Chapter Three – Of Bets and Oaths
Apollon knew that Dionysus should be relaxing somewhere, probably in the gardens. The redhead god would surely help them talk to Hades and explain the new idea. He wasn't absolutely certain that his uncle would accept it right away, but if that proved to not be the case, the Sun god would have to insist until he caved.
"You are Arisu are twins, right?" He asked Isuzu, fishing for conversation as the girl walked besides him. The idea of being alone with one of the gods (even one as cheerful as Apollon seemed to be) had made her a bit nervous again, not unlike an old disease suddenly waking in her body once more but his behavior was slowly making her feel a bit more at ease.
It was hard to not be touched by his cheerfulness. Deep in her mind there was a seed of doubt if this was his usual mood or if it had something to do with the fact he was (at the moment) human like her. Isuzu had expected the gods to be more solemn and dignified, even distant, considering the few myths she knew.
"Yes, I'm the eldest by just some seconds." She decided to continue with that topic, it was as good as any and better than staying in silence. "You have a twin too, don't you? Artemis" There were some things that were practically basic knowledge.
"Goddess of the moon and hunt. Mainly." There were others, as the "domains" (per say) of the Greek gods could be quite numerous. His green eyes shined so much the color seemed to get brighter as he commented to the girl. "She is really amazing and I know I can trust her completely, she is the best! Artemis has always been at my side. Right from the when we were born, actually." He chuckled a bit. "When our mother was pregnant, Artemis was born first and right there, she helped mom to give birth to me" He told her, excitement never leaving his voice or face.
Isuzu was surprised, for this was a detail she didn't know about the goddess or the birth of the twins. Even if they were deities and didn't abide by most of the rules known by mortals (so nothing should surprise her), the idea of a just newborn Artemis helping her mother to give birth to her brother was pretty hard to picture.
"Helping the younger since the beginning" She said just to say something after that information and still with the wary way of someone spending the first minutes in a talk with someone they don't know. "You two must be really close"
"Inseparable!" Apollon exclaimed. It was often said that joy could made a person glow, but in his case this was almost literal, casting a wave of warmth in the air that Isuzu's senses told her that it was not in her mind. "But believe me, she can be really scary when angry" He crossed his arms behind his head. "Oh, I wish she was here, I think you'd like to meet her"
For a brief moment, his eyes seemed to get lost, as if Apollon could and was looking inside himself.
"You miss her…" The girl let it escape, but the god merely nodded after a hesitant pause. Apollon turned to her and nodded.
"Well, knowing I can't see her while I'm here… It just feels weird." There had been a time when he had been made into a mortal and forced to work for a man, but it hadn't been the same. He had been on Earth, not in some place set apart from everything else by his Father. "I wonder how she is now…" Suddenly, Apollon shook his head when he realized what he had said and laughed. "Oh, if she had heard me just now, she would probably tell me to concentrate in graduate and stop being silly!"
"Typical of an older sister!" Isuzu commented, thinking about Arisu and understanding very well what Apollon meant. If she was here without her sister… Even surrounded by people, there would be a seed of loneliness of which she wouldn't be able to get rid of. Once you loved someone when you missed them that space in your mind that belonged to them felt empty and couldn't be filled by anyone else.
"What, have you said things like that to Arisu too?" He guessed with a pretended slyness and Isuzu lowered her head in an accepting gesture.
"Guilty as charged." She could even remember some of those times. Apollon was about to say something when they spotted a red mane ahead.
"Hey there, Apollon!" Dionysus was right there, sitting in a bank in the shadow of some trees, a green bottle in his hand. "And… Hironezumi Isuzu, wasn't it?"
"Yes. Dionysus, right?"
"That's me." He lifted the hand with the bottle in greeting. His other elbow was resting in the bank's back, a posture of complete relaxation as if he did not have a single care. Isuzu saw that his eyes were green like Apollon's, but darker, more like leaves than stones and there was something strange in them, a wild glimpse that you could catch at a moment and miss in another. "God of Grape's Harvest, Wine, Fertility, Theatre and Ritual Madness, so on and so forth"
Isuzu eyed the bottle.
"Uh… That is not…?"
"No, no. Just juice" The god offered it to her, but the girl refused politely and thanked him for it. "So, how it is the first day going in this whole "academy of gods" for you?" It was impossible to know what he thought of the place just by his tone. Here was some amusement there, but it could be born of many things.
"Better than I had expected, honestly" There was no lie in this and Isuzu would rather be sincere. During the night, her mind had projected several possibilities and sceneries, going from light colors to the darkest and some had been quite unpleasant.
"Dee-Dee is my brother as well, Suzu-Suzu"
"Suzu-Suzu?" The girl thought taken back from how Apollon had just addressed her, but decided to let it go. If he wanted to call her like this, very well. Dionysus must have taken the brief surprise in her eyes as a reaction for their kindred rather than for the nickname.
