Rant ~Yato x Reader AU~

Chapter 31: The Part

It's been a week since my meeting with Kaito. Honestly, it hasn't been an easy week. Ever since he announced his engagement, it feels like there's been this fog weighing down on me. My mind and emotions are both just so messy and jumbled up. I haven't been able to think clearly, and it doesn't help that I still haven't seen or heard from Yato. Honestly, it concerns me. I'm not sure if anything's happened to him or if he's just busy or...or if he's severed our friendship.

I shake my head. I don't want to think about it. I don't want to think about any of it. Not Kaito, not Yato, not Yukine, not Kofuku and Daikoku, not my family, not Mr. Sui, not work, not the phantoms, none of it. I don't want to think about any of it. I just want to sit and not think about anything. Easier said than done, though.

My thoughts continue to race as they have for the last several days, though I try my best to fight them. I just want them to shut up, so I squeeze my eyes shut and take a deep breath. They say focusing on the breathing can help to clear the mind, but I'm not feeling much of a change. Everything is still foggy and stress-inducing.

"What...what are you doing?" a male voice asks abruptly, startling me.

I open my eyes and turn my head, astonishment washing over me as my gaze lands on a familiar set of fiery blue orbs. Orbs that I haven't seen in what feels like too long. Orbs that are sporting a tint of confusion upon seeing me, but I don't care. After a week of feeling left in a gloom, a snippet of happiness washes over me.

"Yato," I try to smile, my voice sounding hoarse to my ears. "It's you."

"Of course, it's me," he replies, moving closer to me. "Who were you expecting? Daikoku?" He observes me. "Hey, are you okay? You look like -"

"Crap?" I interrupt, trying to laugh. "Trash? Garbage?"

"Tired," he corrects. "Sheesh. What happened to you?"

What happened to me? Part of me wants to laugh at his question, but I know I'll only end up crying. That's all I've done in secrecy all this week. Just cry and eat ice cream as any broken-hearted girl does.

I shrug, "It's nothing. I just spoke with Kaito a week ago, is all."

His brows shoot up. "The guy you cried over?"

"Yup," I reply, the numbness trying to pull at my chest.

"Guessin' that's why you look like you're in a gloom?" he presses.

I just nod. I don't feel like diving deep and going into the details. I've gone over them enough in my head to not need to vocalize them once again. If anything, that's just not what I want to do.

I can feel him scan me before he huffs, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

I shake my head. "No. Not really." I perk up, glancing at him. "But I do wanna know where you've been. You went M.I.A. for a while there. Where'd ya go?"

His expression becomes unreadable. He drops his stare to his hands, avoiding my gaze. Honestly, usually I'd be alarmed by this behavior, but based on the way I've been feeling, I don't really care. Well, I do care, but not enough to act on it and nor do I have the energy. So, I just look elsewhere, lifting my stare to the ceiling. There's nothing overly fascinating about it, but it's something.

"H/P," he says abruptly, catching my attention.

I glimpse up at him, furrowing my brows in confusion. "What?"

"Yukine and I were in H/P," he continues.

He has my attention, now. Everything else that has been weighing down on me suddenly moves to the backburner. In this moment, nothing else is more intriguing to me than this.

"You were?" I question. "Why were you in H/P?"

His eyes bore into me, his tone soft as he sighs, "We were looking into your biological background."

"You...what?" I question.

Honestly, I almost want to laugh. He is hellbent on discovering why I see the phantoms while I couldn't care less. In the end, my biological parents didn't want me or couldn't take care of me. Regardless, they're not a part of my life. They only gave me life.

"We were looking at your biological parents," he huffs, crossing his arms over his chest. "There's a reason you can see the phantoms and I want to get to the bottom of it."

"Yeah, I know," I snort. "Well, what'd ya find?"

He remains quiet. He doesn't say anything. He just stares at me, his lips pressed in a hard line. This piques my interest. This isn't the usual Yato response. Usually, I get something out of him, but this...this is eerily new. His expression tells me he found something.

"Yato? What'd you find?" I swallow. "What is it?"

He observes me before taking a deep breath. "Your mother -"

"Meredith," I correct. "Just call her Meredith."

He nods, "Right. Meredith. She's living a normal life. She's married and has a daughter."

Chills dart the length of my spine. I always figured she moved on. I always figured she had more children and a normal life. I always figured that much, so I shouldn't be surprised to hear this. If anything, I should've expected this. So, I keep a strong front.

"Good for her," I swallow. "I'm happy for her. Good to know she's living her life. Is that all?"

He swallows, shaking his head. "No. Actually, we...we found your father."

This information strikes me. All my life, I never knew a single thing about my biological father. I knew about Meredith, but him...I don't even know his name. For as long as I can remember, he's been a mystery but with this development...maybe I can at least learn his name. Just that.

"And?" I press. "What's his name?"

He swallows, "Trenton Greene."

Trenton Greene. I repeat internally. Now, there's a name. Meredith Vickers and Trenton Greene. Those are the identities of my biological parents. Those are the people who created me. Through the combination of their genes, I was born. They gave me life. Then, for whatever reason, they gave me away.

I glimpse away, nodding, "I see. Cool. So, now I know his name. Thanks."

Panic washes over his expression as he hurries, "We found out some things when we met him."

"Met him?" I repeat, once again meeting his eyes. "You met him? Like, sat down and talked to him?"

He nods.

This development strikes me. I had no one idea he would converse with either of my biological parents. I mean, who does that? Why would he do that? I get that he's hung up on the whole phantom thing, but doesn't this cross the line? I mean, much like Meredith, Trenton either didn't want or couldn't keep me. So, why would he care about how I am now?

"He's not a bad guy," he continues. "If anything, he's a great guy. He was friendly and inviting to Yukine and I. Nothing but nice."

"Great," I mumble. "Good to know he's such a swell guy. I'm sure he's living a happy and productive life, too."

His eyes fill with sorrow, once again alarming me as he sighs, "No, he's not." He moves closer, lowering his tone. "Y/N...Trenton Greene is institutionalized."

**Bello lovelies! That last part...wow. Bet y'all saw that comin', huh? Trenton Greene, Y/N's biological father is indeed hospitalized. Please keep in mind that I am no medical professional, so much of this will be winged. I have a faint grasp on psychology and genealogy, but not enough to be a professional, so bear with me. Anyway, as always, thank you so much for all your support! Y'all are the bee's knees! Wuv yous!! <3**

-Noel Ross