A/N: Poor Yui. Life as she knows it…or at least life as she knew it BG (before the gods), is about to blow up in smoke. Maybe literally if she isn't careful. Enjoy the new chapter!

Chapter 5 – Trouble

Better? Had she really believed things would get better? If anything, the day went even further downhill than it initially had and Yui was ready to take her sword and chop some heads off, but she wouldn't because she wasn't a violent person and because she didn't want to get her blade dirty. These were her friends, and no matter how much they all made her want to pull her hair out, she loved them.

After the downpour, which had led to the destruction of one of Yui's favorite shirts (luckily it could be mended), everyone decided as a whole that it would be better to return to the shrine instead of venturing out to the mall. The fact that the rain had picked up and now it was thundering and the sky was lit up might have had some bearing on their decision. That decision might have been a mistake, but then again, maybe not.

Yui's friends, Akane and Chikako, were intrigued by these men that had suddenly arrived on the shrine's doorstep. They were good looking and seemed to have a glow about them. It was almost like they were from some other world; and it was more than apparent that they knew Yui fairly well. When had they met? Why hadn't their friend told them about meeting them? Were they the reason she had been acting sort of strange the past few weeks? She had not wanted to hang out and when she did, it was almost like she was forcing herself to leave her room. Lately, it had become kind of awkward to be around her, and they didn't know how to help her; therefore, they pretended not to notice and hoped that if they acted normal, eventually Yui would as well. It all began the day she had started crying on their way home on the day of the closing ceremony at school. Neither Akane nor Chikako ever found out what had happened or why their friend had behaved so oddly. Yui would just say that she had forgotten to do something for her parents that day, but they never really believed her.

Now as the men were elsewhere changing out of their wet clothes, and the girls were in Yui's room to change into dry clothes themselves, Akane decided to dig for more information, "Ne, Yui? You and those boys seem very close. How long have you known them?"

"EH?!" Yui answered shocked. She had been hoping her two friends would not pry.

Chikako nodded and added, "They act as if they have known you longer than just recently."

"Ano. I was practicing my sword at a park one morning and they were wandering around the same park. We talked and wound up spending the day together," answered the purple haired teen. Did her explanation seem believable? Plausible?

"Yui?!" Akane grinned excitedly, "Do any of them have girlfriends?"

"Girl…friends?"

"Hai!"

"Ano. I…" The thought of one of her friends seeking out the company of a certain god caused her chest to ache, and before she could answer, Chikako jumped on that train of thought as well.

"They all seem like gentlemen and they are all really good looking. That purple haired one is really handsome. He is really quiet though."

A knife twisted in Yui's heart. "I'm…I'm not sure if they do, but they won't be here that long. It wouldn't be good to date them and then have to end it because they had to go home."

Akane would not let that deter her, "Hai, but this is our last year of high school. We could always follow them if it is true love!"

Yui knew that no girl here on earth would be able to follow the gods. Not if they were human, however, that was not something she could share with her friends.

"What was his name?" Chikako inquired.

"His name?" Confusion marred Yui's face as she tilted her head. Had she missed part of the conversation?

Nodding, the girl with long brown hair asked, "Hai. The purple haired guy's name. What was it?"

"Tsukito-san?"

"That was it!"

Before she could stop herself from saying anything, Yui blurted out, "He has someone special to him!"

Chikako studied her friend for a moment before she asked, "Do you like him or something? Are you two together?"

"No. I just remember…" A knock at the door interrupted the girl talk and Yui called out, "Hai?"

"Yui, the boys are waiting on you. You girls come out and get to know them a little more. All of you will be classmates, so don't be rude," her mother ordered after sticking her head through a small crack in the door.

"Hai! We're coming," she answered, grateful for the reprieve; although, if she thought about it, moving to the living room meant Akane and Chikako would be in the same room with the gods and that could be bad as well, but at least this way, she didn't have to worry about the Spanish Inquisition…or so she believed.

Joining the guys in the living room, Yui's natural inclination was to sit between the brothers as she had at breakfast, but before she could claim the empty space there, Chikako took the spot. And that is where it started to take a turn for the even worse.

Tsukito had always been blunt, and the lessons Yui taught him had not changed anything. This seat had been saved for a certain girl and it was his duty to make sure she sat there, "This seat is for Kusanagi Yui."

With a nervous laugh, Yui tried to be the gracious hostess, "No, she sat there first. It's okay. I'll sit…"

"No, this seat was saved for you."

Her face started to turn red. Why was he so insistent?

"Ani…"

"Takeru, you said we should save a place for Kusanagi Yui. It is my duty to make sure it gets done."

Face palming, the younger Japanese God grumbled, "I did, but…"

"Should we not have saved a place for her?"

"Ani…"

Apollo patted the spot between him and Dionysus, "I have a place for you, Fairy."

Balder waved her towards him, "Yui-san, over here."

"Uh, I'll just sit over here," Yui quickly stated and sat between Hades and Dionysus. For some reason, she knew if she chose Apollo or Balder, she would end up in the middle of another tug-o-war, and she would rather not destroy another shirt.

Akane took the empty place between Apollo and Dionysus that he had been saving for Yui. "All of you seem so close after just a short period of time together." She was almost jealous of the attention her friend was getting from these men.

"Sometimes when you are thrown together and face a difficult task, it creates bonds you might have otherwise miss out on," Thor responded.

"Difficult task?"

"He means when they were lost and found me in the park!" Yui rushed.

Thor quickly agreed, "Yes, what she said."

"Where are you from?" Chikako inquired.

The gods all exchanged looks before Hades answered, "Many different places and all of them are far away."

