Chapter 20: Even Clouds Have Opinions

Walking with Y/N is like babysitting a child who's got too much energy and no sense of personal boundaries. And by "walking," I mean he's hopping around me, waving his arms like some lunatic, constantly repeating the same thing over and over.

"Candy! Candy! Hiyori, let's go get some candy!" Y/N whines like he's five, not infinity years old or whatever he claims.

"I heard you the first thousand times," I mutter, staring straight ahead, trying to ignore him. How can a god be this childish? The guy can literally shape reality, and this is how he uses his powers—whining at me about candy?

"You know Halloween is right around the corner, right? Gotta stock up!" Y/N grins, flashing me those heterochromatic eyes—like that's supposed to make me care more. "I can't let the holiday pass by without my ritual of consuming ungodly amounts of sugar."

"You're already ungodly in so many other ways," I mumble under my breath, but of course, he hears it.

"I heard that," Y/N pouts. "Come on, Hiyori, pleeeeease? You're my only worshiper, and worshipers are supposed to, y'know, worship! That includes buying candy for their beloved god!"

I roll my eyes so hard I might actually pull a muscle. "I'm not your servant, and definitely not your personal candy-fetcher."

"Yet here we are, on our way to the supermarket," he says, hands behind his head, walking backward to face me with the most self-satisfied grin I've ever seen.

I stop walking for a moment, trying to remind myself that resorting to violence wouldn't end well. Well, not for me, anyway. Y/N's basically unkillable, but that doesn't mean it isn't tempting to try every now and then.

"Fine," I grumble, "but don't expect me to carry your stupid candy."

Y/N nods eagerly, and I can tell he's already in another world, probably fantasizing about the mountain of junk food he's going to buy. Meanwhile, I'm just staring up at the clouds, trying to block out his voice, which is rambling on about how 'most people hate him.'

"I don't get it," he says, completely oblivious to my desire for silence. "I'm an awesome god, right? Like, who wouldn't want to be best friends with The God of Reality?"

'Oh, I dunno,' I think to myself. 'Maybe because you're an annoying, clingy idiot who has the maturity of a toddler?' But I just keep staring at the sky, hoping the universe will give me something, anything, to take my mind off this absurd conversation.

And that's when I see it.

A cloud—no, the cloud. It's perfectly shaped like a hand, and not just any hand, but one flipping someone off. The middle finger is unmistakable, raised high and proud against the clear blue sky. It's almost… divine.

I glance back at Y/N, who's too busy monologuing about how misunderstood he is to notice. The cloud's definitely giving him the middle finger. I can't help it—I snort. It's too perfect.

"What's so funny?" Y/N stops in his tracks, looking at me with wide, curious eyes.

"Nothing," I say, biting my lip to hold back a laugh. He narrows his eyes suspiciously but shrugs, his attention quickly diverting back to his grand self-pity fest.

"I mean, seriously, why do people avoid me? I bring excitement, spontaneity, and I'm pretty sure I'm hilarious," Y/N says, throwing his arms out dramatically. "But noooo, everyone runs away screaming. I bet it's because they're jealous. Yeah, that's gotta be it!"

"Yep, totally," I reply flatly, but my mind is still on that cloud. Every time I glance up at it, the chuckle bubbles up again. I mean, what are the odds that the universe would flip Y/N off on my behalf? Maybe it was the gods of irony, blessing me with this one small victory.

Y/N, still oblivious, keeps rambling. "It's not easy being the God of Reality, you know? People expect you to be all serious and mysterious, but I'm like, nah, that's boring! I'd rather be fun! I mean, who else can turn a pile of rocks into a chocolate fountain just because they feel like it?"

"Uh-huh," I mutter, glancing at the cloud one more time. Still flipping him off. Amazing.

"You're not even listening, are you?" Y/N accuses, suddenly poking me in the side.

"Hey! Quit that!"

"Come on, Hiyori, focus! I'm baring my soul here!"

"Your soul's an idiot," I mutter, smacking his hand away.

Y/N gasps dramatically, clutching his chest. "You wound me, my dear kitsune! But I shall forgive you, for you know not the depths of my emotional complexity."

I roll my eyes again, this time aiming for the world record. "The only complexity you have is deciding what flavor of candy to stuff your face with."

Y/N grins mischievously. "Speaking of which—what candy are we getting? I'm thinking something sour. No, wait—chocolate! Or both! I can bend reality, so why not mix every candy ever invented into one bag? That'd be pretty sweet, right?"

"That sounds like a nightmare."

"Exactly! A nightmare of flavor!" He spins in a circle, hands raised to the sky like he's summoning candy rain. Honestly, I wouldn't put it past him to actually make it happen.

As we finally reach the supermarket, Y/N is practically vibrating with excitement. He bounces toward the entrance, turning back to look at me over his shoulder. "Last one in has to buy the candy!"

Before I can even react, he's already bolted inside, leaving me standing there, staring at the automatic doors as they close behind him. I sigh heavily. Of course, he's left me to carry everything. Typical.

I glance up one last time at the sky, and the cloud—still in its middle-finger glory—floats peacefully above. A grin tugs at my lips as I follow Y/N into the store. At least the universe knows what I'm dealing with.

Maybe it's not all bad.

As we left the store, Y/N was skipping beside me like some deranged man-child who just raided Billy Bonker's factory. The basket of candy swung in his hand, and I could already see that wild gleam in his eyes—the one that meant he was about to do something ridiculous.

