Disclaimer: No profit is being made whatsoever for this fanfic since Noragami belongs to Adachitoka. If I had it my way, I would own Yato, Yukine and Hiyori.
A/N: I apologize again for the short chapter (there wasn't much to review and it was really late). I promise that this one will be longer and more eventful!
StrawberryAngel96: Thank you so much. Even though it was short, I am glad you reviewed and followed. I'm currently reading the manga right now and I'm thinking about buying copies myself when I have the time (I don't have a lot since I'm going for a degree in Mechanical Engineering).
Guest: I begun to read Noragami the other day thanks to the link you sent me (mangafox sucks these days so that's why I wanted another good website). As for the anime following the manga, that's not entirely true; the manga is much better than the anime.
KukikoHana: I watched it last week within two days (it should've taken me a day but I have my studies) and got behind with my Calculus II homework. Am I bad for saying that I don't regret it lol?
I'm really happy that I'm making a Yatori fanfic too. I haven't been this obsessed with a pairing since SouMaka (I haven't even written a fanfic on them albeit that's coming soon). I'm happy you love Noragami and Pokemon!
Miss Jackson Grayson-Barton: Thank you for the follow!
FeudalEraArcher: Thank you for the follow!
HaruRyu: Thank you for the follow!
Hatsune Miyu: Thank you for favoriting/following this story!
A/N: I have been reading the Noragami manga; I barely passed the moment where Yukine had to undergo an absolution/excommunication - and I have to admit that the sight of it was grotesque (not to mention that I was enjoying a nice cup of orange juice lol). I'm glad that part is over xD
A/N: In all honesty, I think I may need a beta writer.
A/N: If you drop reviews, please make sure that they're receptive or provide feedback. For constructive criticism, expound on what could be improved in a polite manner. Flamers will not be tolerated. I think that's everything so on to the next chapter.
Iki Hiyori, at first glance, appeared to be demure as a result of her upbringing. She looked like your average first-year high school student that stood within a small clique. Hiyori tried to come off as prim and proper, though that demeanor was out of character for the real Iki Hiyori. That side of Hiyori was prone to slipping out when she was with Yato, Yukine, Kofuku or anyone that wasn't from the Near Shore.
The school bell reverberated throughout the halls, and Hiyori snapped herself out of her reverie. Instinctively, she pinched herself in order to ensure that she was attached to her earthly body. She vividly remembered the time when Yato hijacked her body and posed as her for an entire day - a day she didn't like to think about.
As she stored her notebook, textbook and binder into her backpack, Hiyori cast her gaze on the wavery window that she had sat close to. Peering at her was a girl, about fifteen, with long dark brown hair and doe eyes the color of pink sapphires. Her reflection was mirroring the movements Hiyori was making.
Hiyori duly noted that Ami and Yama were not in the same hour as her at the moment when she had finished gearing up. Unless they have club meetings, Ami and Yama will be waiting at the gates for me.
Slinging her pack over her shoulder, Hiyori sauntered over to the crowd of departing students. As she managed to sandwich herself between two of her classmates, her instructor - a bespectacled blonde woman with chocolaty eyes - reminded her students to review chapters one and two from the Philosophy textbook. That seemed normal and simple enough.
Hiyori wanted to resume the life of a normal teenager and worry about doing homework assignments and receiving excellent marks. However, her friendships with Yukine and Yato made her feel alive.
No . . . alive was too colorless a word. Hiyori felt as light as air and weightless when she was with her friends. However, Hiyori had noticed a subtle difference of emotions regarding Yukine and Yato. When she was with Yukine, Hiyori desired to nurture the Regalia and guide him on the right path, even though Yato was pretty much covering that part. Besides, Yukine was a dear friend to Hiyori . . . a friend she had almost forgotten, much to her dismay.
As Hiyori evaluated her feelings for Yato, a third-year middle schooler approached her tentatively, looking bashful. If it weren't for the passerby navigating the cream-colored corridor and ignoring her, Hiyori would've felt embarrassed.
