A week after Will - with a few scathing remarks from Nico - explains that the world of Greek and Roman myths is real and the recent history of Camp Half-Blood, Camp Jupiter, and New Rome, the demigods and UA students are ready to leave for Camp Half-Blood.
Mic is doing his best to wrangle the excited teens while waiting for Chiron to arrive with their transport. Aizawa slumps against the wall of class 1-A's dorm building, pretending to be alert and assisting Mic, but in reality, he is sleeping peacefully.
Will chats animatedly with Kirishima and Jirou while Nico hides in the shadows of the dorm building. He's spent too long with these people. He misses his cabin. The decor may be horrendous, but nobody at Camp Half-Blood barges into the Hades cabin without knocking - except Percy, but he is an exception to almost every rule.
Despite how often Nico tried to sneak away and steal a moment alone this past week, one of 1-A's students irritated him into rejoining the rest of them.
Nico spent his first years as a demigod trying to prove that he isn't a monster, but now he wishes these hero students would act like the campers did at first. Unfortunately, that isn't possible, and it is all Bakugou Katsuki's fault.
Bakugou isn't dangerous or scary - he's a child throwing a tantrum because not everyone kisses his ass - but class 1-A has become so accustomed to Bakugou's faux wrath that they assume Nico is the same.
He's not. He will prove it once they get to Camp Half-Blood.
Midoriya doesn't allow Nico to wallow in hatred for long. He joins Nico in the shade, smiling brightly. "Hello!"
The bubbly boy annoys Nico beyond comprehension. Midoriya reminds Nico of Will and Percy - Percy mostly. They both have an uncanny ability to ignore Nico's boundaries and force him into socializing.
Conversely, Will is good at recognizing when Nico is just posturing and when he truly needs time and space for himself.
Midoriya is similar to Percy in the belief that Nico doesn't need time or space. All Nico needs is time with friends. Friends that Nico doesn't have.
Ever since Will detailed Nico's past to the UA students, Midoriya has been hellbent on becoming Nico's friend. Nico is not happy with this development. He has enough "friends." He has Will and Jason. Percy and Leo, too, if Nico counts his overbearing cousin and Jason's future boyfriend - "boyfriend" only if Leo ever confesses to Jason or Jason gets his head out of his ass and realizes that his best friend is pining just as much as he is.
Nico scowls at Midoriya. "Go away," he orders.
"Nope," Midoriya says. He wraps his hand around Nico's upper arm and tugs. "Come hang out with my friends."
Nico shrugs Midoriya's hand off. "I would rather die."
Luckily, Chiron appears in the courtyard before Midoriya can pull out his puppy-dog eyes. Nico can withstand the look, but it is such a chore to deal with Midoriya begging for his attention in the first place.
The arrival of Chiron and Mrs. O'Leary startles the hero students - a centaur and giant hellhound will do that to people. The students scramble to their feet, prepared to fight before Mic settles them down.
Chiron introduces himself. He removes his hand from Mrs. O'Leary's side. "Hello, students. I am Chiron, the activities director at Camp Half-Blood."
Freed from her duty as transport, Mrs. O'Leary bounds over to Nico and licks a stripe up his face. Nico makes a face at the dog drool on his skin but scratches her neck. Mrs. O'Leary is Percy's dog, but she spends most of her time with Nico because he reminds her of home. Sometimes, Nico will even wake in the middle of the night to Mrs. O'Leary trying to climb into his bed in the Hades cabin.
She sleeps in Hazel's bed unless Nico's sister visits Camp Half-Blood. On those nights, Mrs. O'Leary lies on the cold floor next to Nico's bed and whines until he relents and allows her to sleep with him.
He needs to buy her a giant dog bed for his cabin so she has her own space to sleep.
Kaminari stares wonderingly at Mrs. O'Leary. "What is that?"
"She's a hellhound," Will answers.
"I can't believe this is real," Kaminari says.
Nico points to Mina. "She's a pink alien, and you can't believe a giant dog is real?"
"There's no need to be mean," Will admonishes at the same time that Bakugou growls, "Watch your fucking mouth!"
"Whatever," Nico mumbles. He didn't say it to be mean. It's the truth. Mina is pink, Tokoyami has a bird head, Bakugou's sweat causes explosions, and Kaminari is flabbergasted by Mrs. O'Leary? Where is the sense in that?
Chiron smacks the ground with his front hoof, trying to regain order. It doesn't work. Aizawa, groaning, removes his glasses and activates his quirk. All of the students silence themselves within seconds.
"Thank you, Shouta," Chiron dips his head at Aizawa. "Students, Mrs. O'Leary is your escort to Camp Half-Blood. She will shadow travel a few of you at a time. I have organized a group of tour guides to meet you once you arrive at camp."
"Oh, gods," Nico groans. He can imagine who Chiron chose to be the tour guides.
"There are multiple tour guides because this is a large group, but I have appointed two leaders. If you have any questions or concerns that your tour guide cannot answer or take care of, find Annabeth Chase or Percy Jackson."
Nico smacks his head against the brick wall. He was right. Percy is in charge of this field trip. What was Chiron thinking? By the end of the second day, the entire camp will be in ruins.
