The next morning Nanami awoke as normal. Memories of last night came flooding back to her, she had never seen Tomoe act in such a way. It was almost possessive. He growled when he came close. I wonder why? Could it be that he smelt Tamaki o me? Blush adorned her cheeks. That is probably what it is... it must be! Tamaki had kissed me on the cheek, as well as hugging me... I must still have had his scent all over me. Doh, Nanami. Slowly climbing out of bed, she decided it would be best if she went straight into the shower, in order to avoid a similar situation. It was not like Nanami didn't like Tamaki, rather it was the opposite. She didn't want to anger Tomoe, sure she wanted to make him jealous, but she didn't want him to go into a blind rage. Demons, she thought, I have no idea how they react when they are jealous. I don't really want to find out either to be honest...
Breakfast went on without a hitch, not one mentioned the previous night. It seemed as thought Tomoe didn't notice his antics of last night. Mizuki reminded he of the Hanabi festival that night that she had preivously promised to attend with him. Tomoe said that he had business to take care of in the demon realm. Knowing him though, it will more likely be prostitutes that he will be dealing with... sigh. So much for making him jealous. Maybe he is trying to make me jealous? Who am I kidding, I doubt it. Mizuki had promised her that he would help her get ready. Then she realised it was going to be a demon festival, held in the demon realm. She decided to call the fish lady. To help her get ready.
"Nanami" Tomoe suddenly cut in.
"Yes?"
"Aren't you going to be late?" He said pointing at the clock.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEK"
Nanami shot out of the front door with Tomoe in toe. Faced with the prospect of being late for school, Nanami raced towards the building faster than humanely thought possible. She managed to arrive just in the nick of time. Just catching the last bell. Thank god for that, I cannot have another late on my record. Tomoe was standing in the hallway whilst she unloaded her stuff in to her locker from her bag.
"You do realise we could have taken the carriage here..."
"So?"
"So, it would have taken less than a minute..." Nanami frowned. Stupid Tomoe for not saying so earlier. BING. BING. Nanami's phone started to beep saying she had a message. Smiling at who the sender was, Nanami went on to focus on her phone. This was all watched by Tomoe, who with a semi-clenched fist thought, here we go again...
School went on as normal. Lessons were as difficult as she had thought they would be. English was not as difficult however. She had done all of her preparation for English and a little more. Maths on the other hand, was giving her a massive headache. She'd have to ask the teacher for more work and help afterwards, to help her keep up with everyone else. Falling behind wasn't really an option for Nanami. Not only could the Earth God not fail at maths, but she had all of the obligations of being a God to take care of also. Tomoe had helped her a little with her maths issues, but when it came to Algebra he was not the best of help. The concept of graphs just irritated him as their purpose escaped him. I guess it is just the difference between our worlds, I mean he is a demon. Within the human world, skills such as a mathematic ability and language skills are paramount. But within the demon world, it is more of a question of power I suppose. Nanami turned her head a little to look at Tomoe. As if he knew what she was doing and thinking, he also turned to meet her gaze. Realising her error, she turned back around blushing profusely.
During their mid-morning break Nanami ended up meeting her friends and heading to the cafeteria together.
Kei unable to contain herself anymore, rushed out with: "So what happened last night?"
"Nothing much"
"I mean the date!"
"Oh! Yes it was really nice. Tamaki is lovely and really is attentive. He ended up paying for dinner, but I managed to convince him to let me pay for ice-cream!" She said with a smile.
"That was good of you. If I were you, I would have let him pay for it all!" Kei said with mischievous grin.
"Yeah. That is what a lot of girls do. On a first date, if initiated by the boy it is often expected that they are to pay. Yet, in hindsight, that whole tradition only belittles the woman and it is unfair to get them to pay for everything. I think if you are going to eat something, then you should pay for it. Or on a date, you should at least pay something towards it" Nanami said with a huff.
"I agree. Makes you look alot more independent!" Ami choured in.
"You definitely have a point. But what I meant was on the first date. On the other dates, if it did progress to that, I would pay for it! Kei replied.
Nanami had insisted that she stay after school for an hour to complete her homework. Tomoe decided to stay also. Maths was the focus this time, not English. As she began to finally make a dent in her homework, her phone beeped and her face lit up with a smile. Is it that boy again? Tomoe thought to himself. It must be. Nanami replied to the message with speed.
"Oi"
"Hmmm?"
"Oi... Nanami."
"Yes?" Nanami replied without looking up.
"You are not going to get your maths done..."
"Oh yeah!" I really need to focus, common Nanami, we can do this! Focus focus focus. They stayed after school for longer than an extra hour, it was more like two hours. But finally Nanami was up to date with all of her Maths homework. They then began their way home.
