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“Is that you, Hiyori-chan?”
“Oh!” Hiyori stammered. “Sasaki-san…”
Hiyori gently pushed the front door until it clicked shut behind her.
“Welcome home! I was about to…” Sasaki’s voice echoed out of the living room, growing closer as she emerged. Her smile turned to slight concern as soon as she saw Hiyori.
“Are you feeling alright?”
Hiyori was surprised at the comment and stopped in her tracks. She was hoping it wouldn’t be so obvious but…
“Well—” Hiyori started to sidestep, looking to the side.
“You should rest if you have a fever,” Sasaki suggested gently. “You mother will be home soon.”
Hiyori nodded in reluctant agreement.
“…okay.”
Hiyori made her way to her room with a sigh, disappointed in her luck. She felt a little run down that afternoon but had hoped it wasn’t a cold. She changed into her pajamas and started to climb into bed when she suddenly stopped herself; her phone caught her eye. After several moments, Hiyori reached over and set the volume to silent. She hurriedly placed it back and pulled the blankets tightly around her.
I need to get better!
Meanwhile at Kofuku’s house, the resident kami and shinki were finishing dinner. The banter in the room died down to little more than the sounds of clinking tableware and sipped drinks. The sun outside had long since set and a multitude of stars were shining with a sliver of moon in the clear sky.
Inside, Yukine was less interested than usual in the company around him and fidgeted with some of the items on the table. The chatter around him starting picking up again, but it all blended together into dull noise on his ears.
Meanwhile, Yato was lying on the floor, indifferently chiming into the conversation every now and then, but he seemed to be more focused on his phone. His fingers were quickly tapping on the keys.
“Damn it you two, finish your food!”
The tracksuit kami and his shinki both quietly avoided eye contact with Daikoku, who was now starting to stack the empty dishes in frustration.
“Maybe something else came up?” Kofuku mused as she leaned forward on the table.
A brief silence fell over the room.
“Yukine…!”
Yukine jumped at the sound.
“Are you going to brood all night?” Yato complained, still lying flat on the floor.
“Tch! At least I’m not the one constantly sending Hiyori tweets!”
“Hey!” Yato barked back, snapping back up into a seated position at the table, legs crossed and a finger pointed with phone held in hand. “That’s not the issue here!”
Yukine grumbled to himself and left the table as the commotion continued. He settled next to the still-open door and looked outside with his arms crossed. His eyes wandered to look up at the night sky illuminated by the moon and stars.
Maybe Kofuku is right… I shouldn’t get mad at them for it anyways.
“Did you hear what I said? Hey. Yukine,” Yato demanded.
Yukine turned suddenly, prepared to scold the tracksuit again, but instead gasped at the sight of a smirking Yato squatting so close behind him.
“Wanna go see Hiyori with me?”
“But—”
In a flash of light, the pair landed with a light thump on the roof outside of Hiyori’s window.
“Ugh, gross! Get your nasty hands off of me!”
Yukine pushed Yato away and bobbled a little on his feet, but he quickly regained his balance. Yato took a few steps towards Hiyori’s window with one hand in his pocket and a mischievous smile on his face.
“Shh!”
Yukine tsked, wondering what was really going to be accomplished by being there. He reluctantly accompanied Yato into the dim room, but they were both surprised that Hiyori was nowhere to be seen—at first.
Yukine tensed but in almost the same instant, the light on Hiyori’s nightstand clicked on. The yellow light was only blocked by the silhouette of the tracksuit kami, with one hand on his hip and the other hanging down towards his side. Relieved, Yukine hurried over to him.
“Sick, huh?” Yato noticed softly, seriousness spreading across his face.
Hiyori was rolled away from them and sleeping soundly on her side, despite the disruption. A folded washcloth laid crinkled up on her pillow.
“We shouldn’t be bothering her,” Yukine warned, nearly a whisper. He shot a stern glance to Yato, who didn’t see him.
Yato snapped up the loose washcloth with one hand. He glanced at Yukine before walking out of Hiyori’s room and shutting the door behind him. Yukine let out an exasperated sigh.
