Noragami Secret Santa
Surprise @asliceofcolor! Your secret santa was none other than moi. I’m so sorry I took ages, but I got your present in by the 27th! Well, I mean, there are still time zones to consider so uh...
Um, enjoy your present! It’s not exactly the Yatori you requested I’m sorry I got carried away please forgive me And I hope everyone has a great holiday!
The train slowed at the station, and soon came to a stop completely. Its passengers began to file out in as soon the doors opened. A cool winter wind ushered them down the stairs and into the warmth of the station below, each person clutching their luggage tightly and searching for signs guiding them in the right direction.
One particular girl was being swept along with the crowd helplessly. She had her scarf wrapped around her snugly, a splash of pink in a dull sea, and the air about her was clearly one of a person wondering why they ever thought this would have been a good idea. However, the exasperated expression on her face may not have been from the impatient people, as much as from her companions.
‘I can’t believe we’re in Kyoto!’ Yato cheered, dancing about on the tips of his toes. ‘We can go visit Kyoto Tower, Kiyomizu-dera, and even get some decorating ideas for my shrine!’
‘Shut up.’ Yukine sighed and slapped him with a rolled up guide map. ‘How do you plan on decorating your shrine anyway? Just leave Hiyori’s handiwork be.’ He unfurled the brochure, skimming over its contents. ‘I really want to visit the bamboo grove. We can pay our respects to all the other gods around here as well.’
‘How about you spare some worship for me instead?’ Yato pouted. ‘I’m your master, you know. Have some respect!’
‘You’ve been telling me that ever since we met. What makes you think I’m going to change now?’
‘I’m hurt! You should be offering me all your money and asking for my blessing. Come to mention it, I think I hear something jangling around in your pockets. Could it be that you’ve been secretly preparing an early Christmas present for me? You’re such a good regalia! Now, give it here and I can-’
‘Like hell this is for you!’ Yukine retorted, raising his map threateningly. ‘I need to eat as well!’
‘Come at me.’ Yato growled, and tried his best to assume a threatening stance. However, this was rather difficult in such a crowded area. With his arms in absurd positions above his head and one leg raised, he nearly toppled to the ground.
‘Can you guys please just, like, chill?’ Hiyori groaned, wheeling around furiously.
She regretted her decision almost immediately. Yato seemed to be concealing himself on purpose, as the people around her shot strange looks the girl who seemed to be talking to thin air.
Hiyori felt herself go red slightly when the women behind Yato raised an eyebrow and trotted away in an indignant huff. Yukine spotted her discomfort and looked apologetically in her direction, while Yato actually did topple. He was trampled by a hoard of tourists speaking rapid Korean, and Hiyori pushed to the side as they hurried past.
‘He will be missed,’ Yukine said, forcing his way back to her. ‘By no one. Well, not including Kofuku. She’s too nice to hate anyone. Come on, Hiyori, let’s go.’
‘My friends!’ Yato moaned from the floor.
‘Not us.’ Hiyori said and grabbed Yukine’s hand, the two of them hurrying away.
Finally making it out of the train station with nothing but Hiyori’s hair looking rather ruffled, they were met by the sight of a elegant tower dressed in red and white. It wasn’t nearly as tall as the skyscrapers in Tokyo, but impressive nonetheless when compared to the surrounding buildings. A large shopping mall sat at its feet, tourists hurrying in empty handed and out again with bags in hands and their wallets significantly lighter.
Oh, Yato was there too by the way.
Breathing heavily and pointing accusatively at the two who had abandoned him, he looked surprisingly okay for someone who had just been run over.
‘How did he even get over there in the first place.’ Yukine muttered.
‘Never mind that.’ Hiyori replied. ‘Look closely, now, at this perfect example of what not to do when crossing the road. Note the importance of traffic safety, Yukine.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
Yato opened his mouth and took a deep breath, preparing to start ranting at the top of his lungs, but was interrupted by the sound of rumbling wheels. He looked to his right far too late and was met by a bus, crashing straight into him and driving onward without its driver batting an eye. Yukine winced, but Hiyori nodded approvingly.
‘Now he knows.’ Hiyori smiled with an evil glint in her eyes.
‘Traffic safety is no laughing matter.’ Yukine murmured, following after Hiyori and looking down at Yato’s unmoving body as the light turned green and they passed by. ‘Geez, is he dead?’
