JAPAN

Subject: JAPAN 4/16/2013, 10:22 pm

I appeared in the center of a shopping mall in Japan. I had just decided that I should really learn Japanese. I'm sure it would impress Hotaru a little bit, and I hoped it would be a good lesson. The best way to learn, I figured, was to immerse myself in the culture and such. If that didn't work, I would have to learn some other way. Maybe a child of Athena knew all the world languages or something. I sighed, and looked around. There were signs that I couldn't read everywhere, with the occasional one with an English translation or familiar symbol. The Japanese characters, unfortunately, were still affected by my dyslexia. Perfect. I leaned up against a wall, watching to see if anything interesting happened in this little marketplace.

Posts : 9 Join date : 2013-04-15

Tokyo, Japan. Bustling with life, energy, and business. Always business. Not all business was by the books, though. Never was when you were gifted. There was a dark room in the back of a tea house. The lights were dim, and there was the sound of coughing people. Patients. The couple that owned this tea house were out in the main room, and Jade was working here, in the back. She lived here, as long as she took care of the owners, as well as any friends they brought to be healed by her gift. They called her "Kogane Tenshi" or Golden Angel. The nick name was hard to shake when she started to gain small, golden wings on her back with each use of her gift. She was using it now, in fact. The small hall way to the back room was filled with foot steps before the female owner, Shih, came back to check on Jade.

"Jade-chan, you need to hurry up. I need you in the kitchen, Shih would demand before spreading apart the hanging beads in the doorway to the little, dark back room.

Jade did not reply to the woman. She was busy, much too busy. Concentrating. It was hard when she wanted to get up and move around. She had never been this bad. Her ADD and ADHD was terrible, and very hard to deal with. She coaxed her social crutch by smoking Clove cigarettes, and pacing; a lot. Not to mention her horrible Dyslexia, and her love for all things Greek. She had even grown fond of the language, and understood it immensely. She also knows English on top of her Japanese mother tongue. But, even despite her ADHD, she pushed through this healing session. She had cured two people with cancer this evening alone. It took a whole minute of concentration to cure anything of Stage 1. The time increased with the worse cases. A sigh passed her lips when Shih repeated her request for Jade to be in the kitchen.

"All right, Shih-sama." Jade stood up, and bowed to the people she had been helping and then held out her hand. "Pay up." she demanded. Money was all she needed. Soon, she'd be out of this hell hole. She'd be ready for a life outside of this run down marketplace filled with old people, and ruffians. Sighing, she dug around in her pocket for her lighter, and lit up a Clove while her "clients" produced the money they owed her. She accepted the cash and placed it into a hidden fold in her jacket. Turning, she went to the kitchen.

Dishes duty, then take out the trash. She walked with the small bags to the dumpster in an alley just across from the tea house. A man pulling a cart rushed by her, and she almost lost her balance. Shaking her head, she regained her footing and went on toward the dumpsters. It was nearly nightfall, and the streets were beginning to become more vacant. Looking around, Jade ducked around the trash bins and leaned against the brick wall of an abandoned office building that was "For Rent." A soft meow was heard, and then came a white and orange striped cat. It was missing part of an ear.

"Heyy Joey," Jade would call to the feline and squat down. Joey rubbed around of her legs and purred, then mewed again. Jade pulled a bag of scraps from the folds of her jacket and shook it. "Mama's got you some chow. I hope you have an appetite, because it's pork and chicken tonight!" she'd say and fix up Joey a proper eating dish by folding open the brown paper bag. While Joey ate, she sat down on the cold ground and lit up a cigarette. "We're gonna get out of here one day, Joey.. and when we do.. We'll be living the life of a rock star.." She smiled to herself, and let her cigarette hang between her lips.

A sharp cough raced through her, but she ignored it. Her sense of smell picked up the weirdest things, and the ever haunting thought of herself being pregnant kept scaring her. She had to see a doctor soon, but not until she had the right money. She wanted it to be kept quiet, and done quickly. The sound of heavy foot steps was just on the other side of the trash bins. Furrowing her brows, she leaned up onto her left hand and right knee. Peeking around of the trash can, she saw no one. Her paranoia settled and then a loud thump was heard. She looked up and let out a scream. A monster was on top of the dumpster.

