Planning
The rest of their date went pretty well as far as Kassandra thought a date could go. They left the park soon after their kiss, not without running into a few other nature spirits though. Some looked pretty similar to Aspen, but one thing they all had in common was being a little injured. Whether it was scarring or even missing limbs, they all seemed wounded in some form. The aftermath of the second Titan war, she assumed.
When they made their way out of the park, they wandered for a while before finding an ice cream store. Kassandra got caramel, and Aspen pistachio. They had both eaten ice cream before, but there was something different about this, the flavour was stronger. Well, that's what they thought anyway.
They strolled for a little longer, and did whatever they felt like. They watched a scary movie where Kassandra definitely didn't hold Aspens hand because she got afraid, looked around an art gallery which confused both girls and watched the city life whilst they ate. Aspen had a salad and Kassandra got a sandwich.
(Whatever sort of sandwich you like. Maybe you haven't realised yet, but similar to this I leave a lot of character description out. This is intentional. If something is important for the story, I'll point it out. But with other aspects, I let you fill it in such as eye colour, hair colour, skin colour and so on. If you want me to give my idea of what characters look like, ask and I'll post a chapter on it.)
It all felt so vibrant and colourful. Kassandra's food tasted stronger, almost like the colours popped in her mouth. She watched Aspen munch down on her greens with more pleasure she had ever seen on her face, and it brought a sense of happiness deep down in the daughter of Rome.
When they had finished eating they walked back to where they had started in Times Square. The two of them held hands, staring at the endless stream of information that flooded into their eyes. Soon enough, they found themselves staring at each other. It was stupid and dumb young-love, but both had just clicked with each other. Neither of them could help it.
"So, a success?" asked Kassandra, holding Aspens hands as they stood in the centre of the square.
"Most definitely. You have high standards to meet now," laughed the nature spirit.
"And have I payed off my debt to you?"
Aspen lolled her head back and appeared deep in thought. Then she snapped back.
"Maybe. You're off the hook for now, I'll give you that. But I expect to see something more impressive next time," she said, poking Kassandra's chest.
"Breaking your bond to your tree in a feat that's never been recorded to be accomplished before isn't enough?"
The nature spirit just smirked at her.
Then, an image projected itself in Kassandra's mind. It was... Chiron?
"Kassandra? Kassandra can you hear me?" questioned the centaur, his voice echoing in her mind.
"Hey! This mind is occupied centaur!" called out a frustrated Hector. "It's enough of a servitude to watch the goddess and her lady friend romance all day!"
Whether Chiron hadn't heard Hector or had chosen to just plainly ignore him was open to interpretation, but he continued anyway.
"Yes?" responded Kassandra. She didn't want too many people breaking into her head, maybe she'd have to work on that.
"Piper, Jason and Leo returned, but you haven't. Plus no one's been able to find Aspen at camp, and there's a little panic, what with the Percy situation. But that doesn't matter, I assume you two are together; just get back as soon as possible. There's a council meeting now and you're required to be here. I think it's time for you to tell us more of your family."
What? What did Chiron know about her family? She had done her best to hide who her mother was, had she let something slip? Had Jason or Piper or Leo spilt the secret of her mothers identity?
"I'll be there momentarily," responded Kassandra, Chiron vanishing from her mind.
"At least knock," muttered Hector.
"Hey, you okay there?" asked a concerned Aspen.
"Uhh yeah," responded the ex-huntress. "Apparently our absence at camp has been noted and we're needed back."
The nature spirit went white.
"Gods, we should hurry! The other nature spirits will never let go of something like this, us two gone together!"
Kassandra loved how fast Aspen would transform from some sort of dominant powerhouse over her to a trembling shaking spirit.
She made a hand gesture, grabbed Aspen, and the two vanished from Times Square.
When the two could see straight again, they were outside the Big House. Kassandra turned to her... crush?
"I'd stay longer, but I'm needed to-"
"You don't have to explain anything to me, goddess," said Aspen, "You go do your thing, and I'll do mine."
She turned and took off in the opposite direction, straight towards the treeline that hung over camp.
"So... what are we?" called out Kassandra.
Aspen didn't turn back, but called out in a laughing voice, "I'd be honoured to call you my girlfriend, Kassandra."
The daughter of (Y/N)s legs shook, and not just from her new girlfriend. She was prepared to finally talk about her family.
She burst through the front doors, and stormed down the corridor until she was outside the meeting room. She could hear conversation inside, and took a deep breath.