"Half, actually. By father" There was no way to be surprised at this, Isuzu considered, taking in account who their father was.
"Mr. Zeus-I-Can't-Keep-It-In-My-Pants"
"Dee-dee, we just had an idea to convince Uncle Hades and the others!" So both made a brief summary of what they had in mind. The other god listened to them without interrupting, merely finishing his drink while Apollon asked him to tag along.
"So now we decided to tell it to uncle."
The red-headed studied his half-brother and the girl with absolute calmness.
"Well, it is an idea. Not like we can do anything else." He muttered as he stood and stretched. "Perhaps he will listen to all of us." He didn't care much for the classes, however he was well aware that there would be no way of leaving otherwise. This wasn't an experience he was rejoicing much, but he would rather work with the others on how to succeed.
They both exchanged looks, well aware that if Hades didn't accept, they would have to think harder in how to convince him to come to class and they didn't have any other idea.
This had to work.
"Do any of you know where he can be?" The girl asked, not wanting to think about that possibility.
"He usually wanders around" Dionysus told her as they walked. Isuzu could notice that just how that a person could feel a bit of warmth near Apollon, there was something in Dionysus that denoted a wilderness within, something as fine as a blade that could cut you the moment it touched your skin, even if just lightly. However, while with Apollon she had felt it when he had get excited, with the other god it was something that couldn't be predicted. "Maybe he is by the gates or the cafeteria"
They checked the cafeteria first, which was empty and took their way to the gates. Hades was not there too, so they walked around the gardens, talking among them until Dionysus noticed a known figure sitting in one of the stone stairs.
Upon being called, the god turned his head to the three and stood.
Isuzu observed him a bit, as she had not seen him yet, nor had she truly tried to imagine how the Underworld ruler looked like... He was taller than the other Greek gods and she with a waved hair of the strangest darkness that had a sort of greenish reflex. It fell down to his shoulders, some strands hiding one of his eyes.
Despite the strange color of his hair and his pale skin, he still looked just like a normal guy and Isuzu's body by now should be getting used to the strange waves in air that still carried some of the god's aura.
That was not the case.
What she felt was dread.
Something cold was born from the inside of her bones and spread to her blood as a disease. It was as if she was already dead and her body didn't know that yet.
This lasted just a second, but it was enough to her.
Later, Isuzu would admit that perhaps there was no other way to feel when meeting that god for the first time, since his domain was something not meant for the living's eyes or knowledge.
"Uncle Hades, this is…"
"Don't get near me" The phrase was not towards Apollon, but Isuzu and it took her by surprise, making her stop in the middle of the stairs unsure of how to act. Then it came the exasperation. First Susanoo (Takeru, she reminded herself), and now this? What, they didn't want even to…
Dionysus gave her a light push.
"C'mon, don't mind this"
She was unsure if he knew how she had felt when Hades had looked at her or if he meant his uncle's words.
"You will have misfortune." Hades continued in the same indecipherable tone, which carried a steel-seriousness that Isuzu had never heard before. At least the god, upon a more attentive exam, didn't seem to be angry.
Deciding to follow the advice and ignore it, she approached him with the redheaded. The coldness was going away and she was thankful for the shackles that Zeus had placed in the gods.
Picking good manners as the best politics, Isuzu bowed slightly. The visible eye of the god, the same color as fresh-spilled blood, landed on her and something in her very soul shivered.
"Pleasure to meet you"
"Likewise" He muttered. Even if he was polite, the deepness of his voice made it sound like iron. Aware of what the subject should probably be, Hades turned his gaze from the girl to his nephews and said in a tone of warning. "Apollon…"
The Sun god didn't let him finish.
"Uncle Hades, listen! We have a proposition. About how you and the others are skipping class!"
Hades merely raised an eyebrow, without a word. Apollon was far more colloquial than usual and he could see that they wouldn't give up until he listened, so the god of the Underworld decided to humor them. Isuzu, on another hand, registered it was weird to talk about school attendance with the uncle of a classmate… An uncle that, by theory, should also be a classmate.
"We'll be realizing an event" She told him. "Sports event. We're all going to compete"
Hades frowned a bit. He didn't care about such things very much and back on Greece, festivities involving sports were more to Apollon or Zeus. But he kept quiet, having expected that they would start to insist that he gave in to Zeus' idea and not for that.
The god would understand if they went for the first option and he understood their feelings, but on another hand simply bending to his younger brother's tyranny was too much. Zeus had a story of getting what he wanted, but there were limits to everything. He had gone to the point of involving other gods and sealing them as humans and this was a great outrage.
The others however carried on.