Everyone else was asleep. Night was upon this little marketplace.

Subject: Re: JAPAN 4/16/2013, 11:36 pm

After a few minutes of watching, I grew bored. I walked silently through the shadows, only appearing briefly to any simple mortal's eyes. Mortals. I suppose calling them simple was a little rude. .but most of them really were. It wasn't as if I had anything against them, I just knew I was better than them. It was one of my favourite past-times, this. Walking past mortals during the night without them seeing me, maybe taking something from their pocket, or touching their shoulder before disappearing.

I sighed a little, while right behind a small, old man. He did some kind of signing that I assumed was to ward away evil, but I didn't really care. Let him think what he wanted. when I turned the next corner, I saw a girl feeding a cat and puffing on a cigarette. Typical mortal behaviors, that was. You know what would be an awesome way to pass the time? Destroying my f*cking lungs." I paused in the shadows for a moment, my eyes focusing on the figure approaching the girl. Something smelled wrong. I could just tell. And then, the figure looked up and I saw his face. The girl screamed as he approached her. Intrigued, I start slowly moving closer, staying hidden in the shadows. When I'd smelled monster, I'd caught a potential whiff of half-blood. If this was a noble half-blood, she wouldn't need my help.

Posts : 9 Join date : 2013-04-15

Panic. Panic sends endorphin's through the blood stream, and straight to the brain. Endorphin's cause different levels of happiness, and glee. But sometimes, it can cause adrenaline rushes. This triggers the fight or flight response. Right now, Jade was frozen, her cigarette falling to the floor. Joey hissed, hunched down, and then ran for it. He ducked into a narrow space behind some old milk crates. Jade's bright, golden brown eyes stared at the one eyed monster, and another moment ticked by. Her fight or flight response had finally triggered.

She was going to fight.

The monster made a wide swing to grasp her, but she was faster than the big oaf. She swung herself into a bend, it being backward. Lots of fancy moves with her guitar gave her this limber body. Standing back up right, she took two shuffled steps backward and fished out a pair of gloves from her jacket. Simple items. Army issued, kevlar infused gloves. She had got them for payment from a soldier she had met. Sliding them on was tougher than she thought. Especially with a big brute trying to tackle her. She was pinned down, one of her gloves flying from her grasp.

Narrowing her eyes, she kicked and made it count. She kicked the Cyclops where the sun didn't shine. This made him mad, but also had him rolling off of her. She got up, breathing harshly. Her lungs were very upset at this moment. Cancer. It'll kill ya. She clutched her chest and grabbed for her other glove with her free hand. Tugging it on, she scrambled to her feet and stepped out of the alley for some more room to fight him. He got up after her, and made a rush for her. His big thundering steps had him rushing toward her at a slow, but surprisingly threatening pace. She reared back a fist and then arched it forward, aiming for his nose and eye. Her fist would connect, of course, and it sent the oaf down.

She followed through with her punch as well, and with the monster laying on the cold hard ground, she stood there, asking herself, out loud, and in English. "How the hell is this even possible?"

Subject: Re: JAPAN 4/17/2013, 1:09 am

I calmly followed the girl and her cyclops attacker. I saw that she has some kind of reinforced gloves that she wore to take it down. I'd been ready to stop the cyclops from killing her, but obviously there wasn't a need. She was small and fast, and dealt a worthy blow. I was relieved when she spoke in English, but I could tell it wasn't her first language. I closed my eyes, and let the shadows of the alley move off of my body, revealing myself. I wondered briefly if my appearance would be more leaning towards creepy or just odd here.

My get -up was really simple. A big, black trench coat over black jeans and a black shirt. I wore my 99% polarized aviators, and a creepy grin underneath them. It would look much better to keep the fact that my eyes were pure black a secret for now. There wasn't a purpose in scaring the girl into attempting to fight me (except for the humor it could create). I created a Stygian iron katana in my right hand, sculpting it out of shadow. and held it out to the girl, pommel facing her. "End it." I said. quite simply.

