Here we go, let's not waste any time.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (except the OC's) Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Heroes Of Olympus, or Trials Of Apollo. All of that belongs to Rick Riordan.

6. We Hunt The Fishing God

Talon

When I woke up, I stepped outside to have a smoke.

Everyone else was still asleep. I was careful not to wake them up. After I got in last night, after that talk with Goro, creepy fucker by the way, I slid my boots off at the door, and slid them on in the same spot.

Morning was misty, you could see it in the air. The tiniest of droplets floating around, the sky had a gray backdrop to it, like a storm was on its way. I didn't mind that, I kind of liked it actually. It's better than being hot or cold right when you wake up, it doesn't jar you, it just keeps you neutral.

I keep a pack of cigs with me anyway, but I always form the lighter on the spot. With a golden spark, it popped out and landed in my palm. Without wasting any time, I flicked it and a tiny orange speck poked it's head out. I placed it under the end of the cigarette and it lit. Puckering my lips around it, I inhaled the smoke and tasted that sweet scent I've come used to. It never tasted good, but after enough of it, you get addicted, and you keep wanting more whenever something bad happens, or when you're nervous, or unsure about something. Same with drinking. But drinking for me usually comes when I keep remembering things I don't want to.

But I don't recommend it. It's a temporary fix that leads to life-long problems. The memories always come back, and if you fight that with constant drinking, you'll be in a bigger mess. Just ain't worth it.

I blow a puff right as I pluck it from my mouth, watching it spread into a gray ring. As my sight wandered, I noticed a figure standing in the distance, with a white head and a black bottom. I found that weird, until I put two and two together. Asuka.

She might've been halfway across the Camp, town, or whatever this place is called, in between the tops of two houses on a hill. Her form was like the size of a bug from here. I squinted, curious as to what she's doing this early when not even her own people, the workers, are up.

It looked like she was standing straight, with her head bent down. I couldn't really tell.

I snorted and drew in another smoky breath. Ah, it doesn't matter what she's doing. Let her be.

But as much as I wanted to let her be, something urged me to go over and check on her. As weird as that sounds. I ain't the type to pry or poke in another's business. Besides, I don't give a rat's ass about her morning routine.

No, I just need to smoke my cigarette, wake the others up and prepare them for the day. I still hadn't told them about my talk with Goro last night. I let them sleep.

But a few seconds passed, I blew out another little cloud, and my curiosity grew stronger. I did have some questions. But hell, I've had questions since I got here. A new one being about that shit Goro let slip last night. Amaterasu and her daughter being killed eight hundred years ago.

"Crap." I muttered, annoyed at myself for the lack of resistance when my legs started moving on their own.

I made my way in between the houses and up the hill towards her. As Asuka's shape got closer and bigger, I finally noticed where she was, and what she was looking at. Her head was bent down, like I thought, and she seemed to be staring at a stone.

Neatly carved, smooth and curvy, with Japanese letters on it. A grave.

Not alone either. The one she stared at was surrounded by several. It would take a while to count them, so I didn't even bother, but I made sure to be careful and not disrespect their rest, so I stepped around any mounds of dirt, like a game of hopscoth, and somehow ended up next to her.

Her side facing me. She hadn't moved or flinched, so I guessed she wasn't aware of me yet. Lost in deep thought.

I took the moment to examine her. Sure, she looked no different than yesterday, obviously, she still had that stupid mask on, and a dark cloak that went all the way down to her ankles, showing nothing underneath whatsoever. Questions started racing through my mind, stupid questions that I don't even care about, yet I wondered far too long over. Does she sleep with it on? Where does she even live? How does she eat or drink? Does she eat or drink?

Don't ask me why, cause I don't know either. I'm honestly surprising myself here, with how much I give a shit. It's not like me. You gotta earn my attention. But really, Asuka has. She's interesting, in a weird way. I just haven't met someone like her before, with so many secrets, who never shows their face. Well, that one time on accident when Tsukuyomi cut her mask off, only he could see it. I got a peek at her hair, and that's all, so I guess she's not bald. That much I know.

Her posture was stiff, but there was something about the way her head was resting on her neck that told me it was slumped, almost sadly. Just a wild guess, but the only reason I make it is because I've been there before. I recognize this look, mask or no mask. I recognize it in my own self at Mary's grave. Just sitting or standing there for hours, looking, waiting for something that'll never come.

To make things more ironic, the mist had coated her mask from the time she'd spend out here, and formed a thin stream from the cat's right eye down to the mask's jaw, making it look like a tear.

Finally, I stepped closer and continued smoking. "Morning."

She didn't flinch, like I expected her too. She probably knew I'd been here this entire time, if anything. Aura sense and all. I forgot about that.

Not saying a word, the silence got awkward.

So I offered her a cigarette, "You smoke?"

At last, she made a tiny movement, glancing over at the small item. "No. But thank you anyway."

I shrugged and put it back in the pack, trying to lighten the mood. "Your loss. I don't usually share cigs."

She didn't snort, or even budge. Huh, I knew she was a more serious type, but judging from yesterday, she wasn't a total stiff. Something wasn't right.

"You good?"

"I am fine."

That was quick, and kind of snappy. Well, she ain't in the mood, so I guess I better get out of here.

"Alright, I get the hint. Sorry to bother you."

Just as I started to turn around, I heard her speak again, a bit less snarky this time. "It's...my father."

I looked over my shoulder, "Huh?"

A gloved hand came out of her cloak and pointed at the grave, "This is my father's grave. It's not where he's actually buried, that got destroyed a long time ago. We made another stone."

Well now I felt bad for coming over here. I know how it is to want to be alone when you're visiting someone. "Oh..."

"He was samurai. Killed in battle. I wasn't even a year old." The mist must've been getting in the way of her eye holes, because she reached up and raked her forearm across the mask. "I never knew him, but through stories, I've gathered the kind of man he was. He was...good."

I nodded, "Got that in common. Never knew mine either, but through stories...well, even through stories I don't know much about him. Just that he's a brave bastard. To go up against the gods...well, you know."

"I do."

"It feels like other people know my dad more than I do. My master, the other gods, even you. You've spent the most time with him out of everybody."

"I wouldn't say that. You know he had a family, right?"

"Sort of. I saw a recurring vision of him and what looked like a family, before his town got wiped out. Wasn't sure, though."

I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the mask looked at me, then back towards the ground. "I won't forget about my promise. I just want you to know that. I will get you to him. And he intends to answer any questions you have."

I scoffed, "Good to know. I have a hell of a lot of questions."

"I know it's going to be hard not to get angry when you see him, but try to listen to what he has to say first."

