The following return home was deafeningly silent.

Even now, Nanami's heart pounded like and drums and felt lodged in her throat.

For the contract, right?

The fox had indeed said that, Nanami heard it with her own two ears, but everything between that was threw her for a loop.

Tomoe was a harsh and straightforward person, but that a little too direct for him.

If it's like that one time during the Kagura…

Nanami peered over at Tomoe slightly, a suspicious glint in her eye.

She could easily recall that humiliating incident when the wind god Otohiko had first met her. Something like that was something she refused to go through again.

Giving a slight blush, she looked straight over at Tomoe. "Say, Tomoe, are you… feeling alright?"

Tomoe kept his eyes away from her. "Hmm?"

"It's just… you were really tired earlier, weren't you?" Nanami pressed, raising an eyebrow.

Tomoe shrugged nonchalantly, keeping his usual plain look.

"Well?"

"For some reason I feel refreshed, must have needed the fresh air or something…"

Fresh air, he says… I forgot what fresh air felt like after what happened in the Ferris wheel… But… I guess there's no way that this isn't the same Tomoe…

Still arguing with her thoughts and occasionally forgetting to breathe in her flustered condition, and fussing with her hair subconsciously.

I'm so hopeless…

It wasn't too long ago when she selfishly declared that she had let go of her feelings for Tomoe, saying straight to his face that she had gotten over it. She really had hoped that telling herself that would help her forget about it completely.

Yet here she was, falling right back into that one-sided love of hers.

She hugged her knees with a shake of her head, burying her head atop to hide her disheartened expression. Eventually she covered her ears even.

My head… I think my heart is pounding into it or something.

"What's wrong, Nanami?"

Nanami muffled inaudibly with a slight shake of her head. She felt a hand brush against her head.

"Are you not feeling well?"

Stop it.

Nanami shook her head firmly.

Yet still Tomoe pressed on.

"Then what's wrong?"

Feeling as if her heart was being torn in confliction was the worst feeling.

I just want to let it go already. Lingering on unreturned feelings is the absolute worst feeling.

"Mature types love taking care of dependent girls."

Nanami flinched slightly at the words she reminded herself about.

She bit her lower lip, taking in a breath and trying to calm down. Raising her head, giving a forced smile, she laughed.

"Tomoe, you know, you don't have to do so much for me."

Tomoe blinked. "Huh? Do you have a fever?" he asked, placing his hand on Nanami's forehead.

Nanami brushed it away gently. "I'm fine, so… don't think that… I'm a lot stronger from when we first met, so I can take care of myself a lot better. I don't need to be so dependent on you anymore," she laughed frigidly.

This really hurts. It's like steel is in my chest. I really hope… that I don't cry like some love struck idiot.

Giving a close-eyed smile and avoiding Tomoe's gaze, Nanami gave a yawn, walking to her own room.

In it, Nanami slumped against the closed door, returning to the same position as she was in on the carriage. What was Tomoe's reaction to what she had said earlier? He didn't say a word, just walked her back into the shrine and went on his way. Nanami found it impossible for the conversation to upset him, given the circumstances.

Sighing, Nanami raked a hand through her hair with a sigh, and looked over to a considerably neater far-off corner of the room. All that was there was a box, the one with the hairpin in it. She cherished the hairpin, and only wore it on special occasions. It brought a small, warm smile to her face, only to be interrupted by her growling stomach.

I'm really hungry…

Still, though, it would be awkward to walk out of her room now and eat dinner. With just the two familiars, she silently hoped they weren't arguing, though the chances of that were always slim. Nanami would have felt too uneasy to say anything to stop them, and it would most likely lead to more problems.

I guess I'll just stay here and starve for the night.

For her, it was a sort of punishment for those foolish thoughts of hers earlier. Besides, with how late it was getting, she had might as well gone to sleep.

Knock knock.

"Nanami-chan~!" Mizuki's cheerful voice called out.

Nanami frowned, crawling over to her bed, eyes half-closed. "Mizuki, I'm tired, so I'm skipping out dinner on tonight, that okay?" she replied.

Mizuki seemed to pause, but Nanami could hear the slightest chuckle from the snake familiar.

"Of course, Nanami-chan," Mizuki agreed.

Hearing his footsteps become faint, Nanami threw the covers over her head, closing her eyes with a weak sigh.

I hope that a new morning will make things better.

҉

Walking down the corridor, Mizuki had a somewhat bittersweet smile on his face. The shrine was full of peace and quiet for all the wrong reasons.

"So… Nanami-chan's not the only one skipping out, huh?" he commented, raising an eyebrow.

With a sigh, he shrugged, looking back over at Nanami's room for a split second.

"That stupid fox should really learn to go at another person's pace other than his own, for once."

Rubbing the back of his neck, he thought back to whenever he saw Nanami's sad face, dropping his smile.

He was dreading the look on Nanami's face in the morning. Undoubtedly, she would have a downcast, crushed look in her eyes, when only a spunky happiness fit her presence.

Giving a sarcastic laugh, Mizuki looked outside.

"Looks like Nanami isn't the only one skipping out."