~Bleach/PJO A7 Ch10~
Calypso hadn't slept at all this night. She was worried. Worried about Ichigo. He was strong, she knew, but Hyperion was a notch above herself and the Nemean Lion he had faced the other day.
Hyperion was strong, one of the strongest Titans alive though some of his strength depended upon the time of day and his location. He was in the East, so he would be a lot stronger because he was the Titan of the East but it was early morning when the sun hadn't yet risen so his power wouldn't be at his full strength.
If Ichigo could weaken or defeat Hyperion before the sun rose, he would win the battle. However, if Hyperion hadn't been weakened enough, it was a definite possibility that Ichigo would lose and die.
Calypso had volunteered to stand watch for the night. In addition to being the only one among the four girls who hadn't been dreadfully exhausted after running a hundred miles nonstop with a god on her back, she wanted to be the first to greet Ichigo when he came back. She was worried about Ichigo but she still had faith in his power and skill. She was confident that Ichigo would come back but the question was how harmed he would be when he returned to her...when he returned.
Calypso frowned from her position within the cavern that they had made their temporary shelter. It had been hours now since she had last seen Ichigo but she could feel the power emanating from his. Her deep blue eyes, she had changed them to see if Ichigo would comment on her eyes, widened as she felt a surge of power coming from Ichigo. His power had doubled- no, tripled! Had he used one of his releases that he had talked about once? It was amazing, astonishing, absolutely overwhelming, engulfing her even from this far a distance and silently telling her that he would protect her and that everything would be alright.
Then, the sun had risen and Hyperion's power had increased though it fell short of Ichigo's own massive power. Ichigo was amazing. He wasn't even immortal let alone a god and he already had enough power to easily match Titans. He wasn't arrogant about his power like many of the gods and Titans she had known in her long existence but kind and with the desire to protect all that was precious to him. And that was just one of the many reasons why she loved him.
Calypso smiled as Ichigo somehow managed to discover a way to reduce Hyperion's power. Maybe if Ichigo was hurt enough, she could force him to rest and then become his doctor again? She blushed. This time though, she would try a more... interesting approach now that she had feelings for the man.
Calypso gasped softly as she sensed Ichigo extinguish Hyperion's soul from the Earth. Somehow, he managed to prevent Hyperion from immediately resurrecting from Tartarus. Thalia and Phoebe had told Zoë and she about how monsters immediately resurrected upon being dealt a death blow. The same would apply to any immortal and on occasion, to any mortal or demigod with a strong enough will and desire to live. Perhaps it had something to do with his Shinigami powers? Ichigo had told her that one of his jobs in his home universe was to send wayward souls to the Soul Society.
Calypso's thoughts became frantic as she sensed Ichigo moving towards their location. W-what should I do? Didn't Hermes tell me once that men love women who dress as something else? Should I dress up in a nurse's uniform? Wait, maybe a sexy nurse's uniform? But what if Ichigo doesn't like it? But he has to listen to me because I would be a nurse, right? What if he isn't injured? Then, I would have worn a nurses's uniform for nothing. Oh, curse you Aphrodite, why do you have to make things so difficult for me all the time?
In the end, Calypso decided to wait. It probably would have looked strange to Ichigo if she had greeted him in a nurse's uniform let alone awkward if he wasn't too injured. It was a long five minutes though in that time, Calypso determined that Ichigo couldn't be too injured if he was capable of moving that fast. She was grateful that she had chosen not to wear a nurse' s uniform.
Calypso's breathing rate increased as Ichigo appeared before her. He looked tired, with weary yet hyperactive brown eyes, a small slouch in his stature, and worn, torn clothes. Even so, he smiled as he greeted her. His eyes livened up a touch and his posture straightened out to his full height.
"Yo, Calypso. I'm back."
Her cheeks flushed as she replied in the way that Ichigo had taught her once when she was bored. "Welcome back, Ichigo."
His eyes darted wildly as if sensing for some unknown danger before finally resting on Calypso. "How is everyone?"
"Everyone was tired after our journey so when I offered to take the watch for the night, they all accepted and almost immediately fell asleep afterwards. Artemis and Apollo are resting in my tent. I put suppressor bracelets so that their power wouldn't be easily detected," Calypso told him as she led him inside the cave.
