The Ocean's Radiance

She had idly daydreamed about being reincarnated into her favorite books before but Hikari Kurosawa, Daughter of Apollo, was never supposed to be a character there, was she? Featuring an intelligent Percy, Olympian culture and politics, and storyline deviations. SI!OC, Percy x OC

x

(Central Park, New York, New York)

The rest of the year was a fundamentals boot camp for Percy. There were a lot of basic exercises to build up his strength, speed, endurance, and agility and a crash course in Greek mythology after that. She didn't know how to teach him swordsmanship (and the less said about his archery skills, the better) but he wasn't too bad at stabbing monsters with a knife. The main focus though was on his waterbending abilities; Percy's power may have kept outpacing their control but he could manipulate a dozen fist-sized balls of water with just his mind now!

After he learned how to bend three spheres of water simultaneously, Hikari agreed to bring him to a monster hunt. It was surprising how effective a team they were, between her long-range skills and his up-close-and-personal fighting style. Sure, they had had to flee under her smoke cloud and illusory clone tricks but they could bring most small to mid-sized monsters down without much effort. The money and assorted goods from the hunts were equally divided because Percy, despite having money problems at home, was just too damn noble to accept more than his fair share.

At least he accepted the gym membership card. Hikari had been right. Taking a textbook with him underwater did indeed bring his average up to a solid B-.

The Son of Poseidon was a little more irritated than usual though when he jumped down from the tree and stabbed a knife through the monster's head. The beast crumbled down to dust as Percy rolled away from the impact. After they had gathered as much of the dust as possible, she turned to him.

"Okay, what's going on?" Hikari raised an unimpressed brow at his scowl. She had mastered her grandfather's expression. "Don't give me that look. You've been acting weird all week."

"Nothing's wrong," he grunted, counting out the money. Since this was one of the more feral monsters, it wasn't much.

She watched his expression carefully. "Money problems?"

Now it was Percy's turn to look unimpressed. "Has anyone told you that for such a sweet, well-behaved girl, you can be really nosy sometimes?"

"No one who knows me would call me a sweet, well-behaved girl," she denied, "Maybe I can help."

A brief flicker of hesitation. "No. If I want to be anything in life, then I need to learn how to handle my own problems. I can't just rely on my friends to do it for me."

'So it's that philosophy again…'

"I would agree with you," she began carefully, "If you relied on your friends for everything. There is no shame in accepting a friend's help though if you need it sometimes. Two brains are better than one, a burden shared is a burden halved, and so on."

"You're too stubborn to let it go, so I guess it doesn't matter," Percy replied, smiling a little. "It's not money exactly, though it would help. It's Smelly Gabe."

"That asshole?" Hikari cocked her head to the side. "I thought your mom kicked him to the curb."

"She did," Percy couldn't help but brighten up a little at the memory. "But someone needs to tell him that. He keeps showing up at the apartment and harassing my mom. She called the police last time and he was in a screaming fit when they dragged him away."

"You think he's going to hurt her?" A shiver of fear crawled down Hikari's spine. This hadn't happened in canon. Was Sally going to get hurt because of what she did?

"I don't know," the dark-haired boy shrugged but she could see worry darken those sea green eyes. "I'd like to move us to a new apartment where Gabe can't find us but we don't have the money yet."

"I'll give you the money then."

"I can't-"

"It's a loan. For your mom."

Percy's stubbornness deflated. "Thanks. I'll pay you back. I promise."

"I know you will," she responded warmly. The loan would probably wipe out her savings but she could hardly do nothing if Sally Jackson was in danger. Though if money was the problem, she may have a solution. "My mom's firm is looking for a new secretary."

Percy looked puzzled. "Good for them?"

"You won't get any free candy samples but the pay is better," she elaborated. "I can ask my mom to put in a good word for her."

The Son of Poseidon just stared at her and for a second, she was afraid that she had offended him. Money was a touchy subject for Percy and while she hadn't meant to be insulting…

"Oomph." The sudden hug was more awkward than endearing. He hadn't quite timed it right and his elbow was digging into her kidneys. Percy's body was cold too and the overpowering scent of salt water made her want to sneeze.

