Vengeful, hateful eyes stared at the group assembled before him. A group of eleven. His eyes scoured over the occupants of Olympus. Zeus, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Athene … At all of them, he glared. Especially at Athene. The yellow eyes of Ares darted back up at Zeus, the king, the ruler, whatever people wanted to call him.

"By the agreement of all the Olympians, we have decided to banish you from Olympus. You will be cursed to live amongst the mortals until we call for you again." The god's voice echoed with authority. If it wasn't for the goddess of wisdom, he'd gladly attempt to cut him down - and win. There was a bitter taste his mouth. How dare they? How dare they cut him off from Olympus? His only response was to narrow his eyes at the council. His time amongst the other deathless didn't create any good memories, but betrayal still settled in his heart. They always liked to poke fun at him for his own skewed morals, however, the other gods seemed unable to recognize their own faults.

As soon as that order rang out, a path opened for him to go down. The other gods nodded their approval. "You'll end up regretting this one day. Don't think I'll give up that easily. War is an important aspect of civilization, I won't just disappear," Ares mumbled, loud enough for the others to hear. With Athene by their side, they wouldn't take the threat seriously. He knew that. The god of war took a deep breath as he descended down to Earth, deciding to take up a new name. A name fitting for his appearance.

He quite liked the praise he received from Japan as the protector …His name there was different and he could easily use that as his name, but he decided against it, considering the clash in culture. It was difficult to take up in Greece. Albus was fitting, but it was too … normal. If he was going to live down at Earth, then he wanted a unique name. He'll always be a god after all.

Shiro.

It sounded nice. He'll get the Olympian gods back one day. Once he made his return to Mount Olympus.

Ichigo watched as his battalion entered the kapeleia they luckily found on their way back to their city. He had a smile on his face as he told them to have fun in there. The Thespian army had their first victory after a long series of defeats from several other city-states. In fact, Thespiae was still rebuilding their walls after the recent attack from Thebes. Ichigo would let them have this moment to lift their low spirits.

After awhile, he entered the kapeleia himself. The soldiers were already scattered about with drinking cups in front of them, retelling their victories. Definitely nicer than the constant anxiety about when the next attack will come and destroy Thespiae again.

Ichigo sat at a booth farther in the back of the establishment where it was more secluded and ordered a single cup for now, relief and joy spreading through him as much as the others. Ichigo wanted to remain sober until his battalion reached the city and met up with the rest of the army, though, too. As long as the others could walk a little longer to a place they could set up camp. It was about a days march back to their home … The soreness that plagued their muscles we're slowing them down, but he hoped that it wouldn't be that severe.

He was too lost in thought to pay attention to his surroundings. Until someone took a seat across from him.

Ichigo was expecting one of his men to be there to ask him a question, so when he brought his head up to look at his companion, he certainly didn't expect a man with white skin to be there. Or to have yellow on black eyes staring back at him with interest. Ichigo stared at him for a few seconds before asking the obvious question.

"Is there … something I can do for you?" he asked, quite tentatively too. There aren't many occasions where he's met with a stranger sitting with him while he's in a taverna or kapeleia. Ichigo watched as the stranger tilted his head back a bit and observed the area a little more as if he was thinking about how to answer. Did he just sit here out of impulse?

The battalion leader was about to tell him to excuse him, but the other cut him off.

"What's the occasion?" he spoke, his attention back on the soldier.

"What …?" Ichigo didn't understand at first. But then it clicked that his men probably were still in uniform. "Oh, you mean the soldiers. We recently won a battle after … a few losses here and there, so we're celebrating the win." Ichigo was unsure what to tell the man and what not to tell the man. He could be a citizen of an enemy city-state or a messenger or a spy or …

"So that's what all the stories are for. I came here for some entertainment since I saw so many people here, so how about some stories from you?"

"You could at least tell me your name." Ichigo responded, still a bit wary despite the other's innocent sounding, or at least as innocent as wanting a war story was, objectives. "I'm Ichigo Kurosaki." Might as well take his own words to heart. He scowled when the other didn't give his name right away.

"It's … Call me Shiro."

"Shiro? That's a strange name. No last name?" Ichigo commented, wondering where the name came from. Shiro was certainly not a stereotypical Greek name. Ichigo wasn't a common name either, so could he talk?

"Same origin as your name I assume. And no. You'll earn it another day." Shiro grinned, watching as Ichigo perked up slightly. Huffing, he half glared at Shiro, who looked smug. Bastard … He was curious about his full name, but he doubted he could pull it out of him now. Well, now that their names were out of the way, they can hopefully have a normal conversation.

The orange-haired soldier realized the other still didn't order a drink. "Are you … thirsty? The people here were nice enough to make drinks on the house to congratulate us."

"Not a big fan. I only drink at special ceremonies and occasions. It's only good for clouding the senses."

Ichigo hummed in agreement at the statement. "That makes two of us." If he drank too much, his skills in battle would surely decrease and he couldn't risk not being able to fight when enemies could attack at any moment.

"Oh? Is that so?" Shiro teased, looking over at the other occupants of the kapeleia. "Your battalion seems to disagree." At that, Ichigo smirked. The habits of his battalion could be better, but he still loved them.

"Ah, well you managed to decrease the size of my list of things I dislike about you."

"You already have a list? Please, feel free to divulge the information on said list. I'll even exchange a few of the things on my list." Ichigo grinned, finishing up his drink.

"Maybe one day. If you care enough when I decide to, that is." Shiro chuckled. To Ichigo, it seemed forced. But he couldn't really think of any reason why that would be.

"I'll hold you to it, Shiro."

