"So, have you decided what college you wish to attend?" My counselor asks, as I nod, holding up the image I printed off, with the information below it.
"I want to attend the University of A-City, sir," I answer. "I know the Main Continental language by heart, so communicating won't be hard."
My mother was from the Main Continent's A-City, so she had raised me and my three other brothers in a bilingual household. She had given me many things in life, such as motherly TLC, but also ass whoopings if I didn't try my hardest or take the turkey out of the freezer to thaw for Thanksgiving. Physically, she had given me her sharp grey eyes, button nose, small mouth, short height (a whopping 5'1"!) and plump lips; while my dad had given me his dark red hair, pale skin, freckles, and a burning hatred for rainstorms.
Mostly because as a child he told me it was God peeing when it rained, so I would always make sure I never got caught in a rainstorm. Thanks for that, Dad.
Our family lived on a small tropical island a to the west of the Main Continent, a common tourist place. We lived on the opposite side of the tourist island half, and were our own country under 'America.' It was constantly belittled for not being apart of the MC, and everyone thought we were a bunch of savages running around. In all honesty, they can think whatever, since their tourism is giving all of us money for our life.
"And you want to be a veterinarian, correct?" He asks, flipping through my files, peering over his cracked lenses.
"Yeah, that's the plan," I answer, giving a nod. "My uncle is a professor there, so he can help me get into the school."
The guidance counselor peered over his lenses at me, eyes stern. "Gina, you do realize that the University of A-City has a 30% acceptance rate, and an even lower one for students outside the Main Continent. They hardly accept students outside, maybe one or two a year."
"I understand, but I really know I can do it," I argue, as he sighs, leaning back in his swivel chair. The ancient thing creaks under his weight, begging him to get his fat, lard-like body off of it.
"Alright, I'll send over your information to the United States Scholarship program and the MC one. I would call your uncle to ask him to talk-you-up so you can get accepted."
"Thank you, sir!" I stand up, giving a quick nod of thanks, before booking it out of the smelly guidance counselor office.
My name is Gina Johnson, a senior at the Marmalade Highschool in Kauai, Hawai'i, and I'm hoping to get in to the University of A-City.
Hopping on my bike, I ride down the hill that my highschool dwelled upon, going over a couple of blocks to get to the clutter of houses where about 1/4 of my grade lived. Our school had a maximum of 200 kids, so everyone knew everyone and nothing was a secret.
Pulling up to my house, I dispatch my bike in the lawn, before running across the street to my cousin's (on my dad's side) house. My mom was the only one of her 4 siblings to immigrate over to the U.S, so my cousins get free tickets over to Kauai (since my dad is a pilot) to visit us.
Hawai'i was something of a touristy place for Main Continenters. We mainly spoke in our own language, and since we were different than the MC's inhabitants we had a hard time going over to their continent, so they mostly visited us.
"Penny! Get your butt out! We're going surfing!" I call out, cupping my hands over my mouth as Penny tumbles out the front door.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" She replies, running over to me with her bag in hand. If anyone were to see us together they wouldn't believe we were related. While my dad's sister is her mom, her father is a man of Latino and African descent. Penny had a clay skin color with kinky black hair pulled into a tight ponytail. Her dark brows fell over round doe-like dark brown eyes, and she grinned at me, showing off her pearly white teeth.
"What's up, short stuff?" She asks, patting me on the head as I smacked her hand away.
She was also 5'9" and a year younger than me, so she thought this would be another great opportunity to make fun of my short height.
"Not much, bean pole." I stick my tongue out, hopping into the passenger's side of her jeep.
"Baka," she spits out, inserting her keys into the old Jeep as it sputtered to life. She's a sophomore in high school this year, but she owns a car since she works across the island at some restaurant, since it was the only place that wanted to hire a 14 year old cook (at the time). Now that she's turning 16, she's head chef and makes super good food. She's planning on becoming a chef one day, and has always loved cooking. When we were kids, she'd come over to my house and watch my mom make food, so she picked up some Continent cuisine, too. Since she's constantly over at my house, she's picked up verbal Continent (but can't write in it), and I've picked up Spanish (I can probably write in it, since there's no Kanji characters or something similar).
We usually go to the beach in our free time, surfing, running on the beach, swimming, or whatever we feel like. She always had a healthy tan while I was pale as a ghost.
And she also looked better in a bikini than I did, since I look like a 12 year old boy who hasn't hit puberty yet. Damn pancakes!
We drove over there and surfed for a bit, before heading back home to my house for dinner. We ate, then fell asleep, then went to highschool again the next day.
And we repeated this process until-
January 31st, 20XX
"I got accepted! Oh my gods!" I screech as my mom and dad hug me tightly.
"I can't believe they accepted a vegetable like you," my brother, Saburo, grumbles. Sticking my tongue out at him, he flipped me off at an angle my parents wouldn't see.
"Saburo, that's not nice," my mom clucked, "apologize!"
"I'm sorry," he spits out, and I roll my eyes. Saburo was the only brother still left at home at age 13, my other brothers had left the nest already. Ken, the eldest a 25, was over in another island as a celebrity lawyer, and Akio, 19, was at a Marine Base over on O'ahu.
"It's alright, burro," I reply, using the nickname Penny had given him. He winces, and I know I had struck a chord in the dumbass.
Hehe, get it?
"Congrats! College starts in April, so you're graduating early, right?" Penny asks, calmly sipping some pineapple soda at the table.
"Yeah, it does, so I'll be missing Prom. Not like I was going to go, anyway," I replied, "all the guys in my grade are boke. I've grown up with them, so there's nothing romantic there/"
"Gina!" My mom gasps, thwacking me on the back of my head. Rubbing the spot, I sigh as my brother laughs like a hyena in the corner. My dad thwacks him on the back of the head with a newspaper, "No laughing at your sister!"
Stifling a giggle, my mom sighs. "Why can't you both be as good as Penny?"
She smirks over her can of soda, obviously loved being praised. I get praised at her house, and she gets praised at mine, so I'll laugh at her later.