"Oh, I'll let him talk. Believe that." I pulled in a long smoke and blew it out, seeing that the cigarette was more than halfway withered. I flicked the embers off and tossed it to the side, out of the graveyard. "So to change the subject, I guess I oughta tell you what Goro said last night."

"I thought I sensed him coming to the guest home." She said, "What did he want?"

"Nothing gets by you, does it?" I smirked, "What, you stay up all night watching over us?"

At that, she stiffened. Hah, finally I got a reaction. See, teasing mode always works.

"No, I did not. He was carrying the Kusanagi, it's presence was enough to wake me up."

"Where was your house again?" I asked. "Don't remember you giving us the tour."

"I did not." She said, her tone getting more annoyed by the second. Heh, it was getting easier to mess with her. "It is nothing special. We have more important things to focus on. Now tell me what Goro said."

I sighed. Alright, enough messing around. "He got me in the middle of the night, wanted to talk to Percy, but I didn't want to wake him up. We went back to the castle and I told him about a vision I had." I lifted my finger, my eyes widened. "Oh, yeah, damn, I gotta tell you about the vision too."

Her body bobbed with a scoff, "You talked about me leaving out information, and here you go."

"Shut up." I grumbled, "Last night, I saw one of Ouranos meeting Tsukuyomi for the first time, convincing him to get back in the game. They went back and forth for a bit, and then came to the conclusion they'd recruit some other gods. They mentioned Susanoo, some Kagutsuchi fellow, and Oni. Goro said they were demons or something- hell, I've already forgot."

"I see..." She trailed off, deep in thought. "I expected Susanoo, perhaps the Oni, but Kagutsuchi? That's interesting. If they can somehow revive him, he'll be very difficult to defeat. Were there any other names?"

"Well, I asked the same thing, and Goro said Ebisu might be on their radar. He wants us to go after him first."

"Wait, Ebisu?" I imagined Asuka was confused under the cat face. "Ebisu wouldn't fight with Tsukuyomi. He's rarely fought ever to my recollection."

"Well, maybe he's just trying to be careful. Guy's a creep, but he seems good at reading people."

Asuka actually seemed annoyed, "Tch, he doesn't know Ebisu. He knows nothing. We should gather our forces and go after Susanoo immediately. Kagutsuchi and the Oni will be much harder to recruit. Kagutsuchi is dead, and the Oni reside in Yomi. Susanoo is free and alive, they can go to him right now, which is what they're probably doing."

She sounded pretty certain about it. She knows these people better than I do, and when you put it the way that she did...one dead, the other far away, and one right there...it makes sense.

"But I know how Goro is." She continued, "So we'll go after Ebisu. It will be a waste of time, but we'll do it anyway. Perhaps he has been working with Tsukuyomi, but I promise you, it's unlikely."

"He said we'd go this morning. I oughta wake the others up..." I cocked my head at her, "And if you think it's a dumb idea, why not just tell him? You seem to be the only one he might listen to."

Asuka thought about it, but ultimately shook her head, "No, it's better to not cause a scene with him, especially in front of his men, who I assume will be joining us. We'll just have to go along with it."

I shrugged. "Whatever you say." I thought about smoking another cigarette, but figured daylight was rising fast, and we'd probably be leaving soon. "I had better wake the sleepyheads up, let em' know what's going on. See ya in a few?"

"I suppose."

I walked off, not before glancing back at her over my shoulder, a peek to see if she was still watching me, but no, she'd gone right back to the same position she started in. Staring at her dad's grave.

I should've asked her about that thing Goro said, the eight hundred years ago thing, but considering what she was doing, and her disagreement with Goro's plan, she was probably in a sour mood. Best not to sour it even more. I can talk to her about it later.

Coming up to the house, I slid open the shoji. Sunlight peeked in through the door, offering dim illumination on the figures inside, who were still snoozing away. Normal people would feel kinda shitty about waking people up from a good sleep, but me? I always like to have a little fun with it.

I went over in my head what I could do. Hmm, form an air horn and blast it? Nah, that would be funny at Camp, but there are other people all around, people that have to work all day. That's a no-no. Anything with noise...

Throwing my hands in the air, I gave up. Guess it'll just have to be a boring shove. My boots thumped against the floor as I walked over to where Percy and Annabeth were. Annabeth was on her side in a delicate, classy position, sleeping like a proper lady, while Percy was strung out on his back, arms by his head, mouth wide open, breathing in and out comically, his sheets all tangled in between his legs, not covering a bit of skin.

I began to touch his shoulder, but an idea came to mind. You know what...maybe I could mess with them after all.

A devilish smile stretched across my lips, I leaned down to Percy's ear and started whispering. "Hey Percy, it's Travis and Connor, hope you don't mind if we eat all your blue pancakes." The impression of the thief twins wasn't the best, but Jackson would probably buy it.

Percy made a grumbling noise and shifted a bit, tilting his head the opposite way. I frowned. Better try again.

"Percy." A bit louder this time, "Since your asleep, Travis and I are gonna help ourselves to those awesome blue pancakes your mom made for you. That okay?"

This time, the Kelp man gave a reaction. His face scrunched in annoyance. "No. Don't touch them."

I clamped my mouth shut, holding back a laugh. Oh, this was fun. "You said it was cool? Alright man, appreciate it."

"No..." He grumbled, slurring sleepily. "Don't freaking touch them, guys. Not...your...pancakes."

"I'm grabbing one right now." I said in a singsong voice, his face got tighter and tighter with anger. It was hilarious. I made a chomping noise, then smacked my lips, making like I had a mouth full. "Oh man, they're so good."

At that, Jackson shot up, reaching for his pen on the floor, the one that made his sword Riptide. Eyes wide open, he made to click it, until he saw me, and slumped.

"Was that you, Talon?"

I snickered, trying my best to not guffaw a storm. I still had others to prank, so I didn't want to be too loud. "Yeah, sorry. I just had to."

He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, setting the pen back down. In the middle of an eye rub, his stomach rumbled. "Oh man, and now I'm hungry for pancakes. Thanks a lot, jerk."

I gave a two-finger salute. "My pleasure." Then focused on my next target. Malachi and Sera. Hehe, they would be easy. The number of pranks I pulled on them when we were younger, oh I can't even count. It helped that they were so gullible, having never been taught social normality. They'd believe anything.

Percy saw me staring mischievously at them, and whispered, "Dude, don't do it. They look so comfortable together."

I wasn't soft like him. Seeing Malachi and Sera all cuddled up, with the pretty boy clutching her back to his chest, hands interlocked, was old news to me.

