A/N: In honor of the final prompt of Yatori Week 2016 - Tsukuyomi, Here is chapter 3. Chapter 4 gonna be even bigger. So Stay Tuned if you're into the Tsukuyomi Theory!

Chapter 3: In the Darkness, the Path Shone Brightly

There, on that particular autumn evening, amidst the trickling of the stream, the silent sparkle of stars complimented the peaceful and ambient light of the moon. It shone softly upon Hiyori's face, adding a evocative nuance to those eyes for which Yato could never sate his appetite.

"When the time comes, I hope I can be your goddess."

Her words, spoken only a quiet minute ago, awakened something he had been stifling for sometime. It had reared its head in random moments when Hiyori had caught him off-guard with her closeness, and it manifested itself in the solitude of his dreams.

Desire.

With their first kiss the night before, the spark had been lit. He felt warm and tingly all day. But now, having her alone, gazing at him in the way that she did, the flame grew brighter.

"That is my dream, Hiyori...to spend the centuries of godhood with you at my side," he murmured as he combed fingers through her soft chocolatey tresses. "I need you." His eyes gleamed like shimmering pools, fathomless and tumlutuous as passion smoldered in them.

Hiyori could sense the change in his demeanor. No longer aloof and far-off, he was fully invested in the here and now. She could feel the warmth of his rising body heat, as his hands touched her face. For the first time, his mere touch sent something electric racing down her spine. A few kisses had merely sparked the fire, and now it burned at her core.

She breathed his name, a prayerful utterance, before he captured her lips and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, one hand resting between her shoulder blades, the other cradling the back of her head.

Yato whispered her name against her lips in between firm and tenacious kisses, to which Hiyori eagerly responded. Her arms snaked around his waist, one hand at the middle of his back, the other flirting with his waistband.

The god couldn't curb his craving for contact with his one and only love. Lips loosened, moistened with each consecutive kiss when suddenly the tips of their tongues touched, inadvertantly spurring their curiosity further. They gave pause, panting from the magnitude of emotion. Slowly, lips met again, and tongues began a soft and cautious caress.

Yato's taste was an exponential form of his already alluring essence. It overtook her senses, wiping her thoughts blank of anything but her god of fortune and his embrace.

Need.

That was all she felt. The rosy-eyed ayakashi understood what her lover expressed. There was no room for anyone else in her heart. Never in this way. The need to protect. The need to be by his side. The need to be close. The need for his touch.

Desire so strong, propensity so fervent that its object is equivalent to breathing.

Yato ran his tongue along her lip, eliciting a soft mewl. In a knee-jerk response, he pulled her in tighter, pressed against his body with a groan.

"I've never felt anything like this in my entire life," he drawled before plunging back into her warm and inviting mouth.

In the silvery light that tempered the darkness, only the sound of the soft suckling of lips upon lips filled the crisp night air. Time was easily and quickly lost as they stayed enveloped in the other's embrace. Soft hums of contentment escaped their throats as new and enthralling sensations racked their bodies. But under the endless assault of mouth upon mouth, as roaming hands mapped out and memorized each others' backs, lips grew swollen and sensitive. Their first passionate embrace slowed to a stop as they caught their breath and regained their senses.

There was a newfound peace in the silence that followed.

"Something occured to me recently," Hiyori said with a soft, reminiscent smile. He gave her a curious look, urging her to continue. "The day we met, Yama asked me if there was anyone I liked," she began, to which Yato couldn't help but inquire further.

"Was there?"

"No, I've never really had feelings for anyone before. I did joke that Tono was my only man," she explained with a chuckle. "I remember seeing the poster of the cat-"

"Ue-sama, that brat," Yato interjected with a sniff of amusement.

"Mm-hmm...and then you passed by me..." She tugged at his sleeve with emphasis. "And the rest is history."

"So...I'm your first love, too?" Yato asked somewhat incredulously. His tone was quick to turn facetious. "Well, it would be hard for anyone to follow a god, so I guess you're stuck with me!"

He winked at Hiyori, who giggled.

"I don't think I'd mind. I mean, hey...a god's number one girl. It's not a bad gig," she shot back with more giggles.

Yato took her hand and kissed it, holding it the entire walk back to Kofuku's place.

As they slid the shoji open upon their return, they were greeted by two scrutinizing looks. Yukine was not present. Hiyori and Yato looked at each other, then back to the goddess and her shinki.

"Where's Yukine?" The god inquired of his young regalia.

"He went upstairs," Daikoku replied evenly. "He said something about doing some reading."

"He didn't seem upset, did he?" Hiyori asked, concerned for the the effect the news had on him.

