Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Noragami.

Genre

: Romance/Drama

Pairing

: Yato x Kagome (Slight Yukine)

Summary

: A whispered wish to a God she didn't think existed. Yato never thought that he would come across an unattached priestess and certainly not the embodiment of the Shikon no Tama.

Unattached

Part II

x . . . . x

Kagome hesitated for just a moment at the window and he looked back at her, his sky colored eyes glowing. She tightened her hand on his and then she was jumping right behind him.

.

"Wow~ these grounds are really big. I didn't realize such a shrine existed so deep in the city!" Yato spoke, guiding her through the dark and into the trees that surrounded the main house. "You have kept them purified as well!"

Being pulled behind him, she was able to take him in more fully while he prattled on about his observations. A track suit, boots, and scarf. Only slightly taller than herself, she was surprised that he was a God. He really didn't seem like much but she never underestimated Gods and she could feel his divinity pressing against her aura. His hand was loosely holding hers, allowing her to pull away if she wanted to but honestly with her severed bonds she wanted nothing more than to get closer.

Yato stopped in front of her so suddenly that she was surprised and bumped into his back. He turned and steadied her with a smile that she was sure was brighter than the sun. She found her own lips turning up despite herself, "This is as good a spot as any. I just needed you away from the house. Don't want to damage anything, yeah?"

Kagome cleared her throat, looking away shyly, "I was born under Amaterasu's blessing - " he whistled there, impressed to hear that. " - so I don't know what this entails." Being born under the blessing of a God was a big deal and she knew that but it also meant that she had always been in her care and never without and for the first fifteen years it wasn't as though she was even aware of who she was or her power.

His hand patted the top of her head, "Don't worry, kid, I'll guide you through it. Binding a priestess is a little different from binding a shinki, especially since you're alive." His hand fell and cupped her chin, forcing her to look at him. "I'll tie your life to mine, you know that, right?"

She blinked and shook her head, "I didn't."

He grunted, "Yeah, well it's that or die."

She thought of her family asleep at the shrine. She could leave them now, leave them hurting. She knew her mother wouldn't recover from it and her brother who adored her would hurt for a long time. On the other hand she could watch them grow old and pass, watch her brothers children and their children and she would be the only one to hurt - become an eternal guardian. Was that selfish though?

She didn't realize she had spoken aloud until Yato asked her quietly, "Is wanting to live selfish?" There was something dark in his eyes, a want - a need - and she could see old pain passing along his pretty features.

Kagome sighed and leaned into his hand, weary and broken, "No. I suppose it isn't." She nodded firmly, "Anything else I need to know?"

He grinned, "That's the biggest!" he paused, before tentatively offering, "I can tell you about me?"

She pushed herself into his arms and shook her head, taking in his scent and his warmth. She should have brought a jacket but for now, he would do, "Mmm, after? You can tell me after."

His fingers teased her ebony tresses, "Wouldn't you rather know what kind of God I am before?"

"Are you a good God?"

"I try to be." he answered honestly.

"Then that's all that matters." She pulled away and looked at him, "Because as a priestess, if you were bad. I could kill a God if needed and I'd take myself with you."

A bark of laughter peeled into the night and he wiped an eye, "Yeah, I suppose that's you guys do, huh?" he released a breath as he smiled, "Alright then; let's do this!"

She was unsure what to expect at first and then it happened at once. Any seals that he had on his power were released and his divinity flooded the forest. Breath catching, he steadied her before she fell as her knees nearly buckled. Tears flooded her eyes unbidden as she felt her tattered bonds start to remake themselves.

He pressed his nose to hers as he pushed his power through her, her aura reaching out to meet his. His presence combed through her, touching her abused soul and smoothing over the harsh edges, the spots where the bonds had been forcefully broken. He was second by second remaking her soul with pieces of his. Kagome gasped as her aura entangled in his divinity. She could feel the bonds starting to tie one by one and his voice filled the night, strong and steady.

"Never again will you worry, never again will you fear. Always will you be loved and cherished." The tears in her eyes slid down her cheeks, and though his eyes were closed, she could see shimmer of tears on his lashes, "With my life will you always be protected. I hereby bind your life to mine, fill your soul with my ties, and take you as my priestess."

