The Missing Goddesses Ch.7
Hello my lovelies, so sorry it took me this long to get this next chapter out. I have a lot of ideas for continuing stories I have already posted or created, or possible new stories. I am also working on an original story that I have been building on for some years now. What is really getting me about the story is that I'm trying to get past this one little spot I have with the possibility of introducing a new character. Anywhos, let's get back on track with this story. I believe we left off with Aimi getting closer to her two gods, Yui making some progress with Takeru, and Hades and Miyako hit a rough patch. However, they won't be like that for long. Now that I have recalled a bit of what has happened, let's get on with the quote.
"Remember to reach for the stars, and they won't be able to resist flying into your hands!"
-Katherine McNamara
And now the magic!
AstarteLuna: Hello lovely! It's so nice to hear from you again. I'm glad that you like this story. As for the long chapters, I try my best to make the long updates seem not so bad.
Paige McCarthy: Well hello new lovely! It's so nice to see some new faces in the reviews. Thank you so much for the compliment on the twins. I did some research to make sure that I had a good basis for both the girls and their goddess counterparts. It's nice to know that my effort is appreciated.
Now that the magic has been seen to, let's get on with the story.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o The Missing Goddesses o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
The next morning found Yui waking earlier than her normal time so that she could dress in her gym uniform and meet Takeru outside the dorms for a morning run.
"I would have expected you not to show," Taker admitted with a smirk. "I admire your integrity. Are you ready for our run?"
Yui nodded eagerly before she began to stretch. Takeru on the other hand stared at her like she had grown a second head.
"Weed, what are you doing?" Takeru questioned as Yui went down into the dynamic pigeon pose.
"I'm stretching," she explained, continuing on through her routine. "If I don't stretch before I run, I can really damage my muscles."
"Man, you humans are weak."
"Which is why we try to strive to take care of our bodies."
He couldn't argue with that so he waited for Yui to finish her last stretch then jog over to his side.
"I'm ready when you are Takeru-san."
Takeru gave a wide smile as he turned to face the forest.
"Make sure to keep up Weed. Can't have you falling behind on the first day."
"I won't let you down Takeru-san," Yui insisted with a smile. Like that the duo set off for their morning run with Takeru slowing himself down a bit so that Yui wouldn't fall to far behind. He knew what he said about her falling behind, but he also realized that she couldn't possibly run at his level the first day. To be able to run as far and fast as he did took time and dedication to get where he is today. Not to mention the fact that he was a god while Yui was a human. However,he couldn't just voice that he was going to go easy on the human then increase her practice with every day. That would make him look soft, which he wasn't. At least that is what he told himself.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Meanwhile, back in the dorms, the twins and the other gods were beginning to wake up to start the day. Aimi woke with a sense of peace settling over her as she rolled form her side to lay on her back to stare up at the ceiling of her room. She gave a small yawn while she stretched out her arms and legs before they flopped back onto the bed. Only her basic senses were awake that slowly gave way to her memory of what had happened last night. Her eyes widened at the memory of Balder's lips slipping against hers that had her fingering her lips with a blush on her cheeks. I can't believe that happened, Aimi thought to herself. I wonder why he did that? In the Norse gods room, Balder too woke up to the memory of last night that had him smirking in contentment. He couldn't help but feel proud that he had caused such a cute reaction. He flashed through a shower then dressed in his school uniform so that he could join Loki and Thor in the common room.
"Good morning Loki, Thor," Balder beamed at his brother and close friend. Both gods looked at Balder with a look that spoke volumes of their confusion.
"What's got you in such a good mood Balder?" Loki questioned when he saw the brighter than normal aura that surrounded him.
"Just thinking about Aimi," was all he said that had Loki narrowing his eyes Balder. He knew something was up with the way that a small smile would appear on Balder's lips along with Balder subconsciously lick his lips just slightly that had things clicking for the clever red headed god.
"You kissed her?!" he roared in outrage.
"What makes you say that?" Balder questioned with wide eyes, trying hard to put up an innocent act.
"Don't play dumb with me! I've seen you lick your lips way too much for them to simply be dry. Did you kiss her when you dropped her off at her room?"
Balder said nothing which only proved that he did. Loki gave a little aggravated growl and would have launched himself forward had it not been for Thor grabbing him around his middle.
"I saw her first," Loki said heatedly. "Can't you let me have this one girl. Even back on Asgard, if I were to fancy someone, they would always flock to you. No one ever wants to be with the 'Silvertongue'."
