Noragami inspired.

If you enjoy it, let me know.

If not, also let me know. Kindly.

Thank you for reading.


He released a determined breath and set his jaw. The crossed out 五円 seemed to stare back at him accusatorialy. "You really think anyone will pay that?" It said "What makes you think the menial work you do is worth that much?" He frowned slightly and spun on his heel. Plastering on the most convincingly confident smile he could muster as he walked briskly away.

A week and a half later he had yet to get a single call. Sure, he had been through dry spells before, but they didn't feel like this. After going about his ridiculous routine of trying to get anyone to notice him, while continuing to leave his new ad in conspicuous places, he plopped himself down with a sigh in the middle of a train station. Yato watched bemusedly as people scurried about. Hours passed, and he picked at the worn sleeve of his jacket. He smiled to himself, pushing the anxiety creeping up within him down as no one paid him so much as a sidelong glance.

He rapped nervous fingers against the phone in his pocket, willing it to ring. Before long his chest began to tighten. The usually, relatively, docile ayakashi in his periphery began to look increasingly threatening, and he became all too aware of his current lack of regalia. Standing suddenly, he pushed past the human patrons and made his way up the stairs, three at a time, and out into the daylight. Then he wandered on anxious feet until he found his way to a park. Still, no one noticed him. He stayed there for a long time. Hardly noticing the blissful quiet of an almost ayakashi-less night. He simply watched, and tried not to think about the growing pit in his stomach. The sun began its slow descent toward the horizon and he checked his phone for probably the thousandth time that day. Again, nothing... When had his heartbeat taken over every other sound? And why was it so fast? He pressed tightly closed fists deep into his pockets. Despite his position sprawled on the grass of the park he perceived not a single reaction from the beings surrounding him. Not even the animals seemed to acknowledge his presence. His mind began to wander into undesirable territory. Had they all forgotten him? The thought whispered into his consciousness. He even found himself thinking of Father and the stray. When was the last time he had heard from them? He tried to take a deep breath and close his eyes. He needed to calm down. Father would never go down so quietly, right? And Hiiro would never abandon him…right? He couldn't disappear because father needed him. He had wished Yato into existence, and promised him everything if he only did as he was told. But- he had rebelled again, and again. This time he had run farther from his twisted 'family' than ever before. What if they had decided he was too much trouble? Or he was no longer useful? Yato was rapidly losing the desperate hold he'd had over his fear. Father wouldn't do that just to spite him…would he? Panic clutched at Yato's chest and he couldn't breathe. He should have never listened, should never have let father convince him that he didn't need a shrine. If he had a shrine, even one other person to remember him would be enough, or so he hoped. Darkness crept across his surroundings but he remained rooted in place. Why had he been so cocky and raised the price? Of course they all forgot him. Why did he think he could escape punishment after deviating from the course? There really was nothing he could do on his own. They would never remember such a pathetic, despicable thing such as him. Why would father want him around either? It was his destiny to fulfill father's wish and then quietly fade away, wasn't it? His chin and lips trembled, and his eyes became blurry with tears. His hand curled around the phone like a lifeline. But he didn't want to disappear. He wanted to prove that his existence was right, that he was worth something. Something more than destruction. He wanted to show Sakura that he could be good like she'd believed he could be.

A tear ran along the side of his face and into his hair. The park appeared eerily vacant. Yato felt utterly alone.

Was this what it felt like?

Please…don't let me disappear. Someone, anyone, remember me. Father, please.

"I can't disappear yet…please." He whispered.

The sound of water invaded his hearing and despite his closed eyes he knew she was there. "Were you calling for me, Yaboku?" She asked. "Oh, Hiiro. You found me." He said flatly. "Of course. We'll always find you, Yaboku." "It's time to come home." He sighed, fingers slowly loosening from their death grip.

Yato hated the overwhelming relief that had flooded through him.