"If you've seen the lovey-dovey shit that I've seen from them, you'll want to rip your eyes out." I grumbled. Hell, I can't even talk, because I'm one of the reasons the two even got together. Who do you think pulled the strings and finally pushed the idiot Demi-Primordial to make a move? That would be yours truly. Who talked Sera out of being jealous that Malachi interacted with another slave girl on the island, that was moi. Oh, and can't forget the full-on lecture I had to give both of them, explaining that no, it isn't the heat that's making your face get red. I've been through it all, believe me. That's why I liked Hoghead so much. The kid was crazier than a damn monkey on crack, but he barely talked.

Crazy. I hadn't thought of old Hoghead in a long time. He was a kid we met on the Cursed Island, one of the "Incendiaries." Our little rebel group we formed. Good fighter, and a loyal friend, he was. Too bad what happened. I'd give anything to undo it.

There are a lot of faces from that time I miss. But you can't undo what happened. You can only move on.

I shook my head out of the trance I entered, and approached the bed. Time for the old whipped cream on the hand, feather tickling the nose trick.

Willing it to appear, golden light sparked in both hands, summoning a can of whipped cream, and a bird's feather. I held them up like a mad scientist, ready to cut open his experiment.

But just as I got the feather to Malachi's nose, and pulled his hand right side up, said hand wrapped around my wrist tightly.

"Too slow, Talon." Malachi opened his eyes and smirked.

I groaned lowly, "Damn. I almost had you."

He released his grip and popped his neck. "You think I don't know what you're going to do by now? After fifty times of slamming whipped cream in my face, I think I've caught on a little."

I shrugged, "Oh well." My devious smile returned, and I made way to Sera's side of the bed. But Malachi put an arm over her.

"Don't." His eyes darkened, like a cornered animal protecting his territory. "Sera needs her sleep. I will not let you."

I put my hands up, still holding the can and feather. "Okay okay, jeez. I won't wake the princess from her beauty sleep." My eyes drifted down the bed, then on the floor, where Goth Girl snoozed, still fast asleep. "But I can mess with her, right?"

"You shouldn't be messing with anybody." Malachi scolded, "We had a long day yesterday."

"Ah, she'll get over it." I leaned down and gently grabbed her hand with two of my fingers, positioning it in the right spot. I paid close attention to her face, no sign of waking up. Heh, I had her.

I tilted the can and sprayed out a glob of white, fluffy looking whipped cream, right in her palm. I was so close. Oh, she's gonna be mad as hell, but in a way, this is payback for that shit she pulled a little while back with Snowflake. Long story, but Goth Girl decided it would be funny to let my horse into my cabin and turn it around so the first thing I see when I wake up is a Pegasus' ass. I wasn't too happy.

I reached up and placed the feather under her nose. Just an inch closer...

Then, unexpectedly, her non-cream covered hand grabbed the Heavenly Diamond knife on her waist. "Unless you want another cut, I'd suggest you back that feather away."

She had her eyes half open in a glare. Damn, she'd caught me.

I retracted the feather, "Crap. You've been awake this whole time, haven't you?"

"Just a few minutes."

"Then why did you let me spray the whipped cream in your hand?"

She proceeded to sit up and put her hand to her mouth, inhaling the whipped cream and eating it. "Cause I wanted some whipped cream. In fact, give me the whole can." She put her hand out for it.

Hell, why not. If everybody was gonna catch me, there was no point in doing anything. I shoved it over, "Fine, take it."

Goth Girl took it excitedly and sprayed a chunk down her throat. I pouted, "You guys are no fun."

The whipped cream enthusiast pointed towards Annabeth, "Annie's still asleep. Prank her."

Percy protested, "Seriously, Harper?"

She shrugged, and that devious smile returned. I still had a victim...

I walked over to Annabeth and Percy made a weak protest to stop me, "Dude, come on." But I knew he wanted to get her as bad as I do. Jackson likes pranks.

"Just watch." I smiled, deciding to go all out with this one. Quickly, I placed my hand on her side and made a crawling motion, like a bug going up and down. "Annabeth, look out! There's a spider on you!"

I knew this was going to be something. Blondie's terrified of spiders. Percy's eyes bulged out of his head at the words, along with the stiffness of the others. Before they could pull me away from a beating, Annabeth sat up faster than I'd ever seen her move.

"W-What?!" She screamed, head whipping around in all directions. "Where is it?! Where's the spider?!"

"At the foot of the bed!" I shouted, "It's right in front of you!"

"Ahh!" She shrieked and kicked the covers off of her, backing up to the head of the bed, knees tucked in tight and arms clinging to Percy's shoulder. It took a few seconds, but finally she started to catch on, realizing there wasn't a spider.

That's when I lost it. I busted out laughing, doubling over and letting it out. It was loud, and probably woke a few people up, but I couldn't help myself. I got her good.

"Oh man! You should've seen-" I laughed again, my eyes watering. "-I mean that was-WHOA!"

Before I could even notice or react, Annabeth had hopped out of the bed and grabbed my arm, placing her leg in front of mine. With a shift of weight and a hard tug, she flipped me right over her shoulder and onto the floor, landing hard on my back.

She held my wrist and glared down at me, before letting go and groaning. "Ugh, why would you do that?! You know how much I hate spiders! That's not funny!"

Goth Girl was hiding a smile, more than likely from me getting slammed to the floor. "Well, it could've been worse. He could've made a toy spider and put it under the covers."

"Nah, that would've been overkill." I said. I only meant to be playful, but I knew how far Annabeth's fear for the creatures go, and the whole story behind it. Them attacking her as a kid, Arachne, all that. I started to feel bad, so I got up and reached for her hand to get her attention.

"Ah, don't be mad blondie. Only meant it as a joke. I'm sorry."

She gently tugged her hand away, still annoyed. "Where do you get off pranking us this early in the morning anyway? I mean, Jeez, it's annoying, Talon!" I hadn't noticed Percy coming from behind and tickling the back of her leg, making the same spider motion I had before with my fingers.

Annabeth yelped and smacked his arm, "Perseus Jackson! I swear I'm gonna-"

Percy laid back in a fetal position, scared for his life, probably. "Guys, help!" Annabeth thumped him on the forehead, "Hey, I'm sorry! Wise girl, please-Ow!" She pinched him on the stomach for that one.

By that time, Sera had been woken up, and stretched her arms above her head, yawning. "What is with all the commotion?" Her arms plopped back down, she frowned. "And did someone say spider?" Her eyes widened when she realized everyone was up before her, staring. "Oh, good morning everyone!" She turned to give Malachi a kiss on the cheek, "Good morning, Kai."

"Good morning, beautiful." She giggled at him and they pecked each other on the lips, making me gag.

"See that? That's the shit I used to deal with twenty-four seven. And still deal with!" I put my hands to my hips and shook my head, "Not to mention the married couple-" Referring to Percy and Annabeth. "-Plus Matt and Goth Girl. Feels like I'm surrounded by cheesy Hallmark movies."

