Kaminari Hotaru
The Firefly Maiden
The shrine maiden blinked at him in mild surprise. His excitement seemed over the top, but maybe it was just Hotaru being very apathetic about everything. "It's really not much of a problem. I'm not really doing anything special... And please, call me Hotaru. 'Miss' is too formal..." Hotaru gave another weak little grin. "If you really feel like you need to do something, I'm sure Inugami will appreciate the help with the housework... Once he gets used to you." The brunette muttered the last part with an uncertain mumble, lifting up Juju into a proper setting in her arms as if he were a little teddy bear, he in turn taking the shopping bags from her hand so she wouldn't have to carry them any longer.
"The shrine is just a little ways from here. Juju's leaves can't carry two people." The girl explained, as if it were common knowledge about shape shifting leaves and tanuki's powers, which in this world it really was, before starting off towards the shrine.
The shrine stood atop a small grassy hill, the blades well trimmed and unbelievably green. It was surrounded by equally fantastic oak trees that led all the way down the grey stone stairs which made the path to the entrance. The shrine itself seemed well kept, everything freshly painted and cleaned in that warm inviting way of a home. Outside, pink daisies swayed gently in the spring breeze on their bushes, adding more color to the already bright place. A red torii gate stood firmly in its earth, the friendly blades of grass coinciding with the beams, as white paper talismans of peace, luck, and purity hung from the top banister and fluttered along silently in the wind with the daisies in synchronized harmony. It seemed everything was at peace.
Juju hopped from Hotaru's arms and onto the smooth cool grey stone of the entrance pathway once they were up the stairs, looking about with complete confusion. "What? Why is it so quiet? I swear, Master Inugami and Master Nure were fighting just a few minutes ago before I left!"
Hotaru pursed her lips. "Hm... Maybe they made up?"
Just as the hopeful syllables left her mouth, a deep voice erupted from within the household.
"YOU STUPID SNAKE!"
With a blur, a figure with long blonde hair flew through the wooden wall of the shrine with such ease it would be mistaken as nothing but a paper screen. The tanuki and the maiden sighed with empathy to each other's disappointment.
Out came a man, or rather a wolf spirit in the shape of a man with ears and tail, clad in an old fashioned light gray hakama with a matching darker colored haori over his upper half. Over this, a white apron and a white maid's bandana on his head, a wooden spoon gripped so tightly in his left hand it was a surprise it wasn't already in splinters. The fuzzy black ears were pinned back in aggression, his tail following suit as a bare clawed foot slammed down into the side of the fallen figure's face.
"OF EVERYTHING YOU COULD HAVE EATEN, WHY THE ONIGIRI?! I TOLD YOU I MADE THOSE SPECIFICALLY FOR THE LADY FOR WHEN SHE RETURNED, AND AS I COME BACK TO SEE IF THEY ARE READY, ALL I FIND IS A FEW GRAINS OF RICE?! I SHOULD STEW YOU INSTEAD, YOU MINDLESS SERPENT!"
The blonde figure, not even attempting to fight back, groaned under the weight of the wolf's foot. "Well you never make me any food! What else was I supposed to eat?! I'm starving!" The whiny male voice cried, muffled under the dark haired man's brutal attack.
"I DONT HAVE TO COOK FOR A STUPID NEET!"
Hotaru, seeming to have enough of this, held out her hand as a golden flame appeared, beautiful as it shone in her palm. "Would you two quit it?!" She threw the ball of fire at the two, the wolf being apt enough to make a hasty side step to avoid the scorching attack, while the other man had just stood and was now hit full force by the flame. The fire slowly caught his shirt, creeping up slowly from his side towards his shoulders and neck.
"Huh...? Ow... OWOWOW! HOT! VERY HOT! OW!" The male ran into the house, most likely to find something to put out the fire.
The wolf spirit tucked his hands peacefully into the long sleeves of his coat, approaching Hotaru and bowing slightly. "My lady, welcome home." The dark haired male straightened, crystal blue eyes softened and calm. "I apologize for the wall. I will have it fixed after I prepare a new lunch for you. The previous one had been eaten by a certain
pest so I will make you whatever you like." The icy eyes turned to Wolfram, lips thinning in a mix of interest and wariness.
The shrine maiden let out another sigh. "It's fine, Inugami, I'm not really hungry anyway." Hotaru followed his eyes to the priest. "Inugami, this is a visiting priest from another district, Wolfram. Wolfram, this is my shrine spirit, Inugami. Wolfram will be staying here for a while until his visit is over."
The wolf ears flicked in distrust immediately, eyes narrowing. "...nice to meet you."
Seemingly out of nowhere, a familiar blur of shiny blonde hair slammed into Hotaru, two arms reaching out to squeeze her in a tight hug. "Oh, Hotaru, my darling! Welcome home, I missed you so-AGH!" A foot slammed into the blonde's face, shooting him a few feet away and forcing him to face plant into the earth, leaving a rut to follow the entire distance.
Juju held up three claws in the air, similar to a referee. "Three points, KO!"
The blonde who had been kicked sat up and brushed off his face with disgust, Inugami eloquently returning his foot to the ground. The male shot up, pointing an aggravated finger at the wolf. "What the hell, you passive-aggressive mutt?! I didn't do anything wrong!!" The man was quite beautiful, almost to the point of a woman, his hair and skin seeming to be soaked in water. This could be chalked up to him rinsing himself down from the burn, probably...
Inugami cast him a threatening look. "How many times do I have to tell you? You are Lady Hotaru's shikigami. You treat her with respect, and that included calling her by the proper name and not tackling her every time she returns home."
"Oh yeah? Maybe you're just jealous, huh, muttly? Why don't you sit like a good boy?"
"Why don't you return to the filthy lake you came from and stop plaguing this shrine with your uselessness?"
Electricity seemed to crackle between the two.
Hotaru held out a hand to the blonde, seeming indifferent of their squabble, as if it were a regular occurrence. "Wolfram, this is Nure, my second shikigami besides Juju."
At the sound of his name, Nure perked up, grinning broadly in an almost goofy manner as he held out his hand to the priest in a much warmer way of greeting. "Hiya! Wolfram was it? Nice to meet'cha!"
@Dblade26
