The next day, after school.
Hiyori bid her two friends farewell, making up an excuse about having errands to run. She lingered in the library for a while before finally leaving the school grounds.
She pulled out the address Ditto had shown her previously and, following the navigation, hopped onto a bus. With the help of her phone's GPS, Hiyori arrived at her destination in no time.
Mori Paranormal Detective Agency... This must be it, Hiyori thought, gazing up at the large plaque hanging on the second floor.
After a moment of hesitation, she took out her phone, composed a brief text message, and sent it. Only then did she step into the stairwell, take the elevator to the second floor, and knock on the door.
"Please, come in."
Hiyori took a deep breath, turned the doorknob, and peered inside.
The first thing she saw was a young man in a white coat wearing a mask, standing by the window. The second thing she noticed was a tall, butler-like man sitting beside him. Furthermore, Hiyori's nose twitched; she could smell a strange, lingering fragrance in the air.
"Hello. Welcome to the Mori Paranormal Detective Agency. I am the boss, Kogoro Mori." To Hiyori's surprise, the one speaking wasn't the young man who clearly held a higher status, but the older man.
"Please, take a seat, Iki-san."
"Thank you." Hiyori closed the door, instinctively mimicking the poised, polite smile her father used when meeting guests.
"You know my name?" Hiyori asked as she sat down, subtly scanning the room.
The room was quite spacious. At the far end, opposite the door, was a long desk where she now sat. To the left were a small tea table and sofas; to the right was a large open space.
On the walls hung pictures of various strange creatures she had never seen before: an orange lizard roaring at the sky, a goat-headed demon wielding a giant sword, and a metallic mechanical monster.
"My nephew, Shinichi Kudo, mentioned that a very cute classmate would be coming by for help soon. I assume that's you," the man said. Under Aomori's tutelage, Ditto's progress in playing a human was advancing by leaps and bounds.
"Um, yes, that should be me." Hiyori felt a bit shy at the blunt compliment. She quickly pivoted, "Where is Kudo-kun? I don't see him."
"He's on the first floor. I generally don't let him get involved in the affairs up here."
"Oh, I see." Hiyori glanced at Aomori, who remained silent by the window with a faint smile. She was starting to get tired of the pleasantries.
She gritted her teeth and asked directly, looking toward Aomori, "I heard from Kudo-kun that there is a deity here. Is that you?"
Even Aomori had to admire the girl's courage. He walked over to her side and nodded. "A pleasure to meet you. I am the God of Justice, Aosora."
"The God of Justice, Aosora-sama?" Hiyori stood up and repeated the name, reflexively using honorifics.
"You can just call me Aosora," he smiled, gesturing toward the sofa. "Why don't we sit over there and talk?"
The three sat down, and Kogoro Mori poured tea for everyone.
Hiyori held the teacup in her hands and asked, "Aosora-sama... can you solve the problem with my body?"
For some reason, she didn't feel as relaxed around Aomori as she did with Yato. Perhaps it was because Yato acted so foolishly that he lacked any divine dignity.
"I've heard the gist from Shinichi, but would you mind recounting the details? In my experience, humans with this condition are rare."
"Okay." Since it was a reasonable request, Hiyori described how she met Yato, though she kept his name a secret.
"Would a deity really be that reckless? You wouldn't happen to be talking about Yato, would you?"
"Eh? You know him?" Hiyori was stunned.
"There aren't many Delivery Gods left these days. Yato is one of the more... rambunctious ones. I haven't met him personally, but I've heard of his reputation."
I bet it's a bad reputation, Hiyori thought privately.
"The reason you slip out of your body so easily is an asynchrony between your Spirit and your Physique. After Yato treated you, your spiritual power became significantly stronger than your physical form. To solve this, you simply need to increase your physical strength," Aomori theorized based on his experience.
"That makes a lot of sense," Hiyori nodded eagerly. "So, I should exercise more?"
"Ordinary training would take a year or two. Though, considering you're still in a growth spurt, it might take less time."
"A year or two?" She'd be in trouble way before then. "Is there a faster way?"
