A/N: Three years late. Yup. Life's a bit different now, and so may be my writing style, but let's save the sob story for later. Read on.

Chapter 8: To No End

For Yukine, it was an ordinary day, aside from the fact that he was supposed to return to Hiyori's house after school, instead of to his own home. She had given him the keys to his house, and he had free reign, except for when her brother would be back.

Yukine had been avoiding Yato ever since their fallout, which had been surprisingly easy to do. All he'd had to do was sprint out of school as soon as the bell rang, and run home as fast as his legs would take him, because Yato was slow and it took him over an hour to return home most days. Even through the inner city Tokyo traffic, he managed to make it to his apartment within ten minutes.

Yukine had told his mother that he would be staying at a friend's house to cram for a few days, and unsurprisingly, his mother had taken him for his word. Whether it was because she was glad that he was actually making an effort to study, or simply because she trusted him enough, he wasn't sure. He knew he couldn't keep this up forever, though.

Still, Yato's irritating behavior continued to drive Yukine to avoid him after school. Today was no exception. Yukine was supposed to meet with Hiyori at the front gates of the high school, where she had told him they would walk home together.

As Yukine headed down the sidewalk towards the front of the school gates, threading through the groups of students chatting as they walked home, he fidgeted with the strap of his backpack. With the stress of having to steer clear of his friend for so long, it felt as though an elephant was sitting on his lungs.

"No, Yama, let go of me!"

The familiar feminine cry stopped Yukine in his tracks. Around the bend of the concrete wall that he was hiding behind, he could hear a conversation- well, more so a verbal, and slightly physical brawl- that tore him from his thoughts. He peeked around the corner, and his eyes widened. A girl with short, brown hair was tugging on Hiyori's sleeve, while the latter struggled in her grasp.

"I am not coming with you on your date!" Hiyori cried.

"Listen to me! It doesn't have to be a date!" Yama insisted, placing her hands on Hiyori's shoulders and giving her a firm stare. "Just think of it as a- friendly outing! Nothing more!"

"What?" Hiyori asked, locked in Yama's surprisingly strong hold. "A friendly outing? But it's a date! You said so!"

"Y'know, sometimes you gotta help out a friend," Yama scolded, putting a hand on her hip. She narrowed her eyes at Hiyori. "Ami didn't want to come, so I'm giving you the privilege," Yama flipped her hair, "Of coming on a date with me!"

Hiyori frowned, folding her arms over her chest. "I never said I wanted to go on a date, Yama. Besides, weren't you trying to set me up with- with Kogami-san? What happened to that?"

"That was because-"

Yukine staggered backwards, away from Hiyori's prying eyes. Did Hiyori just say she tried to get her friend to set her up with Yato?, he thought, dumbfounded. Did Hiyori like Yato that way?

"Just, come with me, Hiyori," Yama began to lead Hiyori away from where Yukine was standing, dragging her along as she kept up her excited banter. "You'll see this guy's not so bad! You really do need to get some boy action! It's already the second week of high school!"

Yukine scratched his head and peeked around the corner to see the girls' disappearing forms one last time before he turned around the corner again. His heart was pounding. Hiyori was supposed to tutor him, so he wasn't sure whether to contact her or to wait for her to finish. Their tutoring sessions were usually an hour of chatting and snacking before they officially started, after all.

Yukine sighed, leaning against the wall again. Wind swept through the street, bristling leaves on the lush trees surrounding the school grounds, and a few locks of his hair. He didn't want to get involved in any kind of dating drama. He turned around, ready to make his way around the corner, when suddenly, he knocked into a wall. No, it was a person's body.

Yato's body.

Yukine's eyes widened as he met Yato's equally stunned expression, which quickly morphed into one of pinched annoyance.

"Yato-"

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going to keep avoiding me," Yato observed, raising his chin.

Yukine took a step back, harrumphing. He folded his arms over his chest, puffing out a long-held breath. "You got a problem with that?"

