Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Prologue

It wasn't as if he had ever thought (or even considered) that everything would be easy.

Invoking gods of different realms to study and learn about humanity, for the sake of the deities and human race alike. When spoken like this, the theory sounded simple. And in the end, so far from it that the idea was almost funny if it wasn't so unnerving.

In the great hall illuminated only by the sunlight crawling in through the large windows that occupied almost all the wall behind him, Zeus reflected in silence. An unwary person could mistakenly think that he was watching how the shadows played in the white pillars of deep red ends when a cloud passed by the sun.

It had been a week already.

One week since he had put his plan in action.

Zeus wasn't one to delude himself in some aspects. He hadn't expected all of the new "students" to just agree and cooperate right away, but he had had some hope that, after a couple of days, the reluctant gods would comprehend that this attitude wouldn't take them anywhere and give in.

Apparently, it had been foolishness to do so… According to his observations and Thoth's reports, the four gods who had so vehemently refused to take the classes were not giving signs of even be reconsidering their decisions. He knew that some seemed to not even want to discuss the subject when another god tried to approach the topic. The most a few of them ever did was to pretend they were listening.

What made him rethink some points of all this. The balance of the Garden was too fragile to support great concentrations of divine powers and even with the shackles he had placed on the gods, there were still risks… And with the demonstration of resistance from Hades, Susanoo, Loki and Thor…

It wasn't that the human chosen by the Divine Sword was at any fault or wasn't trying. Though Kusanagi wasn't aware, Zeus had watched her behavior during some moments of those first days. The divine weapon had picked a representative well: The girl dedicated part of her free time to discuss with Melissa, weighing positive and negative sides and possible results of ideas that would help the gods to understand humanity and help the "stubborn ones" to attend the classes… And for what he noticed, the girl also had decided to leave them in peace for the first days, also expecting them to realize things on their own.

Remembering this, Zeus almost laughed. They both had expected the same thing.

But she was only one. Even if Apollon and the others offered support, they knew each other just for some days and there was an abyss between them, so large and deep as a scar aged by time… They could not notice it in conscious level (or any level), but it was there.

This whole process was something that would take time and effort and the behavior of Loki and the others only delayed and troubled everything.

And Zeus knew there was no time they could afford to lose.

Therefore, maybe it would be best to offer an… Extra help per say. It would mean an increase of human energy, natural (that came from Kusanagi) as well as fake (that came from the spirits). In any way, it would also help the balance of the Garden, but most of all, it would mean a help to the girl.

The pros surpassed the cons.

Standing of his golden and red throne, the Greek God of Skies crossed the room with large steps towards a small table with five dark chests. They had thin reliefs and locks worked on shining stones. One of them was open, showing its interior padded with green velvet, the middle with a sunken silhouette of a sword.

The others were closed.

Golden eyes ran over each one of them before the god hit his scepter on the floor, the sound of a bronze's bell echoing through the room… Suave, but potent.

The arks shone, each one starting to emit their own wave, before being involved by a white light and disappear in thin air that, even so, pulsated for some minutes more with the remains of energy of each one, still interconnecting and echoing inside each one.

It was done.

Zeus still observed the oak table for a while. It looked smaller and strangely empty with just one of the arks.

He gave his back to it and sat again. Now, it came the waiting.

The divine weapons would roam in essence until they were attracted by an environment that carried a human aura with which they could form a harmony, just like a chemical reaction. And, on the contrary of what it could look like, there were several humans with potential to be chosen.

He only had to wait…

Eyes marked by times unknown to humans landed in a golden hourglass that rested over a small marble base near his throne. Sand dripped serenely, each grain alike a drop of gold in a continuous rhythm.

It seemed that his plan had all time in the world to work…

But Zeus knew how illusive time was.

Here it is the prologue of my first fic of "Kamigami". Please guys, remember that English is not my first language. I apologize for any mistake.

Chapter Text

Chapter One – Changes

The loud noise coming from the house made the two girls standing in the stone-step in front of the door to exchange looks.

As most of the houses on the street, this was a small two-story painted in white, being what the girls supposed would be called "pleasant" (and so it was, at least to their tastes). The front garden was nothing but green grass except for a great rose bush that had been planted in the left side of the house, near the grayish white stone steps that led to the front door and on its right side there were two vases that they assumed their mother had placed some time ago, since they weren't there in the morning when they left.

Yes, it was a nice place and they would probably be calling it "home" (and feeling it) soon.

The exchange of looks between them carried almost nothing of worry, as they had a fairly clear idea regarding the cause of the noise and, upon entering, the vision that received them wasn't cause of surprise in the least: A black-haired man was crouching down to pick several objects that had fallen from a paperboard box. Two other similar boxes fallen to the side were all indicative they needed.

Upon hearing the door opening, he lifted his face to the girls and tilted his head to the side with a docile smile, a light embarrassment marking the lines of his face and making him look almost as a child caught in the act.

"Not a word, agreed?" He commented in a "we-share-a-secret" way. His hair was short and though usually well combed, it was also spiked. While the girls just watched, a woman approached the room, lured by the sound and coming from what seemed to be the house's kitchen. Upon taking the scene in, she merely sighed with amusement rather than annoyance.

"Hi dears" She greeted the girls before turning her eyes to her husband and shaking her head, the ponytail accompanying the movement. "I said one at a time, Kureno… I toold you" She sing sang between her smile and the man raised his hands, palms up in a gesture of defense.

"Not a word, we already agreed, not even a word, right?"

"Do you think there is anything broken, dad?" One of the girls came near, followed by the other, and they started to help picking up the newspaper-wrapped objects. Just the shapes denounced that they were cups, containers and other things of the sort.

"Nah, I doubt it, Isuzu…" Helping the girls to put it all back in the box, Kureno hesitated, turning his grey eyes to the ceiling and biting his lower lip with an exaggerated expression of thoughtfulness. "Hmm… Maybe… Hm… Nope. I'm pretty sure. Absolute."

The act made the other girl and the brown-haired woman laugh.

"For your own sake, it is better that there is really nothing broken, mister" The woman commented, winking once before going back to the kitchen. "Oh, oh, your days of juggler Superman are over, dear… Are you hungry, girls?"

"I'm not" Isuzu answered, holding a bowl as she tried to feel for cracks or broken shards before turning her head to the other girl, but Arisu merely shook her head.

"Not yet"

"And how was school today?" The father asked, putting away the last objects, but his eyes delayed a bit more on his daughters. Standing up and straightening the strap of her backpack, Isuzu didn't seem to notice his gaze, her eyes on the other two boxes that Kureno had probably been trying to stack up one over the other.

"It was normal, just that…"

"Beginning of a new year and all that, it hasn't truly started." Arisu said with a shrug. "Nothing outstanding, which I don't even know if it's good or bad" She made a fake sigh to it. "This is just another way of saying boring. We took notes from the classes we missed with a girl, but it doesn't seem there was much to it…"

Kureno laughed of his daughter's comment as he stood with the box on his hands, still not taking his soft gaze off them.

"Arisu, when you're in the middle of the year, with a lot of subjects to study and exams, I'll remember that little comment." This was a kind of joke between the family, in which on the first days of every school year, Arisu commented how those were sort of boring with nothing new, except for getting used to waking up early again and all, but when the exams period started, she sighed she didn't know what she had been talking about.

It wasn't different from when adults or teenagers thought back to the days of childhood and how they had wished to grow up (the memory was followed by sighs and comments that were of the "If Only I knew" nature).

"It's your third year, so you must prepare for… Oh, no, just leave it there" He interrupted himself when they tried to pick the boxes that had fallen when he had tried to hold piled up. "If you want to help, you still have your things to unpack…" He gestured his head towards the ceiling a couple of times.

"Okay" Isuzu left the box back in the floor. "Don't try to carry them all at once again, dad… If you break anything, mom will have kittens" She gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

"You can bet I'll!" The voice of their mother answered, though the promise lost its intensity due to the kidding the words held.

"It was just one dish… It's not my fault if the gravity conspires against me!" Their father spoke, going back to an expression of calculated innocence and a tone of lament. Arisu held the laugh again. Every time their father acted that way, she invariably considered it funny.

While Isuzu was going upstairs, however, Kureno turned to her before she followed her sister.

"Arisu-chan…" He started, all playfulness leaving as if it had never been there at all and a veil had been ripped apart, the lines marking Kureno's face becoming more noticeable, as the ones on his eyes. Arisu had seen this expression before and had never liked it… In those occasions, her father looked older than he truly was and everything that he felt seemed to come to life in his eyes, being transmitted not by words or gestures but waves of pure emotions.

Her mother had always said that Kureno knew how to lie only with his mouth and never with his eyes.

It was a trait Arisu admired on her father… Even in moments like this.

"How is school going? Really?" He asked in a gentle mutter, not wanting to press the matter more than necessary.

Arisu shrugged one of her shoulders in hesitation. The question ought to be simple, but it carried nuances and undertones that ramified among them, creating an entanglement of meanings to the point a person couldn't know where one ended and the other started. And if someone asked her, the girl would say the answer was of the same nature.

As it could only be.

Still, she fought back to whatever sensation this could cause.

"I don't know… I mean, you know… I think things are going well, but I…" She became quiet suddenly. What good was there in "thinking" anything? What Arisu would like to offer was a more concrete answer and not words that got messy and ended up being completely useless.

Noticing his daughter's effort and the shreds hiding in her voice, Kureno shook his head and, putting the box on the floor, he messed her hair a bit in a caress.

"It's fine. Don't be like that. Smile, okay?" He leaned to her until their eyes were in the same level, smiling once more. "I know it has not been easy. And now being in a new place and all… Getting used… Meeting people…But everything will work out and it will be good here. We have to stick together, remember?"

Arisu merely nodded, answering with an attempt of smile before going after her sister. Kureno lifted the box again, but still watched the stairs as if waiting that, at any moment, the girls would come down again until he felt a warm touch on his shoulder, a pressure so light as that of a small bird and turned to his wife.

"It will be good here, right?" She repeated in a whisper, looking at her husband with tenderness after hearing the exchange between him and Arisu. Turning the body sideways so the box wouldn't be in the way, Kureno leaned to her, placing a kiss on her forehead as she closed her dark eyes.

"It will, Sakura… It will"

Upstairs, Arisu entered the room she shared with Isuzu, dropping the backpack on the floor with a sigh, stretching her back before letting herself fall face on one of the beds with a groan.

They had always shared a room for as long as they could remember and even if in this house there was an extra room, they had decided they would rather keep sharing. Arisu recalled how some people who shared rooms with their siblings complained about it, but she and Isuzu had never had problems and when growing up and it felt as if, growing up, they had created a set of unspoken rules between them.

Well, she didn't know for certain anyway. All that she did know was that they had never had issues in this matter.

"You know I bet we're going to find mom's stuff in here. Or maybe from the kitchen? Again?" It was what had happened when they had been searching for the pans and other cooking things. Mother had been already considering the possibility of the box have been lost in during the moving when they had finally found it in the parents' room.

"And would that be of any surprise?" Isuzu said softly as she tried to cut the brown tape that closed one of the boxes on her bed, but the snap-off knife seemed unable to cut through.

"Nope" The other crossed her arms, resting her chin on them and watching Isuzu trying to force the blade against the layers of tape. "C'mon, put your back into it! What are you, a weakling?"

"No… This knife that is a… Ugh, a hand here?"

Arisu searched her bag for scissors and, after a brief fight with the tape (and several mutterings of annoyance), they finally managed to get rid of it and open the box (it contained some of Isuzu's clothes) though they ended with some pieces of tape on their shirts.

"Hey, Isuzu…" The girl started, watching her sister in the mirror while she helped to put some clothes in the dresser's drawers. Though they were twins, they were not identical: Isuzu was a head and a couple of centimeters taller and had a thinner face while Arisu's was a little rounder. Even so, both shared dark brown eyes and also brown, straight hair… Their bangs were the same, but Isuzu's hair was longer, passing the middle of her back while Arisu's reached some centimeters under her shoulders with a cut of spiked ends.

"Yes?"

"It will be good here… Right?" She asked with a calm tone, being completely unaware that their mother had just asked the same thing to their father.

"Yes, it will" Isuzu's answer was just serene as she approached her sister and laid some shirts on the drawer before turning to Arisu. "I'm… I'm sure"

"Well, and it doesn't have to be" Arisu commented in low voice before smiling and punching her sister playful on the shoulder. This sort of atmosphere wasn't something she enjoyed, so she let it go. "Because we are the ones who will make it be so!"

Isuzu merely nodded and was about to say something when she frowned.

"Hey, what is that?"

She had just noticed, in a corner of the room, two arks that she had never seen in her life. Following her gaze, Arisu blinked. Just what…?

"Those are not ours"

"Do you think mom and dad bought them?" Internally, Isuzu thought the small chests were quite pretty, in truth. Dark and long, one had a red stone lock that could easily pass by as ruby while the other's was in the same style, but blue. The girl could see crafts in relief, tangled and thin as veins, but it could be just a trick of the light.

"I don't think so… Maybe the last owner of the house left them behind and they found it?" The sister suggested it while approaching and kneeling down to examine the objects. At once, the air seemed to warm up. But that sudden heat wasn't caused by the sun and it didn't come from the window, which was on the opposite wall, behind them…

It felt was if it came from the boxes.

And it had appeared far too quickly to be unnoticed or offer chances for the girls to lie to themselves about its origins. They exchanged looks. Arisu indicated the arks with her head, forehead slightly frowned to which Isuzu nodded slowly to mean she felt it too and agreed with Arisu.

It was not only in their minds: The waves in the air felt almost as living being, warmth as pleasant as the one of a fireplace… It caressing their bodies and, in a way for which they couldn't find words to explain, called out to them in a nerve-level as if invisible hands were touching their muscles underneath the flesh in invitation, pulling with the gentleness of fairies calling unsuspecting children to play.

Arisu wanted to shake her head in an attempt to get rid of the sensation, tell herself it was pure nonsense, impression, imagination, anything of the sort… But when, despite themselves, they both held the arks the warmth pulsated stronger, echoing inside their bodies and running through their nerve terminals, dissecting and finding a nest inside.

Lucid thought gave in before such sensation that carried veins of something old.

So old that their minds shivered and recoiled.

"H-Hey… Arisu…" Isuzu tried to speak, but her tongue didn't work anymore to help forming words, anesthetized by whatever it was that was happening and her hands had forgot to obey the wish to release that thing.

With a light "click" the chests opened.

The one in Isuzu's hands held a bow that looked carved in a sort of greenish and ancient stone, adorned with black veins and having, right in the center, a blue crystal-like stone in the shape of a drop.

Arisu's contained something that made the girl think about naginatas… It looked like a sort of pole, but the extremity had a long curved silver blade, the cutting side toothed. The handle was dark with marks of spirals and runes. Right in the center, there was a ring with a drop-shaped stone as well, only in red… The blade looked sharp to the point of giving the impression of a living being, thirsty for blood.

The pulsation was not from the arks, after all, but from those weapons. So much that for a second Arisu would have swore that she was holding living flesh and wished she could bring herself to throw the thing away from her.

"What… What do you think?"

"Those…"

They started to talk at the same time, but none could end their phrase (if they could their tongues felt too heavy). The warmth that seemed to explode from inside the objects was stronger than last time, flames ran through their veins at the same time the weapons emitted a blinding white light…

XxX

The beige recliner's cushion sank a little when Misaki Aihara dropped her backpack on it. Some of the key rings reflected the sunlight coming in through the window of the apartment and shone in white.

"I'm home!" She spoke in the direction of a hallway. The keys on the small table and shoes on the entrance had told her that her aunt was still home.

"Welcome home, Misaki!" A tall woman appeared in the hallway and came to the living room, immediately hugging the girl as if determined to break her spine. Misaki however didn't complain "Are you good? How were your classes today?"

Misaki went for an answer before her aunt made more questions.

"Already getting into a routine… Just some new stuff we're going to see this year and all. And Hideki is already anxious for the baseball games" The girl sighed, shrugging. "Nothing more. Year barely started and there is already nothing new." Except for when the math teacher had talked about some of the new equations they would learn and just the thought made her body shiver.

"I know how it is… I remember when I was in school, I was always hoping that something great would happen in the beginning of each year" The woman commented with a gentle smile as the girl opened the glass door that lead to the balcony and watched the buildings around. "But it was always the very same, two or three days after the start, I already felt that nothing had changed. The excitement slipped away no matter how hard I tried to hold into it."

She nodded more to herself than to her niece with the memories. She could remember the sensation with clarity, as if time was a continuous chain that wasn't ever interrupted by mere changes of year. Just after some days after the beginning of school, there were several the moments when Wakana felt that she was somehow still caught in the previous year.

"Time is relative" She thought to herself.

"What does change is that this is the last year…" The girl started slowly, a thoughtful air dominating her face almost with carefulness. A light breeze agitated her bangs, carrying the scent of flowers that her aunt kept in the balcony inside the well-illumined room. Misaki had always appreciated aunt Wakana's taste: The furniture was of light colors in contrast with the black television and the wooden-like floor, adorned with a cream-colored rug. On the walls, several paintings showed lakes or summer houses.

Wakana liked things well-kept and had a naturally elegant taste (which some could mistake for being rich). Misaki, before coming to live with her, had once believed that this was able to make a place look like one of some decoration's magazine, but would also make any room sterile, robbing any sensation of "home"…

Wakana had proved her wrong.

"You're still not sure of what you want to do in college?" The woman asked as she observed her niece, well aware of what was underneath that expression. Her hair, of an almost white blonde, was made into a braid and she already wore the black pants and blazer for work.

"No. Well… I have a couple of ideas about it, but…" Misaki's words were dying slowly as she twirled a lock of her hair on her finger, green eyes vaguely absent. It wasn't that she was deep worried or stressed, she just wasn't sure of what she truly wanted to do.

"I don't have to decide now" Wakana commented in a soothing way. "And you know it. If you have ideas about what you want, just think about what you really want" She thought about adding something more, but decided against it as she knew that bringing that subject up wouldn't help, so she clapped. "And since there is no hurry, come and eat. There is rice and I made meatloaf"

The girl turned to her, smiling once again. Her hair was also blonde, but of a medium tone instead of the white-like of her aunt's, with some brown strands here and there. It fell under her shoulders, except for some slight shorter locks, especially two that framed her face and were cut a bit under her chin. The ends were naturally spiked and overall, it had a wild-like look.

"Cool!" She cheered on her way to the kitchen. "Have you lunched yet?"

"Yes, a bit before you arrived" Wakana answered following her niece and watching as she made her dish. "Speaking of which, I better get going… I'll see you later"

They hugged and Misaki accompanied her aunt until the door before going back to the kitchen and sitting down. At least she didn't have homework yet, so she could just be lazy during the rest of the day!

She was still eating when an acute sound echoed on the apartment as the phone rang.

Misaki groaned before standing and going to the white and cream table near the door. But it took only a look to the caller ID for her to decide to ignore it. Neither she nor Wakana wanted to talk to the person on the other side of the call.

The phone still rang, sounding almost as a hysteric woman screaming and despite being able to imagine that the person wouldn't give up very easily, the phone could ring until kingdom to come for all of Misaki and she had already given her back to it, just wanting to finish her lunch, when a sensation stabbed her insides.

It felt like drowning, as if her being was suddenly aware of how quiet all it was, except by the phone.

"What in the…?"

The girl turned her head, not comprehending this feeling… It sounded insane, but it was almost as if there was someone else there with her. And it closed her throat.

"Nonsense… It's the twentieth floor, how would anyone get in?"

Still, Misaki didn't move for some seconds, only her eyes running around the room as if to tell the mind that it was being silly… Or to search for the source of this feeling as one would search for the source of a sudden noise. But the sensation didn't leave; it just crawled inside her skin all the same.

Her heart was still punching everything around it and the blood ran fast through her veins. If Misaki was in an open space, her natural instinct would probably be to start running.

Fear?

"No… It's not fear…" She had known fear and it wasn't it, but the girl had no idea of what it was either. Or the reason behind it. Wanting to convince herself that she was just being silly, Misaki went through the hallway, inspecting the bathroom and stopping when she came to her room.

Everything looked normal… No, correction, everything was normal.

"It was that damn call. Maybe it's a reaction to that and now you're just misunderstanding everything." Yes, it sounded logical. Perfectly logical.

And the phone hadn't stopped, speaking of which.

Well, why wasn't she going back to kitchen to finish her lunch? She was still hungry.

Misaki entered her room.

It was smaller than the one she had on her old house, but the girl liked this one better by the longest of shots. At first sight, it all seemed normal… The writing desk with some books and a little pencil holder still in the same place. Her favorite coat was still over the back of her chair where she had left it before leaving that morning… At the side of the window, there was the light blue magnetic board, some photos being held in place by small magnets of several shapes.

It looked the same.

Except for the ark.

"Where did that thing come from?"

It was black, resting on the middle of her bed. The white sheets with black lines drawing flowers and leaves were a bit sunk due the weight of the chest. Misaki noticed the lock looked made of a yellow stone. Not a pale and boring color, but a strong one, as a mix of yellow jasper and amber.

It couldn't be something aunt Wakana had gotten for her, otherwise she would have mentioned it. And Misaki didn't believe it could be a sort of surprise gift either, especially since there was no note in sight and Wakana always gave gifts with a note.

Suddenly, the girl realized the room's air felt pulsating with the beats of an unseen heart. The sound almost echoed in her blood.

Misaki didn't even want to come near that thing. It didn't matter if the doorkeeper would have told her something when she arrived (or, again, aunt Wakana would have) should it have been sent by mail (not to mention there was no package around the chest or any visible seal) or how there was no way someone had slipped in the apartment to place that in there, what mattered was that sensation of her very nerves being touched by an unseen force that she couldn't deny.

It was almost a physical touch.

Even if it was just in her mind, opening a package of unknown origin (even more in such circumstance) couldn't be a prudent attitude.

"So why am I getting closer?!" She asked herself as she sat on her bed's edge. The locks had markings that should have been made with a needle, so thin they were.

And the ark pulsated. It was gentler this time, as if whatever it was (god, had she thought about it as a conscious being?) felt her tension and was trying to soothe her.

Her skin felt it too much to be unreal: A pleasing warmth going back and forth in harmony with her own heart, caressing her until it wrapped around her body from inside. She tried to ignore it, telling herself that this was merely impression, but gave up. It was foolishness to try to convince herself of something that wasn't true and Misaki was very well aware.

Biting her lower lip, the blonde grabbed the ark and placed it on her lap. The heat wasn't strong enough to hurt… Actually, it felt good. Almost as holding a tiny piece of the sun in a cold afternoon.

For some moments, she traced the crafts with her fingers before opening it.

There was a spear inside.

Misaki didn't know a thing about weapons, but this didn't stop her from admiring the beauty of it… The handle was of a light brown, one of the extremities having two white, loose and interlocked rings, marked by thin grooves. They tinkled when she held the spear up.

The warmth didn't come from the ark after all, it came from that.

The opposite extremity had three white rings, a long golden thread tied in the middle one. There were two blades, one bigger and a bit curved and, coming out near the base of it, on the inner side, there was another smaller and straight.

Misaki had only seen such detailed weapons on the games that Hideki liked.

She was about to ask herself what a spear like this would be doing in her home and how it had gotten there when the thing came alive with a blinding light. The warmth gained strength and pulsated as a lightening and hugged her body. Despite the violence of the event, there was no pain.

In the empty apartment, the cries of the phone echoed.

XxX

She pushed the chair away from the desk with a mumble, looking through the window in front before picking a book at her side and looking from the pages to the loose-leaves binder's paper in which she had been writing.

"This cannot be right"

She was almost sure that it wasn't. Leaving her book on the desk, she stood up and decided to drink something. This wasn't working out.

On the living room there was a woman sitting on a table, typing on a black laptop. Upon realizing the girl nearby, she took off her glasses and smiled.

"Studying?"

"Chemistry's exercises due to tomorrow" The answer came with serenity. The woman raised one of her eyebrows with a funny expression and making the girl sigh in defeat, as she knew the meaning of this particular look. "And no, I don't understand anything…"

The woman smiled at her.

"If you want it, I can help you once I'm done with this report" She suggested, indicating the laptop with her chin before standing up. Her hair, very red and cut on the shoulders, seemed to shimmer on the sunlight that came through the window, creating a halo around her head.

"It would be great" The girl answered, playing with the long sleeve of her blouse before going to the kitchen. "I'm a lost cause in this."

The woman seemed about to say something but changed her mind and just watched the girl opening the refrigerator to pick some juice. Her hair was very different than the woman's, being extremely straight and of a deep black, spilling over her shoulders and back almost to her waist.

"You remind me of your father in times like this, Ren. He hated chemistry when we were students. He was never able to understand it." Nozomi Amaya laughed a bit, her brown eyes shining with memories.

"I know the feeling" The girl commented as she filled a cup of glass. "And wasn't his sister who almost exploded the classroom once?"

The redheaded shrugged a bit, tilting her head to the side.

"Well, exploding, exploding is overdoing. The teacher was showing us a simple reaction, but Kisa mixed the ingredients with the fire still lit…" There was amusement in her narration. "It was actually not that bad, it only made a lot of smoke" A shake of her head, a smile. "Of course, right then we all got a real fright, but some hours later, we were just laughing about it. Kisa became sort of a celebrity for this, everyone hoped she would do something like this again someday" Her tone gave the impression that while Kisa hadn't repeated the mistake, it hadn't been the only time something had gone wrong in the chemistry lab thanks to her.

Ren tilted her head to the side, the lightest smile appearing on her face. It was a soft movement, almost a wave of muscles under the very pale skin.

"Well… I hope to never reach that point… The teacher would probably banish me from his class" She hesitated, realizing what she had said. "Wait, maybe this isn't such a bad idea…"

"How great! My daughter, Ren Amaya, a terrorist!" Nozomi laughed, throwing her head back and hands up before putting a thread of her hair behind her ear. "Look, I'll help you in a few moments. Oh, and don't forget to get ready before dad arrives. We'll eat out tonight, remember?"

Ren merely nodded, following the woman until the kitchen's door and watching her going back to her report. Sunlight entered through the big windows, spreading in the whole room. The white couch and soft chair, with a small center table, the wooden floor… In front of one of the windows at the side of the doors, there was a black piano. The shelves aside the television had photos and plants. The movies were inside a small cabinet underneath it, with the DVD.

She stood there for a couple of seconds, shoulder against the wall as she drank her juice before turning to put the glass on the sink. She really didn't want to, but she had to go back to that damn homework and get it done. Actually, her dad deciding to take them out to have pizza and going for a movie that night had completely slipped her mind and if Ren didn't get the Chemistry done now, she surely wouldn't later. If only that thing wasn't supposed to be given to the teacher for evaluation and if it wouldn't affect the grades…

"I'll never understand how mother ever liked this stupid subject."

Something hit her eye and she closed it with a groan.

"What…?"

The girl realized it had been some sort of reflection of light. Leaving the glass on the sink, she looked through the window above it and saw that there was something outside reflecting the sunlight.

Even so, she didn't move, just tilted her head in an attempt to see it better… Yes, whatever it was, it seemed to be on the white table on the garden and when Ren leaned her head a bit, there was a small shine coming from there.

"Maybe it's something mom or dad forgot there?" She knew Nozomi and Chihiro often liked to write their reports and texts there or then just read or draw. Ren herself did that from time to time.

Usually, she would have shrugged and went back to her room, however there was a pull on her nerves that commanded her body to go out before she realized what she was doing. At once, her senses were wrapped by the scents of grass and flowers.

Ren considered the possibility that it was her father's flute… But soon saw that it wasn't. The table wasn't far and Ren could already see that it was something long and black…

There was a frown when she saw the ark, with no idea of what it was.

"Was that reflecting the light?" She thought taking notice of the locks of grey stone, which would be easy to mistake for silver, should they be lighter in color. There were small veins making images of spirals on them.

Ren drew her body back a bit without moving from that spot. There was no way someone had entered and just left it there, right? Plus, what would the reason be? Somehow, her brain refused to even consider the idea for more than a fleeting second as if her being already knew it wasn't so in a more deep level than merely mental.

A dark movement on the twisted oak nearby called her attention, but it was merely Echo. While Ren had her eyes on her, the cat jumped to another branch, her black tail waving from a side to the other.

Ren's attention was called back to the chest with a strange sensation. It was as if her organs were resonating, shivering to a sound that existed in a frequency that human ears couldn't hear, but feel.

All she could do was to touch her lips with the point of her tongue, for although she wanted to go away her muscles didn't obey.

With a careful gesture, she touched the ark. On the tree, Echo hissed loudly, green eyes lighting with fire. The sensation inside Ren became stronger and she understood the cat's reaction for she felt it too: There was something pulsating in that thing, serene waves that created a new sensation, almost melodious…

She looked to her cat again. Echo was shrunken away, showing her claws, black fur standing on the end. Ren couldn't be sure if the animal was scared, angry or just nervous, like she was.

Ren opened the ark, ignoring the thought that living warmth and also how she felt in a trance from which she had couldn't escape.

Before her, lying in a lining of soft velvet, there was a two-bladed dagger of sorts.

In the trance she was, the only way of thinking how weird all that was existed just in the most elemental level, in which feelings and ideas were a pure river that mixed and couldn't be processed in words.

Carefully, she took it in her hand.

It felt like holding a heart that still hadn't realized it was no longer inside a body.

The handle between the blades was even darker than the ark and on its center, there was a fine grey line in the shape of some mark she was unable to even try to identify. The extremities had each a pale blue ring, from which the blades came out, silvery and curved in opposite directions.

Ren had no time to even think about calling her mother.

Or to react when the blades shined intensely, blinding her with such strength that her conscience shivered and fell in darkness.

XxX

The colors and senses little by little returned and when Misaki opened her eyes, it was by instinct that she realized she had no idea of her surroundings… Supporting her hands on the floor and lifting the superior part of her body, she looked around, confused and still feeling the remains of warmth on her body as a fever from which she hadn't totally recovered.

The warmth from the spear, she knew…

She started to look around trying to take some sense of what was going on, but a groan at her side called her attention. For the first time, she saw she wasn't alone. There were still three girls with her, lying down and apparently unconscious.

One of them, lying face-down, touched her head with a mumble once more before trying to kneel, locks of her hair falling on her face.

"What the shit…?" She growled before looking around, eyes slowly becoming clearer before being taken by confusion. "Where…?"

"E-Excuse me?" Misaki called her, seeing that the girl also had no idea of where they were. "Who are you?" She knew this wasn't exactly the top priority question, but it was what came into her mind.

"Where are we?" The brown-haired girl asked, looking around. The worry made her eyes wild-like. "How did…" Still on her knees, she went to another girl, who seemed taller and with longer hair, and started to shake her shoulder. "Isuzu? Hey, Isuzu…"

"Do you know her?" Misaki tried again.

"She's my sister" Arisu answered, not looking back to the blonde. Her heart shivered inside her and her mouth was dry due to tension of her muscles. The last thing she remembered was holding that strange weapon she had found and now, she was in a place she hadn't ever seen before… Her throat was closed and she was scared.

Nothing here made any sense.

"Does anyone know what place is this?" A low voice sounded. It was the last girl, the one with black hair. Now awaken and kneeling, her eyes dragged through the room and the other girls.

"I don't, I just woke here…" Misaki stood, her legs still trembling but she did her best to maintain her balance. Meanwhile, the girl who still hadn't show signs of life finally moved a bit and slowly lifted her head with a moan.

For what they could see, they were in a large room decorated by a red carpet and there were several pillars around, making two lines along it. Light's way in were the windows at the end of the room where, going up small steps, there was a golden and red throne.

"Does anyone know how we ended up here?" The brown-haired girl asked as she helped the other (Isuzu, she had called her) to stand. "We… We were home and then…"

"The last thing I can recall is a black box…" Misaki ran her eyes around, expecting to see the spear somewhere, but it was gone. "There was a spear inside and I just…"

"The one on your neck?" Isuzu interrupted the blonde, pointing and suddenly raising her hands to her own neck, feeling a sort of necklace. Imitating her, the other girls realized for the first time that they all had black strings around their necks, holding small pendants identical to the weapons they had found.

Isuzu took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. Things seemed to increase over her, creating pressure and forcing a specific point that soon would crack and the other shared the feeling.

"This is insanity!" Arisu barked, hoping her voice wasn't shivering like her. To the hell with the necklaces, she wanted to know where they were! "I suggest we get the hell out and try to find someone or figure out where we are!"

"Think we've been kidnapped?" Misaki risked, though she wondered how this would have happened. Someone invading the apartment and taking her out maybe wasn't that impossible even with a gatekeeper, her tired mind tried to reason, however all her body denied the idea. She didn't mean to make the other girl even more nervous, but what other answer there was?

The girl who had been talking opened her mouth, but her sister placed a hand on her shoulder, her lower lip shivering.

"Look, anyway, maybe we should try to…"

The sounds of steps made her voice die.

The four turned to higher place in front of the windows. A man was walking towards the throne, but his eyes were on them. A sort of smile adorned his face of strong lines.

"So you the ones who were picked. Interesting"

Arisu growled, her nervousness pulling her nerves to a point she couldn't bear it anymore. Interesting? What was that man talking about? She opened her mouth, about to answer back when Isuzu pressed her shoulder a bit in warning and Arisu held the words, feeling her sister standing at her side and staring at the man with clear distrust.

Misaki was biting the flesh inside her mouth. The man didn't look like he was surprised to see them, despite what he had said, so he should be the responsible for all that. Though her whole was taken by coldness, the surprise was still bigger and she couldn't help but to pay attention to the man's attire… A white mantle with golden details, a sort of fire-red tunic…

Ren, who had decided to keep quiet until now, only closed her fits, digging the nails against flesh to stop her arms from trembling. Though she would agree with Misaki that his clothes were strange, what had called her attention had been his eyes… Of a yellow color that seemed to possess orange-like traits, like amber and melted gold, they had strength of their own. As much as she wanted to block the feeling, blame the events, the girl was unable of blocking the idea that those eyes weren't human.

"Isuzu and Arisu Hironezumi" He pointed a scepter to the two sisters. "Misaki Aihara… And Ren Amaya"

Misaki looked to the girls and exchanged looks with Isuzu, whose sister only frowned and Ren still stared at the man.

"How do you know our names?" Isuzu asked. Though the blonde, Misaki, had a suggestion that made sense, this didn't feel like a kidnapping at least not in a way she could understand. This only worked to increase the bitter taste in her mouth.

The man gave them a muffled chuckle that made his short blond beard tremble a little.

"I am Zeus"

There was a grave-like silence following the statement.

Arisu blinked and stared at him, her mind becoming blank for a second as she registered what he had just said, but recovered soon. It had to be a nickname or a kind of fake name, and even if it wasn't, there was no way in hell she would even consider the alternative. Misaki tilted her head to the side, sharing Arisu's feelings. Isuzu frowned. Ren didn't show any reaction but raised her eyebrows in an almost unnoticeable way.

"Uhh… Hmmm…" Misaki muttered slowly. The man had presented himself as if his name should explain it all, so either this was a sort of title they should recognize or (more probable) he was insane.

Arisu couldn't help but to scoff in a disbelieving way. Isuzu was about to say something, but her sister was faster.

"Yeah, sure you are. Where the hell are we?" She could sense her twin shivering behind her due to her imprudence, but Arisu was unable to think straight with her flesh feeling like it was being ripped apart underneath the skin and she ignore the aura the man gave in favor of answers that sounded more rational.

Apparently finding her reaction more amusing than irritating, Zeus merely smiled... The smile of a large lion seeing a lamb struggling.

"I see you don't believe…" He said in the soft voice that dripped hidden threats and laces of a force great enough to bend the nature's wrath to its will. Before Arisu could even speak, his scepter started to produce small white sparkles that threatened to become stronger by the second.

It couldn't be a trick, the whole room reacted with the electricity. The air itself now refused to go into their lungs, no matter how hard the girls tried to breathe and soon they felt the effects of lack of oxygen. The energy that announces lightening echoed in the room and it didn't come from the scepter, but the man himself.

"Now" He carried on in the same tone. "Would you believe me more if I called a lightning?"

The room grew hot when a white light came from the scepter, hitting the ceiling.

There was no way of mistaking what that had been and they all knew the only reason their hearts still beat right now was because the man had held back the strength of the lightning, using this merely to prove he spoke the truth.

Suddenly, it stopped.

The atmosphere came back to normal and their lungs received the blessed air.

It hadn't been more than a minute and they were unharmed, yet Arisu closed her mouth and took a step back by instinct, her anger being quickly replaced by dread. Even now she felt the remains of the electricity in air, still hot, and knew that here was a power able to burn her to the bones… But not before it reduced her mind to ashes. Cold sweat came down the back of her neck.

"Zeus… From Greek Myths? I… I must be dreaming, right? This cannot be true" Ren's rational mind told her, while the animal self knew better and made her unable to think properly. Even now, whatever barrier of denial crumbled under the evidence, which was supported by the feeling underneath her skin, the animal instinct telling the rest of the body that there was something strange around. Everything was far too real to allow her even the brief sanctuary of at least trying to believe this was all a dream or even a hallucination…

Isuzu couldn't move. With what she knew from Greek Mythology, being in Zeus' presence made her feel even worse… Even if she didn't know of his motives or was too shocked to think much, a part of her could remember the myths and how the god could be when it came down to women. This made her lean away a bit, watching him with even more suspicion, unable to help herself. From what she remembered from myths, Zeus wasn't someone she would give trust to.

"So… You're… You're Zeus… And… Well, was it you who brought us here?" The answer to that was obvious, but Misaki was a bit insecure about how to talk to him. She had barely been able to say his name. The situation was so insane that her mind was still trying to process the events and to accept that she was in the presence of someone who should exist only in stories.

"May we know why?" Isuzu asked in a quite believable tone of politeness, taking in account how she felt. Arisu was still silent and just looked at the man without blinking.

The god looked over them with amusement, but it was impossible to tell if it was due to their nervousness and attempts to be polite or even if he was aware of their feelings.

However, Zeus sighed. He needed those girls for the plan to work and it wouldn't do well to have them shivering like mice in front of him (even if this was how mortals behaved in front of gods, especially back in the ages when they knew them to be real).

"I can assure you I mean no harm. You are here to perform a part on my plan to repair the connection between gods and humans" Zeus explained, ignoring whatever reaction before they could interrupt. He had already had to explain himself to Kusanagi Yui before as well as the other gods and he hated having to repeat himself all the time.

"Since the most ancient times, gods and humans have shared a connection. We're part of the balance of this world just like everything else. However, in the long of the millennia, some gods have been distancing themselves from humanity, weakening this connection." He gave his back to them, looking through the windows to the gardens. He knew his older brother should be somewhere there and Susanoo probably would be sleeping under some tree. He held back a groan of annoyance at the thought.

"If things don't change, there will be grave consequences. The balance will be lost" It sounded simple, putting it like this, but a change of balance involving powerful natures such as the deities' could result in disastrous events. He turned his face to the girls, all previous amusement gone as if it hadn't ever been there. "Therefore, I created this Academy. The gods who have been distancing themselves the most from humanity and need to change their behavior have been brought here to study about humans"

"And what this has to do with us?" This time it was Misaki who couldn't stop herself while Arisu slowly shook her head, dumbfounded after all she had heard. It… It sounded like such an absurd that she had no words. Ren remained quiet, though her expression was cold and of intentional lack of interest. Isuzu was too shocked to even have a reaction. Academy of gods? Learn about humans?

This had no sense whatsoever! First, she was standing in front of a mythological character and then he was speaking of other gods and study and… Her mind couldn't take it and it started to close on itself and would have succeeded in so if Zeus' voice hadn't ripped her out of it.

"It has to do…" Zeus continued with a dangerously amiable voice, daring the girl to use that tone of voice with him again. "That, as I said, by learning about humans and reaffirming their connection, the balance will be restored and a bad future can be avoided. You're here to be the representatives of humanity, helping them to learn and understood the several sides of it. However some of the gods have been awfully reluctant, refusing to cooperate. There is another girl who is also here as a representative and, as such, you're here to help her and balance things out"

Ren would have liked to ask what made him believe they would cooperate as well, but the threat of the lightning was still too fresh in her mind. If that was really what someone like Zeus had decided… What could they do against it? The inside of her body froze as the realization cut her mind.

They were helpless.

They were utterly helpless.

"Basically… We've got no choice?" Her voice was serene, without betraying her emotions. This made Isuzu and Arisu stare at her in complete disbelief, their expressions so alike that (with the physical resemblance) made them almost identical.

"Are you kidding me?" Arisu asked. "He's kidnapped us, and now is telling us that we have to teach a bunch of other gods?" She spit the last word as if she couldn't still quite believe it and turned to Zeus, the next words coming out her mouth as if they had a life of their own. "How about we start with Human Rights?"

"You've chosen the wrong people, we cannot do this!" Isuzu tried to reason, meaning actually that not only they couldn't but they didn't want to. Just the idea, as weird as it sounded, made her nervous and all she wanted was to go back home.

She was scared.

"And why us?" Misaki ended almost yelling, managing to think several people who would be more qualified than her to deal with that situation and was suddenly thankful that Arisu was acting like that, for it was the fact that someone was reacting more violently than her that helped her to keep the few remains of her self control.

"I see you still haven't understood the situation…" The god whispered, making them stop talking and Misaki's nerves shiver with primitive reactions to that voice marked by a time and power too great to be conceived by their minds. "You are still under the illusion that you do have some choice or that you can persuade me to change my mind. You don't and you can't. I won't send you back to your world until you do what I said… You have one year to help the gods graduate. Otherwise, you'll remain here for eternity"

"Oh, you…" Arisu bit her lower lip, a growl finding birth in the depth of her throat as Ren stared at the god with a hellish coldness. Though still shivering under her skin, Misaki still took a step towards him.

"But our families will be desperate if we…"

"This is no reason to worry. Once you've complete your objective, you'll be send back to the exact time you were" He sat in his throne, leaning his face towards the four of them smiling once again. With his older brother and the other's behavior and stubbornness, he was not in the mood to deal with defiance of some mortal girls.

He was a god and not used to disobedience.

"Do you still refuse to understand? Or have I made myself clear enough?"

The four girls exchanged looks. Ren's shoulders were lowered in a physical sign of defeat and fatigue and Isuzu's lower lip shivered. There was no choice. Their only hope to ever go home was to cooperate with that idea… It was like being in a cage that opened only to a maze which way out they could never find…

"Mom… Dad…"

"Crystal" Isuzu grumbled, fighting the urge of lowering her eyes, despite knowing it would be much easier to look to the ground. The others nodded as well and Zeus stood, apparently satisfied and went down the small steps, getting closer to them, aware that in truth they were still grasping the situation and shock.

"The Bow of Celestial Winds" With his scepter, he gesticulated to Isuzu's neck. "The Blade of White Flames" To Arisu. "The Spear of Silver Tears and the Dagger of the Northern Lights. Those weapons were what found and selected you, so take care of them. Not that…" He chuckled to himself. "You're even able to take them off"

Isuzu immediately fought the new urge of trying to getting that necklace off.

"As I know all that is too much to take in at once" He carried on, ignoring when Ren rolled her eyes and Misaki and Arisu looked at him with sarcastic expressions. "You'll join your classmates tomorrow. For now you'll stay in a room apart so you can rest"

He hit the scepter in the floor once and again the four were blinded by a white light.

Upon opening their eyes, they were in a different room that looked like some large bedroom.

"Argh! What is his deal?" Arisu yelled in the exact moment. "If someone transports me to wherever the place even once more, I swear I'll…" She stopped talking slowly, words dying in her mouth. What would she be able to do? Nothing.

And this just angered her even more.

"I still can't believe all I've just heard…" Misaki commented, leaning her hands on a table and lowering her head as if she was about to puke. Truth to be told, she wouldn't be surprised if she ended up doing just that. However, the blonde didn't want to seem weak to the other's eyes.

"C'mon, breathe… Count backwards, that always helped before… Twenty, nineteen, eighteen…"

Ren pulled a chair and sat down, putting her elbows on the table and holding the bridge of her nose with one of her hands, closing her eyes and trying to maintain the control. There were no words in her, no thoughts, no reaction for her whole self was in such state that it couldn't even produce one of those things.

All that there was in her was the wish that she could at least believe for some minutes that this was all some sort of nightmare.

The room they were in could easily be mistaken by a hotel's room and not due to the comfort it offered. There was only that small table with some chair where Misaki and Ren were seating, four beds, a larger dinning-like table on a corner and a door that probably led to a bathroom. The colors were light and pleasing to the eye, but nothing here had any sign of personality and even the air felt still.

There was no comfort, no warmth. It didn't help them to relax.

On a corner, there were four suits hanging in line. They could only be the uniforms.

Slowly, Isuzu examined them, running her hand over one. They were the same, a white blazer with golden lines, a blouse of short sleeves and black skirt reaching to the knees. While the design wasn't much different from the standard blazer-and-skirt, the colors and details gave it a more "elegant" appearance that she would expect from uniforms from a high-prestige school.

Not surprising, when one took in account how this was an Academy of Gods.

"And of course there would be uniforms. It is a school after all…" Still, she stayed there on the spot, not knowing what to say or do right now. On a corner, Arisu had dropped herself in a grey soft chair, looking pale and very tired, despite the fact that they were supposed to be just finishing their lunch now...

If they were home, that's it.

"So…" Misaki tried to engage a conversation, despite the uncertainty that poisoned her whole body. The circumstances were far too surreal and she wasn't anywhere near comfortable. "It seems we'll have to stay here a whole year…"

Ren stood up and went to one of the windows, seeing vast fields of green that went on until the horizon, adorned with the shadows of mountains and a forest. In the middle of a sea of green tones that varied a bit depending of the sunlight, there was something clearer in color and that, even in the distance, seemed like a piece of a living diamond breathing. It could only be a lake of sorts.

"At least it is a nice place" Even in her shock, trying to understand it all, the girl was unable to deny it. However, it did nothing to cheer her up, though she knew she would have been enchanted should the circumstances be different.

It could be only a year, which they wouldn't even miss because they would be sent back to the exact time. A year that they would have to spent just being around gods. It could happen that they would accomplish Zeus' plan and just go home.

Yet, the weight in her heart was as if she had already failed. Somehow, the way the things had been done and the lingering threat of staying here acted as a poison that made everything worse.

"Stuck for a whole year and having to teach gods…" Arisu completed, shaking her head before adding bitterly. "Does someone even have an idea of how we're supposed to do that? How do you teach about humanity?"

The other three didn't answer. There was still that: Arisu had a point, Zeus hadn't even given a clue of what they should actually do. He had said the what, but not the how.

"For what I gathered, we're going to study with them" Isuzu commented, indicating the uniforms with a total lack of enthusiasm. The way her eyes seemed was enough to agitate a sense of worry in Arisu, who knew her sister well. "I wonder how they are… And you… Misaki, right?"

The blonde still tried to smile.

"Yeah… Hey, let's start this over, okay?" She took a deep breath. "I'm Misaki Aihara, nice to meet you all"

"Isuzu Hironezumi."

"I'm her sister, Arisu."

"Ren Amaya. Pleasure to meet you."

Misaki nodded in greeting and carried on.

"Well, if we're going to study with them, then at least we won't be like actual teachers… That would be so weird… Well, I mean even weirder. You guys got it" Misaki gave up, waving her hand, still trying to smile. "If we're going to be students too, I wonder if we have teachers…"

"Of course you do!" A small voice sounded on the table, attracting their eyes as a magnet. Removing the ceiling of what had looked like a toy house and coming out was what could be appropriately called a doll. It was made of yellow and white material with some sewing points around its mouth, neck and members. The thing turned its head to each of them, actually looking with its button eyes.

"Oh, great, even more weirdness" Isuzu couldn't help but think.

"Did that… Did that thing just speak?" Arisu asked looking from the doll to Misaki and then to Ren, half hoping she was imagining the whole thing, but knowing it better. "It did, didn't it?"

"I'm not a "thing"!" The doll protested, its voice clearly masculine as it put his arms on his waist in a posture of displeasure. His head was wrapped almost as a kind of sack, a green string and a pink button tied on the top. "My name is Melissa!"

"You know you've seen everything when you meet a talking, walking doll and can't even feel surprised" Ren thought, walking away from the window and back to the table. Maybe the idea of spending the rest of the day on this room wouldn't be bad, taking in how exhausted she felt… Though it couldn't be not even an hour since their arrival.

"N-Nice to meet you…" Misaki tried.

"Pleasure's mine to meet you all!" Melissa carried on, his doll mouth going up in a smile. It was quite weird to see a doll able to make expressions and even blink. His eyes were of different sizes and colors, one green and the other a light pink. "So, you're the new students? Welcome!"

"We're the new hostages, you mean…" Arisu muttered in a low voice.

"Sorry, but who are you?" Isuzu asked.

"You may say I'm your upperclassman! Zeus made me of clay to take care of you and Yui!" Noticing the expressions of the girls, he waved a small arm. "Oh, myths many times describe humans as being made of clay or things like that, but in my case... Well, things went a bit different."

Arisu and Isuzu exchanged a look in a way that Arisu clearly asked if this wasn't just a polite way of saying that Zeus had just fucked up somehow while creating Melissa. Ren, on another hand, tilted her head to the side.

"Yui? Isn't she…"

"The other human? Yes! You'll like her, she is a great girl"

"So…" Isuzu came a bit near, sitting in one of the chairs. "You said we have a teacher, Melissa?" Isuzu couldn't ever imagine who would agree to teach a bunch of gods and some humans.

"Only one. Thoth. God of Knowledge. Tomorrow he will step by to take you to your class"

"Egyptian god? Head of ibis?" Ren asked frowning as she tried to imagine how he looked like.

"Exactly!"

"Wasn't he the one who helped Ra, or something like that? I think my history teacher once mentioned something about Egyptian gods…" Misaki commented. "He always liked mythology and sometimes he talks about those things… Do you know about it, Amaya?"

"My parents love mythologies and they have a lot of books about it, they used to tell me some stories… And…" She hesitated before making an attempt at a weak smile that seemed made of the thinnest glass. "Call me Ren, will you? I mean… We're all in the same situation here."

"And… How is it here?" Arisu asked.

"Well, Zeus modeled it after some human schools. There are dormitories, you and Yui will share a room after tomorrow. And there is the pool, sport courts, cafeteria… Oh , about it!" He hit the ends of his arms, as if clapping hands. "If you're hungry and don't want to go there…" He pointed to the bigger table at left. For the first time, the girls realized that there were dishes and food there.

It wasn't much, just some breads and cheese and ham, along with jam and cookies along with juices.

"Zeus decided that, since you'll stay here for the day, it'll be also good if you take your meals here."

"First good idea he had" Arisu decided, going to sit there and observing the food choices. Remembering that she had never finished her lunch, Misaki soon went to make herself a sandwich. It seemed strange that, at some time ago, she had been eating aunt Wakana's food and ignoring a call from that person and now…

"Just a couple of minutes and then my life turns upside down. And to think I commented with aunt that things had already entered a routine. Congratulations, Misaki, irony has just proved that it loves you…"

"Are you okay, Misaki?" Isuzu asked, sitting near the blonde with Melissa sitting on her shoulder. Shrugging, the other girl forced another smile. Her face was already starting to hurt, but she kept it on.

"Ah, I'm fine… I just…" She looked from Isuzu to her twin and stopped smiling. There was no reason to pretend. "Damn, I don't know. I can't get used to this whole mess…"

"Welcome to the club…" Ren muttered as she picked some food, unsure if she even was hungry. Melissa had told them that they could go to the cafeteria if they wanted, meaning they were not locked here, but she realized she didn't feel like venturing through the academy for now… Even if she wasn't hungry, she took a bite.

"You don't need to worry. Yui was in a similar state when she arrived" Melissa said, suddenly serious and jumping out of Isuzu's shoulder to the table. It was not a lie, Yui had seemed to be accepting it when they first saw it each other, but when night arrived, he had seen she wasn't falling asleep and had started to talk to her. At some point, Yui caved and ended up telling him how worried she was and how she already missed her family.

Being brought here and having to deal with Zeus' plans, not having a say in the matter, it was all too sudden and enough to make anyone nervous.

"But on the next day, she was better" This was also not a lie. She had at least came to terms with her situation and, in doing so, she could try to deal with it better. "You guys are going to get along just fine"

To have someone talking to them in that honest tone that held no falsities but a wish to help them accept what had happened and also cheer them up indeed lifted some of the pressure that had grew roots inside them. In a way of another, the only thing to be done was to accept it and try to deal with the situation the best way they managed.

Looking from her sister to the others, Isuzu admitted that there was a kind of relief in knowing that she wouldn't face this alone.

"What about the other gods?" She asked Melissa. "Who are they?"

"There is Apollon, Hades and Dionysius from Greek. The Nordic gods are Thor, Loki and Balder. From your country, there is Susanoo and Tsukiyomi"

XxX

Yui stretched her shoulders up and behind in small circles, eyes wandering slowly to the gardens, unable to take her mind out of what Thoth had just told them in the beginning of the class, but actually, how could she not think about it?

The Egyptian god had said he had news to the class before starting it. Yui had thought it could be some sort of reunion that Zeus had decided to make or something along those lines, but in truth it was as farther from all she had imagined as possible…

Zeus had invoked four more students.

Humans, like her.

After that, Yui thought that it was particularly surprising that she had managed to pay attention in anything else that Thoth had said during classes. The news hadn't gotten just to her: All the time, Apollon looked at her with cheerful eyes and she had almost expected him to start passing small notes to her with questions.

"Fairy-chan?" The very god she had been thinking about came closer, his green eyes sparkling, but Yui had already learnt that this was actually how he looked most of the time. She smiled at him as Balder, Dionysius and Tsukito followed the Sun God, ignoring the spirits around.

"What do you think about what Thoth-sensei said? About having more human students?" Apollon started at once. "I wasn't expecting this! I imagine how they are!"

"Is that normal, Yui-chan?" Balder asked, turning his face to the girl. "After all, the "classes" have started quite some time ago…" It didn't feel like it was too unusual and he couldn't think about any problems they might have (it wasn't as if they had missed much of the subjects), but he asked all the same.

"Well, it can happen from time to time. It's not that unusual" It would be if they had come to the Academy in the middle of the year or near the end. "Sometimes we have transferred students from another schools or even cities. The reasons are varied."

And she wondered which had been Zeus' reason… Had he judged that she wasn't doing her "job" right? It was true that Yui still hadn't managed to convince Takeru, Loki or Hades to attend school, however she had thought that maybe leaving them alone for a couple of days would make them more willing to listen to her when she tried to approach the subject. At least they would calm down enough so she could try to have a conversation… That had been her idea.

Truth to be told, Yui had even hoped that they would realize by themselves what they needed to do. She didn't agree on forcing people to do anything and Zeus' plan also upset her to no end, however there was nothing else any of them could do.

"On another hand, it's not that bad… Balder and the others are quite fun to be around and really want to make it work" She thought to herself while the gods started to speculate about how those new humans would be like.

"Such a pity we will meet them only tomorrow! Why is that?"

"Thoth-sensei said that is because Zeus decided to give them a day to get used to the idea." Dionysius remembered them, crossing his arms behind his head. Yui nodded, agreeing in silence… She still remembered quite well of her first day here and honestly, the hours of peace in her room and a night of sleep had helped to feel better about her situation and all that had happened.

At least she had been able to face it with her mind clearer than before.

They still talked a bit more before leaving the class and following different ways. They had had meals together in the cafeteria, but usually Balder went in search of Loki and Thor (or they appeared and called to him). Yui had no idea if the Light god had talked to them about their behavior, though she had the strongest sensation that this wasn't the case… Of the little she had seen of Loki until now, he gave the impression that he would merely walk away if Balder started to talk about anything school-related.

Only Apollon accompanied her, but Yui remained in silence, lost among her thoughts.

"Is there any way to make them understand that this behavior won't lead them anywhere? And those new students…" Yui thought, watching the gardens as she walked through one of the hallways in the ground floor to the cafeteria until she felt Apollon's hand landing on her shoulder.

"Hey… Fairy-chan?"

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?" He asked, leaning a bit to her direction. Yui's body backed away a bit by instinct, even if she didn't move from her spot. However, she considered she would end up getting used to this particular trait of the Sun god's behavior.

"Yes… Yes, I am, why?"

"Well, it's just that while you were commenting about transferred students, Tsuki-Tsuki was taking notes and you didn't even tell him he didn't need. You always say that"

Yui was a bit impressed and a bit uncertain about how to react to this comment. Well… It was true that the idea of new students plus the "problem gods" had took over her mind and blocked other thoughts, but the girl hadn't imagined that any of the others would notice this. Realizing that his words could have sounded quite weird, Apollon hurried to add.

"I don't want you to think that I'm meddling or anything of the sort… But you do look somewhat tense" The god wanted to explain that, even if they didn't know each other very well, she could tell him if there was something bothering her. The idea that Yui could very well be feeling alone, being the only human in the school, had occurred already him and he wasn't all wrong.

Yui hesitated as someone who is testing the resistance of the ice covering a deep lake. Just because Apollon (along with Balder) was currently the god she felt more at ease with due to his cheerful ways, didn't imply she felt good enough to open her soul to him.

"I… I think I'm sort of worried"

"With what?" Apollon didn't look the least surprised. It wasn't as if she had no reasons to feel like that, the threat of not going back to their worlds was reason enough to all, gods and human. At the same time, he used to be quite good at noticing certain details about others that denounced if they were more worried than usual.

"Well…" More hesitation. A thought cut her mind: Could it be that she was overdoing it and being dramatic? Yui didn't want to pour her preoccupations on him, nor did she want to sound too self-centered. "I think I'm nervous about meeting those girls…"

It wasn't a mere natural nervousness of meeting new people (and in such strange circumstances, above all): One of the possible (and most natural) reactions to situations of being forced like this was anger. And when people are angry, there is also the need of a sort of outlet valve, someone who they can blame in their attempts of getting rid of that feeling or at least a way to focus it upon someone.

And what if one of those new girls thought that they had been brought here because Yui wasn't being able to deal with the gods and, therefore, blamed her? And it could very well be true, to make matters worse… What if Zeus had decided she wasn't doing enough?

Yui didn't want that other people were tore away from their homes and lives because of her… It wasn't fair.

"You don't need to feel like that" Apollon commented, still leaning towards her and looking in her eyes. "Think that it will be fun not being the only human anymore." Plus, if she was worried that they wouldn't like her, there was no need to worry either. "Sure, they may be upset at first, but if that's the case, then we'll give them time and they will understand" They would understand that it wasn't anyone's fault.

Well, except his father, he admitted.

Yui couldn't deny that Apollon's words seemed to undo a knot inside her organs. It was true that the Zeus had crafted those spirits, but they were basically dolls having only the basic instincts and traits, without real personalities, what made them not true individuals. Yui had already compared them, mentally, to non-controllable characters (the NPC's) of games that her brothers liked.

Zeus had created the spirits just so she and the gods wouldn't feel strange, being the only eight students in such a large school… That didn't mean they could ever be considered true companions…

And although the gods were kind, Yui still missed a companionship that would comprehend the same things that she did. The idea of having other humans soothed the hard shards around her heart and made her feel a bit better.

"You don't need to push yourself beyond your limits" Apollon smiled and made some caress in her head. "And if anything bothers you, you can talk to me. Okay?"

She couldn't help but to smile back.

"Thank you, Apollon-san!" Feeling somewhat lighter, she looked through one of the glassless windows in the shape of an arc as she tried to imagine the new students and caught a glimpse of blue-haired person, lying under a tree some meters away and looking towards the school.

She had barely raised her hand when Takeru scoffed and stood, walking away.

"Great" She thought with a sigh.

Ana: So, here it is. The first actual chapter of this fic (damn, I need a better title, if you ask me).

Yui: Why couldn't we meet them today?

Ana: Well, I thought that if I was kidnapped (there is no other term) and all, I would need some time before actually starting the classes.

Arisu: And this is the only thing I'll ever thank Zeus for.

Ana: Hey, what are you doing here? Back to the basement, girl, you're not supposed to meet any of the others yet! –pushing Arisu away-

Yui: Basement? Really?

Ana: I work with what I have, sorry.

Arisu (slamming the door): Let me out of here, you pathetic excuse for a writer!

Ana: Ugh, she will kill me for this.

So, people! Reviews and critiques are really welcome!

Chapter Text

None of the four girls had talked much during the rest of their first day.

Still getting used to the whole idea of spending a whole year in that academy, they worked on and reflected about their feelings and worries, revising them mentally as if trying to get some sense of the confusing web their souls had turned into.

That is, until morning arrived.

Arisu was quite surprised by the fact she had been able to sleep at all, considering that when she had finally lied down in one of the beds, the girl had been too agitated and doubting she would sleep a wink. Misaki, on another hand, had had a rough night and didn't think she was the only one: There had been a moment when the blonde had stood up to go to the bathroom and had seen Ren sitting on the window-sill, looking to the moonlit gardens.

Misaki had considered talking to her, but seeing she wouldn't even know what to say, had opted for the silence. There was also the chance that Ren had spent the night right on that spot, even sleeping, but Misaki wasn't sure.

They got dressed soon and ate without talking much (some food had appeared at the table and though Misaki had been tempted to make a Harry Potter joke, she hadn't managed to bring herself to it). Although they were right on time, the seconds felt like hours as they waited for the teacher that would take them to class, as Melissa had told them he would yesterday (to which Arisu had commented that Zeus probably wanted to prevent them from trying to run off or something of the sort)

As nervousness grew inside them, there was also some excitement (at least in Misaki's case) and when they finally heard the knocks at the door, it felt like a piano cord being broken inside them. The wait had been a sadistic exchange: Time passed by slower and their organisms would speed up in its place.

"Well…" Isuzu muttered, straightening her skirt and looking to the others. "First day of school here we go?" She tried with a weak smile. It was already cause for nervousness to be a new student and in such a new environment, but this was even more.

Taking a deep breath that no one took notice, she opened the door.

Knowing that the Egyptian gods were anthropomorphic and Thoth was always described as a man with an ibis' head… Misaki was vaguely surprised with the human appearance of the man standing there.

Not that there wasn't something strangely bird-like in the way his blue eyes seemed to inspect everything they touched, seeing all details or how he kept his head held high. The grayish shirt was a bit open, leaving visible a necklace with green and blue stones and a second one made of golden chain with a pendant that made the girl think about snakes.

"Are you Thoth-sensei?" Isuzu risked aware that the question should sound silly (who else would he be?) but with her mind empty of any other words and anxious to break the silence, this was the only thing she had to break the silence. The way that man seemed to be evaluating them created a pressure over her body, giving birth to a strong discomfort. He wore a monocle over one of his eyes and his hair was short but for some threads falling at the side of his face, being held together by three rings.

The dark skin and white hair gave him a sort of exotic appearance, but the blade-like sharpness of his eyes didn't make him look very friendly in Isuzu's opinion.

"Thoth-sama" He corrected, his tone leaving no room for objection and imprinting clearly that he wouldn't ever accept another form of treatment. "And yes. Zeus informed me how I would be in charge of taking you to class. Only today"

Arisu bit her lower lip at his words, being more caught in his demand for that particular honorific.

"Okay, he is a teacher, so I can take it… But if any of the other gods tell me to call them "sama", I swear there is going to be…" She refused to use such treatment with them, even if taking in account their true nature, since they would be merely classmates. Once she realized the heat of nervousness was turning into anger, she took a deep breath. "C'mon, easy now, you haven't even seen them yet…"

"Yes, sir" Isuzu accepted and turned to her new companions, feeling all this was even more awkward that she had previous imagined. "Yes… We're ready… Thoth-sama"

Thoth raised one eyebrow.

"When someone introduces himself, isn't it proper manners to introduce yourself in return?"

"This year is gonna suck" Isuzu decided, lowering her eyes.

"But you know our names…" Ren commented, thinking it was kinda silly to do presentations to someone who already knew who they were. She did manage to avoid, in the last minute, to complete the phrase with a "don't you?"

It had just occurred to her that making such a question to the god of knowledge wouldn't be such a prudent thing to do.

"Amaya Ren" She gave in once his eyes slithered to her.

"Hironezumi Isuzu"

"Hironezumi Arisu" Arisu mumbled at her twin's side.

"I'm Aihara Misaki." The blonde kept a polite tone of voice as she wondered if they could just get that over with and go to class. Now that the teacher had finally arrived and the waiting was over, the girl was tired of being anxious and would rather just get to class and be done with all that already. Plus, despite herself, she couldn't deny a growing seed of curiosity that now made itself known more clearly.

Thoth nodded; there was not a change in his serious face.

"Very well. Follow me" With that Thoth turned his back to them, the long coat he wore over his clothes agitating as a mantle of waving water. The girls exchange looks, Arisu seeming to be asking with her eyes what his deal was. Misaki merely moved her lips in an inaudible "we can deal with this", though she was also unsure regarding their "teacher".

It was too early to form any solid opinion, but the first impression of him had been of a harsh man.

Somehow, the fact that the hallways were empty just helped them to pay more attention to their surroundings as they walked through the academy for the first time. There was an air of mystic-like place, even though Misaki knew it was just a school, but she found herself admiring the architecture all the same. The girl tried saying to herself that part of her feelings (of the most mysterious nature) were merely due to the fact that she knew the true nature and the reason behind the existence of that place, but the words lacked strength to convince even herself. For a second, her mind went to photos of temples her History teacher had showed the class once…

Ren took deep breaths, so slowly that no one actually noticed. In front of them, Thoth explained some details about the school and the classes, but there was no attention to be paid to him, let alone care. It wasn't anything far too different from what Melissa had told them anyway (or from what they had read in the student's manual).

When they stopped in front of one of the classes, Thoth turned to them only for one second before going in. The girls were unsure if they were meant to follow him or wait until they were called and introduced, but Misaki, already done with that waiting and steeping-in-ice feeling especially now they were there, went after him after with a groan that just the other three could hear.

"It is like introducing transferred students." Arisu reflected before standing in front of the class, hiding behind an expression of calmness that didn't quite match her emotions. Casting a fast glance to her sister with the corner of her eyes, she straightened her back without noticing it. "And I was nervous in the beginning of the year with the new school… How about that now?"

"Those are the new transferred students brought here by Zeus." Thoth said, more stating facts that presenting anyone. "Amaya Ren, Hironezumi Isuzu and Arisu and Aihara Misaki. Give them a warm welcome" There was no way he could have said that in a more automatic tone or more mechanic words.

"Yeah, give me that and a gun so I can shoot myself in the head…" Isuzu replied mentally with sarcasm that wasn't usual in her. With her hands crossed in front of her body, she greeted the class with a slow bow as she tried to not let her eyes wander to anyone, though she noticed that some of the people had hair and skin quite pale… No, it wasn't that, but… Dull. As if old photos with unnoticeable features…

"Maybe they are the spirits Melissa commented about… Oh, wait there, just use your head, Isuzu, of course they are!"

Ren kept her head up, fighting to do the same with her gaze which was on some point of the wall in the end of the room. To feel all those people's eyes (even if majority were spirits) on her made her skin crawl as her stomach became ice and she kept her nails against the palm of her hands in an effort to calm herself, stopping herself from holding the fabric of the pants she wore and starting to twist it in her fingers.

The feminine uniform was actually a skirt, but she opted to wear the same pants they had been wearing yesterday. Since there was a small shop in the academy, she could ask for the uniform pants later.

Arisu had decided to do the same, thinking there wouldn't be much of an issue anyway if it was just for that day. In her case, her pants were the ones of her actual school, once that she had been wearing that when Zeus had bought her to the academy.

"I'm shocked Thoth didn't say a thing about mixing uniforms or anything." Arisu reflected, running her brown eyes through the class. It was very easy to pinpoint who the gods were since the spirits looked so "fake". Not to mention their appearance: Some boys of her school did keep their hair long, but none like that blue-eyed god that was smiling to them with kindness.

Really, his hair (a light wax-like color) fell a bit under his waist.

At her side, Misaki's lips were shivering as she also looked at her classmates. To see friendly expressions undid a bit of the knot her organs felt to have formed since the last day along with a constant sensation that she would eventually throw them up. Without a signal of warning, she said fast.

"Nice to meet you all!"

"Since we're in this mess, I'll go with all I got!" She decided while smiling (or at least moving her lips to form one) and looking at Arisu with the corner of her eyes. The brown-haired girl was unable to try to smile, but the muscles of her face seemed softer in an expression of someone trying to feel better.

"Misaki is right. Let's do it…" She took notice of a girl with purple-ish hair in a sort of ponytail sitting by a window and guessed she was Yui Kusanagi, the human who had arrived before them. Her caramel eyes went from one of the new arrived to the other, trying to decipher their feelings through controlled appearances.

When Thoth told them to sit down, it didn't pass unnoticed by the girls that the only empty seats were really near the gods and Yui. Walking by the girl, Isuzu nodded in greeting. It had just occurred to her that this girl had spent a whole week and some days with those gods.

"At least we arrived together. She didn't even know we would come…" She hadn't thought much about the other "human representative" until now, but now it had occurred to Isuzu that Yui had faced those days alone. Oh, she had been with the gods, but there was still some sort of loneliness in this. With this thought and reassuring herself that Yui seemed a nice girl, Isuzu took a seat behind her.

Yui took advantage of those seconds before Thoth started the class to turn back to the girl and, at her side, Apollon did the same with his natural warm smile.

"Hi… Nice to meet you." Yui muttered, soon guessing that she and Arisu were not only sisters, but twins. Though Isuzu was taller than the other one (who was more or less Yui's height) their likeness was screaming.

"Hi…" Isuzu greeted her back and was about to say something else when Thoth started talking and Yui turned forwards. Not that Isuzu was any surprised… She doubted that even the most rowdy of students of her old school would have the guts to talk or fool around having Thoth as a teacher.

Casting a glance to her sister, Isuzu saw that Arisu wasn't as tense anymore: Her eyes weren't just fixated at some point ahead with a glass-like appearance, but Isuzu noticed small signals that she was holding the wish to look around. She also had stopped dragging her right foot against the floor, as she used to when something was bothering her and Arisu couldn't bring herself to put it in words.

The god behind Arisu, whose hair was of a peculiar tone of red, felt Isuzu's gaze and turned to her lifting his hand briefly in a wave when they eyes crossed. Isuzu repeated the gesture, even if her skin still felt stiff over her flesh. She couldn't see Ren since the other girl had took the seat far back them.

Turning her eyes to the blackboard, Isuzu started to pay attention to whatever Thoth was saying, more to distract herself than the remaining tension than for interest in the subject.

Time passed by and when the god of knowledge announced the end of classes for the day, Ren felt her brain vibrating inside the skull. The idea of classes (despite the objective of the place being to teach gods about humanity) couldn't be separated from the context she had imprinted, meaning normal subjects and though Ren would be thankful for not hearing even a mention of chemistry, she couldn't understand why they needed to learn some of the things Thoth had mentioned.

She had been quite surprised when he had started to discuss about human organs.

"I thought gods would know about it" Not only that, but apparently, Thoth would treat more about the subject of human anatomy during the rest of the week. She had studied it before in Biology, but saw no reason to do the same here.

Could it really be that gods were so different from humans?

Upon seeing her standing along with lilac-haired god that had been sitting at her side, one of the other gods made a gesture for her to come closer where Isuzu and Yui were still sitting, with Misaki and Arisu near them.

"You're Ren, aren't you?" He inquired when she approached, green eyes not unlike stones. When she nodded, his smile seemed to shine and he looked from her to the others. "It's great to meet you all! I'm Apollon Aganae Belea!"

Following the clue, the others gods presented themselves. The red-haired that had waved to Isuzu was Dionysius. The quiet one who had been sitting near Ren was Tsukiyomi (or Totsuka Tsukito, as he was being called here) and the other blonde with longer hair was Balder Hringhorni (Misaki betted mentally she would never be able to write that surname right).

"Hey, hey, what are you guys thinking of here?" His enthusiasm was such that Misaki thought that, even if he hadn't introduced himself, she would have ended up guessing that he was the god of Sun (or at least something alike it) and raised her hands in defense, unable to avoid a smile of her own.

"We just arrived yesterday, we haven't even seen around yet"

Arisu was about to comment that they hadn't truly "arrived" but being kidnapped, that's what, when Isuzu glanced at her and though it was calm, she comprehended it was better to let the matter drop so she opted for another thing.

"Speaking of which, they told us that there is a cafeteria. Where is it?" And she shrugged. "I'm hungry"

XxX

"Caramba, you can eat anything you want here!" Arisu muttered, impressed upon seeing the place. Though identical to that of a school (a large one, but still), the balcony had some snacks and in truth, you could ask anything at all for lunch or dinner.

"Wasn't it like this at your school?" Balder asked as he carried his own plate (there was just meat there). Arisu hesitated, unsure of how to explain something she had never had to and Misaki scratched the back of her head.

"Well… It's not exactly the same… We have food, of course, but the options are a lot more limited. This place is more like a restaurant! And I love it!" She turned, picking her order. At her side, also carrying a plate with some fish fillet and French fries, Isuzu agreed in silence but wouldn't say that out loud. She thought that the least Zeus could offer in exchange for their forced stay for a whole damn year was a good food.

"I felt the same way when I came here the first time" Yui told them while they went to sit with Ren and the others. Tsukito had walked away from the group, probably going to stay with his brother… The girl wasn't sure, she only knew that Tsukito until now had never had a meal with them. Even Balder sometimes didn't eat with them, since Thor used to go to him as soon as the classes were finished (somehow she suspected of Loki's involvement but she hadn't seen much of him since the official beginning of school year). "Thoth-sama mentioned that there was food, but I hadn't expected anything like that"

"Actually, it does make sense" Yui reflected with herself. "With Nordic, Greek, Japanese gods and one Egyptian? The cafeteria couldn't be less than that"

"And the classes are always like that?" Misaki asked suddenly. In a few minutes, Thoth had practically filled the whole blackboard with writings. Around, some others nodded making the girl sigh with the idea.

"I'll never, ever, complain of Sohta-sensei ever again"

"If you want to check the subjects of the last classes, we have the notes" Balder suggested with a smile that the girl was starting to believe to be natural of him, considering his soft features, almost delicate.

It was curious, even if they were "shackled" and reduced to humans, there was still some air about them that denounced their hidden nature. Even more curious was how alike this was being to a regular first day in new school. Reflecting about the same thing, Ren thought that if she didn't know the truth, perhaps she would have been even fooled into thinking that this was a normal school, maybe just very selective and traditional.

"But they do seem friendly… Well, not that this means anything… Since they are here to study about and with humans, they seem to know that there is no use in being rude to us"

As if her thought was a clue, the doors opened. A young man with bluish hair entered, saw the full table they were sitting in and avoided to look at them with a groan that Misaki interpreted almost as of despise. Without even a word, he went to the balcony.

"Take-Take! Come sit with us!" Apollon called with a wave, but the god merely looked from him to the others, picked something he had ordered and left. The blonde god sighed and lowered his arm, seeming disappointed.

"Okays, should I ask or it's better if I keep my mouth shut?" Arisu asked, still looking towards the doors, even if it was quite clear what this had been all about. Sitting in front of her, a shadow seemed to have dominated Yui's expression.

"Takeru Totsuka" Balder explained. "One of the gods refusing to attend school"

"Takeru? So… He is Susanoo, god of seas?" Isuzu asked, a bit impressed and finishing her last fries, ignoring when Arisu stole two.

"Well, it seems that he doesn't like us" Her sister said, without a sign that she cared about it and biting one of the stolen fries.

"It's not a matter of liking, I guess… He doesn't want to have a relationship with anyone who is going to class" Except his brother. Yui had already considered if she should ask Tsukito to talk with him, but had soon given up the idea. She didn't think it would do any good and feared this could lead the brothers to an argument (though Tsukito seemed unable to fight with whoever it was, it didn't mean Takeru wouldn't be annoyed). Besides, Zeus had made it quite clear that it was her duty and Thoth had said the same when, last day, had asked her if she planned to do anything regarding the other gods.

"Maybe if I had done something earlier, those girls wouldn't be here now" She didn't know how to feel about them, but until now she had been enjoying the idea of having other girls to talk to. And at least none seemed to be upset with her.

At least that was what she hoped.

"They should have understood that already. There is no way to get out of here but to graduate" Apollon muttered as he shook his head.

"Tell that to them, mate." Arisu thought with herself. "Because for what I see, they are a bunch of idiots" Her knowledge of myths was extremely basic, but the few things she had heard didn't leave a good impression and after today, this opinion was falling more and more even if Apollon and the others did act nice…

Ren, still keeping her words inside her mouth, only reflected. Though anger was a natural reaction (after all nor she nor the others had been exactly happy either) it was as Apollon had said: There was nothing to do but to obey. Simple as that.

"Do they think that acting as children they will achieve anything?" It was hard to have any respect for them as gods with this behavior. It was already weird to sometimes feel a vibe like a whispering secret in the air that reminded her of what they truly were and at the same time be sitting with some them who were acting as normal students, even talking to them as if they were not different (which she was thankful for)…

"They are in human bodies. How do you think it would be if it wasn't so?" A primitive shiver, the kind that came from instinct as a genetic memory, shook her body for some reason.

When they stood up, Yui turned to the new students. Usually, after lunch, they used to go to the Council's room with Apollon and the others or, if she was alone, to her room to study and think in some solution regarding the "problematic gods".

"I think it's better to show where the Students Council's room is" She shrugged, explaining. "Well, we do call it like that, but we actually use it as a studying room too"

Misaki, after seeing Takeru, was thinking in how the others gods were like. For a second, the idea of using the pretext of getting to know the academy to search for them crossed her mind, but she held herself back, telling herself to not act as a child.

"Fairy-chan, I'll go search for Dee-dee and Tsuki-Tsuki then!" Apollon decided. "Who knows, maybe they will join us?"

"I can try talking to Loki. It's just a reunion, maybe he'll agree to come at least this once."

"I hope so…"

But she wouldn't place her money on it. And taking how Arisu lifted an eyebrow and shook her head slowly, or how Isuzu raised her shoulders a bit, they didn't believe it too.

XxX

The room was, as apparently everything in the rest of the school, more elegant than what one would normally expect. Adorned with a rug, there was a couch and soft chairs with a marble table in the center. Even if she should already be used to the place's style, Misaki was again impressed… The colored glass windows, the hallways and the light colors, everything was just so elegant that she was torn between finding it beautiful and being disturbed. Her thoughts then went to aunt Wakana.

"She would have liked this room, I guess. But she would probably find it a bore for not having the paintings she likes. And she would have put some flowers around, too" To remember her aunt brought some sadness again, but she tried to not think about it. "It's only for a year, only for a year, only a year…"

As long as they managed to graduate.

Yui took a sit in the couch and a deep breath, not entirely relaxed.

"This place seems more like one of those fancy tea rooms" Arisu muttered unsure if she liked that or not as she placed herself in the couch at Yui's side, resting her arms in the back of it, feeling somewhat out of her element in such a room though her body relaxed naturally with the comfort of the couch.

"Kusanagi-san, you seem worried" Ren said softly. She still hadn't sat down, but leaned her arms in the back of one of the chairs. There hadn't been even a shadow of a smile from her until now (same with Isuzu), but Yui had noticed that the expression of the pale girl was serene.

"Call me Yui, please…" It was the answer as she held her chin and leaned the elbow in her knee. "I'm thinking about Takeru and the others…"

There was a moment of silence.

"Look, there's no need to worry. We're in the same situation" Isuzu told her sitting at her side too. "We have been bought here to help, right?"

Yui hesitated at those words. She didn't want to give out the impression of being a drama queen… But if they would live together for so long, maybe it would be best to take that out of the way. Closing her fists on her knees, she went on.

"Maybe I should have done something earlier… If I had, this wouldn't have happened to you"

The four of them blinked. Arisu looked at Yui with loss in her expression and Misaki, who had picked a curved couch at the side of the chair at the head of the small table, asked.

"Hmm… Yui? You…" The word slowly faded as she didn't know how to approach the matter. She had been so focused on her own troubles that there hadn't been a thought that Yui could ever feel that way.

"We're not upset with you" Ren said in the same calm tone while Isuzu put her hand on Yui's shoulder, though not like she used to with Arisu. "If that's what you're thinking about."

"We're upset with Zeus, that's for sure." Arisu leaned her head back, rolling her eyes as she thought about the sky god from Greece. "And with the guys who decided it is a bright idea to act as morons"

With those words that held sincerity, Yui risked a smile.

"We're all in the same situation, okay? So, chill" Misaki insisted.

Yui heard sincerity in those words and felt her insides lose some of the iron that had replaced the flesh. The idea of how one of those girls could blame her hadn't left her since yesterday and had actually plagued her, sometimes fading under other thoughts and then dominating her mind, not unlike a rock that could be hidden under the sea's waves sometimes but that would never leave its spot.

She still felt bad about it all, but the Isuzu's next words distracted her.

"About that… Cards on the table" The girl lifted her hands at her shoulders' height with a sigh. "I have no idea at all of how to make them come to classes"

"I suggest a whip. Or maybe electrified collars!" Her sister replied with an expression that was close to disdain as she recalled the look of the blue-haired god. Like Yui had said, he didn't seem willing to even join them for a meal for Pete's sake!

"Arisu!" Isuzu censured her, but the twin merely shrugged without a care.

"Oh, have mercy, it's the damn truth. They are being idiots, there, I said it!" She looked to the others. "Let's be honest here, we are humans and we have realized that being stubborn is just useless, they are gods and they're the ones acting like that?" Her tone was not far from being indignant. Although age didn't imply maturity, she would have expected that beings that had been alive for more decades than she could imagine would behave with more sense.

"It is immature" Ren agreed, sitting down and saw herself speaking as well. "They don't seem to consider that, if they don't graduate, they are not the only ones who won't be stuck here." It wasn't like her to just open her thoughts to people she didn't know well (even if it was a shared opinion), but it was something she couldn't keep inside for longer. And to her, it wasn't a matter of just immaturity, but of selfishness. Had they really not a thought about how others would have to bear the consequences of this behavior too? Didn't they care at all?

"Probably, last option"

Many strikes against them.

"I didn't do a thing in the first days because I thought that if they had a time to calm down and accept the situation, they would understand it by themselves. For what I see, it didn't work…" Yui sighed. While she couldn't say she didn't understand the feeling, on another hand she had to agree that it was a somewhat annoying behavior.

"Did they say anything?"

"I barely saw them those days… And if I did try to talk to them, what good would it do? I would be just repeating what they already know" That if any of them, as Loki and Takeru, even waited enought to listen to her. Hades had already told her to stay away, though he had mentioned something about "disgraces", which she hadn't really understood. "It would be a waste of time"

"They are being really stubborn" Someone commented by the door. Apollon was back, followed by Tsukito. The moon god just took a seat at Arisu's side without a word as Apollon sat at one chair and Yui nodded to them.

"Thoth-sama spoke with me yesterday about that" She told them. "Well, that they are stubborn, we know it already. The question is to find a way to bring them to class"

"Is that why she was worried?" Apollon remembered that Yui, besides worried about the other gods, had also thought about the reaction of the new students. Well, for what he had seen, none of them seemed angry or upset. Confused and a bit disturbed (though some tried to hide), but not angry.

"No worries, Fairy-chan" He smiled at her. "We'll think about something" There had to be a solution, they just hadn't found it yet.

"I've given my suggestion" Arisu muttered with a small smile that was as sharp as a knife. "Or then we could tie them up, gag them and drag them to the classroom, no one said their presence had to be willing. Or conscious."

The idea made Misaki laugh and she bent down, hiding her face on her knees while imagining some gods in this state and trying to hold the laugher. Isuzu hid her face in one of her hands, shaking her head.

"See? Misaki approves!"

"Yes, Arisu, but I'm sorry to tell that I wouldn't put my money on that" The blondestraightened herself, putting some threads away that had fallen in her face. "But it is still an idea!"

At that moment, Balder entered, with disappointment clear in his face.

"Loki didn't want to come…" He explained while sitting down. "He said that even a reunion would be related to the school and he wants nothing to do with it"

The others sighed. Yui couldn't say there was the smallest of surprises on it.

"You know them…" Ren started, looking to the other gods. "Is there anything that could make them interested in coming?"

"I don't think so, Ren-chan… Loki loathes to receive orders and to him, the classes also sound like a bore."

"So he would come if the classes were interesting…" Yui wondered, to which the light god agreed. The girl thought about it, it wasn't as if the classes were really fun (while there were moments she considered them at least a bit interesting), however maybe there was something else that could sparkle the fire god's interest. The question of escaping the Garden or not meant nothing, in their vision it was a threat.

Arisu imagined them talking to Thoth and suggesting he would present the subjects in another light. Chances were, they would receive a lecture for trying to tell him how to teach or maybe he would ignore them. It was strange, for a god of knowledge, one would expect him to be more passionate about teaching.

Some of her teachers would have made Loki interested in their subjects. She could remember a teacher of Science she had had two years ago, who was so dramatic and intense in class that you couldn't help but to laugh and pay attention, even if you didn't do good on it.

"Most people refuse to do things under threats" Yui reflected. "Wait a minute… That's it, approaching the question under this light is not right"

"If it was possible to offer something" She muttered, more to herself than anyone else. "Something that made them interested"

"It would have to cause interest enough so they would not give up attending" Tsukito recalled. "Otherwise, they may change their minds again"

"And we would be back to square zero" Misaki completed. "So we need something that also works as… As a warranty of sorts?" That sounded like a major problem, for even if they managed to convince them to attend, there was no guarantees they wouldn't refuse it again after some weeks.

Ren hesitated, remembering how in Greek Myths there was the Styx River, one of the rivers of the Underworld, and how in some myths the gods invoked its name in oaths that were so sacred that were unbreakable.

"That's with the Greeks. But I don't know about the Nordics." And something so serious… She wasn't even sure Apollon or the others would agree with this, it sounded as using a resource far too extreme and sacred, even given the situation. And more, how they would get Hades to do so? She couldn't think about anything else, but…

To her surprise, what Apollon said then was close to what was lurking in her mind.

"The only kind of guarantee they could give us would be their words, as in a vow"

"And would that be enough?" Arisu did manage to hide her disdain for she didn't place enough trust in mere words. People who kept their word were few and she had no reasons to believe when regarding those gods.

However, a great seriousness appeared in Apollon, Balder and Tsukito's expressions, who nodded solemnly. The change was unbelievable and the air of the room became carried with sensations of powers and existence that were out of their mind's reach. It was like suddenly feeling a scent that had no nearby source, as roses in a room without flowers.

But that wasn't a scent: It was a sensation that touched her very genes like a living being that peeled their skin off. Misaki had to fight a shiver.

Any previous smile had died as if they had never existed and their eyes were both old and young, glass marbles that held poison and cure. It was the first time any of them saw them like this and it wasn't pleasant.

It was close to frightening, even if they didn't mean to be so.

"There are oaths that cannot ever be broken. They invoke laws and powers too ancient for them to dare to disobey." There was also the fact they would be swearing not only to mortals but to other gods as well, not to mention the value of their honors. Even if still with her doubts, Arisu just accepted it and her sister commented.

"Even so, there is still the problem of the how. Why would they ever swear this? What would they gain?"

"The right to not attend classes"

All eyes converted to Yui.

"Of what the hell are you…?"

"But… But we're trying to make them be there!" Misaki was dumbfounded, thinking she had to have misunderstood. "How can we give them such right?" If they did, they could very well give it all up and get used to the idea of living here for all the eternity.

"Fairy-chan?"

"Just listen" Yui leaned forward, looking around as an idea took shape in her mind. "Something interesting and fun… Very well, we know that. We can't change the classes themselves, but that's not the only thing a school has to offer. Then we need something attractive enough for them to take part. We can this right as a prize so they will also make this oath of going to class should they lose…"

She smiled.

"An Sports Event!"

The other girls comprehended.

"Yui… This… This is awesome!"

"It will call their attention for sure!"

"I do not understand what you are all talking about." Tsukito tilted his head to the side as Balder and Apollon exchanged looks, both shrugging as a signal they weren't quite following as well (even they could guess it was a sort of competitions event, no different from some they had back home). Arisu turned to the Nordic god, agitation dancing in her eyes.

"This event is what the name says. An event where students get in teams."

"And then, take part in competitions"

"The winning team gets a prize, like all those sports things"

"As I said, in this case, the prize would be that they could miss school. However, if they lose, they will have to be there. It's a bet, it's fun and it would interest them enough so they would accept to make such promises." Yui concluded. It was a risk, but it was the best idea they had and the only that, should they win, would make sure they wouldn't go through the same situation again.

"Loki may indeed get interested" Balder said slowly, thinking about his friends and evaluating the idea before smiling. Thor wouldn't be a problem, he wasn't keen on leaving Loki alone and though he expressed little interest, Balder knew him better than that. "I'm sure he will"

"Takeru may found it appealing as well" Tsukito commented. "If not by the competitions themselves, the idea of not being forced to class…"

"Okay, let's think about it with calm" Misaki leaned her arms on her legs as Arisu's eyes still burned. "What kind of trials would we have?"

XxX

"Very well!" Yui clapped, standing up. The table was covered by papers which writings varied from ideas of organization of the event to sports, some contained small drawings to illustrate better some ideas they had (coming from both gods and humans). During almost two hours, they had discussed which sports would be involved in the event (weighing pros and cons) and all sort of details.

Though she had never took part in student's councils or done any planning like that, Yui found herself having fun while at it. Some of the gods' ideas had been used while others had been at least amusing, since in the heat of the moment they seemed to forget that there were in human bodies and, therefore, limited.

"This can't really be easy to them" The girl thought, organizing some papers. "But without a doubt, they are giving their best!" What was a relief, considering the reasons for which they were doing all this.

"I'll tell this to Thoth-sensei!"

"How about we go try talking to the others meanwhile?" Apollon asked as he stood too. "So we'll be sure we can start the preparations and schedule a date!" Despite his excitation, it would be insanity to make the event right in the next day, so they had agreed to schedule it to some days later (long enough so they could get it all ready and close enough so the others wouldn't end up changing their minds).

As it wasn't needed that they all went to talk with Thoth, the best thing to do was really talking to the others.

"You mean trying to convince them" Arisu smirked as she accompanied Yui. "I'd rather take my chances with telling all this to Thoth!" She laughed.

Ana: So they finally met some of the gods. The idea of the sports event I took from the actual game, but since I never got to play it, the competitions will not be the same.

Thoth: You took your sweet time with the update.

Ana: Look, Thoth...

Thoth: Thoth-sama.

Ana: But I'm not even your student! I'm in college, for crying out loud!

Thoth: It matters not. There is no reason for you to refer to me in any other way.

Ana: Okay, why argue over small matters anyway, listen Thoth-sama -sarcasm- It wasn't that much of a delay, I get busy and...

Thoth: Think more about people who may read this.

Ana: But...

Thoth: You want reviews? You want readers?

Ana: Everyone does, but...

Thoth: You want to post this? Then be more responsible. If you have no time to write, you shouldn't post it in the first place.

Ana: But...

Thoth: That's final.

Ana: Who do you... What the... Can someone... Just what the devil was that all about?

Yui: I'm a bit surprised he even cared to speak about this. I thought he wouldn't even bother.

Arisu: Nah, he just wants more screen-time.

Ana: Really? All this over more spotlight?

Chapter Text

Apollon knew that Dionysus should be relaxing somewhere, probably in the gardens. The redhead god would surely help them talk to Hades and explain the new idea. He wasn't absolutely certain that his uncle would accept it right away, but if that proved to not be the case, the Sun god would have to insist until he caved.

"You are Arisu are twins, right?" He asked Isuzu, fishing for conversation as the girl walked besides him. The idea of being alone with one of the gods (even one as cheerful as Apollon seemed to be) had made her a bit nervous again, not unlike an old disease suddenly waking in her body once more but his behavior was slowly making her feel a bit more at ease.

It was hard to not be touched by his cheerfulness. Deep in her mind there was a seed of doubt if this was his usual mood or if it had something to do with the fact he was (at the moment) human like her. Isuzu had expected the gods to be more solemn and dignified, even distant, considering the few myths she knew.

"Yes, I'm the eldest by just some seconds." She decided to continue with that topic, it was as good as any and better than staying in silence. "You have a twin too, don't you? Artemis" There were some things that were practically basic knowledge.

"Goddess of the moon and hunt. Mainly." There were others, as the "domains" (per say) of the Greek gods could be quite numerous. His green eyes shined so much the color seemed to get brighter as he commented to the girl. "She is really amazing and I know I can trust her completely, she is the best! Artemis has always been at my side. Right from the when we were born, actually." He chuckled a bit. "When our mother was pregnant, Artemis was born first and right there, she helped mom to give birth to me" He told her, excitement never leaving his voice or face.

Isuzu was surprised, for this was a detail she didn't know about the goddess or the birth of the twins. Even if they were deities and didn't abide by most of the rules known by mortals (so nothing should surprise her), the idea of a just newborn Artemis helping her mother to give birth to her brother was pretty hard to picture.

"Helping the younger since the beginning" She said just to say something after that information and still with the wary way of someone spending the first minutes in a talk with someone they don't know. "You two must be really close"

"Inseparable!" Apollon exclaimed. It was often said that joy could made a person glow, but in his case this was almost literal, casting a wave of warmth in the air that Isuzu's senses told her that it was not in her mind. "But believe me, she can be really scary when angry" He crossed his arms behind his head. "Oh, I wish she was here, I think you'd like to meet her"

For a brief moment, his eyes seemed to get lost, as if Apollon could and was looking inside himself.

"You miss her…" The girl let it escape, but the god merely nodded after a hesitant pause. Apollon turned to her and nodded.

"Well, knowing I can't see her while I'm here… It just feels weird." There had been a time when he had been made into a mortal and forced to work for a man, but it hadn't been the same. He had been on Earth, not in some place set apart from everything else by his Father. "I wonder how she is now…" Suddenly, Apollon shook his head when he realized what he had said and laughed. "Oh, if she had heard me just now, she would probably tell me to concentrate in graduate and stop being silly!"

"Typical of an older sister!" Isuzu commented, thinking about Arisu and understanding very well what Apollon meant. If she was here without her sister… Even surrounded by people, there would be a seed of loneliness of which she wouldn't be able to get rid of. Once you loved someone when you missed them that space in your mind that belonged to them felt empty and couldn't be filled by anyone else.

"What, have you said things like that to Arisu too?" He guessed with a pretended slyness and Isuzu lowered her head in an accepting gesture.

"Guilty as charged." She could even remember some of those times. Apollon was about to say something when they spotted a red mane ahead.

"Hey there, Apollon!" Dionysus was right there, sitting in a bank in the shadow of some trees, a green bottle in his hand. "And… Hironezumi Isuzu, wasn't it?"

"Yes. Dionysus, right?"

"That's me." He lifted the hand with the bottle in greeting. His other elbow was resting in the bank's back, a posture of complete relaxation as if he did not have a single care. Isuzu saw that his eyes were green like Apollon's, but darker, more like leaves than stones and there was something strange in them, a wild glimpse that you could catch at a moment and miss in another. "God of Grape's Harvest, Wine, Fertility, Theatre and Ritual Madness, so on and so forth"

Isuzu eyed the bottle.

