"I was beginning to think you might not show up," Yato mocked his father. "You do have a tendency to disappear when things get stressful."
The malicious grin never left his father's face. "Well son, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree now does it?"
Yato winced. Yukine could tell immediately that his master didn't take those words lightly. He's spent so long trying to be anything but his father and for him to say they are alike is like all those years of effort meant nothing.
"Don't listen to him, Yato," Yukine said, "you're nothing like him."
Yato's father laughed heartily as if hearing something hilarious for the first time. "So this is your 'blessed vessel' eh?"
"Yes, father," Nora chimed in robotically, "he's the one I was telling you about."
"You are right, dear," he crossed his long arms, "he definitely looks useless."
Yukine felt a small sting hearing Yato's father call him useless but he recovered quickly. He knew he was just trying to break their wills.
"Yato," his father's smile turned straight and cold, "I must say I was surprised to hear that you had escaped from the underworld. I'll admit that along with it being used as a way to make sure someone else took the fall for the masked ones, I didn't intend for either you or Nora to return."
"Sorry to disappoint you," Yato replied.
"Nora understood that the mission would more than likely claim all of your lives. She accepted her fate. So naturally when I learned that not only did you survive, but you disowned Nora later on, I was quite perturbed." His father cupped his hands behind his back and paced slowly back and forth. Yato kept a keen eye on him. "I tried to 'let sleeping dogs lie' as these humans put it, but I just couldn't. Everyday that passed my anger festered."
"You really upset father, Yato," Nora smiled her usual mysterious and mischievous smile.
"Not my problem," Yato said dryly.
"Except, it is your problem Yaboku," his father stopped in his tracks. "You see, you are a god of disaster. A god of murder. You are the god of calamity. You have no other purpose on this earth but to bring about terror and misfortune. I let you pretend to be some helpful, stray god for far too long. I knew that trying to get you to come back to your old self wasn't going to happen. So I sent you to the underworld. I sent you to your doom. But you made it out. Then you took Nora's name and sent her home to me like she was nothing. Do you not remember the ones who made you? Have you really forgotten who was by your side all those years?"
Yato looked at Nora with a saddened look on his face. A strange feeling crept up inside him. It was the same thing he felt when they were both in the underworld. His father was right. Nora had always been there for him. She never asked questions or argued or rebelled. She never stung him once even with all the masters she had. Nora did her job and did it neatly. But there was also no emotion. When he thought about it, he'd never seen her truly happy. She always did what she was told no matter the cost but were there ever times she didn't want to? Did she ever want to object? If she had been the regalia of a better master, would she have been a completely different girl? Was she only this was because of Yato?
"Don't give yourself too much credit," his father said sarcastically. "Nora never needed you. Unlike you who were nothing without her for many years. You seem bent on trying to make your old life nonexistent. But I'm here to remind you just how hopeless you are."
"You know, one thing has never changed," Yato clinched his fists, "you still talk too much. You came here to take care of me for good so let's do this!"
"Hm" his father grunted. "I suppose you're right. I had hoped I wouldn't have to do this. But you've left me no choice." He reached out to Nora. "Hiki!"
She transformed into a catoninetails but not like Yato had ever seen before. Even Yukine was taken aback by the ferocious weapon before him. Each of eight tails was at least 6 feet long with the last tail around four feet longer and all were adorned with hooks that were so sharp a single one could rip flesh off of bone without hesitation. The longest tail additionally had what looked like sharpened metal pieces of varying sizes all along the length of it. It definitely put Bishamon's whip to shame. Yato wished he was fighting her right now instead. At least against her he had a chance. In this moment, Yato wasn't sure what was going to happen. He gripped his Sekki swords tighter. "We can't fail, Yukine."
Yukine gulped down as much of his fear as he could. "We can't fail," he copied. Deep down though, Yukine had doubts.
"Funny. Using the same name I gave her just to spite me," Yato said, annoyed.
"Well," his father smirked, "you had taken it away. I figured why not put it to use?" With that, he jumped into the air and against the darkness of the night sky, he seemingly disappeared.
