Hello and welcome again. I want to thank you for your reviews, there are always appreciated even if I don't reply. Also I have to thank Fallen_Angel_Itachi for editing this part, my grammar is no-good so it really helps a lot.

We have a new appearance in his chapter. The truth is that I didn't want to rush the things, so it might take a couple of chapters, including this one, before they meet the first of the 12 gods they will compete with. I hope that you will enjoy the chapter!

Tohru had just finished tidying up and organizing his belongings and papers when he heard a loud noise coming from the living room. Curious, he went to see what had happened only to witness a rather odd scene. Hermes was almost covered by a pile of magazines. The word 'god' or 'deity' had a more important meaning in his mind before he meets him; that was certain. How could a god or a deity be a klutz for example? Why would he choose to live among humans and in a common house?

"I think I have all of them now," Hermes said gesturing to sit. "Tohru, come! Look at these magazines, the reporters are all over Aphrodite lately."
"Was that really necessary?" Tohru asked leaning over the pile. "We could have searched for more info on the internet," he added checking out the covers.
"That will help too," Hermes said after a pause.
"You hadn't thought about that before, had you?" Tohru asked in disbelief.
"I need you to find more info on her apprentice for now, it would be great if you could find some dirt on him. It will be of great use. It won't be difficult to discover Aphrodite's whereabouts anyway."
"So, why Aphrodite first?" Tohru asked taking a seat on the sofa. "Is she an easy target or you miss her too much that it's so important to find where she is?"
"I'd say that she is just a really available target for now. As for the second part, it's not entirely false. I'm not the one who misses her enough to search like crazy for her though, she can be a real bitch sometimes, so I don't really mind. That's why she usually fights with Athena. They are similar in one way."

Tohru arched an eyebrow; he wasn't able to fully understand the meaning behind Hermes words but he decided to ignore it than trying to find it. While looking at the photos of the man who was supposed to be Aphrodite, he tried to figure out how would something like that make sense. And if Hermes was right, what were they supposed to do? What would be the risks while facing a god and what kind of powers each of them had? Were power and gifts granted to the other apprentices maybe? The situation was confusing and Hermes wasn't very helpful.

Hermes couldn't stop laughing while he was reading one of the man's interviews. Tohru had started to strongly believe that Hermes could easily claim the title of the Greek god of sadism if he wanted to. From the beginning the word fun was always at the tip of this tongue, even if that "fun" was coming from seeing someone in pain. He pressed two fingers one his temple trying not to think about the things that lay in waiting for him.

"So, why did she choose to appear as a male? Any thoughts on that?" Tohru asked.
"Hmmm... It's because it's Aphrodite we are talking about, she is the goddess of love."
"Though I somehow get your reasoning, which it's not necessary logical, I still don't get the reason."
"It's pretty simple," Hermes protested sliding down the sofa.
"So, it's becauuuuse..." he prompted.
"She felt like it!" Hermes said like it was the most reasonable explanation.
"I have the feeling that almost all of the conversations we had until now have the same pattern and conclude with explanations like this one, which do not satisfy me at all."
"Really?" Hermes replied, not really paying attention.
"What's the big plan then? What are we supposed to do?"
"Oh? Isn't this your job? You are supposed to figure that out, you are my apprentice after all."
"Aren't you supposed to guide me? An apprentice should have some guidance, am I wrong?"
"Oh, but my apprentice is so clever that he can figure that out on his own."
"Don't look away while saying so, you make it way too obvious that you don't believe what you said to the least!" Tohru snapped.
"Look, your job is pretty simple, so don't complain. You find, you plan, you destroy!" Hermes said balling his fist while flashing a smile.
"The passion you put in the two last words was kind of scary," Tohru said, though he didn't look impressed at all. "The point is that between the "find" and "destroy" there was the, insignificant may to you, little word "plan" which actually... requires a lot of thought!" he barked.
"You are exaggerating."
"Am I? The fact that I'm working for you doesn't really motivate me either," Tohru said throwing the magazine he was holding on the table and then crossed his legs.
"Oh, that's a problem..." Hermes said folding his arms.

Tohru arched his eyebrows; was Hermes honestly considering what he had said or he was ready to mock or insult him once again? In the end, the only certain thing was that Tohru couldn't figure that man out even if he tried to and that fact was making him feel uneasy. Hermes cupped his chin and titled his head, he seemed to be in deep thought for a second.

