It burned. Everything burned.

All around her, she was surrounded, trapped on every side by roaring flame. Nari coughed, lifting a hand to her mouth to try and protect her lungs from the rising smoke but to no avail. Desperately, she tried to rise to her feet, stumbling and falling forward onto a large mass lying cold and still beneath her on the floor below. His once vibrant skin was grey and devoid of all color and his body was cold, so cold, long bereft of life. But none were so cold as the center of his chest.

Trying again, she staggered away, wiping the blood from her hands onto her large jacket. Her eyes stung, assaulted by the heated air and her world closed in. All was collapsing around her. This was it. She was going to die here. It was just as well. It was her hand that had sent his soul to the Underworld; it was only fitting that she would follow him. Chances were he would probably torment her just as much in the next life.

Or perhaps not. A sliver of hope, a light shining through the wreckage. A doorway. An escape.

Scrambling across the wooden floor, she made her way over, grasping her chest as the black clouds assaulted her lungs. She was almost there. And with a final step, she reached forward, grasping the door. But before she could slide it open, the building came down, walls, ceiling, and all.

Nari wanted to scream, but she couldn't. No sound came from her broken form. The pain in her chest was unimaginable, permeating slowly through her entire body. Even attempting to breath caused her immeasurable agony. Had she really inhaled so much smoke? Lifting a hand, she gripped her chest once more only to wrench it away when her fingers came back soaking wet.

Was that... blood?

Yes, it was. A lot of it. She was practically bathing in it, making her wonder if perhaps she had left more of it on the outside than within. But how had it happened? Had she cut herself when the building fell? No, that couldn't be. With the amount of pain that she was in, it was more likely she had been impaled. "Ugh..." It took nearly every ounce of her strength to force open her eyes. Each lid felt like two iron weights.

When she did, she wanted to gasp. The structure was gone as was everything in it. In fact, there was no building at all. She was outside, gazing up at the starry sky. She couldn't recall ever seeing that many stars. It made her wonder if perhaps she had died after all and had traveled to the afterlife. But that didn't make any sense. If she were truly dead, surely her body should feel no pain, let alone lay bleeding on the ground below. And the wind; there was so much wind. It howled in her ears deafening her to the world around her. She could hear nothing else. Except...

A voice.

It was muffled and soft, as though she were swimming under water. She knew that voice, recognized it well. Sure enough, Nari turned her head, grimacing as she did so. Then, she saw him. His form had haunted her dreams for as long as her nightmares, often appearing alongside the angel of death. If the angel was darkness, then the other man was light, always guiding her safely to the other side.

His face, the sky, everything was a blur, his silhouette fading into darkness. But she wasn't afraid. Nari was never afraid so long as he was around. It meant that the end was coming, that she would soon wake. Yet, despite that knowledge, she held on, trying desperately to remain. Her hand trembled, slowly reaching out to him. One more minute was all she needed. Another moment, no matter how fleeting, just to see his face. To feel his touch. To learn his name...

"Hn?" A quiet groan escaped her, head shifting uncomfortably against a hard surface. The wind was gone, replaced with the gentle sound of chirping birds and rustling trees. Nari opened her eyes, almost immediately regretting it as the sun assaulted her pupils. She was outside, not on a mountaintop but a windowsill, leaning against a giant pillar. But how...?

'...Oh.'

That's right. Her morning had begun as it always did, although a bit earlier than usual. Unable to sleep, she decided her time was better spent running through the woods in the hopes that it would help her relax. Her plan didn't work as intended. Upon returning, she was no sleepier than she had been when she left, and to make matters worse, she had burned far more calories than she intended. Thus, she had begrudgingly conducted her morning routine, gotten dressed, and made her way back to the main building.

Unfortunately, it turned out that her run had had the desire effect, with a delayed response, nearly all her exhaustion catching up with her at once. There was still some time before class, it couldn't hurt to rest her muscles. Comfortable in her solitude, she settled down for a moment to relax and watch the sunrise. She must have fallen asleep. Go figure.

'Hmm?' As Nari grew more alert, she became suddenly aware of her surroundings... and that unsettling feeling that someone was watching her. Surely, it was far too early for Loki, and Anubis didn't frequent this part of the building. So, who then...

"Kekeke."