The cave was big in terms of available space but shallow as it soon ended in a rounded out wall of stone. Within the cave were a couple beds, likely conjured by Calypso, and occupied by Zoë, Thalia, and Phoebe who were all nestled comfortable under their respective blankets. Calypso's magical tent was in the middle of the beds, slightly opened.
"You want me to take the watch, Calypso?" Ichigo asked.
Calypso shook her head. "No, thank you, Ichigo. I'm not nearly as tired as you are. I'll take the watch for the night."
Ichigo hit his head with his hand. How had he forgotten one of the aspects of Kidō he had been taught? Quickly, he rushed towards the entrance of the cave, stopping just before he would have stepped outside. He bent down, and with a reiatsu-infused finger, began scribbling a series of designs.
"What are you doing, Ichigo?" Calypso asked curiously as she looked at the designs drawn on the ground.
"Making sure that no one will have to stand watch," Ichigo responded as he stood up. Immediately afterwards, a thin, translucent barrier sprang up from one of the seals, covering the entire entrance of the cave before becoming invisible.
"These are seals," Ichigo explained, gesturing towards the designs he had drawn on the dirt floor which were glowing a soft blue. "It's a component of Kidō. Normally, seals are used as traps to kill a being but often times seals can be altered to create protections. One of the seals prevent anyone from entering except who I allow. Another masks all our energy signatures. This one deflects all but the strongest attacks. And this last one tries to make the cave unnoticeable though anyone with sufficient power or keyed in to the seal is unaffected."
"How come you don't use them in battle?" Calypso asked. "It didn't take too long to create."
"Yeah, but these are all weak seals. Enough to do a fair job but against powerful beings, they'll be a nuisance at best. I only put a small amount of reiatsu in each of the seals. In a battle, I would have to put a lot more against any strong opponent and by that time, even the smallest disruption would make the entire thing to collapse and I would have wasted all that reiatsu for nothing," Ichigo answered. "Anyways, you have anywhere for me to sleep?"
"Oh, of course!" Calypso quickly answered as she recovered from the rapid change in subject and spun around, leading Ichigo deeper within the cave and into the tent.
The tent was large enough to house three people comfortably but certainly not enough to house seven, with the addition of the two Hunters and the two gods.
"Here you go, Ichigo," Calypso gestured to the single, queen-sized bed in a room separate from the kitchen, small living room, and the room that housed two gods.
"Thanks, Calypso," Ichigo sighed in relief as he set down Hyperion's gold sword and his own Zanpakutō against the wall to the side of his bed.
He took off his Shihakushō, leaving his chest bare and a pair of black pants. He ran a hand through his shoulder-length orange hair, moving a small strand of hair from his eyes before stretching out his arms and yawning tiredly. "Where are you sleeping, Calypso? I didn't see any empty beds on the way here."
It took Calypso a while to stop staring at Ichigo's muscular chest. "I- I had planned on keeping watch all night so I didn't create a bed for me."
"Oh okay. You gonna do it now?" He asked casually.
"Do- do it?" Calypso blushed.
"Yeah, create a bed?" Ichigo specified.
"Oh... oh! I'll probably just sleep on the floor tonight. My magic is feeling a little drained after to tonight," Calypso said.
"Guess we'll have to work on your endurance some more," Ichigo muttered mostly to himself before patting the empty space on the other side of the bed. "Well, you better get up on here. This bed has more space than I'll ever use and there's no use in being uncomfortable."
"You want me to sleep with you?!" Calypso shouted, startled at the blatant suggestion.
"On the bed? Why not?"
"Well, I don't mind," Calypso calmed down as she realized that that she had been misinterpreting. Darn it.
She stripped her clothing to her undergarments, leaving only a matching white bra and underwear. Ichigo, much to her pleasure, stared at her figure for a minute, before laying down on the bed.
Calypso slipped into bed after turning off the lights. "Good night, Ichigo."
"Good night, Calypso."
