Chapter 9

Kanae Kotonami thought she had been going insane when the visions and dreams first began and she could blame it all on her weird friend. She didn't know what any of it meant until the day of the auditions after everything had been said and done and she began to feel the crushing despair of failure. When Kyoko slapped her then gave her a lecture with an oh so familiar feeling to it, her final vision was like a missing puzzle piece.

{SLAP...

"Do you really think so little of me and Melétē, Sister? Do you actually believe that what we do is so insignificant, that you would just leave it all behind?" Tears were streaming from Aoidḗ's beautiful golden eyes. "We inspire them! We entertain them! Without us they would be no better than cattle!"

Mnḗmē looked down in shame.

Aoidḗ took in a deep breath and continued. "Would you actually give everything up simply because they don't recognize you immediately when you inspire them? Are you truly as vain as the others?"

"NO! I... I would just like to be thanked once in awhile! I'm sick of them taking all of the credit for what we help them with!" She replied.

Aoidḗ smiled softly at her sister and caressed her shoulder. "Sister... We only inspire them to use the talent that already lies deep within them. We don't give them that talent. We learned this long ago. We only help them find it in their hearts and souls."

Mnḗmē sighed. "I am sorry, Sister. It's just been so long. I miss us playing together on Olympus for the other gods. I miss the accolades. I miss others praising us for what we have."

Aoidḗ smiled mischievously. "Perhaps we should show the mortals what real talent is then."

Mnḗmē looked up at her sister with hope. "Do you mean move amongst them as we did in the old days?"

Aoidḗ nodded. "First we must convince Melétē to join us or, it will be no fun."}

Kanae smirked at her and crossed her arms across her chest. "Stand out huh? And how do you propose we do that?" She asked, then added in a whisper and glanced at her. "Aoidḗ?"

A huge smile crossed Kyoko's lips. "Don't we have a way to become the center of attention without even trying?"

Kanae looked at her confused. "What?" What is she talking about?

Kyoko smiled brightly. "It's the one and only blessing graced only to us."

She doesn't mean... "NO! Not for the audition!" She exclaimed.

"Mnḗmē! If you can think of a better idea, then by all means please enlighten me." Aoidḗ scolded.

Kanae sighed in resignation. "Fine..."

She wasn't stupid or, oblivious. It was just that she was a bit more resistant to outsiders than her siblings were. Her heart had been played with more often than not, by musicians before Deimos had softened it, and this time was no different than any other. Except for the fact that they had been included in Zeus' little game of hide and seek and she and Deimos had been wounded for it during their time as mortal children. She and her sisters had never known the love of a divine mother, save for the affection that was bestowed upon her by Aphrodite and as a mortal she had never known that love either. Once again, as long ago, she had been used and abused by yet another thankless musician. At the moment her heart was closed off to what was clearly in front of her, but in her dreams he would come to her and they would caress each other's pain and sorrows away.

The two brothers stood on the little hill, watching the two sisters play. It was a sight that neither had seen in a very long time. Phobos knew of Aoidḗ and suspected Mnḗmē, and Deimos had his own suspicions; however, neither wanted to approach their own females out of caution. What if they were wrong? What if their hearts were so lonely and craving the attention of their lost lovers, that they made a mistake? What if their women didn't recognize them? Neither could bear the thought of either of the women refusing them or, worse... fearing them. Especially since they were the only two that had never really feared them in the first place, as though the fates and Zeus had specifically made them for them.

It's best to distance himself, thought Deimos. He didn't want to taint her new life with the human he had become. She deserved more, so for now at least, she was off limits until he could prove himself worthy in his mind. Until he could give her, what he felt she deserved.

At the moment he was truly cursing his mortal body. Yashiro had caught a cold. He tried to fight it with all his might as soon as he suspected, large doses of Vitamin C, Echinacea Tea, mentholated chest rub, vaporizer in the bedroom, and so much chicken noodle soup he felt like he would sprout feathers and wings. It was a nightmare. He groaned and then a thought came to mind. A mischievous, sinister smile crossed his lips and he picked up the phone. If Deimos wasn't going to make a move, Phobos would do it for him.

All in all, the phone call had gone very well. He really didn't need to pretend to be even more sick than he actually was, but he figured they would take his request for the near week off that he felt would help the two get together, if he did. Needless to say, it was a success and they had even taken his recommendation to have Kyoko-chan accompany him seriously. Perhaps he did lay it on a bit thick with Matsushima-san when he mentioned Ren's non-existent appetite, but a manager's gotta do what a manager's gotta do.

He smiled that self-satisfying smile as he snuggled under his blanket on his sofa, with his hot water bottle, he fresh cup of tea and the television remote. He had already emailed Matsushima-san and Kyoko-chan Ren's scheduling, this week was going to be a vacation. Even if he was sick for the first couple of days.

This has got to be the most irritating, arrogant self-absorbed woman I have ever known. Kanae groused inwardly as she attended to Kimiko Kamio. Certainly she was a seasoned and veteran actress that initially Kanae believed she could pick up a few modern tips from, but her attitude and overall personality would have put how Hera was in ancient times, to shame. Kanae shivered at the thought. Although, she did have to admit she and her sisters weren't the perfect little angels either. She smirked as she remembered fondly of turning King Pierus' daughters into squawking Magpies or, how they had stripped the sirens of their beautiful feathers for their arrogance in challenging the sisters. It took quite a bit to fight the nagging desire to put the arrogant woman in her place; however, she had been warned by Zeus and his wrath was far more intimidating than this woman's venomous personality.

Phobos was cursing himself now. Never did he think that he would jinx himself by exaggerating his sickness, but he did. He awakened the next morning far more sick than he had ever been in his entire life.

He rolled over, looked at his alarm clock and groaned. "I should have never lied about how sick I was." He whined to himself. He rolled back over into the soft blankets and snuggled back into the covers. "One more hour, then I'll get up." He promised himself as he fell back into a deep slumber.

"Hm... Let's see, I'll need the ice bag, hot water bottle, a feather pillow..." She rambled off her mental list of things to take care of a sick person as she went row by row of the store tossing said items into her shopping basket, checking her watch and trying to be as quick and efficient as possible.

She shook her head as she carried the bags through the halls of the building where they were filming. "How can someone not know that they are sick? Has he never been sick before? And to argue with me about it..." She fumed a little as she walked through the door and rushed to his side, catching him before he'd almost collapsed. "I thought I wouldn't make it back in time." She told him while panting from near exhaustion.

"You... You went shopping?" He asked confusedly.

"I decided to pick up a few things to help out while you're sick." She then began rattling off several of the items she had bought as they entered the car LME sent on her request.

He was stunned as she began taking care of him the second they sat down. She had even known that his throat was sore and couldn't swallow water. Eventually she had pulled him through the day and helped him to his apartment in his fevered haze.