(Thank you so much for the nice reviews! I almost gave up on this Fic because I thought it was going to be a flop. But, apparently I was wrong ^_^ Reviewing this really does help me, it keeps my confidence up in writing more of the story. You, as my reader, are literally my inspiration. So, once again, thanks for the encouragement!)

Chapter Three

Something... was brushing against my cheek. It felt cool and gentle. My first tangible thought that I was able to muster was "Tomoe?" That would be impossible. Why would Tomoe be brushing his fingers against my cheek while I am sleeping? The idea in and of itself seemed so ridiculous that I immediately let it fall away and began to descend back into a deep sleep. But now the gentle touch had wandered outwards and buried itself in my hair, gently tugging at individual strands as they brushed through the tresses. The sensation felt so good that I shivered, forcing myself to waken into consciousness. Slowly opening my eyes to a dimly lit room, I focused upon the being who was hovering over me. Eyes widening, I immediately pushed up and away from them as quickly as possible.

"Mizuki?" Feeling fully awake now, I looked about the room jerkedly, not recognizing anything. Well, anything that I could manage to see. It was very dark, the only source of light was coming from a small lamp off in the farthest corner of the room, set upon an old desk. "Where are we?... and.. Where is Tomoe?" A cold feeling began to pulse through me, going all the way to the ends of my fingertips leaving an electric sensation that slowly ebbed away before another wave of unease went through me. I remembered sitting in the main room, watching TV... then Tomoe walking in and being upset.. then, I fell? I suddenly gasped, not being able to hold it back as I connected the dots within my mind. It was just what I was realizing before I blacked out. Tomoe was not lying or being too suspicious... Mizuki HAD been attempting to dose me. But wait... Why?

Suddenly noticing that Mizuki had kept quiet after I asked him two direct questions, I slowly focused back on his figure again. "Mizuki...?" I could feel my pulse beginning to quicken and he stayed still, kneeling before me with a soft smile on his face.

"Nanami-Chan..." His smile slowly faded as he bowed his head, staring at his hands now clasped in his lap tightly. "I am so sorry." His white hair that was usually swiped to the sides was now hanging in his face, his aura giving off a mix of danger and sorrow all at once. "I always loved you, ever since you saved me from those humans in your school. I will always be grateful to you for taking away my loneliness." He slowly raised his head, his once bright and cheerful eyes now turning cold and dark. "But you made a new feeling arise that I cannot even manage to bear for another day, Nanami-Chan." Slowly he stood up, all I could do was stare at him wide-eyed, attempting to try and grasp the words that echoed about the room. I know that at first, Mizuki wanted to make me his bride. So, in order for him to have wanted that he must have felt something for me... but I thought that was done and over with. I thought.. he was happy with the way things were.

Backing up even more as he began to take one tenuous step after another towards me, a familiar sense of panic I had felt with him once more began taking over all else in my mind. "Mizuki, hold on. Talk to me about this-" Out of nowhere I was being lifted up by the front scruff of my shirt,being pulled to my feet as I felt my back pressed against the wall behind me. I felt the air leave my lungs as I stared up into his jade green eyes, slowly beginning to tremble in his grasp. "I-..I don't understand.."

"I am not going to stay in that shrine for one more second with that disgusting, low-class Yokai, Nanami-Chan. I am not going to bear one more moment of seeing you two sneak glances back and forth between each other, no. You were intended to be mine in the first place when I marked your wrist, but that fox butted in once again and I had to alter my plans." His grip tightened, pulling me closer to him as my body finally began to kick into action. His words weren't making any sense. This wasn't the Mizuki I knew... this was a cold and dangerous stranger standing before me.

My legs kicked out towards him, attempting to hit his shins and force him to drop me. Instead, he pressed himself against me, rendering my legs useless. I desperately reached out with both hands, attempting to push him off me but before I could even touch him, he had let go of the scruff of my shirt and pinned both my wrists against the wall behind me, his nearness reaching the point of putting me on the edge of screaming. "After this deal with Akura-Ou is over, Tomoe will be long gone and I will finally have you all to myself, Nanami-Chan."

