This might be the last chapter I'll get out in quick succession. Further chapters will take more time to write and are time consuming. Right now, I have to prepare for AP exams for Calculus BC and Statistics (call me a nerd, I don't know) in May. Once those are done, I think I'll be able to ease up and have more flexibility in my schedule.

I'm happy to see a lot of people giving positive reviews on this. It genuinely warms my heart that even though I have been writing so little (I consider a full-fledged story's chapter to have at least 5,000 words each. Hopefully, this changes soon), I'm trying my best to entertain you guys.

If someone asked me how powerful Ichigo would be, I'd say he'd be the single most powerful being in the story. The Garganta in Bleach and Chaos in PJO are essentially the same thing and as such, I've decided to unify them both together. Chaos doesn't have a consciousness of its own, so it's out of the game. Ichigo could just as easily destroy Earth and with Hell Verse being canon, he's pretty much King of Hell since the Kushanada stopped and obeyed his will. This might put him at odds with Hades, but we can see who will win that fight. Overall, I'd say that Ichigo is far stronger than Zeus, though Zeus would certainly put up a good fight before Ichigo has had enough and speed blitzes the crap out of him.

However, that's not why I made this story. This story is about the relationship between two different people and how it affects everything. The background of the Riordanverse gives so many opportunities, especially with Artemis. She's an adventurer as much as she's a huntswoman, having many stories about the places she's gone. This is one such and something that will persist throughout her lifetime.

Also, for those who haven't guessed already, Ichigo is immortal. As a 'transcendent' being, his reiatsu has gotten so massive and dense that it's unable to be converted into any other state, including constant reincarnation. He's still in a gigai in this story's first chapters, but over time, once his mortal body dies, he'll become more of a spiritual entity that can only be seen by those with high spiritual energy or in this case, those with divine blood and can see through the Mist. He will also still be able to perform his duties as a Soul Reaper and can help lost souls pass on. Hollows also might make an appearance in this story.

That's all I have to say for now. Slowly but surely, the plot is starting to straighten itself. Now, this chapter will reveal the reactions of Artemis and her training with Ichigo.

All rights go to Tite Kubo and Rick Riordan.


"Quincy? No, I've never heard of that before."

"What about Monks of Destruction? Or Yhwach?"

"No, this is the first time I'm hearing about this."

Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief on the inside. It looked as if the Quincy hadn't been present within this reality. If they had, it would've made things more complicated. He didn't need to run into those people again after that whole thing with Yhwach and the Wandenreich.

Ichigo decided to tell Artemis about his Quincy heritage only, leaving out his history as a Shinigami and Hollow. She did not need to know these things now since it was clear she hadn't heard of other pantheons before.

"Well, the Quincy, otherwise known as the Monks of Destruction, are a race of spiritually aware humans that are able to manipulate reishi around them. They appeared during the structuring of the living realm and the afterlife, defending themselves from supernatural threats such as Greek monsters. They were not only able to affect the living realm, they were also capable of affecting the spiritual realm as well."

Ichigo made his bow dissipate and looked down on Artemis, whose eyes were widened rather comically. He smirked.

"I am a descendent of the Quincy race and as such, I have the ability to manipulate spiritual matter and energy and am very well-oriented in using it. Different abilities granted our people extreme versatility when it came to utilization."

Artemis's jaw dropped. An entire subspecies of humans who were able to manipulate matter and energy around them? She had never heard of this before! She didn't know humans were capable of such a feat from what everyone else around her said. Then again, everyone she had known up to this point weren't mortal and in a sense, looked down on the humans. But still, how? How had she not heard of these people before?

She looked at Ichigo, her eyes teeming with interest.

"How have I never heard of your people?"

Ichigo's expression broadened and Artemis sensed something was wrong when Ichigo's eyes became stormy and looked out to the plains before him.

"At first, everything was well for the Quincy as they grew. However, later on, it was discovered that their spiritual power destroyed souls completely, never to pass on to the afterlife. It's essentially erasing their existence from both the living realm and the spiritual plane."

Artemis gasped. Nobody, not even her father or uncle Hades, could erase souls just like that. He could do it to mortals, but Ichigo had just said that his people could erase people completely, including both immortals and mortals. Throughout this, Ichigo continued to speak.

