Just so you know:

"blah" - regular

blah - thought

:blah: - Japanese

After a couple hours of silently sitting there, with the Hunters of Artemis and the demigods milling around, Nico stood, "Thanks, Kenji." Nico gave Kenji a small watery smile.

Kenji stood up after him, giving a hug, "It's fine, Nico."

Kenji started to walk away, but Nico ran up to him and grabbed his hands, "You do know I didn't mean that, right?" he asked hopefully. "I'm really sorry about that. I didn't mean it. Cross my heart and hope to die. I was just angry about Bianca."

Kenji nodded and smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry I know."

Nico nodded, "Thanks." Nico looked around, "There's Grover! Let's go see who he is talking to!" The light in his eyes was already coming back, though his eyes always darted towards the edge of the cliff where Bianca fell.

As Nico ran to Grover, Kenji yelled after him, "I'm going to go somewhere for a while! Stick with Grover!" demanded Kenji.

Nico rolled his eyes, though Kenji couldn't see, "Sure!"

Kenji started to walk away, looking for the idiot girl. Rage swirled within him. That girl was the reason Bianca wasn't here right next to him and Nico right now. He felt his walls crack. He winced as pain coursed through his body, before absently repairing the cracks. Emotions also played a role in the sudden cracks. Especially anger. Over the course of the rest of the year, he has learned how to repair the walls without going into his mind scape and blocking his emotion. Though to repair the wall, it still took half of his concentration, so whenever he does this he is less aware than he usually is. It would be pretty easy to sneak up on him this way.

"Hello?"

He nearly jumped before composing himself, wiping his face of all emotions, "Yes?"

The sight of the punk/goth girl behind him, looking at him curiously. As she glanced over him, trying to be subtle, she seemed to be looking for something, he asked, "Thalia, right? And what do you think you are doing?"

Her eyes widened, she probably wondered how he caught that she was staring suspiciously, "I was looking for that wicked knife you had," she admitted. She added on, "And I thought you weren't a demigod. Are you? Or are you not?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out," he replied noncommittally.

Kenji continued walking, ignoring Thalia who ran up beside him. He scanned the forest for the annoying girl.

Thalia started fidgeting, her fingers tapping against her arm unable to stop moving. Even though it was a small, almost unnoticeable movement, he could still see it out of the corner of his eyes.

He growled as he became increasingly annoyed with the incessant tapping and moving, "Would you stop doing that? It is of the uppermost annoying motion ever."

Thalia seemed amused, "Uppermost? Who says uppermost any more?"

"I do," Kenji replied simply.

Thalia seemed to to want to keep the conversation going, she explained, "I have ADHD."

"Interesting."

"I mean like, ADHD helps me in battle and such, you do know about demigods right? You saw the manticore! Oh! You're a clear sighted mortal!" she exclaimed.

Kenji asked, "You do know that you are very, very, annoying."

"Yep!" she replied cheerfully.

Kenji was starting to find ways to get rid of the girl, he said in an attempt to get rid of Thalia, "Why don't you go to your friends? Okay? And leave me alone. Cool."

Without waiting for an answer, he walked away. He paused, "You wouldn't happen to know where that girl, Annabeth, do you? Even the faintest idea."

Thalia shrugged, "Most likely, she's hanging off Theseus's arm." Great. Just great. Two idiots in one place.

Kenji asked curious, "Who is Annabeth's godly parent?"

Thalia seemed surprised, "Why do you ask? Athena. Her grey eyes kind of gives it away. And blond hair too."

"I was guessing Aphrodite."

Thalia laughed loudly, "It is possible she is a daughter of Aphrodite in disguise as a daughter of Athena with the way she fawns over Theseus."

Suddenly, a high pitched sound tore through the air. It seemed to come from right in front of Kenji and Thalia. Kenji pushed through a patch of bushes, reaching a clearing. Leaves and branches scraped at his hands, legs, and face. He ignored it. He came face to face with a bruised Theseus on the ground with a silver arrow sticking out of the ground near where Theseus's foot was. He heard snickering to the right of where he was. He nearly laughed himself, but held it in. The snickers escalated to full blown laughter when as Theseus fell on his face as he wobbly stood up, tripping over the same arrow.

