With the Kendo Club's inception, the last remaining truant had finally joined an afterschool club. A club that, unsurprisingly, Takeru tried multiple times to get the older sister to enroll. All of them were met with rejection. She insisted that the club was not for her, and that her sister would be far more suited to 'sword-swinging' than she was. The fact that she had just performed the duel of the century seemed to have eluded her.

With all of the students now showing some form of legitimate interest, classes continued on with new vigor. It seemed that finally, the sisters were making true progress. For the first time since their arrival, the end was in sight. Thus began in earnest their studies at the Academy of the Gods.

They covered topics ranging from human sports to human cognitive development. All of which were completely irrelevant as far as Nari was concerned as these subjects had little purpose to the average human, let alone a bunch of gods. But when Thursday rolled around, she found herself wishing that they could go back to covering the differences between 'football' on opposite ends of the world. For this day brought about — for her — arguably the worst human subject one could possibly discuss. Unfortunately, there was little she could do about it other than sit tensely in her seat, eyes watching Thoth's every movement as he shuffled around some papers on his podium.

"Today, we will cover human traditions and cultural practices," the instructor announced. Stepping toward the center, he pulled a large backdrop from the ceiling. His words resulted in an outward groan.

"We already covered culture," Loki complained, earning a vicious glare from the Egyptian god.

"Silence, Laevatein. We have covered human cultural history. Which you would know if you paid attention. This week, we will be covering human modern culture."

"You mean like… pop culture?" Nari asked. A feeling of dread started to wash over her as her eyes drifted toward her younger sister. She remembered Balder mentioning something about assisting with a lesson plan a while back. Had this been what they were talking about?

Thoth didn't answer. Instead, he ignored her, turning back to the board. "Open your books. Page 367. Kusanagi, to the front."

"Y-Yes…" Yui rose to her feet, offering her sister a sympathetic smile before making her way to the podium.

Slowly, the students began to grudgingly open their books, Nari doing so with far more agitation. To her side, Dionysus smiled at the selected page, sweeping his eyes over an attractive woman with smooth sun-kissed skin. Her hair fell in long black waves, framing her shoulders and face. She stood against the wall with a sultry smile, looking stunning in the undergarments she wore for display. Apollon and Balder reacted in the opposite way, with nervous glances and embarrassed laughter. Tsukito and Thor gave no reaction at all, leaving Takeru and Hades to merely shake their heads.

The student with the strongest reaction was the second human in the room. Nari stared in horror at the pages. On the first was a woman with fair skin and straight black hair. She was someone that she recognized, and in fact, had worked with at one point during a photo shoot early on during her training. Sumiko Araki, a middle-aged actress from Japan. Beneath her was a young man with dark brown skin, leaning against a wall. Clearly someone from the western part of the globe. The text beneath read 'Darrell Roland.' She had never seen this actor before, but she could tell from the image that it was a snapshot from a show he likely starred in. The second page contained a photo of the woman Dionysus was shamelessly ogling. Varo Ciampi, a young model from Italy. And there beneath her, on the final section was the last image she wanted to see…

It was a photograph of herself, nearly unrecognizable in her signature style. Long, thick violet hair framing her pale skin and falling in gentle waves down her back. Ocean blue eyes gazing with a wink into the camera, with glitter on her lashes and soft pink on her lips. Her fingers were held up in a peace sign, her mouth pulled into an adorable grin. The rising idol; Japanese pop star… Luna.

With Yui's assistance, Thoth began his lecture, giving little thought to his students' reactions. He paced back and forth behind her as she spoke, the pair talking at length about the role of popular culture in human society, its influence, and how it evolved over different generations. Nari sat eerily still; eyes glued forward as she tried desperately not to have a panic attack. Why was this happening? Surely, Thoth couldn't have done such a thing on purpose. He knew nothing of her previous life… but her sister did. What exactly was their intention?

A light tap against the bottom of her chair jolted her, making her jump and ripping her out of her own head. Scowling, she twisted her head and shoulders in the opposite direction, throwing a furious glare at the student behind her. The fire god shrugged with a confused stare, as though he hadn't the slightest idea what was bothering her. He hadn't done anything wrong. It wasn't like he was kicking her chair mere moments ago. With a frustrated sigh, she turned back around and listened to her instructors once more. She listened as they went over the examples in the book, models, actors and actresses, music, and media, doing her best to ignore the tapping beneath her backside.

