The following day brought a sense of pure relaxation and bliss. Total silence. Zen. She was calm. So, calm in fact that she found herself jolting awake at the sensation of a repeated impact on her abdomen. Drifting from her slumber, she found that Fuyu had woken her, and had apparently been trying to do so for the better half of 20 minutes. The feline had grown desperate after multiple attempts, ultimately leaping into the air, and crashing down on her with all of her bodyweight.
Following the events of the previous night, the familiar was understandably concerned about Nari's mental state. She had heard her roommate's bloodcurdling scream, nearly tumbling from the top of her cat tower in surprise. After being violently torn awake, her first course of action was to rush to Nari's side, but in the end, she didn't need to. Her shouting had been so loud that even her sister had heard it from across the hall. Instead, she had silently observed the pair… and in doing so, learned some disturbing information. She wasn't sure what sort of substances humans took or for what reason. The only thing she knew was the effect they were having on her.
Upon returning to the land of the living, Nari did nothing to assuage those concerns. In fact, she ultimately served to make them worse. Finally sliding open her eyes, she looked slowly around the room. The events of the previous night slowly filled her mind. "Hmm…" With a quiet hum, she sat up, forcing Fuyu off her stomach, and swung her legs over the bed. She stumbled her way into the bathroom, getting a synopsis of the mornings' events from her familiar — or afternoon rather. As it turned out, she had missed not only her morning run, but her morning activities entirely, sleeping through class and well into activity period. And worst of all… she didn't really seem to care.
And when dragged herself from the bedroom with a lazy wave, the feline couldn't help but frown after her.
. . .
Her placid attitude continued even as she made her way down the hall. Wandering around the school, she searched for anyone that she could find. The fact that her sister hadn't come to get her struck her as highly unusual. The more she thought about it, the more concerned she became. Where was everyone? The classrooms, unsurprisingly, were empty, as were a good number of the club rooms, not counting the doll students. The first human — godly — interaction she finally had was with the last person she expected.
"She wakes! Didn't see you in class today, Fotia." Dionysus approached her from the side, falling into step as she passed. He was already braced for her snappy response, especially considering the severity of her foul mood the previous day. His preparations were useless; her reaction was about as far from his expectation as possible.
Nari shot him a sly smile, quirking an eyebrow in his direction. "Hey Dio… what's going on?"
The moment she spoke, the god of fertility knew that something was off. Aside from her lack of sarcasm, there was an eerie sense of calm that seemed to have washed over her. As though she hadn't a care in the world. If it were on anyone else, Dionysus would have found the behavior a relief. On her, it was… alarming.
"That's what I should be asking you. Not like you to cut class."
"I overslept. It happens from time to time." Nari waved off his concern with a tired sigh, earning another, even deeper frown.
"Is that so…"
"Yeah. Humans get tired, remember?" Her question was emphasized with an amused chuckle. That sound was the final straw for him.
"Fotia, hold on a moment." Dionysus stepped forward, moving around her, and stopping her advance. He reached forward, steadying her with a gentle hand. With her swaying ceased, he took the opportunity to get a closer look. Soft fingertips gently tilted her chin upward, eyes gazing into her deep brown orbs. The irises had faded away, hidden behind dilated pupils. Stranger still, her only response to this intimate contact was a smile. "…Are you alright?"
"Mm-hmm… just fine."
"Nari." He noticed her surprise. Her body physically tensed, clearly surprised at the sudden shift in tone. Or perhaps she was reacting to the use of her name. "What's going on?"
To his frustration, she didn't answer. She simply stared back at him, eyes glazing over as her mind wandered elsewhere. It was though someone had flipped a switch; the lights were on, but there was no one home. Then, the light returned as though she had suddenly remembered something. "Hey, have you seen Yui? I've been looking for her."
Dionysus frowned, taking another careful look into her unblinking eyes. The more he watched her, the more suspicious he became. As a Greek god of ecstasy, fertility, and wine, he knew the effects of a substance when he saw it. Yet strangely, he could smell no alcohol on her breath, only spearmint from her toothpaste. There was no doubt in his mind that she was under the influence of something, although at this point, it appeared to be wearing off. What concerned him was what precisely that something was. Before he got the chance to ask, a second head of red hair suddenly appeared in their periphery.
"Eh? What's this, what's this? Getting cozy with our classmate, are we?" Loki skipped in between the pair, forcing each to step back and successfully separating them from their close proximity. "Everyone is getting along… how fun." He twirled around and came to a stop, offering a playful smile to the pair. It didn't reach his eyes. Not even a little.
