ikigai [ reverse harem x reader ] ON HOLD

01

— IKIGAI —

a reason for being

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BOY ONE — GENJI

You swept away mindlessly on the porch of your Shinto shrine. Your one and only family member that you had past away a few years ago.

You didn't know how he died. But it devastated you nonetheless as you buried his limp, cold body in the muddy dirt during a rainy night, tears streaming uncontrollably from your eyes, kimono drenched in ice cold rain.

"It seems like so much dust and dirt piles up every time I look away, even without a single visitor." You sighed, giving up at sweeping the recurring dust and leaves.

You gazed at the shide streamers slightly fluttering in the wind that were tied to the top of the torii.

You closed your eyes and enjoyed the warm breeze, your hair lifting and flowing with the rhythm of the wind.

In that moment, you had felt peace. Serenity even.

The sound of a male desperately screaming out "hello?" as he stumbled through the wilderness frightened you out of your tranquility.

"Huh—?" You gasped a bit. You hadn't really heard a human voice in a few months since your last passerby who wasn't even interested in paying respects to the kami.

You quickly ran to the entrance of the shrine, desperately looking around to see who was calling for someone.

"A shrine? Oh, thank God! I hope this thing is still open! The amount of abandoned shrines I've stumbled across—" The raven haired boy fell to the gravel, gasping.

"Excuse me?" You asked in a small, concerned voice.

"A-are you okay?" You asked as you knelt down in front of the boy in front of you.

He didn't reply. You stood up. "Hmm." You hummed, thinking of what you could do to help this man who you assume fell unconscious right in front of you.

You decided to go with your instincts that you should help this man immediately. You lifted the slender boy and dragged his body across the gavel and into the entrance of the shrine.

It was hard work, and especially difficult to do in geta sandals.

"Man, you are heavy!" You exclaimed before placing him on a futon that laid before a large sculpture of a feminine kami your father had sculpted.

Candles and offerings surrounded the statue in the relatively empty space. You hummed as you grabbed a bowl full of river water that was left at the entrance of the shrine every day for the purification ritual.

You dipped a rag in the chill water and put the dampened cloth on his forehead as you assumed he passed out due to the excessive heat your city has been experiencing this summer.

You lifted his longish bangs and before placing the cloth, you examined his features.

A slender, chiseled face, long eyelashes, and pinkish lips that were partly open. You blushed and your heart started racing.