Balder's almost smug look instantly faded when he saw the sadness and anger in Loki's clenched jaw while the top part of his face was covered by his hair.
"Loki," Balder began to try to fix what he had done, but the damage was done.
"I'm going to breakfast," was all he said while smacking Thor's arms away from him so that he could swiftly make his exit. Balder gave a sigh at Loki's departure as he turned to Thor.
"Was habe ich getan, Bruder(What have I done, Brother)?" Balder asked Thor with a troubled expression.
"Am Ende wird alles gut werden(Everything will turn out right in the end)," was all Thor said with a hand to Balder's shoulder.
"You're right," Balder agreed in Japanese. "Thank you Thor."
Thor simply gave a nod and steered Balder towards the door. He hated when his two best friends fought and he couldn't remember it ever being this bad, or he could? It was like this steel trap that was keeping that memory from his mind even though he could tell that it was there.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Miyako on the other hand woke with a task set with determination. Today she was going to make up for what she said to Hades. She may not know what she said that bothered him, but she was going to fix it. And she knew just the people to see about that. After a quick shower and dressing in her school uniform, she dashed from her room right past a dazed Aimi.
"Mi, what's going on?!" the pinkette called after her twin.
"I have to see some men about a mission!" she yelled back, disappearing around the corner.
"What in the world?" Aimi trailed off right as Loki came up from behind her.
"Guten Morgen Kätzchen(Good Morning Kitten)," he greeted her while looking up at her from his bent position.
"G-G-Guten Morgen Loki(G-G-Good Morning Loki)," she returned with slightly wide eyes.
"Ich habe mich gefragt, ob du mit mir frühstücken willst(I was wondering if you would come eat some breakfast with me)."
"Ich würde gern(I would love to)," Aimi smiled softly at the silver eyed god as he straightened back up to stand before her. Loki flashed her a small smile while falling into step beside her with his arms finding that natural position crossed behind his head.
"Wie läuft dein Trommeltraining(How is your drum practice going)?"
"Mir geht es großartig(I'm doing great)," he grinned at her from the corner of his eyes.
"Das ist großartig! Vielleicht können wir in den nächsten Tagen anfangen, ein Lied zu lernen(That's great! Maybe in the next few days we can start learning a song)," Aimi suggested with a finger to her chin.
"Was machen wir für die heutige Praxis(What are we doing for today's practice)?"
"Ich werde mit einer instrumentalen Version eines Liedes mitsingen, um euch eine Vorstellung davon zu geben, was wir spielen werden und jedem beizubringen, der noch immer Probleme hat(I'm going to sing along with an instrumental version of a song to give you guys an idea about what we'll be playing and teach anyone who is still struggling)."
He let out a hmm to her comment, his legs worked on autopilot with Aimi happily walked beside him.
In the cafeteria, Miyako rushed over to Apollon and Dionysus who were eating their breakfast.
"Apollon, Dionysus," she said as she all but slammed her hands down on the table. Both gods jumped at the sight and sound and fearfully looked up into the passionate gold eyes of the blue haired girl.
"Tigress," Apollon began with a hesitant smile. "What can we do for you?"
"What is Hades's favorite food?"
"Come again?" Dionysus uttered in complete shock at what had passed Miyako's lips.
"What is Hades's favorite food," Miyako repeated with a huff of impatience.
"That's easy," Apollon smiled brightly once he realized the reason behind Miyako's visit. "It's-"
"Strawberries."
"Rice cakes," both gods answered at the same time which prompted the two to start arguing. Meanwhile, Miyako had gone silent as she let the information sink in. Hmm, if he likes both...maybe he'd like some ichigo daifuku. The both of them were still arguing a bit but were cut off when Miyako danced over to give them each a hug.
"Thank you," she smiled to the stunned gods.
"You're...welcome," Dionysus told her while one of his hands came up to pat her on the back. She ave them both a squeeze before Miyako sped off to try to find her sister. When Miyako found said pinkette, she was sitting at a table eating breakfast with Loki. Her eyebrow raised at the two missing gods.
"Where's the pervert and Sparky?" Miyako asked when she arrived at the table.
"I'm not sure," Aimi answered after swallowing her bite of food. "What do you need Mi?"
"Can you take some notes for me today?"
"Yeah, sure," Aimi insisted at once. "Are you not going to be in class?"
"No, I need to work on something."
All Aimi needed to do was stare into her sister's eyes to see that she wanted to work on something for Hades so she smiled with a knowing light in her eyes.
