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chase-the-ladybug · 4 years ago

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For @fast-moon, happy holidays! It’s your one and only lovely secret santa here for the @noragamisecretsantas event! Here I am on Christmas day to proudly present: your 🕺🙌gift! The prompt I was given for your present was also wonderfully full of potential, perfect opportunities for some fluff AND angst aha… with that, I hope you enjoy reading this. At the very least, I certainly enjoyed writing it x

It only took once for him to want to use his ability again. Then again. Then again. He felt he had to test and see if it really was true, the power he’d discovered. Even still, he couldn’t quite believe what a difference it had made, what it can make right now, what it could make in the future. There was so much potential to what differences he could make.

He could do so much good.

Hagusa had never had much presence while he was alive. That tends to happen when you come from a poor, abusive, broken family; people tend to ignore realities they can’t handle. And yet, with his newfound ability as father’s shinki, he discovered an astounding ability: he could influence people’s actions.

That first encounter at that restaurant is almost like a dream. That poor little kid was getting so much verbal smack from his dad for some pathetic excuse. He was arguing with his son over the change he carried, and that it was not enough for him to drink himself into an even steeper drunken mess. He was already pissed as it was, and the surrounding servers and patrons could only judge and watch as they struggled to intervene.

God, it reminded him so much of his memories of when he was alive, he wanted to puke. But somehow, the room’s atmosphere suddenly changed, like a switch flicked on in the minds of all the bystanders. The waitresses snapped down on him, the customers all defended the poor boy; before he knew it, the drunkard was thoroughly sobered by the audience he’d acquired, with the kid looked after by the rest. They had wanted to do so from the beginning, really: they just didn’t have the courage.

Hagusa, he had discovered, could give the people courage to act. And he just did so for the sake of a poor bullied kid. If he had an ability like this, there was no way assholes like his dad could get away with the way they acted. He could oust every abuser out there, track down exactly where he’s hiding, and finally confront him for the wrongs he committed.

He had to keep going.

The next opportunity he found was outside a convenience store. There was a high school girl who was wearing the uniform belonging to the establishment, being harassed by an apparently frequent customer. He kept insisting on walking her home, much to her adamance that she was fine. Anyone could tell he was not a trusted acquaintance of hers in any sense. Hagusa could feel the unease of passer-bys, latched onto them, and cast them into play.

Next thing you know a co-worker took a moment to step outside of the shop and ward him off. Another bystander, a woman who was passing by, offered to share her cab so she’d get home safely without a chance of him catching up to her. There was a nearby group of other schoolgirls too; they suggested commuting together anyways, since they recognised her from the same bus stop and finish their club activities at a similar time to her work commute.

Another opportunity occurred in a similar time frame: a working-class man was being extorted by his landlord for money. You could tell it was a common occurrence by the way he struggled to turn her away. Even still, the landlord started making a racquet, as entitled as a baby, it seemed. All the neighbours were getting increasingly frustrated, but mostly, just feeling bad for the neighbour. He wasn’t exactly made of money, none of them were in that apartment block.

The empathy was distinct among the neighbours, so it was easy to get a hold of their feelings, and with those he spurred them to do something about it. The residents all headed to the door of the victim, where the landlord had been looming, and pushed him down the hall. One of the people next door threatened to call the police, another claiming to have recorded his previous excursions to extort money unjustly. He was gone in less 5 minutes. The residents all discussed investing in a recording camera to put around the complex, so they’d have a defence if he were to continue coming back.

It carried on throughout the night. For every misdemeanour that he could find, Hagusa could always find at least one other person who wanted to help, to act. And often even, it wasn’t just one person, but many nearby who had wanted to help. The volume of people with the desire to help was simply a marvel!

