(10) Test for Kimiko's Approval
Disclaimer: I do not own this anime, but I do own my OC.
Summary: Mikage had another familiar, one that could deal with Tomoe, because she too was a Yokai.
Note: I don't really like the last two episodes, so I'm going to change them, instead of a festival, Nanami will have to get Kimiko's approval, as the title states. However, Nanami will be OCC latter on.
:
Nanami was walking home from school feeling quite depressed. She had been mulling over a certain facts for months on end. She had been the Land God for nearly a year, ten months, and yet she hasn't received Kimiko's approval.
Nanami just couldn't get her head around the fact, was she not good enough? Kimiko had been acting nicer to her, but barely.
She turned around when she heard laughing, "Who's there?" Nanami called feeling slightly uneasy, Kimiko, Tomoe or Mizuki weren't with her because she wanted to walk home alone, a stupid decision.
Suddenly, someone appeared behind her, "I do not approve of you being the Land God."
Nanami looked at the person, it was a male, but he looked very feminine. He wore feminine clothes, yet his physic was male. It was Otohiko (if you haven't already guessed)
"Who are you?" Nanami asks cautiously.
Otohiko laughed, "My name is Otohiko!"
Nanami tilted her head, "And why are you here?"
"Tell me dear," Otohiko says with a grin, "have you received Kimiko's approval and is she your familiar?"
Nanami looked at the ground.
The male sighed, "Unfortunately, to pass my test, you need Kimiko as your familiar."
Nanami looked up confused, "What do you mean?"
Otohiko grinned again, "I have been sent here to test you to see if you are worthy of being the Land God, if you pass my test then you will remain the Land God."
"And if I fail?" Nanami challenged.
Otohiko laughed, "Then your Land God mark will be taken away and given to someone more deserving."
Nanami tensed as determination filled her, she would pass this test.
"You bastard!"
Otohiko and Nanami turned around and saw Kimiko standing there with an angry look on her face. She wasn't looking at Nanami, but Otohiko.
Otohiko took a step back in fear, "N-now, now Kimiko."
Kimiko reappeared in front of the Wind God. She raised her leg and kicked him in the face, making sure to get his nose. Otohiko cried as he was sent back a distance.
"K-Kimiko why did you do that?!" Nanami cried in shock.
"He was the one who nearly made Ami drown." Kimiko growled.
Otohiko got up, "I'm getting out of here!"
"Get back here you coward!" Kimiko shouts, but he's gone, and Kimiko was only talking to air. Kimiko huffs and turns back to Nanami.
"Did he say anything to you?" Kimiko asked.
Nanami shook her head, "N-no he didn't, he just said he didn't approve of me being the Land God." Nanami lied hoping that she wouldn't notice.
Kimiko looked at Nanami with scrutinising gaze before sighing, "Well he should join the club."
Nanami pouted.
"Why don't you approve of me, Kimiko?" Nanami ask the Cat.
Kimiko looks at Nanami with a stoic look, "It's because I don't trust you."
"What can I do to earn your trust?" Nanami persisted.
Kimiko raises an eye brow, "Why are you so interested?"
"N-no reason!" Nanami looked away.
Kimiko rolled her eyes and walked home, with Nanami following close behind her.
:
"Such a strange girl." Kimiko muttered as she sat in a high tree.
"Who is?" Tomoe says sitting next to her.
Kimiko scoffed, "Guess."
Tomoe hummed, "Its Nanami isn't it?"
Kimiko nodded her head, "She all of a sudden seems interested on when I will become her familiar."
Tomoe scoffed at this notion, "Remember you said hell would freeze over before you became her familiar?"
Kimiko nodded her head, "Oh I remember well."
"But she seems determined." Tomoe says referring to Nanami below them. Nanami had come up to them and asked Kimiko how she could earn her trust. Kimiko, who was feeling mischievous, was getting the Land God to do all her chores.
"And stupid at the same time." Kimiko says with a smirk. Nanami had been cleaning for hours on end, and Kimiko felt good about this.
"Kimiko, I'm done!" Nanami called up with sweat on her face.
Kimiko merely glanced down, it was clean, "Good job. But now I'm feeling peckish." Kimiko says with a devilish grin.
Nanami's look of determination took over her exhausted expressions, "I'll do that immediately!" Nanami then ran off to the kitchen.
Tomoe snickered, "How cruel."
"It took fifty years for Mikage to earn my trust; I refuse to trust a human after only ten months." Kimiko said fanning herself.
:
"Here's your food!" Nanami said as she placed the food that she had prepared for Kimiko on the table in front of the Cat.
