Yato frowns at the surging crowd around him, lost in his own train of thought, not really noticing the people around him. His mind was constantly straying to Hiyori—about whether or not she was okay, if she had forgotten him, if leaving really had been for the best.

"Yato!" Yukine's voice suddenly sounds in his ear, startling him out of his reverie.

"Y-yes?!" Yato answers a little too loudly, eyes snapping to look at an annoyed Yukine.

Yukine heaves an exasperated sigh. "If you really miss her that much, why not just go back?"

Yato turns away quickly. "You know I can't do that."

"You can't or you won't?" 

Yato stares at the ground for a long moment. "I just... I can't. Not if it means putting Hiyori in danger."

A hand slaps Yato hard, sending him sprawling to the ground.

"H-Hey-!"

Yukine grabs Yato by the collar. "Listen, you tracksuit wearing lunatic! The longer we stay away, the more likely Hiyori is to forget us! To forget you! I know you just want her to be safe but don't you think we'll be able to protect her better if we're actually with her?"

Yato stares at Yukine wide eyed, letting the words sink in. "Yukine..."

Yukine releases his hold on Yato, holding out his hand. "Come on." 

Yato takes his hand and pulls himself to his feet. "Thank you, Yukine." he says, hand rubbing the back of his neck. "I really needed that."

"So?" Yukine raises a brow at him.

"So..." Yato looks towards the horizon. "Let's go back. Back to Hiyori."

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A/N: Okay so a lot of people have asked me to continue this and honestly, I didn't really plan to but... this became really popular and I feel bad for leaving it incomplete, so here's a bit of an interlude short to get me back in the swing of writing Noragami, and hopefully I'll have a proper second chapter soon! Thank you everyone for all your kind words and support! Until next time :)