To be honest, he wishes he could share this discovery with Yato and Hiyori. Knowing them, they’d be so proud of his discovered power, born of the desire to help people. But he shut down the thought. Hiyori wouldn’t approve of it coming from the means of Father, someone who apparently is the enemy of all. It was something he had heeded, cautiously, but also doubted. Afterall, would someone so bad really allow him to inflict this much good? And Yato... He would only be a distraction along his path right now. In this situation, he just can’t see them at this point. Even if he does miss them a whole lot. Father is the only one he can rely on to realise his path now.

Upon seeing these abilities, Father had given him encouragement; he was somewhat expectant towards his newfound power. And still as supportive as ever towards helping him find his dad, it seems. But he doesn’t oversee the entire extent of it, either he’s too busy or it just seems to bore him so. Hagusa almost couldn’t understand why- these continuous acts of good was reaching a phenomenal scale, and yet they never ceased to amaze him every single time. There’s nothing, to him, that was unremarkable about saving people, even if it was occurring so often by his help.

I guess, from his standpoint, Hagusa could understand what it meant. To be helped. In a way, he has been helped by the people around him since he became a shinki, and that’s something he’ll always be grateful for. But, he also started to think about his time before that.

He doesn’t remember a lot from his past yet, but from what he does remember- he was generally neglected. He could’ve come across any kinds of people in his day-to-day life: neighbours; store clerks; teachers; anybody really. If he somehow had this power when he was alive, maybe he could’ve gotten the help he needed. He would’ve been ok. He would’ve been free from his dad, and possibly able to reconnect with his sister. And he definitely wouldn’t’ve winded up where he is now-

He started to shake off his train of thought, which was beginning to wind down an impossible fantasy. That’s all it was: a fantasy. He was dead, he always would be.

The present is what was more important. Closure is something he can achieve, and these abilities help him with that. He could find his dad among all the abusers, the wrongdoers and perpetrators, all the people being confronted for their misdeeds. There is no chance he can’t be found, considering the violation that he had committed. Even if it is a past discrepancy, Hagusa knows that there is no chance he wouldn’t act just as vile as always. He must do, he was sure of it.

He can’t even tempt the idea that he’s not. If he’s dead, there’s no way he can get answers. If he’s changed, if he’s become someone capable of good… that means he can’t be found. And worse, he always was capable of being good. And that is a reality Hagusa truly cannot face. That would only be a reality of despair.

He can’t think about it.

Not in the slightest.

Not at all.

…

He senses a new encounter, ready to be turned around into a better outcome. He follows it. He doesn’t look back.

#noragamisecretsanta2020 #my writing #short but satisfying (I hope)#anyways Merry Christmas!#I was gonna post this later today...#but it’s barely been an hour into 25/12 in my time zone- And I have no patience #anyways enjoy :)#@other noragami fans; hello! I love this manga and would love to tell about it!#@my other followers: I hope I have wowed and bamboozled you simultaneously by my random change of content #since I’ve literally never posted fic on tunglr.net in my life #noragami #hagusa #noragami spoilers #sort of

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shikonotama · 4 years ago

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Hello @celisart, I was your @noragamisecretsantas this year! I hope you have some sweet holidays this year 🎄 🎅

You told me, that you’d like something Yatori related. So I decided to write something about them. I hope you like it. 🤗

Silent night

The days had gotten a lot colder recently. Even during the sunny parts of the day, the warm sunbeams just barely made it all the way to the ground, therefore not able to properly heaten neither animals nor humans anymore. Despite the weather being close to freezing the whole day, you’d never consider to call it bad at all. Only the lack of pure white snow throughout the city’s streets caused all the children to stay at home, meeting their friends or playing games inside their parent’s house. Adults and elders on the other hand were busy making their way to the city and back, trying to get everything ready for the upcoming holydays at least.

Just in between all those people walking straight to their destinated place to get what they needed and then hurrying back to their houses, a young man ran through the shopping mile; not even sparing a glance on one single storefront even once. His outfit did not quite fit the weather nor was it suited for celebrating the upcoming holidays in the slightest. Despite wearing a pair of brown boots, he did not wear a coat or jacket. All that covered his body was a black tracksuit and a greyish scarf tied around his neck.

