Chapter Text
Fujisaki Kouto had one goal: to destroy all gods, which lead to Yaboku, or "Yato" as the name he goes by these day, being willed to exist, Yato's original propose was to cull mankind but now the god was starting to go into his "Rebellious Phase" which was a problem for Fujisaki to accomplish his goals.
All his friends...
All his family...
Everyone...
Everyone Yato cares about...
He knew exactly what to do...
•••••
He would first like to start with an easy target... Like Yukine-kun who just happened to be walking pass by this baseball court he was hanging at, Fujisaki smiled to himself, thinking that this couldn't have been any easier, he quickly approached the boy still with the amusing smile on his face.
"Hello Yu-"
"What do you want" Yukine asked as soon as his eye had caught sight of Fujisaki.
He sighed with a glint of exaggerated pain in his eyes. "I just wanted to talk, come on, you looked mad too, got in a fight with Yaboku again?"
Yukine let out a low growl in his throat, he looked away as if in shame, "And what do you want?" the boy repeated his question.
"I'm glad you ask!" Fujisaki's smile returned to his face, "I know you've been having these... 'thoughts' right? They are like nightmares hovering in your mind and no matter what you do you just can't seem to shake it off of you..."
The shinki turned to look at him with curiosity and confusion in his eyes, "H-how did you.."
"Of course I would know, and I'm the one who could tell you exactly what those visions are... I thought you might like to know what your master was hiding from you,"
Yukine froze, and for a moment Fujisaki thought that something might've already triggered in the shinki before he even got the chance to do any real harm, but it seemed like the boy was only considering his 'kind' request. "A-alright.. Whatever... Just tell me, I don't care what Yato might think of this... I just need to know..."
From around them, the evening wind blew from behind Fujisaki, the road was empty with no one else but the two boys on it, the trees were rustling intensely even though the wind was just anything but a light breeze, as if they were an omen warning the clueless Hafuri about what's to come.
"Yukine... What you saw..."
From behind the shinki, there was a man running up to them, he was wearing his signature tracksuit and the thing he dubbed 'fluffy fluff scarf', the look on his face was definitely encouraging Fujisaki to continue on to answer Yukine's question.
"YUKINE, DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!"
The shinki ignored the shouting of his master as he looked at Fujisaki with pleading eyes, he continued, "What you saw, is your past Yukine, before you became Yaboku's shinki, before you die, haven't you always wondered what happened before all of this? C'mon, you must've realized something by now don't you?"
Yukine's eyes widen, as if he'd just remembered something he was desperately trying to remember for a very long time, which he indeed technically was. The boy suddenly collapsed and so does Yato from behind, purple marks started to appear on both master and shinki, the painful cries of the boy at Fujisaki's feet was getting more inhumane every second that passed, as if he was turning into some kind of monster, the calm and mild evening breeze was starting to become a storm.
•••••
Everything was flooding into him all at once..
Every lost memory...
Every forgotten emotions...
And his name...
Yukine first saw a cat.. Then the scattered money on the floor.. A woman and a girl carrying bags as if they were going somewhere, the girl was looking back at him with sad looking eyes, but she didn't say a word. Then there was more visions, some are happy memories some are not, but then the image of the girl was back, this time though, she was smiling.
Suddenly, just like a switch has been flipped, everything started to get dimmer... Darker.. He was inside a... Coffin? No... There was some kind of food holder on the door... A refrigerator? That must be it, then he saw a dark silhouette, a man was hovering over him, his hand was touching the door of the fridge, he immediately remembered that he had a dream like this a lot of times, and those times he didn't know who the man was, but now he recognized him as his father.
Yukine knew how this ended...
He tried to scream, but nothing came out of his mouth, and then suddenly, his father closed the door, and he was in pitch black darkness, the fear was squeezing his throat, he couldn't breathe, he tried struggling, he tried kicking the door, but it wouldn't open, he shouted and thrashed, but nothing worked, eventually his fear level had risen so high that nothing else came out of his throat, he was gaping in the dark like a fish out of water.
Yato...
Why... Why haven't you told me anything? Why do you have to lie? Why do I have to go through all this? What did I do to deserve this?... Why... Why... Why... Why...
Why do I have to be the one suffering? When it should've been you, you excuse for a god!
•••••
Yato didn't know when, but he was crying, he could feel Yukine's pain, and he's stinging him on every inch of his skin, the pain was just as intense as back then when Yukine had gotten his first ablution, he really wished that he doesn't have to experience all of that again.
He immediately came looking for his shinki when he felt a tingling sensation at the back of his neck, he felt like something was off and wrong, and he instantly assumed that it was Yukine, since they did argue with each other before the shinki stormed out of the house in anger.