Percy raised an eyebrow, "What's your problem?"

Annabeth had stopped getting Percy back for his little stunt to study me. "Yeah, why are you mad? You just scared me with a spider."

I sighed, "Just my hand. Not a real spider."

Goth Girl stood up and came over to me, propping an elbow on my shoulder. "Ah, he's just jealous because he doesn't have a girlfriend." She lifted a finger, like she forgot something. "Or boyfriend. Don't know if you swing both ways."

I gave her the side eye. "No, I don't swing both ways. And I'm not jealous. Just annoyed with all the lovey-dovey mess. What if Ouranos sees you like this? He'll think we're a bunch of pansies."

She rolled her eyes, "Please. I can see right through you, dude. You're jealous. It's okay, really, I get it. You haven't had a real relationship in...how long? Years?"

I'd messed around a lot, had a bunch of one-night stands, or flings with women I barely knew, all meaningless, no strings attached. A real relationship? Huh, that made me think a little.

And it all led back to her. Blonde hair, soft hands, and a bright face smiling at me as we sat on a rooftop.

"Not since Mary." I said, looking at the ground.

The room got very quiet then, and I knew they were looking at each other, feeling bad. I didn't want them to. In fact, I felt annoyed that they did. "But that's all in the past, no need to give me those looks or throw a pity party. I'm just talking junk about ya'll, I'm not jealous, and I don't need any girl to share kisses with, give flowers too, or any of that shit. I'm fine on my own."

What started as a joke became deep and serious in a matter of seconds, all because I got annoyed with Malachi and Sera's little moment. But why? I mean, I've complained before about it, but it wasn't in the tone I used. Thinking back on it...I did sound a little mad, like actually mad, as opposed to the playful way I complained in the past. I didn't understand it, but I began to wonder if Goth Girl was right. Was I missing something like I had with Mary? Did I really want that again?

No. No, you don't. Don't even think about that. It's not gonna happen.

Percy was confused, "You mean you don't want to get married or have kids, or...any of that stuff? I mean, that's totally fine, I just didn't know you felt that way man."

Everyone was looking at me sympathetically, and Goth Girl wouldn't meet my eye. She seemed to feel guilty about making the joke. Damnit. I hate ruining the mood with my personal shit.

"Guys, don't worry about it. Seriously, I'm fine. I just know that if I put myself out there, if something does come along...it's only gonna end badly. Someone's gonna get hurt. I'm not going through that again." I threw my hands up, "Besides, who the hell am I supposed to go after anyway? Ain't exactly plentiful pickings for me. Let's face it, I'm a lot to deal with."

Everyone nodded and mumbled agreement for that. Then Sera lit up and said something that floored me. "What about Asuka?"

"Asuka." I said with a deadpan. "You joking, Princess?"

She smiled brightly, "Perhaps once you get to know her more, you will form a connection. I don't think she's a bad person. Just a reserved one."

"You two have spoken the most out of the group." Malachi noted, an eyebrow raised, like he was suspicious or something.

"Yeah, out of a single day!" I protested, not even believing they were suggesting this, or that we were still talking about it. "No, no, it's out of the question. She's just an ally, for now. I ain't interested in her, or anybody else, so let's shut up about it. We need to get down to business, we've got a long day ahead of us."

"What do you mean?" Percy asked, sitting up on the bed.

I sighed. Finally, we were off of that girlfriend nonsense. And it was nothing but that, complete nonsense. They pulled that Asuka thing right out of the air, from the blue, because I sure as hell don't see anything with that. Just the fact that she's semi-friendly towards us, and happens to be a chick. That's all they're getting it from.

"Goro came to the house last night, wanted to talk to Percy." I explained, "Not wanting to wake you up, I went instead."

Percy's mouth fell slack, "Man, why didn't you just wake me up. I would've gone with him."

"You were fast asleep, dude. Besides, I don't trust that guy." I lowered my voice, in case any of his goons were listening in. "I didn't want you going with him. Better for me to go. Anyway, I went, and we talked a bit. Yada yada, the important thing is, I told him about my vision."

"What vision?" Goth Girl said, pulling her arm off my shoulder. Crap, I keep forgetting to preface with the vision.

"Shit, I forgot again. Look, I'll keep it brief, I already had to talk to Asuka about this, so listen up. Last night, I think Nikandreos helped me out by showing me Ouranos's first meeting with Tsukuyomi. Convincing him to come out of retirement."

"For what?" Annabeth was quick, "What reward?"

"I'm guessing that death sword. I think Tsukuyomi wants it. Remember in the story Asuka told, about how her mom grabbed the sword and automatically became ruler of the pantheon. Well, you all saw that thing, it's got some serious power in it. Whatever it can do, Tsukuyomi wants a piece, but he's never been able to do it alone, because this place is too guarded. But with Ouranos's help, and some other gods, they think they can do it."

"Other gods?" Malachi's head faced the sheets, "That doesn't sound good."

"It ain't." I said, "They mentioned Susanoo, Kagutsuchi, the Oni, and Goro thinks they might be after Ebisu too. Though Asuka disagrees with that, but either way, Ebisu's the one we go after in a few."

"What?" Sera stiffened. "In a few?"

"Hold on, Talon." Annabeth gave a time out signal, "We're going after one of those gods today?"

Before I could say anything, Goth Girl spoke. "Susanoo's one of the guys that killed Amaterasu, and Kagutsuchi's the fire god that burned Izanami. In Asuka's story, remember?"

"What are Oni?" Sera asked, eyebrows knit with confusion.

"Goro said they're demons, and Asuka said something about them being in Yomi. Any idea what that is?"

"Again-" Goth Girl sighed, "-In Asuka's story. She said Yomi was the land of the dead. Like the underworld over here. Usually I'm the one that doesn't pay attention to stuff, how am I the one that remembers?"

I rolled my eyes at her, "Alright, we get it, egghead."

"So...let me get this straight. Goro wants us to go after this Ebisu guy, and the other gods?" Percy wondered, "Is that the mission?"

"Pretty much." I nodded, "He said tomorrow morning, and that's now."

"And Asuka knows about this? When did you talk to her?"

"A few minutes ago."

Annabeth crossed her arms, "Why did she disagree with Goro's decision to hunt Ebisu?"

"She said something about how he rarely fights, and wouldn't dare do so with Tsukuyomi." I shrugged, "But she said it's best not to cause a scene with Goro, so we should go along with it."

"But we'll be wasting time." Malachi argued, "If this Ebisu man isn't a threat, that's like throwing an entire day out of the window."