His vision was sharp and clear, his mind focused on something ahead, as if he was chasing after a thief that stole his wallet – no one around seemed to notice neither him nor the one he was chasing after, though.

“Yato, it’s no good! If we continue like this, it will-…”, the voice of a young boy reached the young man’s ears, even though there was no one right beside him.

»I know…«, he murmured, biting his lips. His fingers already felt numb and the cold wind blowing in his face caused his nose and cheeks to turn slightly red. »… but that’s the last one.«

“You sure ‘bout that?”

»Tzck…«, was all he had to add before he jumped straight off the ground and landed on top of the next building’s chimney with no struggle at all. As he stood up there, his bright blue eyes were directed to a point at about two hundred meters straight ahead of him. The bright sunlight was reflected from two blades he held – each in one hand. Their handles were both wrapped in bandages that didn’t seem to be tightened very well.

»Get ready, Yukine.«, was all he added to their conversation, as a big squirrel shaped cloud of dust rose just where Yato had been staring at the whole time. »We’re gonna finish this with just one blow.«

»Smells good!«, the big and cloudy animal turned itself around to face the black haired man, still standing on top of the chimney, firmly holding both blades. Just one moment later, without any further indication, Yato lifted himself high into the air. In the blink of an eye, he then rushed straight to the Ayakashi facing him, directing both blades to the squirrels head.

»You who would desecrate this land of the rising sun! With my advent, I, God Yato, lay waste with the Sekki... and expel thy vast defilement! – Rend!«

His two blades cut right through the Ayakashi’s body, leaving nothing but blurry dust behind. With ease, the self-proclaimed god stood up in the middle of all those busy people that were still walking by as if nothing had happened the past few minutes.

»Good job, Yukine. You’ve become really strong. Just as expected from my Hafuri.«, he grinned proudly, as both blades started to glow.

»You should be more careful, you know? If we only made the slightest mistake, some of those people might get hurt. You do know that, don’t you?!«, a blond boy had appeared right before Yato’s eyes, giving him a warning look before he sighted in relief. ‘After all, everything went well, didn’t it?’

»I knew you could do that, that’s why.«, answered Yato still grinning, then rubbing his hands to get them warm, at least a bit warmer than icy. »Let’s get going. It’s freezing cold. I’m sure Daikoku got us something to warm up again!« Again, Yukine sighted, tightened his jacket and followed Yato on their way back to Daikoku’s and Kofuku’s house, where they had been living for quite a while now – more than one year to be precise.

Kofuku and Daikoku: the goddess of poverty and her Shinki that was able to open up a vent that summons a huge amount of gloom. But thankfully, Kofuku was not the kind of god that got into a fight very easy. On top of that, Daikoku did not allow her to leave the house and explore the town or other places frequented by many people. She was not allowed to leave very often and never on her own, because her Shinki knew things would not turn out very well, as his master was known to cause disaster, wherever she went. Nevertheless, both of them lived a more or less quiet life, running a small store during the day that was very popular among children and passersby.

As it was already around half past five in the afternoon when Yato and Yukine made it back, the store was already closed for today.

»We’re back!«, Yato shouted while Yukine already closed the door behind them and they both immediately got rid of their shoes. »Time for something warm to eat!«

»Ah – Yato-chan and Yukki!«, a high-pitched and happy voice echoed through the house, right before one of the doors burst open. A young woman with bright pink hair and a big smile on her face showed up to greet them. »You’re late.«

»I’m sure he got them into some serious trouble – AGAIN!«, continued the deep voice of a man from behind her.

»Tse… what do you mean, ‘AGAIN’?«, Yato snorted and hastily turned his head to the left with a sour face.

