Something had changed since their trip to the village.

Or at least, that was what Yonomori thought. Her translucent fingers were curled against her chin, eyes focused on where Akitora was attempting to convince Isamu to learn sake making from Mizuki. The trio were across the courtyard from where Yonomori stood watching them through her bedroom window. Mizuki had taken up position next to Akitora, amusement on his face. Something Akitora said must have struck him as amusing, as he suddenly grinned and made a remark that had Akitora laughing and Isamu turning a rapid shade of red. He instantly snatched the sake ingredients from his two tormentors, obviously giving into Akitora's whim.

A light smile touched even Yonomori's lips at the sight. She would have never imagined that Mizuki could still smile like that-- not when every time he looked at her she could almost feel his heart breaking. It hurt, the knowledge that she would be leaving him behind. She could only hope to leave him something. A sigh escaped her lips at the thought, Yonomori's eyes locking with Akitora's. The yokai cocked her head, a questioning look on her face. Yonomori hesitated, then made a beckoning gesture.

Akitora instantly made some excuse that Yonomori couldn't hear and left Mizuki instructing Isamu.

"What is it?" Akitora questioned only minutes later.

Yonomori turned to see the tigress leaning against one of her bedroom's sliding doors. She hesitated, then silently settled herself atop one of the two, large cushions that served as chairs in her room. Akitora caught on the second that Yonomori patted the top of the other pillow. She crossed the room, dropping comfortably atop the red satin.

"Well?" she prompted.

Yonomori chuckled. If there was one thing she'd learned about Akitora in the time that she'd been staying at the shrine, it was that the yokai had very little patience when it came to sating her curiosity.

"You once told me that a plum tree wouldn't be enough," she said, each word holding such an air that Akitora was easily able to tell that they'd been carefully picked. "That Mizuki would need more."

Akitora's eyes narrowed. A sheepish feeling flooded through Yonomori's veins. Still, she was careful to keep her typical smile in place. She doubted that showing any sign of weakness would be intelligent during this conversation. After all, Akitora was infamous for doing only what she wanted. There were only a handful of people that could order her around, and Yonomori was definitely not on that list.

"I did say that," Akitora agreed after a tense silence, her frame seeming to relax. "Have you given my offer further thought, then?"

Yonomori instantly shook her head.

"I won't abandon my people."

"As I figured," came the instantaneous reply. A wry smile played across Akitora's lips. "What have you decided, then? I can see in your eyes that you've reached a decision."

Yonomori played with the fringed edges of her cushion.

"You're right," she murmured. "Mizuki is young. There are many things he's yet to experience, especially due to the sheltered upbringing I've given him. Most likely, he'll be lost when I leave. In this world... he is the one regret I will leave behind."

Akitora said nothing, simply watched with an even expression as Yonomori raised a single, translucent hand into the air. The dying goddess studied herself, noting how easy it was to see the floor through her own limb. It wouldn't be long, now. It was only Mizuki power keeping the shrine purified, now. Her influence had almost completely left the place.

"He needs someone-- but that someone cannot be me. You understand, don't you? I am the goddess he adores. Even if it means abandoning him, I cannot forsake the faith he and my people have always shown me."

"What you're asking..."

"Is a lot, I know," Yonomori interrupted, her gaze focused on the floor rather than Akitora. Despite her usual confidence, Yonomori had no wish to see what expression might be on her face. "But... you're young, as well. You've seen more, experienced more, but... you'll live as long as him. Please..." Yonomori trailed off, forcing herself to meet Akitora's intimidating gaze. "Keep an eye on him for me."

At first, there was no sign of the other goddess's feelings about the matter. She stayed silent, studying Yonomori with a critical gaze. Her fingers tapped restlessly against her knee, only one touching the limb at a time. Yonomori waited, knowing better than to rush such a decision. She was asking a lot, but it seemed to be the best solution.

"I'm just to watch him?" Akitora joked, breaking the silence. "For a moment you sounded like a mother giving away her child to be wed."

Yonomori's cheeks flushed, yet an amused giggle escaped her.

"It did, didn't it?" she mused. "Perhaps I am. I hatched him, after all."

Akitora wrinkled her nose. At that same moment, she quit tapping her fingers, having apparently come to some decision in her mind.

"The birth of divine familiars is so strange," she said, rather than voice her choice. "What sort of person comes from a shell?"

Despite the situation, Yonomori found herself giggling again.

"It is strange," she agreed. "But, is it any more strange than how gods and goddesses come into existence in response to a need?"

Akitora shrugged.

"At least they aren't hatched. Even I was born, you know."

"Really?" Yonomori asked, still giggling. She managed to recover herself within seconds, however, as Akitora simply gave an amused nod. They needed to focus. "Aki-chan... I'm simply asking for you to check on him, perhaps even take him with you after I've disappeared. He's easy to live with. He doesn't complain and makes sure everything is perfectly clean. Isamu would most likely appreciate the help and it isn't without benefit to you. There are many uses for a divine snake and--"

Akitora put up a hand, ending what had quickly become nervous rambling on Yonomori's end. Once again, the younger goddess's cheeks burned. She was never usually this unraveled, but... Mizuki was a special case. She needed to know he'd be okay.

"I'll do it."

Yonomori couldn't breathe, the relief was so immense. She could only stare.

"You will..."

Akitora grinned, sprawling her hands out on the wooden floorboards behind her.

"I will watch him for you. You're right, he wouldn't be bad to have around. I mean, if nothing else, he's good for sake."

Yonomori laughed, rubbing her palms against her eyes.

"You're right... you're right..." she agreed as soon as she was able to speak through the laughter. "He makes excellent sake."

