"This should do," Masaomi spoke aloud to himself as he found a stray packet of Ramen in his cupboards.

The young man filled a pan with water and set it on the oven burner beside him. Just as he stretched out his arm to reach for the oven switch, a flash of white light caught the corner of his eye. He immediately turned his head in the direction of the man with fierce blue eyes staring back at him.

Masaomi stumbled back in shock at the discovery of his sister's missing boyfriend. He briefly scanned him up and down incredulously.

"Y-Y-... Yato?!" He blinked at the god with wide eyes. "My front door is locked. How on Earth-?"

"I need your help. Hiyori is in trouble," Yato interrupted, approaching Masaomi.

It was only when the young man came face-to-face with the god that he noticed something much stranger than his sudden presence. His appearance.

Where could he have been, or what could he have been doing that required him to dress in a kimono and sandals?

Masaomi rubbed it off and tried to focus on what the god was saying as opposed to what he was wearing. Those questions could wait, assuming they weren't nearly as important as his current concerns for his sister. And his soon-to-be niece.

"W-what do you mean? Is she okay?" Masaomi asked quickly, having minimal time to grasp everything that was happening.

"She's fine right now. She went out with her friends, but-... th-there's someone there that could hurt her," Yato explained with urgency in his voice.

"Why can't you do something about it?" Masaomi crossed his arms, sounding skeptical.

The god tugged on his bangs in frustration. "I tried! She's not listening to me!" He explained, then continued to plead. "Please, just tell her there's an emergency or something so that she'll leave - please."

The young man pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He was silent as he stared at Yato with suspicion. Masaomi searched for any sign of dishonesty, while Yato was searching for some kind of acquiescence.

Yato's expression morphed into confusion as the dead air continued a moment too long.

"Seeing as you're her brother, I didn't think it'd take so much convincing n' consideration," he said truthfully.

Masaomi scoffed, his arms still crossed over his chest. "I'm not questioning her - I'm questioning you."

Yato clasped his hands together in a begging position, and the desperation in his deep blue eyes only intensified.

"Please?" He said again. "She's got my baby."

There was something entirely strange and surreal about the older brother witnessing the all-powerful god surrendering to him - to the lower being. He almost seemed hopeless as he asked the young man for his help.

A flip finally switched in Masaomi, who sighed in defeat and turned to grab his coat.

"Okay, okay. Fine!" He called over his shoulder. "Where is she?"

. . . .

It was a simple letter - more like a note.

"I'm sorry, Hiyori. I'll make it up to you somehow. Please hold on a little longer, my dear."

"A little longer." How long was that? A day? A week? A month?

Hiyori lowered the note, her arm dropping back down to her side. She stared at her reflection in her vanity mirror, her gaze quickly falling downwards towards her stomach. She pulled up her shirt, stroking and feeling her bump.

Her doctor informed her how she would feel movement around this time. So far, there was no sign of that. Not a single kick or poke. Hiyori let the worry hide in the back of her mind, assuming it was only because the stage of her pregnancy was slightly delayed. Or maybe it was just different with a god's child.

The brunette sighed, her strokes coming to a slower pace. Her eyes narrowed with sorrow as she looked down at her bulging belly. Another month or two, and she would just barely be able to see her feet. Yet, where was the god that claimed to be by her side throughout all of it?

What luck I have. To have fallen in love with someone of another world, she sarcastically thought to herself.

"He says he'll be home soon…" she murmured aloud to her stomach. "Should I believe him...?"

Hiyori sighed as she attempted to think of something else. She pulled on a robe over her pajamas and headed out of her bedroom. As she observed the hallway, the brunette noticed the door to her parents' bedroom was closed, and the rest of the traditional Japanese home seemed silent and dim. She figured everyone else was asleep, including her brother who had stayed the night after he walked her home.

