Kobato

"DOBATO!" Ioryogi hollered at the young girl. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING?!"

"Waah!" she cowered. "I was only trying to help!"

"Did you really think that washing the rice meant dumping it all into the sink?!" The angry blue dog growled. The blue dog yelled at her, screaming so loud that neither of them noticed that her front door opened.

"I'm sorry!"

"DOBATA HANATO!" Ioryogi walked with his arms crossed. "At this rate you'll never grant your wish."

"No!" the innocent girl's demeanor turned desperate. "I have to get there!!"

"Then DOBATO, you have to--" The dog stopped yelling and spun around. Ioryogi and Kobato were shocked to see an equally stunned Fujimoto standing in the door. It was too late to pretend to be a dog -Kiyokasu had seen them.

"I…heard yelling…" Fujimoto explained after finding his voice. "Same one as a few times. I could never explain it, why I kept hearing two voices from you."

"Fujimoto-San." Kobato's eyes were wide. She looked to her adviser. "Ioryogi-San…What will I…?"

The blue dog turned his head, glaring at the intruder, then looked to the girl sadly. "Kobato-chan…" he said, his voice sounding softer than it ever had. "You know the terms of granting your wish."

Tears filled Kobato's impossibly wide eyes and she trembled. "No…No, please!"

He put a paw on her shoulder. "If at any time you were exposed….She cannot grant your wish now."

Kobato broke down and fell to the floor, sobbing. Fujimoto looked confused and knelt before the girl. "Wish? What--?"

"I need to go!" Kobato sobbed. Ioryogi looked away as a woman walked in the door. She was beautiful with black hair that fell to her ankles. Her short bangs fell just before her red eyes, which sadly gazed at the young girl.

"Kotabo-chan," she spoke.

The crying girl looked up pleadingly. "Yuuko-Sama…"

Yuuko wiped a tear from Kobato's face. The drop was immediately replaced. Nothing could ease the girl's pain, as all of her efforts were ruined.

"I'm sorry. The terms were broken…and our contract is void. My magic won't sustain your form any longer. I wanted to see your wish fulfilled but… this is Hitsuzen."

Fujimoto could only watch as the woman stepped back. Kobato wailed in despair and began to disintegrate before his eyes. He reached out to her, but couldn't stop her from vanishing. A chirping sound replaced her sobs and a small white bird was left where the girl had been.

Yuuko scooped up the small creature, stroking its feathers soothingly.

"W-what the hell happened?!" Fujimito stood and starred at the bird.

The small blue dog toy scowled. He couldn't look at the bird, the girl he had grown fond of and hoped to see succeed. "Kobato…See ya." He nodded to Yuuko before vanishing.

"Who was that? Who are you? Where's Hanato?" Fujimoto frantically approached Yuuko, trying to stop himself from grabbing her and forcing her to tell him.

Yuuko watched him, her red eyes sad. The small bird flew our the door, still chirping loudly.

"Kobato was a dove with a wish… She paid a price, but I had terms for this magic to protect those involved." She watched the door where the bird had fled. "If Ioryogi-San was ever discovered, she would return to her true form, and I couldn't help her go where she needed."

"Where did she need to go?"

"That is something she knows," Yuuko said evasively. She stepped out the doors. "It's a shame really…" she remarked before walking away.

Kiyokasu looked at the now empty apartment, amazed that in such a short amount of time, he had lost so much.

...

Kiyokasu unlocked his apartment door. Sighing, he flopped on his futon, not bothering to change out of his day clothes. He looked at the open window.

Two weeks had passed since Kobato had disappeared. Fujimoto couldn't even tell Sayaka. She wouldn't' believe it if he had told her. He wouldn't believe it if he hadn't been there. Now, it was as if she had never existed, never worked with him, never lived right there. The only reminder that she had ever been there was the deep longing in his heart.

He left the window open, hoping that she would come back. Sighing again, he rolled over, facing the opposite wall and fell asleep.

..

A quiet chirp woke the boy from his dreams of a long-haired, clumsy girl. He blinked and starred, startled at the white bird that gently pecked his nose.

"Ko…bato?" he asked. The bird chirped lightly. He felt ridiculous expressing his feelings to a bird, but he said, "I'm sorry…that your wish wasn't granted…because of me."

The bird chirped and looked to the window. A blue bird fluttered in, and joined Kobato. He blinked at Fujimoto before both birds took flight out the window.

Kiyokasu smiled, somehow feeling that maybe Kobato's wish had been granted, and that she didn't blame him for the setback. She was now with the one she most wanted to see, and would finally be happy.

"Goodbye…Kobato."