Hikari relaxed into the hug regardless. She liked hugs.

x

(Yancy Academy, Syracuse, New York)

Grover Underwood was a cowardly satyr. Grover Underwood was a loyal friend.

Grover Underwood was struggling between the two aspects of his nature now, as he faced a harmless looking child that practically oozed a monster's scent. Even worse than the powerful monster's proximity to him was how his new friend was looking at the pretty girl. Shaking off the quivering hand holding him back, Percy Jackson stepped closer and hugged the deadly being.

"Grover, this is my best friend, Hikari Kurosawa," the demigod introduced, one arm loosely around narrow shoulders, "Hikari, this is Grover. He was in my first period Spanish class and he's pretty cool."

"It's nice to meet you," Hikari said, offering a hand to him. Percy frowned when the satyr nearly back peddled by two feet. "Er, okay then. Are you buying lunch today?"

"Nah, my Mom packed me something," Percy replied. "Have you picked out a table?"

"There's an empty one near the back," Hikari affirmed, "Would you like to sit with us Grover?"

Grover shook in his sneaker-clad hooves. Hikari didn't look particularly dangerous. She was slight, lithe, and fragile, with wide blue eyes and raven dark bangs that framed a rounded jaw. No one would mistake her for a monster but Grover's nose wasn't deceiving him!

"Uh, er, well, um…" The satyr mumbled fearfully. He swallowed a painfully dry throat and focused on Percy. He needed to keep the boy safe. "Yes, please."

'The monster won't kill me. The monster won't kill me. We're in public and the monster won't kill me,' Grover silently chanted, as he followed the two kids to a plastic round table. "H-how long have y-you known Percy?"

"Oh, it's been over a year now, hasn't it?" The monster mused, exchanging a fond smile with her prey. "We met at our last school."

'And you haven't eaten him yet?' Grover wondered, 'She must be fattening him up for later.'

That suspicion was only supported when she admonished him for ignoring his salad a minute later.

"We shared a lot of classes together." Percy looked amused for some reason. "But Hikari! What a great schedule you have."

"The better to tutor you with, my dear," the monster adopted a gruff tone, grinning back. The third member of the group felt rather lost.

That feeling didn't disappear throughout the meal. Percy was very friendly and open to him, but kept falling into inside references and jokes that only made sense to the monster. The two appeared to be close to one another and rather then reassure him, this made Grover all the more sad. Percy was going to be absolutely crushed when Kurosawa tried to eat him.

"Is there something wrong with your lunch?" The monster asked, noticing him pick on his sandwich.

"Uh, just not feeling like peanut butter and jelly today, I guess," the satyr said weakly.

"You can pick something from my box," she offered, leaning forward to give him a better look. Immediately Grover recoiled in fear, almost toppling over the seat, and causing a hurt expression to cross the monster's pretty facsimile. The satyr cringed. Even knowing that she was a monster didn't detract from his reactive guilt in making her feel that sad.

Now Percy was frowning at him too. "What's going on with you, man? You've been acting like a jerk to Hikari. Do you have a grudge against her or something?"

"W-what? N-no, I h-haven't," Grover denied. "I just m-met her today."

"Then why are you acting like she forgot to bathe for the last month?" The demigod demanded. His sea green eyes narrowed at him and for a minute, the air around them had a distinct brine scent.

Then the monster touched his elbow and the pressure in the air disappeared. Sky blue eyes looked at him oddly and then an amused smile crossed the girl's face. "Grover? Do you think I'm a monster?"

'She's on to me!' The satyr wailed inside. He immediately braced himself to jump in front of Percy, if she moved to attack the boy. When she was busy killing him, the boy might be able to get away.

Her next words dashed that assumption. "It must be all that golden dust in my backpack."

"Huh?" Grover had no idea what to do when she passed an opened light blue backpack to him. The edges of golden dust filled tupperware was present out of the corner of his eye.