"So, you see, these people have a great deal of influence in human society." Thump. "Their popularity grants them millions of followers and fan, yes. But it does more than that." Thump. "It also provides a platform allowing…" Thump. Unable to ignore the tapping any longer, her mind drifted from Yui's lecture and instead drifted to the noise behind her, where the other gods were now whispering.

"Influence, huh? I can see why…" Dionysus muttered, earning a tired sigh from his uncle. "Look at this one on the bottom right. She's a beauty, isn't she?"

Nari tensed.

"Eh…? She doesn't look all that special," Loki muttered. He ceased his kicking for a moment and leaned forward against his desk, looking over the images again. He took in her features, pale skin, and brightly colored hair. She certainly wasn't difficult to look at, but that wasn't something he was willing to admit to anyone else. Lifting his leg, he tapped against Nari's chair again, smirking when her shoulders went rigid. To his side, Balder disagreed.

"Really? I think she's beautiful. Look at her eyes… they're stunning. Actually… there's something familiar about her."

"Not surprising. Look at her hair… kind of looks like Kitten, doesn't it?" he questioned, slowly shifting his eyes between the image and the younger sister. He couldn't help but notice the similar shade, nearly mirror images as far as color. A hue that, unbeknownst to him, she had chosen very much on purpose. "She dresses interestingly enough though. Could she be any more flamboyant?"

Nari quietly scoffed, rolling her eyes as the pair talked amongst themselves. Of course, Loki would have a complaint. It wouldn't be like him if he didn't. And to be honest, their opinions of various human celebrities should be of little concern to her. Just more senseless gossip, no different than what she heard every day in the human world. Yet, strangely, her lips couldn't help but form a slight frown at his veiled insult. As Yui moved on to other topics; influence, assimilation, and psychological suggestion theory, her sister leaned back slightly, trying to calm her nerves.

"Now that you mention, it yes, it does," Balder whispered. "Yui's hair is the same color. How lovely."

"I bet she's talented!" Apollon chimed in a bit more loudly than he had probably intended. At the front, Yui paused and shifted her eyes in his direction. Noticing her glance, he swallowed and lowered his voice. "She probably has great skill. Great skill."

"Maybe. I wouldn't know. Doesn't say much about her." Loki shrugged, placing another careful kick beneath the center of Nari's chair.

"Doesn't it?" The god of light replied." It states right here how quickly she rose to the top of the charts. Apparently, they are a form of human ranking system. If this paragraph is to be believed, she's one of the most well-known musicians of their generation. How else could she have risen to fame so quickly?"

"Poor naïve Balder… Humans are fickle creatures. Thump. "There are many different ways of rising to fame."

"Really? How so?" Thump. Balder paused for a moment to give it some thought. Then, he gasped. "Oh, right… Humans are susceptible to a practice called nepotism, I believe. Perhaps she knew someone in high places?"

"Hmm… something along those lines… from what I've heard." Another kick. Nari's body froze. Loki ignored it, eyes drifting back to the gorgeous idol. Now that he really looked at her, he couldn't deny her beauty nor her charm. Which only served to further raise his suspicions. Leaning toward the other student, he muttered quietly. "After all… there are many ways to persuade the hearts of men."

Nari reacted before she could stop herself. At the sound of his accusation, white hot anger erupted from the pit of her soul, driving her to her feet and sending her chair crashing to the floor with a loud slam. The entire class jolted at the sudden movement, every pair of eyes turning to stare at the older sister as she rounded on the Norse god. Her eyes trembled with rage, burning a hole through her classmate with a look of pure malice. "Fuck you, Loki!" Turning, she stormed from the room, ignoring the startled looks from the other gods.

. . .

The woman stomped down the hall, voice wavering with stuttered breaths. So, he had been listening to whispers of the doll students. How dare they? How dare he? Her vision was red, eyes facing downward as she made her way down the hall. The sound of a shutting door went on deaf ears as she stormed forward.

"Nari!" Yui called, rushing down the hall after her sister. She didn't slow down. She didn't even notice, lost in her own thoughts, head hanging to the floor. "Nari, wait, please!" she pleaded, quickening her pace.

When her sister sounded off for the third time, Nari finally slowed. Realizing her presence, she decided there was no sense in continuing to run away. Yui wouldn't stop her pursuit. She would chase her to the other end of the island if she let her. As the footsteps grew louder behind her, she took a deep breath, rubbing her face with her hands. She was so angry; she could even feel the heat beneath her fingertips. With a single breath, she forced the emotions down, locking them away in the depths of her heart, mask falling into place.

