It was several hours before Yasumi remembered that she had to call Yukine. The rest of the night had been a blur, and she had only a vague awareness of what had happened since she and her mother arrived at her uncle's place. She thought she remembered fragments of a conversation she'd overheard between her mother and uncle as they shared a drink together in the kitchen, talking in hushed tones about ayakashi and whether or not Yasumi should speak to her Aunt Kiriko about staying at the shrine for a while. At some point her uncle had come into the living room, where she was huddled in a corner of the old sofa, and handed her a large cup of herbal tea. He'd asked her if she had any idea why something from the Far Shore might be interested in her, but she was so shaken she couldn't speak, spilling tea all over the saucer with trembling hands.

Sometime after midnight, the adults decided that it was time to turn in, and Uncle Mitsuo went upstairs to fetch blankets and a spare set of pillows.

"I'm gonna call Ane-ue first thing in the morning," he said as he returned to the living room. "There's probably nothing she can do either, but maybe she knows an exorcist or something we can talk to." He set the blankets down on the armchair with a huff and gave his sister a small frown. "You two really should just sleep in our bedroom. I told'ya Tamako's out for the week, so I don't mind roughing it down here for the night."

"We couldn't, Mitsuo-nii-san," Hana declined politely. "We arrived without invitation, so we'll be fine in the living room. Right, Yasumi?"

Yasumi nodded without really listening.

"You're always so damned formal, Hana, just call me Aniki like when we were kids, I don't mind."

"Haha, I slipped up earlier, didn't I?"

"Eh, I prefer it that way."

"But you still call Kuriko-nee-san 'Ane-ue'," Hana teased.

"Ane-ue is Ane-ue," Mitsuo had said stiffly. "I couldn't call her anything else without getting beaten within an inch of my life."

They'd chatted quietly for a while longer before Mitsuo said good night and Hana turned the lights out. Yasumi made her take the couch, and after a few minutes, her mother's breathing evened out. Yasumi remained wide awake, terrified of closing her eyes, wondering if the barrier was really strong enough to keep whatever had followed them out.

It sounded so close, she thought anxiously, rubbing her ear. She could have sworn she'd felt its breath on the side of her face, but that should have been impossible; Yukine had marked out the barrier for her back at her place, and it extended well beyond the house itself. The radius was wide enough to easily cover Mitsuo's house and even a small portion of his neighbors'. There was no way the thing could have come that close to the door.

She turned over, her heart pounding in her throat. Her paranormal encounters were limited, but she knew this was completely different from any of her interactions with Yukine or Yatogami. Even when she'd felt the Yato god's animosity, there had been something oddly frank and open about it, as though he wanted her to know exactly who she was up against and how easily he could take her life. She'd been afraid then too, but it had been a moment of clarity, like looking into the eyes of a predator and knowing exactly how she would die. This was different, subtle. The danger was undefined and mysterious, without a clear motive or target. Yasumi didn't even know what the thing looked like, and she wasn't sure she ever wanted to.

It only occurred to her that she should contact Yukine a while later and she flicked her phone open, half expecting there to be twenty missed calls. There was nothing, however, so she sent him a quick message telling him she was at her Uncle's and his home address, and that she'd had a scare. The minutes ticked by slowly without a reply, past 2 AM and then 3, when at last some fifteen minutes before 4 AM, a text came through, startling her.

"Come outside," it said simply.

Yasumi sat up immediately, caught between the relief that someone was finally there to help and the fear of going out by herself in the middle of the night. She glanced at her mother, sleeping soundly on the sofa, and quietly got to her feet, tugging her sweater on.

She found him sitting directly under the street lamp on the wall outside, watching the house like a sentinel. His conspicuous hair color was hidden under a patterned woolen cap for once, and he wore a thick white parka in place of his usual hoodie. A blue scarf was wound around his neck, but a large, dark bruise was peeking out under it, and he had some long scratches on his face.

"Yo," he said once she'd carefully shut the door and come out to join him. "Glad to see you're still in one piece."

"No thanks to you," she said, but it didn't come out as harshly as she meant it to. "What happened to you? You look like you've been through hell."

"An ayakashi," Yukine said, rubbing his hands together. "A really nasty one, roaming around in Shibuya. It was an urgent job that could have ended in a lot of human deaths, so we had no choice but to take it. You called just as we got there. I didn't have a chance to say much or give you any advice 'cause my stupid master rushed in before I could tell him you were going out without a guard. I had to focus, or he'd have gotten killed without me."