"Not really," Kofuku said with a nonchalant wave of dismissal. "But I'd definitely go and talk more with him, since you two took off so suddenly and were gone for a while."

"She's right, Yato," Hiyori agreed with a squeeze of his hand. "Let's go talk to him."

The blue-eyed god nodded and led her upstairs, where her body snoozed on Yato's futon.

Yukine looked up from his Japanese literature book.

"Oh, hey, you're back," he said as if it were of no consequence, returning quickly to the textbook in his hands.

Hiyori and Yato sat themselves with the blond boy, who looked up cautiously at the couple. His look told them that he felt a bit awkward, but obviously was trying not to breach the subject.

"Listen, Yukine-"

"I know what you're going to ask," the shinki said, interrupting his master. "You want to know if I'm okay with all...this," he said with a gesture of his hand.

"Well, yes," Yato affirmed, his tone calm and pensive. "This involves you, too, as my hafuri and her friend."

Yukine exhaled roughly through his nose and closed his book.

"I can't say that I'm surprised," he began, sarcasm lacing his words. "I just hope that things can generally stay the way that they are. And could you guys try not to be too lovey-dovey around me? That kinda stuff makes me uncomfortable."

"That seems fair," Yato replied earnestly. "But what do mean about things staying 'the way that they are?'"

Yukine's mouth contorted slightly as he considered his words.

"Well, Hiyori will still tutor me the way she always has, right?" he asked looking from his master to his friend. "No skipping out on our study sessions to go on dates and crap...not like this one can afford it, anyway."

Yato was about to protest his financial capabilities when Hiyori nudged him into silence.

"Absolutely," Hiyori reassured him with a smile. "School and studies still come first. And besides, you are my friend, Yukine-kun. I would never ditch our sessions together!"

The teenaged regalia blushed. He was happy that she valued him so much.

"Yukine, remember when you came to me after meeting Suzuha? You were concerned about HIyori forgetting about us someday. Growing older and moving on in life, away from us."

This was news to Hiyori. Her eyes widened in surprise, tempered by a gentle fondness. Her eyes remained on the hafuri as Yato continued his thought.

"Well, if Hiyori manages to become a familiar or a goddess herself, then she'll always be with us. We'll be our own little...family..."

Yato got a little choked up, thinking of his blessed vessel in a somewhat son-like way and thinking of Hiyori being wifely and in some ways motherly. She already was, to them, the most important person in their existences.

Hiyori interjected as Yato attempted to regain his cool.

"Yukine-kun, I have been questioning my future for a year now," she admitted. "I was trying to take the usual career survey, and I couldn't even whole-heartedly write down the one thing I always thought I'd be when I was younger: a doctor, and take on the family business. Even before the hospital debacle, I had realized that I really didn't want to take that path anymore. All I could think about was all of my friends here...like you...and Yato. My future-my calling- is here, and hopefully it's for a very long time."

Yukine was flabbergasted. This young woman whom he regarded as a precious friend, indeed had her wits about her and knew what she wanted, despite it being something that seemed nearly impossible.

"That would make me happy, Hiyori," the shinki said with tears forming in his amber eyes. He sniffed and looked over to Yato. The lovesick puppydog eyes he was giving Hiyori, unbeknowst to her, was enough to make anyone a little queasy. "I know this idiot will do anything to make it happen."

Yato threw a pencil at him in mock offense. Yukine yelped and chucked it back at him before looking back at Hiyori.

"This guy's been calling your name in his sleep for months! It was only a matter of time before he cracked."

"Hey!" Yato whined. "Don't embarrass your master like that!"

Hiyori simply laughed at them, her smile, bright and infectious, stopping their arguement in its tracks. Her joy reminding the both of them why they had all become so close.

"You guys are adorable," she said.

Not even an hour later, Yato walked Hiyori home.

She had been staying at her old house four nights a week and spending the weekends with her grandmother while she was still alive, knowing that her grandmother's time drew nearer by the day. The family tried to spend as much time together with her as they could manage.

The two said their goodnights in between lingering kisses before Yato kissed her hand and let it go as he turned to walk out the gate.

Yato paused and turned back to her, knowing that she'd be at her grandmother's the next evening.

"Hey, Hiyori, did you ever ask your grandmother any more about what she called your 'cursed blood'?" The god asked with a keen curiosity.

"No, actually, I never did," Hiyori replied with an inquiring look.

"Well, knowing now that your strong connection to the far shore is hereditary, I would find out more while you still can," he advised. "And I'd ask about that bow of hers, too. I get the feeling that it may be connected."