Kenji nearly face-palmed, what an idiot.

Annabeth stood by Theseus, helping him up, asking him, "Are you alright?" She brushed imaginary dust off the boy's clothes.

Theseus's face grew purple with anger, "Those bitches shot an arrow at me! Wait 'till my father hears about this!"

One of the hunters laughed scathingly, "What did we do? You were walking in front of the targets."

Sure enough, there were separate targets laid out neatly on the other side of the clearing. You can't fault that logic in the hunter's words.

Annabeth sneered, "It still is you're fault that Theseus tripped on your arrow."

A different hunter snorted back, "No it is not. And if you actually inherited any of Lady Athena's wisdom, you would see it too. But you are acting like a mindless Barbie doll following around the recent celebrity." The hunter seemed satisfied at her words, as if she was waiting a long time to smash down the daughter of Athena. Kenji was also surprised that a hunter was verbally attack another girl. Kenji smirked a bit at the hunter's words, agreeing with her words.

The same hunter spotted the smirk, "Hey, boy. What are you smirking at? You are an idiot just like her." Instead of being riled up like the hunter expected, he stood there with a serene smile on his face, his smirk already gone.

"I'm here to watch the show," inside he was as emotionless as a rock. It was more unnerving to his enemies when he is smiling. It makes them fear him more. To be honest, it was sort of entertaining.

The hunter shifted uneasily, but stood her ground, "Well, go away. Dog." It seemed the hunter decided to help herself a little bit by adding an insult to the end of the sentence. Too bad it won't help her.

Kenji stood unnerved by the insult the hunter threw at him.

"No."

An arrow flew towards him at a high speed, aimed at his leg. Non-fatal, but if it hit him, it would hurt like a bitch. The arrow probably would have hit its mark if he hadn't seen it a mile away. The crack in his wall had been long repaired. He had regained full awareness and his subconsciousness pointed out where spots of silver would appear. The arrow would also probably have hit him if he didn't spend his life dodging bullets. Dodging arrows was definitely more easier than dodging bullets.

He moved his leg backward so he was still facing forward. In a silver blur, the arrow hit the ground, spraying dirt everywhere. Flabbergasted stares were aimed his way. The hunter was stammering, "H-how? I haven't missed in like forever..."

"He dodged," wondered a different hunter.

"How?" voiced another. "No one could move that fast."

Kenji chuckled humorlessly, "You'd be surprise. The world is a big place."

"He moved extremely fast..." Suddenly, 20 arrows were aimed at him. He knew, deep down, that no human could dodge that many arrows, and he was human, so he definitely could not avoid all 20 plus more.

Panic started to settle at the bottom of his heart. The 20 flew towards him plus more, he hoped that the disownment actually helped him with something. Monsters weren't chasing his tail. That was one thing. Hopefully these arrows won't harm him either. These arrows could be regular silver for all he knew. But he knew the Hunter's weapons were magical, so he's hoping. Some of the more morbid thoughts hummed, You are already going to die, so why not make it sooner?

Bianca and Nico,he answered himself. Those two give me the will to live. How had those those two kids worm their way into his heart even though he spent a lifetime locking up his emotions. Of feeling nothing all the time. To not get hurt again. How did they make him human again? By feeling. Like actually feeling. Not faking. Two different things.

The arrows were approaching, slicing through the air. They are moving closer. And closer. They are almost about to impale him. And they passed through.

For a moment, a wide smile split his face. A genuine one. In the moment of happiness, he childishly cheered in his mind, I will live another day! Kenji suddenly realized that his audience was staring and he wiped his face of all emotions. Breathing deeply and fighting a smile that was crawling up his face, he started to walk away. Avoiding, of course, the arrows that now litter the ground, around where he was standing.

Demigods and Hunters alike started to murmur. "How?" "He is a mortal?"

