One Last Chance (A Kamisama Kiss Fanfic)

Chapter 1

"Tomoe, I need to talk to you."

Tomoe sighed as he set down the plate he had been washing and turned to face Nanami. Judging by the look on her face, she had been dreading this moment as much as he, although he wasn't as outwardly expressive about his feelings as she was.

Desperate to avoid eye contact, Nanami took great interest in the floorboards beneath her feet. They were freshly scrubbed and polished so that they shone like new. Tomoe was undoubtedly responsible for that since Mizuki was still inferior to the fox when it came to the art of cleaning.

Unnerved by the awkward silence sucking the oxygen out of room, Tomoe instinctively resorted to his default emotion: irritation. "Well, what is it, Nanami? Don't just stand there and waste my time." he huffed.

Nanami flinched at his harsh tone, but she knew deep down that the yokai wasn't actually mad at her. Their time together had taught her that Tomoe was made up of layers of different emotions, each one masking the one beneath it. While he may act happy, he could actually be depressed, and he may seem angry when he is really just concerned. She tried to learn long ago to take a closer look at Tomoe's mannerisms before making assumptions, but the heart and the mind don't always cooperate with each other.

"Don't freeze up, Nanami." she silently coached herself. "You can do this. You need to do this, for Tomoe's sake and your own."

"Tomoe, I- We- You and I-" Nanami sighed in exasperation as her words got caught in her throat.

Tomoe frowned. "Spit it out already, Nanami."

"Can't you see that I'm trying to?!" Nanami exclaimed, growing flustered.

Tomoe looked away, his ears flattening against his head. "Sorry." he murmured.

After taking several deep breaths to calm down, Nanami wrung her hands nervously. "Tomoe...can we discuss this in private?"

"I was wondering if she would notice that we were being watched." Tomoe thought to himself.

"Yes, of course. Lead the way."

Turning, Nanami hastily shuffled out of the room and down the hall toward the front porch. Before pursuing her, Tomoe shot a glare at the not-so-well hidden Mizuki, Onikiri, and Kotetsu, silently warning them not to follow. Once he was satisfied, he walked briskly down the hall and joined Nanami outside.

"I wouldn't exactly call the outdoors private, but-" Tomoe began but Nanami cut him off.

"Tomoe, we're not working out." she blurted, her eyes squeezed shut as she struggled to speak.

While Tomoe's face remained blank, his heart wrenched painfully. "What do you mean, Nanami?" He knew exactly what she meant.

"Our relationship isn't working out, Tomoe; we're not as great of a match as I had hoped. I think...I think we need to break up and go back to being just friends." There she had said it, and no matter how much it hurt, Nanami couldn't take back those words.

Inside, Tomoe felt his heart cracking before finally shattering into a million tiny pieces and dropping into a bottomless abyss. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to maintain his poker face in front of Nanami. He could already tell how much this hurt her, and he wouldn't allow himself to make it worse. "If that is what you truly want then I shall not argue. Now, what would you like for dinner tonight?"

"Tomoe, I know what you're doing; don't change the subject." Nanami stated. She looked away guiltily. "Are you...Are you upset?"

Tomoe sighed. "Nanami, I am your familiar, and as such, I must hold you best interest above my own. If breaking up with me is what is best for you, then so be it."