The Mark of a Yokai's Love

Chapter 8: What are These Feelings?

I opened my eyes. The sweet smell of cherry blossoms floated around me, and the room I was in was the perfect temperature. I sighed and rolled over. I'd never slept so well in my life, and I wasn't about to interrupt it....

Then I remembered.

I shot up from where I had been lying down, my eyes scanning the room in the search for Tomoe and possibly Mizuki. I didn't have to look for long. Mizuki was seated approximately three feet away from my futon, smiling at me like he had just won the lottery. Tomoe was nowhere in sight. When I saw him, I instinctively backed away a little bit before saying, "What are you doing here?"

Mizuki replied, "What are you talking about? You're the one who told Tomoe to save me! Now I'm going to live with you!"

I stared at him blankly. It was way too early in the morning for this. Sighing, I rubbed my eyes, trying to break myself from the chains of sleep. "Where's Tomoe?" I asked.

"He's outside," Mizuki happily answered. "I wouldn't go near him though. He seems pretty irritated."

"No he's always like that," I said before standing up. I realized that someone had put me in a kimono while I was unconscious. Before Mizuki could see my blush, I quickly rushed out of the shrine. Walking outside, I looked for Tomoe, but he wasn't by the entrance. I called his name, but there was no reply either. 'Where could that damn fox be hiding?' I thought to myself. Finally, I found him on the opposite side of the shrine pulling weeds.

"There you are," I said, approaching him from behind. "I've been looking all over for y-"

Tomoe whipped around with flames in his eyes. I choked on my words, and immediately put my hands up in defense. Mizuki had definitely understated how mad Tomoe truly was. "Are you okay Tomoe?"

"What do you think?" he shot back at me. "I throw everything away to save you and immediately you make me out to be the villain. Why couldn't you have left him there? Why did you have to bring him back with us? He's nothing but trouble Kora. You have me. You don't need anyone else."

I couldn't believe what I had just heard. "Tomoe, are you...jealous?"

Tomoe's cheeks started burning with a fiery red. He covered his face and turned back around so I couldn't see. "How dare you suggest something so absurd? Why would I be jealous of a mere human and a stupid snake? I don't even like you in that way."

The words hurt, but I ignored them. This was the perfect opportunity to tease Tomoe, and I wasn't about to give it up. "I think you do like me. I think that you're lying to yourself to save your dignity." Because Tomoe was still trying to block me out, he couldn't see when I began to approach him. Suddenly, I threw my arms around him, hugging him from behind. "I think at night you secretly dream about me and what it would be like to hold me and hug me and maybe even ki-"

Tomoe jerked out of my grasp as if I had just sent an electric shock through him. "Don't touch me!" he yelled. We stared at each other for a few seconds, and it took all the strength I had to hold in my laughter. Finally, he stalked away without saying a word. I watched him slam the door to the shrine and sat there. I managed to successfully tease Tomoe! Today was a good day. I walked back inside of the shrine also, stopping to check if Tomoe was in the room before making my way in. A soft conversation leaked out from behind one of the doors, and me being the girl I am, I decided to eavesdrop. I snuck over to the door and placed my ear against it. Inside, Tomoe and Mizuki were talking. Well, Mizuki was talking. Although I could only hear some of the conversation, it sounded like Mizuki was homesick. I leaned my back against the door before coming up with a plan.

The door burst open as I strode inside. Mizuki was lying down on the futon that I had been sleeping on, and Tomoe was standing a couple feet away with his arms crossed. When I walked in, Mizuki instantly sat up and smiled. "Kora! What's up?"

I smiled back at him and said, "I'm glad you asked Mizuki. I've decided that we are all going to go on a little trip...to the beach!"

At that moment two radically different things happened. Mizuki rocketed himself into the air and practically exploded with excitement. Meanwhile, Tomoe's jaw dropped open, and he stared at me in disbelief and annoyance. I thought that perhaps I had irritated him even more so I focused more on Mizuki. "Mizuki you seem happy."

"I'm ecstatic!" he shouted. "I'll go change right now!"

As he sprinted out of the room, I turned to Tomoe. "Do you want to go change too?"

"No. I won't be swimming."

Tomoe once again left the room abruptly. My initial joy at teasing him was quickly wearing off. I wanted Tomoe to be happy. I wanted Tomoe to like me. A blush crept onto my cheeks as I thought about this issue. My feelings were so confusing! Every time I thought about Tomoe, I felt a flutter in my chest. When I saw him walk away just then, a hint of pain resounded in my heart. I shook my head and walked to my closet to change. I was not going to think about it anymore. I'm sure it's nothing. I'm sure it'll all work out fine.

~~~~~

"We're here!" Mizuki screamed, running barefoot across the hot sand towards the water. I couldn't help but smile when I saw him. At least someone was happy. I could practically feel the irritation radiating off Tomoe as if it were body heat. However, I tried to ignore it as I hiked towards a clearing near the water. Once I got there, I set all the stuff down. We had brought two big umbrellas, three beach chairs, three towels (Tomoe refused to take one), and a basket of food. As I started to set up one of the umbrellas, I felt a hand cover mine. I looked up and saw Tomoe staring directly at me.

"I'll do it for you," he said. "Be careful out there in the water."

I hesitated before nodding and handing the umbrella over. When his hand touched mine, I could swear that I felt a spark. I turned away and pulled my skirt and tank top off, revealing a green bikini. Suddenly, I felt embarrassed about all the skin I was showing. I ran off into the water before Tomoe could say anything and joined Mizuki, who had been playing in the waves since we got there. When I got closer to him, he looked up and his eyes widened.

"I like your outfit Kora," he said, winking at me. I rolled my eyes and pushed him back into the waves. He retaliated by grabbing my foot and bringing me down with him. We both emerged from the water laughing hysterically. Tomoe looked on from the beach chair morosely. He too was experiencing strange emotions, but I was oblivious as I spent time with Mizuki in the ocean. We had fun for about two hours before we both got hungry and decided to get out for lunch. As we trudged up the sand, Tomoe looked up from the book he had been reading. There was a blank expression on his face as he saw us approaching. Instead, he pushed the cooler towards us and went back to his story.

"Thanks," I said, bending down to get the food out. I heard Tomoe clear his throat and I looked up curiously, but it wasn't directed towards me. Tomoe was glaring at Mizuki, and Mizuki stared innocently back. I felt as though I had missed something, but I decided to forget about it. It probably wasn't important. After taking out a bottle of water and a bag of chips, I flopped down in the beach chair next to Tomoe. "That was so fun," I told him. "Why didn't you want to come in?"

Tomoe glanced at me, acknowledging my question, but refused to answer. I patiently waited for a few seconds before giving up and eating my food. 'Why does he do that?' I asked myself. 'It's an honest question.'

As I was eating, I felt something brush against my foot. Confused, I looked down to see that Tomoe's foot was next to mine. I stared at it, unable to process what had happened. Then, he did it again. He moved his foot closer to mine until they were touching, but this time, he left it there. I looked over to Tomoe to see what he was thinking, yet once again, his face didn't betray his thoughts. He simply continued to read his book calmly as if nothing was happening. However, his foot was still touching mine. 'Is he touching me voluntarily?'

I was shocked but I didn't move. If that was truly the case, then I was glad that he was opening up to me and becoming more comfortable in my presence. The three of us sat in our chairs and looked towards the horizon. Although the sun was setting, it seemed like it was rising on a new day instead.