"Alright, everyone! You can take a seat and we will begin shortly," Brunhilde exclaimed. She stood in her usual clothes, waiting as everyone took seats. The whole point of this gathering was to help boost their morale and hopefully squish some knowledge into their little manly brains. On that thought why are there no women?
"Aye, teach! Shouldn't we be training for the fights? Why are we back inside?" Raiden asked.
"Well," Brunhilde started, pressing the projector button, and playing a slideshow. "This is more a less a lesson on some of the gods that will be fighting. The official list has not been selected yet, but I have a good feeling of who you will be up against."
"If I wanted a lesson on gods, I would've stayed on Earth," you snapped.
"Oof, she got you there," Nicola said, smirking as he looked through his goggles.
Brunhilde glared at him as he continued to smirk in her direction. "As I was saying, this is purely just a strategic plan to help you all know your opponents. The first is the King of gods, Zeus. He may look old and frail, but we all know what he is capable of. He defeated his father-"
"We know!" Raiden shouted.
"Ugh, fine. As I said before, Adam will most likely be going up against him. Your ability to copy anything by just observing it will come in handy when you fight against him. But I might suggest that you don't use it constantly," she said, looking towards Adam, he simply stared at her before taking a bite of an apple and spitting it out.
He looked down at the apple, frowning. "Sour," he said, throwing it away.
"As for Shiva, he is powerful. Extremely powerful. He is known for defeating Rudra, his best friend, in a brawl and has continued to brawl with all the Hindu gods. He has won all of them. He likes to implement dancing in his fighting, which makes it even more difficult and unpredictable. I also found out recently he can use pyrokinesis, otherwise known as fire," she said, pressing the button and showing a (handsome) god. His muscley four arms flexed as he stared at the camera with a smirk.
"I can take him," you said, nodding as you looked at him.
"No, you can't," Brunhilde deflected.
"I am sure she is capable. She seems... strong," Lü Bu said, looking over his shoulder as he made eye contact with him.
"Like I said," Brunhilde spoke, venom dripping as she spoke. "She will not be fighting. She is more important than fighting some gods."
"If it were me, I would do the same as Brunhilde here," Kojiro said, turning his head to look at you. "I would hate to see a beautiful flower wilt and die in battle. Honorable, yes. But, I would like it if you lived after we have just met you."
"Hey, stop flirting with [Name]. She's mine," Raiden said from behind you.
"Boys, you're both pretty but we need to focus on this, oh-so-important lesson on the gods," you simply said, calming the blush that started to form on your cheeks.
Stupid compliments
"Right, next. Poseidon. The most feared god out of everyone. I would advise that anyone fighting against him should consider his abilities and his triton. He has lived eons and had been trained to kill with that weapon. His most dangerous move would be the Medusa Alope Demeter. He moves at such a speed that he can unleash multiple attacks at once, creating a dome-like structure."
You nodded along as you saw Brunhilde flip through slide after slide. It was interesting, to say the least. The things you were learning right now seemed so much more different than when you were in College. The things they taught you were slightly off, while this seemed more personal. You could see the gods up close and talk with them. You were so used to reading about them that you hadn't realized that there could have been a possibility that they may have been real.
Since you have been staying at the Palace, you had gotten permission from Hestia to go into the library and read. Now, this wasn't an opportunity that you would miss. Reading books about the gods while in a god's library? Sign me the fuck up.
You had nearly read all the books in the 'A' section. While you were there one day, you read the story of Medusa. Turned out that the College was incorrect about a lot of things. The tale that they had told you and taught you the 2 years you had spent there was the Roman version. Poseidon and Medusa were really in love but had been caught. There was nothing about all the horrible things he had done to her. The Romans just wanted the Greeks to look bad.
Maybe it's a good thing I am here. I wonder how Cameron is doing.
"And that concludes the session. All caught up now?" Brunhilde asked. The room went dark as the slide show ended. You heard the shuffle of chairs before a hand took your wrist and dragged you out of the room.
