13

AN: Since it is already one o'clock in the morning and I need to go to school today, I'll only upload the chapter. There might be some changes later on, until then have fun ^^
I don't own Kamisama Kiss

Meeting Tomoe

The attack had come without warning. Suddenly bandits with guns, rifles, knives and other weapons had encircled the white fox and his lover. "Well, well, well", one of them had sneered at the yokai, as he had tried to stand protectively in front of his blind girlfriend. "What do we have here?"

"A fox and his little minx."

"How very unfortunate. For them."

The white fox had growled and bared his fangs, as his ears had darted around, desperate to find out about the mess they were in and how to get out. "Tomoe", the girl had whimpered. "Tomoe please save us."

And he had tried. Tomoe did try to save his beloved one with all his might. The fox had failed miserably. It was one against at least ten… Not even with his fox fire Tomoe had been able to defeat them. Furthermore he had to fear to hit his girlfriend with his fire. After all she was blind and wouldn't know where to go, if they lost each other. It had been better to stay close together, even if it had meant fighting the bandits with bare claws.

Eventually the bandits had caught the white fox between them. They had ripped him away from the human girl and had tied him down. Tomoe's girlfriend had whipped her head from side to side without being able to pinpoint any movement in the general shuffling. "One done, one to go. What a decent kill.", one of the bandits neared the girl. "No! Yukiji! Don't kill her!", Tomoe had cried out. Usually the fox was rather harsh and hid his fears behind several masks, but now being faced with his worst fear he hadn't been able to hold back the whine from escaping his throat. The bandits had laughed at him: "Oh poor thing. Crying for a corpse."

Yukiji had wept, unable to defend herself against the men she wasn't even able to see. They had groped her body roughly, making the girl cry out in agony. She had begged for mercy, begged for Tomoe to help her, to save her, before the men had killed Yukiji right in front of Tomoe's eyes.

Then the men had turned towards the crying fox. They had attempted to kill the yokai, bruising and cutting his healing wounds again. However as Tomoe had fallen unconscious, the bandits' thought he had died and left him behind.

Slowly purple eyes opened beneath a mop of silver white hair. Fox ears twitched, causing a low moan to escape the raw throat of their owner. Ow! They have cut my ears. Don't they know how sensitive the skin is? Uh, they probably did it on purpose to abuse them. But then they should have at least killed me. It would have been better than – ugh! His hands were still tied in front of his body. But not for long. With the help of his sharp claws, the kitsune tore them apart, doing the same to free his feet. Tomoe's first action without restrains wasn't tending his wounds or looking around for Yukiji. No. At first he threw up, as he had lost too much blood – it was still oozing out of gashes in his stomach, upper arms, back, maybe even ears, as he couldn't quite hear right.

Cursing his weakened state, Tomoe finally stopped gagging. His muscles throbbed with exhaustion, the wounds burning like fire. "Damn!", he looked over at where he had seen his girlfriend last. "Yukiji, Yukiji, are you alright?" However the dark heap the fox had identified as his love didn't move. "Yukiji", Tomoe called out again. With a strength he didn't know he possessed, the kitsune forced his body forward towards her. I hope she is alright and didn't got hurt by the men. I wouldn't forgive myself, if they harmed her in any way.

The fragile human woman's brown hair was spilled all around her head like a halo. Her hands were clamped into fists next to her body, which was covered in bruises, cuts, and who knows what else was hidden beneath the rags of her once white dress. Oh no! Bile rose in the fox's throat. To see his beloved in this state… What did they do to you my love? How could they put you in so much pain, my little fragile bird? Carefully he stroked the long tresses out of her face, only to yelp and fall backwards. Yukiji's hazel orbs were wide open and stared right at him without seeing him at all. No! It can't – It can't be!

Tomoe couldn't tell how long he stared into her lifeless eyes until his abused ears twitched, as they heard voices nearby. Scrambling to his feet the yokai decided to go into hiding in case the bandits returned and found him still alive. I am sorry Yukiji… I should have taken more care of you. I should be the dead one and you could go on living with my memory… It isn't supposed to be the other way around I should be the dead one.

Tomoe wandered the streets, one hand covering the gash in his stomach to keep the essential liquid in his body instead of sprinkling the ground with it. Hell, do these wounds never close? I thought us yokai had a healing ability… Tomoe stumbled over the uneven pavement, groaning out in pain, as his ankle twisted and the demon fell to the ground. "Damn!", Tomoe yelled in frustration. Of course no one was out in the streets at this nightly hour, resulting in no help for the wounded man. What am I doing? I should have never let her out at this hour. This is my entire fault. I should have taken more care of her. I ought have protected her at all costs from these bastards… The kitsune was interrupted in his train of thought, as a small butterfly swirled around his head. The little animal was violet and seemed to shimmer golden with every little movement, as if it was emitting light. It flew away, only to circle another figure. The fox's eyes widened, as he recognized her. There was no mistaking it. The long brown hair, the incredible smile, the trusting hazel eyes. "Yukiji"

A new strength Tomoe hadn't known he possessed coursed through his veins. Thank goodness! She is alive! She escaped the claws of death! He stumbled towards her: "I thought I lost you! Yukiji, this was all my fault, please forgive me!"

