The first thing Yukine processed was that he couldn't move. He was pressed flat on his stomach, like he was when he fell asleep reading the cat book, only it felt like gravity was pinning him down. Yukine grunted and squirmed, eyes slowly opening to see dark grass and dirt under an unfamiliar night sky.

Where was Yato, who was texting in the bed next to him?

Where was Joo, who was curled up on his pillow?

Yukine jolted to full attention when a deep yowl pierced the night air.

"Joo!" Yukine's head popped off the ground. A couple meters in front of him, a cat was dangling by the scruff, flailing and clawing at the air. A hand gripped the back of its neck, clutching thick black fur and the knot of a rag tied around its neck like a collar. It kicked and growled, blue eyes widely looking down at the refrigerator laying open on its back.

"No, stop!" Yukine cried and struggled more. The man that held the cat didn't look over, neither did the cat. No matter how much Yukine cried out, his voice didn't register. The blonde monk let out a half-smile and slowly lowered the animal inside.

"Stop it! Please!" Yukine felt tears run down his face as his desperation rocketed, "If you put him in there, he'll die! Yato will die!" Again, his pleas were unheard, and no matter how much the cat tried to claw at the door's inside, his struggles were futile. The monk with the shaggy blonde hair suddenly got rid of his staff, needing both hands to shut the fridge door.

Even with Yukine on the ground, he could see over the man's shoulder. Curled up awkwardly, Yato laid semi-conscious. He looked like he was in pain, blight and blood painting his skin under the rips and tears of his jersey.

"Don't," Yukine struggled to breathe from his spot on the ground, "Don't hurt him. I need him. I love him. Don't take him from me. Don't lock him in here alone. He loved you, cared for you, wanted to make you happy!" Yukine sobbed out. He shut his eyes against the heartache, thinking back to the happy god that sacrificed everything for the boy he saw himself in. He cried out against the face of the blonde man who shared his facial features. The shiki was being a burden again. A useless blessed vessel that does more harm than good. Yato gave him the power so he couldn't finally fight back, but it wasn't working no matter how desperately he wished it.

Yukine forced his eyes back open against the tears, looking up at the face of the crafter. The refrigerator door was poised to close, Fujisaki's hand the only thing keeping it from slamming shut. The crafter smiled down at the little shiki in the ice box, noting the tears running down his face as he curled around the little black cat that went cold long ago.

"It's for the best," the crafter sighed, face softening under blonde hair, "You were nothing but a burden. See ya." The heavy metal clicked shut and all Yukine could do was let out a silent scream.

Only, in the waking world, Yukine's scream was not silent. It rang through the darkness and triggered Yato's internal alarms. The god was already fumbling towards his son before his eyes even had a chance to open and adjust. Yukine was on his side, trying and failing to sit up. Joo, who was once curled up next to him, shot two feet in the air and dashed to hide by her own bed.

"Yukine, Yukine. Yukine, it's okay," Yato repeated the name over and over so that his kid would snap out of it. His sweaty palms gripped Yukine's wrists and tried to hold them still, saying the same sweet nothings he always said but meaning them just as much. Once the shiki stopped fighting, Yato pulled him into his lap and lightly wrapped his arms around the child. Yukine's eyes were still closed and his body twitched now and again.

"You're okay, I got you. I got you, Yukine, you're right here," Yato whispered. He ran his fingers through Yukine's hair and allowed his arms to squeeze a bit tighter. He didn't want Yukine to get claustrophobic, but the weight would wake him up soon.

"D-Dad?" Yukine's voice sounded rough and hollow. In times like this, Yato flinched at the word. It was an emotional term for the both of them and the accusations Hasuga threw at him, though misguided, still rubbed salt in the wounds. That, or he was still lost in his human memories. Yato didn't know which was worse.

"Yukine, it's me, Yato," the god's ethereal blue irises tried to pierce through the hazy pain that filtered Yukine's gaze. A shaky breath sighed out through Yukine's mouth and the hyperventilating stopped. For a single, nerve wracking moment Yukine's body went limp; but then he hiccuped and buried his face just above Yato's heart.

"Yeah. I know." Yukine sobbed. Yato finally let himself squeeze Yukine tighter and impossibly closer, Yukine's trembling fingers hanging desperately on his shirt. The air was filled with sniffles and cooing, Yato rocking his kid back and forth and pulling the blanket over them.

"I'm okay," Yukine's reassurance was still shaky but earnest, "Dad, I'm okay." The two sighed and shifted so that Yukine was comfortably curled up with his ear over his master's beating heart. Yato hummed and pressed a kiss on the crown of Yukine's head. He didn't hear the low meow from the dark corner of the room. Yato looked over at the worried animal. Joo was crouched with wide eyes, staring the two nervously. Holding those mortal eyes, Yato slowly extended a hand.

"Come here," Yato said. The cat hesitated, but then looked to her owner. Yukine glanced up at Yato, then leaned back to look. Noticing his eyes, Joo got up and crept over to them. She sniffed the tips of Yato's fingers, then lightly rubbed her cheek along his palm.

"Hey," Yukine breathed out a happy sigh, "Hi Joo. I'm sorry, did I scare you?" Joo let herself be pulled into Yukine's lap, settling down and placing her paws just under his name. She forced a comforting purr as Yukine ran his damp hand down her back. She was soft and warm, the happy vibrations soothing away any sort of bad thoughts. Yato noticed Yukine's heart rate slow and finally relaxed himself. The adrenaline they all had was finally starting to leave them and the night was once again quiet.

Out of habit, Yato looked behind him at the door. There was an unspoken rule in the house that Yukine's nightmares were for Yato to deal with only. Kofuku and Daikoku had long since stopped running into the room and crowding the kid who only wanted his dad. But after everything Kofuku decided it would be safe for Diakoku if he wasn't around when Yukine woke up in a fit. That didn't mean they didn't still wake up. After tucking Yukine back under the covers with his precious furball, Yato nestled back into bed and made a mental note to apologise to them in the morning.

