"Yukine! It came in today!" Yato exclaimed, bursting into Yukine's dorm room. He held a ripped open box in his hands, books sloshing around and nearly spilling out from Yato's excitement.

Yukine did not spare Yato a look as he lied on his back with a book in hand. He flipped the page, asking, "What did you buy this time?"

Yato grinned as he stepped further into the room, kicking the door shut with his foot as he dropped the box on the floor. Yato sat down, placing each book on display as he removed them from the box, setting them down next to him. "They're books on how to get rich without having to work, and on how the female mind works! With this, Yukine, I'll be irresistible to every girl on campus! I could even teach you a thing or two."

"Yeah, no thanks."

Yukine sighed. Everyone who knew Yato knew of his spending habit. Yukine had witnessed it first hand when he and Yato had gone to pick out a birthday present for a friend; Yato had left the store with the gift and random junk he claimed he would need one day in the future, nearly running the limit of his credit card. It had only been a week later that Yato admitted to Yukine that he couldn't make his credit card payment that month and did not know how he would pay it off, asking for him to pay contribution to the Yato Foundation. Yukine had agreed to help him pay the bill – something he wished he hadn't done – but only if Yato got a job, though that only seemed to fuel his spending habit more.

"You blew your money on something so frivolous?" Yukine responded, attention still focused on his book.

"Frivolous?" Yato expressed with mock horror, clutching a book to his chest. "Don't you want me to succeed in life?"

Yukine finally cast a sidelong glance at Yato. "You'd be more successful if you stopped turning to cheap books that won't get you anywhere and start saving your money. Why do you think Bisha left you for Kazuma? He knows how to save up money to take her out on a date every so often."

Yato set down his book and crossed his arms. The breakup had been months ago, but it still stung. He and Bisha had dated for three years, two in high school, and one in college. "I took her out on dates plenty of times," he said defensively, pouting like a small child would if their parents denied them a toy.

Yukine shook his head and sat up, narrowing his eyes at Yato. "You had a tendency to leave your wallet somewhere or run up your credit card to its limit so that she would have to pay for the date, right?"

"I don't need this," Yato said, picking up the books and placing them back into the box. He knew Yukine was right – though a year younger, the kid usually was – but Yato couldn't admit it to his face. Yukine had as much a tendency to gloat as Yato did with spending money. "I'll take my business elsewhere, thank you."

Yukine waved him off, returning to his earlier position on his bed. "Yeah, yeah."

Yato picked up his box of books and hurried out the door without a second glance. "See you at dinner!"

Yato saw the blur of a person in his haste, colliding into them a moment later. The box slipped out of Yato's hands, the books spilling out everywhere as Yato stumbled backwards. The person that he'd bumped into had nearly fallen; the girl had caught herself on a nearby wall.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention," Yato mumbled as he collected his items, his face burning red with embarrassment. He couldn't believe he had done such a thing. He already knew the girl would reprimand him for crashing into her, so Yato braced himself, hurrying to snatch up the books before he caused any more damage.

Instead of remarking about how he should watch where he was going, the girl tucked some of her brown hair behind her ear and joined him in his efforts. Her purple eyes met his blue ones, a friendly smile appearing on her face. "It happens, don't worry about it."

Their hands brushed against one another as they reached for the last book, the girl removing her hand, a pink tint to her cheeks. She cleared her throat and helped Yato stand up with the box in hand. "Besides, if you're a friend of Yukine's, then I can't be mad."

"You know Yukine?" Yato asked, mildly surprised. Yukine hadn't mentioned that he'd been talking to such a pretty girl… Yato would have to ask him about that.

"Hiyori, hey!" Yato heard Yukine call out from behind him, sounding cheery.

Why is he so happy? He's always grumpy.

Yato curiously observed Hiyori wave to Yukine. She stepped into the door frame, folding her arms over her chest as she replied, "Hey! How's class going?"

Over Hiyori's shoulder, Yato could see Yukine shoot Hiyori a friendly smile as he set down his book. "Pretty good now. Remind me to show you what I got on the paper tomorrow; I have a couple questions to ask you."

"Oh good! I'd be glad to look it over with you." Hiyori pursed her lips for a moment. "Does anyone know the time?"

"A quarter after three," Yukine answered.

Hiyori nodded and waved goodbye to Yukine quickly. "Thank you. If you excuse me, I'll be off!" She nodded an acknowledgement to Yato and turned to leave.

Once Hiyori rounded the corner of the hall, Yato stepped back into Yukine's room. He cocked his eyebrow, a sly smile creeping up his lips. "So you got a girl? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He mock cried, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. "My little Yukine is growing up!"

Yukine rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he rested it back on his bed. Yato could swear he caught a bit of red paint Yukine's cheeks at the question. "She's my tutor for my Beginning Ed class; she's an education major like I am, that's how we met."

"Is that why you seemed so happy to see her? You don't ever look at me like that." Yato let out a fake cry.

"She's a cute girl; you are a guy who complains about how insufficient your income is when it comes to your spending habit."

"So you admit she's cute!" Yukine shot Yato a glare, spurring a devilish smile from Yato. "And I'm sure 'tutoring' is just an excuse for you to see a pretty face. I know you're trying to ease the pain of my breakup by using the excuse of tutoring, but please Yukine, you can call it what it is."

