Chapter Text
The clash of swords rang loud in his ear and the brute force of blocking a blow sent a shock up his arms but he stayed strong. Kirishima pushed back and stumbled back but he had little time to regain before he saw a pink blur fly at him from underneath. He tried to move out of the way but he was too late and his foot caught on something and he went toppling down to the ground.
Pain shooting through his back and the air left his lungs. He was tired but also a bit embarrassed about what had just happened. He lay in the dirt for a moment and closed his eyes, groaning in frustration at himself. It only earned him a light bubbly laugh and when he decided to crack his eyes open the sun was bright and really he should be grateful for it but his limbs hurt and maybe he could just stop training today and lay here in the dirt.The cloud of pink entered his vision and he had to squint to properly see his training partner.
Mina shook her head but she still had a fond smile on her face. "And that's 20 to 14. Jeez Ei, normally you're better than this" Kirishima knew that but all he could do was place his head back in the dirt and groan. Mina's bubbly laugh rang out again. Kirishima felt her kick his boot and when he looked at her again she extended her hand out in a peace offering "You're really distracted today Eiji. What is up with you?"
Kirishima let out a sigh and reached for the extended hand "I told you what's wrong Mina". At that, it seemed to give her pause.
"You really that freaked out over a task given to you by Lupa?" She said like it really shouldn't be a big deal.
But it was! Kirishima went to sleep a few nights ago only to be visited by Lupa herself with a task specifically for him. He had no idea why she had given it to him, only that he was tasked to being the guardian of a new arrival to the camp in a few days. It was out of the ordinary, especially since Kirishima was in the fifth cohort and not any higher. The day after he went straight to Mina and she dragged him to talk it over with their Praetor, Kendo. She was nice and understanding but when Kirishima tried to pass on the duty to someone else he got an ear full from both the girls saying how dare he try and hand off a responsibility given to him by Lupa.
Which he guessed was fair. He just didn't know why he would be the one responsible for a demi-god. Jobs like that weren't normally given out to just anyone for any random reason. There had to be some information that he was missing for the reason of the protection of this demi-god. Lupa also didn't give him many details about them and so all Kirishima could do was wait.
Now he stands here on the training field waiting for the announcement that a new demi-god has walked through the gates and be thrust into his protection. And sure he's reliable and knows how to defend himself but being tasked with protecting another life is entirely different.
A punch to the arm drags him out of his thoughts as he looks to Mina once again. She's wearing a pout before she says "You have nothing to worry about Eiji, and besides it not like your doing this all on your own."
Kirishima lets himself take a breath. Yeah, he doesn't have to do this alone, he reminds himself, he has people that can help settle in the new demi-god.
"And on top of that, we're going to camp half-blood soon so I'm sure the others will be more than happy to meet someone knew"
Kirishima huffs a laugh at that. "True, they always do like to meet new people"
The year was nearing the Summer solstice and that meant that one of the camps got to go visit the other. This year it was Camp Half-Bloods' turn to host and boy did Kirishima miss seeing his friends. Camp Jupiter was nice, everyone was kind to him to a certain extent but they were strict and there was only so much a Son of Mars could do when people described him as a soft golden retriever. Sure Kirishima had his morals of being manly but to some people that wasn't enough when he didn't start fights but instead was the one telling everyone to calm down and talk it through. Yeah, very Mars-like.
But perhaps Kirishima was right to start worrying about the new demi-god, he would never admit that to Mina. It was later at night that said demi-god that Kirishima was told about actually showed up at the Camp. He had been shown and escorted through the gates by the sentries themselves and soon the doors to the Mess Hall burst open unexpectedly.
Everyone stopped to turn the look at the new kid flanked by a sentry on either side. He stood between them looking a bit nervous but friendly. After a moment they started walking him to the front of the Mess Hall, presumably to meet with Kendo.
The boy that the sentries brought in was shorter than Kirishima but he still looked like he was built and could take care of himself. He had messy green hair that curled around his face and waved in the air and his arm and face were littered with freckles. He wore a short-sleeved shirt that had some text scrawled across it and as he walked closer Kirishima could see that it simply said "t-shirt" across it. That made him laugh and draw the attention of the boy himself.
When the boy saw Kirishima his eyes widened and Kirishima thought that he had offended the poor kid by laughing at his shirt. He was about to explain himself when the boy rushed over to Kirishima
"You're who I was told about!" His eyes were wide in recognition as he stood in front of Kirishima.
He blinked trying to comprehend the sudden words "Told about? By who?"
