I'm so sorry for taking two weeks to update, but you can blame the two presentations I had and the corresponding essays I had to write for stealing my time away from this fic :/

Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites! I honestly wasn't expecting so many so thanks for the surprise :D

Shishi - Nice to see you again!

Guest - Lol, exactly! Yato getting intense like that with someone who doesn't know him would freak anyone out. Funny enough, I did base Yukine's frustration on my own frustration when I got lost once.


The bitter cold burned Yukine's lungs as he heaved in oxygen, but it was nothing compared to his migraine. The pain in his head overshadowed everything and he had no idea how he was still moving because it was agonizing. He stumbled his way through the masses on the sidewalk and kept bumping into people, but couldn't avoid them because his vision was tilted by the dizzying effects of the migraine. His head pained him so terribly and he wanted it to stop, but his wish was outright dismissed as he smacked into a pole or a tree -all he knew was that it was hard and tall- and the pain became too much to bear. He collapsed onto his side, reopening several of his wounds, and clutched at his head. Yet the migraine worsened.

Stop, stop, stop! He begged his brain as if it was its own entity separate from himself and maybe it was that now, because it was showing him images he didn't recognize.

A snippet of an ayakashi wolf with a mask on its face, stars in the black sky, dark brown eyes devoid of life, narrowed red eyes, and then the bright blue of that god's eyes.

Yukine screamed as he saw those blue eyes in his mind's eye. They were blue lasers drilling into his brain matter like a hot poker. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt so much!

Yukine could not scream anymore because he had no more to give and he was grateful when exhaustion started to take its toll and dark spots entered his vision. As the pain took its time to fade away those snippets of memories slipped out of Yukine's mind. A part of him recognized those memories as important and reached for them, but it was like grasping water. The memories slipped through the cracks between his fingers until there was but one scrap left.

"Yaboku."

Consciousness fled him.

When Yukine woke up there was a phantom pain in his head and he remained immobile for a long moment because he was terrified the slightest twitch would give the migraine an excuse to flare up again. However, he was distracted from this fear once his ears picked up on what had awakened him. There was a muffled stream of noises that resembled human speech coming from afar. His consciousness latched onto the sound and then the feeling as well once a light pressure landed on his shoulder and the muffled voice sounded louder.

Wanting to know who was out there, he peeked open one eye and squinted against the dying light of the orange orb -the sun- setting in the horizon. Though his vision was obscured by blades of yellow grass swaying in the breeze, which helped protect his eyesight as he blinked open both eyes. He shuddered as the sensation of cold suddenly registered and he realized he was practically a human icicle lying on the frost-covered grass. The temperature had dropped in the last hour -or however long he had been unconscious- and the warmest part of him was the skin beneath the hand on his shoulder.

"Can you hear me?"

The speech, now clear, startled him, and if his bones weren't solid ice, he might have jumped. Instead he merely shivered again, too drained from that blue-eyed god's attack to do more than stare into the sunset.

"Are you awake?"

Hope fluttered in his heart because the voice was familiar, maybe still muffled and thus unrecognizable, but familiar. Yukine used the hope to give him the strength to roll over onto his back. Green eyes peered down at him from behind black glasses and he stared at Kazuma in a daze before he shot up. Only Kazuma's quick reflexes saved them from a head collision, however, it did not stop Yukine from tossing his arms around the regalia as joy fully rejuvenated his energy.

"Kazuma!" Yukine ignored how his dizziness made the world spin while he squeezed the older shinki because finally, finally he had found someone! He had spent all night and day searching for the slightest hint of something familiar and now he had found someone. Now he could go home!

"Y-Yukine?"

Kazuma's surprised gasp was like a slap to the face and Yukine's eyes widened because he was hugging Kazuma and his face burned before he hastily released his companion. "S-Sorry!" He tried to pull away from the shinki because it was mortifying for him and Kazuma must have felt the same way based on the light pink dusting his cheeks, however, the world was spinning and he lost his balance.

Kazuma caught his back before he tipped over and helped him sit up, now staring at him in thinly concealed concern. "Are you alright?" The older shinki grabbed his hand and stood up from his crouch while helping Yukine up into a wobbly stand. "Besides the memory loss?"