"Hey!" you yelled, tugging your wrist. As you exited the room the lesson was held in, you covered your eyes as you were assaulted by the sun.
"I truly am sorry, but I would like to train with you," you heard the voice speak in front of you. You recognized that voice.
"Kojiro? What the fuck?"
"Not a lot of people know about me since I was known as a failure. I tend to fight people who are better than me, practicing different scenarios in my head until I have defeated them. I think it would be interesting to fight against you. You have been reincarnated a lot, yes?" he asked you, looking back over his shoulder as he tugged you through the garden doors.
You nodded. "Yeah."
"Then you know how to use a sword?" he asked. You nodded again, seeing where he was going with it.
"Of course, but that doesn't mean I am good with it. I have been out of practice for a long time," you told him, being a little skeptical.
"Don't worry, I have bokken for training," he said, letting go of your wrist and walking over to a big ass bag.
"Wooden sword," you mumbled, the translation coming to you effortlessly.
"Exactly," he said, giving you a warm smile as he placed the bokken in your hands. "You Japanese are becoming better. Maybe one day we will be able to speak with one another."
"Aren't you already? I am pretty sure I heard Brunhilde say that everyone understands each other no matter what you speak," you said, confused by him.
"Yes, but wouldn't bokken have been translated to 'wooden sword' naturally? In all of my years being dead. I can tell you right now, dear, that everyone does understand each other but we are all different in our own way. That is why we can still speak our native languages. It will always be a part of us," he told you.
"You sure speak as wise as you look," you said, moving back as the two of you getting ready with your bokken.
He chuckled. "I think this age suits me, wouldn't you agree? Makes me look more... experienced."
You stood frozen for a second. Shaking yourself out of the shock, you went back to focusing on him. He probably didn't mean it that way.
"Let us begin."
He took his stance as he kept his eyes on you. You saw the way his eyes examined you as you slid your right foot behind you, dropping low and holding the blade above your head. You might be experienced in this art, but that did not mean you would fall for his tricks. You knew he was the greatest when it came to practicing with swords. He would lose to an opponent and train every day until he found the perfect way to defeat them.
He held his bokken at his side, keeping a tight grip on it. His feet began to shuffle, his body following the movement, You moved to the opposite way, holding eye contact. Your only way of getting him to actually fight you would be to force him into a defensive stance, attacking him non-stop until he would start fighting you.
⋙——————————⋘
Kojiro took notice as the strong woman before him, looked through him. Her eyes kept his, captivating them as they circled each other. He waited to see her guard drop, her feet trip or her focus dwindle, but all he could see was the fire in her eyes as she circled him, the wooden blade she held kept close to her face. If this wasn't a battle for him to become better, he would have marveled at the way she moved.
Her feet slid on the ground, swiftly like the wind, her eyes cold as ice, and her posture flexible but strong like one of a tiger. As he was about to make the first move, he noticed the way her pupils turned small, the look of a predator prepared to catch its prey. His breath nearly hitched as he saw a smirk form on her face.
And then she moved.
Quick and skilled, the years of training coming back to her. He quickly blocked a blow she sent to his stomach. His bokken still next to him was kicked from his hand. She head-butted him, sending him back. As he stumbled back, his head feeling dizzy from the blow, he didn't notice another kick going for his stomach. His mind couldn't help but feel excited as she forced him to be on the defensive side.
He dodged her bokken that was aimed for his head, running until he reached his own. He faced her again, his eyes widening as she was in front of him preparing to knock him with her wooden sword again. He blocked it with his own, a small smile forming on his face. This was the most fun he has ever had ever since he died.
It seemed his little flower wasn't so innocent at all.
He pushed his blade against hers, the fire in her eyes igniting brighter as she realized the fight was beginning. He pushed harder, creating space between the two. He was the first to his blade go. [Name] saw this as a chance to attack him. His left arm is not being protected. Kojiro kept his focus as she advanced at him. She raised her blade for his stomach, but before he could block her movements again, her blade sliced past his stomach and to his left arm.