Without hesitation, Yato answered with a simple, "No." He dismissed Yukine's question with a wave. "Honestly, I don't really care."

Yukine flinched at Yato's flippant answer. So he's just brushing off our friendship like that, huh, Yukine mulled, deepening the glare he was aiming at his once, best friend. Maybe, just maybe, he could use the information he had just heard against Yato. It just might be slightly entertaining.

He would test Yato one more time, to see if his venomous idea would be made into reality. "So, you really don't care about our friendship, huh?"

Yukine knew he was being overdramatic; he did. He held his breath, staring at Yato's distracted gaze.

"Do what you want."

Yato turned away from him. He muttered a few quiet words to himself, and started to walk away.

And finally, Yukine felt something toxic, something poisonous, snap inside of him. Snapping at the unfairness of his panic attacks, at the fights he was always having with Yato, at his mother for not understanding him, at his memories, at his past. It all came like a burst of an avalanche.

"You're not even that helpful for my amnesia, anyways," Yukine spat. His eyes burned, and his heart pounded, and he couldn't bring himself to look up at the back of Yato's head. "And Hiyori's going on a date, so you don't even matter that much to her either. You're such a f-freaking liar."

Yato stopped in his tracks. His shoulders froze. For a few, tense seconds, Yato said nothing. Even the previous sounds of chatter from leaving students had left their surroundings, leaving them with the few, distant honks of passing cars.

"I know," Yato growled, tightening his grip on his own jacket.

Yukine's eyebrows rose in surprise. He couldn't say anything else. His mouth was stuck; glued shut, like a doll's. He couldn't say anything. Anything, to retract what he'd said.

Yato began to walk away, and the wind picked up again, blowing through the leaves. It seemed unfair, really; the calmness of the breeze, with the weight of the words Yukine had just shouted.

It all really was unfair.

"Damn it," Yukine spat, again, glaring at the cracks in the concrete sidewalk. Damn it, damn it, damn it. His anger came like a wave, overwhelming his rationality. He took a step back, and then another, his fists white and clenched tight.

He glanced around; no one was nearby. No passerby or strangers to see. He stepped back, heading towards the front entrance of the school, keeping his head low but his eyes on a nervous prowl.

When Yukine had reached a cluster of trees and bushes near the inner walls of the school grounds, he bit his inner cheek. He didn't care if this wasn't good for him, or his health. He didn't care, he repeated in his mind, as he reached into his pack and grabbed a lighter, and a small, white box.

He didn't care, because he was mad at Yato for being a dick, and Hiyori for trying to help him, and school for having so many god damn assignments, and at his own life.

He lit the cigarette, and brought it to his lips.

He didn't care anymore.

"Yama, you have to tell me what's going on," Hiyori complained, trailing behind her bustling friend. "I have tutoring with Yukine-kun! I can't just leave him!"

"Uh," Yama turned around, making sure to not bump into any strangers on the crowded city street. "Well, think of it as a quick test run. If you need to leave, pretend like you got a text message and say your brother needs you. Trust me, that one always works, and I'll handle it from there."

"What?!" Hiyori cried, taking a step back. She narrowed her eyes. "Yama, I never even agreed to this, let alone on a day where I'm already busy-"

"Oh, trust me- I know boys well," Yama chided, rolling her eyes. "They really are simple creatures. Brother's business? Oh, yessiree, you can do whatever you'd like, miss, here's the reigns-"

"That's not even what I mean!" Hiyori opened her mouth, then closed it, gulping like a fish. She couldn't seem to find the right words to respond. "I didn't even want to go on a date, in the first place! I don't understand why you're so insistent!"

"Oh, please," Yama scoffed, patting Hiyori on the back. "Honey, you are too modest. It's the second week of high school. If you don't have a boyfriend by now, you're practically failing socially."

