Nightfall and Daylight

The sounds of cars racing down the nearest street and stray cats fighting over a piece of discarded fried fish were surrounding a house tucked away behind more impressive parks and shops of the city. In one of the short trees planted in front of it Hiyori had set her watchtower, carefully balancing on top of her knees to keep her skirt from dirtying.

For the who-knows-what time in the last three hours, she had been gazing up at the building. The walls loomed high above her, dark and menacing in the absence of streetlights. It looked abandoned, but there was no way to tell for sure - there wasn't a single window visible that could indicate if there was anybody present in there.

Well, she knew for sure one person was inside - and it was no other but her very own MMA hero/trainer/annoyance, the God of Calamity, Yato.

He disappeared inside what seemed like ages ago. At first Hiyori contemplated going in after him herself, but she figured an evening dress and matching jewelry weren't the best outfit choice for a dangerous sneak-in such as this might turn out to be. She settled for the next best thing - waiting for Yato to reappear and catch him red-handed.

She shuddered. Not a good choice of expression.

She prayed no red hands would be involved in this particular meeting.

Her fingers were playing with a small blue object - Yato's flip cell phone. It was left behind by him in front of the building. She wasn't sure if he had left it there on purpose or dropped it by accident, so she took it with her before choosing which tree would be the most appropriate for her intentions.

Of course, there was another intention having to do with Yato's cell. But she was not fully certain on choosing whether to go through with it or not.

It would be a complete and inexcusable invasion of privacy. It would be creepy, at that. Who was she to have the right to browse through his private information?

But it could finally stifle the question burning inside her for so long.

But there must be a right way to find out, right? This couldn't be the only way to-

The sound of leaves and branches being crunched came from right underneath her, startling her into pulling herself closer to the bark. She slapped her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her breathing.

A man came stumbling into view, his form more dishevelled than it was the last time she saw him.

"Yato!" Hiyori whispered.

"S-" He reacted more violently than she expected - he whirled around, jumping away. "No - H-hiyori I-Yamaguchi? What - why -"

Hiyori nimbly leaped down from her branch, careful not to let the silk get stuck and ripped. "Shouldn't I be the one to - I mean, what are you doing, Yato? Why did you disappear from the party? And have you even told Yukine where you went? Because he's been constantly trying to get you to pick up, your phone buzzes all the time!"

Frozen, Yato stammered: "I've thought you were- god, Hiyori, you scared the fucking shit outta me..."

"Sorry about that! But please, explain yourself."

"Shit, Hiyori… Hiyori..."

His voice sounded fragile, as if he was preparing to… cry? "What's the matter? Are you okay?" Hiyori took a step towards him, trying to make out the lines of his face in the dark, when-

"Oooh… Yato, were you drinking?!"

"A bit of the stuff, yeah," he admitted. The way he stepped around the bushes indicated more than just a bit of the stuff was currently circulating in his body.

"How much did you have?" Hiyori remembered the building. "Wait-Where did you get it? Are you sure it was a secure source? Because if you have any doubts it might have been poisoned or drugged, maybe we should go-"

"Nawnawnaw, don'cha worry 'bout THAT," he leaned even further back from her, almost toppling over a squirrel. "That motherfucker might hate me, but he wouldn't kill me if I pleaded, haha!"

"Wh-" Yato slumped forward and she hurried to catch him. Through a cloud of his usual, nice scent (now mixed with the sour smell of alcohol), she tried again, "Who? Who is he?"

He giggled. "A motherfucker." He giggled again as she tightened her grip around him and repositioned his arm so that it wouldn't touch her injured shoulder.

A familiar buzz echoed through the air.

"I-it's your..." Hiyori unclasped her right hand to reveal his phone. "I found it there earlier. So I… do you want to pick up?"

"Nah. Givvit here."

She did as he asked and watched as the phone disappeared inside his pocket.

She had no idea how to take care of a drunk person. None of the people inside her circle had ever put her into that position - and she had never seen anybody this drunk.

"I'll call a taxi to get us to Hafuri. Just walk towards that-"

"No!" his shrill yelp sounded energetic enough to be a sober one.

"Yato, we have to go back to Yukine, it's been hours since we left and-"

"No, I meant - let's talk a wak - take a walk for bit. Y'know. Exercise."

