A low growl rose from Tomoe's throat.

"You dare threaten my master to my face? he hissed, his pupils narrowing into thin slits. "Do you have a death wish?"

"Oh, goodness no. I would very much prefer to walk out of here alive. However, peaceful negotiations rarely get anywhere and they take way too long, so I decided a little bargaining would be necessary." the blue-haired female cooed sinisterly.

"That's funny, your bargains sound an awful lot like threats to me."

"T-Tomoe, could you get off of me please?" Sakura interrupted, her face bright red.

"Huh?" Glancing down, Tomoe realized that in his haste to save Sakura, he had fallen on top of her and was currently straddling her waist. A rosy blush immediately flooded onto his face and he hastily scrambled off of her.

"M-My apologies. I did not mean to do that."

"Why am I stuttering? Gah, Nanami has made me soft!" he thought to himself.

Sakura said nothing as she quickly rose to her feet and spun around to face the newcomer. "I'm surprised to see you here, Hiromi. I figured you would already be at your brother's feet, begging like the dog you are for him to let you live with him and leech off of his successes again."

"How dare you accuse me of such things! Unlike you, I can care for myself and don't need to rely on others!" Hiromi roared. "Besides, I figured bringing my brother a gift would get me back into his good graces."

"And the truth comes out."

"Shut up! You can't even fight, you pathetic house pet! You should have just stayed behind on the the night my brother attacked Daichi's shrine and died in the god's place. Then your worthless existence might have actually meant something. However, instead you ran like a frightened kit with your tail between your legs and followed your father's heir with hopes of hiding in his shadow just like you hid in his father's. Familiar, ha! You're nothing but a lap dog! All bark and no bite! As soon as you're in danger, you flee, leaving your caretaker to perish, and find someone else to spoil you. I may be a leech, but you are even lower than I am."

Sakura took a step back as the woman's words pierced her heart. "T-That's not true."

"What's the matter, little kit? Did I hurt your feelings? Are going to run back to your master and hide between his legs again?" Hiromi cooed cruelly.

The redheaded yokai clenched her fists as she trembled with rage. "I-I AM NOT WORTHLESS!!! I AM NOT A LEECH OR A LAP DOG!!! I DID AS I WAS TOLD AND GOT MY BROTHER TO SAFETY!!! I-I AM NOTHING LIKE YOU!!!"

Flames the color of cherry blossoms sprang forth from Sakura's palms as she charged the bluenette intruder. Hiromi looked a little startled but quickly dodged the attack, tripping the hotheaded fox along the way. As Sakura fell forward and hit the ground with a thud, her flames eagerly gobbled up the green grass, setting the lawn ablaze.

Tomoe's eyes widened in horror. "SAKURA, PUT IT OUT!!!"

"I-I CAN'T!!!" Sakura cried as she desperately tried to fan down the flames.

"NOT LIKE THAT, BAKA!!! DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO PUT OUT YOUR OWN KITSUBENI?!?!"

"NO!!! I CAN'T CONTROL IT!!!! TOMOE, HELP ME!!!" Sakura whimpered as the flames began to eat away at the bottom of her jeans. She frantically waved her still burning palms around in the air. "GO OUT!!! GO OUT!!!"

"FIRE!!! DON'T WORRY, NANAMI!!! I'VE GOT IT!!!"

"MIZUKI, NO!!!"

Sakura yelped in surprise as she and the yard were assaulted by a surprise downpour of water. Looking up, the redheaded fox saw Mizuki on his large white snake hovering just above her.

"Oh, Sakura, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there." he smirked.

Meanwhile, Hiromi was standing off to the side, laughing so hard tears spilled down her fair cheeks.

"Man, I didn't realize how entertaining you guys are! This job is so much more fun than I thought! Look at the little soaked rat! Am I playing too rough for you, little princess? Why not you go back inside at let the big yokai settle things?"

Sakura's bottom lip quivered as her large ears flattened against her head.

"Leave her alone, you...you bully!!!" Nanami exclaimed, but Hiromi ignored her.

"Aw, are you going to cry, little vixen? Has the big bad peacock hurt your feelings?" she sneered at Sakura.

It was too much. As tears streamed down her face, Sakura raced past Nanami and Atomu, who had come out onto the porch to see what was going on, and vanished into the shrine.

"Sakura, wait! Come back!" Nanami exclaimed but the redhead was long gone. Spinning on her heels, she glared daggers at Hiromi. "What the heck was that?!"

"Just thinning down the herd, sweetheart. I can't be wasting my energy on wimps like her when I have bigger threats to take care of." the peacock yokai cooed in reply.

Nanami clenched her jaw angrily. "Tomoe, Mizuki, I order you to-"

"Don't Nanami. This isn't your fight." Atomu cut her off.

"Huh?" Nanami turned and saw Atomu stepping off the porch. As his feet touched the cool earth, the ground began to shake. The land goddess immediately clung to one of the shrine's support beams so she wouldn't fall.

"W-What's going on?" she cried in surprise.

"It's Atomu, Nanami-chan. He's preparing a massive attack." Mizuki said from atop his snake.

