Hello, hello! I am back again for the second chapters, and I was so happy that this story was welcomed by so many wonderful readers! Here is chapter 2, and I hope you guys enjoy it!
REVIEWS ANSWERS:
SayaChan1: I am very glad that you like my OC Megumi! And yes, following your advice I fixed the format of this chapter so that it looks better. I hope you like it, and if you have anything else to add feel free to leave a review.
Cheessysmile24: Updated! And I hope you enjoy this chapter!
AzuraLunatique: You are actually the second person to correct my formating, and I thank you for that also. ^^ I hope you like this chapter!
Myrrine: Oh you just flatter me. ^^ I just write my story the way I know it will make my readers entertained and happy. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
Choco M: I am so glad you love my fanfic so much, and you love Maria! To be honest, I based Maria on one of the stuffed platypus that I owns (Her name is Patty, and she is purple instead of silver, hehe) I hope you like this chapter as well!
Megumi's eyes fluttered open as she sat up from her bed. The sun has just appeared over the horizon as the gentle sunshine danced through her windows. The girl yawned softly as she quietly got up from her bed, carefully not to wake the little doll that was still sleeping near her pillow. It was around 6:15, a time that would be considered late for Megumi.
"I kept forgetting that I am no longer at home…"
Megumi thought as she walked to the bathroom to do some personal hygiene stuffs and put her hair into her signature loose and messy bun again. She decided that it is best that she could kill the time by exploring the school, knowing that she could never fall asleep again as much as she wanted to. Megumi looked at the uniform on the wall again, and shook her head as she carefully looked around the closet and cupboards for any extra clothing. She mentally grinned as she found some athletic pants and gym T-shirts and shorts, happy that she could wear something comfy to school without violating the school rule. She quickly went through the handbook again to make sure that she didn't violate the dress code before putting on a pair of peach pink athletic pants that were 2 inches above her ankles, a black sport bra underneath a white tank top, and a matching peach pink light athletic jacket. For extra measures she carefully folded the uniform and put it along with a pair of dress shoes in a peach pink gym bag that she found nearby before quietly headed outside. It was super early, and the hallways were empty just like what she preferred. Using the handbook as a guide she went to the cafeteria, which was the nearest place to her dorm to get some food. Her mouth watered as her eyes caught sights of bacons, donuts, and hot chocolate as she got two plateful of bacons, eggs, chocolate donuts, pancakes, and two cups of hot chocolate and she wolfed them all down within ten minutes. Satisfied, Megumi quickly grab two apples and two chocolate granola bars before she headed out again.
"Nearby is the library… Maybe I could find some books that I need…"
She mumbled to herself as she made her way into a large hallway to her right, and came in front of two giant wooden doors with a sun on each of them. A small sign that said 'library' were hanging on the wall right next to them. Megumi was about to push on the door when it cracked open to reveal a young man she haven't seen before with black short hair and cat-like feature staring at her. The stare-down lasted for about three seconds before the later let out a small squeak and stumbled backward to hide behind a statue with white hair. Wait… Since when statue has white hair?
"Nohara. You are up quite early?"
"I would say 'quite' is an understatement. You look like you set camp in that library overnight."
Megumi bluntly countered as she stared up at Thoth. Even though she was considered pretty tall for a girl, Thoth was still at least 5 inches taller than her. Decided not to waste any more time with him, she quickly brushed past him with a small 'excuse me' as she headed toward the bookshelves nearby, eager to start her search as she also looked around and admiring the sheer size of the grand library and the number of books in there. Thoth on the other hand, was greatly amused by Megumi's action. No one before had ever talked to him fearlessly like that, let alone a human girl who he just met a day before. What amused him even more was the awe expression she made as she looked around the library, admiring and gingerly touching each book as she browsed through shelves. Even Annubis seemed intrigued in her as well as he stared after her. Suddenly, Megumi grabbed a book and started sniffing it, earning a small snort from Thoth. She quickly glared at him as he looked away at another bookshelf, pretending that he didn't see anything. Slightly embarrassed that he saw her sniffing the book, and annoyed that he had to be the one seeing her do it, Megumi quickly grabbed some more random books before slamming them down at the check-out table.