"That's how you got all those scratches?"

"Oh these? Nah, this was me just being careless. I was distracted and had to throw myself out of the way at the last second. I fell off the side of a building, but it was no big deal," he said, shrugging. "It took most of the night but we managed to kill it, eventually. More importantly," he said, crossing his arms imperiously. "What the hell happened here?"

Yasumi told him all about the thing that had followed them, and the unsettling voice she'd heard. He listened quietly, his frown deepening by the second.

"Fuck," he scowled when she finished. "I don't like this. It sounds like it could be a vengeful spirit... but it could also be an enemy shinki or even a god. It didn't attack you though, right?"

"Not as far as my mom could tell. It just followed us, and pointed at me," she said, shuddering.

"You said you didn't see it directly, but you could notice movement out of the corner of your eye...?"

"Yeah," Yasumi nodded grimly. "It's... starting to manifest, isn't it? The Sight."

Yukine sighed and leaned forward onto his hand irritably.

"Seems so. And I think whatever that thing was, it was probably there to test your abilities, or at least how far they'd progressed. I really fucking hope I'm wrong though, cause if it's true, and that thing wasn't just a plain old ayakashi sniffing you out, then that means Heaven knows you're Ame's next host. That would be seriously bad."

She gulped. "What should I do if that happens?" His mouth thinned into a grim line.

"There's nothing you can do. We'll just have to do a better job of watching you until you're strong enough to survive that ceremony safely. It's our job to protect the barrier then too, so it doesn't get attacked while Ame is weak and in the middle of performing the ritual." He gave her a cheeky smile, but she could tell it wasn't genuine. "Don't worry, princess, it'll be okay."

She went rigid at the sound of the word, certain it couldn't be a coincidence.

"Yukine," she asked, anxious. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Calling you what?"

"I've heard you before, calling me 'princess' like it was normal. That's not the sort of nickname you give just anyone."

He went slightly red. "Oh fuck, really? Jeez, I hadn't even noticed I was saying that out loud!" he said, tugging his hat over his eyes. "Man, I feel like an idiot," he laughed, embarrassed. "Sorry, it's kind of dumb."

"What is?"

"Hmm," Yukine said, kicking his feet childishly. "Well, back when we got this job, we didn't know exactly who we were supposed to protect yet. Yato made a dumb joke about how we had to 'protect the princess' or whatever, so we just started saying it too. I guess I didn't notice I was actually calling you that when talking to you. My bad."

Yasumi frowned. "Really? That's all?"

He cocked his head at her, confused. "Well, yeah? You're not an actual princess right? You're not even an ojou-san, so it's just a dumb thing I picked up from my god. Why?"

"... That thing, last night? It called me 'little princess,'" she admitted. "It scared the shit out of me, cause other than you, the only other person who ever called me that... was my dad."


"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK."

Hiyori sighed.

"No matter how many times you say it, it doesn't change the fact that we have to go in at SOME point, Yato. And please, I'm begging you, don't curse like that in front of my parents."

He bounced on the balls of his feet nervously, one hand on the gate and one hand gripping Hiyori's fingers for support. Yukine had made him wear his best outfit, which also happened to be his most regal one; he looked far more like an actual god in his haori and kimono than he ever did in his tracksuit.

"And you better pull your absolute best behavior out of whatever crevice you've stuck it in for the last few hundred years," Yukine had warned as he pulled his master's hair back into a neat tie. "Hiyori's mom is fucking scary; she's not gonna be happy with you no matter what, so at least try not to piss her off more than you have to."

If only Yukine-kun were here too, Hiyori thought desperately, smoothing her clothes for the fiftieth time since she'd gotten dressed. She had complained about the kimono, saying she didn't need to dress up for the occasion, but Yukine wouldn't have it.

"It'll leave a good impression! And since you can't really invite your living relatives to a wedding for you and a guy they can't remember, may as well dress up nice for this instead," he'd said, clearly conflicted between wanting to make Hiyori happy and being annoyed at all the extra trouble Yato had caused.

"We should have made Yukine come after all," Yato groaned, echoing Hiyori's thoughts as he visibly shook in front of the gate. "I know they're gonna forget me pretty fast, but..."

"At least they are going to forget you," she snapped. "I'm the one who's gonna need to deal with the aftermath after all this initial stuff gets sorted out."

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry," he said, looking genuinely upset. "I'd take care of all of it, if I could, but we'll just have to try really hard to leave a strong impression today so even after they forget me, they don't forget our choices."

