In the greater scheme of things, Minato's appearance didn't really gather that much attention.

Ragnarok was brewing, Gaea was awakening, and Apophis was rising: That's just on the West. The Jade Emperor might have given much thought about Minato if he had free time. The Abrahamic pantheon noticed too, but since Minato's appearance was so symbolic it would be chaos if word got out. Only a few handful of people know about him, and since Minato wasn't stirring up trouble, he was left alone.

Japan was really the best place considering it is a land of numerous gods. Because numbers could mask him and give him more time to breathe.

Because of this he could lead a pretty uneventful life. Elizabeth really knew what she was doing. This way, he could become a minor detail in the greater picture. Though, the Norns/Moirai would disagree about this.


The woman introduced herself as Medea. Medea of Colchis. A mythological figure that was still, apparently, alive. The Persona equivalent, the one Chidori has called her only friend, verified that claim.

"You speak fluent Japanese," Minato noted.

"Not really, it's basically a translation magic that I employed." She then looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry for mistaking you as my child. It's just that you feel so familiar."

"I hope I don't end up as one of your children, then." Minato said, entering his apartment.

The woman gave no reply before saying, "I… I've done things I'll always regret."

Minato nodded and went to his modest kitchen. "I can only offer a glass of water."

"It's fine, thank you." Medea said.

When Minato offered the glass and sat in front of his guest he said, "I don't like it when people break into my home."

"Again, I'm sorry. I just had to make sure, you know?"

"Make sure about what?"

"That you're here."

Minato tilted his head, "I don't follow."

"Ever since you've appeared, I've been… seeing things. Remembering things. Things I've wanted to forget."

Minato could only speculate but was it guilt that he was seeing? Still, "So you broke into my home just to tell me this?"

The woman actually looked embarrassed, "Well, kinda yeah, but more importantly," she looked at him, "Forgiveness… I want it."


"I didn't think I'd get visitors again!" Once again, they were back into Izanami's shrine. It was no big deal considering that Medea had access to a flying golden chariot – pulled by dragons, of all things.

They rode it to school, parked the golden chariot by the entrance that Drew created, instructed the dragons named Phil and Don to behave, and descended to the underworld.

"I'm so happy!" the Mother Goddess of Japan immediately let them into her shrine's receiving area.

"Well, we're here to ask for your help."

With bright, shining eyes, the goddess looked at him, "It has been quite some time since someone's needed my help! Well, what can I do?"

Medea looked at her skeptically, "Just like that, you're willing to help us?"

Izanami shrugged, "Well, the Exalted One asked, so who am I to say no?"

"You're a Mother Goddess," Medea said.

"And he is Exalted. What part of that don't you understand?" Izanami smiled at her.

"Got it." Medea gave a thumbs-up. Though Medea didn't know what Izanami meant.

"So what can I help you with?" Izanami turned to Minato.

"Can you pull out the souls of her children?" the boy said, "She has something to say."

"You could've just summoned it," Izanami said.

"And risk summoning something else? I may be good but necromancy isn't my forte. No thanks." Medea crossed her arms, "Besides, I don't have my tools and reagents with me right now."

Izanami ignored the woman, placing a hand over her chin, "Well, considering how young they were, it's likely that their souls have entered the cycle of reincarnation. It's also been more than millennia since those souls have died, so that'll be pretty difficult."

She snapped and a yokai attendant appeared with a scroll. It was handed to Izanami, who quickly unfurled it. "And it's not under my [Domain]."

"How can the dead not be under your jurisdiction?" Medea asked.

"Hades owns that soul. While I am a goddess of the underworld, I am not the only sole ruler of the underworld. It's difficult to explain but yeah…"

"So we can't do anything about it?" Minato asked.

Izanami looked at the boy, thought for a moment before saying, "Well, I could do this…"

She snapped her fingers again, and an attendant came carrying a calligraphy set and some paper.

"You're gonna write a letter?"

"You were a princess before, am I correct? I find it hard to believe that you don't recognize diplomacy."

"Sorry, it's just I'm just really eager to meet my children."

Izanami looked at her before sighing, "Well you got me there; my children don't even try to visit me."

For a few seconds, Minato and Medea watched as Izanami composed her letter.

"Who are you sending it to?" Medea asked.

"Definitely not Hades. I don't want drama from his wife, so I'm sending it to her instead."

"Yeah, Persephone easily gets jealous."

