The Mark of a Yokai's Love

Chapter 9: Confusion

A/N: Hello everyone! ^^ It's been 6 MONTHS since I last updated. I keep forgetting about this story. I'm truly a horrible author-chan! I hope you can forgive me! If you were wondering, I do plan on finishing this story. I will try to write more often (and stop taking month-long breaks in between chapters), but I have a lot coming up in the coming months, so I don't know how well I'll be able to keep that promise. Thank you for everyone who puts up with my inconsistencies and still reads this story! I love you all!! Also, every character is probably so OOC now because I haven't read/watched this series in like two years lol. Sorry about that. I will  probably edit this chapter later on this week so please excuse any minor mistakes. Now, on to the story!

It was late at night. I was so tired, I could barely even keep my eyes open. Between performing the necessary duties of a land god, helping to keep the shrine clean, and trying to keep up with my studies, there was no time to relax or get an adequate amount of sleep. I was sitting at the coffee table on my knees, practicing writing talismans when I felt my eyes drooping. 'Fight the feeling, Kora!' I encouraged myself internally, but already, I could feel myself slipping away into sweet oblivion. My head involuntarily dropped onto the table, and I lay there with my eyes closed, relishing the feeling of doing nothing.

"Kora?" I heard the sound of a voice far away call my name. I knew this voice...but through the haze of my fading consciousness, their name was unattainable. Soft footsteps came towards me, but I didn't open my eyes to see who it was. "Kora?" the voice called again.

'Go away mystery person!' I thought to myself. All I wanted to do was sleep, but this person was preventing me from getting it. I didn't move, hoping that if I pretended to be asleep, they would finally go away. For a long time, there was silence. Right when I thought the person had left, I heard the sound of someone dropping to their knees next to me.

"You're so beautiful when you sleep," the voice whispered. Simultaneously, I felt a hand gently brush away the loose strands of hair that had fallen over my face. It took all my strength not to jerk away and demand who was touching me so lovingly. Instead, I decided to continue my façade and see where they were going with their actions. The hand that had moved my hair paused after tucking the stray locks behind my ear. It slowly moved back down my cheek, towards my chin. It gripped my chin tightly, and my head began to tilt up to the direction where I presumed the person was kneeling. This person was going to kiss me! A million thoughts raced through my head. What was going on? Who was doing this? Maybe it's...Tomoe. When Tomoe's name flickered across my mind, my heart sped up even more than it already was. Did I want it to be Tomoe? Even though I tried to resist the answer, my brain immediately answered, 'Yes.' I quickly pushed the thought out of my head and felt a blush cover my face. I opened my eyes, breaking the ruse, expecting to see Tomoe there.

It was Mizuki.

His eyes widened when he realized that I was actually awake. He froze, his face inches away from mine, waiting to see what my reaction would be. I was frozen as well, trying to process what was going on. We stared at each other without moving before I came to my senses and wrenched away from his grip.

"What are you doing?" I yelled. I felt a strange mixture of anger and confusion. My face turned beet-red, and my eyes dropped to the floor in front of me. It was too embarrassing to continue looking at him.

"Uh...well I-I, um..." Mizuki stammered from where he stayed sitting. I could tell that he hadn't meant any harm, but I was too mortified to care. "Were you trying to kiss me?" I questioned him.

"I mean...you just looked so pretty, and I've felt like this for a long time, and-"

"You've felt like this for a long time?" I cut him off. I didn't know what to say. What do people do in this situation? I feel like I'm in a cheesy drama. "I'm sorry Mizuki, but I don't like you like that. Please respect my personal space and my feelings, and put whatever emotions you have towards me away."