Thanks for choosing to read this story, I know it probably sounds a bit unusual, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!

Yato strolled up to the house, estimated the distance, and tossed the final pebble at the window. A sharp clank reverberated in the air after the smooth stone hit the window pane. The sound faded and he waited a few beats. Yet the silence carried on as it had with each previous attempt.

He sighed and turned to a scowling Yukine. "I guess she's asleep."

His regalia seemed less than impressed with his assessment, giving him an "Are you stupid?" look that was quickly morphing into an "Oh, yeah, I already knew you were."

Odd how most of his shinki had given him that look before -Tomone still did. Then again, he had sort of dragged the kid out of bed, ignored his protests, teleported him here in the middle of the night without warning and... Okay, now he understood why Yukine was glaring at him, but this was important.

"This is ridiculous," Yukine seemed to read his thought prior to disagreeing with it while Yato adjusted a ladder under the window -he was borrowing it from a neighboring household. "And an invasion of Hiyori's privacy."

"No, it's not!" Yato swiveled around to face his regalia and wagged his finger in his kid's face until he noticed Yukine was growling so he quickly retracted it before it could be bitten off -his kid was as cute as he was vicious. "Hiyori invited us over today, and it's not midnight yet, so the invitation still counts." He took a step onto the ladder, and when it held his weight, figured it would hold Yukine's weight too. If it were just himself out here he would have climbed the tree and crawled through Hiyori's window like he normally did but Yukine wasn't very agile and maybe he wasn't the best master, but he wouldn't risk his kid's safety so carelessly.

"First of all," He couldn't see Yukine as he began climbing but figured the shinki was pinching the bridge of his nose. "Hiyori invited us earlier and we were here earlier, so the invitation was already used. Second of all, it's nearly one in the morning!"

Yato paused, blinking because he genuinely didn't know it was that late, but soon shrugged it off before resuming his ascension. "Well, I would know it was that late if my phone wasn't missing. Don't worry, Yukine, I'm sure I left it in here so we just gotta zip in, find it, and we'll be out before you know it."

He heard his regalia grumble something about why this couldn't wait till morning and why did he have to come, bakagami. He didn't turn back as he climbed another step, but he did grin to himself because he just had the most brilliant idea that was sure to cheer up his sleepy hafuri.

Teasing time!

"Aww, you're just cranky 'cause I woke you up from your nap," he glanced down and caught sight of Yukine's stunned yet blushing face, which he couldn't help but cackle over because his kid was adorable.

And vengeful because suddenly the ladder was tipping to the side and he was tumbling down, releasing a high-pitched shriek as he caught sight of the cruel smirk on Yukine's face before he took in a mouthful of dirt. He groaned as he lifted himself up onto all fours and saw Yukine standing over him.

"I was sleeping! Naps are for little kids." Yukine crossed his arms while he moaned and stood on aching joints, rubbing his chin that was surprisingly not bleeding despite how it felt like he had taken an incoming train to the face.

"Yukine, why are you such a meanie?!" He sniffled a bit because that had hurt, but Yukine simply moved away to reset the ladder against the window.

"Let's just get this over with." Yukine began climbing and he scrambled to follow suit because his kid could fall. "I don't want to hear any more of your crying over that phone, it makes you sound like some teenage girl." The regalia paused in the middle of the ladder. "Actually, I'd rather not insult Hiyori, you were more like a five year old throwing a tantrum."

"That's no way to talk to your master!" He bellowed from below, reaching to grasp Yukine's shoe, which turned out to be a mistake when he received several kicks to the face and a spiteful look thrown down from the severely sleep-deprived teenager. He almost fell back but caught the rung at the last second.

"Maybe I wouldn't if you didn't bother me with stupid things at one in the morning!" Yukine hurriedly slipped in through Hiyori's window -guess he was more agile than he thought- before Yato could respond.

"Hey!" He hurried in after his shinki but when he landed, the ground was uneven -maybe a pen left on the floor- and thus he tumbled over into a wall. Now his bruises had bruises.