My mind desperately grasped at strings to pull, something to say to keep him from going any further. "B-but I thought that you said a relationship between a ShinShi and a Kami was unacceptable... Why would you go against what you believe in so strongly?" I fought against the ache in the back of my throat, tears behind my eyes threatening to be let loose. All I could possibly fathom right now was that the Mizuki I knew was a lie. And... he made some sort of deal with Akura-Ou of all beings...

"Oh, I do still believe very strongly in it Nanami-Chan." He mused in his now sickeningly cheery tone. "But, since my own Master abashed those rules by having fallen in love with her own ShinShi, I feel that it must be okay for me to ignore them as well." His face leaned in closer to mine, his lips hovering just above my own. "Besides, what I feel for you is far stronger than the expectations of tradition, Nanami-Chan..."

A noise of protest escaped my lips just before I felt his mouth press against mine forcefully, and hard. Shock hit me as my body continued it's useless struggling beneath his hold. His lips moved against my own almost out of desperation as if he were searching for something he had not yet found. His fingers now were entwined with my own, acting as if we were a normal couple locked in a lustful embrace. Anger soon replaced the shock, piercing my heart like shattering glass. How dare he... Suddenly biting down on his lip as hard as I could, he quickly pulled away with an expression of surprise on his face. A small trickle of blood already beginning to drip down the side of his chin as he stared at me for a few moments. His voice, now small and quiet broke the silence between us.

"Why would... Why would you do that? I know you have feelings for me, Nanami.. you have just been too afraid to accept them yet. But... why would you bite me like that?" My anger faded quickly as I realized how delusional the snake yokai before me, truly had been. Fear spiked in me once more as I realized how insane he had become. The expression of surprise in his face changed before my eyes into something unholy and dangerous as he suddenly hissed at me, his fangs protruding from his mouth venomously.

"I think you need to learn your place from now on, Nanami-Chan..." His voice grew low and threatening, growing louder as he neared the end of the sentence. Letting go of one of my wrists, he brought his hand back, raising it to strike me. A whimper of fear escaped my throat as I felt myself cowering, closing my eyes and preparing for the blow to my face. My thoughts emanating outward, one single name. 'Tomoe!'

" I think that is enough time alone with her for now, Mizuki. After all, our deal is not yet complete." A cold and calm voice suddenly stopped everything in it's tracks as the sound of a door behind Mizuki opened, letting more light into the room. I recognized the voice before even seeing his face.

"Akura-Ou..." I managed to whisper, as darkness once again took over me as I felt myself go limp in Mizuki's grasp.

…...

(Four days ago)

"MIZUKI!" Tomoe yelled as he held the now unconscious Nanami in his arms. That snake did not even give him the chance to recuperate from this morning. He had managed to poison her this time, right under his nose. An annoying pang of guilt hit him as he held Nanami's limp, small frame in his arms. He should have expected this... why could he not even do his job as her ShinShi to keep her safe half the time?

This time was different though. Everything that had happened in the past where he was not able to keep Nanami from danger, it was something that could be fixed. But this... Nanami's own second ShinShi had betrayed her. This was beyond the lowest of the low. And now he was going to pay. The Snake had to die.

He stormed out of the shrine, eyes scanning every nook and cranny of the house before walking outside, still holding Nanami possessively. "Mizuki, get your ass over here right now! I have finally caught you, and it is time to send you back to the bottom of that godforsaken swamp. For good!" Just as he was about to walk down the steps and search the grounds for that damned snake, he felt something hard make contact with the back of his head.

An inaudible noise escaped his lips as he felt himself falling to his knees, doing everything within his power to keep Nanami from falling to the ground. Two sets of shoes entered his now blurry vision as he felt Nanami being lifted out of his arms swiftly. Attempting to snatch her back as little black dots began to overtake his vision, his eyes widened as her captor stepped away, now fully in his vision. "Mizuki... How could you do this to your own Master?"

A chuckle, right beside him broke out into laughter as he felt someone grab him by the hair and force his face upwards, a slightly familiar face now fully in his view as he felt himself falling backwards. 'That boy... the one who disguised himself as a human and entered the land of the dead with Nanami... what is he doing here? Why is he...' His thought collapsed into a jumbled mess as the darkness around him began to close in swiftly.

"I've finally found you, Wild Fox. It is time I exact my revenge upon you after so many years... soon you will suffer even more than I did."