‘Probably not. Let’s go, he’ll catch up.’
**********
‘Okay, now listen.’ Hiyori began sternly, looking at Yato in particular. ‘I don’t want you guys doing anything too weird, alright? I know that you can handle yourself, Yukine, but Yato… You really need some work.’
They were sitting in a new room, having checked into their hotel just a few moments earlier. Three beds lined one wall, while a window sat perpendicular to them, letting in moonlight through the gap between curtains.
Yato and Yukine sat side by side at the feet of the middle bed as Hiyori stood in front of them, her gaze sliding between the two. Yato frowned as if he didn’t know what she was talking about, but Yukine nodded in agreement.
‘Listen, won’t you just cooperate for a little while?’ Hiyori asked. ‘It was you who wanted to come to Kyoto so desperately, not me. My parents thought I was crazy when I said I was going to go. Right now they think I’m on a trip with Ami and Yama, not a god and his regalia.’
‘Thanks for bringing us.’ Yato mumbled.
‘Hiyori’s right. Why did you want to come so badly anyway?’ Yukine cut in, looking at Yato suspiciously. ‘You were really serious about it and everything.’
‘I thought Kyoto looked… Nice?’
‘You’re not convincing anyone, you know.’
‘Okay, okay, fine. It’s my lucky spot, alright?’ Yato admitted, avoiding their eyes. ‘I got my fortune told, and the old lady told me if I went to Inari shrine, I was going to get rich! A win in the lottery, boom in business, success in school-’
‘You don’t even go to school!’ Yukine interrupted furiously. ‘What the hell, man!’
‘I don’t even want to know how much that fortune cost.’ Hiyori said, beginning to feel faint. ‘Are you serious, Yato?’
‘Wellll…’
‘I’m going to murder you!’ Yukine shouted, jumping to his feet. ‘We wasted Hiyori’s money for this? Come here, you crappy god! You deserve what’s coming!’
‘Oh no, Yukine, that's alright. Money isn’t really my main concern right now.’ Hiyori laughed weakly. ‘Since we’re here, I suppose we might as well go.’
‘Yeah! Hear that, Yukine? There’s no problem here!’ Yato said quickly. ‘And just put that chair back down, okay?’
‘Are you sure, Hiyori?’ Yukine asked, still eyeing Yato irritably. ‘I mean, it really wouldn’t be any trouble.’
‘No, no, that’s okay.’ Hiyori hurried. ‘Let’s just get some sleep, shall we? We’ll have to get up early if we want to avoid the crowd of tourists.’
‘You’re a real god, you know that, Hiyori?’ Yukine said. ‘Yato doesn’t deserve someone like you.’
‘Hey!’ Yato interjected. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘I’m going to bed.’ Hiyori said loudly over the renewed argument. ‘Don’t blame me if you can’t wake up tomorrow morning.’
‘Of course I’ll be able to! I’m a god, after all. I can do anything.’ Yato huffed proudly.
As it turned out, gods could not do everything. Not even close. And as Hiyori woke the next morning feeling disgruntled but refreshed, Yato was still snoring away next to her. Yukine, too, had managed to pull himself out of the warm sheets, but Yato really was hopeless. It was only after taking a pillow to the bed that he sat bolt upright, drooling slightly and mumbling something about sukiyaki.
Hiyori and Yukine were already dressed and ready, but of course, it wasn’t as if Yato had another change of clothes anyway, so they hit the road rather quickly.
The cold clung to them as they marched along the empty streets, save for the occasional passing car or pedestrian. Hiyori could feel the sun on the verge of rising, but so far, stars still covered the sky. She was glad they had chosen a place to stay which was near their destination, and it seemed Yukine was as well.
‘We’re here.’ he groaned in relief, slumping down onto a bench outside the entrance. ‘Finally.’
‘We’ll take a small break, then keep going.’ Hiyori smiled as she tossed Yukine a drink from the nearby vending machine. ‘If we hurry and climb, we might get a nice view of the sunrise when we get to the top.’
Yukine downed the water and sighed. He stretched, glancing at the deserted shrine grounds behind him. The food stalls were all closed, and so were the souvenir stands, giving an eerie feel to the place. Getting up slowly, Yukine stuffed the empty bottle into his bag and glanced at Yato.
‘You ready?’ he asked, and it was only then Hiyori noticed how unusually quiet he was being.