"We demigods were always told to stay away from it because Mount Othrys was there. But that wasn't the only reason, was it? The Roman camp—it's got to be somewhere near San Francisco. I bet it was put there to keep watch on the Titans' territory. Where is it?"
She could tell straight away that it was the voice of Chase. It brought a sense of reassurance to the daughter of Bellona.
"I cannot say. Honestly,even I have never been trusted with that information. My counterpart, Lupa, is not exactly the sharing type. Jason's memory, too, has been burned away."
That was Chiron. Now she knew he and Annabeth were there, she was confident she wouldn't be gutted for revealing her Roman heritage.
Twisting the door handle and pushing the door open, she entered the room.
Everyone turned from facing Chiron to facing Kassandra. All the cabin councillors were present, from Clovis who was snoring in the corner to Annabeth wearing armour over her camp clothes. She must have really looked out of place in her chiton, plus her scarred shoulder exposed.
"You'll never be able to find it without someone from the inside, that being Jason. He'll recover soon and then we'll know. All I can say is that it has a hidden tunnel for an entrance, one only its residents know the location."
"And how would you know that?" asked Annabeth.
"Because my mother Bellona told me," she announced. "And my father (Y/N) would tell me stories of the place since he was joint patron of the camp."
A pin could have been hear dropping.
"Who's Bellona?" said Travis.
Annabeth, Chiron and Kassandra locked eyes in a Mexican stand-off for a moment. The daughter of Athena's stormy eyes pierced Kassandra's soul. Chiron looked more shocked than anything. Had he really not known?
"Seriously, who's Bellona?" asked the Hermes' councillor again.
"Roman goddess of war and the state," grunted Clarisse. "Ares' sister and now apparently Kassandra's other godly parent."
"Bellona?" said Butch nodding in approval. "(Y/N) did well for himself."
The name of their old battle medic hung in the air. But not for Kassandra. She knew he was out there still, alive somehow.
"Now hold on a second," said Annabeth out of the blue, "I don't care about this other camp thing right now, how does this make any sense?"
Kassandra looked at Chiron, who nodded at her. He was always so mysterious about what he did and didn't know, it scared her sometimes.
"Yeah, what sort of secrets did the old man have?" asked Travis with a sense of intrigue at the thought of the infamous and perfect (Y/N) having a hidden double life.
She took another deep breath, thought happy thoughts, and spoke.
"Well, when my father ascended to godhood as you all know, he as whisked away to Olympus. Big festivals and party, or so he told me. It was there he was both granted his titles and revealed the hidden twin of the Greek pantheon; the Roman side. Apparently, he had actually worked there before, under the Roman gods at the old Camp Jupiter as it's called. But when the time came to move on, his memories were erased."
Jason watched. Something about the name brought on a sense of familiarity with him. He had seen the name inscribed on temples and could almost put a face to the name. And now that he really thought about it, didn't he already know a daughter of Bellona?
"He was given the title of patron of New Rome, similar to how he became the patron of Camp Half-Blood. For a while he was happy there, he was on a cycle of spending a month with the Romans and a month with the Greeks."
A lot of the councillors nodded their heads. They remembered how randomly (Y/N) would show up, always in some weird looking toga.
"Soon enough though, he was confronted by my mother, Bellona. Except at that point in time she hated him for forcing her to share the title of Roman patron. It was her thing, and she didn't want some upstart taking it from her. So they fought for the title, until Jupiter split it up."
Piper could tell where this was going. She may not always like it, but she could tell when a good love story was being concocted.
"The king of the gods decided that if they couldn't share the position naturally, he'd force them to. So, he ordered them to be married, much like how Aphrodite was wed to Hephaestus. My father spent a while growing close to my mother, and when they got married they moved into a home on Olympus together."
"So he was married... to a Roman goddess?" asked Annabeth.
"Yes," said Kassandra bluntly. Had she not made that obvious enough?
Chase just nodded her head. She was a close friend of (Y/N), so it made sense she would be shocked.
"Well, my pater-"
"Pater?" asked Travis.
"Latin for father," commented Jason. Travis shot him a thumbs up.
"My pater," continued Kassandra, "Spent a while fighting Titan forces, carrying out raids on their encampments and supporting the Roman praetors. My mother did the same. (Y/N) became good friends with Hermes, and then according to my mother, after a night out of the two, they had-"
"You!" burst out Will Solace, stopping her from continuing before things got adult. "They had you."
The daughter nodded. "Yes, sorry, I got carried away. A little while later I was born, and so my parents withdrew from both camps to care for me. But, you know, I aged quickly as all gods do, and after two weeks I was ready to start training. So they sent me to train with the hunters, and after that... after that I haven't seen either since."
