Rolling into chapter 3 we continue to dove into a bit more of the childhood of Touma and Tamamo, I'll keep this brief as to get this going.
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Julunggul: I'm never going to appear aren't I?
JDog2k: relax, this is something I had to do, doesn't matter to me if this or that, this was the right move to make, you're immortal, you can wait.
Julunggul: if you sssay ssso
JDog2k: good now I have to address someone
COMMENT RESPONSE:
Guest Mr. X: sorry but personally this is something I had to do, I have my reasons, I stick to it
adam.airon50: I was trying to take a new direction with Touma's character. I still look to make him a bit distant if stoic around those he isn't close to, but edgy emo? Not that far
Fate/Index belong to Nasu and Kamachi respectively. Let's go!
Chapter 3: Beginnings of New Life Pt. 2
A couple of days passed when Tamamo was brought to the town's local church by Touya, this would be the place she would stay at from here on. Initially she didn't want to, preferring to be with the Kamijou family who showed her kindness, she especially wanted to be around Touma, the only child, who found her when she basically went isekai into this new reality. Not by choice but by sheer accident, the result of some interdimensional phenomena that was beyond even her understanding.
Regardless, when Reverend Akio brought her in, she got a good look at the place, white marble walls, a soft black carpet floor, the standard wooden length chairs set in rows for mass seating. The windows tinted with religious imagery accentuated by the bright light of the sun shining through them specifically on the left wing, chandeliers hung above providing the lighting and of course the podium at the end with the big cross behind it, a piano off to the side.
Overall it was a nice set up she'll admit but she prefers shrines if anything, but she could tell the place was well funded, and quite big. Big enough in fact that it had its own little wing with a few bedrooms, likely this isn't the first time they've helped those who needed it.
Tamamo laid down on her bed as she thought back to when she was first shown the place a couple of days prior.
Two days ago….
"Welcome to our humble church young Tamamo." Reverend Akio said. "You can rest assured that we will try to ensure that you feel right at home."
"Thank you Reverend." Tamamo bowed formally.
"Now, now young one, no need to be so formal." Reverend Akio waved off in good faith.
It was at this point where Tamamo got a good scan of the place, of course not long after a couple of nuns had come out from a door in the right wing of the main building, and greeted the reverend upon seeing him.
"Hello reverend." One of the nuns greeted him. "I see the young girl Mr. Kamijou mentioned is here with you."
"Ah Sister Hana, you would be correct, this young girl is Tamamo." Reverend Akio introduced.
Sister Hana and her fellow nun got a good look at Tamamo and needles to say they gushed over how adorable and pretty she was.
"Oh what a precious girl! I'm Sister Kanade, it's a pleasure to meet you Tamamo." The now named Sister Kanade greeted.
Tamamo once more gave a bow in response, even after a couple of months she still wasn't quite used to the deal of being treated as a child. Regardless, her situation by logic dictates that she had to suck it up and go with it so as to not complicate things, though, it wasn't all bad she was beginning to think, her time with the Kamijou family in the two months since coming to this new world was rather pleasant. She especially had many fond memories over that span of time with their son Touma, the two were well along on being good friends, though a sad reality she was really his only friend, most of the town barring a few select people hated him due to the affects of his bad luck that they title him the 'Plague God.'
As she thought of how hated Touma was by the town he was growing up in, even defending him on a few occasions only for Touma to tell her to stand down, she was quickly becoming endeared to him, as someone who had faced the full brunt of hatred and prejudice in the past.
A churning feeling made its way into the pits of her stomach, she began to wonder if Touma may end up befalling the same fate that she had, the people making an attempt on his life, if the attack by that doctor was anything to go by……the only difference between them was that at one point Tamamo was loved, but it was after her exposure that she was an enemy to humans. Touma? The poor boy was hated from the very beginning with only his own loving family keeping safe, and that fact made Tamamo's heart sink for him.
'This world…..is too cruel for a soul like him.' Lamented Tamamo in her mind
"Tamamo?"
She was knocked out of her thoughts when Reverend Akio had called her name, showing concern for how quiet she had become.
"Is something the matter?" He asked in concern.
Tamamo shook her head and responded.
"Just thinking….that's all."
"Is it about Touya's son?" Reverend Akio said.
This made Tamamo look directly at him, and that was all the response he needed to know his guess was right.
"It is truly a shame." He spoke softly. "A boy so young to be subjected to nothing but cruelty by this town. It seems he is also not of the good Lord's blessings, I've never seen such horrible luck."
Tamamo looked at the reverend closely, there wasn't any sign of treachery or lying in his facial expression and tone, nor did it seem like he harbored ill will to Touma, just sympathy. Tamamo took a breath feeling a bit relieved but at the same time remained weary of the man and the others, better safe than sorry when it came to her new companion.
"Well now young Tamamo." The reverend spoke. "Sister Kanade will show you the living area, ever since this church was built it was funded enough over the years to have a boarding wing, a place for those in need."
Tamamo merely nodded as Sister Kanade took her along to the boarding area, this section from what she saw outside initially had to be at least two stories high and had two main hallways running parallel with one another on opposite sides of the center wall.
Everything was well kept and clean, each room seemed to be staggered between each side, though the hallways were empty meaning that there were no other people of recent.
"The first room on the ground floor will be yours from here Tamamo." Sister Kannade said. "Do make yourself comfy through your stay here."
"Thank you." Tamamo replied as she was let into her room.
The set up was simple, a closet, one bed, a couple of drawers, a front desk and with a single lamp light, last but not least, a bookshelf. Tamamo eyed it for a moment and she wondered if she would ask Touma if she could borrow his manga series to put here till she could finish it.
"You must be tired, feel free to rest for a bit." Kanade offered.
Over the next couple of days, Tamamo would help out around the church, cleaning, setting up for a major event like a marriage.
Tamamo still looked back to seeing the wedding, the union of two souls in love, Tamamo was thinking of herself being in such a loving ceremony, and once she imagined it a certain boy had entered the picture, and in the place of the groom. She wondered what Touma was up to lately, hoping that he would come see her soon.
Present time…..
As Tamamo recalled the memories in her head as she lay back on her bed, a knock on her door caught her attention as she hopped off her bed. Opening the door she was met by Sister Hana, who gave her a radiant and kind smile upon seeing her.
"Hello Sister Hana." Tamamo greeted her.
"Hello Tamamo." Sister Hana greeted warmly. "I came by to tell you that you have a visitor."
