The Monsters Inside Us (TomoexReader) Book 2

The Dangers of The Human Realm

Chapter 1

Word count: 1532

The gentle sway of the train running smoothly over its tracks is unfamiliar to me. I have never been on a train, as they were engineered after I became a yokai, but someone had called the large machine that word on entry, so I know of its name.

Tomoe sits closely next to me, and I can feel the sickness that he is battling. I squeeze his hand tighter and he lets out a long breath.

My heart is racing. Stares from the humans follow us throughout our ride on the train. I have no idea where we were going or how we are going to get there but we had to get out of those caves. The medicine god had taken us to them after his divine intervention to save us from Yuzu, and this was the quickest way away.

The train station is not far from the shrine, and I remember several times where I could hear the loud blares of the whistle late at night or early in the morning during our time living there. We had slipped in the crowd effortlessly, and although we lost some of our abilities when the gods gave us weaknesses as punishment... we still retain the ability to vanish in a crowd, and to escape wondering eyes. However, here on the train, despite our disguises... a white haired man with obvious lack of vision drew many an eye.

I take a deep breath and look down at Tomoe as he sits below me. While his wounds have healed, the violet in his eyes was now a dull grey, and there was no light to be seen, no spark, no fire like they had held before. Deep guilt only grew in my chest and I'm sure if Tomoe was able to see me he would have pointed out that it was plastered all over my face.

Before long the last of the humans filter off the train, and for several stops we are the only two aboard.

"You can relax now. Its just us here," Tomoe mutters. I sigh and take a seat next to him, resting my head on his shoulder. The warmth comes back to my skin immediately, and although I know that Tomoe is just as frightened as I am, feeling him next to me like this provides comfort. The moment is short-lived.

The voice in the walls of the train calls "Last Stop! last station!!" and I take Tomoe's elbow in mine and guide him from the train. The station is nearly empty and the train rides off without so much as a farewell. I look back toward the exit.

"What now?" I ask myself. The only thing on my mind had been to get away, and now that that was accomplished I was at a loss. I glance to Tomoe and begin walking forward to the lights of a village before us. I wasn't alone, but I was in charge and the feeling was unfamiliar to me. I take a deep breath as I grasp Tomoe's arm tighter and hurry to a nearby building lit up with yellow lights and red banners. There are many buildings in the human realm these days... many more than what I remember, and much taller.

As we near the village, the hustle and bustle grows larger as fathers and mothers rush home, but we manage to squeeze our way past the small crowd into the building of which the sign reads "hotel & inn" and while I am not quite sure what a hotel is, I am familiar with the term ' inn '

We enter the door quietly. There is a woman at the desk.. and as Tomoe and I approach she gives us an odd look.

"We need a room for the night." I state with all the confidence I can muster. I hold Tomoe tightly. The woman looks me up and down with judgmental eyes and states a payment with a currency I don't understand or have. I open my mouth to beg but Tomoe puts a hand to my arm.

"We are cousins of the owner, Mio Shimikura, and he has promised us that we would always be welcome free of charge, did he not inform you of this exception or shall we address it with him?" Tomoe says with such confidence that the woman drops her judgmental look and replaces it with a look of fear and lowers her head. She immediately place a key on the desk with a muttered apology.

"Room 1B" she motions down the hall and I nod before quickly hurrying toward the door. I immediately start panicking and for a moment let my thoughts race. I close the door behind us after I guide Tomoe through and immediately turn to glare up at him. I know he can feel the questions waiting to push up my throat although he can not see me I stare into his eyes

"What was that just now??" I ask, my heart racing in my chest. His eyes remain empty,

"I heard her thoughts, just as I was able to hear yours.. they are very fearful of the owner here, from what I heard he is a horrible man." Tomoe says matter of fact-ly. I plop down on the bed with a huff.

"We can't always get things for ourselves this way." I stated softly, wishing I hadn't needed Tomoe as much as I do. He's always getting me out of trouble, always saving me from situations I put myself in and always finding solutions to questions I haven't even asked yet. Its part of the reason why I love him so much. I wish I could do more for him, to be able to do for him what he does for me.

Tomoe coughed and I immediately rushed to his side. I caught him as he stumbled and held him up with steady hands.

"You need to rest." I whispered as I guided him towards the bed, placing a hand on his chest and the other on his back. The worried look on my face fell upon blind eyes.

"I've been resting for two days, (Y/N), you've been doing everything, so why don't you rest." The words are almost spiteful the way he says them, and for a moment I draw up empty on what to say. I know that he is just frustrated as I am at the state of things. He is always the one who looked out for me, always the one who protected me, and now he is forced to let me do the same. Now he is weak and helpless and sightless and scared, and he doesn't know what to do with those feelings.

"We'll both rest." I let out a long sigh as I cuddle up to him on the bed that smells like humans and cigarettes. He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close to him, his hand shaking slightly. It scares me the way that I know that everything now depends on me, the way that I know that I was now the one who had to fix my own mistakes.

"Where is Nanami.. " Tomoe asks softly. My heart sinks immediately. "I know from your thoughts that she is not here, but why?" My heart hammers and tears prick the corners of my eyes.

"It is unfair of you to listen to my thoughts without permission Tomoe," I whimper. I can't say the words... I can't say that she is dead and it is all my fault.. I can't say that the gods did not save her as they saved us, I can only cry, and Tomoe receives the answer he needed from the visions playing through my mind. As much as the girl had irritated me and despite how much I hated her at times... She was still the land god and I had been her familiar, and I was the reason she was dead. I trusted Yuzu and his sly words despite the decades of torment I had endured evading him.

I cry into Tomoe's kimono and cry and cry and cry. Tomoe runs an unsteady hand through my hair and I can't stop the sobs that escape my throat. I cry until my tears dry up and I am left with one unwavering thought.

"I will find Mikage to help me rectify my horrid mistake, and together we will end Yuzu."

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Hello my pretties!!!!

Its been a long time coming hasn't it! I really hope you enjoyed chapter one, and I'm so excited to be releasing it to you guys today :)

I want you to know how much your comments mean to me, and know that I have read every last one!!!

Hope you are all having an amazing day and I look forward to seeing what you guys think!

Much Love and Appreciation

-Harleighkinz