Chapter 7
Hiyori was walking in the darkness again. She was sure after so many times that she would be used to it but she still searched the black void for any sign of life; anything or anyone familiar. She thought it strange that her feet were starting to hurt. If this was just a dream, shouldn't she not feel anything? Fear sank in her chest and she realized this might not be a dream again. Hiyori began running. She didn't know which direction she was even running in. A dense fog appeared in front of her and she squinted to see beyond it. A strong scent filled her nose suddenly and she found herself drawn to it. She knew that smell.
With her arms outstretched before her, she felt around the fog for Yato. It felt like an eternity had passed before she heard something far off in the distance. It sounded like the crackling of a fire. She thought the fire must be fairly large if she's able to hear it before she could see it. Yato's scent began to be drown out with the smell of smoke instead of fog. Hiyori began coughing. The smoke filled her lungs and burned her throat. The temperature changed drastically and between rubbing her eyes and covering her mouth, she could see flames from far-off mountains pouring down the sides and spreading quickly. The fire was so hot it glowed white and blue. Everything it touched immediately caught flame and was engulfed. Looking around she saw that she was completely surrounded.
"Yato!" she called out. "Yukine!" The fire was getting closer and closer to her and she heat was beginning to be unbearable. "Somebody, please…." Hiyori dropped to her knees and grabbed her neck, gasping for air.
Through her tears she could see feet standing just a few inches from her. Looking up, she could hardly make out the figure in front of her. They were wearing an old traditional Japanese robe with blue embroidery. "Please," she reached up towards the unknown person desperate for someone to take her out of this. The stranger knelt down before her and grabbed her face firmly, pulling it up to look at him. It was Yato. But it wasn't her Yato.
He smirked sinisterly. His eyes were wide and danced around her face as if she were a play-thing. "I've been waiting for you."
Hiyori wanted to scream but nothing came out. Her situation was bleak. Another figure walked up to them and Yato yanked Hiyori up and into his arms forcefully. "I see you found her." Looking over she saw that it was Yukine. He was no longer the kind, caring boy she knew. He, too, looked at her with evil eyes.
Yato chuckled. "You've not been easy to find."
"Yato," she begged, "this isn't you." She was so close to him. His body was hard and rigid. It wasn't warm and tender like it was that night at the parade. His hands around her arms hurt and she tried to get away but as she struggled his grasp only became tighter.
"Isn't it?" he laughed. He pushed her backwards hard. Yukine caught her and held her hands aggressively behind her back. "I was a god long before you were ever born. I was a god people didn't know but feared anyway." He stepped closer and pushed his forehead into hers. "I was unstoppable. I could kill and never be killed. You've ruined me."
"No, Yato," Hiyori coughed.
"With my blessed vessel at my side, I'm going to make this world fear me again. And I'm going to start with you." Yato met Hiyori's eyes and grabbed her by her throat.
"HELP ME PLEASE!" she managed to scream before he had held her neck so tight she couldn't breathe. Is this how this is going to end? Killed in a dream?
Above her a light shone down blindingly. She could make out wings and someone flying down to her. Yato looked up fearfully as the light overpowered him and he and Yukine disappeared in the whiteout. Hiyori closed her eyes and covered her face with her arms.
"It's ok now," a soothing voice calmed her, "the nightmare is over."
She sounded familiar. Hiyori looked to see Kira standing in front of her now instead of Yato. All around them was a vast field of wild flowers and a blue sky where there was once only flame and death. She touched her throat. His hand was gone but the pain lingered.
"It will still hurt for a while, even when you wake. The demon can cause physical damage to you in the dream world because you are a half-phantom and whatever pain is inflicted in the spiritual realm will be carried over into reality. We'll have to be more careful from now on."
Kira handed Hiyori the stones. Hiyori started to cry. "I thought I was going to die." She fell to the ground and wept. "He was going to kill me!"
Kira knelt down and put her hands on Hiyori's shoulders. "The demon will use those closest to you to hurt you. You and Yato may not admit it to each other, but even the goddess of the underworld could see how much you care for each other."
Tears still brimming in her eyes, Hiyori looked up at Kira. "How do I stop this?"
"Here," Kira held Hiyori's hand with the stones, "close your eyes and imagine something that makes you happy. A happy place, or memory, that makes you smile."
