Chapter 4: Research
As it turned out, Yukine – like most teenagers who didn't want to deal with something – avoided the Amaya Problem instead. It was easily done.
Yukine continued with his normal life and put the Problem at the back of his mind. It didn't like being there. It liked to bother him at inopportune moments. So he added another thing to his schedule: research.
He wanted to figure out what the Sorcerer might be after and possibly locate it before that asshole could. He wasn't sure where to start. Yukine's list of clues was short: it was probably a magical item of some sort, it was probably somewhere in the Tokyo area, and it was probably going to be bad news for the gods.
It wasn't much of a start.
Tenjin offered to give Yukine full range of his vast collection of ancient scrolls, which was nice. And anytime he was there for research, Mayu offered to help, which was also nice. Yukine discussed it at length with Kazuma, who had agreed with his conclusions and offered the names of a few texts where he might want to begin looking. But Kazuma was much too busy to help search Bishamon's huge palace library, so after their conversation Yukine was on his own.
Which was fine with him. It did, however, peeve him to no end that he couldn't be useful in the same way that Kazuma could. Kazuma got to go out and slay Masked Ones with Bishamon while Yukine was stuck inside leafing through dusty scrolls and heavy tomes.
Fine.
He snapped another book shut and laid it on his quickly growing 'complete' pile. He sighed, added a note to his phone, and picked up the next one. It didn't matter that the muscles in his back were knotting up or that his eyes felt dry. Not at all.
"Yukine-kun."
Yukine startled awake. Apparently when he'd slouched against the bookshelf and shut his eyes for a second, he'd dozed off. How much sleep had he'd been getting recently? Four hours? Five? Clearly, his plan to avoid the Problem wasn't foolproof.
"Uh, hey Karuha. Hey Kazuha. What are you guys doing here?"
He didn't often come across Bishamon's regalia in the library. One person might drop by to get something specific, but never more than that.
The twin regalia shared a knowing look before Yukine finally noticed that Kazuha was holding a tray. She held it out to him as she explained, "We ran into Kazuma earlier and he mentioned you were here. So we brought you some tea as a pick me up."
"Looking at you now..." Karuha muttered, "Maybe we should have brought coffee instead."
"That was nice of you." Yukine said honestly. He accepted the warm, ceramic mug and squeezed it between his hands. The steam coiling below his chin was still awfully hot, so he decided to wait before tasting it.
"Have you managed to find anything, Yukine-kun?" Kazuha asked. She set the tray on the floor and knelt beside his pile of books, absently perusing the titles as she waited for the answer.
"Not really."
"It's just a matter of time, though." Said Karuha, "I know you will find it."
Yukine couldn't help but side-eye the seemingly younger regalia as he brought his tea to his lips. He didn't drink it right away, asking first, "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, you're you." Karuha explained somewhat unhelpfully, "So that's how I know you will find it."
Kazuha laughed when she saw Yukine's screwed up expression. Whether it was the result of Karuha's words or the hot tea, she couldn't be sure, but she thought she would help out the blessed regalia and better explain her brother's imprecise words.
"I think what Karuha is trying to say is that the task you've set for yourself is not beyond your abilities. After all, you are Yukine-kun. You've survived wars between gods and wars on the Sorcerer. You're a blessed vessel. You've endured the scrutiny of Heaven and the criticism of your peers since Yato's been gone. And all along, you never once lost your way."
"You're amazing, Yukine-kun." Karuha summarized, "Everyone here thinks you can do whatever you put your mind to. All you need to do is believe in what you're doing. Isn't that what being a regalia is all about?"
At times like these, Yukine's teenage emotions always seemed to get the better of him. The twins were physically no more than ten. Children. They could easily speak their mind and be no worse off for it. Amaya had been like that at one time. But Yukine, under the weight of their praise, wanted to shrink in on himself. He hunched his shoulders and hid behind his tea.
"Thanks guys." He mumbled, looking away.
"No problem." Kazuha chirped. She stood and brushed out her skirt as her brother grabbed the tray.