"Be quiet, Tracksuit!" Yukine whisper-shouted and he swung his head up -was the room shaking or was he just dizzy?- to see Yukine was gesturing to the familiar figure under the bed covers. The pain evaporated instantly, and he sprung to his feet to observe Hiyori's peaceful and lax expression. The lamp by her bed was on and an open textbook was strewn over her chest with her hand resting upon its spine. He had the urge to take that slim, unblemished hand into his own because it looked so soft and ethereal in the hallo of the warm light.

"Stop being creepy!"

He only just realized he was leaning over Hiyori close enough to catch a whiff of strawberry shampoo before he was forcibly yanked away by his collar. He was released, but the momentum caused him to stumble into the door, which wasn't fully closed and thus led to him rolling into the hallway.

"Stay out there where you can't cause trouble, I'll look for the phone in Hiyori's room since you can't control yourself." The regalia gave him one last death-glare before turning away.

He wanted to remind Yukine that he hadn't been the one trying to feel Hiyori up a mere year ago, but his mouth was glued to the floor and the blossoming bruises on his body begged him to stay down and give himself a break. He obeyed for a brief moment, face becoming one with the floor, and then reluctantly lifted himself up. His back protested the movement and he grasped it before rubbing the muscles to ease his pain. Geez, his kid could be brutal. Note to self, never interrupt Yukine's nap time.

He pushed himself onto all fours and a small object glinted in his peripheral vision. He blinked and raised his head higher.

His cellphone -his precious baby!- rested against the hallway wall and he didn't hesitate to scoop it into his arms and rub his face against it because he had been so worried he would never see it again- Alright, even he could tell he was being over-dramatic, but his kid wasn't the only one running on too little sleep so maybe he wasn't thinking straight.

"Yukine, I fouuund it!" He lifted the cellphone up in triumph as his shinki appeared in the doorway.

"Great," his regalia's tone was half-sarcastic, half-relieved. "Now could you please teleport us home?"

Yato opened his mouth to deliver a clever quip about how he had told him it would be easy to find, however, he spotted what seemed to be a piece of red glitter flickering in the air between them. He thought he was imagining it, yet Yukine was staring at the same spot. Their equally puzzled eyes met.

A vent exploded between them, tossing them each back a foot while a red vortex lit up the hallway and fierce winds muffled their shocked cries. He turned away and raised his arms to protect his eyesight as he bent his knees to brace himself.

"Yato!"

He snapped his eyes wide open because his kid sounded scared -was he okay?!- yet soon realized Yukine wasn't fearing for himself when a body collided with his. He crashed onto his back and the air whooshed out of him as an elbow stabbed his stomach and the weight of a human being anchored him to the floor. He blinked rapidly, wondering how many injuries one god could get in a single night while struggling to recapture his breath, a task which became a lot easier when the elbow was lifted away. His vision cleared and his blue met familiar orange eyes.

"Yukine?" He observed his kid's terrified and stunned appearance as the regalia held himself a few inches above him with his arms to the side of Yato's torso. He had rarely ever seen such terror in those eyes and now worried that the vent had hurt his kid he tried to reach out to him with one arm.

"Y-Yato?"

He froze because that was Yukine's voice but it had come from a distance and the boy above him had not opened his mouth. His heartbeat quickened as he cautiously peered around the boy above him and caught sight of Yukine standing a few feet away from him.

He snapped his gaze back to the boy above him and suddenly noticed that this kid was wearing a sky blue scarf, which trailed down onto Yato's chest as he hovered above him. "Who?"

The boy flung himself up and was on his feet before Yato had risen to a sitting position. He had no idea what was going on, wondered if that fall from the ladder had really messed up his head, because there was a Yukine on his left and a Yukine on his right. Their clothes, bedhead hair, even their frightened expressions matched in perfect imitation of each other.

Though his kid was doing a great job at hiding his unease, despite the terror he sensed from him, while this kid was breathing in heaving gasps and his skin was turning into an ashen gray color while his eyes darted from him to Yukine. He took a step back the second Yato shifted into a stand and his orange eyes bored into Yato's like the god was the embodiment of the kid's nightmares. This in itself made Yato feel queasy because that was still Yukine's face staring at him like he was a monster and it hurt despite how his mind told him this boy wasn't actually Yukine.

"Who are you?" His hafuri demanded, hand in position to form a borderline and Yato was proud that his kid sounded so calm when he could sense terror and confusion swirling inside him.