This made Tamamo go wide eyed in excitement, if she wasn't careful her fox tail would have popped out and wagged around. It had to be Touma, maybe he finally was given time to see her, Touya did promise that the two of them would get to see each other as often as possible. Without further need to talk, Tamamo dashed out of her room through the corridor and right into the main church building where she ran by Sister Kanade who was talking to another woman of the cloth Tamamo hadn't gotten to meet all the nuns in the church yet as she had been a busy fox in the last two days helping and making herself as comfy and as at home as she could get, counting Sister Hana and Kanade there were six total nuns.
"Slow down Tamamo, my you must be so excited." The nun talking to sister Kanade called.
"Sister Ayeka, she is a child." Sister Kanade said. "A bright young girl as energetic as her is a welcome sight to see, for it is a wonderful sign of life gifted by the Heavenly Father. Plus she has been eagerly awaiting the return of a friend."
Bursting through the front door Tamamo's hopes were true as standing at the end of the walkway was Touma Kamijou, accompanied by his father Touya and his mother Shiina who were currently conversing with Reverend Akio. It came as no surprise that Touma was the first to notice Tamamo just come outside, he instantly beamed before he ran over to her with Tamamo wanting to meet him in the middle, of course with Touma his misfortune was still in play.
Just as Touma was about to reach Tamamo he tripped at the last second, and fell right onto his oncoming friend.
"Woah!"
"Mikoooon!"
Touma and Tamamo tumbled together onto to the ground and rolled into the grass, this little incident of course alarmed the adults, at least until Touma and Tamamo both slowly got over the initial dizziness and saw the position they were in, needless to say what followed after was playful laughter as the two began to wrestle together on the soft green grass.
Watching the display gave a round of smiles to everyone watching, some of them even cooing at the adorable display before them.
"Ok you two." Shiina called out to them. "Let's get in the car now, we're gonna go to the Yokohama World Porters mall."
"Awesome, we get to be out of town for a bit!" Touma said excitedly as he shot his fist into the air.
Tamamo giggled at her friend's excitement. It was nice to see him so bright and happy compared to when she first met him a couple of months back. Touma offered his hand to her and she was happy to accept as the two rushed hand in hand to the car followed by Touma's parents not too long after once they finished exchanging words with the reverend.
The car ride was pleasant, Touma and Tamamo would engage in silly small talk, sometimes cracking an occasional witty comment that made even Touya and Shiina laugh along, as the roadside view continued to pass them by the two playmates would engage in a game of eye spy.
"I spy with my little eye, something….."
Touma was immediately cut off on his turn when Tamamo covered his eyes with her hands.
"Peek a boo you're blind Touma!"
"Tamamo!" Touma whined. "You cheeky girl!"
"Hahahaha! How do you know it's me you can't even see!" She responded playfully.
"Ok now you're just being coy!" Touma shot back.
"Oh am I?"
Touma promptly got her hands off him before attacking her with tickles.
"Nah Nah, this is what you get! Hahahaha!" Touma laughed.
As Touma tickled her around Tamamo laughed and laughed while also squirming around in worn like fashion. If she wasn't careful her fox features would poof out from losing focus.
"Ahahaha-ahahahahaha-hahaha! Touma! Aha! Mikon! Ahaha!" Tamamo laughed.
Now it was her turn to flip the table on him. She sprang up and gave him a peck on the forehead which stunned him enough to start her own tickle attack, needless to say Touma was ticklish, VERY ticklish.
"Ahahahahaha! Agh no fair Tamamo! Ahahahaha!"
Now it was Touma's turn to squirm in joy at the mercy of Tamamo's gentle hands, but despite how gentle they were they were quick acting as she tickled him mercilessly, getting his ear, stomach anywhere on the upper card that was vulnerable.
"All's fair in love and war!" She replied.
"All right kids settle down, we're almost there." Touya said as he pointed at the skyscrapers towering in the distance.
The two were excited as they saw their destination become ever closer, this was the first time really for both of them to get to hang out together away from the pressure of the town they resided in.
At last they reached the Yokohama World Porters mall. It was a large shopping complex along the waterfront. The collective pitter patter of shoes as well as the constant buzzing of voices indicate that it was very busy today.
The Kamijou family and Tamamo managed to find a place to park and departed the vehicle, Touma himself looked around in awe, this was the first time he had actually been outside of his hometown, the sight of the surrounding Yokohama City amazed him to know end. Tamamo simply watched with a small smile gracing her face at the boy, this was a nice change of pace for him.
"Ok you two." Shiina said, addressing the two little ones. "Don't run off, stay close at all times, Tamamo I trust you make sure nothing happens to Touma."
"Don't worry Shiina." Tamamo affirmed as she clutched onto Touma's arm. "I'll keep a close eye on him."
"Tamamo!" Touma yelped as his cheeks reddened. "Don't treat me like I'm a toddler."
Tamamo merely responded by closing one eye and sticking her tongue out a bit in cheeky fashion, she then let go of his arm and entwined her hand with his, Touma didn't mind it much, she was his best and only friend after all.
Following the adults inside closely as the two walked hand in hand, Touma and Tamamo would marvel at the many shops, all through the complex all filled with hustle and bustle of city shoppers.
"Where should we go first!?" Asked Touma excitedly.
"Well son I say we get a bite to eat first, this place does have many interior restaurants." Touya said.
"I see a sushi buffet all the way over that way, and the surrounding area doesn't look too crowded, not a lot of people from the looks of it." Tamamo pointed out.
With their plan set Touma was quick to run over to the buffet, all while bringing Tamamo who still held onto his hand along for the ride as she laughed. His parents told him to slow down but the two were already way ahead. Disaster would rear its ugly mug as Touma's bad luck kicked in, he tripped over bringing Tamamo down by proxy onto a random teenage boy no older than sixteen and knocked him down all while he held a drink carrier, likely he had friends nearby. The contents of the drinks with a resounding spill and slight splash noises followed after a collective THUD! had hit the multicolored tile floor below.
"Ow…" Touma groaned. "Tamamo, are you ok-?"
Touma was interrupted when, as soon as he got up he was grabbed by his shirt collar and picked off the ground to meet the very pissed off teen he collided with, now drenched with a mixture of lemonade, soda and peach smoothies.
'Oh no! This is not good! What rotten luck!' Touma internally screamed.
The young man dropped him on the floor like a sandbag, and proceeded to kick the shit out of him, each stomp on the poor unfortunate Kamijou, the sound of the soul and heel of the punk kids shoe being used simultaneously pounding on the younger adolescent in a manner one tries to stomp out an entire marching line of ants, hard and swift, no mercy, just anger further brought on by mouthing utter profanities at the helpless five year old.