"There is. This all started because of your bond with Yato. If we sever the ties between you, it would likely have an immediate effect. However, from my perspective, I wouldn't recommend it."
"Sever my ties with Yato?" Hiyori thought about how the guy had turned her life into a mess. Cutting that "unfortunate bond" sounded great. But Aomori's next words gave her pause. "Why don't you recommend it?"
"Gods survive on the faith of their followers. If no one in the world remembers a god's name, that god will die," Aomori said, lowering his voice.
"What? Gods can die? Then Yato..."
"Exactly. I suspect he has very few followers left. If you sever the bond, you will forget everything about him. One less person in the world who remembers him brings him one step closer to death. As a fellow Delivery God, I don't wish to see that happen."
"Aosora-sama is also a Delivery God?" Hiyori asked in surprise.
"I only recently settled down. Had you heard the name of the God of Justice before?"
Hiyori shook her head, suddenly feeling a pang of sadness. Yato works so hard every day just so he won't be forgotten. And Aosora-sama is working hard to open a detective agency to spread his name.
She suddenly balled her fists and said to Aomori, "I understand. I won't use that method unless it's a last resort. Until then, I'll work hard on my physical training."
"Actually, I happen to have several martial arts used by gods. Learning them should be very helpful for you."
"Martial arts used by gods?" As a martial arts enthusiast, Hiyori's eyes lit up. She stood up abruptly. "I want to learn! Please teach me!"
"Hold on. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Martial arts cannot be taught for free."
"Oh, right! I get it!" Hiyori nodded knowingly. She took out her wallet, fished out a five-yen coin, and held it out.
"???"
Aomori didn't take it. He narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Sorry. Collecting five yen is Yato's rule, not mine. You only need to do one thing for me."
"Ah, is that so? I thought..." How embarrassing! It's all Yato's fault! Hiyori's ears turned red with awkwardness. She patted her cheeks to calm down. "What is it? I'll do my best."
"It's simple," Aomori stated his requirement. "I can see your family is well-off. Can you have your father use his connections to promote this detective agency?"
The wealthy were more afraid of death and had more time to worship than the average person, making them excellent targets for spreading his name.
He wants to increase his followers? That's way more reliable than Yato's randomness. Even though they're both gods, the difference in quality is like heaven and earth.
Hiyori breathed a sigh of relief. It wouldn't be easy and might cause misunderstandings with her parents, but at least it didn't compromise her principles. "Okay, no problem! I'll ask my father to help!"
She then looked expectantly at Aomori, clearly dying to see what "divine martial arts" looked like.
Aomori, however, turned his gaze toward the window. Right then, a figure jumped straight through the window, rolled twice on the floor, and ended up right next to Hiyori.
The newcomer had black hair and blue eyes, wearing a black tracksuit and a light blue scarf.
"Yato?!" Hiyori cried out. "What are you doing here?"
So it really is Yato, Aomori thought, observing him with interest.
Yato's eye twitched as he shoved his phone in Hiyori's face. "Didn't you send me a bunch of frantic texts telling me to get over here?"
"Oh... I guess I did." Hiyori remembered sending the text earlier as a safety precaution. She laughed awkwardly. "That was before. Everything is fine now, you can go."
"What do you mean 'fine'? Stop talking and get out of here with me." As Yato spoke to Hiyori, he kept his body angled away, watching Aomori out of the corner of his eye. His muscles were tense; Aomori had no doubt that Yato would explode into action at the slightest provocation.
"I still have something very important to do here. I'll leave after I'm done."
"What could possibly be important here? I said, leave with me now." Yato lost his patience, grabbed Hiyori's hand, and forcefully pulled her out of the agency at a dead run.
"Wait! My martial arts!"
By the time she reacted, she was already being dragged downstairs. Seeing that Yato had no intention of letting go, Hiyori's anger spiked. She delivered a perfect spinning kick that sent Yato flying.
"I said wait! Do you not understand human speech?" Still fuming, Hiyori leaped nearly three stories high into the air.
