Chapter 1: A Boy Unlike Any Other
In-Between Flames and Currents
A loud bang alerted him once he had opened the door to his home. A questioning expression came upon his face, then he blinked at the sight before him. "...Percy?"
"Y-yeah…?" came the response of the lone boy in his sights.
"What are you doing?" Honestly, Alexander Grand didn't expect to see this. A chance of it happening? Maybe, but…
"I'm… trying to do that thing you did," he paused. His sea green eyes looked away. "With the samurai sword a week ago."
The blank stare he gave Percy made the younger boy embarrassed. The sight itself was telling. Perseus Jackson, or Percy, had been dressed in a Male Kimono—more specifically—Alexander's old Kimono. A Bokken was in his hands too. The fit didn't look right however as there was a particular issue with it. The Nanagi looked fine, but the Obi wasn't wrapped properly and the Haori was on inside out.
All in all, his cousin looked tore up, but it wasn't an issue.
Alexander closed his eyes and sighed.
The sigh made Percy drop his pose. A nervous chuckle escaped his lips, and he instinctively scratched the back of his head. "I'll go and take this off. Sorry—"
"You don't have to do that. I'm not upset, or angry." He cut Percy off with his usual calm tone of voice. Walking up to his younger cousin, the lifeless golden gaze of Alexander inspected Percy's form. "You should ask me about things like this. I would be more than happy to indulge whatever interests you might have."
A hand rested on Percy's should casing him to look up. "I'll be in my room if you need anything."
With that said Alexander Grand had gone to his room, leaving the lone boy within the large living room by himself.
The house he and his cousin Percy stayed in was purchased by their parents together. Johnathan Grand, Alexander's father, worked in Construction and was also a General Engineer. Sally Jackson, Perseus' mother, is a book writer and worked as a freelance journalist and published fiction novels on the side. Besides that, both were relatively normal all things considered.
They were well off, happy, and close. Alexander for his part held a part-time job as he was the oldest of the two sons. He's quiet and usually serious about everything, but not overly concerned about the little things. Time and again he had gotten used to being the one the adults referred to as a model young man. A kind of icon.
He wasn't like those his age. He didn't think like them, nor did he act like a young boy. Ever present was that stoic expression, never a smile, nor a frown.
Percy on the other hand was close to being his opposite. He was childish but in a good way. He wasn't all that good at sports like Alexander, he was too impatient. He wasn't expecting to be better than his cousin in studies since learning was difficult due in part to his dyslexia. His school life became difficult after a while, tests proved to be challenging, and his ADHD made it near impossible to sit down.
Alex didn't have either. At times Percy became upset, seeing the clear differences between them both. Seeing the success he earned and the calm attitude he always had. It was surreal for Percy Jackson since everyone else in his class always displayed genuine happiness and excitement from achieving goals and the like. He wasn't like others.
Alexander Grand was different from everyone, and the difference alienated him.
Percy was sure his cousin wasn't looking for success. After all, why archive so much and disregard it soon after? Was his cousin insane or something? Why go so far only to disregard it and leave it all behind?
Even to this day Alexander Grand had to be insane from Percy's perspective. This line of thought always plagued his mind and would be the reason why they began to drift apart. To begin with Alexander and Percy weren't that close as children, so to see them not talk often back then was common, but living in the same house and it still persisting became a concern.
Their present was evidence enough.
"Hah…" Alexander sighed as he closed his bedroom door behind himself. Giving his room a good look, the young Grand noted dryly that his room was as bland as he was. There were no posters like Percy's own. No skateboards. No distinctive wallpaper. No personality. He glanced to his immediate right, catching sight of his computer. It was emitting a dull blue light.
Seems like he forgot to turn the machine off it.
A knock came the moment he took a single step forward to turn the machine off. He slowly turned around to face his door, thinking who it could be, but coming to the obvious answer rather quickly.
"Come in." He said with a flat tone of voice. With a turn of the knob the door opened revealing his younger cousin still dressed in his Kimono.
"Hey…" was Percy's awkward greeting.
"Ah… Hey."
"Mom said to remind you of the 19th. Said to be ready to go early." He said with a blatant frown.