Yukine did not register what Kazuma said at first. He was busy taking in his surroundings and the fact he was on a flat field that seemed to be for sports activities. He was dismayed yet resigned to see he didn't recognize this place. However, he recalled Kazuma's question and whipped his head over to the shinki in surprise. "How did you know that?"

Kazuma gained a grim expression. "Because your master has been calling nonstop for the past hour." A hint of irritation entered his tone, but Yukine didn't notice this as Kazuma's words repeated in his head like a song on loop.

"My master...?" His heart pumped heavy and loud inside his chest while renewed hope brightened his eyes. "He's looking for me?" He smiled wide because his master was alright and had been looking for him all along.

Kazuma looked at him oddly and frowned. "You really don't remember him."

Yukine was in such a heavy state of bliss that the fact that Kazuma knew something only Yukine should know did not seem off to him. "I did forget him, but he didn't forget me!" He beamed up at the sky because that had been what truly plagued Yukine for all these hours. He was scared that he had been forgotten. The way no normal human really saw him as he drifted through the streets, how lonely Yukine had felt even among the crowds, and how he himself had lost memories he never thought he would forget. Suddenly memories had seemed like such fragile things and he had been terrified that if he could so easily forget, maybe everyone -even his god- had forgotten him.

"I already called him," Kazuma interrupted his stream of happy thoughts, yet it became a welcomed intrusion as this new information only raised his positive mood. "He is on his way, but you need to know Yato is-"

"Really?! He's coming?!" Yukine was tempted to hug Kazuma again simply from the sheer joy he was feeling, but didn't want another awkward encounter to ruin this moment. Hug or no hug, however, everything was perfect now. He was no longer lost, alone or forgotten and soon his master would be here to take him home.

"-you listening?" Kazuma grasped his shoulders and he realized he had tuned out whatever he said.

The older hafuri realized this too and frowned. "Yukine, I know you have forgotten, but the god you encountered in the alleyway-"

Yukine's eyes widened because there was no way Kazuma could know about that, it had only been him and that crazy god there, so how did he know?

A flash occurred a short distance behind Kazuma and his heart soared high because that must have been his master arriving. He pulled away from Kazuma and went around the startled regalia, but his limbs locked so hard he nearly tripped from the abruptness when he saw the god -that god- a short distance away. Despair crushed his heart in its hands and left him breathless because he was going to be attacked again and the mere thought of that pain petrified him. Kazuma said something, but Yukine knew he had no idea how dangerous this god was so quickly stepped in front of the older shinki before he could suffer like Yukine had.

"Borderline!" He swung his hand out and aimed at the god's chest. Kazuma shouted something in alarm, but Yukine was solely focused on the god who instantly flipped over his borderline and landed in a crouch.

Yukine was taken aback by the shocking display of speed and observed the god merely straightened up because something inside him ordered him not to turn away. There was something nagging him, the faintest sensation of a connection, as he took in the appearance of this god. However, when Yukine tried to ponder why he felt connected to this god his chest and back started heating up and he realized the god was using the same horrible attack from before. He raised a hand to retaliate because he refused to go through that again.

"Yukine, please," The god reached out towards the shinki with that same heartbroken expression, and despite himself, Yukine found himself hesitating to strike. "I know you don't remember me," The god took a step forward and instinct took over so he began throwing out his arm.

"Restraint!"

Yukine choked as his body halted against his will and he was left staring at the god, but could not move a single muscle. The god surprisingly appeared to be as shocked as he was, but recovered quickly and suddenly ran up to him. Yukine wanted to scream so badly because the god was closing in on him and he felt the heat on his chest and back become an irritant that he knew would soon be agonizing pain. No, please, don't do this to him. Not again, please!

The god stopped a few feet away, expression one of shock that soon became concern. "Yukine?"

What had he done to deserve such false concern? As if this god wasn't the source of the heat on his chest and back or the beginnings of pain thrumming in his cranium. Why was all of this happening?

He couldn't understand why Kazuma had done this to him and the betrayal stung, yet more than anything Yukine was terrified. The god was looking at him with increasingly wide eyes and his orange eyes met his blue and a headache ruptured his brain when an image started forming in his head and someone please help!

