The Ocean's Radiance

She had idly daydreamed about being reincarnated into her favorite books before but Hikari Kurosawa, Daughter of Apollo, was never supposed to be a character there, was she? Featuring an intelligent Percy, Olympian culture and politics, and storyline deviations. SI!OC, Percy x OC

x

(Greenleaf Library, Greenwich, Connecticut)

"Thank you for your work today, Ms. Kurosawa," the team leader, one of the local high school seniors said, checking his clipboard, "You've completed your hours for the week. Would you like to leave?"

"I can take on one more student, sir," Hikari replied. "Can I have it credited for next week?"

She received an assent and then settled into her usual desk, waiting for the next student to be sent to her. James Lincoln Elementary prided itself on producing citizen-students, whatever that meant, and mandated a certain amount of volunteer service each year. She had signed up to tutor underprivileged students and used that to explain the demigod runaways that she had met last month to her neighbor.

Fortunately it was a misdirection that had only been needed once. The dark-haired girl had been able to sneak Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth into the guest house without being seen and back out again after two nights rest. The house was covered by a line of trees and the utilities were in working order, so all Hikari had to do was buy groceries and pick up pizza on the way home from school. The three had been appreciative of her help, especially Annabeth when Hikari insisted that she take a few Ancient Greek books with her. She had seen them off on the third day, loaded with a few hundred dollars in cash, additional clothes (the look on Luke's face when her mom's t-shirt had fit him perfectly…), a printed map of the east coast, and lots of bandages.

Merely knowing that she had helped the three was enough, but Hikari couldn't say that the flask of ambrosia (that Thalia swore was from a magical goat) and the additional dagger that they gave her in return wasn't nice.

While she didn't get to spend much time with the three (Satoru Kurosawa would hardly excuse lessons without a good reason), Hikari did like them. Annabeth and Thalia were simple enough to explain. The younger girl was earnest, brave, and quite clever, on top of being ridiculously cute with her princess curls and wide grey eyes. She could also see the hints of the badass hero she would become; the ambition to make her mark on the world and the empathy that would form that mark. In many ways, the Daughter of Athena reminded her of Takeshi, so Hikari couldn't resist hugging her (four times). Annabeth had tolerated those hugs with all the grace of a child knowing that she would receive chocolate afterwards.

Thalia, in comparision, was an insecure bundle of sass and anger that loved her makeshift little family to the point of abandon. She was twelve years old but had the movements of a seasoned fighter, the jaded personality of a single mom, and the snarky attitude of a delinquent. Despite disapproval over Hikari's cookie-cutter appearance and lifestyle ("Is that a cardigan Kurosawa?!"), she had complimented her archery skills and offered to go on patrol with her. Hikari was also surprised by how considerate she could be, quietly informing her that she was 'one of the more powerful demigods' before reiterating that Hikari didn't have to give them shelter.

The eldest one was more difficult to explain. Even though Hikari knew that he was essentially the Anakin Skywalker of this story, the fourteen-year-old boy she had met was friendly and easygoing. Luke had understandable reservations about the Olympians and a genuine desire to make life easier for other demigods, to which she sympathized. The problem was that he was inherently a rebel and his solution was to tear down the Pantheon, without having a clear idea of how to replace it. In comparison, Hikari wanted to work within the existing system to gradually change the status quo. The dark-haired girl had no idea if her attempts would result in lasting change but his, she knew, were doomed to failure.

Luke Castellan was the human embodiment of the road to hell being paved with good intentions. Hikari mourned for all of the talent and courage that Kronos would distort beyond recognition.

She would have considered the tragic fate of the boy for a little longer but for the sound of footsteps approaching her. "Hello…"

"Hey there, sunshine," the blonde boy with the startlingly blue eyes said cheerily, pulling the chair out and carelessly plopping down, "Close your mouth now. We don't have a lot of time."

Hikari could barely hear the words, her rapid heartbeat matching the speed that her eyes darted over the casually dressed preteen. She had known that she would meet the God eventually but hadn't expected him to just stroll into her mortal life without any forewarning. There was the sky blue eyes of course, but the aquiline nose and something similar about the cheekbones. 'This is… my father…'

'My father the Greek God,' she reminded herself, ducking her head down in respect, "Lord Apollo."

