Upon hearing a knock on his door, Kurama groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Dude, I already told you that I'm not giving you an autograph, so stop pestering me!"

"Um, I'm not here for an autograph...." A familiar voice called from the other side of the door.

"Nanami?" Standing up, Kurama strode to the door and opened it slightly to see the brunette goddess standing on the other side. Oddly, the only one with her was her tiny shikigami; neither Tomoe nor Mizuki were anywhere to be seen. Swinging the door open the rest of the way, the pop star leaned casually against the doorframe. "What are you doing here, and where's the fox?"

"That's....kind of why I'm here. Can I come in?" Nanami asked quietly.

Kurama frowned as he studied Nanami carefully. Dark bags lined her lifeless eyes, and her cheeks were missing their usual rosy, youthful color. She stood hunched over like an old woman, and when she turned at just the right angle, the light caught the tearstains on her face. Her usual smile was replaced by a deep frown, and a cloud of gloom clung to the air around her. Something was definitely wrong, and Kurama guessed that the fox had something to do with it.

"Of course." The tengu said, stepping out of the doorway and ushering Nanami inside. Guiding her over to the couch, he sat her down and looked her dead in the eyes. "Now tell me what's wrong. Is it Tomoe? Did he hurt you?"

"Tomoe...Tomoe and I broke up." Nanami sniffled as fresh tears leaped to her eyes.

"Oh..." A mixture of emotions churned inside of Kurama. While one side of him felt bad for Nanami, the other side was relieved and actually somewhat excited because the breakup meant Nanami was now single. "I'm sorry, Nanami. How are you coping?"

Nanami wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "I'm fine; Tomoe's the one I'm worried about. I don't want him to go back to being all mean and violent."

"Nanami, he's still mean and violent."

"He's better than he was! I'm afraid that this breakup will make him relapse, and he'll start behaving like when we first met. I can't let that happen, and I need you to help me make sure it doesn't. Please Kurama?"

The pop star stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I don't like the fox very much. He annoys me to no end, and I don't see any reason why I should help him. However, for your sake, Nanami, I guess I can try."

"Thank you, Kurama!" Nanami smiled broadly and wrapped the tengu in a tight hug.

A light blush dusted Kurama's cheeks. "Whatever. Just don't tell anyone, especially Tomoe."

"I won't, I promise."

"Alright. Now, what do you need?"

"Advice."

"Advice? What kind of advice?"

"Love advice." Nanami stated. "Given that you are a famous pop star, I have no doubt in my mind that you've been in a few relationships, which also means you've been through a few breakups. I guess what I want to know is how you got over a girl breaking your heart and moved on?"

A smile crept onto Kurama's face. "Is that all? That's an easy answer. I found someone else."

"Found someone else? You mean another girl?"

"Yep. In my opinion, the best way to forget about one girl is to distract yourself with another." Kurama grinned before adding softly to himself. "It doesn't always work though. There are some girls that I just can't get off of my mind; girls like you, Nanami..."

Nanami's brows pinched together as she thought carefully about Kurama's response. "I don't know. For one, Tomoe doesn't seem very interested in the other girls at school. Also, I can't make him fall in love against his will."

"You could use your sacred word binding."

"I will do no such thing!"

Kurama sighed in exasperation and leaned against the back of the couch. "I don't know what else to tell you then, Nanami. Maybe Tomoe just isn't meant to have a-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Kurama! No one deserves to be alone, not you, not Mizuki, and not Tomoe!" Nanami roared, leaping to her feet. "You know what? Just forget it. I'll figure out a plan myself. Thanks for being of no help at all!" Storming down the hall, the goddess threw open the door, preparing to march off angrily, and came face to face with a girl who appeared her height and age. Bright, jade green eyes were framed by long layers of scarlet hair, and her skin was as pale as porcelain. A black hood sat upon the girl's head, hiding the rest of her red tresses, and her small sweatshirt hugged her figure. Plain black leggings and sneakers completed her outfit, and the only pop of color she wore was a green, leaf-shaped hair clip to pin her bangs out of her eyes.

"That's funny. Her hairclip reminds me of the leaves Tomoe uses to-"

"I told you that fanatic downstairs was lying." the redhead suddenly grumbled.

"Huh?" Confused, Nanami was about to ask the strange girl what the heck she was talking about when another voice cut her off.

"Well, it was the only lead we had! It's not my fault that we're bad at this!" it snapped, sounding somewhat annoyed. "You could just use your you know what and make this easier on both of us-"

The girl spun around and appeared to be arguing with someone standing behind her. "I already told you no! We'll just have to keep asking around." With that, she turned back to Nanami and flashed gave her an awkward smile. "Hello, Miss. We apologize for disturbing you, but do you happen to know where the pop star Kurama is currently taking up residence?"