After realizing the only "emergency" was her own, Hiyori was quick to ask how her brother had even found her to begin with. It didn't take her long to piece it together to figure out Yato was behind it. She still wasn't sure if she was grateful, or upset with him for it either.

However, the letter gave her a sliver of hope, seeing as Masaomi told her it came from the sweaty god himself. She was skeptical of the young man's credibility at first, but Hiyori realized the handwriting on the folded paper was familiar. It was, in fact, her lover's penmanship.

Hiyori yawned as she crossed into the kitchen a few feet away, heading towards the fridge and reaching for the orange juice. It was only when she turned around, and her eyes adjusted to the darkness, that Hiyori suddenly noticed her grandmother sitting at the table nearby. She gasped and slightly jumped.

"G-Grandma. What are you…-?" Her words trailed off as she blinked at the old woman staring back at her.

"Hiyori. Why don't we talk for a moment?"

Through all of her grandmother's wrinkles, Hiyori couldn't tell if she was smiling or frowning. The young girl decided to take her chances. She placed her drink on the kotatsu and sat across from her grandmother.

. . . .

Fujisaki left his shoes by the front door and wandered over to his bedroom. The purple and white wolves' ears perked up, their heads turning in the direction of their master's arrival.

Nora, who happened to follow him in shortly afterwards, came to a pause when she noticed Father throwing on his black kimono after having removed the school boy's casual wear.

"Where is Yato?" Nora wondered aloud from the doorway of his room.

"Ahh, Mizuchi!" Father caught a glimpse of the young girl over his shoulder before he continued to adjust the sleeve of his kimono. "He's probably in his room, self loathing," he replied with a smirk.

"What happened?" Nora asked, taking on a certain curiosity with the matter.

Father began with a dark chuckle that almost lasted a second too long. "The plan worked - that's what."

Nora blinked at him.

There were quite a few times he snuck in his vile scheme to his Regalia, but he still kept the details secret in case anyone discovered his terrible ideas and interrupt anything. Now that he had succeeded, Father could freely brag about his accomplishments.

"I scared Yaboku into coming back to me by threatening him. He came to keep a close eye on me - that's really why he's here."

Nora slightly raised her eyebrows, surprised by his confidence. "How can you be so sure?"

"As I kept him away, I disrupted his relationship with Hiyori-chan, and her pain and anger only grew. It was only a matter of time before she exploded," he explained with a low chuckle that radiated throughout his bones.

The young Nora found that she was never prepared for how complex and devious his mind was, and it showed everytime he laughed in that manner.

"From then, I set up the night with her friends, careful to sneak in that fact with Yaboku so I could bet on him making an appearance. Knowing him, he can't stay away from the girl he cherishes."

Nora turned to look in the direction of the god's bedroom door. She could see a golden candle light flickering underneath the door. Hearing her master speak about the suffering he caused for Yato only made her wonder what aftermath resulted.

"I fueled the flames a bit before they reunited, resulting in their own downfall. Everything went well," Father finished, a smirk plastered across his face.

Nora didn't respond, as she wasn't sure how to react to the man's idea.

He pulled out a paintbrush from a drawer beside him, running his fingertip across the soft hairs of it. He continued to admire its every feature, basking in its unlimited power. Father tucked the brush away in the sleeve of his kimono.

Father then pulled out his cell phone from the school bag. Nora caught a glimpse of him deleting the pictures he'd had of Yato and Hiyori in bed. Now puzzled, Nora looked up at her master with furrowed eyebrows.

"Why get rid of them? I thought you would use it as revenge and tell the Heavens he broke the rules."

Father rolled his eyes in response. "Since Yaboku ratted me out, Heaven would kill me on the spot if I appeared on their doorstep," he replied with a rather lighthearted tone. "And they would kill him if I informed them about his wrongdoings - which would also mean no more fun messing with him. Besides, they served their purpose well. After all, I'm finished."

He placed the smartphone face down on the nightstand.

"For now, at least…" the man smirked, the darkness in his eyes flickering.