"Look, if by the end of the competition, you and the others who don't want to come to classes win…" Dionysus shrugged as if the matter meant nothing. "Then you don't need to. Simple as that"
"You may cut classes at will. We won't bother you anymore" Isuzu promised, seeing this had caught his attention. Hades looked from one to another, studying their intentions… It was the most piercing gaze the girl had ever felt, as if he was seeing under her skin and flesh, dissecting her soul.
"I comprehend. The involving conditions?"
Isuzu bit her lower lip. All she could do was to hope that Hades would accept to submit himself to the ties of the divine oaths.
XxX
"Where he usually stays?"
"In the gardens" The God of the Moon answered Ren, picking a small blue notebook from his pocket. "Should I start questioning you?"
The question in itself attracted the grey eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"As a student of the Academy, I have the duty of making you feel welcome and try to establish bonds." He explained. "Should I start making questions to get to know you?" He repeated and Ren merely shook her head, though she was surprised by his way of putting it.
"Only if you want it…" She hesitated before completing. "Otherwise, it will be just an interrogatory." And not only it wasn't the same as she had no need for this.
Apparently understanding what she meant, Tsukito just put the notebook back in his pocket and kept his silence. Ren didn't know how to act, though she had opted to go with the lilac-haired god justly because she had felt that Tsukito wouldn't be asking much about her… Yet the girl also felt she should try to relate with the gods.
"And how to do it?" Ren had no idea if she should ask something or how to start a conversation and there was some tempting satisfaction in just keep looking for Susanoo without saying anything.
The idea of keeping the silence won.
They just walked. Among paths and the courtyard there were flowerbeds and the gardens properly said were ample, trees more frequent, some with and old and wild appearance. Recalling the woods she had seen yesterday from the room's window, Ren wasn't that surprised. Being in the fresh air like that seemed to create a soft breeze in her blood and she wondered if the sensation of clean air was due to the place having been created by divine powers.
"I don't think so. At least I don't believe this is the whole reason. There is no pollution and a lot of trees, after all" For an instant, she wondered what the gods were thinking of all that. Not of studying about humankind (Apollon and Balder had made their opinions quite clear already), but the environment in itself.
Was it too different from where they lived?
She was considering asking Tsukito about this when they caught glimpse of a figure of bluish hair taking a nap underneath an old tree which roots twisted as they dug the earth and made Ren thought about the old oak back at home. Her father was always telling how old it was and how he used to play on it when he was a child.
At that moment, Arisu's suggestion came back to her mind. There had been just a joke at the time, but the girl was assaulted by the doubt that if this idea didn't work out, Arisu could start to consider her previous idea with more seriousness. And Ren wasn't sure she wouldn't back her up.
"Oi, aniki" Takeru opened his eyes when he felt the shadows of the two blocking the sun and stood up, straightening his back. Upon seeing Ren and recalling that he had seen her back in the cafeteria, the god let out a groan. "Who is that one?"
"One of the new students bought here by Zeus" Tsukito explained as he introduced her. "Amaya Ren"
The girl greeted him with a nod.
"Eh, more humans? I didn't know" The god commented, evaluating her without altering his expression and not seeming at all interested in speaking to her. Ren, who hadn't forgotten his attitude in the cafeteria, hadn't expected anything different and remained just quiet. Takeru wouldn't want to hear her, but maybe he would listen to his brother.
"You weren't interested in anything regarding the school" It wasn't a justification or accusation, Tsukito was just telling why he hadn't told his brother there would be new students. Ren noticed that Takeru didn't mind when, as an answer, he shrugged with a kind of smile.
"And I'm really not" Upon talking to Ren, his voice was harsher. "And what do you want?"
"Pleased to meet you as well." Even if keeping a polite tone, a vein of pure coldness pulsed between the words, disappearing after it when the girl added "We need to talk with you"
Takeru just raised an eyebrow, not caring for her words but not turning his back on them either. The two brothers couldn't be more different in the temperament department and it wasn't hard for Ren to relate them to the sea and the moon.
"If you're going to blabber about how I should just lower my head and accept this stupid idea of school" He almost spit the word as if it was a cursing one. "You can forget it"
It was Ren's turn to raise her eyebrows, blinking.
"By any means" As Yui had said it, what was the point in talking something they were already aware of? "But yes, it is about the school"
Takeru rolled his eyes, not believing that anything that human girl had to say could interest him in the least, especially regarding that matter. Studying humans seemed like a waste of time and he never had agreed to the idea but had been forced. How the others could even accept such a thing, it was beyond his comprehension.
But if they didn't care about having their rights ripped apart, very well, but he wouldn't admit this.
"It's about an event it has been decided." Before his brother's words, Takeru looked from one to another before denying again. Classes or events, he didn't care.
"You do know we don't have to do anything that old geezer says" The Sea God put his hands at the pants' pockets as he talked to his brother. "He can't just keep us here"
"Apparently, not only he can but did. Otherwise, why we're still here?" The girl wondered calmly. She wasn't annoyed (at least not yet), she just hoped Takeru would accept the idea.
