Chapter 11: Normality and Kekki Genkai
Percy POV
I woke up groggily at around 6AM still in my sleeping mother's embrace. I didn't want to disturb her sleep, so I vapor traveled out of her arms to one of the many trees around camp to meditate. In lotus position, I let my thoughts stir.
'Mom better turn me back to my age,' was the first of said thoughts. 'I need to try and figure out this Kekki Genkai stuff. I know I can combine water and wind natures to make ice, but I have no idea what I should create. Water and lightning will give me storm style, but again that requires another set of hand signs,' I mused.
'Not to mention they're incredibly draining, but more powerful, so I should only make one of each and use them sparingly,' I finished thinking after about an hour of meditation and chakra control to go join my sisters for breakfast.
3rd Person POV
The Hunt was gathered for breakfast and wondering where Percy was. "Has anyone seen Percy?" Phoebe asked and got negative head shakes and wandering eyes. "He went to mediate, but he's joining us now," Artemis said. "And girls? You're welcome," she finished with a smirk and everyone was confused until Percy came into view.
All of the Hunt started their uproarious laughter at the sight of their little brother as he was still in his six-year-old form. "Oh my gods! You look like how you first came to us!" Phoebe bellowed through the fits of laughter. "Yeah. Har har, laugh it up while you can. I can still kick your ass as a six-year-old," Percy grumbled, but that only increased the laughter.
"Mom, change me back," Percy said and Artemis adopted a mock thoughtful expression. "I don't know, you are quite adorable in that form," she replied with a smirk, much to the Hunt's enjoyment. Percy flared his aura and chakra in response and shut everyone else up quickly. Artemis, Phoebe, and Thalia rolled their eyes and Artemis snapped her fingers, turning her son back to his original form.
Once everyone was settled and eating, Percy could see the questions in everyone's minds. It was only a matter of who would ask first.
Thalia POV
"So those techniques from the spar yesterday," I asked because I couldn't take it any longer. Percy let out a deep sigh as everyone's attention was on him. "Yes. It's something that only I can do as the son of a Shinto God. It utilizes the chakra within my body and soul to produce them," he replied and everyone was skeptical. "Chakra? Isn't that something that, like, the Buddhist's made up?" Ashely, a daughter of Athena asked, and Percy frowned. "They adopted the idea from the Shinto Pantheon, but yes it is a very real internal energy descendants of the Shinto possess," Percy replied.
"Okay, but what about the techniques themselves? And the weird thing you did with your hands? They were moving too fast that I couldn't tell what was going on," Chloe, a daughter of Hecate questioned. Percy smirked proudly that his hand signs were too fast for some of them to tell.
"The hand signs are a way to channel my chakra and give it form. I spent a good portion of my training just learning their significance and how they help with the manipulation of said chakra," Percy replied. "People who possess chakra nodes, or the points in the body that chakra originates from, possess certain types of chakra natures; fire, water, wind, lightning, and earth," Percy finished.
"And from what we saw, you possess water, wind, lightning, and earth?" Phoebe asked and Percy nodded. "It was to be expected with my divine heritage. Clearly water is my strongest chakra nature, followed by wind, then lightning and finally earth. The hand signs allow me to channel and shape whatever nature that corresponds with the hand signs," he finished and slowly the picture of his abilities came into focus.
"There's also something called Kekki Genkai which I possess two of," Percy added and the question marks appeared over everyone's heads again. "Kekki Genkai?" I questioned and Percy nodded. "In theory, it is the combination of two separate chakra natures, one in each hand, that create an entirely new nature. I should be able to use water and wind natures to create ice nature and water and lightning natures to create storm nature, but Father told me that I would need to experiment and train on my own, which is what I will be doing in my spare time," he answered and Artemis nodded proudly.
"So how does this affect your demigod abilities?" Artemis asked and everyone leaned forward to hear. "I can induce either my demigod abilities with chakra, which doesn't require hand signs to boost them several times over, like how my blades came up short, yet I still cut you. Similarly, I can induce my techniques with my latent demigod abilities to either conserve chakra or boost it several times over. Either way, the techniques require the hand signs. Reinforcing my demigod abilities with chakra is more of a stopgap that allows me to do something similar without the hand signs," Percy told us and we nodded.
"However for techniques like Suiton: Teppoudama and Raiton: Chidori I have to use the hand signs, as they mold my chakra to create the water and lightning, rather than others that manipulate what it already present," Percy concluded and I was shocked and irritated that he had gotten so much stronger in only a year.
"Well, I think that is enough explanation for today. Thalia, make sure everyone attends to their duties. Phoebe, I would like you and Percy to join me in my tent," Artemis said and everyone set out.
Artemis POV
Once we settled into my tent and everyone was seated, I asked my son, "So you were training your wolf form with Lupa." Percy nodded. "I was told of the Roman Pantheon and how they are effectively the opposite side of the same coin as the Greeks. I didn't visit their camp, but I sensed the larger combination of aura gathered and assumed that it was them," he told me and I nodded.
"Why do they stay separate from the Greek? They're essentially the same Pantheon aren't they?" Percy asked and I sighed. "Yes and no. Roman's essentially copied the Greeks, but made them more militaristic and 'better', but the two sides hated one another and broke out in civil war the last time they met. That was the main reason behind the American Civil War. Since then, they have stayed entirely separate," Phoebe answered and Percy nodded.
"Why did you not bring Thalia in for this? She is your lieutenant after all," Percy asked and I sighed again. "I did not because her full-blooded brother, whom she believed to be dead is there," I told him and his eyes widened. "Mom, you can't just keep them separate! She thinks he's dead!" Percy argued with me and I scowled. "I know that, Son, but with all the bad blood of the past it is the best option right now. I believe there is a time when the camps will have to come together, but it is not yet that time," I replied and he hesitantly nodded.
