Shards
Chapter 4
"W..what," Tomoe questioned in his stuttering tone. "Why did you turn into a human and back to a demon?!"
Tomoe went to reach for her shoulder, but Nanami smacked it away, refusing any help, and refusing to show the pain that cringed her face. She clutched her chest and took a deep breath. The tension in the air was getting thicker and the longer the silence fell upon them, the more shock Tomoe's heart endured from this painful scene.
"Tomoe... you are my familiar... and I am your god. No matter what form I may take, there is no way we could ever be happy together if we keep shoving love in the gaps between us."
As a pen being mightier than a sword, these words that she spoke hurt more than it looked. Tomoe felt as if he were swallowing his own words. He use to have said those things like that before, but things have changed.
So many things.
The way he looked upon this world, he use to think humans themselves were as fragile as a flower petal. Beautiful and vibrant in color, but as soon as it shrivels up, it crumbles at the tip of a finger.
As soon as he met Nanami, she was that vibrant petal who danced in the wind, independent and so free. She never shriveled up, she never lost her beautiful color. As soon as the flower inside of her bloomed, instead of her chasing him, it was him who was chasing her floating petal, protecting her, nourishing her, but never being able to keep up with her.
But look at her now.
No matter how you look at it, it is Nanami. The same face, the same hair, the same body from head to toe and fingertips. Still vibrant, but she was no longer that fragile petal he use to hold in the palm of his hand. Nanami was now more of a thorn, sharp and perked with an attitude. Though she was a demon, she was still his Nanami, no matter how much she had changed.
Still, what lingered in the air was the same question repeating itself in the back of Tomoe's mind. 'Why did she become human then a demon again?! Why doesn't she see how much I missed her?!'
Unable to respond anymore, Tomoe hung his head in deep confusion and felt the arrow of pain shoot straight into his chest. Not knowing what to do, he just stood there in disbelief of anything. He wished it all to be a dream or a hallucination from too much shock after passing out.
Silence was way too loud and Nanami felt more uncomfortable as she stayed in the position she was in. She had to move before Tomoe broke out of his little trance. Nanami hid her face under her bangs and slipped away out the door, even avoiding any contact with Tomoe as in a bump or a sleeve brushing against his. Her face felt pained, as much as she regretted doing that, she had no choice but to.
As soon as she closed the door behind her, Nanami came face to face with her second familiar who was not as confused as Tomoe was.
"Are you alright Nanami-chan?" Mizuki tried to sputter up his usual suffixes to lessen the awkwardness hanging in the air.
Nanami shot him a quick glare, but collapsed to her knees in cold sweat. "Nanami-chan?!" Mizuki crouched down on his knees to brush the bangs from her face. Her skin was flushed and her body was heating up as hot as fire.
Nanami reached for Mizuki's hand and weakly moved it away. "I'm fine Mizuki... I just need some rest," Nanami said as she stood back up and slowly walked towards her wing of the shrine. Mizuki sighed and worriedly watched Nanami as she walked, expecting her to trip and fall any second.
"How long will you be able to hold up that body Nanami? After two years, you still haven't gotten use to a body of a kitsune."
Nanami turned her head to look at him and she clicked her tongue against her teeth, back in the bad attitude facade she displayed.
"Please shut your mouth Mizuki. You promised me, now don't break that promise," Nanami finished as she dragged her body to her room. The echo of the paper door opening and shutting filled the crevasses of silence. It was way too quiet than it should be. If Mizuki could hear the crickets chirping on the trees outside, then it felt nothing like the Mikage shrine he called home.
Slightly opening the door to where Tomoe was, Mizuki took a look in and the room was bare as the back of his hand. Nothing but emptiness glowered such pain to his eyes, but took notice to an open window that creaked after the wind brushed against the wooden frame. Mizuki had guessed that Tomoe ran out since this was all too much for him to take in.
'No matter what promised I made Nanami, it is not more important than your health... as much as I hate to admit it.. and as well as to Tomoe's well being," Mizuki thought to himself.
Even though Mizuki sought out Tomoe as a rival in love and familiar status, he knew that was never going to be as good enough as Tomoe. As much as he had fought with him, Mizuki looked up to Tomoe as his senior and kind of as a brother. He never hated him, he just envied Tomoe for being the one Nanami holds so dear to her.
Mizuki felt quite uncomfortable about it, but he was as well as worried about Tomoe as much as he was worried about Nanami. After two years of seeing Tomoe suffering and hiding away alone. He was tired of finding shards of the kitsune's heart falling out of place every time he saw the drained misery enveloping Tomoe's expression.
As much as Mizuki always wanted to downgrade Tomoe, it was too much for him to see him like that. Now that Nanami was back, Mizuki figured along that Tomoe wasn't the only heart that was shattered. Nanami's shards were showing too.
Not from her expression, but from the beating pulse coming from her shard sword.
Her broken heart was that sword.