Yato quickly looked around on the defense. "Yato! Where did he go?!" Yukine shook with fear.
"Don't freak out now!" Yato tried to calm his blessed vessel. "He's fast and he's powerful and no doubt Nora will be bringing her best but he's got one flaw."
His father's evil laugh echoed through the air. Yato brought both the swords up to his face and spoke quietly, "with a weapon that big it's not quiet. Just listen for the breaks in the air. It'll give up his position."
Yukine nodded and calmed down. "Got it."
Yato continued to look around him. His father was elusive. If he could just evade his father's blows long enough to figure out his fighting strategy and wear him out a bit, then they might stand a chance.
Another chuckle from above them and Yukine could hear what sounded like a fast whooshing sound. "Yato, on the left!"
Yato jumped to his right just in time for the catoninetails to crack like thunder on the ground just inches away. Without a moments rest, another whoosh hurled by. "To your right!" Yato jumped up again before feeling the earth shake under the whip's thunderous attack.
"Left again!" Yato jumped then ran to the right. "Left again! Now right!" Yukine continued to tell Yato of the incoming blows and for a while it was working but his father was so fast and Nora was so strong that it was becoming difficult for Yukine to keep track. The sounds of the blows were beginning to overlap the sound of the whip breaking the barrier. "Yato, look out!" Yato panicked as Yukine didn't give him a direction and he jumped backwards but not before one of the hooks caught Yato's arm. As it snapped backwards, it caught his jacket and snagged some of the skin underneath.
"Yato!" Yukine yelled.
"It's fine!" Yato said firmly, grasping the wound with his left hand. "It's just a scratch. It'll be fine. Don't lose focus, Yukine."
Yukine wanted to do what he was told but he didn't feel adequate enough to keep Yato safe anymore. "Yato, he's too fast. I can't keep up."
"I know," Yato confirmed. "I knew he was going to be too strong for us to fight. But we have no choice."
Yukine took a deep breath. If this was going to be their end, they had to fight until the very end. He'd have to accept their fate. Gods and regalias are not everlasting. Even when gods are reborn they are not the same as the one before. He and Yato had done a lot of good while they were together. If this was how they were going to go out, at least they died trying. "I have an idea, Yato."
"Yeah? What's that?"
"When the whip lands, I'll stab it with one of my blades. I might not be strong enough to withstand one of her blows but I'm strong enough to hold her down temporarily. That'll give us time to spot your father and hit him head on."
Yato didn't know if it'd work but at this point it was worth a try. "Alright, be ready!"
Silence. All Yato could hear was his own heavy breathing. The wind had died down again and it left him with an unnerving feeling. Yukine listened carefully to everything. He could almost hear Yato's heartbeat. Then suddenly, a whoosh came from behind them again. "Yato, right!"
Yato jumped to his left milliseconds before the whip made contact. "Now Yukine!" He grabbed both the blades together and hammered them down on the longest tail, driving it far into the ground and trapping it.
"I have her!" Yukine shouted. He could feel Yato's father trying to pull the weapon back and Nora writhing in pain beneath him.
"Damnit!" Nora said under her breath. She was never one to let anyone know when she was in a lot of pain.
Yato finally spotted his father at the other end of the whip. "You're mine now, old man." Yato pointed one blade at him with maintaining the other in the ground.
"Ha! You think just because you've put my shinki out of commission momentarily that you've won?" his father laughed loudly. "You've always been a stupid child. Always hopeful in the worst situations. Where did that get you? You've put everyone you care about in danger."
Yato winced. His father's words stung like daggers inside him.
"You've put your blessed vessel in a position that will only lead to his death. And once I've gotten rid of him and taken you out, your little girlfriend is next."
"Why kill her if you kill me? What would killing her do then?" Yato was confused. Originally he wanted to kill Hiyori to get back at him but if his father planned on killing him and Yukine, why would he still want to kill Hiyori?
"You really don't get it do you." Yato's father smile turned to a scowl. "If I don't kill her, she'll bring you back."
