Loki strolled his way down the hall of the large building with a spring in his step, hands linked behind his head. Once again, he had won a round of verbal battle, and it was just as well. His patience had run out. The god of fire couldn't say that he was very familiar with Japanese gods. Tsukuyomi and Susanoo were, in fact, the first he had ever officially met. He wasn't a fan of either one of them. They were either boring or frustrating and it seemed that their goddesses were no better.

Especially the elder one. Nari. There was no student in the school that he found more irritating, more intolerable than that woman. She was smart-mouthed and short-tempered, nothing like her more docile sister. Quick to anger most of the time and even quicker to challenge him at every opportunity. And yet, for as much as he hated interacting with her… she excited him.

While it was true that she was arguably the most aggravating goddess he had ever met, he couldn't help but feel a bit drawn to her. It wasn't common that others went against him in battles of wits and even less common for them to match him. And though he had won the day's argument, she had found herself the victor on a number of occasions. And he was the god of tricks! Even though he clearly had the upper hand — as far as he was concerned — Nari never backed down from a fight. She always pushed back at him; her rage seemed almost never ending.

Stranger still, he couldn't pinpoint the source of it. The older Kusanagi sister was argumentative, certainly, but there was more to her than met the eye. That much he could tell. No, there was something more there, something deep beneath the surface. Something that Loki himself could recognize, as he was far more familiar with it than anyone else at that school. Burning behind her chocolate irises, the look deep within her eyes was unmistakable. Darkness. Sadness. Pain.

Considering the state that he had found her in, it didn't really surprise him. What had brought her to that school was a mystery, but if the blood staining her clothing had anything to do with it, she needed to be there more than he did. But what the hell did she do? The curiosity was killing him. But it didn't matter. There was nothing to be done about it. He had made his decision to wash his hands of her and the situation for the time being. He would concern himself with such matters another time.

That was what he told himself.

But as he reached the end of the corridor, he found himself coming to a stop. He had stopped walking at some point, mind still sitting back in the previous room. Now, something was calling him backward, drawing his attention in the direction he came. 'Hmm…?' His feet started moving on their own, slowly carrying him through the hall and toward the familiar archway, following the sound. It was one he hadn't heard in quite a while. Music. It wasn't until he silently peaked around the wall that he discovered the source. Unfortunately, what he found only served to intensify his conflict.

. . .

Nari's fingers moved deftly across the keys, tapping each note with careful precision. Her foot pressed and released the pedals, holding and drawing out tones as she moved through each bar. In attempting to ease her own frustration, she had managed to do the same for those around her. It seemed it was true what they say: that music soothed the savage beast. Playing through multiple scores and works that she had learned over the years, she found herself smiling. The gods gathered around her, listening to her music with intense interest and calm curiosity. Even Hades had pulled himself from the corner, in pursuit of the beautiful sound.

Her song came to an end, the final notes ringing out into the room. Lifting her fingers from the keys, Nari spun around to find the gods staring, each watching her with varying expressions. But all of them ranged from astonishment to admiration. The most noticeable one was Dionysus, beaming at her with a triumphant smile.

Then, his smile rounded into a startled 'O' from an eruption of sound.

Within moments, Nari and the gods made their way from the building, piling out onto the long balcony. No longer was their view obstructed. From there, they had a front-row seat. The loud whistling of the missiles echoed into the air before exploding with a thundering boom. Gorgeous colors lit up the night sky, transforming darkness into greens, reds, and blues. Nari found herself staring at the display with a look of utter disbelief.

"Flowers… Flowers in the sky," she mumbled. Alongside of her, the gods did the same, each gazing upon the show with wonder. Apollon's prediction had been right.

Takeru stared at the lights, his mouth falling open. "What… is this?"

"They're called fireworks."