"Alright. Make sure that whatever it is is full of love."
A blush grew on Miyako's face at Aimi's words that had her scoffing.
"I have no idea what you're talking about Ai."
"Hmm hmm," Aimi let out in disbelief. Miyako rolled her eyes at her twin yet she gently hit Aimi on the head affectionately. Aimi understood right away and accepted the gesture with a small smile.
"I'll see you later Ai," Miyako said as she walked away from the table and towards the exit of the cafeteria.
"Tell me how everything went," Aimi called after her with a large smile.
"What was that all about?" Loki questioned after witnessing the scene beforehand.
"Oh nothing," Aimi dismissed with a smile and a wave. Loki couldn't help but feel a slight flare of disbelief at her words, but let it subside when he thought about it. If she says it's nothing, she's probably right. He gave a shrug to brush the topic off before turning back to his food.
"Hey Kätzchen(Hey Kitten)," he began after a few minutes of silence.
"Ja, Loki(Yes, Loki)?"
"Was hältst du von Balder(What do you think of Balder)?"
"Nun, er ist ein netter Kerl(Well, he's a nice guy)...," she trailed off after a thoughtful few seconds.
"Noch etwas(Anythign else)?" Loki prompted in slight shock at her words, turning to fully face her.
"Er scheint im Klassenzimmer fleißig zu sein(He seems to be diligent in the classroom)," Aimi added after seeing his facial expression.
"Du bist nicht in ihn verliebt(You're not in love with him)?"
"L-L-Liebe(L-L-Love)?" Aimi sputtered in embarrassment. "Ich kenne ihn kaum. Ich müsste jemanden kennenlernen, bevor ich sagen kann, dass ich sie liebe(I hardly know him. I would have to get to know someone before I can say that I love them)."
A weight seemed to melt from Loki's shoulders at her confession that had him letting out a little sigh. Aimi's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his behavior but it left her mind when Loki waved over Balder and Thor.
"Hey! Thor, Balder! I saved you guys a seat!"
Balder looked confused at the sudden friendly attitude from the red haired god, but he didn't question it and hastened to sit at the table across from Loki with Thor settling across from Aimi.
"Good morning guys," Aimi beamed at the new editions when they settled into their seats.
"Good morning Kleiner Schatz," Balder smiled to the sunny pinkette while all Thor did was nod with a smile.
"Do you guys think that you're ready to start learning a song after class?" she asked the two that had at least Balder looking sheepish.
"I thin I have the notes down for the fingerings, but I can't guarantee that I'll be fast in remembering where they are."
"You don't have to be," Aimi assured him softly. "It's alright if you make a few mistakes. All you need to do is learn from them. However, I might teach you to play guitar too."
"Why?" Loki piped up after hearing that comment.
"Some songs require a rhythm guitar instead of a keyboard. Every one of the songs calls for bass and drums."
"So what are we doing today?" Balder voiced in curiosity.
"I'm going to play one of the songs I think we'll play later on in the year and then I'm helping you guys with anything that you have any trouble or questions with."
Balder and Thor nodded at her reasoning before Aimi rose from her seat.
"I'm going to grab some more toast," she told the gods. "I'll be right back."
As she walked away from the group, Balder turned to Loki.
"Why were you so friendly just now? When you left, you were so mad."
"Kätzchen told me something that made me happy."
All Balder did was raise an eyebrow at his answer while Thor kept his neutral stare to prompt the answer from him.
"She said that she is not in love with you."
Balder stiffened slightly at his words at slight anger at his words yet a slight stick and sadness at Aimi not having any romantic feelings for him. I'll just have to try harder, Balder thought to himself as Aimi came back to the table. Loki was able to catch Balder's look and he himself felt an urge to glare. I guess it's war between us, Loki thought with determination.
Classes passed by without any hassle, Aimi diligently taking notes for her sister while Yui all but fell asleep during the lessons. Aimi couldn't help but giggle at the sight and Takeru was smiling affectionately at her. He would have thought that she would have quit the first few minutes of running, but she stuck next to him pushing her body to match his. Considering she wasn't used to the early morning training, he wasn't surprised that she had passed out during instruction. Everyone else hid Yui's sleeping form while Tsukito tried waking her up. Once she was at least conscious again, the rest of their lessons went smoothly. As soon as Thoth announced that school was over for the day, everyone split off for their different clubs. However, when Aimi was going to leave the room, Hades stopped her next to the door. Balder, Thor, and Loki stopped right outside to wait for her.
