After a night of blissful sleep, Nari awoke to the familiar feel of movement. She shifted her leg, kicking at the wiggly object with a tired mumble. Seeing that she was awake, Fuyu hopped down from her bed with a thump, startling her completely into sentience. Waking with a jolt, she shot up from her bed. The action was met with instant regret as Nari groaned and held a pair of fingers to her temple. Unfortunately, unlike her restful evening, the morning brought with it a splitting headache.

"Ugh…"

"My, my, you slept like the dead last night. Is something wrong?" Fuyu's voice interrupted her sulking.

"Huh? No… I'm fine."

"I certainly hope so. You have an early morning if you wish to gather your required information before class."

Nari grunted. Of course. Much as she wanted to tell off the sassy feline, she knew Fuyu was right. As today would be the first attempt of many to convince the gods into activities, she would need to come armed and ready for the inevitably onslaught of apathy. This was, of course, assuming she could catch them after class. Knowing Takeru and Loki, the pair would bolt from the classroom before Thoth finished the word 'dismissed.' Forcing her leaden muscles to obey, Nari dragged her legs over the edge of the bed and commanded her body to stand. Rising turned out to be the most difficult part. Her movements were shuffling and slow, lumbering her way to the bathroom with a pair of concerned yellow eyes following after her.

Following her morning routine, Nari made her way straight to library. After giving it some thought, she decided that her best course of action would be to take her familiar's advice. If she wanted to convince the gods to join clubs, then she would find the most success by starting with things that they liked. In order to do so, it was imperative that she gather as much information regarding the other students as possible.

Thus, her pre-lecture hours were spent entirely in Thoth's domain, digging through countless textbooks in the Mythology section. Her work was, unsurprisingly, met with resistance as her intrusion resulted in contact with an angry Egyptian god. But after a brief argument and admission of Zeus' demands, he grudgingly left her to her own devices after pointing her in the right direction.

Nari pored over every detail about the gods ranging from their dietary habits and preferred choice of garment to hobbies, interests, and individual history. She armed herself with an arsenal of knowledge large enough to cover nearly any topic that might arise during their discussion. This time, there would be no weaseling their way out their responsibilities.

With nearly all possible information gathered, she was ready to face the class of unruly gods. She would attend classes as she normally did. Then, following lecture, she would run interference, preventing the gods' escape and sitting them down to go over their extracurricular activities. She would place each of them in a club if it killed her. Which of course, if she failed, might actually happen. Zeus had made it clear that he had no qualms about turning her or anyone else into a lightning rod.

It was almost time for class. Gathering the last of her books, she made her way back to the Mythology section for the fifth time, carefully placing each in their respective locations. Nari had already had one argument with the library overseer. She didn't need another blowout over incorrect placement of one of his books. Finally, she slid the last text onto the shelf, sighing with relief. Now, she just had to get to their lecture, preferably before they started hassling Yui. If she moved quickly enough, she might even beat Thoth to the classroom.

"Hmm?" Turning around to head towards the door, Nari paused. Something was sitting improperly on the bookcase, its spine jutting out further than the others. A silent eyeroll was all she gave before striding back towards the misplaced book. If she didn't fix it, Thoth was going to accuse her and likely start another argument. Lifting an arm, she reached for the text, pausing as her eyes ran curiously over the spine. Intrigued, she slid it out a bit further to take a better look.

Story of Seasons

The blue cover stood out against the others and its texture looked only slightly brighter than the other texts. It certainly didn't seem like one that belonged in the Mythology section. In fact, it didn't seem to belong anywhere at all. Glancing upward, Nari noticed the sign dangling above her head. It seemed that she had wandered into the edge of miscellaneous subsector. She wasn't entirely sure what that meant. Probably gods and goddesses with unknown origins or spanning across multiple cultures. Or maybe it was just a storybook. Who knew?

Her eyes ran slowly over the book's spine, along the ridges and the careful edges of the cover. The temptation to open it and take a peek was overwhelming. What if it contained more information; something she had overlooked? It was a possibility. But at the sound of a quiet thump, Nari snapped out of her reverie and shook her head. "I don't have time for this," she muttered, pushing it back and turning away from the curious text. She needed to get to class. Thoth would have a fit if she took too long to arrive and Loki would never let her hear the end of it if she showed up tardy to the very class she had dragged them to.

"Bara."

