All my apologies if some people had been waiting for this chapter for a long time. I made this one slightly longer than the two last ones, I hope you will like it. It's actually thanks to a certain person that this is published :)
The plan in itself was pretty simple. He had to infiltrate Bishamon's mansion without getting recognized by any of shinki first, and then find where Hiyori was held captive and rescue her. With enough luck, maybe her shinki wouldn't recognize him at all. Only the shinki she used to fight knew a little bit about her.
He really hoped he wouldn't run into the crazy goddess, though. Although he was starting to feel better, Yukine was still absolutely in no state to fight, and they both of them would only get injured. He hated to do that, but Hiyori's safety came first.
Thankfully, Tenjin accepted to teleport them to Takamagahara, on a little hill in front of her palace. He didn't waste a second, ordered Yukine to turn into his sword form and approached wearily her palace.
"I hope Hiyori hasn't been hurt by Bishamon-sama. I'm worried for her," said Yukine out loud. "Hey, don't worry too much," said reassuringly the god. "I don't think she would have seriously hurt Hiyori anyway. We just find where she is, get her back pronto, and then you can study together again."
Yukine let out a sound of agreement from the bottom of his throat, sounding only half-convinced. Yato tightened his grip on the handle of the sword. "Yukine, are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I'll be better when Hiyori is safe and sound at home." The god nodded, and made a grimace when he finally arrived in front of her mansion; it was so huge. "Hey Yukine, actually I need to talk about this. Tell me, how come a crazy nympho like her has got such a big mansion to live in?! It's unfair! I want the same one too!"
"Stop complaining. She has more shinki to take care of than you, so it's normal she has a bigger mansion than you," sighed Yukine while rubbing his temples, not wanting to lecture his god right now. "Let's just find Hiyori."
Yato's lips turned downwards at the reaction from his kid, having hoped to receive... something more mean-spirited, snarkier. The usual Yukine answers. He still wasn't alright.
He nodded to him silently, let out a deep breath and started his infiltration in her castle. He frowned after a short moment. It was well past noon, yet he couldn't see anyone around in her courtyard. He advanced in the shadows, maintaining his battle stance. "Something is up."
"Agreed. It's way too calm to be normal..." Yukine trailed off, his voice sounding more uncertain and frightened. "Hey Yato, look. I-Isn't that that piece of cloth the same colour as Hiyori's uniform?"
The god knelt to grab it between two of his fingers and examine it. Indeed, the bloodied piece of cloth in his hand was indeed Hiyori's. He should have been glad to have found a lead about her situation; however the blood staining it almost entirely prevented him from doing so. "She has been hurt."
He clutched it as his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Damn Bishamon... She will regret what she did," he spat heinously. Bishamon had gone too far this time.
"Y-Yato, let me revert. It doesn't seem like there is anyone here, and she is hurt! We have to separate ways to find her quicker before she...!" Yukine sounded frantic, panicked, not like himself at all. Yato thought his proposition over, absolutely not fond of the idea of letting his kid alone in the enemy's territory, before reluctantly whispering his name to make him retransform.
Hiyori was hurt, and he had to rescue her as soon as possible.
A feeble voice rang out through the silence as Yukine's human form appeared. "Y-Yato..."
Yato's eyes widened. Hiyori was here. She was limping, pale, panting and Yato caught her before she fell to the ground. If one had judged her wounds from the quantity of blood on the cloth, then they would be really surprised. She was injured far worse. Yato couldn't stop his teeth from gritting.
"I-I'm so g-glad to have finally found both of you," she said with a tired smile. Her face was almost white, and her eyes were barely opened too. Yato worried that she would pass out soon. "It's s-so big here... It's like a maze."
"Where are you hurt, Hiyori?" asked the god, repressing his anger in his voice the best he could. The human's eyes started to flutter shut, and Yato's heart sank. He touched lightly her cheek with his fingertips. "H-Hey, hey, Hiyori. Hiyori. Hiyori, wake up."
Yukine watched from afar as Yato shook his friend, struggling to wake her up. And all of a sudden, he couldn't hear them anymore.