"It's alright Yatty. I'm glad to hear Joo calmed him down," Kofuku waved him off as she always did. Both in their pajamas, Yato and Kofuku drank tea at the kitchen table. Daikoku was hovering around the kitchen waiting for Yukine to come down the stairs.

"Calmed him down too well, kid's still sleeping and it's almost eleven." Yato said.

"I told you cats are good relaxers," Kofuku purred, "She does it better than you." Yato tsked at her and aggressively drank his tea and yelped at the liquid scorching his throat.

"Idiot," Daikoku said as he sat down with a cup of his own and a covered plate of breakfast for Yukine.

"Good morning." Yukine yawned as he walked in nearly twenty minutes later.

"Morning!" Kofuku greeted with good cheer.

"Morning kid," Daikoku struggled to keep his concern tampered. Everyone smiled as Yukine took his seat next to Yato, pulling his plate towards him. Joo followed suit, settling on Yukine's lap and raising her head above the table. He took two sleepy bites of food before he realised the concerning expressions everyone wore while they stared at him. He blushed and stuffed another spoonful in his mouth.

"I'm sorry. I'm alright," Yukine glared at the plate, whacking Yato when he snorted. Even so, the room finally relaxed.

"Kofuku, stop feeding the cat scraps," Daikoku huffed at his goddess. Caught, Kofuku dropped the food in her hands with a giggle.

"Oh come on, Joo did so good with Yuki! She's a hero!" Kofuku said while rubbing the cats head. At her declaration, Yukine choked on his food and tried to hack it up.

"'Hero,' yeah right. It's a cat," Yato said, patting his son on the back a couple of times. Despite this, Yato still slipped Joo some of Yukine's breakfast.

After cleaning up and getting dressed, struggling not to fall over when Joo weaved around their legs, Yukine went back to work and Yato went to pester Hiyori. It hadn't taken long for Daikoku to relent on letting Joo in the store. She wasn't allowed on the counters, but the customers still appreciated watching a hard-working kid trot around with a feline at his heels. "Hey Nora!" Yukine greeted when she walked in, sticking his tongue out at Joo and she meowed for the food in his hand. Nora nodded in hello and simply smiled at them, happy her friend was doing better, even if he did look a bit tired. She decided to run upstairs and get the cat book and read to Yukine, in order to keep that smile on his face.

"I left off on the stressful behaviors section. The signs your cat might be upset." Yukine informed. Nora flipped through the pages until she passed the signs of affection, then found the signs of distress.

"The 'eating non-food items is a sign your cat is stressed'?" Nora asked. Yukine hummed as he wiped a table clean.

"A little past that."

"'Feels better in small spaces'?"

"Yeah, that's good." Yukine smiled at her, so she continued.

"Hiding in small spaces or at a higher elevation makes your cat feel safe and secure. It's a natural instinct that acts as protection against predators. It's best to have an area like this for your cat where they can be left alone," Nora read. Glancing down at Joo, Yukine thought for a moment. Whenever Joo wasn't by his side, she was often in places Yato would be found thinking or sulking, up in a tree or on a roof. The only time he could have seen Joo being distressed was last night. She had bolted to her little area and he imagined her wedging herself between the bed and the litter box. He wondered, idely, if Yato did something similar.

"Even if your cat is not found in these types of places, you can easily tell if they want nothing to do with you by where they are looking. If they want to be with you, they'll stare, if they want to be left alone they'll try to look anywhere else. It's best not to take this personally, everyone needs alone time and this is your cat's way of communicating that." Nora moved to turn the page but Daikoku walked in.

"Oh! Is that the book Hiyori gave you? Is it good?" Daikoku peaked at the page. The cat in the picture was a fluffy calico, his favorite.

"Yeah, I'm almost done with it," Yukine told him, "I just want to know as much as I can about Joo so I can take care of her. But I've just been so busy," Yukine trailed off with a sigh. Daikoku looked at the kid with a sympathetic expression. His first instinct was to go and blame Yato but he knew this wasn't the god's choice. He needed to work on that knee jerk reaction. Diakoku sighed and went outside to take a smoke break, deciding he would give Yato a bigger dinner helping to ease his guilt. The kids continued the work until Hiyori finally trotted through the door with Yato close to her heels.

"Hiyori!" Yukine perked up, catching Nora's attention. She got down off the counter and made her way over to the high-schooler. It was Sunday so Hiyori wore a simple tee-shirt and skinny jeans. Hiyori greeted her cheerfully and missed the smirk Nora gave Yato over her shoulder, only giving him an odd look when he hissed something and scampered towards Yukine.

"Oh I almost forgot!" Hiyori dug into her pocket and pulled something out, "My brother gave this to me to play with Joo! Here." Hiyori held it out to Nora who took it with a funny expression.

"What is it?" she asked, turning the tiny plastic keychain in her hands. She clicked the button and a little red dot shown on her palm.

"It's a laser pointer!" Hiyori said as Nora clicked in on and off a couple of times. She turned it around and pointed the light at the floor. Yato yelped when Joo shot between his legs and pounced on the red dot. Flinching, the light pulled closer to Nora and Joo scrambled closer, her front paws quickly moving side to side. Yukine let out an excited laugh then came closer to look. Nora passed him the light and the two kids were off, the cat literally bouncing off the wall with wide, shiny pupils.

"Great," Yato huffed as he came over to Hiyori, "as if that thing couldn't get more annoying." Hiyori scoffed playfully at his fake irritation. He finally smiled with her when she lightly smacked his arm.

"Like you can talk! When my brother pointed it at you, you jumped two feet in the air and crammed yourself on top of my fridge. Again." Hiyori teased. She winced a little when Yato looked offended.

