The next day, Yui led all of them to school, meeting her friends on the way, who both froze when they saw her companions. Kiri grabbed Yui and pulled her aside, whilst Haru garbled something about needing a brief word with Yui before joining them both.

"Yui? Why are you walking to school with…" Kiri looked over their huddled heads, counting, "…eight guys? Eight really really beautiful guys?"

"Eh? They're my friends!" Yui said, suddenly feeling in the spotlight.

"Yui, this isn't exactly subtle! People are going to talk about you turning up with them." Haru whispered.

Yui frantically thought, she had to come up with a reason why they would be with her.

"They're…friends of my family! From other shrines!" She said, thinking on her feet.

"Eeeh?" The two girls whispered. The gods were watching them suspiciously.

"Can I have one?" Kiri said, smiling slyly.

"Nani?" Yui said, looking confused.

"Leave her alone." Haru said. "You're only doing this because you've missed her."

"Missed me?" Yui was understanding less and less.

"Mmm, mmm," Kiri nodded, "you've been like a stranger for months. Ever since you ran home that day. It's like something happened, and now you turn up with these guys, suddenly back to your old…" Something sparkled in Kiri's eyes. "Aaaah, I see I see."

"You see what?" Yui asked, looking from Kiri, who was nodding, eyes closed, to Haru, who looked pensive.

"A broken heart." Kiri said.

"EEEH?" Yui cried, straightening up with shock, only for Haru to pull her down again.

"Yui san? Are you okay?" Balder called.

"Fine fine!" She said, going back to whispering. "What do you mean a broken heart?"

"Clearly it was a moonlight romance." Kiri sighed.

"Robbed of your true love, your heart broke." Haru continued.

"You changed beyond recognition, separated by oceans." Kiri nodded.

"But now he has returned, alongside his competition." Haru smirked.

"And his love must be declared with true loves kiss." Loki added.

"Exactly exactly." Kiri agreed. There was a brief pause, then all three girls yelped and jumped back as Loki chuckled.

"Girls are so strange." He grinned. "But that was fun, I'd like to play with you again." He took Yui's hand and began trotting ahead with her. "Bai bai." He called, and the rest of the gods called after him, telling him to wait, whilst the two girls also ran after them, firing questions at Yui. But Loki was faster, and stronger, so he bent down, scooped Yui up, and sped away from them.

"Damnit!" Takeru cursed, losing them.

"It's okay, Loki will look after her." Apollon said, though he looked like he was sulking.

"Let's just get to school." Dionysus sighed.

"We don't know where school is." Tsukito said, and everyone looked at him, freezing where they were.

"…a…ah…" Takeru said, looking around anxiously.

"Um, excuse me, Yui's friends?" Balder said, walking forwards to the girls. "Could you show us the way to the school please?" He smiled charmingly, and the girls agreed enthusiastically, latching onto him and guiding him onwards, with the rest of the gods following behind.

Loki meanwhile ran all the way to the school building, with Yui calling out directions as he ran past their turnings so that he had to skip backwards several times.

"Loki, you can put me down now!" Yui cried as they sped into the school building, people turning to gasp and yell as Loki raced up the stairs.

"Why?" Loki laughed, racing to the top of the building and out onto the roof. "Look! Uwah! You can see the entire town from here!" He trotted over to the chain link fence, still holding Yui, and smiled at the town sprawled below. "Your school has the best view!"

"Ah!" Yui looked out. She hadn't been up here before, and the view really was amazing. "Look! You can see the shrine!" She pointed out and then yelped, grabbing Loki as she felt like she would tumble out of his arms.

"Don't worry Koneko chan, I won't drop you." Loki smiled, and she relaxed slightly, feeling his arms support her completely. Then they spotted the other gods arriving through the school courtyard. "Aaw…that means we have to go to class doesn't it." Loki said, pouting.

"Yes…" Yui agreed, reluctantly.

"Class here better be more fun than in the garden." He moaned, going back down the stairs to the main building. "Ohayo." He said, greeting some students who stared at them as they made their way down the stairs.