"Let him go!" The god's eyes mercifully shifted away to zero in on who he assumed was Kazuma, and the headache faded as the mental image faded. However, he was not assured by this. It only meant Kazuma was a potential target now, and betrayal or not, Yukine did not wish for Kazuma to endure the pain he had went though.

"He will just attack you again." Kazuma's voice came from somewhere nearby, but the erratic beat of his heart drowned out all sounds except his own thoughts. The god was still far too close for comfort even if he wasn't attacking now, and he didn't understand anything. It was like a dream turned nightmare. Kazuma had restrained him, the god wasn't attacking either of them, and if he didn't know any better he would say the two were in league together. However, it was possible this god hadn't attacked Kazuma because he couldn't. Maybe he only had the power or simply the desire to hurt Yukine. Perhaps that was why he knew Yukine's name, this deranged god had it out for him and his master and maybe that was why he seemed so familiar. And where was his master? Wasn't he on his way?

"I don't care if he attacks me, he's..." The god regarded him again with sad dark eyes that Yukine didn't understand because the god almost looked hurt and his head was bowed as if there was a burden weighing it down. "He's terrified of me."

Their eyes met and Yukine literally couldn't turn aside. There was a connection between them and every cell in his body vibrated with energy. Where did he know this god-

A flash of a smile beneath warm blue eyes erupted in his head, and pain bloomed in his cranium while his back and chest burned. Yukine only saw the god's mouth move rapidly before he was consumed by a vortex of torment and he wondered if this would kill him because it was too much too much! Suddenly he fell and his inner screaming became audible as he collapsed into the soft flesh of someone's arms. His back arched against his will and he would have pitied whoever was holding him because his screams had to be hurting someone's ears, yet nothing mattered except his own misery.

"Yukine!"

Hands tried to restrain him, but the contact only made what felt like inflamed wounds on his back and chest hurt worse. He tried to roll away, but the hands holding him were firm.

"What's wrong with-!"

He couldn't quite make out the words even as the pain mercifully receded from his body and his screaming died down into whimpering because his brain was still searing with electricity. There was a lingering image in his head, that god smiling over him with his blue eyes alight with emotion and Yukine felt happy-

Another painful eruption broke out in his head and he sucked in air sharply to hold in the scream.

"...help him!"

"I don't...on his back."

Yukine had no energy to fight as he was turned over and if eyes weren't already clenched shut, his vision would undoubtedly have dark stops because as the migraine faded his strength dwindled as well.

"Is that..."

"...looks like a second name."

"-named him?"

Yukine was on the threshold of fainting yet was still rational enough to understand the claim that he had a second name and it couldn't be right, he was a hafuri and loyal to one god, and how dare anyone say otherwise! "I'm not a Nora!" He attempted to shout, however, his voice was inaudible even to himself and he doubted he was heard as he fainted once more.


Yukine woke up much like he had earlier, except he became aware of his surroundings much faster because his body was not frozen solid. In fact he was warm with thick, fuzzy cotton swaddled around him -a blanket?- and arms cradling his body against a familiar chest. The voices speaking above him were indecipherable mummers and he could almost believe they were trying to lull him back to sleep because their voices were so soft. This all changed though when he started to understand them.

"Then what is it? If it's not another name, I don't-"

That was the god, he recognized his voice, he was still here, and Yukine was trapped within his grasp. The body below him tensed, but could do no more before Yukine flung himself up with eyes flying open. He quickly saw blue eyes staring straight at him and jerked away, which led to him tumbling into the ground.

"Yukine!" Kazuma's sharp tone from somewhere behind him was the only reason Yukine halted his mad scramble away from the god, which hadn't been working anyway since his feet were trapped in the confines of the blanket.

"Why would you let him in here?! He'll attack us again!" Yukine did not look away from the god, though he was addressing Kazuma, so he noticed how the god pulled back like he had been struck. Though he was outright stunned when the god slumped over like a wilted plant soon after.

"It's okay, I'll wait in the hall." He immediately left the room and the door clicked shut behind him. Yukine gaped, blinking rapidly because nothing made sense. That god had attacked him twice and now he was just leaving? Without trying anything?