"Aren't you the respectful one?" the boy mused, his lips pulling up into a smirk when she looked up, "I guess that crosses 'firecracker' off the list. How do you feel about 'sunflower'?"

"You're right, that's too trite," her father agreed, while she just stared at him in bemusement. "Skyfall sounds too much like a spy name and 'dawn' seems too gentle for a daughter that mastered two of my combat abilities. Kudos for that by the way. You're the first kid in decades to even consider my photokinetic abilities."

"Ah, t-thanks," she stuttered. Odd as the situation was, this was the first compliment Hikari had received from her second biological parent. "Lord Apollo, are you trying to find a nickname for me?"

"Not that I've had any luck so far, but yes," he replied, "Now let's cut out this lord stuff. Don't get me wrong. I like mortals that show proper respect as much as any other Olympian, but you are my kid and this is in private. Pull off the routine for the others though; none of my kids have been voted best mannered yet."

"What would you like me to call you?" Hikari questioned, 'Because Dad would be just too weird…'

"Fred is fine for now," the Sun God answered, stapling his fingers together and regarding her thoughtfully, "I wanted to speak to you earlier but Hera's on the warpath since Dad revealed his second bastard in this decade. I thought it would be better for everyone to settle down before I slipped under the Ancient Laws."

"Er… should you be telling me this?" 'Did he know about the reincarnation?'

"I can tell from the look on your face that I'm not revealing anything you don't already know," Apollo's smirk grew when she recoiled, "Hey, hey, it's fine. I'm the only one who knows about the r-thing."

Hikari's eyes widened. "Did you bring me here?"

"Not exactly. Gods can't interfere much beyond their own domains. You were hidden from my sight in a past life, so you were either outside of the western influence- which is impossible, since I know you have some prior knowledge about circumstances here- or you're from another world. The old ladies implied that it was the second one when I pressed them."

"The old ladies?" Anticipation and hesitance were filling her in equal turns. She could finally get some answers about one of the mysteries that had been bothering her since her life as Hikari Kurosawa began, but she wasn't sure if those were answers that she wanted to know.

"The Fates brought you here as a favor to me," Apollo clarified, "Do you know about Octavian?"

"Your Roman son?" If he had brought her here, then he had some need of her. She would have to bet on that and any possible fatherly affection to live past the next two wars.

"You do know a lot." Those blue eyes gleamed approvingly and she recalled that her father was also considered a deity of knowledge. "Your half-brother promised to make me great if I granted him the gift of prophecy. I foolishly acceded to this request and have now realized what a mistake that was. He's going to be a disaster for me, I just know it."

"Do you want me to stop him?" If so, that could get difficult. She hadn't read past Son of Neptune yet.

"No. Octavian's plans will succeed and however many other Olympians may be involved in his failure, I will be the one to bear blame. I want you to mitigate that," Apollo stated grimly, "Become a hero. Become great enough to shoulder your brother's dishonor and bring attention to my children's deeds. I invested a lot of favors into bringing a counterweight to Octavian in the game."

"I see." Hikari tried to make her voice steady. Even if she did have the maturity of a near-adult and no strong attachment to this god, it still hurt to have your father refer to you as an investment. "Do you have any specific tasks for me?"

"You will enroll yourself into this school but not until your tenth birthday has passed," Apollo instructed, passing her a school brochure and ignoring the hitch in her tone, "Uncle Poseidon's brat will be there then and I want you to ally with him. Other than my half-sister, he's the only other known candidate for the prophecy."

'So he's going to side with Poseidon when the Olympians debate about killing his son,' Hikari deduced. "You don't want me to ally with Thalia Grace?"

Thalia Grace, Daughter of Zeus and currently the most-likely candidate for the prophecy, was also a good display of her foreknowledge. There was another gleam of approval and Hikari tried not to feel too pathetic when she received a surge of happiness from that. This was a business arrangement. Her reincarnation for his recognition.

