XXXholic Chapters 195-198

Does Mokona miss his/her other half?

It’s been a while since I blogged XXXholic manga chapters. I was going to wait until this new plot was finished but we are 4 chapters in now and it looks like it will be going on strong for a while. And chapter 198 ended in such a way that it tortures the readers.

Why do you make me suffer CLAMP? Why?

So instead of waiting that long here we are. Watching bad scifi movies and blogging about XXXholics. I party hard on a Saturday night people.

Spoilers, I have them. But you know you want to read them.

Kick her in the face now.

It turns out the intruder/visitor is the Spider Woman. I guess I was having a brain fart for not remembering her. That and she isn’t a very nice person anyway so why remember her. I am slightly disappointed that Watanuki didn’t kick her out on her eyeballing eating ass. I guess being the shop owner means that you can’t judge people. You are there to grant wishes even if they are the wishes from people who like to maim you. How wonderful.

Better than a guard dog.

So instead of having a Watanuki spaz attack and the Spider Lady getting what she has coming to her Watanuki invites her in. And Domeki is not there to protect his little shop keeper. But never fear, the pipe fox is still around and protecting Watanuki. I miss that little guy and the way he gives Watanuki little kisses. Watanuki seems to use the pipe fox for a lot of different things. These past 4 years Watanuki has grown use to other worldly creatures. Quite a jump from scared Watanuki to mature/capable Watanuki.

Maybe she is looking for personal space?

In any event Spider Lady wants something. The Crimson Pearl to be exact. Now back in the day Watanuki would be sent out with Domeki and Yuuko would take all the credit for completing the task. But Yuuko is gone now and Watanuki can’t leave the house. That makes gathering quest items a little more difficult now right? We all know that Watanuki has to stay in the shop to minimize his impact on the world but it is still rather sad and frustrating. Especially when you have a job like Watanuki’s. But as Spider Lady points out Watanuki can locate her item another way. Lucky him.

CLAMP is allergic to kisses apparently.

Since Watanuki is the owner of the shop now he apparently is obligated to take on her request. But that doesn’t mean he gets to be sexually harassed. I do not approve of this…..payment. Also you can’t give Watanuki something of his as a payment. Stop doing that people! Domeki better kick her butt later when it turns out the Spider Lady wants the Crimson Pearl for evil.

I guess Domeki gets a little credit for being less than pleased about this development. He also thinks that Watanuki shouldn’t take this job. Good for you Domeki but we all know Watanuki is a very stubborn boy. You and Mokona and Pipe Fox better do a good job of protecting his danger magnet self.

Look at Watanuki being cool.

Watanuki uses some special spider webs left by the Spider Lady to hunt down the Crimson Pearl. It is very reminisces of Yuuko back in her prime. Or you know….when she was alive. Domeki is there to watch this magical display and I found the scene quite pretty. Also yay for Watanuki wearing something different for a change okay?!

No one panic, this is supposed to happen.

The string breaks but it’s all good. Reminds me of when Yuuko used a string to hunt down Fei Wong Reed and his soul stealing self. I laughed a bit when Watanuki had to announce that the pearl wasn’t in the shop. Dur. But now the string can be used to find where it is located now. Yay for using magics and not explaining how they work.

Could you explain one thing before torturing me with more?

But during this little pearl seeking event Watanuki sees something. It is not clear what it is. A table cloth? Someone wearing a dress? Sakura? WHAT IS IT?! Whatever it is Watanuki is really alarmed at the scene. Domeki is also surprised as Watanuki has gotten good at hiding their shared vision. So is this scene related to the Spider Lady plot or something to greater plot? Must find out.

...It seems to me Watanuki still does the dangerous stuff no matter what.

Domeki has replaced Watanuki as the errand boy. But he isn’t reluctant like Watanuki used to be. His side kick is now Kohane as Watanuki is unable to leave the shop. They walk along talking about the wonderfulness that is Watanuki. They locate where the Crimson Pearl should be which turns out to be an apartment complex.

Domeki comes back like a good lap dog and reports to Watanuki where the Pearl should be. Watanuki remembers the apartment building well. He went there once on a previous case, the one where the woman couldn’t stop using the computer…….yeah that one. XD It was fun to see Watanuki reminisce about the good old days of Yuuko treating Watanuki like dirt and Watanuki just taking it. XD

Just love me fool!

Watanuki then reverts back to his new cold self. He tries to give Domeki the brush off, dismissing him from the shop. But Domeki hasn’t changed over the years. Watanuki always tries to push him away and Domeki sticks around. Partial to annoy him and partial because he LOVES Watanuki. XD Watanuki probably tries to push him away because he doesn’t want Domeki to be hurt. Doesn’t make it any less frustrating.

I have missed you little egg! Now tell me what you are supposed to do!

AND THEN IT WAS THE EGG! The girls run in and pull Watanuki away. Domeki is still worried about the situation and pulls out THE EGG! Finally I get to see that dumb egg that I have been having nightmares about. Well clearly Domeki has decided not to use it after Yuuko died. So its function is still up in the air. I WANT TO KNOW. You tell me now CLAMP or I swear…..Okay just tell me please?

Watanuki sees dead people.

Watanuki leaves the room to go into the dream world on the couch. He enters the apartment in question and it is torn up to pieces. There is a girl equal battered and bruised on the floor. Watanuki is a little surprised to see her but rationalizes that it will be okay since she can’t see him. Watanuki is sad to learn that he is wrong and mystery girl CAN see him. Insert shock face here.

Watanuki looks more worried than she does. X_X

I swear this girl looks really familiar. Since the series is set 4 years in the future she could be anyone right? That and CLAMP is sneaky. Good thing we know what Kohane looks like. In any event the woman doesn’t appear to want to cause Watanuki any harm. She doesn’t seem to realize that she is injured but knows how it happened to her. The woman asks if Watanuki is friends with the person who owns the room. Watanuki does his best not to look utterly confused. He also tries to focus on the mission at hand which I might have often about during the WTF is going on moment.

Yeah.....friends....

The woman uses odd language to describe her situation which is typical of CLAMP. Got to be careful with the words or else we the readers might guess what is going on. Watanuki gets a little upset when she casually mentions her injuries and talks about how she got them. He accidentally wakes himself up from his dream and is disappointed with himself. He tries to make sense of Spider Lady’s intentions and why the woman was able to see him.

I miss the spazzy Watanuki.

It turns out it is a good thing Watanuki woke up from the dream world. Maru and Moro inform Watanuki that he has a phone call. And guess who it is?! Himawari. I guess some people rejoice at her return but I am more like meh. She got in the way of the Watanuki/Domeki pairing and she is actually bad luck. I miss her bird though?

And end scene!

Watanuki is happy to hear her voice and they talk about mittens and such. Nothing too, too serious. It turns out that Himawari chose to go to a university far away and that is why she hasn’t been around lately. She hasn’t put her life on hold for Watanuki like Domeki did….which makes Domeki better XD Watanuki has done a bit of growing up since he didn’t totally spaz when she called. In fact he first had a very mixed expression look on his face. But then he starts bashing Domeki and all seems well in the world. Until Himawari wants to see Watanuki is person.

END OF CHAPTER! While Himawari might not be a point of interest of me I do want to know why she would ask such a question. Did Watanuki tell her they could never see each other again or is this Himawari’s way of trying to make Watanuki leave the house? Thank goodness the next chapter will be coming out soon because I don’t want to make a big deal out of nothing.

But the egg is not nothing. It is super important and I need to know what it is now.
So hurry up CLAMP and explain things to me. And Domeki protect Watanuki a little bit better from Spider Lady next time.