Who are you?

Yukine…?

"Hey."

"Wake up."

Yukine's eyes blearily opened. "Who…" He sat up slowly. "Ow, fu-" He stopped mid-wince as he recalled what had happened. His head snapped down to look at his name, and he frantically patted himself down. He looked up at the person who had woken him up. "Yato what-" He froze as he saw the expression on Yato's face. "Yato...what happened?"

Yato looked at him, eyes dull. "You'll find out." He said curtly and looked down. After a brief moment of pause he mumbled "So how's it going?"

"I…" Yukine looked confusedly at his hands, and a flash of scarlet darted through his mind. "What happened to me?"

Yato looked down. "The ayakashi...it had a poison called Achlys on it. It's fatal to spirits, and the only way to get rid of it is it transfer it to something else." He looked away. "When we cleansed it you got the poison."

Yukine stared at Yato, only half-comprehending. "And? What happened after that?" Yato turned away and said nothing. Yukine's scarlet eyes widened. "Yato…" Yato shook his head. Yukine grabbed him roughly by the shoulders. "Yato...What. The fuck. Happened. Tell me." Ice-cold panic ran through him.

Yato gritted his teeth and stared at the wall in loathing and contempt. "Don't wanna" he whispered hoarsely.

Yukine shot up. "Yato you-"

Kofuku burst into the room. "Yukine, you're awake!" Kofuku grabbed his outstretched arm and pushed him down gently back onto the bed. "Don't move so much, you'll hurt yourself!" She fretted over him a bit too dramatically.

Yukine shook her off roughly, a dreading look in his eyes. "Kofuku, what happened to Hiyori?" He scrabbled for her shirt desperately, trying to find some leverage for his slowly tilting world.

Kofuku slowly reached for his hand to dislocate it from her shirt. She backed a little bit away. "Yukine…"

The panicked expression set in again, and he could feel his name burning through his collarbone and straight to his heart. "Where's Hiyori?!" He looked back and forth at Yato and Kofuku in horror and edged away slowly. "Wh…what…"

"Ah…"

His head snapped up to the doorway, and saw Hiyori peeking out from the edge of the doorway. The ends of her scarf dangled down and swayed lightly. One violet-pink eye stared at him curiously, and she shyly waved at him. He stared at her, now bewildered. "Hiyori?" He motioned for someone to explain. Yato had visibly winced and practically wilted at the sight of her. Kofuku wouldn't meet his eyes.

Hiyori meekly shuffled into the room. "N-Nice to meet you, I'm Hiyori." She smiled tentatively at the fear-stricken Yukine. He moved his mouth to speak, but could only stare at her in horror, his eyes briefly flicking over to Yato for desperate clarification.

Yato made a rude noise, then stood up, suddenly looking incredibly haggard and tired. "Yukine, this is Hiyori, your fellow shinki as of now."

Yukine stared dumbstruck at the three guilty parties. He could practically feel the blood rushing to his head as his face turned red. "You're...kidding…." He looked from one face to another, barely even comprehending Hiyori's blank stare. "You're…" He looked at Yato's pained expression and Kofuku's dull eyes. "So you're telling me…"

Hiyori waved timidly and smiled. "Nice to meet you" She said softly.

Yukine fell back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. "So she's...a shinki now? She...doesn't remember me?"

Yato watched him quietly from the edge of his bed. Sighing, he stood up and muttered something to Kofuku. She dipped her head down and walked out, motioning for Hiyori to come with her and gently closing the door behind her.

"Yukine."

"What do you want now?"

"I'm bringing Hiyori back."

Yukine sat up and stared at Yato unbelievingly. "What?"

"I'm bringing her back." Yato looked Yukine in the eye. "We're going to find her memories."

Yukine laughed incredulously and looked down at his hands "So…" He looked outwards, towards the pond.

"Yeah?"

"So what's the goddamn plan?"

Hiyori peeked in between the cracks of the door, trying to catch something of the animated conversation her master and co-shiki were having. After a few minutes, she gave up and flounced back to the kitchen. "Hey, Kofuku…"

Kofuku gave her a bright smile. "Yes, Hiyori?"