"Who travelled the shortest distance?" Akane asked.

"I guess that would be me and Ani," Takeru supplied.

"So you two are brothers?"

"Hai. We were born on the same day along with our other brother when our father…" Tsukito began.

Yui knew he was about to explain how the gods came into being and quickly inserted, "I didn't know you had another brother!"

Takeru suddenly looked murderous, "Hn. His name is Akira."

Chikako asked, "Why didn't he come? What grade will all of you be in?"

"They are all in grade 3," Yui answered for them, unsure of how they would answer for themselves.

"So you are triplets?" Chikako asked Tsukito.

"We were born on the same day if that is what you are asking," he responded.

If anything, she believed that to be a truly cryptic answer, and she pressed forward, "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"I have Kusanagi Yui. She is a girl and a friend."

With this answer, Apollo and Balder looked outraged, five other gods sweat dropped, and Yui's friends from school head whipped around to gape at her so quickly, they could possibly suffer from whiplash. As for Yui herself, she felt like she was about to be tried and convicted under their scrutiny. Was it wrong for her to wish Zeus would whisk her away at that very moment?

Attempting hold in his laughter and keep it to himself, Dionysus stammered with the effort, "She…She means are you romantically involved with anyone. Betrothed or otherwise involved."

Tilting his head to the side, Tsukito said, "I am not currently romantically involved, nor am I betrothed. I have not been told that I need to obtain one."

Takeru face palmed again as his eyes darted towards the purple haired girl across from them. To him, she looked hurt and ready to bolt. In his brother's defense, Tsukito could be a bit clueless from time to time and he took everything pretty literally. "A-Ani…"

"You are not involved either. Have you been told to get married?"

"N-No, but there are not…" If Takeru continued with that sentence, he would be sharing things with Chikako and Akane that they did not need to know. "Ani, where is Usamaro?" It was his attempt at changing the subject, and he hoped it worked.

"Who is Usamaro?" Chikako asked.

"My rabbit. It was a present from Takeru," Tsukito said.

She clapped her hands together and gushed, "I would love to see him!"

Yui wanted to roll her eyes, she wanted to slap her friend, and most of all, she wanted to run to her room and bury her head in her pillow so she would not have to watch her friend attempting to flirt with the Moon God.

"Yui, can you take okaa-san some more of the luck charms?" Her father asked, interrupted the group of young people.

"Hai!" She would take what she could get, and at least this offered a small escape.

"I will go and help you," Tsukito offered.

"I'll go too!" Apollo and Balder shouted and stood up, knocking the table. Tea cups shook and fell over and hot water fell into Loki and Hades' laps.

A gloomy air surrounding him, the God of the Underworld muttered, "Misfortune follows me again."

Jumping up, Yui ran to the kitchen to grab some towels for the two gods and handed them to Balder and Apollo and asked them to help take care of their friends. That done, she turned to leave the room with Tsukito following closely behind her. She was on edge and nervous to be alone with this particular god, but she couldn't help except to feel happy as well because he had offered to accompany her. "Tsukito-san, you didn't have to come with me."

"I felt like I failed in my mission and this was a way to make it up to you," he told her.

"Failed? Mission?"

"Hai. To save you a seat."

"Oh! Th-That's okay!"

"I tried to tell her the reason it was empty so that she would move, but she refused. Seeing as she is your friend, I did not feel you would like it if I forced her out."

"Eh? NO!"

"I was right. I think things will be more complicated here than in our other school. I am happy to see you again, but I am apprehensive about this new school."

He wasn't the only one. Yui was almost terrified to see what would happen at this school. Between Loki's tricks, the gods' lack of understanding of the human world, etc., this could be a disaster in the making. Plastering on a smile, she said, "It will be all right because we're together."

His eyes turned to her and he gave her a small smile, "Hai. We are all together."

Meanwhile in the living room, Takeru held a sword in his hands in order to force Apollo and Balder from following his brother and Yui, "They will be right back. You don't need to follow!"

"But what if something happens to Fairy?!" Apollo argued.

"Are you saying Ani would do something to hurt her?"

Waving his hand, Balder smiled, "That isn't what he was saying, but three can protect her better than one."

"She doesn't need protection! This is her home and nothing is going to happen!" Takeru growled. The moment they took a step forward, he swung his blade and forced them to jump backwards. "Just so you know, I'm not afraid to use this."

Scared, Akane and Chikako didn't know what to say, do, or think. They couldn't leave the room because the only way out was being blocked by a blue headed teen with a very sharp looking sword. Akane finally asked, "He won't really use that on them, will he?"

Looking down at the girl next to him, Loki snickered, "He might, but don't worry, they won't be hurt."

"How can they not be hurt by that sword?!"

"Magic," he winked and offered her a piece of candy.

"Arigato." She accepted the treat and popped it into her mouth before immediately spitting it out again. In her hand, the ball was dissolving into dirt. "EW!"

Chikako's face showed her disgust, "That's gross!"

Loki eyed her and said, "So is the way you're throwing yourself at someone you only just met." He tossed a small brightly wrapped tube towards her and it exploded, covering only her with orange dust.

"Loki-Loki!" Apollo yelled. He had turned around when he heard the pop knowing the trickster was up to something bad.

"What did I do?" Loki queried innocently.

By the time Yui and Tsukito returned, both of her friends were in tears and the gods were arguing amongst themselves. The moment the door opened and Takeru dropped the sword, Chikako and Akane ran out of the room saying they were going home. Yui decided the gods were dangerous…almost too dangerous for the human world. What was going to happen at school on Monday?