Yato gazed at the shrine with hands in his pockets, an unreadable expression on his face. His eyes jumped from the torii gate before him to the prayer hall further on, and then to the mountain hidden away behind the complex of shrine buildings.
‘We shouldn’t have come here.’
‘What?’ Yukine stared at him.
‘Come on.’ he said, turning and reaching for Hiyori’s hand to pull her away. ‘Let’s go somewhere else, okay?’
‘Yato-’ she began, unsure of what she was hearing.
‘Please, just trust me on this one.’ he insisted.
‘What’s gotten into you?’ Yukine said, flaring up. ‘First you drag us here on a whim, and then say we should just go without even giving a reason?’
‘I was arrested by heaven just a few days ago, remember?’ Yato shot back. ‘I doubt Inari is going to want us in her shrine. I wasn’t thinking much of it before, but now that we’re here, I can sense how hostile the spirits are. It would be better if we just left them be.’
‘Maybe you can’t go, but Hiyori and I sure can.’ Yukine answered angrily. ‘Just stay here and wait.’
‘Hold on. Yukine!’ Hiyori shouted, but he was already marching under the gate.
She held her breath and waited for something to happen, but nothing did. Whirling around triumphantly, Yukine glared at Yato, who looked back blankly.
‘See? I’m perfectly fine.’ he sniffed. ‘And Hiyori will be too.’
But before they had any time to respond, a furious gust of wind blew by, sending the trees into a frenzy and the shrine’s bells clanging loudly. It didn’t take a genius to work out that that was not a good sign.
‘Yukine, come back now!’ Yato shouted over the squall.
Hiyori raised an arm to shielded her eyes from the dust being blown in their direction, but the tempest stopped as suddenly as it had started. She looked up quickly, hoping for the best, even though she knew it would be a miracle if Yukine came out of this unscathed. As it turned out, things were much, much worse than she could have ever imagined.
The gate had disappeared, along with the entire shrine. In its place was a vast forest, spreading endlessly before her. Leading into that forest was an old path, overrun with moss and a maze of cracks over its otherwise plain surface. Hiyori couldn’t see where it headed, but that wasn’t her primary concern. Her primary concern was the fact that the ground had disappeared from under her feet.
She felt a strange, momentary weightlessness, then began to fall barely a second later. Reaching for something, anything that would save her, she managed to grab onto a hand just as the path flew upwards out of her sight.
‘Hiyori!’ Yato shouted.
Hiyori opened her mouth to speak, but all intelligent conversation went out the window as soon as she glanced down.
‘OHMYGOD YATO SAVE ME!
‘Okay, okay!’ he relented. ‘Give me a second.’
He took a deep breath and gripped onto the edge of the ground with his other hand, steadying himself. Then, with a great jolt, he heaved Hiyori up over the edge. She collapsed onto the grass a few feet away and scrambled to her feet, heart pounding against her rib cage.
‘W-What happened? Where are we?’ Hiyori stammered. ‘Where’s Yukine?’
‘I have no idea what happened, or where Yukine is.’ Yato admitted, throwing a sidelong glance at the emptiness behind him. ‘But as for your second question, I think you have a pretty good chance of guessing. There’s really only one place like this you’ll ever visit.’
‘Takamagahara.’ Hiyori realised as she took in the pink sky and floating islands in the distance. ‘But how-’
‘Look, sister. The foolish spirits seem to have been here before.’
The voice was high and cruel, and there was a cold amusement to its tone. A sly laugh accompanied this statement, echoing around them as if they were in a great hall instead of the space which surrounded them.
‘Well of course. That’s the Yato-god, is it not? He must still remember his near encounter with the executioner’s blade.’
‘Who said that?’ Yato asked, looking at the space above the forest. ‘Show yourself.’
‘Oooh, scary.’ came the first voice. ‘The little cat thinks himself a tiger.’
There was a bright flash of light, and two women appeared where Yato was staring. Dressed in traditional outfits of red and white, they were obviously Inari’s shrine maidens. The two dropped gracefully to the ground with barely a rustle of the grass. They observed Yato and Hiyori through foxes’ eyes, the only show of emotion on the curved mouths still visible beneath the half-masks adorning their faces.
‘Well? Should we tell them?’ The younger giggled to her partner. ‘About what we did to the little boy.’