"The 19th? What was…? Oh, right." He nodded his head. "Got it. I won't forget."
Percy's brow flattened even more. "...You never forget anything…" he uttered under his breath as he turned to leave.
Ah… their relationship was pretty bad after all. It would be best if he retire for the remainder of the day.
The morning came like the day before and Alexander greeted it with his usual blank stare. He pushed aside the blinds on his window and opened it. The cold and fresh breeze of air greeted him, washing him in its frosty feel. The rising sun had long since breached the horizon, his dull golden gaze lingered upon the morning. Having pondered on what he'd do today, as it was a Saturday, Alex noted he had no work and no school.
His dad was also free, as well as his aunt, but both were definitely still asleep. Percy too. All three would be that way until sometime after nine-o-clock.
As for himself, it was a normal thing for him to be up this early. He made it a habit to wake up before twilight. It just came to want to do with his free time that bothered him a tad. It was then that an idea came to mind.
Moving away from the window Alexander had opted to rummaging through his closet. There he found what he was looking for, a massive asymmetrical bow and a quiver of feathered arrows. Eyeing the equipment in his hand with a critical gaze he never imagined he'd go out with this ever again. He moved them onto his bed and searched through his closet once more. Finding what he was looking for Alex drew out a stack of paper bullseyes. He placed them next to his bow and quiver of arrows.
As he readied his things he couldn't help but think of his time practicing. How the old eyes of his 'Sensei' watched him for hour's repeat the steps over and over again.
His mind went to a memory. A memory of his teacher and the suit was told to wear. A black suit. He remembered the picture of his teacher being the last time he'd see him.
…
"Enough reminiscing." the boy scolded himself as he threw the quiver over his head and onto his back. He was long since dressed and ready for the day, once he had closed his closet door, he eyed himself getting a good look at the image of the one gazing back. He saw his dull gaze of gold first, and his tanned brown skin with small scars adjourning his apathetic face. His hair was a sprawled mess of black. His eyes fell to his clothing next.
A black shirt that clung to his torso tightly, like it was made to blend in with his slim yet muscular physique. Over his shirt was a black button collared dress shirt—left unbutton at that. His pants—black slim fit jeans—were also like his shirt and fit snug to his legs. As for his shoes, they were scuffed black and white converse.
With the bow and quiver of arrows—in hand and on his back respectively—he picked up his backpack in the other hand and was ready to head out.
The bus ride was short and uneventful. No one was up beside himself and the bus driver.
The walk afterwards was quiet.
Since the morning was still new Alex was sure that he'd make it to his destination and back before breakfast. San Francisco had many parks. Many places one could visit and relax at. This one in particular was obscure and out of the way to get some alone time. After all, it took some time to get to where he was going to, to begin with.
So far, he walked up a hill arriving. Some minutes later he arrived at a dirt road with flora nearly obscuring the path. Its green tinted hues stood out to him and he made his way through. With a hop onto a fallen log, a skip between a riverbed and its rocks, and finally a jump over a gap, Alexander Grand landed feet first onto more dirt and grass patches. He kept going forward with his blank expression, birds chirping, as the occasional specs of sunlight began to peek through the branches and leaves.
He stopped and looked down, seeing the path he strides upon drop down into a hill. He wasted no time and stepped forward, sliding down with expert balance. With bent knees and a hunched back, Alex reached the bottom in seconds as he broke through a piece of foliage into a massive clearing.
His gold eye's swept the area taking in the surroundings. Barren would be a good word to use to describe the area if it wasn't for the abandoned car to his immediate right-hand side. Flat ground was all that stood out however besides the broken-down car, within this sea of green. It was about one-hundred feet, from where he stood to the other end where there was a line of trees. To his immediate left was an open space as well with an old wooden bench and trees behind it.
Breathing in, Alexander gathered his thoughts and began to set up what he needed. First however was a makeshift target. His backpack would be emptied out and he'd get to work. The target was crudely erected but would work for what he had on hand.
A gust of wind blew by spreading out an array of leaves into the clearing.
With a deep breath taken Alexander felt his core warm up. Heat bristled at the center of his stomach and the feeling boiled over through his entire being. A second later he had drawn one of his arrows from the quiver on his back.
