"Alright, here's how we're gonna do this."

Yukine took a piece of paper and drew a line vertically down the middle. At the top of one column he wrote 'Yato' and on the other he wrote Hiyori's name.

"Hold on," Hiyori objected. "Where's your column, Yukine-kun?"

He shook his head. "I'm the tiebreaker. I'll veto or add things as we go. You're the parents, so you should have a stronger say than an old... ol... older bro... brother," he stammered, clearly flustered.

"I don't like it," Yato said frankly, tugging the paper out of Yukine's grip. "You should get to say your piece."

"I will," Yukine snapped, snatching it back. "Hands off, asshole, I'm overseeing this."

Hiyori giggled and leaned onto the table, face propped on her hands as she watched them bicker. This is how it should always be, she thought fondly. "Well, who starts then?" she asked.

"Mothers first," Yukine said immediately.

"I wanted to go first," Yato grumbled. Yukine decked him.

"Uhm... what should I say, exactly, Yukine-kun?" she asked, her tail twitching anxiously as Yato nursed his injury.

"Well, for starters, how do you feel?"

She grimaced. "That's way too vague to start with. I have no idea."

Yukine tapped his pencil against his lips thoughtfully.

"Okay, let me rephrase that," he said. "If it was just a question of keeping or getting rid of it, without any other circumstances or complications, how would you feel?"

She pressed a hand to her abdomen, thinking hard.

"In a situation without problems... I'd... I think I'd be happy," she admitted. "My father says it's an auspicious thing, loving someone enough to bring a child into the world. 'Whether that love is between the parents or between parent and child alone, if there's love, then that's a fine thing,' that's what he's always said. Is there any reason to think there's no love involved here?"

"Never," Yato agreed.

"No," Yukine said.

"Then... if it were just a question of love, I'd have all the reason in the world to welcome this little one too," she said wistfully.

Yukine hastily wiped his nose and nodded, scribbling down her answer in the right column. "Y-Yato, same question."

"Yessir! I'd wanna keep it, sir!" he said at once, raising his hand into a mock salute. Yukine sighed, exasperated.

"Take this seriously, for fuck's sake."

"I am!" Yato complained, leaning back on his arms. "I've been thinking seriously about this all day, it's not some half-assed answer!"

Yukine gave Hiyori a look but wrote down the reply anyway.

"Fine, whatever," he said. "Right, so in other words, you both want this kid?"

"In a perfect, safe world... yes," Hiyori said. Yato nodded.

Yukine twirled his pencil between his fingers thoughtfully. "Okay," he said. "I think... if doing that made you guys happy... then yeah... I think that'd be enough for me too." He nodded to himself. "I'd probably have some trouble getting used to having another kid around, and I might sting Yato sometimes over it... but if things were simple and my baggage were okay with you two, I'd do my best to be better. That's my take as the tiebreaker, anyway."

Hiyori suddenly burst into loud tears. "Yukine-kun, you're growing up so well!" she wailed, startling him. Yato scrambled over to her and cradled her against his chest with a wild sort of desperation.

"Hiyori, calm down, it's late!" he begged. "Daikoku's gonna be pissed if we wake them up!" He shook his head in bewilderment at Yukine as she muffled her cries into his jersey. "Sorry, I can't stop her when she gets like this. She had two other fits on our way over here, both over really normal things too; that's why we took so long. I don't think she can control it."

Yukine sighed, relieved it wasn't anything worse. "Yeah, it's probably just her hormones, it's not your fau-" he stopped and scowled. "No, actually, it's one hundred percent your fault, you shitty master."

Yato had the presence of mind to look abashed.

"I guess I can't argue there," he muttered as Hiyori slowly regained control.

"S-sorry," she hiccuped. "I can't help it."

"It's okay, I'm the last person who should be complaining about crying," Yukine said stiffly, aware that his eyes were still red and swollen.

"I'm okay now," she said, sitting up and wiping her face with her palms. "We can keep going."

Yukine nodded and cleared his throat.

"Ok, next question then," he said as he drew a little fluff of approval next to the first line of responses. "Since we all want this kid, what's the biggest reason we're hesitating?"