Walking into the thick of the forest, he continued walking. No one followed behind. Were they too scared too? No, most likely not. All he could think of right now is Nico and perhaps Bianca. But mainly, Nico. What would Nico think? Knowing he was a demigod and Kenji was a mortal at the moment. There were no such documents or memories that a family had a demigod, and a mortal. If he did some digging, he may just find out, Kenji isn't really his family. How would Nico feel then? Would he feel betrayed? Abandoned? No, no. Don't think.

He scaled the nearby tree and at the same time, pulled out his gun. He started running while firing shots. He needed practice anyway. Bullets flew through the air silently meeting it's target, placing holes in leaves and trees. Even as he was buried deeply in his mind, he had enough common sense not to shoot arrows with the Hunters of Artemis so near. Especially with one of Artemis's own bow and arrows. He was not even a girl! Artemis would probably turn him into some kind of fluffy animal. He finally stopped firing bullets when he heard his name being called.

"Kenji! Kenji!" It was Nico.

Nico wandered under the tree Kenji now sat at. Kenji swallowed and called out, "I'm here, Nico!"

Nico's curious eyes looked up and he gasped, "You are really high up there... Aren't you afraid you are going to fall?"

"Nope," Kenji jumped down from branch to branch before taking one giant leap, landing on the ground.

"It's time for dinner!" To punctuate Nico's words, his stomach growled in hunger.

Kenji threw an arm around Nico's shoulders, "Let's go then!"

They trekked through the forest with Nico leading him. Nico kept opening then closing his mouth. After he did that multiple times Kenji asked jokingly, "What do you want to say? Spit it out."

Nico's face scrunched up in thought, wondering how to approach. "You know that I went to talked to Grover right?"

"Yep."

"He told me..."

"About what?"

Nico rushed out, "He told me that the Greek gods and monster are real and... I am a demigod. So is Bianca. But... You..."

Kenji stopped and knelt in front of Nico, staring at him eye to eye, "Yes, a clear-sighted mortal," he smiled.

Nico asked, unsure, "Grover told me about this camp demigods go to, can you go?"

"I don't know," answered Kenji truthfully. Kenji really didn't know. Would the barriers accept him even though e is disowned? But will the barriers recognize him as a demigod because he used to be a demigod? Questions swirled around in his head.

Kenji than said reassuringly, "But don't worry. I will be there with you, even if I wasn't allowed in. We'll also get Bianca back."

"'Kay."

In the distance, there was an orange glow. Behind them, the sun was setting. The bright stars overwhelmed the sky. Though most was swallowed by pollution.

The orange glow was soon identified as a campfire.

Nico also realized it was a campfire. He bounced excitedly, "Do you think they have marshmallows? Ohh...what about s'mores! Yum!"

Kenji chided jokingly, "Dinner first. Than snacks."

Nico pouted, "Fine." He walked a little faster toward the campfire. Around the campfire were logs used as seats. On the right was a group of silver clad girls and on the right is the small group of three demigods plus one satyr. Nico ran next to Grover and jumped onto the log beside him, "Hey Grover!" Now four demigods and one satyr. Where to sit? Where to sit?

One of the Hunters stood up and walked to another silver clad girl, but here was a tiara sitting upon her head. She whispered something. The girl with the tiara's eyes widened before standing up and walking to a silver eyed girl sitting at the head. She bowed a little and went to whisper whatever the first hunter told her to silver eyed girl.

The silver eyed girl's eyebrows furrowed and then nodded. She stood, all conversations hushed. She addressed the small gathering of people, "I have just learned that we have a mortal in our midst. Please stand." Even without addressing who the mortal was, everybody stared at Kenji. He stood and bowed stiffy to the young girl. As he did, he gritted his teeth. He especially did not like accepting someone else is his better, but he had enough common sense to know that of all the gods. Artemis is the least tolerant of boys of all the gods.

She nodded acknowledging the bow, even if it was albeit stiff. She stayed quiet for a moment, deeply within her thoughts. She seemed to have finally come to a decision on what to say or do. "Mortal," she commanded, "follow me."

