A human yokai (Tomoe love story)

The truth

Hikari stood in front of the mirror in her room half dressed. She had already changed her trousers and underwear but she stood in front of the mirror with a bra but no top on. She was inspecting the ever growing infection on her right arm. It had grown more than she realised this morning. Her whole arm was now engrossed in strange black vines that carried on onto her right shoulder. It had not yet reached her chest area and stopped at the base of her neck. She didn't understand it. She had been able to suppress this for 20 years and now all of a sudden it it growing at a rate she could not control at all. Nothing could help it, only a God that she could not find. She thought back to what Mamaorinogami had said when she visited his shrine a few weeks ago. The God that gave her this must have left his shrine. The God had left his holy shrine and that was why the infection had appeared, but even so that didn't explain why it was growing so fast now, over 20 years after the God supposedly left his shrine. There was a light knock on the door to here room.

"Hikari, are you alright?" Said the voice of Tomoe. "You have been gone a while now."

"Yes I'm perfectly fine thank you."

"I have brought new bed sheet for you to sleep in tonight. Would you like me to come in and place them in your room?"

"No, no thank you that's fine. If you could perhaps just leave them there for a while I will collect them in a moment."

"Alright, dinner is also ready and Lady Nanami is waiting for you in the lounge."

"Thank you Tomoe." She said grabbed a top and quickly putting it on. She opened the door to find Tomoe still standing there with the fresh sheets still in his hands. Hikari smiled weakly at him and took them from him. She turned to place them on the side by the area in which she slept. She turned around to find Tomoe ever so close to her. "What are you doing?" She said getting defensive again. She didn't like it when men came that close to her without permission or warning. Tomoe however said nothing and grabbed her right wrist. Hikari gasped in a panicked way he couldn't see that.

"Have something you do not wish me to see?" He asked. Hikari just glared, she had been fooled. He must have not been sure but reaction made it clear that she was hiding something. If she hadn't have been so surprised and shocked at his actions she wouldn't have reacted like that and he would probably have let her go. Hikari tried to pull her hand put of his grip but it was like iron and her human body was not strong enough to fight against a yokai. Tomoe held her wrist but it was not tightly. He did not wish to harm her he just knew that she was hiding something. He brought his other hand up and pulled her sleeve down to her elbow. His eyes seemed to widen at the sight of her infection and his grip loosened. Hikari managed to pull her hand away from him and she yanked her sleeve down.

"There you have seen now." She said angrily and walking past him.

"What was that?"

"An infection. Something that is growing and I cannot stop it."

"What was not a human infection."

"That's correct it wasn't. I am not human I am yokai in a human body." After hearing her say it, it all made sense in Tomoe's mind but he was also surprised that the Tengu had worked it out before he had.

"Then the Tengu was right after all. You are the arctic fox are you not?"

"I am but I left that monster behind thousands of years ago."

"It is said that you were dead."

"I stand before you so that is clearly not true. In truth I hated what I was.i lived on instincts alone. I would have black puts, I would lose myself. When I woke up from what seemed a nightmare there were piles of bodies all around me. It was pathetic, I had no control over myself. I wanted no more to do with that life but with the damage I had caused I knew that there would always be those that will come after me, trying to kill me so I decided it was best to disappear completely. I met a God that was able to perform the ancient spell giving me a human form but it also concealed my monstrous habits. I became as human as a yokai can be, I lived among the humans a place I knew no one would look to find me but recently this infection has been here. I have been to Mamaorogami but even his peach pills cannot fix it. Only the God which placed this spell on me can fix it but I cannot fond him. I have no memory of what he looked like nor his name. The infection is killing my human form, it will spread until the human form I am in now fades into nothing. When that day comes I am afraid I might go back to the way I was."

"I assume that Nanami knows none of this." Hikari turned and looked back at Tomoe with pleading eyes.

"She does not and I beg of you not to say anything to her. I do not wish for her to know of the monster that I am. Nanami is my first and only friend I cannot lose her." Tomoe walked up to her and lifted her chin up with a long finger. He leant in closer to her face.

"Your secret can be kept safe but you must understand that if you do ever hurt my Mistress I will have no choice but to kill you."

"I understand perfectly and if I ever did that I would be more than thankful to you for ending my life. I would much rather die than injury Nanami..."