Chapter 45

This was horrible! How in all of Tartarus was it possible for two daughters of Zeus to be at the auditions? If they recognized her, she would certainly be done for, considering all of the mischief she'd caused on Olympus all those eons ago. Zeus was know to have the uncanny ability to hold onto a grudge; although, the muses were rather meek, and tended to avoid confrontation more often than not, especially Aoidḗ. Apátē decided that there wouldn't be too much of a fuss. That little songbird wouldn't let out a single chirp. She was the type that never wanted to cause problems or bring harm to anyone, even if they did deserve it, and technically Kimiko was an innocent in the larger scheme of things.

Seriously, Apátē was never really a very good judge of character, she was after all the goddess of deceit. She never really bothered with actually learning anything about who she was leading on or, lying to. She only did it for the fun of it; however, once that god or goddess was deceived by her, there wouldn't be a second time. It was a little bit of the "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me" frame of thinking, and the primary reason she had fully moved on to making mortals her focus, was the fact that there were no longer any gods or goddesses that she hadn't lied to or, tricked.

Essentially, Aoidḗ, Phobos, and Mnḗmē would know her immediately, if they saw her. Which was precisely why she was staying out of their view. She never dreamed in all of her years that Kimiko would put her in a position that could threaten her time on Earth. That was a place that she truly did not want to be banished from. But, she just couldn't resist the plan, and it wasn't like the little songbird would ever see her; however, she never thought that she and her charge could ever be outsmarted and deceived by a mortal, Erika Koenji. A mortal that was unfortunately, gifted with the sight, but certainly not impressed.

Now, seeing that Kanae/Mnḗmē was essentially the goddess of memory and acting, after she'd discovered that Kimiko Morizumi and Apátē had made a feeble attempt on Aoidḗ's life, she had tasked herself with completely removing any trace of talent that Kimiko may have thought that she had and her memory along with it. Kimiko was now a completely blank slate in every sense of the concept and the only thing she was left with was the basic knowledge that was required for a human to survive. Apátē however, received a quick little visit from Zeus, was warned and informed that if she continued in harming others, her power would be bound and she would live as a mortal until her mortal body failed, and she was returned to Olympus to be imprisoned once again. Her mother Nyx, had nothing to say. She never did. Apátē was one of her many disgraceful children that had been locked in Pandora's Box as their punishment for creating havoc in the early years. Nyx had told Apátē and her siblings years ago that they would be allowed on Earth if they kept their mischief to a minimum, if they disobeyed they would be returned. Recently, they had played a bit more than in the past. Apátē knew that she was walking a very fine line, and decided to be slightly more discreet elsewhere.

FLASHBACK

He was just getting out of his car when he saw the familiar pair exiting the building with an extreme look of guilt and worry around them. One he had worked with before and had been duped into giving a small trinket for luck, but the other. The other he finally recognized her. Had it not been for the encounter with Aoidḗ and Phobos, he would have never known. His eyes narrowed at Apátē, and his foreboding aura made both shiver with dread.

"Ren-san? What are you doing here?" He noticed Kimiko's nervousness; however, he attributed it to his aura towards Apátē. Which of course, whom it was directed at. Although, he certainly didn't mind giving this little liar a bit of it either.

"Morizumi... I believe that's really none of your concern." He clipped. It was none of her business that he was there to meet his beloved, and his brother.

"Oh, you must be here to meet with Yashiro-san." She smiled sweetly, trying to keep him from talking to Yashiro for as long as possible or, at least until Erika had left. She certainly didn't want anyone that knew her uncle finding out what she'd done, and she was pretty sure none she'd come into contact with would breathe a word of it to anyone.

He noticed Apátē's nervousness, so he decided to throw in a little fib of his own to check Apátē's reaction. "I'm actually here to check on Kyoko-chan for her father, and to see how she did at the auditions." No point in hiding right now. He needed Apátē to know who he was.

He watched as the devious little mortal's face soured briefly into a scowl, and Apátē's face paled. I wonder what's going on here. He pondered silently as he observed the pair.

"Ah, Kyoko-san? Yes... I heard she did really well." Apátē commented, shuffling Kimiko along quickly. She really needed to get them out of there before he recognized her, not realizing that it was too late for something like that. Not realizing that Yashiro had already made the call to Lory, and Erika had already emailed a copy of the little candid film directly to Yashiro-san's phone mere moments after Kimiko had left.

Deimos did not like that reaction from the pair. Something was definitely up. He quickly rushed to their meeting place after the pair scurried away like a couple of frightened rats. As he exited the elevator to the third floor, he noticed a dazed Aoidḗ being escorted by a worried looking Phobos, with Erika Koenji and one of her man-candies pushing her wheelchair. Wheelchair? When did that happen? What happened? He furrowed his brow, and rushed to Aoidḗ's side, startling the two mortals.

"Are you okay, Kyoko?" He asked worriedly, sweeping Aoidḗ into his arms and holding her tightly, stunning all onlookers.

She nodded groggily. "Just a little sleepy." She let out a small giggle. "I'll be okay. It's been a long day." She told him and stiffened a little bit, remembering all of the lies and half-truths that Morizumi and Apátē had fed her that day. Wondering if it was truly possible that he had actually been in love with Kimiko before he discovered the connection that they had together. Her mind was still a little stormy, and confused, so the irrational thoughts were flowing through her mind without restraint.

He glanced down at her, and noticed the confused and pained look on her face. "What's wrong?" He asked stroking her cheek.

"Bo..." She said in a whisper.

He leaned in to hear what she was saying. "Kyoko... What was that?" He looked up to see tears streaming down her cheeks.

She shook her head. "You told Bo..." She was letting her emotions get the best of her now. She knew he loved her, but what if...

He furrowed his brow. "Bo the Chicken?" His eyes narrowed and his aura seeped out a bit. "What did that soon to be roasted chicken tell you?"

She sniffled and wiped a tear that fell, as he pulled her gently into the shadows. "I'm Bo..." She pouted. "You said you loved her, but you aren't allowed."

He smiled groaned a little, and smiled softly. "Aoidḗ... My Love, My World... You were that girl or, haven't you figured that out yet?" He chuckled, kissing away her tears.

"Sh-She said you gave her a ring... and she talked like you two had a secret together... and... and.." She whimpered.

"Silly... I could never love someone like her. She could never compare to you. Don't you know that by now? After all we've been through? Do you really think I would even think of someone like her when I've been waiting for you? Even if it was subconsciously." He confessed.

She shook her head. "I understand... It wouldn't have felt right." She told him, remembering how off it felt being around Sho.

He nodded, hugged her again, and gently kissed her cheek. He quickly took on his 18 year-old guise, and hugged her once more. "Come on... Let's go let Phobos know I'm taking you out to celebrate."

She gave him a curious look. "Celebrate?"

He chuckled. "Well, judging from the sour face Morizumi gave when I mentioned you, I suspect you got the part?"

She giggled and nodded.

"Not only that, I would like to hear everything from you before Zeus gets wind of all of this." He gave her a pointed look. "No, not a word. I know something happened. Apátē was here, and her presence never means anything good. So, I want the entire story. Got it?" He told her firmly, before they left to tell Phobos of their plans.

She nodded. "Okay." She pouted. She really wasn't looking forward to telling him, but she figured he'd find out one way or another. She shuddered to think what her father was going to do to the pair when he discovered.

END FLASHBACK