Chapter 2

Nighttime brought more of the same. What Hiyori thought would be an escape from the visions only led her down the same familiar and unsettling path. At first, the dreams were pleasant. Yato, Yukine, and herself at the park having a picnic or at the beach swimming. Everything felt normal and nice. Yato and Yukine arguing about something ridiculous, and she would be giggling about how silly they looked. Everything faded to black and another dream crept into her mind. There was a faint light, like a candle, glowing in the corner. She was laying down, but she wasn't alone. Hazy at first, she could see someone crouched over her. Vibrant, hungry, brilliant blue eyes that looked lovingly at her. She could sense his desire for her. Her heart pounded ferociously in her chest. She felt feverish in a way she'd never felt before. "Hiyori," he whispered seductively, leaning in to press his lips to hers. She didn't know whether to fight him or kiss him back.

Yato woke to Hiyori mumbling in her sleep. That's right. He fell asleep in Hiyori's bed. He had honestly forgotten where he was for a moment. Hiyori was going on about something unintelligible. He dared to touch her, lifting his fingers up to caress her cheek. Her breathing slowed and she smiled, leaning her face into his palm. "Mmm, Yato," she muttered sleepily, "you smell so nice."

He blushed. Was she dreaming about him? She scooted closer to him, breathing in deeply. He hesitated, wondering if he should stay or go. Hiyori got quiet for a moment. Yato began sitting up to leave when he noticed her breathing quickened. He turned back to look at her and saw her face was twisted with fear. Hiyori tossed and turned, kicking the blankets off of her and gripping the sheet frantically. Confused, Yato shook her gently to try and wake her. "Hiyori?" he beckoned. She didn't wake.

"No, Yato!" Hiyori cried out. She flailed violently, as if fighting off some invisible entity Yato couldn't see. "Hiyori!" he wailed, grabbing her shoulders and continuously shaking her but to no avail. It was like she was under a spell. No matter what he did she wouldn't wake. "No, no!" she continued to beg the person in her dream. Yato felt useless. What could he do?

Smells nice. Yato heard a low, distorted voice from the corner behind Hiyori's bed. "Shit." Yato saw the glowing eyeball first. He should have known. A phantom had grown from her tortured dreams. Without thinking, Yato yanked Hiyori's body out of bed and through her over his shoulder. He couldn't teleport with her still in her physical body. He looked at the window. "Sorry in advance," he said as he grabbed Hiyori tightly and jumped out of the second story window just as the snake-like phantom lunged from the darkness to try to eat them both.

Yato ran and hopped from rooftop to rooftop, Hiyori unconscious on his shoulder. The phantom didn't seem to be following them anymore, but Yato wasn't taking any chances. Without Yukine, he couldn't protect himself or Hiyori. He had to get them both to Kofuku's place. The city was quiet, too quiet. Yato stopped to look around.

Yato, don't hurt me. Yato heard the eerie voice behind him and quickly jumped to avoid the large phatom attacking him with its' tail. Yato! The phantom called after him as he ran away. Don't do this, Yato! Yato noticed that the phantom's voice was beginning to sound a lot like Hiyori's. He turned for a moment to see what was happening. The phantom was smaller now, the snake slithering slowly towards his feet. I thought you loved me, Yato. There it was again! How was the phantom able to imitate Hiyori's voice? And moreover, how did it know his name? He didn't understand and didn't have time to figure it out. A few more rooftops and he was home.

"Yukine!" Yato called from the outside the window. "Wake up! We have trouble coming!"

Yukine bounced out of bed at his master's call. "Open the window!" he heard Yato yell. He threw the window open and Yato flew in, seeing someone slumped over his shoulder.

"What did you do? Who is that?!" Yukine questioned angrily.

Yato put Hiyori down on Yukine's mat gently. Yukine was glad to see it was just Hiyori. He was worried Yato might have hurt someone.

"Why did you bring Hiyori here?"

Yato exhaled sharply before reaching his hand toward Yukine and citing, "Sekki." Yukine transformed into the twin blades and Yato gripped them fiercely. Yukine winced.

"Yato, your holding too tightly. What's wrong?"