"So, Hiyori," he started, trying to sound casual but failing miserably. "What do you think of Halloween in Japan? Kind of a bummer, right? I mean, where are all the trick-or-treaters? The costumes? The haunted houses?"

I shot him a look. "Y/N, you know this isn't like your made-up version of Halloween where kids run around dressed as demons, right?"

He pouted. "But it should be! I mean, who wouldn't want to dress up like a demon and scare people?" He paused. "Wait. You don't think... that's why Akuma loves this holiday, do you? You think he dresses up and—"

"—terrorizes people in his spare time?" I finished, raising an eyebrow. "Wouldn't be surprised."

He gave a dramatic shiver. "Spooky."

I shook my head, wondering why I even bothered answering him sometimes.

We were halfway home, strolling down a quiet street, when Y/N's erratic movements suddenly stopped. He glanced down an alley, his eyes narrowing. "Hiyori, do you see that?"

I blinked. "See what?"

He pointed down the dark alley, his face now filled with determination. "There's a party going on. I feel it."

I stared at him blankly. "In that alley? No one's partying in a place that smells like old garbage, Y/N."

But he ignored me. Without hesitation, he strutted down the alley, his kimono flaring out behind him like he was some dramatic superhero about to confront a villain.

"Don't," I said, sighing as I followed after him. "This is going to be a mistake."

When we reached the end of the alley, I was greeted by exactly what I expected: trash bins, more trash bins, and a stray cat glaring at us like we had just interrupted its afternoon nap.

Y/N stood there, looking around with a bewildered expression on his face. "But... but I felt it. There was a party here! I swear!"

"Right," I muttered, already turning to leave. "The universe is messing with you again."

Y/N gasped dramatically. "It's those clouds! They're in on it! First, they flip me off, and now they're hiding parties from me! What is this? A celestial conspiracy?"

I couldn't help it—I laughed. Like, actually laughed. Loud enough that even the stray cat gave me a weird look before it slinked off into the shadows.

Y/N looked at me with wide eyes, as if I'd just grown a second head. "You're laughing at my suffering?"

"Yes," I said without hesitation, wiping a tear from my eye. "Yes, I am."

We continued down the street, Y/N sulking again. His dramatic brooding face was back, and he looked ready to lecture me about how hard it is to be a god again.

"You know," he said, voice heavy with exaggerated despair, "I don't think people appreciate how difficult it is to be me. I mean, I create realities, Hiyori. And what do I get for it? Clouds flipping me off and hidden parties. This is unfair. I should be celebrated! Worshiped! Admired!"

"You should be committed," I deadpanned, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye.

He gasped as if I'd just insulted his very soul. "You wound me, Hiyori. Truly, I am wounded." He clutched his chest dramatically again, stumbling as though he were on the verge of collapse. "How could my one and only worshiper betray me like this?"

"You're lucky I'm still here," I muttered, though a part of me wondered why. Maybe I had a death wish, or maybe I was just waiting for the day when he actually did something that impressed me. But knowing him, I'd probably die of old age first.

We reached the house, Y/N still muttering to himself about "divine conspiracies" and "ungrateful mortals." I ignored him, already heading inside and praying he wouldn't drag me into whatever nonsense he had planned next.

Just as I thought I was free, he stopped in front of the house, his eyes lighting up with the same mischievous glint that always spelled disaster. "Wait, Hiyori! I just had the BEST idea."

I froze on the doorstep, already regretting what I knew was coming. "No."

"YES!" he said, pumping a fist in the air. "We're going to throw a party. A real Halloween party! With costumes, decorations, candy, and—"

"—you want to throw a party at our house?" I cut in, trying to keep the exasperation out of my voice. "No one's going to come, Y/N."

He grinned. "Oh, they will. Because I'm going to invite everyone. Even Akuma."

I stared at him, deadpan. "You're going to invite The Demon King to a Halloween party?"

"Of course! Think about it—he's the king of demons! This is practically his holiday! And it'll be hilarious watching him in a costume."

I groaned. "Y/N, he hates you."

"So do you!" he said cheerfully, as if that was some kind of endorsement.

By the time we were inside, Y/N was already planning out the party in his head, muttering something about how to get spirits, gods, and demons to mingle without a bloodbath breaking out. Meanwhile, I just wanted to sit down and have a nice cup of tea, but no, I had to listen to his latest harebrained scheme.

"And I'll be the star of the show, of course," Y/N continued, grabbing handfuls of candy from the basket and shoving them into his mouth. "Everyone will come to see me—the great God of Reality! I'll wear the best costume, and Akuma will be so jealous—"

I cut him off before he could get too carried away. "You realize Akuma's probably going to show up just to wreck the party, right?"

Y/N waved a hand dismissively. "Eh, I'll deal with it when the time comes. I'm sure he'll appreciate my effort."

I shook my head, already picturing the chaos this was going to cause. But honestly? I wasn't even mad. If anything, it was going to be a front-row seat to Y/N getting his divine butt handed to him by a guy who took Halloween a little too seriously.

As Y/N continued rambling about decorations and costumes, I caught myself glancing out the window, half-expecting that flipping-off cloud to make another appearance. But no—it was just a peaceful, clear sky. Maybe the universe had given Y/N a pass for the day.

Too bad I wasn't as forgiving.

Y/N pulled out a sketchpad and began scribbling costume ideas. "What do you think, Hiyori? Should I be a samurai, a vampire, or a sexy nurse?"

I blinked. "What was that last one?"

"Nothing!" he said quickly, flipping the page.