A New Deity
Disclaimer: I do not own this anime, but I do own my OC.
Summary: Mikage had another familiar, one that could deal with Tomoe, because she too was a Yokai.
:
"Damn you Mikage." Tomoe cursed to himself as he looked at the full moon. It had been twenty years since Mikage had last been at the Shrine, and with every passing day, Tomoe became more and more agitated.
There was a sigh behind Tomoe, Tomoe's ears twitched at the sound.
"Are you still moping around?" Another voice said in the darkness. Tomoe didn't even have to look; there was only one person that would dare approach him when he got into one of his moods.
"Shut up, Kimiko." Tomoe scowled.
Kimiko shook her head, her long obsidian hair blowing in the wind, "I don't even have to look at you to know that you're scowling." Kimiko rolled her ruby eyes at his attitude. After all, after twenty years of this, she was used to his attitude.
Tomoe looked at Kimiko with amethyst eyes, "What do you want."
Kimiko smiled slightly and walked over to where Tomoe was laying down and sat down, "What's really on your mind?"
If it was anyone else, Tomoe would have bit their head off, but with Kimiko he couldn't. She had been there since the very beginning. So instead, he just rolled his eyes and replied, "It's nothing."
Kimiko looked at the moon, "Do you think Mikage will ever come back?"
The scowl deepened on his beautiful face and his eyebrows began to twitch, "If he does, I'll kill him." Tomoe flexed his claws and looked at them, as though he was envisioning Mikage.
Kimiko didn't have a doubt in her mind that Tomoe would do exactly that. Mikage had been important to them, to both of them. He took them in, cared for them and loved them like a family. And then he just left, vanished. Kimiko knew that Tomoe wouldn't admit it, but he was hurt by Mikage leaving. Kimiko saw it in his eyes, even if he didn't show his emotions much, Kimiko knew because she saw them.
Kimiko was hurt too, Mikage was the first ever person she had become a familiar to, and to be abandoned really hurt her, he was like a father to her.
Tomoe could see the glassy look in Kimiko's eyes; so he whipped his sliver tail over to Kimiko and flicked her nose.
A shocked look appeared in Kimiko's face.
Tomoe didn't look at her and just looked at the full moon, "Don't think of him."
Kimiko's shoulders sag, "How can I not, he was my first master." Kimiko started to pet Tomoe's tail softly so not to hurt his tail. Tomoe took much pride on how his ears and tail looked, just like she took pride in her own, so she knew she had to be careful. He only ever offered his tail to her when she was feeling down.
"Some master he was." Tomoe grumbled.
A small smile graced Kimiko's beautiful face.
Suddenly, there was a squeal. Tomoe and Kimiko look at each other, Tomoe had one of his eyebrows raised and Kimiko had widened eyes.
"Onikiri and Kotetsu aren't that loud?" Kimiko says with a questioning look on her face.
Realisation came to Tomoe, "It couldn't be Mikage..."
Excitement lit up in Kimiko's eyes, "Let's go see!" Kimiko jumped up from her seat and sprang off the roof.
"Wait Kimiko!"
Kimiko, who had already landed on the ground, looked up to see Tomoe's suspicious face, "It may not be him." Tomoe said looking into Kimiko's ruby eyes.
Kimiko knew that Tomoe didn't want to get his hopes up; instead she smiled at him and said, "Well we'll just have to see."
Suddenly, anger clouded Tomoe's eyes, he flexed his claws, "Yes, yes we will." Tomoe jumped off the roof and joined Kimiko on the ground. A murderous intent came from Tomoe, which didn't affect Kimiko.
"Let's go." Tomoe said as he stalked off to the shrine.
:
"AH!" Nanami screamed as she fell through the doors of the shrine, she had fallen in backwards and fell on her back, making her slightly confused.
"Mikage is that you?" A male voice said in the dark.
Nanami got up and whirled around, she saw a beautiful man with silver-white hair that blended in with this pale complexion and cold amethyst eyes. He wore a traditional yukata and had a fan covering half his face. However, the fan didn't cover his white fox ears and tail. The man looked tall, taller than she was and seemed to be in his late teens.
Nanami's eyes widened at the beauty that the man possessed, he looked like a model!
"Eh? Is it Mikage?" Another voice in the dark, Nanami turned her head and saw another beautiful person, but this time it was a girl. The girl looked young, about the same age as her, and the same height. The girl had knee length black hair, the bangs framed her face lovely, making her face appear softer and more appealing. Her complexion was darker then the males, but only slightly. What stood out the most were her shining ruby eyes that looked like jewels. The girl also had a fan, and again it didn't cover the black cat ears and fluffy black tail that looked like silk. The girl was wearing a kimono, a colourful lilac kimono with pink cherry blossoms.
