She couldn't believe she was able to get permission from Master Fujiyama. She came a long way just to meet this new land god they call Nanami Momozono. Soon, she'd have to go back to Mount Kurama. She sighed as she gracefully walked up the steps to the Mikage shrine. She could hear yelling. No not yelling. Arguing? She couldn't help but laugh. Interesting.
"Tsuki!" a small voice cried out. "Wait up!" Tsuki turned to look at the little cat yokai running up the stairs. "These steps are so step. Why couldn't we have taken the carriage?"
"Master said that the other side was faster. If we would have gone by his carriage it would've taken longer," Tsuki said as her tail swished.
"Well isn't that fox yokai the shinshi of this shrine, Lady Tsuki?" the cat yokai asked hesitantly. "From what you've told me about him, he sounds really dangerous."
"He is. It would seem, though, that he has calmed down quite a bit. However; we must not let our guard down, Oka. Understood?" Tsuki said firmly. The little cat yokai nodded.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Another word of warning. That snake shinshi has a slick mouth as well. Do not let his words fool you. As for the human kami, I am not too worried about her," Tsuki said as she began making her way up the stairs again. By now Nanami's shinshi would have caught her scent and will do anything to protect their tochigami. Oka stayed at Tsuki's hip, like a small child meeting a new adult. Tsuki was also surprised that their master let Oka come. He seemed to be in a better mood a few days ago. Today he could be furious that they were gone, even though he had plenty of other shinshi.
"How dare you throw away my homework!" Nanami yelled. "I stayed up all night studying that material!"
"Well you shouldn't have left it in the middle of the shrine!" Tomoe yelled back. Misuki sighed. This has been going on all morning. Misuki paused and stood up. A serious look on his face. Tomoe did the same thing.
"Hey! Are you ignoring me now?!" Nanami yelled.
"We have a guest, it would seem," Tomoe said as he stepped in front of Nanami. Making sure she was not directly in front of the door.
The doors slowly opened. There stood a woman with long white hair, wolf ears and a tail. Her uchikake was mainly blue and white with snowflake patterns. As tight as the formal wear was, her large breasts stood out quite a bit. Her hips were very noticeable as well, as she stood with such formal grace. Everyone within the Mikage shrine couldn't help but stare. Is she another fox yokai? Like Tomoe? She's very beautiful. Nanami thought. Tsuki wore no makeup, however; her eyes seemed to have a natural eyeliner around them. Nanami could help but stare into her beautiful yellow eyes. She was one of the most beautiful yokai, she's ever seen. Could she be a tochigami as well?
"Looks like another fox yokai to me," Mizuki teased as he nudged Tomoe. Tomoe looked at him with annoyance.
"She is no fox," Tomoe said in a low voice.
"No I am not. It is very rude of you, snake, to assume such," Tsuki said. Oka peaked around her.
"My name is Kurai Tsuki. I am the wolf shinshi of Master Fujiyama, the tochigami of Mount Pippu and this young cat yokai behind me is Oka. We have come on his behalf to greet the new land god." That answered Nanami's question.
"Why couldn't he come himself?" Tomoe asked with a hint of a growl.
"My master..." Tsuki paused. "My master has not been feeling well." She had a look of regret. She shouldn't be here. It is clear that Tomoe does not remember her. Who in this world would anyway?
"It's very nice to meet you. I am Nanami Momozono. The new land god of Mikage shrine. We are honored to have you as a guest," Nanami said with a bow. Tsuki looked at her with respect. Then again she has two very powerful shinshi to protect her. Her confidence probably vanishes once they both are gone. We shall see. Tsuki bowed back respectfully.
"I wish to have a word with Lady Nanami, alone," Tsuki practically ordered. She needed to see if rumors were true or not.
"Out of the question," Tomoe growled.
"I did not ask you, fox!" Tsuki growled. Her aura changed to a demanding and fierce vibe. Even Tomoe seemed to back down. "It is not your place to decide things regarding your tochigami." Mizuki grabbed Tomoe's hand.
"She won't harm Nanami," he said starring at the wolf yokai.
"I will not take that chance," Tomoe said getting ready to attack at any moment. He felt Nanami's hand on his arm.
"I believe she will not harm me, Tomoe. Please go clean the shrine. I will call if I need you." Tomoe looked hurt, but he had no choice but to listen to her. Tsuki couldn't believe how easily Tomoe gave in.
