Circles (5)

We keep running in circles, every day, now and forever, always being connected.

Severing ties, lies, despair, death. A threat is coming, turning Yato and his friend's lives upside down.

'' Uesama '', thoughts.

'' Uesama '', speaking.

Enjoy!~

The god of calamity flipped through a book without even looking at the pages, his mind being occupied by something different. He nibbled on his lollipop in deep thought. After some time he got annoyed and mere seconds before he closed the book, all of a sudden something caught his attention. He squinted his eyes at the old-looking paragraph. 'Yōkai' it said. Yato mused for a while, but in the end he shut the book closed and put it away on a table. Flexing his muscles, he stood up in search of Hiyori and Yukine.

The moment he took the last step in front of Tenjin's temple, he was greeted by a weird looking paper held out in front of his face, making him almost lose his balance, which would have ended in him falling down the stairs, though he was clever enough to jump to the side, before his beautiful face would've greeted the ground. Blinking he looked up at Hiyori in confusion.

Said girl shoved the paper in his face again. Opening his mouth he wanted to ask what was wrong, but he was cut off shortly.

''Do you see this!? Do you?'', Hiyori belted angrily.

All he could do was blink. He didn't do anything, if he remembered correctly. Maybe he was drunk last night and couldn't recall. Yato made a sour looking face as he tried to remember what happened yesterday.

''Errm...uh... … huh?''

Frustrated the girl let a sigh escape her mouth. Taking a breath in again, she continued.

'' My homework Yato! It was a 21 pages article about Toyko's environment and it's economy. It took me days to finish and the deadline is tomorrow!''

He looked right and left searching for answers why she was coming to him with this.

''Uh..uhm okay?'', the god said in confusion.

She pouted and pointed at something on the paper. It was somewhat light brownish and looked like liquid soaked in. His eyes widened and he remembered what happened.

Last night he stayed up late searching books and old scripts for answers on the mysterious figure he saw the day before and as to not fall asleep he had to drink coffee, which unfortunately got knocked to the side as he propped his head on his hand.

Now that he recalled the situation he totally forgot to tell Hiyori about this.

Realization struck him and he began to sweat and shudder in fear.

''No no no no no no she's going to kill me!'', was what his mind told him over and over again.

She looked at him annoyed with her arms folded. As she began to open her mouth, Yato stopped her, holding up his hands to silence her. The purple-eyed girl shot him a questioning glance.

''L-look! I'm s-sorry! I rea-ally didn't mean t-to do that Hiyori! I was doing some research and totally forgot about my coffee cup.. or that I had to tell you about it being spilled over your paper.'' He mumbled the last part looking away in shame and fear.

The girl stared at him for a few seconds and let out a sigh. ''Seriously...'', she said as she shook her head. ''It's... okay'', Hiyori told him a bit reluctant. ''I just... try to figure out just how to get this right again.''

Yato let out a dramatic sob. ''Hiyooriiiii!'' He cried out with a shaky voice. ''You're the best!'' Another sob and then he hugged her, clinging to her as if his life depended on it.

The half-phantom blushed madly and couldn't get out a word to make him stop.

''The hell you doing?'' Came an irritated voice. Yato stopped his wailing, though still clinging to Hiyori and turned around, looking at his blonde-haired shinki. He blinked.

''S-stop harrassing Hiyori!'', the blonde pointed out angrily. The god grinned mischievously at him and hugged her closer only for Yukine to become angrier and more embarrassed.

Didn't he see that Hiyori felt uncomfortable? Her whole face was red after all!

''It's okay to be jealous Yukine-chan. Though there's no reas-'', before Yato could finish his sentence, Hiyori used all of her strength to grab his wrists and throw him over her shoulder into a pillar from the temple's entrance. She huffed, standing there with a red face. Yukine only frowned at him irritated at his behavior.

Lying on his back he looked up at them being upside down and rubbed his head. The god pouted.

''Hiyoriii...! I was only joking.''

Said girl only looked away clicking her tongue annoyed, still blushing madly. He only smiled.

Silence hung in the air as no one tried to start a conversation.

''What's with this commotion?'', an elderly voice asked. Turning their heads they saw Tenjin and his shrine maidens coming their way. The old man looked at Yato lying on the ground and shook his head.

''Starting a ruckus again?'' he asked.

