A/N: This is going to be kind of special chapter, and it's coming close to Christmas, so I'll have that as the theme for this one. But this chapter might be a bit longer than most of them. I was gonna have it into two parts, but I thought a long chapter might be nice. I'll probably have some more like this in the future too. <3

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-Christmas-

"Bye Hiyori!!" Hiyori's friends Ami and Yama were hugging her goodbye for the Christmas break. "Bye, I'll see you both soon!" Hiyori, now a 10-year-old 5th grader, waved her friends a quick farewell on her way to her house. She'd almost gotten there from her bus stop, just before Yato ran into her. It was snowing and Hiyori was getting cold, even through all of her thick layers of clothing. "Yori! It's good to see ya- how was school?" Hiyori was feeling dead physically with the cold biting her harder every second. "P-pretty good. I'm just glad s-school is out for now... H-how was your day?" Yato wrapped his arm around her to warm her up on their way to her home. "It was okay, I'm finally gonna be older than Yukine soon! He kept bringing it up..!- Pfft, the nerve of that guy, acting like he is so much older than me..." Yato pouted. Hiyori sighed with a slight smile at his overly childish behavior. "Oh Yato..." She leaned deeper into his warmth, their faces both warming up, kind of beneficial at the time being. "Are y-you cold, Yato?" She felt him shivering, but she had never asked before if gods could feel effects like this... "Y-yeah, a little bit..." So Hiyori made sure that they huddled together until they got to Hiyori's house.

"O-okay Hiyori! I'll see you later!" When they got there, Yato waved his frozen hand and headed to Kofuku's shrine- "No Yato! It's too cold, come in with me, please." She dragged him by the hand, not giving him a choice. "Oh, okay- oh, hey Iki's!"

"Hello, Yato! How are you?" Her mom turned around and grinned at them.

"Good, what about you guys?"

"Ah, that's good, we're doing okay too, just pretty cold! How did you two hold up on the way?" Her dad stood and came over to greet them as Mrs. Iki was finishing the dishes. Yato had his arm around Hiyori, who kept getting more flushed by the second, and she wasn't quite sure why. "It was really cold but I warmed her up!" Yato grinned his typical smile and held up two fingers. "Yato, you aren't wearing a coat!! Would you two like some hot cocoa?"

"Ah, yes please, mom!" Hiyori peeped. Her mother quickly whipped up some drinks for them while her dad got Hiyori's coat and scarf put up. Hiyori was still huddling against Yato since she hadn't warmed up all the way. "Here you are!" Mrs. Iki handed the two of them each a cup of hot cocoa, which smelled so pleasant. "Thanks, mom."

"Thanks, Mrs. Iki!"

"No problem, you two!" She hugged each of them and returned to her dishes. "Can you believe it's almost Christmas? And you're out for school! Yato will have to come over some more now especially now that you've got no studies!" Her dad chuckled. Hiyori nodded excitedly and was just staring at her cocoa, sipping it and attempting at not making weird movements beneath Yato's arm. Yato had already finished his cup. "That was good! I can't wait for Christmas too, and I especially can't wait to spend more time with you all!" He was always really cheesy, and Hiyori honestly really liked that about him. She loved that he cared about her and her family so much, and that he would only say the cheesiest of things just to prove it. Hah, that guy. He sure is something.

Once Hiyori had finished her cup, she lead Yato into her room to ask him a favor. "Y-Yato, would you like to help me decorate in my room? Mom and dad gave me some decorations and I haven't had the time quite yet, so if you want to, we can-" Yato jumped. "Duh! Of course!! Where are they?" Hiyori giggled slightly and pointed to the box full of decorations in the corner of her room. He leaped over to it and started taking some things out of it. "In a way, this is kind of like your second home so I thought you should help me with this, especially because I have no idea what to use and where..." Yato then pulled out a very long strand of little tree lights. "We could use this on the walls if it's long enough..." Hiyori took the other end of the strand and got up onto her bed to try and reach the ceiling. She sighed. "Aww, I'm too short!" Yato snickered and, before she could have any time to murder him, lifted her up to see if she could reach it then. He was relatively taller than her, so she was able to attach it with a piece of tape. "Umm, now let's try to get this around the room?" She went over and stood on her desk next to her bed, where she didn't need Yato's help because she'd just let it drape on the walls. She had to get several stepping stools, however, in order to reach the other corners of the room, which took kind of a while. Hiyori was tired already... Just at least she could be grateful that it was too long and not too short. She taped the remaining part of the lights to where it overlapped with the other end in the corner. "Done, finally... Do you want to use any other decorations that don't need to go up so high?" Yato sighed and sat on her bed. "Actually, I do!" Hiyori thought that they could decorate a mini tree for the empty corner of her room. Hiyori ran to a storage closet and picked out one of the mini trees that they had from the previous years. She set it up in her room as quickly as she could, worried about them running out of time before her mother called her for dinner. "Okay, so, what decorations? We could use the blue sparkly ones, the red and shiny ones, the green ones, some tassel, or those snowflakes? Or... All of them?"

