It had been two weeks since then, and Yato had gone radio silent. Hiyori neglected to visit Kofuku's, only to give him some time to adjust to the news. However, the more she tried to urge herself away from him, the more worried Hiyori became that she would never see or hear from the delivery god again.
Hiyori kept silent about her secret with everyone. At least the one person who needed to know knew. At least she didn't have to keep up an act with him. But it still hurt that he wasn't visiting her or answering her texts.
Still. He couldn't keep up like that. He had to face Hiyori again. She knew that.
Now, it was the waiting game.
Hiyori, out of breath, knocked on the apartment door loudly. The door opened a few seconds later.
"H-Hiyori? What's going on?"
Hiyori's eyes shook in sadness before she broke into tears.
"Onii-chan!"
She threw her arms around Masaomi, sobbing into his white button-down shirt. He quickly noticed his sister's obvious distress and heavy panting, and his gaze fell on the bags she brought with her.
"W-what happened? Are you alright?" Masaomi blinked in surprise, holding her close arms she cried.
"I-... I just want to sit down…" Hiyori choked out between her sobs.
"H-hai," Masaaki nodded in response before he carried in Hiyori's bags and helped her to the couch. He locked the apartment door behind him.
"You came here by yourself? What happened? You should be at home," he told her.
Hiyori shook her head. "N-no. I need to stay here for a while."
"Are you sure? If Mother and Father found out-"
"Don't tell them I'm here! Please!" Hiyori suddenly cried, waving her hands defensively.
Masaomi blinked, surprised by his sister's reaction. He had never seen her so distraught.
Masaomi knelt down next to Hiyori, holding the back of his hand to her forehead.
"Goodness, you don't look so well. And you feel warm," he told her, to which Hiyori pulled away from him.
Her brother lowered his hand from her face, but Hiyori took his hands in hers. "I'm fine. Please, Onii-chan, I just want to rest."
Masaomi was silent for a second, and he scanned his sister's face. Once he seemed to give in, he sighed and lowered his voice a bit.
"Alright, alright."
Masaomi helped Hiyori up off the couch. "C'mon. You can sleep in my bed."
Hiyori took a shaky breath and nodded in response.
"Onii-chan?"
"Hmm? Something wrong?" Masaomi stopped just as they entered his bedroom.
"Will you... lay down with me…?" She murmured, her face pink.
Masaomi blinked, not prepared for that question. He blushed and pushed up his glasses.
"O-of course."
Hiyori smiled at him. They both climbed into his bed, and Hiyori rested her head on his chest.
He didn't have the same warmth or scent that Yato did, but she loved his just the same. If she had never met the sweaty god, Masaomi would be the only man Hiyori needed in her life.
She loved Yato, but she also loved her brother.
Part of her still yearned for Yato in a way that couldn't be satisfied, but it kept her sane to know that Masaomi would always welcome her with open arms.
Would he accept her unborn baby, too?
. . . .
Hiyori woke up the next morning, the sunlight nearly burning her eyes. And then, she realized Masaomi was no longer in bed beside her.
Suddenly, there was pounding on the apartment door.
"Open up, Iki-san! We need to speak with you!"
Hiyori blinked and rubbed her eyes, getting up out of bed to see what all the commotion was about. She turned the corner, and appeared in the kitchen, only to see her brother standing beside his apartment door.
He seemed to notice her, and shot her a worried, startled glance. He placed a finger to his lips as if to silence her.
Hiyori appeared just as worried as he was. "O-onii-chan?" She whispered. "What's going on?"
Masaomi bit his bottom lip and scratched the back of his neck. "J-just be quiet. They'll leave once they think I'm not home."
"We have control of what happens when your rent is overdue, Iki-san! Forget it again, and we're kicking you out soon!" The angry man's voice rang in from the hallway outside the door.
"M-matte…" Hiyori whispered, getting her brothers attention. "You-... haven't been paying your rent…?"
Masaomi looked at Hiyori over his shoulder, a look of disappointment on his face as he slowly nodded. He seemed to think he'd failed Hiyori as her older brother.
