Chapter 1

The lights were too bright, but I didn't want to say anything. More like, I couldn't say anything. All my focus was on taking my next ragged breath. The pump of the breathing machine was loud in my ear, drowning out the sound of my slowing heartbeat and my mother's soft sobs. She had tried to speak to me earlier, some comforting words that encouraged me to let go—if it was my time. I didn't have the energy to answer, but it was nice to hear.

I could feel my blinks lasting longer, and some primal part of me was panicking. What would death be like? Living hurt, so maybe death will be peaceful. Maybe heaven will be nice and happy, unlike this hospital room. The machine painfully inflated my lungs for me, and the room seemed to get brighter. My neck seemed to grow hot, right where my grandmother's oval locket rested. The nurses wanted to remove it, just in case it choked me, but I wouldn't let them. She gave it to me on her deathbed, and I wanted it on mine. I might have rethought it if I knew it was going to scald me. Oh well. I let my eyes close for the final time.

So, there was a heaven after all. Was everyone's heaven this, or was this a personalized heaven? If this is mine, I'm a bit concerned at my deepest desires. I mean, waking up in the arms of an attractive man was nice, but… I feel a little bit shallow for it. Then again… I'm dead. I can be shallow if I want. Besides, who wouldn't want a dark-haired beauty cuddling them? I reached up and gently brushed the waves from his face. His incredibly soft looking lips part with a sigh, and his arms tightened around me. A blush dusted my cheeks. I sucked a breath through my teeth- this was unfamiliar territory.

Wait a minute. I breathed again. I filled my lungs with air. By myself. A grin broke across my face, and I started to untangle my legs from his. Yes, he was attractive, but I didn't care. This was the first time I could breathe on my own in years! I wasn't going to just lay there!

Finally, my movement woke him up. I stilled as his hazy amber eyes slowly sharpened. I was in his arms one moment, then alone on the grass the next. I had never seen anyone move away that quickly. I didn't even have time to comment on the undignified yelp that left his lips before he had disappeared. O…kay?

I got up and dusted off my plain grey tshirt and jeans, thanking God that my hospital gown was nowhere in sight, then looked around. I let out a gasp. It was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. The sky was the purest blue, and the grass was soft and green under my bare feet. I wanted to run around the bushes and roll down the hills. I wanted to do a cartwheel and climb a tree. Everything I had missed while sick. Tears gathered at my eyes as I let out a watery laugh. I ran my hands through my hair, catching on a tangle. My hair. I was whole, and perfect, and wonderful, and healthy. So, I gave into those desires.

After realizing I had no stamina, I decided to take a break and walk to the large building, not caring about the grass in my hair or staining my clothes. Was there anyone else here, or was the one guy that ran from me the only one? That would be awkward. Just as I thought that, I heard voices coming from a hall. I hurried around the corner and saw a small clearing with a gazebo. A blonde guy and a black-haired girl stood talking. Well, the girl stood. As I came closer, the guy slipped down the stair.

"Are you okay?" I asked, jogging over to see if I could help him up. The girl had already done so, but had a slightly uncomfortable look on her face. The guy still had a hold of her hand, looking between us. Did she know him, or did she need an escape? As I opened my mouth to say something, a redhead rudely slapped their hands apart.

"What are you doing?" He hissed, turning away from us to whisper into the blonde's ear. "I just ran into the Greeks. Looks like someone set this place up." Greeks? Set the place up? Doubt started building. If they were figments of my imagination to make this place awesome for me, they would be interacting with me more… But if this was a shared heaven, wouldn't they know they were dead? Because I was not going to tell them.

"What do you mean?" The girl asked before I could. The redhead turned and grinned while the blonde made an apologetic face behind him. "Oh. You're awfully curious."

"No, I-," He cut her off. "You want to know?" I rolled my eyes, pushing down the uncertainty. If this wasn't heaven, what was it then?

"Obviously. Or we wouldn't have asked." I sassed. He eyed me, a smile replacing his scowl after a moment.

