Author's note: Sorry for the late update... I have no excuse other than: 1. Busy summer 2. LOTS of homework and 3. Our computer crashed... Okay, really? No excuse. Sort of.

Okay, there was one review that sort of bothered me... but I'm a nice person, so I'm not going to piss off...

Disclaimer: If I owned Percy Jackson and the Olympians, things would have turned out much differently... hehehe...

Warnings: Fluffyness, and slight/maybe Clarisse bashing, but don't all of them have that? Even the original story does...

Chapter 4: A Message from Dad, and Falling in Love (First part Nico's POV, second part Sakiko's POV)

Part 1.

We went to the dining pavilion a half an hour after... we won. Once we got to the pavilion, I saw the crack I'd made years ago, when I created a fissure. I wondered why no one bothered to finally fix up the crack. When I got to the Hades table, I saw a few of my brothers and sisters chatting about whatnot, and the other half comparing new skull accessories. I now knew that my liking for skulls and dark clothing was inherited from my father.

I sat down along with my brothers and sisters, and looked around at everyone. They all looked unusually happy. I looked confusedly at them, but they all refused to meet my glance, and kept glancing off to the right. I looked over, and saw the long brown hair of a girl, sitting at the table beside us. I started blushing, then quickly hid my reaction. It's not like I like her, we just... kissed. It's not like it was a big deal. It certainly wasn't my first kiss. At my age, I'd fooled around with a few girls, but I wasn't really into it.

But now I had this weird feeling, and I couldn't tell what it was. It felt like blooming flowers in springtime, and I hate those kinds of feelings. We Hades kids don't feel like blooming flowers in springtime. It just isn't done. But, no matter what I kept telling myself, I kept glancing over at her. She was like a disease.

I shook my head, and stood up to scrape part of my food into the fire. I sat back down, and quickly finished my food. I didn't feel like going to the bonfire today. I got up again, and hurried away. I decided that I would go to the lake for a bit, until curfew. It's not like I'd be missed. Even with the new rules, Hades children still weren't the people everyone kept tabs on. The most famous were the Poseidon and the Zeus children. They were always the most popular, so it's not like I had a chance even if I did like her. Which I didn't

I sat down on a large rock, watching the waves crash about, and roll unto the shore, only to slide back into the water again. I closed my eyes, and listened to the soft sound of the crashing waves. I opened my eyes. The moon cast a shimmering reflection on the water. I looked about. The campfire must have almost been done by now.

Suddenly, there was a disturbance in the water, and a pale figure rose out of the water, like a ghost. She was wearing a flowing cloud blue dress that fit her frame perfectly. She wasn't wet at all, and she turned towards the moon, basking in it's soft white light. She was unearthly and beautiful, but for some reason she looked familiar.

Then, she turned her head, and noticed me. Surprise flitted across her face, and she walked closer to me, her head cocked in recognition. Then, the moonlight hit her face, and I was shocked. It was Sakiko. What was she doing in the lake at this time of night?

She came up beside me, and smiled. I put on my 'whatever' face, and looked up at her. "Hey," I said.

She sat down. "Hey. We've had quite an adventure, haven't we?" She laughed.

I smiled slightly. "Yeah. So, um, what were you doing..." I gestured towards the water.

"What was I doing under the surface of the lake?" she asked.

"Yeah..."

"The cool water helps me to sort out my thoughts," she said, staring out unto the lake.

"What kind of thoughts?" I asked, probably knowing the answer.

She blushed. "Oh, you know. The usual."

I looked away from her, realizing what she meant. It was also embarrassing for me. It's not like I had wanted to kiss her. It had been an accident. I looked back at her and noticed that she was staring at the water. She had an expression on her face I couldn't describe. It was almost a cross between sadness, longing, and happiness.

"So, what's it like being a daughter of Poseidon?" I asked.

Suddenly, she burst into tears, and stood up. I quickly got up, but she'd started running away. I've gotta say that she was extremely fast. I started to head back to the cabins so as not to break curfew.

Hey guys... I had an extreme case of writer's block, so instead of having both parts in the same chapter I'm just going to publish this for you guys... I sooooooo sorry it's so short...