Poseidon's Daughter: Yamato Sui Jean

A PJO fanfic by haganeochibi

Disclaimer: haganoechibi does not own PJO.

A.N.: Finally, she reaches Camp Half-blood.

"New demigods were popping up all over the place-not just in America, but in a lot of other countries as well."

~Percy Jackson, PJO: The Last Olympian

Chapter 3: Camp Half-blood, A Red-eyed Girl, and me

The camp looked like your regular summer camp, but at the same time, not so. You don't get to see a dragon by a pine tree bearing the Golden Fleece in ordinary camps, plus a climbing wall with lava pouring down it, plus a few winged horses or pegasi (unless I was wrong) flying around. And you don't get to see kids using bronze swords, bow and arrows, and armor while fending off a sea monster.

Grover led me to a big house, which was actually called (drum roll please) Big House. A bearded half-man-half-horse stood at the threshold. Being used to strange creatures by now, I just stared at him, though I found it strange to see a man with a ponytail swishing side to side. Okay. I know. Not funny.

"Jean, this is Chiron, the activities director," Grover introduced. Oh, so he was Chiron. "Chiron, this is Jean Yamato."

"The centaur sensei?" I blurted out loud. Chiron inclined his head with a small smile. But when Grover stared at me, I hastily added, "I meant, centaur teacher, sorry."

"Jean Yamato?" Chiron asked, eyeing my arnis. We shook hands briefly before he turned to Grover. Chiron looked more worried than serious. "I thought you had sent satyrs in other countries. I remember you sending a satyr to Japan."

Grover's brows knitted together. "Maybe he couldn't get in touch."

"I hope so," Chiron murmured. "If not, it means more trouble than we may think."

I opened my mouth to ask, but Chiron held up a hand. "Go on and give her a tour after the orientation video. She goes to Cabin Eleven for now."

After treating my injuries, Chiron sent me off to an hour of watching heroes and all that. Grover munched on an aluminum can again as we went through the sites of the camp. A few campers actually came over and said hello, but a few just ignored us. Some even gave me a strange look, especially the group with grey eyes and blonde hair.

"Everyone seems nice," I remarked as we walked away from the blonde-haired group. Grover just smiled.

"You haven't met the Ares kids yet," he told me, and his look told me to take his warning seriously.

We reached the cabins area, where the cabins made a complete ring in the clearing. While I thought there were supposed to be twelve Olympians, I was startled to see more than twelve cabins. Grover told me that they belonged to minor gods and goddesses, and they were quite new. He explained how only Artemis, Hera and Zeus were the only empty cabins, and I noticed how reverent he was in saying Artemis' name. Maybe it's because it's a nature boy thing.

Grover led me to one of the cabins forming a circle in the clearing. It was easily one of the oldest, and one of the most used. Peeling brown paint decorated its outer walls, while a spear with two snakes entwined around it was to be seen above the doorway. I remember grandma calling it a caduceus, the symbol of Hermes.

"This is Cabin Eleven Hermes," Grover told me and I studied the empty cabin. Most of the campers would probably be at school or somewhere around the camp. But when we went in, two curly brown-haired kids were inside. They were hunched over something we couldn't see but they looked up when Grover cleared his throat.

"Hey Grover!" cried one while the other hid whatever they were doing as fast as he could, but I thought I saw a plan or something.

Grover held up his palms at the boys who sported identical grins. "I don't want to know what you're scheming, but I'm here to drop her off."

"Undetermined?" asked twin number one.

"Claimed?" the offered twin number two.

"Undetermined," declared Grover the satyr. Both boys suppressed groans. I didn't understand what they were talking about and I made a point to ask about someone later on. "This is Jean Yamato, a new cabin mate. Jean, this is Travis and Connor Stoll, sons of Hermes."

Grover pointed at the respective twin, and I noted that Connor was slightly shorter than Travis. I had to remember that. I shook their hands briefly, and I couldn't ignore the sinister mischievous look in their brown eyes.

"Well, she's all yours," Grover said, and he exited the cabin with a wave. The twins grinned as they welcomed me inside.

"Welcome to the Hermes cabin!" invited Travis.

"Drop your things on any free space and make yourself at home!" said Connor. I couldn't find any, I wanted to tell him.

"So, you're Japanese... know any pranks?" Travis (unless I'm wrong) asked, eyes beaming. Did I, or did I not meet the mischief-makers of camp half-blood?

…

Travis and Connor weren't so pleased when they found out I didn't know any pranks. It's not like I could pull off any; my grandma saw to that. The twins introduced me to the Hermes cabin members during lunch and I found that the Hermes cabin was easily the most crowded. Travis explained that the Hermes, being the god of travellers, accepts all undetermined children, like me, or children who weren't claimed by the immortal parents.