February 27th, 20XX
Shutting off my phone on the airplane over to the Main Continent, I wiggle down in comfort on the seat of the plane. I was going to Main Continent on an overnight flight my Dad had snagged for me last minute, so next week Friday will be the entrance ceremony. The older plane was half-full, with half of it being people coming back to MC or American tourists using Hawaii as their stepping stone. Pulling out my book I had bought at the airport based off the cool sounding name, I looked at the cover.
The Legend of the Fighter
It sounded as ambiguous as the cover was, which was simply a sword with a gloved fist wrapped around it. Flipping open the first page, I was immediately immersed into the storyline. It was about a female fighter under the guise of a man in 1000 AC, and she was a skilled fighter, the best in the entire country. Men wished they were her, women fell at their feet, but no one knew he was actually a she. She pushed back invaders using sword skills and combat skills, and was about to explain her origins-
*DING DING*
A ping had alerted the cabinet members, waking some from their restless sleep. The captain cleared his throat just as the plane hit a bump, and I clutched my armrest.
"Hello everyone, it seems there is some turbulence due to an unexpected storm, so please remain seated and calm. Thank you."
It clicked as the call ended, and I slid open the window next to me. It was pouring torrents rain, pattering annoyingly across the glass and my brow furrowed as I saw lightning in the distance, followed quickly by thunder. The flaps of the wings fluttered frantically, rain dripping off of it quickly.
Not only do I hate rain, but this is unsafe. Leaving the window open, I go back to reading when a large bolt of lightning crashed through the wing. Gasping, the engine on that side slowly stopped spinning as the oxygen masks came crashing down from the ceiling. Others were still sleeping, and the stewardesses were calmly waking people up.
This is not the time to be calm! Taking the oxygen masks and placing one on the child and the mother next to me, I placed mine on before shaking them awake.
"Wh-what's going on?" the child groggily asks, as the pilot finally pressed the alert.
*DING DING*
"It seems the right wing of the plane has been struck by lightning, everyone, please remain calm and we will fix the problem. Thank you."
Rolling my eyes at the stupid captain, I wake up the people in front of me and behind me, alerting them to put on the masks. Someone shrieks, waking up the whole plane and sending them into a frenzy. Grabbing the lifejacket, I loop it around myself, but I don't inflate it yet.
Looking out the window, I had noticed a sheet of metal had slid off the wing, revealing the mechanics under it. Fear settled in a knot under my stomach as another sheet had unhinged itself, barely holding on. The stewardesses tried to calm the passengers, as I unslid the airbag from my mouth, as I scooted out of the seats, running up to the passenger's box. Since my dad was a pilot he taught me how to take control of the situation if needed, and these pilots need to do something!
Bursting into the captain's pit, both of them looked overworked and scared. Both were in their mid 50s, with the one on the left with the nametag 'Johnson' had greying hair, while 'Watanabe' had dark frizzy hair.
"What is going on here? Why are you here?!" Johnson asks, blue eyes trained forward on the scene.
"Sheets of metal have literally come off the wings! We're going down!" I answer, trying to keep myself from lashing out. "Have either of you alerted the Coast Guard, yet?"
"We're a couple of hours out from the Main Continent, and we've alerted the Kaijō Hoan-chō, and we will be crashing." Watanabe calmly answers, "We will have the passengers calmly get off the airplane by boat or sliding off."
I've seen images of plane crashes in water, it literally looks like someone dropped an egg on concrete. There's no way we'd be able to survive the crash into water!
"We need to get out," I affirm, "the moment we hit water we're dead!"
"What would you know? You're not a trained pilot, or else you'd be flying," Johnson spits out, as I look over the window to see the ocean below us.
It's about 60 degrees in the ocean right now since it's February, thank god it won't be freezing cold...but still...
I inhale through my nose, admitting defeat.
"Fine. You all can handle this," I glare at them, "but you all need to fix the issue at hand."
Marching out of the cabin, a stewardess was standing over another one, who appeared to have fainted from shock. Damn, was no one trained here? People were crying, screaming, looking ready to pee their pants.
"Alright, everyone!" I shout, causing all eyes to turn to me, making the plane go silent. "We need to put on our life jackets! Once we get closer to the water we'll need to jump out of the plane!"
"Shouldn't we stay in the plane?" Someone asks, getting murmurs of agreement.
"Once the plane hits the water, it'll be like an egg hitting concrete at thousands of miles per hour. I have a plan! We'll take the inflatable rafts and throw them out into the ocean, where people will inflate them. Then, we will have children jump out of the plane first, or if they're too young we'll have mothers come with them. Then the elderly, then men and women."
"What about women and children first?!" An enraged woman asks.
"People with critical needs will go first, gender doesn't matter here!" I reply, grabbing the inflatable life boat box. There was 4 more. I kick off my socks and shoes, and remove my hoodie. Setting the box down, I look up. "We'll need 3 volunteers, two for each side. I need strong swimmers!"
Surfing has helped me out a lot, so if I can withstand strong waves I can withstand an inflatable raft in the ocean. 3 men stepped up, all looking burly.
"We're from the University of Toyo's swim team, we can help," the biggest says, and I nod, tying my hair into a bun.
"Alright, let's go!" I answer, sliding open the door. Turning back to the crowd as the wind blew in my face, I cleared my throat. "The moment we're in the water, you all need to get ready to jump out!"
We were about fifty feet from the ground, and I jumped in. The air rustled around me, before I crashed into the waves, pulling myself up. The shorts I had on were barely dragging me down, but the shirt was tough. Regardless, I took the inflatable raft, and pulled a cord, making it puff up into life. The other swimmer followed, and soon tons of people jumped out, swimming towards the rafts.
The captain's doors didn't open when the plane hit the water, and parts flew everywhere.
Grabbing the raft, I push it by an incoming wave that pushed them far from the plane's parts so they wouldn't get hit, and the other swimmers followed suit. Turning towards the plane, it hadn't begun to sink yet as I swam over.
