Kirei knew that Mr. Brunner was watching him, and it was not in a way that teachers try to keep tabs on all of their students. Kirei suspected that the man had seen the battle against his former teacher, Mrs. Dodds. Kirei had been researching all he could about monsters and such, however, he still was unable to find any information about the beast he had fought.
The way the teacher looked at Kirei was completely different from the incident at the museum a couple of weeks back. It was a far more observant look. Although, the same could be said for Percy regarding looking at him differently.
Also, one of their teachers was replaced after the museum trip. Mrs. Dodds was replaced by a blond-haired lady named Mrs. Kerr. Kirei did not notice until Percy asked about Mrs. Dodds and if he remembered her. Of course, he said that he did.
Mr. Brunner called Kirei out of class after the school day ended.
"Kirei, I am not sure you are aware... But, you are a demigod. You, in particular, are the son of a very powerful Greek god."
"..." Kirei was stunned into silence, he almost thought the man was crazy. Though, it was a different world than his original. He knew he would need to keep an open mind about what this man said.
A demigod? He thought. Kirei took a breath and regained his composure. He needed to let this play out.
"What makes you so sure about that? Are the Greek gods truly real as you imply them to be?" He asked Mr. Brunner. He paused, most likely carefully choosing his next words.
"I had no clue that you were a demigod like Percy until I saw you battle that kindly one at the museum. Given who your father is, I was surprised that you have lived until 15. Although, it was clear you were no stranger to battle." Mr. Brunner looked deep into Kirei's empty black eyes. "You were claimed by your father after that battle, and the emblem above your head at the time… There is no mistaking your bloodline, you are a son of Hades." Kirei once again was shocked into silence he had nothing left to say.
"Please, come with me Kirei. It will be a long drive." Said Mr. Brunner.
Kirei's head was spinning as Mr. Brunner called a taxi and they began their travel. It was a long drive despite the unsafe speed at which the taxi driver drove. The destination was outside of the city, and the bill was larger than he had expected. Although it should have been expected from a new york taxi. After his teacher paid the taxi driver, the taxi driver helped him into the wheelchair. Kirei exited the car second, the taxi stayed in place and the taxi driver pulled out a book. Mr. Brunner must have asked him to wait for him to come back.
"Mr. Brunner?" Kirei asked.
"Call me Chiron." Mr. Brunner/Chiron said.
"...Chiron. As in that Chiron? Never mind, I knew my father. I'm not referring to Hades, my father… he is a priest."
"He was most likely a foster father, Kirei. The god that claimed you were definitely your father."
"I've never met my mother." Said Kirei. At this Chiron paused and turned to look at him to just take in his appearance. Kirei had average length straight brown hair, empty black eyes that looked as if they lacked pupils, a cleanly shaven good-looking face, and he was carefully dressed. Kirei was wearing a slightly baggy black jacket, with black jeans and shoes to match. He was 6 feet tall, and even under his loose clothing, Chiron could tell that he had an athletic build.
"I am sorry to hear that about your mother." He had an apologetic look in his eyes, it was probably not the first time he had given condolences very similar to this.
They passed a pine tree on top of the hill in front of the valley.
The clearing ahead had a tall farmhouse and acres of strawberry fields surrounding it. Kirei sensed a bounded field of some sort surrounding the area, although it was unlike any other bounded field he had ever sensed. It was a more powerful, more complex bounded field than anything a normal mage could produce.
Behind the farmhouse were acres of greek styled buildings. Children around his age were wearing bright orange t-shirts as they walked around. It was a lot to take in at once no matter how much of an open mind he tried to have.
"Kirei, welcome to camp half-blood." Said Chiron.
A blond-haired girl with grey eyes approached the two of them. She looked around 12 with tan skin and an athletic build, just a little shorter than him, she was also wearing the bright orange shirt that the other people at the camp wore.
"Chiron, you're back! Is he 'the one'?" Said the girl. Kirei raised an eyebrow at the title but otherwise remained expressionless.
"Annabeth. Meet Kirei." Chiron greeted her with a nod. He paused, causing an awkward silence between them.
"So, who's the new kid's parent?" Annabeth asked Chiron, casting Kirei a nervous glance.
"Undetermined, could you show him the orientation video for me? I have to head back, for now, expect to see me in a few weeks." Said Chiron all of the sudden. Kirei thought that Chiron lied somewhere in his sentence if his body language was anything to go by. Several seconds of silence ensued. Kirei had very sharp, trained hearing, so he was able to hear Chiron entering the taxi and the subsequent squealing of tires across the asphalt indicating that he had left the two of them alone.
He turned his attention towards Annabeth, who had a small frown across her face.
She slowly looked towards him, her gaze was a lot less nervous than before.
"Sorry, what was your name again? My name is Annabeth Chase." Annabeth introduced herself. Kirei remained expressionless, his eyes empty.
"My name is Kirei Kotomine. Nice to meet you." Kirei said. His voice was deep, it was deeper than most voices she had ever heard, and by far the deepest voice Annabeth had heard from someone his age.
"Follow me, Kirei." Said Annabeth.
She guided Kirei to the second floor of the Barnhouse, where she showed him the orientation video. It covered most of the basics and some new material he had yet to learn. Such as the gods now residing in the western cities like New York City and Los Angeles, or monsters don't really die when you kill them, etc. After the video, he was brought to cabin eleven, where unclaimed children and children of Hermes go. Kirei knew based on the exterior of the cabin alone that it had likely seen better days.
Kirei now knew that Chiron had gone out of his way to lie about him not being claimed by his godly parent. Apparently being the son of Hades was supposed to be a secret. So he did not speak about it to anybody just yet. He guessed that this was not the last time that he would need to withhold information.
He entered the cabin alongside Annabeth. The campers had looks within their eyes that were determining his worth in battle. Other than the many boys and girls currently sizing him up, the floor was littered with sleeping bags. Kirei had a feeling that is where he would be sleeping soon.
"Kirei Kotomine, meet cabin eleven." Announced Annabeth, Kirei could tell that she probably had introduced names to the cabin many times before his own. One of the people in the cabin asked if he was determined or undetermined.
"Undetermined," Kirei said. There were groans heard audibly from most of the individuals in the cabin. He heard Annabeth leave the cabin behind him. A camper around his age got up from his bunk and approached Kirei.
"Now now, everyone gets their start somehow. Kirei, my name is Luke. I am the camp counselor, and this is cabin eleven, where we accept all travelers AKA children of minor gods or those that are undetermined like you." Luke said. He had a long, white scar on his right cheek.
The rest of the day managed to pass without any event. The eating ceremony would have surprised him if everything else was normal, which it wasn't. Kirei somehow managed to get a sleeping bag of his own, much to his surprise. A man called Mr. D announced him as a new camper during the feast, which he choose to eat Mapo Tofu during. He offered his final couple bites of the meal to the fire, as he saved the best for last. Kirei went to the cabin immediately after eating his food, too tired for much else. He was mentally exhausted tonight.
That was the end of the first day for Kirei, he wondered how long he would have to stay at the camp. He felt alone, isolated, the same feeling he had felt for most of his life. But Kirei was fine with it, as his joy and pleasure meant the suffering of others. Which due to his moral compass he could not allow.
The next chapter will progress ahead a couple of weeks, thank you for the support for all of those who are currently reading or will read in the future.