"My... guardian spirit?"

The boy, Yukine, shrugged.

"Kinda," he said as though it didn't concern him at all. "Or you can consider yourself a customer if you want. Either works for me."

Yasumi stared at him blankly.

"You're just a kid," she blurted.

"And you're just a 15 year old human girl," the boy scoffed. "I may look like this, but I'm dead. I don't age."

Yasumi went pale. This was exactly the sort of thing she'd been taught to avoid at all costs. She frantically wracked her memory, trying to recall a spell that would be effective against the dead.

"Y-you're a ghost?" she said, meaning to buy time.

"Are you always this rude?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her. "For your information, I'm a Regalia, the servant of a god. And not just any Regalia either, I'm a hafu- WAIT, WAIT! I know how that sounds, but you really don't have to call the police," he exclaimed quickly as Yasumi snatched for her cell phone.

"First you say you're a guardian spirit, then you say you're dead, and now you're calling yourself the servant of a god?! Tell me why I shouldn't report you to the authorities right this second."

"Aren't you supposed to be from a shrine family?! I serve a god, you know! A god!" He tugged down the collar of his hoodie to show a red tattoo with the kanji for 'snow'. "You should at least consider the possibility I'm telling the truth!"

"My family might be religious, but I don't believe in gods," she scoffed. "They're just old stories meant to scare people into behaving."

"You pray to them just fine, though," he said, gesturing at her discarded robe.

"W-were you watching me dress earlier?!" she asked, suddenly recalling the strange voice she'd heard.

"What?! No! Do you think I'm a perv or something?!" Yukine spluttered, turning red. "I came in to talk to you, but I left as soon as I saw you were... uh, busy," he muttered, not quite catching her eye.

"Hello, police?! There's a pervert in my roo-"

"I SAID THAT WASN'T IT!" he cried, and made a strange gesture with his fore and middle fingers. Before Yasumi could react, her phone had been whipped out of her hand by some unknown force and Yukine caught it in midair. "Listen when people are talking, dammit!" he said, snapping the phone lid shut.

"Evil spirit, begone!" she shouted, making a seal with her hands. There was a tense moment of silence, and then the boy gave a derisive snort.

"Nice try," he said coolly, taking a step toward her.

"D-don't come any closer, or I'll scream!" Yasumi shrieked, backing away from him into the corner against the wall.

"You're already screaming," the boy said in a flat tone, but he merely tossed the phone back at her. "Man, you made me think something unnecessary, too. It's gonna be really annoying to deal with when I get back," he said in an undertone as he scratched his head irritably. "Anyway, I told you, I'm not here to hurt you or anything, so just calm down already."

"Yasumi?" Her bedroom door opened and her mother's face peeked in, concerned. "Are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?"

"M-mom, there's a kid over there!" she pointed. Yukine raised an eyebrow and for a second, Hana met his eyes directly. But when she looked back at her daughter it was as if she hadn't seen him at all.

"There's nothing there," she said, frowning."Are you sure it wasn't just a bad dream?"

"B-but he's there!"

"Yasumi, please, don't shout in the middle of the night. There really isn't anything there, not even an ayakashi. It was probably just a lucid dream. Go back to sleep."

Yasumi gaped at her mother as she closed the door and her footsteps receded down the hall.

"Wha- what the hell?!"

"Most humans can't see me," Yukine shrugged, settling into her desk chair casually. "I'm not invisible, exactly, but it's hard for people to notice me. If I don't want them to, they won't see me even if I waved my hands in front of their face."

"B-but, my mom has the Sight! She can see ayakashi!"

"You're being rude again," he snapped. "I already told you I'm a Regalia. I'm not a phantom. And even humans with the Sight forget us almost instantly. It takes a human with strong ties to the Far Shore to see us at will. Aaaand I'm losing you aren't I?" he scoffed as she rubbed her temple tiredly.

"I guess... there must have been alcohol in the cake or something," she said to herself. "Guess I should just sleep it o-"

"You're a serious pain in the ass, you know that?!"

"Well what else am I supposed to believe?!" she snapped angrily. "First of all I've never heard of anything like guardian spirits or Regalia or whatever you said you are! And claiming you're the servant of a god?! Seriously?! My entire family can see ghosts and shit, and not once have any of them ever seen anything that isn't evil. And I can't see anything at all!"

"Well you can see me, can't you?!"

"I don't even know who the hell you are!"

"I told you! My name's Yukine! I'm here to keep an eye on you!"

"Hah?! What for?!"

"Because it's my damned job!" He kicked at her desk in frustration, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. "I'm gonna kill Yato, sending me here by myself."

"Who the hell is Yato?!"

A vein twitched in Yukine's temple.

"My stupid, useless master," he growled. "Normally he'd be here too, but under the circumstances..."

"What circumstances?!" Yasumi shouted angrily. She'd had enough of this rude little shit of a trespasser, whether ghost or god or whatever. His refusal to come out and just explain himself was utterly infuriating.

His eyes turned toward her, his expression suddenly cold and unreadable.

"You," he said simply. "You're the circumstance."

Kofuku was one of Yato's oldest friends, but even she couldn't think of a time she'd seen the former god of calamity in such good spirits.

"Isn't it great, Daikoku?" she said as Yukine and Yato fussed over some last minute details for their date with Hiyori in the hall. "They're so cute, don't you think?" She picked up a pocky stick and chewed on the end cheerfully.

"I don't know about cute," her Regalia scoffed. "But it is nice to see Yato working so hard these days." He set down a tray of cookies and tea in front of his goddess. "It's almost like watching your no-good unemployed son get his life together at last."

"You think it's cause Yukine is taking his job so seriously? Or is it Hiyorin?"

They turned to watch as Yato tugged at Yukine's collar and folded the edges down neatly. ("I can do it myself, for fuck's sake!" "Just shut up and let me fix it!")

"Probably a bit of both," Daikoku chuckled. "Yukine is easily the best thing that's ever happened to Yato, but they were both saved by Hiyori more times than I can count. It's a shame though..."

"Hmm?"

"No, it's nothing," he mused. "It's best to let them have what happiness they can, while they can."

"You sound like an old man," Kofuku chuckled. She dipped her biscuit in her tea and swirled it thoughtfully. "But you're right, it can't last forever," she said quietly, almost to herself.

"Kofuku! Daikoku! We're heading out!" Yato called, giving their landlords a salute.

"Have fun!" Kofuku replied. "And bring me back a souvenir!"

"Keep your master out of trouble, Yukine," Daikoku reminded him.

The boy touched the mark on his collarbone with a determined expression. "I'll protect him and Hiyori with my name, always."

"That's the spirit, kid."

"It really is a shame," Kofuku said softly once they were gone. "If only they could just stay as they are, forever..."

"If only."