Chapter Text
For the record, Izumo knew the weekend training was going to be hell when fucking Okumura Yukio had announced in front of their whole class that he would be holding a boot camp for everybody. He'd stood at the board, back straight—though she could just barely see how his thumb kept darting over his knuckles behind him—and kept sneaking glances over to Moriyama. And the girl kept blushing.
"Ah, Izumo...is that your teeth grinding?" Paku whispered at her side.
Izumo forced her jaw to unclench. "If I have to watch those two idiots moon over each other for 48 hours straight I'm going to punch somebody."
Okumura kept on talking. "Once class is out for the day, please gather your things from your homes and meet me and my father at the Old Boys dorm on campus. In the meantime, I'll leave you in the hands of Neuhaus-sensei for your lesson." With a final wave to Moriyama (oh, look, Izumo's teeth were grinding again) their young teacher stepped out of the room and Neuhaus shuffled in.
Their taming teacher always looked rough, but he looked especially grouchy that evening. Still, he was one of the finest tamers of Japan, and Izumo knew he was the one to have the knowledge she sought. If anyone would know how to foster a connection to powerful demons, it would be him. She just had to impress him enough to gain his interest.
Neuhaus had them shove all the desks out of the way before he passed out pre-drawn summoning circles. "What matters above all else in taming," he said, sketching out a quick chalk circle on the floor, "is will power and intent. You have to know what you want, and you better want it like your life depends on it. Because it does." When he let his blood drip onto the circle, the stench of rot wafted throughout the classroom even before he finished his prayer.
The canine naberius he summoned was a wretched thing. It rankled on her like all rot-aligned demons tended to. Even as the bloodline of Inari had been watered down by generations of humans, they were still, at their cores, denizens of the harvest. Aligned with wind and light, the opposite to rot and earth. She was very thankful when Neuhaus dismissed his summon with a quick scuff of his shoe.
"Now, let's see what you lot can do."
Izumo watched as the rest of her classmates pricked their fingers and half-heartedly attempted to summon anything. Suguro's forehead was pinched and despite his sole efforts, nothing happened with his paper. She spared an ear to Rin's mumblings and she was pretty sure he was just making up fake words. Geez, he was a terrible actor, not even looking disappointed when no demon appeared. He could at least try to look like he was trying.
She cleared her throat. "Maybe a second demonstration will help." Once she was sure she had every eye in the room, she pulled her own pre-drawn paper and called forth her brothers Uke and Mike. The second they materialized she felt herself loose a tension in her shoulders she hadn't even noticed.
Neuhaus nodded, his mouth a fine line. "Two byakko at once, not bad miss Kamiki."
Perfect! Just what she needed. Now he was sure to answer her questions on summoning. She puffed out her chest with pride. "Well, I am the daughter of a shrine maiden after all. If I couldn't at least do this, that'd be pathetic."
"Way to go Izumo!" Paku cheered quietly. The praise only making Izumo's heart shine brighter.
Before anyone else could comment, Moriyama gripped her paper with both hands. "Intent and will...um...come out, come out wherever you are...just kidding."
With a pop of smoke Izumo registered the scent of sun-warmed earth before her eyes caught up with the reality in front of her.
"A baby greenman, incredibly impressive, miss Moriyama!" Neuhaus said, his one visible eye brightening with interest.
Moriyama was practically glowing. Her blonde hair matching just how wide her smile stretched. It was as if someone had bottled up a bit of sunlight from mid-summer, just to set it free. The worst part—worse than being upstaged, of having her one measly talent blown out of the water by a newbie who tried to run in a kimono, of losing her perfect shot for the next step in her mission—was that Moriyama immediately turned to Izumo with that smile.
"Kamiki-san!" The other girl squeaked, "it looks like we're both tamers, then!"
"Your familiar really suits you." Izumo said back. She meant it to be a biting remark, yet another snub to get that smile to turn to someone worth its light. But her words fell flat and genuine.
Moriyama ducked her head, cheeks pinking. "You really think so? That's very kind of you to say."
Save your shyness for your boyfriend, she wanted to spit. She didn't get the chance to respond before Neuhaus clapped his hands.
"Now that most of you have failed the practical part of class, we can move on to theory. Everyone, get out your notebooks."
After class, Izumo and Noriko were discussing their plans for what to bring to the weekend boot camp. It was easy conversation and they liked to walk the halls a little bit for some private time while everyone else in their class bolted for the exit. The halls were blessedly empty until a high pitched voice called out to them.
