Author's Note: Yay, chapter four! I'm on a roll! I've already written up to chapter six but I still have to go through and proofread it and stuff. Anyway, enjoy! And don't be shy to leave your thoughts! I always have such silent subscribers. TT-TT
"Well, well, well, look who's here," Loki chimed as I walked onto the patio of the boys' dorms.
Upon seeing me, Apollon beamed brightly, excitedly waving me over. "Princess, you came! Come sit here while we get this thing started!"
Before I could even process his request, I was dragged over to the couch they had pulled out onto the deck and seated in between Thor and Tsukito, who were both equally as quiet and gave me a silent, emotionless look as a greeting. A grill was set up in the center of the deck and Balder, Apollon, and Takeru were busy cooking up meat, vegetables, and fish. Loki was busy hovering around, complaining about miniscule things, and Hades was standing far from the grill and everyone else in the doorway of the dorm.
"Hi, you two," I greeted Thor and Tsukito after moments of awkward silence.
"Hi," they responded in unison. Then, silence.
"Okay... um, so, you guys like barbecues?" I inquired, trying to keep the conversation alive.
"Sure," Thor replied.
"I guess."
"So whose idea was it?" I asked.
"Balder's. Barbecued meat is his favorite food," Thor explained. "Balder suggested it, and the others agreed so they brought what they wanted from the school store."
"They have veggies and fish at the school store? How nice," I mused.
"What do school stores usually have?" Tsukito spoke in curiosity.
"Well, my school store sold school supplies, like pens and binders and folders and things like that," I explained. "I think I even used to help out once in a while, but I can't remember for certain. Have you been to the store here before?"
"Yes. I went with Takeru to pick up the fish for the barbecue," Tsukito responded as he jotted down notes about what I told him.
"Since when is fish and vegetables readily available at school?" I mumbled to myself. "Strange."
"The meat is done!" Balder sang gleefully, stepping back and nearly slapping Loki in the face with the tongs. His sea blue eyes seemed to be glimmering as he looked towards us. "Someone go grab the plates!"
"I got it, don't worry."
Hades moved from the doorway as Dionysus stepped out with plates and a box of utensils. I got up to give them a hand, only to have Apollon push me back into my seat, insisting that I leave the work to the others. Thor lent a hand instead, so Tsukito and I were the only ones who remained seated. Loki, picking his way out of the mess, waltzed over to me, toying with his long hair as he looked coyly down at me.
"Who invited you?" he asked. "Just curious."
"Dionysus," I answered.
"I had a feeling it was that drunkard," Loki said, yawning. "Aren't the girls doing something?"
"Not that I know of. Why, you don't want me here?" I challenged, unable to hold back my smile.
"Not exactly, but I don't know," he shrugged. "Do you want to be here? That's the question."
"Yeah, why not? I might as well be here, since there's nothing else for me to do. Besides, it feels kinda nice," I admitted. "Even if I don't really know you guys well, I feel comfortable."
"Huh? Getting all cheesy now?" Loki teased. "You're strange."
"I could definitely say the same for you."
"Tch. I still have to get you back for that dirty trick you pulled earlier," he reminded, a conniving grin tugging at his curved lips. "I would watch my back if I were you. Just saying."
I laughed, completely unafraid of his threat. "Bring it on, Loki. Let's see who's gonna be laughing in the end."
Takeru hollered from the grill, holding up a fish. "Enough with the talking, come and get some food before it's all gone."
"Ooh, me! I want it!" I shouted, pushing past Loki and running over excitedly. Dionysus handed me a plate and a fork, Takeru slapping the grilled fish onto my plate and turning towards Loki and Tsukito.
"Loki, Brother, want some?"
"I would like some," Tsukito said and came to my side. Meanwhile, Loki scrunched his face up in distaste, shaking his head from side to side.
"No way, you don't like fish?" I gawked in disbelief.
"No."
He strut off before I could press him about it, pinching his nose and dashing over to Balder. I shrugged my shoulders and went around eating, surprised at how friendly the guys seemed to already be with one another. But then I realized they still stuck only to their own groups and hardly associated with the others unless they had to. Takeru and Tsukito were inseparable, and sat on the sofa together. Loki, Balder, and Thor set up chairs for the three of them to sit with each other by the railing while they ate the meat. Hades stood by himself, Dionysus and Apollon joking casually with one another over the grill.
It was only our second day here after all. It was too early for me to leave the socializing to them to manage. As I ate alone, I began to form the basis of my plans...
The next day, I arrived to class early, discovering only Thoth was present. I approached him, hollering 'good morning!' from the doorway to let him know I was there. He was surprised to see me and turned to face me from where he sat at his desk, his lesson plans mapped out before him.
"Miyanagi? You're early," he spoke. "Did you receive the package I sent you?"
