There they stood, all eight of them. It was hard not to feel faint at the sight of the gods gleaming in the daylight, the shrine behind them framing them as if they were the most perfect photo ever known to man.

Yui's eyes bounced from man to man. Her eyes first fell upon Tsukito. She noted how happy he looked with that gentle smile on his face as his purple hair mostly pulled back. He wore a tan jacket over a light tan vest and a white undershirt along with dark brown pants and light brown shoes. Yui felt her face heat up in confusion and awe.

Why is he here?

Next was Takeru. Though he and his brother both stood with their arms crossed, Takeru's were more firmly grasping each other. He had a light smirk on his lips and a teasing chant playing in his mind that seemed to ask, "Did you think that I wasn't going to come back, Weed?" His green track jacket was unzipped to reveal that he was wearing an aquamarine on a chain that seemed even more brilliant with his black tank serving as a background. He wore blue jeans as well, and he had them rolled up slightly in the ends. On his feet were a pair of black running shoes. Yui blushed darker.

What is he dressed like that for?

Hades was after Takeru. Hades wore a very slight smile. His maroon shirt over his white undershirt was outlined by his black trench coat that came to an end mid-thigh and barely came in contact with his dark khakis. He wore dark brown shoes.

The questions were piling up.

Dionysus stood beside Hades. The redheaded god was grinning as he grasped his purple scarf. The scarf was the accent of the whole outfit, as his entire outfit was otherwise almost entirely devoid of color. His light grey jacket matched his light grey shoes, his
black shirt underneath worked merely as a backdrop for the scarf, and his grey-blue cuffed jeans were bland as well. He looked like he was right at home.

More and more questions spun in Yui's head.

Next was Apollon, and, of course, he wore his usual cheerful smile. He wore a bright blue jacket over a collared white shirt and grey pants. His dark brown shoes matched the necklace that he wore.

Wh-huh-? More questions.

The three best friends were next. Loki, Thor, and Balder all wore smiles, but each one said something different. Loki's said, "I knew we'd make it here. I told you so," while Thor's was more of an "I'm overjoyed to see you again, but I'm toning it down" smile. Balder's was a subtle but strong "we missed you smile".

In addition to his mocking smile, Loki wore a long-sleeved, purple crew shirt under a black vest, and with this he wore black pants and red hightops to match his blazing red hair. Beside him, Thor wore a yellow infinity scarf wrapped around his neck so much that none hung down. On top of this, he wore a black shirt, and on top of this he wore a grey button-up. He wore green pants and black shoes. To his left, Balder stood wearing a teal jacket over a white undershirt with navy blue pants and white shoes.

Yui blinked, blushed, and gasped for air, eyes widening before welling up with tears. She was shocked. They'd come for her. They'd...They'd come for her!

She took two steps towards them, a bright and joyful smile spreading across her face as the tears began to stream down her face.

I thought that you'd never come back, but you prove to me just how much you love me. You proved to me just how much I mean to you. You all are such great friends. I love you so much, she wanted to say, but her words got lost somewhere between her brain and her tongue, and so the only thing that came out of her mouth was a weak, happy sob.

Her legs buckled beneath her, and she fell to her knees, still too overwhelmed to speak. She didn't even cry out in pain as her knees hit the ground amid cries of Yui! andYui-san! and Kasanagi! and Kitten! and Weed! and Fae-can!.

The men all rushed over to her, and as he bent down Hades muttered, "Oh, it's all my fault...I've caused this..."

Apollon got down on one knee before the sobbing Yui and put a finger under Yui's chin, tilting her face up towards him.

Yui allowed him to raise her face, and she lifted her tear-filled eyes towards him. Her irises wrote the words that she couldn't say. Apollon read those messages and began to tear up as well. "I missed you too," he whispered and immediately wrapped his arms around her.

Normally Yui would've blushed. Normally she would've gasped and tensed up, maybe even pushed him back. But in this moment, she let him hug her, and she hugged him right back, latching onto him as if he would disappear again the instant that she released her grip. She knew upon hearing his gently gasps and feeling the jolts of his shoulders that he was crying too.

In the back of her mind, there was a voice saying, You knew that they'd come. You knew that your friends love you and you knew that they'd come and find you. Stop crying and pick yourself up. But she ignored the voice, and she kept crying.

She felt everyone else smiling down at them after a few moments. She felt a weak, involuntary smile come onto her face. She released Apollon's shoulder, pulling back from him and giving him a gentle smile before looking up with teary eyes and meekly calling, "C-Come, let me welcome all of you home."

They immediately got to their knees and opened their arms for you, though Hades appeared to hesitate more than the others. Yui crawled on hands and knees and went around the circle of men, some of them crying, and began to hug each of them one by one, still sobbing, still freaking out that this was happening, that her friends were back, that her future wasn't ruined, that nothing had changed but their location.

She froze while hugging Tsukito when she realized her situation. She pulled back from him and gently grasped his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. He responded by doing the same to her, a silent "I'm listening, go ahead and talk".

"...how did you get here, Tsukito-san? How did the rest of you all get here?" she asked quietly, voice breathy and strained from her crying.

Tsukito's gentle smile "We made a-"

A voice interrupted the gentle boy, a familiar, growly, deep voice. "They made a pact with me." Yui felt her back grow colder than before, and she knew that it must've been the voice's owner casting a shadow on her back.

Yui looked up, eyes still teary, and her eyes were met with a sight that made her heart leap and then tighten.

