Yui's suggestion turned out to be surprisingly productive.
Following their meeting in the classroom, the members of their class made their way out onto the school grounds. The journey primarily consisted of Apollon darting through the hallways, the sister's attempting to stop him, and Tsukito threatening disciplinary action. Once arriving outside of the building, the gods and sisters split off, each making their way to various locations to begin their activities.
Dionysus wandered off, presumably to find a good place to set up his garden. Takeru and Tsukito never came up with anything, and where they went off to was a mystery. Apollon and Balder had each joined separate tennis clubs, taking them to the sports area. Hades, who had refused participation entirely, was sulking somewhere on the edges of the grounds. Loki and Thor's going-home club was never actually established with any goals in mind, so they essentially did whatever they pleased. Today, that involved watching Balder play his game. Unfortunately…
"Th-There's so many…" Yui murmured, looking at the mob of students crowding around Balder's court. On the way from the building, the gods had, with the help of the younger Kusanagi sister, stopped to create registration and establishment of their individual clubs. And, as it turned out, an alarming number of students enjoyed tennis. So many, in fact, that the entire club roster had overflowed, resulting in full capacity, and waiting list. Although, it seemed that the students in attendance were far more interested in Balder himself than the actual game.
"Balderrr! Let's have a match!" Loki suggested, shouting over the mob scene quickly surrounding them.
Yui looked at him, a bit surprised. "Have you played tennis before, Loki?"
"Nope!" The god of fire shrugged, strolling onto the court with a racket in hand.
"Um… b-but that's —"
"It will be fine! Balder! I'll play for a spot in your club. How about it?"
The god of light lifted an eyebrow at the fire god, a small competitive smile forming on his face. "I wouldn't recommend it, Loki. But if you insist…"
"Oh no…" Yui muttered, backing away from the two gods as they stared one another down from opposite ends of the court. Even with her limited knowledge of the two Nordic gods, she knew competitive intent when she saw it. This was going to be a long day.
. . .
Down at the other end of the court, Nari meandered her way from the crowd towards the shade. Having grown tired of watching the gods pommel each other, she decided to find something else to do. It wasn't so much that she was disinterested. Loki and Balder both seemed to possess superhuman strength, even in their human forms. Their serves were almost deadly, with the balls traveling at such speed, she wondered how the rackets themselves could even withstand the force.
No. Her reasoning was much more practical than that. She simply wanted to get out of the sun. Unlike her younger sister, Yui, Nari had very light skin. As a result, she preferred to avoid staying out in the open when she could help it, unless she had very powerful sunscreen. And, as they had gone outside for their activities so suddenly, she had neglected to apply any.
Wandering near the building, she found a shaded area to relax in. Shrugging, she strolled her way towards the wall and made to lean against it. Before her back even reached the surface, she was interrupted by a frantic, yet sulky, deep voice.
"Stay away! I will bring you misfortune."
Nari sighed and rolled her eyes. So, that's where he had run off to. "Again, with this?"
"If you remain in my presence, you will be miserable."
"You serious?"
"Completely."
"Great. Good thing I already am." Nari dismissed his concerns and leaned against the wall a short distance away. He continued to warn her, moving away from her, much to her irritation. And at every complaint, she simply slid closer to him. After nearly four minutes, he finally relented when she got to about four feet away.
Resigning himself to their proximity, he crossed his arms and stared forward. With their bickering at an end, they remained silent, watching the other students enjoy their activities. Primarily, Balder, Loki, and the mass of students surrounding them. Behind the sports field, around the other side of the wall, she could vaguely see Dionysus from her position, kneeling on the ground working the soil.
"Huh. He really is gardening…" Nari muttered, a bit surprised to see one of the gods following instruction without argument.
"Dionysus is a proficient botanist. Grapes are a particular favorite of his."
"Right… god of fertility, ecstasy… and wine."
"Are you familiar with Greek mythology?"
"Not particularly. I read up on you guys prior to our meeting. Figured I would need to make some suggestions. To be honest, I didn't expect any of you to cooperate."
"I see."
The two fell into comfortable silence once again, Nari lifting an eyebrow as Balder sent a particularly violent serve. She shook her head at their shenanigans, looking over at her unexpected companion. "Hades… you're a god of the underworld, right?"
"Yes."
"So, you and others of your kind guide passing souls into the afterlife?"
"That's one way of putting it."
"Have you, by any chance, seen…" Her sentence died on her lips as her rational mind told her that pressing forward was a terrible idea. Honestly, she wasn't even sure why she brought it up. It wasn't like she cared. Her curiosity was getting the better of her again.
Hades shifted his gaze toward her, watching as she tried to put together her thoughts. She seemed hesitant. As though she was uncertain. "Is there someone in particular you were wondering about?" A silent nod was his only response. "A loved one?"
Nari stiffened, a bitter laugh escaping her lips. "Ha… Let's just call him a… coworker."
Hades noted her hesitation. He wondered who it was she was concerned with. But in the end, it was her business. If she wanted him to know, then she would have told him. "I see. There are many different factors to consider. However, depending on where he passed, he may —"
"Nari, look out!" Hades's explanation was interrupted by a terrified shriek coming from the sports area. A glance in their direction showed Yui running toward them, frantically waving her arms in utter panic.
