"Watanuki-kun! Watanuki-kun!"
The bespectacled boy didn't turn around at the feminine girl calling his name until her hand caught his arm. Blue eyes looked down coolly and nodded at the girl named Kunogi Himawari. The girl in question gave him a wondering look, as he had been the talk of all the girls she knew: Watanuki Kimihiro, the ice prince.
"Is something wrong, Watanuki-kun? You don't even seem that energetic today."
"Nothing's wrong, Himawari-chan."
"Oh…well, if you're certain. You can always talk to me if there's something wrong."
Watanuki nodded and watched as she turned away to head to her home, his blue eyes narrowing in something almost like suspicion. Those lips didn't purse, the gaze didn't waver, and the wind could barely twitch the strands of black hair around his glasses.
"What the hell was that about?!"
The introspection was shattered as the youth turned to see the imposing figure of Doumeki, arms crossed and foot tapping. The expression of rage in the golden eyes could not be mistaken and there faint twitches in the muscles, as if it was taking all the willpower he possessed to not reach over and smack the smaller counterpart.
"You are totally inept, aren't you?" spewed the abuse from the handsome face and Watanuki merely crossed his arms. "You couldn't act like me to save your soul!"
Because in truth, Watanuki Kimihiro was Doumeki Shizuka and Doumeki Shizuka was Watanuki Kimihiro. By some fluke, well more than a fluke, the souls of the two boys had been switched.
It was not something the true Watanuki Kimihiro liked one damn bit.
"You realize that you have archery practice tomorrow. You know that I can't shoot a bow. What are we going to do about that, have you thought of it, you idiot?! Not to mention, all anybody is talking about is how I'm suddenly some ice prince, so cool and calm and collected!"
The flailing of arms that looked so normal on the body of Watanuki Kimihiro, looked extremely out of place with the body of Doumeki Shizuka and the real Doumeki Shizuka was suddenly very, very glad no one was currently on the street to see them because his body looked ridiculous.
"I think the real thing we need to worry about is what are you going to do about work tonight?"
The arms paused, as if the thought hadn't occurred to him, and then elation filled that usually stoic face. "That's it! We'll just ask Yuuko-san to fix us!"
"But--" "Don't interrupt a storyteller." "Sorry…"
"Somehow I don't think it's going to be that easy," replied Doumeki, but under his breath as he followed the stumbling run of his body. Acting was not easy an easy task at all, as he found himself incapable of acting like the idiot that Watanuki was. And Watanuki, as he had observed, was incapable of acting like he was. Which was driving the whole school absolutely nuts, as the two constants of loud Watanuki and silent Doumeki were suddenly and completely changed for some unknown reason.
And for the first time since he had been drawn into the crazy world of spirits with Watanuki, Doumeki could actually see the woman's shop. But when he tried to step forward as Watanuki, in his body, had done, he found some invisible force stopping him. He frowned slightly, trying to figure out what was wrong. Perhaps he could see it because he was in Watanuki's body, but still could not enter it because it was his own soul. If that were true, then Watanuki would not be able to see the shop, but still enter it.
Which was apparently true as Watanuki was currently looking dumbfounded.
"But--" this time another voice protested. "What did I say before about interrupting a storyteller?" whack "Sorry…"
"Yuuko-saaaan! We're--"
"Yes, I see," the woman interrupted Watanuki. "Your souls have been switched." She laughed, as if it was most hilarious. "Oh dear, Watanuki you get yourself into such trouble!"
"This isn't funny, Yuuko-san! Tell us how to fix this!"
"I can tell you, but only if you'll pay the price for the solution."
"What price?" Doumeki interjected when his body's face looked apprehensive. It was most intriguing, watching himself through someone else's eyes.
"First tell me if you are willing to pay it. If not, you will be stuck like this forever."
"I will."
"I know you will, Doumeki-kun. But I need to know if Watanuki will too. The solution doesn't involve just you."
There was silence for a very long moment. It seemed as if time was standing still and Doumeki gazed at Watanuki in his body. It was clear to him that he sincerely did not want to say yes, but the prospect that he would have to stay in his hated rival's body did not appeal.
"BUT--" whackwhackwhack! silence
"All right."
The dimensional witch grinned, as if this was what she had been hoping for and it made a shiver go down the spine of his borrowed body. It didn't matter what body you were in, when that strange woman smiled like that, the only thing left of instinct was to just run away.
"Tonight, there will be a full moon. You both must be together, holding each other tightly, to switch back."
"…That's it?"
"Yes."
"Then what's the price?"
"When the moon's rays touch the two of you holding each other, you must kiss, so that your souls may switch again." There was a pause and as if to make sure they both knew what that meant, she added, "The price, Watanuki, is that you and Doumeki will be sacrificing your first kisses to each other."
"WHAT?!"
Doumeki didn't see what was so bad about that, honestly. He respected and cared for Watanuki. He didn't know if his feelings were love or not, but he did not hate the boy, even though the other insisted they were rivals.
"But I suppose it's not that big of a deal," muttered his companion. "I mean, a first kiss…I had wanted to give it to Himawari-chan, but it's not that big a deal…"
"On the contrary, Watanuki, it is a big deal. The biggest deal of your whole life."