"Why wasn't your sister in class?" he asked her, cutting right to the chase.
"She had something to take care of," Aimi said with a smile. "Don't worry Hades. She isn't sick or hurt. I have a feeling you'll see her later."
Obvious relief flooded Hades's face at her words and his shoulders slumped slightly.
"Thank you Μικρή αδερφή(Little Sister)," Hades smiled down at the shorter pinkette as he placed a hand on top of her head.
"You're welcome Onii-chan," Aimi beamed back up at him. Hades's eyes widened slightly at her words yet he couldn't help but agree with her. She did feel like a younger sibling to him. All he did was give her another smile then left the classroom.
"Why did you call him Onii-chan?" Loki questioned when Aimi joined the boys on their way to the music room.
"Hades and Mi like each other," Aimi began with a smile. "Since Mi is my sister, then that makes him my older brother."
Balder chuckled at her reasoning while Loki shook his head slightly and Thor simply smiled down at her. It didn't take long for them to reach the room and Aimi quickly rushed over to grab an acoustic guitar and made to sit on the raised stage. She tuned the guitar carefully after sitting down, crossing her legs, and laying the guitar on her lap.
"What song are you going to play?" Balder inquired while the three gods pulled up chairs to the front of the room right in front of Aimi that still put her a little above their eye level.
"It's called "Again" by an artist named Yui back home," she told them with a smile. "She is one of my favorite artists."
When Aimi had the guitar all tuned up, she gave it a little strum to test out the sound that she found satisfactory. She then played a few notes and runs to loosen up her mind and her hands before she turned to the boys and looked them all in the eye.
"Here I go."
Her hands then moved about the strings plucking out the first notes of the song that had her right hand flying with the sakura pink pick she held. All of the gods were surprised with the ease she had with getting the notes out and eagerly awaited the lyrics of the song.
"Yume no tsuzuki
Oikakete ita hazu na no ni
Magarikunetta hosoi michi
Hito ni tsumazuku
Ano koro mitai ni tte
Modoritai wake ja nai no
Nakushite kita sora o
Sagashiteru,"
The look on the gods' faces when they heard the fast words coming off of Aimi's lips were priceless as she went on with her playing, oblivious to their reactions.
"Wakatte kuremasu you ni
Gisei ni natta you na
Kanashii kao wa yamete yo
Tsumi no saigo wa namida ja nai yo
Zutto kurushiku seottekun da
Deguchi mienai kanjou meiro ni
Dare o matteru no
Shiroi nooto ni tsuzutta you ni
Motto sunao ni hakidashitai yo
Nani kara
Nogaretain da
Genjitsu tte yatsu,"
Small smiles lit the faces of the gods while watching Aimi in her element, shining with the passion she was putting behind each of her words. I can't believe someone can be so beautiful, Loki and Balder thought as they watched the person of their affection.
"Kanaeru tame ni
İkiterun da tte
Wasurechaisou na
Yoru no mannaka
Munan ni nante
Yatterarenai kara
Kaeru basho mo nai no
Kono omoi o keshite shimau ni wa
Mada jinsei nagai desho
Natsukashiku naru
Konna itami mo kangeijan,"
Her hands then picked up strumming the music that had eyebrows raising until she began singing again.
"Ayamaranakucha ikenai yo ne
Ah gomen ne
Umaku ienakute
Shinpai kaketa mama datta ne
Ano hi kakaeta zenbu
Ashita kakaeru zenbu
Junban tsuketari wa
Shinai kara
Wakatte kuremasu you ni
Sotto me o tojitan da
Mitakunai mono made
Mien da mon
İranai uwasa ni chotto
Kajimete kiku hatsugen docchi
Mi kai attara tomodachi datte
Uso wa yamete ne
Akai haato ga iradatsu you ni
Karada n naka moete irun da
Honto wa
Kitaishiten no
Genjitsu tte yatsu
Kanaeru tame ni
İkiterun da tte
Sakebitaku naru yo
Kikoete imasu ka
Munan ni nante
Yatterarenai kara
Kaeru basho mo nai no
Yasashisa ni wa itsumo kanshashiteru
Dakara tsuyoku naritai
Susumu tame ni
Teki mo mikata mo kangeijan
Dou yatte tsugi no doa
Hirakerun dakke Kangaeteru
Mou hikikaesenai
Monogatari hajimatterun da
Me o samase me o samase,"
The boys were struck again with how fast Aimi was hitting the notes as she played the little instrumental before launching back into the song.
