Chapter Twenty, Losing Hope.

Days passed agonisingly slow. And with each day that passed Hiyori grew weaker and weaker. By the third day, she could no longer walk. She spent the days constantly sleeping, and spent the little amount of time chatting with Yukine or Yato when she was awake. Sometimes, she would only be in a half sleep, where she could hear what was going on, but was unable to speak. These happened usually minutes before she fully wakes up. Most of the time, she didn't hear anything other than the sound of the monitors beeping, but there were occasions when she overheard things she wasn't supposed to.

Now, for example, was one of those times.

"...nothing we can do at this point." A voice Hiyori vaguely recognized said.

"What do you mean? There must be something we can do to help her." Yato.

"I don't think there is a way to help her right now. She's perfectly fine physically, and yet she's unable to return to her body," the voice paused for a few seconds, "she seems fine now, and that's all that matters."

"She's been sleeping for the past two days! I overheard her father saying to prepare for the worst barely an hour ago! And you're telling me she's fine?" Yato shouted.

The other person seemed at a loss for words. "The best thing you can do now is to make sure she stays resting. Anything she does will eat away at the little energy she has now."

"I called you here because you're one of the smartest people I know, Kazuma. Please, please figure out what's wrong with her." His voice was broken, like someone who'd given up all hope.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do to help." The mysterious voice - Kazuma? - said.

There was the sound of footsteps as someone left the room. Hiyori heard a thump - like someone had thrown something, and then the creek of the hospital bed. Minutes passed, and only the beeping of the monitor could be heard.

By now, Hiyori had the strength to open her eyes. She blinked them open slowly, squinting at the brightness of the room until they adjusted to the light. She saw Yato hunched over in a chair beside the bed where her body way. He held her unconscious body's hand, and his shoulders shook with his every breath.

She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a quiet sob from Yato.

"Please, don't die."

Her heart clenched painfully in her chest. It was a rare sight to see Yato this broken, rare enough that this was the first time she'd ever seen him like that. It hurt her to think that in a few days she'd probably be dead.

He sat there until his shoulders stopped shaking. He lowered his head and kissed her hand, and whispered something too quiet for her ears before getting up again. Hiyori squeezed her eyes shut before he turned around and walked toward her.

She could feel his fingers brush her bangs out of her face, and tried as hard as she could to stay still.

"Stay strong," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug.

It was then that Hiyori made the silent promise to him that she would never give up, even if she was on the verge of death. She had to stay strong for him.

"I will." She whispered into his shoulder as she slowly wrapped her arms around his middle.

Yato released her and pulled back. "You're awake!"

"Hm," Hiyori hummed, shifting slightly in her chair. She opened her eyes once again, and noticed someone was missing from the room. "Where's Yukine?" She asked, her throat feeling like sandpaper.

"Oh," he said, "He's visiting Kofuku and Daikoku for a little while. He was starting to sting me a little..."

"Oh..." Hiyori mumbled, "how long was I out?"

Yato's content demeanor changed for a split second. "Almost two days." He said.

She didn't speak, and began chewing on her bottom lip. She knew that her body was growing weaker by the day, but she didn't want to die. Sure, she'd probably become a regalia, but she wanted to live on, be a normal high school student, have many children and die at an old age surrounded by her family.

And...if she was going to die, she wanted to make sure everyone knew how she felt.

"Alright." Hiyori mumbled to herself quietly.

"Hiyori?" Yato asked, worry edging his tone.

"This is probably my last few days alive and..." she started, trailing off when she saw the hardened expression on Yato's face.

"And?" Yato repeated softly.

"And we both know I'm going to die at this point." She stated.

Yato's eyes hardened. "You don't know that."

"Yes I do! My body is growing weaker by the day." She shouted. "I don't want to die, but at this point I don't really have a choice."

"Hiyori, I'm sure it-" Yato tried.

"No! Don't tell me it'll be okay!" She stood up quickly, forgetting how weak she was, and collapsed into Yato's arms. "I'm dying and there's nothing we can do!" Big, angry, and unwanted tears began streaming down her face. This was not how she wanted to go.

Yato warped his arms around her, securing her in his grasp. He rubbed circles on her back to calm her.

Her anger slowly dissolved as she breathed in his soothing scent. "It's not fair." She whispered.

"I know." He replied.

They stood like that for several minutes, embracing each other while they still could. Eventually, Hiyori had calmed enough her her tears to stop, but they didn't separate.

Yato took a deep breath. "I-I have something to tell you."

Hiyori didn't respond for a few seconds, thinking. "Me, too."

"This may have come out of nowhere but," Yato paused. He inhaled deeply, preparing himself. "I think I..." he trailed off

She lifted her head and gazed at him in confusion. "You think you what?"

"I think I love you."

***

And here is the chapter!!! I know I said that I was almost done this chapter last time, but a lot of stuff went down in the last couple of weeks. Firstly, one of my classmates I've known for practically all my life passed away a few weeks ago, and I really was not in the right mindset to write sad stuff like this. And secondly, play practice has been kILLING ME!!! It's 4 times a week for 2 hours and I don't get home until 10 on those nights. On the bright side, we preform the play next month and then no more practice! Whoop!

Here are my questions for today! How did you like the chapter? Was it worth the wait? What was your reaction to the ending? Let me know in the comments! I can't stress enough how much your feedback inspires me to write! I know I'm not the best at updating but this story is not abandoned yet! So keep on with the comments!

Until next time my friends!