"So, what about a monthly salary and an extra bonus for every apprentice you destr... beat? Is 150.000 yen good enough for a monthly-..."
"I'll do it," Tohru said taking Hermes' hands into his.

Hermes' was surprised by his fast reaction. Through centuries, bribes always work after all and Hermes was somehow pleased to know that. He had added one more of Tohru's weaknesses to the list.

"That was pretty fast... and easy. Aren't you a cheap one, Tohru?"
"So, when do we start?" Tohru asked fired up, ignoring completely what Hermes said.
"I already asked you to find some dirt on this Kei guy who serves as her apprentice," Hermes asked waving his hand indifferently.
"I can start with that right away, but what if the guy is clear? Though I don't believe that he will be."
"Let's worry about that later. Find out whatever you can about him first. I'll go out for a walk. Make sure to have some info when I come back."
"Wait! You are going out for a walk while I do the work?"
"I saved your ass, you are being chased and I do, well... will pay you. It's fair, isn't it? So, see you later," he said and disappeared in an instant.

The room was finally quiet and Tohru spaced out for a second, looking at the empty space where Hermes was standing a few moments before. He wasn't able to familiarize himself with the supernatural that easily, actually he thought that it would be impossible for him. Espers, fairies, ghosts and -above all- deities, they were things that he used to mock from time to time. He has seen many things, but, either they were unbelievably cruel or unbelievably kind, even things that looked like magic, they were always done by humans. Till then, he only believed in things explained by science, things that you put in words and numbers. But there he was witnessing things he couldn't explain and maybe science couldn't explain either.

"I have to get used to this soon," he mumbled to his self. "Now... on to work..." he said opening his precious laptop. "Where is the my notepad?"

Info; the first thing you have to do before you have a job done is to gather info, both for the client and the target, that was his motto. He wasn't into idols and he hardly had the time to enjoy music whatsoever so he knew nothing about the idol 'Kei' that had attracted the attention of the teenage girls of his country. The search engines would be more than enough to provide him with the basics. A notepad and a pen were necessary since he had a habit of noting down things that had drawn his attention.

That was the easy part of his job, the first step and a routine he always did. However, while browsing though the results and when he was close to the end of his search, it stroke him. Kei was the target, but what about the client? His fingers moved spasmodically, of course his client was Hermes but it was ridiculous, that's the only way he could describe it. The power of one's habit can be scary, without much of resistance his fingers typed the word 'Hermes' into the search field and the mouse hastily clicked the search button. Tohru let an odd sort of laugh, something between relief and madness.

"I couldn't help it, it's something like a protocol," he excused his action to his self. "I couldn't help it," he mumbled again not being discouraged by the number of the results.

It was already afternoon when he finally finished with the first step of his search and his stomach was grumbling worse than an old man. After arguing with himself, or better yet his stomach, whether he should open the fridge and get something to eat while Hermes was not around, he gave in quickly and opened the door to his heaven; which was actually really disappointing. In the view of an empty fridge he had a strong desire to scream out loud and kick it hard but, if there was on thing he could do well, that was to refrain from acting like this when he really felt the need to do so.

"I'm going to die..." he mumbled. "I'm really going to die and I'll definitely haunt him for the rest of his undying life for this..." he said since water wasn't enough to keep him going anymore. "HERMES!"

That time he could swear that he had put every bit of energy left in his body into that scream. Of course he wasn't expecting a quick response and he did it without thinking but, to his surprise, it worked. Hermes materialized out of nowhere in front of him looking annoyed and ready to complain for the sudden call.

"What is it? You can't stay alone for a while? What are you? A rabbit?" he started.

Hermes words sounded like a lengthy 'blah-blah-blah' into his ears when he spotted something that was much more to his interest than Hermes speech. There was a nice, delectable yakitori and he could feel himself drool at the mere sight of it. He was so focused on it that all his surroundings seemed completely insignificant compared to that unexpected source of food, a suitable one to satisfy his hunger.

The next thing he did could be described as the most embarrassing thing he had ever done in his whole life and later he wanted to delete it from his memory with his whole being. Suddenly, feeling a wave of power inside him, he jumped from the couch he was laying on and attacked Hermes' hand taking him by surprise. Hermes' yakitori had come under his possession and he bite it avidly, without a sign of hesitation. When he finally came to his senses he saw Hermes looking at him with a face of disgust.