A quiet sound drew her attention, unlike anything she had heard before. Like a small animal of some sort... maybe a rodent? Lowering her gaze, she found that was precisely what it was. Sitting quietly in her lap was a rather large rabbit, fur as white as snow with piercing golden eyes. Certainly not the most unusual thing she had seen, considering she had a talking cat residing in her living quarters. What struck her as odd was the large striped rope wrapped around its neck with a shiny gold pendant dangling across its chest.

"Hey there... where did you come from, little one?"

The rabbit gave no response. It only tilted its head, wiggling its nose at her with a blank stare. Nari couldn't help the small pang of disappointment. Having spent so much time in this fantastical world, a part of her assumed he was yet another marvel. The fact that she was now expecting animals to talk must be a sign that she was finally losing her sanity. Reaching downward, she gently scooped the animal into her arms and swung her legs over the edge to slide carefully to the floor.

Curiously, her eyes narrowed slightly at the small creature. It displayed no fear, only continued staring up at her as though it were waiting for something. There it was again. That strange feeling she was slowly growing familiar with. A disconcerting sense of déjà vu. The last time this had happened, she had learned the name of a tan-skinned, elusive god. This time, it seemed, would be much the same. Slowly, she opened her mouth, speaking the first word that came to mind. "...Usamaro?"

Perhaps her guess was right. Its ears perked up at the sound of its name, eyes blinking in its first real display of life. Then, it wriggled around, hopping from her arms and dropping down to the floor. With a look over its shoulder, it hopped away, leaving Nari with a suspicious feeling that it wanted her to follow. Sighing, she muttered to herself. "Yup. That confirms it. I am definitely losing my mind here..." With reluctance, she obeyed the rabbit's wishes and followed it down the hall.

The animal led her all the way to the school courtyard where a large commotion was taking place.

"What... is going on here...?" Leaving the rabbit behind, Nari slowly approached the crowd, trying to get some clue as to what was happening. Her first thought was that Loki had struck, setting off some monstrosity of his. But at the center of the chaos was the god she had least expected. The moon god, the deity she often confused with a walking furnishing, was standing before a large group of students. "Tsukito...?"

"Nari, there you are!" The sound of her sister's voice quickly distracted her, turning at the sound of hurried footsteps. "I was a little worried you weren't going to show up. Did you oversleep?"

"Yes, and no... Yui, what is happening?"

"A-Ah, well..."

"That's my lunch..." The sound of Hades' dejected voice answered her question. Turning, the sisters looked back to the front, where Tsukito was confiscating a small bag of rice cakes from his despondent classmate.

"Is it appropriate for a god to lie?"

Utterly defeated, Hades hung his head in defeat. "Sorry..."

Nari watched in disbelief as Tsukito took his belongings, dropping them into a brown bag. She would've thought the god of death was smuggling contraband, the way he was behaving. They were rice cakes, for goodness sakes. Did that man have no moderation?

"Aww, too bad for you..." No. The answer was no.

"Loki Laevatein... you..."

"Uh oh." Nari grimaced as the redheaded god stopped in his tracks. It seemed his inspection was next. There was no way this was going to end well.

"Show me your belongings."

"Sorry, but I don't carry a bag."

"No, but you are also carrying prohibited items. I can tell by the wrinkles in your clothes." It seemed no one was safe from the eagle eyes of the school disciplinarian. What a super sleuth. Nari couldn't help but be a little impressed. One wouldn't expect such powerful eyesight from someone who spent centuries of their life staring at the night sky. It seemed her emotionless classmate was chock full of surprises.

"Damn." Loki muttered, grumbling before slowly emptying his pockets. Among the items that fell to the ground were: a fold-in mirror, a deck of cards, a metal cogwheel, a small black and white rubber ball, a brown box, some candy, a Rubik's cube... the list went on and on. The Kusanagi sisters could only stare as the situation unfolded. Yui seemed particularly awestruck.

"W-Wow... all of that?"

"Honestly, I'm surprised isn't more," Nari muttered.

"I'm confiscating all of it."

"Hmph..." Loki huffed, watching with scornful eyes as Tsukito collected every object, tossing them into what was quickly becoming his brown bag of wonders. Nari could only imagine what else was in there, assuming he had been doing this since before she arrived. It was a good thing she kept her medication in her bedroom. That would have easily turned into a disaster. Crisis averted.

"That as well."

...Or not.

