[Noragami] I was not there

She probably knew the girl, and the two even made eye contact.

She knew she could see her, but unfortunately she didn't have the chance to ask, the girl disappeared just as suddenly as she appeared, leaving no trace, except for the long time no see and the gaze that stayed on Xia Qi for too long.

"Xiaqi, who is that?" All she could ask was Xiaqi.

"..." Xia Qi didn't respond, he just stared blankly at the place where the girl disappeared.

Xiaqi Akira's appearance scared her a little, she stepped forward to support Xiaqi, and then softly called: "Xiaqi?"

"Ah?" Xia Qi then turned back to look at her as if awakened, but quickly looked away, just looked at the place where the girl disappeared and muttered to himself, "Impossible, impossible."

"Xiaqi?...Xiaqi!"

Xia Qi left in a daze without a word of explanation, and from that day on, Xia Qi became even more strange, even the atmosphere around him.

Xia Qi became very strange, she ate very little every day, didn't talk much, and still tried to help the family with work, but the most she did every day was to sit in front of the shrine she made for that god, The few remaining smiles exist only there.

She couldn't do anything, she could only silently accompany Xiaqi behind him, and after that, Xiaqi's parents sighed helplessly and the villagers turned their backs behind their backs, and the strange aura from all directions seemed to be getting closer.

Many times, on the way home, Xia Qi would be thrown rocks and clods by some children in the village, and she would be scolded as an old woman possessed by demons, but she never took it seriously, just stood up silently and patted her body Dust continued on the way home.

Xiaqi was indeed stronger than she imagined, but the matter did not end because of her tolerance. The children who smashed the stones were tired of it, and they went to destroy the seedlings in Xiaqi's family's field as a prank, but this time they But it didn't work out.

She made a move, and to be precise, she didn't really do anything. As long as she got close to them, the monsters attached to her would run away like crazy.

It has been a long time, those things that do not belong to this world have been hiding in the dark, or slowly floating in the air, they spy on all the living people, and they wait for the opportunity to attach to them whenever they have the opportunity, and what they love is The most negative emotions of human beings.

The situation where the villagers crowded out Xiaqi's family became more and more serious because of the gathering of these things, which made a small matter infinitely magnified. She could stop it once or twice, but she couldn't drive those things away for Xiaqi all the time. , those drool-worthy, ugly things.

She knows that something very bad will happen if this happens again, the things hiding in the sky are getting closer, as if someone is guiding them over, so——

"Xiaqi, don't wait any longer."

"Xiaqi, don't wait any longer."

"Xiaqi, don't wait any longer."

……

But the only response to her is always that leisurely back and lonely smile.

A few more months passed like this, and amidst the distressed faces of Xiaqi's parents, someone came to propose again.

Xia Qi is very beautiful, even if Shaohua is not here, her appearance has not been subtracted at all, so it is not surprising that someone comes to propose again.

The man said that he was asking for marriage for his master. He was a wealthy businessman over half a century old. Just because of a meeting in the street a few days ago, he had the idea of ​​accepting Xia Qi as a concubine in the mansion.

The other party has a lot of dowry gifts, and their attitude is not tough, because no ordinary farm family will refuse such a request, and being able to marry into a wealthy family means that they can live a stable life without worrying about taxes and livelihoods.

This is what the current Xiaqi family can't wish for. Firstly, Xiaqi's marriage is a problem they are eager to solve, and secondly, because their family's fields have not been able to harvest much food this year, it is almost like a vicious curse. , and seeing the day of handing over is approaching day by day.

Xia Qi remained silent. She knew that as long as she nodded, she could save the whole family, and the villagers would no longer treat her as a lunatic. She knew that the person she was waiting for might never come back. She I know, I should agree.

But before she nodded, her father spoke first, and unexpectedly rejected the marriage, using the reason that Xia Qi was suffering from a serious illness, and that being unmarried at this age was the best proof.

The visitor frowned tightly, and his face was terribly dark. He never thought that this family would reject such a great good thing, and walked away with a cold snort.

As a result, they broke up in such an unhappy way. Xiaqi watched her parents knock their heads heavily on the ground and did not lift them up again for a long time. She finally understood that her parents never gave up on her. food and clothing is meaningless.

Xia Qi cried, crying very sadly, she said she was sorry, but never regretted it.

Xiaqi's parents also cried. They said it didn't matter. They knew that their daughter was still the same, so she wasn't as miserable as outsiders said. If she didn't want to marry, then she wouldn't marry.

Xia Qi wiped away her tears and said yes, she believes that everything will be fine.

She showed a little gratified smile, and she believed so.

Only later developments told them that the nightmare had just begun.