Yato's eyes widened and he dropped one of the blades. His father took advantage of the situation and yanked Nora back to him causing Yato's other blade to fly backwards away from Yato. Yukine grunted as he flipped through the air and landed on the ground several feet behind his master.
"I see. You finally figured it out." Yato's father slung the whip over his shoulder carefully. "Gods don't come back if they don't have a connection with the human world anymore. You've created a connection because of Hiyori. If you die, her connection to you would make you come back. You'd be reborn. And while the idea of starting over with a new son might be tantalizing, one disappointment is enough for me. So, I have to kill Hiyori so you won't come back."
There were no words to describe Yato's disbelief. All this time he was so frightened that he would waste away and never be reborn. He didn't realize that even just one human could cause him to come back. And not just any human. The one human to ever have an unbreakable bond with a god. Of course. If Yato had someone on Earth with a connection to him, he would be reborn if anything were to happen and that means his father no longer had control over him.
"So that's what this is about?" Yato said angrily. "Because I finally have a way to be reborn if I were to die, you don't have power over me anymore. That's really why you wanted to get rid of her so badly."
His father's face turned cold. Yato had figured out his secret. Now there was no reason to hide it anymore. "You're nothing without me!" Yato's father shouted. "I made you as strong as you are! I made you an ruthless as you are! You've remained alive all these years because I taught you how to survive!"
"I don't need you anymore!" Yato hurled back. "I can be free of all your torment and lies! You're right, you did teach me everything I know about survival. But I finally can use those abilities to be a better god and try to make this a better place. I don't have to be strong just in war! I don't have to be ruthless to strangers who aren't even enemies! I've killed so many people! I can never undo any of that! But as long as I'm alive I'm working on changing! You can't stop me anymore! Even if you kill me, I'll come back!"
"Not as long as I'm around," his father said in a low voice and swung the catoninetails directly at Yato.
"YATO!" Yukine screamed. The one blade that had dropped at Yato's feet jumped up to protect Yato from the whip. Most of the tails caught the blade while a couple of the hooks had snagged Yato's leg and side. As his father pulled the whip back with all his strength, huge gashes tore into Yato's left leg and his right side. Blood began to pool on his clothes. But just as he was able to take his mind off the pain for a moment, he looked down to see the blade that had tried to protect him. It sat on the ground in shards.
"YUKINE! NO!" Yato dropped to his knees and wailed. Yukine was silent for what felt like forever. Then he could hear a faint rattling several feet behind him.
"Y-Yato…" Yukine's second and last blade jostled about on the dirt. In his human form, the whip had taken his entire left arm and his left leg from the knee down. He was also losing copious amounts of blood.
"Yukine! Talk to me!"
"I'm not going to last much longer. But I'll fight as long as I can," Yukine said breathlessly.
"No! I'll get you out of here!" Yato cried, crawling over to the blade on the ground.
"We can't escape now, Yato."
"Then I'll die with you! I'm not going to let you go out like this!"
"Yato…" Yukine was growing weary.
"You two are pathetic," his father intimidated. "I really thought this would last longer. I had hoped killing you would be more climactic. Oh well. You can't get everything you want."
His father lifted the whip over his head and back, ready to crack the last deadly blow on his only son. Just as he was about to swing, a throwing knife had lodged itself into his wrist causing him to immediately drop the whip and curse loudly.
A large gust of wind picked up a small tornado of dirt and dust between Yato and his father. Yato looked up to see what was causing all the commotion, but it was so dark all he could see was what looked like very large wings flapping vigorously. "Yato! Take Yukine and run!" a familiar voice called out. He knew exactly who it was.
A small cat appeared in front of him. "Follow me!" It was Matoko. Yato did hesitate. He scooped up the blade and ran with the cat while Kira kept his father distracted. After running for a while, Matoko brought them to a small bridge over a babbling creek and motioned for them to hide under it. Once out of sight, Yato reverted Yukine back into his human form.
