Part 1: The Bargain
It had been three weeks, and Natsume was officially grumpy.
When
would
the
winter
just
end?
Naturally, Natsume hated winters, and he loved summers. But what competed for his affection alongside summer and heat was relaxation and laziness. If he hadn't been created a god and assigned his duties, he most likely would have spent most of his days finding easy ways to do just the bare minimum to survive as a human.
Every god had to do their fair share of maintaining the balance of the universe and caring for humans, but right then and there, Natsume calculated he was running on 217% efficiency (approximately).
And that just wasn't fair.
At the first divine conference of the Year of the Snake, Natsume actually came prepared with an agenda. Plopped next to the recently appointed God of Souls, he silently gritted his teeth and internally seethed as the other gods trudged through the bureaucratic muck.
Nobara hadn't bothered to show, still caught in whatever emotional turmoil plagued her, which only stoked Natsume's fiery fury. Why did nobody say anything about her absence, but if he missed one message from anybody, much less an entire conference, he had no fewer than five gods nagging him about "responsibility?"
"Any new business? Last minute additions to the agenda?"
Hearing his cue from the God of Dreams, Natsume promptly stood up and declared, "Yes, I have an issue."
His announcement instigated a wave of whispers. Nearby, he overheard the Muse of Invention snarkily comment, "Wow, Natsume actually has something to say for once."
Unbothered by the sass in the room, Natsume continued on, "I understand Nobara is having a situation right now, but the balance of our work has tilted. It has gone on far too long for it to be fair to me. I work hard every summer just to ensure humans can live, but having to fend off the constant blizzards is overextending my abilities. I cannot keep it up."
"It is true," cut in Ruka, and Natsume mentally expressed gratitude for his friend's loyalty and compassion. "If it goes on too much longer, the entire balance will have shifted beyond repair. It could trigger another ice age, and of course, nobody wants that."
Ruka's amiable and pleasant demeanor brought about a round of agreement. The God of Nature spoke of trees and flowers struggling to survive. The God of Love protested that people were too frigid to be willing to fall in love lately. Before the conversation could devolve into a full-blown ranting session, Yuu cut it off with a couple of attention-grabbing pounds on the table.
The piece of conversation that Natsume caught was the God of Shadows sadly saying with less sun, there were fewer shadows. Natsume personally thought Tsubasa was an idiot.
"We understand. Thank you for saying something and advocating for yourselves. Thank you to you, Natsume, for bringing this issue to our attention. We always appreciate your blunt honesty."
Natsume nodded curtly, unaccustomed to compliments.
"It will take a while to figure out a long-term plan of action, but I understand we are currently providing support to Nobara to help her through this. In the meanwhile, we can ease your burden by focusing on the softening the winter in the north. Take care of the south, Natsume."
It was divine fortune that Minamimura was in the south. Now, Natsume could do his job and relax, having restored his work-life balance, which really just meant more time basking in the sun on the beaches on the south coast.
Everything was going fine.
Or so he thought until the day Nonno's grandchild worsened.
In true Minamimura neighborly fashion, the entire village had come to pray for the recovery of Nonno's grandchild. Bouts of shivers normally lasted a fortnight so for her illness to have gone for so long… Half of the village was scared about the implications, the other were determined to view it as an auspicious sign from the gods.
In clusters of families and neighbors, they all took their turn by the baby's side, offering their most devout prayers to whatever god could offer aid.
The name "Mikan" passed through his mind several times that day, even when he was working in the farthest reaches of the kingdoms. Indubitably, her name passed through the consciousness of other gods, a small stirring of their thoughts like a weak breeze through a field of wheat.
However, Nonno, the ever most pious follower, sealed each and every request with a special call-out to the God of Fire. Their prayers were too strong for Natsume to ignore, but there was not much he could do to take away her sickness.
That evening, Natsume felt compelled to visit their quaint abode. When he was there, Natsume burned a little bit brighter, a bit hotter, a bit bigger, willing the warmth to enter the room if he could not help the baby. Perhaps he could ease her suffering.
He stayed with her through the night.
The rare occasions she managed to regain her strength and open her eyes, even for a brief moment, he tried to send her happy things like purple flames and smoke animals. She would laugh and gurgle before ultimately succumbing to her fatigue.