Hiyori bit her lip.

"Fear," she said quietly. "Heaven already thinks I'm dangerous because of the taboo. If they find out I'm having your child... We could all be killed at any moment," she said fearfully, turning toward Yato.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her head lightly.

"If that happened, I'd take all three of you and we'd run for it," he promised seriously. "I'd die before I let Heaven touch a single one of you."

"No," Yukine said fiercely. "We all get out alive, no matter what. I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself in a stupid last stand all alone. I'm fighting to the death with you whether you like it or not. But if that happens, Hiyori is gonna be all alone, and then who'd protect her and the baby against Heaven? They have no chance without you, and you have no chance without me. I'd be useless without a master too, so you better fight like hell to live, for all of us."

Yato grimaced.

"... Yeah. You're right. I'll just have to stay alive to get us all out safely."

Hiyori shook her head.

"I don't want it to get to that point!" she insisted. "I'm scared enough about losing you as it is. If this child had to live in fear too... if they suffered and were killed because I selfishly brought them to the world... I don't want that!"

"Hiyori..."

"I don't want that!" she repeated firmly.

Yukine lowered his eyes but dutifully filled in her response.

"Yato?" he asked.

His master's eyes clouded over and he pressed his mouth into a thin line.

"Other than Heaven and the danger from that, then the only reason I would choose to give it up... would be Hiyori's happiness," Yato said slowly. "If having this child isn't what she wants... then I don't want it either."

Hiyori's tail bristled.

"No!" she said firmly. "You can't just worry about me and how I feel about it! I told you, you... you're this child's father, you're allowed to want it regardless of what I think!"

"That doesn't mean I'm gonna ignore what you want!" he argued. "That's why we're talking this over in the first place! Someone's gotta give on something, or we'll never come to a decision! I draw the line at forcing you to do something you don't want, or at losing you or Yukine; I'll never forgive myself if I insist on this and it costs me either one of you."

"It's your child!"

"I know that!" he cried, his voice pained. "I... I know that, believe me," he added in a quieter, vulnerable tone. "A part of me wants this so badly that it physically hurts. Just knowing it's my kid, our kid... it hurts like hell to think I might never get to meet them, never get to hold them and see them grow up. But I'm afraid," he admitted, his hold on her waist tightening slightly. "If choosing this means that something happens to you, Hiyori, or you end up hating me for it... Or if Yukine died to protect either one of you... I'm scared I won't be strong enough not to resent my own child. Whatever love I have now would turn into hatred and regret, I know it. That would make me no different from my Father... and I don't think I could be saved if that happened. I'd be just like him."

"T-That's not true!" Yukine and Hiyori said together loudly.

"WOULD YOU IDIOTS SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Daikoku's voice came through the floor, accompanied by a loud bang. "JUST 'CAUSE OUR BEDROOM IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HOUSE DOESN'T MEAN WE CAN'T HEAR YOU SCREAMING AT ASS O' CLOCK AT NIGHT! DO NOT MAKE ME COME UP THERE AND FUCKING SEW YOUR MOUTHS SHUT!"

"S-Sorry, Daikoku-san! Yukine called. "We'll be quiet!" They listened to Daikoku grumble loudly, cursing under his breath, until his footsteps faded into the next room.

"Sorry," Hiyori whispered. "I napped for a while after talking with my brother so I forgot it's late."

"Don't worry about it," Yato muttered. "You need your rest."

"What he said," Yukine agreed in a hushed tone. "But anyway," he said, "I don't care how messed up you get Yato, you're nothing like that asshole," he argued. "Even if Hiyori or I die, you're not the type of person to hate an innocent kid. Especially not Hiyori's kid. If you can forgive me for all the betrayals and stupid shit I've done, why the fuck would you ever hate them?"

"Yukine-kun is right!" Hiyori said urgently, turning in Yato's lap to face him. "The fact that you want this child as much as you say you do means that you'd never abandon it. I know you, Yato, you're not that kind of god, and you're definitely not that kind of man."

