Percy let out a satisfied groan as he leaned back into the couch. The bag of ice attached to his arm crinkled against the leather of the couch, as Rumi did the same on his other side. The kids had been sent home, which hadn't been an easy conversation all things considered. Neither had the conversation with the police or the commission officials that had come calling demanding to know why school kids had been involved in a fight with villains. It had taken calling in favors from some of her friends in the commission, and a call to Nezu before they had been let off the hook.

"So…what happens now?" Asked Rumi, adjusting the bags of ice on her knees,

"I have no idea," sighed Percy, "Takemikazuchi disappeared during the fight, and now we're back to square one,"

"Not necessarily," said Rumi, swiveling on the couch to stare intently at him, "Muscular let a little something slip during our fight."

"Oh?" Asked Percy,

"Lady Nagant, the bitch who shot you? She's a fucking demigod."

"Bullshit," snorted Percy,

"Dead serious," said Rumi, "Muscular didn't outright say it, but he sure as hell implied it. That and the fact that you get shot, and then minutes later we're ambushed on the fucking steps of my agency, that sound like a coincidence to you?"

"Well…" said Percy slowly, "That's…definitely something I guess. Is that good news? I can't tell if that's good news or if that just leaves us exactly where we were before,"

"We're better off than we were before," assured Rumi, "But you're right, that still isn't leaving us with much."

"Fuck this!" grunted Percy, startling Rumi a little with the ferocity of the statement,

"Woah! What's your problem?"

"I'm sick of this playing on the back-foot shit!" Snapped Percy, "All of this running around, not knowing what's going on. Just sitting around and waiting for the next fucking shoe to drop? I'm done with it."

"And what the fuck are you going to do that we haven't already been doing?" Rumi snapped back, "You were just saying that we don't know what the fuck is going on. You got any brilliant plans there smartass that you haven't been sharing with me?"

Percy sighed, and collapsed deeper into the couch, "I don't know," he sighed, "I just know that sitting around here, waiting for something to happen…it's not worth it." He got up, ripping the ice bag from his shoulder and tossing it down on the table in front of them.

"Where are you going?" Demanded Rumi, as Percy threw his shirt back on,

"To go for a swim," said Percy over his shoulder, "Try and clear my head a little." Without another look behind him, he disappeared in a swirl of mist. Rumi watched him leave, a mixture of aggravation and disappointment tainting her stomach. She hated this. Hated seeing him so stressed out and anxious. It was clear that he wasn't dealing with the situation all that well, which wasn't all that surprising given the circumstances. He was looking down either death, or expulsion from the country. It was enough to make anyone stressed. Hell, she was pretty sure that she was stressed enough for the both of them.

It didn't help that they had absolutely nothing to go on. Percy's searches into the mythological communities hadn't found anything. It was as though everyone knew that he was looking for them, and had gone underground.

She wanted to help him. Needed to help him. Growling under her breath, she ripped her own ice-packs off her knees and stood up. Grabbing her abandoned utility belt, she slapped it around her waist and bustled from the room.

She might not have been able to kill a god, but she would be more than able to handle one bitch with a canon for an arm.

Her determination set, she left her agency, intent on finding Nagant once and for all.

She still had one favor that she could cash in. Something that she had been saving for a rainy day, but this was looking to be that kind of day. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she scrolled through her contacts for a minute before finding the number she needed. The woman on the other end answered after the first ring.

"Finally cashing in Miruko?"

"Yes," said Rumi, "I need you to find someone,"

"That's what I do," and on the other end of the line, Rumi could hear rapid typing on the keyboard, "I can guess who you're looking for," said the woman, "All the top hero boards online have been busting a nut over her for the last week."

Rumi grunted, but didn't comment. She didn't like that she was doing this. Didn't like that she was resorting to this. She hated that she was diving back into her past, making deals with Alora of all people, but Percy was worth it.

A moment later, the typing stopped,

"Lady Nagant is currently hiding in a motel three kilometers from your location. I'm sending you the address now."

Rumi didn't know how Alora was able to do the things she was able to do. It was probably better that she didn't. Rumi had put in a lot of work to distance herself from that part of her life, and even calling in this favor, was almost too much.

"Thanks," said Rumi,

"This makes us even," said Alora, and the call ended.

That was all good as far as Rumi was concerned. Her phone buzzed, showing her the location of Nagant. Stuffing her phone back in her pocket, she leapt high into the air. In only a matter of minutes, she'd covered the distance to the motel. She pulled a pair of small binoculars out of her belt and began scanning the rooms. Unsurprisingly, she didn't see anything. Motels like those in this part of town were notorious for drug deals and other nefarious deeds.

