Here we are on the second chapter, so in the time I was thinking on how to rewrite this it hit me of the idea of what if Tamamo became a childhood friend of Touma, I saw this as a way to add more depth to the relationship as it grows to make certain events feel more tragic so let me know what you think of this development as it goes.
As always Index/Fate belong to Kamachi and Nasu respectively. Onto the story!
Chapter 2: New Life
Shiina Kamijou was busy tending to the flowers on the front porch of the Kamijou residence when she noticed her son coming up towards the house with a companion in tow.
"Touma sweetie is everything ok? Oh my who might this pretty thing be!? I love your kimono." Shiina gushed when she saw Tamamo.
"Her name is Tamamo Mom, I found her all by herself crying in the nearby forest." Touma explained.
"You poor dear, where are your parents?"
"I don't have parents." Tamamo responded.
"That's awful!" Shiina cried out.
"She needs help Mom, we can't just leave her alone." Touma said in a resolute voice."
"Well I can't just turn away such a precious looking girl now can I, I'll let your father know about this and we can try to arrange something, in the mean time would you like to stay here with us Tamamo?"
Tamamo remained silent during the exchange, it had been years since she was treated like a kid, it felt awkward for her but her maturity and formalities never left.
"I would like that, please take good care of me Ms. Kamijou." She said as she bowed in respect.
"My Touma you found a good one, we'll come on in, I am just about to make lunch."
Touma and Tamamo were ushered into the house as Shiina quickly made her way to the kitchen.
"Touma why don't you show Tamamo around the house, I'll call down when it's time to eat."
"Ok Mom, come on Tamamo lets go."
And with that Touma gave Tamamo a tour of his home, it was a nice place, nothing fancy but it was a comfortable looking place. The two of them eventually made their way to Touma's room upstairs, it was simple in set up, a desk, book shelf which was full of manga, a tv and a bed.
"Your home is nice Touma." Tamamo finally spoke.
"It's not a fancy mansion but it is good place."
He then noticed her checking out his manga collection.
"Do you want to read one?" Touma offered.
Tamamo then took one of the books and began reading it. Flipping through the pages she was becoming engrossed in it, she eventually put it aside for now and asked a question.
"Hey Touma, why are you all banged up like that?"
Touma rubbed the back of his head feeling embarrassed about a cute girl asking him such a question.
"Well, I'm really unlucky so a lot of bad things tend to happen around me and well the result is what you see."
"Touma, Tamamo lunch is ready!!" Shiina called out.
"Come on lets go." Touma said.
As soon as the two of them made their way to the stairs Touma suddenly tripped and began falling down the stairs, upon hitting the bottom his leg hit a nearby lamppost which proceeded to fall on top of him.
"Touma!!" Tamamo cried out as she came to his aid.
"Oh my God sweetheart are you ok, is anything broken?!!" Shiina asked in utter worry."
"Rotten luck, Mom I'm ok, and don't worry to much about me Tamamo, this happens all the time." Touma said sporting a smile on his face.
Tamamo only looked at him with even more worry, how can some continue to smile in the face of misfortune? Touma was certainly an odd one, but he was the first to show her kindness despite just meeting her and seeing she wasn't human.
Touma gingerly got up with a little help from his mom and Tamamo and dusted himself off, after making sure everything was fine they went on to have lunch.
As they ate Shiina would ask Tamamo questions like where was she from and how she ended up lost like she did.
Tamamo for her part was couldn't explain her situation to a regular person like Shiina and while she suspected Touma would listen would have a hard time understanding. So she lied and said she doesn't have any memories leading up to her situation before Touma found her.
"I see, amnesia, well I want you to know that your safe here with us until we can sort this whole thing out ok." Shiina said with a smile on her face and Tamamo responded with one of her own.
After eating Touma took Tamamo to the backyard to play, Tamamo suggested hide and seek which Touma agreed, needless to say it was 2 hours into the game and Touma had a hard time finding her and throughout the search his bad luck kicked in at various moments, for example when he wasn't paying attention he stepped back on a rake which hit him in the back of his head, tripped on himself falling into a coy pond and somehow agitating 3 bees which proceeded to sting him.
Tamamo couldn't watch anymore and rushed out of her hiding spot to bring him inside to treat him with help from Shiina.