The boy eyed Yukine with the wide-eyed look of a doe caught in the headlights of a speeding car. He took another short step back.

And fell down the staircase Yato hadn't thought to warn him about until he was falling. He lurched forward because he didn't know who or what this kid was but he looked so much like Yukine and he couldn't stand Yukine -really any kid- being hurt.

Yato heard the sharp cry of pain and final thump before he saw the the boy crumpled near the platform in the middle of the staircase. The teen was on his side with one arm grasping the other and his legs tucked in like he had been trying to protect them mid-fall.

"Hey! Are you okay?" He didn't know why he asked because he already noticed one of the boy's arms was bent at an unnatural angle and the kid's teeth were clenched together like he was holding in a particularly violent scream. Oh, just let there be no blood.

He practically leapt down the staircase, yet those orange eyes latched onto his figure and he felt a spike of terror -was that Yukine?- pierce his chest. The boy scrambled back and thumped down the final steps so he was now lying on his back on the platform, and his expression became pinched because his injured arm had been jostled by the movement.

He stopped himself from taking another step, but had already raised an arm in a reaching gesture to the Yukine lookalike. Now the boy was practically hyperventilating as he tossed his good arm up as if to ward off an attack.

"Stay away!" The boy's scream chilled his blood into ice because this kid was terrified of him, in a way that reminded him far too much of the innocent people he saw as a child right before he killed th-

Yukine brushed past him, taking him away from the blood-spattered memory, and he watched in mild awe as his kid crouched near the boy.

His regalia smiled a little too tightly at the boy, but was clearly trying to come off as friendly. "It's okay, we won't hurt you."

Orange met orange for a long moment, and he held his breath because he sensed this was the calm before the storm.

"Your arm doesn't look so good, can I see it?" Yukine's tone was even, though Yato sensed great waves of fear coming from him.

The boy remained silent and continued to stare at Yukine, not bothering to get up, and he had the feeling this boy was thinking very hard behind his fear-filled eyes. Yukine waited patiently for a sign.

Yet the kid didn't relinquish his arm, however, he didn't move away when Yukine gently touched it and carefully drew in the limb to examine it. Yato counted that as a win, since it seemed the kid, whose breathing was not nearly as ragged as it had been a minute ago, was settling down.

"I think it's broken," Yukine released the arm back to its owner. "But I have a friend who could fix it if you would let us take you to him."

The kid tensed the moment "us" left Yukine's mouth and his eyes zipped up so he staring at Yato again. What had he done to evoke such fear? He only just met the kid!

The Yukine lookalike turned away from him, though his shoulders remained tense so it was obvious he was still very aware Yato was merely a few feet away.

Then the kid took a deep breath and tightly nodded at his shinki, causing Yukine's smile to become genuine. "Okay, let me help you up, umm..." his regalia purposefully trailed off as he took the boy's good hand and aided him until he could sit up and lean against the bottom step. The kid picked up on Yukine's hinting but was too busy hissing in pain to answer when his injury was aggravated by his repositioning.

"Um," The kid looked timidly at Yukine, his eyes a soft orange with tears prickling at the edges of them. "My name is Yukime," he turned to Yato and his expression smoothed over into a blank mask. "And I'm from an alternate reality."

Yato leaned against the wall, arms crossed and head bowed. He had been out here for an hour and was admittedly getting twitchy.

"How is this possible?"

He shifted his head to stare at the katanas along with his tracksuit, which he had placed on the bench beside him. He uncrossed his arms, looked both ways down the hall, and then raised the weapons close to his face.

"I don't know, alternate reality theories aren't exactly my forte."

Yukine paused, seeming to be thinking deep thoughts, and he felt his kid's anxiety and it hurt like fists beating at his chest from the inside yet he didn't blame his regalia. He figured if another version of himself had popped up he would be feeling just as uneasy. Truly, the entire concept that there was more than one reality, multiple versions of not only humans but gods as well, was overwhelming to someone as ancient as himself. Thus he couldn't imagine someone as young as Yukine could process this very easily.

"I mean," he floundered because he wanted to give his kid something to latch on to, some semblance of understanding -his kid was scared and he needed to fix that. "My father mentioned the possibility a few times." His words shocked him probably as much as it shocked Yukine because he had forgotten about that.

