Chapter 3

When Nanami rose from her futon bleary eyed and sluggish she was slightly confused. Her body felt heavier than normal but surprisingly light all the same, it was such a strange feeling but as her brain caught up with her waking body she remembered how she got here...sort of.

She was in the garden with Mizuki feeding the pond of koi they'd begged Mikage to install months before, when she suddenly felt as if every cell of her body was burning and her vision blurred. She stood up thinking that maybe she'd stared at the water too long and looked to the sky only for it to gt that much worse. She couldn't see and her entire body felt as if she'd been engulfed in Tomoe's fox fire; than everything went black as she felt herself falling. She had no idea how long she had been sleeping but all she knew was one thing for sure...she had to PEE!

Shaking the blankets off of her she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Why was her vision so clear and bright? Since when could she see everything with such clarity, down to specks of dust floating in the air? Shaking her head she decided to just tackle one thing at a time and set to heading for the bathroom to relieve her overly full bladder. She heard a strange dragging along the floorboards as she walked but dismissed it since Mizuki's spirit form was a snake and he was probably slithering around just to annoy Tomoe again.

Smiling softly she meandered slowly into the bathroom feeling well rested and in high spirits. After doing her business she washed her hands and set her sights to the kitchen because she was STARVED. It wasn't until she pushed open the tatami for their dining room that she realized something was truly wrong. Out the corner of her eye she truly could see her hand still resting on the door frame. When the hell had her nails gotten so long?! And why were they as sharp as Tomoe's?! When she whipped her head in their direction to get a more detailed look, her hair whipped in front of her face and yet it wasn't really her hair. It was the same chestnut (somewhat) but there were golden like streaks in it and it was not only a good six inches longer but it was much thicker than usual. Looking down for further inspection she realized that her breasts had gone up at LEAST a full cup size. She had to be a C cup now. Well she had to admit that wasn't an unwelcome change.

"What...the hell...is going on?!" She screeched cupping her bra less breasts flinching at the strange voice that left her lips

"Nanami!"

Whipping her head up she was just in time to see both Mamorou and Mizuki before they tackled her to the floor wailing endlessly.

"We were sure you were going to die!" Her wailing shikigami cried burying his face in her neck

"What happened?" She asked curiously trying to ignore the difference in her voice

"Well umm" Mizuki trailed off twiddling his fingers

"Follow me!" Mamorou grinned excitedly

Leading her outside he pulled her to the worship alter on the far left by the pond where a full body length mirror was standing against the wall. She couldn't stop the shriek of surprise that left her throat at her altered appearance. This beautiful woman in the mirror looked like her but than again she did not. Maybe her at 25 with a serious beauty and skin care regimen but dear Gods was she breathtaking. Her normally thin hair was much thicker now, almost wild looking since she'd just woken up. Her wide eyes were still wide and although they were chestnut in color they were speckled and ringed in gold now with long lashes that framed the beautiful orbs. She still had her cute button nose and full lips though they seemed just a tad bit plumper in her opinion but she could just be picking at her appearance. Her breasts had definitely filled in finally and sat up high on her chest but she filled out her kimono a lot more than she thought. She wanted to see if her body had changed as much as the rest of her had.

"Mizuki-kun could you turn around for a sec?" She asked her cheeks burning in embarrassment

"Umm sure" He shrugged sitting down and turning his back on her

Just as she began to pull it open to get a better look at herself she felt a familiar set of warm, strong arms wrapping around her torso and pulling her close.

"Nanami...Thank Gods" Tomoe's deep voice breathed in her ear

Unable to supress the shiver of pleasure at his smooth baritone she melted against his broad and muscled chest finding comfort in the familiar warmth of his arms.

"Tomoe" She breathed softly not even recognizing the sultry lilt to her voice, though Tomoe's stiffening against her back alerted that he was also affected

Lowering her left hand to rest atop his she closed her eyes finding solace in the proximity, the way he held her and in everything him. She loved Tomoe deeply before but this was so much more intense and she hadn't even looked at him yet. Her very being was screaming for his and she could feel how his very presence had her responding to him without thought. Tomoe. Her Tomoe. Spinning in his arms she looked up at him with new eyes and found nothing but perfection. The sharp intake of breath that left his lips in surprise at her altered appearance was even bewitching and she found herself drawing closer to him.

"Ahem" Mizuki cleared his throat noisily "Why do I have to turn around but Tomoe gets to see everything?"

Reality slammed into her that her kimono was in fact opened and she wasn't wearing a thing beneath it either. Pushing Tomoe away she pulled it closed quickly and ran to her room utterly confused. She thought she'd been in love with Tomoe before but this was so very different and so much more powerful than she ever knew herself capable of. Is this what Mikage had tried to explain to her in Izumo? If this was even a fraction of what Tomoe felt for her she too now knew why he was so very afraid to give in to his feelings for her. But the real question plaguing her and scaring the living shit out of her was, what exactly was she now?