"Uh… That is not…?"

"No, no. Just juice" The god offered it to her, but the girl refused politely and thanked him for it. "So, how it is the first day going in this whole "academy of gods" for you?" It was impossible to know what he thought of the place just by his tone. Here was some amusement there, but it could be born of many things.

"Better than I had expected, honestly" There was no lie in this and Isuzu would rather be sincere. During the night, her mind had projected several possibilities and sceneries, going from light colors to the darkest and some had been quite unpleasant.

"Dee-Dee is my brother as well, Suzu-Suzu"

"Suzu-Suzu?" The girl thought taken back from how Apollon had just addressed her, but decided to let it go. If he wanted to call her like this, very well. Dionysus must have taken the brief surprise in her eyes as a reaction for their kindred rather than for the nickname.

"Half, actually. By father" There was no way to be surprised at this, Isuzu considered, taking in account who their father was.

"Mr. Zeus-I-Can't-Keep-It-In-My-Pants"

"Dee-dee, we just had an idea to convince Uncle Hades and the others!" So both made a brief summary of what they had in mind. The other god listened to them without interrupting, merely finishing his drink while Apollon asked him to tag along.

"So now we decided to tell it to uncle."

The red-headed studied his half-brother and the girl with absolute calmness.

"Well, it is an idea. Not like we can do anything else." He muttered as he stood and stretched. "Perhaps he will listen to all of us." He didn't care much for the classes, however he was well aware that there would be no way of leaving otherwise. This wasn't an experience he was rejoicing much, but he would rather work with the others on how to succeed.

They both exchanged looks, well aware that if Hades didn't accept, they would have to think harder in how to convince him to come to class and they didn't have any other idea.

This had to work.

"Do any of you know where he can be?" The girl asked, not wanting to think about that possibility.

"He usually wanders around" Dionysus told her as they walked. Isuzu could notice that just how that a person could feel a bit of warmth near Apollon, there was something in Dionysus that denoted a wilderness within, something as fine as a blade that could cut you the moment it touched your skin, even if just lightly. However, while with Apollon she had felt it when he had get excited, with the other god it was something that couldn't be predicted. "Maybe he is by the gates or the cafeteria"

They checked the cafeteria first, which was empty and took their way to the gates. Hades was not there too, so they walked around the gardens, talking among them until Dionysus noticed a known figure sitting in one of the stone stairs.

Upon being called, the god turned his head to the three and stood.

Isuzu observed him a bit, as she had not seen him yet, nor had she truly tried to imagine how the Underworld ruler looked like... He was taller than the other Greek gods and she with a waved hair of the strangest darkness that had a sort of greenish reflex. It fell down to his shoulders, some strands hiding one of his eyes.

Despite the strange color of his hair and his pale skin, he still looked just like a normal guy and Isuzu's body by now should be getting used to the strange waves in air that still carried some of the god's aura.

That was not the case.

What she felt was dread.

Something cold was born from the inside of her bones and spread to her blood as a disease. It was as if she was already dead and her body didn't know that yet.

This lasted just a second, but it was enough to her.

Later, Isuzu would admit that perhaps there was no other way to feel when meeting that god for the first time, since his domain was something not meant for the living's eyes or knowledge.

"Uncle Hades, this is…"

"Don't get near me" The phrase was not towards Apollon, but Isuzu and it took her by surprise, making her stop in the middle of the stairs unsure of how to act. Then it came the exasperation. First Susanoo (Takeru, she reminded herself), and now this? What, they didn't want even to…

Dionysus gave her a light push.

"C'mon, don't mind this"

She was unsure if he knew how she had felt when Hades had looked at her or if he meant his uncle's words.

"You will have misfortune." Hades continued in the same indecipherable tone, which carried a steel-seriousness that Isuzu had never heard before. At least the god, upon a more attentive exam, didn't seem to be angry.

Deciding to follow the advice and ignore it, she approached him with the redheaded. The coldness was going away and she was thankful for the shackles that Zeus had placed in the gods.

Picking good manners as the best politics, Isuzu bowed slightly. The visible eye of the god, the same color as fresh-spilled blood, landed on her and something in her very soul shivered.

"Pleasure to meet you"

"Likewise" He muttered. Even if he was polite, the deepness of his voice made it sound like iron. Aware of what the subject should probably be, Hades turned his gaze from the girl to his nephews and said in a tone of warning. "Apollon…"

The Sun god didn't let him finish.

"Uncle Hades, listen! We have a proposition. About how you and the others are skipping class!"

Hades merely raised an eyebrow, without a word. Apollon was far more colloquial than usual and he could see that they wouldn't give up until he listened, so the god of the Underworld decided to humor them. Isuzu, on another hand, registered it was weird to talk about school attendance with the uncle of a classmate… An uncle that, by theory, should also be a classmate.

"We'll be realizing an event" She told him. "Sports event. We're all going to compete"

Hades frowned a bit. He didn't care about such things very much and back on Greece, festivities involving sports were more to Apollon or Zeus. But he kept quiet, having expected that they would start to insist that he gave in to Zeus' idea and not for that.

The god would understand if they went for the first option and he understood their feelings, but on another hand simply bending to his younger brother's tyranny was too much. Zeus had a story of getting what he wanted, but there were limits to everything. He had gone to the point of involving other gods and sealing them as humans and this was a great outrage.

The others however carried on.

"Look, if by the end of the competition, you and the others who don't want to come to classes win…" Dionysus shrugged as if the matter meant nothing. "Then you don't need to. Simple as that"

"You may cut classes at will. We won't bother you anymore" Isuzu promised, seeing this had caught his attention. Hades looked from one to another, studying their intentions… It was the most piercing gaze the girl had ever felt, as if he was seeing under her skin and flesh, dissecting her soul.

"I comprehend. The involving conditions?"

Isuzu bit her lower lip. All she could do was to hope that Hades would accept to submit himself to the ties of the divine oaths.

XxX

"Where he usually stays?"

"In the gardens" The God of the Moon answered Ren, picking a small blue notebook from his pocket. "Should I start questioning you?"

The question in itself attracted the grey eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"As a student of the Academy, I have the duty of making you feel welcome and try to establish bonds." He explained. "Should I start making questions to get to know you?" He repeated and Ren merely shook her head, though she was surprised by his way of putting it.

"Only if you want it…" She hesitated before completing. "Otherwise, it will be just an interrogatory." And not only it wasn't the same as she had no need for this.

Apparently understanding what she meant, Tsukito just put the notebook back in his pocket and kept his silence. Ren didn't know how to act, though she had opted to go with the lilac-haired god justly because she had felt that Tsukito wouldn't be asking much about her… Yet the girl also felt she should try to relate with the gods.

"And how to do it?" Ren had no idea if she should ask something or how to start a conversation and there was some tempting satisfaction in just keep looking for Susanoo without saying anything.

The idea of keeping the silence won.

They just walked. Among paths and the courtyard there were flowerbeds and the gardens properly said were ample, trees more frequent, some with and old and wild appearance. Recalling the woods she had seen yesterday from the room's window, Ren wasn't that surprised. Being in the fresh air like that seemed to create a soft breeze in her blood and she wondered if the sensation of clean air was due to the place having been created by divine powers.

"I don't think so. At least I don't believe this is the whole reason. There is no pollution and a lot of trees, after all" For an instant, she wondered what the gods were thinking of all that. Not of studying about humankind (Apollon and Balder had made their opinions quite clear already), but the environment in itself.

Was it too different from where they lived?

She was considering asking Tsukito about this when they caught glimpse of a figure of bluish hair taking a nap underneath an old tree which roots twisted as they dug the earth and made Ren thought about the old oak back at home. Her father was always telling how old it was and how he used to play on it when he was a child.

At that moment, Arisu's suggestion came back to her mind. There had been just a joke at the time, but the girl was assaulted by the doubt that if this idea didn't work out, Arisu could start to consider her previous idea with more seriousness. And Ren wasn't sure she wouldn't back her up.

"Oi, aniki" Takeru opened his eyes when he felt the shadows of the two blocking the sun and stood up, straightening his back. Upon seeing Ren and recalling that he had seen her back in the cafeteria, the god let out a groan. "Who is that one?"

"One of the new students bought here by Zeus" Tsukito explained as he introduced her. "Amaya Ren"

The girl greeted him with a nod.

"Eh, more humans? I didn't know" The god commented, evaluating her without altering his expression and not seeming at all interested in speaking to her. Ren, who hadn't forgotten his attitude in the cafeteria, hadn't expected anything different and remained just quiet. Takeru wouldn't want to hear her, but maybe he would listen to his brother.

"You weren't interested in anything regarding the school" It wasn't a justification or accusation, Tsukito was just telling why he hadn't told his brother there would be new students. Ren noticed that Takeru didn't mind when, as an answer, he shrugged with a kind of smile.

"And I'm really not" Upon talking to Ren, his voice was harsher. "And what do you want?"

"Pleased to meet you as well." Even if keeping a polite tone, a vein of pure coldness pulsed between the words, disappearing after it when the girl added "We need to talk with you"

Takeru just raised an eyebrow, not caring for her words but not turning his back on them either. The two brothers couldn't be more different in the temperament department and it wasn't hard for Ren to relate them to the sea and the moon.

"If you're going to blabber about how I should just lower my head and accept this stupid idea of school" He almost spit the word as if it was a cursing one. "You can forget it"

It was Ren's turn to raise her eyebrows, blinking.

"By any means" As Yui had said it, what was the point in talking something they were already aware of? "But yes, it is about the school"

Takeru rolled his eyes, not believing that anything that human girl had to say could interest him in the least, especially regarding that matter. Studying humans seemed like a waste of time and he never had agreed to the idea but had been forced. How the others could even accept such a thing, it was beyond his comprehension.

But if they didn't care about having their rights ripped apart, very well, but he wouldn't admit this.

"It's about an event it has been decided." Before his brother's words, Takeru looked from one to another before denying again. Classes or events, he didn't care.

"You do know we don't have to do anything that old geezer says" The Sea God put his hands at the pants' pockets as he talked to his brother. "He can't just keep us here"

"Apparently, not only he can but did. Otherwise, why we're still here?" The girl wondered calmly. She wasn't annoyed (at least not yet), she just hoped Takeru would accept the idea.

"It wasn't Zeus who had the idea, it was us" She explained and Takeru scoffed a laugh, turning his eyes to her. Ren couldn't tell if that was an expression of mockery or disdain, maybe both, tangled in one thing.

"And? What does that has to do with me?"

"It's an event of sports competitions, Takeru" His brother told him. "Something common in human schools" The spark in those golden eyes denounced that those words had caught his attention. As Tsukito had said, the idea of physical activities (and competitions) seemed to please him.

So, they had a chance to convince him.

"That was the simple part" Now all that remained to do was to explain what they would be betting and the oaths involved. "He won't like that"

"It would be those who refused to attend classes against those who are agreeing to it" Tsukito continued and Takeru narrowed his eyes.

"There is something more on that, aniki…" He said slowly and turned to Ren, crossing his arms and frowning as he stared at her in a way almost like that of someone watching a snake that could attack at any moment. The girl didn't blink and was about to go in details when Tsukito was more direct.

"If you lose, you will have to attend classes"

"Say what?" Takeru backed his head away a bit as people do when shocked, face marked by disbelief and looking from his brother to Ren who nodded, confirming that he had heard it right. "No way, why would I ever agree to that?"

Keeping a sarcastic answer to herself, the girl tilted her head to the side.

"Because you can gain something, should you win" Tsukito noted she didn't smile (still hadn't smiled once yet, actually), but her eyes had some form of amusement.

"Yeah? And what would that be?" Takeru's posture made it clear he didn't believe that he could gain anything in an event like that. Still managing to keep her temper, Ren carried on.

"The right to not come to class"

The god was in silence for a moment.

"Is that serious?" He looked to them again and, not believing Ren, turned to his brother. "No tricks?"

Tsukito nodded, still looking as calm as ever. Someone passing by could think he was bored and that this conversation had no importance whatsoever. Ren thought he was quite calm, considering all that was at stake.

"In the case that you win, this shall be your right. No one will try to force you to attend school or to graduate anymore"

While Takeru was silent for a moment Ren evaluated that he could point that this wasn't much, since they would remain in the academy anyway, but the god smiled with confidence.

"Or I can keep ignoring it as I have done since the beginning of this nonsense"

"What do you want, a trophy for stubbornness?" The raven-haired girl wasn't annoyed, she was exasperated. No one liked to be forced to do anything, fair enough, but she still thought those gods could try and not only be more mature but think about others as well.

"Yes, but then it will be your right" The girl explained, hoping the spark she had seen and the smile were signs that the perspective was too good to be ignored. As the deal seemed to be going fine enough, she decided to go to the last point. "If you agree to take part, you need to give us your word."

The smile didn't shiver and he stabbed her with his eyes, something more appearing in them that Ren didn't know how to define… With his arms still crossed, he gestured with his head for her to go on.

"You and the others will swear that, in case you lose, you will go to class" She fought to not avoid his gaze, the seriousness never leaving her voice when she shrugged. "Complain if you want, but be there"

"She means an old oath, Takeru" The Moon God clarified while standing at her side. Takeru frowned a bit more and they exchanged a heavy look making Ren's insides shiver as those of one who had looked upon a sphinx's eyes. The girl had thought the Sea God could even laugh to the idea of using something so old and sacred in a school matter (that he considered ridiculous), but Takeru sighed and that heaviness left his face.

"Very well" He looked to his brother, his posture softened and a smile appearing. "Sorry aniki, but I'm going serious about it. You won't win"

XxX

"I think your friends may be in the gardens" She commented. "We've already searched for them. And if they don't like it here, maybe they won't even want to stay in the building" Considering what Balder had told her about the trickster god, she thought it made sense, but he shook his head.

"One thing about Loki" Balder explained as they went to another hallway. "Is that he never is or does what may be expected or assumed"

"Do you think they will at least agree to this?" Misaki asked, needing to lift her head a bit to look at the other's face. She wasn't sure about asking if they would like it, so she had limited herself to at least an agreement but then decided to go on. "Or maybe like it? I mean, not for the dispute, but really like it?"

Now that they sought out the two gods, the blonde girl had thought it could be easier if they realized that attending school wasn't that much of a torture as they seemed to think. Fine, she wasn't all that excited for classes either (like math or some others), but there was no need for that behavior. Humans did it for a long time of their lives and didn't complain and there were things they could do to make it more interesting.

Or maybe she was just thinking like that due to being curious regarding them?

"Actually, maybe they will." Balder considered while thinking about it. "It does sound fun and this is what will matter the most to Loki. And if we both agree, I'm sure Thor will come as well" Studying the girl's expression, the Light god smiled and touched her head. "You also seem more comfortable. I'm happy"

"Hm?" Misaki could only notice how warm his hand was, caught off guard by the caress. It was amazing how crystal-like his eyes were due to the light shade of blue.

"Today in the morning, when you were entering the class, you all seemed nervous… Almost scared."

Misaki had hoped she had hid her tension better than this, but decided to not lie and nodded with a solemn expression, throwing one of the wild strands of hair over her shoulder.

"Scared isn't quite the term, but we were nervous… Well, I was." She added, not wanting to talk about the others without being sure. There had been fear and not just of never going home. As a painting made by a madman, the colors of her feelings got mixed, occulted themselves and danced until there were points where there was no possible sense.

Balder didn't interrupt her and just studied the girl as she recalled her own feelings (not hard to do, once there were still some remains of it in her system). But fear regarding the gods themselves? Misaki didn't think she had felt that, the focus of such storm being more the situation itself.

"I was feeling a lot of things. I was upset, confused, tense…"

"And now?"

Misaki thought about for a second. She wasn't happy and she hadn't forgot the threat that was over her head like a blade that could fall at any minute, there was no way to lie about that, however her emotions seemed to be going back to their places.

"Now I think I'm kinda getting used to the idea" Or maybe she had just accepted this was reality, in any way, this was the only way she could explain. Before there had been a feeling of being merely wrapped by a frail veil that could be ripped apart at any moment and nothing had felt solid. And now, after meeting some of the gods and Yui, Misaki felt more secure that maybe that year wouldn't be so awful. With a smile, she told the Nordic.

"And since I'm in this, I decided to deal with it the best way I can" There was no other solution, so she could at least do herself a favor and face it head on. Oh, she wasn't making a "Glad Game" (in fact, she despised those things) and she could never forget what was at risk, but would it help to be sulking and mourning?

It wasn't helping some of the gods, that's for sure. You either accepted that in order to deal with it or you could do like them and try to ignore it.

The Light god at her side nodded to her.

"That was more or less what I thought when I came here." He told her looking around as they walked through the hallway of window-glasses of pale colors that were carried inside by the sunlight and reflected in the long carpet. "I was confused and I despised the idea of being stuck here against my will."

Considering the sweet happiness he had showed up until now, this surprised Misaki. However, Balder didn't notice her expression as he went on.

"I didn't like that either and I was angry at the idea of not going back home, having someone had nothing to do with me telling me what to do…" Perhaps it was because she had just heard him talking calmly until now, but he sounded somewhat different when he was serious. Then he turned to her. "But after I thought about it, the idea of studying humans and meeting gods of other places ended up being interesting."

Misaki noticed by his phrasing that Balder wasn't making an effort just so he could go back to his world. After getting used to it, he had started to feel really excited about the whole thing and was having fun. Honestly, she hadn't thought about it like that. For a human, studying with gods was something so out of reality that caused varied emotions, but she hadn't though the gods could feel something alike.

"Zeus commented they're here because they got too distant from humans and no longer understand them." She tried to recall the exact words, without success. "Their connection with them is fragile or something, something." But then why just them? It couldn't be due to their cult having faded away, otherwise there would be more gods of more mythologies here.

"I wonder what made them distant" But she didn't feel comfortable asking this, it sounded as a question that was too personal. "Later, maybe"

"That was part of why we got so edgy" She shrugged in agreement. "I mean, in a moment I'm in my apartment, then suddenly I'm before Zeus and he says" She imitated a deep voice and an exaggerated expression of severity. "Hey, help the gods here to learn about humans or you shall be stuck here for eternity. No conversation, no complains. I'm the boss around here, period"

Balder held a small laugh, though Misaki saw he seemed also a bit impressed. Then she understood: He probably didn't expect that she would speak like that of Zeus, who probably wouldn't be at all pleased to hear a parody of him. Heck, Balder probably didn't expect any mortal to speak like that of any of them.

"Hey, it's true" She completed slowly, before carrying on as they went downstairs. "It's basically what he said. We didn't like it, we got tense with that… And the idea of studying with gods, too. But you guys are nice!" She added soon, not wanting Balder to think she regarded him as scary or anything of the sort. Nor was she lying, they all had been kind up until now, behaving as classmates and not as beings far superior than what their minds could feel (she hadn't forgot the sensation of power when she had met Zeus and was aware that they were like that). Misaki recognized this, it was too obvious to ignore.

Balder was about to answer when he tripped a step and fell.

"BALDER!" The girl screamed, rushing down and crouching down near the god. He had fallen just some steps and lifted his face, with embarrassment marking the lines. "Are you okay?" There it was something she never thought she would see: A god tripping like any mortal.

"Well, they are being forced to experience a human body. Maybe I shouldn't be this surprised"

"Oh… Don't worry…" He stood up, cleaning his clothes. "I fall easily. It's normal"

"Always?" She asked, still kneeling in the floor. The blonde god nodded and the girl stood as well, thinking about clumsy people… Maybe there were some similarities between gods and humans? Or was she overanalyzing it? She put the question aside, it didn't matter. Looking at the floor again, she saw something rolling that seemed a bit like a blue and green marble.

"Ah, Misaki!" Balder started when she picked the thing up in curiosity.

"What? It's just…" Immediately, the marble increased in size and before the girl's brain could process what had occurred, there was a cloud of smoke while something cold spread to her hands. Coughing and surprised with the sudden scent (something sweet she had never smelled before), Misaki stepped back, feet slipping in the floor. She tried to move her hands, but they were wrapped by and in a mass of sorts…

"But what the…" She tried to mutter when she felt her back hitting something. Strong hands grabbed her arms and, instinctively, the girl struggled to get free.

"Easy now" An unknown voice, but deep and strong, told her. Looking up, Misaki caught a pair of golden, serious eyes. As the smoked dissipated, she was able to distinguish sharp features and a spiked hair of a greenish turquoise.

A loud laugh cut the air and she saw another god passing his arm by Balder's, laughing as if there was no tomorrow. His red hair was short, except by two long strands framing his face and a braid.

"Balder! There you are!"

"Hi Loki!"

The god holding Misaki released her once he felt the girl's step becoming steady again, despite the floor having become quite slippery. The cold thing on her hands made her skin shiver. There were still threads of colorful smoke in the air.

"We're looking for you!" The redheaded continued before seeing Misaki. Unlike Balder and the other one, his eyes were of a very light gray. Almost silver. "Well, well, and who is this?" He wondered as he studied her.

"One of the new students. Isn't it so?" The god who had been holding Misaki asked and her answer was a nod as she tried to get rid of the strange colorful mass in her hands. It reminded her of the sticky slime-like toys that children used to play with, except it was more resistant, blue and green as the marble had been.

"Misaki Aihara" She introduced herself with a weak smile, pulling her hands apart and just managing to make the thing stretch without signs of going off her skin. The floor was covered by a colorful dust and it felt as if she was standing in liquid soap.

"Amazing first impression. Really good, Misaki!" She reflected not without some shame, still fighting to try to get that thing off one of her hands. "And how do I get rid of this?"

"Eh, is that so?" The redhead came closer, leaning until they were in the same eye-level, inspecting her features before turning back to Balder. "You didn't tell anything about thiiis" He sing-songed in a pretended tone of disappointment.

"If you had been in class, he wouldn't need to" The girl replied mentally in a good tone, trying to free her left hand with the right. The mass wouldn't give in and even if she pulled, it was too resistant to be ripped apart.

"I tried to tell you yesterday that Zeus had decided to call for more students, Loki" Balder reminded his friend, his eyes going from him to Misaki's struggle.

"You didn't want to listen to it" The other confirmed calmly before going back to watch Misaki's struggle with the goop. "I'm Thor"

Upon observing well, she realized one of the sides of his head was cropped and there was a spot shaved in the shape of a lightning.

"Nice to meet you, I…" Not standing it anymore the embarrassing situation, she let out a groan. "Aaaargh! Does anyone know how to take this thing off me?!"

"Oh, I know how" The silver-eyed god, Loki, nodded as Balder seemed to not know if he found this funny or not. Misaki sighed and stood her hands out to him, but the god merely looked from them to her face, not understanding.

"What?"

"You said you know how to take it off" Of course he knew, she had already guessed he was the one responsible for that joke. To her surprise, the god shook his head as he played with one of the longer strands of hair and winking.

"Well, I said I knew how to. I never said I would!"

"Oh, you son of a…" Misaki was with her mouth half-opened. It had been funny at the first minutes, she would admit it, but shame was building up and the girl was already feeling uncomfortable.

"Loki, c'mon, take that off her…" Balder muttered as he came closer. The other god just shrugged, still smiling in a way that made Misaki think about the cat of "Alice in Wonderland" At her side, Thor just watched not seeming bothered at all by the scene.

Loki didn't give any signs that he cared.

"Aww, Balder, it is not fun. If she wants to take it off so much, why she doesn't try to find out how by herself?" His eyes gleamed in Misaki's direction. "It will be fun"

Misaki was about to give a not so-polite reply when she had an idea. After all, hadn't they started to look for them to try convincing them both to take part of the sports event? Wrapping her hands in the slime and still trying to stretch it to the point of ripping it, the girl muttered tilting her head to the side, hair a bit messed by the explosion.

"You want to have fun, hm? Well, then I think what me and Balder have to say may be what you need" She said with a smile of pretended kindness. Something glinted in Loki's eyes and he stood at the light god's side, staring at her. Misaki refused to blink.

"Hm, I don't think so" He looked to his friend. "Not if it has something to deal with this hole of a place, so…"

"We're organizing a special event, Loki" Balder explained with a smile, knowing that if Loki refused to do something, it usually took great arguments to change his mind. Zeus' threat, despite worrying him too (though he would never express it openly), just didn't work with his personality. "I think you'll like the idea. It's a competition"

Loki just lifted his head with a small smile, but didn't say a thing leaving it up to assumptions if he had become interested or was merely listening. Taking this as a good-as-you-get incentive, Misaki went on, looking from him to Thor and stopping moving her hands for a moment.

"See, you guys don't want to attend class. Very well, we understood that already." When Loki opened his mouth, she went on in an amusing voice. "It doesn't help a thing. It won't let us go. It is useless. But hey, we do understand"

"If you understood…" Loki said as he still played with a strand of his hair, rolling his eyes as if bored and ignoring the girl's comments. "Then you shouldn't insist." The silver gaze turned to her with full disdain, but Misaki couldn't know if it was directed to her or Zeus, the situation or all of it. "We have no intention of bending down to that god's orders."

"That's why we're making this event" Balder looked to his friends, hoping they would accept to take part on it. "There will be several competitions between you, who don't want to attend school, and us"

Loki looked from Balder to Thor and back to the blonde. They had competed before between them as a game. The way Balder presented the idea made it clear it wouldn't be something as simple this time, yet he was at least still paying attention.

"If in the end we win, then you come to class. If we lose, you can skip at will" Misaki completed. "This will be your right. If you want, we can leave it written as law even, whatever" Balder had to admit she managed to sound calmer than she probably felt, considering everything.

The trickster god and the thunder god looked at the girl who, even with her hands stuck in a shining jelly and messy hair covered a bit by colored dust, kept her back straight and stared at them without blinking.

"Oh, is that so?" Loki whispered lowly, leaning to her once more and placing his face close to hers. The sensation was indeed of staring at a wild cat that was deciding if you were worth to scratch. "Do you really want to bet on this?"

Suddenly he stood straight again before she could answer.

"It does sound kinda interesting. Just because there isn't much more to do around here"

At this, Misaki turned to Thor, who merely shrugged as he tilted his head in a gesture of "alright". Those were soft movements. While Balder was of a gracious building and Loki had feline-like movements, Thor had larger shoulders and stronger features. Misaki usually wouldn't associate such calm movements to someone with his physic.

"But you have to make an oath" Balder went on. "Give us your word that you will follow this agreement should you lose."

Loki understood at once what he meant and took a step back, hand covering his mouth. Misaki thought he had been shocked at the idea of using sacred oaths in such way, but soon saw he was merely being dramatic.

Did he ever take anything seriously? Not even Hashi, the self-proclaimed (and by others as such considered) class prankster of her school was like that.

"B-Balder! How can you? I thought you believed in me!" He turned his back to him as he placed the back of his hand on his forehead and mourned. "Oh, what a terrible surprise, what a sad day in which a friend learns he doesn't have your trust! What shall I do from on?"

Misaki bit her lower lip to cage a laugh. It wasn't so much his words, but the exaggeration with which they were proclaimed. At her side Thor was shaking his head as if he had seen this same scene before a dozen times. And he probably had. Balder also smiled in the same way.

"Oh, he trusts you, Loki. We're the ones who don't" She thought, going back to trying ripping that thing of her hands. "And with plenty of motives, I would say!"

"For this, I shall accept this challenge, Balder!" Loki turned back, head held high and before someone ever said a thing, he walked away and waved his hand. "I admitted, didn't I? This does sound interesting"

"HEI!" Misaki yelled at him. "Wait there! Loki! How do I take this off?"

Loki's answer was laughter. Passing by her, Thor leaned to her direction with a whisper.

"Try washing it off with vinegar"

XxX

It seemed strangely appropriated to Arisu that there was not a real "teacher's room" and Thoth actually stayed in the library when he was not in class.

"I hope this will work out" The girl at her side whispered. "Do you think he will approve?"

Arisu shrugged, recalling the severe look of the god of knowledge when they had met for the first time that morning. She shared Yui's sensation, Thoth had such a strict aura that seemed to demand the best of everyone around, whoever they might be. A thought relieved the sensation of charging.

"Well… Look, he doesn't have to approve or not. He just said we have to come up with a solution to this problem." She raised her hands, palms up, at the height of her should in a gesture of "what can one do?" and carried on. "We did it so. Now it is que sera, sera and good luck…"

Yui nodded for lack of answer. It wasn't that she would back down just because Thoth still made her nervous, all they could do was hope that her idea would work out. She wondered how the others would be doing trying to call the other gods to take part on it. But they should be doing fine. The proposal would be too seductive, she was sure of it.

"Thoth-sama?" She knocked, entering once they heard a "come in"

Arisu was impressed.

She had already told herself to expect everything and not get surprised at anything else, but it was impossible to hold herself before that library. It was huger than any room she had seen (save for a whole floor in a museum), circular-shaped, windows far above the shelves illuminating the whole place. And there were many shelves well-spaced between themselves and Arisu had the impression she would find many more, should she venture among the hallways they made.

At the center, Thoth was sitting at an antique-looking table, a huge book of pages yellowed by time opened before him. There were other books closed and piled up at a corner of the table, a lamp and at the side of the table, a vase with something that looked like a small tree.

All the library went well with Thoth and even the air seemed to pulse with his aura, as warning any person (in an instinctive level) of the nature of the owner of that space.

"Kusanagi, Hironezumi" He greeted them, sitting straight in his chair as the girls approached. "Is there something you're in need of?"

"Thoth-sama, we had an idea to solve the case of the gods who don't want to be students" Yui announced as polite as she could and at her example, Arisu still held the papers. The only reaction they got from the Egyptian was a raise of one eyebrow.

"Very well" It wasn't as if he was complimenting them, he merely heard what they had done and accepted to evaluate the idea in question. Arisu looked at Yui with the corner of her eyes, wondering if it was her imagination or if there was really something in him that seemed to say "it was about damn time"

"We thought about organizing a sports event. Humans use to…" Arisu started before receiving a glare from Thoth that made her mouth shut involuntary. Despite being a darker shade of blue than Balder's, Thoth's eyes were also colder and harder.

"I am well aware of what an event of this sort is, Hironezumi" He said without changing his tone of voice and Arisu felt warmth going up her face, not without some shame. Well, duh, of course he would know and not just because of being god of knowledge and being in that academy as teacher and not student: Many cultures had events that, in essence, were not unlike this one. You didn't look further than some festivals and the games they had.

Before that gaze, there was no way she couldn't lower her face.

"S-Sorry…"

Without saying anything else, Thoth stretched his hand out and they passed the papers to him. The god inspected it.

"And what makes you think the others will accept it?" He stood up, leaving the papers on his table and crossing his arms, making it quite clear to both of them that if they didn't have a good answer, he would be quite annoyed for having his reading interrupted by incomplete ideas.

They explained at once about what the prize per say would be and the oaths involved. The god kept his head held high and a bit backed away, not unlike a bird of prey watching his hunt.

Without warning, he punched a shelf nearby and leaned towards Yui.

"And you intend to invoke such sacred and ancient vows just like that?" He hissed in the same cold tone. "Do you really consider prudent to play with such forces?"

"Well, give us a better solution then, bird-man!" Arisu thought, hating the pressure he created without an effort and certain that he would be furious if they seemed to not understand what they would be dealing with. Yu played with her hands, not looking away from him.

"It is not a joke" She explained slowly, very serious herself, trying to make him see they would treat the question with utmost respect. "We know how serious this is"

"It was also the only thing that came to us as a guarantee they will follow the terms!" Arisu completed as Thoth stood straight, to both girls relief.

"Should you fail and give them this "right", you will have to explain yourselves to Zeus and find a way to fix the situation" The god said, making it clear that if things went astray he wouldn't do a thing to help and sat down again, making it clear that the conversation was over.

Yui and Arisu exchanged looks.

"Don't worry, Thoth-sama" Yui said in solemn voice Arisu hadn't heard from her until now and made her seen older. "We know the risks."

Upon going out the library, Arisu sighed in relief.

"Damn! Honestly is he always like that?" Even the strictest of her teachers had never been anything like the Egyptian god. It wasn't so much his "educated" speech which annoyed her, it was his whole behavior.

"For what I've seen until now, yes." Yui told her with a sigh. "But I guess you get used to it after a few times. Well, now we just need to organize everything, wait for the day and…"

"And hope we manage to win" Arisu bit the point of her tongue. "Otherwise, our chances of leaving this place and going home are screwed"

"Don't worry. We'll make it." Yui tried to convince her new friend and thought about their chances. "Trust Apollon and the others, they will give their best" She was about to say something else when they caught sight of two blonde figures coming from a hallway. Balder was apologizing for something and Misaki seemed to reply it was alright, but her appearance said otherwise.

"Caramba!" Arisu tried to hold her own laugh. The blonde hair of the other girl had a natural wild look helped by how she had cut it, but now it was a real mess: Some threads standing in the end and there was what looked like a colored sand or dust on it. Her hands were completely involved in an equally colorful mass in such way that even her wrists were buried and the tips of her fingers were barely visible.

"What happened, Misaki?" Yui asked, shoulders shivering with a laugh that hit her insides to be let out.

"I really, really… Don't want to talk about it" The blonde girl muttered between teeth. "Let's just say we talked to Loki…"

Chapter Text

The event's day arrived soon.

The preparative had gone smoothly and without difficulties (even if the majority of them had no experience in such things) and deciding the competitions, they had selected some and make a drawing. Not having many classes, they had opted for just a few, with a rest time between them.

Nearby, the spirits acted in an excited way, a thing Arisu didn't completely understood since they wouldn't take part. Some made cheers for the White Team (made of Hades, Takeru, Thor and Loki) which just reaffirmed her idea that they had no brain of their own.

"Zeus really created them just to fill the academy up" She had tried to talk with one the last day and the experience had soon turned out to be frustrating. The spirit (in the shape of a young girl) had instinctive reactions and no real "opinion" or individualism.

In a way, this had made her think of simulation games, like the "The Sims".

"I hope things work out" Isuzu muttered with Ren at her side. "I'm getting nervous again."

"Relax, Isuzu-san. In a way or another, let's have fun" Yui replied when she heard it, thought it was noticeable she was also a bit worried with what was at risk. It was too serious to allow them to face it all as fun and games.

"At least they agreed with the oaths" The girl thought, watching the gods of the White Team. Hades was seated with a serious expression as Loki had his hands back, more interested in observing how everything had been organized. She noticed Takeru stretching his arms, casting annoyed glances to the red-haired god. Yui could bet he hadn't forgotten when Loki had drawn in his face as he slept, even if this had been a bit more than a week ago.

The initial ceremony with the oaths had been made in the hall, with all of them agreeing with the same terms. There had been something she knew she would never be able to forget, nor the sensation of having seen glimpses of their actual divine nature. The air in the hall had become definitely different when they had invoked the oaths… It was still breathable, but it was as if oxygen itself had changed and became carried with traits of something far older that she could grasp and whose power was raw and absolute…

It had touched her skin, pierced it and went straight to her blood, which felt like cowering and bowing before that. She knew it had been a small thing compared to what standing before them without the shackles would have felt like and this was a frightening thought in itself.

She had been impressed they had even allowed them to witness such a ritual, for then she had felt how small she actually was and how different they were (something easy to forget when they were together day by day as classmates).

"I'm so anxious!" Apollon commented as he approached with Misaki. It wasn't just the opportunity to solve the deal with the other gods, but also the event in itself. It wasn't quite like the festivals of Greece, but just for involving games and competitions, he couldn't help but feel excitement. "The events of your schools were also like those?"

"Quite alike" Ren replied, the braid falling on her back as a black whip. She didn't use to attend many of the Sport's events, since she wasn't a fan of sports and crowds.

"In our old school they were pretty much like those, in the new one I don't know." Arisu said and, noting the looks of Yui and Misaki, explained. "Isuzu and I changed schools in the beginning of the year, we haven't seen any event of the new school."

"So you had the sensation of being new students two times this year?" Misaki asked. "Oh, wow…" She didn't envy them.

"Being a new student is scary?" Apollon asked with interest. "Yui commented about the ceremony of new school year and that there were no sacrifices or punishment involved. You need something of the sort when you're new student?"

"As a ritual to have the right to be in the school even if the year has already started?" Tsukito was already with his notebook in hand. Yui placed her hand on her face, muffling a laugh as seeing Arisu and Misaki with her mouths half opened and clearly surprised. And here she was thinking she had made it clear schools hadn't a thing to do with sacrifices (well, not the type they would be thinking about).

"What the…? What sacri… Damn, where do you guys get those ideas?" The brown-haired girl asked, unable to understand how the two things had become related in their minds as Isuzu shook her head.

"Nothing of the kind" Misaki clarified, waving her hand as if she meant to dissipate a mist. "It's not different from when we arrived, more or less"

"Then why you seemed to find it impressive?"

"Oh, there is also the natural tension of being in a new place! And everyone seeing you as "the new kid", meeting new people" Isuzu was about of trying to explain a bit more why some people felt like this when a red thing passed by her.

"Yo, Balder!" Loki greeted with a smile and receiving a distrustful glance of Misaki. She had taken hours to get rid of the clay in her hands and needed the help of the girls as well, since she had agitated her hands so much that the thing had grown and wrapped her fingers and made movement unable by the time she was back at the dorm. When they had finished, the smell of vinegar was around her as a mantle and the girl had declared that one of the Academy's laws was: "Don't pick things of the ground if you haven't dropped them yourself."

"Hi Loki…" She greeted him, putting her hands behind when he looked at her, pretending an innocence expression. The god didn't seem to care, shrugging and playing with a strand of his hair.

"Ah, you got free too quickly. It would have been better if you had tried to wash it away with water" Due to his smile, Misaki was sure she didn't want to know what the result would have been. The occurrence had caused mixed feelings… At first, it had been funny, but it had soon turned too much of an embarrassment that edged the humiliation.

"Ready to compete, Loki?" Balder called the other's attention. "We're ready and no one here wants to lose"

"Hey and who wan… Wait a second!" Loki got straighter, pointing in Yui and Arisu's direction, who realized for the first time that his nails were black, as claws of some animal. "You mean they will compete as well? I thought it would be just the men"

"Something against it?" Arisu growled at once, unable to stop herself even if was the first time she actually talked to the other Nordic.

"Wait right there" Someone behind Yui said. "Did I hear it right? The weed and the others will take part in the games too?" It was Takeru, with a bottle of water in his hand that he had gotten in one of the small stands of snacks. He had been passing by when he heard the comment.

"That's not fair. Like this, you will have double chances of winning" Loki shook his head and, understanding his reason, Apollon explained.

"Oh, Loki-Loki, their results won't interfere. That's why they made their own team" His eyes gleamed. "But we will take this very seriously."

In answer, the Nordic god just chuckled and walked back to where Thor and Hades here, singing with a confident tone.

"Give it your beeest"

"You can bet we will! The sun god replied in the same way. At least they seemed to be having fun. Secretly, Isuzu hoped there would be chance that after this, he and the other gods would think that attending school wouldn't be as boring, even if they won.

"Not that I'll hold my breath." She told herself, holding a sigh.

Takeru studied the girls up and down. The sports uniform was made of a white shirt with the school's emblem in blue and white shorts (in the case of Yui, Arisu and Isuzu for example) or pants in the same style (that Ren and Misaki had opted for).

"Oh, c'mon" He crossed his arms with the same scornful smile Ren had seen when she had talked to him some days ago. "You don't really think humans like you stand a chance against us?"

"Of course we don't!" Misaki replied before anyone and as if the idea was a huge absurd. And maybe it was, even in human bodies, they were still above them in physical resistance, she had no doubts of this and it would have been foolishness to deny it. "But it would be just boring as hell to stand watching, so we decided to take part. Just for the fun"

Takeru didn't say a thing, just scoffed as a cat, still with that smirk and walked away. Arisu, who had opened her mouth to talk back (and soon felt Isuzu holding her shoulder gently), narrowed her eyes in the god's direction with a hiss.

"I do know we have no chance…" She turned back to the others. "But even so I so wish we would win just to rub it in his stupid face" She could say now that Takeru and Thoth were easily her less favorite gods in this place.

An acute sound called their attention. Before the school's doors, Thoth was standing with a microphone. The Egyptian god testes it two times before announcing.

"Be welcome" He started in the same voice he used in classroom, making Arisu roll her eyes. What an enthusiasm… "The first Annual Sports Event shall start now. First…?" He muttered to himself, though the girls were able to hear. "Probably there won't be another"

"Amen" Isuzu whispered to herself.

"C'mon, c'mon!" Apollon called her when they went to the gates with the gods of the opposite team. Loki and Takeru indeed looked excited, the fire god waiting for the first test to be announced, hitting a heel in ground and giving away the impression his whole body was full of more energy it was able to hold. Takeru wasn't as agitated, however he couldn't hold interest off his face. Hades and Thor however, were just waiting without a sign of what they truly felt.

"First task…" Thoth said without a need to check the paper he had in his hand. Yui had no doubt he knew the tasks by hand. "Race"

The groups went to the improvised lane in the field, stopping in the starting line marked by a white strap tied to a post.

"Give it your best, Tsukito" Dionysus incentive as the Moon god got in position and, still stoic, nodded.

"We will be cheering on" Misaki smiled. "You guys can do it!"

"Yes, I shall not fail my duty" This answer made Ren shake her head. Truth they needed to win, but phrasing it like that and calling it a "duty" created an extra pressure they had no need of.

"Don't think about it as duty. Just do your best and have fun" She turned to Yui. "Good luck, Kusanagi-san"

"Just Yui is good enough, Ren. Thanks!" The girl repeated with a smile, getting in position at Tsukitos' side and wishing him good luck as Hades joined them, cheered by Loki and Takeru. "We won't lose" She muttered to the god with an amused smile. Without casting her a look, Hades answered in the same calm tone, though he didn't smile.

"The feeling is mutual. I do not plan on losing either"

Yui wasn't discouraged. The others went to take seats at the benches that had been prepared. Surprising them a bit, Loki, Takeru and Thor took their seats near to Apollon and the others. Around, the spirits waited.

There was silence.

"Ready…" Thoth said. Two seconds…

A loud whistle cut the air.

As one, the spirits started to scream and cheer, some calling out for Yui, others for Tsukito and some for Hades. Misaki, now unable to stay quiet as if someone had whipped a particular thread of her heart, had her hands at the side of her mouth and yelled, even knowing Yui wasn't able to hear.

"C'MON YUI! YOU CAN DO IT!"

Yui ran, body sending all energies it had to the legs. She had been prepared to be left behind at once, but perhaps because they were not used to human's strength and limits, the gods weren't that far ahead of her.

"C'mon, c'mon" She told herself, forcing her legs to go faster.

Ahead, the gods seemed to be head-to-head… Tsukito didn't show signs of weariness an even running, he didn't pant, moving with the same subtle grace of always.

Hades, however, was getting ahead. She had been quite surprised to see he would be the one taking part in this task, since she would consider Loki or Takeru being more likely to.

Ignoring the sea of sounds coming from the benches in waves she bit her lower lip, seeking more energy, seeking to move her legs with more strength, wind hitting her face.

She could see the finishing line.

"GO, HADES-SAN!" Takeru yelled standing, agitating his fists and laughing when seeing the God taking the lead. Loki, sitting behind him also screamed for the Underworld Ruler to go faster.

"PUT YOUR BACK INTO IT, TSUKITO!" Arisu screamed as loud as possible, unable to keep herself untouched by the excitement running through her muscles. Even if Hades was ahead, she still hoped the Moon God could cover the distance, it wasn't that much…

Ren, in deep silence, accompanied everything without blinking, twisting the fabric of her knees. Suddenly, one of her hands was taken by another. Shocked, the natural answer of her body was to almost dig her nails in that flesh to force it to release her when she managed to control herself in the last second.

"He will make it!" Balder, sitting at her side, told her without looking away from the race. "He still can!" He then yelled something in a language she didn't understand.

The finishing line was closer.

Tsukito managed to get closer to Hades. He ignored Amaya Ren's words, that was a duty and he had to succeed. It did not matter if his resistance and energies were too limited in this shape. The crowd screamed, but he ignored what was being said and a part of him sincerely wondered what the point of so much noise was.

Yui was closer, but still behind them.

"STRENGTH IN THOSE LEGS!" Arisu was agitated as if she wasn't sure if she wanted to sit or stand.

Marked by a white strap shivering, the finishing line was right there.

A sound made by many voices ripped air apart.

Hades panted a little as he held his knees. It wasn't that he had never felt tired before, but never so quickly and never so much. At his side, Tsukito wasn't panting, though his breath was quicker and deeper even he tried to control it. The human girl, Kusanagi, had arrived a bit after them and had drops of sweat running down her face.

"The winner of the race is…" Thoth's voice echoed as thunder as they waited for it. Both gods had been too close so the crowd could be sure. Misaki crossed her fingers and Arisu bit her left hand. Takeru muttered to himself and even Loki had quieted down.

"Aidoneus Hades!"

Isuzu whimpered, laying her face on her hands as Apollon tapped her back gently as Arisu let herself fall in the bench with a long groan.

"That's okay, there is still more"

"Ha!" Takeru jumped up as Loki punched the air and turned to the others, a ferocious enthusiasm in his gold eyes. "Point for us! What now?"

"There is still more" Misaki replied crossing her arms with a smirk and winking at him. "There is a human saying that goes: Don't sing victory before the time, ya know?" She stood before him without altering herself, even though she was a lot shorter. "We'll make up for this loss"

"Believe this, if is that what you want" The god laughed, going down with Loki and congratulating Hades. Turning to the group approaching, Tsukito looked down.

"I'm very sorry for my performance" His breathing had gone back to normal, but tiredness still made his leg's muscles throb. He hadn't though human bodies could feel with such… Intensity, he supposed to be the better term. "I'm sorry I was incapable."

"You gave you best, this is what matters!" Yui told him, placing her hand in his back. "You were great"

"You both were!"

"I was not. I lost" Tsukito reminded them, making Yui shrug as showing that it didn't matter. Apollon nodded as Dionysus repeated that he had tried his best and this had just been the first task, after all. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to do more."

XxX

With time of rest between the competitions being long enough, they decided to sit in the benches, Yui offering a water bottle to Tsukito, after telling it would help him feel better and he had to pay attention, since human bodies could become dehydrated and he wasn't used to the health of a human. She was aware none of the gods was used to the limitations that came with it and therefore, she had the impression they could easily forget and overdo the limits without even realizing it.

"I think things are kinda working out" She commented, looking with the corner of her eyes towards Balder, who was talking to Loki and Thor. The thunder god kept the calm posture of always, but the redheaded seemed unable to hide his interest after having a taste of the event. Yui admitted he seemed almost as a child in Christmas Eve. "At least it taunted their interest"

"I thought they would be sulkier." Ren confessed. "And just go on and on about not having to come to class"

"Oh, don't fool yourself" Arisu groaned. "This is still their main objective, no doubt"

"Even so, at least it is being fun. More than I thought" A voice came. Dionysus, having in one of his hands a box of grape juice and a hot dog in another, took a seat with them and showed the food. "This is really good, by the way"

"It is one of the most common foods ever" Arisu blinked, a bit impressed that he had never tried it and, for a second, wondered what they used to eat anyway. If they ever did… She had never thought about this. Being gods, she didn't think they needed, but she had heard about the banquets of gods.

"It's working to relax" Yui commented, recalling how Loki and Takeru had congratulated Hades and Misaki told her how Takeru seemed somewhat happier. Even considering what they had bet, she felt the pressure… Well, it wasn't fading away, but it was lessened by other feelings.

"And have you guys seen Misaki?" She asked.

"I saw her talking to Apollon just now" The Greek god told her. "They were going on about the next tasks"

"Do you know which will it be?"

Takeru had approached them with Tsukito. Arisu noted that Misaki had been right, he looked less edgy. Not much, his eyes still carried a wild emotion that created the sensation he had sharp spikes under his skin. He didn't smile and still frowned to them, but the arms here crossed behind his head and the shoulders weren't as tense.

"No. We asked Thoth-sensei to take care of the order" Dionysus told him before taking a drink. Takeru looked to his brother, but Arisu was faster to answer.

"Hey, what is the fun in knowing it? Let it be a surprise" It wasn't usually as things were done back in her school, but she couldn't care less. At least they knew what the competitions would be, just not the order.

"And you're still going to take part on it?" He shook his head in disbelief. "You really want to be stepped on"

Arisu was with the words about to leave her mouth, but Ren cut her.

"Why do you say so?"

"Because you're accepting what that old geezer ordered with head lowered" The god said in the same harsh tone, though his eyes narrowed almost with despise. Arisu rolled her eyes, she should have know he would want to complain about the situation again. Ren, still with no signs of being disturbed, tilted her head to the side and remained in silence for some seconds before sighing and continuing.

"It is not about "accepting with the head lowered" It is about not having a true choice. As such, the best to do is accept to think in the best way to deal with what is happening." She made a small gesture indicating around, expressing it wasn't being too bad (actually it wasn't. Her thoughts during those days towards the entire situation had floated from white to purest black). Takeru shook his head, still measuring her with wasn't too far from despise.

"Think about it as you want" His words left in the air the taste of his indifference, even when he lifted his head with confidence. "At least, by the end of this day you won't be able to force us."

"Are you having fun, Takeru-san?" Yui interfered. She didn't think the talk was in the path to turn into a serious argument, at least not from Ren's part, but she didn't want to risk it. Plus, she would like that the sea god confirmed that he wasn't interested just in their end of the agreement.

The god was to answer when he was interrupted by the thunder of Thoth's voice, louder once again.

"The participants of the next completion, please go to the pool for the swimming race"

Takeru threw them a convinced look.

XxX

"I should have guessed… Of course, moron, who did you think would compete in this?"

"Well, so it is you who is taking part?" Takeru asked, amused by the idea of a human daring to swim against him. "For what I see, you're not very sensate"

"You can say that again…"

"As Misaki said, it is just for the fun of it." Arisu replied with an uncaring shrug, but her nerve endings shivered inside her body in such way she could almost count them down. It was as if just now she fully realized, in the primitive web of cells where old instincts floated, that she was competing against a god.

"Moron, idiot, s-tu-pi-id! What was I even thinking?" Even lowered to the state of a human, she knew very well that there was no chance whatsoever. In a way or another, was still Susanoo, god of seas. How could there be any chance?

She had had swimming classes some years ago, but there were no classes in the world that would prepare someone to this competition. And she had never attended them thinking in competing anywhere for starters!

God, she would be lucky if he didn't drown her right now and there!

"Good luck, little sister" Isuzu came near her standing in the edge of the pool and caressed her head, whispering. "And don't get so tense" Her words made Arisu give a shy smile. It didn't matter she was could wear a mask in her feelings, Isuzu seemed always able to see right through it.

"I can't hide a thing from you, can I?" She wondered.

Isuzu shook her head gently.

"Afraid not."

"Well, I'll give it my best" She whispered so Takeru wouldn't listen, even though he didn't seem to be paying attention to them anyway. "Even so… Let's be sincere, bet your money on him, girl."

There a second of silence in which the taller Hironezumi blinked before taking her hand to her mouth. Arisu felt the tension leaving her body and smiled, suddenly thinking about her parents and the wish they were here bloomed in her.

"Arisu Hironezumi!" The sister emphasized the syllables of her name with false shock. "Bets are illegal! What would mom and dad say? Not to mention…" She added. "That they be so disappointed if I didn't bet on my own sister!"

"If you wanted to bet, Isuzu-chan" The other imitated the manners of their father, hands on her waits and frowning. "At least you should have betted on Arisu and showed support, young lady!"

The sister once more let out a sound that could at least be taken as a sort of weak laugh, as light and fragile drops that could slowly turn into rain. Arisu felt some old knot undoing itself.

"Oh, dear! I can just see dad saying this, right that way!"

They parted, Isuzu going back to the benches with the others as Arisu stood there near the edge of the pool. Takeru wore the swimming shorts with the emblem of the school as Dionysus. Both had white swimming caps. Arisu had needed to explain that people used that in pools as well as the glasses. Takeru had just groaned, finding it uncomfortable and useless.

The girl wore a one-piece, also white with the blue emblem in her chest and a blue line at the side. She had been quite relieved… When she had learned that there was a swimming uniform, she had thought Zeus would have made the female be a two-piece of sorts.

"Or he has some notion of decency after all with this being a fucking school or Thoth took the reins in this matter"

"You and your sister seem to be close" The red-haired god at Takeru's side commented, leaning a bit to see her. Arisu was surprised to notice that Takeru was also observing her with the corner of his eyes. "Don't you ever fight?"

"You can say we're best friends." The girl said. "We do fight, but it's never serious." An old and dead flower seemed to reappear in her eyes, but she was fast to smile and hide it. "Well, nothing serious to us. Some people already thought we were about to get down to our fists"

"Your parents?" Takeru asked out of sudden. Arisu held a laugh to the idea.

"Man, nooo way! They know even better!" She laughed, passing her hand over her cap, moving the glasses around a bit. "Actually, once my mother confessed she and dad had betted to see how long we could bear not talking to each other"

"How long was that?" Dionysus asked in amusement when Arisu raised one shoulder with a funny expression, a light pink coloring her face.

"Record time? I believe it was… Four or five."

"Days?"

"Hours." It wasn't a lie. They could spend days and days without talking to someone they were angry with or with whom they had had a particularly ugly fight, but they couldn't just hold a grudge against each other. Arisu had already heard people saying twins shared a special bond and even superstitions. She couldn't say that being twins was the reason or if it was because their family had always been really close, all she knew was that this was how things were between them…

"Then why I…" An old thought, a branch coming from that dead flower, held her mind with its thorns, but the girl pushed it away and focused her attention in the softly waving of the water ahead. She had no possible means of winning against Takeru, but perhaps Dionysus would make it… He was taller and, she could notice it better now, naturally strong, the muscles of his legs firm and…

Actually, they both had a body that would make many boys of her school green with pure envy…

"Great! Really good one! I tried to relax and ended up thinking about more nonsense!" She reprimanded herself, a strong heat spreading from her lower stomach to her face.

"Ready…" Thoth said. Arisu took a deep breath and leaned, getting ready to jump. At her side, Takeru did the same, suddenly serious. Even behind the swimming glasses, Arisu saw that his eyes seemed to shine… She was well aware of what she was seeing. It was the strength of the oceans he ruled over and looked away, telling herself to not be bothered by this, it wasn't as if he was going to kill her.

"At your marks…"

No one dared to breathe. Misaki knew she would find this whole deal funny in another occasion, but now her insides had turned into stone.

Ren watched as quiet as before, hands holding her elbows as Tsukito showed no reaction.

The whistle sounded like before.

The scream of the crowd was mixed the sound of bodies being embraced by water.

"GO, ARISU!" Isuzu yelled as she stood. "SHOW THEM!"

At her side, Apollon yelled Dionysus and Arisu's name as well, hands in fists as Loki's. They cries tangled with the sound of water in a strange song.

Thor was at Tsukito's side and watched in equal silence as he and Ren, who saw they were leaning a bit forwards and didn't blink. She wondered if Tsukito would be cheering for Dionysus or Takeru. For another side there would be the need of winning, the other the loyalty to his brother.

Misaki agitated her body as she yelled, but saw that Hades wasn't near. Standing up, she looked around for the dark haired god and found him. He was away, near the doors and watching in silence. She wondered why he wasn't closer, but her attention was soon back to the pool.

Dionysus had had a good start, but Takeru had already passed him. The god slid in the waters as if they were one being. Even as a human, the connection with his natural element could never be severed.

Arisu moved, blind and deaf to everything around, body focused in the action. The water was agitated around her and she impelled herself forwards without difficulties. She wasn't truly thinking about winning or not, just in increasing her velocity.

Dionysus also found no resistance in the water. He used to walk in the woods with his followers rather than staying in Olympus and so, he was also used to swim in lakes or rivers, but there was a difference when it was a competition. He was agile, but Takeru was more… He could see he was being lefty behind by the other god.

He started the second turn.

Loki let out a howl of cheer when Takeru was so ahead. Baldr and Apollon still yelled to the others, even aware that they wouldn't be heard and that Takeru would win. Yui closed her hands, heart hitting all around, thinking they would lose, it wouldn't work, it echoed in her brain.

Takeru hit his hand in the pool's edge. With a cry of animal delight, he punched the air.

He had won.

Dionysus arrived soon after, taking his glasses off as Arisu reached them, giving a small smile and tilting her shoulder.

"Takeru Totsuka wins" Thoth confirmed which they knew already and gym came down with the yelling of the spirits. The sea god jumped out of the pool easily, punching the air once more before turning to Dionysus and Arisu. Deep down, the girl felt a seed of suspicion he was about to goat, but he was too busy feeling joyful, she soon saw.

He didn't shiver in cold and the glint hadn't left his eyes, a force alike a fury that intended to annihilate everything all around should the chance preset itself, without hesitation and not ever looking back.

Arisu had never seen anything like that, not in the eyes of any living being and a natural fear grasped her soul.

And yet, there was happiness in that look.

"Well…" She muttered, sitting in the edge of the pool as the others came closer, avoiding looking at the sea god. "It was fun anyway" But she couldn't sound cheerful.

"They have two points and zero to us!" She thought with a bitter taste in her body. Dionysus seemed to take notice, for he helped her to stand and smiled.

"We got still three to go. Too early to sit and rest."

Yui tried to congratulate Takeru, but the god ignored her as talked to Tsukito and Loki with great animation (so much that she wasn't sure he was being rude or too dominated by his feelings) and apparently forgetting any bad feeling he had regarding the Nordic god.

"You were great, Dee-Dee"

"Hey!" The girl made an attempt at a smile. "Don't I deserve congratulations too? I finished in the rank we all knew I would! Last!" It wasn't this that bothered her, it was the fact the other team was winning.

Apollon chuckled and without caring that she was soaking wet, Balder went and touched her shoulder, caressing it and her back.

"But you were doing good. Quite fast!"

Arisu was not sure he was just trying to make her feel better or being sincere (if it was the former, she would rather have him saying nothing). It had been a time since her last time in swimming classes and she had never tried hard enough to competitions level… Giving her a white robe, Isuzu nodded aware of what was going through her sister's mind.

She knew Arisu wasn't one to appreciate people always acting as if everything was always fine.

"Balder is speaking the truth. You were going fast. You should go back to swimming, I always tell you that."

More satisfied, Arisu rubbed the bath robe against her body, shivering a bit now that she was out the pool and saw that Misaki wasn't with them. About to ask where the girl had gone, she caught a sight of her near the entranced of the gym and near Hades, who merely watched the group from afar.

"Hey, rat" Takeru called out, he and Dionysus going to the locker rooms. "Are you going to change yourself or what?"

"RAT?" Arisu turned to him at once. "Who is the rat around here?"

The god just stared at her. Arisu had the impression now that, even if he was having fun, this didn't imply he was closer to her or any of the others.

"To be honest? You looked like a drowned rat back there"

Arisu was speechless, mouth hanging open while Loki seemed to have found this to be the funniest thing ever. Yui shook her head as she tapped her shoulder in shared feeling.

"Don't mind him. He calls me weed, remember?"

Meanwhile Misaki had tried to approach Hades, but he had already left. The girl recalled that Isuzu and Yui had told them how the god of the death had expressed that they should keep their distance and how they would have disgraces. None of them had understood what he meant by that, nor the rest of them. Isuzu had also said that he had been quite serious.

"Could it be he was making predictions of anything like that?" The blonde thought as she went back to the group, waiting for Takeru, Dionysus and Arisu to finish bathing and dressing up. No, it couldn't be this… She had the firm belief the future was always open blank… It was a matter almost of logic, right? After all, people are always facing choices, changing their minds, learning new things.

How could anyone predict what they would do or the consequences of their actions? No, she didn't believe in anything related to "fate" or "predicting the future". This was nonsense!

Otherwise, what was the point in living?

Coming closer, she stood near Balder and needed to raise her head to look at him.

"Why does everyone here has to be so tall?" All of them were at least a bit shorter than most of the gods. Even Ren and Isuzu, who among the girls were the tallest, still were at least of Takeru's height. And this made them at least a head shorter than Hades, for example.

"It was an expected result. Let's admit!" She said with a smile and looked to the others. "I mean, let's all be honest. Did anyone think it would be any different?"

Yui giggled and denied it with a gesture as Apollon crossed his arms and nodded.

"To be frank…"

"Against Susanoo…"

"That's likely"

"I'm starting to worry." Isuzu admitted, the brown ponytail falling over one of her shoulders.

"We still got three tasks, Isuzu. Three chances of taking the lead" Yui reminded her, while trying to tranquilize herself. It worked somewhat. "It's too early to this."

"She has a point"

"Yeah, worry when they are winning four against us" Misaki told her. "Then we can worry"

"Then it will be beyond worry, Misaki" Ren said and risked. "I guess then it is already the category of… "Now we're screwed"."

"Misaki-chan, this isn't of much help" Balder said, though he was chuckling.

"Are my ears deceiving me? Are you having second thoughts about our agreement? Oooh, I shall remember this moment for eternity!" Loki laughed as he came near them.

"Eternity we risk to have to spend here thanks your damn stubbornness" Isuzu told him, though holding it inside her. Truth was, even if they did win, this risk would carry on for the rest of the year. She hadn't forgotten Arisu's initial reaction when Zeus had informed them of it all (it seemed to longer than some days) and she didn't disagree… Was there even a way to teach them about humanity?

"Arisu would say the right question is whether they can learn"

"Nice going, Isuzu" Misaki groaned with a roll of her eyes. "As if his ego needed more nutrition."

The brown-haired girl shook her head to herself with an expression of clear regret for having opened her mouth.

"So, you're already giving up? How boring"

"Not at all!" Yui replied, still with some hope that the mood would make him friendlier, being among the gods who she couldn't understand at all since the first time they had saw each other. Even if he did behave friendlier, there was something so distant in him… Almost covered by a veil of coldness as she had never seen before.

"I can't know if he is getting along or just having fun at our expense" She thought with herself. Thinking about the other gods, she realized there was a similar impression. Even if they were having fun, the girl wondered if the distance among them was shortening or if they were merely excited with the event.

There was a difference between "being together" and just "sharing a situation"

"So hope this isn't the case. This year will be so long… We can't do it all by ourselves, they have to cooperate too!"

"Five tasks, Loki! She went on. "I told, it's too early to thinking about just throwing the towel!"

The god seemed to not get the usage of words. She clarified.

"It means giving up"

His wicked smile came back.

"Fine. Surprise me"

"Very well." Someone said. Arisu was back, wet hair falling over her shoulders. Dionysus and Takeru were somewhat behind. The girl spoke with more confidence than she truly felt. "But remember: You. Asked. For. It"

"As I told you: Give it your best."

"Next task!" They heard Thoth's voice echoing in the gym. "Archery"

XxX

"I never was interested in the tournaments, but at least I was part of the club" She told as she put her gloves on.

"Arisu also said she never did" Misaki commented, referring to the swimming classes the other girl had taken. At her side, Arisu nodded with her sister. The gestures were identical.

"I just wanted to learn. Our school had several clubs and this was the one that got my attention" Isuzu explained.

"And I just like to swim." The other completed. "Our schools took part in competitions and all, but… I dunno, I never got interested"

"And I was never good enough to be chosen for the tournaments… A classmate of mine was." She moved her glove a bit, holding her bow. It was simpler than the one she carried as a pendant, even if there was still something elegant about it. She supposed Zeus wouldn't go for anything lower in his academy. "Well, if I get a target right, I'm happy already."

"Aika Ayoama…" It had been the classmate Isuzu was talking about. Arisu remembered her, a tall girl of darkest hair usually in a bun or ponytail when competing. Oh, yeah, she remembered of her quite well…

"I was waiting for this one!" Apollon exclaimed, seeing the gloves and arms protectors. "I never had to use those before! Well, never needed" He said with a small laugh, still very interested in the complement equipment humans wore.

"Good luck for you both" Yui told them with a wink before Isuzu and Apollon went towards the targets, talking about archery and Apollon giving suggestions to the young girl.

"This one we already won" Dionysus said with certainty. "Too easy"

"Why do you say that?" Misaki turned to him without understanding, and the god of fertility smiled.

"Because Apollon is an archery god." This attracted the attention of Misaki and Arisu. Tsukito seemed to be already aware of this, since he didn't even blink to it. Yui wondered if he had informed himself of his classmates. She knew this about Apollon because she had read a bit when she had arrived.

"I didn't know that" Arisu chuckled to herself, this was just like last task and she wasn't surprised anymore that Apollon had been so interested in this particular competition. "I thought he was just god of the sun"

"Sun, music, prophecy, cure…" Ren counted with an absent expression. "Doesn't he play lyre a lot?"

Dionysus nodded.

"Hermes gave it to him. He also plays other instruments, but mostly the lyre." He added and watched his half-brother holding a bow and chirping to Isuzu, who listened with attention. The god was in silence for a while before smiling to himself and muttering. "I'm just remembering of when he killed Niobe's children…"

There was silence.

"Of what are you talking about?" Yui couldn't hide her surprise. She had heard myths about humans being killed or transformed by the gods as punishments, however she had thought much about it when in the academy. And having known Apollon, it was hard to picture him killing whoever it was!

At her side, Misaki had her eyes frozen as if they would never blink again.

"Niobe…" Ren repeated slowly, seeming trying to recall. "I think my mother once told me about this…" She stopped herself, unsure if the term "myth" would offend the god or not, since it had been a real case. "Wasn't she the one who disrespected Apollon's mother?"

"Leto." Dionysus said with a nod. Yui and Misaki knew this was the Titan mother of Apollon and Artemis, but Arisu still shook her head expressing she didn't follow. At their side, Tsukito listened without expression.

"Niobe was a queen of Thebes" The Greek gold told them. "She had six sons and six daughters. There was a day when some women were making adorations to Leto with their offerings. She raged, ordering the cult to be stopped." His green eyes became stone, cold and sharp with the memory of such audacity. "She told the women that they ought to make offerings to her, calling herself superior and more worthy than Leto"

Yui and Misaki exchanged glances with the raw despise they heard in his voice. And they couldn't say that the behavior of the queen sounded sensate. Arisu now frowned as she heard it.

"This because she had more children and Leto had trouble when she was pregnant…" Ren whispered. "For what I remember, she couldn't give birth… Wasn't it?" She turned to Dionysus, who sighed.

"Hera. She declared that Leto wouldn't be able to give birth in any land. Her luck was that the island of Delphos had immerged a little time ago and it wasn't considered a land yet." The god explained them. Hera had so many times punished Zeus' lovers, enraged by her husband's affairs. "Niobe also mocked Leto for this and went on how she was of noble lineage." He scoffed at this, thinking about the grandfather of the woman, Tantalus. Noble lineage, right… The man was even today on the depths of Tartarus. "Since she was the queen, she managed to stop the offerings"

"And as punishment, Artemis and Apollon went after her children. Artemis killed the girls first and Apollon, the boys."

"Apollon killed the boys first, Ren" The god corrected her, his tone never changing. "Even after she received the news, Niobe insisted she was still superior because of her daughters. The youngest one died in her arms. Mortals' idiocy"

In another occasion, Arisu would have taken offense in this, but she couldn't completely deny. Misaki looked to Apollon's direction, unable to relate him to such acts. It was so easier to imagine him playing a lyre or conducting a beautiful chariot of sunlight than… Well, as a murderer.

"What happened to Niobe?" Yui asked quietly, the story (pardon, history) coming to life in her mind. Clearly, she saw the boys, maybe in a large room or playing in a field, falling with arrows crossing them… The mother crying as one of her daughters died in her arms in a pool of blood… She could even imagine Apollon standing in the middle of the slaughter, even if she didn't want to and now the idea remained with its claws in her mind.

"She turned into stone" The reply couldn't be more uncaring or unmerciful. "She went to cry in a mount and stood there. She is there until today"

"Isn't Apollon also able to bring plague and diseases?" Ren asked seeming not bothered at all. "With his arrows?"

Dionysus nodded once more.

Arisu's mouth was open in disbelief. The tale wouldn't have caused this reaction if she wasn't hearing it firsthand from Dionysus and if she hadn't met the god who had taken part in the killing… Even if the woman had been arrogant, this was far too cruel!

"But the children were innocent!"

"Many children pay for their parent's sins" Tsukito merely commented with his usual calmness. It was a point that none of the girls had an answer to in the moment… Yuio knew that, being a god, he should comprehend better Dionysus' point of view. Her organs felt like they had exchanged places.

Arisu insisted.

"They were not the ones who spoke this load of crap, how does someone just go and end an innocent's life as if…!"

Ren saw that Arisu was getting exalted and tried to explain what her mother had told her… She hadn't understood this in the first time she heard it, and in the occasion the story had been just that: A story.

Now, she saw it as a real case, no different from the murder's cases you could read about in the newspaper.

"Arisu…" She called her, the serene tone shocking against the other girl's, who was increasing in agitation even if she wasn't screaming. "Niobe knew what she was doing"

"Yeah, Ren, that helps so much." She told herself when receiving a glare from Arisu that wasn't unlike a knife.

"Ren, don't you tell me that…" If she even said that she agreed to that…

"Think, people believed in them" Ren interrupted, briefly pointing to Dionysus with her head. It wasn't that she was justifying the course of action, she just didn't want to see an argument taking place. "There is several… Cases like that."

"Mortals who disrespect and defy us. People knew better than this, do you expect us to ignore such behavior?" Dionysus completed, arms still crossed and head held high, face hard with austerity. He understood of where Arisu came from an absolute different place, but he didn't think she ought to judge the acts of the gods.

"They believed in them" Ren repeated, a bit scared that touching the subject of how they were no more than stories nowadays would do more than annoy them.

"How did the conversation reached this point?"

"A city could have a patron God, a mortal could have a god to who he prayed more, but all mortals should pay cults to all of us anyway" Dionysus explained as Arisu looked from one to another looking almost outraged, even if she was understanding what they were saying.

Misaki and Yui, though picking silence as the best course, also listened with attention.

"They respected all of them…" Yui whispered slowly as she tried to imagine how living in such a time had been. To live believing… Well, maybe knowing (after all, here she was living with them for the time being) that those gods were real. And knowing what they could do… Under this prism, she couldn't deny that Niobe's behavior had been stupid, but the punishment still sounded unfair for involving innocents who had nothing to do with their mother's actions.

"Apollon and Artemis were livid." The god carried on with a shake of his head. "Few times I saw them like that… And how would you feel if someone treated your mother like this?"

Misaki lowered her shoulders, not thinking about her mother but in aunt Wakana… If she had been through difficulties like Leto and was worth of the respect the Greek gods were… She didn't know how she would have reacted, but she knew she would have been furious.

"But I wouldn't have taken it out in children who never did a thing! They are so different from us… Just because they look like humans, it doesn't mean they even feel like we do…" Even if back then, the respect had been so absolute, she wasn't sure she could ever understand.

"Hubris of mortals" Dionysus shrugged (weird how even this common gesture did nothing to lessen the sudden authority that rolled off him in powerful waves. Ren had no doubt he could crush their sanities with a mere wish if he wanted to and thanked Zeus for the shackles), despise never left his eyes. "I am aware the children were innocent, however their loss was the biggest punishment Niobe could have, therefore…"

"And what is hubris?" Misaki asked suddenly. Ren and the others also waited for the explanation. Yui was sure she had heard this before, but she couldn't associate the term to a meaning.

"It means extreme pride." Tsukito told them. "Excess of confidence and ego, with an insolent behavior towards others and specially us, gods"

"Indeed" Dionysus confirmed the explanation. "One of mortals' worse sins. Honor and respect are very important. You may be proud of your actions and achievements, but never consider yourself superior or equal to us"

Yui and Misaki just exchanged glances, the conversation bringing an ill feeling in their stomachs. Arisu was still with her mouth open, longing to find a reply to that, feeling how many differences and distances there were between them and the gods.

"You can't judge another culture like this…" Even more considering it wasn't even a "person" she would be judging. Still furious, she lowered her shoulders and straightened her neck, going through her own thoughts. That all still sounded wrong and unjustifiable. If at least she had a way to talk back!

"It doesn't fucking matter! They were innocents. Is life this worthless to them?"

Dionysus sighed, apparently considering the topic closed and watched as Apollon and Isuzu over Arisu's head as they still talked. The Fertility God wouldn't be surprised if Apollon was telling her how he and Artemis had hunted together, though this was a domain of his sister and not his. Or maybe giving advice. Whatever it was, it had Isuzu's attention.

A bit away, Hades also watched them in silence as Loki talked to Thor. No sign of Takeru.

"I… I'll buy something!" Arisu decided, not looking at the god anymore or any of the girls, suddenly feeling she had to get away as of their presence was suffocating her. "I'll be back later"

Not waiting for answer, she walked away, getting some surprise when she realized Ren was accompanying her. Arisu didn't say a thing, her mind revising all she had heard. There was a seed growing inside her, blooming thoughts and doubts.

Not bearing it anymore, she needed to expulse part of it from her system.

"They are so different!" She said in a half-mutter, half-groan, aware she was saying something painfully obvious. "I guess I thought… Fuck, I don't know…" It wasn't as if she had, upon any moment, really forgotten who her classmates truly were, so why she suffered this sensation she couldn't define? "This of killing children and not even blinking to it. And I don't even know if I got this hubris deal…"

"It is a very different concept. Pride is just the simplest way of putting it" Ren muttered and Arisu saw that her gray eyes were like a clouded sky. The girl seemed to want to say something more, however it looked like she lacked the ability to translate her emotions into words.

Even so, Arisu was somehow glad she was just there.

"Ren, what do you think they think of us?" Arisu risked. "Do you think that for them we're just… You know… Poor little mortals, involved in a divine play? The way Dionysus spoke now… It is like human life has no value whatsoever"

During some seconds, she thought Ren wouldn't answer.

"I don't know… Takeru and Loki made their opinions, or part of them, pretty clear…" No doubt there. Even if they were friendlier today, this didn't mean their feelings had ever changed. "But I don't know if this is about us personally"

She was still quiet for some seconds more as if reflecting. Arisu's question was good and she hadn't given the matter any thought until now.

"As for the others… I think it's too early to say, but… I don't think it is all like this" Or maybe she just didn't want it to be.

Arisu thought about it. Yui was there for a week more than they, who had arrived some days ago. Maybe Ren was right and it was too early to say they truly knew each other. Considering Apollon and Balder's behavior, she had believed them to be making a real effort to understand humans… With Tsukito it was impossible to have any idea and Dionysus had always been so pleasant and kind to them until now…

What if they were just… Like pets to them? Cute little things and nothing more?

Arisu shook her head as she caught a toasted ham and cheese sandwich, not giving signs of wanting to go back to the group who, by now, would be picking seats in the benches. Her mind could only focus in that story she had heard and the sensation of all kinds of abysses that there were between them and the gods.

Now, away from them, her agitation was slowly fading and she felt tired. However, the girl managed to make her mind work more calmly and think slow, as if she was knitting and evaluating each thread of thought with caution.

She had thought she was getting used to all this mess, but truth to be told, there were still remains of disturb in her blood that waited moments to wake and seize her.

"Well… Let's go? Before we miss the show?" She called for Ren, who tried to cheer her up in the way back.

"As he said, this one we've won already. Think about Loki and Takeru's face!"

Arisu laughed a bit and gave her a smile.

"Thanks, Ren"

Going to the seats the others had chosen wasn't hard even with all the spirits getting in groups and muttering among them. In the space before the stands, quite close to where the first task had taken place, there were targets in a row and divided in three groups. Apollon and Isuzu seemed to be wishing good luck to each other and Thor.

"Alright, we haven't missed a thing" Arisu commented as she took a seat between Dionysius and Misaki. Taking a deep breath with cautions so they wouldn't notice, she turned to the god and offered her sandwich to him, ignoring the wave of nervousness that replaced her blood. She didn't think she owed any apologies, but suddently she didn't want to just ignore all completely either.

"Hey, taste it. It's great"

Dionysius blinked before the offer and Arisu had the impression that she could be looking quite ridiculous now. However, the god smiled in the same way he always did and ripped a piece to himself with a nod.

"Thanks, Arisu"

The girl felt the heavy cloud that had been born some minutes ago fading and breathed in relief. Maybe she needed to try to understand the gods as well, just like they needed to understand humans.

Ana: While this chapter was one of the longest and hardest to write until now (since I have zero talent for sports and suck at describing them) there were some scenes I enjoyed. I also revised the earlier chapters as, when I was reading those again, I found some mistakes. English is not my first language, so sometimes I let things slip. If you guys notice a typo or anything, please tell me.

Chapter Text

Silence involved them all like a veil.

And thought suave, the air was stiff with tension that came from everyone. Unlike the competitions up until now, the crowd didn't yell or cheered, eyes fixed in Apollon, Thor and Isuzu.

Arisu chewed her sandwich without even tasting it anymore, as if all her being (mental and physical) was focused and existing only in her eyes. At her side, Dionysus seemed calmer and gave her a smile that carried a silence message for her to relax and trust that all would end well.

The girl hadn't forgotten her doubts or the conversation (if it could be called that), but it was far from being the focus of her attention now. Even if, deep inside, her feelings still lurked as mud in her blood and created a sensation that wasn't all pleasant.

Yui and Misaki were leaning forwards, the first had her hands on her lap and twisting the short's fabric as Misaki dug her nails deep in her knees. For a second, Yui meant to turn to Balder and Loki both sitting behind her and ask if Thor had any experience with archery (when it came down to weapons, she knew about his hammer, but it had occurred her that this didn't mean he didn't know how to use others), however there was no way she could force herself break from looking to the field and her vocal cords were too dry to produce any sound.

Thor raised his bow, arrow positioned. There were three targets in a row…

Near him, Apollon and Isuzu watched with the same attention than the audience. This could have distracted someone else, however the god didn't seem to even notice. His concentration, even in this situation, eliminated everything around.

He pulled the arrow… The bow's string followed his movement.

The arrow ripped air and silence.

The sound of the sharp's point piercing the target was harsh.

He had hit the circle around the last inner one.

Behind Yui, Loki breathed again. The girl held her air, it didn't matter, it didn't matter… It was just one target, and Thor hadn't hit the center. It wouldn't be enough to win against Apollon.

"It's like the swimming task, we all knew Takeru-san would win, it is the same principle now…" Her flesh ignored the thought.

Thor, still not showing any reaction, merely picked another arrow as he walked to the next target. Isuzu could almost see his muscles working under his skin as he got ready.

He seemed to have hit the exactly line between the third and fourth circle… But upon a closer look, the arrow was more to the third one.

The girl held her own bow, mouth dry. Even though Thor hadn't hit the center, he was going too well and his points would be high in the end. At her side, Apollon muttered.

"He is good"

All she could do was nod as she watched Thor picking the last arrow, wondering if he was as calm as he looked like.

"It's hard not to respect his concentration." It wasn't that the god's features were hardened, however it was possible to see in his eyes that nothing else existed to him but the target ahead. Somehow, even if this was a competition, something about it made her bones grow cold…

The arrow cut the air.

Involuntarily, Misaki covered her eyes and whimpered.

Some people yelled, it wasn't possible to now if in disappointment or cheering.

"And?" She asked, peeking between her fingers.

"Almost in the center…" Yui commented with a sigh that could be caused by tiredness or relief. "Okay, that's fine…"

"Nervous?" Loki purred as he leaned until his head was between them. Misaki hissed as a cat, backing away from him as Yui managed to smile.

"A little. Weren't you?"

"Not. At. All" He replied, shaking his head. "Why would I be?"

"I had the impression you were holding your breath" The girl said with a false air of thoughtfulness and a sweet smile, her finger against the side of her lips. Loki "tsked" with his tongue, still denying before putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Ahhh… I think you're just imagining things." And patted her shoulder. "How could I ever be nervous for such a thing?"

Yui was about to give some reply when Loki's attention went back to the others.

"Look, it's your friend's turn!"

Isuzu felt suddenly out of place. Those eyes were iron over her body, slithering inside her and her stomach reacted with a bitter taste that echoed in her mouth. This was one of the reasons she had never took part in competitions back at home… Besides, Aika Ayoama was the best of the archery's group too and now those eyes over her were too much like when…

She closed her eyes, the memory burning her eyes.

"Please, not now, not now, I don't want this now"

"You're too anxious, Suzu-Suzu." Apollon commented as he held her shoulder, getting a bit impressed at how her muscles felt and feeling her shiver as soon as his hand touched her. "You need to stay calm, remember?"

"Think that it makes no difference" A deep voice surprised her, for she hadn't expected that Thor would talk to her about that. Actually until now he had kept a polite distance. "You and your friends said you're taking part just for the fun of it."

"Thanks, Thor." She replied. The God just nodded and walked away again, watching from the usual distance and giving her space. Apollon whispered a "good luck" that barely held his excitation and did the same, though staying closer than him.

Shaking her head to get rid of the thoughts from before, her ponytail waving at her back, Isuzu got ready. Her left elbow was shivering still. She tried to focus on the idea that this was no different than practicing in the club.

"Just do your best" Only that thinking about her club also pulled thoughts from her old school.

Damn it all!

Her arrow ripped air and sound.

The second circle counting from outside in.

Isuzu groaned to herself.

No, this wasn't right.

Getting her second arrow, the girl made sure her arm was firmer this time. There was nothing. Just her and the target. Here and now, she repeated to herself, all that existed was here and now. Her heartbeat's intensity diminished.

Back in the stands, Arisu had her hands in the air before her, fingers intertwined in the air and was biting her right index.

Isuzu pulled the arrow…

Watched for the aim…

She let it go.

One circle away from the inner one.

But still she breathed in relief. This was better.

Sitting behind Arisu and near Takeru and Tsukito, Ren touched her lips with the end of her tongue as Isuzu picked her last arrow. Even if their results made no difference in the end, just for being taking part, they couldn't just be untouched by the natural tension that came with it. The girl wondered if this was because, unlike the tasks until now, they were going one at a time.

Once again, the sound of something sharp in the air.

Same circle.

Arisu jumped yelling her sister's name and laughing. Many of the spirits also cheered for the girl. Isuzu was deaf to it all and just sighed, turning to Apollon with a half smile, suddenly wishing this would be over soon so she could sit down.

"I really never want to participate in nothing like this ever again" She decided even with the warm wave that she felt when took notice of her sister yelling and Yui and Misaki waving their arms in the air with smiles.

The noise didn't last long, soon being killed by silence, like in a cycle in which one gave birth to another.

Without any care or tense, Apollon got ready for his turn. It wasn't like the one he owned, but it was good enough. With a seriousness that Isuzu had never even seen, the god pulled his arrow as if it was as natural as breathing.

Isuzu was surprised. Even her instructor had never been able to transmit the sensation that Apollon emitted now, arrow and bow being extensions of his body.

Back in the stands, Yui noticed this as well. If she had had the chance for doubts before, they would be mangled in the second the God held the bow. Like when Takeru had been swimming, those brief seconds showed a raw glimpse of a nature hidden under a mist of false humanity.

Arisu moved uncomfortably in her seat. The story of Niobe came back to her and now she could imagine Apollon in a field, corpses of children around him… And a merciless look in his eyes.

They all had killed. And they had no remorse.

When Apollon released his arrow, it seemed able to cut reality itself.

It pierced the red circle right in the middle.

Apollon didn't even blink, just picked the next arrow.

Arisu tried to ignore the coldness in his movements and tried to focus in the promised victory.

"He is good" She heard Takeru muttering and, at her side, Dionysus threw her a small smile, head held high. The girl nodded with the same expression.

"If he is that good being sealed as a human…" But Arisu knew she didn't want to dwell in this idea.

Another arrow made a perfectly right line.

It passed through the red circle, just at the side of the first one.

"Very good" Takeru corrected himself as Tsukito nodded as still as ever, not showing what he truly felt.

"Go for it, man…" Misaki whispered, but Yui heard and smiled to her, sharing her relief to see the Sun god's performance. It would be the first victory for their team. Behind her, Loki groaned.

Third arrow. His green eyes fixed in the target.

A ripping sound.

Once again, it hit the center.

"The winner is Apollon Agana Bellea"

The air shivered with the cries from the crowd. Yui and Misaki jumped at the same time, the blonde hugging her friend as they yelled in relief and glee. Balder laughed.

"Yes! Yes! YES!" The girl cried, holding Yui. "That's IT!"

"Thank goodness…" Arisu commented, relaxing and leaning her back behind as if stretching her spine. "Caramba…" If this was due to the ranking or because Isuzu had took part, she didn't know, all she knew was that this had been the most tense of the tasks for her until now.

Her eyes met Ren's.

"Just some more and my nerves wouldn't stand it" She commented with a smile.

"I know what you mean" The other replied with a sigh. Even with the promise of Apollon's victory, there had been no way to avoid the expectation. It hadn't ever been like this back in events of this sort in her school… True she never cared about them, but…

"But back there I was not under the threat of staying forever in a garden without ever going back home" She reflected harshly. As beautiful as the place was and even if it wasn't being as bad as it could be, Ren couldn't even imagine spending eternity there.

She just wanted to go home.

"We're still leading" Takeru commented as he stood up, ignoring the cheering around and leaving the stands with his brother. "We can still avoid all this nonsense of school"

Arisu groaned and looked from Ren to Dionysus.

"Isn't he the most likeable and pleasant person you guys have ever met?"

XxX

"You were worried, weren't you?"

Isuzu limited herself to nod in agreement. It was as if there was how he would believe a lie. Apollon touched her shoulder again, thought hesitating a bit since he remembered how her trembling upon the contact and smiled to her, his features soft and gentle once again. The girl couldn't stop comparing how different he had looked some moments ago.

"It was too obvious, right?"

"Well, not only by how you acted, but also taking in the difference between the first arrow and the two last ones…" The god answered as they went to their friends. "Yes."

"I was just out of focus, I suppose…" She shrugged. "I know we just spoke how we would take part for the fun of it, but when I was there…"

"The mood catches" Ren commented upon hearing the remains of the conversation. "It gets hard to ignore."

Isuzu nodded and indicated the god at her side with her thumb.

"But Apollon here was great! Glad we didn't depend of my results"

"You weren't bad, Suzu-Suzu. I mean, the first wasn't good, but then you got better" Apollon told her, but the girl shook her head in denial to the compliment and noticing that Arisu watched her in silence. In the instant their eyes met however, the girl smiled.

"I was too anxious at first" Isuzu commented without taking her eyes off her sister, though she knew Arisu wouldn't be fooled by that. "Now you all know why I never took part in competitions back home" She added as a jest.

"Takeru didn't seem to like it" Arisu commented with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Hey, one more and we're even!"

"At least they are having fun." Balder commented with a sigh, hoping it would last. It would be better if they ended up cooperating from their own will for merely being present during classes wouldn't be enough and they all knew it.

"Where is Misaki?" Apollon looked around, not seeing the blonde. "And Tsuki-Tsuki?"

"Misaki went to the bathroom. Tsukito went with his brother. They must be back soon, the next task will be in a few minutes."

XxX

The cold water against her face helped to refresh and she let out a sigh, holding the borders of the sink.

Behind her, some female spirits were talking among them. The girl caught fragments and didn't take long to conclude it was a conversation easily full of school clichés with no substance. It wasn't even a talk, they were just exchanging words to each other.

Misaki knew well the difference.

She wondered how those spirits worked. Yui had mentioned how she had thought about them like the NPCs from some games and the comparison wasn't that far off.

Ignoring them, the girl dried her face and hands, taking a minute to look at the mirror and straight her hair a bit. Two tasks now. Despite all, she was starting to get worried about the results.

"Well, it is no use to just get like this now" She told herself. "We have our chances. See, Apollon just won, right? So there. It's not like I can do anything about it" The thought carried memories of how aunt Wakana used to talk to her. There had been a day she had held Misaki in her lap even though the girl was pass the age and had talked to her about not worrying in excess.

It was just a memory and nothing more, yet it worked to avoid an old bitterness full of sharp ends. The girl looked around, seeing the spirits that walked side by side and the stands of food, catching a glimpse of someone with dark hair.

Her hesitation to approach took a minute.

"Hi there, Hades-san!" She greeted him (a part of her wondering if he, being brother of Zeus and all, would demand a more "proper" treatment). Hades was sitting in one of the banks away from the stands and Misaki wondered why he seemed to be always avoiding everyone. Maybe he just didn't like crowds? It made sense, however somehow Misaki was under the impression it wasn't just that.

"So, what are you thinking of…" Before she could even finish it, the red eye of the god casted a cold wave over her being in a winter's whisper.

"Don't come near me."

Misaki stopped as the coldness touched so deeply that it was near her very soul. She didn't take any step near, but didn't turn back either.

"I should have expected this. It's the same thing he said to Isuzu and Yui" Even so… She couldn't help but feel something that was quite close to fear.

"What are you thinking of the event?" She insisted. The god studied her for some seconds before giving in.

"Interesting"

She decided to accept that as an acknowledgment that it was being fun, considering that Hades (along with Thor and Tsukito) was one of the quieter gods. A part of her wanted to get away, but she refused it.

"Why don't you come with me?" She risked. "You don't need to be all by yourself."

She didn't know how to talk with him. Her knowledge regarding Hades was very basic: Older brother of Zeus and God of the Underworld, the realm of the dead.

"Should I ask about him to Apollon or Dionysus?" It was hard enough to understand Hades just by how he behaved, so maybe if she tried to know more…

He looked at her in silence and without blinking. Perhaps it was how his eye looked like blood, but his gaze made the girl feel exposed as if he could see her heart, her mind, her thoughts… And somehow, she was sure he knew she wasn't comfortable in his presence.

"No" It was the simple answer as he averted his gaze before adding. "Thanks for the offer"

"But…"

The god stared at her once more. Misaki's voice stopped working.

"Didn't your friends warn you?" The question was a whisper that she heard as if there was no noise around. "You should just stay away."

Misaki was torn between two impulses: Approaching him or just turning away. Changing the weight from her body from a foot to another, she still tried.

"Why do you say this?" Maybe, like Takeru, he didn't like them. Not that this made a difference in personal levels, Misaki just wanted to understand. The god sighed, but not seeing traces of impatience or annoyance in his face, the girl didn't know what was behind it. It was hard to guess his emotions, when he had such a self control.

"Because, otherwise, you'll have disgraces" Before the girl could ask what he meant by that, Hades, aware that Misaki wouldn't listen to him, stood up and walked away. The blonde remained there, trying to decide what to feel about his words. She wasn't offended by him walking away like this, he had done it in a way that wasn't really rude…

But it was weird.

"Geez, what is up with him?" She wondered with a grumble, deciding to just go back to the group. "Stay away, don't come near me… That's all he has to say? C'mon, is he allergic to the living or something like that?"

Misaki still muttered with herself, deciding to think about Hades later. Calculating she probably had some minutes before next target, she wondered about getting something to eat…

"Aihara" A hard voice called her attention. Thoth was some steps away, near the stairs to the school's building. It didn't matter the situation, environment or who it was, Misaki's student instinct made her slight worried. It was never good news when a teacher called you like this, even if she had already understood that Thoth rarely (if ever) talked in a softer tone.

"Uh… Yes, Thoth-sama?"

The blue eyes of the Egyptian god were daggers on her. Even though she hadn't done a thing wrong, Misaki felt as a child being caught trying to steal cookies. It was a hateful feeling and she was annoyed by her inability to get rid of it.

"You are losing" The god stated in a firm tone. "And you have just two more tasks to recover the disadvantage."

"We know that." She muttered, feeling small under his eyes and also bothered. Thoth had called her just to say that? Something she knew already? "We'll fix this"

"Is there the possibility" Thoth hissed as snake. "For you to take things even just a little more seriously? This is not a game"

"We're taking this seriously!" Misaki replied, aware that she sounded like a child asking for comprehension and gulped. When she spoke again, her tone was more under control. "And we're going to recover. We're not in a big disadvantage"

"They won two competitions one after the other" Thoth carried on. "And all I see, are you talking and laughing as if there wasn't any consequences"

Misaki had to fight the urge to shrug, knowing that Thoth would interpret this as a gesture of disrespect but the teacher's attitude was getting in her nerves easier than most of the other gods. Besides, who he was to affirm he knew how they felt, having bases just in what he saw?

"We trust each other" Not in personal levels, fine, however they trusted each other as a team working with an objective in common and for now, this was as good as it would get. "And we are worried"

It wasn't a lie. The threat of never going home and its implications was above them all as vulture waiting the right moments to peck her mind, tearing pieces of thought and instilling fear.

Those moments until now were more frequent at night, when she couldn't distract herself and was trying to sleep. And she had seen the same thing in the other girl's eyes.

"Trust isn't going to be enough. This event isn't about that"

The argument left Misaki's mind in blank, even if she tried to search for a reply… Thoth was right and she knew it, it wasn't like this feeling would make them win. Unfortunately, this wasn't the question in competitions and she just nodded.

"No, but we are trying the best we can" She knew Apollon and the others were. "And it is all we can do. We still can win this." The words were slow and almost fragile. The way Thoth stared at her made her feel that any justification would be infantile and poor, but it what else there was to say? She still tried sounding more logical. "They won two, fine, but we can't say we lost yet, right?"

Thoth raised his eyebrows.

"Next task will be now" He warned her. "And try to remember the others of what means giving the idiots the right to not attend classes"

"I agree with the "idiots" part." She thought without giving any reply as Thoth walked away. "Right, I suppose the lesson here was: When the knowledge god speaks, you shut up and that's that"

XxX

"I didn't know humans also did things like that" Balder commented, seeming fascinated. "I know you explained, but even so!"

"Meh, it looks easy" Loki held a strand of red hair between his fingers as he often did, his silver eyes gleaming as he examined the next task. "Not as high as I thought it would be."

"Does he have to mock like this or he just wants to piss we off?" Arisu reflected as she rolled her eyes. "Honestly!"

The climbing wall ahead which, really, shouldn't be too high for him but just from looking at it, Arisu felt her blood's temperature go low and turned to Ren, who had one of the corners of her mouth turned down, as if she had bitten something quite bitter.

"Are you sure about this, Ren?" She asked. If it was with her, Arisu would refuse to climb that thing, security straps or not and even if Ren was pale, Arisu thought the other girl didn't seem very excited.

"Hey, do you really have to wear those things?" Takeru commented as he examined some black straps.

"They are for safety, Takeru, they are obligatory" Tsukito explained, to which the sea god just shook his head and muttered something about how uncomfortable they seemed. Loki agreed with a kind of smile.

"It would be more fun without those"

"Sure, then someone falls and breaks their head, are you insane?" Arisu asked without being able to control herself. Loki laughed and leaned to her, dragging the words.

"It would more in-te-res-ting. A bit of risk helps."

"I sincerely hope you're kidding." She answered, for if it was not a joke, then it was a pure moronic thing beyond everything she had expected. Climbing that without any security wasn't what she would call "adding a risk", it would be suicide. Loki continued with a small smile before examining the climbing wall once again.

"He, it isn't even as higher as a mountain"

"Have you climbed one before, Loki-san?" Yui asked with interest.

"Sometimes" The Nordic nodded and Balder completed.

"Near where we live there are some so high that their top is always covered in snow." He told. "They are beautiful."

