Shards

Chapter 2

Two years earlier...

A sharp pain flicked through Tomoe's chest. He pointed his silver fox ears straight and focused on the sound of the flowing air and the surroundings that creaked around him. The feeling in the air felt dense and thick, its pureness gone and dissipated. This was not right, why did everything feel so negative all of the sudden?

'No sound...'

He sat straight up on his futon with his heart racing and pounding to every breath he inhaled. His breathing increased rapidly with every second fear inflicted his mind, and the sweat rolled down his face as his body heated up from the pressure of anxiety.

'She can't be... Can she..?'

He felt that he was in a horrible nightmare. When he hit himself from thinking he was dreaming, it wasn't a dream. This mind and heart wrenching nightmare was no dream at all. It was far from being a dream, an illusion, or a speculation. His worst nightmare had become the matter of tangibility and reality.

'This can't be happening!'

Tomoe sprang from his futon and slammed open the bedroom door causing the whole building to shake and he ran to Nanami's room and tried to prepare himself for the worse, but it wasn't enough for when his heart sank as he looked around an uninhabited room, with nothing but a picture lying in the middle of the floor.

'No..please no...'

Tomoe ran to every room and slammed open every door, finding nothing but a godless shrine.

A flashback zapped through his thoughts of his previous master abandoning him and his heart only grew weaker when the image of Nanami's face came to mind.

'No... no..no.. NO!'

He shredded out of the shrine with no concern if he woke up the other shrine residents, and peeled down the steps with a face that was plastered by absolute fear.

"Foxfire, find Nanami immediately!'

He threw his hands above his shoulders and casted fire. He withdrew it into the air and raced across the streets and on top of every building as fast as his feet could take him.

'Where the hell did she go?!'

With no sign of Nanami's presence to be found and with every foxfire flame out of breath saying she was nowhere to be found, Tomoe's mind enraged as the pupils of his aubergine colored eyes shrunk with misbelief."No, no, no! Did you look everywhere?!" He questioned the foxfire expecting for them to say they haven't. But sadly, bad news arouse from their gasping voices.

Tomoe started to shake and he clenched his fists tightly and didn't care if he started to bleed. 'Nanami has to be here! She just has to be!'

"Don't stop looking! She may have hid herself with an ofuda! KEEP LOOKING!"

"Yes Tomoe-sama!" The foxfire flames scattered themselves into the air, terrified by the frustrated complexion depicted on the kitsune's face.

'She can't be gone! Why, why, WHY?! Why did she leave?!'

The kitsune scraped his feet against the concrete ground and ran in a different direction. Rushing and gasping with his heart accelerating the rate of the blood driving through his veins, Tomoe was determined to find her at all costs. Tomoe thrived for that human-god's existence, it was the only thing that made him sane, the only feeling that got him to progress himself with every breath of air he inhaled.

Tomoe never wanted to admit to himself that he needed her. He knew it in his heart all along, but was too afraid for history to repeat if he ever let his feelings aspire again over a human girl. He finally comprehended this butterfly feeling in his stomach every time he looked at Nanami. He loved her. He loved her so much it hurt like hell to lose her.

He needed to find Nanami. If he couldn't, he would drive himself insane.

"Tomoe!" The snake familiar ran up to him holding Nanami's picture in his hand.

"Did you find her?!" Tomoe grabbed Mizuki by the collar.

"No.."

"Then continue looking!" Tomoe loosened his grip and pushed Mizuki away.

"But wait!" Mizuki caught hold of the kitsune's shoulder.

"Let go of me snake! There is no time to wait!" Tomoe jerked around and threw off Mizuki's hand.

"Will you just listen to me you damn fox!?" Mizuki was frustrated, not only because Tomoe wasn't listening to him, but the fact Nanami was important to him too.

Mizuki held out the photograph of Nanami to Tomoe. "Read the back.."

"Why would I need to read the back of that worthless picture? It would do no good in finding her!"

"Just read the damn thing! Its a note from Nanami..." Mizuki yelled with a threat in his tone.

"What...?" Tomoe felt so confused. He took the picture and turned it over to the back.

Tomoe,

I will be leaving the shrine. There is no saying that I'll be back or not, so keep the shrine in a good condition. I'm sorry that I did not say anything, but I'm leaving for a perfectly good reason. I regret ever leaving the shrine this way. It hurts me to do this, but its needed to be done. Please don't go looking for me. If I don't return, I'll never forget you. You have taken care of me and have tended to my every need and I'll always cherish the moments we had together. I'll always love you.

Forever your Landgod,

Nanami

Tomoe's hands started to shake vigorously. So much pressure weighed on his lonely heart that even if he read the note a second time, he would make his surroundings go up in flames.

'Needed to be done... Needed to be done?! What is there needed to be done.?!'

Tomoe balled up his fist and buffeted it into the concrete ground. "Dammit!"

Mizuki stepped back in shock. He didn't expect for this kitsune to lose it and go insane.

"Dammit dammit dammit!" Tomoe repeatedly beat the ground. His fist began to speck blood and bleed, but he continued to inflict this pain on himself until his hand was stained in red.

A tear trickled down Tomoe's face as he forced himself to stop painting the concrete with the blood of his hand.

His hand hurt and stung and he could barely move the tiny joints. But it didn't hurt as much as the feeling of abandonment and loneliness that engulfed his very being.

"NANAMI!" Tomoe yelled out as much as his lungs could take. With all of the frustration and heart ache he yelled in to a single name, he regretted not ever telling her how he really felt.

How could he lose her this way?

'Why why why?!'

Tomoe's heart poured out of him as he held the picture close to his chest. He had never felt this lonely before, not in a long time.

'Nanami...'

Hey guys! I'm sorry that this chapter uploaded so late. I had to get some more ideas for the story. I hope you like this chapter! Please leave a review and if you have any suggestions or any ideas, don't hesitate to let me know. :)

- Cherryblossom210