"Oh, look who it is," Nari muttered, lifting an exasperated hand to her head. She could already feel a headache coming on. With a tired sigh, she resigned herself to her fate. "What do you want, Loki?"
"Hmm? Me? I came to help, you know?"
"Help? Ha!" Nari barked with laughter, a sharp startling sound that brought a look of confusion to both gods' faces. "And how exactly do you intend to help me?"
"You were looking for your sister, riiight?" he asked.
"I was. Well, I am. Wait, have you been following me again?"
Loki disregarded her question. "Well, I know exactly where she is. I can take you to her if you want."
She didn't move for a moment, instead looking backward toward the other god. She had been in the middle of a conversation as she recalled. Although, admittedly, she couldn't fully remember what it was about. She had zoned out halfway through. He must have noticed the conflicted look on her face because Dionysus smiled. "It's fine. I need to get back to work, anyway. Plenty to do before tonight."
"Tonight…?"
With a small wave, he turned and went on his way, moving down the hall. Twisting his head, he called over his shoulder. "Later, Fotia." They exchanged one last look with one another before he turned away. Loki twitched.
"Thanks, Dio. See ya."
. . .
Following Loki brought her through the winding halls and out into the open courtyard. The two said nothing to one another, though she noticed him shooting curious glances in her direction every so often. Upon reaching the school grounds, Nari received an answer to her unasked question. The entire area had been transformed, tables and desks lined the area, familiar decorations surrounding the space. Lanterns dangled from strings above, and the traditional décor reminded her of home. "What… is this?"
"Nari!" The sound of her sister's voice distracted her from her surroundings. "There you are! Where have you been?"
"Me?" She blinked. "I overslept… I'm more surprised you never woke me up."
"Well, I wanted to, but…" Yui mumbled, slowly shifting her eyes to her side and back again.
Following her sister's movement, Nari took notice of the moon god for the first time since their interaction. His facial expression was blank as ever, but she couldn't help but notice how close he was standing to her sister. Uncomfortably close. Blinking, her gaze was pulled downward, widening at the sight of their joined hands. But they weren't interlaced as one would in a display of affection. They were linked together at the knuckle, almost under duress. There were a pair of gorgeous rings on each hand sitting side by side. Nari probably would have appreciated their design… if they weren't currently sticking together like a pair of industrial-strength magnets. Her eyes flicked between the rings and her sister's gaze a few times before she finally sighed. "Why?" A single question was the only thing she could muster in her current state.
"W-Well, you see…" Yui began, trying to figure out the best way to explain it.
"We are lovers."
"Wh-What?!"
Nari stared, watching her sister's surprised outburst. A clear distinction from Tsukito's previous words. She had seen many a relationship in her time, many of them superficial. Even the most ridiculous of faux situation-ships weren't this bad. One look at the redhead standing at her side gave her an answer. Turning, she crossed her arms and addressed the trickster. "This is your doing, isn't it?"
As expected, the fire god lifted his hands in surrender with a playful smile. "Teacher said moon boy here didn't understand the human heart. No one understands the human heart better than Kitten. What better way to breed understanding than to come together in union?"
"L-Loki!" Yui nearly shouted, a violent red slowly rising to her face.
Nari was unamused. "Okay, first of all, none of you understand the human heart. That's why you're here. Second, I'm pretty sure there are plenty of other ways to 'breed understanding' that don't involve tying two people together," she said with air quotes.
"When we have learned to love, the shackles will break," Tsukito explained, deadpanned, as usual.
"R-Right… anyway, I tried to come and get you after class, but I couldn't get to the dorms. Tsukito refused to enter the female dormitory since it's against the rules. But we're stuck together, so…"
"Wonderful." Nari sighed. She could easily formulate an image of the awkward pair, Yui yanking against a statue-like moon god, digging his heels into the ground. She had watched how effortlessly he had caught her after being thrown by Apollon. There was no way her sister would have been able to drag him along if he didn't wish it. "Anyway, what is all this? You guys having a festival or something?"
"Yes!" Yui exclaimed; her previous nervousness forgotten. "The moon viewing. We discussed it in class at the end of our lesson on human culture. The student council thought organizing an event like this might be helpful."
"Right, it's still autumn…" Nari mumbled. Another quick look around showed the fruit of their labor. After a quick once over, realization finally hit her. "Wait, you did all of this in a day?"
"Everyone worked together to make this possible," Yui proudly declared.
For a moment, Nari felt a pang of guilt gripping his chest. Everyone had worked together… except her. She had been knocked out cold in her room, leaving her sister and the gods to their own devices. Forcing her mind to clear a little, she steeled her determination. "What else is left to do? I'll help however I can."
