I'm sooo sorry for taking three weeks to update this! Unfortunately midterm exams popped up and took me by surprise. Thank you all for your patience as well as for the reviews, follows, and favorites!

Yukine plunged his hand into the icy lake and held it down even as the chill seeped through his skin. After a minute, he pulled it out but trembled upon seeing Hiyori's blood was still staining his nails. He raised his other hand to grab the offensive appendage, to cover the vile evidence of his treachery, but noticed his fingers on that hand also had blood smeared over them. He took in the chipped and overall poor appearance of his nails, and soon understood that this blood was his own from when he had clawed at the ground.

Desperation abated somewhat, Yukine cradled his hands to his chest since they were freezing, but it did them little good. It was a bitter cold night, one Yukine had not prepared for when he put on this thin jacket this morning. He was supposed to be home before it got this cold. He needed to go home now.

He rose, and while he wiped grass of his pants he caught sight of his arms. The blight was starting to bother him now that it had spread past his wrists, but he could easily fix that once he was home. He turned towards the stone path and maybe it was just him seeing what he wanted to see, but already he could see the lights from Kofuku's home and the goddess standing there waiting for him. It was better than Yato waiting for him because he was not prepared to face his god yet, not after what he'd done to Hiyori.

He shivered and it had nothing to do with the cold. Then before he could second guess himself, he lurched forward and took off in a mad dash. He was a monster for what he'd done to Hiyori, and after everything she had done for him, he would never be able to show his face to her again.

His eyes started to water as the wind whipped pass him, but he pushed himself faster and faster until a beam of light blinded him. He skidded to a stop, raising his hands and turning away.

"Yukki!"

He peeked over the bright beam and gaped, lowering his hands, because that was Kofuku standing there. Her curls were frizzy, a couple of her pink strands sticking out -had she just gotten out of bed?- and in her hands was a flashlight. Yet she quickly flicked it off and ran to him.

Filled with relief that he'd finally made it home, he lurched forward to meet her, but at the last second he threw down his hands before they could blight her.

"Kofuku-"

Her arms wrapped around him and enveloped him in warmth before he could get out his warning. "Yukki, we were so worried about you!" She held his head against her neck and he inhaled a sweet scent, far sweeter than what Hiyori had produced. The beast within him awakened, and desperately he tried to warn her, but only a thin wail came out his throat.

Kofuku, upon hearing this, released him and her misty eyes turned down to his face. "What's wrong? Did Father hurt you?" She placed her hands on his shoulders and the muscles beneath them trembled because she smelled amazing, spectacular, so delicious!

He clenched his jaw, denying the ayakashi's urge to chomp down on tender, succulent flesh, though he couldn't stop himself from eyeing the smooth skin of Kofuku's neck. The goddess gasped suddenly and for a second he thought some part of him beyond his control had struck her scrumptious -no, not edible, Kofuku wasn't food!- body. However, he was relieved when the goddess merely grasped his arms, taking care to avoid his skin, and raised his severely blighted hands.

"Oh, Yukki," Kofuku's eyebrows drew together in a show of sympathy before her lips stretched into a tiny smile. "Don't worry, we can cleanse these off right now. Let's get-"

No! The ayakashi roared and his hands yanked back to him without his conset. Kofuku was as surprised as him, but there was no time to assess what he had done before Kofuku reached for him and fear that wasn't his took over.

"What's wrong-"

Yukine lunged at her and Kofuku went down if only because he had surprised her. However, she swiftly latched onto his bloody hand, which had been stretching towards her face. Her eyes widened as she saw the bloodied and jagged fingernails on it, but then her eyes latched onto the space above his head.

His hood had fallen off, he knew it from the horror on Kofuku's face and what had he been thinking? He'd been so desperate to go home and now Kofuku knew what he was, and soon Yato would know too.

A borderline struck his side and he flew off Kofuku to smack into the trunk of a tree. The branches shook above him and a couple of twigs fell off, scratching his exposed face.

"Get off my lady!"