"A boyfriend?!" Hiyori retorted. She readjusted the strap of her satchel, trying to make sure it didn't slip off with the fast pace of Yama's long legs. "Yama, we're different people, with very different priorities, and-"

"Oh, here we are!" Yama exclaimed, stopping so quickly Hiyori crashed headfirst into her friend's shoulder. Gazing up, it was a locally popular ramen store. Signs advertising new miso ramen flavors fluttered in the air like markers of their final destination. Yama sang as she pulled Hiyori's hand along. "All right, time to head to the bathroom to do makeup!"

Hiyori continued to protest as she was brought along into the store, seated, then ushered with Yama into the bathroom. It was relatively nice, with scented sticks in small glass vases and flowers to provide a comforting environment. It reminded Hiyori of her mother's favorite rose perfume.

"Oh, perfect," Yama breathed, smiling. "We'll be perfectly ready for our dates! We won't even need perfume. They're coming in fifteen minutes, so that saves us some time."

Hiyori knit her brows, cocking her head as she stared at her own reflection in the mirror. She was still entirely unsure of how she ended up at the ramen store, away from her school, not walking home with Yukine for tutoring.

"I really do need this to go quickly, Yama," Hiyori said, as she watched with wide eyes as Yama pulled out a large case that clacked and made a number of small metallic noises as it hit the fake granite counter. "Um, that's…"

"Yep! Make up!" Yama cheered, pulling out several sticks at a time, murmuring to herself as she looked at the labels of some, then gazing at Hiyori's face for a few moments, then shaking her head and returning a few sticks into the bag. Hiyori bit her lip, watching Yama make a small mountain of about twenty sticks of make-up on the counter. "You're gonna look hot as hell, Hiyori."

"Yama, I'm really not sure about this-"

"Oh, don't you worry," Yama chided, swirling open a stick of mascara. "Just close your eyes, hon, and let it happen. Trust me, you won't even recognize yourself."

It was only through several of Hiyori's protests, Yama's chiding, then Yama's insistence that Hiyori calm down and stop blinking her eyes so much- I mean really, was it really so difficult to keep her eyes closed?- that Yama finished the scratching at and tickling of Hiyori's face.

"Okay, you can look at yourself in the mirror, now," Yama spoke, turning Hiyori's shoulders around for her. "And here… you are!"

"Oh my god!" Hiyori gasped. She blinked.

And blinked, again.

Her eyelashes were like the fur on a puffy black cat's mane, and her cheeks were a rosy red that made her look as if she were constantly blushing. Her lips were a glossy, light pink, and her eyelids had a dark, purple shadow, matching her irises. Her nose seemed somehow… smaller? And, her hair even seemed glossier.

"Oh my god," Hiyori repeated, blinking again. "Yama, I look nothing like myself."

"Oh please," Yama chided, working on her own mascara with an open-mouthed, strange expression Hiyori had never seen before. "You look stunning, hon."

"I mean," Hiyori said, "I don't look bad, but I don't look like myself!" She combed through her now model-straight hair, and turned her head from side to side. "I look… good, but this really does not look like me…"

Yama applied the finishing touches of her blue eyeshadow, which happened to be a lot less subtle than Hiyori's, and glanced over at Hiyori in the mirror and smiled. "Just let it happen, Hiyori. Life is about experiences." She put the brush down. "If you don't like it, you don't need to come back to this guy! It's just a fun thing. Plus," Yama smirked, "There just may be other guys who are better for you, anyway."

Hiyori's brows furrowed. "What?"

Yama gasped- it seemed a bit forced to Hiyori- as she glanced at the time on her phone. "Oh no! They're going to be here, already! Come on, let's head out!"

"Yama, what did you mean by-"

In moments, Yama had packed up her make-up, prepped the last bit of her make-up, and grasped the door handle of the bathroom. "Come on," Yama said. "Let's go! Put a smile on that face."

Hiyori forced a smile to come, nodding.

