4: SLAIN BY DISREGARD, Part 2

Yato returned in a foul mood, but Hiyori's sweet concern made him feel a little better.

"Yato! What happened out there?" she asked as he zapped into the house behind the shop.

"Did he attack you again? Where is he?" Yukine asked warily.

"I told him what he wanted to know and ditched him," Yato said simply. He headed to the fridge and grabbed a beer, ignoring Daikoku's threatening stare. Slumping down by the kotatsu with Kofuku, he popped the beer open and took a long drink.

"You're not worried that he's gonna try something? Seriously?" Yukine asked, incredulous.

"Whatever. If he becomes a problem again we'll just shut him down, like we did before," Yato scoffed. Hiyori and Yukine exchanged a worried look, but Yato paid it no mind. Either way, Rabou would likely be dead again soon enough, probably. Kofuku offered him a rice cracker and he gratefully took it (she insisted on feeding it to him).

Eventually, Hiyori left to go home, Yukine went back to his chores, and Yato enjoyed a few minutes of blissful silence. Still, he kept mulling over his little chat with Rabou. Even though he didn't want to admit it, he was a little bit curious about a few things— namely, how Rabou had reincarnated to begin with, and why he kept remembering scraps from the past. Neither of those things should've been possible. Of course, he didn't care enough to actually find out; he was fine with leaving it a mystery.

And he couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen to the old bastard. He'd die without followers, that was a given, but he wondered if Rabou would take up the sword and try carving out a name for himself once more. It would be even harder now than it had been five hundred years ago; human nature hadn't really changed that much, but human society had. People generally tried to restrain their more violent impulses. Praying for retribution from what basically amounted to a divine assassin had fallen out of style. Rabou was in for a bad time if he tried to go back to their old way of life, that much was certain. Not that it was Yato's problem.

Footsteps pounded up the sidewalk out in front of the shop, and then-

"Yato!" Rabou shouted, bursting in. Yato spat out a mouthful of beer and swore really, really loudly.

"I already answered your damn questions! Just go away already!" Yato hollered, slamming his beer can down on the kotatsu's tabletop. Yukine bounded in behind Rabou, fists clenched and clearly ready to throw down. Kofuku paused with a rice cracker halfway into her mouth, looking back and forth between them in anticipation; Daikoku hovered behind her.

Rabou stood there, wild eyed and breathing unevenly, and Yato was just about ready to summon Sekki and finish this once and for all… but then Rabou dropped to his knees and bowed low, forehead pressed to the floor.

"I know you've found another way to exist," he said. "Please, I beg of you… show me how to survive!"

Yato froze, gaping at him. He really hadn't been expecting that. He grabbed his beer and drained it in one chug— he was gonna need it.

"What the hell do you think I'm gonna tell you?" he asked icily, standing up and cautiously walking towards Rabou.

"You've changed your ways. You told me that you've given up the sword," Rabou said desperately. "Tell me how it is that you still exist! There must be some way!"

"I didn't say I gave up the sword," Yato remarked self-consciously. He still cut up ayakashi, after all. But he was keenly aware of Yukine standing behind Rabou, trying to catch his eye. There was stuff that Yukine didn't know yet. If Rabou kept talking, this conversation was gonna get awkward.

"Please, if there is a way that I might survive, tell me!" Rabou urged, looking up pleadingly at him. Yato took a step back, startled by the frantic look in his yellow eyes. Rabou was actually being sincere. He had never been a very good liar; he had always been far too theatrical for that kind of subtlety.

"L-look, I'm barely getting by, myself," Yato protested. "I'm flat broke—"

"And a mooch," Daikoku added from across the room.

"Oi!" Yato yelped, shooting him with a wounded glare. Indignantly, he turned back to Rabou and said, "Even if I told you, what makes you think it'd actually work for you, huh?"

"Allow me to try," Rabou begged, pressing his forehead to the floor again. Yato sputtered, scrambling for some response. Of course, the truth was that Yato had his own personal cheat code, but it wasn't exactly something that could help Rabou. Even if Yato told him everything, it wasn't like Rabou could share his "cheat code". He crossed his arms tightly over his chest, scowling.

"Honestly, I can't even think of a good reason why I should help you. I'm a very busy kami, you know? Just trying to get customers is a full-time job!" Yato huffed. He ignored Daikoku's derisive snort. "I don't have time to be your damn senpai."