I nodded my head, pulling one of the books out of my bag. "Yeah, I came early because I had some questions to ask. For some reason, I still can't remember much about myself. I thought about it more last night, and it's kind of scary," I confessed and sat down beside him.
He picked up 'Life, Death, and Rebirth' and inclined his head. "Hmm. It's strange but it's not unexpected," he spoke carefully. "What can you recall?"
"I live in Tokyo with my mom and dad," I started. "I go to Tokyo University and I double major in history and religion. My experiences are intact still. Like I remember last week I was at the park, walking my dog while listening to Uverworld. But anything about myself as a person, I can't really remember."
The attractive man seemed to be thinking for a moment before he handed the book back to me. "This book... it's brilliant. I've never read anything by a human that was this accurate," he remarked.
"Funny you say that," I said, "because I don't remember me being an author."
"You'll eventually regain memories about yourself, as long as you give it some time," he simply answered. He moved away to write on the board, leaving me sitting there with even more questions flooding my mind.
"Thoth, there's been something else that's bothering me."
He turned and gave me a sharp look. "Thoth-sama."
"Right. Thoth-sama," I corrected myself. "Two days ago when the gods had their powers sealed, something happened to me too. Now I have this headband that I can't take off."
He stopped writing, and instead of answering me, he kept his lips sealed, as if debating whether or not he should speak.
"Why should I have something like this shackle when I'm human?"
He turned, about to explain, when Apollon and Balder came into the classroom, exuberance radiating from their bright smiles. They greeted Thoth, who resumed his writing, and then proceeded to choose desks for everyone, writing on a sticky note and pressing it onto the top. I hesitated for an instant, not having gotten any answers, before reluctantly joining the two boys as they struggled with figuring out where to place each student.
"Princess-chan! You're sitting here." Apollon guided me to a seat towards the center of the back of the classroom. "You'll be in the middle so we can all easily ask you about things we don't understand."
Balder nodded. "Miko-san, you'll be in between Tsukito-san and Thor, in front of Loki, and behind Dionysus," he elaborated, pointing to each seat. "Apollon will be to your left diagonal, I'll be on the right, and Hades-san gets this corner seat behind Tsukito. Takeru sits on the right of Loki."
I mentally winced at the seating arrangements, but offered no objections to anything else. Balder and Apollon chatted excitedly with one another as more people began to come into the room, sitting down where they wished and leaving the back of the room to us. As soon as anyone we recognized entered the room, they were hastily waved over to sit down with us. In the end, by the time the tardy bell rang, only Tsukito, Hades, and Dionysus showed up to class. When I asked Tsukito about the whereabouts of the others, he had said they had no intentions of attending class and partaking in Zeus' scheme.
I sighed as Thoth took roll, noting the absence of Loki Laevatein, Totsuka Takeru, and Thor Megingyoruzu. Today was only an introductory course and I zoned out halfway through, glancing over at the empty seats. I would need to find a way to convince them to come to class, whether they liked it or not. As soon as class had concluded for the day, I headed straight out the door and went out in search of the missing boys.
I discovered Takeru lounging about beside the fountain and called out to him, watching as he stood up, glanced at me, then walked away, his arms folded behind his head. Even when I caught up to him and demanded why he didn't attend class, he merely glared at me, called school 'useless', told me to leave him alone, and sauntered off into the distance.
"Takeru!" I hollered at his retreating form. "Hey! Come back here!"
"Leave me alone, woman!" he shouted as he vanished from sight.
Continuing my sweep of the campus, I found Thor hanging out beneath a tree, his arms crossed over his chest as he gazed stoically out at the horizon. Feeling hopeful I could sway him, I bounded over to him with a relieved smile upon my face, pleased to see that he didn't run off like Takeru had.
"Thor," I panted as I stopped to catch my breath. "Why didn't you come to class today?"
"Didn't feel like it."
I plopped down beside him and instantly knew why he had chosen the spot - the hanging branches of the tree provided ample shade and the breeze felt clean and fresh. For an instant I forgot I had come to scold him and quickly came to my senses.
"You know, if you wanna go back home you have to come to class," I stated. "The only way out is my graduating, and to graduate you need to finish your studies here."
"I know," he spoke. "I just didn't feel like it."
"You can't skip out just because you didn't feel like it," I scolded. "Come tomorrow, okay?"
"If I feel like it, I will."
"Well I'm sure hoping you'll feel like it," I said as I stood up. "Because if you don't show up, I'm coming out here to find you to drag you to class."
"Someone is a little forceful," a voice sang from above me. Looking up, I jumped when I realized Loki had been perched on the tree branch above my head the whole time, no doubt keeping silent just so he could find the perfect moment to strike out and scare me. He wrapped his legs around the branch, dangling upside down as he grinned mischievously at me, grabbing me by the hand.