"I thought it was a sniper," Yato mumbled off to the side. She placed a hand on his arm to comfort him, only to see he was more embarrassed than upset. Hiyori blushed a little when Yato looked at her with the cutest pout.

"Masaomi apologised and let you have a snack," Hiyori lamented. Though it was more like, Masaomi winked at her and, after a couple minutes, kepted the fridge door open while he hummed and hawed so Yato could sneak his hand in and pull out random food.

"Yeah, yeah. Offerings from the great onii-sama," Yato sighed as he slung his arm around Hiyori's shoulders and pulled her close. Hiyori leaned in slightly as they walked around the shop to the house.

"It wouldn't be nearly as annoying if you didn't eat the plastic coverings after you already eat the food," Hiyori looked up at him with a glare as she pinched the top of the hand that dangled by her shoulder.

"I was just distracted," Yato tried to pacify the girl. Once they reached the doorway Hiyori escaped his hold and walked into the threshold with her nose in the air. The cold air hit Yato's side and he sighed, appreciating the moment while it lasted. When he walked in after her he saw the house was empty. He heard shouts and stomping up stairs, Hiyori must have joined the rascals as they played with the laser and that furball. Yato toyed with the thought of joining them, but not quite feeling it, Yato decided to cover Yukine's shift instead.

Unfortunately, going up the staircase wasn't nearly enough time for Hiyori to calm down. She walked slow, seeing if Yato was still following, then leaned against the wall when he didn't. Her face cooled down after a couple of deep breaths and her heart rate slowed just enough so that she didn't feel lightheaded. Finally, she walked into the attic and was instantly caught up in the adorable scene in front of her.

The two shiki had Joo trying to jump off the wall, flip in the air, then run back across the room alongside Yukine. Nora had Kofuku's phone and was recording the whole thing. Joo, being a young and agile cat, was able to complete the task without realising it and received a treat each time. Hiyori joined in and the game quickly became an obstacle course for Joo to maneuver.

"Okay, so," Nora announced from her spot on the floor, "Joo will start by the water dish, then she will run and jump over the rolled up towels, weave her way through the stacks of books, run through the janga mind-field without knocking any of them over, then climb up the futon tower, jump onto the chair, and then run to Hiyori." The other two followed her finger as she waved it in a curved line around the room, then nodded with anticipation. Nora knelt on the floor in the center of the action, Kofuku's phone at the ready, while Hiyori did the same at the end of the course. Yukine would be running alongside Joo- who looked up from her water bowl at the sound of her name- and would be controlling the laser pointer.

"Ready," Nora poised the phone, "set," Yukine got in a ready stance while Joo tried to nuzzle his legs, "go!"

The button was pressed, the dot was on, and the pupils were dilated. They held their breath as Joo wiggled before taking off after the artificial prey. The other three cheered and laughed as Joo leaped over the hurdle without missing a beat. Like a competitive dog trainer, Yukine led her through the stacks of books smooth as silk. Joo's own feline prowess took over as she dashed through the up-standing Jenga pieces, knocking a lot of them over.

Hiyori and Nora let out a low noise of disappointment before letting out cheers of encouragement. The futon tower was another tough call. Joo stretched up the side of the fabric before sitting and watching the dot flick back and forth.

"Aw, come on," Yukine tried rapidly clicking the button and moving it slowly upward. It got Joo on her hinds so Yukine took it a step further, raising the dot to the wall next to the tower. Joo seemed to get her spark back and took a couple steps back and bunched her muscles. Yukine tried to quickly move from his spot off to the side, back to behind Joo, but he forgot where his wrist moved, so did the dot. Instead of jumping on the chair in the middle of the floor, Joo tried to leap along the wall, arms stretched up towards the ceiling. She fell, trying desperately to twist around and land on her feet, but still flopped on her side right next to the windowsill. The cat tumbled, a sickening crack sounded through the air as whatever she landed on snapped and shattered. Yowling, Joo rolled off her side and dashed into the corner of the room, Yukine and everyone quickly following.

"Wait, wait!" Yukine said urgently with his hand out. The two girls stopped with worried expressions as Yukine shuffled forward to his pet, trying to gently call it.

"Hey," Yukine got down on his knees, "hey baby, are you okay?" Once he got close enough, he held his fingers out. Joo took a moment of heavy breathing before she reached her neck out and gave his hand a nuzzle. The other two came forward when they heard Yukine's cooing get lighter.

"Is she alright? That sounded like a hard fall," Hiyori glanced back at the door and wondered if she needed to get Yato.

"No she's alright now, just shaken up," Yukine smiled down at Joo as she let him run his hand down her back and sides, not a sign of discomfort anywhere.

"But that was a lot of noise," Nora thought out loud, looking behind her at the area by the windowsill.

"I'm just glad she's okay-" Hiyori's breath stopped when Nora lightly whacked her side, she looked at the other girl, shocked, only to see her staring intently at something behind them. Hiyori felt her eyebrows furrow and she followed Nora's line of sight to the floor by the window.

Her breath stopped. Her heart stopped. Everything seemed to stop. Anxiety fired up the nerves under her skin and she had to force a shaky breath. Nervous brown eyes darted over to meet the dark pools of the other shiki. Their expressions were mirror images of each other, sweat visible on their brow.

Nora glanced back to the boy on the floor, still cooing and praising his pet's health and exercise. Then to Hiyori who was biting her lip and trying to figure out whatever problem she saw in the floor.

And finally to the shattered mini shrine on the floor.

Joo clicked happily at Yukine as he scratched her head. Debating just a little longer, Hiyori took a breath and tried to sneak over to the shrine, readying her shirt to sweep up the mess quickly. Unfortunately, Yukine's attention was taken by Nora who stepped forward with a serious expression. His good cheer died down a little but before he could question her mood shift she turned her body so he could see between her and Hiyori.

