Nanami trudged her way home from work. A cool wind nipped at her bare legs and whipped her long brown hair around her face. She stopped a moment to allow herself shiver and a sigh. Today had not been a good day, not in the least.
She worked at a small bakery in the market, owned by a middle-aged woman and her husband. However, today she had been fired, as the store was closing. The woman had told Nanami that the bakery wasn't doing well enough and her husband's mother was also quite sick. They were going to sell the store and use the money to move down to the south of Japan to take care of her ailing mother-in-law.
It was a real shame, Nanami had liked working there. She liked the customers, she liked the owner, and it was a fairly well-paid job. She was also usually allowed to take home the leftover baked goods at the end of the night.
The owners had sent Nanami off with a loaf of bread, a box of cookies, and the three days of pay she had earned since her last paycheck (about $120).
It hadn't helped that earlier in the day a bunch of guys in her class had been making fun of her dad, the "loser who can't hold down a single job." Not only was he unable to hold down a job, he was also a gambling addict. Nanami had to hide all the money she earned in order to pay for food and rent for their tiny apartment.
She had learned this technique from her mother who used to do the same thing. When she was alive, that is. Nanami had lost her mother at the age of eight to cancer. It was a long, painful process for her mother before she passed away. Nanami missed her dearly. Her mother was the only person she had ever really been close to. Her father was missing a lot of the time, and she was too busy working, do house-hold chores, and trying to keep track of her dad in order to have much of a social life. She didn't really have any friends, if she thought about it. She tried not to think about it often.
Her father had been missing for a week straight now. Nanami was going to give him an earful whenever he had the decency to come back. It was hard to even think of him as a "father", when it had always been more like her looking after him.
Nanami's only sliver of hope now was the stash of cash hidden in her room. There was just enough left in there for the month's rent and some extra cash for groceries. She would need to find another job quickly though. Being hungry and homeless was not an appealing option.
Her apartment building was an old white, with that sickly yellow colour starting to appear in areas. Nanami trudged up the stairs and up to her door. She didn't need to memorize the number on the door; she could recognize it by the rust patch on the bottom left corner. She unlocked the door and stepped in.
The lights were off, so her father still wasn't home. She flicked on the lights and threw her bag on the counter. She shrugged her feet out of shoes and into comfy slippers.
Nanami moved towards her room, and then froze. Her bedroom door was open. She didn't leave it open. It was neverleft open. She padlocked her door on the outside when she left, as she had her money hidden in her room. It was a necessity. Her door was never left open.
Nanami dashed to her room, tripping over her own feet in her haste. The lock had been broken in half. She felt nausea overcome her as she looked at her room. Her desk drawers were all open, her mattress half off her bed, clothing all over the room.
"No!" Nanami exclaimed. This was just too much. This couldn't happen now. "Oh, please, no."
The locked desk drawer was open, and the fake bottom had been removed. Nothing was left there now. There was no money.
Nanami sank to the floor, feeling a little numb. What was she going to do? It was gone, all of it. She put her head between her knees and took deep breaths.
The doorbell rang. It only half-registered with her, and she stayed on the floor.
The doorbell rang again in two high-pitched successive dings.
She could feel the anger build in her chest, pressure and tension increased in her body. She jumped off of the floor. He has some nerve coming back here, she thought. This time he's not getting any pity from me! This time I'll make him do something about it!
Nanami stomped to the door and flung it open wide. "You!" She cried out. "How dare you…!" Her voice faded out as she realized who she was talking to. That was not her dad; she didn't who it was standing at her door.
A man in a black suit with a black shirt and grey tie stood at her door. He stared down at her with disinterest.
"Who… are you?" she asked. She kept one hand on the door in case he was crazy and she needed to slam the door in his face.
"I would like to ask the same of you," he sniffed. "And also why you are in my premises?"
"Your? This is my house!" Nanami exclaimed.
"If it was your house, it certainly isn't anymore." He glared at her. "Your father, I must presume, handed it over to me in order to pay off some gambling debts. Along with the rest of your belongings, of course."
"He did what?"
The man handed her some slips of paper. It was a form for a transfer of assets. It was indeed signed by her dad. Dad, why…? Nanami asked in her head.
"Pack up your few items and get out." He demanded. "You have five minutes, or I call the police." When Nanami just stared at him, he demanded, "Go."