Yato knew that some day this would happen.
The day that Yukine learned the god's greatest secret.
History is repeating itself.
No... Yukine...
Yato fought the pain and opened his eyes, his visions were blurry and everything was spinning, he saw his father grinning in amusement as he watched Yukine screamed and thrashed, two red bat-like wings sprouted from his back, eyes were appearing on the purple blights rolling around grossly, the shinki was turning into an ayakashi.
He gritted his teeth and slowly rise from the hard concrete floor, the wind was surprisingly making it more difficult than it already was, Yato felt like he was going to get blown away, his body was giving up on him, but his mind encouraged it on, he crouched down on his knees turning to face his hafuri.
"YUKINE!" He shouted at the top of his lung as loud as his current body state could.
"That's..." Yukine stopped, Yato might've thought that he was just tired from all the thrashing and screaming, but he knew what adrenaline could do to people so he doubt that it was the case. The boy turned to look at the god, his eyes were gleaming with hunger and rage, Yato was already feeling the anger but to see that gleam in his eyes made the emotions even stronger.
Yukine rolled over and started to get up, but fell into the same position as Yato, the red name on Yukine's collarbone had cracks on them, the blight was also covering half of it.
"That's... That's..." The boy glared at the god and shouted through his gritted teeth, "THAT'S NOT MY NAME!"
Yato's eyes widen in shock as he shouted back, "YES IT IS DAMN IT! I NAMED YOU! PLEASE! JUST GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF, I DON'T WANT TO RELEASE YOU!"
"RELEASE ME THEN! I HATE YOU ANYWAY!"
Yato's body felt even more heavy, the weight of every possible emotion that Yukine was feeling right there was weighing down on him, every single syllable of the last sentence was playing a loop in his mind, it was sincere... No... There was a bit of doubt in Yukine's heart, he still might have some hope left...
"You know... Releasing Yukine might not just be a bad idea, give him to me, that would be easier, I could provide him with everything he could ever wanted and it would also solve 'this' problem too" Fujisaki said with a crossed arm, his smug grin made Yato want to kill him even more... But not now, he has other things to be worried about.
"I would never give him to a bastard like you" The god snarled.
Suddenly, Yukine's head snapped to look at Fujisaki, who seemed as surprised at the act as much as he was, "THAT'S NOT MY NAME!"
Yukine threw himself at him and Fujisaki narrowly avoided the sudden attack, he quickly switched his shocked expression back to his original smug grin. "Well... It seemed like this is not going anywhere... You are pissed and you won't do as I say... Whatever, Yaboku take this as a warning, I will make you listen to me one way or another" Fujisaki waved a lazy goodbye before turning around and walking away, Yato really wanted to get up and strangle him.
The god shifted his focus onto Yukine.
I have to save him... I can't let him be turned... After all we've been through there's no way in hell I'm letting it end like this...
The sentence played in his mind again, on a specific part...
I HATE YOU ANYWAY...
The god shook his thoughts away before he got distracted, he forced himself to stood up and took a few limping steps towards Yukine, who was covering both of his ears and trembling as he murmured something under his breath, for every painfully long second that had past the pain seemed to have grown more intense, his mind was starting to have the urge to give up but he still continued on.
"Yukine..."
"That's. Not. My. Name" The shinki slowly spilled the words out through his gritted teeth, he seemed to be in pain from that leap earlier, no one should be moving at a sudden speed and force in this kind of condition.
"Please... Just.... Calm down a bit okay? Let's talk this out..."
"You never told me anything... You keep secrets, you were being annoying... You left me to suffer here, it hurts like hell..." Anger was spitting from those words like poison that was now tearing through Yato's mind.
"I... I'm sorry... Can you forgive me? I really want you back.. Please..."
Please don't let this happen again...
Yato crouched down to Yukine's level, he could see that he was trying to move away from him, so he quickly embraced him in a hug, Yukine gasped in surpised and his eyes widen, the boy's wings was starting to disappear as Yato hold him tight, tears of physical and mental pain was rolling down his cheeks.
"I don't want to lose a shinki to the god's greatest secret again... So please Yukine, let what's in the past be in the past"
The ayakashi features were starting to disappear, creepy rolling eyes and the wings, Yukine was also crying, but he didn't hug Yato back, his eyes and his voice was still filled with anger. "I can't... How am I supposed to live knowing that... Knowing all of this? My sister... My mom.. I-"
Yukine was speechless, he burried his face in Yato's shoulder and sighed, their bodies were starting to get numb that they couldn't feel the pain from the blights anymore.