Hiyori nodded and closed her eyes. She tried to focus on happy memories between her and others. She thought about her friends at school and her family. Then her thoughts became stuck on Yato and their adventures. It wasn't long before she was able to smile.
"Now open your eyes," Kira helped Hiyori stand up. Opening her eyes, she saw her memories playing all around her like movie scenes on a screen. She noticed one memory of Yato, Yukine, and herself at Kofuku's house eating dinner and Yato drinking merrily. Reaching out, she touched the memory. It was warm and solid. She turned to see another memory that was more recent. The jingle of the bracelet that she bought Yato immediately took her back. He held her so close and lovingly. That was the Yato she wanted to remember. Whoever this demon was wanted to use Yato to break her down but she couldn't let it happen.
"Whenever you dream and it seems dark and uncertain, hold the stones and close your spiritual eyes. Just imagining happier moments will bring you here and transform your dreams. You'll need to rely on these until we can reverse the curse."
"How are you here?" Hiyori asked curiously.
Kira smiled shyly. "It is one of the gifts Lady Izanami blessed me with when I served her. I can meet people in their subconscious. She granted it to me because we hardly ever left the underworld and she wanted us to learn as much about humans as we could. What better way to learn about human emotions than through their dreams, right?"
"That is a beautiful gift," Hiyori smiled and wiped her face. "Thank you."
Kira's face began to fade and Hiyori could feel herself giving into the fatigue. Maybe now she could sleep peacefully.
Morning came too soon and Hiyori clung to the darkness behind her eyes when the daylight began flooding her room. For once she didn't want to wake. She could tell her body needed more rest but the day beckoned her to rise. Begrudgingly she tossed the corner of the blanket off of her face and yawned hard. Recollecting the night before, she quickly looked around the room to see if Kira and Matoko were still there. Her computer chair was empty and she couldn't see any sign of anyone until she looked down at the foot of her bed. She recognized that dark hair falling gracefully over her blanket. Crawling quietly to the end of the bed, she found Yato sitting up against the bed and fast asleep. All at once she felt the urge to wake him; happy that she'd survived to see him so peaceful but also scared deep down that maybe she was still dreaming. What if it was a trick again? What if he tried to hurt her again?
Hiyori went to move Yato's hair from his eyes but withdrew out of fear. As if he could sense her presence, Yato awoke to see Hiyori sitting in front of him with a sad look on her face. His vision was still foggy but he quickly saw bruises in the shape of handprints on Hiyori's neck and he was immediately alarmed.
"Hi-Hiyori! What happened?!" he leaned forward instinctively to touch her neck but she jolted backwards away from him. "What's wrong?"
She didn't have the heart to tell him. How do you tell someone you care about so much that they were the ones who tried to kill you? Even if it wasn't really him, she still felt the sting of doubt. Covering her neck with her hands, she shook her head. "It'll be fine. Kira took care of it."
"You were frantic in your sleep last night," Yato mumbled. "Kira said she had to go in there with you to figure out what was going on. Afterwards you seemed much better." His voice trailed off. "I'm sorry I couldn't be the one to help you."
Hiyori touched Yato's hand gently. "Don't worry about it," she reassured him. "You stood watch over me all night and that's what matters."
Yato wouldn't look at Hiyori. "Yukine is in your brother's room. After Kira took care of everything we didn't feel the need to have everyone stay up and watch you. Kira and Matoko went on ahead to search for the caster. They are headed to the mountains. They say there is a small village up there that may have the answers." He stood up and straightened his shirt. "I will make it all better, Hiyori. I won't fail you."
Hiyori smiled. "I know you won't. But don't get wore out in the meantime."
Yato stared at the marks on Hiyori's neck. Questions burned inside him but he couldn't find the strength to ask. The way she flinched and withdrew from him was very concerning. It was like she was afraid of him but he couldn't understand why. "I'm leaving Yukine with you again today. I'll be close by but I'm going to do more digging on my own. If you need me just call me."
She nodded and reluctantly watched Yato leave. Hiyori knew there were no words that could help the situation and decided to let it lie. There would be a time and place for everything she wanted to say but this wasn't it.