"Kono omoi o keshite shimau ni wa
Mada jinsei nagai desho
Yarinokoshiteru koto
Yarinaoshite mitai kara
Mou ichido yukou
Kanaeru tame ni
İkiterun da tte
Sakebitaku naru yo
Kikoete imasu ka
Munan ni nante
Yatterarenai kara
Kaeru basho mo nai no
Yasashisa ni wa itsumo kanshashiteru
Dakara tsuyoku naritai
Natsukashiku naru
Konna itami mo kangeijan." (Again by Yui)
The energy Aimi picked up for the last part of the song drifted over to the last little guitar solo until she hit the last notes that rang out into the silence that followed. A pleased sigh left Aimi's lips as she straightened up in her seat but jumped slightly when she saw the wide eyes of the gods before her.
"Was, was it bad?" Aimi managed to get out amidst the sudden wave of anxiety from their reaction. Thor was the first to come to his senses and shake his head to answer her.
"Not at all," Balder assured her when he gathered himself. "We were just amazed with the skill that you have singing and playing the guitar."
"Are we going to be able to play like that?" Loki voiced hesitantly.
"Of course it will take some time," Aimi told him with a gentle smile. "I'm only this good at it because I have been practicing for years."
Loki seemed to calm down at her words so that he could meet her eyes again with a renewed determination. This earned a smile from Aimi as she slipped down from the stage after laying the guitar down.
"Alright boys, who's ready for today's practice?"
Loki was the first one to his instrument, sliding in to sit at the stool behind the drums while Balder walked over to his keyboard and Thor walked up to the guitars to pick up his bass. Aimi looked over all of them with happiness before moving over to Loki seeing as though he would be the easiest one to teach.
"Alright Loki, for your instrument, it would probably be best for you to play based off of what you hear by ear. Try hitting each drum to figure out what drum gives what sound and familiarize yourself with it so that it's easy to identify them."
He gave a nod so Aimi went next to Thor.
"Thor, how are your fingerings coming along? Do you need any help remembering what fingerings are which?"
All he did was shake his head.
"Alright. I'll leave you with some sheet music so that you can test yourself with how accurate you are with reading the notes and playing them. If you get stuck or need help, don't hesitate to ask."
Aimi then walked over to Balder who gave her a small smile.
"How are you coming along with your notes and fingerings?" Aimi asked the blond.
"I think I'm doing pretty well."
"Then let's try some scales. If you can play through a few pretty easily, then I can teach you the guitar fingerings."
Once the pages of scales were placed on the music stand in front of the keyboard, Balder's blue eyes went over the first bar and took in each note before he went to the keys. He looked over the keys on the keyboard then placed his fingers over the white keys then pressed the sequence he thought was right. There was some faltering in his fingers yet they still struck the right notes. This had Aimi smiling because that meant that Balder had put a lot of effort into practicing and it had paid off.
"That was great Balder. Why don't we try the guitar now?"
Balder was all too happy to pick up the other guitar from its stand and drape the shoulder strap around his shoulder. Aimi brought a music stand over to the both of them and began showing Balder the fingerings as well as showing him what the notes looked like on the sheet music.
Everyone went on practicing for the rest of the club time and had their instruments down for the most part.
"Great job you guys," Aimi praised the boys with a wide smile. "I say we'll probably be able to start looking at a song to play within the next few days."
"You think we're ready?" Balder questioned while he placed the guitar he was holding back on its stand.
"Yeah, you all show talent in learning all of this fairly quickly."
They all smiled at her words while the others put their instruments away for the day. Well, all Loki had to do was place his drum sticks down on the drum kit.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Back in Hades's room in the Greek god dorm, Miyako plated up some strawberry daifuku she had bought from the school store. I hope he likes it, she thought to herself as she bit her lip. She eyed the plate of snacks with a sharp eye before she moved to make a pot of jasmine tea. Usually one would make macha to accompany the sweets, but something told her that jasmine tea would be better appreciated. She had just poured a cup of the tea and sat it next to the plate when she heard the door to the room open up. She hastily smoothed down any hair that managed to fly up or smooth out any wrinkles in her uniform before she took on her "usual" stance with her hip cocked to the side and her hand on her hip. The first thing Hades's visible eye caught when he entered the room was Miyako but moved down to the table to find the daifuku when he met her golden eyes. His eye widened in shock before he found his voice.
"Th-those are daifuku," he gasped to himself.
