Yukine eyed the jacket and was half-tempted to sniff it.

"Hey, what's the hold up?" Yato had stopped in the middle of the barren pathway to gaze back at him.

Yukine scowled without looking away from his clothes. "Your hands were extra drippy tonight." He heard Yato make a choked sound, as if it pained him to be reminded of what -in Yukine's opinion- had to be a sweat gland disorder, but Yukine was too preoccupied with his search for sweat stains to care. "Shouldn't you get this condition checked? I'm sure Hiyori can get you a discount if you go to her parents' hospital." He had just bought this jacket and he didn't want Drippy's excessive sweating to leave it in ruins so soon. It wasn't like he wanted to be reimbursed with a jug of five yen coins, assuming Yato had the decency to do that -unlikely.

"It's not a condition!" Yato huffed, crossing his arms and turning up his nose like a pretentious child who had been told to eat his vegetables. Yukine sent him a disbelieving expression after deciding he would not be able to pinpoint potential wet spots anytime soon. The jacket was simply too dark under the dim street lamps for him to discern dampness using sight alone.

Yato grew more indignant, his posture straightening to convey his conviction as he shouted -despite how Yukine had moved to stand at his side- back. "I was only sweating so much because you're a slave driver!" He cleared his throat, and in a tone pitched high enough to rival a prepubescent girl, he repeated, "Get a move on, tracksuit! I thought you said you wanted to be a god of fortune?! You have to defeat a hundred ayakashi in one hour or-" Yukine smacked Yato with enough force to bowl him over and send him pinwheeling.

The shinki dusted his hands off even as Yato crashed headfirst into a steel street pole. "I do not sound like that, baka!" Yukine eyed his incompetent master in disdain, completely unrepentant as Yato wobbled into a stand and gently probed the lump forming under his dark hair.

"Yukinnneee! That hurt!" Yato whined, cradling his head while crocodile tears streamed down his face to glitter under the moonlight. He even threw out a couple of sniffles for dramatic effect.

Though Yukine just shook his head in disbelief, decided he was done with this, and started hurrying down the sidewalk. "As your hafuri, I recommend you walk it off and stop crying like a baby."

He hoped that would be the end of discussion but of course it was not to be. Yato slung an arm around his shoulders -great, now there was definitely sweat on his jacket- and nearly toppled Yukine over as he leaned his full weight upon him. "But Yukine, you're my baby, not the other way around!" Yato was smiling a wide teasing grin, sky blue eyes alight with good humor. Yukine could not stop the blush from crawling up his neck and coloring his cheeks a sunset pink, which led to Yato's grin expanding to show off teeth as he no doubt caught sight of the blush in his peripheral vision.

Yukine lowered his head to hide his face and had the sudden urge to toss his jacket's hood over his head."S-Shut up!"

"Aww, my baby isn't denying it! So cute!" He stretched his free hand to pinch Yukine's flaming cheeks, but Yukine smacked the appendage away and elbowed him to the side.

"T-The only baby around is you!" He roughly stuffed his hands into his jean pockets and growled lowly in the back of his throat, but his cheeks had yet to cool and Yato knew he was still embarrassed, according to the hearty laughter that came from beside him.

Which was cut off so suddenly, Yukine nearly tripped in his effort to stop and glance back at the abruptly silent god.

"Umm, Yato?" Yukine's forehead crinkled when he took in the expression on his master's face and his heart thrummed a bit faster. Yato's lips were a pencil thin line and his eyes were narrowed as they slid from one side of the park to the other. Even his posture had shifted so his feet were spread apart -perhaps without his knowing- and Yukine had been his shinki long enough to recognize this as his battle stance.

Yukine braced himself for the call to become a weapon, but after a moment where neither shinki nor master moved -not even to breathe in Yukine's case- Yato appeared to ease down. "It's nothing." Yukine was not reassured as the sharp edge of discomfort intruded on and trampled his former feelings of peace. Though he only realized his mistake when discomfort caused his master to grimace.