Sighing, she pulled her binoculars down as he phone buzzed again. Pulling out her phone, she had a new text from Alora.

"Room 33A. Consider this one a freebie."

Snarling, Rumi shoved the phone back into her pocket and hopped off the building. Pulling up a schematic of the building on her phone, it didn't take long for her to find the room in question. Deciding that the time for discretion was gone, and deciding that she wanted to vent some of her very pent-up aggression, she shot through the air towards the window. The window shattered under the force of her attack, sending shards of glass flying through the air, and cutting through her uniform, legs, and arms. She ignored the pain, and focused on the shock of purple and blue hair lying in the bed.

Lady Nagant's purple eyes snapped open, but Rumi's attack was too quick for her to counter effectively, and even as Nagant tried to scramble out of the way, the tip of Rumi's foot slammed into her back. Nagant flew across the room, and slammed into the opposing wall. But even as she flew, her arm was transforming and she was reaching into her belt. She slammed a bullet into the chamber and fired, just as Rumi was diving out of the way.

Using the nearby wall as a springboard, Rumi launched herself back at Nagant. She scrambled out of the way and Rumi's foot embedded in the wall behind her. She pulled her foot free just in time to duck under another round from Nagant. Snarling in fury, her leg shot out but Nagant blocked it with her rifle and punched Rumi square in the liver. Gagging, Rumi stumbled back and lost her balance before falling to the ground. Nagant was in the process of loading another round into the chamber, and Rumi kicked out, the arch of her foot smacking roughly into Nagant's femur.

The bone nearly snapped from the force of the blow, toppling Nagant to the ground. Scrambling on top of her, Rumi brought her fist down and clocked Nagant in the forehead. Her head snapped back and bounced off the ground. For a brief moment, Nagano's eyes rolled back into her head, as she teetered on the verge of unconsciousness. Contorting her body so that one knee was still firmly planted on Nagano's chest, Rumi brought her other leg down furiously on Nagano's rifle. The rifle crumpled under the force of the blow, as Nagant cried out in pain.

Reaching into her belt, she pulled a pair of restraints free and slapped them onto Nagant. Powering on the restraints, the quirk-reduction power of the restrains, Nagano's arm returned to its normal proportions.

"Where the fuck are the High Plains!" Demanded Rumi, slamming Nagant into the ground. Nagant's only response was to spit a wad of blood onto Rumi's uniform.

"Fucking answer me!" Roared Rumi, "I know what you are, I know who you work for! And if you think I'm scared of some two-bit goddess who thinks she's hot shit, then you got another thing coming!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," grumbled Nagant, her words coming out a little slurred,

"Bull shit you don't!" Snapped Rumi, "You shoot my partner, and then five minutes later we're ambushed by a fucking god and his stooges! That sound like a fucking coincidence to you?" Rumi didn't wait for an answer, "Now tell me where that fucking cunt Amaterasu is hiding!"

"How…how do you even know-"

"You think Percy didn't tell me?" Snorted Rumi, "Dumbass tells me everything, now start talking! Where is she!"

"I don't…I don't know…" coughed Nagant, "Demigods…Demigods aren't allowed near the Plains…and even if we were…why would I tell you…hero?" She spat the word like a curse,

"Because I don't know what the Shinto are like, but if they're anything like the Greeks, then they're selfish pricks only using you for their own ends!"

"You…you don't know what you're…what you're talking about…"

"The hell I don't!" Snapped Rumi, "Percy told me everything! Told me all about how the gods treat their kids! How they use them as little more than as a means to an end! You really think your gods are above that? Look at you now! Look what they've asked you to do! They were the ones to break you out right? To bring you back into the fold?"

Nagant didn't answer, but that was enough for Rumi,

"That's what I fucking thought," rumbled Rumi, "I don't know you, I don't know your story, but I can make a fucking guess. I can guess that your life has been like. They've been controlling you, been commanding you all of your life. They fucking own you, probably always have. Wanna know how I know that? Because it was the same for him. Because he was nothing more than a tool for those bastards! So believe me when I tell you, you don't owe them shit! You don't owe them your loyalty, you don't own them your mind or your fucking body!"

Nagant was silent, steadfastly refusing to meet Rumi's gaze.

"I'm telling you the truth about the Plains," said Nagant softly, "They don't tell us where the Plains are. Never have, they don't trust us with that information. But I do know that it moves around. Moves around the country at random. At least we think it's random, it's difficult to say. But I do know this…I know that there has been a lot of divine sightings and occurrences in Kyoto. I don't know where, I can't give you specifics, but where there is heavy divine activity…" She trailed off, but Rumi didn't need her to say any more. The implication was enough.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket, and sent Percy a quick text.