Yato said nothing, his expression hidden behind his messy bangs. A moment later he leaned into Hiyori's shoulder and a muffled sound, like a whimper or a sniffle, echoed through the room.

"It's alright," Hiyori said soothingly, ruffling his hair as Yukine pretended he hadn't heard anything.

"I'm gonna veto this answer," Yukine said flatly, writing down the words 'said something stupid about his father issues' in Yato's column. "As for me..." he slowly put his pencil down as he trailed off.

"Yukine-kun?" Hiyori asked, concerned at his tone.

"Earlier... when I went to go buy all that pudding," he said carefully. "I had a thought."

Yato not-so-sneakily blew his nose on the back of Hiyori's sweater ("DISGUSTING! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" she hissed, trying her hardest not to shout as she slammed her elbow into his stomach and shoved him away) and sat up to watch Yukine warily.

"Something you forgot to tell us?" he asked, wincing, but Yukine shook his head.

"Not exactly," he said. "It's more like, I had a dark thought then, but I only just processed it now, after asking you two this question."

"What is it, Yukine-kun?"

"Well... I told you that I remembered my... Haru's mom. And I thought, maybe she didn't want to have Haru either. If she'd done that, things might have been better for his family, and then I... then Haru wouldn't have lived and died so miserably."

"Yes, you told us," Hiyori said kindly, reaching to place a hand over his.

Yukine nodded, too tired to cry any more. "Y-yeah," he said. "When I thought it then, it was painful. But right now, I realized... if I hadn't lived and suffered... I'd never have been found by Yato and gotten to know you, Hiyori. And not just that, I would never have learned from all the different people I've met, or become as strong as I am, or known what it's like to be alive."

"... But you're dead, Yu- OW!"

"Yato, shut up," Hiyori hissed.

"Yeah, I'm dead," Yukine repeated. "And sometimes that really sucks. But most of the time... most of the time I'm glad I get to live, even if it's just like this. I think, if I asked Haru whether he would have preferred never to be born... even if he still had to suffer the way he did, he'd say no. He had things he loved and enjoyed too, so..." He paused, trying to organize his thoughts. "What I'm trying to say is... as parents, you two want the kid to be safe and raised in a happy family, and you think it's selfish if you can't give it that security. But truthfully, as someone who lived a hard life... I think not having any of that doesn't mean that this kid wouldn't want to be born. Even if we're hunted down by Heaven, or torn apart, or just become plain unhappy... there's meaning to that life too. The kid can't advocate for itself in there," he said, pointing at Hiyori's stomach. "So I'll do it. And I'd wanna be born and meet my parents."

"And big brother," Yato and Hiyori said at the same time.

Yukine huffed, pretending to be annoyed.

"Yeah, yeah, that too," he grumbled." I'm not saying you're wrong, by the way, or that those aren't valid reasons to think about not having a kid. This is just my take on it, for whatever that's worth. If gods are born from and sustained through wishes, then I figure we should consider that small wish to live too."

Hiyori suddenly gave a small yelp.

"That's right!" she said, with the air of remembering something important. "This... this is a god's child! I've been so busy thinking about it as my own issue that I absolutely forgot."

Behind her, Yato made a strangled noise.

"How many times did I mention the fact that I'm a god today?!" he whined pathetically.

"I know," Hiyori said, waving him off. "I know it's your child, Yato, but I didn't really stop to think what that means."

"Oh... shit," Yukine gasped. "You're right, I didn't even think about it!"

"Right?!"

"What are you two even on about?! Don't leave me out of it!" Yato complained.

"You dumbass, shouldn't you be the one to realize it first?!" Yukine said angrily. "If you're a god, and Hiyori's a human... is the kid gonna be a human like her, or a god like you?"


Yukine was notably absent from Yasumi's every day life over the next few days, but a steady stream of text messages kept him fresh in her memory as she warily returned to her routine. They weren't really conversations, so much as notifications that he would be keeping an eye out in the area, or reminders not to go out with friends after school, and Yasumi had the suspicion that he was actually following her around without letting her know.