"Are these all you need, Nohara?" Thoth asked sternly, with a small hint of amusement in his voice as Megumi kept glaring at him. He proceeded to check out her books, and decided to announce the title of every book loudly every time it was check out.
"Hmm, introduction to astronomy… Mythologies of the world... Are you trying to investigate everyone's identity or something? Boxing techniques: Muay Thai edition… Interesting book for a girl to read, and I am pretty sure you don't even box… What is this? Make-out paradise?"
Thoth announced the last book's title extremely loud, just when Zeus decided to make an entrance, and Megumi's face was bright red just like the gods' ruler's cloak as she quickly pulled the book away and stuffed it on the nearest shelf, hoping that Zeus didn't hear the book's name that she had accidentally grabbed.
"Beautiful day today, Thoth. I am quite surprise that a human is already up and moving, excited for school. Humans are quite studious also, don't you think? Nohara Megumi already borrowed this many books. That 'Make-out paradise' book sounds very interesting. May I take a look at that?"
Zeus asked as he looked at Thoth, expecting for the god of knowledge to hand him the said book when suddenly Megumi began to grab all of her books, dumped them in her gym bag before backing up toward the doors.
"Ah em… eh… I ordered um… Something at the store… Erm… I have to go and pick them up… Ah ha ha, see ya later~!" Megumi stammered uncharacteristically just right when she made it out of the library, and speedily sprinted away. Zeus stared after her with a quizzical look.
"What just happened? Is human this strange and foreign to us gods?" Zeus asked as he took a seat at the table, before glancing to his side and found a book sticking out from the shelf.
"Oh hey. Just the book I was asking for." Zeus said as he pulled the book out from the shelf, and flipped to a random page. And that, explained the reason why the ceremony was delayed for 30 minutes, and Zeus arrived with some dried blood on his face.
- 5 minutes later -
Megumi stepped into the school store and her eyes immediately sparkle at the diversity and the amount of supplies that the store carried. There is almost everything there for the students to purchase and to use, plus the fact that everything is free excited Megumi more as she walked toward the clerk.
"Good morning, Miss. Welcome to the school's store. How may I assist you today?" The clerk politely greeted her as Megumi nodded.
"I would like to purchase this, and this, and that. And do you guys do special orders?"
- Noon, in the auditorium -
"I guess we are the only ones, after all."
"Do they not understand? Don't they get it? Graduation is the only way out of this garden. And our entrance ceremony is today…"
Apollon complained as he sat at the edge of the stage, worried that only four people showed up for the entrance ceremony. "What do you do at an entrance ceremony anyway?" Balder voiced his question as Yui tried to find a way to explain the ceremony to him. "Well, the new students all assembled, and it is like a celebration. They promise to study hard together." Yui answered, almost unaware that Tsukito was writing down every single sentence she said.
"In another word, isn't the entrance ceremony sounds like a contract ritual?"
"Eh, wha-"
"If you break the promise, will you be met with a terrible curse?"
"Oh no, that's not…"
"Will we need a sacrifice?"
"What? No!"
"Guys, let her finish her explanation. Stop jumping the gun."
Everyone stopped talking and turned to the door to find Megumi in her own glory; her gym bag/school bag was on her back as she roller-skated toward the stage, wearing the school's gym uniform. She was slightly sweating and her hair was a little messy, but she paid them no attention as she took off her roller-skating shoes to replace them with tennis shoes.
"So… Sorry Fairy! We were being rude to you!"
"Ah no, it is fine. You don't have to apologize to me. The entrance ceremony is not scary at all, and not dangerous or anything of that sort. So please don't be worry." Yui explained with slight sweatdropped, a bit shocked at the gods' nature when Apollon let out a sigh of relief.
