Preparations were made following the student council meeting and, surprisingly, it didn't take long to put all their plans into action. Through various methods, the group were able to somehow convince the truants that the school trip would be worthwhile and managed to, with some argument, bring them along for the ride. The most astonishing success of all was the god of fire, whom Nari was able to bring along following an incident near the entrance to the Norse dormitory.

As promised, Yui came to get her when the time came; arrived at her bedroom door with a shopping bag and a smile. The two spent a half hour in her room, putting together their personal items and organizing their food and towels for the trip, along with a few toys for fun. Yui prepared sandwiches for the picnic while her sister folded the fluffy fabric and blew up a pair of beach balls. With everything set, the sisters left to retrieve the gods and begin their journey.

Unfortunately, the field trip so far was going about as well as Nari expected.

"Hey, I'm sweating like crazy here…" Loki complained. He trailed along at a short distance from the group; fingers linked behind his head. It was far from his first protest, having started not long after leaving the school grounds. Patience quickly exhausting, the icy glare Nari sent his way threatened to freeze him solid.

More frustrating still, Takeru — by some stroke of terrible luck — agreed with him for once. Slumping over and shuffling his feet, his groans followed shortly after. "My legs are tired too."

Shining light that he was, Balder was seemingly unaffected both by the griping and the laborious journey itself. Twisting to look over his shoulder, Balder smiled back at them. "Apparently, that's how human bodies work."

"Seriously?"

"It feels so gross," Loki moaned. His hands disconnected and flopped to his sides with a loud slap, shoulders sagging to mirror Takeru's slouch. "How far do we have to walk? Surely not all the way to the beach."

"To the beach. The whole way," Apollon called back, shooting him a smile brighter than the sun.

Takeru and Loki came to a screeching halt. The god of fire deflated miserably, and the god of the sea complained. "If we're going to the beach, isn't there an easier way to go?" Takeru demanded.

Up ahead, Nari rolled her eyes at them. They were like a pair of petulant children, and she was quickly growing tired of being their babysitter.

Yui, as the far more patient of the sisters, tried her best to help them understand. "The journey is important too. The picnic — the seaside school lasts from the moment we leave the academy until the moment we return." Her attempts were met with silent but blatant resistance; she could feel the pair of them burning a hole through the back of her head with their furious gazes. Growing nervous, the younger sibling nudged her sister, gesturing with a nod toward the groaning gods. A clear and quiet request for backup.

The older sister received her message and sighed. "Yui's right. Persevering through hardship is how bonds are formed. So less talking, more walking."

"The picnic lasts until we return… less talking, more walking…" Tsukito, ever the observant student, carefully took notes of the sisters' explanations. The book closed with a snap, its owner nodding his head with profound understanding. "A wonderful old saying handed down through the ages."

Yui blinked. "A-Actually, it isn't —"

"Brother, you don't need to write that down…" Takeru left Loki behind, picking up his pace to reach his studious sibling.

"You really don't." Nari agreed.

Now alone, the other god let out a dramatic groan and sank to his knees with a tired huff. The sound of his quiet thump carried across the group to the front, drawing Nari's attention. With a deep breath, she counted to three before looking over her shoulder to address the now stationary student. The very sight of him narrowed her eyes into angry slits, wishing with all her being that looks could kill, or at the very least, maim. He was sulking. On the ground. Like a child.

Spinning on her heel, she stomped toward him, shaking off her sister's concerned hand to stop her. "Loki, get up. The longer you take to get moving, the longer it will take us to get there, and the longer it'll take to get home."

"But I'm so tired…" he whined.

Nari's eye twitched in irritation before hardening and growing cold. It felt like the area around her had fallen down a few degrees under her frozen stare. Yui gave a nervous laugh at her sister's silence, slowly doubling back toward the two of them. This wasn't looking good. She could almost hear the quiet voice counting down in her head, ticking down the seconds before an inevitable explosion…

But her sister surprised her; she didn't lose her temper or shout. Instead, she darted her eyes to one of his coat pockets, bulging with a familiar substance. Nari had an idea. Crossing her arms, she shifted her weight to one leg, like a mother scolding her toddler. "Get to the beach without any more complaining and I'll give you some candy."

