the new hearing aids that Rudo got, the annoying colors finally stopped.

He also explained to me that the hearing aids could be adjusted so if I want complete silence, I'll just think it.

Which also brings me to a scenario where I hoped my ears fail me.

I didn't anticipated the part where Rudo brutally told every single person in the dojo that I was in need of personal training. What made it worse was that he listed off all of the not-so redeeming qualities that I had ("She's skinny as all Yomi, she couldn't even run that fast enough to escape a gashadokuro, and she has no environmental awareness-"). My audience were all kneeling in front of us in a clean formation; the people with the most bruises were at the back line while the next row on had minor scrapes, clearly experienced in combat.

Thanks Rudo for spiking up my anxiety.

I couldn't even look at my audience, hence my hands covering my burning face. When he finished, I willed myself to take a peek and my face turned red even more when they stared intently at me. What were they thinking now?

"Hey, new kid," A male, English voice called out from the kneeling crowd. "we don't mind that you're inexperienced or whatever. Rudo just likes to insult people whenever he feels like it."

Rudo scoffed at the remark. "Excuse you, William-this is just how I am. You of all people should be aware of that."

I snapped my eyes to the 'William' person. A well-built teenage boy sat in the front lines. His chocolate hair styled in an undercut made him look older. His same colored eyes were red and puffy while his nose had a similar condition. Was he crying before? A single scar lined from his left cheek to his chin which crossed his thin lips.

He stood up from his sitting position, left hand wiping his eyes. "Ah, don't worry about my appearance. Made a mistake of going near the Uke Mochi house while they had their weekly cook off."

And he's a 6--footer. Of course.

Weekly...? Wait--

"What date is it today?" I asked, heart beginning to throb.

William blinked. "April 10."

I breathed out a sigh of relief. Rudo snickered and tapped my temple lightly. "See? She even doesn't know the date today."

I narrowed my eyes at him, opening my mouth to retort but William interrupted,

"Give her a rest, Rudo. She hasn't been engaged in training yet."

"Ah yes!" Rudo cheered pushing me to William's chest. "Do be kind and help her train. Hopefully she might reach second-dan soon."

William gasped as he spun me around so I was behind. I, frankly, did not enjoy the physical closeness I had. "That's way too harsh, Rudo! At the very least, we should gauge her physical prowess."

"Sorry ladies," a gruff, female voice rang out. A strong hand caught my bicep and hauled me away from the arguing men. "she's with me."

If I thought Martha was the most buff girl I've seen, this girl could probably snap me in two.

Her neon blue colored hair was styled in an undercut on her left side so the hair was swept to her right side so she looked like she was wearing a blue, spiky rag just barely hanging there. Bushy, brown eyebrows with a silver piercing on her left brow were above slanted, gunmetal eyes. Her long, albeit crooked nose made me inch away in fear of it poking my eye. Her rugged jaw led to a pointed chin that looked like it could open a can. The exposed side of her head showed more piercings on her ear.

And she's tall like everyone else. What a surprise!

"Please, Sonia. You'd just use her as a punching bag." William retorted.

"And why should I believe you? Don't forget who your parent is."

From those words, the three of them fell silent. A few coughs from the other demigods made it even more awkward.

"So..." I trailed off. "When is my training montage gonna start?"

"Right now." Sonia said, taking my forearm in a vice grip and dragging me elsewhere. "Come on, Princess. I'm a way better teacher than these two wussies."

"Sonia..." William warned. "You better not be spilling her lies."

She smirked, showing off some missing teeth. "Lies? I'm ashamed of you. I never lie."

Somebody from the crowd sighed. "They're at it again..."

"Again?" I said, curious. "This is a norm?"

"Yeah," another one told. "William's a child of Amatsu-Mikaboshi, a god of the Pole Star and basically chaos itself."

"And... what does that mean?" I asked.

"Dude, it means the kids sprouted from him are bad news."

"Most of us aren't!" William defended, glaring at the person who said it. "We just--we're like this before we even knew it."

"Huh, that's odd." Sonia added, stepping closer to William so their noses almost touched. "Somehow most of you knew exactly what they were doing during their stay." She then punched my shoulder quite hard (or was I really that weak). "Remember, Princess; Amatsu-Mikaboshi is a god you can never trust. Especially his kids."

"Kasumi!" William yelled, grabbing my wrist in his. "Don't listen to what she says. She's just reliving past memories."

My heart started to beat faster as I retracted my hand back. "I--I'm not believing in anybody yet!"

"You tadpoles QUIET DOWN!"

I yelped when three ninja stars zoomed past the three older teens, piercing the wall behind us. Everybody besides myself bowed in respect to the person who entered the room.