He hissed in pain as the blade knocked into his arm. If it were a real blade, he would have most likely lost that arm. He sliced the blade towards her leg, but just as it was there, it disappeared. He felt a force knock him to the ground. He looked up to see the point of her blade.
"You lost," she said, a smile on her face. "As expected of course."
"That is a bit unnecessary," he said.
She let her bokken relax on her side as she extended a hand to him. "Yet, you always lose. You have a weird, but interesting way of defeating your opponents."
Her complement filled him with pride. He smiled as he took her hand. "I am known as Humanity's Biggest Loser, for a reason."
She pulled him up, looking into his eyes as he stood in front of her. "Did it not bother you being called that?"
"Of course not. I knew my worth. They didn't know me personally, which only added to their horrible personalities," he said, laughing.
She chuckled, letting go of his hand. "I suppose," she said, smiling.
"Hey!" They heard someone calling out.
⋙—————————⋘
As you were turning to look at who shouted at you, you were picked up from the ground being carried over someone's shoulder. You were about to kick the person in the face before you saw the giant man carrying you.
"Raiden, what are you doing?!" you shouted.
"No one is stealing my wife from me!" he shouted as he continued to run away from Kojiro.
"She is not your wife!" Nostradamus shouted.
"I believe he may have feelings for [Name]," Adam said as he watched Kojiro running to Raiden with his bokken.
"Hmm," Qin Shi Huang hummed as he observed the two men chasing each other. "It may be."
Lü Bu kept quiet. He didn't know what to say as [Name] was busy punching Raiden in the stomach, while he laughed at her attempts.
"Why did you do that, you asshole. I thought I was getting abducted!" you yelled at him. He kept on laughing you punched him.
Taking a more extreme measure, you decided to uppercut him in the stomach. His body lurched forward at the punch, a groan coming from his throat. "Ouch," he mumbled as he held his stomach.
"That serves you right," you told him, glaring as you walked to Kojiro. "Sorry about that, here you go." You gave the bokken back as you continued to hear Raiden mumbling being you.
"You may keep it, [Name]. I have plenty more," he said, gently smiling.
"Nice," you said, as you looked at the sword. The last time you had your own bokken it got burned because your mum, at that time, forbid you from fighting in the army.
"[Name]," Raiden whined. "Why would you punch your husband?"
"I think it would be best if [Name] here should practice on her own," you heard a voice behind you. You saw Buddha behind you, a lollipop in his mouth. "Or if she wants, she can practice with me?" he said, looking down at you.
"Hey! Back off. Just because you are fighting with us, doesn't change the fact that you are still a god," Raiden said, pointing an accusing finger in his direction.
"Oh yeah, mortal? And you think a lovely lady like [Name] would want a husband like you?" he said, smirking as he chew the last bit of lollipop from the stick.
Raiden gasped. "How dare you," he whispered.
Buddha held another lollipop out of his pocket handing it to you. "Are we going to have another conversation about this?" he said.
"Nope," Raiden said before lunging for Buddha.
The two wrestled on the ground as they went back on forth. An arm wrapped around your waist pulling you away from the fight.
"Let's get away from those two. A Queen should not have to witness that," Qin Shi Huang said as he led you back inside. "Let us head inside."
"Oh, [Name]! I have wanted to show you something," Nikola said. He seemed quite excited about it.
"Um, okay." You walked out of Qin Shi Huang's grip, making your way towards Nikola.
As you drew nearer, you saw the design of a mechanic pigeon. "I have finally developed the correct formula to create living creatures out of machines. Isn't it wonderful?" he asked, looking at you.
You observed the plan for the project. You knew he was a genius but this was just downright awesome.
"This is amazing. Are you going to operate them with a control?" you asked. He froze before taking a pencil out of his shirt's pocket and making notes on the paper.
"That was not what I was thinking. I wanted to let them follow with what I command but that could work," he mumbled.