"Lupa. She told me to find you and that she placed me in your care." the boy said. Needless to say, Kirishima was a little shocked. Yes, he knew that Lupa had told him that he would be looking after the new demi-god that came to the camp but he didn't that the boy would be told about Kirishima in return. He didn't have any other information about the boy so when Mina poked his side all he could do was shake off his pause and extend his hand
"Nice to meet you, I'm Eijirou Kirishima" He knew that he would be getting an ear full from Mina wanting to know all of the details of this kid but that would have to wait for later. The boy in front of him smiled brightly and took Kirishima's hand
"Izuku Midoriya"
Now that Kirishima could see him up close he looked to be the same age as him and he had a bunch of little scars around his face but his biggest one was on his hand and arm. Large scar tissue wrapped around his hand and arm and they looked almost like they had been there to sew his hand back together. Clearly, this kid had been through some stuff. Soon the moment was broken by a shrill voice ringing out through the Mess Hall.
"My, my, we have a new Probaito on our hands!" Kirishima let out an involuntary sigh and he could feel Mina next to him let out one too. "Do you know who your godly parent is?" Monoma said from the other end of the room. He was always one to judge another on their godly parent and whether they were a second or third generation. Midoriya looked a little nervous and not so ready to admit it but somehow Kirishima knew that Midoriya would be safe.
"Oh I'm the son of Jupiter" He replied. At that Monoma gaped and then he started laughing hysterically.
"You!," He said pointing a finger across the hall "You're the son of Jupiter? The one we have been waiting for decades and here you finally are!? I don't think so" At this point, he was doubled over in laughter Kirishima saw out of the corner of his eye that Kendo was walking up to where all the commotion was happening and he knew what was coming. Not before too long Monoma's miniac laughter was cut short, just as Kendo hit his nerves in the back of his neck and knocked him down.
Midoriya, this being the first time to have witnessed this, looked like he didn't know whether to be relieved and concerned to be free of the 'Monoma encounter'. Kendo sighed and looked to Midoryia apologeticly.
"I'm sorry about him. That's Neito Monoma our Augur and I'm Itsuka Kendo, Praetor"
"oh I'm -" Midoriya started
"Don't worry I know how you are Midoriya" Kendo said with a disarming smile. Kirishima always found her impressive in the way should could handle these kinds of situations and no one ever got tired of the way she handled the Legion and all its chaos.
"Do you have a letter from Jupiter? Any proof that that's who your godly parent is?" Kendo continued. Midoriya seemed to jump-start at that
"Oh yes, here." he said digging into his backpack pulling out a rolled-up parchment and handing it off to Kendo. "And this" Midoriya turned his arm around to show Kendo and Kirishima the tattoo sitting on the inside of his arm. And there sat a silhouette of an eagle with the letters SPQR underneath it.
“Wow. You're the real deal” Kirishima said as he looked at the tattoo. A blush crept up into Midoriya's face but he shrugged it off. Kendo opened the parchment and read it but her face didn't convey what she was thinking. After a beat, she rolled the parchment back up handing it to Midoriya.
"Okay, we shall meet in the Principa tomorrow. For now, you can choose who you would like to stay with." Midoriya nodded and his eye slid towards Kirishima. With that, Kendo walked back to her table declaring that dinner was over and that everyone had better clean out. Midoriya looked over to Kirishima in anticipation by Mina beat him to it
"Midoriya, I'm Mina Ashido. You can stay with us for a little bit. The third cohort has plenty of spare beds."
"Hey hang on a minute since when do you get to swoop in and take him?" Kirishima really shouldn't be surprised to make new friends and to get all the information but there was always something that she was planning and being a daughter of Venus, that normally included pairing people up.
"Since I never got a proper introduction" Mina said Kirishima wanted to argue with her on that. She had been surprisingly quiet the whole conversation with Monoma and Kendo. Though Kirishima was sure he knew why and so he let Mina take Midoriya to the third cohort barracks to get him set up. Mina pushed herself closer to Kirishima and let Midoriya slide in next to her, taking up a plate and starting to pile it with the food in front of them to eat.
"So" Mina started "How old are you Midoriya?"
"Oh I'm 17"
"Really!? That's the same age as us. How come Lupa called you to the camp so late? And how come Jupiter only told you about the camp just now? How long have you survived with the monsters? Have you always-"
"Okay Mina" Kirishima interjected seeing how Midoriya was looking very overwhelmed with all of the questions about himself. "I think you're asking too many questions for Midoriya to handle" He didn't blame her of course, he wanted to know himself. But with so many campers around the table secretly trying to listen to what the new Son of Jupiter had to say. It was only fair to let him share the information he was comfortable with.