'Kyūdō' was something his father suggested he do, and at the time he simply followed along with whatever he said. First, he learned 'Hassetsu'—otherwise known as the Eight Stages of Shooting—of the 'Shomen' style. His dad instructed him straight from the book, eventually having gotten a 'Sensei' to teach him further. Eventually however he surpassed everyone's expectations.
He wasn't a prodigy by any means though. No… he was seen as such but that was due to his willingness to practice. Constantly he'd replay the stages over and over again, until he had completed them all. From posture, to accuracy, all the way to terminology and meaning, Alexander Grand would—for a lack of a better word—perfect, Kyūdō.
Ashibumi, Dōzukuri, Yugamae, Uchiokoshi, Hikiwake, Kai, Hanare, and Zanshin. These were the stages a Kyūdō Archer would practice in order to master.
And he had long since mastered Kyūdō.
His arrow had since left his bow, its tip punctured the paper bullseye and implanted itself into the bark. He had unknowingly performed every step of Kyūdō in seconds. His eyes were locked on the target and stance was picture perfect. He could do it again. As easily as breathing, his body would perform the actions without fail. It was a truth
"Not a bad shot."
"Nh!" He turned to the source of the complement. His bow hand dropped to his side as he whirled around to his immediate left and up. There sitting on a tree branch, wearing a white-silvery parka and blue jeans, was a red headed girl. She looked down at him with a neutral expression of a sort, her silver eye's meeting his own gold pair. He was muted by her sudden appearance, and she came to the same conclusion.
"Did I scare you?" She spoke up again with a tilt of her redhead.
A good question. Did she scare him? He… didn't know what it was like to be scared. Never before had he been taken off guard, but he understood that his adrenaline hadn't spiked. He looked up to her and opened his mouth. "No. At least… I'm sure you didn't."
She raised a red brow at his self-doubt. "I see. Are you sure I didn't? You look a little doubtful of your own words."
Doubtful? Yes, he was. He doubted his ability to grasp his own feelings and to answer that kind of question earnestly. It came as a challenge. It always did.
He nodded his head. "Yes, I am."
"You're not much of a talker, are you?" He didn't know if that was rhetorical or not, but he nodded his head like before. She scoffed and kicked her booted legs as she looked towards the tree and arrow. "You practice archery," She looked back at him with a twinkle in her eyes. "I don't think I've seen a bow that big before. It's about six feet and some inches give or take."
"Six feet and seven inches precisely." He corrected as he brought it up to his face from his side. Why was she so interested? Did she practice archery herself? That could be the case. It'll certainly explain her questions regarding it so far.
She hummed at his response and closed her eyes. With a kick of her feet, she launched forth off the branch she sat upon. Her descent was quick, and her landing was perfect. She gave a flick of her red hair—once she stood up from her momentarily crouch—which was tied into a long ponytail, and she popped open a single eye. Turning her head to the side she soon walked up to him, each step taken was smooth and fluid until she stopped several inches away. Her hands now on her hips and soon after, her right hand shot forward. Her palm and fingers extended out as if she was asking for something.
"Your bow. Let me see it for a second."
"...?" Alex pursed his lips and looked her up and down. He must have intrigued her now. Giving his bow a look, then shifting his eyes towards her hand and face, Alexander Grand slowly placed it into her hand. Once her fingers curled around the grip Alexander would let go and take a step back giving her space. He watched as she stepped about, observing the bow's shape, string, and the length. She gave the string a test feel and pulled it back. She halted for a second, making a surprised expression at the resistance the bow had at her attempt at pulling the string back. He smirked and nodded her head and offered it back to him.
Taking it back Alexander Grand wordlessly tilted his head. A stoic expression was what was offered but the girl could tell he wanted to ask her a question.
"It's old." When his look deepened further she rolled her jaw. "The bow is dated. Made of wood and bamboo from what I can tell. Certainly not modern by any means but it's been expertly crafted. I can tell it's old. How long have you had it for?"
"...About four years, give or take."
She cocked her head at that. There was a noticeable change in her eyes. "Only four years? You seem like you've mastered archery from what I've seen."