She'd done her part, but the rest would be up to him.

BREAK

Percy sighed as he drifted through the water. He'd been trying his damndest to clear his mind and simply allow himself to relax, but it hadn't been going well. Every time he closed his eyes and tried to focus his mind, he found himself beginning to wander. His mind began to drift to all of the possibilities that would occur if he failed to follow through and finish this fight. Best case scenario? He won and he was allowed to stay in Japan, but even that had complications.

The only way he saw himself winning this thing was killing Amaterasu. But what happened then? He sure as hell didn't think that the rest of the pantheon, whether they were invested in the outcome or not, would be super pleased with some outsider swooping in and killing one of their top dogs.

That was even assuming that he lived long enough to actually kill her in the first place. Which wasn't a guarantee. Especially given that he didn't even know where to go in the first place. Adding on to the stress, was the fact that even if he did find her, he wasn't confident that he'd live long enough to actually fight or threaten her with anything. Sure, if he broke into the Plains, he'd likely be able to catch some of the beings there off-guard, but there was the added problem that he had no idea what the inside of the damned place looked like. Was it really a big ass plain? Or was it actually just a temple or palace or something? Would Amaterasu be even stronger while she was inside, or not?

The more he thought about everything, the more he realized he hadn't thought anything through.

Again.

Here he was, making the same damned mistakes that had gotten him into this mess in the first place. Acting recklessly. Charging in headfirst without considering the situation beforehand. He wanted to scream in frustration. He thought he'd been making progress too! Thought he had been taking steps to mitigate these exact kinds of situations. But here he was again, a victim of his own lack of foresight and thick-headedness.

His phone beeped, luring him out of his self-depreciation for a moment.

His heart dropped out from his chest.

Rumi had found him something. A link to Kyoto. His stomach clenched and unclenched painfully. This…this could be it, couldn't it? This could be the end of it all. It felt…strange. Anticlimactic in a way that he couldn't articulate. But he supposed that the other shoe had yet to drop and there was work left to be done. Just because Rumi had found something didn't mean that they knew where the Plains were. And what was he getting so reserved for anyways? This had been what he had wanted in the first place. A chance to go on the offensive and to stop playing to the beat of Amaterasu's drum.

But his previous thoughts still lingered. The knowledge that…regardless of what transpired, he likely wasn't coming back…It was a sobering reality. One that he hadn't shared with Rumi for obvious reasons. This was the end and he knew it. He simply didn't see a way for this entire mess to end, that didn't see him moving on to Elysium…assuming it still existed.

He wasn't scared of dying. He'd gotten over that fear years ago. When you had eternity in the afterlife with all your loved ones, there wasn't a whole lot to worry about. But Percy had a life here now…had finally started to allow himself to let go of what he'd lost and move on to what he'd found. He wasn't ready to give that up yet. To give up his friends and classmates. To give up the Cats. To give up Rumi.

His stomach clenched again, as righteous fury began to wash over him. The sky overhead reflected his mood, as dark storm clouds swooped in over the horizon.

He wasn't ready to go just yet. He wasn't ready to give up everything he had fought so hard to build. Amaterasu be damned. The entire Shinto pantheon be damned. Percy had gone up against worst and managed to come out the other side still breathing. Why should this time be any different? He didn't even know if there would be anybody in the Plains, let alone an army of pissed off gods. But that was a concern for a different time. First, he needed to find the damn place, which meant getting to Kyoto as soon as possible.

With newfound energy and determination coursing through him, Percy rocketed out of the water like a ballistic missile, tearing off through the sky in the direction of Kyoto.

Unlike the cities that Percy had spent most of his time around since arriving in Japan. Kyoto was far from an urban metropolis. Heralded as the cultural capital of Japan, he supposed it was oddly fitting that the Plains would be here, rather than in the capital. But that also created a new problem for Percy. There were over two-thousand temples and shrines in Kyoto. Granted, more than fifteen hundred of them were buddhist and could likely be ruled out, but that still left at least five hundred shrines or temples that could be the link to the Plains.

Assuming that access to the Plains was even through one of the shrines to begin with.

But Percy had an idea. Takemikazuchi might have been able to escape, but Percy had brutalized him during their brief fight. There was a good chance that he would have fled to either the Plains, or to one of his own shrines to heal. He would start by looking for a shrine for the God. But the only thing that came up, was a shrine in Northern Kyoto that was dedicated to Kamo Wake-ikazuchi, who was a god of thunder. Well… Takemikazuchi had called himself a god of thunder as well, so unless there were multiple deities for the same domain, it was as good of a place to start as any he supposed.