Then I discovered that the nymphs served the food, and that you get to choose whatever non-alcoholic drink you wanted. I was about to sip my bowl of ramen when all the members stood up and approached the camp fire. I followed them there, where we torched a portion of our food for the gods.

'Whoever you are, please accept my offering,' I prayed as I poured some of the soup and noodles into the fire. I didn't understand why we needed to burn food because in Japan we certainly didn't. One of the senior campers told me it was because the gods liked the smell. Why the gods would like the smell of burnt noodles, I would never know, though I was taken aback when I caught a whiff of the fumes. It didn't smell like burnt food; I could have sworn I smelled loads of sushi, ramen, onigiris and chocolate.

I tried the ramen and it was really good. It tasted pleasant; probably it was because the other pollutants haven't gotten to its source yet. The moment I tasted it, my memories came flooding back to me; how I missed Japan and mom, and those family moments with grandma studying mythology and self-defense. Everything just changed so fast. Now I discovered that the Greek gods were real and that I'm a half-blood, one of the Greek god's children with mortals.

When I was done, I scanned the other tables. The Athena table contained people who looked like one big family of grey eyed blond heads. All of them had the same calculating critical gaze and stormy gray eyes almost similar to mine. I remembered grandma, and wondered how she could find her place there. Though I guess she wouldn't find that hard, being a daughter of Athena and all.

A few kids from other cabins belonging to minor gods and goddesses were there as well, though their benches looked newer than the Hermes cabins'. There were children of Hecate, Aeolus, Macaria, Hebe, Morpheus... and I didn't even know the others!

The Aphrodite table were full of really pretty girls and handsome guys. Most of them weren't good at fighting as I was to discover; they were children of the goddess of love and beauty. But they can be complete snobs and obsessive-compulsive with regards to appearance.

The Apollo table were having a mini-concert while the Hephaestus table tampered with their latest inventions. Right, Apollo is the god of the sun, music, and poetry while Hephaestus had control of the underwater forges. The Ares kids weren't as war-freaks as I would have expected (or at least not yet). One of the seniors warned me against getting on their bad side, especially Clarisse La Rue and one of her younger sisters, Arianne Valle.

The Zeus, Hera, Poseidon and Artemis tables were empty. But there was one table that was almost empty: the Hades table. It had only one occupant: Nico di Angelo. But before I could dwell on how I could say hello, someone tapped my shoulder.

"I'm Mikai. You're Jean, right?" a Hermes camper asked. I nodded. Friendly much? I looked in her dark brown eyes. She was a young girl of about ten and she had this lost look on her face, which reminded me of myself a few days ago.

"You're undetermined too?" she asked me. I nodded. "Do you know who your godly parent is?"

There was something in the way she said the last query that made me wonder who my parent is too. Possibly the longing? The poor girl just seemed so lost, despite the hospitality of the Hermes kids.

"I don't know," I admitted. Then she gazed in my own green-grey eyes and hung her head.

"You're probably Athena's daughter. You have grey eyes," she told me sadly. "I don't know who my mother is. Daddy died a few weeks ago."

"I'm not Athena's daughter, my mom knew that much," I told her with a wink and she smiled a little. Though it was slightly comforting to think that I wasn't alone in the 'lost mortal parent' category, I felt sorry for her that I patted her shoulder and added, "Let's go find out together."

…

After lunch, I started to attend camp activities with the Hermes kids. Everything was still so new to me, but yet I felt at home. Back in Japan, where I attended special classes for kids because of my dyslexia and ADHD (which I now knew to be signs of being a half-blood), I was treated like something potentially dangerous by peers. But here, having ADHD and dyslexia was normal, and essential. The dyslexia was due to the half-blood's ability to understand Ancient Greek, while the ADHD was due to enhanced battle awareness. I was strongly reminded of an anime [1] featuring coordinators... but that's another story.

First up was swordsmanship. I was lent a broadsword which I had a lot of trouble holding. The unbalanced sword felt cold and unfriendly in my hand. I tried, I really did. I was able to do basic stuff like slashing and stabbing but every time I tried a slightly more complex move, I'd do it wrongly or the sword would fall out of my hand. I just couldn't get it right!

"I'm no good with a broad sword," I complained we stepped out of the arena. My hands were itching to use my arnis, which were slung on my back.

"Maybe you're Apollo's kid," the Mikai told me, rekindling my curiosity in finding out who my godly parent was. "Try using a bow and arrow."

I did try it, and I hit a few targets. But when I made Chiron do a tap dance after attempting an arrow shower, I shot him an apologetic glance and stepped out of the archery range with Mikai. Several Apollo kids sniggered. Okay, maybe not. Mikai decided to watch me in foot racing with the tree nymphs. It was more successful, as I had managed to run alongside the tree nymphs, one of which congratulated me that I'd be able to run away from lovesick gods by the time I'd finished a few months of training.

