III. Shoplive

Watanuki first comes around Yuuko's shop by accident. He was hunted by a spirit again, when he touched the fence around her house. The spirit suddenly disappears and Watanuki finds himself in the shop, not knowing why. A strange looking house with garden in the middle of the city, surrounded by skyscrapers.

In the shop he gets acquainted to Yuuko-San, the shopowner. She tells him ,that it's fade he entered this shop and that she's the one who can fullfill his wishes. To prove her powers are true, she tells him something about his past, just knowing his name and birthday. She also knows, he sees spirits and it's his wish, to lose this power. Because nothing in life is for free, he has to pay a prize: Working in her shop as helping hand ... or better "utility man".

Watanuki's mainjob is cooking. Once he had to get up in the middle of the night, just to make valentinesday chocolate for Yuuko-San and Mokona. What goes with this, is buying food and - Yuuko's favourite - alcohol. Sometimes also medicine against the hang over after a carousal...
Yuuko-San isn't just hoggish, she's also very untidy. In her storage room, she stockpiles all the things she's taking from her customers as payment. It surely takes a lifetime to clean up this room... Poor Watanuki, it drives him nuts, going in there. It's not good to be a maniac for housework when "jobing" for a messy person.

Sometimes, he has to go in the storage room, not to clean up, but to take stuff out for a new customer, because Maru and Moro are not allowed to touch specified things in there, because they have no soul (eg. black and white Mokona).

Another part of Watanuki's work, is helping Yuuko-San with her jobs. Watanuki and Doumeki-Kun have to do the dirrty job, while Yuuko is sitting at home and gives instructions. Watanuki is just doing this, because he wants his payment to be done. Poor boy, I can't say this enough.

Of course, all the work freaks him out, but step after step the beginns to realise, that all the things he has to do take affect on him and help him to grow. Yuuko not the bad employer he thought she was, but everything she makes him do is a lesson he needs to be tought and understand. His narrowminded view on things starts to disappear and he now sees the world in all its colors and its mysteries.

He's doing so much in the shop, and still he has to work. Why? First of all, everytime something broke, got lost or whatever, Yuuko-San extends his workingtime. Same thing, when she helps him with something, like in the story with Doumeki-Kun's soul and the Zashikidoushi. The second thing still a mystery. Yuuko-San seems to be very interessed in his powers and what he's doing. There are rumors that Yuuko might want to make Watanuki the new owner of her shop sooner or later. I makes sense, but if Clamp's the same opinion - we'll see!

To be continued...