"The shrine." Nora said, and watched his eyes drift past her to the floor and slowly grow impossibly wide. She felt her lips tighten when all the life seemed to drain from Yukine's pupils, his skin becoming deathly pale, and he let out a strangled noise. Even as he dashed past her, air whooshing through her hair, Nora stayed with her back to the scene.

"Yukine, it's okay," Hiyori already started saying with her hands out. Yukine ignored her and skitted on her knees. His father's shrine was in pieces. The roof was off and snapped in half, two of the walls broken off with one of them in splinters. The torii gate was thrown off the base, the top kasagi piece was disconnected but the top half of Yato's name plaque was still glued on. The bottom half of Yato's name landed right by Yukine's knee.

"No," Yukine breathed, hands shakily hovering over the wreckage. Hiyori knelt next to him and grimaced at the thought of trying to repair it.

"Yukine it's okay, trust me. Yato will under-"

"-No, no, no. It can't," Yukine said louder, hastily scraping together bits and pieces of his dad's favorite object. He ignored Nora coming closer and joining Hiyori in rubbing his back, Yukine's eyes just frantically took in the damage as his mind tried working out plans to fix it.

"Don't touch it!" Yukine snarled at Nora when she tried to help pick up the pieces. The girl flinched back and Hiyori had to bite down the need to reprimand his misdirected harshness. Her eyes softened at the sight of the boy being on the verge of tears again. She could conceive why he would be upset, but she didn't think it would be this much, Yukine looked on the verge of a breakdown. Nora tried to push Yukine's shoulder up to look him in the eyes, her face more pinched than before.

"Nora-" Hiyori tried to warn. The shiki meant well but she lacked even more tact than Yato and now wasn't the time. Yukine glared at Nora over his shoulder as his hands gently held the splitters closer to him. It took Nora a couple seconds to find the proper wording.

"You know there's no reason for you to worry about- how Yato will react," Nora tried to comfort. Under her palm, Hiyori felt Yukine's hackles raise.

"It's nothing like that! I would never even dream of being worried about Yato like that. Ever." Yukine turned harshly away from her after his outburst and let the heavy air hang over them. Joo finally came over to see what captured her owner's attention so suddenly. She came to sniff the colored splitters, her paw batting some of them around.

"No! Stop!" Yukine shouted at her, shoving the cat away from the shrine even when she meowed in shock, "This is your fault! Get out of here!" Joo crept back a couple paces and Hiyori swiftly picked her up and let her hop out the window. Picking up the main structure, Yukine silently worked to put all the pieces into the remaining walls of the busted shrine, carefully picking it up with the larger roof pieces. Hiyori bit her lip and looked at Nora, who kept her face away and pointed at the floor.

"Hiyori," Yukine said as he stood with his back to them.

"Yes?" Hiyori stood up too.

"I need your help gluing it back together. Quickly."

"Wh-what?" Hiyori's stepped forward, "Yukine, you can't keep this from Yato, he's going to know-"

"-I know!" Yukine struggled to keep his voice down, "I know. I'm going to explain what happened and apologise after I fix it." Yukine spoke down at the holy pieces, steadily convincing himself that he could fix it before dinner, good as new.

"Yukine," Nora stood up too, "you're acting like Yato did and you know that's wrong," she said sternly. Hiyori bit her lip and looked between them. Yato said she had a habit of spoiling the two in moments like this. Sugarcoating wasn't the way to go this time but she didn't know what else to say. She just hoped Nora knew what she was doing, and that it was with Yukine in mind.

"I-I'm not! This is not the same!" Yukine looked to her in desperation. He wasn't running away, he was just softening the blow so Yato wouldn't be as sad as he could be. That was really what he feared most, another blow to Yato's heart due to his careless screw ups. He knew there wouldn't be any consequences. Yukine could picture his dad's shocked and deeply disappointed face, before the forgiveness came out as naturally as ever. Yuikine could already feel the heavy hand patting his head and telling him that it's okay and that he shouldn't worry, accidents happen in a house with such bad luck. But he felt like such a burden lately, craving Yato's constant comfort and attention even when his master was worried over his father and sister. It was Yukine's job to sooth away Yato's hurt just as much as it was Yato's. Letting his cat smash one of the few objects Yato cherished was not the way for an exemplar to go about protecting his master's happiness.

"It is," Nora's clear tone cut through Yukine's rampid thoughts, "You're hoping to fix the problem before telling him just to make yourself look better."

"Nora!" Hiyori finally decided to step in. Stoking Yukine's flames won't help anything. Nora didn't look away from Yukine, who just stood quietly as he let his eyes drop sadly to the broken shrine. She was right.

"Hey! Are you guys still up there?" Yato's voice echoed from the stairway. Hiyori and Nora looked with wide eyes as footsteps were heard coming up the stairs. Before he could think better of it, Yukine clambered onto the windowsill.

"Yukine!" Hiyori called after him in shock. She stopped when he looked behind him with a pained, defeated expression.

"Tell dad I'm in the garden?" He said urgently before hopping out of the house, just as Joo did, with the shrine pressed close to his chest. The girls heard a thump and the grass rustling before Yato walked in the door wearing Daikoku's apron.

"Hey Yukine, I need help with the dishes after that lunch rush," Yato looked up from patting down his apron, "Um? Where is my child? I thought he was up here?" Yato looked between the two girls and caught wind of the tension in the room. His blue eyes landed on Hiyori, looking for the gentle explanation he knows she'll give.

"Yukine is in the garden," Nora said looking out the window, "he has something important to talk to you about." Yato hated that tone, but found it odd she wasn't looking at him. He looked to Hiyori for elaboration only to get a comforting smile.