"Why have you had no luck with your Kekki Genkai training?" I asked and this time Percy frowned. "It's incredibly difficult. I can separate the natures on their own, but I need to first imagine a technique then come up with the proper hand signs to manipulate both chakra natures in perfect balance. Then I have to name it and it already takes more out of me than my other techniques," Percy told us and we nodded.
"Well then Little Brother, I suppose you have work to do and don't think you can skip out on your other duties to the Hunt either," Phoebe told him and he rolled his eyes which made me smile at the two of them.
"Yeah yeah. Gone for nearly a year and a half of training, only to be rewarded with more training," he grumbled and Phoebe snickered at him. "Stop your whining. You're my son too. If Susano'o-sama won't have this whining, then neither will I," I scolded him and he rolled his eyes again before kissing my cheek and headed out to train.
3rd Person POV
Percy spent the next few months traveling and training with the Hunt much like he did before he left for the homeland. His taijutsu could really only be used on his mother, as the gap in strength from his sisters was most noticeable, but it gave the two extra time to bond. His weapons training was done with the majority of the Hunt, though Thalia and Phoebe paired off with him the most.
Whenever he was required to hunt for food, he did so in his wolf form, to ensure he didn't lose any of Lupa's training, otherwise she would kick his ass when he saw her again. Most of his training, however, was done in solitude with his chakra control and techniques and developing his Kekki Genkai. It was only after the few months of training with them for hours on end everyday that he managed to obtain a moderately perfected Ice and Storm (Gale) style. Both techniques nearly drained all of his chakra and left him with about 10% of his reserves left after using both, assuming he was all full strength.
Percy POV
"Come on Perce! Show us the new techniques already!" Thalia begged me as she threw me into the clearing where the rest of the Hunt was waiting. "Alright alright fine!" I huffed, though internally I was excited to show them what I had come up with.
I took a calming breath in the center of the clearing and went through the hand signs slowly, so that they all could follow them. 'Monkey, Dog, Ram, Bird, Hare, Ox, Bird, Dog, Monkey,' I said mentally as I performed the seals.
"Hyoton: Hyogaki!"
The entire clearing froze over in an instant, freezing some of my sisters' feet to their place on the ground and the surrounding trees. A bitter wind whipped up at the same time and the ensuing blizzard made visibility for everyone but my mother and I practically nonexistent with me seeing through aura and the water from the snow and my mother using her godly senses.
"Holy Hera!" Thalia and Phoebe yelled through chattering teeth and the remainder of the Hunt wasn't much better. I couldn't help but laugh uproariously as I caught my breath again from using so much chakra.
Artemis POV
'This is remarkable! The entire clearing is frozen with people not being able to move, and those that can move can't see anything until it's too late!' I mused as the warmth of pride for my son welled up in my chest again.
I used my goldy abilities to clear out the technique and smiled at my son. "Amazing," I whispered, but I knew he heard me.
"Well? S-Show us the other one!" Phoebe managed to get out through her chattering teeth.
Percy POV
I again took a cleansing breath and mentally went over the hand signs. 'Monkey, Dog, Snake, Hare, Horse, Ram, Snake, Dog, Monkey.'
"Ranton: Kami no Reza!"
I formed a finger gun with my index and middle fingers and pointed it to a nearby tree. A laser erupted from the fingertips and blasted straight through the tree and the tree behind that one, leaving a scorching hole in the first two and a smoldering indent in the third.
That was with only one shot, but I could afford to fire off two more with less and less power behind each shot.
Thalia POV
I was extremely proud and jealous of Percy's power. The ice technique was incredibly powerful and useful by itself, but the sheer power of the storm technique was awe inspiring. It was far more powerful than any lightning strikes that I have summoned.
"Incredible! What are they named?" I asked as everyone ran up to greet and congratulate him. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, which was adorable, and told us. "Ice Age and Divine Laser, respectively," he said and I chuckled at the names. They were rather appropriate, but the "Divine" in the latter was a little arrogant, which didn't suit Percy's normal demeanor at all.
3rd Person POV
After ogling over their brother's training results, the Hunt went back to their business and night soon fell upon the camp. The night meant sleep and sleep meant dreams. Dreams were the last thing Percy wanted to deal with.
Percy POV
~Dream Sequence~
I woke up in a tunnel of some sort. I could tell I was underground, but I had no idea where. I tried to move, but the dream moved me instead. I saw the blonde girl from the quest to save Mother, Annabeth, with the bastard's son, Steven, and a third person I didn't recognize from the camp.
The dream shifted and I saw an older and beaten Nico, trudging through a similar tunnel with a ghost following him. I tried to call out to him, but I couldn't move or speak. I knew at that moment, that I needed to find him and I vowed that I would. 'For Bianca,' I thought sadly, yet determined.
The dream shifted one last time to a redhead with paint splattered along her clothes. I knew she looked familiar, but I just couldn't place my finger on it before the dream ended and I regained consciousness.
~Dream Sequence End~
I sat upright in my tent and went immediately to my mother's. Luckily, she was already awake and she saw the look on my face and gathered me in an embrace.
"What happened?" she asked, her voice heavy with concern. I looked her in the eyes and told her the only thing I could manage to say.
"I need to go to camp."
AN: That's Chapter 11! The techniques I sort of totally made up, but they are inspired heavily by Darui's Laser Circus and Percy's Han no Kami from Everil's Son of Hestia story! Let me know what you think! I'm thinking of introducing another Shinto demigod in the Labyrinth, but I would enjoy your thoughts! Until next time!