Posts : 9 Join date : 2013-04-15

Jade was wearing a pair of shorts, fishnet leggings, above ankle combat styled boots with a shiny leather finish. A cropped blue jean jacket, and a tank top that sometimes like to ride up and show her middrift. It was average attire for her. She rarely ever changed her clothes style, either. If it weren't shorts, it was pants. And she had a long sleeve blue jean jacket to match the one she wore now. She also had an assortment of graphic t-shirts. The big brute was about to get up before she slammed her foot down on his chest and glared down at him. She was not going to let something like this attack her. She felt like she was dreaming, but everything felt too real. Joey came to the edge of the alleyway and meowed at her softly, and then hissed toward the Cyclops.

She hadn't even noticed the boy walking toward her. His all black attire, and sunglasses at night made her think of Cory Hart. Chuckling inwardly, she rose a slender brow. Her pierced face caught the moon light while she sized him up. Her oddly cut hair, very grunge like, was flicked from her eyes before she paid real attention to him. He manifest a blade from shadows. A blade.. from shadows.

Shadows.

What the actual ?@#%!

"What the hell!?" she asked, in English still. She talked in English in her dreams. All the time. So this had to be a dream. Shaking her head, she shrugged. "Whatever you say, bud." Her accented English was adorable, her timbre a bit lower than some. She was an Alto, and could sing Tenor if she had to. She took a deep breath through her nose, and the smell overwhelmed her. Shaking it off, she turned, blade in hand, and thrust it through the monsters guttural area. He burst into a buff of golden glitter, or something. She watched with a raised brow. "I've had worse dreams," she muttered, sighing.

Subject: Re: JAPAN 4/17/2013, 1:35 am

I looked the girl over. Typical, rebellious teenager. Whatever. She had a flair for the eccentric, anyway, and I figured I should actually help her get to camp. Of course, this "Hell" comment was ridiculous. "It's 'What the Erebus,' to be more precise. I'd take 'What the Hades' or 'What the Tartarus,' but seriously. The true Underworld is Erebus." I said, being as condescending as possible. It probably wouldn't go far with a girl like this, but I still found it amusing.

"Now, how would you describe the thing which you just killed? A giant man with a weird-looking face?" I asked, accounting for the possibility that she was a mortal. She didn't smell like one, but I had to be careful. I created a pen and notepad from shadow, and acted interested, and tried to look like I was about to take notes (which I had no real intention of doing).

Posts : 9 Join date : 2013-04-15

Holding onto the blade for a few moments long, she shifted it in her grip and turned, allowing it's tip to rest against the concrete group. Joey rushed over and nuzzled between Jade's legs lovingly. His comment on 'What the Erebus' being the proper saying made her giddy. How would he know about Greek Mythology like that? What are the odds of meeting a, dashingly handsome, boy. He had a very gothic look to him, but she wasn't going to judge. She had no reason to.

"Fine then, What the Erebus, dude?" she asked, a bit sarcastically. Trying to shake it off that he was being very condescending. Rolling her eyes, she looked at the golden mess and shrugged. "A cyclops." she blurted bluntly. Joey meowed and clawed at the edge of her boot. She leaned down and picked him up, rubbing him under the chin sweetly. She looked back to the guy and saw he had a notebook and pencil. Must've made those out of shadows, too.

Subject: Re: JAPAN 4/17/2013, 2:09 am

Oh,great. I thought I saw something in her eyes that would suggest she had some kind of admiration of me. Hooefully it wasn't too lustful. I didn't want to be too rude. I had to help people now. .I had to do something productive and meaningful. I have to see Hotaru again. Have to.

Oh, goodness, my inner monologue made me lose my train of thought. Wait, demigod. Right. Okay. .

"So, where are you parents, hmm?" I asked her, scirbbling lines onto my notebook to try to look convincing. I showed no emotion on my face now, keeping my chin set and my mouth expressionless.

Posts : 9 Join date : 2013-04-15

She had trailed off for the most part, but once he asked about her parents.. that sent her into a mild rage. "No more questions. Who the h-- EREBUS do you think you are?!" She sat Joey down after he struggled to hop out of her angry grip. He stood next to her before she turned and stormed off down the street. It was late, and the faint glow of a few paper lanterns kept the mostly deserted marketplace lit up. Tears were threatening her eyes while she walked, her arms crossed. She really was mad. Once she was sure he was out of ear shot of her, she spoke out loud to Joey.