Alright, that was a lie. But she had just dropped such a bomb on them she wasn't going to hit them again.
There was another shared look between Annabeth and Chiron. But this time, Kassandra could have sworn to have seen a stray tear fall from the centaurs eye.
There was silence once more. This time though, it was Jason who interrupted it.
"Well, I'm sure I can tell you some stuff when I get my memory back," he said. "And I'm sure the other Romans can too when we get there."
"You're half Roman," muttered Annabeth under her breath, just loud enough for Kassandra to hear. She ignored it.
"But how do you plan on getting there?" asked the daughter of (Y/N). "I can't air travel with too many people, I'm getting there but it'll take a while more of training."
"Leo has proposed to build a ship, a flying ship. The Argo II. It'll take a select group to find the Romans, and then journey to Greece to confront the giants."
"Bad plan," Clarisse warned. "If those Romans see a warship coming, they'll assume we're attacking."
"You're probably right," Jason agreed. "But we have to try. I was sent here to learn about Camp Half-Blood, to try to convince you the two camps don't have to be enemies. A peace offering."
"Hmm," Rachel said. "Because Hera is convinced we need both camps to win the war with the giants. Seven heroes of Olympus- some Greek, some Roman."
Annabeth nodded. "Your Great Prophecy- what's the last line?"
"And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."
"Gaea has opened the Doors of Death," Annabeth said."She's letting out the worst villains of the Underworld to fight us.Medea, Midas- there'll be more, I'm sure. Maybe the line means that the Roman and Greek demigods will unite, and find the doors, and close them."
Kassandra was hit with horrible flashbacks of Ikari and Ichiro. Had they crawled from Tartarus?
"Or it could mean they fight each other at the doors of death," Clarisse pointed out. "It doesn't say we'll cooperate."
"I'm going," Annabeth said. "Jason, when you get this ship built, let me go with you."
"I was hoping you'd offer," Jason said. "You of all people- we'll need you."
"Wait." Leo frowned. "I mean that's cool with me and all. But why Annabeth of all people?"
"Hera said my coming here was an exchange of leaders," Jason said. "A way for the two camps to learn of each other's existence. I guess (Y/N) failed..."
His voice trailed off, aware it might not be the wisest thing to say with a highly emotional goddess right there.
"Yeah?" Leo said. "So?"
"An exchange goes two ways," Jason said. "When I go there, my memory was wiped. I didn't know who I was or where I belonged. Fortunately, you guys took me in and I found a new home. I know you're not my enemy. The Roman camp- they're not so friendly, even with people like (Y/N) around. You prove your worth quickly, or you don't survive. They may not be so nice to him, and if they learn where he comes from, he's going to be in serious trouble."
"Him?" Leo said. "Who are you talking about?"
"My boyfriend," Annabeth said grimly. "He disappeared around the same time Jason appeared. If Jason came to Camp Half-Blood-"
"Exactly," Jason agreed. "Percy Jackson is at the other camp, and he probably doesn't even remember who he is."
'Seven demi-gods she'll guide' thought Kassandra, still at the door and remembering her prophecy that was still uncompleted. At least vising Greece was on her bucket list.
When the meeting was adjourned, Kassandra took a minute to gather herself. A healthy mind was a healthy state, she couldn't lose control now of all times.
When she was collected, her first move was to go after Annabeth. If anyone had background information on Ikari and Ichiro, it would be her. Annabeth had marched straight to her cabin after the meeting, so the daughter of (Y/N) did so too.
She could feel the eyes on her back, the whispers circulating around the camp already. '(Y/N) is a Roman, Kassandra is a child of Bellona and why would she hide it?'
She'd have to confront the accusations another time though. Besides, she was a goddess. She owed no one answers for how she went along with her own life.
But still, she hoped she wouldn't get treated any differently. Before this all kicked off, when she was playing volleyball on the beach and having archery lessons with Chiron, she wished that would continue. Besides, she was still the same Kassandra, nothing had changed about her.
The only thing that had changed was her mindset. She needed to find her father and go after those brothers. If she was going to guide the seven prophesied ones then getting rid of those two was a must. Ikari hadn't revealed much about himself, but Ichiro sort of had. She knew his strengths revolved around summoning monsters, the demi-god bane, and that could relate to other magic. She'd check up on that with a Hecate kid soon.
