Read The Girl, the God, & the Ring :: The god of death is incapable of love.

This sudden revelation caused Shijin to change back into his godly form as he looked at Baku in shock.

After the intense energy left, Baku could finally manage to get himself back up as he wiped away the tears that had formed in the corner of his eyes.

I can't believe master has this much power. Actually he probably has more than that since some of it has been sealed away due to his demotion.

"W-What do you mean love?" Shijin asked, snapping Baku back to reality.

He cleared his throat as he looked up at him. "It is exactly as I said master. Love is the second method, more specifically you will have to fall in love with that human in order to break the bond."

Shijin stumbled back, the revelation being too much for him. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"I have to fall in love with No—that human? Is that all? Is there nothing else?" He asked.

When Shijin asked for more details, Baku had the instinct not to elucidate further for his own safety. Truthfully there was a time limit to when the confession needed to be made in order for it to work but he couldn't bring himself to tell his master. So he simply shook his head. "You need to fall in love with the human you call Noa in order to break the bond and have the ring of life returned to you. Once it's done, you can return back to the human realm master."

Though Baku wasn't a fan of this method either, he knew that out of the two this was the best. Shijin couldn't stay on earth for fifty years. The head would find out and he would probably get his powers taken away from him for good. Though fifty years here on earth was barely five months in the spiritual realm, if five months went by without any movement from the Yomi, things would turn into chaos.

The best thing to do for the good of the world would be for Shijin to fall in love with Noa. If he could do it within a month in the human world, then only a few days in the spiritual realm would've gone by.

The two returned back to Noa's apartment. Only five minutes had gone by but Shijin felt like he was in the shadow plane for hours.

"You're back." Noa said as she appeared near the doorway, a smile on her face.

Shijin couldn't even bring himself to look at her and Baku, curious about the woman who his master would be falling in love with, stared at her. Noa didn't know why, but she felt like the mood between the two was off. Shijin looked lost and confused while the man known as Baku looked at her with displeasure and curiosity.

"Umm..Is everything ok?" Noa hesitantly asked as she looked at Shijin.

Baku looked at his master and couldn't help but sigh. "You, human. I will be staying here for a bit. Find me a place to sleep." He ordered her.

Noa looked at Baku as if he had two heads. He looked intimidating and the vibe around him was kind of scary, but she didn't like his tone at all. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I will be staying with my master for awhile so guide me to the room he resides in." He ordered again.

"Ha. Do gods not have manners?" She mumbled to herself but still proceeded to show him to Shijin's room.

Baku diligently guided his lifeless looking master to his room. Noa eyed Shijin, a look of concern in her eyes.

"Is Death ok?"

Baku turned to look at her. "Death?"

"Oh, um your master. He told me to call him Death but I guess to you he's Shijin?" She said feeling embarrassed all of a sudden.

Baku's gaze went to his still lifeless looking master and back to her. He had a complicated look on his face. "You're not allowed to call him by his name, human. You will refer to him by the name he has given you." Was all he said before shutting the door behind him.

Noa who stood there couldn't conceal the shock and hurt she felt when hearing those words. She knew that Shijin was a god and that perhaps he didn't think it was necessary nor appropriate for her to know his true name but they had grown closer now. She felt hurt by the fact that he had a name but he never once told her about it. And yet he could call him by name.

"Why am I feeling like this? It's not a big deal if he doesn't tell me his name. Stop acting like a jealous girlfriend Noa" She said to herself.

"...Wait…jealous? Why would I be jealous?"

A sudden realization had dawned on her but she immediately buried that thought.

"No way in hell," She said to herself.

"There's no way."

........................

The following morning, Noa woke up as usual and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. She made breakfast but this time made an extra portion, ate and left for work. She wouldn't be returning until late at night so she made sure to leave a note on the fridge before leaving.

A few minutes later, Baku and Shijin woke up to the smell of food and ate the breakfast that was waiting for them.

"Looks like this human is useful. She can cook rather well." Baku observed.

Shijin nodded his head. "Yeah she makes good curry." He said absentmindedly.

Baku took the time to look around the house and found the note on the fridge.

"She won't be returning until later tonight. We can use this time to come up with a plan master."

"…Baku. There's no way I can fall in love with a human." Shijin finally said as he looked at Baku for the first time since the revelation.

"Why not? She seems like a good person."

"Noa is not the problem. I can't love a human. Gods shouldn't love humans, at least not romantically." He said frantically.

Baku looked at his master in surprise. This was the first time he had seen Shijin look so disheveled and panicked. He was always calm and composed so he didn't know how to act or what to do.

"There are plenty of gods who've fallen in love with humans master."

"I'm not talking about those frivolous Greek gods Baku. I mean real gods. Respectable gods don't fall in love with their creations." He said his voice was now cold.

"It's not just the Greek gods." He noted again, resulting in another glare from Shijin.

Guess I'll just keep my mouth shut from now on.