"What are you doing!" the biggest swimmer calls, as I lift my head up for air. "I need to get the other captains out!"
Pulling myself into the plane, I rushed towards the two captains who had slumped over in their chairs, foreheads slightly bloody. They must've hit their heads on the consoles when the collision happened! Water had risen to my feet now, and I sloshed forwards towards them.
Grabbing them by the collar, I started walking slowly, dragging the both of them behind me as I kicked open the captain's door. Two of the swimmers awaited me there, and I passed them a captain each, and they floated the captains up. The water was at my waist now, and the plane was sinking faster.
Pulling myself through the water, I pushed out the door, struggling to swim. Suddenly, I couldn't move at all. Turning my head towards my foot, it had gotten caught on the back of the chair. Trying to yank my foot out of it, it remained there, unbudging. Gasping for air, I went under the water, and opened my eyes, blinking away at the salt as I bent by my foot, trying to yank it free. It moved slightly, and I went up for air again to have the water be level at my shoulders.
I went under the water again, and looked at my ankle. The only way I could get it free would be if I was to twist it...
Squeezing my eyes shut, I quickly twisted my ankle as excrutiating pain shot up my leg, and I screamed underwater. The sound was muffled, filling my mouth with gross, salty water. My ankle had come free, and I pulled myself to the surface of the water, gasping for air as I spat out the salty water.
The swimmers and the rafts were far away, and everyone was saved...thank god.
Putting my face up to the surface of the water, rain continued to pelt my face, but it felt better than being thrust underwater by its saltiness. I should start swimming over to the rafts, now.
Flipping over on my stomach, I lifted one arm to swim when a sudden bright white light flooded my senses, sending excruciating pain starting with my neck, spreading to the rest of my body.
If I thought breaking my ankle was bad, this was worse. It felt like fire ants crawling up and down my body, while I was being punched by the Hulk.
Closing my eyes, I was surrounded by blackness, and I hoped to pass out so I would no longer feel the pain.
"You risked your life to save others, how honorable," a smooth voice said in my head, distracting me from the pain. Why did they sound sarcastic?
"Someone had to do it," I thought back, and I could almost hear them laughing.
"No one had to do it. You chose to." I couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl voice, it just sounded like a normal person.
"Are you God?"
"Far from it."
"Is this a voice I created to comfort me in my last hours? I've read about that stuff," I reply, as the voice chuckles, a light flooding in my black vision.
"No, you see, I'm here to help you."
The light morphed into a shape, forming the outline of a person until it did. It was a tall, ruggedly-dark man with his black hair looking like soft black feathers that fell to his ears. He had dark, ruby red calculating eyes, a marble like complexion and a jaw of steel. He was dressed like a normal worker, with a black suit, black tie and a white undershirt.
"Done checking me out?" he smirks, and I feel myself roll my eyes.
"Are you Satan?"
"Nah, he's kind of one of my bosses, though, Hades, formally speaking; but no, I'm not him. I'm Death."
He must be fucking with me.
"No, I'm not fucking with you...yet."
"Gag. Anyway, what do you want?" I ask, feeling myself crossing my arms mentally. Even if he was Death, anything distracting me from the pain that's coursing through me is good enough.
"My bosses think what you did was heroic or whatever. Well, Hades thought it was funny, Zeus miscalculated and hit you. Poseidon is kind of angry about another plane crash in the water, but he doesn't care much so it's all taken care of."
What in the world is he talking about?!
"What's the point already?"
"Oh, yeah, that." He pulls out a business card, handing it over to me, "Yeah, that sounds ridiculous. Here, take a look at this."
The business card said 'Death, Destroyer of Worlds, Collector of Souls, Head of the Shinigami Dispatch Division.'
"Yeah, this is obviously trying to comfort me in my final hours, but thanks anyway." I answer, pocketing the card.
"No, I'm serious! I'm Death!" He whines, before coughing. "Anyway, here is the offer. Zeus and Hades have been playing a dangerous game."
I arch a brow, "What is it?"
"Hades wants to become the god of everything, essentially taking Zeus' place. Since its literally been forever since this has been debated, Zeus wants to stir up some interest. Think of it as a game of chess," Death casually explains, "only with human kind as the chess pieces, and the Main Continent the chess board."
I cross my arms, for gods they don't seem to care much about causing calamity.
"Hades will amplify the greed in some people's hearts, essentially turning them into monsters. Zeus is allowing humanity to choose their chess pieces, as long as he gets to choose one. Due to your heroic act, he has decided to choose you."
"That sounds really gross." I stick out my tongue, I remember in mythology Zeus was a known womanizer.
"Not like that, nasty. He will give you powers to defeat the monsters, and you won't have to die. Do we have a deal?" Death asks, and I arch a brow.
"Don't people say to not make a deal with Death?"
Death rolls his ruby red eyes, "Hardee-har-har, very funny. But seriously, don't you want to live and go to the University of A-City and fulfill your dream of being a vet?"
My face falls from it's hard look to one of shock, "How do you know that?"
Death smirks, crossing his arms. "Trust me, we know everything. It'd be creepier if you were a more disgusting human being, it's not too bad...except that you dislike country music!"
"Country music is the worst, okay?!" I shout back, and he hmmphs, massaging his temples.
"Regardless, if you accept the deal you won't have to die. Zeus made that bolt of lightning especially powerful, so you'd have the chance to come back to life. That had 777 Billion Volts in it. If you don't accept, you're definitely dead."
My jaw dropped, as I gasped loudly. 777 is an odd number, but oh well, it's probably a joke, anyway. Either way, I'm dead meat. "No way that's possible! The most is, like, 1 billion!"
"The extra volts were to create a container of power for you in case you accept the deal, and you will accumulate more within you as time goes on. So as time goes on, you will become even more powerful."
The words sunk in, and I realized something. "Will I be human, still?"
Something changed in Death's facial composure, something similar to pity. "No.''
