Author's Note: Hello everyone! I just want give some back-story on this. I absolutely loved the plot and underlying nuances of Noragami and I strongly recommend both anime and manga, if you haven't seen one or the other. This story will mostly be based on the manga, though it is pretty consistent with the anime as well. There might be some things that don't fully make sense if you've only seen the anime, but it should be all right, since I am mostly focusing on a new arc/plot. Just as a heads up, this will be a crossover into a pretty well-known story. I believe this will provide me the best opportunity to really play with the plot and characters and develop the ideas that I want to develop.
Spoilers: This chapter contains some spoilers for chapter 37 of Noragami manga.
Disclaimer: I do not own Noragami, or any other incidental characters/settings from an already published source that may be represented in this story.
The Yatogami was deep in thought, sitting on the edge of the high school roof.
Why had Hiyori been able to see him that fateful day so long ago? It had never quite made sense to the Yatogami. And even though he had played it cool, as was his nature, he had never fully been satisfied. There was something more to this situation and he intended to find out what.
Never before had a human seen him without his calling attention specifically to himself. It wasn't as if she was particularly attentive. She hadn't seen the two other waitresses at the restaurant the day she had treated him and Yukine to a meal. So why had she been able to see him? Why had this human girl seen him and risked her own life to save him multiple times when no one else had even looked his way in the thousands of years he had been alive?
The rustling of cloth broke him out of his thoughts as Tenjin-sama walked up behind him.
"Yato, you wanted to see me?" said the old man quietly. Tenjin was interested to see what was so important, it had gotten the usually jovial Yatogami so serious. He usually wouldn't have answered a call away from his temple, but his own curiosity had gotten the best of him.
"Tenjin, I know you disapprove of my… bond with Hiyori. I can't… I can't do anything about that now, because she specifically wished to maintain the bond. But – don't you find it strange that she saw me? She saw me. Before everything started, she saw me and jumped into the street to save me from a bus." Yato paused, turning to face the other god, a strangely distressed look in his eyes. "Tenjin, humans aren't supposed to see gods or shinki, especially when they don't have a particular wish for something. Have there been any instances of this happening before?"
The elder raised his eyebrows, his arms clasped behind his back. If Yato was asking for his advice, this was serious indeed.
"I would have to look into it. I think there are some instances that human prophets have seen the one of the seven gods of fortune, or those close to death have seen shinigami, but I am not sure in this case. You are neither of those, and in fact, are easier to overlook than most gods," he chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.
Yato brought his knees up, wrapping his hands around them, looking out into the distance. "I know. That's why it doesn't make sense," he sighed. "I have to help her get back to normal. If she doesn't want to rend our bond, I can only be selfishly relieved. But I know that this isn't good. Her state as a half-phantom is too vulnerable. I need to know more, and I felt that you would be the best to direct me to a source for more information."
The god of learning looked at the Yatogami in barely hidden surprise. This was a side of the god of calamity that he had never seen in the hundreds of years that he had known him. Narrowing his eyes in concentration, he started "Well, there is a library of sorts that may offer some answers. But it is… how do I put it… in another time and place. You went to the underworld, which was another place, and the Binbogami can open a portal there, but this may take some more effort. It is… an alternate world, one might say, where the difference between gods and humans is more fluid."
Yato got up to his feet, flipping a 5-yen coin into the air and catching it, only to hold it out to Tenjin. Finally breaking out into his usual high spirits, he grinned, a determined look on his face. "Thanks, old man. Any idea how to get to this other place?"
With a dignified grunt, the older god delicately picked up the coin. "Not my usual going rate, but I will see what I can do."
It was Tenjin-sama's turn to grin as he handed a baffled Yatogami a slender book. He tapped it twice and suddenly, it grew to the size of a small kotatsu, causing Yato to yelp as he was pulled down by the unexpected weight.
"This might help you with figuring out how to get to the 'otherworld'. This textbook has some interesting theories on inter-dimensional travel. I got it from an old shinigami who visits that other world on occasion, and I can tell you that it cost a lot more than that 5-yen coin. I'll be expecting due compensation, " Tenjin paused, suddenly very serious, "The shinigami did give me some advice to give you – this is a very different world than ours, Yato. There are strange powers at play and the 'humans' in this world are more… dangerous."
Leaning on the upright book, Yato sighed, his other hand longingly holding his coin collection bottle. "Thanks, Tenjin. Here's all that I can pay you now. We can set up an arrangement when I get back." With that, he threw the bottle over to the older god of learning.
They both looked at each other and each gave a slight nod. Stay safe, Yatogami.
"Yu-ki-neeee!" Yato yelled cheerfully, barging into Kofuku's house dragging a large book. Two faces with the same 'not-amused-at-all' look stared up at him, quickly morphing into confusion.
"Yato… you read?" asked the puzzled blonde Yukine, the large Daikoku nodding behind him in agreement.
"Yato-kun! What do we have here?" chirped the ever-happy pink-haired Binbogami, jumping in to latch onto the calamity god's back since his arms were occupied.
