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Chapter / 6

Quest


In the end, Shirou's fears had been confirmed. The heremes cabin had been a complete mess, although he had to admit- it was much cleaner than one would expect from a room with over a dozen people. And besides, Shirou was used to messy rooms, and sleeping on the floor. He still fondly remembered the times before the Holy Grail War where he had more often than not fallen asleep in his wardrobe, trying to master structural analysis and reinforcement. Things were so much simpler back then. It had just been him striving for his ideals, like a naive child. No Archer to reprimand him for the consequences of his foolishness, no philosophical gymnastics to remind him of what he fought for. It was a naive time of his life, that was for sure. But despite everything, it had also been one of his happier times.

Where he had been able to idealize and dream, without reality hitting him back with the force of a speeding truck. He had come out of the holy grail war a more knowledgable man, and a wiser one, but with the loss of naivety comes the loss of optimism. There was something fundamentally different about how Shirou approached his ideal now, and he couldn't quite place his finger on what exactly had changed. It was undeniably, and incredibly frustrating. If I can't even understand the needs of my own soul, how can I know the needs of others?

Perhaps it was childish of him to long for simpler times. He had dreamed of a world of good and evil, where he had known the two by heart and knew how to approach every scenario with confidence and hope. Now, things were much more complicated. If he was a piece of machinery, there was now a broken gear somewhere in his mind.

Or maybe, I've only started to fully work. There isn't a broken gear, no. There's only been change. And I don't know what that change has done, or what it means. Sure, I'm more confident in my ideals, but how does that make up for the contrasting reality that faces me?

He didn't have the time to answer his questions. Frankly, he wasn't sure he even had the capacity to. He needed another Archer, another wake up call. Another conflict for him to overcome. Something needed to spur him to work out the inner depths of how his mind worked.

Shirou, to some degree, had always known that he didn't think like a normal human. He couldn't relate or empathize to anyone on a personal level. He understood emotions scientifically, and appreciated them for what they were. He even felt them himself at times. But he couldn't empathize on an emotional level. Frankly, that was most likely the only absolute that he had of his mind. Because just like I can't emotionally comprehend the minds and sentiments of others, I can't understand the depths of my own mind and ideals.

Perhaps he was finally feeling emotions like a normal human, and struggled to grasp them fully. But he knew that wasn't true. The changes that had occurred with the holy grail war didn't extend to such a simple, absolute solution.

Shirou frowned, his eyes staring up at the ceiling of the Heremes cabin. The sound of snores- he had to admit- were lulling.


"Hey! You there!"

Shirou turned around, cocking his head slightly sideways in curiosity. In front of him, a few meters away, was a blond girl with princess curls. Stormy grey eyes decorated her expression, her eyes immediately giving off an aura of cunning intelligence. Now that I think about it, lots of people here have eyes that give away their personality. Percy with his waves, Thalia with her thunder.

Shirou had to admit, to some degree, he was curious if the theory would hold true with the girl as well. Quirking his eyebrows up in interest, he stepped forwards towards the girl, who seemed to observe him with every passing moment. If not for the holy grail war, the gaze would have sent chills down his spine.

"You're Shirou Emiya, right? The guy that arrived at Camp yesterday? The one that Thalia met up with?" asked the girl. Shirou let out an amused chuckle in response.

"Yeah, my name is Shirou Emiya. Who are you?" Shirou retaliated. "Are you a friend of Thalia's?"

"Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena. Pleased to meet you." said the girl with a smile as she stretched her hand out. Shirou gladly shook it. "Thalia told me about a new camper who single handedly beat Clarisse's entire gang with a wooden stick. Sorry if I'm disturbing you, but well... I just had to find out, didn't I?"

Shirou laughed, waving her comment off with a raised hand. "It's fine. I was getting bored anyways. And yeah, I suppose I did beat Clarisse with..." Shirou briefly chuckled in amusement. Somehow, the daughter of Zeus describing Taiga's kendo sword as a 'stick' was equally natural and laughable. "...a stick. Before you ask me though, I don't know who my godly parent is. In fact, I don't think I even have one."

Somewhat predictably, the daughter of Athena's eyes widened. "What? Thalia never told me that!" she said, before pausing briefly and sighing, letting out a soft laugh. "Gods, she did that just to catch me off guard, didn't she? Anyways, if that's the case, I guess it makes sense why you've survived for this long. Demigods out in the wild don't usually make it to 10 years old."

Shirou's eyes widened at that particular piece of information, pausing in shock. "What!? What happens to them?" he asked.

Annabeth sighed, falling into a frown. "Did Thalia not tell you?" she asked, before slapping herself on the forehead. "Never mind, of course Thalia didn't tell you. Demigods like us are hunted by monsters because of our scent. The camp here is the only place where we're safe. If demigods don't make it to camp, well then..."

The girl fell into silence. Shirou didn't need her to explicitly state what she was going to say. Slowly, he nodded in understanding. That must be why the barrier exists. To keep out monsters and mortals and protect the demigods inside the camp...