"Thalia's a better candidate but Hermes and Athena have already signalled their support for her," Apollo explained, "Adding one more demigod won't garner much influence, especially because Dad tries to take as much of the credit for his demigods works as possible. Uncle Poseidon doesn't."

"Lord Poseidon is also in a weaker position since his son is untrained and the Olympian Council is filled with his brother's children," she observed, "You would get more credit for supporting Percy early on before he proved himself a capable hero."

"Yes, but there's already some proof involved, isn't there?" Apollo chuckled at her confused face, "Just because we haven't talked yet, doesn't mean I don't keep a close eye on my kids. You're trying to get in touch with a few demigods now and I think they would make good bets later on."

'Of course he would keep an eye on his investment…' "Is there anything else?"

"Three matters. First, I want you to be more careful about how you refer to us. Gods and monsters are immediately aware of when their names are spoken and even if most don't bother to pay attention to who's doing it, there's always the minor risk that you need to train yourself out of. It doesn't matter now because I put a barrier up before we spoke but keep that in mind."

'I can't believe I forgot about that!' Hikari nodded, blushing in embarrassment.

"Second, I don't want you to study healing," he raised a hand to forestall her protest, "I know that a lot of my other children are famous for it, but when they choose that route, they forsake another. I am the god of plagues and illnesses too and I think that ability will be more useful to you later on."

'He wants me to command plagues?!' Visions of accidentally releasing another Black Death made her gulp and nod hesitantly. Then again, that power could come in very handy during the war…

"Finally, I want to know how you feel." She blinked at him. He grinned back at her.

"I feel fine." The perfectly neutral answer caused the Sun God to shake his head.

"Are you though? You've been reincarnated into another world and have all of these tasks thrust on you. Your only support so far has been your cousin," the god questioned gently. "I tried to find you a good family…"

"You have," she said quickly, "They're great. Don't worry. I'll do my best to bring you honor."

The boy with the eerily bright eyes regarded her warily and then stared up at the ceiling. "I'm not very good at this, I know. None of us are, even after centuries of existence, because we're not allowed to gain any experience. Normally I'd pull my happy surfer persona but I don't think that'll work for you."

"..."

His head lifted back up and he stared at her with a wistful gaze. "Mortals that outlive their children claim that it's the worst feeling in the world. They should try losing hundreds of them. Each one hurts just that little bit less, but that's because each one receives that little less attention."

Apparently not waiting for a response, he continued. "Gods aren't immune to loving their children. If anything, they can sometimes care too much. Trust me, I'm the God of Prophecy, and while your divine blood hides the particulars of your destinies from me, I do have some sense of how important you can be and what you may do. I knew that Octavian's heart was too ambitious, too easy to sway and I granted him that power anyway. Because isn't that what a father's supposed to do? Equip his son with the tools and hope that he'll become a good man? Let his children make their mistakes?"

"And if that mistake leads to people dying?" Hikari asked bluntly.

A sad smile crossed the man's face. "You can't fight Fate, child. You can change details, save one life at the expense of another, but the salient points of every story they weave will come to pass. If not Octavian, then another child… but granting power to survive to my own and hoping that he'll follow his better nature? That's the best that an Olympian parent can do, within the Ancient Laws."

"Oh." There was too much regret on that face to not be real. Unsure, she reached out her hand and tentatively patted his. "Thank you for coming here."

"Don't ever think that I don't care," Apollo told her, "Every time you use your powers, every time you step into the sunlight, you have my attention. I'm always watching you."

He paused and then grimaced. "That sounded much less creepy in my head."

"I think I understand what you mean," Hikari answered through her laughter, "Thanks."

"For the love of the gods, I hope so," the blonde boy shuddered, "Look, you're my kid and I love you. If you ever need my help, pray to me and I'll answer. Practice your archery and illusions but don't forget to relax sometimes. What am I missing? Oh yeah, listen to your mom and always check under the bed for monsters."

"Sage advice that I'll do my best to follow," the dark-haired girl promised, smiling.

"And I want to see more of those cute smiles too," Apollo teased, reaching out a hand to ruffle her hair. His fingers felt warm against her forehead. "You know, I think I reached a nickname for you. You'll be my little dewdrop!"

