"…Kirihito-sama?"

Snapping back to reality, Kirihito looked up at his masked familiar, who was forced to hope his silence meant he could continue.

"You've seemed a bit… unfocused since yesterday. Is your health wavering more? When was the last time you…obtained life energy?" he asked, using careful wording.

Kirihito gave an annoyed smirk. "I'm quite alright, I assure you."

"Are you going to see the human girl again today?" he questioned.

"Since when do you ask so many questions? Do I detect a lack of trust?" Kirihito asked in response.

"No, of course not, I'm merely worried. It has been a bit since you have even mentioned getting your true body back…"

Kirihito paused for a moment, unsure of what to respond. After a painfully silent few minutes, Kirihito stood and left, biting the inside of his cheek.

He had far more to sort out than he would have desired.

{{{/}}}

"Ah, Mori-kun. You came today…" Ayaka mumbled, meeting his gaze as she approached the school gates. "I'm sorry, but it seems Oshiro-kun is ditching again."

"He probably got drunk last night and has a horrid hangover right about now," Kirihito stated bluntly. "I was hoping he wouldn't be here… I didn't feel like putting up with the kid."

Ayaka looked him over a second, before commenting, "You do look rather pale. Everything okay? I thought you were over your cold."

"That was a while ago," Kirhito told her, waving it off.

Ayaka laughed. "Yeah, it does seem like it, hmm? But it hasn't been that long at all. Less than a week since you had it. I figured it may not have ever fully gone away…"

"No, it went away. I'm just very… prone to illness. This is probably something else. Perhaps just allergies. Nothing contagious, I'm sure," he told her calmly. And another lie is added to the pile, he thought, a bitter smile pulling at his lips.

It took all of Kirihito's energy just to walk and carry this conversation. He knew that, if he wanted to feel at all better, he needed to find another opportunity to kiss Ayaka. But at the same time, Kirihito couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong with that. Not that he hadn't known this wasn't blatant usage from the start, but it hadn't bothered him before. And to make it worse, Ayaka was such a genuinely honest person…

"Huh?"

At the sudden outburst of a familiar voice, Kirihito looked towards the speaker, eyes widening.

It would have been fine to see these individuals any other time. Perhaps amusing even. But walking down the street with Ayaka beside him, he realized that this was not a good time to have a chance meeting in the middle of the street with the land god and her fox familiar.

Having gotten Kirihito's attention, Momozono Nanami looked at him with an expression somewhere awkwardly between a polite smile and a troubled frown. Beside her, Tomoe stood carrying shopping bags, his sudden grin filled with nothing but annoyance in loathing. He looked over at Ayaka briefly. Then he asked, as simply as though he had questioned the afternoon's weather, "What are you planning to do to the poor human girl?"

Well, this is going to be fun, Kirihito thought sarcastically, running his fingers through his hair and sighing. Kirihito had no intention to respond, so one spoke for a couple minutes.

Nanami waved, trying to fill the silence. In response, Ayaka's lips turned up. She looked the two over quickly, before gracefully bowing.

"You must be friends of Mori-kun's. I'm Tsukino Ayaka, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Tomoe raised his eyebrow, trying to figure out their relationship, while Nanami looked worried for Ayaka. Actually, it looked as though she might grab Ayaka's hand any moment and run away from Kirihito.

Instead, Nanami smiled and responded, "Hello, I'm Momozono Nanami. The pleasure is all mine." Then, turning towards Tomoe, she added, "And this is Tomoe." Attempting to lighten the mood, she whispered, "It's his pleasure, as well." In response, Ayaka laughed lightly.

Kirihito glanced down at Ayaka, wondering what emotions would be displayed on her face. He only saw a friendly welcome, though. Considering what little information she knew, Kirihito realized that this situation probably wasn't actually that weird. Coincidentally meeting what seem to be friends in the street wasn't rare.

Then, Ayaka surprised Kirihito by jabbing him softly in the stomach and sending him a meaningful glance. Oh, right. He hadn't said a word since the conversation started, and Ayaka had probably though his silence was rude. His thoughts were a bit hazy though, and the added guilt from seeing the land god didn't help. He took a deep breath, before sending Ayaka a glance to show his discomfort. She gave a slight nod in understanding, along with a reassuring smile.

Kirihito gave his usual smirk and looked Nanami up and down, knowing it would give Tomoe plenty reason to want to leave as soon as possible. Sending a glance in Tomoe's direction, he simply stated, "We have to go somewhere, so you'll have to excuse us."

Apparently Kirihito's actions had managed to irritate Tomoe more than he had anticipated. Instead of leaving immediately, as expected, Tomoe's irritated grin grew wider. He looked down at Ayaka, then back at Kirihito. "Say, is this girl some sort of energy source for you? Or perhaps just a plaything for your own amusement?"