Her plan worked.

Loki shot up like a rocket, suddenly filled with energy. "Well, why didn't you say so, puppy? Lead the way!" With renewed vigor, he darted passed her, the tail end of his braid smacking her in the shoulder like a long, red whip.

His form overtook Apollon's, quickly disappearing over the hill and leaving Nari behind to glower after him. It had taken a great amount of self-control, resisting the urge to grab the hair as it passed and yank him back. Admittedly, she had contemplated, if only for a moment, strangling him with it. But she didn't. For now, she would take the victory and move on. Sometimes one just had to choose their battles. Having gotten Loki cooperating for the time being, she shook her head and turned to follow him, leaving Yui to heave a sigh of relief.

. . .

Incredibly, the students arrived at the beach without any more fuss. Aside from Loki nearly tumbling off a suspense bridge, then climbing partway up a mountain ridge, their trip was arguably uneventful. There was a collective exhale among them when they finally reached the golden sands. The students gazed with wonder at the shimmering waters, clear blue sky, and tropical landscape. Even Nari had to gasp in astonishment at the world that Zeus had created. The god of the sea was the first to break the silence.

"Ah, the beach sure is great!" He linked his fingers together and stretched to the sky. His eyes were glittering with wonder, clearly the most excited of the group.

Balder smiled at his friend. "Yes, it is. Loki, isn't this wonderful?"

"Yeah, it's not bad. But…" He turned to Nari with a devilish grin. "About my reward…"

"Later."

"Wha?!" His mouth nearly dropped to the floor. "You —"

"The beach…" Hades slowly dragged himself between the two, interrupting their brewing argument. Each watched with blank stares at his sluggish lumbering form. Once he had passed, the two looked at one another in a moment of confusion before returning to their original disagreement.

"You promised to give me candy when we got here," Loki whined, grating dangerously on the older woman's nerves.

"I said, I would give you candy. I didn't say when."

"Eh? You're trying to trick the god of tricks? That's not a game you want to play, puppy."

"If you don't stop your griping, I'll be the god of putting my foot up your —"

"Wait! Hey, s-stop… You're changing here?!"

Nari's insult stopped mid-hurl as the sound of a loud shriek and rustling fabric distracted her. She had been so busy bickering with Loki, she hadn't been paying attention to the other students' exchanges. Thus, she was utterly stunned when she turned around to find her sister crouched on the ground, covering her eyes, and shouting about impropriety. When her gaze shifted to see what she was yelling about, she quickly found the reason why.

Having worn swimsuits under their clothes, the other students had decided to go for a swim, shedding their garments and tossing them off into the sand. The result was a row of half-naked men with sculpted bodies only comparable to… well, gods. Her mouth all but fell open at the gorgeous sight. With her mind utterly devoid of functionality, the fire god's words faded into garbled mumbling in the background.

"Eh? Are you listening to me?" Loki demanded. He received no answer. "You are going to give me my candy."

"Yeah, sure, Thursday's fine. Take whatever you want," Nari mumbled, no longer paying the fire god any mind. Her eyes were fixated on the most spectacular display she had ever seen in her life. Even among the actors and idols — people that served as icons of human perfection — that frequented her circle, none had possessed even half the beauty of the men standing before her. They were well and truly divine, and the image had scrambled her brain into mush. Thor and Dionysus were particular favorites. Even Hades wasn't hard to look at. A gentle tap on her shoulder brought her systems back online.

"Huh?" Turning, she was met with her sister's glimmering eyes and a mischievous smile. She had apparently been staring long enough for her sibling to recover.

"You okay, Nari? I don't think I've ever seen you speechless before."

"Uh… huh… Yeah. Wait, what?"

