"Anyways, following up our earlier conversation, Nanami," Ryukichi called. "Inari's familiars, or at least the four – my apologies, two official familiars, are treated differently simply based on who was first," he said, a dramatic motion emphasising his point. "Take the lil' fox n' lil' Mizuki, for example." He reached a hand out, tugging at Tomoe's ear. "First familiar of yours, right? Now that you had much of a choice, he's an insistent thing, easily attached to oth—"
"Who's easily attached, let me go," Tomoe ordered, jerking away. "Nanami had all of the choice back then, don't pin it on me."
Ryukichi waved a hand in dismissal. "Yes, yes, being chased by a flesh-eating witch while a cynical and sardonic premature familiar hides in the background watching the spectacle of a terrified, innocent girl leaves plenty of choices…"
Nanami watched in bewilderment at the conversation, disliking the direction it was heading in. She shifted away from the two foxes, sitting beside Mizuki, who seemed to be listening intently.
"Just imagine, if it weren't for that drastic turn of events, the poor young land goddess wouldn't even be here." The black haired messenger sighed dramatically, patting Tomoe on the head harshly. "Immature child, aren't you?"
Tomoe sneered at Ryukichi, shrugging away from him sharply.
Staring at the floor seemed like the best thing to do for the land goddess as the messenger continued.
Mizuki gave a loud laugh, moving in front of Nanami as he eyed Ryukichi carefully. "Ryukichi, how much sake did you sneak in before we left? You're speaking like a hopeless drunkard," he said loudly. "Now, Tomoe-kun could choke in a vat of dry ice for all I cared, but this topic is troubling my master, so let's find a different topic, okay?" he suggested, giving a smile to Nanami.
Ryukichi raised an eyebrow, observing Nanami's expression as she stared at Tomoe. "I suppose I could explain all the food and game stalls, but wouldn't y'all rather it be a surprise?"
"The food's all meat, Nanami's too young to drink any of the beverages provided, the games are for pyromaniacs, and any inn you see there have miraculously turned into dozens of brothels, what's the surprise?" Tomoe listed bluntly, a bored expression on his face. He rubbed his forehead, giving out a distressed sigh.
He had reason. Nanami believed Ryukichi really shouldn't have brought it up. It didn't strike her until now that something so small like that could have changed her life entirely. Let alone when she had helped Mikage get away from a dog. Such small things allowed her to meet Tomoe…
"Miss Land Goddess, are you sick? You're face is incredibly red…"
Nanami snapped out of it, shaking her head with a panicked look on her face. "No! I'm fine, I'm just fine!" she exclaimed, laughing loudly. "Just got lost in my thoughts, is all…"
"Nanami, you're acting strange," Tomoe commented.
"No I'm not…"
The fox, oddly enough, smirked slightly with a raised eyebrow. "Oh? Then if you're not sick, why is your face so red?" he questioned.
Nanami twitched, giving a pout in contrast to his smile. "It's… hot on this carriage."
"Oh?" he replied, tilting his head.
Crap… what's with that face of his?
The girl nodded stubbornly. "Yeah… it's cold, so my face is red…"
She noticed the fox's tail wagging slightly in the air, a bemused look on his face.
This nosy fox… he's up to something.
"Then don't sit so far away, you're only going to get colder if you sit isolated like th—"
"My, entering Inari's village and someone's primal instincts already come up. Good to know you haven't lost all of your fox roots, lil' fox," Ryukichi cut in, adjusting his hat and looking away. "But please, spare my ol' heart such clichéd phrases, 'kay? I can only take so much without be driven to embarrassment."
Tomoe's cheerful expression soon resorted to his usual scowl, yanking Ryukichi's hat down violently. "No one asked you. And what's this junk about my roots?"
Ryukichi shook his head in a pitying motion. "Oh, the youth of today is highly unaware of their actions, aren't they… Look what you've gone and done, making the poor land goddess even redder than before."
Mizuki nodded, staring intently at Tomoe. "Ryukichi's right, think before you act, ex-ayakashi~."
Nanami's eye widened in surprise, covering her face as the messenger pointed it out. She only glanced over at the bickering three, yet had her eyes rivet back to Tomoe.
It's not my fault… that Tomoe, what is he trying to do? Something's off about him.
Whatever it was, however, Nanami wasn't able to pinpoint. A small sense of déjà vu crept its way into her mind, and she remembered the elusive look in Akira's eyes a good while ago. Granted, he and Tomoe had different things hidden in their eyes, but still, it seemed odd that two people had a certain gleam when they looked at the world. Quite the coincidence.
