Yato took Yukine's words into deep consideration. He fought constantly with his thoughts throughout the night, which seemed to irritate his young Regalia because he couldn't get any sleep with the sound of his master's boots tapping the floor as he nervously lapped the whole perimeter of the hospital room.

Only one pair of doctors came in during the night to check Hiyori's condition, one of them being her father. They seemed to have concluded that - with the IVs and heart monitor - Hiyori was in a stable enough condition to let be. Her father decided to wait for her to wake up, thinking it could've all simply resulted from her narcolepsy. Besides thier brief visit, it had only been Yato and Yukine left by her side.

"How do you expect me to sleep when you're thinking so loudly?" Yukine groaned, exhausted and agitated.

The god slowly came to a halt beside the couch and slumped down into it with a depressed sigh. "What am I gonna do, Yukine…?" He asked, burying his face in his hands.

Yukine lifted his head off the arm he had been using as a pillow and looked over at Yato from the other couch across from him. His gaze fell upon Hiyori laying in the bed by the row of windows. He looked back at his helpless master.

"For now, I don't think you can do anything. Not unless we know for sure what's wrong with her-"

"I put her in that hospital bed, Yukine. I have to do something!"

"No, you don't." Yukine said as he sat upright. "You did what you could. The doctors will do the rest."

"B-but I-"

"Yato."

Yukine locked eyes with Yato, both of them almost seeming to challenge each other. Soon enough, the god's blue eyes faltered, and he tore his gaze away from his Regalia. He stared down at the floor instead.

"Whatever. Just try to get some sleep, alright?" Yukine mumbled as he pulled his fluffy hood over his head and laid back down, his back facing away from him.

Yato sighed through his nose and rubbed the back of his neck. "Right…"

Yato stood up, wandering away from the couch, toward Hiyori in the bed behind the curtain. She seemed at peace while she rested, her hands placed on her stomach. Yato's hand hovered over hers before resting it over her slightly bulged stomach as well. He looked at her beautiful face before releasing a heavy sigh. He slumped down into the chair beside her bed. Yato carefully brought her hand out towards his face and gently pressed her soft knuckles to his warm lips.

. . . .

Yato's senses were slightly awoken when he felt delicate fingers combing and smoothing his hair. The sensation was so calming; he didn't care to open his eyes.

"So - just to recap - you said there were no strange cramps or abdominal pains?" An unfamiliar female voice rang in Yato's ears, but his drowsiness was still too powerful for him to wake.

The fingers smoothing out his dark hair came to a slower pace as there was a silent pause.

"Hmm... I don't think there was. Would that be bad?"

That voice! Yato's bright eyes snapped open almost instantly.

The sunlight reflected in her beautiful pink eyes, and her brown locks bounced as her head moved. Life radiated from her.

The woman standing next to her seemed just as bright. A young woman with auburn hair pulled back into a messy bun tapped her pen on her chin. Her brown eyes looked up at the ceiling in thought before she looked back at Hiyori.

"I suppose it could be. But seeing as you aren't experiencing those symptoms, I wouldn't worry too much about it. How does it feel right now?" She asked with a friendly smile.

Hiyori's hand withdrew from Yato's head, who had been resting his head in his arms on the side of the bed next to her. By then, he was trying to catch up on the conversation with a curious expression on his face. The god straightened up and focused his attention on the two, eager to hear any news.

Hiyori's hand came to rest over her lower stomach. She laughed nervously in response.

"It's a bit tight and uncomfortable," she replied.

Hiyori felt a loving hand join hers, holding it over her own hand on her stomach. She felt her cheeks heat up as she passed the god a sideways glance. A smile curled up on her face.

"Ahh, yes," the woman with the clipboard spoke again, "I remember it feeling much like that with my first child, too! Don't worry - it gets much more cramped in there as your little one starts to grow." She teased, to which Hiyori giggled gently again.

"Did my father or the doctors say anything about what could've caused my sudden unconsciousness?"

The woman puffed out her cheeks, flipping the sheets of paper over to check her notes. "Afraid not, honey." She let the paper drop back down on the clipboard and redirected her gaze to Hiyori again. "They said they didn't seem to detect any irregularities. But they could've just been waiting for me to examine you myself, considering I'm the specialist. If you want my honest opinion, it could just be a one of your sleeping spells."

Hiyori absorbed that information for herself. Although, knowing she didn't actually suffer narcolepsy, this wasn't a decent enough reason. Of course - there was no way she could explain this without exposing the fact that her unborn baby was a god's child.

"Try not to focus on the negative, Iki-san. You're both right on track - despite your sleeping record. Soon, we will be able to identify the gender of your baby!" the specialist explained.

Hiyori heard Yato excitedly gasp to himself, and she caught a glimpse of his shimmering eyes out of the corner of her sight. She giggled to herself. "That's wonderful! Thank you so much, Mori-san."

Ms. Mori politely bowed to her, sharing a kind smile. "Of course! I love to hear it as well." She straightened herself, turning around to leave the hospital room. "'Til then, don't strain yourself. You have my number in case of an emergency, right?"

Hiyori nodded. "Yes, of course!"

"Perfect! I'll fill in everything with your father. Congratulations again, Iki-san!" Ms. Mori gave one last wave to her before she finally headed out.

By then, Yato could not contain his joy. He practically flung himself at her. Hiyori gasped, but then ettled into his arms and returned the gesture.

"Thank goodness…" his voice rumbled in her ear.

The god pulled away slightly before then continuing to press his forehead against hers.

The sound of their locking lips lured the small blonde boy to them. "Gross," he groaned and rubbed his tired eyes. "Is this gonna be a thing with you two now?"

The couple quickly pulled apart in surprise, both of their faces a dark shade of pink.

Hiyori gasped. "Y-Yukine?! What are you-?"

Yato sighed loudly, causing Hiyori to redirect her attention to him.

"Sorry, Hiyori. He followed me here," he explained. "He-... he knows…"

Yukine looked away, a blush forming across his cheeks.

"O-oh…"

There was an awkward moment of silence. Hiyori looked down at her lap in deep thought before she finally looked over at the boy again. She sighed softly.

"Yukine-kun?" Hiyori lifted her hand out towards him, gesturing for him to come closer.

The Regalia blinked a few times as he stared at Hiyori, before he hesitantly came to Hiyori's side. The girl took his hand, trying to reassure him.

"Listen-" she began with a small smile, "please, don't be mad at Yato - I know some part of you must be."

Yukine glared at his master. Yato caught it and laughed nervously.

"The truth is-" Hiyori continued, trying to gain his focus again, "Yato n' I - we-re together now. We decided to-..." Hiyori looked to Yato for the proper words, but he seemed just as clueless as her.

"To...-" she pondered, anxiously trying to find the words without making it uncomfortable, "-express our love," she finally said. "He made sure I was okay with it, and I was. I'll admit - we didn't think it through enough, but we definitely didn't expect this of all things. Do you understand?"

Yukine gaze traveled down towards Hiyori's rounded stomach. His face turned pink. "Y-yeah, I guess so…"

"Yukine-kun," Hiyori said firmly, taking on a serious tone. "We are going to have the baby. Please, don't make Yato feel any worse for this. As his friend, and his Blessed Vessel, I expect you to respect and support his choices - as well as mine."

Yato and Yukine blinked in surprise at her words. She seemed so confident and determined.

"Uhh-…" the young Regalia looked back and forth between his friends. "O-okay. I will."