"You want to know?" He stepped closer. The girl spoke up again.

"Yes! What-,"

He put a finger to her lips, shutting her up. It was my turn to scowl. "Hey, you can't just."

He turned and smirked, but his eyes held no humor.

"If you want to know so bad, find out for yourself. I'm mean, so I'm not going to tell you." He chuckled before turning away and grabbing his friend, despite his protests.

"Fine." He turned and tossed the girl something. "You can have this!"

The gift grew, then exploded into smoke. They were gone when it was clear. I looked over at the girl before letting out a small chuckle. "Well, I can say I didn't expect that. What a jerk!" She nodded in agreement.

"Anyway… I'm Rose." I smile, which she echoed. "Yui!"

"Do you have any idea where we are?" I asked her. The doubt from earlier weighed on me. She shook her head. "I was at home and saw a glowing light so I followed it. I touched a sword and it brought me here. I woke up on the floor." She frowned. Well that seriously changed things.

Thankfully, I was saved from the question I knew was coming by a booming voice calling out both of our names. We faded away, and appeared in front of two wooden double doors. The voice called for us to enter, and after we looked at each other, we did.

The room was cast in shadow, the only light coming from the windows behind a throne. We cautiously inched further in, and watched as a man stood up.

"Thank you for coming, Yui Kusanagi, Rose Carter. I've been waiting for you. Don't be shy, coming here." We both made it to the steps. The man was blonde, with a full beard. He was handsome, but there was something about his eyes that made me want to turn and run.

"Who are you? Did you bring us here?" Yui asked, her voice remarkably strong. The man nodded.

"I am Zeus. I am the god who rules the heavens." His voice was full of pompous. I raised an eyebrow at Yui. Was this guy for real?

"Zeus? From Greek mythology?" Her voice doubtful.

"Yes. Even the most ignorant human have heard my name." I snorted a laugh. "Do you not believe me, human?"

Yui was quick to try and defuse the anger in his voice. "No! It's just my first time meeting a god."

Zeus waved the staff in his hand and turned into a small boy. We both gasped a bit. I honestly don't know what to think. Was I dead and this was just… I don't even know? Honestly what the hell? He smirked and continued. "Changing my form is a simple matter."

I couldn't have helped the snort of laughter if my life had depended on it. He raised an eyebrow at me, scowling.

"Sorry," I raised my hands, trying not to grin. "I've just read a lot of stories about your shapeshifting." So he could chase anything that moved… He scowled again, obviously knowing what I was thinking. "Shall I call down thunder next? If you don't believe."

Yui quickly stepped up again. "No, we believe you!" She gave me a pleading look.

Zeus seemed to accept this and moved on. "Yui Kusanagi, Rose Carter. I summoned you here to play a part in my plan." Yui and I didn't get a chance to ask, Zeus continued, stepping off the platform and walking around. "Since ancient times, gods have been beings that must both love humanity and be worshiped by them. However, the connection between the heavens, ruled by gods, and the human realm has grown lamentable weak."

He went behind a pillar and emerged a man again. It was that effortless magic that convinced me this was something entirely different than I thought. It had to be.

"At this rate, a terrible future is inevitable. That is why I have brought together the gods who struggle the most with their connection to humanity, to educate them."

Yui echoed him, confusion or disbelief, I didn't know, "Educate?"

"Yes. Educate. Yui, Rose, you have already met some of them. Behold." He waved the staff again and pictures of men showed in the air above us. He explained the redhead and the blonde were Loki and Balder, respectively. Two others I didn't know, the Japanese gods Tsukuyomi and Susanoo.

Ironically, the guy I had woken up with was Hades.

Of course, Zeus wasn't finished talking. "What are humans? What is love? By making them understand these things, a terrible future can be avoided. This is why I created this school. Yes, this academy of the gods. Yui, Rose, you will learn alongside them, and teach them about humanity."