The god of calamity only pouted.

'' We're really sorry for the disturbance Tenjin-san.'' Hiyori and Yukine said at the same time, bowing in front him him. Putting his hands up he waved at them nonchalantly. ''It's okay...I'm already used to this.'' He glanced at Yato, whom was looking at the sky, only half listening to their conversation.

'' You did a good job helping Vaisravana with the ayakashi, Yato. Yukine and Hiyori, too , of course.'' The god said. Fanning himself, he looked around. As silence once again held them captivated, he looked up at the sky with a sorrowful look on his face.

Hiyori shuffled her feet not feeling comfortable with the quiet, just like Yukine who was tapping his toes.

Yato, still lying on his back, his knees and feet against the pillar, looked up at Tenjin with a serious look. ''There's something I'd like to tell you.'' Tenjin stared down at him, waiting for him to start. There was something captivating in his eyes, telling him that there would be no joking. He nodded.

Glancing sideways Yato began talking.

'' Yesterday as we defeated the ayakashi, there was a shadow nearby. It looked kind of.. human, though the way it moved and disappeared was no where near human.'' He frowned and continued.

''I'm not really sure what it was and I'm still trying to find out. There might be a chance that what I saw was only my imagination, but that's most likely not the case.'' Tenjin mused after hearing Yato's words. '' A shadow you say? And you're sure it was not another ayakashi ?'', the old man asked, a hint of disbelieve lacing his voice.

Yato looked at him in all seriousness. ''Yes. I'm sure of it. I can't describe it very well, but the spiritual energy I felt was rather high when we fought the ayakashi. Though after we defeated it, the power source did not change, meaning there had to be something else that was causing the energy to spread.'' He pondered for a few seconds.

''Also.. as the 'shadow' left the destruction side, the energy slowly faded away.'' The god finished.

Yukine and Hiyori exchanged some glances and then stared at Tenjin for answers.

The shrine god bit his lip, thinking. Though after some time, he couldn't think of anything that the 'shadow' might be. As he looked to his right, peering at Hiyori and Yukine, he could see their puzzled glances.

Yukine looked at the ground irritated. '' Maybe it's because you're a god and I'm only a shinki, but for me... I did not feel any difference of spiritual energy at the battle ground.'' Hearing Yato sigh he looked up again at his friend and master.

''Let's just... not think about it for now. I might find out what it is... if it was something, that is. ''

Though knowing Yato he was far from giving up. It was hard for him, when people did not believe him, but he couldn't prove himself right, as there were no clues nor hints that the shadow was there.

Covering his eyes with his arm, he let out a sigh, letting the wind caressing his cheeks and making his hair sway.

'' I know it was there. I will prove myself right and fight that thing, before it can harm any of my friends.''

Enjoying her hot bath Vaisravana was taking ,she let herself sink in even more. Although her scars and injuries from yesterday already healed, she could still feel them.

Looking at her right arm with apprehension, she tried to find out what exactly was wrong with her.

Maybe the memory of the fight from yesterday was enough to send shivers down her spine. It wasn't a big deal, after all the fight was one of the easier ones. She had worse. After Kofuku opened a tear, she had to battle against more than 5 ayakashi once a day. It was okay. It was easy, but this one was different on a whole new level. The blonde-haired god didn't want to admit it, but if it wasn't for Yato, she wouldn't know what would've happened.

Hearing someone knock on the door, she answered with a ''Yes?'', only for one of her shinki Tsugaha to come in. Bowing she claimed why exactly she was disrupting her master's bathing time. Looking worried, Vaisravana stared at her questioningly.

''Uh..uhm.. you have a guest. Vaisravana-sama. It's.. the god of calamity Yatogami.'' She bowed again, leaving.

Eyes widened the god of war hopped out of the bathtub, changed her clothes and ran into the meeting hall. Half curious, half angry.

Chatting with Kazuma a loud voice boomed and disrupted their conversation.

'' How dare you show your face here!?'' The blonde-haired goddess shouted.

Yato blinked at her and hit his head in a silly motion. '' Just wanted to chat, yer know!'' Was the only answer she got.

The shinkis looked at him in shock.