"All of them!" Yato eagerly got all of the ornament boxes and took them over to Hiyori and her tree. "I'll do the tassel and the red ones, okay?" Hiyori told Yato- sure that he'd be really lost with the tassel... "Okay, should we put any of those lights strands on the tree?" Hiyori sighed, at least the tree wasn't as tall and as large as her room was. "I guess we could," Hiyori ran over to the box and picked out a strand of golden circular lights for it, along with a tiny angel for the top. "Here, I'll plug it in, and you wrap it around." Hiyori took the cord to the closest outlet and Yato took the lights and wrapped them around the tree as best as he could, trying not to get it tangled or too heavily place in one spot. "Is it okay?" Hiyori turned around once she had gotten it plugged in and it lit up softly. "Yeah! It's pretty!" She went over to join him in finishing decorating and kept the lights on. Hiyori let Yato put up the angel while she did the tassel. She smiled proudly when they finished. "We did it! It looks good, don't you think?" Yato nodded and crossed his arms. "Just one more thing... We should add this one!" Yato reached into his pocket and pulled out the white ornament that they both wrote their names on when they spent their first Christmas together a few years ago. "Aw, you brought that? I thought you might use it at Kofuku's place..." Yato shook his head furiously. "Absolutely not- she'd kill it!" He clutched it close to his chest and Hiyori couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, we can put it on then!" Hiyori jumped up and went over to the tree as Yato followed, placing it near the top of the tree, and just under the angel. "This good?" Hiyori nodded and held her hands behind her back as she admired the pretty tree. "Perfect! Do you want to eat before you go home?"

"Yes please!" Hiyori smiled and took him downstairs to wait for dinner.

"Here you are!" Mrs. Iki handed them each a plate of teriyaki salmon and onigiri. "Ooh, thank you!!" Yato ate quickly and messily as he always did while Hiyori tried not to spill anything on the table. "Ahh that was really good, Mrs. Iki," Yato stood and wiped his mouth with his sleeve and cleaned the table with a rag as soon as he had finished. "Thank you Yato, I'll make it again for you sometime if you'd like?"

"Yes please!" Hiyori's mom smiled, she knew that she loved him basically as she would a son. Hiyori took a quick sip of water as she wondered... Would that make him like her brother from another or like her... Future husband maybe?? Hiyori choked and blushed, covering her face. Yato gave her a napkin- "You okay, Yori?" She nodded but coughed and coughed, having to get a glass of water to help her not suffocate. Yato rubbed her back as she slowly quit coughing... "Is everything okay, Hiyori? It wasn't too spicy was it?" Her mother came over to take away her plate. She shook her head. "No, no, it's really good... I just kind of... Um, you know..." Her mother laughed a little and put her practically empty plate into the sink. Hiyori tried to calm her red self down as she drank her water slowly, taking deep breaths- she put her hand against her slightly sore throat and whined mentally. Hiyori felt so stupid for getting so flushed over that thought... She sighed and stood up from the table, drying her water spills. "You seemed kinda deep in thought there, Hiyori, is everything-"

"No! Everything is fine! Hahah- just fine!" She waved her hands and giggled nervously, confusing everyone at the table. "..That was awkward..." Hiyori muttered as Yato and her mom quickly dismissed it... She sighed and put her head down onto the table.

---

It was evening, and Hiyori got a bit bored of watching TV with her family. Of course, it was nice, but she would rather be doing something else after so long. "Hey, Yato, are you staying over tonight?" Yato turned to face her, not sure of his answer... "Well... Kofuku and all of them will be joining me here tomorrow night, so I don't see why just one more day wouldn't work. We can have a 3-day sleepover!" Hiyori giggled into the back of her hand and headed up to her room after telling a quick goodbye to her parents as Yato followed.