"You can't be serious!" We both shouted in disbelief. Yui continued, and I was once again surprised by her. "You practically kidnapped us and now this?" Zeus glared at her, not at all happy at our reluctance. "You do not decide. I do. Besides, this wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen." He eyed me specifically and I bristled. Even if it was true, and I was somewhat glad to be here, I didn't fancy him taking my choice away.

"That's tyrannical!" Yui continued, that fire burning bright in her. "We won't do it!"

Zeus smirked. "I shall not release you from this world until you have fulfilled my plan." Did that mean… he was going to send us back to when he found us? I felt my stomach clench in fear, but I pushed the feeling away and focused on Yui. "I still don't think we can do it. Excuse us!" She locked arms with me and marched us out to a field near the doors.

"Oh my goodness." She sighed, dropping to the ground. I sat down next to her and laughed. "I can't believe you just told Zeus off." She made a noise of scared agreement. "I'm sorry for speaking for you!" I waved her off, grinning. "You stole the words right out of my mouth… Hey, do you think this is even real? Like, what if we are having a fevered dream or something?"

She bit her lip. "I'd rather play like it is real, just in case…"

I sighed. "That would probably be the smartest course of action. Hey, do you think he meant High School?" I frowned. She tilted her head a bit.

"I think so. How old are you?" I groaned. "I'm 20. I finished high school ages ago." She rolled her eyes, then continued in a bad mocking of a teacher. "Then you have no excuse not to get A's." We were quiet for a moment before laughing together. Whatever this was, I'm glad I Yui is here with me.

I didn't really have friends back home. I had a 'support group,' but no one who stayed with me till the end. (More like I stayed with them to their end… haha) They had started fading away when I couldn't go out and do things with them. Maybe… this was another chance at a friendship. Even though Zeus meddled… I could honestly say this was going to be awesome. I would gladly go back to high school if it meant I was healthy. Besides, it's not like homeschooling counted as real school.

We both looked over as a shadow cast on us. Another blonde-haired guy, but this one wore the largest smile. "Hello! It's nice to meet such lovely young ladies! Are you the human representors I've heard of?" We nodded, and he took the opportunity to step closer to us.

"What a surprise, meeting two human girls here! Truly a surprise." I glanced over at Yui as he got closer to her and took her hand. I frowned at him. "You're a little close…" she commented. He stepped back, but grabbed her hand instead and kissed it. "I'm Apollo. I'm a Greek God. It's nice to meet you." Yui tried to pull her hand away, but Apollo stood up, pulling her to his chest.

That was the last straw with me. I jumped up and grabbed Yui's arm. "Hey, she didn't say you could touch her. Back off. Just because you're a god, that doesn't give you the right." My tone and glare surprised him, and he let go. I pulled Yui back to me, not lessening the glare. He blushed in embarrassment. "Ah, I'm sorry! You're both from different cultures then? I guess you don't kiss hello." He laughed awkwardly, and I released Yui from my hold.

Oh. That made sense then. It was my turn to blush. "Sorry." Apollo gave a smile, the little misunderstanding put behind us. It was quiet for a moment before the blonde filled the silence. "So, you were brought here too." We nodded, Yui answering him further, "How could Zeus do this to everyone? Take us from home and put us in some unfamiliar land, and expect us all to be happy about it!"

Apollo sighed, "I don't understand what he is doing, but I am with you. I'll be your ally in this." He looked between us before turning and whistling a long, piercing note. The sound of flapping wings quickly answered our questioning looks. My jaw dropped. A Pegasus trotted over to us, and Apollo immediately started to pet it. The child in me squealed in delight—oh who am I kidding. The grown woman in me squealed.

Apollo looked over and grinned. "You can pet him!" I quickly took him up on that offer. The Pegasus turned to me and I held out a hand. His soft, velvety nose bumped against my palm. I stroked up his nose, grinning like a loon. Apollo looked delighted. "I have an idea! We can all get on and look at the place from above!" I couldn't say no to that. Yui and I looked at each other before I motioned for her to get on first. Apollo helped her up, before climbing on himself. He turned to me and I grabbed his hand. I gasped as he easily lifted me behind him.

