Never Let Go

A/N:This story is based on chapter 16 of the manga, the most recently translated chapter. It takes place somewhere amidst it. If you are only watching the anime, this contains MAJOR SPOILERS, since the series has covered through chapter 9 (in 7 episodes). I will not apologize for ruining anything for you if you wish to proceed. I WOULD advise to you all to just go and read and catch up first. Or you may be confused as all hell.

Yukine and Hiyori closed their textbooks with heavy sighs, bringing yet another grueling study session to a close. Yato had finally gone quiet about thirty minutes prior. Hiyori turned to put her book back in her bag, only to find a slumbering, shaggy-haired god drooling on it as he used it for a pillow.

Yukine had stood to prepare for the next leg of his day, a five hour shift in the kitchen earning back some more of what he owed to his friends. He noticed his dozing master and scoffed.

"If he's that bored, then he should go work off some what he owes Kofuku-san," he mumbled with a roll of his eyes. Hiyori giggled at his wisecrack. He blushed, realizing that he'd been heard. But he smiled as he went to leave the room and join Daikoku and Kofuku in the restaurant. "See you later, yeah?"

Hiyori smiled and hummed in agreement.

"Good luck on the test, Hiyori," he said brightly before sliding the door shut behind him.

She paused, still staring at the door Yukine had just left through. The sound of Yato's gentle, partially open-mouthed breathing finally drew her attention away from the door. Hiyori's exotically rosy gaze fell upon the softened, seemingly innocent face of the long-forgotten god of calamity. One of his arms was tucked under the brushed-canvas bag, cradling it against his head. Her mind replayed so many moments they had shared recently: His looks of disbelief when she'd do or say something; His quirky grins when he thought he was funny; the way it had felt to touch his face...and to hug him.

How is he truly the god of calamity? This guy...with those amazing blue eyes...

As if it had a mind of its own, her hand reached out and started playing with the fringe of dark hair along his forehead.

It really comes down to being lonely, doesn't it. Hundreds of years, without a place to feel like home, with out people believing in him...

"I believe in you, Yato," she whispered.

Somewhere in his sleep, her gentle touch and caring words infiltrated his dreams, which were confusing and dark. Yato had been running, confused as to his purpose and direction. In his dream he couldn't see. It was as if he were blind. Suddenly her words rang in his ears and she was there. As the blue-eyed god launched himself through the seemingly black void between them, trying desperately to reach for her, she suddenly had been replace with Tenjin-sama.

Yato's heart sank as that morning's advice hung heavy on his heart, echoing in the dark space around him:

Shouldn't you cut her connections to you? If this continues, then she won't be able to live in her own world.

The pain welling in his chest made him want to scream. Left alone in the void, he just finally came out and admitted it to himself.

I can't...I just...can't. I can't do it...

It had only been a minute that Hiyori had been watching him sleep, indulging in that wonderful smell of his, when she saw his face twist into a frown, seemingly in pain.

"I can't...I...can't do it," he groaned softly, a lone tear escaping the corner of his eye.

Hiyori's heart skipped and she instinctively reached out and brushed it daintily from his cheek. He had been just on the cusp of waking and that tiny gesture was enough to bring him back to reality. The first thing that registered, before opening his eyes, was the light touch of fingers on his face.

Hiyori froze has his free hand came up and clasped her hand to his face, his eyes flying open in a disoriented panic.

The once vicious god of calamity felt his internal turmoil melt away as a pair of worried eyes gazed at him with the comfort of spring sakura blossoms. The haze cleared and he slowly sat up, their hands slipping gently from his cheek.

"You sounded like you were having a bad dream for a moment there," Hiyori explained, a blush in her cheeks that unknowingly mirrored the one on his own face.

The usually defensive deity had no quips to come back with. His heart was too heavy for anything but honesty. But he could bear to come out and just discuss it. All he could muster, with a furrowed brow and grimace, was small nod.

"Why don't we go get some fresh air, then?" Hiyori suggested, about to get to her feet. A hand to her wrist stopped her, and drew her into a warm cocoon, wrapping the sweet brunette in her favorite scent in the world.

"Hiyori," Yato breathed into her hair as he tightened his arms around her. The subtle hint of need, of desperation, betrayed his weakened emotional state. Hiyori's embarrassment spiked almost instantly, but calmed as her ear pressed to his chest and she could hear his breath shudder. "I'm glad that you said what you did earlier."

"About wha-oh..." She answered her own question before it completely formed. The recollection of her words to him in the alleyway that morning.

"I keep my promises...I will absolutely NOT forget you!"

One of his hands came to rest at the side of her head, as if trying to ensure this moment's longevity. His fingers began to rake slowly from her hair line at her temple, past her ear to the back of her head.

"You, Hiyori," he uttered in a low tone, "are unforgettable."

Suddenly she could feel something coming to rest on the top of her head. At first she thought it was his chin, but noticed that it didn't feeling sharp and bony like a chin. Her eyes widened and heat crept back onto her face as his lips began to move in her hair as he spoke again.

"The thought of a day in which you will not see me, or know me...is unbearable."

Hiyori felt tears come to her eyes as she empathized with him. Even the thought of him, or her parents, or her friends for that matter, suddenly not knowing her made her feel the emptiness that she assumed he all too often endured. She lifted her head and shifted gently out of the embrace to sit seiza-style before him.

"Yato, as my deity-of-choice, I promise to never stop believing in you. That is how I will never forget you," she said, matter-of-fact. A smile crept onto the god's previously despondent visage.

He gave her no time to react as he leaned in and captured her top lip between his own in one fluid motion. Hiyori froze in the initial shock, her eyes wide, meeting his so up close. But slowly his essence lulled her into a warm and cozy place and her eyelids drooped close. His lips moved against hers with a tender caution as he momentarily questioned his own sanity. He fought between his head and his heart, knowing she was young and innocent. But yet, she was entirely too precious to him to ever let go. Situation be damned, he needed this girl in his existence.

Hiyori began to respond in kind, reciprocating the pressure and emulating the soft sliding caresses of warm, eager lips. It was over all to quickly. A soft sigh escaped her lips as the handsome azure god pulled away, allowing cool air to fan their faces.

"You keep doing that, and I think it'd be impossible to ever forget," Hiyori giggled, blushing furiously at the deity who had just claimed her first kiss.

"That's a very tempting idea," he retorted, returning to his usually sassy demeanor.

And in that moment, resigned himself to find another way to help Hiyori, as long as it meant never losing her.