Suzuha was slammed back against the tree and cried out in pain-
Blood was spilled, flesh was ripped, and a few minutes later-
One second he saw Suzuha's corpse, and the other it was Yato who leaning against the bloody cherry tree, eaten by animals while he watched it all. And after that it was Hiyori who was dead-
Did that mean that...
"Hiyori... Y-You're going to die too...?" breathed Yukine in the silence. Yato froze when he saw his expression.
Tears leaked from his eyes.
Yukine, you were the only one who could have protected me! Why did you let me die?!
Gravity slammed his knees to the ground with full force, where he curled up on himself. His whimpers grew in intensity. They became watery sobs, then cries, then terrifying, loud, throat-wrenching yells that would forever be anchored in both Yato and Hiyori's minds.
He kept shaking his head, his forehead rubbing against the ground, wishing the haunting memories would leave him alone. Yato tried to calm him down with words, but the only time his voice decided to work, his shinki's yells outweighed his words.
"Yukine-kun, i-it's alright! Please calm down..." tried Hiyori. She puffed a few times before continuing. "Stop... yelling..." She casted a helpless glance at the god after a few useless tries, obviously asking for help to calm the child down. The problem was that Yato was petrified.
Unable to speak.
Scared like he had never been for Yukine.
"Yato, we have to come home now!" cried Hiyori after a silence.
The throbbing in his voice had filtered most of her words, letting a few only incomprehensible sounds pass. His body felt like it was crumbling; it felt like it had been beaten over and over and over, during hours. Yukine was yelling next to him, yet their link made him feel like the sound was right in his head. He uselessly slammed his hands against his ears to try to stop the noise and winced, without success.
He felt nauseous. Like he was very close to fainting.
Hiyori had crawled next to Yukine while he wasn't looking, caressing his back and murmuring him soothing words. For a fraction of a second, all the god's senses cleared, and his ears picked up a faint vibration of the ground beneath him. Footsteps.
He turned around just in time to see something thick and grey descend on him that he blocked with his bare hands. He winced when he felt the sharp sword incise his palms and shear his flesh, and scrambled to his feet to send the goddess away with a strong kick to the stomach.
Bishamon got the air knocked out of her lungs as she slammed against a tree a few metres away. She slowly slid down it, feeling its bark scrape against her bare back under her black vest. She felt all her shinki's worries swarming in her chest, making the task to breathe impossible. "I-I'm fine," she managed to wheeze. "Don't worry for me, children."
"Children," repeated Yato with disdain. The god used the time she took to regain her composure to examine his bloodied hands, and winced at the gashes in them. If he didn't know better, he would say that she had firmly intended to chop his hands off. It would definitely take some time to heal.
He wiped them on his jogging – bloodied hands reminded him too much of Father and Yaboku – and shot a look to the goddess. "Bishamon, what the hell are you playing at?" he said in an annoyed and dangerous voice. "I have absolutely no time to deal with you now."
He let out a small sigh in relief when some of his pain disappeared yet glanced behind him, worried that the cause of this relief was Yukine's collapsing because of panic.
But thankfully, it wasn't. The young boy was safely tucked in Hiyori's arms, trembling and probably still crying, but at least he wasn't looking like he was freaking out anymore. Hiyori didn't look like she would let him go despite her pallor and her injuries.
He smiled warmly at her during a split second before his gaze hardened again. She was losing blood, and Yukine was in shock too. It was high time he came home, but the goddess was stronger than she looked. She stood back up, a hand to her bruised stomach. "W-What on earth... are you doing here? How dare you s-soil my mansion with your presence, murderer?!"
"I really hope you are joking with me," he muttered in a deathly silent voice. "You injure my friends, kidnap Hiyori and have the nerve to ask me that? Sorry to have come, really... Maybe I should have waited that you killed her to come, huh?!" he roared.
She looked behind him and saw the aforementioned young woman, wounded, holding a blond-haired boy in her arms. Her eyes widened a little bit; Yato read in them that she hadn't expected Hiyori's presence at all. Some of his anger faded away when he asked her. "You... You didn't bring Hiyori here?"
Her lips twisted into a smirk after a moment. "It doesn't matter, Yatogami. What's important is that you chose to show up here, giving me a perfect occasion to kill you and take revenge for the Ma clan."