"What is going on?" Yukine tugged at his hair as the frustration welled up in him and overflowed.

"I can explain that in a second," Yukine turned back to the green-eyed regalia who was standing near what appeared to be a hospital bed. "But first, I think you would be more comfortable up here than on the floor." He extended his hand, but Yukine hesitated while narrowing his eyes because Kazuma had restrained -perhaps betrayed- him earlier. However, Yukine noticed how Kazuma wasn't quite making eye contact so much as looking pass him and there was a tension underlying his features that hadn't been there earlier. Did the shinki feel guilty? Or realized his mistake at least?

Yukine grasped his hand, deciding answers would come faster if he was cooperative, and Kazuma assisted him up before leading him to sit on the soft bed right as his knees started to wobble.

"Do you feel better?" The older regalia stood before him and gave him a quick look over. Yukine nearly questioned the action until he realized he felt off and looked down to see his jacket had been removed and his t-shirt didn't cover up the white bandages wrapped all over his arms. His shoes and socks had also been removed and there was white peeking out from under his pants so he figured his legs had been given similar treatment. Looking up, Yukine confirmed this really was a hospital once it hit him that he had seen this place before.

"Isn't this Hiyori's hospital?" Technically it was her parents', Yukine thought, but Kazuma nodded anyway. Thus his earlier suspicion of Kazuma ebbed because his being here implied Kazuma had talked to Hiyori and he knew Hiyori wouldn't betray him so maybe he was missing something here. He recalled the fact that the blue-eyed god was waiting right outside the hospital room and it struck him that he had to be missing quite a big something. His confusion wasn't helped by the fact his memories were still a mess and he couldn't picture his master even now after hours- His train of thought was derailed when he spotted sunlight streaming in through the window because hadn't the sun been setting just a hour ago? Exactly how long had he been out?

"All night, about twelve hours." Kazuma answered because apparently he had voiced his thoughts aloud.

"Wait, did you say twelve hours?" His eyes widened because he never knew he was capable of sleeping for so long. Or had that god attacked him with a stronger mental attack?

"I thought it best to keep you sedated until we could figure out what caused your memory loss, considering how defensive you were acting."

"Defensive?" Yukine scowled and crossed his arms in indignation. "I was trying to protect you from that god! Until you used restraint on me." He deflated a little, not over the potential betrayal.

Kazuma's lips drew into a line. "Why would you need to protect me from that god?" His tone conveyed an ounce of mirth like the idea of Yukine protecting him was ridiculous, but mainly there was serious curiosity.

Yukine's scowl deepened. "Because he kept attacking me! That's why I was knocked out! Every time I see him, my head hurts so bad and my chest," He placed his fingers over the exact spot where the burning sensation began and noted it was where his name was by his collarbone. "And back feel like they're burning." Recognition flashed on Kazuma's face, but he was so glad to finally tell someone of his misery that he didn't care to question it. "So why wouldn't I need to defend myself?"

Kazuma frowned, allowing the question to hang in the air as he mulled this over, before deciding to reply. "Because it wasn't that god who inflicted that pain onto you, at least not intentionally." His eyes hardened to convey total seriousness. "He would never hurt you."

"What?" He blinked.

Kazuma watched him carefully, body tensing as he braced himself for perhaps a physical backlash. "That god is your master."

Yukine did not -could not- move as the words struck him like a meteor hitting land. He started quaking uncontrollably and his stomach churned because that god couldn't be his master, he had attacked him and chased him and...

Yukine thought hard about his every encounter with that god and the glaring oddities surrounding them suddenly made too much sense. That god noticed how scared he had been, and maybe Yukine was an open book, but if he was his god then he could have actually sensed Yukine's terror. Plus that god had never given any warning prior to attacking him, no change of stance or expression, but rather always looked so startled and concerned.

Oh.

Yukine had the urge to slap himself because that god truly was his master, and he had been so blind. That god was the first person to recognize him and had appeared right after Kazuma said his master was on his way, which should have been a dead giveaway if Yukine hadn't been so stupid. No wonder Kazuma had restrained him, he had been stopping Yukine from making the idiotic mistake of attacking his own master -stupid, stupid, stupid him!