"Okay, whatever you do, don't let go." I turned and scooted close behind him, my arms wrapping securely around his waist. The Pegasus trotted around a bit, getting use to the extra weight, before running and launching itself into the air. My fingers death gripped into Apollo's shirt. Maybe I should have rethought this… Apollo's voice was almost lost to the wind, "Don't worry, I have you." I felt Yui's hand reach back to grab mine and pulled me forwards a little more, as if to assure herself I wouldn't fall either.

Finally, we stopped somewhere above the clouds. "It's a floating island…" Apollo breathed. I looked around, not seeing anything other than the land and air. A floating island in the middle of nowhere. Great.

We stayed in the air for a moment longer before Apollo took us back to the ground. After we had slid off the winged horse, he turned in shock. "I never asked for your names!" I laughed. This god seemed like such a goof. "I'm Kusanagi Yui, and that is Rose." Apollo grinned. "Foreign names are so beautiful." He turned to Yui. "May I call you Fairy? You're as lovely as one." Once Yui gave her embarrassed permission, he turned to me. I raised my eyebrow, a grin playing at my lips. "You're already as lovely as a rose… I'll think of a good one for you, deal?" I laughed. This would be entertaining.

It wasn't long before we meandered back to the school building. Our footsteps and voices echoed down the hall as we explored. Finally, we came to a grand ballroom, with a staircase leading up to the second floor. Zeus was standing on the steps, looking down. "Now that everyone is here. Welcome to my garden, to my academy. My beloved students—"

He was cut off right by the guy with blue hair that spoke from my own soul, "Cut the crap!" Zeus stared at him for a moment before looking around and introducing everyone. I had never heard of the Tsukuyomi, the Japanese god of the moon, or Susanoo, the god of the sea, but the Norse—Loki, Thor, Balder, and the Greeks—Hades and Dionysus, were familiar to me. However, they looked nothing like the marble statues or museum paintings. Maybe this could still be a type of heaven. Attractive men all around wouldn't be too bad, right?

It wasn't until Zeus continued that I felt eyes on me. I glanced around and locked eyes with Hades. I didn't know what to do. What was the proper protocol for a godly staring contest? I gave a little wave, and he quickly looked away. Odd… I turned back to the conversation around me just as the redhead on the balcony, Loki I think, and the blue-haired guy both gathered some sort of magic around their hands and launched themselves at Zeus. I gasped as they were both thrown back effortlessly. Maybe I shouldn't be sarcastic around Zeus…

Zeus continued as if he hadn't just waved away an assault on his person with a staff. "If you use your divine powers indiscriminately, this academy will be destroyed. Therefor," He lifted the staff and a gold light beamed out and surrounded each of the men. A part of them glowed for a second, before disappearing, leaving something new on the men. Each face held a combination of shock, fear, and anger. It was Loki that first started pulling on his new necklace.

"What is this? I can't get it off!"

My breath caught as Apollo confirmed Yui's question.

"The shackles seal your divine power." Zeus began, a smug grin on his face. I felt myself hate him a little more. "No one can defy me here. These shackles are the proof!" Scratch that. I hated him a whole lot. I could feel my face heat up. Zeus was just standing with that idiotic pleased look. As if he hadn't just kidnapped and locked up nine people.

"What the actual Fuck?" I cried out, too angry to keep to my usual censored language. All eyes turned to me, but I only stared at the blonde on the steps. Yui, poor girl, tried to grab my arm to silence me, but I kept going.

"Do you seriously not see a problem here? You are literally keeping people against their will! Don't act like this is for our own good. This is some sick power, ego, dick display or something!" My breath came in pants, adrenaline rushing through my veins.

