[Multi-chapter]: MYTH - Chapter 2
Title: Myth - Chapter 2
Beta-reader: astrangerenters
Rating: PG-13 to NC-17 (for violence, blood and explicit sex scene)
Pairing: Sakumoto (main), Masatoshi
Genre: AU, action, humor
Summary: Sho has some difficulties to believe his friends and him are demigods...
DISCLAMER: I own nothing. And the plot comes from Rick Riordan, a damn good writer!
****
Chapter 2
The five of us are sitting in my and Satoshi's room, talking about our parents. The four of them talk about it so casually, as if having a Greek God as a parent is normal. I listen to each of their explanations.
Kazunari's father is in fact Hermes, god of commerce and thieves and also messenger of the gods. His father gave him the gift of speed (which explains why he's never late). He discovered the truth when he turned thirteen. And his birthday present was shoes with wings that allow him to fly; though I have seen them, I still can't believe it.
Then Masaki. His mother is Artemis, Goddess of the hunt, forests and hills. The gift he shares with his mother is the ability to talk with animals. I still doubt this is true, but when he said that Arimaspi talked with him about the night she saw me…er…doing…what guys do, I may think it's possible. The bow I saw earlier in the museum is his birthday present.
The first one to discover the truth was Satoshi. His father is in fact Morpheus, God of sleep and dreams. As far as he can remember, Satoshi has known his true identity; nonetheless he had also a birthday gift from his father: a blue cover that seems to protect the one wearing it from nightmares.
Satoshi is also the one responsible for my nightmares. In fact, he's been keeping an eye on all of our nightmares. Satoshi's mission was to prepare us from discovering the truth through our dreams. He discovered that he had two powers: making people sleep and seeing the future through dreams.
Finally…Jun. As expected Jun is the son of Aphrodite, Goddess of love and beauty. He became aware of his identity when he was sixteen (according to Aphrodite herself, it's the age when you become aware of your sexuality…) At least that explains why Jun had changed so much back then. He can seduce people (no matter what gender) and also send curses regarding love which end in death just like Phedre, who was driven to an incestual love for her stepson Hippolytus, much like the other women in her family, who tended to experience desires generally considered taboo. Strangely he's the only one without a birthday gift. Kazu says that it's because his mom isn't a great Goddess so she has no powerful gifts to give. Of course Jun becomes angry and tells Kazu about the time Hermes and Aphrodite had sex, so in a way his mother is powerful because she had seduced another God.
Suddenly, Satoshi asks Kazu and Jun to be quiet, and four pairs of eyes focus on me. Since the beginning I've been silent, which is rare according to Kazunari.
The problem is that I can't believe it. I'm used to their jokes and pranks but this one is too much! How can the five of us be demigods?! This is Japan for God's sake! There's no way five Japanese guys could be half Greek, and sons of Greek Gods nonetheless.
I stare at Aello who's resting on top of Kazunari's head.
“Don't you think it's strange that the five of us have a pet with a Greek name?” Jun asks me.
It's true, and some of us have strange pets by the way. Only Aglaope, Satoshi's golden fish, seems normal. And once again, it's a Greek name.
“But…we're Japanese!” This is the only fact that I can keep in mind.
“They're not called Gods for nothing” is Masaki's answer.
“You know what? I'm fed up with your pranks! Go find another idiot and leave me alone!” I shout as I suddenly rise from my bed and leave the room. They call after me, but I don't care. I need to be alone and as far away as possible from this crazy story.
This is funny. I feel like one of those heroes in movies. I'm running desperately under a heavy rain and as my feet lead me nowhere in particular, I can hear the thunderstorm behind me. Everything seems so real: the monsters, the dreams, my friends' pets and powers. But this is not the truth, right? It simply can't be possible! I'm just a normal guy who had never known his mother because she died while giving birth. My dad raised me with all his love, and that's all I need to know to be happy. Why now? Why me?