"Well, she's still a maiden at heart. He's her first love." Izanami said, finishing her letter.

Another snap of her fingers and another attendant appeared. "Please deliver this over at Hades' palace." The yokai messenger, composed mainly of hair, was a yomotsu-shikome.

"So what do we do now?" Medea asked.

"We wait."


Fifteen minutes later, with Minato watching TV, legs snuggled in her kotatsu, there was a presence that appeared outside. Beside him was Medea, fidgeting and not really paying attention to the night time variety show.

"She's here." Izanami was beaming, giddy with excitement. In her hand was a tray of treats, "I hope she likes this. I've made this with all the things I grew from my backyard."

The goddess disappeared without much fanfare leaving Minato and Medea alone.

Beside him, Medea let out a distressed exhale.

Minato turned to the woman with curious eyes. "That was fast." The underworld must be a small place, or had fast transportation.

"I really don't like Greek gods." She explained. "But I'm willing to do whatever it takes. For my children."

"That's good." Minato commented. If Medea truly wished for redemption, she would be willing to do whatever it takes to get it.

Pah. Pah. Pah.

Footsteps were heard outside. A shoji, or Japanese room dividers, opened and Izanami entered with another dark-haired beauty. But unlike Izanami's straight locks, the woman had hair that curled and appeared to be weightless. Her skin was deathly pale, and her eyes were multicolor but muted as if reflecting the cool summer-to-fall vibe of the season.

"Persephone." Medea greeted curtly.

The goddess looked at her and the guy beside her.

"This is weird." Apparently, this Greek goddess spoke Japanese too.

Another woman accompanied Persephone and Izanami. And one who Minato looked with intense fixation.

"Psyche." A goddess with tan skin, golden hair and good looks that transcended humanity.

The Sea of Souls was in an uproar. The Persona counterpart of the goddess, the one who knew her right away, wanted to be summoned. They were stirring, but for reasons beyond their control.

It was as if Psyche's presence was like looking at your reflection. But a different reflection.

The blonde goddess nodded and smiled. "yes, but I believe I don't have the pleasure of knowing your… name."

A pause. It was all it took for the goddess to jump him.


Persephone has never seen her friend act this way. Psyche was a nice girl. She was polite, soft-spoken, kind (especially to good mortals) and nurturing.

Who is this boy that made Psyche act this way?

Tackling the boy to the ground, Medea had to pry the goddess away because said goddess look of absolute abhorrence scared everyone.

"Psyche! What's wrong?"

"He's…" Psyche's face looked astounded, eyes big with awe and madness. She looked happy but berserk too. "He's… he's my child!"

That wasn't right. "Huh?" Psyche was one of the very few gods who had fidelity. Eros was the love of her life. She loved him dearly to the point that she has never, not once, birthed a demi-god.

"My child! My child is here! I need… I need to call Eros." Psyche brought out a Drachma and summoned a rainbow. But before the goddess could throw it, Persephone stopped her.

"I think we should breathe first."


Since Persephone was the only person who could eat Izanami's treats, Izanami's attendants came into the room carrying trays of snacks.

Medea was eager to meet her kids but she had to be worried for Minato's safety. Psyche was generally a goddess who didn't act out often, at least that's how the gossip went.

"What's this about Minato being your son?"

After a moment (and with Persephone calming the goddess down) Psyche actually looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry. It's just, it's the first time I've seen someone who might as well be my son."

"You're not making any sense." Persephone said.

Psyche opened her mouth to say something but closed it. She opened it again but closed it again. She placed a hand over her chin and thought about it for a second before saying, "I want to claim him but… I couldn't."

"Can you start from the beginning?" Medea could see Persephone growing worried.

"There's nothing to start with. This boy… is a boy who stands above all humans."

Izanami tried to hide a snort. "All humans she says."

Persephone's patience was getting thinner. Medea could actually feel it: the whole area was starting to get chilly.

The goddess of fertility finally looked at the boy and [Gazed] into his soul. Only to be hurled backwards into the air.


After Minato apologized, Psyche had to constantly be reminded that Minato was not some pet that she could mother to death.

"I don't understand why you're acting this way." Persephone said. "I know that he's Exalted. I know that much but–"

"He embodies the human soul." There was a sparkle in her eye, "And that's something that rarely happens. Ooh~ I just want to take care of you and pet you and feed you~"

"Please stop," Persephone crossed her arms, "The last time that happened, you caused so much drama with Freud and all his contemporaries. Besides, we should behave."