"Please organize yourselves into groups of five," Chiron orders. Everyone but Will, Nico, Mic, and Aizawa do as they are told.
The first group Mrs. O'Leary transports to Camp Half-Blood contains Bakugou and Midoriya. Nico doesn't know how that happened. That combination is a recipe for disaster. Nico has only been at UA for a week, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Bakugou and Midoriya have years of bad blood.
At least Kirishima is also in the group. Hopefully, Kirishima can control Bakugou and stop him from fighting with Midoriya before they destroy the camp.
After Mrs. O'Leary leaves with the last UA students, Nico grabs Will's hand and shadow travels them to Camp Half-Blood. He shouldn't. Japan to Long Island isn't an easy trip. Nico already made the trip once. Doing it again could drain his powers too low.
It does. Nico collapses the instant his feet touch the ground after shadow traveling. Will is there to catch Nico before he tumbles to the ground and rolls down Half-Blood Hill. While welcoming the hero students to camp, Percy leaves his post and runs to Will and Nico.
"Nico!" he says, worried.
Will waves his wave, gesturing for Percy to stay back. The last thing Nico needs is to be crowded. "He'll be fine," he says. It might be a lie. Every time Nico overextends himself, it gets harder for him to recover.
Almost weekly, Nico and Will argue over Nico's willingness to risk his life with shadow travel and other Underworld powers. Nico refuses to listen when Will warns him that, eventually, he won't come back from the brink of death.
"He needs rest. I'll bring him to the infirmary."
"You can't," Percy protests. Will looks at him, confused. Will is the head of the infirmary. It makes sense for him to be the one to bring Nico there. "Chiron wanted you to be a tour guide for the students," Percy explains, seeing Will's confusion.
"Why me?" Will slips one arm under Nico's knees and the other behind his neck, lifting Nico into his arms bridal style.
"He assumed your good bedside manner would be helpful when acclimating the students to camp culture."
"I have an infirmary to run," Will protests.
"You're not the only Apollo kid at camp. Kayla and Austin can handle the infirmary for the day."
"It's not just for the day, though, is it? If I agree to be a guide, I'll be indisposed for however long the heroes stay. I can't leave the infirmary for so long."
"You won't have to. We need people to lead the newcomers around today. After that, you won't be needed unless your group needs help or has questions. Even if they do, you can direct them to me or Annabeth."
Will closes his eyes so he can't see Percy's boyish smile. It's futile. He already knows he's going to agree. "Fine," he drawls.
Percy claps like an absolute idiot. Only Percy would get excited over someone deciding to be a tour guide. "Fantastic. Someone else can take Nico to the infirmary." He scans the sparse number of demigods on Half-Blood Hill. Finally, he spots Hazel's bouncy curls in the crowd of demigods and heroes. Hazel isn't a tour guide, but she joined everyone on Half-Blood Hill to wait for her brother's arrival. "Hazel," Percy calls.
Hazel whips around, startled by the shout. She relaxes when Percy waves her over. She tenses when she takes in Nico, slumped in Will's arms. "What's going on?" She places the back of her hand on Nico's forehead, checking his temperature. "Is he okay?"
"He's fine," Will lies again. "He overextended himself again. Can you take him to the infirmary for me? Kayla or Austin will know what to do." After the third time Nico almost faded into a puddle of darkness, Will held a training seminar for the entirety of the Apollo cabin.
Will can't be the only healer with the knowledge to help Nico when he overextends himself. Will drilled the healing regime for Nico into his siblings' heads. He's glad he did.
Hazel nods. She wouldn't be able to if Nico was entirely unconscious, but he is alert enough to walk. Not on his own, but with Hazel's help holding him up and guiding him, Nico can make it to the infirmary.
Will gently places Nico's feet on the ground. Hazel ducks under his shoulder. "Come on, Nico," she says. "You have to walk." At Hazel's urging, Nico moves. He stumbles and almost falls multiple times, but Hazel keeps him upright.
Once they are gone, Percy leads Will to the crowd of excited heroes, where Piper and Leo mingle. Annabeth stands at the front of the group, writing on a clipboard. Clarisse stands beside the heroes' luggage pile, scowling at everyone. Chiron appointed her to keep watch of the heroes' belongings until their cabins were decided that evening.
Clarisse sneers at Percy when he accidentally makes eye contact with her. He smiles back. She rolls her eyes and looks away.
Percy and Will join Annabeth. Her shoulders slump in relief. "Thank the gods you are here. They are so impatient."
"Time to get started," Percy says. He claps his hands, catching everyone's attention. "Hello, everyone. My name is Percy Jackson. I am the son of Poseidon." His following words crush the burgeoning glances of appreciation from the newcomers. "This," he points to Annabeth, "is my girlfriend, Annabeth. She's a daughter of Athena."
Annabeth smiles at Percy. "Chiron was supposed to mention that there are lead tour guides. That is Percy and I. The rest of your tour guides are Leo Valdez," Leo waves, igniting small flames on his fingers, "and Will Solace," Will raises his arm and waves so everyone can see him.