Kazuma tightened his lips and clenched his fists, dull eyes hidden behind his glasses, not daring to intervene in this fight between deities.
"...Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. Definitely not. That's not going to do," grumbled Kugaha, looking down at the scene. "How is Yato supposed to kill that pathetic excuse of a goddess without a weapon? He surely won't call his kid when he is in this state. He is so dumb."
Kugaha leant against the window and let his hand slide on his chin, frowning as he pondered about his plan's possibilities of success.
First of all, Yato was pissed off by his friend's kidnapping, and even more at seeing her hurt. He was certain that now, both gods nurtured enough animosity against the other to begin a death battle worthy of the name.
Bishamon's shinki, excepted himself and Aiha and the other ones she was wielding, were all dead or dying; he was certain to have sent enough Ayakashi to do the job. Blight would soon stain her, when the medicine's effects would wear off.
Bishamon was clearly weakened and disadvantaged against him. He had done everything he could to help the god of calamity win and advantage him over the goddess, but if Yato didn't fight... Then everything went down the drain.
He rolled his eyes when he saw Bishamon, the owner of the title of goddess of war, being pushed away by the god's kick and smacking against the tree. When he saw her struggle to her feet with an angry expression, he had thought that the fight would finally begin. However the only thing that begun was a conversation.
He threw his hands in the air. This wouldn't get him anywhere. Maybe it was time he intervened to take care of that mess.
Hiyori was lost. Yukine was a mess in her arms, but at least he had stopped yelling. Despite having calmed down a great lot, he wasn't alright yet, and she could see his grief was taking a toll on the god. Yato was wobbly on his feet, and his breathing was more sonorous than it should be.
Then what she feared the most happened: Bishamon attacked. Yato's dodges were sluggish, uncontrolled, and Hiyori felt her eyes water each time Bishamon's sword sliced her god.
Bishamon hit him once.
Bishamon hit him twice.
Tears fell from her eyes. She clutched Yukine's head against her. "Bishamon-sama, please wait!" she cried out. "I'm sure we can talk it out...! Please put that sword down!"
"Won't you do something else than dodge, calamity god? Because I got you good two times already despite your best efforts. Maybe the third time is the charm." Yato tsked at the mockery, covering a wound with one of his hands. He hated to admit that she was right; with a wound to the stomach and another to the head, a third time may be fatal for him.
"Borderline!"
A wave of energy appeared between Bishamon and Yato. Yukine's index and middle finger were pressed against each other firmly, directed towards the fight. His fingers were trembling, his nose was all red, and so were his eyes. "Yukine-kun..."
"I'm a-a-alright now, H-Hiyori. D-Don't worry." He drew in a shuddering breath and left her warm arms to stand up. He felt her fingertips weakly grab his sleeve, as if asking if he was really alright now. "I'm alright... I... c-can't look a-at you, though. Sorry."
She was bleeding too much. Seeing her would make him yell again. Or faint. She smiled and shook her head. "It's okay."
He turned towards her just enough so that she could see a glimpse of the fake smile on his face before hurrying at his god's side, who was knelt in front of the barrier, the palm of his hand covering his wound on his shoulder. "Yato, are you alright?"
"Stand back, it's dangerous," he replied in a heartbeat without looking at him. "Bishamon could shatter the barrier with that sword of hers."
"I-I'm here to help you. Ask me to transform, a-and we will fight her-"
"Yukine, step back!" snapped the blue-haired god, finally facing him. The icy look his master was giving him made Yukine freeze on the spot and his throat go dry. "It's dangerous; what don't you understand in that?!"
Yukine's face crumpled, and his arms fell limply to his sides. Kugaha's spiteful words rang once again in his head.
"And I heard you're your god's only shinki… I would seriously worry if I were him. Thank goodness he still has his nora to rely on if he is in trouble, because just with you… He would have already disappeared."
He had had a breakdown, true, but... Was Yato ready to abandon him just for that? Because he wasn't strong enough to protect him? This thought had always seemed ludicrous, because Yato had never given up on him before. Before, during and after the misogi, he had continued to believe in him...
