Hello everyone! Oh my gods, I got two reviews?! (I still have more views compared to the reviews, but I don't give a shit!) Thanks a lot to those who reviewed!

Hikari: Congratulations (and thank you!) for being the very first reviewer! I am glad you like this fic!

Skye: Uh, answering that question would be too much of a spoiler. Sorry..

Disclaimer (I can't believe that I forgot it last time): I do not own Noragami and its characters. All of them belong to Adachitoka-san. However, I do own the plot of this story.

And without much further ado, on with the story!

Ch 2: Arrival of the Unexpected:

A certain blond boy was tapping his foot impatiently against the floor. In the dimly lit room, the only thing he could see was the blue-eyed man on his revolving chair, who was currently examining the picture he had taken with the Iki girl. "Are you done yet?" he snapped.

The man looked up and smirked. "Well, well. Isn't my baby boy looking rather cute in this photograph?" Yukine narrowed his eyes at the stupid-sounding nickname. "Why don't you ever smile like that around me?"

"That is my professional charming smile, which no one can resist," the boy scoffed. "Why would I ever show it to you, except when I want to blackmail you? Besides, I am always too irritated around you to actually smile."

"How mean, Yukine," Yato rolled his eyes. "You hurt me. But back to serious things, I only asked you to take a picture with Iki Hiyori, not the others. I know that the brunette in middle is her, but the other two?"

"They are her friends," Yukine told him. "The one with glasses is called Aimi Tabata. And the tomboyish-looking one is Akira Yamashita. Hiyori calls them Ami-chan and Yama-chan."

"Are they Bishamon's students?"

"No, I am pretty sure it is Kazuma who teaches them."

"Well, you sure did your research, Yukine," Yato laughed slightly. "I have heard lots of praises about Iki Hiyori. There are even rumours that she is probably Bishamon's top student. I guess it is natural for her to be targeted."

"How exactly do you know that they are being targeted?" Yukine asked. "You better have some valid reason behind this, Tracksuit. Don't tell me that you made me get her autograph and picture just because you had one of your stupid intuitions."

Yato rolled his eyes. "I never said that all of them were being targeted. I am just talking about Bishamon's students in particular. Those two should be safe, considering that they are Kazuma's students. And no, I did not have an intuition, and also, my intuitions are not stupid. Most of the time," he added, noticing how Yukine raised an eyebrow at him.

"So, it is not an intuition. Then how exactly are you so sure of this?"

"I have my sources."

Yukine sighed. "I have a feeling that you won't tell me."

Yato grinned. "Damn right you are."

'''''''''''

If Hiyori remembered correctly, Tsuguha was only one year senior to her. She was respectable enough as a pianist. Hiyori had never been much acquainted with Tsuguha, but knew that she was the closest to Miss Bishamon and the best friend to Aiha. Maybe that was why her death affected those two the most.

Hiyori did not fail to notice the panicked look on Bishamon's face as she stood up abruptly. "What are you saying, Aiha? Is this some sort of a sick joke?" she asked, her voice wavering faintly, because all of them knew that nobody would pull a prank as great and misleading as that.

"Her body," Aiha continued while choking on her tears. "It's in the piano room."

She had to say no more. Hiyori was out of the door before Bishamon could even say anything. It felt as though she was running a marathon, her hair whipping past her face as she ran towards the piano room. She could distantly hear the footsteps of the other two persons behind her.

And when she did reach the fateful room, she had no idea whether she should sob or gape or scream in horror. In the midst of the tiny crowd, lay Tsuguha's dead body on the floor, a terrifying sight, to put it in a mildly exaggerated way. Her eyes were open, her mouth and hands were covered with blood. She had a few stains on her shirt and on her glasses.

"It happened just a few minutes ago," Aiha informed, having reached the spot where Hiyori was standing. "She was laughing at some joke she saw in her phone. But all of a sudden, she started to cough out blood. She tried to hide it from me, but I eventually found out when the coughing got much severe and blood spilled on the floor. I instantly rushed to her, but it was too late!" she started to wail. "How can I be so stupid, unable to notice anything? This is my entire fault! If I had found out sooner, then Tsuguha would have-"

"That is enough, Aiha," Bishamon snapped, making the two girls jump in shock. Hiyori had never seen Bishamon so upset before. "Stop blaming yourself for something you did not do, okay? Currently, we have more important matters to worry about. Have her parents been informed of this?"