"So, what do you want to do?" Yato asked, seemingly really happy. "Well," Hiyori thought for a moment, "we could make Christmas cards! I also remember that my mom was considering signing me up for a gingerbread event down the street, too, so we could do that if you want to!" Yato looked really excited. "Yeah!! We should! Can we do the gingerbread thing first and then cards?" Hiyori smiled at him and nodded. "Sure, I'll go ask mom!" Hiyori ran down the stairs and went over to her parents. "Hey, Yato and I had an idea! You know how you were going to have me do that gingerbread event? Could we still go?" Hiyori's dad looked at the clock, "you should have time since it's over at 9:00."

"Okay then! Go and get Yato, then we'll leave!" Her mother said as she walked over to get Hiyori's coat ready. When Hiyori came back with Yato, her mother realized that she should find Yato a coat too. "Oh, Masaomi had a few coats in the closet, so you could have one if you'd like, I'll go get it." Her mother went into the closet upstairs and pulled out a navy coat that Hiyori had seen Masaomi wear a lot in some old photos. "Thanks!" Yato put it on when Hiyori's mom gave it to him- it was a bit big, but he still was able to wear it.

---

When they arrived at the event, Hiyori skipped out of the car and up to the door. It was the neighborhood library and Hiyori knew that she might see to getting some books while she was here. "Come on, Yato!" She grabbed Yato's hand and tried not to run on her way in. She was really excited, Hiyori had always loved gingerbread events. Ami and Yama come with her every other year to make memories, but she went with them last year, so it'd just be her and Yato. Surprisingly, she never thought about inviting Yato before now, but she was glad that she did this year. "Okay, you guys, I'll be over here for a while. If you need me, you know where I'll be! And I'll let you know when we're leaving. Go have fun!" Hiyori's mom sat down at a table that had a couple of her friends in the neighborhood when Yato and Hiyori hurried over to an empty table with unused supplies. "I don't think this belongs to anyone, the event hasn't started yet and some other tables are still open, just in case." Hiyori put her small backpack on the ground and sat down in the wooden chair. "I've never actually completed a gingerbread house before- Kofuku always gets to it before I even finish the structure..." Yato sighed. "That's too bad! At least you can complete it this year!" Hiyori laughed. "I hope," Yato whined, "she may run in here any minute and eat everyone's pieces..." Hiyori giggled and organized her area since she didn't like the layout. She put the pieces piled in the center, with decorations sorted by candy on the right and icings of a few different colors on the left. She sighed happily and talked with Yato about Christmas and Kofuku until the announcer told everyone that they could begin. "What prize do you think we should try for? There's the first to finish, who get a box of chocolates. There are the ones who make it look really fancy and pretty, who usually get a small cake of some kind. The prize for the last to finish is a bag of toffees... The teamwork prize is some Christmas cookies I believe, and then the last prize goes to the cleanest one. It doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to be clean, neat, and precise. Those people usually get some kind of pie." Yato tried to organize his pieces as well, but couldn't do it as neatly as Hiyori could! "Ehhh they all sound good. We can try for the teamwork one? I think we should use your pieces though, mine are kinda crumbly..." Hiyori looked over at the other end of the table and there were crumbs everywhere- he'd even broken his base. She sighed with a smirk. "Okay then, let's try for it." Hiyori moved over to a chair closer to him and slid her pieces over, which were still intact. Hiyori had Yato put frosting in the cracks once she put the walls together. While she stuck the house walls to the base, Yato built the roof with his own frosting and gave it to Hiyori to place on top. She glued it with frosting once it was even and she got the frosting for the decorating. "What color should the lines be? On the walls, I think white but I'm not sure about the roof."

"What about pink and blue? Pink on one side and blue on the other. Then we can add the candy," Yato suggested. "Oh, good idea!" Hiyori gave him the blue frosting and put one side close to him and one close to her. She filled all of the line patterns with her pastel pink frosting. Once they had both finished, they did the lines on the walls all around the house together. "Done! Where should we put the candy now?" Hiyori got some pink and blue gumdrops to match the frosting. She stuck them on top with the white icing. "Does that look good?" She stepped back to get a better look. "Yeah, Hiyori! It's awesome! Who knew you were so good at crafting~" Yato smirked. Hiyori blushed a bit, "I-I'm not that good- b-but you helped, i-it's good because we both worked on it, right?" Yato laughed a little and nodded. "I guess so! We could use the gumdrops for the base too if you want. They have a ton of the gumdrops." Hiyori sat down again and nodded eagerly, picking out the pink and blue gumdrops for him to put on.  "Oh, Yato! We could outline the door and windows with pink and blue frosting too!"