"Stupid!….*STOMP*….,Fucking!….*STOMP*….Little punk!…..*STOMP*…..HYPERACTIVE LITTLE SHIT!!"
STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!….
As the teen continues his relentless assault on Touma, he would not suspect the other half of the duo to come out her daze from the earlier crash just in time to see what was happening, needless to say she was well and truly pissed.
WHAM!!!
"AAAGH!!" Cried the older boy as he immediately stopped pounding on the helpless Kamijou, having been the recipient of a hasty but snappy kick to his shin courtesy of Tamamo.
"Get off him!" Tamamo shouted. "What happened was an accident! Leave him alone!"
Tamamo despite her current size was still able to deliver some stinging kicks as she relentlessly attacked the teenage boy's legs with alternating snap kicks, each with a peculiar slapping sound to them.
This little retaliation would soon face greater trouble as the mix of squeaking and clacks along the floor meant the arrival of the young man's nearby friends, one of whom had taken Tamamo by her pink locks and yanked on them hard.
"MIKOOOON!" She cried.
Before the situation escalated any further, Touya and Shiina would finally arrive and Touya would make quick work of backing the punk teens away from both their son and Tamamo. Mall security would arrive not long after to deal with the older boys as Touma was looked over by both his parents.
"I'm sorry." Touma said solemnly."
"There's no need to apologize honey." Shiina comforted. "You got excited and that's understandable. It's your first time out like this from where we normally are."
"All we ask kiddo is that you be more careful. REALLY careful in your case." Touya added.
Touma gave a small nod still feeling droopy eyed as he turned his gaze over to Tamamo. All he received was a smile which told him everything was ok, and thankfully she was not hurt at all, he took this as a notice to just lighten up and adhere to his parent's wishes, with that the family plus one would make their way to the sushi buffet. The meal that followed was a nice one with no inconvenience, all that really happened was Touma and Tamamo occasionally poking each other with their chopsticks in playful fashion.
Once the meal was finished they set out to visit the various shops and kiosks around the complex, from clothing, to anime and video merchandise, there was even an arcade zone that Touma wanted to check out, vibrant with life and fun from various kids both his age and older, of course with Touma's luck he didn't win any of the games, but for Tamamo it was the opposite, winning game after game with an extraordinary streak of luck, something that was drawing a crowd no less. Despite this she didn't brag or anything that would hurt Touma's adolescent confidence, and even offered to share a few of her prizes with him, there was even a moment Touya took a photo of the two snuggled up together simultaneously holding a nine tailed fox and dragon plushie, the former being held by Touma while Tamamo held the latter.
The last game the two would take part in was Dance Dance Revolution, and both of them competed to see who could outperform the other. It was very clear though that Touma was gonna fall short on this though given how much he was stumbling, so instead of dancing solo against each other the two locked hands and danced together regardless of whether they were following the color pattern or not, to them they were just dancing together; twirling, moving to the beat of the music and Touma even took Tamamo into a dip, of course the two of them tumbled over on each other but it didn't matter as they laughed their hearts out in the end.
After any leftover shopping, it was now time to go. Evening was already approaching as the Kamijou family and Tamamo had been in the mall since late afternoon.
As the setting sun washed its light of dusk over the horizon with the dark sky of night soon to blanket the region with stars, the trio back home was quiet and peaceful.
"Oh look at those two." Shiina said softly as she looked behind her seat. "They're so tired they fell asleep on each other."
Yes in fact the two were asleep, it was a few minutes into the car ride when Touma and Tamamo dozed off leaning comfortably on each other like warm pillows.
"It's truly wonderful you know hun?" Touya said.
"What's that Touya dear." Shiina responded.
Not taking his eyes off the road and merely using the rear view mirror to see the sight behind him, a small uptick on the side of his lips was noticeable to his wife.
"Our boy has had it difficult since he was born, all the incidents he got into, the injuries, and the prejudiced superstition of back home taking its toll on our son, I honestly had a thought in my mind that…well…he would never have friends."
There was clearly a slight grim tone in his voice upon saying that last bit, this was not unnoticed by Shiina at all and she frowned.
"But…"
Shiina then raised an eyebrow upon hearing that specific word.
"I can gladly say with clear consciousness that I was wrong. Little did I know, that both of us would not know that our son would find a friend in the most unlikely situation. Our son finally found someone to be with, and she's an absolute sweetheart to boot."
Shiina would only smile as she heard that.
A bit more into the car drive and the route they took before was blocked by workers, apparently an accident had occurred and now they had to take a detour, it was longer but Touya didn't mind one bit.
A little after as the family was approaching near their hometown, Tamamo would stir awake, she had an odd feeling wash over her which woke her. She looked around and made sure not to wake Touma, whom she petted his head affectionately before looking out the right window.
What she saw a bit out in open area, looked like a bomb had went off, there was a massive hole in the earth, Tamamo guessed it likely went down several meters, but something bugged her to know end, she could feel mana radiating from there, but also something….sinister. Of course the site was currently being looked over by authorities and officials.
"If you're curious Tamamo, apparently a meteor crashed there the day before Touma found you." Shiina explained. "News spread quickly as the town felt a small quake during the night."
"I see." Tamamo said. Despite this, she couldn't keep her eyes off the area till it was out of sight, but she couldn't make out the strange feeling that was holding her.
At last the car reached the church, Reverend Akio came out to greet them as the family exited the car.
"It's good to see you all back safe. Tamamo I hope this little venture was fun for you?" Akio asked.
Tamamo nodded before turning back to face Touma, it was evident he didn't want to go and wanted to be around her more, but Touya assured him he will see her the next day, and she gave both him and Shiina hugs before giving a big hug to Touma, and a boop on the nose as a bit of last minute fun, before parting ways for the night.
Upon entering the church, Tamamo would be led by Sister Ayeka down to the living ward, as she walked she came across a door labeled supply room, but Tamamo got a strange feeling from it though, not the strange and skin crawling feeling she had gotten prior when she was passing the crash sight on the car ride. This was mana residue emanating from the door, this of course made Tamamo curious, what might be a simple supply room was generating lots of mana.
'I wonder what might be in there.' Tamamo thought.
Now she didn't doubt for a second that this church had some magical significance in it, back in her dimension many religious sects of the world divulged in the mystic arts, even when the Age of Gods had long faded and would normally divulge in secret activities away from the eyes of the public.
"Come Tamamo, time to sleep, it's just a supply closet." Ayeka said.
Tamamo simply nodded and went on to her room, but in all actuality she was skeptical.