Ticked off, the goddess wanted to launch at him, as her rage and anger were controlling her, though before she could reach him, Kazuma held up a hand to stop her, shaking his head. As she stopped she could see Yato's face clearly, even though it was facing the ground, it was different from before. The look on his face was distant but grave.

Staring up at her, he watched her face before talking.

''Yesterday when we were fighting that ayakashi, there was something bothering me.''

Being cautious, the blonde exchanged glances with Kazuma, though in the end she watched Yato again, seeing as he was still staring at her with that distant look.

''I'm not quite sure I can follow you. We killed it, so why worry about anything else? No one was harmed.'', she told him.

The god of calamity glanced at the ground again, biting his bottom lip. ''She didn't feel it either?''

He sighed, closing his eyes. ''The spiritual energy that was supposed to radiate off from the ayakashi, was actually coming from another power source.'' Yato explained, making everyone look at him in confusion. '' That ayakashi wasn't supposed to have that much energy anyways. If it would have had so much energy, there was no way we would have won, even together.'' He added.

Bishamonten frowned, over thinking what he said. As she looked at her advisor and friend, Kazuma, she could tell that he was in deep tought.

'' You left before us so there was no chance you would have noticed, I guess. Right after your departure, there was a shadow. It was fast and I only caught a glimpse of it. It looked like a human figure, rather than an ayakashi. And the time it was gone, the spiritual energy was vanishing slowly.'' He finished getting quiet again.

A heavy atmosphere engulfed the room as everyone was over thinking the god's words. Now that he mentioned it, there was truth behind his words.

''How could I have not noticed this?'' The goddess thought. The fact made her feel uncomfortable, especially as she was not the first one, but Yato, who found this out. Narrowing her eyes and biting her bottom lip she shook her head and looked at Yato with a straight face.

''So you say it was of human kind?'', she asked a bit irritated.

Yato merely shook his head. ''No. The shadow only looked like a human figure, but it definitely was not human or anywhere near it.'' A moment of silence and then. ''If I actually knew what 'it' looks like, I could do some research.. but I have nothing, absolutely nothing.'' He admitted bitterly, clenching his fists. Kazuma watched him for a moment and then put a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. ''We'll lend you a hand in this case.'' Bishamonten stared at him wordlessly. How she would love to say 'no', but of course she couldn't. This was important after all.

''The thread's too big, knowing what power that creature may hold. '' The brown-haired shinki added.

Yato relaxed and nodded. Bowing he said his thanks and his goodbyes.

As he was gone, Kazuma looked at his master in worry.

''What should we do now Veena?'', he asked.

Silence.

She went to the window looking outside at the sinking sun. Turning around she glanced at her shinkis, waiting for her to give them the answer they needed. Shaking her head, she sighed.

''I don't know. As long as we have no further information on what we're going to fight, we can only watch and stand back. When the time comes we will do some research, before we can actually go into battle.'' Was all the goddess could tell them for now.

Kazuma looked at the others and everyone nodded. After all it was the best they could do at the moment.

''I hope this will be dealt with easily, I don't want any more chaos than there is right now'', Vaisravana thought.

What she didn't know was that she couldn't be any more wrong than that.

As the sun went down and twilight changed into night, Yato was strolling through the streets not even glancing about as he kept over thinking the facts he had. All at once the streetlights went out and he was engulfed in darkness. Eyes widening he turned around sharply and jumping up at the last second. If not he most probably could greet his other half. Stretching his hand out he called for his shinki.

Nothing happened. Shocked he looked back at his empty hand and remembered that he did not take Yukine with him. Clicking his tongue he took a step back avoiding another attack.

'' I hope avoiding is not everything you can do Yatogami. That would be a shame, now wouldn't it?'' A soft voice called out. Looking up, eyes widening he saw a women with white hair and golden cat-like eyes staring down at him from the light post. She was wearing a long white and red yukata with silver and gold lining. Around her waist was a red big ribbon to keep everything together. She smiled at him and even though she looked beautiful like a goddess, it sent shivers down his spine.

''Who are you?!'' he belted out, asking for an answer.

The women cocked her head to the side. ''Oh, you don't remember me? We met two days ago.'' Was all she said with that bitter sweet smile of hers.

'' Two days a-'', it hit him like a ton of bricks. The shadow! The spiritual energy source he felt back then. Looking at her, being cautious, he checked for any clues of what she might be. She wasn't a god nor human, neither was she an ayakashi or half-phantom. He bit his lip thinking.

