"Yato, if you're going to take on all these extra jobs, the least you could do is, you know, actually do your part of the work!" Yukine complained in an aggravated tone. It had been nearly a year since his ablution, and he'd tried to be more understanding towards Yato and his new life as a Shinki since that time. His temper was something he knew he needed to work on, but his master's attitude wasn't helping him to improve it.

"Ah, Yukine, don't worry so much! We're almost done digging up this plot for Mrs. Sawada's garden. Just four more rows to go!"

"But 'we' aren't doing anything! I'm the one doing all the hard work!" Yukine yelled as he threw down the shovel. "All you've done this week is order me around while you just sit there and relax." His experience stinging Yato and corrupting himself badly enough to need a cleansing ceremony quickly came to mind, and he tried to use that painful memory to calm himself down.

Yato gave a heavy sigh and picked up the abandoned shovel. "Okay fine, I'll take care of the rest. Go ahead and save your energy. You'll need it for our next job, dog sitting! So many good little puppers needing exercise, we'll definitely get all our steps in for the day with that one!"

"Seriously?! This is ridiculous! I've been wearing myself out the last few days with all these odd job requests. And I haven't even seen our earnings either! Are you gambling them away or wasting them on cheap trinkets again?"

It's true that Yato hadn't been putting the money they made towards his shrine fund, but he didn't want to spoil the reason behind all this extra work to Yukine just yet, so he ignored Yukine's questioning tone.

"These plants aren't going to put themselves into the dirt, Yukine. I'll finish the rows; you start with the squash."

"That's it!" Yukine shouted as he stomped his way through the field. "I'm done with this, Yato. Call me when you can actually treat this seriously and tell me the truth!"

"Hey, come ba— Owww!" Yato said as he grabbed the back of his neck. Yukine's emotional outburst had stung him hard. "I suppose I had that coming, yeah. I should give him some time to calm down. May as well finish up today's jobs. It's gonna be such a pain to do alone. But at least once I get paid for these last two jobs, I'll have enough to buy it finally!" Yato smiled as he started turning over the soil.

Yukine wandered through town, trying to decide whether he should go back to Yato or Kofuku's house.

"I don't think I was unreasonable. He just doesn't take me seriously or let me know what's going on. I'm doing my best to be better than I was, why can't he see that? Even though I'm sure I stung him suddenly, I did manage to get it under control faster this time."

As he kept talking to himself, Yukine found himself walking into the less populated part of the town. Distracted, he didn't realize until it was too late that he'd stepped into a den of Phantoms.

"Mmm, let's play! Yes, join us and we can play forever," chanted the mob of small apparitions, their forms vaguely child-like. The swirling mass of grays and blacks made it hard to count their exact number as they blended in against each other.

"Oh no! Quick, gotta make a borderline!" Yukine drew out his two fingers and gestured a line in front of him, creating a barrier that kept the Phantoms at bay.

"No! We want to play, you… You smell so good! We… Must play…" As they begged for passage through, the Phantoms started to gather together, absorbing each other and increasing in size. There had been more there than Yukine first realized, and once they had all merged into one massive entity, it rushed against the boundary, weakening it considerably.

"That's not possible! There's no way it can break through!" Yukine stepped back, his fear setting in as he tried to think of anything he could do to get out of this situation. It was too large to run from, it had him cornered. A single touch would blight him, causing both him and Yato considerable pain. Knowing he couldn't let that happen to his master again, he was at a loss for what else could be done.

"So… Close… Time to… Play!" The Phantom crashed against his barrier once more, breaking it apart with ease. Yukine quickly drew another line, concentrating on making it stronger than the last, but the monster tore it apart as well. Exhausted, Yukine fell to his knees.

"I'm so sorry, Yato. I did my best," he sobbed as he hung his head and waited for the Phantom to possess him.

"Did you get it?" asked Hiyori as Yato walked into Kofuku's place.

"Sure did! This is the model he wanted, right?" he answered, holding up the brand-new skateboard that Yukine had his eye on while shopping with Hiyori weeks before.

"Great! We're just about ready here, so where's Yukine?"

Yato's smile dropped, "You mean he hasn't come back yet? He took off in a huff earlier. I figured he'd come here to cool off."

"No, haven't seen him yet. Should I help you look for him?"

"I don't think that's necessary, he probably just wanted to walk arou-ahh!" That familiar stinging sensation caught him off-guard again, but this time it wasn't due to anger, but fear and sadness. This was a different emotion from what he'd typically feel from Yukine.

This was despair.

"I have to go; you stay here in case he comes back!" Yato disappeared before Hiyori could even respond.

Yato teleported to Yukine's location and immediately started his search. He saw a large Phantom nearby and ran towards it. It had begun leeching off Yukine. The blight spread across his fair skin as he trembled with pain.

"Yukine!" he yelled as he rushed in, using his shoulder to break the connection that the Phantom had on Yukine. The moment Yato made contact with it, his skin seared and the blight spread. As the Phantom recovered from the surprise attack, Yato looked toward Yukine.

"I know you're scared and hurt, but I'm going to need you to fight this thing. Can you do it?"

The boy looked up to see his master wounded and asking for his help. He'd come to save him, even got himself injured in the process. It didn't matter what condition he was in; he couldn't leave his master defenseless.

"Call for me!"

"Come, Sekki!" Yato yelled as Yukine changed into his weapon form. Now armed, Yato made short work of the Phantom before them, using Rend to destroy it.