She spun on her heel and walked away, as intimidating as she can in a twelve year old form. For a moment, Kenji was at a loss at what to do before steeling his nerves. He walked behind the goddess purposely with his shoulders squared. Conversations spun behind him. He pretended not to hear them. Artemis led him to a a clearing that is full of silver tents. There was a large one at the very end, it was probably's Artemis's. She walked inside the tent. Kenji followed behind.

Inside the tent, different animal furs hung on the walls and matted the ground. She beckoned him to sit. Slightly suspicious, he sat down on one of the furs. She made herself comfortable and then asked, "What is your name?"

Feeling very reluctant to do so, he replied, "Kenji."

"My Lady," he tacked on.

"Last name?"

"Di Angelo, My Lady," the lie rolled effortlessly off his tongue.

"So you are the younger boy's older brother, correct?" she inquired.

"Yes, My Lady," he confirmed.

She mused, "I have never heard of a case where in one family, there is a, two," she corrected herself, "demigods and one clear-sighed mortal. Curious. Curious," she trailed off.

She suddenly demanded, "You have a knife. Show it to me."

Kenji acted oblivious, "What knife? I don't have a knife."

Her silver eyes narrowed dangerously, "Yes, you do. You have used it to slay the monster. Take it out."

Gripping the concealed knife, he passed the beloved knife to the goddess's outstretched hand.

She examined the knife and frowned. Inside, Kenji was sweating bullets. What if she linked the knife to Poseidon? She would have known that Kenji was not a a clear-sighted mortal, but rather a disowned demigod.

"Where have you found this knife?"

Kenji blinked, "Come again?" He didn't bother to add the 'My Lady'.

"You certainly were not given it. Therefore, you must have found it."

"Ah," Kenji nodded. He quickly spun a story, "You see. I was looking for some cooking knives for, you know, cooking. So I went into one of the stores that sold cooking pot, pans, knives, spoons, and such. And this man stormed out of the store, right when I walked in. The clerk was staring down at the counter, at an object that laid on it. It was the knife. I had trouble looking for knives so I went to ask. Instead I had the knife shoved into my hand and the clerk just said, 'There's your cooking knife! It's perfect! Best cooking knife there is!'. I did ask to pay for it, but the man just shoved me out. And ever since I've had the knife," he finished lamely. It was not perfect, but it will do.

Artemis seemed to believe it though, she handed back the knife, "Of course."

She stood, quite gracefully, and gestured to the exit, "I think it would be time for me to retire, it would do you well to do so too." Artemis clearly wanted to get rid of Kenji. As he walked past, she examined him suspiciously. Most likely, she would have spotted some flaws in the story, though not enough to outright accuse him of lying. It at least bought him some time.

He walked out of the tent, looking for Nico. The cold wind bit at Kenji's skin. He shivered. He had dealt with more than this on the run. He wondered, had he gone soft? Had he gotten used to the nice, warm, and comfortable beds and the air condition and heater installed in the room. Instant cold. Instant hot. A small ball of energy crashed into his stomach, hitting the air out of him.

A chocolate covered face, grinned up at him, 'Hi!"

Kenji blinked, "You are getting chocolate all over my clothes. And are you hyper?"

Nico cheerfully ran circles around Kenji, "Yep! Do you have any coffee?"

Kenji's eyes widened, "No. No, no, no. No coffee. Really, really bad idea. No. Time for sleep anyways. See? Look up. The stars are out."

"I know. So what?"

"That means... It is time to sleep."

Grover suddenly ran up to the pair, wheezing and placing his hands on his knees, taking deep breaths, "Nap-nap-napkin," he waved a napkin above his head.

"Thanks," Kenji grabbed the napkin and grabbed Nico with his other hand. Bringing up the napkin to Nico's face, he tried fruitlessly to get rid of the chocolate stuck to Nico's face.

"Oww..." whined Nico. "That hurts."

"Then stop moving," reasoned Kenji.

Nico stopped.

"Good," praised Kenji.

Right as Kenji finally finished wiping off the chocolate on Nico's face, he lightly pushed Nico towards the tents, "Time to sleep."

Nico pouted, "Fine."