Though the anger didn't last long and guilt was swift to replace it because what type of hafuri attacked his own master? Ran from him? Told him to his face that he didn't remember him? His master was clearly a minor god, and being forgotten was such a serious fear for minor gods, and Yukine had shoved that in his master's face!

He was on the verge of making himself sick with guilt when Kazuma placed a steadying hand on his shoulder. He sent him a look of such understanding despite the fact Yukine was certain he had never done such terrible things to Bishamon. "Don't blame yourself. You didn't ask for a case of amnesia."

Yukine was appeased by that fact, but now worry was worming its way into his heart. "But then who did? Who made me forget my own master?" It also troubled him to think there was someone with the power to take a shinki's memories away. Not just anyone could do that after all.

"You've only forgotten about your god? No other memories seem to be missing?"

He shook his head and Kazuma hummed in thought. "I figured, but needed to make sure."

"Figured what?" Yukine had a bit of bite in his tone because he was frustrated and wanted to know what was going on already.

"This was clearly a planned attack on you and your god. Your injuries and your semi-amnesiac state attest to that. However, I'm not sure who did this to you and I don't entirely understand how they've done this."

Yukine frowned because he sort of already knew his amnesia was no accident. The fact only specific memories of his god were missing really gave that away, but he had no idea who hated his master enough to do such a thing. Then again, he hadn't even recognized his own god so how could he expect to recognize their enemies? Did his master even have enemies? His eyes shifted to stare at the brown door and he wondered if that god- No, his master was staring back at him behind the door and his insides twisted at the thought.

"Do you remember anything about last night? When you were attacked?"

He did not turn away from the door, but replied. "Not really. I just remember sneaking out Kofuku's place, I don't remember why, and then I woke up by Suzuha's tree with no memories of my master."

Kazuma made another humming sound, but then silenced reigned between the two. Yukine had nothing to say as he went over everything that he'd learned in his head. On the bright side, he was no longer lost. On the downside, he attacked his own master twice and made a complete fool of himself. It was also clear that someone purposely caused this mess and inflicted misery on him every time he so much as looked at his master for too long.

"Wait," Yukine's whisper shattered the contemplative silence. "If that god-I mean my master didn't cause that pain, what did?"

Kazuma blinked into awareness and a tight frown made its appearance on his face. "You may not see it, but right here," He suddenly placed his finger tips on Yukine's back and he automatically turned his head in an attempt to see where he was touching. "There is what looks like a second name." He spotted the barest smudge of red on his shoulder beneath Kazuma's fingertips and horror overtook him.

"I'm a nora?" He couldn't speak above a whisper because the amnesia and everything that came with it was bad enough without the thought that some god not only attacked him but named him against his will.

"No," The older shinki sliced through his despair. "The name is not actually a second name because it still reads as 'Yuki'."

Yukine blinked wide eyes as his brain shut down because that made absolutely no sense. That was unheard of, right?

Kazuma's forehead scrunched up to reveal he was at least mildly frustrated too. "We don't understand how, but from what we can tell, this second name is acting as a seal to your memories of your master. It creates a backlash whenever this seal starts to break."

"So every time I try to remember my god that second name will sting me?" It felt a lot worse than a mere sting, but he didn't have the words to describe the agony it put him through. "And I guess no one knows how to fix this?"

Kazuma shook his head. "I'm still researching it, and so are others, but so far there is nothing written on this subject."

Yukine looked away for a second, frowning. "Then what should I do? What can I do?" He resented how utterly lost he sounded despite how his tone matched his feelings exactly.

"For now," Kazuma softened his features perhaps to put him at ease. "Maybe you should get reacquainted with your master."

Yukine looked over to the door and a thread of nervousness mixed with the hope budding inside him. He didn't know how to feel about all this, which was ironic considering how desperate he had been to find his master, and now that he had, he was hesitant to see him. Yukine knew it was illogical, but some part of him still didn't believe that blue-eyed god in a tracksuit was actually his master. However, another part of him had been shouting all along that he had a connection to this god and was once again telling him that truly was his master out in the hall. Yes, he could accept that, it felt right to accept it. His tension died away once he did and his shoulders relaxed from the bunched up position he had unknowingly placed them in.

