~Tomoe X Reader: Book One~

12. A Match Made in Hell

When you finally got back from school, you immediately lay down on the ground, face down.

You heard a swishing sound, and then Tomoe's irritated voice. "Why are you on the floor?"

You groaned, tilting your head to look up at Tomoe. "It's been a long day, I almost died like twice, there's a guy in my class who wants eat my heart, and my knee has been aching ever since I kneed him in the crotch..."

Tomoe's grip tightened on the handle of his broom. "I thought you said that school was safe," he said, voice a low hiss.

You shrugged. "Not today, I guess. Still, the normalness of going to school was good for me. I feel a lot better."

Tomoe closed his eyes in irritation. "That's it."
A cloud of smoke enveloped his body, and when it disappeared, his ears and tail were gone, and his clothing had been replaced by a school uniform. "I'm going to school with you tomorrow," the fox-but-not-a-fox-at-the-moment said.
Oh my god.
You covered your face with your hands, trying your best to hide the fact you had flushed as red as a beet.

"....what?" Tomoe's voice called down, somewhat confused.

"N-nothing."

+++++++

Dinner was... Awkward.

Tomoe and the shrine spirits again refused to eat, so you were left eating the beef bowl you had made all by yourself, Tomoe only sipped some sake, looking a bit irritated, as always.

You sighed heavily, trying to make conversation.
"So... Tomoe..."

The yokai closed his eyes as he took another sip if his sake. "What do you want?" He asked, somewhat flatly.

"What exactly are the... Duties... Of a god?"

Tomoe set down his sakazuki (the dish-like cup for drinking sake), and only now did you realize he had only been holding the dish with one hand. You felt a bit offended, but  he was a higher rank that you power-wise. You had no powers to speak of, and we're still just a human.

(Authors note: When drinking sake with friends or equals, it is Japanese tradition to hold your cup with both hands, or with one hand touching the arm holding the cup, though if you are of higher rank, you pour and drink with one hand. The lazy, one handed way Tomoe always holds his sakazuki, even with guests drinking, is actually quite rude and silently screams to the others drinking with him that he's better than them. Another fun fact about sake is that it's usually thought of as a masculine drink, while women drink wine-like or clear spirits like shochu or chuhai, or to stick with the beer.
(Name) shouldn't be too offended at the moment, as Tomoe is technically drinking alone, but it's still a little bit rude.)

(Another random fact about Sake is that if you drink too much, the hangovers are AWFUL.)

"There are many different duties of a god," Tomoe said dismissively, taking another sip of his sake. "But Mikage's main duty when he was here was matchmaking."

"Matchmaking?!?" You screeched, and Tomoe reached up a hand to touch his ears, closing one eye and leaning back slightly from your loud voice.

You threw your hands up in the air and flopped backwards from your sitting position, laying on the floor. "How... Why.... I can't make people fall in love..."

Tomoe sighed, rubbing his temples. "You don't have to do much, and there's nothing that requires any special powers... It's something even a human like yourself could do."

You scoffed. "Maybe a different human. I'm no good at romance."

Tomoe's ears flattened a bit. "Obviously." He said, monotone, and you sat back up.

"Don't you even start, mister. I've had enough of your salty attitude." You said, somewhat playfully, and the fox's tail swished, catching your eye.

"Oh, and I've been meaning to ask, is your tail as soft as it looks?"

Tomoe's right eye twitched. "That is not something you need to know." He hissed. "I am not a pet."

You grinned. "You can actually buy pet foxes, you know. I read somewhere they run around like cats and cuddle like do-"

A dark aura radiating off of Tomoe caused you to stop and laugh. "You're adorable when you're angry," you said, just to piss him off further, and the fox sputtered.

"I am not adorable!" He said, voice echoing throughout the shrine, and you doubled over laughing.

You cut off as a voice, a prayer, as the shrine spirits had informed you, flooded your mind. A female voice, soft and sweet.

'God of this shrine, please let Mr. Fujiori notice how I feel about him. I know that we can never be together, but I want to at least have the courage to confess.'

Your eyes widened and you peeked outside the shrine, at one of your female classmates bent over in prayer. The girl stood, gazed at the shrine with green tear-filled eyes before turning and running away, and you couldn't help but focus on her student's uniform.

Tomoe had apparently heard the prayer as well, and took a large sip of his sake, a small crease between his eyebrows the only sign he had noticed anything.

"A student..." You sputtered, "A-and a teacher?"

You looked at the girls retreating form, then back inside the shrine. "EHHH? HOW THE FUDGE DO I MATCH THESE TWO, TOMOE?!?"