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Megumi was Death Touched, and he meant that in a literally sense.
Megumi was born gravely ill, and at a young age, he had no hope that he'd survive to see his thirteenth birthday - and seeing as it was during ancient times, when remedies and medicines for certain illnesses weren't known, the Zen'in family had already prepared a small plot of land for Megumi to be buried in. He spent his young life in bed, looking outside the usual open shoji doors and into the garden and at the sky - bundled up in thick clothing.
The Zen'in heir first met the Wandering Death at the age of six. Unfortunately for Megumi, even though he was sick and practically useless, some of his clan members (who had more chances of becoming the next to take up the mantle of the Zen'in clan head) still found his existence threatening. The child found himself choking on his own blood after drinking his usual tea on a faithful day. Whatever pitiful memories he managed to acquire from his miserable life flashed before his eyes as he died.
"So young." A beautiful voice said. "And so soon."
Gold. Those were the colours of the eyes of his God his bleary mind could registered. A God who not only saved but healed him as well.
The hat wearing god got on his knees besides Megumi’s futon and picked him up. The boy had never felt so warm as he did that moment.
"It is not yet your time, dear child." The god said, smiling down at a dying Megumi. "Live." The god leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on Megumi's blood stained lips, and he promptly passed out.
When next Megumi opened his eyes, it was to the various expressions of shock and total disbelief donned on by his family members. And when he finally unclenched his fists, a ribbon laid in it. A familiar red ribbon with gold designs on it.
That day, something changed inside of Megumi. Not only did he become hale and healthy, to the disbelief and suspicion of everyone, a fierce feeling built its foundation deep within his soul. As the days went by and as Megumi grew older, that feeling became stronger and stronger - its fangs and claws embedded deep inside of his heart.
Longing - that was the feeling, Megumi soon came to discover. And not just any longing, it was the unquenchable and unshakeable desire to meet one person. Well, an entity.
Megumi never forgot the face of the being who made him whole. How could he, when those beautiful amber-gold eyes were smeared deep in his brain. How could he forget the holy being that made Megumi into a new being. Who made him more. How could he forget them when he had their ribbon on his person at all times - wrapped around his right arm. The ribbon that became his holy item, and he found himself mumbling prayers (and sometimes pleas) whenever he rubbed the silky material between his fingers.
The Zen'in heir gained some powers from his encounter - most possibly a residue or consequence of the Being bringing him back to life - that made him see the dead. Not only could he communicate with the dead, he could touch them.
As the days went by and Megumi practiced with his new powers, he soon found out that he could command them. He tested this theory when he commanded the soul of a deceased Zen'in servant to kill his uncle. The result was quite pleasing - well, for him, of course. For others, it was a brutal sight of shredded flesh, guts, bones and blood as Megumi’s uncle was found torn apart in his room.
When Megumi hit the age of fifteen, he became the new Zen'in clan head. At that age, he was already a master of war. Due to the lessons he received from various generals and warlords of past that died on the earth of their kingdom, Megumi was a force to be reckoned with. Not only was he powerful in the arts of Black Magick, he was brutal and smart in the daily day to day activities of running a powerful clan.
But even with the fame and wealth he had acquired, Megumi still felt... lost. He felt as if he was lacking something in his life. It wasn't until he had a discussion with the soul of a dead Sorcerer of their kingdom (who he had called upon and summoned with a bit of his blood) that the teen realised he longed for his God. The one who ignited his soul back to life with a handful of gifts. When asked what to do, the Sorcerer gave him a simple answer.
He had to meet his God to be at peace.
But Megumi wanted more than that. He wanted his God to be with him. He wanted to be with his God. And the only way to draw the attention of the Being that dealt with the dead was to do one simple thing: sacrifice in their name. Or in Megumi’s case, in what little memory he had of them.
And so, an eighteen year old Megumi proceeded in killing the entirety of his clan. He waited for some few minutes, standing in the wreckage of the burning Zen'in compound - whilst drenched in blood and holding a bouquet of blood stained white roses with an emerald ribbon tying them together - for his god to arrive.
Nothing.
Megumi wasn't put off by this, of course. He came to the conclusion that his sacrifice had to be bigger - better. With this in mind, the teen used the flowing blood of his dead relatives to summon an army of undead. He slaughtered every single person in the kingdom, leaving no one alive.
About eight thousand plus people were slaughtered, and Megumi relished in the action. With each death and with each soul on his tally, Megumi became stronger. When he was done with the kingdom, it was nothing but a burning ruin that was filled with the stench of blood, agony and death. A Megumi drenched from head to toe with blood, and bits of viscera and bone on his person, had looked down upon his work from the pinnacle of the castle - a large smile that spoke of his deranged nature on his lips.
