Beginning of a New Spring (MHA/PJO crossover)

Chapter 42

"Again," Ophelia declared after Kei cut through the last of the vines.

He raised an eyebrow as his eyes scanned over her figure before nodding as he held up his sword again.

They repeated the process again. Sweat trickled down the side of her face as she stepped back from his swing as vines took her place to attack. She angled her foot to keep herself upright without catching Kei's attention as she watched him block and slice through her vines with more trouble than previous attempts. They didn't last much longer than the previous round, but she would count it as a win. She placed her hands on her knees as she bent forward, taking slow breaths in as the ground blurred underneath her.

"You've gotten better," Kei commended, making his way toward her. "We should end it here today. No need to push yourself more; you're still healing and I know you haven't been sleeping the past two days."

"I told you I was fine," Ophelia reminded him as she straightened and stretched backward as slight relief flowed through her with the sun beating down on them.

It had been two days since the Nomu attack on the city. Sleep was foreign to her at that point. Nightmares flooded her mind every time she closed her eyes to sleep. She got where Kei was concerned for her lack of sleep, but she would rather live off the sun nourishing her than sleep through the nightmares.

"Have you talked to anyone about them? Don't your dreams mean something?"

"No. They're not demigod dreams, just nightmares. There's nothing anyone can do for them," she replied softly, closing her eyes to bask in the feel of the sun warming her skin.

In those two days, her side were relatively healed, yet they made sure she never pushed it far. She had taken some nectar after their talk, poking her side to show them how quickly she healed with some godly food. Kei's hovering was easier to handle as he always made small talk with her. She told him about her life back at camp. Her close friends, the pranks she pulled with the Stolls, stories about the gods, and Nico, the latter which he never pushed, and she was sure he could tell by her aura it was a touchy subject every time she spoke his name. It kept her mind off everything else in those moments and they hadn't asked more beyond what she told them two nights prior and what she was willing to tell them. She was relieved in that aspect.

"Says the one pushing to make herself stronger. I think you keep forgetting that you have the support of people behind you. Eraserhead was ready to go against Edgeshot if he even thought of telling anyone the truth, which neither of us would. You grew on everyone the moment you came here, and there is no doubt in my mind all of us would back you up in any given situation."

Ophelia bowed her head while trying to keep her emotions hidden. It was those moments she hated having a heart-to-heart with Kei. She couldn't skirt around the truth with him. She didn't want them to go against those they'd known for years because she was stirring up trouble just by existing—again. The more people she had to lean on, the more people she had to lose, and she couldn't let anyone else down for her failures. The latter scared her more than she cared to admit and she didn't want him to know that. It wasn't that he would refute her worries, but he would try his damndest to make her believe she wasn't at fault. She already let Nico down by leaving him behind to make it out on his own or be rescued. She left everyone to fight a war she should have been a part of.

"Being a demigod isn't easy, Kei," she whispered. "Having mortals believe me is the last thing any of us ever thought possible, unless one slept with a god. Lean on everyone for support when I'm the cause of it all? I don't–not when the penalty is someone's death."

"Then have more faith in them. Let those you fully trust know so they're not left in the dark before it's too late. You can't go your whole life avoiding everyone to make them safe. That's surviving, not living. I wouldn't let you do that, hell, your father wouldn't and neither would that boyfriend of yours."