The Cat looked at the food; it looked alright, not compared to Tomoe's but good enough. Kimiko picked up her chop sticks and placed a bit in her mouth. Kimiko began to chew.
"So, how is it?" Nanami asks.
Tomoe watched with an amused expression.
Kimiko spat out the food and began to cough, "What the hell is in this!" Kimiko said before gulping down water. The food tasted atrocious! Some parts were burnt and other parts were raw!
Kimiko picked up her cup of tea, "At least you can't mess up tea." Kimiko said taking a sip, but soon spat it out like the food.
"You messed up the tea!" Kimiko cried, what could this girl do right?!
"B-but I worked hard on it..." Nanami whimpered.
"Well it's terrible." Kimiko snapped bluntly before walking out of the room.
:
Kimiko sat on the roof of the shrine looking at the half moon with an annoyed look on her face. She hated that girl; she really thought that she could replace Mikage.
"Kimiko." Tomoe said getting her attention. Kimiko turned her head and saw Tomoe standing next to her; she had already sensed his presence so she wasn't surprised.
"Yes?" Kimiko said.
Tomoe sat down next to the Cat, "You know you really hurt her feelings."
Kimiko shrugged, "I don't really care."
"Kimiko, what's wrong?" Tomoe asked with a concerned look on his face. Usually, Kimiko wasn't this cruel to Nanami. Well, she was, but she was betting better as time went on, so why had she suddenly decided to act mean again?
"I saw Otohiko," Kimiko confessed, "and since he was close by, I thought maybe Mikage was too, and thought that he was going to come back."
Tomoe froze; he didn't know what to say. He knew that Kimiko was loyal to only one person, and that was Mikage.
Tomoe sighed, "Why not give Nanami a fair trial."
Kimiko looked up with an intrigued expression, "A trial?"
"Yes, a trial," Tomoe nodded his head, "Get her to do something and if she passes, then you'll accept her. Don't you think that's fairer?"
Kimiko thought about it, it did sound interesting.
"Have her do something that a Land God should know how to do." Tomoe suggested.
A thought came to Kimiko, "I've got it."
:
Kimiko and Nanami were in the living room of the shrine.
"Nanami," Kimiko said getting the humans attention.
Nanami looked up, she looked slightly nervous. Kimiko took notice to the fact her eyes were red, showing that she had been crying.
"I am going to give you a trial." Kimiko said with a grin.
"Huh?" Nanami tilted her head.
Kimiko continued, "If you pass this test, I will become your familiar. If not, you will never ask me again to be your familiar."
Nanami nodded her head, accepting the rules, "What is the trail?"
Kimiko smiled, "Kagura dancing."
"DANCING?!"
"Yes, dancing. Gods typically know how to dance. Mikage could dance especially well." Kimiko said with an amused expression on her face.
Nanami looked down in shame, she was terrible at dancing! How was she going to pull this off?!
"You can always deny the trail." Kimiko said tauntingly.
A determined look on her face appeared, "I'll do it."
Kimiko nodded, she had anticipated this, "I will dance while you observe, and then you will copy my movements. If you follow me perfectly, I will become your familiar. You are allowed to perform the dance three times, so you have three chances. I will also show the dance to you twice." Kimiko said explaining the rules.
Nanami nodded.
Kimiko walked forward and handed Nanami two fans, both coloured pink, "You will need these." Kimiko said before walking away.
Nanami held the fan and looked at them.
"Pay attention!" Kimiko snapped at Nanami.
Nanami jumped at her harsh tone, "H-Hai!
Tomoe, Mizuki and the willow-wisps were watching in the background, "Do you think she'll be able to do it?" Mizuki asked.
Tomoe shrugged, "Nanami is very determined and stubborn. But Kimiko is the best dancer. Mikage was known as a very good dancer until Kimiko came."
Onikiri looked a bit worried, "I hope she does it."
Kotetsu nodded his head, "All she needs is to get the dance right and Kimiko will be her familiar."
"But it won't be easy." Tomoe says shaking his head.
Back with Nanami and Kimiko, Kimiko was stood in the centre of the room. She snapped open her own two blue fans and began her dance. Kimiko kept her body relaxed as she moved and she closed her eyes.
Nanami watched in awe, she was so graceful it was unbelievable at how well she danced. Nanami felt doubt creeping up her spine, there was no way she could-
"Now it's your turn." Kimiko says ending her dance.
"C-could you do that again?" Nanami asked nervously.
Kimiko's eyes narrowed, "You didn't even watch, did you?"