Maybe Yato's with him so he doesn't wanna come in person, she thought five days after the last meeting. It was a bit dull without him popping in to annoy her, especially considering she wasn't spending time with pretty much anyone else. She kept giving Kaori and the others excuses for why she had to skip their usual hangouts, and she wasn't even going to her aikido practices when she could get away with it. Since her mother let her do as she pleased, she hadn't been scolded or questioned over it, or even asked to give explanations for why she suddenly cared so much about her studies.

That, of course, was a lie; she was studying more, just from a lack of things to do, but it was more of a way to pass the time than any actual interest in her education. Yasumi had never been a great student, but she'd also never failed anything; as in all things, she was just average enough not to worry her mother without standing out.

That's me, she mused, skimming through a literary anthology without really digesting any of it. The Lucky one, just a normal girl living a normal life in a normal world... or not.

She turned over in her bed and scratched her head irritably. She'd always hated being so average, but now that she knew that was about to end, she felt oddly reluctant over it. Yeah, she'd get the Sight and finally be like the rest of her family, but... was that a good thing? Everyone in her family seemed terrified of ayakashi and spirits; it wasn't like they were exorcists or had any extraordinary powers just because they could see things. The most they could do was keep themselves safe from things that noticed them, and even that wasn't always enough. A couple of deaths in the family from seemingly normal causes had even been whispered about as the doing of evil spirits among those in the know. Yasumi had always been teased and looked down on, but her cousins had clearly been jealous of her ability to live freely, without fear of the unknown. She wasn't sure she really wanted to lose that sense of safety.

And of course, there was that whole business with Ame-no-Mikoto. She wasn't going to be like the others at all, if she really thought about it. She'd be taking on a role most of them weren't even aware existed, a dangerous position that directly made her an enemy of Heaven and Amaterasu-Omikami herself. Frankly, after meeting Yato, Yasumi was really not looking forward to dealing with any more gods, much less gods that actually meant her harm. Even the thought of meeting Ame, whom she was genuinely curious about, was scarier than she wanted to admit.

"Ugh," she groaned, rolling back onto her stomach and kicking her pillow listlessly. "Can't someone else just do it? This is such a paiiiin..."

No one answered, of course, and she knew it was pointless to complain. She had no doubts that Yato and Yukine were telling the truth about Heaven killing her whole family if they found Ame; there were definitely things they weren't telling her, but their fear and distrust of Heaven had been real. She'd thought so before, but now she wondered exactly what it was those two had experienced at the hands of Takamagahara's army.

The girlfriend, maybe, she thought for the fiftieth time that week. She'd been unable to forget the woman she'd seen with Yato, though Yasumi wasn't entirely sure why. Yes, she was beautiful, and undoubtedly cool, but it wasn't a crush. Yasumi had liked plenty of girls and even a handful of boys growing up, but this was a different sort of interest. It was almost frustrating, like trying to remember a word on the tip of her tongue that just wouldn't come no matter how hard she thought.

I swear she's someone I've seen before... But I just can't freaking remember!

Yukine hadn't mentioned her again, and Yasumi had the impression that he was determined not to bring her up. It seemed like a bad idea to badger him about it too, especially since it was clear that Yato would not hesitate to turn on her if he thought the other girl was in danger.

I wonder what kind of god she is, Yasumi wondered. The girl had been graceful and traditional despite wearing casual slacks and a t-shirt, and she had good posture and balance, like a martial artist's. But she'd also been rough and overly forceful in her subjugation of Yato; her technique had been less like a defensive maneuver and more like an offensive throw. She hadn't been afraid to cause him pain either.

Perhaps all gods were mercurial like that after all. It would certainly track with Yato's behavior; for all that Yukine said about his master being stressed, Yasumi's instinct told her that there was more to it than that. She just wasn't stupid enough to want to find out more about it.

I say that, she thought grumpily as she read and re-read the same passage in her anthology, but I still can't stop asking a million questions whenever I meet with Yukine. I just hate being in the dark.

"Yasumi!"

She let the book fall onto her face moodily, ignoring her mother's voice.

"Yasumi, did you hear me?"

"Yasumi isn't in right now, please call back later!" she called dully.

The door to her bedroom opened and Hana came in.