Annabeth gestures to Clarisse, who takes her job as the bag guard very seriously. "This is Clarisse La Rue. She's in charge of your stuff. I will warn you not to leave anything too valuable with your things right now. Clarisse is a fantastic warrior, but the Hermes kids are stealthy. Things may get stolen."
Clarisse flips everyone off. Some people - like Momo and Todoroki - dig around in their bags, removing expensive items.
As Annabeth scolds Clarisse for being rude, Percy takes over the introduction to camp. "If everyone would get into groups of five, that would be great."
There's a bustle of activity as people rush to group themselves with friends. The Bakusquad end up together - Mina snatching Bakugou's arm when he tries to shuffle away. The Dekusquad groups together as well.
Shinsou, Aoyama, and the remaining girls form another group. Aoyama hits Mineta with a beam from his stomach laser when he tries to grope Momo's butt. The quieter students in class - Shoji, Ojiro, Sato, Koda, and Tokoyami - form a group.
Only Mineta is left without a group. He tries to join Momo's group, but she smacks him with a staff she creates, slinging him away from her. Then, Mineta attempts to join Deku's group to be close to Uraraka. Midoriya flicks Mineta with only a tiny percentage of his power. Mineta goes flying over everybody's heads. Once he comes crawling back, Mineta's last attempt at finding a group is Bakugou's. Bakugou doesn't allow Mineta to speak before he grabs him by the neck and deposits him in front of Percy and Annabeth.
"This piece of shit isn't getting anywhere near me," he sneers. As much as Bakugou pretends Mineta can't join his group because he hates him, everyone knows the real reason. Bakugou will do anything to keep Mineta far away from Mina.
Mina can take care of herself, but Bakugou will never put her in a position where she has to. At least, not against Mineta.
Piper hurries to Annabeth's side. She isn't a tour guide. Her job is to keep order within the group by using her charmspeak if necessary. It seems that Piper's ability might be needed. "Why?"
Bakugou curls his lip at her, opting not to answer. He kicks Mineta's back, making him sprawl face-first into the dirt. Mineta grabs Piper's thigh, pulling himself upright. "Ew!" Piper shouts.
Annabeth peers at Bakugou, Mineta, and Piper over her clipboard. "What is the problem?"
Mineta lets go of Piper to caress Annabeth's thigh. "Nothing, baby girl," he says.
Annabeth shudders from his sleazy voice. She steps away. "Do not touch me."
"Come on," Mineta says. He follows Annabeth, who keeps backing away. "How about you, her, and I form a group of three? We can have some alone time."
Percy uncaps Riptide, shocking the people watching the display, and holds his sword against Mineta's neck. Mineta freezes. If he moves at all, Riptide will cut him. Mineta looks to Aizawa or Mic for help. They pretend they don't notice the commotion. Chiron, taking his lead from the other instructors, does the same.
"Don't touch her," Percy says, his voice low. "Clarisse," he searches the crowd for Ares's daughter. "I think an evening with Mr. D would be good for this piece of sea scum. Would you be so kind as to escort him there?"
Clarisse twirls her spear Maimer in a threatening manner as she approaches. Mineta, who has no self-preservation skills, ogles her. Clarisse thwacks him on the head, knocking him unconscious.
She picks him up by the back of his shirt as if he is a piece of garbage. She holds him away from her body as she heads for the Big House. Maybe Mineta will change his perverted ways after an afternoon of listening to Dionysus' many godly exploits.
It takes a few moments for Annabeth to calm the excitement down. Once she does, she directs each group to a tour guide. The Bakusquad goes to Leo; The Dekusquad goes to Percy; Momo's group goes with Will, and Annabeth takes Tokoyami's group.
...
The tours start at different parts of the camp. Annabeth created detailed schedules for each group so they don't bump into each other. Leo and the Bakusquad start with the cabins.
Leo gestures to the one side of the cabins. "Those are the goddesses' cabins." He points to the other side. "Those are the gods' cabins. Don't ask me which cabin belongs to which god or goddess because I don't know most of them." He points to the two cabins at the head of the cabin area. "I know those are Zeus and Hera's cabins. The creepy one down there is Hades. Cabin Three is Poseidon. Percy - you met him earlier - is the only one who lives there. There was this whole agreement thing that the big three gods - Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades - made, but Zeus and Poseidon broke it, and now we have Thalia, Jason, and Percy." He stops talking to give the others time to ask questions.
Blank faces look at him.
Leo chuckles nervously. "Maybe we should save the history lesson for later. Umm... My dad is Haphaestus, the god of the forge and blacksmithing. I can build almost anything. I built a giant bronze dragon and turned it into a flying ship when it died. We saved the world using Festus."
"That's so cool!" Kaminari says, brimming with excitement.
"Yeah, it is," Kirishima agrees. He nudges Bakugou with his elbow. "Don't you agree, Bakugou?"
Bakugou grunts. He does find Leo's story interesting, but he will be damned if he lets anyone know. He is better than that.
After a quick tour of the cabins, Leo shows his group around the rest of Camp Half-Blood. Bakugou becomes scarily animated while Leo describes the climbing wall. It might be a good idea for Leo to advise Chiron and Mr. D to ban the psychotic boy from it.
