8Next chapter! I posted on MangaFox that if someone wants a wish granted, to let me know. So here's the first customer! It's Bunny910!
Disclaimer: Holic belongs to CLAMP. Monica belongs to Bunny910. I only own the storyline and Hecate.
Chapter 2: Restriction
I opened the door to see the mailman with a white, large envelope. I felt myself get excited at the site. "Are you Miss Hecate?" he asked. I nodded enthusiastically. "Please sign here." I did as instructed before taking the package, thanking the mailman, and closing the door. I ran up the steps to my room and grabbed the scissors before opening the package. Light blue fabric and soft white lace tumbled out.
"It's here! It's finally here!" I squealed as I held up the garment to me, admiring myself in the full-length mirror of my room. "After looking for so long, I finally have the Heart Apron Jumperskirt from Baby, the Stars Shine Bright." I sighed. Baby, the Stars Shine Bright is my favorite Lolita brand of all time. This particular dress was what inspired me to start to wear Lolita. I opened my closet and pulled out a short-sleeved white blouse, white ruffled underskirt, bloomers and petticoat. I put all of this on before finally putting on the Heart Apron and matching headdress. I looked at my reflection and sighed happily.
"Oh, I look like a cute doll! I hope Kimihiro doesn't mind if I wear this to work." I cooed to my reflection before going down the stairs and putting on my 3" white Mary Janes, grabbing my parasol and purse. I went outside into the mid-day June sun, glad that I was going to be able to show off my new dress.
I had been working at the shop for about 2 weeks now. My parents weren't all that thrilled at first, but when they found out I was getting good pay, they approved. I walked down several blocks and turned the corner to walk along the street that led to the neighborhood's park, my white, frilly parasol providing me shade. Soon I made out the now-familiar gates to the shop up ahead. I entered the front door and herd Maru and Moro's footsteps.
"Welcome!" the both chirped simultaneously.
"Hey Maru, Moro." I replied, unbuckling the straps of my Mary Janes. "Is Kimihiro sleeping or…?"
"He's in the kitchen!" Moro said.
"Making lemon sorbet!" Maru added.
"Okay, thanks." I told them before stepping on the cool wood of the floor as I headed towards the kitchen. I entered and saw Kimihiro pouring a pale, pale yellow mixture into a container. "Hey Kimihiro, what're you making? Need help?" He looked up at me and smiled a bit.
"Hello Miss Hecate. I'm fine. I just finished making the base for the lemon sorbet I've been planning. It's gotten pretty hot, so I thought this would be a nice way to cool down." He snapped a lid onto the container and put it in the freezer before straightening and looking and me properly. Today he was in more Western attire, with a bloody-red shirt and black work pants. "I wasn't aware you wore Lolita."
"Well, I dabble a bit. I've been wanting this dress for a while and it's so hard to find and even harder to find in this color. So when I found it, I ordered it and it came today. I really wanted to wear it. I hope you don't mind." Kimihiro smiled fondly.
"No, I don't mind. And actually, it's good you're dressed in it." He undid the waist ties of the apron he was wearing, the front adorned with an angry cat face, and spilling off the cream fabric from his person. "I need you to go to the Ginza and buy a small, simple charm bracelet."
"Uhh… how am I going to do that?" I asked, stumped.
"You can use the Aurora Path. It links to the Ginza of my world." He reached into his pockets and pulled out several yen bills. "Mokona will be coming with you, since you can't read Japanese." The aforementioned creature came bounding in and landed on my shoulder.
"Mokona's an excellent guide! I'll take you on the right path." it reassured. I raised my eyebrows in apprehension.
"Well, all right." I sighed. "I'll go get my shoes and parasol real quick."
The Aurora's Path had scared me a bit, but I made it. Everything was in Japanese kanji, so I was utterly lost. I mostly heard people talk in Japanese, but I did occasionally hear people speaking in English. There were also several tourists who begged me for a photo. Eventually, with Mokona's help, I found a small fashion jewelry store. As I entered, the cool blast from the AC welcomed me. I closed my parasol and began to wander around the place, Mokona hidden safely in my white, crown-shaped purse.
"I wonder if the bracelet's for him? Or maybe a customer in the future? But what gender would they be?" I muttered to myself.
"You should get a pretty, pink, sparkly one!" Mokona whisper-chirped from my bag.
"Guess I'll just poke around and see if I find something." I shrugged before beginning to wander. The shelves were lined with crystal beads, matte beads and all kinds of colors and different-colored charms. After wandering around, and looking through several displays, I found a simple bracelet with opaque, crystal-cut beads and a bronze-colored charm in the shape of a diamond with intricate designs. This should do!
"I'm back!" I called out when I emerged from the Aurora's Path.
"Welcome back!" Maru said.
"Welcome back!" Moro repeated.
"We're back!" Mokona yelled happily, bouncing around.
"Trust me, I can hear you from the Moon." Kimihiro complained as he came into the room. "Were you able to get the bracelet without too much trouble?"
"Yep! See for yourself." I exclaimed, pulling out the bracelet from my bag.
"Good. This should do." Just as he said that, someone called out from the foyer.
"Umm…. excuse me? Is anyone here?" a meek, feminine voice asked.
"It seems we have a customer. Hecate, please escort her to the back yard. And after, bring some lemonade for us." I nodded and went to the front of the store. The girl in front of me was looking at the floor, obviously nervous. She was about my height with deeply tanned skin, long black hair that was tied with a sage green ribbon and hazel eyes. She had on light blue jean short and a pint t-shirt with Hello Kitty printed on it.
"Can I help you?" I asked. Her head jerked up, her cheeks becoming flushed a bit.
"Uhh… umm… this is the shop where you can get wishes granted, right?" she asked in a quiet voice.