"You know... you could just ask," Hermes said and Tohru looked away in embarrassment. "Anyway, you can have the rest of it too if you want," he added and tossed a plastic bag towards him.

Feeling his image getting racked by his own behavior, he still swallowed his pride and gladly took the offer. Humans can become worse than wild animals when they are starving, was what he thought inside his head trying to excuse the way he had acted because of his hunger. In between, Hermes had discovered Tohru's notebook and was already browsing through it.

"Oh, you have a lot of detailed and... useless information in here," he commented.

Tohru tensed and grabbed the notebook quickly. After all, he had made that stupid search about Hermes and that was the last thing he wanted "his client" to discover. He had already embarrassed himself once and he didn't want it to happen twice in a day. He was confident that Hermes would make an awkward comment to make the situation worse if he had the chance to see more of the contents.

"Heeh... Do you have a picture of your girlfriend in there and you became all embarrassed? Well, if that's the case I have to admit that I would be surprised since it seems kinda impossible for you, but don't go acting all embarrassed like a highschooler, come on. You have to show me the info you get anyway."
"That's only basic information," Tohru said between bites. "Stop browsing through other people's things or notes without permission."
"I'll miss all the fun that way!" he protested.
"Who cares?"
"So, did you find anything interesting?" Hermes asked.
"Don't change the topic whenever it suits you! Anyway..." Tohru said waving the stick left from the yakitori in front of him. "The guy seems so perfect that it stinks. I mean... He values family and music more than anything? He does community service, concerts for charities? And says fluffy thinks like; everyone's support is what keeps me going."
"You mean that there is no perfect man?" Hermes asked raising an eyebrow.
"Well, even if one exists, I haven't met him," Tohru replied. "I mean, everything he does and says are planned beforehand for the eyes of his fans. I mean who does community service in front of cameras when he does it because he just feels so?"
"Well," Hermes said laying back. "Idols are all about image, right? The point is that this image brings him success."
"That doesn't change the fact that this image is fake. His smile looks more fake than one of a plastic doll," Tohru said standing up.

Hermes followed Tohru with the corner of his eyes. Tohru, still holding his notebook in his hand, was searching though his belongings in his bag with an annoyed face. Finally, he took out his cellphone and quickly browsed through his contacts. Hermes threw his head back, interested in his phone call.

"Fujita!" a voice loud enough for Hermes to hear answered the phone call.
"Hey, Nobu-"
"Are you OK? I heard about what happened! I was so worried! Are you hiding right now? Are you sure that it's OK to call me?"
"Nobu, I want you to find information about someone for me," Tohru said.
"Cold as ever, are you? So, what's this time?"
"The idol, Kei."
"Eh?"
"Kei, he is-"
"Well, I know who you mean, but Fujita-kun... Since when are you interested in idols... and in a male one as well?"
"It's a job, a job. I'm not interested in this stuff at all. Find whatever you can about him, if there is some kind of dirt, I want to know."
"Don't tell me! Fujita, are you so desperate that you are going to blackmail him?"
"I told you, it's a job. A request from a customer."
"A customer? Could it be... he is a die-hard fan?"
"Ah, that's how it is. This guy can't even sleep before he takes a peek at the poster he collects."
"I see! I'll see what I can do! Count on me!"
"I'll call you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? Fujita, you are demanding as always."
"I'll pay you anyway, the same as always."
"Thank you! It's always a pleasure to work with you."
"Under me," Tohru corrected and Nobu let a nervous laugh. "Tomorrow then."

By the time the phone call ended Hermes had already burst out laughing, which made a vein tremble menacingly. What was so funny, Tohru couldn't tell, but since it was obvious that Hermes was laughing at him it was more than enough to make him furious. Seconds later a magazine from the random, various, piles around the room landed on Hermes face.

"Oh, come one! What are you, twelve?" Hermes asked.
"Like you are the one to talk!"
"Sorry, just listening to you while you were trying to play boss was hilarious. Man, it doesn't suit you at all!" Hermes sniggered.
"Well, at least... I'm not a delivery boy."

