So this is the last planned chapter. I'll probably write an epilogue, but heads up that it might be a while before I get to it. Sorry it took so long to get this out, I always have issues with releasing the last chapter of stories because they mean so much to me that it's hard to think of them as being 'done'. But there's one particular moment in here I also couldn't wait to share with you guys so I hope you enjoy that lol.

"I'll go first since it sounds like my vacation was a lot less exciting." Ami volunteered with a small raise of her hand.

Hiyori looked down at her from where she was seated on Yama's bed, asking in disbelief, "Seriously? You went to Okinawa, though."

"It is really hard to beat yours though, Hiyori." Yama commented from beside her.

She frowned and answered loudly, "But it's not like it was a good exciting! For the most part, anyway."

"Either way, I'll still go first." Ami waved for her to lower her voice and gave a small reassuring smile, "Our trip was pretty tame. I took a lot of photos, which I'll show you guys later, of course. Since it was too cold to really enjoy the beach, we mostly just did a lot of the stereotypical tourist things." Heaving a sigh, she added, "My mom and dad used it as like… a romantic getaway too, which I mean, I understand, but… Needless to say, I got stuck with my little brother a few times. He was okay for the most part, but I just wasn't expecting to have to watch him on vacation, you know? So coming back here is almost like a vacation because of that."

Yama made a bit of a scoff mixed with a laugh, "Only you would say that."

Hiyori shook her head and responded, "Mmm, Yato is sort of the same. He's had to work so much over break that he's ready to get back to classes too."

"Literally all I did this break was relax, so this is definitely going back to the old grind in my case." Yama collapsed backward onto the mattress with a soft bounce.

After a brief moment of silence, Ami scooted closer to the bed and pressed, "So, c'mon, Hiyori! Get me up to speed with everything!"

Hiyori blinked and exhaled, "U-um, okay. Well Yama-chan called you after I had to show up after her house, right?"

Ami nodded in agreement, staring intently as she waited for her to continue.

"You already know I talked to Yato and told him what happened and so he offered to come to the New Year's party. First introductions with my parents were… okay. My dad seemed to like him alright, but you know my mom. She made some comment about the clothes he was wearing, saying she was glad he brought something else other than what he wore on the train. Anyway, she seemed to be okay enough with how he looked before we left. Once we got to the venue, we did a lot of introductions."

She took a breath before continuing, "I think about an hour and a half after we got there, my dad asked my older brother and Yato to go join him in this room where a lot of the men from the hospital staff were drinking and talking. I told Yato not to worry about me being alone for a bit because I was just going to get some food from the buffet while I waited. In the middle of me eating dinner, Fujisaki-san came over and interrupted."

Ami looked on the edge of her seat, her hands balled up in her lap. Yama, on the other hand, gave a small smile as she listened; having heard the story already on the train back to the university.

Hiyori's tone immediately turned sour, "He said… that he guessed Yato was more than a one-night stand since he was at the party. And said he'd be my first for most things, as if he's got some sort of ownership on me or something…" She looked to the side and huffed, but relaxed as she continued, "But that's when Yato stepped in. He called out Fujisaki-san for always targeting me when he knew I couldn't fight back without repercussions. It kind of escalated from there, and eventually Fujisaki-san started to threaten that he would make a call to have Yukine-kun taken away."

"What?" Ami's jaw dropped wide open before she grit her teeth together, "That asshole!"

Hiyori nodded quietly, "Yeah… Yato grabbed him by the collar after he started to say that, he didn't even let him finish. I wanted to do the same thing pretty much, but I told him to let go because Fujisaki-san was purposely causing a scene in front of everyone. He did let go, but I could tell he was still fuming and probably only a second away from lunging at him again, so… I sort of caused my own scene."

"Oh?" Ami blinked curiously and Yama grinned widely.

"This is the best part." She quipped, hardly able to contain herself.

Hiyori smiled as well and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear sheepishly, "I slapped him."

Ami clapped her hands together and let out a loud squeal, "Way to go, Hiyori! I'm sure that felt amazing."

"It did." She laughed, "But I knew we were both in deep trouble then, so I took us both down to the lobby. After a few minutes, my older brother came downstairs after he heard what happened. He said everyone thought that it was some sort of thing where Yato got jealous after hearing Fujisaki-san and I used to date and that's what set him off but knew that couldn't have been the real story so came to ask us what really happened. After that, the three of us went home since no good would really come from us going back to the party. We all changed into comfy clothes and watched a movie before going to bed. I was almost asleep when my parents got home, and my mom came up to my room to talk to me."

"Uh-oh." Ami clasped her hands together again nervously.

