She braced herself for impact, waiting for the frigid cold water to embrace her as she fell...
But none of those came.
Instead, she felt a harsh tug at the collar of her kimono.
Her eyes snapped open when her back collided with the soft, grass-covered ground. Upon instinct, she looked back to see who or what pulled her to safety.
She was shocked upon coming face to face with a white mask painted with black details.
She yelped in surprise before instinctively backing away. She almost fell into the river, had it not been for the bandage-clad hand of the stranger that steadied her shoulders.
Upon realizing how rude she had been to the strange being who saved her, she decided to offer it a closed eye smile.
"Arigato for saving me" she said sincerely. Upon hearing no response, she opened her eyes to see that the being was already standing and offering her a bandaged hand.
She gratefully took it and it pulled her up delicately as if she were one of those porcelain dolls her grandmother kept on display in a cupboard.
She observed the figure carefully with a tilted head.
It was wearing a dark, smokey grey kimono and a black obi. Its hands were wrapped meticulously in white bandages and a white mask with black hair peeking from behind it.
"Ne...what's your name? Are you from around here?" Kagami asked with a curious tone.
"..." the figure didn't respond and the awkward atmosphere intensified.
"I'm Kagami!" the little girl said with a warm smile, innocently oblivious.
"..."
"Don't you have a name?" she asked with genuine concern lacing her tone.
"..." taking silence as a sign of affirmation, she clasped her hands together with a grin.
"I guess that means I'll have to give you one, ne?" she wracked her brain for ideas on what to name her new friend...wanting it to be special.
"What about...Kage?" she glanced at the enigmatic being.
To her surprise, it nodded in agreement, the first response she had gained.
"Ossu! Then it's settled! Your name will be Kage!" she exclaimed happily.
She noticed that her new friend wasn't glancing at her and seemed to be focused on the small shrine that she had fixed up earlier.
"Ah...you must be wondering what I'm doing here..." she remarked causing Kage's head to snap in her direction followed by a hesitant nod.
"I wanted to get out of the mansion and explore...If I didn't, then I would be missing all of this" she gestured to the forest that surrounded them.
"Besides..." she added before trailing off with a smile
"I wouldn't have been able to meet you or fix that shrine"
She noticed that Kage was still looking at her, or that was what she thought, she couldn't tell with its mask on.
"I know it isn't much...but at least the Kami that lives in it won't feel so disregarded and unacknowledged"
A pleasant silence had enveloped the two before Kagami decided to break it once more.
"So...do you live somewhere near here, Kage?" she asked her companion and recieving a nod in response, she brightened up considerably.
YOU ARE READING
Ayakashi Love
Random"Falling in love is like jumping off a really tall building, your brain tells you "This isn't a good idea", but your heart tells you "You can fly"" -Kagami Mayuzumi A deal forged between two Sealed by fate Settled by the destiny of one who never kne...