"Okay, sounds good!" Yato frosted all the stuff on his side while Hiyori did hers. When they finished, it looked surprisingly good. "Wow Yato, it looks pretty good, doesn't it! It reminds me of cotton candy for some reason!" Hiyori giggled. "Yep! You should be proud Hiyori, we made this and it's awesome!" Yato crossed his arms and stood up proudly. "They'll be announcing the winners in a couple of minutes, so we can go take this over to the table." She jumped out of her chair and lifted the gingerbread house carefully into her arms. Yato helped her stabilize it as she walked over to the judging table slowly. "Ah, that's pretty!" One of the judges said once they got there. "O-oh thank you! We were hoping to try for the teamwork slot!" Hiyori smiled proudly and humbly at the same time. "Sure! I bet you'll win, it looks really good, you two!" The lady smiled widely and sat their gingerbread house in the middle. Hiyori waved to her as she skipped over to their table. "We did it! I really hope we're going to win!" Hiyori fumbled her fingers nervously as Yato patted her on the back. "Ah don't worry Hiyori! Even if we don't win, we still had fun, yeah?" Hiyori blushed and nodded happily. "Yeah!"

---

"Mom! Mom! Look!" Hiyori ran over to her mother, Yato's hand in hers. "Good job sweetie! Are you going to get your house?"

"Oh- yeah!" Hiyori ran off to get it, leaving Yato with her mom and their box of Christmas cookies. "Hiyori did a really good job on the house, I'm surprised she isn't a famous artist." Hiyori's mom smiled. "I bet you guys really did good, you did win a prize after all! Ah- before she comes back, Yato, I wanted to tell you something."

"Oh? Is something wrong?"

Hiyori's mom shook her head. "No, I just wanted to thank you for being Hiyori's friend. She talks about you a lot, actually, more than about her friends at school. I know you probably know this already, but I just had to say thank you. You're a really good person, Yato, especially since most boys her age are... Well, either mean or really careless, I guess. You're the first boy I've known of to really care about Hiyori, and I'm really glad she found you." Yato blushed a little bit. "I-it's no problem, she's really easy to get along with, and she's really sweet... No one has ever really cared about me as much as she has, so I'm grateful for her, too." He looked up at Mrs. Iki. "I just hope that someday I'll still be close to her when she starts her own family..." He looked behind him, a little sad. He had been kind of thinking about that lately... Hiyori probably would never love him in that way, and she was getting to the age where she might start dating other boys... He sighed, but Hiyori's mom put her hand on his head. "I promise that you'll always be a part of our family, no matter what happens. I will make sure she stays close to you for as long as I can, Yato. You're one of the kindest people I know." She rubbed his head and then Hiyori came back with the gingerbread house. Just in time. "Wow! You guys, this is beautiful! We have got to take it home and show your dad. We'll have to keep it up for the winter break, it's really amazing you two." Hiyori's mom eagerly opened the door for Hiyori and Yato, as she waved to her friends back at the table she'd been at. Once they were outside, Mrs. Iki helped Hiyori transport the house to their car. Soon enough, they were on their way home and Hiyori looked through a book that she had checked out. "Ah Hiyori, when did you have the time to get a book?" Hiyori looked up at her mom, who was at a stop sign. "I- I um, I got it before I got the gingerbread house back to you..." Yato and her mom both laughed as Hiyori blushed. "You're so cute! What's it about?"

"Romance..."

"Ooh! You like romance, Hiyori?" Her mom perked up, surprised somehow. "Y-yeah a little bit-"

"How come I didn't know?? Geez, I'll have to show you some of my favorite books at home!" Hiyori smiled at her sudden eagerness. "W-well, I always think it's really cool how the characters go through so much together and just find that they're in love. It's just so perfect!" Hiyori clutched her book, fangirling a bit. "Oh, Hiyori, I know." Her mom giggled. Yato couldn't help but smile at them as he looked out the window at all of the snow.