"You're... not actually gonna introduce yourself as a god to them, are you? Masaomi might have taken it well, but my parents..."

He sunk to the ground, hugging his knees. "Ughhhh, all my instincts absolutely hate it, but I know I gotta do my best here for your sake, Hiyori. That being said..." he sniffled and cried dramatically into his hakama. "I'm a real, live, actual god, damn it all! Why should I have to hide who I am?! When will I get recognized properly?!"

Hiyori sighed with exasperation. "I know you hate it, Yato, but if you keep crying like that you're gonna get your clothes all dirty!"

He stopped crying but remained squatting on the ground, a pathetic expression on his face.

"Hiyoriiiii," he whined, "Comfort meeee!"

"Oh for- GET UP, YOU GOOD-FOR-NOTHING IDIOT!" she shouted, lifting him up roughly by the back of his haori. Sensing a dangerous mood swing, he immediately straightened up.

"Sorry!" he yelped. "Okay...! Okay, we're going," he said, taking a steadying breath with his fist over his heart. He reached for the gate and froze again.

"Yatooooo..."

"... Hiyori... I think I'm gonna faint..." he said, breaking out into a cold sweat.

She rolled her eyes. "You and your dramatics. Here." Hiyori held her hand out and gave him a small smile. "I'm scared too," she said as his (admittedly clammy) fingers interlaced with hers. "But you have me and Yukine-kun, and I'm sure the baby is also cheering for us, so we have to do our best!"

"... I think Yukine might actually be betting against me with Daikoku, to be honest."

"Ah... that's... definitely possible," she said nervously.

Yato set his teeth.

"You... you won't lose your body and leave me to fend for myself, will you?"

"... Yeah, I'll try my best not to."

He nodded, biting his lip. He pushed the gate open and they walked up to the front door, where Hiyori hesitated for a second before pressing the doorbell.

"Because I'm bringing you," she said as he gave her a questioning look. "I don't want to just... waltz in with you and look rude for it."

We have to make the best, most formal impression possible, she reminded herself. It wouldn't be enough to offset the news, but at least it might make things easier in the long run if her parents thought the person responsible for her pregnancy was an honorable guy. They wouldn't remember him specifically, but it would be good if they at least kept the impression that the baby's father wasn't running from his responsibilities.

Yato stood stiffly at attention as she pressed the doorbell again.

The door opened.

"Hiyori? Did you forget your key?" Hiyori's mother appeared in the doorway, pausing for a short second as she forgot Yato and turned toward her daughter. "Oh my! Hiyori! You said there was something important you needed to talk with us about, but you didn't say anything about dressing up for the occasion! You look beautiful, dear!"

"Th-thank you, Mother," she said, blushing. "Uhm... I brought someone with me," she added, and the act of pointing him out made Yato clearly visible to her mother for the first time.

"O-Oh! I'm so sorry, I must have been daydreaming, I apologize for not greeting you...?"

"Y-Yato," he said apprehensively, bowing formally. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am. I p-place myself in your care."

"Ah, yes, likewise," her mother said, looking to Hiyori for an explanation. "I don't believe I've ever heard of this young man, Hiyori. A friend? And you're both dressed so formally-" She suddenly noticed their interlaced hands and her expression immediately became stony.

"M-Mother, this is my... b-boyfriend," Hiyori stammered. "I brought him to meet my parents, and t-to discuss something im-important."

"Boyfriend?" Hiyori heard the flint in her falsely cheery tone and prayed that Yato wouldn't lose his nerve. "I'm sorry dear, I think I misheard you. Did you say boyfriend?"

"Y-yes, I did," she admitted as bravely as she could. "Can... May we come in?"

Her mother gave Yato a once over, her gaze cold and clearly judging everything from his tied up hair and unusual eye color to the quality of his kimono. To his credit, Yato didn't flinch, and only Hiyori recognized the pure panic in the cat-like dilation of his pupils.

"... Very well, come on in," her mother said curtly, holding the door open so they could enter. She watched, hawk-like, as they removed their shoes and placed them neatly in the entrance hall. "This way," she said, leading them to the den, where her father was sitting at a low table with a can of beer, flicking through the newspaper lazily.

"Who was at the door?," he asked as his wife entered, and then he noticed Hiyori. "Hiyori! Wow, you look amazing! Is something special happening that I don't know about?"

His wife cleared her throat. "Dear, Hiyori has brought someone home," she said with clear dislike.