Yui thought about photos of mountains she had seen and somehow knew they didn't live up to it.

"We climbed several together before." Loki commented as he turned to Balder. "And when we compete, I always win"

"I don't think so" It was the Light god's reply, his eyes sparking with sharp interest. "I specially remember an occasion. A week before Odin's commemorations? If I'm not mistaken, you almost rolled down the mountain…"

"I do not recall such event" Loki made a dispensing gesture with his hand as he picked the straps with the other, Thor helping him to put them in place. "You must be confounding things, Balder, no doubt."

"And you, have you ever done something like this, Ren?" The blonde god asked as he also got ready. Ren shook her head, the black braid moving just like a whip.

"First time…" She muttered, looking over the climbing wall as Yui helped to place the safety straps. "This is higher than I thought…"

"You don't need to do this if you don't want to" Yui told her slowly, for even if Ren kept herself as serene as she usually was, the girl was under the impression that the black-haired one wasn't comfortable with this.

"No… I want to." Ren sighed and shrugged. "Well, give it a try, at least."

"You who knows, just don't feel obliged to." Misaki insisted, almost giggling when realizing she had just repeated words her aunt had told her once. "Relax, have fun and whatever you do, don't look down."

"Great advice, Misaki" Arisu grumbled as Ren, Balder and Loki went towards the wall and the rest walked to their seats. "Now she is really going to look down"

Some spirits were standing, other sitting in the ground, the stairs or some chairs nearby.

""You took a while. Where were you?" Yui asked to the blonde as they sat in the first steps of the stairs. Misaki shrugged one shoulder with a groan.

"I tried to talk to Hades. He just said the same thing he told you and Isuzu, to stay away. Then Thoth wanted to talk to me"

"What did he want?"

"Just to ask for immediate results." Misaki muttered before assuming a serious expression and a deeper voice. "Think about the consequences of losing, they already won two tasks, yadda, yadda."

"Think about the consequences?" Arisu hissed in coldness. "Oh, of course, as if we could ever forget!"

"Thoth-sama is like that" Yui sighed, sharing the girl's weariness regarding the teacher, even if she was used to his nature. "Don't take him seriously." Internally, during the first week she had spent here, the girl had sometimes been grateful that Thoth was not one of the Gods she had to "help understand humans". He always seemed so distant that she felt awkward when talking to him.

"Be in position" The god's voice echoed, suffocating some muttering of the spirits.

There was a bang.

Ren, Balder and Loki immediately started to grab and lean in the colorful saliencies, looking almost as strange four-legged spiders from the distance.

"C'MON, REN!" Misaki yelled as she made a shell with her hands around her mouth. "JUST CLIMB!"

Behind her, Takeru was yelling to Loki to go faster. Watching the red-haired god and Balder, Misaki had no trouble imagining them climbing a mountain. Their movements were agile and natural as if they had done this their whole lives. The experience made up for the limitations the shackles forced upon them.

Ren had all her attention in leaning her feet in the right spots and find others to go up at the same time she forced herself to not look down, but it was as if something weighted in her eyes and tried to force them to the ground. At a moment, her left foot slipped and, with the scare, the right almost lost its strength as well. Her hands' grip became stronger by instinct as if her body had forgotten she was wearing safety's straps and not in true danger.

"Why did I agree to this?" She wondered, forcing her face up as she tried to reach her arm as her left foot found another place to step. It wasn't that she didn't trust the equipment, but she had never done this before (actually, she had decided to try because of the new experience, but…).

Some steps ahead, Balder turned his face to Ren. Thought his breathing was faster and his face had a light pink over it, his eyes had no change whatsoever. No doubt he was having fun and remembering the mountains back in his home.

"C'mon, Ren! You can do it!"

The girl shrugged a bit to signalize she was trying here and shook her head for him to go on. It wasn't that it was not fun, but the uneasiness poisoned her focus and the pressure stopped her from enjoying the new experience as a simple game.

With the confidence of a cat, Loki climbed even if he could feel (now more than never) how limited he was with that shackle. There was nothing that even resembled tension, but the straps no matter how necessary, made him feel too contained for his tastes. Balder, almost at his side, had his gaze fixated ahead as he grabbed the saliencies. There was just a time he seemed about to slip in his hurry, but soon managed to avoid it.

"C'MON, BAL-BAL! JUST A LITTLE MORE!" Apollon cried, hoping the Light god would pass by Loki, they were too close to know who would arrive first.

Balder's concentration wasn't in anything that weren't his next steps as he propelled his body up. He needed to win this, he needed to. The others were counting on him.

"REN, C'MON! FASTER, GIRL!" Arisu yelled, for the Amaya girl was too behind the others. At her side, Isuzu had her fingers crossed and leaning forwards as she muttered.

"Do you think she is okay in there?"

Arisu stopped her cheering and leaned to her sister, unable to hold a giggle.

"Better than I would be, I bet" And went back to yelling.

At the top of the wall, there were bells shining under the sun which made them look like pieces of burning gold. Loki and Balder approached the ropes… They reached out…

Two bells rang, echoing loud through all campus.

It was impossible to know which one had ringed first.

There was a silence in which the two Nordic exchanged looks.

"Tie" Thoth announced without showing any emotion in his voice alone. Though Misaki guessed he could be either annoyed or surprised.

"YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!" Arisu screamed while behind her, Takeru had his shoulders down and still looked to the top of the wall as if still not believing what had happened. Meanwhile, Tsukito remained calm. Thor shook his head slightly, not that surprised with the result. Apollon and Yui looked at each other.

"I… I wasn't expecting this" The girl muttered. There hadn't been a moment, or even a second, during which she had indulged the idea that any of the tasks could have this sort of ending, though now her mind told her she should have at least considered the possibility.

"Bal-Bal was almost passing by Loki-Loki" Apollon commented as he showed a minimum space between his index and thumb, narrowing his eyes. "Just this little more…"

"Two for them, one of us and one tie… If we don't win the next task, we're done for." Yui reflected, avoiding looking at the podium, able to feel Thoth's stare threatening to burn them alive. Apollon noticed the worry blooming in her eyes and touched her shoulder, meaning to tell her that if they lost the event, they would think about some other solution and they could still end in a tie if they managed to win the next task, but his words wouldn't come off.

"I don't believe this…" Loki muttered, already back in the ground and getting rid of the straps. "How did that happen?" He had been so sure he would win, what would have been enough to warrant they wouldn't need to bear that stupid idea of "school".

"Happening" Ren replied mentally as she released herself as well. She had reached a bit after the half of the wall when she had heard the bells and the result.

"What did you think about it, Ren?" Yui asked the girl, hiding her worry about the result. "Was it fun?"

"Well, it kinda was, but…" She hesitated and shook her head, as if embarrassed. "I don't know if I want to try this again any sooner"

"If we ever do this again" Balder suggested. "We can try together!" And petted her hair. Taken by surprise by the touch and with a slight spasm running through her body, Ren's head backed away instinctively just enough to break contact.

"Maybe…" She muttered without a real reply. "Maybe someday"

Takeru and Thor were talking with Loki, the sea god doing most of it actually and still pretty convinced that they would win even if Loki seemed quite annoyed by the end of his task.

"I'm sorry I couldn't win" The Light god apologized, which Apollon dispensed with a wave of his hand. It wasn't a defeat and this made the others thing about a detail.

"The next task is the last one." Tsukito commented, observing the other group. "Should we win it, how is the winning team going to be chosen?"

"Then I suppose we're going to have another task…" Yui said holding her chin and trying to calm herself with that line of though. "If we win… Then we still have this chance"

XxX

The running track of the first task, meanwhile, had been modified. At the course there were now horses, tires positioned side by side, leaning walls and an area to be crossed by a rope.

"The last task in the Annual Sport's Even is an obstacle race" Thoth's voice announced in the same timber of always. Yui wondered if he would keep this self control should they lose.

"I can imagine the lecture. Or more." She recalled of when she had met him and expressed her opinion regarding Zeus and how Thoth had cornered her against a wall and hissed that the Greek god has the interests of gods and humans alike in his mind. In another occasion he had told her that finding a means to make the "idiots" (his term) attend class was her duty.

Not that in the moment a lecture of Thoth was even near the top of her biggest worries.

"I don't know if I want to do this…" Misaki whispered at her side, watching the track with discomfort as they came near it.

"So don't." Arisu replied at her side and shrugged. "You said yourself that Ren didn't need to climb if she didn't want to, same thing applies"

The blonde touched her lips with her tongue. It was true, she had said that, but Ren had insisted in at least trying. Wouldn't it be kinda of… Annoying if, right on her turn, she decided to not take part in any competition? All of the others had.

"Yeah… But…" Her eyes went through the track again while, nearby, Dionysus and Loki were getting ready to run. Takeru was with the trickster god and for what it looked like, he wished he could take part in this as well. Thor was muttering something, to which Hades merely nodded.

"I insisted because it was my choice." Ren told her, perhaps seeing something in her face. "You don't have to do anything, if you don't want to"

"Exactly, Misa-Misa!" Apollon agreed unaware that he had just made a new discomfort to be born in the girl that had nothing to do with the competition.

"The point is to have fun!" Arisu recalled. At least in was the objective in their participation, once just the results of the gods would have meaning. Misaki hesitated. Ghosts of old words tried to echo in her mind, but the girl kept her attention in the reality and, though still feeling a bit bad about it, truth was she didn't want to run. Let alone in an obstacle track.

"Then… I' won't. Sorry, but I'm really not into this"

"You don't need to apologize, Misaki!" Yui seemed even shocked with the idea. "You said it yourself, no one here is forced to do anything."

"More or less, right, Yui?" Isuzu commented, since the last thing they need was for Loki or Takeru to hear that and start complaining some more. She turned to Dionysus. "We're counting with you, Dionysus, it is the only way we can still get a chance."

"Meaning" Arisu didn't reach quite his shoulders, so she merely touched his back. "Win or die trying"

"No pressure, of course" Isuzu completed in the same tone, making the god laugh.

"I'll do my best"

"Just this task more and we're free of this mess" Loki muttered as he and Dionysus got in the start line. Arisu was about to hiss something when Isuzu held her shoulder and shook her head slightly. It wouldn't do any good to reply the comment. Arisu scoffed. That attitude was for her immature, selfish and it annoyed her to no end.

"Could it be that he thinks that we're all just merrily leave by the end of the year?" She wondered in a low voice. "He is always saying that shit."

"Just let it go, Arisu." The sister replied, still denying. Maybe Loki just wanted to provoke then or, with the promise of not having to come to class, wasn't thinking about the consequences. She had no way of knowing since she had already realized that, regarding Loki, it was hard to be sure of what went through his mind.

Arisu turned to her sister as they took their seats, remembering how she had had a bad aim with her first arrow in her archery task. It could be nothing to someone else, but she was quite sure of what had caused it… And while Arisu wanted to ask if Isuzu was alright, in another hand, she thought if she should mention it at all or just be quiet and let her sister try to push it away.

Both options had their white and black traits.

At their side, Ren and the others waited for the whistle. Some spirits around still whispered among themselves. Yui had her hands closed in fists on her knees, Apollon had spasms that agitated his body forward and backwards, as if he was the one about to run and his body couldn't keep the energy for long.

Ren had her eyes in the running gods, mentally wishing and praying with all she had that the Greek would win. She didn't want to think about what would happen otherwise.

A whistle cut the air.

The two red haired went on a run.

Fingers crossed on her chest almost as if she prayed, Misaki bit her lower lip, digging the nails in the skin between her fingers with such strength that the knuckles were white.

"C'mon, c'mon…" She muttered, unable to scream or blink anymore.

Loki hadn't gotten tired in the climbing, at least not tired enough so he couldn't run faster than Dionysus. The screams were around him, but Loki didn't mind them and jumped over a horse easily, never diminishing the strength invested in his legs.

Dionysus did the same. It wasn't hard, it was almost like running through the forest… He had done that before with his entourage of followers and sometimes with satyrs as well. Since the swimming competition, he had had time enough to rest.

When he noted Loki passing him, he tried to run faster. He needed to take this seriously. He had to win.

Apollon cried his half-brother's name along with Arisu, who agitated her legs and hit her feet in the floor, almost as if she was running too.

"FASTER, GO FOR IT!"

"YOU CAN DO IT!"

Their screams danced with Takeru's and even Thor and Hades seemed anxious than before.

Loki ran over the leaning wall, a cat that wouldn't be stopped by anything. Dionysus was a bit behind… Isuzu had her teeth piercing her lower lip and Ren had her nails back on her elbows with a whimper. Seeing the distance forming between Loki and Dionysus, Takeru punched the air with a yell not unlike of an animal. Arisu realized the fury from before was back in his eyes again…

It could be happiness, but it didn't make it less frightening.

"C'MON, DIONYSUS! SHOW HIM!" She cried, not hearing that there were traces of despair more than cheer in her voice.

They both grabbed ropes they were supposed to use to cross the distance between two pillar-like structures. Under them there was a large couch and falling would mean losing… So, even if still fast, they took more caution during this time. Ankles crossed over the rope, they impulse their bodies to cross it. Dionysus managed to cover the distance between him and his opponent.

Yui sighed in relief seeing this. Her heart was a bird trying to get free from a cage of bone and flesh as energy turned her nerves into glass.

They passed by an area covered in tires, somewhat clumsy at first.

They were near the finishing line.

Misaki let out a sound that was at the same time a whimper and a growl, hiding her face o her hands (no difference, since she peeked between her fingers). It was their only chance… The idea of never seeing her aunt again spread through her mind, the poison bringing forth other sceneries… The friends she wouldn't ever seen again, the dreams she wouldn't even get the chance to try to achieve…

Which had been her last words to aunt Wakana? Or to Hideki? And Rika, Rika had been talking about the college she wanted to go to and…

Dionysus almost growled, running side by side with Loki…

But his body was getting tired now, legs throbbed and his breathing had become harsher. Energy seemed to falter and he almost got behind… Still, he forced his body to go on, keep the speed.

Loki took deep breaths, trying to not get behind or stop. His nerves and bones were burning, but not with the usual fire. In that moment, he hated that human body with all his heart.

The white line shivered in front as if mockingly.

They were side by side. At some moments, it looked as if one was some steps ahead, but no one could be sure.

At the last second, one of them was ahead…

The sound of the white thread being ripped echoed louder than the screaming.

Loki stopped, shivering and fighting to breath. Dionysus leaned his hands on his knees for a while before standing straight, sweat dripping in his face.

Silence now, higher than the cheering.

"The winner…" Thoth spoke. Yui crossed her fingers, Misaki's nail dug deeper in her flesh as if thirsty for blood. Balder was still.

"Dionysus Thyrsos!"

"YEAH!" Arisu yelled with relief and glee. Yui let out a nervous laugh as she hugged Misaki, both girls being then hugged by Apollon and Balder stood up and pulled Tsukito along. Ren sighed and relaxed, face lying on her knees, a puppet whose strings had been tore apart.

"That was close…" Isuzu muttered to her sister. "Too close"

Loki made a gesture of punching the air near his stomach, clearly displeased and Takeru crossed his arms.

"Very well, so what, we end in a tie?" He scoffed. "Nothing changes"

"By any means" Tsukito corrected his brother. During all this time, he remained inexpressive as if all the agitation around couldn't touch him. "We will have another task to solve this"

"So I can still have hope" The god stood up. "So, which will this task be?"

Already standing as well, Isuzu beckoned them to follow her.

"Let's talk to Thoth-sama" Truth was, she didn't know the answer herself. They hadn't thought about a competition to use in the eventuality of a tie, but there had been some tasks suggested when they were deciding that hadn't been used. Well, now they could, there were several which didn't need much preparation.

Balder was complimenting Dionysus as he drank a bottle of water offered by Apollon. His face was still red, but his breathing was steady again.

"It was to win or die trying, wasn't it what Hironezumi said?" He repeated with a wink to Arisu, who shrugged with a smile full of fake innocence.

"Well, the incentive worked, didn't it?"

XxX

Yui, Misaki, Ren, Isuzu and Arisu watched the gods, anxiety again dominating their bodies, which already felt the exhaustion of the roller-coaster of emotions from the day. Though, if comparing with the usual Sport's day from their own schools, this one had been relatively short and with few tasks, those waves of calmness and nervousness were too much to bear.

"A bit more and my nerves won't stand it" Arisu had told her sister, who had just agreed. Though similar, this Sport's day was still too different from what they were used to. Oh, there was will to win and tension back there too, but far lighter if compared to this day.

Now, it was the final task.

So, Thoth had decided it would be better one in which all the gods would take part. The final choice had been something known as a "chicken fight" or "shoulder wars" and consisted of a group carrying someone, whose objective was to push down the opponent.

"This is a recipe for disaster" Ren whispered, making Arisu turn to her at the same moment, eyes wide.

"Oh, just shut up!" In another occasion it would have been funny, but not now and the girl went back to the gods, who had decided their group's organization.

Apollon was being held by Balder, Tsukito and Dionysus while Hades was being lifted by Loki, Takeru and Thor. Misaki had thought they would choose Loki or Takeru, since they seemed lighter, but then again, they would need someone who was strong in other to push the other team down.

She wondered if Apollon would manage it.

"Ready…"

There was a bang. As one, the teams went against one another. Hades and Apollon held hands, trying to make each other lose their balance while the gods holding them fought to keep themselves firm, going ahead or backing away.

Arisu bit her tongue, nails scratching her palms.

"PUSH HIM, APOLLON!" Isuzu cried, voice higher than usual. "GO ON!"

"PUSH THEM DOWN, PUSH THEM DOWN!" Misaki's scream had almost a rhythm of its own.

The two gods seemed to be on equal footing. Apollon had his back hardened, leaning all his strength and weight on his hands to push his uncle, but Hades didn't seem affected in the least and resisted. The other gods helped, advancing against the other team as one.

Yui noticed that Hades and Apollon seemed to be talking among them, but at that distance and all the noise around, she couldn't even read their lips. It made no difference. Nothing was important, except those minutes…

Apollon boosted his body forwards.

Hades resisted.

The gods groaned when they fell.

Apollon whimpered, leaning one hand in the ground and massaging his forehead. Tsukito sat, having fallen badly over his left leg but except for a frown and a moment of weakness when he tried to stand, there was no show of disturb or pain.

"It's over" Thoth announced while Hades stood along the others. While they were falling, they hadn't paid attention in who had actually be pushed.

"Red team wins!"

Arisu let out a beastly cry of victory.

"They did it! They did it! They did it!" Misaki's repetitive yelling fell into a cadence almost being sung. Balder laughed and Dionysus cheered while Ren let out a sigh of relief and closed her eyes, as if distancing herself from everything around.

"Congratulations!" Isuzu laughed as she approached the gods. Apollon soon hugged her and went to hug Yui soon after.

"We did it, Fairy-chan, we did it!" The sun god laughed, almost lifting Yui in his arms. Arisu patted Dionysus' back after a moment of brief hesitation while Misaki congratulated Tsukito, who merely accepted it.

"It has to be a joke" Loki mumbled, displeasure scarring his face. His eyes were more then never those of a wild cat and sparkled with danger. "Can't we demand another match?"

"Hey, you all made an oath!" Misaki turned to the others at hearing this, unable to not be scared by the idea of them actually finding a loop to avoid the consequences. "We all agreed on…"

Loki "tsked" to her with despise, measuring the girl up and down. Thor didn't seem annoyed (Or at least wasn't showing it) but Takeru was almost furious.

"Yeah, yeah, we know it!" He threw the answer back, his harsh voice making it clear that the day hadn't changed his feeling in any regard, at least in personal level. Misaki couldn't help but to feel bothered by that furious look… Which made her wonder why Takeru behaved like this. It wasn't as if any of them had done anything to him.

Hades merely sighed, shaking his head with eyes closed, resigned.

"Could it be that this day really didn't change anything?" Isuzu wondered, noting their attitudes as well. Maybe Arisu was right: They had just relaxed a bit due to the chance of getting free of attending classes.

"You'll see, it isn't that bad" Apollon tried to reassure the others, but Loki rolled his eyes now with disbelief as well and a scoff. Yui sighed with herself, that behavior was starting to pass the point of bothersome. It was almost as if dealing with a child having a tantrum for not getting the toy he wanted. Even so, she fought to keep her temper under reins. At least now they would be attending school.

"And the rest we'll solve with time… No point in hurrying up what we can't" She told herself as Balder tried to invite Takeru and the others to join them for the rest of the day, being denied. He looked quite disappointed at it.

"You know, no offense to anyone" Arisu hissed between her teeth. "But they are getting on my nerves"

"Well, think about it as an incentive" Her sister replied, attracting her eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about, sis?"

To her surprise, Isuzu laughed.

"One day with them and you already want to rip their hair off." She winked. "Imagine eternity with them."

Arisu made a pretended expression of shock and horror, bur laughed. The sound was lighter than before.

"One step at a time" Yui told them upon hearing the conversation. Arisu nodded. If she had been alone, she wouldn't have stood all this… Still laughing, she passed her arms around Yui's shoulders, the tension of before seeming to join the remains of anxiety that had held her during the day and, slowly, evaporated from her blood.

Chapter Text

Though she guessed that after a few days she would be used to everything, Yui had to admit: There were still moments in which she got surprised, which made her wonder if it was ever possible to "get used" to the academy.

"Thinking well, considering that most of my classmates are gods from such different places, how can this happen?" She wondered as she listened to Thoth explaining about the several muscles of human anatomy. In front of her, Apollon looked confused and made her wonder once more if they were this different from humans to the point of him not knowing such simple things. The myths had talked about Prometheus and how an eagle used to devour his liver, so she had assumed their organs weren't that different from people…

"Yeah, but wasn't Dionysus who Zeus kept in one of his thighs until the moment of birth?" She recalled reading this somewhere. The girl risked a glance at Arisu, who, by her expression, probably was wondering why they needed to learn such a thing and in what that would help the gods to understand human nature.

Without a surprise, she noticed Loki had his face leaning in one of his hands and didn't seem to be paying the slightest attention while Takeru scribed in his notebook even if Yui doubted that he was taking notes of the class. Yet, his concentrated expression caused curiosity.

"They are not even caring" She reflected, unable to not feel bothered after all they had done to bring them to class, though she had known it would take more than a Sports Event to make them actually cooperative. "They aren't even trying…" Usually, it wasn't in the girl to butt in how people conducted their lives, however this was a whole different level. All they had achieved in the Event had been forcing them to come to class.

"It is some progress, but not even enough. It would be better if they at least…"

A loud noise waked her from her thoughts. Balder had fallen near Dionysus, probably trying to wake the classmate up, and Apollon now approached to know if he was alright. This was enough to wake Dionysus who started babbling if the monsters were attacking now and ignoring when Arisu just told him to sit down and get a grip (Misaki turned to Yui indicating the god with her thumb and a confused expression that almost made the girl laugh with the obvious question "what the hell…?"). As if that wasn't enough, the spirits, influenciable things they were, believed the Greek God and started crying in fear. Loki, whose eyes had came back to life with a gleam, let something fall in the ground. It wasn't unlike a marble, which soon exploded.

By this time, the class was already in chaos.

Long things jumped in all directions. Some fell over the tables while others hit some students.

Snakes.

Sitting a bit away, Yui soon noticed they were merely plush animals but they did frighten some spirits even more Ren leaned her face in her one of her hands, shaking her head slowly and it wasn't easy to tell if she was finding this funny or exasperating. Misaki bit her lower lip, body shivering as she tried to cage a laugh, one of the snakes falling right on her table.

A loud noise killed all the rest when Thoth slammed his hands on the table before leaving the classroom, his coat waving behind him as wings. Loki, by this time, was openly laughing and, since the teacher had left, took the opportunity to leave as well with Thor. Maybe it was impression, but the later seemed slightly pale.

"Well, that was an absolute fiasco" Isuzu muttered as she stood, crossing her arms. Even if the whole deal had been a bit funny. Not even when the troublemakers and class' jokers of her school did a mess it reached such levels.

"I have no idea if Loki is very brave or just plain insane."

"I'll try talking to Thoth!" Yui told them as she left, followed by Misaki and Arisu thought the later had no idea of how they could remedy the situation after the prank of the Nordic god (who had passed all of Thoth's limits). Ren, on another hand, approached Isuzu after picking up one of the plush snakes from the floor.

"I was expecting something like this to happen sooner" She confessed examining the serpent, striped of two tones of green and with big black shining eyes that were almost real. It was kinda cute. Under Isuzu's gaze, she explained. "I thought Loki would do something right in the first class he appeared"

"Ahhh, that was awful" Apollon muttered scratching the back of his neck with a look of almost embarrassment after all the mess and his eyes went to the door. "And we made Thoth-sama furious"

Isuzu was well aware that if Arisu was here right now, she would have protested against the plural and just shrugged, making a mental note of how curious it felt when at times Apollon and the others behaved as regular students. Here it was the Greek Sun God, who spoke through the Oracle of Delphi, looking nervous because of an angry teacher. Right in that moment, the girl thought that Apollon could even attend a mortal's school and no one would notice he wasn't human.

"I bet he would have fun" Even if in the depths of her minds, this was giving birth to several ideas and scenarios of how this could turn into a catastrophe. In comparison to this, Zeus' idea of a private academy was more sensate than sending them to the human world. "Not to mention Loki's attitude and the others"

"Yui, Misaki and Arisu went after him. Perhaps they will calm him down" Balder turned to the rest of the group and tried a smile. "But I don't think we will have the rest of class time, so why don't we go?"

Part of their routine had been born slowly, link by link of a chain of time, and they used to revise the subject after lunch. Since they had still some hours before lunchtime, they could use it. Ren nodded and Isuzu agreed, hoping he was right and her sister and the others would at least calm Thoth… Without much cheer for the idea of studying Biology (not that she didn't like the subject, but human anatomy wasn't what interested her the most) and, seeing Takeru packing his things, took a risk.

"Hey, Totsuka. We're going to study together, wanna come?"

Takeru, right at the door, measured her up and down before snarling his usual "tch".

"No" He said almost in a growl and left, making Isuzu sigh.

XxX

"Thoth-sensei, wait! Please!" Yui called, needing to walk fast to catch up with the Egyptian god, who kept his speed without even looking behind. Sunlight entered through the colored glass and casted suave reflections on the floor.

"Call me Thoth-sama!" He ordered, his voice more severe and cold that what Yui was used to. Arisu rolled her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to not get annoyed.

"Sorry, Thoth-sama" Yui corrected herself, lowering her shoulders. The last thing she wanted was to irritate him any further. "It's just that… Please, could you come back to class, sir?" She tried with throat dry and doubting Thoth would do anything just because she had asked, so her hope was that a demonstration of interest would at least sooth his mood.

She had to at least try!

"I'm impressed. She manages to keep such a control" Arisu thought, for she was already regretting chasing the god, even if they needed him and not just as a teacher but as someone they could (try) ask for advice and with who they were supposed to talk when they had some idea. Under this light, it was true that they had nothing to win by just leaving him even more unwilling towards them, it would be one more problem.

"Even so, does he has to act all high and mighty?"

Thoth ceased his steps for a second, blue eyes sparkling to Yui in a wild way. The girl didn't back down.

"Who are you to tell me what to do?"

"Hey, we're just asking here!" Arisu talked back before she could put some reins in her emotions. Besides, he was here in the role of a teacher, therefore he should go back to class and that's it. Her teachers, back in her old school, dealt with difficult students as well and didn't solve anything by leaving class!

His eyes were cold cutting flames and went from Yui to Arisu. Before the girl was able to say anything, he came closer so quickly that the girl walked back by instinct of a rabbit being cornered by a hawk and hit her back on the wall. Thoth leaned his hand a bit above her head as he leaned until their eyes were at the same high.

"Oh, shit…"

"All they are doing" The god hissed between his teeth, voice lacking any form of warmth and not unlike a sharp knife. "Is playing and sleeping. They are not taking anything here seriously."

Arisu had to concentrate herself to stop her body from cowering, any form of protest or reply leaving her alone and just the wish that he would walk away remained. She knew that it wasn't as if Thoth would hurt her, but still those eyes were picking her mind apart.

Worse was, she knew this wasn't like when she felt any hint of the gods' true nature. That was not even a glimpse…

"At least they are coming to class" Misaki tried more to call Thoth's attention off Arisu than for anything else. The god turned his face to her, not accepting that line of thought.

"They are just attending classes to sleep" Sadly, there was no answer to this. Hades, Takeru, Loki and Thor were not showing any interest whatsoever and today's incident had been the proof that they still didn't care at all for Zeus' plan. Thor and Hades behaved in their silent way, but it was easy to say they were just there and not actually putting any more effort than Takeru or Loki.

"Do you actually believe that they just need to show up in order to graduate?"

"Of course not, but…" She tried, being cut immediately.

"While they behave like children, time is passing" He straightened himself, crossing his arms and facing Misaki, voice of steel. "If they do not manage to understand human nature in a year, you will be stuck here for eternity."

"We know that, Thoth-sama" Yui commented managing to keep her tone polite, though she didn't like to be reminded of this threat and could see that Thoth acted as if they could forget it. He seemed to have the gift of weakening people just by speaking. Not even her strictest teacher had ever been like this!

Thoth was about to say something else, but a ring wrapped the school. A loud and deep sound…

As the bronze bell sang, they could notice a fast change in the temperature. Through the window, the sun got stronger and Yui saw the leaves of trees looking, somehow, more lively.

"Summer?" She wondered without being sure. It made no sense, they weren't even close to the season and the change had been in mere seconds. Misaki shook her head frowning and not believing this, but Thoth merely accepted it as if it was a normal occurrence.

"Zeus changed the seasons" Misaki tried to say something to this, but the Egyptian didn't allow it. "Very well. This means tomorrow shall be considered summer vacation"

"What this will end up doing is screwing up the school calendar" Arisu muttered, thinking it would be easier to think about this as a kind of prolonged weekend or even a holiday than actual "summer vacation". Thot paid her no mind and walked away.

"Involve the students more in school activates before the vacation's end"

"But it isn't time of vacation!" Arisu insisted, being ignored and turning to Misaki and Yui, still thinking about what she had just heard and not believing it. "And what does he want, to us to perform a miracle?"

"Apparently" Misaki sighed. The three girls exchanged looks, first a Sports Even and now they had to find a way to include the other students more during vacation… Which they had no idea of how long would last. No idea came to their minds right now and this created a sensation that they had just barely solved an issue just for other to appear immediately.

The question of the "problem-students" (as they had started to refer to them) was being far more complicated than they had previously considered, no doubt.

"There is nothing to do but to think about another solution. Let's go to the student's room, the others may be there"

"I don't complain" The blonde started, putting her hair over one of her shoulders, some threads escaping and falling against her back. "Of having some resting time, but how is that suppose to help?"

Yui understood what she meant. Following a logic line, the other gods were merely be relieved of not having classes and wouldn't want to get involved in anything they would suggest.

"Let's use the same principle" The purple-haired girl decided as she held her chin while walking, mind going back to when they had started combining the Sports Event. They couldn't just repeat it, but they could follow this line of thought. "Something that will include everyone, in a fun way and show that they need to get more in touch with everyone else…"

"I said it, a miracle. Or maybe…"

"Arisu, we're not using electrified collars" Yui gave her a wink as she giggled, recalling the other's suggestion in her first day in the academy to which Arisu made a false disappointment face, putting her hands on the white coat's pockets.

"It wasn't exactly what I was thinking about, but I still think this would be quite a solution" She replied ina cheerful tone, until spotting a red flame upon turning a corner. Loki was half sitting half crouching in the windowsill and talking to Thor, sun hitting his back and creating a reddish halo around his head. Forgetting their jokes, the girls waved and Yui repeated the invitation she had made yesterday.

"Loki-san, Thor-san! We're going to the student's room, why don't you come along?"

"Ehh…" Loki said, looking to the ceiling in a pensive way. "Nope"

None of the three could say they had been surprised.

"C'mon, we all need to study anyway. And it is better when in a group" Misaki tried (she had never thought that there will come the day she would say studying was fun, but truth to be told sometimes it was, considering some questions that arose and the gods). Despite the good will, Yui knew this wasn't what would change Loki and Thor's minds.

"Balder will be there too" Considering the three, during free time, were always together, maybe the perspective or spending this time with their friend would help a little.

"And we're going to discuss what to do during summer vacation" Arisu completed, hoping the specific and unknown term would at least cause some curiosity.

The Nordic gods ran their eyes over the three girls, Thor's face just a mask that didn't let out any trait of emotion and Loki in a way that couldn't be defined completely. Though the usual signs of amusement were there, they could be caused by the insistence (what would in the end just make him refusal stronger, Misaki was sure) or naturalness alike.

"Let's see…" He repeated and once again looking at the ceiling. "No. I'm still not interested"

Maybe, by the way he had spoken it, it would have been even funny if they hadn't just talked to Thoth who (for what they had felt) had been about to lecture them.

"Thor?" Misaki called the other, but the Thunder God, after staring at her for a second, shook his head. The blonde sighed, feeling almost disheartened before such stubbornness and keeping a harsh comment deep in her throat. Arisu, on another hand, was already too annoyed to put up with that.

"And we're already attending the classes, anyway" The redheaded god shrugged, leaning the elbows in his lifted knees. "That's already enough"

"Hmm, if it was, we wouldn't be here wasting our time" Arisu growled managing to bite her tongue before a "moron" escaped to complete the phrase, though it was too close. Ren, in their first day, had commented they were being immature but Arisu thought this was a far too light definition. The fact that Thoth had been calling their attention in account of something they not only didn't know how to solve (and that was due to their behavior) had already dried even more her patience.

"Oooh!" Loki evaluated her, voice in a strange and almost purring way, yet carrying something that Yui had heard just in one occasion: It was similar to when she had first met him and he had told her to look for answers on her own. This time, however, it was stronger. "Little girl got claws!"

Dark brown and silver eyes stared at each other. Yui and Misaki exchanged glances.

"Buuut…" Loki sing sang, voice going back to the usual amused tone. For some reason, Misaki compared the moment as if standing near a serpent. "This is not our problem, is it?"

Arisu's eyes hardened and before she could talk back, Loki jumped in front of her leaning to touch the point of her nose with his index, resting it over her lips and whispering.

"And, if you want someone to do something for you… You should ask more nicely" The way he dragged the world in velvet voice set Arisu's blood in flames. They had already invited them to spend time with the group before, had tried explaining the situation and Loki wouldn't just listen and now he was telling her this?

"Take this finger off my face if you don't want to lose it, brat" The growl between her teeth was animalistic and Arisu was unable to keep control and no longer even caring. Loki stood straight, laughing openly. Thor still watched in silence, his attention slithering from Arisu to Loki and though Yui studied him with the corner of her eyes, she had no idea of what he was thinking about.

"See? This is what I'm talking about, tsk, tsk" The god shrugged smiling again. "What, whatever it is, it is like I said. Nothing to do with us!"

"Loki, even if you're attending classes…" The Nordic ignored Yui's seriousness and passed by her waving his hand on air, dismissing her words as if they were puerile. Thor ceased leaning his back against the wall and followed him.

"Zeeero interest! He continued, though the last glance he gave to them had none of the amusement gleam of before, just a harsh warning that they shouldn't insist. Thor evaluated them with his eyes of sphinx, not saying a word.

Yui noticed that Arisu was talking a deep breath through her nose, eyes fixated ahead even when the gods were no longer in sight.

"Hold me, Yui" The brown-haired girl whispered, teeth pressing against each other. "Hold me, or I swear I'll…"

"Actually, I think I need to be held too" She replied. While Thoth had the gift of intimidating anyone, Loki seemed to dissect the strength of anyone. Not that she had thought everything would perfectly fall in place after just the event, bur she had thought about the chance of having some progress beyond just the classes.

But as it was, their feelings hadn't changed. At all.

Without having more to do, they went to the student's room. Some spirits passed by them, false smiles and conversations that they ignored.

"I really wish I could rip off that dumb little smirk off his face" Arisu confessed, shaking her head and making Misaki roll her eyes as Yui smiled.

"I think you would end up ripping some of his teeth in the process"

XxX

Remembering some seaside schools and trips, they came to conclusion this would fit a summer vacation and also work to show some other aspects of school life, not to mention trying to bring the class together. Apollon surprised the girls upon exhibiting a book and going on about "moments of friendship and companionship in the beach"

Yui had to wonder just where he had found that thing. She had already borrowed some books in the library (some fiction novels she had started reading before sleep and others about the mythologies, trying to understand the gods she was forced to live with), but it seemed weird that Apollon had found something of that nature.

After meeting Loki and Thor, when the gods suggested they tried to invite the others, Yui didn't disagree: It was better to let them deal with that, since this time they had nothing to offer to call their attention (except trying to say it would be fun). She knew that Loki wouldn't even spare it a thought should she be the one inviting him.

"I can only with them good luck" She thought while putting her ponytail over her shoulder and rubbing her forehead with her arm. "But things seem to have gone smooth with Hades"

At least that was the sensation given when, moments ago, Apollon had told her that he had talked to his uncle.

Not that it had been all he had said.

Night had fallen and the hallways were empty, something for which Yui was grateful when red warmth returned to her face under and inside her skin with the memory of the god's words. Truth that he had said he loved her determination and how he saw her as a precious friend, but she had been caught by surprise anyway. It wasn't that her heart had jumped or that she had any interest in Apollon (or any of the gods for that matter), but the way he had spoken had made her feel some self-conscious and embarrassed.

"There is no denial he is quite open about his feelings…" At least right there he had been. Once Yui told him people liked him as well, there had been a shadow in his eyes that had nothing to do with the night. It was something that came from inside and he had just muttered it wasn't the same, turning to her and saying she had warmth in her eyes.

Yui had not understood what he meant and even know those green eyes didn't leave her mind. She had been glad when Apollon called her a "friend". Maybe it was because they were so different or the doubts that had been slithering inside her so deep that they couldn't be forced into the shapes of words, but to have him acknowledge her like this…

Yui had been glad.

Regarding Zeus, he had explained to her that his father (as king of the gods in Olympus) was used to have things done his way and even if he understood that what he was trying to achieve was important, he couldn't help but to disagree with his methods.

"Yeah, but here we are" The girl thought. She had tried to reassure Apollon that things eventually would work out as they were trying so hard and that he had no reason to be upset with himself (as he clearly was) since Zeus was the one that had forced them into this and not him. It seemed the relationship between them wasn't exactly simple.

Upon entering the room, Yui was greeted by a vision of Ren sitting in the windowsill, eyes lifting to the door. Melissa was lying over the table, a pen in his mouth as he solved some crosswords.

"Hi, Yui" Ren said. "How was your training?"

"Yo, Kutanagi!" Melissa lifted one of arms, pen still in his mouth.

"Evening, guys. It was good enough. Had some trouble concentrating at first, but eventually managed it" The other replied, lifting the sword she had gotten in the school's store. "It helped me to relax a little" There was also some comforting feeling in the training, as if she could use them to connect with her home. And in the end, it soothed the sensation of uneasiness that made her feel as if the bones had grown spikes under her skin.

"Where are the others?"

"Aibara must be back soon, she was going to talk to Thoth-Sama regarding your trip" Melissa explained and neither Ren nor Yui bothered to try correcting his pronunciation. "Hironegumi mentioned she was going to try getting some snacks in the cafeteria"

"Which one?"

"Isuzu" Melissa shrugged. "But I don't know where Arisu is"

"She may be with her sister or just taking a walk" Yui suggested, stretching her shoulders and back, approaching Ren. Right in her first night, she had been surprised to realize her room seemed to have grown in size to have four more beds. Yui admitted that sharing the room with the others had made her nights more pleasant.

Even if Melissa was always with her, she hadn't been able to avoid an empty feeling that soon turned into loneliness.

"And what are you reading?" She left her sword over her table as she leaned to the taller girl who closed the book, marking the page she had been with her finger. It was one of the mythology's books Yui had borrowed in the library and this made her remember something.

"You know a bit about this, don't you? I mean, you knew about that… Niobe." She couldn't deny the story had bothered her more than she wanted to admit. Knowing the god responsible for that slaughter made things quite different.

Ren nodded, a shadow of smile in her dark eyes.

"My parents. They love this stuff and told me a little about it. My mother studied a little in college" She explained as she put the book aside, lifting the legs that had been lying straight in the windowsill and hugging her knees. She had started reading that to remember of some myths and seek others she didn't know for the same reason as Yui. "Then they used to tell me some things"

She was in silence for a while before asking.

"How are your parents, Yui?"

"They are great. My dad works in the Shinto Temple we have and he was the one who taught me how to use a sword." Her giggle was low. "He seems all tough to people who don't know him, but actually he has such a soft heart!" The girl remembered all the times her father had cried in movies and others occasions he had been touched by something she or her brothers had achieved. "He also taught my brothers"

Ren titled her head to the side, hair following the movement and slipping over her back as a veil.

"I didn't know you have brothers. Older or younger?"

"Both older, but just for some years. Jun and Manabu" She lifted her hand. "Just a sec, I'll take a shower before it gets too late"

Ren nodded. Once in the bathroom and undressing, Yuio left the water running to fill the white bathtub that stood against the wall and under a window adorned by a white curtain. Stuck to the wall aside the bathtub's faucet there was a small basket with shampoos, soaps and other things. The floor was of large tiling of a shell-pink, with a small white carpet that had the school's symbol in a golden line.

The girl asked through the door.

"At your home, is it just you and your parents, Ren?"

The answer came a bit muffled.

"Well… And a cat, Echo. But yes, it is basically just us" A moment of hesitation. "Honestly, how do you think tomorrow's going to be?"

"I can only hope it will be good. I spoke to Apollon just now and he called Hades, but we're not sure if he will be there or not."

XxX

The moments spent waiting for the others in the school's gates were filled with the girls and Apollon just wondering if everyone would appear or not. It didn't matter how nice the idea sounded, the chances they would deny just because it involved the whole class was too high to be ignored.

The surprise of seeing all of them agreeing to go did relieve some of the weight they had been feeling until this point. Apollon had once again become his cheerful self and Yui thought he looked even more excited that last day (if this was possible).

The path was long and the sun spread its light over their heads and fields. The trail they followed was a line among the light green and sometimes they spotted one of three columns of stone that looked natural and marked by crystals that stood out as veins and reflected the light. By the environment or lack of pollution, the humans' lungs felt the difference between this air and the air of where they lived.

Misaki reflected that even the foliage of the park near her apartment didn't seem so vibrating and alive as here, making her remember of movie's scenes of trains passing by the greenest fields.

Not that everything was being perfect.

"Hey, I'm sweating like crazy here!" Loki complained, arms behind his head. He had folded the sleeves of his black and purple coat almost to his shoulders. At his side Takeru walked leaning forward with an expression of displeasure.

"My legs are tired too" He completed, making Arisu roll her eyes as she tried to control herself to not make a face and move her mouth in a silent mockery.

Isuzu caught her gaze and shrugged as if to say "What can one do?" though she wasn't enjoying this either. Arisu replied by narrowing her eyes, agitating her head slightly in a way her sister almost could hear her saying "blah blah blah". Arisu couldn't help the annoyance, they sounded like two children. No, correct this, even children didn't complain this much.

"Apparently, this is just how human bodies work" Balder explained with patience, but Takeru and Loki just twisted their faces in grimace.

"Really?"

"This is just so gross" Loki muttered as he straightened his arms in the air.

"Use a deodorant, throw water over your head, take off your coat, I don't care, but stop complaining!" Arisu thought looking behind, her ponytail waving in her back. "Damn, Ren is wearing long sleeves, Hades too and they are not saying a thing. We're all walking just like you and we're not complaining, could you just shut up?"

"Hey" Loki continued. "Just how long do we have to walk? Not all the way until the beach, right?"

That was too much.

"Of course not" Arisu turned with a false smile that made her look like a shark. "We're going to grown wings and fly, what do you think?" Before any of them could talk back, she turned back ahead. "Gosh, stop whining for just a damn second!"

"That is…" Takeru started, but Apollon soon interrupted by confirming that it would be a walk until they arrived at the beach, chocking both gods that stopped. Takeru soon wanted to know if there wasn't an easier way (Arisu rolled her eyes with a sigh, receiving a furious glare from the god) as Loki let his arms fell at the side of his body as if the idea created a physical weight on his back.

"Oh, c'mon…" Yui tried to calm them down before they gave up and decided to head back. "The journey is just as important. I mean, the seaside school takes since the moment we leave until we go back" It wasn't just that but the girls had packed some snacks besides their swimsuits, so they could stop for eating during the way (what Yui hoped would work too, case Takeru and Loki started to feel hungry before arriving and having something else to complain about).

To her surprise, Tsukito was taking notes of everything she had just said, what soon had the attention of Takeru who kept telling his brother that there was no need or use of taking notes and turning to Yui.

"And you, just stop saying such nonsense, Weed!" Yui was shocked for a second, despite how it wasn't the first time he called her that. Telling him to call her by her name was of no use, since Takeru merely pointed out that the "kusa" of her name was just like "weed" anyway. Meanwhile, Loki had just sit down with his head lowered and not even caring for the discussion.

"Let's go, Loki, it's not so bad" Ren tried as she watched the god. The Nordic just groaned again, not moving except for raising his shoulders in a feline way. Misaki came near them with her hands on her hips before picking his long braid that fell on his back and pulling it lightly two times.

"Stand up" She called in an amused way as he lifted his head with an agile gesture and complying, studying both girls.

"I hope this is worth it"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just get going" Misaki replied dismissing him with her hand and going back to walking with the others. Yui and Arisu, who heard that, exchanged glances. Though they were sure this was a good idea, they also hoped it would work. Misaki, last night, had told them that when she had informed Thoth of the seaside school, he had just told her that it didn't matter what they did as long as they had the expected results.

"In summary, he was the sympathy of always" She had completed in the end.

When they reached the forest, Loki and Takeru stopped complaining. The shadows created a pleasing sensation of freshness, sunlight dripping among the leaves to make illuminated pools in the grass whose green became lighter and almost golden.

Deep inside, when she looked up to the cover of leaves and branches, feeling the fresh hold of the forest and its sounds and aromas, Yui couldn't help the sensation of being in a natural-made cathedral.

"I think they are liking it now" She muttered aside to Ren, observing Misaki and Isuzu commenting about some school trips they had had in the past. Apollon and Balder listened as they spoke of some of their own travels. Right now, the Nordic Light god told them about a time when Loki had traveled until the territory of a giant and rescued a goddess called Idunn.

"But you were the one that took her to him first" Isuzu commented as she shook her head, finding this funny. "I don't know if we can call this a rescue mission"

"Hey, I brought her back, safe and sound, this is what matters" The god answered, arms crossed behind his neck and making it clear such details didn't have importance to him. The case had been that, during a journey through the mountains of Asgard, Loki, Odin and Hoenir killed an ox for eating, but for some reason, the meat wouldn't cook no matter how they tried.

That was when a giant eagle told them that this was due to his spell and unless they gave him his fill, he wouldn't allow them to cook. Isuzu thought this was nothing, since she pictured the eagle as being just a large eagle… That was when Loki told them how the eagle took the best parts and he tried to attack it (thinking this was beyond the bargain).

The eagle had just taken flight with Loki in its talons.

That was when Misaki and Isuzu had a better idea of what Loki meant by "large". The thought this situation made them shiver and Misaki had wondered if Loki had been afraid (god or not), but it didn't feel like a prudent thing to ask.

The eagle had revealed itself to be a giant called Thjazi (Isuzu tried to repeat the name, being corrected two or three times by Balder until she got it right. It was more like THYAH-zee) who wouldn't let Loki go unless he brought him the goddess.

Balder had to explain to them who Idun was and how her fruits were fruits of youth to the gods. Without her, they started to feel old age.

"But Loki was the last one seen with her, so they threatened him into telling what had happened" Balder explained as his friend merely scoffed, in a way that the girls didn't know if he was bothered by the memory or just didn't care. Although he did talk about the trip and Asgard, Isuzu realized he didn't talk much about the other gods themselves. "If he didn't bring her back, he would be killed."

"Please" Loki muttered with a roll of his eyes, as if the idea was ridiculous.

"And it wasn't as if he had much of a choice with Thjazi flying among the mountains and all" Balder commented as if there was something funny about the fact the eagle had hit Loki's body against the stones as he flew until he agreed.

"Hey, hey, Balder! We all agreed to never speak of that again, remember?" Loki said with amusement and that smile that it was hard to identify. "Besides, again, I had her back, safe and sound, not a hair out of place, I don't know why so much noise for something so small!"

He spoke as if it was nothing, but despite the story having something funny about it, Misaki wondered about what Balder had just said.

"Can't help but to agree" Isuzu said, as if reading the blonde's mind. "You were in quite a situation, not like there was a choice."

"But why you just… Well… Didn't follow the agreement?" Misaki risked, but regretted it when Loki looked at her as if she had asked something really dumb and rolled his eyes.

"This is what you'd expect? Give me a break, I do have some word" He groaned and, despite the irony in his words, Misaki was afraid she could have offended him and tried to emend what she had said.

"Well… I… Yeah, you do. I mean, you did tell the gods you would bring her back and you did! You turned her into a nut to carry, but it worked" She giggled. "But if I ever need rescue, please, try to think about another way, right?"

"It would seem so" Ren answered Yui in a whisper. "At least they are talking" She didn't dare to affirm Loki was having fun, he had acted in the same way back in the Sports Event and soon they had realized this hadn't changed his emotions as much as they could have hoped.

Yui was about to comment about the Idunn case when she noticed Hades wasn't around. Turning around and praying that he hadn't decided to go back to the academy by himself, Yui finally spotted him several steps behind.

"Oi, Hades-san!" She called him as she approached followed by Ren. "You're getting too far…"

"Stay away" The god interrupted her at once, raising one of his pale hands in a signal for them to stop. It wasn't necessary, the way his voice cut all sound and air around no matter how low he spoke was quite enough as he studied them with severity marking his only visible eye. "Do you long for misery?"

Yui and Ren risked looking at each other before observing the god, understanding that he was referring to the times he had told the others to not get near him. Even if they had understood this, they didn't comprehend it completely. Let alone what suffering had to do with it.

Despite the warmth dripping around, both girls felt as if their bodies had a coldness inside spreading. There was something about that gaze of frozen blood that could pierce their minds, leaving them exposed and fragile, without any defense or protection.

"I accepted to come because Apollon requested it" Hades continued without waiting for an answer, his tone becoming a little softer although still firm. "However, I shall keep my distance more than usual" He muttered something else that Ren and Yui couldn't quite hear.

"But, Hades…" Ren tried, uncertain of what to say and suddenly aware that even her voice felt weak.

"There is no need for you…" Yui tried stepping on his direction. Her blood had frozen and she could almost hear it cracking under her skin when she moved.

The god stared at them.

"Stay away."

And then they comprehended why Hades was the Ruler of the Dead.

That was the voice of a god whose very nature didn't allow the idea of disobedience to create any root and the force pulsating in that sound alone echoed in the nerves of a person.

At that moment, Ren and Yui felt their bodies for what they truly were: Sacks of weak skin wrapping a mass of bones, blood and flesh. Cages for their souls. And under his gaze, their skin fell off and their souls were bare for judgment.

Yui moved her lips, still wanting to insist even though all strength had left her in that moment when she briefly felt the breeze of death. She looked to Ren, whose eyes seemed to shiver in the skull's sockets as if they didn't fit them anymore. Her expression was also of uncertainty.

"I-It's up to you…" She whispered before walking again somewhat faster, since their stop had distanced them from the group and the girl also wanted to force her blood to warm up again. Yui cast Hades a last glance with the corner of her eyes.

"Do you have any idea of what was all that?" Ren whispered, her skin still a shivering wave over her muscles and her voice weak. It wasn't so much due to fear, however the girl wouldn't ever be able to put this into words. At her side, Yui shook her head as she wondered why Hades insisted in being alone all the time…

Thought the walk was long, there were more than just fields and trees. At a time, they passed by an area surrounded by columns of stones that created the sensation of going through mountains. The veins of crystal were rarer, but here and there they appeared in the rocks as flowers of stone, the sunlight hitting them to form greenish halos around. It was an impressive sight and the girls couldn't help but stop for a while and, to their surprise, Loki was quite interested upon seem a bunch of crystals almost of his height even climbing some rocks to see it up close. Balder was also surprised, as they didn't usually find so many of those even in the mountains they explored.

"All this fuss just for a bunch of stones?" Takeru had asked before their excitement looking more confused than annoyed, which made Yui giggle at how different he looked like and also recalling how Jun had said something off this sort years ago and commenting he wouldn't ever get the feminine sex.

She soon explained that she had never seen crystals' formations before except in photos and Isuzu commented that she never knew they could get so big.

It was the first time they explored the surroundings beyond the limits of the academy and it was being more interesting than they had first imagined it.

"I wonder if it was really Zeus who thought about those details" The girl reflected as they went on. The god hadn't given her the impression of having sensibility enough for this, in case someone would ask her… She tried to imagine how this garden had even come to be anyway. He had told them that he had created it, but how it was the process? Yui didn't even know if they were in a kind of other dimension… Mentally, she visualized two lines superposed, one representing her world and other, this garden.

It wasn't as if they weren't on Earth anymore, but if other places, but… If the places like Olympus and Asgard existed, maybe it was a kind of distortion in space?

"Augh, what a mess, this doesn't even make sense!" She shook her head as if to expulse the thought from her mind and casting it in the air. "It's better to not even try to understand this stuff, I'll get a headache…"

Running eyes through the nearby waterfalls, Yui decided to just enjoy the place without caring about such details. It wasn't as if understanding them would help in anything at all. Thinking like this helped her to ignore the shreds of curiosity that still remained in her mind.

They had reached a rocky area, two waterfalls starting at a distant point. Loki, in the edge, looked down as he commented something with Thor. Apollon had noticed there was a bridge.

Isuzu immediately looked at her sister.

"Haha, it's so high!" Balder sounded enthusiastic while some birds passed by. The long necks, white and brown feathers, Isuzu betted they were geese. Heart jumping suddenly, she approached the edge as well and risked looking down…

She couldn't see the ground.

White threads in the air seemed to caress the rocks of the walls or slid under the bridge. The girl wanted to believe it was just a mist created by the waterfalls, but the birds flying by didn't allow the thought to create root in her mind… She couldn't help but think those were clouds.

"High is a way of putting it" She commented, voice shivering in her throat and looking back at Arisu, who hadn't move from her spot. Yui didn't notice as she was evaluating the hanging bridge. The wood's boards seemed resistant and the rope was brand new.

"Of course, I doubt Zeus would allow something that offered risk to the students… At least I hope so" She tapped her foot several times in the first board, feeling how firm if was at the same time Apollon went further without a signal of nervousness and soon calling for the others to come along. Considering he drove the Sun Chariot, there was no surprise that he wasn't at least bothered.

"C'mon, just don't look down…" Yui heard Isuzu muttering lowly and when she looked, realized she was speaking to her sister. Arisu had taken some steps further, holding her elbows and digging her nails in the flesh, the knuckles getting pale, corners of her mouth turned down.

"Fear of heights?" Misaki asked, to which the corner of the other's mouth just shivered in answer, being followed by a nod. Though her expression could be taken by just displeasure, Yui took note that she kept eyes fixated on a point ahead beyond the bridge.

"Look at this thing, where does it look safe?" She grumbled, indicating the bridge ahead with her chin as she fought to not let her fear overflow to the rest of her body, though her heart already beat against everything around. The girl did her best to not look at Misaki, the others or the gods, thinking she probably looked pathetic but at the same time unable to control the sensations.

This wasn't mere fear. It was dread, pure and raw.

Isuzu placed her hand on her shoulder squeezing it lightly.

"Are you scared of this?" Takeru asked with a raise of eyebrow. Arisu swore mentally that if he did just one little joke, she would throw good manners straight to Hell, but the god didn't say anything else.

"I hate it" She muttered in answer, a shadow of shame passing by her eyes before she felt something warm touching her hand. To her surprise, Balder was caressing her.

"Nothing is going to happen, Arisu"

"Yah, look, it's not as hard as it seems" Misaki exclaimed suddenly and grabbing her hand, pulling her along. Cold lightning ran through Arisu's nerves, passing through skin and making her legs heavy. It was high. It was high! Too high! She couldn't do that, the memory of the geese of just now making her stomach turn.

At which height they were for a bunch of wild geese had passed just by them?

She couldn't, she couldn't…

"Hey, hey!" Misaki called her attention squeezing her hand with an iron grip. "Pay attention! You must look straight ahead! Don't look even at the sides, take a breath…" Before someone could even realize what was going on, Misaki ran pulling Arisu by force, almost making her trip. "AND RUN LIKE A BITCH!"

Loki's laughter mixed with the yell of surprise and fear of Arisu.

Once they reached the other side, the brunette fell on her knees and fighting for air, eyes frozen. Misaki tried a smile, just as out of breath.

Ugh… Ah…" Arisu whimpered as if she had to force her body to remember how to take air before turning to Misaki. "Never… But NEVER do something like this again, okay?... My heart… I thought I was going to throw up!"

"Well, it worked!" Misaki helped Arisu to stand up. "I'm sorry if I scared you, but I just thought it would be better to go by surprise and fast than slow and just trying to not look down" She repeated the cliché advice with a roll of her eyes and a smile.

The others were already following and Arisu tried a smile, admitting it had been better (and less humiliating) than the alternative. Loki was almost leaning over when more geese passed by (Yui pulled his coat, exclaiming that he would end up falling) and Yui and Ren walked somewhat faster than the gods, not very happy with that situation either.

"Why are you so afraid of it, Ari-Ari?" Apollon inquired, tilting his head to the side as the girl just shrugged without a real answer and hoping she wasn't blushing.

"It was always like this, as farther as I remember…" No lie. Arisu had no problem with regular heights, as going upstairs to help changing a lamp or staying in a balcony of an apartment. But she was virtually unable of going in a roller-coaster in the open sky just because it became harder to ignore the height than in a dark area. And if the safety belts weren't of the "seat" kind that fell over her as some sort of coat (as she defined it), then no deal. The idea of catching a plane also wasn't attractive.

She was simple terrified of great heights.

"So there is no need of motive for the existence of certain fears?" Tsukito asked her, taking notes. Arisu couldn't just imagine what he was writing…

"Well… No. Some people are just scared." She didn't say anything else because she doubted the gods were afraid of something just because. "Not everything needs a reason…"

"Everyone is afraid of something. I'm afraid of snakes."

Arisu was surprised. Not only because those words had come from Thor, but also because… Well, they didn't speak much (if at all), but he was the kind of person who you just didn't imagine being scared of anything.

"Never judge" That voice inside her mind whispered again and she gave him a half smile, trying to thank him somehow.

"Someone wants water?" Ren offered as a change of subject as she took a small bottle of her backpack.

After heading down (it was more noticeable then going up, once Isuzu had just realized this after seeing the bridge and the edges) they still passed by a forest area before the breeze carried the refreshing scent of sea. Takeru probably felt more than the others how close they were for his head was held high, the golden eyes gleamed and quiet as a dog scenting a rabbit.

Passing by some trees, the grass suddenly came to an end as if meeting an invisible line and gave space to clear sands, almost white.

Most of the gods exclaimed. Misaki whispered a "wow". As everything in the region, it was impossible to stay stoic… The sea was of a perfect clear tone of turquoise, waves coming near and backing away creating a pearl-colored foam that disappeared moment before the waves touched the sand. The sunlight playing in water gave birth to white points in it.

Yui had never seen something like that… Even the beaches of touristic places showed in catalogues and tv were nothing next to this. The natural scent of the forest and grass danced with the sea's as the breeze caressed her skin.

"It's beautiful…" She whispered unable to not say something seeing this and Ren nodded, her black eyes unable to break apart from the waters. The brunette thought then that the beauty they were seeing (and all they had seen in their way) had nothing to do with "divine environment" or a place "created by Zeus"…

What they had seen was just nature, free from humankind's touch.

"Beaches are really great!" Takeru exclaimed punching the air with a large smile. Although there had been moments during the way when he seemed to be in a better mood, it was the first time he smiled like this.

"Loki" Balder said in a friendly teasing. "Aren't you happy that you came?"

"W-Well, it isn't bad…"

Apollon and Yui exchanged glances with the girls, smiling when even Hades came a bit closer. Yui turned to say something to Isuzu and Misaki, but the brown-haired one pointed to Apollon with a confused air. Turning to the god, Yui saw him finishing taking off his jacket, reveling he wasn't wearing a shirt underneath as they had thought. As Yui watched, his hands went to the button of his pants.

"Just a second there!" Arisu whimpered, a wave of fire going up her face while Ren looked away at the very second, her usual pale face assuming a pink coloration.

"You're not really thinking about changing…" Yui covered her face and turned her back to him, heart skipping a beat. Maybe the Greek Gods didn't see an issue in something of this kind, but Apollon always looked so interested in the differences of the cultures that she had thought he would at least assume that others may be uncomfortable! Especially the girls!

"And uncomfortable is a compliment!" The thought was an arrow in her mind as if about to cut her when she heard the unmistakable sound of fabric falling. The fire that had gone up her face now spread to the rest of her body. She risked peeking between her fingers to the others: Ren had her face turned over her shoulder, arms crossed and looking beyond embarrassed. Arisu closed her eyes and lowered her head while Misaki had covered her eyes with one of her hands, muttering something. Isuzu had her back turned, but Yui could see her hugging herself and digging her nails deep in the skin of her elbows.

"Hey, hey, look at this!"

"What "look at this", are you…" Misaki groaned, but the god didn't sound as if he had understood what she meant.

"My swimsuit!"

Yui turned back to him slowly, the temperature of her face lowering back to normal after the scare. Apollon was indeed wearing swimming trunks, blue with white and black marks. The girl kept a sigh of relief as he commented he had read once that humans wore their swimsuits under their clothes when going to beaches or pools.

"What… What are you, a child?" Yui muttered, voice still no higher than a whisper. For a second, she had really thought he was about to… Though Apollon's cheerfulness sometimes made him seem a child in Christmas' morning, this was different. While she stood up, there was an exchange of glances carried of mutual understanding between her and the other girls. Misaki gave her a weal smile, face still a bit red.

"By Apollon's recommendation, we all decide to weak our swimsuits under our clothes" Dionysus told them as if it was a mere human custom he had decided to try out and without waiting for any kind of reply, started to get rid of his shirt, the other gods following his example.

Yui felt the wave of heat coming back.

She made a conscious effort to avoid blushing. Isuzu bit the corners of her mouth, hoping she wasn't getting red, feeling more uncomfortable than ever before while her sister seemed to be doing her best to not mind this.

"Some girls back at school would be having kittens if they were here." Misaki reflected as she twirled a strand of hair in her finger and thanking this wasn't the case. She had never understood why some girls went to the edges of pure adoration when it came down to some guys at her school.

Fine, she couldn't deny that some, like Kazuma Masahiro, were really drop-dead handsome and nice, but last year she had found out that Motoko Ayuzawa and some other four girls had started what they called his "official fan club".

Now that was beyond exaggeration…

And not that she wasn't going to disagree the fits those girls would be having if they were seeing what she was seeing right now… Event the strongest-looking ones such as Thor didn't have the exaggerated bulk-like look of some guys that she detested so much.

She tried to fight down the warmth in her face. It wasn't easy and she hoped to every star she wasn't staring so much.

Not that it was easy either, some of their clothes were too tight and others left little to imagination. Even Hades and Tsukito's, which were shirt and shorts style, gave some hints of their physique and some of the others…

"No, no! Bad Misaki! Bad, very bad! You're NOT a girl version of Miroku from Inuyasha! Those are bad thoughts!"

Arisu remembered of when she had competed against Takeru and Dionysus, Back then, they had wore school trunks, but not now.

"For the love of… Takeru, where did you get those clothes?" Clothes were even too much, in her opinion. A piece of cloth was a more appropriated term! "At least the others are more like swimsuits that this!"

Not that Dionysus' was leaving much to be imagined. Well, she remembered thinking they had great legs and all during the competition, but now it was actually harder to not let her eyes wander.

She cut her own thoughts. This all had been a bad idea and suddenly she felt more conscious of her own appearance, something that had never bothered her before or at least not like this. But it was hard to ignore the physiques before her and, as if in confirmation, her body suffered waves of heat that had nothing to do with the climate.

"I hate my life"

Yet, it was good to see all looking happy or at least more in peace. Even Loki and Takeru looked pleased now and she could swear there was a shadow of smile in Thor's face. Though Hades still kept inexpressive, at least he had changed too giving the idea he meant to at least enjoy himself a little.

"C'mon, you should change too!" Apollon encouraged them, but not one of the girls had the chance to reply as a deep sound echoed around, coming from nowhere.

"How can we hear the academy's bell so far away?" Ren wondered lifting her head, unable to pinpoint a place of birth of the sound that involved them as a wave. The soft breeze became harsher, cutting her skin and strong enough to lift her braid.

In the sky, the clouds came together to hide the sun. The leaves slowly turned yellow and red, as if the green had slipped and revealed colors underneath that it had been hiding. Some flowers in the grass withered soon.

"It seems like we're in autumn." Tsukito commented, his tone not revealing any emotion and apparently not caring about the cold. Takeru immediately exclaimed in annoyance as Yui sighed warily and Ren held the bridge of her nose shaking her head.

"Son of a bitch" Arisu grumbled, unable to keep herself from swearing, thinking about the "principal". She couldn't believe they had woken up so early, walked all that, put up with Loki and Takeru's whining just Zeus to change the season as soon as they had arrived.

It wasn't so much the change of plans that brought such feeling, but the knowledge that the others would resume to their complaining selves.

Curses burnt her throat and she bit her lower lip.

"If Zeus-sama means to teach us the meaning of irony" Misaku muttered with a shake of head, the "sama" dripping sarcasm.

"Stop being dupe, Misaki. He wouldn't teach tricks to a dog, he must be laughing at us, that's what." Isuzu replied with a groan, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms, soon hearing complaints regarding the cold.

To everyone's surprise, Apollon and Tsukito still tried to swim.

"Their perseverance is admirable, I'll give this to them" Ren muttered to Yui when they ignored the girl's warning that this was not a good idea. Yet, they not only entered the sea as they tried to insist the water wasn't as cold as it seemed.

A glacial wind gust cut the atmosphere in answer.

Chapter Text

"It isn't just a cold. Staying in the cold water in such weather, you could even get pneumonia" Isuzu explained in a censure tone as she picked a towel from Tsukito's head. It was humid. The Moon god and Apollon were wrapped in mantles before the fireplace, still shivering and Balder had been remembering how human bodies could get sick easily.

They had spotted a small beach house as soon as the two of them had left the sea and, upon going in, Balder had took care of lighting the fireplace and Yui had found some towels so Apollon and Tsukito could dry themselves. They had dressed themselves once more and the two gods tried to get warm, drinking some hot chocolate that Misaki and Isuzu had prepared, surprised to find the necessary things in the kitchen.

And if there was one thing that helped to warm up, it was chocolate.

"Thanks, Suzu-Suzu, Misa-Misa" Apollon thanked with a light smile and giving the towel he had been using to dry his hair to Isuzu, who just nodded.

"Just warm yourselves up" The blonde girl told him with a wink and trying to ignore the involuntary reaction of her stomach to how he had called her. Loki, sitting on one of the couches, complained about how he had come because Balder had said it would be fun and all he felt was boredom.

Yui took a deep breath, determined to not allow herself to be dominated by her own annoyance.

"None of us knew Zeus-san would change the season, okay?" She asked and doing her best to keep any traits of irritation from finding way into her voice. "We had no way of knowing this" She hoped with all her heart that Loki's tediousness wouldn't start making him willing to place blame in someone. The situation was now delicate with Takeru and Loki more upset than in the beginning of the trip and she had the sensation their moods could get worse quickly.

Apollon still tried to give examples of other activities besides swimming but as Takeru pointed out, they would be cold in all of them and this remark clearly disappointed the blonde god, his eyes marked by something none of the girls had ever seen before even if Yui remembered of when they had spoken last night.

"Because he isn't just trying to make things work just so we can graduate" Isuzu realized suddenly. "He really wants us to have fun during the time we have to stay here" Did this mean he cared? Actually cared and not just "being nice to the others" like?

For some reason, this made her feel a growing irritation regarding Takeru. It was true that Apollon ideas hadn't been good, but it was unnecessary to speak that way. When the Nordic trickster and the Sea god stood up, deciding that it was useless and they should just go back, Apollon got rid of the blanket and stood fast.

"Wait!" He called them, his features becoming stone with renewed determination. "I'll find… I'll find a way to turn things around!" Without waiting for anyone's reply, he ran out the cabin. Loki merely rolled his eyes expressing clearly that he didn't believe there was anything they could do to have fun and remedy the circumstances.

Beyond a wall made completely of glass, they could see the autumn's sun overflowing shades of golden over the trees. The light passed through the glass and spread in the room. The house was spacious, the living room having two couches, a table with several wooden chairs and a bar-like edge with red seats.

"Let's wait a little" Arisu commented, crossing her arms after pulling a chair. "We're already here, aren't we?"

"And what can he do?" Loki asked skeptical as he twirled a red strand with his finger, studying Arisu up and down. Takeru was the one to answer with a shrug.

"There is nothing "to do", we should just go back"

"Let's please wait a little, okay, we just got here anyway" Yui replied at once, touching her lips with the tip of her tongue for a moment before looking at the other girls with a pensive way. Maybe they should go and try helping Apollon, but they also needed to stay and make sure those two wouldn't leave.

Loki scoffed before throwing himself back in the couch, still not believing anything would change at all. Something gleamed in Arisu's eyes, like a lamp shining too bright for a second before burning out.

"I'll talk to him" She decided, still longing to say something more, but not finding the right words. It wasn't so much that she couldn't think about any solution, but the air seemed to dry her lungs and she felt she needed to get out of there, even if for just a couple of minutes.

"I'll go too!" Yui decided, feeling it would be better to try helping Apollon to have another idea. "We will find a way!"

As soon as the two reached the wooden stairs, the light of the end of afternoon wrapping everything around, Arisu sighed as she closed her eyes and felt how the scent in the air had changed. It was still easy to feel the sea's aroma, but now this was marked by fall-like perfumes and flowers slowly withering…

"I'm sorry by this" She commented. "But if I stayed there for a second more, having to listen to those two, I would end up screaming" Yui nodded and patted her shoulder.

"I know. I don't know what to do either…" Yui usually tried to see things from other's point of view and she tried with Loki and Takeru, but this didn't change the fact they weren't even trying. After passing the day walking and their comments alternating from pleasing to complaints, and now they are behaving like they had done in the beginning of the day created the sensation that everything up until now had been in vain.

It wasn't easy to keep herself calm when you had to deal with a bitter feeling craving its claws inside you and pressing your organs at the same time you had to hear things like the ones they had been saying.

"Hey…" She muttered, indicating the side of the house with her head when she saw Apollon near a small fountain. "What is he…?"

The words slowly lost their strength when she saw a bluish light appearing in the fountain, illuminating the eye-closed god. Drops floated in the air. Light and water had turned into one element, leaving a shining trail when it started to circle Apollon, the light sliding over his body as soft water…

"Wow…" Yui's voice escaped, the two girls approaching with the same care they would should they be seeing a wild deer they didn't mean to scare away. They already knew this to be something that had to do with his deity powers, which increased the curious sensation in their spine, based in instinct: That they were seeing something not meant for mortal eyes.

Yet, the pure beauty they saw grabbed them and they couldn't look away.

"Hana… Hana…" He muttered in low voice before the light went out as if sleeping and the drops fell, turning back to normal. He soon realized Arisu and Yui nearby and beckoned them over.

"What… What was that?" Yui's question sounded shy, like a child caught by her parents when playing in his office when she wasn't supposed to (even if they were not angry). It was a silly idea, but it was there nonetheless.

"Didn't you know I'm also the god of prophecies?" He smiled, showing he wasn't bothered that they had seen this little ritual. "I still can see some things. Not many and my vision is not perfect with this shackle, but… I was trying to find a way to make our trip here better."

"You were saying "hana", right?" Arisu asked, understanding this had been the premonition. "It means flower" She had no idea how or in what a flower would be of any help. Yui frowned.

"We're in autumn" Apollon agreed. "All flowers withered." Perhaps it was about flowers that lasted even in the season, but he didn't know where they could find those and to be fair, he knew prophecies were rarely obvious in their meaning, such was the nature of time and future. It was far more complicated than people assumed.

"Flower, flower…" Yui muttered, holding her chin in thought. Truth to be told, she didn't believe at all in premonitions or things of this sort, considering them even silly, but this wasn't something she would ever say in front of Apollon. Not letting herself be sidetracked, the girl ran her mind through the flowers she knew and what could be done with them… Well, something fun. For a second, she thought about the laurel wreaths that were given in Greece for winners in competitions and were also associated with Apollon…

"No, nonsense. Those are leaves, not flowers. Plus, what competitions? Takeru didn't want to play volley because of the weather."

Arisu was muttering at her side, recalling some jams could be made with flowers…

"But we would need many for this…" She gave up the idea.

Apollon also tried to solve the puzzle. He was aware they had little time with the others being so impatient. The god even thought about the nymphs and dryads that lived in the forests, but if there was a being like them in this place, he and the others would have felt them already.

"But I'll find what this means. We will!" He corrected himself, his hands closed in fists and that strange light shining in his eyes again as green suns. "We will enjoy ourselves here, together!"

"Man, his determination really is impressive! I wish the others would learn and stop just whining" Arisu reflected, crossing her arms as she shook her head.

"It is something with flower. But not as in… You know, regular flower" Being in the beach, she thought about those anemone, that some called "flowers of sea", but it couldn't be that.

"It can't be related to water or cold" Apollon said more to himself, though it was like he had read the girl's mind.

This made the girls raise their heads.

Flowers…

Something that was not cold…

"Wait a minute…" Yui muttered.

"Maybe…"

They exchanged glances.

"Are you thinking the same thing I'm thinking?" Yui's lips started to open in a smile while Arisu nodded slowly. It had to be it! It just had to!

"What are you talking about? Do you have an idea?" The god inquired, anxious for knowing what there was in their minds. Yui clapped, at each minute more convinced that they had this figured out. How they hadn't thought about it before?

"It's any kind of flower, right? Look, there is a thing called…"

The sound of a thump and a moan called their attention, breaking their thoughts as a dry branch. Balder, who had been running to them, had fallen. Tsukito was behind him and while the Light Nordic god looked nervous, he kept the usual self control that didn't allow any emotion to escape, be it in his features or his eyes.

"What happened?" Unnecessary question, the three of them had a fair idea of what the problem was.

"Emergency!"

"Loki Laevatein and Thor Megingjord are leaving" Tsukito announced as if the fact had no importance whatsoever. Arisu groaned, rubbing her teeth against each other.

"Okay, this is already getting pathetic."

"They affirmed that, since we're all students here, there is no reason to obey any of you" The stoic god carried in the same tone. Apollon bit his lower lip, there was no point in figuring out what the prophecy meant and following it if they were unable to convince the others to stay and wait, at least some time more. And he knew Takeru would take the chance to leave as well…

"Fine, then I nominate Apollon for President of the Student Council!"

The gods looked at Yui without being sure of what she meant by that, but Arisu's face was full of admiration and with a little smirk of triumph, she nodded for the girl in approval.

"Oooh, a counterattack! I like it!" She used a deep, whisper-like voice. "The Dark Forces are strong in you, Kusanagi Yui…"

The girl giggled at the other's act and shrugged. It wasn't that she meant to create a conflict, but she would grab any way available to hold those guys until they could fix the situation. Not that there wasn't some pleasure in finding ways of controlling those "problem-children".

"What does this mean?"

"Remember when I told you about Student Council? Planning events and other things?" She reminded them, some tension that had appeared again going away now. "The president is usually chosen by votes, but he can be nominated too"

"But…" Apollon didn't sound so sure, however Yui didn't give him any time for doubts.

"You are giving all you got to make this school work, to include everyone. You are perfect for this position"

Arisu, usually, didn't get involved at all in such activities, but now she saw herself agreeing with Yui. Hadn't she thought a few minutes ago about how he was determined? If they were going to have a Student Council and a president, at least it should be someone who would really seek solutions and not give up.

"And, since Apollon is the president" Yui carried on, imagining the reactions of the others when they heard this. "In the lack of the teacher here, he has the authority over us. After all, this counts as an school event!"

"We will go back and explain this" Tsukito nodded. "I have everything perfectly noted"

"What about you?" Balder asked. "You looked like you were deciding something"

"Apollon and I need to go back to the school as fast as we can…" Yui seemed unsure again, how would they do this and come back here in time enough? "There is something we need… But…"

Apollon knew what was worrying her.

"I can call my Pegasus. We won't be long." He looked at the three others. "Trust us"

Yui talked to all of them, but her eyes were on Arisu when she said.

"Don't let them leave"

XxX

As expected, Loki and Takeru didn't like at all the idea of Apollon being the Student Council president and having the authority over them during the trip. Even when Loki used of the information that usually this position was acquired in an election and wanted to claim this right, Misaki pointed that there was no other candidate and even if there was, Apollon would have majority of votes anyway (Tsukito, Balder, Yui, her, Isuzu, Arisu and Ren were already seven, so there).

Loki couldn't find an answer and had sat down once more, looking not just bored but irritated and, for the looks of it, thinking he had been fooled.

Isuzu had searched through the house for something they could do, hoping to find some games (cars or boards), but it was a failure. Besides food in the kitchen, there wasn't anything to help pass the time. And besides, food was even kinda useless, since she and the girls had packed snacks.

There weren't even books or things of the sort.

Now she was sitting in the stairs watching the others. Ren was accommodated in the floor along the glass wall, hugging her legs face turned to the sky outside. None of the girls had any idea of what to do to help the matters at hand and it didn't help that they could feel Takeru's annoyance in the air in waves and Loki's irritation, as if their bodies couldn't contain the emotions.

Misaki felt it would be a good idea to just talk. They were from such different places and she knew how sometimes a good conversation helped to pass the time. Many times, she and Hideki didn't see the hours go by as they started with some subject.

The problem was that the circumstances seemed to suffocate any chance for this, as a gas can kill a plant, even if they were in friendly terms with some of the gods. Plus, she couldn't come up with any matter for them to talk about and honestly, the idea made her a bit uncomfortable.

"Damn it all"

Tsukito and Balder, sitting in one of the couches, again tried explaining that they all had to wait for Apollon and Yui's return when Takeru groaned they were taking too long. None of them could exactly deny it, as night had already fallen and when you have nothing to do, the hours feel longer than reality.

"Have some more patience" Misaki tried without a hint of annoyance or worry. Sitting at Balder's side, she had her elbows leaning on the couch's back and rested her head. "They must be back soon"

"That's what you keep saying and nothing yet"

Arisu was sitting by the table along with Thor and Dionysus, leaning her face in one hand and watching Loki and Takeru complaining, without saying a word though her expression was hard, suggesting that the flesh under her skin had turned into stone.

"And why would Apollon go through all this effort for this, anyway?" Loki inquired, arms crossed behind his head. As he spoke, a kind of smirk started to appear in his face. Isuzu didn't like that at all.

"Wow, yeah, why would he ever?" Misaki replied still looking to the ceiling, but the god ignored her light sarcasm adorning the words. The question he made, however, attracted the attention of the others. From where she was, Ren watched, face a mask of controlled serenity.

"What are you saying?" Thor wanted to know.

"Well, isn't he a son of Zeus?" The other continued, still smiling in an unpleasing way. Isuzu lifted her head a bit and watched the other Greek with the corner of her eyes. Dionysus still had his arms crossed as if nothing mattered and Hades, sitting in one of the circular banks, had his red eye on Loki, but despite being inexpressive, the girl had the sensation he didn't appreciate what he was hearing.

"Maybe he is just pretending to be our friend, as he works to make sure Zeus' plan works or something"

Arisu suddenly lifted her head as if a cold lightening had run through her, the image of Apollon surrounded by lights and his voice saying he wanted to make this trip work.

"Oh, you…"

A noise cut the air.

"That is not possible" To the others' surprise, it was Hades who spoke. Takeru expressed doubt, probably because it was Zeus' older brother, but the Underworld ruler carried on. "Because Apollon… He cares more than you can imagine. For all of us… It's in his nature to be like this" There were no cracks that allowed doubt in his words.

Even with Balder, Tsukito and Isuzu agreeing to this, Loki frowned, not backing down.

"And for this, we should just go and trust him?" There was some despise in his expression.

Once again, Arisu thought about how Apollon had behaved all day, how excited he had been upon seeing the others had agreed to come…

"It is not a matter of trust." This time, the other's attention went to Ren, who still watched the night sky before turning her face to Loki and standing up. "It is a matter of giving him the benefit of the doubt, just like we're doing to you" Bit by bit, she came closer the couch where Loki was. Her expression was still serene, but Arisu noticed her eyes had frozen completely.

It was a coldness she had never seen in the other until now.

"Since we've arrived, Apollon has been nothing but comprehensible with all of us." The raven-haired continued, eyes fixated in Loki. There were no screams and Ren's voice didn't miss the calmness, however there was something that indicated that this thought of hers extended to all of them. At least some of them were showing a good character.

"Is it anger?" Misaki wondered, aware that Ren was basically saying that none of them deserved trust. A certainty tore her insides. "No, this isn't anger… It is still just annoyance"

Not that she wasn't already at the edge of her patience with Loki either.

"Which is far more than we can say about you" Arisu growled, unable to keep quiet for longer. "I mean, Apollon was trying until now. What did you do besides complaining?"

Loki turned to her, his smile never weakening.

"I didn't hear you giving suggestions, A-Ri-Su"

The girl stood straight, muscles rigid, spine turning into iron. Isuzu bit her tongue, aware of those signs. The others merely watched, it was the first time they saw one of their classmates really on the verge of a fight.

"Arisu…" Isuzu tried, but her sister was too focused on Loki to hear.

"No, but at least I don't resort to just complain when things don't go my way!"

"C'mon, you two…" Balder called them, as if trying to stop the nerves of the god and the human to take the reins of the situation and being ignored. Takeru had his eyes on the pair, one of his eyebrows lifted as he studied the scene.

"And what that's supposed to mean?" The question was laced with dangerous sweetness as he walked closer to Arisu. The girl had to lift her face to look him in the eyes, but it was the only change in her posture.

Arisu didn't even hesitate.

"When we were coming here, you ended up enjoying yourself. However, as soon as we arrived and a difficulty surged, you went back to whine" A smile as soft as an illusion filled by despise appeared. Her narrowed eyes were a brown fire. "So, when everything goes your way, you're all cheerful, but if the smallest thing goes wrong, you get bitter, stomp feet and throw tantrums? Are you a real god, Loki?"

Something flashed in Loki's eyes and Balder seemed about to say something.

"Because honestly, you seem less than several humans I know, more like a child crying because daddy and mommy don't want to buy you the toy you want!"

Loki's head backed away briefly as if the words had physically touched him, merely studying the girl. Misaki couldn't look to all of the others to check their reactions, but taking the expression of Takeru in account, she guessed no one had ever spoken that way to them. Arisu didn't seem to mind and turned to Takeru before looking back to the red haired god, her nails digging the skin of her hands as if the girl felt the need to tear it off and fighting to not scream, anger marking each word.

"And look here! Come down from this fucking pedestal you put yourselves in! You didn't choose this, you're here by force, oh, boo-fucking-hoo!" She mocked shaking her head. "I didn't either. Yui didn't, Misaki also didn't, but we're at least trying! Or do you think any of us would be her putting up with you if we had a say in the matter?" She scoffed, making it clear the idea was laughable.

Silence followed her words, as if no other sound could exist after that.

Arisu still stared at Loki, feeling the poisonous relief that follows after getting rid of bitter feelings through words. The god had his attention on her, lips half open that let it visible narrowed teeth and the corner of his mouth shivered in fury.

Loki studied the girl slowly. Anger didn't once leave his expression, but something else appeared: Despite. Those were the eyes of someone looking not to a living being, but at something worth only for maggots.

A new wave of heat found birth in Arisu, who felt her organs moving around as if being reorganized. It was hard to breath now.

"I could answer to all that" Loki whispered in a tone none of the humans had ever heard before from them. Arisu felt the emptiness that follows an argument when we realized the things we said. "But there is not even a point in talking to you."

He stood straight, dismissing her.

"That's it. I'm out of here"

The sensation of hands messing with her organs left her as soon as Loki turned around, but Arisu refused to breath, sigh or give any indications of relief… Yet, she also didn't call for him…

Now she couldn't look at any of the others. Apollon and Yui had hoped they could keep Takeru and the others here until they came back and she had finally messed it all. Refusing to look in Loki's direction, she heard the door opening, part of her hoping someone would say something, do something…

"Sorry we took so long!"

The others turned their attention outside. Apollon and Yui were back. Arisu mentally thanked God and almost sighed in relief, even when Loki snapped that he was NOT waiting for them and actually leaving.

Light illuminated the sky and interrupted his words.

The noise called for the others, who didn't understand what was happening until more lights appeared. Something shined while going up to the sky before tearing in apart, exploding in colors that rained like stars.

It was beautiful.

"What the…" Loki asked, surprise washing away the previous emotions for a while. There were moments this seemed like a representation of the birth of stars and turned to Thor once the Thunder god commented they were like flowers.

"Flowers in the sky?" He asked in surprise.

"Hanabi" Takeru muttered, not taking his eyes of the sky where blue and green exploded.

"Fire flowers." Ren explained in a whisper, impressed. She hadn't ever imagined Yui and Apollon would be up to this.

"Fireworks" Yui completed, relieved upon seeing the gods' interest. Perhaps some of them knew about them, but it was always different seeing something rather than just knowing about it. "The Chinese invented them." It had been worth it to prepare some fireworks before them went back, besides bringing some firework bangers and smaller ones to play. She could hear Balder commenting about them, a light sensation of happiness shyly coming to be when even Thor commented they were incredible.

Once the first presentation of fireworks was over, Yui soon announced there was more and lifted a bag she had with her and the others hadn't noticed.

"We've got other kinds too! They are smaller, we can light them together! And more!" It was something that would give it all a sensation of camping, in her opinion. "Marshmallows!"

Misaki, from the balcony, leaned forward until almost leaning over the wooden rail, all her attention focused on the bag, the same way a colorful toy would pick the attention of a cat.

"You mean it?" When Yui showed the packet with several white candies, the girl let out a cry of anxiety. "Yui, you're the best, I love you and never, ever, leave us!" She laughed as she went down the small stairs and hugged the other, Balder soon asking of what they were even talking about.

Instead of walking back to the beach, they picked a place they had spotted in the woods, a clearing near a creek. Apollon and Yui had had brought a great variety of firecrackers and bangers, having enough for everyone and showing how to light them.

Loki and Takeru soon were running, waving their fires and creating trails as shining snakes that danced around. Recalling Loki had showed to be able to summon and control fire in the first day, Yui wasn't that surprised this had pleased him so much… It was actually fun to see he and Takeru running after Dionysus and laughing.

Arisu was with one of the fires, whose yellowish lights reflected in her face when Isuzu approached with a can of soda. The shorter girl sighed, not looking at her sister. Arisu hadn't said a word to any of the gods since leaving the cabin, rather staying purposely away and thanking how the game had picked everyone's attention.

"I know" She whispered, eyes still on the sparkles, not truly seeing them. "Arisu, you and your tongue. You lost control, spoke too much and were rude… You can say it."

Isuzu remained in silence for a second.

"I don't need to say anything." She took a sip, watching the fire her sister held. "You already said it to yourself."

The other girl didn't reply. Her regret wasn't so much for the things she had said, but rather how she had said it and besides, Loki wasn't complete guiltless! He and Takeu seemed to have put all their efforts into not doing anything helpful and after Apollon being genuinely so dedicated to make things go right! It was as if they needed to spread their irritation to the others! She had just said the truth!

"But this doesn't mean you're right" A voice too much alike her mother's echoed in the back of her mind and the girl spied under her eyelashes before going back to the fire, moving it slowly from side to side and seeing the sparkles flying, the sound of their crackling alike static of TV, but not unpleasant.

"Are you disappointed with me?"

Isuzu turned to her so fast that her neck could have snapped. She held a smile and petted her sister's head, a gesture whose roots were in a past that now seemed to belong to another life.

"No. When was I ever disappointed in you?" She giggled lowly, though both knew there was no ignoring what Arisu had said. Words, once said, could never disappear or be forgotten, even if the speaker was sorry.

Lifting their heads, they were attracted by the sound of Loki and Takeru's laughter as they ran after Dionysus and Misaki, waving the fireworks, the blonde girl yelling among laughing that they were insane. Tsukito and Thor had been more interested in small firecrackers that snapped in the ground, giving the illusion that the lights were alive and jumping. There was a fire nearby where they could roast their marshmallows too.

Isuzu went to Yui, laughing when Apollon and Ren got a fright with a group of crackers particularly noise that let out a lot of smoke. Arisu came near too and sat in a stone near the fire as her sister picked more candy and heard Takeru talking to Yui.

"Hey… Weed." He muttered, not looking at her as he picked more fireworks, words sounding as if they were struggling to pass his teeth. "Humans… Can do some neat stuff, too."

Yui smiled when he grabbed the objects, still not looking at her.

XxX

The night didn't end just with their return to school. Still having time before curfew (and even hoping there wouldn't be none, since they were in "vacation" time) Balder decided they could make barbecue for dinner (after a long day such as that, the snacks hadn't been enough). Misaki was impressed how even after so much agitation and all that had happened, the gods still had energy.

However, the way back had been as or perhaps more fun than the way to the beach and created the sensation the path had been shorter. Loki and Takeru hadn't had one unpleasant word to say, the redheaded even commenting he hoped to enjoy it more the next time, making him look as happy as if it was Christmas.

"But when you can't die… I guess you just do your best to enjoy all you can" Now that she thought about it, several things felt like wouldn't be as fun if she was immortal and didn't have a limited time to enjoy them. "It must get tiring after some years… Maybe that's why he and Apollon act… Well, younger than what you'd expect from someone who has been alive since millennia ago…"

A cold shiver was born in her nerves. In that moment, she thanked whoever Creator was beyond the stars that she had been born a mortal…

Eternity sounded more like a curse than a blessing.

"At least things seem to be getting better…"

"I'm so happy things worked out in the end!" Apollon sat at her side in the bank, holding a plate of meat and bringing her back to the present. "Everyone had fun!"

"Thanks to you and Yui!" She replied, biting a meat in her stick. It was easy to see that Balder loved meat and, though anxious to taste other dishes, his predilection was barbecue. Recalling the hunts and roasting he had mentioned, Misaki wondered if this made him remember home…

"Well, who knows?" Since when she knew anything at all about Nordic Gods habits? Not thinking more about it, she carried on.

"You guys saved the night, it was really cool!"

"And it feels like the class is more united, don't you think so, Misa-Misa?" He asked, turning his green eyes to the others before facing her. The girl nodded, the meat she was chewing turning into a tasteless mass. She couldn't like when Apollon called her like this, even though it was how he called her since they met, which had been weeks ago.

Not wanting to sound fussy, she hadn't said a thing, but this bothered her too much.

Names, as words, could carry much in their sound. They could invoke feelings of gentleness or despise, recall dreams or nightmares. A name could hold the face of a blessing as much as the face of a curse.

"I thought…" She blocked her own thought.

"I think so" And with a gesture of head, she indicated Takeru who was talking with his brother and Balder. Considering how the first time Misaki had seen the Sea god he had refused to even eat with her and the others, this was a huge improvement. "It seems everyone is getting along a bit more… Well, they are talking to each other, at least."

Holding a stick with several pieces of meat, Dionysus was sitting and talking to Ren and Yui. Instead of having some juice or soda from the table, the god held a greenish bottle and offered it to the girls, who had politely refused.

Yui was well aware that, this time, that wasn't just "juice".

"Of course it is!" The god exclaimed when she confirmed her suspicions. "Just with a light touch of alcohol!"

The girls exchanged looks.

"Yes, also known as wine." Ren muttered as Yui shook her head, imagining how on Earth he had managed to get that. Perhaps, like Apollon and his prophecies, his abilities weren't all sealed and some had been just weakened?

"You're lucky that Thoth isn't here to see this" She knew Dionysus was god of wine, but didn't believe for one second that Thoth would care should he find out a "student" was drinking (not for any other reason but because it was against school rules). Not for the first time, Yui reflected it was too weird to be talking so casually to a god, and the fact that the shackles also forced them into a more "human" appearance felt like a bonus.

"How would they look in their true forms?" Not so much the idea of physical look, but rather the remembrance of their auras, of when Dionysus had talked about human hubris and Hades telling her and Ren to stay away caused such a primitive reaction of dread that a part of her was actually grateful and hoped to never know.

The god, meanwhile, shrugged and took a sip.

"I don't know why impose those limits. Let's be honest…" He winked. "If we go by age, this doesn't apply to me, does it?"

Both girls had to agree to this. Even with youthful looks (which would be even ageless depending of their expressions), truth was none of them could ever be considered minors. When thinking about this, Yui wondered how many things they had lived and seen…

"It may be so" Ren agreed as she nodded. "But I don't think Thoth would mind at all those technicalities" She made quotation marks in the air with one of her hands, making the redheaded shrug with a laugh and Yui immediately imagined the Egyptian god reprimanding the Greek for drinking, associating the scene with a time when teachers of her school had lectured students when finding them drunk in a school party.

Arisu was by the grill picking more hamburger, wondering if after dinner she…

"Hey… Arisu?"

She took a deep breath. Of course. She should have know someone would want to take it out with her, sooner or later.

It was Balder and Loki.

Oh, joy…

Her shoulders fell as if something in her body pulled the bones down, but fought for control. The feline-like eyes of Loki evaluated her without making clear which his intentions were, however she took by his mouth's corners turned down as a signal of the most intense disgust. He wasn't going to talk to her out of his choice.

"I know…" She sighed, wanting to think about what she could say, but her mind was now empty.

"I think you both need to talk" The blonde acted as if he hadn't heard her. Curious, Arisu took notice that despite him looking very serious, his blue eyes still had some gentleness. Studying him, the girl thought this wasn't all he wanted, but sighed.

She wasn't sure she liked Balder encouraging the talk (as necessary as it was), it created a sensation of pressure and she would rather deal with what had happened between her and Loki without other's involvement.

"But they are friends. Maybe he wants to be sure things will be okay… And what I said did extend to him…" Great, now she felt like a bitch. She hadn't meant to actually offend Balder, even if she had been true to her own feelings. Damn, this didn't matter, what mattered was to talk to Loki and do her best to keep a "peaceful politic" between them.

"Arisu…" Balder started when she was silent for too long and breaking her thoughts in a hesitant way of someone trying to figure out a puzzle. She was surprised to see some sort of sadness when he asked in a whisper.

"Do you hate so much being here?"

Arisu blinked.

That? Of all things…

For an instance, her first impulse was to explain that back then she had referring more to Loki and Takeru, but decided this would be a bad idea and wouldn't solve anything, so she went to the point.