Maybe the power was to do with his robes, that would explain why he was always wearing them and why they look so cult-like. Ikari's hoodie and plain shorts however seemed too normal for someone like him. He was strong and fast, maybe that was all he had to offer. Then again, she had learnt from the hunters to never underestimate an enemy.
Eventually, she was outside the Athena cabin. The grey owl that signified Athena's presence watched down from above, judging her almost. She stuck her tongue out at the carving before knocking. There was a shuffle inside before Malcolm, one of Annabeth's brothers, appeared at the door.
"Can I help you?" he asked, holding a stack of books in his arms and balancing his glasses.
"Yes, I need to see Annabeth," she stated, her voice monotone.
Malcolm nodded and shut the door on her. Kassandra could hear the son of Athena calling for his sister, then the steps of someone walking and finally the door swung open once more to reveal Annabeth Chase, still in the same clothes.
At first, neither of them spoke. The daughter of Athena looked the daughter of Bellona up and down, as if she were analysing her. Knowing Annabeth, that probably was what she was doing. Had spending so long together meant nothing? Maybe she should have kept her family secret, if anything she should have let her father return and tell everyone himself. Everyone at camp seemed to have much more faith and trust in him.
"You wanted to see me?" she asked wearily.
Kassandra nodded. "It's about something that is best to speak of in private. So either I can come in or you can come to-"
Before she had finished, Chase stepped through the threshold and shut the door to her cabin behind her.
"Lead on," she said, gesturing ahead.
It was a little awkward at first, neither of them willing to make conversation. Luckily for Kassandra, Annabeth took that responsibility upon herself.
"I'm sorry if I'm coming across as distant, it's just... what you said earlier, that's a lot to take in. I think everyone's having a similar reaction."
The ex-huntress nodded. "I understand. I just thought that should Greeks and Romans make contact, it would be best to know of how my family is connected to it all."
"Husband of Bellona," mumbled Annabeth, "It's just so confusing, no offence."
"None taken," said Kassandra with a smile creeping up on her face. "From what my mater told me, it's the first time a god has married into another pantheon, even if the Roman and Greek gods are similar."
"So now the cat's out of the bag, what are you the goddess of?" queried Annabeth.
"Truthfully, I don't know." admitted the goddess.
Chase frowned. "But, you are a goddess, and the child of two gods, correct?"
Kassandra nodded. "There's just one issue that stands in my way. When gods are born, they have a ceremony early into their life; an ascension. It's where we are crowned as true gods and gain titles, roles, sacred cities, blah blah. But the thing is, both parents are needed for that to happen."
The daughter of (Y/N) couldn't see it as she was a step ahead of Annabeth, but the successor of Daedalus went pale, even if it was for a split second. She knew that if those conditions needed to be met, Kassandra would... struggle to say the least. But even with full knowledge of the situation now, she kept her mouth closed.
"Anyway, since pater is missing and, well I'll admit it to you, my mater has refused to make contact with me since pater disappeared. So thanks to that I can't properly ascend for now. When I do get my parents back though, I'm sure it'll be a glorious event! And since I don't have to hide the secret about (Y/N) and Bellona, maybe I can get you and Percy and Aspen invites!" she cheered.
Annabeth just nodded, and smiled weakly. "Yeah. Oh look, we're here."
The cabin stood tall, and Kassandra jogged up the porch in high spirits, followed by Annabeth. At the entrance, the daughter of Rome kicked off her god-given sandals and gestured for her friend to do the same. They entered and closed the door behind them.
Together, they walked down the entrance corridor, passing the examination room, kitchen and games room (which was filled with entertainment but Kassandra had never entered, because like her fathers bedroom she wished to enter it with him) before arriving at the living room.
Kassandra collapsed on an armchair and offered a seat to Annabeth. The girl took it, looking around with curiosity.
"I've never been so far into his house," admitted Annabeth, "I'd been into his office and medical room, but I don't think even Chiron got this far in. It's exactly what I thought it would be like to be honest."
The daughter of the doctor admired the decor of the room as well. A magic fireplace that didn't produce smoke, a couple paintings from throughout the ages from all different cultures, bookshelves filled with literature of different languages and plenty of furniture like a beanbag in the corner and several armchairs. A window facing west watched the sun begin its descent.
"Well, now you've been here," grinned Kassandra.
Noticing how much of her stuff was out on display on the table in front of them, she scrambled to push her prophecy scrolls and drawings that definitely-weren't-of-Aspen.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" asked Annabeth.
"Oh yeah. Firstly, I need you to guarantee that this will be kept a secret between us. You can't tell anyone about this conversation, not even Chiron. I don't want anyone stressing about this."