"Senpai?" Rabou echoed, lifting his head and furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"Never mind," Yato muttered.

"If you have so little time, then let me be of use to you!" Rabou insisted. "Tell me what you require of me and I'll lend you my assistance! By aiding you, I might draw my own meaning from this world and teach myself how to survive." Behind Rabou, Yukine scowled and clenched his fists.

"Yato doesn't need any help from you!" Yukine spat angrily. "Hey, Yato, c'mon! Let's just put an end to this already!"

Yato didn't answer.

"Hey, Yato-chan, are you okay?" Kofuku asked, voice quavering slightly. Of course, even if he said no, it wasn't like she could really step in and help him. Given her shinki's powers, she had a tendency to make bad situations worse.

Yato narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Rabou carefully. He knew exactly what kind of desperation Rabou was feeling. That fear of fading away, that terror of being forgotten… yeah, he knew that. It wasn't fun, struggling to exist and knowing that your own survival wasn't really within your control. To have your fate in the hands of others who didn't even know the power they held over you…

"Yato!" Yukine shouted insistently.

"Hey, Yukine. Don't let your anger get out of hand, now," Yato cautioned him quietly. Yukine sputtered, taken aback, then lowered his clenched fists. Yato couldn't blame the kid for his look of surprise; Yato could hardly believe what he was about to say, himself.

A kami's actions were always just… that was what he'd told Hiyori. That was what he'd always said. Kami weren't bound by human morality. So, really, he probably wouldn't be in the wrong for letting Rabou die. And he kind of deserved it… but it was the old incarnation who'd done all that shit. This one seemed genuinely scared and confused.

Not that it was Yato's problem either way, but… it might be kind of nice to have someone around who got it. Someone who understood that fear. Someone who knew at least a little of what he'd been through. Kofuku was sympathetic to his problems but it wasn't like she had the same problems as he did. Standing there, seeing another kami feel what he felt… it made him think that it might be good to have another ally on his side.

Yato groaned, pressing his knuckles to his temple, then stomped over and stood over Rabou, arms crossed. This was the second time that day that he'd rejected an opportunity to boot this asshole out of his life for good, and he was already kicking himself for being too damn nice.

"Oi, get up," Yato told him. "Quit groveling, you're embarrassing yourself."

Rabou jerked his head up, sat back on his heels, stared at Yato with wide eyes. "Yato…"

"Don't. Look, we're gonna have to get started quickly here," Yato said curtly. Behind him, he heard Kofuku squeal and clap in excitement at this new twist. "First things first, we're gonna get you cleaned up. You really stink." Rabou blinked at him in confusion, then ducked his head and sniffed his own sleeve.

Yato deposited Rabou into the upstairs bathroom with a terse explanation of what to use and how to use it, then popped off to pay a visit to his regular stomping grounds, the good ol' charity dumpster. It'd served well enough for Yukine's clothes (and his own, if he was being honest), so it'd suffice for Rabou's clothes too. He rummaged around till he'd found a few things that looked like they'd fit, then zapped back to Kofuku's place.

When he got there, he found Yukine leaning against the wall opposite the bathroom door, arms crossed and scowling. Kofuku hovered nearby, looking back and forth between Yukine and the door with the eager expression of someone waiting for some juicy drama to happen. Daikoku stood behind her, doing an arms-crossed-and-scowling combo that looked remarkably similar to Yukine's— or maybe it was the other way around, Yato reflected.

"What's this, is the internet down? You all bored?" Yato quipped, mustering a smirk. Yukine jumped, startled, his face going red, and then he quickly settled back into his stance.

"J-just… wanted to make sure he didn't start anything while you were gone," Yukine grumbled, dropping his chin to his chest sulkily.

"Welcome back, Yato-chan!" Kofuku chimed. "Nothing's happened, really, he's just been in there."

"If something had happened, this place'd be a crater with ayakashi streaming out," Yato teased, tugging her earlobe lightly. She whined and pouted, but got over it fast.

"Hey, Yato-chan, he doesn't seem all that scary," she pointed out.

"Yeah, well, the old incarnation was," Yato grumbled. "I don't know who the hell this new one is."

"Neither does he, from the sounds of it," Daikoku remarked.

Yato frowned, then turned and eyeballed the bathroom door. He wondered how Rabou was faring against the mysteries of indoor plumbing. Edging closer, he heard shuffling footsteps, the spray of running water— followed by a wet skidding sound and a heavy thump.