"A job," Yato replied simply, setting the book down on the table that the two Shinki were sitting at. He grew quiet, thinking of a way to explain. "It is becoming more and more dangerous for Hiyori to fall into her half-phantom state. I can't help but think that there is more to her than meets the eye – she saw me, before she was separated from her body when she ran in to push me out of the street. I didn't announce myself and she didn't need my help at that time either. No one has ever just seen me like that. No one sees a god unless they specifically have a wish, right?
So, I went and asked Tenjin for any possible sources of information about this sort of thing. He says that we may find some answers in a place… but it is sort of in another dimension. Yukine, any chance you'd come with me?" He struck a thoughtful pose, muttering, "Since I let go of Nora, you're my only shinki after all…"
Yukine's light auburn eyes softened, and a smile played on his face, knowing that his master was just trying to make light of the situation. This was the calamity god's way of apologizing for not taking him along on his mission to the underworld, and for using the stray shinki instead of him. But he had since let go of the stray, releasing her from the name he had given her. Now, it was up to Yukine alone to guide Yato to become the 'god of happiness' that he wanted to be.
With a deep sigh, Yukine crossed his arms in front of his chest, shaking his head. "Yato, I don't think you'd make it a day without me. You'd get into some sort of trouble." He then became very still as he continued, "If this is to help Hiyori, then let's get to it."
Daikoku and Kofuku looked up from the book on the table. They had it open to a page, reading the neatly handwritten script next to some large ink diagrams. Daikoku spoke up, "Well, you have your work cut out for you – from what I can tell, this is a book of complicated seals that requires manipulation of some sort of – hmm, soul energy? Not quite… the writer calls it 'chakra', and it seems like embodied willpower that is somehow channeled into the markings, which are specific directions."
"Mmm, he's right. I think that we may be able to help you open up a portal, but you'll have to figure out how to get these markings right," Kofuku said, in a rare state of seriousness. "Were you planning on telling Hiyori?"
Yato looked at her sharply, "No. It's too dangerous."
Kofuku smiled up at him uneasily. "I'm not sure you have that choice. I think that only a human possesses the right material to power this seal. Look, it's written right here – 'physical energy and spiritual energy comes together to form chakra.' Gods and shinki don't have physical energy. You'll need a human. Who else could you ask? You're going to have to take Hiyori with you."
"Take me where?" chimed Hiyori, standing at the door as she took her shoes off, her cheeks rosy from the cold air outside. Her pink translucent tail waved around idly as she smiled at everyone. As she looked back to see her sleeping body a few feet back, her smile became dry. "Ah, I lost my body again, didn't I?"
"No, no, and no. Hiyori, it's too dangerous and you can't go. That's final."
"It pains me to say it, but I agree with Yato. Help us with the portal and then stay here. We can find a way back ourselves."
"But this is about me! You both are going to go into some other dimension to try and figure out how to help me, right? I want to help! And I want to make sure you two are safe!"
"Tch, Hiyori, come with me, I need to talk to you," Yato said, dragging her into another room and closing the door behind him. She looked up at him with determined eyes. He'd seen this look before – when he had refused at first to help with the suicide cases, she had had this same look on her face before recklessly going off by herself. This was a dangerous look.
"Hiyori, you forgot something again," he said dryly, nodding as her pink tail once again twitched around behind her.
Her look became even more indignant. "I know but –"
"No, Hiyori, you don't get it!" he interrupted, "This is a dangerous position for you to be in. You are so vulnerable in this state – if this tail gets cut, then your soul is literally cut away from your body! Sure, you kick hard and jump high, but what happens when whatever you're facing is stronger and faster?" He shook her by the shoulders gently, "I can't keep letting you risk your life like this. Don't you understand? You're the first person to ever see me, see just me, not 'Yatogami.'" He was breathing hard as he dropped his voice to a whisper, "Not 'Yaboku.' And you've saved me now how many times?"
His voice took on a quality of desperation as he hung his head, still holding onto Hiyori's shoulders, "Let me help you. Your half-phantom state is too vulnerable. You've made a habit of saving me, but this is something Yukine and I must do ourselves to repay you and to keep you out of harm's way."
"Yato," she said softly, cupping his chin in her hands and lifting it up so that his bright blue eyes were looking into her deep purple ones. "Who's going to make sure that you and Yukine don't get into more trouble than you can handle, hm? And this is about me, about my situation, right? Don't I get a say in all this? I'm stronger than you think. You need me to open the portal, and I will – but only if I can come with you. I know that you will keep me safe, and I want to make that same promise to you and Yukine – I will protect you both."
Yato smiled an almost sad half-smile. He quickly hid it in a wide smile, pulling her in and nuzzling into her shoulder. "You'll forever be known as the stubborn girl who ordered around the god of calamity."
Hiyori blushed in embarrassment and fake-anger. "No silly! I'm the girl who ordered around the god of happiness. Now let go before I use 'Jungle Savate' on you again!"
As they opened the door to head back outside, an eavesdropping Kofuku fell into the room, an innocent expression schooled on her face, Daikoku shaking his head behind her at her antics.