"We'll let you get back to it." Karuha added.
And then they were gone. Quick as they'd come. Yukine was still kind of reeling, so he diverted his attention from his tangled up feelings to the stack of unread books at his side. Tea in hand, he began again.
The caffeine, however minimal, worked its way through his system. His mind felt sharp and effective for another two hours or so before it started to waver. The sound of his stomach growling broke his concentration for good.
A glance at his phone showed that it was just past seven. If he left now, he could make it to Kofuku's place for their usual dinner time at eight. Yukine glanced around the library, finding it to be – unsurprisingly – empty, so he decided to just leave his books on the floor for the time being.
Yukine's head swam a little when he stood. He waited a few seconds, keeping a steadying hand on the bookshelf as his equilibrium returned. It was a little disconcerting. Yato, for all his faults, would never let Yukine reach this level of self-neglect.
A minute later, he was latching the library door shut, coat in one hand and empty mug in the other. After detouring by the kitchens, Yukine was finally ready to leave Bishamon's palace. And now for his least favorite part.
The walk from Bishamon's library to Yato's shrine was about fifteen minutes through heaven. It always made him uncomfortable, mostly because heaven was so public. Everyone here could see him. He wasn't used to that. And once he left Bishamon's island, he was no longer in friendly territory.
As Kazuha had pointed out, his peers – other regalia – were extremely suspicious of him.
He was a blessed regalia. Which, yes, was rather impressive. But blessed regalia often had inauspicious endings. Like getting locked in a box for eternity. Or living longer than their masters. Which was the crux of the matter.
"If he became a blessed regalia because he would forfeit his name for his master, then why did he not die before his master?"
Yukine walked with his head down, trying his best to block out the whispers of those passing him by. But it did little to no good.
"He still has the name given to him by his dead master, yet he bows to other gods."
Yukine was close now. He could see Hiyori's small shrine with its homemade craftsmanship now only a little ways away.
"Why is he still here? Why hasn't Amaterasu-sama dealt with him?"
Relief washed though him when he was finally able to run his finger over the small crown embellishment on the tori gate of Yato's shrine. In a shimmer of light and the blink of an eye, he was gone. Once again, he could breathe easy.
The wind of Near Shore whipped around him and he was home.
Yukine's plans to take a day off and catch up on sleep were completely foiled. But, he supposed he could let this one slide. Around noon, Amaya had knocked on his door and invited him over to her apartment for lunch. She'd smiled that smile that Yukine couldn't say no to.
"I just thought, since I borrowed that egg from you, and since it's been a few weeks… I ought to repay you. With interest! So that's why I'm making you a whole meal! I was worried that you might have gone to visit your aunt and uncle for the weekend and you wouldn't be here. But, whaddya know, you are here, so…"
His brain was only semi-awake, but Amaya seemed to be entertaining herself just by chattering on and on, so he could probably get away with zoning out. She led the way to her apartment. She was saying something about how it might be a little messy but if she'd turned out anything like Hiyori then that probably wasn't the case.
Amaya sat him down on a cushion at her table and took quick stock of him. He probably looked terrible to her: a messy, gangly teenager worn down by sleep deprivation. She pressed her lips together and said, "I'll make coffee first."
The one-room apartments in their building were not impressive by any means, but Amaya had seemed to make do. "Does omelet rice sound good?" she asked from her makeshift kitchen.
"Yeah. Sounds great."
Amaya grinned. The coffee pot beeped, nabbing her attention, and less than a minute later she set a steaming mug in front of him. Yukine felt more awake after just smelling it, and Amaya didn't miss how he'd perked up. She laughed, "Do you need sugar and or cream?"
"Nah," Yukine took a sip, then added, "I like it black."
Amaya pulled a face, "You're a weirdo, Yukine-kun." She went back to attending the burner and cracked a few eggs into the skillet, "I can't drink coffee until it has enough sugar and cream to be considered a dessert."
"Each to their own." Yukine consoled her, taking another – much longer – sip.
"And thank the gods for that."
