Just so you know:
"blah" - regular
blah - thought
:blah: - Japanese
Kenji swung his feet idly from a branch watching the sun rise. Like normally, he woke at five in the morning, but instead of going out running, he just sat on this branch, swinging his legs back in forth. It was a rather tedious movement.
Kenji watched interested at the silver timber wolves that prowled alongside the camp. Their silver fur gave off a metallic gleam. Hunters wandered around the camp, bustling around. Their famous silver bow and arrows and knives nowhere in sight, but Kenji knew that these hunters could summon those lethal weapons at moment's notice.
Many of the hunters stared at Kenji with unmasked curiously, but sooner or later ignored him in favor of whatever they were doing. Occasionally a hunter or two would stare at him with distaste or sneer at him. He kept his distance, they kept theirs. It was a mutual agreement that if they do not bother each other, they would ignore eqch other, peacefully. Kenji remembered each and every girl that he had brought to the hunter's camp, but it is clear that they do not recognize him. That is good. Many of them kept their distance and a few would join the older hunters in sneering at him. Over the night, he'd kept watch, keeping an eye on Nico and Grover's tent for te same reason many of the hunters would watch him warily. But one or two hours before five, he accidentally fell asleep, overcome by the lull to close his eyes and rest. Even with the lack of sleep, Kenji still looked like he had a full night's sleep. No panda bear eyes were present. No yawns escaping his mouth.
Kenji peered up at the sky, he guessed that it was nearing about eight. As he stared at the sun, he suddenly had the view of a Mercedes cruising through the sky, towards him. He shook his head again, and the image disappeared. He looked at the sun again, for some reason, the sun seemed like it was getting nearer and nearer. The rays of the sun upon his skin, slowing became hotter and hotter. Right when he heat was about to be become unbearable, there was a bright flash. Kenji instinctively covered him eyes with his hands, shielding him from the light. As the light receded, Kenji peeked out from behind his hands, small black spots dancing in front of his eyes. Stupid light.
Kenji couldn't believe his eyes. There, on the ground underneath him, was a shiny red Mercedes. The silver eyed goddess emerged from her tent immediately as if she knew that the Mercedes was coming, and began walking towards the car where a handsome blonde haired man stepped out of the car wearing a broad smile, before putting away his designer sunglasses.
The blonde man immediately went over to the nearest hunter and threw his arm around her. Ha, Kenji snorted mentally, bad move. He flashed a pearly white smile at her. The hunter threw off the man's arm instantly and sneered at him before storming away angrily. The blond man went to another hunter and repeated the motion, unnerved about the previous rejection. The other hunters sneered at him along with their sisters.
The silver eyes goddess made her way to the man, her silver eyes glinting angrily and started yelling at the man. Kenji raised a curious eyebrow at what she was saying, but he couldn't hear from where he was sitting, so he jumped from branch to branch to hear the interesting argument.
The furious goddess berated the man, "Do not touch my hunters. Do you hear me, Apollo!" Ah so this man was the fabled god of the sun. Honestly, this particular god was not what Kenji expected. To be honest, he had expected all of the gods to be arrogant, high and mighty, and demanding everyone to be bowing before their feet. But Apollo didn't.
Apollo, as Kenji had learned, merely laughed and winked at an assembled group of hunters, ignoring his angry sister.
Artemis loudly declared, "APOLLO! Stop flirting with my hunters."
Apollo smirked and held up surrendering hands before moving on, "So, where's that mortal that's in camp." Kenji'a eyes widened fractionally, Wow! News travels fast!
Artemis snorted, "Probably sleeping in like the pig all boys are."
Kenji jumped down gracefully from the tree he was eavesdropping on and intervened, "Actually, Lady Artemis, I have been sitting in this tree all night except for three and four in the morning, keeping watch."
Her eyes twitched, turning to stare at the boy before stiffly replying, "It seems you weren't sleeping in and explain why you were keeping watch." She had the haughty tone that demanded an answer.
