God, It Has Started The Wrong Way Round

Familiarity

"Tomoe, why are you so angry?"

Nanami rapped his head with her knuckles, huffing and grabbing another unused talisman. Tomoe gritted his teeth and threw the brush down, staining the mat with black ink.

"Hey! Watch where you put that! You are totally cleaning that up later."

Her voice twittered in his ears. It was so high and annoying and constant! He needed a break. He'd been trying to write talismans for about two hours (with the damn fox girl hounding him at every attempt) and apparently, he couldn't do it because his anger was blocking his channel of godly power. No matter how neatly he brushed each stroke onto the paper, nothing happened.

Fabulous.

For the past two days, Tomoe had neglected to go to school. Mostly because news of his 'situation' had probably spread around the school and - although Tomoe was not easily cowed - he couldn't bring himself to deal with that sort of crap. Just. No. He had enough to deal with.

Tomoe had also gotten somewhat used to the shrine in the short amount of time that he had spent there. He had to cook for himself - after Nanami told him that she didn't need to eat and couldn't cook - and he was actually pretty good at it, considering the many times his dinner had been takeout. And even though Nanami didn't eat, a portion of the food still went to her. Tomoe did have a heart after all, however bland he might've seemed. He now knew that Nanami was a fox demon (surprise surprise, he knew those ears came from the dog family) and that she was easy to read.

Too easy to read.

She was generally happy, flouncing around in her fancy kimono and greeting Onikiri and Kotetsu with smiles and laughs. Not him, though. Every time she saw him, her face closed, stone cold. She either talked to him politely, not at all, or when she was angry. And she got angry a lot. Even the will-'o-the-wisps couldn't calm her rage. Sometimes he wondered what it'd be like if she smiled at him, but he dismissed it, because that would never happen, right? But back to the present.

And presently, Nanami was the epitome of problem.

He'd had more than enough. Tomoe abruptly stood up - ignoring Nanami, of course, who was still busy raving - and stormed out of the room. Only when the sliding door slammed shut did Nanami notice his absence. A few moments passed before she sighed sadly and deflated, sinking down to the floor. Her kimono flared out around her, surrounding her like a garden of colours.

"I'm just trying to help. If he can handle the ropes, then I can leave before I get too attached. Then I'll be all and well on my merry way, and he can take care of the shrine. He'll be alright, with that expression of his." She mumbled to herself, encasing her head in her arms and leaning against the wall. Her eyes slid closed and her ears drooped sadly, folding down.

He's so stubborn.

Nanami's mouth twitched upward slightly. Right, he was stubborn. She was too. A few hundred years of life could teach you your flaws like that. She blew out a noisy breath, stretching back onto the mat which was still stained from Tomoe's rage. Slowly, her eyes slid closed, and she fell into a dreamless world of sleep.

神様はじめました

Tomoe picked furiously at the weeds, shredding them and tossing them to the side. It was vaguely calming, the monotonous repetition of the chore, but not enough for him. He growled as he speared through another one and cracked his knuckles.

"You know, Tomoe-sama, you could make Nanami-sama your familiar." Onikiri and Kotetsu appeared above his head, nearly giving him a heart attack.

"What?" He asked sharply, pausing at his work. Familiar?