"When this discovery was revealed, the Quincy were surprised, but they didn't stop using their powers. Instead, they stubbornly kept on using them and as a result, they were destroyed for disrupting the balance of life and death."

Artemis was silent after hearing those words, understanding clear in her expression. While cruel, it was necessary if those humans had disagreed and fought back. However, she still felt sympathy for an entire population being wiped out just like that.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Ichigo looked back at her.

"Don't apologize. The Quincy had only themselves to blame for."

Artemis eyed him questionably.

"You don't care about what happened to your brethren?"

Ichigo snorted. Inside though, he was quickly thinking on how to come up with an elaborate lie.

"My parents disagreed with the Quincy and believed that they shouldn't be erasing souls like that. They then sought ways to try and find a way to purify souls and send them to the afterlife properly. My father came up with these."

Ichigo stood up and grasped both of his blades in his hands, the cloth unraveling on its own as he grasped them. Artemis noted that both swords were shaped oddly, nothing like any other design she had seen. They were both stark gray and inwardly curved like a knife. The bigger one had a hollow slit within the blade itself and had no guard separating the blade and the hilt.

Ichigo smiled as he recalled memories of all the times Zangetsu saved his life.

"My father called these types of weapons zanpakutō or 'soul-cutting blade'. Forged directly from my soul, we could purify anyone we came upon and properly send them to the afterlife."

Artemis seemed awed by the zanpakutō. Her mind was racing at a million kilometers per hour as she processed what Ichigo had said.

Weapons made from the soul?

Artemis made a mental note to absolutely beg her father for one of those. She MUST get one of those!

Her eyes went back to Ichigo, who had an amused grin on his face. Ichigo continued with his spiel.

"Because these zanpakutōs are made from the soul, each one is unique and possesses special abilities that differ from others. Depending on the amount of strength and power a person holds, the zanpakutō is automatically molded to contain it."

Artemis's focus switched between him and the zanpakutōs for a moment before her eyes narrowed.

"Are you telling me your power is so massive that your swords are literally the size of your body?"

"Yes and you will also notice that my blades are heavily refined as well."

Artemis eyed him cautiously, making Ichigo feel sheepish as he scratched his head awkwardly. Then Artemis smirked.

"Meh. I still think that bows are better. Those swords must be slow and sluggish to use."

Ichigo blinked and then he chuckled. He could hear Zangetsu practically yelling his ass off about bratty girls and being the best weapon ever while Tensa was quiet, though Ichigo could tell he was silently brooding from being told bows were better.

Ichigo stopped chuckling and looked at Artemis thoughtfully. He knew that she was known as a huntress god back from school and knew how to use the bow. Why not teach her?

He strapped his zanpakutōs back and formed his Heilig Bogen in his left hand once again.

"Do you want to learn how to use one?"

Artemis blinked and after a minute, she smiled.

"Yes."

Artemis felt a shudder go up her spine as she saw Ichigo smirk viciously. A sinister aura began to surround him and she involuntarily took a step back. She had no idea what she had signed up for, did she?

On the inside, Ichigo and his zanpakutō spirits smiled wickedly. Time for some tortur—training.

-XXX-

She hated Ichigo so much right now.

It had been two months since she met Ichigo. Two months since she met the strangest person in her life. Two months since she agreed to train with Ichigo. Two months of hellish torture of unbelievable proportions. It was the most exhausting thing she had ever done in her life.

Artemis had grown both physically and mentally. Now about as tall as Ichigo's shoulders, her hair grew into an elegant auburn red, beautiful, but not overly lush or bushy. She wore a white tunic with garments covering her body all the way to her knees with fur shoes covering her feet.

She was running through the woods with a composite bow in hand and arrows on her back. Silent and quick, she jumped through obstacles, focused and paced in her current objective. Every movement of hers had become fluid and routine, a product of her training with Ichigo.

She didn't let this amaze her. She was more cautious about what was coming.

She went up a massive tree branch sticking out of the ground and quickly jumped on another tree branch suspended in the air. A second later, a purple arrow rained down from where her previous position had been on the branch stuck in the ground.

Ichigo continued to fly after Artemis, drawing another of his Helig Pfeil and shooting it at the tree branch that Artemis had just jumped on. She quickly dodged and ran even more, dropping onto the ground as the thick foliage made it difficult to spot her. She sprinted as more of those arrows lined her trail, coming dangerously close to her wherever she went. Having very little time to formulate a plan, her mind raced through several different scenarios on how to flip this situation.