"Nari!" Yui came to a stop, leaning on her knees to catch her breath. "Nari, what the heck was that?"

Nari sighed. "I'm sorry, alright?"

"What happened back there…?"

"I just… he guy just pisses me off."

"Who, Loki?"

"Who else?"

"Why? What did he do?" Yui asked, taking note of her sister's trembling shoulders. Considering his ceaseless harassment of her sister, she could understand where her frustration was coming from. Her outburst didn't surprise her, it was inevitable. What she couldn't understand was the intensity.

"Didn't you hear what he said?" Nari spat, eyes narrowing once again at just the thought of it.

"Well, y-yeah. I mean, kind of. They were whispering a lot back there. I caught bits and pieces but… I couldn't understand it."

"What do you mean, you couldn't understand it? What's not to understand?"

"I-I'm not sure what they were saying. I don't know what he was speaking toward the end… maybe Scandinavian?" Nari's eyes grew wide. Loki had been speaking in another language? That couldn't possibly be right. Yui must have misheard him. It made sense considering the distance from the front of the classroom. It was the only logical explanation. "Wait… Did… did you understand him?" Yui asked, her mouth slowly falling open.

"No. No, I mean —" Nari quickly realized she was digging herself into a hole; inviting endless questions that she didn't feel like answering, nor did she have the answers for. The fact that Loki had been possibly utilizing a different dialect alone was giving her migraine. Just thinking about it was making her head spin. The avert the growing pounding in her head, she quickly redirected the subject. "And the bastard wouldn't stop kicking my chair. Childish asshole…"

Yui slowly nodded. "I can see why that would be frustrating, but…" At this point, she was growing genuinely concerned. Even some of the most aggravating pranks had never drawn out such a menacing reaction from her sister. It didn't make sense for her, regardless of his aggravating behavior. "Nari, this isn't like you. I've never seen you like that before…"

The look on her sister's face brought a frown to hers. The last thing she wanted to do was worry her, but she wasn't sure what else to do. To lie would get her nowhere now, she was far too deep. "I… Look, I'm sorry, okay? I know I overreacted."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just… I'm fine, I'm just really tired. I barely slept at all last night."

"You haven't been sleeping? Nari, that sounds —"

"It's not as bad as it sounds, really."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, fine. I just… need a minute. I'm sorry about disrupting class, Yui. Please continue without me."

"But —" Nari didn't give her a chance to interject. She spun on her heel and stalked away, leaving her sister alone in the hall. When she disappeared from sight, Yui shook her head. There was nothing more she could do for her right now. The best thing to do when her sister was this upset was just give her some space. With a sad sigh, she turned and made her way back to class. She could offer comforting words later whenever she returned.

. . .

In the end, Nari never did return to class. She spent the remainder of the day sulking around her room, stroking Fuyu's fur and thinking over the events of the day. Despite her snarky attitude, it turned out that her familiar was actually pretty good at providing moral support. As a cat, she was a relaxing presence, listening silently on her lap, purring as she vented her frustrations. She kept comforted her, keeping her company for the few hours between activity periods and bedtime.

Once night finally fell, she left the poor cat to her own and gratefully turned in for the night… but when she opened her eyes again, it was with a violent scream.

Nari shot out of bed, throwing the sheets from her body, and tossing them to the floor below. Her hand shot up to her chest, gripping nervously against her cool skin. As expected, there was nothing there, yet she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. The only scars on her body were the faded burns marring her collarbone. They were nearly healed.

For a moment, she considered remaining silent. She had already bothered her for most of the day, she didn't want to pester Fuyu further. Although, if she were being honest, the likelihood was that after her shriek, she was already wide awake. Panting, she found herself reaching beneath her pillow, grabbing the orange bottle with shaking hands, and fumbling with the cap. It hadn't even budged when the sound of her sister's shouting voice startled her, nearly sending the container tumbling into the sheets. Within moments, Yui appeared in her doorway, a look of utter terror on her face.

"Nari!" Yui looked around in the dark room, hands searching for a light switch. When she found it, she flipped it on, forcing the other woman to hiss, lifting a hand to her eyes. "What happened?!" She reached her sister in seconds, all but leaping onto the bed to try and still her shaking form.

"I-I…"

"Are you okay? I heard you from the hallway… what's going on? What's wrong?"

Nari shook her head. She couldn't get the words out, any attempts ending in indecipherable babble. Yui didn't question further, instead reaching forward and wrapping her arms around her. She stayed there, holding her sister as she choked, deep breaths racking her body with every breath. It was nearly 10 minutes before she finally calmed enough to speak.