She tilted her head to the side and smiled at him. "Oh Tomoe, I wish I had seen you earlier. Do never forget how gorgeous you are."

"Yukiji, what are you talking about?", Tomoe was confused. But the girl wasn't focused on him anymore. She looked over his shoulder and smiled lightly. "I should have wished for it sooner, seeing the beauty of the world is worth the price. Now take me with you great Kami." Tomoe furrowed his brows: "Yukiji, who are you talking to?" He got his answer, as a gigantic glowing creature stepped up next to him and his girlfriend. It was like nothing Tomoe had ever seen before in his life and that did mean something, as he was a demon and therefore looked much younger than he was. So though his physical appearances made him look like a twenty year old, the kitsune actually was over five hundred years old.

Nevertheless he had never seen a Kami this close up. This one looked like a mix of a good deal of animals. The head appeared dog-like except for the ears, which were formed like a lynx's and between them spiralled two horns into the sky. They were covered in soft fur, which's colour varied between white and light blue. The body's long fur glowed with every little movement in different shades of blue and green. It was shaped like a mane-wolf's one including the bushy tail. Tomoe gaped at the creature, as it lowered its head to stare at him with intruding red eyes. The yokai subconsciously took a step back as he felt the surge of power pouring out of every pore of the Kami.

Since Tomoe was too focused on the Kami, he missed Yukiji's sad smile completely, as the girl watched her boyfriend. "I accept your offer", she whispered. Tomoe whipped his head around, although it made his ears hurt and he saw black for a second. "Which offer?"

"The offer the Kami made me in order for me to be able to see you one last time.", Yukiji lowered her gaze to the ground. "Promise me to not freak out and be mad at me, when you find out about it, okay?"

"Why should I be angry? You are alive, that's all that is important right now." However Yukiji shook her head. "I am not alive. I am nothing more than a wandering soul. My body still lies in the dirt of that alley. It hasn't been found yet. But promise me to not be angry with me, Tomoe."

"I could never be mad at you, my love.", Tomoe hurried to say. His brain didn't yet register the words she had said; he still thought his love had miraculously returned from the dead for him. "And now let's go home, Yukiji." Tomoe stretched his hand out towards her and Yukiji would have taken it, if not for the Kami, that had shoved its head in between the lovers. The human girl drew back: "I am sorry, always remember that, Tomoe."

With that she looked up into the burning eyes of the Kami. Tomoe gasped in shock, as her body slowly disappeared into nothing more than a glimmering light. No, it can't be. She cant vanish again. I just got Yukiji back! "Take care", were Yukiji's last words, before even the light disappeared into nothingness and was replaced with the butterfly from before.

"No!", Tomoe screamed, lunging forwards despite his weakened state. "Yukiji!"

The Kami turned its massive head towards the fox in mid air. As their eyes met, the white haired male froze. Even if he had wanted, he would have been unable to move. It seemed to be a secret cue, as suddenly his time with Yukiji replayed in front of his mind's eye backwards. Tomoe whined and moaned in agony, as bit by bit every last memory of his love was drained from his brain, clearly not caring, if another part of his soul followed it or not.

The Kami lowered the demon to the ground. He would be unable to remember anything from Yukiji from now on. She had wished to see him again before she finally left the earthly realm and this was the price that came with it. No living creature was allowed to see the Kamis. Deep down every soul knew this. And so had Yukiji. However she had begged the Kami on her knees to finally be able to see Tomoe once again, as every soul was able to fully see. But Tomoe had seen the Kami and would always connect Yukiji with the Kami, so he had to loose every memory of his beloved.

The white fox had not only lost a lot of blood and his beloved, but also the memory of her and with that a part of his soul. Now he was mortally wounded. However this wasn't the Kamis concern. At least not this one's. A call only Kamis could hear echoed from the houses, causing the lynx ears to twitch. It was another soul, which needed guidance to the afterlife. The elegant creature turned around and strolled back down the street.

Only the little butterfly circled over the head of the unconscious white fox, engulfing him in a soft white light until his body disappeared from the road.

He ran through the streets to escape the bandits. Their howling echoed all around him and the white fox could see the windows being thrown shut and hear the locks click. It was him against this insane men. A knife flew past his head, cutting one of the white twitching ears. The male screamed in agony and called forth his fire, in order to defend himself against the others. That was what the bandits had waited for. They howled in ecstasy, throwing more knifes, daggers, stones, basically everything they found nearby at the demon in front of them. And every last bit hit home, resulting in severe cuts, bruises and gashes all over the body of their victim.