If she knows we were here, she’s gonna be so mad…
Yukine sank down to the floor near Hiyori’s nightstand, folding up his legs and crossing his arms. Hiyori stirred once, but didn’t wake.
The door to Hiyori’s room swung back open dramatically as a determined Yato re-entered with a small bowl. Yukine cringed at the theatrics but kept reminding himself: at least he’s trying to be helpful.
The small bowl made a light sound as Yato set it on the nightstand. He then carefully wrung out the cloth before gently placing the now-cooled cloth on Hiyori’s forehead. He turned around and exhaled, seemingly exhausted by the small task. He sat on the edge of Hiyori’s bed, leaning back on his arms with his legs sticking straight out to the floor. Phew!
“Hey! You’re gonna wake her up sitting there with that smelly jacket,” Yukine chided in a loud whisper.
Yato glared at him from his spot, but said nothing.
“Let’s go now,” Yukine whispered.
Even if Hiyori was not feeling well, somehow he felt a little better knowing it wasn’t something worse. Yato, apparently in agreement, nodded and started to rise up, but quickly seated himself again with a surprised look on his face. Yukine’s expression changed, suspicious of what he was trying to pull this time.
“Aaaaah! Yukine!!” he squeaked out in terror.
Yukine lunged forward and clapped his hand over Yato’s mouth with disgust.
“Let’s! Go!” Yukine hissed.
Yukine then peered over the tracksuit’s shoulder. Seeing the problem, he tried his best to stifle a small laugh.
“What are you so scared of?” Yukine whispered with a smirk.
Hiyori was still asleep, but had grabbed part of the tracksuit’s jacket and was now holding it firmly. She was mumbling a little in a dreamlike state. But before Yukine could react or intervene, Yato had already reached behind himself and seemed to be clumsily trying to push Hiyori’s hand away. He wasn’t even watching what he was doing.
“Thi…”
“Hiyori…! Stop!” Yato pleaded quietly with a sleeping Hiyori, still trying to get her to let go.
“… smells…”
Yato froze for a moment before abruptly grabbing of the sleeves of his own jacket and pulling it off as quickly as possible. He jumped up and backed away from Hiyori. Yukine was surprised at Yato’s strong reaction and looked back down at Hiyori.
“What happened…?” Yukine wondered out loud.
He turned to look at the tracksuit—who was now missing part of his tracksuit—but Yato was facing away from the light of the nightstand and seemed to have his arms crossed. There was no response. Yukine sighed and closed his eyes for a moment.
Whatever.
Hiyori rolled over and loosened her grasp on the now-empty jacket enough that it slipped from her grasp. Yukine was quick to grab it, but when he offered it back to Yato, there was an icy reception from across the room.
“Hiyori?”
Her mother’s gentle voice slowly awoke the senses. Light was also filtering into the room from a now-opened curtain. Hiyori blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the light. She started to roll over and could see her mother standing in the room, looking concerned.
“Are you feeling better this morning?”
Hiyori started fidgeting to sit up from the tangle of blankets. Her head was still a little heavy, but she felt so much more refreshed after…
“What’s that?” her mother suddenly asked. She walked over and knelt down to the floor near Hiyori’s bed and rose up, holding a blue track jacket pinched between two fingers. Hiyori’s mind screamed.
How the hell did that get in here?!
Hiyori tripped over words and raced to find an explanation, although she was still trying to find one for herself.
“I… must have dropped that when I came home last night!” Hiyori fibbed nervously. “I brought it home from Ami-chan’s!”
“It’s… kind of dirty. I’m sure Sasaki-san would wash it for you before you return it.”
Hiyori nodded enthusiastically.
“I’ll… ask her when I come downstairs for breakfast!” Hiyori pretended to agree.
Seemingly satisfied, her mother doted on her for a few more minutes before exiting the room. Hiyori waited for the door to click shut and the footsteps to fade away before she bolted out of bed. Hiyori ran to her desk and snapped up the jacket from over the back of her chair. She held it in both hands, looking at it. How did it get there? Yato was here? But when? It must have been after she fell asleep. Her face flushed at the thought as she tried to push it from her mind.
Oh!
