"Hiyorin! Don't forget your sweater!" Kofuku called, chasing after her as she was leaving the shrine.

Hiyori and Yukine both stopped and turned around. Kofuku hurried towards them, handing the sweater to the brunette.

"Ahh! Almost forgot," she giggled, taking it from the goddess. "Arigato - for your hospitality."

Kofuku smiled to her. "Hai! Just don't come back here unless Yatty or Yukki are with you."

Hiyori laughed weakly. "Right. Sorry…"

They all shared their goodbyes and hugs before the two finally left.

. . . .

"Yukine-kun. Your shoe is untied."

"Huh?"

Yukine and Hiyori paused in their tracks. They were already halfway back to the apartment, walking along the sidewalk. Yukine looked down to see his shoelace undone.

"Ah. Hold on." The blonde boy knelt down and reached for his laces, but after he seemed to struggle with it for a few minutes, he groaned.

"Daijoubu?" Hiyori asked, tearing her gaze away from her smartphone to follow his.

"There's a knot in it. I can't get it out," he explained as he straightened up.

"Hmm," Hiyori hummed in thought, sticking her phone in her bag. "Let me try."

She protectively held her hand to her stomach as she knelt down beside Yukine. Hiyori used her nails to dig out the knot, then continued to loop and tie his shoe.

"Ahh! There you go." Hiyori grinned.

She lifted her head to share her smile with Yukine, but the blonde boy appeared preoccupied. He looked around the corner suspiciously.

"Yukine-kun? Something wrong?" The brunette became worried.

"Shh!" He hushed her. "I think someone's watching us."

"W-what-?" Hiyori started frantically looking around as well, following his gaze and examining the streets and buildings around them.

"C'mon," Yukine reached for Hiyori, helping her up on her feet again, "let's just get out of here."

Just before they could round the corner, a familiar voice cried out from behind them.

"Borderline!"

A bright blue line formed across the ground and shot up into the sky in front of them. Yukine and Hiyori both gasped in surprise. With the obstacle in their path, the two were forced to turn around and face the suspect.

Yukine's eyes widened at the man. "K-Kazuma-san? What are you doing?"

"Ignore the Borderline. I needed to get your attention," the other Regalia spoke, but the shining blue barrier didn't come down despite his excuse.

"Nothing short of scarring the crap out of us," the blonde boy retorted.

Hiyori quickly adjusted her sweater and held her bag up to hide her stomach.

Kazuma sighed and tugged his neck tie loose with his index finger. "I was aware that Yato returned for a short while. Seeing as he isn't with either of you, would I be correct to assume he has left again?"

Hiyori glared at him. Yukine glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, trying to decide if he should answer.

"H-he'll be back soon. Did you need to talk to him?" Yukine asked.

"Not necessarily," Kazuma replied casually, approaching them. He turned to Hiyori, noticing her displeased expression. "Speaking of, I thought I told you to stay away from him. He doesn't care about you the way you want him to."

Yukine cluelessly glanced back and forth between them. "W-woah, hang on! Am I missing something?"

They both ignored the blonde boy's question and continued as if he wasn't there.

"I didn't find Yato - he found me." Hiyori defended herself. "He came back looking for me."

"I planned to help Yato defeat the sorcerer. He didn't have a reason to split up and abandon the task at hand."

"Ohhh, I see!" Yukine smirked, crossing his arms. "Well, Yato already has a Blessed Vessel. You don't need to become a Nora just because Bishamon-sama turned you away. Twice."

The Borderline came crashing back down to the ground, sending a vibration below their feet.

This seemed to cause Kazuma's breaking point. It was obvious by his clenched fists and tight expression that his patience had worn thin. Kazuma was losing the argument, but he had to come up with something to redeem himself.

"Yato doesn't love you," Kazuma blurted.

There was a brief pause.

Then Yukine snickered while Hiyori burst into laughter. "Woah - what's with all the bitterness?" Yukine snorted.

"I was serious. What is so funny?" Kazuma glared at them.

Hiyori smirked. "Why exactly do you think that?"

The Regalia picked up on their doubt, which only made him more annoyed. "You're not listening."

Yukine rolled his eyes. Hiyori nudged his arm with her elbow.

"Okay, go on," she said with a straight face.

Kazuma waited another second to make sure they composed themselves before he spoke. "Gods weren't created for our personal entertainment. They work for the humans. 'Your god' does not belong to you and you alone."

Yukine suddenly interrupted him with a scoff. "Oh, yeah - because everyone is just dying to have their prayers answered by the 'almighty Yato-sama,'" he commented sarcastically, to which Hiyori bit her lip to hold in a laugh. "I mean, the only follower he has is Hiyori. No one's gonna stop her."

"You're not listening to me!" Kazuma shouted, his cheeks red with embarrassment.

It took them both a full minute before they could contain themselves again. The man tightened his fists until the skin under his nails was white.

"Us humans dream of the future; becoming successful, getting married, and having children. Even after death, we crave life."

Yukine seemed taken aback by his words. He lowered his gaze, sticking his hands into his jacket pockets.

"What are you trying to say, Kazuma-san?" The brunette asked, noticing her companion's hurt expression.

"I'm saying Yato is immortal. He has all the time in the world. He doesn't have to waste it fantasizing the way you do," Kazuma replied coldly.

The fellow Regalia looked down at his hand, silently counting his fingers. Kazuma blinked at him in confusion.

"What are you doing?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

The brunette looked over at Yukine out of curiosity. He watched her hold up three fingers.

"Oh, I was just counting the amount of times you were wrong," Yukine replied, smiling at him.

Hiyori cracked a grin beside him.

"You're missing the point!" Kazuma cried.

The once very formal, put-together Exemplar was now crumbling. His attempts to get through to them had failed. He had no more tactics.

"And you're missing one important factor," Hiyori pointed out, her smile taunting him.

"What 'factor' would I have forgotten?" Kazuma asked as he adjusted his glasses on his nose.

Yukine and Hiyori shared a secretive glance, both secretly anticipating what they knew was coming next.

"You said you knew that Yato came back?" The brunette began, finally lowering her bag away from her stomach. "Well, while he was here,..."

Her words trailed off as she dropped her bag by her feet. Then, with a smirk plastered on her face, she continued to unzip her baggy sweater.

Kazuma's eyes widened in shock as he stared at bulging baby bump. He wondered how he hadn't noticed it before then. He immediately looked to Yukine for answers, who just snickered at his reaction. He turned back to Hiyori's stomach as she stroked it, then lifted his head to see her face.

Kazuma gaped at her, his cheeks reddening. He struggled to find anything to say.

After a long silence, the blonde boy sighed and rolled his eyes. "Are we done yet?"

Hiyori gave Kazuma one last kind smile before she zipped up her sweater again and knelt down to grab her bag. "Sayonara."

Yukine turned on his heel to leave. Hiyori followed behind him.

The young man's senses seem finally began to come back to him. "M-matte!" He cried. "How do you know it's his?! Where's your proof?!"

The two continued onward, ignoring him. He helplessly watched their backs as they grew further and further away.

"Iki-san! Yukine!" He shouted louder. "Where's your proof?!"