#kofuku graffiti

[fiirekat]

Ryo Machiko from Gourmet Girl Graffiti for Inktober day 29! :)

[loserwhowatchesanime]

Kirara Fantasia x Kofuku Graffiti

[cooterie]

(via Koufuku Graffiti Itasha (No Name) - Cooterie)

[bm-asian-art]

Head of a Guardian, 13th century, Brooklyn Museum: Asian Art

An over-life-size head from a figure of one of the Shitenno, the four guardian kings of the cardinal directions in Buddhism. The head was at one time owned by the Nara temple Kofuku-ji. The fiery eyes, furrowed brow, prominent nose, and open mouth present a ferocious mien typical of these Heavenly Guardians, whose role was to protect the temple's sacred precincts. The head is carved of two blocks of wood, into which the topknot is inserted. Crystal inset eyes, painted on reverse. The filigree metal crown is a later replacement. Remains of polychrome on the outer surface, and traces of the painter's graffiti on the interior. Size: 22 1/16 x 10 1/4 x 13 15/16 (56.0 x 26.0 x 35.5 cm) Medium: Hinoki wood with lacquer on cloth, pigment, rock crystal, metal

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/113653

[yatorihell]

In The Darkness Chapter 72 - Obliviate, Relocate

Noragami x Harry Potter AU

Words: 4,653

Summary: Yato, Hiyori and Yukine leave home to begin their quest.

Also available on Yatorihell AO3

Hiyori took one last look around her room.

Her suitcase was packed with the few possessions she didn’t want to lose. The stuffed bears from her childhood were arranged neatly on her bed, and the posters on her wall were beginning to peel from age. She wondered what would become of them and her childhood bedroom when she was gone.

This is necessary, Hiyori told herself, but it still didn’t stop the tear from slipping down her face.

Hiyori quietly made her way downstairs, her suitcase heavy in her hand as she stopped by the front door. Just around the corner, she could see her parents sat in the dining room. Her father was obscured by a newspaper, and her mother had her back to her.

She wanted to do this the right way: to say goodbye, to say that she loved them and that she would be back one day, but she couldn’t.

This was the right way.

Hiyori raised her wand. In a ghost of a whisper, she spoke. “Obliviate.”

The framed pictures in the hallway and stairs faded, erasing her from the family holidays, school picture days, and her fifth birthday where she wore that silly party hat. Her prom photo, the picture of her brother Masaomi holding her for the first time as a baby, and the Hogwarts uniform that her parents told their friends was a Halloween costume, all faded to blank backgrounds.

Her parents never turned to her or wondered why the front door clicked shut, but Hiyori knew it was because they no longer had reason to believe they had a daughter. Hiyori knew that she was nothing but a phantom.

Hiyori Iki never existed. Not in this house.

Yato was waiting for her in the underpass where they had been attacked by Dementors only a few years ago. The white paint was now covered in a multitude of graffiti and tags, and a few of the neon lights had been busted. He turned his head when he heard footsteps accompanied by the roll of wheels on concrete. Hiyori emerged at the end of the tunnel and Yato turned to face her, face solemn.

“Is it done?” Yato asked softly. He pretended not to notice the redness of her eyes when she avoided his gaze, coming to a stop only a few feet away.

Hiyori nodded and wiped her eyes. “They won’t remember anything about me. I put an enchantment on the door handle so my brother will forget me too once he comes home. Hopefully the idea of moving away will sink in by tonight.”

There was a ripple of silence between them. She had done this to protect her family, to get them as far away from her and the Sorcerer, but Yato still felt at fault. If she never met him, she wouldn’t be in this situation.

“You can always reverse it,” Yato said slowly. “You can go home-.”

Hiyori shook her head vigorously and sniffed again. Yato quietened, giving her the space to think.

She let out a deep, shuddering breath and finally met Yato’s eyes. “We told you, ‘together, or not at…'”

Hiyori’s resolve fell apart and she buried her face in her hands. Yato closed the distance between them in two strides, pulling her into his arms. She choked out apologies, but the tears wouldn’t stop, and the crack in her voice only made him hug her tighter. His body enveloped hers in a supportive embrace, dwarfing her as she shrunk into him and secured her arms around his back. He knew he wouldn’t be the first to let go.

Footsteps came from the tunnel entrance behind Hiyori. Yato dropped a hand to the suitcase and held Hiyori closer. The world disappeared in a blur as they apparated away from the life she had traded for him.

~

Yato took one final look around his bedroom at Yukine’s, which he’d called home for five years now, and sighed. Downstairs he could hear the first arrivals coming and the clatter of a trunk being heaved downstairs. The Order of the Phoenix was here to escort them out of the house, and Yato couldn’t help but feel he was losing the life he built piece by piece.

His eyes fell on his bedside table. The only objects on it now were Sakura’s wand, enclosed in its case for safekeeping, and the two-way mirror. He picked up the mirror and ran his finger along the silver gilded edge. He’d hoped that somehow Sakura still had the other piece and that she would talk to him from the afterlife, but it never happened. He’d spent too long staring into that mirror imagining her face and willing her to tell him how to defeat the Sorcerer. It had become his own personal Mirror of Erised.

Yato wrapped the mirror in a t-shirt and stowed it away in his suitcase along with Sakura’s wand and clicked it shut. He dragged his suitcase down the stairs and walked through to the dining room. Yukine was stood with a trunk half his size, Hiyori’s suitcase, and Madame Kofuku. Madame Kofuku smiled as Yato entered.

“Hello, Yato,” Madame Kofuku said. Her eyes darted from the suitcase and back to his face. “Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Yato grunted and swung his arm, landing the suitcase within inches of Yukine’s foot.

They stepped back and Madame Kofuku waved her wand with a silent incantation. In a blink the suitcases had vanished, leaving an empty spot on the carpet. Madame Kofuku turned and put her wand back in her pocket.

“They’ll be waiting for you at the Burrow,” Madame Kofuku smiled at them.

Yato had puzzled over what ‘the Burrow’ meant, as he was under the impression that they were going to Madame Kofuku’s and Daikoku’s house a few days early for the wedding. It didn’t seem to faze anyone but himself as Yukine led them across the hall and into the front room.

They hadn’t seen so many people packed inside the house since… since ever.

Hiyori stood with Daikoku, Kazuma, Bishamon, and an assorted mix of the remaining Order which made up their entourage. Madame Kofuku had told them that she had been recruiting new members since  Professor Tenjin’s death, but they didn’t expect so many of them to be their teachers; Professor Tsuyu, Professor Takemikazuchi, even groundskeeper Kuraha, were among the new faces stood in the living room.

Madame Kofuku took her place beside Daikoku, and the squeeze she gave his hand seemed to be his cue. Daikoku cleared his throat and the room quietened, all eyes on him and Madame Kofuku at the head of the room.

“We don’t have much time, so listen carefully. We expect the Sorcerer will be coming to Yato’s known addresses, so we’ll be getting out of here and to the Burrow before that happens.”

Yato shifted at the mention of his name. He knew he was the reason they had come here, but to have all eyes of the Order on him now was uncomfortable when they knew he was the one who could defeat the Sorcerer.

“We will have to use transport like brooms, Thestrals, and the like,” Daikoku continued. “We’ll go in pairs, so if anyone is out there waiting for us, they won’t know which of us is the real Yato.”

The real Yato? Yato thought. His eyes caught on Madame Kofuku as she pulled a large vial of green liquid out of her pocket. He knew instantly it was Polyjuice Potion.

“No,” Yato stated, shaking his head. “I won’t let you risk your lives for me.”

“Never done that before, have we?” Daikoku replied dryly.

Yato struggled, feeling the eyes of the room on him, before giving an exasperated sigh. “This is different.”

“Everyone is of age here. They’ve agreed to this.” Madame Kofuku said shortly.

Daikoku gave a nod and, on cue, Yukine tugged on Yato’s hair. Yato yelped and swore, seeing a few strands in Yukine’s hand as he crossed the room. Madame Kofuku popped the cork and Yukine dropped them into the vial. The potion fizzed gently.