"Okay," Yato held the vowels out as he let his eyes get wide and he looked between the girls again. Not receiving any more explanation, Yato took one last look at Hiyori's straining smile then backed out of the room. He took the long way through the house to the garden. Even though Yato trusted Hiyori wouldn't smile- or at least try too- if Yukine was about to drop a bomb, the feeling of unease amplified with every step. Should he be working harder to be a god of fortune? What if Yukine was upset that his relationship with Nora wasn't as great as it could be? Did he want to see other people? Serve Kofuku? Get another cat?

By the time Yato slid the back door open slowly, his mind was whirling. In the middle of the yard, he saw Yukine's on-the-verge-of-tears face and his thoughts went to their darkest place. Then they went away, shoved aside as Yato speed-walked across the yard in seconds.

"Kiddo," Yato said with a soft voice, "what's wrong?" He reached out for Yukine only to see the kid was holding a paper bag, crushing the top of it in his shaking fists. The bag was flinched away from Yato's hands when he reached to comfort his son.

"Yukine?" Yato asked gently. He let his fingers curl in but decided to take a small step forward so his arms hovered on either side of his shiki. Yukine wasn't looking at him, instead staring at the ground, biting his lip. When he tried to say something, all that came out of Yukine's mouth was a whimper. The guilt was eating away at his heart and the doubts at Yato's mind. Taking a deep breath, Yato let Yukine shuffle into his arms. He noticed his son let the bag drop to his side, then hid it behind him. An idea came to Yato like a breath of fresh air.

"Is it the bird?" Yato asked, letting his hand fall on the kid's head.
"N-no," Yukine sniffed then picked his head up and looked Yato in the eye, "I'm sorry." Yato's own widened a bit at the pain and guilt he saw in Yukine. It was so familiar, especially as of late. Days after nightmares always tended to be worse. Even though he couldn't feel his shiki anymore, it still hurt to know his kid was still blaming himself. But the bag?

"Oh, kiddo, I told you it's not your fault. Those types of people- you can't- they just-" Yato's mouth opened and closed around quiet words. He had a list of excuses and comforting phrases but by now the god was just repeating himself. So instead he kissed his son's head and kept running his fingers through the blonde fringes.

"No, that's not it either!" Yukine raised his voice and adopted a desperate look, trying and failing to convey his thoughts to his dad so he won't have to say them outloud. But all Yukine was met with, was a baffled look of concern. Taking a deep breath, Yukine looked down at the bag and watched his hand raise it slowly in front of them. Yato looked at Yukine, then at the bag, then back at him. Silently asking if it was okay for him to take it. Yukine couldn't take it, he didn't want to watch. The boy looked away and pushed the bag closer.

Yato took it without looking, giving his kid a confused look. He couldn't shake the feeling like this was some sort of messed up highschool confession on Valentine's Day. The bag was kinda light, he carefully opened the top and peered inside. Blinking, all Yato could make out was a bunch of random pieces of wood. They looked kind of familiar, the color scheme at least. Sticking his hand in the bag, Yato moved some of the smaller pieces around and realised there were bigger pieces at the bottom, glued together in a sort of broken cube?

An object came to mind, an object that's the same size, color, and shape; and Yato froze. His heart sunk in on itself and something heavy lodged in his throat. This was his shrine. The thing he had wanted for over one-thousand long, painful years. His shrine that the love of his life made for him as a sign of her devotion and was a physical, tangible object with his name on it so that she would never, ever forget him again. Why was it in some dirty paper bag? Shattered to the point that not even the deity it belonged too could recognize it. There was a small, miniscule possibility that this wasn't his shrine and maybe it was a look alike Yukine tried to build and Kofuku accidently dropped kicked out the window.

But no, his son wouldn't be so upset if that were the case. Hiyori and Nora wouldn't have been so serious and told him to talk outside. He won't get this sickening feeling throughout his body if he didn't think this was the real thing. Yato got the sudden, powerful urge to scream, to cry, to punch a hole in the wall and demand to know what the hell happened to his shrine. But that would scare his son, who clearly felt guilty. And if ever Yato was lenient with his shiki, it's when they truly felt remorse for what they've done. Still, he couldn't stop the audible gasp that rushed into his mouth and caused Yukine to flinch.

"Yato-Dad, I- it was my fault, I-" Yukine scrambled to explain, hand coming up to tug on his bangs. Yato wasn't moving, he wasn't looking for something to say, he wasn't looking anywhere else than in the bag. It wasn't even clear whether or not Yato was even listening to him anymore. As always in these situations, when Yukine could feel their relationship at its wits end, the jumble of honest explanation comes tumbling out. If only he could learn to confess as clearly and honestly as his dad.

"Hiyori got us that laser pointer and Joo really likes to chase it, so we made this- obstacle course, you know? And we made it go all around the room- but your shrine wasn't part of the course I promise- and she would follow the laser. But when I tried to move it, I put it on the wall and Joo, of course, jumped after it but she fell and landed- and broke it," Yukine desperately tried to see his master's face, "But-But! Hiyori and I can fix it! We're going to fix it so you don't have to worry!" Yukine said, trying and failing to look more convincing and less desperate. He frantically scanned Yato's face, his jaw was open slightly but nothing came out. Yato wanted to say something, he's felt worse and should really suck it up so his kid could stop freaking out. This is the time to be a strong adult and not have a total meltdown. At least not until he was alone.

"It's-okay," Yato forced out, "it was an accident." Yato's hand shook a little bit as he focused on getting his breathing under control. Yukine wasn't reassured, his master wasn't smiling, wasn't looking at him.

"Dad, I'm so sorry. I will fix this," Yukine said, much stronger this time. His mouth clicked shut when Yato took a large, slow breath in. Then out.

"I know," Yato's habit of masking a smile was used, he kept his eyes shut. Yato patted Yukine's head again, placing the paper bag back into his kid's hands. If he trusted anyone to fix his shrine, it was Yukine. With a little help from Hiyori. Yato turned around and mumbled something about taking a walk.

