Listening to the proposal, Percy, who had learned to be suspicious, more or less in the last week, imagined that anyone could be a monster or a god. There was no way to know.
But that guy was normal.
It was just a matter of looking. Besides, he felt so relieved to hear someone who seemed friendly that he nodded and said they would love to go in.
Ikki glanced at the Doorman lightly. Then at the Hotel, although cautious about the place. The group needed a real break, so he saw no problem in entering this place.
He briefly activated his [Akashic Eyes] and confirmed only a stream of strange but non-harmful energy.
Inside, they looked around, and Grover, with wide eyes, said in wonder, "Wow..."
The entire lobby was a giant game room. Obviously not the kind of cheap games like the old Pac-Man or the slot machines. There was a waterslide winding around the glass elevator that went up at least forty floors, a climbing wall next to a building, and an indoor bungee jumping bridge.
Virtual reality suits with functioning laser guns. And hundreds of video games, each about the size of a widescreen TV. Basically, whatever you say, the place had it. There were some other kids playing, but not many. There was no wait for any of the games.
Waitresses and snack bars were everywhere, serving all kinds of food you could imagine.
"Hey!" said a receptionist or messenger, probably the last one. He wore a white and yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts, and flip-flops. With a pleasant smile on his face, he spoke, "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key..."
Percy stammered and said, "Um, but..."
Ikki looked at the messenger lightly and said, "I think you must have confused us with someone. We didn't pay for this, so this is a mistake..."
The messenger looked confused at him, before his eyes lit up and he said laughing, "That's a joke, right? Mistake? No, no. The bill has already been paid. No extra fees, no tips. You just need to go up to the top floor, room 4001. If you need anything, like more foam for the hot tub or targets for clay shooting, or whatever, just call the front desk. Here are your GranaLotus cards. They work at the restaurants and for all the games and toys..."
He handed each member of the group a green plastic credit card. Ikki took the card and took a look at it before putting it in his pocket.
There must be some mistake. Obviously, he thought the group was rich kids or something like that. At least that's what Percy thought.
Still, he took the card and said, "How much is on here?"
The messenger knit his eyebrows and asked confused, "What do you mean?..."
"I mean how much credit do we have?.." Percy questioned.
He laughed and said, "Oh, again it's a joke, isn't it? Hey, cool. Anyway, enjoy your stay..."
After saying that, the messenger left. Ikki looked at him leaving strangely; this guy was weird, it was as if he had been programmed to be like that or something.
The group took the elevator and went to their room. They checked it out and were surprised.
It was a suite with four separate bedrooms and a bar full of sweets, soft drinks, and snacks. A direct line to room service. Fluffy towels and water beds with feather pillows. A huge TV with satellite and broadband Internet. The balcony had its own hot tub and, in fact, a clay pigeon launcher and a shotgun - they could launch clay pigeons over the Las Vegas landscape and shoot them with the shotgun. The view of the Vegas Boulevard and the desert was wonderful.
"Oh, gods..." said Annabeth, looking around in wonder, she commented, "This place is..."
"Wonderful..." interrupted Grover. The satyr thought that praise was a bit weak, so he quickly added, "Super wonderful..."
"Yes, the place is amazing indeed. But before enjoying the suite, there's something important you guys should do," said Ikki, drawing the attention of the three. He put his hand to his nose, looking at the three, and said, "You all stink, so take a shower. First of all."
The three looked impassive and a bit embarrassed.
They hadn't had much time during this mission to shower, so upon hearing his words, the three quickly went to take a shower. Annabeth practically ran to the bathroom of one of the bedrooms when she heard she smelled bad.
While they were showering, Ikki took a more analytical look at the suite. He noticed some strange facts, the most important being that there were clothes in the closet, and they fit the group perfectly.
While he investigated, Percy threw Ares's backpack in the trash can. They didn't need it anymore; when they left, he could buy a new one at the hotel store.
He took a shower, which felt great after a week of dirty traveling. He came out of the bathroom, went to the changing room, changed clothes, ate a bag of chips, and drank three Cokes; Poseidon's son hadn't felt this good in a long time.
Deep down in his mind, a little problem was bothering him. He had a dream, or something like that... He needed to talk to his friends. But surely that could wait.
When Percy came out of the changing room, he saw that Annabeth and Grover had also showered and changed clothes. Ikki was on the balcony looking out of the hotel. He seemed to be thinking about something.
Grover was eating chips until he was full while Annabeth tuned into the National Geographic Channel.
"All these channels..." Percy said to Annabeth, looking at the blonde as if she were stupid, he said to her, "...And you tune in to National Geographic. Are you crazy?"
"It's interesting..." Annabeth replied, watching, with evident interest in her stormy gray eyes.
Ikki came out from the balcony and walked calmly toward the group.
"I feel good..." Grover commented with a big smile on his face, he said, "I love this place..."
Without him realizing, wings appeared on his sneakers and lifted him thirty centimeters off the ground before lowering him again.
"So, what do we do now?..." Annabeth asked thoughtfully, looking at Ikki and then at the two boys and then said, "Do we sleep?"
The three boys looked at each other. Grover and Percy smiled, the son of Poseidon and the satyr raised their cards.