Annabeth nodded, and she could see the grey-eyed demi-gods features scrunching up and growing serious.
"Alright, well I called for you here to discuss a new opponent I found out on my travels with the three newcomers. Well, there were two of them. They're like monsters, except they appear all too human-like and speak perfect English. They're brothers too, with strange powers. One looks pretty ordinary, normal clothes and everything. He possessed incredible strength and speed that outpaced me, but nothing past that. His brother on the other hand wears a ceremonial robe, and he possesses some strange power. When I fought him..."
She stopped talking and looked at Annabeth in the eyes. "Promise me you're going to take this serious."
"Of course," said Chase, "I'm sure I've heard stranger in the past."
"Alright. Well, he summoned monsters."
"Summoned?" asked Annabeth. "Like he called them up?"
"No," said Kassandra, shaking her head, her ponytail swishing behind her head. "As in he physically summoned them. Ash crept from his robes and materialised into the monsters themselves. He summoned a griffin on our first encounter, as well as the cyclops Polyphemus, which I have no idea how he got a hold of. Then when we next met at the palace of Aeolus, he pulled out an entire army; skeletons, dracaena, empousa, hell hounds and other creatures I'd never seen before."
Kassandra was tempted to reveal information on her father, the confrontation she had, but decided better against it.
They both sat in silence for a solid minute or so. For a while, it looked like Annabeth was stumped. Deep inside her mind, she was being overloaded by so much information provided by the daughter of Bellona; that her father-figure was Romanised and now the idea of a monster summoner. But at least she could make sense of one of those.
"Did either of them have a name? Or a title they taunted you with?"
"Yes. The robed guy was called Ichiro and his younger brother went by Ikari. They don't sound like traditional names, and I was hoping you might understand-"
"They're Japanese words," stated Annabeth factually.
"Japanese?" said Kassandra, confused.
"Yep. I don't really know the language, but they're pantheon and mythology is interesting, so I know a little."
Annabeth's definition of a little was vastly different to Kassandra's, something she had learnt about her very quickly.
"And what do they mean?"
"Well, Ichiro translates to 'first son', a title typically given to the eldest of an inheritance clan, but from what you've told me I assume he's not actually Japanese. Ikari on the other hand means 'anger' or 'wrathful'. They're not exactly names, which is weird."
"But do you have anything on them? Like weaknesses or backstory or anything?"
It was disappointing for Annabeth to find that she knew practically nothing.
"Unfortunately not. But I'll do some research and get back to you on it. Is there anything else you got to ask?"
Kassandra shook her head again. She had no more questions for Annabeth, but more than that she could tell the girl had other priorities. Like investigating more into the disappearance of Percy Jackson. The ex-huntress feared that until the two lovers actually physically met, the grey-eyed demi-god wouldn't stop her investigation.
"You can get going, I've got one more person to meet."
Annabeth left the house and Kassandra went to the cabin of Hecate's kids. The next step down from Annabeth would be asking magic users themselves. She wanted to keep the threat of Ichiro in a closed group of just her and Annabeth, but she figured she'd just leave parts out when she spoke to the Hecate kids. Ikari possessed no apparent 'magic' yet, so she could leave him out too.
She knocked on the door and it swung open, revealing none other than Lou Ellen, head of the cabin. She was wearing a long black robe and... a witched hat? There was even a little cat doll sitting on it, how cute.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"Jeez, what happened to proper hospitality. My day's going fine thanks."
Lou rolled her eyes. "Fine then, come on in."
Kassandra took a step through the threshold and inside.
The interior decor looked like a permanent Halloween party, with cauldrons and scrolls everywhere. A few cobwebs, lit candles and even a carved pumpkin.
"You guys still got your Halloween decorations up? When do you take them down?"
"We don't," responded the Hecate child.
"You really are a cheery bunch," Kassandra muttered.
"But anyway," interrupted Lou, "What brings you here?"
The daughter of Bellona spun on her heel to face the teenager.
"To make an inquiry about something even Annabeth doesn't know about."
At that, Lou's eyes seemed to light up, sparkling slightly. The opportunity to provide information Annabeth Chase couldn't was invaluable to anyone at camp.
"Ask away," she said, sitting down on the bottom of a bunk bed.
"Well, recently I came across a technique of sorts, one I've never heard of before. When I saw it used, it allowed for the user to summon monsters, with no limit to how many it could produce. There were dracaena and empousa and skeletons and more. And I was wondering if you knew anything about it, what with your reputation for magic mastery."