"A-ah, Kamiki-san! Paku-san! Wait for me, please!" And of course it was Moriyama looking red in the face—was she ever not?—hurrying up behind them. "I- I just- I wanted to-"
“Noriko,” Izumi interrupted, “can this be a private conversation? Please?”
Her long time friend blinked, looking more confused than hurt. She was a good friend like that. Still, she smiled and said, “of course Izumo, I need to get a start on packing. See you later?”
Izumo nodded. “Yeah, see you.” And with a final little wave goodbye, it was just Izumo and Moriyama alone in the red and green halls of True Cross. The blonde opened her mouth but Izumo beat her to the punch. “Before you say anything, listen to me first, alright?”
Moriyama swallowed, her hands clasped tight in front of her. She nodded, sharply, looking weirdly intense.
"If this is about that apology you're not getting it right now. I'll do it in front of your mom so she doesn't pester either of us about it." She said, pretending to inspect the ends of one of her ponytails. She figured that's the type of thing a confident, spoiled exorcist from a long line of tamers would say.
The other girl looked confused, her brows still pulled in low over her eyes. She caught her lip between her teeth. "No- I, actually...I was wondering if you and me could be...friends?"
Izumo was pretty sure she'd missed something. Maybe the echo in these stupid hallways threw the sound way off. "...Excuse me?"
"Well- well I mean since we're both tamers and everything and...girls should stick together, right? Would it be- I mean, can we be friends?" Moriyama looked up through golden lashes. Her body tense and waiting for...something. Izumo couldn't say what.
"Why would we be friends?" Izumo said, her own confusion twisting her face into a grimace. Those bright green eyes jolted up around a crumbling expression. Izumo turned back to stare at her hair to save herself the heartache. "I haven't exactly been kind to you, you know. Take a hint."
Now it was her turn to wait. Her fingers fiddling with her dark hair, only growing more agitated as the silence stretched. Where was the crying? The cursing? When would Moriyama give up?
"But...Kamiki-san...you've already shown me a great kindness." The girl in question whispered. "My whole life, my mother, even my grandmother, they think I'm delicate. That if I see too much of something I'll just break so they keep pushing more cushions and padding around me. When people look at me, they see a frail girl. But you- you saw someone strong enough for the truth. You tore away those cushions and trusted that if I fell I could land on my own two feet, right?"
Izumo couldn't speak. She was rendered silent by those green eyes, beautiful and solid like the roots of a grand tree. The way Moriyama talked...like Izumo could actually be someone capable of saving someone. Yeah, right. She scoffed, mask back in place, though her voice was strained when she used it. "Idiot, I said all that because if you fell and shattered all over the floor it wouldn't be my problem. I just can't stand people that force everyone into their fantasies and lies." How often had her mother kept up the lies that doomed her? It was better for everyone to live in a true world, even if it's cruel.
Moriyama smiled then, though her eyes still looked misty. "You're right, it would've been my problem. That's why I want to be friends with you Kamiki-san, you let me have my own problems. Not everyone can be that kind."
"Fine," Izumo turned on her heel to run away from those damned eyes and to shield her own darkening cheeks. "We can be friends. But for the record, I'm not kind, and I'm not going to magically start being nice to you, either."
She couldn't see the face Moriyama was making, but when the other girl spoke it sounded like she was beaming. "I'm so glad! I'll- I'll see you at camp, Kamiki-san!"
Izumo clicked her teeth, keeping her gaze ahead. One moment of weakness and now she had a new "friend". She didn't know how, and she didn't know why, but she knew that this decision was going to seriously bite her in the ass later.
///\\\///\\\
"People didn't like me." Izumo whispered, freshly 13 and given an extra thirty minutes for a lunch with the only other hellspawn in the facility for her present. "Outside, I mean. Not that much has changed since I came here."
"Why?" Rin asked, head tilted just a little bit. He was always so genuine with his curiosity.
Izumo shrugged with one shoulder. Rolling one grain of rice from one end of her plate to the other. "I'm difficult, hard to get along with. Too proud."
Her friend hummed but nodded to himself a second later, decisive. "Well then those other people probably weren't trying hard enough. 'Cause you're really easy to like, Izumo."
All of the strength she had gathered fell to pieces in her chest. Fat tears gathered in her eyes and refused to leave no matter how many times she blinked. "Stupid...don't say things like that." Don't give me hope.
///\\\///\\\
Her fears materialized that very night. Fujimoto-sensei had dismissed them to clean up while he, Okumura, and Rin worked on getting dinner ready. Why Rin agreed to do more work instead of lounge around with everyone else, Izumo couldn't say. He always liked feeling useful. But still, to hang out with their teachers? Was he gathering intel?
