**NOTES**

Oof... this has been a frustrating couple of weeks. I forgot I had this thing sitting in drafts. Anyway, here is the next chapter! Kudos and commentors are always welcome, they remind me when I keep forgetting to post my stuff. lol

. . .

"You did what?!" Nari nearly shouted, her sister grimacing at her growing anger.

"I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to… I just mentioned it and things got out of hand."

"Out of hand? Yui, this is way beyond out of hand!"

After her abrupt departure from their lecture a few days ago, Yui had returned to the classroom to try and diffuse the situation. The rest of the class carried on as planned and they discussed various aspects of modern human culture. Since Loki's comments had been the catalyst for the disruption, it was only natural that their discussion eventually come back to Luna. Yui had answered their string of questions, which ultimately led to the conversation diverging into music and music-related events. That subject had then segued into the topic of concerts, which Yui tried her best to describe as accurately as she could. Having never actually been to a concert herself, her depiction was of what she had experienced on television which was, admittedly, a bit glorified.

This was where the conversation had gone all wrong.

Their discussion derailed, with Apollon expressing his admiration and desire to see a live concert. Balder, fascinated with human and Japanese culture, had quickly seconded his assertion, also wishing to see such a show. With autumn limiting their options for school activities, the gods were eager to get out and about. And as she was the topic of conversation, Luna was the chosen performer. Yui did her best to bring them back on task, even going so far as to hold an autumn festival. Unfortunately, that only assuaged their desires just a little. They had latched on to the idea of a show, and there was no talking them out of it.

In theory, it wasn't that difficult of a concept. As Apollon had — quite accurately — reminded, his father was capable of replicating any human he saw fit. They had seen the results of this firsthand, as the souls of various humans made up the majority of the school's student population. And as Luna was human, it wouldn't be difficult for him to create a doll version of the pop star. They couldn't be sure if it would compare to the real thing, but it was definitely worth a try, as far as they were all concerned. But there was one glaring problem with his plan that Yui had been too afraid to mention.

Luna was very much alive and currently residing within the school.

Whether or not creating such a replica was possible while she was in possession of her soul remained to be seen, and it certainly wasn't something she wanted to test and find out. Thus, Yui had gone to Zeus to divert the plan, and convince him she had everything under control. Now, she was coming to her sister in the hopes that she could help make her suggestion a reality. Rather than take any unnecessary risks involving creating a doll version of Luna, Nari could simply put on a concert as herself. It should have been a simple situation; Yui knew that her sister loved her music above all else… she hadn't been expecting her to react so poorly.

"I-I didn't think you'd mind! I mean… you were supposed to have a concert this year anyway… I figured you were already prepared for it, and —"

Nari scowled. "That doesn't mean I signed up to hold it here. Did that ever occur to you?"

"Well, no… should it have? I figured you would be happy to get back on stage… and with the size of the school, it would be a similar sized venue. We could make it an authentic experience —"

"Yes, Yui. Because maybe, just maybe, I didn't want to perform in the first place!"

"…Oh."

A tense silence rose between them, the younger sister's eyes lowering to the ground, the older still seething. And she couldn't blame her, Nari was right. She had been so excited at the idea of finally seeing her sister that she had never stopped to think of how she might feel about it. That she might not feel up to performing a show, especially after everything that happened — and that was excluding being kidnapped and waking up in a mythological school. Yui hadn't taken her sister's feelings into consideration at all. And now, she felt horrible.

"I-I… Nari, I'm sorry. You're right… I didn't even think about it." As her younger sister deflated in front of her like a sagging balloon, Nari slowly started to cool off. She was very much upset with her, that much hadn't changed, but she really shouldn't have told her off like that. It was her first concert, and Yui was understandably excited. It wasn't like she had any way of knowing what was going on in her personal life. "Don't worry about it, okay? I'll go talk to Zeus. There's a way to get out of this. I just —"

"Yui, just…" Nari sighed. "Just hold on, alright? Just let me think for a minute."

The idea of becoming Luna again was enough to make her stomach turn. But she couldn't blame her sister for wanting to see her. As a result of her own foolishness, she had never gotten to, not outside of a screen. There had been a few nearby shows during the earlier parts of her career, but since she had cut off contact, the tickets were long sold out before she even found out about it, let alone open the website. And she had sent her two exclusive tickets, complete with backstage pass and signing… and now, she would never get the chance to use them. All because of one stupid night. It was her fault that Yui had never gotten to see her… and now, if she didn't do this, she never would.

The older sibling was silent for too long, Yui growing worried before speaking up. "Nari…? Listen, I really am sorry. It's just… you've always loved your music… since high school, you dreamed of the stage… what changed?"