As the last word left his lips, she could feel the final ties clasp together and her power suddenly coalesced around them before exploding outward in a blaze of pink fire. His divinity rose in response and tamed her aura, pressing down gently and coaxing her into relaxing. When she did, he opened his eyes and they were a piercing blue that made her squirm. She could barely hear him above the tangled roar of their auras but his voice was low as he murmured, "And now to seal it with a kiss."

She didn't expect the lack of hesitation she felt, honestly she felt complete for the first time since she had returned to her adventures. Kagome tilted her head up just as he hooked a finger under her chin. Their eyes met for a moment and pain flickered across his features, "I'm sorry."

His lips pressed against hers gently and she wondered what he could be apologizing for and then it happened.

Scattered memories, snippets of a 1000 years slid into her head. Emotions that weren't hers overflowed. She almost pulled away but under the blood and the tears of enemies and innocents was a warmth. She could feel herself moving toward that warmth, a small fire in a sea of cold pain. When she reached the small burning fire, she held the embers of the flame to her chest and felt herself sobbing into his kiss.

Because despite hundreds and hundreds of years of survival and pain there was still something beautiful and kind and warm in his soul. A piece that laughed and valued others and life, a piece that wanted to be something else. Anything else other than a harbinger of death and destruction.

'I'll protect this piece… and nurture it.' Kagome found herself thinking. Because if this God could take in a broken and troublesome thing like her, just to give her a chance at life… she could take that burden and make it easier.

As his life poured into her, he kissed her gently, his hands cupping her cheeks while her life poured into him. What felt like forever passed in only a few minutes. When they came up from the depths of one anothers memories, they were on their knees, lips still pressed together. When the bond sealed Kagome felt lighter than she had felt in months, the sorrow plaguing her chased away by Yato's warmth. They parted for just a moment and Kagome chased his lips, her fingers unzipping his jacket.

Her senses were on fire and his lips tasted like heaven.

She could feel the ties between them pulsating gently and she found that she had never felt so full. Making a sound low in her throat when his hands touched her waist, she moved closer, chasing his heat. Yato kissed her fully then, his tongue entangling with hers and she couldn't seem to get enough of him. In between kisses she murmured, "What - the - hell - is - happening?"

He tore his lips from her and forcefully held her back, he gave a shuttered sigh and his eyes were glowing icy blue with a slit pupil, "Ahh - haha, that's the bond." He was working on getting his breathing under control, "It - uh, well it happens?" When he felt she wasn't going to jump him, he sat back on the ground, her body encircled by his legs, "It's a very intimate exchange, memories, emotions, and the binding of souls. But I'm not sure why we're being affected so strongly."

Kagome laughed as she settled between his thighs, her head on his stomach, almost unsettled by how much she didn't care with where she was laying, "I met Amaterasu a few times and it didn't feel like that."

He brushed his fingers through her hair, "Being born under the blessing of a God and willingly selecting a God to play patron to are completely different things with separate rules. The emotions are different. You serve me, I take care of you and your needs. That's how it works."

The itch under her skin was slowly fading into a contented warmth and his hand soothing down her hair was making her sleepy, "That sounds dirty."

He chuckled as he answered honestly, "Yeah, well… it can be."

As she began to drift off to sleep she murmured, "So you're basically saying I don't need anyone else but you."

"Exactly." she yawned again and he shushed her, "Go to sleep, Kagome… we'll talk in the morning. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Promise?"

The hint of fear in her voice made him pause, "Yeah, kid… I promise."

When she fell asleep, he laid in the grass, a hand tossed over his eyes as tears slid along his cheeks.

A priestess, a true priestess, and not just any priestess either but it was the Shikon priestess that accepted him as her Patron God. His lips were trembling and he couldn't help but pull her closer to make her comfortable. Kagome shifted in her sleep but she just curled deeper against his stomach, her fingers flexing and grasping his clothing. He could feel the ties that bound them burning in his soul snuggled right next to Yukine's. A blessed vessel and a priestess… he never thought that he would be so lucky.

