Four Nights

Chapter 2

Nanami yawned as she walked into the shrine, stretching up into the air. Tomoe followed behind, eyes scanning for any more dangers. After just coming back from what little remained of Mizuki and his shrine, it was only natural for the familiar to be on high alert. Another slip up like that would put him to shame.

Beyond that, he couldn't stand it if he let Nanami fall into danger's arms again. His tail swished softly as he thought it all over. He'd forgotten how breakable she was. Until he saw her scraped knee, it didn't occur to him that she was different than Mikage, or anyone he'd met before.

The entire way home he'd been thinking about how fragile she was. One fall had made her bleed. One stupid twist of the ankle would snap her bone. One wrong step and she'd be dead. What a disturbing realization. It made Tomoe's gut twist.

He watched the girl with the giddy will o' wisps. She swept them up into her arms, assuring them that she was just fine. They fawned over her, damning the snake, praising Tomoe, then damning Mizuki some more.

Tomoe watched quietly. Nanami was smiling so wide, telling the spirits that Mizuki was just lonely (Tomoe called bullshit on that one), but agreeing that Tomoe was really great for playing the hero yet again. How she couldn't worry about her fragile humanity after everything drove Tomoe mad. How did they live like that? Are humans unaware of the delicateness of their bodies? Or do they just not care?

Tomoe's blood boiled a little at the thought of it.

"Nanami," he called to her. When she ignored him for playing with Onikiri and Kotetsu, he tried again. "Nanami! Look at me!"

"Huh?" She turned to him, completely clueless. "What is it?"

He glared. "Things are going to be different from now on, you know. If Mizuki could get to you, who knows who else could. If you really insist on going to school then we'll need to take some more precautious steps. If you ask me, you should forego school altogether. I don't see what a god needs to learn outside of the shrine, so there shouldn't be a problem if you just stay right-"

"Tomoe, are you worried about me?"

The question shook him. "Huh?"

"It's just you seemed really on edge the whole way home." Nanami played with the seam on her skirt. "And now you're more or less ranting about being careful. Did Mizuki really scare you that much?"

Tomoe scoffed. "That snake did not scare me. I'm not worried, I'm doing my duty. It'd be bothersome if you got swept up again, especially by someone more powerful than an ex-familiar. Believe me, my personal emotions have nothing to do with it."

"So being a worry wart is part of the job description?"

"Exactly."

Nanami sighed. "Tomoe, it's okay." She pushed herself onto her feet. "Mizuki wasn't a bad guy."

"Oh right, he only kidnapped you,"

"He's misguided, but not bad." Nanami stuck her hands on her hips. "Lonely people do strange things, I don't hold it against him. In any case, I don't think anything needs to change. I can totally take care of myself. Who the heck would be hunting me down anyways? There's nothing to worry about, Tomoe."

"I don't think you understand," Tomoe growled through clenched teeth.

"Understand what?"

"Everything."

"Neither do you!"

"I know more than you."

"Oh whatever."

"It's not whatever, Nanami."  What happens if I lose another god?

Nanami glared at Tomoe. "It is whatever. I'm fine. Everything is fine. It's great. The world is just dandy." She turned with a huff. "I'm not worried about anything and you shouldn't be either. I won't get kidnapped or whatever again, so stop thinking about it."

"You can't just expect me to-"

"I'm going to bed."

"Nanami!" But she was already marching off to the room. Tomoe swore under his breath, running a hand through his hair.

"Tomoe-dono," Kotetsu muttered, moving to his side. "You've upset Nanami-sama."

"I know, you don't have to tell me."

"Don't take too much offense, Tomoe-dono," Onikiri chimed in. "It's late. Today was very stressful for everyone. Nanami-sama is probably just tired. She'll be better in the morning."

"You don't have to tell me that either." Tomoe sighed, getting to his feet. "You two can go off too if you want. You're right, it's late."

Together they said, "Yes Tomoe-dono," before scuttling off. Tomoe heaved another sigh, watching the place where Nanami went off to. The fox had a lot of work to do. He'd spent the entire day searching for Nanami. He didn't have time to do any of the chores he planned on. If he wanted to stay on schedule he'd have to get them done before morning came.

That being said, Tomoe didn't move. He just stood, staring at the doorway Nanami had disappeared into. His ears rotated slowly, listening to the sounds of rustling blankets and tired grumbling from the girl. He waited until he heard the noises stop, until her breathing became so quiet that he couldn't hear anymore. Even then, he stayed completely still, listening.

A few minutes passed before the fox took a step. Slowly, silently, Tomoe walked to Nanami's room. He thought to himself about his neglected duties, about his own busy day, how all he wanted to do was lay on the porch with a pipe and rest for an hour or so, because he deserved it more than she did. Still, he slid into the girl's room without any real protest.

She was just a lump of blanket on the futon, curled up and already starting to snore. Tomoe took a minute to make sure that yes, she was indeed asleep, before going to stand by her side.

Worried? Maybe he was. Maybe the snake incident really had hit him hard. Tomoe reached into his kimono and pulled out his pipe. He put it between his teeth and chewed slowly on the end, but didn't light anything. The smell would certainly wake her up.

Worried. He thought over the word. Tried to match his thoughts to the definition. It made him angry, so he didn't try for too long.

Curse that girl.

Tomoe kneeled beside the bed. Under the blankets, Nanami's face peeked out. He looked away, but not before noticing how gentle it all seemed. And not before lifting the blanket just a bit to inspect the injury on her knee. It was small. Really, the wound was very small. But just a few decades ago, that little scrape could very well see her dead. Maybe that was an exaggeration, but it wasn't impossible by any means.

Tomoe sighed and carefully held Nanami's knee. He ran his thumb over the bandage. His sensitive nose could pick up the scent of blood. It made his chest tighten.

Making sure not to wake the girl, Tomoe peeled the old bandage off. A streak of red ran across her skin. Hurrying to his feet, Tomoe rushed to get water. He returned with a wet rag, and wiped gently at the dried blood, cleaning out the injury. He tried not to think. Not to think about all of the things that could have gone horribly wrong and what still could. God, he hated this.

Tomoe grumbled and chewed more aggressively on the pipe. He dabbed away every bit of blood before placing one of Nanami's custom band-aids over it. They had little cartoon kittens on them. What an idiot girl. What an incredibly dense, imbecilic girl.

Tomoe pulled the blanket back over her body and resumed his sitting. He had plenty he had to do. But the thought of leaving her left a sick feeling in Tomoe's gut. If someone else took her, he'd never forgive it. If somehow her wound became infected or reopened, he needed to be there. Honestly, his thinking at this point was just ridiculous. But it wasn't something he could help. He'd already lost one god, one more would be too much.

So that's where Tomoe stayed; kneeling at Nanami's side, chewing on an unlit pipe, trying very hard to not think of anything at all. He didn't move until the sun rose.