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“i swear, do you have to be so DRAMATIC?” the group of five boys we’re currently walking up mount st. helens, and oikawa had just done something incredibly stupid.
“but it was annoying me,” the son of zeus waved his hand nonchalantly at iwaizumi.
“that doesn’t mean you SEND IT FLYING !” oikawa decided that since a nymph was nagging them about forest safety and he didn’t want to listen, he would use his powers to blast it to the other side of the mountain.
“i swear you guys bicker like an old couple..” matsukawa, their satyr friend; piped up from behind the two demigods. their other satyr friend, hanamaki walked beside him, trying to hide his laugh, unsuccessfully. iwaizumi scrunched his nose up in disgust while oikawa cooed at the idea, throwing an arm around his best friend.
“imagine us iwa-chan, as an old married couple. though naturally, you’ll have wrinkles cause of all that frowning you do.” oikawa poked the boys forehead wrinkles and pulled away, marching ahead of the group. “now let’s go people! we have a mirror to obtain.”
iwaizumi couldn’t help but roll his eyes, but nonetheless followed his unspoken “fearless” leader. though he may look untouchable to everyone else, iwaizumi always noticed the falter in his face when he was challenged with a hard choice, before plastering on a fake smile. he noticed that too. oikawa had only smiled genuinely three times in their life.
one, when he was awarded best setter in elementary school, before they got drug off to camp by matsukawa and hanamaki. two, when oikawa had gotten claimed. it was very ironic that the boy was the son of the most powerful god. and three, when iwaizumi had given him an alien plushie he’d brought at a store during a camp field trip.
iwaizumi couldn’t help but notice these things, as he’d grown up with the boy.
they we’re currently on a quest to retrieve aphrodite’s mirror that had been stolen by a group of cyclopes. a prophecy had been relayed by their oracle, and iwaizumi, oikawa, matsukawa, hanamaki and yahaba were on their way;
“three halfbloods shall go west,
their friendly satyrs put to the test,
a love shall be revealed
the storm and wise used as a shield.”
it was obvious who was meant to take it, as everyone at camp had known about the groups story.
oikawa and iwaizumi we’re on the volleyball team with hanamaki and matsukawa when yahaba and kyotani joined. their saytr friends seemed stressed by this, but the boys couldn’t figure out why. until one day after practice a shrilling shriek was heard behind them.
“i knew i smelled demigod! you’re gonna be a great full course meal!” the group turned to see the form of an old lady shift and churn before it launched into the air. oikawa immediately dove behind the bleachers and yahaba passed out. kyotani ran over to the boy to catch him, setting him down in between the seats of the bleachers.
“what IS that thing?” oikawa yelled, peeking between his fingers.
“shit.” matsukawa and hanamaki said in unsion. the pair began to pull off their joggers, causing oikawa to scream again, and iwaizumi to close his eyes. when he opened, his two friends were sporting furry legs on their bottom half, pulling out silvers swords from their pockets. they charged at the monster as it dove and dodged, getting a few hits in.
“what the hell..” iwaizumi muttered to himself, staring at the scene in front of him. he glanced at oikawa shaking behind the bleachers, then kyotani vigorously waving a folder over yahaba’s face.
the ace looked around for any type of weapon, before feeling a sharp pain on his side. iwaizumi cried out as he gripped the wound, feeling dizzy as he pulled his hand away and saw red. the flying lady gasped with delight, training her black eyes at him.
he stumbled back, glancing behind him to see his two friends with newfound legs scurrying over to him.
“iwaizumi! are you-“
a crack in the atmosphere cut his friend off, as the hairs on the back of their necks began to stand.
“how dare you!” the three boys turned to see oikawa glaring at the monster, static forming in his hands. iwaizumi could feel the anger radiating off of the boy, as he watched in awe.
she looked almost worried as he approached, static growing more powerful with his every move.
oikawa almost seemed to glow as light produced off of him, eyes powerful as a hundred suns.
“you’re gonna pay for that!” he moved his hands in a downward motion and a lightning bolt broke through the ceiling of the gymnasium, slamming the monster into the ground. it immediately disintegrated, just as oikawa began to wobble in place. the static started to dissipate, and iwaizumi found himself running over to the him, just like his friend had.
“oikawa?” he put a hand on his friends back, leading him to sit down next to kyotani.
“what just happen-“ kyotani cut the boy off with a growl.
“the fuck was all that!” he stood and got into matsukawa’s face. “you mind telling me what’s going on?”
“maddog calm down-“ hanamaki started.
“don’t fuckin call me that!”
“GUYS!” oikawa shouted, immediately regretting it as he grabbed his head. iwaizumi immediately placed a hand over his in their laps. “let them explain, maddog. sit down.”
kyotani grumbled but took his place back next to a sleeping yahaba.