Even with that, his God never showed up. Megumi was a bit miffed about that, but he waved it off and told himself that he just needed to try harder. After all, a Being of such greatness should only get the best of the best when it came to someone trying to gain their attention.
Centuries passed and Megumi still lived. He became a Necromancer - a Mage of great power that preceeded over the dead. With each century he became stronger, better, and powerful. With each soul he slayed, it added to his tally. With each village he wasted, he gained a reputation. Soon, Megumi was soon known as a demon, and later, a god.
The god of war - Shikigami-sama.
He soon gained followers and worshippers who prayed and offered sacrifices to him. With this and the fact that he had unknowingly absorbed the essences of one hundred million souls so far, Megumi became just that - a god.
Oh, how thrilled the Necromancer was that he was now everlasting. He could be with his god without sacrificing one thousand souls so as to retain his immortality every fifty years. He was now a god. A god with no Pantheon, but a god no less.
Megumi used his new profession to continue to make sacrifices to his God. His brutality and attitude of laying waste to kingdoms without consideration gained him respect, awe, fear and disgust from other Pantheons. One or two gods tried to stop him, but Megumi used them as scapegoats. They soon learnt that Megumi was more. His powers weren't on their level. He was better than them.
It wasn't until he entered his one billionth kill that Megumi got his wish. His God showed up. His God, his reason for existence, finally came to him.
Megumi had been in the middle of wiping out the existence of a kingdom from the face of the earth when it happened. He had unleashed the dead at his command, tall skeletons walking around and destroying everything they saw. His Shikigamis, his loyal servants in the form of large wolves, were having their own fun - killing and consuming whosoever they wanted.
Megumi himself had joined in the fray, cutting down mortals with his sword and looking like the deranged beast spoken in history. He had paused when he felt the sign of an incoming force. An energy of great mass, most likely from a god. He teleported to the small hill it was coming from and was met with a shocking sight.
Hovering in the air and watching the scene of death and destruction, the flames of the burning city and the full moon above providing lighting, with a look of curiosity was Megumi’s beloved deity. When they turned, Megumi’s breath was promptly stolen away.
The entity possessed four arms - the two upper arms having black fingerless gloves that reached their biceps, and the lower two wearing white, fingerless bicep length gloves. A deadly scythe with a blood red blade was being held in their upper left hand.
Pink hair could be seen under the top hat they wore - a hat which had a familiar coloured ribbon tied elegantly on it. They wore a tight, black, sleeveless crop top with a high neck - which showed off their stomach and the jewellery on their belly button. They also had on a tight, white pants that hugged their figure; with black, knee high boots with considerable red heels to top it off.
Familiar red ribbons with gold designs was on their person - long and wrapped around their chest, arms and legs like a snake.
And their eyes. Their eyes were the same amber-gold jewels Megumi dreamt of every night. They were the same eyes that Megumi had longed so much to see. Under their eyes were two slits. And their lips - the same lips that had kissed him even though he had been in a pathetic state. Megumi wanted to feel them again.
Megumi’s God was beautiful.
"So, you're the one who has been laying waste to so many souls for centuries now?"
That voice. Megumi shivered in remembrance. It was still soothing and filled with life. Truly, this was his God.
Megumi slowly made his way over to the deity, his eyes never leaving them - no, him. The deity turned to fully face Megumi, looking majestic and utterly supreme without even trying. His mere presence commanded authority and grace.
The god of war stopped some feet before his God, sword still dripping blood to the earth in his right hand. Amber-gold eyes glanced at his sword wielding hand, taking note of the ribbon tied on his arm - which was covered by the sleeve of his leather trench coat. Recognition flashed in those breathtaking orbs and Megumi’s heart soared when they looked upon him with remembrance.
A tiny dark purple gate opened beside the war god and he put his left hand inside it. When he drew his hand back, he had his gift gripped tight.
It was the bouquet of roses he had prepared for his God centuries ago. He had kept them in stasis, using magic to keep them fresh and later placed them safe in his pocket dimension. It still had blood splatter on its white petals and Megumi’s blood soaked hands added more blood to the stems. His emerald ribbon was stilled tied around it.
"You're that child... from all those years ago." The pink haired deity mused, looking at Megumi with curiosity. "I've felt the force of your might from the Nether Realms, and the dead speak of you with greatness, fear and anger when my Reapers bring them over to my Domain. I've felt the sacrifices you laid for me, even though you don't know my name. I never expected that it was the child I took pity on. A child who is touched by my Essence, it seems. Now, this is fascinating."