Aiha nodded her head quickly. "Yes, they have."

Bishamon pursed her lips. "Okay. Good. Now-"

"Bisha! Bisha! The reporters are here!" cried the pink-haired woman running towards them. Hiyori immediately recognised her as Kofuku, one of the staff members at the Academy. "They won't leave no matter how much I ask them. They don't care for my threats at all! Instead, they just keep growing more and more in number." She paused and looked at Hiyori. "Ah, Hiyorin. Your father's out there too."

Hiyori blinked. "Otou-san?"

Bishamon, on the other hand, cursed beneath her breath. "What do you mean the reporters are here? How could the news have been leaked so quickly?" She took a deep breath. "Kofuku, get Daikoku to assist you. If the odds are with us, his glare will be able to scare them away." Kofuku nodded. "Oh and please, send Hiyori's father in, will you?"

'''''''''''

"Hiyori!" her father shouted as soon as he saw her. "Thank goodness you are safe! When I heard that a female student of Takamagahara had died, I rushed here immediately!" He dramatically heaved a sigh. "Ah well, at least I know now that is was not you."

Hiyori frowned slightly. So, the media did not know yet who exactly had died. But it was puzzling indeed. How could news have travelled so quickly, a mere fifteen minutes after Tsuguha's death? She highly doubted that somebody had leaked out the news, considering that very few people knew about the incident. Heck, she even doubted that Ami-chan and Yama-chan had heard about their colleague's death yet.

"Thanks, Otou-san," she said. "For rushing here, I mean. Um, by any chance, do you have any idea who leaked the news? After all, it's still early."

"Hmm?" Iki Takamasa blinked at her. "Well, there were a few on television who mentioned that they got an anonymous letter, and while they did deduce that this might have been a rumour, they talked about it in the news anyways." He shook his head. "People these days, they believe every rumour that they hear and make a big deal out of it. I panicked, though, because this is the news we are talking about," he shrugged.

Hiyori felt a smile tug at her lips as she nodded her head. She could not help but agree with what her father had said. If somebody sent those reporters a fake letter stating that Iki Hiyori had died, they would make that news go viral even without confirming it.

Her father gave her a long stare. "So, who was it that died?"

"Tsuguha."

He frowned and rubbed his neck. "I have never heard of her," he muttered.

Hiyori felt her lips twitching for the second time. "I bet you haven't." Her father had never been one for music, and had absolutely no taste. However, her brown eyes turned serious once again. "Otou-san, we are in need of your help," she held his hand and tugged him along.

The elder Iki frowned. "My help?" he asked while allowing himself to be pulled. "How exactly do you need my help?"

Hiyori stopped in front of the Horrifying Room. Takamasa turned his head to see what his daughter was looking at and his eyes grew wide. "In the name of Kamisama," he eyed Tsuguha's corpse. "What exactly happened to her? At such a young age, too!"

"That is how we need your help."

He frowned at her. "You want me to find out what happened to her? Now?" he asked. Hiyori nodded. "I see, then. Well, you can trust me." He sighed. "It would have been nice if your mother was here." A pause. "Shoot! I forgot to explain everything to her. She must be worried out of her mind at the mind. She will-"

"Ah, Iki-san."

Takamasa froze abruptly while fidgeting with his phone. It took him a few seconds to blink and regain his composure. "Ah, Bishamon-sama, and Kazuma-sama," he greeted. "I, um, would say that I am sorry for our loss, but as a doctor, I know that people do not like hearing that, so I would not say it."

Hiyori saw Bishamon force a smile onto her face. She was probably thinking: You know, but you said it anyways. "Thank you, Iki-san. It's such a grave time of adversity. Tsuguha was an amazing musician. Of course, so is your daughter."

Hiyori was feeling too down to act modest. "So, um, Otou-san. About what I asked you..."