‘Yukine!’ Hiyori took a step forward. ‘Where’s Yukine?’
‘Hush, child. The adults are speaking.’ The other maiden chided.
‘Tell us where he is.’ Yato repeated, glaring at the woman.
‘Oh, we’ll give him back to you.’ she laughed. ‘But first, you have to play a game with us.’
‘Isn’t that a bit cliche? Us having to go through trials and crap to get what we want?’ Yato asked. ‘If you want a fight, let’s go. Right here and now.’
‘‘Cliche’?’ she tilted her head. ‘What do you mean by that?’
‘Ah, fine.’ Yato muttered. ‘Go on.’
‘It’s quite simple, really.’ Her partner smirked. ‘There are five torii gates scattered throughout this forest. Your job is to find them all.’
‘That’s it? No strings attached?’ Hiyori asked, but neither of the maidens looked at her.
‘Answer Hiyori’s question.’ Yato demanded.
‘Yes, that is all.’ The elder relented, her lip curling slightly in distaste. ‘Bring them to the top of the mountain once you’re done, and we’ll see about the boy. You have an hour, starting now. Best of luck, Yato-god.’
‘Wait! What happens if we lose?’ Hiyori called, but another blinding flash, and they were gone. ‘Great, thanks.’
‘We should hurry.’ Yato walked past. ‘The clock’s ticking.’
‘Why can’t we just go on vacation in peace?’ Hiyori groaned, and hurried after Yato’s retreating back.
The forest grew thicker the further in they went. Very soon, only thin needles of sunlight illuminated their path. Yato scanned the left while Hiyori took charge of the right, searching for any sign of a gate or clues that might lead them to it. She figured that it couldn’t have been as easy as the maidens made it out to be, and was on guard in case anything should attack.
Their first challenge appeared in the form of split paths. A common trope that, Hiyori had to admit, she was waiting for.
‘Right.’ Yato voted.
‘Right.’ Hiyori agreed, and they carried on.
Well, that was extremely anticlimatic. Hiyori almost found herself disappointed by the lack of resistance they were facing. But as they say, be careful what you wish for, because the narrator can be a massive jerk sometimes. (Spoiler alert: I am a massive jerk.)
An eldritch fog began to roll in. Slowly at first, and Hiyori barely noticed until she was squinting to see where she previously had no problem looking. It was quite clear this wasn’t natural. She reached for Yato, but he was no longer by her side.
Hiyori felt idiotic. How could she have let him wander off like that? Now she was stuck in the midst of a creepy cloud without anyone to talk to. Just great. And then, the whispering started.
A tiny voice murmured something from far off, and Hiyori felt her breathing speed up. Calm down, she told herself. You’re just imagining it.
‘Yato?’ she called.
No response. Something rustled in the shrubbery behind her, and she flinched.
‘Yato,’ she said again. ‘If this is you, it’s not funny.’
Once again, no one answered. Barely a second later, the voice reappeared, and it was a lot closer this time. Hiyori’s walk turned into a brisk jog. By the time the words, still unidentifiable, were being whispered from beside her, she was sprinting.
‘Yato!’ she shouted, desperation now clear in her voice. ‘Yato, help!’
Another whisper started up. It didn’t get louder as the other one had, but seemed to be screamed directly into Hiyori’s ear. She gave a shout of surprise and turned quickly, but the voice stayed. It was how you would imagine a snake to sound if it spoke human words, even though this one didn’t either. It was strange, the way it stayed at a mere whisper but the volume seemed to increase with each passing second.
Hiyori backed away with her hands over her ears, trying to block out the noise. She half expected people to emerge from the blank grey that now obscured everything, hands outstretched and eyes dull, grabbing at her clothes, pulling her hair, trying to drag her into the mist.
She felt something against her heel and stumbled, crashing into a tree. Hiyori felt the people close in on her, their voices growing crazed and agitated, desperate for attention. Then a hand escaped the fog and reached out, reached out so suddenly that it forced a scream from Hiyori’s lips.
‘Hiyori!’
The hand closed around hers and dragged her to her feet, pulling her into a tight embrace that smelt… Nice.
‘Y-Yato?’
He let out a deep breath and hugged her tightly. The voices faded. The fog clearing out and leaving without any sign that it had been there in the first place.
‘Yato!’ Hiyori blushed, stepping away and looking around frantically. ‘Where did you come from?’
