(2) The Crow
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.
:
"That damn brat." Kimiko says seething with underlying rage.
Tomoe nods his head in agreement while he attends to the shrine; Kimiko was helping him, even though he had already denied her help.
"I'm not letting you do this on your own. I never let you do this alone with Mikage." Kimiko says picking up the weeds from the ground.
"I don't need help." Tomoe huffed unhappily.
Kimiko rolled her eyes, "You're just cranky because you didn't get any sleep."
Tomoe grumbled in agreement.
Kimiko looked at Tomoe. He had bags under his eyes. Kimiko knew the reason why he didn't sleep. It was because of that girl, and it was because of Mikage.
Kimiko sighed and grabbed Tomoe by his shoulder, "Come on follow me." Kimiko says as she drags Tomoe along with her.
Tomoe protests at first, but soon complied. He knew from experience that if Kimiko wanted something done, nothing was going to change her mind, not even he can.
Kimiko had led him to the tree she was sleeping in yesterday, "You're going to have a nap." Kimiko says jumping up into the tree.
Tomoe relaxed, this was just what he needed. Tomoe willingly jumped up and positioned himself so his head was on Kimiko's lap, "Thanks." Tomoe says as he closes his eyes.
Kimiko smiled, "As if I would let you go without sleep. The only thing you love to do is sleep."
Tomoe grinned, showing his fangs.
"After all, it's hardly fair," Kimiko says looking at the sky, "she's in the shrine watching TV and you're out here doing work. That just isn't fair to me."
Tomoe just nodded his head. Kimiko stroked her claws gently through his short hair, "I miss your long hair..." Kimiko says wistfully.
Tomoe grinned, "It was too long."
"No it wasn't." Kimiko pouted. Kimiko loved his long hair, she was even sad when he decided to cut it all off. This short hair also looked good, but she preferred his long hair.
"I may cut my hair; it's getting in the way." Kimiko says picking up a strand of her own hair.
Tomoe frowned, "No."
Kimiko's eye brows rose, "What do you mean no?"
Tomoe opened his eyes, "Don't cut your hair."
"And why can't I?" One thing Kimiko hated was being told what to do. Mikage wasn't so bad because he would never force her to do anything.
"Short hair looks ugly on you." Tomoe says as he drifts off to sleep.
Kimiko wasn't angry by that remark at all, in fact, she felt happy. Kimiko knew that Tomoe hated her short hair, mainly because it reminded her of her past; which was something she never wanted to remember.
Kimiko laughed to herself before leaning against the tree and drifting off to sleep herself.
Hours had passed, and Tomoe and Kimiko were still asleep peacefully. Kimiko admits that the way she was sitting was uncomfortable, but if it made Tomoe happy, then she could deal.
It was peaceful; there was no shouting, no noise, no nothing.
"KURAMA IS AT MY SCHOOL!"
Spoke too soon.
Tomoe woke up instantly and shot up, while Kimiko just grumbled. Tomoe and Kimiko jumped from the tree and ran into the shrine, where they saw Nanami running with her school uniform on.
"Where do you think you're going?" Tomoe asked with his arms crossed. Kimiko knew that he was cranky because he had gotten woken up from his nap.
Nanami froze when she saw the two Yokai, "They said Kurama is going to my school. It's my chance to see Kurama in the flesh."
"Who the hell is Kurama?" Kimiko asks fanning herself.
"He's a super pop star, I have to meet him!" Nanami says trying to sneak her way out of the shrine. But with two Yokai present, that was extremely unlikely.
"Please let me!" Nanami begged.
"You may not." Tomoe denies.
"Why not?" Nanami says with an unhappy look on her face.
Kimiko rolled her eyes, "Because there are demons that will be after you." How could the idiot child not know this?
Tomoe nods with Kimiko, "The mark that you possess signifies that you are the Land God. And it has been bestowed upon the forehead of a little girl like you. It's basically asking other demons to eat you. " Tomoe says bluntly.
"Then why don't you and Kimiko come with me?" Nanami asks innocently.
Kimiko glared at the girl, "We are busy with shrine work! And you should learn to wield at least a little divine power!" Kimiko says to the girl.
Nanami grumbled, "What a buzz kill."
Tomoe suddenly got a devious idea, Kimiko knew this because of the look in his eyes, "If you want to go that badly, then I will let you go."
Kimiko looked at Tomoe with interest, what was he planning?
Nanami didn't notice this though and looked excited, "What?!"
"But on one condition." Tomoe says.
Kimiko smiled deviously, she had caught onto his plan and was laughing on the inside.