Shirou grimaced. I wonder though, why didn't Thalia tell me about something like this? It should be pretty much essential to know, right? Annabeth seemingly read his expression, and replied for him. "Don't blame Thalia too much for not telling you, Shirou. She has... Bad experiences with being a stray. You should probably go ask her yourself if you want to find out more, though." Shirou nodded in response, understanding the hidden message.

Shirou perked up once more. "Wait, but aren't your parents gods? Why can't they just... Blast them or something? Artemis seemed pretty fine with hunting monsters, so why not other gods?" he asked. Annabeth looked at him suspiciously in response.

"You know Artemis?" she asked accusingly.

"I... Had a run in with her hunters on my way here. Right during the middle of one of their hunts." Shirou lied, not wanting to divulge his extra-dimensional nature. "To be fair, I think I'm lucky that I haven't been turned into a jackalope yet." he added for extra measure. The response seemed to calm the daughter of Athena down, if only a little.

"Oh. Sorry for accusing you, then. I don't really have the best experience with Artemis. Well... It's more Thalia, but still." said Annabeth, scowling. "Anyways, to answer your question before... Gods aren't the best parents. They tend to go around impregnating mortals a lot, and then kind of just... Abandon their kids. Most demigods here have never known both parents, and some have never known any." she said with a sigh. Shirou glowered.

"Isn't that a bit irresponsible? At least, they should have the decency to save the kids' lives." Shirou said, feeling anger starting to slowly build up. "They're gods, for-"

Annabeth interrupted. "You can't blame them. The ancient laws forbid the gods from direct interference with us mortals, and although that doesn't excuse some of their behavior... Well, they can't just 'blast them out of thin air' as you've said." she said with a dry chuckle at the end. Shirou frowned.

"So, their children are just..." Shirou started.

"More or less orphaned, yeah. Almost none of us come from nice childhoods." Annabeth finished.

Wanting to change the topic, he shifted his tone once more. "You said you were a friend of Thalia's? It looks like you know her well."

"Oh! Yeah, I've known Thalia for well... Years. She's like a sister to me." replied Annabeth. Shirou mouthed an "o" in realization. But before he could further elaborate on the topic, the girl spoke up once more. "Actually, that's not the main reason I wanted to see you though. You see, in camp, we do a lot of combat exercises, and one of the big ones is Arena dueling. You... do know what that is, right? The name is pretty self explanatory." Shirou nodded in response. "Well," the girl continued, "I wanted to ask you if you could join my team. Normally I'd partner up with Percy and Thalia... But I wanna see what you've got. Your fight with Clarisse caused a pretty big stir in camp, you know?"

Shirou quirked an eyebrow upwards in curiosity. The rumor mill was abundant in Camp Half Blood, by the looks of it. Not to mention, I was right. Eyes really do predict personalities here... Another thing to add about the oddities of this new world. Either way, Shirou didn't see any harm in accepting the girl's deal. After a pause, he nodded his head, accepting her request. But... there's something missing from her story.

"Wait. There's something odd here. Are you seriously only partnering with me because I'm new and I beat Clarisse?" Shirou asked. "You already have 2 powerful demigods, so why substitute one for someone who could be much less skilled?" Shirou asked with a slight accusatory tone. The daughter of Athena smirked in response.

"My mom is Athena. I'm curious by nature, you know? To be fair, there are a ton of weird rumors about you Shirou. To be fair, I just wanted to test how capable you really were. But, on the other hand, you complicated things even more for me!" Annabeth said with a smile that seemed to slowly pick away at his soul. Analyzing it. Piecing things together. "You're a mortal, and you beat Clarisse and her gang with nothing but a stick." she continued. "Do you know what that means?"

Shirou shook his head.

"It means you're a puzzle for me to solve. And don't think I didn't notice you lying to me about Artemis." she said, as Shirou briefly widened his eyes before fixing his mistake. "I'm the oldest child of Athena there is, and the Olympians are all on high alert." she continued, before pausing briefly. "Here's a fun fact: The cabin councellors were supposed to take a field trip to Olympus to give reports about two days ago, but apparently, they were closed down because they were panicking about a mortal boy who they called unbound." she shuddered for a brief moment. "You should have seen it. The entire council was in chaos, all except for one goddess... who wasn't there at all." she finished, smirking. "Don't you think the coincidences match a bit too much?"

Shirou stared at her in surprise.

"Of course, I could be wrong, and you could be nothing at all, but... I'm a daughter of Athena for a reason. And I like solving puzzles." she said. "So unless you wanna just chalk up the truth, I'm going to push you until you relent."

"Why are you so onto doing this in the first place anyway?" Shirou asked in curiosity.

"Again, Athena's my mom. I like challenges and puzzles. And I'm bored too. But seriously, my mom's a goddess, Shirou. The fact that a mortal's made the entire Olympian council freak out... It's a demigod's job to be concerned, isn't it? Don't worry, I won't reveal anything I find out to the entire camp. All of this is private information anyways." Annabeth retorted, before continuing with a smirk. "And frankly, your comments haven't helped your case either. But then again, you could be intentionally leading me on... But that's just part of the fun, isn't it Shirou?"