My body can't handle it anymore and I fall on my knees helplessly; my angry scream isn't even heard as a loud clap of thunder booms around me. I don't know if it's the rain or my tears I feel on my cheeks, not that I care at the moment. This is stupid. Why am I crying? Is it because the world in which I believed in until now is falling around me? Is it because I'm happy my mother isn't dead? Or is it out of rage because she left me? I don't know anymore. I don't know what to think anymore. Please, if my mother is really a Goddess then, please send me a sign, something to help me.
At that moment I feel two strong arms wrap around me from behind and a warm torso against my back as a thunderclap resounds and a flash illuminates the dark sky.
“Sho…” I can recognize Jun's worried voice and instinctively I hold one of his arms tight.
“Jun! Please tell me this is not true!” I beg desperately. Jun's always told me the truth in the end, even after a prank; I know I can believe him.
“I'm sorry,” he whispers so softly that the rain covers his answer, but unfortunately for me I still have hear him and I can't stop crying. Each time I scream and cry louder, I can feel Jun's hold tighten more and more around me.
Why am I so upset? Until now I was always the one who knew everything but tonight it seems like I don't even know who I am anymore.
We stay in that position until I'm exhausted from crying. Then Jun lets go of me and moves to kneel in front of me, one of his slender fingers pushing at my chin, forcing me to look at him. He's wet and cold, (I can figure it out by seeing how his lips are slightly blue and trembling) but he still manages to smile at me as his right hand rests on my cheek. I nod when he suggests we head back to our rooms, and he even carries me on his back.
I'm almost sleeping against his back when we reach my room, and I can hear our friends' voices around us. Although I don't really understand what they're saying, I'm too tired to care about it.
Everything seems like a bad dream but when I wake up in the middle of the night I already know that this is the truth. And as if I wasn't sure of it, I notice the room's main door opening slowly, but no one (or nothing) comes in. At first I think it might have been the wind but a quick glance at the closed windows proves it's not the reason.
You can call me a fool but I swear I can hear footsteps. If you don't believe me, then explain to me why Satoshi's wardrobe opens by itself, why his favorite blue cover comes out of it and drapes itself on Satoshi's sleeping form?
I suddenly feel the broadsword from this afternoon in my right hand under the covers. When I feel that thing near me, my arm comes out from under the covers in a swift movement, and I hold the weapon tight and straight in the air.
“Wow, slowly with your toy!” I hear in a half-whisper, and then Jun appears right in front of me.
Or to be more exact, I see Jun's head. And his head only.
“What the…!” I yelp as I stand up and hit the back of my head against the headboard in my haste.
“Are you okay?” asks Jun, sitting on the bed (I think he's sitting down because I can feel something near my legs.)
“That should be my line,” I reply as I rub the painful bump.
“Why are you asking me that?” Jun seems a bit worried.
“Because Jun…Yo--You're a head!”
“Oh!” he says as he looks down at...well, nothing in particular. “Sorry,” he adds and within seconds, the rest of his body appears.
He starts to explain himself when he sees my stunned look. “In fact I've lied. This is my birthday gift. It's a cape that makes you invisible when you wear it. I told no one about it, especially Kazunari because I know he would take it to play pranks on us.”
I nod in silence and try to look like I've understood everything he said. After a short silent moment, he moves to sit near me, his back resting against the headboard.
“It could be worse I guess.” Honestly I still can't believe it, but at least it's not like I'm a monster or something like that (snakes wouldn't look good on me anyway).
“So we all have some…power?” I ask after a moment.
Jun nods and lists our friends' powers (or gifts as he likes to say) once again, that is: Kazu is fast, Masaki can talk to animals, Satoshi can make people sleep and Jun is attractive to anybody.
I'm the only one who doesn't seem to have a power.
“You're smart and can plan quickly. You're an unbeatable warrior and you also know the difference between wrong and right.”
“Pretty useless,” I laugh, a bit disappointed.
“Don't think that! Now that you finally know your true identity, we will need you more than anyone else. You will be the one in charge of creating battle plans for our future fights,” he explains seriously, grabbing my shoulder.