"Tomoe, take Nanami and Mizuki and go back into the shrine. I'll join you once I have taught this wicked wretch a lesson." Atomu hissed as he passed the white fox.

Tomoe scowled at him. "Do not order me around. I am Nanami's familiar, not yours, and given that this woman has threatened my master, it is my duty to deal with her-"

"Your duty is to protect Nanami. In about five seconds, I'm going to explode, and she'll be in danger. If you really care about her, quit arguing with me and take her and the snake inside."

A low growl escaped Tomoe's throat. "You listen here, brat. You are staying in my master's house, which means you are under my protection. If you are honestly concerned about Nanami's health, you should take her inside yourself and let me do my job."

"Fox, this woman is an ally of the yokai who killed my father. Let me do this!"

"No!"

"Yes!!!"

"Am I interrupting something?"

Hiromi jumped at the new voice and looked up to see someone hovering over her. "There's another one?!"

Nanami sighed in relief. "Kurama, thank goodness. Could you please grab that woman for me so Tomoe and Atomu will stop arguing about who gets to fight her?"

"That's a bit of an odd request, but sure." In the blink of an eye, Kurama wrapped his arms around Hiromi's waist and lifted her into the air.

"H-Hey! Put me down!!!" the bluenette squealed as the tengu carried her higher and higher into the air.

"Hmm, not a fan of heights, are we? That'll make this easy." Kurama smirked, a devious glint in his eye. After reaching a certain altitude, he hovered in the air and held the woman out at arm's length.

"Alright, here's the deal. I'm going to give you till the count of five to surrender or I'll drop you. Got that, pretty bird?"

"You wouldn't dare! Why are you helping them? You're a tengu, aren't you? You're supposed to care only about yourself!"

"Why darling, I'm hurt by your accusation. Just because I'm a tengu doesn't automatically condemn me to the stereotypes of my people. Although it is a rare occurrence, I can be caring when I want to and to whom I want, and it just so happens you messed with one of the few people I care about. Killing my childhood best friend's father is a sin I cannot forgive, so you shall atone for your brother's treachery with your life. That being said, your time is up. Have a nice fall."

"Don't you dare!!!" Hiromi shrieked but Kurama had already let go of her. The peacock screamed as plummeted towards the ground.

"KURAMA, WHAT THE HECK?! TOMOE, MIZUKI, CATCH HER!!!"

"Relax, Nanami. I'll save her if she surrenders." Kurama sneered as he soared casually after the falling yokai. "Do you give up yet?"

"YES!!! PLEASE DON'T LET ME DIE!!!"

"Apologize for insulting me then."

"WHAT?!"

"The ground's getting closer."

"ALRIGHT, I'M SORRY!!!"

Kurama smiled before gently wrapped his arms around Hiromi's waist and slowed her fall. As his feet touched the ground, he hoisted the bluenette over his shoulder and flashed Tomoe and Atomu a smile.

"And that, boys, is how it's done. No need to thank me." he snickered.

Atomu glared at his friend darkly. "Kurama, that was MY fight! You shouldn't have gotten involved!"

"Trust me, I did you a favor. If I had let you take a swing at her while you were like that, things would have gotten messy. Now, where's Sakura? Isn't she supposed to be out here protecting you? Isn't that a familiar's job?"

The fight instantly drained from Atomu's body at the mention of his sister's name. "She's hiding inside the shrine."

Kurama frowned. "Is she okay?"

"Physically, she's fine. Emotionally and mentally? That's another story."

Kurama scowled down at Hiromi. "Oh, you brought up that subject, did you? I should've just let you go splat."

"Atomu, is Sakura going to be okay?" Nanami asked worriedly.

Atomu sighed, seeming to grow older in the blink of an eye. Heavy bags materialized beneath his eyes and his eyes became dull and tired-looking. "I don't know, honestly. My father kept strict orders around our home regarding the discussion of Sakura's....capabilities. I knew such teasing was inevitable, but I had hoped it wouldn't occur for some time so I could prepare her."

"Should we go check on her?" Mizuki asked.

"Depends. Do you want to be ripped to shreds?" Kurama replied.

The snake shuddered and hastily shook his head.

"I'll go in and talk to her. While I do that, why don't you guys find some place to put the peacock priss?"

"Hey!" Hiromi snapped.

"Sounds like plan. If she tries to kill you, just yell for help." Kurama joked.

Atomu glared daggers at the tengu.

"What, too soon?"

Tomoe rolled his eyes and smacked the popstar upside the head.

"Ouch! Hey!"

As the bird and the fox started to bicker, Atomu slipped quietly into the shrine and listened carefully. When is ears detected the sound of muffled sobbing, he followed the noise to the back of the shrine and found Sakura curled up in a ball on the floor in his room. Quietly shutting the door behind him, the demigod tiptoed to the fox's side before gently pulling her into a hug and rubbing her back. The vixen responded to her brother's touch by burying her face further into his chest and sobbing even harder.

"Shh, it's not your fault, Sakura. It's not your fault."