Shirou chuckled in response. "I suppose you have a point, yeah."

Alright, let's play this game, Annabeth Chase.

Annabeth smirked. "Good. You better not disappoint me, Shirou. I have high expectations after what I've heard from Thalia, you know?" she said. "Although I don't expect you to, of course. I've got a good feeling about choosing you... And Athena always has the best plans."

As he watched the girl walk away, Shirou briefly contemplated losing, just to aggravate the blonde.

Now, what else to do?


Shirou found Percy Jackson struggling in the Archery Range. He had decided to venture to the practice zone in his boredom, and had found the demigod struggling to even hit the target properly. It was frankly, slightly painful to see. Especially when one of his arrows almost poked a hole through a blond haired camper.

Shirou grimaced. Archery had always been a favorite pastime for him. It honed his skills, strength, finesse, and gave him an objective to focus for. He had often been described as a machine, due to his serenity in his movements, and his constant bullseyes.

Shirou Emiya never missed after all.

Shirou amusedly walked over to the demigod, who reacted to his presence gleefully. The son of Poseidon, ever optimistic, gave him a friendly smile and a one armed hug. Shirou smiled slightly. The boy had an extremely potent tendency for easy companionship. He was easygoing, friendly, and kind. If only the holy grail war had people like him...

Shirou got rid of that thought instantly, blowing it away from his mindscape. I can't linger over what happened in the past anymore. Missed chances, regrets, all of those are things that are done and over with. I need to focus on what's happening now and in the present.

And for him, that involved a certain son of Poseidon's abysmal archery.

Observing at a distance, Shirou had instantly noticed flaws. A humiliating stance. An unstable hand. An angled draw. A general lack of faith in his abilities, which in his defense, were at least somewhat well deserved. Shirou would have settled towards the conclusion of the demigod simply holding no talent for the art, except for a few factors.

First of all, his strength was immense, and he gave it out in bursts that replicated professional Archers. And despite everything, the boy still kept an unwavering, rock solid focus on his destination. His target. Those were qualities of a potentially great Archer. What Percy Jackson lacked was finesse.

He can move extremely fluidly when he uses his sword, but when he uses a bow, he trembles like a stuttering mess. Interesting. Perhaps... Could it be?

There was certainly the possibility that Percy was simply using the wrong type of bow. Shirou himself had specialized in traditional Japanese archery, otherwise known as Kyudo, because it suited his needs, but Greek style archery was much more based on finesse. Strength was not required, but dexterity was an extreme necessity.

Shirou put the note in his memory as Percy escorted out of the archery range, sweating.

"Gods, I thought it was never gonna end! Sorry about what happened yesterday by the way. I thought you were some monster." Percy said, laughing. "You... aren't a monster right?" he asked once again, an eyebrow raised in a confused yet desperate expression that Shirou couldn't quite make out.

In response, Shirou deadpanned at him.

"Right. Not a monster. Got it." Percy said, reacting instantly and bringing a laugh out of Shirou. "It's just... So weird, you know? Some random guy steps out of the bushes, starts controlling flying swords, and then says he's a mortal. You ever plan on telling me your secrets by the way?"

Shirou shook his head with a smile. "Maybe one day. I don't want to burden people with the knowledge."

In response, the son of poseidon smiled and nodded his head, much to Shirou's surprise. "I think I get that. When I was... 12, I think, I loved being the hero to save the day, you know? But I'm starting to think that to be completely fair, it's just better to be a normal demigod. Without the scary monsters and gods."

Shirou bit back a retort at that phrase. After all, hell to some can be heaven to others.

Before he could make any additional remarks, a new voice came out of nowhere. Thalia.

"Shirou! Percy! Chiron's calling you to the big house." Thalia said, huffing. "He said it was urgent. It's a quest that an olympian personally requested just now, although he wouldn't mention which one. We have to go to find a couple demigod kids, and quickly."

Shirou nodded. "So we go off now?"

"Yeah. I'll just get Annabeth and Grover, and then we'll be off." Thalia said, before perking up once more. "Oh, and Shirou? Chiron said that you would find 'direction' in this quest. Have any idea what that means?"

Shirou shook his head, replying honestly. Although, he had his suspicions for sure.

One thing's positive, though. This just got a lot more interesting.


Notes

Aaaaand we're finally taking off. Immediately, we're noticing the subtle changes from canon, such as Hades himself seeing Chiron!

Sorry if this arc has been, in general, a bit too filler. I wanted to start character interactions. (Like Annabeth's, I'm going to have fun writing Shirou's dialogue with her. And before you ask, no he isn't going to be paired up with her lol. I have plans for her.)

Next chapter, we'll be getting into the Titan's Curse arc!

Please leave a review! :)

-Hahy