“Remember Medusa's curse from this afternoon? We're doomed, Sho. We'll be free when Echidna will be…”
“Please!” I cut him short suddenly. “Don't…talk about it right now. I don't think I can really take in the idea that we will have to kill dozens of monsters to keep ourselves alive. So please, don't bring that topic up anymore tonight.”
I turn my face in his direction and give him a pleading look. Jun seems to think about it, but after a few seconds, he sighs and nods once again and even gives me a soft smile. I like his smiles more than anything else. Just looking at them makes me feel secure and at ease. Of my four friends, Jun has always been my favorite; a long time ago, I even thought I was falling for him but knowing the truth now, I think it's just his 'gift' that made me think that way. He's Aphrodite's child after all, as beautiful as his Goddess mother: perfect lips, a beautiful and delicate face, long and softly curled black hair and a bit androgynous. No wonder why everyone falls for him.
“I think it's time for me to go,” he says as he rises from my bed. I watch him move, a bit disappointed. Couldn't he stay with me a little longer?
“Good night Sho,” he says before covering his entire body with his cape and disappearing. I can only whisper a soft 'good night' as I watch the door close. Why can't I say those simple words?
The next morning I wake up slowly, and my eyes fall automatically on Satoshi who's feeding Aglaope.
I nod when he asks me if the night was good; I'm always quiet and slow in the morning. Then we prepare ourselves for class.
You may ask how all of us are in the same class since we aren't the same age, right? It's pretty simple: in our childhood we made a promise. All of us failed some university exams until the youngest one caught up with the rest of us. If we knew that one would fail an exam, then we all failed willfully. Some people might think we're stupid for doing that but we're more than friends; since we don't have a real family, our friendship became a family bond.
Satoshi and I meet the three others at the coffee shop near our campus. We have breakfast as always but strangely today, it's quieter than usual. This is my fault. I know which topic they want to bring up, but my attitude from yesterday prevents them doing it. I sigh and close my eyes as I sip my coffee.
“We can talk about it. I won't bite you know?”
Only Kazunari chuckles as he drinks his milkshake. “Sho is more clever than before…must be from his mom's side.”
I can't help but chuckle too; it's still a bit strange talking about my mother though.
It's Masaki who talks about it freely first. “I'm so happy Sho knows the truth finally! Now we don't have to hide anymore. You're so lucky Sho! Your mom is the third most powerful God after Zeus and Poseidon!” he says in awe.
I shake my head slowly. “It doesn't matter. She still left me in the end, right?” I conclude with a bitter tone.
“It's not like she wanted to,” says Jun. “This is the law. A God can't stay near his human child.”
“Since she's the Goddess of knowledge she knew it, and she knows the limit between wrong and right. It would be better if she didn't give birth to me!”
“But we wouldn't know Sho-chan in that case…and it would definitely be wrong!” Satoshi says out of the blue.
I smile softly and nod. Satoshi always knows the right words to say. We stand up, and Satoshi pays for our breakfast (as always).
“What a wonderful 'virgin Goddess' my mother is…” I sigh playfully. It seems like I'm getting used to it.
“It could be worse…” starts Kazu, putting on his vest. “You could be a son of a bitch!” he adds while pointing at Jun.
“Hey! Beware Kazunari! I can curse you if I want!” Jun threatens between his teeth.
This morning our talk is a bit strange, but I think I will get used to it before the end of the day.
Outside the coffee shop, our pet friends are waiting for us. Lamia and Arimaspi come to rest on Jun and my shoulders respectively. Cerinitys reaches Masaki's side, and Aello tries to reach Kazu very slowly and with a lot of difficulty. Kazu can be a brat sometimes, but he will never leave his dear turtle alone, so naturally he walks towards it, grabs it and puts Aello on the top of his head.
I still can't figure out how these animals could be our protectors. At least a deer and the birds could be helpful but a turtle?! And I'm not even thinking about the goldfish…
Anyway, I have to put all those reflections aside because the first course will begin soon. While the class is waiting for our teacher's arrival, most of the students are chatting noisily. Masaki and Satoshi are talking about the last anime they've watched. Kazunari is, as always, doing card tricks for some of our classmates while Jun and I watch them silently.