It wasn't like his father had brought it up very often or for very long, but he did have a distinct memory of hearing his father consider whether their reality was the only one in existence. It wasn't that far-fetched considering the near shore and far shore were technically like two worlds -two realities- existing in the same place with one reality oblivious to the other. Perhaps the reality the kid -Yukime- was from existed in the same place as their reality, but Yato couldn't see it much like how normal humans couldn't see the far shore.

"Yato?"

He blinked and shook off that train of thought because he had left his kid hanging, and he could sense his regalia's anxiety was rising. "Don't worry," he forced cheer into his tone. "I might not know what's going on, but I think your lookalike- Yukime, I mean, could shed some light on all this."

The regalia paused, humming in thought. "You're right, he seems to already know about alternate realities or he wouldn't have introduced himself that way. Do you think he intentionally came here?"

He shook his head. "No way, he wouldn't have been so freaked out if he had came here willingly." This reminded him of something and his lips curled into a pleased smile. "You did a good job calming him down, Yukine. I know it must have been hard because you were freaking out too, but you handled it well."

As expected, his regalia's heart swelled from the praise and the weight of dread lifted as he basked in the compliment. He grinned because he liked making his kid happy, liked making people happy, though, his kid and Hiyori were always his priority.

The clicking of feet against marble made him flinch and he rushed to hide the katanas back under his tracksuit by holding them in the same hand and ensuring the tracksuit was draped over them. It was an awkward -kinda painful- position for his wrist but knew he had to when Kazuma stopped in front of him.

"How is he?" Yato stuttered out and he hoped Kazuma thought it was concern messing with his tone rather than the nervousness infecting his body.

"Calm down, baka! Kazuma isn't stupid, he'll notice you're hiding something if you keep acting like this!"

He didn't respond to his hafuri's warning, but he pursed his lips to show he had heard him.

Oblivious to their conversation, Kazuma nodded in greeting. "We have finished treating Yukine's arm. It was fortunately not broken, though it was fractured in several places near his shoulder so it has been placed in a sling." The shinki reported with ease, appearance impeccable and emotions in check. He always had marveled at Kazuma's ability to be so proper, even though he was certain he had interrupted his sleep this time. Though it wouldn't surprise him if the blessed regalia had still been awake and working on something he thought would assist his skank of a master.

Wow, he really needed to get Kazuma out more. Maybe once he finished dealing with this alternate reality mess he would convince -kidnap if necessary- him to go out with him to a bar or something.

"-sustain other injuries," Kazuma was still talking so he rushed to grasp what he had missed before his mental lapse became obvious. "But he refused to remove his scarf or shirt so we can't be sure if he's hurt anywhere else."

"That's weird." Yukine commented and he agreed, but now was not the time to dwell on it.

"That coupled with his memory issues makes me think he may have some head trauma, perhaps a concussion, but I can't tell for sure because he was very adamant he was fine."

Yato held up in his hands to ward off anything else Kazuma might add because he needed to make sure Yukime hadn't given himself away. "Wait, what issues? Did he do or say something weird?" Kazuma's gaze sharpened and Yato felt less like a minor god and more like the ant being examined under the microscope. He did his best not to twitch the hand holding his katanas because that would draw undue attention to them and he wasn't ready to explain how he had two Yukines, especially since he actually didn't know the answer to that himself.

"He seemed more withdrawn, wary and quiet, and perhaps I imagined it, but I believe he initially mispronounced my name as Kazumu." The regalia gauged Yato's reaction and he fought not show his mounting worry. "How exactly did he get injured like this? What were you two doing out so late?"

Yato opened his mouth and the words flew out. "Oh, you know, I lost my phone and you know how important it is I have a phone, so we went out to look for it and we, uh, split up to cover more ground,"

The katanas twitched in his hand. "Slow down and calm down! Your palms are so sweaty you're leaving a trail on the floor!"

He hoped Yukine was exaggerating, but decided to take his advice on the chance he wasn't.

"Then an ayakashi ended up chasing him, but it was dark and he accidentally tripped down a staircase. I guess he might have hit his head a little too hard, but I doubt it's anything to worry about." A nervous giggle escaped him but he smothered it before it ran on for too long.

"...Yup, he's on to you."