Yato grimaced. "There's a phantom that Hiyori unknowingly conjured."

Yukine was confused. "Unknowingly?"

"Yeah," his voice shook, "her dreams have been dark lately and while she's been having nightmares, that negative energy has been piling up to create-"

The creature roared and rose over the rooftop. At this point, it was well over 100 feet tall. The snake-like phantom had grown wings and what looked like a scorpion's stinger on the tail. It's fangs shone in the rising sun like great swords. Yukine trembled.

"THAT is what Hiyori conjured?!"

Yato steadied his shinki. "Stand firm, Yukine. Don't falter now."

"How the hell did she not notice THAT?!"

"I don't know!" Yato shouted. "But we have to kill it or it'll keep haunting Hiyori!"

Yukine composed himself. "Let's do this."

Yato flipped through the air, landing on the monster's head and sliding down its' long back and slicing along the way. Yukine struggled to keep his strength against this phantom's hard, sharp scales. The monster's blood poured everywhere, but it didn't budge. Its' tail whipped around and caught Yato off guard, causing him to drop both his Sekki. Yukine gasped as he felt himself plunge to the ground. The blades clattered on the street.

"Damnit!" Yato yelled, trying to find his balance while dodging attacks from the phantom's tail. He jumped, avoiding a near hit from the monster's wing and summersaulting on the ground over to his Sekki. He picked them both up quickly before having to jump again to evade another strike from the phantom. "Yukine, we'll have to cut off the head. It's the only way. All of the negative energy is stored there."

Yukine trembled. "It's so strong, Yato!"

"YUKINE! WE HAVE TO DO THIS FOR HIYORI!"

Yukine shook. "I'll try, Yato."

Yato yelled out his battle cry and ran towards the phantom, jumping to meet it face to face. "You won't hurt her anymore, evil spirit." With that, he made his Sekki into an X and teleported right through the phantom's neck severing the head from the rest of the body. Before the head could touch the ground, the entire spirit dissipated and was rendered exorcised. Yato reverted Yukine and both descended back to the street. The darkness surrounding the spirit had lifted and the morning sun had risen well above the horizon.

"Shit, Hiyori!" Yato scrambled upstairs. Her parents would be waking up soon and if she wasn't home, they'd surely call law enforcement.

Hiyori was just opening her eyes what Yato slid to her side. "Hiyori? Are you ok?"

She rubbed her eyes and yawned. "What are you talkin abou-." Before she could finish her sentence, she realized she wasn't even in her room anymore. She looked around, puzzled, then panicked. "YYYYYAAAATTOOOOOO!" She screamed.

Yukine covered his ears. Hiyori jumped ontop of Yato and began hitting him repeatedly. "YOU CREEP! HOW THE HELL DID I END UP HERE?!" She continued smacking and punching him. "DID YOU REALLY DRAG ME ALL THE WAY OUT HERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT?! THAT'S THE LAST TIME I LET YOU STAY!"

"Hiyori!" Yato begged, "I did it to save you!"

"SAVE ME MY ASS! THAT'S SOME EXCUSE YATO!"

"It's true!" Yukine chimed in.

Hiyori stopped cold and turned to Yukine. "Huh?"

Yato gasped for air. "You conjured a phantom in your sleep. It woke me up."

"A phantom? In my sleep? How is that possible?"

Yato stood up, wiping the blood from his lip on his sleeve. "All the nightmares you've been having."

"Nightmares can cause phantoms?"

"If they're bad enough, yes. And from the looks of it, you've been having some pretty rotten nightmares. It knew my name, Hiyori. It even had your voice. Which tells me you've been having these dreams for a while. What are they about?"

Hiyori tried to recall the dreams she had last night. Everything was so foggy it was difficult to remember details. Familiar faces. Herself, Yukine and Yato. Yato. She blushed. She remembered candlelight and blue eyes. A kiss? But then he was gone, and all she saw was a battleground littered with dead bodies. Someone was standing alone among the wreckage. He looked right at her, but his face was blank. She was running, but couldn't remember why.

"I don't know, Yato." She shook her head. "There was so much that happened in a small period of time. And every time I wake up, I hardly remember the dreams at all. But I do know they've been keeping me from getting much sleep. Sometimes I wake up as early as 3AM and can't go back to sleep."