"Yes, it is. If you'd come inside and bring your shoes with you; the shop owner is in the backyard." I replied, indicating for her to follow me. She nodded meekly and did as I asked. When she hesitated at the back door that led to the garden, I gave her an encouraging smile. Kimihiro was sitting in a black, ornate garden chair under the black-fringed cream umbrella, calmly smoking his pipe as if he'd been expecting her all along.
I left the scene and entered the kitchen. Grabbing two tall, slim glasses from the shelf, I placed some ice cubes in the glasses before pouring the lemonade Kimihiro had made a few days ago. It was almost gone when I finished filling the glasses, with only enough liquid to fill one more glass. I shrugged and grabbed another glass for myself and filled it before putting all three glasses on a carrying tray and returned to the garden.
The girl was biting her lip nervously, glancing up at Kimihiro occasionally before looking back down at her clasped hands. I set down the drinks for both of them and then stood on the aside a bit before they began to talk.
"What's you name miss?" he asked, using Western-style of speech. I wondered why he was doing that so much lately.
"Ah! Ummm… my name's Monica. Monica León." she said, looking at Kimihiro. "You're… Watanuki, right? The owner of the shop?"
"Yes, I am the owner. Do you have a wish?"
"Well… yes. It's just… I'm not sure if you can help me, but my wish is to be more confident and assertive. I… all my life, I've been quite. Meek. Because I can't stand up for myself, other people make me do their dirty work in school. I hate it so much!" she exclaimed at the end. She gasped in horror at her actions and covered her mouth, her cheeks red. "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have done that…" she mumbled in apology.
"It's fine. So, your wish is to be able to become more assertive?"
"…Yes."
"All right. I'll give you this." He pulled out the bracelet I had bought not even an hour ago. "This bracelet is enchanted to help you have your inhibitions loosened, though not to the point of uncontrollability. Where this, and your wish should come true." He handed her the bracelet and she look it with a shy smile.
"Thank you Watanuki." She slipped on the bracelet. "But, what's the price?"
"Don't worry about it. You've already paid it." he said with a smile.
"So what DID she pay?" asked as I scooped out lemon sorbet for Kimihiro, Mokona and myself. I could hear Maru and Moro running around in the backyard.
"She paid with her comfort."
"Huh?" I grabbed the raspberry sauce and drizzled some on each sorbet with a small spoon.
"Until she made her wish, she was, in essence, conforming to the wants and wishes of others. This caused her to become meek and submissive. But, because she never made waves, she lived her life in relative comfort." Kimihiro explained from the deck in the backyard. I placed the chilled, crystal bowls filled with the sorbet on a tray and brought them over to him. "It's not an easy thing to be assertive and independent. And it's also not easy to be submissive. Each has its own sets of problems."
"How so?"
"Well… thank you." He took his sorbet and took a bite. "I think I out-did myself this time…. when you're assertive, people tend to label you as loud, obnoxious, socially-awkward, and extremist, what have you. If you're quiet and submissive, they call you a follower, spineless, and a wimp. You are ignored when you say nothing and you are hated when you do say something against the crowd. Do you understand?"
"I think so." I replied quietly, taking a bite of the sorbet. The sweetness of the sauce and tart of the sorbet burst in my mouth like a cooling flood. "But WHY do people have to be like that?"
"Well…" He took another bite of the cold, tart-sweet treat. "Because they don't know any better. People nowadays are so immersed in the physical and in political correctness they don't even realize the problems they are creating unnecessarily." I frowned into my bowl. "Don't be so down. There is still a balance in all of this."
"Then what about the bracelet. Did you put a spell on it while I showed the girl in?" Kimihiro chuckled.
"Did you see me put a charm on it?" I shook my head. "That bracelet is really to act like a placebo. The chains of the feelings of the people in her school are what are mentally holding her back. But with that bracelet, she will consciously recognize what they're doing to her and change it. That's the theory anyway."
"So her wish might still not get granted?" I gasped at him.
"That's up to her. If I did the actual unbinding, she would pay more. And she may still choose to be restricted by her peers in school. Don't forget people have free will and the ability to choose happiness and unhappiness." I sighed, knowing the truth of Kimihiro's word.
"I'm tired." I mumbled, laying my head on the sun-warmed wood and tucking my feet under my poofed-up skirt. I closed my eyes as I heard Kimihiro get up and walk into the house. A few minutes later, I felt him lift my head and place a cool, silk pillow underneath.
"I'll wake you up in an hour to go home, all right?"
"All right." I replied. I hope Monica's able to grant her wish. I don't think I could handle being so submissive. But then again, I'm on the other end of the scale, so I shouldn't talk. I felt a wry smile cross my sun-kissed face.
Watanuki sat, smoking his pipe while is new employee napped next to him on the warm wood of the porch. Her dark brown-almost black- hair spilled over her shoulders and onto the deck, colored honey brown from the bright, afternoon sun. The sky was a hazy light blue, the same color as her dress, the clouds big and fluffy. I think what I told her has upset her. Watanuki set his pipe down and gently pushed a lock of Hecate's normally dark strands from her face. Then again, she's on the other end of the scale I suspect; always saying opinion and getting herself in trouble. The young shop owner chuckled. Funny how she's technically a year older than me, yet I feel like I'm the older one. Watanuki kept looking out, gazing at the sakura tree in his backyard.
Hope you guys enjoyed it! The next chapter's more dramatic. Hehe...
Preview: Curiosity. It's natural in humans. But sometimes it can be deadly. Somtimes that curiosity could cost you your soul or your sanity. Temptation. Greed. Beauty. Sometimes seemingly innocent motives are really selfish ones. And they can cost you. "If you're asking me to get Kunogi-san, that means the situation must be deadly." Next time on Holic: Web of Fate: Possesion. Shall I grant your wish?