The deity hovered down a bit, remaining a few feet in the air. His lower arms went behind his back, his fingers intertwining together, as he leaned forward a little to take a closer look at a smiling Megumi.
"Tell me, child, why did you sacrifice so many mortals to me?" The Being asked. "You could have lived your life peacefully with the powers I unknowingly bestowed onto you, and yet, here you are - now a god and finally managed to gain my full attention. Is there a reason for the bloodshed?"
Megumi had an utterly besotted expression as he gazed up at the hat wearing deity. His emerald eyes shone with love and devotion, and his smile spoke of what mortals called love.
"You came. You finally came." Megumi breathed out.
Megumi took a single step forward, his hand raising up and presenting the blood splattered bouquet to the pinkette.
"You ask why I sacrificed to you when the answer is so simple." Megumi started, his smile never leaving his lips. "You're my God. The one who made me whole. The one who bestowed onto me gifts no mere man or god could give or ever possess. Since the day you held me gently in your arms and bestowed onto me a kiss instead of taking me into the Afterlife, you made me yours. I've longed to see you. Oh, how I've longed to be in the presence of the one who holds my heart. You're beautiful, my Lord; just like the first time I saw you."
The Being had a look of pure amusement as Megumi waxed his feelings for him. His right hand was raised and his knuckle laid on the corner of his lips in a gesture of pondering.
"You do not know me, yet you hold such feelings for me. Is that wise?"
"I care not. What matters is the love and adoration I hold for you." Megumi stated.
"Love, you say..." The pinkette's lips twitched in amusement. "Once again, you do not know me."
"If given the opportunity, I'll love too." Megumi raised the bouquet. "Please, accept my offering to you, my Lord."
The God gave a chuckle, bestowing onto Megumi an amused smile. "What is your name, child?"
Megumi beamed even brighter. "I am Megumi, the former head of the now extinct Zen'in clan, and the god of war people call and know as Shikigami. I am the one called the Necromancer of the Void, and the Mage of the Abyss. It is an honour to be in your presence, my God."
The pinkette reached forward and grabbed hold of the offered bouquet. Megumi shivered as his fingers brushed against his. Keen emerald eyes watched as the deity brought the blood stained roses up to his nose and took a generous sniff of them. A pleased sigh left his lips and his eyes closed in delight.
"The scent of nature with a hint of death. How nostalgic." The entity hummed, opening his eyes and looking straight into Megumi's. "Well, seeing as you've introduced yourself, using your real name no less, I guess I should introduce myself as well."
Megumi’s back went rim rod and he looked at the deity in surprise.
"I am an Eldritch of the Endless Void - the Being of the End. I am one who liveth forever until the end of Time and Existence. I am the one who holdeth the powers of the past, present and future in the palm of their hand. I am Death. But you can call me Yuuji, Little One. It's nice to meet you, Megumi-kun."
The soft, closed eyed smile Death gave Megumi had the god shedding a tear in rejoice.
To find out that his God was an entity of old, was an Eldritch - a being stronger than all the gods and the Beings that existed since the dawn of existence - was a delight. His God was Death itself and Megumi couldn’t help but feel unworthy. He was baffled and wondered how he had gotten the Eldritch's attention in the first place. But Megumi put those thoughts behind him, for he cared not about them.
Why should he worry himself about insignificant details when the very being who held his heart for centuries was now out of his divine Realm - once again bestowing onto him attention he had craved for years?
Yuuji made mention that Megumi was the first of his kind that he had unknowingly created. He wasn't like the other gods who he had appointed to serve as his Liaisons in their Pantheon. Unlike the gods of death who just had a single drop of his power, and the Reapers who were made out of willing human souls with just his breath - Megumi had a cup full of his powers. The war god felt unadulterated pride and happiness swell in his chest that he grinned at Yuuji.
The Eldritch found Megumi a fascinating and amusing study. A mortal who had been touched (more like kissed) by him without dying in the process years later. A mortal who ascended up the food chain due to his obsession and desire to meet him again.
Yes, Shikigami Megumi was a fascinating specimen - which was why Yuuji took Megumi’s announcement of his desire to court him in a stride. The Eldritch had simply cocked his head, his soft smile still on his lips, as he gave the god an amused look. He neither accepted nor rejected Megumi’s request, and the god took that as a go ahead.