"Hm," Yato wondered. "Well, if you continue to have these nightmares, you'll keep conjuring phantoms in your sleep. It's not safe for you to sleep alone anymore until we figure out what's going on with these nightmares."

"I'm not 12 Yato. I don't need a babysitter." Hiyori didn't want someone in her room every night as she slept. The idea made her uncomfortable.

"Hiyori," Yukine interrupted, "you didn't see this phantom. It was enormous and very hard to kill. Yato's right. If you're alone and conjure another one of those things, you'll be consumed for sure!"

Hiyori sighed in dismay. "Fine, but nobody is sleeping in my bed!"

Yato smirked, a little sad that he wouldn't be able to lay next to her again but happy he at least got to do it once.

"Let's get you home. Your parents are going to be beside themselves if they see you aren't in your room." Yukine helped Hiyori to her feet and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders.

"Thank you guys. And, sorry Yato. I didn't mean to kick your ass."

"Eh, I can understand why you did it," Yato laughed nervously. He looked Hiyori up and down and realized she's not dressed to be walking anywhere. "It might be better if I carry you back home. You don't even have shoes."

Hiyori examined her outfit and feet. Walking would be a challenge without shoes. She just nodded and Yato swiftly picked her up in his arms and he and Yukine proceeded to carry her home hopping from rooftops and walking on phone lines. When she's not in her half-phantom form, rooftops and wires seemed a bit scary. She gripped Yato's jacket tighter and looked away from the ground far below. Yato sensed her fear and cradled her closer. "It's ok, I'm not going to drop you."

"You dropped me!" Yukine complained behind them. Hiyori shuddered at the thought.

"I was fighting a rather large monster, Yukine! Shit like that happens sometimes!"

"It's your PALMS!" Yukine shouted

Pain shot down Yato's back. "Hey, I felt that!"

"Maybe you should wear some type of moisture-wicking gloves so you won't be so sloppy in BATTLE!"

"AHHHH!" Yato yelped. "YOU'RE STINGING ME YOU INGRATE! STOP IT!"

He heard Hiyori giggle and looked down at her. "You guys always make me feel better."

Yato smiled. He enjoyed having Hiyori this close to him. He couldn't deny that spending more time with her, even if it's just to protect her while she slept, brought him joy. Her looked down again and caught her looking up at him intently. It made his heart jump excitedly. He blushed and looked away.

They arrived at her rooftop and Yato released Hiyori gently into her window. She stumbled on the window sill, and she grabbed Yato's sleeves accidentally pulling him down and towards him. His nose bumped hers and they both stared at each other startled. Their faces were so close she could smell his breath. It was minty with a hint of something sweet like vanilla or maybe caramel? It complimented his person scent so well it almost left Hiyori breathless. It wasn't until she regained focus that she realized Yato was looking at her very confused.

"Are you ok, Hiyori? You're not about to have one of those episodes again, are you?"

Her cheeks burned bright red. "No! I'm fine!" She scampered back to her bed and threw the covers over her head to hide.

Yato grinned and left with Yukine for the day.

Hiyori heard nothing after a few minutes and decided to poke her head out of the blanket. The coast was clear. She felt like a complete idiot. Did she really just lean into his breath like that? What was wrong with her?

She heard footsteps climbing the stairs and threw herself back on her pillow, pretending she was still asleep. Her door creaked open.

"Hiyori, it's time to get up," her mom beckoned softly. "You usually don't sleep this late. You must have had a long night."

You have no idea, Hiyori thought. "Good morning mom!" She rose from her pillow and rubbed her eyes as if she'd slept soundly all night. "How was the banquet?"

Her mom waved sheepishly. "We got in really late last night. Your father just kept talking and talking. You know how he gets at parties, dear."

"Yeah," Hiyori agreed. "I didn't even hear you guys come in last night."

"We tried not to wake you. I'm glad you got a lot of sleep because your father and I really need your help with some errands today."

Hiyori moaned with displeasure and fell back on her pillow, the blanket covering her face. Her mother stood at the door puzzled for a moment before walking off into the distance.