I turn to look at him and notice him turning his head quickly. Was he looking at me? It's strange how every time my eyes fall on him, I feel a weird feeling warming my heart. Is it because of his gift? If that's the case, I have to ask him if he can control it because I can't focus on anything when he's near me.
“Jun, I--“ I'm cut short by two girls standing between us. Though I can't see Jun clearly, I can see he's a bit disturbed by the girls' presence.
“Ahem…Jun…I...” starts one of the girls, very shyly.
“Not now!” he says angrily and a bit quicker than usual; it even surprised me.
The girls apologize softly and go back to their places. Jun sighs and looks at me. “Sorry. You were saying?”
I'm too focused on his beautiful (and expecting?) eyes to even understand that he is talking to me. I shake my head quickly and try to remember what I wanted to say.
“There are too many people around us. Can I talk to you privately during the lunch break?”
“Sure.” He smiles brightly, and I swear I feel my heart skip a beat at that very moment. I really need to ask him to stop using his power. It's driving me crazy!
Then the teacher comes in and I notice that he's acting strangely. Professor Kimura is always a bit strange but today he's more than that! The almost fifty year old man, usually serious and sadistic from time to time, is today giggling in front of his class! Believe me, Professor Kimura has never giggled!
“Hello my dear and cute students! Starting today we will have a new classmate among us. She's from a foreign exchange program, but don't worry, she speaks Japanese very well. Please be kind to her. Miss Mercouri, please…”
A young and beautiful girl enters. All the men in the classroom fall silent as they see her. Her long and shining blonde hair surrounds her delicate and gorgeous face. Her skin is as white as a porcelain doll and only makes her ocean blue eyes more beautiful. Her lips are thin and of a hypnotizing red. She's like one of those princesses in fairy tales.
The professor giggles once again as she stands near him, and he quickly rests one of his hands on her shoulder. The girl takes that as a sign to introduce herself.
“Hello. My name is Astarope Mercouri, and I'm twenty. I'm from Greece, so please be tolerant with my accent.” She then smiles at us beautifully, and I hear some of the guys in the classroom sighing happily.
Fortunately, her seat is right next to me and in front of Satoshi, who's as hypnotized as the rest of the guys. I happily turn around to face Jun but I soon notice that he's the only one who's not pleased by Astarope's arrival.
“Something's strange. I don't like her,” Jun whispers, looking at our new classmate.
“Why?” I ask. She seems kind and nice, and she's beautiful! Someone as beautiful as her can't be a bad person (I'm Athena's son; I know what I'm saying!)
“Don't mind him, Sho. I'm sure Jun's jealous because Astarope is more beautiful than him. Our dear Jun has never had a rival before,” smirks Kazu before focusing on Astarope again.
“That's not…” Jun starts but he's suddenly cut short by the teacher's.
“If you're not interested in the meaning of the economic situation during 1852, you can leave you know!” says Professor Kimura angrily. If only looks could kill.
“Excuse me, Professor! This is my fault. I just asked them their names. I want to make friends quickly you know. I won't disturb your class anymore,” says Astarope, standing up quickly.
Kimura just giggles and mumbles something unintelligible before resuming his lesson. Astarope sits down and winks at me, making my heart skip another beat.
[ Previous Chapter] - [Next Chapter]
Note: Here is chapter 2! Finally we learn who are the Gods. In the first chapter's comments I've read a lot of ideas! I don't know why I didn't though of Poseidon for Ohno...Morpheus came in my mind first ^^' I hope some of you aren't too disappointed by my choices (I never knew there was sooooooooo many of you who liked mythology! *___*)
Also, I know that Artemis is a virgin goddess but I though it was the best choice for Aiba (though now I'm thinking that Apollo was good too ^^") As I said in the first chapter note, I won't follow the true mythology because it's too complicated (even Greek authors don't agree with each other >_<)
And since I like reading your opinion, here is a question: WHO is Astarope? n_n
See you soon! ^o^
Beta-reader: astrangerenters
Rating: PG-13 to NC-17 (for violence, blood and explicit sex scene)
Pairing: Sakumoto (main), Masatoshi
Genre: AU, action, humor
Summary: Sho has some difficulties to believe his friends and him are demigods...
