Hiyori stood in front of the ema boards, occasionally stepping aside to avoid bumping into people trying to tie up their prayers. She couldn't find hers anymore, a fact that didn't really surprise her. She reached out her hand to where it hung yesterday, letting her fingers run over the smooth surface of an ema that replaced it, mirroring that person's movement. She could barely recall how he looked now but the blue of his eyes and his scent remained vivid in her memories.

She shook herself from her musings. Stepping away, she swept her eyes around the temple grounds. She couldn't see Aya or Yama-chan anywhere, but Ami-chan stood off to the side, absentmindedly bouncing on her feet, Hikaru napping inside a swaddle blanket across her chest. Hiyori felt herself smile at that sight, a first one since last night. She looked around again, thinking that the temple grounds seemed kinder in the daylight. More welcoming.

Somebody suddenly bumped into her back. With a yelp, she barely caught her balance, hearing something fall to the ground. Looking down, she saw a wooden cane sliding away. She scooted down to pick it up, twisting around to give it back to its owner.

"I'm so sorry, young lady! Thank you."

Hiyori came face to face with an elderly man in a flashy, burgundy suit that look very much out of place among all the shrine visitors. He ignored her baffled stare and took back his cane.

A strong gust of wind swept through the temple grounds, rustling the tree branches and causing the wooden plaques to clank against each other. The sound made him twist his head to the side, a smile forming on his lips. What rooted her to her spot, however, was the special fragrance that she had just identified last night, recognizable even if this time it was mixed with the smell of tobacco and incense.

Hiyori swallowed, trying not to let her shock show on her face. She willed herself to smile, hoping that he wouldn't decide to disappear on her like everybody else beforehand.

"That's no trouble at all," she managed to say. Maybe if she made him stay long enough, she would be able to get some answers.

"Ah say, would you mind helping this old man to the bench?" he asked, leaning against his cane.

She quickly nodded, laying a hand at the crook of his elbow. Once seated, he sent her a grateful smile before looking out at the crowds. His smile stayed on, making laugh lines appear at the corner of his eyes. She sat down next to him thinking that he looked somewhat proud, as if he had accomplished something big.

"Auntie Hiyori! Look," Aya ran up to her, waving her ema around, nearly hitting herself in the forehead with it. "Mama helped me write a wish!"

"That's lovely, sweetie," Hiyori said, looking at the plaque where Aya's wish was to make lots and lots of friends in her new school.

"May I also take a look?" the man asked, eyes sparkling with excitement. Before Hiyori could stop her, Aya ran up to him to show off her prayer. He took on a very contemplative look, nodding to himself.

"Hmmm, I see. Yes. Yes. This is nice. Well dear, you know that gods can help you meet a new friend but it will be entirely up to you become friends, don't you?" he asked her.

Aya cocked her head to her side.

"Friendship...You have to take good care of it... Imagine a small plant. Only when you give it enough sun and water, will it stay alive and flourish."

"Well," Hiyori found herself interrupting, gathering Aya back to her side, "wouldn't you agree that different plants need different things? Some, like cacti, need less water. Others might need more sun... There are relationships that no matter what, will endure even the harshest conditions. A little bit of water, a little bit of sun and they flourish back into the most beautiful flowers."

She wasn't entirely sure why she said all that. She directed her words at Aya, but her gaze remained on the stranger, who looked back at her with eyes that seemed to gaze right into her soul.

"…I'm not sure I understand," Aya-chan piped up.

"Don't worry, sweetie. What I'm trying to say, just keep smiling and be yourself. And you will be able to make good friends."

"Aya," Yama-chan called to her. Aya snapped her head at the sound of her mum's voice. She took her plaque back from the older man, giving him a quick bow . She then grinned at Hiyori and was gone a second later.

"And did you write your wish?" Hiyori turned back to him, their previous conversation seemingly forgotten

"I did. A while ago."

"Would you like another one?" he asked her and pulled out an actual ema from inside his jacket.

"Are you a magician, sir?" Hiyori asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Something like that," he smiled, dangling the wooden plaque from his finger.

She shook her head. "Thank you, I think the last one I wrote is already working."

"Oh, is that so?" he slid the object back into his pocket.

She nodded. When she breathed in, she could still detect that distinct fragrance that filled her with a sense of longing and nostalgia. She remembered a pair of blue eyes; she recalled a distant voice calling out her name. I hear you, she wanted to say. I'm trying to remember...I will remember.