Yato wanted very badly to stick his tongue out at Yukine because his acting skills were amazing, but he noticed Kazuma was still eyeing him and realized Yukine was right. The shinki was suspicious, rightfully so, but it wasn't his fault he was off his game. It had to be going on three in the morning by now.

Kazuma opened his mouth to no doubt question him until he slipped up so to buy himself some time he slung an arm around the shinki's shoulders and grinned. "Well I need to get my kid home, it's late and he gets really cranky when he misses his nap time." Yukine's retort was rather colorful but he ignored his regalia's rage. "So why don't you take me to him, we head out of here, and you and your healer guy can keep this visit to yourselves, hmm?" He gave Kazuma his brightest and best smile, but the shinki's eyes were flat and his lips a line.

"You do realize Bishamon would know I was lying to her? However, the sooner you leave the better for us all." Kazuma slipped out his hold and started walking down the hall, clearly expecting Yato to follow.

"Exactly, we need to get out of-" He cut himself as he deciphered the double meaning in Kazuma's reply. "Hey, what exactly are you implying?" He sprinted over to the door Kazuma had stopped by. "Who doesn't want my company?"

"There are too many to list." His hafuri broke in and a glower did overcome his face -teens could be such brats- until Kazuma turned to him.

"We gave him the pain medication and its instructions, just make sure he follows them, and if he worsens for some reason, bring him back here after you've given me a proper warning." A flash of irritation crossed his face but was quickly tucked under the regalia's mask of calm.

Yato bobbed his head, worried that saying anything else would give him away, and Kazuma gave him one last meaningful look before muttering a goodnight and wandering away to return to sleep and thus dreamland, which probably included his master and him doing things Yato really didn't want to imagine. Poor shinki was so desperate for affection he had turned to Bishamon out all the goddesses in the land, how tragic.

"Can you revert me now?"

"In a second," Yato entered the room without knocking and shut it behind him, locking it for good measure. "Revert, Yuki."

His kid took form next to him and he spread his arms open wide. "See? I told you we could handle it."

Yukine moved forward and he welcomed what he assumed would be a congratulatory hug until the shinki's hand smacked him upside the head. "Why don't you ever listen to me?! Am I your hafuri or not?!" He grabbed him by his collar and shook him so hard he thought the stitching of his long-sleeve might tear, yet Yato took it without complaint because he was fairly certain he was the one with a concussion at this point so it wasn't like anything his kid did could make it worse.

"Calm down," he managed to get out once the room stopped spinning. "Kazuma might know we're hiding something, but I doubt even he could figure out this one." He jerked his thumb over to Yukime, who had been watching their interaction from his seat on the bed, his right arm in a dark blue sling. His expression had been a mellow one with his head tilted in curiosity but now he met Yato's eyes.

Fear struck and stabbed into Yato's chest and he whipped his head around to face Yukine. "What was that?"

His regalia looked at him, confusion written all over his face. "What are you talking about?"

Yato squinted at him, uncertain now because his kid wasn't that great of an actor. "I'm sensing fear from, wait a minute," he turned away to regard Yukime, who was eyeing him with a guarded expression, which fell apart as unease sprung onto his face once the god was facing him again. Spikes of terror dug into Yato's chest and he grunted from a mixture of surprise and the pain itself.

Okay, he had not seen this coming.

"I'm not sensing Yukine's fear, I'm sensing yours." It came out as more of a question than a statement, yet Yukime looked as startled as he felt.

"Sense?" The other regalia tested the word out on his tongue like it was a foreign term. "You can sense feelings? M-My feelings?" This seemed to disturb Yukime greatly.

"Gods don't do that in your reality, do they?" Yukine interrupted and the Yukime eased the second he took his eyes off the sole god in the room, and he hurriedly nodded to the question. Oh, that explained why Yukine's emotions had felt like they were running amok ever since they met Yukime, he was no longer feeling just his kid's volatile emotions.

"But how is this possible if I'm not your regalia?" Yukime addressed him without looking up from his sling, which he suddenly had great interest in.

"Aren't you?" He began, and seeing twin expressions of confusion, added, "Isn't your master the other version of me? Another Yato?"

"Yes." A dark look shadowed over Yukime's eyes and he bit his lip while his emotions were thrown into such chaos, the god couldn't help but clutch at his chest and groan lowly from the sudden onslaught of negative emotion.

