Chapter 5: Revival

The next time Yukine saw Amaya, it didn't really count.

It was the end of another long day – for him – which meant it was only around noon or so. Yukine was trudging back to his apartment, hands in his pockets to protect them from the cold when someone rushed past him on the sidewalk. He hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings, so he was almost knocked off balance.

"Sorry!" Amaya squeaked before taking a closer look at her victim, "Oh, Yukine-kun, I'm so sorry. I was distracted and I almost didn't see you there." She absently brushed him off as if he had actually fallen, all the while speaking a mile a minute, "Take care of yourself. I gotta run! Bye!"

And then she was gone again. Minutes later, while Yukine was unlocking the door to his apartment, he could hear her voice through the walls, buzzing low and fast and excited. But he couldn't make out her individual words. Not that he was trying. Her business was her own, even if he had been involved with the first one-third of her life.

He went to bed and didn't think about it. In fact, it had pretty much slipped his mind completely and it was only a week later that he started to put two and two together.

It all started with a phone call from Tenjin's shrine. This was not out of the ordinary. Usually, Tenjin or Mayu would be the ones to call him with a new assignment. So when he answered, he was expecting one of their voices. Not Kazuma's. And certainly not Kazuma's voice sounding so rattled.

"Yukine-kun, I need you to come to Tenjin's shrine right now."

Yukine glanced down at the oden he was ladling. It was simmering nicely. Daikoku was in the main shop organizing pillows and such for the incoming lunch rush. Usually it wasn't so busy that Daikoku and Kofuku couldn't handle it without him, but it seemed wrong to break their usual way of doing things.

"Now?" Yukine couldn't help but whine in a very typical teenage fashion.

"Yes. Please."

It was the 'please' that told him something was wrong. If this was for work, Kazuma could very well tell him upfront in a manner more akin to an order; or Kazuma would let him off completely. Despite appearances, Bishamon's guidepost could be rather moody like that. A request, however, was neither of those.

Yukine sighed, "I'm coming. Just let me tell Daikoku know and it'll be another fifteen minutes or so for me to walk there."

"I'll see you then." Came Kazuma's short reply before the line went dead.

That was… odd.

Yukine brain supplied theory after theory during his walk over, but none of them seemed to fit the circumstances. His best bet was just to wait and see.

When he arrived at Tenjin's shrine, he immediately spotted the god and regalia talking out front. Mayu hid off to the side, listening. Her hands held the corners of her long sleeves up to her mouth. There was a sheen to her eyes that Yukine couldn't ever recall seeing before.

But he didn't have time to think about it. Kazuma strode straight to him the minute Yukine's feet crossed the border into the shrine.

"I need you to come with me to heaven, right now. I'll explain on the way."

"It's not that far once we teleport, Kazuma-san. Could you not tell me here? What's the rush?" He looked over Kazuma's shoulder to Tenjin, knowing the old scholar would be more willing to offer answers, "What's going on?"

"Kazuma-kun has the full story." Tejin said, his face unreadable, "It's best you just go along for now."

"Fine."

He didn't have to be happy about it. With a wave of Tejin's hand, the two regalia dissolved in pillars of light, whisked away to Far Shore.

Yukine opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by the walls of Bishamon's courtyard. Which wasn't a surprise, but he still wasn't sure what all this was about. He leveled a glare at Kazuma's back as the man made quick steps in the direction of the palace.

"You said you would explain on the way, but you still haven't told me anything."

"Just this morning," Kazuma began, and Yukine had to jog to catch up before falling into step with the elder guidepost, "Some of the younger regalia asked if they could invite a friend over to the palace. Permission is never a problem, I just like to know who comes and goes. So I asked them who the master of their friend was."

Yukine didn't say anything. And Kazuma didn't need prompting.

"They informed me that their friend was a god, and not, in fact, a regalia. So then I asked them who their friend was. And they told me that their friend went by the name of Yabuko."

Yukine felt his heart stutter in his chest, loud and insistent. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't even ask if Kazuma was being serious.

"Apparently, they had met this god a week ago on the main island. They had never seen him before nor had they heard of a god named Yabuko. So that's why I only found out today. They didn't know…"

Kazuma paused as if to wait for a response from Yukine that still wasn't forthcoming.

"I asked them to take me to see their friend and, well… there's no mistaking it. Centuries old or five years old, Yato is still Yato."

"Where is he?" Yukine croaked past his paralyzed throat.

"Here. In the palace. I thought that was the safest place for the time being and I have the rest of the lead regalia watching over. They're with the kids right now." Kazuma glanced at Yukine, saw his wide eyes and felt his growing anticipation, "We're almost there."

"Tell me…" Yukine's voice was so soft Kazuma had to strain to hear it, "Tell me this isn't a joke. Tell me this is real."

There were few things that truly harmed a regalia, functionally immortal or not. Strong emotions being the most potent. And Kazuma felt his heart twist inside his chest as he watched his junior. There was excitement, yes, but even moreso there was the pain of being lost and alone. False hope could very well be the weapon to strike Yukine, the blessed regalia, down to the point of no return.

But this wasn't false hope. Not yet, anyway.

"It's real. I promise."

And Kazuma opened the door in front of them, leading to what could be a new future.

When Yukine had first been given a name and the title of regalia, he'd seriously questioned the sanity of the whole system. For what reason did the gods need humans? And dead ones at that? Why the hell was being a 'servant' such a privilege? He certainly hadn't asked for that kind of life.

But over time, he learned that being a regalia meant something different for everyone. Being Yato's regalia, well… that came with its own set of complications.

He'd changed. He'd leaned. He'd grown – although never in the physical sense. But most of all, he'd known, with all his being, that he'd found his place at Yato's side.