"Jeez!" Nari jumped, turning towards an unexpected voice. The strange boy from her first encounter was standing before her, eyeing her every movement. His presence in the library confused her, as she hadn't seen him even once since that day. Was this where he had been hiding? Suddenly feeling embarrassed, she sheepishly lowered her eyes. "I-I was… um…"

"Bara," he said again, this time with a little more conviction. His arm lifted, slowly pointing towards the foreign book.

"You… want me to take it?"

"Ka-bara!" he exclaimed, pointing once again to the large text.

Nari considered it for a moment, curiosity once again getting the best of her. It was only the image of piercing blue eyes and silver hair that changed her mind. With a sigh, she shook her head. "I can't… birdman would have my head if I took one of his precious books."

"Bara, bara!"

A small smirk rose to her lips as she watched him cross his arms and shake his head. She couldn't understand a word coming out of his mouth, yet somehow still, she understood. "You're not gonna tell him?"

"Bara."

She chuckled. "Hehe. You're devious… er…" Nari paused. It suddenly occurred to her that she didn't know his name.

"Bara."

Of course.

"Uh… r-right. Well, I need to get to class."

"Bara, bara!"

"Heh… yeah. See you later." Placing the book in her bag, she turned and strode from the library. Before gently shutting the door, she turned back to her unlikely acquaintance. "…Thanks."

"Bara!"

. . .

Nari arrived in the classroom with barely a minute to spare. Nearly sliding through the doorway, she straightened her posture, preparing herself for the inevitable tongue lashing she would receive. It never came. "Sorry, I'm… uh?" Her groveling paused at the realization she wasn't speaking to anyone. Thoth wasn't in the classroom. Instead, Yui stood at the podium eyeing her with an apologetic gaze. And in front of her were a handful of desks, the rest organized at the back of the empty room. "…He didn't show up, did he?"

Yui shook her head, resulting in a sigh from her older sibling. "I'm sure he just wanted to give us time to go over club activities."

Nari scoffed. "You give birdbrain far too much credit." Now, with her prepared apologies useless, she decided her energy was better spent addressing those who were present. Shaking her head, she turned to address the rest of the class. To her immense surprise, it looked like everyone had actually attended. Well… almost everyone. Her eyes drifted across the seats one by one, mentally taking note of the gods in attendance. Four desks near the back of the group remained unfilled. Of course.

'Hold on…'

Something wasn't right.

Takeru missing didn't surprise her. It would have been far more startling if he weren't. But it didn't occur to her until that moment that an extra person was missing from their merry band of misfits. With Yui at the podium and disregarding the empty seat for herself, she counted the gods in her head; going over each one by name. Hades, Apollon, Dionysus, Balder, Loki, Thor, Tsukito, and Takeru… that only amounted to eight. She could have sworn that Zeus had mentioned eleven, presumably counting the two of them… so, who was the missing student? A pair of amethyst eyes appeared in the back of her mind. 'Wait… could he be…?'

"How nice of you to finally join us, puppy."

Nari immediately tensed, her hands clenching at the sound of a taunting voice. She had hoped that by ignoring him, she would spare herself the inevitable jab. No such luck. Glaring at him, she opened her mouth to retaliate, only to be silenced by her younger sister. Sensing the brewing argument, Yui quickly intervened, returning to the topic at hand. "A-Anyway! Now that Nari is here, let's pick up where we left off. Does everyone understand the concept of club activities now?"

Utter silence. As her eyes scanned over the room, she was met with six faces all wearing blank stares. The remaining pair was glued to a notebook, dutifully copying down every word she said. It seemed that they hadn't followed her explanation after all… if they were even paying attention in the first place. A heavy sigh escaped her. Steeling her patience, Yui prepared to explain for the second time how club activities worked. "Okay. Let's go over it again one more time."

"It's stuff you do outside of school," Nari explained, startling Yui into silence. It wasn't like her sister to speak up without being addressed. Closing her mouth, she fell silent. If she felt the need to suddenly interject, whatever her sister had to say was probably important. Seeing that she had everyone's attention, the older Kusanagi continued. "It's simple, much like school trips and events. You go to class in school, you do clubs outside of school."

"Like school trips… Oh, with the whole school?" Apollon questioned, thinking back to their little adventure.

Nari blinked. "Well, no… not unless everyone decided to be in the same club. Club activities happen after classes end, and students participate with other members of their club."

"What sort of things do you do in a club?" Balder asked, seemingly starting to understand.

Nari shrugged. "Depends on the club."

"What clubs can we join?" Apollon questioned.

"Whatever you want."