Yui smiled. "Oh, there's plenty! Dionysus left to go bottle wine for the event. Takeru, Apollon, and Balder are getting more decorations. Tsukito and I still have to prepare the food and refreshments… Oh! I know. We'll need some help bringing everything out."
"Say no more… I wouldn't trust Balder carrying a paper plate, let alone a food platter." Loki snickered beside her, taking great joy in her sarcastic quip. "Loki and I will help you set up the food for the festival.
At her side, Loki nodded his head with an amused smile. Then, he froze upon realizing what she had actually said. "Wait, what?!" At the serious expression on her face, he balked. "Who the hell do you think you are?! You can't just —"
"You handcuffed my sister to her classmate. You're helping." Nari's tone left no room for argument. There was something commanding in her tone that surprised him. For some reason, he didn't argue with her… he didn't want to. With an aggravated sigh, he gave in to his fate and followed the Kusanagi sisters to the kitchens.
The rest of their afternoon was spent making soba, rice, and countless varieties of dango. With each batch of completed food, Loki and Nari stacked, organized, and carried the covered dishes to the festival grounds for the evening event. Surprisingly, the pair worked unusually well together as a functioning unit. Despite their endless opposition, the two were highly proficient at reading each other. This allowed them to work with and around one another with ease, forming a highly efficient tag team.
After a few more hours, the preparations were complete.
. . .
Nari spun around once more, taking one last look in the wall mirror before, wanting to do a once-over before heading to the school grounds. A traditional festival called for traditional attire, which she had collected from the school store. Gazing at herself, she nodded, finally satisfied with her look. A soft pink kimono with red floral patterns covered her body with a dark navy-blue obi, matching her hair. With it growing out, it was too long leave lying around, so she pulled it up into a basic updo held together with a pair of long pins. She adorned her hair with Loki's flower clip to add the finishing touch. It wasn't anything extravagant, but she was more than happy with it.
And she wasn't the only one.
Upon returning to the courtyard, Nari found herself temporarily the center of attention as everyone took in her new ensemble. She allowed them their fun for a few minutes before waving them off and wandering around to enjoy the festivities. All across the area, the gods were enjoying themselves, making merry with sake and wine, and gazing up at the big full moon. Their work had paid off, and in doing so, finally shattered Loki's rings much to both of the sisters' relief.
"Wow… this turned out pretty well," Nari complimented.
"I agree. This is splendid, Totsuka. This must be Japanese wasabi."
"…Huh?" Nari blinked, turning her head to stare at Balder with the same look of confusion as her classmates.
"Balder Hringhorni, do you mean the Japanese concept of 'wabi-sabi?'"
"Oh, right… It's called wabi-sabi, isn't it?"
"Yeah, Bal-Bal. I'm pretty sure wasabi is a spicy Japanese —"
"Agh!" A startled scream both interrupted and confirmed Apollon's suspicion. Near the dango table, Dionysus was holding his throat, sputtering, and choking. In his hand was a dango stick, adorned with a small green ball. A ball halved by a large bite mark. "It's spicy! It's so spicy! Someone bring me water… no, alcohol!"
Takeru rushed to his side, examining the dango. "That's not green soybean flavor… it's wasabi!"
Beside him, Hades frowned. "Have I caused misfortune again?"
"Oh, for gods' sake…" Nari grumbled, turning, and rushing her way over toward the refreshments table. Grabbing the first thing she could find; she moved back to the Greek god as quickly as her kimono would allow. Her hands moved quickly, pouring the deep crimson liquid into a glass. "Hold still." Against her better judgment, Nari lifted the glass to his lips. His hands were currently occupied holding his dango in one and his throat in the other. Strangely, the wine seemed to have worked; his coughing fit ended shortly after its consumption. Just what was in that stuff anyway?
With a final cough, Dionysus gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Fotia."
"You okay, now?"
"Yeah. Better than okay." It took only a moment for him to return to his flirtatious ways, fixing her with his most seductive stare. His free hand fell from his neck and wrapped carefully around her own, lifting it to his lips to place a gentle kiss. "Perhaps I should eat wasabi more often."
"Yeah, maybe you should. I'm sure there's plenty more where that came from."
Dionysus laughed, lifting his hands in surrender as she shot him a wicked grin. Behind him, Loki narrowed his eyes at the display. His intention had been to target the god of wine and, coincidentally, force him away from his classmate. He hadn't expected Nari to come to his aid. In his attempt to separate them, he had inadvertently brought them closer together. How frustrating. Shaking his head, he wandered off to the other side, eyeing possible locations for his traps. Perhaps he could catch him in some other way.