Midnight rolled around, Tamamo was snug in her bed, needless to say she wasn't actually sleeping. It wasn't that could not sleep, but it was her utter curiosity that kept her awake, in fact her own subconscious was having a back and forth with itself on whether to actually investigate or not.
'That supply room was radiating a lot of mana, I wonder what they are keeping down there, should I snoop it out?…..Nah…..maybe?…..*sigh*……why not.'
Having made up her mind, Tamamo hopped out her bed and made her way to the hall. She opened the door as quietly as she could and peaked through the crack to see if anyone was roaming around. Down the dimly lit hallway was a faint light of a candle, the light itself growing more faint as whoever was holding it walked further away. Tamamo with her superior hearing was able to make out the voice of the individual, it was Sister Hijika, Tamamo hadn't interacted with her much but she was kind, if a bit strict, apparently she was out checking around, likely a routine procedure for any residences here to check up on them, and she was humming a small tune to a church classic church song, her footsteps were light and would barely be heard to a human of normal hearing.
As Sister Hijika rounded a corner and disappeared into the far side, Tamamo took this opportunity to slip out of her room after giving another survey of her surroundings, before closing her door quietly to make her trek.
If one were to know the nature of foxes, one thing that definitely is of note is that they are notoriously sneaky, quiet in movements, this especially leaned towards fox spirits of myth and legends, something that played into their role in the East Asian theatre as tricksters. This of course was a big advantage for Tamamo, she quietly moved her way to the main church building not even making so much as a peep and her footsteps were light as feathers, she was no assassin by any means but she is capable, her child size also played a role as well which kept her head especially low without the need to duck constantly.
'I don't see anyone else so far….' She quipped in her mind, but that didn't take away her news to be cautious.
Peaking her head just enough from behind the first bench closest near the alter, the dim lighting of the chandeliers and the various candles alight gave a very serene atmosphere as the mix of shadow and light on the various works of art were strewn in a way that seemed to tell a story along the religious imagery, as if painting hidden messages that laid below the surface.
Tamamo's eyes continued to scan the surrounding her surroundings till she heard the click of a doorknob and the turning sound that followed. Ducking her head behind the bench she listened in as she heard the voices of Reverend Akio and Sister Hana.
"We're secured, I know you find it necessary to keep much of the texts, documents and items stored up in there to keep out of the wrong hands, but I can't imagine any sect coming for them way out here." Sister Hana assured the reverend.
Reverend Akio simply smiled and shook his head slightly as he spoke.
"As ideal as that may be, though I was simply an apprentice under that Cabal for most of my youth before I left to serve God entirely, it's no secret many would seek me out, as well as want to grasp what I have in storage, ."
Tamamo listened curiously at the conversation, the words exchanged between them were intriguing to her, especially what Reverend Akio had said.
'Reverend Akio was part of a Cabal? Hmm, and from the way he spoke it's not a minor player, whatever he's holding in that storage room is certainly significant.'
Biding her time till the Reverend and Hana parted ways to turn in for the night, or in Hana's case might turn over with Sister Hijika to roam the hallways of the living ward.
Once she was certain she was clear, she silently ran her way over to the supply closet, which was locked.
'Damnit….maybe, one of them has the key.'
Going over her options, Tamamo had to be careful about utilizing magic, even if she wasn't as strong in it as she was prior, it was gonna be a lengthy recovery to her full strength from whatever had sapped her of her strength.
Plucking off a string of tail fur she applied as little magic as possible to slowly weave it into a tiny fox familiar, the little creature yipped as quietly as it could manage. Tamamo knelt down to let the little one hop onto her palm, it was as small as a teacup puppy.
"Ok little one, I need you to do something for me." Tamamo said. "I need to you scout out Reverend Akio's office, see if you can retrieve the key to this door here."
The little fox yippee understanding the instructions of its master. It hopped off and using the memory link shared between the two, the little critter made its way to the east wing. The door was open going towards an interconnected building that contained a gathering spot for the nuns on one side, and Reverend Akio's office on the other.
The tiny fox familiar made its way to the Reverend's office, luckily the door was slightly cracked open, and the only source of light for the room seemed to be a lamplight on a desk. As the little familiar peeked its head in, it saw that Reverend Akio was fast asleep at his desk, through the mental link shared with its master, Tamamo got a read on everything, and she had to guess that the old aged reverend was exhausted and likely fell into slumber in the middle of a late night task, she wondered what kept him up and busy to be like this, but she kept that thought in the back of her mind in order to focus on the task at hand.
The teacup sized fox familiar would quietly make its way up to the drooling reverend to inspect the man, it didn't see anything significant on his person, there was the possibility that the key was in his robe, but it was a risk to actually get on him without waking the man up.
'Perhaps the desk?' Tamamo thought.
Through mental instructions, the little fox hopped its way onto the desk and began to look around. There was just a bible, a small desk calendar and some paperwork, thankfully Reverend Akio's head was leaning back rather than right on the desk itself, it was clear he was tired from being up all night doing whatever he was involved with.
'It doesn't look like there is any key on the desktop.' Tamamo thought. 'Maybe…..if I can just open up the top most drawer.'
The little fox crept its way to the edge of the desk, it looked over to see the top most drawer just below it, it seemed to have a curved dip on the top end edge which was close enough to the little fox to put its nose to it and start nudging. It took a little as the drawer would open slightly and roll back, at least four tries till it nudged it open and pushed it with its paw to prevent it from coming back and closing.
Upon successfully opening the drawer, the familiar slipped and fell into the drawer, thankfully it didn't make to much noise and a second later it shimmied up to the edge of the open drawer with a silver color key in its mouth.
'Mikon! Now to get the door open!' Tamamo celebrated in her mind.
With the little fox coming back with the key on its possession, it scurried back to its master who was waiting by the door thankfully during that little escapade no one came into the main church hall to see Tamamo. The little fox stopped in front of Tamamo and sat down before her as its little tail wagged about.
"Good job little one." Tamamo whispered.
Tamamo nelt down and extended her hand out to her familiar which it dropped the key into her hand, she took her other hand and pet the little one which it yipped happily before Tamamo dispelled it.
"Ok, now to see what is beyond this door." Tamamo said as she took a deep breath.
Taking the key, she put it to the lock on the door and twisted it, the satisfying sound of a click was heard as the door fully unlocked. Slowly Tamamo opened the door as to not make to much noise and made just enough of an opening to slip through before silently closing the door behind her.