He looked away again as he tried to formulate a response. His mind comes up with various responses based on the line of questions she's asked him so far as well as observational statements. He closed his eyes and shook his head causing her to take a questioning expression now.
"I have…" he began slowly. "And it's not something to really talk about."
She blinked at that. 'Not something to talk about'? She scoffed and shook her head. "You're a boy unlike any other. To brush off mastering Archery like it doesn't mean anything is somewhat insulting if I hadn't done so myself. You're either very humble or absurdly absent minded."
"..." He held his tongue unsure of what to really say. He didn't think much on it to begin with after he came to the staunch conclusion that he couldn't take his skill with Kyūdō any further. Especially after hitting several perfect scores without missing a single shot. It was just best to move on after that. Especially since he didn't get anything out of it…
"...ur name." the girl's voice cut through his core. "Are you listening to me?"
"...?" He jolted to attention barely hearing what the last word said. Alexander felt the stare of the girl in front of him and he regained his grasp of reality. "I'm sorry, I was lost in thought."
The Redhead raised a concerning eyebrow at him, her arms now crossed over her chest, and an amused expression on her face. "I'm guessing this happens often?"
"...Yes." He had much to think about in regard to answering questions. Especially how to conduct himself around another person that wasn't his family.
She shrugged her shoulders and gave a small chuckle. "Don't worry about it then." She waved a hand. "What's your name, boy?"
His name? Oh… that's right he didn't properly greet her yet. In fact… he didn't think to ask for her name at all. "Alexander Grand. It's nice to meet you." He stooped his head and back a few inches finishing off his greeting.
"Alexander… Grand?" She tested his name. And said it a few more times and shook her head. "Well, you don't seem so bad Alexander Grand. You may call me Diana. Just Diana. It's nice to meet you as well."
Diana? That's what her name was? Hmm. Diana the girl in the woods— who, either mysteriously appeared or was already there to begin with, greeted him, and talked to him about Archery. She was respectful and mysterious. She was strange honestly and he was trying to grasp her personality. She gave off a familiar feeling, like she belonged around him, like his cousin Percy and aunt Sally belonged. She was like family in some weird way.
"Say, Alexander Grand, are you interested in a little challenge?" Her lips formed into a small smile and shifted into a challenging smirk.
"A… challenge?"
"Yes, a few in particular actually. I want to see how good you really are at Archery, boy."
He lips pursed. To be challenged like this reminded him of a particular person he hadn't spoken to for a bit of time now. He contemplated the curious request of Diana and felt the core of his body warm up. Could he feel anything indulge in a harmless challenge? The prospect piqued his interest as he mentally noted the potential of finding that something that made him feel something; anything at all.
"Very well." He ended up saying, as his eyes widened, and his pupils sharpened inhumanly.
"I wonder what that kid is doing right about now?"
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Sally Jackson asked not understanding what made her brother ask such an abrupt question out of the blue.
"Oh!" Her brother responded as he played with his spoon and mug of coffee. Percy sat next to him at the kitchen table rubbing the sleep out of his sea-green eyes. "Sorry about that, just wondering what Alex could be up to right now. Kid was gone when I went to see if he was here or not."
"He's not here?" She wasn't expecting to hear that this early in the morning. Honestly, she thought he was just preoccupied within his room. "When did he leave?"
Turning away from the stove where the snickering pops of their soon to be family breakfast cooked, Sally held a concerned face. Her brown eyes met the aged golden orbs of her elder brother, and the tanned single father shrugged as he sipped his bitter drink. Bringing it from his mouth and onto the table with a responding 'click' Johnathan Grand leaned back in his chair. His burly muscled arms crossed over his chest and sighed. "Who knows really. It's not often he leaves unnoticed and unannounced like this, and with some of his Kyūdō equipment at that."
"He took his archery equipment out with him too?"
"Oh yeah, his closet was cleaned out of his old equipment. Well, he left his ceremonial wear as well as his Bokken, but I think he might have taken his Shinai. I didn't see it anywhere in his room so there's that."
Sally deflated at hearing that. She hoped her nephew wouldn't do anything too crazy. He was a good boy with a lot of potential to his name, but he did have a slight infamous streak here and there. She just hoped he wasn't getting involved with someone else's issues. That boy had the blood of heroes running in his veins, but he wasn't all there, and it was obvious as he always looked to be emotionless. She looked at Percy, her own son and she smiled at the boy now engaging with her brother—his uncle with a sleepy smile.