Ichigo's breathing slowed and steadied, signaling to Calypso that Ichigo was fast asleep. She traced a hand up his chest, neck, and cupped his cheek lightly. She lifted her head and pressed his lips to his other cheek for several, long seconds before returning to her original position. "I'm glad you came back to me, Ichigo."
As the Titaness drifted off to sleep, her mind trailed off, nearly delirious in imagination. I didn't get to wear a nurse's outfit but this is just as good!
...
Calypso woke up to a strange sensation beneath her. Her eyes slowly opened and when she realized her surroundings, she immediately began blushing heavily. Somehow, during the night, she had crawled over Ichigo and remained there for the entire night. Her head was rested against his uppermost part of his right chest and body curled tightly against his own. Her breathing regulated in conjunction with his breathing.
Is this what it's like to be with someone you love? If it was, it was intensely satisfying experience. What is that thing pressing against my leg? Oh... oh! He's so large! I don't think that's natural. Maybe it's proportional to his power? That can't be true, that would mean his size triples in his first released state. I wonder, would he mind if I touched it? I've never seen one before.
Calypso slowly snaked a hand down to Ichigo's throbbing member and gently encircled it with her dainty hand. Even through his pants, it feels so hot. Maybe if I removed his pants? She removed her hand for a second.
Before she could try, however, the door to the room slammed open, revealing a trio of silver dressed girls.
"There you are, Calypso. We've-," Zoë stopped speaking as she took in the sight of Calypso straddling Ichigo. Or rather, her own viewpoint shared by her two companions despite Ichigo's closed eyes. "How dare you molest Calypso, Ichigo Kurosaki."
She charged him but before she took a single step, Ichigo raised his hand, a small, orange sphere of reiatsu with a spiraling, yellow pattern and shouted, "Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and tear out your own throat! Bakudō 9: Hōrin!"
The sphere shot to Zoë, taking a rope-like form of orange and yellow, quickly wrapping around Zoë and immobilizing her before another two tendrils shot out from Zoë's reiatsu rope, and entrapping Thalia and Phoebe before they could even begin to assist the ex-Hunter. A flicker of his fingers brought all three girls bound together under a single, large tendril.
"Let us go!" Thalia shouted, struggling futilely against the tendril preventing she and her two fellow prisoners from moving.
Ichigo's eyes snapped open, coming to rest confusedly on Calypso. "Calypso? What are you doing on top of me?"
At that point, the three girls stopped resisting and instead looked on at the duo.
"I- uh- I get restless a lot during the night. Sorry," Calypso said, a little timidly.
"Oh, no worries, Calypso," Ichigo said casually. They stared at each other for a long moment before Ichigo finally asked, "Do you think you could get off me now?"
"Oh! Right!" Calypso blushed as she quickly clambered off him and to her side of the bed.
Ichigo stood up from his bed, his hand still crackling with the reiatsu that connected his hand and the three trapped girls. "There a reason why you're all making a racket so damn early?!"
"It's two in the afternoon, Ichigo!" Zoë retorted.
"You all aren't the ones that had to deal with a bastard with a lot of power! It's rude to wake people up after fighting! Don't you have any battle-manners?!" Ichigo roared.
"You've had enough rest!" Phoebe shouted. "We have to help Artemis now!"
"So go take care of her on your own!"
Thalia spoke hesitantly. "None of us actually have any medical knowledge. Quick treatments for in the middle of battle, not for gods who've been tortured for years. We were hoping that Calypso-"
"You were hoping that Calypso would help and so you rudely interrupted both our rests. And you knew that Calypso wouldn't say no because that's just the sweet, kind-hearted she is, am I right?"
Calypso blushed at the compliment as all three of them nodded their heads.
"Well, I got news for you. Since you so rudely disrupted my sleep," Ichigo snapped his fingers and a doctor's coat appeared, covering his chest. He gave them a devilish grin. "I'll play doctor for your gods." Of course, Ichigo wouldn't tell them that he had already planned on doctoring before they had barged in. He'd let them think that it was simply a consequence of their actions.
"You- you can't do that!" Phoebe protested.
"Why not?" Ichigo asked rhetorically. "My father was a doctor who owned his own clinic. I helped him a lot when I was younger and I was studying to become a medical doctor for a few months before the Second- before the war. I'm probably the best person for the job."