Yukine cocked his head, eyebrows raised. "Do you think he just… fell on his ass?"

"Someone ought to go and check, I don't want anyone getting blood all over our bathroom," Daikoku grunted. Yato could feel all their eyes turn to him.

"Why should I have to?!" he sputtered, wheeling on them.

"Well, he is your f—" Kofuku started.

"Do not say friend," Yato said through gritted teeth. He was definitely taking another beer or two from the fridge before the night was over, he didn't care how much Daikoku might complain. He felt he deserved it.

Still, they couldn't leave Rabou in there forever. Yato rapped his knuckles on the door.

"You doing okay in there? Did you figure out how to use everything?" he called. The door started to slide open and Yato swore, grabbing the edge of it and forcing it shut again. "Oi, don't come out here if you're naked!" he protested.

"When may I leave this room, then?" Rabou asked, muffled. "I bathed myself and cleansed my hair, as you told me to."

"Did you dry off, too?" Yato asked, feeling like a damn babysitter.

"Yes," came the reply. Nodding to himself, Yato opened the door just enough to pass the bundle of clothes through. After a second, he felt Rabou lift the bundle from his hand.

"Put these clothes on, and then you can come back out here," Yato told him. "That's your first lesson in modern living. It's called decency."

"That's a laugh coming from you," Daikoku commented.

"Whose side are you on, Daikoku?!" Yato whined. Kofuku giggled. Yukine, though, was still just scowling at the bathroom door. Yato took note of it; he didn't feel any stinging, but he did wonder what was going on in his boy's head.

Yato was surprised at how quickly the door slid open again; he'd been expecting Rabou to wrestle with the enigma of 21st century clothing for like an hour, but it was barely fifteen minutes later when the door opened. In fact, it was such a short time that he whirled around, fully prepared to slam the door shut again to shield his shinki's delicate eternal-preteen eyes.

But instead, Rabou stood in the doorway fully clothed. Rabou examined the sleeves of the sweatshirt that Yato had found for him, tugging at the stretchy cuffs. Yato had to admit, he felt he'd done a pretty good job of choosing an outfit that was almost (but not quite) as stylish as his own. He'd dug up a white tank top, a black and white hoodie with a red-lined hood, black cargo pants... and some clunky, sturdy, outdoorsy brown leather hiking sandals. Yato smirked to himself. The sandals didn't match the rest, but Yato had to get his revenge somehow, didn't he?

"Ah, Rabou-chan looks so modern now!" Kofuku exclaimed, clapping delightedly.

"Rabou-chan?!" Yato echoed in horror. Had she really been that quick to accept this asshole? "Daikoku, aren't you concerned by that?"

Daikoku frowned, but he just shrugged and took a drag on his cigarette. "My lady makes her own judgements on who to trust," he grunted. "She took to you quickly enough, remember?"

Yato opened his mouth to protest again, then shut it grudgingly. That was true. Besides, he knew that Kofuku was friends with Bishamon and called her Bisha, too (even if it was a somewhat one-sided friendship). And Kofuku had still threatened to deluge "Bisha" with Storms if she'd tried to hurt Yato, friendship notwithstanding. Mollified by the thought, he sighed resignedly and turned back to Rabou, who was looking back and forth between them in confusion.

"C'mon, let's go downstairs. We've gotta discuss a few things," he said, beckoning for Rabou to follow. A few minutes later, they were all seated around the kotatsu downstairs. Daikoku had reluctantly provided some snacks for all of them at Kofuku's insistence.

A minute or two ticked by awkwardly while Yato grappled with how to begin this conversation. Rabou took a sip from the tea that Daikoku had brewed, and his eyes widened in amazement. He took another quick taste of it, then took a rice cracker from the plate in the middle of the table and bit into it.

"Have you had anything to eat or drink since you, uh, reincarnated?" Daikoku asked, observing the haste with which Rabou inhaled the cracker and reached for another.

"I have not," Rabou told him. "These are delicious. Thank you for this, and the tea."

"Oh. Uh… you're welcome," Daikoku replied, eyebrows rising with surprise. He puffed on his cigarette, then added, "Guess you must be pretty hungry, then. Rice crackers aren't gonna cut it." He stood up and went back to the shop, coming back with a bowl of oden, and slid it and a pair of chopsticks over to Rabou. Yato gawked, hardly able to believe his own eyes.