Later, I tried rock climbing with Mikai. Grover and the other satyrs made it look easy. I was excited by the extra challenge the camp thought of: lava. Mikai wasn't as enthusiastic, but she tried it all the same. Chiron supervised me again; he probably wanted to make sure I didn't hurt any other campers. When my turn came, I lost my grip on my rock halfway up. Luckily, I was able to grab a rock before anything other than my left foot got submerged in the lava. Mikai screamed.

Oh gods. I expected to be severely injured. I expected pain. But my foot just felt strangely warm. Chiron and several satyrs ran towards me, thinking I was burned. Sure enough, when I lifted my left leg, my submerged jeans and trainers were no longer there. But my foot wasn't hurt at all. It still looked normal, maybe a bit reddish.

Chiron had me off the climbing wall in no time. He checked my foot and when he decided it was fine, he glanced at me questioningly.

"Are you sure you have no idea who your immortal parent is?" he asked me and I shook my head. I did have Athena's genes in me via grandma, but I don't think it counts. Mikai stared at me in wonder, as did several campers. After Chiron-sensei sent us off, I left Mikai at the Hermes cabin after taking a break there (and getting myself a new pair of trainers from my survival bag).

I decided to practice my arnis forms before I call it a day. The moment the wood got in contact with my hand, I felt an immediate surge of warmth. Each strike felt good, it gave me comfort after that not-so-good day.

"Nice dancing sticks," a deep voice said. An electric current coursed through my nerves. DANCING STICKS?

"Excuse me," I said politely, turning to the speaker. "I didn't quite hear what you said."

I gulped when I saw Arianne of the Ares cabin in her orange camp half blood shirt, beige shorts, trainers and a bandanna keeping her black hair off her face. She's the bully, I guess, or maybe one of them. Unlike Clarisse, who had a big buffed body, Arianne had a lean muscular body, and tanned skin. I guessed she took those Western features from Ares, her father. What bothered me was her voice. I've never even met a girl with a deep male-like voice before! But still... compared to her, my thin Japanese body looked like a twig next to a tree trunk.

"I heard you're horrible with broadswords, ickle Jap. Care to dance with your walking sticks instead?" she asked me tauntingly with her bronze sword in hand.

She swiftly lunged at me at the last word and I quickly blocked her offense with my left. Man, why did they like to pick on newbies?

"No thanks!" I said with quick swipe to her helmet, which collided with my arnis like a bell. I seized this chance to hit her not-so-vital points: knees, shoulders, chest, stomach and hands. The latter made her drop her sword with an unceremonious clang. I kicked it away. But it didn't take long for Ariane to recover from her daze.

"Are you sure you're a half-blood?" she asked menacingly, unsheathing a dagger from her belt. Her moves this time were more dangerous and fierce. I tried to block but one of them cut a neat slit on my thigh. It wasn't very deep, but it still hurt.

"Ow!" I gasped as red stained my jeans. Arianne grinned.

"Wonder who your parent is? Must feel bad right now," she yelled. I felt pain both physically because of the wound and emotionally because my immortal parent had failed to claim me at present. But something came with the pain: a surge of energy, like the fighting spirit inside finally awoke.

I attacked her with more force this time, and my moves were more lethal. It was her turn to block. But even with my adrenaline rush, she was tough to beat. Both of us were panting and my thigh wound throbbed harder than ever, when her fist decided to land a punch on my face but I swiped at it again with my arnis. It was a diversion; her sweaty right dagger hand almost came in contact with my neck not to kill but defeat.

'No!' I thought, images of my grandma and mother flashing in my mind's eye. 'I won't lose. Not here. Not now. Not to her.'

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. I felt a particularly strong tug in my gut and focused on her sweaty right arm. I knew it was false hope, but I willed the sweaty arm to stop. Whatever happened next, I didn't exactly understand, but Arianne's dagger arm wouldn't move; it was just suspended there in mid air. Ariane's eyes widened.

"What the—"

I seized my chance and displaced her dagger with a strike to her forearm. Before she knew it, I had my arnis at her neck.

Dead silence ensued, except for our heavy breathing. I barely felt the other campers' eyes on us when I released my opponent and let her fall back. Picking up her weapons, she eyes me with narrowed, burning brown eyes.

"I'm not done with you, midget," she muttered in a low dangerous voice. Fury was etched on her face. I thought she was about to attack; if she would, I won't be able to block this time. After I released her arm, I felt really tired. I was on my knees and leaning on my arnis for support. The energy surge was gone.

"I think she's had enough for today," a familiar voice said, making me jump. Nico di Angelo stood beside me, looking pointedly at Ariane. It also helped that Nico was treating her to one of his death glares. Slowly, Ariane retreated, experimentally flexing her dagger arm.