"It's a little gift," Miyako told him with a softer facial expression. It didn't feel right for her to don the smirk that would have went with her pose.
"A gift...you say?"
"Yeah."
What could have been mistaken for a glare was shot at Miyako that had her heart constricting a little bit at the look but didn't let her expression change.
"Are you trying to win me over with these sweets?"
"No," Miyako deadpanned while shifting her posture so that she was holding one arm by the elbow. "I just wanted to thank you for saving my life."
Hades's eye softened at her words that had Miyako's muscles also relaxing.
"Since you went through all of the trouble bringing these to me, I'll gratefully accept them."
A small smile graced Miyako's lips at his words and motioned for him to sit down on the couch.
"I also made a pot of jasmine tea for you," Miyako added, pushing the cup of tea to be to his immediate left.
"Thank you," he said as he picked up a daifuku. "The characters for daifuku mean 'great fortune'. Perhaps because the name is so far removed from me, it's hard to describe my feelings when I touch them."
"I'm glad you like them," Miyako breathed out in relief from her spot to his right only to jump slightly when he let out a sharp cry. He found the strawberries, Miyako laughed in her head while only an exasperated smile showed on her face.
"What is this?"
"Strawberry daifuku," Miyako answered through her mirth.
"I didn't know these existed."
"Well, I heard that you like rice cakes and strawberries, so I thought combining the two would be great."
"A duet starring my favorites, strawberries and rice cakes. What a glorious combination. Is it acceptable to experience so much happiness at once?"
Miyako gave a sigh along with a smile as she shook her head at his antics. Were all Greek gods such drama kings?
"I gratefully accept."
"Go ahead," Miyako encouraged with a smile.
"Ittetakimasu."
All he needed to do was take that first bite for his face to light up with happiness and for a wide smile to blossom on Miyako's face. She was so happy that she was able to make Hades smile and be happy for at least a few moments. Miyako was content to sit back and watch him enjoy his snack, all the while he was trying to stuff his face as well as make them last longer. He is so silly, Miyako laughed again in her head at his actions until she saw that he had some food on his face.
"You have something on your face," Miyako told Hades while she fished around for her handkerchief in her skirt pocket only to pull out a light blue one decorated with white jasmine.
"Here, let me get that for you."
A light blush flared up on his cheeks at the action of Miyako wiping his face for him. Hades couldn't help but feel a small tingle under his skin where Miyako's fingertips grazed from behind the handkerchief. What is this, he asked himself but managed to snap himself out of his daze.
"Th-Thank you."
"No problem. You really like them don't you?"
"Yes. The rice cakes are good, but the strawberries are...the icing on the cake."
It took a minute for Miyako to process what he said, but once she did, she let out a sound between a snort and a laugh before she broke out into full on laughter. This urged a larger smile to appear on Hades's face at the fact that he had managed to get a full on laugh from her that spoke volumes of happiness and humor from her. For as long as he had known her, he honestly had not seen Miyako laugh so honestly. He may have seen her laugh a little bit or sarcastically, but nothing like this. He was quite honored that she was able to relax enough around him to laugh like this.
"I-I guess that...that takes the cake," Miyako chuckled, trying hard to reign in her laughter.
"Well said," Hades smiled. It was then that Miyako was able to get a hold of herself and catch her breath. She gave a sigh as she wiped the tears of mirth from her eyes then focused her sparkling golden gaze on the Greek god.
"See, not everything is misfortune for you," she said softly which spurred Hades to shoot up from his spot on the couch.
"Hades?"
"There's something I'd like to show you," he supplied while he started to unbutton his uniform shirt to reveal his shackle in the form of a silver necklace decorated with a skull and a garnet stone at the end. Miyako's eyes widened at his actions and a blush rose on her cheeks. What is he doing, she shouted in her mind while he continued to unbutton his shirt. As soon as the last button came undone, he pulled the right side of his shirt out of the waist of his pants to reveal a mark on his pectoral that shifted between black, a deep dark purple, and an amethyst color.
"It's a grudge," Hades explained. "The grudge of the dead who have fallen into the Underworld. As ruler of the Underworld, I am hated by many who regret their death. The hatred piles up endlessly, becoming engraved on my body as a great curse. My misfortune affects not only myself, but those around me."
Miyako's eyes took on a sort of worried look that had Hades's heart aching. He didn't want Miyako to be sad and by being by his side, she would only find sadness and despair. It would be better if the two of them just broke off from each other, at least that's what Hades told himself. He turned himself away to walk back out of the room, but Miyako was quick to launch herself up off of the couch and latch onto him from his back.