"I'm assuming Lupa talked to you" Kirishima said trying to find an easy jumping-off point for the boy
"Oh yes. She told me that I was to be coming to camp but my training got delayed because of my father. I'm not sure exactly why but I'm here now" Midoriya said
"Can you tell us a bit about your parents?" Mina asked
"I live with my mum in the city and under Jupiter's protection. I fought monsters myself where I could but there's always more to learn I suppose" He shrugged.
"Wow that's amazing" and Mina was right. It was amazing that Jupiter actually gave his son and his mother protection, especially from monsters. Not to mention Juno. Kirishima couldn't imagine what it would have been like to live that long without coming to camp and getting proper training.
Kirishima himself had to leave behind his two mothers in the city to train at camp because it was just too dangerous for him to be around and he wanted to keep them as safe as possible. He always went back to visit them as much as he could but there was only so much you could do for your mortal family.
"Bro you have so many scars how'd you get them all" Sato, Son of Ceres, said from across the table. Next to him sat Shoji, son of Vulcan and Kirishima could tell that they were both very interested as to how the new demi-god had survived without the camp for as long as he did.
Midoriya gave a nervous chuckle and a blush crept up his face again "Well you see I was pretty reckless as a kid and wanted to protect mum and much as I could so I would train myself and fight monsters without really knowing what I was doing. I was pretty foolish and got hurt a lot."
"You didn't have ambrosia?" Shoji said.
Midoriya shook his head "We had a limited supply of it and with the amount that I was getting hurt it couldn't really keep up with me"
"Damn dude," Mina said "Well we'll have to make sure that you can fight on your own without getting so many scars"
"Thanks I appreciate it" Midoriya said. With that, the conversation flowed easily from there the campers around Midoriya asking questions and Kirishima and Mina talking to him about the camp and the stuff that they would get to in the coming weeks.
On their walk back to the barracks Kirishima gave Midoriya a quick tour of the Camp since it was bedtime and Kendo had called for an early meeting there wasn't much time to show Midoriya the Camp in its entirety.
"You'll get to know the rest of the Camp and campers soon enough but for now, here are the barracks. Just choose any free bed to put your stuff down in and then tomorrow Mina and I will take you up to the Principa"
"Thankyou Kirishima, for showing me around I look forward to being a part of Camp Jupiter"
"Happy to have you man" And with that Kirishima bid him goodnight and turned in.
The next morning after breakfast Kirishima met up with Midoriya and Mina to walk to the Principa for their meeting. Kirishima could see how Midoriya was starting to mutter under his breath and wring his hands
"Hey dude" He said making Midoriya jump. "Whoops sorry. Don't worry about this meeting it's just because you're someone who we've been waiting for for a while."
"And Kendo is super great in these meetings so you have nothing to worry about" Mina added from beside him.
The three walked up to the Principa to pass the guards stationed out the front and under the large purple banner they sported the gold letters and wealth. As they worked inside they were treated with the mosiac of Romulus and Remus under Lupa that Kirishima had only seen a few times himself. As they walked along the polished marble floor they saw others start to join them and some already sitting inside at the long wooden table. Kirishima wasn't always sure about the walls draped in velvet, making it feel like being inside the world’s most expensive camping tent. But then again he supposed he wasn't much better at decorating himself according to Mina. The wooden table, like always, was cluttered with scrolls, notebooks, tablet computers, daggers, and a large bowl filled with jelly beans. Behind the table, there are two high-backed chairs meant for the Praetors.
Kirishima, Mina and Midoriya all took seats down in the middle of one side and waited for everyone else to sit down. Or more importantly for Kendo and Shoda, to arrive and start the meeting. Midoriya, Kirishima just noticed, had brought his own notebook and pen along with him though Kirishima didn't think there would really be anything worth taking notes on. After a bit, Kirishima realised he was actually a bit nervous himself and he found his fingers couldn't sit still, he watched the other campers file in, giving second glances to the three of them sitting along the table.
After what seemed like ages due to his nervousness the two Praetors walked in and ordered silence in the room. People found their seats to give their leaders their undivided attention, as undivided that could be with a bunch of ADHD kids in one space. Kendo spoke up first.
“I'm sure many of you are aware of recent events that happened in the mess hall, so we will cut right to the chase. Izuku Midoriya, please stand.” Next to Kirishima the chair pushed out and screeched along the marble flooring, casting the room in an anticipating silence. So many wanted to know where Midoriya had come from and where he would be placed within the legion. Lupa normally calls a demgod of age earlier than what Midoriya was but he had clearly passed Lupa's training and was given his godly parent symbol to be allowed into Camp Jupiter. Heck, even the sentries escorted him to the mess hall themselves. And that's something that doesn't happen very often.