"It wasn't Zeus who had the idea, it was us" She explained and Takeru scoffed a laugh, turning his eyes to her. Ren couldn't tell if that was an expression of mockery or disdain, maybe both, tangled in one thing.
"And? What does that has to do with me?"
"It's an event of sports competitions, Takeru" His brother told him. "Something common in human schools" The spark in those golden eyes denounced that those words had caught his attention. As Tsukito had said, the idea of physical activities (and competitions) seemed to please him.
So, they had a chance to convince him.
"That was the simple part" Now all that remained to do was to explain what they would be betting and the oaths involved. "He won't like that"
"It would be those who refused to attend classes against those who are agreeing to it" Tsukito continued and Takeru narrowed his eyes.
"There is something more on that, aniki…" He said slowly and turned to Ren, crossing his arms and frowning as he stared at her in a way almost like that of someone watching a snake that could attack at any moment. The girl didn't blink and was about to go in details when Tsukito was more direct.
"If you lose, you will have to attend classes"
"Say what?" Takeru backed his head away a bit as people do when shocked, face marked by disbelief and looking from his brother to Ren who nodded, confirming that he had heard it right. "No way, why would I ever agree to that?"
Keeping a sarcastic answer to herself, the girl tilted her head to the side.
"Because you can gain something, should you win" Tsukito noted she didn't smile (still hadn't smiled once yet, actually), but her eyes had some form of amusement.
"Yeah? And what would that be?" Takeru's posture made it clear he didn't believe that he could gain anything in an event like that. Still managing to keep her temper, Ren carried on.
"The right to not come to class"
The god was in silence for a moment.
"Is that serious?" He looked to them again and, not believing Ren, turned to his brother. "No tricks?"
Tsukito nodded, still looking as calm as ever. Someone passing by could think he was bored and that this conversation had no importance whatsoever. Ren thought he was quite calm, considering all that was at stake.
"In the case that you win, this shall be your right. No one will try to force you to attend school or to graduate anymore"
While Takeru was silent for a moment Ren evaluated that he could point that this wasn't much, since they would remain in the academy anyway, but the god smiled with confidence.
"Or I can keep ignoring it as I have done since the beginning of this nonsense"
"What do you want, a trophy for stubbornness?" The raven-haired girl wasn't annoyed, she was exasperated. No one liked to be forced to do anything, fair enough, but she still thought those gods could try and not only be more mature but think about others as well.
"Yes, but then it will be your right" The girl explained, hoping the spark she had seen and the smile were signs that the perspective was too good to be ignored. As the deal seemed to be going fine enough, she decided to go to the last point. "If you agree to take part, you need to give us your word."
The smile didn't shiver and he stabbed her with his eyes, something more appearing in them that Ren didn't know how to define… With his arms still crossed, he gestured with his head for her to go on.
"You and the others will swear that, in case you lose, you will go to class" She fought to not avoid his gaze, the seriousness never leaving her voice when she shrugged. "Complain if you want, but be there"
"She means an old oath, Takeru" The Moon God clarified while standing at her side. Takeru frowned a bit more and they exchanged a heavy look making Ren's insides shiver as those of one who had looked upon a sphinx's eyes. The girl had thought the Sea God could even laugh to the idea of using something so old and sacred in a school matter (that he considered ridiculous), but Takeru sighed and that heaviness left his face.
"Very well" He looked to his brother, his posture softened and a smile appearing. "Sorry aniki, but I'm going serious about it. You won't win"
XxX
"I think your friends may be in the gardens" She commented. "We've already searched for them. And if they don't like it here, maybe they won't even want to stay in the building" Considering what Balder had told her about the trickster god, she thought it made sense, but he shook his head.
"One thing about Loki" Balder explained as they went to another hallway. "Is that he never is or does what may be expected or assumed"
"Do you think they will at least agree to this?" Misaki asked, needing to lift her head a bit to look at the other's face. She wasn't sure about asking if they would like it, so she had limited herself to at least an agreement but then decided to go on. "Or maybe like it? I mean, not for the dispute, but really like it?"
Now that they sought out the two gods, the blonde girl had thought it could be easier if they realized that attending school wasn't that much of a torture as they seemed to think. Fine, she wasn't all that excited for classes either (like math or some others), but there was no need for that behavior. Humans did it for a long time of their lives and didn't complain and there were things they could do to make it more interesting.
Or maybe she was just thinking like that due to being curious regarding them?
"Actually, maybe they will." Balder considered while thinking about it. "It does sound fun and this is what will matter the most to Loki. And if we both agree, I'm sure Thor will come as well" Studying the girl's expression, the Light god smiled and touched her head. "You also seem more comfortable. I'm happy"
"Hm?" Misaki could only notice how warm his hand was, caught off guard by the caress. It was amazing how crystal-like his eyes were due to the light shade of blue.