Loki paused, body going rigid at the sound of Tsukito's voice. His silver eyes followed the other god's gaze downward, homing in on the small bulge in his jacket pocket. The moment his eyes hardened; she knew a catastrophe was about to unfold. The god of fire's orbs narrowed into silver slits. "...That stays with me."

Yui looked nervously at her sister, whose expression mirrored her own. This was bad. Very, very bad. Loki had nearly bitten her head off just for touching that accessory. If Tsukito tried to take it, he may find himself knocking on Hades' door. Nari quickly started forward, maneuvering her way through the muttering students.

"Loki Laevatein. Give me the forbidden item," he commanded. The fire god's hand clenched around his pocket, drawing Tsukito's gaze to the silver band adorning his ring finger. "That as well."

Any irritation in his expression had faded. Only venom remained, voice falling into a low rumble. "You must not value your life, moonchild... Touch it, and I'll kill you."

"What did you say?!"

Great. Now the other pain was involved. Takeru all but launched himself through the crowd at the sound of Loki's menacing threat. The situation was deteriorating rapidly; she needed to stop them. Now. Her classmate would follow through on his warning, she was sure of it. And so would Takeru. They were merely seconds from a divine bloodbath. Nari burst through the crowd only a moment before her classmate, quickly placing herself in the center of all three of them.

"Okay, that's enough, you guys. Knock it off, it's too early for this nonsense."

"Human, if you don't get out of my way —"

"No one is hurting anyone." Nari immediately shut him down, casting a furious glare in Takeru's direction. "And no one is taking anything else. Tsukito, leave it alone."

To no one's surprise, the moon god merely shook his head. There was no defiance in his tone, merely statement of fact. "I cannot. Thoth Caduceus ordered me to enforce discipline amongst the students. Jewelry is strictly prohibited according to school protocol."

Nari had to think quickly. There was no way Tsukito was laying a finger on that bracelet. Not without physical conflict. Looking desperately between the two of them, her eyes locked on his right arm. Bingo. Pointing an accusatory finger at his wrist, she retaliated. "Well, what about you? You're wearing jewelry too. How is Loki's bracelet any more prohibited than yours?"

Lavender eyes drifted downward for a moment, taking her words into consideration. Then, he shook his head once more. "That is a limiter. It is irrelevant."

"Doesn't matter. It's still jewelry, whether it bears magic power or not." Nari looked around at the other gods, gesturing with a flippant hand. "In fact, all of you are wearing accessories, your brother included. I even ran into a rabbit earlier with a golden pendant. Jewelry is jewelry, Tsukito. Either enforce the rule for everyone or leave it alone."

Finally, the moon god fell silent. She could almost see the gears working in his mind trying to find an appropriate argument for her logic... but he couldn't, and she knew it. She had caught him in a technicality. Checkmate. With no further ability to debate with her, he simply nodded his head. "Understood." Nari let out an audible sigh of relief. They had all been spared a fiery wrath... for now. But her relief didn't last long. In protecting Loki from Tsukito's rules, she had turned his focus onto herself. "Nari Kusanagi. You are next."

"Wait, what?"

She had no time to argue as he shifted his attention, stepping forward and dragging his eyes over every corner of her body from her hair follicles to her shoes. "Hair... check. Belongings... check. Clothing..." His evaluation came to a pause as he looked her over.

"Um... is there a problem?"

"Yes. I have found an infraction. Here."

"Huh?! What are you —" Tsukito reached forward, placing a finger against her vest. She squeaked as he tugged on the fabric, attempting to fasten the top two that remained unbuttoned. Naturally, they wouldn't budge. "Tsukito —"

As though yanking on her top wasn't enough, the moon god then proceeded to kneel downward and pinch at her skirt. "And here."

Nari's face turned a brilliant red, mouth twisting into a scowl before smacking his hand away. "S-Stop that! What's wrong with you?!"

"Tsuki-Tsuki!" Apollon appeared at her side, gently pushing him back. "You shouldn't pull at girl's skirts. It's improper!"

"And rude!" Nari interjected.

As though neither of them had spoken, Tsukito turned his attention to the student handbook. "But the handbook says I should measure distance between the hem and knees. Nari Kusanagi's is nearly 2.5 centimeters too short."