I literally had nothing to lose if he decided to strike me down right now, so I kept my chin up and stared. A few of the other gods, like Loki and Susanoo agreed loudly with me, while the others nodded. Zeus glared in my direction and started to lift his staff. Fear cut through me. As much as I wanted to stand my ground, I was only human. And Zeus did just stop two other gods…

Apollo shifted to where he was in front of me, protecting me with his body. I felt my soul warm. Looks like we can defy Zeus in other ways.

"Zeus." A voice cut from the back. Hades raised an eyebrow at him. "How is your plan going to work if you smite her now?" Look at us. All working together already. Hades stared Zeus down. It was a tense moment for their battle of wills, but then Zeus just glanced at me, and turned. The others took the oppertunity to yell their opinions.

I felt my heart pounding in my chest, and I rested my head against Apollo's back for a moment. After I regained myself, I sent Hades a thankful smile, and he blushed a tad before looking away. Cutie. Yui took my hand and I squeezed it. That could have ended badly, but Yui had stood up against him earlier. It had been my turn.

The adrenaline started to fade, and I wanted to zone out for the rest of Zeus' speech, but of course I wasn't that lucky. My attention was drawn back when the globe came from the ceiling. If it wasn't filled in a year, we would be trapped? I snapped my head to Yui, but she quickly shook hers. Guess I shouldn't yell twice in 5 minutes. Besides, it seemed the other gods were taking their turn to object. As much as they hated each other, at least they hate their hatred for Zeus in common. Hades yelled at him again. My heart twinged at the anger in his voice. This must hurt coming from your own kin.

Zeus finally yelled to get control of the room. Yes, use violence in place of rational thinking. "I will not entertain protests!" A glare in my direction. "It has already been decided."

It was then he introduced our new teacher for the year, Thoth. If Zeus was getting help and back up from the Egyptians… What was going on in the heavens of different deities across the religious agreed that some type of intervention was needed? It didn't make this right but… I looked around at all the gods. Maybe there was some truth to them needing to be contained?

I didn't have enough time to devote to this question, but it would be revisited later, probably with Yui. My attention went (well first to Thoth's voice, because, yeah I could listen to him lecture) to the 'students' Zeus conjured out of thin air. Spirits, he called them. So many of them, filling the room all around us. I gripped Apollo's jacket, still sort of hiding behind him. Did Zeus pull these students from the afterlife? I looked to Hades. Did he recognize any? Or were these spirits from all around the world?

"Kusanagi Yui, Rose Carter. Your responsibility is to lead the gods to graduation… Is that clear?" He gave us a look, smug and humorous and oh so threatening.

Thoth chose that time to interrupt. "Tomorrow morning, you will gather in the auditorium to prepare for the afternoon's entrance ceremony. That's all. You are dismissed for today… Kusanagi, Carter, come with me." We shared a look, then quickly followed Thoth out the door. I could feel eyes watching us go.

~
He didn't look back to make sure we followed, he just started talking. "Zeus modeled this academy after Japanese human schools. All necessary facilities have been provided. There's even food in the cafeteria." His voice was surprisingly soothing.

Yui spoke up. "Excuse me… It's all so sudden. I don't understand what… Isn't he being too willful, even for a god? He brought us here so suddenly! My family must be worried about me." I felt my heart twinge, and tried to school my face. Thoth chuckled and looked at us.

"Don't be concerned. Once everyone graduates, you'll return to the time you came from through the power of Chronos, god of time." My gait slowed, and they pulled ahead a bit, Thoth glancing at me once before looking away. That's twice it has been mentioned. Even if I hated how Zeus was doing things… I couldn't find it in me to hate the situation.

My thoughts were derailed when I heard a bang. I looked up and saw Thoth had cornered Yui against the wall.

"What the hell!" I quickly rushed up and got in front of Yui, pushing Thoth's arm off the wall. Yui grabbed the back of my shirt, to comfort herself or to pull me away, I don't know, and peeked around my shoulder. "Just because we're human, doesn't give anyone the right to treat us without respect!"