"I did — I do, but I…"

The woman sighed in defeat. She didn't want to get back on the stage, it was true. She was tired of her persona, she was tired of the rumors, she was tired of the fans. She was tired of peddling someone who wasn't real for legions of judgmental people. But maybe… just this once, she didn't have to. It wasn't like she was in the human world. She didn't need to perform for her Starlights. She needed only to perform for her.

"Alright, Yui… fine. I'll do the concert."

Her sister lit up so suddenly, she worried she might actually start glowing. "You will?! Really?!"

"I'll do you one better… may as well make use of those tickets I sent you."

Yui squealed and rushed forward, throwing herself into her sister's arms. She stumbled backward with a quiet oof, but quickly returned her affections with a warm embrace. "Thank you so much for doing this, Nari… Everyone will be so happy…"

"The rest don't matter… I'm doing this for my biggest fan."

There were budding tears of joy in the corner of her eyes when Yui pulled back, wiping her eye on her sleeve. Not only was she willing to put on the concert, but the sign as well. And she was doing all of it for her. She really did have the best sister in the world. "I love you, Nari."

"Yeah, yeah, love you too. Just don't miss the sign… would be kind of pointless if the only person I cared about didn't show up," she said with a smirk.

"Oh, I won't! I can't wait! I've always wanted the full Starlight experience! This is going to be so great! When is it? I can leave class early. What should I bring? I can probably order one of your posters —"

Nari sighed, shaking her head as her sister startling rattling off questions like she was out of her mind. She couldn't remember the last time she had Yui this excited. In fact, the last time she had seen her literally jump for joy was when she signed her music contract. Seeing such a bright smile on her face made it all worth it. She let her sister ramble, drifting off into her own thoughts of what she was going to tell Zeus. For something like this, she was going to need a lot of preparation.

Following their conversation, she made a beeline straight for the headmaster's office. While the attendees needed only bring themselves and their loudest cheering voices, on her end, there was a great deal of work to be done. She would need student volunteers and helpers to put together a venue for her set. She would need speakers, lighting effects, pyrotechnics, along with a whole group of students to properly operate them. If the doll students behaved anything like their human counterparts, she might even need to consider getting some doll security… This was going to be a long week.

'Ah well… the show must go on.'

. . .

The next few days were spent taking care of Nari's massive laundry list. On the student's side, Yui did the best she could to assist her. Getting the word out wasn't exactly difficult. The moment the show was announced to their class, it seemed that every other class in the building seemed to have heard about it too. All that was left to do was make sure that the gods remained in line, keep them distracted from Nari's activities — it didn't take long for Apollon to notice that their classmate was missing quite a bit of class — and ask Hermes to acquire an enormous number of star-shaped glowsticks.

By the fourth day, nearly everyone was exhausted. As the weekend had rolled around, the gods and sisters were all taking a well-deserved break. Out in the courtyard, in a nice corner away from the stage setup, Class A was engaging in Balder's — and unbeknownst to them, Nari's as well — favorite activities.

The sound of careful flames crackled, meat sizzled over the rack, and the smell of seasoned barbecue filled the air around them. The gods congregated in the area, laughing, and smiling with one another as Loki tossed slab after slab of cooked cuts onto various plates for serving. As a god of fire, it shouldn't be surprising that he would know how to work a grill. Anything that burned was his wheelhouse. What surprised Nari was the sheer amount of skill with which he did so. There were many things she had expected Loki to be. A chef was not one of them.

"Mm… this is delicious! Loki-Loki, you're good at this. Really good!" Apollon gushed before chomping down on a leg of lamb.

Loki shrugged with a flippant wave, basking in the praise. His eyes looked around over the gods, taking note of everyone's plates. Who was enjoying themselves, who had what, who needed more. Inevitably, his eyes eventually fell to the older Kusanagi sister, who was off to the side, tearing into a cut of ribeye as though her life depended on it. It had been a long time since he had met someone — besides Balder of course — so carnivorous. To her side, much to his annoyance, was Dionysus, enjoying a sirloin. The two were enthralled in a discussion about different meats and the wines that paired with them.

"The marbling on this is incredible…" Nari mused, popping another bite into her mouth. She had never tasted something so perfectly broiled in even the best of human restaurants. And she had certainly had her fair share.

Dionysus smiled. "I agree wholeheartedly. A Cabernet would go well with this. Hmm… maybe a Merlot."

"I'm surprised you didn't bring any, Dio. I honestly figured you would — oh my gods…" she groaned, savoring the aftertaste of a particular juicy bite. She paid little attention to the man beside her and the wide grin on her face at the sounds she was making. He wouldn't complain; he could listen to her moans all day. "Seriously, I swear… I feel like I've died and gone to some sort of heaven… this steak is divine."

"You are dining in an academy for gods…" Dionysus reminded.

"Well, then when I die, I want to come back here. Ugh… I think I just had a food-gasm."

"A what?"