Hiyori suddenly realized that there must be a trail of messages on her phone, as usual. With jacket still in hand, she picked up her phone and paged through her unread messages. There were several, but they stopped not too long after she had gone to sleep. But there weren’t any more messages after that. She sighed and looked up, thinking hard. It just didn’t make sense.
She started towards her wardrobe to find an outfit for the day when she hesitated. She looked down for a moment at the jacket that was still in hand, before holding it up close to look at it. It was a little scuffed and dirty but…
She held it close to her face and lightly took a sniff, before holding it away from her face to look at it again. A small smile came across her face.
For most of the day, Hiyori relaxed at home. As she lounged about, she felt lucky to already be feeling better. Surprisingly, her phone was also quiet, which seemed a little suspicious at first, but she guessed that Yato and Yukine must have been out working a job.
Her mother frequently cautioned her not to overexert herself, but she felt that she could at least get caught up on choosing problems for Yukine’s homework. Hiyori was finally able to escape to the quiet of her room and skim through her old notebooks. She quickly finished and afterward went over to the window. She pushed it open and peered out to watch the sun sink lower in the sky.
I wonder what those two were up to today…
Out of the corner of her eye, Hiyori noticed someone walking on the top of the wall surrounding her house. It was Yukine, hands in his pockets while looking around uneasily. What was he doing here by himself? Hiyori tip-toed down the stairs and slipped on some shoes before leaving through the front door. He noticed Hiyori and started waving one hand at her.
“Yukine… kun?” Hiyori called out to him hesitantly.
Hiyori quickly glanced around to make sure no one she knew was nearby to witness her “talking to herself” before making her way over to him.
“Hiyori!” Yukine greeted nervously. “Have you heard from Yato today?” He hopped down to the ground.
Hiyori took out her phone and flipped through the messages. Something from Ami-chan… Yama-chan… and her mom. Nothing else was there. She was starting to get a little nervous.
“He… hasn’t sent anything today…?”
Yukine lightly kicked at the ground with one foot.
“What the hell is he up to now?” Yukine wondered, crossing his arms.
“You weren’t at a job?”
“Not today.”
Both Hiyori and Yukine contemplated quietly for a moment.
“Well he was obviously here at some point last night,” Hiyori recalled.
“Yeah, but after we left he was all—”
“You were here too?!”
Yukine jumped back a little, not wanting to invite any of Hiyori’s fury.
“I— we were just worried about why you didn’t come over yesterday!” Yukine tried to hurriedly reason. “But when we came to see you… you were sick! And then we left! That’s all, I promise!”
Hiyori’s mood softened. So they were worried? She started to feel a little guilty.
I should have at least called them…
“But after we left, he was acting all weird and then this morning he was gone before I woke up!”
Gone?
That word resonated with Hiyori for a moment. Why would he leave without telling anyone? Without hesitation she ran back inside and up the stairs to her room. Yukine followed her inside.
“Hiyori?! Wait for me!”
His words made no sound to Sasaki-san, who looked confused at the commotion as she was gathering her things to leave for the evening. By the time Yukine caught up to Hiyori, she had already left her mortal form to rest on her bed. She ran to scoop up the jacket and tie it around her waist, but she paused momentarily.
“Yukine, here. Take this,” Hiyori directed as she held the jacket out to Yukine.
“What? But you—!”
Yukine stopped himself and looked off to the side innocently, clamping his mouth shut.
“I… what?” Hiyori asked after a few moments.
Yukine ruffled his hair with one hand.
“When we came to visit, you maaay have grabbed that jacket from Yato so…”
Hiyori’s cheeks blushed at the thought. She shook her head to clear the words from her mind.
Oh, nevermind!
Hiyori tied the sleeves of the jacket around her waist and hurriedly hopped out the open window. Yukine took the hint and followed her to the roof. The breeze ruffled both of their hair as Hiyori closed her eyes. There was a single scent she was looking for. Yukine stopped, waiting for her to detect the tracksuit kami.
I wish I could find him as easily…
Yukine briefly watched Hiyori but then looked down, jamming his hands in his pockets. He twisted and rubbed the toe of his shoe on the roof tiles beneath him.