DISCLAMER: I own nothing. And the plot comes from Rick Riordan, a damn good writer!
****
Chapter 2
The five of us are sitting in my and Satoshi's room, talking about our parents. The four of them talk about it so casually, as if having a Greek God as a parent is normal. I listen to each of their explanations.
Kazunari's father is in fact Hermes, god of commerce and thieves and also messenger of the gods. His father gave him the gift of speed (which explains why he's never late). He discovered the truth when he turned thirteen. And his birthday present was shoes with wings that allow him to fly; though I have seen them, I still can't believe it.
Then Masaki. His mother is Artemis, Goddess of the hunt, forests and hills. The gift he shares with his mother is the ability to talk with animals. I still doubt this is true, but when he said that Arimaspi talked with him about the night she saw me…er…doing…what guys do, I may think it's possible. The bow I saw earlier in the museum is his birthday present.
The first one to discover the truth was Satoshi. His father is in fact Morpheus, God of sleep and dreams. As far as he can remember, Satoshi has known his true identity; nonetheless he had also a birthday gift from his father: a blue cover that seems to protect the one wearing it from nightmares.
Satoshi is also the one responsible for my nightmares. In fact, he's been keeping an eye on all of our nightmares. Satoshi's mission was to prepare us from discovering the truth through our dreams. He discovered that he had two powers: making people sleep and seeing the future through dreams.
Finally…Jun. As expected Jun is the son of Aphrodite, Goddess of love and beauty. He became aware of his identity when he was sixteen (according to Aphrodite herself, it's the age when you become aware of your sexuality…) At least that explains why Jun had changed so much back then. He can seduce people (no matter what gender) and also send curses regarding love which end in death just like Phedre, who was driven to an incestual love for her stepson Hippolytus, much like the other women in her family, who tended to experience desires generally considered taboo. Strangely he's the only one without a birthday gift. Kazu says that it's because his mom isn't a great Goddess so she has no powerful gifts to give. Of course Jun becomes angry and tells Kazu about the time Hermes and Aphrodite had sex, so in a way his mother is powerful because she had seduced another God.
Suddenly, Satoshi asks Kazu and Jun to be quiet, and four pairs of eyes focus on me. Since the beginning I've been silent, which is rare according to Kazunari.
The problem is that I can't believe it. I'm used to their jokes and pranks but this one is too much! How can the five of us be demigods?! This is Japan for God's sake! There's no way five Japanese guys could be half Greek, and sons of Greek Gods nonetheless.
I stare at Aello who's resting on top of Kazunari's head.
“Don't you think it's strange that the five of us have a pet with a Greek name?” Jun asks me.
It's true, and some of us have strange pets by the way. Only Aglaope, Satoshi's golden fish, seems normal. And once again, it's a Greek name.
“But…we're Japanese!” This is the only fact that I can keep in mind.
“They're not called Gods for nothing” is Masaki's answer.
“You know what? I'm fed up with your pranks! Go find another idiot and leave me alone!” I shout as I suddenly rise from my bed and leave the room. They call after me, but I don't care. I need to be alone and as far away as possible from this crazy story.
This is funny. I feel like one of those heroes in movies. I'm running desperately under a heavy rain and as my feet lead me nowhere in particular, I can hear the thunderstorm behind me. Everything seems so real: the monsters, the dreams, my friends' pets and powers. But this is not the truth, right? It simply can't be possible! I'm just a normal guy who had never known his mother because she died while giving birth. My dad raised me with all his love, and that's all I need to know to be happy. Why now? Why me?