"Sakura, you need to talk like a normal person; she probably didn't understand a single word you just said." the voice behind the girl stated.

Sakura growled irritably, her hands clenching and unclenching as she took long deep breaths. "You know what? If you're such an expert at this, why don't you take over?"

"Um, actually, I understood her just fine." Nanami said hurried before a fight could break out. "And Kurama does live here; he's in the livingroom."

"Oh. Are you his girlfriend, miss?" Sakura asked.

Nanami's felt the heat rising to her face. "N-N-No! I'm just a friend of his, nothing more."

"May we speak with him?"

"Uh yeah, sure. Kurama, there are some people here to see you."

"Tell them to beat it. I only do autographs at my shows and nowhere else!" Kurama called from inside his apartment.

"Not even for an old friend?" the voice behind Sakura called.

At first, silence echoed from the livingroom; then, in a split second, Kurama was standing beside Nanami in the doorway, his eyes wide in astonishment.

"Atomu?!"

"Kurama!"

A tall, lanky boy with shoulder-length, wavy, black hair, bluish-gray eyes, and a warm smile emerged from behind Sakura and wrapped the pop star in a tight hug. "Oh, thank the gods it's really you. I didn't want to get stuck roaming this awful, filthy city after dark."

Nanami stared in awe at the new boy. This Atomu was quite handsome: his strong features and pale skin combined with his dark hair and alluring eyes were quite pleasing to look at. His voice was light and melodious like the wind yet also strong and firm like stone, and his smile was possibly the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The goddess felt her heart do an involuntary thumpity thump thump inside her chest, and she blushed bright red.

"Atomu, what are you and Sakura doing here? Is Lord Daichi with you?" Kurama asked his old friend once he was let go.

Atomu's smile wavered slightly as some of the happy light faded from his eyes. "No, he is not... Actually, our father is the reason Sakura and I are here."

"Oh, did he send you here on business for him?"

"Kurama....Lord Daichi is dead."

An ominous silence fell over the hallway; even the other people in the building who had no idea about the conversation occurring between the two old friends grew silent.

Kurama's mouth hung open. "He's....dead?"

Atomu nodded, unable to speak. Tears now blurred his vision, threatening to spill over onto his cheeks, and his bottom lip quivered unsteadily.

"How?"

"This is not the proper place to discuss this. My instincts tell me that we were not followed, but I am not incapable of making mistakes. Might we come inside?" Sakura stated flatly.

"O-Of course! Come right in." Kurama stated. "Nanami, could you do me a favor and make us some tea? Nanami?"

"Oh, right, sure!" Nanami squeaked as she shook off her daze. Squeezing past the visitors, she hurried to Kurama's kitchen and hastily made some tea. After pouring the hot drink into four cups on a tray, she carried it out to the livingroom, where Kurama was sitting with his guests.

"Thank you, miss." Sakura stated, taking two of the cups and handing one to Atomu. "Here, drink this. It'll help you calm down a little."

Atomu stiffly took the tea and brought it to his lips. With each sip, his shoulders relaxed little by little.

"Now tell me what happened."

---------------------

Several nights earlier...

"W-What's that smell?" Atomu mumbled, sitting up on his futon and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. As he took a deep breath, his lungs stung painfully, and violent coughs shook his body. Opening his eyes, he saw dark, thick clouds spilling into the room from underneath the door.

"Smoke? Why is there smoke?"

Suddenly, the bedroom door was flung open, and a wide-eyed Sakura scampered into the room.

"Sakura, what's going on?"

"We need to go. Now." she stated, grabbing his hand and yanking him to his feet and toward the door. Once they were out of his bedroom, Atomu saw the large plumes of fire eating away at one end of the shrine's corridor. He heard Sakura curse under her breath, and quickly she spun around and dragged him other way. Unfortunately, the other side of the hall was a dead end.

"Sakura, why is the shrine in on fire? Where are Dad and the shrine spirits? Why hasn't Hiroto put it out yet-"

"Shut up! I need to think!"

"But what about Dad-"

"Lord Daichi will be fine. Now, unless you would like to be burned alive, shut your mouth so I can think of a way to get us out of here." Sakura hissed, her green, fox-like eyes narrowing. Turning back to the wall in front of them, she grumbled to herself. "Father's advisors told him making the shrine's outer walls of stone was a bad idea, but did he listen? No. He insisted on his shrine being different from the shrines of the other gods."

