Written by Himoki Maeko

AU, fairy tale type story.

Original concept by Doujin circle Okonyo Konyomo ^^

-Story Start-

Chapter One:

Hmm...this story can begin on... a rainy evening in late June, along the light spackled streets of Tokyo in its rainy season. They were less crowded streets, somewhere, in a less busy district of the big city. Tonoin Kei, or Kei Tonoin to those of us who are from the west, was a quiet man. While he was valuable, well liked, constantly swooned over and sometimes idolized, he was still self kept. Despite all the adoration he received, Kei had yet to establish any real connection with anyone but books and music. Classical music was his favorite, full of meaning, emotion, mathematical precision, faith and most importantly, depth. He found it a soothing balm in a world that held somewhat less interest for him than it did for most others. He felt that life lacked what it needed most, for him, and that was feeling. As the world moved around him bound together, he found himself lonely even in the most crowded places, and so it was with this existence that he sought refuge in books that spoke for themselves, and never argued their emotional depth or lack thereof.

It was in books that he first heard of them, the small pixies that lived all around the world right down to the city he lived inside of. But who could have really believed? Only mad men saw pixies, and Kei was eccentric, but not insane. So, as one could imagine, it came as a great shock to him when upon the beginning of our story, he found that he could see them.

-

Alone on a moist June evening, Tonoin found himself wandering the streets of the Fujimi Ginza in search of one of his less dedicated passions, good coffee. Upon the discovery of a shop with a promising name, that was, the Mozart Café, he entered into the dry air conditioning and first learned of his odd aptitude.

Tonoin was a tall man. He was six foot two! And considering he was of Japanese decent, he was no smaller than huge to most normal men, and rather noticeable. Although he had naturally developed a habit of slouching so as to be less noticeable, while traveling abroad to the west he had developed good posture, and so stuck out all the more as he towered over the heads of most everyone. It was alright though. Once he'd drawn attention to himself, there was rarely a negative reaction. He was a handsome man, after all. He wore his dark hair brushed back out of his face, and his pale blue eyes were intense and brooding. Women whispered and giggled wherever he happened to wander.

It was never any fault of Japan's that had inspired his desire to travel abroad. His reason for studying abroad was, quite simply, his family. They had been and always would remain profitable bankers. Well respected but traditional people, they had hoped that their son would follow in their footsteps and one day inherit the business, but Kei had wanted to be a musician. A conductor, actually. He had always had an ear for music, and an aptitude for making it sound better, so he had gone to study classical music in Europe, and had learned from the best. He would be brilliant, if he ever got around to applying himself.

In any case, he did not come into the coffee shop to reminisce of his adventures. He was simply a strikingly tall man who had entered into the shop to perhaps do a bit of reading over a good cup of gourmet coffee. Something else, however, happened instead.

"Welcome!" The owner of the shop called from behind his counter, waving in his new customer. He was a short but friendly looking fellow, with thick glasses and a receding hair line.

Kei watched the small man with little interest as he poured a few drinks. A thin waitress skirted past Kei and moved to the bar where she collected the cups on a tray, and waited patiently for her employer to finish making the order.

That was when Kei saw it.

A small figure darted from behind an overturned teacup, holding a small white square. At first Kei had to look twice at it to be sure, but he was positive that it was really there. It was a small person, and it was holding a sugar cube.

Kei held rapt attention on the small man. At least Kei was pretty sure that the creature was male by its clothing. It dashed down the bar and tossed the sugar cube into one of the cups on the tray. As quickly as it had run to the cup, it fled from it, and came to a stop just behind the first teacup, apparently intentionally overturned, on the far end of the bar, to peer around at the woman.

At first Kei didn't know what to make of it. A small man with glasses and dark brown hair was not something one saw all around. It wasn't something one read of in many books either, but Tonoin had. Still, a...a pixie? How could it be..? Or more pressingly, could it really even be at all?

The girl hadn't seemed to have noticed the presence of the small man standing on the far end of the bar, as she picked up the tray and carried it off. The young man did not seem put out by her lack of attention, either. It was highly probable that she had not seen him at all, for as Kei's books had pointed out, not many people could see pixies. Then again, as far as he'd always known, neither could he, and here was one dashing around before his very eyes.

Checking his sanity, Kei tried to remember what the conditions for seeing the creatures were. If he could remember correctly, it could have something to do with the amount of appreciation one had for them, but more importantly, it was due to the appropriateness of the pixies in the lives of those who could see them. That was to say, if those who could see them were in need of help, then the pixies would appear to them. But what could Kei possibly need help with, really?

Suddenly needing desperately to know if the pixie was real or if he was losing his mind, Tonoin took a few forceful steps closer to the counter, the teacup and the pixie. Startled by the customer's odd behavior and quick movements, the pixie turned an alarmed face to Kei. Perhaps assuming that it would get only a blank stare, or to see Kei looking elsewhere entirely, the small man became further unsettled as his look met with the burning gaze of Tonoin's pressing stare.

