"I can't thank you enough for doing this, Nanami-chan. Perhaps there is some way I can repay you?" Atomu babbled as he, Nanami, and Sakura strode calmly through the cool night air.

"D-Don't worry about it; it's nothing. Mikage would have done the same." Nanami stuttered sheepishly in reply, blushing bright red.

Atomu flashed her a dazzling smile. "So, how did you, a mortal, meet old Mikage and become the goddess of his shrine?"

"Atomu, don't be rude!" Sakura snapped at her brother, flicking him on the side of the head.

"No, it's fine. I guess I'm pretty unique, aren't I?" Nanami giggled. "Well, it was actually quite a while ago that I inherited the Mikage shrine. That day, my father had skipped town and I was evicted from our home because of his debts-"

"Your father left you?!" Atomu's eyes widened, a mixture of shock and horror swimming inside his steely irises. "I'm sorry! I didn't know! Here I am lamenting about my dad when yours left you. How inconsiderate of me. Please forgive me, fair Lady Nanami!"

"There's no need to apologize. I'm not mad at you for having a good relationship with your father; I'm glad you did." Nanami smiled.

"What about your mother? What happened to her?"

Nanami's eyes sparkled sadly. "She died when I was young."

"Oh." Atomu grew quiet. "My mom died when I was little too. She was a mortal."

"A mortal?" Nanami tilted her head in confusion and glanced at Sakura. "If she was a mortal, then how are you-"

"I'm adopted."

"Oh."

"According to dad, my mom used to spoil her rotten and that's why she hasn't surpassed Hiroto yet." Atomu winked cheekily at Nanami.

Sakura's cheeks flushed hotly. "Hiroto has walked this earth for far longer than I. My inability to surpass him has nothing to do with my treatment by your mother." she snapped.

Nanami chuckled at the siblings, but deep down, she knew how grave this fact truly was. If Hiroto himself came for Atomu, Sakura would be unable to protect him, and both of them would probably die.

"Then I'll have Tomoe protect them." she thought to herself. "While Sakura may be unable to hold off Hiroto on her own, I'm sure she'll be able to defend herself and her brother with help from Tomoe and Mizuki. Speaking of those two, the shrine is close enough that I should be able to hear them bickering, but it's completely silent. Where are they?"

As the group headed up the stairs to the shrine, a great eeriness gripped the air around them, and they felt as if they were being watched.

"Nanami! Look out!" Mizuki's voice suddenly cried out.

Before she could react, Nanami heard a grunt escape Sakura's throat and watched her go tumbling down the stairs. Suddenly, the goddess felt herself being scooped up by a pair of strong arms and run to the top of the steps, where Mizuki stood waiting, eyes narrowed at the strangers.

"Tomoe, Mizuki, what are you doing?!"

"We're protecting you. That girl is a yokai in disguise. Stay here and let me handle this." Tomoe barked before setting her down and charging down the steps.

"Let us handle this! I'm protecting Nanami too!" Mizuki corrected him, chasing after the fox familiar.

"I won't let you hurt Sakura!" Atomu exclaimed, stepping in front of his sister.

"Atomu, no!" Sakura shrieked.

Holding out his hands, Atomu summoned forth a barricade of several large stalagmites from the ground, pointing them at Tomoe. However, the fox yokai easily leaped over the wall and sailed straight towards Atomu, claws extended. Moving swiftly, Sakura shoved her brother out of the way, and Tomoe tore the leaf clip from her hair. Immediately, a large, fluffy, red tail curled out of Sakura's backside, and two lumps appeared atop her head underneath her hoodie. Mizuki raced up behind her, grabbing her hood and tearing it clean off, and stopped, eyes widening. Then he began laughing so hard that tears leaked down his face.

"Look at her ears!"

From bottom to tip, Sakura's fox ears were over a foot tall and much larger than a normal kitsune's. Blushing bright red, the girl placed her hands over her ears and tried to flatten them against her head.

By now, Mizuki had fallen to the ground from laughing so hard. "Are you a bat or a fox? Make up your mind!" he jeered as he continued to wipe the tears from his eyes. Tomoe, however, said nothing and instead stared at the girl curiously.

Sakura's lip quivered as she struggled not to cry, her tail tucked between her legs. Meanwhile, hot anger coursed through Atomu's body as he glared daggers at Mizuki.

"She's a Fennec fox! Her ears are supposed to look like that!" he roared.

Mizuki just kept laughing.

"TOMOE, MIZUKI, THAT'S ENOUGH!!!!!!"

All eyes turned to Nanami, who stood fuming at the top of the stairs.

"How dare you attack and mock my guests!" she bellowed, storming down the steps. "You both should be ashamed of yourselves!"