"We can never go back home" She explained in a low voice, choosing her words. It was the first time she talked about this to any of the gods and the fact one of them was also one of those who had annoyed her the most until now (and Arisu doubted he cared about what she had to say) was of no help. "I know, you may stay here forever too" She added. "But we… Our lives..." She didn't need to say more, Balder understood: As humans, their lives were limited.

She shook her head slowly to herself.

"We can never see our families again or even try to do all we wanted… For me, this is a nightmare"

The faces of her mother and father appeared in her mind. Her friends. Places she liked, dreams for the future. In a second, her mind ran wild though all things that could be ripped away from her forever, be them part of her present or future.

Balder opened his mouth, but the girl carried on with a sigh before whispering, looking in direction of the gardens, eyes so darkened that they created a shadow under.

"But I don't hate this place. I can't"

Loki tilted his head to the side, not saying anything, arms still crossed and Balder frowned before that particular choice of terms. Even if he was glad Arisu had no actual hate for being there and meeting them, he still asked in the same tone.

"What do you mean, you can't?"

Arisu hesitated. She would rather just apologize to Loki and leave the matters to rest, not wanting to make this about herself. Yet, they had entered the subject and between a thing and other, she would rather have honesty. Her eyes touched Balder's and Loki's, scarred by an expression none of them had seen in her before.

"Because it was here where, for the first time in months, I saw my sister smiling again"

Balder still frowned and Loki blinked some times, but none of them looked at Isuzu or had time to ask questions. It was more than she had originally meant to say, so Arisu decided to get things done and stood in front of Loki.

"I was furious and I ended up being rude. I'm sorry for offending you" Yet, despite the politeness (Balder felt something there, though this calmness also worked to hide any other feeling), Arisu was also making it clear she was not referring to all she had said, as her apology's focus was in the how things had been said.

"Hmm…" Loki muttered, mouth shut and moving slowly a piece of meat he had in his plate, ignoring her. Balder poked him with his elbow and a light smile.

"C'mon, Loki, she apologized. And you were being a bit annoying, weren't you?"

At least, the god rolled his eyes, which became softer ad he shrugged.

"It was fun in the end. So, yeah, you were right in wanting to wait for them…"

It wasn't exactly an apology or much, however Arisu knew it was the better she could hope for and if it would work for them to not go chewing in grudges, she would be satisfied. They didn't need to be friends, after all…

To her surprise, Loki sighed and shook his head, piercing a piece of meat with the fork and offering to her.

The girl looked from the fork to him and the waved it.

"Hey, c'mon, c'mon. Peace offering, right?"

"Okay…" Her muttering was slow, as Arisu had no idea of what think regarding this attitude and picked the meat out of the fork, throwing it in her mouth.

Loki smiled.

Immediately, Arisu's eyes filled with water as all corners of her mouth ached in fire, sensible parts of her tongue rebelling in fury. Her plate fell in the ground and shattered as she raised her hands to her mouth, waving them, the heat spreading to her body, devouring all in its way.

The red-haired Nordic threw his head back with a laugh.

"You should see your face!" What he had offered her was, somehow, a thin layer of meat wrapping a bunch of salt and pepper, as a small bag.

"Arisu!" Balder held her shoulder, as the girl panted without being able to breathe. Isuzu, seeing the commotion, had approached too, wanting to know what was going on. Getting free of the Light god's grasp, Arisu ran to the table near the grill, grabbing a bottle of soda and turning it in her mouth, drops of Coke escaping by the corner of her lips and dripping in her clothes, with the girl not giving a damn.

The fire diminished, but her mouth still ached.

"Loki!" Isuzu turned to the other, who raised his hands in sign of innocence.

"Hey, don't accuse me without proof!" His face was of deep sadness, as he looked around to those who watched the scene." Why I'm always to blame? Anything happens and you all think it was me!"

"And… With reasons…" Arisu still had a red face, her tongue still shivered with a burning sensation. "Idiot…"

Loki seemed about to retort, being interrupted when Arisu tried to smile in a weak way.

"I'll…" She continued, raising her hand in sign for them to wait as she drunk a bit more of Coke, wondering what in hell Loki had put in that meat anyway. "Consider this… A kind of punishment, okay? You had your revenge… We're even now…"

Loki studied her, holding his chin before nodding.

"Very well, I agree. Of course."

Yui leaned to Arisu, whispering as she fought a laugh in the depth of her throat.

"What was all that about?"

The brunette limited herself to shake her head, filling her mouth with more soda and a grimace before answering.

"Yui… Trust me, you don't want to know"

Chapter Text

As Arisu had thought, the "summer vacation" would have been better classified as an extended weekend, since classes started again sooner than they would if they had had actual vacation. As she walked to class along with Misaki, she noticed Loki and Balder entering the room and couldn't deny the redheaded god seemed to be in better moon than he had been in last classes.

It was, no doubt, a kind of progress, taking in account how until now he used to come to class with an expression that was the essence of boredom and annoyance.

"They do look more… Cheerful" Misaki commented after a moment thinking of a proper term and while it wasn't the best one, it was the one that first came to mind. Still, she had never thought she would see this and let a sigh of relief.

Last night, Yui had discussed an idea she had had and the two in the end had decided to put it in action right today… Some days ago, Misaki would be sure that most of the gods would merely refuse and call it a waste of time, but today she hoped even those would find the idea at least interesting.

"Hi, guys." The blonde greeted the group upon coming closer to the side of classroom they usually sat near each other. Apollon greeted her with a wave as Balder watched Dionysus who let out a long grunt, attracting their attention.

Dionysus used to always have a relaxed smile and a tension-lacking appearance or then cheerful with a gleam pulsating in his eyes green of a forest that seemed to hide something among the leaves.

The being sitting there was quite far from it.

The god had his elbows in the table, head between them and almost touching the surface, hands sinking in the wine colored hair and, upon leaning forward, Misaki saw that his eyes were closed.

"Ahh?" She muttered lowly, looking from Apollon to Yui, unsure of what was going on. The other girl shook her head slowly and Takeru, sitting behind Dionysus, just watched without saying a word, frowning slightly and maybe also not understanding the situation.

Arisu took her seat behind her sister, but having a fair guess of what was that.

"Please…" The red-haired Greek hissed, words shivering in the air. "Speak in a low voice…"

"Dee-Dee yesterday wanted to celebrate going back to school" Apollon explained in a whisper that was no more than a breeze making words. Yui had her doubts about "celebration" and wondered if Dionysus just didn't seize any excuse for drinking here at school. "But he never got that way before…"

"Apparently, human bodies have no tolerance for large quantities of alcohol" Tsukito commented in controlled voice to which Yui replied it varied from person to person while mentally wondering how Dionysus had ever gotten wine… During the barbecue Balder and the others had made when back from the beach had been one thing, just a bottle, but now?

Following human school rules, the consummation of alcohol wasn't exactly allowed here.

"Yet, I'm shouldn't be surprised. I mean, let's be honest here, god of grape harvest? Wine?" Not to mention ritual madness, theatre and other stuff. "It shouldn't be hard for him, shackles or not."

"Is he going to be okay?" Balder wondered, merely moving his lips. Misaki nodded, but before she could explain it was a hangover and normal for humans, someone came closer.

"It's better to leave class for today" Though Ren sat nearby, none of them had noticed when she had stood. Now the girl was behind Dionysus' desk, holding her elbows and eyes fixated on the god.

"But what about Thoth-sensei?" Balder asked, but it was Isuzu who answered.

"If he is not feeling well, then he has the right. He can stay in the infirmary." She tried to speak lowly not just due the other's headache, but also hoping Loki wouldn't hear and casting a wary look to Takeru, buy it was impossible to tell if the sea god was paying any attention to this since he was reclined on his chair, arms crossed behind his head and eyes closed.

"Can you imagine sitting here through all class, listening to Thoth?" Ren asked Dionysus, coming a bit closer as she spoke.

Before the idea of listening to the thunder of Thoth's voice during the next hours, Dionysus shivered and, leaning his hands on the table, stood up. His face was pale and he blinked as if the light hurt his eyes.

Without saying anything, before someone did or said anything, Ren passed one of his arms over her shoulders, helping him to keep his balance. During all this, her face was a mask and she didn't say anything as she helped Dionysus to leave the room.

"Damn…" Isuzu muttered, turning to Apollon. "Just how much did he drink to get that way?" She remembered he had drunk during the barbecue (and in the end, it hadn't been some few sips) and hadn't had such reaction. Not that she was experienced in drinking, but this had seemed quite a hangover.

"I'm… I'm not sure" The sun god replied worried, the green eyes (stone-like, unlike his half-brother's), going away from the door and to Yui and Isuzu. "Do all humans react that way?"

"Some are more prone to it, some not… It depends." Yui said with a shrug as she raised her hands to her shoulders, eyes still on the door. At least Ren had helped Dionysus to leave; it wouldn't be good if he ended up falling in the middle of the way or puking… A thought started to take shape and turn into words, but Thoth entered the classroom and the words turned into ashes, so she forgot what she was going to say.

XxX

As they took a way among the empty hallways, Dionysus didn't say a thing and even his groans were rare. Someone passing by may have thought his problem was another, even if the god didn't reject the support Ren offered. He meant to say something, but considering the eventual jumps his stomach did, shaking his organs in response, he let it go.

Ren, in a similar way, kept herself in silence and didn't think much on what she was doing. The maximum she reflected was that maybe Dionysus groaned so little was either because this increased his headache of maybe it was instinctual, born from the pride of his divine nature.

"I wonder how much he did drink" She reflected, unaware Isuzu had asked the same thing. "No wonder he is like that, he probably never felt anything like that during all his life." She didn't know about the vulnerabilities of Greek gods or even if they had any, but she doubted Dionysus had, ever, suffered of this: The idea of a god of wine suffering with hangover was too paradoxical.

"Zeus could have thought about that and at least, not sealed this ability, resistance, whatever it is." He should know his son enough and know it would be impossible to stop him from getting wine for a whole year if Dionysus truly wanted it, but her thoughts regarding the subject were broken in this point as a branch being broken against a knee.

A sensation of discomfort was born in some point of her body, echoing with a bitter taste that reached her organs and mouth.

Though she had never been in the infirmary before, she and the others had walked though the whole academy several times as they tried to get used to the place and know its ways and rooms (Misaki had pointed out she didn't know the reason why make the place so big once they actually just used one of the classrooms).

The floor was of boards instead of tiles, smooth and polished. The walls were of a light cream reflecting the sunlight stretching through the room. There were some beds covered in white sheets and spaced between them. In a corner to the left of the door, one would find a hazel stand covered in a grey and black ceramic-like with a sink and cabinets above it.

There was no one and the air was dominated by the smell of grass and flowers that entered by the window, instead of the smell Ren so used to associate to hospitals and nurses, of something antiseptic and cold, adorned by the aroma of medicine.

It was a difference she appreciated.

Ren went towards one of the beds (it looked more like a real bed than a stretcher found in school's infirmary) and took the gods' arm of her shoulder that had grown warmer with his touch after the time he had spent leaning on her. Dionysus, as soon as he lied down, covered his eyes with his arm, muttering something and stopping in the middle of a word, giving up. His head throbbed inside as if the flesh couldn't contain the bones anymore and the pressure made even thinking painful.

He meant to thank the girl for the help, but just the idea of speaking made his body protest. During his years, he had witnessed mortals consuming wine, especially during festivals in his honor and other reunions of certain poets (one the varied Greek poetry was even turned to the liberty bought by wine, by Zeus!) and, therefore, he knew of such effects, but had never experienced them before. It was quite unnerving if you took in account that, even in a human body, his resistance should be at least average.

Damn Zeus and his twisted sense of humor…

Ren watched him for a second, touching her lips with her tongue before finally walking to the windows and pull the curtains, blocking the light and sinking the room in shadows. Still in silence, she walked to the cabinets and started to open them with care to not make any sound.

It was with a light surprise that she found medicine, but considering they had all been kidnapped and, in the gods' case, forced into a weaker form of life than their own, the least Zeus could do was to provide medicine in case something happened.

Her dark eyes ran through small bottles, tablets of pills, a bottle of serum and some cotton, before she went to the second cabinet. It was like the other: Three small shelves, each with a line of options.

Soon, she found what she had been searching for.

Picking one of the small bottles, a small brown-transparent glass with the label covered of small letters and a little cup over the cap that she took off and filled with the liquid while going back to the god.

"Drink this" Ren told him softly. "It will help." The god took his arm of his eyes for a moment, spying before picking the cup that looked even smaller in his strong fingers and when he approached it from his lips, they twisted slightly. Ren didn't say a thing as he drank it a single sip.

"This is awful" He muttered, words almost glued to each other as he lied down and covered his eyes with his arm once more. Ren leaned to him, her fingers brushing his as she picked the cup and took it to the sink to clean it before putting all back in the cabinet.

"As most medicine are. Try to sleep now" For a brief instant, a part of her considered searching for a towel, moisten it a bit and leave it in his forehead, but when she took notice of the sensation, she pushed it away as she would to an object spreading poison in her skin and suddenly, she was cold.

"See you later" She muttered, assaulted by a furious need of leave that room before her flesh cracked and turned into ice shards that would rip her apart inside out. If Dionysus didn't end up puking, she would.

"Hey… Amaya…" He muttered before the girl left, making her turn her face to him. "Thanks"

"Don't mention it."

XxX

After long hours, after Thoth left and the classes were ended for the day, Yui asked the others to wait a little and listen as she stood in front of the class with Misaki and calling Apollon to join them, since he was the Student Council President.

Weeks ago, she might have felt some nervousness, especially with the unpleasantness some of the gods had directed to her (though even back there, part of her had believed it was more due to the situation than her in a personal level), but now she was even kind of excited.

"As we mentioned, a school involves different activities of several kinds" She started, realizing the words sounded quite like a speech and almost laughed. Perhaps she should get involved with the council back home after all, she was starting to enjoy coming up with ideas for events, organizing them and all. "So, we thought about starting clubs."

"Aren't those places where humans go to have fun?" Balder asked, recalling they had mentioned something of this sort when they had discussed the "summer vacation", the subject had passed by things humans used to do and fun places.

"The clubs we're talking about are different" Yui explained before turning back and started to doodle in the blackboard. "In a simple way of saying it, the students gather in groups and do activities together after classes."

"Varied activities" Misaki told them quickly. "Some involve sports, others music, you can choose whatever you like"

Yui stopped in one of her drawings of Melissa to spy the class with the corner of her eyes, fishing for reactions. Balder was leaning forward in a position that denounced interest, but it was expected from him. Takeru had his arms crossed over the table and laid his head on them, but at least his eyes weren't closed and he seemed to be listening. Yet, she noticed that while all of them had at least picked chairs in front and closer to the blackboard, Hades remained almost in the far end of the room.

"So, with these activities, humans interact and learn how to establish ties and bonds with each others?"

"When you speak of it that way, it sounds far more sentimental than it actually is, man" Arisu thought, not saying anything. Between the absolute interest and enthusiasm of Apollon and the apathy she had seen in the others, she would rather go with the cheerfulness.

"That's right" Misaki decided to agree rather than say anything else. Yui turned to the others after finishing her last drawing. The trace was a bit sloppy since she wasn't used to draw in a blackboard, but it didn't matter. As guarantee, there were several options, some she hadn't had in her school too. At least one had to pick the interest of them…

"I thought that those could help you guys to understand humans" She was about to say "things we do and study", but decided against it. This was of speaking unconsciously divided the class into "we and them" and she didn't like it. "We have several options, so you can choose more than one club if you want to"

"Great idea, Fairy!" Apollon smiled. "You have the support of the Student Council's President!"

"He ended up liking this president stuff, hm?" Isuzu whispered too low to others to hear and Arisu just smiled, leaning to her sister and saying through teeth.

"I think what he liked was the compliment Yui gave him when nominating him. Kinda cute…" She didn't resist saying it, though she doubted the reason was really that (or just that). Again, Apollon excitement was so much that perhaps the fact he could get even more involved in the school and officially help organizing events and ideas was genuinely fascinating to him, not just that Yui had complimented him about it.

"One of the reasons why I won't ever understand him" She thought, almost shivering in thinking how it would be to get involved in Student's Council. It wasn't what she would call her thing.

"I'm interested in tennis club. Especially soft ball" Balder commented. When Apollon in turn mentioned he was interested in the sport as well, Yui saw an opportunity for them to play together, since it would be great if gods interacted more, but Apollon's interested was in hard ball.

"And there is a difference?" It was all Misaki managed to think. Despite the gods having talked to them before about human sports, it seemed Balder and Apollon had made a little research of their own. "Wow, we're here to teach them and they end up knowing something I had no idea of… Guess you learn something new every day!" She reflected as Balder went own about the enjoyment of youth and Apollon completed mentioning they would have a friendly rivalry…

Arisu thought she would either laugh or gag.

"What youth? They are older than us by a millennia and more!" Misaki whispered to Yui, taking care so Apollon wouldn't hear. Yui bit the lower corner of her mouth, trying to hold a laugh. Well, Apollon definitely showed that getting older was a matter of mind, rather than body…

"Well, they don't age for starters…" She stopped thinking about it. She wasn't sure how aging worked with the gods, since Apollon had once mentioned of being a child and growing up…

And she didn't like to think about immortality… It had been just a while after coming to the Academy that she found the idea rather frightening.

"Have you thought about which clubs you want?" Balder asked looking to the other girls as Loki kept twirling a strand of hair in his finder and Thor kept his usual silence, so Yui had no idea if they were interested or just finding this a complete waste of time. Considering Loki, it could be one thing as easily as the other.

"Archery" Isuzu replied right then, leaning her face in her hand. "Don't want get out of practice." Her eyes were thoughtful for some seconds and the Light god thought she was thinking about her home. He recalled Isuzu had said, in the Sports Event, that she used to be in this club back home too.

"Swimming, here" Arisu completed raising her hand. Actually, she didn't use to get involved in clubs, but the girl knew that if she refused, it was possible that someone else would based in the fact that even a "representative of humanity" wasn't getting involved. Even if Loki didn't look quite as bored and Takeru had played with them and the fireworks, Arisu didn't believe that changed things completely.

So, she opted for an activity she was at least comfortable with.

Tsukito surprised everyone when he commented he would rather join the student council, once Isuzu and Yui both were sure he would have picked the Astronomy club. Loki confirmed Arisu and Yui's suspicions when he decided to be in a "going home club", making the brown haired girl to roll her eyes and Yui internally sighed.

"I knew it" It was too much to ask to Loki to cooperate with things right away. Misaki tried to talk to him and Thor, but Yui was already used to it and her attention went to the dark haired god looking through a window, silent until now.

"Hades?" She called him. "Are you interested in any club?"

Ren's eyes went from her friend to Hades. The god slowly turned his eyes to the purple-haired girl in front of the class. Even under the sunlight, he looked like a creature made of cold and darkness.

"Astronomy" He replied. The light entering the window and falling around him just intensified his pale skin as it slid in his hair. Yui felt relief that the silent god wanted to join a club, but his next words suffocated the emotion just like excess of earth could kill a seed.

"You do not understand. You asked me if I had any interest, so I told you. Just that" Hades clarified. "I didn't say I would join any club." Though his voice was nothing if not polite, it was also definitive. Yui's nerves hadn't forgotten the cold sensation from when Hades had told her and Ren to stay away and Yui realized she couldn't make a sound, be protest or insistence.

Automatically, her eyes searched Ren's, whose head moved from a side to other so briefly that it could have been a trick of the light. However, Yui understood she was also recalling how it had been in the path to the beach…

None of them understood this.

Loki and Takeru's behavior was caused by anger and rebelliousness (considering one had powers over fire and the other was the god of seas, it wasn't impossible to understand) and Thor always looked just disinterested, so who knew what went on in his mind? However, what was making Hades refuse so much to interact with the rest of the class?

XxX

"I got a little surprised with the choices" Isuzu commented, pulling her hair up to a ponytail as she went downstairs. "I mean, I didn't think you guys would be interested in tennis" If someone asked her, she would have replied she had imagined that Apollon would pick the archery club as she had or perhaps the Arts club. To make things easier and open space to other options, Misaki had suggested making the arts club involving music, drawing and literature, which the members could chose the "category" they were most interested.

Apollon shook his head with a smile.

"I didn't think it would be as fun. I mean…" He paused for a moment, not wanting to sound as if despising the other clubs or people who had chosen them, turning his eyes to the blue sky that welcomed him, Balder and Isuzu once they left for the school's grounds. "I'm already a god of music and poetry and archery. So I wanted to try something different"

"I've read about more modern human sports" Balder commented, walking at the girl's other side. While the sun shone in Apollon's hair accentuating the strong colors, it seemed to slide in Balder's in such way that the wax color looked liquid-like, especially with the straight strands. "And I decided it would be interesting to try"

"I wonder if they find modern sports too different from theirs" She knew some were in essence, quite alike sports from days long past and others were very different. They had had their own activities, but what did they think of now? And Isuzu still didn't know for certain how it was nowadays: Did they watch mortals or their "worlds" kept themselves apart of it? She supposed they could still see them if they wanted, considering Zeus had a pretty nice notion of the modern world.

"Why would Apollon and Balder walked away from mortals?" It didn't make sense, not what the excitement they showed in the Academy. It also was too constant and genuine to be an act. "They don't seem to be lying…"

"Isuzu-chan?" Balder called her, leaning in her direction and cutting her thoughts.

"Oh, sorry, kinda got lost in my thoughts."

"What were you thinking about?" Apollon asked. "You got quiet all of sudden"

Isuzu smiled slowly. There was a lot in her mind, together with the curiosities that had bloomed about the gods, so she decided to avoid it.

"Some stuff…"

"Were you thinking about your home?" Balder tried in a sweet tone. With a sport she tended to practice at home, he doubted Isuzu wouldn't think about her family. Perhaps she missed them… For a moment, he wanted to ask how her mother and father were.

"A little…" In part, it was a lie. She thought about them frequently, of course, but they weren't the reason why she had been in silence. Now, her mind was taken by the memory of their faces and, as if they had a memory of their own, her nerves got warmer as if she was being hugged by them now. "Sometimes I wonder what they would say if they saw me now."

"You'll see them again" Balder said. Not with comfort, but certainty. His hand created a light pressure when he placed it in the girl's shoulder as they passed by the garden beds, following way until an area divided from the gardens by grayish walls.

"I'm not worried by it" That was a lie, no other way around it, but Isuzu didn't want to seem a little child crying in the eyes of the two. "I know things will work out in the end. And hey, this school is far more interesting than my other one" She added with a smile, making the gods agree while holding a laugh because that was a way of putting it.

"And how it was in your "new" school? You commented you and Arisu exchanged schools when the classes had already started. Were the places too different?"

The girl was somehow surprised that Apollon recalled something of this sort, but soon expulsed the sensation. He was immortal, there was no real surprise that he had a great privileged memory even to things she could consider trivial.

However, though the sun shone bright and its heat spread to everything it touched, she felt isolated from it and a needle of cold ran through her nerves without Isuzu being able to control it.

As natural as it is, ghosts of memories touched her mind softly in provocation.

"They were quite different, yes" The girl carried on keeping her voice normal. "But that's how it is, right? You know, new place, new people, so on and so forward… Hey, the courts are close to each other!"

Passing by the walls, there was a huge area in which the grass disappeared and two courts with a space between them took place, of a green color and without a single stain, marked by white lines and nets already ready. Isuzu saw a bank near each one and it seemed to have a black thing over them, that she thought it could be a racket cover and bottles, the ones you kept tennis' balls.

Some trees grew near, pointing to the sky as arrows. A bit beyond, grass could be seen again and there was another long wooden bank with some targets ready, some on easels and others leaning in the wall.

"That's great!" Apollon said. "We won't be far from each other!"

"Cool!" Isuzu agreed. She didn't mind being alone in a club, actually had strange feelings regarding this: On a side, at least for now she would rather have it that way. On another, it would be pleasant to not be completely away from her friends.

Balder turned to comment this when the trio was wrapped in screams. Her attention had been so focused in the courts that he hadn't seen some spirits in gym clothing that hadn't been walking aimless.

"Balder!" Some called, a single sound in which masculine and feminine voices mixed. The only different among them, besides timbre, was cadence. Isuzu couldn't help a shiver when she realized that, in essence, those voices were actually the same. Even their cheerfulness was like something programmed to sound just loud… The way someone could program the sound of a heartbeat in a software of sound, yet it lacked something.

"I've heard more real voices in video games" The girl reflected as some spirits came near the Nordic god.

"Teach us to play, too!" Some asked and Balder tried to smile, asking them to calm down before casting a gaze of almost apology to Apollon and Isuzu before the spirits insisted that he stayed with them and practically guided his way to the court. Their voices slithered in air as echoes from each other as they kept an almost circle around the god.

"You know, I'm not sure I find this funny or if I'm sorry for him" The girl commented to Apollon, to which the god nodded, looking unable to decide if he was disturbed or if he had another reaction. The spirits barely used to talk with the gods or the humans, unless they took the initiative (and even if they tried, the result was just pitiful).

"Why do you think they act like this with Bal-Bal?" He asked, going to the other court. Isuzu shrugged, showing she had no idea either.

"My guess is as good as yours."

Apollon picked the black cover, unwrapping it to reveal a new-looking racket, with smooth handle of a shining metallic blue. The girl turned to the targets, seeing a quiver with arrows a bow.

The sun god noticed her gaze.

"Hey, Suzu-Suzu!" He called her with a wink. "Remember, keep your arm firm, but don't get too tense."

"I'll try to remember. Hey, you could take a time to help me train!" She added, thought in a kidding way, there was something pleasant in the idea. Not because he was an archer god, but just because it would be fun.

XxX

Misaki at first had thought it weird that they needed to report to Thoth about the activities they tried to make and the results, even if he was the only teacher in the whole academy. She understood it was necessary to inform him, once the objective was something far more important than grades and exams, but she didn't think she would get used to it early.

Light entered the several windows, making clear spaces among the soft shadows and reflected in the dark shelves, creating a veil over the books. Upon entering, Misaki didn't see anyone in the table of the center.

"Is he not here?" She wondered, approaching to see if there was any message and almost laughed when she imagined a little board saying "Back in five minutes", but held the sound in the depth of her throat. Around, the books watched as living beings, guardians of information, knowledge and stories.

"Uh… Thoth-sen… I mean, Thoth-sama?" She asked, daring to raise her voice a little, without need. The sound echoed among shelves and through air. The girl looked around, hoping to see the teacher.

A shadow moved.

Misaki turned, blonde hair hitting against her neck and face. There was no one there, but the girl was sure something had passed by… Or had it been a trick of the light? It was normal to feel there was something behind you when you were in an empty room, your mind often ended up making you think you had felted something there.

"Yes, Aihara?" A solemn voice pulled her attention as a line pulled a puppet's arm. Upstairs, Thoth watched her, only his eyes turned to the girl's direction, head held high and he held an open book in his hands.

"Oh, hi, Thoth-sama" The girl greeted with a nod of respect, soon hurrying to a spiral-shaped stair. Upstairs was also a forest of books and she ran her eyes through some book's spines… In some shelves, she could just see traits and letters she had never seen in her life.

She thought in how many books there were there and looking over the brown, circular rail she could see more shelves downstairs, some she hadn't even realized were there. Each held more books than she could count first sigh and suddenly, Misaki felt very small.

Here one would find writings that could have come from all parts of the world and more ages than the human mind could comprehend. Knowledge that could have been destroyed by people with a narrow view, unable to accept the importance of what they held in their hands, cultures that had been reduced to nothing, suffocated and several stories that were portals to different worlds, neatly created by the authors.

It was a forest in which each plant had lived more than triple of what she wouldn't even be able to dream living, a time so long that thousand years were like a blink of an eye…

Her flesh shivered under her skin and her heart seemed to beat slowly, taken by different emotions that went from tension to fascination. And among all this, she felt as small as a dry leaf, threatened to be carried by the wind.

"Aihara" Thoth called her, though his attention was back to the book he had in his hands. "Do you have something to say?"

"Oh… Yes. Is that…" The words sounded weak and she gulped, cleaning her throat before going on. "We started today the school clubs we talked about."

Thoth didn't, except for a nod. Misaki was sure he did this just to be polite and would rather interpret the silence as a cue to go on, so she dragged a foot against the floor for a moment.

"Most picked their clubs, but some still don't want to know" Not that this is any news, she almost added, soon thinking the best of it and keeping the comment to herself. Thoth's dark blue eyes went to her and the god didn't say a thing.

"I mean, Hades showed some interest in Astronomy" The words kept coming fast from her mouth, as if anxious to escape, before Misaki could take a breath or reflect if she should go into details. "But when Yui meant to place him in the club, he said he had just answered what he was interested in and didn't want to enter any club"

"So" Thoth cut her. Except for the usual seriousness, there was nothing else in his expression. "In summary, he refused to take part in the new activities"

The emphasis in the term "summary" didn't pass by unnoticed to the blonde, who didn't feel offend and just shrugged before playing with a strand of her hair. It wasn't of a light shade like Apollon's or Balder's, but medium and in the shadows, some brown strands that sprinkled it became almost grey.

"Not only that…" She thought about the Underworld Lord. "He actually doesn't seem interested in being much part of the class. He keeps his distance." She didn't know why. It didn't seem to be out of shyness, neither because he was quiet (Tsukito was quiet and Ren, back when they had arrived, used to speak very little). The girl knew Hades had basically ordered the others to stay away, but she had no idea of the motivation behind this.

"Could it be that he hates people? Or he just likes to be by himself?"

"And?" Thoth's eyes were over her without a movement of his head and there was something in his tone. "What do you expect me to do about it?"

Misaki hesitated, refusing to avoid his gaze.

"Well… I don't know…" She hadn't come here thinking about asking him for anything, actually, the conversation just had taken them there, it was just to tell him about the clubs in the usual report-like stuff they needed to do. "Maybe if you have an idea of what we could do or maybe you could talk to Hades…"

She backed away by instinct when Thoth crossed the small distance between them, surprising the girl. Her back hit a shelf and the Egyptian hit his hand a bit over her head, making her body react with an involuntary spasm.

Thoth's blue eyes grabbed hers as daggers.

"Do you expect me" He started, voice still serious and yet still having some threatening softness. "That I deal with an absurd such as this?" Not giving her the chance of replying, Thoth leaned forward with a hiss. "Thinking about solutions isn't your duty and the others?"

"Well, and you're our teacher!" Misaki let it slip, the nervousness of her body intensifying when she realized what she had just said. Thoth raised his eyebrows to her. "I mean, isn't the duty of a teacher to offer support and help when the students need?"

She knew at once this had been the worst thing to say.

"Are you suggesting I'm not keeping my duties?" His voice was a whisper of winter, daring her to confirm such idea. Misaki fought to not try shrinking under his iron gaze or his proximity, forcing herself to keep her eyes on his.

"I didn't say this. I just wanted you to help us!" In the middle of the cold tension devouring her body inside out, Misaki realized she was also bothered by Thoth and focused on that emotion, a solid ground. "We don't know how to solve everything! Hades doesn't listen to us!"

"You and the others are here to teach the gods about human's hearts." The god carried on as if she hadn't said a thing. "This means that thinking about solutions for something of this sort is your duty, not mine"

Misaki opened her mouth to protest that all she had just wanted was an advice, she wasn't asking him to solve that for them, but decided to shut up. Thoth wouldn't change his mind and whatever she said now, he would just interpret in the same way. The best thing to do was finish that as quickly as she could just so she could get the hell out of that place.

"Very well, understood." She muttered, avoiding weariness to manifest in her words. "Can I go now?"

Once Thoth stepped away, she took her way to the stairs without looking behind and once out the library, she took a deep breath leaning her back in the wall and lifting her face to the ceiling.

"Why does he have to be this difficult? It would be easier if he was more alike Balder or even Tsukito. Sure he keeps to himself and sees everything as a duty, but he is easier to deal with." Now she was happy for not mentioning how Hades hadn't been the only one to refuse join a club: Loki and Thor had insisted in their idea of "going home club" to her gloom and Yui's disappointment and when they had asked Takeru which club he would join, the sea god had mumbled that he didn't care for this and left the room.

"Times like those make it all seem like all we try ends up in fiasco" The girl sighed, walking through the hallway. Yui and Apollon had started to consider themselves part of the Student Council, just like she was starting too as well. Misaki had just done so because she didn't have another activity that really called her attention… Even in her old school, she hadn't joined anything yet.

As Arisu, Misaki had decided to take part in something she wouldn't mind doing. She had just been part of something like that for a brief period…

"It isn't like before… I picked this because with Yui, Apollon and Tsukito, it will be fun!" She told herself again and again. "It isn't like before, I'm chosing this to say I'm doing something, and to stay with them, so it's different…"

"Yo, Misaki." A voice called from the end of the hallway, making the blonde turn. Arisu hurried up, until joining her. The Hironezumi girl had small white things sprinkling her hair, hands a side of her face.

"What were you doing?" She asked, tilting her head to a side. Misaki shrugged and told her about how she had been talking to Thoth about the clubs and how their "conversation" had ended. Arisu shook her head, twisting her lips.

"I can't even say I'm surprised anymore" She muttered, rolling her eyes. "You shouldn't even have said a thing when he asked what you wanted him to do" She added, to which Misaki nodded.

"I know, but I swear I thought he could at least have a suggestion or advice. It isn't as if his tongue would fall if he did this"

"I wish…"

"Hm… Ari?" She observed her, unaware if the white stuff was dust or rests of drops of dried paint. "What happened to you?" Misaki indicated a corner near her own ear.

"You got three chances" The other replied.

"Loki?"

"And we have our winner, thank for playing" Arisu mumbled, thought the weariness wasn't regarding Misaki. Rubbing the corner of her face, she carried on. "One of his pranks. I thought it was okay during that barbecue, you know, his little revenge and all, I never said I was okay with him going on with this!"

"And I don't know? Do you remember what he did to me the first day?" Both exchanged looks, for they would never forget Loki's pranks. "I don't mind a joke from time to time, but Loki goes beyond the limits."

"I almost punched him this time" Arisu confessed and again they looked to each other in understanding. It had been an act out of impulsiveness, and it just showed how they sometimes forgot what they truly were. Truth to be told, their auras had been enough to make the idea of facing one of them like Arisu had tried to sound like… Well, insanity.

"Yet, he dodged and went away."

They still talked a bit more until Misaki realized she had accompanied Arisu to the pool's locker room. That was divided in rectangular-shaped areas, the first with toilets and a row of white sinks over a ceramic-like stand under a mirror. The floor was covered by white tiles with smoke-like smudges of grey except the showers in the second area, there the floor was covered by grey non-skid rubber like overlays.

In a wall, there were several small square lockers. Both girls felt a soft smell of soap, as if it was the natural air in there and not just a perfume.

"Is that okay if I stick around?" Misaki asked while Arisu undressed in a shower, hidden by the white door. Near the lockers, the blonde found a larger and darker one, which had all sort of objects inside and, hanging inside, a chronometer. "I can mark your time for you or something…"

"You sure?" Arisu's voice came from behind the door and somehow muffled as she dressed her swimsuit. "Won't you have problems if you don't go to the Students Council?"

"Oh, who cares?" The blonde took a seat in the long bank leaning against a wall that divided the rectangular areas in the room and leaned her head back. "Besides, Apollon went to tennis practice, Tsukito is probably with his brother…"

She winked in a playful way when her friend came out of the shower, dressing the school one piece, hair under a swim cap.

"Besides, who will know?"

XxX

"Why did I ever choose this? I don't know anything about it."

Crouched, she passed her fingers delicately in one of the flowers, so much that it could have been the touch of a ghost. The petals grew in two overlay circles, a purple that grew darker as it approached the black center.

"Maybe I should skip club today…" Ren reflected, not caring much if this would make her look bad case she was caught. Besides, she could just go back to the academy and to…

"Did you pick gardening club as well?" A voice made her raise her head as a shadow fell over.

Dionysus stood at her side. His aspect still wasn't the same she and the others were used to, but there was a clear improvement: His eyes were somehow reddish, but didn't blink so much under the light anymore and color had gone back to his face.

"Are you feeling better?" She asked, not moving from where she was and the god crouched at her side, nodding and studying the small bed flowers.

"Not sure what medicine was that, but it helped me a lot" The god told her with a smile. "I left the infirmary some minutes ago and I met Kusanagi. She told me about the clubs and I decided for gardening. You?"

"Gardening and Arts" Ren confirmed with a nod, crossing her arms over her knees. "Why did you choose this?" She asked suddenly, just to say something and the god laughed lowly, turning to her with an arched eyebrow.

"God of fertility here, remember? I'm used to deal with plants."

"Uhh… Wasn't it Demeter who took care of plants?" She said, hoping he wouldn't take the comment in a wrong way or anything of the sort. Ren wondered, like the others, with clubs the gods would choose but she wasn't sure she would have guessed this to be Dionysus choice (which now sounded obvious).

"Demeter is the goddess of harvest in general" Dionysus confirmed. "I'm more involved with grapes and fertility, yes, but it's all connected to nature" He stopped for some seconds, watching the flowers with a shadow of smile in his face. "I would have joined the Arts club as well, if there was anything related to theatre."

He noticed Ren's head tilted and interpreted the gesture as signal to go on and decided to humor her.

"God of theatre as well, Amaya. Among other things, festivals in my honor involved presentation of plays. Tragedies, comedies or satires. There was a time the focus was more in tragedies, though…" He added and she saw his eyes assuming a soft difference, as if he was remembering it. It was still hard to believe she was talking to someone who probably had watched the first presentations of Greek plays, including those which had been lost in time.

"You watched them all?" The question sounded stupid even to herself, after all, he had just said those were festivals in his honor. Ren could just imagine how they were, with the singing and plays. Dionysus didn't look at her in mockery or anything, mind taken by years long past, vivid and detailed memories.

"Yes, I did. Sometimes I hid among mortals, sometimes I didn't need to be near to see. It was fun" Suddenly he turned to her, the mist disappearing from his gaze as he came back to the present. "What about you? Do you like plants?"

A light smile appeared in Ren's face as the beginning of a dream and she shrugged almost awkwardly.

"Honestly, I don't know anything about it" She indicated the purple flower. "I don't even know the name of these flowers"

"So why? You wanted to try something new?"

Ren was in silence for a while. Before, her reply could have been different.

"I think I…" Now that she thought about it, there was a kind of motive she hadn't noticed before. "Maybe because this makes me remember home. My parents have a garden. Maybe that's why…" She wasn't sure it was that, but after saying, a sensation she hadn't realized and that was as small as a seed, seemed to pulsate.

"That's good! So I'll teach you!" He smiled as he stood. "By the way, those are anemone. They mean forsaken…"

She stood with him, black hair sliding on her shoulders and casted a last glance before turning back to the god.

"Very well, then. How do we start?"

Dionysus looked to the flowers and then around, hands in his waist and muttering with his mouth closed as he evaluated the environment. The bed flower there wwas pretty, but just some random flowers and they could do better.

"There is an area near the stairs" He pointed his thumb to the stairs behind him. "We could put some vases there, with different seeds. It catches a nice sunlight and has a lot of space. Then we could replant them in the garden when they grow too much"

Ren examined him with suspicion.

"Dionysus… Are you thinking about cultivating something like, I don't know, grapes?"

"Of course I am" The reply was as if this was obvious.

"Wine?"

"Exactly"

Ren didn't resist and facepalmed, holding a giggle.

"You know what, I'm not even surprised" She commented in pleasant tone. "I think we can get seeds and vases in the school's store"

XxX

With the club's activities, time seemed to go a little faster that day, as it happens when we get involved in something new. With night approaching, Ren didn't know where Yui was. Nor she or any of the other girls had seen her since afternoon, but they weren't much worried.

The academy was huge and sometimes it felt nice to take a time to walk around, and come back later. It was possible that she was just talking a walk in the gardens or reading in the library (when Isuzu suggested that, Arisu thought it was more probable that she would pick the books and come back to the room as she had done it before).

Now, Ren walked in the empty hallways. Moonlight was the only source of light, creating illuminated areas when entering the windows, the pale light giving the colored glass a ghost, pearly quality.

She looked through the room she had examined before dinner and that, apparently, Zeus had turned in the official Arts Club Room. There was a shelf filled with books at the side of a window and that followed the wall until the corner. A bit forward, there was a small table with chairs of high backs and lined in bluish velvet… Following the shelf, to the right, there were two easels, empty in the moment and a cabinet where she supposed there were paints, brushes, canvas and other artistic utensils.

In the left side of the room, a dark smooth-looking figure in which the moonlight seemed to slid and drip.

A piano.

She closed the door behind her carefully and approached, watching the white bones that were the keys before pressing one.

A solitary note shivered in the air.

The room was far from the library and the feminine dorm (the masculine was even further) and Ren wasn't sure the spirits even had a dorm (whatever they did at night, she didn't know and didn't care).

She took a seat. For some seconds, Ren didn't move, satisfied in just watching the instrument, the way the transparent light because pearly upon touching the smooth surface. The silence was pleasant as well, but it was broken soon.

Raindrops started to fall against the window's glass, each sounding as a tinkling of a second and uniting, making another sound, as a mosaic made of several colored pieces. It started softly, almost gently before the drops started to hit the glass with ferocity, the trail they left alike cracks.

The wind let out long cries and the moonlight was dead among the clouds. Outside, darkness reigned and yet, Ren thought she could almost make out the figures of the top of the trees, black ghosts shivering in the storm.

The girl remained still, watching through the window for some seconds. Even with the glass closing it, the aroma of the rain managed to invade the room as if also anxious for warmth.

The change in the weather had been so out of sudden like when Zeus had changed the seasons. Was that something he did too? They had had rains before, and after what had occurred in the beach, Yui asked Thoth if Zeus always controlled the weather to which the Egyptian replied it wasn't always the case: Zeus had the power of changing the seasons to his will here and the weather, but that didn't imply nature here didn't follow its own course without his interference.

There was no way of knowing if this storm was natural or not.

Ren went back to the piano. Even without the moon, the keys were still visible.

There was a moment of hesitation before she started to play, slowly at first, as if testing and checking if she remembered her lessons. Then her fingers became more agile and the musical notes ceased being mere sounds to become threads that united in a spider's web, making a cadence.

In the second music, her vocal chords vibrated when she sung with her mouth closed to herself. Time altered, no more felt in seconds and minutes, but marked by notes and the words she had in her mind.

However, Ren noticed another sound hiding under the melody.

Her fingers froze in the middle of a movement.

"You don't need to worry about it, I'm fine…" She recognized the voice. Yui.

"You could have been severely hurt" Another voice, firm even if with something in which mixed stern and apology.

Leaving the room, Ren came across a soaked to the bones Yui. Her purple hair dripped, leaving dark spots in the ground and her clothes were hugging her frame, agitated by shivers the girl tried to contain in her muscles.

At her side, equally soaked, was Hades. His hair seemed almost black, emphasizing the blood of his eye and he seemed between passing his arm around Yui in an attempt to warm her and not touching her in any way. If his intention was to help the girl with the cold, Ren knew he would have failed in any way, considering the state of both of them.

"What…" She whispered, eyes going from one to another without a clue. "Were you both outside in this weather?" She asked as she removed her jacket, staying just in her long sleeved blouse, but Yui raised her hand trying to refuse it.

"No need, Ren, I'm fine…" She looked with the corner of her eyes to Hades, clearly hoping he would take Ren's offer, but the god shook his head. Ignoring both, Ren placed her jacket in Yui's shoulders, deaf to the other's protest. Feeling how cold she was and the bluish shadow under her eyes and in her lips, Ren started to rub the jacket to dry her. Cold? Her very skin seemed made of ice now.

Strange, for them to be in such state, they should have been under the rain for a long time, therefore, they hadn't been close to the academy.

Hades fixated his eye on her as a dagger.

"Please, take her back to the dorm and help her to get warm." Curious. His tone was firm as always, almost severe, but the girl felt traits of gentleness in the request and Yui turned to him at once.

"Hades, it doesn't matter. Listen, I don't…"

"You could have drowned." The god interrupted in the same tone and in that moment, it was possible to have a glimpse that appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye. In that instant, his gaze seemed deep, marked by something old and long, an eternal river…

Then it was gone.

Hades turned his back to them.

"Please, Amaya… Take her to the dorm."

Ren sighed.

"Yui, could you explain to me just what was that all about?"

XxX

At the end of long minutes, after Yui took her time in a warm bath, she rubbed a towel in her hair as Melissa, sitting at her side in the bed, patted her thigh friendly.

"C'mon Kutanagi, it wasn't that bad"

Yui didn't reply, eyes frozen in a point of the ground and turned inside herself. The sensation of cold water forcing its way through her nose and throat, filling her lungs and no matter how she moved, there was just that endless coldness around… This had scarred her nerves.

She wouldn't ever forget.

She had told Hades and the others at first that there was nothing wrong, that she was okay, however this was something she was in need of telling herself because Yuio knew Hades was right: She could have died.

Her body shivered out of control and her blood ran wild once more. It was as if her organism needed her mind to feel it and realize that it was still alive.

"My God…" Isuzu whispered weakly. "Yui…" She didn't know what to say or do, if Hades hadn't saved her… No, she didn't want to think about what would have happened.

"I don't understand…" Yui muttered with an absent voice that didn't sound at all like a living voice. "Hades insists this was his fault and that he causes misfortune, but I don't understand…"

"That storm of now happened because of him?" Misaki asked surprised, frowning to the idea. Yui had told them all, including how the god of the dead had insisted that she would stay in the field and waited until he was gone, for the rain would stop them.

"It's obviously not on purpose" Arisu had her feet on the bed, hugging her knees and looked to the others in a child-like way. "It's not his fault"

"But it explains why he told us to stay away from him all the time"

"Oh, c'mon!" Arisu growled, placing her chin on her knees. "It's always that, stay away from me, you'll be miserable, this sounds a little too emo for me…"

The honey-colored eyes of Yui rose slowly, passing through Arisu as though she was not there.

"That's cruel"

"Yui, he didn't explain anything, since the beginning he just told us to stay away. And he keeps repeating that of…"

"See things from his point of view…" Yui continued in that voice that seemed to float from a distant point and her expression made it clear that Arisu's last words had not been heard or comprehended in any way. "He causes disgraces and can't control it. I don't understand it, but if it is true, then he just doesn't want people to suffer"

Arisu hesitated.

"Well, I understood that part, but…"

"And he is immortal" Ren completed.

"Imagine that, girls…" Isuzu whispered, thinking in how she would feel if she was in his place. "More than millenniums alive and, whether he wants or not, if people get close to him they end up hurt." The proof was right here. Yui had almost drowned. Hades' disgraces didn't reach him, but the people near him.

If he was a god and couldn't stop this, the only way that sounded possible to keep others safe was indeed to isolate himself from everyone.

Arisu tried to imagine this. Not mere years, but decades of loneliness while ruling over the realm of the dead… Not actually having anyone to talk to or any company, nor even getting close of his own family, aware of what could happen…

She thought about her parents and another memory came to rip her mind apart: Isuzu, Isuzu crying, tears escaping her eyes and rolling down her face as if they would cut her as her nails found a nest in her shoulders as she hugged herself in despair…

What if Isuzu cried like she had in that day because of Arisu? What if Isuzu's blood was shed because of her?

It could not be her fault, but she would still be the cause.

A coldness dominated her bones. And Arisu knew she would rather never see her sister again than risking something like that. Or any person, for that matter. What right did she have to put others in risk? And she didn't know the extension of Hades' disgraces, but after today, she didn't think they were harmless stuff…

"Now you know what Hades feel" A voice whispered in her mind and she felt a bitter taste spreading through her body. And Ren was right, they were mortals. The gods had lived too long and would live forever, more than they could even understand…

An eternity of loneliness…

"Great, now I feel like a bitch" Arisu muttered, hugging her legs tighter. "Damn…"

"Don't be like this" Melissa asked, calling their attention as he laid his head on Yui's lap, trying to make her feel better. "There is nothing you can do about it…" Worse, he was right.

"I don't accept this." Yui muttered, slowly lying down on the side of her body. The natural rhythm wasn't back to her voice yet, but Misaki noticed her eyes seemed less opaque. "Maybe we can't do a thing about the misfortune or how they happen, but I don't want to accept there is nothing we can do for Hades…"

However right then, facing something so old and powerful, which real cause they didn't know, all seemed as dark as the sky during that storm.

Some raindrops that still rested in the window slid down the glass slowly.

Chapter Text

It was frequently said that after a night's sleep, problems seemed smaller by dawn. But there were problems that were like poison. Once they spread through the organism, they couldn't be weakened by rest, still wrapping the nerve endings, twisting them slowly.

Ignoring the shadows crawling in their minds, the day had dawned clean and clear, sun spreading over the Academy as clouds wandered in the sky. The storm og last night was a nightmare that didn't leave trail in the world.

Though it wasn't uncommon, for knowing it hadn't been a natural storm, the fact acted more as an exposed vein. It was impossible to forget the howling of the wind and the whipping of the rain, as it was impossible to forget the opaque eyes of Yui and how her voice had been almost monotonous when she and Ren walked back to the dorm.

Yui had claimed that she was alright, but Ren knew this wasn't so. The girl was pale that morning and this accentuated the shadow under her eyes, which were enough signals to anyone to see that she hadn't had much sleep.

Ren and the others had told her that, if Yui wanted to talk, they were there for her, but the girl had just smiled and said that things were okay. Ren supposed that someone could believe the lie, were not for the frozen eyes and the weak smile.

"She could have drowned. There is no need to act as if things were fine" She reflected, placing an extremity of a hose in a small sink. Maybe she could help Yui if…

Her mind didn't allow the idea to stop being a shadow to take shape.

Yui remained firm in her decision of helping Hades somehow, though she had no illusions of the severity of the case. The god still kept his distance, except when the girls were heading to class, he had approached enough to ask Yui if she was alright.

As always, there was that kind of seriousness in his expression, but this time it seemed that there was a shivering under the control. Not surprising, Hades knew that what happened had been his fault and probably blamed himself. Yui had only had time to say she was fine and Misaki had tried to say something, but Hades had just nodded and walked away.

If he hoped that, after all that, Yui would give up trying to approach him, then Ren believed the Underworld Ruler would have quite a surprise very soon.

"All ready there, Amaya?" Dionysus asked, holding the other end of the hose. The yellow, metal head looked like the head of a long green snake. The girl nodded and opened the water before turning back to the vases, long and grayish, that she and Dionysus had placed in the yard. Some had small seedlings they had placed there some moments ago (The god had taught her how to transfer plants without hurting their roots), others were a light sheet of earth over seeds and some were still empty. As he had told her before, Dionysus planed to plant grapes, but also spoke to Ren about different kinds of plants and flowers, suggesting she picked some books about them to decide which she wanted to plant too.

A tiny rainbow gleamed as Dionysus placed the hose in certain position under the sun, a fragile waterfall over the plants whose leaves shivered under the water.

"We need to watch out in case of many bugs or larvae" Though they had vases, there was also a small bed flower nearby and Ren now remembered that some bugs could before true plagues and some weeds could dominate a garden if you didn't take care.

The idea of bugs made her shiver in disgust.

"Some people use repellents or poison…" She commented. "There are some that are botanic, natural…" She remembered that her dad had once used one made with a certain plant, but it had been years and she didn't remember well about it. Dionysus however nodded to her.

"We could also use other bugs. Prayer mantis and chrysopidae, for example."

"Chryso-what?" Ren asked, not understanding, her ponytail falling over one of her shoulder.

"Chrysopidae" Dionysus repeated slowly. "Some devour some bugs that are like plagues. They can be quite useful."

Ren was about to say she would rather try repellents (even if bugs were important to nature, it didn't mean at all that she wanted them anywhere near her), when the pressure of the water seemed to increase out of sudden, surprising the god. The hose agitated in his hand as a furious snake, the water spreading everywhere.

Both heard cries of surprise before Dionysus managed to control the hose as Ren ran back to close the water.

Near the stairs, with Apollon and Balder, Yui stood completely soaked.

"I'm so sorry!" Dionysus said when seeing her, nervous. "Are you alright, there? Are you too wet?"

"Too?" Apollon repeated as Balder leaned to the girl, worried for her. "Dee-dee, she is completely soaked!"

"N-No problem, I'm fine…" Yui muttered, voice shivering in fright and cold. "It was just an accident…"

Ren saw Hades sitting in the stairs' steps near the trio, watching the girl in silence. And then she knew what it all should have been.

"Ahh, Fairy! You need to dry yourself! Sorry, I'm really sorry!" Apollon said nervous. Some water drops had fallen in his racket and seemed diamond drops against the metallic blue. At his side Balder also apologized and asked Yui if she was sure she was fine.

"I'll be right back, okay?" Ren muttered to Dionysus, who just agreed without asking her reasons and deciding to go back to the vases. Even so, she thought that him, as Hades' nephew, should have a notion of what had just happened.

Without a word, she approached the group.

"Hey, it was nothing, all right?" Yui looked from Balder to Apollon, unable to avoid holding her shivering arms due to the cold water and turned to Hades. "So, see you in the evening, okay?" She lifted her hand to the others and Ren. "See you guys later."

Apollon and Balder still muttered among them, picking their tennis balls before going back to the courts and saying goodbye to Hades and Ren, who stood alone and spent some seconds in silence before the girl asked.

"She wants to go star gazing with you again?"

Hades emitted a sound that was almost a half sigh, still watching the girl's figure walking away, the purple hair making a wet mantle against her back.

"She should understand" His whisper was almost too low to be heard and the slight frown, half hidden by the hair of greenish lights, indicated that Yui's behavior was confusing to the god. His red eye turned to the girl standing near him. "She told about yesterday, did she not?"

Ren nodded slowly. After some moments, the deep voice of the god of the dead slithered in the air, a bit more brusquely-sounding.

"She could have died. For her own sake, it's better if she stays away"

The girl remained in silence, thinking about the weeks they had spent since arriving in the Academy. In the comments Yui had made and her smiles, even when she was worried about the chances of them not graduating.

"That may be so… But it doesn't mean this is what Yui wants"

Hades sighed and looked to the sky.

"She must be insane… Deliberately placing herself in harm's way. Doesn't she understand?"

Little by little, a sigh came up Ren's throat, added by a sound that could be almost a laugh. Hades heard it and looked at her with the corner of his eye. Yui was no longer visible, but Ren still had her eyes on the path her friend had taken.

"I think you should understand why" She whispered calmly before turning her back to go to Dionysus, not without casting a last glance to Hades, who watched her not fully understanding what she meant.

"She is just like the stars you like so much"

XxX

"Was that weird, or it was just me?" Arisu asked, sitting in a bank and dragging her feet against the grass delicately in a way the leaves caressed the skin exposed in the sandals. She looked in the direction Balder and Apollon had left to fetch the tennis's balls. Apollon's one had practically flew after hitting the wall, what had looked strange once his hits hadn't been that violent.

Picking a new arrow, Isuzu shrugged.

"I dunno, I didn't even see exactly what happened" Her attention was focused in her posture and the arrow's aim. For an instance, Arisu still had her eyes in the pathway, but the gods didn't show signs of being coming back and she turned to her sister who was concentrating in the details of her posture, seeking a perfect aim.

Both of them hadn't commented a thing about last night's incident, but there was no need of words. The events were still in their minds and it was frustrating how, as much as they thought about it, they couldn't find a way of helping Hades. None of them understood still why such things happened to him, but they didn't like the idea of just leaving him alone.

Arisu leaned her elbow on her thigh, resting her face on her hand, watching her sister. Isuzu arranged her arm and pulled the arrow. Among the silence, even the tiny noise of the rope sounded louder. Her sister's face had no marks, but her brown eyes burned with concentration.

The arrow cut the air, hungry for the target in the wall.

The explosion was so intense that even at that distance, Arisu coughed when different aromas invaded her nose. The target was tore apart in something that seemed a mixture of smoke and small, violent flames that jumped to them. Isuzu cried in fear and fright, backing away and Arisu lifted her arm in the height of her eyes, expecting to feel points of pain.

The sensation was of minuscule things sparkling against her skin and the warmth was almost pleasant. Slowly, still shivering with the fright, she lowered her arm and saw sparkles still jumping around as fast fireflies. Isuzu breathed fast and deep, one if her hands still in her chest as she tried to calm down. Red and yellows sparkles jumped in her shoulders, as playful fairies in a story for children.

"That… Caramba…" She muttered and Arisu could only nod, lips shivering. She thought that was real fire. It certainly had looked the part when the target exploded, the same way the flames of fire would spread by air with violence when a window would break under the heat.

A well-known laugh came in front of them.

Loki was sitting over the wall, legs swinging in the air as he laughed showing his sharp teeth and gleaming silver eyes. Thor was near the wall, having rather walk around it then climb and his face, as always, was just serene, making the twins wonder for s moment if he had found that funny or just boring.

"You got really scared this time, hm!" He shook his head, the red hair burning under the sun. Arisu was up in a jump.

"LOKI, YOU BASTARD!" She screamed so loud that the muscles of her throat whimpered in pain, while she ignored the pleasant pricking of the sparkles and a shivering in her lungs that had nothing to do with the smoke or fright. "Do you want to kill us, you PEST?"

Loki started to twirl a strand of hair in his fingers and, though he smiled, there was an unreadable emotion in his eyes. Thor's golden gaze went from his friend to the girls, but none of them realized and Arisu, not waiting a reply from the Trickster God, forced another arrow in her sister's hand, keeping her eyes on him and muttering.

"C'mon, you can do it. Right in the middle of his forehead, I'll say it was an accident." She turned to Thor, unable to keep the amused expression that started to dominate her face and crack her mast of pretended seriousness. "We can trust you to confirm it, right, Thor? It was just an extremely sad accident"

"And do you actually believe" Loki started, leaning a little forward. "That a thing like that will hurt me?"

"I got no idea." Isuzu replied amused, lifting her bow with the arrow pointing to the god. "Can we find out now?"

"Hey…" Thor started, looking from the twins to Loki, who had his eyebrows lifted but both girls couldn't keep it anymore and started to laugh. Isuzu lowered her arrow and Arisu hid her face in her hand.

"Don't think that everything's fine" The girl warned, lifting her face enough so her fingers weren't on her eyes, shoulders still agitated by silent laughter. "It was a cretin thing to do. I thought we would get actually hurt"

Loki was quiet, still playing with his hair, his smile not once shivering, yet… It was a bit strange. Last day, when he had played a prank on Arisu, leaving her with white spots, the girl had been completely enraged and tried to punch him while crying out curses. Now, she was laughing. With the ages, this had become a thing he knew, aware that people could find some things funny and get irritated with others.

However, he thought that messing up with Isuzu's targets, something she seemed to like so much, would make both of them furious. And contrary to what Arisu seemed to believe, he wouldn't be insane enough to use actual fire in a prank like this when they were all with their divine powers sealed.

Arisu shook her head, face still pink.

"I mean it, Loki" She continued, her smile slowly fading. "That was really scary"

"Well, for someone who thinks so, you're pretty dying from laugher there" The god replied, jumping to the ground easily, near the tattered target. Now that smoke had faded, it was possible to see him clearly: Tore apart as if some animal had slashed it with a single claw.

"It doesn't change the fact that…"

"You seem to be getting along better!" Someone commented behind Arisu. Balder was back and watched the scene with a smile. He would have liked to see Loki and Thor making friends with the others and it seemed that this last prank of his hadn't made any of the Hironezumi twins truly annoyed.

"We? Naah!" Loki waved, dismissing the very idea as thought it was nonsense. "Like that's likely to happen!"

Arisu's eyes narrowed and Isuzu sighed. It wasn't, truth to be told, a different answer than what they had been expecting, since they had no illusions that Loki had any sort of affection for them or anyone but Thor and Balder.

Some sarcastic replies passed by her mind, but Arisu kept them away from her mouth. In the moment, they had far more important subjects to deal with and Loki's rejection wasn't exactly on the top of her worry list.

"Ah, but do you think this behavior will help him to graduate?" A mocking voice sounded from the depths of her mind and the girl tried to not think much about it now, even though she was aware of the truth in it.

Lost in her thoughts as she became, she just noticed Loki walking away when Isuzu said.

"Hey, Loki… A warning, though" She carved her eyes in him, holding her bow with a firm hand and a smile of dangerous kindness. "The targets I can accept, but if you ever even touch my bow or my arrows… Then I'll start training using your eyes as targets, are we clear in this matter?"

"Oh, really?" Loki asked in the same tone, his cat eyes gleaming as liquid silver. "Very well, agreed. I understood completely, young miss"

He gave his back to them, walking away with hands on his pockets as if he didn't have a single worry in the world. Isuzu still looked at his direction and ended up sighing, her shoulders falling.

"I practically asked him to do something of this sort, didn't I?"

Arisu and Balder nodded, the god with a smile almost of apology and even Thor, who had came closer, also agreed with a controlled gesture of his head.

"Well, he really hates us, hm?" Arisu commented as she took a seat back in the bank and leaned behind, stretching a little.

"Don't take his words so seriously" To her surprise, who said it was not Balder, but Thor. His voice was deep, and the girl thought it matched with him as she blinked, a bit uncertain and caught off guard by his words.

"Ah… Okay… Thanks, Thor" She didn't really have another answer to give him. The god nodded once more and walked away, following Loki. Also, Arisu wasn't sure that he was right about that and, taking Isuzu's gaze, she shared her opinion.

Something should have appeared in their faces, for Balder agreed with Thor.

"Thor is right, you know." He commented. "Loki is like this, really, but it isn't that he detests you or anything of this sort. He is always pranking everyone, even us. It may seem hard, but give him some time."

If it wasn't for Balder's gentle tone and how he seemed to not want them to start hating his friend, they would never have agreed. At this, Balder smiled and went to the court to continue playing tennis with a quick word that they should go back to the Academy together once done with their clubs, Isuzu sighed.

"Being honest, I still think Loki doesn't seem to be interested in being friends with anyone here." She picked another arrow and went to aim for the other target as Arisu muttered in concord. "For me, that's fine, at least he has been a little more polite than when we met him."

"You gotta be joking…" Arisu mumbled.

XxX

"So that was it…" Dionysus muttered as he held a small garden shovel with which he made a small hole in the earth on one of the vases. Sitting near him and working in another vase, Ren confirmed.

The god sighed.

"I thought it had been something of this nature" If either because he had noticed Yui had been close to Hades some moments ago or that he had realized by Balder and Apollon's apology that she had been hit by their tennis' balls or anything of the sort, he didn't say so.

A while ago, he had gone after the girl to apologize himself for the incident and once he was back, he had informed Ren that Yui had told about how she wanted to get closer to Hades and help him somehow. Ren was not surprised by this at all.

Finishing the holes in the long, rectangular vase, she placed the seeds carefully. If buried too deep, the plant could suffocate once it started to bloom, as Dionysus had explained to her.

"And the storm yesterday." He muttered, to which the girl merely nodded without saying anything.

"Why those things happen to Hades?" She wondered, not taking her attention out of the gardening, though she noticed that his firm expression. For a couple of seconds, she thought she wouldn't get any answer.

"Amaya… You do know what he is god of, don't you?" He knew there were some things that several mortals knew, even if they never studied much about it.

"The afterlife, the realm of the dead" She replied quietly, taking a long strand of hair out of her face, leaving a small brown stain in the corner of her forehead. "Tartarus, Asphodels and Elysium." The first was a place for the souls condemned for their sins, the second was a purgatory-like region and the third was the region destined for good people, as a sort of Paradise.

Dionysus confirmed her words, touching his lips with the end of his tongue. Few times there was conversation regarding Hades' realm, even in Olympus even after so many millennia.

"Mortals have always feared death" He told Ren, not looking at her. "Even the other gods don't like to speak of it, it is something even more distant for us, since we are immortals"

Ren felt there was something here, however Dionysus seemed insecure about whether or not he should talk to her of it. And her assumption was right: This was about Hades. Dionysus respected his uncle and wasn't sure if he would like having some details being told to the girl without asking permission first.

"You know how mortals worship us… The cult and festivals in our honor" He carried on, aiming for a safer ground for now. "With Hades… It is different. There was veneration to him during funerals and rituals of calling for the dead, but in general, he was feared enough so people wouldn't consider safe to say his name." He gave a humorless and dry chuckle. "Sometimes, his realm was called by the same name as his and his name was used as a curse…"

He was in silence for a while before looking at the girl. Ren had never seen Dionysus with such expression.

"Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

The girl agreed slowly and silent. The natural fear of death made people fear the one who ruled over the afterlife, where their souls would go. Even aware of the existence of a place such as Elysium, the feeling was still more powerful. As a consequence, Hades not only didn't receive the same festivals as the others, but he was far more feared…

Even loathed.

She remembered when Hades had told her and Yui to stay away and the strength pulsating in his voice. It had been the first time they had felt a shard of his nature. And how frightening it was…

"He rules over the dead. He couldn't do so being different…" And despite it, it was because he didn't want them to get hurt. In the end, Hades cared for people. He had looked severe in the occasion, sure, but after millennia ruling the Underworld, what surprise was in this side of him? You wouldn't have control over such a place in any other way.

The souls of Elysium shouldn't be a problem, for what it seemed, but they were the only ones there.

"Does he… Does he never leave?"

Dionysus shook his head.

"Rarely. He can't. I was even surprised when I learned that he was here. Sometimes he would come to the reunions of Olympus, but just once in a while and he was never considered an Olympian god. Actually…" He slowly stopped talking, as if changing his mind before saying slowly. "Amaya… Hades is a cursed god."

His words pulled Ren's mind violently, for she felt that Dionysus wasn't speaking figuratively. The god had stopped his gardening and his eyes were fixated upon her. The green in them seemed to wave as leaves of a forest and the sunlight seemed to make the color range from light to dark.

"Those that were cruel in life are punished in Tartarus and hate him with all their might. This hate, over time, accumulated and created a curse. And it continues until today… They don't admit they are being punished and, as such, they want to prevent Hades from having any sort of happiness during all his existence."

"Wait, that's not fair…" The words escaped in child-like protest, out of Ren's control. Dionysus chuckled to himself, the sound just having the shape of a laugh being actually full of bitterness.

"They do not think as such. Mortals always find a way to justify their own actions, so they don't admit being judged. Or the consequences." He sighed and shook his head to himself. Ren didn't even bother trying to find words to counterattack for there weren't any.

"Hades is already shunned by the living and those being punished for their own deeds, hate him…"

Dionysus had told her about Yui's conversation of a few moments ago. Ren recalled of the last day, how she had said she didn't like the situation of the Underworld God. Perhaps she would try to do something before they went star gazing?

A mist started to take shape in her mind, something too fragile to be classified as idea or thought.

"Dionysus, there is something Yui was talking to Hades about…"

XxX

The afternoon surged softly, wrapping the world in veils as the sky changed colors slowly and Venus shined as a lonely diamond. Around, the shadows played in the reddish light that turned some leaves into dark gold.

Hades stood from the bank, going to the gates. There was a hill with a small gazebo, it was the ideal place to watch the stars and he always waited a little after the noon, when the starts started to winkle during the way and once he arrived, the sky opened itself in a dark blue that seemed to change sometimes, revealing purpleish areas. Such view was possible due to the nature of the place.

So, the god could enjoy a long time before he had to go back to the Academy, following the curfew time (not that he gave much importance to the fact in itself, but it didn't make much difference to follow the procedures).

"Oi, Hades" A voice he was already used to called him, almost making him sigh without understanding what would lead a person to insist in something that could (and probably would) cause wounds in the end.

Yui Kusanagi, this time, wasn't alone. Apollon, Dionysus, Balder Hringhorni, Tsukito Totuska, Isuzu Hironezumi and Ren Amaya were with her.

After changing the gym clothes and leaving her uniform to dry near the room's window, Yui had met with Apollon and Dionysus, with whom she had talked a little more regarding Hades and last night's events. She was aware of his position as Underworld God and how it had come to be, but even taking everything in account, she still didn't accept he had to suffer because of this.

When they had told her that their uncle liked daifuku and strawberries (something that had been quite a surprise to her. Somehow, those weren't foods she would associate with him right away), then the girl had tried to use them as a way to approach the god and show there was no need for him to remain alone.

Yui admitted she had been a little silly.

She should have imagined there was something more serious involved than it firstly seemed and not something that had an easy solution. If it was as such, then he wouldn't have spent all those years behaving in this fashion.

Hades had showed this to her when explaining about his curse and the dark mark he carried in his chest. The memory brought shivers from the depths of her nerves: A dark stain, marked by purple and black as a bruise in which veins of poison throbbed.

There was no way of mistaking that for a tattoo, something in that had looked and felt alive. Even she, human, almost could feel the strength in that, the physical manifestation of hatred'd pure essence.

There was no salvation or healing for this.

Before such power, of such age, what was she but a mortal whose life was no greater than the shivering of a candle's flame?

Only then Yui had come as close to understand Hades' situation as a human could be.

Yet, when she went back to her room with the remaining daifuku, instead of focusing in the feeling of emptiness and dread, she had rather focused in how she still didn't want to give up, leaving Hades to isolate himself no matter if it was out of worry for others.

"Even if there is nothing anyone can actually do against this, it doesn't mean we can't do anything!"

Afternoon had fallen already by this time and she looked through the window as the sun approached the horizon and the night's mantle started to cover the sky. She had had an idea, but was aware of the little time she had before Hades left to watch the stars. Even if knowing the path to the hill he seemed to prefer, Yui thought it was better if they went all together.

So, she had run through the academy in searching, soon meeting Apollon and Tsukito and then Balder, Isuzu, Dionysus and Ren, calling them to come along.

Hades stared at the group and didn't answer right away, however Dionysus explained that even if he refused, they would just follow him anyway. Seeing there was no real choice in the matter, Hades hadn't said anything.

Like the last night, when they arrived at the hill, night had fallen completely and its dark veil covered the land. Stars gleamed as a pinch of silver and blue drops in a sky where the dark blue seemed to lighten until an almost purple river in some areas, going back to the dark tone. The few clouds were pearly mist.

"It's so beautiful" Isuzu muttered in awe, for she always surprised herself with how many starts and the clarity of the sky here. She and the other girls exchanged looks of comprehension: Even in areas with less pollution than usual, it wasn't easy to see so many stars and, since they lived in cities, they knew how the night sky could look different from what they saw her.

Many times, back home, what Isuzu saw at night was a dark and dead mass with just some stars that seemed weak, lights that would perish soon. Even the sunset was marked by pollution…

The sky in her world was dead. Here, it vibrated with life.

"And to think that, ages ago, the sky back home could be like this too…" Yui reflected, but soon pushed the thought away for now. It wouldn't be of any help if she started to get upset, it wasn't for this she had come here. Balder and Dionysus asked how many starts they thought existed, to which Hades replied with an estimative, to which Yui held a giggle. Of course it had to be just an estimative, since the universe was infinite.

As she offered help to Hades to get his telescope, a cold drop fell in her hand.

Without a word, Hades stood to leave. Yui held his wrist at the same instant.

"Please, wait…" Her whisper was well heard despite the low tone and the others exchanged smiles. They already knew this would happen and, therefore, had taken preventive measurements.

Hades, still in his usual silence, just looked from the caramel-eyed girl to the other gods, but he didn't try to get free from Yui's touch.

"Now it really starts!" Apollon laughed as he took off his jacket, the others following his example to reveal they had their swimming suits underneath, the same they had wore in the beach. The sun god laughed, defying the misfortune and the curse as the rain fell over his flesh, not bothering him at all.

Despite not being touched by the rain, Balder laughed with them, the sound mixing with the water cutting the air and touching the plants and the gazebo nearby. Watching the group, wearing the school one piece herself, Isuzu had to admit that it was amusing to see gods playing like this and she started giggling herself with memories of when she and Arisu were younger.

After all, who hadn't played in the rain at least once?

While the others ran around and enjoyed it, back at the gazebo, sheltered and watching, Yui was with Hades and Ren. While she was unsure if she would be able to transmit perfectly what she wanted to, Yui was set on trying even so.

It wasn't just because she didn't want Hades to stay alone or because this wasn't fair, but also because she, like the others, wanted to be his friend.

Sitting in the floor, back leaning against one of the columns as she watched the rain, Ren gave her a supportive look.

"You know, Hades-san… Your curse, it causes misfortunes." To use his own terms. "I understood this, now. But…" Why things were so easier to feel and so harder to put into words? "I know they can be severe. I know what… What could have happened to me"

At this, she had to swallow for a moment, trying to refuse the memory of the cold water entering her lungs.

"But you were there for me and I was happy for it. Not just because you saved me. And despite all, I was happy that we spent some time together." With a gesture of her head, she indicated the group ahead as Apollon ran after Dionysus, who avoided him easily. The red haired god moved as a wild being, who dwelled in forests and couldn't be bothered by anything related to nature. "Even now, everyone is having fun. My point is that… We don't want to get away from you."

She looked at him with the corner of her eyes, finding no change in his expression. Yui wasn't stupid, she was aware that this curse was not insignificant and not a game, either. But the existence of hardships didn't equal desistence.

"So we have to take some, preventive measures" No other way of saying this. "And take care, but so what? We find that it is worth it. It doesn't matter if…"

"Enough…" Hades muttered, attracting the attention of both girls. It wasn't at all like when he had told them to stay away, thought his voice sounded almost tired, it also had smoothness in it. The god closed his eye and his shoulders seemed to relax. "It… It is enough now."

Yui looked to Ren, but she also wasn't sure of what Hades meant by that.

He sighed.

"Even with all the disgraces that happen around me…" Hades muttered, almost as if to himself as he saw his nephews laughing, some memories of past events going through his mind. Some of the other gods avoided him due to his domain and nature, however Apollon and Dionysus were among the few who seemed set in enjoying the time they could spent together.

"They never ceased caring for me" Even one time when Artemis had been hurt (which wasn't easy to happen to deity) in a time before the reunion, neither she nor Apollon had blamed him. Even with her foot bleeding, she had still said it was nothing.

Some gods had been muttering about this later and he was always aware of the fearful glances that they sent in his direction…

Yet…

"No matter what happens, they are always there for me" A smile slowly appeared in his face, the gesture just revealed that the face of white stone was actually made of flesh. The difference of such a simple gesture was impressive. "If this is not happiness, then I don't know what it is…"

As if on cue, Apollon tried to call his uncle to play with them.

The sky became clear in that instance.

The stars stopped hiding as the clouds dissipated. Under the soft light, the raindrops resting in the grass seemed to gleam. At distance, it looked like some of the stars had fallen among the leaves.

Hades approached Yui as she gazed to the sky, thinking it looked even clearer after the rain and was excited by how, in the end, they would be able to star-gaze for a while.

"Being the ruler of the realm of the dead…" Hades muttered to her as the other gods and Isuzu put on their uniforms, which they had left in the gazebo. Their collars were soon soaked due to their wet hairs (save by Balder). "I spent practically all my life in darkness."

Darkness when he had been swallowed by his father and darkness after he and his brothers had divided their realms among them. Yet, the darkness of the Underworld was nothing compared to the darkness he had endured inside Cronus.

"Yet, over the time, I found happiness in looking at the sky…"

He lifted his face, recalling the Underworld. The souls filled with nothing but hatred, some no longer even knowing anything but it, even their own names. The other souls, in perpetual mourning in Asphodels… And even so, there were the green fields of Elysium. He, as an immortal, could not spend all time there and his palace was between the three parts of his realm, in a dark area, but knowing that the Elysium existed was a comfort in itself.

"Perhaps, if I had been allowed to live in the sky, I wouldn't be able to value it so much"

Isuzu straightened her jacket, then twisting her long hair to get rid of the excess of water as she took a seat near Ren and Balder, noticing how Hades seemed to be talking to Yui. And some moment, he placed his hand on her shoulder.

That was the first time she and Ren recalled seeing Hades having contact with someone by his own initiative.

The rain hadn't last for long and they still managed to gaze upon the stars, with Hades telling a bit about how to use a telescope and about some constellations they managed to see this night. Even without this, seeing that piece of the universe surrounding them after playing, was cause for pleasant feelings and seemed to grant a new quality to stars that no longer looked the same to them.

At some point later, on their way back, Hades approached Ren.

"Amaya" He said in a low tone as he walked at her side. Some steps in front, the group talked among them or some just followed the path in silence, appreciating it. "I believe I understand what you said today. Regarding Kusanagi" He clarified.

Ren tilted her head to the side, waiting for his explanation. Hades gave her a light smile, his eye landing on the girl in front who was talking to Balder and Isuzu, the purple ponytail seeming darker in the night and waving in her back.

"She is like a star" Perhaps what he was about to say was too sentimental, however he couldn't think in a different way and it wasn't in his nature to lie. "Not miding te darkness, she always shines. To everyone. Unselfishly."

Ren nodded with a slow movement.

"Indeed" She turned her face, her dark eyes going over to her friend.

"It is exactly that..."

Chapter Text

At the moment Yui took a seat for lunch, Arisu guessed that there was something weighting in her mind, even if there was nothing in the lines of her face that indicated such thing. Isuzu also tried to hide her tension, however Arisu saw the corner of her mouth turning down sometimes and how her eyes were restless, signals the others wouldn't have picked up.

But that wasn't what had caused all of Arisu's assumption. After the classes that day, Thoth had wanted to speak with one of them and Yui had stepped forward to know what the matter was, alongside with Isuzu. In the moment they had left, Arisu had made a bet with herself.

"Let me guess" She muttered, poking her meal with her fork. "It sucked and there is something wrong"

"Exactly" Yui gave up trying to pretend things were alright and leaned her face on her hand as she poked the rice that she no longer felt like eating.

"And I owe myself a thousand yen."

Yui sighed. She didn't like to act like this, but there were moments in which Thoth seemed able to suck her energies dry and it was a little stressing that some gods still had behavior problems with all that had already happened.

In the case, Totsuka Takeru.

"He still hasn't joined any club" She explained shaking her head. Right that morning, after classes and when Takeru was leaving, Apollon had tried to suggest, as the President of Student Council, that he should at least try it. His words' effect had been a sigh from the rest of the class and Takeru merely groaning that coming to those stupid classes were already enough.

And right after that, Thoth had called their attention to this very fact (Yui and Isuzu had already given up in trying to explain that "Going Home" club was not an actual club) and that they should hurry up and do something about it.

Arisu rolled her eyes, imagining very well how Thoth had said all that.

"Honestly, does he think we're stupid? We're attending this dump, aren't we?" She looked to the other tables. Loki and Thor ate alone, just like Takeru and Tsukito. The others should be already in their clubs or walking through the Academy. "Does he really need to stay on our back like this? Does he think we forgot the oh, so little and cute detail of what happens if at least ONE person here doesn't graduate?"

And, like that, one more problem. If someone asked her, Arisu was already done with that behavior and could see moments when the others felt the same. It got tiring, there was no way of denying it. After finding out about Hades' curse, she had been thinking if the others didn't have similar reasons that had nothing to do with tantrums or stubbornness, but it was hard to believe it so when Loki was always around with his pranks (though even he had agreed with the clubs, just in his own way and avoiding the general idea) and Takeru practically growling like a dog every time someone tried to talk to him, save from some occasions.

"His textual words were…" Isuzu intoned and made a severe face, imitating the deep voice of the Egyptian god. "Do something about that failure"

Arisu looked from her to Yui. Not that she disagreed, but to imagine Thoth referring to a student as such. No, wait, thinking again, that was just like him and she almost wish she had been there to hear it in person.

"Failure? That's how he calls Takeru?"

"Hades is the Gloomy One, Apollon is Idiot, Dionysus is Drunk" Yui told with a shrug as she recalled the chosen terms by the teacher. "Tsukito is imbecile, Balder is Bimbo, Thor and Loki are the Beanpole and the Dunce"

"Wow, he loves his students, it warms my soul" Arisu commented with a sarcasm-born giggle, eating a piece of meat and cheese before saying. "I wonder how he calls us…"

Isuzu, on another hand, had her eyes place somewhere beyond her sister and Yui knew she was observing Takeru. They had noticed there were moments where she knew the sea god didn't seem that irritated all the time, especially when he was out the class and/or with his brother.

"He gets different" The girl reflected, seeing his having lunch with a smile as he talked to his brother. Tsukito had his back to them, but Isuzu would bet that he had his usual expression (or perhaps lack of). It didn't matter in the end, for Takeru always seemed to be a in a better mood around his brother… It made her wonder if he wasn't as grumpy in his own home.

A particular lightness came to her. This was something she could understand, as different as they were, Arisu and she were close than everything and there were moments when only her sister knew how to make her feel better. Sometimes, Arisu didn't have to do anything, just her presence helped.

As if feeling her gaze, the sea god lifted his eyes. The change of expression was too fast and, exactly for this, interesting to witness. Her attention was at once back to her food, yet for a moment brown eyes touched molten gold, the last heated suddenly by annoyance of such intensity that made Isuzu feel bothered.

"So" She carried on. "We have another issue in our hands. And don't you come with the electrified collars stuff" She added to her sister, who had opened her mouth. The reply was an innocent look that wouldn't fool a baby.

"Well, I thought about creating a new club, that's all" By her expression, it was obvious it would have been something as "idiot's club" or something of the kind. "I'm kinda getting tired of this. Why should we always try solving their personal issues? We're not miracle-workers and we can't help someone to overcome anything if they don't want to." Despite her words, she was not complaining but rather genuine curious about this. It was too weird to cast humans to try helping gods, even after all this time.

"Don't ask me. All we can do is try. I even suggested him to join the swimming club" Yui said, making Arisu turn to her at once.

"Wow, you really love me, don't you?" She asked with a playful irony. Back when she had picked her club, she hadn't even thought or bothered with the possibility that Takeru may join as well, she had just wanted to go with an activity she enjoyed. Yui carried on, ignoring the interruption.

"It was the same day we created the clubs. It was obvious choice. All Takeru said was that he didn't want to do anything if it was to just be in a club" The disappointment in the occasion had been inevitable, once she had been so sure that was the club that would pick up his interest.

Takeru also didn't seem to actually interact with the other gods. He didn't talk to them, merely exchanged words. With her, Isuzu and the others then, it was even more complicated.

So, the swimming club idea had been an obvious idea, sure, but it was an opportunity nevertheless. In a corner of her mind, Yui couldn't suffocate the questioning if the reason behind Takeru's refusal wasn't really just out of… Well, being childish.

She didn't want to think as such, but even her own arguments that she didn't know him and had no right to judge him or anyone else, the thought persisted against her will.

Despite her own comments, Arisu didn't understand the god either. That ferocious shine that seemed to never fully leave his tiger-like eyes had became more intense back when they had competed, the girl remembered that. When he won, that fury had burned inside her and Arisu knew this wouldn't ever be forgotten, being one of the first glimpses she had had of their divine nature.

It had been scary, but she also remembered that he had looked quite happy.

Yui had told them how Zeus, upon sealing their divine powers, had said that the Academy would be destroyed eventually if they kept using their abilities without a care and the girl had decided that, in this point, she agreed with him.

"It doesn't matter. Even if we try to create a club to get his attention, he doesn't want to join anything for the sake of being in one." Even the "Going Home Club" hadn't picked up his interest because of this and it was a club without any activity whatsoever.

"I've been thinking about talking to Tsukito about it" Isuzu suggested. "Maybe he knows what his brother enjoys and may help us…"

"And he seems to have more sense" Arisu muttered with a sigh, controlling herself to not look back to the sea god as her own mind started trying to have ideas of what they could do, how to reach to Takeru.

XxX

As Misaki had previously thought, the library seemed endless. The only rule to picking books was to give them back in the right date, which she honestly didn't understand much… In last analysis, the only actual students here were her, the girls and the gods. It wasn't as if they would be stealing the books or things like that.

"Probably because it is a general rule of libraries" She thought to herself. "Since this whole Academy seems to follow human school's rules by a "T"… And also because Thoth is clearly meticulous."

Not that she would be pointing such facts to the Egyptian and give him the chance of giving a lecture on the subject or spent his time explaining something that, in the end of the day, didn't matter at all.

Upon entering, she had found the god sitting in the table on the center reading a large book and asked about the organization and how to find the books she wanted. Thoth had merely pointed directions, but seeing the confusion on the girl's eyes, Thoth had sighed and opted to write it down.

"Yeah, it would be funny if I ended up lost" The girl thought with a giggle she couldn't contain as she looked to the labels on the shelves and back to the note on her hand, marked by a firm calligraphy though the god had written everything with an agility that had left her wondering if she would have to try deciphering his letters. It was quite the contrary in the end. "Lost in a library. It would be ridiculous, if it wasn't for the chance, I mean, would you look at the size of this place?"

Now, among the shelves and shelves, she spied by the books. There was no doubt Thoth himself must have organized them, not only by category, but also by language and title.

"Meticulous indeed! I can't remember ever seeing someone like this. But at least makes easier to find what I want." She reflected as she ran her finger by some books. Despite being old, they looked very well-kept. There was nothing surprising in this, considering that Thoth was, well, Thoth.

"I wouldn't have patience to organize things that well…" She would probably separate them by title and language at most. And it would take her ages to get everything done, for starters.

Finally, her finger stopped in a copper-colored book, whose cover showed two snakes, a white and a darker each biting the other's tail and forming an oval-shape. Inside it, cursive letters announced "The Neverending Story". Truth to be told, she had been surprised when Ren had told her about the fiction section of the library when she had arrived in their room with the "Dance of Dragons" book from the "A Song of Ice and Fire" saga, resulting in the girls starting a long conversation about the story, characters and telling about it to Melissa.

Holding the book in her arms along with the other she had previously chosen, Misaki wondered if Thoth read fiction books and, if the answer was positive, if he had done it out of liking the story or if just out of being the god of Knowledge. It was a too wide category, it implied too much…

Running her green eyes around the maze of books, the girl for a moment wondered if there were mangas here and almost laughed at the idea of the Egyptian god reading those.

Doubtful.

Going back to the circular space in the center of the library, empty save from the table where Thoth still was, she saw he kept reading his book. The idea of interrupting him, considering his temperament didn't please her much, but Misaki wasn't going to stay there waiting for him to pay attention to her.

"Plus, what is going to do? Bite me?" If he didn't like this, then he should let his students to fill a form by themselves and take the books they wanted.

She placed her books on the corner of his table.

"Excuse me, Thoth-sama" She muttered politely as Thoth raised his eyes from his pages, staring at her for a moment before seeing the books she wanted.

"Hm… "Neverending Story" and "The Portrait of Dorian Grey"…" He said without a trait of emotion in his voice, though inside he was somewhat curious to see her choosing such opposite stories. Without saying anything else, he grabbed a small black notebook and started to write down. Misaki kept any comment that came back to her mind regarding the library's organization and lending of books, just hoping Thoth wouldn't sat a thing about her choice of reading.

Anyone who called Michael Ende's book a "silly story for children" then had never actually read it. Hideki had made a comment of this nature once and all Misaki had done had been to challenge him into reading it. After she lent him the exemplar she had, Hideki had given it back in a week during a Saturday before they went to the movies, muttering that it was a "good" book in the end…

The result? They had spent their entire lunch discussing the characters they liked, their choices and the plot. It was way deeper than some of the stuff being published lately if anyone asked either of them.

"Wonder what Hideki would say if he saw me now…"

There was a tug on her heart as she missed her friend.

"Shouldn't you be in the Student Council now?" Thoth asked, bringing her back to the present as he gave her books, his iron-blue eyes placed on her in a way that seemed to stop every movement from the girl. Misaki hated when he did this.

"We don't have reunion today" And even if they did, she didn't know what they would be discussing. Tsukito seemed to be organizing a kind of Moon-gazing event, however he had refused every sort of help by saying it was his duty. "So I have some free time…"

And even if she was in a club, she would be alone in it, meaning she could make her schedule as she pleased.

Yet, Misaki knew better than to express this opinion.

Thoth's stare was still of melted iron that burned her skin and he crossed his arms on his chest.

"Didn't Kusanagi and Hironezumi warn you regarding Totsuka Takeru?"

Misaki frowned, not fully understanding.

"What did he do now?"

Thoth's eyes ran her down and up and the girl at once knew the question hadn't been what he would have liked to hear. The god leaned forward, hands fixated over the table with such a hard touch that his fingers made her think about claws.

His voice was an angry hiss.

"He hasn't joined any club" To Misaki, it could have had some amusement in seeing a teacher so annoyed with something that wouldn't be usually an issue or caused such a reaction. The context they were in, however, took off any sort of amusement this could have had.

"Just shows the mess our lives became, no, really, a god not wanting to join a school club may end up forcing us to stay here for eternity." And the thought gave birth to a cold shiver in her.

"All gods must follow a school life as close to it as possible" Thoth carried on between teeth. "And this entitles taking part in human activities. Totsuka Takeru is not following this norm and there hasn't been almost no progress in his graduation's chances"

The girl wasn't surprised.

"Oh, yeah, that…" She held her books to her chest, biting in the right corner of her lips. "We will try thinking about something." It was all she had to say without provoking the god (and also the only thing she could say). Thoth could try relaxing a little, but she wasn't insane to say so.

"Are you truly thinking about it? Or are you being completely irresponsible?"

Something in his words' tone made Misaki feel her body shaking and realized that her spine was sending waves that made her bones shiver inside her flesh. A seed of bitterness exploded in her, so she bit her tongue in an attempt to avoid the taste to go up her mouth.

Thoth had no way of knowing what went through her mind or the other girls'. Misaki knew he wasn't saying this because she was here picking books instead of being in the Student Council, but this didn't matter and didn't change the fact that he was getting on her nerves,

"Me and the others, we're giving our best" The answer was intertwined with a coldness that wasn't usual in the girl. Thoth continued to study her without showing any reaction for now. "We can't solve everything at once, but we are getting some progress, otherwise, some of those gods would still be skipping classes." And some seemed to have started enjoying some of this life, or at least getting used to it.

There was no way of hoping they would change in such a short time, but there were small details that she had noticed and hoped to be positive signals. Apparently, Thoth didn't share this point of view.

"I do hope you're having progress in this case as well, then" For an instant, Misaki thought he would go back to his reading and ignore her, putting an end to the "conversation"

Wrong.

The god kept his hawk eyes on her, not blinking.

Still bothered by this, the girl found herself continuing in the same tone.

"Right, right" The words tore through her throat without giving her a chance to control. "It isn't as if you've given us any suggestion, you just want to see the results"

Thoth lifted a brow.

A wave of cold that wasn't related to her previous feelings invaded the girl's body when she realized what she had said.

"And excuse me" She said in the same polite, but ice tone and turned her back to him, with fast steps, decided to ignore Thoth should he call her, but she reached the door the moment he did.

The Egyptian god of knowledge watched the blonde leaving, her attempt to hide her nervousness nothing but a failure. Thoth did call on her, but she was already at the door and left. He meant to recall her how such problems weren't what he was here for and how that task was theirs and theirs alone, not to mention she had no right to speak to him in such way.

However, he decided to let it go and go back to his reading. As long as Aihara didn't overstep her boundaries and she and the others did something regarding Totsuka, he didn't care at all, he had more things to do.

There was annoyance, as he wondered if the girl had any notion that time was passing by and the gods' graduation was far more complicated than it seemed as it involved their connection to humanity. Just taking part in extra class activities didn't guarantee they would understand humans just with this, it was a push into the mindset of a human (helped by the lack of powers) being one of the reasons why Zeus had chosen an academic life.

And if just a life that mirrored of a human was well enough, Zeus wouldn't have invoked humans.

Any thought regarding the case was expulsed from his mind when he started reading again. Including that coldness that he had never heard from Aihara before.

Once outside the library, Misaki took a deep breath. As much as talking in such way hadn't been in any sensate (let alone to whom), the tense of her soul had weakened a little after putting that out of her chest (in part). And she hadn't said any lie, right? Thoth called the girls to emphasize a problem and tell them to fix whatever wrong was this time without offering any advice. And being a god, he should be able to explain to them how the other gods thought and felt.

How could they help them understand humans if they didn't understand gods just as well?

Despite his position as a teacher and what one could have expected, Misaki didn't really thought he had the duty of offer support and she knew that helping the gods when it came down to situations like this was what she and the others were supposed to do. But this didn't mean he needed to act like this!

"What he hates, being here or us?" The idea bloomed in her mind and created roots. It made some sense… He was the knowledge god, wasn't he? In his vision, perhaps they should just be ignorant little creatures of limited mind.

"Alright, we are. No problem admitting this, we're just humans and that's it. People think they are amazing, but humanity is not the greatest thing ever." She wondered as she walked through the hallway. "But does he need to be so arrogant and high-and-mighty?"

"Hey, Misa-Misa!" A voice by the end of the hallway called. There was no reason to turn around, there was just one person in the entire Academy called her as such and, as it happened, anything she was feeling in the moment was dominated and erased by another sensation that had nothing to do with the previous. Misaki tried to ignore how that name was a worm that crawled in her ear.

Along with this, she also couldn't avoid wondering if Apollon and the gods were really their friends. They were gods, they had lived too much and would still live on… Comparing the two of them, the girls were less than cockroaches and Misaki knew this and accepted so.

Maybe they were like interesting little animals to them? Pets?

Maybe less than this.

"Hi there, Apollon" She stopped, hiding her sensations and turned, waiting for the god to reach her and saw he was wearing the black gym clothing. "Going to the club? How it has been?"

The blonde nodded.

"Yup! It's really fun!" He walked at her side with a smile. "I'm really enjoying myself."

"Really?" The girl remembered that he was the only one in his club. Didn't it bother him at all?. "Don't you get lonely when you're playing?"

She was sure she had seen something in his eyes, even if the god shook his head and dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand.

"Bal Bal's court is right at the side and Suzu Suzu also trains nearby" Which, the girl reflected, wasn't the same thing and even thought in suggest that they would play together sometime or anything of this sort but she interrupted herself before the thought became words. She didn't like tennis, she wasn't interested in the game, but…

"It's that okay if I stay in the court today?" She asked, not having anything to do and, after that talk with Thoth, also not wanting to be alone. In the back of her mind, a voice carrying depreciative censure sounded, shaking chains inside her.

Misaki ignored.

"You know, just stick around" She didn't need to play, and she would have liked to spent time with him anyway. Whatever she had seen in Apollon's face was gone now as if an illusion and the god laughed.

"Why would ask permission for this? What kind of question is that?" The question was genuine and Apollon tilted his head to the side. "You joined the Student Council, didn't you? Didn't you think about joining any other club, Misa-Misa?"

"It's just that I…" The last word dried in her mouth. Ghosts of a voice that she didn't hear in quite a long time (and wished she wouldn't ever hear again) agitated in the lake of memories.

"You will do this…"

The air escaped her. Her throat wasn't closing and her lungs worked normally, it was the oxygen that disappeared and whatever was entering her breathing system was made of shards of glass.

"I've decided. And this is for your own good" That voice, that voice was still inside her. Misaki wanted to reply, to pretend she was fine and tell Apollon that just there wasn't any club that truly interested her. The words were weak, too weak to exist.

"Misa-Mi…?"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" The scream was in her mind, but it worked to force her body to obey the mind's command. Her stomach was turned inside out and she felt like vomiting, even if just to expulse that from her insides.

Apollon made a gesture as if to touch her shoulder.

Misaki averted him in a quick movement.

"Apollon…" She said suddenly, interrupting the god with an unreadable tone. "Please… Could you not call me this?"