They couldn't exactly argue after he revealed that tidbit of information. A flick of his fingers released the girls from the Bakudō spell. "Now get out. Unless you want to join me in the shower."
Ichigo walked to the bathroom and closed the door behind them. A moment later they heard the shower running.
"Ugh, I need a shower too," Thalia said as she stretched her limbs.
"We can't let him get away with attacking us, Thalia!" Phoebe shouted. "Shouldn't we do something?"
"Like what?" Thalia asked her. "None of us have the power to beat him even after he went to toe-to-toe against Hyperion and came out on top. Besides, didn't you learn that lesson the first time you attacked him?"
"But he's a boy!"
Thalia rounded on her. "Percy's a boy and he's doing a better job of leading the demigods than any god or goddess ever could! Are you saying that just because he's a boy, he can't do anything? You have to get it through your thick skull that there isn't any room for prejudice anymore in this world."
Phoebe scowled at she and Zoë before leaving the room. Thalia sighed as she and Zoë exited the room. She wasn't sure why she had decided to argue on Ichigo's behalf. Maybe it was because she had recognized something in his eyes that she had only seen in very few demigods, namely, herself, Nico, Percy, Clarisse, Grover, and Annabeth. The leaders of the demigods or in Grover's case, the satyrs. They were all people who had seen the worst of war, from losing battles they had needed to win to crying over the demigods that had died. It was a very harrowing experience. She wondered what he had experienced to have gained those same eyes.
Thalia would admit to herself that she was curious about the man called Ichigo Kurosaki. Zoë had told her a little about him. She glanced at Zoë. Zoë had told her that he was strong, immensely so but not arrogant about his power. After seeing him go off to fight Hyperion without any hesitation and coming back alive, she could make a raw estimation of his power. He was very powerful.
Zoë had also told her about how Ichigo had actually trained Zoë and Calypso despite him likely being thousands of years younger than either of them. Thalia was curious as to how he had become more powerful than a former immortal and a Titaness, both with thousands of years of experience, and in Zoë's case, skill. Thalia also wondered where exactly his power had come from. Those binding techniques that she had seen and experienced were not anything she could pinpoint to any specific god or goddess. She resolved to get her answers soon, maybe once he was done doctoring Artemis and Apollo.
Zoë sighed as she sat down at the dining table. Why did I accuse him of molesting Calypso? Why have I been acting so harshly towards Ichigo? But she knew why. Ever since Thalia and Phoebe had arrived yesterday, she had got so caught up in seeing familiar faces that her behavior had been affected. She had become cold to Ichigo, not preventing Thalia from attempting to test him and just now, accusing Ichigo of molesting Calypso. Never mind the fact that Calypso liked Ichigo. She resolved to apologize to Ichigo for her behavior at the earliest opportunity.
Calypso was the only who remained in Ichigo's room. She looked remorsefully at the bathroom door. I wanted to join him.
...
"Ah, that was a delicious lunch as always, Calypso," Ichigo complimented the Titaness. "Thank you."
"I'm happy you enjoyed it, Ichigo," Calypso smiled at him as she took his plate and glass.
"You want any help with the dishes?" He asked.
"That's okay, Ichigo. I'll just use my magic to clean the dishes quickly. It shouldn't take too long," Calypso told him.
"Well if you're sure," Ichigo shrugged his shoulders before he leaned back in his seat and sighed contentedly.
"Ichigo," his name being called turned his attention to Zoë. She hesitated a little. "I-I'm sorry for my behavior."
Ichigo shrugged his shoulders again. "Don't worry about it. You're not the first person to be a little mean to me and you probably won't be the last with my luck."
Zoë's shoulders relaxed from her built up tension. Before she could respond, however, Thalia cut in. "So, how did you beat the Lord of Light?"
Ichigo debated with himself how to respond. "He underestimated me so I beat the crap out of him."
Thalia frowned. "That can't be the only reason so seriously, how did you beat him? No demigod's ever been able beat him before." Left unsaid was the fact that this was the first time Hyperion had managed to escape his imprisonment since the first Titanomachy. No demigod had had the chance to challenge him.