Her father blinked with that same disorientation that always came with acknowledging denizens of the Boundary.

"Oh? Who's this, Hiyori? A senpai?"

"Father, this is..." she began, but Yato suddenly clapped his hands together and fell to his knees, forehead to the tatami.

"Please forgive me for my shockingly bad judgement and indiscretion!" he shouted, panicking. "My name is Yato! I'm Hiyori's... her boyfriend! Because of that... Hiyori is... That is, I..." he struggled for a moment with the formal words and in the end gave up and reverted to informal speech. "I-I got Hiyori pregnant, I'm sorry!"

Her father choked on his beer and her mother gripped the screen door for support, her face white as a sheet. Hiyori had no time to process what had happened, however, because she was overcome by a fit of nausea and had to kneel down, clapping a hand to her mouth.

"Ugh... Yato..." she groaned, and he immediately sat up to support her, all nervousness and shame temporarily forgotten in his rush to help.

"Hiyori, hold on, I've got you!" he said, looking around desperately for something she could use. Both her parents were still frozen in place, and he had no time to ask for something, so he lunged for a bowl of snacks on the floor by the table. "Sorry! I'm borrowing this!" he said, dumping the contents unceremoniously over the floor. He handed the now-empty bowl to Hiyori and sat next to her as she was sick, rubbing her back soothingly until she was done.

"S-sorry," she coughed, breathing hard. "Bad timing..."

"You're fine," he said, seriously. "Don't worry about it." He seemed to have forgotten all about their audience because he took the bowl and hurried out into the hall without an explanation, and a minute later they heard water running in the bathroom.

A tense silence fell over Hiyori and her parents, and she found she didn't have the courage to look up at them. Blushing, she rearranged her kimono and bowed formally.

"I... I'm sorry for disappointing you, Mother, Father," she said, her throat raw. "Yato is telling the truth. As you can see, I-I've gotten pregnant without your blessing; please forgive me!"

Her mother rushed forward and took her by the shoulders.

"Hi...Hiyori! Wha... what in the world are you saying?!" her mother cried, almost pleading. "You're confused, that can't be true!"

"No, I'm not," Hiyori said, gently pushing her away before the shaking motion triggered another wave of nausea. "I took a blood test, I'm definitely carrying Yato's child. All this time I thought I was still sick, but it was just morning sickness and fatigue. I'm about to start my third month."

"T-Tests can be wrong!" her father said angrily. "But more importantly Hiyori, what in the world were you thinking?! I thought I taught you better than this! Why didn't you use contraception?!"

Technically, I'm still a virgin, but it can't be helped, she thought, wincing at the reprimand.

"It's not wrong," she said, trying to stay calm. "I took a second test to make sure. You're right though, Father, I was stupid and a fool, I should have taken precautions before starting a physical relationship-"

"I refuse to believe it!" her mother insisted. "Hiyori isn't the type of girl who would engage in such vulgar behavior! Tell me the truth, Hiyori, did that horrible man force you?! Were you attacked?!"

"What?! No!" Hiyori said, alarmed. "We were dating for a long time before this, Yato would never do that!"

"I'd never do what?"

Everyone flinched and turned to find Yato standing in the doorway, eyes wide and guileless, holding the bowl between his hands.

"Oh, I washed it," he said, thinking they wanted to know where he'd gone. He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I, uh... I hope you don't mind. I'll clean up the mess in here too, of course."

"YOU!" her mother snarled suddenly. He fell back, startled. "This is all your fault! How dare you touch our daughter?! Get out! Get out of our house and never come near us again! I'll report you to the police for sexual assault!" She raised her hand to slap him, hard, but Hiyori threw herself in front of him, arms held out protectively. With a sharp crack, the blow hit her across the face.

"Hiyori!" Yato cried, but she held a hand out, motioning for him to stay back.

"Hi-Hiyori! Move aside, get away from him!"

"Mother, stop it!" Hiyori shouted. "Yato hasn't done anything I didn't want! I'm telling the truth!"

"It's okay, Hiyori, you don't have to be afraid of this disgusting pig ever agai-"

"I SAID THAT'S NOT HOW IT IS!"

Her mother froze, shocked. Hiyori had always been her obedient, well-mannered daughter, a proper girl from a proper family who would never raise a voice against her parents. She'd worked hard to keep appearances up her whole life, even when it went against her real wishes and interests. She'd buried a piece of herself for her parents' comfort, and now it was time to stop playing pretend.