They exited the bathroom doors, re-entering the restaurant. As they headed towards their seat, Yama squealed. Hiyori jumped, until she followed Yama's gaze, where she was running over towards two boys their age at the entrance of the restaurant.

Hiyori blinked. So it was them. One was dark haired, with matching dark eyes, and the other was brown-haired, with rounded blue eyes that seemed to smile without effort.

"Oh my gosh! Hello! Nice to meet you!" Yama rushed with all smiles. "I'm Akira Yamashita, call me Yama-chan," she winked, "And this is Iki Hiyori, my friend! Just call her Hiyori-chan." The two boys nodded, glancing back and forth at Hiyori and Yama with polite smiles.

Noticing that they all had ended up staring at Hiyori, she jumped. "Oh, and I'm Iki Hiyori," she followed, glancing at Yama for confirmation. Her friend nodded, and she went on. "Nice to meet you two."

"I'm Ichi Shinou," the first, dark-haired boy said with a shy smile. "Nice to meet you guys."

"And I'm Shigeru Kinomoto," the blue-eyed boy said, staring at Hiyori in a way that made her more aware of the awkward, tight feeling in the muscles in her cheeks. "It's nice to meet you guys as well."

"Well, well, let's sit down," Yama said, waving them along towards their table. It was a square table, with a seat on each side, and Yama made a point of moving her stuff over to the seat across from Hiyori, so that they'd both have to share their next door seat with one of the boys. "So, how's everything going with you two?"

"Good, good," Kinomoto said, smiling at Hiyori in that way again that made her feel warm inside, but an uncomfortable warm, like a heater that was on too high. "By the way, you two do look beautiful today. We didn't know it'd be such a fancy get-together."

Yama laughed. Hiyori forced one. "Oh, please," Yama waved her hand again, that Hiyori was beginning to believe was a way Yama's wrist simply moved when she laughed. "It was nothing. Hiyori was just so excited! She loves anonymous dating."

All heads turned towards Hiyori again, and she forced a large smile. "What? Oh," she realized she had been staring at Yama's hand in order to take her mind away. "Yes, I was! Excited…"

The dark-haired boy, Shinou, seemed to catch onto her awkward drift, and politely brought the attention to himself. "Well, let's order some food to eat," he said, and everyone followed, opening their menus.

The meal went dreadfully slowly, at least for Hiyori. What may have been thirty minutes, or an hour, she couldn't be too sure, were going by like hours during her worst periods in school. Many times, it became clear that she wasn't so invested in the conversation as Yama was, though she tried to maintain polite face and keep things up if attention fell on her. What had also become quite obvious was Shinou's interest in Yama, and Kinomoto's attention in herself. The ramen she had ordered seemed to disappear much slowly than ramen seemed to when she ate them for dinner at home.

Besides, she couldn't stop worrying about tutoring Yukine, and his tension with Yato, and his bruises. 'His job,' Yukine and Yato had said, but she still couldn't quite understand what kind of job would warrant physical assault. It simply didn't make any-

"-yori? Hiyori-chan?" A hand was waved before her face, and Hiyori blinked, noticing three pairs of eyes on her.

"Huh?" Hiyori glanced around the table at everyone.

"Get too caught up in your food?" The guy, Kinomoto, asked with a grin that made her want to eat her food even less. "I asked you a question."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Hiyori stuttered. "What was, um, it?"

"I was wondering if you and Yama-chan wanted to meet up with Shinou and I again," Kinomoto smiled around at the table, during which Hiyori took as an opportunity to give a panicked look to Yama. She frowned quickly to Hiyori before melting it into a smile for Kinomoto's gaze. "This was quite a lot of fun. Maybe we could meet at one of our houses for a movie night."

Hiyori gave a forced nod, tittering awkwardly. She grasped the napkin on her lap. "Um, maybe," Hiyori started. "School's starting, and I think Yama-chan and I are getting a bit busy with schoolwork…"

"Well, maybe once the schoolwork passes, then we can-"

"Hiyori! I forgot!" Yama jumped up from her chair, nearly slapping Kinomoto in the face in the process with her schoolbag. "We have tutoring for the twin boys! I can't believe we forgot!"