"Today in the morning, when you were entering the class, you all seemed nervous… Almost scared."
Misaki had hoped she had hid her tension better than this, but decided to not lie and nodded with a solemn expression, throwing one of the wild strands of hair over her shoulder.
"Scared isn't quite the term, but we were nervous… Well, I was." She added, not wanting to talk about the others without being sure. There had been fear and not just of never going home. As a painting made by a madman, the colors of her feelings got mixed, occulted themselves and danced until there were points where there was no possible sense.
Balder didn't interrupt her and just studied the girl as she recalled her own feelings (not hard to do, once there were still some remains of it in her system). But fear regarding the gods themselves? Misaki didn't think she had felt that, the focus of such storm being more the situation itself.
"I was feeling a lot of things. I was upset, confused, tense…"
"And now?"
Misaki thought about for a second. She wasn't happy and she hadn't forgot the threat that was over her head like a blade that could fall at any minute, there was no way to lie about that, however her emotions seemed to be going back to their places.
"Now I think I'm kinda getting used to the idea" Or maybe she had just accepted this was reality, in any way, this was the only way she could explain. Before there had been a feeling of being merely wrapped by a frail veil that could be ripped apart at any moment and nothing had felt solid. And now, after meeting some of the gods and Yui, Misaki felt more secure that maybe that year wouldn't be so awful. With a smile, she told the Nordic.
"And since I'm in this, I decided to deal with it the best way I can" There was no other solution, so she could at least do herself a favor and face it head on. Oh, she wasn't making a "Glad Game" (in fact, she despised those things) and she could never forget what was at risk, but would it help to be sulking and mourning?
It wasn't helping some of the gods, that's for sure. You either accepted that in order to deal with it or you could do like them and try to ignore it.
The Light god at her side nodded to her.
"That was more or less what I thought when I came here." He told her looking around as they walked through the hallway of window-glasses of pale colors that were carried inside by the sunlight and reflected in the long carpet. "I was confused and I despised the idea of being stuck here against my will."
Considering the sweet happiness he had showed up until now, this surprised Misaki. However, Balder didn't notice her expression as he went on.
"I didn't like that either and I was angry at the idea of not going back home, having someone had nothing to do with me telling me what to do…" Perhaps it was because she had just heard him talking calmly until now, but he sounded somewhat different when he was serious. Then he turned to her. "But after I thought about it, the idea of studying humans and meeting gods of other places ended up being interesting."
Misaki noticed by his phrasing that Balder wasn't making an effort just so he could go back to his world. After getting used to it, he had started to feel really excited about the whole thing and was having fun. Honestly, she hadn't thought about it like that. For a human, studying with gods was something so out of reality that caused varied emotions, but she hadn't though the gods could feel something alike.
"Zeus commented they're here because they got too distant from humans and no longer understand them." She tried to recall the exact words, without success. "Their connection with them is fragile or something, something." But then why just them? It couldn't be due to their cult having faded away, otherwise there would be more gods of more mythologies here.
"I wonder what made them distant" But she didn't feel comfortable asking this, it sounded as a question that was too personal. "Later, maybe"
"That was part of why we got so edgy" She shrugged in agreement. "I mean, in a moment I'm in my apartment, then suddenly I'm before Zeus and he says" She imitated a deep voice and an exaggerated expression of severity. "Hey, help the gods here to learn about humans or you shall be stuck here for eternity. No conversation, no complains. I'm the boss around here, period"
Balder held a small laugh, though Misaki saw he seemed also a bit impressed. Then she understood: He probably didn't expect that she would speak like that of Zeus, who probably wouldn't be at all pleased to hear a parody of him. Heck, Balder probably didn't expect any mortal to speak like that of any of them.
"Hey, it's true" She completed slowly, before carrying on as they went downstairs. "It's basically what he said. We didn't like it, we got tense with that… And the idea of studying with gods, too. But you guys are nice!" She added soon, not wanting Balder to think she regarded him as scary or anything of the sort. Nor was she lying, they all had been kind up until now, behaving as classmates and not as beings far superior than what their minds could feel (she hadn't forgot the sensation of power when she had met Zeus and was aware that they were like that). Misaki recognized this, it was too obvious to ignore.
Balder was about to answer when he tripped a step and fell.
"BALDER!" The girl screamed, rushing down and crouching down near the god. He had fallen just some steps and lifted his face, with embarrassment marking the lines. "Are you okay?" There it was something she never thought she would see: A god tripping like any mortal.