‘I think the real question is where you wandered off to.’ he complained. ‘Leaving me alone like that. God, I was so worried.’
‘Oh, so I was the one who wandered off?’ Hiyori found her fear quickly turning into anger. ‘Where the hell did you go?’
‘To the gate, obviously.’ Yato grinned. It was obvious he had been building up to this, because the surprised look on Hiyori’s face seemed to be just what he was waiting for.
‘You found one?’ she asked. ‘Where is it?’
‘Right here!’ Yato announced, pulling a miniature torii gate from his pocket.
There was a brief moment of silence.
‘What did you do to it?’
‘Nothing!’
‘It’s the size of your hand, Yato. I don’t think that’s ‘nothing’.’
‘It was like this when I found it.’ Yato protested. ‘Just sitting there at the foot of a huge willow tree.’
‘So they’re all tiny?’ Hiyori slumped in exasperation. ‘That’s why it was so hard for us to find.’
‘Well, now that we know, the rest should be no problem.’ Yato continued enthusiastically. ‘We’ll just have to look a little more carefully.’
‘What was that fog anyway?’ Hiyori asked once they had started walking again. ‘Some kind of spell?’
‘Must be. I have no idea what it could have been.’ Yato confessed. ‘Regalia have all kinds of magic they keep to themselves, especially Inari’s. They’re foxes, so what can you expect. Mischievous like always.’
‘You speak like you’ve met them before.’
‘Well, there was this time a while ago when I used to hang around Inari’s shrine a lot, and those stupid foxes kept mocking me. They even stole my fluffy fluff scarf and hid it! Seriously, they’re nothing but trouble.’
Hiyori laughed, imagining just what sort of pranks the regalia would have gotten up to, but was interrupted by the sound of rushing water. Looking ahead, she noticed the forest seemed to end in just a few meters.
‘A river?’
‘Let’s check it out.’
The grass slowly gave way to rough pebbles and grains of sand, pink sky coming into sight once again as they stepped out into the open. The path continued to the other side, where the forest resumed, but the problem was it went under fierce river to do so.
It was going to be nearly impossible to cross. The current was strong and would wash away anything that didn’t have a firm hold on the ground, including Yato and Hiyori. But, there was good news as well.
A solidary rock stood in the middle of the river, stubbornly refusing to move. Standing on the rock was none other than-
‘The gate!’ Hiyori exclaimed. ‘But why is it there?’
‘They’re foxes. They get real creative sometimes.’
‘Well, how do we get it?’
‘Stay here.’ Yato ordered, rolling up his sleeves. ‘I’ll grab it.’
‘You can’t! You’ll get washed away by the river.’
‘Don’t worry, I got this.’
Ignoring Hiyori’s protests, Yato walked straight into the river, making for the gate. It was okay at the start, with the water only pushing at his ankles gently. When it reached his waist, however, the trouble really started.
If he slipped, he would be done for. And unluckily for him, the river floor was covered with large rocks, each of which had smooth surfaces. Yato began to regret his decision, but the shrine gate was getting closer. Just a few more steps was all he needed.
Hiyori watched from the shore with bated breath. She crossed her fingers and edged closer to the river, ready to jump in at any moment should Yato need help. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the gate was close enough.
Reaching out gingerly and being careful to keep his balance, Yato managed to snag it with the tips of his fingers. He shoved it into his pocket quickly and turned around.
However, as I said, I am a jerk. And also the narrator. All in all, not really such good news for our heroic duo. Yato’s not going to be making it back that smoothly.
‘Look out!’ Hiyori shouted.
Yato whipped his head around to see a massive tree branch being washed downstream, straight towards him. He cursed his bad luck and tried to speed up his pace, but this was a mistake.
He lost his footing and, with a splash, went under. Without a second to lose, Hiyori turned and ran along the shore, trying to keep up. The branch went whizzing past, and missed Yato by inches. Occasional splashes in the water told her where he was, and she could tell they were getting further and further apart.
Quickly running out of breath, Hiyori saw the river narrow further down, and the branch seemed to be lodged firmly in this strip. Yato crashed straight into it. With a strangled yelp, he resurfaced and clung onto the wood, gasping for air.
Hiyori rushed to his side and reached down to pull him up, breathing heavily. Yato grabbed her hand weakly, but the force of the current was far too strong, and the branch gave in. Yato was washed away once again, but he refused to let go of Hiyori’s hand, and so she was as well.