"What will I be?" I ask, pressuring him to tell me, and he sighs. "You'd be a demi-god. I wasn't supposed to tell you this unless asked, but since I'm technically giving you power to live after death, this is what you'd become."
I looked down, seeing the bare feet with droplets of water on it. I can either die, and leave my family and friends saddened at my loss, or I can live on, but I'll have to live with the burden of humanity upon my shoulders.
I'll take the burden, then.
Looking up at Death, a determined look settles on my face. "It's a deal, then."
Death smiles in relief, sticking his hand forward. "It's a deal."
I grasp his hand, shaking it as a ruby red fire engulfs the both of our hands, crawling up our arms. The fire soon withdraws from Death's arms, joining my arm as it goes around my body.
It nulls the pain, before finally making it vanish completely as Death begins to fade.
"You'll be waking up soon, so just wait here until then. I am positive we'll meet again, Gina Johnson."
The last thing of him that disappeared was his haunting ruby red eyes, and I sat down in the darkness, looking at my hands. My body was probably in the middle of the ocean, still. Maybe the Kaijō Hoan-chō had rescued me, maybe I was dead and this was me trying to convince myself I wasn't dead.
The darkness around me began to fade to a white, and I closed my eyes, rubbing them as I reopened them to new surroundings.
I was laying in the bed of a hospital, the thin white sheets pulled over my stomach. My uncle was in the visiting chair, talking to a nurse as they both looked over at me.
"It seems Sleeping Beauty's awaken," my uncle chuckles, as I smiled faintly, looking at the IV drip in my arm.
"Water," I rasp, as the nurse quickly takes the pitcher of water on the dresser, passing it over to me. Drinking it quickly, I give it back to her, looking at my uncle.
"How long was I out?" I ask, and my uncle looks at me with his silver eyes.
"2 days, today is Monday. The Kaijō Hoan-chō rescued you quickly after you were struck by lightning. They pumped the water out of your chest, and were about to use a defibrillator but they took your pulse, and it was completely normal. They took you to the hospital, and all of your vitals were measured and all were normal." The nurse fills in, "Once the Doctor makes sure you're healthy, you can actually leave."
The nurse withdrew the IV drip from my arm before leaving to get the doctor as I looked over at my uncle. "Is it a miracle I'm alive?" I ask, and he nods.
"Yes, the bolt that hit you was at least 500 million volts. You should be dead."
He's not wrong there...
"Thank the gods you're not, though," he finishes, walking over to me and squeezing my hand lightly. "We thought you'd die, your family and Penny were worried."
The doctor came in before I could reply, and he made sure I was all good to leave. My uncle, Endo, was a professor for Chemistry over at UoT. He was constantly in the lab, so we only talked with him over Skype and when he visited every-other year for a week or so with his wife.
"Do you want to stay in the dorms? Aiko and I have another room at home," he references my aunt, but I shake my head. "I'll stay in the dorms, thanks, Uncle."
"No problem, I'll drive you over there, now."
Standing up, I looked at my ankle, surprised to see it unhurt, only slightly bruised. Maybe I imagined breaking it? Brushing it off, I followed Uncle Endo to the car.
He drove me to UoT's dorms, dropping me off at the front. "So, everything that I brought is currently at the bottom of the ocean?" I ask, and Uncle nods, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing a purple flip phone.
"Here, I had your family get all their contact info in on it." he tosses it over to me, and I catch it. "Since you saved a lot of people, they started a fundraiser to get you money so you can buy some replacement items. It ends next Friday, so you can borrow some of your Aunt's clothing for now."
I nod in thanks, "Thank you, Uncle. I'll see you later."
He drives off, as I run to the front desk and get my room number: 349. Going up to the third floor, I unlock the door with the key and enter the room.
It was a small dorm room, with two bunk beds. On the bottom bunk, instead of a bed there was a desk, a school laptop on each. A man was already typing on it, and he looked up at me.
"Oh! I must be in the wrong dorm, I apologize!" I blush as he chuckles, standing up and taking off his glasses, revealing his ruby red eyes.
"Miss me?" He asks, and I gasp.
"Death?"
"You can call me Dean so people don't get freaked out," he answers, putting his hands in his pockets. He was wearing the same damn suit as he was when I first met him. "I'm also your room mate!"
"Uh, no, you're not. This is a girl's dorm, in case you haven't noticed." I cross my arms, and he rolls his eyes.
"Aren't you a Sassy Susie? I'm not going to be sleeping overnight here, but it's the cover so you get this room to yourself for your training. Besides, anyone who sees me coming out of your dorm will just assume I'm your boyfriend." He informs matter-of-factly, and I arch a brow. Gross.
"That sounds gross, and what about training?"
"To fight Hades' side, of course. You see, right now the heavens are split. An extreme amount of minor gods are taking themselves under Hades' wing, while the more major gods are taking Zeus' side, while some remain neutral. Power is on the side of the person who wins this battle," Death informs, and I sigh.
"This sounds like the whole fate of the heavens is on my shoulders."
"It's not just your shoulders, but you'll be leading it," he waves off, causing me to shudder.
"What was that training thing you mentioned?" I ask, taking off my shoes and setting them by the side of the door.
"Oh, that! Well, a priestess saw a few years into the future and saw the strongest man's training. It was quite similar to Heracles', too, but Heracles started off with a lot more. This guy is very indifferent, though, so Zeus chose not to recruit him, since he'd probably not care." Death informs, and my face droops.
"Great, I was second choice."
"His training regimen 100 Push-Ups, 100 Sit-Ups, 100 Squats and a 10KM, but he's a normal human," Death, err, Dean quipped, a smirk growing on his pink lips, "so, since you're a demi-god now, you'll be doing double of that. Every. Single. Day."
"What?!" I screech, and Dean cackles. "Not only that, but you won't have any air conditioner or heater! Strengthens the mind!"
That's even worse!
"And, you won't be able to drink regular water from bottles! You'll have to drink tap water, too!" He cackles, a dark look in his eyes as I fall to the ground.
Death is too cruel.
"And no chocolate milk!"