Sally blinked her eyes as a thought came to mind. "Wait… John, when did you wake up?"
"Hah?" He halted his conversation with his nephew. "Eh… I think I woke up around ten o'clock. Maybe a bit later… Why do you ask?"
Sally simply stared at her older brother with a nervous smile on her face. Honestly, John could be far too easy going at times and this was no doubt one of them. It made her wonder how Alex could be so different from his dad. However, instead of thinking about it for any longer than needed, Sally with a wave of her hand decided to resume cooking breakfast. She decided along the way to take some time out to make extras for her nephew. The brunette knew her nephew would want his own portions, and she knew he wouldn't voice his desires believing that he would be bothering her.
She sighed as she began to season the eggs. "I hope he isn't getting into too much trouble."
Diana had watched the boy—Alexander Grand—show his skill with the bow for some time now. With each shot he fired from his asymmetrical bow he'd nail a bullseye each and every time. He had excellent breathing control and near picture perfect posture. His draw speed was impressive too. All in all, she understood why he made such an outrageous claim.
She opened her mouth to call off the challenge only for the string to clap loudly as the arrow was released. It flew, and it flew faster than the ones prior to it, with it splitting the previous arrow in two on the target. Diana blinked her silver eye's and chewed on her lips in contemplation.
"Hah, such skill. You've definitely earned the right to brag, and yet you don't." She shook her head just realizing that the boy was truly honest in his claim in mastering Archery. Never once did he miss a shot and even capped it off with splitting the previous shot. She placed a head on her forehead and sent the boy known as Alexander Grand and pointed glare.
He responded by meeting her gaze head on with his soulless, emotionless, golden orbs. His stoicism was commendable, and she had to be honest with herself, it greatly annoyed her, but she didn't allow herself to express her dislike of his unchanging face and posture.
"You aren't normal. Do you know that 'Alexander Grand'?" She didn't get a verbal response from the boy. No… she could tell that he agreed with her from his body language alone. From the lowering of his shoulders to the resigning of his eyes, he told her that he knew all along he was different from others. He knew he wasn't like others, and she guessed that it might have been the source of his expressionless personality.
'Was he cursed?' she mentally asked herself with her arms crossed over her chest. Her brow furrowed 'Did he believe himself to be cursed?' so many questions regarding this unknown personality. It intrigued her beyond what she could imagine.
"You are right." His voice caused her to jump. It sounded heavier than before too. So strange why was that the case? She eyed him the moment he closed his eyes and turned away from her, his eyes opening in the direction of his arrows and paper bullseye's. Taking a step towards the now used equipment he continued. "I'm not normal. Anyone could tell that I'm unlike any other. That difference is prevalent. So much so that no one could possibly understand me."
He pulled an arrow from the paper and removed the paper from the bark. "It's vice-versa for myself as well. I can't understand others and the things they do. The things they like and the things they hate. I don't get it. I come close though, and to me… it's not enough."
Diana watched as he collected the rest of his arrows and punctured paper bullseye's. "Not enough…?"
He aimlessly looked into the clearing of the tree line. He didn't look back, but his head dipped forward. "Yes, it's not enough."
"Then when will it be enough?" She slapped a hand over her mouth not realizing she spoke without thinking.
"Hmm…" he looked over his shoulder at her. A gust of wind blew by whisking away leaves and picking up strands of Diana's auburn locks. "When I feel something genuine, I suppose."
'Genuine?' Diana watched his back thinking over those words of his. They… those words were heavy handed. It meant something to him that was for certain, and he was honest with himself. She watched him walk away though, choosing to not pursue the boy as he began to leave. "...I see. That's how it is then…"
The boy wasn't cursed. No… he was unlikely to have been cursed now that she got to speak to him. His words alone, with the assistance of the evidence provided through his actions, was enough for her to come to a solid conclusion.
Alexander Grand was insane. Naturally so it seems too.
In a flash of light Diana mysteriously vanished. She'd kept an eye on him that was for sure.
In-Between Flames and Currents
