Chapter 6: Reassurance

"Yukki?"

A mass of pink filled his visual field, startling Yukine into semi-alertness.

"Ah, Kofuku-san! I'm so sorry. I zoned out a little there."

Kofuku's violet eyes narrowed and her cheeks puffed into a pout, "You know, you're not going to be much help if you're this tired. The futons upstairs are pretty much yours back from when you and Yato lived here. Go take a nap."

Yukine opened his mouth, most likely to argue, but Kofuku's pout turned into a frown. She rarely frowned. So in essence it was a glare and a guilt trip rolled into one.

"Fine." Was his only response.

"You don't have to be so reluctant, Yukki. Daikoku can handle little Yato for you. Kids can burn you out if you're not careful."

"Yeah, I sorta noticed."

Her expression softened, "And we understand how stressful it must be to start from scratch, when you remember everything and he doesn't."

A sigh worked its way out of Yukine's chest.

Much to Kofuku's chagrin, Daikoku had volunteered to watch Yato during the busy lunch hour, something he never would have agreed to do for Yato's previous reincarnation. Kofuku couldn't be trusted alone with a kid, much less a kid who used to be a god of calamity, so she was stuck womanning the oden shop on her own now that she'd sacked Yukine.

"Get some rest. It'll do you some good."

"Thanks, Kofuku-san."

And he didn't regret it. Hours later he felt more alert than he had in the last two weeks. Yato wasn't a problem per se, but he needed lots of attention and he needed someone to keep him out of trouble. Things Yukine would willingly do. However, despite his exhaustion, he couldn't sleep at night. His internal clock after years of nighttime surveillance was completely off.

But that wasn't the only thing.

At night, in the dark lit by a single lamp, he felt the need to watch Yato's every breath. To make sure he wouldn't disappear. To make sure the Sorcerer wouldn't show up and take him. To make sure that this wasn't all some fantastic dream he'd been living.

He really needed to get over his disbelief and just deal with his present problems. But Yato's return was so damn unexpected, Yukine felt it was a little hard to put his fears behind him. Yato hadn't mentioned being stung. So he figured he was good for now. Despite the fact that Yukine was dead on his feet.

And that's where Kofuku and Daikoku came in. They were pretty much a free babysitting service – a couple of doting parents. Yukine still helped at the shop, but he stayed much longer and let them play with the kid while he took a break.

Which was how Ebisu managed to find him.

He showed up at Kofuku's doorstep one afternoon with his entourage of regalia in full formal wear. Ebisu however, was another story.

For a god, Ebisu aged quickly. Yukine chalked that up to Ebisu's tendency to reincarnate frequently, although Yukine hoped that wouldn't always be the case. Especially now. Because now, Ebisu physically looked to be about the same age as Yukine. They got along quite well.

"Kunumi, could you please take Yato-gami to the park down the street. I believe I saw an ice cream stand that might interest him. I'd like to talk to his guidepost for a while… one-on-one."

Yukine glanced down at Yato who was standing close behind him, clutching onto the edge of Yukine's cardigan with tiny fists. He'd come to see what the commotion was about, but now he seemed wary of the newcomers with their serious appearances. Blue eyes met gold, searching for a cue, which Yukine provided by way of ruffling Yato's hair and nodding as if to say 'it's okay.'

Yato skipped over to Kunumi and craned his head back to get a good look at the regalia. After a few seconds of scrutiny, Yato blurted out candidly, "You're really tall."

"Let him ride on your shoulders, Kunimi." Ebisu suggested in what sounded more like a command. His chief regalia gave him a sort of begging look, which Ebisu promptly rejected, "Don't give me that. He'll like it." He winked, "You'll get on his good side."

"Up! Up!" Yato's insistent grabbing motions were hard to misconstrue, or ignore. So in little to no time, he had his way and was riding high atop Kunumi's shoulders, "Onward!"

"Off you go!" Ebisu agreed cheerily. He dismissed the rest of his regalia to go with them, arguing that Yato needed the protection. Ebisu's regalia failed to point out the fact that they couldn't do much without their master.