And ever since he had finally learnt to deal with his... new situation, their relationship had continued to get better and evolve in a positive way. He though his god relied on him... that a single moment of weakness wouldn't cost him being released of his precious name, of his only identity.
The borderline vanished. "B-But Yato I-I can-"
"Oh, enough!" yelled a voice. Bishamon suddenly found herself being immobilized, arms pinned behind her back. "Ane-sama!"
Her attempts to struggle free revealed to be unsuccessful. "Ngh... Who are you?!" she yelled to her unknown aggressor. The voice laughed. "Hey. I know you couldn't care less about your shinki and have forgotten the name of more than the three quarters of them, but you don't even recognize the voice of someone who brings you medicine every day to hide your blights from your children?"
It had always made him sick, that false motherly attitude of hers. She blinked, and her gaze glassed over a little. "It's you K-Kugaha...?"
"Wow, you even found my name. I'm flattered." He held her tighter, and she winced. "Dear goddess, I can read the question in your eyes. Why, you probably ask? Well, it would be long to explain. Let's just say..." he brought a knife to her neck and whispered in her ear. "It sickens me to be at the service of a pathetic and egoist little girl like you."
The frightened goddess dove just in time to dodge the fatal hit and struggled free from the white-haired man's hold. The latter only blinked. "Wait, you don't hurt me? Don't tell me you're refusing to fight back just because I'm your shinki, Bishamon."
One quick look in her lavender eyes gave him the answer. He shook his head, looking half amused and half annoyed by the situation. Yato didn't know why, but he felt like punching him straight in the face right now. "Well, I fear you will have to consider me an enemy now for what I will do."
Large, inform and random purple blotches suddenly blossomed on the goddess' body, making her yell in pain and fall to her knees. Her own voice seemed to echo in her skull, blending with her shinki's who were yelling with her. A real cacophony. She would have wanted so much to free all her children from this inhumane suffering, but she couldn't move a single of her muscles otherwise she knew she would start yelling again. "It hurts, huh?"
Kugaha crouched next to her, and his enjoyment was clearly readable on his face. "Think that this is nothing compared to the pain that all your shinki were feeling from your neglect. You're only receiving an echo of it."
Bishamon stopped trying to stand up and fell flat on her stomach, barely able to breathe. "You're such a pathetic goddess... A goddess of war who has fallen low, unworthy of her name."
"All these ugly blotches on you... It's your superfluous shinki that are getting killed now, as we speak." The goddess panted sounds which were probably meant to be words to her shinki, who only smirked in a condescending way. "I sent Ayakashi to do the work. But honestly, you should thank me for getting rid of them. Once I eliminate them all... Then you and I, Bishamon, we will start over."
Aiha and Kazuma both shivered at Kugaha's tone of voice. "I will kill you, and your reincarnation will become the goddess of war that you were meant to be, not the kind of pathetic human mother that you are trying to be."
"That's rubbish," interjected Yato. He sighed before standing on his feet. "You're reasoning like a child. Bishamon is the way she is, and has been for centuries. Murdering everyone won't change anything to her nature. Genocide is not really a good way to get Mama's attention, is it Kugaha? Even more if you intend to kill her and make her reincarnate afterwards."
The shinki's eye ticked. "Shut up, god of calamity."
Yukinelaughed quietly, breaking the tense silence. "I can't believe it," he said when he was finished. His amused grin turned into a demonic one as his teeth turned into fangs."YoU'vedOne iT agaIn!"
Yato slowly turned his head towards his kid. Pure ire was in Yukine's eyes, directed wholly to Bishamon's white-haired shinki, and his fingers wouldn't stop twitching as if they were itching to attack his prey.
Yato's breath got caught in his throat when he saw Yukine's face, his physical pain completely forgotten. His expression crumbled. "Y-Yukine..."
Then it exploded with full force. A violent gust of dark wind emanating from Yukine blew Kugaha, Yato and Bishamon a few metres away. Yato's head bumped against the same tree Bishamon's body had a few moments ago, yet he didn't allow himself the luxury to stay dazed a moment.
