It was a scorching summer. Beneath the Torii, stood a little brunette, wiping his sweaty forehead with his long sleeve, his eyes slanted as he looked towards the clear sky.
"So hot…" he groaned. He finally arrived at the Kogarashi shrine, after a great amount of time carrying his luggages up the monstrous stairs. He walked into the shrine grounds and looked around. The shrine was clean and tidy. It's not very big, but still looks decent and comfortable. He walked slowly as he enjoyed the view around him.
Suddenly, one of his luggage broke open and the contents scattered all over the ground. He cringed in annoyance and starts picking his stuff up. While doing so, someone walked towards him and gave an envelope to him.
"Ah, that's mine! thank you!" said the Brunette, looking up to his helper. He saw a tall man with black, puffy hair looking down at him.
"Don't mention it. Could it be that… you're Aki-sama's relative?" he said as he helped the kid tidy his things up. "Yes. I'm Matsukaze Tenma. I came from Okinawa to study Onmyoudou here." Tenma said, bowed to the black-haired guy.
"Nice to meet you, Matsukaze-sama. I'm Sangoku. I've heard from Aki-sama that her relative is going to stay at the shrine for a while. Here, let me help you carry that luggage. It must be hard to climb those stairs with these heavy luggages. With such a tiny body too, haha!" Sangoku said. The last statement made Tenma pout, but he lets Sangoku carry his luggages nonetheless.
"So… what kind of youkai are you, Sangoku-san?" Tenma asked as they walked together. Sangoku looked at Tenma surprisedly. "How do you know that I'm not human?"
"I don't know, I just do... By the way, you haven't answered my question, Sangoku-san!" Tenma said, looking at Sangoku excitedly. Sangoku smiled and said,
"Guess." Tenma pouted once again and muttered, "You're no fun."
"But, you must be really strong, Sangoku-san! To be able to maintain human form for a long time!" Tenma continued excitedly. Sangoku puffed his chest and smiled at him.
"Yeah I guess I am quite strong, heh heh." Sangoku said proudly.
They finally reached the shrine building and after Tenma gave his thanks to Sangoku, they said goodbye to each other and went separately.
"That kid is pretty sharp… I thought I have made myself as human as possible…" Sangoku thought as he walked towards the forest.
"Do you need any help, Tenma?" said a woman with short black hair.
"No, thank you. I'm already done, Aki-nee"
"Okay, then. How about some tea and snacks?" Tenma nodded happily. He just realized that he's really hungry when he heard his stomach growl. Aki giggled as Tenma squirms with his reddened face.
"Eat up, Tenma. You must be really worn out because of the long journey" Aki said, bringing a tray of various cookies and tea into the room. Tenma said thanks in reply, and gobbled the cookies happily.
"These cookies are really good, Aki-nee!"
"I'm glad you like it. By the way, isn't there supposed to be a letter for me?" Aki asked.
"Oh, right. I almost forgot. Here." Tenma said as he handed an envelope to Aki. Aki opened the envelope and read the letter immediately. Meanwhile, Tenma looked outside the window and caught a glimpse of two little fox cub jumping around. One of the foxes had red ribbon on it's neck, and the other had blue. The fox with blue ribbon stopped moving and stared at Tenma intently. Realized that he got the fox's attention, Tenma waved his hand and smiled. The fox just stared back at him for a few seconds then ran towards the forest.
"Tenma," Aki's voice got Tenma's attention back to his cousin. "Starting tomorrow, you will study and work here. I expect many things from you. Endou-kun also said a lot of great things you are capable of. So, I wish you best of luck, and that you will become a great onmyouji." Tenma bowed down in gratitude.
"Thank you for your kindness, Aki-neesan. Please take care of me from now on." Aki smiled at her cousin affectionately.
"My pleasure. Now, you should rest, you'll be busy tomorrow." Aki said, lifting the tray of empty glasses and plate off the table. Tenma stood up and bowed a little.
"Okay. See you tomorrow, Aki-neesan." Aki nodded and opened the door for him.
Aki sighed as she saw Tenma scampered through the hallways. Her eyes looked at him sadly.
"Such a cruel thing happening to such a good kid… I really hope for the best for you, Tenma..."
AN: gosh gosh this is my first fanfic so I'm really excited eheheh. Please be gentle with me, everyone m._.m
