"Oh, thank you – wait, what?!" exclaimed the other three in unison.
"You heard me," said Tomoe in a bored tone. "Get someone else to watch her. I have neither the time nor the patience to look after an unruly, misbehaving brat. If Mikage wanted her here so badly, he should have been here to welcome her."
Almost immediately, Ookuninushi was on his feet. "Master Tomoe, please reconsider –"
"I refuse."
"But if you just –"
"No."
"Master Tomoe –"
A dangerous look from the white fox silenced the blond man. "I will not repeat myself again," said Tomoe, lifting a fan to his face. "I have no obligation to help you. If Mikage wants me to care for her, he can come down here and make me." A flicker of movement in Tomoe's peripheral vision caused him to turn and see Miko studying him closely. Tomoe bent down so that their faces were level and watched her with the same intensity. "What?"
Miko remained silent for a long moment. "You're a fox, right?" she finally asked. Tomoe nodded and Miko reached up tentatively. Tugging on one of his ears, she continued, "Why do you have cat ears then?"
"I do not have cat ears!" yelled Tomoe indignantly, bringing his face closer to hers. Instead of backing away, however, the young girl merely gave him a bored look and hit his head with her stick once more. "Ow!" Tomoe straightened immediately and glared at the girl.
"Miko!" scolded Hikari. "Don't be so rude to Master Tomoe."
The child looked at her mother and shrugged nonchalantly. "It's not like he has any choice in the matter," she said simply. Instead of explaining further, she merely toddled back to her place and plopped down to continue drinking her milk.
"What do you mean by that, Miko?" Ryota prompted his daughter.
Miko stayed quiet until she had drunk the last of her milk then placed the glass down and stood once more. Moving quietly, she waddled to a small black backpack beside her mother's purse. She reached inside the backpack and pulled out two small DVDs. After studying them both for a moment, Miko nodded to herself in satisfaction and moved back towards Tomoe.
"Here," she said, handing him one of the disks. "You're supposed to play this one right now."
Tomoe took the disk skeptically, not particularly inclined to take orders from a toddler, but his curiosity won out. He moved towards the TV, inserted the DVD, and pressed play. At first, there was nothing but static, but once the picture cleared, Tomoe felt his breath catch at the person on the screen.
Mikage.
"Is this thing on?" Mikage asked the person behind the camera. They must have nodded, because he continued, "Oh, good. Well then, Tomoe, if you're watching this, you must be seething right now." Tomoe scoffed. Understatement of the decade. "Anyway, before I continue further, I'd like to try something out."
The group watched anxiously as Mikage's expression turned firm and he commanded, "Tomoe, stand!" As if pulled by puppet strings, Tomoe stood up immediately, watching the TV attentively. His lavender eyes widened in realization. He wouldn't dare.
Mikage paused for a moment before continuing. "If you're standing right now, that means the sacred word binding worked. Then, here are your real orders." A deep breath and Mikage's brown eyes hardened once more behind his circular glasses. "Tomoe, I order you to watch over Miko Tachibana and protect her with your life!" Tomoe remained silent but he felt his jaw clench. Damn you, Mikage. "If it didn't work," he continued, his expression grim. "Then you've probably already turned off this recording. But if you haven't, then I beg you Tomoe, please take care of Miko." Someone seemed to be calling Mikage's attention because he looked away for a moment before turning back to the camera. "I have to go now. Best of luck and I'll see you soon, Tomoe."
The screen turned black as the camera turned off, leaving a stunned silence in the room. Ookuninushi was the first to speak. "Miko," he began tentatively. "Where did you get that recording?"
She shrugged. "Lord Otohiko gave it to me before we left," she replied easily. "He made me promise not to mention it unless Tomoe absolutely refused to watch me." Miko shot the fox a glare. "Though if I had known, I wouldn't have said anything."
"What is that supposed to mean?" demanded Tomoe harshly, momentarily distracted by the belligerent little girl.
"It means you're a dummyhead."
Tomoe glared at her. "You damn brat!" Miko merely turned back to her parents.
"Are you guys gonna go home now?" she asked. Tomoe's eyes softened as he noted the soft quiver in her voice. No matter how annoying she was, Miko was still only five. Ryota and Hikari nodded sadly and went to hug their daughter.
"Promise us you'll behave," Hikari sniffled as she embraced Miko tightly. The young girl nodded and Tomoe could have sworn he'd seen a tear roll down her cheek. Ryota remained silent as Ookuninushi bid his farewell to Miko and Tomoe. A flash of light blinded both yokai for a moment and then they were gone.