Hiyori pondered a moment and gave him a nod.

"I'll talk to her tomorrow, and let you know what I find out," she said assuringly.

"I look forward to it!"

With a grin and a wave, he disappeared into thin air.

Hiyori and Masaomi sat for tea with their obaa-san after Hiyori arrived from school. As she sipped, her eyes found the old bow placed carefully on the stand along with a handful of arrows.

She cautioned a moment, watching her grandmother gaze into the warm green liquid.

"Grandmother," she began, clearing her throat, "I would like to know more about our lineage...and our 'cursed blood.'"

The elder woman paused and sighed before looking somberly to her grandchildren.

"So you would like to know why we can see what we see? Why we can communicate with the other side?"

Hiyori and Masaomi nodded furtively awaiting the precious information.

"Well, some of it is family history, and some is purely speculation that seems to be more than coincidental," she began, her wrinkles etched deeper into her visage as she chose her words. "Hiyori, bring me my bow, please."

The youngest grandchild did as she was told and placed it in her frail hands. It was quiet for a moment as ancient memories seemed to whisper to them in an intelligible hush from beyond.

"This bow," their grandmother began, "represents a long line of shinto priests and priestesses in our ancestry." She held up the old wooden heirloom for the youngest generation to observe. "This belonged to my grandmother's great-grandmother. Every woman between them and countless before them were shinto miko at the Matsuo Taisha in Kyoto. The tradition died with my mother, who passed away when I was young. Living with my grandmother, I discovered that she, like I, could see spirits and communicate with them."

"So you think it's because we have a long heritage steeped in the old religion?" Masaomi surmised.

"Not completely. There are old stories passed on down through the family lines related to the shrine. One my grandmother told me was that in the early days of the shrine, Tsukuyomi himself appeared on a night of a new moon as miko and priests performed a cleansing ritual and kagura dance in his honor. He took a liking to the miko and began to appear to her at the shrine often. It was said that her heart was pure and she was wholeheartedly devoted to the god. When the miko came of age, she was married off, despite her devotion to the kami. It is said that she was blessed by him, and that we, her direct progeny, would always have a 'path to the gods.' It was said that not long after that, Tsukuyomi-sama disappeared, never to appear at the shrine again."

The two listeners were stunned into silence. They just stared at the bow, and tried to figure out what to ask next.

"Well, as crazy as it sounds, grandmother, I am willing to believe it," Hiyori responded. "Because, believe it or not, I have picnicked with Tenjin-sama. I've met Ebisu-sama, who recently reincarnated, and loves hamburg steak. He is friends with Yato, who rescued the former Ebisu from Yomi and Izanagi. And I happened to save Yato by calling his name," she prattled on, relishing the shocked look on her brother's face. "I have watched Bishamonten and her shinki destroy demons and-"

"Her?" Masaomi and their grandmother interjected.

"Yeah. She and Yato are drinking buddies, it seems, as they're both technically gods of war."

They both gawked at Hiyori. Who suddenly remembered that there may even be proof on her phone.

"How? How do you do that, sis?" Masaomi asked, flabbergasted. Hiyori stopped browsing her phone for old pics from last year.

"You guys can't tell mom and dad. They don't know that it's not narcolepsy," she insisted, making them promise.

"So your 'sleeping fits' are-?"

Hiyori's body collapsed to the ground. But to Masaomi and Grandmother, she was still standing. Masaomi poked Hiyori on the ground.

"Don't be spooked, Onii-chan. My body's asleep," Hiyori explained as she bounced around the room, her pink tail flitting behind her.

"Your spirit can leave your body, Hiyori? That can't be safe!" her grandmother cautioned as she reached out to touch the mobile version of Hiyori.

"Well, that's where Yato came in. I am pretty sure this happened when I inadvertantly sacrificed myself for a god...for him. I jumped in front of a bus to get him out of the way when I thought he was going to get hit," Hiyori explained with hesitation. The next hour was spent telling her grandmother and brother all about what had been going on in the last couple years. And how her, Yato and Yukine had all become so intertwined.

"I thought seeing random spirits was something special, and something I hadn't bargained for," Grandmother said with a shake of her gray mane. "But here is my grandaughter, carrousing and meddling in the affairs of the gods...please, be careful."

It was time for dinner and Masaomi went to the kitchen to get things started.

"Grandmother? I'm glad I got to tell you all this while we are still here together. I learned a lot today," Hiyori said, tears forming in her eyes.

Brown eyes smiled from behind her reading glasses. The elder lifted the bow and placed it in Hiyori's youthful grasp.