The sun god looked confused.

"It's nothing, it's just… I don't like it much… Just a silliness of mine." She hoped with all her heart that he wouldn't ask the reasons. How to explain that this name invoked names that she didn't want and how to explain what they meant to her? It would in the end be nothing more than an amount of useless sounds that would make a scenario of emptiness.

This she knew by her own experience and lack of having words enough and the girl didn't want him looking at her in the same way some people had.

"Damn it, stop, enough, it's over!"

"Oh…" Apollon scratched the back of his head, looking awkward at her words. "I didn't know. I'm sorry" He added.

"That's fine, I mean, I know it's nothing but…" And he had no way of knowing it of course, but if she was called "Misa" once more, she was going to scream. Apollon seemed to be thinking and then wondered in soft voice.

"It's fine if I call you Saki, then?"

Misaki would never understand why Apollon liked to call others by nicknames and frankly, she didn't care. Her heart was starting to calm down a little and she knew that, after some minutes, the coldness would leave her bones as well.

Eventually.

"Yeah, then it's fine…" No one had ever called her "Saki" before, actually and a little smile slithered to her face, a fragile gesture and she nodded. "Yeah, Saki is fine."

"Saki-Saki then!" He agreed with satisfaction and relieved that she had liked it. For a moment, Misaki had worried him, shaking as a leaf trying to hold to a branch before being dragged always by a cutting wind to another place and her eyes had become dulled. He didn't know at all what would cause such a reaction, but it was obvious that the name "Misa" was more than involved.

He wouldn't ask for details, no when it was so clear that the subject was complicated to her so he just touched her shoulder, caressing it and part of her back in which he hoped it was a sort of comfort.

Her smile became firmer and that dull mist that turned her eyes into doll eyes seemed to diminish a little.

XxX

Deciding to tale a time before swimming to reflect about Takeru's case, Arisu walked through the Academy, in one of the paths to the Garden that was a hallway with great arc-shaped windows, large enough to someone to sit there.

Even if she tried, her brain was unable to produce any idea of any kind. Even if they created a club, the thing was the sea god would just refuse no matter what.

And what she didn't understand was the reason! He was already attending the classes and the clubs were an opportunity to have some fun, doing something they enjoyed, so why was he doing this?

"To someone who was complaining that the classes were a bore, he isn't taking the chance" She reflected, going down the stairs of white stone and walking through the gardens, the leaves in the trees making veils of shadows over her head.

Passing by the stairs leading to the courts, Ren and Dionysus were working in a bed flower they had picked, near the area where they left the vases. Arisu recalled that Dionysus also didn't show interest in the classes (his habit of taking naps during them also didn't seem to be changing any time soon and she couldn't blame him. If it wasn't for the strength in Thoth's voice, she would end up doing the same), but he looked definitely cheerful there as he talked to Ren. Hell, Arisu had heard him saying that the clubs were better than the classes!

And Loki and Thor, instead of refusing to take part, had merely found a way of going around the situation.

"And what to conclude from all this? Simple, the failure, to use Thoth's term ladies and gentlemen, don't want to have any contact with the rest of the class. And he doesn't want to do anything that involves school matters, even if he's alone." Analyzing the problem sometimes helped to find the answer, but there didn't seem to have a way out unless treating this in a direct manner, meaning talking to Takeru.

"Oh, yeah, sure, because this will work so much" Arisu told herself with sarcasm as she sighed. Yet, there was no other way. Running her eyes around, she noticed a figure of bluish hair under a tree, back to her. At first, she though Takeru was merely asleep but soon saw that he had a notebook leaning in his legs and was writing something.

The slight exasperation she had been feeling, along with her focus was broken and swept away by a natural curiosity.

That was weird.

The girl had seen writing before during classes, but how he rarely looked at Thoth and sometimes started doing that even before the teacher started saying anything started to make it seem that whatever it was, it hadn't a thing to do with studies.

An annoyance sigh was heard.

"Do ya want to say something or are you going to stay there spying on me?"

Despite all, the accusation made a warmth go up the girl's face nerves.

How did you know I was here?" The question escaped, passing by any other sort of comment that could have appeared in her mind. Takeru closed his notebook, clearly irritated and turned his face to her scowling.

"Do you think those dog collars Zeus forced on us limit us to the point I wouldn't be able to tell when there is someone behind me?" He scoffed as if the mere idea was pathetic. "Don't underestimate so much, girl"

"And I wasn't spying on you!" She retorted, crossing her arms. Well, since she was here, she should at least try making some decent talk. Taking a deep breath and telling herself to be calm and not let his hostility to have effect, Arisu took a step forward. Golden eyes full of ferocity followed her movements.

"So now there is another name to staying hidden watching someone and hoping they won't notice your presence and trying to see what they are doing?"

"Believe whatever you will" She replied, shrugging. "But I wasn't spying and I was just wondering what you were doing."

Takeru evaluated her and decided to not dignify her with an answer. Arisu just decided to go on and placed her hands in the pant pockets.

"Well, so?"

"So what?"

"Well, so, what are you doing?"

"How is that of your interest, girl?"

"Hey, easy there, just trying to talk, boy." She lifted her hands as if to show she was unarmed. "You don't have to tell me or anything."

An amused expression appeared in Takeru's face when he gave her a stiff smile and crossed his arms, the notebook still in his bend legs.

"Why don't just do whatever you came to do?" Before Arisu could even ask what he was talking about, the god continued and not giving her a chance. "You want to talk about those clubs, right?"

"Damn it" She couldn't deny that, in the end, that was the objective. The idea of lying passed by her mind and she soon understood that there wouldn't be any good in this. Takeru would just get even more irritated.

"Well… I thought about it. Why you don't want to join any?" Trying to take the conversation towards a safer territory was her only option and there was no way of dealing this as a mere "problem". What she had to do was try comprehending his reasons.

"Isn't going to class already enough?" He repeated the question he had made when Apollon had suggested the same thing. Arisu just sighed.

"If it was, we wouldn't be asking, duh!"

Takeru however wasn't done and studied her up and down slowly. His eyes were gold ice and his grin was as if he could see through her and lie that was going on in her mind. Under this intensity, Arisu could only be quiet as he continued in a tone that was that of a whip.

"Be honest, if it wasn't because we all need to graduate, was there any chance that you would be here now? You're just worried about yourself!"

"It isn't like this…" It wasn't, right? Suppose that it wasn't necessary that all of the gods graduated and that just the ones who failed would remain in the Academy… Would she be worried about Takeru? Or any of the others?

Takeru was clearly amused.

"Oh, no? Because I'm remembering of you clearly saying that you wouldn't be spending time here if you had any choice"

"That again?" The girl couldn't believe that he was recalling something that had happened weeks ago. Besides, Arisu doubted that Takeru had been hurt! Well… Offended, she could believe, but…

"Words and acts never can be undone, Arisu. You have no way of knowing how they affect others" She heard her father's voice floating from a river of memories. How old was she when he said that? Six? It had been during a fight she had had with Isuzu? No, no, it had been with the son of a neighbor…

"You know I just said that because I was angry" Her voice lowered and became a muttering. "And I didn't mean to offend you or any of the others and I'm sorry if…"

"Spare me" The god dismissed with a wave of his head as he would to send a fly away. "I couldn't care less for your apologizes or what you said or didn't say"

"Then why did you mention this at all?" If it wasn't for the things being said right now, Arisu would have been annoyed. But now after the things he had said, Arisu was lost, her emotional system unable to even remember how to be indignant.

"The point is that the truth is this: What you want" He gazed over her once more, with eyes of someone who is seeing another version of something whose essence, he had already seen more than a thousand times. "This is the only reason why you want to make sure I graduate"

"You do remember you'll also be stuck here forever, don't you?"

In reply, Takeru shrugged to show he considered him his business. But it wasn't… All could end up here paying for this and Arisu doubted Takeru truly wanted this, despite his uncaring behavior.

"Have you stopped to think that you're being selfish?"

The god replied at once.

"And have you stopped to think your being as well? And that this hypocrisy of yours is really enervating?"

Arisu felt as if she had been punched.

Hypocrite?

The god noticed her expression and carried on with a cold smile that was more of a wolfish grin.

"You're not actually caring for anyone here besides yourself. And your sister" He added, as if recalling they were related. "So, don't you come to me pretending wanting be friends with whoever it is, rat. That's for you and those other humans just as well"

"My name is Arisu" It was the only quietly answer she could make, barely realizing she was talking at all. Even if she felt offended, the feeling was weak when compared to another. Takeru chuckled.

"And your surname is Hironezumi. Besides, I told you that day, didn't I? You looked like a drowning rat."

"Wow, haha, Takeru, I've never heard this in all my life. Points for the originality, impressive." The sarcasm dripped from her words. She couldn't think about anything else to say, suddenly weak. It was the deal in the beach all over again, differing just in the reactions… Again, she had tried to do something and again felt as if she had failed.

"Not everyone is like this, as you think. Not everyone is selfish and hypocrite" The god gave no signals of having heard her, standing with his notebook under his arm and walking away.

Arisu watched his back unsure of what to say or feel before she sighed and decided to go back to the building. Was it true what Takeru had just said? Was she being false? If it was enough to have at least one god graduating to send them back home, would she be putting effort for Loki, Takeru or any of the others or would she be focusing herself in someone who clearly had higher chances, such as Balder or Apollon?

"It is not like this, right? I mean… Maybe at first, when I didn't know them, but it's different now, isn't it?" She did like some of them and this was a genuine feeling, wasn't it? Apollon was fun and always seemed to have a way to cheer the others. Balder was kind and he cared for the others, she felt she could talk to them. Even Tsukito, who used to be quiet and just following the group, wasn't an unpleasant guy with his calmness (though no one could ever guess what he thought of them)…

Hades, by his own nature, was somewhat frightening as the feeling of death never lefty him, but he seemed to be less scary lately even when he reminded them to not get too close… Dionysus was also a nice guy and…

But… Did she like them for real? As friends? Or she was merely peacefully living together, for lack of choice?

Was Takeru right? She was being false? Actually thinking about herself, as he had said?

Of course she wanted to go back home.

There were moments, especially when the vulture of the consequences haunted her mind, that it pulled a long line wrapping images of home and her family. Not wanting to seem like a whining little girl, Arisu wouldn't say anything about it, but those were the times when all the beauty of the place faded and in place of colored glass, the girl saw bars in the windows and the building was a cage that cut her away from all she had wanted to do and people she wanted to see…

Her fingers brushed the strange pendent and she pulled the string until she could see it. The dark handle and the silver-like blade… How had Zeus called that again? She couldn't remember.

Upon returning to the Academy, Arisu noticed a figure of fire hair. With Takeru's words inside her creating roots that grabbed her organs, she wasn't at all inclined to deal with Loki and his tricks.

Hiding behind a tree, Arisu watched him pass by the hallway before she entered through one of the stone arcs behind him and went the opposite direction of the Nordic god.

In a way or another, they had to convince Takeru, but her mind was still too much in what has just happened. Arisu would have liked to see that nothing of this was true, but…

She was sure that she truly liked them (some at least) and that this affection, even if starting with something fragile and that still had weak traits, it wasn't illusion. Okay, so then they had started forming a relationship out of need, but this didn't imply that…

A face appeared in front of her.

Arisu backed away with an exclamation of surprise.

Silver eyes studied her.

It was Loki.

"How did he…? Wait, what…? Oh, great!" She reflected and decided it wasn't worth trying to understand now. The god played with his hair, as if was his habit, as he looked at her with his smirk.

"And what would be doing, wandering so distracted?"

Arisu shrugged, watching for any movement of the prankster god. Loki leaned to her, in a way that made him seem a cat inspecting something that had caught his attention for a while. Arisu backed her head away, the god still standing in front of him.

"Excuse me?" She asked, trying to pass by him. Loki just tilted his head.

"By the way you waited for me to pass by and then came straight turning the hallway, I could even think that you're avoiding me" He commented as one who wonders about the chance of rain for later. Arisu blinked, not having a single idea of how he had noticed this.

"Maybe I want a bit of peace. And why would you care?" The question made her sound too much like Takeru and left a bitter taste in her mouth. Loki either didn't notice or pretended to not mind, impossible to be sure.

"And how would I interfere in your peace?"

"In the same way you're doing now" She muttered, unable to stop herself. It was as if it was part of his very nature to bother her without any reason than due personal taste. A part of her tired mind evaluated how it was like the kid who could end up either as the class' clown or the bully. Arisu ignored.

Sincerely, she thought Loki was the first option. As annoying as he was, she couldn't picture him as someone who would bully others.

"What?" The god held his chest with a false air of shock, blinking as if he had been hurt. Perhaps it would have been funny in other occasion, but he soon went back to the mocking grin of always. "Oh, you almost hurt me. I would like to know what makes you think like this"

"You started it" The girl replied, not caring and just wanting him to leave her alone. Even if she tried to ignore him now, she didn't think it would have any effect.

"Me?" Loki asked in surprise and shook his head. "Not at all, I was just walking and minding my life when you started talking to me"

Arisu's jaw dropped as she couldn't believe what she had just heard and couldn't understand. Why did he act like this? What he hoped to achieve?

"I didn't do that!" The reply was full of exasperation. Arisu definitely wasn't in the mental state to deal with such things.

"Of course you did, otherwise, why would we be here talking?"

"No, I didn't, so much that I…" She interrupted herself before saying that she had avoided crossing paths with him on purpose and opted for another tactic. "Okay, let's say that I had started talking to you, which I didn't, why would you listen to me at all?"

"Because I have a huge, charitable heart?" The god leaned to her in a half bow, hand on his chest and an amiable expression. As always, the changes in his features were as quick as a lightening falling from clear skies. And yet, underneath, there was something dangerous due to his narrowing eyes.

Arisu controlled herself to not say she was surprised he had the capacity to learn such a long word or how "charitable" was a term that wouldn't ever be associated to him. Those answers, the girl knew, would only work as an incentive for the Nordic and Arisu was too tired to deal with him.

She just wanted to be lefty alone for a while so she could figure out her own emotions, she wasn't asking for much.

"Look, Loki… Could you please let me be?" She sighed with a more calm tone. "I mean, go bother someone else, I just…"

"Like who, Amaya?" He pointed with his chin towards the gardens and shook his head to the idea. "Naaah, she isn't fun at all"

Arisu was about to answer, but closed her mouth, seeing what he meant by that: Ren didn't use to react. When Loki did something in class or near her, the girl didn't show anything to it (the most she would do would sigh or at least have a smile if the prank ended being funny) and chances were, by what Arisu could bet, that if Loki tried to do something more direct to her, Ren would act the same way or ignore him.

Now she wished she had this control.

And Dionysus, who was with the black haired girl now, was so easy-going that he probably wouldn't have a long-time reaction either. Depending of what Loki did, they could get a fright, but that would be it.

The Nordic raised his hands at the head's height and shrugged.

"But it appears you're not fun today, either"

The phrase joined Arisu's thoughts, forming a notion which she didn't like at all. So that was it? She was a source of amusement to when he got bored here?

"Like Takeru is a "problem" to be solved when he acts like that?" A voice hissed in her mind, the poison spread by her blood, bathing her inside until there was nothing left.

"Look, know what?" She asked in a barbed mutter. "I don't know if you have this notion, Loki, but not me or Ren are here to be your little toy. So excuse me if I have more to do than give a damn if you consider me fun or not. So leave me alone!"

The god blinked as he played with his hair, shaking his head as his eyes never left her. The smirk remained, not reaching his eyes.

"Oh dear, how feisty are we today" But he didn't do anything to stop her when Arisu passed by him, something the girl was grateful for.

She needed to be in peace for a while.

Loki still studied her as the girl walked away and, as always, there was nothing in is features that revealed the true nature of his thoughts or feelings.

XxX

After dinner, there was still a time before curfew time (something everyone doubted that the gods were obeying by letter) and Ren took the chance to spend a time near the gardens, seated in a windowsill of the stone arcs in one of the hallways.

She had nothing in mind, just an attempt to relax before going to bed.

With the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of Hades afar, walking probably to the gates for his star-gazing time. It was curious since he used to leave by sunset…

He saw her sitting there and Ren waved in silence. After a moment, Hades waves back as well before going his way.

The girl turned her attention to the trees ahead, the moonlight dripping between leaves and covering in white-silver. Shadows were soft dark tones of green and blue, becoming black far away. And as always, the sky was a fan with veins pulsating along the stars.

The silence wrapped her body along with the aroma brushing her skin as a mother cradling a child.

For a while, Ren just remained there, still and quiet, letting her mind wander, thoughts following a suave line and, many times, existing only in her subconscious since the girl wasn't even paying attention.

A movement in the shadows in the end of the hallway brought her attention back from where it had nestled. Between the arc-shaped windows, the moonlight fell in the floor in intervals of shadows and light. Usually, Ren wouldn't think the crescent moon had enough light, but as so many other things, it was different here: The sky always seemed well illuminated no mattering the moon phases.

A small thing approached, a white glimpse.

A bunny.

Slight leaning back and still having her balance, Ren watched the animal. Yui had mentioned it, it should be Usamaro, Tsukito's familiar. The white fur reflected the light and he had a sort of white and red string tied to his neck.

The creature approached quickly, near the wall. His long ears shivered sometimes as if he heard things that a human could not. His eyes were little golden drops that inspected around.

When he passed by her, Ren turned her head and saw Tsukito some steps away.

The god kneeled and the bunny jumped to his arms. Once Tsukito stood, he walked over to where Ren was. As always, to look at he was like looking at the moonlight itelf: There was no sign of emotions.

"Good Evening, Amaya Ren" He greeted formally. For what she had noticed, he tended to call all of them by first and last name.

"Evening, Tsukito" She nodded in response. In his arms, the bunny was still, sometimes brushing his little head against his owner's chest, who caressed him. It was the first time the girl saw Tsukito expressing some… Well, affection. "What are you doing?"

"Planning" It was the answer. Ren tilted her head, hoping he would give more explanation than just this. "The moon-gazing event" He clarified.

"Isn't it too early?" Ren remembered that they had agreed in an event of this nature, but there were weeks until there. Still caressing Usamaro, Tsukito shook his head.

"I must plan all details, therefore, it is best if I start early to make sure my duty shall be fulfilled with success"

Ren found she had no response to this. She understood his notions of responsibilities being high, but there were limits and this sounded like a bit of overdoing…

"But Tsukito takes things seriously, anyway…" It was more than a month that they were here and, not for the first time, her mind was assaulted by a wonder of how the gods saw all this. Some were easy to guess as others, like Moon deity standing near her, ere impossible.

"I hope things will work out" She commented quietly, to which Tsukito nodded and both let silence wrap around them once more, Tsukito turning his eyes to the moon as Ren watched the fields.

It wasn't an unpleasant silence that was born between them, but just that none had anything to say.

Some moments passed by before Ren asked.

"Do you know why your brother doesn't want to be in a club?"

Tsukito didn't even take his eyes off the sky while telling.

"Totsuka Takeru does not appreciate getting involved with others. Even in the case of him being the only member of the club of his choice, he doesn't like to be forced into activities unless if there is a true need for such" He knew his brother didn't see the reason to join a club, despite being part of their duty here as you could practice any activity you wanted when you wanted.

And he didn't see how this was supposed to help him understand humans.

Not that the Sea god didn't think he understood what he needed about humans, a view Tsukito shared.

And now that they need to spend a year not only studying humans, living with five of them but also live as humans…

"Do you… Know of something that could help him?"

"Kusanagi Yui made the same question" And he told her the same he had told the caramel-eyed girl when she had come to him after lunch: Never having been in a similar situation before, no, he didn't. It wasn't part of his brother's nature to back down or give in unless there were better incentives or that he changed his mind on his own.

Kusanagi had looked disappointed, but thanked him and didn't insist anymore.

In Tsukito's case (not that he had told her this, after all it had nothing to do with the actual subject), he had joined the Student Council for necessity. Once he had to live as a human student, he had judged more sensate to be involved in an activity that could actually help him to have a better understanding of human schools. It had been a choice made out of logic, he would cooperate and try to do his duty (as imposed as it was) in the better way possible and that would be it.

Ren nodded in thanks for his reply and her dark eyes left the fields to go to the stars.

"He hates it here, doesn't he?" Her words sounded more like she was pointing a fact that actually making a question.

"The situation is quite unpleasant for him" Tsukito commented, though this was an understatement valid to his brother and himself in reality.

"Him and all others" Not only they were here by force and without a chance for protest, they were being caged into human existence and there was no way this wasn't unpleasant for immortals. Let alone the basic fact that no being likes to be forced into anything, the girl reflected.

Yet, she did wonder how each of them actually felt. Arisu had asked her, in the day of Sports Event, if she believed the gods despised them or saw them as "mere mortals, involved in something far bigger than them"

Back then, Ren had said what she thought: It was too early to have an opinion. Even now, she tried to think the same, a month wasn't that much, even under such insane circumstances…

Ren and Tsukito still stayed in silence for quite a time until the girl decided to head for the girls dorm.

XxX

"And you fought him? Are you insane in the head?" Misaki asked among giggles that were a mix of shock, surprise and admiration, the only reaction that seemed possible after what she had just heard. That Yui had accepted the challenge of a god to sword fight… Not that she didn't believe the other, but even with their shackles, they were still above normal humans!

"He won" The girl replied with a smile, as the fact didn't bother her at all. When Takeru had challenged her, saying that if she won he would join a club and otherwise she had to leave him alone, she had just hoped to show that humans weren't all weak and that her words weren't empty. And also because it hadn't been like she could back down, as it would have confirmed his ideas! "But in any case, we're running together tomorrow"

The new provoked even more of the girls and Melissa's attention, the doll chewing one of the cookies Misaki had been eaten as she read and they asked in confusion.

"What does running has to do with sword practice?"

"Well, it helps resistance. It's healthy" Yui added. When Takeru had pointed out he ran by mornings, she had heard the between-the-lines invitation and couldn't have helped a smile. For the little she had caught of Takeru, it was even strangely appropriated that he would say it like this, than in a more direct way.

The others were having a similar reaction to which she had pictured. None of them had expected Takeru to accept something of this nature and yet he had been the one to suggest so.

Arisu and Isuzu exchanged glances. Once Isuzu had been back from her archery practice, she had met her sister and at once felt there was something bothering her and a lot. Arisu had tried to avoid it, saying it wasn't anything only to give in once Isuzu gave her a knowing look and some words. In the end, she told her what happened and what Takeru had said and how Arisu now wondered not only how the gods saw them but also how she actually saw them, not sure if Takeru was right or wrong.

This had led them for a long talk, Arisu thinking he could be right and bothered by this and insecure of herself. Isuzu, who knew her sister far too well, made some questions and in the end, disagreed.

Perhaps in the beginning she had approached the gods out of obligation, it didn't imply that a change of feelings was impossible.

"Besides" She had said, "I don't even know if we can think in a normal way, all things considered." And it wasn't as if there were easy answers (or that she had them, for that matter). It was best if Arisu took a time to think and figure it out on her own.

"It's something at least" Isuzu commented smiling, sitting in her bed with her back leaned in the wall. At least the Sea god was willing to spend time with someone outside the classroom who wasn't his brother.

"It's not the same as joining a club" Yui confirmed with a shrug. "But with this, perhaps we'll be able to talk without his hostility"

The idea was enough to make Misaki, Arisu and Ren left their doubts in the depths of their minds for now, burying them under other thoughts, unaware that Yui and Isuzu's minds were flowing in a similar direction. For now, those doubts still could be silenced, but they still existed and could agitate at any moment, touching their consciences.

They were gods.

What were their true opinions regarding humans?

And what were their true opinions regarding them?

Chapter Text

While Takeru had told Yui they would have a rematch of sword fighting to solve the club question, he showed no hurry at all to actually do it. On the contrary, as the days passed by, their routines slowly established itself in not only running together as the god also started to join Yui at evenings for sword training which, with his presence became more demanding, something Yui wouldn't complain about at all: Somehow, it was also more fun now.

It wasn't something she spoke of directly, it was something one could see in her eyes when she talked to the others about it and how sometimes she and the god would talk about other things.

"Do you guys think they are becoming friends?" Isuzu asked Arisu and Misaki, remembering how the girl had told that Takeru had even taught her some defensive moves, even saying she was improving (in his own way of saying it, of course). Isuzu still felt a bit weird with the idea of Yui spending time with Takeru now, since the god had showed nothing but a disinterest that pressed the line between this and despise.

It was nice, of course. And surprising, as they had thought Takeru would mere run with Yui until she seemed to be better enough so he could challenge her to another duel. Later, as she reflected about it on a night she caught a glimpse of them training under the stars, he had dismissed their first duel due to the difference level between them without putting Yui down about it.

"Don't know if they will be able to train today, though" Isuzu thought as she glanced towards a window. The rain threw itself against the glass, drops being small bullets that broke upon the impact. All that there was to see were shadows and lead in the shape of clouds holding into the sky and hiding it.

One of the bad things to be in what would be categorized as a boarding school was that you couldn't use the rain as an excuse to skip classes.

"I dunno. What you guys think?" Arisu looked to one and then to the other.

Isuzu had not a right answer: She wasn't sure she believed this or not. Despite everything, the doubts regarding what the gods truly thought hadn't been forgotten (even if Isuzu didn't think she would ever confront them about it), just swept to the end of her mind. But… All in all, spending time with Yui could make the god more tolerant to them (not that he had at once casted away the temper they were used to). Misaki gave the thought some time for a while, before she shook her head, uncertainty marking her face.

"I don't know either… I wish it was like this, but yet…" Yes, they were spending time together, and there even times they had a snack together however there was a line between spending time together and just simply being at each other's presence.

They couldn't say anything for sure just because Takeru seemed less annoyed all the time. Had things changed?

"Well, he has been more polite lately. In his own way, I suppose" Isuzu concluded. The other gods had also noticed a slight change in his demeanor and since Thoth didn't call any of them to speak of the matter, they concluded he knew about this too. For some reason, he hadn't called them to talk about the clubs either, something Misaki was grateful for.

It had surprised her that Thoth hadn't called her later for a lecture regarding how she had spoken to him.

"In his way, meaning, he is still a hedgehog. A porcupine" The blonde commented, hiding an amused air as she finished choosing her meal. While Ren and Yui weren't there, a cheerful voice came to them.

Balder was waving.

"Hi, Balder!" Misaki greeted him as they walked to his table. As usual, Thor and Loki were with him and while the thunder god greeted the girls with a nod, Loki leaned his face in one of his hands, his grey eyes growing cold.

"Hello!" The light god smiled, indicating the empty chairs. "Take a seat!"

Loki's eyes ran to his friends as a lightening and back to the girls with more coldness and annoyance.

"Eh, no, that's okay, thanks, we just came to nibble something, have you guys seen Yui or…" Isuzu started in an apologetic tone, holding a trail with coffee and some eggs. She couldn't say that dealing with Loki right in the morning was something she looked forward to, he would drain her energies.

Balder, however, interrupted her standing up and gently pushing Misaki to a seat at Loki's side before anyone had a chance to say a word.

"C'mon, c'mon… You're not going to eat standing, right?" And he proceeded to do the same with the twins, gently but firmly. It ended up with Isuzu between her sister and him while Loki was now between Misaki and Thor, who limited himself to watch his friend and the blonde for an instance before turning back to his open sandwich of cheese.

"Hm, and… Have you seen Yui or Ren?" Isuzu repeated the question slowly. With Thor seeming to act as if they weren't there and Loki throwing daggers with his eyes, she was uncomfortable. Arisu decided to pretend there was nothing wrong.

"No. Tsukito was here just now, but he was already leaving when we arrived" Balder told them with a shrug as he cut a piece of sausage that was still in his plate. A window shivered with the strong rain.

"I think we won't have clubs today" He carried on and looked To Misaki, who was chewing her toast with jam and then to the other girls. "What are you going to do then?"

"No difference to me." Misaki replied after swallowing. "I'm with the Student Council."

And in the moment, there wasn't much to be done in the school anyway. The work would be more if they had more real students, but again, the spirits could barely be counted as such. She and Yui had commented among them that it would be fun if Zeus allowed excursions to the human world, however they are sure the god wouldn't accept. The temptation of escaping, shackled or not, would probably be too strong to some of the gods for the "principal" to feel safe.

Yet, it would be easier to help them if they could spend at least some hours in a real human environment.

"The pool is right at the side of the school. No problem too" Arisu commented. It wasn't far and it had a sheltered path. Some people said you shouldn't take a shower when there was strong rain, but she doubted the electricity (if it was really that) would work that way in the Academy.

Isuzu thought a bit as Balder watched her.

"Well… Maybe I'll take the time to start that paper Thoth wants. Have you guys started yours?" When Zeus had told them they would be experiencing a "school life" as part of his project, he hadn't been joking and Thoth had taken the idea most seriously (really, no surprise there). As in a normal school, they didn't just have classes, but also homework and papers that he demanded to be given to him for grading.

Loki was relaxed in his chair, playing with his braid, but Isuzu thought she had seen something in his eyes that had nothing much to do with his usual amusement. It was as fast as the blinking of a star, so she had no way of truly identifying it. At his side, Thor just watched the conversation as if he hadn't heard or cared with the girl's question.

"Eh? Nah, not yet" The red haired god's reply left no doubt: He didn't feel like even starting the paper (not that Isuzu didn't understand the feeling). Actually, he just ended up doing the homework because it was better than to hear Thoth's lectures and put up with a detention and because, with Balder and Thor, it was usually fast and not so boring.

"Why don't we do it together, then?" Balder suggested as if illuminated by the idea. Loki stopped playing with his braid and lifted his head a little, with a quick movement not unlike that of a snake. Arisu could guess well that he didn't like the idea of spending time with any of them unless if it was to use them as trick's targets.

"Hey, could we, perhaps, just an idea, not talk of this right at morning? Geez" She interrupted and leaned forwards the table, looking from Balder to her sister as she crossed her wrists under her neck in an X gesture. "I mean really? Please, thank you."

"I second that!" Misaki giggled. "How on Earth is this a subject to be talked about during breakfast?"

Isuzu was about to pick her coffee cup when Loki suddenly leaned forward and picked it first.

"What is this, anyway?"

"Coffee and yes, you can have a look" The girl grumbled as Arisu rolled her eyes and which met with Thor's. The quieter of the three Nordic gods lifted his brow as if asking her what else one could expect from Loki. The girl limited to a slight shrug with a shadow of smile. Somehow, for the first time, she thought his face wasn't as rigid as it had always seemed… He looked just serene.

Loki stared at the liquid with distrustful eyes.

"If you want to taste it…" Isuzu suggested.

The god looked at her frowning before taking a little sip. At once, his face twisted and he gave the cup back with a cat-like hiss that they had heard from him before.

"How do you stand drinking this? It's bitter!"

It was Isuzu time to frown. She had mixed milk and sugar to it as she always did and the coffee wasn't strong. If Loki thought that was bitter, she could only image what he would think of pure coffee… The god picked something in his pocket, a small paper bag that, when opened, revealed small hard candy of several colors and threw one in his mouth.

"Is this what you always drink at mornings?" He still asked, looking at Isuzu as if he still couldn't understand why any person would even want to drink that at all.

"Well, sometimes"

"You're crazy then"

Isuzu didn't pay him the slightest attention for this, just tilting her head with a half shrug as she went back to her drink. Perhaps there was no surprise that Loki had disliked that. His taste seemed to lean to sweeter things, just as Balder's leaned to meat (although they all seemed to enjoy meat from what she had seen in their barbecues). The trickster god threw another pink candy in his mouth, seemed to think for a bit and then stretched the bag in the other's direction in a silent offer.

Misaki looked from it to Loki, as Arisu and Isuzu made an effort to not exchange glances. They recalled far too well of his previous pranks, the archery targets with explosives and everything. The taller girl spied the little bag as if expecting that a snake or plastic bug would jump off it.

Slowly, thinking the same, Misaki picked just one of those candies, a blue one. Nothing happened. Yet, she examined it… Loki himself had ate one, so perhaps there was nothing wrong?

The god, meanwhile, offered them to Balder and the twins with the same smile.

"No, thank you" After the incident in the barbecue, Arisu had made a personal vow of never ever eat anything that Loki offered, no matter how innocent the food looked and no matter how hungry she could be and the other girls knew this. Isuzu refused politely as well and even Balder seemed a bit unsure. He loved his friend as dearly as a brother, but after ages, one learned to be caution with him.

Misaki still held hers, but seemed willing to accept it as a kind of challenge.

"Loki, Loki…" She muttered in a warning way with a deadpan look. "Can I eat this and not take a fright?" Her green eyes narrowed with a total lack of trust and the Loki grumbled.

"Geez, I was merely minding my manners" He picked another candy. "No one is forcing you, you know?"

No matter how much she wanted to give him a chance of trust, Isuzu would rather tell the blonde that this wasn't a good idea, but there was no way of doing it without being rude and she didn't want to offend Loki, risking the little progress they seemed to be having… On another hand, he was eating as well and the candies had no wrappings around.

Still with her gaze on him with what could be challenge or acceptance, Misaki threw the small candy in her mouth.

"See, they are really good!" Loki commented. Arisu remained skeptic, but to her surprise, Misaki agreed.

"Hey… They really are… The taste changes!"

Arisu and her sister exchanged glances, unable to hold it back anymore. Both had expected the thing to let out some smoke, to explode or perhaps to be incredibly bitter, yet Misaki seemed to have truly liked it.

"See?" Loki asked in a superior way of who just convinced others that his amazing scientific theory is correct. Arisu didn't look at all impressed.

"Hey, you live for tricks and pranks. Don't blame us for being careful"

"What can I say? You can be far too innocent, make things easier"

"How long does he spend creating and doing those things?" Isuzu thought, not having any idea of how Loki did half of his tricks. And didn't he get tired?

The god was laughing.

As in those occasions, it wasn't a laugh of mockery or despise. Quite the contrary, it was a genuine happy sound that one would hear in an amusement park or in a circle of friends. This was what made them think that, while Loki didn't like them, his pranks truly meant no harm or humiliation and were really… Well, his way of having fun.

XxX

If this rain carried on, it wouldn't be possible to tend the garden today. Not that Dionysus was worried: It was a strong rain, but not enough to cause damage to the plants. Sincerely, he had enjoyed the idea of clubs as it was something else to do here besides studying (something he had no excitement for).

He was a rural god. His domains were not only grape harvest and wine making, but theater and the ritual madness. The kind of ecstasy that took over people's mind when joined in celebrations or festivities, making them lose their sense of individuality and right and wrong to be lost to their instinct. And madness was something he often cursed mortals with, when they disrespected him beyond his patience.

As such, he wasn't one that enjoyed just staying still for long. Directing his energy towards something he enjoyed and was connected to, made him feel better in here.

Turning a corner, he met his uncle who seemed to be caught in reading a book with a dark cover.

"Yo, Uncle Hades" He greeted him, lifting one of his hands. "What are you reading?" The ruler of the dead didn't walk away when his nephew started walking at his side. Even after ages, more than they bothered to count and even with all disgraces that had befallen due to Hades' curse, the younger god enjoyed when he could have contact with his uncle.

Their present situation had this good side: The opportunities Hades had of leaving the Underworld were incredibly rare, usually it was just when Zeus realized a meeting far too important to dismiss him of it.

Many of the other gods would rather avoid him, not only due to his curse, but principally due to his nature as a god of Death. Dionysus had told Amaya Ren the truth: For them, the afterlife was something even more unpleasant than to mortals, who knew they would die and learned to accept the fact, no matter if they still feared it. However, gods were immortal. They didn't feel the effects of age and growth like them, and the nature of the end of life felt more obscure. The truth was… Mortals understood death better than the gods.

So, as a god who ruled over it, Hades was more intimating to them. The others celebrated existence and life, he was the one who ruled over the end of all things.

And this made them remember that there were things beyond the stars, beyond their powers, that they couldn't understand. And perhaps, Someone who was higher than all of them.

Apollon and Dionysus were among the very few gods, along with their father, their other uncle and aunts, who enjoyed the times they could meet Hades.

"An astronomy book about the skies of the Academy" It was the response. With the school being in a different place where he lived, the dates in which you could see certain constellations were different than the ones he was used to. The fact that according to the book, there would be several events, such a meteor shower and eclipses, Hades felt gratitude for his younger brother.

His relationship with Zeus wasn't something to be classified as "simple". There were gestures that were so much fraternal as arguments and many times, Hades got frustrated at his brother's ways of ruling.

But in truth, it was like this among majority of the gods. Their relationships could oscillate, during years, between peace, care, grudges and hurt. However, small gestures like this made him remember that, no matter what, Zeus was still his little brother.

Like the others, he had been enraged when he had been sealed and forced to this Academy. The whole thing didn't feel just tyranny but (and there was no other term) a complete clownery. After ages judging souls, he knew enough about humanity.

Even more than he wanted to know.

"Great! At least you'll know beforehand if something special happens!"

Both stayed in silence for some seconds, before the younger god placed his hands in the pants' pockets.

"Hey, Uncle Hades… How do you think the others are?" He was referring to the rest of the "family", his aunts, half-brothers and cousins. "What do you imagine they thought of all this?"

"I do know that Artemis was quite bothered. She was worried with Apollon's disappearance and then they couldn't find you too. Then things were explained and she was most displeased with all of this, especially with Zeus' idea of keeping us all here should we fail to graduate" Both exchange glances full of knowing. Artemis didn't use to be violent, however, she and Apollon were extremely close and the threat of not seeing him again was enough to make her furious. Hades would be lying if he said that their connection didn't make him remember a time, more than millennia ago, in which he and his siblings had been as united… He just hoped they wouldn't ever grow apart as it had happened with him and the others.

Due to his position, Hades was the only one who still had contact with other gods from where he had come from. Thanatos, god of Death and Hecate, goddess of Witchcraft, sent him reports regarding how they were dealing with the dead and he had been satisfied in learning that they were keeping things in control, without the souls of Tartarus trying to rebel in his absence (well, most of them knew better). Taking advantage of this communication, they informed him of what they knew of the rest of his family and also asking their lord and king how he was doing.

"Zeus had to go back, without our knowledge, to explain to them. And Hera didn't like the idea, but she seems to keep her emotions to herself. Hestia, however, thought this would be a good thing." The reaction of his sisters was of no surprise whatsoever. Hestia had always cared for humans and how gods should comprehend them more. Hera acted as if she didn't care very much for her husband's other children, gods or not (Hades, however, knew how much Zeus' affairs tore her apart), but she had grown to keep things to herself and nowadays, no one could truly know what she thought or felt.

"Hermes must have found this interesting" The younger god guessed, holding a chuckle. He was about to comment what Athena probably thought that all this, despite having good intentions and purpose, and also of involving other gods and five human girls when they reached the second floor and, crossing a hallway, he stopped for an instance. He knew they were close of the official Arts Club Room, so he wasn't all surprised when he caught a low and melodic sound.

"Hey, listen." He muttered to the other. "It must be Amaya"

Having nothing else to do now was a field for the little curiosity that was born in him and he walked to the closed door with a small board saying "Arts Club" in cursive letters (as it usually was with the other club rooms, he had seen a board like this in the Astronomy Club door in the same floor).

He opened the door carefully and the piano notes became louder. As he had guessed, Ren Amaya was sitting by the piano, her own voice mixing to the notes that slipped in the air when she soon took notice of their presence.

"Dionysus, Hades! Hi" The girl greeted, a little surprise of seeing them. Dionysus waved in reply and came closer pulling a chair of the table in front of the shelf, sitting with his elbows leaning in the back of it.

Hades hesitated, but Amaya and his nephew gesture to him to come in as well and, despite worried that something might happen (the pulsation of the curse in his flesh as burning iron always warned him when he came too close of someone). The god, however, gave in and took a chair, still a bit away from them just in case.

"What are you doing?" The girl asked, hands resting in her lap and abandoning the piano, resting as well until they were awoken for a new song.

"Just walking around, taking a time of peace before having to bear Thoth's class" Dionysus told her, resting his chin in his arms. Amaya raised her brow, looking somewhat amused.

"He won't like at all if you fall asleep in class again…" She said in a joking manner, as it actually didn't make much difference. The red haired god would usually take a seat in the far back of the class to not be noticed in his nap. And even when Thoth did see it and would wake him up (and quite furious as well), the Greek god wouldn't care. Ren thought he was actually sleeping less in class… Not that he ever took notes, anyway, be awaken or sleeping.

"What can I say? His classes are boring" And he looked at Hades, in search of support.

"Dionysus, you were never able of being still for long, not even during meetings in Olympus" The God of the Dead said with a cautious amusement in his voice, of one testing the resistance of ice covering a lake. When Dionysus stretched the back of his head in a way alike of a child caught stealing cookies and Amaya ended up smiling and sending Dionysus a look of "he-got-you" and Hades felt a little lighter.

"I can only imagine" She said, crossing her arms and shaking her head solemnly. In the window, raindrops hit and slithered down as if racing and they could hear their shattering against the glass.

Dionysus still laughed a bit and then indicated the black piano with his chin.

"And what were you playing?"

Amaya didn't blush, but a light pink covered her face and Dionysus noticed she seemed a bit embarrassed suddenly.

"Ah, a song I know… Just practicing a little."

"Do you mind playing?"

Amaya turned her face to him with a quick move, blinking.

Ren had piano class back at home, however she had never took part in anything as events or presentations, except sometimes at family reunions or during Christmas when their parents and neighbors did a little party for everyone. But every time she played for someone the first time, there was a nervousness that grabbed her from inside out.

"Well… I…" She looked from Dionysus to Hades, who also observed her with some interest, as neither of them had seen her like this before. Taking a moment, she nodded and risked a jest. "Well, just remember that I am not Apollon, nor any goddess of music."

The red haired just waved.

"As long as you don't challenge him, you'll be fine."

Ren risked a shy smile and turned to the piano.

The girl's fingers went back to the white keys, already familiar with the notes. The human voice and the instrument joined in one sound.

Kaze wa tamashii o sarai – The winds sweep the souls away
Hito wa kokoro o ubau – And people steal the hearts away
Daichi yo, amekaze yo – Oh earth, oh rain and wind
ten yo, hikari yo – Oh sky, oh light
Koko ni subete o todomete – Please, harbor everything in this place
Koko ni subete o todome – Please, harbor everything.
Koko de ikite – And bloom here.

The girl was nothing exceptional as a singer, there was nothing special in her voice, but it was pleasant and good… The melody was quite different from what both gods were used to listen to, and therefore, there was a somewhat exotic quality. Thoth had already commented about cultural differences and the ways of music, but it was the first time they heard it.

Ren had her eyes fixated in the keys, but she wasn't really there. All her being, as it happens when we concentrate in something else, was totally immersed in her actions and the sound. She hadn't truly forgotten the gods' presence, but somehow they occupied a hidden corner of her mind.

Outside, the rain went on.

Tamashii yo, kokoro yo – Oh souls, oh hearts
Ai yo, omoi yo – Oh love, oh yearnings
Koko ni kaeri – Please, return.
Koko ni todomatte – And abide here forever

The gods watched the human girl playing the black piano, whose sound was unlike the lyres and flutes, which they were more used to.

Dionysus, relaxing in the chair, moved the head almost unnoticeably accompanying the melody. The rain's sound was just as pleasant, since he often wandered in the forests with his followers… Most didn't know, but even he, connected to the great pleasures and ecstasies (in a way that many times was destructive and even bestial), also knew how to enjoy such moments.

Hades remained sitting there, eyes on the girl as he kept still, hearing each note and the essence of the song. It would have been impossible to someone to have the slightest notion of what was going through his mind, but there were no signals of displeasure in his serious gaze.

Kaze wa tamashii o sarai – The winds sweep the souls away
Hito wa kokoro o ubau – And people steal away the hearts
Sore de mo, koko ni todomari – And yet, I shall remain here.
Utaitsuzukeru – And I'll continue to sing

Well, there was a truth, wasn't there? She would remain here during all year. Still so many months to go… It was hard to forget the subject, even if she and the others wouldn't speak of it as often as when they had arrived.

For some seconds, Ren became quiet and the piano's notes took over, connected in that soft melody before she sung again.

It was almost plea-sounding.

And her mind was back home once more. She couldn't avoid this anymore than she could stop the rain from falling.

Douka – Please.
Watashi no uta o tokete – Send my song to where it must reach.
Douka – Please
Watashi no uta o uketotte – Receive and accept this song of mine

With the lyrics involving a sort of request for souls and hearts, the gods couldn't avoid remember of some hymns mortals had for them and were also sung… And the memory gave the song, for them, a soft quality of a prayer.

Indeed, the last notes had been suave, as a gentle plea with traits not of despair, but hope.

Turning to the present once more, Ren's fingers rested over the keys and she looked back to the gods in silence, trying to figure out their opinion. Dionysus gave her a small nod of approbation.

"Where have you learnt this song?"

"It's from a series I know" Ren had actually heard it in an anime, but it would be complicated for her to explain it better and she didn't feel much like it. The gods already knew about "series" (though briefly) and she decided to leave things simple.

"It is pretty" Hades limited to comment. It had been pretty, maybe really because it had a trait of simplicity.

"I think it so" She agreed with a shadow of smile in her eyes.

"It's appropriated. Speaking of rain and wind" The other god commented, taking his arms off the chair and leaning them at his body's side and indicating outside with a gesture of the head, stopping for a second, suddenly thinking about something. "Doesn't your name mean something like this in your language?"

"Amaya is written with the kanjis of "night rain"… The girl confirmed. "And what you guys…"

Her words were swallowed by an explosion.

Light cut through the window and spread in the room with a fury that threatened to devour everything it touched and all colors became white. Ren and Dionysus stood and Hades came closer. After a second, heart beating faster, the human girl's mind registered this hadn't been a lightening.

"What was that?" Dionysus asked, also aware this hadn't been an act of nature. Hades studied the fields, not seeing anything unusual in the foliage that extruded ahead, no clue to what was that.

"What happened?"

"Let's search for the others, maybe they know…"

"The three ran out of the room, reaching the stairs when the air was ripped apart by a deep voice, a roar in the shape of words.

"SUSANOO, TOTSUKA TAKERU!"

"Oh, shit" Ren thought as the three of them rushed to the hall without needing to look at each other. None of them had even the beginning of idea of how Takeru was involved, but taking in Zeus' voice, it was worse than bad.

Running through another hallway, they reached the main hall as well as Apollon, Tsukito and the Nordic Gods, who were with the twins and Misaki.

In front of them, Yui looked to the top of the stairs, several emotions flashing in her face as veils: Indignation, tension, intensity of someone who is not being understood. A bit above her, Takeru… Inside a round cage, whose bars were of gold in which light tan inside as blood. Power emanated from that as exposed flesh, creating waves in the air.

"Fairy, what happened?"

In the top of the stairs, Zeus stood.

His eyes were pierced in Takeru, with a harsh coldness none of the girls had yet seen before. Ren felt her heart go faster against her will, instincts became a storm… Like when she had felt Hades' essence, now she felt Zeus'. However, considering the Lord of Olympus had no shackles, it was easier to feel it…

And it was dreadful.

Far more than the human mind could absorb in order to understand. In his strength, it came to her how easily they could shatter her sanity with a mere wish… And as one who sees just a little of the sea, she didn't want to consider what his full might was.

In that moment, the mere idea of the gods' true being was something she couldn't bear imagining.

And they scared her.

"Apollon! Takeru is with problems!" Yui turned to her friend, voice shivering with a fear too full of edges. "He saved me when I fell off a cliff and he broke his shackle. His powers…"

But then she turned to Zeus, a coldness that wasn't from the rain in her. It was all happening too fast! In a moment she was calling out for Takeru when she had seen him running. Then the ground had trembled under her feet before it broke apart… The sensation hadn't been of falling, but rather being pulled and a strong pain in her head had pushed the others, born from the rocks hitting her, to a mist that grew in her…

Then, after it, she had regained her senses and become conscious of the ache in her body and the needle in her skull. But Yui also realized she was being held by someone… And it was Takeru.

In all this, she had had barely time to take in his shape, which was now different from what she was used to. All Yui had had time to feel and know was that although it was a human shape, it was impossible to think of him as such now.

The next thing they knew, they were involved by a warm light and suddenly back to the Academy with Zeus forcing Takeru back into a human-like shape, telling he had destroyed part of the garden by breaking his shackled. By such act of vandalism, he would be suspended until he redeemed himself.

It wasn't even unfair, it was absurd! Takeru had saved her.

"Zeus-sama! Takeru was just…" She started, too caught up in everything to care how her insides twisted in the god's presence, too desperate for him to listen, to understand. Zeus paid her no mind and his voice overpowered hers, forcing the girl into silence.

"Totsuka Takeru. If you refuse to redeem, you'll be facing expulsion" He carried on, staring at the sea god as if the others weren't there. "The rest shall graduate without you"

"Eh, really?" Loki started with an uncaring tone. "So we can be expeled and leave if we break those things?" He crossed his arm behind his neck. "Meh, I think I'll give it a try"

A growl escaped Arisu's as her nails dug into her palms, the shock and fear of all giving place to rage for the Nordic's attitude. Misaki opened her mouth, not even knowing what she was going to say. Zeus continued in the same tone that didn't allow any other sound to exist.

"You idiot." He turned to Loki for a moment with a hiss before his attention hit Takeru once more. Although she wasn't the focus of those golden flames, Arisu felt her body turn empty. Something in her screamed for her to turn away, run and not look back. "Whoever said anything about leaving? Those who are expulsed shall still remain here for eternity. As a statue, that is."

Loki whimpered. That was even worse than what would happen should one of them fail graduation.

Isuzu wanted to cry against how Zeus carried on with threats, but her vocal chords had forgotten how work, killing her voice.

"BASTARD!" Takeru screamed punching the bars. Fury was back in him with more intensity that Arisu remembered and she knew that if it wasn't for the cage and shackle, the sea god would have tried to dismember Zeus with his hands. "Don't go saying whatever pleases you!"

With despise, Zeus hit his scepter against the floor. The cage dissolved and Takeru fell. Apollon ran to him, followed by the others as Zeus gave them his back and walked upstairs.

"Zeus, wait a second!" Misaki tried to call, but the god ignored her.

"Are you alright, Take-Take?" Apollon asked and Yui meant to offer her hand to help him stand, but was uncertain if he would accept it. Without looking at anyone, the blue-haired god stood with nothing but hate in his eyes, and walked away.

Hades still asked if Tsukito wasn't going after his brother, to which the Japanese god lowered his head without expression.

"I… I don't know what to do" He said quietly.

Yui didn't wait and bolted after Takeru.

XxX

Yui didn't understand why Takeru had said that it had been his fault until the god, not looking at her, had muttered that he had thought she wouldn't come due to the heavy rain… However, if he had waited, or at least went to speak to her before, then that could have been avoided.

The girl didn't know, but he wasn't speaking only about the problem at hand, but also how she had been hurt. There were bruises already in formation, some cuts in her legs and he had seen when a rock had hit her head as she fell… It was almost a miracle there hadn't been blood.

Humans were weak. They were disgusting, low, arrogant…

They were weak and he hated them.

To gods, humans are as fragile as butterflies… A scratch to a god was a deep wound to a human. And taking in their nature, he had assumed the human girl wouldn't do anything and just forget the jogging and…

Once again, he had been impulsive.

The girl now had insisted in talking to Zeus, not giving up explaining that there was no reason at all for apologies of any kind as he hadn't done anything… Without knowing that each word she offered had no comfort, but needles. Zeus wouldn't listen to what she had to say just how he wouldn't listen to what he had to say.

Because this was how things were, always. Once others assumed something as being truth, for them it became truth, so hard and immutable that it suffocated the one that was the subject of it. You could talk and talk, offer evidences all you wanted and they would find a way to fit them into their vision without having to change it.

Not standing it anymore, he had left Yui behind.

He hated doing that. He was used to being more of a warrior god than one who would run away.

Words, actions… They were worthless.

Yet, they burned. As much as you wanted them to hear you, to comprehend, nothing happened… And what remained was that sensation of cold empty. So why say or do anything, if it just worked to make you feel alone?

He knew this.

Decades and decades ago, when he was still a young god, he had been taken by an intense ire. The motives were foggy in his memory, just that remained was that energy that seemed to tear him apart from inside out.

It happened sometimes and, unable to keep it anymore, he had gone out, destroying things in his path… At first, he meant to just get rid of that feeling… But at some point, he had lost the notion of "himself" and what he was doing, consumed by the action. And it wasn't the first time this happened either.

But that time she had paid.

She had been one of the servants of Amaterasu, his sister… A lesser god with whom he had always been close… Most of his memories of the events were confused, as are the memories of actions we commit when taken over by emotions to the point of reason being devoured, not leaving space for thoughts, but he remembered her expression and her scream…

They lived in him.

He had killed her… She had been his best friend… And he had killed her.

And among all, even more clear, was the remembrance of what had happened afterwards.

He had screamed in the council, tried to explain that he hadn't had any intention of hurting her. She was his best friend!

The others merely stared at him, distrust, despise and even hate weighting over him and wrapping his body in more needles than the others born out of regret, mourning and self loathing. He had admitted his guilt, what he had done and the punishment… But he refused to accept how the others believed he had killed her by purpose!

The image of each of her smiles, the sound of her laugh and her voice mixed with the scream of surprise and pain, the smiling face stained by her growing small as she fell and the blood against her skin… And he hadn't been able to do anything.

"He killed her."

"I knew something like this would happen"

"Poor little thing, why she tried to be his friend? He destroys everything he comes close to"

"She thought they were friends."

"How can we call him a god? He is a monster"

His punishment hadn't bothered him like those whispers.

Or like the memory of her scream, the last thing he had ever heard from her.

XxX

"Where is the justice in this damn place?" Misaki's anger twisted in her voice, maggots in a corpse. "He can't really expect Takeru to apologize or whatever the hell it is!" She looked to the others, as if expecting confirmation, even without need.

It was too clear: Zeus wouldn't accept to hear anything regarding this matter.

After Takeru had left the hall, Yui had gone after him and Tsukito had followed for a moment before coming back to join the others in the studying room. They had tried asking if the Moon god if he had talked to his brother, but Tsukito denied and they hadn't asked anything else, feeling the delicate matter and unsure of what they could say. It wasn't as if they were especially closer of Takeru… Misaki had her hands closed over her knees, mind in the harsh expression of Zeus and the things that had been said.

"What is he thinking?" Isuzu muttered, not wanting to look to Dionysus and Apollon, aware they were speaking of their father. "I mean, didn't he hear what Yui said?"

"That he heard, he heard…" The Harvest god replied quietly in an unreadable tone and arms crossed. "But father, well…" It wasn't easy to deal with him in such situations. "He has a temper and he said that Takeru destroyed a part of the garden and broken his shackle, so…"

"What? You think he wants to use Totsuka as an example?" Balder wondered just to shake his head. "Wait, this doesn't matter. What matters is what is going to happen now. Do you think he will apologize?"

Misaki let out an exclamation of indignation, to which Balder raised his hands explaining.

"I know it isn't fair at all, but it sounds like the only way of solving things without more conflict"

They all exchanged looks at this. They knew that in theory this sounded simpler and easier, while in reality it was quite different, a web of feelings and details that started simple to soon turn into a monstrous mess.

"Take-Take is very proud… To him, redeeming for something he isn't guilt of…" No need to go on, it was clear: This wouldn't be just apologizing for something when there was no need, it would be humiliating.

The problem was, like Dionysus had said, Zeus had his own temper.

Ren, arms crossed, was caught up in her own thoughts.

"When he undid that cage and let Takeru fall… Better yet, when he made that cage at all, could it be he was reaffirming his authority? Reminding him that he is, for now, just a weak human who can't do anything against him?" The girl would have liked to deny it, but couldn't. As Balder had said, maybe he wanted to make an example out of the sea god to make sure no other god would try to break their shackles by force.

"Oh, what does it matter? Zeus' motives don't! Balder is right, I'm getting sidetracked from what's important!"

Loki watched the conversation in silence, seated at Thor's side. None of them took part in this.

"Kusanagi said he saved her."

"And Zeus really seems to give a damn about it!" Arisu didn't even try to contain her sarcasm. She wanted to take a deep breath and was unable too, looking at her sister with the corner of her eyes, almost envying her better control.

"Take-Take was just…"

Yui passed running, stopping by the door and panting, looking around the room quickly.

"Fairy? Where is Take Take?" Apollon asked, standing from his chair. The girl frowned, body fighting back for breath.

"I thought… Thought he was… Here…" Her voice died slowly, she swallowed an exclamation and took off once again, not saying any other word. The others blinked.

"What's gotten into her?"

"Wait, do you guys think…?"

"Takeru went to talk to Zeus?"

The ones of the group who were sitting stood, going for the doors. Apollon had a ferocious determination marking his face and even Balder seemed serious, unlike his usually gentleness. Loki didn't move, but Thor followed them with his eyes.

"Why this?" The red haired asked with a calm curiosity upon seeing the rest of them obviously willing to go to Zeus. Ren turned, face of a serenity that was cruel in its coldness as she evaluated the god and hissed.

"Because we are all together in this"

There was a silence.

It was the first time she spoke like this of the whole class. It didn't matter if Takeru wasn't close enough to them to be called a "friend", but he was part of their group.

The others followed the way, running once they were out of the room.

Arisu still waited a second, looking to the other two that didn't give signals of wanting to be involved, the thunder god also looked at Loki, stoic as always.

"Hey, are you guys really not coming?" She tried. Loki started to play with his braid, in a way that was more to emphasize his lack of interest than out of his habit.

"That's his problem, isn't it?" He asked, relaxing against the couch with a shrug. Thor didn't move, but his eyes became somehow sharp and went until Arisu without her being able to know what he thought of all this and in the moment, she couldn't care less.

"Loki, I can't BELIEVE what I'm hearing!"

"Hey!" The god growled, sitting straight and throwing daggers with his eyes. "Listen here, Zeus won't listen to us and you know this very well! If Totsuka wants to accept the humiliation, it is his choice. What can we do, even if we wanted to do anything at all?"

His words made Arisu stay still. Yes, whether they wanted or not, Zeus had all cards in hands, control was his and none of the other gods could challenge him in that state, so what was left to be done? As Balder had said, the only way out they could see was for Takeru to accept it.

And yet…

"Maybe… It would be good. If we could live like that. If all things could be simplified to this point and…" Her voice was a quiet muttering that soon died, but both gods heard her very well. "But things aren't like this. And even if you may be right… We need to be at his side."

"I stiiiill don't see the reason."

Arisu felt the previous anger running through her bones to consume them once more. Loki was being ridiculous! If he wanted a reason, he just needed to remember what Ren had said: They were in this together. Right now, it didn't even matter how the gods saw them or not, but rather the other way around and Arisu realized she and the others were at least starting to see them as friends.

And that was all that there was.

"I give up!" She growled, raising her hands to the head in a sign of resignation. "Screw you! Takeru doesn't need to face this alone, that's the point! And I don't know why in Hell I would expect anything different from you in the end!"

Loki's eyes gleamed with a mix of curiosity and threat. Thor had his eyes on her as well and while Arisu would also have liked to say something to him, she had already lost too much time.

She took off.

Loki ran to the door, seeing her leaving, hair waving in her back.

"What do you mean by that?"

She screamed, not looking back.

"I mean to say you're a really selfish bastard!"

XxX

"Takeru!" She called when she saw his figure in front of Zeus. "Don't! You have nothing to be sorry for!"

Yui stopped at the door of the room, catching her breath. Takeru looked at her with surprise and Zeus' eyes were lava against her. Thoth was standing at his side and showed no reaction, but didn't say anything either.

"You didn't do anything wrong, nothing that you need to "redeem" for!" Her words sounded harsher than Yui had meant to and Zeus' expression inflamed when he snarled at her.

"What are you saying?"

His aura burned Yui inside and she didn't know if he meant her words or more like her intruding. She resisted. Zeus truly wanted Takeru to admit something that wasn't his fault.

"Is this the only way? To lower the head and act like an obedient child…" Forced to be in the academy she understood, even if she didn't agree. But this? This burned her blood.

"Zeus-san, listen to me!" She insisted, part of her anger overflowing in her voice, even if she tried to control it, aware that it could worsen the situation (not hers, but Takeru's). "I already told you, I fell off a cliff! Takeru broke his shackle when he wanted to save me! That's what happened!"

The god remained quiet as she spoke. Thoth also didn't say anything, but at least his lack of expression also meant no signs of anger. Yui kept her eyes in Zeus', not wanting to give any sign of backing down.

"Wasn't this school made so gods would study about humans?" She continued, the words coming out with a will of their own. "But it doesn't matter how different we are, the wish to help someone is the same!" And this wasn't just for gods or humans, it wasn't even just for creatures of the same species. How many times didn't animals protect their owners or members of their packs? Geese would help each other as they flew, people tried to help animals and she had read about the inverse happening. A stray female dog had once been found protecting a baby that had been abandoned in the trash.

"This is not something you can demand an apology for!"

Golden eyes and caramel ones crossed in the air, pressing each other. None of them said anything. Yui's heartbeat was too fast and her blood buzzed in her ears. Indignation and anger and nervousness mixed in her…

A sound became louder and before the girl could turn back, an arm came to stay in front of her as someone stood in front of her… Apollon.

Looking around, the other gods were there, Tsukito, Balder, Dionysus and Hades, as well as Misaki, Isuzu, Ren and Arisu. Another sensation found birth, something curious and warm that soon spread through her body. Suddenly, as dangerous as Zeus was, part of her fear was more under control.

Zeus' face darkened upon seeing them.

"Get out!" He didn't scream, but his voice echoed in the room all the same. "This is nothing that concerns you!"

"Of course it does!" Isuzu replied, words exploding in her mouth as she fought back some cursing words. Apollon stayed close to Yui, as if he meant to fight back Zeus' aura with his own, shackles nonstanding. His eyes were green flames and his muscles were tense.

"It isn't true!" He stared at his father, raising his voice. "He is part of our class, so if this concerns him, it concerns all of us!" They all stared at Zeus, gods in their nature no matter the shape they were forced into.

"And there is something missing, if he isn't there" Dionysus commented, hands in his pockets as Balder confirmed his words. Arisu shook her head.

"There is no sense, graduating without one of us!"

Yui stood at Apollon's side, her attention back to the principal and indicating the others, emphasizing her words.

"See? We all think the same!"

The god's voice sounded between teeth, but it would have been better if he had yelled. That sound was carried of a something that Yui didn't bother to understand, but whose nature she noticed. It entered her ears, invaded her being as a life-threatening disease.

"And you intend to challenge me, human girl?"

Some of the gods frowned in anger, others looked at Yui worried, aware that now she was over thin ice. No god would ever stand disrespect from a human. Yui had done so before and now she was defying his authority more directly. Other humans had suffered punishments that would leave them begging for hell for this.

Yet, Yui was so caught up in the heat of the moment, that she didn't realize this at once. It was too much to hear that from Zeus. Any thought for the consequences or different left her and she stepped forward, fire in her soul consuming her to an unbearable peak.

"The person in this place who truly doesn't understand, be about humans or other gods…" She growled, until her voice rose. "IT'S YOU, ZEUS!"

There was just a second of silence before the girl went on. All gods looked at her in shock. It wasn't just because she had always been of such caring ways that it was almost scary seeing her angered… It was also because no mortal had ever talked to a god in such way.

"All of us here are at least trying to learn, not about each other as species, but also as individuals! No matter how different! And we are all able to admit our mistakes and learn from them!" And you don't was in the air, without a need to be expressed verbally. A bit behind her, Ren had her arms crossed.

"I do suppose it would have been better if he had let Yui fall and get hurt?" She inquired with a soft voice of poison. Right now, Yui was fire and she was ice, even her smile.

Yui went on, not looking at Ren, but nodding to her words.

"Takeru may have broken the rules, but it was an accident! And he had reasons, I told you already! Threatening him just to get an apology for this? It's disgusting!" She screamed the last world, not the acute cry of a child in a tantrum, but an adult indignation that burned the air.

Silence dominated everything as ashes falling, formed by the trail of flames of her voice.

No one found anything to say, not after what they had just witnessed. Slowly, their eyes went back to Zeus… Something in him seemed to oscillate between sensations, something only visible to his sons and older brother.

Yui, meanwhile, was slowly realizing what she had just done. Oh God, oh dear God in Heaven… She was aware from the beginning that provoking Zeus was the least sensate thing one could do, had tried to keep calm, but his refusal in admit he had mistaken things and Takeru's actions were not deserving of punishment had broken her control.

Now, the old fear was back and stronger.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Thoth asked Zeus and, curiously enough, he smiled as if this was all interesting or amusing. The other god stared at Yui as if piercing her…

"Zeus…" Some turned to Hades, who had his arms crossed and spoke almost softly, yet there were undertones in this. "Never lets anything pass him." And this time, the brothers stared at each other, the older one with a strange smile, his eye fixated on Zeus.

"You did this entire scene by purpose, to evaluate our reactions and fully aware of what would happen." No one dared saying anything. Zeus mouth twisted in the corners, almost enraged by the other's intromission but Hades knew his youngest brother far too well: He couldn't punish Yui, he needed her. However, he was one of the most prideful gods and also stubborn. To openly admit he was wrong, especially against a human and in front of other humans who, in comparison to him, were less than children…

However, Hades had presented him the only way out that would also guarantee no consequences later, be to Kusanagi or Totsuka.

"Isn't that so?" He asked, still with that softness that was deadly in itself.

More silence…

Then flesh hardened as if carved of stone, the god lifted his head, refusing to look at any of them and scowled.

"Susanoo, Totsuka Takeru… Continue to studies and get results. Don't fall behind anymore"

Yui realized she had been holding her breath and heard sounds of relief behind her coming from the girls, sighs and exclamations from the gods. Her eyes met Takeru's and the god gave her a little smile.

"Get going, you still have class today!" Thoth told them with the harshness of always, as if he had caught them playing instead of studying. "To the classroom"

XxX

"Yui, that was awesome!" Arisu laughed, passing her arms by her friend's shoulder as Isuzu nodded, looking impressed.

"I… Actually, I thought I had made things worse" No one doubted that if Zeus had no need of her, things could have taken a different turn. The girl's face was still a bit pink and she smiled. Ren caressed her head, again showing that calmness with a gentle look.

"But it was amazing! I must agree, Fairy!" Usually he would side with his father and be indignant if a human yelled at a god like she had done, but considering the details involved, he couldn't feel anything even close to this and turned back to Takeru. "Hey, Take-Take, after all, are you going to join any club?"

Back to the subject of the start, Misaki giggled.

The sea god, who had been in silence ever since they left the room except for a muttering thank-you, half impressed and half surprised, lifted his head to the blonde god, looking as if the question had caught him out of guard.

His mind had been quite somewhere else. If someone asked, he hadn't expected Yui to insist in speaking in his defense, let alone the whole class. He barely had ever talked to some of them.

"You already run every day" The Nordic god of Light said. "And train swordfight"

"This is already a club" Hades commented looking back. It was somewhat amusing… In the end, Takeru had been part of a club without realizing or making it official with specific terms. The god and Yui looked at each other. None of them had realized their training could be classified as such! They hadn't ever thought of it.

"In the end, it was the other way around… We didn't make a club for him based in what he liked, we started an activity and it turned into a club at some point!" Funny because, in the end, as the days had passed and they spent time together, Yui had even forgotten this case. And after what had happened just now, speaking of "clubs" made it all sound insignificant…

Even if it was just due to the terms used, and not the consequences.

In front of them, the gods still talked about the club, if it was running or "wrong club" (Tsukito badly interpreting when Yui trying to correct him and already taking notes) until Takeru turned to the girl, ignoring the others.

"Hey… Thank you…"

"Hh? Oh, no, I thank you. You saved me" It was the second time a god saved her from injuries or worse. Back when she was falling, she had heard his voice calling to her.

The sea god averted his gaze, thinking about the events of the last hours. They went against the mindset that had formed in his mind in the last decades regarding humans. At least the behavior of those girls had…

Yui wouldn't have heard his muttering of now if he wasn't walking at her side.

"I… I used to think all humans were weak" There was more to it. Perhaps one day he would be able to talk to her about it. "But… I guess you're quite strong"

Yui almost stopped, barely hearing those last words as Takeru stopped walking to smile at her. It was the smile she would see on her brother after he saw a particularly impressive movement in skate competitions.

"You are awesome, Weed!"

"Hey, the name is Kusanagi" Despite blushing to his compliment and enjoying it, Yui still tried to correct him, but Takeru just laughed.

Ana: I did some research on Susanoo, but I don't know much about Japanese myths. From what I read, he had cases of uncontrollable rages from time to time and once he destroyed all fields of rice, also killing a young goddess that was one of the servants of his Amaterasu (he also had a competition with her, but I didn't read much of it). And... I really liked Yui yelling at Zeus. And considering how the Greek Gods were with the matters of respect (no kidding, some were cursed for things that today we would consider small matter), this just makes it even better.

Chapter Text

The waters felt suave, hugging her body and still allowing her to move freely. Her muscles worked mechanically, as natural as if she was walking. Arisu's mind registered the touch of the water and the pleasant sensation spread through her body when she started to swim.

Other part of her mind, more conscious, was on different matters.

"You should be able to do something better" A small voice whispered in her brain.

"She's still…" Well, duh. It would have been quite stupid of anyone to think that it wouldn't be so. Maybe she had assumed in some subconscious level that things would be improving at least at a little more than before?

"You have "assumed" things were well once. See the result" The voice continued. Arisu's moves became wilder, her speed increasing as she pushed forwards, crossing the water as if to cut it.

"You got so focused in all that's happening that you forgot about her, is that is?"

Behind the swim goggles, her eyes closed strongly.

Yes, with all that was happening, arriving and getting used to this place, convincing the gods to attend the classes, then dealing with their anti-social behavior and…

But this was no excuse! And it wasn't as if she hadn't been thinking in anything else…

Her hand met with a wall, indicating the edge of the pool.

"It's almost funny…" The girl thought, stopping and leaning her arm in the edge. "All this time, we've found solutions for the problems with gods, or at least a way to give them a push, but for something like this I have no idea of what I could do for her…"

And this made her body heavy inside.

And she should be able to do more, without a doubt.

But she couldn't even think in a way to help Isuzu.

Starting a new turn, her mind passed through brief scenes and words from hours ago.

When her mind realized she was awake, Arisu had just turned in her bed, covers making a cocoon of warmth around the body that still had remains of the sleep to which she tried to go back to.

A small noise, however, pulled her more to a state of full awareness and by instinct, she opened an eye.

The room was painted by the weak light of the sunrise that slithered through the curtains that someone had pulled just a tiny bit to spy through it. At first, taking Ren's habit of sitting by windows, she thought it was the black-haired girl.

Soon she realized it was actually her sister.

And at once she understood why she had woken in the first place.

Isuzu was standing, holding the curtain with one hand and making a small crack where the light entered the room with more strength and hit her face, making her skin yellowish and the messed hair have a halo around.

"Hey…" Arisu muttered, tongue still limp. Her sister turned her face to her slowly. "Why you up?" Though she had an idea of the answer. And only Isuzu would manage to understand her words in such state, sounds dragging and mixing, still full of sleep.

The other then looked to the window before closing the curtain. The light became weaker.

"It's nothing" Isuzu told her. Arisu ignored the sleep in her system and sat up, hugging her legs.

"Isuzu?"

"Go back to sleep, Ari" The suggestion was kind in tone and with a smile as Isuzu sat at the table, picking one of the books they used to leave there, and opening it in just any page.

Arisu didn't give up.

"Why are you up?" She whispered to not wake the others. Isuzu shrugged.

"I just woke too early, that's all" The reply only worked to make Arisu kick her covers, getting free of that embrace and going over to her sister.

"Isuzu…" She repeated in the way of who is hearing a lie and asks for the truth kindly. It had been a while since something of this nature happened (the last time had been on the day after they moved) but there had been weeks in which Isuzu would wake early almost every day for the same reason… That when it wasn't the alternative. And soon, somehow Arisu started to wake as well, as if her body could feel it through the layers of her own sleep and leave this state behind.

Seeing there was no use in lying, the other tilted a shoulder, muttering quietly.

"Well… I… I had a nightmare."

Brief words, they expulsed every warmth Arisu's body retained from bed and even the light became pale. The girl knew this was impression caused by an associated of sounds with memories and knowledge, but didn't make the feeling less real.

"Was… Was it about…?" She didn't want to ask something so obvious, but couldn't help and a bitter taste took over her mouth.

"It was" Isuzu gave in, the smile sliding for a moment before she fixated it and waved her hand, as if meaning to dismiss the subject. "But I'm fine. It was just a dream, therefore…"

"Please… Don't do this, okay?" Arisu whispered, sitting at her side. Her mind was empty, she couldn't think about anything she could do to help her feel better.

"Just a dream my foot" She thought with bitterness, trying to think what their parents would have done and some words, but all that crossed her mind felt worthless and empty, without any result. Moving as if she was uncomfortable, the girl risked.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Isuzu lowered her eyes and a crack appeared in them so Arisu could see the darkness hiding behind, pulsating in veins and worms among rotting flesh.

"I think not…" The taller of the twins mumbled, eyes back in the pages without moving. Arisu knew Isuzu wasn't even seeing the words.

After a second, she picked a book herself and left it open in the table, turning the paged with one of her hands as the other held Isuzu's hand. For a moment was like holding a limp, dead flesh until she felt a pressure when Isuzu held hers back.

"Great work, no, really, amazing" Arisu thought with sarcasm, water agitating with her swimming. "She must be feeling sooo well with this"

No way of denying it, it was true. Great comfort she had offered. During the class, she had barely heard a word from Thoth and during all path to the way to the pool, Arisu tried to force some idea to happen, remembering what her parents used to try, but she knew it would be a poor imitation and even worse than doing nothing.

"She would be able to make you feel better, should it be the other way around." More truth that she had no answer for. And that didn't help at all either. "Great sister you are."

The girl tried to push this thought away. This wasn't about her, it was about Isuzu. Dreams, when about people or past events, had a curious power of pulling memories back to the surface, as a hook does to a fish. After this, the mind had a chain reaction of its own, a memory bringing another.

"I should be able of doing something" If they were back home, perhaps she would try suggesting that they would go out or see a movie… But thinking well, wouldn't this be just as useless? Covering a wound instead of actually taking care of it, just because you didn't want to see it. But she couldn't force Isuzu to speak of that subject, it would be cruelty. She had tried to suggest they ditched the clubs for the day and just walked through the gardens or stayed in the bedroom, but Isuzu had smiled and said she was fine, telling her sister to go…

Damn it all.

Once more, her hand found the edge of the pool and her legs stopped moving as she took notice of feet in front of her.

Putting the goggles in her forehead, the girl looked up.

Takeru.

"Hi there." She lifted her hand in greeting and moving her face muscles into the shape of a smile. "What's up?" Sometimes, her mind did take notice that she was talking so casually to a god. But she had already accepted how weird it felt anyway.

And today, she didn't feel like giving a damn.

Takeru, to a surprise that she hid, was wearing the swimming shorts, the same he had wore in the Sports Event. His tiger-like eyes were on her with the intensity of daggers, arms crossed in his chest. As always, Arisu couldn't figure out if he was angry at her, since he always looked like this.

"You truly look like a rat swimming"

Rolling her eyes, Arisu sighed.

"Hi for you too, Takeru, yes, I'm quite fine and speaking of which, why don't you go screw yourself?" Arisu still kept her smile (though it became ironic) and shrugged to show she couldn't care less for what he thought. However, he was the god of the seas, probably everyone looked clumsily when swimming at his eyes.

"Yeah, do forgive me if I wasn't born with scales, or a dolphin tail or whatever the hell"

Perhaps, weeks ago, Takeru would give a rude reply, yet this time he just shook his head like someone dealing with a hopeless situation. The girl pointed his shorts with her chin.

"And what's the deal with the shorts?" The answer could be obvious, but if Takeru used the pool, it had to be at other time than her club, since Arisu had never seen her even near it. Just Misaki came by from time to time and offered to keep the time or some other thing or then Yui passed by.

"I'm going to dance ballet, what do you think?" His voice dripped sarcasm and before Arisu realized it, a laugh shook her organs and she leaned her arms in the edge before the image her brain had just conjured.

"Wow, do tell me when the presentation is." She commented with a giggle. "I'll love to see it!"

Takeru rolled his eyes, but somehow it didn't look like a gesture of annoyance or anger. Arisu somehow felt a kind of relief, taking in his complicated temper.

The giggles fading, she still looked at him as she backed away in the water.

"Well. Leaving your destined to failure ballet career aside, you decided to swim today."

The god turned his face away, lips forming a thin line.

"I just thought… That there was no harm in joining the club, too" He mumbled with a shrug as if it was just he had nothing better to do. "Since I'm the sword fighting club anyway, no harm in doing something more." He added through gritted teeth. Arisu didn't see any reason to act like this, but in a weird way, there was something cute about it.

"I must have water in my brain, that's what"

Suddenly, Takeru stared at her for a second without saying a word before he jumped, arms stretched ahead, in the water. His body slid under the water gently before he came back up, almost making an arch.

Not having any necessity, Takeru refused to wear the cap and the goggles, also considering both most uncomfortable when he had had to wear them back in the Sports Event. Strands of bluish hair fell over his eyes and the light from the ceiling gave them a light reflex, making it look even more as waves in a lake.

And, like in the few occasions she had seen him wearing a swimsuit, Arisu had to admit that he had a nice body.

Realizing what she had thought, the girl pushed the thought away with all her strength before she blushed. It wasn't as if Takeru or any of the other gods were the first males she saw in such way and it wasn't as if she was crushing on any of them, but in her opinion, she was probably acting like a silly little girl.

"Yep, definitely got water in the brain"

"You need to take it easy" The strict tone of the god dragged her from her thoughts. If before tiny points of heat were coming to her face, now she was taken by a wave of coldness and she wished deeply that he hadn't realized anything. She wouldn't bear the embarrassment.

"Come again?"

Takeru raised a brow and rolled his eyes, showing that her reply had sounded more than idiotic and gestured to her as he came closer. There were no rails crossing the pool.

"When you were swimming" He explained with a little exasperation, becoming quiet for some seconds before adding, looking at her critically. "Your moves were too rigid, more like you want to punch the water."

"Oh, that…" No doubt that was at least a better subject. Takeru seemed about to say something else, but changed his mind and just suggested, averting the eyes once more.

"Relax"

And with an impulse, he dived in and went swimming in a perfect straight line, an arrow under water. Arisu blinked twice before she herself touched her feet in the pool's wall and took an impulse to follow.

During the competition, Arisu hadn't had time to really pay attention in Takeru's swimming. It was obvious that he was a great swimming, since he was a sea god, but it was far more than anyone could imagined and that went beyond merely being a good swimmer: There was nothing remotely human in this, he found no resistance in the water. A dolphin would look out of his element next to him.

Still there were moments during their practice in which Takeru complained how a human body was limited and slow, compared to what he was used to. They gave several turns, Arisu showing some swimming modes she had learned (her crawl was still good, but the butterfly was quite out of practice).

Since she had moved Arisu didn't go to a pool and the extra classed in her old school had never been just out of enjoyment for the thing and she told him that as they talked.

"Hey… If there's something bothering you, you won't solve it by being tense like this." He commented as he leaned in the pool's edge and took impulse to get out, leaning in one of his knees on the way. Behind him, still in the water, Arisu tilted her head, not understanding where this had come from.

"Hm?"

"The way you were swimming, all tense, it was easy to notice." He muttered as explanation. "Whatever it is… Just… Just take it easy, alright?"

It was Arisu's turn to become quiet. In the first place, she hadn't ever imagined that Takeru (or any of her classmates) would be able to see it, since she tried to act in a natural way all day. In second place, she also hadn't thought that the god would give her any sort of advice regarding this.

He turned to go to the locker room, but still cast her a glance and the girl realized Takeru wouldn't ask specific questions about what bothered her, something Arisu was grateful for. She wouldn't have been able to explain what she felt, let alone the reasons, without explain all rest. And even if she just said she didn't want to talk about it, she just didn't want to hear anyone asking anything.

"I don't think anyone can think about solutions when getting all nervous" The god commented, which was a bit weird to hear from him considering the first impression Arisu had had of him.

"Thanks, Takeru…" She muttered, even if he didn't know what her deal was, there was value in his words. The god, in his turn, merely shrugged.

"Just saying, Rat"

The girl raised her brow and jumped out of the pool after him, both taking the path to the locker rooms, which were close of one another. Again with that particular part of her surname?

"Okay, porcupine" She replied with a muffled giggle, recalling the comparison made by Misaki some days ago. The god stared at her with shock before he frowned.

"HEY!"

"Hey, what? You call me Rat, don't you?" She smiled. "And it wasn't my idea to be honest, but it's somewhat cute. Think about it as a compliment."

That made him stare at her as if she had said the greatest absurd or started talking in a language he had never heard before in his long life and Takeru shook his head.

"Sometimes, I think you and your friends kinda missing some screws in your heads"

"Hey!" Arisu repeated in the same tone he had just used, though she smiled, and the god rolled his eyes with a smile of his own.

"Well, I didn't say it was a bad thing. Just stating a fact."

"If we're missing screws, what is Loki missing them?"

"His whole brain"

XxX

Her body seemed severed from the mind and none of them worked properly.

It was frustrating and distressful at the same time. She managed to command her movements and stand in the correct position as she managed to focus her eyes in the target and even so, somehow she kept missing.

No, not "somehow". She could be positioning herself correctly, almost mechanically, but there was no true concentration. Her body felt empty of all kinds of organs or bones, remaining just a grey sensation that sucked her from inside out, stopping any other feeling and paralyzing her mind.

Isuzu hated to feel like this.

Retreating to the bank, she sat down and placed the bow at her side, sighing and lifting her face to the sky. Perhaps she should have taken Arisu's suggestion to ditch club activities for today and just wander together through the fields, but Isuzu hadn't wanted to make her worry.

Recalling how Arisu had woken up and sat at her side to read, the girl closed her eyes and would have smiled if she could. It had been like back home…

Her sleep had been made of sensations, images and words from memory. She had been tormented and caged in that until her body couldn't take it anymore and had broken the flux of sleep, as if happens when one is having an intense nightmare, body cold despite covers and taken by shivers that come in waves.

Aware she would be unable to sleep again, Isuzu then had stood up and headed for a shower, hoping the warm water would push the sensations away and bring some peace. It had been useless, those spiders that had been born inside her remained.

And, a little after she had dressed, Arisu had woken up. As it usually happened when Isuzu woke too early, her sister seemed to follow. Even back home, she could leave the room and go to the living room or the kitchen and yet her sister would wake.

Isuzu wouldn't have been able to deny that, despite not feeling very well for Arisu ending up waking too, it was something she enjoyed. It was better than to stay alone.

Placing her elbows in her knees, she held her chin, still turned inside herself. She didn't want to keep feeling this, didn't want to remember anything, and yet she couldn't get rid of any of it… Once it started, not a moment of peace.

One could think getting rid of sensations and problems that remained inside would be easier to get rid of them problems outside. Well, whoever believed this, was a fool.

The girl lifted her head once more. This was all useless, she wouldn't be able to do a thing today. Maybe she should go back to the Academy and…

"Isuzu?"

The girl moved as if meaning to look at the sky once more and saw Balder standing behind the bank a little to her left, arms at the sides of his body and holding the racket in one of his hands.

Not allowing a second of hesitation, an automatic smile surged in her face and she greeted him with the best cheerfulness she could force, just enough so the go wouldn't suspect anything.

"Hi there, Balder" She turned in the bank, passing her legs over it. "How's the training?"

"Good, good" His blue eyes ran until the target at the wall. The girl's last arrows were stuck in it and second had missed it completely, resting in the grass. "You seem a little distracted today"

Isuzu just blinked with an expression that didn't betray any emotion. During the classes, she had greeted everyone and tried to concentrate in Thoth, but his words hadn't reached her and the girl had taken notes without having an actual idea of that she was writing, as she merely copied the words without reading.

Still, she didn't think anyone had noticed anything.

"Why do you say so?"

Balder turned his eyes back to her and took a seat at her side, placing his racket near her bow.

"I'm not sure. It's just the impression I'm having" He indicated the tennis court nearby. "And… Well, when I was playing, I saw that you didn't seem to be very much like yourself" It was perhaps a gentle way of saying it was too obvious she wasn't concentrating at all due to how bad her performance was today.

The comment was of no surprise to the girl. Since their club areas were so close, it was even common that she, Apollon or Balder ended up sometimes walking to the others to talk a little as they took a break (though it was far easier to talk to Balder when those spirits stayed away to let him practice and didn't surround him asking for him to teach them –which would be useless, they had no minds to retain teachings or rules of how to play).

"I think maybe I'm really lacking focus today" She gave in, still holding her smile. "It's just one of those days, you know." There was no certainty he did, but yet Balder acquiesced.

"Oh, I know, yes. Your attention doesn't fix in anything, almost like you have a fog in your brain" He lifted his eyes to the sky before looking back to the girl with the kind of smile that comes when one has an idea. "Listen, why don't we go to drink something?"

"I don't know…" But Balder held her hand upon standing, pulling her along gently.

"C'mon, c'mon! You said yourself you can't concentrate here anyway."

Not finding any sort of answer or a good reason to refuse anyway, Isuzu decided to accept it and accompanied the god to the Academy, he still holding her hand. Balder was right, she wasn't getting anything with archery and a talk with the Nordic was actually welcome. Hadn't she been thinking she should have gone to a walk with her sister?

"How are you going with the tennis? No doubt better than me today, I bet" Isuzu added as a jest. Balder commented with her that he was enjoying the sport that he had never played before and getting good at it, soon telling a little about his world when she asked what games were played there.

"You use to climb mountains, don't you?" She remembered that back when they were going to the beach, Loki and him had commented of it and also back in the Sports Event day. Besides trails in the mountains, they had board games (more turned to strategy), and other competitions, like swimming and sometimes swordfight.

As he told her about the games, Balder also told about the mountains. So tall that they seemed to scratch the sky and some had snow in the top during all year. So many that as they grew fainter approaching the horizon, they became completely white.

"It sounds beautiful…" The girl's voice sounded quiet as her mind was taken by the image of mountains that were so unlike the ones she had seen in photos, wild places that would be fit for epic legends. She took a gulp from her soda by the straw, imagining how it would to see the sunset in them. "I've just seen mountains in photos, but this sounds…"

"Oh, you needed to see! Maybe… Maybe we will have snow here in winter" The god hurried in correcting and adding as they went back to the gardens, but stopping to sit at the stairs. Balder looked to the fields as if imaging the snow falling.

"It wouldn't be the same, but still…" He continued. It wasn't at all what he had been about to say, on the contrary, he was almost saying that maybe someday Isuzu could visit him in Asgard, the realm of the Nordic gods. But the words had soon turned into ashes in his tongue when he realized how empty they actually were.

Maybe the other gods would still be able to find a way to break the frontiers between their realms to visit, but even this was still an idea of fragile possibility. In Isuzu and the other's case… Well, they were just humans.

The chances of seeing them ever again after the end of this year were really low.

"Balder?" The sound brought him back to the present. At his side, Isuzu was leaning forward in a way to see his expression.

"Sorry, Isuzu… I was kinda thinking here"

The girl blinked in her silence.

"Do you miss home?" He looked at her when hearing this question. "Is that it?"

Balder didn't give her an immediate answer. It was something natural, of course, it would be even if they were here by choice (it had nothing to do with the place being enjoyable or not). On another hand, he was still thinking about her failed arrows and how one time he had looked at her she had seemed to be moving more like a doll than anything remotely alive.

"Don't you?" He tried, wondering if this could be why she was like that today or if it was really nothing like she had said.

Isuzu hesitate, but nodded.

"Yeah"

Both looked at each other for a moment, before they looked to the fields once more, with Isuzu asking him to tell more about the mountains.

XxX

"Since we could choose any author" Yui was telling during dinner. "I decided to do about him, I mean, I've read some stuff before, so…"

Hours later, during dinner, they were talking about other kinds of school's assignments (since they had had one due for today's class) and as they went on, Yui told about a literature's paper she had done some time ago in school about Chuya Nakahara, a Japanese poet.

Surprisingly, Takeru seemed quite interested.

"Ah, I think I saw a book of his when I was in the library… I guess…" Misaki commented with a frown as she tried to remember if it was the same author. It had been a day she had been walking in the poetry section, of course. Sometimes, she ended up going through the books, or even sitting in the floor to starting reading when she got distracted.

"Doesn't Thoth complain of this?" The Greek sun god who was sitting at her side asked. The Egyptian behaved in such a strict way that he wasn't even sure that the idea of Misaki picking a book and sitting in the floor to read was something he would just accept, even because sometimes she did this in the club's hours.

"Meh, when he sees that I still haven't left, he goes after me and tells me to not sit in the floor and so on. Not always, though" She suspected it had more to do with him being more interested in his own reading to reprimand her than for acceptance. She tended to stay among shelves and out of his way…

Ren, Misaki, Yui, Apollon, Takeru and Dionysus were dinning together, but there was no sign of Tsukito or the Nordic gods and the Hironezumi twins weren't there too. Hades still wasn't back from his Astronomy Club, yet this wasn't much of a surprise. His hour of return seemed to change.

"Tsukito isn't coming to dinner?" Yui asked out of sudden, turning to Takeru that didn't need to think and shrugged a bit.

"He has been really busy with the last details of the Moon Gazing Event…" He commented, almost more to himself. "I guess I'll take something for when he is done…" Truth was, while Tsukito was attentive to some things, he got distracted easily when involved in something he classified as a "duty", so there were times he even forgot to eat. This wouldn't be an issue before, but now in human bodies…

Aware of this and of how his brother could be, Takeru lately took something to the dorm and remembered his brother that he had to eat. Tsukito once had commented that dinner was not supposed to be had in the dorm, according to the students manual, to which Takeru hadn't give a damn and told him to eat. Plus, it wasn't as if no one else ended up sneaking some snacks.

And they weren't the only ones not having dinner in the cafeteria. Ren hadn't said anything, but when she was heading downstairs and passed by a hallway, she had seen Isuzu and Arisu sitting by a windowsill with their plates on their laps, seeming to speak little and when they did it, it was through whispers.

Out of respect, and because there was a heavy seriousness in the air, Ren had pretended she hadn't seen them and when Apollon wondered where they were, she gave no answer. The god had found it weird, since they usually had dinner in the same hour and now, frequently together.

At the end of the meal, Ren decided to take the hallway with arc-shaped windows, near the gardens where she sometimes stayed to look the gardens. It wasn't that she was going to do it today, she just wanted to take this way. Tired, a bath and a time with the girls before sleeping sounded good.

Her thoughts went back to the twins. During all day, both had behaved as always, not any signal that there was something wrong and just the fact they hadn't dined with them wasn't such an out of character behavior enough to be cause of alarm.

However, in a bigger context, this meant nothing… To say someone was okay just based in the fact their behavior was the same of always didn't mean anything. She didn't want to exaggerate or intrude, though.

A shadow moved, approaching.

Ren turned by instinct before her mind made out the waved hair and how the person carried a small bag.

"Hi, Hades"

"Amaya. Good evening" The god greeted her back with a nod, stopping some feet away. Even after what Yui had said, he was still cautious around others, so Ren gestured with her head as if indicating something behind her.

The god caught the real meaning and came closer, starting to walk with her.

"How were the stars of tonight?" In the silence around, her voice was a soft whisper, as if not wanting to break it. Though they hadn't joined his club, she and Yui sometimes went after Hades to star gaze together (always with an umbrella and Yui had once took books of the subject for when it started to rain). There were times they managed to see some constellations before it started to rain or the weather became cloudy. In the first case, they would go to the gazebo and wait for the rain to pass… Sometimes it did, sometimes the girls insisted on leaving, not wanting to bother his activities.

Hades had already understood from the first time that there was no sense in telling them to go away, as Yui had once said they would only leave if it was because he wanted and not due to him being worried. Hades had given in and just told them to leave if things did start to seem to be taking a real turn to the worse.

"It was quite enjoyable…" He commented calmly as it wasn't in his nature to be over excited like Apollon, although this was a particular passion of him. And in this place, sometimes he managed to see constellations that he had to wait far more time to see or perhaps couldn't at all.

The girl nodded with a smile, happy to know and already used to his ways. Upon reaching a stair, Hades looked at her for a moment before nodding in leaving.

"Have a good night, Amaya"

"See you tomorrow…" She replied as he went upstairs, becoming one with the darkness (she was sure somehow his eye would be still sort of visible, like some animals' eyes).

The girl went on her way, hoping she wouldn't bump into Thoth (though she never had in all the times she had stayed a little out of her room after dinner), but what would be the point in taking a risk? Even so, every time she thought about this curfew, it sounded silly… What, did Zeus thought they would try to escape? Yeah, there was a curfew in boarding schools, but here? Really?

Once they had been talking about this and Misaki had joked that the idea of pushing a "curfew" to gods (who without a doubt were way beyond the age for this) was a little funny when you thought about as a bunch of children that Zeus was forcing to go to bed.

Caught in this thought as she was and almost chuckling, the greeting of the person in the hallway was a knife cut.

"Good evening, Amaya Ren" After the two-seconds fright of being surprised, there was nothing out of ordinary that it was Tsukito. Not only because he had been staying up more (according to Takeru), but also because he was the only one in the Academy that called others by full name.

The girl stopped and turned, seeing him. Still and quiet, facing the skies.

"Evening" She replied, adding just to have something to say. "You missed dinner. Your brother said he would take something for you…"

Tsukito merely nodded, now realizing the empty sensation in his stomach. He wasn't used to feel hungry just for having missed one or two meals.

"I was far too concentrated in the last arrangements of the event" He replied in his controlled tone that left clear that this was a mere statement of facts and not a justification. The girl stood at his side, without saying a word.

The Moon god remembered another time they had stayed like this for a time, staring at the sky and the fields some days ago. The most she had said had been a question as to why Takeru didn't join a club and then commented his displeasure towards their present situation.

In this she had been right. His brother detested this and so did he.

Ren still stayed there for some seconds, falling back to her own thoughts. Tsukito was at the same time a being easy and hard to deal with. The fact he could spend quite a time without saying anything wasn't something that bothered her, since she could do the same. On another hand, he was also one of the hardest to know what he thought.

The others weren't easy, of course, but even Hades had a kind of behavior you could have some idea. Perhaps a wrong idea, who knew, but it was more than the nothing that Tsukito offered.

"You are a quiet one" The god commented suddenly, attracting her attention and not looking at her. Since this was once more a statement of fact and nothing else, Ren found no answer… Well, perhaps compared to Arisu and Misaki, yes, she was.

"We probably should head back to the dorms." He said as he turned, thinking about the details he could still review while in the dorm, which was a kind of two-floor apartment.

"The event will be good. You should rest" The girl said and was about to wish him a good night when Tsukito didn't show any emotion, but blinked to her words.

"I shall fulfill my duty perfectly." Before she said anything else, he wished her a "good night" and left.

