Prologue - Divine Punishment

Why was I standing here again...? Right... I remember now. I'm not standing anymore. A second ago, I was standing on a barrel, now, my feet are dangling. In fact, my entire body is swinging back and forth, back and forth.

I feel pain in my neck, I can't breathe. I choke for air, but nothing comes in. My eyes are watering, wide as I stare at the grassy outskirts of town with bright lights flashing in and out.

Nothing but spit and tears and flying out.

I claw at the thick rope wrapped around my neck. The natural instinct to live is trying to save me, but it's already too late. My arms grow weak as my legs continue to kick slightly. My mind is in a haze, I hear nothing but a ringing sound and my voice, crying out in anguish.

Then suddenly, my mind went blank. All sensation in my body was numb. I couldn't move, and the pain was gone. The want to breathe was no longer there, and my vision was becoming blurry. Then blurrier. Then dark, then darker.

And eventually...

Black...

Why am I still thinking...? I am obviously dead. Is there an afterlife? What now? All of these thoughts were running through my mind for some reason.

But then... wait... I hear... voices? They were so faint, I couldn't make out what they were saying.

Then there was a light

The voices become louder, and louder, until eventually, I can make out what they are saying.

"Shall we get this court meeting on with?" A male said.

"She's not even awake yet, how are we supposed to deliver a sentence?" Another replied.

"Look! She's waking up. It seems her soul has completely left her body."

These voices were all so different, pure almost. The light began to fade and my eyes began to focus, to render the scenes around me.

I was lying on the floor, and as I slowly got up. I looked around. It look like the inside of an imperial court palace, but none that I have ever seen before. Red and brown Oriental designs and patterns of exquisite detail were strewn about on the walls. Dragons made of gold scaled their way around the corner pillars, arising from the depths of the jaded floor. Silver lions were guarding the dozen seated people that were all glaring down at me. They didn't look too happy.

All of these people were adorned in wardrobes that matched that of the Emperor. No, surpassed him. What kind of nobles were these I asked myself.

I felt that I can move, so I got up to my feet. It was strange, my body felt normal, or rather, healthy. I felt no hunger, or pain, or aches. I felt clean, and pure. I looked down to see that I was wearing a white kimono.

Was I still dead?

I had no time to think about it, as the voice of the first man spoke again.

"You! Do you have any words to explain yourself?" He asked in a very accusing manner.

"I-I..." I shook my head, not understanding what he was asking, "I have no understanding of what you speak of."

One of the nobles leaned over to him and whispered something inaudible.

The first noble rolled his eyes, and shook his head afterward, "It seems that Benzaiten brought up the point that you are not aware of your current situation."

I was still confused, what did I do wrong? Did I do something to warrant punishment? Is this to determine my afterlife?

"Enma, you're not helping the case here. Maybe I should explain?" The noble who whispered to him replied.

I suppose that is Benzaiten. I gazed at her. She was beautiful, flowing silk like hair. Clothing that looked as if it was art itself. Her voice rang like birds chirping of the morning. But as I gazed at her, I suddenly remembered the name Enma.

The God of Judgment of the dead, but, if he is the God of Judgment. Then that makes the rest of these people...?! I could hardly maintain composure. Here I was, standing before a council of gods, awaiting a sentence for a crime I know nothing of.

Benzaiten stood up as Enma sat. "Now... You mortal, has committed a grave offense to one of tenants of the High Heavens."

My eyebrows furrowed as she spoke that, what tenants? I asked myself. I dare not speak a word, in fear of angering these gods. But it seems too late, as I might have already angered them.

"Izanagi is the god of life and creation. He gave you mortals the gift of life, and he expected that gift to be treasured and cherished. But as flawed as you humans are, that gift is tarnished when one of you ends your life by your own hand." Benzaiten said as she pointed her fan towards me. "As a result, Izanagi became distraught that humans were taking their own lives, throwing away the gift he gave to them. And he saw no other way than to punish those who did so."

My eyes widened with disbelief. I didn't know it was a crime to take your own life. Did the gods so value human lives to such a point? Yet, why is there such suffering and anguish in the living world? My thoughts flooded into my head, as I opened my mouth without thinking.

"What is my punishment?" At an instant I covered my mouth.

"That is a good question" Benzaiten replied as she sat back down. "Enma, that is for you to decide."

Enma crossed his arms for a second, mumbling to himself. "If I recall correctly, the punishment for this crime is the denial of access to the Far Shore. And eternal exile to the living world as a servant to Izanami."

"A Shinigami..." One of the gods in the council spoke up, "One who invites humans to death, for they themselves are denied the opportunity to die."

"Quiet Omoikane. Let the lady find out herself what eternal punishment the crime of suicide brings forth." Another god said in response.

Omoikane glanced with a slight grin and a raised eyebrow. "Now now Inari, I'm just giving a description of what a vassal of Izanami does." He said to the goddess of fertility.

Eternal punishment? Crime of suicide? I quivered.

"Quiet!" Enma continued as he stood up once more. "The decision is final. As the God of Judgment, and per unanimous agreement with the Judges Council, I hereby sentence you to an eternity as a servant of death. This shall be your reason for existence, this shall be your sole purpose."

Raising his arm, he held a brush. With that brush, he wrote on a scroll and said, "Now begone!"

At an instant, I felt a cold wave creep through my body. A dark mist engulfed my body and dragged me downward. I tried to fight back, but it kept at it, until eventually, my sight was black again.

ooo

Everything was silent, and dark. But I felt a wind. And eventually, I heard sounds again. The sounds of people, the sounds of a crowd. Then, I felt my eyes slowly open themselves. I was in the middle of a small crowd of people. I looked around, they were all staring in one direction. Mumbling, gossiping.

"Hey, didn't her husband die weeks back?"

"Such a shame, what made her want to do that?"

"The gods must be furious..."

"Sad to see a youngster go like that. Not even long enough to start a family"

Then I suddenly realized something, and looked to what they were looking.

Hanging there from the tree, rope stretched and tied around the neck. Tears and spit dripping from the chin. It was a body, my body, hanging there silently, sway lightly with the wind.

I stared down at my hands with tears forming in my eyes.

This wasn't a dream. This was my divine punishment.

A/N: Hey this is PlainStoryTeller. You guys might now me for my notable Shingeki no Kyojin and Sword Art Online fanfics, if not, you should give them a read if you like both shows! I will be trying to find the time to update both of those fanfics for my other faithful readers.

But here I have a fanfic for Noragami that I've been thinking about for quite a while. I felt that death wasn't a subject that was gone in depth in the anime or manga, so I feel that this would be an interesting turn of events to put things into perspective. Don't worry, we'll tie in with Yato and the rest, but not for a while.

Other than that, enjoy the chapter! I'll try to update soon!