"Well, they are being forced to experience a human body. Maybe I shouldn't be this surprised"
"Oh… Don't worry…" He stood up, cleaning his clothes. "I fall easily. It's normal"
"Always?" She asked, still kneeling in the floor. The blonde god nodded and the girl stood as well, thinking about clumsy people… Maybe there were some similarities between gods and humans? Or was she overanalyzing it? She put the question aside, it didn't matter. Looking at the floor again, she saw something rolling that seemed a bit like a blue and green marble.
"Ah, Misaki!" Balder started when she picked the thing up in curiosity.
"What? It's just…" Immediately, the marble increased in size and before the girl's brain could process what had occurred, there was a cloud of smoke while something cold spread to her hands. Coughing and surprised with the sudden scent (something sweet she had never smelled before), Misaki stepped back, feet slipping in the floor. She tried to move her hands, but they were wrapped by and in a mass of sorts…
"But what the…" She tried to mutter when she felt her back hitting something. Strong hands grabbed her arms and, instinctively, the girl struggled to get free.
"Easy now" An unknown voice, but deep and strong, told her. Looking up, Misaki caught a pair of golden, serious eyes. As the smoked dissipated, she was able to distinguish sharp features and a spiked hair of a greenish turquoise.
A loud laugh cut the air and she saw another god passing his arm by Balder's, laughing as if there was no tomorrow. His red hair was short, except by two long strands framing his face and a braid.
"Balder! There you are!"
"Hi Loki!"
The god holding Misaki released her once he felt the girl's step becoming steady again, despite the floor having become quite slippery. The cold thing on her hands made her skin shiver. There were still threads of colorful smoke in the air.
"We're looking for you!" The redheaded continued before seeing Misaki. Unlike Balder and the other one, his eyes were of a very light gray. Almost silver. "Well, well, and who is this?" He wondered as he studied her.
"One of the new students. Isn't it so?" The god who had been holding Misaki asked and her answer was a nod as she tried to get rid of the strange colorful mass in her hands. It reminded her of the sticky slime-like toys that children used to play with, except it was more resistant, blue and green as the marble had been.
"Misaki Aihara" She introduced herself with a weak smile, pulling her hands apart and just managing to make the thing stretch without signs of going off her skin. The floor was covered by a colorful dust and it felt as if she was standing in liquid soap.
"Amazing first impression. Really good, Misaki!" She reflected not without some shame, still fighting to try to get that thing off one of her hands. "And how do I get rid of this?"
"Eh, is that so?" The redhead came closer, leaning until they were in the same eye-level, inspecting her features before turning back to Balder. "You didn't tell anything about thiiis" He sing-songed in a pretended tone of disappointment.
"If you had been in class, he wouldn't need to" The girl replied mentally in a good tone, trying to free her left hand with the right. The mass wouldn't give in and even if she pulled, it was too resistant to be ripped apart.
"I tried to tell you yesterday that Zeus had decided to call for more students, Loki" Balder reminded his friend, his eyes going from him to Misaki's struggle.
"You didn't want to listen to it" The other confirmed calmly before going back to watch Misaki's struggle with the goop. "I'm Thor"
Upon observing well, she realized one of the sides of his head was cropped and there was a spot shaved in the shape of a lightning.
"Nice to meet you, I…" Not standing it anymore the embarrassing situation, she let out a groan. "Aaaargh! Does anyone know how to take this thing off me?!"
"Oh, I know how" The silver-eyed god, Loki, nodded as Balder seemed to not know if he found this funny or not. Misaki sighed and stood her hands out to him, but the god merely looked from them to her face, not understanding.
"What?"
"You said you know how to take it off" Of course he knew, she had already guessed he was the one responsible for that joke. To her surprise, the god shook his head as he played with one of the longer strands of hair and winking.
"Well, I said I knew how to. I never said I would!"
"Oh, you son of a…" Misaki was with her mouth half-opened. It had been funny at the first minutes, she would admit it, but shame was building up and the girl was already feeling uncomfortable.
"Loki, c'mon, take that off her…" Balder muttered as he came closer. The other god just shrugged, still smiling in a way that made Misaki think about the cat of "Alice in Wonderland" At her side, Thor just watched not seeming bothered at all by the scene.
Loki didn't give any signs that he cared.
"Aww, Balder, it is not fun. If she wants to take it off so much, why she doesn't try to find out how by herself?" His eyes gleamed in Misaki's direction. "It will be fun"
Misaki was about to give a not so-polite reply when she had an idea. After all, hadn't they started to look for them to try convincing them both to take part of the sports event? Wrapping her hands in the slime and still trying to stretch it to the point of ripping it, the girl muttered tilting her head to the side, hair a bit messed by the explosion.
"You want to have fun, hm? Well, then I think what me and Balder have to say may be what you need" She said with a smile of pretended kindness. Something glinted in Loki's eyes and he stood at the light god's side, staring at her. Misaki refused to blink.