"Can you really believe that guy? What the he.. what the Erebus..?" She slowed down her words, but her pace did not halt. She continued to walk. A long nightly walk wouldn't be too bad. Especially if she were to get away from him. She had no idea if he were following her or not. Likely the latter, though. "I mean, Joey.. I don't even know who my dad is. I've never had a dad. My mom, before she died, always told me about how great he was. But, there's nothing I can do about that.." she'd frown and slow her pace finally. She was sure she had ditched the seemingly Gothic guy.

Subject: Re: JAPAN 4/22/2013, 11:05 pm

I smiled slyly when she asked who I thought I was. Well, obviously, I was a god. I was the son of one of the primordial Titans. That wasn't something commonplace. Of course, she did the rational thing and started to run away. I followed behind her noiselessly, drifting from shadow to shadow to remain unseen, should she decide to look behind her. I smiled traces of saline, and assumed it to be tears. Well, that wasn't supposed to happen. I mean, I just needed to figure out if she was a demigod. Hopefully she wasn't a nymph or something instead. Water. Gross.

Finally, the girl said something to the cat; she told it that she had no idea who her dad was, and that her mom had spoken of how great he was. Typical demigod background. I simply said, "You know, where I come from, that's a typical story." I said, once she had started to slow down a bit.

Posts : 9 Join date : 2013-04-15

[ Switching to First Person to have a bit of fun with you. PS; I'm going to stop censoring my curse words in this topic. So anyone reading that finds it offensive, please turn back.]

My feet were cold, and the air around me was cold. I looked away from Joey, his meow in response to my blubbering annoying me. I loved that cat, a lot. He was my only friend in this God Forsaken world. I wrapped my hands into fists and then shoved them into my pockets. I fished around and found a cigarette and a lighter. My last cigarette, and my favorite zippo. I got it as a present from my mom. She said it had been her brothers. He died from cancer. Lung cancer. Funny thing, that was. Shrugging mentally, I placed the cancerous treat between my lips and let my tongue taste the end of it. A clove cigarette. The spicy sweet taste sent a bit of euphoria through me, my lungs begging for the nicotine. I flicked open my lighter and rushed it against my shorts. The striker rolled against the denim of my shorts, and a flame erupted. Butane was burning, and now I had a chance to just enjoy a fucking cigarette. The flame was flickering, it's warmth actually pleasing me. I almost smiled, but I closed my eyes instead.

Breathing in deeply, my lungs were finally given a chance to just relax. The pain that hitched in my side, however, was another story. I exhaled the drag of smoke from my nose, and snapped my zippo closed. Slipping it back into my pocket failed. My hand got an awkward cramp, and my lighter fell. I cursed under my breath, speaking in Japanese now. Squatting down, I snatched up the black lighter and then successfully placed it into my pocket. Flicking a bit of my hair from my eyes, I ran my hand over the back of my neck. Joey meowed softly, and then I nearly jumped out of my skin. I heard a voice behind of me.

"Nani kuso, otoko?" (Translation: What the shit, dude?) Why did he decide to do that? I had no idea. Joey hissed and stepped between my legs. He was so adorable sometimes. Holding my cigarette between my lips, I bent over and grabbed him up again. Scratching him just below the chin, I smiled, my cigarette just barely hanging from my lips. I took another deep, long drag and sighed to let the smoke pass my lips. I let Joey hop down from my grasp, and held the cigarette in my right hand betwixt my fore and middle fingers. "What do you even mean, 'that's a typical story?'" I asked, making air quotes as I did. The cherry on my cigarette tumbled to the concrete while I did the air quotes. Oh well. I placed my treat back between my lips and rose a brow, waiting for his reply.

Subject: Re: JAPAN 4/23/2013, 8:14 pm

My enhanced senses brought the sticky smell of tar and nicotine crawling up my nose, and I crinkled it up a bit. Great, more cigarette smoke. I shadow-traveled to a spot upwind of the girl, two feet to the side, right up against the wall. I took a moment to observe our surroundings again. Dark, decrepit looking. I realized I hadn't been to many impoverished places; I alwwys stucj to the major cities and their centers, never looked at their smaller areas, where all the poorer people lived. No wonder my life had been so full of hatred; I only saw those at the top, and those qt the top were generall the worst.