"G-Guests?!" Tomoe and Mizuki chorused, surprised.

"Yes, and you owe both of them a great apology for your behavior. Tomoe, give Sakura back her hairclip and go start on dinner-"

"I already made dinner-"

"Then throw that food out and make it again! This is supposed to be punishment! As for you, Mizuki, you will serve as Atomu and Sakura's personal attendant while they are staying with us, so go prepare rooms for both of them. I want those rooms scrubbed so clean from top to bottom than I can see my reflection wherever I look, and if I can't, you will redo them again. Understood?"

Given Nanami's Sacred Word Binding, neither of the familiars could say no. After placing the clip in Sakura's hand, Tomoe trudged slowly up the shrine's steps with his shoulders hunched and head hung low. Mizuki followed close behind him, looking equally as depressed.

"I am so sorry about this." Nanami apologized as she hurried over to Sakura. Taking the clip, she said, "Please let me help you."

Brushing Sakura's bangs off to the side, the human goddess inserted the clip and fastened the hair in place, and Sakura's ears and tail disappeared.

"Thank you." the redhead mumbled hoarsely, staring at the ground at her feet.

Nanami sighed sadly. The damage had been done, and the wounds were too deep to be mended by such a simple act.

"You know, I thought your ears were kinda cute." the goddess whispered, hoping to cheer up the depressed fox.

Sakura snorted but said nothing.

"Thank you, Nanami. I happen to think they are beautiful also." Atomu said sweetly as he wrapped an arm around his sister's shoulders. However, Sakura immediately brushed him off and stalked up the stairs. After sharing a worried glance, the two gods hurried after her.

"Welcome home, Lady Nanami! As these the guests we heard about from Master Tomoe and Master Mizuki?" Onikiri cooed, glancing up at Sakura and Atomu.

Nanami nodded. "Onikiri, Kotetsu, this is Atomu and Sakura, the children of Lord Daichi. They will be staying with us for awhile."

"Lord Daichi?!" the duo cried. They immediately flopped down into a humble bow, their foreheads touching the ground.

"We are honored to have you stay with us." Kotetsu exclaimed.

"If you need anything at all, please let us know." Onikiri added humbly.

Glancing back at Sakura, Nanami asked, "Actually, could you two draw a hot bubble bath for Sakura? Also, give her one of my nice kimonos to wear afterwards. However, you are not to remove her hair clip unless you are given permission, understand?"

"Of course, Lady Nanami! We'll get started on that right away! Come with us please, Lady Sakura!" the two spirits replied in unison, grabbing Sakura's hands and dragging her down the hall. Nanami smiled as she watched them go.

"Her ears really were cute."

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

After Tomoe finished remaking dinner and Sakura got out of her bath, everyone except Mizuki sat down to eat.

"I've prepared some fresh caught wild salmon for dinner today. Since its late, I kept the toppings simple as not to upset anyone's stomach. Each fish is coated in a glaze of butter and lemon juice with a pinch of salt. I picked out all the bones as well."

"Thanks Tomoe! It looks delicious." Nanami smiled as she eyed the food.

As the everyone else ate, Tomoe glanced up to see that Sakura's plate remained untouched. She only poked the fish, stared at it for a moment, and then poked it again.

"Sakura, is something wrong with your meal? You're not eating." the fox asked the vixen.

The room immediately went silent, and everyone glanced at Sakura.

The redheaded fox fidgeted uncomfortably. "I'm not very hungry. You can give my piece to the snake."

As if on cue, Mizuki appeared in the dining room doorway, sweat dripping down his face as he panted tiredly.

"Nanami, I finished cleaning and preparing both rooms. Can I please eat now?" he whimpered.

"I think I'll just go to bed. Goodnight everyone." Standing to her feet, Sakura quickly made her way to the door.

"Alright, Sakura. Mizuki, please show our guest to her room-" Nanami began but was quickly cut off.

"I'll find it myself. Please just leave me be." Sakura huffed and left the room without another word.

No one said anything, and Nanami slowly set down her chopsticks. She wasn't very hungry anymore.

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

As he laid in bed that night, Tomoe tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. As he stared up at the ceiling above his head, images of Sakura flashed through his mind. He ground his teeth angrily as he thought of how Mizuki had laughed at her. For some reason, his urge to strangle the snake was stronger than usual. However, as he thought once more of Sakura's hurt expression, the anger in him vanished, replaced by sympathy.

"There was nothing wrong with her ears, and I..I actually thought they were quite pretty."

Tomoe's eyes widened when he realized what had just crossed his mind, but as much as he wanted to disregard his words, he couldn't.

"She is quite beautiful." he thought to himself as he finally drifted off to sleep. "She actually looks a lot like Nanami....."