The water was freezing cold, and she was completely soaked within a few seconds. Hiyori struggled for air, untangling herself from Yato and splashing about for a handhold. Every time she found something to hold onto, it turned out to be either Yato’s face or his leg, and they continued downstream in this fashion until finally, the foxes seemed to have gotten bored of their futile efforts.
The river gradually branched off into smaller streams, getting increasingly more shallow and the rapids weaker. Soon, Yato and Hiyori rolled to a stop entirely. They lay in the small river for a solid minute, gasping and coughing.
‘Never. Again.’ Hiyori spat, sitting up slowly.
‘You say that like I chose to drown.’ Yato protested weakly.
Hiyori eased herself to her feet and waded out of the water. They were in a part of the forest that was completely unfamiliar to them, but the path was still here. It was almost as if they had been washed in a circle.
‘Stupid foxes.’ Yato muttered, expressing Hiyori’s feelings perfectly.
‘Hey, what’s that over there?’ Hiyori asked, suddenly spotting something further down the bank.
'I don't know, and I don't care.' Yato struggled to her side. 'Let's just get out of here and keep searching for the gates.'
'Yato, look again.' Hiyori insisted. 'I think that might be a gate.'
Yato froze and looked in the direction she was pointing. A red shape lay innocently on the sand, nothing special about it. They walked over cautiously, expecting traps or an ambush, but nothing happened. They looked down at the gate curiously, then exchanged confused looks.
'Maybe it's ours and it got carried away?' Hiyori asked. 'Check your pockets. See if we dropped one.'
'No, they're all here.' Yato answered after a brief rummage through his tracksuit.
Hiyori bent down and picked up the gate. Nothing happened.
'This is a trap somehow, but I can't quite put my finger on it.'
'Let's get out of here before the trap activates.' Hiyori suggested.
Yato nodded in agreement and they trotted quickly across the river. Still nothing. Hiyori supposed that, after undergoing such a terrible ordeal, the spirits were taking pity on them. Either way, she decided to just accept this stroke of good fortune without questioning it any further.
Just as they were about to step foot inside the forest once again, a strange silence befell their surroundings. The stream's flow grew hushed, and the trees stopped rustling. Then, a single drop of water, and a tinkling laugh.
Yato and Hiyori whirled around to look at the river, but there was no one there. No one the laugh could have come from, or any sign of peopl apart from themselves walking these lands. Even so, they both knew Nora had just paid them a visit.
'Come on, quickly.' Yato said, clasping Hiyori's hand and pulling her into the shelter of the trees.
'But Yato, that was-'
'I know.' Yato looked grim. 'We'll have to watch ourselves from now on.'
Having collected three of the five gates they were meant to, Hiyori would have been in high spirits, were it not for the knowledge that they now had a murderous little girl to watch out for.
The path was definitely sloping upwards now, and she suspected they were climbing to the top of the mountain. Her legs were getting incredibly sore. After everything Hiyori had been through, who could blame her. She had such a wonderful time contemplating what horrid things they would have to do to get the last two gates that she didn't notice Yato stopping, and ended up crashing right into him.
'What is it?' she asked, rubbing her sore forehead. 'Do you see something?'
'There.' he answered.
Hiyori glanced over his shoulder and saw that they had reached a flat plane. The incline stopped suddenly, and so did the path they were walking on. She could see it continue from across the empty space, where the climb also resumed.
Yato stepped up onto the field with Hiyori following closely behind him. Another gate was visible at the foot of the path, and it was clear something was going to happen here. The air was thick with tension, and Hiyori didn't think it was just hers or Yato's. She doubted this would be another smooth victory like the last one, and if it was, she would seriously begin to dread what awaited them at gate number five.
As Hiyori scanned the barren land once again, she couldn't help but think how much it looked like an arena, and it was no mystery who the fighters were going to be.
Smells nice.
Hiyori inhaled sharply and looked around.
Smells nice.
'Yato...'
'Yeah.' Yato glanced at the sky above them. 'It's coming.'
Smells... nice.
A low growl made the ground tremble, and Hiyori clung to Yato's arm tightly. Something was approaching from the mountaintop. A sudden shadow obscured the light, making Hiyori look up quickly. A huge fox dropped to the ground before them, the trademark eyes of a phantom scattered across its body.