The armory interests Kirishima. He's a hand-to-hand combat fighter, but fighting with weapons is always good knowledge. What if a time comes when Kirishima can't use his quirk? He'll be useless unless he can fight with whatever is lying around. It's doubtful he'll ever have a sword or spear in his possession, but if he knows how to handle one, he could replace it with a metal pipe or a piece of wood - maybe.
Leo informs Kirishima that there are weapons training classes that the UA students are welcome to join. If Kirishima is still interested after those, Leo can also ask someone to give him private lessons.
Mina isn't too impressed with the camp until they reach the archery range. Archery will not help her with her quirk, but it is cool as hell. She can't choose archery as her primary focus because Aizawa drilled into their heads that this is not a fun field trip. They are at Camp Half-Blood to foster better relations between demigods and heroes and to improve their quirks and fighting skills. However, she can take archery lessons during her free time.
The Arts and Crafts building catches Kaminari's attention. He's a crafty person. He enjoys drawing up ideas for hero costume ideas and support items. Between lessons, he can plan improvements for his hero costume and ask Leo's siblings to help him make them.
Leo concludes the tour at the pegasus stables. His group - including Bakugou - spend a long time petting and cooing over the pegasi. Leo wishes he could let the Bakusquad hang out at the stables as long as they want, but Annabeth instructed the tour guides to meet at the dining pavilion for lunch after their tours.
Leo is a few minutes late because Sero got lost somewhere in the woods.
No one knows when or where he went missing. Leo didn't even take his tour group into the woods. There's nothing to see in them except for a few monsters. Leo didn't feel like battling a monster for his life, so he avoided the woods. However, Sero managed to get lost.
Leo begs the rest of the Bakusquad not to mention this part of the tour to anyone. If Annabeth or Percy finds Leo unfit, they'll remove him from being a tour guide. Leo doesn't want that. Today has been fun.
After thirty minutes of searching for Sero, he wanders out of the woods without a scratch on him. Only Zeus knows how Sero escaped the woods without being targeted by a monster.
Leo decided not to tell Sero how close to death he came.
The rest of the tour groups and demigods are at the pavilion when Leo and his group finally arrive. The demigods are in their usual seating arrangements - tables separated by godly parents - and the UA students are seated at two new tables.
Leo's younger siblings hastily built the tables that morning. Leo delegated the task to them because it was boring, and it got the younger kids out of the way so Leo and the older campers could work on more dangerous projects.
Leo keeps most of his perilous stuff in Bunker 9, but sometimes he's too lazy to make the walk, so there are a few minor - but no less deadly - things lying about in the Hephaestus cabin.
Instead of sitting with his siblings, Leo stays with the Bakusquad. He needs to be around in case anyone has questions.
After the six of them are seated, Chiron bangs his cup on his table as a call for attention. He's in his magical wheelchair because it fits at the table better than Chiron's centaur half. "I hope everyone has had a wonderful day. In case someone has not noticed, our guests arrived this morning. I hope my campers are making them feel at home."
Mr. D and Chiron share a glance. "I am sad to announce that Capture the Flag is being rescheduled to tomorrow." The campers groan and protest. The hero students look around in confusion. Chiron raises his hand for silence. "Our guests are not prepared for the game, nor have cabins been assigned yet."
"This isn't fair!" Clarisse shouts. "Ares has already made alliances and prepared for the game today!"
"Your alliances and preparations will still be here tomorrow," Chiron responds.
"That's not true," Lucas, a Hermes camper, says. "We might not feel like allying with Ares tomorrow."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sherman Yang roars.
"It means that Ares' kids suck most of the time. We only picked you for the game because of your anger."
"You little..."
The yelling match between Lucas and Sherman descends into unintelligible chaos as more and more campers join the fray.
Most of the UA students watch the ensuing verbal fight - with a few plates and rolls being thrown back and forth - in shocked silence. All of them but Bakugou. With no knowledge of what the fight is about, Bakugou jumps into it. He sends venomous barbs at anyone in his eyesight.
Mr. D pinches the bridge of his nose. "Oh, my Zeus," he mumbles. "I hate children."
Aizawa, on Mr. D's right, nods his agreement. "So do I," he says. "So do I."
Mashed potatoes hit Mic directly in the face. Aizawa laughs maniacally as his husband wipes food out of his eyes. Mic scoops a spoonful of his mashed potatoes and flicks it into the fray. "Food fight!" he yells. He doesn't know who hit him with their food, so he doesn't bother aiming. The potatoes will hit someone. That is all that matters.
Chiron allows his campers to have their food fight for a few minutes. Letting the kids get their aggression out is easier than trying to control them. Finally, he bangs his cup on the table again. The dining pavilion falls silent.
Every camper, even the ones who didn't participate in the food fight, is covered head to toe with their lunch. The only kids who make it out of the battle are the ones Momo hides behind a giant umbrella she creates.
"Lunch is over," Chiron says. He raises his hand against the protests that arise. "Don't complain. You are the ones who wasted your food. Capture the Flag is scheduled for tomorrow evening, where it will proceed as usual."
No one complains this time. Nothing will change Chiron's mind.