Two months ago, she hadn't thought she would've been here. She had to admit while this experience had been intense and harsh, the progress she had made was staggering to say the least.

Ichigo claimed that his primary weapons were his zanpakutōs, but she could also see that he was good with the bow as well. He created a bow for her using an elegant otherworldly golden material that came from the ground, which she assumed he manifested with his reishi. However, its properties told a different story. Whatever the material was, it was ancient and extremely powerful as Celestial bronze, maybe greater.

He also created hunting knives for her, using the same material from fitted her fighting style perfectly, which was strange. When she had asked why hunting knives of all things, he just mysteriously smiled and called it 'a hunch'.

All these said weapons were on hand as she dodged and weaved through the forest, avoiding arrow after arrow as she finally came up with a plan. She suddenly stopped and silently climbed up a tree, just barely dodging an arrow by her left cheek. Then she waited, noting the arrows stopped coming and heard Ichigo descend into the foliage to her right.

She stayed silent as she heard Ichigo's footsteps around her, treading carefully as she could tell he was trying to hear her. She patiently nocked an arrow and aimed it at him several meters away. Inside her head, she considered her plan: she had chosen an isolated location and forced him to fight in her territory while also taking advantage of the massive amounts of trees the environment provided. Her plan would pull off.

She waited until Ichigo had arrived just within hearing distance to give him less of a reaction time. Breathing slowly and steadying her aim, she focused on her target, accounting for the trajectory and speed. She had one chance to pull it off and if she failed, she was done for.

She let the arrow fly.

Immediately, she took cover, preparing to nock another arrow before she took a peek at where Ichigo had been.

He was still standing there.

Holding the arrow in hand.

He looked amused as if he had already known her plan and deduced her location.

She knew it was all over as Ichigo aimed his already nocked bow at her, her arm having been too slow to even grab another arrow from her quiver.

She sighed, as she came down from the tree and Ichigo lowered his bow, grinning rather confidently. She resisted the urge to slap him in the face, recalling her previous attempts and what happened after.

"Nice try, Artemis."

"I wasn't even able to get a single shot at you though."

"And I doubt you will." Ichigo spoke as if the answer was clear as day. "Even when I had restricted nearly all of my power, abilities, sensory capacity, and physical strength and speed, you managed to force me into your plan and almost landed a shot on me. If not for my reaction speed and quick thinking, that arrow would've certainly landed a hit."

Artemis brightened a bit, recalling her memories of training with Ichigo, grimacing at the grueling sessions. In her mind, she had never been this close to landing a shot on Ichigo before now. Of course, Ichigo had to hit her ego a little bit.

"Though, the place where you decided to spring the trap gave it away. There wasn't much to hide on ground level, so it was clear that you were in the air, on a tree."

Artemis looked up to see that condescending smirk Ichigo had on his face. She wanted nothing more to wipe it off.

Ichigo spoke again.

"Anyway, that's all for today. Let's head back to camp; we'll get something to eat before teaching you more about tracking skills."

Artemis nodded, already lost in her thoughts about dinner and her next lesson. Mostly about dinner though as she was hungry and excited as well.

Her sensei, which Ichigo said was his word for master, had amazing culinary abilities. Some of his cooking could give Hestia a run for her money. She was already drooling at the prospect of eating some of the big game they had caught.

Ichigo saw the expression on Artemis and couldn't help, but smile softly. These moments reminded him of the times he took care of his younger sisters. It was reminiscent to see Artemis happy as Yuzu would be whenever they did something together. He wondered how Yuzu and Karin were doing now after he had traveled through the Garganta, discovering new realities in the process.

Ichigo shook his head. He shouldn't worry too much. Karin would admonish him for what she called 'babying' after them. She was capable and so was her sister and the rest of his friends. He didn't have anything to fear after the stuff they went through together.

Ichigo absently took Artemis's hand into his own, startling her out of her daze. She watched Ichigo's expression and softened as he saw a content smile on his face and couldn't help, but smile back.

They slowly made their way back, taking in the peace around them.