So when Yukine looked across the room and saw a child in a white yutaka with silky black hair and electric blue eyes, he knew, without a doubt, that it was Yato. That was just how things worked when you were the guidepost of a stray god.

Everything else seemed to drop away.

And for the first time in almost twenty years, Yukine saw Yato smile again.

Laughter echoed loudly through the room as the children began another round of their game – what appeared to be duck-duck-goose. A girl with pigtails circled the children, drawing out each word in an attempt to rile up the competition.

"It is Yato." Kazuma murmured next to him, "But I can't understand how he ended up here."

Yukine reached for his voice again, "Your guess would be better than mine."

"I understand that his shrine resides here in heaven and it hasn't been move since…" Kazuma broke off the thought, "But he'd need to have a believer with enough faith and I haven't the faintest clue who that would be without…"

Even with so much unsaid, Yukine understood perfectly. He racked his brains for a moment when a horrible thought occurred to him.

"Kazuma-san." He kept his voice low even though anyone would be hard pressed to hear them over the noise of the children, "If there is a way to cut bonds, it makes sense that there would also be a way to restore them, right? What if Yato is what… who the Sorcerer has been searching for?"

Kazuma's eyes widened behind his glasses. He rubbed his chin with his hand. Yukine could practically see the gears turning in his head, "I would have to look into it, but I imagine it's possible. The Sorcerer has proved himself to be unreasonably capable in the past. And if Yato was reincarnated with his old name… Although, why would he need to look for Yato if that was the case."

"I'm not sure if he knew about Hiyori's shrine."

Kazuma nodded, "I'll talk to Veena about it. Whether or not your hypothesis is true, however, Yato will need looking after."

Hands on his hips, Yukine leveled a glare at Kazuma, "You think I can't take care of my own master?"

"No that's not what I…"

"Yukine-kun!" one of Bishamon's younger regalia that he recognized had jumped to his feet in the circle and started waving energetically. Apparently, their conversation had gown loud enough to garner attention. Yukine waved back, prompting the mob of kids to migrate across the room and gather around him.

"Yukine-kun, did you see me win!?"

"Did you see the flowers I cut for the library, Yukine-kun? You've been in there a lot!"

"Can I have a piggy-back ride?"

Backstage to the all the ruckus, Yato hung about the periphery, suddenly unsure of his place.

Kazuma stepped in and calmed the crowd of kids. Despite their energy, they obeyed his instructions to go back to their game and give Yukine, Yabuko, and him some time to talk.

And Yato, blue eyes wide and curious, glanced between the regalia.

"Yabuko," Kazuma began by gesturing to Yukine, "Do you know who this is?"

Yato quirked his head to the side like a cat, studying blonde hair, amber eyes, and fists held tight in apprehension. Seconds passed in silence.

"Yukine." The name tumbled easily from Yato's lips, seemingly surprising even himself.

"That is correct." Kazuma said, "Yukine is your regalia – your guidepost."

"I have my own regalia?" Yato whispered in awe.

"Yeah, you do." Yukine knelt down so that he was eye to eye with his master, "But I call you Yato. That's the name you gave yourself. And you gave me the name 'Yukine'."

Yato mouthed his own name without actually making any sound.

"We make a great team."

Yukine felt his throat closing up even as he said it, his emotions betraying him at the most crucial moment. Yato brought a tiny hand to his face and Yukine felt moisture on his cheeks.

"Why are you crying?" Yato asked.

So maybe he couldn't blame it on Yato's sweaty hands this time around.

"Because I'm happy."

Yato's eyebrows furrowed together, "You cry when you're happy?"

"So do you." Yukine countered, "You bawled like a baby when Hiyori built you a shrine."

Blue eyes lit even brighter, shining like twin full moons on a cloudless night, "I have a shrine?" He whispered in awe, "I have a shrine!?"

"Yep."

"And believers?"

"Apparently."

"Am I an idol?"

"Only you would ask that."

"Am I popular?"

"Nope."

"Can I have a hug?"

Wait.

Like whiplash, Yato had switched from his typical brand of nonsense to something genuine. A totally Yato thing to do. Yukine missed more than he'd even realized.

"Anytime."

"Okay."

Yato reached up and slung his little arms around Yukine's neck, squeezing tightly. The only reason it was possible was because Yukine had crouched down when they'd started to talk. But as Yato drew the hug out, Yukine's back started to twinge with fatigue.

After about a minute, Yukine muttered, "Are you gonna let go anytime soon?"

He could feel Yato's hair brush his cheek as he shook his head 'no.'

Yukine heaved a long-suffering sigh, simply out of habit when it came to dealing with Yato's clingy shenanigans, "Okay." Yukine said, "Up you go then." He heaved Yato up into his arms. And Yato still didn't let go. Instead, he just buried his face in the crook of Yukine's shoulder, soaking in the touch and warmth supplied by his regalia. Too happy for words.

"You good?"

A tiny nod was the only response to Yukine's query.

"Good."

"What's your plan?" Kazuma asked when Yukine turned for the door without further ado, "He might not be safe down in Near Shore. We could offer you much better protection here in the palace."

"Maybe." Yukine said softly. The room was filled with regalia and Bishamon was only a few walls away. It was technically the safest place. But it wasn't their home.

"Maybe it's the safest place, Kazuma-san. But I don't think it's the best place."

SURPRISE! I bet you weren't expecting this so soon (neither was I). But I'm stressed as hell with studying so I did this to relax a bit. I need to get back to work now, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Also, if you can think of any 'moments' between these two that would be good shenanigans to fit into the story somewhere, let me know!

PS: this is not shipping. there is no shipping in this story. this is purely master-regalia relationship and a bit of the father-son role swap between Yato and Yukine. please don't misconstrue their interactions.