Thor observed silently from the sidelines as Loki tugged me towards him, swinging his body back up and pulling me with him in the process. In spite of my protests, I was plopped down on the tree branch beside him, my feet hanging over the edge as I involuntarily clutched onto his jacket. The foolhardy Norse god smirked smugly down at me, tightening his grasp on my hand.
"You do realize you're holding onto me, right?" he said, laughing as I hurriedly shoved him away.
"That's only because you grabbed me so suddenly, you bastard," I sulked at his teasing, droning out his maniacal laughter. A gentle wind picked up then, rustling the bright green leaves of the tree and blowing my dark hair in my face. As I brushed the strands away, I peered down at Thor, who seemed to be at peace. I let out a huff, leaning against the trunk of the tree and allowing myself to relax for the first time today.
Loki glanced over at me in curiosity. "Eh? You're not gonna lecture me?"
I shook my head. "Why should I? I know you heard me, that's why you were so quiet," I said, then smiled at him. "I didn't know you were such an attentive listener."
"I wasn't listening!" he claimed. "Why would I? Not like I think going to class is worth it, anyway."
"Lies, lies, lies! You were listening. Want proof?" I asked. I pondered over it for a second before deciding to thrust all of the evidence I had in his face. "One. Right now you just mentioned class. How did you know I was talking to Thor about that, unless you were eavesdropping? Two. When you scared me back there, you called me forceful. But that's because you were listening to what I was saying, isn't it?"
Flabbergasted, he could only stare at me for a good few seconds before crossing his arms over his chest and turning away from me, his expression unreadable. It looked like a mixture between alarm and defiance, or perhaps even annoyance. I had thwarted the trickster yet again. Gloating in my victory, I stretched out my arms, yawning, and undeniable grin etching itself across my face at Loki's irritated eyebrow twitch.
I heard the sound of approaching footsteps and voices and looked back to see Balder, Apollon and Tsukito approaching. Balder called my name out enthusiastically, waving to me, then to Loki. They gathered beneath the tree, where Balder stumbled across Thor - literally. Loki jumped off the branch in surprise, rushing over to Balder's side, concern shining in his face, something I never thought I would see. Balder merely giggled at his own clumsiness as Loki helped him back onto his feet, scolding him like a mother would to her child.
For some reason, my heart felt warm seeing their exchange.
"Princess, what are you doing up there?" Apollon asked. "Don't hurt yourself."
"Don't worry, I'll be careful!" I called. "Besides, I've done this before. A lot of times, actually."
Without warning, my head suddenly was overcome with a numbing pain and I was tossed into another episode. This time, instead of seeing myself at school, I saw myself sitting atop a tree like I was now, kicking my legs back and forth as I tucked my hands in my pockets, gazing up at the clear blue sky. There was someone sitting next to me - a boy. I couldn't see his face, but I could hear his soft voice as he sang a sweet song, putting my heart at ease.
"The sun sleeps on the mountains, and the partridge in the woods. Let also my baby sleep. To get enough of sleep, whisper to her, don't wake her up. The sun sleeps on the mountains, and the partridge in the snow. Let also my daughter sleep on clean sheets. To nani nai, my baby to heal..."
Who was he?
Where was I?
Why did I feel like I had heard that voice several times before?
Every time I tried looking at him, I would see mere glimpses of his smile, and nothing more. It was as if my mind had been tampered with so I wouldn't be able to identify him by his face. Yet, that voice... it sounded strikingly familiar...
The voice faded away and I found myself jerked suddenly back to reality, falling backwards off the tree branch in my dazed state. Someone cried out, and before I could fall onto the ground below, someone dashed forward and caught me in their arms, tumbling a few times once we hit the ground. Stunned, the aftermath of my episode setting in, I slowly opened my tightly closed eyes and found myself looking right at...
"Loki?"
"What were you thinking falling off like that?" he demanded angrily, though I could hear a hint of concern in his tone.
"Princess! Are you alright?" Apollon and the others bounded over as soon as I had sat up, my head throbbing painfully.
"Miko-san, what's wrong?" Balder inquired, noticing how I clutched my head in my hands, bunching my hair in between my fingers as the relentless spinning and pounding ensued. I felt sick to my stomach and forced back the vomit that was threatening to come out.
"She's in pain," Tsukito pointed out.
"I'll carry her to the nurse," Thor volunteered, stooping by my side and easily lifting me up, carrying me as if I were a child. The sun shone in my eyes, increasing the pain, and I turned my head away to avoid the light. Thor stared me in surprise before glancing back at the others. "...Someone should come with me."
"We all will," Apollon said. "Let's hurry."