"Again, that's what she said, but she also said to play along with Goro. I'm just going by what I'm told. She knows this place, and Goro, better than we do." I averted my eyes, not really wanting to admit the next part, but I did anyway. "When I talked to him last night, he pulled out the death sword, just a little. I saw...things. Things I didn't want to see."

"Like what?"

"Death. Mary's specifically, like I was back in that moment. It felt just as real. That sword...is really fucking dangerous. I just looked at it, and that happened, imagine what being cut by it can do. The bastard knew it, he knew what he was doing. Trying to throw his weight around, make sure I didn't try anything."

Annabeth looked around the room, as if something was gonna jump out and bite her. "I'm surprised we all slept as good as we did, considering. We all need to be careful of Goro."

We all nodded, pretty much stating the obvious, but she was right. That guy was a problem.

"So...when exactly are we going?" Sera asked, "Because I would've liked to have a shower. I feel..." She wriggled around, "...yucky."

"None of us got one yesterday." Annabeth grumbled, touching her hair to find out it was a mess, "Besides, we wouldn't even get one here, we'd have to go to the hot springs."

Sera made a face, "Anything helps."

Malachi stood up, still in his jeans and t-shirt, which probably slept as comfortable as laying on a nail bed. He reached to the floor to grab his gray hoodie. "I doubt there will be time. We will just have to deal with it for today. After all, if we want to be on best behavior with the Shogun, we should be ready to go."

Goth Girl chuckled at Sera's squirming from the shower skipping, "C'mon Sera, it's not so bad. When saving the world, you gotta give up some luxuries every now and then."

I leaned over and sniffed the air next to her, making a face at the 'scent.' Even though she actually smelled pretty good, I had to burst her smug bubble.

"For your sake, kid, you probably shouldn't."

She glared at me, "Like you're any better?"

I was about to argue, but Malachi stopped me, "Enough you two. We need to be ready."

I knew he was right, so I let it slide. Draw for now, but I'll get her later.

After that, we pretty much had no time to do anything, as Malachi predicted.

Not that we needed much. Everyone slept in their clothes, so we only had to brush our teeth, and I created some deodorant with my powers to spray for the guys, while the girls went in another part of the house to do their thing. Whatever.

Asuka came and got us, saying that Goro was approaching on horseback with his men. The same ones from yesterday. We all stood outside of the guest house, all of the citizens bowed as he passed, and he made no eye contact, just kept staring forward. But when I looked at Goro's mouth, he was smirking.

He left behind his casual wear for the set of armor he'd been kneeling under yesterday. It covered him from head to toe, along with his men, leaving just the eyes visible. I hadn't noticed it yesterday, but the armor he wore was completely black, like his katana, which he also had strapped to his waist. I felt that feeling again upon seeing it, and Malachi stiffened up next to me, likely sensing its odd aura.

We waited patiently for them to stop in front of us. Goro turned to face us and gestured towards the back of the line. "We have extra horses for you. We'll be riding separate today."

I followed his gesture and saw that behind the mounted horses, were seven empty horses, with saddles on their backs, meant for us. They looked no different than the ones the samurai sat on, maybe just a bit older, and weaker.

"Thank you." Asuka made sure to say, because none of us responded.

"You already told them the plan?" Goro asked, to me directly this time.

"I told everybody, yeah. Including Emiko." I was careful to say her name, knowing last night I almost let it slip out when he knocked on my door. I couldn't have him being suspicious of her. For whatever reason she was hiding her true identity from these people, I'm guessing it's a good one.

"Good." Goro said, "Then we'll start on the coastline facing the Pacific Ocean from opposite sides, and then work our way back towards each other." He made a motion with his fingers, explaining that we would meet in the middle after starting at the ends of the beach. "Ebisu is the fishing god, and my men have spotted him around there several times. It's a good place to start our search."

"So we're splitting up?" Asuka asked, confused.

"Yes. My group, and your group. You will take the West, and we'll take the East. Best of luck."

I felt like we were missing a bit of information here. And rightfully so, Goth Girl spoke up, just as he started to whip the reins.

"Wait, hold on a second. What are we supposed to do if we find Ebisu before meeting up again?"

"Don't wait on us." Goro said, "Your combined might will be more than enough to kill him."

"You want us to kill him?" Malachi asked.

"Yes. Kill him on the spot. Don't give him a chance to escape, don't let him attack first. End it fast."

I could tell Asuka didn't like this. She stiffened up a bit at Goro's order, and clearly wanted to argue, but some other force must've took over her, because she bit her tongue and kept quiet.

"Is that all?" Goro looked around, a bit annoyed that we were asking pretty important questions. He sighed at the silence, "Very well. Now get going, and don't stop until you find him!" He made a movement with the reins, and the horses took off in normal speed, galloping through the already opening gates, squeezing through in a neat single file. As they left, the samurai in the back used his katana to cut off the rope connecting their horses and ours, leaving them standing expectantly.

The townsfolk had kept their bowing position the entire time Goro had been around, and only dared come up when they knew for sure he was gone, a hint of fear in their eyes.

"Boy, this place is lovely, ain't it?" I said sarcastically.

"At first glance, yes." Asuka said, quietly. But I managed to hear.

"He wants us to kill him on sight?" Annabeth asked, not as a real question, but out of disbelief. "Without even finding out his true loyalties first?"

"Come on." Asuka said, her tone cold and sharp. She swiftly walked over to the head horse and climbed up with ease.

I was familiar with riding long before I got involved in this mess, and everybody else was no stranger. Percy had Blackjack, and aside from that, everyone here had at least taken a few pegasi riding classes. So they could hold their own.

"The horse will do all of the work." Asuka informed, "Just hold on tight, they go fast."

Taking note, we all grabbed on to the pommel with one hand, and wrapped the reins around our wrists with the other. Asuka shouted a command in Japanese, most likely "Go!" And the horses all took off.

At speeds faster than light too. I managed to grab onto my sunglasses before we blitzed out of Castle Izanagi, and I even had a chance to blink. We blurred through the countryside, and then the city, and then sand. I could hardly make out anything, only a frame of each area before we moved on to the next. At first it was green all around, then metal, then blue and a cream color.

When we saw that, it all slowed down to normal. The process took two seconds, maybe. At that moment I realized just how useful speed could be, and how comfortable we'd gotten with it. Blows my mind how on that first quest, we took the big truck I created and drove it across the country. Now, hell, just get Malachi to teleport you in an instant, use super speed, or ride on superpowered horseback to get where you're going. Easy fix.

We stood at the end of a coastline, like Goro said, with miles of beach in front of us, and houses not too far to the right. There was barely anybody in sight, because of the time of year, not to mention the cold temperature.

