Nazrin's leg swings idly as it lays over the other, her grey, silk dress waving along with the motion. Her companion is nestled on her lap, curled into long and soft strands of hair. Several hundreds of years have passed since the deal has been made.
Originally, Nazrin had planned to trick Vaisravana into working for her instead without his knowledge, but she did not anticipate his plans of redistributing his wealth to those in need. As it turns out, doing this sort of thing over time turns someone into a god.
Nazrin reminiscences about such times while treating herself to some cheese, her old tunic and dowsing stick long forgotten and replaced with a luxurious robe and two proper dowsing rods. The clacking of Vaisravana's shoes echo through the hallway, and Nazrin stands up to greet him.
"Good afternoon, my lord."
"Good afternoon, Nazrin. I come with a gift for you today."
He places an ink-black spear in front of her, awaiting her reaction. She picks it up, inspecting its tip for a while before looking up at Vaisravana questioningly. Not a word.
"What is the meaning of this?"
Vaisravana sighs. "You may have noticed I have trouble performing my duties as a deity while appeasing my followers". Nazrin nods. "What's more, there has been talk of a temple idolizing me. I simply cannot do this, not on my own". He looks at Nazrin, who slowly nods as a cue for him to go on.
"I want you to be my avatar."
Nazrin's eyes widen. "Me? You would want a rat to be your avatar?"
He sighs once again, deeper this time. "Not quite, to be honest, a god requires a tiger, but there is no one I can think of that would be more fitting than you."
"So what do you expect me to do about this?"
"I think you would understand", he says, placing a box before Nazrin before walking off once again. She tentatively opens it, only to lay eyes upon an orange flower and what appeared to be black dye.
Closing her eyes, she placed the flower ontop her head. Slowly opening them again, she gasps as her surroundings all seem slightly shorter than before, or rather, her own body seems taller. She stands up and sprints towards the nearest mirror where she is met with her tall and graceful appearance, blue eyes, straight teeth and lack of rat ears nor tail.
She takes the flower off again, not noticing any changes at all until she blinks and is met with her usual self. Nazrin eyes the dye in the box again, now understanding what is being demanded from her.
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Debut day. Nazrin is clad in luxurious patterned drapes of reds and oranges as she approaches a hidden town in the middle of the wilderness. Despite its location, the town and its inhabitants looked to be almost more glamorous than Nazrin herself.
Golden needle eyes fixate on her and hissed murmurs are heard all around as she approaches the town centre. Nazrin bows curtly before a graceful matriarch, her half black-dyed locks framing her like curtains. The matriarch bows a lot deeper, her hands together.
"My lord, thank you for joining us here today. As you may know, we would like to build a temple for your highness Vaisravana in this town. It would be an honour to have you as our prized idol".
Nazrin nods. "I see. I shall consider the matter thoroughly."
"Of course, my lord." She exits with a bow.
Truthfully, Nazrin did not have to think hard on this at all. A town so wealthy, full of such powerful yokai such as tigers, do not need the additional blessing of the god of wealth and war.
A young tigress looks at Nazrin in awe, her round face framed by golden beads hanging from her head accessory.
"Will you stay with us?" she asks, a hint of wonder in her voice.
"Do you need me?"
The girl is quiet for a few seconds. "We need a temple."
"Do you think I'm the right idol for you?"
She hangs her head, fumbling with her orange, flower-patterned kimono. "No."
"Then why should I stay here?"
"Because you're the only idol they'll ever accept." The girl looks up at Nazrin again. "I respect the principles, and I want a sacred place to pray."
She admittedly did touch Nazrin's heart. "So make a shrine for yourself, my dear."
"Would that have the same value as a temple with an idol?"
"I can be your shrine's idol. But I cannot stay here."
"Then how will I idolize you?"
"Perhaps I'll come by every so often. I have to think about that first." Nazrin places her hand on the girl's hair, stroking through it once. "What is your name, my dear?" The girl smiles. "My name is Toramaru Shou."
YOU ARE READING
Sugar Eater
FanfictionDo you ever notice that while everybody is minding their own business on the ship, Nazrin does all the work? This story is based on that. In which Nazrin rises to fame and falls from grace, and smooches a tiger in the progress. This story contains...