-XXX-

Artemis hummed softly as she walked through the woods, looking for edible nuts or plants to bring back to camp. Having been taught how to look for the signs for fresh greens, she and Ichigo had spent several days foraging out in the wild. This was something new for the both of them; neither had too much experience in extreme wilderness survival challenges. They did make a few mistakes in identifying edible plants and fruit.

It was a secret that both of them kept ever since that one day. No, she did not want to talk about it again. Although, it was very funny to see Ichigo's reaction after he tried that one salad.

They had both gotten better at it now that a few months had passed. But to Artemis, she had a lot on her mind.

When she was younger, she shouted that she would always be a virgin after witnessing the disgusting actions of men around her, especially her father.

She saw most males in a negative light and looked down on women, especially amongst the gods. There were no warrior goddesses among the Olympians and that bothered her. It was typical for men to think that women were fragile and needed to be protected. She did not like this attitude very much.

No, Artemis wanted to change all that.

From her youth, she swore that she would become strong so no man would have to protect her. In general, men annoyed her. She never thought she would get along with a male.

However, recently, those feelings had started to rescind.

It wasn't like her to break away from a promise, even if it had been a proclamation and not an actual vow on the Styx.

Whenever she could, she would be truthful and honest to herself. Those traits and the actions of men around her had led to this promise of hers. She doubted many could change her mind.

But Ichigo wasn't in those majority.

When he had saved her, he didn't see a damsel in distress. When she said she wanted to explore the world, he hadn't objected. When she expressed interest in his bow, he offered to teach her.

Her.

A girl.

A girl that, generally, in the eyes of men, was physically and mentally inferior to that of a boy.

Ichigo did more than teach. No, he helped her to become the strong woman she was now. He was encouraging her to become the warrior she had always dreamt to be. He forged her path and pushed her down the road to become that goddess that all women would revere in time.

A strong goddess whose light would shine brighter than all those before. One who showed that men didn't need to protect women.

Artemis's heart pounded as she came upon her realization.

She had everything to thank Ichigo for.

No matter what happened, he had extended a hand towards her and built their relationship with trust.

There were no qualities in him that made him similar to other men.

He was kind and gentle when he needed to be. He was patient and instructive, knowing when to advise her and what to tell her. He could be silly when he wanted to, but never to an extremely irritating extent. He was devoted towards family and friends, heartily telling her to cherish the bonds that she created.

He had no visible flaws to him that made him susceptible to the attitudes of most gods. He was very powerful, but didn't boast about it. He often focused more on why he had it in the first place.

"To protect." Ichigo's voice resonated.

It was just that.

No ulterior motive or half-hearted statement.

Just that.

'To protect.' Artemis thought.

She began to feel a bit dizzy. Absently, she reached up to touch her cheeks and her senses detected the heat that had sprung up on her face.

Before she began to think about the warmth, she heard something. Snapped out of her daze, she listened closely as the sound cleared up.

It was the sound of a lyre, its melody smooth and accented.

Normally, this wouldn't have bothered her that much, but as soon as she registered the lyre, she instantly knew who was playing it.

She ran through the forest, her hand still on the bag holding the edible plants she had gathered earlier.

After emerging from the forest, she found herself on a cliff, neither extremely steep nor flat from the shore. She could clearly see the other islands from her position, their land jutting out in the distance. She also saw a large stained rock overlooking the cliff, massive enough for several people to sit on.

She held her breath in and was slightly exasperated to see the person who was sitting on the rock, lyre in hand.

The golden blonde hair shined as the person stood up, a goofy smile on his face as he saw Artemis run out of the forest.

He grinned toothily and waved his free hand.

"Hey, Arty! It's been a while!"

Artemis sighed annoyingly. Of course her brother, Apollo, had to call her that. That name was insufferable!

Apollo laughed at his sister's clear annoyance of his nickname for her.

"What have you been up to lately, Art?"


And boom! Apollo finally shows up! What will happen next?

So yeah, Ichigo has now taken Artemis under his wing and is teaching her everything she needs to know before she goes off to the great blue yonder. This chapter was a bit more difficult to plan out, but in the end, I'm proud of how it went.

Artemis is starting to develop feelings for Ichigo. However, she has not had the time to acknowledge it just yet. I plan to make their relationship more ideal as time goes on in the story.

School has been a major pain in the ass, but I hope that this chapter doesn't give away any indication as such.

As always, leave a review if you have any criticism or suggestions.

Otherwise, I will see you all in the next chapter.