Kongming Wants to Forge a Bond with the Gods

Xiaoyue is a land god. Though she has only a small shrine by a country road and a tiny patch of land under her care, the only people who come to worship her are elderly villagers.

But one spring, a cat-eyed boy starting middle school began passing by on his way to class. Whenever he passed, he would stop to offer a simple but sincere prayer. Sometimes he would leave fruit or local Nagano specialties.

Xiaoyue decided to protect him, just like every other believer she had protected.

So she shielded him from disaster at home, saved his childhood friend when she was caught in an avalanche, and helped him get through every case safely.

Watching the little boy grow into a handsome, accomplished young man made Xiaoyue proud of her work as a land god.

He would surely become an excellent police officer and help many people on this land and beyond.

Then one day, Xiaoyue stared in bewilderment at the flowers presented to her by the cat-eyed young man.

Xiaoyue: I wasn't protecting you for this kind of reason!

The eldest son of the Suwa family can see unusual things.

Or so he says. He can only see harmless or relatively weak beings, and he has always kept it a secret from those around him.

On his way to school on the first day of middle school, he saw a tiny god in a tiny shrine, small, soft, and bright, like a snowflake falling in winter in Nagano.

He left half his lunch, then watched the tiny land god dance inside the shrine.

From then on, every school day, he paid attention to what the land god was doing as he passed the shrine.

He left an umbrella on rainy days, reinforced the shrine when it snowed, and offered a basket of fruit when the oranges in his family's garden ripened.

One winter day, the land god's favorite season, he bought a bouquet of flowers to offer her and saw her look surprised.

"I, the one you protect, have always known my own purpose."

Notes:

1. Crossover between Detective Conan, Kamisama Kiss, and Natsume's Book of Friends.

2. Pairing: Takaaki.

Theme: Protecting each other