"That's what I thought, too." Hiyori nodded with a small smile, "But… she actually said that she saw a brief flash of the other side of Fujisaki-san because he was so angry after the confrontation with Yato. In the end, she just said that she wished we handled it a bit more discreetly. I told her that was nearly impossible, but still. I asked if she was mad at Yato and she told me that she wanted to be at first, but that she wasn't. And that was basically it, really."

"She was still sort of standoffish with Yato the next morning before we took him to the train station, but it wasn't any worse than it had been. It was a little awkward the few days after that before heading back here, but it was okay. My mom just seems to console herself by commenting that I'm still young and so Yato may not be the person I'm marrying." She chewed on her lip in annoyance as she finished.

"Do you want to get married to Yato?" Yama chimed in curiously.

Hiyori squeaked in response and held her hands up to her cheeks, "Um, I mean… Maybe eventually? Not now, obviously, but I mean… I do really love him…" She spoke in a mumble as she finished, not meeting her friend's eyes.

Yama reached over to cling onto her, "You are so adorable."

"Cut it out." She pushed her friend back to the other side of the bed.

Ami gave a cheerful laugh before commenting, "I'm really happy for you, though. I know Fujisaki-san is going to continue to be an issue, but… Things definitely seem like they're looking up."

Hiyori smiled widely, "Yeah, they are."

"You're supposed to over to Yato's tomorrow too, right?" Yama questioned curiously.

"Mhm. He isn't scheduled tomorrow and Yukine-kun is still on break as well, so we figured we'd do something together other than studying since that doesn't get to happen too often." She lightly pressed her hands together in excitement.

"Sounds like a nice way to end winter to break to me." Ami answered before standing up and stretching out her arms, "Well, I guess I should head back to my room and finish unpacking so I can just relax tomorrow and enjoy the last little bit of freedom we have."

Yama gave a loud sigh and agreed as she stood up as well, "Yeah, I guess I should do that too."

Hiyori nodded and gave a small wave. "Alright, see you two sometime tomorrow. Goodnight!"

"Night!" They echoed in return before they made their way out the door.

"I'm so glad I finally got to meet you, Suzuha-kun." She smiled brightly with a nod, "I've heard so much about you from Yukine-kun that I felt like I already knew you."

Suzuha grinned in return, "Same to you, Hiyori-san."

"Food's ready!" Yukine announced as he placed the trays down in front of them and took the seat beside Suzuha.

"Good thing cuz I was sure I was going to pass out if I had to wait another minute." Yato put down another tray and sat next to her.

Hiyori rolled her eyes, "So dramatic. Is walking around and shopping really that exhausting?"

"It's not just the shopping! Work's trying to squeeze every last ounce of energy I have left in me before I'm back at school a few days a week." He answered with a pout before hastily shoving a hamburger up to his mouth to take a bite, continuing with his mouth full, "I'm practically dead inside."

"Gross." Yukine made a disgusted face while Hiyori shook her head and Suzuha let out a laugh.

"What?" The older boy gave Yukine a confused look.

Yukine narrowed his eyes and answered, "You're supposed to be the adult here but you still act like you're five."

Yato put down his burger and answered loudly, "Do not!"

"Shh. Just keep eating," Hiyori waved both of them down, "Honestly, we probably all need the energy boost."

Yato gave a swift glare to the younger boy before starting to shove food into his mouth again while Yukine simply ignored him.

"So I see not much has changed." Suzuha commented with an amused grin from the other side of the table.

"Not really." Yukine sighed, "Having Hiyori around helps him act a little more normal… sometimes." He looked up to add, "Clearly not today."

Swallowing his food, Yato answered annoyedly, "I swear you talk about me as if I need a handler or something."

"Uh, sometimes you kinda do." He quickly answered back, clarifying, "But I mean… I guess it's the same for Kofuku-san and Bishamon-san too. Daikoku-san and Kazuma-san have to help keep them in line sometimes too, so it's not like you're the only one."

"Ah, I see. You're just misinterpreting it." Yato rubbed his chin thoughtfully and Yukine gave him a confused look.

"Huh?"

"Kofuku is the exception cuz she legitimately does need a handler, and on the rare occasion that Daikoku does get into trouble she's just an enabler, but Bishamon has to do the same thing for Kazuma. That's just part of the fun of being in a relationship. I haven't had to really stop Hiyori from doing anything yet, but I'm sure the day will come." He raised his eyebrows in her direction.

"W-what?" She blinked in surprise, "Like what?"

"I dunno. Probably if you try to slap someone at a party again or something, but obviously I made exception for the last occasion." He shrugged and Yukine and Suzuha looked on in both confusion and surprise.

