Disclaimer: I do not own, claim to own, or pretend to own the characters involved in this work of fiction-just the story. I would probably hate myself if I did.

I thought I would post one of the chapters from my series of xxx-Holic crossovers to see what everyone thought. Cherry Blossom is probably one of my crowning achievements in the series and crosses over xxx-Holic and 5cm Per Second, and was a request made to me by one of my favorite fans. Please tell me what you think and if you're interested in more of my work, check me out of FF.Net. The name is The Ro-chan

Cherry Blossom

Have you ever loved someone so much that you would give up everything just to see them once more? To hear their voice over the phone before they left forever? Open their eyes one more time? Wished so selfishly for that someone to look back as they walked away and chose someone else? Wanted nothing more then for them to return and would even forsake your own life just to be with them?

Yuuko couldn’t say whether she had or not, but she did know first hand the repercussions of such a wish. She was living proof that wishing that hard worked.

So it was with disdain that she considered the wish before her-the simple wish of a man, once a boy in love, to see his beloved once more, if only for a second. Of course she was obligated to grant any wish he might have, for she was the all powerful Space Time Witch, the only unbiased being in the universe, and so long as he could pay the price, then there was no problem. And he could, unfortunately.

“The price for your wish is high,” she informed him gravely, keeping the disgust from her voice and face. Her expression was smooth and cool, the perfect example of a skilled businesswoman, but inside she was seething with indignance. What right did have to make such a wish? Didn’t he understand the implications it would have on, not just him, but her as well?

“I’ll pay it,” was his immediate reply.

Red rouged lips were pursed to keep her from making a biting remark. Instead, she poured herself a cup of tea (Watanuki had insisted she go without that day), watching as he watched the delicate silk of her long kimono sleeves curiously. She was quite something else, he thought, and not at all what he had heard. There was something undeniably cold about Yuuko, even when she had received him with a polite smile. He’d have preferred that to the indifference she showed him upon hearing his wish.

Although he suspected she may have already known what he was going to ask.

“Why do men like you always ask the impossible?” she sighed to herself.

He blinked. “Excuse me?”

Yuuko waved him off as she took a sip of her tea (Oolong) and indicated he be silent while she thought. After a moment, she set the tiny cup aside and folded her hands in her lap.

“You will only see your beloved once, as you have asked,” she began. The man opened his mouth as if to protest, but she silenced him with a glare. “The wish was for just one more meeting, and one more meeting is all I’m willing to grant,” she snapped. The witch also failed to mention that it was also all she was able to.

He nodded silently.

Clearing her throat, Yuuko began again. “You will only see her once, and after that, there will be no more chances. How you use this opportunity is up to you.”

“Is that all?” he asked.

Casting her gaze to the side, she weighed the option of telling him any more. When she was satisfied he could afford the price, she shook her head. “The day you see her will be random. You will not know where she is, what day she will be where you are, and you will not be able to change the fate that you have now bound yourselves to. The time it takes for your wish to be full filled will be the time it takes a cherry blossom petal to fall five centimeters. Understand?”

He didn’t, but then again she didn’t expect him to. When he asked how he should go about paying the price for his selfish wish, she told him she had already received it in full and saw him on his way. Once he was gone, Yuuko ordered the twins to draw her a bath and find her a few bottles of Sapporo, Watanuki be damned.

Weeks later found Takaki Tono wandering down the avenue just after his latest break-up with his latest girlfriend, wondering what exactly he had been thinking when he’d gotten together with her. He had Akari, after all, even if it had been years since they had last seen each other. But that was where the Space Time Witch had come in; she’d said that he would only see her once more, but that was all he needed to convince her to stay with him. After all, they had been in love hadn’t they?

It was Spring and the cherry blossoms had just started to fall.

Hands dug into his pockets as he slouched along grumpily, that brief meeting with the beautiful but strange woman played through his head, distracting him from everything around him. What on earth had she meant when she’d said that his wish would be full filled in the time it took a cherry blossom to fall five centimeters? Didn’t that mean that it would have happened as soon as he’d stepped foot outside the shop’s gates? It had been almost six weeks since their meeting and he still hadn’t seen Akari.

Takaki was starting to doubt the validity of this supposed witch.

Grumbling to himself as he stopped in front of the train tracks as trolley went by, he wondered some more about what he had actually agreed to pay the mad woman. He’d asked what it was she had wanted for his wish only to receive a dismissal and the promise that he didn’t have to worry about it. That it had been paid in full for a long time. What the hell did that mean?

Once the trolley had passed, the young man continued on his way across the tracks, bumping shoulders with a young woman holding an umbrella as he passed. Muttering an apology, he stopped half a second later to look back over his shoulder at her, a feeling of dread passing through his stomach. She paused and went to turn as well.

“Akari…?” he called just as another trolley went by, obstructing her from view. When it was gone, so was she and he’d understood what the witch’s words meant.

The time it takes for your wish to be full filled will be the time it takes a cherry blossom petal to fall five centimeters.

“What exactly was his payment?” Mokona asked. It was a beautiful day near the end of Spring, when the cherry blossoms were just starting to fall. How beautiful a sight it was to see them drift along slowly, as if watching pink snowflakes dance through the air-it was Yuuko’s favorite season next to Winter.

Sipping from her cup thoughtfully, Yuuko allowed her thoughts to wander from the sight before her, the tang of the light sake, and the sweet taste of the specially made sweets Watanuki had made just for their private viewing party. Even the joyful screams of Maru and Moro couldn’t reach her as they frolicked through the garden.

After much thought, she finally answered. “His happiness.”

Mokona winced. “That’s a pretty heavy price for a wish as big as that one. No way he could have afforded it on his own.”

“No, he couldn’t,” Yuuko agreed solemnly as she reached out a hand to catch a few of the falling flower petals. They felt silky smooth against her skin and she suppressed a smile as she looked at them fondly. “He had help from a Miss Kanae Sumida.”

“That surfer girl who came in here five years ago?”

“The very same.”

Mokona grunted, obviously displeased that such a nice girl had had to help pay for such a useless wish, even if it was indirectly. “And what did she pay?”

Yuuko let out a hallow laugh as she let the petals drift away from her hand, letting it drop back into her lap. “Her happiness for his.”

They were silent for a long time, but the little black pork-bun broke it with a heavy sigh. “Stupid kid should have realized it the minute the wind ripped that letter from his hand that they weren’t meant to be. Would have saved both him and Kanae a lot of heart ache,” he groused, deciding to drown his sorrow over the whole mess with the rest of the sake bottle. Watanuki had seen fit to leave them several extra in their picnic basket, just in case.

“Yes, he was a foolish boy. Right up till the end,” the witch whispered as her red eyes followed the path of another blossom. It landed in her sake, making it ripple, and she smiled sadly. “Did you know that a cherry blossom falls five centimeters per second?”

Mokona looked up at her blearily, already quite drunk by now himself. “Where did you hear that?”

Yuuko just kept smiling.

It was a warm Spring day; the cherry blossoms were in full bloom as they fell, there was good sake to be had, and Watanuki had made them special sweets just for the occasion. The kimono Yuuko wore was especially bright and beautiful and she was in the company of a good friend. Now if only they could enjoy it.

END