White Lotus: Okari (A Kamisama Kiss fanfic) (Completed)

Chapter 12

My whole body felt heavy like I was hit with a carriage. I groaned as I slowly sat up, examining my surroundings. I recognised the room I was in, it was Akura-ou's room. I was inside his castle. Although the dark interior and weapons on the wall kind of gave it away. Strangely, there were peaches on the far corner of the room. I never knew he liked peaches so much. I felt a small twinge of pain on my forehead and the mosquito bite on my neck was annoying me. "Why hasn't this mark disappeared yet? My yokai powers should have been enough to get rid of a small thing like a mosquito bite" I mumbled to myself. I also noticed that I was wearing different clothes. Instead of my usual kimono, I was now wearing a fine silk white gown with black rose patterns.

I left his room to look for him and I knew just where to look. However, on my way there I ran into an obstacle. "Okari..." he mumbled once he saw me. "Hello...Tomoe. Where is my dearest, Akura-ou?" it was barely noticeable but he flinched and his ears twitched at my question. His eyes grew dim and his fox ears flattened close to his head. "H-he is where he usually is, in his throne room. Excuse me, Lady Okari but I have matters I must attend to" then just like that, he left. A part of me enjoyed his reaction but the other part felt as miserable as he was. No...I must not let myself give in. Don't fall for it a second time, every word he utters are all tricks. It is in his nature.

I walked to the throne room where Akura-ou was sitting dazedly on his throne. "Akura-ou? Are you alright?" he immediately turned to me, his brows furrowed with worry. He jumped off of his throne and quickly swept me off of my feet, carrying me like a princess. "Okari...you shouldn't be moving around too much" he said, moving towards his throne then setting me down on his lap. "Is that all you want to say to me?" I raised a brow in playful curiosity. He sighed then smiled gently at me, somehow it reminded me of Tomoe's smile. Although they weren't related by blood, Akura-ou and Tomoe had some similarities. I shook the thought away as quickly as it appeared. "No...I'm glad you finally woke up. I've never experienced so many sleepless nights before. It's...exhausting." So...he was worried about me, that makes me happy.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there when you woke up. I...I..." he was struggling to talk and his hands were shaking. I cupped his cheek with my hand while I held his shaking hands with the other. "Shh~ don't dwell on it too much. I'm okay now..." he wrapped both of his arms around my waist and buried his face in my stomach. I could feel the dampness through the fabric of my dress. Not many know of this but yes, the Akura-ou is capable of crying, he's capable of feeling emotions. He can be awkward, childish and over possessive but that's what makes him 'human'. They always see the outside and assume that he's a monster but he is just like any other misunderstood person. I guess it's one of the things that drew me to him. All I could do at that moment was to wait it out while gently stroking his ruby red hair. It was going to be a while but I hummed a little tune to help him calm down.

Most people couldn't see past his exterior even from when he was still young. He was an outcast even as a child due to his immortality and he was picked on quite alot. A child should never have gone through what he did just because he was born with the curse. Even to yokai, Akura-ou was considered an oddity. He had been alone all his life ever since his mother abandoned him for being cursed and because of this he experienced ruthlessness at a very young age. He told me all of this and then he blatantly confessed how much I meaned to him. That I made him feel loved, that I made him realise that he wasn't just the monster that everyone said he was. In a way, I was glad to hear those words because I knew that Akura-ou was honest to a fault, it wasn't in his nature to lie. He was like a child who always told the truth no matter how embarassing it was. I knew I was trapping myself again but I couldn't help it. This rare childishness of his, it...allured me.

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The light in my eyes was almost blinding and the smell of the trees and the grass invaded my nose. I didn't remember ever leaving Akura-ou's castle and I surely didn't remember the world being this bright. "Ah~Lady Okari Inu, The White Lotus of the yokai world. It's quite a pleasure to finally meet you. Trully, you are as lovely as the rumours say" I wasn't sure if the voice was inside my head or if it was just a voice. "Who are you and where am I?" I said out loud. The voice chuckled and the light morphed into a golden haired man with glasses perched on the bridge of is nose.

"My dear, you are in my shrine. I have brought you here because you are in trouble"

"Trouble?" I questioned. His brows arched in worry. "Yes...do you remember when you were injured in the forest?"

I subconciously touched the mark on my neck, "The mosquito bite? That's hardly trouble-"

"It's not a mosquito bite. It's poison that was specifically made for you. It will kill you but the god's in izumo have the antedote and they want to bargain with you for it. They want you to...dispose of the fox yokai, Tomoe in exchange for the antedote."

"No..."

"Excuse me but...what?"

"I said, no..."

"May I ask why? Is his life more important than your own?" I flinched when he said that and I sent him a sharp glare.

"No... I just don't want to be a pawn in their little game of cat and mouse. I'm done with being a plaything to others, easily disposable when no longer relevant. I'd rather die, you can tell that to your friends." He sighed then spoke "Very well then, you will only have a week left to live before the poison kills you"

"A week?... That's all the time I need." I woke up after that and I checked the mark on my neck infront of the mirror. No surprise, it was still there. I marveled at how such a small thing like that could kill me in a weeks time. I changed into a pale blue silk gown and took a stroll in the garden I planted a few weeks ago, it was growing fairly well with a little help from my magic. I had been living in Akura-ou's castle for two months now but I left Willow in charge of my territory. He gave me this part of the castle to do with as I pleased so I turned it into a garden with a sakura tree much smaller than the one in my territory but it was still big enough for me to sit on.

I was about to take my place in the tree when one of my spies came running in through the main gate. He barked alarmingly at me. He was the one I sent to Yukiji to keep an eye on her so that I would be informed if she was in any danger and I didn't like how alarmed he looked. "What's wrong?"

"Lady... it's time" he barked and I knew just what he meant. The approximate time for a human's incubation and growth was nine months and it had been exactly nine months. I charged towards the main gate while the castle servants chased after me, asking me where I was going. "My lady, where are you going? Master Akura-ou is in his throne room-"

"Tell him I will be going out to visit a friend. I will be back before dusk"

"Y-yes, my lady" I ran to Yukiji's home as fast as I could. The newborn child of a lord was bound to attract the attention of evil yokai who wished to grow stronger with the childs blood. I had to protect that child and its mother. I had to protect them all. I had been preparing for this moment. I knew just how dangerous it could get but ontop of the recent turn of events and the upcoming battle, I had a bad feeling that something big was about to happen and I wasn't quite sure what the outcome would be. Well... there is no use turning back now. I'll just have to make sure won't die before my time is up. Heh...easier said than done.