Geez, it's been a while. Sorry about that again. I don't write a lot anymore, but the second season of Noragami has been motivating me to keep this story up, since I do adore Yato and Hiyori so much. If you're a new reader, welcome, and if you're a returning one, thanks for bearing with me! I know authors not updating can be frustrating. Please feel free to drop a review if you like, hearing what you think about what I write really keeps me going.

The winter wind was a lot cooler up as high as they were than it was on the sidewalk. Hiyori, only in her spring jacket, felt the wind cut through it almost like she had no jacket on at all. She was currently a spirit form of her actual self, but she could still feel everything her human body would be able to, which included the elements. At least it had stopped snowing completely now, though that didn't save her from the constant shivers down her spine. Hiyori kept her eyes locked on the length of the wire ahead of her even though she hardly needed too. Her quite literal cat-like instincts were enough to keep her steadily balanced as she stepped flat-footed along the wire, lightly springing up onto the top of the next hydro pole as she approached it.

"Ya still there, Yato?" She asked a little loudly, her voice echoing above the trees as she spun on her heel to face where she'd just come from.

"Yeah yeah, I'm still here. Didya think I'd run off on you or something?" He replied in an echo as well, still two poles behind her. He had followed after Hiyori up from the sidewalk to the wires in a single leap, and although he had no trouble with balance either, he was walking so slowly that he had hardly advanced from their starting point. Hiyori narrowed her eyes at Yato and playfully put her thin hands on her hips as she watched him close in on the next pole in front of him. He was still a distance away though; she could only see his silhouette from the silver light that the low moon was shining on him. She couldn't quite make out the details of his face, but his hands were stuffed in the pockets of his jersey again, condensing his thin frame.

"You know, this could be a lot more fun if you would get out of this funk you're in and lighten up..!" Hiyori called to him, leaning forward in her stance. She saw him raise his head as he stepped up onto the top of the wooden pole, now just a single pole between them. She could have sworn she heard him scoff amidst the whistle of the wind.

"What do you mean?" He retorted, the inflection in his voice mixed with the tone of Yato's signature attitude.

"I mean," Hiyori made the effort to match his intonation, "that you're the one that so desperately wanted me to get away from my work and go outside. So why don't you actually enjoy it with me?" The pause between her words and his actions was only as long as the time it took for her voice to reach him, as Yato had leaped up high into the air off of the pole. Hiyori's wide eyes followed him straight up as he flipped forward once, sailing right over top of her, before landing on the middle of the hydro wire just ahead of where she stood on the pole. The wire wavered up and down beneath him, but he stood as stable as ever.

"Fine. Why don't we play a game then?" He suggested, crossing his arms. Hiyori pivoted her stance so she was facing him, and allowed the toe of her boots to hang over the edge of the top of the pole.

"I'm listening." She muttered into the thin air, her words floating away in a visible puff.

"A race from here to the park with the fishing pond. We can only move along the wires, so no touching the ground." Yato spouted the brief rules like it was a rehearsed script; with no hesitation.

Hiyori bit her lower lip and tilted her chin upward. "But what if I fall?"

"Well then you lose."

"But what if you fall?"

"I won't. 'Cause I never lose."

Hiyori almost wanted to laugh. If she'd really thought about it, she wouldn't have expected him to say anything different. His mischievous grin was enticing her to take on the challenge, and even though she'd likely freeze solid en route to the finish line, she wasn't going to let herself lose to Yato. Competitiveness sparked inside her.

"Fine, then." She affirmed casually, "Go." Catching Yato off guard, Hiyori began the race on her own call, running forward a few steps then jumping overtop of where Yato stood just like he had done earlier. Just as she was about to land, she heard him call after her from behind.

"Hey! Not fair, Hiyori!"

"Not my fault you weren't ready!" She yelled back to him, followed by a giggle.

Yato began to chase after her as quickly as he could, leaping far over the next pole and bounding off the middle of the next wire. Hiyori, doing the same, had to keep looking back over her shoulder just enough to see how far behind Yato was. Although every time she looked, he gained closer, and every time she tried to speed up, the more frequently she kept almost losing her balance. The cold air rushed through her hair and whistled past her ears as she felt the poofy hairs on the end of her tail stand up. Hiyori's nose, fingers, and toes felt like they were going to fall off from frostbite, but she pressed on, blinking away warm tears brought on by the force of the cold. The park was about 4 residential blocks from where she was now and Yato was still behind her; she could make it.

As Hiyori jumped and ran for what felt like forever, until she finally looked up and saw that not far ahead, two parallel wires were attached to every hydro pole rather than just one. Reaching the next pole, she claimed the wire to the left as her track and hoped that Yato wasn't going fast enough to use the double wires to his advantage. She hadn't bothered to look behind her for him in a while, and it was difficult for her to gauge how far away he was when the only sound he made was the muffled clink of his boot buckles.

"On your right!" Yato announced with enthusiasm, landing from a jump onto the wire adjacent to Hiyori. He bounced up slightly on the wire from his impact, but then began running alongside her, his tattered pale blue scarf flapping in the wind. She turned her head to look at him, her eyes wide, and saw him with the biggest smile she'd seen him don in a while. Yato made eye contact with Hiyori; his irises were so wild that they almost made her feel like her heart had stopped for a moment. "Ha, you're falling behind!" He rejoiced, finding a bit more energy to jet past Hiyori. Yato heard her exclaim in frustration as he continued along their path, which was reduced to a single wire again, but there was no way she was going to beat him now; he didn't even feel winded!

Hiyori pumped her legs as hard as she could, but she knew she wouldn't be able to catch him. How did he even catch up, she had a huge lead ahead of him! Her chest felt as heavy as her achy muscles when she saw the park bridge in the clearing just ahead, and realized that there was no way she was going to win. Unless...

"JUNGLE SAVATE!" Hiyori jumped forward with her last ounce of power, and smashed Yato right in the side with the top of her foot; the signature move of her favourite fighter, Tono. She saw a quick puff of breath escape him as her foot followed through, the impact making him lose his balance and tumble off of the wires. Hiyori heard him exclaim, but she was too determined to get to the finish to turn and check on him.

Within seconds, she softly leaped onto the hydro pole just above the park bridge, and sighed. She'd made it, and ahead of Yato, no less. His simple rules hadn't specified whether or not they could use brute force to win, anyway.