Hermes' laugh stopped so abruptly that Tohru immediately knew that he had hit bull's eye. That time it was him who sniggered, though it was a poor attempt. He knew very well, even since his childhood, that his sense of humor wasn't the best. He wouldn't laugh easily with what was considered a good joke either, while he would laugh with things no one else considered funny so at some point he started to hardly laugh at all. His attempts to flash a smile in front of a mirror always had pathetic results.

"I am not a delivery boy! I am a messenger! A messenger!" Hermes strongly protested.
"Yeah, sure," Tohru replied and as soon as he finished his words a magazine hit him hard on his face.
"Behold, my almighty punishment!"
"Why, you..." Tohru tried to attack Hermes only to land in an empty couch.

Naturally, Hermes wouldn't stay still to receive an attack, however Tohru couldn't stand the fact that Hermes was taking advantage of his powers even in that situation. He slammed his fist hard on the table next to him.

"That's unfair!"
"Is it?" Hermes asked faking an innocent face. "Well, who cares?"
"You... flying delivery fairy!"
"I'm not a fairy! That's it. Hermes' special attack! Super-awesome-godly punishment Hermes' special!"

In the view of a-what seemed to be-energy ball, Tohru's eyes opened wide in horror and then, before he manages to defend himself, everything went black...

…When he finally regained consciousness, the only thing he knew was that his body seemed lighter and his head a bit dizzy. Outside, it was still bright, so he presumed that he was sleeping all night long. His eyes caught a note right next to him and picked it up curiously.

'Hello my dear dog! Your master is out for the day! Behave and don't lit the house!
- The almighty god, Hermes

PS. Don't dare to call.'

"Who are you calling a dog?" Tohru snapped tearing the paper in pieces, throwing it all around the floor.

Though, that note wasn't the best thing to read after you wake up, Tohru soon regained his calm thinking that he would at least have some privacy for the day. And that was true, since Hermes wasn't there, the house was completely quiet. Finally he had the chance to do something about his situation.

Time passed quickly as he was browsing and checking various documents while noting down things that would be useful not only to cover his trail but also get him out of his situation. It was already afternoon when Tohru realized that he hadn't eaten anything once again. It was like he was forcing himself to go through unnecessary diet. While searching the house for something eatable, or if Hermes actually had the consideration to leave some money behind, the bell rang.

Unsure if he should actually open the door, he decided to take a look through the peephole first. A man, with red hair and green eyes, dressed in a suit, was trying to take a look through the peephole as well, while he was impatiently taping his foot on the ground; he was definitely a foreigner. Though he was dressed in a suit, his style was kind of messy, his shirt was slightly open and a gold chain was hanging from his belt. He couldn't exactly describe him as suspicious and he didn't want to believe that someone had find his trace all the way to Okinawa while he hadn't use any means of transportation to go there, either. After all, taking the airplain to go there in his situation would be out of question.

Tohru opened the door slowly. To his surprise the man let out a happy shout and placed his hand on Tohru's arms. Feeling uneasy and embarrassed by the man's (forward) actions, he took a few steps back. He had never met him before in his life so his extremely friendly behavior was absurd, not to mention unreasonable.

"You must be Tohru, right?" the man asked.
"And you are..."
"I'm Hermes' friend. Hermes' told me to take care of you while he is away."
"Hermes' didn't mention something about that, please leave," Tohru said coldly ready to close the door.
"Oh, come on!" the man said with the railed voice and stopped the door with one hand. "You must know that Hermes' doesn't like it when the others disobey him. Plus, do you think that he is considerate enough to mention everything?" he asked with a loud laugh.
"No, definitely not," he admitted bitterly.
"See?" the man asked. "And you must be hungry as well. Hermes told me that I'd have to treat you."

Tohru considered for a moment. The invitation for a meal was indeed tempting. He wasn't sure about that man, but there was a high possibility that Hermes' was the one who sent him. When a god forgets to mention that he had left a six-months gap between him and the other competitor into the game, why would he mention that he would sent someone to treat him to dinner?

"How do I know that Hermes is the one who sent you? It may be a trap. Aren't you a god as well?"
"Do I look like a god? Ah, what a great honor, you are flattering me," the man laughed loudly yet again. "Do I look like one of the Olympians?" he asked and scratched the back of his head.

With that altitude it was hard to believe something like that, was what passed through Tohru's mind. He seemed to be nothing more than a normal human, a very easy going one, too.