Yato reflected on her memories.

Such pain.

A quest for a jewel. People left behind. Soul ripped apart from the far shore.

She had encountered so much death.

And it stained her heart and soul like a brand.

"In your quest… countless have died. Too many to count. As such, the price for such atrocities committed is separation. When you die, as the embodiment of the Shikon it will disappear with you."

"B-but this was preordained! This is the path that had been laid out before me!"

"Nonetheless, you are the final tie in this story. A tie that must be cut."

Then she was screaming, screaming, her body on fire while her soul was ripped apart.

The need to sleep and eat, the need to do anything wiped away while she awaited death.

She prayed to many Gods but none would come to her aid, none would answer her calls.

And she wasted away until…

"I just want to be happy again."

"Your wish had been heard loud and clear." Yato spoke as the night began to fade to day. "I'll make you happy, I swear."

Because there was no one else for her.

Just him and Yukine.

Yukine...

He was going to be surprised when he came in with Kagome and so would everyone else for that matter.

Yato looked down at the bundle slumbering on his stomach and he grinned, "They'll all be so jealous of my pretty little priestess!" He was so happy that he wanted to snatch her up and cuddle her to his chest, never to let her go.

But he refrained, allowing her to rest, content in knowing that he had the rest of forever to spend with her.

.

He was watching her when she woke up and she didn't know whether to find that endearing or creepy. In knowing what she did about his past, it made sense. He was probably scared that she would disappear if he took his eyes off her. They were on their sides, facing one another and she was using his jacket as a blanket. Their hands were clasped between them and she sighed in content.

"That was the best sleep I have had in awhile." she whispered into the quiet of the morning. There were birds singing and the sun had not fully made its way over the treetops. She closed her eyes and her aura moved forward timidly to touch his. She heard him sigh and then he was playfully pushing his aura through hers, entangling her as deeply as he could without touching her. "I think I love you."

Yato choked before he laughed, a bright sound that was joyous and made her smile, "That's just the binding talking. Taking in a living priestess is… well, it's everything." The sincerity in his voice made her giddy for reasons she couldn't place. His joy faded and he had to ask her, had to know - "Did you see it all?"

Kagome hummed in response, "I did." Lips curling down, her hand tightened on his. "It was an awfully lonely life, wasn't it? Lonely and painful. Over one thousand years of just surviving." When he didn't answer she thought about what she had seen in his memories. The blood that had soaked his hands all in the vein of not being forgotten.

Had she been anyone else, she probably would have held a hint of fear… but she had been in the warring states era. Travelled through time and done her fair share of killing. If anything it only strengthened whatever bond they held.

He would protect her, was protecting her by simply taking her in.

And that was more than enough for her.

"It's okay, Yato… I won't go anywhere. A little blood doesn't bother me." Her eyes opened and she scooted her body closer to his, wrapping her body around him. She was brushing her fingers through his hair, soothing away the shadows that darkened his features. "I'm here for you as long as you'll have me."

"Yeah well…" though his cheeks were burning from her affection, he looked away, "... that won't happen anytime soon." He sat up and released a breath that he didn't realize he was holding. "You ready to meet Yukine?"

A pulse of excitement shot through the bond and as she jumped to her feet, "The boy from your memories? Everything is a little jumbled but I remember him!"

"I'm glad! You'll like him and I'm sure he'll like you too!"

Her hopeful smile made him ache in it's sincerity, "I really hope so!"

She offered a hand to him and Yato took it with all the confidence in the world that things would be okay.

.

Yukine huffed as he stared in on a bag of chips.

Yato had gone missing in the middle of night and it was already lunch time.

Would it kill him to let him know where he was going?

"I wouldn't get all bent out of shape, kid." Daikoku spoke as he began washing dishes.

Yukine's brows furrowed, "I'm not bent out of shape! I just - I worry! How does he expect me to protect him if I'm not there!"

Daikoku shrugged, "Maybe he just needed some air. I'm sure he'll be back soon. You know how he is, here one second and gone the next."