Wait, what was Nico doing at the arena? Had he been watching? But before I could say anything, all of the campers stared at something above my head. I followed their gaze and saw a green three-pronged fork: a trident, the symbol of Poseidon.

That was it? That was how a half-blood's claimed? The symbol of your parent just appeared above your head?

Clip-clop-clip-clop-clip-clop. The sound of hooves meant either Chiron, or a lot of satyrs. The former then stood in front of me, with triumph in his eyes. He had probably guessed who my parent was.

"Hail Sui Jean Yamato, daughter of the sea god," Chiron declared. Then he clapped me on the back.

So I'd been claimed. But I was still exhausted.

"So tired," I moaned. My grip on my arnis loosened, my eyelids drooped and my body just wanted to sleep. Chiron said something I couldn't comprehend. Then I felt Nico grab me by the arms and half-carry me to who-knows-where. The clip-clop sound behind us meant Chiron followed. I was half-conscious when Nico threw me into what looked like running water and I instantly felt awake. Whatever fatigue I felt was gone.

"Hey!"

I stood up, expecting to be drenched, but I was dry. And that was how I discovered that being a child of Poseidon gave you that ability of being not being wet if you don't want to. A few moments later, my thigh wound was nothing but a pink scar that eventually disappeared.

"What did you do to Ariane?" Chiron demanded, his white ponytail swishing side to side. That meant he was intrigued. I was strongly reminded of a dog wagging its tail.

I tried not to focus on his swishing ponytail. "I don't know. It was fuzzy."

"Her arm froze in mid-attack," Nico suggested.

"Maybe," I said, examining my now healed thigh wound. I thought hard.

"I'm not sure. Children of Poseidon can control water, right?" I began. I still couldn't directly call myself a child of Poseidon. It just sounded unfamiliar and... strange. "So maybe... I controlled the water in her arm?"

"How?" Chiron asked. His ponytail still swished from left to right, and it took a lot of effort not to giggle.

"I can't remember how," I said, shaking my head. The energy surge was gone, and I don't feel it coming back soon. Then I remembered something. "And where's my arnis?"

"Oops. We kinda left it at the arena," Nico told me sheepishly.

"WHAT!" I exclaimed in outrage. I'd left my weapons again! I mentally cursed myself. After what happened earlier... AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

I half-ran on the way back from the forest, leaving Nico and Chiron at the creek. I passed by the camp fire area, and when I got there, I saw a little girl in a brown dress tending to the flames. She was staring at me with red eyes; red with warmth, not fury. It was hypnotic; I approached her in curiosity.

"Hello." I bowed and knelt beside her. All thoughts of my arnis disappeared from my head.

Then a sensation of homesickness tugged at my gut. I missed Japan, but then I thought the camp wasn't really bad. In a rush of brain action, I realized that this mysterious girl with strange glowing red eyes like fire wasn't human. A girl in the camp, with glowing red eyes, was tending the flames. The depth in her crimson eyes didn't scare me, but the ageless knowing expression she radiated was enough to prove that she was a goddess: Lady Hestia of the hearth. Who else?

"Greetings young one," the girl said. Her voice was deep and ageless. "You are one of the few who chose to talk with me."

Her eyes returned to the flame. "Most never do."

"Lady Hestia, sometimes I cannot believe that all these busy campers cannot notice a striking creature such as you, especially in the form of a child."

The girl smiled. "You are Poseidon's daughter, but yet you have another Olympian's blood in you. You see how unique beings are? How immortals and mortals are tied together?"

I nodded. "Yes, my grandmother is Lady Athena's daughter."

"Ah, yes, the mark of the wise," she said, looking into my green-gray eyes. The conversation was turning a bit uncomfortable by the minute. I decided to change the topic.

"My lady, who was the last demigod who approached you?" I asked. Her eyes focused somewhere beyond me.

"The demigod who saved you," she answered slowly. Her eyes searched mine, which showed that I understood her. Okay, so Nico talked to Hestia. "And because of that decision, his and your lives will be changed, more than you could ever know."

I pretended I did not feel awkward about it. My stomach felt like it was a butterfly house. I didn't want to believe in what she said, but my instincts told me it was true.

"Your mentor is not here. You must go, young one," Hestia said as she stood up. "Train with your grandmother and tell her I send my regards."

"O-okay." I stood up and bowed before leaving her. I swear she had her glowing red eyes on me as I walked away.

...

The mention of grandma made thoughts of my arnis crashing in my head. I tried searching the forest again, and it was growing dark when I decided to walk back defeated to the cabins. There was no use in searching when I couldn't see anything. I kneaded my head and groaned. Those arnis were customized for me! What a way to lose my long time weapon.

"Ickle Jap," a voice called. Oh no...