When Kimiko looked at Nanami, her ruby eyes dulled, making her look more dangerous, "You're not Mikage." Kimiko said as her tone become slightly more threatening.
Tomoe's eyes narrow at the Nanami.
Suddenly, Onikiri and Kotetsu appeared, "But she bears the mark of the Earth God!" Onikiri says, seeing that neither Tomoe nor Kimiko where happy with this development.
"What!" Kimiko shouts and appears in front of Nanami; she pulls back her fringe and sees the mark.
Mikage had blessed her.
Fury shot through Kimiko, "Tomoe..." Kimiko growled and her ears went back in anger and her tail began to twitch. Tomoe walked forward and saw the mark for himself, and just like Kimiko, he was angry.
Nanami jumped back and cried, "This is a Yokai shrine!" The realisation had only just dawned to her, even though two Yokai where standing right in front of her.
Tomoe looked at the girl, she looked weak and pathetic, definitely not fit to be the Earth God. When Nanami saw him looking at her, she blushed and looked away. Tomoe's eyes averted to Kimiko, who was seething in rage.
Kimiko saw Nanami blush and hissed lowly.
"T-this man told me to stay here." Nanami said nervously as she hands Tomoe the map that Mikage had drawn her. The map itself was a disaster; there was no way that someone could find their way with this map.
But apparently, Nanami did.
Kimiko and Tomoe look at the paper, "Well, this bad handwriting is his all right." Tomoe says as Onikiri and Kotetsu fly around them.
Kimiko's ear twitch, she was very unhappy with this development.
"He told me to stay here since I don't have anywhere else to stay." Nanami says looking at the two Yokai.
Tomoe looks annoyed, and his ears begin to twitch, "The man you met was the local Earth God. The fact he has given you ownership of this temple means-"
"-that you've inherited his role as the Earth God." Kimiko says finishing his sentence, fanning her own fan to try and calm herself down.
"Huh?" Nanami says looking confused.
Kotetsu and Onikiri cheer, "The Earth God has returned!"
"But I can't be a God; I'm just a human being!" Nanami says in protest.
Tomoe and Kimiko scoff, "She took the words right out of my mouth." Kimiko says looking unimpressed.
"This kid is meant to be a God?" Tomoe questions as he pulls Nanami's face close to his, "What can a filthy girl like you do?! Collect offerings, or at best, weed the garden, right?"
"I refuse to accept you as my new master." Tomoe said harshly as he pushes her away. The venom in his voice was clear, it even made Kimiko snap out of her seething state and look at Tomoe.
Nanami flinched at the venom and stopped herself from falling on the floor.
Onikiri and Kotetsu popped up again, "But she's been given the blessing of Mikage, you have to! She is now the owner of this shrine!" Kotetsu argued.
"I refuse." Tomoe and Kimiko said together.
"Wait!" Nanami shouts getting the two Yokai's attention, "You two are being really rude, you know that!? Who would want to look after this dump anyway?!"
"What did you just call it?!" Kimiko shouted back, it was one thing to be the God of shrine, but then to insult the work that herself and Tomoe had done, they had looked after this place for twenty freakin' years!
"We don't want you here." Tomoe growled at Nanami.
Nanami huffed, "I don't want to stay here-"
However, she was cut off by her own stomach growling, demanding food. Nanami looked down embarrassed that her stomach betrayed her.
Onikiri gets excited, "We should have a feast!"
Tomoe's eyes narrow, "She is not staying the night."
"Either she goes or we go." Kimiko says with finality in her tone, she didn't want to be in the presence of this girl anymore. The thought of Mikage really betraying them and giving them to someone else was too much to bear.
Tomoe saw the glassy look in Kimiko's eyes and flicked his tail over to her.
Tomoe grabbed Kimiko's arm as they began to disappear into Tomoe's flames. Tomoe looks at the girl, "We only serve Mikage."
Kimiko joins in, "I have no intentions of serving her."
"You can replace us with any old stray dogs." Tomoe says as they both disappear into the mist.
The last thing Kimiko and Tomoe heard was Nanami telling them to wait, but they didn't wait.
:
Kimiko and Tomoe appeared outside the shrine, a little bit away. Kimiko stepped away from Tomoe and hit one of the trees that surrounded the shrine.
"Kimiko." Tomoe called, but Kimiko ignored him, she continued to punch the tree to try and let out some steam.