»Common you guys, don’t start a fight on Christmas eve!«, Kofuku intervened with a smile, while she walked to the two incomers and grinned, then she observed them both and continued with a small amount of worry in her voice: »It’s gotten quite cold, didn’t it?«

»Well… yeah.«

»Doesn’t matter quite that much, does it? Just need, some fresh meal and a beer, and everything will be fine already.«

»And why do you think, you will get any of those?«, Daikoku wondered, watching every single one of Yato’s steps, as he made his way to the kitchen door.

»Ah, common! Don’t tell me you didn’t prepare some delicious food for tonight? No need to lie, Daikoku, I can smell it without any doubt!«, Yato giggled and stretched out his hand to open the door right in front of him. Daikoku on the other hand, crossed his arms in front of his chest, a mean grin on his face. »Don’t have to lie. Why would I even bother to cook for a freeloader like you?!«

»Well then… explain – THAT!«, just in time, Yato pushed the door open and stumbled.

»H-Hiyori?!?«, both Yato and Yukine looked at the brown haired girl, standing in front of the kitchen unit. When she heard the two of them shouting out her name, she turned around. After the first moment of surprise vanished from her face, a big smile returned before she answered: »Welcome home.«

»What are you doing here?«, Yato asked, still standing there as if he did not know how to react.

»She came here around one hour ago.«, Kofuku explained while Hiyori was still busy with something neither of the four was able to get a glimpse of.

»Okay, ehm… and why exactly are you here?«, he wondered, not having moved the slightest.

»She is the only one helping out, so don’t complain!« Daikoku was the one raising his voice this time.

»I’m not complaining at all! And by the way: We were busy, you know? Hunting Ayakashi to keep the people save on Christmas!«

»That does really look delicious, Hiyori!«, Yukine interrupted and stepped right beside her to get a closer look on what she was doing.

»Thanks, Yukine.«

»So… do you still need help…?«, he wanted to know, unsure what to do next.

»I’m fine, thank you. I just helped out Daikoku. But I think you could set the table?«

»Sure.«

While Yukine walked over to the other side of the kitchen to grab the dishes, Yato finally entered the room himself, walked straight to the refrigerator and grabbed a can of beer. He immediately opened it up and took a big gulp. With a satisfied grin on his face and his eyes half closed, he turned around and said: »Ahhh~ that’s what I needed! I’m sure with all the delicious food Hiyori made for us, it’s gonna be the best Christmas eve so far!« Hiyori let out a soft giggle: »You’ll always love celebrating, whatever it may be, right?«

»Wh-… y-yeah, guess so.«, mumbled Yato and from one second to the other his big satisfied grin had vanished from his face. He did not even manage to maintain direct eye contact with Hiyori. Instead, he put the can back on and took another big gulp from it.

»Whatever, just call me, when your preparations are done. Can’t wait to taste it!«

»You could help us, at least with the dishes, Yato!«, said Yukine, not even trying to cover the slight anger in his voice, as Yato walked past him. He did not reply anything, just raised his Hand into the air, before disappearing from everybody’s view.

»Argh… he can be such a jerk!«

»Calm down, Yukine. We are almost done with the preparations. You too can wait in the living room. Or maybe you should take a bath or at least a shower first? I’m sure it would help you to get warm again, plus I don’t want you to catch a cold.«

»Yeah, she’s right, Yukki. Just take your sweet time.«, Kofuku smiled, »I will help with the dish-….«

She wasn’t even able to finish this sentence properly, because halfway through it, she grabbed the plates, just to let go of them only one moment later. Neither of the tree bystanders was able to react quickly enough to prevent everything from scattering after hitting the floor.

»I told you to leave the preparations to Hiyori and me, didn’t I?«, Daikoku shook his head, while Kofuku shook of the surprised expression on her face and grinned again. »Oookay!« Her Shinki sighted and started to clean up the mess she was responsible for.