"You know, it's like an orga —" Nari paused, stopping herself before she could entrap herself. Too late, the Greek god gave her a devious smile.

"Well, I'm not the best cook, but I'm always happy to provide any other —"

"Shut up, Dio."

The two laughed, poking fun at each other and going on about their meals. Loki narrowed his eyes at her widening smile. He couldn't tell if she was beaming over his cooking — which gave him a strange amount of joy, for some reason — or the god sitting next to her — which made him want to light the man on fire. He didn't realize he was staring until he heard Thor's voice.

"You are watching them," he stated. Not taunting or accusatory. Just a statement of fact.

Caught. Loki shook his head, immediately deflecting the comment. "I'm just amazed, you know? I think she might actually like meat more than Balder. Something I never thought possible."

"Hmm." The taller god said nothing further. What he didn't realize was that he had been watching Loki for the past couple of minutes, and he had seen the other god's gaze follow the older sister from her collection of her portion to taking a seat at the table. In fact, he had been stealing glances at Nari since her arrival at the cookout. He knew better than to pry into such matters. But he couldn't help but wonder…

A head of blonde hair distracted him, Balder appearing before them with yet another empty plate. Shaking his head, he placed yet another helping onto his platter. "Eat up, Balder."

"Horray! Thank you, Loki," he exclaimed, face lighting up with joy. His happiness was infectious, so much so that Loki couldn't help but smile himself. A moment later, a head of purple hair passed by, its owner shouting toward the other table with a playful glare.

"I don't see any vegetables, Nari!"

"Probably because I didn't take any!" she shouted back.

"You're not getting out of this forever!"

"Watch me!"

The gods laughed at their antics, Loki rolling his eyes and interjecting. "Kitten!"

"Hmm?"

"Speaking of…" He offered a plate of grilled vegetables when she turned around. He was feeling in an exceptionally good mood today. "Here. You eat up too."

"Th-Thank you…" Yui replied with a startled grin. While she was happy to see everyone getting along, seeing the god of fire so cheerful was a little unnerving. Regardless, she accepted the plate. She was about to return to her scolding when a slice of ribeye suddenly appeared in her line of vision. "Huh?" Her eyes followed the meat, up the chopsticks that held it, all the way to their owner.

Balder stood before her with a smile brighter than the sun. He held the chopsticks toward her. "Here, Yui… Open up."

Yui blanched. Was Balder trying to… feed her? "Huh? B-But…"

"Ah…"

The slice drew closer and closer, leaving her with little escape. Her eyes flitted around the area, suddenly aware of everyone watching them. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't be rude to him, but she couldn't deny the incredible awkwardness of the situation. With no other choice, she opened her mouth and bit into the meat, chewing into the juicy cut.

"Is it good?"

"Y-Yes." It truly was delicious. If all meat tasted this good, she could almost understand her sister's obsession. Their display learned a series of strange looks from the other gods, ranging from confusion to surprise. Even Nari paused her inhalation to watch the exchange. But there was one person who was taking the situation very poorly.

Tongs fell to the ground with a loud crack, slipping through Loki's fingers. His eyes were wide and stunned, mouth falling open as though he had just made the biggest discovery in the world… and not in a good way. "B-Balder gave… He gave someone his meat?"

Centuries. It had been centuries since he had seen such a display. Since he had seen someone affect the god of light in such a way. The memory made him scowl, the familiar grip of grief clenching around his heart. But it didn't last long. Now wasn't the time. Instead, he turned his attention to Kusanagi, jutting an accusatory finger in her direction. "Hey, you! What have you done to Balder?" he demanded. "Do Japanese gods have some weird power?!"

Yui stared back at him in utter disbelief. "I didn't do any — wait, gods?" Her mind caught up with her mouth halfway through her sentence as she realized the gravity of what he had just said. Gods? Loki thought she and her sister were gods? What on earth gave him that idea? "Do… do you mean me?"

"Huh? What are you talking about? Who else could I be referring to?"

'Literally, anyone else.' "Uh, you're wrong… I'm not —"

"She's human," Balder answered.

"Huh?"

"Loki, Yui is human," he repeated.

"What?" the god of fire turned his attention to Balder, lifting his crimson eyebrows in confusion. It wasn't like the god of light to make jokes. What was going on with him lately? He waited for a few moments, giving him an opportunity to drop the punchline. When he didn't give one, he looked around at the other gods, expecting to see some sort of amusement on any of their faces. He saw none. Only confusion. When his eyes finally met Nari's brown ones, he exploded. "What?! Human? This girl?" He pointed again at Yui.

"Wait… You mean you didn't know?" she asked incredulously.

"Whether I knew isn't the point! What's a human doing here? Isn't this a place for gods to study humans?!"

"W-Well, Zeus…"

Once again, Balder stepped in. "She's here to represent humanity. She's helping us properly understand humans."