It wasn't as if Tsukito's reply wasn't what she had expected, but Ren felt weird. Thor was quiet as well, but there was something different… As she went back to the dorm, Ren thought about it. You could see something in Thor's eyes, see him relax. Tsukito was always stoic and rarely spoke of his personal tastes or opinions, keeping more focus on the facts.

Somehow, her thoughts found a path back to Isuzu and Arisu. How they had seemed when eating together, barely talking… There was some curiosity for this, but she wouldn't ask.

Without realizing what she was doing, the control of her body being taken by the instinct, her hand rubbed a part of her arm.

Chapter Text

"I knew Tsukito was taking his "duties" seriously" Misaki commented in a whisper to Yui. "But I didn't think it was like that." The other girl acquiesced, unable of not being taken aback. When they arrived by morning, they had met with Tsukito examining some students to make sure they were following the school rules in every aspect.

By Thoth's orders, the Moon god had assumed the new "duty" of "watching over school discipline", as he put it. Yui hadn't said anything when hearing about it, but she was well aware that Tsukito would take some things by the letter. A confirmation she had at the very moment when the god, wanting to measure the distance between her knees and the skirt to be sure it was according to the rules, had got down in one knee and held the hem.

And right after that, he had contested how Ren and Arisu weren't wearing the school skirts, but pants.

"You've seen them wearing it every day, what difference does that make now, Tsuki-Tsuki?"

Tsukito's reasoning had been that now he had to make sure everything was following the norms and therefore, it was different from before. The explanation had made Arisu shake her head (later, she joked to Yui how she would have said "sue me" if there wasn't the chance the god wouldn't understand the irony).

"The rules say the students must be wearing the school uniform" Ren had said with a calmness that made Yui wonder if she had already dealt with a similar scene in her other school. "Those are the school uniform pants, so we're not disrespecting anything" Tsukito had checked his manual as Arisu confirmed that there was nothing there that specified the girls had to wear the feminine uniform.

The lilac-haired god had been about to say something to this when his eyes became pale with weakness as he fell. Hey had realized they just hadn't noticed fully how there was no color in his face due to his natural paleness.

Takeru, who had been nearby searching for his brother, had helped them to carry him over to the infirmary with mumbles of how he had expected that something like this would end up happening. Truth was, Tsukito had been staying up until far late due to his insistence in organizing the Moon Gazing Event that would be late on that same day. And he also had been in the front gates since five in the morning due to his assumption that some students could arrive early.

"Only someone crazy would do that" Arisu trembled with the idea of arriving at such a time in school when the classes started hours later. "Following the rules is one thing, but there is no need to get obsessed" She had known he could be a methodic person and it had never bothered her, yet the Moon god's efforts were starting to become reason for worry. Not the most perfectionist or straitlaced student from her old school was like this…

For a moment, she truly wondered if gods could have something like OCD. Then she brushed the thought aside, it was stupid to think so.

As if that wasn't enough, right after Tsukito woke up, Thoth had come over and reprimanded him for leaving his post. Which led to now, with Tsukito seated in his desk and wondering what he was doing wrong, looking genuinely confused about it.

It was when Yui asked what he meant and it had been one of the few times the god had spoken so much and it hadn't done a thing to make things better.

He understood that they were all supposed to be having a human school life. Logic followed that if he gave his absolute best and performed all his tasks with most success, then he could guarantee his graduation. The duties that appeared also worked as welcome distractions he could set his mind into (and also took his thoughts out of the sensations he was subjugated to in this human condition), though he didn't say this last part as he deemed unnecessary.

Takeru stayed in silence to this, as he knew his brother's feelings regarding their situation. Truth to be told, there was no such thing as "getting used to it". Being sealed in a human's body didn't mean their nature changed. It felt as a soft layer constantly covering their bodies while inside they remained the same.

And just now Caduceus Thoth had said that if Tsukito continued as he was, he wouldn't be able to graduate. Even when Tsukito had affirmed that the Moon Gazing Event would be a success, the Egyptian had merely said that this was why he was an imbecile.

It made no sense to the Japanese deity.

He was taking part in the necessary activities and events, he didn't miss any class and dedicated all of his to the "school life".

So how come?

"I do not understand what I'm lacking to be able to graduate" He muttered more to himself than to any of his classmates.

"Don't worry" Yui stood next to him, not liking how he sounded, as if viewing this the same way as a mathematic equation as it would probably make him push himself even more, so she tried to find a way of saying what she meant gently. "Look… Don't you think you kinda going overboard with your sense of responsibility?"

Tsukito turned to her and his absence of answers, more than of emotions, denounced he didn't get what she meant by this. Yui sighed.

"You're harming yourself. Like today, waking up too early and getting here by five of morning? And standing by the gates all this time? It was exaggeration, no wonder you fainted."

"She is right, Totsuka" Balder agreed, seeing how Tsukito's expression still held some of confusion. It was the closest to being upset he had ever showed until now. "You can't neglect your health" He almost commented that human healthy was very different from theirs, but he didn't want the girls to think he was diminishing them, so he tried another route. "Think that taking care of yourself is also one of your responsibilities, see?"

The other's eyes went back to the table, going through it as if it wasn't truly there.

"But I don't understand how following my obligations can be wrong. Or it is something I'm lacking?"

"Only if it is common sense" Arisu's grunt earned her a dark look from Takeru, but the girl raised a shoulder as if to say there was no other way of saying so. "Not everything can be solved by just "following your obligations". Life is not like that."

Sitting in front of her, Isuzu shook her head, eyes on Tsukito. Even Apollon and Balder, who could get overexcited over something new and didn't seem to dislike the school very much, were aware that Tsukito was taking things too far.

And lately more than never and had just had the first clear impact.

"See, Tsuki-Tsuki, it isn't something you don't have, but…"

"I think I know what it is!" With a jump, Loki stood and the other's attention was now in him. "It must be love!"

Misaki stopped leaning her face on her hand, turning to hide it, fingers pressing the bridge of her nose as Arisu and Takeru rolled their eyes, thinking it would have been too much to hope the red haired would come with a decent suggestion. None of the others seemed to take the Nordic seriously either, though Tsukito looked at him as if wondering what he meant.

"Hey, Loki…" Thor called the other in a tone that was like telling him to think better, being ignored. Tsukito, however, asked what he could do to understand love.

"And what love has to do with the whole deal?" Misaki asked looking from the Moon deity to the red haired as if they were both insane in the head, aware Loki couldn't possibly mean anything such as doing what you like and having passion about life. Isuzu and Arisu exchanged glances. Loki didn't use to prank Tsukito, but they doubted he was making suggestions without second intentions.

"Tsukito…" Isuzu started with a warning tone she tended to reserve to Arisu, but Loki acted as if she wasn't there.

"A romantic feeling of attachment! Lovey-dovey, smooch things and all that! Wait, I have something perfect to help!" Things started to pile on a table as he started to take them off his coat's pockets in search. Marbles, a cube of Rubik, something that looked like a snake toy… Then he lifted two little rings, connected as if they had magnets inside. "Tcharam! Lover Rings! Perfect solution!"

He spoke like a salesman and as if it was a great and rare thing, but none of the others had the slightest idea of what this was about. Nonetheless, upon hearing the name, Misaki giggled and leaned the upper part of her body back, hands up.

"Woah! Keep that well away from me!" She joked, though she wasn't sure those rings would be of any help anyway, as they did the others judging from their sighs, some probably imagining what Loki's objective was. Balder approached his friend as if meaning to hold him back, but Loki was faster, going over to Tsukito and, before anyone could intervene, forced one of the rings on him before moving to Yui.

"Hey, Loki, wait a minute, wh…" The girl protested and tried to get free, but he held her as he made her wear the other ring.

Both rings gave birth to curious reddish light before Yui and Tsukito felt a force outside their bodies that pulled them until their hands touched, fingers down and the rings attached to each other. Yui promptly tried to pull her hand away or slid her finger off the ring, without any success.

"You got to be kidding… Loki!" She turned to the Nordic, who just chuckled. Arisu facepalmed as Ren blinked, looking from Tsukito to Yui, barely believing he had actually used a trick of this nature.

"What?" Apollon came to her and Yui showed, pulling her hand once more.

"I told you shouldn't listen to him" Isuzu told Tsukito, who ignored her as Loki just watched with a smirk.

"Laevatein Loki, I am done with your games. Take those rings off at once" His demand didn't surprise the other, who just dismissed him as Takeru and Apollon tried to release him and Yui after seeing they couldn't do it by themselves.

They had barely touched the rings when a wave of electricity ran through both.

"That hurt!" Takeru half groaned, almost growling, more out of indignation than due to pain, though his hand throbbed a little. "Loki, you fucking cretin! What is the deal of those things anyway?"

Misaki turned to Thor, unsure if this had some amusement to it, or if it was just a new source of headaches.

"I'll make an educated guess that the answer this time is not vinegar?" She asked remembering meeting Loki and his first trick. The thunder Nordic god just stared at her and the blonde didn't even expect a true reply, but he nodded with something in his eyes that was different from the usual apathy.

"The same method rarely works to solve his games…"

"Hey!" The red haired looked at him with an indignant expression, ruined by the playful grin. "I'm merely trying to help our dear classmates, that's all"

"So why don't you help by taking those things off them? Before someone else gets zapped." Isuzu asked with all sarcasm she could put in her voice. Tsukito was reflecting seriously about his issue and Loki thought it to be a propitious occasion for a silly joke such as this! If it was an attempt to cheer anyone up, it was awful.

"Well, that's what they get for not listening to me!" He wasn't at all bothered by the fact. "And it's just a little shock, no one dies from it. And those are "Lovers' Rings" like I said. They have a magic that make two people inseparable, obviously, therefore falling in love almost instantaneously and becoming enamored"

Yui had no belief whatsoever that objects (even coming from deities) had power to mess with feelings and just wanted those rings off. She tried to push them away with her free hand, soon a wave running over her at once, taking all her senses.

As Loki had said, it wasn't strong enough to actually cause pain. It felt more like a light slap over all her nerves, a shock that made the area feel lighter and then prickling. It didn't make a difference if the one trying to get those things off were outsiders or one of the people wearing them, the result was just the same.

"Loki, c'mon, just take those rings off them" Balder asked, hoping his friend would see the joke was going too far and that it wasn't the time. Loki didn't seem bothered by this either.

"Balder… Even if I wanted to, which I don't, I wouldn't be able to. See, once put on, no one "can take them off", that's how it works" And he shrugged, looking to the others as if not knowing the reason for such reactions. "But it isn't that complicated! They just need to understand each other's hearts, I'm not telling them to make a trip to Asgard or anything like that."

"But…" Yui started, the words dying in her throat for there was no way this could be taken as a simple solution as the god seemed to consider. People could live together for a long time and never truly comprehend each other and it wasn't something that could be truly done in just a couple of hours. The interruption this time came from Tsukito, who stood up.

"Very well then" Those words called the others' attention as they had expected him to join Yui in a protest and not just resign himself to what Loki was saying. "This is my new duty, so I shall accept it."

"But this is what we were saying that is the root of your problem" Arisu grumbled, hiding her face in one of the hands upon realizing the Moon god hadn't understood a thing of what had been said to him as Yui faced him, shocked that he was just bowing his head to this. Ren groaned to herself, judging this was something Tsukito would have difficulties to deal with, if the few times they had truly talked were any indicative.

The god's next question just served to confirm her suspicions.

"By the way, what do you mean by "enamored"? I'm not sure I understand"

Isuzu turned to him with such a movement that her neck almost made a crackling sound as Apollon and Arisu exchanged looks, unable to hide their reaction.

"Of what planet are you from?" Misaki couldn't avoid the question. There was no way on Earth there could be anyone in that classroom who didn't know such things! Even in the case that Tsukito had no experience with romantic relationships, it wasn't impossible that he didn't know of other people involved in such. And the fact that he was a god, alive since millennia ago was just a more aggravating factor.

Yui felt a wave of heat up her body and face. To explain to any of the gods anything related to this particular subject wasn't something she or the other girls had ever thought that would happen and even as stoic as Tsukito was… At the least he should know something even if just by theory…

"Uh, Tsukito… "Enamored" is one of the possible terms to call people who are… Well, you know, in love… Therefore…" She tried to explain, feeling more awkward at each word and still hoping to avoid more misunderstandings while also showing him that it was not their case. Her face felt warmer to the point her body shivered inside.

"I see what you mean" Tsukito continued in the same tone as if the discussion was a banal thing. There was relief in understanding that the god just wasn't familiar with that particular term and not the concept.

"And since they are not…" Misaki started, being cut this time by Loki.

"Nothing to worry about!" He raised his hand and dismissed her words. "I'll teach him!"

This made Balder and Thor to look at each other, both with similar memories going through their minds of Loki's tricks.

"Don't do this for the sake of others' sanity!" Isuzu hissed, her attention back to Tsukito as she tried to pass through her own discomfort of speaking of this matter with the gods (though she knew they must have better experience). It wasn't as if she had a problem with the subject of dating or sex, but like Yui, she didn't think they were at this level of familiarity with the deities.

However, this was better than to let Loki to make things even more complicated.

"Look, you know about… Well, people who are interested in each other go on dates, like just taking a walk or go to movies or anything that…"

Loki placed his hand on her head and forced it down gently.

"Booo-ooo-oooring!" He said in a sing-sung way. "That's not going to help at all, the best way is to just go straight to the action! Affectionate gestures and all this! Isn't the quickest solution?"

"No, it isn't! This has gone far eno…"

Tsukito interrupted Yui by turning to her suddenly.

"Kusanagi Yui, kiss me, please"

It all happened too fast.

Shock closed her throat and a wave of liquid fire ran up between her skin and flesh, words of protest stopping in the way. Without actually waiting for an answer or changing his expression, the god leaned to her as Takeru, Apollon and Balder jumped over them while Ren pulled back by the collar of his shirt, managing to avoid a shock on the contrary of the three gods.

"Just kissing her won't make you "enamored" automatically, just so you know" Her hiss had some irony as she let him go. "And it won't make the rings release you guys either."

The other three gods had fallen in the floor and now stood, yelling to Loki with anger, indignation or lack of patience. The red haired didn't mind and just laughed.

XxX

Thoth at first ignored that Yui and Tsukito were seated next to each other when the Japanese god just asked him to not mind. Apparently, Thoth decided he was better off not knowing anyway and started the class at first without problems until Yui accidentally let a pen fall and when she leaned to get it, Tsukito was too focused in his own notes.

In result, they both had fell (Tsukito not letting out even a sound) and then Thoth had demanded an explanation for that mess.

After learning what this was about, the Egyptian had had just gave them his back and saying the classes were done for today. Upon seeing Kusanagi holding her hand to her chest and trying to call him, he guessed she meant to ask for his help in finding a way to fix what Loki had done and was absolute: He had no obligations whatsoever of fixing other's mess.

Without a choice, Tsukito somehow insisting that being her "boyfriend" was his duty, they now continued with the last preparations for the night event, including the dumplings. Both were caught up and unaware that the other gods and girls spied from afar.

There was a moment in which they saw Tsukito offering a dango to Yui and afterwards pulling a book and seeming to comment about what he had read about girls. Even with their distance, Isuzu could make out the cover and get an idea of what it was about, although they couldn't truly hear Tsukito or Yui's words.

"Where did he get that book?" She whispered to Misaki, who just blinked and shook her head. Loki, however, was nearby and leaned forwards to look at her.

"I suggested it to him!" His innocent was of saying made one wonder if he actually thought it was going to help while the gleam in his eyes said he had done it because he was well aware of how it would be of no help whatsoever.

"Of course you did…" She shook her head. If Tsukito kept following that book, it would only work to worsen the situation as there was no help to be found there. "Tsukito has a lot to learn about women"

She had muttered more to Misaki and Arisu, but it seemed the gods nearby, who were also hiding in the bushes with the three, heard it.

"What do you mean, Suzu-Suzu?" Apollon sounded curious, though it was difficult to know about what specifically. It couldn't be about the nature of such relationships, it was no secret he had had several lovers. Isuzu blushed a little, but it came to her mind that their behavior should be very different than the women of his time (even if they could observe the mortal world from wherever they lived).

"Well, you can't learn everything about relationships and women in books. Let alone of that kind…" She completed indicating the book Tsukito had in his free hand with her chin. For what she could see, Yui also seemed unable to believe the god was actually leaning in this sort of reading to try to understand things.

Apollon blinked and chuckled. Takeru, who was between him and Isuzu, frowned and even Isuzu didn't see the reason for this reaction. Had she said something funny? But then the Sun god threw her one of his warm smiles.

"Wow, Suzu-Suzu… Now you sounded just like my sister!" Ahead, Yui spoke something to Tsukito as she picked a dumpling and offered him. Seeing this, Apollon moaned that he would have liked if the girl did this to him…

This just made Misaki and Arisu exchange glances.

A bit more away than the others, near some columns, were Hades, Dionysus, Thor and Ren. As they watched, Takeru seemed to be about to go to Tsukito and Yui until they saw him catching something in the floor and hiding behind some boxes, a white shadow in his arms that Ren recognized as Usamaro.

Tsukito and Yui spoke of something and, having to help each other, took off their aprons before walking away.

"Where do you think they are going to?" Apollon asked standing, but Takeru came back holding Usamaro, though his eyes were in the direction his brother had gone off to. As much as he tried to keep control, he couldn't help worrying about Tsukito, who would forget to eat sometimes until the hunger was too strong to be ignored or Takeru remembered him.

He could only hope that once this whole mess was over, the Moon god would finally understand that he was exaggerating.

"I think they went to get pampas grass, Tsukito said that he would rather get them on the day of the event."

"Okay then" Misaki stood and stretched her shoulders. "So meanwhile, let's get the tables ready" Since they all were ignoring their club activities to spy on Tsukito and Yui to see how they would deal with their problem, the least they could do was to help somehow.

"But Totsuka said he wanted to do all by himself" Standing up as well, Balder seemed a bit in doubt. Not because he didn't want to do anything, but because he wasn't sure Tsukito would appreciate it. "Won't he think we're intruding?"

There was this chance. As they had watched Tsukito trying to build the tables, he had struggled with having to use practically one hand and though Yui had tried to make it less complicated and offered help, he had been firm in his refusal. The result had been several twisted nails and wasted boards until he got some rights.

"I don't know… But I guess we should just do it" Like Balder, Apollon didn't mean to bother his colleague, but he also didn't like the idea of not doing anything, specially taking in account that the god had fainted some hours ago. It hadn't been serious, but it didn't change the reason Tsukito had reached this point.

"I agree" Isuzu decided, turning to Balder. "Plus, Tsukito doesn't need to do all by himself, no matter what he believes it. If he doesn't like it, too bad"

While Loki, Thor, Arisu and Misaki picked the tablecloths and plates, Takeru, Hades, Ren, Isuzu, Balder and Dionysus split in groups to carry the tables upstairs to the balcony that Tsukito had chosen to be the event's point. Loki and Thor at first hadn't seemed very willing to help, but for some reason had gone along.

Hades tried to carry a side of the table they carried as Ren and Dionysus held the opposite side, but somehow Dionysus hands slipped out of his control and the table fell, its leg hitting his foot. The god of the Underworld had apologized profusely, even when his nephew tried to say all was fine, voice between gritted teeth of pain.

So, they decided it would be better if Isuzu and Ren held a side as Dionysus the other. Hades limited himself to guide them, not wanting to cause another accident and staying away as they, Takeru and Balder, carried the tables in line through the stairs.

While they were heading downstairs, Hades asked how they thought Totsuka and Kusanagi were, still a bit upset that his curse stopped him from even helping as much as he would have liked.

"They must be fine…" Dionysus commented, sounding a little uncertain (or perhaps it was his throbbing foot). "They just went to get herbs, it's easier than trying to cook with just one hand" Which Tsukito had really tried to do it, just accepting Yui's help after a pan had fallen and realized he wouldn't be able to make the dumplings in the current situation.

"It is related to harvest, isn't it? The grass, I mean." Dionysus asked. There were plants offered to them in festivals in their names and he supposed it was a similar thing with the pampas grass.

"Yeah… In the Tsukimi" One of the names for the event. "People celebrate the full moon of autumn, the harvest moon. The dumplings are traditional food and the grasses are part of the decoration. Like offerings to the moon"

Takeru joined in the explanation.

"And the pampas grasses are associated with Autumn in Japan. There are also the sweet potatoes and other foods of the season." It was a part of the festival tradition and it had continued over the years. "People use to drink, recite poetry, those things…"

"But I don't think we'll be having sake, so perhaps another drink." Isuzu commented as they continued their work.

XxX

The top of the trees looked covered in liquid gold and the breeze among the leaves created the illusion of waves. The clothes, touched by the sunset light, lost the white to gain a more orange-like shade.

Picking the tall grass, after they had got the hang of it, had been easier than Yui had anticipated and had been a little surprised to realize the sun was already going down and it would be better if they returned to the school.

Around, the grass stood high, some up to their waists and trembling around. It was as if they were walking through another sort of sea and the smell of the grass was strong, but not to the point of being an attack to the senses. Yui had always loved the afternoon. Living in a temple with a great garden and trees around, she had always felt something that was both relaxing and nostalgic during such hours and from early life took a liking to watch the changing colors of the sunset.

With her free arm holding several talons of grass, Yui paid attention to her footing. The ground here wasn't slippery or rocky, but there were fallen leaves and the earth felt slightly humid and would slip under their shoes. It would have been better if she were barefoot or with sandals.

She thought that if she wasn't tied up to Tsukito, long ago would she have taken off her shoes and ran around a little, just for the fun of it.

The god walking at her side kept his silence as he held her hand firmly. Yui was well aware there was nothing special in the gesture, he had said it just would be safer this way considering the ground and Yui wondered if he was remembering of earlier, when she had made them both fell in the class… Even now, she was embarrassed with the memory even if she had apologized.

"Is that in the book too?" It was a chance, maybe it would be something like "girls like to walk holding hands" (which wasn't quite false in her case), but considering the passages that Tsukito had commented about, probably it would be more in the lines of "sensation of protection in the firm hand of a man" or something in this style. She would have laughed before if she didn't think it would be even more complicate to explain to Tsukito how there was no help to be found in that book.

"Hm?" Tsukito turned to her.

"Uh, I thought it out loud"

"No, nothing." She hurried to say, avoiding his eyes and deciding to say something else. "Before coming here, did you watch the moon a lot?" Considering his position, Yui knew this was a silly question but it was better than to keep the silence.

They all knew Tsukito to be a reserved god, perhaps if it was a subject of his interest, then he would open a bit more.

During the day, one thing she had noticed more was how his concentration could be intense. Truth to be told, it was admirable.

"Being the Tsukiyomi god, it was my responsibility to watch over the moon" His response had the tone of always, they could have been speaking of any other matter and it would have been impossible to notice. "However, it is the first time I'll do it as a school event. I never practiced other activities similar to school ones" He added when Yui looked at him as if expecting more.

Yui couldn't discern the reason yet, somehow, what Tsukito was saying bothered her as if there was more to those words, a meaning intertwined in them and hidden in the yarn of sounds.

"None?" She commented, though this wasn't the cause of her reaction. After all, why would a god follow school activities anyway? An idea passed by her mind and she caught herself saying. "So it will be the first time you do it from another point of view! This can be fun" Or at least interesting. For the other gods too, since their festivals were different and…

"Fun?" Tsukito repeated the term as if it was from a foreign language.

"Don't you think so?" Looking at him, Yui knew that he didn't care about this particular detail at all. "Even… Even with all the preparations?"

He had dedicated himself so much that… That she had assumed the obvious: That while he didn't show, Tsukito was anxious for the event and hoped all would go well and not just in a "professional" way, per say. And due to being the Moon god, she had also assumed he liked those events.

In his gaze, she found the essence of denial to all she had imagined.

"Or… Or is Tsukito saying that…"

"I have no care for whether it will be pleasurable or fun." The firmness of his voice left no doubts of truth, confirming the girl's line of thought. "It is just a duty to be performed." Seeing the girl frowning as if not understanding what she meant, he decided to indulge her this time, not knowing this was not the reason underneath her expression. "To fulfill my obligations as a deity is what gives my existence a meaning, so I follow them. Anything else doesn't interest me"

It was how things worked and it was simple: He had his position as the god of the Moon, just like Susanoo had his as the god of Sea and the connection this entitled was far more complex than it sounded when placed in such simple terms. They had their duties as such and those were all that mattered to him. Otherwise, their positions, their existence, everything they were… It just wouldn't have a meaning.

However, it wasn't something he thought the human girl could understand and her next words confirmed his suspicions.

"That's not true!" Her words escaped her mouth as Yui realized why his words acted in a way similar to bullets. It wasn't different from finding a needle in the middle of a yarn ball of harsh texture.

His eyes reflected the sunset light and had an almost liquid aspect (which she had seen to be frequent with the gods who had eyes of that color) when they landed on her, with a light and polite inquisitiveness among the lack of expression, part of her mind whispered that whatever she said now wouldn't truly matter to Tsukito, he was just listening because it would be impolite not to.

"You don't need something to give you value. No one does" Yui went on, feeling the distance of his inquisitiveness while wishing she could make him understand what she was trying to convey. With a sight, she searched for the right words. She had to try, it wasn't possible that he wouldn't understand her "Look… I don't know how it is with the gods, but I believe no one is born with a motive or reason. You're just born, that's all"

"Of course" She added quickly when he seemed to be about to say something. "That you have your obligations, everyone does. And… I can imagine how yours must be very different from what I'm used to… I know it's different… But even so, that doesn't mean those are what give you value, this is something you have just by being yourself."

All those words felt empty, unpardonable clichés that weren't enough to express a truth as complex as the mysterious element that made hearts and minds work in a certain way that had nothing to do with hormones or body reactions. Yui didn't know why, but the idea of Tsukito living completely guided by his duties to the point of ignoring whether he liked things around or not… It created an image of chains that were inside him, turning his body not a home for the soul, but a cage.

And she hated it.

"See, your life has value by itself. So, you should enjoy it… Have fun, do things that you like." She tried to dismiss a question made of ice: When you lived forever and was in such a position, what had the world to offer that wouldn't grow boring and old? "I'm just saying that there is more in living than the duties…"

Tsukito stopped walking and Yui became quiet, heart pounding and feeling small and silly.

He looked ahead, not even blinking. More than never, Yui could see past his youthful looks. There was no mark of the years and it wasn't an "ageless look" either… What she found was more terrifying: The true look of a being untouched by the promise of death's release.

"I do not understand"

He felt her hand in his, not knowing why she seemed so agitated or why her flesh shivered. His mind went over her words in analyze as he hadn't expected a short-lived being like her to comprehend what he meant, but neither had he expected an answer of this nature. There was a meaning here, he knew, but it felt so alien he couldn't decipher it.

"Should one eat what one likes? Laugh when one is having fun? What value is in such simple actions? Nothing that you say has any sense" He supposed it made sense for a human, whose life was short like a butterfly's, never living enough to see all the world allowed humans to see and understanding even less, but it was different for him. Those things couldn't be enough to give existence a meaning of any sorts. "I am the god Tsukiyomi. Since my birth, I spent my time watching over the moon, fulfilling the duties of my existence as such. This is my position and this is what I am. I do not know anything besides this and I am not interested in learning"

The coldness of now had slithered in his voice or had it just always been there and she had just been mistaking it for aloofness all this time?

Tsukito was just putting this much effort in attending the school due to being the only way to free himself. Truth was, he didn't feel a mere dislike for the predicament he found himself in: His displeasure was of such intensity that it edged what he could feel of loathing, not only for the situation itself but specially for being forced into a human life of any sort (his brother commented how human bodies were bothersome and Tsukito thought they were even worse than this).

His self control didn't allow him to show others this (not that he would have been sure of how anyway and it was of no matter in the end, since it wouldn't change a thing), but it was so different than his millennia existence that one couldn't not be affected by it in a negative sense.

He didn't like humans.

Nothing would change it.

"Aren't you interested?" Whatever force had been behind Yui's words had faded as a star with the approaching sun and her whisper now was quiet. Her heart felt heavier and the setting sun didn't feel as beautiful anymore. "Not even… A little bit?"

Why was she even asking? His words made it clear that he meant to learn only the essential to achieve graduation. Any other thing that wasn't strictly necessary for such held no importance to him.

The moments they had spent together passed by her mind and gained another shade. She had always thought about Tsukito as someone who was quiet and reserved, and only now she realized the true nature of distance between them… Or at least part of it.

"But… I enjoyed it…" She muttered, almost to herself and turned to him, some heat coming back to her words as if her voice wanted to warm her body again. "Today, while we got things ready? Trying to make the tables, the dumplings, just spending time together? I had fun! I really enjoyed it…" The worry of not getting free and difficulties that having their hands stuck together provided hadn't been forgotten or ignored, but they hadn't been the only elements present during the day either.

The Moon god just stayed in silence.

XxX

From the balcony, the top of the trees and the grass were even more like a lake seeing from above that grew darker quickly, though one still could see the traits of gold hiding among the leaves as the sunlight became fragile and gave place to the night fall. Arisu and Misaki were getting a tablecloth ready as Loki and Thor placed other over the table. Yui and Tsukito would probably be back soon.

"And Isuzu went to see some kimonos" Arisu was telling Misaki. The small school store had an area for clothes and had opened a section with suitable clothes for this event. The question in their minds, however, had nothing to do with picking a model that they liked. "But I have no idea how Yui will manage it"

Neither the girl nor Tsukito would be able to change if their hands remained stuck together like that.

"Maybe they will get free until they come back?" The blonde suggested with a thoughtful look, even if she doubted this would be the case and, picking a fine tablecloth, she threw it over another of the tables as Arisu went to pull the corners and setting it straight. "I can only imagine what Thoth will say if tomorrow they are still stuck like that"

Both could imagine, actually.

As they took the clothes and some dishes up (leaving the dumplings and other foods in the kitchen, as it would be better to take them with the sauces), Thoth had passed by them and asked what they were doing.

Their explanation of how they were setting things ready was well accepted, but Thoth had wanted to know if the problem between Kusanagi Yui and Totsuka Tsukito had been solved (casting a severe stare at Loki, who didn't even blink) and asked to be informed once they were back and also about the rest of the event's organization.

"I explained very well what they are supposed to do" Loki said, walking back and examining the table one last time, seeming satisfied and coming over to the two girls. Honestly, both girls had been somewhat surprised to see him truly helping, even if it was something so simple. The impression they had of Loki hadn't just disappeared with this and he still didn't seem someone that would go out of his way to help others (Arisu hadn't forgotten how he had refused to help Takeru some days ago and doubted the Nordic had forgotten either, even if he behaved as if he didn't care for how she had called him a selfish bastard).

"Maybe it's just because Thor and Balder are into it, too" Misaki reflected with herself, looking to the orange and yellow sky that became blue and the fields. For an instance, it made her remember an afternoon back of when she was a child and had gone over to the park to play, and then she had come home… And yeah, she remembered.

"You speak as it was the easiest thing in the world" Arisu shook her head to Loki. Though that was a prank she had seen before in stories, it wasn't that funny when it happened with people she knew and neither when the "key" to solve it all didn't lie in a trick or secret like actually coming closer than pulling apart or anything like that.

"Hey, would you rather have them going to Asgard or any other place to find golden apples or something like that?"

Arisu started to think even that would be easier, and also faster.

"Why in hell you would have those rings, anyway?" There was no sarcasm or irony in her words, but a real (if exasperated) curiosity. Something whose solution would be a crazy travel sounded more like Loki's style than this. Misaki, on another hand, exchanged looks with Thor, meaning to ask him if he had seen Loki using those rings in other gods. If so, she could imagine none of the involved had been very happy.

Somehow, the Thunder god must have understood her gaze, for he gave an almost imperceptible shake of denial.

The redheaded just started to play with his hair as he often did, smirking at Arisu, the grey eyes seeming to gleam in contrast with the sun in the fire strands.

"Why, are you jealous?" He asked interested. "Of Totsuka or of thinking I may have used this on myself and some other goddess?"

Arisu rolled her eyes. Was it impossible to have one serious conversation with him? No wonder he got on her nerves! She enjoyed jokes, sure, but this guy had no limits whatsoever!

"Dream on"

Thor and Misaki were more interested in watch the conversation than in taking part. Loki, ignoring her answer, went back to consider her question and said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What best way to understand love?"

"I can think about several" Misaki commented to Thor and went to the door, being followed by the Nordic god of Thunder. Once at the door to the stairs, she turned to the others. "Hey, I guess we better go?"

Arisu nodded to her once before staring at Loki down and up, evaluating the red-haired deity before shaking her head in the manner of someone dealing with a hopeless case (which perhaps it wouldn't be far from what he was).

"As if you knew much about it" She was going to turn away and follow Misaki (who was already going downstairs with Thor) when Loki leaned to her, whispering.

"You might be sur-pri-sed" Standing straight with the looks of being illuminated by an idea, he suggested with a smile that could be of amusement or mockery alike. "Or would you have liked it more if I had put those rings in us?"

Arisu's response was a sarcasm-filled stare. Had he really gone to the point of saying this?

"Then we would never be able to take them off, I bet." She opened a deadly smile. "And if you have a death-seeking nature, then that's your problem" Honestly, was he truly a god? It wasn't as if she expected or wanted them to behave all royal and might (okay, in their first day here before knowing them, this was what she had expected), but no matter how laidback the others seemed to be, it was way different with Loki.

It was as if he was more indicated to be a god of madness than Dionysus…

Only thinking of his idea was already enough to make her feel tired and honestly, had he used those rings on them Arisu thought she would soon lose her control and truly tried to punch him. It wouldn't have solved a thing, of course, but it would have been a way to relief the stress she would have felt.

"I can't figure this guy out!"

As if to confirm her thoughts, her face was pulled up and forwards when Loki held her chin as he leaned to her enough so the girl would feel his breathing in her face. When the god's index finger brushed her face in a mocking caress, a corner of her mouth twisted.

"Hmmm, and would that be that bad?" He whispered in a way that Arisu was just able to hear due to their proximity and thanked the Creator that neither Misaki nor Thor were here to see this.

Aware than Loki was just teasing her for the fun of it and hating that he would hold her face like that, Arisu lifted her eyebrows before showing her gritted teeth, word slithering between.

"Believe me, Red, that would be Hell" With a sharp move she released herself, not even looking at him when she headed to the stairs. She knew this had just been a joke to him, but she hadn't liked it.

Loki didn't seem at all intimidated, more like amused.

XxX

"Aihara" Thoth greeted as he took his eyes off a book he had on his hands once noticing Misaki entering the library and then going back to reading when the girl approached.

"Thoth-sama" The girl replied with a polite nod, adding just in case. "I'm sorry if I took too long, we were getting the tables ready" The god didn't even raise his eyes from his book, but Misaki wasn't bothered as this was actually normal and knew he was hearing. The proof was when he asked.

"Wasn't Totuska Tsukito going to take care of it?"

Misaki looked from him to the shelf, reading some book titles or merely observing. She didn't know for sure what Thoth meant by such, if he was just asking or making an insinuation of sorts. Back in that morning, he had said that Tsukito was an imbecile, anyway.

"Regarding Thoth, you never know what he truly means…"

"Tsukito gets too focused in what he has to do" Since the Egyptian was also one to value responsibilities, Misaki picked her next words with care. "Take today, he was there at the gates since five of morning! There are things he doesn't need to do alone, so we're helping. Plus, I doubt he would be able to carry those tables alone anyway."

Misaki felt the intense stare of the god and looked back at him, confirming the sensation. For some minutes, they just looked at each other.

"Has he separated from Kusanagi Yui?"

Misaki knew well that this was what he truly wanted to know and there was no point in avoiding the subject. She also could guess, more surely this time, that he wouldn't be at all pleased. But it wasn't as if any of them could do anything about it and if Thoth wanted to blame someone, let him blame Loki.

"Of all times for him to try a prank like this"

"Well… They are not back yet" Not as far as she knew. But there was no point, Arisu was right, they probably wouldn't manage to get free of those rings in just some hours… Thoth didn't say a thing to this, but his hands seemed to hold the book more firmly.

"Has Loki Laevatein informed them of what is necessary to do?" It was the least the dunce could have done to compensate the problem he had created. It wasn't as if he didn't know the Nordic's prankster nature, but this was far too much.

Misaki let out a sound that could be either a giggle or a scoff.

"His words? "To comprehend each other's hearts" exactly" She made quotations signs in the air and almost jumped when Thoth closed his book suddenly, the sound echoing in the library and the iron of his eyes burning in annoyance. Misaki kept her head high, even if she did feel as if her organs had exchanged places.

"An idiocy such as this…" He hissed and the girl couldn't say what to say in this situation, but thought about trying something anyway.

"No denying that. But we can think of a way around this, I guess…" Eventually, at least. Maybe they could try talking to Zeus directly… He would probably be furious (or maybe he would find it amusing, he was another one whose reactions she didn't think anyone could predict), but he probably had power to free Yui and Tsukito.

"Yeah, casting a mini lightening in those stupid rings would be a good idea" She controlled herself to not laugh, however some of her amusement must have shown in her eyes for Thoth's features became more than never like smooth stone when he leaned to her.

"Perhaps you find this funny" So close the god was that his words touched the face of the girl cornered to the shelf. "But I don't see how you can just go and make such affirmations"

Misaki felt her mouth dry. To stay quiet seemed no doubt like the most sensate route and she knew it. Yet, something in her pushed an argument up her throat.

"All the issues we've met, we managed to solve" She tried to explain to the god of knowledge. "I just meant to say that we're going to find a way around this as well, in a way or another, we won't sit and give up. And considering how Loki is, it must be a solution involving a kind of trick." And to avoid wasting time going after the Nordic, should Yui and Tsukito not get rid of those things, they would try going to Zeus and that was it. It was impossible that there was no other way.

"Besides, he is the one without shackles and all, isn't him? To someone who could change people into animals, to turn those rings into dust must be a piece of cake"

The blue eyes of Thoth, so different in their shade of Balder's, didn't set her free, turning into knives in her own eyes. Misaki felt smaller under this iron and didn't like this at all.

"That's what you say" He carried on. "I do wonder where you take all this conviction from and if this is how you attempt to deal with every problem in your life. I do hope you're sensate enough to know this, but a positive attitude isn't the answer for everything"

"I know, I never…" There was no helping the sensation of indignation. What did he think she was? The intention of saying how they would go to Zeus themselves lost the intensity with Thoth's words.

"If you do know, how can you even affirm things just will be solved? If the dunce is telling the truth, do you have any idea of how long can it take for those two to be rid of those stupid rings? And what a waste of time it is?" He interrupted her, measuring her up and down.

"If you're going to talk about the graduation" Misaki hurried to say, trying to keep her patience, though her nerves were suffering waves that threatened her self control. The fact that Thoth kept going back to the same damn subject didn't help. "We are getting progress, maybe not very fast, but we are"

"I do not deny this, however it doesn't imply you can afford such nonsense" He carried on, still staring at her. The closure, the way he hissed the words, all made Misaki see him as a bird of prey while she was the mouse. "And if you know this, you should also know that insisting that things will be fine isn't a solution in itself. Have you stopped to think that the chances of it not happening shouldn't be ignored?"

Something in his way of saying this heated her blood up.

"I've never said anything like this, but the chance of it happening shouldn't be ignored either!" Her mouth was dry, words came with difficult, while others pressed her throat. Nothing had happened yet, right? The path was still open, so until there they had a chance to do something, they should keep pursuing it. It wasn't like living focused in "positive thought solves all", it was keeping in mind that the window of possibility was still open!

"And yet you don't seem at all worried. Do you have any idea of how inconvenient all this is?" Thoth insisted, for he couldn't believe that she comprehended some things when displaying such behavior. To keep the control and clear mind was one thing and, depending of the person, it helped to seek for solutions. However in Aihara's case it wasn't calmness what he felt.

"Thoth-sama! I know this, but there is nothing we can do at the moment! Tsukito is worried with this event, Yui is glued to him, so we decided to help with what we can. Do you think he would sit down and discuss the ring business? He would say it is a duty, he has to follow it and carry on!" Her voice elevated a bit and she realized at some point that she sounded almost like a child trying to justify herself to her parents.

This opened a hole in her as a bleeding sensation of nausea filled her stomach.

Something deep and sick agitated in her, in a point so hidden in her body that it felt as if belonging to someone else.

"However, you tend to act carelessly, as if closing your eyes to your problems made them vanish and if by being happy, you won't have to deal with issues" He said in an almost studying tone, of one taking mental notes about the behavior of a strange animal. "With such behavior, it makes one wonder if you care about your predicament at all or if you have notion that there is far more at stake than your mere return. You should realize this and take things more seriously rather than being so childish, as it will only lead to more trouble, which we all could do without."

Whatever vein kept Misaki in place was ripped and the girl was shattered.

Fire came up her throat, opening way to words that got free and left a bitter taste in their wake. For a moment, her hand trembled with the desire of slapping him and it was just the fact she was no longer in her own body that stopped it from happening.

"Just because I "act carelessly" to use your own terms" Her tone was cutting ice. "It doesn't actually mean a thing. I'm not blind to the world, just so you know. I'm not ignoring what's happening and the only thing that matters to me is going home. I'm not a "Pollyana" playing the "Cheer Game", however sulking about things and bitching about them is no solution either, last time I checked. I have my way of dealing with "issues", that's all" It wasn't being positive or negative, but a way of being realist. What she made a conscious effort was to not fall in the gray ocean of giving up, of letting that take over. If she did, she knew she would drown. "And you don't know what I truly fucking think, so how about not judging me?"

The gush of words made Thoth without reaction, even if she wasn't yelling and her tone remained polite enough. When he opened his mouth, Misaki guessed he was about to let out a lecture or reprimand her and, not up to hear him anymore, she waved in a gesture of dismissal.

"Whatever. I'm just a human, am I not? In the end, this is what this all comes down to." She should have know, she and the others had gone over this and now she felt a kind of confirmation and her whole being felt cold. "But I won't go around acting as the others think I should anymore. I'm just a silly, ignorant human and you're a deity, fine, cool, more power to ya, be happy, be praised. But I don't care."

Thoth's harsh face flashed with rage before her words and just the shock allowed the lack of reaction for a second, enough for Misaki to turn, hair whipping her back with the movement, herself lost in waves of heat and cold and mind taken by mist.

"Aihara!" Thoth roared to her in warning, but the girl ignored and left the library without looking back. The silence now devoured all around. Thoth knew this was merely sensory contrast coming to.

For an instance, he still looked at the door, mind going over what had just happened. Everything had happened too fast, as a summer sky being dominated by the darkness of a storm out of sudden.

"What in the name of Ra was all that?" He grumbled to himself, placing his book over a table and sitting down. A small rustle came from one of the shelves nearby and a shadow with huge eyes of a light color spied in his direction.

"Bara?" The whisper was so low that it wouldn't have been possible to identify the other god by his voice. Thoth kept a sigh that he hadn't realized forming in his throat.

"She was upset" He limited to reply as the other god, still hiding behind the shelf, glanced to the doors as if confirming that Aihara had left. Thoth knew this wasn't quite the case: Anubis had a hearing far too good to be fooled and had heard all, even if Aihara hadn't yelled once.

"Bara. Bara kabara?" He turned back to Thoth, head tilted in an animal-like curiosity.

"It matters not" The god of knowledge felt his mouth bitter with his own annoyance that wasn't directed to Anubis or his question. Truth was, he didn't know why Aihara had had such a reaction. And he didn't want to admit it out loud not even to himself. "She must have misinterpreted something that I said, it is not uncommon to happen."

Anubis looked at the floor and shrugged.

"Bara kabara bara bara." He muttered, going back to where he had been and settling there. He always spoke in that strange way, a language of his own whose words itself had no true meaning. This was transmitted by the sound itself rather than the shape, like musical notes may transmit emotions.

Thoth agreed with Anubis, this had been a most atypical behavior… Anubis knew because he had observed Aihara and the other students from afar. Sometimes out in the campus and sometimes when some of them came to the library to read or choose/give books back or when they needed to talk about classes.

Aihara never had seemed the temperamental type. If someone asked Thoth, he would judge Hironezumi Arisu to be more prone to reactions of this nature. Besides, there had been very few who had once spoken to him in such way and none had been a human. He had been speechless more due to the surprise that she would dare to behave like this than due to what had been said.

And that was one of the things that bothered him about what had just happened: How had things reached this point? In a moment, she was talking about how they had set the tables ready for the Moon event and how Totsuka and Kusanagi were still stuck… Then the next thing was she getting annoyed, speaking quickly and suddenly turning away from him.

How did the conversation (well, it wasn't the ideal term, but the closest one) end up like this?

The god groaned to himself. It didn't make any sense.

XxX

"So great, aniki! It all looks so amazing!" Takeru was commenting to Tsukito. The moon was full in the dark sky and the veil over the woods had passed from gold to silver. Lights shined softly in the balcony, just enough to it wouldn't be too dark and wouldn't rival the moonlight (which didn't seem to be even possible this night). Tsukito had been taken aback when returning and finding the things set, but Yui thought he had realized it would be impossible to carry the tables by himself, for the Moon god had limited to thank the others for their help.

Then they had taken the dumplings up after getting ready, decided it would be better like this than going up and down more than once. Yui and Tsukito had indeed found it hard, since there was no way to change with their hands stuck, but the girls had thought about the case and found a solution that, while not ideal, seemed the only one possible for now.

To take the uniform out hadn't been the issue, just a cut in the sleeves would solve it. They would have to ask new jackets and blouses in the school store, but this was far from being a problem. In the case of the kimonos, the girls had suggested doing the same, sewing after Yui and Tsukito had dressed them.

Not seeing other way around it, they had accepted it (each closing their eyes when it was the other's turn). Isuzu had helped Yui and Takeru had helped his brother.

To sew the sleeves had been another point, since none of the girls or gods was exactly great at it. Even now, while Apollon complimented Yui (he had liked the kimonos and thought it would be a pity if she and Tsukito couldn't wear them in the celebration), Isuzu reflected how the work wasn't very good, thought it didn't seem that any of them would complain…

"Thank you, Apollon!" Yui placed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, a light blush in her face due to the praises. She had picked a wine-colored kimono with a yellow sash. "You all look great too!" Being a Japanese festival, all other gods had decided to dress as such.

Near the tables, the smell of the dangos became more noticeable and Dionysus was admiring the variety of flavor: Sweet beans, caramel sugar and more.

"Totsuka and Kusanagi did an amazing work" He commented to his uncle. He hadn't doubted that the event would be interesting seeing the preparations, but it was one thing to imagine and other was to see the final effect. In some aspects, it was like the festivals he was used to (with elements such as typical garments and foods), but in others it was completely different.

At his side, Ren picked one of the dumplings with a chopstick. Her kimono slowly turned blue in the hem and sleeves, adorned by what seemed veins and her sash was darker shade of blue, almost black.

"They are really great!" Remembering of how, earlier as they watched, Tsukito had given the impression of now knowing a thing about cooking, Ren thought that it had been a good thing that Yui was with him.

"It is really beautiful, Totsuka" Balder commented meanwhile. "It is the Japanese wasabi"

Apollon, Takeru, Tsukito, Yui and the twins just looked at him at very moment, not understanding what the Nordic god of light meant with that.

"What are you talking about?" Arisu asked as she tried to understand what a sauce had to do with all that, however Tsukito had a better idea of what his classmate was really referring to.

"Balder Hringhorni, don't you want to mean the concept of wabi-sabi?" He emphasized, not very sure that the blonde knew of what he was talking about anyway. Apollon then remembered that wasabi was a spicy sauce just so a muffled yell would interrupt him.

"TOO SPICY!" Dionysus scream cut all other sounds and attracted attention of the others. The god was shaking, a chopstick with a bitten dumpling in one hand and the other in his throat, voice muffled by cough. "Sake, sake!"

Takeru went to him with the others to see what was going on as Ren inspected the dumpling in question, Hades getting water for his nephew. What Dionysus had thought to be a sort of soybean was wasabi flavored. Upon hearing this, Arisu twisted her face just thinking of how that should taste and no one had to think much to know what had happened.

"Success" Loki chuckled to himself as Misaki rolled her eyes.

"Doesn't he ever get tired?" She asked Thor in an amused tone, to which the god shook his head. Even being right at their side, Loki paid no attention to the comments until the blonde turned to him. "When did you have time to make and change the dangos?"

"That's my secret" He replied with a malicious smile, making the blonde girl roll her eyes again and raise her hands in a signal of giving up, still smiling. She was still a bit upset with Thoth (more due to the things said than due to being him), however now the irritation had diminished enough so she thought over it and felt a little worried with the god's reaction. She was surprised he hadn't come after her with a detention or lecture for her behavior.

"It's probably because I left too quickly, I'll probably hear about it later and a lot… Damn…" She reflected holding the sleeve of the light pink kimono she wore with a lilac sash, just due to her wish of holding something. She sighed with herself. Great, she could do with a night of a calm event, trying to not think about problems and stuff, but no… Damn Thoth.

"Something wrong?"

There were no words to how surprised she was to notice that it was Thor who had asked. Not that he was unpleasant to her or the others and he tended to answer when people tried to talk to him, but it was rare of the thunder god to be the one starting a conversation, let alone making a question.

Even after months, he managed to be quieter than Tsukito.

"Well… It's nothing…" Under a stern look that held a clear warning that he wouldn't appreciate an outright lie, Misaki sighed. "Not "nothing", yeah, but just a couple of things in my mind… You know how it is, sometimes things can feel like too much." There was no way of knowing what he thought of that, but she didn't want to go talking about what had happened just yet, and it wasn't as if they were close friends... The sharpness was gone from his eyes and replaced by the usual emotionless, yet his gaze kept weighting over her body.

Instead of insisting, the god seemed to accept this better since it wasn't a lie.

When Misaki felt his hand on her head, she could just look at him and blink as his strong fingers caressed her.

The message in the gesture was clear enough: Whatever it was bothering her, she should relax now. Misaki answered with a small smile of thankfulness, still surprised. Such actions weren't very usual of Thor… Not implying that she didn't appreciate it. Despite being one of the strongest-looking gods, his touch was gentle and even soothing.

Her thoughts weren't far from his own. He didn't care much for those humans, having learnt to at least tolerate their presence. Like Loki, he still followed the "school" more out of need than true involvement (although Loki seemed to be more amused lately for some reason) yet somehow he had started to caress the small girl in front of him before realizing what he was doing at all.

He didn't regret it. It was done and there was no harm in offering some comfort anyway. Plus, Aihara didn't seem much like herself when she had that dull veil over her eyes.

Some steps away, Balder were taking Apollon to the table, suggesting they gave the dumplings a try for the fun of it as he ignored the Sun god's protests.

"Good one, everyone should taste one!" Loki laughed at the idea of making this a kind of challenge game.

"You can only be crazy" Arisu muttered as Balder approved the idea. The redheaded was about to call her a killjoy when he noticed that her expression had amusement and that she was joking (though he knew she would take off running if someone tried to force her to taste one of those wasabi dangos). Balder still tried to convince Apollon to join the game as Isuzu seemed to decide it was better to watch it than interfere.

Her choice of kimono had been a black one with a single figure of a grey fish in the hem and Arisu thought she looked beautiful, but then again, it was almost everything fitted Isuzu well… Instinctively, Arisu ran her hand over her lilac kimono without figures except in the black sash that had a purple line in the middle and a drop of the same color in the center.

She knew she wasn't like her sister…

"Oh, c'mon, think about it as challenge!" Loki's laughter cut her thoughts as he passed his arm around her shoulders. Arisu raised one brow as she looked at him in a way that seemed to ask if he was truly crazy, but with a smile hiding in the corner of her mouth as she shook her head and delicately pushed his hand out of her shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, who doesn't know you may even believe that little innocent face" She commented with a chuckle, still watching Balder and Apollon who kept shaking his head and pressing his lips together so strongly that they were white. "But I don't fall for it anymore"

A white figure passed between feet, going to the bank where his owner was seated watching the sky. Despite the long day, Yui felt at peace, with the satisfaction of seeing the positive results and like all gods, also enjoying the event.

A movement catching her eye, she looked down and saw the white rabbit she had seen in the first day here. The animal moved its ears, staying near his owner feet and rubbing a paw in his muzzle.

Tsukito looked to Usamaro. The animal lifted its head, looking back to him and then jumping to the bank at Yui's side and then to the girl's lap, who giggled and started to pet his long ears. The rabbit settled himself there, making himself more comfortable and closed his eyes.

The Moon god kept watching in silence for some seconds. Usually, Usamaro was a lot more reserved, let alone when dealing with humans (who he tended to avoid, actually). But seeing the white rabbit nestling in Yui's lap without a single signal of worry, moments of that day passed by his mind and he compared them to the standards he knew, regarding both divine and mortals he had watched over the decades.

"Kusanagi…"

Yui looked to him, not stopping petting the bunny whose fur was the softest she had ever felt. Taking in how still Usamaro was, she thought the animal was enjoying it too.

"You asked earlier if there is nothing I enjoy just for the sake of it" The god recalled, not once taking his eyes off her or changing his serene tone. "I didn't comprehend what you meant by then…"

Even used to it as she was, Yui had to admit that Tsukito's eyes were among the most piercing of the gods, which sounded almost as a paradox considering they were so empty of emotions.

It was a different sort of strength, she supposed.

"Even now, I don't know if I comprehend your words or your reasoning" He had revised her words as one would to a complex explanation, trying to make sense out of it. The way Kusanagi had put things sounded simple, but to him it felt something deeper in whose meaning he had stopped thinking since ages and ages ago.

She had remembered him of something, but only partially.

For a moment, he watched the other gods and the humans. Balder Hringhorni had dared to taste of the wasabi dumplings and now was taking deep gulps of water, face growing red and making others laugh. Takeru held a chuckle as well, seeming unsure if he accepted the challenge. The Hironezumi twins watched and talked to Apollon Agana Belea and Loki Leavatein, seeming also unsure if they wanted to take the risk or not. Aihara was saying something to Thor Meginjord (as always he kept silence and no one could tell if he was listening or bored by her), about a festival of her old school it seemed. Aidoneus and Thyrsos were sitting with Amaya.

Gods and humans.

The days passed by in this Academy could perhaps bring some of them closer (even if he hadn't believed it possible at first), but the truth was they would never be of the same species.

Yet…

"However… Somehow" His gaze went the silver light spreading in the sky and raining over them. "The moon seems to be more beautiful today" Was it because they were all together like this? It went according to what some humans said in their poems that were recited in such festivities. Maybe that had been what Kusanagi had been trying to say…

"Perhaps I would like to understand what you said…" He realized it. And it wasn't as a duty… He just… He just did.

He didn't notice the flesh under his skin moving, the muscles pulling a little.

A slow smile appeared in his face.

It was the first time Yui ever saw a smile from him.

The change was subtle, but potent all the same. His features became softer, the eyes remained ones that don't miss details, yet the emptiness was lessened… Whatever there was in their felt closer to the surface of his being.

He was immortal… Thinking about how he had spoken of his duties as a god, Yui imagined what would be if she was immortal as well. She couldn't fully imagine it, as a fish can't imagine what is like to fly, however…

Eternity.

Never stopping.

Never dying.

The idea made her shiver and with this idea, the meaning of a lot of this felt lost if you didn't have a limited time of life to appreciate them. If she didn't have a position, a duty, just something that justified her immortality (as well as something to do), then she would probably find her existence useless… Among gods, they all had a place and a domain to watch over, be it love, war, anything.

For someone immortal, perhaps that meant everything. And it was also as part of them as an organ…

A light warmth came to her face again, however it was different.

"I think that too" The girl said, not meaning just the moon but also that she wanted to be able to understand the gods and their positions and what those meant for them. And understand Tsukito, how he saw things. Perhaps, if she truly wanted to help them (and this had nothing to do with going home or not), she also should be open to learn about them, not just the other way around.

There was a gleam of red light covering their fingers and suddenly they felt the muscles relaxing as the rings separated as if they had never been stuck together in the first place.

"Hey?"

They lifted their hands, as if confirming it was true. Loki's words about the rings came back to Yui's mind, but she didn't understand…

"But… Why they just let go now?" Following the Nordic's terms, it made no sense.

"Because you understood each other, why else?" A known voice sounded behind and Yui turned to the grey eyes, still confused as Loki seemed absolutely calm.

"Wait a minute, we're not dating. You said they would…"

The god assumed a look of suave surprise, blinking to her words.

"No, I never said anything of such nature. I explained that they would let go once you understood each other. Anyway, why would I say something like that?"

"But… Wait, but you said that the rings…"

"Oh, the rings do "have a magic that make two people inseparable, therefore falling in love almost instantaneously and becoming enamored", that's all. It's just the common chain of events that follow each other. And I told you how you "just need to understand each other's hearts", remember?" Loki repeated the words from before in a sing sung way, his eyes gleaming in the night.

Yui was shocked and about to say something else, even if she had already realized this habit of Loki (hard not to after those months), but upon hearing Takeru's voice, the Nordic god just mumbled a "uops" and jumped away like a cat.

"Loki, eat those dangos, too! You're the one who put them with the others!"

Yui about to call Loki again, still in shock thought not truly wanting to stand up and pursue him. As if sensing this or merely missing the attention, the rabbit curled up and hid his muzzle on her stomach. Tsukito sighed.

"As it seems" He muttered, not showing anything regarding the matter. "He was tricking us" He wasn't sure this bothered him or not. On a side, they should have realized the trick in the words, on another he couldn't say that the joke (although silly) hadn't had something positive to come out of it.

Yui hid her face in her free hand, the other still busy petting Usamaro.

"Oh, we should have seen what he was…"

But she didn't complete the phrase as a pair of hands held her shoulders and made Usamaro jump from her lap with a fright.

"Fairy!" Apollon said loud, eyes wide once he realized Tsukito and she had been released from each other. "Does this mean you guys are dating?"

Yui had no chance of explaining, since Takeru was also there now. Tsukito didn't understand why they now seemed to be getting all agitated with the chance of him and Yui starting a relationship of this nature.

"Is that true, aniki?"

"Guys, we're not dating" Yui tried to explain as Balder came over to Tsukito, also insisting in knowing if that was true. The girl turned around in search of support, but Misaki seemed to be finding this even funnier than before and Arisu shook her head while watching, as if thinking there was just no hope, Ren was covering her mouth with her hand, yet Yui could see a laugh in her eyes.

"A little help here?"

Chapter Text

"Zeus wishes that your school lives will resemble the most that of human beings" Thoth commented with the class at the end of the school lessons. "Therefore, this involves events and activities besides the ones you've had until now" Yui was sure he was referring the sports event of the beginning of the year as well as the Moon Gazing and thought that perhaps this last one wasn't even taken in account: It had been something organized among them and not a school event (at least she had never had anything like it back home).

Thoth turned his iron gaze at the students, studying gods and humans, the only ones to ever remain behind classes to hear such things. Seated on her usual place, Misaki sustained his eyes when he stared at her, even if for a brief second, enough to make her organs shiver a little. It had been some days since the Moon Event and the things she had said in the library and the girl was surprised that she still hadn't been called by Thoth to be scolded.

There had been more irritation on her part due to his insistence in judging her as if he knew what happened inside her mind. And what he had said about her not really care about her predicament? And "mere" return?

Misaki had wondered about her own feelings regarding the others several times before. It wasn't as if they were mere people put together in a class or had chosen to participate. It was all forced enough to make one wonder if whatever they felt was genuine or mere "getting used" to their presence.

Her caring for the others (the girls and the gods) was genuine, but she couldn't deny that the primary force that made her get up every morning was the hope of going home. She didn't want to seem like a child not even to herself, but honestly there were nights that the bed became a cold coffin, the covers too harsh against her flesh, threatening to scratch until her skin was devoured and it reached her blood. It wasn't uncommon for her to still wake up in the middle of the night, still sort of sleepy and for a moment, not know where she was and her first instinct was of fear until her brain focused on the reality she had been thrown, an animal in a cage.

Fear then would evolve in a second, too fast to be processed by the organism and reached a level far too close to despair. It was something she had hoped to never feel again.

And she knew the same happened to the others. She doubted she would ever mention it to anyone or that they would talk about it among themselves either. In some of the times she woke up before the time (whatever the reason), she had seen Ren sitting by the window or had heard a held-back sob in the pretty tomb that it was that room.

They just wanted to go home.

Still, after she had left the library and calmed down, she had been quite nervous when thinking about what she had said and done.

So, in the next day, she had tensed at the idea of going back to class and meet Thoth, which she didn't let anyone else notice, opting for behaving like nothing had happened. His words had worked on specific chords of her being that were beyond her state as prisoner in the Academy and she hadn't recovered the self control in time to avoid the instinctive reaction.

Only on the end of the day she had told the other girls about how she had talked to the teacher and now, two days after the incident and no signs that Thoth was going to address the subject (and she wouldn't be the one to bring it up).

"Maybe he was too surprised. Maybe he thinks it isn't anything worth of his attention" Arisu had mumbled yesterday, her own doubts about the gods coming back to her mind. "Who knows"

None of them had talked much about the question of how the gods saw them again, more due to lack of necessity than nervousness before the subject. Even if the interactions among them were becoming less tense and some reaching levels next to what one may consider "friendship", there were still moments in which seeds of doubts bloomed into black weeds that held them all inside.

Yui had thought about Tsukito and how they had talked while stuck to one another. Just like when Dionysus had told them about Niobe (and the memory of the coldness in his eyes still created shivers in her nerves), she had realized a side of the god that was so distant that it felt untouchable. Which, then, made her feel lost on an ocean, isolated by her own blood.

It was not something she would have felt with another human and the girl was aware of it.

Misaki had seen her eyes and knew her friend would have liked to have the courage to ask them directly what they truly thought and it was her respect and wish to not seem intrusive that kept her silent. The blonde, however, was sometimes assaulted by the wish of not knowing.

In Thoth's case, nevertheless, she felt she had had a confirmation that day: They were merely fool mortals in his eyes. And while Misaki didn't appreciate how some people spoke of humanity as if they were the most extraordinary and superior of all species, the lack of value she had felt in Thoth's presence wasn't in species level, but something almost personal.

"Perhaps we are. There is no way of denying it, not if we were in his position. Maybe our lives are no different from him than the life of a bug is for us… Why would we have any value?"

"As such" Thoth carried on with his serious and usual air and Misaki forced herself to pay attention. "Zeus believes that it would be interesting if you organized a Day of Cultural Festival"

Arisu slapped her face, shaking her head. No one else paid attention, though Takeru rolled his eyes and continued to scribble on his notebook as if the news were puerile.

The girl's reaction wasn't by distaste towards the idea or aversion for such festivals, she just doubted that Zeus had truly made some research on the subject. And also because it felt somewhat weird to organize a festival so few days after the last one.

"As if he was going to listen to me if I opened my mouth"

"This day is to demonstrate artistic and sportive goals. In such occasions, schools also tend to open to be visited by people who may be interested in enrolling" Which, to Arisu, was another reason for her reaction. "They are regular parts of the school year of Japan and involve several activities…"

"At least he didn't mention that presence is not usually obligatory" Yui whispered lowly while leaning behind and Isuzu muttered in agreement as Thoth wrote in the blackboard examples of activities, since culinary to several sports and even a café, so the visiting students could rest and have lunch, which called Isuzu's attention.

"We have the cafeteria" She recalled, hand in air. "Why there is a café in the options?"

"Because it is one of the parts which the students are responsible for in the festival" He explained back without altering his tone, though there was something about it that implied that it had also been Zeus' orders.

"But…" The girl hesitated, looking from the blackboard to the teacher, as if she couldn't quite process what she had read. Thoth didn't allow her to go on, also not very satisfied with the options Zeus had planned. He could only suppose that, besides decided to carry on with such common school events of Japan (where the representatives of humanity had come from anyway and that also used to be more clear and constant than schools' of some other countries, for example, that didn't even had events of any kind), they also worked as a way to not allow the life of boarding students became too monotonous for some of them.

"Since you are a small class" He never counted the spirits as truly part of it, not that anyone would disagree. "You must organize small groups and pick an activity. It may be related to your clubs or not"

The Egyptian god turned to them once more, back straight and head held high, once more similar to a hawk somehow.

"Make your decision and inform me later. That's all for now. Have a nice day" And, like always, he left without looking behind. None of the students was bothered by it, already used to his behavior and barely the teacher had left the class, Apollon jumped to his feet and started talking quickly.

"We have so many options! How will we choose? I've never heard of anything like that, but it is like a festival about more than just sports or theatre!" It was a little weird to have two events so close to each other, but he didn't care. It was more fun than just keep studying.

"Easy there, Apollon!" Misaki giggles as she stood up. The god's enthusiasm seemed to be endless while presented to something new and it was hard to remain untouched too. "First, we need to split in groups" She ran her eyes through the room, counting quickly. "Well, one will be with four people and the rest with threes, I guess it would be okay, what you guys think?"

"And the decision of the activities? How could we do it?" Balder asked as he read the words again. "Thoth-sensei left some quite vague"

"And some are far too clear" Yui grumbled, eyes upon the words "maid café". She liked to think about herself as a calm person, who didn't use to get exalted for nothing, but this was the end. "If someone ask me, Zeus may be watching animes lately…"

None of the males seemed to get, though the girls had already mentioned some series and Isuzu had found a section of the library reserved for mangas (she had had the idea of searching after seeing what sort of books Loki had somehow suggested to Tsukito). For an instant, she had even wanted to ask Thoth how a book like that had ended up there, but had lacked the courage.

"Why do you say this?" Balder looked from the girl to the blackboard without understanding, but Yui merely shrugged in a signal of "let it go" as Arisu approached the blackboard, trying to change the subject, hoping they wouldn't have to deal with that activity in particular. It didn't matter if it was Thoth or Zeus or whoever it was: She was not going to play the waitress with a stupid dress and call whoever it was "master" or anything.

She didn't have to look at none of the other girls to know it was a shared feeling. Yui recalled once, two years ago give it or take it, one of the classes at her school had done something of this nature during another event… She hadn't been part of it, but had passed by the café and it had been fun… But the situation of now was completely opposite in every possible sense.

"I think we could try drawing about the activities" Apollon interrupted, more interested in getting started. Yui soon thought it was a good idea. They had many options and with a draw there were more chances to let that café aside. Takeru's little giggle, sitting behind Dionysus, made that she suspected that he had guessed her line of thinking, though he was looking at Arisu.

After writing their names in pieces of paper, they started with the groups. Surprisingly, even Loki seemed to not have anything sarcastic to say.

"I don't quite complain of putting up with the Rat" Takeru muttered upon seeing the group he had ended up with.

"Your gentleness is always so touching, Porcupine…" It was the reply, though there was nothing negative in Arisu's expression.

"But why do I have to be in the same group as him?" Takeru and Loki asked at the same time and it would have been amusing in another occasion. The relationship between the Japanese and the Nordic gods wasn't something the others could guess just by observing. Yui remembered that Loki had drawn in Takeru's face right at the beginning of the year and, apparently, the opinion of the sea god about him hadn't improved at all.

Takeru's golden eyes sent sparks towards the redheaded.

"If I have to put up with your nonsense…" Takeru growled, to which Loki stared at him up and down as he played with his braid as if the other's presence, annoying as it was, was unworthy of real attention.

"This has everything to go wrong" Arisu reflected as she casted Balder and Apollon a dramatic eye of who is doomed. The sun god snickered and the Nordic shrugged, as if to say there was nothing he could do to help her.

"C'mon, the draw was fair and done. It was all by luck" Yui warned them, though somewhat insecure about all that too. And even if she had spent a whole day with Tsukito, this didn't mean the communication between them had suffered a turning change and taking in account that Thor was in her group as well, she had no idea what to expect. Hades was with them too, but hadn't expressed any opinion until now, keeping his usual silence and the unexpressive face.

"We are going to take some care, but it's worth it… And it shouldn't be that hard, right" The girl thought to herself, not only about the work in group, but also aware that Hades' curse could invariably cause troubles. She didn't mind that particular detail much, even if she wasn't stupid of ignoring it. Like Yui had told him back then when they had all star gazed together, they just needed to be careful.

"Okay, let's go to the next step" Isuzu approached with a little bag holding several pieces of paper folded, where they had written down the possible activities. Balder had been right, some were clear in their nature and others were quite vague and could take several areas.

The little bag was passed to a representative of each group and then left on a desk.

"So, we're good? Each group will think about how to present what they take. We can use the empty classrooms, so space is not an issue" It shouldn't be complicated, there were many classes like those anyway. After saying this Apollon looked at what he had picked.

XxX

"I think it is straight now…" Arisu muttered as she crouched down and studied a board making a little stand in the corner of a classroom that was bigger than the one where they had their classes. Arisu had to confess, while they took the desks out and placed in the next room, she had wondered which would be the reason for such a large academy when there was no real need… It seemed senseless, unless one counted appearances.

"As long as it doesn't fall apart, it is good enough" Loki jumped from the chair as a cat and leaned his elbow on her head before the girl could stand up. "I'd never take you for someone who cares so much about tiny details"

Takeru looked around. After they had picked a room and emptied it, they had asked for boards in the school store and started to build small and simple stands next to the walls. It wasn't much, but it would be enough for what they had in mind.

Arisu managed to stand, shooing Loki's arm off her when the Sea god approached and looked around as well. She had thought that Loki would perhaps complain of the physical task, but the Nordic hadn't said anything against it. At the same time, she wasn't completely sure that there was real enthusiasm in his participation.

"It looks cool" She commented with a smile, relieved that the most boring part of it all was over before turning to one of the stands and picking up a paper sheet with several scribbles. "I think it is going to work"

"Let's see" Takeru replied, not looking at her. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before asking, somewhat brusquely. "Is it normal schools to have events every time like that?"

Arisu raised her eyes from the sheet at the same time Takeru looked at her. Loki, meanwhile, didn't seem at all interested in what was being said and merely turned his coat's pocket, soon starting to play with a colored cube that seemed one of those Rubik cubes (though the girl was sure the similarity was in appearance only).

"No. And this Festival actually tends to happen in November" Arisu shrugged. "We're still in the middle of October" Only when speaking in such terms, nominating and counting, is that she realized time's passing. Occasionally, it felt like Thoth was right and time was running by and then the hours would drag by, with no hurry whatsoever. Both sensations had positive and negative points that she didn't care to analyze.

"Then why do this now?"

"Ask Zeus, Porcupine, because I swear I haven't got a clue… But then again, remember how he changed the seasons and gave us a couple of days off and even called them summer vacation?" Arisu tried to suffocate the strange sensation that came to her from time to time. There was a contrast that couldn't be denied between Takeru's nature and his treatment. Someone might think this was ridiculous, it wasn't as if she had ever been as respectful as what he had been used to (regarding mortals), but on another hand, neither Arisu had ever thought she would be treating any of those gods by a nickname, much less Takeru of all people.

Still there were moments when something came up her nerves by waves of warning, perhaps not unlike the ones a gazelle suffered when it felt the presence of a predator. It wasn't how to deny that basic instinct recognized a being that wasn't of the same species and also the danger it could offer.

"Nonsense" She used to tell herself in such moments, burying those feelings with her blood.

Takeru muttered something, approaching the girl and leaning down at her side to read the sheet in which they had noted down some ideas of what they could do in the stands, then looking back up the room and visualizing mentally how it would be best organized.

"It would have been cool if we could do something like a play, I guess…" Arisu whispered to herself, eyes still in the sheet, being interrupted by a pressure in her head when Loki rested his elbow on it again.

"Only the three of us? It would be too boring" The god said as his hand slid down to her shoulder and he pulled her in his direction while starting speaking almost as if he was teaching her before Arisu could even comment that there were some stories and plays that were pretty short and could be presented by only three people. "Besides, it is better if we have a variety of options! This is always amusing and we have a higher chance of success if people can chose whatever interests them the most! And isn't it the objective of all this, unless my memory is failing me?"

The girl didn't bother herself with trying to figure out if he was serious or not, she knew better and turned her face over the arm involving her shoulders, trading looks with Takeru. They had sorted "Entertainment" and both had soon thought about a play (as it seemed obvious). Loki had rejected the idea with the same argument of now, his eyes then gleaming as he spoke about how they could make stands with some types of games, since Thoth hadn't give any details or rules, which gave them a larger field of choices.

Arisu and Takeru had to admit that they hadn't expected the Nordic god to get involved to the point of making suggestions.

"Well… But he did help while we were organizing things for the Moon Gazing event…" Though it had been the least he could do, since Tsukito and Yui had spent the whole day stuck due to his stupid game.

Loki pressed his arm, making the muscles of her shoulders protest and Arisu turned back to him, but Loki merely looked ahead, still talking.

"And well, if we're together in this, might as well make it fun!" He commented cheerfully. "Besides, I want to enjoy it when things get ready!"

"Oi, Loki! Takeru groaned, frowning as he approached and Arisu struggled away from Loki's arm. "We decided to let you do your games, alright, but I swear that if you mess this up for us…"

The redheaded didn't seem at all impressed with the threat and Arisu vaguely wondered if what she was seeing in his eyes was amusement or a sort of challenge. Loki's unpredictability, she had learned, didn't resume itself to his actions and behavior but also his expressions, which were not easy to simply interpret.

"Psssh" He dismissed the other with a gesture, not at all caring for Takeru's words, prompting the other to look even more annoyed. "Do you know what your problem is, Ta-Ke-Ru? You don't know how to have fun."

"Yes, he does, Loki" Arisu shrugged with a sigh, hoping those two wouldn't end up actually fighting. For now, it didn't seem to be serious, but taking in their temperaments, the girl knew this could change quite fast. They were really fire and water. "But your concept of fun is the kind that could end up setting the Academy on fire…"

To her surprise, Loki laughed.

While she turned her attention back to the sheet and ignored how Takeru kept staring at Loki, Arisu started to think about what else they would have to ask for in the shop and also how to present those ideas…

She couldn't deny it was being fun.

XxX

"It will be better if we stay in the patio" Apollon suggested as he examined the gardens from the top of the stairs. "The courts are a bit farther" Usually they didn't consider it so, but since the festival was also to show activities to other people and the other groups would stay more inside the building, it would be more practical if they stayed as close as possible.

"Do you think we could place the net around here?" Misaki asked, feeling awkward about it. She didn't really know about sports and had no idea of how she would be of any help. The group had received General Activities and, since both gods were members of the sport club, it had seemed the most obvious choice.

Not to mention Balder and Apollon had been interested in this. Now that she saw them talking about the best way to show different sports (besides tennis) to the students who would roam the school to see them, Misaki couldn't help but to think that it would be better that way… Both had high levels of energy, so what would be better than sports?

"If they are like this while reduced to humans, I can't even imagine in their true shapes…" Yui had described the little she remembered from Takeru's looks when the issue had been solved, at least what she had managed to pay attention to before they were transported back to the Academy. Despite the details she had told them made the impression that the physical change wasn't excessive (at least in his case), the girl had felt something different in Takeru, like a shock direct in her nerves and just the fact that Zeus had convoked them back had stopped her from analyzing it deeply, not to mention she had been still dizzy due to her fall.

The thought led to another: The sensation of Zeus on that same day, when he had been reprimanding Takeru and also of when he had stared at them when they had defended him.

For an instant, the sensation was recalled by her nerves, that convulsed in something close to despair, as if her instinct knew that to remain in that memory for too long and even trying to understand it (or worse, revive it as the human body seems to be able with some sensations) would mean to get dangerously close to the abyss of insanity.

But Misaki was still able to remember, of feeling as if what she was seeing were not bodies at all, but mere flesh pieces wrapping and shaping creatures that could bend the laws of physics as they saw fit and whose organism was a accumulation of power patterns, as distant as the essence of the stars or the emptiness of space…

And equally able to burn her eyes, were she stupid enough to dare trying to see them. Not only because, physically, nothing would be able to stand it but also because it is in the human mind to try analyzing and comprehend the information it receives from external stimuli…

Indeed, her eyes would burn. But not before everything that existed inside her mind was reduced to shreds.

Suddenly, she felt cold bites under her skin, running in her bones. On that instance, the memory was enough to make her want to run. Even without reason or threat, she wanted to run, merely because she knew she was in the presence of such beings.

"Hey…" She said, too low, but the gods heard and turned to her with smiles, curious to what she had to say and thinking it was something related to the event.

Under her flesh, her insides were shivering.

Misaki noticed then that she had no words. Green and blue eyes were on her and the girl couldn't help but to think about all the things they had seen and how they had truly saw them. Humans had denominated those creatures as deities due to this distance…

Fine, very well, but how did they see humans?

"Saki-Saki?" Apollon asked gently. Was that a real smile? Or just showing his teeth, an attempt to copy a human gesture that he knew to be friendly, not different from a person imitating the meowing of a cute kitten?

Apollon noticed that something in her eyes resembled when she had asked him to not call her Misa, for whatever reason. The god almost frowned, seeing that there was a trembling hiding under her flesh.

"Eh, no, it's just…" Misaki said quickly, her mind running in search of some lie. She didn't want to ask them anything of this kind, not when they looked so excited (why would they be excited over this? They had lived for over a millennium, how could there be still something able to wake their interest? The idea of living 200 years alone made her cold with horror).

"I was thinking I don't know how to help" It was a stupid lie and the three knew it. "I mean, I'm not that good at sports…"

Baldr scoffed a laugh, coming to her and patting her back kindly, pressing it slightly so she would approach where he and Apollon were standing as they talked about what to do. Misaki tried to not feel as a rabbit forced to come near wolves.

"Don't be silly, this doesn't matter! What other sports you think we could do?" He asked with the smile of always and a wink. "Tennis is already too obvious"

Misaki turned to look at the field, fighting to get herself out of those questions and to think about how they could use the space they had.

Meanwhile, Apollon and Balder exchanged glances without her noticing, not a shadow of smile in their eyes.

Maybe the girl would be better at lying when not clearly bothered by something. It had been more than years than they cared to count since they had truly been upset in any level with what a human could be thinking or feeling, but there were occasions when it wasn't hard to guess (be it with humans or other gods).

Whatever it was that Misaki had been thinking about, it had nothing to do with festival and both had actually a good guess of what that was truly about.

Still, neither of them acted as if they had noticed something amiss.

"Misaki!"

The girl turned towards the voice she didn't recognize at first, until she realized it was a spirit coming closer, a frozen smile on its features as if tiny lines had sewed the lips up. She couldn't stop a groan before the idea, that was actually fitting.

"Eh… Yeah?" She asked, confused. It wasn't at all common for the spirits to start a conversation with her or any of the other girls and, frankly, Misaki preferred things like this. It made easier to ignore them. Arisu had already expressed her frustration with them, but there moments when Misaki admitted they were either a bore or disturbing.

"Thoth-sama wants to speak with you" The thing said in cheerful tone. It would have been better if they were inexpressive, that mockery of actual emotion in that voice wasn't better.

"I should have known. It was too good to be true"

"Thoth-sama" Apollon looked at her, blinking. "What does he want with you?"

"I don't know, but it's probably nothing much" This was a rather easier lie and it would be better than having to explain details, too. Misaki shrugged. "Look, I won't be long, okays?"

Balder and Apollon traded looks again, but there was nothing to do if it was the teacher calling her. They could start without her.

When Misaki walked away, she felt tired, with the bad gut-feeling of any student about to be lectured by the teacher, even if she thought the peculiarity of her situation made her feel worse.

"That is going to be awful, right?"

XxX

With the "activity" in question that her group had received, Yui had soon started to think about how they could make an exhibition that wouldn't be boring. The idea of "Arts" engulfed paintings as much as music and literature, if you thought about it well (the Arts club of the Academy was about all that too).

Still, the idea that had come up first (an exhibition of paintings while music played) also could be considered bored if not done rightly (even if it was how many presentations of the theme had been in her school). Still, here Yui felt like doing something more… Not that she had ever been that interested in the school festivals before, but here, everything felt and was different.

"It seems that at times that the subtle differences are the ones that affect me the most, when I stop to think about it" The thought wasn't without a darker vein, intertwined on it as a weed. Yui frowned to herself upon realizing the feeling, unsure about the reason.

She decided to put it aside, at least for now. There was much to be done.

Her guess that it could be a little hard to work with the group in question (since Tsukito and Thor still seemed to prefer to stay quiet unless it was strictly necessary and even after everything, Hades was still introspective) hadn't been completely off. This didn't help her too feel much better and actually, Yui felt almost as shy and insecure as when in her first day.

After a couple of minutes when she had tried to make a dialogue so they talked about how to make the exhibition is that when the others had started to talk more.

To her surprise, when she had suggested that they used the room of the Arts Club, it had been Thor who commented that the room, thought big, wouldn't be as practical as it sounded and to pick the next classroom. He had been right: It was easier to organize things as they preferred in an empty place, so they started to talk about the topics and had had the idea of arrange some Greek, Japanese, Egyptian and Nordic paintings.

"If we could have some small replicas of sculptures of the old ages, it would be interesting too" Yui caught herself thinking as they looked over art books they had picked on the Arts Club room and the library. Some pieces (be of paintings, writings or sculptures) had survived until the modern days more than others and this became clearer when seeing the books about it.

How many things of such cultures had been lost with time or merely by conquerors?

It wasn't a pleasant thought. And spying over a page about paintings from the ancient times of Japan, Yui wondered what the others thought about it. How had it been for them to see the arts of the people who worshiped and knew them to be reduced to nothing? Some less than memories?

As if feeling her gaze, Thor's golden eyes rose and Yui at once turned back to her book, but she knew he had noticed her.

"Do you think we will manage all this?" The deep voice of the Nordic sounded as he closed the book without making a sound. The others, also finished with interesting notes, did the same.

"Zeus made a connection between the school shop and the rest of the world" Hades recalled, reflecting he wouldn't be at all surprised if his brother wasn't somehow using of Hermes' services to do so. "I won't be hard to ask for replicas"

For a second, Yui thought about mentioning copies of sculptures, but they had already decided for some Greek vases due to lack of paintings and it wasn't as if they were going to make a small museum here (paintings and many decorations that could be found on temples, as well as several other things, hadn't survived the test of time and human destruction).

"What about literature?" She asked instead. They still hadn't thought about this "category" per say. The others exchanged looks.

"Plays would be too long" Tsukito commented with the same objectivity of always, merely mentioning facts. "And a discussion about differences of literature would be too alike a seminar, not being what the event has as objective, therefore we need short works"

His golden eyes were on a notebook sheet he had been writing on with his firm hand, names of some art works that he had considered that they could use. Despite the talk they had had when gathering plants together and what had been said on that day, Yui wasn't sure this had had any effect on how Tsukito perceived things.

"Poetry" Thor and Yui suggested at the same time while they all stood up to go to the shop with requests of paintings. The good glanced at her for a mere second, as stoic as Tsukito ever was. Yui had to hold back a sigh at this. She was far used to dealing with the others, who were easier to interpret, but she wasn't going to complain.

Hades and Tsukito merely nodded to show approval at the idea and, once in the hallway, Yui tried to carry on with some conversation discussing the types of poetry and different rhythms.

"Takeru would have enjoyed this part if he had this activity" Tsukito commented and Yui didn't understand at first, until she remembered that she hadn't thought about it until now.

"He is the one who invented Japanese poetry, right?" Oh, she was so silly! How could she have forgotten that? He had declaimed some verses on the Moon Gazing event that either had been lost in time or, she realized it now, perhaps were his own.

Tsukito nodded.

"It's a pity. We could have convinced him to recite." The idea was somewhat of a joke, for the girl doubted that Takeru would go that far for a school event. The Moon Gazing had been different, it was something related to his brother and also tradition. "If we had time, we could even convince Takeru to make some verses and Ren could play"

The black-haired girl had told Yui and the others about the piano classes she had had when they had chosen their Clubs. Ren had also told them how she never did presentations of anything of this nature, but since this was just an idea without any real substance, there was no harm.

The talk flowed easily to old melodies. Yui had asked about how they sounded and their differences, her honeyed eyes almost with a placid excitement of a child still mesmerized by everything the world has to offer.

It wasn't quite surprising for them.

After studying her for some seconds, Thor just said that the Nordic songs, like many other things, had been lost long ago for humans due to the actions of humans themselves.

Yui was upset, his words again biting at what she had been thinking earlier and the girl thought it was better to not push the subject, since in those last moments Thor had talked more than practically in all year until now.

It was a surprise for her when he then commented some basic details about the composition of verses and rhythms of his world, the mask of his face never once showing a single crack that would allow an idea of what he was truly thinking about.

XxX

Although Yui had mentioned that Zeus was watching animes as a joke, Isuzu couldn't stop thinking about it as a true hypothesis while she read a piece of paper, fighting to not show all the displeasure she felt at the moment.

Maid Café.

This had to be either a joke of bad taste or a way of any God that there was above the Greek, Nordic or the other deities, to force her to rethink her opinion that there was no such thing as bad luck (either that or He didn't like her). A part of her thought if there wasn't a stereotyped notion here, but the most firm idea on her mind was just that this was a manifestation of Zeus' ignorant (or pervert) side.

"Ugh, I don't even want to think about it"

She took a deep breath. Not that the café uniforms were even near "teasing" or "provoking", the idea was actually the contrary (and not in a million of years Thoth would allow anything like this, for starters).

Not that any of this worked to lessen her embarrassment.

Dionysus, on his turn, hadn't seen anything wrong with the idea.

"What is there of so uncomfortable? It seems simple" He looked from Isuzu to Ren, noticing easily that Isuzu was unsure. And while Ren tried to keep her calm façade, he could see she was even more than mere uncomfortable.

And seeing the examples of typical uniforms of said cafes, it didn't seem anything extreme. For what he could see, it was a mere human café while the staff had a particular style (one of the uniforms he had seen just looked a bit like a doll dress, but nothing exaggerated).

Perhaps it was due to culture differences… Well, and also because some of his festivals involved behaviors far more libidinous, including orgies, which didn't qualify him to comprehend how someone could be embarrassed by just that.

Ren remained in silence, holding the end of her sleeve and turning it between her fingers as her eyes gazed around the classroom. They couldn't use the cafeteria itself, since it would be sort of cheating, so they had opted for one of the biggest rooms and organized one of the sides as a kind of small, personal kitchen.

At least they would have a menu of simple café and since during the day they would have to deal merely with spirits, they had no risk of someone asking for something they didn't have. And there were dishes simple enough to be made right there…

In this point, Dionysus had been right to point out that it was something relatively simple to do. In the moment they were seeing some typical uniforms they could ask for (including a butler-like one for the god).

"Even if it is "simple"… I… I just don't know, it feels weird" Isuzu sighed, deciding that perhaps it would be a little complicate to explain and stretched herself, trying to smile despite it all. It wasn't as if they actually had a choice in the matter and maybe Dionysus was right and she was nervous without real reason?

"Perhaps I can see this as a sort of silly game? The spirits aren't actually people, the only ones who will see me like this are the others… Ugh, this is not helping!"

She looked back at the sheet in her hands, a small pamphlet that the spirit of the shop had given to them when they had mentioned the sort of clothing they wanted. There were different models and they had to choose one soon.

"Take a look, Ren, what do you think?" She asked leaning to the other.

Dionysus didn't say anything. Any other person could let the subtle signals pass by, but he spent a lot of time with Ren in the Gardening Club and, besides, he had a natural talent when it came down to observing people…

Isuzu could not feel very comfortable with the idea.

Ren, on another hand, had been distressed.

Ana: Back when I was making the list of chapters and planning them, I was nervous about placing the school festival right after the Moon Gazing, but to be fair... It was good for the pacing and plus, chapters with them just studying and nothing happening would be boring.

Loki: Rowling made a boarding school work.

Ana: Yes, but because there was ALWAYS something happening. It was either Voldemort, a Basilisk, a bunch of Dementors... And if I had a scrap of her talent, do you think I would be here with you?

Loki and Takeru: HEY!

Ren: Said the girl who actually wants to be a writer.

Ana: What one thing has to do with the other?

Ren: ... You're hopeless.

Chapter Text

The spirits walked alone or in small groups, rarely above four, a cloud of mutters surrounding them as buzzes while they walked through the hallways, stopping for a little when they entered the classroom to look around.

Even if she wanted to make the event as it should be, Yui knew there was no reason to start lecturing the spirits about the Arts Club, let alone about art itself, so she limited herself to welcome those who entered the room and let them observe the Greek vases and the poetries hanging on the walls beside other objects they had chosen for exposition. All it all, it was going better than she had imagined, the girl admitted while observing an old Japanese painting. Before, in the first days of the Academy, when she had decided to read a little about those gods in order to try to understand a way of dealing with them, she had recalled of paintings and statues people had made of them in the days of old.

The memory made her smile. In the end, they were different from such portrayals.

"And what's to say of how they appeared to said humans?" It was common in myths that their abilities also including changing their shapes and she did remember reading at somewhere how Zeus had impregnated a woman by becoming a rain or something… Regarding this, Yui had decided she didn't want to think much about it. Not because of the implications alone, but also because she still didn't want to confront them about such things and she knew herself enough to know it was where her thoughts would lead her if they followed this path.

For now, things were going fine and she wanted to keep them like this. Those doubts and thoughts could come back later.

At her side, Tsukito was seeing some of the poems, his expression as unreadable as always. Thor seemed to prefer watching the event as well, without getting more involved than the necessary and both made Yui worry if they were bored or really still just didn't care at all... She hoped it wasn't the case. As for Hades, he had decided to keep some distance after a replica of a vase had almost fallen over a spirit-girl when he was just standing nearby. Yui tried to consider a victory already to have convinced him to stay in the classroom and tried to smile at him.

A muscle seemed to pulsate in the face of the god of the dead, who stayed still for a second… And then nodded at her in reply.

"It is at least something. It has to be" She thought, remembering how he used to ignore people during the first days of school and stay as far as possible. "Things are going rather smoothly, so that's fine…" The mantra repeated in her mind as there was a natural search for the positive signs in order to solidify the thought: They had managed to talk a little and they had even showed some interest.

Despite her thoughts, she couldn't deny she was still bothered by something.

"I… I think it is interesting" She commented, attempting to start a conversation. The Nordic standing at her side in the small part of the room they had selected for poetry was leaning his back on the wall and merely gazed at her for a moment. Tsukito showed no reaction whatsoever.

Thor's comments of how humans had destroyed paintings and things belonging to other cultures (in an essence, destroying the culture in itself) came back to Yui's mind.

"I mean, how the notion of art changes with time" Not that she had ever gave it much thought, it was just that this became too obvious to be ignored when examples of different styles stood next to each other such as now.

Thor's gaze went from her to the sheets at the wall and then back at her, no change in his expression that the girl could notice. Yui tried to think about something else to say, something that would provoke an answer, but nothing came to her…

"What leads something to be considered "good art" for humans?" Tsukito muttered, more to himself than anyone else and in such tone that he could be asking about some mathematical fact. Therefore, Yui wasn't sure if he was truly interested in the subject or merely wondering without a real care for the answer (thought this wasn't somewhat unlikely considering his personality).

"But whatever it is, probably I'll never be sure, not when it comes to him…" Some uncertainties such as this one could be applied to other gods just as well.

Yui already knew Tsukito enough to know the question (whatever motivation it had) wasn't as simple as it sounded. Something in her felt a little better to see the Moon deity questioning something (again, no matter if in a frivolous way) and also that Thor, at least, wasn't merely looking at the room anymore (and it had been impossible to tell if he was watching the spirits, paying attention or just lost in thought).

This would have been so much easier if there was someone in her group that was a little more talkative besides Yui… Not that she had any dislike for any of those gods, far from it, but they weren't the easiest to deal with. And it was practically the first time she had any interaction with Thor without Loki nearby.

"It isn't truly about norms. I mean… Well, time periods usually have a prominent style, but in the end, art is truly about emotion" The explanation didn't sound very good even for her, but what could she do? It wasn't as if she was an expert on art, how could she explain those things? "At least it is how I see things…"

Tsukito comprehended the historical and cultural value, as well as the use of art to express one's feelings, but his slight frown indicated his understanding remained in the logical level and it stopped there. Thor remained with arms crossed and back leaning on the wall.

Yui took a deep breath in a way they wouldn't notice it (or at least she hoped).

"Maybe some students of art would explain better and I don't know much about it anyway…" The girl muttered. "But in the end, it all comes down to emotion and your own way of feeling. Why some paintings make you feel something and the others don't? It is just… That people feel different, that's all."

"Art based merely on technique alone is not true art" Perhaps some artists would disagree or even be mad at her, but Yui was merely saying her opinion and she wondered if the gods felt like humans. Oh, they had feelings, of course, but at which point they felt them the same was anyone's guess.

"Animals have feelings as well, but they are… More mixed with instinct." Yui thought to herself. And perhaps that means their emotions were never diluted or affected by things like the human's were, therefore, in a way, the feeling was purer. Was it like this with the gods? Maybe the complications their emotions could be affected by were different from humans' ones, since their problems were probably different too?

Once more, Yui tried to stop her own chain of thoughts. Questions such as this could easily develop into a headache…

Unsure if she was truly reaching the gods, Yui decided to be quiet for now. Thor still gazed at her, the natural intensity of his golden eyes feeling as lava accumulating and its weight was slowly creating an uncomfortable feeling in a way she couldn't explain or understand even if she tried.

"And yet, how much have humans destroyed over the years" It wasn't a true question, more like a statement disguised as such and while he spoke in a uncaring way, her interactions with Tsukito had helped her to learn a little about noticing subtle signs at times. And now, whatever there was under the tone of calmness acted as a cold arrow to Yui, spreading to the rest of her body.

She looked at him in the eyes for a moment.

"Well… Yes… I know…" Her voice fought to not shiver in the cold and her honeyed eyes averted from his, unable to sustain the heated gold as one would be to look at the sun for too long, as if Yui could have a glimpse of the thunder hiding behind his eyes.

There was no hint, no deeper indication of what he might be thinking or feeling. It occurred to her how similar and different his eyes were from Tsukito's at the same time. The Moon deity's eyes were distant and suave, as the moonlight of winter whereas Thor's had a natural heat of the lightening, while still being distant too.

"Well… Yes… I know…" Why the sudden feel of shame? Why the flesh under her skin was crawling as if her body wanted to make itself smaller? "But a lot of people do try to recover it…" It was true, people made researches, excavations and tried to recuperate things once lost the best they could! "And many feel bad about how destructive the invasions were too, and not just because of the art…" But also because of the brutality, there was no need to add.

Thor still stared at her and Yui stayed in silence while Tsukito still read the poems or perhaps merely looked at them.

"Things lost can't ever truly come back or be recovered"

The thought occurred to her without control and there was nothing to do but to remain in the same silence as the other gods. Maybe this was somewhat alike what she had tried to tell Tsukito during the Moon event…

Unaware that the said Moon deity was thinking the same, Yui smiled (she hoped it wasn't a weak smile, no matter how tired her muscles felt) and merely excused herself to go try talking to Hades, trying to convince him to come closer to the group again.

Both gods of the Moon and the Thunder watched her for a moment, both having long ago noticed that Kusanagi Yui wasn't one to allow that others felt left aside. And back when they had been choosing about art pieces and how to organize them in the classroom, she had done the same: Tried to establish a conversation for the mere sake of it.

