Title: Myth - Chapter 1
Beta-reader:
astrangerenters Rating: PG-13 to NC-17 (for violence, blood and explicit sex scene)
Pairing: Sakumoto (main), Masatoshi
Genre: AU, action, humor
Summary: On his 21 birthday Sho doesn't know that his life is going to change.
DISCLAMER: I own nothing. And the plot comes from Rick Riordan, a damn good writer!
Note: I've always wanted to write Arashi in a mythologic universe but never found the plot. Now it comes true thanks to Rick Riordan and his fabulous series Percy Jackson.
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Myth
Chapter 1
People think that dreams are wonderful.
In general it's true, but my dreams are what people call nightmares. For me they're not nightmares because a nightmare is a bad dream you would have from time to time.
Mine take place every single night. It's not the kind of dream you have with some scary murderer in clown makeup or the one where you're endlessly falling. I see strange creatures, mythical ones like unicorns or centaurs. And every time my dreams end really badly.
“Sho!” This voice… Kazunari!
“Go Sho!”And then Masaki.
“You have to continue. We'll be fine!”Jun…
When I turn my head there's this huge monster with the face of a beautiful woman and the body of a snake. She lifts her hand before lowering it quickly on me. I don't feel any pain nor do I feel like I'm dead. But…I'm dead right? Everything is black around me; it's like I'm floating and everything is so quiet.
“Do you understand Sho?” Satoshi's voice…
After that all their voices mix together, they beg for my help, they scream, they ask for me to find it but I don't know what. I don't want them to suffer because of me. What should I do? Their voices hurt my head; I fall on the ground and hold my head in my hands. Please, someone, anybody make it stop or I'll die from craziness.
And every time I wake up leaping up, breathless and totally dripping with sweat. It always takes me a few minutes to understand that I'm fully awake, my friends aren't dead, neither am I and that everything was another dream.
I sigh as I let my head land on my pillow again and though I'm tired, my brain refuses to let my eyes close. My hand over my heart and the powerful beating tells me I'm still alive and little by little my breathing is getting back to normal. I wipe the beads of sweat on my forehead with my right forearm and keep looking at the ceiling.
“Sho?” The tired voice of Satoshi is calling me. “Another nightmare? You want me to sleep with you for the rest of the night?”
I chuckle; every night my roommate asks me the same question. Does he know how old I am?
“Right. You'll be 21 tomorrow; you don't need me anymore,” he answers me and then wishes me goodnight before I hear his steady breathing again.
I try to sleep as well, but I know it's useless. The clock on my bedside table reads 3 AM. Suddenly I hear Arimaspi, my owl, making some noise. At least I'm not the only one who's awake.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!” are the only words I hear before a heavy weight lands on my back and makes me cough.
Masaki lets go of me as soon as I ask him to and stands up before me with a huge smile. This guy is really too energetic; he's the kind of person who's amazed by...well, anything.
He shouts all the way as Satoshi and I walk through the corridors to the main exit. Once we're outside, Masaki's incessant talk ends with a sudden 'WHOA!' and a loud noise. Arimaspi waves her wings while she rests on my left shoulder, making some strange noises (something tells me that she's laughing).
“Cerynitis!!” Masaki screams while pushing the young deer away from him. “How many times do I have to tell you? Don't jump on me like that! I'm happy to see you too, but you're heavy!” my friend says, reprimanding the animal and patting its head.
“You know what I feel every morning when we see each other then…” I say with a soft smile.
“That deer is as stupid as her owner…” comes another voice and the sound of footsteps.
The three of us turn our heads to watch Jun coming in our direction. He's the youngest one of our group but is the coolest. His beauty makes everyone fall in love with him, no matter the gender. When he stops in front of us, a pure white and graceful dove lands on his shoulder.
“Hi Jun! Hi Lamia!” Masaki says with a wave.
Jun doesn't bother to reply and instead stares at me with an enigmatic smile. “Finally, this is the day.”
But his strange words are already forgotten when Satoshi tells us we're almost late for class. The four of us run as fast as possible through the little wood near the campus until Masaki stops suddenly to pick up something on the ground: a turtle.
“Oooh Aello! Where's Kazu? Don't tell me he has left you behind once again!” he says as he brings the turtle before his eyes.
“Masaki! We'll be late!” whines Jun, stomping his foot on the ground.