I sighed, and shadow-travelled another half-step, simply for the blast of cold I felt when entering the shadow world.. To her, of course, it would look like I disappeared from one spot and appeared in another instantaneously. Good fun, that was. She probably hadn't previously experienced much in the supernatural realm of things. I slowly, overdramatically took my aviators off and put them in my coat pocket. I let a street light catch my eyes. I knew the shine would reflect and show that they were pure black; no white at all. I still hated to look into the light, though; there was a reason I wore sunglasses, and it really wasn't to be secretive. I just hated the light.

I fnally cleared my voice a little, and smiled mischeviously. "You see, I'm not human." I said, as if that explained all of her questions. Hopefully, this would get her thinking. Who am I? What am I, if I'm not human? Why the *uck is smoking considered okay? Well, the last one was more of something I wished everyone would understand.

OOC: Just so you know, shadow-travel is essentially hopping into one shadow and appearing out of another one.

Posts : 9 Join date : 2013-04-15

Another drag from my cigarette was rushing into my lungs. The fleshy pink organs, likely blackened now and tar filled, struggled to expand to their full capacity. I paid no mind to the small pain that ached through my chest. I exhaled through my nose, and let my tongue dance behind my teeth. The taste of the Clove was still there, tickling my taste buds. The wind that rushed by me smelled so strong. It hadn't smelled so strong, not until recently. Then again, I had never been so aware. I had never really stopped and thought about it. Here I am, seventeen years old, finally taking a moment to stop and stare. Stop and breathe. I stopped. I dropped my Clove and stepped on it. But, then I noticed the guy vanish and reappear. I jumped from surprise and a shrill shriek passed my lips. I fell.

My rump met with the concrete and I was staring, wide eyed. He did it again, too! I started to cough, my lungs aching, begging for clean oxygen. Joey hissed and rushed to hide behind of a tarp covering a fruit stand. I doubled over, my coughing fit making my head hurt. Then, blood plashed passed my lips. I cursed and touched my hand to my chest and pulled my jacket around to cover my hand. I focused my healing energy there, stopping the freshly burst capillaries from staying damaged. The heal would work, but only on the new damage. Not on the cancer in itself. I had no idea of this, though. All I knew was that it would take long, focused hours of healing to fix this. But, I didn't have the time. Or the patience. I got my stubborn half from my mom. She was always too busy to stop and take care of herself. She always took care of me.

And I take care of others. After collecting myself, I stood up and brushed myself off, looking to the guy in front of me. I watched him take off his sunglasses, and then looked to his eyes. All black. No resemblance of an iris, or notable pupil. Just inky blackness. I blinked a bit, startled by his odd eyes. My own eyes were oddly colored, too. Gold. A very weird shade to have. I was called many-a-name when I was younger, and made fun of for having weird eyes. Not dark brown, or even the lucky green or hazel. I had "weird eyes." Shrugging that off, I just nodded toward him. I was, honestly, scared. I swallowed nervously, finding my voice while I stood up correctly.

"Err, well, uh.." I started. "Then what are you?" I asked, my brave side peaking through.

Subject: Re: JAPAN 4/29/2013, 4:18 am

I frowned a little. I'd been so wrapped up in scaring the girl that I hadn't been paying attention to the fact that she was hurt. I looked at the blood, and thought about the coughing. Did she really already have that kuch of a health problem from her smoking at this young of an age? Wait. .that blood stopped quickly. Was that coincedence, or did she heal herself? I made a note of it, and put my sunglasses back on, looking away from the light. It was nice to see the street in better detail now that my eyes weren't focused on the obnoxious distractionthe streetlight possessed.

bviously, the girl ccouldn't tell where I was looking, but I looked into her eyes. They seemed to reflect the light more than normal eyes, and I finally realized that they were gold. Well, I found it highly unlikely that she was an average mortal now. I smoled more warmly this time, and said, in answer to her question, "Half Titan. My father is Erebus, the primordial God of the Darkness, Shadow,and the walls of 'Hell.' The more widely-known term for me would be a demigod, but I have a feeling that describes you a little better." Hopefully she caught on to my implication there. I was trying to be helpful, but I just wanted to scream at her for ruining her lungs.