Yukine was barely hanging on. He'd lost so much blood that his skin had grown pale and his heartbeat was weak.
"Shit! What am I going to do?!" Yato was frantic. If they didn't come up with a plan quickly Yukine was going to die.
A minute of pure chaos passed and Yato heard footsteps approaching them. "It's just me!" Kira put her hands up as she scooted under the bridge to Yato and Yukine. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"Yukine!" She kneeled over him and put her fingers to his lips to feel for his breath. It was shallow and growing cold. Kira reached in her bag and pulled out bandaging and began tightly dressing his wounds. There was a powder she poured in her hands and placed on his shoulder and leg where the limbs had been torn off. It helped to immediately stop anymore bleeding. Yukine yelled in pain but Kira quickly put her hand over his mouth to quiet him. "I have to stop your bleeding. It will burn for a bit." Yukine's labored breathing turned into hyperventilating. Yato watched in horror as Kira caressed Yukine's cheek and tried to calm him.
"I can give him an elixir to help give him some life back but it'll only go so far," Kira said as she dug through her bag again and pulled out a small vial with a dark red substance in it. "It'll replenish some of the blood he's lost but not all of it. He'll still be weak but it'll keep him from dying." She lifted Yukine's head and helped him swallow the elixir.
"Why did you come?" Yato managed to ask.
"Our master had another meeting with your father. He was furious. He no longer wanted to wait for the demon to find Hiyori. He said he was going to take matters into his own hands," Matoko transformed into his usual form and sat across from Yato. "We knew then that there wasn't much time and we had to find you al immediately."
"But we were too late," Kira's voice broke. Yato thought he saw a tear roll down her face as she stared worriedly at Yukine. His color was coming back and his heartbeat strengthened. He was still completely passed out but seemed more peaceful. Yato could tell Kira really cared about Yukine.
"It's my fault," Yato hugged his knees to his chest. "I shouldn't have even tried to fight him. I knew we couldn't win. But when Bishmaon said he was looking for us, I just couldn't keep running."
Kira laid Yukine down so he could continue to rest. She handed Yato more bandaging to dress his own wounds and more of the cauterizing powder. "We won't be able to hide from him for long. His regalia seems very good at finding people so this battle is far from over."
"He knows who you are now," Yato pointed out. "If we don't win, he'll kill us, he'll kill Hiyori, and then he'll tell Izanami what you two did. He'll make sure you two get killed as well. Why would you show yourself?"
She looked over at Yukine and smiled. "I couldn't stand and watch. This isn't just your fight anymore, Yato. We're all on the same side. This has to end. And Matoko and I are going to help in any way we can."
Kira looked back at Yato and her expression turned serious. "Now, do you still have your father's amulet?"
"Yes," he pulled it from his pocket and held it up.
"Good. We have to find a way to use it against him. If we can somehow weaken or deflect his power, we can stop him for good."
"Yeah, but how?" Yato inquired. "In all the years I've known about this thing, I've never once learned how it works. So unless you're studied in magical amulets, this thing is useless to me."
"I'm not 100% sure, but I believe it can store and even magnify energy." Kira grabbed the amulet from Yato and held it up under the moonlight. "I do know that this specific type of gem was harvested thousands of years ago for its supposed ability to somehow analyze the users mental and emotional state then manifest power based on that analysis. Sometimes the power would be used for good while other times used for evil."
"So, it's an amped up mood ring?" Yato waived his hand dismissively.
Kira sighed. "I understand that you may not believe it, but for many centuries people have used these types of gemstones for that purpose. And your father must have believed in it too for him to have carried it around all this time. You said so yourself. He never took it off. At least some part of the history must be true. And if it is, maybe we can tap into it and use it against him."
"Well, I'm not in a particularly great mood so probably best if I didn't try to use it," Yato jokingly said as he finished wrapping up his wounds.
Kira shook her head. "You cannot defeat him in this condition. Your blessed vessel won't be able to protect you for much longer. You owe it to him to at least try."