Kenji raised an eyebrow. "I keep my brother's safety along with my friend's safety at the top of my priorities."
"I assure you, your brother and friend are perfectly safe in my camp. You should think for yourself," disbelief in her voice. "You believe your friend and brother is not safe in my camp, where a goddess resides?"
Kenji stood his ground, "But you could never be too careful, hm?" asked Kenji wryly.
An arm threw itself over Kenji's shoulders, it was Apollo's, "I like you, mortal." As Kenji looked up, the god smiled a blinding smile at him, his pearly white smile dangerously bright.
Kenji raised a hand and picked off the god's arm, though careful enough to not mean disrespect to the god, "No disrespect, Lord Apollo, but please refrain from touching me."
Apollo laughed it off and held a hand in front of him, "What's your name? And drop the 'Lord' thing. Call me Apollo."
Kenji cautiously grasped the hand and shook it once, "Kenji."
"Cool name," Apollo commented.
Right at that moment a bleary eyed boy peeked his head out of the tent, his hair a mess, he wandered out, waving tiredly at Kenji, "Hey Kenji."
Kenji waved back merrily, "Hey Nico, had a good night's sleep?" For once, Nico was tired, not bouncing off the walls.
Nico smiled as bright as he can, "Yep," he saw Apollo standing behind Kenji, "Who's he?"
Kenji looked behind him, for a second he forgot about the god looming behind him. It was kind of embarrassing. The damn god was practically glowing. "Oh, him? That's Apollo."
Nico stared at Apollo with wide adoring eyes, suddenly wide awake, "Like THE Apollo. Like the god of the sun?"
"Yes."
Nico raced into his tent before darting back out waving around a miniature size of a man standing next to a red, orange, and yellow chariot. "Is this you?"
Apollo looked at the figurine curiously and shook his head, "How mortals portray me. I do not look like that." Apollo plucked the small figurine out of Nico's waving hand, examining it more closely.
As Apollo continued to converse with the excited young boy, Artemis rallied up the hunter and broke camp. As everyone finished packing, Nico leaving Grover to pack their stuff alone, Artemis yelled irritably at Apollo that was still talking with Nico, probably still irritated that Apollo had flirted with her hunters, "Apollo! Time to go!"
"Okay, okay." Apollo made his way to the bright red Mercedes, changing it into a big yellow school bus. Apollo grimaced as the Mercedes successfully shifted into the form of a bright yellow school bus, "All aboard."
Everybody filed into the bus unfazed by the transformation unlike Nico who was gawking. As Kenji made his way into the yellow school last, he asked Apollo on why he changed the Mercedes into the school bus, though it was slightly obvious that the Mercedes would not fit that many people. But, why did it have to be a school bus? Not that he had anything against school buses.
Apollo replied mournfully, "The Mercedes is not big enough to fight everyone."
"Than why don't you change it into a stylish bus or like one of those stage coach buses? To make it at least a little more comfortable."
Apollo's face lit up, "Good idea!" He snapped his fingers and the hideously yellow school but transformed into a double decker coach bus. The color, an elegant blue mixed with a royal purple painted the sides of the bus in elegant swirls. Yells of surprise erupted from inside the bus.
An angry voice screamed from inside, "APOLLO!" It was Artemis.
Apollo remarked, "I think Artemis is angry with me."
Kenji gave Apollo a small smile, "I think so too," and boarded the bus.
There was screaming all around him. Kenji clasped his hands on his ears. The screaming was starting to annoy him. It especially hurt his ears. Unlike some people, he was smart enough to put on his seat belt. The bus rocked and the screams was starting to make him deaf. It was just like a roller coaster. But a lot more dangerous. And more fun. He glanced out the window, the bus, or sun, was starting to make scorch marks on the roofs below them, it wouldn't be too long until the bus or sun would set something on fire.
