Author's Note: First order of business, I would like to thank all those who reviewed, fave'd, and followed this story. It's more than I actually expected so I'm really how you guys took to this. Second order of business, I would like to apologize to how long it took me to update. I really, really am sorry. The first chapter wrote itself but it was so hard trying to get the second chapter out. Even though this chapter is more on introductions again, there were multiple ways on how I tried to treat it and this was the version I ended up liking. There's not much story yet, but we're getting there. The plot will probably take off next chapter which I hope will not be as late as this one. Rest assured though it will be up by the end of September.

Warnings: Bad grammar (I have a problem with tenses in general) and OOC-ness probably.

Story so far: There are seven new transfer students in Hitomi's school and two of them end up in her class. Having met them and is considered a friendly face, Apollon and Loki decide to take her out to meet the others.

Chapter Two

Almost Like a Dating Sim- Oh, wait.

"I'm sorry I can't go, alright! I just- I'm kind of tied up with something already." Hitomi told Nagisa as her friend refused to look at her. The blond huffed and puffed and pouted. Closing her shoe locker, Hitomi propped her arm on her hip, her irritation slowly building as her friend refused to hear her out.

"Why don't you just tell me right to my face that you like Kusanagi-san and her hot friends better than you like me!" Nagisa whined at her. Hitomi refused to raise her voice so she simply turned around and walked.

"Hey! Wait! We weren't done talking!" Nagisa yelled behind her. Hitomi stopped to glare at the blond, "Oh, we were talking now, were we?"

Nagisa shrank under her gaze but stayed firmly planted on the ground. "Just-" she squeaked, "Why won't you come to dinner?"

Hitomi sighed, "I already promised Apollon-san that I'll come with them. I'm sure your parents will understand if I'm not there."

Nagisa sighed, took deep breaths, and raised her hands in defeat. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry, okay. But you know how I hate eating out with my parents. They are so embarrassing!"

Hitomi laughed as Nagisa smiled at her. "Why are you being such a brat about it anyway? I skipped your family dinners before, you never seemed to mind."

"I just. You know how insecure I am. I thought you were going to spend more time with the new kids than with me. I know how you like interesting things and I'm pretty sure those foreigners count as interesting."

Grabbing her by the neck, Hitomi ruffled Nagisa's hair playfully. "Don't be silly," she said. "You're my best friend."

"Yeah yeah, I know I'm the best."

"So, I'll get going now. I'll talk to you later."

"Just so you know," Nagisa suddenly whispered, she grabbed Hitomi to mutter it in her ear, "If you're going to look for a boyfriend, find me one too. Personally, I like Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome. I saw him with Loki-san during lunch so if you could put in a good word for me."

Hitomi laughed and pushed her friend off, "Alright, alright. I'll see what I can do."

"Great! Have fun for me, will you?"

"Will do!"

Hitomi walked slowly behind Apollon, Loki, and Kusanagi. They were talking casually, Apollon right up front; his boisterous laughter carrying loud and clear in empty sidewalk, Kusanagi and Loki adding to the conversation once in awhile. Hitomi felt uncomfortable with the set-up. She had ditched her best friend to accompany these three but now she was feeling rather out of place and want to turn back and go with Nagisa to her family dinner.

Loki, sensing her discomfort, slowed his pace in order to walk with her. Hitomi could only smile at him gratefully, finally relaxing somewhat at the prospect of being in conversation with someone instead of feeling like a metaphorical third wheel.

"So, you nervous?" Loki asked, cocking his head to the side. His arms were tucked behind his head and his braid following behind him. Hitomi stared at it, as she missed it earlier, quite amused at the long braid of hair as it whipped in every direction as he walked.

"Oh, um, I don't know. I mean, I don't know what to expect." She replies, fiddling with her bag.

"Well, I guess you could say we're all a catch. So it wouldn't be surprising if you were nervous."

Hitomi laughed, "Loud, brash, and arrogant isn't really my thing."

Loki grinned, "You say that now, but I assure you that one day, you'll be groveling at my feet."

They talked some more, Kusanagi and Apollon joining them halfway to their destination and Hitomi had almost forgotten they were supposed to meet with others.

"Ah, look! There they are!" Apollon exclaimed when he peered into the distance. Waiting by the corner bend, lounging on a local convenience store and biting into popsicles, were six people wearing their school uniform. Hitomi counted them in her head and found that all in all, there were eight new students, including Apollon and Loki.

