"Kutanagi! How was school today?"

Yui smiled at her little stuffed roommate as he welcomed her with a plate of cookies. How he was able to make them was a mystery to her but, she didn't ask for fear of offending him. "It was okay. The Gods are finally back to a little bit of normalcy around me."

She bent down and grabbed the tray of cookies and sat down at the little table that was up against the wall.

It had been a week since she had her strange encounter with Loki and ever since the Gods had slowly stopped staring at her so much. She could still feel that they were a little uncomfortable from time to time, but she did her best to ignore it.

A knock on the door interrupted her mid-bite. Melissa held up his arm to stop her from getting the door and made his way over. Using a rope that Yui had tied to the doorknob for Melissa, he opened the door to reveal an unlikely visitor.

Yui's eyes widened in shock. Taking the half-eaten cookie, she placed it on a napkin on the table and brushed the crumbs off of her hands and bowed. "Welcome Zeus-san. I wasn't expecting to have company today to excuse the mess." Sheepishly she gestured to the books that littered the floor and the small pile of cookie crumbs at her feet.

He shook his head and waved a hand in dismissal. "It's fine Kusanagi. I just wanted to speak to you where nobody could overhear." He shot a look at Melissa. "I expect that what is discussed in this room is never revealed. This stays between the three of us."

Yui and Melissa nodded and bowed. "Yes, Zeus-san."

He smiled at them and gestured Yui to sit down at the table as he traversed the maze of books to sit on her bed. He placed his staff across his lap and waited for Melissa to close the door.

"Tell me Kusanagi, how do you think that the Gods are progressing?"

She furrowed her brows and crossed her legs. "Well, the progress has been a little slowed by their concern for me, but it appears things are starting to go back to normal. I can tell that they are still bothered by everything but they are doing their best to hide it."

Zeus nodded and crossed his arms. "Don't blame yourself on their distraction. I am glad that they are learning to concern themselves with a human. They are here because they always had trouble with humanity." He looked around at all of the books that surrounded him. "Why do you have so many books?"

She bent over to try to hide her rising blush and picked a book that was open underneath the table. "I've been doing research so I can get some idea of how they are at least perceived by humans. I am hoping that this will allow me to relate to them a little better."

Zeus nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "That is not a bad idea Kusanagi. I appreciate all of your efforts in this matter. I know that you were forced into this situation but I am grateful for your diligent efforts."

Yui narrowed her eyes slightly and placed the book on the table. "Tell me, why are you here Zeus-san? I doubt that you would come all this way to talk about the progress of the Gods. You have never had a problem before discussing this in your throne room."

He chuckled. "How observant of you Kusanagi." He furrowed his brows and leaned forward, using his hands to support his chin. "Indeed, I am not here to discuss the progress of the Gods."

She crossed her arms and sat back. "Then why are you here?"

"I am here to discuss with you Apollon's offer."

Her eyes widened and she felt herself lightly shake. Her lips quivered and she had to hold up her hand to her mouth to keep them still.

"Kusanagi, I wanted to assure you that I approve of his offer. If you choose to do so, you may live amongst the Gods. From what I have seen so far, the other Gods would gain much from your presence in our realm. I have full confidence in you that you will complete your task before the year is up. You are an extraordinary human Kusanagi, and I do not say that lightly." He lowered his hands from his face and sat back. She noticed how his hands returned to his staff only to grip it a little tighter than he was before. He almost looked... tense.

She shook her head and buried her face in her hands, shrouding her world into darkness. "Why?" She pleaded. "Why would you offer me such a thing? I'm a HUMAN Zeus. How can I live with Gods? How could I possibly be welcome into a realm that I don't belong?"

She heard him stand and make his way over to her. A slight pressure on her shoulder alerted her to how close he had gotten. "I assure you Kusanagi, you would be more than welcome in our realm. You are a human yes, but you are a human who has proved herself more than worthy to live in the divine realm."

She heard him place his staff on the table before feeling pressure on her other shoulder. "I know that you are worried and I can sense how scared you are. Understand that this is your choice. I will let the others know so you won't feel pressured to agree. This is not a small decision Kusanagi and I will not tolerate anyone who will try to convince you one way or the other."

She slid her hands down to allow light back into her vision. "I... I just don't know Zeus-san. I have so many questions and I..." She looked up at him with teary eyes. "I'm torn." She averted her gaze and bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears of her confusion.

Zeus was silent for a few moments before he gave her a sort of tether to some semblance of answers."Melissa is here to help you through this decision. Since he is the closest thing to a human here and he has been to the realm of the Gods, he will help you understand what this option involves. You are an extraordinary human and I can sense you were destined for great things."

He took his hand to cradle her chin and used it to gently lift her gaze to him. His eyes were soft, almost pleading within their emerald depths. "Don't think about how others would react to your decision. Think about what you want. This is your life and you must do what you think is best for it. Just as you are here to help the Gods, the Gods are here to help you. You have earned all of our respect and will accept whatever decision you make." He stood up and crossed over to the door. He opened it and stopped within the threshold. "I must know your decision before graduation. That should give you plenty of time to think this through. No matter what you decide, your purpose here does not change."

With that, he shut the door as he exited. Leaving behind a stunned teary-eyed human in his wake.

Author's Notes:

Hey guys! I went back and rewrote a few things and added something to the story. I didn't change as much as I thought that I would and I think that I am happy with the story up to this point. Even though the pacing is still a bit fast, I can deal with it. I also fixed some grammatical errors. I want to add a couple to this story so leave your suggestions in a review or send me a personal message.

-Raedaline