Thoth glared down. Great. Another god pissed at me. He crossed his arms, and his voice was noticeably colder when he continued. "Zeus has the future of both humanity and the gods in mind." His eyes narrowed. "The Sword of Heaven's Gathering Clouds. The Heart of Heaven's Truth. Eventually, they will guide your way. Take good care of it, not that you could remove it." He turned and walked away, not caring about the bomb of information he dropped.

He showed us to our door then mentioned that he would be in the library if we needed him before leaving us to sort ourselves out. Yui and I looked at each other, then went into the room.

It was nice. Plush and formal in a way that only the Greeks could do. A pink color scheme that was easy to the eye carried through the living room. There were couches, a table, and bookshelves. A glass door led out to a balcony, and on either wall was a door that must lead to the bedrooms. I liked the dorm style of living, it would make hanging out easier!

It was then a man's voice rang out, calling both of our names. We both jumped and turned to the sound. It took a second to find the rag doll standing on the floor. My eyes widened and I crouched down. A talking doll?

He quickly introduced himself as our guide, Melissa. Yui seemed a little bewildered, but I quickly decided Melissa was the coolest thing I've ever seen… as long as he doesn't go all Chucky on us.

"Zeus fashioned me from clay. Most myths describe humans as having been made by gods from clay or earth. In my case, there was a little mistake… Oh but I do like my body!" He walked over to a chair and climbed up. "A bit small, but it's sturdy and mobile." Once he got situated on the table, he crossed his little arms.

"In this garden, I am your upperclassman. I'll take good care of you! When you're troubled, come and talk to me. When you want to cry, you can borrow my shoulder." Yui and I grinned at each other, then thanked him. He really was just too cute.

After that, we went left into her room and looked around. It had its own couch next to an almost empty closet. There hung Yui's uniform, matching the god's different by only a skirt. Yui reached out and grabbed a small booklet off a small dresser: The Handbook. I rolled my eyes and turned. I didn't read the ones on Earth, I wasn't going to start now. I walked over and flung myself on her huge canopy bed. It was absolutely amazingly soft. I felt like I was floating. Zeus was an asshole, but he sure knew how to pick furniture. We looked in the bathroom, then as we walked by, I knocked my knuckles against the hard wooden desk.

Finally, Melissa had us follow back into the living room and through the door on the right. That led to my room, exactly like Yui's, just flipped.

"I'm glad they're connected." I told her with a smile. She nodded in agreement. I was also glad Yui and I seemed to get along. This would have been a terrible time if we didn't like each other, but it was much better to already have a friend.

Finally, we decided to split, each of us needing to sort our own thoughts. I found the same uniform hanging in my closet. I opened the dresser, and found a long white nightgown, something I would guess was common in ancient Greece. I slipped it on, marveling at how soft the material was. I felt like a princess, honestly. Tomorrow, I would need to go and find a way to get more than the basic hygiene stuff, but the small shampoo and stuff Zeus had in the bathroom would work for now.

The sun had finally set, so I went ahead and got into bed, assuming Melissa had a way to wake us up since I don't have an alarm. I laid there for a while, thoughts of morbid mortality swirling in my mind. It seemed I had a couple of choices. I could, A: Blow this class off and ensure the wrath of Zeus and probably Yui. (More worried about Yui, honestly.) B: I could be a passive student, since I had already gone through High School. Or… C: I could view this as a second chance. My high school experience was pretty crappy, since I had started getting sick then. I could use this to be the best me I could be, before saying goodbye. Most people didn't get to say goodbye to their life when they were healthy.

I didn't realize how heavy my heart was until my eyes started to burn. It didn't matter how pretty the words sounded, or how I was trying to convince myself it was good. I was going to die. I was still going to die. My candle would be snuffed out. I had come to terms with dying already. I was as ready to go as any 20 year old….

This was actually a cruel fate. It would show me how much I enjoyed life before I got sick. Zeus knew my situation. He was going to let me make friends, then rip them from me. I fell asleep hating him more than I thought I ever could.