After leaving the others, Yato climbed up the stairs and entered the small room he and Yukine were given by Kofuku to live in. He walked across the room to reach the big window over on the other side. He then opened it up and shortly after he climbed outside, the can of beer still in one of his hands, to reach the roof. It was not that unusual for him to be up here. Sometimes, when he could not sleep and did not want to disturb the boy sleeping in the same room, he climbed here.

It had gotten quite a bit colder since he and Yukine arrived at the house, but for now, he did not feel cold at all. With ease, the god found his way over the tiles, right beside the house’s chimney, and sat down on the ridge. From up here, one had a great view at the city and thus it was already dark outside, all the sparkling lights. The latter were even brighter than normal tonight, because a lot of Christmas decoration had been put up.

‘This time, it’s gonna be different, huh?’, he thought and could not hide the fact, that his lips formed to a decent but honest smile. Throughout the last years he found himself wondering from time to time what it was like for all those families and friends to have a proper feast.

»Well… not too long ago we had this flashmob for Yukine’s first birthday, hm? … « ‘… that was a lot of fun, too!’ Yato tried to suppress a short giggle, while placing the can he just drank of between his legs and looked up into the clear sky. There was no cloud anywhere so all the stars above shined brightly tonight and even if the sky changed since Yato was born a long time ago, it never failed to touch his heart.

‘Damn… they really do take a lot of time. What are they even doing down there?!’, he wondered while listening to all the strange sounds and some yelling in between. »Well… whatever.«, he shrugged and put the can back up to his lips.

»There you are.«, the calm voice of a woman could be heard. Shortly after that, Hiyori appeared at the edge of the roof. It looked like she had hastily wrapped a warm jacket around her body, because none of the buttons were closed. So she tried to keep the jacket from going wild with her left hand and used her right to not lose her balance.

Quickly, Yato gulped down the beer in his mouth and sat up straight.

»I thought you’d be in your room, being lazy till we’d be done with all the preparations, but seems I was wrong, hm?«, she continued to talk while struggling to properly climb to the top.

»So… you’re complaining, too?! We fought countless of Ayakashi the whole day!«, Yato replied but as he looked into her face and seeing her smile he got confused. ‘She’s not complaining?’

»Yeah, I know that. You both are trying hard to help, by slaying the calamity. I’m sure many children can celebrate a great feast just because you two were there today.«

»You think so?«

»Sure!«

»Huh? … Mhm!«, Yato answered with a nod, still sitting on the roof, his eyes focused on the girl that carefully made one step after another to come closer. One may say her words were just a praise to make a friend feel better, but Yato knew by the way she looked into his eyes that it was not just her comforting him, but an honest answer how she felt about his latest actions. Maybe his goal, to become a god of fortune, finally came within reach! Coming to this conclusion, even if the roof was only barely lit, his cheeks turned visibly red. It may be due to the cold that started to affect his body, but why had his nose not gotten red as well?

Yato reached out for the can to get the last gulp and took his eyes of Hiyori, when he heard her scream and raised his head again.

‘Damn!’

In the blink of an eye he jumped up, the can fell out of his hand, rolled over the tiles and hit the ground. Not noticing any of this, he reached out his hand to grab hers, »Gotcha!«, he sighted in relief.

»Thank y-… Whoaaa…!«, but the roof was slippery and cold and because he already lost his balance too, the only way to prevent the both of them from falling was to pull her back in his direction.

»Ow…«, his back, as well as his head, were knocked against the roof tiles underneath, but as he was a god it did not bother him that much.

»Are you hurt?«, he asked the girl whose hand he was still holding. When he had pulled her back against his body, the both of them had fallen backwards with his back being hit against the roof and his body softening the impact of her fall. Now, as she tried to straighten herself up, their eyes met again, quite close.

»I- I’m fine, sorry… I’m not used to climb up houses while still in my human body.«, she replied with an excusive smile.

»Idiot… that’s dangerous!«, Yato breathed out slowly.

