xxxHOLiC 158

1
[Top text: Watanuki and Kohane... and the happiness unfolding between them.]
[sFX: chop, chop]
Watanuki: Doing all right there, Kohane-chan?
Kohane: Uh-huh...
[sFX: stare]

2-3
xxxHOLiC
Chapter 158
[insert text: That which he paid as the price to grant a wish. // His own precious... memories.]
[Pink text: "I can't remember my own past, or even the names of my parents." Watanuki's memories were sealed away for the sake of granting a wish. "I want you to keep those memories safe, for the sake of the two futures." Yuuko's painful and weighty words. Where will the future lead...?!]

4
Kohane: Yes...
[sFX: bubble, bubble]
Kohane: It's turned out pretty well. // It's all because you taught me so well.
Watanuki: No, you're just good at it, Kohane-chan.
OldWoman: I suppose... // ...you're both just as good as one another.

5
[side text: In exchange for her power of exorcism, Kohane wished for happiness. Bubbling away in that pot... the old woman's secret formula, and a soup of happiness!!]
OldWoman: My, my. / That does look tasty.
[sFX: bubble, bubble]
Kohane: It's called "spinach and meatball stew", apparently.
OldWoman: You certainly have learned a lot in a very short space of time, haven't you... / Kohane-chan.
Kohane: ......
Watanuki: [aside]Hm?[/aside]
[sFX: munch munch munch munch munch munch munch munch]

6
Watanuki: Hey... / Could you STOP munching away at those crackers in there like you're some kind of rat?!!
[sFX: SLAM]
[sFX: munch munch]
Doumeki: Hey, I was invited.
[sFX: munch...]
Watanuki: Kohane-chan, you really didn't have to invite a guy like this!
Kohane: Oh, but I wanted to see Shizuka-kun! // I wanted to have him eat the food I'm making...
Watanuki: [aside]Ugghhhh![/aside]
[sFX: rattle rattle]

7
Watanuki: At any rate, / "Shizuka-kun" really doesn't suit him! Not a guy like Doumeki!
Doumeki: [aside]eh, shaddup...[/aside]
[sFX: munch munch]
[sFX: stare]
Doumeki: Munch.
Watanuki: You just SAID "munch" just then, didn't you! // [aside]and if you could say that, you could've asked for tea properly!![/aside]
OldWoman: They certainly get along well. // [aside]hohoho[/aside]
[sFX: nod]
Watanuki: I feel like all the women of the world are misunderstanding me!!
[sFX: collapse~]

8
Kohane: ...Thank you. // For allowing me to stay here like this.
OldWoman: What is there to thank me for? // Being allowed to take in a lovely young girl like yourself... // I am the one who should be thanking Yuuko-chan for the pleasure.
Flashback!Yuuko: Even if your power is gone, and the rumours are dealt with... / Still, I have done nothing to your mother herself.

9
Flashback!Yuuko: It is only those on the outside that I can deal with for the price. // You yourselves are the only ones who can change your own internal affairs.
Flashback!Kohane: ...Yes.
Flashback!Yuuko: What your mother needs right now is to be left alone. // To be alone, / and come not only to know, but to understand.

10
Flashback!Yuuko: What it is that she has to change, that is.
Flashback!Kohane: And until then, she would be better off not having me around.
Flashback!Yuuko: ...Yes.
Flashback!Watanuki: But Kohane-chan, you can't just live on your own...
Flashback!Mokona: How about staying at Doumeki's?! / His place is big!
Flashback!Watanuki: Whaaa?!

11
Flashback!Doumeki: I wouldn't mind. / I have the space.
Flashback!Kohane: ...Thank you.
Flashback!Watanuki: Whaaaat?! / But if she stays there... then I'll have to go to Doumeki's if I want to see Kohane-chan?! // [aside]that would kinda suck!![/aside]
Flashback!Yuuko: That wouldn't be too bad an idea, though, if your grandfather was still around... // ...Wouldn't it be nice if you could improve your "seeing" ability while you are waiting for your mother?
Flashback!Kohane: Yes.
Flashback!Yuuko: In that case... // How about we try asking that person!

12
Kohane: Still... / To have you just take me in like this... // And even teach me all sorts of things... // I... have nothing to give in return...
OldWoman: I have performed many divinations in my time... // ...And I have learned much of seeing people, the stars, and the paths ahead... // When I die, all of that learning will simply vanish. // But Kohane-chan, if I were able to pass that learning on to you... / ...it would not end there.

13
OldWoman: That bond between you and me would live on and on... // Nothing could make me happier than that.

14
Kohane: ...Thank you. // I am truly happy, as well... // ...Happy to have met you.

15
OldWoman: My, my... if we're not careful, all this lovely food is going to get cold.
[sFX: DON]
Doumeki: This was a token I received from the templegoers. / I heard you enjoy your drink, so...
Watanuki: Why, you...! / You're still underage, you know!
OldWoman: Oh, no, no, that was a long time ago now, you know. I don't know that I could handle four bottles at a sitting these days.
[sFX: collapse~]

16
Watanuki: [aside]"can't handle four"... does that mean she can handle three...?![/aside]
OldWoman: Well, since we're drinking a special bottle of sake... / We ought to get out the special glasses to drink it from. // [aside]there we go...[/aside]
Kohane: Oh, I'll get them!
OldWoman: They're up on a shelf in the storeroom. / They're pretty high up, though.
[sFX: stand]
Watanuki: That's right, you do some work for once.
Doumeki: Well, you know, I am taller. / Than you.
[sFX: guaaaahhh!]
Watanuki: Only a BIT taller!! / [aside]a tiny, tiny bit!![/aside]

17
[sFX: shut]
[sFX: fu~me]
OldWoman: That boy... he's the one I told you about. / The "boy with whom you do nothing but fight", yes?
Watanuki: [aside]ughh...[/aside] // Y - / Yes, he is.
OldWoman: Seems you're getting along rather nicely.
Watanuki: I'd rather not!
OldWoman: But the fact that you're getting along with him... / ...just shows how much you've changed, Kimihiro-kun.

18
Watanuki: ...Have I changed? // Really...
OldWoman: I think you yourself should know that better than anyone else.

19
Watanuki: ...Yes, you're right.
OldWoman: Yuuko-chan has changed too, you know.
Watanuki: Huh?
OldWoman: Ever since she met you...

20
Watanuki: ...Yuuko-san... too...
Doumeki: ...This?
Kohane: I think so. // Hey, Shizuka-kun...
Doumeki: What?
Kohane: Well... / ...It's about Kimihiro-kun...
[side text: Even without her "power to exorcise", Kohane still has her "power to see"!! What future do those uneasy eyes see for Watanuki...?!]