Doumeki, Haruka
Summary
Haruka Dōmeki is the grandfather of Haruka Dōmeki and serves as the Shinto priest at the shrine where his grandson currently resides. Although he passed away some time ago, he remains a frequent subject in the younger Haruka’s narratives, even though the specific cause of his death has not been revealed. Physically, the elder Haruka bears a striking resemblance to his grandson but possesses a noticeably more cheerful and outgoing demeanor. He was responsible for teaching Shizuka a wealth of knowledge regarding folklore, mythology, and shrine rituals, and he maintained an extensive library that the current Haruka continues to use and preserve. As the local priest, Haruka possessed the ability to perceive spirits and exorcise them, a skill that was passed down to his grandson, although Dōmeki inherited the exorcism capability without the ability to see the spirits. His method of exorcism involved shooting arrows crafted from chi, similar to his grandson’s approach. The high quality of the occult wards he created for the library was noted by Yūko, confirming his significant expertise in esoteric matters. Haruka makes his first appearance in Volume 9 of the manga, emerging from a dream induced by Yumenai’s balloons, which originally belonged to him. Acting as a guide for Watanuki, much like Yūko does, he questions Watanuki about his true feelings for Himawari, noting that his life has deteriorated since meeting her, and probes why he finds Shizuka Dōmeki so irritating. This interaction occurs when Watanuki falls from a school window and enters a near-death dream state; Haruka enters this realm and restores Watanuki to consciousness. Watanuki continues to encounter Haruka in his dreams, where the elder Haruka demonstrates the power to not only enter Watanuki’s dreams but also transport him into another person’s dream, as seen in Chapter 127. He acts as a guide, offering explanations or warnings, such as when Kohane’s mother splashed Watanuki with hot water. He explains that this is possible because all dreams are connected, allowing travel between them—a concept explored in other CLAMP works like X. His ability to traverse dreams and potentially access hidden knowledge is characteristic of the yumemi found in X.