The Kamigamo shrine was easily one of the most beautiful buildings that Percy had ever come across. The outer walls were made of a brilliant orange, that reflected beautifully in the silvery light of the moon. The lanterns dangling from the ornate entrance cast flickering shadows across the empty courtyard.

The outskirts of the temple were surrounded by large trees. Climbing into the nearest tree, Percy reached out with his senses. He was feeling out into the ether, trying to see if he could feel any lingering divine energy. Closing his eyes and reaching out with his own power, he could feel…something. It was distant, but definitely there. Like something was crawling up the side of his leg. He focused more intently, trying to enter his focus squarely on the strange sensation. Someone had most certainly been there, however they had not been there for long.

Honing in on the feeling, Percy opened his eyes and leapt out of the tree. Landing in the middle of the courtyard, he took off at a brisk jog in the direction of the sensation. Running through the large gate and into an open garden, he followed the feeling for a few minutes, before stopping just outside of the entrance to the shrine. There was something shinning in the moonlight on the ground. Squatting on one knee, he reached down. On the ground was a small splattering. Barely visible in the night, and likely invisible to mortals. Percy would have missed it, had he not been looking for something just like it.

Golden Ichor.

Percy focused on the substance. Unlike human blood, ichor didn't contain water for him to follow, however he was far more attenuated to the divine world than he had once been. Instead of following the water in the blood, he would follow the power. Reaching down, he dipped his finger into the golden ichor, revealing in the sheer power emanating from the substance. He focused on that power, focused on that feeling of divinity.

There was more power around him. It was faint, but it was most certainly there. He could feel it coming from inside the building, but then it disappeared and reappeared somewhere to the South. It was a strange thing, the divine. Had Takemikazuchi not been bleeding as he was, Percy never would have found him. Deities were able to naturally hide their presence and power when amongst mortals. Unless you were face to face with one, it was normally impossible to spot them unless they were using their power. But that was not the case with their blood. It was inherently magical in nature. There was no hiding the power of ichor.

Rocketing in the air, Percy began to follow the trail of power. He didn't have very long to go, as he flew into the heart of Kyoto. He landed on the outskirts of another shrine. The street sign on the outside indicated that it was Fushimi Inari shrine. Percy glanced around him, and found that the power was leading to the north, near the forest behind the shrine. Grunting to himself as his heart began to hammer fast, he took off at a careful jog. Near the back entrance of the shrine, was an unusual sight. At the rear of the shrine were hundreds…even thousands of large, orange gates. They led into the forest and up into the mountain range behind it.

That was where the power was emanating.

Steeling himself, he began the long walk into the forest. He didn't know how long he walked, or how many of the strange gates he walked under. But the further he climbed, the more certain he became that he was on the right path. Not only was the sense of power growing, but now there was something else. Something stronger. An almost…pressure in the air. An electricity that danced across Percy's skin. His heart began to beat just a little faster, as excitement and anticipation began to mount.

The gates began to grow fewer and further in between, until they finally opened up into a scenic view at the top of the mountain, gazing down on the city below. But Percy wasn't occupied with the view, he was far more entranced by the sight about a dozen yards away from him.

Another gate.

One that was wildly different from the others he'd seen. Instead of orange, it was faded brown. Made of strong looking bamboo, and was at least several centuries old. It was hidden behind some kind of spell, a powerful one at that. Likely constructed by the gods themselves.

Percy didn't need to see the ichor in front of the gate to know it was the right way to go.

His heart hammering in his chest, and sweat dribbling down the back of his neck, Percy approached the gate. He pulled his phone out. Rumi answered after the first ring.

"I found it," said Percy softly. Rumi was silent.

"Don't fucking say it."

"Say what,"

"You know damn well what…you come out of there…you come out of there with all the pieces you walk in with or so help me the gods above-"

"You'll kick my ass…" In spite of himself, he smiled, "I know."

The silence between them stretched on for a moment,

"Just come back," said Rumi, her voice shockingly vulnerable, trembling slightly,

"I will," assured Percy, surprising even himself with the confidence in his voice. Without another word, he ended the call.

Glancing one last time at the mortal world around him, Percy steadied his nerves.

Then, he stepped through the gate.

AN: As always shoutout to Double0Sxvxn for being an awesome Beta and dealing with my bullshit and as always if you enjoyed this but haven't checked out my other work, give them a try you never know you might find something else you like. I'm also on discord now, where I and a bunch of other writers hang out, chat and brainstorm ideas, you just have to copy the link that's in my profile bio if you want to come and hang out with us. Stay safe, stay healthy and have an awesome week

All My Love,

LilDB