"What if we don't want to join a club?" Loki asked with a mischievous grin.

"Then, that's too damn bad," Nari shot back. The fire god frowned at her snippy attitude, opening his mouth to shoot something back. Once again, Yui intervened, preventing yet another argument from breaking out between the two.

"What my sister means to say is that you can choose club activities based on your own preferences. Find something that interests you and participate in the club that offers it." Heads slowly nodded, understanding rising on each of their faces. With the exception of one.

"…participate in the club that offers it." Tsukito muttered, his hand gliding rapidly across his notebook.

Nari rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "Do you really just write down everything you hear?"

"Do you really just write down everything you hear…" Tsukito continued writing in his book. Nari's eye twitched with irritation.

"That isn't necessary, Totsuka. You don't have to —"

"That isn't necessary, Totsuka. You don't have to…"

"What is wrong with you?" Nari growled, her irritation beginning to reach boiling point.

"What is wrong with you…"

Yui stepped forward, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder to stop her from throttling the studious god. "Okay! Now that everybody understands, what sort of clubs are you thinking?"

Once again, there was silence. Nari rolled her eyes as her sister inwardly sighed. Seeing that they weren't getting anywhere, the older sister crossed her arms. "Guys, it's really not that difficult. Apollon. You are the wielder of Agana Belea. Why don't you join the archery club? Hades, you're a watcher of stars. Why not join the astronomy club?" The two gods gave her a surprised expression, clearly caught off guard by her knowledge. She had done her research.

She ignored them and continued on. Her brow furrowed as she passed over the Norse gods. As far as she knew, hunting wasn't permitted on school grounds, which left Thor and Loki in a precarious predicament. Sailing the ocean was out of the question unless they could find a gargantuan body of water. Perhaps…

Balder was the first to step up, interrupting her thought process with a pleasant smile. "I am interested in the tennis club. I'm especially interested in softball tennis." Nari blinked, taken aback by both his sudden outburst and the wildly unusual choice of hobby. Could someone so uncoordinated even swing a tennis club?

Apollon seconded him, nodding his agreement. "I'd like to join the tennis club too."

Yui smiled. "Oh, good. Then you can play with Balder."

Apollon disagreed. "No, I want to play hardball tennis."

"Hard… ball?" Yui questioned.

Balder slowly stood from his chair, a look of wonder in his eyes. "'But softball sounds so wonderful. It has a kind feel and I like that it's generally played in pairs. Youth is about sharing experiences and helping one another!"

"…Y-Youth?" Yui muttered, looking nervously at her older sibling.

Apollon quickly followed him, a look of determination. "I'm going to experience my youth too. I won't lose to you, Bal-Bal! We'll have a friendly rivalry!"

"You're both hundreds of years old…" Nari groaned, her patience quickly dwindling once again. Her comment was ignored. The two continued to escalate, leaving her and her sister to stare at the pair as they squabbled over what type of ball was idea to reaching their success. Exasperated, Nari decided to leave them alone. At least they were finally participating.

Instead, she turned her attention from the overzealous gods and focused on one of the more passive ones. "Dionysus. You enjoy…" Nari began, intending to offer suggestions based off what she had read in earlier texts. But one look at her with a raised eyebrow and flirtatious smile halted her in her tracks. "Moving on. Anyone else?"

Seeing the older sister's lack of patience, the god of fertility waved his arms in appeasement. "Okay, okay! What about a gardening club? I do enjoy tending a nice field…"

"Is that innuendo?"

"It is not."

"Fine."

Yui lifted an eyebrow at the pair, taking note of their unusual exchange. The conversation had certainly taken an awkward turn, but it looked like her sister had the situation handled. If anyone could manage Dionysus, it was Nari. Leaving the two, she moved on to the remaining Norse gods. "What about you, Loki?"

"Me? The going-home club."

"Eh?! The going… B-But that isn't —"

"I'll join Loki's club." Thor stated, offering nothing further.

Nari's back and forth ended immediately, her attention now focused on her flustered sister and Loki's arrogant grin. "I'm gonna punch him…"

Yui looked nervously between the two of them, feeling the rising tension from where she stood. Quickly, she turned to Hades to try and deescalate the situation. "Er, H-Hades. Are you interested in any clubs? My sister mentioned you like astronomy…"

"I do."

Yui gasped. "Oh, great! Then you'll be in the astronomy club —"

"No. I won't be joining a club."