I wonder what she’s waiting for… and how she…
The light bulb then went off in his head. Before he could turn to say anything, she had already bounded off to other rooftops.
“Hey! Wait!” he called after her, reaching out his hand.
He finally caught up to Hiyori, who had stopped and seemed to be looking around again. She pointed somewhere off in the distance.
“I think he’s probably over there, somewhere near Kofuku-san’s but…”
Yukine looked at her with a suspicious grin creeping across his face, waiting for the end of the sentence.
“…but you can’t tell exactly where the scent is coming from?” he asked innocently.
“Yeah…” Hiyori started in agreement, before realizing what he had just asked. She tried to take it back but it was too late.
“No! No no no no!”
“Bingo! So that must be why you were mumbling about ‘That something something smell’,” Yukine paraphrased.
Hiyori groaned and her thoughts came to a screeching halt. Her cheeks reddened again as she clapped her hands on either side of her face in horror.
“If you can find him though… it doesn’t matter, right?” he offered, trying to encourage her.
Hiyori’s thoughts slowly started moving again.
That’s right. Get a grip, Hiyori.
The sun was already starting to sink down to the horizon, so Hiyori lead the way—to Kofuku’s.
“Yaaaaato-chaaaaan!” Kofuku greeted cheerfully. “Welcome back! When did you get here?”
Yato was sitting at the table, but his face and arms were limply resting on the table surface. Kofuku ran over to him and gave him a quick hug, but there was no greeting in return.
“Why’s your hair all wet?” she asked, putting her hand on top of his head.
Yato brushed her hand away and tried to fluff his hair with his own hands while shaking his head around.
“N-no reason!”
“I think Yukki went to look for you,” she informed him softly.
“I know…”
Yato laid his arms on the table, intensely looking away from Kofuku. She sat down next to him and propped up her chin on one hand.
“Hmm?”
Daikoku entered the room and noticed the sour mood before also joining them at the table. He looked over at Yato, who was being dramatic as usual, but he kept his comments to himself. In the meantime, he calmly smoked a cigarette while watching the setting sun cast shadows through the open door.
“Yukine better come home soon,” Yato mumbled to himself.
You better not have gotten Hiyori…
As if on cue, Yukine arrived in a hurry. He was silhouetted against the orange sky.
“I’m home!” he greeted as he ran into the house.
A weak chorus of “welcome back” greeted him in return. Yukine’s smile changed to annoyance at the sight of Yato.
“Where the hell have you been all this time?! And why’s your hair dripping wet?”
Yato scrunched his face in irritation and looked in the opposite direction. He laid his head on the table with a small bang.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“’Don’t worry about it’? If Hiyori hadn’t—!”
Yato was spurred at the mention of that name and gave Yukine a funny look, only to see Hiyori come up behind Yukine and clap her hand over his mouth.
“Shh!”
“It’s Hiyorin!”
Yato suddenly jumped up from the table, running into the house towards the steps to the attic. Yukine was about to shout after him but Hiyori suddenly ran past. Both pairs of feet clamored up the wooden stairs with Hiyori doing the shouting.
“Yato?! Yato! What are you doing?! Stop!”
Without warning, Yato stopped so abruptly that Hiyori crashed into him, both falling to the floor. Hiyori quickly pushed herself back away from him, even though he continued to lie face down on the floor in the dark attic. Hiyori waited for him to get up too, but all he did was cross his arms and bury his face in them. Silence.
Hiyori sighed, annoyed. She started looking around the attic, with only the last bit of daylight streaming through the window. She got up and started to rummage through some of the items around the open space. Yukine’s desk light clicked on, but Hiyori seemed to continue looking around for something. Yato could hear her footsteps, but didn’t try to figure out what she could possibly be doing.
Please… just go away. Look for his homework later.
Her footsteps then started to approach him. Yato unexpectedly felt some fabric plop on the back of his head. The fluffy fabric then started rubbing around through the wet strands of hair.