Yukine crossed his arms and tilted his head at Ebisu when they were gone, "Well, you certainly manage to get your way. All the time. That much hasn't changed."

Ebisu grinned, dark eyes glinting with clever intelligence. Yukine remembered him being scarily smart and analytical as a child. He grown even more so as he aged. And whatever Ebisu decided to put his energy into, it would always yield good results. Yukine supposed it came with being a god of fortune, but Ebisu was ridiculous. Successful. Eccentric. Savvy.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Ebisu said, knowing all along that Yukine's snark was just his way of being friendly, "A few years?"

"Yeah." Yukine sat down on the porch and Ebisu took the liberty of doing the same, "You've been kinda busy with the new social network platform you helped your favorite human develop. He's like, crazy rich now."

Ebisu shrugged, "It's a step towards my goal of expanding free, accessible, worldwide communication. Uniting people and nations to serve as a catalyst for mutual understanding of… well, I won't bore you with the details." He straightened his suit vest that was much less fancy than the wardrobe of his regalia, but still classy, "I didn't come here to talk about that. I came here to talk about Yato." He met Yukine's gaze, head-on, "How is it going? It's been two weeks. How is Yato?"

Yukine narrowed his eyes, not to be mean, just to try and parse out the meaning behind Ebisu's interest, "I'm not surprised you heard about that, but you'll have to be more specific. Everything has changed."

"Yes, I suppose you are right about that." Ebisu slid his smartphone out of his pocket and fiddled with it without actually turning it on. A nervous habit, "I guess I mean: is he anything like the previous Yato?" He shot a glance at Yukine to read his reaction, but Yukine was still. He'd been asking himself the same question.

When Yato had first disappeared, Ebisu was the only one who hadn't acted like Yukine's existence was some kind of novel phenomenon. He'd helped Yukine work through the practical aspects of living without a master, encouraging him to find something to do with his life and supporting him in any way he could – often financially. Ebisu was good at unbiased advice when it was needed and good at listening when advice was unneeded. They'd formed a sort of functional friendship that Yukine found very simple to navigate. Straightforward and honest.

So, of course Ebisu was the first person to ask what everyone had been secretly wondering.

Yukine took a moment to think over the best way to word his response, "Sometimes, it seems like he's a clean slate." He began slowly, "And then other times, I see glimmers of odd little things that seem to scream 'Yato' at me. Like, he sleeps with my stuffed capypa and he takes to wearing any stray item of clothing as a scarf. But then some of that stuff just seems like a kid being a kid. I don't know what to think."

"What about wishes?"

"What?"

"Wishes." Ebisu leaned in, expression serious, "What kind of wishes does he grant?"

Yukine shifted, uncomfortable, "I haven't really… there hasn't been any… it just hasn't happened yet, okay."

Ebisu frowned, "Wishes are what make us gods. Wishes are what define us. Yato would gain a much better understanding of himself by granting wishes. It's what he was born to do."

Yukine remained silent, just staring at his slippers.

"You're scared." Ebisu surmised, "Scared that he'll be like he was way back when."

"It's a valid concern!" Yukine snapped, still not daring to look the god in the eye, "I don't know who brought him back. If it was the Sorcerer, won't it be the same? Won't he want to… kill people? I can't allow that! Not for him and not for myself!"

"I understand."

There was little inflection in Ebisu's tone. Yukine knew him to be like that. But right now, it irked him that he didn't know what the god of fortune meant by it. Did he simply 'understand' Yukine's dilemma, but not agree? Or was he willing to leave this alone?

Yukine didn't have to wonder for long.

Ebisu sighed, rallied himself, and then explained, "I came to see you because I thought you could use some help. This is coming from a god who is experienced in reincarnation. Yato never told me what happened between him and my previous reincarnation, but he did tell me of my predecessor's wishes: to continue living as my own person. Because, that's what I am. I am my own person. I am not my previous reincarnation."

Ebisu put a hand on Yukine's shoulder to get his full attention.