"Guess who found your dancing sticks!" Arianne taunted. My arnis were propped against a rock and Arianne's big fat foot was stepping on them. I took a step towards her. She stepped harder. The wood bent slightly, and I thought I heard a crack. I winced.

"Yamete!" I yelled. "Quit it!"

"And if I don't?" she challenged. "Watcha gonna do?"

Sweat trickled down my nape. I'm weaponless. The bully had me at her mercy. She was eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevil.

I took another careful step forward. She stepped harder.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

"Just wanted to know what happened," she said simply. She stepped harder. The arnis looked like it was about to break.

"Wait!" I gasped out loud, my arm outstretched. "I-controlled-the-water-in-your-arm-I-did-nothing-else-let-my-arnis-go!"

"And I wanted to get back at you," Arianne continued as if I didn't speak. Her face scrunched up and there was nothing else I could do. I realized what she had in mind at the exact moment she did it. The arnis gave way with a resounding crack.

All I could process was that the weapon I had wielded for half my life lay on the cold unyielding soil in four broken pieces because I made the single error of leaving my weapon. Suddenly, I couldn't think properly. I forgot that she was larger than me, and that she had loads of experience in fighting. My body acted on its own accord. My reflexes took over. The manic energy possessed me again, only this time, I controlled the water in her whole body. Ariane seized up, and I pinned her against a tree.

Tears clouded my vision but I saw that Ariane had the decency to look surprised and slightly afraid. "You didn't have to break my arnis! I would have apologized!"

My eyes turned to my broken weapons. "They're irreplaceable. And you think you could just step on them!"

It took sometime before my heavy breathing subsided. Then I came to notice a dryad glaring at me. Oops. Her tree. Not mine.

"Sorry," I muttered quietly and released Arianne who ran all out to the commons area. The dryad gave me a haughty look and disappeared, leaving me alone in the dark. My weapons still lay there. Broken.

I was eternally tired, but I picked up my weapons and walked away. I tried walking back to the creek Nico threw me in, but instead I found the beach. The sea water beckoned to me, comforting me. I moved to the water, and sat down. I felt stronger, but I still grieved. I let my arnis float away to open sea, like an offering for my struggle. It symbolized me, and all the things I had been through. I realized I was broken too.

My family had been broken when grandma decided to move to NYC, and when mom died. I had been broken when I found out about the biggest secret of my elders. The wound still hurt. That was one wound that even the ocean could not heal in an instant, even if grandma helped me against those telekhines.

I asked myself: do I really want this? Do I really want to be half-blood and be a hero, as a lot of them say? I just wanted to be a normal girl, to lead a normal life, and to have a decent circle of friends. Why did mom have to choose Poseidon of all men? If she hadn't, I would have to put up with all this. Mom didn't have to die that way. But then, life would be boring. And I guess I don't have any choice in being Poseidon's daughter. Calling myself Poseidon's kid still feels so unfamiliar.

How long I stayed on the beach, I didn't know. But I perked up when I saw a huge creature coming out of the water. It was walking at first, but then it was running towards me, and before I knew it, it had me in its muscle-bound arms. To him, it was probably hugging, but to me, it was more like strangling.

"SISTER!" It yelled. "Tyson meets you at last!"

Startled, I stared at him with wide eyes. I didn't remember Percy, Chiron, nor Nico speaking of a brother. The thing is, he didn't look human. In fact, he had one big brown eye at the center of his head.

"Little sister!" Tyson yelled, and Tyson set me gently on the ground. Wait. One big brown eye. Big body. Misshapen face. Brown hair. Calloused hands. Wait a minute. Am I just dreaming? "Percy asked to come over when he discovered you are sister!"

Percy's here?

"Jeanie?" Tyson asked, his expression curious, almost disappointed. I nodded, my eyes still wide with shock, and my mouth still hung open. Yeah, I wasn't dreaming. Slowly, my lips formed a big wide grin.

"My brother's a Cyclops? COOL!"

...

Things looked up after that. Tyson earned a lot of stares from the campers when we joined Percy at the Poseidon table halfway through dinner. My eyes strayed towards the crowded Hermes table, and found Mikai's back turned towards me. As for Percy, he did say he was going to catch up. It was strange to call Percy a brother because we didn't look anything alike. I shook his hand briefly when I sat down opposite him.

"Hello half-sister," Percy greeted when I let go of his hand. "Annabeth—"

Whatever Annabeth was, I wasn't able to find out because Tyson swept Percy up in a bear hug too, and he didn't look too comfortable, but both parties were happy. When Tyson released him, Percy took some time to breathe before sitting back on the bench beside Tyson.

"Annabeth isn't coming?" Tyson asked Percy, who shook his head. I noticed a streak of annoyance, like when a fly lands on your skin, when I hear Annabeth's name, but I don't know why and I certainly don't want to tell anybody.