Demigods file out of the dining pavilion. Annabeth takes charge of the UA students. "As your tour guides should have explained, we demigods stay in cabins that reflect our godly parents. You guys don't have godly parents, but you need somewhere to stay while you're here. Tonight, at the campfire, we'll decide which cabins you each will stay in."
"What does the cabins mean?" Kaminari asks. "Do we do everything with our cabins, or are we allowed to find our friends?"
"Good question," Percy says. "Cabins don't do daily activities. You can join whichever activities you want. However, Capture the Flag is done by cabins. The cabins that wish to play the game will pick their allies, and those cabins are a team."
Kirishima and Kaminari each grab one of Bakugou's arms. "We have to be in the same cabin," Kirishima says.
Bakugou shrugs Kirishima off but pulls Kaminari closer. "Forget it, Shitty Hair. I won't be in a cabin with any of you extras."
"We're not extras, though, are we?" Kaminari asks, teasing.
Bakugou grunts.
"You guys can join any scheduled activities or hang out around the camp. Don't enter any cabins without permission from someone who lives there." Percy holds his hand out to Annabeth, pulling her beside him. "If anyone has questions your tour guides can't answer, find Annabeth or me."
This is the end of the tour. Like new campers, the UA students are given a quick tour and released to find their way around camp.
Leo disentangles himself from the bench. "Percy, where are you going?"
"I'm taking over Nico's sword training class. He fainted after he shadow traveled him and Will here. He's still in the infirmary, so Chiron needed someone to stand in. Why?"
Leo's eyes narrow. "That doesn't matter. Nico's in the infirmary?"
"Yeah. Will said he'd be -" Leo bolts from the dining pavilion, not letting Percy finish his sentence. "-fine," Percy trails off.
...
Leo bursts into the infirmary, startling Kayla into dropping an armful of bandages. "Where is he!"
Kayla rolls her eyes. It's no surprise that Leo is here, acting like a madman. No one knows when it happened, but sometime during Apollo/Lester's quest to defeat Nero, Leo got bit by the same overprotective bug that got Jason and Percy.
Leo has been just as bad or worse than Nico's cousins ever since.
"He's in his usual room," Kayla tells him.
Leo steps over the rolls of bandages Kayla dropped and enters the private room hallways. Kayla huffs and picks the bandages up. The least Leo could do was help her pick them up.
Leo knocks on the door to Nico's private room. Not to get permission to enter but to warn Nico that someone is coming in whether he wants them to or not. This is the room Nico stayed in when Will forced him to spend three days in the infirmary after the war with Gaia.
Nico refused - and still does - to stop using his Underworld powers. He spent so much time recovering in the infirmary that Austin joked Nico deserved a permanent room. He was kidding, but Will took him seriously.
Will renovated one of the private rooms that long-term patients use into a private room for Nico. Nico has decorated his room as he sees fit. There aren't many. His cabin is an interior decorator's nightmare.
Nico wanted his infirmary room to be more minimalistic. He nailed a few drawings of Mythomagic cards on the wall that Jason made for him.
He also changed the standard infirmary sheets and blankets to a deep blue. He even has a small dresser with a few changes of clothes and personal hygiene supplies.
Nico helps Will and the other Apollo kids in the infirmary when he has free time. Sometimes, when Will works late - mainly after Capture the Flag games or when quest groups come back - he and Nico will spend the night in Nico's infirmary room.
Chiron knows about it. Not much happens in camp that Chiron doesn't know about. He doesn't say anything to the two because their sleepovers are born purely out of exhaustion or Will's need to be close to critical patients at all hours of the day and night.
"Come in, Leo," Nico calls.
"How'd you know it was me?" Leo asks. He closes the door and moves to the uncomfortable chair beside Nico's bed.
Nico is buried deep in his blankets, with only his face and a small tuft of black hair poking out. He's cute like this. It isn't fair. The son of Hades, prince of the Underworld, shouldn't be cute.
In times like this, Leo understands what Will sees in Nico. Not that Leo is interested in Nico.
Leo is interested in a different Big Three demigod - a much blonder, electric Big Three demigod.
"Percy was there when I collapsed, Hazel brought me here, and Jason has already visited me. The only person left to fawn over me is you."
"I could have been Will, you know, your boyfriend."
"Will hasn't come back to the infirmary. If he had, I would know."
"Aw, that's cute," Leo teases.
Nico rolls his eyes. People tend to do that often around Leo - he can't imagine why. "The infirmary isn't that big, Leo. I can hear Will's voice the second he enters."
"Oh, my gods," Leo says. "You're so in tune with your boyfriend. You can tell when he's around, even without seeing him. That is so romantic. I never expected Niccolo di Angelo to be a closet romantic."
"That's not my name," Nico says with the air of someone who says it all the time. "And I'm not a romantic. You can talk when you finally land the man of your dreams."
"I'm not completely clueless," Leo defends. "I dated Calypso for a while."
"How did that work out for you?" Nico asks.
Leo flinches. Nico hides a wince. He didn't say it to be mean. Leo and Calypso dated for a while after he saved her from Ogygia, but eventually, Calypso ended things. She claimed to love Leo but felt their relationship was holding her back from her potential in the mortal world.
