One Last Chance (A Kamisama Kiss Fanfic)

Chapter 4

The next morning, Tomoe was quietly serving Nanami and Atomu a peaceful Sunday morning breakfast when Mizuki suddenly raced into the room, panting heavily, and slammed the door behind him. Beads of sweat dripped from the famililar's face as he leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. Tears and claw marks dotted his clothing, and scratches decorated his exposed skin.

"Mizuki, what happened?!" Nanami shrieked when she saw her familiar in his current state.

"Sakura.....She tried to kill me....." he gasped in reply, trembling. Getting up, he raced to his goddess's side and buried his face into her back, hugging her like his life depended on it. "She tried to kill me!"

"Can you blame her? You weren't exactly the world's friendliest welcoming party." Atomu muttered, earning a glare from the snake yokai.

"Mizuki, I'm sure you just startled her and she reacted out of defensive instinct." Nanami reassured her familiar, patting his arm comfortingly. "I don't think she actually meant to kill you-"

"She did! Look!" Mizuki rolled up his sleeves and pointed at some of the scars. "She went for the veins first-" he pulled aside his collar to reveal more scratches and some bruises, "-then the neck. She wanted me dead, Nanami! Please protect me!"

Nanami sighed and glanced up at her other familiar. "Tomoe, will you-"

"I'll take care of it. Mizuki is probably just being dramatic as usual." Tomoe replied, setting down his cup and heading down the hall.

"Just you wait, Tomoe. You'll see soon enough!" Mizuki called after him.

Striding swiftly down the hall, Tomoe reached for the door to Sakura's room but suddenly stopped. "I don't want to take her by surprise and frighten her." Rapping his knuckles lightly the doorframe, Tomoe called out to the young vixen as he began to open the door, "Sakura-"

"GO AWAY!!!!"

Tomoe narrowly dodged Sakura's nails as she tried to scratch out his eyes, but he unfortunately left his stomach wide open. A kick to the gut sent him stumbling backwards, and the door to Sakura's room hastily shut once more. It took a moment for Tomoe to fully realize what had happened, but when he did, a bitter irritation built up inside him.

"She may look like Nanami, but she is far more spoiled and annoying!"

Grabbing the door, Tomoe nearly ripped it off its hinges as he flung it open. Sakura jumped up from her mat and charged him without a second thought, but Tomoe was prepared. He caught the feisty yokai by her wrists and held her aloft so that her feet hung an inch above the floor.

"What the heck?! Let me go!" Sakura shrieked, writhing in Tomoe's iron grip. "Ouch! You're hurting me!"

"Stop squirming and quit whining." With his free hand, Tomoe gently plucked Sakura's clip from her fiery tresses and held it tightly between his forefinger and thumb. Immediately, Sakura's ears, flattened against her head, and tail, flicking back and forth irritably, materialized once more.

"Hey! Give that back!" the Fennec fox cried, struggling even more.

"You may be a guest at this shrine, Sakura, but that does not mean you can behave like a spoiled brat. You will behave, and if you do not, I shall destroy this clip of yours so you can no longer conceal your true identity. Do I make myself clear?"

A mixture of emotions stirred in the green seas of Sakura's irises: shock, fear, then rage. A low, menacing growl rose from her throat, but Tomoe didn't flinch.

"I said do I make myself clear?" he repeated, scowling down at the redhead.

Sakura looked away from him and after a moment mumbled, "Yes."