【 Stray Ties 】Noragami Yato x Hiyori

13. Her scent

Hiyori's face turned red as I slowly let go of her lips. She looked like she was about to boil.
None of us said a word, the quiet atmosphere was almost unbearable for me.
Hiyori hid her eyes behind her bangs and was still blushing. But what I had just done was just what I had to do.
I couldn't keep my feelings inside of me for so long, I had to make a move sooner or later.
And that was just what I had done.

I tried to smile a cheerful smile, as I thought that maybe Hiyori would react to it.
And she certainly did.

She lifted her hand and touched her lips with her fingertips, feeling my kiss linger.
"I- I need to go." Hiyori roughly stood up and almost tripped.
"HUH?" Hiyori confused me, I stood up, watching the girl I just kissed stumbling across the floor and out of the kitchen.
Without going after her I yelled in the kitchen.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY YOU HAVE TO GO? I MEAN I-"
I heard the door slam as I realized she had left the building.

I gritted my teeth and ran as fast as I could to the door and slammed it open.
"HIYORI" I let out a hoarse yell and froze as I realized she wasn't anywhere near to be seen.
I was too late.

Why didn't I run after her back then? Why did I let her go so easily?

I felt something strange running down my cheek.
I touched it with my hand, and when I looked at it I saw an almost invisible liquid.
Tears?

I brushed my eyes with my arm to get rid of the tears.
Where could Hiyori had gone to now?

"Hi-yo-ri"

~

The more days that passed, the more pain I felt in my chest.

Would I ever see her again?

Several months had passed since the kissing incident. I hadn't seen Hiyori since then.
Why though?

Did she hate me?
Or did she forget about me?

Yukine hadn't seen Hiyori either. He was worried about her.
I didn't tell Yukine about the kiss, I thought it would be the best if he didn't know about it.

Right now, it was almost as if I was floating in a never ending dark.
I couldn't feel anything. I didn't have the energy to speak. I couldn't move, and it felt like I was being dragged down.

It feels terrible.

This pain.

I saw memories flashing in front of me.

"Weren't you with her that day?" Yukine had asked me one week after the incident.
"Well, yeah I was."

"What happened that day?"
"Nothing special."

"What did you do the last time you saw her that day."
"We simply said goodbye to each other as I left her house, satisfied by the food she had made me."

I tried to tell as many lies as possible every time Yukine asked me about it.
But I felt deep in my heart that Yukine wasn't satisfied with the answers I had given him.
It was almost as if Yukine knew they were all lies.

"I'm sorry...Yukine." I muttered, kinda surprised I actually managed to force out words.
But he's my hafuri vessel. He needed to know.
But I couldn't tell him.
Every time I tried. My tounge wouldn't let me.