Welcome and thanks for reading the first chapter of the story, I hope that you will find this story interesting enough to follow. The idea came to me few months ago when I first discovered that there was a category for Greek mythology. Being a Greek myself, I was always fascinated by our myths and legends, Hermes is my favourite Olympian god since childhood as well. The story though takes place in Japan, which I hope won't drive anyone away, since I consider it to be more interesting because of the differences and similarities in culture and mindset between the people of both countries.

I'd like to say sorry in advance for my grammar and I hope that this time I did my best more than usual to correct my misspells. Maybe I should have found a beta reader beforehand but it would be too difficult to approach someone without having at least one chapter published.

Enjoy.

A town in midnight can be scary and dangerous, especially when the town is really big. The streets of Tokyo, the famous capital of Japan, were no exception. The ugly side of the town was there to be seen by those who were cast aside by society. Drugs, prostitution, theft; an image that is not loved by the public media and a society who turns a blind eye to it.

Tohru had come to learn that side of the city the hard way. The sound of his running steps were echoing in the alleys, his feet were splashing into the mud puddles. From time to time, he was taking a peek over his shoulder anxiously. Not far behind, two men were chasing him spouting threats. He knew very well what they were going to do in case they managed to catch him; there was no need for them to say anything.

His eyes were scanning the area. He had to find a place to hide before his energy runs out. The streets can be cruel and cold, with no place to hide and ensure yourself, thus you end up playing in a survival game of hide-seek until you manage to hide or let yourself get eaten. He had managed to execute everything perfectly for more than once, he had managed to escape many times as well -and unharmed the most of them, too- but he guessed that that time he wouldn't be able to make it. His legs were ready to betray him and he was lucky that the bullets had missed him.

He had reached an area he wasn't familiar with, rendering him unable to come up with some short of plan and then he made the mistake he was trying to avoid for about two hours. A dead end; maybe that was a sign that everything had come to an end. Turning back was not an option; he would end up with a bullet between his eyes while doing so. Tohru rested his back on a wall and let himself glide down the cold, wet, rough surface of it.

"There is now way Ι can climb this wall," he tittered. "That's it for me I guess. It was about time. I was getting tired."

He knew very well that his power was running out, he didn't want to get shot from behind like a fool while he would desperately try to climb that wall. He snickered at his own thought. After all that time his pride hadn't died, rather it had stayed too untainted for his own good, even after crawling through mud and sinking his hands into dung. No, he had lost his pride long ago, he was just clinging on something he named pride.

He could hear their angry voices getting closer and closer. The sound of their footsteps was repetitive and dull, they should have already sensed that they had trapped their pray. He smiled and titled his head to the side. He wasn't really regretting his life until that moment, he was a great player in this survival game called life and he'd played his role with all his essence.

"I wonder if I'll go to hell...That's how it should be. I'm not good enough for Heaven," he chuckled ready to give up.

And then the strangest thing happened. Before his tired eyes, a gold butterfly appeared. Confused, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd started hallucinating due to his fatigue. But the butterfly was there, fluttering around him and he, puzzled, was following its movements.

"For a man ready to die, you are very easily distracted," a voice pierced the air. "Shouldn't you be busy enough with philosophical questions about heaven and hell, what is life and all those related deep questions?"

Tohru flinched. He could see a silhouette looming. He hadn't sensed that man until he spoke. He, also, couldn't estimate the time that stranger was there and strangely enough the voices of the two men had abated. But, if those two were gone, maybe he had a hope left in an one-on-one battle, he was still carrying his knife with him.

"Not a chance. A petty knife won't harm me," the man said.

His hand started to tremble before it reaches his pocket. How did that man read his move, he couldn't figure it out. How did he even know that he was trying to get his knife? He had tried not to act too suspiciously either. Tohru tried to stood up, anxious by the radical turn of the situation.

"No-no-no, no need to be formal, I like to look down on humans," the man said and gestured Tohru to sit with his left hand.

However Tohru was distracted enough to miss the gesture. The rather unusual, golden butterfly was shining, fluttering around the stranger and she finally rested on the left hand that man had raised earlier. Tohru let out a gasp and pressed himself hard on the wall.

"Not much of a man, are we, Tohru?" the man asked and brought his left hand close to his face.

