It's the glasses, isn't it?

Isaac stood in front of the door. He had assumed that by the time he arrived at Jesse’s house, he would have figured out what to do. At the moment, however, he found that all he could do was stare listlessly at his front door.

A loud thud snapped him out of his trance. He decided now was the perfect time to ring the doorbell.

The door swung open. A lanky woman with snow white hair stood in the doorway.

“Hi!” she said, waving her hand around a bit, and then suddenly stiffening.

“You’re not a salesman, are you?”

Isaac shook his head and held out his hand.

“Isaac. I’m an old friend of Jesse’s. Is he in?”

“Oh no, sorry. He’s at work. Scarlet, by the way”

They shook hands. He noticed that she had several marks on her arm. He really hoped that-

“Mommy!”

Scarlet began to turn her head, but was stopped by the full force of a toddler leaping onto her back. She stumbled forward as her daughter wrapped her arms and legs around her neck and waist.

“Sorry, she’s still kinda clingy” she said, leaning over so her daughter could readjust.

Isaac smiled.

“No problem. What’s your name, kiddo?” he asked, pushing his heart glasses back into place.

“Child!” she announced proudly, raising her small fist into the air and nearly falling off Scarlet’s back.

“Waah? Who named you that?”

“She’s just joking, it’s Yoshi”

Scarlet set Yoshi down on the ground.

“Jesse should be home soon. Do you want to wait here or…?”

Isaac’s face brightened.

“Thank you, that’s very kind of you”

As Scarlet led him to the kitchen, he began to survey the house. He was somewhat disappointed, as he couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Maybe he really was harmless or-

“Coffee?” Scarlet pointed towards the coffee maker and began inching towards it while maintaining eye contact with Isaac. He began to wonder how far in the coffee making process she could get without looking.

“Yes please”

Isaac sat down. It was then that he saw the shape on the wall.

Of all the unholy aberrations that Isaac had seen in his life, none compared to the diabolical crime against geometry, logic, and all that is good. It was circular in shape, yet he couldn’t quite find where it connected. His eyes followed the line endlessly, until he had to look away lest he vomit.

“What is uh, that?” Isaac gripped the table tightly.

“Oh, that. It’s a family heirloom from Jesse’s family”

“I see”

His nausea passed and he found himself at ease again.

Scarlet placed a plain white mug in front of him, and sat down on the opposite side of the table. Yoshi had found an open spot on the kitchen floor, and was coloring a model of an eye in a children’s science textbook. He hadn’t noticed it at first, but a pink radio was playing music. It sounded like vocaloid.

“So, when did you two meet?” Scarlet said, peering into her coffee mug.

“Oh, er, I think it was in high school. It’s been a while”

“Friends?”

“Oh, more than that”

Scarlet’s eyes widened.

“Don’t worry! It’s all over, I’ve got a girlfriend now. I’m not here to steal your man”

Isaac managed a nervous laugh, but it came out too shrilly, and he immediately regretted it. Scarlet had begun to blush.

“It’s fine. I wasn’t thinking of anything weird”

Scarlet hesitated for a moment.

“Um, you’re a….guy, right?”

Isaac’s shoulders drooped a little. Now he really wished he had stuck with just being friends. He had hoped that she wouldn't have asked any more questions due to the awkwardness of the situation.

“Yeah”

They both sat in silence for a while. It was then that Jesse entered the room.

Isaac sprang up and slapped him on the back. Jesse stiffened and turned towards Scarlet .

“Who’s this?”

Scarlet’s face went white.

“Haha, probably don’t recognize me” He leaned in closer and whispered something in Jesse's ear.

Jesse glared at Isaac for a long while.

“Oh. I thought you were a girl”

***

“Don’t take it personally”

Em kept both hands on the steering wheel. She wasn’t going to console a manchild.

“Em, be honest, is it my chest?”

“Gross”

Isaac slouched down further into the seat. It really had bothered him.

“You did what you were supposed to, anyway. Now we might have a chance at killing at least one of the gods here”

“Do you really think he will?”

10 years of research and battling the gods had found nothing. Not a single lead. The first god had appeared on Mt Takao, slaughtering anyone who happened to be within its sight. Unlike the second god, “Muramasa” took the form of a giant, lanky, demon wielding a katana.

The numerous attempts to inflict damage on Muramasa were useless. Even if a strike managed to pierce its flesh, it would regenerate within a matter of seconds. Eventually, the Deciders Guild made the decision to leave the god alone and hope it never strayed from its mountain residence.

Jesse had claimed that he could kill a god. Isaac asked what he wanted in return, but the god had only stared at him blankly. It was going to be a long few days.

Em stopped the car and removed the keys from the ignition. The neon bar sign illuminated her face. It was so hard to tell what she was thinking sometimes…

“We’ve got two new people on our team, in addition to Jesse. They’re pretty young”

Isaac bit his lip and looked down at his feet.

“That’s it. Just wanted to let you know”

They both exited the car and made their way to the front entrance. It was getting colder.

Jesse and the two new recruits were already there, and had found a table. Em and Isaac sat down.

“I don’t know how much Em’s told you, but I think it’d be good if we all introduced ourselves” Isaac said, signaling to a waiter. He ordered two beers for himself and a glass of water for Em.

“I’m Isaac. I’ve been working with the DG since its formation. I like my girlfriend, inventing stuff, and my girlfriend”

The two new recruits laughed in unison.

“I love your glasses”

“Thank you. They’re quite unpopular as a general rule”

The duo looked at each other and came to a silent agreement.

“My name is Fuyu, and this is my sister Etsuko. We’re twins”

While they were twins, Fuyu looked much older. His hair was neatly kept, and his jawline a bit more defined than Etsuko’s..

“Em”

Isaac flicked her forehead.
“Come on, give em’ more than that. You’re so boring”

“I like the Dodgers”

Everyone turned towards Jesse, who hadn’t moved an inch since he had arrived.

“My name is Jesse. I’m a god, and I have a wife and child”

Etsuko looked wistfully nowhere in particular.

“I wish I had a wife and child”

“Anyway” Isaac began, “on to the details”

The waiter set down the drinks, and left.

“Muramasa will probably attack us on sight. So far, everyone who’s tried to fight him has lost. Our main advantages are that one, he doesn’t seem to have any angels to help him, and two, we’ve got Jesse”

Isaac glanced at Jesse, hoping he would show some emotion. There was none.

“I think it’d be best to let Jesse try and tackle it on his own. If things get hairy, we can try and retreat. This will also give the newbies a chance to see a god in action. Any objections?”

Fuyu raised his hand.

“Isn’t there supposed to be another dude?”

“Ah, right. That would be Jack. He couldn’t make it tonight”

They sat in silence.

“Jesse, does that sound good?” Em offered.

Jesse crossed his arms.

“Okay”