With the threat of the God of Death's wrath looming, Natsume dared not send the fire of life too far into her tiny body. Perhaps just the fingers… A little on her arm…
In the morning, she had not improved, and the despair was clear on the faces of her parents and her grandfather.
His face was pinched with distraught as he neared the household shrine above the fireplace. Ever so careful, he bowed three times before kneeling, forehead to the ground.
Even if he were standing straight as a man of his honor should, Natsume could hear his request as clearly as the wind. "God of Life, I beg you to please have mercy on my one and only granddaughter. She's had the shivers for weeks now, and I pray to you to spare her life."
It was not addressed to him so Natsume did not listen. He gave Nonno warranted privacy as the old man revealed his most bare, uninhibited self.
Before Natsume could slip away, it seemed like a trick of Fate that Nonno remembered his favorite god. "God of Fire, end this winter. Watch over my Mikan."
Well, now Natsume was contractually obligated to pay attention to the baby like some kind of divine baby-sitter.
The crying continued. At first, Natsume permitted it because it was the granddaughter of, arguably, his most devoted priest, but the constant shrillness grated on his nerves, and he found no escape, no reprieve, no matter how far he went.
Days passed, but the baby's condition neither improved nor worsened. Her cries were proof of her life, but her shivers reminded everyone how close she was to the edge. She was stuck in a perpetual limbo, a purgatory for all who cared about her.
On the rare moments that the deluge of prayers ceased and Natsume could breathe, he went to Minamimura as usual - but not to the temple. Most of the villagers' devout energy had been redirected towards praying for Mikan.
It was a different kind of feast for Natsume, one he could not resist the temptation of consuming. Pure faith was absolutely mouth-watering; the greatest essence of all. Soaking in the energy at the Sakura household gave him enough strength to repel the winter far from Minamimura - yet the Sakura girl still suffered from the shivers.
Tirelessly, the village spiritually toiled for her; a crew furiously rowing their wrecked ship to the sanctuary of shore through a contemptuous storm. The name "Mikan" was spoken by nearly every man, woman, and child in their holy day worship, in their nightly prayers, in their casual shrine visits.
Natsume wondered if he would ever have anyone who cared so deeply in his existence.
And as he took watch in the Sakura fireplace for the seventh night in a row, Natsume wondered if he would ever care so deeply about someone.
Then, one night, the crying stopped. It had always been in the back of his mind, distantly calling to him through the fire in their hearth, but as Natsume was finishing the nightly preparations in the kingdom of Tetsu, he could no longer hear Mikan.
He almost startled at the realization; he hadn't been aware of how in tune he had been with her until she had gone.
Zooming across kingdoms and flying over peaceful homes, he arrived at the head priest's house in Minamimura to an eerie hush.
At first glance, Natsume thought nobody was home until he sensed Mikan's tiny presence in a cradle. From his limited view from the fireplace, he strained to see what had happened to her.
Mere seconds had passed before Mikan's parents rushed into the room, dragging along a man whom Natsume recognized as the village doctor.
All three fretted over the baby, and Natsume wished someone would just tell him what was going on! A group of neighbors hung hesitatingly in the doorway. Only when Nonno slowly moved into the room did the others feel comfortable enough to settle in. One of the women even took the opportunity to clear the remnants of dinner off the cooking table.
The medicine man pulled something out of his bag and struck a match. Natsume saw his chance.
He leaped from the fireplace to the small wax candle in the medicine man's hand. Thankfully, the medicine man was diligent and brought the candle right to Mikan's face. From there, Natsume could see just how badly Mikan fared.
She did not move.
He could not even see the small shudder of her body inhaling or exhaling, but the medicine man held a finger to her nostrils and confirmed she was still breathing. He lifted her limp hand and saw a series of red bumps on her arm, no bigger than pinpricks.
"She has a heat rash, but she still suffers from the shivers. I'm afraid there is no helping her anymore. The heat won't enter her body."
A distraught cry tore out of the throat of Mikan's mother. The others averted their wet eyes in silence.
"Only the God of Life can help her now."
Part 1: The Bargain