:
"Tomoe!" Kimiko called as she looked through the shrine halls. After searching for a few minutes, she found him sitting on one of the shrine trees.
"Tomoe." Kimiko says getting his attention.
"Kimiko, why don't you come up here?" Tomoe says with a pleasant look on his face. He felt happy that he had made Nanami suffer a bit, but was protecting her at the same time.
Kimiko grinned, "I'll have to decline. I need to go into town to get some food, I'll be back soon." Kimiko says as she walks away from the tree.
Tomoe froze.
'I'll be back from the shops, but while I'm away look after the shrine.'
Tomoe jumped out of the tree very quickly and grabbed hold of Kimiko's arm. Kimiko looked and saw that Tomoe had grabbed hold of her arm, "Tomoe?" Kimiko said before she realised why he was doing this.
"You are coming back... right?" Tomoe said with hesitation in his voice.
Kimiko smiled gently at Tomoe, and hugged him, "Of course I'll come back. I just need to pick up some food." Kimiko says as pulls away.
Tomoe pulls away reluctantly, he wanted to go with her, but he needed to look after the shrine and be alert in case Nanami needed him.
"I'll be back!" Kimiko says as she sets off into town.
Tomoe cursed Nanami under his breath.
:
Kimiko had to use her Yokai powers to hide her ears and tail; she didn't want humans to pay attention to her or to stare at her.
Neither Kimiko or Tomoe came down from the shrine often, there was no need. High levelled Yokai like herself and Tomoe didn't need to eat often, and if they did it was in small amounts. If they ever needed food they would just go and hunt for their food. Onikiri and Kotetsu also didn't eat often; they survived by drawing energy from plants and animals. However, with a human in the mix, it made that harder.
The human needed proper food and needed to eat a lot more than a Yokai and the willow-wisps did.
Kimiko sighed to herself as she carried the food back to the shrine. To anyone else, the bag of shopping would have weighed a ton, but to Kimiko, it felt light.
'How much can this one girl eat?!' Kimiko thought in her head. Kotetsu and Onikiri were the ones who wrote the list of what to get. Kimiko shut her eyes in annoyance, she felt like a slave, but she couldn't say no to Onikiri or Kotetsu.
"Let me go!"
Kimiko opened her eyes at the voice. It was a girl, she sounded weak and feeble. Kimiko looked around and saw two large thugs cornering a young girl. The girl looked shorter than Nanami and skinnier. The girl had short peach hair and scared brown eyes, the girl also wore the same ugly uniform that Nanami wore.
The thugs were dragging the girl into an alleyway. Something shot through Kimiko, she felt disgusted that men would lay a hand on a girl.
Kimiko clenched her teeth together.
"But you're so pretty." Kimiko heard one of the thugs say.
"We can have so much fun." The thug that was dragging her said.
A growl tore through Kimiko's throat; she stalked over to the girl and the thugs. When she was close enough, she stopped walking, "I think she told you to leave her alone." Kimiko said in a commanding voice.
The two thugs froze; they turned around looking scared until they saw who it was. They burst into laughter when they saw that it was a woman.
"Eh? Do you want some action as well?" The first thug said looking very suggestively at Kimiko. Kimiko sneered. Kimiko saw the man's gaze look at her body; his looked as though he was undressing her with his eyes.
Kimiko felt uncomfortable and angry at the same time.
"Ge-get away while you can!" The girl shouted to Kimiko.
Kimiko looked at the girl in shock; she was ready to sacrifice herself, for someone she didn't even know.
A thug scowled, "Shut up girly!" The thug raised his arm to hit the girl in the face. The girl flinched and closed her eyes to wait for the impact. But it never came. The girl opened her eyes and saw Kimiko in front of her holding the thug's arm.
Kimiko was furious. No, she was more the furious. There was no word to describe what she was feeling. Kimiko tossed the groceries aside, not caring if anything was damaged or where it landed. Before the man could hit the innocent girl, Kimiko appeared in front of her and grabbed the man's arm.
"So, you want to hit someone, why not try me?" Kimiko said smiling with an eerily calm voice.
The thugs backed away, Kimiko's smile was terrifying, even Tomoe said that when she smiled like that, it creeped him out. The thug wretched his arm out of her hold and backed away, he looked ready to pee his pants.
"Y-you bitch!" The second thug screamed as he ran at her, his fist poised to hit her.
Kimiko grinned. She disappeared from where she was standing and appeared behind him. She kicked him in the back with half of her strength, making him fall head first into the ground, knocking him unconscious. The second thug appeared behind her, trying to get a sneak attack.
Kimiko saw him and grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back and putting him on the floor, the man screamed, Kimiko's grip on his arm was tight.