Nanami looked at the floor.
Kimiko sighed in aggravation, "Fine."
Kimiko began her dance again, and this time, Nanami watched carefully. She noticed how relaxed her form was and how gently she placed her feet on the floor when she moved them. She noticed how softly her arms glided as she moved her fans.
The Cat Yokai stopped dancing and looked at the human, "You're turn."
Nanami nodded and walked to where Kimiko was standing. Nanami snapped open her own pair of fans and began her dance. She remembered to keep her posture relaxed. She moved as gracefully as she could, when she heard no one say anything, she continued. Nanami felt nervous-
"Wrong."
Nanami stopped were she was. She looked up to Kimiko and saw her shaking her head in disappointment.
"Again." Kimiko ordered.
Nanami nodded and began the dance from the beginning. Nerves began to creep up again; she was already on her second attempt. What was she doing wrong-?
"Wrong."
Nanami froze, she had failed again!
"You'll do better next time Nanami!" Mizuki cheered for her.
"Again." Kimiko said with no expression on her face.
Nanami shook her head, "No."
Everyone looked at her in shock; even Kimiko looked shocked, "What?" Kimiko asked with shock evident in her voice.
"I give up!" Nanami shouts as she throws the fans on the floor.
"What do you mean give up?!" Kimiko shouts back in frustration, she was giving her a chance and it was being thrown back in her face.
"I can't do it!" Nanami shouts.
Kimiko glares, "Stop acting like a child Nanami, it will get you no were."
"Tomoe, leave this room and don't come back until I tell you to!" Nanami orders the Fox. Everyone looks shocked at this. Tomoe had no choice but to obey the command, he may not be allowed to enter the room again, but he can look in.
Nanami grinned which unnerved Kimiko.
"Mizuki, restrain her!" Nanami ordered the Snake. The Snake looked shocked, but had no choice but to grab Kimiko and restrain her.
"Let me go!" Kimiko shouts as she struggles against Mizuki. The Snake looks saddened but he has no choice, Nanami had ordered him and the divine words bound him.
"Nanami, stop this!" Tomoe shouted from outside, he was horrified by what he was seeing, it was like Nanami had gone mental!
Nanami walked forward until she stood in front of Kimiko, Kimiko looked at her with an unnerved expression. "You will become my familiar, one way or another." Nanami says with a stoic expression.
Kimiko struggled with all her might as Nanami's face got closer to hers, "Get off me!" Kimiko screamed.
"I'm sorry." Mizuki whispered.
Nanami moved her face closer. Panic went through Kimiko, "GET AWAY!" She screamed as her Yokai manipulated the air, the air attacked Nanami sending her into a wall. With Mizuki in shock, Kimiko sprints for the door and runs away.
Mizuki, the willow-wisps and Tomoe look at Nanami in silenced shocked, Tomoe stomped into the room which he was somehow able to do now, "What the hell do you think you were doing?!" Tomoe shouts at her.
Nanami sits up, "I wanted her to be my familiar!"
Mizuki shook his head, "Nanami, you don't do that."
Nanami looked close to tears, "Why are you all acting mean?! You saw how she treated me!"
"Because you're an idiot!" Tomoe shouts. Everyone looks at him in shock; he had never raised his voice to this level before or sounded so angry, "She doesn't trust people because of this very reason! What you have done is disgusting!"
Mizuki and the willow-wisps backed away from Tomoe's wrath.
Nanami looked at Tomoe with a heart broken expression.
Tomoe ran away and went to look for Kimiko, ignoring Nanami calling his name.
:
Hours had passed and Tomoe still couldn't find Kimiko. He had looked everywhere, the park, Kurama's house, the school and yet she was nowhere to be seen. Worry was evident on Tomoe's face. He had sent his Fox Fire out looking for Kimiko, and Mizuki was also looking for her.
"Master, she's at the lake!" One of his Fires said.
He dashed off as soon as they finished their sentence. He dismissed all of his other Fire and ran to the lake. They sometimes visited the lake when it was particularly hot, and it was on the other side of town.
He arrives at the lake and saw Kimiko standing there. He carefully walks over so not to alarm her, "Kimiko." Tomoe mumbles. He knew that she heard him because her tail twitched at the sound of his voice and her ears were pointing in his direction.
Tomoe walks until he is beside her.
"I'm sorry." Tomoe says.
Kimiko shakes her head, "There is nothing you could have done. Her divine words had you trapped. That is why I do not want to be a familiar to her."
Tomoe nodded his head in agreement.