Just as some of the times he watched the behavior of the humans with whom they were being forced to live with, Thor had to admit there were moments he couldn't fully comprehend their motivations, as they went against what he had observed as being general and most common among humans over the decades. Of course, the dependency of the graduation to return home was a major element for those girls, however there were occasions in which he was sure it wasn't the only thing behind their actions and even so, there were times he wasn't sure which the others were.

Tsukito, in his turn, went to observe a painting, leaning his head to the side. For the first time, he actually ignored how he could analyze the lines of the paint, the shades used and the perspective, his thoughts holding on Yui's words and trying to actually find something else.

It wasn't easy for him, not after so many ages using of only logical approach and cold reasoning in his observations.

And it wasn't the first time she had said something like this either.

Like Thor, he had to admit, there were times those human girls defied the stone-like concepts they had.

XxX

"I'm screwed. I don't want to go in there…"

"Hey, you made a mess, now bear with the consequences."

"That doesn't make this shit better!"

"Huh, excuse me, but it isn't like he will hit you. Or call Aunt Wakana, so…"

Misaki took a deep breath. Well, that part was true. Thoth would punish her, no sense trying to sugarcoat it, but it wasn't like he could call her aunt or give Misaki a written warning to give her to sign. So, yes, it would be bad, but not like it could be in a true school…

"Good, so just go in there, listen to his lecture and nod, then say "Yes, sir, I'm sorry" like you're never going to do it again and then you're done!"

And yes, it made perfect sense, but the thought didn't reach the legs that remained heavy or gave birth to any wish to move. Nor did it help her nervousness as she faced the library's doors. Even if all this reasoning was true and, in the end, there was nothing to really fear, the idea of facing Thoth on the account of her yelling was far from pleasant.

"Sweetheart, calm down. Things will work out… Just take a deep breath and be yourself…"

The echo of the words in her mind made her blink. Aunt Wakana had said it back when… Yes, she remembered it with the lively of the memories that leave deep scars in the brain. Her aunt holding her close and caressing her hair soothingly... It had worked, even if it was so hard. Oh sure, for some people it sounded as the easiest thing, but for her…

"No, you're making things worse now. Just do as aunt always said. Breath in, now out. Get in there, listen to his blabbering and then leave"

And avoiding it wouldn't help things at all. The more she delayed, the more he would have to say. So, the blonde pushed the doors slightly, peeked inside with a low "excuse me" and entered, going over to his table.

At first, Thoth ignored her, merely checking the paper sheets the gods and humans had turned over with the organization of groups and how they had prepared their own activities. There wasn't even a raise from his eyes until Misaki was in the front of his table, where she stood and waited for the bomb, actually now hoping he would start soon than to leave her standing there in apprehension.

For some seconds, he still read the past sheet.

"Aihara" He said, still holding the paper and not looking at her. Though his tone was low and could pass by as calm, Misaki felt the iron underneath. It did nothing to make her feel better.

Thoth put the paper aside with the others and then stared at her. It was enough to make the girl feel unable to move.

"I believe you are aware of why I called you?"

The question was purely rhetoric, but Misaki grabbed the opportunity.

"I'm sorry for my behavior the other day, sir" She said, turning her eyes to her feet. It would be easier if she acted regretful and ashamed, no matter if she didn't feel at all like this… And in a way or another, looking at the floor did feel better than to look at him.

Thoth scoffed.

"Stop the act, it is most unlike you"

"Oh, great" Misaki growled to herself, looking back at him and doing her best to keep her face calm, unsure if she wanted to run away, stay and shut up or carry on with the apology. Why he had to be so good at observing people? Not for the first time, in the back of her mind untouchable by her surroundings, there was the small, humorless thought it wasn't for nothing he had always been described as having an Ibis head. The girl didn't know how to act or what to do and from the depths of her being, like a noise so distant one can't be sure if it exists or is in his mind, words she had tried to bury came back. Not strong enough for Misaki to make out, but with enough presence to make her flesh feel as if being ripped apart under her.

Thoth watched her with his iron-blue eyes.

"Regardless of what you may think of the situation, the fact remains that I am here in the role of your teacher, not as a fellow classmate." There was a glint in his eyes that was too predatory-like for Misaki and her senses became spikes in her insides against her will. "And even if this was to be ignored, which isn't the case, I am a god."

Misaki nodded again, trying to ignore the spikes in her. They were made of bone and dry blood, piercing her organs from all angles.

She had never had problems with figures of authority… While not a blind sheep that never questioned anything that was done or said by anyone who could be qualified as a superior, it wasn't in her to defy everything around and examine every detail in search of some flaw or counterargument.

"I understand that…" She muttered quietly. Thoth kept his back straight and arms crossed, never once freeing her from his stare.

"Were you in another situation or time, can you conceive the possible consequences for your act?" There was no reason for explanation, it was clear he meant what yelling at a god would cause in the old days or if they weren't in a teacher/student scenario, no matter if this was considered a "real" school or not, when it came down to their roles, things were as real as they could be.

Misaki nodded again. She could imagine, sure, but nothing would come closer of the real deal. And suddenly, she was cold with a primitive fear of this creature that could mutilate her body beyond what bones and nerves could bear and still keep her alive.

"And I do not believe humans schools take lightly such behavior from their students?" The mockery in his tone was almost a whisper between the words, but it was there all the same while the softness of his voice was enough to cut. Misaki had no words to form a reply and silence seemed prudent, but her lack of any answer could be taken as disrespect, so she shook her head.

Thoth's white eyebrows rose.

"Then, I must ask… What exactly was going through your mind?"

Misaki fought to keep looking at him. Thoth still stared at her as if decided to make a hole in her skin with sheer will and the girl knew he was very well capable of it. Misaki hadn't forgotten Zeus' demonstration of power and couldn't imagine what the limits of those deities were…

With all this, plus the thoughts that had been on her mind regarding the gods lately, Misaki had indeed asked herself what she had been thinking. But the point was, she hadn't. Her thoughts had retracted to the depths of the mind, leaving the instinct to command and her emotions then had been of a cornered animal.

"I… I lost my temper, I…"

"It is not what I asked." Thoth interrupted, his words shattering her voice.

Then… What was the meaning of the question? He had asked what…

Oh.

He meant what had caused her reaction. Misaki felt her mouth dry. It would be best if he had just… Just yelled at her and given her a punishment.

"Your… Your words bothered me. I'm sorry I reacted that way, I really am" It wasn't a lie, she did feel bad for it. And even if it wasn't the whole reason, his words had indeed been the ultimate provocation. "I should have controlled myself…"

"That you should" His nod at her was brief and his stare made it clear that her answer wasn't going to the point he had meant yet, making her confused.

Seeing it, Thoth held a sigh. What he had wondered was how his words had provoked such an unlikely reaction, for it far too clear that there had been more behind it than merely irritation or misunderstanding, so it followed that the cause hadn't been his words alone. And being the god of knowledge, he couldn't stand when there was something he didn't understand…

Well… And as a teacher, he supposed he had some responsibility regarding his students. Or at least the humans representatives.

Misaki remained quiet, not fully sure she knew where he was going with this and Thoth sighed. Although Misaki had tried to remain with a calm façade, he had sensed the fear in her and now tried to sound at least a little less intimidating.

"It was not only that, was it?"

There was no time to see the realization in her expression, as it was too soon filled by a calculative mask that didn't fully reach her eyes as several thorns attacked Misaki from inside out, each one an emotion battling to be the dominant one and causing a storm.

Yet, god and human merely gazed at each other until Misaki merely said in an undecipherable tone.

"No… It wasn't"

Thoth stared at her.

Misaki, this time, stared back and there was no hesitation. The communication between them that followed was one of those that dismiss the need of words.

He wanted to know.

She didn't want to talk about it.

Thoth didn't look away or blinked, but his back leaned in the chair.

"You seem aware of your actions, but I can assure you have no idea of what punishments your yelling and lack of respect would warrant were things any different." He carried on as if the last words had never been spoken. A brief silence told Misaki that death would have been merciful from some more stern gods that had no tolerance for any sort of disrespect in the ages past, not when those humans here were aware of who and what they truly were. "And despite your feelings regarding the situation, being sorry alone doesn't fix anything. You are to clean the class for a month for this. By yourself."

Misaki wouldn't complain.

"Yes, sir" She agreed, not having to force her voice into a respectful tone, though it had more to do with how tired she suddenly felt. For a moment, she was almost a child again and wanted to see aunt Wakana, wanted the woman to comfort her as she had done before...

Now, Misaki felt lonely.

Thoth evaluated her as if he had more to say and was examining the pros and cons of carrying on. In the end, he merely said.

"And be warned, Aihara… This is last time I allow a behavior such as this."

This could sound as a threat, but it was said in such a "teacher-like" way that it was indeed more of a warning. Misaki waited to be dismissed, but Thoth wasn't completely done and raised his head a little as he took a long breath, before saying slowly as if measuring each word.

"I do, however, realize that my words bothered you at the time more than I thought they would, so I do… Regret… That they were misunderstood in their meaning. Perhaps if I had been clearer, you would not have reacted in such way"

Misaki frowned, unsure if surprised that he was saying he regretted something or even if this was a sort of apology, only then realizing it wasn't. His regret was to how she had interpreted him and his lack of clarity, not the words in itself or the meaning behind them, whatever it was.

Oh, well, it didn't matter. And Misaki didn't have to accept anything, as it was a mere statement. She did regret her behavior and the disrespect, but it was only at a "student-teacher" level and not from person to person (truth to be told, she knew nothing of Thoth to have a definite opinion of him that went beyond that of a strict teacher), so it was sort of fitting.

Seeing no answer from her, Thoth merely nodded and allowed her to leave.

Once left alone, Thoth's thoughts went back to how his responsibilities as teacher involved more than explaining about humanity. Slowly, he rested his head on the back of the chair and closed his eyes, allowing his thoughts to run free again.

The gods were one thing, but those humans were young. Even at their own society, they weren't adults yet, but one could forget or eventually ignore some details when focusing in others.

He would say they should all be used to the situation by now (studying with gods, of course, not the threat that they lived with each day), only for Aihara's reaction to show that it wasn't so. Her face flashed on his mind when she had admitted there had been more to her reaction than what he had said and then the strong fear he had sensed coming from her, as reasonable as it had been…

"Humans…" Thoth thought to himself as he picked a book, blocking any thought that had to do with her.

XxX

Misaki almost ran to the gardens, actually using the exercise to try burning the feeling in her flesh and occupy herself with the Apollon and Balder, thus stopping any other thought from formation.

And once she reached the others, they were already with some spirits around. Misaki thought things would go quite well.

After a couple of minutes, the whole thing was being a perfect disaster.

For it didn't matter how much they tried, it seemed there was no way to contain the spirits when it came down to whatever it was that made them attracted to Balder and excited in his presence.

The idea at first had sounded interested and, in the first minutes, it had even worked while they had just a few spirits around, Apollon and Balder would help them to understand some sports in turns… And it had been organization too, with the spirits getting in lines as they were told: Apollon would let each of them try to shoot an arrow, Balder would separate them in groups of two so they tried to make soccer goals one against the other and so on. On her first try, while she wasn't good at it, Misaki had tried volley.

However, soon there were more spirits and while it wasn't a problem in itself, their excitement also grew with the number and, before any of them realized it, Balder was soon surrounded by them, from girls giggling and complimenting him to guys addressing him as "sempai" and asking for advice in how to play.

It could be funny. It had everything to be funny.

It was disturbing.

"They seem like robots with a short-circuit…" Misaki grumbled when two spirits passed by her hitting her shoulder to join the group cooing around the Nordic god. The girl rubbed her shoulder, skin shivering as if standing from the muscles due to the contact with those things. She never cared much for them, but during the first days she had soon learned that she would much rather avoid contact.

Even if Zeus just meant to make those as "classmates" and all, Misaki would much rather that they didn't exist. The falseness of their behavior, the lack of individuality, it all made them a travesty of life in her eyes.

"C'mon, please, please just make a line…" Apollon tried to call attention without any success and sighed with some annoyance. Even Balder was unable to impose order, even if he was trying. "Oi! Make a LINE"

"Listen to Apollon, otherwise we will be unable to carry on" Balder still tried, pushing the spirits gently, but firmly, to make passage among them only to meet resistance. They all spoke at the same time, but he could make out some of the words in those voices with lifeless cheer and admiration.

"Time of the rescue" Misaki muttered to Apollon in a dramatic way, not waiting for his reaction before she forced herself among those spirits, not caring at all to be gentle. "HEY! Shoo! Go away! Knock it OFF!"

The spirits ignored her. The girl didn't mind, forcing her elbows against the sea of flesh as Apollon tried to help by pushing them so Balder could pass. Most of them just keep trying to get closer to Balder, only a few actually showing reactions to the two of them.

"Run to the light, Balder!" Misaki cried out jokingly as the god managed to get out of the circle. While she tried to do the same with the spirits trying to follow Balder, a leg hit her ankle. The girl tried to recover the balance, but with the spirits moving around, there was a wave of sudden pain when she hit the ground.

"Saki-Saki!" Apollon called out, seeing what had happened. Some spirits now were confused, stepping around and walking as confused sheep. Misaki leaned on her hands, pulling her body away of the circle of legs, standing in the moment she managed to.

"Go, go!" Not paying attention to the gods, she hurried up to leave the courtyard, heading for the sports court where the gods and Isuzu practiced, relieved when she turned the wall and realized the spirits weren't following.

"No one deserves this. What did Zeus put in those things' heads?" She leaned her back on the wall, recovering her breath and sighed.

"Okay… At least they didn't…"

"Saki-Saki, your arm!" Hands held her arm and lifted it. When falling, she had skinned herself against the harsh floor and an extent area of her flesh now pulsated with a light burning.

Instinct froze her nerves and for a moment, Misaki almost struggled free from Apollon's hands before her mind intervened. It was Apollon. And Balder. Why would she react like this? They were… Well, she still wasn't sure that she could call them friends, but she would like to think so. In a way or another, as far as she knew, they wouldn't hurt her.

"That's okay" She managed to say, calming herself. "It's nothing" Gently, she pulled her arm back and tried to smile. "Well… It wasn't that much of a good idea"

"I'm sorry for this…" Balder's shoulders were down and discouragement marked the soft lines of his face. He had been truly interested by the whole thing and it end, it hadn't worked out because of his inherent power as god of the light.

"Don't be, Bal-Bal, it wasn't your fault"

"Yeah, it was nothing. We will think of something else…" The girl took a seat in the grass, leaning her arms on her knees, merely enjoying the sun. "They did seem more agitated today…" Maybe it was due to the event or an effect of long exposition to the god outside the classroom (during those times, they merely didn't react much to him and, except for it, neither of the gods or girls spent time near those spirits, that were also rarely found in such large groups).

"Who cares for the reason, after all. The thing is to think about other way."

She realized there was still something in Balder's expression. No, it wasn't quite this… She had already seen him with an expression other then this gently serenity, had seen tired or worried. That was… She wasn't sure of how to put it, but knew it wasn't quite a proper expression. More as if there was something intertwined in his skin and eyes as she saw him through a mist-like veil.

"C'mon, let it go." She insisted.

"But I really… I'm sorry."

"But you don't have to. It isn't your fault, we're not upset, so it's alright!" Apollon agreed with her, who tried to imagine how it would be with those spirits surrounding her. Even the animals used to enjoy being near Balder, but not at all in that obsessive way.

"They almost looked like a bunch of addicts who found the fountain of cocaine" Not that she would ever say this out loud, she didn't want to hurt Balder with a comparison of this nature.

"It must be tiring…" She carried on, to which the Nordic sighed and confirmed with a nod. The spirits didn't even have names, but he knew well that those reactions of now could easily be the reactions of other beings when free of the self control. It was when they became like this that the bitterness in him increased.

"They aren't even truly alive" He muttered almost with a groan. At first, he had thought that the shackle of Zeus would contain this natural attraction he caused to some beings due to his position. He had been wrong. "I think those shackles can't seal all of our powers…"

"Maybe it is just impossible" The Greek god commented, recalling that he had been able to use a bit of his prophetic gift when they had been in the beach.

"It is part of you. It isn't like being able to play or knowledge…" The girl muttered as she stood. "It is a part of you as much as blood or some organ…" Her eyes ran to them and before she could hold herself, the words slithered between her teeth. "In the end… It is different. We're different"

Her teeth held her tongue when she realized what she had just said. Not because it could be taken as offensive, it was just something she would rather have not said. She had had enough for today already and had lived long enough to be unable to see barriers with the need of pointing at them verbally.

The two gods studied her calmly. Then, to her surprise, their faces opened in smiles.

"Yes. We are. But this… It doesn't have to matter" Leaning to her, Apollon poked the tip of her nose briefly. "Not if we don't want it to"

Misaki looked from him to Balder, who offered his calming smile in agreement.

"But what if we're too different even to be friends?" The thought came to her without control. It wasn't a case of people from different countries or religious beliefs, it was something far wider and scarier.

She didn't want it to matter, she didn't want to care about what they were and just be their friend, but rats can't befriend snakes, fishes don't swim with sharks. A part of her wanted to press the subject, however her mind was weary and she wouldn't be able to have arguments or even force her thoughts into words, so she merely tried to smile.

"Maybe you're right…"

Apollon seemed satisfied enough and Misaki stood, looking from one to another.

"Hey, what can we do about the spirits, then?" She raised her hand as in class. "I suggest we chain them!"

"I think that would defeat the purpose of the sports" Balder chuckled to himself, to which she raised her shoulders as Apollon held his chin in thought, in a similar way as Yui did when lost in thought.

"Perhaps Apollon and I should just carry on with the demonstrations as you explain and we keep some distance, just enough for them to not be too affected…" He thought out loud and the three started to revise how they would make it work.

XxX

As much as she couldn't care less about the spirits or even events of this nature (more due to being in a divine Academy than the cultural events in themselves), Arisu had to admit that it wasn't that bad. Actually, she was even having some fun.

She, Takeru and Loki split among the small stands they had made, explaining the different games. Some spirits took part, some sitting down to give a try at chess, others daring to join some improvised game from Loki, one of them involving dares with different flavored cookies.

Arisu approached Takeru, who was watching two spirits trying a Nordic game the girl still hadn't fully understood.

"Things seem to be working out" The comment was accompanied by a smile despite her dislike for those creatures with programmed and basic reactions that only served to emphasize in her nerve endings how she and the others were the only humans here. The body reacted with coldness, organs making themselves smaller, so she would rather be near the gods.

Besides, since they had started to swim together, Takeru was less hostile.

"Or perhaps since Yui yelled at Zeus" The memory was still pleasant.

"Hm. Some of human's stuff can be somewhat interesting…" The other muttered with crossed arms at his chest, just observing the games. Some spirits laughed, or better, made sounds in the shape of laughter. Arisu ignored his comment, as she was used to this.

"Well, you have to admit this is better than stay in the classroom listening to Thoth talking and talking" She took a seat in the stand next to him, paying no attention to the hard look the god threw at her. It wasn't as if the wood would break under her weight anyway.

"One thing we can agree to." He nodded. "But I still would have liked better if we could have made something with martial arts!"

"Why am I not surpri…"

"Oi, oi" Loki interrupted as he came closer, taking a seat at the stand at Arisu's side and leaning his elbow on her shoulder. "Who would have thought? Everything worked out!"

"Apparently. I'm surprised that even your ideas were useful" Takeru said with no change in his tone. Arisu wondered if this wasn't the nicest thing he had ever said to Loki. The trickster god laughed and made a very human sign of "V".

"One thing to learn, Totsuka… My ideas, when regarding fun, are always a success!" And, eyes gleaming, he purred. "At least to me"

"The victims of your little pranks wouldn't always agree with them being fun" Arisu reflected, but decided to keep the thought to herself.

"At least it is fun. I've never cared much for those things before" She felt Loki pressing his shoulder more, making her lean to his direction with his weight and shook it to show her displeasure, turning her eyes to the spirits. "All in all, it is being sort of cool"

Loki snickered.

"If it we have to put up with this little, silly façade, then we can at least have some fun while at it."

"What do you mean by that?"

Noticing Arisu and Takeru's eyes, Loki smirked and he leaned to the girl.

"C'mon, you both know it as well as I do…" There was something in his eyes Arisu had never seen before and made her bones shiver. "All of this is, in the end, just a little play so we can graduate, but it has no real value. And the rest, actually, doesn't matter. After all, who would like to lose oneself by remaining here forever?"

While the first part of what he had said was close to Arisu's own thoughts, there was something more to it that she didn't like at all. Loki stretched his shoulders and back in that feline mannerism that was typical of him, eyes still with that expression that darker than what Arisu had seen until now, though she was sure there was something close to disdain in there.

"After all, if this ever happened, that is probably what would happen" His smile had no cheer, being just an exhibition of teeth.

"What are you…" The whisper came from her without control and Loki carried on as if he hadn't been interrupted.

"Simple. If we are kept caged in here, we may as well end up just like humans…"

Arisu was about to say something.

A loud thump broke the air when Takeru punched the wall.

"Hey…" The redheaded male muttered, caught by surprise by that reaction. Takeru didn't look at any of them, merely growling before walking out of the class, a sudden harshness taking control of his movements and making Arisu recall the first days at the Academy.

"What… What is with him?" Turning to Loki, she was unable to hide her surprise. It had been a long time since Takeru had given signs of that side of his. The Nordic God looked from the door at her and merely shrugged. Truth to be told, he had been surprised just as well, but was faster to recover.

And it wasn't as if he didn't understand it either. There had been no intention to provoke anyone when Loki had said that, it was merely one of the thoughts that plagued him the most and he had just expressed it.

"I would say that… He truly hates humans" Not like this was a feeling he didn't understand either and jumped out of the stand, going over one of the games as if nothing had happened, which didn't shock Arisu. She had noticed during the day how Loki could just walk away or stop paying attention if he decided things were getting bored.

Or maybe it was something else, she couldn't be sure now. His eyes had remained with that veil.

Arisu stayed there for a second, unsure of what to do. It wasn't as if she understood either of the gods, had just an idea that was vague and had not enough roots to become a certainty.

An impulse ran up her legs and she jumped of the board, going out of the class.

Turning at a hallway, she caught sight of blue hair. Takeru was near an open window, arms crossed on the windowsill and head leaning down. His muscles were stone under the skin.

"Hey, Porcupine…" She called out quietly, steps slowing down as she approached. The only reply the god gave her was an animalistic growl.

"It has nothing to do with you. Just leave"

In another occasion, Arisu would have respected this wish and maybe wouldn't have even cared much. It wasn't what happened. Somehow, she forced her body to ignore the shiver and stepped closer to Takeru, with the caution of someone going near some hurt animal that could bite.

The air around him was heavy with a hidden force, a poison that spread and invaded the system along with oxygen. Constant and unbreakable.

Arisu's nerves were tense. She ignored them.

"Takeru…"

He turned. Body filled with a force that electrified each nerve ending. Hand rose up.

A sound of shock.

For an instant, there was ice in his hand. The sensation ran through the rest of the body.

Arisu had been with her hand up, as if intending to touch his back and he had hit her.

He never hit girls. He… He used to get destructive during his more violent states, but those were trances out of control. Not that he tried to justify himself or shake off the responsibility, such would be a dishonorable thing to do... But he had never hit a girl otherwise…

Had Arisu been a step closer, he would have slapped her face.

The girl blinked to him.

Mind conjuring the face of the friend he had killed, Takeru for a moment couldn't find his voice.

"I… I'm sorry… I… I didn't mean to, I didn't…" He tensed up, seeing the blood coming back to her hand and coloring it of a strong red and he knew there would be a deep purple bruise soon. At that moment, he thanked for that shackle or he would have broken her hand, even if not meaning to.

"D-Don't worry, it was nothing…" She hesitated, hand throbbing with pain. The slap had been strong. She didn't think she had ever seen him like this. "Takeru… Are you alright?"

A muscle trembled in his face as he turned brusquely to observe the gardens from the window.

"Why don't you like humans?" The girl was aware it had to be more than the weakness that he had accused them of before and also remembered of when Takeru had called her hypocrite. Loki had said that what truly mattered was the graduation and although it still played such a strong role in their routine, it wasn't just that.

She hadn't even been thinking about it while making the stands and deciding the games with them, she had actually been enjoying it and a part of her was sure the others had too.

It wasn't the idea of graduation that made her approach the god again, daring to rest her hand on his shoulder and needing to stretch her arm a little to reach him. Under her fingers, Takeru seemed to tense up.

"I… I know you don't like humans" The whisper was low, words shivering with the uncertainty if her words would have any use at all. "I know the idea of… Of losing yourself is terrible…"

It was. Were they to remain here forever, would her mind, in an attempt to preserve itself and the sanity, dismiss her life as a dream? Cast the memories of her mother and father to an abyss, until her whole world was merely that golden cage of the academy?

Would the gods forget they were gods at all?

She took a deep breath. It wasn't Loki's fault, she knew he had had no intention to provoke or scare any of them. Perhaps Loki was afraid of this as well…

"It is alright…" Her fingers closed more in his shoulder, holding his flesh and she stood at his side, her eyes seeking his face. His golden eyes remained in some point outside, showing no emotion and Arisu's throat went dry. She would rather have the constant savagery than the emptiness of now.

"That will not happen… And I won't forget who you truly are, Susanoo"

His eyes slithered to her. It was perhaps the first time she ever called him by his true name.

"It is alright" She repeated, feeling useless. "You are you. Nothing can change this… And I don't care if you hate humans…"

Takeru merely observed her for a moment. His flesh trembled with old and new emotions, anger and repulse for everything agitating his nerves along with the natural fury the sea could have. For an instant, he almost formed the words necessary to explain to her the source, the reason for that despise he couldn't let go.

He sighed.

"Maybe…" He said quietly. "I'll be able to explain to you one day…"

But not today. Not now.

XxX

"It looks amazing, Isuzu!" Yui complimented her friend as she took a seat, looking around the small improvised café. The window time of the event was coming to an end and she had suggested to her group that, instead of going over the cafeteria, they would take a look at the Maid café Dionysus' group had sorted, since there would be no harm.

At the door, Isuzu had received them with a polite bow.

"Welcome" The girl tried to smile. But even after some hours, she had managed to more or less get into the "role", however the presence of her friends brought back some of the nervousness from before, even if the idea that they could come over had passed her mind while she had been setting things ready with Ren and Dionysus.

"Hi, guys" A voice coming from the hallway called the attention. Misaki was coming over with Balder and Apollon, the three of them looking tired and the gods still wearing the sporting clothes.

"Tired?" Yui guessed, seeing their expressions, in an amusing tone and imagining how things had been for them. The three seemed happy, so she hoped things had been fine.

"Hi there" She greeted them, with Thor and Tsukito nodding as Hades muttered a greeting. "I think we'll need a large table, Isuzu"

"Is that the uniform humans wear at cafes?" Apollon asked with interested, as he took in what Isuzu was wearing. Though there was nothing there besides normal curiosity, Isuzu couldn't help but to feel her face growing warmer.

"Well… In Maid cafes, yes… Sort of" The girl hoped she wasn't blushing under the gaze of the group. Misaki and Yui traded glances, the blonde hiding a smile with her hand seeing Isuzu was uncomfortable. Although she would be blushing seven shades of red and cursing her life if she were in Isuzu's shoes, Misaki couldn't help but to think it was sort of funny.

"Oh, Isuzu, you look so cute. I should take a photo" She teased in good fun. A light pink colored the other's face, but before she could respond, someone stepped closer.

"But you really look adorable like this!" Balder said and thought the praise could be sincere, Isuzu still gave a step back by instinct.

"Well… Thank you, Balder, but really…" Deciding it would be better to just lead them to a table before she blushed, Isuzu took a deep breath and recalled how she had been in the "role" during the day and made a polite gesture. "Right this way, please, masters"

The others followed her among the tables towards an empty one as they looked around, seeing some spirits here and there and also how they had organized the room. Apollon, however, frowned.

"Why is she talking like this?" Not that Isuzu was rude, but she had never treated them by such terms. Yui waved her hand in sign that he shouldn't mind it.

"It's part of the thing. It is how the employees act in Maid Cafes"

The Sun god tilted his head the side.

"You like to go to those cafes a lot, Fairy-chan?"

"Not really… I mean, they can be cute and all, but they're not exactly my type of place" Yui muttered as they took seats at a long table, actually made by some smaller ones that had been pushed together and covered by a white tablecloth. Just like in the other tables, there was a small bluish vase with flowers. The menus had been handwritten in small black notebooks.

"It all looks so different…" Hades muttered more to himself to the others, his red eye observing around, the white curtains at the windows and how the tables had been placed. One of the corners of the room had been separated by a long divider that he had once seen in the infirmary and the God of the Underworld guessed that was the part they had used as a sort of kitchen or whatever they could to organize the dishes.

It didn't look at all like a classroom and despite having seen very different places, most of the "human" ones had been seen in the memories of the souls he judged, so it was actually the first time he ever saw something like this in person.

"Dionysus helped. He and Ren were a saving grace with the food" The brown-haired girl indicated with the head to the god, who had just finished serving three spirits with something that seemed cake or pie. He greeted the group with a gesture of his head, still managing to look as elegant as the role of a butler demanded. The wine-red hair was in a low ponytail, some strands still falling free over his shoulders and making a contrast with the black suit he wore.

Misaki had to admit, he looked great.

Once done taking down their orders, Isuzu bowed once more and walked away.

"It seems that everything worked out today, then!" Yui exclaimed, seeing some of the spirits at the tables. "How it was with you guys?"

"It was… Agitated." Apollon exchanged glances with Misaki and Balder, a small smile playing in his lips as Misaki assumed an air of openly pretended innocence.

"Oh, some little complications, but nothing we couldn't overcome" Balder added with a solemn expression as Misaki held her giggles, making the others confused (even if Thor had a pretty good idea of what this was about).

It wasn't different of the times they ate together at the cafeteria, in the end. Apollon and Balder soon told how it had been with the spirits, soon laughing about the situation that seemed amusing now. Yui, in her turn, spoke of the art exhibition they had made, turning to Thor and the other gods, stimulating them to engage in the telling.

Meanwhile, Isuzu organized the orders in a small cart they had found in the infirmary along with the room divisor, covering it with a white cloth to try making it look more a restaurant cart. The tablecloths hadn't come from the store, but also "borrowed" from the cafeteria.

"Table three wants a strawberry cake" Dionysus commented to Isuzu as he checked the stock they had made. Some of it had been made by him and Ren and others had been taken from the cafeteria, as they wouldn't have how to keep preparing everything during the day (Isuzu had pointed out that, had Thoth or Zeus warned them before hand of everything, it would have been easier to make preparations including the food, to which Ren and Dionysus had agreed).

As Isuzu had mentioned to the others, the two of them had been a great help regarding the food. Although it would have been easier to just take everything from the kitchens, they probably should prepare at least some of the dishes themselves as part of the task and Isuzu had little to no experience when it came down to cooking.

Ren had promptly showed that she knew her way around a kitchen quite well.

The Greek god, however, had surprised both her and Ren by showing he actually had some knowledge regarding preparation of foods and even when he had given a try at dishes that he didn't know, they had tasted rather good.

It had been a shock for both girls. Despite being a god of wine, grapes and also related to fertility, none of them had ever imagined they would see him cooking. It wasn't as if he needed, right? The Greek gods only fed from nectar and ambrosia… Then Dionysus had merely explained that they could eat mortal foods without an issue. Since he often spent his time with mortal followers through the woods, he had had time to watch them making food and, later on, had learned a little about it as a sort of hobby.

Isuzu had caught herself thinking that, perhaps, it wasn't such a big surprise then. It wasn't as if those gods had ceased to be worshiped a couple of months ago, that left them with plenty of time… The girl had wondered how the fall of Greece and his cult had felt and those long years during which he had distanced himself from humanity…

And had merely commented that the small cake he had made for her and Ren to taste was just amazing.

His clothes were the standard of a butler, made of a white blouse, black blazer and a dark grey tie. At first, Dionysus had felt strange and clearly uncomfortable, as he wasn't used to tight clothes and even feeling restrained at first (which wasn't surprising, taking in his nature).

Neither Isuzu nor Ren could deny that he looked very good, even if it wasn't his style. There was something about the wildness in his eyes and hair (tied up or not) that added an interesting touch and the suit emphasized his large shoulders and the strong traits of his figure.

And the god had faced the whole thing as a sort of game, even using the most polite vocabulary. At a moment, Isuzu had heard him addressing a couple of female spirits as "princesses".

"If he keeps this up, Balder will have a serious competition" The girl thought smiling, trying to ignore the sensation that came with the memory of the blonde god talking to her a while ago. Yes, it had been because he had never seen anyone dressed like that and was always eager when it came down to new things, but even so…

"Do you mind… Serving the others then, Ren?" The girl asked the other, who was taking care of some of the cupcakes. Isuzu hoped to whatever greater God that existed that she wasn't sounding different than usual.

Ren gave no signs of noticing anything amiss in her tone, but Isuzu thought this didn't mean much regarding her. She remembered that Ren had given her the impression of being very controlled when they had first met.

"Not a problem" It was the reply as she checked the orders, comparing with what she had on a cart before pushing it, without needing to ask the table, once she had seen the group arriving.

Dionysus glanced at her with the corner of his eyes, not saying anything.

Ren hadn't acted differently at all during the day and he and Isuzu had done the same.

Not paying attention to anything around, the girl pushed the cart between the tables until the group. Misaki and Yui were chatting happily with the gods and even Tsukito commented something. Thor remained in silence, however she thought that the mere fact he had stayed and not wandered off was already something.

Ice was born from the depths of her nerves and ran through the connections, out of control and in a way that was almost mocking of her incapacity to control certain reactions of her own body.

Even so, she wanted to fight the shivers, the hands that played with her stomach, the claws digging her bones until the center. She had felt this before, many and many times and even if she kept her head frozen up… It was no use whatsoever. She knew better than to try and take refuge in lies and was unable to even try.

Once Ren had learned that her group had sorted "Maid Café" as their activity, she would have given everything to say "no". To be able to refuse to dress that stupid thing, but since there was only her, Isuzu and Dionysus, she hadn't be able to even ask…

As such, she had ignored the feeling of body closing in itself, trying to shrink under the skin and had carried on. Or tried to.

This didn't make her feel better at all. It was as if she was a child again, only her body had grown as if she was dressing the skin of an adult. Underneath, it was all the same, everything was still like that day…

Ren could only hope against hope that this damn day would end soon. Some idiot could say that with the passage of hours, she would get used and get over it. Yes, an idiot who would have no idea of what he was saying, trying to sound wise and caring… Even some of the spirits seemed to observe from afar (it could be her imagination, echoes of her past stretching to finally reach her here, but since they were programmed to have human reactions, it could be the other way too. In the end, it made no difference for the sensation was real).

"Forgive me for the waiting" The muscles of her face moved with the usual ability to shape a smile as she greeted them with a polite bow of head before serving the dishes.

Someone greeted her in response. It didn't even sound like a human language to Ren.

Yui turned to her with a smile that soon started to fade before she managed to force her face into a firm position. The shock held her vocal chords before she could make a sound…

It was a natural reaction, holding on to act as if there was nothing wrong. It wasn't far from instinct and the others tried to do the same…

The uniform was simple and nothing that would excite imagination. It was a mere black dress reaching the knees, adorned by a pure-white apron and doll-like shoes. Half of the back was exposed, as well as the shoulders.

The sleeves were at the junction of shoulders and arms, in a fluffy strap.

"Hey…" Ren whispered, suddenly as she placed a sandwich in front of Apollon, who was abnormally quiet as he tried to look away.

"We get along fine, don't we?"

The others realized that she hadn't asked if they were friends, merely if their relationship wasn't, at least, positive.

"Yes…" Someone managed to whisper.

"Of course…" Yui's muttering of agreement joined the other, both sounding so quietly as a secret devoured by silence. Ren had her face turned to the table, hair tied in a low ponytail due to being too long, some loose strands caressing her pale face.

The sound she emitted could be a muffled laugh or a sound of scorn, as if there was something in the back of her throat.

"So… Why don't you just cut the crap…" She stood after serving Tsukito, face lacking any expression. "And go on and ask?"

It occurred to Misaki that neither of them had ever seen her wearing anything but long sleeves and pants.

The eyes were attracted to it as it happens with a car accident or putrid wound, something too disgusting to look at, but that wields a cruel spell that makes one unable to look away. Maybe it wasn't different from knowing you shouldn't look at Medusa's face and yet, can't help but to do just that.

Ren's exposed flesh was a mass of scars.

A long scar cut her shoulder, hiding under the fabric in the direction of her chest, as if someone had hit her with an ax. Lines crossed and intercrossed, disputing space in her body and deforming whatever they touched, making an appearance that caused repulse on the nerves as much as a rotting corpse.

One of those things, on her arm, was tortuous as if hands had pulled and twisted it to see until where it would go and the scar had never nestled on the flesh like before. The wound had not closed, but spread somehow.

The opposite forearm, taking part of her shoulder, was a nest of wrinkled lines, skin too thin to barely cover the muscles underneath. For the first time, Misaki noticed there was a scar in the wrist that almost reached the thumb.

Ren stared at them for a brief moment before turning around and walking back to the kitchen-like area.

There were scars on her back too. Under the think sock, a part of her leg looked thinner than the other, as if the flesh had been chewed and bitten beyond tolerance.

Those were old cracks on the flesh, as marks of a badly sewed doll.

Chapter Text

After the day of the Cultural Event, Ren seemed settled in acting as if there was nothing amiss and the other girls followed the hint, though during the next few days, although always polite, Ren was somehow as distant as she had been during the first days in the Academy.

The ones who hadn't been there in the occasion, such as Arisu, didn't understand it at first, but Isuzu pulled her sister aside and explained the situation. While Arisu didn't fully understand how this would change how Ren behaved (sure she didn't think they would see her any different, right?), she did see how this could affect her and said nothing. Since the other gods did the same, Isuzu suspected that they had talked about it as well…

Despite wanting to act as if what they had seen meant nothing, it was a little hard to not allow the image of those cracks in the flesh to come to mind each time they looked at Ren. Isuzu had the sensation it was the same with gods, at times almost sure she saw those scars reflecting in their eyes…

And she knew Ren was very much aware of it.

Arisu was sure Loki knew about Ren, but was pleased to see he never acted differently (bad) or ever mentioned anything about it (worse). It seemed he respected the mute agreement of just not talking of it…

Though Misaki wondered what had happened, she knew better than to ask and also had the sensation Ren had slept badly for the next nights. Three days after the Cultural Event, she had woken up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and had seen Ren sitting in the windowsill as she always did… Her eyes seemed lost in the night and thoughts as always, but there was something different in how they were lost. She had thought about asking if Ren was alright… And as if listening to her thoughts, Ren had looked at her. Merely looked, with no arrogance or challenge, but it would have been better if there was something of this sort in her gaze. Because whatever had lurked in her eyes then had been enough to make Misaki's body forget how to make her vocal chords work.

In the end, it seemed that the better thing to do was to give Ren her space. Yui would have liked to say something, but everything that came to her mind seemed to carry the possibility of being interpreted as somehow insensitive, so she kept her mouth shut while just being there for Ren, as if nothing had ever happened.

So eventually, after some days, the dark haired girl started to go back to being herself again.

And as such, for some days more, things transpired normally. Isuzu still reflected on that routine they had, as one wonders about certain aspects of life occasionally and had to admit, she was used now to going to class with gods, something she had thought she would never get used to, in her first days in the Academy…

How could something so abnormal eventually feel natural? It was a crazy thought, but it was true nonetheless. And she found herself somehow pleased when she reflected how their relationship with the gods had improved, if compared to how things had been in the start. Thinking about how Ren had phrased her question in the Cultural Event, she admitted that when she stopped to think about it, she still had doubts if they were to the point of calling each other "friends"… However, the relationships were a lot more positive and she caught herself thinking there were gods who she couldn't help but consider as such.

And in that morning, when they entered the classroom without Yui, there was clear concern in Apollon's eyes when they told them how Yui had a cold.

"She is not feeling very well, so she will take the day off"

It was a way of putting things, Arisu thought to herself. That morning, Yui's paleness was similar to a corpse and while the girl had insisted it was just caused by bad sleep and she would just need a cup of coffee, her harsh voice said otherwise.

Ren had at once placed her hand in Yui's forehead and in the side of her neck, as calm as ever. It had made Yui remember when she had practically carried Dionysus out of class when he had had his first experience with a hangover (despite this, she doubted the god would truly put wine aside for the rest of the year even if now he was susceptible to reacting to it like a human).

"You have a fever."

Then Isuzu had been on the case, insisting that Yui opened her mouth so she could take a look at her throat.

"If you're not feeling well, you should stay in bed" She had commented firmly and finally getting Yui to comply. Arisu just watched it with a shadow of smile, as she knew how useless it would of Yui to even try convincing her sister that there was no need of such if she decided otherwise. They could be the same age, but Isuzu tended to become almost maternal-like in situations involving health.

The other Hironezumi twin knew this due to first hand experiences. While Isuzu wasn't the type to go crazy over a paper cut or a simple sneeze, she also wasn't the type to push things aside or think a simple pill would heal everything and anything.

"You have a sore throat as well. It's not bad, but it can grow pus if you just ignore it. You may say it's nothing, but it can get worse, so go back to bed"

"But I'm fine! It's nothing serious…" Yui still tried, but the protest didn't convince anyone anymore, not when it was punctured by a cough that sounded anything but fine. "It must be some chill, no reason to miss class…"

"Girl, you have the chance to sit out Thoth's lecture for the day. Take it" Misaki said with a smile, waving her hand. "So don't worry, a day off won't kill ya"

"Give up, Yui" Arisu advised upon seeing her sister ready to insist again and, sure enough, Isuzu used the tone of voice she generally used with Arisu when her twin was being stubborn and pointed to Yui how Thoth himself could end up sending her back to their room when he saw her state, which would make even going to class absolutely pointless.

Melissa said he would pick up medicine in the infirmary, so they didn't have to worry about it and in the end, Yui sighed and accepted.

"She could be a doctor if she wanted to" Arisu thought while Misaki and Isuzu explained to the others how Yui had a cold and would probably be fine in a day or two as long as she rested.

Not that Isuzu (or her, for that matter) had thought about a career they wanted to pursue. Arisu had thought about the subject, of course, but nothing had come of it. Some people seemed to be sure of what they wanted to do with their lives since a small age or just have a "click" inside, an "eureka" of discovering their "call" or whatever the hell they wanted to call it.

She still hadn't anything like that that pointed towards what she wanted to be.

"And if you think about, I actually have to face the true third year of high school once things are done here…" The thought was somehow funny and she held a snicker to herself… For a moment, she wondered if she would dare to ask Thoth for guidance, like a vocational test or something, but she wasn't sure this would be a good idea. Or that Thoth would accept, for starters.

"Don't colds led to death from time to time?" Tsukito asked with his way that could be approaching a scientific subject as always, thought Misaki was almost sure his tone wasn't as distant as what she was used to.

"Hey, hey, easy there!" She replied at once before risking any of them to get more worried than it was needed. They probably knew that times had changed and human health had improved, but she would rather not risk it. "It's not like that"

"Some colds can develop into something serious if not treated and there are some that can be a risk to life" Apollon was the one that said it, with a seriousness that was most uncommon in him, at least as far as the girls knew. "But this is not the case of Fairy, right?"

Misaki blinked, remembering then how Apollon was also a god of medicine. Her surprise was how Takeru made no depreciative comment about how the weakness of human's health, just asking if the Weed would be alright by herself.

"It's nothing serious. Just let her sleep it off and rest" Isuzu carried on. Yes, she knew how she could get in such moments, but she wasn't going to freak out. "She just shouldn't come to class today"

"Luck her." Loki said almost in a dream-like way and Arisu knew he was probably either planning a prank based on that or thinking if he could use a similar excuse when he felt like cutting class without dealing with Thoth forcing a detention on him.

Arisu cast him a glare of warning that was replied with a smirk.

Thoth also accepted the justification for Yui's absence, just recalling that she better read the notes on the subject of the day less she wanted to be behind the rest of the class. It was the expected reaction for him and it caused no comments, so the god carried on with the class, starting to go on about the different laws of human's countries and the general concept of justice.

Misaki had to admit, she was relieved that her reprehension hadn't gone past a lecture and her punishment (not fun, but she could deal with it just fine), though the way Thoth had set off warning bells in her mind was still as fresh as a scar. At least he was treating her as always, even if the girl wasn't stupid enough to even consider the idea that he had forgot the whole deal (as much as she wanted him to).

She still remembered the pressure she had felt from him, which she definitely wanted to ignore and what had been underneath his questioning. There were things that just couldn't be completely translated into words and became weak, easy to misinterpret and to be taken in another way.

And as such, a deep wound could be mistaken by a paper cut.

"And why would you even try when you already know it will be a waste of time, right?" A voice that she knew far too well whispered in her mind, immediately making her try to focus on whatever Thoth was saying, without much success. Trying to drown that whisper, she wondered (and wished) what Hideki would be doing if he was here with her.

"Maybe he would get along with Apollon… Well, Apollon seems to get along with anyone, of course, but…" She liked them, sure and things seemed to be going well despite the few bumps along the way, but she had known Hideki for longer and could tell him things she couldn't tell others… She missed him, his smiles and how he talked about games…

She almost laughed to herself when she thought about Motoko Ayuzawa. They weren't friends, but she knew her because of her pure devotion to Kazuma Masahiro, who was what you would call one of the "princes" of the school. Great boyfriend material. Handsome with his black hair and blue eyes. Very intelligent. Always polite.

Motoko and some of her friends were his official fan club and had not a problem announcing that to whoever wanted to hear. Misaki didn't care much for it, but she seriously wondered what would happen if Masahiro started to date.

Chances were, the poor girl would be harassed.

Thing was, Misaki wondered what would happen if Motoko Ayuzawa was here. Chances were, each god would have his own fan club.

"So it's better that we're here instead of sending the gods to an actual human school."

"… So, to give an example, there is divergence about how some see death penalty. Which ones of you are in favor of such?"

The question snapped Misaki's distraction and kept her hand lowered. By looking around, she noticed the gods hadn't moved, so perhaps it had been more directed to the humans… Ren also remained perfectly still, though by now Misaki didn't know if she was expressing her opinion or, upon seeing this would lead to a debate, had decided to stay out of it. Both options were equally possible with her…

Arisu, however, had her hand high in the air. Isuzu lifted hers and backed her body in a clear sign that she would rather not say anything in the matter.

Thoth nodded.

"Your reasons?"

The whole class turned to the two girls.

"I think people can change." Misaki said slowly. In truth, she didn't like people looking at her like this and wasn't sure she would like to debate anything now, but went on even so. "We don't know if a murderer will tomorrow change his ways and become a better person, so I don't think we should take this chance away…"

Arisu rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Not everyone is willing to change, you know?" Seeing Misaki didn't answer, Arisu carried on. "I get that there are people who do deserve a second chance, but there are those who don't, too."

"But you don't know that." Misaki looked around and shrugged. "I agree that there are people who don't change, but how can we be sure? And think about it, kill people who killed people to show that killing people is wrong?"

"Look, I'm not saying death penalty is something good, but there are those that do things so horrible that there is nothing else to do for society's sake. It doesn't mean I like it, but…"

"So killing is alright as long as it's done by the government?" Misaki asked as soon as Arisu stopped talking. She could see her point of course, but to her, death penalty was just wrong. "Plus, the justice system isn't all perfect. There is the risk of sending someone innocent to die." She had seen news of people who had spent years in jail for crimes they hadn't committed, what if those people had been sent to death? There was no way to do anything for the injustice if they had been killed.

Arisu considered that. Meanwhile none of the gods seemed to want to say anything… Of course. In the ages when they bothered to punish mortals, they never had doubts of their crimes and often made punishments worse than death with a mere wish.

"Well, I'm not saying everyone deserves it and yes, there are criminals who can change and… Fight to be better people, make up for what they did, I don't know." This was a point Arisu had not thought about, but if she stopped to think, yes, there were people who, after been released, actually tried to do something to atone for their past. It didn't change the past, but there was value in it.

On the other hand, there were also those who served their sentences and once released, just hurt others once again.

"But think about those that are, without a shadow of doubt, guilty. Think about rapists or people who torture others… Think about people like… Like Gacy or Dahmer and the things they did. I think this deserves a lot more than going to prison"

"Isn't it loss of freedom way worse than loss of life?" Misaki insisted. Despite the heat growing in her voice, this wasn't a full discussion. At least not yet, but her mind was too taken by arguments and how she felt about it to consider anything else. It wasn't even as if they were trying to change each other's mind, if either she or Arisu stopped to think about it "Who are we to judge who deserves life or who doesn't?"

"Oh, please, not that!" Arisu lifted her hand in interruption. That argument, for her, didn't hold water in the slightest. "Look, if someone kills another in the brutal ways you see sometimes in the news, then I wouldn't say they deserve to stay alive. Plus, what if they escape, are released or kill someone in prison? You need to be sure they won't hurt anyone ever again and, I'm sorry, but sometimes the only way to do this is by killing them…"

"If we support killing, even if they are criminals, doesn't that makes us somehow similar to them?"

"Isn't it better to be sure that they won't ever harm anyone else again?"

Both went quiet. The whole class just watched and the gods were actually interested. Oh, the concept of justice and punishment was not alien to them, but with those arguments and the nature of what was being discussed, it felt almost as such. They weren't used to question themselves when they decided to punish mortals. What Arisu and Misaki discussed wasn't only death penalty, as underneath there was also a discussion of how to measure justice… It would be easy if things could truly be put in a physical scale, so there was no excess or lack of punishment, but the exact measurement.

Misaki sighed, the silence somehow calming her nerves that she hadn't even realized had heated up. Arisu, to her surprise, smiled a little and shrugged.

"Well, can't we just agree that doing justice is not always easy?"

Thoth still went on about how their debate of now showed how humans had different views and how this could affect matters, also on why some places had death penalty where others hadn't. In the end, the whole class had to write an assignment of their thoughts on the subject and to justify their position.

XxX

Though some gods wanted to check on Yui as soon as the classes were over, there was an agreement that it would be better to let her sleep as much as she wanted and needed. In the attempt of helping, some of them (and Misaki had to make an effort to not look at Loki then) could end up just causing agitation.

"Well, he could try making her feel better, but I bet he would just tire her even more" Arisu reflected for a moment in an almost instinctual level as she crosses the pool. It was with no surprise that she verified that Takeru had reached the other side first.

"You seem to be improving" He admitted with a nod, arms crossed on his chest. "Not bad for someone who looked more like a drowning rat at the beginning"

"Hey, I told you it has been a while since my last classes" Arisu retorted, holding a smile and also the wish of giving him a friendly punch in his shoulder when the need came to her nerves.

Since when had such friendly gestures, normal to her, had started to appear with him?

"Big deal" The god replied with little care, slithering in the water, more naturally than a dolphin and a smirk. "There are things you just don't forget once you learn. Like walking"

"Porcupine, if I didn't know any better" Her smile, in reply, had some reservation before she realized it. Since the Cultural Event and how Takeru had acted, the question human/gods was stronger in her mind and haunted her more than normal, no matter how much effort she put into ignoring it. Almost as if the day had ripped apart a gauze to expose a wound that could no longer be hidden. "I would say you want to annoy me"

The god just raised his eyebrows in an unreadable expression, making she roll her eyes while trying to not think about his eyes when she had followed him out of the room, after what Loki had said…

"C'mon, stop that…"

At the end of the day, he had pulled her aside and asked almost brusquely if her hand was hurting. She couldn't exactly lie with the forming bruise, but assured him how it was nothing, to which Takeru had almost immediately nodded and said that he had just asked because he didn't know how much the shackles limited his physical strength and how humans got hurt so easily… Then muttered something about how, even though it was an accident, it was dishonorable to hit someone like that.

Arisu had the impression that by "like that" he meant out of a battlefield.

She hadn't even cared about the comment, aware that he truly didn't mean to hurt her and confirming once again that it didn't matter, pretending to not notice that the god seemed to be truly upset over it.

The slap hadn't affected her, what had was his state, the same thing that had worked to shake her own doubts about him and the others in a way that felt more upsetting than before… She never forgot that Takeru didn't care about humans (at times wondering even if he hated them), however it was getting complicated to stop that from affecting her in a personal level, ceasing to be a generic question as she realized that day.

To put in simple terms, she was caring more and more about the answer she might get if she started to actually discuss this with the gods.

"Are you going to daydream or do you plan to keep swimming?" The god had approached her without her noticing it.

"Look, you can't say a thing about how I swim" She replied with the instinct of someone pulled back to the reality, from deep thoughts and not wanting anyone to notice. "I learned with human teachers, remember?"

And proceed to start swimming away from in until starting a crawl style. Takeru followed, but didn't turn once they reached the other side, on the contrary, he muttered almost to himself.

"So, she will be alright?"

Arisu turned to him. He had the same way of when he had spoken of her about hitting her hand, trying to keep a controlled expression that didn't allow any true emotion to be shown, though Arisu noticed something bothered and unsure in his eyes as the corners of his mouth twisted slightly. Even when she confirmed, not needing to ask to know he meant Yui, Takeru didn't seem satisfied.

"How did she even get sick?"

The question sounded simple enough, but Arisu knew he was actually referring at how you would expect Zeus to not allow such things to happen in a divine-like environment. At the same time, even so, Arisu blinked as this question would (despite all the circumstances), be more expected from a child and not a being that had lived through millennia and millennia… Then again, considering how he (well, as most of them save perhaps for Apollon and Tsukito) had seemed somewhat impressed when Thoth had given some notes about how diseases actually attacked the human's organisms and how some severe diseases destroyed the body…

"Well, good for them they never watched House or something like that" But it was almost fun to imagine how they would have reacted… While a part of them imagined them freaking out and assuming Yui had actually a dangerous disease that would claim her life and was merely presenting itself as something so simple, she knew that this wouldn't actually be the case.

The knowledge of what they were never left, but at times… At times they almost felt humans to her, almost like boys of her age.

"Those things just happen from time to time…" She shrugged, adding carefully. "You… You guys never get sick, right?"

Takeru looked at her in silence and slowly nodded. No. No, at least not in normal circumstances and even in their current predicament, it wouldn't be quite easy to happen. Tsukito had once fainted, but he had been pushing himself for days.

"Even with those shackles… We're more resistant than you" He said almost not realizing it, adding in a murmur. "Even in our… Natural state, sometimes we can be hurt. But a cut that for us means nothing may be dead to humans" Before he had never cared for human weakness (not only physical), as it was just a fact of nature, like scorpions being dangerous and dogs having four legs. His despise for the whole race ended up using certain details to increase the emotion.

Before, he wouldn't have had any trouble saying so, but couldn't just use the same terms with Arisu, who frowned.

"I think I've heard somewhere about Horus being poisoned or something like that… And Aphrodite being hurt in the war of Troy…" She wasn't sure, it had been in the beginning of the year when she and the others had searched for information about the gods in the library. This idea made her wonder if it didn't mean that even those deities had their weaknesses… Rare and unreachable to humans, of course, but…

Or maybe she just wanted to find something that would approach them, that wouldn't leave them as such distant beings that their physiology was almost alien… Something that would make them more reachable as living beings…

"It may be so, I don't know about the Egyptians" The sea god confessed, shaking his head, his blue hair falling in his golden eyes. "It also depends of where we're from. My brother and I are different from Apollon, Dionysus or Hades, for example… Some things are different, such as how our abilities work"

At this Arisu was frankly curious. How did their organisms work, when it came down to their powers? Did it depend too of their "domain", for lack of a better term?

Still this question was pushed to the end of her mind to give way to the principal subject and how he had commented he wasn't like Apollon, regarding organism.

Her mind involuntarily remembered how sometimes it was said that some people in different countries were more resistant to cold or how some organisms are more susceptible to certain diseases or allergies, but decided against expression the comparison.

Since he didn't like humans, she didn't think he would appreciate it.

"Look, later we can check on Yui. She will probably be better" She tried to say in a cheerful way, since he seemed to be somewhat worried despite all the explanations. There was something else here, Arisu was sure, but she didn't know what…

"I mean, it is just a cold…"

Takeru didn't let her finish.

"I forget it" He growled suddenly. "At times, I forget how you… Fuck, I don't know! It's just… It's just weird when there's someone missing. And I hate that!"

Arisu hesitated, her mind stopping for a moment…

So, a weak thought of a baby started to be born, along with a perception that, perhaps due for being so obvious, had been ignored for most of the time when they had gotten used to the Academy… And why this simple cold had bothered Takeru more than it would be normal.

"We won't stay like this forever… At the end of the year, life goes on… We will grow up, grow old and die. And you and the others will go on… Existing and existing…" When she thought about going back home, her mind didn't touch what would happen after it. She could still meet Yui, Ren and Misaki… And if they lived in another city, they still had emails and could visit each other from time to time.

But what about the gods?

She didn't know. Could they still keep in touch, somehow?

Suddenly, the thought became unpleasant…

Trying to get free of it, Arisu studied Takeru… Could it be that he was bothered by the girls' mortality or bothered that he was worried (or the better thing next to it) with a human, whose life would end eventually anyway and whose span of time was probably what that of a butterfly was to them?

In her actual state, the words of how they would die almost came to her, with Arisu stopping them in the last second before her vocal chords produced any sound, not feeling like having this conversation.

She took a deep breath. Her throat was dry.

"She will be better soon" How a thing so simple as a mere cold had caused a conversation and thoughts such as those? Or… Or had such things been always there, just waiting for a crack to use as passage to take their place in reality? If it hadn't been a cold, it would have been anything else that could be an opportunity.

She remembered when Yui had almost drowned. Heh… Hades was surely one who didn't forget, for once, about how things would end up. It wasn't that dying someday bothered Arisu, it was how things were…

Death wasn't the problem. The farewell was.

"And we still have the year ahead, I mean, we're just now getting to the end of October, so…" Blabbering now. As if that would expulse the bitter sensation, convince it to leave. The worst part was that she was confused now, unsure of what had actually caused this reaction.

It should be simple.

It was not.

By Takeru's expression, he was feeling something far too similar and shook his head slowly.

"Even so… Sometimes, it's like I forgot, even if I didn't… How you guys are humans" And also some details of their predicament. Perhaps due to how the fear of being caged forever stood out so much more and the coexistence also played its part. Once you got used to certain things, you could end up ignoring others.

He remembered when he had started to train with Yui. He had honestly been surprised that she had dared to fight him for starters and a seed of respect had started there for her as a fellow swordsman. Just that. In the actual training, he had been sure that she would give up soon and not only for being unable to keep up with him (after all, shackled or not, he was still superior).

Not only had she persisted as the trainings had been actually more fun now he had company…

Then that accident had happened. He remembered seeing her falling, losing her senses and how past and present had become one for a moment. When he held Yui then, his first thought was how light she was… He knew he could break her skull with a mere slap… Like others could twist her body into another shape or shatter her bones by just wishing it.

Humans were weak. They caused him nothing but despise and digust.

In that moment, he had just been able to think how fragile she was.

And this thought came to him once again when he accidentally slapped Arisu's hand. Their lives were like candlelight, it took nothing to be extinguished… Even when he tried to remember how he hated humans, somehow he couldn't apply those concepts to them anymore.

Takeru couldn't honestly remember the last time he had had a positive thought or even cared about a human before coming to the Academy… Unknowing to Arisu, he also wasn't sure of how things were now or what those girls meant. And this confusion was enervating.

"Is that bad?" Arisu's words had come almost as a whisper.

Takeru looked at her for a brief moment, not saying anything and not allowing any sort of answer to touch his facial muscles. Arisu lowered her gaze as she hadn't meant to sound as if pressuring him for answers.

"Why don't you like humans? Does that include us? How do you see us?"

She wouldn't ask. Takeru had said he would tell her someday and that had been enough. She didn't like when others pressured her and refused to do the same, no mattering how this question felt in her nerves.

Throwing her body ahead of him in the water and swimming a little, she merely turned her head to him.

"Hey… C'mon" And gave a small smile of challenge. "Let's try again. You said it yourself we're here to swim. Plus, I still want to win against you"

After a second of silence, Takeru's strong laugh echoed as he advanced in the waters with the wild smile she was used to by now.

"Dreaming is good and it's free"

XxX

How many times do we only realize the passage of time when comparing dates? It was what Isuzu thought at the moment.

"October already… Who would know?" It wasn't even close of the end of school year, but when she thought about how they were already in the second semester, she couldn't help but to be a little surprised. When she had first arrived, she had thought the year would feel a lot longer and the days would drag on and on… Now that she was used to things, time seemed to go by fast.

Strange, but not unpleasant.

Her mind went to the celebrations of Christmas back home, but she decided she didn't want to think about them, even if she used to get excited for them. This, however, would be the first Christmas she would spend away from her parents. And they always had their own family traditions, too…

Isuzu wasn't even sure they would celebrate anything here in the Academy.

It was a delicate matter, as it always is when it comes down to particular beliefs. The girls had already talked about it among themselves even if they had no desire of bringing such things up with those deities that had, ages ago, had temples build in their honor.

She and Arisu believed in God, but didn't follow any religion in particular. Yui was Buddhist, Misaki was Atheist and Ren was Catholic.

The conversation had been just that, as they all agreed in the "live and let live". What did it matter in what they believed, if basically all religions were about being kind to each other, respecting and being a good person? Isuzu had no idea if this year was having some effect in the other's beliefs, but she had spent a good time wondering about it until she had found peace with herself.

In the end, she still believed. Even the Greek back in those days mentioned an "Unknown God" or something. In a way or another, meeting Balder, Apollon or any of the others had had no impact in what she believed… It had been a shock, sure and also opened her eyes to how humans, actually, didn't know anything about the reality of the world.

Fascinating, sure. And also frightening.

"Hi, Isuzu!" A known voice called her when she crossed the patio to her practice area with her bow and she waved back to Balder, who approached. There was no signal of Apollon and she wondered if he was at the Student Council with Tsukito and Misaki as he did sometimes (well, he was the President).

"Hi there. Where's Apollon?"

"He went to visit Yui" The Nordic replied at once, with the smile that was so natural of him. "Since he is a god of medicine, he insisted he could do something to help"

Isuzu nodded. It made sense, after all. Even with those shackles, Apollon had medicinal knowledge, so perhaps he could fix her some herbs to help. She also remembered Arisu telling how he had been able to use a bit of his powers of prophecy in the beginning of the year, so maybe...

She wondered what they thought of it. No doubt medicine had improved a lot since the time they still cared about how humans conducted their lives… Looking at Balder, she couldn't help to be curious. He always seemed calm and in good mood, it was hard to imagine him growing bitter towards humanity and keeping his distance.

Suddenly the blonde looked behind, noticing the small group of spirits that was approaching the court, with identical smiles. Before Isuzu could understand what was happening, there was warmth wrapping her hand and she was being pulled.

Her legs started to run, trying to keep up with Balder's rhythm as they crossed the garden until he stopped in one of the more wooded areas, glancing around to be sure the spirits had not noticed him. No signal of them. Well, they probably hadn't seen him and it wasn't like they were quite intelligent.

He turned to Isuzu, who was catching her breathe, some strands of hair falling across her face.

"I'm sorry for this" He spoke seriously as he hadn't meant to surprise her, but it was better to get away from those spirits as soon as they came close and sighed. "It isn't always that they appear, but when they do, it's impossible to play…"

And he wouldn't have been able to talk with Isuzu either.

The girl knew well what he was talking about. In the occasions those damn things appeared, it was common that they stayed staring from afar, which eventually became disturbing due to their empty gazes. An alive crowd would be easier to deal with… And when they were in a certain number such as those of now, they approached and kept asking Balder to teach them how to play, threw empty praise to his technique…

She and Apollon used to do their best to sent them away, to Balder's relief.

"Don't worry… At least it's not that frequent, right?" She made an attempt at smiling, as she never could think about a way of comforting him. Balder still looked at her in second before nodding.

"I honestly don't know how it is with them" More appropriately, how they worked. Oh, he knew that Zeus had limited himself to just fill them with some human instincts, so they have less individuality than a worm… His personal theory was that when they were in groups such as those, wandering aimlessly through the school and came near enough, they were drawn to his aura of God of Light, moths to a flame.

Strangely, none of the girls seemed to be affected in the slightest. At first some of them watched him with clear curiosity, perhaps able to feel something deep in their nerves. And even in the moments his aura clearly brushed against their senses, the effect was small… Balder knew it had nothing to do with his shackle, there wasn't how to stop that, might as well try to change the color of a bird without altering the outer appearance.

Strange…

He watched as Isuzu straightened herself and put the wild strands behind her ear, turning her eyes to him again and tilting her head to the side.

"Balder?" She called in a low voice. The god merely smiled at her and she pointed behind him with her eyes, a thin smile coming to her face. Balder turned slowly, noticing a small thing coming down the tree with quick movements of small paws.

The god saw Isuzu's eyes on the little animal with interest and smiled at her, lifting his hand to his shoulder. The hazel squirrel made its way to his hand as if it was his pet and sat here, muzzle shivering as it scented the air in the direction of the god.

"Animals seem to like you too" The girl whispered, as if not wanting to break a spell and making no movement towards Balder, not wanting to scare the squirrel. It was no secret there were such animals in the garden. She and the others still went to star gaze with Hades at times and once, Isuzu had actually seen a doe and its fawn.

Without saying anything, the God made a gesture for her to come closer. Honestly, he did prefer animals to those spirits… And to humans in general as well, but he wouldn't ever say such a thing to her. He didn't want to offend her like that…

The squirrel turned its head to Isuzu when she moved, eyes two black drops.

"Here…" Balder whispered to her, his face leaning close as he held her hand and slowly moved it to the animal. Usually, his aura calmed them especially if they kept contact, so while the squirrel watched Isuzu, it made no movement to get away when Balder gently placed her fingers on its back.

The squirrel turned the head again, sniffing as if wondering if they had food. Isuzu almost exclaimed in surprised, she had never been so close to a squirrel like this before. Balder's hand was over hers as she scratched the brown fur.

The animal still played a little with the end of Balder's sleeve before rushing to his shoulder, gaining a little laugh from Isuzu.

"How come they always get so close of you?" Nothing of the sort happened with the other gods.

"It's because of my aura" He explained while lifting his hand to the squirrel again and placing it near the tree. The animal went back, rushed up and disappeared between the branches. "As the God of Light, animals feel calm near me." It wasn't just that, but a brief explanation was the better thing to offer in the moment and Isuzu accepted it.

He still gazed at the branches over their heads for a while, as the sunlight dripped between leaves and slithered to them, the light playing around with colors. With a sudden impulse in his mind, he turned to Isuzu.

"Why don't we ignore our clubs today?"

"Ah?"

"Well, it will be a little bothersome if the spirits come back. Why don't we just… How do you say again?" He wondered out loud for a moment, before his blue eyes went back to hold hers. "Skip it?"

Isuzu hesitated. Not due to fear of reprimands, but more out of surprise as she hadn't expected this.

"C'mon, Isuzu. Just this time" He insisted with a soft tone as he leaned in order to keep his eyes in the same height as hers, his head tilted to the side in expectation. And yet, despite his tone and posture, his eyes were somewhat serious.

Well… No reason why not, right?

"Sure."

Balder seemed pleased and the two went to take a look at the flowers Ren and Dionysus had planted in the gardens.

XxX

"Thanks, Apollon…" Yui's voice was still hoarse as she placed the cup in the small stand at the side of bed, still feeling the taste of herbal mix that Apollon had made for her and that, according to him, was very efficient against colds and also could help with her fever. Yui had never drunk anything like that, though it wasn't unpleasant to the taste.

The closer she had ever had before had been an herbal tea.

Most part of her morning had been spent sleeping after she had taken a pill, having woken up a little ago and remaining in bed reading until she had heard a light knock in the door. She had thought it was some of the girls not wanting to just barge in (Misaki had left a couple of minutes ago and both had shared smiles when she commented how Thoth had commented that Yui shouldn't stay behind the class. He really was perfect for the role of a strict teacher), but it was Apollon who had also talked with her a little about the debate between Misaki and Arisu.

While he had watched her drink the mix, Apollon had been quiet. With the passing of decades, more than humans could understand about time, the observations he made regarding humans had created concepts in his minds that had become as unbreakable as the simple laws of the universe, such as the hollow of space or the existence of gravity.

As such, they were also a fence, preventing the entrance of any thought that didn't collaborate to what had become a belief when the subject was human's nature.

Acts, however, are hard to ignore. It wasn't possible to just dismiss them or take them down with arguments, even if he had tried to justify the actions he saw or admit them as an exception… It still wasn't enough.

Yui… And the others… They were different from what he expected of humans. Not that there was despise under his smile, not even in the beginning of the year, but he was in this Academy for a reason as much as Hades or Takeru. As such, he had actually tried to rationalize their behavior especially when it entered in collapse against his most negative thoughts about humans… He truly had liked them from start and appreciated their company…

And slowly, this mere appreciation had become something more solid inside him… Then, there were moments such as this when his perception suddenly sharpened and everything came to his mind at once. The sensation it caused was almost as if he had forgot they were just humans and only now recalled the fact with a shock.

Those were not the best terms to describe it, but it is always complicated to force complex emotions inside the weak limitations that are words.

Perhaps because this was one of those moments that he ended up muttering, almost not realizing.

"You are different…"

Yui blinked as she tilted her head to the side, not sure if he meant this as a good or bad thing.

"Apollon?"

The Sun god was abnormally quiet as he stared at her for a brief moment. The cheerfulness was not there anymore and Yui almost couldn't bear to look in his eyes, not when they seemed to hold the infinite inside them.

She opted for holding his hand, trying to transmit that he could say anything that he wanted and gave a gently smile. Apollon felt not only the touch, but the meaning behind it… Once again she was acting like that, going against what he believed… He had heard the human saying that the eyes are the windows of the soul and inwardly wondered if humans had took time to think about what it entitled.

Because Yui, with her sincerity, was almost exposing her heart and soul with a child-like innocence. He wondered if she would do the same if she fully understood things as he did… And he honestly would rather never have the answer. This way of hers was both painfully tragic and beautiful…

Yui knew how whatever he had in mind had to be related to what he thought of humans. And though she had thought about it and recalled many times that despite his behavior, was there as a student as much as Hades or Loki, Yui took a deep breath with caution so he wouldn't take notice. Apollon was her friend, she could no longer think of him as anything else, but at the same time she had no idea of what to expect.

Apollon felt her warmth, spreading under his skin due to her touch though it was a simple normal reaction for gods and humans alike. His mouth was dry… He felt like trusting her and telling her… He didn't want to lie, neither did he want to offend her, but his feelings regarding humans were not quite simple… He wouldn't say that gods were perfect, though they often liked to forget this detail, but even so…

Yui didn't say anything, she merely kept seated in her bed with that soft gaze.

Apollon knew there were things that neither she nor the other girls understood… He vaguely remembered Heraclitus saying that gods were immortal humans and humans were mortal gods… In a sense, he had been right. But like humans had their flaws, gods had theirs. And being the way they were, their flaws could be…

Sure, many gods would never admit such a thing. His own father, for example… Gods could be dark just like humans. And once again, Apollon wished that none of those girls would ever see this side of them… In the times he thought of it, he admitted that he very much disliked the idea of causing them fear.

He knew Misaki, back in the Cultural Event, had feared them for a moment… But it hadn't been in a personal level and it was a natural thing to occur.

"When…" He started, unsure for a moment before going on. "When I was worshipped… People often asked us for things. And many times, they forgot to thank us" Which in itself was such an offense that many gods would then punish the mortals in question.

Yui nodded. She had read myths about it and knew that mortals also asked for justice (speaking of the subject of today's class). After all, Apollon himself had killed many of Achilles' army due to a request of his priest.

"It was… It was bothersome. I mean, we were listening to them and we helped them, but afterwards they were so drunk in their happiness that they acted as if they would have achieved whatever they desired without us" The silence of Yui made it easier to fill the air with his own words and the bitterness in the sound slowly became clearer. All that had been a long time ago and it wasn't often, but those were the small seeds that had eventually became part of his feelings.

The girl said nothing, knowing it was better to let Apollon find his path to express himself. Some people could have considered this a petty reason, but this wasn't the same as lending money to a friend or some other small thing. They were talking about divine favors and she had already understood how such offenses couldn't be taken lightly by the deities. In a matter of speaking, it was a wound in their honors.

"I didn't care much at first…" He actually liked to help mortals, frequently watching them from Olympus and admiring how they found values in such short lives. "But there were times when… When I approached them, I could see how they just wanted to ask me for some blessing. I could understand that, but there were times when it felt like they only worshipped me in order to get things when they asked"

He thought back on his mortal lovers, though it had been more than millenniums since he had taken a mortal... His affairs back in Ancient Greece never ended well and even those that came afterwards didn't last… Many had died, sometimes in his arms, others had left him…

Apollon remembered Cassandra, who he had loved with all his heart. She had asked for the gift of prophecy and he had granted so, only for her to leave him without a care… In his anger, moved by his pain, he had cursed her.

"Back then it still didn't bother me so much… Even after the… Even after the fall of Greece" And it had been a dark time to all of the Greek deities, even if they didn't need their prayers to exist. "I kept watching over humans. And how they approached it other only keeping in mind what they could gain."

A whimper was kept in the depth of Yui's throat when Apollon's grip tightened enough to hurt as she felt him shivering, trying to control those emotions that had been accumulating over ages and ages and ages. His eyes flashed with emotions so quickly that she had no chance of discerning them separately.

Somehow noticing it, Apollon relaxed his hand enough to give her space to take hers from him. She did not.

"I thought back on the times when I was worshipped. I couldn't just be there for mortals to ask things. My existence couldn't be just that… I tried to remember how there were humans who tried to be good, but what was the point? They were the ones who ended up being used… They were moved by nothing but self interest…" Even if he had tried to keep in mind how not all humans were like this, evil deeds have a way of standing out. He could remember more of the atrocities of the Holocaust than of the Germans who had risked their own lives to help others who were suffering.

A sigh run over his body, his shoulders feel heavy with the weariness of ages seeing humans hurt each other, use each other and remembering all the times he had been called by a mortal only because he wanted something. Cities were born from nothing and fell, societies were formed and destroyed… But that cycle of abuse never ended. It was just a big play, changing only faces and names.

It came to a point when he would rather not look anymore. As terrible as that sounded, it came a time when you couldn't even be touched anymore, you were merely bored.

Despite it all, it was in his eyes and the sound of his voice untouched by time that Yui understood what he meant. And seeing this, Apollon would probably remember the time he was worshipped as a time when he was used. Given value by humans merely based in what he could give them and out of fear… Even if it wasn't exactly like this, seeing how humans acted with each other would taint the memories with enough time.

This was something that Yui understood quite well… The evil that people did were like black drops against a white sheet and over the time, they spread in the fabric as much as they could. And then, after a while, only the black existed.

And if people could feel the despair of seeing this black or the pain of being used that seems to last no matter what or a lack of purpose… How would it be for someone such as Apollon?

The blonde god now had his eyes on his hand, still over hers as he spoke more to himself, decades being transcribed in few words.

"The more I watched humans, the more I wanted to look away" His tone held no more bitterness, dominated by exhaustion and as such revealing all the sunrises and sunsets. By this time, he was like a bored child merely staring at a colony of ants that is destroyed by other ants. And the comparison was not far off in the end. "I didn't even care anymore to what they did or didn't. What did it affect me, anyway?"

To put it simply, nothing. Not in a personal level. Truth was, he had despised humans and by the time he had been bought here, he was past even that… He had been truly excited, sure, but this reaction was more caused by how he had never done anything of this sort before. And he truly cared about whether or not they managed to go home and had been upset at seeing his father involving even other gods and forced them to abide to his wishes…

Those were things he wouldn't say, though. He didn't want to risk hurting Yui's feelings even if he tried to assure her how she and the others had worked their way to actually reach his heart, despite all the concepts he had build.

When he gazed at her, he discovered that it didn't matter because she had deduced it. Strangely enough, the girl didn't seem offended and still watched him with serenity and something that Apollon took a minute to see that was a sad comprehension.

He had thought she might argue with him, perhaps present arguments that would try to tear down all that he had said…

Once more, she surprised him.

"Apollon… There are really a lot of people like this" It wasn't a fact that could be denied, as sad as it was, but trying to do so would be foolishness. After what she had heard, Yui wasn't sure that what she had to offer wouldn't end up being useless words though the point wasn't that. There are moments a friend needs not comfort, but someone who will listen and comprehend. And that was what she tried to do. "You try to be gentle, try to open your heart to them and you get lied to, manipulated, used… People pretend to be your friend and if something bad happens, they merely leave you"

The god watched her.

"Yui?" He whispered and as much as this was such a fact to him, it bothered Apollon to think Yui had experienced it.

"At times" She confirmed the question that didn't need to be made. "Of course it hurts…" She shrugged with a sigh. The subject wasn't her, she just wanted to express how his feelings weren't incomprehensible or unjustified. Apollon had a silent inquiry in his expression that confused her for a moment, until the girl understood he wanted to know how this hadn't made her into a bitter person. It was usually how such things went.

"Sometimes you want to get away of everyone because you fear being hurt again…" Her case wasn't at all like his, time made everything different. Even if he was a human like her, it would still be different because people felt things and were affected by events differently.

"I don't know about the purpose of life or such things. I'm just a human… And… I don't know also why some people are like that." Maybe even they didn't know. Maybe they just didn't care. Who knew? But she did understand why it had pushed Apollon away from humans, why it had hurt him like it obvious had over the years.

But there was one thing that she did know.

"I like Apollon for Apollon, not by what you can do. And it's the same with the others."

Simple words, but the god felt somewhat lighter upon hearing them for he knew it was true. It confused him, but it was true… A small smile made its way to his face.

In the end, despite what might come in the future, he didn't know if he would be completely able to let go of those concepts he carried inside…

But he could honestly say he was truly happy for ever meeting Yui and those other humans.

Chapter Text

Yui didn't mention a thing to the others regarding the conversation that had transpired between her and Apollon, due to respect and friendship (for there was no other name to call what she felt for him anymore), as what the deity had told her clearly wasn't something he would like to be spread around... He had chosen to confide in her with those feelings and Yui would esteem that.

As she had told the others, in the following morning she felt better and ready to carry on (in fact, her recovery felt even a little better than usual, which she credited to Apollon's tea), yet, her brain was haunted by all that had been said between them... It as as if just now she fully comprehended what she had already understood when speaking with Hades regarding his curse, months ago...

As she looked through the window, the girl thought she could also understand more the pressure Thoth put upon her and the other humans... One couldn't solve such long-term emotions in just one simple talk, nor one could let go of them overnight. And if a human could still carry such scars (or was it the other way around, in the end?), what there was to be said about a deity who had carried them for so long that it made a lifetime be the brief twinkle of a star?

What could she do? What could any of them do in order to help?

It wasn't even just about making them understanding humans or letting go of whatever concepts they had. It was just about the gods themselves. Young Yui was, but not as naive as to not see the pain those ages and thoughts had caused Apollon... The feeling of being used, the constant questioning of the reason for his existence, seeing humans using each other and...

A sigh was born and died in her throat. When she had expressed understanding due to first-hand experience, it hadn't been a lie. She had had people regarded as friends who had been using her or just kept hanging out with her for reasons Yui was never able to understand, as there had been nothing to gain... Even now, she could remember insults disguised in sweet tones, the times she had been literally ignored when saying something or when those people agreed to go together somewhere and delicately said it was better if she didn't come, as it was not a place "meant for her".

She couldn't forget. And it hurt even now.

As much as Yui tried to be a good person, if inquired about it, she would have to say the truth: She did not forgive those people for this. Forget all the "let it go, it is bad for you" crap, there was a line between forgiving and forgetting... She wasn't able to do either.

Apollon probably had felt the same when people only prayed to him in order to ask for things and then proceed to forget to even thank him or when he tried to approach them as a mortal and they eventually found out, proceeding to think only of what they could get from the situation. Other gods often reacted to this as a great insult to their prides, for what Yui had gathered, and while she couldn't speak about those other ones, she could see that it was not only Apollon's pride that had been hurt in such occasions. It was his heart as well...

What if it was her? What if she had spent lifetimes watching beings that so often hurt others, using them to feel better, as steps in a ladder, to get something they wanted or just because they could?

"I would rather look away as well."

What could she do to help him?

What other reasons the others had had to look away from humans?

From the back of her mind, Thor's words about the destructive behavior of humans echoed softly enough to tease her brain with ghost-like fingers. And not for the first time, something alike shame arose in her. If you followed those thoughts, it wasn't so surprisingly that some of them had been so hostile or indifferent towards her when they first met.

"Are you alright, there?"

The question called Yui back to the present and it took her muscles a second to form smile as if there was nothing wrong.

"Oh, I'm fine, don't worry." She turned to Misaki, before looking back to the paper in front of her with the small essay they had for homework. "Just a bit lost in thought, that's all"

"You sure?" Misaki tilted her head to the side a little, which made her look like some cute puppy. "You seem kinda down..."

"Can the rain have such effects on you?" While there was no thunder, it was not the sort of weather for anyone to be out and about. The water collided with the glass creating a whipping sound and it was hard to see anything that was not the curtain of drops dancing with the wind.

"No, it... No, humans are not effected by rain" Yui was somewhat confused by Tsukito's question, but the Moon god kept staring at her as if he could see beyond the skin, directly to the pulsating blood and flesh of her skull. She probably would never get used to when any of the gods looked at her in such way.

"Some are" He insisted. "I've read about it, it's not due to any physiological reason, but some can feel saddened by the weather. And often women can experience changes of mood due to changes of the moon, some being susceptible to it even more when menstru..."

"I'm fine!" Her voice went a note higher while a wave of heat took control of her nerves, embarrassed with the mere thought of Tsukito entering a conversation about monthly cycles and perhaps even asking if she was facing such times. Misaki looked equally mortified by the idea and her eyes quickly averted his gaze.

Instead of insisting, Tsukito went quiet.

"Really, just... Just a bit distracted today, that's all" She lifted her paper, not wanting any of the presents (which included Apollon) to worry. "And can you guys blame me?"

Misaki sighed, deciding to comply even if she had not totally bought that excuse. Yui was usually cheerful and sweet. Today she was too quiet and it hadn't been the first time Misaki had caught her "lost in thought"...

"I really didn't think we would have so much homework. Let alone exams..." She grumbled. They had several kinds of classes and Thoth often gave them homework in at least four, when not ordering long essays. As for the exams, Misaki couldn't even imagine how those would be... Looking at her own homework, she felt as if her brain had emptied itself of everything Thoth had ever said in class... She had to agree with Arisu, she couldn't see the point for her and the other girls to take exams if they would be focused on humanity. For crying out loud, they were humans!

"But Thoth often draws parallels between how humans and gods see things and their evolution and all. Perhaps it will be like that?" The thought had no comfort whatsoever and she crossed her arms on the table, hiding her face on them with a groan, feeling any mental strength leaving her with that idea. Whatever reasons Thoth had (and she was sure he would come up with quite a few if asked), she wasn't sure she would agree with any of them.

"Once more, I will never complain about the teachers back in home ever again..."

"You girls are worrying too much. What happens, happens." Dionysus patted Misaki's back and pushed his notebook to her direction with a smile. "See, I don't have any notes and I'm just fine with it"

He was not joking. His notebook looked brand new, except for a few pages when he had scribbled some drawings.

"In your case, I think you should worry at least a little..."

"Don't even try, Saki-Saki... Dee-Dee rarely worries about anything" The sun deity had his face resting on his hand, his expression that of defeat though there was some amusement in his eyes. Dionysus didn't seem bothered by it and merely shrugged, still with that smile that made his eyes twinkle with something that was always a little close to madness.

"Well, you're better off than Loki, at any rate..." Misaki muttered, sitting straight, almost asking him how he was getting by with the homework and essays, but since they tended to study together so many times and that Apollon was his half-brother, she guessed (and quite correctly) that Dionysus faced no problems in this regard.

However, speaking of the Norse god, he was another one who had been a little too quiet today.

"Probably planning a bomb or something..."

"Our exams will still be at the beginning of November, we still have a couple of weeks to get ready" Tsukito mentioned, turning back to his paper and adding something quickly. "I take Thoth-sensei shall give more details on their nature later on."

Misaki wouldn't bet very much on it, but said nothing.

"We're near the end of October, anyway... Did your school use to do anything?" She asked Yui while scribbling a little smiling pumpkin in the corner of her notebook. Uui shook her head.

"Not really, but one of my friends, Mina, always gives a party."

"What are you two talking about?" Dionysus seemed completely confused and looking around, they realized Tsukito and Apollon also looked at them expecting explanations, even if Yui was almost certain that Thoth had mentioned Halloween when speaking of some human festivities of nowadays.

"Halloween. You know, it's at the end of October" Yui turned to Misaki, suddenly having an idea. "Think we'll be able to do something?"

Misaki doubted it. Better to wait for winter vacation and Christmas... It wasn't as if Halloween was as worldwide as Christmas and Thoth would probably refuse to allow a "party" that was not as connected to culture as the Moon Event had been... Halloween was more towards having fun and he would probably just point out how they were there to study, the focus necessary, yadda yadda...

To quote Arisu, for a god of knowledge, it seemed he had never learned to loose up.

Even so, it would have been fun and Misaki felt they could use it. Life in a boarding school, even one such as this, could get boring at times, especially when they couldn't go anywhere else. Oh, the gardens and the woods around were beautiful, but the lack of more diversity sometimes got to Misaki...

"We could at least try talking about it with the others later." Apollon suggested. Yui was quite pleased to see the usual signs of excitement beginning to show in his mannerisms. The God had behaved as though there was nothing wrong as well, but Yui had learned to see the small differences in his behavior that denounced there was something off. And by the glimpse she caught of Dionysus, he had as well.

"I don't think uncle Hades will be able to watch the stars tonight, so we'll have time to talk to him..." At this, Misaki kept her silence, for while the Underworld ruler was nothing but polite and kind, she was still a little... Well, a little scared of him.

She didn't know why and tried her best to never allow such feelings to be noticeable, often rebuking herself for them, yet her body worked without consent and the flesh often crawled under the skin when he stood too close...

"This is stupid, he is a nice guy." He was still very quiet, but so was Thor and he didn't cause such reactions. For a moment, Misaki remembered when Thor had patted her head during the Moon Event and had to control herself to not touch the spot... It had been surprising, as Thor had never been an expressive type, let alone affectionate as far as she was aware.

"But he obviously cares about Loki and Balder. It's not that he merely hangs out with them" She held back a sigh and, unknowingly to her, echoed Yui's own thoughts. There was still so much they didn't get about them... She crossed her ankles under the sofa, a little uncomfortable with her own thoughts and the memory of how her nerves still shivered in the presence of Hades, even though there was no rational motive for it. But even if she tried to tell herself of it, there was no use in trying to reason with her own body...

But... But perhaps some things were improving, right? Months ago, she wouldn't have believed if someone told her that Arisu and Takeru would be getting along, yet today as soon as they had left classes, Takeru had held her hand and insisted that they went swimming, telling her they "Could worry about homework later, Rat"... To which Arisu had rolled her eyes, more with camaraderie than annoyance and accepted since, according to her, "she still wanted to win against the Porcupine".

It was one of those scenes that forced you to think about past events, your brain automatically turning for comparisons. And it had forced Misaki to think once more of how things had been lately between them. Considering the beginning of the year, she had wondered how she hadn't noticed it more clearly earlier. Even Loki wasn't as hostile as he had been, which was saying a lot... Oh, he still made his pranks and there were still comments from time to time that could be taken as offensive, but there was less intention of being hurtful.

And now, being with Apollon, Dionysus and Tsukito, discussing their homework and other simple things, she couldn't help but to admit that this wasn't the feeling of being with mere classmates. It was like being with friends.

Apollon had told her, hadn't him? Back in the Cultural Event... He had told her that just because they were different, didn't mean they couldn't be friends...

Then why a part of her insisted in wondering if this was truly possible?

In the back of her mind there were whispers from a voice she knew well. And like she always did when those ghosts started to stir, Misaki made a conscious effort to silence them.

Remembering words from that person would be of no help whatsoever.

XxX

It was no use, it wasn't here. A strange occurrence, as usually the books of astronomy stayed in the room of the Club. Well, most of them, he had seen that the library had an entire wing dedicated to the subject (as well as many others). Perhaps it had been misplaced?

Possible. He had once found a book of arts here, so whatever spirit had been tasked with organizing things might have made a similar mistake.

As he crossed the empty hallways towards the Art Club room, he found himself thinking about the last months, his thoughts wandering with a light quality that wasn't so common for him. Being the ruler of the Underworld, Hades often had more serious thoughts in mind... It was nothing that bothered him, yet one couldn't help but to compare two states of living that were so different from each other. Once, in a letter-like report, Thanatos had jokingly referred to his current predicament as a "vacation" of sorts.

When he turned a corner, two spirits that had been speaking words without saying them, walked away. Hades paid them no mind.

He still disapproved of how his younger brother had handled things, despite having clearly good intentions, but Hades had to admit it wasn't being so bad. At the beginning of the year, even after accepting to attend the so-called classed, he had considered that such thing wouldn't be anything other than trying.

And it had seemed ridiculous, putting it mildly. He was a god, older than many stars themselves, the mere idea of being forced to attend a school... And in order to learn about humans, no less... He had been more than indignant and quite furious. In the moment he had woken up there, he had felt the traces of his brother's powers and had searched for him, demanding explanations (something not even Apollon was aware of).

It had been a good thing that he was among the gods that had a great deal of self control... Ares would have thrown a fit and screamed to the high heavens against this humiliation, no matter if a year meant almost nothing for beings such as them or that Zeus was his father...

But all in all, it wasn't quite unpleasant. When he reflected about it, the god of the Dead couldn't point the exact moment, but a part of him had grown used to that style of life, even if he couldn't completely detach himself from his duties like the others...

A proof of it was the newest letter he had in his pocket from Thanatos, containing the usual report of how his kingdom was faring. A couple of souls chained to Tartarus, aware of the god's absence, had attempted to escape and injure souls of the Asphodel Fields, being stopped by the Furies before they had the chance to reach them. Hades had replied with orders that would ensure that their minds wouldn't be able to come up with such ideas without causing their existences to convulse with the memory of the agony they would receive for this.

Contrary to what many mortals had believed in the Old Days, he was no sadist and took no pleasure in distributing pain, but the consequences for the souls of the Asphodel Fields if that plan have succeeded... Even he, a god, felt a wave of nausea at the very idea. To keep the necessary order of the Underworld, such actions were sometimes demanded...

He knocked at the door of the Art Club. No response. The logic assumption was that it was empty and he entered.

It was not.

Red Amaya was sitting by the windowsill. Hades frowned and approached slowly, not needing more than a minute to take notice of her closed eyes, the slow breathing.

Asleep.

For a brief moment, the god's gaze touched her shoulder, a few strands of her dark hair falling across it... It was hard to look at her without recalling the marks in her flesh, cracks that spread and made her look as a thing that, after broken, had been put together by uncaring hands... Even now he could remember, almost see, that in the fabric-covered leg there was a piece of muscle that seemed to have been chewed by some creature.

In the course of a long life judging souls, Hades had seen many kinds of wounds and had no shortage of scenarios that explained the birth of her scars... However, even if he had seen worse wounds, somehow hers still stood out in his mind...

Perhaps because he knew her?

Though even that was a curious way of putting it. Technically, he knew more about the souls he had judged than he knew her, having seen their entire lives and actions, what had moved them to behave in such ways and the consequences.

Her head was resting against the wall, forehead against the window. There was a book in the floor. Her muscles were relaxed, her mind closed in a world all of her own...

For a moment, he wondered about what she (as well as those other humans) thought of this whole ordeal.

His curse pulsed, sending through the blood the poison that warned him against approaching others.

Hades was not a fool. He knew well that some of the others still shivered with his presence. Why, the couple of spirits that had walked away just now hadn't done so for any other reason than the basic instinct... Though the humans tried to not behave any differently with him. Why, Misaki Aihara's attempts to hide her insecurity near him would have fooled him, had he been a human. Yet, the god was nevertheless grateful to see that that the girl cared enough to try. Many wouldn't have bothered.

And there was no blame to cast on her either.

It was like this to all deities related to death and darkness, which were primordial sources of dread. Their bodies, still alive and warm, couldn't react in any other way to the presence of a being that was so close to death itself. It wasn't like being near something dangerous such as a snake or poison, but the very essence of the end of life.

It was not something the body could fully process and, in self-preservation, it didn't try to, only able to shiver with warnings at what was lurking nearby. In a way, just as much as living creatures were attracted to Balder, they couldn't help but to want to recoil in the presence of others such as him.

Hades also knew he wasn't as approachable as the others. After ages of not bothering to leave the Underworld (not that many opportunities presented themselves), he just wasn't used to deal with other beings that were not Thanatos, Hecate or the other deities that called the Underworld home. Some, such as Apollon and Dionysus, at times visited him even if they couldn't stay for long... And he sure wasn't used to deal with living humans...

His hand slowly went to the eye he kept hidden under bangs of dark hair. Heterochromia wasn't completely unheard of among gods, yet the contrast of his black sclera and blood-like iris with the right eye being a cold gold didn't make him less intimidating... One of the few things positive about being forced to a human form was that his eye looked normal, despite the color.

Yet, there were things that couldn't be helped be by changing his form or through shackles...

His curse could affect some gods, but it hadn't taken him much to remember how vicious it could be for humans. In that occasion with Kusanagi he had felt how her life had almost started to leave her body and he knew the girl was aware of what a close call it had been.

Susanoo's speeches regarding the weakness of humans may have toned down and became less frequent, yet the Sea god was right. It was so easy to break them, to tear their skin apart... It took almost nothing to take away the life of their eyes and even less to cause pain.

His comment about how there had to be something amiss in Yui's brain for her to insist in going star-gazing with him right after she had almost died hadn't been an exaggeration of his part. It was something he hadn't been able to understand (even now he wasn't completely sure he did), so Hades had pinned it in some mental instability.

If one knew that by approaching a certain person, it was a fact that there would be misfortunes and pain, wasn't the following logic to stay away?

Logic that seemed to fail or be completely ignored by those humans.

"You should understand why" Ren's voice sounded in his mind again, back when he had expressed his opinion about Yui's decision. "She is like the stars you like so much"

Later on, he had understood what she meant and had agreed.

He had talked about those humans with the other deities. Like him, they also didn't fully understand their behavior, though Tsukito had pinned it down to how the effect of time on civilization, since they had stopped even checking on what humans did since ages ago. Apollon wasn't convinced and Hades wasn't sure this was the case either, no matter if it was the most logical explanation...

In the great scheme of things, they were like children compared to him and the other gods... And yet, as easy as it would be to tear them apart, they still had a strength of their own and often surprised him and the others through their actions and words.

Yet, there were things they didn't know and didn't understand. When he thought about it, Hades often hoped it would remain that way... For all creatures had a light and dark side and there was no need for those girls to ever see that part of the gods.