Another borderline formed in front of him and the shine blinded him. His covered his eyes while scrambling to sit up and his back scraped against the bark of the tree. There was shouting nearby, but his ears were ringing, so tentatively he opened his eyes to figure out what was happening. Through the borderline's radiance he saw Daikoku and Kofuku standing with the shinki's arm wrapped around the goddess' waist as she leaned on him. Yet there was no loving tenderness caressing their faces as they embraced, rather they stared at him with wide eyes and parted lips and for once Yukine and the ayakashi agreed as they both wanted to flee.

Of course, he didn't belong with them anymore. He was a monster now, just like when he had blighted Yato and nearly crossed over, and even then he had been denied access to the home. Yet this was even worse as it wasn't just his master he was hurting now so he should have known Daikoku would do this. He deserved it.

However, he couldn't stand those looks, didn't want to see such disgust and fear directed at him, so when they started to call to him he took off. His ribs ached where they had been struck so his gait was slightly awkward, but still he pushed himself forward into the city. There was nowhere for him to go -monsters don't belong anywhere- so when he found a little alley tucked away from view, he sat himself in a corner and hugged his knees. However, he felt uneven as he leaned back, like there was some kind of obstruction behind him. He turned back and the blood drained from his face because there was a furry white tail sticking up behind him and the fur grazed his face as it twitched.

He slowly turned away from it and stared unseeingly at the mouth of the alleyway. It seemed he had reached his limit, for all his emotions had fled from him and left him hollow. Thus he buried his face in the space between his knees and held himself all the more tighter. At least if he felt nothing at all, Yato would be okay.

Though he couldn't say the same for himself.

Yato couldn't find his kid anywhere. He had checked all of Yukine's usual spots in the city, but there had been no sign of him. Now all he could do was fight against the instinct to call Kofuku and Daikoku incessantly until they had some good news for him, but surely Kofuku would have called if Yukine came home and Daikoku would do the same if he found the shinki in the park.

Though it worried him that he still couldn't feel anything from Yukine. Sure, there was a steady calm coming from the kid that at least let him know his hafuri was still breathing, but concrete emotions were absent. Considering what had happened, the kid had every right to feel anxious or scared, yet there was nothing. It was if something was blocking the emotional connection between them, and if that were true, Yato could only hope the link could be reestablished.

It wasn't natural for a god and shinki to be so emotionally distant. In fact, it was dangerous. Knowing how his kid was feeling let Yato catch on to any negative emotions in his regalia and keep track of their frequency. It let him intervene and prevent Yukine from getting anywhere close to the line between shinki and ayakashi.

It didn't help that Father was being close-lipped about what exactly happened in his encounter with Yukine. It also hadn't escaped his notice that this entire situation was odd. Father was supposedly helping him find Yukine, despite being the reason Yukine ran away, and Yato was under no delusion such an action derived from kindness. There was always a purpose to Father's "kind" acts and said purposes often resulted in people getting hurt. Now it seemed his kid was the one receiving the hurt, and for that, Father would pay if-

His phone chimed and he snapped it open. "Did you find him? Is he alright?" There had to be good news, please let there be some kind of news.

"Yato," Daikoku's gruff voice greeted him, but it sounded softer than usual.

He waited a moment, but when nothing else was offered, he asked, "Well, did you find him?"

"We saw Yukine, but he's gone." The shinki's tone was heavy with remorse and Yato pressed the phone harder against his ear. "He ran away from us." His blood pressure began rising because his kid wouldn't flee from friendly faces.

"Has Yukine been stinging you?"

"What?" Yato nearly dropped the phone, he started so violently. "No, of course not. Where would you get an idea like that?" Daikoku had to be asking with good reason. This wasn't the time to randomly inquire about Yato's health or question his hafuri's ability to control his emotions.

"I only ask because," Daikoku paused, then, "Yukine is turning into an ayakashi."

Yato froze, a wave of numbness spread from his fingers down to his toes while his mind took in the words, but did not comprehend them.

"He attacked Kofuku, but she wasn't hurt."

Another bullet struck his heart. He shook his head as if denying the claim, and ran a hand through his bangs, but he knew Daikoku wouldn't lie or ever joke about Kofuku being hurt. Yet this was impossible, no way his shinki had started transforming into an ayakashi without his knowing. There had to be stinging and negative emotions, and if Yukine's condition was this bad the stinging should have started days ago.

"Yato?" Daikoku sounded worry, but it was taking time to get rid of the numbness infecting his body and tongue.