"Are... Are you not going to self destruct?" Yato asked in a low voice.
"What? No? What are you talking about 'self destruct'? I'm not gonna explode! Am I?"
"When A shinki learn of the god's greatest secret their name break and they die" Yato's voice was plain and tired.
"Oh... But I didn't did I? Well.. I'm not feeling like exploding or anything... Not now... Anyway, can we break free now?"
Yato stayed their for a few seconds longer before he decided to part away, he glanced at Yukine's name and to his surprised it was sealed, no cracks was left. "How..."
Yukine shrugged as he slowly got up from the ground, wincing a little at the sore muscles, "We can talk about this back at home... But first we really gotta have to get these blights off..."
"G.. Good idea..."
•••••
Yato and Yukine made it back home after they had gotten all the blights off of them.
Daikoku and Kofuku was a bit curious as to why the two boys didn't say a word when they had entered the house, but they let them be and continued their own business, Daikoku preparing dinner and Kofuku helping, or trying atleast...
"So... Do you want me to call you by your real name?" Yato asked once he and Yukine were alone in the attic.
"What? Are you stupid? How are we going to explain to everyone else why you called me by some name they'd never heard before? Of course not! Just call me Yukine, you did gave me that name after all..."
The god nodded as he sat down on the floor infront of his shinki, he was still a bit shocked that Yukine managed to survive hearing the god's greatest secret, but of course he didn't complain he was glad that no one died.
"So... Tsuguha... She died from... Whatever happened to me right?" Yukine asked with a tinged of sadness in his voice.
"Yes... Yes she did... You are very lucky you survived... Are you not troubled by those memories at all? You seemed fine... too fine"
"What does that even mean? I... Of course I'm troubled, I don't know what to do and it's... Painful... But you told me to let what's in the past be in the past right? That's the advice I'm taking right now... I really don't want to die a second time you know?"
Yato looked down on the floor, his current mood wasn't exactly the brightest, "Okay... Fair enough... If there's anything you need just tell me alright?"
"My attempt to lighten up the mood had failed miserably..." Yukine sighed before forming a smile, Yato was surprised to see that it was sincere.
"Besides, now there wouldn't be anymore secrets between us right? I've already survived the worst of the secrets so there's probably nothing I can't handle!"
The god thought about it for a moment before forming a smile too, but it wasn't as genuine as Yukine's, he was still worried about him and if anything like this ever happened again he doesn't think that they won't be as lucky as they were today, "Yes, of course.. No more secrets... I'm sorry by the way..."
"Nah, you were keeping secrets because you knew if I knew I would die... It was technically all my fault for trying to force you to 'kill' me" Yukine let out a chuckled, he sure was happy for the fact that from now on there wouldn't be anymore lies or mysteries behind their relationship.
Yato nodded with a hum, the fake smile still on his face, "Mm... By the way, I have a question.. It would make sense when I say it since it has something to do with your past.."
"What is it?"
"Do you... See me as a father figure?" Yato said the sentence almost in a whisper, his cheeks felt like it was getting a few degrees hotter in embarrassment.
"Huh?"
"Do you see me as a father figure?" He repeated a little louder.
Yukine blushed too, "Oh uh... Sure? Yeah I could see why you're asking that question... My dad wasn't exactly the best dad in the whole world..." He said, the god remembered the fact that it was Yukine's father that had ended his life, Yato was surprised himself that it didn't made the shinki feel that angry or sad as he thought he would be.... Or should be.
"So it's a yes?"
"N.. Yes? Yes, yep you are offering to be my foster father so I can't exactly turn away the offer without making it awkward.." Yukine said rubbing the back of his neck.
"You don't have to say yes if you don't want.."
"No no no, I want this, now that I think about it... I definitely see you as a father figure... Just please don't be an annoying father..." Yukine joked.
Yato chuckled, he had temporarily forgotten that he was anxious and scared a moment ago. "Alright then... I'll try"
"You better"
•••••
Fujisaki was gazing over the city on top of Hiyori Iki's school, the sun was setting in front of him which meant that he should be heading home right now before his parents gets worried.
"What are we going to do next father?" Nora asked as she stood by his side, watching the sun set, ayakashi wolves sat behind them, white masks with black outlined eyes were imprinted on them.
"Well... We are going to be doing the same thing just changing the target... Yukine survived the god's greatest secret which is a shame but that atleast did some damage to Yaboku"
"My guess is that Hiyori Iki is next?"
"Indeed... And I think that it should be enough to get my annoying rebellious son to finally obey me" Fujisaki smiled to himself as he thought about what he's about to do next.
I will tear you to pieces... That way you would learn never to rebel against me, Yaboku...