"Who's fishing in this weather?" Percy said, wiping the water from his eyes. Guess the wind blew out some unwilling tears from the sheer force, everybody seemed to be doing the same thing.

Asuka lightly tapped the horse's side with her boot, and it began to walk. "Ebisu. He fishes every day, rain or shine, cold or hot."

"You seem to know this Ebisu fellow pretty well." I noted, "You guys know each other long?"

It took a second for her to respond. "He was a friend of my mother's."

Somehow I got the feeling that wasn't the entire truth, but that's normal with her. Everything's a secret in some way. I just let it go, not really in the mood to dig deeper on her personal life.

"Do you sense that?" Malachi said, his head craned forward, eyebrows furrowed. "It's coming from down the beach."

Goth Girl reached behind her and wrapped her slim hand around that Eros sword, allowing her to sense what Malachi was feeling. "Yeah...a few miles down, there's an aura."

Percy did the same, and nodded vigorously. "Oh yeah, it's not big, but it's more than a regular person. Should we check it out?"

Annabeth didn't have the ability, and neither did I, so us and Sera were left in the dark. "Think it could be a monster?" Annabeth wondered.

Asuka shook her head, "No...that's Ebisu. It feels like his." She sounded downcast, like she had been hoping he wouldn't be here.

I made my horse go up next to hers, "Hey, you alright?"

"I'm fine. I just...I hope they didn't feel the same thing. They could've gotten to him first."

I realized by 'they' she meant Goro and his men. I pursed my lips, "If you're so sure about Ebisu being innocent, why didn't you say anything back there?" I held a hand up before she could argue, "I get that you don't wanna make a scene, but...you're powerful, and you're not afraid of Goro like everyone else is. You could change his mind. You're the daughter of Amaterasu, right?"

"But they don't know that." She said, insistent. "And they can't know that, okay? You don't understand what we could be dealing with here. He who wields the Kusanagi becomes the master of death. And in the hands of someone like Goro, the worst loose cannon imaginable. By defying him, we not only put ourselves at risk, but also the innocent people of Castle Izanagi. I won't risk it. Those people don't deserve to get caught in a crossfire like that."

I sighed, "Fine. But what are we gonna do? Talk to Ebisu? Get him to safety? You know Goro's gonna find out. Could we fake his death or something? I used to be an assassin; I could make it look like it happened." I wasn't so sure though, it had been a while since I'd done a hit, and made it look like an accident. "...Maybe."

The others had been listening in, and we all waited for her response. It took a few seconds; I could practically see her face tight with frustration under the mask. Finally, she said, "Let's just get to him first."

We all exchanged a glance, not liking how unsure she sounded. I let her go ahead a few steps, and fell behind with the others, taking a mismatched, jumbled position, like the mix of a triangle and an unparallel line. Hard to explain, but we picked up the pace to a run, not a light speed one, but a regular run, hooves galloping on the sand and kicking it up in small clumps, the combined noise mixing with the waves, it almost felt good. Bringing me back to the good old days, when I learned to handle a horse for the first time.

We rode for several minutes, the exact amount of time lost to me, but at some point, I noticed a distinguishable figure in the fog, distinguishable, because the few people on the beach stayed away from the water, while this guy sat right against it, with a long stick in his hands.

"There he is." Asuka announced, "Ebisu."

His form got bigger in the fog, but he wasn't like twelve feet tall or anything. He looked to be no more than my height sitting down, cross legged, with both hands on a bamboo pole, line out in the water, waiting for a bite.

According to Asuka's story, he'd been ugly and disfigured, that's why Izanagi sent him out to sea. But to be honest, he didn't look as bad as Hephaestus or anything. Sure, he was round and fat, with arms as big as my torso, and a belly that reminded me of those exercise balls used for Yoga, but he didn't have some kind of indention on his head, a hunchback, or any birthmarks. He was just a bigger guy, practically bald, with little, messily placed facial hair, and a permanent smile, so big that his eyes were forced shut.

He wore plain clothes, old travelers wear from the Feudal days, patched with burlap. You'd hardly guess he was a god by looking at him, he looked more like a homeless person on the docks of San Francisco to me.

As we rode up, he noticed us, and looked over, smile never leaving.

It seemed to get even brighter upon seeing Asuka. "Asuka! Well isn't this a surprise!"

Every one of us looked at each other, all thinking the same thing. Asuka? Did he just call her by her name, and not Emiko?

Asuka noticed our confused glances, but said nothing. "Hello, Ebisu. Get a good haul today?"

He pouted, "Unfortunately not. I've only caught the tiny ones so far." As if upon cue, his line got a bite. The end of the rod bent down to the water, as if he'd gotten hung up on the ocean floor itself.

"Oh, this might be a good one!" He shouted excitedly. And without even giving the slightest effort, he yanked the rod upward, tightening all slack the line had, and pulled the fish out of the water.

What burst from it was a giant, unidentifiable fish, at least from where I'm standing. I've fished some, but not enough to be an expert, so excuse me for not knowing the proper terminology, or every species that I saw.

It had a blue line across it's gray back that shone with the sun. No long sharp beak, so that put Marlin out of the picture, one fish I did know of. Half of its body was still in the water, but I could tell it had to be at least fifteen feet long, a giant catch.

But Ebisu seemed disappointed, "Darn, another small one." He reeled in the fish, stood up, and plucked the hook from its mouth, all at the base of the water, without even picking it up. Once he was done, the fish swam away, and Ebisu cast his rod again, without replacing bait.

"But...you didn't have any bait on there." Malachi said before I could, "How do they bite?"

"Oh, fish love me." Ebisu said, "They go wherever I go. Makes it too easy. I wish I had a challenge."

Percy snorted behind us, "This guy reminds me of my dad."

Ebisu heard, "Oh, does your dad like to fish?" Man, it really was something how you couldn't even see a trace of his eyes, his smile was that big.

"Yeah, he's Poseidon. He loves it."

Ebisu cocked his head at that, "Poseidon? What interesting friends you've made, Asuka."

"They're not my friends." She assured quickly, "They're...allies, for now. Ebisu, do you have any idea what's going on? Have you spoken to Tsukuyomi?"

Ebisu's bushy eyebrows touched each other, "Tsukuyomi? No, I can't say I have. What's going on?"

"He's trying to obtain the Kusanagi and conquer Japan." She said, "To keep it short. We think he's recruiting gods, and just wanted to make sure you had no part in it."

Ebisu made a dismissive noise and went back to fishing, "Oh Asuka you know me. I don't fight. Fighting is a waste of time. Why fight when you could be doing something like this?" He gestured to the ocean, "This is way better."

"Sometimes you've got no choice." I piped up. "Guys like Tsukuyomi won't stop unless someone does something to stop them. Fighting is all he knows."