"Dewdrop?" Hikari snorted, "How is that associated with the sun?"

"I'm sure you'll find the connection," he waved the matter off and stood up, "My time is running out. Goodbye Daughter."

"Yeah," she murmured, feeling strangely sad to see him go, "Bye… Dad."

x

(Monroe Middle, New York, New York)

For the next almost two years, Hikari practiced her archery until she could hit moving targets within 30 meters of her with ease. She practiced her illusions until she could make herself look like anyone she wanted and (to some extent) refracted rays of light until parts of her body appeared spotty. She did more research on Greek mythology, accumulated almost three thousand dollars from different monsters, updated the traps around her home, and visited Takeshi for another summer trip (he had apparently taken Tomo on as his assistant). She also studied the various pathogens and plagues that existed throughout history though she didn't try her hand at creating any. Mostly because she didn't know how, but partly because Black Death. Hikari researched her new nickname too.

The connection turned out to be Aurora, a little-known Roman goddess of the dawn, who flew across the sky announcing the arrival of the sun. Her brother was Sol (the sun), her sister Luna (the moon), and both siblings appeared to be versions of Apollo and Artemis. The merry dancers of the north, or Aurora Borealis, was named after her and dew was supposedly created from her teardrops.

Hikari had spent a good week scouring the library before she could find all of this and understand her nickname. At the end, she had a bit of an internal struggle before deciding that being likened to teardrops wasn't too bad when Aurora was known as the herald of the sun. Besides, it sounded pretty.

The day after she figured it out, Hikari woke up to something cold sliding down her cheek. When she had sat up to get a closer look, she found an unfamiliar necklace on her blanket. A thin gold chain with a teardrop-shaped diamond hanging from it. She raised it up to the light and was utterly entranced when it appeared as though shimmering lights were dancing in the stone. Red, blue, green, yellow and violet lights danced merrily as she shifted the gem.

"Brilliant," Hikari whispered, immediately putting the necklace on. Her first ever gift from her Dad!

She wondered if the necklace possessed any magical powers but if it did, it wasn't revealing anything to her now. Still the cool touch of the diamond against her throat felt comforting and the illusion she cast on it to the hide the necklace felt almost effortless. Hikari certainly wouldn't be taking it off.

Hikari reached out a hand to touch it now, under the guise of adjusting the collar of her new blazer, as she awkwardly smiled at the class. Chihiro Kurosawa hadn't been particularly enthused about her switching to New York private school in October, but the relative closeness to her mother's office (it was only six train stops away) and Hikari pulling another closet stunt convinced her. It seemed that her Dad may have meddled too because her class had a dark-haired boy with the prettiest eyes she had ever seen.

Introduction first though. "Hello. My name is Hikari Kurosawa. I'm from Connecticut."

After answering some basic questions at the urging of one sadistic homeroom teacher- "Closer to my Mom's work", "No", "My favorite subject is English", "I don't play"- she was allowed to sit down. Fortunately, Percy Jackson had already earned the moniker of the weird troublemaker, so the seat next to him was empty. As Mr. Walson started off the lesson, she began to halfheartedly take notes and more dedicatedly sneak peeks.

'I can't believe I don't have eyelashes like that,' she bemoaned inwardly. For an almost ten-year-old boy, Percy Jackson was rather good-looking. He hadn't hit his growth spurt yet (though he was still taller than her) but he had that healthy, Mediterranean glow to his skin and symmetrical, Grecian features. Not to mention eyes that did remind her of the ocean under a perfectly sunny day.

He was just as adorable as Annabeth but also less… harsh. Annabeth had been a scrappy runaway with fighting experience and sharp grey eyes that would strip you down to the bone and then mentally reassemble you in her head, with every weakness catalogued for future reference. Percy Jackson had soft hands, an open posture, and a look of curiosity on his face as he stared at her.

Also, he was staring at her. Hikari looked up to meet his eyes and the Son of Poseidon immediately averted his gaze, blushing.

She was internally fangirling over the cuteness of it all when a note hit her desk. She discreetly opened it to find the absolute worst scrawl she had ever seen. Why are you staring at me?