"Jeez, what are you doing?" she asked at the sight of Yasumi wearing nothing but a t-shirt and underwear and lying face up on her bed like a corpse with a book over her face.

"I'm contemplating the nature of life," she said drily. Hana lifted the book off her face.

"Well, contemplate it with pants on, please," she said, sighing. "We're going over to Cousin Himiko's for dinner."

"Awww, nooo!" Yasumi cried, sitting up. "I don't wanna! Izu and Kouta are the worst!"

"Don't say that," her mother snapped. "They're your cousins, you should be getting along."

"Twice removed," Yasumi growled. "And I'm not the one who picks fights all the time!"

"If you make more of an effort to be nice, I'm sure they won't bother you."

Yasumi groaned and fell back on the bed. "Fat chance. And I just got my hair cut too, they're gonna be all over it, watch."

"Don't be spoiled, Yasumi."

'Don't make trouble. Don't make me change my mind about letting you do as you like. I ask so little of you to begin with, the least you could do is be a part of this family.'

Hana never said those things aloud, but Yasumi felt them in her words nonetheless; no matter how much she hated it, Yasumi had never been allowed to skip family traditions or gatherings.

"Fine," she sighed. "I'll get dressed in a minute."

"Thank you."

Her mother closed the door and Yasumi grumpily got to her feet.

She was almost ready to go when she remembered something and picked up her phone.

"Hey, I'm going out with my mom. Family dinner thing," she texted Yukine quickly. A second later, the 'read' notification came up and three dots appeared to show he was replying.

"Shit, right now?!"

"Yeah, she just told me about it."

The dots appeared again, but then they vanished, and her phone rang instead.

"Hello?"

"So Yato and I are really fucking busy right now," Yukine said loudly, and in the background Yasumi could hear someone shouting, as well as a strange roaring sound like the wind in a bad storm. "GET BACK HERE, MORON, NOT BY YOURSE- Oh for fuck's sake!" he cursed angrily. "Look I have to go like, yesterday, or my master is gonna-"

"COME, SEKKI!" Yato's voice commanded from somewhere off in the distance.

"WAIT! THIS IS IMPORTANT, DON'T FUCKING SUMMON ME YET! YATO, YOU PIECE OF SHIT! CAN'T YOU BE PATIENT FOR LIKE, THREE SECONDS?!" Yukine screamed with fury.

"Yukine-kun! Watch out!" cried a faint, familiar voice. The line suddenly became full of static and loud, deafening noise, and Yasumi had to pull the phone away from her ear to protect her hearing.

"Yukine?! You alright over there?!" she called, wondering what the hell was going on. "Yukine!"

The static cleared and she heard him cursing furiously under his breath.

"Crap, I really can't talk right now, princess, sorry! Just watch yourself, and stay in Ame's barrier when-"

"SEKKI!"

"-ever-" but with another loud whooshing sound the line suddenly went dead.

"Yukine?!"

A second later the call was disconnected.

"What the hell was that about?!" she asked herself aloud. She wanted to call back immediately but if Yukine were fighting, it was probably better not to interrupt. She milled about uncertainly for a few minutes, worried.

He's a Regalia, and with a god, so... he's probably gonna be okay, she reasoned, but... without them keeping an eye on me... am I?

She looked out the window into the dark evening and shivered despite herself, wondering if there were something sinister just waiting for her to go out unprotected.


Yato stared at them blankly for a minute.

"Uh... uhm... can I just... skip this question and come back to it later?" he asked seriously.

Yukine and Hiyori groaned with abject disappointment.

"Yeah, I should've known we were expecting too much from him," Yukine said, slumping onto the table listlessly.

"Somehow, the future looks extremely bleak," Hiyori sighed, rubbing the space between her eyes.

"Hey! It's not like I would know!" Yato argued defensively. "Most of the stories that say gods were born from other gods are myths or embellishments! The oldest gods going all the way back to Izanagi and Izanami1 are the only ones that might've done it the old fashioned way, but who the fuck knows?! And there are definitely no real records of gods and humans having kids together cause there's that fucking taboo!"