"Revert, Yukine." The two of them collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Surprisingly, Yukine was the first to speak.

"I'm sorry, this was all my fault. If I hadn't stormed off earlier, I wouldn't have gotten myself into trouble and made you get hurt for my sake."

"Don't worry about it, kid. We should get this blight cleansed before it spreads further. Just let me catch my breath."

Yukine watched as his master laid there, recalling how serious he looked facing that Phantom on his own. His entire persona had changed from the carefree and immature attitude he had earlier today. His guilt over his actions rose up again.

"Geez, I said it was fine! Stop agonizing over it, you're a literal pain in the neck right now," Yato groaned as he gripped the back of his neck.

"So-Sorry." Yukine rose to his feet, then offered a hand to pull Yato up. Together they walked to the nearby shrine and took care of their blight with the purified water there.

"It must have been tough facing down a Phantom that size on your own. But you did well, Yukine. Let's go get some food, my treat," Yato said as he patted Yukine on the back while pulling out his cell phone. He sent out a quick text while the boy was distracted. He wanted to make sure everything was ready for when they arrived.

"That's strange; the lights seem to be out at Kofuku's house. Are they even home?" asked Yukine.

"Hmm, they didn't say they had anywhere else to be today. Let's check it out."

As they walked into the shop, Yato flipped on the light switch. Suddenly, a group of people jumped out, startling Yukine.

"Surprise, Yukine!" yelled everyone that had gathered in the shop. Hiyori, as well as Kofuku and Daikoku, were smiling and greeting him happily. Even Kazuma and Mayu were there to welcome him back.

"Wha-what is this? What's going on, Yato?" Yukine asked, his eyes reflecting all the brightly colored decorations in the room.

Yato put his arm around Yukine's shoulder, "Did you think that I'd forget your birthday, Yukine? This time last year, I found you and gave you a name. We're here to celebrate you and all the progress you've made in the last year. You've come a long way from the little brat that was always mouthing off to me."

"I don't think that part of me has changed at all, Yato. But still, this is… This is nice, thank you." Yukine tried to avoid crying. He didn't want to sting Yato for something this positive accidentally. As the others gathered around to shower him with attention and compliments, Yato slinked back to the side of the room, taking a seat by the window to stare out into the night sky.

Hiyori noticed Yato sitting off by himself and went over to see him.

"What are you doing by yourself, Yato? This party was your idea, after all."

"I just thought whether I should have gone through with this, Hiyori. Celebrating Yukine's birthday as a Shinki... He could have taken it the wrong way and ended up sad and depressed rather than joyous and happy. I didn't consider that referring to it as a birthday could have made him remember his old life and how it ended so soon. Giving him a reason to focus on his death would have been a grave sin on my part, Hiyori."

Hiyori sat next to Yato and covered his hand with her own in a comforting gesture. "You did all this because you care for him, Yato. He's a smart kid, even though he does get moody and emotional sometimes. Rather than focusing on the end of his life, you gave him a reason to celebrate the fact that he exists now. We both know how hard it was for him to come to terms with the fact that his human life was over. I'm sure it's never far from his mind each day. This party gave him a break from that, and you can see for yourself just how happy he is! Don't beat yourself up over what could have happened. You're the mastermind behind this day, so get back over there and join in on his special day!"

"You're right, Hiyori," Yato replied as he wove his fingers between Hiyori's and squeezed gently. "You always have the right words to say when they need to be heard. Thank you."

A deep red flushed across Hiyori's cheeks as she reclaimed possession of her hand. "Well, yeah, it's no problem, Yato. Uh… We should give Yukine his present, yeah!" She was grateful that her own emotions didn't affect Yato the way Yukine's did. Her reaction to his kind words would have made him double over in pain if that were the case.

"What's a party without presents, right?" said Yato as he fumbled behind the shop counter, the eyes of every party attendee on him. He emerged with a haphazardly wrapped package, handing it to Yukine carefully. He tore away the paper to reveal the skateboard that Yato had bought earlier.

"This… This is the one that I was looking at the last time we went to the mall. I didn't think you guys noticed…" Yukine's voice had cracked a little as he spoke, his emotions threatening to flow beyond his control. "How did you get this? Did you make Hiyori buy it?"

"Of course not!" Yato answered, his expression hurt by Yukine's accusation. "I'm perfectly capable of doing things without help, you know!"

Yukine's heart ached in his chest as he put it all together. His master had taken all those extra jobs to buy him this gift. He'd been so rude to him just now. He bowed his head to Yato, "I see. I'm truly sorry for saying something so hurtful. Thank you so much for this present. I'll… I'll treasure it…" His battle to stave off his tears ended in defeat. The warm streams flowed down his cheeks as he clutched the board against his chest.

"Hey, hey, this is your party! You're not allowed to cry at your own party, you hear? There's nothing to be sad about or apologize for today!" He touched Yukine's chin and lifted his face so he could look him in the eyes. Yato used his thumbs to wipe away the tears that were still falling. "You've come so far, Yukine. I'm so proud of you."

Yukine's eyes widened as he processed what Yato had just said to him. This was it, the acknowledgment and recognition he'd wanted from his master. Yato felt this way about him all along. Otherwise, why would he have put up with all his childish behavior over the last year? This was what he'd longed for, what he'd missed the most from his previous life. He dropped the skateboard and wrapped his arms around Yato, hugging him close and sobbing into his tracksuit.

He truly felt it now, this love. That of a father caring for his son.