"Hm, I don't think so" He looked to his friend. "Not if it has something to deal with this hole of a place, so…"
"We're organizing a special event, Loki" Balder explained with a smile, knowing that if Loki refused to do something, it usually took great arguments to change his mind. Zeus' threat, despite worrying him too (though he would never express it openly), just didn't work with his personality. "I think you'll like the idea. It's a competition"
Loki just lifted his head with a small smile, but didn't say a thing leaving it up to assumptions if he had become interested or was merely listening. Taking this as a good-as-you-get incentive, Misaki went on, looking from him to Thor and stopping moving her hands for a moment.
"See, you guys don't want to attend class. Very well, we understood that already." When Loki opened his mouth, she went on in an amusing voice. "It doesn't help a thing. It won't let us go. It is useless. But hey, we do understand"
"If you understood…" Loki said as he still played with a strand of his hair, rolling his eyes as if bored and ignoring the girl's comments. "Then you shouldn't insist." The silver gaze turned to her with full disdain, but Misaki couldn't know if it was directed to her or Zeus, the situation or all of it. "We have no intention of bending down to that god's orders."
"That's why we're making this event" Balder looked to his friends, hoping they would accept to take part on it. "There will be several competitions between you, who don't want to attend school, and us"
Loki looked from Balder to Thor and back to the blonde. They had competed before between them as a game. The way Balder presented the idea made it clear it wouldn't be something as simple this time, yet he was at least still paying attention.
"If in the end we win, then you come to class. If we lose, you can skip at will" Misaki completed. "This will be your right. If you want, we can leave it written as law even, whatever" Balder had to admit she managed to sound calmer than she probably felt, considering everything.
The trickster god and the thunder god looked at the girl who, even with her hands stuck in a shining jelly and messy hair covered a bit by colored dust, kept her back straight and stared at them without blinking.
"Oh, is that so?" Loki whispered lowly, leaning to her once more and placing his face close to hers. The sensation was indeed of staring at a wild cat that was deciding if you were worth to scratch. "Do you really want to bet on this?"
Suddenly he stood straight again before she could answer.
"It does sound kinda interesting. Just because there isn't much more to do around here"
At this, Misaki turned to Thor, who merely shrugged as he tilted his head in a gesture of "alright". Those were soft movements. While Balder was of a gracious building and Loki had feline-like movements, Thor had larger shoulders and stronger features. Misaki usually wouldn't associate such calm movements to someone with his physic.
"But you have to make an oath" Balder went on. "Give us your word that you will follow this agreement should you lose."
Loki understood at once what he meant and took a step back, hand covering his mouth. Misaki thought he had been shocked at the idea of using sacred oaths in such way, but soon saw he was merely being dramatic.
Did he ever take anything seriously? Not even Hashi, the self-proclaimed (and by others as such considered) class prankster of her school was like that.
"B-Balder! How can you? I thought you believed in me!" He turned his back to him as he placed the back of his hand on his forehead and mourned. "Oh, what a terrible surprise, what a sad day in which a friend learns he doesn't have your trust! What shall I do from on?"
Misaki bit her lower lip to cage a laugh. It wasn't so much his words, but the exaggeration with which they were proclaimed. At her side Thor was shaking his head as if he had seen this same scene before a dozen times. And he probably had. Balder also smiled in the same way.
"Oh, he trusts you, Loki. We're the ones who don't" She thought, going back to trying ripping that thing of her hands. "And with plenty of motives, I would say!"
"For this, I shall accept this challenge, Balder!" Loki turned back, head held high and before someone ever said a thing, he walked away and waved his hand. "I admitted, didn't I? This does sound interesting"
"HEI!" Misaki yelled at him. "Wait there! Loki! How do I take this off?"
Loki's answer was laughter. Passing by her, Thor leaned to her direction with a whisper.
"Try washing it off with vinegar"
XxX
It seemed strangely appropriated to Arisu that there was not a real "teacher's room" and Thoth actually stayed in the library when he was not in class.
"I hope this will work out" The girl at her side whispered. "Do you think he will approve?"
Arisu shrugged, recalling the severe look of the god of knowledge when they had met for the first time that morning. She shared Yui's sensation, Thoth had such a strict aura that seemed to demand the best of everyone around, whoever they might be. A thought relieved the sensation of charging.
"Well… Look, he doesn't have to approve or not. He just said we have to come up with a solution to this problem." She raised her hands, palms up, at the height of her should in a gesture of "what can one do?" and carried on. "We did it so. Now it is que sera, sera and good luck…"
Yui nodded for lack of answer. It wasn't that she would back down just because Thoth still made her nervous, all they could do was hope that her idea would work out. She wondered how the others would be doing trying to call the other gods to take part on it. But they should be doing fine. The proposal would be too seductive, she was sure of it.