"You scared the hell out of me…" Yui said, brushing a strand of navy hair from her sweaty face.

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize, just tell me what happened…"

"Just… it's nothing. I'm fine."

Yui scowled, her eyes glaring daggers at her older sibling. "You were screaming bloody murder, Nari, don't you dare tell me you're fine!" Nari blinked, nearly rearing back from the force of her sister's tone. As one who so often lost her temper, it was alarming to be on the receiving end for once. Anger in her younger sister was rare, but when it finally reared its head, it was best not to provoke her further. So instead, she remained silent; no longer confirming or denying.

At the look of her sister's face, Yui sighed. "You had a nightmare again, didn't you?"

"…Yeah."

"Was it the same one as before…? The one with the angel?"

Nari shook her head. Then, she nodded. Then, she groaned, grabbing her head with her free hand. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to say. The last thing she wanted to do was to lie, but the truth wasn't an option. Her pounding heart rang so loud in her ears, she could barely think. "It's just… I can't…"

"It's okay. We can talk about it later." Yui soothed, raising from the bed. "I'm going to get you some water, alright?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

When Yui returned with the glass, Nari accepted it gratefully. She guzzled down nearly half of it in one sitting, letting out a large exhale when she finished. Yui watched her, rubbing her back in small, gentle circles. It wasn't until she noticed something strange that she stopped, watching her sister swallow a couple of blue candies before washing them down again. Squinting her eyes, Yui looked around the bed for the source of them. When she saw it, her blood froze in her veins.

"Nari… what are those?"

Her sister's moment of panic was all she needed. It was barely noticeable, a small flit of fear across her eyes before it disappeared again. But it was enough of a reaction to tell her that whatever Nari had, she wasn't meant to see. Leaning forward, she snatched the orange bottle from the bedsheets before she could react, flipping it over in her fingertips. Her eyes widened, nearly trembling as she read the label. Benzodiazepine.

Yui wasn't entirely familiar with the medication, but she had learned about them in health class. They were a psychoactive drug, sometimes called "blues" due to their bright aquamarine color. She knew they were often prescribed to treat depression, anxiety, panic disorder, among other conditions. She also knew that if not handled correctly, they had the potential to become highly addictive, forming a dependency in the user. The thought of this information coupled with the disturbing rumors she had heard were enough to make her heart stop.

Why would she even need to take something like this? She had been in wonderful health prior to her departure. A bit aloof and standoffish at times, but never in need of medication. What had happened to her over the last three years? "Nari…"

"They're for stress management," her sister replied, halting her line of questioning in its tracks. She was defensive. Not a good sign.

"Stress management? Nari, this is strong medication! Besides, why on earth would need stress management?"

"Yui. Do you have any idea how suffocating the life of an idol is…?"

She paused. "I… Well, n-no, I don't, but…" Words escaped her. Like it or not, Nari had a point. She couldn't argue it with her, but she still couldn't shake the feeling that something was horribly wrong. That there was more to the story. That there was something she wasn't telling her.

"I know what you're thinking, so stop it. I take them to help me sleep. It's a low dosage. It's not a big deal."

"Not a big — Nari, these are really dangerous!"

"Only if you take them excessively."

"But —"

"Yui, I'm fine. There is nothing you need to worry about. Don't you trust me at all?"

"Of course, I do!"

Her words stabbed her right through the chest. There was no hesitation. Yui did trust her, whole-heartedly… but she shouldn't. And Nari knew it. She didn't deserve it. "I only took two. Just to take the edge off."

Yui fell silent. What more could she say? She had no idea what the last few years had been like for her older sister, let alone how it could have affected her mental health. But why had she disappeared in the first place? Why didn't she reach out to someone for help? She trusted her sister… but she was beginning to worry that her sister didn't trust her. Shaking her head, she tossed the bottle back on the bed. "Well… if it's only two… Just — be careful, okay? Please?"

The older leaned forward, slowly pulling her into a loving embrace. Yui returned it, burying her head into her shoulder. "I love you… I'm just worried about you."

"I know, Yui. I love you too."

After a small chat, her sister finally calmed. Yui left the room and returned to her own, a heavy feeling weighing on her heart. Let in solitude, Nari sighed and remade her bed, lying her head against the pillow. She knew that Yui had every right to be worried. If she was being honest, she probably should be. But as the older sister, it was her job to look out for her… not the other way around. Closing her eyes, she slowly drifted back off to sleep.

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