. . . .
iwaizumi smiled at the memory, proud of how far him and his friends had come. he went from fighting that fury to fighting minotaurs. though the journey to camp was hard at just 14, they’d made it. it was crazy to think three years had passed.
he was drawn back to reality when oikawa was slowing down, beckoning the group forward with his hand.
the four boys crouched behind him to see what he saw. there were three cyclopes surrounding an object that reflected right into iwaizuni’s eyes. aphrodite’s mirror.
he glanced at yahaba, who had seemed slightly distracted during their quest. kyotani couldn’t come with them, as he’d sprained his ankle during capture the flag. the son of apollo was oddly upset about his absence. during their years at camp, the duo had grown fairly close. they went on all their quests together, and this was the first one where they were apart. they were an odd pair, a son of the sun god and the son of the war god, but they made it work.
oikawa crouch walked around the clearing, diving behind rocks to stay hidden. the rest of them spread out, trying to create a proper ambush. the monsters climbed down the mountain, settling on a peak a few down from the mirror.
they all grabbed their weapons, oikawa with a dagger, iwaizumi with a spear, hanamaki and matsukawa with swords, and yahaba with a bow and arrow.
“hey onion breath!” oikawa called, stepping out from behind his rock. “mind giving me that mirror back?”
iwaizumi inwardly cursed at the boy, his bold tactics always taking him by surprise. the three cyclopes turned around, taking in the human beneath them.
“oh look, a snack!” one of them cheered. he had specs of brown hair on his head and a wide blue eye.
oikawa shook his head. “no, not a snack. but now that i think about it, i’d probably taste delectable.” iwaizumi could hear hanamaki snicker at this, and he couldn’t help his smile.
they watched the boy as he tried to reason with the cyclopes, trying to hide his nervousness.
oikawa was a pro at hiding his emotions, being a son of zues and all. as he stood in front of the one eyed family, he tried his best to put on a calm face.
“are you sure you can’t? i mean honestly what good is it doing you? you guys aren’t specifically known for your looks.” as soon as he said it, he knew he’d said the wrong thing. the one on the left roared and swiped a hand out at him, causing him to have to roll away to dodge.
he landed and hopped back on his feet, smirking as yahaba shot an arrow directly into the one in the middle’s eye. iwaizumi ran out, sliding between the right cyclopes legs, and swiping at its calf with his spear. the monster roared, trying to stomp on him, but matsukawa ran by and pulled him out the way, stabbing its pelvic bone.
oikawa turned to face his own cyclops as iwaizumi and matsukawa’s disappeared into dust. he sidestepped as it tried to slash him, but he was a second to slow as it got a scratch on his shoulder. oikawa winced, internally grateful it wasn’t his fighting shoulder.
the 6’1 boy continued his assault, jabbing and slicing. as they fought, they climbed the peaks, getting closer to the prize. oikawa could feel his power rising as the altitude increased.
‘just my area of expertise,’ he thought. ‘the sky.’
once he was able to manipulate the wind enough to get eye level with the one eyed figure in front of him, stabbing it in the chest. it became a pile of dust and oikawa had to wave away the particles as he coughed.
he realized he’d fought his way up the mountain, his friends nowhere to be found.
a young lady appeared in front of him, making her way over. oikawa was taken a back by her beauty; long spiky black hair with olive green eyes and thick eyebrows that were raised on her forehead as she took in his appearance.
“with looks like that i’m surprised you aren’t my child.” the lady proclaimed with a frown. the expression looked vaguely familiar, but oikawa could not place it.
“aphrodite..?” he uttered cautiously, backing up to guard the mirror.
“yes son of zeus. no need to panic.” she hummed and the boy exhaled in relief. “i see you and your friends have defeated the cyclopes.”
oikawa fought the urge to roll his eyes at the goddess stating the obvious. he himself had initially thought he was a son of aphrodite upon arrival to camp. but after being around her kids for a few years, he couldn’t believe he’d even thought that.
“yes we have.” he responded, placing his dagger back in its strap on his thigh. “this is your mirror, yes?”
the goddess smiles and oikawa swears his heart stops. she gives him a knowing look and goes to collect her belongings, just as his friends race up the mountainside.
“oikawa!” iwaizumi calls, looking around frantically, until he spots him and the goddess. the four boys bow as they watch her take them all in.
“son of athena.” iwaizumi looks up and his eyes grow wide. he then changes to a look of confusion before deciding his spear was more entertaining to look at.
“thank you demigods, for retrieving my mirror. your work will not be forgotten.”
she gave a wave of her hand, and a gold chariot with beautiful white horses attached appeared in front of her.
“here is how you will get back to camp. i grant you safe travels.” a cloud of pink smoke engulfed her, giving off scents of roses, then cedar, before it and the goddess disappeared.
“i HATE the smell off whiskey.” yahaba exasperated, cleaning his arrows off on his shirt. oikawa raised an eyebrow, as that wasn’t what he’d smelled.
“whiskey? smelled like rain to me.” iwaizumi said, his spear forming back into a bracelet.
“hm..” oikawa started, sitting on a nearby rock. “she looked.. oddly familiar? i couldn’t place it.” he played with his dagger, scrunching his nose up at the monster blood splattered on it. the brown haired boy looked up at his friends for any type of explanation.
iwaizumi hummed at his declaration, then frowned. oikawa froze. suddenly, he knew why aphrodite had looked so familiar.
he’d heard stories about how looking at the goddess would have you gazing upon the one you love most. her magic could transform her face to look different for everyone who saw her. but oikawa had never thought that would mean he’d see his best friend.