I fall to the ground, utterly defeated. Choccy milk is the best milk, and I look up. "When can I have the chocolate milk?"
"After you defeat 5 monsters." He smiles, "But this is just preparation for the battles to come. There's other minor heroes who are taking care of the monsters, but Hades will be causing a large influx soon enough."
"Ugh! Why are they taking so long up there?" I ask, and he sighs, sitting down. "You don't understand how old these gods are, another year or two is similar to a day for them. Another stepping stone."
I stand up, sitting in the chair and I relax slightly. The chair is really nice and comfortable. "Why are you training me? Don't you have people to kill or something?"
"I don't, the Shinigami Dispatch takes care of that for me. I only do them when I have a shortage of workers, which is almost every day, but I'm on a paid vacation, technically." he examines his nails, stretching out his fingers, "Besides, it's either me or Heracles, and Heracles would've made you start off with 5x the amount."
50 km...that's 30 miles!
"I'm suddenly grateful," I groan out, and Death smiles a cheery smile. "Great! We start today! There's a pair of running shoes, t-shirt and running shorts for you on your bunk bed."
"What about a sports bra?" I ask, as Death looks me up and down. "Do you really need one?"
My cheeks flush, as I shove him out the door. "Get out!"
He cackles as I slam the door behind him, looking at the top of the bunk bed. There was a sports bra there, he must've been messing with me.
Putting on the sports bra, shorts and running shoes, I look in the standing-mirror, examining my body. I was still slightly pale from just coming from the hospital, and I should probably eat something before I start working out. Turning around and looking in the mirror, I gasp at what I saw.
A large lichtenburg figure had formed a perfect circle on the back of my neck. It branched outward, some of it crawling up my neck, some sprawling over my shoulder, and some of it went down past mid-back. The scariest part was the perfect circle in the base of my neck, though, which was slightly whiter than the rest of my skin.
That's where I was struck, I guess. Walking outside of my dorm, I look at Death, who crosses his arms.
"Where is your shirt?" He asks, and I point inside the room. "I don't need a shirt, it'll just get drenched in sweat, anyway."
"Fine, let's get you something to eat before you work out."
I've never had a BLT this good before, mostly because I've never eaten one after coming out of a 2 day coma. Wiping my mouth with my hands, Death went on his iPhone 4, texting someone from it.
We waited 20 minutes before doing the exercises, and after all the 200 reps it was time for the worst possible thing ever: the 20km run. I've always hated running, so this wasn't going to be fun.
"Alright, here's what you're going to do," he informs as I practically chug a bottle of tap water, "you're going to run to this Starbucks 10 KM away, and go to the drive through. When you run by, go to the window and run in place, and tell them you're picking up for Dean. They'll give it to you, and you'll run back. BUT! If you spill anything, you'll have to do it again."
"Fine." I nod, before standing at the starting line, already panting.
"Take your mark...go!"
"Well hello there, sweetie, what are you doing in the drive through?" The Starbucks employee asks, as I lean on the counter, breathing heavily.
"D-dean," I rasp, and she arches a brow. "What?"
"D-dean's order," I wheeze, "can I have it."
"Oh, silly me!" She reaches behind her, pulling out a scolding hot coffee with 3 scones in a bag. "I placed a little green thingie in it, too."
Nodding in thanks, I begin to run back, narrowly avoiding spilling the coffee or dropping the scones. Finally, I make it back to Dean, who's tapping his foot and checking his watch.
"2 hours, 40 minutes, and 29 second to do a 20km, you make me laugh," he snorts, taking a sip from the coffee, flicking the green stopper at me. "Since this is your first day, I'll allow the coffee stopper since it kept it hot, but next time you do this I'll make you do it again."
I ignore him, trudging past him to get to the water sitting on the table.
"That's a big no-no, it's bottled water, not tap," Dean tuts, smirking widely, "you'll have to go upstairs to get water from the tap."
"You really suck, you do realize that," I mumble, taking a singular step forward before collapsing in a heap on the ground, bile rising up my throat.
OCTOBER, 6 MONTHS LATER
"Here is your pumpkin spice latte, with a shot of cream, and here is your sugar cookie." I pass each item in turn to Dean, who takes a large gulp of the latte.
"Ah, human food never gets old." He shoots me a toothy grin, "I can tell your training's come a long way, all thanks to me, of course."
Glaring at him, I couldn't help but realize how true it was. My chubby cheeks were gone, replaced by high cheekbones, and all of my fat melted off and was replaced by pure muscle. The doctor the other day said I had a super low heart rate at 30 BPM, but when I told him how intensely I worked out he said it was understandable. It also might be due to the fact I'm now a demigod...
But it's still been hard, I vomited at least once a week due to the intense regimen, and had to take power naps constantly through the day to make sure I didn't fall asleep in class.
"I went to a public forum the other day on Mount Olympus about the events to come," Dean says between bites, and I look up. "Really?"
"The battle will begin soon, with an increase monsters appearing between 1-2 years from now. Some will be major, mostly minor in the beginning, but regardless they are coming, so we will need to move your training from the beginner's stage."
"What?" I ask, getting frustrated. Just as I had nearly mastered running a 20k daily!
"You will now run a 25k daily, alongside doing 250 of each exercise. Then, you will enter fighting training...with a buffoon," Dean growls spitefully at the end, and I arch a brow. "What?"
"The gods originally wanted to send him down here to help fight, but since he's in 'retirement' now for all the 'deeds' he committed, he'll train you to fight instead..." Dean complains, "he made an awfully large mess. He was so damn strong he knocked the souls out of enemies."
Gulp. That sounds scary.
"It was so much damn paperwork at the time, I'm getting a headache just thinking about it," Dean pinched his temples, breathing in.
"Who is it?" I ask, as Dean rolls his eyes.
"Heracles, the giant oaf. He's all brawn and no brain, for your information. He easily fell for almost every woman who dare bat an eyelash in his direction, fell prey to Hera's tricks, and-"
"Thanatos! It's been a long time!" A booming voice called out from behind Dean, causing him to sweat drop.