"Okay." Yukine nodded and when Kazuma stepped away, he dropped his gaze to the floor as he prepared himself. He heard the older shinki speak softly to someone for nearly a minute before he heard a new set of steps enter the room. Only once the steps quieted and he heard the door shut did Yukine look up.

The god was standing there, hands wringing together nervously and blue eyes trained on the wall far away from him. Suddenly Yukine saw the god, really saw him, and without his bias it was so obvious how exhausted the god looked. His god reeked with despair with his hair strands hanging limply in his face and his overall haggard appearance told the story of a god who had not gotten a break in a long time. Undoubtedly the god was still hurting from Yukine's earlier rejections and he was such a horrible hafuri, wasn't he?

"Don't feel guilty." A quiet mummer broke out from the god's lips and those blue orbs slid over to him. "I'm the one that scared you, that made you run away." His tone was flat, unnaturally so, and gave nothing away.

Yukine did not know how to respond because he was clueless to how this god would react if he argued or agreed. Thus he decided to ignore the topic and move on. "What's your name?"

The god was shocked, but seemed to remember his amnesia and then simply looked tired and dejected. "It's Yato." A terse smile flashed and his blue eyes lit up. "Or Drippy or Bakagami, depending on what you feel like calling me."

The term bakagami struck him like a baseball bat to the chest and it was as if the last piece of a puzzle had finally clicked in place. The shinki practically fell off the bed without thinking because this really was his master, his master was here, Yato had found him, and he was going home. Yukine wrapped his arms around the thin middle of the Yato god before either of them could brace themselves, yet it wasn't long before thin arms hugged him back.

"I missed you!" The happy sob broke out and tears pooled yet didn't fall from his eyes as he squeezed his god, his dear master!

"I missed you too." Yato hugged him back, but his voice was hollow. Yukine stiffened not because he doubted Yato's sincerity, but because it was clear that this was not the reunion either of them had imagined. Master had found hafuri, but without Yukine's memories, the reunion was a shadow of what it should be and both of them knew it.


Yukine didn't feel comfortable leaving with Yato and had a feeling that his master sensed that because he was keeping a respectable distance away even as they sat across from each other. However, Kazuma needed to return to Bishamon, Hiyori was at school, and Yukine was starving. Thus he didn't protest when Yato teleported them to a diner. They had sat down by a window -Yukine had a feeling this was on purpose so he wouldn't feel trapped- and he hated that his master felt obligated to do this for him. Especially since he wasn't certain his master could afford this.

"Can't we eat at Kofuku's place?" Yukine timidly urged the god, who had been staring out the window.

Yato blinked at him, thankfully not angered by the interruption, which Yukine had been slightly worried about. "Kofuku and Daikoku aren't home. Besides, aren't you hungry?"

"Not really-" Yukine was betrayed by his own stomach that chose to growl rather loudly at this moment. His cheeks burned and he looked away when a light chuckle escaped from Yato.

"It's okay, kid!" Yato grinned wide at him and Yukine marveled at the look because he god hadn't smiled like this in all the time Yukine could remember. "You eat like a ravenous wolf every morning, so I'm not surprised you're this hungry after going a whole day without food."

"But you can't afford this!" Yukine didn't mean to verbalize the words and grew nervous when Yato merely stared at him with a jaw-slacked expression.

Until the god slumped over to hold his face in his hand. "Really kid? Of all the things you remember, it's the fact I'm broke that sticks out to you?" It was clearly a joke, Yato was smiling, yet Yukine felt bad.

"I'm sorry." He frowned, coiling an arm around his stomach in an attempt to keep it quiet.

Yato hastily waved him down. "It's fine, Yukine, really." He turned back to the window and Yukine had a feeling it wasn't fine, it really wasn't. If only he could remember, then everything would be okay again!

Yato grimaced and his hand reached towards his chest before dropping away. Yukine figured out very quickly that his guilt was plaguing his master so did his best to stuff the guilt into the deepest corner of his mind as Yato turned to him. They stared at each other, unspoken words forming a barrier between them, and Yukine longed to tear down the wall, but had no idea how to.