She looked out on the garden, staring curiously at the scarlet words on the sakura and what appeared to be bloodstains on the ground. "Is there...something wrong with me?" She sighed. "My master...doesn't seem very pleased by me."

Kofuku nearly dropped her pan. "Nonono, Hiyori! Don't worry, it's not like that." She rushed over to hug the bewildered girl. "Yato's just going through a very hard time right now, he's had some...loss in his life recently."

"Was that loss me?"

Kofuku tensed. "It...Yes, it was."

Hiyori smiled sadly. "Was I...important to him?"

Kofuku nearly laughed and cried at the same time. "You were just about everything to him, really. I've never seen him go so far for someone. But then again...you were the only one who believed." She trails off and looked at Hiyori. "But don't be down, alright? He'll come around soon."

Hiyori nodded slowly. "Okay...Thanks Kofuku."

Kofuku smiled brightly. "Anytime!" She turned back to the food. "Now then…" She carefully picked it up and walked down the hall.

"So I think Nora knows something, because she was here after Hiyori...died. We should try to find her."

"But she's dangerous! If she even catches wind of me she'll rip me to shreds."

"Where else should we start? 'Oh hey, geezer Tenjin, do you know anything about uh, finding dead memories?"

Kofuku nearly kicked down the door. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing"

"We're gonna get Hiyori back."

Kofuku nearly dropped the tray, and stared at Yukine. "What?" She set it down carefully on the side, and observed the two bickering people. "You're going to do what?" She leaned down menacingly (Or at least, as menacing as she could get).

Yato looked at her cautiously. 'We're going to find Hiyori's memories."

Kofuku blinked. Slowly comprehending, she sighed and flopped onto the bed. "You should have told me earlier Yatty!" Tears formed in her eyes and she pouted.

The duo blinked a few times, and looked at each other. "Well…"

"I can't believe we're going with this. I can't believe I think this is a good idea. And it's not a good idea" Yukine sighed.

Yato shook his head. "We've been debating the entire day, it's really all we've got." They stared up at the house, illuminated by moonlight.

Kofuku pouted next to them. "I wanna come tooo…" She sniffed back tears.

Daikoku patted her head. "You know it won't be beneficial to them. The God of Misfortune isn't really the best companion"

Yato shrugged helplessly and smiled. "We'll be fine, don't worry about us." He looked towards the doorway and waved at Hiyori coming around. "Ready?" he called.

"Mm...Almost….."

Yukine crossed his arms and looked at the struggling girl. "So what are we telling Hiyori about this? I doubt she'd understand our...sentiment."

Kofuku bounced up and down "It's okay, I already told her you guys are going on a veery important mission. There's nothing to worry about!" She smiled brightly.

Hiyori bounced over to the courtyard, nearly tripping on the bumpy cobblestone. "Okay, I'm ready" She said.

Yato nodded. "Okay, so I'm going to try changing you into your weapon form now, if that's alright. Your ability would helps us move a lot faster. You too, Yukine."

Hiyori nodded. "I got it. Use me as you like."

Yato winced slightly and smiled. "Okay." He raised a hand to Hiyori and said softly "Rinki", then raised a hand to Yukine. "Sekki" As the light died away Yato twirled his blades. Raising a hand, he saluted Kofuku and Daikoku. "We're off!" He called.

"Bye bye~!" Kofuku waved enthusiastically. "Be safe!" Daikoku nodded curtly. Yato grinned at them, then leapt off.

Daikoku watched them go for a few minutes, then turned to Kofuku. "Hey…"

Kofuku smiled at him "Yes?"

"Hiyori...died from Achlys right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Shinkis can only be made from pure souls, right? But if she died from corruption, no matter how much she'd want to live, she wouldn't be able to become a shinki."

Kofuku froze. "What are you getting at?" She looked toward the spot Yato had headed. "Are you saying that Hiyori...isn't Hiyori?"