Tohru was finally able to take a glimpse of him. He was rather handsome; the light wasn't bright enough, but he could see his long, light brown hair waving with the breeze. His green eyes were very lively, he was emitting vitality and confidence. The man was looking at him directly into his eyes, with a sly smile on his face.

"Who are you? Why do you know my name?"
"Oh, how ruuuude of me. I forgot to introduce my self," he said.

The tone of his voice was sarcastic, yet his voice was very clear. It was obvious to him that that man knew very well that he had the upper-hand and that it would be way too hard for him to run away. On the top of that he was neither able to explain the shining butterfly and the fact that the man knew his name nor how he was able to read his movements so easily.

"My name is Hermes," he said after a short pause.
"So, you are a foreigner."
"That should be already obvious considering my features," he replied to his comment sighing.
"So, what do you want from me? What did you do to those two?"
"Oh, I guess my name doesn't ring a bell," he said. "Let's do it your way. Here; my business card."

Tohru took the business card looking at him cautiously. He could hardly read it in the dark, but the light coming from the strange butterfly was helping a bit. Though, seeing the words written on the business card that man presented, he thought this couldn't be anything but a bad joke.

"Hermes. The ancient Greek God? Seriously?" he laughed.
"At your service."

He was convinced that it wasn't his lucky day. Whether he had escaped from those two or not, he still had a lunatic right in front of him. Considering that their voices stopped since that man appeared, it wouldn't be crazy to say that he might have killed them already, or that he was the one who had sent them after him. In both cases he was in a big trouble.

"You are Hermes, the Greek God," Tohru repeated looking at him with obvious disbelief.
"Actually, I don't like to repeat my self, but yes. Hermes, the Greek God ruling over fortune, good luck, transport, roads, merchants, speed, intelligence, medicine, travels, measuring, astronomy, and a lot of other things... I'm an awesome God, I rule over many things, people loved me. I also rule over gambling, mischief, lies and thieve, too and I'm also the guide of the underworld, but don't let those get into you."
"Okay, almighty Hermes," Tohru said deciding that playing along was the wisest thing to do. "What brings you here?"

The so-called Hermes looked at him silently for a moment. That man had the sliest smile Tohru had ever seen in his life... but Tohru's patience was running out, he wanted to run away from there and rest, that man was giving him the creeps by every passing moment. Hermes finally snickered and decided to speak.

"You are funny. I think that you are qualified for the job," he said.
"I don't understand."
"Let's see," he said making a gesture. "Yoshida Tohru, 22 years old. An underground informant – this sounds so uncool man– master of infiltration. Has been hospitalized twice in an underground clinic due to serious injury. Father diseased. Mother alive and kicking, 53 years old, recently remarried. Still a virgin, seriously man, what are you doing?..."
"HEY! Hey-hey-hey. I think that you have the wrong person, my name is Fujita Rei."
"Oh, please," he sighed. "Don't use your code name on me, it won't work."

Tohru felt thick sweat drops running down his forehead; that man had way too much information in his hands. How was that possible? Each and every time, he was making sure to eradicate everything that would lead to a connection with his past and who he really was. He had long abandoned the identity of Yoshida Tohru and he was leading a life on his own cutting his connection with his family.

"I see... So, since you have that much information on me, and assuming that you are the Greek god that you say you are, what do you want from me?" he asked aggressively.
"Ohhh... that was a shock. It seems that you are getting back to your usual self slowly," Hermes said.
"And what about those two?"
"Oh, I stopped their time so they won't bother us for a while."
"You did what?"
"Don't worry, they'll be fine!"
"That's not what I'm worried about!"
"I' m here to invite you in the game of the Gods', isn't this your lucky day?" Hermes asked keenly while blinking.
"You make no sense,".
"Well, eternity is... long. So it can get really boring sometimes," Hermes started explaining. "So we, the gods, the Olympians, those super cool 12 Greek gods, you know... decided to play a game to pass the time. It's like those reality shows you guys have, only way more entertaining for us and with more interesting rules and rewards. Seriously, you people have to be more creative."
"So, you want me to join a reality show... I'm not interested."
"What a simpleton," he sighed. "Well, they usually describe me as a compassionate god so I thought I should ask. Well, I can always let those two catch you," he said pointing somewhere. "Look."