Lou seemed stumped for a second, before a smile crept onto her face. She scrambled over to a bookshelf full of old leather bound books and even more scrolls, grabbing one book in particular. It couldn't have been any younger than a hundred. Carefully, Lou opened it up and turned to a specific page covered in scrawled writing and diagrams Kassandra couldn't understand.
It was a small section of the page, and the one diagram that was drawn in that section was very vague. A man with no face, but long robes and his hair tied back.
"The technique you talk about; it isn't magic, but is at the same time. It's also not a power like Percy Jackson's ability to control the tides as it's never been seen used by more than one person or passed on to a demi-god like most gods do when they have children. It's specifically only ever been recorded to be utilised by one sorcerer, a powerful being who, as it says here, has never been identified to be mortal or immortal. The only time someone saw them was during... well it says here the fall of Western Rome."
Kassandra shifted over to get a better look. According to the book, there was a sighting at the fall of Western Rome like Lou said, where a lone demi-god daughter of Minerva who hid in her home watched a robed male create a hydra from nothing to kill a group of Germanic barbarians. Interesting. Could that have been Ichiro?
"Is that everything you got?"
Lou shrugged, "Whoever the guy is, he's like a myth to us. Hecate kids have spent generations, millennium even, trying to find him. He's a legendary user of sorcery, so some suspected the user was a child or relative of Hecate, but so far we've just never found anything on 'em. If you could, perhaps grab a selfie?" she threw in on the end.
"Wishful thinking, but I like it." The moon had already began to rear up, winter always brought night faster. "I'll see you in the mess hall, thanks for the help," finished Kassandra, jumping up and leaving Lou Ellen with her creepy cabin.
"Ichiro and Ikari, what a weird case you two are," wondered Kassandra aloud.
Context: A character in this chapter, that will appear again, has been changed to fit the story. It is explained, but the only reason I bring this up now is because I do not support the myth or ideas the character has around them. There are people who take the character and do stuff around them that I do not support, and here that is not what I'm trying to do. More will be explained later in the story and it will make sense. Thank you for reading.
*4 months later
Ichiro slowly marched down the aisles, his mind full of determination. He was going to get out of this place alive, despite it being one of his toughest challenges yet. He had not waged war on entire nations just to fall here, had not subjugated thousands of monsters to crumble here. Yet he had never felt so crushed where her now stood.
The weight that bore down on his arms was like carrying the sky gods themselves, and his mind was being driven madder than the Labyrinth of Daedalus could ever achieve. Perhaps the grip of Thanatos would release him of such agony and anguish.
His robes bore heavy on his body, and he was tempted to unleash at least an undead or two to assist his labour. But alas, that would probably be a bad idea.
He stared blankly at the blonde 19 year old that had so mercilessly dragged him here. He, in his own white chiton, danced merrily through the aisles, finding joy in what brought the sorcerer great pain. His sleek figure and startling blue eyes were all that brought comfort to the firstborn.
"What do you think, Ichiro?" asked the voice of his tormentor.
He turned to face the guy he had come to call his boyfriend, standing in the middle of a clothing aisle holding a lacy black bikini to his chest and a white one to the side, switching the two out.
"The black one or the white one?"
"Considering how much stuff you've gotten today, I don't think it really matters."
"Really?" asks the temptress, giving off his best puppy eyes. Then a smirk overtakes his mouth. "Well, Zeus does like it when I wear white-"
"Get the black one," grumbled Ichiro. Gods he was insufferable sometimes.
The two shared a common hatred for the king of Gods, something that supported their relationship.
"What about you? The only clothes I've ever seen you in are those old robes. Freshen things up?" he pleaded almost.
Maybe new clothes weren't the worst idea. It's not like his robes were anything too special, he had just never been bothered to try anything new on.
"What would you recommend?"
Ganymede led on, and Ichiro followed. 'Screw it', he thought, it's not like the cup-bearer didn't know who he was or what his powers were.
With a flick of his wrist smoky ash descended from his sleeves and took the form of three skeletons, all wearing tattered orange shirts and rusting armour. The titan war had really boosted his stockpile of monsters, even if he had bigger plans coming up.
Passing the load of shopping onto the three, he sped up and followed, until they eventually arrived in a section full of... tropical clothing?
"Love, what the hell am I looking at?" asked the tired sorcerer.
"Your new style! You're too bland and could do with some colour! You even have a boring hairstyle and colour."
"This is my natural look though."
