#paper girls is about friendship and love triumphing over destiny and you WILL hear about it from me | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

vannahfanfics · 3 years

Text

New Possibilities

Category: Romance, Friendship

Fandom: Noragami

Characters: Hiyori Iki, Yato, Yukiné

Hiyori’s eyebrows were scrunched tightly together, forming a deep furrow in the middle of her brow. Her rose-colored eyes stared intently at the letter she held in her hands, addressed to her in neat, printed letters. The addressee was a sticker with “University of Tokyo College of Clinical Medicine” printed in bold, black letters over the circular orange-and-blue logo. Here in her hands, she held her destiny—the decision on her admittance or rejection from the top medical school in Japan.

As her fingers began to shake, she squeezed her eyes shut so she could force herself to breathe deeply in and out. There was no time to be nervous! If she got to in her head, she wouldn’t be able to open the letter! She squashed the feeling of nausea rising in her stomach before snapping her eyes open, rose irises burning with determination.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she flipped the envelope around so she could tear open the top, careful not to accidentally rip the letter in the process. She let the envelope flutter to the floor after removing the folded piece of paper inside. She gulped while she stared at the blank white backside, nervousness rising once more inside her. With trembling fingers, she slowly straightened out the paper and skipped down to the first line of words printed on the fancy letterhead.

“Dear Miss Iki, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted…”

Hiyori didn’t even finish the sentence, for a squeal burst out of her mouth, unable to be contained. She threw her arms in the air and began to jump around her room, delighted cries of “Yes, yes, yes!” gushing from her overjoyed body. She was going to medical school, the best medical school! She was going to be a doctor!

She stopped hopping around to snap her face back to the letter, reading it once, twice, three times to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming. No, there it was in black and white—Hiyori was accepted. Tears blossomed in the corners of her eyes, and she didn’t even bother to wipe them away, just let them roll down her cheeks. This was one of the happiest days of her life, so a few happy tears were definitely in order.

She hugged the letter to her chest, and the sound of the paper crinkling was music to her ears.