"Ah, yes," Takamasa nodded. "But please allow me to call Sayuri first. She would kill me if I delay any further. And if you don't mind me asking, how exactly did she..." he trailed off. He did not have to complete, because everybody got the meaning.

"She coughed up blood. A lot," Hiyori said.

"Coughed up blood," her father repeated. "You mean haemoptysis." And then came the long awaited frown on his face. "But dear, there could be many causes for haemoptysis. It could be pneumonia, tuberculosis, cancer, or something entirely different. Well, I will try my best, though. So, was anyone with her during the time it happened?"

"Aiha," Kazuma said, adjusting his spectacles. "She is easy to notice, with long lightish-pink hair. However, she is in a weak state of mind at the moment, so please interrogate her after some time."

Takamasa nodded and walked off to call his wife.

Hiyori turned around to face the two teachers. "Ah, Miss Bishamon," she began carefully. "Are you alright?"

The purple-eyed woman stiffened. "I am fine," she said tersely, turned around and stormed away at a quick pace.

"Sorry about that. Veena too is in an unstable state of mind," Kazuma smiled apologetically at her. "I will go and talk to her." And with that, he was gone too.

Hiyori peeked into the room once again. She saw that Aiha was still sobbing. The crowd had grown larger in size, with students whispering amongst themselves, probably wondering what had caused the girl's death. She noticed that Tsuguha's eyes had been closed. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her father talking on the phone; and she could distantly hear Kofuku shouting that Tsuguha's family had arrived.

Hiyori had never felt so confused and completely at a loss before.

'''''''''''

"But Yato-san, why exactly are we going there right now?" the little boy with green eyes frowned up at him.

"Something came up," Yato replied vaguely as he ruffled the boy's already messy hair playfully. "Besides, it's nothing much, Ebisu. We would have visited them after a month anyways, so just think of this as an advanced visit."

"One month is too early for an advanced visit," Ebisu murmured. "Why won't you tell me what happened?"

Yato locked eyes with Yukine, who nodded his head. "One of Bishamonten's students has died," Yato told the kid.

Ebisu's eyes grew wide. "Died?" he asked. "I am sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"I think the more appropriate term would be 'murdered'," Yukine cut in.

Ebisu looked at him curiously while Yato shot the blond boy a dirty look. Yukine merely shrugged his shoulders. The blue-eyed man pursed his lips and fidgeted with his collars. "Yukine, we still do not know for sure whether she was murdered or not."

"You say that, but you know that it was a murder, don't you?" Yukine sent him a knowing look.

Yato stared out of the car window. "You are right. I know that it was a murder. I think that I even know who the culprit is," he closed his eyes. "But unfortunately, we have got no proof whatsoever. So my assumptions are practically useless."

"Is that why you are going there?" Ebisu asked. Yato blinked at him. "Well, I know that you and Bishamon-san are not on good terms. So, you visiting her just because her student died is out of the question. You are doing to investigate who the murderer is right? You want to make sure whether the one you have in mind is the actual culprit or not."

Yato blinked again, and this time Yukine blinked too. He snorted. "Well, Baby Ebi is sure smart for his age," he said, his yellow-amber eyes twinkling with mirth. "How old are you again?"

"I am six, but that does not mean that you can treat me like a kid!"

"Yes, Sir," Yukine mock-saluted. Ebisu rolled his eyes.

"We are almost there," the driver said. "We would reach the Takamagahara Academy in around fifteen minutes."

"Ah, that's good. I can't wait to see that Crazy Chick's face once we reach there," Yato smirked as he tied his scarf around his neck.

Yukine shot him a look. "I have absolutely no idea why you wear that raggedly old scarf. Honestly, just what are you thinking?"

"You just don't understand my amazing sense of fashion."

"Sense of fashion?" Yukine grumbled. "What sense of fashion are you talking about? Unless you are modelling about something that says 'piece of trash'."

"Yukine, my baby boy, you are sooo mean," Yato cried out like a little child.

"Pathetic," Yukine muttered, while Ebisu tried his best not to laugh.

-o-o-o-

And that's it. End of the second chapter. Like it? Hate it? Or perhaps it is 'okay, okay'? Please review!

Kudos!