Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters.

Oh my goodness it's been a month since I've updated! Thank you all for being so patient with me. I do still check in even when I'm not writing and I've got to seriously thank these mysterious folks called "Anonymous xD" and "Guest" for their reviews (especially you Anonymous xD...your review made my heart sing! What a treat to login and read.). These reviews keep me motivated to continue guys so thank you so much. I appreciate it more than you know. So without further or do, here's the next chapter.


Despite the number of phantoms that had been summoned to Yato's temple, they were no match for the Gods and their Regalias.

Bishamon shot the last of them, rending their phantom form and purifying the spirits. Thankfully, the temple had remained untouched during the ambush.

'Yato—where's Hiyori?!' Yukine's voice rang out from the double swords. Yato spun around but didn't see the girl. She was gone.

Yato cursed, "He took her."

'What?! I thought Bishamon saved her earlier.'

But a quick glance to the Goddess of War proved otherwise—Hiyori was nowhere in sight.

Yato's phone rang just then. He pulled it out and looked at the screen—the call showed as UNKNOWN.

Yato picked up, "Hello?"

"She's with me Yato—don't worry—I won't do anything to her."

Yato clenched his jaw, "What the hell do you want?"

The man clicked his tongue over the phone, "Since when have you developed such bad manners towards your father, hmm Yato? I raised you better than that."

"You're not my father."

"Oh no? Then all the times you called me 'father' as a child weren't real?"

Yato ground his teeth—times were different then; Yato had been different. Back then...he didn't know the difference between right and wrong...he didn't know that the man he called 'father' was actually a monster only showed kindness to his little tools that helped him in his quest for destruction. Yato had been one of those tools.

"What do you want from me? Just get to the point." Yato growled.

"So hasty my son. Tell you what? I'll have Mizuchi prepare some tea and you can come visit us. We'll have a nice little chat then. Hiyori can even join us if you like." The man said sweetly.

"Fine."

"Great! Oh I'm so happy to hear it. Here, I'll text you the address. Come right away, alright?"

"I'll be there." Yato snapped the phone shut and waited for the address. The moment it arrived, Yato disappeared, transporting himself to the man he refused to call father and the young woman he loved.


Bishamon checked in with her Regalias one by one, making sure none were injured, only to wince herself as she raised an arm.

"Veena!" Kazuma looked to her worriedly, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. It's just a scratch." It was more than a scratch but she didn't have time to worry about that now. She didn't see Hiyori. "Kazuma, where's the girl?"

"I'm afraid I lost her in the chaos. The one who called himself Fujisaki must have taken her."

"And Yato?"

"He disappeared just moments ago after speaking with someone over the phone."

Bishamon cursed. This was not how today was supposed to go. Finally, she thought she'd be able to repay her debt to the Yato god but now another mess had presented itself.

"Kazuma, did you hear where Yato was going?"

"No, he mentioned nothing."

Great... Bishamon took a breath, "Well then. Kazuma, go back home and round up any of the Regalias that would be useful in a scouting party. We need to find where Yato went off to. I didn't like the looks of that Fujisaki fellow... I'll stay here and see if there are any gods that would be willing to come with us to rescue Hiyori from that man."

"Of course. But Veena..."

"Just do it."

Kazuma sighed and grabbed Bishamon's arm causing her to wince; she bit her lip so as not to yelp. Kazuma's eyes widened at the bloody gash in her arm.

"I thought so! Veena, you can't ignore this. You need to take time to heal. If you got this from a phantom, it can easily become tainted."

"I know that Kazuma, but we don't have time. We need to act now."

"As always, you're reckless. Here…" Kazuma tore strip of cloth from the sleeve of his yukata and drenched it in holy water that he carried in a small container with him. He rolled up Bishamon's sleeve to expose the wound and poured what remained of the holy water on it before wrapping it up firmly.

Bishamon stood still as the Blessed Vessel cared for her wound, blushing a little at the close proximity to him. He still hadn't put on his glasses and now she knew why her shots had felt just slightly off during the fighting earlier; but he didn't need them for something like this. He really was very handsome…

"There, done." His voice broke into her thoughts.

"Oh! T-thank you Kazuma." Bishamon flushed and glanced down to examine his thorough handiwork. He always looked out for her no matter what. She was lucky to have such a Regalia care for her the way Kazuma did…

"Veena?"

"Yes!"

"Was the scouting party all?" He was preparing to leave.

"Oh...yes. That will be all. And Kazuma?"

"Yes Veena?"

Because of the chaos at the temple, the air was unsettling now. The phantoms in the surrounding areas were undoubtedly restless after such a fight…and something in the pit of the goddess's stomach made her uneasy. Something was off.

"Please be careful. I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened to you."

It was Kazuma's turn to blush, "Don't be silly Veena, you would be fine without me. I'm the one who-"

"No!" She interrupted him and closed the distance to grab the collar of his yukata, "No Kazuma, you're more to me than that, do you understand? I need you in my life. Not only as a Regalia and Blessed Vessel but as a comrade and..."

"...And?"

Her lavender eyes met his and she was surprised to find he didn't turn away from her. He just waited patiently for her to finish.

"And...well..." Her face turned pink, "You're my partner...Kazuma."

"Partner…?" He looked at her with a calm and slightly baffled expression.

"Yes...I...I care deeply about you."

"Like you do for all your Regalias." He rationalized.

"No! I mean yes...but..." Bishamon groaned, "But more than that. Kazuma I lo-"

This time Kazuma interrupted the goddess, "Veena. Please...be careful what you say to me. I have kept a very strict boundary in my mind in regards to our relationship as Goddess and Regalia and I don't know that I could keep that up if you were to...cross that line."

Bishamon looked down. "Oh..." She said, her face crestfallen and it hurt Kazuma's heart to see. He groaned internally and wrapped his arms around the fierce woman, now so sad-looking, to pull her gently into an embrace, "I'm sorry. I understand...I'll be careful."

Bishamon nodded into his yukata, her face flushed from the sudden hug. It felt really nice.

"And..." His embrace tightened around her for a second, "I love you too Veena." He broke off, leaving the Goddess of War wide-eyed.