"That's great! In that case, let's split up and convince everyone else to attend the ceremony with us! Let's do our best so we can graduate together!" Apollon exclaimed as he looked at everyone, hoping that they would agree with him. His hope soon died down though as Megumi shook her head.
"That would be a waste of time." Megumi replied as she set her bag at the bottom of the stage.
"Why not, Megu-chan? We should at least try to convince them to come so that we can all do it together!" Apollon asked.
"One, don't call me Megu-chan when I didn't tell you to call me that. Two, don't give me a pet name. Three, the reason is if they want to be here, they would be here long ago. Besides, you saw yesterday that half of us had been upset with this sudden turn of event, so do you think that they would attend something like this to begin with?" Megumi questioned sternly as his face fell.
"Megumi-san is right, Apollo-san. We should give them some time, and maybe we can create more activities that we can all attend together. We have a year to do that, right?" Yui replied as she assured Apollon, who was still unhappy that not everyone would want to come today. Yui sighed as Tsukito walked up to her.
"The ceremony is about to start, so we need to set up everything now and prepare for it."
Tsukito suggested as he picked up the chairs and started setting them down in rows. Yui nodded as she directed everyone else either to clean or to set up the tables and flowers. Megumi decided to help Tsukito with chairs set up as well, while Balder mopped the floor and Yui dried the floor right after him. Dionysus unexpectedly shown up as well, and decided to help the group out with preparing for the ceremony. Soon, everything was set and ready to go.
- After the ceremony, and in class -
Megumi was diligently taking notes as she listened to Thoth's teachings. She likes to learn new information, and so far learning about the human body was among one of her favorite things to learn. Not only learning about this was fascinating to her, but she knew that they would help her a lot in the future for her safety and defense. What was bothering her right now was Dionysus/Thyrsos' snoring as he was sleeping on the table. It was not obnoxiously loud enough to wake a sloth up, but Megumi disliked distracters. Poor Balder was trying to wake him up, but his clumsiness got better of him as he stumbled backward and fell off his seat. His grunt though startled the whole class as everyone now staring at him. Apollo, being a caring person, immediately ran over to Balder's side, waking Thyrsos up in the process as he was asking if there was monster attacking them. The whole class soon was thrown into chaos as the spirit students were freaking out and confused about if there was really a monster attacking the school. Yui was trying to calm everyone down, but to no avail. Megumi sighed in irritation as she tried to push down her anger, but the noises and Yui's hesistation to speak out was pushing her button and she had it.
"WILL YOU ALL SHUT UP AND CALM DOWN?!"
Megumi growled loudly as she stood up from her table and slammed her hands down on it, and she broke the table in half. The whole class immediately became dead silent as they stared in shock and fear at Megumi's outburst. Even the young gods were taken aback at the event, and Thoth was staring in disbelief at the broken table. Yui, on the other hand, tried to calm Megumi down.
"Ah um, Megumi-san… Please, please sit down… I… I will get you another table…"
Yui stammered as she moved the remains of the previous table to the side as she fetched Megumi another table. Megumi sat down slowly on her chair, but she was shaken at her own anger outburst and the strength she had used to hit the table. It happened to her just like a blur, and before she knew it everyone was staring at her in pure fear.
"Just like that last time… Just like every other time…"
Megumi thought as she took in deep breath to calm herself down, and managed to keep her anger down to a bare minimum. Thoth only closed his eyes as he was heading outside, signaling for both Megumi and Yui to follow him. After they left the classroom, Thoth began to walk towards the library as he sighed.
"All they do is nap and play around. They don't take this seriously! Further, some have never even shown up. Listen, even as they do this, time still passes! If I can't get them to understand humanity and love in time, you will all be trapped in this garden forever."
Thoth warned them sternly, his eyes narrowed in seriousness as he turned to try to trap Megumi against the wall, but she quickly dodged out of his way and Thoth trapped Yui instead. He was about to remark when the school bell rang, signaling that the summer was here. Megumi narrowed her eyes as she felt the burning heat outside the courtyard, and the sky cleared up to reveal the burning sun as flowers began to bloom some more.