"Look," said Ganymede, unworried about the skeletons behind him and placing a hand on his hip. "Try on this, this and this," he said, grabbing a few items and tossing them over to his boyfriend. "Now go get changed and show me what you look like so I can judge."
Grumbling, Ichiro made his way over to the changing booths.
As he dressed, he thought back to how the two met. It was during the celebrations of WW II finally coming to an end. Ichiro hadn't participated in any sides, he just took the distracted mortals and demi-gods as a chance to seize some opportunities he had long thirsted for.
Even though he had stayed neutral during the whole thing, he had decided to attend a party for the festivities. Except it wasn't any ordinary party, he had to sneak into the Olympian one.
It was something he had done before, finding humour in getting so close to the people who wished him to be erased from existence. They found his strength too threatening, an untamable immortal who had traversed millennia.
It took a great amount to suppress the power he radiated, especially around demi-gods and gods, but he managed. It was a talent he had been forced to learn and develop over time.
The great Mount Olympus was practically overflowing with positive emotion. Dionysus' strength was strong in times like this, the jolly nature overwhelming.
Braziers burned strong, the smell of wine was intoxicating, and all throughout the streets people danced their hearts out to a mixture of jazz and classical music. How lovely.
Ichiro had no intention of joining the masses though, he had a tradition to keep up; stealing a bottle of nectar straight from the kitchens of Olympus. It was a stupid thing for someone as smart as him to do for a hobby, but it brought him a sense of happiness. He never drank the stuff, he'd give it to his monsters. It would fuel their loyalty to him and him alone as their master. Well, there was something else for him to use the stuff for.
Keeping to whatever shadows he could find, the summoner snuck across rooftops and over bridges, slowly making his way to the great palace. His robes made it a little more difficult than it had to be, but he refused to take them off. By the time he got there, he wasn't even out of breath.
Finding an open window, he leapt up and through with the grace of a swan. When he landed, he was in a vacant hallway, no witnesses to his presence. Perfect.
Marching with his head high, he swiftly navigated the endless corridors full of marble statues and paintings, all to which Ichiro rolled his eyes. The gods and their egos, he could lecture for hours about it.
Soon enough he reached an area where he could hear voices and smell the scents of delicious foods cooking. Finally. He had another trick up his sleeve for this part.
Throwing up his hand, it vanished before him, and in a matter of moments he was completely invisible. An easy to learn trick, simple yet effective to lethal capacity. Making minimal noise, he entered the kitchen.
The place was chaotic to say the least. Nature spirits and wind spirits practically flew around the place carrying pots and pans and jugs and kylix's. All types of food from all types of cultures littered the place, quite a few appealing to Ichiro's pallet. But that wasn't why he was there.
Avoiding running into any of the spirits, he himself danced through the crowds until he reached a shelf full of amphora's. His eyes practically glistened at the sight.
Checking to see no one was looking, he snatched a relatively small one and hid it inside his robes. It conveniently fit inside perfectly, now hidden by his invisibility cast. With the goods secured, he turned around to make his escape. It was only something like this that could properly fuel his drive for fun, a bar so high for him to meet nowadays.
He retraced his steps through the kitchen, and when he got out he revealed himself to the world once more. The sound of his steps echoed in the vacant halls. Well, maybe not exactly vacant.
Just before he reached the window where he entered, he heard the sound of pottery smashing on the marble floor. Great, now he was going to have to kill someone. Well, hopefully not. Bloodstains were annoyingly difficult to get out of his robes, so he hoped instead of his beasts he could use his mouth.
"I promise you, it's not what it-"
"Are you Ichiro? The summoner?"
Information on him was reserved to the top gods, so who was this guy to know his name?
"Perhaps. And you are?"
Before he got his answer, he looked the guy up and down. Pretty average height, a little shorter than he was. Blonde hair with curls, a standard white chiton he was getting sick of seeing so often, blue eyes and a surprising lack of power. Above all, he was a pretty beautiful guy, specifically beautiful and not handsome.
"I'm... I'm Ganymede. Cup-bearer of the gods."
Ichiro was slightly taken back.
"As in Trojan Ganymede?"
The boy nodded his head.
"Ganymede is a young boy, victim of Zeus and all that. You look to be 19."
"It's a part of Zeus' 'gift'," he said, gesturing air marks at the word gift. "Everyone knows I'm immortal, but not truly. I age, slowly."
He'd never heard of that before. Then again, the God of the Sky was a creepy one.
Ichiro sighed. He could sympathise with the poor guy, the gods were cruel. He nodded at the guy, still keeping a firm grip on the jar under his robes.