"Sorry, Tyson. Maybe next time," Percy comforted his brother by patting him on the back. I grinned at the sight of them. It was kind of adorable to see a small human kid patting a big Cyclops on the back.

After the usual 'food-torching', Tyson and I returned to our table, where Percy was enjoying his glass of blue liquid.

"Annabeth was right," Percy mused as he raised his glass of blue cherry coke. He studied my features, particularly my grey eyes.

I swallowed my fourth piece of sushi before I casually said, "Annabeth is Athena's daughter, right? I dreamt about her."

Percy choked midway through drinking, and it took him a minute to recover.

"What did you see in your dream?" he asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"What's with it? Dreams are just dreams," I said defiantly.

"Not for demigods; what we dream actually happens, like an out-of-body experience," Percy told me as if he'd been in one of those loads of times. "What did you dream about?"

I frowned as I tried to remember. "I saw two big dudes arguing, and Annabeth walked in on them."

"Who were those two dudes?"

"One was wearing a tuxedo. Blonde hair. Blue eyes. A big scary bolt." I told him. Percy's eyes brightened.

"And the other?" he asked eagerly.

"He looked like a surfer dude. He had eye crinkles right here," I said, pointing to the outer sides of my eyes. "You know them?"

Laughing, Percy nodded and said, "The one with the lightning bolt is Zeus while the surfer dude"-he snorted-"is our dad."

"You saw dad?" Tyson exclaimed. Oh, so the surfer dude is dad. Not really surprising though. "He was upset the other day. He was scary."

Our attention focused on Tyson, who looked a bit affronted. "He was mad at Zeus for using his bolt on Jeanie."

"WHAT!" I yelled out loud that a few nearby tables actually stared. I didn't care; all I knew was that Zeus was the one who sent the lightning bolt on the plane I was in, killing mom, and who knows how many innocent people. I felt a surge of anger towards Zeus that I didn't even know I stood up. Percy and Tyson yanked me back to my seat.

"That's why they Zeus and Poseidon were arguing on something about the sky domain, a child and lightning," I cried out. I buried my face in my right palm, a habit I do when I'm really frustrated to stop the tears. Then my fingers kneaded my temples. "They were arguing about me. Zeus used the lightning bolt on the plane. And... And..."

"You came here by plane?" Percy hissed, his eyes wide in alarm. I nodded, and he slapped his palm to his face.

"Okay, rule number one. Poseidon's domain is the sea. Zeus has the sky and Hades has the Underworld," Percy began in a serious tone. "Rule number two. Poseidon's kids don't trespass in Zeus' domain. It works for the Hades kids as well. That's probably why your plane got hit by lightning in the first place."

The underlying message was harder to take in. I felt another surge of anger at Zeus. Mom died because of me being a kid of Poseidon, who wasn't supposed to be in Zeus' sky domain. Why did the gods have to be so territorial? I didn't even know I wasn't supposed to be in the sky! Then my spirits dropped even more. I was the one who asked mom to go by plane. It had been my fault that she died. And that hurt me more than ever.

"Jean?"

I looked up to see Percy studying me.

"I know you're mad at Zeus," Percy said tentatively. I just grunted in return, and I hung my head, letting my black hair cover my face. "But-"

"But what?" I shot at him angrily. "Mom died because I didn't know we weren't supposed to be there! Where's the justice in that? I thought gods existed were supposed to be—"

I jumped in midsentence; Percy and Tyson both clapped their hands to my mouth at the same time. Their combined force was strong such that I fell off the bench. To others, it might look that they were trying to ambush me. When I righted myself, Percy told me, ""You do NOT want to insult the gods. If you've met one—"

"I have," I interrupted him, rolling my green-grey eyes. "I've seen Hestia, Persephone and Hades."

"You've met Hades?" Percy cried out in surprise. I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Oh yeah," Percy let out, probably remembering that I was saved by Nico before I was brought to New York.

Then the man sitting beside Chiron stood up. "I think it's time for you lot to trot off and go sing your camp songs."

Chiron nudged him.

"Oh, and we have a new camper, Zoe Gin Yummytoe."

Chiron nudged him again.

"Fine, Sui Jean Yamato. Blah blah blah and congrats for being claimed so fast and all that. Go on then, off to the camp fire!"

"Who's that guy?" I asked Percy and Tyson amidst cheers from the other campers.

"Dionysus. Wine god," Percy informed me, with a hint of annoyance. Hmm... he probably had a not so good record with that god.

"Does he really like to mess up our names?" I asked again through gritted teeth. Percy grimaced and I noticed how the dining pavilion was nearly empty. Tyson led the way to what looked like the campfire area. Percy explained how every night the campers had a sing-along before going to bed. I remained quiet for the rest of the night, even during the sing-a-long, even if the Apollo kids were really good singers. I just didn't feel like singing even if my two new brothers were singing at the top of their lungs. When I looked around, I noticed that aside from me, only Nico didn't join in the singing. In fact, he seemed content to just be here with fellow demigods.