"It's alright," Miyako assured him with her forehead resting on his lean back. "I don't mind. I will take all of the misfortune because you don't deserve to be alone."
Hades's eyes widened at her words that had him stopping in his tracks and his muscles stiffening.
"Don't say that," Hades warned her with a lower voice that would have sent chills down Miyako's spine normally.
"I will!" Miyako insisted with gusto. "I'm not leaving you to be on your own!"
This was enough to light Hades's own temper which had him breaking form Miyako's hold and rounding on her.
"You don't know me!" he argued with his voice deep yet loud, ringing in the tense air. "What right do you have to say that?!"
"I don't know!" Miyako yelled back while her forehead beginning to glow white in the center. "I just know that seeing you by yourself and all alone makes me sad! When I see you like that, I can't leave you alone!"
The white string of stars that fully materialized on her forehead that glowed full force. Hades was taken a back a bit with the gentle light that settled in Miyako's eyes along with her markings. The light then seemed to seep all over her form while she reached out a hand towards the mark on Hades's chest. A noise of complaint was all Hades could get out before her glowing fingers touched the mark. A reaction was immediate for both parties. Hades felt a lightening of his soul that he hadn't thought possible and Miyako could feel the heaviness from the pain of the residents of the Underworld. With her mind blank, her powers seemed to reach out through the mark to soothe the spirits on the other end. It was nothing to dispel the feelings of hatred and ease the suffering on both ends of the mark. When she was satisfied that her work was done, she removed her hand to see that the mark had faded quite a bit. Hades was amazed at the lightheartedness that he felt flood his whole being. I've never felt like this before, Hades thought as he watched some recognition flood back into Miyako's eyes yet the white star markings on her forehead stayed. Miyako's eyes blinked rapidly to focus again on the scene in front of her that ended up giving her an eyeful of his toned chest. Pure shock ran through her system at the sight and she was frozen just staring at the lean muscles she could see that decorated his torso.
"Asteráki," Hades let out through a choked up voice before he wrapped Miyako up in his arms and pulled her close into his chest. Her first reaction was for her hands to fly up in front of her which put her palms flat against his sturdy chest. The warmth from Miyako's hands sent a slight shiver down Hades's spine while he hugged her close.
"Δεν πίστευα ότι θα μπορούσα ποτέ να είμαι ελεύθερος από αυτή την κατάρα(I didn't think that I would ever be able to be free of this curse)," he mumbled in his native tongue into the silky strands of blue hair at the top of her head.
"Αλλά με έχεις απελευθερώσει. Γιατί θα είμαι για πάντα στο χρέος σας(But you have freed me. For that I will forever be in your debt)."
"Μήπως αυτό σημαίνει ότι μπορούμε να βγούμε τώρα(Does that mean we can hang out now)?" Miyako voiced against the satin covered steel of his chest.
"Ναί(Yes)," Hades chuckled. "Μπορούμε να ξεπεράσουμε τώρα(We can hang out now)."
Miyako hid her smile in his chest so that Hades couldn't see the contented look she sported from his words. Her hard work of getting past his cold exterior had finally paid off and now she would be able to get to know him like she had tried to do before. When her happiness at being closer to Hades had worn off, she realized just how intimate their position was.
"You can let me go now," Miyako managed to get out that was threatening to turn into a squeak. Hades felt mild disappointment at her request but relented in the end when he also realized that he had her pressed up against his bare chest. A slight blush settled on his cheeks at the turn of events and stepped back a little when he released her.
"I'm sorry," he apologized without looking into her eyes.
"It's alright," Miyako assured him, also not meeting his eyes. She couldn't help but feel elated that Hades was starting to open up to her. "Are you willing to try stargazing tonight with the others?"
Hades looked uncertain at the idea yet when he looked into her gold eyes, he couldn't say no. That's how the night found Hades waiting on a bench for Miyako and everyone else to show up. The first people to show up was Yui, Takeru, Tsukito, Apollon, and Dionysus while Miyako, Aimi, Balder, Loki, and Thor showed up a few minutes after them. Hades gave a sigh at all the people surrounding him, yet relaxed slightly when Miyako skipped to his side and wrapped her arms around his free arm.
"You'll be fine Doom and Gloom," Miyako assured him with a small smile. Apollon and Dionysus shared a look at what had just happened while Yui and Aimi gave one quick look that spoke volumes of how happy they were for their sister. And like the the group set out for the field Hades liked to frequent for his star gazing.