My body can't handle it anymore and I fall on my knees helplessly; my angry scream isn't even heard as a loud clap of thunder booms around me. I don't know if it's the rain or my tears I feel on my cheeks, not that I care at the moment. This is stupid. Why am I crying? Is it because the world in which I believed in until now is falling around me? Is it because I'm happy my mother isn't dead? Or is it out of rage because she left me? I don't know anymore. I don't know what to think anymore. Please, if my mother is really a Goddess then, please send me a sign, something to help me.
At that moment I feel two strong arms wrap around me from behind and a warm torso against my back as a thunderclap resounds and a flash illuminates the dark sky.
“Sho…” I can recognize Jun's worried voice and instinctively I hold one of his arms tight.
“Jun! Please tell me this is not true!” I beg desperately. Jun's always told me the truth in the end, even after a prank; I know I can believe him.
“I'm sorry,” he whispers so softly that the rain covers his answer, but unfortunately for me I still have hear him and I can't stop crying. Each time I scream and cry louder, I can feel Jun's hold tighten more and more around me.
Why am I so upset? Until now I was always the one who knew everything but tonight it seems like I don't even know who I am anymore.
We stay in that position until I'm exhausted from crying. Then Jun lets go of me and moves to kneel in front of me, one of his slender fingers pushing at my chin, forcing me to look at him. He's wet and cold, (I can figure it out by seeing how his lips are slightly blue and trembling) but he still manages to smile at me as his right hand rests on my cheek. I nod when he suggests we head back to our rooms, and he even carries me on his back.
I'm almost sleeping against his back when we reach my room, and I can hear our friends' voices around us. Although I don't really understand what they're saying, I'm too tired to care about it.
Everything seems like a bad dream but when I wake up in the middle of the night I already know that this is the truth. And as if I wasn't sure of it, I notice the room's main door opening slowly, but no one (or nothing) comes in. At first I think it might have been the wind but a quick glance at the closed windows proves it's not the reason.
You can call me a fool but I swear I can hear footsteps. If you don't believe me, then explain to me why Satoshi's wardrobe opens by itself, why his favorite blue cover comes out of it and drapes itself on Satoshi's sleeping form?
I suddenly feel the broadsword from this afternoon in my right hand under the covers. When I feel that thing near me, my arm comes out from under the covers in a swift movement, and I hold the weapon tight and straight in the air.
“Wow, slowly with your toy!” I hear in a half-whisper, and then Jun appears right in front of me.
Or to be more exact, I see Jun's head. And his head only.
“What the…!” I yelp as I stand up and hit the back of my head against the headboard in my haste.
“Are you okay?” asks Jun, sitting on the bed (I think he's sitting down because I can feel something near my legs.)
“That should be my line,” I reply as I rub the painful bump.
“Why are you asking me that?” Jun seems a bit worried.
“Because Jun…Yo--You're a head!”
“Oh!” he says as he looks down at...well, nothing in particular. “Sorry,” he adds and within seconds, the rest of his body appears.
He starts to explain himself when he sees my stunned look. “In fact I've lied. This is my birthday gift. It's a cape that makes you invisible when you wear it. I told no one about it, especially Kazunari because I know he would take it to play pranks on us.”
I nod in silence and try to look like I've understood everything he said. After a short silent moment, he moves to sit near me, his back resting against the headboard.
“It could be worse I guess.” Honestly I still can't believe it, but at least it's not like I'm a monster or something like that (snakes wouldn't look good on me anyway).
“So we all have some…power?” I ask after a moment.
Jun nods and lists our friends' powers (or gifts as he likes to say) once again, that is: Kazu is fast, Masaki can talk to animals, Satoshi can make people sleep and Jun is attractive to anybody.
I'm the only one who doesn't seem to have a power.
“You're smart and can plan quickly. You're an unbeatable warrior and you also know the difference between wrong and right.”
“Pretty useless,” I laugh, a bit disappointed.
“Don't think that! Now that you finally know your true identity, we will need you more than anyone else. You will be the one in charge of creating battle plans for our future fights,” he explains seriously, grabbing my shoulder.