"Guess it's a good thing I'm not a demigod then." The statement only reaffirmed Thalia's belief of Ichigo not being of Greek origin.
"Did you use any of your weird binding spells on him?" Thalia pressed, eager for more information.
"Nope. You're weak enough that they'll affect you but an opponent of Hyperion's power," Ichigo responded. And it was true. He had used Hadō spells, Quincy techniques, and Hollow powers but not any Bakudō spells.
Thalia scowled at him. She wasn't that weak, he was just ridiculously strong!
"Ready, Calypso?" Ichigo stood up as Calypso entered the living room once more, dressed in a white, slightly tight, nurse's uniform. Ichigo magicked a doctor's coat over his casual clothes.
"Yes, Ichigo," Calypso answered as she followed Ichigo to the single room shared by the full-blooded sibling gods.
"By the way," Ichigo turned around to face the three girls who were all beginning to stand up. "The room's pretty small so only Calypso and I will be allowed inside. After all, we can't exactly do our job if we can't move."
"What?!" Phoebe exploded. "You can't do that!"
"Well, ya can't exactly barge in someone else's room and not expect consequences, can ya?" Ichigo asked, looking at Zoë before turning to face Thalia and Phoebe. "Or try to test someone's combat skills before they've woken up."
They all had the decency to blush. "So, find a way to kill some time. Try not to go outside the cave." Ichigo gave them a two-fingered salute. "Later."
The door closed behind the duo. "Where do you want to start first, Doctor Kurosaki?" Calypso flushed slightly at his grin.
"Well, first we have to strip them to their underwear and check their vitals. Since Artemis doesn't like guys, you'll check her vitals," Ichigo told the Titaness. He stripped Apollo to his underwear before materializing a stethoscope in his hands. "Do you know how to use one of these?"
Calypso finished removing Artemis's outerwear and shook her head at Ichigo's question. "Alright them, get over here and I'll show you."
Calypso walked to Apollo's other side and listened carefully as Ichigo began explaining how to use the stethoscope to check the amount of heartbeats in one minute. She followed Ichigo's instructions and checked for Artemis's heartbeat. She told Ichigo the number and he told her that it was normal for humans. Since the appearance of the gods' was similar to humans, Ichigo figured that the heartbeat should also be similar to humans. He couldn't be absolutely positive though because it was his first time checking the health of a god.
"I'm glad I learned magic," Ichigo told her after going through the standard tests.
"Why is that, Ichigo?" Calypso asked curiously.
"Because now I can create what I need. For example," Ichigo held out a hand and a bottle of pills appeared. "Some pills to relieve pain."
"Don't you need to know the major components of those pills to create them?" Calypso questioned. To create something from nothing using magic, one had to be very familiar with the item created or knowledge of the top three major components that made up the item. That was a rule for humans practicing magic. Immortals could create whatever they wanted.
"My dad had books about all sorts of aspects of medicine laying around when I was younger. I've always had a good memory when it comes to reading things which is why I've always done so well when it came to school," Ichigo answered. "Hopefully, these pain-relievers can actually affect gods."
"H-hey. W-where am I? W-who a-are y-you?" It was an unfamiliar, weak, fragile voice coming from Apollo's bed.
Apollo's line of sight was soon filled with a strange man with orange hair. "Don't worry. You're in good hands." For some inexplicable reason, the man raised out a hand and said some strange sounding words. "Tanma Otoshi." All Apollo knew was that the man's hand glowed a light blue color before he began feeling sleepy and blacked out."
"Well," Ichigo said sounding somewhat pleased with himself. "These next few days should be pretty interesting."
I think you just want to keep using that spell of yours, Ichigo, Calypso thought, slightly amused.
...
And it was an interesting couple of days. Between constantly knocking the patients out, checking their health, and making sure they didn't become addicted to drugs in addition to wrapping their wounds, Thalia and Phoebe developed a somewhat cordial relationship due to their constant questions of Artemis's and Apollo's health though Thalia was the only one of the duo who asked about Apollo. Left unmentioned was that Ichigo had been knocking them unconscious every time they woke up. He really didn't want to have to deal with any questions that either of the gods might have.