The younger male grumbled and bit his next chip harder than needed. He just wanted to do good for Yato. Was that too much to ask? He wanted to be the best Exemplar he could be but he couldn't do it if the God was missing.

His ears perked as he heard voices, Yato's and a young woman's voice - a voice that didn't belong to Hiyori.

" - will love you!"

There was a small sigh and he heard, "Are you sure my traditional robes are okay?"

"Absolutely! I want everyone to know you're my priestess!"

Priestess?

Daikoku stopped washing dishes and met Yukine's gaze with wide eyes. Yukine was about to ask him what the problem was but Yato and a young woman turned the corner. Their hands were entangled and she was looking at Yato with a crimson staining her cheeks and cerulean hues glistening in embarrassment. His lips parted in disbelief and Yukine gave a look of confusion as a light pink dusted his cheeks at the beautiful girl not much older than him.

Yato looked into the kitchen and waved at Yukine, bouncing toward him and dragging the girl behind him, "Yukine! You won't believe what happened! I have a priestess now!"

Daikoku choked and Yukine gaped, "You have a what?"

Yato stood proudly and gently pushed the girl in front of him, "I have successfully attached a miko to myself!" The girl looked at him and she was smiling, giving him a little wave that made his heart skip. "This is Kagome! She is probably the single most powerful priestess in existence today!" He slung an arm around her and instead of pushing it off like Yukine had expected her to, she instead turned into Yato and curled deeper. "Isn't she just the cutest?"

Kagome spoke and she ducked her head, "I'm not an animal."

He pressed on as though he hadn't heard her, "Kagome... this is my most precious Blessed Vessel Yukine!"

At his praise, Yukine couldn't help but smile as he gave a short bow, "I-I uh, I'm Yukine."

Kofuku walked in with a yawn and stopped when she saw the priestess standing in her kitchen. "What's going on?"

"Yato has found himself a priestess."

No later than the words left his mouth did Kofuku dive toward Yato with a cry, tears of happiness forming burning paths down her cheeks, "Oh Yatty! That's so great!"

Yato caught the other God in his arms while they comically cried together leaving Yukine to wonder, "What's the big deal?"

Daikoku walked up to the priestess and shinki with a smile, "It means Yato won't disappear. Shinki can become priestesses like Tenjin's but to have a living priestess willingly tie herself to a God? It's the living that keeps Gods alive after all." He stepped forward and bowed to the younger girl, "I am Daikoku."

Another smile and bow, "My name is Kagome, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"The name sounds really familiar but I don't think we've met."

Kagome stayed silent and Yato pulled away from Kofuku, "Actually… about that. Well, Kagome here is the Shikon no Tama."

Daikoku was grabbing Kofuku into his arms away from the duo, his expression dark, "As in Amaterasu's Shikon no Tama? Amaterasu's Kagome?"

Yato scowled, "My Kagome now."

Kofuku looked at the priestess who had cast her eyes downward, "I'm sure we're fine, Daikoku. Yatty's here! Plus this is sacred ground!"

Daikoku growled, his grip tightening, "Yeah but it's my job to protect you and with her around, who knows what will come knocking at our door!"

Yukine spoke up, going to Yatos' side, while the young dark haired woman flinched, "I don't know what's going on but can't you see you're hurting her feelings, Daikoku?"

Daikoku glowered at the younger shinki, "You'll know what I mean soon if you don't already - that girl is bad juju, man."

"I'll leave. I'm sorry to have troubled anyone!" With a bow she was turning to run out the door but Yato gripped her arm gently.

"You're no trouble, Kagome. Daikoku is just being overly protective and that's okay!" Kofuku nodded her curly pink head and Yato smiled broadly, "See? Even Kofuku says you can stay and she's the boss!" He led her to the table and motioned for her to take a seat. Yukine followed while Daikoku grumbled and started to make tea.

"Welcome, 'Gome! I'm sure we'll have lotsa fun getting to know each other!" Kofuku reached across the table and touched the back of her hand with a smile, "Afterall, with you around that means Yatty won't be forgotten and for that I'm super happy!"