I can’t wait to tell Yato!

~~~~~~~~~~

Of course, societal norms dictated that Hiyori phone her parents first, which she did. Both of them were working, but they both screamed in triumph when Hiyori delivered the good news. They laughed, they cried, they gushed about Hiyori’s new possibilities, and Hiyori basked in the warm glow of their pride. However, the world did not stop turning even for such a celebratory cause, and so Hiyori eventually had to bid them adieu. That was all right, though; they would have a proper party once they returned home from work, and this gave Hiyori plenty of time to spread the news to the other important people in her life.

Kofuku was sitting on the porch of her little shop when Hiyori came running up, cheeks pink from breathlessness. The goddess cocked her head to the side as the girl approached in such a tizzy, and then her gaze dropped to the opened letter flapping around in her hand.

“Ahh! Hiyori, is it today?” the girl cried and jumped up while putting her hands together in delight. “Oh, oh, you probably want to tell Yato first—he’s in the back! Yukiné went down the street to get some bubble teas, so I’ll let him know as soon as he’s back to come see you! Now hurry, hurry! Daikoku and I want to hear, too!”

“Thanks, Kofuku!” Hiyori grinned as she skirted around the porch, leaving the goddess to impatiently squirm while she trotted around the back of the small convenience store. She rounded the back of the building to the small yard behind, and she found Yato lazing about among the roots of a tree, eyes closed and hands resting behind his head.

“Yato, Yato!” she cried, and he cracked a cyan eye open at the sound of her voice. She came bounding up to him, eyes sparkling. However, her legs finally gave out from all the frantic running, and so she collapsed on her knees at his side. “Oof…”

‘“Did you run all the way here?” he chuckled as he sat up. Hiyori nodded with a mournful croon and rubbed her burning calves, prompting Yato to laugh. “Silly Hiyori, I know you love to see me, but—” he stopped his flirty joke when he caught sight of the letter in her lap. “... Is that what I think it is?”

“Yes!” Hiyori squeezed out between gulps of air. She tossed her head up, flipping her disarrayed hair out of her face, and held up the letter proudly. “I was accepted to Tokyo University! I’m going to be a doctor, Yato!”

It seemed to take him a moment to register the news. He blinked slowly, staring at the letter with a blank expression. Hiyori tilted her head to the side in confusion; wasn’t he happy for her? Just as she was about to inquire, his expression softened and he reached up to pat Hiyori’s head affectionately.

“I knew you could do it, Hiyori. Congratulations,” he said with a sweet smile. Hiyori giggled as he ruffled her already wind-swept hair; his hand felt good, tousling the strands and running across her scalp. She enjoyed it for a second, then opened her eyes. Yato couldn’t wipe the sadness from his expression before Hiyori noticed it. He knew she saw, too, as he blushed and dropped his gaze to the grassy ground. His hand stayed atop her head, and Hiyori reached up to grab it while staring at him in confusion.

“Yato… What is it?”

He chewed on his lip while he debated answering. Hiyori lowered his hand to hold it in front of her chest, squeezing it with both of hers. Finally, his eyes flickered up to meet hers, and she was taken aback by how guilty and miserable he looked.

“I shouldn’t… It’s selfish of me.”

“Well, you can be a little selfish, Yato. I don’t mind.”

A smile tugged at his lips, and he looked at her with amused hopelessness. I can’t resist when you say it like that, his expression said, and it made Hiyori’s heart thump in her chest.

“I guess… It’s just finally hitting me that you’ll be leaving me, Hiyori.”

“Huh? Who said I was leaving?” Hiyori blinked. Yato made a choking sound and reared back a little, obviously surprised by her blatant rebuttal. Hiyori smiled, pulling his hand to rest over her heart. “Yato, you’re the most important person in the world to me. Even if I’m going off to college, that doesn’t mean that we can’t be together anymore!”

“You mean… You see me in your future, Hiyori?”

Hiyori opened her eyes at that, a blush painting her cheeks. Yato was leaning forward now, his expression intense. Those cyan eyes burned with something unlike she’d ever seen, and it sent electricity buzzing through her nerves. Though she had the urge to run and hide, embarrassed by what was happening, she also wanted nothing more than to see where this would go. Squirming, she managed a little nod.

“O-of course, Yato…”

Of course, Yato was never surprised for long. That cocksure smirk spread over his lips, and as he leaned in a little further, a mischievous twinkle began to gleam in his bright blueish eyes.

“Oh? What do you think about?”

“I-I think about… You being there when I graduate…” she admitted. Oh, but that wasn’t all, and Yato knew it, too. It was like that roguish stare of his was magic, and it was pulling out all her deepest, darkest secrets with effortless ease. “I, um… I think about… U-us dating, and um… Getting married… And… Maybe… Having children…”

Her voice grew smaller and smaller with each damning admission until she was shrinking into herself and whispering meekly. She hid her face behind his hand, which she was still holding like a treasure, while she looked at him with uncertain eyes. Yato just kept that same stupid smirk on his face the entire time, given no indication of how he felt about it. Anxiety began to roil in her belly. What if he would laugh at her? What if he didn’t feel the same? Yato was a trickster, but he wouldn’t be this mean, would he?

No. Not my Yato.

“I’m relieved,” Yato said, and suddenly his expression was melting. He scooted a little closer to her, and his free hand pushed into the grass by her waist as he angled his body over hers until she was looking up into his face. He freed his other hand from her grip so he could caress her face—tracing a path down her cheek to her chin until his thumb traced the border of her lips. “I think about those things, too, Hiyori. I didn’t want them to be just thoughts.”

“Yato… Are you saying…?” she asked quietly, but her voice failed her. She just looked at him pleadingly, and Yato’s smile somehow got impossibly softer even though it already felt like Hiyori was beginning to float in the clouds.

“I’m saying that I love you, Hiyori, and I want to be a part of your future if you’ll let me,” Yato said.

Hiyori sucked in a breath, and suddenly the tears came flooding back. She couldn’t stop them; she was so overwhelmed with happiness and relief and all the emotions in between. All she could do was nod emphatically. Yato chuckled gently, using his hand to thumb her tears away until she managed to quiet down into little sniffles. As she blinked repeatedly, trying to dislodge the little salty droplets still clinging to her lashes, she didn’t notice Yato’s face closing in.

His lips met hers, and the first thing that struck her was how soft his lips were. They were like silk, perfect against her own. Hiyori melted into him, eyes fluttering as she savored the meeting of their mouths and everything that meant.

They pulled apart, but only by a few centimeters. They stared into each other’s eyes, and Yato began to caress her cheek again. I could get used to this…

“Hiyoriiiiiiii!” came a sudden wail, and the two of them sprang apart like they’d been struck. They hurried to find a position that made it look like they weren’t just kissing. Yato lounged back against the tree, while Hiyori sat on her knees an acceptable distance away while she played with one of her pigtails. Yukiné came bounded around the side of the building, looking panicked.

“Hiyori! Don’t go!” the boy wailed and flung himself across the yard. Hiyori exclaimed as he belly-flopped onto the ground next to her and planted his face write into her lap. He wrapped his arms tight around her waist as if he could keep her there through force alone. Hiyori chuckled and rested a hand on his back, and he looked up at her petulantly.

“Yukiné, I’m not going anywhere,” Hiyori chuckled. “I’ll still be around!”

“Promise?”

“Promise!” Hiyori reassured. Yukiné smiled and sagged into her, thoroughly relieved.

“Oi! Who do you think you are, hogging Hiyori?” Yato whined. Hiyori exclaimed as Yato draped himself over her shoulders, arms dangling down by her sides and chin propped in the crook of her neck.

“Ah! Are we doing group hugs?” they heard Kofuku yell, and they looked up just in time to see her sailing through the air. They all screamed when Kofuku crashed into them, sending Yato and Hiyori onto their backs. As they dog-piled at the base of the tree, they couldn’t help but burst into giggles. Hiyori wiggled her arm until she could pull out the acceptance letter, and her expression brightened.

I’ve got a great future ahead of me… And I’m glad everyone is going to be in it!

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

#yatori #yato #hiyori iki #iki hiyori #noragami

22 notes · View notes