Hey guys and gals, welcome to a random one-shot. Well, not really random. Honestly, I love Ebisu, and if you haven't read the manga or reached the part in show yet, then my words may seem questionable. But, he's a cool cat, I'll tell ya that. Be warned, there are slight manga spoilers in here, and a non-explicit sex scene. Kind of what was in Twilight or whatever, so hence the T/M rating.
The content of this story is for maturer readers. You have been warnnnnedddd.
Disclaimer: Noragami is beau but it is not my property.
He found her in the middle of an abandoned alleyway, a curious little lonely orb shifting through the air.
A sneer was on his face after analyzing her features— he tried to steer clear of the young females—but the phantom storming behind him roared and snapped its barbaric fangs right at his neck, and the man shrugged off his uncertainty, closing in on the glowing spirit.
He was already down two shinki, the only two appropriate for fighting close distance, so then was not the time to be picky. He needed more time if anything. With his energy running low, he gave a swift kick to the reptilian phantom, sending it off into a nearby wall with the last of his strength. This reincarnation was not used to the fighting. He was no longer young, though, but inexperienced in battle indeed. With the beast pummeled into the wall, he gave a godly flick of the wrist, beckoning the floating soul. "Spirit, whom is lost in a drift…" A roar behind him, and one of his immobilized regalia heeded a fearful warning. His words sped up, a sweat building on his brow from mere anxiety.
"… My name is Ebisu,
Bearing two names you shall remain here,
With these names I make thee my servant,
With these names I use my life to make thee a regalia,
Fit to be welded by a god,
Thou art Emi,
As shinki, Eukko."
He exhaled sharply, eyes closing as he retracted his fingers from the characters drawn into the night air. The tumbling of bricks chalking together sounded behind him, dust cloud fanning out as the inhuman beast groaned and removed itself from the rubble. The god took a final breath before launching forward, hand before him, and…
"Come forth, Eukko!"
She was quiet, quieter than he had hoped, because she rarely interacted with the others. Maybe she was shy, perhaps timid around men even, which he could somewhat blame himself for. Though, maybe that wasn't the case at all; she never kept away from them, or shimmied out of conversations, nor appear to be uncomfortable in any way, being the only female of the team. She was genuinely quiet.
He asked, one day, if she would rather wear something other than her traditional yukata, the white one that loosely clung to her curves in an almost sensuous way, though he knew she never intended that bit. The young woman agreed to his proposal with no more than a tiny nod.
Ebisu became very brusque when he discovered the girl was incredibly indecisive. She didn't much care for her appearance, so with the help of the finely dressed god, he had her garbed in a lovely layered dress, complete with a comfortable corset over top, a forest green tie that matched the scarf wrapped around a bowler's hat, and black ankle boots handmade by the god of craft.
He was satisfied with her look, how the corset annunciated her femininity, rendering even he speechless as she twirled gently like an umbrella against rain, the shiest of smiles curling her luscious rosy lips.
She was a magnificent partner, indeed.
"Emiru." His forest green orbs sought her pale emerald ones from afar, and she brushed off her knees before standing to accompany him at the head of the shrine. She didn't address him, only curiously glance his way with a cute tilt of the head, her peachy-brown waves curling around her right shoulder.
They walked together, down the path leading to a bustling human society. The year was 1906, when humanity took to an industrial age in war and transportation, but Emiru never much enjoyed the sound of steam trains plowing through nearby tunnels. She shifted closer to him, and it was then he realized she'd probably much prefer a place of solace rather crowded streets. So as he explained the role of reincarnations, as he'd experienced so many, he led her to a forest he'd played in as a child during his current life.
"I like this place." It was the first opinion she'd shared to him, Ebisu slowing his pace and watching her continue her trek. At some point she noticed he'd fallen back, and she glanced over her shoulder, her rosy lips pursed in question as her layered, plush dress sashayed around her legs. He almost smiled, had he not been so sophisticated.
She really was a beauty, and not hard to manage at all; easily adaptable in fighting, battle-smart... he could almost say she was the perfect regalia. Almost.
Her eyes shut momentarily as a pained expression took over her features. She turned away, but her body went rigid, as though fighting some unexplainable pain. She was always doing that. Though, he was never able to ask why, because she always excused herself in as proper a way as possible. Now, Ebisu closed in behind her, a hand outreached to her shoulder blade where it set comfortably. She didn't flinch away, but peered at him with tears in her eyes.
"Why are you crying?" As though she hadn't realized it herself, she quickly swiped the shameful dots of her eyes, then smiled sweetly his way.
"I don't know."
The god Ebisu grew to be an amazing fighter. It was destiny it seemed, the other gods claiming with every incarnation he became stronger. He and his three regalia frequently took to battle, and he found himself enjoying it at times. "Eukko!" He called after his revolver Ritsuo took quite the beating, sending the shinki off to safety as he leapt from Bishamon's heavy swing. She came in from the sidelines, a beam of light striking into his palm just as the vicious blonde grunted with another powerful slice of blade. There was a crash, and Emiru repealed the strike without so much of a bat of the eye.
