How Do I Call You
A/N. I'm a guy and I know that this is a shoujo anime but I just wanted to polish up on my shoujo writing skills since my exams are over. This is my first kamisama fanfic so please leave any feedbacks or comments. For now, enjoy the story
A silver haired young man with fox ears did not move or say anything as he sat up on a hill and gazed into clear blue skies, clearly oblivious to his surroundings. A strong gust of wind rustled the trees and whipped past his face but he remained unperturbed.
Tomoe, the fox demon rubbed his temples with his knuckles and proceeded to heave a big sigh.
It was already troublesome enough that Mikage had left the shrine and abandoned Tomoe for twenty years but then he entrusted the duty of the earth deity to a young high school girl called Nanami.
Tomoe was felt with disdain and scorn during the first time she explained the predicament to him. He made an ultimatum that either she left the shrine or he would leave himself.
Unfortunately, circumstances forced Nanami to kiss Tomoe in order to make him her guardian and save her from the trouble that she was in. It was a bit impromptu to him, but his heart thought otherwise.
A kiss was the last thing that he would expect from the new earth deity but she took him by surprise. To tell the truth, he enjoyed it. Every last second of it. Her soft lips, the warmth that sent shivers down his spine, her tender touch….. Tomoe felt dazed just by reminiscing about it.
Nanami was a very pretty girl but she could sometimes be immature and rude. Besides, she is hardworking and responsible girl, probably due to circumstances. The tale of how her father left her and her eviction of her house left a little spot of sympathy in Tomoe's heart and he decided that she needed help.
She lived with him in the shrine now and helped out in the chores. She is adjusting to her new life but she still attends school and experiences a normal high school life.
Tomoe was supposed to call her "master" but somehow it didn't feel right and even Nanami preferred it if he addressed her by her name.
Tomoe got up from his daydream and he plucked a ripe mango from the nearby tree and began to eat it.
He realized that this daydream was the prelude of his question which was why did her stop calling her "master" and what she meant to him so far.
An encounter with Mizuki the other day regarding Nanami ended in victory for the fox demon but his last words were still ringing in Tomoe's ears.
" Tomoe, if your are so intent on stopping me and protecting her, please answer this question. Her personal life is no concern of yours so why do you insist on butting in? Do you even see her as your "master" anymore or more importantly, what is she to you now?"
" You fool, she is still my master and if her personal life involves scum like you, you can rest assured that I'm going all out to protect her at all costs," Tomoe muttered and ate the rest of his mango in silence.
Tomoe decided to pick Nanami up from school because he wanted to sort things out with her before they hampered their relationship and responsibilties.
He ignored the multiple stares he got from the people around him in the city because of his ears and his odd clothing and continued walking to Nanami's school.
He smiled as he heard the bell ring and he waited behind a tree. He spotted Nanami through the throngs of students but something he saw made him see red.
He saw Nanami laughing and giggling while a tall guy was talking to her. " Who the hell is that guy?" thought Tomoe in jealousy and scrutinized the guy who was tall, relatively handsome, lean and had a bright smile.
" You tell some of the funniest jokes sometimes," Nanami giggled and wiped away a tear from her eye. The guy gave another big smile and held her hand which made Tomoe want to uproot the big tree and hurl it at him.
" Nanami, I know it's too soon but would you want to go out for dinner with me tonight? " he asked and Nanami blushed.
" Sure, why not?" she replied and the guy told her the venue and time. Tomoe sniffed contemptuously and quickly disappeared back to the shrine.
" Why should I care what she does in her personal life? As long as involves scum like Mizuki…..but even he knew that this guy wasn't anything like the snake demon. Maybe Mizuki was right, Nanami wasn't "master" to him, she was something else, something more…
Tomoe sat on the steps of the shrine sipping a cup of hot tea when he saw Nanami reaching to top of the steps.
" Hi Tomoe," she smiled cheerfully but Tomoe got up and gave her a little cold look that she disliked.
" Tomoe, what's wrong with you today? Nobody came for a prayer?" Nanami asked looking concerned at the fox demon but he shook his head.
" No. I'm bothered about where you are going tonight," he said nonchalantly and Nanami blushed but she began to turn purple with rage.
" How did you know that I was going out tonight….wait, were you eavesdropping on my conversation? More importantly, why were you at my school today?" she demanded to know.
" I just thought that I could drop by and pick you up because I wanted to talk to you regarding some urgent matters," Tomoe replied keeping his gaze leveled at her.
" Oh, but you shouldn't have eavesdropped anyway. Why should my date tonight concern you?" Nanami asked.
" I don't like the look of that guy and I fear for your safety. After all, I'm sure that you're too weak to handle enemies on your own," Tomoe smirked waving his fan.
Nanami rolled her eyes. " I'll be fine. I'll be back at around ten so don't wait up," she said taking off her shoes before entering the shrine.
Tomoe quickly vanished and reappeared in front of her making her jump back.