An idea comes to me quickly, and I point at a little path near us. If my calculations are correct we could reach the classroom quickly by following it. They follow me and just as I've planned, we arrive in front of the main corridor leading to our classroom in no time. Just in time to say goodbye to our respective pets as we enter the main hall.
Most of our classmates are already there, but the one we're searching for isn't here yet. As we take our places at our desks Jun rejoices as he carefully watches the seconds tick by on the clock in front of us.
“He'll be late!” he sing-songs.
But Kazunari is never late. I don't know how he does it, but he's always the last one to come to class, but he never gets caught.
However, Jun might be right this time. The teacher enters the room and Kazu isn't here; he's not as smart as he thought…
“Hello everyone!” announces the teacher before calling the names. When it's almost Kazunari's turn I face the others, a bit worried about our friend.
I turn around as soon as I hear the familiar voice and watch the desk in front of me, dumbfounded: Kazu is right before my eyes, sitting at his desk and not bothered at all. That guy… I will never know how he does that.
The five of us have been friends for a long time. As far as I could remember we were always together. Something that connects us all is that we only have one parent. Each of us hates the parent who left us behind, although over the year, the four of them have come to understand their parent's behavior. It's funny because of the five of us, I'm the wisest and most understanding.
For example I like to make plans while Jun's flirting. I love playing chess while Masaki thinks he can truly talk with animals. I find classes interesting but Satoshi seems to prefer sleeping. And while I always claim that honesty and sincerity are the most valuable feelings, Kazunari… sells things to our classmates and rips them off.
Finally the morning courses come to an end, and the five of us stay in class to take our lunch. As always, Masaki is chatting happily with a sleepy Satoshi, while Jun tries to seduce the girls or guys he hasn't kissed yet. Kazu's playing some tricks with his cards, and I read some notes as I eat.
“Sho, you should stop for now! We don't have class this afternoon, remember? Masaki suggests, taking my notebook from my hands.
“Yeah, you should be grateful to me for giving the teacher the idea to go to the museum today…happy birthday!” says Kazu, though his tone is kind of off.
It's true that I love museums. I always want to learn more and since I'd seen that the museum in our town was having a special expo about ancient Greece, I've been bothering my friends to come with me.
“Kazu, don't…” Jun stops suddenly when a girl comes towards us. He faces her and smiles softly.
“Err…I have something to tell you.” she whispers shyly before looking at the rest of us. “Something private…”
As always Jun stands up gracefully, pushes his long hair back and leads the girl into the corridor.
I'm a bit bothered by Jun's attitude. Since he was little he had always attracted people: boys, girls and unfortunately adults too. That's why I was always there to protect him; he wasn't always the player type of guy he is now, but when he turned sixteen he suddenly changed and… always said 'yes' to anybody, not asking for my help anymore. I miss those times to be honest. It's well known that Jun will fool around with anybody; even Satoshi, Masaki and Kazunari.
“Jun's power is amazing!” says Masaki in awe.
“I would call it 'hormones'.”
“No Sho. It's a real gift,” answers Kazu, strangely serious.
I hate it when he's like that. I never know when Kazu is really serious or playing a trick on me.
At the end of our lunch break, the teacher comes and asks us to be ready to leave.
Just like I thought, the expo is really interesting and mythological art is beautiful; so many details can be seen. The museum isn't open during the day usually, but the conservator told us it was exceptional today. It's so good to walk freely inside the huge building; however, it seems like I'm the only one enjoying it.
“And here is Athena's shield,” explains the conservator as he stands next to the huge and shiny shield.
“The face on it is actually Medusa's face. According to the legends, that creature was able to change people to stone with only her eyes.”
Some of my classmates seem uneasy and insecure… people will believe anything.
“Ah ah. Don't worry. Since she's dead you have nothing to fear,” laughs the conservator. “But…a legend says that the day Athena's son stands before that shield, Medusa will come back to life. No need to be scared though; it's well known that Athena was a virgin Goddess.”
“This is bad…” whispers Kazu suddenly as he turns his face towards us.
“You're right…we should get out of here,” adds Jun as he grabs my right forearm.
“Sho, don't look at the shield,” Satoshi orders me.
“Aaah I got it!” I laugh softly as I let the four of them lead me to another room. And just to play along, I turn around and run towards the shield once again.
The joke is getting a bit too serious to be funny. Masaki, Kazunari and Jun push me into the next room and close the door behind us. A soft knock is heard, and Kazu opens the door to let Satoshi enter.