"Eh? But —"

"She mentioned that I was interested, and I confirmed her statement. I do not intend to participate in group activities. If that is what clubs are, then I shall pass." Yui gaped at him, trying to figure out a way to counter his argument. She couldn't. Shaking her head, she gave up. They would have to cross that bridge later. For the time being, there was still one remaining god.

"Tsukito, what are you going to do?"

"I don't feel interested in anything right now."

"Wow, that's a surprise." Nari muttered, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Yui shot her a look, glaring Nari into silence. When her sister ceased her grumbling, she turned her attention back to the moon god. However, when she did, she found a different god standing in front of her, glaring at her as though she had just committed a sin. "Weed! What are you playing at?!"

"Weed…?" Nari muttered, going completely ignored as the angry god continued his tirade.

"Our names are different. What are you playing at?"

Yui blinked. "Susanoo… I-I also gave you Totsuka… Takeru Tostuka —"

"You can have them back!" He shouted, startling Yui and earning a vicious glare from her older sister. Nari stepped forward, eyes filled with venom.

"Listen, little man. If you think you're going to get away with —"

"What'd you call me, Human?!"

"We've already established that you're stupid. Are you deaf too?"

"Why you —"

"Everyone, please!" Yui got in between them, trying to break up the impending fight. Couldn't they get through one afternoon without getting into an argument?

"Takeru Totsuka. Please follow the rules." Tsukito finally stepped in, leveling his brother with a stern expression.

"But —"

"In order to complete the goal of 'graduation', both a first and last name are necessary."

"I-Is that so… well, if you say so, then I guess…" Takeru scratched the back of his head, backing down at his brother's explanation. "What is a last name anyway?"

Yui blinked. She wasn't sure how to answer his question. Surnames were simply… surnames. She had never given thought to what they actually meant. "Well, uh… Th-They identify a person's heritage. You and Tsukito are brothers, so you share a last name. Totsuka."

"And you'd know that had you attended the opening ceremony." Nari mumbled.

The water god froze, his eyes shooting towards the older sister with look that could kill. When she turned away from him, he huffed. There were a few moments of silence as he considered the explanation before finally relenting. "Takeru Totsuka… well, if it's the same as my brother, then fine."

"That was the point," Nari muttered again, ignoring his glare and staring out the window.

"Aidoneus!" Dionysus called, smirking as his uncle stared daggers at him.

"Do not call my name meaninglessly. Dionysus Thyrsos… It is… difficult to pronounce. I don't have to use that, do I?"

"Yeah, I kind of thought that too, but…"

Loki had no such complaint, instead shouting at Thor with amusement. "Ooh~ Megingjord makes you sound soooo strong! What should your nickname be? If it was up to Apollon, you'd probably be Gin-Gin or Gjo-Gjo…"

"Megingjord is fine." Thor replied, refusing to entertain anything further. "The name Laevatein suits you."

"Eeeh? Does it?" Loki twirled a braid around his finger, leaning back in his chair. "Meh, I don't like that name."

"Wha — why?" Nari asked, now genuinely confused.

"It doesn't really seem very me, you know?"

"Doesn't seem… It's your sword, dumbass!" Nari nearly shouted, earning a startled look from both her sister and the Norse god.

"And how do you know that?"

"Because I —" Nari paused, halting their altercation for a moment. She still wasn't sure where she had gotten the information. Yoi had mentioned much the same. "Well, I… read a lot. You should try it some time. Loki fixed her with an annoyed stare, which she pointedly ignored.

"Come to think of it…" With the discussion turning to nicknames, Yui turned to her older sister. "How come you get to be 'Human' and I'm 'Weed?'"

"Yui… 'Human' is still an insult…"

"It's better than Weed."

"Ugh!" Nari nearly threw up her hands in frustration. This entire conversation had worn on her nerves.

"Hey… how come you don't have to join a club?" Loki whined, pointing an accusatory finger at the older Kusanagi sister. "If we all have to join clubs, she should have to too."

"I did join a club, dingus." Nari muttered.

"You did?" Yui asked, looking at her sister with sudden interest.

"Yeah. The music club."

"Oh… yeah, that makes sense." She muttered, suddenly feeling foolish for asking the question. "O-Okay, everyone! Since classes are cancelled today, what do you say we conduct some of our activities?"

"Oh! Great idea, Fairy! Let's go! Let's go!"

Nari pinched the bridge of her nose as Apollon leapt from his chair dashed passed them, blissfully unaware the mumbling Tsukito taking his infraction down in his disciplinary notebook. Where did he get his energy from?