"Percy and I collect the dust from the monsters we've killed," the girl continued blithely, "Your satyr nose must have caught that first and assumed that I was a monster. I'm actually a demigod."

He stared at them blankly. "You… know that I'm a satyr?"

"Well, yeah." Now it was Percy's turn to look amused. "I mean eating soda cans during gym would tip anyone off."

"I was hiding it behind the Mist," Grover said, flushing red.

"Explains why it was a Fanta can one second and a carrot the next," Percy allowed. "We've known about the other world for awhile now. We were just waiting until a satyr found us to go to Camp."

"I hope that clears up any worries you have," Hikari added. "You can safely sit next to me. Unless you're allergic to monster dust or anything like that."

x

(Poseidon's Throne Room, Atlantis)

There was a small but not insignificant smile on Poseidon's face as he watched the scene in the overlapping rays of light. It wasn't often that he was able to peek into his mortal son's life, though his Nereids kept him updated on any developments.

Sally had rid herself of that disgusting mortal.

Percy had brought his grades up at school.

Sally had found a new job with better pay.

Percy had made another friend at Yancy.

He was having an enchilada eating contest with the satyr now as a pretty, dark-haired girl watched in revolted fascination. The last time he had seen her, she was scolding his wincing son over being expelled from school. Apparently the Daughter of Apollo had contracted the flu before the end-of-year trip and Percy had celebrated his independence by accidentally blowing up a school bus.

"They look good together, don't you think?" A man with an exact copy of the girl's eyes smiled as brightly as the sun. "Not that anyone could look bad with my little dewdrop on his arm but Percy-"

"Yes Apollo. I agree," the God of the Ocean hurriedly stated before he could really hit his stride. Most men would balk at their daughters dating but not his playboy nephew. "Are you ready for the meeting?"

"Of course!" The serious attitude that he had shown before when he spoke of being proactive about the bolt disappeared. "I even feel inspired by it. In fact… The sun can see all. It will shine through mysteries…"

Poseidon teleported away before he would be forced to listen to any more of Apollo's terrible haiku. He may have been grateful to the younger god for supporting Percy but poetry was not amongst the man's talents. He entered a throne room that would put all those in the mortal realm to shame, each footstep increasing his size until his head was just shy of one of the supporting marble columns. Striding forward, he sat in the second biggest throne in the room (currently configured to a tropical setting to piss his brother off) and surveyed the area.

Despite being the one to suggest the meeting, Poseidon was only the third Olympian to enter the room. To his immediate left was Hephaestus, distractedly fiddling with a handful of golden wires in his hand, though the God of the Sea knew his ears would remain attentive. A few seats over was Hera; a serene look present on her face belying the machinations undoubtedly crackling through her mind. His sister would make a good ally, if approached carefully. Her general dislike for demigods could be easily eclipsed by the fury she had displayed when Thalia and Jason Grace were revealed.

More of the Olympians entered. Artemis and Apollo together as always, the brother tweaking his sister's nose with ever more outlandish compliments to her Hunters. Aphrodite humming a whimsical tune, Ares muttering darkly about some foolish mortal, Demeter munching on a granola bar, and Hermes focused on his PDA. Zeus came in beside Athena, his favorite daughter calmly discussing some matter or the other. Dionysus flashed in last, his cheetah-print silk shirt matching the beleaguered expression on his face.

'He has gotten rather good at faking that in the last few decades.' His Twice-Born nephew had a far greater affinity for demigods than most of the Olympians and an admittedly ingenious means of bypassing the Ancient Laws. By getting himself regularly banished to the mortal realm, coincidentally when his children happened to attend the Camp, Dionysus was able to be the parent many could not. Poseidon would have liked to do something similar, had he not his responsibilities and independence from his brother's domain. He was far too powerful an Olympian to face banishment.

"Why have you summoned us to this meeting, brother?" Zeus demanded crossly. "Have you found the thief of my lightning bolt?"

