Episode Title: "Hitsuzen" - Inevitability
Manga Correspondance: xxxHOLiC Chapter 1
First Aired: April 6, 2006

Watanuki Kimihiro, a lanky guy dressed in a black high school uniform, strolls down a crowded street. Losing his cool after passing a few people, Watanuki is now screaming and running. Behind him, purple smog filled with lucent phantoms ogle and grab him. A heavy purple limb presses him to the ground and all the ghouls begin to pile on top of him. He struggles to get free, succeeding only when he yells and slams his hand on a nearby fence. He dusts himself off and stares at the house behind the fence that seemed to have saved him.

After standing inquisitively in front of the house for a few moments, Watanuki is compelled to enter by an unseen force. The front door flies open and he is greeted by two girls. His legs, no longer under his control, carry him deeper in the house. Inside, he meets a woman in a smoke-filled room. She informs him that his presence at her home was inevitable. Quickly thereafter, she commands Watanuki to give his watch and tell his name. He complies and she accurately deduces that his family name, Watanuki, is made-up of the kanji for the first of April - which Watanuki sheepishly admits is also his birthday. Watanuki is astounded by her correct assumption and the woman is amazed at his honesty. She says that a name and a birthdate is all she needs to see his past and future. Watanuki interrupts and indirectly asks for her name. She gives the name Ichihara Yuko, but teasingly says it is her pseudonym. Yuko introduces the two girls as Marudashi and Morodashi, Maru and Moro for short. The girls then bring in a shallow tub of water in which Yuko places a circular board. She begins to recite his past, saying that from the time he was very young he could see spirits. Watanuki now stands in bewilderment before Yuko, who eloquently explains that she must keep his watch to preserve an equal transaction.

Yuko continues to explain her ability to grant wishes, enticing Watanuki to wish for the spirits to leave him. He will have to work at the shop as payment and his wish will be granted when his work has been completed. Yuko excitedly declares a party and asks Watanuki to get her drinking buddy from storage. He returns from the storage room with a black creature with long ears. Resting in Yuko’s hands, she strokes the creature and calls it Mokona. Feeling refreshed after a three-year rest, Mokona is prepared to drink!

Mokona and Watanuki venture into town to do shopping, where they encounter a group of girls. A brown-haired girl begins to talk about her ability to see and hear strange things, entrancing Watanuki. He follows the girls for a while, listening attentively to their conversation. Suddenly, the brown-haired girl falls to the ground and clutches her head in distress. Watanuki offers consolation, but this only angers her. She sees Watanuki as someone who just doesn't understand, and even scathingly says to him, ""They're happy, aren't they? The people who can't see them." Watanuki starts to leave, but bumps shoulders with the girl. The purple ghoul that was following Watanuki wraps around the girl. She sighs, and tells her group to leave. As the girl walks away from Watanuki, the spirit smiles and waves.

Back at the house, Watanuki angrily asks Yuko about the girl and the spirit - he never wanted to transfer his spirits to someone else. Yuko assures him that that spirit was not meant for him and that the girl had possibly wished for the spirit. She continues to talk of the bond between herself and Watanuki and of destiny as Watanuki leaves the house.

The next day, Watanuki is determined to give back the pay Yuko gave him in advance and to stop serving Yuko.