"I'll go fix it right now!" Yukine shouted after him, holding the bag close. He couldn't help the disappointment when Yato just waved over his shoulder and hopped the fence. The god needed some alone time and Yukine needed to get a hold of some glue. He jogged into the house, slowing down when he tripped over a step. Hiyori and Nora stood up when he came in the room, looking at him expectantly.

"Well?" Hiyori's hand came to squeeze over her heart. Yukine didn't look as upset as before, but she wanted to know how Yato took it.

"I have to fix it." Yukine said as he set the table up.

"Have to?" Nora asked.

"I'm going to," Yukine answered her silent innuendo with a glare. He sat down and lightly pushed all the pieces out of the bag. Most of the pieces were tiny splinters, the shrine might have holes. The task of putting it back together was daunting and made everyone's stomach churn. But, Yukine silently sat down and got to work, and once more glue was gathered, so did Hiyori and Nora.

After the blowout with father, heaven, and Yukine, Yato promised he would stick to Yukine's curfew. Unless he said otherwise, no matter where he wondered, Yato was to be back by sundown. Otherwise it was assumed something happened. He also promised to always answer his phone, unless the same be assumed.

Even though he had his phone, Yato didn't feel like teleporting anywhere, he didn't have it in him to muster the spiritual strength, so he just walked around within a five mile radius. Phantoms still lurked even in the day-time, Yato took out some of his anger on them, but of course there was no shortage of human negativity. After cleaning the blight and walking around more, he realised it was only making him ansier. So, Yato found a nice tree in the sunshine, it's branches high above other people. Circling it, he deemed it sturdy and found the perfect branch to recline on.

After settling on his back, something bright was dangling above him. Yato flinched at the odd movements of the bright orange, then realising it was a cat. Upon further inspection, it was Joo, her ears back and her tail twitching in annoyance. Yato tsked and thought about getting down, he came up here to be left alone after all, but decided he was too drained to do more walking around.

"So, you broke my shrine," Yato stated after about two hours. Joo looked back at him and got up to stretch. She turned around and sat down on the branch above him, he watched her tail whip back and forth.

"If you're mad cause he got angry with you, don't take it personally," Yato spoke up into the green leafs, "that kid's got an even shorter fuse than I had." The thought made his lips twitch upward, but his bruised ego quickly smothered it. Joo, on the other hand, seemed to hold onto her offense, ripping off a couple leaves and gnawing on them.

"That's an important holy artifact, you know." Yato tacted on after about twenty minutes, she's been staring at him even when he looked away. He didn't blame the cat, just like how he didn't blame Yukine. It sounded like an honest accident. Unfortunately, the thought of what he might go home to fired up his irritation. He felt his brows pinch as he glared off to the side, no matter how much he tried to relax but his teeth wouldn't stop grinding together. Yato ripped a small twig off the side of the trunk and started chewing on it. Ginkgo trees were common, but still not his favorite. The branch was healthy and chewy, the tainted water that seeps out aggravated him more so he tossed it. He should have grabbed one of the roses Daioku buys for Kofuku each time he goes out, the petals were his favorite and he didn't get yelled at as much as when he took actual snacks from the store.

The stick caught Joo's attention, she watched it land far off into someone's yard and got up. For a moment, Yato thought she was going to go after it, but she seemed over that sort of thing for today. Instead she stretched and hopped onto his chest. Yato grunted and let out an irritated groan when she curled up on his chest, still facing away. Even though he wanted to be angry, he let his hand fall on her back. Joo flinched but otherwise didn't move, and after a couple seconds she even started lightly purring. Yato huffed out a laugh and let his hand start to pet her in rhythmic fashion, feeling his troubles ebb away.

By the time the sun was lower in the sky, Yato's shrine was more or less fixed. After a couple of hours, Nora had left to go feed the bird and give it one, final check up, which left Hiyori and Yukine to finish the project. The amount of glue was starting to give Hiyori a headache. Smell aside, trying to focus for so long was as frustrating as trying to keep her fingers from sticking together. They got the overall shape fitted and dried by now, but the little pieces were starting to get soggy and it was hard figuring out where they went. Kofuku had come upstairs to check on them and call them down for dinner.

"I think it came out just fine! Much better than I thought!" Kofuku tried to encourage. She gave Yukine a bubbly smile before looking behind herself at Hiyori with a more sympathetic expression.

"I'm sure Yato is feeling much better, if anything I can always make him another one. An even better one," Hiyori added, placing a hand on Yukine's shoulder.

"Yeah," Yukine tried giving the two girls a small smile as they walked into the kitchen. Diakoku looked up from the stove as Yukine and Hiyori went to wash their hands.

"How'd it turn out?" Daikoku asked apprehensively, trying to diagnose Yukine's expression.

"It came out great!" Kofuku loudly declared. The man rolled his eyes at his goddess then looked to the two kids. They both forced unsure smiles at him, not coming up with anything to say. It was really up to Yato after all.

Giving them both pats on the shoulder, Daikoku shoed the three out of the kitchen and they sat at the table. The longer Yato and Joo were away the more Yukine's good mood waned.

"I want to give him something more," Yukine murmured at the table. Hiyori looked at Kofuku, at a loss. They looked up when Nora walked in, the bird happily hopping around in a cage Hiyori bought, and greeted her. Hiyori filled the shiki in as she stared at Yukine, only nodding when he apologised for raising his voice at her.

"I know one thing! Joo's going to want some treats after this!" Kofuku said as she wiggled her winger in the cage.

"What is that thing you were really happy to get with Joo?" Nora asked Yukine. The group looked confused before Kofuku nearly jumped out of her spot.

"Oh! That's a great idea, Nora!" Kofuku got up and ran up the stairs.