He took a steadying breath and said, "You and Kofuku should stay home in case Yukine comes back," his tone was flat and dead as he felt. "I know it's not likely, but if he does, try to keep him there and call me immediately. I'm going to continue looking for him."

Daikoku didn't speak for a moment, perhaps considering protesting, but soon he sighed. "He's hurt," An iron fist clenched his heart and held the organ captive. "Kofuku says his hands are badly blighted."

"Okay," he breathed again -stay calm, it's not that bad. "Thanks for letting me know." He hung up the phone and stared at it.

Not only was he beyond worried now, he was confused. If Yukine was feeling enough negative emotions to turn into an ayakashi -he hoped dearly that wasn't the case- Yato should be the one blighted, not his shinki. Also a transformation to the extent that Daikoku described couldn't have happened so quickly, not when his kid had been perfectly fine this morning.

It had to be Father's fault, the man had done something terrible to his kid. Though once again this brought up the question of why Father would alert Yato.

He massaged his temple as the questions and potential answers buzzed in his brain, but he was interrupted when another call came in. He flipped it open and upon seeing Hiyori's number considered not answering because he wasn't in the right state of mind, however, it was strange that the girl would call him this late. In general it was odd for her to call him when normally he was the one blowing up her phone.

Feeling a trickle of trepidation, he answered, and upon hearing Hiyori's words, dread overshadowed everything.

Yukine had stopped rocking himself. Nausea made his stomach ache and his lunch had tried to come up several times so he'd stilled. He was sure the nausea was a side effect, either from his rib injury or to whatever was transforming him. Perhaps the war inside him was tossing his insides all over the place.

It didn't help that the blight had spread from his arms to his chest and his face burned too. Oddly enough though, the blight didn't hurt too badly and the splotches were a mild irritation at best.

His tail -he hated acknowledging it but it was there- shifted behind him and he groaned over the reminder before burrowing his face back into his arms. He didn't understand why this was happening, why Father had did this to him. What good would turning him into an ayakashi do? Sure, it could potentially allow Father to control him -he would never allow that!- but how was an ayakashi better than a shinki? They didn't have the power or higher thinking like shinki did.

There had to be more to this. Father may have wanted Yukine as his servant, Yato had warned him about the man being impressed by his strength, but that couldn't just be it. If he really wanted Yukine to serve him, surely there was a less convoluted way.

His ears -maybe the wolf ones- picked up the soft patter of feet and he lifted his head to see Nora standing in the opening of the alley.

He scowled and his shoulders slumped. "What is it now, Nora?" The girl had troubled him enough for one night, enough for a lifetime really.

"Calm down." The girl took a couple steps forward, but kept her distance as Yukine got into a stand. "Father only wants me to make sure you're unharmed."

"Really?" Yukine crossed his arms and glowered. "Why would he care when he's the reason I'm like this?" His smile was sharp as he gestured to his blighted and deformed body.

Nora cocked her head to present an image of innocence that didn't fool him. "Of course he cares, he cares about all of his shinki."

He bared his teeth and something about that motion hurt, but it was taking all he had not to strike Nora with a borderline. "I'm not his shinki!"

"You are not Yato's either."

He recoiled. "W-What do you mean?" The question came out a bit warped at first, his voice mixing with a deeper inhuman voice before easing into something normal.

Nora shook her head and her smile was as crooked as her heart. "You can't be Yato's shinki anymore, or do you not care whether he gets hurt?"

He balled up his hands and his tail shifted behind him. "Of course I care! I'm his hafuri," An edge of confidence returned to him because Yato had entrusted him with that special title, his god had faith in him. "And that makes it my job to protect him from any harm."

"Then who will protect him from you?" Nora's dark eyes locked onto his tangerine orange.

"I would never-" A hard object scraped against his lips and he threw his hands up to his mouth. He hissed as he pricked his finger on a sharp tip, but didn't pull back, rather he ran his finger over the slick marble surface until he realized the object extended from his own mouth. It was his teeth. He had a fang.

A cold chill washed over him and his knees shook as he lowered his hands, but Nora simply smirked. "Do you see now? If you go back to Yato, you will likely kill him."

