Wish ~Yato x Reader AU~

Chapter 16: Strangers

I wince in response as I open my eyes. My skull is throbbing, and my body is stiff, my throat burning from the dryness. Not that I have much to go off, but I feel like I was hit by a car...or a bus...or a train. Something big and something that goes fast. That's what it feels like and I do not appreciate that.

With trembling limbs and stiff muscles, I manage to pull my body up into a sitting position, massaging my temples with my fingers. Everything hurts like hell, but that doesn't matter. What matters is getting up and...and...I'm at the beach. But why? And more importantly, why am I here at night? The moon is high in the sky, the stars twinkling like glimmering jewels on a dress, the waves still crashing against the shore. Honestly, it all appears peaceful, but that doesn't help to ease my mind into remembering what happened before I went lights out.

My throbbing mind tries to rewind, gliding back to...however long ago before I blacked out, but I have no luck. At least, I have no luck at first. After a few moments of sitting on the cool sand, listening to the ocean's lullaby, it clicks. The thing...the thing flying in the sky...the person running...the bright flash...everything. It all comes back and it shakes me now as much as it did earlier.

My eyes hurry to the sky, but there's nothing there. No snake-like creature slithering through the blackened clouds, no stranger darting down the rocks, and no flash. Just the usual starry night sky and moon staring back at me. That's all. Was it all a dream? Was it all a figment of my imagination? Did I make it all up? But how? It all felt so real. Everything from the creature soaring through the twilight welkin to the stranger to the flash. It all felt so, so real.

I just shake my head and stand up, my body feeling like a bag of rocks as I numbly brush the sand from my pants. I guess it doesn't matter. Nothing happened by the looks of things, so I should just get the hell out of here and retreat to my apartment. There I can peel these dirty clothes off and bathe myself before plopping in bed. That sounds so nice. A shower and bed, that is. Those are what I need.

I find my camera bag and lift it, combing the sand off with my fingers, preparing for my leave when I hear something. It's muffled, but close by. I scan my surroundings and see nothing when I remember the rocks. It's not a far fetched to assume something is over on the other side. After all, people go over there all the time. That said, is it worth it to investigate? I've already had one blackout. Can my body handle risking another? I tell myself that it can't, but that doesn't stop my legs.

Without much thought or control, I begin to climb up the rocks as swiftly as I can, trying not to make a ruckus. I somehow manage to do just that and peer over the peak. At first, due to the low light, I struggle to see what I'm looking for, but before long I spot him.

He's just standing at the edge of the water, his stance tall and confident. His head is held high and shoulders back, his concentration most likely plastered on the sky above as the breeze ruffles his hair. Honestly, though it's dark and I can faintly see him, I feel like I have stumbled across him before. Not long ago, actually. Something about the way he stands there so sturdily seems familiar to me. I don't know why or how, but I know I've seen him before.

We remain blanketed by the silence when he whispers, "Yukine, convert."

I knit my brows in confusion, but quickly drop my mouth in astonishment as he holds up a sword. The blade shimmers beneath the pale gleam, but it doesn't stay that way. The sword begins to glow vibrantly before a swift shift in the air appears and it disappears, being replaced by...a boy. But where did he come from? He wasn't here earlier.

"Jeez. Where are these things coming from?" the new boy who I assume to be Yukine asks as he stretches. "It's hardly ever stormy here."

Stormy? I ponder, still observing the pair. Much like the first, I can't tell much about this Yukine. I mean, I can tell he's shorter than the first and by the sound of his voice, he talks with a slightly higher pitch, though nothing dramatic. So, I assume he's young. Maybe an adolescent. However, that's all I can tell.

"I don't know," the first replies, scratching the back of his neck. "I could ask Kofuku about any vents, but that seems unlikely."

"What makes you say that?" Yukine presses. "They're coming from somewhere, Yato."

Yato. Didn't I hear that somewhere? I question. The name rings a bell. It's not one I'm particularly in the know of, but it does sound vaguely familiar. That's when it clicks. The stranger who was running. He yelled something about a Yato. Could he have been calling his own name? That sounds ridiculous, though.

"I didn't say they weren't," this Yato continues. "I'm just sayin' that it's unlikely there'd be a vent here." He lets out a harsh yawn. "Eh. We'll figure it out later. I'm beat! Come one, Yukine. Let's find a place to crash."

"Oh, yay. Another night on the streets," Yukine mutters.

Yato bursts, "Hey! I am your master young man!" He lowers his tone into a pathetic one. "Besides...I'm trying here. Give me some credit."

"Tch. You're such a big baby," the second scoffs.

I block out the rest of their bickering ad focus on what they've said. Master? Stormy? Vent? What? I'm so confused and lost but brush it aside. Instead, I find it best to leave before they stumble across me. I don't know what these two are capable of, but I don't want to find out.

**Bello my lovelies! Well, it's safe to say who our strangers are. That said, what do you think this all means? Y/N has seen quite a bit. Big stuff. Feel free to let me know! Remember that y'all are awesome sauce! Wuv yous!! <3**

-Noel Ross