Grana Lotus green plastic....
"Playtime..." Percy said with a huge smile.
As the three were going to have fun, they noticed that Ikki didn't seem to want to go. He just said, "Go on, I'm going to take a shower and relax a bit. I'll meet you later..."
The three nodded in agreement; Ikki must be tired. After all, the past few days had been intense for him, and he needed to rest. The two demigods and satyr left the room. Percy and Grover looked absolutely excited, even Annabeth, who was usually serious, seemed a little excited.
Ikki took a long shower since he didn't have many opportunities like this.
After drying off, he came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. Luckily, no one was around to see his body, which was a celestial masterpiece.
He went to the changing room and picked out an outfit that he found pleasing.
It was a short-sleeved white shirt, black pants with a golden belt with beautiful details, and surprisingly, he even found a nice bracelet. He decided to keep it for himself and wear it. After getting dressed, he put his trusty white cap on his head and grabbed a light blue jacket without a hood and put it on; he left it unbuttoned in front and rolled the sleeves up to just above his elbows.
While Ikki was taking a shower and getting dressed, Percy couldn't remember the last time he had so much fun. He came from a relatively poor family. For him and his mother, splurging meant eating out at Burger King and renting a video. A five-star hotel in Vegas?
No way.
He bungee jumped in the lobby five or six times, slid down the waterslide, snowboarded on the artificial snow ramp, played laser tag, and did virtual reality FHA sniper shooting, among many other things. He made the most of everything the place had to offer.
It wasn't just Poseidon's son having fun. Grover was going from game to game. He really liked that reverse hunter thing—where the deer come out and shoot at the hillbillies.
Annabeth was playing trivia and other strategy and intelligence games. There was one game in particular that she was playing a lot and loving. It was a huge 3D Sim type where you could build your own city and really see the holographic buildings going up on the board.
...
Ikki left his room and walked calmly towards the elevator, a little distracted, thinking about various things. At the corner of the hallway, someone accidentally bumped into him.
"Ouch." That was all the person who collided with him could say.
When Ikki looked at the person he bumped into, he saw it was a little boy, a few years younger than him. He had dark, slightly messy hair and black eyes with an olive hue. He was wearing a pair of black shorts and a gray t-shirt.
The little boy was currently on the ground, rubbing his head.
Ikki looked at him and gently asked, "I'm sorry, little one. Are you okay?..."
"Yes, I'm fine!..." The boy replied, stopping the rubbing on his head as he looked at the owner of the beautiful voice and was frozen in place. He murmured unconsciously, "So handsome!..."
Ikki heard him clearly and narrowed his eyes slightly; it seemed that the boy was not "normal" since he was seeing his appearance in all its glory, unlike mortals who only saw him as attractive, but with the help of his presence manipulation, they saw him as just normal...
The little boy looked at the older boy in shock. He never thought it would be possible for someone so perfect to exist. He snapped out of his stupor when Ikki offered his hand and helped him up.
His face turned as red as a tomato when he took Ikki's hand.
Although a bit embarrassed and with a flushed face, the little boy spoke, apologizing, "I was running and not looking where I was going. Sorry!!"
Ikki simply shook his head in denial; he patted the little boy's head and said, "It's okay, little one. I don't blame you. But why were you running?..."
The boy relaxed a little with his touch. Hearing the older boy's question, he paled, contrasting with his skin tone when he remembered why he was running. He said urgently, frightened, "I was trying to find my sister, Bianca... Oh man. If she finds me, I'm—"
A voice interrupted his words.
"Nico di Angelo!"
The shout came from behind the boy, now called Nico, who jumped in surprise. He turned around trembling...
Ikki looked in the same direction down the same hallway that Nico had come from. Walking towards them was a girl slightly shorter than him, about the height of Annabeth, with black eyes and long, silky, dark hair like ink, and she had a somewhat tanned skin with light freckles on her nose.
Though beautiful, her features were very similar to those of the little boy who had just bumped into Ikki.
Confirming that she was his sister.
She wore a black turtleneck, jeans, and a green cap.
When Nico's sister looked at her little brother, her expression was full of anger, but as soon as she noticed the older boy next to him, she went blank and became completely absorbed in his appearance.
He was too gorgeous.
Did something so beautiful even exist?
She stopped walking, her face turned red, and her eyes sparkled. She simply couldn't take her eyes off this piece of celestial art, this perfection in human form.
She snapped out of her stupor when she noticed Nico hiding behind Ikki, looking at her strangely.
The girl's expression turned frightening again. She approached, giving Ikki a few glances, trying to suppress her blush.
Nico felt scared; he peeked out from his hiding place, half-crouched. No one could blame him; his sister looked intimidating.
"Nico di Angelo, so this is where you were. Pay attention to where you're going." The girl scolded Nico, who looked dejected. Before turning to Ikki, with a pink tone in her cheeks, she said, "I'm sorry if he bothered you. My brother is very energetic..."
Ikki just nodded gently. "No problem, he wasn't bothering me at all. Actually, it was just an accident that we bumped into each other. Luckily, he didn't hurt himself..."