Once at home they were both greeted by Mizuki who was particularly excited for tonight. Tonight was the demon world's annual spring Hanabi festival, and Nanami had said she would go with him. Tomoe, on the other hand, said he had business to deal with himself in the demon realm. It is just as I thought, Nanami thought to herself, he is going to the red light district to see his favourite prostitutes. Hmmph. Nanami crossed her arms in semi-anger.
"So Nanami", Mizuki started, "What are you going to wear tonight?"
"Hmmm?"
"What have you got planned to wear? A simple human yukata?"
"Oh no. I hadn't thought of what to wear yet, just a simple yukata would be fine I should think."
"We are going to the demon realm's Hanabi festival, maybe more of a more traditional kimono would be better. You are the Land God after all. Gods need to show their status at these sort of events. Without that, people will begin to loose respect for you and the rest of the gods. It is also a sort of a tradition I guess."
"So what should I do then? I don't own anything like that..."
"What about Himemiko, surely she could help? I bet you anything she is coming too!"
"You are completely right! Let's send her a message asking for her help with it! Thank you for such a good idea Mizuki." Nanami said with a smile. With that Nanami with the aid of Mizuki's help, sent a message Himemiko asking for urgent help with her current outfit predicament. In no time at all, one of Himemiko's servants appeared with her reply and an invitation to come to her palace in the Tatara swamp. With a nod, both Mizuki and Nanami head to the swamp to meet Himemiko.
Himemiko's servants met them both when they arrived in Tatara and escorted them to the main building. Himemiko was waiting there for them. She embraced Nanami in a large hug, and nodded in acknowledgement to Mizuki. Nanami went on to discuss her plan of going to the demon realm's Hanabi festival and not having anything to wear. Himemiko merely smiled.
"In the demon realm, individuals of God status need not wear a simple yukata for festivals like humans do. Not only is a symbol of status, it is also way of others respecting you, as they will realise what your status is. By wearing certain things, you will fit in more easily, than say if you wore a plain yukata. If you wore something different, against the norm, then it would look badly on your reputation." Himemiko explained.
"It seems like the demon realm is so different, even down to the very dress!"
"It can be, but we have similar things, such as food and language. It is not all that bad!" Himemiko said with a smile.
"So what kind of yukata would I be wearing?"
"No yukata I can assure you. A light kimono will be what you will be wearing."
"Oh wow!"
"So what kind of a kimono do you want to wear?
"Well what kind of a kimono would you suggest... that is probably a better place to start!" Nanami replied with a grin. With that Himemiko lead her in to her living quarters to a room that had hundreds of kimonos located within it. "Oh my..." Nanami expressed. Himemiko got a couple of kimonos for Nanami to try, then Nanami got a couple to try on, after trying numerous different styles she found something that was perfect. A long light-weight kimono that had a japanese wave print covering most of the kimono. Made up of a mixture of both hard lines and soft colours, against Nanami's complexion it came out amazingly well. "This is the one I think. What do you think...?"
"Absolutely. In fact, I have never worn that before. I was intending to give it to you anyway..!"
"Come again?"
"Would you like it? I want to give it to you as a present, as it obviously suits you more than I" Himemiko said with a smile
"Are you sure, it looks so expensive...!" Nanami replied cautiously. I don't want to upset her by making her think I am not interested in it, but it is too much of a present for me to accept! After Himemiko finally persuaded Nanami to keep the kimono, she turned the topic of the conversation to something she was curious of.
"Why Nanami, did you come here with Mizuki, and not Tomoe?" Surely he would have come...
"Mizuki asked me to come to the Hanabi festival, not Tomoe".
"And Tomoe?"
"Tomoe said he had other business to take care of in the demon world. He said he was busy..."
"Busy doing what...?"
"Busy probably entertaining himself and others in the red-light district, probably among the company of prostitutes of some sorts..." Nanami said harshly.
"Ah..." Himemiko said with a slight frown, "I take it then he does not know of your feelings still yet?"
"You are correct with that one...!"
"Are you going to tell him ever?"
"I have previously, but he brushed it off majorly. The fact of the matter is, he won't even touch me now and won't even come close..."
"So...?"
"So I decided to take matters in to my own hands."
"And by that means?"
"He will have to deal with his feelings for me. I know he must have some some where, if my plan does not work then I will simply move on. But first, comes the competition."
"Competition?"
"Yes, I am going to make him jealous. And by jealous, I mean that I am currently seeing a human boy."
"You are dating someone?!"
"Yes, but just casually. A friend of mine told me that guys only truly realise their true feelings when faced with a predicament . If Tomoe is in the predicament where I may leave, or disappear to be with someone else, it will produce competition. with that competition, he will become jealous and finally come to deal with those feelings, and hopefully act on them!" Nanami said with a grin.