"Kimiko enough." Tomoe said when he saw that her knuckles were getting bloody.
However, she ignored him and continued to punch the tree with more force.
"I said that's enough!" Tomoe abruptly grabs Kimiko shoulders and turns her around to look at him. Tomoe's eyes widened when he saw Kimiko's eyes.
Kimiko was crying. Tears were streaming down her delicate face and her lip was quivering, "He's gone... h-he's abandoned us!" Kimiko cried. The tears streaming down her face at a faster pace.
Tomoe pulled Kimiko to his chest, making sure no one else could see her crying face, "Shh, it's ok." Tomoe whispered soothingly to her as he stroked her hair in comfort. Kimiko gripped his yukata as she cried; the grief and realisation that they had been abandoned had crashed in her head.
"W-why aren't you upset?" Kimiko whispers as she looks up at Tomoe.
Tomoe smirked, "You cry enough for the both of us."
Kimiko narrowed her eye, "No I don't!" Kimiko denied.
"Yes you do." Tomoe teased.
Kimiko blushed and looked away.
Tomoe dropped the teasing look in his eyes and cupped her face with his clawed hand; Kimiko looked shocked but didn't say anything. It was rare that Tomoe was affectionate, so Kimiko learnt to never question it. Gently, Tomoe moved his thumb and dried the last of her tears, "Tears doesn't suit you, Kimi." Tomoe said with a small smile.
Tomoe didn't like it when Kimiko cried; there was just something unsettling seeing the Cat-demon cry.
Kimiko smirked, "And nor does a happy one on yours."
Tomoe huffed and removed his hand.
:
Nanami winced in pain as she pulled on a sharp weed. She sighed, she had been cleaning all day, and she was tired! Nanami was about to get back to work when there was a lingering feminine laugh. Nanami turned her head and saw Kimiko appear through the wind currents that had appeared beside her.
"You can't even pull the weeds properly, why don't you just give up and go home." Kimiko said with a taunting smile, as if daring Nanami to give up.
Nanami huffed and looked away from Kimiko, "I thought you left."
Kimiko's face turned sombre, "Little girl, go home."
Nanami didn't reply for a moment, "I don't have a home." Nanami said in a small voice.
Kimiko's eye brows rose.
"My dad abandoned me." Nanami says looking sadly at the ground.
Kimiko's eyes widen and she clenches her jaw. Kimiko took a couple of deep breathes to calm herself down, "Tell it to someone who cares." Kimiko says looking away from Nanami and then disappears into thin air.
Nanami whirls around and the winds knock her over.
:
"Eh? What are these?" Nanami asked when she saw a large pile of books, all full of prayers.
Onikiri answered this, "Tomoe wrote down all the payers for the last twenty years, for when Mikage came back."
A shocked look flashed on Nanami's face, "And what did Kimiko do?"
Kotetsu answered this one, "She helped Tomoe look after the shrine. She made sure that we were all okay. But she mostly waited for the return of Mikage. She wanted to make sure that everything would be in order for when Mikage would return."
Nanami felt bad. She had insulted the place that Tomoe and Kimiko treasured and looked after. Nanami now understood why Kimiko got so riled up when she insulted the shrine.
"I want to speak to Kimiko and Tomoe." Nanami says making up her mind.
Kotetsu and Onikiri look at each other, "Kimiko-Dono!"
Kimiko was walking around the shrine when she heard Kotetsu and Onikiri call for her; she opened a door and saw the willow-wisps talking to Nanami. In front of Nanami were the books that Tomoe had written all the prayers in for the last twenty years. Tomoe would never let her do the payers, saying that this was his task and his alone.
When Kimiko saw the books, she had a nostalgic look on her face. But she was soon pulled out of this when Nanami was in front of her, "Urm... Kimiko?"
Kimiko looked into Nanami's brown eyes, "What?" Kimiko said with a blank look on her face.
Nanami blushed and averted her eyes away from Kimiko's, "I'm sorry."
Kimiko made sure that her facial expression didn't change, hiding the fact that she was surprised, "What are you apologising for?"
"F-for insulting the shrine. I didn't realise how important it was to you." Nanami says looking at her feet.
"As you should be." Kimiko says and turns to walk away.
"Kimiko-Dono waits!" Onikiri shouts.
Kimiko turns around and looks at the female willow-wisp, "Yes, Onikiri?"
"Where is Tomoe?" The female willow-wisp asks.
Kimiko huffs, "He's at the Red Light District."
"Thank you!" Nanami says with a huge smile on her face. Kimiko narrows her eyes and walks away without spearing the human another glance.