Thalia's face in the rearview mirror looked pale and clammy. She was turning was too hard and jerky. She was gripping the steering wheel so hard that her knuckles were white with strain. Apollo was at her side, yelling reassurances and tips on driving, but not helping her drive. "Loosen your grip!" "Turn smoother!" "No! Slow down!"
Thalia yelled back, stressed, "Well. YOU ARE NOT HELPING!"
Kenji looked at Thalia closely, examining her appearance. Her clammy hands and pale face would be a giveaway for a fear to crash, but you can't really crash into something in the sky other than the occasional bird and clouds if you could that. Kenji blinked, she had a fear of heights. Her eyes kept glancing down on the ground, instead of keeping her eyes on the road, or sky. Whatever.
Pitying the group on the bus and Thalia, Kenji unbuckled his seat belt and slowly made his way to the front.
Right as he was right next to Thalia, Kenji grabbed Thalia's arm harshly while the other hand found its way to the steering wheel. Kenji teared Thalia's iron fingers from the wheel and pulled her out of the seat while sitting down himself. The bus jerked a bit more because of the change in drivers. The screams escalated. Shut up! he wanted to yell.
Kenji lightly pressed on the brakes, slowing down the speeding bus marginally, shooting the bus to the sky, preventing more roofs from lighting on fire. The people on the bus breathed a collective sigh of relief. Everybody arranged themselves back into an organized bunch, this time, putting on some seat belts. Just in case.
Thalia stood up from her place on the floor and placed a shaky hand on Kenji's shoulder and thanked him, "Thanks." Kenji looked at her, taking his eyes off the sky, he saw the relief and gratitude in her eyes. She heaved heavily, trying to catch her breath.
Kenji smiled, "You're welcome. You were dying out there."
She nodded and without a word, turned away to take a seat.
Kenji turned his head back to the road, or sky. He drove smoothly, no bumps and such like speed bumps on the road. Or traffic. Yes, no traffic certainly is a plus. Clear skies. Not even a stray bird. Slowly, conversations began to pick up and hands that were clinging to their seats loosened gradually.
Apollo collapsed in a chair, "Thanks."
"Welcome. Now, how about you tell me where to land."
Apollo peered down at the mass of tress and things, "Oh, just land here."
Kenji nodded and spoke loudly enough for the whole bus can hear, "We will be arriving at our destination in five minutes."
Apollo stared at him with a funny expression on his face, "What did you do that for?"
Kenji shrugged, "I'm mortal remember. I had always wanted to do that." It was true. And it was so worth it, seeing the looks on the demigod's and huntress's faces. God's and goddess's faces too.
The bus touched down lightly on the ground, barely making an impact. The bus bounced a little.
Apollo clapped a hand on Kenji's shoulder, "Thanks, once again, bud."
"Welcome, once again," Kenji shot back at him, becoming more comfortable with the casual god.
The hunters and the demigods and the god and the goddess filed out of the bus. They were in the middle of a forest in the middle of nowhere. Kenji looked up at the sign that hung. Camp Half-Blood, it said.
Kenji asked Apollo, "Why didn't we just park inside of the camp?"
"Well, my mortal friend. There are barriers that prevent mortals and monster from entering. It also prevents mortals from seeing it. And you are a mortal, but clear-sighted. So you could see the camp, but you can not enter it. A regular mortal would see plain strawberry fields," Apollo explained.
"So, how do I get in?" Kenji asked just to be safe. He still did not know whether the barrier would accept a disowned demigod. He also didn't want anybody else to know that he was not a mortal, but a used-to-be demigod.
"If a demigod or a god or something, gives you permission to enter." With that said, Apollo pronounced, "I, Phoebus Apollo, give Kenji-"
He leaned down and asked, "What's your last name?"
"Um... Di Angelo," Kenji said uncertainly. Would the barrier work with a fake last name? Most likely not. Well, he is hopeful that the barriers would still accept him.