Nanami grabbed her school bag and ran to her room. She stuffed it full of her school belongings and all the clothing she could fit. On top she placed the single photo she had of her mother. It was starting to fade now, and it was a bit charred from a past house fire.
She grabbed a duffel bag from her closet, ran into the kitchen and grabbed all the food that wouldn't need refrigeration. On top of that she threw a bag of toiletries she collected from the bathroom.
"Done?" The man in the suit asked her.
Nanami scanned her apartment once last time. "Yes," she whispered.
"Then get out."
Nanami had curled herself up into a ball under the shelter of some playground equipment. She had a balled up a sweater as her pillow and threw another sweater on top of her body as a blanket.
She shivered in her plastic house. It was a plastic cube with holes of various sizes in the sides and roof for children to crawl in and out of. The wind blew through the holes and chilled her.
Dad, why did you do this to me? Nanami thought, where are you?
Why was this happening to her? The world was mocking her, ripping the tiny holes in her life open into ragged gaps.
Nanami choked back a sob. She didn't want to cry, but it was too late to hold it back now. She let out of a wail and tears poured down her cheeks. Nanami wiped angrily at the tears, but they wouldn't stop, which just frustrated her more. Her stomach ached as she sobbed and spasms rocked her body.
Nanami gave up and let herself cry until she fell into a fitful sleep
Tomoe sat in class, waiting for lunch to end. He didn't always come to class, as it was quite boring. However, he couldn't miss too many classes or he would face expulsion. So, today he came to class. He wished he hadn't though. It was quite an annoying day so far.
Some stupid blonde guy was making fun of the girl in the desk beside him.
"Hey, Nanami, I heard your dad skipped town," blonde guy joked. "Is that true?"
"It's not true, Isobe!" Nanami protested. "He's just commuting for a job! He's away a lot because he's working!"
Tomoe glanced over in irritation. The girl looked really tired; she had dark circles under her eyes. And the guy seemed to be taking pleasure in her nervous demeanor.
"Come on, we all know your dad can't keep a job down! Tell us the truth Nanami, come on." He stuck his tongue out at her.
"That is the truth!" She cried.
The blonde kid started dancing around happily. "Nanami's dad's a loser," he sing-songed. "Nanami's dad is a deadbeat!" He repeated his chorus over and over, getting louder each time.
Was it so much to ask for a quiet day at school? These people! They were all so…
"Annoying," Tomoe declared, threateningly. He stood up abruptly and his chair knocked backwards onto the floor.
Isobe froze and stared at Tomoe in fright. "Wh-wh-wh-" he stammered.
Tomoe gave Isobe a swift glare as he swiped up his bag and left the room.
"Scary…" he heard a girl murmur as he left.
"Yeah," a guy agreed.
Everyone in his class was scared of him. Not that he cared. What was the point of trying to get close to any of them anyways? They were all idiots.
When he first came to the school he was quite popular for a bit. The girls all thought he was really attractive and kept trying to flirt with him. Once they noticed that he was just ignoring them they stopped that. He refused any offers of people trying to be friendly with him.
But, when he got into a rather violent fight in front of the school, that's when people started to be scared of him. Suddenly his white hair was no longer seen as pretty, it was seen as a gang sign, and his muscular body was thought of as a weapon.
Really though, it was better this way. He didn't like people bugging him. He'd rather be alone, at least then he could relax. Being around a lot of people stressed him out.
Tomoe made his way up to the roof of the school. It was his favourite place in the school. It was warm, and he could see out for miles. Somehow, being able to see so much was comforting. Being a mere dot in the world was a comforting though. It meant what he did didn't matter that much. He didn't have to be a good person or do anything anyone else wanted of him, because in the world he didn't really matter.
He thought about that Nanami girl for a bit. She didn't have any friends in the school it seemed. He wondered if she was alone too, just like him. Tomoe shook his head. It didn't matter. He pushed the thoughts to the back of his head and settled down on the warm concrete floor for a nap. He didn't plan on going back to class today.
So this is my first Kamisama fanfiction. Please tell me what you think!
I'm finding it a little hard to translate Tomoe into a normal high school student, when he's such a powerful demon in the manga/anime. Haha. I'll try my best.
Sorry there was no interaction between them this time. The two of them will meet in the next chapter, I promise! Next chapter will be up soon!