"Balder!" Loki yelled when they were near enough and had broken out into a run, leaving them behind to tackle a long haired blond. Apollon and Kusanagi hurried to them as well, exclaiming joyously at their friends as though they haven't seen each other in years. Hitomi was left at the side again, awkwardly shuffling her foot as she waited to be called on.

Sure enough, Apollon's face brightened considerably when he finally remembered about his guest. He quickly went back for her and pulled her alongside him where everyone had stopped to watch curiously, wondering on who she was.

"Right!" Apollon started, clapping his hands for emphasis, "I almost forgot to introduce you!" He gestured to Hitomi with a big wave of his hand, "This is Tomi-tomi! She's in our class! She was super nice to Loki and me so I invited her to have dinner with us!"

Hitomi waved at them awkwardly, "Um, hi. My name's actually Sakurai Hitomi. It's nice to meet you."

She felt completely unnerved with the staring everyone did, as if they were sizing her up, and Hitomi felt as though she really should have just gone with Nagisa instead. She was just about to say so, maybe apologize for intruding, when she felt Loki's arm slip across her shoulder. She turned to him and he grinned at her, eyes twinkling mischievously before turning back to his friends.

"Hitomi here is really shy so you guys better be gentle with her," he says, "She's already plenty startstruck so you shouldn't tease her so much."

Hitomi flushed before pushing Loki off of her, "Quit it! I am not starstruck!" she yelled at him and tried to hit him with her bag. He gracefully evaded her attacks without breaking a sweat and laughing at her all the while. She really was getting tired of all his antics and wanted nothing more than to wipe the shit-eating grin off his face.

Before she could try and deliver another hit though, she heard the laughter and she looked back to find that everyone had started laughing. Hitomi could feel the blood rushing to her face once again. Was it really always going to be like this? That whenever she meets new people, she just has to embarrass herself in front of them?

Just kill me now, she thought inwardly with a groan as her fists clench at her side in exasperation.

As though hearing her thoughts, the blond Loki had tackled in a bear hug earlier approached he with his hand reaching out to her. "Please don't take it the wrong way. It's just, rare to see Loki getting along so well with mortals."

Hitomi cocked her head to the side in confusion, "Uh? Mortals?"

A light blush dusted Balder's face before he shook he shook his head, his blond hair following his every move. "Oh, um, nothing. I meant, Asians. He doesn't particularly take well with those from the orient."

Hitomi wasn't buying it, but just smiled politely at the other while everyone else exchanged hesitant looks. Another red head, his hair a lot darker than that of Loki, wrapped his arm around Loki's next and chuckled, "He has a bit of an ego, you see." He says, "He even used to bully Yui around before eventually warming up to her."

Everyone chuckled as they reminisced and Hitomi felt as though she was intruding. Kusanagi came beside her with a smile and tried to placate her uneasiness, "I should introduce you," she says. Automatically, everyone had gathered around them in welcome.

Kusanagi started to their right where Loki was tightly gripping the blond's arm in a possessive manner. The said blond had beautiful long hair that reached his waist and clear, periwinkle blue eyes. The gentle smile never left his face, "This is Balder Hringhorni."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he says as he took her hand and placed a chaste kiss on the back of it. Hitomi knew that Nagisa will probably get a heart attack when she hears about this.

They moved on to the red head who still had his arm around Loki. He looked incredibly relaxed, his face telling Hitomi that he was one of those laid-back types. He was tall and muscular, but not overly-so. His hair was a dark red, reminiscent of that of wine, and spiked outwards and reached the junction of his neck and shoulders. His eyes was a clear green and he had a dangling earring hanging from his left ear. "Dionysus Thyrsos," he says, introducing himself. "I'm Apollon's brother."

Hitomi's eyes widened a tad bit before looking over at Apollon who was smiling as confirmation before a look of excited revelation had him pulling a dark haired, older man to the group. He seemed to be uncomfortable having everyone's attention and tried to pull back but Apollon had a firm grip on his shoulder.

The man had medium length, wavy hair that he used to cover his face. He also had a deep, dark, red eyes. He seemed intimidating at first but now that Hitomi was having a closer look, she could see that he was more uncomfortable around others than she expected. She smiled at him in amusement, How cute… she thought briefly before he turned away from her calculating gaze and Hitomi was startled to find that he had pointed ears.