"Thoth-sama?" She knocked, entering once they heard a "come in"
Arisu was impressed.
She had already told herself to expect everything and not get surprised at anything else, but it was impossible to hold herself before that library. It was huger than any room she had seen (save for a whole floor in a museum), circular-shaped, windows far above the shelves illuminating the whole place. And there were many shelves well-spaced between themselves and Arisu had the impression she would find many more, should she venture among the hallways they made.
At the center, Thoth was sitting at an antique-looking table, a huge book of pages yellowed by time opened before him. There were other books closed and piled up at a corner of the table, a lamp and at the side of the table, a vase with something that looked like a small tree.
All the library went well with Thoth and even the air seemed to pulse with his aura, as warning any person (in an instinctive level) of the nature of the owner of that space.
"Kusanagi, Hironezumi" He greeted them, sitting straight in his chair as the girls approached. "Is there something you're in need of?"
"Thoth-sama, we had an idea to solve the case of the gods who don't want to be students" Yui announced as polite as she could and at her example, Arisu still held the papers. The only reaction they got from the Egyptian was a raise of one eyebrow.
"Very well" It wasn't as if he was complimenting them, he merely heard what they had done and accepted to evaluate the idea in question. Arisu looked at Yui with the corner of her eyes, wondering if it was her imagination or if there was really something in him that seemed to say "it was about damn time"
"We thought about organizing a sports event. Humans use to…" Arisu started before receiving a glare from Thoth that made her mouth shut involuntary. Despite being a darker shade of blue than Balder's, Thoth's eyes were also colder and harder.
"I am well aware of what an event of this sort is, Hironezumi" He said without changing his tone of voice and Arisu felt warmth going up her face, not without some shame. Well, duh, of course he would know and not just because of being god of knowledge and being in that academy as teacher and not student: Many cultures had events that, in essence, were not unlike this one. You didn't look further than some festivals and the games they had.
Before that gaze, there was no way she couldn't lower her face.
"S-Sorry…"
Without saying anything else, Thoth stretched his hand out and they passed the papers to him. The god inspected it.
"And what makes you think the others will accept it?" He stood up, leaving the papers on his table and crossing his arms, making it quite clear to both of them that if they didn't have a good answer, he would be quite annoyed for having his reading interrupted by incomplete ideas.
They explained at once about what the prize per say would be and the oaths involved. The god kept his head held high and a bit backed away, not unlike a bird of prey watching his hunt.
Without warning, he punched a shelf nearby and leaned towards Yui.
"And you intend to invoke such sacred and ancient vows just like that?" He hissed in the same cold tone. "Do you really consider prudent to play with such forces?"
"Well, give us a better solution then, bird-man!" Arisu thought, hating the pressure he created without an effort and certain that he would be furious if they seemed to not understand what they would be dealing with. Yu played with her hands, not looking away from him.
"It is not a joke" She explained slowly, very serious herself, trying to make him see they would treat the question with utmost respect. "We know how serious this is"
"It was also the only thing that came to us as a guarantee they will follow the terms!" Arisu completed as Thoth stood straight, to both girls relief.
"Should you fail and give them this "right", you will have to explain yourselves to Zeus and find a way to fix the situation" The god said, making it clear that if things went astray he wouldn't do a thing to help and sat down again, making it clear that the conversation was over.
Yui and Arisu exchanged looks.
"Don't worry, Thoth-sama" Yui said in solemn voice Arisu hadn't heard from her until now and made her seen older. "We know the risks."
Upon going out the library, Arisu sighed in relief.
"Damn! Honestly is he always like that?" Even the strictest of her teachers had never been anything like the Egyptian god. It wasn't so much his "educated" speech which annoyed her, it was his whole behavior.
"For what I've seen until now, yes." Yui told her with a sigh. "But I guess you get used to it after a few times. Well, now we just need to organize everything, wait for the day and…"
"And hope we manage to win" Arisu bit the point of her tongue. "Otherwise, our chances of leaving this place and going home are screwed"
"Don't worry. We'll make it." Yui tried to convince her new friend and thought about their chances. "Trust Apollon and the others, they will give their best" She was about to say something else when they caught sight of two blonde figures coming from a hallway. Balder was apologizing for something and Misaki seemed to reply it was alright, but her appearance said otherwise.
"Caramba!" Arisu tried to hold her own laugh. The blonde hair of the other girl had a natural wild look helped by how she had cut it, but now it was a real mess: Some threads standing in the end and there was what looked like a colored sand or dust on it. Her hands were completely involved in an equally colorful mass in such way that even her wrists were buried and the tips of her fingers were barely visible.
"What happened, Misaki?" Yui asked, shoulders shivering with a laugh that hit her insides to be let out.
"I really, really… Don't want to talk about it" The blonde girl muttered between teeth. "Let's just say we talked to Loki…"