Consciousness slowly came to Yato, the first thing he registered was the remaining ache in his back. His eyes moved behind his eyelids until they finally opened, taking in the sight of his blurry surroundings. Once he could clearly see his environment, he noticed the faint pressure he felt curling around his wrists—he had been tied to a chair.

Luckily, the rope did not make direct contact with his skin, whoever tied him up simply wrapped around his track suit's sleeve. Still, it kept him bound tightly to the arms of the chair. His feet, unlike his arms, were left alone and freely touched the concrete ground below. He planted them firmly below and lifted the chair awkwardly by pulling up his arms. Hunched over with the weight of the chair pushing down on his arms, Yato headed for the exit—it appeared to be a door frame but the door had been ripped from the hinges.

"So, the god of calamity is finally awake?" snickered a voice. Yato froze and furiously turned his head from side to side, looking for the voice's source. He found nothing in the current room—it was empty besides him and his chair. Yato took a single step forward towards the exit but never progressed farther.

A figure stepped into the room, clad in a black yukata and a demon mask that disguised the figures face. Before an introduction could be made, Yato zoomed towards the figure and shifted his entire weight so the chair would smack right into his kidnapper.

"I'm really tired of all this kidnapping bullshit," Yato snarled, looking down at the fallen figure before stepping over them. Just as he passed the door frame, Yato felt something tight wrap around one of his legs, tripping him and causing him to fall painfully on his side. He had closed his eyes before falling, and when he opened them, he was greeted by the same sight before—a pair of black boots walking towards him.

The pressure around Yato's ankle disappeared. Yato smirked, trying to hide the trepidation that coursed through his body as the figure approached him. One thing that calmed him down was that his kidnapped was a walking fashion disaster—a robe and black boots? Who dressed the guy? He let out a snicker, earning a response from the man.

"I would not be laughing if I were you," said the man. He grabbed Yato's hair and forcefully pulled him up into a sitting position only to later toss him farther into the room. He was grateful for not falling back onto the hard concrete, his body still sore from the previous quarrel.

"So," began Yato, directing his harsh gaze towards the eye hole of the man's mask, "what is it that you want?"

It wasn't that Yato would comply with the man's wishes, but he wanted to find out more about his current situation. He already knew the man was a god or spirit of some sort as he could see Yato, and he came to the conclusion that the man could also manipulate phantoms.

The man was silent, then let out a light chuckle. "Right to the point, I see. My name is Aruko, and I am a god that brings devastation just like yourself."

Please tell me this guy isn't another Rabo.

"Really? Based on your appearance, I was thinking you'd be a god of bad life choices," quipped Yato. That earned a punch to his face from Aruko. It stung, but he'd felt worse before. If the man had been using phantoms to get what he wanted, Yato could only assume he wasn't the best fighter. However, he still had phantoms to worry about and he was without his regalia.

"I suggest you refrain yourself from making such remarks, Yaboku."

Yato felt his body go rigid from hearing his real name. Fear pooled in his stomach, but he shook it away—now wasn't the time to get scared. Other Hiyori and the others that were there when Yato returned from the underworld, only his father and Hiiro—Nora now, he supposed—knew his actual name. Was this their doing? Was this punishment from releasing Hiiro, or was this his father attempting to use Yato again?

With Aruko's face covered, Yato could only tell how the other god was feeling from the tone of his voice and body language, so when the god let out another chuckle, Yato knew Aruko enjoyed this.

"It's quite simple what I'm doing."

In a split second, Aruko was right in front of Yato, and he maneuvered himself closer to Yato's face. He then grasped tightly on Yato's restricted arms, and bent down until his mask was eye level with Yato, who was pushing his head as far away from Aruko as possible.

"I want to see what happens when a god dies."

The words that fell out of Aruko's mouth stabbed into Yato's chest, as his mind took him elsewhere. He was back with Ebisu—the older Ebisu that begged for his life before his body completely shattered. He was back to when blood went flying in the air and covered Yato's face as he stood in shock. The death of a god was something Yato never wanted to witness again, and now it was implied that instead of a witness, this time Yato would be the victim. Still, something felt off.

"Then why bother capturing me?"

Aruko tipped his head to the side, then backed away from Yato. "I'm a god of devastation—calamity—where would the fun if I offed you then and there?" he asked. "I think it would be a lot more entertaining to make you wish for your own demise."

"If that's what you want, you're just wasting your time. I have no intention of dying!" barked Yato, glaring at Aruko. At the very least, the man wasn't planning on killing Yato right away, but had some sort of plan. Hopefully by now someone noticed Yato was missing, but he was unsure of how much time had passed since he had been unconscious.

Aruko shook his head and let out a sigh. "Don't worry about that, that's why I'm here."

Pain coursed through Yato's body as two phantoms chomped on an arm and leg of his, spreading blight to the respected areas and causing him to bleed. Yato choked back a scream, knowing it would be what Aruko wanted, and tried to ignore the searing pain that pulsated through him. Suddenly, Yato heard a snap and the two phantoms retreated behind Aruko, who had his two fingers touching each other.

"You see, Yaboku, I'm going to break you to the point where you will be begging me to end your life."


AN: Sorry for the late update! I left for Disney the 26th and just got back so I wasn't able to upload anything, but was able to see all the love this has received so far from my email! Thank you all for your support!