Megumi’s courting gifts were of a simple nature. Just like he did before, he sacrificed thousands of mortal souls in Yuuji's name, and the Eldritch (who would observe the happenings in his Realm with his Mirror) would come down to meet his suitor. In a scene that could be considered a senseless massacre, Megumi would always hand over to him either white or pink roses.
Yuuji saw no problem in Megumi killing mortals however he pleased. In the end, death came for all, and who was he to stop that. They were mortals and Yuuji had no interest in them unless he was moved by great compassion. Or relapse in thinking, he could hear a certain Eldritch say.
Megumi’s way of courting Yuuji had the population of his world drastically decreasing. A century of the war god courting Yuuji saw to it that he had cleaved the population into half. This of course had many gods branding together to get rid of him, but it saw to their... untimely demise.
Yuuji was amused by it all, but in the end he had to tell Megumi to stop. He was flattered by the souls been laid down at his feet, but it got old in no time. And it also saw the reduce of paperwork for his Liasons and Reapers - and for him in the end.
Megumi was an interesting entity - well, this version of him was. The other versions of him were... tamed. Less wilder and not having such total disregard to life. Yuuji quite like his Megumi.
Yuuji started going down to the Mortal Plane more often after the first century of their courting. It had been long since he had left his Realm, and he quite enjoyed his time with his maybe-future-Consort. Of course, his unusual absence didn't go unnoticed by his twin.
Sukuna, Yuuji's twin brother, wasn't amused by the latest happenings. In fact, he was pissed. Yuuji had simply stared with a deadpanned look as the Eldritch overseeing the Halls of Judgement and Reincarnation complained about his little brother being courted by a mortal of all things.
"Technically, Megumi-kun isn't a mortal. Not anymore."
Sukuna stared at him with a flat, bemused expression. "Yuuji, as long he isn't one of our kind, he's a fucking mortal. An Abyss be damned pest." The Eldritch hissed the last word with disgust and disdain.
Yuuji just rolled his eyes at his dramatics.
Seeing as Megumi’s world had nothing else to offer, the two took to travelling other Universes. As the centuries passed, Yuuji couldn’t help but find himself falling in... love(?) with Megumi. Whenever Sukuna visited his Realm, or he visited his brother's Domain, he didn't hesitate to gush about his Intended. Sukuna had a mighty grimace on his face whenever the Eldritch waxed poetry about his lover.
Sukuna had no problem with Megumi (lie) and just allowed his twin to do whatever he wanted. The two had been together since they came into consciousness - Sukuna hugging his brother to his chest and his four arms holding Yuuji tight - and Sukuna admitted that he tended to dote on Yuuji as much as he liked to bully and tease him.
It was when Yuuji made mention of turning Megumi into a Praemixa (a mortal that had been turned into a Being of the Void by Eldritchs, and like their Master's can transverse the Void without said Masters holding their hands) that Sukuna drew the line.
No. Just... no. The knowledge that his little brother was being fucked by a brat as insignificant as Megumi was already headache inducing, but the prospect of Megumi being his... in-law for all eternity sounded like a fucking nightmare.
Currently, Yuuji was watching his lover and brother go at it - sitted high up in the sky with his cheek rest on a fist and with an exasperated expression. The echos of their fight shifted the world around them and Yuuji could feel the massive paperwork incoming.
Megumi had not taken Sukuna's jabs lightly, and when the Eldritch had opened his mouth to say Megumi wasn't going to wed Yuuji, the god took it as an invitation to kill the Eldritch.
Yuuji internally groaned as he saw the continent of Atlantis, the place that they had been visiting and on a nice date no less, being destroyed. The water levels rised and the earth crumbled as the two powerhouses battled - drowning the unfortunate mortals and destroying an advanced civilization in mere minutes.
Yuuji was no fool to think that Sukuna wasn't holding back against his Intended. If his brother wanted, he'd have erased Megumi from existence with just a flick of his fingers - not that Yuuji would allow that, of course. But with the large feral grin he had on his lips, his loud unhinged cackles, and with the way his eyes were shining with unholy glee - Yuuji had no doubt that his brother was enjoying his decision of curbing his strength to be on Megumi's level.
Even when the continent became submerged in the new level of the ocean, a whole civilization being sunk, the two were still going at it. At this point, Yuuji could feel the earth shaking as they went on, and he had to put a stop to their idiocy.
With a sigh, Yuuji stood up from his lotus position and made his way over to the feral idiots - his ribbons fluttering in the wind as he flew to them.
He couldn't help but wonder how Sukuna would react if Yuuji were to inform him that he was already pregnant.