Yukine wanted so badly to deny it, but the canine inside reveled at the idea of sinking its teeth into his master's exposed neck -smell nice, god smell nice. He was a risk, he was a wolf in sheep's clothing, and he'd already lost control so many times tonight. Hiyori, how badly was she hurt? Kofuku, could she or Daikoku ever forgive him?

"It doesn't have to be that way,"

He hadn't realized how close Nora had gotten, but now there was but three feet between them. He took a step back and pressed himself hard against the wall, and though his tail was crushed by the movement, he didn't pay it mind. Nora smelled very nice today and while the ayakashi part of him had no desire to eat her, something about Nora was intoxicating. He wanted her closer, but no, that wasn't his desire.

Nora stretched out her hand, offering him one of her powder soft palms. "Come with me and I'll take you to Father. You won't have to hurt your master, he'll be safe." She raised her hand closer to his face and he turned away from it, holding his breath, however the sweet aroma still reached him.

The scent was overpowering and it was everywhere. Yukine could practically see the wisps of the wonderful, amazing aroma wafting off of Nora in streams. It didn't help that the ayakashi inside was so eager to run into her arms that his tail was writhing and twisting in joy.

Yukine was slipping, his body was failing him and already he had turned to face Nora. Her kind hazelnut eyes exuded patience and he couldn't stop his gaze from dropping to her hand. It looked so tender and warm, and when was the last time someone tried to comfort him without him having to worry about maiming them?

"Come to me."

He hesitated a second from making contact with Nora and hovered his hand an inch above her own. Nora frowned and her eyes lost their tenderness -maybe it had never been there- and though the intoxicating smell was still there, he no longer payed it mind.

"No," he pulled his hand back and steel entered his eyes. "I won't betray Yato, I'm his shinki and his only." His voice was stronger than he felt, but he wouldn't cross that line. No one was allowed to give him orders except his god. The silly, childish god that pestered him and Hiyori and bought ridiculous charms. The baka that would call Yukine his kid and made him feel like he had a home.

He didn't care how disappointed the ayakashi residing in him was or the cool anger marring Nora's face as she lowered her hand and stepped away from him. Ayakashi or not, he was still Yukine, and not even Father could take his name away from him.

"You foolish boy," Nora backed away and he warily regarded her. "Did you ever consider what Yato will think when he sees you?"

His confidence wavered and Nora departed. He didn't want to believe that Yato would judge him, especially after he explained that this wasn't his fault, Father had done this to him. However, he could not forget what he'd done to Hiyori or how he must have stung Yato so many times with all these negative emotions festering in his body. There was also his attack on Kofuku to consider, and he'd already seen how Daikoku reacted, how the older shinki struck him without hesitation. If Yato found out what he'd done to Hiyori, he wouldn't be pleased. Maybe he'd even be angry.

Yukine remembered how angry and firece Yato became when they thought Bishamon had kidnapped Hiyori. The rage, that aura of danger, wasn't something he saw often from Yato, and it certainly wasn't something he'd seen directed towards him. However, Yukine was a monster now and as he leaned back against the brick wall of the alley he couldn't help but picture his master storming in and sending that hateful look towards him.

Yato's face was schooled into one of neutrality while he leaned against the bedroom wall. Hiyori stood tall before him with her eyes narrowed and face flushed in anger.

"I want to look for him too, he needs our help." Her hands curled into tight fists and he noticed that her stance warned he was on the verge of being kicked out a window, but he could handle a little pain if it kept her safe.

Hiyori apparently didn't agree because she latched onto his face and dragged his head down until they were at eye level. "If you don't let me come with you-"

"Hiyori," he placed his hands on hers and the girl started, her cheeks darkening in hue. Normally he would have admired how easily flustered she was, but this wasn't the time. He needed her to understand.

"I get that you want to help Yukine, but it's not safe." His gaze traveled over her shoulder and landed on the back of her neck where a strip of bandage laid. There were more strips there, he knew there was, though Hiyori had only allowed him a glimpse of the injury before insisting she was fine, it was just a scratch.

Just a scratch that came from his own kid who maybe turning into an ayakashi or perhaps something worse.

Hiyori noticed his gaze and her eyes softened into a bubblegum pink while he gently removed her hands from his face. "You know how dangerous he is." It hurt admitting it, to ever imagine his kid harming anything outside of ayakashi or a threat to Yato. However, the evidence against his kid was overwhelming.