"Well can't you break through it? You're a yokai after all-" Atomu began, having overheard her, but was cut off by Sakura just like before.

"I'm not strong enough to break stone yet!" she snapped. Glancing about wildly for any possible escape route, her eyes fell upon some support beams stretching out over their heads. An idea popped into her head; the base of the roof was wood, was it not? "I can smash through other materials though." Grabbing Atomu by the back of the collar on his kimono, the yokai leaped high into the air and landed on a support beam. Sprinting to the end, she swung, and the roof gave way to her fist, creating a small hole the size of a baseball. Grabbing the edges of the opening, Sakura tore away at its side until the hole grew to a size that a human could fit through.

"Atomu, get on my back!" she ordered her little brother, crouching down to make it easier for him. Atomu immediately obeyed, clinging to Sakura's kimono so hard that his knuckles turned white. With a grunt, Sakura sprang through the hole in the roof and out into the cool nighttime air before landing clumsily on the dew-covered grass.

"Okay, we're out. Now let's go find Dad." Atomu stated, jumping off of his sister back. However, Sakura quickly grabbed his wrist.

"We can't, Atomu; we need to go! It isn't safe here."

"Well can't we call Hirito and send him after Dad?"

"He won't help us."

"Why not? He is Dad's familiar-"

"Because he's the one who set the shrine ablaze!"

Atomu's heart came to a stand still in his chest. Hirito was the one trying to kill them? "No....that can't be! Hirito is Dad's familiar; he's his friend!-"

"Father's 'friend', along with a small squad of yokai, is currently rounding up the family's servants and slaughtering any who fight back, and the rest of his soldiers are currently on their way. Dad promised to hold them off as long as he could, but he wants us to get as far away as we can-"

"Hold them off? Wait, he isn't coming with us?!"

Sakura didn't answer right away. "Atomu, we must do as Father has asked-"

"No! I'm not leaving without him!"

"He's a god, Atomu! He can handle himself!"

"Then why is he having us run?"

"In case he can't handle them!" Sakura shouted, her voice echoing off into the night over the roar of the fire. A tense silence followed. "Please brother, we must go."

"You can be a coward and run as far away as you want, Sakura, but I'm not leaving without Dad." Spinning on his heels, Atomu raced along the side of the shrine with Sakura chasing after him.

"Atomu!" she shrieked.

As Atomu rounded the corner of the building, he was met with a light so bright he had to shield his eyes with his hand. The front lawn was ablaze, towering bonfires licking hungrily at the air and the surrounding greenery. Amongst the flames, numerous dark silhouettes danced in pairs of two, and when one of them fell, no longer able to move, the other raced off to find a new partner. Scarlet puddles on the ground reflected the brightly glowing bouquets of flame, and a brash symphony of metal against metal, shouted curses, howls of agony and mourning, claws sharpening, and the gasping breath of the dying accompanied the steady sizzling crackle of the fire.

"Lord Daichi?! Dad?!" Atomu screamed, racing into the flames without a second thought.

Toward the center of the fire, a large, black mass hovered, and as Atomu grew closer, the blob separated into several different bodies: one man surrounded on all sides. However, in one swift movement, the being in the center of the group sent the others flying backwards, large shards of stone imbedded in their flesh. Atomu knew immediately the identity of the middle man.

"Dad!" he shrieked, tripping over his own two feet as he pushed himself to run faster.

Lord Daichi turned upon hearing his son's voice, and the color drained from his flushed cheeks. "Atomu? What are you doing here?! I told Sakura to grab you and run!"

"No! I'm not leaving you! I'll kill that backstabber Hirito and anyone else who tries to hurt you! I won't let you fall!"

Lord Daichi smiled sadly at his son. "Atomu, even mountains do not last forever. They give way to the elements or to man and are no more. Immortality doesn't guarantee eternal life, my son; it merely allows you to live until an outside force interferes-"

"No! Stop it! I won't listen to you! Hirito is the one who will die today, not you! I...I..."

Lord Daichi gently pulled his son into a warm, comforting embrace, and Atomu buried his face into his father's shoulder.

"Why Dad? Why is Hirito-"

"He has been a familiar for many years, Atomu; he is tired of it."

"Well, couldn't you just release him?"

"Yes, but that does nothing to prevent him from being made into a familiar again by another god or goddess. It is not enough for him. For him to be satisfied, he must be sure that he will never again be forced to serve another being. He must rise to a position where he faces no superior threat, and what is superior to a god?"

"But why you? Why not kill a smaller minor god or goddess and take his or her place? Why does it have to be you?" Atomu sobbed, not caring how heartless he sounded.

