One Last Chance (A Kamisama Kiss Fanfic)

Chapter 14

Sliding open Sakura's door as quietly as possible and holding her breath as she peeked inside, Nanami smiled in relief when she saw the red headed vixen fast asleep, her pillow clutched tightly to her chest.

"She looks so relaxed and calm when she's asleep." She thought to herself as she shut the door and hurried down the hallway. Pulling out the folded list the vixen had given her after dinner, she read it carefully, the occasional, thoughtful "hmm" escaping her lips. Upon entering the kitchen, she stuffed the slip of paper back into her pocket and turned her attention to Tomoe and Mizuki, who were standing quietly in the corner awaiting her instruction. Grabbing the wooden stool she had had Mizuki bring in, Nanami set it in the middle of the room and pointed back and forth between it and Tomoe.

"Sit." she ordered sternly.

Eyes narrowing, Tomoe slunk over to the chair and gingerly sat down, his ears flat against his skull as his tail flicked back and forth behind him.

"Now Tomoe, there have been concerns expressed by a few different parties regarding your teaching methods." Nanami stated in a serious, formal tone that honestly was not natural to her at all. "Aside from calling your teaching methods 'severe' and 'dangerous', most parties expressed they found you to be rather 'harsh' and 'unreasonable' with your students. However, after so deep thought and reflection, I realized you are not to blame for this."

Mizuki and Tomoe stared at her in surprise.

"He's not?!" the snake squawked.

"No, he is not. Tomoe was trained to be a warrior and then the sole familiar of Mikage shrine. Of course he isn't qualified or equipped to teach others what he knows!"

"I'm still not off the hook though, am I?" Tomoe grumbled.

"Not even close. Despite having no prior experience, you are the best candidate for being Sakura's mentor, so to help you out, I've decided that Mizuki and I are going to teach you how to be a teacher."

Tomoe grimaced as Mizuki's eyes started to sparkle.

"We are?!" the snake exclaimed, excited by the thought of getting to boss around the fox and not get in trouble.

"You are?" the fox stated flatly, sounding unamused by the concept.

"Yep, and your first lesson starts tonight so I hope you're ready!"

"Yay, lucky me."

"That's the spirit!" Nanami smiled, oblivious to her familiar's sarcasm. Turning to the counter, she opened a carton of eggs and placed one in each of Tomoe's hands. The fox's brow furrowed in confusion.

"What are you doing?"

"Setting up your first exercise. Part of your problem is you can't control your temper. You get angry really easily and it makes everyone super nervous when they're around you. This exercise is to help make you more patient." Nanami explained.

"How are eggs going to make me more patient?"

"I was getting to that! Now, you recall that I asked you not to clean up the dishes from dinner tonight, correct?"

"Yes."

"And you didn't touch them."

"No, I did not."

"Good. Mizuki, go start cleaning the dishes."

Mizuki blinked. "Huh? Me?"

"Yes you. Tomoe, I want you to instruct Mizuki on how to properly wash, dry, and put away the dishes without yelling at him and crushing the eggs in your hands out of frustration. Each time you break an egg, yell, or behave aggressively in any way, Mizuki will stop and won't start again till after you've cleaned up your mess and grabbed a new egg. I'll be standing off to the side to observe and take notes regarding your performance."