Madame Kofuku took a sip of the potion and grimaced before passing it to Hiyori, who passed it to Kazuma, who passed it to the remaining few who had agreed to this.

It seemed there was no room for arguments now.

Bodies stretched and shrank. Hair grew longer and shorter and changed shades. Voices deepened and a mixture of his own voice ricocheted back at him.

All around him were different versions of himself, dressed in oversized robes – Professors Tsuyu and Takemikazuchi – and feminine clothing – Madame Kofuku and Hiyori. Yato looked on, agape, as a bag of clothes was dropped to the floor and the Yatos began sifting through them and left to get changed. One Yato plucked his glasses off his face and squinted, realising that he could see clearly without them for the first time in his life.

When they came back, he couldn’t tell who was who unless he looked at their body language. The awkward Yato who avoided his gaze and wrapped his arms around himself must have been Hiyori, and he couldn’t help but feel guilty that she agreed to this.

“We’ll be pairing off,” Daikoku said. “Each Yato will have a protector.”

Daikoku paired off the Order members first, unfamiliar faces that left two by two until he reached the teachers. He gestured to a Yato and Kuraha. "Tsuyu and Kuraha, brooms.”

Professor Takemikazuchi and a Yato, who Daikoku hesitated to kiss on the forehead, were next to leave. He directed the next Yato – who was clearly Kazuma as his glasses were tucked in his pocket – to pair with Bishamon. “Thestral.”

“Yukine, Hiyori, brooms,” Daikoku said. His eyes fell on the real Yato. “And you’re with me.”

Yato blinked at Daikoku. He looked over at Hiyori, his mirror image, and began to argue. “No, I’m going with Hiyori -.”

“There’s two of you. You will fly separately.” Daikoku interrupted, silencing Yato’s protest.

Yato looked away, feeling a burn creeping to his cheeks as his friends watched him get scolded. After a moment Daikoku spoke again, in a calmer voice.

“If anyone followed us, they would assume you would be with Hiyori, which is why she agreed to take the potion. Your Father knows you two have an…” He paused, looking for a platonic phrase. “Attachment to one another.”

Yato’s eyes flickered to Hiyori, who looked at him in a somewhat defeated way. He had a point.

Hiyori and Yukine gave him half-smiles as they too filtered out of the living room and outside. Yato made to follow but Daikoku clapped a hand on his shoulder and looked down at him.

“Your job is to get there in one piece. If any of us fall, you cannot stop.”

Yato looked at Daikoku, his normally strict eyes showing a more caring nature, one that understood his worry. If anything, he was acting the way a parent would console their child. Yato gave him a determined nod.

They joined the others outside. Kazuma and Bishamon were already atop a Thestral and the rest of the Order summoned their brooms into their hands. Daikoku’s broom was old but solid and big enough for two people.

Yato swung his leg over and sat behind Daikoku, his hands digging into his shoulders. He hadn’t flown like this before – except for the time he took Hiyori up to the Astronomy – but he was the one in control then. Now he could see how precarious this position was – no stirrups, no handgrip, just a seat and a body to hold onto.

“We’ll meet at the Burrow in about an hour!” Daikoku called, looking around the worried and determined faces around him. He pulled a pair of aviator goggles from his coat and snapped them on his head. He shifted his grip on the broom. “On the count of three. One… two… three!”

They were rising in the air far too quickly than Yato would’ve liked. His eyes watered in the wind and his hair whipped around his face. Beside them he could feel the strong beat of the Thestrals wings soaring higher and higher. Only now did Yato look down on Yukine’s house, watching it disappear in the twinkling lights of the village below, and the next and the next until they were above the clouds.

And then, out of nothing, they were surrounded. Hooded figures, too many to count in the night sky, hung in the air, encircling the Order as they rose through the clouds.

“Avarda Kedavra!”

The sky lit up with a blaze of green. Daikoku dove to the left and Yato found himself clinging for dear life, his feet dangling uselessly as they scrabbled for a footing as the sky rolled and his stomach roiled. Screams came from all sides, all direction lost as they spiralled around and around through a trail of blue and green and red sparks that whizzed past their ears.

The broom uprighted itself and before Yato could breathe, Daikoku had darted out of the mass and soared downwards. Yato whipped his head back to the battle, seeing the sparks of green and distant shapes of brooms and Thestrals diving in the other direction.

“We’ve got to go back!” Yato yelled. His throat dried instantly in the chilled air, but he could just about hear Daikoku above the roaring in his ears.

“My job is to get you away,” Daikoku shouted. “This was the agreement!”

“No!” Yato shouted. “We have to help them!”

Daikoku ignored Yato’s pleas and levelled out the broom, going faster than Yato had ever dared on the Quidditch field until the city lights died beneath them and they were left with the roar of the wind in their ears.

Yato felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, and his eyes instinctively darted to the right. Four figures were careening at them, their wands spitting deadly spells.

Daikoku swerved and soared upwards once again. The clouds broke around them and the black figures followed suit, tight on their tail.

Yato clenched his fist in Daikoku’s shirt and wriggled his hand into his pocket, begging that he wouldn’t drop his wand and he pulled it from his pocket and aimed.

“Stupefy!”

Somehow – a miracle or pure luck – the spell hit its mark and left a hole in the Deatheater's offense. Yato aimed again and missed, the red sparks disintegrating into the blackness as the three remaining shadows gained on them.

Sparks flew past Yato’s face and he realised Daikoku was trying to shoot and fly at the same time. Yato doubled his efforts, and a combination of their spells hit a second Deatheater in the chest. He fell from his broom, plummeting to the ground with a shriek. One Deatheaters slowed to save him, but the other was still hot on their trail.

“Expelliarmus!” Yato shouted, his voice snatched by the wind as the sparks shot through his wand.

The spell missed, but a call rose from the Deatheater in response.

“It’s him! it’s the real one!”

Yato felt his heart hammer in his chest, but then the Deatheater peeled away and disappeared from view. Daikoku turned his head, wand still in hand though he had a vice grip on the broom.

“Where’d they go?” Daikoku shouted.

“I don’t know!” Yato shouted back.

His hair whipped around his face as he looked around the blank starless sky. Fear crept into his chest. How could the Deatheater have known he was the real Yato? And why would he suddenly stop giving chase if he knew that?

Maybe they were gathering more Deatheaters, or relaying who he was with – surely there would be more on the way?

“We’re nearly there!” Daikoku shouted over his shoulder.

Yato felt the broom drop a little, each judder making his stomach lurch. Then his head split open in an ear-splitting screech of static.  Yato drooped forward against Daikoku’s back, vision swimming as two Killing Curses narrowly missed them, sent from –.

Yato saw him.

The Sorcerer flew alongside them like a leaf on water with no broom nor Thestral to carry him, his black robes billowing around him. His eyes gleamed like a snake with a mouse, his hair tousled in the wind and a poisonous smile crept onto his face. His hand rose a wand, twisted and malformed oak with a cracked tip.

“Yaboku…”

Daikoku let out a roar and the broom nosedived to the ground. Whatever curse that had been uttered missed them by millimeters, and a shriek came from above them. Daikoku fought to keep the broom from spiralling out of control, sparks of green and red showering them as curses and stunning spells rose up from Deatheater and Order alike. There was a distant scream and a wail that faded into silence as Daikoku fled towards the safety of the dark fields below.

The distant lights of the village grew from the size of fireflies to orbs of light that guided the way home. It was peacefully silent compared to the raging battle above the clouds, eerie and foreboding as they glided across the meadows to the outskirts of civilisation.

Yato’s legs turned to jelly as the broom disappeared from underneath him. he fell to his knees, the static fading from his head but leaving a thumping headache that pounded his temples and sickness in his stomach.

Daikoku took Yato by the elbow, urging him to stand walk. Daikoku kept looking over his shoulder at the sky, wand in hand as if he expected the Sorcerer himself to descend from the night and finish the job.

