•Book 1 • To Defy Fate • KageHina•

•23•

With annoyance still clouding my mind, I find myself wandering outside. What am I supposed to do now? I guess I'm lucky the teacher didn't send me to the counselor, but..

Even she must've understood, right? How much of an asshole that guy is. Damn it! This is why I never wanted any friends. All that shit is fake, anyways.

I take out my anger on a large pebble, kicking it far away, mindlessly. Normally, this wouldn't be such a problematic action. But it seems Fortuna has left me all alone today.

'Hey! Can't you watch where you're kicking those stupid rocks?' A girlish voice sounds.

When I look up, I am filled with fear. Brown hair. Red dress. Golden bracelet. 'You...'

'I guess I didn't quite introduce myself last time. I am Pepromene, though I suppose you already know,' she smiles. It looks fake.

More than anything right now, I want to run away. But it's like I'm frozen in place. 'What do you want?'

'Huh. Are you really connected to Fortuna? The grandson she was never supposed to have? You are wayyyy too angry,' the girl continues, now pouting.

'What do you want?' I repeat, now louder.

'Alright, let me tell you a few things before we get to that. First, running before I am done is futile. You'll most certainly die if you do. Second, you're gonna want to take this chance, so work with me. Third... You best not tell Fortuna about this.'

I most definitely will tell her about this. 'Sure. Now go on. Aren't you supposed to kill me?'

'As you know, I tried. And Jupiter got reaaaaaal mad,' she giggles. Damn, she annoys me. What the fuck is there to laugh about?

'So, I went to the second most powerful god in the universe: Zeus. Zeus hates Jupiter's guts and everything, so of course he agreed to help me. But then he came with rules and bla bla, all that. I can only kill you after I've declared war on you. And I can only do that after trying to talk it out.' This time, a frown appears.

'Why would you declare war on me? Actually, what do I have to do with this at all? Why not fight Fortuna for this?' I ask, desperation audible in my voice.

'I am guessing that Fortuna already told you that I can control fate. But I am not allowed to exclude any. So, after she confessed to me... I had to make some where I would like her back,' Pepromene scoffs.

'And you made all of that depend on me.' I glare at her. 'Why?'

'The chances you would be born a boy were two in a gazillion! How was I supposed to know?' she cries out. 'Blame your dad and his lucky genes!'

'So, I'm guessing that if I die, you won't fall for her,' I state. 'But why do you want to avoid it so badly?'

'She was my friend. We were going to stay friends forever! And she is totally not my type! I like men. She betrayed me!' The overdramatic act continues. It is starting to give me a headache.

'First of all, your lover is still supposed to be your friend,' I scoff. 'And second, what's it matter if she's a woman? Apparently, she can still make you emotional like that.'

'Shut up!' she yells. 'I will never love her! We promised! Because lovers always turn to enemies at some point in time!'

'You were so scared you'd hate each other... That you started hating each other.' I rub my temples. 'God, how stupid.'

This wasn't exactly the right thing to say. 'Well, fuck you, then! I'll kill you! And that idiotic boy of yours, too!' She runs off, right in the direction of our school.

I should probably be mad at myself. Or scared. Or something else than just plain annoyed. But not only was that the most irritating and fake woman I have ever met, she also dared threaten Hinata, who involuntarily became involved in this.

Can I beat a god? Probably not. But fuck it. If she is running towards our school right now, I might as well give it all or nothing.

So, I run after her. Or at least I try to. Either she is really fast, or she has disappeared. I pray it is the latter while walking into the school. Even if I can't get into my classroom (only ten minutes have passed and it is nowhere near lunch time), I can just see if she is there.

The halls are empty. Everybody is working. There's no sign of a brown haired girl with a red dress, or any chaos she might have caused.

Even when I arrive at my own classroom, nothing stands out. I guess she went back to Zeus or whoever else is helping her.

So, Pepromene can kill me without punishment now? Is that what she meant? And all this over such a stupid little thing...

I can't help but sigh. So, how do I fix this? Fortuna told me to stay close to Hinata, and after the threat I received just now, I think it's the best way, too.

But right now, he's not willing to talk to me. I need to find a way to force him... My gaze falls on the stupid tutoring poster on the wall.

Would it be too late to sign up now? I don't think we get to choose our partner, but.. Can I force my luck here?

I head to the library, the place mentioned on the poster. Apparently, this is where all the tutoring will take place. The librarian should be able to help me out, then.

However, he's not here. Probably because I am not supposed to get in; I should be in class. Seems I'll have to wait until lunch time...

~My bird published this chapter right in the middle of the conversation and lemme tell you I panicked. Also, hello to all 3 of you who read this. Big uwu for you -J~