~Tomoe X Reader: Book One~

17. Below

Come on.

You looked down at the black grass, grabbing a fistful of it and tearing it out of the ground, forcing yourself to take every breath.

I need to calm down.

You heard the quiet rustling of clothing as Mizuki moved, and recoiled, pushing yourself back away from him.

He had rolled over on his stomach, a goofy grin on his face, and his cheeks were flushed, looking extremely drunk.

"Ah~!" The boy exclaimed. "I've forgotten how good it feels to be a familiar!"

"Familiar?" You choked, and the white-haired boy sat up, sitting like a dog would, with his legs tucked under him and hands rested on the ground.

"Yep!" He said, seeming way too cheerful. He touched a hand to his chest. "I am a snake Shikigami."

There was a puff of smoke and in his place there was suddenly the small white snake you had bandaged earlier, the bandage soaked through a bit, a spot of bright red blood showing through. A cloud puffed up again, and he was back to his human form.

Mizuki undid and pulled his kimono open, revealing enough of his bare chest for you to catch sight of thick bandages around his midsection.
"I was wandering around in my snake form when you saved me... And... I knew I just had to be your familiar."

You blinked once, twice, trying to process.

So he had kissed you in order to become your familiar, then.

"So you kidnapped me, dragged me into a shrine, and just kissed me, expecting it to be okay?"

Your fear and tangled mess of emotions finally converted into just one thing...

Anger.

Yet Mizuki was unfazed. "I'm not good with first impressions," he said simply.

You made a choked sound, that somehow turned into a bitter laugh.

"You don't say?" You said sarcastically.

Mizuki only grinned.

His entire personality had changed, now that he had gotten what he wanted.

You stood, somehow feeling numb to your fear. Maybe you had dealt with so much of it lately you were immune.

Now... I some how have two familiars? How many can one person have?

"Also..." Your eyes flicked around you, at the trees and the stone. "Why are we here, Mizuki?"

The Shikigami shrugged. "It shouldn't be that hard to get out though. You have me!"

"That's reassuring." You said flatly.

The boy stood, and you pushed yourself up off the ground to stand next to him, folding your arms across your chest and trying your best to think about only the present, forcing yourself calm, but in truth your heart was beating so fast it seemed about to explode.

"Mizuki, I already have a familiar."

Once again, his expression didn't change. "I know. That just makes it more exciting."

Well, on the bright side, now that this idiot is my familiar he can't do anything to me, all I have to do is order him to stop and this time he won't have a choice but to listen.

So, in theory, he's completely harmless.

That, at least, made you feel a bit better.

"Don't think I'm not going to try to figure out how to end a familiar contract, Mizuki, but we need to work together if we're not going to die."

Mizuki tilted his head. "What are you talking about? There's not much danger here at all. It's just a place where all types of different creatures are gathered. Granted, some of them can be in a bad mood, but don't worry..."

Mizuki made a fist, and grinned, a small white snake slithering out of the sleeve of his kimono and wrapping around his wrist. "Whatever tries to hurt you, I'll kill it!"

"Ironic, coming from my kidnapper. What are you, a Yandere?"

Mizuki paused, and a bead of sweat formed on his forehead. "N-no..." He said, raising up his hands.
"I'm just your familiar, it's my job."

You sighed. "Get me out of the world over yonder and back to the Mikage Shrine, Mizuki." You deliberately made it into an order, and Mizuki's face went rosy pink.

"Come on, say it again," he breathed. "Bind me with the invisible chains!"

"Pervert..." You hissed. "Just get me out of here."

Mizuki smiled. "Yeah, sure. Your wish is my...-"

"Oh, shut it!"

Mizuki nodded meekly and sat down on the ground, closing his eyes, and a soft green glow started arching from the ground to eight or so feet up in the air, becoming an oval shape.

It wasn't that complicated, just a green ring, though through it, instead of seeing the street and the dead trees, you saw the front of the school.

"This is as close as I can get us," Mizuki said quietly, then turned and grabbed ahold of your wrist. "Come on."

You let him pull you through the portal, or whatever it was, expecting to feel some sort of magical aura, but all you felt was the changing of temperature from the cold world over yonder to the warmth from the very bright and burning sun in the sky.

Once you were sure you were through, and the portal had closed, you yanked your hand back and out of Mizuki's grip.

"Don't think this means you're actually my familiar," you said, and Mizuki somehow grabbed hold of both of your wrists with one hand, and you didn't have time to tell him to stop before he had pushed you up against the wall that surrounded the school grounds.

"Believe me," he said in a low tone. "It does."

"...Excuse me," An extremely irritated voice called from behind Mizuki. "I don't believe that's yours."

Mizuki shifted to the side, to look back, and your attention focused on a familiar fox yokai standing behind him.

Tomoe!

He was dressed in his regular kimono, fox ears in plain sight on his head, and his white tail twitched angrily from side to side.

His right arm was engulfed in his fox fire, and the blue flames leaned towards Mizuki, as if begging to burn him.

Tomoe's eyes glinted and most of his face was engulfed by shadow.

"Move away from the girl."