"Great," Dean murmurs, turning around to come face-to-chest with the biggest man I've ever seen. Other people around us were watching him, before hurridly looking away.
"Heyyyy Heracles, how's life," Dean dragged out hey, seemingly very excited to see the large oaf known as Heracles.
Heracles was the largest man I've ever seen, well over 7 feet tall. He had long brown hair pulled back from his face in a half-up-down ponytail, with the bottom half of his face covered in a brown beard. He had stern, blue eyes set deep into his skull, hidden under a pair of brown bushy brows. He had thin lips, complimented by a strong Roman nose. He had large muscles bulging out from under his black Nike shirt with a pair of jeans that looked like they would rip at any second if he twitched a large muscle.
It wasn't like he was unattractive, he just looked like a damn lumberjack!
"Oh, is this the new demigod?" He booms, looking down at me. Since I'm at least two feet shorter than him, I had to look up high to look him in the eye, squinting at the sun behind him.
"Uh, yeah, I'm Gina Johnson," I place my hand forward, err, more upward to him to shake. He took my small hands in his large meaty ones, shaking my hand which rattled me to the core. A faint shock coursed through our hands the moment we touched, and he yanked his hand back.
"I see! This is because of the lightning, yes?" He asks, and I nod.
Dean had explained to me that I harbored over 777 billion volts of lightning within me, and I was constantly absorbing more from around me. Whenever I touched anything except rubber I'd be shocked, which is somewhat annoying but I've gotten used to it over time.
"Very 'neat-o,' as humans say!" He laughs, giving Dean a large pat on the back, causing him to stumble forward. "I will teach Lady Gina now the art of sword fighting!"
"And do I have to ask someone else to teach her how to use the lightning?" Dean asks, composing himself once more.
"Zeus would be a good person!" Heracles offers, and Dean's eyes widen. "He'd be willing to do it?"
Heracles paused, giving Dean an 'are you stupid?' look. "No, I just meant he'd be a good person to do it."
Dean facepalmed as I stifled a laugh, following Heracles to a sparring area.
December 31st
"Another victory!" Heracles cheers, banging his wooden bokken against the ground, making me cringe.
Yes, another victory for the undefeatable Heracles, of course. The 199th, to be exact. I was tired of being beat up like this, it was annoying and I'm bruised like a damn avocado all over! Standing up, defeated, I walk past Heracles, heading for the door of the training gym.
"Are you surrendering already? You usually fight 5 battles!" Heracles calls out behind me, and with a few powerful strides he is right next to me.
"Tonight is New Year's Eve, and I'll be heading down to Kanda Myōjin with a few friends from class," I inform, waving as I walk off before Heracles can insert another word.
Heading to the girl's locker room, I quickly shower before dressing in a black sweater and a plaid skirt. My phone dings, as I pull out my phone.
'Can't make it tonight, family issues. Sorry! -Atami'
My eyebrows crease, but I text back a 'No worries! Hope it all goes smoothly. -Gina'
I hate flakes with a burning passion, so for her to bail out an hour before midnight is not cool. The two others had already bailed, so I don't see any reason to go to Kanda anyway. It's such a popular temple anyway, so I'll head out to Yushima Tenman and see if Dean wants to come with. I can pray for good grades or something.
Pulling up Dean's number, it rings a couple times before he picks up. "Hello?"
"Hey, Dean, want to meet me at Yushima Tenman before midnight?"
Dean sighs, and I can practically imagine him rolling his eyes on the opposite side. "Do I have to?"
"It's New Year's Eve, what else would you be doing?" I ask, and he paused, obviously looking for an excuse.
"Fine, I'll meet you there." He gives in, "I'll see you there in 15 minutes, no later than 11:45."
"You got it, see ya!" Hanging up the phone, I jog outside the school's gymnasium, heading over to my bike. Climbing onto it, I start peddling towards the shrine, arriving there quickly. Locking up my bike, I step aside, going by the steps and seeing Dean there.
"Hey Dean!" I wave over to him, and he crosses his arms, tapping his expensive shoes impatiently.
"Not a moment early, not a moment late." He clucks, looking at his Rolex. "Do you want to get a omamori?"
"Sure," I reply, and we walk to the stand, looking over the charms.
"What about I get you one, and you get one for me?" I ask, and he nods, rolling his eyes. "Whatever floats your boat, Gina."
Sifting through the charms, I thought a success one might be next, until the one that seemed just right for Dean was before me.
Pokkuri:an amulet to ward off death. Chuckling to myself, I place the appropriate yen on the table, before backing off and heading over to Dean who had already found an omamori.
"So, what did you get me?" He asks, and I arch a brow. "Close your eyes, first."
He rolls his eyes, closing them promptly. Taking the pokkuri omamori, I attach it around his cuff link, looping it twice so it won't fall off immediately. He opens his eyes, holding up the omamori, and he arches a brow, an amused expression on his face. "An omamori...to ward off Death? Shouldn't you be keeping this?"
"Ha ha," I roll my eyes, "I just thought it'd be ironic. I should've gotten you a custom one to ward off Heracles."
"Oh, that would be an extremely useful one," he responds as we burst into laughter. "Alright, now it's time for mine. Close your eyes."
"Alright," I say, closing my eyes. In the darkness I can feel a small silk square be placed on my hand, the string dangling off of it.
"Open your eyes."
Opening them, I look at the pastel red omamori, and I smile softly. "Strength?"
"Yeah, I know you've been having troubles with you and Heracles' training, so I hope this helps. If you don't like it I'll give it away-" he awkwardly says, rubbing the back of his neck. Laughing, I smile up at him. "Don't, I think it's cool. I think this'll definitely help, thanks."
For the next hour we talked, got food, and had a generally nice time.
"I've got to use the bathroom, I'll be right back," I state, feeling the urge to pee suddenly.