"I-I — that's —!" Nari was floored. This was not how she had been expecting her morning to go. Not once when she had gotten up had she been planning for a stone-faced got to pull at her clothes... and then, as if that weren't enough, to proceed to declare to her — in front of the entire student body no less — that her clothes fit inappropriately, particularly around the bust area. "I... I have no control over that..." What was she supposed to do? Would she now be forced to explain in front of everyone why her clothes didn't fit properly? Nari was 22 years old, nearly 23. It wasn't her fault that the uniform had only been sized with high schoolers in mind.

"Explain."

"Explain?! B-Because my —" Nari wanted to crawl under a rock, shrinking under the gaze of every student surrounding her. Her hand tugged nervously at the edge of her skirt, trying unsuccessfully to pull it down. "Because I'm... I'm older, so..."

Sensing her sister's distress, Yui stepped in. "The uniforms aren't designed for adults. Not for people with Nari's, er... measurements in mind." She was sure the situation couldn't get any worse. Naturally, she was wrong. Perhaps Dionysus was only attempting to lighten the mood; to diffuse the growing tension.

"I don't see the problem. I think it fits fine."

Unfortunately, he only served to make her feel worse.

"Ugh..." Nari groaned, eyes falling to the ground in shame. Perhaps she should have skipped class after all. Any reprimanding she received from Yui, Thoth, or otherwise couldn't come even close to this level of humiliation. She was contemplating ways to melt into a puddle of embarrassment when a sudden movement caught her attention, a flash of red drifting past her left side.

"Don't worry. You'll understand someday when you're older, hmm?" Loki's words were lighthearted, taunting in that agitating way that only he could pull off. But it wasn't his words that she was focused on, it was his positioning as he had wandered his way behind her, giving Tsukito a mischievous grin over her shoulder. Could it be that he was shielding her from view? No, surely Loki would never be that thoughtful.

Luckily, her embarrassment, while excruciating, was relatively short-lived. For within moments... "Understood. I will be more careful in —" ...Tsukito collapsed mid-sentence, slumping over to into a crumpled heap. Lurching forward, Apollon caught the god by his shoulders before he could hit the ground.

"Brother! What's wrong?!"

"Are you okay? Tostuka?" Balder called, eyes laced with concern. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure... We should get him to the infirmary! To the infirmary!" Apollon suggested.

As the other gods mumbled amongst themselves in minor panic, Nari narrowed her eyes. His colorless skin and withered expression told her immediately what was wrong with him, along with his movements, clearly in a daze. She knew that look better than anyone; the number of times she had experienced it during training and even long after. Scowling, she shook her head. "Idiot... your body is giving out from exhaustion. Human bodies need — you can't go for too long without... without..."

"Nari...?"

Yui's voice suddenly began to fade as did the world around her. She was unable to scold him any further; her own vision was starting to spin, speckled with white dots. It seemed that her strenuous exercise, lack of sleep, and overstimulation was finally catching up to her. Whatever energy she had left was spent during this whole fiasco. Her body felt leaden, wobbling slowly from side to side. Then, within moments, she followed him, falling backward into a warm pair of arms.

. . .

It was nearly four hours when Nari woke up again, finding herself in the medical ward surrounded by a group of worried faces. Heads of maroon, violet, and gold leaned over her in her hospital bed. The moment she saw the look on her sister's face, Nari knew she was in for it. And after a scolding that would put even their mother's to shame, Yui forced a confession out of her sibling. The younger sister nearly combusted upon discovering that she hadn't eaten since early yesterday afternoon... and only once 17 hours before that. After an explosive argument, Nari had no strength to stop her sister from dragging her to the cafeteria with the help of the other two gods.

"Nari, how many times do I have to tell you to take care of yourself?" Yui demanded, placing a large plate of beef steak on the table in front of her. It was far from a balanced meal, she was aware, but her focus for the time being wasn't making sure she consumed her vegetables. For now, the only concern was getting her to eat at all.

Sighing, Nari popped a bite of the marinated steak into her mouth. It was delicious, there was no denying it. "I told you it was an accident, Yui."

"And the time before that? What about the day before that? This is 'accident' keeps happening far too often! Don't think I haven't noticed, Nari. I saw you at the ocean trip... Just how much weight have you lost since leaving home?"

"I don't know... maybe five or six kilograms?"