"What thing?" Hiyori asked, looking at Nora who now looked confused.

"I was just suggesting you get him a toy to keep him occupied?" Nora stated seriously, getting a laugh out of her two friends. Yukine was the first to pull back into a melancholy mood.

"No, I don't just want to get him another trinket," Yukine said, flinching when he heard Kofuku fall somewhere in their room.

"It wouldn't be like the others if it came from you," Hiyori reminded him with a smile, finally getting a blush out of Yukine. After a couple of haphazard thumps came down the stairs, Kofuku ran in with a picture frame and she managed to yank off the wall. Yukine already knew what it was before Kofuku tilted it to show everyone and nicked the corner on the table.

"That's Joo's adoption paper!" Hiyori lit up at the thought, turning to Yukine with a wide smile as his face grew from cherry blossom to crimson rose.

"Daikoku!" Kofuku called over her shoulder, "We need to use the printer!" Kofuku grabbed Yukine by the arm and tugged him into the office, squealing at Yukine's embarrassed excitement.

"I'll get Yato!" Hiyori called after them, "Do you want to come, Nora?" She asked the girl. Nora seemed to think for a moment before placing the bird safety on a high shelf.

"Sure, we'd find him faster if I came," Nora said walking with her. Hiyori almost mourned the loss of her ability to find Yato, it had made life a bit easier considering how much he wandered. Not that anyone was aware. At least Yato's scent was something she could still smell when he was close.

"H-hey!" Nora called when Hiyori suddenly took off, face burning.

"S-sorry! I'm just caught up in the excitement!" Hiyori called over her shoulder. Nora easily caught up and tugged Hiyori down another street. They stopped under a large tree off the side of a road, the back of Yato's head hardly seen through the leaves. Nora helped Hiyori over the small road fence and they went over to him.

"I was going to get up soon," Yato spoke to the sky with a bit of a pout. Hiyori stifled a laugh at Joo on his chest, who yawned in his face. She would have to tell Yukine they were getting along.

"We're going to release the bird now," Nora said up into the leaves, "We want to do it before it's totally dark." Nora's eyes flickered to Hiyori who just smiled. This was more of a surprise than a secret anyway.

"Oh, really? That's good," Yato said as he landed on his feet next to them, Joo tucked in his arms like a baby. He started walking with the two girls at his sides, the shrine never mentioned. Still, Hiyori noticed he was a bit quiet and not as up-beat, but Yato was at least calm. She was glad he settled down. As they walked Hiyori made the two former assassins happiest by telling them about her day. They gave her the same undivided attention to the simplest things and Hiyori made a note to buy them treats when one of them walked her home later.

"Yatty!" Kofuku came running with arms out, "and Joo!" she added when she noticed that his arms were full. This didn't phase the goddess and she simply scratched the cat's head and gave her hugs to Hiyori and Nora instead.

"Your shrine is upstairs. Should be dried by now but Yuki has something else to give you!" Kofuku happily told Yato, not missing a beat even when the other girls flinched at the reminder.

"Something to give me?" Yato looked curiously at her then frowned, "it's not the bird is it?" He didn't mean for it to slip out but the absolute last thing he wanted to have is the responsibility of a fragil animal's life.

"No, no," Kofuku waved off, "just come on! You'll love it!" She grinned big and skipped into the house. Yato looked to Hiyori and Nora for more but they just wore expressions of excitement and anxiousness. Again, not much help, he really needed to learn to read peoples' faces. Deciding he's already had enough excitement for the day, and whatever it was couldn't be worse than the last thing his kid gave him, Yato let Joo down and walked in the living room.

The scene was similar, only this time they had an audience. Daikoku walked in and gave him a strange smile before his lady came to hug him. Nora and Hiyori stood behind him, he could feel their movements of encouragement. Yukine was standing with his head pointed at the floor, fidgeting with paper in his hand. He had a pen too, but he still clutched both rather tightly and close to his chest. Yato resisted the urge to sigh, for a moment the idea of the peper being something from heaven struck, but Kofuku's words reassured him. That and the fact that the tips of Yukine's ears were tinged red. A highschooler indeed, that paper really might be an early valentine. The amusing thought brightened Yato's mood, letting him lightly step to Yukine, giving space this time.

"Is that for me? Do you want me to draw something?" Yato tried to guess in a welcoming tone.

"Uh, no," Yuine shook his head, "sign something." The paper was handed to Yato upside-down, pen shoved in his hand as well. Sign something? What could Yukine possibly need his signature for? The dark thoughts peeked out but quickly went away once Yato flipped the paper over like he was ripping off a bandaid.

The fancy writing was in landscape, wrapped in a black and white intricate border, printed out on regular copier paper. For the second time that day, Yato's mind tripped into overdrive, his emotions sparking behind his eyes and under his ribs. He could feel Yukine looking at him again, wide-eyed and expectantly. Yato needed to breathe before he passed out, or broke down crying, or both.

"Certificate of Adoption," Yato read off the top of the paper, eyes falling down it.

"This is to certify that," Yato coughed out a wet laugh at his son's shaky handwriting, "Yukine has been formally adopted-" He couldn't make it through. Yato let out a weird mix of a sob and a laugh. The certificate says 'has formally been adopted into the family of' but Yukine had crossed out part of that so that it read: 'has formally been adopted to.' Under that was a line where the family was to write their name. Yukine chose to write 'God of Fortune Yatogami.'

"Aww, Yatty don't cry," Kofuku came up behind him and rubbed his back up and down as tears came down his face, Hiyori quickly joined. At some point Yukine had run forward to be enveloped in a hug. He was used to his dad's crocodile tears, and had seen the lone drop from Hiyori's shrine, but this was actual emotion. A couple tears at a time falling from the corners of his eyes and into the blonde hair of the kid he was squeezing so, so tightly. He sniffed and wiped the tear stains away, Yato didn't even realise he was smiling but it was so wide his face was starting to hurt. Not that it mattered, nothing mattered right now except for the fact that his son chose him back after everything. After so long. With all his broken pieces and misguided mistakes.