---

"Ooh, that's really cool!" Hiyori's dad helped her mother carry the house to the kitchen counter. "Did you three make it?" Hiyori's mom shook her head proudly. "No! Yato and Hiyori did it by themselves!" Hiyori's dad went over to Hiyori and Yato and put his arms around both of them. "Gosh, you guys are really good at crafting, you know! That's such a good looking house, I would live there!" The family laughed, and Hiyori's mom set the house down on the counter carefully. "So you're gonna stay the night tonight, Yato?" Her mom asked. He nodded. "Okay! Where would you like to sleep? You could sleep in Masaomi's room, the living room, on Masaomi's mattress on Hiyori's floor, Hiyori's bed-"

"Mom!" Hiyori covered her red face. Just this year, she had learned about... Well, reproduction. Her parents told her literally everything that there was to know. Hiyori's life had been ruined for a moment. Hiyori's parents were really jokey, surprisingly, when it came to that kind of stuff, and whenever she had to do an assignment, they, of course, had to assist her, which only took longer...

"U-um, I can stay in Masaomi's room or the floor in Hiyori's- i-if that's okay." Hiyori took a quick peek at Yato, who was also flushed. She turned even redder and Hiyori's parents laughed, hugging them both. "Hah- Ah- Yes, Yato, that's fine! I'll help you set up wherever." Hiyori's mom and dad both left the room, leaving the kids to fend for themselves. Hiyori had her head in her hands, telling herself over and over mentally, 'no! I'm too young!' And an occasional 'mom how dare you!!' Hiyori uncovered her face, trying to calm down, and looked over at Yato. Hiyori was a bit nervous to admit this to herself, but she was starting to think that she might have a slight crush. On Yato. She wasn't sure how, since they've always been almost like brother and sister. She just couldn't help but want it to not be that way. Once she learned about reproduction, she started noticing guys a bit more. Of course, the boys in her class were too stupid, and all of the other girls always had crushes on them anyways. She wouldn't tell anyone yet of course, but she always thought he was the nicest boy she'd ever known, and... The cutest, too... She loved his eyes, and no one at her school had nearly as pretty eyes as he did. She was still flushed, but she smiled and turned fully to Yato. He looked up as she grabbed his hand and dragged him upstairs. "U-um, I'm sorry about that..." She held her arms in front of her, her heart beating quicker. "I-it's okay!" He went over to her window and opened it, the snow peacefully glistening on the ground in the moonlight. "It's really pretty, isn't it?" Hiyori leaned on the window, next to him. He nodded and wrapped his arm around her waist. She felt like her heart would explode just then. Hiyori had no idea why she felt this way, and she honestly wasn't sure if she wanted the feeling to go or to stay... She kind of liked wanting to be with him. Hiyori wasn't sure why on earth she grabbed his hand, because she probably felt really sweaty and shaky. She yawned and tried hard not to do anything embarrassing.

Just then, her mother knocked and they sprang apart from each other right away. Hiyori was really embarrassed. Her mom came in with some laundry for Hiyori to put up in her closet. "Hey! Do you know where you want to stay?" Yato looked up at her, "I don't really care, probably just whatever Hiyori would be more comfortable with." He smirked and lifted an eyebrow. Mrs. Iki giggled and nodded. "I- Um, he can sleep in here if he wants to."

"Okay! I'll go get Masaomi's mattress then." Her mother left and walked to the closet quickly, coming back shortly after with one of those mattresses that are filled with air. "Here you go!" Somehow, it was already full, and Hiyori's mom bid them goodnight. "So, is there anything you'd like to do before we go to bed?" Yato asked, turning to Hiyori. "Ehm... We could watch a movie?"

"Sure! What should we watch?"

"Well... Up here I have the whole Hunger Games series if you want to-"

"Can we?? Yukine is always talking about it but I've never seen it before- if that's okay!" Yato perked up and seemed fairly excited. "Oh, okay! Sure! I've only seen half of the first one with Ami and Yama and I've been meaning to watch all of the movies since." Hiyori went over to her movie player and got out a little box from under it on a shelf. She pulled out a disc and put it in. She the TV and fast-forwarded back to the beginning. They were almost finished with the second movie when Hiyori fell asleep. She almost fell backwards a couple of times, so Yato thought he should probably put her in her bed... He lifted her and gently laid her down on her bed. Yato put a blanket on top of her and hesitantly leaned over to kiss her forehead lightly and quickly. He turned the light and the movie off and sat down on Masaomi's mattress for a while, before getting tired. 