Yui burst into giggles at her sister's flustered state. It was rare to see her as the nervous one for once and she was loving every minute of it. Not that she could blame her. Just a glimpse of her fellow classmates had nearly given her palpitations. Her head shook with amusement before she offered her a sly smile. "So… did I change your mind? Are you glad you came on our trip?"

"I'm already getting excited about the next one."

With a triumphant grin, Yui nudged her sister, earning a quiet chuckle in response. Lost in their own conversation, the women chortled, trying — very poorly — to keep their ogling discreet. The gods gave the pair strange looks, watching them from the shoreline with amused grins. Human women were strange.

There was only one among them who wasn't sharing in their mirth. One that was growing very agitated with Nari's abrupt and acute distraction. A quick trace of her gaze told him immediately what had stolen her attention. Following her line of sight, Loki scowled at the older sibling and her sudden disinterest in him. There were many things that the god of fire didn't appreciate… and being ignored was among the worst of them.

Stalking forward, the redhead stopped at her side, leaning down over her shoulder. "Take whatever I want, huh…? Be careful what you wish for, puppy," his voice whispered softly in her ear, sending a lightning bolt straight down her spine. Her concentration shattered. Nari whipped around at the sudden shift in tone, wide eyes following him as he sauntered away, tossing his jacket behind him. "I'll be waiting." He turned back to her one last time and winked before wandering off to join the other gods.

Behind him, Nari stood dumbfounded. Her mouth opened and closed in disbelief, eyes blinking rapidly in a confused loop. The events of the previous five minutes were now a blur to her, and she couldn't shake the sinking feeling that she had mentioned something she would soon regret. Her mind worked rapidly, wondering with great concern what the hell she had just agreed to. Her mood slightly soured at the thought. But as she caught a glimpse of the object of her unease chatting with Balder, for just the briefest moment, she didn't care. The only thing on her mind was a lithe, toned frame; the definition trailing from a black waistband into carefully carved muscles beneath a smooth pale chest belonging to —

'Shit.' Her complacency vanished into thin air when her eyes moved upward only to see Loki's silver ones staring right back at her on top of a smug grin. Scowling, she turned her nose up at him and shifted her gaze elsewhere, willing the color to fade from her warming cheeks. Fine. Loki was hot. Hot as the fire he wielded. She'd admit that. Just not to him. She would die first. Shaking her head, she busied herself turning around to follow Yui into the forest, rolling her eyes when she shot her a knowing smile.

When the sisters returned, the gods were frolicking across the beach. Tsukito was sitting beneath a palm tree, watching the other gods and jotting down notes of their hijinks. Apollon, Balder, and Thor were engaged in a three-man game of water volleyball. Hades was off by himself near the water's edge, gazing sadly at the rest of his classmates. Dionysus and Loki were dripping wet, returning to the shoreline from a swim. Takeru was pointedly missing, most likely darting around beneath the ocean waves.

"Wow, Fairy! Siren!" Apollon shouted, pausing his game as the women reemerged on the beach. The other gods stopped their activities to see the source of the commotion, each taking a moment to admire the two sisters standing side-by-side. Even Takeru popped his head out at the sun god's shouting. Yui was wearing a yellow two piece, with shorts on the bottom and a tank on her upper half. She was attractive in a cute sort of way, as one would expect from a shrine girl just finishing high school. Nari was a similarly pleasant sight although her features were more curvaceous as she had had more time to mature. Her swimsuit, Loki noticed, was oddly familiar to him… Had he seen it somewhere before?

"Alright, show's over, guys. Carry on," Nari called, waving off their gazes and making her way toward a large palm.

Yui applied a light layer of skin barrier and wandered off into the water to swim, quickly getting roped into Apollon's water game. Nari laid out a beach towel, took a seat, and got to work applying her heavy-duty sunscreen, covering every corner of her body from her shoulders to her legs. It was a tedious practice, but one she often found necessary due to her exceptionally light complexion. Her ritual was nearly finished when she frowned, suddenly realizing she had missed a large spot. Her back remained unshielded, and Yui was currently preoccupied in a game of Marco Polo with the other gods. Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully as she looked around at everyone, wondering if perhaps she didn't need to swim that day. It didn't really make a difference either way.