Ebisu thought about it, but instead of making an argument, he shook his head. "Ah, either way, I have no interest in it. I had no idea he was back to his usual schtick. What a disappointment. I expect Susanoo is with him too?"

"Probably." Asuka said, "He intends to recruit him. We're trying to stop it."

"And you came to me first?" He sounded surprised, "Asuka, you know I have no part in whatever this is. I would never fight, let alone for Tsukuyomi."

"I know. But Goro says otherwise."

He nodded at that, "Ah, say no more. I know how the Yamaguchis are. Self-centered, destructive brats."

Oh, so it's everybody that hates Goro. Good to know.

"I'm curious." Annabeth said, "It's remarkable that your so...carefree. I mean, weren't you sent away by your parents when you were a baby?"

"Yes." He said, but he wasn't angry, he just answered the question like anyone else would.

Malachi was thinking the same thing. "Forgive us, we just aren't used to gods that don't hold grudges. We'd expect someone with that beginning to turn out...well, angry at least."

Ebisu chuckled, "Well, I was for a while, but that got me nowhere. Violence never moves you forward, only keeps you in place, or backwards. It took me many years to recognize this, and although both my father and mother had essentially died, I forgave them. Perhaps I still don't understand, but I know that I don't hold that same anger I did years ago." He straightened his posture proudly, "I am the god of fishing, and the god of good fortune. Positive, fun things. I want to leave behind a legacy of happiness, not destruction and bitterness."

We all looked at each other, except for Asuka, and made the same face. We had suspicions that this entire plan would be a waste of time, but now it was being confirmed in front of us.

Before we could respond, Ebisu held up a finger. "Hold on."

He leaned forward, focused on his rod, which was no twitching rapidly. Something got ahold of it.

Then, without warning, it dipped towards the water, all the way down, further than the last fish. The rod was in a complete U shape.

"Wow!" He shouted happily, pulling and arching his back to keep the fish from escaping. "This is a big one! Finally!"

He never pulled the fish above water, but he sure was getting hyped up about it, to the point where he actually stood up to reel it in, while we just watched.

With one yank, he managed to make the fish jump above water, it's upper half shown to us in a flash of gray and light green, but I could hardly make out the shape of it, because of what happened next.

Behind it, out of the water, came a giant, scaly, snake like hand that grabbed the fish around the middle, trapping it in mid-air. Then it's body rose up, and it was one of the weirdest things I'd ever seen. A mix between a turtle and a human. It had the color, shell, and body of a turtle, but it stood upright, had long arms and legs, and a human-like face, with matted, wiry hair coming out on all sides. If I was going to tell a spooky campfire story, I'd have this monster in mind when doing so.

It was much bigger than the fish, which was already bigger than the last one that Ebisu deemed small. We all tensed up, knowing that thing wasn't of the mortal world. But Ebisu just sighed, like his line broke. "It's just a Kappa." He noticed our confused looks and elaborated politely, "A river demon. Sometimes they wander into the ocean." With a flick of his hand the Kappa suddenly became confused, and closed its open mouth prepared to eat the fish raw. It found interest at something else in the water, and dove back down.

Ebisu used his finger to break the line, letting the fish go free. "That's the third one this week." He looked annoyed, but I could tell he wasn't that serious about it. He lifted his face towards the sky and half-shouted. "Can I not go interrupted?"

"So he just let a demon go free...along with the fish?" I said, dumbfounded. "Yeah, it's safe to say this guy doesn't work with Tsukuyomi."

"Why didn't you kill it?" Sera asked, "Did you not say it was a demon?"

"I did." Ebisu said, preparing to put on another set of line. "But now it will go back to the river it came from, thanks to my spell. If you can find another route instead of death, then I always try to go for it." His lip twitched, like he wanted to frown, "A shame about the fish, though, I wanted to at least admire it."

"Do you eat the fish?" Goth Girl said, trying to make conversation.

"Oh no. I rely on plant life for sustenance."

"Ebisu, we have to get you away from here." Asuka urged, "Goro and his men are with us, on the opposite side of the beach."

Ebisu glanced in the direction she meant. Nobody was there, yet, but you could hardly see fifteen feet out because of the fog.

"Normally I would suggest settling things amicably, but seeing that it's a Yamaguchi...I think I'll take your suggestion to heart."

"Wait, Asuka." Percy got serious, "I'm not sure if hiding him will solve anything. Won't they just keep looking for him? I mean, it's not like they have anything else to do, and I'm guessing that Goro isn't the type to give up after one failed attempt."

"The Castle is virtually defenseless, apart from a few young samurai." Asuka said, "Another flaw in Goro's foolish plan. But we have no other choice than to hide him. I won't let Ebisu die, he is innocent."

"Obviously." Annabeth reasoned, "But...what can we do? Convince him to let it go? Make it look like we killed him?"

"That's an option." Malachi said.

"But do we have enough time for that?" Sera asked, nervously glancing in the opposing fog. "They said they would search the beach and meet us, no? And these horses are fast..."

"We must do something instead of sit here!" Asuka shouted, panicking. It was clear she cared about Ebisu, and not only that, the guy was innocent. As she predicted. I could tell by his personality alone, not even the way he spoke, that he wasn't a fighter. He'd be the last person Tsukuyomi went to for help. So why did Goro want to target him in the first place? Simply because of his beginning? The whole sent out to sea thing?

"She's right." I said, gaining the attention of everyone. "We can't just sit here. Ebisu's innocent, and I've seen too many innocent people die for my liking." I began to think of a plan. "Making it look like we killed a god isn't as hard as you're thinking. We don't have to leave trails of ichor or kick up a bunch of sand." I turned to Goth Girl, "Harper, pull out the knife."

She knew immediately what I meant and unsheathed the Heavenly Diamond from her waist. "Now what?"

"Hold it." I then turned to Asuka, "You and Malachi are the only ones with teleportation, but you're his friend, so you should go with him, and put him someplace that you know is safe. We'll make it look like we jumped him out of nowhere, stabbed him, and killed him. With Heavenly Diamond, there doesn't need to be blood. Gods fade away like dust." I remembered Matt's dad dying, and winced. "I've...seen it happen."

I couldn't see her expression, but judging by the way that mask was staring at me, I assumed she looked grateful. Her tone wasn't as clipped either, it sounded soft. "Okay. That's a good idea. Thank you, Talon."

I nodded, no humor whatsoever. "Get going, we'll hold Goro off, and come up with something. I'm a good talker."

Asuka gave me a returning nod, and looked at Ebisu, who was still sitting, head darting back and forth between our conversation. "Ebisu, does that sound okay to you?"