"OK, I'm coming. Just give me a second."
"As you wish, sir!" the man saluted.

'Somehow I feel that he can turn to be as annoying as Hermes,' Tohru thought before leaving the house.

The stranger lead the way singing a song Tohru hadn't listen before in his life, which left him wondering if that man was making the lyrics in the spot; the lyrics sucked. Though he was pleased that he didn't have to use Hermes' teleportation, he was also puzzled by the expensive car the man owned. Acting all nervous, he entered the car with really careful moves.

"I'll make sure you eat a lot and have a loooot of fun!" the man said entering carelessly inside the car. "Driver, let's go!" he ordered cheerfully and placed an arm around Tohru's shoulders.

"That's creepy," Tohru thought trying to push the hand away.

Because of the man's way-too friendly manners, for Tohru the ride was like hell. Not only that guy was acting way too cordially in a very loud way, he didn't even stop talking for a second. But that wasn't the worse part. Instead of a fast-food restaurant or a restaurant whatsoever that man had taken him to a cabaret club.

"Come now, don't be shy!" he called from the door waving at him.
"Th-that's..." Tohru stuttered.
"Come," the man said coming all the way back to the car to drag him. "You are a big boy, aren't you? There is no reason to act like that," he laughed loudly again.
"I-I guess..."

Without any other protest, Tohru found himself into the cabaret. It was the first time he felt his cheeks burn like crazy, he wasn't used to the atmosphere either. The loud man was surrounded immediately by various women and ordered drinks for both of them taking a seat on the bar tapping the seat next to him. He hesitated for a moment, having a bad feeling about that.

"Oh, where did you go?"
"You know we can't have fun without you."
"Dio, you have to tell us when you are going to leave."
"Ahahaha, what can I say, I just had to go and bring my friend there. I hope you can entertain him as well," the so-called Dio said.
"There is no need to," Tohru said nervously trying to focus into his glass.
"Ah, you don't have to be so shy," two girls said in unison and hugged him.
"I'm not," Tohru said trying to look away.
"Ah, I forgot! Hey, bring my friend here something to eat," Dio ordered.
"But-" the barman started to protest.
"Anything. It's an order," Dio said tapping a finger on the bar.

'This guy likes tapping things a lot," Tohru randomly thought.

And in all honesty, he didn't really like the place. The red lights were making him dizzy and the smoke of the tobaccos was sickening. The were many women there, more than men, but somehow, seeing the pathetic image of the other males in there, he didn't want their company. Their food was another thing though, hungry as he was, he devoured everything on his plate within a few minutes.

"Hey, you are a healthy young man!" Dio said, loud as usual. "Come, drink!"
"No, I don-"
"It's just wine! Wine gladdens one man's heart!" the man said pouring wine into Tohru's glass with one hand while tapping his chest with the other.
"As you Japanese say, 'Kanpai'!" he said. "To our new friend!"

Dio drank his glass of wine in one go, something that Tohru wasn't sure he could imitate.

"Ka-Kanpai..." Tohru nervously said and drank a few sips.
"You have to drink more, like a man." Dio said patting him on his back while he was refilling Tohru's glass.
"You sure pat a lot, you are too loud too, shut up for a moment," Tohru said feeling dizzy.
"That's the spirit! To our young man!" Dio said and the girls around him cheered.
"Kaanpaaai," Tohru said and drank a few more sips.
"To our young, clever Tohru!"
"That's it," Tohru said standing up after he took a few more sips. "To the awesome me!" he toasted and drunk the rest of his wine and everyone around him clapped. "Kyahaha."
"Yeah! To Hermes' naive apprentice!" Dio toasted and everyone around him cheered.
"YE-eh?"

Tohru stopped, trying to realize what Dio had just said. Since he wasn't used to alcohol, it took only one glass of wine to get intoxicated. Trying to stay up, he grabbed the bar in order to support himself but everything around him seemed to swirl. Unable to keep his balance he slumped on the floor feeling dizzy.

"You are not very resistant to alcohol, are you?" the man asked standing right next to him with a glass of wine in his hand.
"Wine..." Tohru mumbled. "I see... Dio... Dio... of course... Dionysus... the god of wine..." he said before he falls asleep.

Tohru had forgotten one of his principles that day. Always ask for their name first...