And during those times, he had learned more about the current world. There was an underground coalition in the mid-East, a medium distance west of the Appalachian mountains, far from any of the Titans' main bases, of Greek demigods and allies and mortals who remembered the world of a few years ago. They used mostly blitzkrieg techniques to eradicate monster settlements and Titan base of operations.
These operations, for the most part, were unsuccessful. Most base of operations were too well-guarded for any small group of demigods. Usually, they just tried to recruit and take out small monster settlements. For all of them, it was frustrating to not be able to do much to reclaim the world from the Titans.
There was also rumors that there was another rebellion in the western part of the country but no one put much stock into it.
Thalia had also mentioned that monsters were somehow resurrecting themselves from being killed and immediately pounced on Ichigo and questioned him on how he managed to kill Hyperion. Ichigo brushed off her question but later chalked it up to his Shinigami powers.
"May I have your attention, please?" Ichigo announced grandly to the seated women at the dining table. Thankfully, Calypso had created more space in the tent as they had all stood up. Had the tent remained unchanged, they would have all bumped heads. "May I introduce to you, Artemis and Apollo!"
Calypso had wheeled both of them out from their room in wheelchairs. "Lady Artemis!" Thalia and Phoebe shouted as they laid eyes upon their leader and patron goddess. For the first time i. The fifteen minutes she had been awake, Artemis teared her silver gaze off the orange haired man and onto two members of her hunt. She allowed a small, relieved smile to grace her features at the sight of her Hunters.
Thalia and Phoebe immediately ran towards the goddess and they immediately began catching Artemis up with the current events of the world.
"Man! How come Artemis gets all the love? I want some love too!" Apollo complained as his eyes roamed around the interior of the tent. His eyes rested upon Zoë who hadn't yet greeted Artemis. "Hey! Weren't you Artemis's last Lieutenant? Zoë Nightshade, right?"
The tent suddenly went quiet. Artemis's eyes glistened with tears as she looked at Zoë for the first time in years. She whispered hoarsely, "Zoë?"
Zoë stood up straighter. "Milady."
Ichigo, who had moved away from the gods, smacked the back of her head lightly.
"What was that for?" Zoë scowled, rubbing the back of her head.
"Idiot. If you're happy, go show her. Don't just stand there doing nothing."
Zoë walked over to Artemis, partially so she could avoid another slap to the head. She stood before Artemis and shyly said, "Hello, Lady Artemis. It's nice to see you again."
Zoë was startled when the auburn haired goddess wrapped her arms around Zoë. "I don't understand how you're alive Zoë but I'm happy you're here."
"I've missed you too, milady," Zoë wrapped her arms around Artemis tightly.
Zoë, after several moments, finally disengaged from from Artemis's embrace. "Thalia and Phoebe have informed us that I am not the only case of a dead person coming back to life. Monsters and other demigods have been known to resurrect from death. Milady, it reminds of the war with the Giants."
Artemis narrowed her eyes. "Are you absolutely positive of this, Zoë?"
Zoë nodded her head. "It is too similar not to be. It also reminds of me of when Sisyphus did the same."
"Well, that's not good," Apollo commented, resigned to the fact that there wouldn't be anyone greeting him. "Guess someone's gonna have to go free Thanatos."
"Thanatos?" Ichigo questioned Calypso.
"The god of death," Calypso replied.
"Huh, interesting," Ichigo said. And it was. In his universe, there was a race of beings that were called Death Gods while here there was a single being that known as the god of death.
"And exactly who are you?" Artemis questioned tersely.
"The guy who patched you and your brother up," Ichigo replied. "Along with Calypso here."
"Please tell me that Calypso patched me up and not you," Apollo begged.
"I don't think it's possible to lie to a god of truth," Ichigo answered. Apollo groaned.
Artemis stared at Ichigo. "I want to know how exactly you were able to fly and how you were able to kill Hyperion."
"You wanna take another, ya brat?" Ichigo asked, stretching out the fingers of his outstretched hand. Artemis's eye twitched as Apollo guffawed. "Didn't think so. Don't you think it's a little rude of you to demand more of your caring doctor?"