"Curse me, scold me, do whatever you like to me, but I won't let you treat Yato like a criminal," she said angrily, her cheek stinging painfully. "He's a lot of things, but he came here with the intention to take responsibility for his part in something we both decided to do. And just so you know, I... I was the one who pressured him!" she shouted, eyes shut tightly in her embarrassment. "We've been together for almost a year, but he'd never even ki...ki-kissed me! I was insecure, and scared of losing him, so... I made the first move!"

"Hiyori..." Yato began again, but she shook her head, still glaring at her mother.

"I... I love this man, and I've cared about him for a long, long time. He's a stupid, useless, fool sometimes, but he's also earnest, and kind, and he's never once abandoned me when I really needed him. He's a good person, who works really hard for the sake of the people he cares about. I've never regretted loving him. I want to have this child, his child! Please, if you love me, I beg you to respect my feelings about this!"

Her mother faltered, looking as though she'd been the one slapped, and her father slammed his hand down on the table.

"Hiyori, whatever this man means to you is irrelevant," he said firmly. "I'm not so old fashioned that I would interfere in your love life. But this pregnancy is a completely different matter! You can't have a child at your age! You're barely even of age! Raising a child is not a game, you can't just leave when you get bored or overwhelmed."

"I know that," she said firmly. "I also know that I'll have to struggle for opportunities that would have been a matter of course before this."

"Then, for the sake of your future, you should-"

"I never said I was abandoning my future! I still plan to go to college and get a career. Having a child won't make that unattainable, just difficult. I can and will do both," she said firmly.

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?! Children need attention and care, none of which comes free. You'll need to work as well as study and raise that child, and you know full well how difficult it is to find employment as a single mother-"

"That's true," Yato said, remarkably composed despite his earlier panic as he sidestepped Hiyori's arm to act as a buffer between her and her parents. She saw him glance down at her face with concern, and his eyes narrowed with guilt at the welt her mother's wedding ring had left behind. "But she won't be a single mother. I plan to work my ass off for her sake, and if I have to do it with a baby sling around my neck all day I would be honored to do it. I'd marry her in a heartbeat if it would make her life easier and it was what she wanted, but she's turned me down more than once already. Even then, I don't plan to go anywhere without her or my kid."

"Forgive me, Yato-san," her father said coldly, "if I don't find the words of a strange man I've never met, a man who is clearly no more than a boy, and who impregnated my eighteen-year-old daughter, reassuring."

"Whether or not you believe me is pointless," Yato said angrily, his eyes flashing dangerously. "All I care about here is Hiyori. I don't give a fuck if you like me or not. I'm here to show my support for her, so that her wishes get across to you loud and clear. If she wants to have this kid, I suggest you open your fucking ears and listen to what she has to say."

"Now you've done it," Hiyori groaned in an undertone as her father went purple with rage. Yato glanced back at her with a pained sort of smile.

"Sorry," he mouthed.

Too late for that now, she sighed. She tugged the back of his kimono and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder so they stood together as a united front, determined not to back down.

"I want to have this child," Hiyori said again firmly, reassured by Yato's scent and presence. "We talked it over until we came to a decision we could accept together, and this is the choice we made."

Her father, normally so calm and friendly, rose to his feet, shaking in his anger.

"This. This, is nonsense," he snarled, pointing at Yato. "Hiyori is my daughter, and she is too young to have a child. This is not your decision to make! We'll schedule the surgery immediately, and you, boy, will never come near this family aga-"

"Finish that sentence, bastard, I dare you."

Even Hiyori went cold at the pure, condescending malice in Yato's voice. She suppressed a shiver, knowing without needing to see it that he'd flipped on that frightening aura of his, the one he tried to keep hidden and away from her and Yukine when he could.

She knew that even enraged, Yato would never hurt her family, but her parents clearly had no such faith in him. The anger and contempt vanished from their eyes, replaced by pure, primal fear of Yato's murderous gaze. Her mother fell back in her rush to get away from him, and her father looked so frightened that Hiyori feared he might have a heart attack. She tightened her grip on the back of Yato's clothes and she felt him hesitate, just for a second. He didn't speak or look at her, but his hand squeezed her shoulder with gentle pressure to let her know he would lower the intensity, just a little.