They both were having fun, throwing banter back and forth like childhood friends. Later in the day, Shiro asked if Ichigo was okay with talking outside, away from here. The god could tell that the question confused him, but Ichigo accepted the offer after a moment to think. "Let me leave a tip for the owners and I'll catch up, alright?"

Shiro nodded and got up from the seat and was about to walk off before a rather devious idea popped up in his head. Turning back around to face Ichigo, he took a hold of his hand and brought the back of it to his lips. "Thank you for your company." Shiro said with Ichigo's hand still up to his face and a smile. He let his hand go.

"It's a form of tradition, isn't it?"

Those were his last words before he left the building. It took awhile for Ichigo to process what happened, however, when he did, his entire face went red. Ichigo's face was red-hot and he couldn't even tell whether it was mostly embarrassment or anger that caused it. Tradition, his ass! That kind of gesture wasn't meant for men! Despite the reaction, he got up and personally thanked and gave money to the owners of the kapeleia. He told them to make sure his men would be able to walk after this. As he left the building, he was met with suggestive whistles from his men who thought he may have been leaving with a woman. Ichigo decided to ignore them. His curiosity about the other got the better of him this time around.

When he arrived outside, Shiro had his gaze toward the sky. Admiring the sight maybe? But Shiro was frowning. Ichigo stared in silence at him before he announced his presence by drawing closer. Shiro … he was a man shrouded in mystery. His looks, his words, his entire existence. He's never been as intrigued about a person as he was now.

"I know I'm handsome, but ya don't have to stare." Shiro cut in, destroying Ichigo's thought process. Ichigo scoffed. He didn't give a response. It'd probably get him deeper in the hole. Shiro laughed at his lack of response. He won't push it. "When do you have to return to Thespiae?"

"Ah, I was hoping to return by -" Ichigo paused. "How did you …?"

Shiro looked at him confused before realizing what he said. He opened and closed his mouth, attempting to correct his mistake. If Ichigo was suspicious before, he was certainly suspicious now. There was no way someone could ever pinpoint where he came from from the things he's told Shiro. Nothing a stranger should know. "An army who recently won a battle after a rather large set of losses. Besides, the men with you don't seem to be as young as you … Not enough citizens perhaps? Thespiae has been quite unlucky in their battles. Burned and destroyed too after onslaughts of attacks."

"You seem to be well versed in these sorts of matters."

"Would you believe me if I said I'm just a simple historian?"

"Absolutely not."

The god laughed, full-heartedly enjoying Ichigo's attitude and anger at the lack of decent answers. Of course, laughing only heightened the irritation.

"You could at least show some sympathy for my home. Or even toward the men in there who fought for their lives despite all of the hardships." Ichigo mumbled, turning away from Shiro. He didn't live through the burning of the city, but he was old enough to be in the army during major battles against the Athenians and the Thebans. He was lucky to escape, especially since he had just joined the army. He watched most of the men — regardless of age — at his side fall to their deaths in the Battle of Delium. Almost all of them were slain and he managed to run with his life intact.

His skin prickled and burned. Was Shiro staring at him?

"Sympathy …?" The god said, musing over his next words. "I can admit the people who lost their lives should be commemorated and those who lived should be proud to stay alive. But events like those happen. A necessary evil."

Ichigo turned back to him with a fire in his eyes. A look that said he had more to say, that there was more than what Shiro said. With narrowed eyes, gritted teeth, and clenched fists, Ichigo wanted to shout. How dare he!? Shutting his eyes against the flashbacks of armies entering his city and tearing it apart, he trembled slightly. Was this what he called a necessary evil? Before he could spew out the hate-filled words, Shiro cut him off.

"You're a soldier. You're part of an army in a civilization that uses war as a means to show strength and to gain resources. Is that not why you, most likely, have a collection of items from your victories? Is that not how you show off to the other city-states?" Shiro didn't understand it. Time and time again he's had thousands of armies rush to his temple to receive blessings. Time and time again he's been celebrated as a protector. And in this civilization, there was just as much war as there was peace. Unlike Zeus, he didn't tend to mingle with mortals whenever he got bored.

For a second, Ichigo remained silent, contemplating whether his rage will get him anywhere. Shiro thought he finally got through to him. However, the god then realized Ichigo was smirking at him. There was still a hint of anger in him though. The only thing different was that the soldier understood how he could make Shiro see past his ideas. "Why don't you travel with my battalion to Thespiae?"

"Huh? What for?"

Ichigo grinned at Shiro, fully enjoying the surprise in Shiro's tone. "You don't seem to understand people very well, you know. Come to Thespiae and observe the people there. I'll even offer you a place to stay," he said, laughing to himself. Honestly, he wasn't entirely sure if the other was going to agree. After all, was there any reason to? Ichigo had a gut feeling he wouldn't though. Not after being told he was bad at something.

"If you're gonna invite me, be more kind 'bout it."

"After belittling my home and undermining the aftermath? Not on my watch."

"Fair."

For once, Shiro held up the white flag. He agreed to travel with them, unable to come up for a reason against it. Enjoying himself would have the other gods jealous and petty anyway right?

Thespiae was Eros's land though … It meant the goddess of Love will be near too and he certainly didn't want to meet up with her. "Come on, it's about time we head back and start moving to set up another camp before they become too drunk to walk."

Ichigo told Shiro he could wait outside if he wished as he went back to announce that they were leaving to set up camp a little further ahead. The god stayed still, watching Ichigo disappear.

If he was honest with himself, Shiro couldn't imagine understanding anything more. It wouldn't stop him from starting up skirmishes and it certainly wouldn't stop him from relishing all the slaughter. Whatever. There wouldn't be any harm in indulging.