Kimiko looked at the girl, "Run."
The girl nodded and ran away as quick as she could.
When the girl was gone, Kimiko turned her attention back to the man who was on the floor, "So, you like picking on girls?" Kimiko sneered at the man.
Despite the situation, the thug laughed, "She was asking for it."
Kimiko growled furiously and twisted his arm in a painful position, the man howled in agony.
Kimiko bent down and whispered in the man's ear, "And so are you." Kimiko twisted his arms even further until there was a satisfying sound of his bone breaking. The thug screamed loudly and in pain.
Kimiko let go of his arm, letting him go limp.
"If you ever go near that girl or any other woman, I will know. And if you do, I won't hesitate to kill you." Kimiko growled.
The man nodded weakly, whimpering. The murderous look in Kimiko's eyes scared the man. He knew that she wouldn't go back on her word.
However, he still asked, "H-how w-will you know?"
Kimiko smirked and let her disguise disappear, letting her tail and ears show, the man looked at her scared, as though she was a monster. His whimpering got louder as Kimiko knelt down.
When she was close enough, she whispered, "I'll know, because I have your scent."
The man screamed, terrified of the woman in front of him. He tried to crawl away, but Kimiko stomped in his leg, also breaking the bone in his leg too. The man screamed in agony and curled into a ball.
"Heed my words." Kimiko said, covering her ears and tail and went to find her groceries that she had thrown away. She found them and luckily nothing was broken.
This time she continued home with no distractions.
:
It was the next day, Nanami had refused to wear the silly hood on her head, and now Tomoe was forced to watch her from afar.
Tomoe and Kimiko sat in a tree; Kotetsu was serving Tomoe some sake and while Kimiko looked bored. Tomoe grumbled, "All she had to do was wear the hood like I said. But now I have to watch over her all day long. I haven't even made preparations for dinner yet."
Kimiko groaned, "This is so boring, why doesn't anything exciting happen anymore?!"
Tomoe looked as unhappy as Kimiko, "Preparing meals and guarding a girl. Are these the duties of a familiar?" Tomoe mused.
"At least with Mikage he was useful." Kimiko said looking into the sky. Kimiko looked down and saw Nanami reading a note.
"Eh, do you think she's gotten a love letter?" Kimiko said with a teasing smile.
Tomoe scoffed, "No, who in the right mind would send one to her?"
Tomoe laid down on the tree trunk and drifts off to sleep. Kimiko groans, now she's left with nothing to do.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Nanami appearing on the roof; Kimiko looked at Nanami and saw she wasn't alone. She was with Kurama.
"Kotetsu, wake Tomoe." Kimiko says as she stands up and joins the two on the roof.
Kimiko stands in the shadows as she watches the exchange, Nanami didn't look amused as she held up the note she was just reading, "Why did you drag me all the way out here? What do you want Kurama?"
Kimiko's eye widen, Kurama was a Crow Yokai. Tomoe wasn't going to like this...
Kurama answered, not noticing Kimiko at all, "First of all, I want to ask you something."
Kimiko tuned out, this conversation was boring. Oh how she wished she could have the part of her life back where she would fight, be it savagely, but at least she was never bored. Kimiko felt Tomoe appear next to her, he didn't look happy.
"Why did you wander off?" Tomoe asks unhappily.
Kimiko grinned, "You were slacking off."
Tomoe scowled but didn't say anything.
"He's a Crow Yokai." Kimiko says getting Tomoe's attention. Tomoe looked surprised for a moment, but then he regained his composure.
"He's after Nanami." Tomoe says looking unimpressed.
Kimiko nods.
Kimiko notices Nanami leave, and only when she is gone Kurama opens his wings, looking ready to attack her.
Tomoe appears behind Kurama and kicks him in the lower back, sending him face first into the floor.
"Found you, you damn spirit." Tomoe says looking down on the Crow. Kimiko raised an eyebrow, it was obvious that Tomoe already knew about there being someone after Nanami, but he didn't even tell her!
"You have sharp eyes to have set your sights on Nanami so quickly." Tomoe says looking happy that there may be some action.
Kurama gets up to attack Tomoe, but Tomoe quickly and gracefully moves out of the way and latches onto his umbrella that he had been carrying around.
"I am a Crow Yokai of Mount Kurama. It has been sixteen tears since my descent. Now that you know my true identity, you must die." The Crow says and sends strong current of air at Tomoe.
Kimiko jumps in and redirects the wind another place.
Tomoe didn't look very happy at her intervening, but Kimiko didn't care, wind was one of her many specialties and Kurama was tainting it.