"Huh?" The woman turned, eyeing her sister with a perplexed expression. She was trying to warn her of something, but she wasn't sure what. Walking forward, she approached her sister, a look of utter confusion on her face. Yui's hand pointed upward, indicating that her impending threat was coming from the sky. Placing a hand over her eyes, she looked upward and squinted. Her efforts were in vain as the sun's rays blocked out any important information. She looked back towards Yui, walking in her direction to try and get a better answer out of her. "Yui, what —"
In an instant, the words were literally knocked right out of her. Deciding to play one of his pranks, Loki had sent a particularly aggressive serve in Balder's direction. Influenced by his power, the tennis ball had skewed of course to avoid him and careened clear over the field towards the two conversing classmates. The ball struck her collar bone, sending her clean off her feet and crashing to the ground with a loud thud.
"Nari!" Yui shouted, breaking her run into a full sprint, now with Loki and Balder right behind.
"I have brought misfortune…" Hades muttered, quickly backing away from the group to prevent any further damage. Nari said nothing, lying motionlessly on the ground with the ball rolling slowly away from her body.
Yui reached her, quickly kneeling before her sister who was now groaning on the ground.
"Loki, look what you've done!" Balder scolded, joining the Kusanagi sister, kneeling in the grass.
"It was an accident!"
"You know that nothing can hurt me."
"But I didn't know it was gonna hurt her!" Loki complained, looking nervously down at the listless student.
"What's going on? What's happened?" Apollon had now joined the gathering group, drawn by all the commotion. "Siren!" His confusion shifted into panic at Nari's state.
"Ugh…"
"We should get her to the infirmary." Balder suggested, taking note of her delirious state. "Loki, you will apologize to her." Although she didn't look like she would be moving any time soon, let alone speaking to them.
"Huh? Loki-Loki, what did you do?!" Apollon started, now realizing that Loki was the cause of whatever had taken place.
"I didn't mean to…"
"Would you all please shut up? You're giving me a headache…"
"Nari!" Yui shifted her attention immediately from the bickering gods, reaching forward to help her sister as she slowly sat up. "Are you okay? You were struck by a tennis ball…"
The older sibling huffed, trying very hard not to roll her eyes. Both because Yui was only trying to help and because moving her head was currently very painful. "Yes, I am well aware of that now. But thanks for getting me up to speed."
Yui smiled, resisting the urge to hug her sister, as she was clearly in pain. If she had enough energy to be sarcastic that meant that she was going to be okay. She watched as her sister rubbed her neck, eyes drifting up and down from her head to her shoulders in search of damage. That was when she noticed an odd discoloration on her pale skin. "Nari, you're bruised!" She gently lifted her thick dark hair to get a better look at the wound. It was oddly shaped for a tennis ball. In fact, on closer inspection, it almost looked faded. Like an older injury that had already started to heal.
Upon seeing the bruising, Balder scowled. "Loki! She's hurt…" The other god said nothing, averting his eyes from the other students. He had seen the bruising as well.
Nari however, had lost her patience with their fussing. She waved their hands away, shuffling her hair back into place and slowly rising to her feet. "Alright, everyone, calm down. I'm fine. A bit sore, but fine."
"But Nari, that bruise looked really —"
"I'm fine, Yui." She dismissed, quickly shooing away her crowding classmates. She didn't like so much attention on her, especially surrounding her skin. After batting away her sister's hands once more, she turned her focus on the silent member, his eyes looking pointedly in any direction but her own.
"…Sorry," he mumbled so quietly, she almost didn't hear him. He clearly wasn't one used to accepting fault. But Nari didn't really care at the moment.
Instead, she crossed her arms, staring him down with a serious expression. "Hey. You." She was not going to tolerate being ignored. He would acknowledge her. She deserved that much after nearly having her bell rung. After a few moments under her silent gaze, Loki finally dragged his eyes back to her.
He said nothing, waiting for what he was sure to be a harsh scolding, a retaliation, or at the very least, an insult. But she did none of those things. Instead, a small grin pulled at the edge of her lips.
"Nice serve." She complimented, shooting him a wry grin before turning and striding passed him to return to the school.
. . .
A tired sigh escaped the older Kusanagi sister, breaking the silence in her empty bathroom. A quick motion untied her hair, letting it fall freely down her back in soft navy waves. A small tint of blue appeared on her fingers as she ran them through her locks. Nearly indistinguishable on an average tone, but almost glaring on her frighteningly pale skin. Shaking her head, she leaned forward, washing her hands carefully thoroughly in the bathroom sink.
The water turned off with a quiet squeak as she turned the handle, leaving the last of the offending color to spiral down the drain. Looking upward, Nari took in her own reflection, staring back at her through the hazy mirror. She could see her body, concealed by a tightly wrapped towel. Her eyes narrowed as they rolled over her collarbone where a new, fresh bruise had begun to form, covering over the original one. Unlike the dark faded indigo if the previous, this one was an angry red. Likely by morning it would be a dark blue.
Shaking her head, she made her way from the bathroom, kicking the door shut behind her. Dressing into a pair of shorts and T, she padded her way across the bedroom, slowly lowering herself onto the mattress. As she burrowed her way into the blankets, she allowed her mind to slowly wander to a familiar redheaded classmate. Loki. His very name almost made her blood boil. Easily the most aggravating of all the gods, he never ceased to frustrate her in some way or another. It was like he took pride in making their lives difficult. Considering that he was a god of tricks, he probably did. Which only made her irritation even worse.
Now, she could add reckless to her list of complaints and her skin held the markings to prove it. Her head hit the pillow with a quiet flump. She winced at the dull throb of her injury from the gentle impact. This was going to be a pain. Reaching over, Nari switched off the light on her bedside dresser, engulfing her room in darkness.