Chapter 3:
After the shock of seeing Chiron growing horse legs when he got out of the wheelchair. Then after getting a tour of the camp, Kano was led to the cabins and where he was going to stay for the current moment. Kano walked toward the brown cabin with Chiron clip-clopping away by his side. Other people would stare at him for a while, looking shocked when meeting his eyes before rushing away. Kano knew what they were looking at. It was his blueish-purple eyes, usually, people would be proud to have beautiful eyes like his which was often described by others. But it was just another thing separating him from other people. He wasn't even albino so his eyes shouldn't be possible. Though, if his natural hair color was white he could pass off as albino.
"Kano, this is cabin 11. This will be your home until your god parent claims you. Although, if you are Hermes' kid or a kid of a minor god, then this is your home." Chiron said, leaving him at the door of the brownish cabin with a kid called Luke. Luke has sandy blond hair, blue eyes, and a scar over his right cheek. Kano noticed that every camper seemed to have this strange necklace with different beads on it. Perhaps some sort of tradition, he mused.
"Hey, so you're the new kid! What's your name?" Luke asked, clapping Kano over his shoulder before leading him into the cabin. The space is badly cramped. Bunk Beds and beds scattered all over the floor. Kano took a look at all the kids in there, they all looked either miserable, bitter, or had a mischievous grin on their face. Kano quickly checked his pockets, remembering Hermes being the god of thieves, to the amusement of all the kids there. Luke looked on approvingly.
"Yeah, the name's Kano William," Kano answered his question. Luke seemed friendly enough, taking care of others when they needed help as he saw before Chiron passed him to Luke. "Well, Kano, I'm gonna be your counselor while you're staying here. At least until you're claimed." Luke smiled before shouting "Eleven, fall in!" as a horn sounded over the distance.
Everybody lined up. "Come, Kano, we're going to eat dinner." Luke put in the end of the line. Walking to the hall pavilion Kano looked at the sun nearly setting down. He hadn't realized the time had gone by that quickly.
Inside the pavilion, we sat at the table meant for cabin eleven. The table is way too crowded, but Kano managed to sit down without falling off. He saw people lining up to throw food into the fire? He sent a questionable glance at Luke. "They're sacrificing food for the gods. They like the smell." Kano looked to see if Luke was pulling his leg, but he seemed serious. He grabbed his chicken wing from his plate and threw it into the fire.
"Mom, dad, whichever one you are, if you're listening please send me a sign or something." Kano prayed. He wasn't sure who his godly parent is, but hopefully, they were listening and will grant his wish. Although, judging by the faces of unclaimed campers it seemed unlikely. Going back to the table he continued eating while reminiscing his memories with Fuji. No matter who his parents are, no one can replace Fuji and what he has done for Kano.
That night his dreams were filled with Fuji teaching him and them playing together. A tear that escaped Kano's eyes went unnoticed.
Sword fighting was not something Kano was familiar with. Luke was training them in groups. "Alright, everybody! We will pair up today. Practice the move I taught you today. Make sure the opponent is caught off guard!" Luke shouted over the fighting. People were pairing up, each of them fighting and knocking each other to the ground.
Kano got disarmed in seconds. He decided that sword fighting will be something he will work on in his free time. He will not allow himself to lag and bring people down, no matter how experienced they are.
It's been three days since Kano stumbled upon the camp. The people have been patient and kind. Explaining things when he didn't understand. Luke has been very helpful when he heard that Kano wanted some extra training on sword fighting. He also commented that Kano didn't have to go into sword fighting alone, there's spears, bows, and other kinds of weapons. But Kano felt that sword fighting is the one for him. It was clear he was really good at and quick to catch up. With the extra training, he has actually been winning some spars with his partners.
Things felt… good. Kano could see himself staying a whole year round like some of the campers here. The others in cabin 11 were talking with themselves, obviously trying to figure out his parentage. It was clear that he had a talent in sword fighting, he picked it up abnormally fast for someone who had never had training 3 days ago. Kano couldn't really explain why it felt so natural for him, it just felt like an arm he had been missing was returned to him. When he tried to explain it to others they just nod but didn't understand. There was also the case of his abnormal purple eyes. No other demigods had ever been reported with blueish-purple eyes, perhaps children of aphrodite with their color-shifting eyes were the closest. But never anything like his.
Kano was in the arena, punishing some poor dummies. Luke was beside him, instructing his leg work and posture. "Alright, let's try something new, I want you to fight me instead of the dummy." Luke suddenly said Kano stopped attacking the dummy. He turned to Luke, sweating through his orange camp shirt. "Alright," he replied, getting in a battle stance facing Luke. Luke disarmed him. They went again. Luke disarmed him. They went again. Luke disarmed him again. And again and again and again. Until Kano disarmed Luke. They went once more, and Kano disarmed Luke.
Luke seemed to be having fun, grinning while they were fighting. As they fought more, Kano kept disarming Luke more and more until they were forced to stop. "Wow, Kano, you learn quickly! A few fights and you seem to know exactly what move I would go for." Luke said, grinning, panting, and seemingly really happy. Why Kano didn't really understand. Perhaps, he was excited by the challenge?
"Kano, I've been watching you-" "Creepy" "Oh stop it, you know what I mean" Luke shoved Kano gently on the shoulder. "Anyway, I've been keeping an eye on you to see how you learn. Everybody learns differently and I was seeing what works best for you. The recent fights have just confirmed my suspicions. Kano, you learn like a computer." Luke said, his face all serious.
Kano stared. Was that supposed to be an insult? He learned like a computer? What does that mean? But before Kano could say anything, Luke continued "I don't mean it in a bad way! I mean that the way you process and use information is like a self-learning computer. You learned my fighting style when I kept beating you over and over. You processed the information and used it against me!" Luke said, laughing. Kano still didn't really understand why this was relevant. Luke then sighed, his face going soft. "What I'm trying to say is we should keep training like this, but instead of dummies. You fight me." Kano just nodded. He wants to get better at sword fighting, and if this kind of training is gonna help him. Then he can't really refuse.
"You're a good friend, Luke. Thank you for taking your time to train me." Kano said sincerely. He really was lucky that the current best sword fighter in camp was taking the time to train him.
"No worries, Kano." Luke smiled but it seemed to strain. Kano took no note of it.