---

Yato woke up early the next morning, early enough that it was still dark out. He wasn't tired so he decided to wait until Hiyori woke up. It was Christmas Eve actually, so he was going to remind Hiyori about the Christmas cards that she'd wanted to make. He sighed. Yato was starting to think that he liked Hiyori, in a romantic way. They were both young, and he'd never actually liked anyone that way before, even in past lives, so he wasn't quite sure yet, but he really didn't want her to marry anyone and have kids with anybody. At least not with anyone else. He cared too much about her to stop her from doing any of those things, however. But, he still couldn't help but feel really sad that one day she could forget about him easily. Yato had been thinking a lot, more than usual, lately. He was growing worried that he might lose Hiyori, but he told himself to wait until there was a greater chance of that... He tried hard to go back to sleep. He just couldn't. A little bit later, Hiyori suddenly sat up and stretched. She noticed Yato and smiled over at him- "What happened last night? I can't really remember... Oh no- did I fall asleep?? But that happened last time with Ami and Yama!" She whined. "...Maybe I should quit watching movies so late at night..." Hiyori sighed and got up, still in yesterday's clothes. Yato smiled at her and stood up too. He wasn't going to change right now, but he probably would shower before Kofuku, Daikoku, and Yukine came over.

---

"-I agree, we should use mistletoe! How cute would they be...~" Kofuku giggled on her way in. She noticed Hiyori on the stairs and tackled her with a hug. "Hiyorin~~ I missed you!" Kofuku helped her up once Hiyori couldn't breathe any longer. "Sorry about that Hiyori," Daikoku put his hand on the goddess's head. "Where are Takamasu and Sayuri? Are they here now?" Hiyori nodded and pointed in the living room. "They should be in there, I'll go look upstairs, just in case," Hiyori ran back upstairs and Kofuku dashed quickly into the living room. Hiyori heard her squealing, so she assumed that she'd found them. "Yato! They're here," Hiyori knocked on the door to her room. "Oh, okay! I'll be right down!"

He came down a couple minutes later and Hiyori had settled herself on the couch. Nobody else was on it, so she beckoned Yato over to sit with her. Just then the doorbell rang. Hiyori's mom and dad jumped up and ran to the door. "Masaomi!!!!" Hiyori's mom gasped. Hiyori and Yato ran over as soon as they heard Masaomi speak. "Ah! Masaomi!" Hiyori jumped into his arms. "Hi, Hiyori! You're getting pretty old aren't you!" Hiyori pouted. "I'm not that old..." Masaomi chuckled and saw Yato right behind her. "Yato!" He went over to him and hugged him along with Hiyori. "It's nice to finally meet you in person!" Yato nodded. "You too, Masaomi! And just a heads up, Hiyori is getting feisty!" He grinned catlike and Masaomi just tried not to laugh. "Seems like it! She's always been a little feisty, but she's getting to the age where girls tend to get sassy!" Yato crossed his arms and nodded in agreement. "Definitely."

"I am not feisty!" Hiyori whined at them. Yato and Masaomi looked at her and then back to each other, then burst out laughing. Hiyori sighed and went over to see her aunt and uncle. "Hi!" She grinned up at them and they smiled, happy to see her. "Hiyori!" They gave her a hug. "It's so good to see you, and Yusuka has been eager to see you too!" Yusuka was hiding behind her mom, giggling. "Yuka!" Hiyori gasped and held out her arms. Yusuka was 6 years old, and she was almost as tall as Hiyori. "Hiyori! I'm happy that I finally get to see you!" Hiyor squeezed her cousin. "Me too, Yuka! You wanna come to play cards with me? I'll teach you Solitaire!" Yusuka grinned. "Yes, please! I've always wanted to learn how to play Solitaire!" Hiyori grabbed her hand and took her to get some cards from her room, then going back downstairs to sit with her on the couch. "Oh, Yori, who's that boy?" She looked at Hiyori wonderingly. "That's Yato! I met him when I was your age, he's my best friend!" Yusuka giggled. "That's cool! Boys that I know are always really gross..."