Her thoughts were paused by an unsettling familiar feeling, a pair of lurking eyes. Someone was watching her. Lifting her gaze again, she looked around to try and find the source. It didn't take her long. Near the water, Loki was glaring in her direction from the corner of his eye, his expression the very manifestation of pure irritation. She could almost feel the heat from her position, overshadowed only by the summer sun. 'The hell is his problem…' Was he really that upset over candy?

"Need some help?"

Nari nearly shrieked at the sudden sound of a voice drifting from her posterior. Perhaps she hadn't been the source of his ire but rather the person behind her. It seemed the god of fire wasn't the only one who had been watching her. At some point, Dionysus had noticed her struggling and wandered his way over. She took a moment to calm her speeding heart; she was pretty sure her soul had temporarily disconnected from her body. "Uh… y-yeah… if you don't mind."

"Sure thing." The god of fertility collected her bottle, as she rolled over to lay flat on her stomach. Following her previous motions, he squirted a glob of the thick substance into his palm. Rubbing his hand together, he paused, hands hovering just above her shoulder blades. "Do I just…?"

"Yeah, just coat the skin," she muttered, trying to find the best way to instruct him without sounding suggestive. He was the type to make an innuendo out of just about anything, and she wasn't about to give him ammunition. Her body tensed slightly as she felt his hands on her shoulders, putting on the sunscreen and working his way down her back.

They were surprisingly soft, making smooth, careful motions as they glided along her skin. His fingertips lightly applied pressure, rubbing in the lotion. It was oddly relaxing. So much so that her eyes slowly slid closed, and her lips slacked open. Never would she have thought that massage would be one of the Greek god's many talents. But she wasn't going to complain. That was until…

"Mn…" Nari's eyes shot open, her entire body tensing when the sound slipped through her lips. It seemed she had gotten a little too comfortable. Dionysus didn't mind. He proved it with a coy smile, shifting away from her as she rose hurriedly to her knees. "Th-That should be fine. Uh, thanks."

He moved forward, leaning over her shoulder, and speaking to her. "Apollon is right… maybe you really are a siren. What I wouldn't give to hear that sound again," he purred, his voice like smooth silk engulfing every fiber of her very being. It was enrapturing, the soundwaves crashing over her; drowning her, threatening to hypnotize her and pull her under. Warm breath against her neck, lips against her earlobe; she was caught in the undertow, dragging her down, down, down into the abyssal depths of desire.

Then, it stopped.

"Save it for your forest nymphs, pervert," she muttered. Snapping out of her trance, she climbed to her feet and dusted off her limbs. Turning, she offered one last grateful bow before striding away across the sand.

Dionysus sat behind her as she made her way toward the water, with a dumbfounded expression. It wasn't common for him to meet a human so resistant to his seductive aura. Even less to do so with such force. Yet it wasn't just her immunity that fascinated him… it was the words she had spoken. She was absolutely right. It was true he had enjoyed many a tryst with women of nearly every species. Nymphs were a personal favorite; they by far tended to be the most adventurous.

But how could she possibly have known that? Perhaps she had looked further into his mythology than he originally thought. She would be one to keep an eye on, that much was certain.

Wading into the water, Nari let out a shaking breath. She lifted a hand to her chest and pressed inward, trying vainly to slow her racing heart. Between Dionysus and Loki, she was going to have a coronary before the end of the school year. Probably before the start of the next season. But it couldn't be helped. Yui was right.

She had a thing for redheads.

. . .

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Hey guys, I'm back again with another chapter. Okay, so now that the word is getting out, I wanted to make a little announcement on the project I've been working on. Kamigami no Asobi game translation is in the works. I have a demo on YouTube if you guys want to check it out, and a Tumblr and Twitter if you want updates.

Thanks for reading, and thanks so much for your patience! :)