Unable to speak, I was carried all the way to the nurse's office, where I was brought into the infirmary and given treatment. I had been given medication to counteract the pain and remained in a half-conscious, drowsy state for the next few hours, slipping in and out of sleep. Everything just seemed like a blur to me. I knew people had come to see me and had tried talking to me, but I could only look at them through half-lidded eyes, unable to form a proper response.
I was in the middle of another period of slumber when I awoke to the sound of the door opening, along with the influx of several voices. Opening my eyes, for the first time since the afternoon, I could see and hear clearly and the pain had subsided to a dull ache. Dionysus, Apollon, and Tsukito had shown up to check up on me, carrying a small basket of grapes.
"Sorry, did we wake you?" Dionysus asked, gently smiling down at me.
I shook my head to indicate it was alright and struggled to sit up, Apollon immediately rushing to assist me, setting me against the headboard. "Princess, we brought some fresh grapes for you! They're already washed."
"...Thanks."
I reached out to take the basket, Apollon moving it from my reach and wagging his finger at me. "No, let me feed you! You're too tired to do this alone." With that, Apollon sat down on the edge of the bed, plucking a grape off and beaming at me. "Open wide."
I reluctantly did as told, the coldness of the grape soothing me instantly. I bit into it, the sweet taste of the fruit filling my mouth. "It's so good!"
"Of course! I grow these myself," Dionysus proclaimed, glowing with pride.
"I want to try one," Tsukito piped up, reminding us of his presence. Apollon fed him one and Tsukito nodded his head, his expression unchanging. "It's sweet."
"Tsukito, you can have more if you want," I said. "I probably can't eat all of it by myself."
"Okay."
Apollon seemed to be gleefully performing his task of babying me, Dionysus watching in amusement as Apollon spoiled me silly. After Tsukito and I finished the grapes, Dionysus decided it was time to ask me about what happened.
"I was out looking for Takeru, Loki, and Thor," I mused. "Takeru refused to listen to me so I gave up and went over to Thor and spoke with him. Loki pulled me up onto the tree branch. Then, Apollon, Balder, and Tsukito-san showed up. I had an episode and fell off. Loki caught me before I could hurt myself and I was brought here shortly after."
"An episode?" Dionysus inquired.
I nodded. "I don't know if you guys know, but I'm having some memory loss. It's kind of hard to explain, but... I don't know much about who I am, except which school I attend and who my parents are. I think I must have hit my head pretty hard when I fell off that mountain."
"Huh?" Apollon exclaimed. "You fell off a mountain?!"
"Yeah. After that, I woke up in this place. I didn't realize how bad my memory loss was until yesterday, though," I confessed. "I can remember simple things like going to the market a week ago and buying juice but I can't remember anything personal. It's strange..."
"Did you ask Thoth about this?" Dionysus questioned.
"I did. He told me I would remember in time," I said with disappointment. "I think he knows who I really am, but he won't tell me."
"That's strange."
"How did you survive falling off a mountain?" Tsukito queried after a period of silence. I looked up at the pretty-faced boy and shook my head.
"Honestly, I have no clue. Maybe I got lucky," I joked, though it was forced.
The nurse came in and announced she would do a check up to determine whether or not it was okay for me to go back to my dorm. I had recovered quickly and so she signed the paper for my release, escorting me outside where the three boys were waiting. As we headed down the hallway together, the others appeared around the corner, nearly colliding with us. Loki, Balder, and Thor were together, and Hades and Takeru lingered in the background. According to Balder, they had all come to see me.
"Are you okay, Miko-san?" Balder cried worriedly, hugging me. "I was so scared something would happen to you!"
I chuckled, reassuring him with a smile. "I'm okay now. Thank you guys for worrying about me."
"Idiot, what the hell were you thinking sitting up on a tree like that?" Takeru berated me as he caught up with the rest of us.
"It wasn't her fault. Loki-Loki pulled her up there in the first place," Apollon defended me.
Loki was offended. "What? So it's my fault now?"
"Yeah! You should have watched her more carefully! She could have gotten hurt," Apollon argued.
Loki glared at him. "You really have some nerve, don't you? I can see how that old man is your dad."
"Huh?" It was Apollon's turn to be taken aback, his shock soon turning into anger. "What's your problem?"
"It's not anyone's fault but my own," I spoke, silencing the two sparring boys. "Stop fighting. Are you children or gods?"
"She's right," Hades agreed. "People are staring."
"Whatever. Preppy boy started it first," Loki said, folding his arms behind his head carelessly. The tense atmosphere stayed with us all the way back to the dorms, where they dropped me off and headed across to their own dorm building. The head of the girls dorms was there to greet me, inviting me into the lounge area where some of the other girls were having dinner. I happily joined them, relieved to be able to eat a full meal, and afterwards, retired to my own bedroom, where I fell onto the bed and fell fast asleep.