He rushed to his feet despite his pain to block Yukine's way. "Yuki-"
"Yukine-kun, calm down! Your negative emotions are making you turn into an Ayakashi!" cried Hiyori, blocking the shinki's way exactly as Yato was doing.
He shot them a death stare. Yato and Hiyori winced at its intensity, but stayed firmly in place. He lowered his head little by little, hiding his furious eyes behind his fringe and gritting his teeth harder and harder at each instant. He wished they would just move.
The sound of something snapping made itself hear just before Yukine dashed forwards with a yell, his arm high in the air. Yato and Hiyori both gulped. "Yukine, stop!"
He had crossed the line. Yato knew he had to hurry, and bring him back before he had to slay him. Both Hiyori and himself were important persons to Yukine. Seeing both of them blocking his way would surely make him come back to his senses, and-
Hiyori gasped as Yukine's fingers, which had turned into claws, gashed her stomach. She yelled as the new wound started to bleed profusely, and fell completely limp. "Hiyori!"
Yukine... had killed her?
The possessed shinki immediately went after his master once Hiyori wasn't standing anymore. Yato had barely had time to open his mouth that blood bubbled out of it. Yukine wasn't as precise as usual, though. He had missed his master's heart, what he had obviously been aiming at, and instead succeeded in piercing one of his lungs. The god stayed frozen in shock, feeling suddenly cold, eyes glassy before Yukine withdrew his forearm from his chest.
He fell in a puddle of both his and Hiyori's blood.
Then everything started to blur. He heard Yukine's footsteps as he advanced towards his intended victim, his low animalistic growls, saw the expression on Bishamon's face, heard two new voice, and...
Everything became black as he passed out.
Yukine took four full days to finally open his big orange eyes to a very early morning sky. He sat up in a rapid and fluid movement, his eyes immediately going to his left arm.
He didn't know why he was in a hospital bed or why he was alone or what was the reason he was feeling so tired. Well, actually he supposed he knew, but refused to believe it. It was more like a horrible nightmare.
He would never have soiled his hands with both the blood of his master and the one of his closest friend's. Never. Even if he was transformed.
His arm was clean at first glance. He almost sighed in relief before seeing that his fingernails had a strange red tint to them. This colour was unmistakable; it was a colour that he had only seen too much the last few days. Way too much, and each time on persons he loved.
Except that this time, it was his fault. He gritted his teeth, placed his hands on both sides of his head and started to cry. He barely heard the sound of his door opening through his tears, yet felt the hand patting his back.
He yelped and tried to get away from whoever was trying to comfort him, only to fall loudly from his bed on his back. He heard more footsteps coming towards him and scrambled away from them, like a child terrified of receiving a punishment.
"You deserve that, son," said a voice in his head. "I don't care about your tears. It's your fault your mother left, so assume responsibility."
"Don't come near me... Step b-back!" he cried, trembling from head to toe. He couldn't watch, didn't dare looking up, but hoped with all his heart that it wasn't Yato in this room. His master that he had both let be in danger and tried to murder.
Or Hiyori. She was surely traumatized and terrified of him. He was nothing but a monster in her eyes, a beast that had tried to murder her...
Or maybe she was already dead. He didn't know.
He remembered it all too clearly. Bishamon's terrified face, Kugaha's white eyes as he stabbed him again and again, Kazuma and Aiha's cries as his own blight infected their bodies.
"I... I'm d-dangerous... I..."
"You're such a pathetic son."
The person stopped moving as the child's wails intensified. "I... I..."
Someone took him in his arms and caressed his back. "Yukine, come," was whispered in his ear. "We are going out for a moment."
The morning air was sensibly colder outside of the hospital. Yukine never noticed that hospitals were so warm, nor so... silent. He slightly leaned in Yato's embrace as the latter wiped his tears. "I teleported us... You're safe now. Come on Yukine, look at me."
The shinki shook his head, so Yato grabbed his chin and forced him to do so. The god's face was nothing if not filled with tenderness and love, all directed at his kid. And Yukine didn't understand. How could he look at him like that when he had almost murdered him? And probably Hiyori?
His pale face seemed to match his impeccable smile and light-blue eyes. "See. It wasn't that hard."