"If I leave now, will you report me to security?"
Ganymede shook his head. Great. Just as the sorcerer was about to leap out of the window, the cup-bearer spoke again.
"Please take me with you!" he burst out.
Ichiro turned to face him, slightly confused. "I thought you knew who I was. And anyway, why would you want to come with me? We don't even know each other."
Something on Ganymede's face was nervous, and he didn't hide it well. "I... I don't want to be here. I'm never let out of Olympus and I just really want to see the mortal world again. Besides, if you're as strong as I've heard there's not much risk in it."
Ichiro was interested now, raising a brow. Perhaps he had a new source of entertainment. "And what do I gain from this?"
"Whatever you ask from me, I'll do it," he rushed, his eyes pleading. "Anything."
"Anything? Even grabbing as many bottle of nectar as you can from the kitchen and bringing them with you?"
In a split second, Ganymede darted off. It wasn't long before he returned carrying three huge jars, all of the same design as the one under the sorcerer's robes. Oh, what the hell, this was too sweet of a deal. With a grin, he took them from the cup-bearer.
"Great. Stay close to me and I'll get you out of here."
And with that he leapt for the window, followed eagerly by Ganymede.
With his trip down memory lane over, he pushed the curtain to a side and came out, the cup-bearer squealed.
"It's perfect!"
He wore a red top with white flowers, the front buttons open revealing his toned front. It was evident he hadn't gotten much sun under his robes over the last few thousand years. His shorts were a dark navy blue, and in exchange for his sandals he now had flip-flops. A real tropical look, usually too colourful for his taste but if it made Ganymede happy then why not.
"Are you sure? I feel like I'm from an advertisement for a cruise to the Bahamas."
"A little colour isn't a bad thing. I know you're allergic to happiness but that doesn't mean you can't have some sort of taste."
They headed to the front of the store they had spent practically the whole morning in, and when the skeletons unloaded everything the employee scanning their items didn't even bat an eye. He probably just saw a few personal assistants or something.
Ichiro couldn't be bothered to switch back to his robes now, he had them stored away and carried by a skeleton, so he just leaned over the counter for the cashier to scan the tags without taking them off. The colours were slowly growing on him.
"That'll be $5082 sir," said the cashier soullessly.
All the summoner could do was sigh and rummage through his pockets for his wallet that he transferred over. It was a basic black design, and from it he pulled an American Express Centurion. The cashier's eyes bulged at the sight of it.
Money was such a silly thing in the eyes of Ichiro, but he liked how the card had looked with the little Roman soldier on it. Usually he wouldn't bother with paying, but Ganymede had this weird effect on him.
After paying, they walked out into an open mall, the sun shining through a huge window-roof.
"What now?" asked Ichiro.
Ganymede, who was ahead of him, spun around, which thwacked the summoner in the face with his blonde hair.
"How about we go back to yours? Try on some of my clothes, climb into bed, have a-"
"Greetings!" burst out the voice of the last person Ichiro wanted to see. "Ganymede! It's been so long!"
"Hello, Ikari," said the cup-bearer, annoyed that his fantasising had been disrupted.
"What are you doing here brother?" asked the summoner.
"Can't I drop in to see my brother?"
He was met by the dead stares of the couple.
"Alright, alright, I'm here to play Hermes. I come bearing a message from mother."
Ikari raised a brow. She hadn't spoken to him recently, letting him do his own thing for the past few months. So now she had decided to contact him, it could only mean one thing.
"If you two start talking business, I don't think I'll stick around," said Ganymede.
"It's probably for the best," agreed Ichiro. "Can you carry your bags?"
With a snap of his fingers, the bags banished from the skeletons arms, and they were left standing there, arms empty. Then Ichiro snapped his fingers, and the skeletons fell to ash, absorbed back towards him.
"Fun as usual. I'll message you," winked the cup-bearer, before he too vanished from sight in a wisp of golden light. The sorcerer turned to his brother, a frown on his face.
"Ok, you've ruined the one thing I look forward to every week, what's the plan?"
Ikari grinned madly. "Simple. We're going to attack the Greek camp."
Context: If you somehow didn't get it, the character reference in the opening paragraph was Ganymede. A lot of people take him as a young male and put him with Zeus romantically, which whilst being mythologically accurate is undefendable. He's here in this work with a reasonable age up with another character similar in physical age because I do not support the idea of an extreme young x old relationship. The main driving point of his relationship with Ichiro is how they both despise Zeus for how he treated Ganymede. If anything needs explaining, comment below, but besides that happy reading!