Chapter 16

The day she discovered was the day of the LME talent auditions where she had met her. Maria had been suffering for a very long time and when the images of Atë being accepted and loved by Aoidḗ flashed in her little mind, she knew almost instantly that it was right. She knew at that point why the impulses to create mischief and mayhem were always at the front of her very soul.

Now being the daughter of discord and the goddess of mischief, doesn't always mean that it is a malicious mischief. Once upon a time she had been banned from Olympus for the havoc some of her doings had created. Not that she was solely responsible for it all though. Hera, before she had calmed herself and stopped being a complete bitch, had convinced her that Heracles would replace her in her grandfather Zeus' heart and out of jealousy and self-preservation, she had tricked him into making a ridiculous oath that would declare that any of his offspring that would be born on that day, would rule the world. It wouldn't have been such a problem had Hera not had her own plans and caused the premature birth of another.

Zeus was so livid about the situation, he banned her from Olympus and was very close to striking her out of existence. Maria was just happy to be with him now. She had learned her lesson. Even if Hera had changed for the better, she would never trust anyone enough to do them requested favors again. Atë's services would be only given of her own free will, not through request, unless it was to Grandfather but that was a given. He was Zeus after all, but nothing malicious of course.

When she first saw the look her Ren-sama gave to Aoidḗ, she was crushed. For the longest time, he had been only for her. He pampered her, treated her like a princess and gave her his undivided attention, much like she wished for her own father to do. She was conflicted. She loved Aoidḗ dearly and she loved her Ren-sama, but she had also at one point loved her dear cousin Deimos. Until she discovered that her Ren-sama was Deimos, she had vowed to make him stay away from Aoidḗ She couldn't stand the thought of Aoidḗ accidentally falling in love with anyone other than who she was destined to be with. The fact that Ren-sama was Deimos, removed the pressure on her heavy heart. She could let them be happy together, so she made it a point to create opportunities for them to run into each other and meet frequently, completely unaware that they had already made their own discoveries.

FLASHBACK

"Stop that..." Maria heard one of her favorite people giggle in the out of the way hall. She peeked around the corner to find Kyoko and a tall, blond-haired, green-eyed male teen nibbling on her neck.

How could she do that to him! Atë was seeing red. She needed to do something about this and soon or, poor Deimos would suffer.

Maria's ears perked at the next part of the conversation. "Deimos... We can't do this here. Someone will see."

He chuckled. "Fine..." He gently kissed her cheek and smiled. "Will I get to see you tonight after work?"

Maria saw her nod shyly and watched Deimos morph into his Ren disguise. He leaned in and kissed her cheek again. "I see you tonight my Love."

Maria sighed in relief, not noticing the other male standing behind her. "EEP!" She squeaked.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "How long have you been spying on them Maria-chan?"

She looked up at him sheepishly. "Um... I swear I won't tell anyone!"

Phobos removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, then sighed. "Maria..."

She interrupted with a pout. "Atë..." She corrected him.

Phobos smiled. "Atë, dear cousin..." He winked at her and she squealed, throwing herself into his arms. "You can't tell Zeus about what you just saw. They want to keep it to themselves right now." He explained to the little imp in his arms.

She nodded and crossed her heart. "I swear Grandfather will not find out from me, Bo."

He chuckled at the familiar old nickname she had for him. "Okay... how about we go for some ice cream? I don't have to be anywhere for another hour."

She hugged him tightly. "Yes!"

END FLASHBACK

So, at this point we would have Ruto stealthily following the pair when they were out and about, Maria keeping track of their movements and recording it for posterity (she was almost as bad as Lory in this department) and finally, Yashiro running interference so they could have a little quiet time together, more often than not, when he wasn't giving his own perfect little goddess the attentions that he felt she so richly deserved.

Dodging all of the concerned relatives was like dodging the paparazzi and took just as many disguises to keep their relations private. Thankfully they would at least get a little quiet time together in Karuizawa. At least they could hope to.

Kuon stood nervously in the dining room of the Darumaya in his teen form awaiting his princess. Tomorrow she would be traveling to Karuizawa and he to Okinawa, this would be their last moments together for at least a week.

The Okami was always so nice and comforting, he almost felt like he was at home when he visited but the Taisho terrified him. Him... The god of Terror and Dread. How did that even work? Was Ryūzaki-san like some kind of hidden Japanese god of sharp, bladed projectiles or, something? Kuon shuddered inwardly at that thought. He actually had a hunch on why this man was so intimidating to him and it just boiled down to Zeus being the absentee father that he was and Ryūzaki-san guarding her like Cerberus watches over the underworld. It was actually nice to know that she had such people caring for and about her and he could understand why she continued to work there even after she discovered her origins. They were the mother and father that she never had.

"Kyoko-chan will be down shortly, Kuon-kun." Aimi, the sweet Okami chirped happily to him as she bustled around the dining area.

THUD... went the carving knife as it was buried into the cutting board and Kuon flinched. "Have her home by 10, young man." The stoic man ordered.

Deimos swallowed nervously and nodded. "Yes, sir." He told him as he bowed respectfully. It wouldn't do him any good to look bad in this man's eyes. Aoidḗ respected him, far more that Zeus.

He heard a quiet giggle and a soft touch on his shoulder. He straightened out from his bow to find his beautiful little goddess holding up a couple of bentos. She smiled. "Dinner in the park?"

He glanced back at the Taisho, who nodded in assent, and back at her. He smiled softly. "That sounds great." He took the bentos from her and off they went to enjoy their short date and dinner in the park. All of the packing was done, now all that was left to do is spend time with his little goddess, then fight off the separation anxiety for the next seven days.