Yato lifted his gaze from the muddy earth that squelched beneath his feet. Ahead of him was a house, towering in mismatched panels and chimneys that could barely be seen in the nighttime. There were few lights on inside, but as they approached the door of the house flew open.

A Yato stood with their wand raised, but on seeing Daikoku and Yato they lowered it and threw themselves into Daikoku’s arms. In the window Yato could see Professor Takemikazuchi watching, arms crossed across his chest.

By the time his eyes had slid back to Daikoku and the Yato, the Polyjuice Potion had worn off and revealed a distressed Madame Kofuku. Daikoku kept her encircled in his arms, whispering something into the top of her pink curls as his hand stroked her back.

“They got a few of us, but I don’t know who,” Madame Kofuku was saying. “We’re the only ones here.”

Yato looked away, feeling the guilt grow inside his chest. They were the only ones here.

Madame Kofuku finally tore her eyes from Daikoku and found Yato. She unfolded herself from the embrace and took in Yato, looking up at his face cupped in her hands.

“They’ll be here soon, don’t you worry,” Madame Kofuku said.

Yato could tell from her tone that she didn’t believe her own words, and it only made him feel worse as she led him inside.

Yato couldn’t help but be taken aback at the sheer size of the house. Stairs led up to one of the multiple floors of the house, and the inside was just as messy as a Potions classroom. The front room on the right-hand side was a mismatch of armchairs and tables and trinkets that filled every surface. Rugs and pillows had been strewn around in a homely yet cluttered manner, so different from Madame Kofuku’s office at Hogwarts.

The Burrow was not an underground fortress, nor a secret network of tunnels dug by those seeking refuge from the predators that walked overhead. It was a home.

Yato was led into the left room – the kitchen – which looked as if a bomb had exploded recently. A stack of dishes was being washed by a brush that had seen better days and the table was filled with all manner of paperwork and vials and teacups.

“Don’t go outside again,” Madame Kofuku warned. “If they see you when the potions have worn off then there’s no hiding you.”

She turned and made her way to the stove and began to fill the kettle, busying herself with making tea for their guests rather than worry if they had survived the trip. Somewhere in the house he could hear Daikoku moving about, coupled with the kitchen's wooden clock. It loudly ticked every second until Yato could feel the hammering of his heart as the minutes passed, tenser and tenser.

The silence was short-lived as an ethereal screech came outside. Madame Kofuku dropped the teacup she was holding, shattering on the floor.

“HELP ME!”

Yato’s heart flipped, recognising the voice. They sprinted outside, looking through the darkness for the source, wands drawn and spinning to find where the cry had come from. Yato saw a Thestral bolt across the field in a blind panic, riderless as its wings spread and took flight.

From the tall reeds behind the Burrow Bishamon appeared, weighed down by her partner who had taken Yato’s appearance. Although the Polyjuice Potion effects had only begun to fade, Yato knew who it was even without the glasses. Kazuma.

Kazuma’s brown hair was slick with blood, running down his neck and seeping underneath his torn collar. He was barely conscious as Bishamon wrapped her arm around his side and slung his arm over her shoulder, urging him to stay awake.

Yato rushed forwards, catching Kazuma as he stumbled over a rock and nearly took Bishamon to the ground. Something that sounded like a sob escaped Bishamon’s lips as Yato slapped Kazuma’s cheeks, shouting at him to focus on him.

“H-he got h-hit,” Bishamon stammered. Tears streamed down her face as she watched the blood pool around Kazuma’s ears and drip steadily onto her arm and caught in her tangled hair.

“Inside,” Madame Kofuku demanded. “Now!”

Yato put his arm around Kazuma’s back, supporting him as Daikoku arrived and took the weight off Bishamon. Half-carrying, half-dragging, they pulled Kazuma inside the house and set him down on the living room couch. Bishamon clung to his hand and placed a hand on the good side of his face, calling his name over and over.

Madame Kofuku had grabbed a towel from the kitchen and pressed it to Kazuma’s head, trying to staunch the bleeding before rushing to get clean water and bandages. Yato leaned over them worriedly, watching Kazuma fight for consciousness.

A bang and a flash of light came from outside again and Daikoku was already up in arms, storming towards to door to see if friend or foe had tracked them down. A moment later a few nameless Order members emerged into the house, some injured, others not, directed upstairs to tend to their injuries. It seemed, so far, Kazuma was the most serious casualty of the night.

Madame Kofuku ran back into the room with bandages draped over her arm, a punch clenched in her teeth, and a bowl of hot water in her hands. She knelt down and brushed Kazuma’s hair from his eyes and they fluttered lucidly.

“Stay with us there, Kazuma,” Madame Kofuku soothed. “You’re going to be fine.”

Madame Kofuku dropped the pouch into Bishamon’s hands and instructed her to feed him the contents, a remedy to ease his pain whilst they worked. Yato tore his eyes away from the deepening crimson colour the water was taking as they worked on Kazuma, and stood by the window. He could see Daikoku outside, wand by his side as he scanned the moving clouds for life.

Yato felt his nerves jitter. Hiyori and Yukine were not here. They were the last ones, and a coiling knot of worry had already gnawed a hole in his stomach. He tried not to think about the ambush, the curses, and the green sparks that showed that the Deatheater’s intended to kill all of them, decoy or not. He tried not to think about the Sorcerer, appearing to him for the first time since that night in the graveyard, and the familiarity in those eyes…

There was a shout from outside and Yato’s mind snapped back to the present. He could see Daikoku jogging across the field, and in the distance two shapes hobbling towards him. The Polyjuice potion effects had completely worn off now, and he could see Hiyori and Yukine. Daikoku seemed to be helping Yukine hobble back towards the Burrow.

Yato rushed out of the living room and out the front door against his better judgement and the warning he’d been given. He drew his wand as a compromise as he darted across the short distance to the three of them as they made their way back. Daikoku had Yukine by the arm, his foot seemingly injured but not too badly, and Hiyori was trotting beside him with her wand drawn.

“Yato, get back inside -,” Daikoku started, but the instruction fell on deaf ears.

Yato closed the gap and pulled Hiyori and Yukine into a suffocating hug. He held them tight, eyes closed, and thanked Merlin that they were alive. They stood like that for the briefest of moments before Yato found his voice again.

“What happened?” Yato asked.

“Crash landing,” Hiyori said against his shoulder. “Broom split in two and we got thrown off.”

“Well, you had a soft landing at least,” Yukine grumbled, shifting his weight between his feet. Hiyori's laugh was stifled against Yato’s jacket, but she apologised for her landing skills.

Daikoku cleared his throat and Yato let go. Their faces were pinched red but awash with relief, and Yato felt his heart rate begin to slow. They were here. They were alive.

The four of them made their way back to the Burrow, casting looks back at the sky as the clouds darkened in the distance.

~

Yato lay awake staring at the ceiling. He, Hiyori and Yukine had taken a room for themselves, but there was only a bunk bed. Yukine took the top bunk and Hiyori the bottom, leaving Yato to lie on the floor, hands folded over his stomach and thin sheet.

He’d told them everything that had happened: the Deatheater knowing who he was, the Sorcerer attempting to kill him, Kazuma’s injury which, according to Madame Kofuku, would heal with a salve and potion.

The thought of what had happened and how close they had come to death kept Yato awake for hours. He knew sleep wouldn’t come, not tonight.

Yato gently pushed the sheets away and stood, wincing at every creak in the floorboards as he slipped out of the room and walked down the stairs. Some of the Order had left, but they would be back for the wedding in a few days, but Yato could hear gentle snores coming from the living room.

Yato quietly paced to the living room door to check on Kazuma’s condition. He made a mental note to apologise for allowing him to take such a stupid, dangerous risk. One that nearly cost his life. The door cracked open slightly but Yato paused.

Still asleep, Kazuma was lying on the couch with his head turned to the side, showing the bandages covering his injury. His glasses were nowhere in sight, leaving his face looking more boyish rather than the older Prefect look he had always sported. However, the thing that stopped Yato in his tracks was Bishamon asleep beside him.