"Have fun," Dean replies as I scutter off to the bathroom, closing the stall door behind me. Relieving myself, I flushed the toilet and was about to leave when I heard the bathroom door open and a gaggle of girls entered. They gossiped as they stood in front of the mirror, doing their makeup.
''Ugh, who's that guy who's always with Gina?" One finally says, "I can't remember his name, but I always see them hanging outside school together. Anyway, I saw him outside, and he's kind of cute."
Putting my hand over my mouth to prevent myself from laughing, one of them puckers her lips in the mirror. I can't see their upper faces right now through the bathroom stall crack, they just need to turn their faces a bit more...
"Ew, Gina is so weird, though! She, like, barely talks to anyone after class, always going directly to the dorms," one of them says as my heart falls in my chest. Why was I being gossiped about? I've always been nice to everyone, and besides, the reason I always go directly to the dorms is because I go to training with Hercules straight after school.
"She's such a weird halfie with that American accent, like, go back to your stupid island!" Another tittered, as I feel tears begin to prick my eyes.
Since the Main Continent and Hawaii aren't that far away, it wasn't uncommon for there to be a lot of Main Continent-American kids at school, so we always joked around about being half American and Main-Continent. But, they made it seem like I was uneducated and came from a cave.
"Like, what's with the red hair? It looks so weird! I've never seen anyone with natural hair like that, she looks like a fire hydrant!" Another says, causing the other two to laugh. "Makes sense since sometimes she shows up to class looking like she showered in piss!"
In the beginning of my training I'd show up just in time for class, but I'd be a sweaty, heaving mess. Now I take a five minute shower after, but I don't always have enough time to blow dry my hair.
That's it, I've had enough! Wiping away my tears hastily, I open the stall door, and I join in on the laughing, causing everyone's heads to turn towards me. Now, I'm absolutely sure my heart has fallen out.
It was the girls I was going to go to the temple with. I never had many friends at my old school, I was a bit on the quieter side until people got to know me, and I thought I had finally made friends here after forming a group with them for our Psychology project.
But now? It all seemed to have been a lie, they probably only kept me around for a laughing source. I can't believe they lied to me, it hurt deeply inside.
I wanted to use my training, to pull out my fists and pummel them to the ground, but I wasn't going to do that, no.
I was going to do something worse. When they had been talking all this time about their grades and their family issues, I was listening whole-heartedly.
Now I was going to throw these back at them.
"You may call me these things, but at least I can get into college without having to give out hundreds of BJs," I look at Atami as her face falls. "Isn't the whole staff pleasured by you, now? It must be fun, having the whole staff giving you A's and B's when you're passing out the B's-"
"I'm going to kick your ass!" Atami screeches, starting towards me as one of her cronies, Jun, held her back. "Don't do it!" Jun says, and I recognized her as the one who called me fire hydrant. That must mean Atami called me weird and Dean cute, while Momo said I came from a stupid island. I must say that Momo's words hurt me most, so I'll save my roast for last.
"Jun means obedient, which is true. You follow Atami like a stray dog, and always stay on top of things, including your boyfriend, Jiro... or should I say girlfriend?" I smirk knowingly as Jun's face flushes, "W-what?"
I have nothing against gay people, but Jun had a bg secret.
"A couple of months ago you were 'sick' from school, so I went to your dorm to bring you your homework. When I opened the door, I saw you on top of another girl from our class...Rika, isn't it?"
"Ew, that weird blonde girl?!" Atami screeches, as Jun shakes her head. "You all know I really love Jiro-!"
"And Jiro just happens to be the rich-bitch cousin of Momo. If I'm correct, Momo, didn't Jiro happen to ask to help get Jun into school?" I ask, remembering her complain about her annoying cousin.
"Yeah," she mumbles, and I smirk. "Well, it seems Jun is only with him because he's her sugar daddy."
"Shut up, Gina!" Jun snaps easily, anger in her beady, black eyes. "You don't know what you're talking about!"
"Oh, I really do. After all, I'm from a stupid island, and we're very good at dropping the bomb." The girls gasp as I chuckle, looking at Momo. War of Poman took place 200 years ago, and my island dropped a bomb on the coast of what is F-City.
"Momo, meaning peach. You are quite peachy, always smiling at others, but that's a cover up, isn't it? I know you got in on C's, and you're parents paid for you to get in. Hell, the only reason that you aren't flunking out right now is because of Atami helping you out a bit right now," I chuckle darkly as she flashes Atami a look, as Atami sheepishly looks away. "You thought you were smarter than all of us, but in reality, you're just a pampered princess-"
"I've had enough of you!" Momo screamed, her once blue pupils turning stormy, soon turning both of her eyes black, her skin starting to turn a light orange...
What the hell is happening?
"Momo! Are you okay?" Jun asks, and a shiver runs up my spine. This isn't good...
"Jun! Atami! Get behind me!" I shout, and they give me weird looks. "You were roasting us, and now you expect us to trust you? Hell no!" Atami shouts, as a ripple of energy runs across Momo.
Her long, black hair floats upward, before changing forms to look like a giant peach on her head. Her slanted black eyes' short eyelashes grow extremely long, and her clothing sheds as she grows taller. A pair of 'hammertime pants' that look like a giant peach grow on her legs, while her chest turns a dark orange, looking like the top of a dress. Reaching behind her, she pulls out an umbrella from nowhere, lazing it on the back of her shoulder.
"I am Princess Peach, and all will bow to me!" She announces, her voice deepening. Oh my god, is this going to be how Hades turns people into monsters? I didn't think it would be this soon...
"What the hell happened to you, Momo!?" Jun cries, tears streaking down her face.
"I am not Momo, I am Princess Peach! The gods recognized that I am a natural Princess, and have given me the power to take over the world!" She cries out, as Atami and Jun give each other a final look, before screeching and running out of the bathroom.
"No! My followers, come back!" Princess Peach shouts, sprinting out the door as I follow, fists raised.
"You ain't going anywhere!" I shout, looking at the 15-foot tall giantess, swollen hands gripped around her umbrella. There was mass panic around us, everyone screaming as they ran for the exit. Dean was leaning against the pole, sipping a soda.