"But what about gods from other religions?" Hiyori asked. "I learned about demi-gods from Greek history and there's also that Christian story about the son of God-"

Yato shook his head. "Every major religion has its own set of rules that apply to their gods," he explained. "What's true for Shinto gods isn't necessarily true for any others, and vice versa. Here in Japan, any stories you hear about humans begotten from gods are made up."

"Even the Emperor?!"2

"Yeah, that's just propaganda," Yato said. "Though..." he paused thoughtfully. "It's definitely possible that the taboo originally came into place as a human construct to ensure no one else could call themselves a descendant of Heaven and usurp the throne. Since Amaterasu is the Imperial Deity I wouldn't be surprised if that's the real reason she's so against anyone breaking the taboo."

"... Doesn't... doesn't that make this even more dangerous?" Yukine asked, pale.

"I don't really think it can get more dangerous than it already is," Yato said grimly.

Hiyori tugged on Yukine's sleeve, wanting to ground herself in something familiar so she wouldn't panic. He seemed to recognize what she needed because despite being smaller than her, he hugged her around the shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"It's ok," he said. "That's why we're talking it out." He let go and picked up his pencil again. "Since we don't know what the kid is, exactly, I guess the next question is this: does the kid's divinity, or lack of it, make any difference to you?"

"No," they said together.

"Figures," he said with a tiny smile. "That was an easy one." He wrote down their replies and added the little anthropomorphized fluff next to the line. "Lessee... If Heaven or Yato's daddy issues weren't a problem ("HEY! You're one to talk!"), what are the other things you're worried about?"

Hiyori flopped over onto her back, eyes fixed on the lamp on the ceiling.

"Well, my family, for one," she said grudgingly. "I have to tell them that I'm having a baby, but only Masaomi-nii-san can see and understand about Yato. My parents will lose it trying to figure out who the father is."

"Your mom will probably force you to get an abortion, too," Yukine said, scratching his cheek. "She's so old-fashioned, she'll probably want you to hide it from everyone too."

"I know," she said dejectedly.

"I won't let her or anyone else force you, Hiyori," Yato insisted. "If they try, I'll get you out of there so fast-"

"Yes, I don't doubt you will, Yato, but what if she's right?" Hiyori said softly. "I'm really young, and still have my whole life ahead of me. And even though I know you and Yukine-kun will always be there with me, to my family and the rest of the world, it's going to look like the father abandoned us. Even if we somehow got married, and I'm not convinced we could, I'd still be remembered as a single mother as soon as the records are forgotten. Colleges and employers consider those things when deciding whether to accept you. It's hard enough for women to get professional jobs, but women with children, especially unmarried ones, have it even worse."3

"... If those things really matter to you enough, then your answer should be simple, right?" Yukine said matter-of-factly. "But the whole time you've been talking, Hiyori, you've had tears running down your cheeks."

"What?!"

She touched her fingers to her face and they came away wet.

"I didn't even notice," she said slowly.

"Well, it could be the hormones," Yato said, untying his scarf and handing it to her. "But to me it looks like you really hate all of those shitty reasons. 'My mother will, my family will, the rest of the world will.' Who fucking cares about them? They might make shit harder for you, for us, but you shouldn't let them choose something that isn't theirs to decide. Make a decision you can live with, and then deal with their garbage after."

"Wow, that's actually pretty wise," Yukine said, surprised.

"Don't act surprised, for fuck's sake! Just how long do you think I've been a god, huh?!"

Hiyori gave a small chuckle and returned the now-wet scarf. "Even a broken clock is right twice a day."

"Rude!"

"SHH!" Yukine hissed, and all three of them fell silent, listening hard for footsteps downstairs. Once it was clear they weren't about to get yelled at, Yukine sighed and addressed Hiyori.

"Anyway, Hiyori, Yato's right. All that stuff you just said, is it stuff you care about? Or is it stuff other people want you to care about?"

"Well... I do want to go to college, but..."

"There's no reason you can't go," Yato told her. "You've got me and Yukine to watch over the kid while you're busy."

"What about when you get jobs?" she asked.