The alarmed young man panicked, and made motions to hide beside his cup. He did not succeed very well, but that was, of course, to Tonoin's benefit. He recognized the face of the pixie from rough sketches in his books, but it was the large round frames of its glasses that made it so easy for Tonoin to quickly identify. They were called 'Morimura Yuki' pixies, and Kei had found them to be his favorite pixies, both looks and temperament, of all that he'd read about. After all, from what most books that made mention of them had stated, they seemed to be the ideal companions, especially for him. Good caretakers, friendly and polite creatures that were attracted by good music, coffee, and independent minded personality types.

Kei felt a wave of need crash over him. Thinking of it all, and seeing one before him huddled on the counter top...Kei wanted to take him home more than anything else in the world. It was as if he'd found the only cure in the universe for his loneliness...and it was finally within his grasp.

"What can I get for you?" The owner asked cheerfully, finally free to attend to his new customer. When Tonoin only glanced at him before his gaze returned elsewhere, the owner followed the man's stare to the teacup. He saw that his small pixie, Morimura-chan as he called him, was just behind the cup, huddled and holding a sugar cube over his lightly shaking head. Feeling concern for his small friend, the owner, named Ishida, shifted closer to the end of the bar, and again addressed Tonoin. "Sir?"

"Shop Owner," Tonoin spoke forcefully, eyes ablaze with longing. "Is that a Morimura pixie?"

Ishida looked down at his shivering pixie. "Oh, you can see him eh? You're the first person besides me." The shop owner grinned, but seemed reluctant to look Tonoin in the eye. "Yep. He's a genuine Morimura pixie." He set his hand down near the unnerved pixie, and it jumped onto it eager for safety.

"Is he yours?" Kei pressed, "Please, I must have him!" He felt more desperate now than he had in his entire life. As if the discovery that he could see the Morimura were a curse cast on him, he felt as though he might die if he did not have the creature as his own.

"Ano..." Ishida said, reluctant to give up his small coworker. "I found him here. He just appeared here on the premises one day, about a year after we opened." He lifted the pixie to the side of his face affectionately. The pixie gave his owner an equally affectionate, though awkward, hug on the cheek. "I read up a bit on his type. He is the 'Assisting Morimura,' and he likes to help me out around here."

Kei could see that the man appreciated his pixie a great deal. He almost certainly would not have persisted, did he not feel overwhelmed with desire and adoration for the small creature.

"Please Owner!" Kei practically shouted, and slammed both his fists down on the counter top in insistence. Somehow it didn't matter that the entirety of the cafe's patrons were now watching him. "I beg you! I must have that Morimura! I will give you anything you ask for that I can give you, but I need him more than life itself." The desperation of Tonoin was more than apparent on his features and in his voice.

At first Ishida was quite taken aback by the bold assault by the man. But as he stared into Tonoin's desperate, darkened gaze, it became apparent to him that the yearning of the man before him was not just for a rare thing to perhaps collect or display, but for something much deeper.

Ishida felt torn between the desire to ease the man's desperation, and his own beloved friendship with his pixie partner. The Morimura had appeared to him to offer help just as he had been on the brink of closing his shop, but the business's hardships had subsided, and now he kept and adored the pixie for his help and companionship. Ishida had read many sources of pixie information, however, and he knew, perhaps even without the books, that people only saw the pixies as long as they were truly needed. The fact that the man before him could see the pixie spoke honestly to the choice Ishida knew he needed to make.

He looked down at his Morimura-chan. The pixie shook his head 'no' vigorously, but it didn't really register within Ishida.

After several moments heavily laden with silence, Tonoin spoke again.

"All my life I have searched for a companion. Someone who could truly understand me, in a way that no one has ever been able to. I have come to wonder if the Morimura-san might not be the one who can do so..."

The normally stately Tonoin was clearly sharing honest feelings. He looked on the verge of tears. "Please. I'm begging you!" He bowed his head deeply and wrung his hands together.

With a sigh and a truly conflicted expression, Ishida spoke once again. "Morimura-chan and I have worked with each other for many years now, and have grown very close. I trust him and find him to be quite irreplaceable...so..."

The Morimura looked relieved, as he believed that he was to be kept safe from the man who looked to be dangerous and unpredictable.

"...Please take very good care of him."

The scene happened so quickly that perhaps the impact of it did not reach anyone immediately. Anyone but the Morimura. The little pixie was stunned. He was horrified and near heartbroken. How could Ishida just give him away like this? he wondered...but pixie Morimura remained silent, as he almost always did.

"Thank you!" Tonoin bowed deeply with relief and gratitude. "I am truly grateful." He bowed again and again, and was given his new pixie in a tea cup.