"Well, I think all boys are." Hiyori rolled her eyes and smirked. "So... Is he kind of like your brother best friend? Or is he like your boyfriend best friend?" Yusuka looked intrigued. Hiyori was setting up cards on the table still. "Um, he... I..." She blushed and Yusuka smiled widely. "You like him! Are you dating?" Hiyori shook her head. "If you promise you won't tell anyone at all, I'll tell you a secret." Yusuka nodded, and added in a whisper tone, "I promise!" Hiyori blushed and went up to Yusuka's ear when she'd made sure that no one was looking. "I... I think I have a tiny crush on him... Don't tell!" Yusuka blushed too. "I won't! You'd be really cute together though, so you should tell him your feelings!"

"Tell who?" Masaomi appeared over the back of the couch. Luckily, Kofuku had dragged Yato away to help her and Hiyori's mom to bake some cookies. Hiyori gasped and then whined. "Masaomi, don't do that!" Masaomi grinned. "Hah, sorry! But what are you gonna tell to who?" Hiyori blushed. "Nothing!" She put her hands up defensively. "C'mon Hiyori! You told Yuka so tell me!" Hiyori looked away. "You would never keep it a secret, so no." Masaomi had his turn to pout. "I'll tell mom that you have a crush on someone if you don't tell me!" He grinned again, but a bit more evilly this time. "No! Please, I just... I actually do have a crush on someone, don't tell!"

"Hah! Okay, it was easy, wasn't it? Who is it? C'mon I'm your big brother! I gotta know if he's good enough." Hiyori blushed and waved him down to her level. "I... I like- Y-Yato!" She squeaked out- "Really? Awesome!! I do approve, he's great- and don't tell him I told you, but he might have a bit of a thing for you too, the way he talks about you!" Hiyori turned bright red. "I-I don't know... We've always been best friends, and... I just don't know..." Hiyori sighed. She wasn't sure why she told everyone about her little crush, maybe she just wanted to get a little pressure off of her chest. She sighed and turned around, going back to setting up cards for Solitaire.

---

"Let's play truth or dare!~" Kofuku suggested a little while later, which everyone agreed to. They all decided to sit on the kitchen floor in a big circle. "Okay Kofuku, you go first!" Hiyori's mom smiled at her, handing her a blank card and a pen. "Alright! Hm... Masaomi! Truth or dare?" Masaomi chuckled. "Dare!!"

"Heehee! I dare you to... Take off your glasses for the whole game!" Hiyori noticed that she was playing it innocently. For now. Masaomi sighed with a smirk and removed his glasses. Kofuku scribbled down the dare and put a checkmark beside it, handing it to Masaomi. "Okay, so truth or dare, Yato?"

"Dare!"

"You'll regret it!" Masaomi smirked at Yato, squinting to see him clearer. "I doubt it!" He crossed his arms. "You asked for it then! Hah, I dare you to sit in Daikoku's lap until you're instructed otherwise!" He grinned devilishly. "H-h-eh?? Daikoku..?" Yato sweatdropped and looked at Daikoku, who seemed aggravated. Yato gulped and sat on the very edge of Daikoku's knee. "Don't make any wrong move, Yato." He whispered to him. Yato nodded and stuck his tongue out at Masaomi. "Daring child!" He scratched a check mark dramatically onto the paper and slid it to Yato. Yato picked up the card and looked around. "Ah, Mr. Iki!" Yato suddenly looked nervous. "Truth or dare?"

"I'll do dare!" Yato thought for a moment to think of a good one. "Oh! I dare you to tell a secret!"

"Ah, a secret... Let's see... Well, I've never told anyone that I dressed up as a doctor for every Halloween until I was about 7 or 8 years old and that I would dress up as one at home whenever my parents had a cold." Yato was intrigued. "That's cool!! At least you can say that you stuck to your dreams, huh?" Hiyori's father chuckled and nodded. "True!" Yato scratched a checkmark and handed the card to Mr. Iki. "Hm, truth or dare, Yusuka?" Yusuka looked up, her mother had been braiding her hair and quickly finished it up. "Um! Truth!" She peeped. Kofuku held her hands to her face, whispering "She's so cute~" to everyone around her. "Is it true that you want to be a police when you're older?" Yuka blushed and nodded. "Y-yes! I do!" Hiyori's father put a checkmark on the card and gave it to Yusuka. "I know you'll be a good one!" Yusuka smiled happily and blushed humbly. "Mm! Thank you Uncle Takamasa!" Mr. Iki nodded and Yusuka looked over at Hiyori. "Hiyori, truth or dare?"