Artemis scowled at him. "I am a goddess of Olympus. I will not be disrespected."
"I don't know if you've noticed but you aren't exactly in charge of the world anymore. A second thing you should but even more important is that I don't really give a shit, ya brat," Ichigo told her nonchalantly. His stomach grumbled.
"Ready for some dinner, Ichigo?" Calypso giggled.
"Yeah," Ichigo scratched his head. Artemis and Apollo were amazed at his quick change in attitude. "Need any help in the kitchen?"
"No, thank you, Ichigo. You can relax but please try to be civil to Artemis and Apollo," Calypso ignored his mutter of "I'm always civil."
Dinner was a quiet affair. During the meal, tempers had cooled. Thalia and Phoebe were now only irritated at Ichigo. Artemis's pride had recovered from being called a brat despite her being in her mid-twenties form. Apollo provided most of the conversation, always light-hearted despite the hardships he had suffered.
"Scrumptious as always, Calypso," Ichigo sighed in content as the dishes magically floated to the sink courtesy of Calypso.
"Yeah, Calypso, best meal I've ever had!" Apollo complimented.
"It was excellent, Calypso, thank you," Artemis said with a small smile. The rest followed suit in complimenting Calypso's cooking.
"Now then," Artemis's voice turned serious. "We must decide upon a course of action."
"Oh, we're going after Athena now," Ichigo yawned into his hand.
"And exactly what makes you qualified to decide what we should do next?" Artemis inquired sharply.
Ichigo rolled his neck. "Well, for one thing, you lost a war. I haven't."
"You've fought in a war before?" Apollo pried.
"I believe you should answer a few of their questions to gain their trust," Zangetsu counseled. "You do not have to tell the very intimate details of your life simply a general overview."
"Alright, alright, I guess it couldn't hurt. Well it could but hopefully it won't come to that point," Ichigo replied mentally as he closed his eyes.
"I've fought in three major wars," Ichigo answered after a moment's pause.
Seizing on the first opportunity Ichigo had offered since meeting hi,, Thalia asked, "Which wars?"
"If you knew the names of the wars, I'd probably have to kill you," Ichigo answered seriously. He didn't really like talking about the wars he had been in to people who hadn't fought in the war. Calypso was the exception.
Thalia laughed awkwardly to cover up her slight fear at his statement. Damn. I think he was serious too. He's kind of scary when he's serious.
"And did you win any of your wars?" Apollo wondered.
Ichigo stared at him blankly. "Would I be here if I hadn't?" Though he still might be in his home universe if he hadn't used Mugetsu against Aizen.
"How did you prevent Hyperion from resurrecting?" Artemis questioned. This, to the goddess, was one of the more important questions she had.
"I'm not entirely human," Ichigo responded.
Thalia and Phoebe drew back, startled at Ichigo's casual statement. A monster?
"Not a monster," Ichigo cut in. "A race of spiritual beings that help souls pass on to the afterlife. Shinigami."
"Death God," Artemis translated. "I don't recall any pantheon that has such a description."
"I would be surprised if you would," Ichigo answered before adding an afterthought. "I might have killed you if you had."
"You like threatening people with death." Artemis observed drily.
"I blame it one of my non-human aspects," Ichigo replied.
"You have more than one non-human part to you?" Artemis inquired.
"Yep. I won't explain it all since I don't really feel like getting into details," everyone but Zoë and Calypso stared blank faced at his laziness. "But I'm only half-human. My Zanpakutō is probably the reason why Hyperion stayed down after I killed him."
"Zanpakutō?" Artemis's eyes narrowed at the unfamiliar term.
"Soul-Cutting Blade is the literal translation. They are a reflection of a Shinigami's soul and power. They're also sentient," Ichigo explained.
"Any anyone can obtain these powers?" Thalia asked excitedly. If demigods could access this power, they could combat Kronos and the rest of his flunkies better!
"Nope. Only souls generating enough reiatsu, spiritual energy, can obtain the powers of a Shinigami. From what I've felt, there's a lot of reshi in the air but I haven't encountered anyone who could manipulate reiatsu to any level," Ichigo shot her idea down before it could even take flight.
