And Mercy To Temper (A Zamasu x Reader)

A Rare Gift

It was no secret that the East and West Supreme Kais were fond of each other.

Shin was the sort who thought it was, but really, all the others knew. His face turned red at the slightest mention of her name, and his normally quiet and studious demeanor shifted to one more open and friendly when she was around to encourage him.

So when enough time passed and their feelings did not diminish, they went to the Grand Supreme Kai to have things made as official as things could be for gods. And the matter was settled.

Your arrival a few hundred years later was entirely unexpected.

It is often remarked that elven children come late and sparsely. Kais of any kind would make such beings look like prolific breeders, as they were rarely ifever fertile. But it was not to say that you were unwanted--quite the opposite, in fact.

They called you their "little golden peach." You never doubted that they loved you, or thought that your presence was disruptive, or that any of the other Kais liked you. The Grand Supreme Kai in particular was like a grandfather; from him you got an appreciation of good food. Never a dull meal with him around.

But from an early age (or what passed for such in long-lived beings like the Supreme Kais) you had abilities they deemed "normal." You couldn't just make life appear from thin air--but you could encourage it, speed it up. Your mother and father spent a good deal of time instructing you on the use of these talents, and when they could not, the other Supreme Kais would.

And such was your childhood, on through the rough equivalent of teenaged years and into adulthood. But as nice as it was, as loved as you felt, things were...well, they were still somehow lonely. Sometimes you had asked how old your mother and father, and the other Kais, were, but they would never give you an exact number. You'd be shown a seed or acorn or some other thing, and then a large planet or a tree, and told that it took many years for the seed to grow into the flourishing plant, but that they were more than a thousand times older. Sometimes the story of your birth was added in, and you were compared to one of the aforementioned seeds.

So that was why the South Supreme Kai liked to call you "sapling," you'd thought.

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You shifted a little and looked over the little feast set out on the table nearby. You'd heard talk that an old friend of the Grand Supreme Kai would be coming to see him very shortly, and that he was bringing his apprentice. Your mother had told you that this younger Kai was near to your age, and despite being grateful for the opportunity to meet someone younger than the company you usually had, couldn't help but feel as if this were a set-up.

When this "Gowasu" appeared, he and the Grand Supreme Kai bowed to one another before standing up, smiling--and giving one another a spirited handshake.

"Gowasu, it's been far too long, my friend. When you came to visit the other day, I was just worrying that you'd taken offense to something!"

"What have you ever done that would possibly offend me? Remarked that I could stand to gain weight?"

"You have to admit it...one strong wind and you'd be blown halfway across the universe."

You looked away from the two of them to the green Kai at Gowasu's side.

He happened to glance up at the same time, and your eyes met. You gave a slight bow, as did he.

Unfortunately, this motion was noticed.

"Ah, where are my manners. Zamasu, step forward."

The young green Kai obeyed, and you did so as well. This time, you were able to give a full bow.

A moment later, the South Supreme Kai directed everyone to the feast, and you found yourself seated directly across from Zamasu.

"So you're an apprentice," you said, "What does that mean?"

"I am in training," he replied, "Gowasu will be teaching me what I need to know."

"That sounds interesting. Mother," you asked, looking at West, "Will I be apprenticed?"

"When you are a bit older," West replied as she was placing several rice dumplings on her plate. "Right now we are still working on helping you control your abilities."

"Is that not what one's master is meant to do?" Gowasu asked.

"We simply wished to be careful, is all. Though we have considered it more and more of late. But there are already five of us, you see."

So that was it. You had been told of the "four cardinal directions," of how the universe was split into four quadrants corresponding to those directions, and of the need for someone to oversee those four. What was your place in all of this? Would there be a job for you? Would the others have to share their responsibilities? No, you were sure of that much. They had been tending their parts of the universe for far longer than you could really even count and would be unlikely to want or even need to make room for someone else. Or would they? It was just...hard to say.

"Are you the only Kais where you come from?" you asked Gowasu. You'd been told they came from a different universe...whatever that meant. You would have to study up on that later.

"We are," he replied, nodding.

"And you handle all of the universe on your own?" The very idea was preposterous. How, you wondered, did he manage it?

"Why do you think he's taken on an apprentice?" West laughed.

Gowasu neither seemed amused nor offended. He inclined his head to you, and then glanced over to Zamasu. "You brought the tea, didn't you?"

"Of course I did," came the reply, "I simply placed the pot on the table while you were talking to (y/n)." In fact, he'd already poured some into eight cups and handed them all out. Except yours. When he got to that one and was handing it to you, you got the feeling (though you didn't look) the rest of them there at the table were watching the two of you.

Expectantly.

You accepted the cup but were careful not to let your fingers brush his, the feeling not lessening one iota as you took a sip.

And then another.

You shook your head and proceeded to eat, as did everyone else and thankfully, nothing was said.