»I’m sorry.«, Hiyori repeated her apology in a more serious way than before, by lowering her voice. After a moment of silence, she spoke again: »Thanks for saving me, Yato. Not just tonight but throughout the whole year.«

Her face was pretty close to his. Who knows if he had heard her, had her face been any further apart, as she spoke quite softly. Her big, purple eyes looked directly into his, some strands of her long brown hair fell onto his face and there was no way he would be able to look anywhere else now. He did not even know how long they had been like this now. Some seconds? Several minutes? Maybe a whole hour had passed?

It had never felt that difficult to come up with some words to say to her. He was not even able to get a grasp on his own thoughts.

»You-…«, was all he was able to come up with, but as he saw the silhouette of her face, surrounded by the pale moonlight and a beautiful gentle smile her lips had formed into, he was no longer able to continue even that.

»Thank you, god Yato – god of fortune.«, she giggled, but he could tell that she totally meant what she said. ‘Fortune…?’ He had no time to think about that little word any longer. Just before he could sort out his thoughts, he felt something slightly tickling and soft touching his right cheek. At the same moment his heart burst out and started to beat uncontrollably fast. The Doki-Doki that echoed in his ears made it impossible for him to listen to anything else. Meanwhile, Hiyori placed her left palm on his right cheek while watching him closely. Her fingertips had only touched his skin for a split second, when her smile turned onto a slightly worried look.

»Are you okay? Your cheek fells chilly...«

»Y- yeah… I’m not cold at all.« ‘Not at all!’

»… and your face is all red. Maybe you caught a cold while staying outside all day?«, Hiyori continued without listening to his words. Yato shook his head. »I’m a god, remember? We don’t get ill.«

»Is that so?«

»Sure!«

After his quick reply, her features softened again. She kneed on the roof, then stood up and grabbed his hand to lift him up, too.

»Let’s head inside anyways. I’m sure something warm to eat is better than standing in the cold, be it humans or gods?!« He nodded still trying to get back control over his heartbeat. Hiyori smiled in return and turned around to make her way back to the lower floors. Before she could make any step forwards, Yato reached out for her right wrist to turn her back in his direction again.

»Wait a minute…«

»What is it?«

»…« Yato looked at her with his deep blue eyes trying to find the right words he was looking for. Almost as if he was a shy teenager.

»Yato?«

He closed his eyes for a mere second. As their eyes met again, a fresh but gentle gust blew through their hair. »Merry Christmas, Hiyori.«

»Merry Christmas, Yato.«, she smiled back, when she suddenly opened her eyes widely and directed her gaze into the sky right on top of them.

»It’s snowing…«, she whispered, but despite his heart still running wild, he could hear every single word she spoke, »… just in time.« There were not many snowflakes falling down but those that came close to them danced beautifully through the sky as if they were to celebrate with everyone.

»Let’s get back down, shall we?«

»Yeah.«, Yato agreed as she took his hand and kind of dragged him back down.

They stood in front of the foot of the stairs, so technically right in front of the living-room door, when they heard some strange noises from inside followed by two male voices giving the impression of not knowing how to deal with the situation any longer.

»Jeez… what are they even doing?«, Yato wondered, meanwhile Hiyori had walked to the door to open it. When she was just about to do so, all the lights went out and left a confused Yato standing in the dark corridor. »What happened? … Hiyori?! … Yukine?!«, he screamed, but got no answer at all.

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Yato opened his eyes and jumped to his feet. ‘Hiyori?!’ He looked from left to right, but neither Hiyori nor Yukine were anywhere to be found. »What the-…?«

He moved two steps forwards, but did not notice the body of a young man lying right beside him and stumbled over.

»You-…«, he started to complain, but shortly after he hushed. ‘Kazuma?’

When he recognised the Shinki lying on the ground, he once more looked around. He was not in Kofuku’s house anymore but in one of the city’s back roads. ‘A dream?’ The cold that had increased over night crawled over his back and made him shiver a bit.