"Um…Loki sama…people are staring, you might want to-ah, no, go left here. Um…I was saying you might want to put me down?"

"Why would I want to do that?" He grinned, carrying her down the hall. "Which room is it?"

"Eh? Ano…the fourth one on the left hand side." She blushed as he carried her into the room and grinned at her classmates.

"Ohayogozaimasu! I'm Loki, and this little Koneko chan is mine, so no stealing her away from me, 'kay?" He stuck his tongue out at several of the boys who were in a cluster, before giving them a dark grin, making them pale and back off. Loki was just looking for a seat when Takeru skid around the corner into the room.

"LOKI! THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Takeru yelled, and Loki grinning cheekily, walking backwards from the other god.

"Now now Takeru, I'm just getting ahead in the game."

"What game baka?" He spat, advancing on the pair, Loki carefully placed Yui down on a table, and stood in front of her.

"Apparently we're competing for true loves kiss." The trickster smirked.

"EEEH?" Yui cried.

"Like hell am I going to let you win that!" Takeru said, tackling Loki to the ground, rolling around as Loki cackled and twisted away from him, only to be pulled back.

"No! No! I'm not-" Yui desperately tried to say, but just then the others arrived, and Hades pulled Takeru off Loki, revealing a small bruise on the tricksters cheek, though he was still grinning.

"You think you can beat me?" Takeru smirked. "I'm at full strength now, I have my god powers, I can beat you hands down! Even when I was a human I could have beaten you!"

"Ah…Takeru…" Hades began, but Loki sat up, giggling.

"You think you can beat me? You can't even catch up with me, and you have to practice running."

"Loki." Balder said, looking around.

"Eh? Nani?" He asked, but then saw that all the other students were watching. "…a…ah…"

"God powers?" Said one of the male students.

"He means knowledge!" Yui cried, and everyone turned to look at her. Her heart thudded in her chest, but she ploughed on with her explanation. "These…are all transfer students…from shrines all around the world…and…god powers…mean…knowledge of their gods!" She looked at Balder pleadingly, and he smiled.

"That's right. We're going to be studying with you from now on. Please take care of us." Immediately the whole room was charmed, and students rushed over to him, clustering around him and asking him questions, which he kindly answered.

"Ah…looks like Balder is the centre of attention again." Loki said, sulking.

"A…ah…" Yui got down from the table, feeling full of adrenaline, and held her hand out to Loki, to help him up.

"Nice work Koneko chan." He said, taking her hand, only to yelp as a spark leapt at his face. "Itai…" He said, wincing.

"AH! LOKI! I'M SO SORRY!" She cried, and watched as he rubbed his cheek. "Eh?" The bruise on his cheek had vanished. "Loki…"

"Hah?"

"Alright class, take your seats please." The teacher said, entering the room, and Yui was distracted. She sat down, the gods all sitting around her, Kiri and Haru coming over to sit beside her as usual. Class was busy, introductions of new students, and distractions as the other students kept looking over at the gods and Yui. Whispers and muttering scattered around the classroom and the teacher had to tell people off several times. Finally it was lunch, and Yui felt relieved.

"Kusanagi san." Hades said, getting up and walking over to her. "Where do they serve lunch?"

"Ah! I can show you." She replied, standing up.

"Yui san, may I come with you as well?" Balder said, coming over, but suddenly a crowd of people appeared around him blocking him from her. "On second thoughts, maybe you would be better off with me going separately." He smiled shyly, and began talking to the crowd, who all offered to share their lunch with him.

"Eh…I guess I'll be looking after Balder then." Loki said, pushing through the crowd and putting an arm around the blonde. "Hai hai, all offerings must go through me!"

"Wait a minute-" Takeru began, stepping towards them, but Apollon grabbed him, pulling him back to Yui.

"Come on Take-Take! I want to see the lunch room!" The sun god said, beaming.

"I'm going to the library, I brought lunch with me." Tsukito said, holding a large bag full of crackers and sweets.