"This, Hiyori, is meant for you. I believe it has the power to protect you. Along the path to the gods, there are spirits and demons ready to attack. Always keep yourself alert."

"Yes, Grandmother. Thank you. This means so much!" Hiyori bowed deeply before jumping back into her body and coming to.

It got late and after dinner, Hiyori helped her matriarch get ready for bed. She leaned in an kissed the soft wrinkled cheek.

"Oyasuminasai, Obaa-san."

With a flick of the light she was off to her own room. Before settling, she tapped a quick message to Yato to apologize and promise to call in the morning. Her eyes eager to drift close, heavy under the weight of a long, eventful evening.

"Hiyori..." a voice called gently, trying to wake her. "Hiyori..." It was soft and distant.

It was peacefully dark and quiet, with nary any light as her eyes fluttered open.

There stood her grandmother in a white yukata, much like the one Yukine had worn when they first met.

"Grandmother?"

The lady nodded with a soft smile.

"Hiyori, It's time for me to go. Please tell your mother I love her, as well as your father and brother. I never felt alone with a family like this. I am so proud of you Hiyori. Learn to use your bow, it will serve you well... Please tell your blond friend, that lovely young soul, that I'm not afraid anymore. I'm sure we'll meet again."

Tears streamed silently down as she watched her grandmother's spirit follow the shinigami's dark shade through the glass of the sliding door out to her balcony and simply disappear.

The following days were somber, but not sorrowful, as the Iki family laid their matriarch to rest. Yato and Yukine watched the ceremony from a distance. Yukine wiped tears from his eyes, keeping in mind the elder's final words which Hiyori had relayed to him. Hiyori hugged her mother close as Masaomi lit incense, and they all said some final words.

After the service and burial, Hiyori joined Yato and Yukine and headed to Kofuku's. Hiyori hadn't told Yato about her discussion with her grandmother yet, in the wake of her death. But tonight she would retell the extraordinary tale to her immortal comrades.

After telling her family story, including the bow she inherited, Hiyori posed a question to the two deities present.

"Does anyone actually know what happened to Tsukuyomi-sama? I mean, does he reside in Takamagahara, or has he really been in hiding for over a millenium?"

The two gods shrugged.

"Yato, you're a little older than me, aren't you?" Kofuku asked, looking for reinforcement from her jersey-clad cohort. "I've been around a while, but I've never heard about Amaterasu's brothers. I mean, I know she sits on the throne of the Heavens, but it's almost sort of taboo...no one dares asks about the whereabouts of Susanoo and Tsukuyomi. Stories older than both of us label them as outcasts."

"Then where do I begin to even figure out the truth behind my lineage? Apparently I am one in a long line-probably like fifty generations-of my family who are connected to the far shore because we were 'blessed' by one of the eldest gods in Japan!" She exclaims in frustration. The words feel unreal as they leave her lips. "How many of my ancestors were like me, and actually befriended the gods themselves, other than the miko who Tsukuyomi blessed?" Hiyori asked even more frantically. "Does that destine me to be a priestess, too?"

The gods and their shinki just listened intently to all of Hiyori's questions, none of which they could answer. Yato wanted to simutaneously calm and encourage the girl he loved, grasping for ideas as to where they could start.

He slid an arm around Hiyori's shoulders.

"How about this," he said changing the subject slightly. "Tomorrow afternoon, bring the bow over and we can do some target practice."

Hiyori's brow uncreased and and her concern washed away, leaving a smile behind.

"Really, Yato? You'll teach me archery?" she said, beaming at him.

He smiled back and scratched nonchalantly behind his head, "Well, yeah. I've used a bow enough in my time...A proper priestess knows how to use her bow. And besides...I'm curious to see if it works."

"Works?" Hiyori and Yukine asked simulatneously, looking at each other before Yato answered them.

"...Works to destroy demons and ayakashi as a miko's bow should. If it does, then you will finally be able to defend yourself!" Kofuku chimed in, unable to contain her excitement.

Hiyori was so uplifted by the prospect of being useful to Yato, Yukine, and all of her friends from the Far shore that she found it hard to sleep that night.

The next day, Hiyori brought the bow and arrows along with her. She arrived early enough that Yato wasn't awake yet. It was past breakfast time, and Yukine was up and helping Daikoku prepare for the lunch rush. It was the weekend after all and ramen was popular among shrine visitors.

Hiyori ascended the stairs to the loft and found Yato sleeping peacefully, curled up to a second pillow like a teddy bear. She recalled their first night together, and how she was the one being cuddled. She realized that Yukine, who had outed Yato's previous actions while asleep, was probably not lying. Even though the sun shone bright in the window, he was sound asleep and clutching his blankets like they were his singular happiness.