After looking down again to check whether Kazuma was still asleep, Yato put his hand into one of the pockets of his tracksuit. With a sigh of relief on his lips, he put his hand back out again and looked at a small statue in the shape of a capybara, Hiyori made for him some days ago. A saddened smile appeared on his face, as he closed his eyes.

»I’m sorry...«, he whispered, holding the sculpture in both hands, tightly pushing it to his chest, »… we shall meet again. I promise.«

#noragami #Yato #Hiyori #Yatori #noragamisecretsanta2020 #merry christmas noragami #Merry Christmas 2020 #feels like forever since they talked

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herstrayskies · 4 years ago

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Hi @lumiccu!! I was your Noragami Secret Santa! I was so excited to get matched up with you since I really adore your art and we always seem to promote and support each other on here and Insta!

Anyways, you mentioned that Ebisu and Nora were your favorite characters. So I kind of came up with this headcanon that teen Ebisu first met and named Nora in her fish-like form. I even wrote a short story to go with it. I hope you like it! Wishing you well and Happy Holidays!

Also thanks to @noragamisecretsantas for organizing this wonderful event.

Read the story below or on AO3.

Guilty Scales

“I’ve heard rumors of a God taming Ayakashi,” Father’s voice hummed over the crackling fire.

“Oh?” chimed Mizuchi. She scratched at a newly given name on her forearm, half hoping it would flake off like dried mud.

“It would be a shame not to learn his wisdom on the subject,” the floorboard creaked as he got up from his seat, his footsteps echoed around the empty room of the hut as he walked closer.

She stared into the fire wishing Yaboku were here to chime in on the subject. He’d get mad with each new name she was granted and he wouldn’t be afraid to say it. Mizuchi, however, was a good girl and did whatever her father told her. Including keeping her mouth shut while collecting names on her skin in order to spy upon the Heavens and Gods among them.

His hands rested gently on her shoulders, “Mizuchi, would you mind looking into Ebisu for me? I know he’s one of the seven, but if anyone can get into his threshold, it’s you.”

His praise warmed her heart like the fire that slowly warmed her frosted toes. She tilted her head up and looked at his loving smile glowing in the light of the flames. It was a smile she knew was genuine, unlike so many others she had seen before. Her hand dropped from her raw, exposed skin and placed it on top of his. “Of course, Father.”

“That’s my girl.”

__________________________

It didn’t take her long to track him down. Word of mouth was that he liked to fish in a certain spot where the mountains overlooked the water, where fish were aplenty and people were scarce. She did, however, find it odd that he was out in the dead of night when the stars shined brightly in the sky and the snow started to settle into the valley.

It was cold in the water, even in Mizuchi’s fish-like form. She could feel the cold seeping underneath her scales and deep into her lungs. She wished she were back in the warm hut with Father, the heat of the fire lapping against her frosted cheeks. She settled for the sting of the freezing water instead and sunk deeper into the abyss. She imagined Father’s proud and affirming praise after she came back with a granted name from the God of Wealth.

Bubbles floated up from a spurt of laughter at the thought as she watched said God pull fish after fish out of the water. He released them all into a bucket that rested beside him. With each new catch, he’d stare into the pail, smiling at his collection. He was like a little kid in wonder of all the creatures he had at the palm of his hand.

How silly it was. He was a God. He could have or do anything he wanted and here he was, fishing without a care in the world.

“You know, I might be really into my fish right now but I’ve noticed your presence since the moment you’ve arrived.”

For once Mizuchi was surprised to get spotted among the dark waters. Her level of stealth would usually startle even the bravest of Gods when she finally approached them from a cloak of darkness. How did he know she was there?

“It must be cold,” his gaze never left the pail, “ join me and tell me why you’re here.”

She swam closer to the ledge and spat out at his almost cocky attitude. “and why would I do that?” It was one thing that she was spotted before she could think of an approach but to expect her to do his bidding made her sick. She held back the urge to rise from the water and make him see what he was really up against. Not just some little girl but a powerful spirit ready to do whatever it took to get him to grant her a name.