"You've already answered your own question, my son. He will not go after a minor god because he is small and weak in comparison to the rest of his kin. In order for Hirito to obtain the reassurance he craves, he must obtain the position of a god no one would oppose, and what dares to oppose a mountain? Even the war god Ikusagami and the great Ookuninushi in all their strength and brilliance would not dare raise their hands against me. It is no surprise that Hirito targeted me."

"I won't let him kill you! I swear I won't!"

"Hirito far exceeds your skills, my son. I'm afraid there is nothing you can do."

"I'll stop him, Father. If I die, I'll drag him down with me. I don't want to lose you."

Daichi chuckled softly as he gazed into his son's light, twinkling eyes. "You will not lose me, Atomu. Death may strip me of my physical form, but it cannot take away the memories we made or the time we spent together."

"That isn't enough. I need you by me, Dad."

"Then I shall give you part of me to take with you. Close your eyes, my son, and do not move."

Atomu dutifully shut his eyes, and he did not flinch away when he felt something warm and soft press against his left eyelid. A feeling of immense power gushed throughout his body, causing him to gasp, and when his father released him, he stared up at the deity with wide eyes. "Did you just-"

"The role as the God of Mountains has been passed on to you, Atomu. Take it and make sure Hirito never gets it. Sakura will act as your familiar until you choose your own. Now go."

"But-"

"ATOMU!!!" Sakura shrieked as she plunged through the flames and grabbed his arm. "We must go! Hirito's reinforcements have arrived!"

Atomu casted one last, tearful glance at his father. "Dad...."

"Go. I will be with you."

Sniffling, Atomu spun around and followed Sakura away from the shrine. The last image he saw of his father was the mighty deity turning to face an ominous shadow behind him just as the yokai plunged his sword into his former master's side.

---------------------------
Present...

No one dared to speak. Kurama stared blankly at the wall in front of him, struggling to comprehend that the mighty mountain god Daichi, one of his father's best friends, was dead. Sakura numbly stirred her tea with her long, slim pointer finger while Atomu sat perfectly still, his eyes fixed on the floor. Nanami bit back choked sob after choked sob to the point where she was practically shaking.

"We're currently looking for any of my father's allies, assuming Hirito hasn't already murdered them all." Atomu continued hollowly. "We were hoping you could send a message to your father for us, Kurama, since our parents were on good terms."

"Yes, yes, of course. I'll send word to him right away." the pop star replied quickly, his eyes still gazing into nothingness. "Is there anything else I can do?"

"Neither myself nor Sakura has slept much the past few days and nights, and the food we ate provided little to no sustenance. We stopped at a tourist spot to clean up a little, but it didn't help. We were hoping we could stay here at your place, Kurama, until we have successfully located some of my father's allies. A hot shower and good food also sounds nice."

Kurama paled. "I would love to, but I don't know if my apartment is big enough. Plus, the large amounts of miasma might take a toll on your health, with you being from the country and not being used to it. Perhaps-"

"They can stay with me." Nanami blurted out.

All eyes turned to her. "What?"

"I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Nanami Momozono, and I am the current goddess of the Mikage shrine. My home is quite large and free of miasma, and my familiars, shrine spirits, and I can protect you and care for your needs." the brunette explained. "Please, allow me to help you in any way I can. I don't want you suffering any more than you already have."

"Nanami, are you sure?" Kurama asked.

"I'm sure."

"Thank you, Lady Nanami. We gratefully accept your offer." Sakura said, bowing her face to the ground. She glared at Atomu, who quickly got down and did the same.

"J-Just calm me Nanami. There's no need for all the formalities." Nanami stuttered, somewhat embarrassed.

Atomu smiled and stood up. Taking Nanami's hand, he gently kissed it before murmuring, "Thank you, Nanami."

Bright shades of pink and red adorned Nanami's face as her heart fluttered wildly inside her chest. It sped up even faster when she noticed Atomu leaning close to her face, staring at her intently.

"Your eyes are red; you were crying?"

"Y-Yes. I just-I'm sorry about your father."

"Thank you, but I haven't lost him completely." Atomu smiled, winking so Nanami could see the god mark on his left eyelid. "So please stop crying." Taking his sleeve, the young god wiped Nanami's eyes, not realized that she was turning redder by the second.

"Master, we must not linger here much longer. I am also concerned about the miasma affecting your health." Sakura said.

"Alright, follow me." Nanami stated , eager to put a distance between herself and Atomu before he could hear her racing heart. Unfortunately for the goddess, someone else did hear it, and Sakura couldn't help but smile to herself.