"Zeus must have changed the season." Thoth shortly concluded, releasing Yui out of his grasp while secretly staring at Megumi who looked very confused at the sudden season change. "Perfect… Summer vacation will start tomorrow. Gather all the students before vacation ends." Thoth finally said before he rounded the corner and disappeared from sights, leaving both Yui and Megumi confused and uneasy. Yui let out a loud sigh as she turned to Megumi hesistantly.
"Megumi-san… We need to get back and tell the others about the news. Maybe we can figure something out." She offered the peach-pink haired girl quickly, but Megumi turned and started walking towards the dorm.
"You know more about school's activities, so you will be in charge of this. If you need anything order, inform me and I will get them order for your plan. I am in for whatever your plan will be, and I will help behind the scene as much as I can. But you have to take the lead of the situation, Yui." Megumi answered as she was about to round the corner before she paused for a brief second.
"Speak out, Yui. Don't be afraid of the gods. If they want to make it past this school year, they will need to follow your lead. If I try to lead, I don't have the patience of a saint like you do… Also… Call me Gumi."
Megumi ended her sentence softly as she disappeared around the corner, leaving Yui dazed for a moment before a look of determination crossed her face, and she quickly ran back to the classroom.
- Back at the dorm -
Megumi sighed as she opened the door, tossed her bag on the table as she slumped onto the bed as Maria peeked her head out from her little makeshift bed.
"B… Back already… Megu-chan?"
The little platypus asked cutely as she crawled into Megumi's arms, and the girl proceeded to cuddle with the little doll. Although, Megumi couldn't relax at all due to her mind replayed the moment of her outburst. For as long as Megumi could remember, she had a hard time controlling her emotions, especially anger. Every time she lost control, objects were destroyed and people would be frightened of her. Kids her age stayed away from her, fearing that she might hurt them if they angered her even one bit. She also remember running back home, crying into her father's arms as her mother would whisper soothing words to her. Her grandma would prepare to make her one of her favorite desserts, while her mother would sit at the piano and play her favorite lullaby.
Megumi smiled softly at the memories before a frown replaced her small smile again. She gently set a confused Maria down on the pillow as she stood up from the bed. She quickly change into a pair of black sport shorts, with a tight black sleeveless sports top, and put on her tennis shoes as she swung by to grab her gym bag again. She opened the door, and immediately walked straight into Yui who was about to knock on her door. She stopped herself right on time as she used a hand to stable Yui.
"Sorry… Didn't see you there." Megumi apologized as she stepped away to give Yui some space. Yui smiled apologetically.
"It is okay. I didn't see you coming as well… Ah, about the activities, I figured that it would be fun if we do a seaside school. Since they like to have fun, maybe our best bet is to show them the fun sides of school. I think we should start going early tomorrow morning. I think we will need a lot of supplies order."
Yui rambled on and on excitedly as Megumi nodded. She then held up her hand to indicate that she wanted to speak. "See. I knew you would figure something out. What do you want me to order?" Megumi asked before Yui pulled out a folded piece of paper and gave it to her.
"Everything was written on there. I will also prepare some extra planning as well. Thank you so much for doing this Megumi-sa… I meant Gumi-chan! Let's do our best tomorrow to make seaside school a success. I will see you tomorrow, Gumi-chan!"
Yui beamed as she turned around to run back to her dorm, waving to Megumi before disappeared into her room. Megumi opened the piece of paper to scan through the list briefly, and sighed at the amount of stuffs she has to get for tomorrow. A small smile blossomed on her lips as Megumi folded the paper and headed toward the gym.
- Somewhere only Zeus knows -
"Such a human exist… Even I was impressed."
"Of course there is that kind of human. I brought her here for a reason."
"Zeus-sama, I know this matter should be kept private, but is she going to fit in well?"
"Indeed. Despite her flaws, she has a good heart and great potential. I have no doubt that she will success. Before everything else though, she needs to conquer her fears before she can find out who she really is."
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