Yukine immediately looked away. "Where are we?" he mumbled without any motivation, wiping his running nose.
"I told you, we are outside. I want to show you something... Are you cold?" The child shook his head, but a shiver betrayed him. Yato only chuckled before giving him his jersey. Yukine's face immediately scrunched up. "I won't wear that unless you tell me last time you washed it."
"It was today, you meanie," he pouted. Yukine looked at the jacket a moment before eyeing the god. "Hey, don't look at me like that! It's true that it has been washed today. It still has the hospital's laundry smell. Smell!"
"...No, thank you."
"Rude. Stop complaining and put it on, you're going to catch a cold. And it's not exactly the best thing to have after a fever, is it?"
Yukine chewed his lip and slipped in the jacket without further complaints. He didn't say anything when the god hesitated before wrapping a scarf around his neck. He felt like he had bothered Yato enough for a lifetime. After almost killing him and whining and crossing the line twice, the least he could do was to obey this time.
Yato's smile dimmed a little bit at Yukine's passiveness but he said nothing. Once Yukine was done, he stood up with a bright grin on his face. Yukine honestly thought it would be best for him to sleep, because he had never seen him so pale. "All right! Now that you're ready, let's go! I have something to show you."
Yukine blinked at what was in front of him during a good handful of seconds. He then looked at his god. "Isn't it amazing?! This is what I wanted to show you."
"...A zoo?"
"Yup!" he said too joyously. "The perfect place to go when one's mood is down. You will like it, promise." He pondered a second if the god was blind, or just stupid. Or maybe the fight with Bishamon had damaged some of his neurons? That would explain why he would be so enthusiastic to go in a zoo which, very obviously, was closed.
"Um, Yato... I don't know if you noticed, but it's kind of closed. We can't go in."
The black portal with the giant red sign was indeed beautiful, if that was what the god wanted to show. "I know that it's closed. Do you think I'm dumb? No wait, don't answer." Yukine smirked, and a small smile crept up the god's lips. "If we can't enter the normal way, then we will infiltrate! We will wear black suits and sunglasses so that we're unrecognizable, then escalade the fence and then land with a super cool roulade, like super agents!"
Yukine sighed. He should have expected this kind of answer from Yato. The god sobered a little. "I really want you to go, Yukine. It's important. Just that, and after that I will stop bothering you."
"Okay then," he mumbled after a moment, hunching his shoulders. "Let's go."
It was great. He felt a little bad for trespassing like that, but the advantage of coming this early was that there was no one else to bother them. The zoo was calm, and the chirping of birds along with the morning mist and the grey sky contributed painting an even more peaceful atmosphere. Then his god took his hand, and dragged him to all the animals' enclosures.
Yato laughed when he saw his reaction upon seeing these animals from so close, yet his laughs were never entirely genuine. Sometimes, his eyes saddened at the sight of Yukine's shining ones. What kind of parents had never brought his children to do something simple, something like visiting a zoo? I'm sorry you had such a sorry excuse of a father, Yukine. You deserved better.
He helped Yukine read some of the kanji he couldn't on the animal's presentation's etiquette, and sometimes completed it with some info of his own. He took his hand and guided it if he was too scared to pet an animal, and carried him on his shoulders so that he could touch the giraffe's muzzle which was too high for him. Yukine saw lions, tigers, hippos, peacocks, and a myriad of other animals which he didn't even think they existed.
He looked excited, but more than anything happy, and that's all Yato had wanted. Finally seeing something else than tears on his face made his heart feel incredibly lighter. "Hey Yato, where are the elephants' enclosure on the map? We didn't see them yet!"
"Let's see..." thought the god out loud as he unfolded a map. "We are just next to panda's enclosure, so the elephants' shouldn't be too far. We just have to..."
Someone cleared their throat behind them. Yato's face fell. "Uh-oh."
As Yukine had thought it would happen, they got kicked out. And not nicely. The guard had grabbed his god by the collar and threw him out, refusing to listen at the god when he wailed that he was sorry and that he had to do that for his kid and that he would pay. Yukine hurried to leave not to receive the same treatment, and then the portal closed shut.