Apollon pouted in the most melodramatic display Nari had ever seen. "Aw, no fair! No fair, Di-Di! I want someone to feed me wine too! Fairy!"
"Eh?!" Yui blanched, eyes widening at the sudden address. It took a few moments for her mind to catch up to her ears and process the words he had said. Her face turned a bright red as she tried to come up with an excuse. "Uh, th-that's… I mean… um…" Her sister quirked a curious eyebrow in her direction. That was quite a reaction for such a simple request. Putting that one in her back pocket for later, Nari shook her head and drifted away toward an empty bench not far from the food table. Slowly, she lowered herself into the seat with a tired sigh. A quickly moving hand caught her eye for the briefest moment, not far from where Usamaro stood relaxing on the table. A few moments later, she heard the quiet sounds of munching.
"Didn't think I'd see you here, Anubis. Enjoying the festival?"
"Bawa bawa," came a quiet response from beneath the tablecloth, muffled with dango. A few seconds later, he poked his head out, lips pulling into a smile at the sight of her. "Ka bara."
"Oh, thank you. I don't get to wear kimonos often anymore, so I figured I would take the opportunity."
"Bara bara."
"Come to think of it, what are you doing under the table? You don't want to join the festivities? I know you're a little shy, but…"
"Bara bara. Ka bara ka." Anubis vehemently shook his head, peeking around the edge of the table for a moment to see where Loki was holding the sun god hostage, while Balder attempted to shove a wasabi ball into his mouth. Nari couldn't help but frown slightly at the display. It wasn't like him to join in with Loki's antics. Stranger still, he almost seemed to be enjoying himself… What a mess.
"Okay, that's fair. Yes, Apollon's a handful… and Loki… and Takeru too. But the others aren't so bad."
"Baara. Ba."
"Oh. Right… no one understands you."
"Ba."
With a tired sigh, she gave him a sympathetic smile. "Well… I'm happy I could make you feel a little less lonely."
"Bara bara. Ba. Ka bara?"
Nari groaned. "It's wasabi. Real spicy stuff, and it will give you quite a fright if you put a ton of it in your mouth at once. Honestly, it's my own fault for walking away from them during the setup. "Should've known better than to leave Loki alone with the dango…"
"You really should have."
The sound of Loki's voice sounded from behind her, startling both her and her current companion who promptly vanished beneath the table at the sight of him. "Great job, Loki. You scared Anubis away."
"Meh. He'll be fine." Loki waved it off with a careless expression. Not surprising.
Shaking her head, Nari gave up and instead turned her eyes up to the sky where the full moon loomed overhead. As her features visibly relaxed, the god of fire found himself staring not at the white orb, but at the person observing it. He could see the white mass reflected in her shiny brown irises. Shifting his eyes downward, he took in her kimono, so regal, yet subdued.
The first thing he noticed upon bringing his gaze back up was her hair, where a familiar purple clip held her bangs in place. She was wearing his gift. A gentle warmth bloomed in his chest at the sight of it. The idea of her enjoying his little hair clip brought far more joy to his heart than it had any right to. The entire ensemble was very well put together, and he couldn't help but smile as he took her all in, calm, poised, and graceful, even more so in her state of calm. It hadn't captured his attention until this moment just how beautiful she actually was, with smooth porcelain skin, almost ethereally light in complexion. How had he never noticed this before?
It was Loki that broke the silence. "You… you look nice," he complimented.
Nari blinked, eyes growing wide for just the briefest moment. She looked to her side, waiting patiently for the punch line as Loki met her gaze. The joke never came. The only thing she received was a pair of silver eyes, staring carefully into her own. Heat slowly traveled upward, culminating beneath the skin of her face. What the hell was wrong with her? It was just a compliment for gods' sakes! Shifting her eyes, she turned away, throwing one last glance toward his black and purple checkered kimono, colors matching that of his uniform. "Y-Yeah… so do you."
He continued to watch her after she turned away, eyes sweeping over her form as she gazed upward. She enjoyed watching the moon, he noticed, often staring up into the night sky in solitude — when she wasn't moon-gazing with Tsukito. And he was finding that he greatly enjoyed watching her do so. Her profile looked otherworldly under its light. It was truly a sight to behold, when she wasn't shouting at him or otherwise snarking. If only she could be this way all of the time. Maybe even some of the time. What could he do to make that happen?