Tomoe and Mizuki walked out of the room. Nanami set a place for Tsuki and Oka to sit. They all sat down on their knees. Onikiri came in with some tea and placed it between them and poured them each a cup. Then left the room. Neither of them said anything for a moment as they sipped their tea. It's been a while sense Tsuki has had such delicious tea. Oka tugged at Tsuki's uchikake. Tsuki nodded at her.
"Lady Nanami," Tsuki spoke first. Nanami looked at her. She was nervous. She had never seen a wolf yokai before and never really heard of them either. "To make you feel more comfortable how about we play a game of questions."
"A game of questions?"
"Yes. I ask a question. You answer honestly and vise versa," Tsuki explained. "Would that help you?"
"Yeah, I suppose so," Nanami said. She intended to get to know this wolf. This was the perfect opportunity. "To be honest, I've never seen a wolf yokai. Let alone a normal wolf. So, are you native to Japan?" Tsuki was hoping that this human wouldn't ask about her personal life. That's what humans do, though, right.
"No I am not."
"Lady Tsuki's tribe came here over a thousand years ago," Oka blurted. Tsuki glared at her. Oka lowered her head.
"Really?"
"My turn, Lady Nanami. Are you aware of the tengu on Mount Kurama?" Tsuki asked, trying to move this along. Nanami was a little surprised by such a question.
"Well, yeah. I've only been there once though."
"I see."
"My turn, I guess. Umm... Did you ever meet Tomoe in the past?" Nanami asked on a whim. Tsuki knew she would ask. It was obvious this girl was smitten for the fox.
"I have. A little over five hundred years ago," Tsuki said. She hated talking about her past.
"Lady Tsuki was betrayed by that fox. He left her for dead and..." Before Oka could finish, Tsuki smacked her in the back of the head.
"I am sorry, Lady Nanami. I am not comfortable going into detail about my past," Tsuki said bowing her head.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not really sure what else to ask about," Nanami said with a hesitant smile.
"There is plenty to ask," Tsuki said. "Anyway, I have heard that you are very good at matchmaking humans and yokai. Is this true when it comes to just humans or just yokai?" Nanami thought for a moment.
"I guess so. I've never really tried just yokai and just humans before," Nanami said said with a shrug. " Why?"
"I think our game of questions is over," Tsuki said with sadness in her eyes. Nanami caught on to it. Tsuki could not hold back that emotion. "I have a request of you." She sat there for a moment, looking at her hands. Tsuki knew the answer she would receive. "There is a yokai, that I have loved my entire life. He has no memory of me though."
"A yokai?" Nanami couldn't help but feel sorry for Tsuki. She's loved someone her whole life to only have him not remember her. She knows him. He doesn't know her. Reminds her a little bit of Himemiko and Kota.
"Yes. Everyone I seem to meet, has no memory of me. You'd think that if someone has seen a wolf yokai, then they would remember, but everyone assumes I'm a fox and sometimes that is a good thing. In this case, it's not. My heart has suffered for five hundred years." Tsuki blurted. Why did she just let this human hear her weakness? Is this the affect of a matchmaking tochigami?
Nanami couldn't help but think Tsuki's love was for Tomoe. The time line fit. "W-What is his name?" Nanami was a little more than nervous to hear the name of this long love.
"He lives on Mount Kurama," Tsuki said. She hasn't spoken about Jirou in such a long time. Something so simple as his name was so hard for her to speak.
Nanami looked at her confused but a little relieved. Surely Tsuki's love was not for Suirou. Could it? Nanami remembered when she first went to Mount Kurama and how Suirou had reacted to her presence. It would make sense that her love would be rejected or not remembered.
"I am terribly sorry, Lady Nanami. It is hard for me to speak his name. I have not spoken his name in such a long time," Tsuki said. She felt like crying. The wounds on her heart were beginning to reopen. She clutched her chest, feeling the pain return.
"No, I think I can understand," Nanami said smiling. It was clear to her, though, that this was painful for the wolf. Oka placed her hand on Tsuki's shoulder.
"Lady Tsuki has long loved the tengu, Jirou," Oka said hugging Tsuki.
"Jirou?!" Nanami yelled. She couldn't contain her shock. She hadn't realized that she jumped onto her feet. "Jirou? Really?" Nanami couldn't calm down. Who would love such a harsh man?