"Yato!" Yukine eyed him in concern, reaching out but only hovering.

"D-Did I do that?" Yukime was wide-eye like the kid caught stealing from the cookie jar, guilt and fear mixing into a toxic concoction within his body. "I didn't know-"

He waved off the incoming apology and straightened because the pain had passed. "You have no idea how this works, no shinki knows right off the bat." He wanted to reassure him, but based on how Yukime was staring at him as he were anticipating a consequence, which was concerning, he failed. In fact, Yukime was hunched over as if bracing for something, which was odd because last time he checked, Yukine was the one punishing him when he messed up the tiniest thing, not the other way around.

At least that was how it went in this reality.

He shook his head, he didn't want to consider what that implied.

"How is this happening? You didn't name him, you named me." Yukine cut in and there was something weighty about the way he spoke as he crossed his arms. Huh, what was up with his kid? His shinki looked a little pouty, which was cute, but worrying too.

Yet he ignored his regalia's strange behavior in favor of dealing with the problem at hand. "His master is Yato, I'm Yato, and we both named our shinki Yuki, so it seems our reality has transferred his bond with his master over to me. Speaking of which, why isn't your master with you?"

Yukime tensed and his arm in a sling drew closer to his chest, and he was reminded that when one was under attack, weak points -like an injury- were often targeted. Did Yukime think they would take advantage of his injury? Attack him?

"Why would he be?" Yukime used a derisive tone, as if he had asked a foolish question.

He narrowed his eyes. "Because you look like you just got out of bed," he gestured from Yukine to Yukime's identical sleepwear. "And I doubt you would be out at this time of night alone, so where is your Yato?"

The silence lingered in the air, tension building into a web that connected a string to each of them until they were all tangled in it. Yukime bit his lip, head bowed, and the silence became stifling.

Yato decided to end their mutual discomfort, but timidly Yukime offered, "I don't know what happened." He was looking up but his gaze was on the door behind Yato rather than himself. He couldn't tell if the kid was assessing if he could get to the door before the minor god stopped him or if he was merely avoiding looking directly at him. Either option was unappealing because it meant Yukime was still wary. Wary of him, the one with his master's face.

"My master got me out of bed, said it was something important,"

Yukine and him stiffened, sharing a look because that sounded a lot like what they had done tonight.

"We met up with Kofuku and she made a vent out of nowhere, and I wasn't expecting it so I ended up falling in. I don't know why my master was meeting with her."

He held in a flinch as he was struck with a blight. Yukime had lied to him, something in that last part was a lie. Had he really fallen in? Or had he gone willingly? Had his master told him what was happening and he was just playing dumb?

Yukine seemed to have similar questions because he took an assertive step towards Yukime. "But why would she open a vent to an alternate reality? And did your master know this would happen?"

Yukime blinked, the uncertainty on his face making him appear younger. "I really don't know, Kofuku makes vents to other realities sometimes, but she only ever goes through them herself. She never sent another person through one, or at least I didn't think she had."

Yukine narrowed his eyes, perhaps picking up on how Yukime was keeping out some details, but Yato grabbed his shoulder. "He's telling the truth, Yukine. He really doesn't know why Kofuku did that." The rest was up for debate.

Yukime was staring at him, he could feel his eyes on his back so he turned to regard the shinki. He was a lot like Yukine in appearance, save the scarf and sling, but he didn't act much like him. This kid was timid, quiet, and polite less so like Yukine who was being kind and more so like he didn't want to risk angering someone by being rude. This kid was in need of help, perhaps more than just the getting home kind, and Yato always had a soft-spot for hurting kids.

"You can come home with us while we try to figure out how this happened." He smiled when twin looks of shock appeared on his shinki -two now- faces.

"But Yato," Yukine gave him an imploring look. "We can't just invite another person to Kofuku's place. That's rude." His kid frowned at him but he just grinned.

"Aw, look at you being all considerate and polite, that's my kid for you!" He ruffled Yukine's hair, ignoring the regalia's attempts to push him off.

"Shut up and use your head for once!" Yukine was blushing despite his condescending tone, and he laughed because his kid was always so easy to rile up.