A "Crying Crow" sit-drop from the heavens landed squarely on Yato's waist. [1]
"GAH!" Yato screamed, half his life flashing before his eyes.
"Wait... how did I jump that high?" Hiyori looked back and saw a pink cat tail swaying behind her. Her expression froze. "Yato, you big idiot!"
"Ah... no wonder you felt so light. I pulled your soul out." The bruised and battered Yato knew it was his fault, but he tried to play it off.
"You have the nerve to say that?" Hiyori rolled her eyes and turned back.
"Wait, where are you going?" Yato scrambled over and hugged her leg.
"What do you think? I'm going back to get my body! You expect me to go home like this? Also, let go of my leg!"
"No! It's too dangerous!" Yato squeezed tighter.
"YATO!"
Bam! Bam! Bam!
After a series of punches, Yato finally quieted down.
"Honestly," Hiyori said, rubbing her aching hand. "You're not going to tell me Aosora-sama is a threat, are you? I was worried at first, but after meeting him, he seems a thousand times better than you."
"Gah!" Yato felt like he'd been stabbed in the heart. Coughing up imaginary blood, he struggled to speak. "Haven't you heard that appearances can be deceiving? The disguises of gods are even more terrifying. What you saw was probably an act!"
"Do you have proof?"
"Of course!" Yato started counting on his fingers. "First, he's strong. Scary strong. He shouldn't even be in a place like this. Second, he's always smiling, clearly not a good person. Third, he's handsomer than me. That's scientifically impossible! There's definitely something wrong with him!"
"..." Hiyori facepalmed. "That's your proof?"
"Is that not enough?" Just standing in front of that guy made Yato's skin crawl. It was a sensation he had never felt before, which was why he was so desperate to get Hiyori away.
Hiyori sighed. "That's all just your imagination. Besides, what could a god possibly want from a little human like me?"
"Well... there's... uh..." Yato thought for a while but couldn't come up with a single good reason. He gave up. "Fine, there's nothing."
"..." She felt a sudden surge of irritation.
Hiyori took a deep breath. "Regardless, I have to go back for my body. So, shut up and come with me."
"No! I won't!"
POW!
The world was quiet once again.
Back in the agency, Aomori looked at Hiyori's body, eyes closed and slumped on the sofa, and felt a bit speechless.
He understood Yato's protective instincts, but was it really okay to leave Hiyori's physical body behind like this? If he weren't such an upright person, this could easily turn into a very different kind of story.
Ten minutes later, Hiyori returned to the agency, blushing furiously as she dragged a half-dead Yato inside.
"I am so incredibly sorry! This was so rude!" Hiyori bowed while simultaneously pummeling Yato.
"It's fine," Aomori waved it off. "It seems our temperaments don't quite mesh, isn't that right, Yato the God of Calamity?"
"God of Calamity? What does that mean?" Hiyori asked, confused.
Yato suddenly flipped upright, his expression more serious than ever. His blue eyes sparkled like ice. "You know of me?"
"Of course. You used to be quite a famous existence."
"Is that so? I don't feel like it." Yato stared intently at Aomori. "What is your divine name?"
"The God of Justice, Aosora."
"..." Yato's serious face broke. He burst out laughing. "The God of Justice? That is the most chuunibyou name I've ever heard! Pffthahaha!"
BAM!
Hiyori, unable to watch any longer, punched him again. "Speak properly!"
"Sorry, I just thought of something funny."
Because of Yato's interruption, Hiyori knew she'd have to wait until next time to learn martial arts. Once she successfully re-entered her body, she bid Aomori farewell.
"Alright, go on home. As for the martial arts, Shinichi knows them too. If you have time, you can ask him to teach you."
"Oh! Okay!"
Hiyori dragged Yato out of the agency. Aomori opened his system; the count of "Forged Bonds" had increased by one.
"It seems I really do need people to make wishes to me."
[1] The "Crying Crow" thing is a joking name for a flying body-slam / diving seated attack, where someone jumps from above and drops their weight straight down onto the opponent.