"I'm not exactly the favorite in the family for a reason, Hiyori…"
Hiyori eyes widened in surprise, and then they seemed to narrow in sorrow. She placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
"Masaomi…" she mumbled.
Masaomi sighed, and he locked the door with the chain.
"You're kidding. You have a steady job and you're an honor student in college, aren't you?"
"Yeah, well, look where that's gotten me," Masaomi pulled away from her and moved to the living room.
He slumped down on the couch. Now, they were unbothered by the man who was screaming and demanding his rent. He seemed to realize it wash useless and walked off.
Still a bit shocked, Hiyori followed him into the other room.
"But... you said you were doing just fine here," Hiyori said, twisting her hair between her fingers.
"Obviously, I was saying that to get Mother and Father off my back. I'm struggling to keep a job and a degree at the same time."
Masaomi groaned to himself and pulled off his glasses to rub his nose, seeming stressed.
"Y-you're wrong!"
"Huh?" He lifted his head to see his sister with tears in her eyes.
"If Mother n' Father could see you now, they'd definitely believe you're the better one! They'd be proud of you - not me!"
"Wait, what? Hiyori, what're you-?"
Suddenly, Hiyori turned pale and quickly clasped her hand over her mouth. She turned away from her brother and rushed towards the bathroom.
"Hiyori?!" Masaomi called, following her down the hall.
He came to a halt when he noticed her kneeling down on the floor with her head in the toilet, getting sick.
"H-Hiyori…?"
Masaomi quickly came to her aid, rubbing her back to comfort her. After a long fifteen minutes, Hiyori finally felt better. She sat up, her head hitting the wall. It took her another minute to catch her breath.
Masaomi looked at his little sister with worry, but he helped clean her up. He handed her a small plastic cup of water for her to rinse her mouth.
"Hey…" Masaomi's voice softened. "What happened? Are you sick?"
"You're not the only disappointment in the family."
"What?" Masaomi blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"
Hiyori stared into her cup of water, a sense of worry and dread washing over her. Tears began to spill from her eyes.
"I-... I'm pregnant…" Hiyori mumbled, almost whispered.
She avoided eye contact and placed a hand over her stomach.
There was an endless silence between them.
"W-what...?" Masaomi shook his head in disbelief. "No… No, there's no way. You can't be! You're my little sis - y-you...-"
Hiyori shuttered, burying her head in her arms. "I'm sorry! It's true…!"
"Wait…"
Hiyori felt Masaomi's tender hand on her shoulder. When Hiyori looked up, she could see his expression through her thick tears.
Her brother seemed to think hard for a moment. When it all clicked together, it finally came to him. A light turned on.
"They...- they kicked you out…" he whispered. "That's why you're here. Isn't it?"
Hiyori's red, swollen eyes widened. She broke down into tears again.
"Please, Onii-chan - you can't tell anyone!" She said between her broken sobs. "If they don't want me, I won't go back!"
Masaomi was nearly shaking in anger. "Shut up! Of course they want you! Because I want you, Hiyori." He lifted her chin for them to see each other. "You're the only child they had left. It's all said n' done for me, but there's still hope for you. There's no way they're not gonna regret this damn mistake."
Hiyori's crying softened, and all she could do was stare up at her older brother with utter shock at his words.
"Besides, Father runs the city's hospital; what do you think people will think of him if they found out he sent his sick daughter out into the streets?" Masaomi pointed out. "Trust me, they made a huge mistake."
Hiyori swallowed hard, pressing her knees to her chest. She remained quiet long enough for Masaomi to continue thinking.
"Hold on."
Hiyori wiped her wet face on her sleeve before she looked up at him again. He seemed puzzled.
"Who-... who is the father…?"
Hiyori was suddenly struck with the emotions of abandonment and depression again. Her heart screamed inside her.
And yet, she couldn't bring herself to say the one name of the one god she had been holding herself back with - the one person she wanted to be with the most.
Yato!