A storage room, sure, it didn't look like that to Tamamo, instead it was a short path to a set of stares that winded down. With a raised eyebrow, Tamamo began her descent downward, candle mounts lining both sides of the wall, the candles themselves seemed fresh as they were not too far into the melting stage.
Tamamo had rounded three flights of stairs which led to a seemed to be an archive room of sorts, various books framing the shelves running on a dewey decimal system, there was even a few items of interest as well locked in old display cases; a couple of staffs, a blue glass orb, also appeared to be a set of tarot cards just to name a few items, if Tamamo had her suspicions before they were further enforced now, Reverend Akio was once a mage.
'Why does he have all this stuff down here below a church of all places?'
Having that question float in the back of her mind she decided to scope the area out, as she looked she eventually found a book that caught her eye just by the cover title alone.
History of Magic and Application
Tamamo immediately took the book off the pedestal curious of the knowledge it held. Opening the book and making good use of the sheer silence around her, not even the sound of an insect like a cricket was present as she began to swan dive into the history of this new world she had found herself in.
As she read through the first few pages she was amazed to note how similar yet different the concepts of phases are to textures, there wasn't any record of magic circuits or other aspects of her old world, instead this world, while it had its own inner power and lay lines functioning all throughout the world itself that was just it, the planet had lots of power but no sentience.
Other concepts like Idol Theory interested her very much, and it didn't seem like magicians had to worry about the fading of mysteries at all as such a notion was not a thing here, magician Saints and even the concept of Magic Gods drew her the most, humans that were either born with a fraction of power of the Son of God, Stigmada, it was incredible how strong this world was.
The Magic God concept is what interests her the most, beings who were actually human, or based around humanity before touching the Territory of God to become these deity-like figures.
Eventually Tamamo decided to turn In before she could potentially be cornered here if anyone discovered the key was gone, thankfully after putting the book back and going upstairs, she peeked out to find nobody around and locked the door behind her, even put the key back without much issue, soon after she snuck back to her room where she drifted off, but one thing kept her curious, even when she was asleep.
'Where does Touma's power fit in this world?'
The next day was bright and sunny, cool breezes passing by to lessen the humidity of warm air, today was another visit by Touma, and needless to say the two were quick to start playing outside, just a nice little game of tag.
"I'm gonna get you Touma!" Tamamo shouted as she gained on the unlucky boy, the both of them rearing around to the back of the church property.
"Try me Tamamo!!" Touma shouted back, of course as luck would have it, he tripped and fell face first in the grass face first, while that would have the young boy lamenting his luck it was quickly forgotten by Tamamo pouncing on him, a tumbling roll as they laughed without even a care in the world, for they were in their own.
"Hey Touma?" Tamamo questioned. "I need you to help me with something if you think it's ok."
Touma blinked a couple of times before nodding with a smile. "Yeah sure Tama!" He beamed.
"Tama?" Tamamo asked as she heard the shortage of her own name.
"You're my best friend Tama! My only friend, if it's ok I call you that…." Touma said, now feeling meek as he looked away slightly a bit red.
Tamamo only snickered at how cute that was and nodded to Touma's happiness as his eyes went bright and they almost shined.
"So what do you need help with?" Touma asked determinedly.
Holding her hands at angled and facing each other she concentrated as a small flame formed between, it started as a flicker before stabilizing the heat to become a small burning fire.
"Woah! I love seeing you use magic Tama!" Touma said excitedly.
"Ok, now I want you to trust me, do you trust me?" Tamamo asked.
Touma raised an eyebrow at the question, but nodded nonetheless upon seeing her serious expression.
"What I want you to do is slowly bring your right hand to this flame. Don't worry, you'll be surprised." Tamamo calmly told him.
Touma looked at the flickering flame that hovered between her hands, he was hesitant at first but he trusted Tamamo's word enough, slowly but surely he raised his right hand to the flame, inching closer and closer as he felt a bead of sweat drip down his face, Tamamo understood his worries, it was stupid just putting your hand to fire, magic or no magic.
Touma was just shy of making contact when he backed his hand away just a bit in a flinching manner, he looked at Tamamo once more and she gave him a gentle nod.
Shaking his head and taking a deep breath, one gulp to send the uneasy feelings down to his stomach to metaphorically digest, he proceeded to put his right hand to the fire.
The sound of shattering glass rang out for both of them to hear, while Tamamo was already familiar with it, for Touma this was the first real time he paid attention to his right hand dispelling a supernatural phenomenon. The fire to the amazement of the young boy had completely vanished from existence, like it was never there, like it was all an illusion.
"Wow! This is weird!" Touma said as he checked his hand.
Tamamo meanwhile was trying to think up some theories over what this power was, perhaps more experimenting was in order.
"Here Touma we're gonna do it again." Tamamo said as she made another flame.
"I wonder if both my hands are anti-magic!" Touma shouted as he threw his left hand recklessly at the fire to Tamamo's alarm.
"Touma sto-!"
It was too late, his left hand now into the flame but no glass shattering noise was made and the young foolish Kamijou was immediately regretting his decision.
"AAAAGH!! Ow ow ow!" Touma cried as he backed his hand away quickly shaking it but now it was slightly burned.
Tamamo was quick to pull out some bandage wrapped and ointment, she told Touma to keep still which he obeyed, the time they spent together since meeting had put her in the habit of keeping some medical stuff on hand for any minor accidents.
Applying the ointment gently to Touma's left hand, the boy winced in pain a bit.
"You were too hasty." Tamamo said.
"Sorry…..I thought if my right hand was anti-magic then so was the rest of me." Touma said sheepishly.
"Well did you feel any heat as you brought your right slowly towards the fire earlier?" Tamamo questioned.
"Actually no…." It then dawned on Touma. "Oh it would have been better to realize that and test it at the same pace as before huh…."
"Mhm, you're five so I can understand your enthusiasm but if you're having that realization, surely you know better and should think."
"Aren't you my age?" Touma asked.
This made Tamamo go quiet quickly, yeah she looked like a kid but mentally she was eons old.
"Um….let's not worry about that, here let's just continue with your right, I just got done applying the bandage wrap." Tamamo said.
Touma in his bits of child naïveté nodded without question and once more a flame was summoned from Tamamo.
Unknown to them, someone was peaking around the corner, it was one of the nuns, Sister Hana, she was nearby when Touma shouted in pain, she was about to check if they were ok, once she was about to round the corner she heard talking and once she saw them was immediately taken aback by seeing a fire form out of nothing from Tamamo's hands.
Sister Hana was quick to duck back by the outer wall of the corner and witness what was happening. She noted that Touma's left hand was bandage wrapped so likely that he got burned by whatever was going on, she would be in for further shock when she saw Touma taking his right hand and reaching for the flame.