"He was always good at cutting ties… that's why I always thought he messed this one on purpose." It took her a second to realize that the words were addressed to her. She looked over in confusion, meeting eyes that held a note of something that made irritation flare in the pit of her stomach.

"But it's all you, isn't it? So stubborn, you fight for something you don't even know and remember. And has it been worth it? Living a half-life?"'

Hiyori felt the irritation transform into cold anger. "I don't think you have any right to judge me on how I live my life, sir."

"I might have more right to judge than you think. You've been asking for answers yet too afraid to ask the right questions. Crying out for help but refusing to see when it came. It would have made it easier on everybody if you have just forgotten about everything, miss Hi—"

There was a crack above them, a branch falling down on top of his head, cutting him off mid-word. Hiyori scooted away in shock. The man's only reaction was to glare up at the tree. He looked down at her again, his expression softening into something grandfatherly.

"And yet…There is a reason for everything. I guess this isn't the first time you defied the gods," he told her. "There is no coming back from where you are headed."

Hiyori still didn't fully comprehend the conversation they were having. But she mustered all the confidence she could find, looking straight into his eyes. "It's good that I'm ready, then."

Hiyori made a quick stop at her apartment before heading back to her old house. Her parents weren't home when she got there. She let herself in and went right to the attic to go through a few more boxes that she missed last time. She found some odd items here and there, like a pair of Capypa ears, a broken umbrella and a few more old textbooks. Nothing resembling her missing journals.

She gave up after a while, washing her hands and letting the hot water turn her skin bright pink. It was a long shot, anyway, but it did feel like defeat.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Hiyori noticed that the door to her brother's old room was left slightly ajar. It was mostly empty, kept dust free even years after her brother moved out. Her mum liked to keep their rooms clean. In case they ever felt like coming home.

Flipping on the light switch inside, her eyes caught onto something shiny on the desk that turned out to be a five yen coin. She twirled it between her fingers, wondering where it came from and how long had it been there. Not that it really mattered. She flipped it in the air carelessly and failed to catch it, the coin rolling under the book case.

Dropping to all fours, Hiyori slid her hand under the furniture, feeling the dust gather on her fingers again. She swept her hand from one direction to the other, her fingers touching something metallic and round. She pulled it towards her, certain that it was the coin, when her palm slid over a rough texture that felt like paper. Frowning slightly, she tried pulling both things out.

It was a simple notebook, dusty and discolored with slightly worn edges. The only thing written on the cover was the number twenty three. She flipped through it, all the pages blank except the first one. The date at the top read January. Ten years ago.

She pocketed the five yen coin, starting to read.

"I can't believe they were trying to leave me behind! What if I didn't manage to wrangle the truth out of Kofuku-san on time? Yukine agrees with him. Which is weird in and on itself since he tends to disagree with Yato on principle."

Yato?

Her heart started racing.

With a lump in her throat she continued reading.

"Yato says it's for my own good to stay behind. That if I keep getting mixed up with gods' affairs, it will be harder and harder to fix my situation. It's true that I've been having trouble returning to my body. But we're so close to freeing Nora that I can't just…

Doesn't he realize that I don't care? After Yato disappeared the first time, I promised that I won't let him be alone anymore. No matter what he says, tomorrow, I'm going with them to free Nora, once and for all."

Hiyori kept reading the entry again and again, the words not making much sense, yet holding some kind of power.

Yato.

A pair of blue eyes flashed across her memory.

Yato.

She recalled a touch on her elbow, a soft voice telling her that it was okay.

Yato.

She previously likened her predicament to having her memories blocked by a mist. Or a cloud cover. Most of the time, it was impenetrable. On very rare occasions, it thinned, allowing her to catch glimpses of images, feelings.

These words that she read…they acted like the wind that blew away the clouds to reveal the clear blue sky behind them, the color matching Yato's eyes.

So even though the note wasn't making sense to her, certain names slowly came back to her.

Kofuku-san, Daikoku-san, Bishamonten-sama, Kazuma-san, Mayu-san, Tenjin-sama, Ebisu-sama.

She repeated their names again and again. Like a mantra. Like a prayer.

Yukine-kun.

Yato.

The notebook fell from her hands. Darkness overcame her.

Hiyori dreamt.

A/N: Happy Holidays, everyone! Thank you so much for reading! Special thanks to XxTheUnspokenTruthxX, TheRoseShadow21, Goldmoon727. You guys rock.

ed. 12/26/17 fixing typos and missing page breaks