"What is this?" Rabou asked, leaning down to sniff the aroma appreciatively.

"It's the house specialty," Daikoku said, a hint of pride in his tone. Rabou lifted the bowl and took a taste of the broth. He froze, eyes going wide again, and slowly set the bowl down.

"This is… this is wonderful," he said, and he actually almost sounded choked up. "Thank you!" He grabbed the chopsticks and began to devour the oden. Yato stared, processing this for a few seconds.

"Oi, Daikoku! You've never offered me oden!" Yato protested as the situation sank in.

"Try being polite and thanking me once in a while like he did," Daikoku shot back. Yato grumbled and slouched down.

But then, as he was sitting there sulking— at last, his phone rang! He sprang to his feet, aglow with enthusiasm, helpfulness… and the promise of imminent money.

"Fast, reliable, and affordable! Delivery Kami Yato, at your service!" he announced. He listened dutifully to the caller on the other end; another urgent last-minute cleaning request, a young man's parents would be dropping by his new apartment for a visit and he, with his grueling work schedule, was too tired to whip the place into shape. Pretty standard, very easy… and a perfect introduction to the delivery kami lifestyle for a certain useless idiot.

"What's this, now?" Rabou asked curiously, setting the empty oden bowl down.

"The sweet sound of a new customer with five yen," Yato told him. "You wanna know how you can survive in this world? Get up and come with me, you're about to see for yourself."

The young man who opened the door to them looked just as rattled and fatigued as he'd sounded on the phone.

"Oh, good!" he sighed in relief. Then he noticed Rabou and said, "Ah, I didn't think I'd get two cleaners."

"This is my apprentice! His name is Rabou," Yato proclaimed grandly without missing a beat. "Twice as many hands means that your place will be spotlessly clean in half the time! Let's get started right away, shall we?"

"Ah, of course! This way, please," the man said, ushering them inside. The place was definitely a mess; there were clothes scattered here and there, boxes still waiting to be unpacked, dishes piled up in the sink. Yato hated to admit it, but he was kind of glad to have an extra set of hands along— he had his work cut out for him on this one.

Yato shooed the man away after he'd shown them around the place, telling him to go take a nap. The young man gratefully accepted that offer, shuffling off and collapsing facedown onto the couch. Right away, Yato led Rabou to a bathroom and left him there for a minute while he went to fetch the cleaning supplies.

"Here you go!" Yato said gleefully, dumping the supplies on the floor. "Your first task: clean this bathroom."

"And how am I to do that?" Rabou asked, staring around the bathroom in puzzlement.

"With these!" Yato said, gesturing to the cleaning products. "Listen up, because I'm gonna tell you what to do— but after that, you're on your own. It'll be up to you to remember everything and put the pieces together." He smirked, figuring that this probably wasn't what Rabou had been imagining when he'd offered to assist Yato.

But Rabou just nodded firmly, clenching his fists. "I'm ready to begin, tell me what I must do," he said, lifting his chin resolutely.

Yato raised his eyebrows in surprise, but time was of the essence so he shrugged it off and briefly explained what needed to be done. With that, he advised Rabou to work quickly and left him to it, then went off to clean the kitchen. He'd come back in a while and see what his "apprentice" had accomplished.

With Yato gone, Rabou turned and surveyed the bathroom, reviewing what Yato had told him. There was much to be done, so all he had to do was choose a starting point. Kneeling down, he began rummaging through the heap of cleaning supplies and sorting them out. This was the task he'd been given, and he was going to see it through. He knew he had to prove himself worthy of this chance— his survival depended on it.

When Yato returned later, Rabou held out an arm to stop him from entering the bathroom.

"Take care, the floor is slippery. I've just used the mop that you gave me," Rabou cautioned as he examined the freshly-cleaned floor with a critical eye.

"Oh? You did, huh?" Yato asked skeptically. "Let me see."

Rabou edged to the side to let Yato peer into the room. Yato stepped past him, pushing his outstretched arm aside, and studied the work he'd done. Rabou looked over the room, trying to see if he'd missed anything that Yato might notice. He'd worked as swiftly as he could, as per Yato's instructions, but he had no idea what standard he was expected to match; as such, he'd settled for scrubbing everything in the bathroom as vigorously and rapidly as he possibly could.