"Are you sure?" Yato picked up his head a little bit, "You know I take signing this very seriously," Yato's smile was still there, his soft eyes merely trying to convey the underlying weight this promise held to him. Yukine's head nuzzled out of Yato's chest, snot smearing across the tear stains he left on Yato's shirt. His kid nodded with hopeful eyes, he was biting his bottom lip to keep his chin from shaking too much.

"Please, Dad?" Yukine asked Yato in the same pleading tone all children use with their parents. He couldn't help but beam when that caused more crying from his dad. That word did always cause his master to cave. Yato let out another choking sob and nodded, signing his name in an equally sloppy fashion, using his other hand as a table. He then tackled Yukine in another hug, the two of them crying on each other's shoulders.

Nodding to each other and wiping their own tears, Hiyori and Kofuku stepped forward. The two didn't even notice Hiyori wrap her arms around them while Kofuku came behind Yukine and took the pen and paper from Yato's sweaty hands. She neatly wrote the date and had Daikoku sign as the administrator so as to not curse the relationship.

Tears were wiped, food was eaten, and certificates were hung. After the warm family meal was cleaned, the group followed Yukine outside as he carried the cage. Nora had decided she was done with the bird and instead settled on the ledge of the porch with Joo in her lap.

"Ready?" Yukine looked back at everyone with a wide smile and red-rimmed eyes. They nodded and the girls got their phones ready as Nora kept a grip on the cat. The cage door dropped open and the white-eye hopped out one bounce at a time. It's head cocked this way and that, taking a moment to poke at the ground, then it took off into the bruised sky as if nothing happened. The group awed and let out little cheers as they watched the bird become nothing but a dot in the sky.

"I'm so glad!" Yukine sighed as he took a spot next to Nora, letting Joo crawl into his lap.

"Me too," she smiled lightly at him then looked at the ground with a blank expression.

"Alright, I think I better head home," Hiyoi said getting on her shoes. She looked to Yato who nodded and scampered towards her, rubbing Yukine's head as he passed.

"If you two don't mind waiting a moment," Kofuku stopped them, "Daikoku and I also have a present." Everyone looked at her in confusion except Yukine who looked at Nora with renewed excitement. Kofuku looked equally excited at the girl as Daikoku walked in with a similar looking piece of paper. Nora stood up with Yukine to receive it, her wide eyes never even glancing at it. Daikoku pulled Kofuku in close as the two smiled lovingly down at the girl who had been through too much. Yato did the same to Yukine and Hiyori.

"A-are you sure?" Nora stammered out quietly.

"We know you said no to a new name," Kofuku started, "but we want you to know, we want to be a part of our family anyway. In a way that's comfortable to you." Kofuku spoke gently while Daikoku spoke with a more jovial tone.

"Considering everyone that lives under this roof, you fit right in," he scratched his cheek, "you don't even have to sign it but we wanted to formally ask you to stay."

"With us, here." Kofuku added on after the girl said nothing. Yato's hands squeezed Yukine and Hiyori's shoulders, a torrent of emotions spirling up again but most of all pure relief knowing his big sister finally made it to a safe home with him.

"Lady Kofuku, Mr. Daikoku, thank you so much for that. And for this. I'd be happy if things stayed the same for now, but I hope one day I'll be able to write a name on this paper," Nora folded the paper and tucked it into her kimono, keeping her head down for a moment longer, "if that's okay with you?" Nora spoke softly as she always did, but it was strengthened by passion. Her smile was soft and it crinkles her sparkling eyes so sweetly, one lone tear rolling down her porcelain cheek. Everyone let out cheers of agreement, smiling big as Daikoku and Kofuku each reached a hand out. Nora took a couple steps forward, letting her hands drop lightly into each of theirs. She then looked to her little brother and best friends, giving a smile that finally showed all her teeth.

Under her feet Joo stopped rubbing against Nora and happily made her way to her owner and meowed. The three looked down at her with watery eyes and she simply gave them a slow blink, letting them know she was happy to be taken in by such a warm family.

The night went on longer than anticipated but the warm contentment lasted all the same. Nora had stayed late, even after Yato had walked Hiyori home. Both of them floating on the good mood but Yato's worn out heart couldn't accept a treat from his love this time, instead taking the opportunity to kiss the back of her hand goodbye like a true gentleman. Reveling in the honest smile she gave him in return as she bid him goodbye. When he came back Daikoku and Kofuku had already gone to bed, Nora standing up to leave once Yato came back. The happiness still stuck with her too cause she gave Yukine a hug goodbye, and after a second of debate, Yato as well. He hugged his big sister back, taking in the same size she's always been and conveying his happiness by squeezing. She gave her graditiute the same way, neither of them ever really needing words to communicate. Yukine and Yato waved to her then shut off the lights, locking the door behind Joo once she scooted back in.

"Night, Dad." Yukine said as he shut off the lights and made his way to his bed.

"Night, kiddo," Yato murmured around a yawn. Despite his body and soul being completely drained from the sudden onslaught of emotions in one day, he was still woken up in the middle of the night by the chewing of dry food.

"Hey," Yato whispered as he rolled onto his stomach, glaring right through the darkness. From her food bowl, Joo flinched and looked behind her, eyes looking in his general direction. The silence stretched for a little bit as neither of them moved.

"Get over here," Yato commanded quietly as he rolled back over. Joo trotted silently over, taking her spot back on his chest and curling into a ball facing him. Her wide green eyes asked the god if this was a home always took strays off the street, and Yato just smiled and let his hand fall on her back. His eyes looking to his son across the room as before they drifted shut.