"Loki?" Her voice brought him out of his thoughts, realizing that he had been staring. Startled, he looked away. Too late. He was caught. "Is something wrong?"
"Not at all. Just enjoying the sights." Loki attempted to play it off, pausing when he realized that his words had only incriminated him further.
Nari lifted an eyebrow for a moment, before slowly turning back to the sky. Enjoying the sights? But he had been watching her the whole time… surely, he couldn't mean?
"Hey…" Loki began, a bit of nervousness in his voice.
"What's up?"
"What happened back there?"
"What do you mean?"
"In class that day. Your little temper tantrum caused quite a bit of chaos. Professor prude was so mad, I thought he was gonna break through his limiter."
Nari fell silent, unsure if she wanted to continue. She wasn't sure why she was surprised. The topic was going to come up eventually. What was she supposed to say? The truth wasn't an option, and any lie she spun may end up being used against her. Giving the god of fire ammunition was never wise. But strangely, for once, Loki actually seemed sincere. He wasn't bringing up her moment of embarrassment to heckle her. Only for understanding. In fact, he almost sounded hurt. Surely he couldn't be; her words could never have that strong of an effect on him.
Seeing little point in trying to hide it, she settled for a partial truth. "I just… I wasn't very happy with some of the things you said."
"Hmm? About what?"
"About Luna."
Loki watched her carefully, a look of surprise rising on his face. Nari had been that upset over a pop star? That certainly wasn't what he had expected; he had been expecting her to bring up the chair. "…That's why you flipped out? Over a comment?"
"Uh… yeah." Nari nodded awkwardly. "It just… it gets tiring hearing stuff like that all the time, day in and day out, especially when the things they're saying aren't even true."
"Huh. Didn't realize she meant that much to you. Kitten mentioned that humans can be pretty protective of their celebrities, but…"
She shook her head. "It's just so unfair. You know, I — she worked so hard to get where she did… it just irritates me when people talk about her like she's…" Nari sighed. "There's so much more to her than people realize… than what they're willing to see."
Loki nodded his head, taking in her words with calm interest. He wasn't sure how many of the rumors he had heard regarding Luna were true. From what it sounded like, possibly all of them. Or maybe none of them. Even so, he wasn't sure he was buying her explanation. While he had no doubt that she didn't appreciate his comments regarding the singer, he was certain there was more to the story than she was letting on. There had to me; she wouldn't have gotten that upset about it if that's all there was. The look on her face wasn't one of someone defending their hero. It almost looked personal…
And now, he was even more curious. Not only about Nari herself but about the idol that, supposedly, she was willing to risk pissing off Thoth for. He knew little about her aside from what he had heard from the doll students, and if none of that were true, then what sort of person was Luna? She must truly be something really special for the Kusanagi's to be so enamored with her. Perhaps he would investigate this further. Luckily for him, an opportunity was well in reach.
"Hmm. Well, if there's more to see, then maybe she can show me. I think I'll ask her about it when I see her."
The woman paused for a few moments, staring blankly at the sky. It took a few moments for her brain to register what she had heard. "…Wait, what?"
"Nari, there you are." Yui suddenly appeared at her side. "I was looking for you."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just… do you think I could speak to you, in private? It's… it's not a big deal, but it is kind of important."
"Sure, no problem. Do you want to…?"
Yui shook her head. "Oh, no, it doesn't have to be tonight. We can talk before class or something."
"Okay, if you're sure. I'll meet you in my room tomorrow morning?"
"Yeah, that should be fine." There was a brief pause of silence, the younger sister looking over her sibling with a hardened gaze. She was almost scrutinizing, as though she were trying to figure out how to approach something. After a few moments, she shook her head. "Anyway, I'll leave you to it. I'm going to head back over to the dango table. You should check them out when you get the chance… Enjoy the festival, Nari… you too, Loki."
Nari quirked a brow at her sister as she walked away, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at her not-so-hidden message. What was she going to do with that girl? Sighing, she took the hint and rose to her feet. She would have to question Loki another time. "Well, I heard that loud and clear… I'm gonna go grab something to eat. I saw those eyes Yui was giving me. Stay out of trouble, alright?"
"No promises!" Loki called after her as she strolled away, laughing when she sighed and shook her head. He watched her meander in the direction of the foot table, watching her every step until she disappeared in the sea of the students. With Nari out of sight, he turned his focus back upward to the starry sky and huffed. His mind replayed her heartfelt words on repeat. There's so much more to her than people realize. The look of sadness in her eyes was indisputable. Loki couldn't help but wonder…
Was Nari truly upset about the popstar? Or was she actually referring to herself?