She stomped her foot - how could he be so negligent? "I can't carry you all the way there! It's already getting terribly uncomfortable. Please."

His head hunched. "A few streets? You gotta. You gotta, Hiyori."

"..."

"You gotta you gotta you gotta -"

"Fine! I'll carry you a few streets! But only a few, okay?" She could already feel the heat of embarrassment rising to her face, anyway.

They shuffled along in complete silence aside from Yato's soft hiccups.

"What were you doing, Yato?" she murmured under her breath. There was no way she'd get a clear answer tonight - and pressuring him while he was in such state of intoxication felt too immoral.

"'M sorry."

"Eh?"

Yato's voice was disturbingly soft as he repeated himself: "I'm very sorry 'bout this. I'm sorry I'm making you uncf - uncomf - feel bad. I'm gonna let go of you as soon as I can, 'kay?"

"I can carry you. It's just that my shoulder is still a bit sensitive."

"Hiyori, don't worry, I'm not gonna-" his foot got caught in one of her bare feet.

Stifling a yelp, she stopped them in place to put her shoes back on. She figured she looked suspicious without them on anyway.

"I don't wanna make you unci - fro - bad. Even though I mayttave been a bit stupid, I never wanted to be like those asses."

Hiyori's heart skipped a beat.

Bullseye.

Slowly, she faced him. "Are you talking about… you… I mean, how..."

The man bounced on his feet. "Ain't that hard to guess. It's been jumpin' 'round my head for months and ever since- well, yeah. Sorry."

"N-no need to apologize." Still feeling a bit dizzy, she went back to supporting his body.

"No, but you're always 'ike this - helpin' me and things. Supporting. And tryna make life easier for everyone. You shouldnat be made uncro - frotable when you aren't -"

Hiyori laughed weakly. "Aren't you the one helping me? I'm relying on you to teach me the whole time."

"No," his voice snapped back to that collected shrill. "I ain't makin' a thing better for any of you."

"Well, you can be annoying, and a pest, and irritating, but I know you're-"

"Not that. Fannit, Hiyori, I wanna make it that easy. But I did a bunch of shit and - shit!"

His rambling was interrupted when he doubled over and started retching.

"God da-"

She waited until he was done. Then, she carefully helped him up.

"Ouhhh..." his head rested against hers.

Her heart beating loudly, Hiyori hurried to reach the main road a few blocks away. She scouted for the green light of a free cab, relieved when one appeared after only a few seconds, and settled in the back seat. After making sure Yato wouldn't flop over, she finally untied the shawl around her head and set it under his cheek as a pillow. They reached the studio in silence.

According to Yato's instructions, she fished the key out of his pocket and led them inside the attic. She let him struggle to the futon as she went to the kitchen to get some water for him. What more could he need? Perhaps she should ask him how does he usually deal with hangovers. Or even call Daikoku-san? He always seemed to know what to do when his friend went too far...

"That was smart."

"What was?" she asked as she returned to his side and offered him the glass.

He accepted it and pointed it at her head. "The cover thing. The head blanket."

"Oh, it was so that..." ...my parents wouldn't notice me or my outfit as I tracked you down.

"Good thing. Very smart."

He unfurled it in his arms and waved it so that it settled down on top of her head again. She felt a few more strands of her bun coming undone. "There. It will be okay now."

Hiyori simply nodded. "Just drink the water. You'll be okay."

"And those bastards won't find you," Yato took a sip, "or Yukine," he added as he swallowed again.

Her toes tingled on the cold floor. She wished she had turned on the lights earlier - his weak words continued to scare her even when they weren't whispered in a dark alley. "Yato, how about we continue this conversation in the morning? You aren't feeling well. You seem even worse than the last time."

"I hafta tell it, Hiyori," he protested. The glass wavered in his hand and she reached forward to steady it. "I wasnat drunk after your match."

"You… you weren't?"

"No, I wasn't. I faked so that I could go. There. I had to, Hiyori. I didn't want to leave you behind, but I had to go."

Hiyori recalled that night. The following morning she snuck into Yato's room again - he had been lying as if he hadn't moved since they left him.

"I left Daikoku a message. So he probably didn't tell you other guys. But yeah."