She was still sitting on the floor, but her body slumped over so her head lay on his lap, her hand brought up to entwine their fingers together. Her hair was mussed up slightly, both from the night’s events and sleep. She had obviously been claimed by exhaustion too as the creak of door hinges didn’t stir her attention, nor did she move from Kazuma’s side.

Yato smiled slightly, and gently closed the door.

[mariamishinuma]

[kofubisha]

beheld chapter 2 / 2

here’s the second part of my kofubisha fic for the @noragamibigbang! i hope you guys enjoyed this. i worked really hard on it because i love women. the gorgeous art for this chapter is by @viinas so go compliment it a lot or else.

after many years;

Kofuku has grown accustomed to comfort. She likes having her own place, where she can sleep in a soft bed, and cook whatever she grows, and have things that are hers.

So little has ever been hers.

Before Bishamon installed her in this place, it had been little more than a dump, smothered in graffiti and bearing a pervasive odor of rotten food. But the shinki of a god of fortune are eager to please, and in less than a day they had cleaned out the yard, scoured the interior, repaired the damaged roof and porch, and moved a set of modest—but comfortable—furniture into the house.

At the time, Kofuku wondered if Bishamon would expect more from her than mere auguries. A binbōgami could be a powerful ally—or enemy—no matter how filthy their reputation. However, Kofuku did not really believe an honorable war god like Bishamon would strike that low—and she was right. She has always been an excellent judge of character: a thought that makes her smile.

Between her cupped palms, Kofuku holds a clay cup of sake. Another cup sits opposite her on the low wooden table. At that moment, a voice comes from outside the open front door.

“Do you still want me to knock?”

“You have to!” Kofuku shouts back. “Otherwise it doesn’t count!”

The owner of the voice doesn’t sigh, but Kofuku can tell they want to. After a moment, she hears two deliberate knocks against the doorframe.

“Come in!” she chirps, and Bishamon enters, bare feet silent against the rough wooden floor.

“Is this something you brewed yourself?” she asks without preamble, eyeing the cup before sitting down at the table.

Kofuku grins, watching Bishamon peer skeptically into her own cup. “Yes it is!”

“How strong is it?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure what this is going to do to us,” Kofuku admits, before promptly tipping her head back and emptying the cup in one go. The sake hits the back of her throat with a satisfying burn, and she slams the cup back down onto the table with gusto.

As soon as the cup touches the table, it shatters. Shards of clay spray across the table and floor, and when Kofuku looks down at her hand she goes white. A sizable piece of clay remains embedded in the flesh next to her thumb. As she stares down at it, numb with shock, blood starts to bead at the edges of the wound.

“Ow.”

Before she can say any more, Kofuku’s hand is taken in a firm, yet gentle grip. She sobs—more in surprise than pain—as Bishamon expertly pulls the clay shard out of her palm.

“Honestly, I don’t know how you live on your own,” Bishamon mutters as she cleans the edges of the wound. “Or do you just save all your injuries for when you see me?”

“Aw, you worry about me!”

Kofuku smiles at Bishamon, who can’t quite keep her own lips from twitching upward.

“Of course I worry about you,” she says with a hint of fondness. “I have never known anyone so unlucky.”

Bishamon’s attention is focused on the wound, so she doesn’t see the smile slide off Kofuku’s face. Nor does she notice when Kofuku’s voice is a bit too casually cheerful as she says:

“Besides, without me, you war gods wouldn’t know where the next storm is going to break out.”

“It would be all right, I think,” Bishamon says absently, tightening up the bandage. “After all, we are in a time of unprecedented peace and quiet. You rarely predict any surprises.”

Bishamon finishes neatly tucking the edges of the bandage. She doesn’t seem to notice how Kofuku has gone utterly quiet. If she does, she doesn’t comment on it, merely returning to her own cup of sake and sampling it with caution.

“This is…good, actually.” Bishamon’s face lights up with pleasant surprise, and she empties the cup in one generous gulp. “You should expand your business selling this.”

“A poverty god expanding her business…” Kofuku muses, tapping her chin with a single finger. She smiles, but can’t quite make the mirth reach her eyes. “I see nowhere that could go wrong.”

Bishamon nudges her cup across the table, and Kofuku refills it without comment. However, Bishamon makes no move to take her cup back.

“You are upset.”

It’s not phrased as a question. Kofuku goes very still for a moment, before snatching up the full cup of sake and hurrying into the kitchen.

“Don’t be silly, Bisha,” she says cheerily over her shoulder. “Why would I be upset?”

“That is what I don’t know.”

Bishamon is already in the kitchen, blocking her path. Kofuku yelps, the cup tumbling out of her hand. This time instead of shattering against the wood, it hits her big toe. The cup rolls away across the floor as the rest of the sake pools lazily around Kofuku’s feet.

“Ouch!” she cries out, hopping once on her undamaged foot.

At that exact moment, her heel lands on a particularly slippery bit of floor. Both her legs shoot out from under her in a single, smooth motion that might, in other circumstances, be considered graceful. But before Kofuku can even scream, a pair of arms scoops her out of midair, and once again Bishamon is looking down at her with an expression of deep concern.

“You really should not be living by yourself,” she reiterates, moving a safe distance away from the patch of wet floor before setting Kofuku back on her feet. “Are you quite sure you don’t need a shinki of your own?”

Kofuku barely hears the words.

It had been so brief—just a few seconds, but it had happened. Someone had carried her. For one moment, out of the fullness of all time, she had been held.

“Kofuku?”

Bishamon’s concerned voice reaches her ears as though through deep water. Her face, too, wavers in front of her eyes like a warped reflection. How odd, Kofuku thinks. Then she realizes she’s crying.

“What is it? Is it your foot? What can I do?”

Bishamon sounds almost frantic. If Kofuku wasn’t busy with inconsolable weeping, she might be tempted to laugh at how quickly the greatest of all war gods panics at the sight of a crying woman.

“It’s because…because you probably hate me,” Kofuku finally manages to choke out, and as the words leave her mouth, she wishes she could gobble them right back up. The look of wounded shock on Bishamon’s face cuts straight to her heart.

“Hate you?” she repeats quietly. “Why?”

Kofuku quiets a last few hiccuping sobs. She has never felt more miserable in her life.

“It’s…it’s nothing,” she says, cringing at how false it rings. Bishamon doesn’t even grace the lie with a response. Kofuku shuts her eyes, wishing she could sink straight into Yomi and rot there.

“It’s not your fault,” she whispers. “It’s me. I…”

Her lip trembles. If this is really going to happen, she might as well do it right.

“Don’t you realize how strange this is, Bisha?”

Kofuku can feel the other goddess watching her, but when she opens her eyes she keeps them resolutely fixed on a blank spot on the wall.

“Don’t you hear things about me, up there? What do they tell you about your friend, the poverty god?”

Bishamon inhales as if to speak, but Kofuku shakes her head.

“I need to say this now, or I’ll never forgive myself,” she says, the truth of it slowly dawning on her. She almost wants to laugh at her own inescapable, ruinous stupidity. Then she wants to cry until her body dries up and dissolves into dust.

“We need to end this friendship,” Kofuku says. She is proud of herself for how little her voice shakes. “It isn’t right—it isn’t normal for you to be friends with me, Bisha. It’s bad for your reputation.”

Before she even finishes talking, Kofuku sees the stubborn set of Bishamon’s chin. This isn’t going to be easy.

“Have I indicated at any point that I care what the other gods think?” Bishamon retorts. “It is not their place to question my decisions—and frankly, neither is it yours.”

Kofuku’s face flushes with a mixture of embarrassment and anger, and tears begin gathering in her eyes once again.

“I’m trying to help you,” she wails. “You said yourself you didn’t need my auguries anymore! You don’t have to visit me out of obligation! I’m telling you that it’s fine…it’s fine if you want to end our bargain.”

She stares down at her own feet, tears silently rolling down her face. Her heart is in shambles, but at least she can move forward with a good conscience. Bishamon, at least, will not suffer because of her.