I caught his eye. Nico gave me a small grin and looked away. Then I realized that he was my first half-blood friend (unless you count grandma), and if you wanted to be technical, my cousin. I hadn't seen him at any of the camp's activities, and it looked like he just does his own thing. I guess that's what you get for being the only known child of Hades. But then I wondered about his past with Percy. Something must have happened before that made them on good terms. Apparently, even if the campers think Nico's a decent fighter, the kids still give him space. A lot of space. Maybe it's a Hades kid thing. Nico is... pretty scary for a twelve-year-old.

This day proved to be longer than I expected it to be. I'd tried a lot of activities, I was claimed, and I got angry at Zeus. Some day I'm having.

On our way back to the cabins, Tyson challenged us to a race to the cabins and took off. But when we followed, something black and furry suddenly slammed into Percy and me. Then I felt really really wet, and really really icky because a rough fleshy thing was scraping my face. I glanced about me in alarm, and realized that the black furry something was a dog. A really big dog, about the size of a dump truck. And it was using its tongue was licking Percy and me.

"Nice to see you too, Mrs. O'Leary!" Percy told the dog. I thought he was going bonkers, but then I realized that the dog (or more specifically, hellhound) was called Mrs. O'Leary, who stopped licking us. She sat up straight on the ground, her tail wagging. A salivated Percy smiled at me.

"This is the camp's resident hellhound, Mrs. O'Leary," Percy said, patting the hellhound on its big nose. To my surprise, the hellhound lay on its belly and closed its eyes, as if enjoying the attention. Then I cautiously approached it. Mrs. O'Leary sniffed at me interestedly.

"I thought hellhounds don't make good pets," I remarked, my eyes still wide. Mrs. O'Leary growled at me and I shut up. No, I didn't want to be a doggie snack.

"She's special; the world's only tame hellhound," Percy informed me, staring ruefully at his wet clothing and then back to the hellhound. "Sorry girl, I'll play with you tomorrow."

The hellhound's ears drooped. She gave us one last sniff and wandered off into the darkness probably to find some doggie snack which thankfully wasn't me. Percy and I ran towards the cabins but I trudged to the Hermes cabin, Percy held my arm.

"Where're you going?" he asked me with meaningful green eyes. I mentally slapped myself for not remembering that I had access to a new cabin now. I waved Percy off to get my stuff from the Hermes cabin, where I met Mikai at the threshold on my way out.

"You got claimed so fast," she told me glumly, hugging her sleeping bag. I couldn't ignore the pout on her lips nor the sadness in her eyes. "Maybe my mom doesn't want me. I'm too weak."

"No," I told her firmly. "You'll train at camp, and you'll grow stronger. You'll be claimed too. I'm sure of it."

"You think so?" she looked up, her eyes with more spark than earlier. I nodded fervently. I waved good bye and left her at the Hermes cabin. I could feel her brown eyes on my back as I made my way to the Poseidon cabin.

Percy, Tyson and I had a little chat before we slept. After explaining my feat with Arianne, and aside from finding out the pros and cons of being a kid of Poseidon, I found that Tyson was great with tinkering with things.

"I will help you make best sword!" Tyson declared when he found out about the loss of my arnis.

"Yeah, he's really good," Percy agreed, telling me something about a shield that according to him, was made by Tyson.

"Your sword was forged by Tyson?" I asked him, but Percy shook his head. He took out a pen from his pocket and he held it up in front of him like a sword. I thought he was going to use it like a summoning artefact like those in some tv shows.

"This is Riptide," Percy informed me. Then he uncapped the pen. My mouth fell open when I saw a three-foot long bronze sword in Percy's hands. I've heard of pens being swords of writers in a metaphorical sense, but for Percy's case, the pen IS the sword. Percy let out a laugh when he stared at my expression. What... don't blame me to be surprised. You'd be surprised too if your ballpen suddenly turned into a full-fledged sword.

"Wow!"

"It was made a really long time ago; long story. But he best part of this is that I can't lose it," Percy explained, "It'll always reappear in my pocket, unless I intentionally leave it somewhere."

"Nifty," I commented with a grin. If I closed my eyes, I could imagine Percy duking it out with countless monsters and what-not with that sword. "But do you really think a sword would be good for me? I mean, I'm an arnis-user and all."

"Percy will teach you," Tyson said, "He's good."

Percy grinned at his little brother and checked the time. Surprisingly, it was ten minutes past eleven, so cabin head counsellor Percy declared it a night and switched off the lights.

...