"Weren't you supposed to be leaving to read those idiotic books of yours?" Yukine deadpanned.

"So you don't deny it! Yukine, you snake you," Yato jeered, dodging the pencil Yukine tossed at him just then. "Fine, fine; I'm leaving."

The following day began just as any day would have. Yato rolled out of bed at approximately 9:20 that morning, grabbed a quick breakfast – this was a frozen breakfast sandwich that he plucked from the freezer and called a meal – and dashed off to his first class of the day: a basic statistics course he needed to fulfill for his minor. The class was two hours that dragged on forever most days, though Yato hoped today would pass a little faster since his professor promised to have their exams graded by today. The class lectures were boring and the professor droned on without giving any real explanation on concepts or what to do, so Yato had gone into the exam with five yen worth of wishes for a passing grade and hardly any idea of the material covered.

Exams were handed back by the professor, Yato's scribbled red with ink from the professor's pen, a large fifty-six out of one hundred circled at the top. Yato felt his heart sink, sliding the exam underneath his notebook to hide the score from his classmates. At the same time, the professor began his spiel on the exams, his eyes often landing on Yato as she explained how there were only two Fs in the class. He congratulated those who passed, suggesting for those who failed to seek out a tutor for the class. With that, he continued on with the lecture.

Yato tuned out most of the class, his thoughts clouded with the exam and the desire to sit in his dorm room and wallow with junk food and crap TV. He had never packed up his bag as quick as he did today, practically running out of the classroom, ashamed and frustrated. He thought about heading to his room and curling up under the blankets in his bed, but he had a better idea.

Yukine lived only twenty steps away in the sister building to his dorm room, his room on the third floor. Yukine also didn't have class for another thirty minutes, so rather than staying alone, Yato decided that he would pay his friend a visit.

Finding his way to Yukine's room, he pounded on the door until Yukine yelled for him to come in. Yato walked inside, tossed his bag aside, and collapsed onto his stomach on the floor. He groaned, his face down on the carpet as his arms folded around him. "Yukine," he groaned, dragging out the boy's name.

Today Yukine sat at his desk, a textbook and notebook in front of him, a pencil in hand. He paused note-taking and faced his torso toward Yato. "What happened?"

Yato didn't move, his voice muffled as he spoke facing the carpet. "I failed my stupid stats exam."

"Have you gone to talk to your professor?"

Yato shook his head, rolling his eyes though Yukine couldn't see him. "Why would I? If he can't explain it in class, then I sure as hell know he won't be able to explain it to me outside of class. I don't need him to call me an idiot to my face, either. Besides," he said, doing his best to imitate the professor, "he told us that we 'may want to see a tutor' because we're so inferior to him and are too dense to learn such material." He stopped the imitation. "I don't need a tutor; I just need that crazy man to really that it's his teaching that's the issue here."

Yukine grew quiet for a moment, drumming his fingers along his desk. "I have an idea," he said finally, earning a glance from Yato. "I don't know if it'll work, but give me tonight to check something out. In the meantime," Yukine moved from his seat to Yato's side, grabbing his arms and forcing him to stand up, "you need to go to your dorm and read those stupid books about getting rich to make yourself feel better."

Yato grabbed his bag and sighed, knowing Yukine was right; he'd had only a small amount of time to look over the books between homework breaks last night. "Alright, I'll get out of your way." His eyes flickered over to the desk of Yukine's roommate, lifting his chin toward it. "Where's your roommate?"

"With his girlfriend; now go. I don't need to see you wallow even more." Yukine opened the door and waved his hand toward it. "Read your books. Go to class. Eat a proper dinner. I'll text you later with news, hopefully."

"Yes, Mom," Yato remarked, exiting the room without running into someone this time.

He did as Yukine said and started digging into the books he'd ordered, deciding that the first book on making it big with seven steps seemed ingenious. He then went to his other class of the day in which no exams or papers were passed back, sparing Yato more academic anguish. He finished up some homework and had grabbed some dinner, ending the night by continuing the drawing project he had been working on for his art class.

He was in the middle of drawing the scenery when his phone buzzed with a text from Yukine.

8:44 p.m.: 'Found someone who can help you with stats. Tomorrow night at the library. 5 o'clock. Bring everything statistics related.'

"I told you that I didn't need a tutor," Yato mumbled, texting Yukine a reply before dropping his phone back onto his bed.

A/N: Hello! In honor of the Noragami Big Bang 2k16, I have decided to write my first Noragami fanfiction! I do have an artist working with me on this as well, and I will link her art pieces at the end of the chapters she has created pieces for! I do hope that you enjoyed the first chapter of the story, and I will be posting a new chapter each day until the conclusion of the story, so keep an eye out for updates! Please leave a review and let me know what you think of each chapter - I appreciate it!

As mentioned above, I would like to thank one of my close friends and roommate for this next year for creating some wonderful art for this chapter! Please check out the following link to her tumblr - creativeoptimist7 - to see her wonderful art for this chapter: post/145361483141/happy-start-of-the-noragami-big-bang-i-have-been! It is also the cover art for this story too, but the tumblr version you can probably see better!

Thank you and have a great day!

-LivingTheSPNLife