"Yes. I'd rather not miss out on my fishing, but if it's for my safety...I'll hide. Do you have a safe haven, Asuka? Other than Castle Izanagi?"

"A temple to my mother." She said, "I've...only been there once, when I was a child. But I remember its location. It is layered with magic. It would be difficult for even Tsukuyomi to find."

Ebisu sat his bamboo pole on the sand, sighing as he got on one knee, preparing to heft his body up. "Alright, I'm ready. Let's-"

No sooner than he said that word, Asuka shouted for him to get down. We heard a pair of whistling noises in the wind, then a flash of blue light in the fog. But it was already too late to do anything, we had no time to identify what it was.

"AGH!" Ebisu screamed. His entire body lurched forward, forced back on his knees, arms pinned down by two arrows, piercing through his upper arms and sinking in the sand, acting as anchors to keep him in place.

The horses came from the fog next, "There he is!" One shouted. The silhouettes of horses and armor were clear, swords raised in the air, and a particular one at the front darkening the fog with it's very presence, making the clouds part for it as it passed.

"Goro, stop!" Asuka begged, "He's innocent!"

Ebisu's arms were covered in ichor now, trailing down to his fingertips. The samurai ignored Asuka and hopped off before their horses even stopped. Immediately lunging towards Ebisu on both sides and plunging their katanas deep in his kidneys.

The fishing god's back arched up he faced the sky, screaming in agony. The scream echoed across the beach, and we sat there, watching, frozen in place, with horrified expressions.

They completely ignored her. They acted without thinking, without even talking, without conversing with us. Something about their recklessness drove me over the edge, their complete disregard for Ebisu's life made me get off my horse, pull out my gun, and aim it at the head of one of the samurai.

Everyone quickly followed suit, Goth Girl being the quickest. She came up behind the other samurai stabbing Ebisu and leveled the Heavenly Diamond knife at the back of his neck. Percy drew Riptide while Annabeth stood beside him, eyes wide at the state of Ebisu, which was a horrible one. His skin was turning pale, blood leaked out of his mouth and made its way down his body in streams, not to mention that with one pull of their swords, his guts would probably be poking out. They'd stabbed him with all they had.

Sera's hands were covered in frost, ready to transform into Absolute Zero, while Malachi's hands were heating up, prepared to launch lightning if needed.

But the most chilling display was Asuka, who hadn't moved a muscle. She sat in silence, a dangerous silence that told me she was glaring daggers at Goro right now. There was no telling what she was about to do. One half of me guessed she might let it slide, but the other, knowing how desperate she was to get Ebisu away, knew that she might throw caution to the wind and forget the secret identity. Letting all hell break loose.

"He's innocent, motherfucker." I growled, "He ain't working with Tsukuyomi."

The other samurai all had their katanas drawn, looking back and forth between us, ready to fight. Everything was tense as could be, clearly something was about to happen to break this little truce we'd formed. Didn't last long at all, but longer than I thought it would.

Goro, unlike all of us, was completely relaxed, and actually had the nerve to look annoyed.

"You were told to kill him on sight. No chance for escape. What were you doing, fishing with him? Emiko?"

She was shaking with anger, "You...you fool...you didn't even..."

"Didn't ask him? Please. These gods, all they do is lie to protect their own asses." He smirked smugly down at Ebisu, "Besides, even if he's not with them, he deserves to die. He's weak. And I hate weak people."

Ebisu coughed up blood, spitting it on the ground. "You only hate the people you can't control, Yamaguchi. Your entire family was the same way."

Goro's face twitched. Faster than I could see, he brought the death katana up and swung downward, right on Ebisu's neck. I saw a flash of the action, and within a moment, Ebisu's decapitated head was sliding off his neck in a bloody, gory mess.

The sword was now officially no joke. It cut through a god's head like butter, and its presence skyrocketed when Goro did that, to the point where I could feel it, even without the ability. None of us moved, we just stared in horror.

He'd killed him, just like that.

I stepped back and switched my gun from the samurai, who didn't even have to pull his sword out of Ebisu, as the god had already faded, and pointed it towards Goro. "You bastard!"

"What?!" He shouted, catching me off guard. "What are you going to do?!" He waved the death sword around, "I'm a fucking Yamaguchi! I'm a god, you imbecile! The master of death!"

Asuka got off the horse and was now approaching Goro, her head tucked down in a way that told me she was furious. Like I predicted, he had pushed her over the edge, and she was probably thinking of throwing out the secret identity for some justice.

Orange light coated her, and wisped in the air like fire around her, making it look like she was walking out of a burning building. Even her voice was menacing, "Goro..."

At that, Goro's eyes widened, and he pointed the sword at her, which funnily enough, trembled. "W-What the hell are you doing? You think you can come at me like this?! I am Shogun!"

Asuka only advanced, while we stayed in place, unsure of what to do. Things had already gotten to the point where a fight was seconds away from breaking out, but no one attacked, because we knew once we did, it was all over. There was no turning back. Asuka was the most powerful, so maybe we were just waiting to see what she would do.

And it looked like she was going to rip his head off, sword or not. I wasn't sure it was going to matter.

The orange flame around her got brighter, drowning out any presence Goro could muster. In his hands, the death blade now seemed weak. He was cowering in fear, trying to hide behind his men in cover.

"I..." He croaked, "I am the fucking shogun! Y-You back away now, Emiko!" The sword was full on shaking wildly now, I was surprised he hadn't started pissing himself. That told me all I needed to know about him, if it wasn't already confirmed. He's a big man behind his blade, but with no real skill, when someone with serious power, and real experience confronts him, he hides behind his posse. What a bitch.

He tried to act tough, "I-I'll use this! I'm not afraid to kill you, Emiko!"

Asuka might've attacked him, given a few more uninterrupted seconds, but just steps away from action, she perked up. Her mask turned to the right, looking in the far direction of Camp.

"Do you all feel that?" She asked, her menacing, demonic voice gone. "That aura?"

Malachi's mouth fell open, "It's massive. Are you sure that's not a collection of auras?"

Goro still had his eyes glued to her, mouth quivering. "What the hell are you talking about, psycho?! What auras?!"

"In the direction of the Camp." Asuka said, "They're...attacking."

Silence fell, and we all looked at each other. Percy and Goth Girl seemed to reach out and feel it with their abilities too, and their eyes widened. It slowly started to dawn on me what was going on.

"I knew it was a mistake!" Asuka said, seething at Goro, "You left the Castle completely defenseless!"

"I don't even know what you're talking about, you crazy bitch!" He screamed, "Attacking? Who's attacking?"

Asuka got back on her horse, "The Castle is under attack. Ouranos, Tsukuyomi, and several others...they're enacting their plan."

(000)

As always, hope you all enjoyed!

Until Next Time.