“You don’t actually think I would do that.”

Kofuku expects to hear anger in her voice, or perhaps hurt. Instead, Bishamon sounds almost…relieved.

Shocked, she looks up to see a smile spreading across Bishamon’s face. Something in her stomach does a funny flip, and she feels the tips of her ears turning pink.

It really isn’t fair. This is supposed to be a goodbye, and all Kofuku can focus on is the warmth and loveliness of that smile.

“I have so few real friends,” Bishamon says, mercifully oblivious. “Sometimes it feels like I cannot talk to anyone. My shinki rely on me, and I refuse to burden them. I enjoy spending time with the other gods, but in many ways they still treat me as an outsider.”

Her smile fades. For a moment, the look on her face is one of savage, almost frightening loneliness. Kofuku recognizes it at once. She’s seen it many times before: staring back at her from every reflection since the first moment she could comprehend the scope of her own solitude.

“Even if that were not the case,” Bishamon continues. “Reputation is of such little consequence to me. If the other gods are petty and shiftless enough to form opinions on my business, then I have no use for them.”

There is a hard streak of annoyance in her voice, and Kofuku realizes it’s already happened. As much as the knowledge fills her with shame, she also can’t help but feel pleasantly warm at the idea of Bishamon defending her.

Suddenly, she realizes that Bishamon has gone silent, eyes fixed on her face with strange intensity. Then, suddenly, she reaches out to cup Kofuku’s face between her hands, cradling it like something precious.

“I will never believe them,” she says quietly, earnestly. “I never have before.”

Kofuku is trembling from head to foot.

“I love you,” she says, because if she doesn’t say it right now she might never say it, and if she never says it she’ll die. To her immense relief, Bishamon does not look surprised or angry.

In fact, her cheeks are flushed, and her eyes are lustrous.

“I thought you might,” she replies breathlessly.

after some hours;

The glow of sunrise begins to turn the inside of Kofuku’s eyelids pink, and she burrows more snugly into the blankets. Her cold toes encounter something warm: a leg. Its owner yelps, kicking back at her.

“You promised to stop doing that,” Bishamon mutters into the pillow.

She looks particularly precious in the morning, Kofuku decides. Her hair is rumpled, her cheeks pink and soft-looking as she yawns herself gradually awake. Then she gives Kofuku a piercing glare.

“What are you thinking about?”

Kofuku blinks innocently. “Nothing.”

“No.” Bishamon smiles suddenly, quick and bright as lightning. “I know what it looks like when you’re thinking nothing. Your face looks like this.”

And she does an extremely unflattering imitation of the expression. Kofuku flicks her forehead.

“You’re not supposed to tease me, Bisha.”

“Why not?” Bishamon challenges, sinking back onto the pillows. “You told me to practice my humor.”

“I don’t think physical comedy suits you.”

Bishamon pouts, which makes Kofuku laugh out loud, and then she kisses her. They kiss a great deal that morning, sweet and soft at first, then hungrier.

Kofuku learns what makes humans hold each other so fiercely, even while their frail bodies remain so doomed. It is a wonderful feeling, this closeness. Maybe the two of them can cradle it between their hearts, like a small fire.

For a time, at least, she thinks with a smile.

after decades;

It is the dead of summer. Outside, the creaky song of cicadas is the only disturbance in the close, muggy air. Within the house, five figures lie flat, their sweaty foreheads pressed to the cool floor in the hopes that some of the earth’s natural chill will provide relief.

Yukine is the first to roll over, his cheeks flushed and eyes glassy with misery.

“We just need a distraction,” he says.

“Like what?” Hiyori says, her voice muffled against the floor.

“A drinking contest!” proposes Kofuku, who seems to miraculously recover all of her energy at the prospect.

“Absolutely not,” Daikoku vetoes, though he remains motionless facedown.

“I’ll get out the sake,” Yato says, lurching to his feet. Before Daikoku can grab his ankle to stop him, a voice calls from outside the house:

“Hello?”

The front door slides open, revealing the voice’s owner, and Kofuku springs to her feet with all memory of exhaustion forgotten.

“Bisha!”

Bishamon catches her effortlessly, spinning in an elegant circle before setting Kofuku on her feet once more. Her mouth softens with amusement.

“We thought you might like some company down here,” she says.

“Completely unrelated to the fact that Yato texted me and asked me to bring an air conditioner,” Kazuma adds, following her inside. The air conditioning unit appears next, carried between Kuraha and Yugiha.

“We brought alcohol,” Kinuha adds, carrying several heavy-looking paper bags.

The rest of Bishamon’s team troops into the house, and in short order the air conditioner is blasting at full strength. The four bodies plastered to the floor start to regain vitality as the room rapidly cools down.

The rest of the evening passes in a pleasant haze. Daikoku, Yukine, and Hiyori eventually retreat to the kitchen to scare up enough snacks to pass around. A drinking contest does indeed get underway, which results in several of Bishamon’s shinki having to be put to bed in various states of inebriation. Yato and Yukine both end up sprawled on the floor next to the air conditioner. Hiyori sits against the wall next to them, tiredly fanning herself. With a groan of effort, Daikoku hauls himself to his feet and stretches mightily.

“We’d better start cleaning up,” he says in resignation. “Kofuku!”

"She disappeared about an hour ago,” Yukine mumbles, his eyes at half-mast. “Not sure where.”

Kazuma rouses himself from his own spot on the floor, squinting around the room through his crooked glasses.

“…Has anyone seen Viina?”

: : :

On the roof of the house the air feels slightly cooler. A tiny breeze tangles the curls around Kofuku’s ears and tugs a few silvery strands from Bishamon’s braid. Light spills out across the yard from the first floor, and the two of them can easily hear the voices of the others in the house. Currently, Yato and Kinuha seem to be arm-wrestling. Based on the amount of yelling, there is money involved.

“They must still be having fun,” Bishamon comments after a loud crash and a bloodcurdling scream.

“I think she broke his wrist,” says Kofuku.

Bishamon’s expression is flat. “Like I said,” she repeats. “They must still be having fun.”

Kofuku giggles, then flops backward onto the roof. After a few moments, Bishamon follows suit.

In a few hours, Daikoku will find them both fast asleep, curled into each other, hands firmly intertwined. But for now they lie side-by-side, hearing the laughter of their friends, watching the milk-bright stars wink back at them from a crowded summer sky.

[remtale]

why does food in anime have to look so much better than real food ;-;

[paulisweeabootrash]

First Impression: Noragami

Okay, after that crappy “reviewlet” thing, I'm back with another show I actually feel like saying something interesting about:

Noragami (2014)

Episodes watched: 5.  Or... actually, 14, but this review is only based on the first 5 episodes of season 1.

Yato is a minor god.  A very minor god.  A god who has no worshippers, no shrine, and relies on doing odd jobs for people in exchange for offerings of ¥5, a service which he advertises with graffiti and hand-made business cards.  His Regalia — a human soul who temporarily takes the form of living equipment a god can use — just quit.  Things are looking down for him.

Hiyori Iki is a martial-arts-loving middle schooler who just happens to encounter Yato, whom she, reasonably, believes to be a regular mortal, on the street.  She is hit by a bus while pushing Yato out of its path and gets reincarnated in a fantasy world temporarily separated from her body.  Hiyori, understandably, has some trouble coming to terms with this, especially when Yato explains to her that she is not dead (or, not completely, anyway), but instead in an in-between state where she is able to repeatedly temporarily leave her body.  Much much more to her confusion and horror, her in-between state grants her the ability to see supernatural creatures usually hidden from humans, including Phantoms, eldritch abominations that often appear as psychedelically-colored flying sea creatures and possess humans, both living and dead, to induce them to do bad things.