Hiyori smiled invitingly. By doing so, she hoped to relieve some tension from the boy. Thankfully he got the message and walked over to her; his visage slightly red.
"Manabu, right?" Hiyori said cordially, attempting to break the ice whilst keeping the conversation as formal as possible.
The teen named Ogiwara Manabu nodded almost imperceptibly. "I wanted to talk to you for a while," he admitted, dropping his glassed eyes to the tiled floor; beads of sweat were developing on his forehead, which became shiny and lustrous to the naked eye. "You're surrounded by your friends so -"
Hiyori pecked her lips to her enclosed palm, trying to keep a straight face. For some bizarre reason, Hiyori could see the humorous side to Manabu's plight. Even so, it wouldn't be nice to make fun of Manabu. "Well," Hiyori paused, separating palm from lips, "if Yama and Ami don't show up in a few, do you want to - you know - talk about what's bothering you over lunch?"
Manabu's eyes glowed; his countenance was merry. "That'd be great!" he exclaimed.
Hiyori received a phone call from Yama: Yama had volleyball practice so she was unable to walk home with Hiyori. Ami had came personally to inform Hiyori that she had to attend a meeting at the Newspaper Club.
That was how Hiyori and Manabu ended up walking together.
Catalyst
Chapter 2: Chagrin
By anime logic, Yato managed to conceal the bottle within his jersey jacket. He recognized the teenager with Hiyori all right - it was a previous customer of his named Ogiwara Manabu. He had struck Yato as the sort of human who could not understand the concepts of the Near and Far Shore so it was only natural that Ogiwara had forgotten Yato and bended the events into his version of reality.
Why Hiyori? Yato's chest tightened; his insides felt as if they were being subjected to conflagration. Instead of Yato, it was Hiyori who relinquished her switchblades to Ogiwara and offered him advice. That teenager thought it was okay to - to talk to Hiyori now!
Yato had a strong, intense impulse to tear Ogiwara limb by limb. How dare he addressed Hiyori so casually? Just the mere thought of that struck Yato like a serious case of whiplashes. His hands acted as if they had their own minds: they were opening and closing like sakura buds. Reason was tossed from Yato's mind, replaced by an overwhelming surge of wrath.
"Jersey," Yukine began.
Yato stormed past him as if he had never spoken, grimacing. Whatever Ogiwara had in mind, Yato didn't intend to allow him to go through with it. If the heavens thought that this was amusing, Yato heavily disagreed. Ever since they killed Ebisu mercilessly, Yato had lost all respect for the higher ups and fostered an irrevocable hatred for almost all of them.
When Hiyori beamed at Ogiwara, Yato felt half-elated, half-upset. That sweet smile was supposed to be reserved for Yukine and he. "Thank you for bringing me to lunch," Hiyori thanked her kouhai. "I had a wonderful time."
Yato turned to Yukine. "Did you hear that, Yukine?" Yato said shrilly, wringing his hands. "Hiyori had fun without us!"
"So?" Yukine said dismissively.
Yato grasped Yukine by the shoulders and joggled him. "What do you mean, so?" he demanded. "If she starts hanging out with Ogiwara, she'll forget about us!"
Yukine glared at the minor god. "Talk about the pot calling the kettle black," he said coolly. "You left us for a month recently, remember?"
The brute force of Yukine's words struck the raven-haired deity at home. While he was immobile, Yukine threw Yato's hands off his shoulders. Loathe as he was to admit it, Yukine raised a valid point: No matter how Yato looked at it, he was being hypocritical. What right did he have to stop Hiyori leaving them when he himself left Yukine and Hiyori for four weeks without contact?
Even so, Yato had to marshal a counterargument. "Those are two completely different situations!" he protested. "Hiyori is able to forget about us, but we can't forget about her!"
