Lunch was...awkward to say the least.
Just the week before Yui had finally been able to get the Gods to eat lunch together with her, much to Balder's dismay. Before they were just eating with their respected mythologies. Thoth and Zeus were adamant about getting them to eat together since different mythologies didn't get along. Unfortunately for Yui, she was not only serving as a human representative but as a peacekeeper between them. At first, they would send glares to each other and make passive-aggressive comments throughout lunch, but after she reprimanded them for their behavior and reminded them that they are acting like a bunch of children when they were thousands of years old. After that reminder, they began to get along and avoided arguments. It started to feel like they were a group of longtime friends. The cafeteria was full of laughter. She smiled every time she saw the Gods from different mythologies hanging out with each other outside of class.
Now, they were sitting down not saying a single word to each other. Occasionally, she will feel their pitiful gazes on her but decided to ignore it.
The uncomfortable silence was getting to her and she knew that it was because she was there. She was tempted to speak her mind but didn't feel like bringing it up. 'If they want to talk to me, then they can speak. Not give me pitiful looks.' Yui sighed at her thought and began packing up her half-finished lunch. After everything that occurred over the past forty-eight hours, she wasn't very hungry.
As she began to stand, the Gods all looked up at her with worried and sad faces. She didn't make eye-contact with them because she didn't want them to hear their words of pity about her past.
As she turned around the leave the table, she felt a strong grip on her wrist. Looking over, she saw Hades looking up at her with a blush on his face, but a determination was present in his visible eye.
"Hades?" She cocked her head to the side as she waited for the God of the Underworld to answer her.
Hades sighed, "Kusanagi, there is something that we've wanted to talk to you about. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. The last thing that we want is to make you uncomfortable."
Yui's eyes widened as she looked at the other Gods, each had expressions that were practically begging her to listen to what they had to say.
Apollon caught her gaze with large, watery eyes. "Please stay Fairy."
His puppy dog eyes are what made Yui sigh in defeat. She sat down and brought up the back of her hands for her chin to rest on. "I'm listening."
A collective sigh of relief washed over the table.
"Yui-san, we wanted you to know that we are sorry." Balder's head dropped as he stared at his twiddling thumbs on the table. He looked like he was having a hard time deciding what to say next.
Thor picked up after Balder's awkward silence. "We had been so busy dealing with our problems that we didn't take the time and help with your problems."
"Kusanagi Yui, we are all here for you if you need to talk. It is our mission to do what we can for you to make you feel better." Tsukito, as usual, gave Yui a blank expression without a hint of emotion in his voice. She was tempted to giggle but decided that this wasn't the appropriate time.
Apollon reached across the table and gently placed his hand on her arm, "We hate to see you so sad Fairy. You've done so much for us, it's our turn to help you. Please fairy, let us help you."
She looked around at all the Gods. Their eyes glowed with their love and admiration for her. At that moment, she knew how truly fortunate she was to help them.
Her face softened, and she allowed a warming smile to appear. "I appreciate it, you guys. What I need you all to understand is that this is not an easy subject for me. What happened that night, will forever be with me. It's a moment of my life that can never be erased and, honestly, I don't want it to be." She folded her hands in her lap and looked down at them. "The way that I have always dealt with my emotions was through my private means. If there is one thing that I hate, it's being a bother to other people. I don't' want to be a bother to all of you. I…."
She was interrupted by Takeru's fist slamming down on the table. He stood up and pointed at her, "Don't you dare think for one second that you are a bother Weed!" Tsukito placed a calming hand on his brother's shoulders. He calmed down enough to sit down and continue, "If anything, it's bothering us that you don't want any help."
She hid her eyes behind the shadow that was cast by her purple. She felt ashamed for not allowing them in. "I'm so s-sorry." They heard her voice begin to quiver and they all shot a glare at Takeru.
"Good job, you made the lovely lady here cry!" Dionysus stood up and began to walk around the table to place a hand on her shoulder.
She reached up and placed her hand on top of his. "No, it's okay Dionysus. I...I needed to hear that" She looked up at him and gave him a reassuring smile. It was obvious to all of them that she was fighting back her tears. She turned back to the other Gods and noticed Balder's glare to Dionysus. She decided to ignore it for now, "You have all so readily opened yourselves up to me and I haven't. I see you all as my friends." She bit her lip. "I'm just scared that if I get myself too attached I won't be able to recover once I am returned to Earth. For all I know, I won't ever see you again and I'll be forced back into my loneliness."
The table was silent. There were tears in her eyes and they didn't know what to say. They knew their time with her was coming to an end, and they hated the thought of being the reason for her unhappiness.
The silence was broken by the sound of her giggling. Loki stood up to see who it was that was laughing during this situation. "What's so funny kitten? Mind letting us in on it?"
She shook her head and wiped a tear that was caught on her lower lashes. "I'm sorry, I just remembered a poem that I heard a long time ago."
"You like poetry weed?" She saw the curiosity swimming in his eyes.
"I've always been interested in more artistic things. Art, music, poetry, theater, I've always had a fascination for them. Why do you ask Takeru?" His curiosity was now making her curious.
"Totsuka Takeru invented poetry." Blatantly stated Tsukito.
Everyone looked at the God of the Sea, "What!?" they all collectively yelled out in disbelief.
Takeru shrugged and looked around at the other Gods, "What? I may be hot-headed but that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate the finer things in life. Anyway," he turned his gaze back to Yui. "what poem were you thinking of?"
Yui giggled at the still shocked faces of the Gods, "It's called the Loneliest Sweet Potato. It was written by one of my favorite modern poets, Sabrina Benaim."
Takeru smiled and was just about to ask her about it when they heard a loud familiar boom that caused the table to shake. They all looked at the end of the table to see Thoth standing there with a strange expression in his eyes.
"Kusanagi, you will share that poem in class tomorrow! No exceptions!" His voice was full of authority. He didn't allow time for her to answer for he spun around and glided quickly out of the cafeteria.
Loki smirked, "Well, I guess we get to hear more Master Kitten in class."
Yui whipped her head around and blushed while shooting the God of Mischief a glare.
'Maybe finally being recognized as a teacher here wasn't such a good thing.' She thought to herself as all of the Gods began to laugh at the name.