"Now that I get a better look," Apollon began with awe in his tone. "There really are a lot of stars."
"I wonder how many there are," Dionysus commented.
"They say that there are hundreds of billions of hundreds of billions of stars," Hades answered for them.
"Oh, how many is that?" Balder questioned.
"About ten to the twenty-second power," Hades said easily.
"Ten to the twenty-second power?" Apollon echoed in surprise. "That's amazing!"
"Do you seriously understand that?" Dionysus asked. Miyako rolled her eyes at their interaction while Hades knelt down to take out his telescope.
"I'll help you," Miyako offered, only to be cut off by a drop of rain on her hand. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion while she looked up towards the sky.
"It's raining," Tsukito commented in his usual monotone voice. Hades frowned at the turn of events and went to leave but Miyako quickly caught his wrist.
"Don't even think about leaving Dolofonía kai Thlípsi," she told him. "If you have to get out of the rain, get under the gazebo."
As soon as Hades was out of the rain with Miyako at his side, the gods were idiots and pulled off their uniforms to reveal their bathing suits.
"Wow...," Miyako deadpanned when she saw them beaming at their cleverness. Yui and Aimi on the other hand ran to the cover of the gazebo to watch the gods behave like little kids.
"It's times like these that I can see you being the eldest out of the bunch," Aimi commented offhandedly.
"What?" Miyako and Yui voiced in shock to the statement.
"Yeah, Hades is the eldest," Aimi confirmed. "At least for the Greek gods. He's older than even Zeus."
"No way," Yui breathed in surprise only to be cut off by the boys reappearing.
"Hey Uncle Hades," Apollon grinned.
"We have a swimsuit for you," Dionysus finished for him. All of the girls' eyes widened when they saw the almost identical speedo to what he was wearing. Tsukito and Balder then took each of Hades's arms in theirs. Hades struggled in their hold and the girls just sat back and watched.
"Is it bad that I just want to watch and see if they manage to get that on him," Miyako whispered to her sisters out of the side of her mouth.
"Yes," Yui hissed at the same time Aimi said,
"No."
Both Yui and Miyako whipped their heads around to stare at the pinkette.
"You actually agree with me Ai?" Miyako asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, I mean, Hades must look really good under his uniform. It only makes sense that you'd-,"
"That is enough coming from you," Yui insisted with wide eyes as she clamped her hands over Aimi's mouth.
"When did you start thinking like that Ai?" Miyako inquired instead.
"Hmm...about the same time my mark stayed on my forehead."
"Ahh...I've been meaning to ask you about Loki and Balder."
"What about them?"
"Who are you going to pick?"
"I...I don't know. I like them both but choosing one over the other is going to hurt the other one."
"Of course it is. That's how it works."
"If I could...I'd want them both," Aimi revealed with a blush.
"Is that a thing?" Yui voiced hesitantly.
"And we were giving Balder a hard time for being a freak," Miyako chuckled to herself. "But before we close that conversation, there is one question I want to ask."
"Shoot."
"Would it be them separately or at the same time?"
"Miyako!" Yui gasped in a scandalized manner.
"It's a valid question!"
"At the same time," Aimi whispered so that only the girls heard.
"That's my girl," Miyako congratulated her twin with an arm around her shoulders.
o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o The Missing Goddesses o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
There we have it folks, the next chapter. I'm sorry it took so long for me to get this out, but I have a lot of other stories I work on and saying a lot is an understatement. Anywho, what did you guys think of this chapter. Did I make the characters a little bit more realistic in how they reacted? As for the relationships, what do you think? Hades and Miyako are making a healthy start with theirs and Yui's and Takeru's is coming up in the next chapter. As for Miyako, Loki, and Balder, they will still have the jealousy until closer to the end of the anime series. I know that is kind of drawing it out, but it fits with what I want to have happen in my mind. One other thing that I want to ask my readers is what part of the anime are you looking forward to reading about in the future? I myself am looking forward to the binding rings and the play. The first time I watched the play episode, my first reaction was "What the fuck?! They're all dead?!". Safe to say I was relieved when I found out what actually happened as well as laughing my ass off with hos it happened. Oh, I also want to ask you what you think the roles will be when the play comes up in the story. That's all I have for this chapter so I will leave it at that and remind you to shoot me a review or pm if you have any questions, comments, or concerns with the story so far. Remember, reviews are magic!
-White Wolf