Sister Hana was about to come out and put a stop to this but she couldn't move on to what happened next. The shattering of glass was heard and the fire vanished as if it never existed.Now armed with this memory she quickly left her spot to inform Reverend Akio.
From that moment forward would be a start to a slippery slope over the rest of the year, Tamamo began to notice that Reverend Akio's tone around her had shifted just a bit, he still put on a happy respectful persona but Tamamo could see something was different. This was very obvious with the nuns, now every time she crosses one she is given a look. She never understood what was going on, but as long as they weren't hurting her, or disturbing her sleep, she paid it no mind.
The rest of the year was both full of ups, and very extreme bads, for the good it was mainly when Tamamo and the Kamijou family was together, the rest of the year saw Touma and Tamamo become closer more.
Various vacation trips were taken whenever Touya was able to book something, and that ranged from beaches, to theme parks, holiday events, even small things like going to movies or picnics.
There was a point where Tamamo while staying over with the Kamijou family was reading the last book of the manga series and she had an idea when she saw that the protagonist has spiky hair.
"Ok Touma, close your eyes and don't open till I say." She instructed.
Touma did so and Tamamo took a gob of hair gel before roughing it thoroughly in his hair to spike it.
"Ok! Open your eyes!"
Opening them Touma saw that Tamamo had a mirror in front of her, and as Touma looked at his reflection saw himself with spiky hair, at first he was unsure of it, looking at Tamamo who only smiled before reassuring him.
"I think it fits you. I love it, in fact."
This made Touma happy as he felt like keeping his hair this way now and into the future. While this was all the good things, it was not without a lot of recurring bad things.
It seemed as though as time went on the townsfolk was becoming more aggressive to Touma, more attempts at assault, constant bullying from the other kids and teenagers, belittling, and worst of all the occasional death threat. Each time Tamamo would try to step in and defend one way or another.
It had gotten so bad it was a must at either Touya, Shiina or both had to stay close to them to prevent another incident on their son.
XXX
For Tamamo things were not any better back at the church, the Reverend and the nuns were becoming more weary of her by the day, she can even Sister Ayeka giving her hard looks occasionally, this was starting to confuse Tamamo as before they were nice for a few days after meeting them.
Little did she know that Sister Ayeka had at some point just caught a slight glimpse of Tamamo shifting her fox features away, just a slight sight of it, and she was shook.
After Reverend Akio was informed it was now like she was on constant monitoring from them, it began to annoy her so she began to talk about it with the old codger directly.
"Good afternoon Reverend." Tamamo greeted as politely as she could.
Reverend Akio put on the most forced smile, and like Tamamo had suspected, he wasn't being sincere.
"Good afternoon Tamamo, how may I help you my dear?"
Tamamo simply arched eyebrow at the old man, he was clearly trying too hard in his old age to save face.
"I'm gonna be upfront, what has gotten into you all recently? Once before I was a welcome stay, now it's like I come off as a monster to you all."
"I assure you that what you are saying and accusing us of isn't true, and of the sisters, even they can fall into bad moods." Akio said, weaving his lie.
Tamamo knew the bullshit was there, though she had to give the man credit for trying, but she wasn't having it.
"Reverend Akio, question." Tamamo said. "You wouldn't happen to know the legend of Kiyohime? Do you?"
Reverend Akio blinked from hearing that. "Kiyohime? I know the story, she fell in love with a monk but was rejected and given a promise to meet, that promise turned to betrayal." He summarized.
"A story of lies, and being lied to." Tamamo said almost distantly.
She could see it, the reverend was starting to sweat slightly, his fingers barely moving as if ice cold, brittle from frost, merely slight twitching. But no more was it obvious than his eyes, if one was so attentive to the slightest detail, they would see his eyes fidgeting ever so slightly.
"I assure you Tamamo, I am not lying to you, my oath to God forbids lies:"
"That's a solid oath to keep, Reverend." Tamamo said before walking away.
Time passes more and things seem to have eerily winded down. Hardly anything was done to Touma at this point.
It all started not long after Touma was introduced to a business associate of Touya Kamijou, the man wasn't a superstitious type nor was he actually from town, when Touya brought Touma along for some father/son bonding he introduces the man to Touma, and the two shook hands, their right hands. Little did the young Kamijou know of the fate awaiting him and worse, Tamamo by proxy.
It was a cloudy day out, an unusual weather change from the projected sunny day, no wind or even light breeze, the air was just dead still and cold, such a sight would have many see it as a depressing sight, many, all except two joyful souls.
"Come on Touma hahahaha!!" Tamamo laughed as she ran along the sidewalk.
"I'm right behind you Tama!! Don't leave me behind!" Touma shouted as he found himself huffing and sweating a bit trying to keep up with his energetic companion.
"Kids do be careful! I don't want to have to run in heels!" Shouted the voice of Shiine who was gingerly strolling down the sidewalk behind both of them.
Despite the less than pleasant looking day, plenty of people were out and about, many of whom would glance at the duo running along with scorn, mostly the boy.
As the trio trudged along they stopped by a bench, deciding to take it easy for a bit. The roads were clear around the suburban area so the two decided to play along the road for a bit, the most they did was pass a small rubber ball to one another, simple but they made it fun through small talk.
"Crazy how much we got to do together in just a year since meeting Tama." Touma said.
"Despite all the wrong with this town I've had a pleasant stay here whenever I'm with you and your family." Tamamo quipped.
"Haha! I want it to be like this for us forever."
Hearing that made Tamamo smile brighter.
"You think so?"
Touma nodded happily and was as energetic as expected of a five year old.
Tamamo may have felt odd being a child again, but compared to before then when she first lived among humans, this wasn't so bad after all.
"Hey Tama?" Touma asked, looking nervous.
Tamamo was puzzled by the sudden shift in tone, she was now curious what was making Touma this way.
"What's wrong?" She asked, concerned.
Touma simply shifted around a bit, his own tongue was letting what he wanted to say slide out, in fact it was choking him up as he began to stutter.
"Well…..*gulp*……..
I have something I want to-"
He was cut off when he heard the sound of a car, both Tamamo and him looked over to see one rolling up a little ways before stopping. The car was still with the engine still rumbling, this confused all parties involved, they could hardly make out the driver but Touma especially couldn't shake the feeling that whoever was inside was looking at him specifically.
Feeling the unusual tension, Shiina called for the duo to get off the road and back to her.
"Kids off the road now! Stay with me the entire time."