"Eeeh?" Dionysus cried, staring at the bag. "Where did you get them from?"

"The store next to where we bought our uniforms yesterday." He said simply, and walked out of the room.

"How can he eat that?" Thor muttered, staring after him.

"Eh…he always eats like that." Takeru said, watching him go. "I guess I should follow-gerk!" He was yanked backwards by Apollon, who began dragging him in the opposite direction through the other classroom door.

"Take-Take! We need to go to the lunch room with Yousei san!" Apollon cheered, "Yousei san! Please show us the way!"

"A…ah, hai!" Yui said, leading Thor, Dionysus, Hades, Apollon, and Takeru, who was still being dragged by the blonde, out of the classroom and through the school to the lunch room. As they entered, the room went silent, and a wave of whispers rolled across the room.

"Yui! Wait up!" Kiri said as she and Haru entered the room. "Ah! Here, let me show you the café!" She said, latching onto Dionysus and Thor, and pulling them away from the group, turning around and winking at Yui. "What did you say your names were?"

"Ano…Thor…"

"Dionysus. Ah! Sugoi! You have fresh fruit here!"

The four of them disappeared into the café, and the room gradually got louder again, though there were many furtive glances at Yui and her three companions.

"Yui san…" Hades began, but before he could carry on, she took his hand and led him to the canteen.

"They're not as good as the ones in the garden, but they do have rice balls here." She smiled, and picked out a packet for him. "You can have them every day here."

"…arigato." He said, eyes wide with hope, and blushing slightly.

"Ah! Yousei san! They do sushi here! I haven't had sushi before!" Apollon cried.

"Eh? You haven't? But in the garden we could have anything we wanted…" She said, looking confused.

"I know, but that meant there was so much to choose from, I never got around to having sushi." He smiled bashfully at her, then giggled, his face lighting up. "I even tried escargot!"

"What's-" Yui began, but Takeru covered her mouth.

"Don't ask him." He said, looking stressed. "He goes into too much detail about his weird foods." Yui looked at Takeru, who removed his hand. "What other food do they have here?"

"Ano…there's usually a hot meal you can buy…ah! They have beef stew today!"

"I was hoping for fish soup…" He sighed, then smiled at her. "What are you getting?"

"Oh! I brought a lunch with me! It's easier that way." She said, looking over at Apollon, who was happily talking to Hades.

"…Yui san…" Yui looked back at Takeru, surprised at his change in how he referred to her. "…do you think we could make our lunches together from now on? I prefer fish meals." He looked away, rubbing the back of his head.

"Of course!" She said, smiling up at him.

"Ah? really?" He said, his face lighting up as he smiled. "You better be a good cook Zassou! I'm not going to teach you how to prepare fish properly."

"Hey!" She said, glaring. "I can cook really well." Takeru laughed, and picked out some sushi, going to the tills. Just then, one of her fellow students bumped into her after messing around with his friends, knocking her to the floor.

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" He said, trying to pull her up.

"Ow, It's fine," She said, wincing as he yanked on her arm. "Ah, that hurts!" She yelped.

"Please, just let me help you up!" He said, his tone gaining an edge to it. But before things could go any further, Takeru appeared and lifted her up, glaring at the other guys, who backed off with more apologies.

"Are you okay?" He asked, still watching the disappearing backs of the other students.

"I'm alright." She replied. "They were just clumsy, that's all."

"…I'm sorry if I'm acting overprotective." He said, looking down.

"Eh? No! Not at all! I just wish I wasn't causing so much trouble is all!" She said, taking his hand in hers. He looked at her as they touched, and smiled gently.

"If you don't mind, I'll always protect you." He said, putting his sushi down, and taking her other hand in his. She blushed, feeling the warmth of his hands against hers. "I want to be by your side, always. I don't want to scare your friends away though…" A sad expression crossed his face, and Yui felt her heartbeat quicken. "Please, continue to teach me about humans."