The note suddenly made way more sense than before.

But one thing still...

"Yato… don't take this the wrong way, but… why are you telling me this?"

Yato's brilliant blue eyes found hers. Despite the drunken fog, they still glistened as bright as a glacier in the sunlight, almost making her forget her decision.

"Aaaah..." he was the first to break away, throwing his face into his hand. "You really do make me..."

"Sleep," she found her voice again. "You'll tell me in the morning, if you'll still want to."

"Doncha understand," he grumbled as she helped him get out of his jacket, "that's the problem."

However, Hiyori didn't let him talk anymore. She was sure now - whatever he hid inside of him, whatever it was that bothered her, it could wait until he was conscious enough to actually remember trusting her enough to confess to her.

She could still see his cell peeking out from the pocket of his jacket.

Once outside, resting her forehead on the door, she finally let herself exhale. Her feet felt like lead. There were only a few hours left until sunrise, but too many for her to feel comfortable going home. She'd take out one of the mats and blankets they used for the sleepover the last time and have a wonderful rest after such eventful night.

Or at least that was what she thought before turning around and facing a scene she'd desperately hoped she'd never have to see again.

The sound of the door squeaking open sounded around 10 AM. Due to the lack of sleep, Hiyori almost slipped and fell down in her hurry to reach the top of the stairs.

"Yato, how are you feeling?"

"Ah!"

The two collided, Hiyori almost being sent down the stairs again. Yato grabbed the door frame. "H-hiyori! You're still here? What… Why..."

Hiyori waved her hand. "I've slept downstairs. Are you feeling okay?"

"Quite good, actually. Do I look the part?" he yawned. He still wore his dress shirt and trousers. His hair looked the same as the room around him: a mess. Nevertheless, his gaze was steady, a bit sleepy at worse.

"Way better than you should, all things considering," Hiyori agreed.

He twitched. "Um… yeah, about last night, I-I don't really remember what-"

She waved again. "Please, save it for later, we have a… problem."

"Listening!" he took a few steps down.

"Wait!" Hiyori lurched forward and stopped him by his shoulder. "I… Try to keep it together when I tell you this, okay?" She took a deep breath. "Last night… you know how Yukine's been trying to get through to you? I've… I thought I shouldn't answer your phone, and you were too drunk, so it was left alone?"

Yato stiffened. "Where is he?" he whispered, his voice thick with an emotion Hiyori feared to name.

She gulped. "Downstairs. He arrived right after us. He refused to tell me anything, insisted he just wanted a place to stay for the night. After I suggested we go and get help, he resisted with all he had, and I had to leave it. After he calmed down, I've tried to get him to talk, to explain what happened, but… I couldn't…"

Suddenly, the man lurched in the direction of the gym, grabbing her hand on the way. Even though she knew what awaited them, she let him pull her down the hallway, through the door, to the corner in which a child's form rested on top of a pile of mats.

"Y-yukine-kun…?"

The boy slowly turned to the entry.

Hiyori felt Yato's hand dropping back to his side."Fucking shit."

Yukine's blackened eye twitched at the sound of the curse. Hiyori patched up most of the cuts before they had settled down for sleep, but a mask of shading bruises still peeked out under layers of gauze. The sleeves of his brown, once crisp and perfectly pressed brown suit were pulled up and his feet bare, the darkened flesh covered in scratch marks as if somebody was too keen on keeping him from escaping them.

"I second that," he whispered.

"We're all here now, Yukine-kun. Please."

Yukine mirrored Yato's still demeanor. "I… thank you for the help, Hiyori."

The limp of his words forced tears to Hiyori's eyes. "Don't even mention it, Yukine-kun! Have you been attacked by those bullies again? Why would you go out in the middle of the night?"

As if in a trance, he shook his head. "I… I was worried where you two went… and..."

His voice trailed off, so Hiyori prompted: "And you tried to call Yato's phone?"

"Yes… I mean, not yet."

"Don't say you've been following us and got into trouble?" She was already going mad with worry.

"Um… yes. Kinda."

She felt her stomach dropping to her feet. All alone….Sneaking around in the dark… "How? Did somebody try to rob you?"