With her back turned to him, Yukine could freely scrutinize that comment. It wasn't an uncommon expression, exactly. But it seemed an odd turn of phrase for a college student. In his experience, twenty-somethings were much less spiritually inclined than the average person. He decided not to comment, and instead filed it away for later use.
The coffee worked wonders. In no time at all he was alert enough to finally take stock of his surroundings. Amaya had settled into her small apartment with minimal belongings, it seemed. There was a bookshelf stuffed full of YA novels and manga next to the window and a desk took up the opposite corner. But that was about it.
Yukine craned his neck around to get a better look at the items on the desk. A thin laptop. A mirror. A pile of weathered and worn Campus notebooks similar to the ones Hiyori used to use. From where he sat on the floor, Yukine couldn't read the labels on the notebooks.
He cleared his throat, "So, uh, what kind of classes are you taking this semester?"
"Mmmm… stuff. It's my final semester, so I kinda went easy on the credits."
"Sounds fair."
"Yeah. It's nice to have some down time, but I always find ways to make myself busy despite that." She laughed. Yukine waited a pause as Amaya focused on flipping the eggs in the pan, "I've already taken everything required for my major, so I'm currently taking classes that will help me find a job as an editor."
Cooking completed, Amaya heaped the food onto plates and brought it to the table. She and Yukine muttered a quick 'thanks for the meal' before digging in. The only sounds for a few minutes was the clinking of their spoons on their plates.
"So right now…" Amaya said between bites, "I'm taking this class that's basically a real life test run of what authors have to go through to get a book published. The whole point of the class is just to write something you can submit for review and then see how far it goes!"
"Wow. That sounds equally cool and terrifying."
"Terrifying?"
"Well," Yukine's fingers drummed the table distractedly, "It's just that writing is hard enough, and then on top of that you have someone tearing it apart in search of mistakes. Terrifying."
"I guess it's good for me that it's just a grade and not my career."
"What did you write about?"
Amaya's eyes darted to the notebooks on her desk when she said, "It's kinda personal."
"Oh." Yukine didn't know what else to say.
"So, Yukine-kun! How is high school?"
Yukine shrugged.
"Oh, come on! I told you all about my classes. Now it's your turn."
"Well… I've been really busy with this research project recently, so I've mostly been holed up in the library."
Amaya's eyes lit up as she leaned in and asked, "What are you researching?"
"Ancient artifacts of religious significance."
"Really!?" She radiated surprise, "That sounds awfully complicated for a first-year. Are you secretly smart, Yukine-kun? I bet you are! At first I thought you sorta looked like a delinquent, but I guess I was wrong!"
Yukine choked on a spoonful of rice. Amaya had to come around the table to pat his back until the coughing subsided. Yukine took a drink of his coffee, eyes watering from exertion, and said, "I can't tell if you're complementing me or insulting me."
Amaya smiled, "Yes."
"Well, my research hasn't been very fruitful yet." Yukine confessed, "It's rather… disappointing."
Amaya didn't say anything for a few moments as she pushed rice around her plate with her spoon. She heaved a big sigh like she'd come to a decision and said, "Maybe sometime we could compare notes. I've been really into mythology recently, so maybe I could be of some help."
"Maybe." Yukine didn't mean to sound so noncommittal, but the likelihood of a human knowing more about mythology than gods and regalia seemed pretty slim. Amaya might bring a fresh perspective, but he doubted she'd be able to tell him anything new.
"You probably don't want to talk about it right now, huh?' Amaya noted, "You're too tired. Take some time off to recover before you hit the books again, Yukine-kun. I know you can get out of this funk!"
She sounded so certain, Yukine couldn't help but peer up at her through his bangs, "How do you know? You don't really know me."
Amaya seemed unbothered by his criticism. She shrugged, "I just do."
YAY! Pep talks all around for Yukine! I think that's me projecting since I have midterms in a week. That being said, I probably won't be able to get the next chapter out until after that so it'll be next weekend sometime. Sorry! Thanks for reading :)