"It's not like it's always combat jobs," Yukine shrugged. "If it is, then we'll figure it out. There's always some way to work things out if you look for one. If you want to go to college, then we'll find a way to make it happen. You've already told us that you want this kid. The important question now is, are you okay going to college while raising them? And don't tell us what your parents or society would say about it, just tell us what you feel, Hiyori."

She nodded slowly. "It would be hard but... yes, I'm be okay with it if it means I don't have to give up my education."

Yukine scribbled down her response and meant to ask Yato the same question, when he noticed something.

"... You know, honestly I think we can answer the biggest question here already," he said, looking over the short list.

"What's that, Yukine-kun?" Hiyori asked, sitting up as Yato leaned over his shoulder to read what he'd written.

"Whether or not we're keeping the kid," he said. Yato frowned.

"We just went over the biggest reasons we didn't want to do it, and there's still a shit-ton of other things to talk over. We can't decide just like that."

"I know, but, look at this." Yukine put the sheet of paper down and the three of them gathered around it. "We started talking about all this as a bunch of hypotheticals, but... at some point it stopped being a question of 'what if' and turned into a discussion about what we'll do as though the kid was already a given."

Hiyori looked at Yukine's familiar handwriting and at the little fluff spirits he'd drawn to represent himself and was suddenly overcome with another crying fit.

"Y-you're right!" she sobbed. "It's like we already decided!"

"Hiyori, please don't cry," Yato pleaded, looking heartbroken. "If you really hate it that much, I told you, I'll work hard for the money-"

"N-no, you stupid idiot!" she wailed into his shoulder. "It's the other- *hic* -other way around, I really don't w-want to get rid of it!"

"Hiyori?!" Yukine asked, clearly confused by the ferocity of her crying.

"... Seriously?" Yato said, stunned. "Even... even though we could all be killed by Heaven for it?"

"I'm sc-scared, but how can I get rid of a child all three of us already accepted as family?! I can't- *hic* - live with myself if I- *hic* - if I-!"

She was suddenly cut off as Yato pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her, a wild, desperate sort of kiss, heavy with emotion and desire. In the background she could hear Yukine cursing furiously with second-hand embarrassment and even the sound of Daikoku shouting angrily as he came up the stairs, but at that moment, all she cared about was Yato and everything he was saying without speaking a single word.

"Hiyori," he said breathlessly when they broke apart, his forehead pressed to hers, completely oblivious to the others in the room. "Are we really...?"

She nodded, still crying, but she knew he understood how she felt now. He hugged her and laughed, and she could hear his voice trembling with his own barely contained tears.

"We're having a baby," he said, awed. "Yukine, come here! We're having a baby!" he repeated excitedly.

"Hell no! I'm not going anywhere near you two right now! You're all snotty and lewd and shit!"

Hiyori managed a weak laugh and turned toward him. "Come here, Yukine-kun," she said, holding out a hand for him. "Please?"

Yukine flushed and looked to Daikoku for help, but he and Kofuku, who had followed to find the source of the chaos, were both staring, frozen, with utter bewilderment at the scene in front of them.

"F-fine! But only cause you asked, Hiyori," Yukine said, awkwardly walking over to them. They didn't let him have a chance to sit down as they both grabbed one of his sleeves and tugged him down over them, all three falling to the floor in a mess of tangled limbs. Yukine cursed but the other two hugged him tightly, and suddenly it was all too unbearably funny, too happy a moment, and all three of them burst into wild, hysterical laughter that couldn't possibly express even a fraction of what they were feeling.


"Don't stop."

Yasumi felt her blood freeze at the sudden command. They'd been walking down the road to her cousins' place when Hana suddenly darted off onto a side street, grabbing Yasumi's hand and pulling her along with a sense of urgency.

"M-mom?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She'd long ago learned that when Hana spoke with that tone, it meant that something bad was nearby, something that had noticed, even if Yasumi couldn't see it herself.

"Whatever you do, keep walking," her mother said firmly. "Don't look back."

"What is it?" she asked, more frightened than usual.

