You Illuminate My Path

Chapter 12: Report

Nanami stares at me with wide, upset, and surprised eyes. I look straight into her brown orbs, seeing myself in them.
And what I see isn't me, but a girl with wild eyes and an untamed exterior.
Like an animal that is being prayed upon. Being hunted until the moment it bites back, and tries to get rid of you. A wolf indeed I am.

The next thing I know, is that Nanami is running away sobbing uncontrollably, holding her arms close to her stomach. I'm on all fours, until Tomoe reaches for my right arm from behind me, and pulls it towards himself, spinning me around in the process. Now I'm standing upright on my knees, while Tomoe inspects my hands. And as I feared, they're covered in blood. Nanami's blood. Not only that, they're equipped with razor sharp claws too.

What is happening to me? What was I thinking?....Did I even think at all?
Those questions don't stick with me for too long , for all of a sudden I can feel my breakfast make its way up my throat. Desperately, I try to keep it down by swallowing multiple times, but the smell of blood is so overwhelming that it doesn't help at all. Only makes the feeling of vomiting stronger.

I quickly pull my hands away from Tomoe, leap off the small platform, and smother my hands in dirt, hoping to cover up the smell of the metallic liquid.
My breathing becomes funny as I closely observe the blood disappear; absorbed by the earth that has not only covered my hands, but my arms, clothes, and face, too.

I can feel Tomoe staring at me with such horror, that I want to smack him to get that expression off his face.

"T-Tomoe...?" I whisper, sounding like a hurt animal. Tomoe is now on his feet, pondering over wether to approach me or not. "Yes.." he says dryly, tripping uncomfortably on his feet. "What is happening to me?"

I'm crying. Tears fall down my face in large drops, forming a tiny puddle before me. Tomoe's eyes fixate on my hands, and seems to calm down a little bit. The claws have reverted back into perfect oval shaped nails. Even though they're caked in dirt, they still look perfect to me.  

I'm confused. Should I be relieved, or scared? The sight of the claws were scary, yet something felt natural about them. Now, it feels kind of relieving, but uncomfortable.
While I'm on my train of thought, Tomoe approaches me gently. Wraps his arms around me lightly, clearly trying to avoid getting stained with his Mistresses blood.

"Are you alright?" he asks soothingly, trying not to get me hyped and thrash out in fear. I nod, not really taking any notice of him helping me stand.
"Let's get you cleaned up."

He puts my right arm behind his neck, and wraps his other arm around my waist for support. While he's basically dragging me into the shrine, I notice a little gold butterfly flutter past us. It lands on the tiny wooden platform and flaps its wings playfully. Hazel. A little smile creeps onto my face. She's probably saying: 'You two make such a cute couple!!'

After a little while of arguing and thrashing around, screaming, Tomoe finally washed most of the dirt and blood off me. He throws a change of clothes, seeming a little flustered, but I'm too tired to even mention it. I change into the evergreen dress, and drag myself out of the washroom and into my room. When I enter through the door, I trip over the pillow on my futon and face planted on the not-so-soft covers and padding.

"Shiii....!" I yell in a hushed tone.
Who the heck put my futon right in front of the door?!

I sit up, checking if my nose is broken.
I'm lucky this time.

"Not gonna say hello, are ya'?" a voice says.
Lifting my head, I come face to face with the one and only. Hazel.

"Hazel?" I blurt out, getting up so fast that I nearly fall forwards. Hazel snickers and waves. "How're you doin'?"