They did as told and started moving, but the moment they so much as took a step, the car reved to life and sped towards them, the sudden charge of the vehicle caught the duo like deer in headlights as they froze in panic.
"NOOO!!!"
Having shouted in terror, Shiina rushed to the road as fast as her heels would let her and knocked both Touma and Tamamo away from danger, but now she was in sight of it instead.
Acting last minute Shiina jumped as the car barreled into her. She didn't dive head first but the sickening crack of a colliding human body to the window of a car, was resounding, the driver now in a swerve as they went hood first into a telephone pole, an echoing CRASH sound following as the front hood of the car bent inward, and Shiina was sent back first into the pole before going limp.
All this while Touma and Tama watched in utter horror.
"MOOOM!!/SHIIINNAAA!!!"
The car door of the wrecked vehicle swung open, coughing and wheezing could be heard as the offending driver stepped out of the vehicle.
It was a rugged man, a poorly maintained business suit was worn, wrinkly, dirty, slightly torn at the seams. His hair was rough like a drug addict and was unshaven in the face, but it was all to clear this psycho was sober, yet touched in the head.
Now after that crash he was bleeding at the head a bit, it seemed his left arm was also hurt as he was favoring it. The grizzly man began to step forward slowly, the commotion of the events drawing a crowd as people were stepping out of their homes, or halting their outdoor activities to watch the display before them.
Touma was trembling as Tamamo stepped in front of him arm out like a shield. That didn't stop the man's advance as he stopped favoring his left arm and his right hand went into his back pocket.
"You…..
you little bastard." The man spoke as his eyes were fully locked on the frightened Touma.
"I LOST EVERYTHING BECAUSE OF YOU!!" The man shouted at the top of his lungs.
"The day your father introduced me to you, the moment I shook your damn hand, EVERYTHING FELL APART FOR ME!!"
Touma stopped trembling as a memory flashed in his mind, realization dawned on him of who this man was. It was the business associate that was talking with his father that aforementioned day.
"You're a curse, a plague, my business went bankrupt, I got divorced, everything I've built up over the years is GOOONNNEEE!!!!"
"You can't just blame your own failures on someone else!" Tamamo bravely shouted back.
"There's no other explanation!! You will not understand, you're just a stupid little girl, and I'm gonna avenge what I lost and take something as trade."
It was clear as day what that threat entailed and Tamamo immediately grasped Touma by the hand and bolted, she told him not to look back as the sound of clacking dress shoes pounded the pavement behind them.
Against Tamamo's wishes Touma reared his around and looked behind him, there, going full rush as a hurt man could allow was the ragged injured businessman, and in his right hand, adding further credence to his blood lust filled eyes was a knife.
"He's gaining Tamamo!!" Touma shouted.
Despite all their efforts to run the older man caught, tearing the knife back he thrusted it forward and cool steel of the blade tip plunged into the flesh of Touma's back, the stab while brutal, just barely missing the spine.
Touma tumbled as the pain had yet to register, it was all too quick, so much happening at once.
Tamamo, who had held onto Touma's hand, went down with him hitting the concrete with a THUD.
"Touma no!" Tamamo shouted.
"T-Tama…" Touma heaved as he was breathing heavily, tears brimming and leaking from his eyes in streams as the pain began to set itself.
Tamamo looked back at the crazy businessman with cold fury, but quickly subsided to brief shock as she heard the cheers of many townsfolk hailing this lunatic like a hero. Every single voice was clear in their words, these people, no, these animals, predators, wanted blood.
They wanted Touma's blood….
Tamamo suddenly had flashbacks to the hospital, the moment she herself was stabbed in the back by that doctor that almost robbed Touma of his life months before.
It only became worse as Tamamo's PTSD went a step further as this inquisition for one solitary boy's life was not unlike when the Feudal Japanese Army hunted her down to her eventual death. Tamamo began to cry.
"The brat's still alive? Guess one more ought to do it, and the little punk bitch can go with him to Hell!" The ragged businessman shouted as he once more raised the knife overhead with the full malice of barring down on Touma to finish him off and get Tamamo next.
Hearing that, Tamamo's eyes went wide, time seemed to slow down around her as the cyclone of feelings, from horror, anger, concern, disgust, disdain, everything coalesced into an eye of terror deep within the center of her own heart, the beating of her biological ticker going from slow paced to rapid.
Babump……babump……babump babump babump babumpbabumpbabumpbabump
Finally something long dormant awoke in her, and let itself out with the might of wrathful divinity.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!!"
In a single blood curdling scream that would put a banshee to heel, Tamamo began to glow, and in a split second built up magical energy blasted outward in an omnidirectional wave, the shockwave of mana sending all the surprised people flying back into brick walls, windows who even if a body hadn't been flung into to were shattered by the force of the wave. Car alarms going off in the dozens filling the once still quiet air with violent noise.
The businessman that was just short of stabbing Touma for the second time and closest to ground zero was sent flying further into the electrical wires of the telephone pole networks and was brutally electrocuted to death, left to hang lifeless and limp on them as a charred smoking corpse.
Tamamo was dazed, that explosion of magic power almost knocked her unconscious as she was breathing heavily, and as a result of that her fox features were on full display for anyone that was willful enough to get off their ass and glance.
"Touma, I'm gonna get you out of here! You desperately need help!" Tamamo cried as she slowly and gently picked up the groaning boy and slung his arm over her shoulders for support.
As they began to move it was clear that Touma was bleeding out fast, it would not surprise her if a blood trail was gonna be left in their wake. So in a quick act of temporary patchwork, Tamamo wrapped Touma's upper body in multiple layers. This act effectively kept the blood from further leaking too fast so Tamamo can get to somewhere safe.
With no time to lose as any uninjured people began to slowly rise and help their bloodthirsty companions that were down, it was clear that many were gonna be after their heads.
It was unclear how far away they got even with their head start. Tamamo was tired and she was still kicking around through some kind of divine adrenaline or something that did not see her collapse.
By her side was a groaning Touma, a victim of cruelty, of a world that was obviously out to get him. It made her tear up thinking just how lonely of an existence that would be had Touma not grown up without any parents, and hated by just about everyone around him.
'Why?….
why him? It's too cruel, he's done nothing wrong, he's too sweet for this!'
No amount of empathy was changing anything.
Nothing was coming to save them from their current predicament.
No one.
Not even the oh so mighty God that billions pray to for guidance or miracle.
Tamamo was a being of miracles, even as she was, she had to make one happen somehow.
Her fox ears perked up, she could hear them, the mob, their inquisition, their executioners coming to claim their bounty, and they were moving fast on a warpath.