"…H-Hai!" She stammered, unconsciously moving closer to him. "…Takeru san…" She said, looking into his deep, sparkling eyes.

"Yes Yui san?"

"I…I want to go to the beach with all of you this weekend!" She cried, enthusiastically. Takeru stared at her, surprised, then a smile spread across his face, and he laughed.

"Zassou," He grinned, "you really are something." He leant in, and placed a kiss on her forehead, making her entire face flush. It was different to Apollon's one, it was stronger, it felt full of protection, his arms holding her steady as she leant into it, feeling his lips caress her forehead. He broke the connection, bringing her back to the present like an electric shock, before letting go of her, and taking his Sushi over to a table. "Hoi, guys, over here." He said to the others, motioning for them all to follow him. It had felt much braver than Apollon's one, and so…intense. Like he was placing himself beside her, rather than just a kiss on her forehead. After a brief moment, Yui shook herself, bringing her attention back to the present again, and the four of them sat down, and began chatting. Apollon asked all sorts of questions about the school, with Takeru moaning about the lessons.

"It's way harder than in the garden." He grumbled.

"It's way more exciting though!" Apollon said. "Itaaaiiii!" He pumped his fists in the air, bumping into Hades, and knocking one of the rice balls out of his hand and onto the floor, where it broke apart. Takeru and Apollon looked over in horror.

"…misfortune…" Hades said, looking mortified.

"Hades san! I'm so sorry!" Apollon said, bowing profusely before him.

"Baka, this is why you shouldn't be so enthusiastic." Takeru scolded.

"Ah, maybe it can be saved!" Yui said desperately, getting up and picking it up. There was a spark, and the broken rice ball glowed briefly, before reforming, a strawberry suddenly poking out of the top. "Eh? EEEEEH?" Yui stared down at the rice ball, eyes wide in shock, as the other three stared at her, dumbstruck.

"You weren't kidding when you said you could make food!" Takeru said, breaking the silence.

"Ah! No! That's not what I meant!" Yui cried.

"Yousei san! Maybe your gift is mending things!" Apollon beamed. "Alright! I want Yousei san to mend something of mine!"

"Well…I think I might have healed Loki…" She said quietly, but immediately Apollon and Takeru jumped up, yelling "WHAT?" at the same time. They looked at each other, both looking worried.

"What's wrong?" Yui asked, smiling nervously. "It's no different than making a strawberry appear out of thin air…"

"It is." Hades said, eyeing the rice ball and Yui with concern. "Healing a mortal is one thing. Healing a god is quite another." The gods exchanged dark looks, but Yui was determined not to let things become grim.

"Well, we'll just have to work things out with the rest of the group. After all, there are some gods that can heal, aren't there?"

"That's right." Takeru said, nodding, "There's Sekhmet."

"Yes, but he heals mortal wounds." Hades said darkly.

"It's okay, Yousei san." Apollon smiled. "That just means you're developing powers gods have not seen before." He took her hand in his, smiling warmly at he and the others. "Zeus wouldn't have sent us here to protect Yousei san if she was going to become something bad."

"What about Balder?" Takeru said, frowning. "We were sent to make friends with him and then…ah! Not that I think you're going to…" He blushed, looking awkward.

"Balder was different." Hades said, looking at Takeru. "He needed human love. Yui san is no threat, I believe. But it is something that needs talking about." He got up and picked up his remaining rice balls. "I shall go and inform Zeus of the development now. It's better if he knows sooner rather than later." He walked off, and Yui stared after him, holding the changed rice ball gently still.

"Man, every time you think he's chilling out, he goes all stiff again." Takeru sighed.

"He's like Tsukito in that way." Apollon beamed.

"Eh?" Takeru growled, "Tsukito is nothing like that grim old fool."

"Sure he is!" Apollon said, smiling. "He's just as stuffy and factual."

The sea god glared at Apollon, then sighed.

"I just want to finish my lunch."

Yui smiled at the other two as they bickered, but couldn't help an unsettled feeling that was growing in her stomach.