“Remember Medusa's curse from this afternoon? We're doomed, Sho. We'll be free when Echidna will be…”
“Please!” I cut him short suddenly. “Don't…talk about it right now. I don't think I can really take in the idea that we will have to kill dozens of monsters to keep ourselves alive. So please, don't bring that topic up anymore tonight.”
I turn my face in his direction and give him a pleading look. Jun seems to think about it, but after a few seconds, he sighs and nods once again and even gives me a soft smile. I like his smiles more than anything else. Just looking at them makes me feel secure and at ease. Of my four friends, Jun has always been my favorite; a long time ago, I even thought I was falling for him but knowing the truth now, I think it's just his 'gift' that made me think that way. He's Aphrodite's child after all, as beautiful as his Goddess mother: perfect lips, a beautiful and delicate face, long and softly curled black hair and a bit androgynous. No wonder why everyone falls for him.
“I think it's time for me to go,” he says as he rises from my bed. I watch him move, a bit disappointed. Couldn't he stay with me a little longer?
“Good night Sho,” he says before covering his entire body with his cape and disappearing. I can only whisper a soft 'good night' as I watch the door close. Why can't I say those simple words?
The next morning I wake up slowly, and my eyes fall automatically on Satoshi who's feeding Aglaope.
I nod when he asks me if the night was good; I'm always quiet and slow in the morning. Then we prepare ourselves for class.
You may ask how all of us are in the same class since we aren't the same age, right? It's pretty simple: in our childhood we made a promise. All of us failed some university exams until the youngest one caught up with the rest of us. If we knew that one would fail an exam, then we all failed willfully. Some people might think we're stupid for doing that but we're more than friends; since we don't have a real family, our friendship became a family bond.
Satoshi and I meet the three others at the coffee shop near our campus. We have breakfast as always but strangely today, it's quieter than usual. This is my fault. I know which topic they want to bring up, but my attitude from yesterday prevents them doing it. I sigh and close my eyes as I sip my coffee.
“We can talk about it. I won't bite you know?”
Only Kazunari chuckles as he drinks his milkshake. “Sho is more clever than before…must be from his mom's side.”
I can't help but chuckle too; it's still a bit strange talking about my mother though.
It's Masaki who talks about it freely first. “I'm so happy Sho knows the truth finally! Now we don't have to hide anymore. You're so lucky Sho! Your mom is the third most powerful God after Zeus and Poseidon!” he says in awe.
I shake my head slowly. “It doesn't matter. She still left me in the end, right?” I conclude with a bitter tone.
“It's not like she wanted to,” says Jun. “This is the law. A God can't stay near his human child.”
“Since she's the Goddess of knowledge she knew it, and she knows the limit between wrong and right. It would be better if she didn't give birth to me!”
“But we wouldn't know Sho-chan in that case…and it would definitely be wrong!” Satoshi says out of the blue.
I smile softly and nod. Satoshi always knows the right words to say. We stand up, and Satoshi pays for our breakfast (as always).
“What a wonderful 'virgin Goddess' my mother is…” I sigh playfully. It seems like I'm getting used to it.
“It could be worse…” starts Kazu, putting on his vest. “You could be a son of a bitch!” he adds while pointing at Jun.
“Hey! Beware Kazunari! I can curse you if I want!” Jun threatens between his teeth.
This morning our talk is a bit strange, but I think I will get used to it before the end of the day.
Outside the coffee shop, our pet friends are waiting for us. Lamia and Arimaspi come to rest on Jun and my shoulders respectively. Cerinitys reaches Masaki's side, and Aello tries to reach Kazu very slowly and with a lot of difficulty. Kazu can be a brat sometimes, but he will never leave his dear turtle alone, so naturally he walks towards it, grabs it and puts Aello on the top of his head.
I still can't figure out how these animals could be our protectors. At least a deer and the birds could be helpful but a turtle?! And I'm not even thinking about the goldfish…
Anyway, I have to put all those reflections aside because the first course will begin soon. While the class is waiting for our teacher's arrival, most of the students are chatting noisily. Masaki and Satoshi are talking about the last anime they've watched. Kazunari is, as always, doing card tricks for some of our classmates while Jun and I watch them silently.