A loud thud came from the courtyard, drawing the attention of both women. Isamu seemed to have knocked over a large pitcher, clear liquid spilling from it as Mizuki playfully scolded him. No doubt the embarrassed state Isamu was in cleared away any irritation that Mizuki might have felt over the mess.

"Isamu, on the other hand..."

"Aki-chan."

Yonomori's serious tone drew Akitora's eyes away from the window. The goddess's smile was still in place, hands folded in her lap.

"Promise me?"

Silence stretched between them. Then, without warning, Akitora drew one sharp nail across the callused skin of her right palm. Yonomori stared, surprised, as blood welled in the finger's wake.

"I'll do better than that," Akitora announced, her equally serious gaze meeting Yonomori's. "You know as well as I, a god's vow goes beyond that of simple words. The same goes for a yokai. Doubly for someone in my position."

"Aki-chan--"

"Be rest assured, Yonomori, I will not betray your trust," Akitora cut in. "I vow, upon my blood and my role as a goddess, upon my prowess as a warrior...

"I will protect him."

____________________________

"You're leaving?"

Mizuki, Yonomori, and even Isamu stared at Akitora in shock. Her announcement had come out of nowhere as far as they were aware. The tigress stood outside the small shrine dressed in the same, sakura kimono she'd arrived in. In response to their stares, her ear twitched.

"Of course," she announced. "Like Isamu there is always saying, I can't just abandon my duties. It's been months since I've visited my shrines. If I don't purify them, who will?"

Akitora glanced at Yonomori, an unspoken question hanging in the air between them.

"I'll be back," she added. "Soon, actually."

"I understand," Yonomori replied.

Realizing that Akitora was serious, Mizuki turned tail and ran back into the shrine. Meanwhile, Isamu's reaction to Akitora's words had been rather clear dismay.

"Not soon," Isamu protested. "It'll take months to fix the mess you've created!"

Akitora shrugged, causing the familiar to begin sputtering all the matters she'd have to attend to. Obviously not paying attention to a word he was saying, Akitora simply smiled, flicked her tail in farewell, and turned towards the direction she'd come from upon her arrival.

"Isamu, if you keep complaining I'll walk extra slow," she called over her shoulder.

"Lady Aki--"

"Lady Akitora, wait!"

Akitora paused, glancing back to see Mizuki return. A grin appeared on her lips at the sight of the bottle in his hand-- Mizuki must have stashed away some of his sake in preparation of this moment. He quickly crossed the distance between them and placed the bottle in her waiting hand.

"Kami..." Isamu cursed beneath his breath.

"Yes?" Akitora answered innocently, already working to uncork her present.

"... nothing."

"Take care," Mizuki said, his words a stark contrast to the attitude he'd had upon their arrival. He wore an amused smile on his face. "Return soon, my Mistress and I will be waiting!"

"Of course," Akitora replied, turning her back to the scene and waving farewell once again, this time with her free hand. "I have a promise to keep, after all."

_______________________________

The trip back took less time than Akitora might have imagined. Perhaps it was because she was making sure to keep a quick pace-- there really wasn't any time for playing around. Yonomori wouldn't be able to keep herself together much longer, so Akitora would need to purify her shrines and return, enabling her to stay as long as Mizuki would need in the wake of Yonomori's death.

This sense of urgency was most likely the reason Akitora didn't pick up on the signs until they were too late.

The trees were silent, not a single creature to be seen within miles of the shrine.

The typically snowy mountain the temple was settled in was freezing rather than chilly.

Both signs, obvious to her most of the time, were lost in the irritation she felt towards the single factor keeping her from climbing the mountain with ease-- a blinding snowstorm.

"If I have to brush snow off my ears one more time, I'm burning everything."

"You can't burn snow," Isamu protested. "Besides, this is the snow god's shrine!"

"And?" Akitora snorted. "It'll melt, won't it?"

Her words were echoed by an irritable flick of her tail, sparks erupting from a nearby bush. Isamu simply sighed, dropping his head into his hands. His lady had such large, spiritual potential, yet she wasted it on childish temper tantrums.

"It shouldn't be that far, now," he reminded her after he'd taken a deep, calming breath. "See, those are the gates up there..."

Akitora continued to grumble under her breath, but she lit nothing else on fire as she drew closer to their goal. The second she stepped within the temple's grounds, however, she stopped dead.

There was no storm-- not within the bounds of the shrine.

Her eyes flew wide, the woman instantly shifting into her tigress form as her sharp eyes darted around the shrine grounds. The large building before her was completely silent, not even the wil'o'wisps coming to greet their goddess. Yet, the figure she was looking for was nowhere to be seen around the wooden building.

"Shit. Shit. Shit," she hissed under her breath. "He's here, isn't he?"

"Akitora," Isamu replied, his voice tense. "It's impossible. The phoenix had him locked up, didn't she? The onryo*..."

"I have a name, you know."

The voice seemed to echo through the eerily peaceful shrine. Akitora swore as the door swung open, revealing a single, silver-haired male. His locks hung past his shoulders, his hard, onyx eyes a stark contrast to the playful smile on his lips.

"You certainly kept me waiting, Akiichi. Is that anyway to treat your oldest friend?"

"You're n--"

"Oh, oh, I know! You can make it up to me. How about that godly power, hm? Do a favor for the dead. We do have such a busy schedule." 

A/N: Hm... not sure he's coming across how I want... might edit this last scene at a later point. Anyways, hope you enjoyed! Only two chapters left in part one!

*In traditional beliefs of Japan and in literature, onryō (literally "vengeful spirit", sometimes rendered "wrathful spirit") refers to a ghost believed capable of causing harm in the world of the living, harming or killing enemies, or even causing natural disasters to exact to redress the wrongs it received while alive then takes their spirits from their dying bodies. (Wikipedia)