"She is reckless and doesn't think before she acts." Kimiko ranted.
Tomoe nodded again, letting her get her feelings out.
"Yet, I can't help but feel something, it's like I feel betrayed." Kimiko says placing her hand over her heart.
Tomoe looked confused, "But I thought you didn't trust her?"
Kimiko nods her head, "I don't. I hated her when I first met her. But after Narukami and then the Dragon Lord-"
Tomoe winced.
"I feel like there's something there." Kimiko finishes with a sigh.
"And what she did just now, broke whatever was there." Tomoe understood why she reacted the way she did.
Kimiko nodded her head.
"Then with the dancing-"
Kimiko cut him off, "She was doing it wrong. She was too tense, she wasn't letting her instincts take over. She doubts herself, that's what she was doing wrong."
Realisation came to Tomoe, "That's why."
Kimiko nodded her head, "I could smell her doubt."
"Were you actually going to become her familiar if she did the dance correctly?" Tomoe asked.
"I was," Kimiko whispered.
Suddenly, Kimiko and Tomoe sense something wrong with the shrine, it felt like miasma, the same miasma that was trapped under the shrine, "It can't be..." Kimiko says looking into the direction of the shrine.
Tomoe cursed and ran off with Kimiko hot on his heels.
:
"What do I do?!" Nanami cried as she looked at the fast spreading miasma. Mizuki, Onikiri and Kotetsu were with her, Tomoe and Kimiko still hadn't arrived back at the shrine.
Nanami felt really guilty for what happened, she didn't know what came over her. But now she knew that she had no chance at getting Kimiko to be her familiar.
"The Kagura dance!" Onikiri said.
Nanami looked confused, "Huh?"
"Remember, the dance that Kimiko showed you," Kotetsu said, "it's called the Kagura dance, use that and it will get rid of the miasma!"
"But I couldn't do it!" Nanami protested.
"Try!" The willow-wisps shout.
Nanami was going to try and do the Kagura dance, but she heard something behind her, she looks and sees Tomoe and Kimiko running to the shrine.
"Kimiko! Tomoe!" Nanami cried with relief.
Tomoe looked at the Land God with a stoic look, "Get out of here before you get hurt."
"But I need to do the dance!" Nanami shouts at him.
"Dancing won't get rid of it fully; you need to be able to manipulate the wind." Kimiko said not looking at Nanami.
Nanami looked at Kimiko and was saddened when she wouldn't look at her back, "I'm sorry." Nanami says to Kimiko.
Kimiko's shakes her head, "I don't want to hear it."
"But-"
Kimiko cuts her off, "Tell me after the dance, I'll use my wind and Tomoe will seal it again." Kimiko was about to walk away but a hand grabs her arms, stopping her from moving; Kimiko turned her head and saw that it was Nanami.
"If I do the dance correctly, will you forgive me?" Nanami asks with a serious look.
"I haven't got time for-"
"Please!" Nanami begs.
Kimiko grumbles, "Fine."
Nanami smiles and lets Kimiko go. Nanami gets into position and begins to dance the Kagura dance with as much grace as she could summon. She was confident that she could do this; she felt the power flow through her.
Kimiko watched in shock, she was going the dance correctly, she was relaxed, calm and most of all, confident. This was what she was meant to look like, not the silly and clumsy person she was being earlier that day. Kimiko saw that the purity was destroying the miasma, so Kimiko sped up the process by manipulating the wind to Tomoe, who then sealed the miasma in the box it was originally.
When the miasma was gone, Nanami fainted.
:
Kimiko sat in a tree, it had been an hour and Nanami hadn't woken up yet. Tomoe saw Kimiko up in the tree and decided to go and talk to her.
"Anything you want to share, Kimiko?" Tomoe said sitting down next to her.
Kimiko shrugged, "Feeling conflicted is all."
Tomoe raised an eye brow, "Conflicted how?"
"She gave up on the trial, thus disqualifying herself, and yet she performed the dance to an acceptable level just an hour ago." Kimiko explained.
Tomoe nodded his head, "So you don't know whether to pass her or not."
Kimiko sighed and nodded her head.
Kimiko was waiting for Tomoe to tease her, but he surprised her, "It's up to you." Tomoe said patting her head.
The Cat huffed but said nothing.
"What's it like being her familiar? And be honest." Kimiko asks the Fox.
Tomoe tapped his chin in thought, "Well, she's reckless, stubborn, clueless and a complete air-head."
Kimiko nodded her head agreeing with him.
"But she's also loyal, kind and surprising." Tomoe said with a small smile.