I turn to look at him and notice him turning his head quickly. Was he looking at me? It's strange how every time my eyes fall on him, I feel a weird feeling warming my heart. Is it because of his gift? If that's the case, I have to ask him if he can control it because I can't focus on anything when he's near me.
“Jun, I--“ I'm cut short by two girls standing between us. Though I can't see Jun clearly, I can see he's a bit disturbed by the girls' presence.
“Ahem…Jun…I...” starts one of the girls, very shyly.
“Not now!” he says angrily and a bit quicker than usual; it even surprised me.
The girls apologize softly and go back to their places. Jun sighs and looks at me. “Sorry. You were saying?”
I'm too focused on his beautiful (and expecting?) eyes to even understand that he is talking to me. I shake my head quickly and try to remember what I wanted to say.
“There are too many people around us. Can I talk to you privately during the lunch break?”
“Sure.” He smiles brightly, and I swear I feel my heart skip a beat at that very moment. I really need to ask him to stop using his power. It's driving me crazy!
Then the teacher comes in and I notice that he's acting strangely. Professor Kimura is always a bit strange but today he's more than that! The almost fifty year old man, usually serious and sadistic from time to time, is today giggling in front of his class! Believe me, Professor Kimura has never giggled!
“Hello my dear and cute students! Starting today we will have a new classmate among us. She's from a foreign exchange program, but don't worry, she speaks Japanese very well. Please be kind to her. Miss Mercouri, please…”
A young and beautiful girl enters. All the men in the classroom fall silent as they see her. Her long and shining blonde hair surrounds her delicate and gorgeous face. Her skin is as white as a porcelain doll and only makes her ocean blue eyes more beautiful. Her lips are thin and of a hypnotizing red. She's like one of those princesses in fairy tales.
The professor giggles once again as she stands near him, and he quickly rests one of his hands on her shoulder. The girl takes that as a sign to introduce herself.
“Hello. My name is Astarope Mercouri, and I'm twenty. I'm from Greece, so please be tolerant with my accent.” She then smiles at us beautifully, and I hear some of the guys in the classroom sighing happily.
Fortunately, her seat is right next to me and in front of Satoshi, who's as hypnotized as the rest of the guys. I happily turn around to face Jun but I soon notice that he's the only one who's not pleased by Astarope's arrival.
“Something's strange. I don't like her,” Jun whispers, looking at our new classmate.
“Why?” I ask. She seems kind and nice, and she's beautiful! Someone as beautiful as her can't be a bad person (I'm Athena's son; I know what I'm saying!)
“Don't mind him, Sho. I'm sure Jun's jealous because Astarope is more beautiful than him. Our dear Jun has never had a rival before,” smirks Kazu before focusing on Astarope again.
“That's not…” Jun starts but he's suddenly cut short by the teacher's.
“If you're not interested in the meaning of the economic situation during 1852, you can leave you know!” says Professor Kimura angrily. If only looks could kill.
“Excuse me, Professor! This is my fault. I just asked them their names. I want to make friends quickly you know. I won't disturb your class anymore,” says Astarope, standing up quickly.
Kimura just giggles and mumbles something unintelligible before resuming his lesson. Astarope sits down and winks at me, making my heart skip another beat.
[ Previous Chapter] - [Next Chapter]
Note: Here is chapter 2! Finally we learn who are the Gods. In the first chapter's comments I've read a lot of ideas! I don't know why I didn't though of Poseidon for Ohno...Morpheus came in my mind first ^^' I hope some of you aren't too disappointed by my choices (I never knew there was sooooooooo many of you who liked mythology! *___*)
Also, I know that Artemis is a virgin goddess but I though it was the best choice for Aiba (though now I'm thinking that Apollo was good too ^^") As I said in the first chapter note, I won't follow the true mythology because it's too complicated (even Greek authors don't agree with each other >_<)
And since I like reading your opinion, here is a question: WHO is Astarope? n_n
See you soon! ^o^