He sighed and looked to the sky, “Why does a lonesome spirit feel the need to wade in a freezing current to spy on a waste of a God like me.”

She didn’t expect such a response from him. Not from Ebisu, the God that was prayed to and believed by so many. Weird, his following didn’t seem to match his confidence.

He readjusted his position so that he was facing forward, eye to eye. His head cocked to the side as if inspecting her. “Are you blighted? There’s some discoloration on your-” his hand tentatively reached out to touch her cheek.

The gesture startled her and in a defensive way, her body moved on its own. Her scaled tail surged out of the water before it slapped across the surface, causing waves and ripples to surge around her. She expected fear and horror in his expression but what she saw was nothing of the sorts.

His eyes twinkled with delight and wonder like the stars above him. His smile stretched across from ear to ear as he knelt closer to the disturbed surface. He was in awe of what he saw and dared to get a better look. “You’re not some regular ole’ spirit, are you?”

Mizuchi stared at him without a single word, her tail wading back and forth. She watched his eyes follow the movement of her tail before they flicked towards her name covered arm as she wiped a droplet from her lashes.

“Sorry if I stepped out of some boundaries. I only wanted to help.”

She stayed quiet, unsure of his motivations.

He extended his hands outward again and smiled. “I’m Ebisu, but you probably already knew that, or else you wouldn’t be here. Did you come to me looking for a name?"

"A name?” He’d grant a name to a stray without question? What kind of God was he?

“Yes, you must have heard that I take in strays too, correct? I’m very accepting of anyone as long as they can help my cause.”

Mizuchi scoffed at his words, “so let me guess, you’re one of those Gods? Using wandering strays for nothing but your own dirty work. Once we’ve done the job we’re needed for we’re tossed aside like some used object.” Why was she so angered when she knew more than half the Gods used her in this way. Words came out that she would never let escape the tip of her tongue before. She didn’t feel like biting it for once.

“Almost all of my men are strays and I treat them all the same as if they weren’t. Why should anyone treat them differently? Because you are called by another name by someone else? How barbaric,” he looked annoyed with her assumptions.

“Gods don’t like sharing property.”

Ebisu laughed, “Property! You aren’t property! You are people! People who have walked this earth and have lived a part of life. You are the spirits that didn’t want to give up and wanted to try again. This part of your life doesn’t need to involve technicalities like names and owners. So what if you have multiple names? Don’t humans walk through life being called something different by every other person they meet? Whether it be their true given name, nickname or a title. Daughter, son, sister, brother, mother, father, wife, husband, lover, friend. What’s one more? What’s to say the name I give you won’t be your favorite passing in this new life?”

Mizuchi felt the nagging guilt slowly drift off her given names, wading deep into the bed of rubble below her. They were words she had never had the pleasure of hearing before. Something that made her feel accepted and not just a dirty name to be whispered among the Gods.

For the first time she could remember, Mizuchi swallowed her pride. “What is your cause, Ebisu?”

His smile returned as he watched her stretch her hand towards him. He held onto it gently and said, “To bring peace to the world around us,” he paused to raise his other hand to start the naming enchantment, “like no one has before."

She almost didn’t hear his words over his bright, genuine smile and the glow of a name forming in the air.

__________________________

"What a good girl you are Mizuchi! I knew you could do it!” Father ruffled the top of her head and wrapped a warm blanket around her. The fire once again roared in front of her and she started to feel the tip of her nose again.

“Thank you, Father.” For some reason, his praise wasn’t as warm and joyous as she remembered. It was nowhere near as warm as his hand.

“And what did you learn about him so far?"

Mizuchi stared at the fire hoping the embers would help her withhold her secret for just one night. He’s a forgiving and accepting God. She held her tongue and brushed her fingertips across the name Tōki.

"Nothing yet, Father.”

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