One month after refusing to propose marriage, Xiaqi's father gave up the almost barren fields and went out to earn money by finding water sources and digging wells. However, within three days, news came that he accidentally drowned after going down the well.

Xiaqi's mother was already in poor health, and as soon as the news came, she couldn't afford to fall ill.

Overnight, Xiaqi's world collapsed, and the little money left in the family was spent on medical treatment for the mother. The medicine he bought was only enough for three days, and the rice jar at home was already empty.

Xia Qi went out to ask the villagers for some food when he was suffering from hunger and cold, but all he got was a closed door and disregard for his business.She had no choice but to run to the mountains to find something to eat, and this search lasted for several days. Xia Qi stumbled and fell off the cliff, and fell into a coma for a day and a night. When the few wild fruits that arrived went back, Xiaqi's mother's body had been cold for a long time.

"Grandma...Grandma!"

No one will respond to her anymore, in this family.

Xia Qi was slumped on the ground, looking at the front with no expression on his face, without any focal length, he couldn't cry even if he wanted to, because the tears had already been drained.

The wind behind her passed through the hall, bringing up a cloud of dust, and her home had already been blown away.

"Xiaqi... Xiaqi..."

She tried her best to call Xia Qi's name, but she seldom received a response. Her existence seemed to be gradually becoming fragile with the passage of time.

But she's still here, so please, please don't show such an expression again, Shimoki.

How much she wants to be by her side all the time, but how long can she last?

The passing of power made her fall into a deep sleep most of the day, and when she was awake, she could only see Xiaqi alone in the room or silent in front of the shrine.

After losing everything, Xiaqi's spiritual support is only the long, long-distance agreement, and she has changed back to her previous appearance, or worse.

"Why...why do you still come here?!" She couldn't help but speak loudly to Xia Qi, feeling angry for the first time, "All misfortunes start here, don't they?!"

"..."

"Do you even know what happened?!"

"It's because I know what happened!" Xia Qi stopped her words loudly, and she knelt down beside the shrine, tears streaming down her face, "...I came here."

It was because she knew that she had lost everything that she entrusted the meaning of living to the long wait. She just found something that would bring her the most courage to support herself, and she might be torn apart in the next second. heart of.

"I really have nothing left but to wait."

"..." She didn't speak again.

It's not that Xia Qi doesn't understand, but he understands too much, so he hopes that he can become less understanding.But this was always just a way to escape, but she couldn't bear to open her mouth to break it.

The days passed like this day by day.

Someone came, but left again, and then no one bothered about Xiaqi's home, maybe even the coming of death would not disturb anyone.

And Xiaqi seems to be used to such a person's life, sunrise and sunset, spring and autumn, but the person is getting thinner and thinner, much faster than ordinary people.

She was in a deep sleep most of the time, she didn't know if Xia Qi had a good meal and a good sleep, every time she opened her eyes, she only saw Xia Qi sitting alone, exactly the same as the one she saw before falling asleep.

Once again, she woke up from a deep sleep, it was already dark outside, Xia Qi was still sitting in the room lifelessly, and the food in the kitchen was completely untouched.

She had had enough of seeing Xia Qi like this, and for the first time, she voluntarily left to go to the shrine that Xia Qi made to worship the god named Ye Bu.

She wanted to kick the damn thing over, but of course it failed. She could only point to the stone house and question loudly, as if the other party could really hear: "Hey! Aren't you a god?! If you If you really exist, don’t pretend to be dead! Even if you are really dead, come out and tell me clearly! Do you know how long Xiaqi has been waiting for you?! If you can’t promise anything, don’t give her hope for no reason! "

She was justified at the beginning, but in the end, her personal emotions took the lead and cursed.God knows, she has wanted to do this for a long time, she doesn't care if the other party is really a god, or whether there will be punishment from heaven, anyway, she is already an undead, the worst is nothing more than that, the only thing she hates is that bastard who lied to women God.

But after this catharsis, she didn't wait for the god to scold back, of course, if it was really so easy to scold, the problem would be much simpler.

She could only go back dejectedly, but when she inadvertently raised her head to look at the sky, she showed a flustered expression—damn it, when did it come so close?

"Aren't you going back soon?" A sweet female voice suddenly approached her ear, very close.

"Who?!" She turned around abruptly, but there was nothing behind her.

But she really had a bad premonition in her heart, and hurriedly ran to Xia Qi's house, but when she returned, there was no one there, and there were only some torn clothes on the seat where Xia Qi used to sit. Messy footprints prove that outsiders have been there.

"Xiaqi...Xiaqi! Xiaqi!"

Her mind went blank, she didn't dare to think about what happened, she could only run out, calling Xia Qi's name, but she didn't know if she could hear it.

It didn't take long to find Xiaqi. From the very beginning, she ran to a corner of the sky covered with dark clouds. She didn't know why, but she just thought Xiaqi would be there.