Hiyori is now stuck between the “Near Shore” (the world of the living) and “Far Shore” (world of the dead) rather than a resident of either, and those from the Far Shore — Phantoms, human souls, and gods alike — will certainly notice this.  Yato and other gods frequently use their Regalia (what is the plural of “Regalia”?  “Regalias”?  That sounds wrong.) to fight Phantoms in addition to (or as part of) answering the prayers of their followers.  Since Yato needs a new Regalia, at this point, I was starting to suspect this will maybe be a quasi-magical-girl premise where Hiyori becomes Yato's new Regalia and then falls for him in a "please don't think about what is at bare minimum a several century age gap" uncomfortable romcom.  But... no.  This show goes in a more complicated and interesting direction than that.

Regalia must be sufficiently pure (and apparently fully-dead) human souls, so Yato, who seems to look down on humans even compared to other gods, simply drafts the first suitable soul he encounters.  That soul, a teen boy with no memory of his Earthly life, whom Yato names Yukine, luckily turns out to be a very talented Regalia and a quick learner, but also frustrated about his death and prone to sinful thoughts (more on that in a moment).  Hiyori takes an interest in Yukine, mainly to take care of him because Yato is certainly not doing that well, but I actually kind of get the impression she's attracted to him, especially given that, unlike Yato, Yukine is approximately her age (or was before he died... it's not clear how long he, or any other Regalia, have been dead).  She also takes an (academic) interest in the supernatural world in general, which is only partly what she expected or imagined, and she becomes a de facto member of Yato and Yukine's "team" as it were.  But also overwhelmed and mainly just wants her soul to be securely re-attached to her body so she'll stop accidentally leaving it at inopportune times — to her friends and family, it appears that she has now been having severe and unpredictable episodes and collapsing and losing consciousness since her bus accident, and she often leaves her body lying around in public without realizing it.  Or, in one case, draped over the top of a fence, which is... not an ideal sleeping location.  Yato vaguely claims he will restore her, but has no idea how to.

So far, the story has focused on the interactions between the three of them and on exploring the setting/what Phantoms are/how the gods work/etc.  This has revealed a fascinating detail which, beyond the scope of the five episodes I took notes on, becomes one of the main arcs of the first season: although the gods are amoral, or at least behave according to a totally different set of standards, they are still affected by human morality.  Morality, says Yato, is socially constructed by humans, but affects the gods vicariously by causing “blight”.  If humans decide an act is sinful, then a Regalia doing that thing causes a blight to both themself and the god they serve which must be ritually cleansed.  Yukine, despite being initially pure enough to become a Regalia, starts to cause blight to Yato because of his jealousy of the still-living and his attraction to Hiyori, and this proves to be... well... you’ll see.

We also learn from Kofuku Ebisu, goddess of bad luck and poverty, that Yato used to be a war god, with a past darker than Hiyori is willing to accept or think about.  He will grant anyone's wishes to remain relevant, and this may come back to endanger people.  Yato is also dating(?) Kofuku, and seems to have had a previous romantic relationship with a Regalia named Nora who served him and gives off a serious yandere vibe.  Or actually (spoilers), as it turns out, not named Nora.  "Nora", we learn, is a derogatory term for an entire category of Regalia: those who serve multiple gods and generally do jobs normal Regalia would refuse.  This, in connection with the whole thing about gods being corrupted by their Regalia violating human-made moral standards, raises a worrying question I hope we get an answer to: do noras corrupt their gods, or are they somehow unable to produce corruption because they themselves do not believe anything they're doing is wrong?  This is the sort of question this show raises, and it seems smart and thorough enough to try to answer it... if it doesn't, there's the ongoing manga series to turn to, and this is yet another show I've enjoyed so much that I might start reading it.

-----

Revised W/A/S Scores: 7 / 3 / 3 / !

Weeb: Pretty high on this scale mainly because of its very Shinto background, including very specific patron deities of concepts, gods physically residing in shrines, its specific forms of prayer, the dead just sort of... wandering and acting like still-live humans, and of course the presence of shrine maidens because how can you not have shrine maidens?

Ass: Occasional nudity, but not fanservicey.  Ep. 2, for example, has partial nudity in situations like contemplating in bath and locker room that are not framed sexually but probably would be in a different tone of show.

Shit (writing): I have a weirdly specific translation complaint (because of course I do).  I accidentally learned via Wikipedia that "nora" means "stray", and this seems like information that maybe should've been dropped in the subtitles at some point?  It might actually have made the reveal about what "a nora" is work better in English than in the original Japanese because this meaning would be a surprise to the English subtitle-reading audience.  Anyway, enough about that.  I find the characters enjoyable and their arcs pretty believable.  A main plot conflict between Yato and the nora is clearly forming by the end of the five episodes I cover here, and I'll cheat a bit to say that the first season successfully plays out two story threads while leaving others open for the next season, but not in a cliffhanger or "we clearly didn't know how to wrap this up" way.  An advantage of adapting a popular ongoing manga, I suppose: you can pace things better and also be reasonably sure that there's enough interest to get you another season.

Shit (other): Pretty ending, meh opening.  Great reaction faces.  Moods are accentuated well by variations in the art and animation.  I love the design of the Phantoms because I'm a sucker for surreal depictions of the supernatural.  It's not as dramatically bizarre and imaginative as, say, the witches in Madoka Magica, but still excellent.

Content warning: It is a recurring point that the gods' duties include saving people from suicide, and multiple suicide attempts are depicted (although they are thwarted by divine intervention by Yato).

-----

Stray observations:

- Yato starts out appearing to be a magnificent bastard, but it becomes apparent quickly that... uh... maybe he’s just an asshole.  

- I have no idea why, but Yato sneaking into Hiyori's house and mirroring her dad's actions is one of the funniest things I've seen recently.

- You'd think at some point Hiyori would develop a plan, or at least a cover story, for abandoning her body, even if she remains unable to control when she leaves it.  Not to mention that she'd sometimes come back to an injured body or find that someone has moved her or called an ambulance or something.

- The background music includes rap in English with autotune, which is... surprising, but neither good nor bad.

- This setting raises the same set of troubling questions about the concept of an afterlife that a lot of afterlife concepts do, since it appears that people are "frozen" at the age they were when they died but also have the ability to learn (and later, outside the set of episodes I covered here, to mature mentally at least somewhat)... do child Regalia or children's souls in general ever mentally mature in the same way that real children do as they ender adolescence and adulthood?  Are there baby ghosts hanging around with no concept that they are dead, unable to ever gain that concept because they will never age?  (I feel like this is turning into a literary criticism of religion, and that's waaaay outside the scope of this blog, so I'll end this here.)

[izzes]

from the kofuku graffiti ed

[conflagrate]

Winter 2015 anime season

First things first – wrap up of autumn 2014.

God tier – Mushishi S2, Kiseijuu, Yona, SHIROBAKO

Not bad at all – Tribe Kurukuru, Sega anime, Danna, Yamas, Ace of D

Neither great nor terrible – Garo, Wixoss, Donten, Okami, Karen, Bahamut G, Fate s/n UBW, SAO II

So bad it’s good – Ange, Patisserie

Shit tier - KimiUso (I’m about to die from boredom here), Akame

Shows completed = 12

Shows ongoing = 9

I guess even if winter turns out to be rubbish I’ll still have plenty to watch..?

For Winter!!

Must-watch - Drr!! x2, Kamisama Hajimemashite 2, Yuri Kuma Arashi, Death Parade, Ketsuekigata-kun 2, Falcom Gakuen 2

Ughh I guess I’ll watch until I cry tears of pain - Aldnoah Zero 2, Tokyo Ghoul 2

Might be good, might be bad - Ansatsu Kyoshitsu, Rolling Girls, KanColle, Saenai Heroine, Junketsu no Maria, Shinryonaika

I have a feeling this will suck not be my cup of tea, but I’ll try anyway - Absolute Duo, Kofuku Graffiti (haha Shaft), IM@S CG, Military, Shinmai Maou, Isuca, World Break

Not touching with pole of barge - Kurobasu 3, Yatterman, Dog Days, Sengoku Musou, Binan blah, Jojo, new Precure, Fafner & Fafnir, Milky Holmes, Shonen Hollywood, Transformers, Pankis, Doamaiger D

Ongoing - Bonjour Koiaji Patisserie, Tribe Kurukuru, Ace of D, Ange, Kiseijuu, SHIROBAKO, Yona, Garo, Kimiuso

So many sequels @_@…as usual, I secretly hope that everything sucks so I won’t get hit with a ridiculous schedule. I am this close to dropping Kimiuso for good though w. Angst is fine in manga where I can speed flip the virtual pages but when animated, it’s like watching a baby throw a mega tantrum in slo-mo x4.