"It'll happen - wait, Jersey! Where are you taking me?" Yukine demanded; Yato had grabbed Yukine's wrist and was steering him toward where Hiyori and Ogiwara were. "You've got to be kidding me!"
Yato knew that Hiyori had some sort of way to seek him out, meaning that she might sense Yukine and he were nearby. Yato pirouetted about, searching for a place where he could keep Hiyori and Ogiwara in sight. Once he found somewhere suitable, Yato released Yukine and stationed himself against one of the walls, Yukine flanking his side.
"Iki-senpai," Manabu said softly. "I've been wanting to say this for a while."
At that moment, Hiyori sniffed a scent coming from the southwest - a woodsy, pleasant fragrance that Hiyori recognized as kansho. Kansho reminded Hiyori of the handsome (though she'd never say it) god; his shock of indigo-black, those striking aquamarine eyes that Hiyori sometimes stared into and was sucked deep into their depths, his playful but cryptic smile.
Manabu was beet red. "I-want-to-go-out-with-you!" he said rapidly, bowing his head down.
Hiyori blinked. "Can you say it a little more slowly?" she asked gently.
A mortified Manabu appeared as if he wanted nothing more to vanish into nothingness. "What I was trying to say was -"
An arm wrapped itself around Hiyori's tightly, startling the brunette. Hiyori didn't need to turn around to know who it was; the scent gave it away. Though she felt safe, the teenager couldn't help but tremble. So many emotions were swirling around inside her heart, and Hiyori couldn't decide which one to act upon.
"She doesn't feel the same way," said Yato.
It suddenly dawned on her what Ogiwara Manabu was trying to say. He was confessing his love for her and hoped she reciprocated his feelings - which wasn't the case. Guilt surged inside Hiyori; she didn't want to be mean to Manabu after what transpired between the bullies and he. He also seemed to be a good-hearted person.
Her friendliness may have been misinterpreted as flirting by Manabu; she led him on by eating lunch with him. How could she be so dense to not pick up the signs he harbored feelings for her? Hiyori thought about Fujisaki and how he interpreted her lapse of weakness as hesitation and went in for the kiss - a kiss she didn't return in kind.
She was livid at Yato for butting in and making a decision for her. The answer should have been no, except Hiyori felt a twinge of guilt for eating the lunch that Manabu had bought. "I'm sorry, Manabu," Hiyori said apologetically, smiling sadly.
Manabu stood rooted to the spot for a while before adopting a poker face. "Me too," he said glumly. Languidly, he turned around and walked away, dissipating into the crowd.
Hiyori threw Yato's arm off her, furious. Her gaze went to Yukine, who was lounging against one of the shop windows.
"Why do you have that look for, Hiyori?" a panicked Yato asked her.
Hiyori bristled. Did Yato honestly have no clue about how tactless his actions came across to Manabu? Did he realize that he made Hiyori look awful and malicious to Manabu? "Because," she began, her voice laced with anger, "you had no right to say that to Manabu!"
"It's pretty obvious that you don't like him!" Yato argued. "Why pretend otherwise?"
Hiyori threw daggers at Yato. "It took Manabu a lot of courage to ask me out," she said, "and the least I could do was soften the blow; How could you step in and damage his confidence?"
Yato recoiled from the withering look Hiyori was giving him.
Hiyori noticed that a trash can was within close proximity. Driven by her chagrin, Hiyori restrained an unsuspecting Yato and hurled him into the trash can. Without hesitation, Hiyori darted toward the canister and kicked it with so much force that she caused it to roll into a nearby alleyway.
"Let's go, Yukine," Hiyori said angrily; she was so frustrated with Yato. "We're going to Kofuku and Daikoku's!"
A/N: I'm done with the second chapter. I honestly hope I kept everyone IC. I know the second chapter is sort of short, but I promise subsequent chapters will get longer. Thank you for reading! This is ExaltedLight signing off.