It was a fast-flowing river, connected to the stream that Xiaqi often passed to and from the village and the shrine. She stood alone by the river, with clothes that were almost rags hanging on her body, covered with blood, but not her.

"...Xiaqi." She called her name, but her voice was trembling.

"Ah, Axi, you're here." Xia Qi turned around, but there was no light in his eyes.

"Xiaqi, shall we go back?" She smiled forcedly, stretched out her hand and slowly approached her.

"Go back?" Xia Qi looked at her suspiciously, then looked down at his blood-red hands, and finally shook his head suddenly, "I have nowhere to go back."

"No, it's not like that." She saw that a huge demon was entrenched on Xia Qi, and was constantly saying words to seduce her, telling the fastest way to bliss.

What the hell happened? !Why did she become like this after only leaving for a moment? !

"I'm sorry, Axi." Xia Qi's smile was desolate, his bun was blown away by the night wind, and there were a few strands of white hair among the black hair, which looked particularly vicissitudes under the moonlight.

She froze for a moment, counting that she and Xiaqi had been together for eight years without knowing it, Xiaqi is now over [-], and has already passed the best years of a woman, no matter how stunning her face is, she can't match the erosion of time, no matter how Coupled with the successive blows in recent days, she has already appeared old at this age.

"I have nothing left." Xia Qi stretched out her hands and stared blankly. Years of hard work had made her hands more dry and chapped, and the blood stained was even more shocking. "She was right, human beings are really too It's fragile, so fragile that you may not even be able to wait for an agreement."

"Her?" She said without knowing it, "Wait a minute, Xiaqi."

"Human beings will always be born, old, sick and die. Maybe before he comes back, I will already be a gray-haired old lady." Xia Qi said and suddenly smiled, it was the kind of smile that reached the bottom of his eyes that he hadn't seen for a long time, "But now It's okay, she told me, oh, the way to stay by his side forever."

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

Xia Qi shook his head, didn't say anything, just turned around again and left her the back that no one seemed to understand.

—— Xiaqi died.

She threw herself into the river dragging her broken body and what little hope she had left. She finally told her that this was the place where he was rescued back then, and maybe she would see him again when she woke up, but she never gave a reason. In the end, The last sentence is just one sentence——

"I'm sorry, Ash."

She wanted to stop her, but she couldn't make a sound when the words came to her lips, she wanted to run over and hug her tightly but couldn't move her legs, her outstretched arms couldn't touch the corner of her clothes, the vision in front of her eyes continued to enlarge, The only thing she could feel was the splashing water droplets when she plunged into the river, which was extraordinarily cold.

The rushing river took Xia Qi away. She searched for the direction of the water all night, and finally found her among several big rocks. She had already lost her breath.

Well, Xia Qi is really dead.

She seemed to see Xia Qi's smile again, and heard her every smile and whisper, and she thought of the warmth of Xia Qi's hand holding her, but all these beautiful things gradually faded with death, becoming Monotonous black and white.

Death—that's the only thing that can't be undone.

She stared blankly at the lonely back washed by the flood, her heart felt as if it had been crushed by someone, as if it was not Xia Qi lying there, but herself, tears flowed down her face involuntarily, she held her chest tightly I felt like I was going to be out of breath, and I opened my mouth to breathe, but the oxygen pouring into my body couldn't reach my brain.

Xiaqi...

Xiaqi...

Xiaqi...

Xiaqi...

Xiaqi...

Her hands and feet trembled uncontrollably, her knees softened and she fell to the ground hard, unable to take a step forward, her head became quite heavy, only tears kept streaming down, and her vision along with her consciousness gradually became blurred.

"Xiaqi——!"

It's a pity that this cry couldn't reach the other shore.

She lost all her strength and fell to the ground, unable to move. Her strength seemed to flow with the rhythm of the flowing water. The world without a habitat meant nothing to her.

She quickly lost consciousness, and her only regret was that she couldn't bring Xia Qi's body back to the shore with her own hands.

This time, she slept for a little longer.

She couldn't wake up, but felt that she was very tired and uncomfortable, and her emotions seemed to be affected by something all the time, and there was a terrible force in her chest that was about to explode.

She seemed to hear something, it was the sound of yelling, crying, breaking, and tearing. She wanted to listen carefully, but she couldn't get too close. The hot thing might burn her, but after a period of time, she suddenly came back. I feel that I am in a piece of ice cold, accompanied by piercing pain.

...like something terrible happened?

Finally, she struggled to wake up from the upheaval, and the first thing she saw was a strange man, he seemed to be in a good mood, the corners of his mouth were raised all the time, he reached out and touched her head and whispered softly— —

"It's so pitiful, do you want to go home with me?"