"I have not. This meeting is in regards to another issue."

"Well do not keep us in suspense, Uncle," Artemis replied, "There is much to be done. Tell us quickly."

"I would rather not repeat myself." Poseidon took a deep breath and tried not to grimace when a pool of shadows around the entrance awning grew thicker. "Our eldest brother has a longer commute to Olympus but he should be here presently."

"Hades had already been invited for the Winter Solstice," Zeus rebuked, "He shouldn't be here for any other days of the year."

"Nonetheless, I have been invited," the God of the Dead's voice was nearly soundless and yet reached every one of their ears. The not-quite-gaunt man stepped forward, a cloak of ink black hiding the pale skin of his flesh from sight. "Why have you called me here Poseidon?"

"For an admission." A wave of his hand assembled a throne of black granite between himself and Zeus. As the eldest brother, this was Hades' right and one he did not deny. "I have broken the Oath and sired a mortal son."

The revelation hung for a mere heartbeat before calamity broke. He sat back, an oasis of serenity in the storm, as questions, accusations, and counter-accusations were flung around the room. Zeus was demanding his son's head on a platter, Hades' face had fallen into the white fury of silence, and Dionysus was loudly groaning to another Son of Poseidon. Athena's eyes met him then, a brief flash of sympathy hiding behind the logical assessments of her mind.

"You have broken the Oath," Zeus rumbled when the room had fallen to an uneasy silence, "You have sired a child against the River Styx, against your own sacred promise. You have put us at risk of the Prophecy and Olympus' destruction."

Poseidon met his gaze calmly. "As have you."

That broke into another round of chaos that ultimately broke down to deep tension.

"Does this boy know of his status?" Athena inquired softly. Did he steal the lightning bolt?

"I've never spoken to him," Poseidon admitted, "But he is aware of us."

"My daughter befriended him at school," Apollo interjected, "She told him of his demigod status."

Zeus' stormy eyes fell on his son next. "You knew? You knew and didn't think to tell me?"

Apollo shrugged easily. "Do you think I know the parentage of any of my children's friends?"

"I think you know more about this then you'll admit." Hades glowered. "What are you and Poseidon planning?"

"Their friendship was not premeditated on my part," Poseidon denied, "The two have only been in contact with one another and any monsters that chose to hunt them. They haven't even been offered a place at Camp yet. I believe a satyr is currently seeking them out."

Eyes fell to Dionysus and the young Olympian rolled his eyes. "Yes, Chiron did mention something about a powerful new demigod that he wanted to scope out. Not that he considered how inconvenienced I would be without another player for my pinnacolo games. Too important to leave alone, he said. Stalked over by one of Hades' pets, he said. Bah!"

"You set one of your agents on my son?" Poseidon's fingers curled inward and intermittent flashes of a golden trident flickered in his hand. "Explain yourself Hades!"

"Do not make demands of me!" His brother snapped back, "You are the one with a demigod son, Poseidon. You and Zeus pressured me into the blasted Oath in the first place and then I was the only one to uphold it!"

The God of the Dead snarled at Apollo next. "Poseidon's son has the motive and your daughter, the power. Have you two conspired together to start another war?"

"Is that true, Apollo?" Thunder rumbled in the background. "Do you have my stolen bolt? If so, return it and I will not strip the flesh off your bones and scatter them throughout Tartarus."

"You cannot merely assume that my brother is guilty," Artemis refuted fiercely, "This is not justice!"

"If not Poseidon, then who else would steal my symbol of power? The cyclops forges are underneath the sea and he could easily pressure them to forge copies for himself."

"Unless Hades is doing it to start a war and expand his kingdom," Ares pointed out, grinning.

"Whoa, let's not move straight to war here," Hermes' paled, "Violence is never good for commerce."

"There is a simple way to determine is Poseidon's son is the thief," Athena stated, "Summon the demigods and have them swear a vow on the River Styx."

"What? No! I refuse to tie any child of mine to a vow!"

"Why would that be, Apollo?" Ares' taunted, "Do you have anything to hide?"