Getting wet from the coy pond affected Touma as he began to get sick, Tamamo offered to make a soup for him and asked Shiina to allow her too.
The Kamijou matriarch would be surprised that Tamamo seemed to have a handle on cooking despite her young age and eventually took the soup up to Touma who was laying in his bed.
"Here, this should help." Tamamo said as she offered the soup.
"Thank you Tamamo."
He tried the soup and he was completely in awe of how good it was, it was heavenly.
"I don't understand, how can you go on like normal despite all that happened to you?" Tamamo started.
"Well it happens so much I'm used to it, really know point in always mulling about it you know."
"Your strange you know that." Tamamo said.
"What makes you think that?" Touma asked confused.
"Are you not afraid of the fact that I'm not human?"
"Why would I be afraid of you, I'm not gonna lie and say I'm not curious, but at the end of the day I saw a cute girl in trouble and I had to help, do you really need any other reason then that."
A bit of pink dusted Tamamo's cheeks from being called cute, but a smile graced her lips, yep he was definitely a strange one, but it was a good kind of strange.
With nothing better to do Tamamo sat in a seiza position and began to tap into her mana to see if she can perform her witchcraft, a simple fire spell should do for a test.
It took a bit of focus but she began to adapt her magic to the world around and soon enough a flicker of flame began to form between her palms.
Tamamo smiled as she saw this as a good sign, and didn't notice Touma had gotten out of bed to see the spectacle before him.
She would've told him to stay in bed but he just looked so curious, she indulged.
"Pretty cool Huh?"
Touma reached his right hand to see if it was real."
"Wait don't touch-"
Tamamo was cut off when a familiar glass shattering noise sounded and the flames disappeared like an illusion.
"That?" Tamamo sputtered confused.
The two of them looked each other and once more Tamamo conjured up a small flame, Touma touched it again with his right hand and the same result happened.
On a third attempt Touma used his left hand and next thing you know it ended up burning him but he backed away quick.
"Well this is a total mystery, your right hand seems to be affecting my magic."
Touma perked at the word Tamamo just said.
"That was magic?! I thought magic was for story books."
"Hahaha!! No Touma it is legit magic, I could show you more but it seems my abilities have been temporarily weakened." Tamamo explained.
"You know Tamamo there is a city down at the Tokyo prefecture that dabbles in supernatural powers, it's called Academy City, the city of science and the most advanced place in the world, I remember hearing about it sometime ago, about people with psychic powers called espers." Touma explained.
"Interesting, I wonder what such a place could be like?"
"Who knows, it's not like you and I will get to see it.".
The two of them heard a knock on the door and in walked Shiina, but she wasn't alone as beside her was a man Tamamo never saw before.
"Dad! You came back from your business trip!!" Touma voiced excitedly.
"And just in time too, your mother called me right around when I just left the airport. So you must be Tamamo Huh? Interesting name little lady, reminds me of a legend my grandmother used to tell me when I was little." Said Touma's dad.
Tamamo flinched a little hearing that. Her legend was not a happy one and she was portrayed in anything but a good light.
"My name is Touya Kamijou, and I'll make sure your all taken care of."
Touya then looked at his son and he playfully frowned.
"So when were you gonna tell me you found someone your going to marry someday eh kiddo?"
"Dad!!" Touma shouted going beat red while Tamamo silently laughed behind him alongside his mother.
Months go by, in that time frame Touma's parents managed to set Tamamo up in the town's church, they were willing to take Tamamo under their care, though both Touma and Tamamo were reluctant to leave each other Shiina and Touya were fine with letting the two of them visit each other as often as possible, and they always took every opportunity they had, and through it Touma would keep Tamamo's true appearance a secret, and when no one was looking Tamamo would practice her witchcraft while also experimenting with Touma's right hand. There was even a point where after reading much of Touma's manga she saw how a lot of protagonists have spiked hair, so one day Tamamo had Touma close his eyes and not open them for any reason while she took a bunch of hair gel and proceeded to spike his hair, once she showed him he was not used to the look, but she told him she liked it and it fit him, so he accepted it and it would stay that way.
As time went on Tamamo began to notice every time she was around him people would avoid him or say nasty things about him like calling him a god of misfortune, the plague, or walking curse, other kids would also discriminate by bullying him for all of his misfortune, it made her sick to her stomach since she could relate to being hated for something beyond your control, and it endeared Touma to her even more, a lot of times she came to his defense and it put a lot of backlash on her as well though the boys at first did try to bring her to their side but she was having none of it, Touma would always tell her to stand down, and even through it all she never understood how he kept a smile on his face.