Hiyori felt herself step back as the creature tilted its head in their direction and a mask became visible, hanging on its forehead. It wasn't just Nora, the conjurer was here too.
'This is just getting better and better.' Yato muttered.
'What do we do?' Hiyori asked frantically as the fox bore down on them.
'We fight.'
'We don't stand a chance!'
'I said we fight, not we win.'
'Oh my god. Can you even try to be little more reassuring??'
The phantom pounced, and Yato dragged Hiyori away from its claws. Hiyori didn't look back at the feet which would have squashed her in one go, but she was quite certain they were there. The fox leaped after them, and Yato pulled Hiyori to the right, avoiding another fatal swipe. They weren't going to be able to outrun it forever, and the phantom knew it. It stalked towards them slowly, watching its prey back away.
'When I give the word,' Yato murmured. 'Run.'
'I'm not leaving you behind!' Hiyori shot back.
'Who the hell said you're leaving me? Don't you dare leave me, I'm so screwed if you do.'
Hiyori saw Yato stop, and she did as well. The phantom was practically on top of them now. It glared down at them with red eyes, and Hiyori prayed Yato knew what he was doing.
'Ready?' Yato asked her.
Hiyori nodded weakly, and he let go of her hand.
'So, um, hey.' Yato greeted the phantom. 'How was your day?'
Hiyori wanted to murder him. This was his plan? To talk with the phantom until it died of boredom?
'You don't seem to be in a very good mood right now, so I won't bother you too much.' Yato smiled nervously, and Hiyori breathed out slowly. 'But I have to ask. Is that Inari over there?'
It was the most overused tactic in the history of overused tactics, but if the shrine maidens hadn't known the meaning of 'cliche', then the phantom wouldn't either. It turned and looked over its shoulder, unaware of what Yato had planned. He looked at Hiyori pointedly, and she could see him mouthing one word.
‘Now.’
Yato scooped up the shrine gate by his feet and rushed up the stairs. Hiyori stumbled, having not realised how close they had gotten to the other side of the field. After a brief moment of confusion, she found her pace again and raced after Yato, the phantom slowly realising he had fallen for a trick.
A furious howl assured Hiyori that it would be coming after them soon. She managed to catch up with Yato, and the adrenaline in their veins sent them hurtling towards the top at full speed. The thundering of paws told them the phantom was in hot pursuit. However, the large amount of crashes and rustling trees meant that its trip wasn't nearly as smooth as theirs.
Hiyori could see sunlight peeking down from above, the trees thinning and signalling how close they were to the top. They finally managed to break away from the forest, standing at the top of the mountain with fresh air filling their empty lungs, only to find that there was nothing there.
A small shrine stood on the otherwise empty landscape, the entirety of the forest visible beneath them. Hiyori felt an overwhelming sense of vertigo and took a step back, but this vertigo was quickly washed over by another pang of fear as the phantom growled again.
'What now?' she asked Yato breathlessly.
'Cut me some slack, okay?' he panted. 'I haven't thought that far yet.'
'Are you serious?!'
'Okay, okay!’ Yato shouted. 'I know what I need to do.'
'And?'
'And I don't want to do it.'
'Oh for god’s sake. Yato, we are about to be eaten. Just hurry up and do it!'
'Come on, please?' Yato pouted.
'I can't believe you.' Hiyori breathed. 'Fine. Tell me what it is, and I'll do it.'
Yato looked at the shrine with a mixture of uncertainty and distaste.
'We have to ask for help.' Hiyori realised. 'But isn't Inari the one trying to, well, kill us?'
'She can't be.' Yato shook his head. 'I thought so too, what with all the foxes and everything, but those shrine maidens must be acting by themselves. Hell, they might not even be Inari's regalia. It's easy for anyone to wear some masks and claim themselves to be a ‘servant of the gods’ or whatever. The only hitch is that it would seriously blight their actual master. But then, if that master didn't care...'
'Then they could do whatever they want.' Hiyori finished. 'But why wouldn't they be Inari's regalia?'
'Come on, Hiyori. Can't you just trust me blindly and not doubt my decisions?'
'Not after that little incident with Heaven.'