“I made all of them sleep,” says Satoshi sternly. He then looks at me with a worried expression. “Medusa's face isn't on the shield anymore.”
Okay, short jokes are the best. I don't like when Satoshi joins the others to play a prank on me. He hardly ever lies to me, and when he does, I always fall for it easily.
I'm about to ask them to stop when a loud noise comes from the main room. The five of us turn our heads towards the closed door, and I can see the worry in their eyes.
“Sho, think of a plan! We can't fight against Medusa while our eyes are open,” says Jun.
“Jun, I don't like that joke anymore!” I whine and try to push him away.
“Say thanks to your mom then,” he whispers just before the door suddenly opens.
A woman wearing a toga and with snakes all over her head comes into the room.
“Athena's son, where are you? Come! It's time to take revenge!” she screams angrily.
I want to say something, but Kazunari covers my mouth. I manage to gasp, which alerts the woman to our presence. Jun sighs before leaving us, reminding me to not open my eyes under any circumstances. I watch my friend walking slowly in her direction with his eyes closed. The woman (is it really Medusa?) approaches him and the snakes on her head move to touch Jun's face. She looks at him carefully, and after a short silence chuckles and pushes him away.
“Do you really think you can fool me?!”
She kneels beside him and takes his face between her hands. “You're really as beautiful as your mother…” she whispers.
All of a sudden, a deer enters followed by a dove and a howl. The three animals attack Medusa. She waves her hands as she tries to get rid of them and succeeds: she hits the owl hard, the poor animal falling on the ground.
“ARIMASPI!” I scream as I see my pet motionless on the ground. It slips my mind that I'm right in front of the damn monster.
“SHO, CLOSE YOUR EYES!” I hear Masaki shouting at me, and I don't need to be told twice.
I shut my eyes hard and freak out when I feel a wet sensation on my face: Medusa's snakes.
“Finally…” She rests her cheek against mine and breathes in deeply.
“You will have to pay for your mother's actions. Now be a good boy and open your eyes. I'm sure you want to see the poor creature your mother doomed before you die.”
Though I really care for my life, it seems like opening my eyes is more important. I feel this huge need to open them and watch her.
The both of us turn our heads, and I can see Masaki holding a huge and shining bow. With his eyes closed, he shoots an arrow right into Medusa's right eye. At the same moment I hear Jun calling for Kazu and feel something bumping against my shoulder. The next second I see Kazunari in front of me, and he's handing me a long sword.
“Aim at her neck,” he tells me simply.
I don't know why but right after I take hold of the sword, I know what I have to do. I move rapidly and silently towards Medusa and in a swift motion I swing the sword. Her head falls, rolling on the ground. Just when we think it's all over, we hear a scary voice: "Hear my curse.
Echidna, Mother of the creatures and demons will send all her sons to avenge her daughter's death." Then the head and the corpse on the ground disappear.
I look at the empty space in front of me and try to understand what has happened. I can hear the happy shouts from my friends, but I don't really care. What on Earth happened?!
My brain stops thinking when I feel something on my left shoulder: Arimaspi. I'm glad my little friend isn't injured because of me.
“That's what I would call a cool birthday gift!”whistles Kazu as he leans on my right shoulder.
That's all he has to say?! I look at him, dumbfounded, and then I look at Masaki who waves his hand and makes his bow disappear before he kneels in front of Cerynitis and checks if everything is alright. Behind us, Satoshi helps Jun to stand up and asks him why Medusa didn't try to turn him into stone.
“She was falling for me. Everyone does anyway,”answers Jun casually.
I gasp as the broadsword suddenly disappears and the four others focus on me.
“Can somebody explain?”I ask softly. It's like I'm losing my voice.
“What do you want us to explain?” asks Masaki.
“That's pretty simple. You're a demigod, just like us,”Jun says.
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Next Chapter]
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Note: Here is my new multi-chapter!! I really hope you will like this universe girls, because I do! A LOT! I've always been interested in Ancient Greek History and those Greek Gods are simply facinating. No wonder I love Percy Jackson series! But I want to be clear: This fic is NOT a plagiary and it won't follow the books of Percy Jackson. I only use this series as a plot and will write what comes up in my mind ^^"
I'm not the kind of writer who asks for comments but just for this time I really ask you your opinion m(_ _)m
See you soon girls! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter ;-)