"You don't have to tell me that I'm not worthy of Hiyori, 'cause I've known it since I met her," he said, his voice an icy knife cutting through the silence. "I've tried to let her go in the past, but she's the type of person who will go to any lengths once she decides she cares about someone. If she wants to stay with me, nothing, and I mean nothing, will keep me from her. Not Heaven, not Hell, and certainly not you. As long as it's her wish, I will do whatever is within my power to grant it. A god's word is absolute; if you lay a fucking finger on Hiyori or my child without her consent, I guarantee you will regret it.

"And I don't say that lightly, or as a simple threat," he continued, his tone changing slightly. "Hiyori's happiness is my priority, always. If that means I have to help her cut ties with you for the sake of protecting her and our kid, I'm not gonna fucking hesitate. So let me give you some advice before it gets to that point; don't alienate your daughter by forcing your values on her. The damage that kind of betrayal leaves behind will leave scars you can never fully heal. If you push her on this, she will resent you for the rest of her life, and you will regret it for the rest of yours. You have the word of Yatogami himself that I speak the truth."

Hiyori's parents stared up at him in abject horror, as though they'd seen the devil himself.

... So much for not telling them who he really is, Hiyori thought, feeling a headache coming on. Hopefully the aftereffects of forgetting all the details didn't leave too negative of an impression of his role as the father.

She cleared her throat, startling Yato into remembering her. His looked down at her and his eyes immediately softened as he touched her injured cheek lightly.

"You should have let me take the hit, damn it," he said sadly. "It'd be no more than I deserve."

"It's okay," she said, shaking her head. "I couldn't just stand there and let my mother accuse you of something so terrible when this is supposed to be a happy occasion."

He sighed. "Forget that, I don't care."

"I care," she said firmly. She turned to her parents, still angry.

"We've told you everything we came to tell you, Mother. Father," she told them. "We meant to pay our respects and tell you what we'd decided, but I'm sorry it ended up like this. I love you both very much, and I never meant to hurt or disappoint you in any way. I know it's a lot to take in at once, so I didn't expect either of you to understand, but I hoped... I still hope you'll find it in your hearts to forgive and respect that. If you can't... I don't intend to change my mind just to please you. You may be my parents, and I deeply care about and respect you, but this is my child and I can't let anyone hurt it." She glanced at Yato. "Not anyone, not even the gods," she told him, and he nodded with determination.

A slow clapping sound echoed throughout the room and everyone jumped, startled. They turned to find Masaomi leaning against the doorway, wearing a wry smile.

"Well spoken, sis," he said. "Almost as good as the speech I gave when I left home."

"Masaomi-nii-chan?! How long have you been standing there?!"

"Just a couple minutes," he said, glancing at his parents. They were both still struggling to regain their senses.

"It's really about time you stopped forcing your expectations on Hiyori, Mom," he told his mother seriously. "She's always tried her best to be the daughter you wanted. Just because she turned out to be a little more than you bargained for doesn't mean you have the right to trample over her feelings and threaten someone she loves."

His mother flushed with anger.

"Masaomi, how dare you say that?! I've only ever had your and Hiyori's best interests at heart!"

"We know that," he said, nodding. "You and Dad raised us with all the love and care we ever needed, we've never doubted that. But you also told us to always do what we felt was the right thing. If this is what Hiyori wants, then that's what's right for her, isn't it?"

"Masaomi..."

"I can't say I'm not worried about you two," he said, turning towards his sister. "But I guess for now, congratulations are in order. I really didn't want you as my brother-in-law at first, Yato-san, but I'm relieved to see you're going to keep your promise to protect my sister and her wishes. It also doesn't hurt that you clean up well," he grinned.

"Hmph, of course I do, I'm a freakin' god, aren't I?" Yato snapped.

"So you keep saying," Masaomi shrugged. "More importantly, Hiyori, I hope you'll come to me for your ultrasounds and check ups."

"You can count on it," Yato promised as Hiyori blushed and bowed at Masaomi. Yato turned back toward her parents, who immediately paled at the look on his face. "Now that's out of the way, anything else we need to clarify?"

"Not really. But I'm tired, and my head hurts," Hiyori admitted. "I kind of just want to go home and sleep for a while."

Yato took her hand and pressed her knuckles to his lips. "Your wish has been heard loud and clear, Hiyori."

He turned back to her parents and they froze despite the fact that he'd reverted back to his usual personality.

"No need to give me that look," he grumbled, hurt. "I'm not a monster, you know. I'll bring her back tomorrow, so just for tonight I wanna let Hiyori rest at my place. Stress isn't good for her health right now. You don't have to worry about her or anything, she practically lives there already anyway."