Yes, a shield of sorts, in the form of an older-fashioned parasol, gradients of blacks and grays painting her lace-like flaps. Her hooked, polished handle danced around his fingers as he opened her to her full wing-span, Bishamon taken aback by the coverage of protection she had over her master. Emi smiled softly as he complimented her strength, before allowing him to unsheathe the rapier within her and separate shield and sword. Her impenetrable flaps fended off the blows as he used her other half to mark the female god's skin and clothes. Though this was simply a friendly duel between gods. They were both going easy on one another.
Emiru heard Kazuma instruct a new way of targeting, then freed herself from her god's grasp, an action uncalled for on his behalf, and allowed the wind to capture her as she rocketed forward and propelled herself into Bishamon's abdomen, her flaps coming together in the last second until she was that of a spear. It was a successful attack, Bishamon thrown to the Earth, her blade lost in the arena. Ebisu smirked as the female god cackled lightly, calling a surrender.
A fine battle it had been, and Ebisu sought out his shinki's other half, though the wind carried her as she gently laughed into an opening of trees, where the blazing orange sun cascaded streams of lights onto a meadow.
Then she fell silent, and he felt the rapier in his hand become stiff, the aura of it darkening. She had floated into the flowers, and after moments of being swayed with the breeze, begun crying.
"—Tch!" His hand met the nape of his neck, and he adjusted the back of his collar to ensure Bishamon or anyone else couldn't see he'd been stung.
She came into his room one night, her usual dress discarded for a night yukata, and sat on the edge of his bed. She asked he explain to her why she had no memories of her human life. He didn't want to hurt her with the harsh reality, so instead, he took the offer of her inviting lips and exposed collar bone.
He moved her into his lap, maintaining his gentlemanly appeal by allowing her to respond before kissing her everything. And as he later moved into her, lips caught at the index of her own, he whispered her full name again and again, because he never wanted to stop saying it. Her fingers clenched his charcoal locks, as she gasped quietly, threw her head back into the pillows, and bit her lip tantalizingly.
When they were sprawled together atop the sheets, naked legs curled comfortably around each other as he held her head to his chest, she asked him again.
Ebisu sighed, because he figured she was too smart to let something like sex distract her from her initial goal. So, he told her. He told her everything.
"I'll die if I remember my past life?"
"Not exactly; shinki will turn into phantoms when they remember their previous identities. Then they either undergo an ablution under their master's orders, or will die immediately if they cannot handle the transformation."
She fell silent after a moment, and began kissing a bare spot on his chest, but the god wasn't fooled. He let it slide, though, because she was obviously pondering something, but perhaps did not want to share it.
She stood at the rail of an overpass, back pressed against the metal as she smiled wistfully at him. She had tears in her eyes, and he knew this was her goodbye, and he wasn't ready to let go but he was damn exhausted from running and his legs could barely support him any longer.
"I have to run from my past. Each day I'm closer and closer to discovering my human life. Something about the woods and flowers… I feel fragments coming back to me. But I'm not prepared to die yet."
He was ready to call her a fool, but cursed when he realized she was right; the trees, the meadow, the overwhelming agony buried in her eyes. The god saw her past already, when he first named her. He knew how she died, her life. He knew her life, and she could not. Or she would die again.
"Let me release you—"
"Don't," She stopped him, a tear rolling down her pale cheek. "…Don't. Please. I want to be yours forever. I don't care if I become a Nora. Besides," His heart clenched as she smiled once more, a hopeful gleam twinkling in her emerald orbs. "I'll be back someday. When I'm ready to die. Someday."
For the first time, he felt his heart break. When is someday? If history repeats itself, he'd be reincarnating again soon, with no memory of what happened during his wondrous era. But she knew this already. The familiar sound of a chugging train plowed forward from below, and her voice rose louder than he'd heard before.
"I'm glad I was your regalia, and I'm glad I fell in love with you!"
He watched as the last inch of gradient fabric from her dress disappeared from sight, and he suppressed a cry as his ribs slammed against the rail she last stood, desperately searching for her figure. But she was already gone, the last train car being cloaked in the darkness of the tunnel beneath. He fell to his knees, to hell with sophistication, and squeezed his palms into his eyes, as if trying to burn the image of her standing there with the beautiful blazing sun around her into his mind.
Eukko, Emi, Emiru, … Gone.
He'd have no need to call her name anymore;
She was gone.
And that is it folks.
Head over to deviantart to see Emiru's full apparel! User ID is Callmedecaffeinated, and yes, I doodle a bit. Or attempt to. Whatever.
Anywhoo, shoot a review my way if you're feelin' it, but GOD NO FLAMES. DON'T FLAME ME OR I'LL WHISPER HEXES ON YOUR FRONT PORCH. EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE A GODDAMN FRONT PORCH I WILL STILL DO IT.
Thank you for reading! Look forward to some more Noragami stories in the future!