"Five?!" Yui nearly shouted, making her sister jump beside her. The fact that it had taken this long for her to collapse was nothing short of a miracle. "Nari, that's way too much, it's no wonder you're falling out! Why would you do this to yourself... Does this have anything to do with —" Her sister's fearsome glare stopped her in her tracks, jaws snapping shut.

But it was too late. The other gods had returned to the table with their own meals. Dionysus flopped down across from her with a deeply concerned look, taking note of the older sister's exhausted eyes. "Your sister's right, Fotia... I'm not a human, but even I know you shouldn't be skipping meals like this."

Nari's eyes fell to her plate, words coming out in nearly a whisper. "I have to..."

"Why? Honestly, I don't understand why you're so concerned with your weight..."

"You wouldn't understand, Dionysus. My image is everything where I come from."

"But you look fine, Siren! Totally fine!" Apollon insisted, "Doesn't she look fine, Di-Di?"

His question earned a nod from his sibling. "More than fine, if you ask me."

"Right, right! You're so pretty, Siren!"

Yui's eyes narrowed, fixing her with a hardened stare. "And this is coming from two gods, Nari. Pretty sure there's no higher opinion than that."

"Ugh." Nari grumbled, forcing another bite into mouth. "Yeah, well, humans don't see it that way."

"Then those humans are blind," Dionysus snapped, earning a startled blink.

"Dio —"

"I'm sorry, Fotia, but I have to side with your sister on this one. I don't know how long this has been going on, but it needs to stop. Your health is more important than other people's expectations. Just eat the food, it's obvious your body needs it."

"Would you two lay off? It's not that bad..."

"Not that bad?" Yui prodded. "Nari, you've nearly finished your plate..."

"I... huh?" Her sister's words snapped her out of her stupor, drawing her attention to the dish in front of her. Sure enough, there was only a single piece left, her chopsticks sitting in the air mid-reach. "Wh-What... how did I..."

"Because you were hungry, Nari!"

With that, she had no choice but to admit defeat. There had been easily over three servings of steak on that platter, and she had eaten almost every last bite of it. At this point, she would be lying to even herself to say that she hadn't been utterly starving. Perhaps she had gotten so used to it over the years that she had simply learned to ignore it. But what she couldn't ignore was the pleading look on her sister's face, the look of pure desperation. She couldn't bear to see that look, an expression so closely mirroring disappointment. She supposed it couldn't hurt to eat at least a little more... after all, she wasn't technically an idol anymore. Why did she still insist on living like one?

"Alright, alright... I'll eat more, okay...? I promise."

"I've heard that one before."

"I will! I'll make sure I eat dinner tonight."

"I don't believe you."

"Yui —"

"I mean it, Nari! No more of this... I'm coming with you."

"Okay. If it makes you feel better."

"It will."

With an exasperated sigh, Nari relented, shifting her attention to their other attendees at the table. She clearly wouldn't be getting any aid from them, each one eyeing her with similar stern expressions. It looked like she didn't have a choice in the matter. Regardless of her wishes, she was convinced at this point that if she didn't eat, the three of them were going to shove food forcibly down her throat. With a tired grin, she popped the last piece into her mouth. It felt nice to know that people cared about her. Even if it did wear on her nerves.

. . .

True to her word, Nari accompanied Yui to the evening dinner, along with Dionysus, Apollon, and surprisingly, even Tsukito. It seemed he had gotten a similar lecture, leaving both of them sitting at the table eating under duress. Satisfied, Yui finally let her sister go, leaving her to wander her way back to the dorm for some much-needed rest.

It wasn't until she reached her building however that she began to regret her decision to eat only stir-fried vegetables. Vegetables were never enough calories to sustain her, and her grumbling stomach was reminding her of that. Complaining to herself, she wandered back to her room, willing her body to suck it up. Sure, she wouldn't mind having a little more to eat, but she was already back at the dorm. There was no way she was going all the way back to the cafeteria. She would likely burn more calories walking back than she was willing to consume.

After entering her bedroom, the decision was made for her in the form of a quiet knock at the door. Curious, Nari answered the door only to find nothing more than a box at her doorstep. Retrieving the box, she retreated to her table and gently pried it open. Inside were four large rice balls sitting neatly in a row. Each were stuffed with filling, two tamago and two pork. It seems she was bested again. With a chuckle, Nari shook her head.

"Alright, Yui... you win." Before heading to bed, she gratefully enjoyed her second evening meal with a smile on her face.