No! Tomoe jerked awake with a scream, sitting right upright. However he fell back onto his back, as his wounds throbbed from the sudden movement. Damn it! These bastards I'll kill them all for god's sake! He paused. The white fox's nose twitched, sniffing the air. He wasn't out in the streets anymore. Tomoe didn't know the scent all around him at all. Someone had taken him in! Where am I? Who brought me here?

"Do not panic", a low voice said, just as Tomoe did exactly that. "We mean no harm to you, young man."

No harm? Uh, sure after what I went through tonight? These bastards were after me for far too long for me to simply trust strangers. Suspiciously the white fox opened one of his purple eyes. Immediately the bright light blinded him, his head ached and the room started spinning in front of his eyes. Fuck! Even before he gagged, someone pressed something to his chin. Tomoe didn't bother to think about it as he threw up. "And this is why you should not panic.", the male voice said again. "You lost too much blood to be up and about right now. In fact I doubt you'll even be able to eat the soup Nanami made for you."

Nanami?, Tomoe groaned in his head. Who the hell is Nanami? A figure appeared before his mind's eye, but she wasn't sharp as if he looked at her through thick fog. All he could make out was a bright and cheerful smile. His headache increased together with the pounding in his ears and the burning in his chest and stomach. The fox moaned in pain. I have to stop to play with girls or someday I'll collapse from too much information about every single one of them. Or from the injuries their lovers give me… If Tomoe hadn't been in so much pain he would have laughed at that.

However a new scent hit his sensitive nose. It was a female scent. Daring to open at least one of his eyes, Tomoe stared at a pink apron. His look wandered upwards and was met with two gleaming light brown eyes. The girl could be no older than seventeen, her concern written all over her face. "Good, you're awake", she quietly said, as if knowing his ears were hurting and needed to be taken easy on at the moment. "My name is Nanami. I am the adopted daughter of Mikage. He took you in, as he found you bleeding in the streets. Do you remember?" Tomoe shook his head. Somehow the features of this girl were familiar to him, but not in a good way. It was, as if she had betrayed him before. Tomoe just couldn't pinpoint when and where.

"Nanami I told you to stay downstairs, didn't I?", the male voice from before said. Tomoe now saw it belonged to a blonde man with piercing blue eyes. "He needs rest and the presence of a woman won't exactly help with that."

"I am sorry", Nanami bowed to Mikage, before turning back to Tomoe. "See you later"

"I hope not", Tomoe muttered, as she left the room. Mikage sighed: "I am sorry, my daughter is quite forward.", he shook himself, "Anyway. I am glad you're finally awake after three days. You are free to go as soon as your wounds have healed but until then you'll stay with us. Okay?"

Tomoe forced himself to nod. Better than returning to the streets and fight with another demon hating gang over nothing. Maybe this time they wouldn't leave me until they made sure I really am dead. Why did they overwhelm me anyway? I am far stronger than any human and my foxfire grills them faster than lightning… Again this figure appeared in his mind. Still unclear, except for three little words. "I am sorry" Tomoe shook it off as another memory he didn't need to pay attention to. He had enough of these memories from his past, as he still had been a wild fox, who didn't obey any rules.

"Feel free to ask for anything you need.", Mikage smiled at his patient. "Even, if you want to stay forever, you are free to do so. Just ask for it. I won't turn you away." This man doesn't know me and still offers me a home? How foolish to offer a demon such as me – safety… Tomoe sighed. "I'll think about it." Mikage nodded his head, still smiling, as Tomoe drifted off to sleep.

As soon as the kitsune fell asleep, Nanami returned. "Will he be okay?" Mikage looked back at her with a tired smile: "I tended his severe wounds. He lost a lot of blood, but he'll survive it. This is a strong one, I can tell." Nanami smiled slightly at her father's enthusiasm. "You did heal the wounds in his soul?"

"I did. He will know nothing about them for now. Make sure, it stays that way."

Nanami stared at the man in the bed. His white hair was freshly washed, his clothes changed by Mikage. She had already washed the old ones, marvelling their state of disruption. He has such beautiful purple eyes…

"Will he stay with us?"

"I hope so. He would make a fine familiar for the shrine.", Mikage whispered back. "Does he even know you are a god?", Nanami wanted to know and Mikage shook his head no. "It is better this way for now. First he needs to heal, then we can tend his inner wounds and make him whole again."

"Okay", Nanami smiled slightly. And if you looked close enough, you could see Yukiji smiling from within her eyes at her lover. Tomoe was going to be fine again.

Riddle: I am at the beginning of end and at the end of time and space, in the middle of yesterday, but nowhere in tomorrow. What am I?

Please solve the riddle via a PM so no one can cheat.

Also check out the other short stories we have uploaded so far. In order:

1 The Lord of the kitchen

2 The tale of the handsome commander

3 Miroku's wish list

4 Dream beaches

5 How to not freeze to death

6 Surprise surprise

7 I'm going into town, Tomoe

8 No one ever calls me to simply drink coffee

9 Tigers and Badminton

10 Geography with Myoga

11 Preparations

12 coming soon