Yato mumbled something that Yukine couldn't understand as his face was pressed against the ground before standing up. "Geez, what's his problem?!"
"The problem is probably that we entered in a zoo which was closed. We got lucky he didn't put us prison or made us pay a fine for that."
"Still, that was rude! I told him I would pay! Why didn't he listen to me?!"
"Maybe even he knows that you're broke."
Yato's broke out in false tears, and Yukine smiled more genuinely than he had never had. He thrust his hands in his master's too big jacket. "Well, what should we do now?"
"Well, we can go back at Kofuku and Daikoku's house. You must be starved; it has been four days that you didn't eat. I asked Daikoku to cook something for us and Hiyori wants to see you too, so let's go."
All traces of happiness disappeared from the young man's face. The animals had distracted him so much that he had forgotten about what he had done. How could he face any of them? After almost murdering Hiyori... Daikoku and Kofuku surely didn't want to have a monster to their homes.
Yato draped an arm on his shoulders. "It's okay," he said in his softest voice, his fingers tangling in his blond tuft of hair. "It's okay."
He let Yato teleport him in front of their shrine. He didn't dare move, so Yato was the one who slid the door open. He hesitantly entered.
Hiyori rushed in Yukine's arms and to his greatest surprise, started to weep. Her action made him freeze, and caused blood rush to his face. "I-I'm so g-glad to see you awake, Yukine-kun! I-I was so worried!"
He had barely understood her words through her cries. His three attempts at making a sentence all failed, so he said nothing and let her hold him closer, her hand pressing his head against her shoulder. Another hand fell down in his shoulder. "Yukki, we missed you terribly!"
Daikoku's large hand ruffled his hair. "Home really isn't the same without you. It's good to see you again, kiddo."
Yato looked fondly as his kid received different marks of affection, ignoring Yukine's growing discomfort in his heart. His thoughts that he deserved none of that affection, that he was a dangerous monster who should be locked away somewhere for all eternity, and that Hiyori should step back now before he murdered her for real.
He thought sadly that there was only one bad person in this room, and that was surely not Yukine. Hiyori was the first one to let go of him, letting out a watery laugh when she saw his face. "I'm glad to see you."
"Hiyoriiiiiii..." whined the god, opening his arms. "Forget about Yukine a sec, and think about me! What about my hug?"
The student smiled at the god before nodding and advancing towards him. The god spread his arms wider and grinned, hoping that Hiyori's form would soon come in them.
"JUNGLE SAVATE!" The strength of the kick sent him flying against a wall, leaving a dent in it. A few pieces of rubble fell atop of his head, and he coughed. "Hiyori, you brute!"
Kofuku laughed, closing the buttons of her blouson. Yukine frowned at them, wondering if they were leaving. Hiyori and Daikoku looked ready to do so. "Hey Hiyorin, maybe we should leave them a little bit alone. Yato-chan and Yukki have to eat lunch, and they probably need calm. We are going to be late at the restaurant anyways."
"Hiyori-chan, Kofuku and I are going to eat outside," announced Daikoku. "The food is in the fridge, but if you don't want to eat it then you can take what's on the stove. Take care of yourself, both of you." He patted both of their shoulders before sliding the door shut behind them.
An awkward silence fell down in the room. Yukine quickly headed for the kitchen with his plates to serve himself a small quantity of the food in the fridge, absolutely not feeling like eating anything yet feeling like doing so would be impolite to Daikoku, who had prepared so much food for them. The god seemed to be hungry, though. He filled his plate with both types of food Kofuku's shinki's had prepared before settling around the table.
"What do you want to know?" asked the god around a mouthful of sushi. "No need to beat around the bush. You probably have about a thousand questions to ask me." Yukine stiffened and put down his chopsticks, not even wanting to pretend being eating his food. "Wh-What happened at Bishamon's mansion?"
"You crossed the line," answered the god calmly before taking another bite of his food. "Your negative emotions towards Kugaha were too strong, and you transformed in a form more advanced than during the misogi. Hiyori and I both tried to stop you, but you slashed us and continued to go towards him. I lost consciousness because of blood loss when I saw you stab him for the first time with your Ayakashi arm. At some point you fainted too. I heard that Kofuku and Daikoku are the ones who saved us three."
