Chapter 5: Your name is?

Yato was dumbfounded.

She couldn't believe what Shido has just said. is he joking or serious? that was all what in her mind at the moment

"What did you just say?" she asked, hoping he was joking.

"Look, I know it seems ridiculous, but this is how the sealing is done, I've already sealed a spirit before you.", shido confirmed

Yato was speechless. If she wanted the normal life they had talked about before, she had to kiss a boy. But that was out of the question. The very idea disgusted her.

"I am not going to kiss you nor go on a date with you. I am not kissing some random kid I just met like that," Yato said, fixing her gaze on them.'I can't tell them I'm a boy inside' she thought trying to hide her secret

"...." A thick Silence surrounded the place.

"Well, it seems we're not going anywhere. It was nice meeting you," Yato said, as she breaks the silence and started to walk away.

Shido was thrown off by the situation, so he turned to Kotori, waiting for her to do something.

kotori sighed. "Hey, wait a moment. We didn't finish yet." said kotori getting yato attention "I have another offer for you"

Yato turned her attention back to Kotori, wondering what else she could possibly offer.

"What offer do you have, little girl? I'm listening, but it's better to be good," Yato said, glancing at Kotori.

Ignoring the insult, Kotori continued, "You can get the normal life we talked about, and you can keep your power. What do you think?"

Yato raised an eyebrow, surprised by Kotori's offer." You said offer. Does that mean there is a price?" she asked.

"You're right, but it's not something hard for you," Kotori answered.

"Oh? And what is it?" Yato asked.

"I want you to go on a date with Shido at least once a week. Of course, I am the one who considers it a date. You can call it whatever you like, for example, an outing with a friend. You would also get the chance to explore the city better with someone to guide you," Kotori explained.

Yato thought it over. She would get a place to live, food to eat, and protection from the threat. With all of that, she could keep her power. There was no better offer than that. But the question was, were they worthy of trust?

While Yato was deep in thought, Shido exchanged a glance with Kotori.

"Is that a good idea? What about the Spacequake and the fact that AST can locate her through her spirit power?" Shido doubted his sister's decision.

"What? You want to kiss her that badly, is that it?" Kotori gave him a big smug, teasing him.

Shido freaks out. "What? What are you talking about?"

Kotori giggled to herself. "Calm down, bro. I was joking. As for my decision, well, when she appeared for the first time, her Spacequake was so weak, that it barely left any destruction in place," she said, glancing at Yato.

"And stranger than that, right now, her mana is barely that of a low-tier mage."

All that was left for Shido to do now was to stare at the girl in front of him.

After Yato finished her thoughts, she decided.

"I accept your offer. When can I move on to the new home?" she asked.

"Right now if you want," Kotori answered. "But before that, I want to ask you something," she continued.

"What is it?"

Kotori inquired, "Has your spirit power vanished? Are you now akin to an ordinary human?" Perhaps," she continued, "Your power hinges on light, and with the absence of light at night, it could be that your power has temporarily disappeared?"

Yato remained silent, gazing at her for a moment before responding,

"You are mistaken. I do not require any source of light to obtain my power. I merely conceal it, preventing the so-called AST from locating me."

"conceal it?" Kotori echoed.

"yes I can transform my mana into a light, after that, I change the nature of light into an unharmed wave and let it escape my body, those waves can't be seen by humans thought"

"I see," acknowledged Kotori. "Shall we proceed to your new residence? I don't expect you to have anything important to move to your new home?"

Yato conceded, pointing to the dog in her arm. "Yes, my apologies for the trouble, and no, don't worry, all I have is my little friend."

"Good," Kotori said, moving her glance to Shido. "Bro, you can guide her to the place. It's going to take you about 15 minutes to walk."

"I understand, but what about you? It's midnight," Shido asked.

"Tomorrow is Saturday, so there is no school. I'm going to be at home in 30 minutes. I just have to finish some work about the new spirit."

"Okay, don't be late," said Shido while leaving with Yato.

After they left, one of the Ratatoskr members approached Kotori. "What do you think, Captain?" he said.

"She lied. That's definitely not the reason why her spirit level is so low," Kotori answered."We have to wait until morning to verify if my hypothesis is correct," she finished.

"And about the checkup?"

"She's going to refuse. We can't risk her getting angry. We have to gain her trust first and then we can do what we have to do."

"For now, we have to keep our eyes on her. We have to install a device over the area so the AST can't locate her. If she is still able to hide her spirit nature in the morning, that would be better."

After Kotori finished her explanation, a blue light surrounded her, teleporting her into the main ship.

As Shido and Yato strolled down the street, Yato appeared to be lost in thought. Suddenly, she spoke up, catching Shido's attention.

"Your sister is quite intelligent," she remarked.

"Absolutely," Shido replied, sounding pleased. "I never thought she'd be so mature, especially considering how she behaves when we're alone."

"How old is she?" Yato inquired.

"She's thirteen," Shido responded.

"That's a sad age to be so grown up," Yato said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"what? what do you mean," Shido said, confused.

Yato took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. "Children her age should be enjoying themselves and spending time with their peers. This is the beauty of that time in life. Being so intelligent and mature at such a young age isn't always a good thing. It means missing out on things others her age enjoy. She'll be thinking about the future more than most kids her age. and keeps her problem to herself thinking that she would be a burden to others. She might even isolate herself. Her parents will be there for her, but they won't always be able to be. She may come to regret losing her childhood."

Shido was at a loss for words, unsure how to react to Yato's outpouring of emotion.

"I don't think it's that big of an issue," Shido finally responded.

"She's always smiling and laughing. She goes to school and has friends her age to talk to."Suddenly, Shido noticed Yato wiping tears from her eyes."Are you crying?" he asked, concerned.

Yato looked at him with a mixture of sadness and confusion on her face. "I don't know, boy. I guess I got a little carried away.

Forget what I said. Let's just keep going. I need a break."

Shido couldn't help but notice the pained expression on her face.

He decided to do whatever it took to make her happy again.

To accomplish this, he knew he had to take the initiative.

As they walked, Yato noticed Shido had come to a halt. "Why are you stopping? Let's keep moving," Yato urged.

"I just realized you haven't told me your name," Shido remarked.

Yato paused, considering whether or not to disclose her real name.

Eventually, she opted not to and began to think of a new one.

Before she knew it, the first name that sprang to mind was...

"Hikaru... my name is Hikaru," Yato declared.

"That's a lovely name, and it suits you perfectly," Shido replied, beaming.

"Thanks," Yato said, returning the smile.

'that felt uncomfortable' yato thought while walking to her new home.