"That may work on humans, but competition for demons could be rather dangerous Nanami", Himemiko said rather sternly, "I respect your feelings as I am in the same predicament, I am a demon in love with a human, however demons can react completely differently. If a demon is jealous or angry, all sense can go out of the window and it can lead to horrid situations. I heard of one story - involving two demons and a human female - where both demon males decided to kill one another as well as the human. The human could not deal with the loss of both of them. Demons, well demon males anyway, believe that their partner is their object: they own them." Nanami gulped. "So when you say you are egging him on to act, I am not sure it is such a good idea if he were just a regular demon. But he is Tomoe, he has been at the Mikage shrine for over 500 years and is one of the most powerful demons. However, I just want to check, has he been acting strange?"
"Somewhat."
"Eyes changed?"
"Nope"
"Made any advances? Or knows who the other person is?"
"No and no."
"Does he know of the formal courtship of the human male?"
"Somewhat, he knows we went on a date. But that is it..."
"Well. I would just be a little careful. I doubt Tomoe would do anything, but keep Mizuki or I informed of what goes on."
"I will do. Thanks for the advice Himemiko" Nanami gushed.
"My pleasure. Oh, and good luck!" Himemiko returned her smile to her.
After talking at length with Himemiko about her decision and Tomoe, she met Mizuki in the main room. From there they went back to the demon world for the Hanabi festival. Once they arrived they decided to get some food from the various stalls, they chose a number of different little dishes and shared it between them. They settled on taiyaki for desert, the demon taiyaki was suppose to be the best from what Mizuki had said. Indeed it was, Nanami went back for seconds. Whilst buying another helping for her and Mizuki she heard her name being called.
"Nanami!"
Nanami looked around and couldn't find who had called her name.
"Nanami!"
Nanami looked around again.
"Nanami, over here!" The voice shouted a little louder. She turned to find Mizuki waving at her with Kurama who he has miraculously bumped into. Kurama turned to the direction Mizuki had shouted but couldn't find Nanami.
"Oi snake. You sure Nanami is here? I can't see her anywhere..."
"Sure she is here. She is right infront of you!" Sure enough as Kurama turned, right in front of him was Nanami. Yet it was not the usual Nanami. It was a different Nanami, a Nanami which held the respect of others although only being a God for so long. Unlike regular days, Nanami's hair and make-up had been expertly done as she wore the light kimono Himemiko had given her. Kurama sucked in for breath, damn she does definitely scrub up well. I wonder how the fox will handle this in front of him? I bet he looses it completely.
"Nanami? You look completely different from normal!" Kurama exclaimed. Nanami blushed with acknowledgement.
"Yes, I had a little help with finding out the proper attire for festivals such at this." Nanami explained.
"Well whomever helped you, I commend them. You look like a true god right now." And with that Nanami blushed again. IT was true, she looked just the piece for a God. In fact, since arriving at the Hanabi festival, Nanami had only been getting stares from all other surrounding demons. Although the attention was given due to her status, she was not used to it by any means. I hope it doesn't go on like this for the whole night, I do feel a little uncomfortable with this whole situation. Well I cannot let it get to me, I want to just enjoy the Hanabi festival and then to go home. I wish Tomoe had come as well, I would liked to have spent it with him too... but I need to just enjoy now! Common Nanami, quit thinking about him already. With that they went to find seats for a better view as well as getting some more food and drinks, all three of them together.
Meanwhile, in a nearby alleyway, Tomoe walking alone thinking to himself. I wonder how she is doing getting ready for the Hanabi festival? I wonder if she went with that boy and Mizuki? I... BANG! BANG! BANG! Tomoe was knocked from his thoughts as the fireworks started. Oh the Hanabi festival is here as well tonight? How dull... I wonder where Nana- STOP Tomoe. Leave it. She must be having fun with that 'human' of hers, of course she has moved on from her feelings of me. He mulled along by himself.
Tomoe kept walking, he began to come to one of the main streets where there was a huge crowd gathered to watch the fireworks. Making his way over to a small opening, he crossed the road and down another alleyway. He wanted to be by the river whilst it was going on, it was peaceful. Well as peaceful as it could be with the Hanabi festival going on. He wanted to see the reflections of the fireworks in the water also. As he made his way towards the river bank, he hit another crowd, who were not too cramped and were not looking at the fireworks, but rather something else. I wonder what is going on? As he edged further, he felt a familiar presence, Nanami? No she wouldn't be here. He then caught a glimpse of a God. As the God turned around, his insides surged. Nanami. She was dressed in the traditional God costume, he thanked whomever had helped her to dress in what she was wearing. She looked simply divine. Go to her. Feelings surged through him to go and see her, engage with her and hold her. Fuck. Protect her. What is going on? You need to protect her. Well that is new. Protect our mate. What? Mate. Hold the phone... His subconsciousness told him to act on his feelings, trying to force him forward. Trying to fight the subconscious need of his body he began to fight it. He backed up, backing up towards the alleyway he came from, turning around and rushing into the darkness.
Nanami turned around. I could of sworn I sensed Tomoe's presence just then...