I don't really think I needed to run, but that's what I had done anyway. The only sound that could be heard were my school dress shoes on the paved road.

It couldn't be that late, but it was silent, so silent, and my footsteps echoed. No matter how quiet I tried to be my footsteps were as loud as an old car engine. Annoyingly loud.

I wasn't sure when I started to slow down, but for some reason I had to quiet my steps. It just seemed wrong to be making this terrible racket when people might be sleeping, though that was only half the reason.

I was still tired. I couldn't keep up the sprint, and eventually I stopped, leaning a hand against the wall to catch my breath.

I felt weak. The point of coming out was to go to see Doumeki, but could I make it like this?

I turned around until my back faced the wall, sliding down until I was sitting on the cold pavement. Freezing was a better word. It was so cold, and it was only autumn, wasn't it?

I pulled my jacket tighter around me as a breeze picked up. It started slow, and then the wind began to blow harder until my hair seemed to be standing sideways as it was whipped about by the relentless force.

It was like the wind was telling me that I could not give up here.

So, slowly, I stood back up looking in the direction I would be walking. I would not let anything else stop me. It didn't matter how tired I was; I had decided I was going to go see Doumeki, that I was going to tell him how I felt, and that was all that mattered.

But the wind was coming from the direction I was traveling in. It wasn't telling me not to give up, it was telling me to turn back, or more like forcing me to with how powerful the gale was. I almost felt like I would drift away.

"Are you the one with the eyes?" came a voice that glided to him on the wind itself. A small, gentle voice, but it didn't seem at all friendly.

"What?" I question, looking aroud for the owner of the voice. I hoped beyond hope that I had not passed out again.

"You can hear me... you know I am here... you must be the boy... that can see us... I will... have your... power!"

The wind picked up once more, and this time I flew against the wall with a painful thud.

Why did this have to happen when I was finally on my way to talk to Doumeki? I just had to be attacked by some sort of evil spirit. I was going to die here, wasn't I? I would be eaten, and there was nothing I could do but wait for it to happen.

So I closed my eyes and waited for it, pain surging through my body already. I would never be able to tell Doumeki.

"Are... you afraid?" Came the voice again, traveling on the wind as it had before, "I will devour you quickly... I do not... have time to... linger."

The voice now echoed in the air, I could feel the voice inside me, as the pain intensified. It was all over.

And then there was a flash of light, a blinding light that I could see with my eyes still closed, and the wind died down.

I opened my eyes again, looking right, then left.

Down the road I saw him.

"Dou...me...ki," I started, I tried to stay awake, I couldn't pass out here. I was tired, and in so much pain, it would be easier just to let myself go here. But I had to talk to him.


"Yuuko-san... She told you I was coming, didn't she?" I asked as he reached me. I couldn't move, I didn't have the energy.

He nodded, dropping his bow next to me, "You're such an idiot, Watanuki."

I looked up at him, ready to yell at him for calling me an idiot, but then I just realised; he had said my name. He usually only said 'hey you' or sometimes just 'you', but he had actually said my name.

"I've gotta get you back to her place." He said, gently lifting me off the ground.

"Doumeki?"

"Hn?"

"Will you... stay this time?"

He raised an eyebrow, looking me over.

"You must have hit your head hard."

"Doumeki... please, I... I need you. Please, stay with me." I pleaded with him. I never got to hear his answer as my world spiraled into blackness for a second time that day.

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"A wind spirit, huh?" I asked Yuuko later that night.

It must have only been a few hours later when I woke up, and I just couldn't go back to sleep. Yuuko was still awake, and there was already tea made, and she had been sitting out on the porch looking up at the stars.

She nodded, taking a long drag from her pipe.

"Um...Where is.."

"Doumeki-kun is sleeping."

"He didn't go home?"

She shook her head, "He wanted to stay here to make sure you were alright, but he was very tired, so I told him he should sleep."

"I can't believe... he actually stayed."

Yuuko looked up at me and smiled, "You need him here, don't you?"

I looked at her shocked for a moment, feeling my face turn red as I looked away, "I guess... I do."

"And you told him that?"

I nodded, and looked back at her, "I did."

"Good."

She took another drag of her pipe before turning back around and standing up, "You really should get some sleep Watanuki-kun. I expect breakfast early tomorrow!"

"WHAT!" I yelled back at her as she walked up beside me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Watanuki-kun is such a good boy."

"Ah.. Yuuko-san, what room is Doumeki sleeping in?"

"Oh! Watanuki-kun's such a naughty boy!"

"WHAT!? That's not what I meant at all!" I said, waving my hands around to emphasise my statement.

"He's sleeping in the room across the hall from yours."

She giggled and walked away, as I stood there staring at the sliding paper door for a moment.

He stayed. I felt my heart rate increase as I walked back into Yuuko's shop. Sure, I was happy, but at the same time dreading what he would say. But I guessed that Doumeki still being here was a good sign.

I opened the door to the room across mine, hearing the the soft breathing coming from the futon in the dark room. Swallowing hard, I walked into the room quietly closed the door, hoping not to wake him up.

I sat down next to the futon. He was lying on his back and I watched his chest rise and fall as he took in a breath and then let it out.

Doumeki. The one I cared about the most. Doumeki. The one I loved.

"Kimi...hiro..."

My eyes widened as I looked up to see his face. He was still asleep. Doumeki sleep talks? I almost laughed, but I didn't want to wake him up.

"Shizuka..." I whispered, pulling up the covers and slipping underneath them. I wanted to be as close to Doumeki as possible.

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