Season (officially) kicks off tonight with Milky Holmes w

[meowsaidmayaanime]

To Watch List

My personal list of anime to watch, I need to lower the number of simulcasts I watch each season because otherwise I get completely off track and end up never finishing series due to my wanting to prioritize others. A few of these are also some from Misty Chronexia’s 10 tens too So with that said, here’s a list (that’s more for myself than anyone else) of anime I want to watch in the future.

                   Orange Taboo Tattoo   New Game

Kuroshitsuji: Book of Murder

Kuroshitsuji II Specials

Kuroshitsuji Movie: Book of the Atlantic

No Game No Life Seraph of the End Selector Spread WIXOSS jyou no asuka show koyomimonogatari Yamada and the Seven Witches Usagi Drop Dantalian no shoka Bakemonogatari Monster Ergo-proxy Danganropa Subete ga F ni Naru: The Perfect Insider himitsu revelation (police) paranoia agent (has police involvement) your under arrest on your mark (lighthearted police)

(comedy recommend by misty chronexia) tonari no seki-kun my bride is a mermaid cromartie high school osomatsu-san the world god only knows sket dance/gintama nichijou

(like kamisama kiss)

Kamichu! (cannot find online)

Gugure! Kokkuri-san Kamisama no memochou Inu x Boku SS nurarihon no mago       gingitsune: messenger fox of the gods onsen yousei hakone-chan

(like Shirobako) seiyuu’s life animation runner kuromi bakuman mangirl genshiken

(like sweetness and lighting) kofuku graffiti aishiteru baby honey and clover

(like 12 kingdoms) seirei no moribito saiunkoku monogatari  

(japanese history) otoki zoshi (heian) hyouge mono (sengoku) house of five leaves (edo) otome youkai zakuro (taisho) showa monogatari (showa) penguindrum (heisei)

(sports) Ace of the Diamond

(live action) hana kimi

Extra: To Read List * = manga different form the anime

*Blood Battlefront Blockade – full manga not avail online *Tokyo Ghoul FMA Haikyuu Big Windup Natsume Yuujincho *Black Butler Red Data Girl? Durarara (light novel)

[skyheaven1231]

As fate would have it - Chapter 34

Chapter 34 - Responsibility

(possible manga spoilers up until chapter 54)

Words: 2984

| Read on AO3 |  ,  | wattpad |  ,  | < previous chapter |

Yato woke up, covered in cold sweat. His blanket was torn aside and Hiyori was already sitting up next to him, ready to comfort the shaking god. “A nightmare again?”, she whispered softly.

“Y-Yeah”, Yato answered breathless, “I'm just … so worried.” “A lot of things happened today. I understand why you feel uneasy. I do too.” Tsuki had made up her mind and no one was able to change her decision. She wanted to learn more about the powers she got and use them to be able to help people. That desire was so strong, so powerful that not even Yato could forbid it. He was so proud of his little girl in that moment that all his arguments would have been in vain. He knew how dangerous Ayakashi could be, how unpredictable and moody. They were life threatening for everyone who got in touch with them no matter if it were human, Shinki or even gods. And now his little daughter wanted to learn how to interact with them. How to help them. The thought about finding a way to deal with Phantoms without having to kill them was a tempting one and if it was anybody else, he would have been thrilled to hear about it. But right now, they were talking about the safety of Tsuki. A thought that no parent ever wanted to deal with.

How far did he want to go to help people and make them happy?

He would definitely not be able to put his daughter's life at risk. Seeing her being forced to deal with pain was the most terrible thing he could think of and he wished that he could lift that burden off her tiny shoulders and of course, Hiyori felt the same way. But it wasn't their decision to make.

Even if they would try and forbid Tsuki to learn more about her powers, there was always a risk that she had to use it in the future. That's why, in the end, Yato agreed on helping her to learn how to deal with that power. And just like that, day after day when Tsuki and Yukine were back from school, they headed outside looking for small Ayakashi that wouldn't cause much of a thread so Tsuki could try and do the same thing she did with that giant catlike beast. She wasn't able to do much though. Yato caught the tiny creatures and got bitten and scratched a lot, much to Yukine's amusement. The blonde Shinki enjoyed to see his master scream like a little girl, before he helped him with a bottle of purification water. He would always tease him how much of a sissy he was. Sometimes the three of them would be accompanied by Hiyori or Bishamon and Kazuma. Kofuku wanted to come as well but Daikoku knew that he had to keep her from doing so or else they would have dived right into the next disaster.

The first few days Tsuki was pretty upset about the fact that she wasn't able to communicate with the Ayakashi like she did the other day. Back then she had been in a state of shock. They were being attacked and Tsuki wanted to protect her father and her big brother. She didn't think about what she was doing and then it suddenly happened. There was this connection between her and that sad creature. A connection that she seemed to be unable to make when the situation didn't ask for it. She had to figure out how she had felt when it did happen the first time. That sudden impulse that made it possible to do what she had done. It was hard but slowly she started to get a hang of it and every once in a while she managed to link to the Ayakashi Yato caught and just like the first one, they disappeared after Tsuki had taken the negative emotions from them. Not without causing the little girl pain, much to Yato's, Hiyori's and Yukine's disfavor. But every time Yato carried her on their way back home, since Tsuki was too exhausted to walk herself, she had a big smile on her face. She was so happy that she was able to help those creatures that she didn't care about the pain she had to endure while she did it. She didn't care that she was exhausted, all that counted was that she started to learn how to use this, in her eyes, gift.

“You are still worried, aren't  you?”, Yukine asked one day on their way back home.

“Of course I am!”, Yato answered, carrying his sleeping daughter on his back, “I wish she would stop but she has made up her mind. She can be so stubborn sometimes.”

“She's not the only one who can be stubborn”, the blonde boy mumbled much to his master's annoyance. Yato wanted to retort to his Shinki's comment but in that moment he got a strange feeling all of a sudden. Something felt off but he didn't know what it was.

“What is it?”, Yukine asked when Yato started to look around.

“N-Nothing, I just felt like someone is following us.”

Right when Yato finished his sentence, a bush a few meters away from them started to rustle. Yato immediately got ready to fight whatever it was that would be jumping out but that shouldn't be necessary. What had been hiding inside the leaves was no threat but a bird that flew away as fast as it could.

Yukine clapped his hands and said in an annoyed tone: “Congrats, you sensed a bird. How dangerous. Let's run for our lives or it might eat us.”

“Shut up!”

Back home, they lay Tsuki down on her bed so she could rest properly and the boys sat down on the couch in the living room.

Hiyori was home already as well and prepared lunch when Yato's phone suddenly started ringing. “It's Ebisu!”, he announced, looking at his display before he picked up, “Ebisu! Haven't heard from you in a while, how is it goin'? … Oh don't worry, it's alright. I know you've got a lot to do at the moment … She did? That's good, I guess … Sure thing, it'd be great to see you! … Alright until then, bye!” “What did he want?”, Hiyori asked, cleaning her hands on a towel as she sat down next to him.

“He just called to say that he is sorry for not being there when we all gathered at Kofuku's the other day. She told him what we were talking about and about Tsuki's powers. He said that he would come and visit us soon to say hi. I guess he is just as curious about Tsuki's ability like the others. His previous incarnations were trying so hard all those years to achieve this kind of control over Ayakashi. So many of them died for a chance to make this world a better place and now Tsuki is able to do what all of them wanted. I just hope the current Ebisu won't get too involved in this kind of thing again.” “Don't worry, I don't think Kunimi would let that happen again”, Hiyori tried to console Yato.