"Hm? Oh... Truth." Hiyori looked down and fumbled with her fingers. "So... It is true that you have a crush!" Hiyori's throat went dry. She wasn't sure what to say... "Hiyorin!~ You have to tell the truth or you're out!" Hiyori's family had a special way to play, where they knew that whoever was out first would have to do something embarrassing, like kiss a stranger, which seemed to happen the most... They might let her off a bit since she was young, but she wouldn't take any chances... She didn't know how they knew whether the answer to a 'truth' was a lie or if it was true, but they just seemed to pick it up. "I... I do h-have a crush..." Hiyori hugged her knees and quickly looked up at Yato, who seemed... Kind of scared. She was correct, too. His heart was beating quicker and he was sweating. He was thinking that it was a small chance that it was actually him. He wouldn't dare ask, because if he did, it would probably create air full of embarrassment for him and for Hiyori too, no matter the answer. He looked down at his hands and she felt like she wanted to cry. She wanted to tell him so badly, but she also didn't want their friendship to change, especially since they were both basically still the age of primary school students, and that would be weird for them to have a relationship. However, during her thoughts, her whole family was squealing and guessing who it was. Mrs. Iki actually noticed Yato, who had sneaked into the living room, was sitting on the couch with his arms around his legs and his head buried into his sleeves. She lifted his chin and noticed that he had tears forming in his eyes. "Yato? What's the matter?" She muttered to him, making sure that no one overheard. "I don't know... I just was hopeful I think..." Hiyori's mom sat down next to him and pulled him into a hug. "Hopeful for what?" He buried his reddening face into Mrs. Iki's shoulder. "Hiyori has a crush... But, I think I... Might love her." She hugged him tighter. "I kind of had a feeling... But, you know, Yato, that even if it's not you that she has a crush on, it's not like she has a boyfriend. You have got plenty of time before you and her both decide your feelings. I hope that if you two do like each other, that you will have that happen. I love you both so much, and I'd always accept you as a friend, as a boyfriend, as a husband, or as a father to her children." Mrs. Iki smiled and let him go. "I'd never hate you like I may hate another boy in her life, but I'd be just as disappointed if she broke your heart as if you broke hers. I would never hate you, though. But I know that she wouldn't break your heart on purpose, and I know that you would never break hers either because that's just who you are." She wiped his eyes and kissed his forehead before she went to the kitchen again. She came back shortly after with some water, and she gave it to Yato. "Here you go," she handed him the water. "I'll go tell them that we'll continue this tomorrow. And Yato, don't give up, okay?" She smiled and walked into the kitchen once again. He smiled and drank out of his water glass before he went upstairs into Hiyori's room. It was empty, so he planned on just going to sleep right away. He laid in Masaomi's mattress and stared at the tree in the corner. Hiyori came in and smiled. "I'm sorry- my family can get a bit carried away," She muttered. "Mine too..." Yato chuckled and stood up to give Hiyori a hug. "I'm sorry it's been so awkward lately, Hiyori."

"Don't be sorry," Hiyori smiled. "I- I do promise that I won't ever forget you or leave you... I don't think you have any idea how... How much you mean to me." Hiyori snuggled her face into his shoulder. She forgot how good he smelled... "Hiyori.." Yato hugged her tighter. "I'll never ever leave you either, I really care about you. You're the first person to actually notice me, and I'm really grateful that I get to have you in my life." Hiyori giggled, "me too, Yato. I'm so glad that my parents forgot me I the park that one time." She and Yato both laughed and just hugged for a while. "Now, lets have a sleepover party and have the best Christmas ever tomorrow!" Yato suggested in a much much happier tone than he's seemed to have lately. Hiyori giggled and agreed. If he loved her and she loved him, they would find a way... Just now, they were so young and so unknowledgeable about love, so they'd wait. They'd wait however long it took for them to be completely sure.

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A/N: Whew! That chapter took a while. This chapter is probably one of the weirdest ones that will be in this story. And the longest. This took like two and a half days of pure writing and thinking. I legit sat in my room the whole two days and thought about this chapter, like... I need to get outside today. ;w; Anyways, I hope that you like it or that it's somewhat okay. I'm not gonna let them be in love just yet, so hang tight! I tried hard not to make it too awkward lmao, I probably failed miserably- I at writing a little bit so I'm really sorry. ;v; Thanks for reading!

(All characters belong to Adachitoka!)

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