"Eh?"
"Don't even think about it." A mouth that had opened slid closed silently. "Good."
"The first kiss is everything, Watanuki. Whoever you give your first kiss to, you will be giving them something more than just a kiss. From then on, they will forever have a piece of you, something that belongs to them alone. It forms a bond stronger than anything except death, sometimes not even death can break it if it is strong enough. It means that no matter what, even if you find yourself with someone else, if a person who received your first kiss came back into your life years later, your heart would resonate even just a little with that person. Once you give your first kiss away, it is gone forever. You give away that little part of your heart so that even if you married someone else, lived with them forever, swore that they had all of you, you would be lying because that first kiss gave away a part of you with it, even if it may only be a small part. The next person will never have your whole heart."
Doumeki was stunned. He hadn't thought a first kiss would have that depth. No wonder girls were always so nervous about their first kisses, and how they picked someone so carefully. And it even applied to boys then? He filed the information away for a later date, if he had to use it.
"But…! I don't want to give…! I don't want to give Doumeki anything!"
"You already agreed to pay the price, Watanuki. And even if you could go back and not pay the price, you would still have to do this anyway in order to restore your souls to their rightful place."
"So you're saying," Doumeki interrupted again, "that in essence, we're really not paying anything. We would have to do this anyway."
"Yes."
"I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!!!"
"Um…" "Don't make me do this again…" A hand is placed on an arm, silencing someone. "I shall continue."
"What are you so nervous about?" Doumeki asked as he sat on Watanuki's bed, glancing out at the night that was nearing midnight, the time when the full moon would be strongest. Or rather, Watanuki's body sat on Watanuki's bed, while his own body paced and stared nervously at his watch.
"I don't want to give you a first kiss!" he snapped, flailing his borrowed arms near Doumeki's face.
"Why not?"
"Because I HATE YOU!"
"Are you sure that's true?"
Golden eyes blinked in surprise then eyebrows narrowed in rage. "OF COURSE IT'S TRUE!"
"Then we'll have to change that."
"What are you talking about, Doumeki?" His voice sounded so darkly suspicious and he wondered if when he talked like that his own voice had always sounded so sexy. "It's not midnight--"
But when they looked at the clock, it was and knowing he had only sixty seconds left before it became 12:01, he stood from the bed, set Watanuki's glasses aside, and stepped up near his own body. Would it feel strange to kiss his own body? Or would the transference be instant? Hands reached up to hold his own body's face and he leaned Watanuki's head up to bring their lips in contact.
There was no room for hesitation, so he did not let his counterpart in his own body hesitate. Watanuki's tongue forced its way into Doumeki's mouth and then suddenly, as if someone had turned on a switch, he found that he was in his body again and Watanuki, true Watanuki's tongue, was in his mouth. Arms wrapped around that slim form he'd been trapped in for a day and he inadvertently deepened the kiss, not allowing Watanuki to break away just yet.
"HEY! THAT'S NOT--" a different, more strident voice tried to interrupt. "Silence, you!" whack "Ow…"
Watanuki moaned into the kiss and Doumeki let his hands wander as it became 12:01, then 12:02. Only when his fingers slipped down below the bespectacled boy's waistline and gripped his butt lightly, did the other boy push him away forcefully, gasping for breath as if he'd spent the last few minutes running a hundred-meter dash.
"Hey! That wasn't necessary!" Those pale cheeks were flaming with a blush and a faint smile tugged at the corners of his own lips. It felt unbelievably good to be in his own body again.
"Maybe not," he agreed. "But I liked it."
"THAT WASN'T HOW IT HAPPENED!"
Yuuko sighed dramatically and turned from her rapt audience to the boy that was sitting in red mortification in a corner of her shop. Watanuki looked as if he would have a heart attack at any moment and she couldn't help laughing.
"So you're saying that his hand went to the front instead of the back? Ooh, Watanuki, naughty!"
Suddenly six sets of eyes were on the bespectacled boy and he looked even more mortified. "N-n-n-n-no! I'm saying that it was just…! His hands didn't go…! It was just a simple kiss, no touching!"
"Oh really? That's not what Doumeki-kun told me the day after…" she insinuated and those sapphire eyes widened in shock then anger.
"That…that…bastard! I told him I'd kill him if he ever told anyone!"
"You can have the rest of the day off!" she called at his suddenly retreating back as he sped from the shop. "You'll need it," she added in an undertone with amusement.
"So…what really happened?" asked a boy with orange hair, crossing his arms over his chest. There was a sizeable lump on his forehead from as many times as she had hit him with her duck, that sat at her side.
"Can't you tell by his face?" she asked.
Ichigo looked at his companions: Rukia looked surprised at the door and Renji was looking at her, then at the dimensional witch, and drawing his own conclusions. Orihime seemed to be convinced that the story was true and she was giggling like mad. Ishida looked vaguely ill and Chad…Chad was Chad.
"I suppose so, but we really only came to ask you a question…"
"Yes?"
"Where are we?"
End