Thinking quickly on her options, Tamamo thankfully found an abandoned laundromat that was cracked open at the door. She quickly moved in there with Touma in tow to wait out the storm of malice.
Unbeknownst to them, they were spotted by none other than Reverend Akio and the nuns, Akio now getting a full view of Tamamo's true nature, he began to pray, making the cross shape over his heart and begging the Lord to forgive him for letting an unholy entity cross into hallowed grounds all this time.
Moving to the back of the old complex and away from the sight of the windows, Tamamo laid Touma gently against the wall, his groans ever present as he was still bleeding regardless of the patchwork done, he needed help and he needed it now.
"Ta-Tama…" Touma gasped.
"Shh shh, save your energy. Once they are gone we keep going, I'm gonna save you no matter what." Tamamo said determinedly.
"Tama….there's something I want to give you…"
Gingerly reaching into his pocket he pulled out a black box and gave it to Tamamo, she was quick to accept the gift and looked inside.
She was looking at a gold chain necklace, with a golden serpentine East Asian dragon as its ornament.
"Do you….like it?" Touma heaved.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked at her gift.
"You got this…for me?"
Touma only nodded. He grabbed the necklace and offered to put it around her neck, she leaned in and accepted, and once the clipping noise was heard, she gave Touma a light kiss to the cheek showing her gratitude.
"I have something for you too."
Pulling out a similar box, Tamamo presented her own golden necklace, this one with the ornate fox on it instead, and without hesitation put on Touma.
"Thanks….Tama, you're my best friend." Touma said as he could feel his eyes go droopy, his vision blurred with each passing moment.
"Don't fade on me Touma please!!"
Her panic only worsens as the smell of smoke begins to fill the room. Quickly leaving the back area and peaking from a corner she was horrified to see that a fire broke out in the building, and it was the result of the mob outside, everyone throwing dozens upon dozens of Molotov cocktails at the building spreading the fire further.
As Tamamo's eyes squinted and peered through the billowing smoke, she could just make out that bastard Reverend Akio and the nuns reciting verses from their bibles as the flames roared, it became clear that they were using holy scripture to enhance the fire as it was quickly consuming more of the building at a rapid rate.
"Magic arson! These bastards!! Touma!!"
Tamamo ran back to Touma who was choking up from the smoke, it didn't help his current condition in the slightest.
"Tama what's happening!!" Touma cried.
"I'm getting you out of here, that's what's happening!!"
Once more slinging Touma's arm over shoulder she tried to use as much leftover energy she could muster to get out of the doomed building.
Fate was cruel however as the burning ceiling they were walking under collapsed immediately, the rubble trapping and pinning Touma's lower body underneath.
"NOOOOO!!!" Tamamo cried as she began to pry through all of the offending objects to free her only friend in this cold world.
"Tama you have to go!!" Touma shouted.
"I'm not leaving you Touma!! You're coming with me!!"
"Tama please! I don't want you to die!! Go, live on without me I'm a curse!!" Touma cried in his own stubborn protest, but immediately regretted his words as he saw the pain stricken look on Tamamo's face, the floodgates all come undone.
"Stupid stupid stupid stupidstupidstupidstupidstupid!! I'm not gonna leave you like this, I don't want you to leave me! I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE!!"
Touma was shook to his core, tears of his own leaking down his soot stained face.
"You really mean that?" Touma asked
Tamamo only nodded feverishly. Touma then felt something well in him, and it only pushed his will further.
"Just go Tama! I don't know why and it might be stupid to think it but I'm certain we will be reunited! This won't be the end of me, please just go and get out of town, to safety, FOR ME!!"
Taken aback by this, Tamamo wanted to protest more but the look on his face said that any further argument was moot.
She cried, but she decided to take Touma at his word and nodded.
"I promise Tama, we'll be together again." Touma said.
Giving Touma one long look, the countless emotions in her mind, her heart raging. She felt her gifted necklace before rushing out of an open window in the back that was not touched by the fire yet, once she was out of sight, Touma broke down, and cried.
On the outside, the mob in their incessantly violent arson attack was finally being dispersed by a combination of police, Metropolitan police assault teams and some Self Defense Force personnel, the people ran as they were being hit with non lethal gunfire and a lot of police tackled many people who were trying to escape, some tried to resist only to get clubbed in the process.
Reverend Akio was one of the arrested by association, the nuns had escaped in the meantime.
The fire department was quick to the scene of putting out the fire, and there was a rescue team that went in, by a miracle they found the injured and trapped Touma, freeing him before the flames consumed him.
The young Kamijou was immediately put to stretcher and taken to an ambulance, with which a very panicked Touya was a passenger, and was relieved to know that his son was still alive but needed immediate attention.
Groaning, hazy vision, the after effects of Touma's hospitalization, as he woke up in a hospital bed, bandaged even more and still in pain.
"Touma!!"
Touma looked over at the direction of the voice, it was his father and he looked so relieved to see his son awake.
"Dad?……
where is Mom?"
Touya took a deep breath, he then spoke.
"She is in the next room over. Thankfully she is alive, another miracle. I can't have imagined life without Shiina, and I was on the edge of my seat when I heard you were stabbed, and nearly burned alive."
"Thank goodness." Touma said.
"Touma? Where is Tamamo? She was with you two."
Hearing that question made Touma feel sour, she was now out there somewhere all alone. It hurt him greatly, but this chance to see her again was now possible since he is still alive.
Touya took the sad expression in a different way.
"We'll find her, don't worry."
On the outskirts of the town, Tamamo watched over it from a hillside, she could see the smoke in the distance of the laundromat arson attack that would have claimed her and Touma's lives.
She could recall a very hateful memory of when she escaped the building, she swung around toward the front just enough to not be spotted and glared daggers at Reverend Akio and the nuns that once treated her with kindness only to try and execute a witch hunt on her over what she was.
Church mongers, a lot of them, she would never look at any Christian based organization the same again. What happened was anything but holy.
Her anger subsided as it was slowly replaced by a sadness due the uncertainty of Touma's fate, but she wanted to believe his words, that he was still alive, they will meet again, hopefully under much happier circumstances.
"Touma…."
That was the last thing she said as rage gave the town one more look over, before disappearing into the horizon.
AN: FINALLY ITS DONE!!!! It's been too long, battle with laziness, writers block, no limbo, and now that I have a new clear path I can put this behind me and spearhead on to get Foxy Caster back on its feet!
So with that said! Hope you enjoyed the read and I will see you next time!
Chapter 3.5: The Wake of Seperation
Bye!!!