Chapter 7. Huh. I finally caught up with my original story. In a fraction of the time it took. I'm not sure to be proud of myself or ashamed of my past self for abandoning a story so quickly. Ignoring that brief moment of self-deprecation, welcome to the next chapter! I'm literally making this up as I go along. I love it.
Artemis and Zoe Nightshade exchanged as look, before the Lieutenant of the Hunt smacked Kaneki Ken across the head. She watched the girl continue hitting him afterwards, gradually getting more and more irritated as each hit was punctuated with a word.
"You," a slap "don't," another slap "just," now it was a punch "give," another punch "the life story I had to pry out of you as a peace offering!" the final string of words came out all at once, punctuated by several hits to the head. Kaneki feebly attempted to fend the blows off by raising his hands, but they were just pushed down so that Zoe could deliver one more hard knock to the face before she was satisfied. Dramatically, the man flopped onto his back, pretending to have been injured despite the fact that Artemis had just watched every single wound she had managed to damage him with seal up like they were nothing. Not getting up, he began explaining his reasoning with a calm tone, ignoring the way Zoe had begun to search the surrounding area for "that stupid sword" and when she found the metal briefcase, started dragging it over to the collapsed form of one Kaneki Ken.
"But Zoe, she won't trust us if we don't tell her the truth. We need as many allies as we can, because I can't just keep revealing more tidbits about myself to every god that gets on my case. Besides, it's kind of rude to leave her tied up. What harm can my 'tragic backstory'," he made air quotes with his fingers and drew out the word "tragic", "do?" Zoe finally managed to finish dragging the case over, instead of opening it, she threw it onto Kaneki's face and forced an oof out of him. She groaned and flopped onto the ground beside him and much to Artemis' shock, she was pretty nonchalant about the close proximity between her and the male.
"When I finally managed to talk you into giving me your 'tragic backstory', remember how annyoed you were afterwards? I don't think that milady would appreciate being traumatized after losing a fight to a male mortal twice." Artemis winced at both the reminder(a blow to her pride) and the deadpan way Zoe had delivered the comment, but Kaneki just chuckled before replying.
"You disappeared for a week, then showed up later and told me that you weren't going to leave again. It was like living with an overprotective mother, which wasn't exactly the worst sensation considering I had never been fussed over by my mother, but it got tiring so quickly that I threatened to walk into wherever the Hunt was setting up camp and announce that I was looking for you." Zoe cuffed him over the head while Artemis tried to process the tiny bits of information that were present in every single exchange the duo had, once again ignoring the jealousy that flared up at how casual they were. Slowly, she began contemplating whether or not it was more convenient to attempt to escape again rather than listen to them act like siblings(she pretended that the other option didn't exist).
"Could you please make your mind up boy so that I can finally get out of these bindings?" Kaneki opened his mouth, eager to reply, but his partner in crime just slapped her hand over his mouth and gave Artemis an irritated glare(shocking, considering this was probably the first time she had seen Zoe not treat her with absolute respect) and mouthed the words "don't encourage him", before pushing his face into the ground when he attempted to get up.
"Kaneki, go do whatever it is you do when you disappear. I'll have a talk with milady so that you don't end up spilling everything to someone who might just relay it back to Olympus because I am not looking forward to being on the receiving end of a lightning bolt. The gods would probably keep my soul to torture for information because you'll just slip through their fingers." Kaneki made an expression that was a cross between agreement and disgruntlement, before shrugging and pushing the briefcase off himself, standing up and stretching before walking away.
"Zoe, you know that I would break into the Underworld just to make sure your soul got to Elysium. I'm going to go and take a nap. Haven't had a decent night of sleep in ages. Wake me up when you're done." seemingly ignorant of thee completely casual way he had stated that he was going to break into Hades' domain just to ensure a single soul got to the place it rightfully deserved, he raised a hand in farewell, not bothering to turn around even as he melted into shadows that definitely weren't there a second ago. Zoe looked at his disappearing form with something akin to fond exasperation, before shaking the expression from her face and sitting up to look Artemis in the eye. A brief moment of silence passed as the duo studied each other with blank faces. Artemis was searching for any traces of betrayal in the eyes of who she had once thought to be the most loyal of her Hunters, wondering how she had allowed her oldest partner to slip away and interact with a threat to Olympus for so long that they were comfortable with each other(an almost impossible feat, she would give Kaneki Ken that much credit, for Zoe Nightshade treated all members of the opposite gender with disgust that came from past scars) and how she had never noticed the way she had gradually began speaking in regular English instead of the olden version that Zoe had finally managed to get the hang of(Artemis had actually noticed, but just dismissed it, happy that her Lieutenant was fitting into the times). She saw no trace of deceit in those eyes, and then she pondered what Zoe was looking for in hers before she broke the silence.