"A vow will tie up some a great deal of their power, as you well know," Poseidon replied, scowling, "There is a reason why demigods are forbidden from making them without their godly parent's permission. I will not allow my son to be crippled to soothe your delicate sensibilities, Athena."

"I do not see if there should be another way to prove his innocence," the Goddess of Wisdom returned, "For the sake of peace, I would say that we should kill him regardless. Even if he is not the thief, then there is the Prophecy to consider."

"If we are executing possible thieves then his friend will have to be dealt with too," Demeter noted.

Apollo focused golden eyes on the older Olympian, the warmth of his gaze intensifying to white hot flames. "If you kill Hikari, then you won't have to worry about Poseidon starting the next godly war."

The blunt statement shut the others down and for a few seconds, it was only nervous glances being traded between the various gods. Poseidon eyed the Sun God curiously. How powerful was this child?

"A compromise," Hera finally spoke, "Poseidon's son will be issued a quest to discover the lightning bolt. Should he find it before the Summer Solstice, his life will be spared."

As the other Olympians gave their assent, some more reluctantly than others, Poseidon watched his eldest brother. Hades' face still bore the blank look of his fury and the God of the Sea had the uncomfortable notion that there was yet more behind the scenes that would endanger Percy's life.

x

Jackson Apartment, New York, New York

"I look like an idiot."

"It was the best I could do on such short notice."

"And again, it makes me look like an idiot."

"I'd like to see you do any better," Hikari huffed, stepping back. The cut-up bedsheets weren't the best material to work with but they made a passably nice toga. It looked a bit like a one-sleeved white dress actually, especially with the brown leather belt she had to tie around his waist to keep it up. Above his heart was a horse brooch made of black plastic. The one area where Percy refused to follow the Ancient Greeks was with underwear.

Percy looked at himself in the mirror dubiously. The makeshift outfit made him appear to be a little kid dressing up for Halloween than a serious demigod diplomat meeting Poseidon's tributaries.

"Why am I doing this?" Percy asked, as the dark-haired girl attacked his own unruly mess of hair with a gleam in her eye and copious amounts of gel.

"It's rude for a visiting prince to not acknowledge the rulers of another god's territory," Hikari replied, focusing on one particularly rebellious curl.

"I live here!"

"Which means they'll be even more irritated that it took you twelve years to do it."

Hikari looked quite pleased when she stepped away this time and Percy looked to the mirror to see that his hair had been arranged to an oddly appealing mess. One lock was curled against his forehead while the rest made him look like the one image he had of his half-brother, Theseus.

"You look very nice, Percy," the girl noted. The Son of Poseidon averted his eyes, feeling his cheeks get hotter and hoping that she didn't notice. He suddenly felt a lot less irritated by the outfit.

"Listen, these are minor gods and most don't even know they exist now," Hikari advised, grabbing his hands and pulling him forward until he was facing sky blue eyes directly. "They feel like the modern world and the Olympians both passed them by. A little respect will go a long way with them."

"And I need all of the support I can get," Percy realized, the familiar churn of his stomach approaching as he considered how many Olympians wanted him dead. "This will make them like me more."

"You need friends wherever you can get them and these gods will have the homefield advantage in Manhattan," Hikari stated firmly. Her eyes glimmered in the same way her cousin's did in that one screen message Percy had had with him. It was sly, calculating, cold, and never failed to make him feel uncomfortable. "Who knows when the spirits of the Hudson and East Side will come in handy?"

Then the slyness disappeared and it was the same open and kind look he was used to seeing from Hikari. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I think I need to do this alone," Percy replied. In all honesty, a Son of Poseidon would be better prepared to deal with two angry water spirits. And he didn't want Hikari to get hurt. "Thanks."

"I know you can do it," the dark-haired girl added supportively.