Hiyori lay down behind him and spooned up against him, whispering his name in his ear. He flipped around and enveloped her.

"No...you can't have'er," Yato mumbled. "She's mine...'skyomi..."

Hiyori froze, surprised by his sudden outburst. But as it seemed he settled, he curled around her and nuzzled her neck. The slumbering god breathed deeply, squeezing Hiyori tight.

Is he dreaming...about ME?

Hiyori felt a rush of heat spread across her face as Yato's grip relaxed a little.

Yato slowly came to, on the heels of a dream that left him feeling anxious. Although in his dream, he pictured Hiyori taking off with the Elder moon god to be his priestess, as he regained consciousness he realized that his pillow was bigger, warmer and smelled just like her.

Hiyori felt him twitch before he lifted his head to confirm that their embrace was not, in fact, a dream. He gave her a look of disbelief before it settled into a smile.

Yato felt all of the stress of his upsetting dream wash away with the shy, but loving look in her eyes.

"Hi-Hiyori..? When did you get here? Why didn't you wake me?" he said, holding her close for a moment before releasing her and sitting upright.

She fumbled with the corner of a blanket in her lap as she confessed.

"You looked so cozy, I couldn't help but let you sleep," she admitted. "But...it sounded like you might have had a bad dream."

Yato was suddenly embarrassed, looking off to the side at his pillow.

"Did I talk in my sleep?" He almost didn't want to know.

She nodded and mentioned what he said. It confirmed that he had indeed dream that Tsukuyomi had somehow returned after centuries of being gone to claim his miko for his own. He summarized what he remembered of the dream.

"You were easily convinced by that guy, which didn't feel like something you'd do," he said, a hint of frustration lacing his words. "It really hurt."

She ruffled his hair and gave him a soft smile.

"You're right, Yato," she replied, trying to calm the god's fears. "That is definitely not something I'd do."

With a nod, he acknowledged her, got up, and headed downstairs to the kitchen. Hiyori was in tow as the late-sleeper went in search of a meal.

After an early lunch, Yato and Hiyori were outside in the back yard with a makeshift archery target. The girl's first few attempts at shoot an arrow were comical. As anyone would expect, Hiyori missed horribly. Yato had to stifle laughs as she stubbornly tried to work out on her own.

Finally, she heaved a sigh and turned to Yato.

As much as the god wanted to gloat, he approached her, without a word, to offer the help she silently asked for. After an hour or so of focusing on her stance, her upper arm strength and creating the lines of her aim with angling and positioning, Hiyori's accuracy improved exponentially.

She made a mental note to shoot just a few more arrows before taking a break. It suddenly became imperative to make each one count. With every shot, she came closer and closer to the center of the target.

With the final arrow in her grasp, she zoned in with all of her energy, picturing the giant ayakashi that had swallowed Yato before her eyes on that fateful night when he found Sekki. Hiyori had immediately remembered exactly why she was toiling in the first place.

She wanted to be an asset to her beloved, and not someone who always needed protection. Hiyori wanted to follow the path that had seemingly been laid out before her.

The determined brunette took aim at her imaginary target, picturing herself saving Yato. Something welled up inside her and she released it with her bowstring. There was quick pwip-fwap of the sharpest shot she'd made yet, straight into the bullseye.

Her eyes met Yato's as they grinned at each other, proud of her hard work. He took her hand and walked back inside for a cold drink.

As they sat around the table, there was a bit of a lull in the chatter. Hiyori had been letting her mind wander, and just as her focus came to her in a moment of passion, a little voice spoke in the back her mind.

"I need to visit Kyoto."

Everyone just looked to Hiyori, startled by her sudden interjection.

"I...just...I get a feeling that my answers are there. Or at least part of them."

Looking around at each other, they nodded, knowing she was probably right.

"Yato, Yukine...would you come with me? I have a feeling my brother would come, too. He has friends out there. And is close with one of our cousins, who goes to college there," she explained.

"But when, Hiyori? Your next break isn't for over a month for winter holidays," Yukine pointed out.

"That's fine," she retorted. "We'll make this year's first shrine visit an extra special one."

"Sounds like a plan, then!" Yato declared with a grin, throwing an arm around Yukine. "I haven't been to Kyoto since the Edo period!"

The suddenly enthusiastic deity starts bobbing up and down with a reluctant Yukine still in his grasp, repeatedly chanting, "We're going on a trip with Hi~yori~!"

"Augh! Let me go you gross, sweaty idiot!"