Yato looked over a Yukine. A sorrowful look washed over his face. Kira was right. Yukine risked everything to protect him. He went into battle knowing he was the weaker opponent and fought anyway. Yato had to do whatever it took. "Fine," he finally agreed. "But only on one condition."
"What's that?" Kira asked.
"You have to go stay with Hiyori."
"Why?"
"Because," Yato stared at the ground intently, "if we still fail, she'll need all the help she can get. My father will go for her next. He plans on killing her after killing us."
Kira's eyes widened but she nodded understandingly. "Got it. Just tell us where she is."
Yato explained where to find her and who she was with. Kira helped Yukine up before she left. She checked his wounds once more. "The bleeding has stopped for now. When you guys make it back, we'll find a way to get you completely fixed up."
Yukine rubbed his eyes. "When?"
Kira smiled at him. "Yes. When. I'm counting on it." She leaned over and kissed Yukine on the cheek. He immediately turned red. Kira giggled and stood to leave. "Take care of him," she said to Yato. Then, she scooped up Matoko and flew to find Hiyori.
Yato turned to Yukine. "Thank you, Yukine."
Yukine looked up at Yato. "Of course," he replied with a slight smile.
"Are you ready to do this one more time?"
"Naturally," Yukine said.
"This time, we'll definitely win," Yato tried to sound hopeful.
"Even if we don't," Yukine added, "he won't get away unscathed."
"Sekki!" Yato called and Yukine transformed into the one blade again. He held it tight as he walked down the street to face his father once more.
Elsewhere, Kira had searched high and low for an old shrine until Matoko pointed it out. She landed and quietly rapped on the door. There was no answer but she could see movement from the windows.
"Who are you? State your business quickly," she heard someone command from behind her. She turned to find Kazuma with his arms crossed and an unimpressed look on his face.
"I'm Kira. Servant of Lady Izanami. And this is Matoko." She placed him on the ground by her feet. "We're here on orders from Yato."
"It's alright, Kazuma," another voice came from the darkened doorway. It was Bishamon. "Yato told me about them." Bishamon waved them inside. Kazuma resumed his vigil as Bishamon ushered Kira and Matoko to Hiyori.
As soon as Hiyori saw them, she ran and hugged Matoko who purred just like a housecat. "I can't believe you guys are here!" she said excitedly. "I didn't know if I'd ever see you again." Hiyori looked up at Kira who was standing stoically in the door. "How did you find me?"
"Yato told us where you were."
"Yato?!" Hiyori's voice perked up. "You saw him?"
"Yes, just a little bit ago."
"Is he ok?! What about Yukine?" Hiyori frantically asked.
"You may want to sit down, Hiyori," Kira said and looked over at Bishamon with a saddened expression. Bishamon could tell right away that it was not good.
Hiyori sat on the edge of the bed and held the edge of her skirt until her knuckles turned white.
"Did Yato's father find them?" Bishamon asked.
"Yes, he did," Kira answered.
"Then the battle has already started…" Hiyori's heart dropped. "There's something you're not telling me."
Kira exhaled sharply. "Yato has been wounded."
Hiyori gasped. Kira held up her hand to stop her. "Yukine has also been horribly wounded." Kira turned to Bishamon. "His father's weapon is a force beyond reckoning. He's already shattered one of Yukine's blades while also leaving him without an arm and most of one of his legs. I was able to stop the bleeding and dress the wounds but Yato has also lost a substantial amount of blood."
Hiyori began to sob. Matoko rubbed against her side to try to comfort her. Kira looked at the floor. "I don't know how much longer they'll be able to fight."
"Why did he send you two here?" BIshamon asked.
"According to Yato, if they fail and his father kills them, he'll be after Hiyori next. He asked us to stay with her in case…" Kira couldn't finish the sentence.
But Hiyori knew exactly what she was going to say. In case they die. Yato wanted Kira and Matoko to come protect her in case they didn't make it back. Not even Yato was hopeful that they would defeat his father. Hiyori felt useless. Here she was holed up somewhere and Yato was out there dying and she couldn't do anything about it.
Or could she?