'I wish I had your confidence then,' the Son of Poseidon thought. Still, her words did make the choked feeling in his chest uncoil a little. "Of course, I can. I'm naturally diplomatic, you know."

x

(Omake)

Percy Jackson was trying not to shake with nerves as he walked up the stairs to the Big House Attic. The room was large but filled to the brim with artifacts and prizes from former quests, making it seem smaller. None of it had been organized and the pile of swords on the corner of the left table were teetering dangerously. The Son of Poseidon had to hold himself back when his first instinct was to take it all; he didn't know when he had become so comfortable with thievery. Any idea of stealing those swords though (and Aphrodite's scarf, those golden nets, a miniature trident, Demeter's everlasting primrose seeds, and more) was pushed aside when he saw the Oracle.

Or the mummified hippie that the Oracle had become. Percy wasn't sure what the most disturbing part of that image was. The shriveled skin, sunken eyes, or tie-dye shirt proclaiming peace for all.

He cleared his throat. "Um, I'm Percy Jackson. I'm here for a prophecy?"

The mummy's mouth opened and dark gold smoke poured out. It swept through the floor and brushed at his shoes, a fine mist clinging to the faux-leather. "Yo, Percy, my man!"

'That voice is a lot less raspy then I thought it would be,' the dark-haired boy considered, before realizing how masculine it sounded. "Who is this?"

"I'm Apollo, God of the Sun and Hikari's Dad!" The male voice was definitely coming out of the mummy's mouth. "Since you were talking to my Oracle, I thought this would be a great time to get to meet you."

Percy gulped. One of those titles definitely scared him more than the other. "Hello, Lord Apollo."

"Heh, my daughter's got you trained well, hasn't he?" The mummy chuckled. It was immensely creepy. "Call me that if you want kid, but I won't mind just Apollo either. Now I have something important to tell you."

"I'm listening, sir." If his best friend's dad was anything like her grandfather, than it was best to start kissing up now. It had taken eight months before Mr. Kurosawa stopped sneering whenever he saw him after all.

"I don't normally intervene in my kid's love lives," Apollo continued, making the demigod's mouth fall open. Some dust wafted in and he snapped it shut again. "But you're going to need my help."

"Your help?" Percy replied faintly, "No, no, I think you're mistaking-"

"Don't lie to the God of Truth, buddy," the mummy advised, the tone hardening for a second. "Tell me honestly. Do you like my daughter or not?"

'Like Hikari?' Percy recalled the dark-haired girl with the sky blue eyes, delicate features, and radiant smile. She could be nosy, secretive, and controlling, not to mention obsessively focused on maintaining her perfectly groomed appearance but she was also intelligent, kind, and loyal. She had introduced him to the Greek world and helped him train for all of the dangers there. He had fought beside her plenty of times before entering camp and even sparred a lot now when he wasn't training with Luke… or when she wasn't talking to him. "It doesn't matter. Hikari likes Luke."

"Hermes' boy? Where did you get that idea?" The incredulous tone made him feel more hopeful than it really should. Maybe Apollo would disapprove of Luke and order Hikari to stay away from him?

"They spend a lot of time together," Percy told the man. 'What am I thinking? I can't just break Hikari's relationship up because I'm jealous. A good friend would never do that.'

"Don't worry about that. They're just friends," Apollo said confidently, "You're the one that she likes. She just doesn't want to admit it yet."

"Really?" His heartbeat increased. "Wait. Why not?"

"Nothing that you can control," the mummy said dismissively. "Just focus on changing her mind. We'll start with your birthday presents. Last year's paint set was good but this time we're going to focus on jewelry. On your quest, you'll pass a monster hideout near Denver that has a perfect pair of pearl earrings for a girlfriend of a Son of Poseidon. You'll need to ditch your friends and attack the Telchine."

As Percy listened to the Sun God's surprisingly helpful directives, he inwardly shook his head. Between Ms. Kurosawa's enthusiasm for their friendship, Mr. Kurosawa's glaring at him whenever he sat too close to his granddaughter, Hikari's matchmaking of him and, for some reason, Annabeth Chase, and now Apollo's offer of help, he was getting a lot of mixed signals from that family.

x