"Oh." He continued, picking up where he left off, "Di Angelo, permission to enter camp."
Kenji approached the invisible boarder cautiously as everyone else leisurely walked into camp. His hand reached out to see if he could feel the border. Suddenly, he felt something pressing him down. The weight continued to increase as he neared the border. The barrier did resist him a little, but let him past. He kept walking forward. He knew he had passed through the border when the weight on his shoulders lessened and disappeared. Apollo stepped in from behind him and nudged him with his shoulders a little, "Beautiful, eh?"
Kenji examined the camp. True to the Mist (he'd learned from books), there were strawberry fields across the field. All across the camp, there were kids of all ages milling around. Satyrs were also often seen walking among the strawberries whistling tunes. In the center, there was a group of cabins together. Each of the cabins have their own characteristics.
Apollo pointed to a golden cabin that reflected the rays of the sun, "That's my cabin," he pronounced proudly.
Kenji winced a bit at the sheer brightness of the cabin, "Would you mind turning down the blindness? I think it's blinding everybody that sees it."
Apollo shook it off, "Nah. Anyway. My kids don't mind it."
Thalia jogged up to the two and panted, "Chiron need you, Kenji."
Kenji raised an eyebrow, "Um.. Okay?"
"Cool. I'll lead you to the Big House." What type of name is the Big House?
Apollo started to walked towards his bus now turned back into Mercedes, Kenji didn't even notice the bus change back. "See ya, Kenji."
Thalia started to lead Kenji towards the Big House, whatever that is. Many kids stopped to wave at Thalia. A few shouted, "Hey! New kid?" Was Thalia special or something? Kenji wondered.
The pair soon arrived at the Big House, a man that sat on the wheelchair sat next to the door, as if he was waiting for them, and beckoned them in.
The man had a scruffy beard, his eyes looked at everyone kindly, seeing everyone in a positive light, seeing the good in people. Kenji instantly knew that this man had always seen the best in everyone. Though, underneath the kindness, his eyes were weary. This man had definitely had a long life. There was also wisdom, knowledge that you learn over the course of life.
He smiled, "Hello, Thalia."
Thali smiled back, "Hey, Chiron."
Chiron stared at Kenji, "Hello."
Kenji nodded, "Hello."
"What is your name?" requested Chiron.
"Kenji." Kenji seeing Chiron about what his last name was, Kenji interrupted him, "Di Angelo." Kenji made a mental note in his brain to get used to introduce himself as 'Kenji Di Angelo'. It will take some getting used to.
"Ah. So you are young Nico's brother?"
"Yes," confirmed Kenji. Short simple answers. Short simple answers.
"Interesting," hummed Chiron, "very interesting."
"Well," Chiron started, taking a deep breath, "it seems that you are a mortal, a clear-sighted one. Am I correct?"
"Yes."
"Nico right now is seeing the video, but it seems I am going to have to tell you. You simply can not just see the video. This is a lot to take in. So, Kenji, are you aware of the mythical world."
"Yes."
Chiron's eyes widened, surprised. He certainly was not expecting that answer. "It seems that my work is already done for me."
Nico came prancing into the Big House with a wide smile on his face, Grover heaving behind him. Do you notice the pattern?
"The movie is so... cool!" he exclaimed broadly. "Are you going to see it?"
"No..."
Chiron rolled across from behind a table to face Nico, "Nico, I know Grover already showed you around, so can I steal Grover a while to show around Kenji while you get settled in the Hermes cabin."
"Ok," he chirped and darted out the door.
Grover continued to try to catch his breath, "O-ok. Come," pant, "on Kenji. Phew," he placed his hands on his knees, "How do you not get tired following Nico around. And his constant chatter. How do you stand that?"
Kenji just shrugged, giving no answer. Instead he walked past Grover, "I thought you were going to show me around?"
"Come on! Give me a break!"