I thought I couldn't sleep properly that night. What had happened to my life still filled my mind. I lost mom, I learn I'm a half-blood, I run out on my grandma, I get to camp, and I learned that my dad is Poseidon. Inasmuch of my awe that I'm a kid of the big three, I couldn't help but feel a pang of hatred at my father. Funny how I was excited to know who my parent is, and then next moment I feel this... hurt towards him. I mean, if he had been with mom (I know it's childish of me, since the gods had their own responsibilities too) or at least, told her what things not to do, and then maybe things would have turned out differently. Maybe, she would have been with me and grandma still.

I missed mother. I missed grandma. They were good people, and both were wise. I wondered what they would do if they were in this situation. They would have worked hard. Yeah. They wouldn't be happy if they knew I was mopping around. And besides, grandma wanted me to train. She wanted me not to look at the past and move forward to what I needed to do. Mom would tell me to train as hard as I can, so as not to make the mistakes of the past.

My lips curled into a small smile when I remembered my first lessons with mom and grandma. We were on the beach, and grandma was teaching me hand-to-hand combat. I kept trying to beat her, but grandma was too good. In one moment of frustration, I accidentally doused her with sea water. I didn't know who my dad was then. Mom laughed and hugged me, while grandma just grimaced and tackled both of us, and we all ended up in the sea. Happy days.

I missed them both. Terribly. I was wrong to judge grandma; she did care for mom and for me. She proved that by bringing my arnis to me, and helping fight the telekhines.

Tonight, I was wrong though. And as the tears dampened my pillow, I pulled my blanket over my head and slowly lulled myself to sleep.

...

Tyson helped me out with my new sword first thing the next morning. He told me it was possible to make a katana, the traditional Japanese sword used by samurai. He taught me how to forge one: melting the metals needed to make celestial bronze, hammering it to a desired form and cooling it in ice cold water.

"Thanks Tyson! It's beautiful!" I exclaimed as I caressed my new katana. It was made of celestial bronze, just like other metal weapons used by half-bloods. Tyson's cheeks were tinted red.

"Made for you!" Tyson declared triumphantly. "It had your blood so only you'd be able to use it!"

"Sugoi! That's great!" I cried out and hugged my brother again. "I love it!"

"I am glad!" Tyson cried happily. "Try it out!"

When we arrived at the arena, we met Ponytail guy again. Chiron the centaur stood in front of me. I tried not to laugh when I saw his #1 centaur shirt because he had a decent bow-and-arrow set slung at his shoulder. Chiron raised his eyebrows at Tyson.

"Come to help your sister?" he asked Tyson, who nodded. "I thought Poseidon needed help rebuilding his palace."

Tyson suddenly developed an interest at the grass and muttered, "Chiron is right, I have to go back to daddy."

"You can stay here a bit longer, can't you?" I pleaded. He seemed really tempted, but he shook his head roughly.

"I have permission only to help you make a sword," Tyson said. He tried to smile but it came out as a grimace.

Before I could stop him, he ran off to the shore. I gripped my new katana tightly. It felt strange in my fingers, but not the cold alien feeling. It felt warm and friendly. And it was thanks to Tyson that I have it with me right now. I made a promise to visit him sometime, if my dad let me. I stifled a shiver at the thought of Poseidon being my dad. Chiron's voice knocked me back to Earth.

"Jean," he said. "I need you at the Big House."

I followed him there, only to see a familiar-looking gray-haired gray-eyed elderly woman sitting on one of the chairs at the table.

"Grandma?"

I ran out to hug her, and she hugged me back. Chiron cleared his throat. "Your grandmother came to ask you if you would like to stay here for the whole year round."

I told them about Hestia's message.

"I think that settles things," Chiron said in a final tone. Then he turned to my grandma. "Izumi, you're still welcome here to teach."

"I'll have to think about that," grandma told him with a small smile. Grandma was offered a teaching post? By Chiron?

Before I could dwell on it, Chiron acknowledged our decisions and let us go. I said good-bye to Percy, who would be picked up by Sally later that day. But I couldn't find Mikai and Nico. So I was forced to cross the threshold of camp without saying good bye. I knew we'd meet again soon.

I was sad to leave the camp, the place where I felt really at home. Where I didn't have to act normal to be accepted. There, being different, being the child of a god or goddess and having enhanced battle awareness and special abilities, made you normal. But I had to go. I vowed, staring at the great pine tree and the dragon on the hill top, that I would return.

"No one else seemed to notice her, but I realized maybe she preferred it that way."

~Percy Jackson, PJO: The Last Olympian

A/N: Um... Please do tell me if anyone's becoming a Mary Sue/Gary Stu... and please tell me how to de-Suify/de-Stuify. Or if anyone's OOC, and how I can manage it... Please and thanks!

[1] I am referring to Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny, two animes I have watched but do not own. She's Japanese... she's supposed to be familiar with anime to a degree.