Tohru gulped expecting to see the two men who were chasing him ready to shoot him, but instead they were both... frozen. Completely puzzled, he turned to face the mysterious man who was claiming to be a god. Tohru wasn't able to grasp the situation; "all that was set up", that was the only way he could explain it. Those men were trying to mess with his mind.

"Well, since you made your decision, I suppose I should leave you here. What a pity," Hermes said still holding the paper. "I bet you were glad to meet the awesome me. Have fun with your friends."

By the time he finished those words the two men suddenly moved. Tohru's eyes opened wide in terror and he stepped back again. After looking around confused, they managed to spot their target in a few moments. Tohru looked around him panicked and then he realized that the strange man was nowhere to be seen. Was he just an illusion? Maybe the cold, his lack of sleep and his hunger were playing games with his mind.

"I don't want to die..." he said, surprising his own self. "I don't want to die, damn it. I'll do it! I said I'll do it!" he shouted looking around him. "Where are you?"
"Please, sign here and here," a voice came from above and the paper appeared right in front of him.
"I'll sign later, just get me out of here."
"I'm not so naive, sign please. You can use your own blood or whatever, it will make it more dramatic."
"Just give me a damn pen!"
"Here," Hermes said quickly, but he could tell from his voice he was now pouting. "You humans are no fun."

Tohru grabbed the pen which appeared in front of him; he was desperate enough to ignore the fact that the so-called Hermes was right over him floating in the air upside-down. Hermes smiled satisfied by the outcome; that man was easier to manipulate than he expected. It's not that he had many options though; Hermes was always lucky and had the perfect timing.

"What's going on?" Tohru asked seeing the two men getting closer and closer.
"Oh, don't mind them," Hermes replied. "Let's go."

Tohru felt nauseous all of sudden, it was like someone had grabbed his insides. It was painful and so quick that he didn't manage to figure out what was happening. When he finally touched the ground, he vomited; cold sweat was running down his spine. He realized though that he was in a different place than before and free of those men' s threat.

"What a pitiful sight, really," Hermes commented.

What a pitiful sight indeed. Tohru knew himself that he was looking pathetic while his desperate attempts to stand up didn't have the desirable result. He had reached the state were his legs weren't obeying him and was left unable to do anything while the last bits of his energy were running out. He wanted to run away, he wanted to consider that night a terrible, crazy nightmare, but for some reason everything felt real-too real.

"I bet you feel extremely lucky now that you signed a contract with me," Hermes said.
"Don't flatter you self, of course I didn't sign with my real signature," he said crawling on the ground. "I have no obligation to obey you. Thanks for saving me though, I'll own you one... Even though I can't get what you did back there."

He kept crawling, his instinct was telling him that he should run away from that place as fast as he could, even though he wasn't able to. The man hadn't reacted to his words. So, maybe it was okay for him to leave, maybe that man was too shocked or mad because he was swindled to react calmly and prudently, he still had a chance to escape perhaps. As desperate thoughts like those were filling his mind, his breath became difficult and soon he was gasping for air.

"Trying to swindle a god, seriously? And on the top of that, the god of lies and fraud?" the man asked snickering. "You have guts, maybe I should say 'As expected from my apprentice'," he said the last words with a fake enthusiasm "but, as I said, you are such a simpleton."

Tohru heard the man's steps approaching him quickly. He leaned over him and unrolled the paper right in front of his face. To Tohru's surprise the signature started changing shape. He wanted to ask how he was able to do that, to ask for further explanations but his breath was already hard and his consciousness was fading.

"It seems pretty real to me," Hermes said. "There is no running away now, not now, not ever actually, unless I want it. It says it pretty clear here. Your soul belongs to me," he snickered again.
"Ahhh... arghhh..."
"I know, you are speechless now, right? You can scream and play the victim though, it'll be fun."
"Arghhh..." Tohru pointed at his throat in agony.
"Oh, that," Hermes said faking a startle. "I forgot it."
"Like hell you did," Tohru said between breaths.
"Oww... I feel offended, how rude," he said smirking and released Tohru's breath.
"Yeah, I bet I hurt your feelings a lot," Tohru answered panting and coughing.
"That's the attitude," Hermes commented. "You are my apprentice now, so let's try to get along. I'm pretty sure that you are convinced you don't have to do with a normal person by now, unless you are too dump... So, it's the perfect time to discuss your role from now on."