She tossed it back. You have pretty eyes.

The boy's face reddened even more. Stop being weird.

Hikari bit her tongue. She would not squeal over this. Can't. It's a genetic disorder beyond my control. Do you like chocolate?

His lips twitched up. Everyone likes chocolate.

My favorites are Sea Salt Almonds. Every week I buy some at a shop called Sweet on America.

He (slowly) read the note. He paused. He looked confused. He stopped writing.

'Well that could have gone better,' Hikari mused, as the future hero of the world proceeded to ignore her for the rest of the lesson. She must have really creeped him out if he would pretend to be interested in the Carter Administration.

x

(Monroe Middle, New York, New York)

Percy looked to the left, then to the right, and then tried to cross the hall as quickly as possible when he didn't see the new girl. Technically, it had been two weeks already and Hikari Kurosawa had shed the new girl title to the label of smart, aloof, and sort-of popular rich kid. 'Sort-of popular' because she kept politely rejecting any offers to hang out and mostly ignored her classmates. 'Mostly ignored' because Percy was pretty sure that she was stalking him.

It wasn't too hard for her either. They shared six out of eight classes and lunch and homeroom, and their lockers were on the same hallway. Percy knew that because Hikari Kurosawa also took every opportunity available to try to talk to him.

"Percy!" Like clockwork, the bell rang, classes let out, and the pretty Asian girl with the uncommonly blue eyes popped up at his shoulder. She had pulled her long black hair up into a high ponytail today. "I was planning to study at the library today. Would you like to come with me?"

This request had become so routine that the kids walking past them didn't even bother to wonder why the princess kept pestering the pauper.

"I'm busy," the boy tried to recall an excuse he hadn't used yet. "My… step-dad needs me to wash his car." He tried not to gag over giving Smelly Gabe any familial label at all.

She pouted. It would be kind of cute if she wasn't also a stalker. "You're always busy when I invite you to something."

"I know. That's what's called a hint."

"I didn't think that note would freak you out so much," she tapped the hollow of her throat, which Percy recognized as a common behavior when she was nervous. Admittedly, he probably watched her as much as she watched him, but in his case, it was different. He did it for self-preservation.

"You named my favorite chocolate from the shop where my m- where I get mine," he informed her.

"Oh, I already know Mrs. Jackson is your mom," Hikari waved off, making him pale.

"You're stalking me?" The boy moved his backpack over the front of his body. It was defense.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not-" Percy tried not to hyperventilate when she paused. "Okay, I think we need to talk about something. Please come with me?"

"No way." He eyed her small hands with the sky blue nail polish warily. "I know stranger danger."

"I'm not a stranger," she protested, "You know my name is Hikari Kurosawa. I'm your classmate!"

"How do I know that's your real name?" At her look of disbelief, he elaborated.

"I know how these things work. You're going to use candy to bring me to a secluded alley, where someone will knock me out, take me to a white van, and harvest my organs for the black market."

"I think you're mixing up your urban legends." The dark-haired girl placed her hands against her mouth to control her giggling. "How about this? My family has a membership card to a high-end gym in the city. There a lot of private pools and security cameras there, and we can still talk in peace."

Percy hesitated. The offer to swim was enticing, especially since he hadn't been to Montauk in ages and the school didn't have a pool…

He shook his head. "Look, I don't know what you've heard but I'm not a prostitute."

This time Hikari Kurosawa didn't bother to smother her laughter.

x

(Gym, New York, New York)

Perseus Jackson was one hell of a suspicious kid, so it took another ten minutes for Hikari convince him that she wasn't a pimp, murderer, organ smuggler, thief, kidnapper, organ smugger again, spy, mafia recruiter, or organ smuggler again. He had an awfully high opinion of his kidney then.

"This is a nice place," the boy commented, "Why do you have a membership card though? I thought your family lived in Connecticut."

"Now look who's trying to be a stalker," Hikari teased, liking how easy it was to make him blush. She resisted the urge to pinch his cheeks, guessing that it would earn another accusation of testing his skin for the illegal body operation she supposedly ran. "My mom's law firm gave her one as part of its incentives package and she gave it to me because it has a small archery range."