"Take her out!" Dean shouts, and I look over at him as he gives me a thumbs up. Nodding in his direction, I look at the swollen person in front of me.
"Hey, I just realized something," I wonder aloud, as the Princess glares down at me. "What?"
"Peaches kinda resemble butts, so you're Princess Butthead," I comment, as her eyes widen.
"Princess...Butthead...?" She repeats, before a burning anger sets in her eyes. "No one calls me that!"
She swung her umbrella at me violently, as I quickly dodged each strike. I guess this training wasn't for nothing...
She opened her mouth, spitting giant brown pits at me. "Oh my god, you're even spitting poop! You are Princess Butthead!" I laugh, now dodging the look-alike-poop and the umbrella.
"They're peach pits, you illiterate swine!" She stops spewing peach pits, but now she spews words of anger at me. I see, she can't talk and spit at the same time. Rolling out of the way, I noticed she had cut a hole in my sweater.
That's so rude!
"I'm the illiterate one?" I calmly ask, preparing my stance as I feel an energy in my fists. Running towards her, she strikes her umbrella downwards as I jump upon it, running up her arm.
"Oh my god!" She shrieks, swinging at her arm as I dodge, resulting in her cutting off her arm. Peaches are soft, so she'll be easy to exterminate. Now at her shoulder, I raise a foot, feeling power gaining in it.
"Thunder kick!" I announce, before bring my foot down on her head, knocking the whole peach off the body. Peach juices squirted all over me, drenching me as the body crumpled to the ground.
"Ew, I feel sticky," I complain, as Dean slowly claps, making his way over to me.
"Congrats on taking out your first enemy, Gina," he greets, looking at the body. "I would give you a high five, but you're sticky..."
"I know," I reply, looking inside the body to see a bunch of individual peaches. "Is she...dead?"
"Yes, and there's no way to reverse someone becoming a monster, if that's what you're going to ask. They put their soul in Tartarus the moment they agreed to become a monster," Dean informs, getting on his knees as he pulls out some peaches from her body.
"Ew! What are you doing?!" I ask, and he arches a brow. "Getting peaches, these are expensive, you know. Besides, it's not like it's made from human flesh, their real bodies are completely gone."
Sighing, I get on my knees, helping him retrieve the peaches. The owner of the shrine thanks us for defeating the monster, and gives us a few boxes to take the peaches home in.
"What will you do with the body? It's just a giant peach, basically," I ask the owner, and they give me a toothy grin.
"We'll be selling peach on the menu for the next few weeks! Whenever you come by, I'll give you free food!"
Gross.
February 2nd
Holding my bokken to Heracles' neck, he smirked down at me. "I see, you've finally advanced enough to use real weapons."
"I win the 260th fight, then," I reply, tapping his thick neck lightly, before pulling away the bokken.
"You are truly the most powerful human, currently. There will be others who will try to surpass you, so we need to train your real 'power,' now."
"Real...power?" I ask, and Heracles nods, a goofy smile on his face. "Did you seriously think you'd just be fighting with a bokken against real enemies?"
"Uh, kinda?" I ask, as Heracles laughs, throwing his head back.
"No way, these are like twigs!" To prove himself, he held his bokken, snapping it easily.
"You're paying for damages," I grumble, setting my bokken down. "What am I going to do, now, Heracles?"
"Hold out your fingers, and put your index fingers a centimeter from each other," he lectures, and I do what I'm told. "Now what?"
"Imagine there's a currency going between them," he finishes, as I focus on my fingers. There's nothing for a moment, before there's a visible electric shock going between the two.
"Woah!" I gasp, and Heracles nods. "Now, pull your fingers further apart from each other, and continue."
April
It's been one year since I've first come to the Main Continent, and now it's my second year in college. I passed all my classes with B's and A's, so I will be able to continue on my scholarship.
My lightning skills have also improved rapidly, now I can shoot a ball of lightning a few feet away from me, and cover my body in a lightning aura. No monsters had appeared in a while, so I'm figuring there will be a sudden burst of monsters, soon.
"This is your weapon, Athena crafted it herself with Zeus' help. It will be able to withstand your lightning, so don't worry about it," Hercules says, passing me the hilt of a sword.
It was silver with bandaging wrapped around it for grip, Greek letters scripted in it that I can't read. Peering down the hilt, I saw nothing.
"Where's the weapon part?" I ask, "Isn't there supposed to be a sword?"
"A xiphos, to be exact, and yes. See, you have to use your power to activate it, so no one else can use it. Hephaestus made it alongside Zeus, before he switched sides, but that's not important." he informs, as I nod, looking at the silver hilt. I suppose that makes sense, since silver is the best conductor.
Putting lightning in my hand, the silver glowed as a xiphos quickly grew from the hilt, sparking bits silver and blue electricity off of it.
"Woah," I mumble, flipping the sword in my hand.
"Correct! Not only can you annihilate your enemies by fighting them with your legs and fists, but now you can put your lightning in weapon form! Now, we will start the real training!"
A/N
So, on the OPM map it shows a large continent (where the story takes place) with a smaller island. The smaller island in this story is American territory, and less than 5% of the World's Population is from there. So, there's some discrimination that takes place in this story due to it being different and being viewed as a '3rd world' stage country, since it's different than the MC (Main Continent).
The MC is the equivalent of Japan, and America...well, is America. But this America is only a group of Islands, divided into sectors. There's 52 islands, and each is named a different place (Hawai'i, Texas, California, etc) and is divided into towns. Depending on how big the Island is, it may have more towns than others.
There is more islands on the other side of the world, where different ethnicity come from, explaining Penny's origin. Hawai'i is basically where a bunch of mixed-race people live in this story.
There's a few different languages in this story. There's the main language, which everyone on the MC is required to learn (Japanese), but not in the Americas. Since Gina's mom is from the MC, she grew up in a multi-cultured household and therefore learned both languages. The other language that Gina knows is English.