-

Tonoin looked over at the teacup on his desk again anxiously.

He really didn't know what he was supposed to do with the little pixie, consitering he didn't really need an assistant, but whatever it was, the little man did not seem keen on doing it with him anyway.

Assisting Morimura was huddled around himself inside his cup, clutching his knees in the most disheartened way. Tonoin wanted to give the small man something, anything to make him less miserable, for he had sympathy. The poor guy probably had never dreamed he'd just be given away to a stranger.

Kei thought a while about what to do with the pixie. He had worked in a coffee shop, perhaps coffee would cheer him up? Kei went into his kitchen and prepaired some. He poured a small amount of it into a creamer container, as it was the smallest liquid container he had in his kitchen. He then placed it on a tray beside a normal sized cup filled for himself.

When he returned to his living/bedroom the pixie was where he'd left him, still looking mistreated in his teacup.

"Morimura-san? Would you like some coffee?" Tonoin inquired and got no responce. He stepped over to his desk, and, thinking that perhaps the creature was asleep, he nudged it very gently with one finger.

Alarmed, the small man lept to his feet and gave Tonoin a nasty glare. He then leapt out of his cup, and pulled it over on its side. Then, he leaned just inside it before grabbing the egde, and pulling it down over his head, thus rendering himself unobservable.

Tonoin felt like he was going to cry, though he wasn't exactly sure why. "Morimura-san..." He stammered, but decided it was better to leave the small creature alone lest he infuriate it further. With a sigh he returned the cups to the kitchen, and went into the bathroom for a shower and to prepare for bed.

Once cleaned and dressed for the night, he picked up the book in which he'd first read about the pixie Morimuras. He lay down on his bed to read a while. There were a number of different types of pixies, the Morimuras were one type on their own. The official name for the species was the 'Morimura Yuki' and it seemed that there were one hundred and one sub-species of them, if one were to give it the unfitting label of 'sub-species.' One hundred of them were documented, but the final one had never been discovered, and was only known of through mentions made of it in passing by the other Yukis.

There was a myth that if all 101 of the Morimura types were collected in one place together, then whoever brought them together would be granted any wish that they desired. Tonoin thought a moment about what he would wish for, but dismissed the idea quickly, realizing he would probably never find another one, let alone 99 more of them plus one that no one had ever seen. He went back to reading.

Apparently only one man had ever come close to success at collecting all of the Morimura Yuki, but after finding all of the first 99, he was never able to find the last two. The man had published the most comprehensive guide on the Morimura to date. Tonoin recognized his name. He decided he would purchase the man's book in the morning, and look up the Assisting Morimura.

Tonoin got up off his bed and walked over to the overturned teacup.

"M...Morimura-san?" He said quietly.

There was no responce.

Gently he lifted the cup up and peered down at the small form. The Morimura was sleeping in a rather uncomfortable looking curl. But rather then to wake and upset the small man, he chose to go into his drawer, and pull out an old shirt. He took the shirt into the bathroom and cut out two pieces from it. He returned to the sleeping pixie and set the larger of the two pieces of fabric near him, incase he should wake and wish for something to fold and lay on. He placed the second piece of his shirt over the man gently, then replaced the teacup quietly.

Tonoin then turned out the lights and went to bed, though sleep seemed to take its time on arriving...

-

As when Tonoin awoke the next morning, the pixie still hated him emencely and would not come out from beneath his cup, and when Tonoin had attempted persisting, the small man had thrown the pieces of his shirt out in his face...Kei left some food out on the desk beside the teacup and went to the bookstore on his own.

He located the man's book and purchased it. He decided to read it a bit before returning home, so he passed through the near by park and took a seat on a bench. Perhaps by reading the book he'd be able to better decern a way to cheer up his pixie.

The man's picture was printed on the book's jacket on the inside pannel. He was a forceful looking fellow, very serious and unhappy looking. Tonoin raised a skeptical eyebrow, but read the introduction anyway. It didn't tell him much, just that the man was driven to find them all, and how he had been lucky. He had been able to locate nearly all of them within Tokyo. Of course, the city was very big. To find 100 little pixies in it sounded a lot easier then it probably was.

Chapter after chapter contained information on the pixies, one type at a time. They were seperated into catagories by the overall temperment of each of them, which seemed to range (oddly) only from almost pleasant to completely miserable sounding. He looked up his by the index.

The Assisting Morimura. Its natural drive was aparently, the desire to help other people with their work. Tonoin decided that if the pixie ever started speaking to him that he would be sure to let it help him do his housework. More than anything else, what pleased the Assisting pixie was having something to do along side someone else. Tonoin couldn't help but grin at the good spirited helpfulness of his pixie. It made him feel sort of proud.