The ban on the big three to not have any more children was lifted centuries ago but with the addition to the second and third-generation demi gods being allowed into the camp, it seemed that they didn't feel the need to have more children and a child of the big three hadn't been seen in a while. At least in Kirishima's generation. Seeing Midoriya, an actual child of one of the big three, Jupiter for that matter, was quite special and a big relief for most of the demi-gods at the camp. Midoriya explained what he happened to him and where he had been
"My mother is actually a daughter of Aoide and Jupiter is my father." At the implication of what he said a blush crept up on his face but he stuttered forward "Um but, but my mum and I were protected and I trained to defeat any monsters that found us. It was like that for a few years. But soon Lupa came to me and summoned me to the Wolf house. I'm not sure how long I've been there. I haven't been able to check or contact my mum for a bit"
Kirishima felt a bit of pain at that. He knew how it felt to leave someone behind to come to the camp. Heck, he really should talk to his mothers soon.
"Well that's all a great story" The awful voice of Monoma popped up again "But why have you come to the camp now and what do you plan to do. How do we know we can trust you?"
Kendo sighed beside him. "In this case, we will have to put him in the hands of someone to look after and show him our ways," she said. After a beat, it didn't seem like anyone would speak up. Everyone was too scared to speak up and be responsible for the newly known son of Jupiter.
"I would like to speak" Kirishima said standing up "I believe that it is my role to take care of Midoriya as told by Lupin" Immediately, whispers started to ring out throughout the Principa. Maniacal laughter came from the front and Kirishima knew that sound well
"You think-" Monoma started "You think that you! an unwanted son of Mars are to take care of the one descendent of the big three we've had in decades!? Oh, I can't take it anymore!" Kirishima's blood started to boil. It's not like he got angry at things often but something about Monoma's grating voice started to make the edge of his vision go red.
He felt Mina stand up next to him, ready to fight back for him however, before he could really do anything about it Monoma's laugh was cut off with the sound of a slap.
"I believe that information is true" Kendo spoke with authority and the whispers of the Principa died down as everyone stopped to listen to what she had to say. Kendo was the same age as Mina and himself, she was part of the same group of demi-gods that all found themselves at camp Jupiter at roughly the same time. She had risen through the ranks due to her ability to take control of any situation and her ability to control Monoma. She came to the camp at a really young age and no one had managed to get any sort of solid backstory. Just that she always denied having any connections outside of Camp Jupiter and that she would always serve Lupa and the legion with the utmost loyalty. In all her years here she's hasn't failed that promise and people noticed. After her fifth year here she was elected to be Praetor and has proven herself time and time again.
"Lupa said that she had spoken to both Midoriya and Kirishima about this arrangement and I for one am not about to call the Wolf mother's choice a mistake" Kendo's voice rang loud and clear throughout the Principia, squelching any doubt about the arrangement. "I think that settles it. Kirishima will take care of Midoriya, show him around the camp and be his escort"
Kirishima and Mirdoriya nodded towards Kendo and everyone returned to their seats “There is also the topic of your letter.” Kendo said. “Midoriya has been given a letter of recommendation from his godly parent Jupiter and therefore shall be part of the first cohort.”
Kirishima should have expected that but truthfully it had been a while since someone got a recommendation letter to go that high in the ranks. His family weren't part of the legion at least not now, unlike Monoma's. This just added more to the whispers of the campers and Kirishima made a note to remember to ask Midoriya about it later.
After they were finished they all walked out of the Principa, Mina had to excuse herself and rushed back inside the Principa, and started heading back towards the barracks. Midoriya questioned it and Kirishima brushed it off saying that she just forgot something important.
"Hey dude, I know that you just got here but the whole camp is actually taking a trip to go to camp half-blood." Kirishima said as they walked
"Oh the Greek counterparts? Yeah, I know a little bit about that." Midoriya said
"Wait really? Well then, this will be a breeze!".
Mina caught up with the two of them later on and the rest of the day they walked around the camp. Kirishima finally had the time to give Midoriya a proper look at the camp and an introduction to all of their activities. Whatever the reason Lupa had to give Kirishima the responsibility to look after Midoriya was sure to be a good one. But he couldn't help but think that they were going to be good friends and that Midoriya was going to be an excellent addition to Camp Jupiter.