He turned to Yukime, and his laughter died down because the kid was watching them but he wasn't smiling. He had a wistful look to his eyes, nearly nostalgic, and Yato couldn't help but think Yukime was far too young to have eyes that old.

Yukime's eyes were misty, and going off the tidal wave of sadness and joy assaulting his heart, Yato figured he was on the verge of tears because he recognized Kofuku's place. The reason he was so moved by the sight Yato couldn't decipher, and when he tried to approach him and ask, he was not oblivious to how Yukime shifted so Yukine was between him and Yato. He had a feeling this was going to be a common thing with the newest addition to their residence.

"What are we going to tell Kofuku and Daikoku?" Yukine asked as they hurried up the steps. He thought he heard Yukime mutter "Daikoke?" but didn't bother questioning how it seemed all the shinki from his reality had slightly different names while gods like himself and Kofuku kept the same names.

He shrugged. "The truth. The only reason I didn't tell Kazuma is because he wouldn't be able to keep it to himself and I don't need that blonde bimbo giving me hell for no reason." He entered their room, seeing it was exactly as they had left it with their futons in disarray and Yukine's lamp on.

His kid practically ran over to his futon and dove under the covers and he did feel bad that he had kept his regalia up so late.

Yukime didn't move from the doorway, and he sought to rectify that by gesturing at his futon. "You can take mines, Yukime."

Yukine looked up from fixing his covers. "Where will you sleep?"

He leaned back against the wall and hoped he looked more casual than he felt. "Oh, I'm going to be up doing some research anyway." Of course he wasn't going to mention that he needed to cleanse his blight or stay up wondering how to deal with everything that had happened tonight.

Yukine frowned at him, he hadn't bought it, but Yato hurried on. "You wouldn't mind sharing the lamp with Yukime, right?"

Yukine blinked, taken aback, but him and the god started when Yukime asked, "Why would I want to use the lamp? Light keeps me up when I'm trying to sleep." He said it all in a soft exhale, eyes darting between the two like they were the strangest pair he had ever met and maybe they were. After all, he had a feeling Yukime and his master didn't have quite the same relationship.

"Oh, no reason, thought you might like a little light like Yukine does." He didn't want to make things awkward and he knew how embarrassed Yukine was about his fear. He was rewarded with a small smile from Yukine, but he couldn't return it.

Yukime wasn't afraid of the dark, and while he might be overthinking it, that could mean he hadn't died the same way as Yukine. This brought up a world of questions, and yeah, he was done, he couldn't take any more questions tonight - predawn- or whatever three in the morning was called.

Yukime still hadn't moved, his body thrummed with a nervous energy, and Yato wished there was something he could do to make him feel welcomed.

"Go ahead, I won't need it tonight anyway." He gently patted Yukime's back without thinking and the reaction was immediate.

A strangled, desperate cry broke from the regalia as he tossed himself to the side and hit the doorway edge hard enough to shake the wall.

Yukine and he both eyed the regalia with varying degrees of concern and shock. However, Yukime recovered within seconds and straightened up in the doorway, though his posture was too perfect to come off as natural.

"I, um, need to wash up." Yukime was gone faster than Yato could teleport, and zipped into the darkness of the hallway with a renewed purpose. This was further proof the darkness had no hold on him. However, if Yukime didn't fear the darkness, he wondered if the kid feared something else. Though if it was anything like how his kid had died, perhaps he shouldn't think too hard about it.

"He's afraid of you."

Yato turned to see Yukine was carrying a serious frown and that his eyes were moist with sympathy.

"More like terrified." He didn't want to have this conversation now, didn't want to think of what this could mean.

"You don't think-"

"Go to sleep, Yukine. It's been a long night." He couldn't bring himself to face his regalia, not when concern was bubbling his insides and his heart was hammering far too quickly. Yukine stared at him for a second, evaluating whether to push him, but soon he heard his kid lay down and pull the covers over himself. Yato returned to leaning against the wall and peered into the darkness outside their room, listening to the faint sound of running water coming from the bathroom.

He wasn't sure how different Yukime's life had been in comparison to Yukine's or what the other Yato was like, but from what he had seen so far, Yato had the foreboding feeling they would find out soon enough.

Thanks again for reading guys! Just to let you know, I expect this to be five chapters long. The next chapter should be out in a week, so see ya then! ;)