" So, this is how I stoop so low as to confess and confront my master just right before her date? A last minute plea to discourage her burning passion of youth to sail right into that bastard's arms," thought Tomoe frustrated.
" Tomoe, what is it? I really don't have time to play any of your thinking games right now because I have to get ready for a date," Nanami said tapping her foot impatiently.
" Nanami is my "master" and I shouldn't interfere in her private life so I guess I should let her just go on that date," Tomoe continued thinking and he scratched his head in annoyance.
" Well, I just wanted to say that I hope you have a great time," he replied nonchalantly and walked away from her back to the garden of the shrine.
" What's with him? Is he alright?" thought Nanami and she looked concerned at the troubled young man.
" Nanami-san!" the two yokai helpers of Tomoe, Onikiri and Koetetsu appeared in front of her.
" We heard you have a big date tonight," Onikiri said excitedly. " I'm sure the lucky guy is just dying to see you again," Koetetsu chimed in.
Tomoe silently listened to their conversation insidethe shrine while he sorted out the month's prayers.
Nanami walked into the shrine and on the way to her room, she saw Tomoe silently working in his room and she could see that he was clearly troubled.
" Damn, why am I in such a state of confusion? She is my master and I serve her but on the other hand, I have feelings for her but she is still my master. It feels weird calling her "master" but it feels comfortable calling her Nanami. I'm not supposed to care about her personal life but I just get jealous when I'm not getting her sole attention," he muttered to himself.
Nanami couldn't hear anything but a few mumbles and curses so she decided to leave him alone to cool off.
She took a long time to get ready as she had to put on make-up, wash her hair, pick out a nice dress and shoes and not to mention accessories.
She smiled at her reflection as she looked beautiful and she got up to leave the shrine. On the way out, she saw Tomoe waiting for her by the entrance.
" Well you look like you're dressed to attend a ball instead of a date to a restaurant," smirked Tomoe and Nanami blushed slightly.
" Thanks but I don't look that nice tonight," she said but Tomoe's eyes were fixed on the ravishing sight that was in front of him.
" Nanami, before you go, I've been meaning to talk to you about something," he said and Nanami looked surprised.
" Tomoe, if it's about the date….." she began but Tomoe just waved her to stop and she got annoyed. " How dare he just wave at me to stop like that. Who does he think he is?" she thought angrily.
He paused for a while before speaking what was on his mind. " Nanami, you're my master right? Well, I don't think I'm comfortable calling you master," he said suddenly and Nanami looked even more annoyed.
" Is it because you're giant ego is about to shrink in size?" Nanami replied icily but Tomoe glared at her. " Don't be so impudent," he hissed.
" The reason being is that…I don't think of you as a master anymore. I'm in love with you and I can't call you master but on the other hand, I still think you're annoying and a part of me wants to act as your servant and guardian and nothing more," Tomoe said quietly.
Nanami turned bright red and she looked intently at Tomoe who was staring at the twinkling stars plastered on the black night sky above them.
" Nanami, I love you and I know that you're my master but I want to be more that," Tomoe muttered and he felt weird and embarrassed blurting out his feeling with no hold barred.
" I guess that's why I was kind of jealous when you said you were going out tonight. Anyway, go have fun and just forget what I just said because maybe my mind's a bit off today," Tomoe said and he rose from the bench but Nanami grabbed his hand and he looked at her.
She smiled at him and she threw her arms around him. Tomoe was intoxicated by her perfume and he began to feel dizzy.
" You're mind isn't off today. I'm so happy you decided to come clean about it too. Besides, I love you too even though you can be such a pain," she giggled and Tomoe's eyes narrowed.
" Don't think you're so great now just because I have feelings for my master who barely arrived here," Tomoe grumbled but Nanami ignored his comment and pulled his face closer to hers and they shared a passionate kiss beneath the bright illuminating lights in the temple.
Both their minds had fireworks and they both enjoyed the second kiss more than the first one where she had turned him into her servant and guardian.
After five minutes, they pulled apart and Nanami stroked his face. " True that I'm your master but you don't need to call me that. My name will do just fine. It's like how I don't call you servant or guardian. It feels weird and I don't address people whom I love like that," Nanami gushed and a small smile actually crept onto the fox demon's face.
" How noble of you, Nanami so I guess I'm clear on how our relationship is right now," Tomoe grinned and Nanami nodded.
" Well, I'm half an hour late thanks to you," Nanami sighed looking at her watch and Tomoe's grin got wider.
" Don't worry. You can always make up some excuse about some emergency and stay here with me," Tomoe suggested.
Nanami looked thoughtfully at him but she just laughed and ran down the steps. " Not a chance. I'll be back by ten so don't worry," she called back.
" Even if I did want to stop her, she is still my master after all," Tomoe shrugged and went back inside the shrine.
A/N I hope you enjoyed my first fanfic for this anime. Please leave comments or feedbacks on what you think so that I should continue or not. Anyway, peace out