Kimiko couldn't even deny that these things were true, especially the kindness part. Even after she had treated Nanami badly, she always came back with a smile. And she was surprising because they didn't know what that girl could get up to.
"I don't really understand what happened," Tomoe crossed his arms; "I don't know why she forced herself on you and got Mizuki to restrain you."
Kimiko frowned.
"But I do know that Nanami would never usually do that." Tomoe shook his head at the thought; it was strange to see his master act that way. It kind of scared him.
"If she gets me as her familiar, she'll have three powerful familiars." Kimiko mused at the thought. Out of the three of them, Mizuki was the weakest. By no means was he weak, but compared to Kimiko and Tomoe we was. He would never beat them in strength, but with his poisons, he was a formidable opponent. Kimiko came second; she can be a ruthless killer, and her wind can be used in a deadly way. Tomoe was the strongest out of all of them, and he was getting stronger.
If anyone tried to get to Nanami, they would have a tough time getting through them.
"Besides, if you become her familiar and your Clan comes for you, she can tell them no." Tomoe says with a sly grin.
Kimiko sighed; she had made up her mind. But she didn't have to wait long because she smelt Nanami underneath them. Kimiko jumped down from her perch with Tomoe following and landed a couple of feet away from the Land God.
Nanami jumped and turned around, "Kimiko!"
Kimiko just stared at the human.
"I-I'm sorry!" Nanami bowed, "I should have never of acted like that and I'm sorry!"
Kimiko stayed silent.
"You pass."
Nanami shot up in shock, "WHAT?!"
Kimiko grinned, "I said you passed."
Nanami just stood there frozen.
Mizuki appeared from behind Kimiko and hugged her, "Huh, you're going to be joining us?"
Tomoe growled and grabbed Mizuki by this yukata, "Don't touch her so casually!"
"But why?" Mizuki pouted.
Nanami came back to life, "Y-you really mean it?"
Kimiko nodded her head.
"But how!" Nanami shouts, "I gave up!"
"You performed the Kagura dance to an acceptable level when getting rid of the miasma, and you still had one attempt left." Kimiko said crossing her arms.
Nanami's smile grew, "Thank you!"
Kimiko walked forward and lowered her face until her lips met Nanami's. After a second she pulled away. Gold bands appeared in her wrists, binding her to Nanami.
"There, I am now your familiar." Kimiko says with a shrug.
There was laughing behind her, it was Mizuki, "You kissed a girl!"
A tick mark appeared on Kimiko's head. She whipped around and punched Mizuki in the face sending him flying back down the shrine steps. Kimiko watched with satisfaction as he hit every step down.
"Kimiko stop hitting Mizuki!"
Kimiko groaned as her words activated, "How do I undo this?!"
:
Kimiko was back in her room, thinking over what had happened. She had really become Nanami's familiar, which felt really weird. She thought that she'd never become anyone else's familiar after Mikage, obviously she was wrong.
There was a knock at her door, "What is it Tomoe?" Kimiko said standing up.
Tomoe opened the door and closed it behind him, he smirked, "Finally joined us then?"
Kimiko groaned, "Don't remind me."
"I would tease you that you had to kiss Nanami but-"
"And you had to kiss Mikage!" Kimiko smirks at Tomoe.
Cue death glare.
"Kissing her is going to give me nightmares." Kimiko groaned as her face scrunched up.
"How about I make it better?" Tomoe suggested.
Kimiko tilted her head, "And how-"
Kimiko was cut off when she felt a pair of lips connect with her own lips. Kimiko's eyes widened as she looked at Tomoe, whose eyes were closed. Kimiko closed her own eyes and kissed back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and his arms wrapped around her waist.
When the need for air became apparent, they separated.
"W-what was that for?" Kimiko asked breathlessly.
Tomoe smiled, and it was a real smile, "Can't I kiss the woman I love?"
Kimiko gasped and looked at him in shock... did she hear him right? Did he love her?
Kimiko couldn't get her words out, so she did the next best thing. She grabbed the front of his yukata and pulled his face to hers to kiss him again. He responded immediately.
When they separated again, Kimiko whispered breathlessly, "I love you too."
Tomoe grinned.
"But what about Nanami?" Kimiko asked.
Tomoe looked confused, "What about her?"
"She's in love with you." Kimiko said leaning her head against his chest.
"Well I don't love her; I only love her as a sister." Tomoe says resting his head on top of hers.
"But she can separate us." Kimiko nuzzled her face in his chest.
Tomoe's hold on her tightened, "Never."