"But you don't look dead to me," Thalia countered.
Ichigo shrugged. "I was in my spiritual form when I came here. Somehow, I gained a physical body along the way. Usually, you have to be in your spiritual form to access your powers but this works too. A lot more comfortable now that I don't have to worry about my body breaking down because of my power."
Artemis seized on a topic that confused her. "You keep saying when you came from here. You aren't from the United States of America?"
Ichigo snorted as he leaned back in his chair. "I'm from another universe."
"You're an alien?!" Thalia shouted, pointing at the orange haired Shinigami.
"I'm still half-human ya damned brat!" Ichigo smacked her hand away from him before relaxing in his chair and staring at the two Olympians. "You don't look too surprised."
Apollo shrugged. "Chaos, are many times great grandfather, I think four greats, created the universe. It's not too difficult to believe that he created other universes."
"Huh. So do you know a way to travel between universes?" Ichigo asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Nope. I didn't think it was actually possible except for Chaos," Apollo answered.
And me. And probably Getaboushi.
"So what exactly are you planning on doing now?" Apollo asked.
"Free Athena. Get her to help me to get back to my own universe."
Calypso made a strangled voice with her throat.
"And what makes you think my sister will assist you?" Artemis asked.
"Well, I'll have saved her by then so maybe she'll feel obligated to help me. And she's the goddess of wisdom. She'll probably find it interesting a test of her knowledge to see if she could create a device capable of crossing dimensions," Ichigo explained.
Both Artemis and Apollo admitted to themselves that it sounded like their sister. She couldn't leave a favor unreturned and she had an insatiable thirst for knowledge.
"So, I'll be going after Athena. Besides, Zoë promised to help me find her if I rescued you, Artemis." Ichigo told the goddess.
"I did promise him, milady," Zoë nodded her agreement.
"And I'll be joining him," Calypso added.
"Another thing I wanted to know is how you got out of your island prison," Artemis turned to Calypso.
"Ichigo broke me out," Calypso said brightly. "With the fall of the Olympians, all their effects upon the earth were drastically reduced. My prison barrier was stronger than me even then but when Ichigo landed on my island, he broke me free!"
"And how did he land on your island? I was under the impression that only the Olympians could determine who landed on your island," Artemis stated tersely.
"Or exceptional heroes who have done much good and risked their own life in the process," Calypso said.
Ichigo raised his hand and formed a peace sign with two fingers. "Two time war hero. Would have been three if I hadn't traveled between universes."
Ichigo yawned. "Anyways, as fun as this was, I'm tired now. We can discuss where to go from here in the morning. I mean, it's not like we'll be moving anywhere until you two can walk more than a couple of feet from your wheelchairs. Later."
As they all retired to their respective rooms, mostly everyone fell into a dreamless sleep. Ichigo wondered when Calypso would decide to sleep on her own bed. It was always awkward in the mornings when he woke up only to find Calypso on top of him.
~Bleach/PJO A7 Ch10~
A/N: This was fun to write. No action but interesting tidbits here and there. Longest chapter too.
Krazyfanfiction1: It was his Shinigami/Hollow powers that killed him so it's possible he might resurrect in the future. His Quincy powers would have caused him to fade or at least cause him to end up like Kronos. After all, Quincy techniques cause the destruction of a soul but even souls can regenerate as seem by Kronos's fragmented soul pieces and the slow reformation of a broken Zanpakutō.
meow114: Not really since the Titans' thrones would be located in Mount Othrys, located currently near Atlas's former prison far in the west.
Friaku: I'm glad you think so. I think I read somewhere that Ichigo's a battle genius or maybe that's just my own opinion. He really doesn't do well with strategies but he's scarily good with tactics on the fly. Just look at all the battles he's participated in.
Second guest on Sept 21: Ah, thanks, I didn't know about the blinding and I'll change that other part.
It Pennywise: Nope, Mugetsu will still take away all his powers except magic. He's long-lived not yet immortal. And that's probably a good estimate.
Drake93: That would be a hilarious moment!
Rowknan: An interesting idea. I suppose it wouldn't be too interesting if Ichigo deals with all the gods' enemies.
As always,
Thanks for reading!