'Okay, fine.' Yato sighed, very aware of how close the phantom was getting and speeding up his talk. 'Even if Inari wanted to kill me, there's no way she would enlist the help of a masked one. Inviting a phantom up to her realm is already unthinkable. If anything, she would just have gotten rid of me outside the Fushimi Shrine.'
'So we ask for her help and pray she responds?'
'Yeah, pretty much.'
'Well, it's not like we have any other choice.' Hiyori knelt down in front of the shrine, pulling a coin from her pocket as an offering. 'Here goes.'
'There will be no need for that.'
The phantom burst from the woods and leaped towards them, fangs bared and ready to finally finish them off. However, neither Hiyori or Yato were paying him any mind, their attention focused solely on the shrine.
'What an ugly phantom.' The voice said. 'Disappear, monster.'
There was a faint poof, and the fox disappeared in a puff of smoke. Hiyori felt like she was meant to laugh at this comical sight, but she was much too taken aback by the talking shrine.
'Lady Inari?' she asked cautiously. 'Is that you?'
'Of course it is. Who else would I be?' Inari answered rather haughtily.
'Oh, well, um...' Hiyori struggled for the right words. You had to be careful when speaking to gods, or else risked being struck down by a bolt of divine lightning. 'Thank you very much for saving us.'
'I wasn't saving you, I was getting rid of that disgusting creature.' Inari huffed. 'I can't believe a monster like that managed to sneak into Takamagahara without my noticing.'
'Say, Lady Inari,' Yato cut in. 'Those women who set up this trial weren't actually your regalia, were they?'
Inari fell silent, and Hiyori took that as her not wanting to answer.
'Well, at any rate,' she hurried. 'Do you happen to know where Yukine is? Those people sort of kidnapped him and, uh, we can't seem to find him.'
'That little boy?' Inari thought for a second. 'Yes, I see him. He's right where you left him, standing at the entrance of the shrine.'
Yato and Hiyori exchanged exasperated looks.
'Seriously?' Yato groaned. 'God, I was so worried.'
'He's looking pretty lost himself.' Inari seemed to be smirking as she spoke. 'You should go back quickly. I'd wager he thinks you ran off without him.'
'Oh no.' Hiyori sighed. 'Poor Yukine.'
'You were set up to fail.' Inari laughed. 'There were never five gates in the first place. Only four were set out.'
'They're seriously pissing me off now.' Yato fumed, and Hiyori didn't need to ask who he was talking about to know. 'But wait, if you knew this business was going on from the start, why didn't you stop them?'
'Well, it was rather amusing to watch, you know.' Inari replied. 'Especially when you got washed down that river. That was-'
'Yeah, don't remind me.' Yato interrupted. 'I'm still sore from that.'
'Watch yourself, Yato-god.' Inari warned. 'Not all gods are as lenient as I am. You being in my realm uninvited is already a perfectly good reason for me to kill you. But as you can see, you are still very much alive.'
'And we're extremely grateful for that.' Hiyori interjected quickly before Yato had a chance to reply. 'We'll be off now, Lady Inari. Thank you for everything.'
She bowed deeply, but Yato just gave a small nod. He seemed to recall the last time he bowed to a god, and how well that occasion had gone. Inari must have remembered as well, because there was a hint of amusement in her voice when next she spoke.
'Try not to get yourselves into anymore trouble,' she said. 'Especially when you're near one of my shrines. But please, do come back to Kyoto one day. You'll be sure to enjoy your stay.'
'We will.' Hiyori answered with another bow, and the shrine didn't reply. Inari was gone.
'I don't think I'm going to survive another visit to this place.' Yato grumbled. 'Let's go, Hiyori.'
'Yeah.' she agreed, feeling the exhaustion start to set in. 'Yukine's waiting.'
Yukine had been waiting for nearly fifty minutes now. Yukine was not happy.
'Where the hell did you guys go?!' he shouted after the initial shock of them suddenly reappearing beside him. 'I was worried sick!'
'I don't really want to talk about it.' Yato yawned. 'And maybe we should just come back tomorrow, or not at all. I'm far too tired.'
'What? But we're right here!' Yukine protested.
'I hate to say it, but Yato's right.' Hiyori admitted. 'Let’s just go home and get some sleep.'
'What happened?' Yukine asked, starting to feel concerned. ‘Why are you two being so secretive?’
Hiyori glanced at Yato, who shrugged.
'Alright,' he said. 'We'll tell you on the way back. Come on, let’s get moving.'