Shijin ran his fingers through his hair as he contemplated what to do.

"...I think this is also something you should discuss with that human too, master. Whether you like it or not, this does involve her as well."

Shijin let out another sigh. He knew Baku was right. She deserved to know since he wasn't the only one dealing with this situation but he couldn't help but feel conflicted. "…I couldn't bear to tell her something so…shameful."

"How is telling a human you have to fall in love with them in order to break a bond shameful?" Baku wondered.

Shijin shot him a disdainful look, "Would you be able to do it if you were in my shoes?"

"…"

"Yeah, I didn't think so. Contribute good ideas or be quiet."

"…"

"Haaa…seriously why did this have to happen to me."

........................

"Hey Noa, you okay? You look tired." Danielle asked her as she wiped down the chairs, getting ready to open.

"I'm fine. Didn't get much sleep." She said,

"You sure? You can take a break since we don't open for another fifteen minutes."

Noa shook her head as she gave her a smile. "I'm good. I'll go get the coffee beans in the back." She told her.

"Sounds good~"

Noa worked at a large cafe that was known for their quality coffee and nice atmosphere.

It was a popular spot for young adults as well as students since the layout of the cafe was designed in order to ensure privacy for the customers.

The cafe was mostly busy during the lunch and afternoon hours and was relatively slow during the mornings which Noa was grateful for.

Despite being a high functioning human, even she couldn't go a whole day working tirelessly on only two hours of sleep. She had been tossing and turning all night, her thoughts filled with Shijin wondering about his sudden coldness and her developing feelings towards him. By the time she managed to close her eyes, it was already morning. The only reason why she didn't look like absolute crap in that moment is because she made sure to put some concealer under her bags and drink so much water, she was going to the washroom every hour.

As she went to the backroom to gather the coffee beans they would be using for the day, she bumped into her boss Callum who was placing some orders. His face immediately lit up when he saw her giving her a warm smile. Noa despite her crappy mood, she couldn't help but return the smile back. Callum was a couple years older than her and was already an owner of a successful shop. He was kind and treated everyone well. He was friendly and easy to get along with, an overall great guy plus it didn't hurt that he was easy on the eyes.

Unlike someone, she thought.

"Morning Noa, I hope you had a restful weekend." He greeted her.

"Morning boss. And yes I got some time to relax." She said.

"That's good to hear. Sometimes I feel like you work yourself too hard. Being hard working isn't bad but you gotta take care of yourself too." He said the concern in his voice was evident.

Noa's heart warmed when hearing those words. It was nice to see someone so concerned over her well being. She was grateful towards Callum for taking her in and for always looking out for her.

"Thanks Callum, I'll keep those words in mind."

"Please do. We open in ten so take a little break alright?"

"Will do."

Because of the little nap she took in the breakroom, Noa was able to power through the day. Since they had finished a little earlier than planned, Callum suggested taking the staff out for dinner. They all shared a nice meal before saying their goodbyes.

As Noa entered her home, she was surprised to see the two men sitting on the couch watching TV. Though Shijin looked a little distracted, Noa could tell he was entertained by what he saw.

"I'm back." She called out as she made her way towards the living room.

"Oh human, you're back earlier than you said." Baku called out.

"You know, I'd appreciate it if you guys would stop referring to me as human and call me by my name instead."

"But isn't that what you are?"

For some reason Noa felt like she couldn't refute what he said. "I resent that statement." Was all she could manage to say.

Noa looked around the room and saw a bunch of opened wrappers around the table. "What did you guys do all day?"

"What we decide to do with our time is none of your concern."

"You do remember who's house you're currently in right?"

"..."

What a piece of work.

Noa went to her room and washed up as she prepared for bed. As she was drying her hair, she realized that Shijin hadn't spoken a single word to her since she got home. In fact, ever since Baku showed up, he hadn't even looked her way.

"Did I do something to offend him?" She wondered out loud.

Noa was feeling a little hungry so she went to the kitchen to munch on something when she saw Shijin still sitting on the couch but he was alone this time.

"Where did your henchman go?" Noa asked him.

"...He went back to the spiritual realm."
Noa raised her brow. "So he's gone for good?"

"...."

"Death?"

*Silence.

"Hey, is something going on? You've been acting weird ever since that guy showed up. Are you in trouble?"

"No, there's nothing wrong." He said, his voice sounding cold.

There's clearly something going on with him.

"Whatever's bothering you, you can tell me. I'm all ears." She said as she got closer to him.

"It's nothing, just a little tired." He said.

Noa knew that wasn't the reason but still nodded her head. "Makes sense since you're in a human body."

"Hm. You guys get tired very easily." He remarked.

"Haha, I wonder why. Well I'm going to bed now since I'll be going to work early. See you tomorrow."

"I suppose." He said quietly.

Noa didn't think much of it at the time chalking it up to him being cranky but she would soon regret not seeing the signs sooner.