"You know archery? Is that how-"

"I'm not going to use my arrows to kill you," she interjected quickly.

"-You built up that muscle?" The boy smirked. "I'm not that bad."

"You accused me of trying to kidnap you to steal your organs three times already."

"I only meant it twice," Percy grinned boyishly, apparently unafraid of her glare, "The last time was for the look on your face when I said it."

"I think I liked you better when you thought I was a criminal," the dark-haired girl grumbled under her breath, waving to the guard as she led them down the stairs to the basement. There were five rooms down there of varying size, each one turned into a pool and the smallest one almost always empty.

"Hey, aren't we going to use that one?" Percy looked hopefully towards the massive pool behind the glass doors they were walking by. She saw the two other swimmers inside and shook her head.

"Maybe later but I need to talk to you privately first." The room that they entered was only a quarter of the size of the previous one and the pool only five feet in depth but it was also empty. She kept a swimsuit in a permanent locker in the facility but she hadn't bothered to pick it up, so Hikari merely took off her shoes, rolled her pants up, and sat down at the edge. "You should probably strip down to your boxers."

"...I know we talked about this before, but I'm really not that kind of guy."

Hikari rolled her eyes. "Don't flatter yourself. Pretty eyes or not, I'm not interested in molesting a fifth grader. Actually just sit down and let's have a talk."

The backhanded compliment made him blush again (seriously, if Annabeth and Percy were this adorable, then she was going to die of cuteness overload when she met kid Nico) before he sat across from her. She noticed that he hadn't taken off his shoes yet, to make it easier to escape.

"Okay, so before I start this, I'm going to say that this news will probably turn your world upside down," Hikari tapped at her necklace intermittently, "I want to give you the chance to refuse it-"

"Wait, you're starting to scare me here," Percy laughed nervously, "You're not actually part of the mafia, are you?!"

"Well, I'm Japanese, so no," she tried to joke, "Maybe the yakuza but I don't think they accept American fifth graders."

It fell flat and she continued. "It concerns your missing parent and strange incidents that you've probably tried to rationalize away. There are pros and cons to this, the biggest con being that this information will put your life in danger. Well, more danger than what you're currently in."

Percy stared at her in disbelief. "You know my father?"

"I know who your father is," she stressed, "But I've never met him and you haven't either."

"How do you know that about me?"

"I know a lot of things about you. I know that your mom had to raise you alone, that you have dyslexia and ADHD, that you sometimes see things that, at a second glance, look completely normal," Hikari paused, "I know that because I've gone through all of that too."

He kept staring at her, the look of consideration heavy. "Did you come to Monroe to spy on me?"

"I came to Monroe to help you, not to spy," she grimaced, and decided to be more honest about matters. Enough stories had shown her that holding back information could lead to terrible misunderstandings and infighting down the road. "My Dad helped me do it."

"You said your mom works at a law firm and that you went through the same thing as me," Percy accused, "How do you know your dad then?"

'Percy can be annoyingly insightful sometimes,' she realized. "I met my Dad two years ago. He… gave me this." She closed her eyes and mentally dispelled the illusion. Under her fingers, the dewdrop necklace appeared at the hollow of her throat.

"Wha- how- is- that wasn't there a second ago!"

"I hid it," she replied matter-of-factly, "Before I can tell you more, I want to give you the option of refusing. You can walk out of here, right now, and I'll never bring this conversation up again."

"I- I'm not sure," Percy was staring at the necklace now, as though expecting it to disappear any second, "You mentioned that my life was in danger? How about my mom's?"

"Mrs. Jackson isn't a target. Kids like you and me are," Hikari corrected, "Don't even think about running away. You wouldn't survive a month on the streets without the protection your mother arranged for you."

Percy jerked back and she knew that she had guessed correctly. "Protection? Because of what? Why would anyone want to kill me? I'm just a kid!"

"I can't answer that yet. Look, if I don't continue, you can live your life with your mom's protection at home and mine at school. You'll be fine for a little longer but soon everything will be revealed."

"If it's just a matter of time then…" Percy wandered aloud, "You said there would be pros too?"