"Your place?" Hiyori scoffed, but no one was paying her any mind.

"I don't think Mom and Dad have coherent thoughts yet so, you'd better get out of here before whatever you did wears off," Masaomi noted. pulling a business card out of his pocket. "Just text me your address in case something happens and I've gotta come down to get her, Yato-san."

Yato nodded. "Sure."

"Go get some rest, Hiyori, I'll hold down the fort here," her brother said. "We can have a civilized discussion tomorrow, once they've gotten over the shock."

"Onii-chan..."

"Go, before they get a second wind and start yelling again," he chuckled.

"You don't have to tell me twice," Yato scoffed.

Hiyori bowed slightly to her parents. "I'll be taking my leave, Mother, Father." Yato gave them a tiny, disgruntled nod. He turned toward Hiyori and offered her his hand.

"Sorry," he said again, chagrined. "I messed up big time."

"It's okay, it was probably unavoidable," she sighed.

"Let's go home?"

She took his hand and smiled at his earnest expression. "Yeah. Let's go home to Yukine-kun and the others."


"Your dad?"

She nodded. "He used to call me his little princess." She dug out her phone and showed him an old photograph. "That's from the year he died. I was twelve."

"... I'd say I'm sorry," Yukine said, looking at the photo with a complicated frown. "But since I'm dead too, it feels fake."

"Heh," she chuckled at his candor. "Yeah, no worries."

"As for the princess thing... dads often dote on their daughters, don't they? I doubt it had anything to do with the shit that went down last night," he said thoughtfully.

"Well... maybe," she admitted. "But something about the way that voice said it... it was like they were copying him when he used to tuck me into bed. It really freaked me out."

"Hmm, if I remember right, your dad didn't have any spiritual powers or anything right? The Kobayashi side of the family isn't Sighted?"

"Yeah, he was a normal person, he didn't know anything about Mom's powers or ayakashi."

"Then I wouldn't worry about it," Yukine shrugged. "Probably just a creepy coincidence."

Yasumi leaned back onto the wall, blowing into her hands to warm them up.

"... Hey Yukine, I've been meaning to ask..."

"Hmm? Now what?"

"Do... d'you think my dad might be a Regalia too?"

"...Unlikely," Yukine said slowly, shaking his head. "This area is shared between a few gods and I've never seen a shinki that looks like him. It's not unusual, though," he explained. "Very few souls are ever brought back as Regalia. But even if he were someone's shinki, it would be dangerous to let you two meet."

"What? Why?"

He regarded her with scrutiny, thinking.

"... No, nothing."

"Just tell me already."

"Can't," he said simply. "It's dangerous and against the mandates of Heaven, so."

"That again, huh," Yasumi sighed.

"It's just how it is. I've got things I want to protect too, even if it means I gotta bow down to Heaven," he scowled. They both fell quiet, watching the sky lighten toward the east. "What a night," he sighed tiredly. "It's been a while since I've felt this exhausted."

"You said it," she agreed.

Yukine's phone rang, shattering the early morning silence. Yasumi gave a small jump but he didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah?" he answered, stifling a yawn. "Did something happen?"

Yasumi recognized Yato's voice, but tried her best not to eavesdrop.

"Well did you ask Kiri about it?" Yukine said flatly, clearly annoyed. "I don't flipping know! It's YOUR stupid shrine! Oh for fuck's sake, Yato, don't cry about it! You're supposed to be the adult here, dumbass, you tell me what you should do! ...I'M NOT YOUR GODDAMNED BABYSITTER OR YOUR FUCKIN' HOUSEWIFE, FIGURE IT OUT ON YOUR OWN!" He suddenly slammed the phone shut, fuming to himself.

"... I feel like if I ask, I'll just open a really unsavory can of worms I don't particularly want to go through," Yasumi said.

"Yeah, don't. Just. Don't."

"I hope Ame isn't like that," she sighed. "I'm not sure how I'd feel having to be bonded so someone that high-maintenance."

"Nah, she's not," he assured her. "Besides, you're not going to be her Regalia or anything; she doesn't really interfere in your everyday life."

"Hmm... that's good at least. Still, you've met her, right? What's she like?" she asked, curious.

Yukine thought for a second.

"I've only met with her a handful of times, but her current incarnation is pretty serious," he said. "Works hard, keeps a low profile, tries not to cause trouble. She's earnest. It seems like she changes a little with each host, though. Yato says the human she's paired with influences her personality, so I guess the next Ame might be a bit... trickier," he teased.