Losing Calypso destroyed Leo. Jason took it upon himself to bring his friend out of his rut. Throughout the weeks of Jason distracting Leo from thinking of Calypso, Leo's thoughts morphed into ones of Jason.
Sadly, Jason is straight. He dated Piper until they broke up, and Piper started dating Shel. Jason hasn't mentioned romantic feelings for anyone else since. He's been busy building temples and cabins for the minor gods and goddesses.
Leo isn't holding out hope that Jason will suddenly look up from his work, see Leo standing there, and realize that his true love has been there all along. It isn't likely three out of three of their original friend group will turn out queer in some way.
"That was different," Leo whispers.
"I know," Nico says. It isn't an apology, but it is as close as he will get to one. "Why are you here?" He asks, changing the subject.
"To check on you. Percy mentioned you collapsed again."
"I'm fine. I shadowtraveled Will and me to camp from Japan. I just need some rest, and then I'll be back to scaring the younger campers in no time."
Leo laughs. Nico's emo looks and Underworld powers are grounds for terror for new or young campers. Nico's friends have caught Nico peering out from shadows around camp to frighten people on purpose. None of them say anything because it isn't often Nico has genuine fun.
"When does Kayla say you'll be good to leave?"
"Hopefully tomorrow. As long as this is gone." Nico shimmies around until he frees one of his arms from his blanket prison. He wiggles his fingers in Leo's face.
Leo pales. Nico's fingers are fading, almost incorporeal. His bones are visible through his fading skin. "Put those away," Leo begs.
Nico awkwardly tucks his arm away. "It was worse earlier. My hands and most of my arms were like that. It's down to only my fingers."
"That's good," Leo sighs. He checks his watch. "I have to go. I have a forging class in ten minutes."
"Bye-bye," Nico says. "Feel free not to come back."
"Bye." Leo rubs Nico's blanket-covered head. Nico growls and jerks away.
...
The campfire that afternoon is chaotic. Never in the history of Camp Half-Blood has there been a claiming of this magnitude. Not that this is a real claiming. The gods aren't involved. The UA students aren't demigods.
However, Chiron can pretend they are.
Before the campfire, the head counselor of each cabin has the chance to "claim" a UA student for their cabin. Chiron wanted to limit the cabins to two UA students each, but there were too many students. One or two cabins will have more than two hero students.
Mr. D snaps his fingers, and a shrill shrieking sound rings out. He doesn't stop the sound until everyone is quiet. He nods his head at Chiron. "Your turn."
"Thank you," Chiron says. He shakes his head to get rid of the faint ringing. "Although that method was not necessary."
"Causing pain to these brats is always necessary."
Chiron sighs. He drops the topic. Mr. D will never change his mind about demigods. He'll always be a grouchy god until Zeus allows him to return to Olympus. "Before we commence campfire singing and celebrations, we must do the claiming. I've spoken to the head counselors. You know what to do."
The head counselors gather together near the campfire. The UA students stand in a huddle beside them.
Bakugou skulks around the edge of the group, feeling claustrophobic, surrounded by so many bodies.
Taking it upon himself to start the claiming, Percy addresses the hero students. "The head counselors will take turns picking one of you to join our cabins. Be honest if anybody asks questions. It will help us pick people best suited for our godly parent." He waits for people to nod in understanding.
"I'm starting first. My first question is, who is the best swimmer or best suited for water?"
All eyes turn to Tsu. She blushes at the attention but raises her hand. "Me, kero," she croaks.
"Fantastic," Percy says happily. "I want you. You don't have to stand with me, but please step away from the group so everyone knows who is available."
Tsu does as asked.
Annabeth goes next. "Who is your best strategist?"
Jirou points to Momo at the same time as Uraraka points at Midoriya, and Kaminari points to Bakugou. Annabeth looks between the three of them, lost. She sees Momo first, so that is who she chooses. If one of the others is still available at her next turn, she'll pick them.
Impatient, Sherman shoves his way to the front of the group. "Which of you is the most aggressive and willing to injure people to win? That's what Ares is about!"
The vote is unanimous. Bakugou scoffs. All of his classmates are pointing at him. "Extras," he grumbles.
"Get up here," Sherman orders.
Bakugou shoulder-checks Sherman as he joins Tsu. "Don't tell me what to do, extra."
The rest of the mass claiming goes by quickly.
Will picks Kirishima - for his sweet demeanor - and Jirou for her musical ability. Miranda picks Sero and Ojiro. Travis and Connor pick Kaminari, Iida, and the leftover students, Todoroki and Mineta.
Leo picks Midoriya and Uraraka for their sheer strength. They will be a great help in the forge. Piper picks Mina and Aoyama. Pollux picks Sato and Sero.
Nico doesn't want to pick two people who will share his cabin for the foreseeable future, but Chiron makes him. Nico's choices are Tokoyami and Hagakure. They are quiet, and their abilities will help Nico in Capture the Flag.
Percy's second pick is Shoji, Annabeth's is Koda, and Sherman's is Shinsou.
Despite the claiming being unusual, it is not what makes the evening chaotic. Present Mic is.
The campfire activities start as normal - as normal as demigod activities can get. The Apollo cabin - minus Will with his horrendous singing voice - leads everyone in the campfire songs.
