AKA did you guys know that this chapter is 54 pages long.
Fifty four.
Just for reference a normal chapters of Tsubasa is like 17 pages on average. That’s less than a third of the length of this chapter.
In which Clamp is trying to kill me. Again.
BUT, ANYWAY, WE OPEN WITH WATANUKI THEORETICALLY HAVING EVERYTHING HE WANTS IN THE WORLD. IE, HIMAWARI ALL TO HIMSELF WITH NO DOUMEKI IN SIGHT.
Doumeki has been avoiding Watanuki. Very successfully. And yet, can you guess where Hitsuzen leads him?
OF COURSE YOU CAN. Because we are all more self-aware than Watanuki even on our worst days.
In which Doumeki is already done with your shit and he hasn’t even seen you for like two weeks. Watanuki you’re setting world records here.
Doumeki grumpily asks him to leave - WHICH, if Watanuki was even half serious about hating being around Doumeki, would have had him leaping at the opportunity. Instead he sticks around asking questions and striking up conversation and EVENTUALLY SPENDING HOURS HELPING HIM CLEAN THE FAMILY TEMPLE.
SOMEHOW.
Of course, being Watanuki, he complains about this bitterly in the next scene, but I want to point out that none of this is forced on him by Doumeki in the slightest. Doumeki gives him every opening to leave, but Watanuki lingers anyway, even when he’s run out of excuses. In the translation we have here Doumeki even leads his suggestion with “If you want to help me” - which is conversational, sure, but also somewhat literal here. Watanuki could easily have refused. And outwardly he does. But if there are two things he secretly loves it’s (a) cleaning, and (b) yelling at Doumeki, so this is his chance to spend an afternoon doing both.
My favourite thing here is that Watanuki not only physically gives Doumeki the book called “Book of Lifting Curses”, but has also remembered the title, recited it to Yuuko, and then STILL doesn’t click on to why Doumeki might be reading it. LIKE.
NOT EVEN SLIGHTLY. Yuuko even flat out asks him about it in the net page and STILL.
I MEAN IT’S RIGHT THERE IN THE TITLE WATANUKI WHAT THE HELL ELSE IS HE GOING TO USE THE BOOK FOR.
HONESTLY.
And then when Yuuko explains it to him and he gets mad and objects to it verbally Yuuko gives some very good advice.
I mean, it IS very good advice. If it bothers him he doesn’t have to talk to Doumeki. Talking to Doumeki is ENTIRELY OPTIONAL in this situation. No-one is forcing him to do anything, and just like Doumeki earlier, Yuuko is giving him a very obvious out.
And yet here we are.
And it’s beautiful.
For all Watanuki complains and claims that he’s roped into things against his will, all of this was done on his own initiative. He blusters through with bravado and angry shouting because it’s the only way to uphold the thin facade he’s still clinging to here, and the only way he can convince himself that he’s not doing exactly what he IS doing. Which is voluntarily making Doumeki handmade lunches and spending all his free time in his company. I’m not sure whether Watanuki will ever realise that this has ALWAYS been optional. He’s never HAD to make Doumeki lunch, not really, and he never had to care about him either. It’s just easier for him to pretend that it wasn’t his choice, and I think that, at least, Doumeki understands far better than Watanuki ever will.
Because when it comes down to it, pretending like things are normal is easier than acknowledging that they’re not. And when the plotline does rear it’s head between them, Watanuki loses all his false attitude.
Of course it turns out there is IS, in fact, a precise way to lift the curse on Watanuki’s eye, but as hitsuzen would happen IT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
I MEAN REALLY WHAT DID WE EXPECT? THIS IS CLAMP.
(please enjoy the fact that it looks like Doumeki and Watanuki are staring into the camera like they’re on The Office here. You’re welcome)
We also get Exhibit 87 of Doumeki caring more about Watanuki than his own well being, because he wants to freaking wrestle the book right out of the evil spirit’s mouth.
He doesn’t even acknowledge the fact that it’s dangerous here, instead only countering that the BOOK is in danger. Ie, he can’t restore Watanuki’s sight if he doesn’t get himself hurt here, SO HE’S GOING TO GET HIMSELF HURT HERE. THAT’S ALL THERE IS TO IT.
Of course Watanuki doesn’t give him the chance, and so we’re left with Yuuko saving the day instead.
And we get a bit of resolution to the conflict with a spirit, but not to the conflict between the two boys.
Doumeki is crushed that his only method of restoring Watanuki’s eye has disappeared right before his eyes.
It’s beyond disappointing to him, especially because the person who prevented him from sacrificing his own well being to save Watanuki was Watanuki himself.
But what does that situation echo? It’s such a direct parallel to what’s already come before, and yet I don’t think either of them realises it. Like with the spider, Doumeki was ready and willing to throw himself in clear danger to reverse the effects of what’s already been done, but this is exactly what he’s mad at Watanuki for doing in the first place. Watanuki holds him back from getting hurt, but I don’t think he realises that Doumeki would have done the exact same thing for him if he had been present when confronting the spider.
So even though the cycle of the spider’s curse is over, it’s continuing regardless, and both boys are just as blind as each other when it comes to this topic.
But on the flipside, things only turned out the way they did because Watanuki came here voluntarily. He was given every opportunity to ignore Doumeki entirely (and the chapter literally opens with him saying how much he LOVES doing exactly that), but he cares too much to actually do it. If he hadn’t cared, he wouldn’t have visited, and no-one would have been there to stop Doumeki hurling himself at the spirit as it ate the spell. Who knows if he would have even survived in that scenario?
But JUST TO LEAVE YOU WITH SOME MORE OMINOUS WORDS, YUUKO ICHIHARA SWOOPS IN TO GIVE US EVERYTHING WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR.