Yukine felt bile rise up in his throat while Yato continued to eat in a slow pace, his eyes not leaving the kid in front of him. He bit his lip. "Are you going to release me?"
It would make sense. He had already crossed the line once, and being released would be a good enough punishment to have reiterated this mistake. He didn't want to, but if it was what Yato had decided...
"Of course not," laughed quietly the god. "I won't release you unless you ask me to do it. None of what happened is your fault." He gulped down the last piece of food before lying on his back, disappearing from Yukine's view. "Although you might think that I'm not saying the truth..."
"I more than owe you a few apologies." Yukine clenched his fists silently. "I shouldn't have let you go alone in the night. I shouldn't have brought you with me to go fight Bishamon while you were still emotionally fragile from the loss of Suzuha. I... I thought about Hiyori's safety more than your emotions at that time, and I apologize for this. I acted impulsively, and this almost caused me to lose you. I can't even imagine how scared you must have been. I'm sorry, Yukine."
Yato's voice sounded terribly apologetic, something that Yukine couldn't understand despite his best efforts. "Wh-What on earth are you saying," wept Yukine, his hands uselessly wiping the tears from his eyes. "N-None of what happened i-is y-your fault... D-Damn it all... I-If only I was stronger then I wouldn't have snapped! A single death shattered me! Can't you see that, Yato?! I'm nothing but a danger and a monster that almost murdered four persons!"
"There are no monsters or dangers here!" cut sharply the god as the kid was trying to regain his breathing. "You're just a child, Yukine... Don't put so much pressure on yourself, trying to repress your emotions. You did your best to control them."
"But I almost killed you twice! I'm convinced both Hiyori and you have nightmares about me killing you or yelling." The god flinched, unseen by the shinki. "You... If you keep me with you, one day I could... I-I-I never wanted to hurt you like I did, Yato...! Why did that happen?!"
There they were, the ever so familiar tears.
"Even when you were possessed, you didn't kill anyone. What makes you think that something will go wrong now that you're calmer? You can never learn if you don't do mistakes. A lot of stuff happened to you during a too short span of time. It's normal to have cracked."
"But you never crack. I-It's not fair I'm the o-only one who does."
Yato stayed silent. "Actually, I did," exhaled the god. He covered his eyes with his forearm. "The moment I woke up. I had been brought in a hospital room, and left as soon as the doc allowed me to to check if you were all fine and alive. Hiyori was asleep... I wanted to stay with her, but since her parents were already there, I left. And headed directly towards your room. Do you know what happened then? What was the first thing I heard?"
Yato smiled sadly at the shinki's silence. "I heard a scream. Coming from a nurse. She kept yelling that they couldn't reanimate you. When I heard that, I totally froze."
Yukine gulped and looked away guiltily. "Then I thought... I thought that if I had protected you from the very beginning, then you wouldn't have had to suffer all this. I almost lost you twice in less than a week, kid, and that terrified me. I cracked, during these days you were unconscious. A miracle wouldn't be a strong enough word to describe you being here in one piece, and I don't ever want to go through that again."
He cleared his throat. "My point being, Yukine, that crying or being sad is far from being a sign of weakness. Everyone does that. The big and tough Daikoku cries, the goddess of war Bishamon cries, Hiyori cries, and Kofuku does too. I, too, am far from being as strong as you think I am. But it's okay, alright? It's okay to be grieving for your friend. It's okay to cry. Cry for as long as you need. That won't make you weak. And so that you know, you will always be the strongest person I have ever met. You're my kid, my partner, and I need you."
Yato held his kid tight against him, the latter having run in his arms just after his god's last sentence. "I know... that going through that kind of things alone would destroy anyone, and that's not what I want for you. Never be ashamed of coming to talk to me whenever you want to, and I will help you pick up the pieces of yourself. Okay?"
Yukine nodded, and ended up crying himself to sleep in his god's arms, dreaming of being happy and surrounded by various animals with Yato and Hiyori and all the persons he cared about.
Yato was probably right. After all, gods never lied.
I think I will add one or two more chapters to this. Thanks for reading :)