As Kimiko walked away, she thought of how unfair it was for Tomoe to go to the Red Light District. He had banned her from going, yet he was allowed to go all he wanted. Damn hypocrite. Last time she went without his permission he had nearly dragged her by her tail home.
Kimiko yawned and jumped into a tree to have a nap. Finding a nice spot that was covered by shade and a fair enough of leaves, she settled down and had a cat nap.
:
Kimiko could feel someone shaking her, but she didn't want to wake up. She already knew who it was, it was Tomoe. She knew by his scent, he smelled like caramel and mint, a very lovely and homely smell.
Kimiko opened her eyes and saw the grim look on his face.
Kimiko yawned and stretched like the cat she was, "What's wrong?" Kimiko asks rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
Tomoe mumbled something incoherent.
"What?" Kimiko asks in confusion.
"I'm her familiar..." Tomoe mumbles slightly louder.
Kimiko froze. But for that to happen that would mean...
"WHAT!"
Kimiko was now fully awake; all evidence of her tiredness was gone. Tomoe flinched at her tone; Kimiko's voice had been higher than usual, making him winces at the pitch.
"How-what-why- WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!" Kimiko shouted again.
Tomoe huffed and dropped down to sit with Kimiko in the tree.
"A demon was chasing her and she seemed to have the bright idea to climb up a tree. She was falling out of a tree and she pulled me done with her. She then kissed me and demanded I save her." Tomoe says with disappointment in his voice.
A tick mark appeared in Kimiko's forehead, "I'll kill her..."
Tomoe huffed and dropped his head onto Kimiko's lap, also wanting to sleep, "I would too, but she's my master now."
Kimiko grinned evilly, "She's not my master."
Tomoe hummed as Kimiko stroked his hair. This was usual for them, if Tomoe or Kimiko ever felt stressed, then the other would always let them lie on their lap and stroke their hair. It was a way of calming them down and making them feel comfortable.
"Make sure it stays that way." Tomoe grumbled unhappily.
Kimiko lets out a laugh, "As if I'd let her kiss me, she wouldn't get near me."
"That's what I thought about her too." Tomoe says closing his eyes, Kimiko stroking his hair with her claws gently was really soothing.
"If she tries to kiss me, it'll be like Mikage kissing you." Kimiko says with a teasing grin on her face.
Tomoe twitches, the traumatising memory etched into his mind.
Kimiko sighed and looked at Tomoe sadly, "I'm sorry your freedom was taken away."
Tomoe opened one of his eyes.
"I know how long you've wanted to be free." Kimiko says still stroking his hair.
"It's fine."
Kimiko looks down at the Fox Yokai in shock.
"As long as you don't leave, I should be fine." Tomoe says.
Kimiko laughs and smiles, "Of course I'm staying; you're not getting rid of me so easily!"
A small smile graced his face.
"I'll stay here and help. I won't help the child, but I'll help you." Kimiko says. She couldn't accept Nanami as her new master. That title will always belong to Mikage, no matter what.
"TOMEO!"
Tomoe and Kimiko both look down and see Nanami standing there. Kimiko gave a low hiss but otherwise did nothing else.
Tomoe looked annoyed, "What?!"
"Come down here, if you're going to sleep, sleep in your room." Nanami says crossing her arms over her chest.
Tomoe rolled his eyes.
Both him and Kimiko jumped down from the high tree branch and landed gracefully, when Nanami saw Kimiko she was shocked, "You're still here?" Nanami says.
Kimiko raises an eyebrow, "Did you expect me to leave? This is my home."
"You are not leaving." Tomoe said in a tone that left no room for argument.
Nanami tilted her head, "Are you going to become my familiar too?"
Kimiko grinned, "Oh my, I didn't know you were so eager, wasn't Tomoe enough?"
Nanami blushed bright red and Tomoe glared at Kimiko, but the grin never left her face.
"N-no!" Nanami denied.
The grin fell off Kimiko's face, she was now serious, "Listen here child."
Nanami stood up straighter; the change of Kimiko's tone was actually quite scary. Even Tomoe looked at Kimiko in surprise; he had never heard her voice change like that.
"Just because Tomoe is your familiar doesn't mean I am. I will stay here for Tomoe, Onikiri and Kotetsu, is that clear?" Kimiko says with narrowed eyes.
"Y-yes ma'am!" Nanami says with a salute.
Kimiko nods and walks away.
However, Nanami stops her with a question, "But what if you decide to become my familiar?"
Tomoe felt like laughing, but trained his face to stay stoic.
Kimiko stopped dead in her tracks, but she didn't turn around. "That will never happen."