"What I'm trying to say here is that there are pros and cons to your situation. But you can make the best of it." Ebisu pulled a coin purse from his pocket and plopped it in Yukine's lap. It was heavy. "Yato has the chance to start from the beginning. Yukine-kun, you can help him be the person he wanted to be. Just point him in the right direction like the blessed guidepost you are."

Only after Ebisu and his entourage left did Yukine open the coin purse.

It was filled to the brim with five yen coins. "For positive reinforcement." Ebisu had said.

Yukine couldn't help the smirk that pulled at his lips. Leave it to Ebisu to think of a brilliant yet simple way to achieve his goals. Yukine was lucky to have Ebisu on his side, but he supposed that was the point of a god of fortune.

"What did that kid want, Yukine?" Yato asked from where he had plopped himself down beside his regalia, feet kicking back and forth over the edge of the porch.

"You're a kid, Yato. Ebisu is much older."

"How much older?"

"A few decades, I suppose."

Yato squinted at his regalia, "You didn't answer my first question."

Yukine nodded, "You got me there. He wanted to see how you were doing and help me out with something. He knew your previous reincarnation."

Yato hummed, looking out over the small yard, "I see. What was he like?"

"Ebisu is a little too smart for his own good, if you ask me."

"No, I mean, me. What was I like, ya'know, before?"

He sounded far too serious for a five year old. So Yukine took Yato's face in his hands, squished his round cheeks, and told him, "You were a huge… dork!"

Yato pouted. But in combination with his squished cheeks, it only served to make Yukine laugh out loud. Yato blew a raspberry at him, "I'm serious!"

"Okay, okay. I'll tell you!" Yukine took a deep breath to smother his giggles and appease his tiny master, "You were a very… multitalented god, you know that? I've seen you respond to any and every kind of wish. You could clean things, change diapers, walk dogs. But you were especially good at hunting down ayakashi that made humans upset."

Yato's eyes grew to the size of saucers, "Really? But I thought you told me to stay away from them?"

"I did!" Yukine assured him, "For a good reason. You'll get hurt if you don't know how to deal with them. That's where I come in."

"Your sword form?"

Yukine glanced at Yato, "You knew about that?"

He shrugged his tiny shoulders, "I just had a feeling it. It's Sekki, right?"

"Right…" Yukine didn't know how to feel about this innate knowledge Yato seemed to have, "Right. It's something we'll work on later. Alright?"

"Why not now?"

"Because you don't even know how to use a sword and you might hurt yourself." Yukine deadpanned.

Yato leaned into Yukine's personal space as was typical of him, his tone insistent, "Maybe I do know how to use a sword and I just don't know it yet because I haven't tried!"

"I don't think that's how it works."

"We should try it!" Yato jumped up from his seat. He raised a hand above his head and before Yukine had the chance to stop him, he called for his weapon, "Come, Sekki!"

Yukine's protests were swallowed in the light that tingled down his arms and the energy that seeped into his consciousness. Becoming a weapon was invigorating in a way that nothing else could be. He was aware of his power, the sharpness of his blade, and the length of his reach. He landed in Yato's hands like his master had never been gone.

Although, Yato's grip was much less firm and much less sweaty.

"That wasn't so bad!" Yato chirped.

"It's not supposed to be." Yukine explained with a roll of his eyes, "The banishing bit is the harder part. You've gotta invoke your name as a god before you strike the ayakashi down and they don't tend to stand still for that part."

"We'll practice! I wanna be cool like I was before and hunt ayakashi!"

"Why?" Yukine asked. It was a simple, but loaded question.

"What do you mean 'why'?"

"Why do you want to hunt ayakashi? What motivates you?"

From the hidden space inside of his sword form Yukine waited for the answer. It would dictate his approach from this point forward. What motivates this new Yato? Was is the desire to tear things apart and achieve infamy or was it the desire to protect human life?

Yato smiled in a way that was all teeth and squinty eyes – one hundred percent genuine. Just Yato. All Yato.

"I want to make people happy."

I took some artistic licence with Ebisu, but he was lots of fun. Other than that, I'm pretty brain dead now that exams are over, so I don't have much to say. Over and out!