Yui and Apollon appeared from the trees, looking winded but otherwise fine. Their journey had taken them a while, first to get back to the building, then gather the supplies, bring them all back, and set them off into the sky. Nari looked down at them with a tired smile. She had done it. She had brought the gods together, somehow, through the clever use of human innovation. Once again, she had succeeded where Nari had failed. But she didn't have time to wallow in self-pity. The feeling of a warm hand against her arm drew her attention; Dionysus, who had noticed her falling mood. When she turned, she found him smiling down at her. And much to her surprise, she was smiling back.

. . .

The rest of the evening went off without a hitch.

The gods had a blast watching the fireworks show, and even showed an interest surrounding humanity's role in their creation. When the lights faded, all were left mesmerized. Even Takeru had no choice but to admit that humans were capable of some interesting things. Thus, he agreed to pay more attention in class, but only under the guise of learning more about their inventions. Loki seconded his assertion, claiming that he was willing to cooperate so long as they managed to keep him entertained.

With their agreement, Yui and Apollon brought them to the ending of the night. Light filled the forest clearing, emanating from long sticks flickering at the peaks. Nari shook her head at the display, watching the gods — with the exception of Tsukito and Hades — running around like excited children. Sparklers. Yui had brought them sparklers.

Off to the side, Nari relaxed against a large tree, waving her sparkler lazily through the air. Dionysus stood at her side, watching her sister wandering around handing out goodies to all who requested them.

"Looks like everything worked out," he said.

"Sure did. Guess you were right."

"This day turned out pretty great, I'd say."

"It did. Yui really is something, isn't she?"

Dionysus paused, turning to look down at the older sister. A small frown formed on his face at her saddened tone. Did she honestly not realize her role in any of this? Her hardened expression said as much. Clearly, someone needed to remind her. Thus, he moved closer, crossing his arms and quirking an eyebrow. "So are you, Fotia."

"Heh, yeah. Right. Is that my new name now?"

"It sure is." His smile faltered. "But I'm serious… without you, none of this would have been possible."

"I didn't do anything," Nari replied, twirling her sparkling stick between her fingers. She lifted her eyes from the spinning light, suddenly locking with emerald. Dionysus had moved in front of her, blocking her view from the nonsense going on around them.

"Didn't do anything…? It's only because of you that they stayed here."

"That's not true… I didn't —"

"It was your beautiful music that calmed them. You kept everyone entertained long enough for your sister to return."

Nari shook her head. "Not everyone. Loki still left."

"And then he came back," Dionysus reminded. Gesturing behind him, he proved his point where the fire god was running around, terrorizing Takeru with a large handful of flaming sparklers. When he turned back to her, he smiled down at her startled expression. "You didn't fail, Fotia. Don't be so hard on yourself."

Nari stared up at him, mouth falling open. It had been so long since she received praise from someone. The only incoming positivity she could remember was from her adoring fans. And they weren't even praising her… they were praising Luna. It was the first time in years that she had received recognition as herself. She had forgotten how good it felt. Returning his smile, she lifted from the tree. "Thanks… Dio."

. . .

Loki cackled wildly, waving his sparklers in large arcs, and leaving giant streaks in their wake. Takeru shouted back at him, complaining about his foolishness and threatening retaliation. A retaliation which, thankfully, never came. He continued his chase until he grew bored, Balder stepping in to handle his antics. No longer interested in the god of the sea, he looked around to try and spy his next victim.

Balder was a pointless target. Nothing could hurt him, and chances were, he would trip and fall within seconds, ending the game. Hades was a spoilsport and, at the moment, missing in action. Something about bringing everyone misery with his presence. Yui had been the one to bring him his new favorite toy, and it didn't feel right harassing her with them. Apollon was in close proximity, leaving him also off limits. Thor and Tsukito were both a waste of time. That just left Dionysus and…

His bouncing ceased, smile fading into a straight line at the sight before him. Separated from the other members of the group were his remaining targets, standing up against a tree and lost in their own world. More specifically, the older Kusanagi sister was pressed against the tree, the Greek god partially shielding her from view. What they were doing was anyone's guess and quite frankly, none of his business. But that didn't stop the irritation from slowly rising up within him.