Daikoku shook his head. "It's impossible I know, but…" He shrugged. "It just doesn't add up. As much as it hurts to say it, Hiyori…"

"Hiyori shouldn't be alive right now."

Yato dashed swiftly through the trees, barely noticing the scratches on his hands and face. He landed silently, taking a careful look around, before judging it was safe. It was still dark, but the intense moonlight lit up the quiet clearing. In the center was a large house, dark and menacing and completely rundown. Yato looked at it apprehensibly and swallowed.

"Rinki"

Hiyori glowed and opened her eyes. "Where are we?" She asked.

"Pretty far from the city. I have a few things to take care of." Yato quickly released Yukine. "Yukine, Hiyori, stay here."

Yukine edged toward Yato. "Is this…"

Yato nodded. "Yeah. This is where I used to be. With...Nora"

At the name, the trees shivered slightly, and a figure could be seen moving through the tall house. Yato glared at it, clenching his fists.

Yukine stared at him worriedly, then sighed. "Alright then, we'll stay right behind the trees. Call us if you need anything." He put a hand on Yato's shoulder. "Good luck." He whispered.

Yato smiled lopsidedly and gave him a thumbs-up before heading off. Taking a deep breath, he turned around to face the house. The red paint was peeling from it, and ripped tags fluttered lifelessly in tatters. Yato brushed a hand lightly against the wooden porch and stepped carefully onto the stairs. Cautiously, he made his way in. Slowly adjusting to the darkness, he could faintly see a shrine and old incense skewed all over the floor. He stepped closer, and the floorboards announced his arrival.

"Nora."

A small, petite little girl rounded the hallway and stood next to him. She smiled. "Yato God." She said softly, eyes narrowing in what was barely disguised as sweet.

"We need to talk."

"Yes, we do. When are you coming back to Master, Yato God? He isn't very happy you know."

Yato shook his head forcefully. "Not that" He said. "You know something about Hiyori, don't you?"

Nora smiled again, even wider this time, her thin lips pressed together tightly. "And what if I do?" She Walked over to the broken shrine and scooped some ashes from the disintegrated incense, turning her head to stare at Yato.

He narrowed his eyes. "I need to know." He looked at Nora reproachfully and licked his lips. "Please."

Nora stood up. "Why should I?" She blew the ashes into Yato's face. "It doesn't benefit me in any way, does it? I don't see why I should help you" She patted her hands down.

Yato gritted his teeth and quickly looked towards the the trees outside. He shivered. "If you help me with this I'll…"

"I'll return to Master."

Nora narrowed her eyes. "Really now?" She smiled and stepped closer to Yato, their noses nearly touching. "Promise?"

Yato clenched his teeth. "Promise. But…"

Nora raised a brow. "But?"

"Until Hiyori gets her memories back, you're mine. No killing my shinki, no reporting to master, no nothing."

Nora laughed. "So like the old days?"

Yato stiffened. "No. Nothing like the old days." His icy eyes flashed in anger. "This is for Hiyori." He took a few breathes and released his fist. "I won't let you go until she gets her memories back for real."

Nora laughed happily, a sound of chimes. "Very well." She grinned widely at Yato. "I do believe we'll get along fine."

y2k here! So firstly, there's one thing I want to say...

I AM SO, SO, SOOOO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING I TRIED I TRULY DID QAQ

I ended up going to China over the summer, and being unprepared as I was, I didn't save ANYTHING onto Word (Since I work on Google Drive) and COMPLETELY dropped this after 3 months of total inaccessibility. Fortunately, I've finally picked it back up, and with a little luck, I'll be updating somewhat faster! :DD Please be patient with me, I'm a very distracted person, and I forget a lot! I'll try to update once or twice a month, but don't get your hopes too high. School has been piling up on me recently, but I try to write when I have free time.

Other than that, the story is finally going to go barreling forward! I try to have each of my chapters about 2000~3000 words, and I personally think that for an amateur writer with no sense of dialogue, it more than enough to get a BUNCH of plot inside. I'll try to get better as I write, but keep up the reviews and suggestions! They really do help and encourage me.

Thank you for waiting!