"A spirit," her mother replied curtly. "I don't know what it wants, but Uncle Mitsuo's is closer than Himiko's. We need to get under a protected household as quickly as possible."

"Wh-what does it look like?" she asked, wondering if it might be Yukine and she'd just missed him. "Is it a boy with blonde hair?"

"A girl, young," Hana said, but then she seemed to realize her daughter had said something odd. "Why would you think it might be a blonde boy?" she asked, even as they hurried down another alley and onto a well-lit back street.

"No real reason," Yasumi lied, and it was only the fear of the situation that prevented Hana from saying anything more. She led Yasumi up an incline and stopped only once they'd passed the gate to her uncle's house.

"Mitsuo!" Hana shouted, banging on the front door. "Mitsuo, please open up! It's Hana!"

Yasumi suddenly felt the hair stand on the back of her neck and despite her mother's warning, turned to look.

The street behind them was empty, and Yasumi sighed with relief.

Good, either there's nothing there, or I can't see it. It shouldn't be able to cross into the barrier any-

Something moved in the corner of her vision, in the shadows across the street. Something small. She whipped her head around but saw nothing.

"Mitsuo!"

The door suddenly opened and Hana breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her elder brother. Like her mother, he had brown hair and gentle eyes, though his face was thinner and he had a thick layer of black stubble on his cheeks.

"Hana? What are you doing here at this-" he began in his usual slow cadence, but then his eyes widened in alarm and he all but yanked Hana and Yasumi indoors and threw the door closed.

"Oh thank Ame-sama," Hana wheezed, bending forward. Yasumi leaned against the wall and slid to the floor as all her energy left her.

"Who was that?!" Mitsuo asked urgently, back to the door.

Hana shook her head. "I don't know," she said. "We were on our way to Himiko's when it started following. I was careful not to make eye contact but it was persistent, and then-"

"Don't tell me it spoke to you?"

"No, but... it lifted an arm and pointed... it pointed at Yasumi," she said, pale. "I hadn't been looking at it directly until then, but I panicked and met its eyes."

"At... at me?!" Yasumi squeaked.

"Why would it want her?" Mitsuo asked, bewildered. "Between the two of you, it should have wanted to go for the one with the Sight first. We're closer to the Otherworld..."

"I don't know, I really don't," Hana said, clearly frightened. "I just knew we had to get out of there and to a protected house immediately."

Mitsuo crept to a window and lifted the curtain slightly. "... I don't see it anymore," he said. "But it isn't safe to go out there until daylight. Best you call Himiko and cancel. You can stay here, Tama is on a business trip anyway so there's no reason to make an excuse."

"Thank you, Aniki."

"Of course," he said. "Yasumi-chan, you look like you need a good cup of tea," he said kindly. "Don't worry, we're under Ame-no-Mikoto's protection here, so you're safe."

"Y-yeah, okay, Oji-san," she said, shaken to the core. No one else had noticed, but just as her Uncle had yanked them to safety, Yasumi caught a brief flash of something white, and clearly heard a small, childlike voice speak as though someone were whispering in her ear.

"Oyasumi-nasai, little princess." 4

Notes: Izanami and Izanagi are the sibling/husband-wife deities that are said to have formed Japan and then populated it with numerous other gods, all their children. Amaterasu is also a child of Izanagi, though not born from Izanami. The Japanese royal family traces their lineage back to Amaterasu herself. I'm just taking creative liberties with the story when Yato says it's not true, for all I know the manga might say the opposite, and of course none of this is a reflection on the veracity of religious belief. This is a bit generalized as a statement but it IS true that unmarried mothers struggle to find jobs in modern Japan (and a number of other places, sadly). The nuclear family unit is very important there, and women are already considered somewhat "fickle" as workers because they often quit or ask for maternity leave when they have children. Things are getting better over time but as everywhere else in the world, it's a work in progress. This phrase means "good night" and is also where Yasumi's name comes from. It's usually written in hiragana as おやすみなさい but Yasumi's parents have written it as 夜済, which are the characters for "Night" and "End/Already." As with most Japanese names, you can interpret it a little differently depending on the context. It's 5 am and I have no idea what I'm doing with my life send help