"Well," you started, moving him aside and taking the pencil. "If you wanted to operate them with your voice then a control won't work. It would be better to create an earpiece that is connected to each of the pigeons that you want to create. How many are planning to make?"
"About 10," he said. His eye watched as she took the pencil and crossed the first and second ideas.
"You are planning to use them in the contest, yes?" you asked, looking back at him. He nodded, his eyes narrowing as he watched her write all her ideas. "Then you will need more than 10. If you put a Tesla coil in each of them, then you could operate them and activate it."
"Like connecting them in a string of electricity," he said, the idea that you came up with suddenly filling his genius brain with new ideas.
"Exactly. You could create a dome of electricity or a shield."
"This is wonderful!" he shouted, picking up the design with your notes on it. "You might just be as crazy as me."
"Most of us are crazy for fighting against gods," you heard Lü Bu say. He smiled as he looked up at the sky. "I hope I get a worthy opponent. Being strong can be boring,"
"I agree," you said, nodding. "Well, I will leave you all to your training. I am going to go inside."
You left them all to do their own things. It was exhausting with so many people around you.
You walked back to your room, hearing Kai squawking. You opened the door, smiling as Kai flew to you.
"Hey there bud. You want to go stretch your wings?" you asked. He gave a short whistle, his wings extending to their full length. You kept him close as you walked to a clearing.
Luckily this Palace has a bunch of gardens, all of them adorned with trees, bushes, and flowers of every kind. The perks of having to live in a goddess's Palace. Kai kept shuffling on your arm restlessly as you were near one of the gardens. You opened the glass doors, letting Kai fly.
To think that you were a normal college student, and now you were living in Olympus. Maybe living here wasn't bad.
⋙———————⋘
Loki walked in the halls of the palace. He was currently disguised as a maid, running around and causing mischief. It was his favorite thing to do. As he was about to let a statue of Zeus's head fall, he looked up to see a Phoenix flying in the air.
"Ooh, I didn't know that Aunty Hestia had nice pets," he said, watching as it dived down. His eyes fell down as he watched something move in the grass field. A woman? He watched as she whistled a soft tune. She seemed familiar.
"Oh, I remember!" he said, excited. It was the pretty lady who caused trouble at dinner! He loves trouble.
He smirked as he let the head fall, turning into a snake. He slithered quickly, making his way through a crack in a window. As he fell to the ground, he shifted into the body of an eagle before resting in a tree nearby. The woman walked by the tree, not noticing Loki as he watched her.
As her back was turned, he went back into his snake form. He wanted her to scream in fright when she sees him. After all causing mischief was his thing.
"Hehe," he chuckled as he slithered on the ground, making his way to her. As he was about to jump on her, she turned to look at him.
"A snake?" she asked, crouching down. He made no move to slither away as she looked at him.
He wanted to bite her, frighten her, scare her, but he couldn't. There was something in the way her eyes observed his body. She wasn't afraid, just curious. That wasn't always a good thing, though.
"You are a funny-looking snake. I don't seem to recognize your pattern," she said. Did she just call him funny?
Her hand went to his head. He hissed, hoping to keep her away from him. Why would he let some human girl touch him? But her hand only stilled for a second before picking him up.
What is she doing? Is she a witch? he wondered.
Why was he letting her pick him up? Why wasn't he scaring her?
"See, not so bad?" she asked, letting him wrap around her arm as she petted his head. He unintentionally leaned his head in her touch, her soft hands petting down his body. T
This was a new feeling for him. The feeling of being touched by someone without them having the intent to hurt him.
"I should hide you from Kai, he might think you are a snack," she said, smiling. She walked back to the tree he had been previously hiding in. "It was nice meeting you, goodbye."
She walked away from him, leaving him to his thoughts. The woman whistled loud and clear. He waited to see the phoenix swoop down and latch onto her arm. The two of them walked inside.
So the phoenix belongs to her? he thought. He slithered back inside, transforming into his original form as soon as was back in the hallway. He smirked.
Interesting~