers here, but Yuuko doubted that would matter if something went wrong. Akari was a cat demon, and he had some cat-like traits-- a joy in walking a fine line was one of them. She shared that joy, however, and was grinning as they approached the tree.
"It is rare we get ones such as you here," the tree said, and Clow stiffened. "Such dreamers," it continued, almost sighing. "Don't lose something as pure as that."
Yuuko looked up and met Clow's eyes. She looked away swiftly.
"Ah, sake~!" she said happily when the nectar flowed. "Do you smell that, Clow?"
He smiled. "I do." And he cast another glance at the tree before they dissolved back into the human world.
The moon was nearly overhead. One of their prices for walking the spirit world had been time, clearly. Yuuko's eyes focused on the familiar frame of the shop before she tugged the hozuki away from Clow, holding it in her arms.
"Hey!" he protested. "You're going to share, aren't you?"
"Perhaps," she said. "But then again, I've had to put up with you all evening. I need booze in exchange for that."
"I was very good, I thought," he answered, a smile tugging at his lips. "I didn't mention, for example, that for the two of us to go together, we had to hold the hozuki like a newly-married couple holds the knife for a wedding cake. Or that you were making the Yukionna jealous with your beauty. Or that you are still a dreamer, unless you'd call the tree a liar."
"You are insufferable," she hissed through her teeth.
"Oh, dear, I did end up saying them. My mistake," he said, with no apology in his tone. "Why don't I pour you the first cup to make up for it?"
"You'd better!" she answered, scowling, thrusting the hozuki into his arms. He smiled at her sweetly.
"It is always nice to have someone else to drink with, isn't it?" he said.
"I should have left you with the demons," she answered. "But then again, they might not have noticed."
He just laughed and stepped into her kitchen to find some glasses. When he returned, she accepted one and drank it swiftly, pausing only a moment before demanding a refill.
And so they whiled away the rest of the evening until the dawn, when Clow collapsed into a drunken sleep, head in her lap, muttering something about the beauty of the sunrise. The sake was the best Yuuko had ever drank, and she herself was more than tipsy.
When she drifted off to sleep herself, she dreamed normal dreams, but she knew that those weren't the ones that the tree and Clow had meant.
But those she wouldn't admit to, not just yet.