The Mark of a Yokai's Love

Chapter 3: Meeting Someone New

"Hello, my child."

"Oh! Hello."

"How are you faring? Is Tomoe treating you well?"

"He's perfectly fine. It'll take a little bit of getting used to, but it will definitely work out in the end. He misses you, though."

"That was to be expected. But from what I've been witnessing so far, you are showing all the signs of a true land goddess. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you. I hoped you'd say that."

"Of course, my child. However, you can't slack off now. Your work has barely begun."

"I know that. I have no wish to do less than my best at this assignment."

"Wonderful. I must go, but remember to stay true to who you are, and to adhere to Tomoe's wishes. You are not there only for you."

"Yes, I will pay mind to that. Goodbye...father...."

~~~~~

I was jerked out of sleep in a cold sweat. The nerve-wracking dream that had startled me out of my peaceful coma was quickly fading from my mind, and soon, it was completely gone. I took a few deep breaths to calm my heart rate down and looked around the room. Sunlight was shining in through the window, and I remembered the previous day's events. After Tomoe had ordered me to go to bed, I was escorted to a distant room in the shrine and left to my own devices. Glancing down at my outfit, I realized in dismay that I had fallen asleep in my school uniform.

'I wonder if there are any spare clothes around here,' I thought, getting up and wiping off the last few remnants of sweat from my skin. However, the room was almost completely empty with the exception of my futon and a changing screen with a traditional Japanese pattern printed on it. Sighing, I thought, 'I might as well ask someone about it.'

Walking to the screen door, I slid it open...just to come face to face with a certain, white-haired fox. I let out a little scream and stumbled backwards. Also, being the clumsy girl I am, I surrendered to gravity and began to fall. However, before I could reach the floor, a hand shot out and grabbed the blouse of my school uniform. I was immediately yanked back up, into the arms of Tomoe. My face turned fifty shades of red and I pushed him away, before brushing my skirt off.

"You're really uncoordinated, you know that?" Tomoe said, raising an eyebrow in disdain.

"Ugh, whatever," I said, refusing to make eye contact with him. "What do you want anyways?"

"What do I want?" Tomoe asked. "Weren't you the one who opened the door in search of me?"

"W-what?" I stuttered out, dying of embarrassment. "I wasn't looking for YOU."

"Oh, really?" Tomoe said, his voice dropping in pitch and a faint smirk adorning his features. "Then, who were you looking for?"

"I-I-I..." I looked at everything except Tomoe's face, trying to think of an answer to my stupid dissent.

"Hmph. That's what I thought." Tomoe broke out in a dazzling smile and flipped out another fan. As he fanned himself, his silky white hair gently blew out behind his face. For the first time, I noticed just how beautiful Tomoe was. "Not a lot of people can resist my charm after all."

And the spell was broken. I snatched his fan out of his hands and threw it at his head. "Don't be so conceited!"

After that fiasco was over, I cleared my throat and asked him the question I had been meaning to ask him all along. "So, do you have any extra clothes for me around here?"