Kirihito sighed under his breath, a headache coming on, but kept up his smirk. "And what'd it be to you?" he asked, hoping this would lead Tomoe to back off. Nanami, however, seemed to take this as an admittance to Tomoe's earlier claims. Her eyes widened again as she nervously looked over Ayaka again. Her confidence now boosted by her unreasonable kindheartedness, she asked urgently, "Are you okay, Tsukino-san? What's he doing to you?! If he's bothering you, just say so! We'll definitely stop the problems for you! We can even give you a place to stay if you need it. And—"

"Excuse me?" Ayaka interrupted. She sent Kirihito a questioning glance. "I don't really know what you're talking about…?"

"And she doesn't even know?" Tomoe asked, sounding almost amused. Turning to Ayaka, he said simply, "He's been using you this whole time, you know."

"I think you must be mistaken," Ayaka confidently replied. Kirihito took in a deep breath, wondering what he should do. If he took Ayaka away now, she would know he was hiding something… On top of which, the land god wouldn't let them go. She'd be too worried about Ayaka. And even if Ayaka was reasonably superstitious—which was why she was useful in the first place—there's no way she'd believe two people she'd never met before if they told her he was a yokai.

"He looks sickly now, which is strange. If he really is using you for energy, I'd have to believe he wouldn't be so pale," Tomoe murmured. Then, he asked, "Say, have you ever had some physical romantic touch with him before? Did he look any less sickly after that? Not to mention, did you feel tired afterwards?"

Kirihito's eyes widened as he immediately looked back down at Ayaka. If there was one thing she had certainly taken notice of, it was his physical wellbeing. And the fact that his cold went away after kissing her and then came back after it'd been away was something she would quickly realize.

Studying her expression, he saw bewilderment, then realization, and then confusion again. "I suppose that's true," she said slowly. "But how could that even happen?"

"He's a yokai. He's been taking energy from you."

Nanami must have been staying quiet out of trust for Tomoe, since she made no effort to force him to be more subtle. The statement was blunt and, while it would have been utterly ridiculous to believe in the first place, it was made slightly more acceptable by the previous comments. And Ayaka, who had been seeking answers for his sickness the whole time they'd known each other, might be just superstitious enough to believe this. After all, nothing else would explain all of these factors. And there would certainly have been no way for Tomoe and Nanami to know about them if they were not for the reasons they had explained.

"Are you… serious?" Ayaka asked, cocking her head to the side.

Nanami nodded this time. "Yeah. It's probably a bit of a shock, but—"

Ayaka turned on her heel and immediately broke into a run. Kirihito's dazed state made his response time too slow to catch her wrist—there was only air between his fingertips. He watched her figure grow smaller and smaller for a moment, knowing that following her immediately would not be the wisest course of action. She had to at least think through this information before he could attempt to make excuses.

It was in this moment that Kirihito realized he deserved this. Using her for her energy, taking advantage of her trust, and then having the nerve to actually fall in love with her? It was all ridiculous. So, so ridiculous. And as his guilt became even more prominent, crashing down on him, he found himself angrier than he had, perhaps, ever been.

A sudden burst of adrenaline brought Kirihito to suddenly grab Tomoe by his collar and punch him across the face. Tomoe looked up, still grinning. The grin automatically faded, though, as he saw Kirihito's face.

Teeth gritted together, Kirihito glared down at him, his face contorted in rage. Still holding his collar, Kirihito shoved Tomoe against the brick wall of one of the buildings—hard. The sound of impact was loud, and passersby glanced over, before quickly scurrying away. Kirihito ignored them.

"Don't you ever mess with my girlfriend again," he said, his voice no louder than usual, yet holding a threatening tone. He let Tomoe go, before walking off slowly in the general direction Ayaka had gone. Then, not even a minute later, he began walking in the other direction—towards the downtown area.

"Are you… okay?" Nanami asked slowly, taking her eyes away from Tomoe's bruised cheek.

Kirihito shot them a glare, noting Tomoe's confusion. After all, Kirihito did not have bonds. And if Tomoe had messed with Ayaka, what had Kirihito done to Nanami? And Kirihito truly had no right to make such an accusation, especially since what they had said was accurate and partially out of worry for Ayaka.

"No, I am certainly not. Now, if you will finally excuse me, I'm buying a cellphone."

Without another word, he walked off.

{{{/}}}

A/N Ahhhh! Sorry I took so long to update! I truly had meant to update during spring break... For some reason, this chapter was hard to write. I suppose I'm not used to writing scenes like these... Apologies for my newbie writing skills...

BloodDDB: Thanks again for taking the time to review so often! It makes me feel warm and fuzzy... Also, a few chapters ago I believe you asked when Nanami and Tomoe were coming in? Well, here they are! I hope their appearance lived up to your expectations...

Ai Star: Thanks for reviewing again! Also, thank you for the luck you sent me for my German course~~ And yep, Kirihito is certainly feeling pretty dang guilty right about now...

LadyDeadmau5: I'm sorry! Thank you for reviewing again! In all honestly, it's the reason I finished writing the chapter today. Also, would it be bad to say that you withdrawling made me a bit happy? I never thought I'd be able to write something that people would tell me they were having withdrawls due to...

Thanks also to all who read this~~