Things only got worse for both of them, on Tamamo's end the church priest gave Tamamo very wary looks then when he first met her, the nuns however were even more scathing. Every night and day she wasn't with the Kamijou family she felt like they were watching her as if waiting for something to happen.
For Touma's end, it was just the beginning, at some point in time he was with his father when he met up with a business associate, Touya introduced his son to him and the two shook hands, specifically their right hands.
Another month passes by and Touma was playing with Tamamo at a park, as usual kids and parents avoided their direction out of fear and loathing but they ignored it and enjoyed each other's company. Touma's parents were off to do some meeting regarding Touya's job at a nearby building and should be back quickly, so they told them to stay put and stay together.
"Hey Tamamo?" Touma called to her.
"Hm?" She responded and looked his way.
"If it's ok, can I call you Tama for short?"
Tamamo looked at him for a bit before answering his question.
"Sure Touma! I don't mind!" She responded happily as a beautiful smile canines and all formed on her face, and it would forever be etched in the unlucky young Kamijou's memory. He looked away blushing.
"Tama, I've got something I want to give you, I hope you like-"
"YOU!!!" Shouted the voice of an enraged man.
Alarmed the duo looked over to see a man in a worn down business suit looking disheveled.
Touma just recognized him as the man who talked with his father a month ago.
"It's all your fault you sniveling little bastard! You and your curse!" The man snapped as he drew closer to the duo.
Tamamo immediatly put herself in front of Touma arms out expecting a violent confrontation.
"Stay away from him bug! What did he do to you?!!"
"Oh, who are you supposed to be, his little whore?! I had a good life before I met that kid, but after I shook his hand it all went to hell, my business went bankrupt, my wife left me and I had to sell my property! GONE, ALL OF IT AND IT'S HIS FAULT!!!! NOW I'M GONNA END THE PLAGUE HERE AND NOW!!"
"Tama wait don't get involved I don't want you to get hurt!" Touma pleaded.
"And you don't think I want the same for you?!" Tamamo shot back making him go quiet.
"Out of my way bitch!" Yelled the man as he grabbed a handful of Tamamo's pink locks and yanked her away.
"MIKOOON!!" Tamamo cried in pain as she was tossed aside. Recovering from hitting the ground she looked on at all the bystanders watching the scene not bothering to help them one bit, a majority of them actually agreed with the man calling for the death of the plague, it hit too close to home for her and she got angry, memories of her previous life of the day she was hunted for execution flashed before her eyes like PTSD.
"Tama!!" Touma shouted. He ran to her only for the man to intercept and draw a knife and stabbed him right in the back to Tamamo's horror.
She watched as he hit the ground as blood poored from the open wound, anger welled up in her causing her to inadvertently reveal her fox features to the public, she charged the man and pounced on his back shaping her hands to be claw like allowing her to scratch him up as he screamed in terror and pain before finally throwing her off and running. Tamamo then picked up Touma and slung him his arm over her shoulder to him and herself out of there.
"She's a freak!!"
"Monster!!"
The crowed around them started to hurl all manner of fearful words at her, then coming from the crowed were the church folk who took her in.
"Just as we suspected, God forgive us for we have harbored a demon in you holy house, one who is friends with the embodiment of misfortune, and as a form of repentance we will send her back to the underworld from which she came!!" The head priest declared. Everyone formed into a mob and began to chase the duo.
Tamamo was starting to cry as her PTSD worsened, another life and once more everyone wanted to kill her, and someone she grew close with was a casualty of it.
"Tama!!"
She looked over and saw Touma was looking pale.
"Tama, get out of here, forget about me!!" Touma pleaded.
But Tamamo didn't listen as she was hell bent on taking him with her. Meanwhile Touma's parents were finally making their way back to the park after being held up by a meeting and panicked when the kids were nowhere in sight.
"Where are they?!! Shiina panicked.
"Don't worry we'll find them!" Touya said as he was about to make a phone call to the police, only to notice a scratched up disheveled looking business man that he met up with a month ago with a knife in his hand that still had Touma's blood on it.
"You're son is a curse." He rasped.
