Yato sighed, resting his head on the kotatsu table that he was snuggled under. Today had been a particularly boring day, and was part of what seemed to be a dry spell for the god. He hadn't had any calls for a few days in a row. And, to make things worse, Hiyori hadn't stopped by recently, either. Well, to be exact, it had been 2 days and 19 hours. He longed for a look at her face. He sighed heavily again. Who even knew if she would be coming today? She certainly hadn't paid attention to any of his usual texts for a while, giving him only the briefest of answers. He flipped his phone open again now, and stared at the picture of her that he used as a background.

Fierce determination suddenly filled him. If she wasn't going to come to him, then there was absolutely no reason he couldn't go to her. A quick glance at the clock told him that Hiyori's school would be ending in about an hour. Well, it's not like I have anything better to do, he decided, and teleported himself to the front gate.

The next hour was unpleasantly cold, but Yato occupied himself by playing out scenarios of how Hiyori would react to seeing him waiting to pick her up from school. In one, she screamed as if he was a rock star, and threw herself to her knees at his feet, gazing up at him with pure worship. In another, she stopped short at the gate, blushed prettily, and stammered as she asked him why he was there, blushing even harder as he replied he was there for her. In some of his more wild fantasies, she immediately flung herself into his arms and pulled his head down to meet her lips with a passionate kiss, only pulling away to declare that she had no idea how she had waited so long to be with him.

He sighed and tilted his lean frame against one of the gate's columns as this last scenario finished playing out in his head. Of course, she would never react like that to him, and he shouldn't allow her to. She deserved much better than a god of calamity. And, his personality aside, what future could they have, really? If he managed to not be forgotten, he was a god. Immortal. Unaging. Whereas Hiyori was very mortal, and would grow older, and eventually die, all while Yato was forced to watch hopelessly. He knew there would come a time when he would have to let her go, a time when he would have to force her back into her own world. She would regret it if he didn't.

But, for now, he was happy simply waiting for her at the school gate.

A bell sounded, and teens came pouring out from the confines of the school, all eager to escape after a long day. Some headed for various buildings for club activities, but many streamed towards the gate where Yato leaned casually. Several people passed by him without even a glance, but Yato didn't have time to spare for them. He was busy combing the crowd with his eyes, looking for a particular head of hair.

There it was! He waved his arm high over his head and called out, "Hiyori! Over here!"

Her head whipped around and craned over the crowd until she met his eyes. She sighed visibly and turned to her friends, saying something to them. Yato waved again, impatient. She should come pay attention to him now! She'd been with her friends all day, and he hadn't seen her in…2 days and 20 hours! That wasn't fair!

Luckily for him, what she'd been saying appeared to be a farewell, and she split off from her group of friends to make her way over to where he was waiting, grinning widely as he watched her approach. When she got within earshot, she called to him, "Yato, what are you doing here?"

He frowned. That wasn't what she was supposed to say. She was supposed to be thrilled to see him, and apologize for not having been to visit him for the past 2 days and 20 hours. Confused, he replied, "What do you mean? I'm here to pick you up, obviously?"

By now, she had reached him, and looked up into his face with blatant confusion. "But why?"

His heart jerked unpleasantly. He looked off to one side and mumbled sullenly, "Because I love you."

"Because what?"

Oh shit. That wasn't supposed to come out of his mouth. He panicked, and picked something that, while still honest, was much less dangerous. "Because I want to."

He felt a gentle hand on his sleeve, and turned to look at her. She smiled gently at him, and asked, "Is this because I haven't been to see you in a few days?"

Yato felt his face heat up as he nodded.

Her smile was as soft and sunny as warm butter. "I'm sorry about that, Yato. I've had a big project I've been working on for class, so I haven't really had much time for anything else. I'm sorry that I made you lonely. And poor Yukine is probably needing me to look over his studies, right?"

He finally found his tongue again. "Yeah, that's right. We all miss you, Hiyori. How much longer is this project going to take?"

Her face flushed a pretty pink. He admired the effect of the color on her as she replied, "I should be finishing it up either today or tomorrow. Why don't you check in with me tomorrow after school, and I'll see if I can make it over to see you boys?"

A huge grin split Yato's face. "That sounds great!" He grabbed her hand. "Now come on, you can at least let me walk you home today, right?"

Hiyori smiled up at him, some of that pink still tinting her cheeks. "Sure, Yato."