“You’re going to get a cold like that you know…”
Yato tensed up but Hiyori was undeterred. He sighed and pushed himself up off the floor, sitting himself cross-legged in front of a kneeling Hiyori. She tried to look him in the face, but it was obscured by his hair and part of the small towel sitting on his head. He could feel his cheeks warm, but it wasn’t from a cold.
“Um…” she struggled, looking around for a clue of what to say.
Looking down, Hiyori noticed the jacket sleeves still tied around her waist and suddenly remembered. She hurried to untie them and straighten out the wrinkles, presenting it to him with both hands and a smile.
“You forgot this,” she said as cheerfully as possible.
Yato looked up all of a sudden. Hiyori noticed his red cheeks, her own face also starting to blush for some reason. He looked intently at the lost item and wondered what he should do in a situation like this. Annoyed at the skittish behavior, Hiyori pulled her hands and the jacket back.
“What happened?” she demanded.
“Nothing,” he managed to squeak out. “Give my jacket back…”
“I know you were at my house yesterday.”
Yato looked away again with eyes clamped shut, the shadows from the lamp hiding his face. There was no other response. Hiyori silently fumed before trying different tactics.
“You’re always wanting me to tell you everything… and… I don’t know if there was something I did to make you upset but…” she tried to apologize.
Both of his blue eyes snapped open. Hiyori’s words came to a halt, hoping he would finally say something. After what must have been a minute, he very quietly started to respond.
“You said, ‘ugh this smells’ and so…” he drifted off, completely avoiding looking at her face.
Hiyori’s face became more flushed by the second, recalling what Yukine had told her earlier.
“That’s… not totally right!” she tried to clumsily clarify, looking around as if there was a clue to help bail her out of this one.
What to say? What to do? What exact words did she say? What was she trying to say? The questions circled her head for what felt like an eternity. She wanted to evaporate.
“It’s okay… I guess,” Yato excused quietly.
You wouldn’t be the only one to think so.
Hiyori suddenly jumped up, the jacket falling to the ground between them, her hands clapping on either side of Yato’s head. The jolt surprised him and he started to panic a little. What’s happening? What’s she doing?
“Yato! I never would have said something like that!” she insisted.
“But… in your sleep you said… that and…”
“Forget you ever heard any of that!” Hiyori ordered, the loudness of her own voice surprising her. “You… smell really nice,” she said much more quietly, trying to keep her own voice from quivering. She closed her eyes tightly and lightly touched her forehead to his. “You always do… please believe me…”
Even though Hiyori’s eyes were closed, Yato’s were wide open at the revelation. His mind screamed for a few moments before he could finally think straight again.
Always… smell nice? How…?
He took a few breaths, then gently took both of her hands in his own and lowered them away from his face. The mortified feeling eased and he smirked a little, trying to cover up his remaining confusion.
“I… what?”
Hiyori scooted back and curled up a little with her hands over her face, embarrassed at the confession. Yato reached out for his jacket and put it back on, stopping short of pulling the zipper all the way up. He scooted closer and focused his attention back on Hiyori, whose face was still red. He lightly sniffed the back of his own hand, and then gently extended it to Hiyori, almost offering it to her.
I smell like soap.
“I don’t really know what you’re talking about…” he tried to brush off. “But that’s… something that makes you happy?”
Hiyori’s hands parted to reveal her eyes and she looked intensely at Yato’s extended hand.
“Yato! You don’t need to be that close!” she stammered as she covered her face again.
That close…?
“I mean…” she tried to recover.
Yato raised an eyebrow. After taking a few moments to think about it, he stood up and extended his hand down to Hiyori to help her up. Hiyori’s hand met his and she was pulled up from the floor, not sure if she should feel relieved or surprised or…?
The towel that had come to rest on his shoulders dropped to the floor. Yato leaned over enough to look her directly in her bewildered face and smile deviously at her.
“So… is that how you keep finding me?” he asked playfully. He then dropped her hand before she had time to respond, and he disappeared in a flash of light.
Hiyori gasped but then suddenly let her competitive spirit take over. She ran to the open window, looking around with heightened alertness. The cool night breeze flowed into the room when suddenly her senses locked on to something and she leapt out the window.