"…Pretty good, for a first try," Yato admitted, though there was no mistaking the grudging tone with which he said it. He turned, saying, "C'mon, there's more to do."

But something on the floor caught Rabou's eye and he grabbed Yato's sleeve, stopping him in his tracks.

"Yato…" he said gravely. He'd just noticed something alarming, something that offended him on a strangely personal level. He couldn't even fully explain why it perturbed him so, but it felt like a slap in the face. Yato glanced back over his shoulder at him, and Rabou pointed at the tiles. "You've brought dirt onto my clean floor."

Two hours later, Yato roused the young man from his nap. His eyes went wide when he saw the apartment, and Rabou was equally as amazed at the difference that their work had wrought: the place looked larger, somehow, and seemed brighter even though the sun had set and the light streaming in from outside had faded.

"Wow, it looks amazing!" the young man gushed. "You guys did a great job! Here, it was five yen, right?" He dug into his pocket and dug out two glinting coins, holding them out with a broad smile.

Yato took one coin and flipped it into the air, then caught it and held it up with a grin. "May our fates intertwine! Call on me again whenever you need help," he proclaimed.

Rabou, following Yato's example, took the other coin. It sat in the palm of his hand and gleamed in the light from overhead. This, too, felt so familiar. It made him think of the shrine he had left behind in the mountains.

They left the apartment building with the sky darkening overhead. As they walked, Rabou felt cold eyes watching him, and a prickling chill on his skin. He suppressed a shudder and Yato glanced over at him.

"Yeah, you felt it too, huh? There's ayakashi nearby," Yato commented.

"Ayakashi? Are they the creatures that watch from the shadows?" Rabou asked. He could almost hear the things hissing from the dark corners beyond the street lamps, as if in response to their attention.

"That's them. The ones that lurk around and go 'smells good!'," Yato agreed. "That's the other thing you need to learn: ayakashi are spirits that feed off the negative energies of humans—"

"Is that not what we do, as kami of calamity?" Rabou asked, arching his eyebrows.

"N-no! Don't interrupt," Yato protested, recoiling. "Look, these things have the ability to possess humans and feed off their emotions: fear, envy, anger, sadness. They thrive on corrupting human souls… and they'll do the same to us if we're not careful."

"Oh? These things corrupt kami as well as humans? I hadn't realized that we were so fragile," Rabou remarked, folding his arms over his chest. "Our very survival relies on the beliefs of our human followers, and these lurking spirits can destroy us— we're quite vulnerable, it seems."

"Don't get me wrong here, we're immortal and we have powers far beyond human abilities…but there's plenty of shit out there that can kill us," Yato warned. "Immortal doesn't mean invincible."

They walked in silence for a few minutes, and then Yato spoke again.

"You weren't entirely wrong, you know," he added suddenly. "In the eyes of most other kami, we're not that much different from an ayakashi, you and I."

"Because we answer to the base desires of humanity," Rabou remarked.

"Yeah. Humans can't change their nature, but they've tried to advance as a whole. They try to suppress those base desires now. They don't usually go around asking kami of calamity to do their dirty work for them anymore. And even if they get desperate enough to ask… well, it's not like they need people killed every damn day."

"And that is why I faded away, all those ages ago? That is why you struggle to survive now?" Rabou asked. "If that's so, then I must ask you one more question: do you believe, as my past self did, that it is our fate to be slain by disregard?" He found himself almost holding his breath as he waited for the answer.

"Nah. It just means we can't be kami of calamity anymore," Yato said, shoving his hands into his pockets and shrugging.

"Then, if not kami of calamity, what are we? What must we become?" Rabou prompted.

Yato turned to him and flashed a grin. "Isn't it obvious?" he jibed. Drawing his five-yen coin from his pocket, he flipped it into the air and held it up so that it glinted in the lamp light. "We're delivery kami!"

This might actually be the most cliched ending to a chapter I've ever written, but I don't care, I like it and I enjoyed writing it. I hope you guys liked it too! Next chapter: Awkwardness Part II, featuring Rabou and Hiyori. Boy is she gonna be surprised, LMAO. Our boy Rabou has a long way to go still. His next task: earning forgiveness.

Have you seen the movie The Road to El Dorado? If you have, please consider the following:

Yato: Rabou and Yato!

Rabou: Yato and Rabou! Mighty and powerful...

Both: GODS.

Hiyori, behind them: Hello!

Both: [High pitched screaming]

That is all, thank you.