Hiyori's mouth fell open in shock, "I-I did that for you as much as I did it for myself, you know! So you wouldn't be the only one in trouble!" She hid her face in her hands, "Plus I hope that nothing like that is going to happen again anytime soon. It's not like I go around slapping people on a normal basis."

"Wait did you slap that guy?" Yukine's eyes widened.

"Y-yeah." She answered quietly as she peeked upward, looking to Yato, "You didn't tell him that?"

He shook his head and muttered, "Uh, no. I didn't go into particular details yet."

She nodded understandingly before she was interrupted by Suzuha's puzzled look.

"Uh… what?"

Yukine was the one to answer, "It's kind of personal for Hiyori. Let's just say there's a guy who's been a complete asshole to her for a few years now and he definitely deserved it."

"Oh." Suzuha blinked in surprise, "Well, I'm sorry you had to deal with something like that, Hiyori-san. I don't know how anyone could be like that to someone as nice as you."

She laughed nervously and bowed her head a bit, "Thank you, but it's okay now for the most part."

"I'm glad to hear that." He smiled again.

Changing the subject, Hiyori looked between the two younger boys, "So, are you two ready to start your second year of high school? It'll be spring before you know it."

"Yeah, I think so!" Suzuha answered energetically.

Yukine was a bit more sheepish, shuffling in his seat and answering, "Guess as ready as I'll ever be."

"You'll do great, Yukine-kun. You've made a huge improvement this year and of course I can help you study any time you need." She answered with a reassuring smile.

"Thanks." He mumbled in response.

"Honestly, I'm a bit nervous too." She answered honestly as she sat back in her seat, "I'll be doing a lot more things pertaining to my major instead of general education so things are starting to get really serious."

"I'm always nervous." Yato answered as well, giving a small laugh, "But I've made it work so far, so I guess the same will be true for this year."

Hiyori laughed as well and answered, "I guess that's one way of doing it."

"But speaking of the new semester and such, I've got a question for you." He continued seriously, standing up out of his seat.

She blinked and watched him curiously, "Okay, go ahead."

"Hiyori, will you…"

He started to kneel and she swore she felt all of the blood leave her face and her breath caught in her throat. Though she was barely aware of it, she heard Yukine making a similar choking sound from her side. 'Is he really doing this?' She was panicking, 'Am I ready for this?'

He pulled out a key from his pocket and dangled it in front of her, finishing with a knowing smirk, "Move in with us?"

Her lips were open wide and she wasn't sure if she could speak, but she finally managed to cough to at least relieve the pressure in her chest. "Yes. But why did you have to do that?" She asked breathlessly, letting out another cough.

"Cuz I wanted to see how you'd react." He answered smugly, reaching out to place the key in her palm which she took gingerly.

Finally getting his own breath back, Yukine added, "Just to clarify, we talked about him asking you. But he did not tell me he was going to do this." He held a hand up to his forehead.

"Because you would have warned her and taken the fun out of it." Yato frowned and pointed between them, "I know how you two work." Crossing his arms, he stated, "I am a little bit disappointed, though. I expected you to get a little bit more emotional."

"I literally just told you last month when you joked about it that it's too early. I'll react more positively when the timing's right." She let out an exasperated sigh, tempted to lay her head down on the table.

"But you're excited about moving in, right?" He dangled an arm around her shoulder.

She looked over and met Yukine's eyes, who was trying to hide it, but she could tell he also wanted an answer. She smiled widely, "Definitely." Tilting her head back to look back at Yato, she answered, "I mean I spend most of my time there already, so it makes sense."

"That's what we thought too."

"And I could help with rent and the other bills so maybe you wouldn't have to work so hard." She also pointed out.

Yato touched the top of her head appreciatively, but answered quietly, "We can talk about all of that later."

"One thing though, before I move in." She continued quietly, speaking so only he could hear her.

"Hmm?" He leaned in closer.

"We've got to get a bigger futon. Or a bed." She whispered, "Or else we're probably going to accidentally kick or punch each other on a daily basis."

He laughed and slightly pulled away, "Yeah, okay."

"And Yato?" She called him back and he leaned back in. She gave the quickest peck of a kiss on his cheek that she could manage and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too." He answered, his voice rising a bit but muffled as his head leaned down into her hair out of shock, "And I might melt since you actually kissed me in public."

"Shhh!" She whispered harshly before looking back down to see that Yukine and Suzuha had gotten up and were standing on the other side of the food court. Clearly waiting, but also avoiding looking directly at them.

Yato looked up and noticed too, commenting, "Whoops, scared the kids off."

She gave a small laugh and shrugged. Normally, she'd be embarrassed, but she was feeling a bit too giddy to care at the moment. She reached up to squeeze his hand, "Let's go."