Outside the now-dark rest stop, Yato attentively wandered around. Every now and then, Kofuku’s laughter could be faintly heard from within the house before the sounds of the night slowly took over again. He walked slowly towards the vending machines and kept an eye out for Hiyori, hands in his pockets.
Maybe… that doesn’t have anything to do…
His eyes darted around, but Hiyori could not be seen. Or heard. He sighed and pulled his hands out of his pockets and started to look at them skeptically. Slowly, he brought them to either side of his face and clapped them on his cheeks once, then twice. He blinked each time but froze in place, starting to think.
Hiyori wouldn’t lie. But it’s a little strange…
Without warning, Hiyori attacked from above and grappled Yato to the ground from behind, putting him in a headlock.
“You didn’t even wait for me to answer you!” Hiyori scolded.
“Ow! Ow! Ow!”
Hiyori loosened her grip and quickly stood up, backing off. Yato started to dramatically whine while getting up from the ground.
“Hiyoriiiii!”
“You’re fine!”
Yato leaned back against one of the vending machines and let out a pitiful sigh. He glanced over at Hiyori, who was looking at him suspiciously a few feet away. He started to smile again.
“Hiyori! So you did find me by—!”
“Yes!!” she snapped, covering her mouth with embarrassment as soon as the words left her mouth.
He looked at her with an apologetic smile, feeling a little sorry that he had embarrassed her. Hiyori scrunched her eyes shut before looking at Yato with purpose. She took a hesitant step towards him, followed by another and another, until she was standing directly in front of him. With each step, Yato’s smile disappeared and he started to tense up again.
What’s she doing?
Hiyori paused before taking the loose edges of his jacket in both hands and burying her face in the fabric. Yato froze in place staring straight ahead, eyes wide. Hiyori slowly rolled her head to the side, her own eyes squeezed shut with bashfulness.
“You… your scent is like hi-hinoki… but… so much s-sweeter… and…” Hiyori searched for more words but struggled to find any to complete her thought.
“Ehh?”
“Sweeter! Like um…?”
“You… can smell that from so far away?” he asked, amazed.
“Yes…!”
Yato blinked several times before hugging her close with a small laugh. Hiyori’s eyes shot open, even though she was the first one to stand so close. He rested the side of his head on top of hers.
“You say such pleasant things, Hiyori.”
Weird things, but pleasant things.
Hiyori’s tension refused to relax and her mind started to dart from thought to thought. The cool dampness of Yato’s hair reminded her of something else she was wondering earlier.
“You never told me why your hair was wet,” she whispered flatly.
Yato paused for a moment. “I… washed in a spring,” he whispered back.
For you. To be happy again.
“Because you thought… that I thought…?”
“…yeah.”
Hiyori’s nerves relaxed, her anxiety melting away as the misunderstanding dissolved between them. Yato quietly clung to her without saying anything more; the remaining gap between them disappeared. She started to allow herself to get lost in the scent when…
“Hiiiiiyoriiiin? What are you doing in the dark with Yato-chan?” Kofuku asked in a sing-song voice as she emerged from the dark interior.
The light from a flashlight waved towards them.
“You better not be doing anything funny over there, tracksuit,” Yukine advised firmly, shining the flashlight at the two of them.
Hiyori jumped back, but before she could explain what was going on, Yato threw his arm over her shoulder and pulled her close. He playfully stuck out his tongue and winked at Daikoku, who had also followed everyone else outside.
“Daikoku! There aren’t any drinks out here, so let’s go inside and have one!”
“You’re such a pain in the ass…” Daikoku grumbled while Kofuku ushered everyone inside.
“I… really should go home now!” Hiyori announced.
“Aww…” Kofuku lamented. “Hiyorin, you should stay longer next time, m’kay?”
“W-wait!” Yato stammered, reached out for Hiyori. “Stay a little while longer?”
He immediately stopped himself after realizing what he had said, remembering how Yukine had been telling him he was too overbearing.
“Er… sorry…”
You should go if that’s what you want.
Yato reluctantly turned to follow the others back inside, hands forced deep in his pockets. To his surprise, Hiyori’s footsteps slowly trotted up to him until she was alongside him with a shy smile.
“But only a little while longer, okay?”