Once again, Yato's phone started ringing but this time it was showing an unknown number. Yato picked up and introduced himself as the delivery god like he always did. The person who had been calling turned out to be a woman that needed help to run her restaurant. She had no one to help her and was pretty desperate. That's when she saw one of Yato's old graffiti on a wall and because she didn't know what to do, she called him. “No problem at all. I'd be glad to accept this job … Alright, I'll be right there”, he hung up, “Let's go Yukine, we got a job!”

“A job? An actual job? It's been ages! What is it about?”, the young boy asked.

“Helping out in a restaurant, nothing big. See you later Hiyori!”, Yato kissed her on the cheek and with a bright light, the two boys were gone.  

They popped up in a nice little restaurant, a friendly looking woman standing behind a counter, smiling at them. She seemed to be around thirty years old and had long black hair that was tied back into a braid.

“Oh my, that was really fast. You didn't lie about the 'fast' part then I see”, she said.

“Yep. Fast, affordable and reliable!”

“I'm really thankful that you agreed to help me. I don't know how to handle the situation anymore at the moment. Right now I don't have that many guests but all by myself it's really hard to manage both, cooking and taking care of the customers”, the woman explained, “My partner left me a few days ago you see and ever since then I'm a little overstrained.”

When the woman stepped away from the counter, Yato was immediately caught by her belly. Behind an apron, he could clearly see that the woman was pregnant. “You are pregnant!”, he discovered surprised.

“Don't be rude!”, Yukine ordered his master.

“U-Uhm .. I'm sorry!”, Yato apologized.

“Haha, it's alright really, I don't mind. I'm in the sixth month.  I'm really looking forward to being a mother”, she first smiled but slowly her happy face turned into a sad one, “B-But sadly, the father doesn't think the same way. He and I were running this restaurant together, it had always been our dream. We also wanted to get married, start a family and be happy but a few days ago he decided that he didn't want to be a father. That he didn't want to be with me anymore. I don't know what I did wrong or why he just left me. Now I'm all alone with our child and this business and I don't know how to handle the situation at all.”

She sat down on a chair next to her and hid her face in her hands, trying to hide the fact that she was starting to cry.

Yato felt so terrible sorry for that woman. Being left alone with a child and the burden of running a restaurant.

How heavy must this burden be?

Was that how Hiyori felt when Yato tried to cut their ties?

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ramble like that. I guess I've just reached my limit. I wish he would come back to me and our child. I feel so lost without him”, the woman cried.

“Do you have a picture of him?”, Yato asked.

“What?”, the woman asked confused, “U-Uhm … y-yes. On the wall over there, that's a picture of the two of us. It's from the opening of our restaurant.” Yato walked over to the other side of the room, where the owner's finger was pointing at. He was looking into the faces of the woman he just met and next to her, the man who had left her. They looked so happy in that picture and Yato felt sick just by looking at it.

“Your wish has been heard loud and clear!”, he whispered.  

“What was that?”, the woman asked, wiping away her tears with a tissue. “Let's get to work!”, Yato said enthusiastically as always, “We are here to help you after all, what do you need us to do?”

The woman ordered Yato to take care of the cooking while she and Yukine were taking care of the customers. Yukine had a few problems to be noticed but after he directly spoke to the people, they were able to notice that he was there. Yato on the other hand had no problems whatsoever in the kitchen. He only had to take a look at the menu and he was able to cook everything that was ordered. Helping out in restaurants was something the god wasn't unfamiliar with. Before he met Yukine and Hiyori, he was working in many kitchens and had learned a lot that was helpful for his job right now. The customers were amazed by the great food and at the end of the day, the woman was really thankful. “I can't thank you enough for today. You were a big help and we made so much money! Thank you so much! And once again, I'm sorry for my little breakdown earlier. I didn't mean to burden you with my problems”, she said while she was paying Yato the five yen he had told her to pay.

“Don't worry about it, we don't mind at all. I'm happy that we were able to help out. I don't think I would ever be able to understand how hard your situation must be but your partner is a fool for leaving you and your child”, Yato answered.

“At least he didn't disappear completely. He is staying in a hotel nearby so if anything should happen I know where to find him. I wish you and your son the best, he can be happy to have such a caring parent.”

“Oh I'm not his son actually!”, Yukine interfered, “I guess you could say that he took me in when I had nowhere else to go.” “Oh I'm sorry, I assumed you two were related”, the woman apologized, “Do you have children then?” “I do”, Yato answered with a smile, “I have a daughter. She is twelve and I missed almost her entire life because I only found out about her a few months ago. I regret it so much, that's why I can't understand why your boyfriend just up and left you. Makes me sick to even think about it. He's got such a gift right in front of him and he throws it away. If I had known that I was becoming a father … If I had known how much I would miss. I wish I could have been there from the beginning.” His smile had vanished and Yukine was giving his master a concerned look. He knew that it was still lasting on Yato's mind but now that he heard about a man that chose to miss out on his child's life, it made everything even worse. “I'm really sorry to hear that!”, the woman said commiserative, “So our situations are kind of similar I see. I wish you all the best and I hope you and your family are going to have a wonderful future! Cherish every moment you have!”

The sun had started to set when Yato and Yukine were walking home. Yato didn't say a word the entire way back to the flat and Yukine didn't ask any questions, what he thought was for the best at the moment. Yukine was already opening the door with the key, when Yato suddenly turned around and said: “Go ahead without me, I have to do something before I go home. I don't know how long it'll take so you don't have to wait for me with dinner and stuff.”

Without another word, Yato had turned around and started to run off elsewhere, leaving behind a worried and confused Yukine. What was his master up to?

It was way past midnight, when Hiyori woke up because she heard a loud cracking noise coming from the window. “Yato? Why are you always entering through the window? We have a door you know!”, she asked as soon as she could make out the dark figure that was her boyfriend.

Yato didn't answer her.

He just closed the window again and rushed towards her, catching her in a tight hug.

“U-Um … what is going on?”, she asked dazed.

“Nothing”, Yato answered, tightening the hug. Hiyori knew that something was up and she could guess what it was about. Yukine had told her what happened in the restaurant, making it obvious that Yato felt bad for the years of his daughter's life that he had missed. She didn't say anything though and only returned the hug. In that moment, someone knocked on their door and shortly after, it slowly opened, a big pair of blue eyes squinting inside.

“Tsuki? What is it honey?”, Hiyori asked.

“I … I, uhm …”, the girl stuttered, “I had a nightmare. Would it b-be okay, i-if … If I ...” “Come here!”, Hiyori said, raising her blanket as an inviting gesture. Tsuki always came to her mother whenever she had a bad dream during the night. Whenever it happened, she would crawl into her mother's bed and cuddle with her, making her feel better instantly. This time was the first time that Yato was also there when Tsuki wanted to sleep with her parents. Before he lay down next to his two girls, he rushed outside and came back a few seconds later, dragging along a sleepy Yukine and lay him down in their bed as well. Yukine didn't know what happened since he was still half asleep but before he could even start to struggle, he was caught by Tsuki as well as Yato's arms making it impossible to flee. 

And just like that, they spent the night in the same bed cuddling, without having any other  nightmares. The next morning, Yato received a call from the woman they had helped out the day before. She told him that her boyfriend came back home and  that he promised to be there for her and their child.

A weird guy in a tracksuit seemed to have opened his eyes and showed him how much he still loved his girlfriend, by breaking into his hotel room and giving him a beating that turned out to be the necessary factor for him to man up and take responsibility.

Next Chapter: Making things interesting

[anime-fyi]

Hinata in Ms. Vampire Who Lives In My Neighborhood got me thinking about where I had seen a brown haired girl and while I’m not 100% sure this was the one I was thinking of, Shiina of Gourmet Girl Graffiti came to mind. Cool girl.

[itadakimasu-letmeeat]

[cobrac8nu]

Gourmet Girl Graffiti (Kōfuku Graffiti)