Clocks (Akura Ou x OC)

Chapter 21: Izumo

I followed Nanami as she wandered around through the train station to find the ticket booth.

"Himemiko!" she cried suddenly, startling me.

"Hello, Nanami," a short girl with purple hair said. She looked very pretty and adorable and the boy whose arm was held firmly in her grasp was cute. He was blushing hard and smiling shyly. They were a cute couple.

"Raya, this is Himemiko and Kotarou," Nanami said, calling me over.

Kotarou seemed to get nervous when he saw me, then I remembered, I had dressed goth for the trip.

"It's nice to meet you," I said, smiling. He seemed to relax a little and pushed his glasses up on his nose.

"Is this a new friend, Nanami?" Himemiko asked.

"Yes," Nanami said, "We met her because of an incident involving Mizuki."

"It is lovely to meet you," Himemiko said.

"It's lovely to mee you, too," I smiled.

"Your clothes are interesting," she said, "Kotarou, what would you think if I wore clothes in this style."

"Uh-I'm sure you would look great," Kotarou stuttered, "But I think you look nice the way you usually dress."

"Thank you, Kotarou," she said, leaning into him. He blushed again and looked at the ground.

"Thanks for coming to see us off," Nanami said.

"It was my pleasure," Himemiko said, "Thank you for introducing us to your friend. Goodbye and have a wonderful trip."

"Thank you! Goodbye Himemiko."

"Bye," I said, waving. Himemiko and Kotarou waved as well.

Nanami leaned over to me, "Himemiko is actually a catfish yokai, but she fell in love with the human boy, Kotarou. Tomoe used his powers to make her appear human and as long as she doesn't use her powers, she will continue to look that way. She came to me to ask for help since one of my jobs as Land God is matchmaking."

"That's sweet," I said, looking back at the couple.

"I would've loved to help you stay with your love. I'm sorry you met in the past."

I nodded and stayed quiet. I couldn't admit to Nanami that my love was still alive and somewhere in the present. Tomoe had said that the way I acted would affect how Nanami was treated in the future throughout her work as Land God. I wouldn't tell her so that she couldn't be dragged down with me if there were a problem. That way, she could honestly claim that she hadn't known.

 She went and bought our tickets while I was zoned out in thought. I noticed two strange looking men with cat masks. Yokai. Their demeanor and the feeling they gave me reminded me more of Mizuki. They must not have been wild yokai, but Shikigami. They must be here with another god. Nanami grabbed my writs and pulled me toward the train. I had been so lost in thought that I hadn't noticed the train pull in. She took me to our seats.

"I thought you were going to dress nicely," Nanami said, "Tomoe will kill me if he finds out you wore goth clothes."

I looked down at my black slippers, tights, skirt that reached just above my knee, and a black tank-top with a loose, short t-shirt layered over. The shirt had a bleeding rose on it. Compared to the pale pastels and boho style Nanami wore, we look like polar opposites.

"Sorry, but I'll change when I get there," I said, "For now, the way I look will scare off people who might want to harass us. That would make Tomoe happy."

"You're right," Nanami said, "Besides, we'll have time to do a little shopping before we head to the assembly."

I nodded again and closed my eyes to nap during the ride. I woke up when Nanami excitedly shook my shoulders.