Yama nodded ferociously at Hiyori's confused gaze as their two companions looked back and forth between the two of them. "O-Oh, right," Hiyori nodded, feeling her face get warm. "Um, yeah, right, that was at four P.M.! I can't believe we forgot!"

"Yeah, exactly," Yama sighed, cleaning up her dishes and bowing in thanks to Shinou, then Kinomoto. "I'm so sorry for the early leave, but I'm afraid we'll have to depart. It was so much fun! I'll text you guys later!"

Hiyori was surprised to find herself being pulled by Yama's hand out of the store to a bewildered looking Kinomoto and a slightly less bewildered, seemingly understanding Shinou as they ran out of the ramen place. As they exited the restaurant's sliding doors onto the busy city streets and blended with the crowd, it was only after a few seconds of their fast-paced walk that Yama's harsh yanking on Hiyori's hand stopped. Hiyori stood up, panting.

"Wow, that was awful, Hiyori!" Yama exclaimed, glancing behind them to make sure the boys weren't behind them. "You looked miserable! I mean, you could've pretended to enjoy it, at least!"

"I told you it'd be awful!" Hiyori retorted, face hot. "I didn't even want to go in the first place. I didn't even agree to go!"

"Well, I'm sorry for wanting to give you some required life experiences," Yama pouted, glancing off to the distance.

Hiyori sighed, catching her breath. She took in a deep breath— her nose twisting slightly at the smelly city air— and willed herself to calm down. "It's okay, Yama-chan," Hiyori gave a small smile. "I know you had good intentions. Don't worry, just… please make sure to let me know ahead of time?"

Yama grinned, shoulders falling. "Thank you, Hiyori! You're so great," she smiled even wider. "And plus, I remembered you had tutoring, right! We didn't even fully lie to them!" Hiyori rolled her eyes, to which Yama took the bait. "Well, I- I wanted to get you out of there as fast as possible-"

"I said it's okay, Yama-chan," Hiyori sighed again, patting her friend's shoulder. "Let's just make sure something like this doesn't happen again."

"Okay, okay," Yama breathed, staring intently at the ground as they walked. "Cool, Hiyori. You're the best. Well, I gotta go. Good luck at tutoring for that wild child, and hopefully this date made you realize a thing or two!"

"Huh, Yama, what do you-!" Hiyori called off, sighing once again as she heard Yama's cackling laughter disappear into the distance. What was Yama even talking about? She itched her chin, pulling out her cell phone with her other hand to check the time. At least it was still twenty minutes before four P.M.; she'd have some time before heading home to tutor Yukine, which was a strange thought to have.

She pulled up her contact information for Yukine, sending him a message to remind him to get ready, and to apologize for not being able to see him home.

Hiyori: Hey, Yukine-kun! I'm sorry, I got caught up with a friend right after school, but I'll be home to tutor you at 4! See you!

She smiled, and put her phone back. It was time to head home.

A/N:

Hey all. So, this hasn't been updated in three years… sigh. Luckily, I'm a college student, and luckily, it's the summer starting in a few days, so I'll be able to work on this fic as long as personal projects and work don't get too chaotic.

For the short version of what happened to this fic; I kind of disappeared into the Haikyuu realm of anime, and I lost interest in writing this for a long time. A week or two ago, I remembered writing this fic, and that I hadn't finished it; so I went back and read it, and was decently surprised at my writing skills from high school. Then, I went back and rewatched all of Noragami in two days, and now I'm writing this fic again. Yay! I won't be active on Tumblr, but I will be on here and AO3. Also, by the way, thank you for all your reviews; they were part of what motivated me to start writing again :)

I'll actually begin porting this fic over to my AO3 account soon. My AO3 account will be in my profile.