Noragami Big Bang 2016

Story length: 7 chapters or 12k words - posting a chapter a day.



Summary: ”You never forget your first love. You mortals write that person onto your heart and soul. It’s part of your magic.” – Kofuku, as said to Hiyori.

Yato is dying, trapped in memories of his dark past. He is forced to make heartbreaking decisions to protect those dearest to him. Yukine is left to act on his own after Yato goes missing. Soon after Hiyori’s ties to the Far Shore are cut and she forgets Yato and Yukine, she’s faced with an impossible choice. Can Yato’s friends save him from extinction, before it’s too late?

Multiple point-of-view story about memory, the power of imagination and love.



Spoiler warning - very minor spoilers up to chapter 45 of the manga.

Chapter 1 – “The cycle of spring”

Cherry blossoms always reminded Yato of firsts and death. Bursting with forth with vigor and majesty, their only job was to dazzle during their brief time on earth. Yato envied the simplicity of their vibrant existence.

Never would they have to contend with the fear of losing loved ones.

Or regret.

Or shameful secrets from a dark past.

That was the domain of centuries-old minor gods like him.

Pink petals floated in the wind as Yato, Hiyori and Yukine jumped across the tops of the cherry trees in Tokyo’s Yoyogi Koen Park. The breeze gently fanned their faces; the evening faded into soft light, bathing the houses below in pastoral colours. Hiyori could easily smell chilli ramen, vegetarian tempura udon and sizzling beef yakitori wafting in the wind. But no fragrance was as pleasant as Yato, and Hiyori flushed at the thought.

“Aren’t they beautiful?” Hiyori cried, as flying cherry blossoms danced around the trio.

Yato smiled to himself. He loved sneaking glances at Hiyori, whenever they explored the city. In her half-akayashi form, the joyful teenager looked as free as a falcon. Even Yukine looked pleased, and his head was crammed with homework. The perfect afternoon almost distracted Yato from a crushing decision lying before him.

Stepping from the shadows, Yato’s former shinki, Nora, had given him an ultimatum the evening before. She’d delivered it on behalf of their father, whose imminent death guaranteed Yato’s extinction since their life forces were linked. Nora’s dark-eyed stare glistened with blackest malice, in contrast to the pure whiteness of her kimono.

“What do you want, Nora?” Yato said.

“Father isn’t well, Yato,” Nora said. “He isn’t well at all. So he has a dying wish for you both. You are to cut off ties with the human girl and your regalia. Or there will be consequences. He has his means of making them suffer after your deaths.”

“We’ll see,” Yato said darkly.

“Yato, don’t you see it’s for their own good? Do you really want Yukine to be bound to an extinct god? Or for Hiyori to grieve someone she can’t remember?”

For a second, Yato’s body flickered as though he were attempting, and failing to teleport. The world went black in front of his eyes.

So this is what fading from existence feels like, Yato thought.

The sensation was different from being blighted. At least Yato felt alive then; the excruciating stings savagely reminded him of his mortality. This time, it was like being in a tomb, with someone slowly closing the door, forever separating him from the sunlight, fresh air and the colours and smells of the world around him.

He wondered whether this had been the fate of his former shinki, Sakura, when she’d turned into an ayakashi and he’d been forced to end her suffering. Every time the cherry blossoms bloomed, he thought about Sakura, with her shiny dark hair and shy smile.

Sweet-natured Sakura had taught him right from wrong, and the value of kindness. She’d trusted him, and cared for him, and stayed by his side, and paid for it with her life.

Hiyori’s words yanked Yato back into reality. “Yato! Yato! Wake up!”



Yato opened his eyes and saw Hiyori kneeling beside him, shaking his shoulders, her long brown hair and uneven bangs flying behind her. She brushed aside the fringe of his dark, inky-blue hair with one hand. Yukine’s lava red eyes and tight pink mouth looked uneasy as he stood opposite Hiyori, on the other side of Yato.

“Yato, what happened?” Yukine asked.

“You look like her,” Yato said to Hiyori, his mind still disoriented after the fall.

“Like who?” Hiyori asked. For a couple of seconds it was though Yato had partially disappeared and she was clutching at air. “Yato!” Hiyori cried, horrified.

Yato whined as Hiyori squeezed his arm tightly. She released her grip. Although his body ached now, he oddly hadn’t felt the moment of impact as he hit the ground.

“What’s going on, Yato?” Yukine said.

Yukine crouched beside Yato and looked him sternly in the eye. Yato looked away.

“My father is dying,” Yato said. “If he goes down, he’ll make sure he brings down everyone with him, starting with everyone who has ever stood up to him.”

Hiyori and Yukine glanced at each other.

“Wait a moment,” Yukine said. “How do you know for certain your father is dying?”



As Yato’s hands temporarily flickered, he held them up to Hiyori and Yukine as proof of his impending extinction.

“I don’t care about Fujisaki,” Hiyori said. “We won’t let anything happen to you!”

Cherry blossoms fell from above, enveloping Hiyori in a cascading sea of pink blooms. As the wind swirled around their bodies, the flowers did a little jig around her head and shoulders. Her hair flapped in the wind; her cerise pink eyes burned with passion.

Yato felt that Hiyori had never looked more lovely, nor fragile.

He made his decision.

“I’m cutting our ties, Hiyori,” he said.



NEXT: Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | A03

Writer’s notes:

I’ve always been fascinated by cherry blossoms as a symbol of both new life and death. Cherry blossoms typically herald in the start of spring, most famously in Japan. But the period in which they bloom is so short-lived, they’ve also been associated with loss, transience and the fragility of life.

It was @skyheaven1231’s idea to do her wonderful GIFs for this collaboration. If you don’t already follow this talented artist, do so right away! She’s a lovely person, an absolute delight to work with and I’m sure you’ll agree that her artwork is beautifully striking and expressive! Visit her Tumblr to see some of the original drawings that she used to make her animations.

