I sat in the center of the meeting, tall beams of light surrounding me as I cast down my head. "What on earth is the goddess of love doing here?" one person asked his neighbor. "Haven't you heard? She caused the mortal world a lot of chaos during Valentine's Day by pulling a crazy stunt of destroying all their relationships. Man, I have to work overtime for so long because of all those crazy requests," he sighed. "Sucks being the god of guidance eh?" his friends said. "Tell me about it," he said. Other gods started to murmur about me and I tried to block it all out. You have no idea how I felt being in this position… it was the right thing to do.

"Silence!" one of the major gods said and the assembly became silent. "Do you understand the grave crime you have committed, Aiko, goddess of love?" he thundered. "If you were in my position for so many centuries, then you would understand why I did it!" I snapped. "Because of your irrational stunt, all the other gods have to take care of your mess for you. Thanks to you, some are not even able to turn up for this emergency meeting of the heavens!" he shouted. "You're just the goddess of love! How hard can the job be?" one woman shouted and the others started to rally with her, shouting insults at me.

I clenched my fist, wanting to pound them so hard. They took me by force, threatened to hurt my Shinki and now they want to insult me? "You have no idea how it is like to see people fall in love and be alone all by yourself! Being the goddess of love, I have blessed people with happiness in their relationships but have never experienced one for myself! Also, haven't you see how screwed up the humans have become?! They are divorcing each other like they are changing clothes and are committing foul acts when they are still in a marriage! Tell me, as the god who has to oversea this sort of matter, wouldn't you go mad after a while once you see that your work is for nothing?!" I snapped, panting due to spewing out so many words in a minute at the top of my lungs.

The gods started to talk among themselves, no doubt talking whether I should be banished from the heavens. "Silence!" the major god of order shouted again and once more silence draped over the assembly. "I understand your plight, goddess Aiko. However, you should have known better to destroy relationships like that. We will give you a chance to repent, since this isn't such a major crime that you have to be banished," he said and I gulped. I couldn't imagine having to live in the mortal world, dying of old age…

"You will be given a year to repent for your mistake. Once you come to understand the meaning of love once more, your sins would be forgiven and the natural order of relationships will be restored. However, should you fail to do so, a new god of love will be appointed and you shall be banished from the heavens!" he said. "Anyone who is in favour of this proposition, please say Aye!" he said and a chorus of Aye's filled the air. "Those who say nay?" he called and a lower rumble of Nay's filled the room. "It is decided. You shall go to the mortal world at once and learn the true meaning of love. After all, you were born out of the wishes of people who wanted love in their life, so it would be logical to send you straight to the source," he said.

"What about my Shinki? Can't I bring at least one of them?" I begged. "The answer is no. Your Shinki failed to guide their master down the right path and it has lead to this. If you were to find yourself in trouble in the mortal realm, you are to find your own Shinki. This council is dismissed!" the god shouted and all the lights went dark.

…

"My lady!" Mikoto, one of the servant girls wept as all the Shinki assembled in the hallway. I stood in normal clothing, wearing a jumper with a skirt and tights along with a purple winter coat and boots. It was winter down in the mortal realm. "Take care, mistress," Minato said as he bowed. "I will. You guys take care, okay?" I said as some of the girls began to cry even more. "Sayonara," I said as I opened the great double doors and stepped out into the courtyard. Sakura trees lined the courtyard in full bloom since the seasons in Tamagahara are based on what the god wishes to have and some of the petals few at me. I gently took one in my hand, gazing at it. As I stood in the courtyard, light began to appear around me.

Before I knew it, I was standing on a road, surrounded by humans. However, the atmosphere was rowdy as people were crying all over, couples fighting and shouting at each other. As I turned around, I recognized this to be one of my shrines in Japan. "Sheesh. A breakup isn't the end of the world you know," I muttered as I walked out of the shrine. People didn't seem to notice me and I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't want to interact with anyone more than I have to.

"Find love, eh? How can I simply do such a thing…" I muttered as I walked down the street, kicking a pebble out of my way. The air was chilly and I shivered, tugging at my red scarf. My appearance was that of a girl in her late teens so it wasn't a surprise some men looked at me eagerly. I wouldn't be a worthy goddess of love if I couldn't attract people to like me, no?

"Damn it. Are there any other gods in this area that can help me?" I grunted as I yanked out my phone and scrolled through the contacts of the gods I know. I saw Tenjin's name but I decided not to call since he was already so pissed off at having to do overtime due to my stunt and Ebisu-sama wouldn't be of much help since he is only good in business and fishing. If only he knew how to fish for love it would be so damn helpful.

"Shit!" I swore as I picked up a stone and flung it at a wall. It bounced off and landed on the pavement with a clatter. I fumed, flinging myself onto a park bench and looking around me. The weather was too cold for people to wander about but I didn't care, letting the cold air cool my temper down. As I flipped at my phone, the wall behind me reflected behind on my screen. I turned around to see that there was actually scribbling on the wall. In fact, it was a phone number and a name.

Yato the Delivery God

080-0919-8100

All services only cost 5 Yen!

I scowled at the scrawling, barely able to make out the words. Man the guy must have been desperate to do business. Maybe he should pray to Ebisu sama for help… But anyway, no harm trying this number. I dialed it into my phone and brought it to my ear. It hadn't even rung once when a voice yelled through it.

"Yato the delivery god at your service! When everything from fixing a toilet to babysitting only costs five yen! How may I help you?" a man squeaked from the other end and I pulled it away since it was so loud. "Uh, I'm in a middle of a crisis here but I'm not sure if you can actually help me…" I started to say when he started to speak again. "Not a problem! There is nothing I, Yato, can not do!" he said. Really? Well then, here it goes.

"Well, why don't we meet and we can discuss in more detail," I said. "Sure! Where are you now?" he asked and I glanced around for a signboard. "Oak Park," I said. "Okay! I'll see you in a moment!" he chirped and the next thing I knew there was a flash of light in front of me and a guy around my age and a boy of fifteen stumbled out from it, falling onto each other. I shrieked as I jumped back, wondering what the heck just happened.

"Oi, Yato. You need to improve your entrance," the boy snorted. "Shut it, Yukine. You'll scare the customer!" he snapped as he looked at me. As both of us looked at each other he raised an eyebrow. "Do I know you?" he asked and my cheeks flushed. "No! I only ever been to the mortal realm a few times and that was centuries ago!" I snapped. "Centuries?" the boy called Yukine muttered as though I was mad. The man, Yato continued to look at me closely, his blue cat eyes scanning me.

"Lady, are you a god?" he asked and I nodded. "Yeah. I'm Aiko, the goddess of love," I said and his eyes widened. "OH! So you must have seen my request!" he said, his eyes shining. "No I haven't. And even if I had seen it, I have no idea what I have done with it," I snorted and he groaned. "Man, I thought I paid extra for it," he sighed as Yukine slapped him. "Hey, Yato! How do you know she's a goddess?" he asked. "We gods can tell each other apart from the rest," he said. "So helpful," Yukine said as he planted himself on a chair.

"So you're Yatogami. The heavens have been buzzing about you for a while now," I said. "EH! Am I really that popular?" he grinned. "Anyway, back to the point, can you help me?" I asked. "Well, you have to give me the cash first," he started to say when I stopped him. "It may be an impossible task for you to handle. I'm not sure if I can even accomplish it myself," I said as he grinned. "Say no more. Just state your request and we'll get it done!" he smiled and I sighed. "I need you to help me learn about love," I said and his smile froze on his face. "Say what?!" he blurted as the snow fell around us.