"Forgive me milady. I owe Kaneki a debt that I fear will only grow as the years go by. Perhaps if he had decided that his friends were not worth the trouble, he would have continued living in obscurity and I would have eventually revealed his existence to you. It is regrettable that the two of you had to meet first in combat. Then again, I cannot exactly blame Kaneki," a small smile graced Zoe's face as she traced a finger along the thin string of a necklace that she had begun to wear about a decade ago and a pit formed in Artemis' stomach as she connected another piece of the puzzle, "because that is just the type of person he is. It is why he chooses to live a normal life. Because he would walk through Tartarus just for his friends." at the incredulous look on her goddess' face, Zoe smirked and opened her mouth, only to close it. Before she could express her concern at the abrupt way she had shut herself up, her Lieutenant had fished out a bloodstained hunting knife from her pocket and gently touched the bindings on the goddess, tearing them like they were just strings, even though Artemis had been using her godly strength to try and rip the bindings apart(to no avail). Rubbing her wrists to get her blood circulating again, she asked one of the many questions that had been in her head ever since she had been betrayed.
"How did you meet Kaneki Ken?" Has he always been…" what was the word she was searching for? Zoe tried to fill in the blank for her as she pondered a word to describe the most likely insane man that had decided to challenge monsters and gods to protect one of his friends.
"Strong? Enigmatic? Crazy?" Zoe laughed quietly, looking around like she was expecting the man in question to pop out of the shadows as she described him, "Kaneki's always been weird. You might already have figured this out, but he doesn't seem to age. He's frozen at the age of thirty I believe. Something along the lines of our own passive immortality due to your blessing. I met him around twenty years ago, when he saved me from a monster horde similar to the one that Hades had sent to kill a single child and his mother just hours ago. You might remember that. It was the time I disappeared because I wanted some alone time." Artemis definitely wasn't able to forget that. Despite the fact that the Hunt still had to perform its duties, thinning the herds so that the demigods wouldn't be overwhelmed, she had spent all the time she could searching for her Lieutenant(and her Hunt was perfectly fine when they went on expeditions, only to find no monsters. It wasn't like Artemis was using them as a guise to search for their lost sister. Nope. Not at all.) only for the girl to show up one day like she hadn't even left, dressed in the same clothes that she had been wearing when she had vanished and oddly secretive about where she had been. The only thing that they had managed to get out of her was that she had been helping out a fellow hunter on their quest. She emphasized the word "hunter", so they had assumed the mystery individual was most likely a female who had not fit the requirements to join the Hunt, thus beginning to hunt on their own. Interested, Artemis had asked her about the individual, wanting to see if there was some way that she was able to allow the mystery girl to join them. Zoe divulged tiny shards of information about the personality of the person she had been with for over a month, but quickly clammed up when her goddess had told her that she wanted to invite this person to the Hunt. Looking incredibly sheepish and panicked(which was a surprise in its own, Zoe rarely showed any emotion apart from happiness and contempt), her Lieutenant had told her that the hunter was definitely going to refuse if she invited her, and Artemis dropped the topic with disappointment. The goddess buried her face in her hands and sighed when the implications of her statement caused some more puzzle pieces to click together.
"So that's why you said that the hunter you were travelling with wouldn't join the Hunt. Because the hunter was a male. Why am I not suprised?" Zoe giggled quietly at the trace of despair in her words, nodding in agreement.
"At first, I was just going to peg him in the forehead with an arrow and run away. Then I realized that I was contemplating fighting the guy who had just killed about forty assorted monsters at oncce. It was actually frightening, when I truly began thinking about it, the way he waded through monsters as their attacks slid off him and his sword tore through them like they were made of paper. I had a funny feeling that if I did anything to make him an enemy, I would be killed almost immediately. The fact is, I knew that he could have killed me along with the monsters. Instead of doing anything, like I expected him to, Kaneki just made sure that I was fine. And when he found out that I got mauled by a hellhound, he decided that it was his fault that it had happened and told me that I wouldn't be leaving until I was healed. That was why I went missing." well, that answered some of the questions Artemis had, but it also added to the mystery of Kaneki Ken. It seemed as if the man was a walking danger magnet. And was apparently very concerned about people in general, considering he made sure Zoe stayed until she was fully recovered.
"Anyway, he left me alone, only showing up to make sure that I was still around and occasionally supplying me with the resources necessary to survive. All in all, the only reason I decided that it would be better to get to know him was because I was getting bored. He was a puzzle to pass the time, and I think he knew that, but still indulged me anyway. Kaneki may just seem like an 'all brawn, no brain' fighter, but he is very perceptive." her tone was growing colder, and she gave Artemis a warning look.
"Don't attempt to trick him. He'll know it. I don't want to choose between my goddess and my friend, especially since he'll win." Artemis tried her best not to get offended at how Zoe immediately decided that Kaneki Ken would beat her, and her Lieutenant noticed the sudden change in the atmosphere. She patted the goddess on the shoulder and offered her a sympathetic smile.