Again, he failed to answer. She neared the mat and crouched down, trying to figure out if his wounds hurt him too much for him to speak.

"What did the attacker look like?"

Silence.

"When did it happen, then? Were you trying to get us to help you? When did you try calling Yato?"

"I had… I had a fight with my dad. I've tried to get back home by myself, but..."

"Presumably after his father stopped trying to beat the soul outta him."

Although as gentle as feathers, it felt as if Yato's words were a heavy, sharp arrow that pierced the air and struck right in the centre of Yukine's chest. The boy doubled over, letting out a terrifying, strangled cry, setting Hiyori flying back on the floor.

"Y-yato!"

But Yato was completely unfazed. His fists shook from the force of his grip. What has gotten into him?

And Yukine…

Yukine's narrow shoulders started quaking.

"I..." the voice coming out of the form was unnaturally strangled, strained, "I… I can't..."

"That ass," Yato continued, "can't reach you here."

"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE IMPLY I'M AFRAID OF HIM!"

The aura around Yukine exploded with an outburst of anger, the boy steady on his feet on top of his makeshift bed. His face was now uncovered and twisted into an expression Hiyori never thought a child's face could form.

"IT'S ALL A PART OF LIFE. WE FIGHT, I GET MAD, HE GETS MAD, WE MAKE PEACE, WE SHUT UP ABOUT IT. IT COMES WITH BEING A FAMILY THAT MATTERS - YOU CAN'T AFFORD SHIT LIKE THAT TO STAND BETWEEN YOU! NOT THAT A FUCKING REJECT THAT USED TO EARN HIS BREAD BY BEATING THE SHIT OUT OF PEOPLE COULD EVEN BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND, THOUGH- BUT DON'T YOU DARE IMPLY I'M- I'M-"

"Yukine-kun, please..." Hiyori didn't try to touch him, but edged closer to him, raising her arms. "Please calm down. I'm not- I'm not sure I can say I understand what's going on, but-"

"Of-fucking-course you can't, Hiyori." Even though he decreased his volume, his voice still dripped poison. "None of you do. It's impossible to understand it if you aren't living it. When you're stuck with someone and that someone has a reputation to uphold, you can't really run around bitching about every little detail about your personal problems, y'know?"

"But this isn't any little detail, Yukine-kun!" How was this possible...

"That makes it even worse." He crouched low, his fingers scratching at his head. "Do you know what would happen - are you aware what would happen if anybody - I fucking swear, if any of you even dare to whisper one thing-"

A pair of hands grabbed Yukine's wrists, stopping them from messing up his hair even further.

"We can't do a thing, Yukine," Yato whispered. "I can't. Hiyori can't. Not if you don't give us your permission. But that also means you're the only one who gets to choose how it's gonna be."

"You are able to choose how would this go down. We'll act on your next word. If you choose to lie to us, we'll never know that what we heard wasn't the truth."

Yukine's head snapped upwards, his face streaked with angry tears. The blackness of injuries stretched around the drops and under the collar of the expensive shirt colored to match his eyes.

"You'd know all about lying, wouldn't you."

Hiyori could only watch Yato's hands starting to shake, letting go of the boy.

"Who even… told you?"

This isn't working. They were only fighting between them, shooting too far, and if one of them didn't collect their wits they wouldn't be able to solve anyth-

"Doesn't matter now, does it," Yato let out an unhappy chuckle and shook his head. "Look, kid I did bad things. I can't deny that."

Yukine and Hiyori blinked in unison.

"You… aren't you… ashamed to talk like that?" Yukine asked, uncertain.

Yato lowered himself to the ground a bit distant from Hiyori, and shrugged. "'Course I am. I was an asshole. I've made a lot of people bleed because I got some spare change afterwards and because it was the easiest way to go. But then a chance to get away appeared. Some other guys did something even worse then what I did, and I helped out some important people to catch them."

"Wait, what?"

"I… one of the men I met back then… he killed somebody."

"WHAT?!" Yukine yelped. "I had no idea illegal fighting was that… that..."

"Well, it is. All kinds of people flocking there. I've seen my fair share of the world, and one rule applied everywhere - The more dangerous you were, the bigger the chances you grabbed the grand prize in the end. And I won't even mention the crowd enjoying that kind of stuff. Having a lunatic in there..." Yato scratched the back of his neck, "... not that unusual."