But anyway, Noriko had said she wanted to enjoy the bath while they could and of course Moriyama was invited as the only other girl in their class.
She tried not to feel weird about sharing a bath so soon, but she caught the edge of Moriyama's shirt fluttering to the ground behind her and a lot of her nerves were swiftly replaced with interest.
Izumo bit down sharply on her own tongue, tasting iron. Idiot! Moriyama had a boyfriend! This is just a normal hang out between girls! Stop getting ideas!
"Oh, wow, this water's so nice!" Noriko sighed, thankfully drawing the attention back to the bath rather than...other things.
The sound of water gently lapping away at the tile grew a little louder, Moriyama joining Noriko. "You're right! This is heavenly...I wish Nee-chan could enjoy this."
"His roots would grow mold if left to soak in hot water for too long." Izumo said, taking her hair down and grabbing a towel from one of the shelves before joining them. "It's bad for their health."
Moriyama blinked up at her, her mouth open in a cute little 'oh'. "You're so knowledgable Kamiki-san...! I didn't know that Nee-chan had any kind of temperature sensitivity."
Izumo sank into the water and felt the warmth pour into her skin. This really was nice. "He's part of the earth domain so fire and water are going to be particularly effective against him. Though, he is a Greenman, so a little soaking could be nice. Just don't overdo it." She tossed her dampened hair over her shoulder to get it off of her neck.
"That's our Izumo," Noriko chuckled, "always three steps ahead and acting like all that effort is no big deal."
"Wh- it isn't!" Izumo insisted, her cheeks flushing as Moriyama started to giggle. "It's- you'll get it soon, Noriko don't worry. I'm sure the domains are part of the next demonology class."
Her friend snorted some more laughter and playfully sent a little splash her way. "I'm not worried, because you're going to help me with my notes anyway, right?" Noriko grinned. "Moriyama-chan, don't let her fool you, she's a really great tutor."
"I'm just helping you catch up! You could do it on your own, it's not a big deal." Izumo sniffed, ignoring how warm her face still felt. It was just the water, alright!
"Maybe the three of us could study together?" Moriyama said.
Noriko gasped and clapped her hands together. "That's a great idea! Here, help me convince Izumo. Hold your hands just like this...and..."
Izumo peeked an eye open and caught two of the most pitiful puppy-dog stares she'd ever seen in her life. Warm, homey brown and brilliant, steady green. Her friends leaning so far over towards her she was half convinced they were about to topple over.
In unison they said, "please?"
"Fine!" Her face was so scarlet she could give Tsukomo in the middle of a tantrum a run for her money. "Just-! Knock it off!" They were too good at getting to her! She couldn't handle their pleading faces for even one second longer!
Noriko leaned back with a bright smile. "Thank you Izumo-chan!"
"Th-thank you Kamiki-san!"
"Moriyama-chan, you should've seen Izumo back in elementary school. There was this one time-"
No...Noriko wouldn't-!
"-in culinary arts club the cookbooks along the back wall were getting unorganized so-"
AUGH! SHE WOULD!
With a screech of embarrassment Izumo launched a wave of water at her friend. "Don't go telling that story to Moriyama!"
The blonde in question spluttered from the crossfire, still somehow smiling. "No, wait, now I really want to hear it!"
"Don't you dare," Izumo pointed as stern a finger as she could at the brunette.
Noriko tapped at her chin, humming lightly to herself as if seriously mulling the decision over. "I don't know..."
"Please Paku-san!" Moriyama said.
Somewhere in between one waft of steam from the bath and the next the stench of slick rot engulfed the space. Izumo went rigid, her ears pricking to try and catch- there!
"Get down!" She yelled, shoving forward to push her friends—her friends—out of the way before-
There was barely a growl of warning before a blur of dark green-grey fell into the bath. Pain slicing a path up her back. Fresh, peppery blood caught the air, piercing through the heavy blanket of rot. Izumo felt the slip of warm skin under her hands, the waves still rocking her body. Noriko was under her, face just barely staying above water, eyebrows pinched in agony.
Izumo could almost trace the line from her own back, raking over her hip, before jumping down to complete its path buried in Noriko's side. The edges of the wound that she could see already flaking into nearly-black specks as necrosis set in. A canine naberius snarl came from behind her. Yet she couldn't take her eyes away from Noriko. Noriko bleeding. Noriko hurt.
A warm hand shoved hard at her shoulder and it was only then Izumo recognized she was screaming.