He took a step closer to the sleeping girl... She might as well be dead if it wasn't for the soft movement that indicated breathing and the fact that he still could feel life irradiating from her... Again, the images of her broken flesh came to his mind...

Her eyes snapped open.

She turned, for a moment almost losing balance, despite the fact that the windowsill was more than large enough for someone to sit comfortably.

"Don't do that!" Ren growled, one of the few times she sounded harsh, brushing her hand against her face as if to clean the remains of sleep and sitting straight. Hades nodded in respect.

"My apologies"

"That's okay, just..." She sighed and turned to him "I'm a really light sleeper, so..." And shook her head in a way of explaining, to which the god nodded and said nothing, proceeding to look at the shelf nearby. At least she had no way of knowing he had been lost in thought, it would make him seem like a creep.

Ren picked the book from the floor, but made no gesture to resume her reading and instead looked through the window, beyond which there was only a light gray world lost in the rain.

Her thoughts hadn't been totally focused in her reading anyway, but rather turned towards her parents. And she moved around, as if uncomfortable as that known piercing feeling of missing came back to life. There was no help, she was terribly homesick... And since the damn Cultural Day, there were times she was assaulted by memories and thoughts she wished she didn't have.

Even now, her brain came up with images. Her mother kneeling in front of her and hugging her, then her father joined... And the warmth of their arms made her feel so safe... Her father laughing with some silly joke as they sat together to dinner and she giggled for the first time in months... The times her mother had entered her room, only to find Ren lying in her bed, still as if already dead and merely waiting, even wishing, that the rest of her body would just rot away and free her soul... Then Nozomi whispered kindly in her ear and kissed her shoulder, her disgusting, grotesque, cracked flesh...

"What are you doing?" She suddenly asked, masking well her desperate need to have something that grabbed her brain's attention so to better ignore those ghosts and how badly she wished she was home now or that she had a way to contact her parents.

"I think a book of astronomy was placed here by accident" Hades muttered as his visible eye ran over the book's spines in search of a misplaced title. Ren said nothing immediately and looked through the window once more.

"No Astronomy club this night?"

"No, I don't think so... Not with this rain, anyway." Despite his short answers and usual serious tone, there was nothing negative there. He finally picked a book with dark blue cover and adorned in the front with a photo of what looked like a blue and lilac galaxy.

"May I?" She leaned a little forward and, after a moment, Hades walked to her, handling the book over, observing as she opened it and looked through the pages, barely bothering with the words as soon as she realized that many of the terms she did not understand or knew, instead appreciating the photos of and how some pages showed the way the stars were connected, shaping constellations and the images they represented.

"They're beautiful" It was a mere whisper, yet Hades caught on that. He took a moment before replying.

"I was surprised to see that humans had developed technology that allowed them to take photos of the sky such as those"

That made Ren frown for a second with a thought.

"How did you use to see the starts when you... Well, you live in the underworld?" Now that she thought about it, she couldn't imagine how Hades would be able to look at the sky then.

"Hephaestus made a telescope for me, at my request." His response made it sound as if it was obvious, but his never-changing expression didn't clarify if he had truly understood what the girl meant or not.

"But I mean... How can you..."

"Although there are gates in the world that do allow access to my realm and they do involve following paths under the Earth" Hades explained then, though he had previously decided against it. Why he had just changed his mind, he didn't know but perhaps there was no harm in indulging her a little. "My realm doesn't exist in this sort of physical terms, just like Olympus doesn't truly exist on top of a determinate mount. Those were the paths mortals knew and as such, the way they could understand such places and their localization"

"So, the Underworld..."

"It's a realm that can be reached by certain paths of the mortal world, but doesn't exist there."

Though there was no harshness in his voice, Ren understood by his seriousness that this was the best answer she would receive (and it was probably more than he had ever explained to a living being) and no more.

"Could you tell me?" She asked nodding to the book before handing it back. "I know some constellations are named after Greek myths..." She added, before gesturing with the head in a silent invitation for him to sit down with her.

Hades hesitated at this, as his curse became a shadow of thorns in his flesh, his own mind whispering warnings. Ren probably knew what he was thinking about because she whispered gently.

"Please, Hades?"

Not pleading, not insisting. A mere whisper that said more than the brief sounds.

And against his better judgment, he again decided to indulge the girl and sat at her side in the windowsill, proceeding to tell about how humans would see the existence of starts before they had speech to name fire or night and how some constellations had, in fact, been created by the gods themselves. Oh, they couldn't create stars themselves, despite what mortals believed back in their days of worship, but they could recreate their light in the sky.

One of the examples he gave was the constellation of Aquarius, which Zeus had created to honor Ganymede, the cup bearer of the gods (he omitted how his brother had kidnapped the mortal boy, even if he had had nothing to do with it). And Ren listened on and on with her ever inscrutable gaze.

The first time he stopped, not due to doubt of her attention, but rather because of it, the girl tilted her head to the side in a gesture he knew to be incentive to carry on, as he had seen her doing it before in the few times she (alongside with Kusanagi and some other of the girls or gods) insisted upon accompanying him and he had been unable to deny them. It invariably rained and they would take refuge in the gazebo, soon engaging in talking be about school, idle matters or the stars.

Whatever story or conversation was going on, he had seen that silent incentive, and knew the difference between that and any physical expression of confusion.

Ren, on the other hand, just waited and as much as Hades had no idea of what she was thinking about, she also couldn't guess his thoughts as he hid them well in the depths of his mind, rare fishes can hide in the parts of the ocean where humans can't go without being crushed by the pressure. Like the others, his face was not marked by usage or time and only in the eyes you would find some indication of the passage of ages.

It was something she had learned earlier to not be quite pleasant to search for, as the human mind cannot fully grasp the concept of eternity when it presents itself in such a physical way. The only way, even when it was with Apollon or Loki, was to ignore it.

Hades' red gaze was always piercing, no matter how calm he seemed, and always seemed to undo the muscle connections, to play with how her flesh and blood danced, until it reached her soul and stripped it bare. To drown in that red eye was to drown in a red mirror and break apart. A basilisk stare.

She did not look away and waited for him to continue with the stories of the stars.

XxX

The rain gave no signs of going away, but Isuzu would not be found complaining. She rather enjoyed such weather and there was more to occupy herself excluding the club activities, although as she crossed the hallway to one of the rooms the students used to hang together, she thought it would still be a lie if she said she didn't miss her computer.

"It would have made me feel better. And it would some connection to outside, outside of this school, outside of this golden cage..." Her hand ran through her hair as she breathed, for her mind tended to act as a irritable cat when she felt a little caged up (a trait she shared very much with her sister), except it turned against her. But today, with the rain, Isuzu couldn't help but to remember the things she would do to distract herself back in home and how many of them were not possible here, which was a little annoying in either way.

But again, nothing to be done about it except hope that by the end of the year they would be back home and not have to deal with this again... And Isuzu purposelessly ignored how this thought, once filled with nothing but hope and joy, now carried some questions that weren't very pleasant and threatened to poison the other emotions.

"At least we can read more than merely History stuff and I don't know what" Alright, some of the classes weren't quite the torture her sister had been expecting, but it didn't mean Isuzu (or Arisu, for that matter) would like to spent their free time reading "A History of the Human Thought" or just studying and studying. At this, she held the exemplar of the Harry Potter series closer to herself. And a good thing they liked to read as well, if you thought about that... Hm, maybe they couldn't get a computer (even if only to play games), but what if they asked board games in the school shop? She had always liked "Clue"...

"Ugh. Zeus should have thought more about that, we should get a game room or something like that around here" And she wasn't even much of a "gamer girl", though Arisu often watched "Let's Play" in the youtube.

"Yo, Isuzu" Her head snapped to the side, following the voice and finding Misaki coming downstairs.

"Hi there. So, finished with the homework?"

Misaki blinked and rolled her eyes, her voice becoming a mocking tone of childishness.

"Ugh, yes, mommy. Geez"

"Just kidding, just kidding." The other giggled at the blonde's expression "So, what are you doing, anyway?"

"Not much, to be fair." Misaki shrugged in a way that made Isuzu wonder if she didn't quite enjoy having to stay indoors. "Yui was explaining the concepts of Halloween to Apollon and Tsukito and I got a little bored, so I was just walking around... And regretting the fact I didn't have my Iphone when I was brought here." She added in a whisper of conspiracy, to which Isuzu immediately nodded in agreement.

"Join the club, I miss my computer." And she shook her head, a small smile playing with the corners of her mouth "If my dad heard that, he would be laughing and going on about how we're a lost generation, drugged by technology and unable to live without it..."

"And he would be right!" Misaki agreed with a scoff as if it was such an obvious idea that it shouldn't need to be put into words. "I just don't feel like doing anything and at the same time, I wish I had something to do..." Well, that was how she got when she was bored. It wasn't the staying indoors that bothered her, it was that she didn't feel like reading and at times, their options of distraction to pass the time became limited. This was what annoyed her.

Boring hours were too long.

"I know the feeling.I was thinking we could try asking for some board games at the school shop"

"Hey! Good idea!" Misaki's eyes brightened a little. "Heck, it would help in days like now. And you, what are you up to?"

"Well, I'm also not up to studies or anything of the sort, so..." Isuzu lifted the book she carried a little, showing it.

"Which one's your favorite?"

"Ask me something easier!" The reply was accompanied by a muffled laugh and Isuzu's eyes rolled up as she thought about it. "Hm, well, I like all of them, but I think if I had to pick, it would be... "Goblet of Fire" and the "Prisoner of Azkaban", you?"

"Chamber of Secrets and Order of the Phoenix" Misaki replied with no need to spent a moment thinking about it. "Though I've never met a character I hated so much like Umbridge"

"Well, that goes without saying... I've never heard of anyone who liked her. I mean, she added a great tension to the plot and all, but that's not the same." Isuzu was about to mention how they were missing the new season of "Game of Thrones" while they were in that stupid school, but another thought made itself known.

"Wait a moment" She muttered, stopping her way to look at the shorter girl. "Did you just say Yui is explaining Halloween to Apollon and Tsukito?" It was certainly a image to think about. Misaki lifted her hands as if to show she was disarmed.

"We mentioned it while we were finishing our essays and they wanted to know more about it. I don't think Thoth would allow us to do anything, so Apollon better not get his hopes up, though"

Isuzu could see her reasons to think so and couldn't help but to agree for the exactly same reasons. Even so...

"But think how it would be if they dressed up..." She whispered with a secretive smile, making Misaki's eyes widen. The thought of the gods wearing costumes was, at the same time, funny and disturbing. She couldn't help but to laugh at it.

"Oh, man, that is something I would like to see!" And was about to ask Isuzu what she thought they would dress up as when they entered the studying room and saw Loki, lying down in one couch, his face hidden in the cushion while Balder and Thor were in chairs nearby.

It was rare to see Loki quiet, let alone lying down like that and they exchanged a look.

"Hey, what's up with him?" Misaki asked as she took a seat in the other cushion. Loki didn't react to their presence, merely turning his face to the side. Thor looked at the blonde girl with a gesture of acknowledgment, but said nothing. Balder smiled as if there was something amusing about the whole situation.

"Oh, nothing, don't worry" And watched as Isuzu, still holding the book to her chest, approached the couch and leaned to it a little.

"You alive there, Loki?" She asked in a way that made everyone else think about Arisu. Loki turned his head sideways, opening a sleepy eye before resuming his original position and mumbling.

"Buzz off"

Isuzu was about to say something else when she felt warmth in her shoulder, realizing just now that Balder had walked to her and had his hand on her shoulder. Misaki still looked from the Light god to the redheaded lying there and couldn't help but ask.

"What's bitten him?"

Balder turned his head to her, with the soft smile of always.

"Loki always gets like that when it rains"

As if to emphasize the point, the god turned around like a cat trying to find a better position to sleep and waved his hand for a brief moment in a sloppy movement.

"Tryingsleepshutup"

Isuzu gently moved away from Balder's touch and went back to Misaki as they two shared a knowing look. This certainly explained why Loki had been so quiet in class today. It wasn't uncommon for him to sleep during the whole lecture, but they had noticed there was something different when he hadn't stood up with a jump and dashed out of the room when Thoth had announced the classes were done for the day.

Misaki could guess by the way he was lying there that Loki had just walked to the couch and threw himself there. On a hand, she personally thought it was easier to sleep at night with the sound of rain (especially if you had had some hot cocoa), on another, that was a bit pushing it... But it seemed Loki was someone who often lived by the extremes of things.

"If he wants to sleep, why he doesn't go to the dormitories?" This time, however, it was Loki himself who replied.

"Too far..." And by the sound of the last word, he had just fallen asleep.

"Okay, that's just a lazy excuse..." Misaki muttered as she turned to Isuzu, who had just sat at her side accompanied by Balder. "You know that sometimes I feel like I'm in an insane asylum, not a school?"

"It's the way it's always been." The other replied calmly before opening her book and starting to read, holding it in her lap so Misaki could read as well when she noticed the other leaning closer.

It was a huge surprise to both girls when Balder commented they were also reading the series and he commented how, despite the whole idea of magic being quite different from the views he recalled humans having, he had found himself just enjoying the story. Thor's face grew a pale shade of pink when he confirmed he had also "taken a look at it" when Misaki asked him. In the end, deciding it was better to let Loki sleep, they headed to the hall while discussing the series.

Chapter Text

The moment Isuzu entered the small room, Yui stood up, hands unresting as if plagued by a never-ending electricity. And her eyes had the same quality. With the grey skies outside warning that a rain would fall at any minute and some snacks at the table, it would be a good time to just curl up and rest, yet there was nothing that helped to create such a atmosphere now.

"How it was? How do you think you did?" The words almost overlapped each other, something the girl couldn't help. Those moments always made her nervous and today, the feeling was elevated. Something she was more than willing to blame on the predicament.

Isuzu shrugged weakly, gesturing a "more or less".

"I'm not sure... Good enough, I hope..." And sighed. They all had expected the exams to be complicated, but Thoth had been merciless. Isuzu would be lying if she said it hadn't felt more like a college entrance exam, rather than something more high school-like, considering all the questions and subjects.

Yui nodded, aware of those sensations. She always got nervous before and after the exams, her mind going back to the questions and planting seeds of doubts about all her answers, no matter how certain she had felt while answering.

"We studied..." Isuzu muttered, failing to sound completely sure of herself. "We did our best..." If she was like this due to be mentally tired or because she could very well imagine Thoth's calling her and the others to his library only to give them a huge lecture about their grades and the need to graduate or even because her own imagination was whispering how this could also count as a factor that would end up caging them all here until the end of times, Isuzu had no idea.

For all the time spent and all the "getting used to the situation", it was either ridiculous or creepy how somethingas a school exam could bring all back. Sitting down in the small couch of the Studies Room, she sighed once more.

"What about you?"

"I think... Well..." Yui hesitated. "I guess I have to have answered at least one question right..." The attempt at a joke worked to make both girls smile a little and Isuzu leaned to pick one of the cupcakes of the table.

"I suppose he will give us retakes if we get red marks..."

"Maybe... How much times is left anyway?" She turned to check the clock on the wall. Ten minutes left. "They better be finishing soon..."

"Unless they want Thoth basically tearing the paper off their hands. You know, I thought Tsukito would be the first to finish things" Isuzu had noticed how he was a fast writer and considering how he paid attention to studies...

"Maybe he is writing all the info he can. I do that, when I'm unsure if my answer's enough. Better to mess up by excess, I think..." The honey-eyed girl then tried to change the subject to something more pleasant as she relaxed against the armchair, resting her head and closing her eyes. "In a way or another, winter vacation is getting close"

"True! At last, huh?" Funny how those times always made the year appear as though it had gone by faster than it had actually.

"Oh, finally indeed! No classes. No studies." Yui opened one of her eyes, looking at Isuzu. "I would say no worries, but..."

"It isn't exactly how things work around here" Isuzu's mouth twisted in a small grin. She could imagine well how Loki would dedicate his free time to more elaborate pranks... Although those still ranged from annoying to funny depending of what he did, she had to admit it would help to prevent boredom.

"Wish we could do something. Zeus could at least allow us to... I don't know, change the scenario."

"My parents were talking about traveling at the beginning of the year..." Yui couldn't help but to remember. "Well, suppose we can still go, I mean... Thoth said we'll be back to the exact time of when we left, so..."

"Where would you go?"

"My aunt lives in another city. Kinda rural, pretty calm. We went there before several times, but the last one was... Let me see... Oh, I guess two years ago." She remembered aunt Ruka, her father's sister. She was beautiful and kind... Yui had always loved to visit her even when she was small because Ruka never treated her or her brothers like children, never talking to them in a "baby voice" or fussing over how "cute" they were.

"I mean, she would comment how we were growing up, how my brothers were becoming handsome and how I was going to be a beautiful woman, but never in that way of "Oh, lookit at her, so pretty", you know?"

"One my mother's friends used to talk like that about me and Arisu" Isuzu nodded, understanding what Yui meant. "It used to drive Arisu mad, even when we were younger. She hated people talking about her as if she wasn't there..." The girl stopped for a moment, considering. "To be honest, it annoyed me too when people talked like that"

It was a little hard to imagine Isuzu angered, but Yui had no problems imagining a younger, sulky Arisu with an older woman fussing around her. Though Yui had to say, it was also adorable.

"Do you..."

Before Isuzu could finish her question, the sound of the door made her turn her head. Apollon entered in silence, taking a seat at an armchair near Yui and looking less brighter and energetic than before.

"Howdo you humans stand that?" He muttered as if more to himself than to any of them. "I never want to do those exams again..."

"Who does?" Yui mumbled as she observed the Sun God. At least she and the others were used to this sort of thing, but she doubted any of the gods had ever had to face something even similar. And Thoth, who didn't believe in going easy on his students, had probably planned the exams with this in mind.

Now she was imagining him with a "Dark Lord" sort of smile as he chuckled diabolically while writing the questions. Her lungs shivered with a repressed laugh.

"Thoth didn't make things easy" She commented, her muscles relaxing once more. "Usually, we don't have exams with more than one subject at once. Except college entrance, but those are different"

Apollon shook his head. His mind felt buzzing and he couldn't help but to be worried about the results. Of course, the main part of the reason was obvious, yet there was also how serious he was about this learning. What had begun with curiosity and the excitement with something new had turned into something far more solid. Even if one was to take away the threat over his head, he had realized after talking to Yui that he would still want to succeed in this school.

"Perhaps this is how they feel" He considered, taking in account how important those exams were in their lives. It wasn't easy to fully understand a concept that was so alien to him until he tried and gave all of himself at it. Not that he had made an effort and was worried about his grades because of them (well, at least not completely), but also because of himself.

He smiled a little to Yui and Isuzu.

"Well... Not like I can change my answers now, right?" He scratched the back of his head. "But I'm still nervous about it"

"Join the club" Isuzu chuckled, though the heaviness post-exams was slowing drifting away as they talked. "And like Yui and I were saying, think about the winter vacation, they will be here soon"

"And then, it will be our final Semester..."

The though had less relief than she had expected, but Isuzu didn't dwell much on it.

"Think we will have snow?" Balder asked as he entered the room, soon taking a seat at Isuzu's side in the couch. "I know it tends to fall at this time of the year in many places, but..."

"But Zeus might surprise us..." Yui completed the thought, sharing a knowing look with Apollon. None of them had forgotten the little "prank" (for lack of better word) that Zeus had pulled on them back in the beach.

"I hope he doesn't. Except for that day, we got normal seasons until now..." Except on some days when the temperature changed too much or too brusquely, but it wasn't anything that would break the sensation of a firm cycle. Just on the other day, she had noticed how the air was getting chiller, announcing the coming winter "It wouldn't feel quite like winter otherwise"

At least in her opinion.

Balder smiled, caressing her head. The touch sent a shock to her nerves that wasn't born of pleasantness. It held her connections, freezing flesh under skin as spiders played with her muscles... Yet, her body was still master of hiding such reactions enough so the others didn't notice.

Balder either didn't feel her head twitching for a second in a shiver that was almost a tick or perhaps didn't mind it. Isuzu tried to relax as his gentle fingers caressed her head.

"How the exam went for you, Bal-Bal?"

Balder allowed his fingers to run through Isuzu's hair as he dropped his hand. Outside, a sound of small drops against glass begun, denouncing the falling rain.

"Although many things here have been quite interesting and fun, that was not one of them." The comment earned him some repressed giggles. "I think I did good" At least good enough. He could bet Takeru would soon be muttering about how humans could get tired mentally faster than gods. On the other hand, he would quite agree that Thoth-sensei had made the exams extra complicated on the account of them being gods.

As Misaki had commented on the other day, there was even something funny about gods taking exams at school and being worried, like humans. Loki had just mumbled that the only way to find anything amusing on it would be at the ludicrousness of it.

"Please, tell me it is over." It was Loki, now, entering the room and falling on the other couch, face down and, in Yui's opinion, giving the appearance of someone who had been ran over. The others also came in, soon taking the remaining couches and armchairs.

"We had exams before" Misaki commented, following him and crossing her arms on the back of the couch, watching him as Thor took a seat at Isuzu's other side.

"Those were worse"

"Eeeeh..." Misaki dragged the sound, before shrugging. "Yeah, I can't argue with you there." With Loki taking in the whole couch, she walked around it, intending on sitting next Ren and Hades (a surprise that he hadn't opted to remain standing as he often did), however Thor moved a little, giving space at the same moment.

Catching the Thunder deity's stare, Misaki smiled in a way of thanking him before sitting down.

"Thoth-sensei said he will give the results after tomorrow" Arisu commented from her spot. "And that we will make some revisions during those last weeks..." The info didn't surprise any of them. Isuzu wondered for a moment what Thoth thought about the vacations, after all, he was as stuck there as the rest of the them. For a moment, the girl wondered if they should plan activities for this time and invite him...

"Yeah, right, he would probably go on about how this is a waste of time and if said activity doesn't help in the graduation, then it is a waste of time..." But still, Isuzu couldn't help it. It was a little difficult to have the usual barrier between student-teacher as stronger as it was back on her old school. Well, even there there were teachers who were actual friends with the students. Keeping authority in class, yes, but...

"Figures" Misaki muttered to herself, she hadn't been surprised when he had told them to remind the others of such.

"But" Yui said a little loud. "What matters is that we have just some time before vacation. Vacation. Time to relax, to enjoy things, you know? So there!"

Some of the others had to hold a laugh at Yui pretending to be all bossy, even holding her head high and doing her best to play the part down to her expression. Arisu and Takeru exchanged glances that were far too alike and grinned.

"More free time, at least" He said, his eyes once more giving that bestial glint. While it was still too predatory for her instincts to not react accordingly, Arisu narrowed her eyes almost playfully.

"Maybe you can work on learning how to actual swim"

"Oh, is that a challenge, Porcupine?"

The exchange would have been taken as hostile if it wasn't for their tone. From his spot, Loki had turned his head, one silvery eye staring at the two from behind some wild bangs.

"Honestly, that's all you both can think about?" He snarled. "How boring"

Arisu made a conscious effort to not snap at him, trying to reason with herself that he was probably just tired. Not to mention it was raining, which (from what she had gathered before), could affect his mood.

"Hey, it is fun, okay? What, it's not like we can, I dunno, travel to Paris, right?" He offered no answer to this, but his visible eye was still piercing her. Arisu wasn't sure of what this meant and decided to let go. It wasn't as if deciphering Loki was easy anyway.

"So, here's to vacation!" She concluded, throwing her back against the armchair and letting her arms fall on the armrest. "And please, can we not talk about the exams?"

Misaki at once picked a cupcake and raised it as if it was a glass of wine, saluting the idea before biting it.

XxX

There were many times when words were completely unnecessary for Isuzu and Arisu. Perhaps it was being twins or because it was the way their family was, but there were moments when just sitting near each other in silence was enough for them to understand.

The rain was just a soft curtain of water, but as they walked across one of the hallways near the gardens looking through the carved windows, they started to think about how they had commented earlier on with the others about the approaching winter.

Arisu suddenly took a sit on a windowsill, not caring if some raindrops were pushed by the wind and whipped her legs. Isuzu sat at her side, both of them imagining the gardens covered in white, staying in silence for a long time until Arisu turned to her sister.

"What do you think Ren and Dionysus will do with the plants?" It had occurred to Arisu that many of the flowers had survived the growing cold, though the trees had already been stripped of most of their leaves, just a few stubborn specimens insisted on holding to the branches.

But some of the plants they had been cultivating were proving to be more resistant than expected. Ren had said she suspected it was either because of Dionysus or Zeus (who either had talked to Demeter or made the plants survive by his will alone, which the others also considered a strong probability. If he could turn humans into animals or stones, that would be simple).

Arisu had briefly wondered the reason. She wouldn't just say it out loud, but she didn't see Zeus as someone who would care about such things and would sooner believe it was due to Dionysus. After all, the shackles hadn't completely suppressed their powers, so there.

But even with this, they would probably had to do something to protect at least the flowers from the snow.

"Perhaps they can get a greenhouse or something" Though Isuzu had no idea how it worked, not only due to her lack of knowledge on the subject, but also because she had long ago decided that you just couldn't expect things to work here as they did normally, even if this was supposed to mimic a normal human place. It was more successful than she had imagined it at first, of course, but it was better to not forget the truth.

"There is space, that's for sure" Arisu thought, her eyes still lost on the campus around. That there was space was a way of putting it, as Yui had told them how upon arriving, Apollon had taken her on his pegasus and they had seen that the fields surrounding the school were, apparently, endless.

Well, in any case, a greenhouse would shelter the plants when it started to snow... For a moment, she remembered how Isuzu and her used to play, sometimes by making snowmen or snowball wars with their friends.

With the corner of her eyes, she saw Isuzu picking a hair tie from a pocket, arranging her shining strands into a ponytail that fell on her back. She remembered then a time, years ago, when they had been playing with their parents... Isuzu and her were little, still the same height. It had been something like snowball war mixed with some sort of tag, Arisu believed, because they had had to run away from their protected area (a small area of the garden that was their "territory" they called it) and their mother had managed to tackle Isuzu down, tickling her.

Arisu had tried to save her sister... And then being subjected by a tickling attack from dad. The memory created a strange sensation in her and it was as if her vocal chords couldn't translate it, be to a sigh or grunt.

"If only things were as easy as trying to save someone like this, huh?"

"Shut up" She didn't want to think about it, not now.

"You don't want to think about it? Your sister..."

She turned to Isuzu, with a desperate need to say something, if only to help silencing that voice in her mind. But when their eyes crossed, she realized similar thoughts were plaguing Isuzu, even if just in the shape of a whisper that hadn't grown strong enough yet.

"Oh, god, is it too much to ask for the past to die?"

"I think I'll go and eat something." Arisu turned back inside the hallway, standing up before turning to her sister. "Wanna come?"

"Sure" Isuzu did the same, but her movements had a ballerina-like movement that Arisu knew she wouldn't be able to replicate if she tried. That she knew by experience.

Yes, Isuzu was always gracious...

Arisu held a sigh to herself.

Great, and wasn't it almost a rule that you should feel good after the final exams of the semester? The thought was almost hilarious, if you looked at it from a certain perspective. If things were as simple as that, life would be quite easier.

"Hey, Misaki"

Arisu lifted her head, noticing the blonde coming down the stairs and approaching them after her sister's call.

"Hi, there." She jumped the last steps, her wild-looking hair flying with the movements, smiling. "It's a little colder now, huh?"

Arisu noticed that the other girl was indeed wearing a green jacket (something she had probably got in the store) above the uniform blouse.

"A little. Where are you off to?"

"Just the cafeteria. I was thinking about go check some mangas, but I'm hungry" Misaki explained calmly, looking from one sister to another.

"Same here. About the food, I mean" Arisu frowned. "Are you sure you want to go to the library? Thoth will be probably correcting the exams"

"Yeah, and?" The other didn't see the point. It wasn't as if Thoth had the right to close the library just because he would be checking the exams. It wasn't as if he would be bothered in anyway, for crying out loud. Arisu shrugged a little.

"And... I don't know... He just doesn't seem to be the type that gets in a good mood while doing it" The three of them shared a look at that. They had had time to get to know their classmates, sure, but Thoth was still pretty much an enigma.

"You really sound like you don't like him"

Arisu looked down as their walked for a bit. Now that Misaki had said that, she realized that, actually, she had never give time to explore her feelings regarding Thoth more than the surface.

"It's not that I don't like him." The words came slowly, for as much as he had gotten in her nerves, there was nothing personal about it. It was pretty much a professional relationship, per say, even less than that. Yui and Misaki had more contact with him outside the class than she had "It's just he always seem to be... I don't know, he can be a bit of a jerk"

Misaki scoffed a laugh and Isuzu had to hide a smile. That was a way of putting things, when Thoth decided to call their attention or say they weren't doing enough for the sake of graduation.

"Well, no joke. Remember before that time we went to the beach? Or when Hades didn't want to join any club?" Isuzu shook her head. "And I still don't want to know what sort of nicknames he has for us..."

"Or when Yui and Tsukito had their hands glued"

"See! That's my point!" Arisu exclaimed. "So I kinda prefer to avoid having him breathing down my neck, thank you very much."

"He is doing it a little less, lately." Her sister commented, thinking of how often Thoth used to reprimand them when they seemed, in his eyes, to be slacking off. It wasn't that he was any less harsh, but... "I don't know if this is due to the exams or because he sees we're doing... Well, doing alright"

The other two girls nodded at it, any option could be possible. Or maybe even a third reason that they didn't even know about.

"You know, I can't help but to picture him giving classes at my school, sometimes." Misaki said thoughtfully. "Like I said, I'll never complain about Sohta-sensei again"

"He is your biology teacher, right?" Isuzu recalled Misaki had commented something about that teacher before.

"Yeah. He is quite harsh, always gives lectures about any little mistake... Like he is the only one who could ever give classes and all. There is always a teacher like this..." Misaki had once heard that even the teachers had trouble getting along with him and this hadn't come from a rumor, but from a conversation with one of them "I like my Literature teacher a lot more, she is fun. You know, she is actually friends with the students."

"We used to like Mr. Kurama, remember Arisu?"

"He was a nice guy." Arisu remembered him, from their old school. Many found him to be a little strange, or even creepy. Honestly, both twins thought this was all nonsense. Yes, Mr. Kurama was quiet, had a piercing gaze and could be scary, but he was kind. Arisu and her sister knew this better than anyone, as it had been Mr. Kurama who had offered more support to them while most of the teachers had decided to not intervene for some reason.

"Bunch of spineless, little..." A flame of old hate came back. It was hard to not hold the grudge when she remembered those events. Even Tsuzuka-sensei, who had always been in great terms with the twins had said nothing and turned a blind eye to what had been happening.

"And in your new school?"

"Well, I don't know."

"We didn't have enough classes to form an opinion before we were brought here" Arisu commented as they arrived in the cafeteria and noticed that they weren't the only ones who had decided to have lunch later than the usual hour. The spirits rarely used the place, so it was easy to spot Balder, who was just taking a seat and saying something to Loki and Thor, who saw them first.

Following his friend's gaze, Balder waved in invitation for them to approach. There was little surprise when they noticed Loki was resting his head on his crossed arms, a small plate (with what they supposed were candy) in front of him. Misaki couldn't help but to compare him to a cat and the way he was staring at them did little to weaken the comparison.

"Rain affects him this much? Geez..."

"Why don't you sit here with us?" Balder's invitation did little to Loki's mood, as the trickster god scowled, his mouth twisting.

"Yeah, not like there are any other tables"

Misaki blinked. It had been a while since he had used this sort of tone with any of them, but Arisu just rolled her eyes internally.

"That's because I thought he was being less hostile later, congratulations, Arisu, you're an idiot"

"Fine, whatever" Misaki grunted to herself. Balder, however, turned to his friend with a soft expression.

"C'mon Loki..." He started with a tone of someone asking the other to be comprehensive, but neither Isuzu was faster since she wasn't really up to deal with Loki in this state and neither was her sister.

"Look, we don't want to bother, so..." Before she could move away, thinking it would indeed be better if they picked a table away from they in order to eat in peace, Balder was already standing in front of her with a smile.

"Nonsense!" He insisted, almost pouting. "It's better together, right?"

Isuzu felt like refusing again, unsure if this was a good idea. Loki was still staring at them and it was hard to tell which of them was the focus.

"We just..." Arisu started, but Balder tilted his head to the side, not letting her finish.

"Oh, c'mon, please?" He said it as if he wouldn't accept refusals. Although still unsure, Arisu decided she might as well accept, if only to be a pest to Loki (it was a childish reason, she admitted).

"Oh, okay, okay!" Isuzu found herself smiling a little "Just let us get the food, first"

When they came back with their plates, Thor moved to give them space and Balder scooted over while keeping eye contact with Isuzu. Loki just groaned, but said nothing, still watching. He said very little, except for some snarky remarks.

While this was grating on Arisu's nerves, she caught up the confusion in Misaki's eyes and when the blonde looked at her interrogatively, she just shrugged to show she also had no reason answer to Loki's attitude. To be grumpy because of the rain was something, but it was like they were back to the beginning of the year.

"And they say women's moods are complicated"

Balder on the other hand seemed cheerful as always and Thor was also, well, calm. In his case it was harder to make a certain guess at his mood, but Misaki thought his facial muscles seemed relaxed, which she took as a positive sign.

In the end, she decided it had to be a mix of the rain and the post-exams. Plus, humans sometimes had days when their moods were awful, so it was probably something along those lines anyway.

But still, his silver stare was unsettling.

XxX

Loki's mood didn't give signs of improvement during the rest of the meal no more than the rain, thought it also didn't seem be getting any worse. Despite his displeasure at their presence during lunch, Loki didn't go out of his way to bother them. Misaki had no idea what to take of this, she had expected that pranking someone would lift his mood...

But then again, perhaps he was like a cat in this regard, when they wanted to be left alone. Only instead of getting cuddly because of the weather, he went to a hissing mood and didn't like others to be around, unless it was Balder or Loki...

Well, not that she was sure that cats did that. But Ren had mentioned that when the temperature lowered to a certain degree, her cat would always call for her attention, disregarding what Ren could be doing. Eating, studying, whatever it was, Echo didn't care. And if Ren refused to pick her up when she snuggled against her ankle or mewed, then Echo would jump and force herself into her lap.

"But I hope he will be better..." No point in lying, that had bothered her, but if he went back to his usual self, it would confirm that it had been a passing thing and not that he had suddenly changed his mind or decided he was done playing nice, or something along those lines.

As her eyes passed by the titles and book spines without actually reading the titles, Misaki admitted that she was kinda worried.

A brushing sound called her attention. Her head turned towards the end of the hallway of bookshelves. She was assaulted by the strong impression that a shadow had moved there, as if someone had been passing by quickly. Frowning, the girl went on, looking around to see if there was anyone around... It couldn't possible be Thoth. First off, he was sitting at the table, checking the exams and hadn't paid the slightest attention to her when she had entered, just casting her that stern look that probably meant "Do not disturb me and be silent"...

Or maybe he was correcting her exams and was angry that she had written some nonsense as answer? Now that she though about it, Misaki wouldn't be surprised. She had studied, she had really tried, but she supposed even a tiny mistake could stand out to someone as the god of knowledge...

That sound again! This time, around the shelf near the end of the section. Without think, Misaki went in this direction. Footsteps? The sound had a similar rhythm, but who would be walking around like that? She leaned in the end of the shelf, looking around.

Nothing.

No sign of anyone anywhere. Had she been mistaken?

"But I'm sure I heard someone!"

The girl stood for a moment, changing her weight from a foot to another. It couldn't be a mistake. Aside the sound, she was almost sure she caught a glimpse of a shadow, too. Yet, she had no idea of who could be and...

"Excuse me"

Misaki turned with a scare, seeing Thor right behind her.

"Huh?"

"Bright one there, Misaki. He is going to think you're a retarded one of those days, you know?"

The god merely gestured to the shelf with his head, as he couldn't check them with her leaning there. Mumbling an apology, Misaki stepped away. Thor's eyes started to ran over the spines, in search of a particular book, his face never giving anything away. Misaki examined the exemplars around for the first time and realized she had walked into the anthropology section or something, as all the titles around were human books written about the old Nordic civilization and their beliefs.

Was Thor checking what humans had written about him and the others or about the people who used to worship them?

"Anything interesting?" She whispered, not truly expecting an answer as she looked at some of the titles. The library was not just divided into sections, but those were also divided into subcategories and languages. It made her wonder, not for the first time, if the gods just knew every existent language... Or maybe their brains could sort of decipher them? She wouldn't be surprised at either option.

Thor picked one of the books and opened at a random page.

"There are many mistakes"

He didn't need to look at her to notice her confused expression.

"About how things were and also what truly happened"

She still had no idea if he meant regarding the civilization or the myths. Should she ask further? Thor was polite and even nice, but she wasn't sure if this could be interpreted as a invitation for questions. What if she asked something that, for him, could be considered personal?

"Well... I never read much about it, so I don't know..." It seemed the safest thing to say. Thor had never talked about whatever humans thought or wrote about him or any of the other gods, she didn't even know he cared enough to read about it.

Thor showed no reaction. Misaki would have preferred if he had scoffed, grunted, just done something. Even a snarky comment would have been better and when his gaze went to her for a moment, she felt as though she was being stabbed.

"Why do you think that is?"

"Uh... People don't have as much... As much info about how things were back then?" She had no idea if this was the case, it was just a logical guess. And also, with all the time between those ages and nowadays, weren't some details bound to be lost?

Thor kept staring at her. He knew he was making her uncomfortable, just like he knew what she was probably thinking about. Yet time wasn't the only thing to blame here. For a moment, he considered asking her what she truly knew about him. Whatever info she might had taken from those human books.

In silence, he broke eye contact and placed the book back in the shelf.

"Hey, listen... Thor... Is Loki okay?"

That was a surprise. He didn't expect her to ask such a thing.

"It's just that he seemed weird today" She hurried to explain. "And I don't know if it is because of the rain, I mean, Isuzu and I saw that he gets down in days like that, but it isn't quite a heavy rain like the other day. And he seemed even angry, I don't know if something happened, but..." Oh, great. She was babbling. It was as if something in her wanted to make up for Thor's silence.

It was probably because she was near her TPM, she always got a little tense some days before that time. And she never wanted people to misinterpret what she meant... This was something she blamed entirely on...

Thor kept studying the books. He truly hadn't expected her to ask such a thing, after all, it wasn't as if she spent time with Loki. Whatever about his behavior had affected her, it was unfounded.

He knew Loki well. Please, Odin, his father, had found Loki as a baby and both considered themselves blood brothers. They had often traveled together. He knew what was bothering him, and it wasn't just the weather.

In the night before, they had been checking their notes for today's exams and Loki had been surprisingly serious about it. But now that it was over... Well, what one could expect? Loki was a god of mischief, but he had shape-shifter and fire-related powers not only because of his "domain" (per say), but also due to his nature.

Realizing that he was taking this ordeal seriously (and not only because of the graduation) was too close to accepting Zeus' terms to his liking. Loki wasn't someone who took well to bending to other's will and threats, not like that, and the realization that he was fitting well with this school life... It was confusing. He would never just accept the way Zeus handled things, but on the other hand, it could be pleasant at times. As if that wasn't enough, there was the fact that those lifestyles were meant to simulate that of normal humans.

And to enjoy even that... It didn't matter if it was just at times...

The fact that said emotion existed was against their very nature. A fox didn't enjoy living like a rabbit. A horse couldn't adapt to live like a lion. This was something those girls would never be able to understand, of this he was certain, because they were still themselves.

And he wouldn't even bother trying to explain.

It was natural that such conflicted emotions became annoying. And when Loki got like that, he could lash out to others (except him or Balder). Unable to just do something against Zeus, he could only stay in a sour mood and lash out verbally at the Hironezumi twins and Aihara.

And he was worried about Balder as well...

And so was Thor.

However, he wouldn't ever tell any of this to anyone. And honestly, a part of him felt more like ignoring the question and leave her to think whatever she wanted and believe whatever she wanted... Only that Aihara remained quiet, just looking at him with a blush taking over her face, denouncing her embarrassment. Thor couldn't remember if he had ever saw her like this. Taking in the way she had started to ramble, he could guess she didn't want him to think she was being intrusive.

"It's not that has to do with you or the others" His voice came a lot softer than his usual absent tone. "Don't mind it"

Misaki saw this was the better explanation she was going to get, but at least it wasn't as if she and others had done something wrong. Usually she wouldn't care much, but considering how things seemed to be improving lately... In the end, she nodded in acceptance.

Thor noticed the light waves in her eyes, indication first a little doubt, then acceptance and some sort of relief. He wondered the reason for it as he stayed in silence for a moment, considering if he should say what he had just thought or not. Usually, with Balder or Loki, he didn't words to convey anything. And if you thought about it, there was nothing to gain from a conversation with her, right?

But he thought about Kusanagi. That day of the Cultural Even, the way she had showed such eagerness when he started to tell about some compositions of the music of his era. It had started with a simple comment, more because they had to make that event work, but the interest she had demonstrated... He had been unable to refuse answering her questions or telling more when she asked.

If humans didn't have remains of it, it was because of their own destructive behavior. It hurt him and the others to see so up close how those civilizations with which they formed a sort of bond had been erased by other humans...

In those books, in the replicas of vases and sculptures... They saw a cemetery of old memories. If memories could be carved into those objects, it wouldn't be of glorious times and feasts... Those would weaken compared to the memories of blood and torture and war.

"You were afraid of losing the progress you consider to have made towards graduation?" The question had no purpose whatsoever except to work as a distraction. He wouldn't go down that line of thought. Not now. He had thought about such things over and over in course of the centuries, reaching his conclusions. To start doing it again now would be useless.

He also didn't want to think about because of those girls. It would be impossible to not relate them to his convictions and Thor had no interest in what could happen from that.

Misaki frowned for a moment, taking in his words and their meaning.

"You mean... You think I got worried... Just because of the graduation?"

Thor just stared at her. She had to look up in order to look in his eyes... His lack of expression and verbal response, this time, were enough for her and the girl was twisted between her own annoyance born of offense and his assumption and a renewed sort of... Hurt, she supposed.

"What on Earth gave you this idea?" Though she kept her voice whispered, as the last thing she needed was for Thoth to kick her out of the library for making too much noise, she did nothing to hide her shock. "Look, it's not like it, okay?"

Thor just stared at her, an almost imperceptible twitch of his eyebrows the closest to a reaction. Misaki sighed, aware she wouldn't get much of him even if she asked... It was as if Thor had reached his quote of words for the day. Running her hand through her hair, she sighed. He wouldn't just say that, he wasn't the type to just "say things"... So why...?

Maybe it was because she and Loki weren't close and, as such, the best justification for her question was that graduation? That stupid thing! Did he think that was all they worried about?

"Look..." The word came a hiss between her teeth. "Loki and I aren't exactly friends, I know. But I don't have to be close to a classmate, or anyone for that matter, in order to worry if they seem to not be alright. The graduation has nothing to do with this, okay, Thor?"

"You can be strange humans" It was not a comment or a question, but a statement of fact, which Misaki very much doubted. In her book, that was called "being nice", as childish as her choice of terms could sound.

But this made her remember back to the Cultural event. How they had said the differences between them didn't have to matter unless they decided otherwise. She had back then wondered if they were too different to even be friends and now the question plagued her mind again...

"Is that why you hate humans?"

Whatever Thor had been expecting that girl to say, it hadn't been that. Her voice now had none of the growing aggravation of before and he wondered what had crossed her brain in order to invoke this change. She sounded... Quiet, gentle... Almost sad in a way.

She sighed and despite the height difference, kept looking in his eyes.

"We're not stupid, you know. I'm not stupid. All of you are here because you distanced yourselves from humanity..." A small shrug of one shoulder. "I may not know what sort of bond you still have with humans... Or even what causes this connection to be important... I am, after all, just a human"

The meaning behind this was clear. It was not a hidden accusation that they might see them as inferior, but rather the acknowledgment that perhaps said things were far too great for her mind to wrap around them. Considering the arrogance that entailed being human, this wasn't the sort of thing he had heard from humans very often.

"But I know that all of you are here for some reason." She continued in that tone. For a moment, Thor felt something tangled inside of him. As if those convictions of ages, that never had needed to be shaped in sounds, were trying to do just that.

"Something about humans made you dislike us. I don't know what is, but... I'm sorry"

If someone had told him that he would ever hear this phrase, he would have immediately been convinced that it was a lie, some human attempt at seeming nice. The problem was, he was far too good at paying attention to what could be hidden underneath sounds and the skin that hid the face. The problem was... It was hard to lie to him. And he couldn't find even the intention of it in the girl.

For some reason, it would have been better if she had it.

He leaned against her, caging her between his body and the shelf. Misaki felt her breath stopping as her heart gave a leap, reactions that had nothing to do with pleasant feelings. If anything, it was the sensation of his aura scrapping against her skin, piercing it to reach her muscles.

"Are you aware of what, even with those shackles, we could do?"

She could imagine. The primordial fear that awakened at those times screamed. Her mind run over scenarios of her body undoing itself and still keeping her sensations alive. Her nerves cried out, as if they were already melting, her bones being twisted to a shape that shouldn't retain life...

In this fog of natural fear, it occurred to her that perhaps the shackles weren't just to keep the gods from rebelling and keep the fragile existence of this said garden, but also for the protection of the humans representatives.

Thinking about it, if people could take their frustration and anger on others, perhaps it wouldn't be ridiculous to assume gods could do this as well... Yet, time had passed. And this thought would be far more frightening at the beginning of the year than now...

She looked back at him, ignoring the thunder in her ears.

"I have some ideas..."

He looked at her, taking notice of how her voice (though shivering) still held calmness, despite the fear that he could almost taste. Thor wasn't sure why he had even taken such action... For some reason, he didn't want to hear her saying those words anymore and had just reacted.

How could he just... It wasn't in him to act impulsively like that...

His arm was against the shelf, above her head, increasing her appearance of a cornered animal. Except that the fear was, if not gone, reigned by some other thing that he couldn't fully understand...

How could someone who looked so fragile still look like that? He could hold her in his arms as an adult would carry a child, he could pick her up as a doll...

And he could break her just as easily.

It was Misaki, however, the one to reach out. And she landed her hand on his chest, not to push him away, not to show rejection, but to just form a connection.

"Whatever humans have done... I'm sorry. I really am"

He believed in her. For a moment, he wondered if she knew that, along with being god of thunder, storms, strength and fertility, he was also one of the gods that protected not only Asgard, but mankind as well.

It was something he, along with Balder and Loki, had found very ironic with the passing of ages.

Though Misaki had decided to just stay in the library for a while more before deciding what she would borrow, she accompanied Thor after he picked some books she had never seen before. When he leaned in the desk to write down the titles and his name, following the procedure, Thoth took a second to glare at him and Misaki, but neither of them realized.

But Misaki noticed, when taking a glance at the list, that Thor wasn't the only god that had taken some books.

Tsukito had borrowed a book about art.

XxX

After lunch, Isuzu had spent most of her hours merely wandering around the school, before going back to the hallway near the gardens where she and Arisu had been hours earlier before lunch...

She had stopped by the Arts Club's room to see how Ren was doing with a new song she had commented to be practicing. Dionysus was also there, just lying in one of the couches as if ready to take a nap. To Isuzu's surprise, Hades was there as well, even though he tended to isolate himself in the Astronomy Club's room (or anywhere else, actually)... True he had clearly made a point of sitting as far from possible of any of the others, but it was nice to see him there.

Ren was still a little insecure about the song, though, as (according to her) she kept making some mistakes. Isuzu just stared at the piano keys and thought she wouldn't ever be able to memorize each one of them... And wondered a little if Ren would know how to play any Christmas songs, yet didn't ask.

Now she wondered what Yui was doing. A part of her mind dedicated to lighter, passing thoughts also thought idly if they would be able to buy some movies as they had discussed yesterday. In the end, they knew very little of how that shop worked... You usually went there and picket a pamphlet according with what you wished or could leave a note with a special order. In case of the latter, the note came back with "accepted" or "rejected", depending of what you had asked for.

But if Yui and Apollon had managed to buy fireworks, who said they couldn't give it a try?

Slowly, she sat at a windowsill again, watching the rain, not feeling like doing much more and the book she had taken from the library when passing there earlier remained in her lap, unopened.

Why sometimes, out of the nowhere, thoughts we try to keep away seemed to wake and take delight at taking control of a part of the brain? She was sure Arisu also had remembered such things and wish she had something to tell her sister, but couldn't. When they had separated, Arisu had just asked if things were alright and Isuzu had said there was nothing wrong.

She doubted Arisu had believed her completely. Not about that. But Isuzu honestly wanted some time to herself, to just walk around, read or just let her mind wander. Not that this last bit had worked.

"Perhaps I should follow Dionysus' example and go take a nap. Or maybe a long, warm bath... Yeah... This sounds nice" It often helped to relax, anyway. Maybe that was the problem, she was tired and...

Warm hands on her shoulders. Her whole skin cried out and it was only the softness of the voice that stopped her from turning around struggling.

"You're too tense..."

"I'm okay, Balder" She tried to smile back despite the fright, and after a moment, his fingers started to work on her muscles. Though the intention was clearly to offer comfort, Isuzu wasn't sure this was working. It also did nothing for those old feelings that held her inside, as an organ that had long ago gone rotten and for some reason, hadn't been removed.

She had no idea what he was doing here, she had honestly thought he would spend the rest of the day with Loki and Thor, since they weren't going to have any club activities...

"Is there something in your mind?" He whispered, leaning closer. Though the words were gentle, they scratched her eardrums as needles. It took effort to not shrug him off and to keep her voice under control as she gently touched his fingers, trying to push them away as to indicate she didn't want a massage. Balder complied, but remained standing behind her.

"Not really..." She begged in her mind that her voice was not shivering, not shivering, not shivering... The god of light frowned a little, but the effect this simple gesture had on his face was enough. Perhaps it was because she was so used to see him happy and calm, but this... Even his eyes seemed sharper.

"It's very bad to lie, Isuzu-chan" He reprimanded her. "If there is something wrong, you can tell me."

There was too much seriousness in that expression and tone for her to insist on the falsehood. However, that wasn't a matter she would ever discuss with him or any of those other people. She just couldn't.

At least Balder seemed to accept her silence better than a cover-up and sighed, nuzzling her head as if trying to soothe her. In any other day or situation, it might have worked, but she wasn't in a day where she could accept physical gestures of comfort.

"You know, I'm here for you if there is something wrong"

"I... I guess I'm just tired" It wasn't exactly a lie, right? He wouldn't be able to see through it so easily, after all, the exams had taken hours, it was the end of the semester and it was natural that some of them would feel a little drained out, right?

His eyes studied her for a while, but he seemed to accept that. Isuzu only wished that fear that had just came alive again would go back to the hole she thought she had been able to bury that in. It wasn't the first time she had those sensations again, but Balder was, well, a friend.

Slowly, he took a seat at her side. She noticed how the few drops that could reach them avoided him, which gained her curiosity for a moment. Balder, on his side, would have liked to try holding her hand, but he had picked up soon that whatever the matter was with Isuzu, she didn't want to be touched.

"We will have more free time, hm?"

"Huh? Ah..." Oh, he was talking about vacations. "Y-Yeah, I suppose..."

Whatever Balder wanted to say, he didn't get the chance. An arm came around his neck, pulling him close in something that could be either a hug or an attempt at suffocation.

"Hiya, Bal-Der" Loki said as he let his body almost fall over the other deity. Balder soon laughed of it.

"Hey, Loki, you're heavy" There was good humor in there, but Isuzu could swear there was something amiss, yet she couldn't say what. Loki, for a moment, landed his gaze on her, though he didn't move.

"But I'm sooo sleepy..." He whined, turning his attention back to his friend, still leaning over him. His voice lacked the usual energy, but it was perfectly clear. "And you just disappeared..."

"Me? I was just talking with Isuzu-chan..." This earned Isuzu another quick glance, though this time the girl wasn't sure of what there was behind it, as it had been too fast. Loki just groaned and kept leaning against Balder's back, as if he planned to sleep right there.

"Well, I guess I'm going" After she had briefly thought about it, the prospect of a warm bath and a nap (or at least lying down) was quite alluring. Balder turned her.

"Isuzu..." He started, being interrupted by Loki who waved. More like he was dismissing her presence than saying goodbye, but she ignored it just like she ignored the little "shoo, shoo, bye, bye" he threw at her in a tone full of despise.

"Isuzu, wait. I..."

Loki immediately patted his shoulder in a friendly gesture before the other could do anything else.

"C'mon, Balder. It's not like you can't talk to her later, right?"

For a moment, Balder turned to Loki, but the softness was back to his expression.

"I guess..."

Isuzu took the opportunity. But as she headed to the Girl's Dormitory, she couldn't help but to feel an uneasiness that hadn't much to do with what she had been feeling before. It was something... Something else.

And she had no idea of what it meant.

Only that when she walked away, she could feel Loki's eyes piercing her back.

Chapter Text

Snow fell as stars that had decided to leave the skies.

The Academy was surrounded by white and, with the arrival of the winter vacations, it was generally welcomed. Some of the Gods, unused to having bodies so sensible to climate chances, complained a little about the dropping temperature, yet this was short lived, suffocated by the promise of days without classes and the beauty around. Even those who had a dislike for cold rarely found in themselves to complain about it.

Arisu picked up a branch, the bark almost black, and placed on the side of the snowman as her sister used small pieces of coal to make the eyes.

"Then, next thing I know, explosion. Again!" Arisu continued, telling of the last prank by Loki. It was just, officially, the first day of their break and if yesterday they had been all cheerful by the time Thoth's last class was over, Loki today seemed to be even more energetic than usual. "But I must admit, I couldn't stop laughing…"

"I wish I had seen this!" The other replied with a chuckle as she stepped back to admire their work. Despite their age, making snowmen still had some lingering pleasure from childhood and there was also a touch of tradition to it, anyway "Do you think this looks okay?"

Arisu, who had by now fixed the other arm, took a look and nodded.

"It's great. Here" She gave her sister a small, cheap red scarf that Isuzu at once placed around the sculpture's neck. "Remember when we used dad's glasses?"

Isuzu had to hold back a laughter. This had been years ago, when both were very small and had had the idea of making snowmen in the likeness of their parents. Said likeness had been achieved (well, attempted to) by using accessories found around the house, their father's sunglasses, hat, and tie and their mother's necklace and scarf and they had even tried to hang her purse in one of the arms.

Only they had used their father's favorite tie and the best purse their mother owned.

"It was our luck they found it too funny to be mad at us"

"Hey, we were like, six or seven, right?" The other replied with pretended innocence that wouldn't fool anyone. "We didn't even know the necklace was expensive..."

And those details had been the only give-away that they had tried to make the snowmen after their parents. Needless to say, their snow-sculpting abilities had been more than lacking back then.

Arisu rubbed her hands, part of her mind still caught up in the past. Snow fell from the red gloves.

"Hey there" Someone called from the distance. It wasn't hard to spot Takeru in his usual running as he approached, running in the same spot. "Swimming later, Rat?"

"Are you crazy?" Arisu asked between giggles, though she couldn't tell if he was just messing with her or not. "It's cold"

Her response only made Takeru shrug with a cocky smile.

"The pool is not. But if you're too scared..."

"Scared of what? Of you drowning me?"

"As tempting as it sounds…" Takeru muttered after pretending to give the idea some consideration. "It would mean I would have to revive you, otherwise Zeus would bite my head off. And then I would have to deal with you nagging about."

"You would have to deal with a lot more than that" Arisu growled, but in good nature as Takeru left her, saying that if she changed her mind, he would be at the pool at the same hour as always before going back to his running, casting her a last smile as Arisu shook her head. She understood him, of course, but the idea of swimming in this weather, even if the pool was warmer, still wasn't quite inviting… Yet, maybe…

"I thought we didn't have to go to clubs during vacation." A voice said behind them at the same time she felt a weight on her back.

Isuzu shrugged, as she doubted the answer would matter to Loki since he insisted he was in a "going-home" club and even if this wasn't the case, there was little doubt he would just do whatever he felt like. At his side, Balder greeted her and her sister with a smile, then examining the snowman they had built.

"It's two weeks of freedom, after all." The redheaded continued slightly frowning as still leaned on Arisu as a lazy cat, his silver eyes going from figure of a running Takeru to the girl, who got away from him. For a moment, he wondered if she would take up to it and meet Takeru later. Arisu, however, was about to say something about him leaning on her, but the surprise to see he didn't wear more than usual swept the words away.

"Aren't you cold?" At her tone, the frown in Loki's face vanished and he smiled with the undeniable pride of a large cat, even lifting his head.

"Ohh, worried about me?" His hand was placed over his chest "I'm not sure my heart can take it!" The girl just ignored the playful display, waiting for a response. Twirling a strand of hair between his fingers as it was his habit, Loki continued. "I have fire-powers, remember? This doesn't affect me"

At least not this temperature. Loki wouldn't admit it to her, but he hadn't been so sure if the shackle would affect this particular ability of his... On a side, it was as a natural as Balder's Light Deity aura, per say, on another there was how his body was reduced to a human-like state. It was hard to just tell the limits of those shackles, in all honesty.

Another thing he wouldn't mention was also how there was his parentage to consider.

"And our home has mountains that are colder than this" Balder reminded them. Isuzu nodded to show she did remember when he had talked to her about it, describing the forests and even a little about the construction of Valhalla, telling some of his adventures and how he would climb those mountains with Loki and Thor. Such stories were told with a shine that made his eyes crystal-like.

"Some are completely frozen, eternal giants of white. The air is like glass dust against the skin, teasing. Their lakes lay hidden among them, mirrors of ice." Loki whispered almost to himself, his eyes clouded with memories of his home. "The crystals you can find are teeth of monsters. Sometimes when touched by the light, you can see colors forming among them..."

"Wow…" It was all Arisu could say, unable to ignore the image Loki's words invoked in her mind. She knew it could get even colder than now but hoped Zeus wouldn't get the idea of dropping the temperature to the Alaska-like levels that accompanied the Nordics description… Even if it sounded so beautiful.

"But just because it doesn't affect us so much, it doesn't mean we don't enjoy things like hot cocoa" Balder smiled to Isuzu who, like her sister, could only image how their realm looked like. It gave birth in her to feelings of awe and fright, as if their realms were embodied with a sort of power of their own.

"Everyone does" Isuzu replied, as they had talked of it when the first signals of winter had started to show. She remembered that Tsukito had asked if this could be considered a "cultural tradition" of humans.

Arisu, on her turn, had the sensation this had been a sort of invitation that her sister either hadn't caught on or had decided to ignore... And wasn't sure of what she felt regarding it. Balder's following words proved her partially right as he had the idea to taste chocolate with marshmallows. Isuzu turned to Loki and her sister, but mostly towards Arisu.

"What do you guys..."

"C'mon!" Balder interrupted her before she could ask what they thought of the idea, taking a hold of her hand. Loki stepped forwards with a smile that, to Arisu, seemed somewhat stiff… Both twins sought each other's eyes, unsure of what this could mean.

"Oh, Balder..." Loki started in a cheerful tone, but Balder had already turned around and just cast his friend a glance over his shoulder with a smile of his own. Isuzu was about to say it would be nice if Loki and Arisu joined them, but that stopped her.

Later, she would think that this particular smile didn't quite fit Balder's expression. A smile that belonged to someone else and that had been forced upon the Nordic...

"See you later, Loki!"

"But..."

He was already gone, taking a confused Isuzu along. Arisu frowned and was about to follow them, but hesitated for a moment, turning to Loki, who had become quiet. His eyes stared at Balder and Isuzu. Though his expression didn't fully betray his inner thoughts, it was clear he didn't like this at all.

Arisu herself felt a strong discomfort spreading from her heart to the rest of her body as a strange plant taking hold of her organs, forcing them to stop functioning, yet for what she knew to be different reasons (whatever Loki's reasons were). She turned to the red-haired god.

"C'mon…" She muttered, doing a better job to hide her emotions than he. Loki glanced at her before following the same direction Isuzu and Balder had gone.

"I thought you would be grumpy today..." Arisu commented, as she tried to calm herself. It wasn't as if there was anything wrong anyway, right? No reason for her to even feel anything about it. It wasn't even the first time Balder invited Isuzu over to do something. She was just being… Well, silly. "I mean, you don't like rain and it's snowing..."

"I don't like rain, but I don't mind snow." Loki said, waving his hand in a dismissive way as he did sometimes, adding then with a sort of hiss. "It's just how am I".

"I was just saying it, I never said it was weird or anything, okay?" She kept her voice calm, past questioning the god's reactions. "I think it's neat you can keep yourself warm like this, I didn't know you could do that... Even if I don't fully understand" Despite the months of living together, Arisu still wondered at times how such abilities worked.

Loki took a deep breath slowly, so the girl wouldn't (and didn't) realize it. She had nothing to do with his growing worries... If this was before, he wouldn't have cared at all, but now he reigned his nervousness and turned to her…

"Here, let me show you..." On an impulse that he didn't bother to examine, he caught Arisu's hand before she could say anything, slowly taking off her glove. Her skin shivered in contact with the cold air around before Loki hid it between his own hands with a gentleness she wouldn't have associated with him otherwise.

He was indeed very warm.

Yet, there was something about it… It wasn't like touching a body that was naturally warm, it felt more like touching the soft air near a fireplace. It crossed the skin to touch the flesh and his fingers started to rub it gently and even if it was a light touch, it felt as massage given by flames without the danger of burning.

"It's nice..." She muttered, feeling the warmth spread to the rest of her body and up her face. Loki's gaze went from their hands to her face, not even blinking. She couldn't quite decipher his expression, but there was some seriousness to it that made his eyes silver lava.

He kept staring at her, not releasing his hold.

She was about to call him on it… Though her vocal chords moved, her voice was gone.

Her hand shivered in his grasp when she tried to move it and that was what had the effect. For some reason or another, at least he seemed calmer and his hands separated from hers.

"So... About the hot drink?" He commented as she put her glove back. Even he wasn't sure of what had made him take his time, only that when he had held her hand, something had made him react in this way, dragging his fingers along her skin as if in exploring it.

Although he didn't usually question himself, this was not one of those occasions.

"Hey, sure..." Arisu's voice came too low for her liking as she tried to not think about the lingering warmth in her flesh.

XxX

She watched the sleeping world in front of her, her arms crossed over the stone rail, the long coat a barrier between her flesh and the cold of the snow around. Even for a long waited first day of break, there was a certain serenity in the air, which she appreciated, one of the reasons why she was here near the stone stairs that led to the garden.

Hades, who had been walking nearby, was now at her side, his red eye also lost in the fields covered in snow as they talked, as if drinking the sight. There was no need to ask if he didn't see snow often... And Ren would be the first to admit, the Academy looked beautiful. Almost as something one would expect see inside a carefully-build snowglobe made of dreams and mist.

The comparison was strangely fitting for more than one reason.

They had been talking for a while and, giving in to her request, he had just finished telling her of the winter solstice of ages long past and the celebrations that used to happen in late December. Back then the month around such time (though the calendars varied from city to city) used to be named after his brother Poseidon and there were celebrations in his honor.

Of course, there were others, such as the Attic festival of Haloa, which honored not only his brother, but Dionysus and Demeter as well (honestly, many of Dionysus' festivals happened during winter).

"Everyone attended?"

"Men tended to be excluded" He explained, as even he had watched those festivals from his realm, back in the days he still cared about what happened out of his kingdom. "It was more a women's festival... Dionysus sometimes watched from afar, other times he liked to take part of it, disguising himself as a priest." Ren had already noticed by what she had been told of such festivities that this happened often. Once, when talking about it with her, Yui and Misaki, Dionysus had even told how he had been present at the first presentation of "Oedipus, the King". It had been impossible to not be taken by his description and Yui had been utterly enchanted by how he quoted some lines.

"I imagined he had fun with it…"

Hades nodded in confirmation. He stayed in silence for a moment, before turning to her.

"Did you and Dionysus manage to get a greenhouse?" The dark god asked, recalling how his nephew had commented on this idea some days past, as he had wanted to preserve some of the plants he and Ren had managed to grow… There had been a time when Dionysus himself had confessed he hadn't thought that he would actually befriend those humans, but to his surprise, he had grown attached to Ren as well as the others in the end…

Despite his resolution to stay away, it was a feeling Hades could relate to. It had been ages since such a thing had happened. More than that, as he never had had much contact with mortals anyway.

"Yes." The girl replied simply. "He talked to Zeus and the next day, it was there" There was almost a child-like acceptance to the sentence, as if it was natural that such a construction would appear out of the nowhere on the request of a friend (sure it helped that Dionysus was Zeus' son).

Hades imagined if by now, she and the other humans felt that few things would be able to instigate surprise. The idea bought a smile to his face, that of an adult whose child thinks that has saw the whole world after a single trip to a nearby city. For a moment, he wondered how Ren would react if she was to ever saw the Mount Olympus.

"And the plants?" It was a general rule that the gods rarely interfered with the natural course of such things except in some cases, but in this academy cut off from reality, perhaps it wasn't unexpected that his nephew had not only wanted to keep some of those plants untouched by winter but succeeded.

"We moved them ourselves. Couldn't do anything for those in the garden, but we had many still in vases. Those were easier to keep alive according to Dionysus... Though he said it would have been easier for Demeter"

Hades wondered if his nephew had explained the more physic aspects of how such things worked to her but had his doubts. As he watched the dark-haired girl, he couldn't help but to remember how the mortals they crossed paths with always thought them to be supreme, with no limitations whatsoever to their powers.

Then again, though said limitations did exist, they might as well mean nothing to humans. It wasn't for nothing that they had been classified as gods and considered the ones who had brought the world into existence…

"Do you want to see it?" The girl turned to him suddenly, the invitation being made as soon as the idea crossed her mind. After giving consideration to it for a brief second, the Underworld Ruler nodded in agreement. It wasn't just because he was curious or because he wanted to see what they had done, but though there were some who wouldn't believe it, Hades had an appreciation for things like those.

Ren went to the stone stairs, followed by him.

In the middle of it, the snow under her foot slithered. Caught by surprise, her hand moved by instinct, catching the handrail, her body turning midway and hitting the stone. A shot of white pain burned her leg. Strong hands came at the same time, taking a hold of her before she rolled down.

Her breath was quickened by the surprise and pain.

"I'm sorry..." Hades muttered, well aware of what was behind this fall. As she tried to stand up, he noticed that her leg was shivering and for a moment, her face was even more drained of color than usual.

"I-It was my fault" She hadn't been holding the handrail. And this was part of the small details one had to watch for when in his company. They never talked about it, but even Hades pointed out small precautions they had to take. "I'm fine"

She managed to find her ground again, the leg she had almost fallen on sending a wave of complain that she decided to ignore. She lifted her face to Hades, who was still holding her as he helped her.

"Thanks..."

His hands slowly broke the contact.

"I'm sorry" He repeated in a low tone, both for causing this and for how he had suddenly held on her, as he was one to always respect personal space. Ren tilted her head to the side and gave him a soft smile that was like the wave of a mist.

"Don't worry, it was just an accident"

Hades didn't bother to say how falling on those stairs could have resulted in a broken ankle, he already knew she would just dismiss it, just like Yui and the others did when his curse caused misfortune... In his veins, he felt a bitter pulsation of it at work, poison carrying thorns.

Without giving the subject more attention, Ren turned around and resumed her walk, although a little slower. And once they were on the small path towards the greenhouse, walking at her side, Hades couldn't help but to look at her leg, knowing it was the one with flesh missing. Being able to pick up details humans could not, he noticed there was an almost imperceptible limping at small intervals…

"Do they hurt?" His low tone made his voice sound like the whisper of a tiger. "Your scars?"

A minute of silence. The girl's face held no emotion, save for a distant serenity that might make one think she hadn't even heard the question or wasn't even fully there. The god thought perhaps he had pushed it, and there wouldn't be a reply…

"No... Just at times..." She added, deciding then to be completely honest. "My shoulder and my leg can bother me during the cold, but it's more of a pricking" She had limped for a long time during recover and the pain of her broken body had never been forgotten. At that time, some doctor had expressed belief that she would limp forever, but over the years, it had reduced enough... As for the pain, it indeed came back sometimes to the affected muscles…

Before Hades could think of something to say, they spotted the greenhouse a few steps away. It stood there, a huge cage of glass with dark green bones giving shape to it. The snow fell gently on the roof in a fluffy-like sheet and around it. From beyond the glass, the colors mixed in a blur.

It definitely helped that Dionysus was Zeus' son. Despite his brother not showing it often, he was actually caring when it came down to his children and there was no sense in denying that this was in part due to how Kronos had been to them… Despite time having the ability to bury memories, Hades could never forget his own father. And Zeus (as well as his other siblings) had actually feared that someday they might become like that to their own children.

He held a sigh as his eyes went from the greenhouse to the tower of the Academy where he knew was the "principal's office". His relationship with his youngest brother wasn't how it had been back in those first years of their ruling, but he reflected that, in the end… Zeus would always be his little brother.

He did remember a time when he had been bitter towards him and the others, but time had won against this as well… But it hadn't won against the hurt.

"Hades?" Ren's voice pulled him back to the present, away from the memories that were thorns in his mind. He turned to her silently, finding her looking at him with worry. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine" It wasn't a complete truth, but nor was it complete lie. Ren still studied him for a second, as if unsure to whether believe him or not, but probably decided to respect his wish and muttered an acceptance while opening the door. Despite everything, Hades wasn't sure he wanted to talk about such things with her… Or anyone in this Academy, anyway.

It was somewhat warmer inside, which he knew wasn't caused by any human technology. The plants were well organized and as lively as though they had entered a glass room that contained a piece of spring itself.

"It is quite beautiful..." He whispered, receiving a thank-you in response. He had seen the work his nephew and Amaya had made in the gardens and the flowers they had cultivated along the months, but it was different to see them reunited like this. The god approached a long vase with some white chrysanthemums and, for a brief second, felt the life shivering at him as much as he felt the trail of Dionysus' power keeping it safe from the natural changes.

Walking through the green hallway made by the tables and shelves covered with plants, Ren came at the end of the greenhouse, stopping in front of some hydrangeas. She had been pleased when Dionysus had told her his idea, it also worked as a way to keep their club activities. Despite never having done anything like this before coming to the Academy, Dionysus had taught her to enjoy gardening and they invariably had fun together.

She turned for a moment, looking back at Hades. Among all the green speckled with colors, he stood out as a being of a nightmare. Pale and tall, even the white uniform seemed to lose brightness when wore by him. The red eye, no matter how calm, still had all likeness of a snake's... At times, she (along with the others) had to admit Hades could come across as rather fearsome, even when he clearly didn't mean to...

She looked back to the flowers... Ren knew it wasn't his fault. She had already noticed such to be just part of him as much as the warm aura that was part of Apollon or how the spirits and animals reacted to Balder... Yet, such body reactions could often get out of control.

"You two worked hard" He commented slowly, approaching her while inspecting the result of the months of work, leaning close to the girl to see the hydrangeas. Perhaps it was the closed space filled with life, but Ren's flesh shivered with what meant the end when the dark god turned his attention to her. It wasn't the first time that gaze gave her the sensation of being able to feel her cells dying, as if her body was slowly rotting in life and her soul, her thoughts and sins, were exposed to be dissected by uncaring hands.

Hades noticed this and stepped back, half expecting the girl to take the chance to move away, but she did nothing of the sort. It was this sort of behavior that had puzzled him at first, especially when facing Kusanagi's insistence to spend time with him even after she had almost died… Yet, as grateful as he was, there were still things that the girl was unable to comprehend.

All the others were, in the end, beings who belonged to life and light. Perhaps this was the main difference in his case, not even that they were deities and humans.

Even so… He thought about how the others acted. How his nephews used to sneak into the Underworld. How some of the others here approached him despite of their natures being so opposite and those humans, those curious humans who had insisted in getting closer to him even when their basic instincts would be to fear him…

He thought about how they would insist on accompanying him to star-gazing whenever they could…

He thought about Amaya's scars…

"Which one is your favorite?" He asked softly.

"Lilies" She replied in the same tone. It occurred to Hades that it was somehow rather fitting. Ren turned to him, her hands resting in the shelves, half hidden by leaves "And yours?"

He took a moment before replying.

"Snowdrops"

Ren remembered those, she had read about them in a book back when she had first joined the gardening club and felt a twinge of disappointment that they hadn't cultivate those.

"Hope" She whispered, recalling one of their most prominent meanings. The Lord of the Underworld nodded.

"There is a German legend" He found himself telling her while, unbeknownst to him, the cold that had been born on her nerves was soothed by his voice. "That when the Creator made the snow, He send it to Earth to collect the color of flowers. They all refused, except for the snowdrop. Touched by its kindness, the snow promised that it would be the first flower to bloom after winter was over…"

Ren barely noticed the small strangeness of hearing, even in the shape of a legend, a Greek deity mentioning God, but pushed it aside easily. She hadn't ever heard this tale before but found it rather beautiful.

"It's poetic..." She said slowly. "Do you..."

A burning pain devoured her hand.

The girl cried out. Tears came to her eyes, blinded by a moment. Her skin was aflame and the nerves knew nothing more.

"Ren!" Hades held her, not knowing what was wrong until he looked at the leaves.

Then he saw a hairy-looking caterpillar.

"How it..." Ren could barely mutter, pressing her stung hand against her body. It hurt, oh, God, it hurt.

Hades knew how. And he could almost see Ren's flesh growing red.

"Go the infirmary..." He told her firmly.

"But..."

"Just go!" His voice came harsher than he had intended.

She couldn't take it anymore. Ren ran off, still holding her hurt hand against her body as if protecting it could be of any help.

Left alone among the flowers, Hades looked at the creature before using a leaf to push it to the floor.

He crushed it before the thing had a chance to move. The flowers around shivered at his aura.

Hades knew there weren't caterpillars like this in the gardens, at least not of this sort, let alone in the greenhouse. No, this incident had had nothing to do with natural occurrences…

It was his curse.

He lifted his gaze in time to catch Ren, still running, disappearing upon turning to the stairs, her hair a wave of darkness behind her.

"I'm sorry..." He whispered.

XxX

Association is something deeply carved in human mind and Yui had already had the chance to experience and prove it a long time before she ever came to the god's Academy.

As such, it was hard for one to be in December, seeing snow and not think about Christmas. She had already talked about this with the other girls, but though they had briefly discussed decorations and celebrations, they were somewhat unsure... Christmas nowadays might not be an exclusive religious celebration, but at the same time, they couldn't be sure of how the gods could react to it...

There was the wish to do something, as they couldn't imagine just ignoring such a date, but they had procrastinated bringing the subject up and until now, the most they had talked about had been among themselves and limited to perhaps buying some foods and that was it. Such had left a taste of disappointment in the air, especially since for all of them, it would be the first holiday they would spend away from their families… Although Yui hadn't said anything, thinking about it made her so homesick that it hurt… And she was quite sure she had seen the same in the others' eyes.

Yet, their nervousness apparently had no reason to exist because to Yui's surprise, a couple of hours ago, Apollon had just come to her asking if she thought there would be anything Christmas-related on the school, to which Yui replied how she had no idea. Of course, they had just a couple of days left, so even if they were to do something, it would have to be a little fast... The sun deity hadn't been at all discouraged by this, just clapping and saying that he would come up with some ideas until the end of the day.

It was quite amazing how, even with the snow falling outside, Apollon could emit a sort of warmth of his own.

"Perhaps we should have talked to them earlier" She thought to herself, unable to feel at the same time, curious to what her friend would come up with and also a bit regretful that they hadn't mentioned anything before, as they would have had more time in their hands.

"Well, knowing Apollon, he will definitely have a list of ideas soon"

"Kusanagi" A voice called her from the room that had been reserved for the Student Council. Tsukito was almost the only one who used that room as she, Misaki and Apollon often convinced him that their studies room was just as good… As well as more comfortable with the couches.

"Would you please explain to me why, when Apollon Agana Belea passed by me a couple of minutes ago" Tsukito asked in his usual tone, so much that he might be speaking about any unimportant event. "He assured me that he was already working on a list of ideas?"

She was about to ask if he hadn't told Tsukito but restrained herself as the reply was quite obvious. Entering the room, she noticed a couple of thick books at the side of his large table and, in front of him, there were scribbled papers. Yui could only imagine what he had been doing…

"Well, you know how Christmas is near. We didn't talk about doing anything, but we were just now and Apollon decided we could try doing something" She couldn't help but to smile a little. "I think it might be fun. He said he would think about it and make a list of ideas for us to discuss..."

"I see" His attention was back to his paper as if considering the conversation's purpose reached and over. Yui was about to leave when decided against it.

"What were you reading about?" She turned to the books, tilting her head a little to read the title in the spines. Without looking at her, Tsukito said.

"You told me about the human concept of "good art" and how it can vary from time to time..."

"Yes. And it also depends of the personal taste..." She couldn't help but to be surprised he remembered it. Well, no, not that he remembered, but that he cared about it enough to even get books on the subject. She picked one up and took a look at the painters it was about... Some names she recognized easily... Picasso... Esher... Bosch. This one she wasn't much interested in. He might have been a great artist and all, but just thinking about his painting of Hell made her shiver.

"I have done some research on the subject."

"Oh, nice. And? Found anything you liked?" There was a nice feeling growing on her at this. Tsukito's golden gazed turned to her for a moment.

"If I am to be quite honest, I would say that I indeed came across some paintings that I appreciated..." It had taken him time to observe them not focusing on the technique used or the perspective, but rather as to whether the image invoked an emotional response and of what sort. He hadn't quite expected that human art, or any art for that matter, would ever move him again... He had almost forgotten how to see such things as pure art.

"I admit I hadn't..." There was hesitation as he picked the best words to describe it. "Quite considered some of the ways humans use it to express themselves. Though I still find puzzling how one artist can be reject during his life and then admired years later." He added as an afterthought and Yui nodded in understanding, thinking about it.

"Well, that's what I told you about... How things can change with time" She wasn't an expert in art by any means, so she wouldn't be able to explain it. Not that she thought anyone could, not really… It was just the matter of tastes and periods. Tsukito's golden eyes touched her for a moment before going back to whatever he was writing about.

"Some do, some don't"

"What do you mean?"

He left his pen resting when he lifted his face to look at her.

"Picasso's Guernica is acclaimed as a great anti-war work, is it not?"

Yui nodded, unsure of where the Moon deity was conducting the conversation to. Her art teacher had told the class about that painting when he had been giving examples of the different styles, even telling how allegedly, an German officer had asked Picasso if he had made the painting, to which Picasso had replied "No, you did".

"Why even though so many humans protest against war through so many ways, it is still so common?" It was a rhetorical question, as he doubted whatever answer a human might offer wouldn't be lacking in reason. From his perspective and what he had observed before deciding he was done with humans, in this regard, they were a fundamentally insane species.

Yui would be lying if she ever said that his words didn't feel like a needle. His ability to say things in such a raw way always seemed to have a way to get to her. And the impact, no matter how brief, made whatever answer her brain could come up with sound completely meaningless. It wasn't the first time she felt that her existence was just a small dot that held no importance.

"I... I don't know"

Tsukito still stared at her, and despite his unmoving expression, it was still clear he hadn't expected anything more substantial in any way.

"But no one enjoys war." She added quickly, aware this argument didn't quite help matters. "People don't like to hurt others..."

"Untrue" He disagreed, almost frowning and not because of confusion. "Your history is full of people who killed others without a second thought and many did so in quite gruesome ways." And this was merely an extreme example, one didn't have to look far to find malice in human's daily behavior. "There are several other examples, such as abuse at home or by peers, the latter being common in schools and often leading to suicide or life-long depression."

"But it's not all the human race, right? Like you said, people do protest against violence" The question had no defiance or offended undertone, it was just a question. He conceded that he wouldn't be able to say with an absolute sureness, since for such he would have to know every human. But he admitted that there had been also figures in the history of humanity who had fought against violence and prejudice.

"We're not a perfect race... But many people try to do better. At times, even just a small gesture can help someone"

Tsukito really had no idea if she truly believed in this, had to or was just deceiving herself.

"Do you actually believe in this?" In that smile of hers, he found the answer before she said it out loud. It was just for a second, but he felt something stirring in him... In that moment, she reminded him of decades long ago when Takeru would still look at humans with hope for them, even if things were already going bad.

"Yes." A thought passed her mind and she asked in a soft tone "Would you say that I, or any of the others for that matter, enjoy hurting others?"

"No" The answer came almost in as a mathematical response, but this was more because Tsukito didn't need to think about it rather than any other reason as he had already decided that those human girls could defy those norms. He still thought about whether this could be either a rarity (which could be one factor that had made them be chosen for such task) or some genetic anomaly he was unaware of...

At first, he had considered it the usual mask that humans used to fit in society and avoid rejection and stains in reputation, yes, but such hypothesis was quickly ruined by simple observation. It was impossible, even now, to look at those human girls and believe any of them to be able to take pleasure in causing harm to others, in whatever shape it was.

His thoughtful silence earned a smile from Yui. Not one of happiness or victory, but rather of sweet hope. Not for him or herself, the Moon deity knew, but rather for the coming of better days... Or just that she could do something good with the time she had on Earth.

"See? It's the same... We're not perfect, not by any means, but we try to at least be good. And..." She hesitated and her hands started to play with each other. "To be fair, it's a bit like that with you"

"I do not follow"

"Well... Oh, Tsukito, you know." Yui was careful, as the last thing she wanted was to offend him in anyway, but there were little options of how to say what she meant. "Some of the myths... Some versions... Don't exactly show some gods as being nice"

He noticed the care she had with her words, but saw no need for it. It was true, after all. Though some myths were quite inaccurate, he understood what she meant and nodded in agreement. It was a valid point, in some way... Of course, those girls had just read about them while the gods had seen the evolution and crimes of humanity, heard the sound of babies being killed by the hands of their own parents, heard hateful words that led others to suicide, seen the scars of destruction they left and that lasted even years after their deaths...

Tsukito, somehow, didn't want to continue with the subject anymore or bring up such points. It wasn't a change in his thoughts and he rarely gave up a certain conversation without reason. Why he was doing this now, he didn't quite know (though he assumed there was something with the arguments the girl had presented) and didn't have time to dedicate to the question as Yui, realizing it seemed he would offer no response, asked.

"What are you doing locked in here anyway?"

"Studying"

Yui couldn't believe it.

Even with Tsukito, this was far too much.

"Say what?"

"I must keep up with my studies" His reply was as if he believed this to be obvious. It was a mere matter of logic, the more he studied about human behavior, the closer he would be to fully understand it, therefore, making his chance at graduation more certain. Despite the day with the "love rings" incident, he hadn't forgotten that he might be lacking something to graduate and the sooner he solved it, the better. The girl in front of him, however, didn't seem to share the belief considering her expression of shock and incredulity.

"Tsukito... We are on a winter break. No classes. No new subjects..."

"I am quite aware, however I take into consideration..."

"No. No, this is just wrong!" She leaned to him suddenly, her hand resting near his in a way to call his attention back to her "C'mon, no one studies all the time like that! You should be enjoying the free weeks!"

The concept of "break" was very clear to him, yet he couldn't say there was any activity that awakened his interest, as his focus remained on the best way to just be free of that human existence. He decided against telling her so, though, as it occurred him how it could sound offensive... He might not understand her or those others in general, but the basic courtesy wasn't lost on him.

"Doing what, exactly?" His emotionless tone, for someone who wasn't used to him, would sound close to being cold. Yui hesitated... How was she supposed to know what he would enjoy doing? She had never forgotten the Moon Event and the things he had said. Honestly, when she thought about it, it sometimes saddened her for reasons she couldn't force into words.

"I don't know. Whatever you feel like. Not as a duty" She was quick to add before he said anything of this sort. "But just to have fun... Have you even seen the grounds outside? They look very nice!"

"They are just covered in snow, nothing more"

"Yes, but it can be quite beautiful." Now Tsukito saw there was a sort of determination in her manners. What was so important about convincing him, the Moon deity wasn't quite certain, yet like her, he hadn't forgotten her words during the Moon Event. It was almost as a deja vu now. "Look, we take a walk outside, if you decide you're not liking it, we come back. Please?"

At that moment, Yui decided she would help him to find a way to enjoy himself just for the sake of it even if it killed her.

"Why do you concern yourself with what I do with my time?" Any other person saying this, Yui would have interpreted almost as defensive words, despite the lack of intonation. With Tsukito, she knew better.

"Because I think it can be good for you to actually try to experience new things." And had an idea of an argument that might help him understand, following his way to see things through facts and numbers. "You just said you found some paintings you appreciated more than others, right? Same principle. There are things that are better understood through experience rather than theory, right?"

The Japanese god gave it some thought. It was a valid point and he also remembered how there was a matter of mental health that was apparently connected to using activities one enjoyed in order to rest the mind. Perhaps she was right and some different stimuli could have good effects.

The points made in favor of giving this idea of hers a try sounded good enough. He stood up in acceptation. For some reason, Yui Kusanagi seemed radiant... All of this had the potential to be aggravating in his nerves, yet it wasn't so. She had a way to do and say things that didn't feel overbearing to him.

This made him think about something else.

"Will this count as a date?"

"Well, I... WAIT, what?" Yui felt her breathing stop as she tried to understand where this question had come from. Nothing in their conversation had indicated that there was some "dating" involved. A wave of fire went up her face with the idea... Tsukito, on the other hand, blinked as if puzzled by such a reaction.

"Will this count as a date?"

Yui wished the gods didn't have such piercing eyes. At times, just looking at them was enough to make one's nerves understand in a primal way that they were a complete different species. And in others, such as now, it was enough to make her voice forget how to work.

"Tsukito... Uh... You know we're not dating..." She muttered as her face felt as if on fire. This reminded her too much of his near attempt at kissing her thanks to those rings for her comfort. It wasn't that Tsukito wasn't attractive, but Yui was the sort of girl who wouldn't have felt good kissing someone she had no deep feelings for. And the whole situation had been… Well, too much, she supposed.

"Indeed, however it occurred to me that it might be helpful adding this point of view to my observations, and the human standards of what is typical/acceptable, in order to get a broader view and understanding of the behavior" This reasoning sounded almost too anthropologic for Yui, but following how Tsukito was, it sort of made sense. Relationships and the behavior of men and women in society were indeed among things that could differ radically between cultures and times, so... Yeah, it made sense, she thought. It was weird, but it wasn't as if he thought they were dating or was asking her to follow the pretended scenario.

So, it was okay, right? It meant nothing…

"It only means he thinks about the hypothesis of what a human would do or something, stop making a mountain of a molehill!" It worked to calm her heartbeat a little and she giggled in nervousness, hoping she wasn't flushed anymore.

"Huh..." She had no idea of what there was to say to something like that. "You know, Tsukito, you're really don't need to think too much about this…"

XxX

It was time to close the library for the day. Despite being winter break, the usual curfew was still active, as it happened in most boarding schools. Through the windows, there was only the night sky to be seen.

Placing the book on the table, Thoth stood up... He was about to lock the doors when he felt something. Just like a bird or some other animal that senses a strange presence on its territory, he could feel there was someone there and it wasn't Anubis. Then he remembered. With a groan, he started to walk around the shelves, recalling the earlier events of that day... There had been some talk about a Christmas celebration. Not that he had something against it, but for something to be prepared properly, it needed time and they had decided with just a few days of antecedence.

At times, the other gods didn't behave as maturely as one would expect. He wondered if this was an effect of them living the lives of students… Such situations could have influence over one's behavior no matter if they were deities or humans, after all.

Thoth hadn't expected anyone to come to the library today, being the first day of vacation yet, while he had been walking among the hallways of shelves earlier to get a particular ancient book (and vaguely planning on sending a letter back home to know things were and how Ra was doing), he had spotted two blonde heads whispering close to each other.

Apollon Agana Belea and Misaki Aihara were talking, the Greek sun god holding two books in his arm and picking a third one. He had said something to Misaki, who seemed confused before he handed her the books, so he could open the one he had just picked on some page, showing it to her. It should be something she knew about but was not familiar with, considering her expression becoming one of curiosity.

As long as they didn't cause trouble or bothered him, Thoth couldn't care less to the subject at hand, so this held no interest to him. Apollon had picked his books back, leaning towards the girl and whispering something that made her cover her mouth, body shaking with silent giggles. The god had smiled and said something more, making Misaki playful punch his arm as she smiled and gave a reply in a soft tone.

"May I inquire what do you think you're doing?" The sudden voice of the Egyptian had made both turn, clearly taking a fright, as the teacher approached them.

"Hi, Thoth-sensei" Apollon hadn't showed any signs to be at all bothered by the question. "I was..."

"My library is not a place for playing around, I trust you are aware of such?" His iron stare had gone from Apollon to Misaki, in annoyance. Apollon had just smiled in that way that made him seem someone who couldn't be upset by anything... Thoth didn't care about it, though at times he wondered how the Greek never tired of that mask of "always happy"... Yet, lately, the genuine smiles outnumbered the mechanical ones.

"Thoth-sensei, I was searching for ideas! Ideas!"

"Lower your tone." He warned the other, the annoyance still alive in him. "And whatever you're searching for, I don't see the need to fool around" At not in his library.

"We weren't, I was just helping him!" Misaki had contested and, taking the chance before Thoth could give them a lecture of sorts about proper behavior, Apollon explained.

"I was searching for some Christmas traditions! Or other family festivals, I mean, anything that give us ideas, right?" The question added hadn't been directed to Thoth, but rather Misaki. Even if they talked to his father about it, they would have to organize at least part of whatever they decided to do by themselves, so it had to be quick. Yet, Apollon was a firm believer that the more options they had, the better.

Thoth's frown had deepened a little.

"Saki-Saki, thanks a ton! I think those will be good!" The Greek leaned to her and for a second, it had seemed he would kiss her cheek... But he just held his books against his chest with a hand, caressing her hair with the other. "See you later!"

"What is this of ideas?" The Egyptian had asked the girl, not bothering to call Apollon's attention when he passed by him without saying anything more than a cheerful goodbye. Anyone by now was already used to the Greek Sun god's attitude.

"We decided we may do something for Christmas" And the girl had proceeded to summarize it. Thoth had just accepted it, despite muttering about this being a bit too much of a "last-minute" decision for his taste (to which Misaki had shrugged and told him to not worry, after all, they would deal with it), then asking.

"And what you are doing here?"

"Picking something to read?" Misaki had done her best to not appear sarcastic and rather as if she wasn't sure of what else he thought she might be doing, to which Thoth had rolled his eyes at it.

"It's winter break." He had pointed out. "You all were quite excited about it, as I recall, I would have expected you to be outside." Wasn't this how it went? He was sure Anubis had mentioned something about the Hironezumi twins making a snowman and he knew humans tended to have games to play in the snow.

"I know, but it's cold... I decided I wanted to read a little."

He wondered for a moment if it was indeed just this, but it wasn't of his business anyway, so he had just reminded her to be silent, then leaving her alone. But night had already fallen and he hadn't seen her leave. Truth, he had been concentrated in his own reading and hadn't noticed it until now, but one would expect...

He turned to a corner. There was she was.

Misaki Aihara was curled up in the floor near to a shelf, almost as some small animal that had been abandoned. Anubis was close to her and while Thoth observed, he poked her head cautiously, then turning to his friend when he came closer.

"Bara"

Thoth approached them, observing the girl who was clearly asleep, her head resting on a book almost as if it was a pillow, her wild mane spread over the side of her face and the floor. There were some other books lying nearby as well.

"Great..." Thoth muttered at the sight, but yet made no movement to wake her. Anubis leaned closer, sniffing her hair a little and inspecting her, carefully taking some blonde strands off her face.

"Bara kabara... Kabara"

Thoth wasn't sure if he agreed that Misaki Aihara looked cute when asleep, but curled up like she was, she certainly made herself appear smaller. Anubis sniffed her hair again before smiling and walking away, as he knew Thoth would wake her and still didn't want direct contact with the others, be the gods or the humans.

Thoth still looked at her for a couple of seconds. He wondered if any of the books she had clearly picked up to read also had something to do with Christmas, as she had seemed interested in whatever Apollon had been talking to her about it…

"Wake up" The god of knowledge called out, without a response. Running his hand through his hair, he gave some consideration to shaking her with his foot, some irritation finding birth in him. He was here as a teacher, not as babysitter and that girl was way past the age of being carried to bed.

He didn't do it, though. It was demeaning to just shake her like that, so he crouched down. Her breathing was calm. Her eye twitched in a give-away that she was dreaming, making him wonder for how long she had been like that… Slowly, he held her shoulder and shook her until her green eyes opened, still heavy with sleep.

"Uh, what?" Her voice made it sound almost as foreign, long word and she sat up looking around suddenly, as if she had forgotten where she had fallen asleep. "What the..."

"Get going" He groaned, pointing behind him with his thumb. "This isn't a place for you to sleep"

Rubbing her eyes a little, Misaki tried to not feel embarrassed as she realized what had happened. She didn't even understand how she could have slept like that when she hadn't been tired at all... Oh, had the others already discussed Apollon's ideas? She hoped not...

"Are you awake or not?" Thoth insisted with a tone that she could only interpret as one of annoyance and she sighed at it. It wasn't as if she had done something wrong, after all.

"Yes, yes, sorry." She turned to him, the last remains of sleep gone from her eyes. "I... I just fell asleep... No need to be angry"

"I'm not angry" His response was still in that severe tone they were all used as he ran his hand over his hair, the white strands contrasting with his light brown skin, before he leaned towards her. Perhaps it was because she was kneeling or because he had a way to crouch down that didn't diminish his composure, but even like this, Misaki felt shorter. "However, you're here past school hours, after which, this place is off limits"

Off limits? That was new to her... Was it because of the students' curfew or something? She stood up as Thoth did the same, with a single movement that didn't surprise her.

"Okay, I'm sorry" She muttered, unable to ignore her curiosity "But why?"

Thoth stared at her. Was it… Was it some sort of amusement in eyes, or was she mistaken?

"Because after such hours, the library is my room" There was no time for her to process this information, as the white-haired god smiled in a rather predatory way. "Certainly, your parents advised you of what some may say of a woman who stays alone with a man in his room?"

"Hey, I was not... I didn't even know..." It didn't matter that he was just mocking her, the girl couldn't help but to feel her face becoming bright red as embarrassment took over. "And please, views change, my... My aunt would have warned me of such things if we were living in last decade or something... It's…"

She took a deep breath to stop her rambling. Thoth had a small smile, as if her reaction was being quite entertaining, which did nothing for her current state.

"Well, my apologies, I'm off now, good night!" She took off, cursing him in her mind. It was no secret that the Egyptian could be a jerk, but this? If he thought it was a joke, it was not funny! Really, she should have took the books to the dorm!

Thoth, in his turn, just watched as she disappeared, picking up the soft sound of her opening the door with care to not make a noise and then closing it just as carefully. Honestly, that girl at times... Though he hadn't expected her to get that flustered. He looked back to the floor.

Wanting to just send her out, he hadn't even lectured her about sleeping on one of the books or even leaving those others there without putting them back in the shelf.

With a sigh, he picked up the one she had been using as a pillow...

It still held her scent.