Loki sputtered. His entire world was melting down around him at this new information, and no one seemed even the least bit concerned. "I don't believe this… A human… I was living with a human…"

"Do you have to say it that way?" Yui frowned, not appreciating his insulting tone.

"Thor, did you know about this?"

"Yeah."

"Wha?!" He looked around at everyone's blank stares. Surely, it wasn't possible. "No way! Why? Was… Am I the only one who didn't know?! Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"I'm sorry… I never realized you didn't know." Balder shrugged.

"Well, you would've known if you'd gone to the assembly, dipshit," Nari said, suddenly snapping him out of his downward spiral. Turning, his eyes pierced into hers, as though seeing her for the first time. Realizing bled into his features, every memory of the two of them flashed through his mind. The sound of her laugh, her devious grin, her soft lips. "Wait… that means… that means you —"

Balder nodded. "Yes, Loki. The Kusanagi sisters are human."

Loki did not take that well. "How can you be human?!"

"Pretty sure I was born that way," she snarked. What the hell was wrong with him? Was he an idiot?

"Th-That's… but that's impossible! You can't be —"

"Dude, Takeru literally calls me 'Human', didn't that give you a hint?"

"I thought that was just an insult! Ta-tan insults everyone!"

"Hey!" Takeru snapped.

"You kinda do," Dionysus shrugged.

"That's true, but…" Nari sighed. "Loki, of course I'm human. Do you really think I would put up with your nonsense if I had any power to stop it?"

Loki backed away, shaking his head in disbelief. A human. She was a human. The woman who endlessly challenged him. Excited him. The woman that had been ceaselessly invading his thoughts since their arrival. The woman who, even at this moment, had such a powerful effect on him. "But that's — no… wait, so all this time… You're saying I've been… I… with a human…?"

"You don't have to sound so disgusted by it." Nari scowled; the remainder of her own food laying forgotten on her plate. She rose slowly to her feet, paying little mind to the comforting hand Dionysus placed against her arm.

"Wait, what? Hold on, what happened?" Yui asked. She blinked, looking back and forth between the two students in utter confusion. And she wasn't the only one. Thor in particular was staring intensely, slowly alternating between his childhood friend and his classmate. Then, he paused. A look of surprise crossed his features for the briefest moment before it disappeared.

"Why didn't you say anything?!"

"Wha — I thought it was obvious!"

"Of course not!"

"Well, excuse me, I wasn't aware you were such a moron!"

"And I wasn't aware you were a human!"

"Loki, it's not that big of a deal…"

"It is a big deal! If I had known, I never would've… I can't believe this…"

"Never would've what?" Yui asked, now looking hopelessly confused.

Nari never gave her a chance to receive an answer. With a scoff, she shook her head and moved away from her seat. Swiping her fork, she swallowed her last bite of ribeye before dropping it on the table. "Wow. You really are an asshole." Fixing Loki with a furious glare, she turned and stormed away from the courtyard, leaving the others utterly lost.

. . .

That evening, when Nari returned to her room it was with a slam of the door.

"You seem to be in a decidedly foul mood," Fuyu teased. Her tail swished back and forth overhead as she dangled her head over the edge of her cat tower. The look on her face changed her tone immediately. Rolling to her feet, she hopped down toward the floor to meet the woman, heading her off as she made her way toward the bedroom. "Nari…? What's the matter?"

She skidded to a stop, feet coming within inches of trampling the feline. What was wrong? She could give her a list half a mile long if she wanted. That was what she wanted to say, but instead, she shook her head and offered her most convincing smile. "I'm fine, Fuyu, don't worry about it. Just a little disagreement with a classmate."

The cat's eyes narrowed. She knew that she was lying. She could feel it. But she also knew that forcing her to answer was a pointless endeavor. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just —" Nari took in a deep breath. "Never mind. It's not important. Good night, Fuyu."

The familiar watched the student walk away, a sense of finality in her tone. There was nothing further that could be done. "…Good night, Nari."

Nari strode her way to the bed. Her body flopped onto the mattress, squirming under the blankets, and burying her face in the pillow. The look on Loki's face had been a stake through the heart; eyes filled with such disdain. What had she done to deserve such scorn? Because she was human? It wasn't like she had chosen to be. She wasn't fond of them either.

She shouldn't have been surprised. In fact, she wasn't, everyone knew the god of fire was a prick. He had made that abundantly clear from day one. But recently, she had begun to wonder if maybe there was more to him than he let on. That maybe was misunderstood just as she was. That they could finally put their differences aside. The past few weeks, he had really seemed to be coming around. That maybe…

No. She was a fool to think anything else. This was nothing new. It was what Nari had always known. From the moment they met, he had been this way. Loki was an asshole, and that was the end of it.

…So why did it hurt so damn much?