Yukine relieved a sigh as he closed his eyes, basking in whatever warmth the sun was generous to give. His breath dissipated into the air, a sign that Winter had already settled in. He fell into the body of dry grass and ran his hands through the blades.
This grass would be a lot healthier if Suzuha were here, he thought. Suzuha...
Before Yukine could go any deeper, he saw the grass rustle from the corner of his eye. The movement stopped, but began again, this time slowly inching toward him. The blessed regalia rose and followed the trail of rustling. He held his breath and readied himself in case he needed to draw a border.
A ball of white hopped next to him and wrinkled their nose, red eyes fixed on him. Yukine swallowed, finally realizing that there had been a lump in his throat this whole time.
"Huh? A cat?" He reached out to it, the sudden movement frightening the feline. The cat warned the brat with a hiss, so Yukine relaxed his body as if to say, see, there's no need to be afraid.
He furrowed his eyebrows and wondered why he cared so much about a cat's approval. This time, the cat drew closer, just close enough to meet the boy's amber eyes. And close enough to see that the fur-ball was shaking? What was it doing out here in the cold? What if it began to-
A puff of white fell between them and melted. "You've got to be kidding." Two more fell—one on his cheek, the other on the cat's forehead.
Yukine slowly got up into a kneeling position and held his arms out with open palms. Seeing that there was no collar on the cat, they had no home, right? There was no connection with him and hairball, but he knew he couldn't let it fend for itself in the cold, nor in the dark. He wouldn't abandon it.
"Come on," he said gently and removed his scarf to use as a blanket. "Let's go home."
Yukine began to unwrap the cat from the scarf, ready to put it away until he was met with resistance. While standing on the ends of the scarf, the cat cocked their head to the side and meowed with a displeased tone. "H-hey!"
"Yo!" The rough sliding sound of the door slammed, startling the cat to bolt to the corner of the room.
"Argh! I wasn't talking to you!"
"How rude, to not greet your master!" His breath was wasted on empty space. Yukine was already kneeling on the floor, softly begging the feline to come out from hiding. Well, wasn't this a sight, the god grinned. Yato decided to enjoy it and sat down with his legs crossed. Indeed, a sight that seemed very familiar.
Finally, it was only after Yukine returned with a few bites of stewed beef (he hoped Daikoku would forgive him) that the fur ball happily came out of hiding happily and without hesitation. After a quick inspection, the cat devoured it.
"I remember someone being quite the handful as well." He ruffled Yukine's hair. The boy wanted to get the last word in, but he couldn't argue with that.
"Just... give it time," he murmured back.
"Well then"-the god sat upright- "why don't you do the honors of giving the cat a name?"
Him, a shinki, give a name? A name is a meaningful gift, something to connect them both. He welcomed the silence as he contemplated a name. It was a heavy responsibility, and it seemed almost silly that he was thinking this hard for a stray cat.
But, a name meant that the cat would have a place to belong.
Think, think! An unforgettable name that he would always remember, a name that would always be called.
A name to welcome them home again.
"My name is Yukine, and I give you the name..."