Tomoe sighed and looked down at the young girl. Her golden eyes were bright and he could tell she was trying very hard not to cry. "It's okay," he said gently. "You can cry if you want to."
Almost defiantly, Miko rubbed her eyes and glared up at the white fox. "I'm not a baby," she told him firmly. "And you're still a dummyhead." Tomoe didn't get a chance to retort before Miko was handing him the second DVD. "Here. Lord Otohiko said not to give you this one until after Lord Ookuninushi and my parents had left. He also said you should watch it alone."
"Thank you," Tomoe said in surprise. He looked down at Miko skeptically. "Are you sure you're only five?"
She nodded. "Wolf yokai may take as long as humans to mature physically, but our minds mature far faster than most other species." Tomoe nodded in understanding. "Now get me some more milk."
"I am not your slave!" protested Tomoe. "Do not forget, young lady, that you are a guest in my home and you will behave as such!"
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, dummyhead. Just get me some milk."
Tomoe glared at the young wolf but didn't bother to respond. Instead, he stood with a huff and left the main room, cursing under his breath as he heated the milk.
When he returned, however, Miko was already curled up on the floor. Tomoe smirked down at the girl. "Troublesome brat," he whispered, but his kind smile softened the harsh words.
As he bent down to pick her up, Miko rolled over, revealing the second DVD she'd given Tomoe. The white fox studied it for a moment, considering it contents. Finally, he could no longer bear the curiosity and replaced the first disk in the player. Turning off the lights, he hit play and lowered the volume so as not to disturb the young girl sleeping beside him.
Once more, static filled the screen for a few seconds before Mikage became visible. "Hello, Tomoe," he greeted kindly. Tomoe's expression remained blank as he continued watching. "If you're watching this right now, you've agreed to take in Miko." The fox yokai scoffed. Yeah, sure, he thought sarcastically. I 'agreed' to this mess.
"I'm sure you're probably wondering where I am right now," continued Mikage. "And I bet you're pretty angry at me, but I need you to understand that Miko is very important. As Lord Ookuninushi has probably explained to you, she's the last pure-blooded wolf yokai left." Mikage paused, his expression grim. "I realize you probably think I have no right to ask this of you, but please care for Miko as if she were your own family. You are the only person I can trust with this. I'll try to be home as soon as I can." Mikage smiled at the camera, his brown eyes twinkling. "Perhaps you'll have learned a thing or two by the time I return. Goodbye, Tomoe."
Tomoe turned off the TV and sat in the dark silence for a long time. Mikage's video message had just confused him further. Had he been planning to leave Tomoe alone the whole time? And if so, why? Why not just break the contract and find a new familiar? None of it made sense.
A sudden warmth in his lap reminded Tomoe that he was not alone tonight. Looking down at Miko, who had somehow managed to climb onto the white fox's lap, he frowned. What was so special about her? Okay, she was the last of her kind, but so what? What did Mikage have planned for her?
"Tomoe," Miko moaned softly, breaking Tomoe's train of thought. He looked down at the young girl in surprise as she turned over and cracked open her eyelids. Her golden eyes were heavy with sleep. "You're really loud, you know."
"Oh, shut up," he told her with an irritated look. Scooping the toddler into his arms so he could stand, Tomoe carried Miko into the inner shrine where a bed had already been made for her, presumably by one of the shrine spirits. By the time Tomoe had laid her down on the bed and tucked her in, Miko had already fallen asleep again.
Tomoe sighed and studied the young girl carefully. "Special, huh?" He raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I doubt it."
"Would you stop staring at me?" Miko's voice made the fox jump in surprise. "You're so creepy."
"Just go to sleep!" Tomoe ordered as he stormed out of the room, closing the door behind him. He swallowed his irritation and went outside. Sitting down on the porch, Tomoe served himself some sake and stared up at the moon. "You had better be right about her, Mikage." He sighed at the unresponsive moon. "Or I swear, I really will jump-kick you the next time you show your face around here."
Little did Tomoe know that, just above his head, a small butterfly was flying through the sky. If he had seen that butterfly, he might have noticed the way it fluttered around the shrine, as if checking on its inhabitants. He also might have seen the way it landed on a branch and lazily flapped its wings almost like it was content with the state of the shrine. If Tomoe had seen the butterfly, he might have realized that Mikage wasn't as far away as he'd thought.
But, then again, if he'd seen the butterfly, Tomoe and Miko's story might have ended there. Luckily, that little butterfly knew just how much fate had in store for both the fox and the wolf, and it flew just high enough to let their story continue a little longer.