Was it the fact that the two of them were so close? Perhaps. Was it annoyance at the ease with which they interacted with one another, so unlike themselves? Maybe. Was it the fact that of all the Greek gods, Dionysus agitated him the most and he just so happened to be fraternizing with the source of his current fascination? Could be. But most likely, it was Nari herself… and the wide smile growing on her face. What compelled him to move forward, he didn't know. Only that he had found his next targets.

"Loki, what the hell?!" Nari shrieked, stumbling from the forest edge, and rushing across the clearing. Her pleasant discussion with Dionysus had been brought to an abrupt and unexpected end when she noticed a bright light quickly approaching from behind him. She had moved him, just in time, out of the way with a verbal warning of Loki's incoming attack. In doing so, she had saved him and quickly found that he was not the target of his onslaught.

Now, Nari was running around the area, shouting out expletives at the cackling god. He was extremely nimble, keeping up with her with ease as she ducked and swerved, moving around and in between the other gods as they passed. Behind the two of them was her previous companion, watching the two with a tired sigh. As he drew her farther and farther away, Loki couldn't stop the smug smirk growing on his face. His mission was done.

. . .

With the evening brought to an end, the students of Class A say their goodbyes. With classes to resume in the following days, the decision was made that the gods would continue attending class; this time while paying some form of attention. With nothing left, the group slowly made their way back to the school, returning home late into the night. Going their separate ways, everyone retreated to their dorms for some much-needed rest.

…Almost everyone.

Not good enough.

You will never be good enough.

Nari sat against the wall, fingers laced through her hair, arms pressed over her ears. She squeezed her eyes tight, trying in vain to drown out the noise. The taunting voices. The laughing faces. The crying child and the disappointed look on her parent's faces. The look of pride toward her younger counterpart. Yui. The model student. The perfect daughter.

Her screams shattered the cacophony, piercing through the voices and leaving her in silence. She could hear nothing but the wind, howling and billowing around her. Trembling arms slowly lowered from her ears, head lifting to look at her surroundings. To her horror, she had left the schoolyard and instead found herself somewhere far, far worse. She was alone beneath the open sky with nothing but forest trees behind her.

And standing before her was the creature of her nightmares. The angel of death, gazing toward her with a look of pure malice. Her body was frozen. Her brain screamed at her limbs to move, but they wouldn't listen. They only trembled in place as though encased in cement. As her eyes locked with his shining ones, Nari screamed.

Blankets flew from the bed, their owner's flailing limbs tossing them off with wild motions. It was only when her fingers smacked the headboard with a loud thump that she stopped. She hissed, retracting her aching hand, and holding it to her chest. She was in the darkness of her room. It was over. She was awake. The angel was gone.

Yet, she felt no comfort in this knowledge. Instead, a familiar shaking racked through her limbs, her breaths coming in sharp gasps. Her mind felt like it was swimming around in a raging ocean. It was happening again. Nari squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her face into her hands to stifle her moans. She had thought she could escape the demons in her mind, but it seemed they continued to follow her even here.

She let out a choked gasp, trying to regain control. Her heart was beating so fast, she feared it would stop and in her dark room, she had nothing to ease it. Lost, panicked, and alone, she sat in her bed, fingers gripping the pillowcase. No matter how many shaky breaths she took, it wasn't enough. She felt like she was drowning, reaching desperately for any lifeline she could find.

Then, she found one.

Her body turned, arm reaching beneath her pillow, searching until her fingers curled around the familiar orange bottle. Her stomach flipped with disgust at her own weakness as she slowly withdrew the container from its hiding place. She didn't want to. She shouldn't need to. Yet, again, she felt herself popping the bottle open, throwing back the medication with a dry gulp. Relaxation would soon come, and she could finally get to sleep.

It was only three pills… not the end of the world.