Izanami was smiling, eyes into crescent-moon shapes. She was handing out mugs of tea ("I swear it's safe for mortals!") to the people present "Don't mind me; I'm just happy I have guests."

Medea cleared her throat. "Well, I think we should get back to what we were doing."

Minato kept quiet, sipping his drink. He frankly didn't care that they were calling him Exalted. It's probably just some title that he got because he was a traveler from a different world, or maybe this was Elizabeth's doing. But, again, this was a second chance.

He still felt bad when the [Sea of Souls] retaliated when Persephone peered into his soul.

Persephone nodded when her friend seemed to have calmed down. "I understand the gist of it. I read it from Izanami's letter: you want to see your children again."

Medea nodded. "I was told that it was under the Greek underworld's jurisdiction."

Persephone nodded, "Though there's more to it than that."

"What do you mean?"

"I am [Hades' Queen], which can be seen as [Queen of Hades]. While I have power of Hades, the dead is complicated all-together." She turned to the hostess, "Izanami-sama, might I perhaps include one other god in our presence?"

Izanami, who for millennia have been alone, beamed at the mention of another guest, "Oh yes. Yes! Please do!"

"He's outside–"

They blinked and they were already sitting out by the engawa (roughly the Japanese equivalent to porches). Overlooking them was a modest garden with a spring and a bamboo fountain– a shishi-odoshi.

If Minato wasn't disoriented with the change, he would have questioned the design choice since bamboo fountains were used mostly to scare animals away but kept it to himself. He was only here to accompany Medea, and eat some free snacks. Well mostly to eat snacks because he was broke as fu–

Who is that?

Outside was a muscular man with regal features. His skin was dark chocolate, and protruding from his back was… wings? Minato and this man's eyes met.

His honey gold eyes with Minato's deep blue ones.

Wait. Something isn't–


Drew was having dinner with her father when the earth began to tremble. Picture frames fell from the walls. Books and manga toppled to the grounded. And Drew had to grab the dining table for support.

Coming from a country that rarely had earthquakes, Drew was faring better.

"It's magnitude 5, at the very least." Her father commented, standing up from the table. Even though the earth wobbled, he walked calmly. Picking up a picture frame that fell, he turned to Drew. "Let's check the news."

From outside, a loud siren rang, followed by a loud announcement.

They were calling it a volcanic eruption, advising the residence to evacuate immediately. Sure they were in a mountainous, seaside town but as far as Drew was considered there were no volcanoes nearby. She should know, the first week she got here, she visited all the tourist spots in the city to enjoy herself.

Something wasn't right.

Her father moved over to his laptop and saved his files. "Grab your things."

Drew nodded. This was a total 360 to his normal amicable self. Despite dressed in a loose shirt and sweatpants, despite his unkempt hair and unshaven face, despite the bags under his eyes, Drew's father was sharp.

He was in control. Then again, the artists and assistants he employed have always said that – Drew just didn't believe them.

Now… now her father acted as an authority figure.

Maybe that's what her mother liked about in him, because this was indeed a dashing side of Minoru Tanaka. "Okay."

Outside, she met up with her father. He was surrounded by neighbors, worried and stressed. "Let's act calmly and evacuate." He said assuredly, nodding at them. "Our safety is more important."

He found her among the crowd and excused himself, "Drew, are you ready?"

Drew was about to nod when a worried neighbor approached them. "Tanaka-san, Tanaka-san!" It was Kenta's grandmother. Since they lived nearby, Drew knew her well-enough. Though she often saw Kenta and her grandmother on weekends before the sunset because that's when discounts would appear in the nearby supermarket.

"You're… Kenta's grandmother, am I correct? Is everything okay?" Her father looked at Drew. 'Classmate', she mouthed.

Her father made him 'ah' look in realization.

"You have to help me, Kenta!" her grandmother was out of breath. She wasn't dainty, nor was she some frail woman by any means, but she was out of her element.

"Obāsan," which Drew used out of respect because Japan is so different from America, "please relax first."

"Kenta–!"The ground rumbled again, but weaker than before, making the nearby people scream in fear. Drew grabbed the woman's shoulder to stop her from falling.

When the ground stopped shaking, Drew asked, "What about Kenta?"

"He needs help!"