"And you ratted him out."

"Yep! And I ain't sorry one bit! I might've done some dirty work before, but I've always hated it from the depths of my soul. I was stuck until that one good deed turned out to be my ticket outta there, and I've been working at Hafuri ever since."

Hiyori leaned back. She fanned one hand in front of her face, trying to calm down. That was probably the reason Bishamon-sama was so suspicious of him, too. If he was involved with a murder and illegal jobs before, no wonder she would keep an eye on him when he was so close to her students.

And it explained his hidden paranoia. And those bastards won't find you or Yukine. "T-that's..."

Yato flinched away from her at the sound of her voice.

"Are… you okay?"

"I bet he's ashamed the only person who bothered to endure him had to find out about his bad side," Yukine proposed, "especially if it's a goody-goody such as you."

Hiyori tried to get a better view of Yato's face through the curtain of his bangs. "Are you, Yato?"

She took the lack of reaction as a confirmation.

"Well… I'd be lying if I said it doesn't bother me..."

His back arched.

"... but I've feared worse things when it came to you before, so I'm kind of glad."

He didn't turn, but he seemed a bit more alert now. "You did?"

She nodded. "That's what happens when you let a person fall to ignorance. But I never really believed any of them. I know you can't really be a bad person."

"... How could you possibly know that, Hiyori?"

She opened her mouth, only to find out the answer wasn't coming to her that easily.

I trust you?

I want it to be true?

Trying to make sense of a ball of yarn inside her thoughts, she stated: "I know you've seen through what was going on with Yukine. He was just some child you've met in a back alley, and yet you chose to take him under your wing and help him out. And me - never once did you…" She swallowed through the lump in her throat, "never once did you make me think I would be better off if I wasn't… pursuing this career. My dream."

"Hiyori..."

"I-I'm fine," she rubbed at the tears flowing down her cheeks. "Just… Even after I lost, after I couldn't even make it through preliminaries, you're still so happy to keep teaching me. I've failed you, and you haven't said a word about it. I've never… A person that observant and benevolent… I simply can't bring myself to believe you could be bad."

A sniffle came from Yato's direction.

"He freaked out," Yukine suddenly spoke. His eyes were glued to one spot on the floor. "When you two disappeared, Dad got scared I've told Yato something. And then he remembered Yato talked to you a lot, too. We searched for you for a while… After it became obvious you two weren't coming back, he decided to go home. I've made a random comment about Hiyori, about meeting you today. I think that was what set him off. He… he was sure I betrayed him..." his voice broke. "He knew I'd-"

"Yukine-kun..." she looked over at the poor boy. Her voice shook as she finally forced herself to admit: "I am so sorry. If I picked up the phone earlier… if only I answered your call, I could've-"

"You couldn't have changed anything," Yukine interrupted her. "Not a thing. I'm just happy I've managed to... At least I didn't end up in a fucking hospital again."

Hiyori reached over and pulled the boy into a hug with her left arm, nudging Yato to get closer to them with her cast. She could feel the wetness of Yukine's eyelashes on her shoulder and Yato's arm reluctantly wrapping around her waist and Yukine's shaking head. We're here for you.

Silence fell over the gym. The three sat together on the floor as they did so many times before, resting from Yato's sets or discussing what to have for dinner. They spent so much time together every day, but… only now she realized, time didn't mean a thing if not used properly. Pretending problems didn't exist solved nothing, and if only the boys opened up a bit earlier… She was to blame, too - she acted no different about her own life, after all, fearing answers, fearing answering.

If only I was more courageous.

Long after Yukine fell asleep that night, Hiyori laid on her own mat, watching the car lights racing across the ceiling. The squeal of the hinges didn't surprise her - she's been expecting them for hours now.

Strolling to the staircase, she almost collided with a form moving to their doors. Her gaze was found by a pair of calm irises belonging to a man cradling his bloodied fist in one hand.

"Now we're sure," Yato whispered, careful not to wake up the boy sleeping in the next room, " that disgusting bastard won't mess with him anymore."

She offered to go and get some ice for his fingers.

A/N

...Annnnnnd part 2!

Tune in next time for a break.