One Last Chance (A Kamisama Kiss Fanfic)

Chapter 10

"What's taking him so long? He should've been back already." Sakura mumbled to herself as leaned against the wall opposite to the door of Hiromi's room. As she glanced down the hallway for the billionth time, she bit her lip and stood to her full height. "Something must have happened."

"Oh, quit being so paranoid, Sakura; it hasn't been that long. He probably just got lost on his way back. This is a big shrine, after all." Mizuki remarked as he dragged the heavy tub towards Hiromi's room.

"If he's lost then someone needs to go look for him! What if something attacked him?"

"Don't be silly, Sakura. Nothing could've gotten in here to attack Atomu. While I will never tell him so to his face, Tomoe is a good, strong, and faithful familiar and I trust him. Plus there are protective barriers around this shrine. He's fine, I promise."

"I still have a bad feeling in my gut. I'm going to go look for him. Watch the peacock till I get back." the vixen stated before taking off down the hallway.

"Wait, what?! Sakura, come back! I still have to get the water for the tub! Sakura! You don't even know where you're going!" Mizuki called after her but by then the redhead had already disappeared around the corner. With a loud sigh, he dropped the wooden wash basin only to have it fall on his toes, crushing them. Cursing loudly, the familiar hopped about on one foot, squeezing his toes as they throbbed painfully.

"It's official now. I HATE kitsunes!" he thought to himself.

Meanwhile, as she ran down the hall, Sakura lifted her nose and took a deep breath, searching for a whiff of her brother's scent. When she found it, she hastily followed it down the shrine's maze of hallways till she came to a closed sliding door. Grabbing the handle, she tried to yank it open but was surprised when it didn't budge. Her heart rate immediately sped up as her stomach twisted into a series of complicated knots.

"Atomu?" She called, her voice quivering slightly. When she received no reply, she began banging frantically on the door frame. "Atomu?! Answer me!"

Again, no reply came. Panicking now, Sakura extended her claws and sliced the door to ribbons, racing into the room. Laying on the floor was her brother's body, his eyes closed and his tongue poking out of his slightly agape mouth.

"Atomu!" the vixen shrieked in horror, speeding to her brother's side and dropping down beside him. Placing an ear against his chest, she cried tears of relief when she heard the faint beating of his heart. Sitting back up, she immediately noticed the shattered mirror on the floor along with the dark purple bruises dotting her brother's neck.

"What happened here? Who did this to you?" she whispered softly, gingerly tracing the bruises with her finger. As she pulled her brother's unconscious body into her lap and held him close, a frightening thought crossed her mind.

"What if the person who did this is still in the shrine? What if he or she goes after the others?! That means Nanami, Tomoe, and Mizuki are in danger!"

"We have to get out of here." she said. Draping her brother's body over her back, she started to run out of the room when some invisible force grabbed her arm and yanked her back, throwing her across the room. As she flew through the air, Sakura spun around so she would land on her stomach and not crush Atomu before hitting the ground with a sickening her smack. As her abdomen stung, she slid her brother off of her and stood over him, her ears flat against her head and eyes narrowed as she bared her fangs as menacingly as she could. Even if she wasn't that strong, she had to fake the part for her brother's sake.

"Who's there?!" she barked, hoping she sounded intimidating. However, as a chilling chuckle echoed throughout the room, her confidence immediately vanished without a trance.