The local yokai can only look on with worry. Normally, Boss would've taken care of the problem seeing as Boss was smart and knew how to solve problems, but Boss was acting weird.

He didn't fight back. Well, he guarded from the assailant's attacks but didn't retaliate.


After calling for an ambulance, Drew and her father walked to her classmate's residence.

Kenta lived with his grandmother while his mother worked in Tokyo. His father, well… In any case, it was a modest home a small family could live in. It was located at the edge of the town.

"Kenta's unconscious after a bookshelf fell on him." His grandmother explained. "It's so heavy I couldn't lift it."

Entering the house, Drew was immediately greeted with the sight of her unconscious classmate. It was a big bookshelf indeed, and poor Kenta was underneath it.

Drew and her father grabbed the bookshelf's frame and slowly lifted it up.

When it budged and rose, the grandmother pulled his grandson out.

Kenta was a tall guy and an athlete. Her father couldn't carry him out of the house so she and her father had to support him.

Outside, Kenta was laid along the walls of the sidewalk. Problem averted, Drew checked her classmate. Despite years in Camp, first aid was something she didn't focus on. Because all this time she thought she didn't need it because she would never proactively go for an adventure.

Now she regretted not bothering to learn it. This was her friend, and there was nothing she could do to help him–

BOOM!

From the distance, there was a loud explosion. The earth rumbled again.

Her eyes traveled to its origin and frowned. That's a lot of Mist.

"Hey, hey!" She looked around and found a pair of yokai. One was appeared as a bi-pedaled dog dressed in a kimono while the other was a raven that wore a tall hat. They were talking to each other.

"I'm worried about Boss." The raven said, flapping his wings. "It's the first time I've seen him like this."

Drew would've dismissed it as chatter among yokai if not for the dog yokai follow-up. "Minato-sama isn't a pushover."

Minato? Granted this was a big city and there were probably tons of people named Minato out there, but she had a gut-feel that this was related to her other classmate.

"Hey you." Drew walked over to two.

The two looked at the young girl. "Oh no, she saw us."

"Quick hide!"

"Wait!" They didn't listen. "Stop!"

"I said: stop." The followed her instruction.

She ran up to them, "What was this about Minato. And don't lie."

"Oh," the dog yokai started to tremble in agitation, "You mean Boss? Well, he's currently fighting someone."

"You'd think that after doing the impossible like getting out of the underworld, people would get the hint and not bother him, but no… some people are just so dumb!" The raven then squawked.

Well that basically confirms that it was the Minato that Drew knew. But… "Someone is fighting Arisato-san?"

The dog shrugged, "It didn't smell like a yokai." "Actually," the yokai sniffed, "smells just like you!"

"So a demi-god?" Drew, in some sick humor, was finally using her brain cells that she's neglected to use, "No, maybe someone from the Greeks?"

The raven shook his head, "I don't know. I've never been outside of these lands. But we yokai can sense it: definitely like you!"


In the Sea of Souls, Minato had to drown out all the voices that bombarded him. The demons wanted revenge. Angels wanted to retribution. Heroes wanted to test their mettle. Martyrs and orators wanted to compromise. Gods and spirits debated on the best way to handle the situation.

Orpheus was equipped. The improved Orpheus that was the culmination of his [Journey]. His resistance to basically everything guaranteed Minato's safety from harm.

But then again, his assailant used powers that were not around his original world. Orpheus was only equipped as precaution and Minato used his enhanced reflexes to evade harm.


With a little bit of coercion, Drew wanted to do three things: instruct her father and Kenta's grandmother to evacuate immediately, instruct the yokai to bring a big yokai who could fly – big enough to carry two, and instruct said yokai to drop Kenta off to the nearest hospital.

Getting the adults to safety was easy enough. The raven yokai nodded and quickly flew off. Five minutes later, a gigantic… snake-like yokai appeared. It had wings, with blue-hued scales, two limbs that served as arms with class, and a human face (a bald-headed man with a pointy nose). An Itsumade, if memory served her right.

How fitting. An itsumade was a yokai that appeared during times of calamity.

"You, drop us off to the nearest hospital." Drew grabbed Kenta's right arm, slung it over her shoulder and stood up. The unconscious lad was heavy but Drew has her godly heritage to aid her, so it wasn't that hard.

There another earthquake, this time stronger than the first time, which made Drew wobble on the ground. A second later, an explosion.

Drew looked up, and from the distance, where the Mist was converging, lights of different colors shone.