He was the same guy from my last dream; that rugged-looking one with his salt and pepper hair tied in a high ponytail that ended near his shoulders, dark green eye, and still looked like a mummy wearing pants.

"Sensei!" Rudo greeted, slapping me on the back so I could bow. "Forgive us for our behavior."

He waved his hand dismissively. "At ease, Smarty. I ain't mad." He sauntered to our spot, taking a cigarette from his pocket and sticking it in his mouth, "This the one?"

I felt my heart palpitate from the stranger's presence alone. I don't know why I was scared from him, I just felt like I wanted to run far away from him.

Rudo straightened his back, "Yes."

"Jiraiya-sensei, if I may be so bold," Sonia started, straightening her back as well, "May I be the one to train her?"

"No way in Yomi."

Sonia sputtered. "J-Jiraiya-sensei!"

He then grabbed a lighter from another pocket. "You three stooges shut your mouths right now. I was in the other side of the room to hear you blabber on and on about who gets the kid." He lit the cancer stick, breathing in for just a moment before letting it all out. "If I had known any better, I'd say little missy here got herself in a reverse-harem."

Now I was the one who sputtered, bringing my hands back to my burning face.

Jiraiya guffawed, wrapping his arm across my shoulder and led me elsewhere. I instantly went rigid. He continued to have that wide smirk across his face as he smelled like smoke, something alcoholic and a little bit of sandalwood.

"Continue your training, tadpoles. I'll be the one responsible for her."

A chorus of yes rang out the room before he slid the door closed. He removed his arm and took a long drag from the stick, his jokester expression from before now turned to serious. I followed him outside to a secluded area outside the training room with a small square table and cushions. On the table were two cups of tea, two plates filled with some sort of Japanese dessert with small wooden forks, and an ashtray with the letter 'J' engraved at the center.

He sat down cross-legged on end of the table, putting his cigarette​ on the ashtray. "Let's talk business, girlie."

Not wanting to anger him, I sat down opposite of him, clenching my fists on my lap.

Instead of drinking the tea, he took a whiskey bottle out from under the table and opened it, "You made a right choice not to believe 'em. They might be good in the field but they let their personal problems get the best of them."

"I could see that." I muttered, looking down at the flower-shaped desserts.

"And not only those brats. There's some hidden agenda inside the city walls and the kids are getting antsy."

"So... What made you think I could help this place?"

"It's not you alone," He corrected, taking a swig from the bottle. He coughed a little afterwards. "you're just a small piece of something bigger. Majority of the population here doesn't even know you still exist."

I gasped, remembering something what Rudo said. "What about Rudo? He said nobody could get in or out of this place."

He hummed. "So you remember. That's good. Well, he's a child of Inari and mastered using seals. It ain't a problem that he could do whatever he wants."

I gulped. "That kind of power is--"

"Scary?" He answered for me. "Yes. Children of Inari are dangerous in their own way. Sonia just pointed her ono at the wrong enemy."

I took a small sip of tea out of nervousness. The slightly bitter taste wasn't enough to distract the thoughts racing in my mind. How am I, a fifteen-year​ old girl with no muscle whatsoever, going to save an entire city from what the heck we're up against? I couldn't even save myself from my creepy half-sister or small weasel things.

"AH!"

I screamed as well, spilling tea all over the table and dessert.

"I forgot to introduce myself." He said plainly, giving a peace sign and a toothy grin.

Are you for real?, I thought

"I'm Jiraiya. Address me as Sensei or Jiraiya-sensei whenever we cross paths."

I blinked at him, still recovering from his sudden outburst.

"Bah, you don't need to introduce yourself. I already got it from Lil' empress." He told. Taking another swig from his whiskey, he took the toppled cup from my side and laid it upright, "Now I'm sure you want to know why it's you of all people to save us—"

"Oh yes," I interrupted, "I really like to know why!"

"The Seven Lucky Gods who've laid low for far too long. They, together as a whole, can remove the seal that bounds Okayama from the outside."

I clicked my tongue, "What are they gonna do. No, actually what did they do? Why is it that they wanted this place closed off?"

The old man sighed, taking another swig. "Told ya. Ask them, not me. Anyway, be glad I'm the one training you. Or be very scared."

He then sneered widely, leaning in closer to me to which I backed away while shuddering. "You get to fight me while listening to my horrible puns."

"Wh-What...?"

"What's that face for? You're not in high ribbits for my training?"

I was silent for a few seconds until--

"Oh. My gods. I cannot believe you."

Just like last time, he let out a roaring laugh.

"Don't be like that! I did toad you that I'll be like this during your training!"

"Why... Why this?"