The sun wrestled with big, white clouds in the sky as they drifted by subtly. Hiyori hadn't even checked the clock yet and wasn't sure what time it was. The days were all starting to meld together. Every hour that passed felt like a day and every day felt like a week. She hoped that this could be figured out before her last summer break was over. The thought of having to survive instead of enjoying her last summer as a high school student with her friends was frustrating.
Hiyori immediately felt ashamed. She was so worried about her summer break and having some fun before school started again that she hadn't thought about how Yato and Yukine were feeling. Surely this wasn't exactly how they would rather be spending their summer either. In fact, in all reality they could easily just walk away from her and all the headache she caused. Hiyori was just another human after all. If she died the world would keep going. What was she to a god and his blessed vessel? A hundred years of her life would be a blink of an eye to them and she would be dust and memories many centuries later. The fact that they were still helping her was nothing short of a blessing.
She smacked her face repeatedly in anger; mad at herself for being so selfish. Once it began to sting, she stopped and looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Her cheeks were red and burned. It still didn't feel like a just punishment for her thoughts but she figured she'd let it go for now. If she thought on it too long she feared a phantom would appear and she didn't want to cause more trouble than she already was.
The clock ticked away minutes in the background and Hiyori mustered up the energy to get herself dressed. She sifted through various shirts and skirts and shorts until she landed on a button-up baby blue shirt and a blue jean skirt. She threw her hair into two low buns and slipped on some old white flipflops. There used to be blue hearts on them outlined in silver glitter but they were so old that most of the hearts had worn off. They were her favorite and went with pretty much everything she wore.
After making her way downstairs, Hiyori read a note her mother left about leaving breakfast out for her to heat up whenever she woke up. She decided to heat some up for both her and Yukine again. It was the least she could do. Once she dropped Yukine's plate off in the room, she sat on the couch and studied the spell book more. She wondered what more there could be in the pages of the mysterious collection of curses. There was no author noted anywhere. Who would have written all these? Maybe whoever it was the one who put the curse on her now. She prayed Yato would be able to find answers.
Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. Hiyori thought about Yato and what he was thinking right now. He's been on his own so much lately she'd hardly seen or talked to him much. Memories of him laughing and his goofy smile flashed in front of her eyes. He would be saying something completely off the wall and Yukine would call him an idiot. She would laugh at them while they fought like cats but they always forgave each other. Yukine fought so hard to protect Yato and Yato would never let anyone know but he loved Yukine so much for that. Nobody had ever wanted to be by his side and fight with him like that before. Yukine was more than just his blessed vessel. He was Yato's best friend and savior. Yato knew he'd be nothing without Yukine and always tried to keep him close.
But now even they were apart a lot. The dynamic duo was split in two because of her. Yato couldn't risk leaving Hiyori alone even if it meant he himself could be in danger out there without a weapon.
"You've ruined me," his voice echoed in her mind and those murderous eyes popped up in her mind. She opened her eyes and gasped, grabbing her neck as the bruises began to throb again. Yukine was standing next to her with a confused look on her face. Hiyori looked at her phone and realized she must have fallen asleep because a few hours had passed.
"What happened to your neck, Hiyori?" Yukine asked.
"The demon got me in my dream last night," she rubbed her throat trying to forget the hellish nightmare.
Yukine clinched his fists and turned away. "Kira told us it was bad, but she didn't go into detail." He turned his back to Hiyori. "I'm sorry…"
"No, Yukine," she grabbed his hand in both of hers. "You can't be everywhere all of the time. Don't apologize for things you have no control over."
Yukine looked Hiyori in the eyes. "If Kira wasn't there last night, you could have died!"
Hiyori patted the seat next to her and Yukine sat down. "Listen to me Yukine. I don't know what the future holds at this point. But please promise me one thing."
"What's that?"
"If anything happens to me, please promise me you won't blame yourself."
Yukine crossed his arms and looked at the floor. "I don't know if I can promise that."
"Please, Yukine. Just promise me."
Yukine thought about it for a moment and nodded once. He didn't like it, but he promised anyway because he wanted to make Hiyori happy.
Hiyori smiled but behind it her heart plummeted. She couldn't let Yato or Yukine know how hopeless she felt. She couldn't show them how scared she was or they would be more worried about her. Swallowing hard, Hiyori fought her emotions and sat back in her seat waiting for Yato to come back.