"Kaneki is a special case. Honestly, I still do not know the full extent of his abilities. He's taken down gods before. His regeneration is amazing. All I'm sayin is that Olympus should be grateful that he decided to be a pacifist. Except for the fact that Hades tried to kill one of his friends. That's one of the few things that really sets him off." briefly, an image of Kaneki's expression when he was fighting surfaced in her mind and she contemplated whether or not the changing eye colours was an indicator of his emotions. The joker seemed like he was the type that was unruffled by anything that was thrown his way, smiling at everything. The blazing silver and red eyes were unsettling enough, and Artemis believed that seeing the smiling fool angry was most likely going to terrify her. Lightning crackled and their eyes simultaneously shot to the sky. Zoe frowned, just as Kaneki reappeared, slightly smoking and clutching one arm. Briefly glancing at Artemis' unbound form, he shrugged Zoe off as she began to check on his condition.
"Zeus found where I was taking a nap and decided to pull a high-IQ move and drop some lightning on me. I managed to escape before the worst of it hit. Dammnit, I was hoping not to get electrocuted today! We need to move before they find this location. A shame really, it was a nice place." picking up the briefcase with one hand and taking Zoe's hand with his other, he gave Artemis a calm smile despite the hurry he seemed to be in.
"You coming along? If we leave you here the calvary will show up soon."
"You're a dangerous man Kaneki Ken. A threat to the peace that we try to keep. The only reason I'm not attacking you now is because I promised to leave you and Zoe alone. While she may think that you're a person to be trusted, the world would be better off with you dead." her Lieutenant shot her a look of absolute betrayal, but the man she had just insulted chuckled and nodded knowingly at her words. The smile on his face took on a defeated edge.
"Sometimes I wonder if the world is better off without me too." and with that parting statement, the partners in crime began to liquify again, shadows of the surrounding objects reached out for their forms and quickly enveloped them in darkness. A split second of silence passed before they vanished. Just in time, in fact, considering that with a flash of light, Hermes appeared at her side, his signature grin and cocky attitude gone for the moment. He gave her a once over, and something akin to relief flickered across his face before the stony expression he had adopted returned.
"What happened to you?" Artemis was more concerned about how Hermes looked like he was the one who had gotten beaten up by a man who didn't even bother using the blade he wielded that could kill gods. Hermes gave her an incredulous look, shaking his head before replying.
"We've been attempting to locate you for ages. The only reason we did was because that demon decided that he would take a nap on Zeus' throne, while we were having a meeting! Imagine the outrage!" Artemis almost choked on air when she heard that. Briefly remembering how Kaneki was smoking, she winced. Zeus found out where I was taking a nap, she snorted, Zoe's going to kill him when she figures out what truly happened. Hermes gave her another look that screamed he was wondering whether she had managed to lose some of her sanity in the brief time she was with Kaneki Ken.
"The demon's name is Kaneki Ken. He has superhuman strength and speed, along with the ability to regenerate." Hermes nodded at the information, before smirking.
"Well, that doesn't really matter anymore. His methods of teleportation are pretty easy to track, especially with the surge of power every time he does it. If he had departed a few minutes earlier instead of leaving just before I arrived, we wouldn't have been able to track him. But because he didn't, we'll be able to pinpoint the next moment he shows up. The gods are pulling out all the stops with this. When he does appear, Zeus is going to rain lightning down on him. Artemis felt her heart stop.
"He's going to do WHAT? What if he winds up in Camp Half-Blood? Whatif he shows up in the middle of a crowded area full of mortals? What will happen then?" she quickly offerred an excuse for her panic, hoping against hope that Zeus would be reasonable enough to consider this. Hermes' grimace told her otherwise.
"He said that the cost doesn't matter as long as we kill Kaneki Ken." and at that point, thunder rumbled and they looked up to see tens of lightning bolts arcing through the sky, all converging on one location. She screamed, judging the location and immediately teleported to it. It was a plain grass field, just like the one he had brought her to earlier. There was a blackened crater in the ground, a single metal briefcase resting in the center of it, dented and scorched. Swallowing her terror, she looked for bodies. A guttural snarl made her turn around. Kaneki Ken was holding her Lieutenant, clothes damaged and his appearance that of someone who had just gone through a hurricane. Zoe looked unharmed, but she was definitely unconscious. Unceremoniously depositing her into Artemis' arms, he roared to the heavens.
"Zues! Come down here and face me like a man!" Unsurprisingly, when faced with someone who was challenging his pride, her father chose to do what he always did.
A bolt of lightning struck the ground, and when she blinked the spots out of her eyes, Zeus was standing there, electricity crackling as it traced his body. Kaneki gave her a look, pointing to the girl in her arms and gesturing for them to move. She nodded, running as fast as she could as the air seemed to grow suffocating, hoping that Zoe was alright. Behind her, a primal battle cry that would have sounded better coming from the mouth of an animal echoed despite the lack of structures for the sound to bounce off. She shivered, her instincts flaring up and warning her.
"You tried to hurt my family. NO ONE HURTS MY FAMILY AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!"
And that's a wrap. Kaneki's going to fight his second divine being(third, if you counted Hades). He is angry. Angry Kaneki is scarier than the hulk to me. Anyhow, I'll leave it here. I hope you enjoyed and soon my other reboot will finally emerge. See ya.