Overall there wasn't a whole lot of information. More than anything else, the book contained observations of what the pixies did in different situations. A bit on how they interacted, a bit on their temperaments...but by the author's account, most of the Morimura Yukis' were quite unpleasant. This was odd, because most other people who had written about the Morimura, who had owned only one or two, had all given them excellant reviews. Maybe they didn't get along in large numbers, Tonoin thought.

The Morimura pixies on a whole apparently enjoyed classical music, coffee, violins, nice weather, gardening and kind people. All of the Morimura pixies were located in situations that involved at least one of the above.

Who could ask for a better companion? Tonoin wondered. He loved all of the same things. Classical music was his fortay. It was what he was studying at his college, and what he'd traveled abroad to learn about...and he could do coffee.

-

"Morimura~san~ I'm home," Tonoin called out as he returned and removed his shoes.

Upon setting down his things he cast a glance at the teacup he expected to be hiding his companion. Surprisingly though the pixie had moved since he'd left. Not only that but the tray he'd left with food on it had vanished.

At a loss, Tonoin crept around his apartment in search of the pixie and his coffee tray. Finally he entered into the kitchen, and it was there that he recovered his tray. It had been returned to the kicthen and cleaned. But where was Morimura? Ah! There was the culprate, hiding behind the coffee maker.

How cute can you be? Tonoin grinned.

"Morimura-san, thank you. You cleaned up for me. I apprieciate it." He said, peering around the appliance to see his small house maid.

Assistant Yuki didn't say anything. He just sort of...looked away and...quite effectively, for using no words, gave the overall impression that he didn't do it for him, he did it because that's what he did.

Tonoin smiled anyway, and looked at the clean tray laying in the dish drainer. "More than anything else I must say that I'm impressed," He remarked, actually somewhat confused. "How did you manage to carry that thing all the way into the kitchen? And then to wash it, as well. It must have been difficult."

The pixie did not give any indication one way or another. He trotted across the counter, then disappeared behind the stove.

"Morimura-san!" Tonoin became alarmed. What could the pixie be doing back there? It wasn't a good place to be messing around, one would think. He tried to figure out how he would get the pixie back out if he got stuck behind the appliance. "Morimura-san! Are you alright?" He called down the back of his stove.

He felt a tugging at his pant leg and turned around quickly, careful to not move his foot so as to not knock over the small man.

"Morimura-san!" Tonoin said, relief flooding his face. He started to bend down to pick up the pixie, but Assisting Yuki had other ideas. He took off running and hid behind the door to the main room, peering around it at Kei.

"Sorry," Kei said, realizing how it must be to have someone fifty times your size advancing on you. "Ah...where did you sleep before you came here?"

The little man in glasses disappeared from view around the doorframe, so Kei followed. As he came into the room, he found that the Yuki had somehow, amazingly quickly scurried up the desk and was now standing beside his teacup.

"You slept inside a teacup?" Kei asked.

The pixie just looked back at him dully.

"I see. Well..." Kei looked around for a moment. "Is there anything I can get you to make your bed more...comfortable? You may use anything you find laying around in here...but if you need anything, please just ask me."

The Yuki looked over Tonoin skeptically.

Tonoin had read in his book that the Yuki pixies could talk, but that they usually did not, so he didn't feel particularly offended by his companion's silence.

The small man then crossed over to the edge of the desk he was on.

Tonoin watched in silence as he hopped from drawer knob to drawer knob until he reached the floor. He then crossed over to one of Tonoin's many CD shelves. They were really book shelves, but most of them were filled with row after row of CDs, mostly classical. The pixie shuffled up to the top of it, which was just about exactly the hight of Tonoin.

Once at his destination he pointed over at his teacup and motioned for Tonoin to bring it to him. Tonoin followed his instructions, placing the cup beside the Assistant.

Yuki pushed it back away from the edge a little bit, and then hopped inside it. It was right side up, so Tonoin could see Yuki's head over the top of it. The pixie did not make any further requests, and just sat inside the cup like a reclining chair, disappearing from view.

Tonoin sighed and shrugged. He couldn't expect to be liked right away, he supposed. He went into the kitchen and remerged with an apple and his Morimura book in hand. He sat down beside his bed.

He needed to think of a course of action. The idea of collecting the Morimura pixies seemed suddenly very appealing. If even disagreeable ones like the Assisting would clean up his mansion, then one of the nicer ones...like the 'Endearing' or 'Adoring' Morimuras' company would be...Tonoin felt his heart race at the idea. Maybe he really could have a proper companion in these little fellows.

Ah, but how was he supposed to find them? He'd never even seen one until the day before, and he had lived in Japan from the day he was born until he turned 18. He looked up at the teacup on his dresser, then back down at his book.

Well...he'd have to start at the begining, wouldn't he?

"Morimura-san," Tonoin asked, pulling himself off the floor, "I'm going out to the store, would you like to come?" When he got no responce, he excused himself. "See you later," he said, and left the apple laying by his pillow.