"Is that so bad?" Tsuki said with a hint of a growl. "I was with him as he grew into a young man. He was so kind and strong. Everything I could ask for." Nanami saw that her words were true. She calmed down to only be frightened by Tomoe, who burst in the room.
"Nanami!" He called. "What's wrong?"
"Calm down, fox, I simply surprised her with a confession." Tsuki's annoyance was clear in her voice. In ways, Tomoe hasn't changed.
"Tomoe, what the hell are you doing in here?!" Nanami yelled at him.
"I heard you yell," Tomoe said. "I thought..."
"We know exactly what you thought. We are not done here," Tsuki said letting her aura change. She showed only a portion of her power. Tomoe wouldn't back down this time. He stood beside Nanami.
"Anything else will be said in front of me," Tomoe growled.
"Fine," Tsuki bit out. She was getting irritated with Tomoe. "I wish only that Lady Nanami accompany me to Mount Kurama. Even though my love for Jirou is still strong after so many years, Soujoubou cast a spell on him to lose his memories of me and the years we shared together." Tsuki said as tears threatened to escape. "I did something horrible and became unclean. Unpure. The other half of my power caused a strong miasma to cover the mountain. I ran into trouble and haven't been able to cleanse myself. Then I was betrayed and was forced to become a shinshi." She glared at Tomoe as she said that. Then she looked at Nanami. "If I enter the tengu temple and Jirou were to see me, his mind will remember and will be tortured because of it. Soujoubou cast this spell, so that Jirou would stay strong. He did it for him. The spell is good for those who have lost loved ones and need to forget, but not when those loved ones are still alive. It can be consequential."
Nanami couldn't help but feel sorry for Tsuki. She saw a tear escape the wolf's eye. Tsuki turned away, to hide the tear. A weakness she could not afford. Tsuki was ashamed of herself for having lost control of her emotions.
"So now you know," Tsuki said, not looking at anyone but the floor. Oka nuzzled against Tsuki's shoulder to try to comfort her.
"We can not help you mend that love," Tomoe said.
"Tomoe!" Nanami yelled at him.
"I do not wish that. It seems he has fallen in love with someone else," Tsuki said, looking at Nanami. "I only wish that you distract him while I speak with Lord Soujoubou."
"Out of the question!" Tomoe shouted.
"Oh? Does that mean that you would get jealous? Does the mere thought of Nanami being embraced by Jirou make your skin crawl?" Tsuki growled low and glared at Tomoe.
"You shut your mouth, wolf!" Tomoe said as he made his move. "Fox Fire!" Tomoe threw a fox flame at her. Tsuki held up her hand and cast a barrier around her.
"I do not wish to fight in the presence of a tochigami, fox. It seems you have not changed completely," Tsuki said as a white light surrounded her and Oka. Oka clung to her. She was shivering. The fox fire dissipated and a vibration rippled from her barrier. Tomoe bounced off her that vibration and landed outside. Mizuki peaked inside. "If you do not wish to do this, then it is not my place to beg or force you."
"I'll do it," Nanami suddenly said. If she were in Tsuki's place, she'd ask the same thing. Tsuki looked at her. Even though this human is a little weak she still tries. That's something not a lot of people have these days. She couldn't help but smile.
"Thank you, Lady Nanami," Tsuki said as she stood and bowed. "I shall let Lord Soujoubou know of this." Tsuki looked at her. "We will be there in two days. My master will be there as well and can greet you himself." With that Tsuki and Oka made their way outside.
"Tsuki, are you sure we can trust her and her fox?" Oka asked hesitantly.
"We can trust her. I heard her word binding is very strong, so tomoe has no choice but to listen to her."
"Why do you keep taking on jobs that are too difficult for you?!" Tomoe yelled as he stood up.
"If I were in her position, I'd want someone's help too. What if I lost my memories of you and the mere thought of you were to slip into my mind and caused me pain and agony, what would you do?!" Nanami said practically in tears. Tomoe was taken aback. He didn't say anything. Nanami turned away. She couldn't imagine what Tsuki is going through. Something about her seemed off though. Tsuki seemed distant, but when she talked about Jirou, her true colors seemed to show. Nanami couldn't help but wonder what she did that was bad enough for her to lose her purity.
Does Tomoe have something to do with it?
She has so many questions about it, but has no way of knowing. Tomoe obviously has no memory of this Tsuki. Let alone anything regarding his past.