The white-haired girl pursed her lips. ''I'm saddened that you need me to remind you of who I am.'' Shaking her head she let out an overdramatic sigh. ''I was actually hoping to find that sweet little boy with you.''

He took in a fighting stance. ''Why's that?'', the god of calamity demanded.

She balanced a silver dagger with gold lining and japanese carvings on the tip of her finger. Looking at it for a moment, she glanced at him again. '' To kill him, why else?'' The way she said it, made Yato's blood run cold. The distant and motionless voice of hers made him feel uncomfortable and on edge. What was wrong with this girl anyways?

''..Why do you want to kill him?'', he inquired between gritted teeth.

She put a finger to her mouth, striking a thinking pose and hummed. ''Hmm~ Ah. Well I guess it's because it's a fun thing to do.''

''The hell!? Are you being for real here!?'' He had to restrain himself from moving and attacking her. Without his shinki he couldn't do much. It was frustrating and made him mad.

She shrugged and then chuckled. Throwing her dagger up into the air, she caught it mere seconds after and held it out looking at Yato with a crazed look. '' Maybe, maybe not. I have reasons for being here, may it be to kill your shinki or maybe for another reason. You may find out in the next few days. For now I'm finished.'' Was all she said before throwing the dagger at him.

His reaction was too slow and it grazed his left cheek. Shocked he staggered back, though the moment he looked up the girl was gone and the lights went on as if nothing happened at all.

Looking behind him he searched for the dagger, but couldn't find it. Yato frowned. The next thing he knew was that he was falling onto his knees holding his cheeks in anguish. Small puffs of breath escaped his mouth as he tried to control the pain.

''Damnit the dagger was poisoned.'' He gritted out.

The world around him looked like a big hazy mess and it was hard to keep his eyes open. He struggled for a while, trying to get his body under control, but in the end he gave into the pain, falling onto his side in the middle of the street.

The last thing he could hear was a distant laughter.

Hiyori sat at the door looking into the starlit sky with worry. Biting her bottom lip she glanced at Yukine and then at Kofuku.

''It's been at least 5 hours since Yato left... I'm really worried. He didn't even tell us where he went.'' The girl stated with apprehension. The blonde boy and the god of poverty looked at her with sad eyes. ''He does that some times, you know. Leaving and then coming back one day after or maybe a week. It's normal.'' The pink-haired goddess said. Yukine only gritted his teeth in frustration and anger at his master's unreliability. He was his shinki, his partner! Why wouldn't he tell him. Did he not trust him at all? Why have secrets after all this time?

He clicked his tongue and turned around, stomping into the kitchen.

''Yukine-kun...'' Hiyori said, worry and sadness lacing her voice. Her eyes being casted down at the ground, trying to think about something that would lighten the mood.

''You shouldn't worry. He'll be back soon. Yato isn't reckless. He knows exactly what he can do alone and what not.'' Kofuku said, trying to cheer her up. Though said girl only gave a short sad smile and then looked outside again. She tried sniffing the air. A chance that maybe she could find his scent, but to make things worse, she couldn't. The girl tried as hard as she could but there was no sign whatsoever. Realizing this made her panic and she stood up, scaring Kofuku in the process, who was holding a cup and unfortunately let go of it, spilling it's content.

Hiyori turned around panicking. ''S-s-sorry! I di-didn't mean to!'' She stammered out clumsily. The god of poverty only shook her hands, signaling her that everything was alright. She glanced at Hiyori and became serious. ''Hiyori. If you trust Yato then you shouldn't worry. Of course it's not okay to not tell you guys where he went, but then again, everyone has his own secrets and reasons, right?'' Said girl only nodded sadly. Kofuku smiled at her. '' Trust him. He'll be back soon.''

They exchanged glances for a few seconds. Knowing she lost, Hiyori only nodded and sat down again.

There wasn't anything to worry about now was there?

Annnnnnnnnnd finished.

First of all.. I'm sorry it took so long! I kind of have a writer's block and I wasn't satisfied with how I wrote the chapter at first and had to change it many times... but now I'm actually quite happy with the outcome!

I hope you guys like it.. and.. I'm rlllllyyy sorry!

Also... excuse my bad english xD ( german person here haha)