"Another familiar!" Kurama says not liking the odds.
Kimiko scowls, "I am NOT her familiar."
Kurama smirks, "Then how about you become mine then?"
Kimiko was about to respond, but Tomoe beat her to it, "As if she would." Tomoe growls and sends his Fox fire at Kurama.
Kurama barely manages to get away from the fire, but still has a smile on his face, "You would much rather be my familiar than that human girl."
Tomoe looks at Kurama amused, "You want to become a Land God?"
"Sure I can. All I have to do is take one bite of the girl's heart, right?" Kurama says with confidence.
"Yes, because that's so simple." Kimiko says rolling her eyes.
Tomoe looks excited, "What fun this is, Crow." Leaves started circling Tomoe. Kimiko knew what Tomoe was planning. Those leaves were used to transform something to anything, one of Tomoe's many talents.
"What?" Kurama says confused.
Tomoe disappeared from besides Kimiko and reappeared behind Kurama. Tomoe had one of his claw poised at Kurama's throat and the other at his head with a leaf in hand, "When I think of how bastards like you will be coming for Nanami, I could not be happier that she is the Land God."
Kimiko knew what he meant. With a weak little girl like Nanami, there will be more spirits coming to try and claim the title, just like Kurama had just tried to do. Meaning there will be more fighting.
'Maybe this could be fun after all.' Kimiko thought to herself.
Kurama looked confused as Tomoe placed a leaf on his forehead. Tomoe jumped out of the way and reappeared besides Kimiko.
Kurama had begun to transform, he transformed into an ostrich. Kimiko looked amused by this, "An ostrich, out of all the animals, why did you choose an ostrich?" Kimiko asks with an amused smile on her face.
Tomoe answered with a smile, "Ostrich meat is low in calories and full of iron and other minerals."
Kimiko still looked amused, "Oh, how lucky for you, Kurama." Kimiko says looking at the now ostrich Yokai.
Tomoe carries on, "You want to become a Land God, was it?"
Kurama twitched, not liking where this was going.
"If I feed you to Nanami, you will be able to become part of her flesh," Tomoe holds up his hand and lights his Fox fire, "I will bring all my skills to bear to make you a Land God."
Kurama grew scared and ran away from the roof.
Kimiko burst into laughter, "Oh this is going to be good."
Tomoe nodded his head, "What funs this is. Today, we will have whole roasted ostrich."
Kimiko mockingly licked her lips, "Yum."
Tomoe threw his Fox fire and looked smug.
:
Nanami was not happy to say the least.
"No one was hurt, so maybe it turned out all right, but you've got some nerve going on a rampage at school!" Nanami shouts at Tomoe.
Kimiko looked slightly amused that a young human girl was telling Tomoe, a powerful Fox Yokai off like a child.
Tomoe feigned a hurt look, "I thought to protect you."
Kimiko snickered at his act. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Tomoe glare at her.
"So? Why is Kurama a bird?" Nanami questions her reluctant familiar.
Kimiko corrects her, "He's not just a bird. He's an ostrich, and he's low in calories."
Tomoe nods along with Kimiko, "He was going to be tonight's dinner." Tomoe looks crestfallen.
Kimiko and Tomoe start laughing together.
A tick mark appears on Nanami, "Be serious you two!"
Nanami looks disappointed, "I thought you were more mature than that Kimiko."
Kimiko stops laughing. Tomoe freezes, 'Shit, this is not going to turn out well.' Tomoe thought to himself.
Kimiko glared at Nanami, "You don't know me at all." Kimiko grits out with her teeth clenched.
"Well-"
Kimiko cuts Nanami off, "I think we should have just let Kurama eat your heart. You're a nuisance and an eye sore. You don't deserve Tomoe as your familiar!" Kimiko states directly looking into Nanami's eyes.
For once in her life, Nanami felt scared. The look in Kimiko's eyes was terrifying.
Tomoe placed a hand on Kimiko's shoulder, "Calm down."
Kimiko didn't seem happy, but listened to Tomoe anyway.
Tomoe decides to move the conversation along, knowing that if Kimiko did attack Nanami; he would have to protect Nanami, even if he didn't want to.
"Kurama is not human. He's a Crow Yokai." Tomoe says looking at the sulking ostrich.
Nanami looks shocked, "What?!"
Nanami calms down, "Turn Kurama back to the way he was." Nanami says looking at Tomoe. Nanami didn't want to look at Kimiko, she still felt afraid from looking into her eyes.
"But tonight's dinner..." Tomoe says feigning an innocent look.
"Turn him back!"
Kimiko grumbled in the corner, "We should have let the Crow eat her."