"Sorry..." Yato waved him off before he had finished the word.

Then to Yukine's surprise, he flung his arms up and stretched while releasing a yawn loud enough to rival a tiger's roar. "Wow, it's so late," A cheeky grin -albeit smaller than usual- replaced Yato's guarded expression in an obvious attempt to show Yukine there was nothing to worry about.

He wasn't sure if it was more for his sake or Yato's, but Yukine appreciated the attempt nonetheless. "I'm starting to hear things." The god continued to beam a self-deprecating smile on Yukine as he walked up to him. "What can I say? These old ears aren't what they used to be, huh, Yukine?" The tone was light, his body sagged, and yet Yato could not regenerate the same air of casualness he had a minute ago. His eyes gave him away, now dark and chilled as the open sea when a storm was about to turn the water rough.

"What did it sound like?" Yukine tilted his head in genuine curiosity, a wary part of him born of the many battles they had been through together, forcing Yukine to address Yato's cover-up. Yato was clearly taken aback, his lesuirely stroll ending as soon as it had began, and he hesistated to reply.

Only to have his mouth snap open. "Sekk-"

A blinding white light broke out between master and regalia, cutting off the rushed summons and leaving Yato trapped in a triangle prison of light.

The two stared at each other with mirrored expressions of shock and Yukine felt his heart plummet to his shoes when he fully registered what was occurring. "Y-Yato?!"

"Confine!" A trio of voices came from all around them and thus nowhere discernible. Yukine whipped his head back. He scanned the shadowed tree line, his amber eyes darting from tree to shrub repeatedly in an attempt to discern their attackers through the wildlife.

"Yukine!"

He started, spun to face Yato, and registered the terror and icy fury in those cerulean eyes prior to noticing they were looking past him.

Yukine didn't aim before he threw out a borderline strong enough to trim the hedges behind him, but he had only just registered no one was there when arms caught his torso from the right instead.

"Hey!" Yukine struggled in the grasp of what felt like a masculine body, but could see nothing of his assailant except for the meaty arm that had coiled around his stomach in a crushing grip and pinned his fisted hands to his side. When another arm locked around his neck to the point he gagged, his heart began pounding a wild and mad beat against his rib cage.

"Let him go, you bastard!" Yato was screaming a savage combo of insults and threats that Yukine could not afford to focus on as he fought a losing battle. "Let him go now!" His fists slammed against his entrapment in a show of force Yukine knew from experience had to be bruising his hands.

Fueled by Yato's enraged screaming and his own survival instinct, Yukine struggled to kick his silent attacker. However, no matter how hard the back of his shoes connected to the legs of his assailant, the man stood rock solid as if he were truly made of stone rather than flesh. In fact, his ineffective attacks seemed to merely annoy the man who now tightened his hold on his throat until the last of his air was strangled out in a final wheeze. Yato's endless stream of demands faded and Yukine's legs flailed in a desperate, uncoordinated attempt to prevent his own strangulation.

"Yukine!" Yato's eyes were smoldering embers of blue fire. The desperation and fury that stoked their flames were hot enough to sear through the dull amber of his own eyes and pierce through his panic.

"Y-Yato." Yukine croaked, still thrashing weakly when he sensed a new presence form on his right.

He was too exhausted to look away from the infuriated eyes of his master before a new voice whispered, "Sleep."

Yukine's eyes were already fluttering close when his body followed the command against his will. Yato's thunderous expression was highlighted by the light of his entrapment, and this was the last image he saw before Yukine was thrust into a fitful slumber.

I wanted this to be a one-shot, but now I've got a multi-chapter story on my hands...whoops...

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this prologue and I swear the next two chapters will be much longer as we get into the meat of this story. Hopefully I can get the next update up in a week tops, but until then feel free to let me know what you think of this so far!