"Are you going to use that?" Yato abruptly stared down at the table and Yukine followed his gaze to see the coloring page and crayons the waitress had left for him. He was a little miffed to see it -he was no child- but hadn't stopped the waitress earlier since he had been too caught up in examining his discomfort of being near Yato.

"No." Yukine wondered why Yato was asking and considered maybe he used to draw a lot before he lost his memories. However, he was surprised when the god slid the paper over to himself and turned it onto its blank side. Then he picked up a black crayon and began to sketch. Yukine watched him in silence, mystified by the light strokes that soon became faces and bodies on the page.

"Do you remember the time Hiyori lost her memory of me?" Yato spoke with ease, but Yukine flinched. He did indeed recall the event, which made this situation all the more worst because this was the second time his god had to endure someone forgetting him.

"Yes," He replied aloud because Yato had not looked up from his sketching. "Hiyori forgot me too and I felt really lonely. I was crying by this lake and there was..." A blurry figure appeared at his side in the memory and he mentally reached towards it. "Someone comforting me- Ah!" He grasped his head as a needle stabbed into his brain and he jerked away from the memory to escape the pain.

"Yukine!" Yato stood, but Yukine released his head and waved him down because the pain was already gone.

Yato retook his seat, but the concern shone in his stormy ocean eyes. "What happened?"

"I think I was starting to remember you." Yukine felt his heart break when a combination of joy and despair warred on Yato's face.

Soon though, the god simply looked worried. "Try not to. I know it hurts you." Yato spoke airily yet Yukine knew those had to be some of the hardest words Yato had ever uttered. He could tell Yato was hurting no matter how well the god hid it because he may have forgotten his master, but his brain remembered how to read Yato. The way the god's fingers curled rigidly around the crayon, which was a nub at this point, and how he smiled even when there was nothing but despair in those eyes. Yato was hurting so, so much, and there was nothing either of them could do to ease his pain.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up," Yato went back to sketching though briefly raised a hand to wave at their surroundings. "This situation just sort of reminded me of that time."

"I'm sorry, Yato." Yukine couldn't help except feel guilty because he brought his master pain simply by being here. For the shinki was here, but at the same time he wasn't. He wasn't the Yukine his master remembered and Yato was a stranger to his hafuri.

"Aw, kid, lighten up!" Yato cheered suddenly, reaching over to pet his head. The hand retreated a second later, but Yukine still felt a lump forming in his throat because he remembered that. That hand, slightly damp and so gentle, had been on his head before and his body knew that even if his brain had forgotten.

The ring of a phone interrupted the moment, however, and Yato looked down at his cellphone on the table. "I gotta take this." He rose and hurried away before Yukine could tell him there was no need to leave for a simple phone call. Sighing, Yukine's eyes fell and landed on the paper Yato had sketched all over. Curious, he slid the sketch to his side of the table and turned it so it wasn't upside down.

He gasped as he took in the sight of a very accurate portrait of himself and Yato. There were three sketches in total. One where he was sleeping and looked more peaceful than he currently felt. Another in the middle of Yato laughing while Yukine scowled at him and seemed to be shouting at the god. He idly wondered if he was a bit of brat to his master, but all thoughts fled him when he saw the small sketch in the corner of the paper.

Yato was hugging his kid and the Yukine in the sketch looked irritated, but his eyes were bright and his scowl was more of a small smile. Master and shinki seemed to be embracing in some sort of reunion and that told him that at least the last sketch was imagined and not a portrait of the past. It had to be fiction because he and Yato were together again, but not reunited, not like they should be, and they wouldn't be until Yukine got his memory back.

Yukine held in the emotional tidal wave that sought to overtake him. It was messed up and wrong, this entire situation was horrible, and it made him so angry to know this was deliberate. Someone had caused this, someone had hurt him, but worst of all they had hurt his master!

Yukine shuddered as a chill rolled down his spine and he turned to the window instinctively. Across the street from the diner he spotted a girl with dark brown eyes, devoid of emotion, staring at him. He couldn't see her that well as people walked in front of her, but before she disappeared within the masses, he thought he saw her lips tilted in a smirk.


Wow, that took forever to write and edit! I hope this longer chapter makes up for the two week wait! Next update should be in a week, and shouldn't be delayed this time since I'm off from school for most of this week :)

See ya next time!