Meanwhile, as the carriage continued on, a distinct change in atmosphere took place. The air smelt of sweet, burning cedar, mingled with festival foods like takoyaki, a rather overwhelming scent. The lighting had also changed; instead of lights from a city, only the moon and stars seemed to give off a majority of the glow around her. Moreover, loud, energetic traditional music filled the air, cheering in the faint background.
Nanami looked around for the source of all this activity, Ryukichi laughing as she turned her head this way and that. "Welcome to our world, Nanami Momozono. Quaint lil' place, ain't it?" he asked, peering his head out a window. "My, those young ones do work hard when festivals are held~."
"This… this is what a festival here is like?" Nanami asked, an excited look on her face. Looking outside, she saw foxes, young and old, running around, some even holding sparklers or paper lanterns.
"Aren't human festivals the same?" Ryukichi questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, they are… but something just feels different about it here. I can't really explain it, everyone just seems so active and energetic," Nanami replied, her smile broadening. "Mizuki, Tomoe, you two should see it too," she offered.
Mizuki was eagerly looking out, a curious look on his face as he observed the area. "Oh my, I can hear people playing the Ryuteki from here," he commented with a laugh. "Tomoe-kun, you should check this out. Observe how normal foxes are in society."
The fox narrowed his eyes, staying where he sat, and looked over at Ryukichi. "When is this thing—"
Nanami gave a yelp as the carriage suddenly jerked up and down harshly, falling backwards, only to have Mizuki catch her with a small smile on his face. "Ryukichi's carriage is top notch, huh?" he commented sarcastically, looking at the messenger.
A knock came from the side of the carriage, and from the window Nanami could see two messengers staring blankly as Ryukichi walked off the carriage, giving the two pats on their heads. One of the messengers, with auburn hair, sniffed at the air, her eyes looking directly over at Nanami. She tilted her head. "Momozono?" she asked.
Nanami hesitantly nodded, dropping her excited smile.
The auburn fox nodded, turning over to the fox near her. "Hey, stop standing around and help 'em off," she ordered loudly.
Nanami shook her head, sliding off the carriage on her own, much to the fox's surprise. "I'm good on my own," she said with a smile.
The auburn fox's partner observed Mizuki and Tomoe, raising one of his eyebrows. "Aren't these two familiar?" he sneered. "Hey, snake, weren't you Yonomori's familiar a few ye—"
"I'm Nanami-chan's familiar as of now," Mizuki said cheerfully, crossing his arms at the messenger.
"Indeed," the girl replied, eyeing Tomoe suspiciously, an ear tilting to the side. "Ryukichi-dono, are you sure that this is indeed the group Inari-sama invited?"
Ryukichi gave a deep nod, patting the two familiars on the head. "This trio may not look like it, but they're a good bunch."
By the time he finished, Mizuki was already walking ahead of everyone, turning around to Nanami. "We don't have much time to waste, so let's get started on that exploring, Nanami-chan." He tugged eagerly at Nanami's wrist, an excited smile on his face as he led Nanami to the mass of stalls.
҉
"You're not following 'em, lil' fox?"
Tomoe turned to face Ryukichi, an irritated look on his face as he shook his head, looking around the festival. "They aren't showing themselves, but I feel a horde of eyes staring at me," he muttered.
Ryukichi gave a gruff laugh, crossing his arms. "Lookit that, the lil' fox is unnerved by inevitable glaring. Don't you think you deserve it just a little?" he asked, tilting his head. "Granted, ever since being Mikage's familiar, you've made a better name for yourself, but the elders around here don't care for the present, mind ya. 'Fraid I can't really defend ya if things get out of hand."
"As if I need to be defended," Tomoe replied, a small smile on his face. Really, he'd be amazed if someone actually tried to pick a fight with him. "Besides, I need to adjust to this… thing."
"It's called a festival, lil' fox, you should—-"
"Stop calling me 'lil' fox', it's irritating," Tomoe snapped.
"Lil' fox, keep that temper of yours in check. The reason Inari even invited Nanami is because he's impressed that a simple human is able to keep you on a leash, so do your master a favour and have some fun," Ryukichi advised, readjusting his hat out of habit.
Tomoe raised an eyebrow, seeing Nanami with the snake, speaking animatedly while at a food stall, giving a relunctant nod. "Anyways, old man, what happened to that carefree attitude not five seconds ago?" he asked.
"Got tired of it. If you're that bothered by everything, go speak to Amane 'bout it, or lounge at an inn, either works."
"Brothel," the familiar corrected. "And I'm not interested."
Tomoe observed more of his surroundings. Younger messengers running around energetically, followed by family and friends.
"Much more peaceful nowadays, come to think of it," Ryukichi commented, a smile on his face as he walked away from Tomoe. "I have business to get to, so I'll be on my way, 'lil fox."
About damn time.