With Touma and Tamamo:
Tamamo had just managed to find a hiding spot in the form of a store room in a old laundromat, luckily Touma didn't leave a blood trail for their inquisition to follow and they were ahead of them enough that no saw them go in here, but Tamamo kept her ears sharp for intruders.
At first Tamamo tried healing Touma with a healing spell, the spell negated by his right hand negating the magic, so she quickly had to wrap bandages she had on standby around the to cover the wound but he desperately needed a hospital.
"Tama." Touma said weakly.
"Don't speak, save your energy." Tamamo said gently.
"Tama, you're no longer safe here, you have to get out of here."
"I'm not gonna leave you alone Touma!! The last thing I want is for you to die and leave me all alone!!"
"I'll be fine…and I'm not gonna leave you alone but…you can't stay here."
Touma reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a little box and opened it revealing a necklace, and linked to the chain was what looked like a golden serpentine dragon.
"This is what I wanted to give you Tama."
Tamamo then leaned in allowing Touma to put the dragon necklace around her and she proceeded to fiddle with it a bit.
"I love it, thank you, but why a dragon?"
"I don't know Tama…I just looked at it one moment and…something compelled me to get it for you." Touma rasped.
Tamamo then pulled out a box of her own which contained its own necklace, only this one had a golden fox on it which she proceeded to wrap it around Touma.
"Tama…please, just go, I swear on my own life I will find you, we will be together again…I promise."
Tamamo began to tear up as it was clear he wasn't going to change his mind, so she reluctantly nodded and gave Touma a kiss on the cheek before she finally worked up the nerve to leave.
"This isn't goodbye Tama…it's see you later, so don't cry… you're too beautiful to cry." Touma said as he flashed her a genuine smile.
Tamamo couldn't help it as more tears dripped from her eyes, but a smile of her own graced her lips.
"See you later…Touma Kamijou."
And with that Tamamo went on her way, but not before taking Touma out of the old building, she wasn't gonna leave him in there, she made sure the coast was clear before giving Touma one last long look before disappearing from his sight and Touma finally passed out from blood loss.
Touma POV:
Touma slowly started waking up to find himself in a hospital room and his parents were standing next to him with relief on their faces.
"Oh Touma you're ok!!" Shiina cried with joy as she gently wrapped her son in a hug.
"Mom, Dad? What's going on?" Touma asked.
His parents explained how they ran into his father's old business partner and that he mentioned him, Touya proceeded to interrogate him in order to find out what happened, after finding out everything from the stabbing to the angry mob Touya knocked the man out and called the police. Eventually the authorities arrested him and dispersed the mob before finally finding Touma passed out by an old laundromat, and of course it was obvious he was taken to the hospital quickly.
"One thing that confused us son was how people apparently said Tamamo was some kind of fox demon, where and how did that come about?" Touya asked.
Touma quickly lied saying he didn't know, he hated lying to his parents but he had to protect Tamamo all the same.
"The police looked everywhere and couldn't find any sign of Tamamo, did you see her go off somewhere before you passed out?" Shiina asked.
Touma shook his head as he sported a sad look which was genuine cause of the fact that he forced Tamamo to leave when she was very reluctant to do so.
"We're so sorry son, Tamamo was a wonderful girl, I hope they find her soon." Touya said solemnly.
"In any case honey we recently had to get rid of some tv producer and his crew who wanted to make a show on you, as much as we don't want to your father and I have decided to transfer you to Academy City, we believe an environment of science can keep you safe from superstition, and the supernatural is a norm there but can be explained." Shiina further added.
Hearing that made Touma's heart sink, if he was to be put there it might make it difficult to reunite with Tamamo who is currently out there somewhere, but he pushes the thoughts aside and decided to remain resolute in his oath he made to her.
Tamamo POV:
Way on the outskirts of Touma's home town, Tamamo stood by as she looked on at the place she lived in for almost a year now, Tamamo then put a hand over the necklace she wore that Touma gifted to her, it hurt her heart to leave him but she wanted to believe his words that eventually they would reunite, and so she turned around and proceeded to be on her way leaving the town behind, but she would never forget the boy who found her and took her in.
AN: And that is chapter 2 I do hope you enjoyed the little backstory going into the main plot, I enjoyed writing this one greatly, let me know what you think.
Next chapter: Missing You
Have a wonderful day!