"One of the benefits would be getting rid of your stepfather," she admitted freely.

The dark-haired boy's eyes flashed with eagerness there. "How much more danger will I be in?"

"Not that much. The way that this works is that if I admit everything out loud then your danger increases a lot, but if I hint at it, we can prepare without much more danger," Hikari explained, frustrated at how vague she had to be.

"Okay," Percy took a deep breath, "Okay. Then I want to know more."

"The first thing you need to know is that I'm not making everything up," Hikari dragged her backpack closer and withdrew a thick, well-thumbed tome. "Do you know how to read Ancient Greek?"

Percy blinked at the non-sequitur. "Uh, no. Obviously."

"Great," she chirped, handing him the book, "Start from the first page then."

"Not sure what this is going to prove, since I'm already dyslexic," he muttered, looking down. "Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns… driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy…"

Percy voice wandered off and his eyes scanned the words faster. "The letters aren't moving."

"Look closer," Hikari prompted softly, "Blink if you have to."

"I don't recognize them. This isn't English," Percy looked astounded. "I've never seen Ancient Greek before in my life and now I'm suddenly fluent?"

"It's your birthright." Hikari didn't know it then, but when the dark-haired boy looked up, he saw the way her eyes sparked with enthusiasm. "Want to try another experiment with me?"

"Not sure if I have a choice, but sure," Percy closed the book. "Do I walk on water next?"

"Honestly, I think you might be able to do that," she said thoughtfully, "But no. I want you to stick your hand in the water and then pull it out. While you're doing that, think really hard about your skin being dry."

Reading a book is a previously foreign language must have had more of an impact then she thought, because he didn't even hesitate to follow her orders. Percy submerged his arm halfway to the elbow, a look of concentration present, before withdrawing it to the water. Astounded, he offered it for a handshake. When she touched it, a massive smile spread across Hikari's face. It was dry.

"My father wasn't human, was he?"

"Don't let it get you down. Mine isn't either."

"I'm so reassured then," Percy's voice lost some of its sarcasm, "And because of that I'm in danger?"

"Monsters exist in this world, Percy," she warned, "Not just the metaphorical ones that make you wonder about the depths of depravity in the world but real, honest-to-life, flesh-and-blood monsters that will kill you for the power you will have."

"So I don't have to use an umbrella. Big deal," Percy scoffed, "I'm not a threat to anyone."

"You can do a lot more than that," Hikari said firmly, "You're a child of the sea. One day, you'll be able to command tides and tsunamis to bow to your will and much more. Even if you never use that power, the risk of your existence is too much for some people to ignore. Your father is the king of the ocean-"

"Triton? My father is King Triton?" The boy looked insulted when she merely gaped at him. "What? I may not do well in school but I know who the king of the ocean is. I saw The Little Mermaid."

For the third time today, Hikari Kurosawa found herself bursting into uncontrollable giggles. She suspected that this would not be an uncommon occurrence around Percy Jackson.

x

Omake

"Percy, I'm telling you that Triton is not your father."

"I know. I'm doing this for family. Even if he's only my half-brother, I should learn more about him."

"Have you tried using an actual reference book then? Maybe studying Greek myths?"

"You know how hard it is to read with my dyslexia. Why not use a movie instead?"

"Because The Little Mermaid isn't an accurate source!"

"How do you know? It could be secret information that Walt Disney wanted to share with other demigods. Wasn't he a Son of Apollo?"

"You're being ridiculous Percy."

"I'm being a good uncle. Let's see, there's Arista, Attina, Aquata, Adella, Adrinna…"

One and a half hours later…

"Man, my big brother is a terrible dad."

"I'm not listening to you Percy."

"I mean, I get that he was being a protective at first by denying contact between mermaids and humans but being a dick by insulting her crush and destroying her collection of human garbage led to her to make a deal with Ursula-"

Twenty minutes later…

"And then he just accepts it! Ariel doesn't know anything about the human world or even her husband, who, again, Triton didn't have a single conversation with before letting his daughter marry…"

Five minutes later…

"And after all of that. I feel much better about the horrible parenting that my dad gave me!"

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