"Rude."

"But honest."

"Ass," Yasumi muttered.


By the time they returned to Kofuku's place, Hiyori felt like she'd aged twenty years. All the adrenaline from the confrontation with her parents had worn off, and she'd been sick twice on the way back. Her feet hurt so badly from the chafing of her sandals that Yato had to carry her on his back for the last few blocks. She was mildly thankful that she was too mentally exhausted to lose her body, but she did doze off against Yato's shoulder and woke only when he started carrying her up the stairs of Kofuku's house up to Yukine's loft.

"Mm... Yato?" she asked groggily.

"Oh, you're awake," he said, glancing over his shoulder at her. "I'm just taking you up so you can get some proper sleep."

"Where's...?"

"Yukine went to the store with Daikoku to get ingredients for dinner."

"Was he mad?"

"Er... I didn't really get a chance to report," he said sheepishly.

She gave a soft laugh. "If you say so."

They reached the loft and Yato let her down carefully.

"Feeling better?" he asked, pressing a hand to her forehead so he could check her temperature.

"Just tired," she said. She glanced around the room, looking for her bag of clothes. "Did you see where Yukine-kun put my things?" she asked as he tugged a futon from the pile and spread it out in the corner.

"Your things?" he asked absentmindedly.

"Clothes. I can't sleep comfortably in all these layers," she grimaced. "And I was so sick in them too, even if they didn't get dirty, I feel gross."

"Mm, maybe in the closet," he said, getting up to rummage through their joint possessions. He came up blank. "Maybe Daikoku thought they were dirty and stuck em in the laundry," he said, scratching his head. "I'll go have a look."

"I'll go to the bathroom and get cleaned up then," she told him. He held up a hand of acknowledgement and hopped out the window to have a look at the drying laundry.

A good teeth-brushing and a short bath later, Hiyori returned to the loft to find Yato dozing on the futon in casual clothes, his kimono folded neatly away in a corner. An oversized t-shirt sat on the open space next to him, and Hiyori guessed he hadn't been able to find her bag.

Oh well, she thought, sighing. She changed out of her towel and tugged the shirt over her head. Yato stirred as she sat next to him.

"All done?" he asked, yawning.

"I thought I was the tired one," she grinned.

"Sorry, I looked but I didn't find your stuff," he said as he registered her attire. "That looks cute on you though."

"It's just a t-shirt," she scoffed.

"Actually, it's not," he said seriously. "It's my t-shirt. Which means it's a boyfriend shirt. And that makes you in it very, very nice."

Hiyori frowned. "Now I have the pressing urge to take it off and wear something else."

"Just take it off, that works too," he said. She smacked him.

"Jeez, you're such a creep sometimes."

"Ow! What's wrong with it, huh?! It's okay once in a while, isn't it?!"

"No, it's not! You knocked me up!"

"Hmph, so?"

She cracked her knuckles. "Looks like I really am gonna be a single mother after all."

"EEK, no, wait! I didn't mean it like that!" he said, backpedaling nervously. "I meant, you're already pregnant, so what does it matter now?"

She gave him a look of disbelief.

"I literally just said I was tired and feeling sick, and that's what you're interested in right now?!"

"No, I'm always interested in you," he insisted, as though it were something to be proud of. "But I'm not gonna act on it. You really think I'd push you like that, especially after a day like this one? Give me some credit, Hiyori."

She stared at him suspiciously and he pointedly avoided her eyes, blushing.

"... Okay... Maybe I kinda, sorta, wanted to see you in my clothes for once," he muttered. "I wasn't gonna do anything."

Hiyori sighed. "Forget it. Here," she said, gesturing for him to scoot over. "As long as you promise not to feel me up, I don't care. I just wanna sleep." She crawled in next to him.

"Uhm, does hugging count as feeling you up, or...?"

She opened one eye and regarded him quietly, weighing her annoyance against her potential comfort.

"... Hugs are ok," she said grudgingly and Yato wasted no time in gathering her against his chest with a contented sigh.

"Hiyori..."

"What?" she asked, settling into the curve of his arm.

"You smell so nice," he murmured into her hair, and she blushed despite herself. He really didn't need to know just how often she thought that exact same thing about him.

Notes: Ugh excuse me while I burn all 60000 drafts of this chapter in the dumpster. I'm still not totally happy with it but that can be a problem for Tomorrow Hadi.