"Then won't it be dangerous for you too?" Hiyori was staring at the ground, her hands clapsed together. "If Father did something to Yukine's mind, he might not even recognize you."

He inhaled sharply and Hiyori's head snapped up as she realized her mistake, but he waved down her hasty apology because she had made a good point. It was entirely possible Yukine wouldn't recognize him, had forgotten him -the thought alone grieved him- as well as forgotten everyone else. It would explain why he had attacked Kofuku and Hiyori. Maybe Father hadn't just messed with Yukine's body, but also gotten his head.

"Yato..." Hiyori raised her hands over her heart, and he was so grateful to have a girl like her by his side, who cared so deeply. He never really had anyone like that. Not since Sakura.

His phone blared for what felt like the hundredth time tonight, but he was quick to answer because maybe good news was finally on its way.

"It seems I overestimated how much you cared about your regalia," Father's velvet voice slipped into his ear and his whole body tensed, but he did not reply to Hiyori's concerned inquiry.

"I've been searching all night for him." He kept himself under control by a thread, but the jab at his capabilities as Yukine's caretaker hurt and Father always knew where to strike. "And maybe I would have found him by now if you just told me what exactly you did to him." His tone darkened, bordering on disrespectful, and anger coiled like a spring inside that was just waiting to be launched.

"Oh, Yaboku, but that would ruin the surprise!" Father grinned and bared his teeth at him through the phone, he could sense it.

"What did you do to him?" Yato demanded while Hiyori listened attentively by his side, her frown growing more severe the longer she listened. "Why is he turning into an ayakashi? Why can't I sense his feelings anymore?" He heard Hiyori give a little gasp at that, but there was only so much he could shield her from.

Father sighed and made a tsking sound. "Now, now, that wasn't my fault. I never meant for Yukine to suffer so much."

"Then what were you trying to do?!" He wanted to wring Father's neck for what he'd done, for daring to hurt his kid.

None of this was natural, whatever Father had done was not simply a case of Yukine stinging Yato and transforming due to that -he would gladly accept stinging at this point- and he had no idea if it could be reversed. What if Yukine just got worse and worse until Yato would have no choice but to slay... He jerked his head, shaking loose from the horrid thought. Yukine would be okay, there had to be a way to fix this and Yato would find a way.

"Doesn't matter," Father cut in and his smirk was clear through the line. "What does matter is I found your regalia for you." Yato's jaw went slack because out of all the people, he hadn't expected the good news to come from Father, and the man must have heard his surprise because he chuckled a bit. "Yes, that's right, I found him, but you really should keep Yukine on a tighter leash. Maybe then you wouldn't lose him so much."

"Where is he?" Yato didn't hide the desperation woven in his tone. His kid needed him and nothing else mattered except bringing Yukine home.

"Try fifth avenue, in front of the fountain." The teasing note in Father's voice caused him to narrow his eyes. He simply couldn't shake the feeling this was wrong, very wrong, and he knew better than to trust Father.

"Okay," he wouldn't get a straight answer from Father, however, so he didnt try asking before hanging up. Then he sent Hiyori a regretful little smile, and the girl had just started to speak when he teleported.

Arriving on a street corner that was devoid of life save for the few convience stores opened, Yato looked around until he spotted a fountain across the street. His blue eyes latched onto the short figure sitting on the edge of the fountain with his hood up.

He ran over, heart hammering because his kid was safe now, and his shinki's head whipped up as he shouted, "Yukine!"

However, he did not get to embrace his kid as he wanted to or hold him tight and never let go because those orange eyes had flown open wide and already the kid was running. Yet the boy stumbled and perhaps that was the only reason Yato managed to catch his sleeve before he could disappear into the darkness of night.

Yet he did not expect the kid to collapse, for the hood to fall off and reveal Yukine's frightened expression beneath a terribly blighted face. Nor did he expect the tiny white fangs or furry ears sticking out the child's head and in surprise, he let go.

Without a word Yukine fled and Yato, useless god he was, could only watch.

So I'm going to estimate it will be another two weeks before this is updated. Since spring break is coming up, I should definitely have time to write and I'll do my best to update on time :)

See ya then!