Tohru finally realized that the man's claim that he is a god was the only "reasonable" answer to his powers. He touched his throat, still feeling the pain from seconds ago. He was there and he was dangerous; Tohru couldn't settle on the idea that he had no choice but to dance in that man's rhythm and raked the ground his with his fingers.

"Congratulations, starting from today you are officially a contestant in the 'Game of Gods'!" he announced and silence prevailed for a moment. "Oh, come now, give me a cheer."
"Yee... eh."
"That was the most boring cheer I've heard in my life...! And I live for... I can't even recall. Cheer up a bit. So, let me explain to you. The rules are pretty simple."
"Question," Tohru said raising his hand. "Supposedly, you are a god..."
"Oh, that again. I AM a god, do-"
"Fine! FINE!" Tohru snapped. "You are all gods and you are running around with your super powers, so why would gods start living among humans in order to play a game?"
"Oh, it's because we were bored," Hermes replied and shrugged indifferently.
"Ah, I should expect that kind of answer," Tohru sighed.
"Let me explain the rules. Each god has to find an apprentice that suits his personality and train him. Respectively, each participant has to develop skills that suit the beliefs, the abilities and the things his/her god rules over. The one who will manage to rise to the top will be the winner and he or she will have one wish granted. Simple, isn't it?"
"What do you mean by "rise to the top"?"
"I mean that he has to draw attention, become popular, he has to make others to respect him and 'worship' him, in other words he has to make others treat him like a god. The one who does a better job gets the nectar."
"Owww... Yes, that's pretty simple, I get it. How clever!"
"Isn't it?"
"Wake up, there is no way we'll win."
"Hmmmm?" Hermes titled his head perplexed.
"Yeah, like what do you want me to do? Become the king of thieves? Become the best runner in the country? To start my career as a merchant maybe? Oh...no, maybe even better...become a traffic cop?"
"And your point is?"
"I don't think that anything will work. I can become the master of lies but I don't think I could compete with the apprentices of gods like... like Athena or... or Zeus!"
"Oh, it's always about Athena and Zeus-Athena has a father complex by the way... but I think that you perception is wrong and extremely pessimistic as well. I want you to become the master of lies, fraud and trickery."
"Excuse me?"
"I want you to go out there and destroy everyone's efforts. Humiliate them, take away their audience, make them doubt themselves. You are going to be the joker." Hermes said with a big sadistic smile on his face.
"I'm going to be the what? Hold on. What about the rules?"
"There is no rule which forbids that, so it's perfectly fine," Hermes sighed. "Do you always whine that much?"
"And what are you going to gain from that?" Tohru questioned him.
"What a stupid question," he answered to that. "I'm going to entertaining myself."
"So you are telling me that I have to tangle with gods because you want to have fun."
"Ow... Look how bright you are. You make me proud for choosing you."

Inwardly, Tohru had cursed him and his luck a couple of times as their conversation was making a progress. Either he was a god or not, he didn't look compassionate, he even doubted if the word compassion was in that man's dictionary. Where was the fun in making someone do the dirty job just to laugh to the results? He didn't like his conceited altitude towards him either.

"So, why Japan?"
"Oh, Japan. It could be no other. A country with such culture should be the one and it was unanimous," he said in a suave way. "Is what you'd probably wanted me to say, but it was just a lucky choice. Artemis chose it while playing darts on a globe, blindfolded. I suggested that by the way. It was fun. Well, Artemis didn't particularly like it though..."
"Seriously..."
"Well, I guess you are done with the questions and I'm bored already so let's go to your place."
"What? No! I di-"

Tohru felt the same painful feeling he had the first time and seconds later he was throwing up once again. Hermes looked at him with a disgusted, disappointed look and shook his head telling him that he should have gotten used to that already. Tohru felt a great urge to punch him but he had reached his limit already, thus he could barely move. The last thing he saw before he fell asleep on the floor due to exhaustion was Hermes raising an eyebrow while he was standing in front of him with his hands folded.

The day he met the god of luck and fortune was the unluckiest day Tohru ever had...