It was her instructor back at the academy for the gods, the one that she was just ripped from. His blue eyes were softer than she'd ever seen them, though his face was still as hard as ever. He wore a longsleeved blue polo and a black sweater tied around his neck, the torso of it falling across his back. He wore dark blue jeans and black dress shoes. Where his feathery earring usually was, there was now a simple golden earcuff, and his monocle remained in place. His eyeliner was perfect, as always. He spoke again. "And I made a deal with Zeus."

"Thoth-sa- Thoth-san?" Yui asked in confusion, her brow furrowing slightly.

"In the flesh," he said. His voice was still a growl, but there was a different undertone than usual. It was...friendlier.

"What are you doing here?" she asked gently.

"As mentioned before, idiot human, I made a pact with these gods, and I made a deal with Zeus." Unlike his typical, angry way of saying idiot, he'd said it almost with warmness this time.

"What was the pact? What was the deal?"

"The pact was that I would try my hardest to return the gods to a place where they could be with you. As far as the deal goes..." His voice trailed off, and his eyes focused on something else, right over her shoulder.

Yui's eyebrows knitted together again. "...as far as the deal go-"

"ANUBIS!" barked Thoth suddenly, and Yui looked over her shoulder to see the jackal-like god sitting on his knees beside her, head tilted. He, too, was dressed like a human civilian, though his clothes were much more formal- a dark green suit with a white undershirt and a black tie. His odd hairstyle was the same, however.

"A-Anubis-san!" Yui yelped, losing the balance that she had resting on her knees and falling flat onto her back.

The creature-like god started to sniff at her hands, which tickled her and made her yank her hand away.

"ANUBIS!" Thoth yelled again. "Stop bothering Kusanagi and stand up straight, imbecile!"

Yui expected a whimper to come out of his mouth, but instead, she heard the words, "Fine."

This made Yui gasp and cry out again, and she scrambled to her feet. "Y-You can speak now, Anubis- er, Anubis-san?"

Anubis nodded, giving her a toothy grin. He still had his sharp, canine teeth, and this startled Yui again, though this time, she merely widened her eyes.

Now that she was standing, she had an easier time looking up at Thoth. "E-Explain, please, Thoth-san!"

His eyes went angrier than before. "I was explaining, before Anubis interrupted me," he snapped, and then he paused to glare at Anubis. He continued after a moment, meeting Yui's eyes again. "As I was saying, as far as the deal with Zeus goes, I asked that he allow the gods to descend to the earth to see you." He paused, obviously resisting the temptation to slam his palm against one of the pillars of the shrine and pin Yui to it. He continued. "Zeus, the cruel bastard, said that I needed to give something in order to get that. I asked him what he wanted, and he said that he 'simply wanted Anubis and I to descend and watch over them as long as they wish to stay'." He looked angry at this fact, but Yui felt odd feelings enter her chest.

Why would Zeus do that? she thought And why would that be the only favor that he ask for in return?

Thoth continued. "I agreed, as I had made the pact with the others and I, unlike Zeus, am a man of my word." He grunted, looking from her face to his nails, and he began to buff them on his shirt and then examine them over and over again, though they seemed perfectly clean. "Zeus also said that he implanted memories in your family's heads that made them remember us to always be here, and he expanded the shrine to have just enough rooms for us. Not only this, but..." He looked up from his nails to glare at Anubis. "...He turned Anu into someone that everyone can understand, and I seriously doubt that he will be easy to shut up now."

Yui blinked. This was a lot to process. So...my parents...my...brothers...think that they've always been with us...? Do...huh? And they're living in the shrine with us?

Thoth began to speak again, this time meeting Yui's eyes and making her feel as if she were a total idiot. "If you're wondering if we are going to attend school with you, the answer is yes. We are something called 'foreign exchange students'. This is why your parents have allowed us to live in your house thus far, and this is why they will not question any of our odd act-"

"Do you all still have your divine powers?" Yui interrupted, then covered her mouth, knowing that she'd made a mistake by interrupting the Egyptian god of knowledge.

His face grew angrier, and he stepped towards her. The men parted to allow the two through as Thoth moved his feet in a dance with hers until she was up against the pillar of the shrine. He slammed his palm against the space beside her, and she jumped, her face growing hot and her body beginning to sweat as it always did. He leaned down so that his face was just inches from hers, perhaps even just an inch. "Don't interrupt me, imbecile," he barked, eyes meeting hers.

Fear was written all in her eyes, as well as an apology. She let out a weak, "S-Sorry, Thoth-san."

He sighed deeply, searching her face as if considering whether or not he should forgive her. After a few moments of the studying, he leaned back. She drew in a deep breath of relief, and he continued in a much calmer manner. "The answer to that question is yes, of course. We are all in human form as of now, but we can access our divine powers any moment we'd like."

She nodded, and he stepped back. "But there is one more thing," he said, not facing her anymore.

"What is it?"

He looked over his shoulder. "You are going to be the one held accountable for any mistakes that the gods make. You are going to be the one that must keep it so the gods are not hurt, and you are the one that must keep it so that the humans are not hurt because of the gods. If you fail to keep the gods in check, then you are the one who is going to have to answer to Zeus, and..." He trailed off.

She swallowed hard, then asked feebly, "...and what?"

He spun around again and looked down at her as he slammed his palm on the space beside her again. "You are going to be the one to face the repercussions."