Then Austin asks for volunteers for karaoke. He can play almost any song on his many instruments. Thirty minutes pass with Austin accompanying people singing. Jirou sings a solo, and then Tokoyami joins her for a sad, emo duet.
Near the end of the night, Mic volunteers. Jirou, Tokoyami, and Kaminari cheer loudly for their English teacher. Bakugou stifles his smile. He'll never admit it, but he adores it when his teacher sings.
Will glows at a low level to replace the fading daylight. Jirou produces a cordless microphone from her bag and hands it to Mic. She never goes anywhere without being prepared for impromptu singing.
Mic stands in the center of the circle the demigods and hero students make.
Aizawa snuggles further into his yellow sleeping bag when his husband starts singing. The words to "Michael in the Bathroom" from the musical Be More Chill wafts over him.
The Apollo kids burst into screeches. They struggle to find people outside their siblings who enjoy musicals. Mic gestures for them to join him as he sings. The explosion of noise almost deafens Aizawa.
Aizawa wants to erase Mic's quirk so he and the other instructors can get some peace and quiet, but Mic looks too happy. Aizawa can't take this moment away from him.
By the song's end, the Apollo kids are dancing in a circle with Mic in the middle. When the song's last notes fade into silence, Will drops to his knees and bows at Mic's feet. His siblings follow suit.
"All haul, Present Mic!"
Mic looks at Aizawa's slumped form. "Shota! Look! Shota, I started a cult!"
Aizawa's eyes peek out of his sleeping bag. "I'm proud of you," he drones, bored.
Mic turns his attention back to the children, kneeling at his feet. He pats the heads of the kids closest to him. "Thank you for the applause."
Mic would bask in the attention until sunrise if curfew doesn't exist. He reluctantly leaves his new cult to go to the Big House. He and Aizawa are staying in a guest room in the Big House during their stay.
Half of the Apollo cabin tries to follow Mic into the Big House. Aizawa chases them away with threats of expulsion. He's so scary that none of the demigods think about the fact that they are campers and Aizawa cannot expel them.
...
Will and Kayla release Nico from the infirmary in the morning. All of the shadow fading is gone. Will does an extensive check to make sure. Kayla smirks at them when Will kicks her out of Nico's room and locks the door.
She thinks they are getting freaky, but it is only a full-body check. Will is a professional. He would never do anything inappropriate in the infirmary, during work hours or not.
Will is still on duty, so Nico leaves the infirmary by himself. He has a sword training class before lunch, which is in an hour and a half, but Will advised - more like ordered - Nico not to do strenuous physical activity until the next day.
The only strenuous activity Nico can do is walk. Not even a brisk walk, only a casual stroll.
Nico heads to the Poseidon cabin. He must let Percy know he has to take over Nico's class again. If Percy isn't available because he leads swimming and scuba diving classes, Nico will need to find someone else.
Maybe Jason?
Even though Jason is a cabin counselor, he doesn't instruct any classes. Most of his time is spent working on his plans to honor all of the Olympians. He would never say it out loud, but he sometimes regrets committing to the project.
Percy isn't in his cabin. Or the Athena cabin. He isn't at the training grounds. Or the climbing wall. Or the archery ranger, which makes sense. Percy is shit at archery. He's worse than Will. At least Will can hit the target; however, it is far from a bullseye. Percy couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.
Nico stops for a break on a bench near the volleyball court. He's still a bit tired. He will never let Will or any Apollo kids know how exhausting healing from fading is for him. They would make him stay in the infirmary longer, which is the last thing Nico wants.
Time alone in his cabin is the best thing for him.
Screams from the Aphrodite cabin ruin Nico's peace. The door to the cabin is thrown open. Clarisse stomps out, with a squirming Mineta hanging by his pants from her spear.
"Clarisse," Nico calls.
She stops. "What?" she snaps.
"Do you know where Percy is?"
"Why should I know what that idiot is doing? I'm not his keeper."
Mineta reaches out to Nico. Help me, he mouths. Nico looks in the other direction. He doesn't know what Mineta was doing in the Aphrodite cabin, but he can make a guess.
Clarisse is headed for the bathrooms. Mineta's near future isn't promising because of her history with Percy and bathrooms. Whatever Clarisse does to Mineta, he deserves it.
"Check arts and crafts," Clarisse calls over her shoulder before she enters the girls' bathroom.
Nico smiles. No one is around to see, so he feels safe showing emotion. He knew Clarisse would be of help.
For some reason, Percy and Clarisse are hell-bent on pretending they are still enemies. The entire camp knows about their movie nights, where they watch shitty movies and make fun of them.
Nico walks to the arts and crafts building. Strangely, Percy is there. Nico is sure Percy has never set foot in there. Neither has Nico.
Percy's presence makes sense when Nico pushes open the door. The Dekusquad and Percy are sitting on pillows around a low table. The table is littered with scrap paper, clay, globs of glue, and an array of markers, paintbrushes, and colored pencils.
Percy looks up from his project at the thud of the door. "Nico," he calls happily. "Come join us!"