Tentatively, Kagome smiled, "Yes, I'm sure we will."

Yukine for his part was still confused and questioned his master with a frown and his arms crossed over his chest, "Okay will you explain to me what the hell is going on now?"

Yato moved between shinki and priestess and brought them into each arm, "Ah, yes!" Yato's eyes were sparkling with happiness, "I have the best Blessed Vessel and such a powerful priestess now!" Yukine blushed as he was pressed to Kagome and Yato released them both, but kept his hand on Kagome's head. "Kagome has agreed to become my priestess, Yukine. It is a symbol of status among Gods. To have a living priestess means that I won't be forgotten... she will pray at my shrine and keep me going when it's rough. Miko are sometimes taken as consorts, other times they are warriors, or they tend to the day to day duties at a shrine."

"Consorts?" Yukine cried as he slapped his hands on the table.

Yato rolled his eyes, "Is that all you heard, kid?" Yato snorted and then furrowed his brows looking to Kofuku."Actually about that… we seem to have a… strong physical connection. Do you know why?"

Kofuku looked at Yato and Kagome, her eyes narrowed as he began to pick through their auras, looking for the ties that bound them together, "Mm… honestly? When a priestess comes to pledge herself, it is a high honor among humans to provide for a God but it is also our job to offer protection, clothing, shelter, sustenance and even pleasure." Her eyes narrowed and Yukine made a choked sound, "I've never taken a priestess but touch is supposed to keep the ties strong and let's be real, Yatty! There really isn't much you can offer a priestess except your blade or yourself."

Yato huffed and nodded his head, "Yeah, I know that."

The Poverty God tsked playfully, "And she accepted anyway?"

"Well she's sitting here ain't she?" Yato scowled, lips curling, "Does it fade in time or what?"

Daikoku came with tea and settled a cup in front of each person, "I'm surprised it's that strong. Maybe it's because she had her ties severed?" He looked at Kagome and starred until she squirmed, "You were born under the blessing of Amaterasu, right?" When she nodded he looked between the God and his newly acquired priestess, "She's never been without a blessing or her God and to have them cut so swiftly must have been bad. Poor analogy incoming but she's probably like a dog starved for touch."

"Actually, that makes sense." Kagome piped up, "I know what my duties are. I've heard the stories of Gods whisking away priestesses with promises of wealth, pleasure, protection, whatever it is they wanted but the connection and want to be with him is very strong." She looked at Yato who was merely grinning at her and she couldn't stop her stomach from flip flopping. "Objectively, he is very pretty but I've been around pretty youkai and never wanted to press my face into their necks and just sniff."

At that Yato burned crimson, "Oh. Is that what you feel?"

Embarrassed, she nodded, "Yeah, I do." Their eyes met and her voice was earnest, "But then again I saw you, all of you and so it's like I've known you forever and this desire to be with you is just there. It seems as natural as breathing."

"That's just Yato." Yukine spoke, surprising everyone. "Once I accepted my role as Yato's shinki… my need to serve was just there. He makes me mad and irritates me but I don't want to leave his side, I want to do better for him."

With little tears, Yato reached for Yukine, "Ahh~ Yukineeee. I don't deserve you!"

As Yukine blushed, he grumbled but didn't move away, "Yeah you don't."

When Yato reached for Kagome, she came to him without question and wrapped her arms around the two, her head pressed to his chest and Yukine pressed to hers. Tentatively the boy wrapped his arms around them, still a little confused and a little warm but he was… happy. He still wanted to know why Daikoku was so concerned about the other girl but she was pretty and seemed nice and she wanted to take care of the lazy God he called Master. Was there anything more that he could ask for?

Watching from the kitchen table, Daikoku couldn't help but sniffle, "They look so happy. I really hope they don't get screwed by Amaterasu."

Kofuku shushed him with her hands waving in his face, "Don't say her name again. I don't want her to hear just in case."

But she was thinking the same.

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This turned into a MONSTER. I appreciate all your reviews and am doing my best to respond to everyone as they leave them. Thank you for your continued support. Let me know what you think?