"This is our uncle, Hades Aidoneus. He's our fahter's brother." Apollon introduced. Hades gave her a quick glance, a hello, and moved away from the group as he ignored Apollon's whining.

Something was trying to claw its way out of Hitomi's mind as their names settled in her head. They all seemed rather familiar but she couldn't pinpoint where exactly, so she did her best to ignore the sensation.

The introduction continued, this time her attention being brought forward to a tan skinned, tall fellow who had been standing behind Balder all this time. His golden eyes held a piercing, hypnotic gaze. He had short green hair that was shaved a bit around the bottom left side of his head, a lightning bolt making itself apparent. Hitomi guessed this was the guy that Nagisa was talking about earlier. They were all attractive, but he was in another league altogether.

"Thor Megingyoruzu." Balder introduced, "Loki, him, and I have been friends our whole lives." He says with an affectionate tone. Loki, who had been silent all this time, linked his arms with Hitomi and tried to make her understand more about his friend, "Don't worry if he doesn't talk much. He's pretty much satisfied with just watching. Which becomes rather creepy sometimes but you'll get used to it."

Thor snorts as he heard Loki's comment but doesn't deny it. Hitomi could tell from the affectionate smile on his face though that he valued both Balder and Loki deeply and was probably very protective of them. She found herself warming up to him instantly. She could understand the feeling.

There was a tap on her shoulder and she turned around to find a lavender-haired boy staring down at her. He was tall, with pale skin, and deep gold-colored eyes. His hair looked silky and smooth and flared outward toward the bottom. He didn't talk, just stared at her quietly that Hitomi found to be slightly unnerving.

Sensing her discomfort, Kusanagi approached her from behind and gestured to the man in front. "This is Totsuka Tsukito." She says with a smile. She turned to the man and smiled encouragingly at him, "Please introduce yourself properly Tsukito-san."

Tsukito blinked at her almost groggily before turning his attention back to Hitomi, "It's nice to meet you." He says, his voice dull and strangely robotic.

"It's nice to meet you too," she managed to reply and surprisingly, he rewarded her with a small, genuine smile. "Ah, you're Japanese?" she asked, curious and intrigued at the same time.

He blinked at her before looking up as he tried to think of an appropriate answer, "Yes and no. It's our heritage, I suppose."

His eyes then turned to the side, affixing his gaze on the last of the group to be introduced. He had dark blue hair that reminded Hitomi of the sea on a clear day. A short tail was tied in a tight ponytail while the other strands that couldn't be tied were kept in place with a black headband and ended up flaring outwards. He was slightly darker than Tsukito but had the same eyes as he did, although they were a bit darker. He stood away from them all and had his hands buried in his pockets as he looked towards the sky.

"My brother, Takeru." Tsukito says, and hearing his name, Takeru looks towards them. A curious look on his face before a sneer overcame his features.

"What?" he asked, directly asking Hitomi who stepped back at the tone of his voice.

"N-nothing!" she automatically exclaimed. She heard him scoff before walking off, not completely leaving the group, but far enough that he wouldn't be pulled into a conversation with them.

Loki came up beside her, his hands on her shoulders as he leaned forward to speak to her, "Forget about him. He's just a grump that doesn't know when to relax."

Tsukito nodded, trying to justify his brother's actions, "He doesn't do well with new people." He says. Hitomi nods uncertainly but still tried to be sympathetic, "Oh. Well, I guess that's understandable."

She still feels that his hostility towards her was completely uncalled for.

"Well, why don't we all head out to dinner then?" Balder suggested, breaking her train of thought. He walked off, leading the group with Loki quickly trailing behind him. Hitomi followed behind them, watching from at the back of the group.

They all seemed rather intimidating at first, but after the few minutes that she had spend trying to know them, they were actually pretty nice people. And seeing Kusanagi talking with Apollon and Dionysus happily, she was starting to understand how she feels when around these people. It was very hard to stay nervous around them when really, they were a bunch of normal people. It was actually kind of cute.

A soft giggle escapes her lips as she thought back on how most of the girls at school seemed to think of them as gods.

"What are you laughing at?" a hostile voice called out to her and she straightened her back in response and turned around to find Takeru glaring at her suspiciously. She gave him a forced grin, trying not to anger him.

"N-nothing. It was nothing."

He didn't seem convinced but proceeded to ignore her and walked off, catching up with his friends. His shoulders visibly relaxing when he caught up with his brother.

Hitomi pouted.

Gods. Yeah, right.

End Chapter