"What are you doing?" Nico leans over Percy's shoulder to look at what he is making. It is a shockingly terrible portrait of Annabeth. The dark, squiggly lines reminiscent of braids are the only reason Nico knows it is Annabeth - and Percy would never be caught dead drawing a girl other than Annabeth.
Annabeth is going to adore the drawing. She loves everything Percy gives her. She has a shelf in the Athena cabin full of trinkets Percy has found. He brings her unique shells and fish skeletons that he finds on his diving trips.
"We're making crafts!"
Nico looks at Percy blankly. "I can see that. Thank you for informing me anyway, Percy."
"I am the sass lord, Neeks. Don't use sarcasm with me unless you want me to eviscerate you verbally."
Nico gives Percy a flat look. "You realize I can and will actually eviscerate you, right?"
"Your boyfriend would never let you."
"Will doesn't control me."
"Are you sure?"
Nico blushes. His friends always tease him about how bossy Will is in their relationship. Nico doesn't mind. He needs Will to be overbearing. Nico has zero self-preservation skills. Will is the only reason Nico is still alive.
"Why are you here?" Percy asks. "I don't believe you're here because you're interested in arts and crafts."
"Of course not," Nico snorts. "I'm not supposed to do any physical activity until tomorrow. I need you to take over my sword training class today."
Percy winces. "I can't. I told my group I would hang out with them today."
Midoriya stops working on his project - a clay sculpture of a figure with dark hair and a scarf around its neck. Nico recognizes it as Aizawa. The sculpture isn't the best, but is more recognizable than Percy's.
"It's okay, Percy. We don't mind if you need to help Nico out. Right, guys?"
Iida, Uraraka, Todoroki, and Tsu voice their assent.
Nico ignores their offer. "That's not necessary. I'll ask Jason. If he can't do it, then Will's doctor's orders be damned. I'll do the class anyway."
Percy holds out his hand for a fist bump. "All right, dude."
Nico reluctantly fist-bumps Percy. If he doesn't, Percy will whine about it all week. Todoroki's painting catches Nico's eyes before he heads to the door. "What are you painting?"
Todoroki lifts his paintbrush from the jumble of black splotches on his white paper. "I'm painting my feelings."
Nico inspects the painting. "Your feelings are blobs of black paint?"
"They are demons. My inner demons."
Nico nods as if he understands Todoroki's words. "Nice execution," he comments.
Todoroki's words drift through the building as Nico leaves. "I told you my painting makes sense," Todoroki tells Iida.
Next, Nico checks Zeus' Fist for Jason.
Jason prefers the peace of the forest over his cold, lonely cabin when he works on his plans. He's perched cross-legged on the top of the rocks with his sketchbook balanced precariously on his lap. His pencil scratches lethargically across the paper.
"Jason," Nico calls.
"Yes?" Jason stops biting his lip long enough to answer. If he doesn't stop that bad habit, he will have another scar on his mouth to match the one from the stapler.
Nico climbs Zeus' Fist and settles beside Jason. "Hey."
"Hey," Jason nudges Nico with his shoulder, smiling. "It's nice to see you out of the infirmary."
"It's nice to be out."
"Is this a social visit, or do you need something?"
Nico holds his hand out, silently asking to look through Jason's sketchbook. Jason hands it over. Nico isn't the person Jason goes to for advice on his designs - that is Annabeth or Malcolm Pace.
Nonetheless, Nico enjoys looking at Jason's designs. He knows nothing about building, but Jason's ideas are breathtaking. The Olympians are going to love these.
"I need something." Nico flips another page.
"What is it?"
"I'm not supposed to lead my sword lesson today. Percy can't take over. Can you?"
Jason bites his lip. Nico glares at him until he stops. Nico has been doing his best to break the bad habit for weeks. It's not working. "I can't." Jason gestures to his sketchbook in Nico's hands. "I still have so much work to get done today. I'm already behind. Perhaps Clarisse can? Or one of the Stolls?"
"Clarisse has a spear fighting class at the same time. I don't trust Travis or Connor with any sort of weapon in their hands. They'd kill everyone in the class within two minutes."
"What will you do? Cancel?"
Nico hands Jason's sketchbook back. "Of course not. I'm going to lead it."
"Will will be pissed," Jason warns.
"He's always pissed at me about something."
"That's because you're always doing something stupid for him to be pissed about."
"You're supposed to be my best friend," Nico whines. Apart from Will, Jason is the only person Nico shows emotion aside from annoyance in front of. "You should be on my side."
"I'm on the side of your health," Jason responds.
"You're supposed to be on the side of what I want to do," Nic grumbles.
Jason ruffles Nico's hair, making the already messy strands even messier. "Not a chance."
Nico smacks Jason's hand until he removes it. "Whatever, Grace." He doesn't bother trying to smooth his hair. It never helps. Nico always looks like he stuck his finger in an electric socket. The only time his hair lays flat is when Piper and her siblings get ahold of him.
Nico swears the Aphrodite cabin has magic hair powers, but none of them will confirm his theory. They want everyone to believe that they are naturally perfect in every way.
Nico can't stay long at Zeus' Fist with Jason. His sword class starts soon. He leaves Jason with his sketchbook and heads to the combat arena.
_____
Words: 8,302
Published: 1/18/24