His body was practically the most durable thing that existed in this world. Thankfully, the little boy hadn't injured himself in the collision.
"I'm really sorry about that," said the girl. She turned to her brother with eyes full of reproach and demanded, "Nico, apologize."
"But I did..." Nico whined, looking at the sparkle in his sister's eyes and sulking.
"He really did. Though it wasn't necessary, so don't worry too much about it..." Ikki said calmly, saving Nico from his intimidating sister.
"Oh, alright then," Nico's sister said, her frightening expression disappearing. She smiled and officially introduced herself to Ikki. "My name is Bianca di Angelo; you must have already met my brother, Nico di Angelo. Sorry again for him. And you are?..."
"My name is Ikki Phoenix, as I mentioned earlier. Don't worry about it..." Ikki introduced himself politely. He looked down at the ground where Nico had fallen earlier and pointed at some scattered cards, asking the little boy, "Are these yours?"
"Mythomagic..." Nico said excitedly. He quickly began to gather all his cards. His eyes sparkled with childish excitement.
He looked at Ikki and showed him a card, while saying, "Do you know this? This is the best game ever. It's all about Greek gods, monsters, and other stuff..."
"Nico," Bianca called out with a groan, speaking lightly. "No one cares about your stupid card game..."
"Well, you're lucky. I'm actually kind of interested," Ikki said, bending down to pick up the last card. He looked and saw the image of Artemis, leaving him a bit distracted.
He quickly suppressed his emotions, snapped out of his stupor, and handed the card to Nico. He stood up and said, "I have Greek roots. Even though my name has nothing to do with Greek..."
"Really?" Nico asked, excited. His eyes couldn't be brighter.
Ikki nodded gently and said, "Yes!"
"That's so cool! I have Zeus, who does six hundred damage with his lightning. He comes in every starter pack. Now, Hades—man, that card is impossible to find."
The boy explained, showing the cards to Ikki. Nico pouted when mentioning the only card he was missing.
Ikki had fun with the boy, and since he wasn't interested in the games or toys downstairs, he decided to stay here and chat with these two to pass the time. With that in mind, he asked Nico, "Do you mind explaining all of this to me?"
"Sure!" Nico replied, sounding pumped at the prospect. Then he started his spiel about each card, like Apollo, or Hermes, and so on.
Nico was so excited that he couldn't stop talking, but after narrating the details of the last card, he paused and became distracted as if he were thinking about the best card combinations.
Bianca, who had been silent since she introduced herself, was watching the older boy talk to Nico, observing her little brother lost in thought. She said to Ikki, relieved, "Thank you for making him happy. I love him, but he is so..."
Ikki looked at her calmly and said, "I understand. Don't worry too much about it, Bianca. Honestly, he seems adorable. A bit energetic, but I would love to have a little brother like him."
It was true; Ikki had often wondered what it would be like to have a younger brother. Although he also considered Percy his younger brother, they had been together since he could remember. Despite not sharing the same blood, Poseidon's son was like a little brother to him.
A troublesome little brother, whom he had to protect.
Bianca was surprised by his words. She looked at Nico with an expression difficult to describe and said, "I think..."
Although she said that, her tone made it clear that she disagreed.
Ikki looked at her, noticing her tone. He asked, "You don't agree?... "
Hearing his question, Bianca shook her head quickly, a look of indescribable light in her black pupils as she explained, "No, no, no. I love Nico to death, honestly. It's just that... we've been together for so long, and I am the one who takes care of him. I love doing that. But..."
Ikki looked at her gently, quickly deducing what she meant, and said, "You're tired of the responsibility..."
He didn't ask about a mother or father; that seemed to be a delicate subject.
"Yes." She replied, shaking her head. A sigh escaped her lips as she said, "I'm so tired of all this. It's hard dealing with a younger brother."
Ikki looked at the girl; she seemed to be close to his age. He felt a bit sorry for her; she had to carry responsibilities at such a young age.
He turned his gaze back to Nico, who was distracted with the cards while murmuring, not paying attention to their conversation.
Then he returned his gaze to Bianca and said gently, "Look at the positive side. Nico seems to idolize and love you so much. You are practically all he has, and he is all you have... even though the responsibility is great for a girl like you. When he grows up and learns to live on his own, he will never forget you. He will want to follow in your footsteps and try to make you proud, and he'll succeed."
"At that time, you would be the happiest and most satisfied person in the world..."
"After all, there is nothing in the world more important than family..."
Hearing Ikki's words, Bianca was surprised; her heart raced and filled with a sweet and warm feeling. She unconsciously smiled softly and said, "I think you're right..."
In that moment, Nico snapped out of his card world and, still full of energy, asked Bianca to go down first to play.
Bianca sighed, responding to his request, "Okay, you can go ahead. I will go down soon. I need to go to my room to grab something and I'll be right back; don't stay too far from the elevator..."
He nodded and dashed down the slide to get to the first floor faster.
Seeing their interaction, Ikki said, "He is surprisingly obedient...."
"Yes." Bianca replied, nodding. Then she sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "Although I agree with what you said earlier, to be honest, I feel like I just want to be alone..."
She didn't know why she was confessing this, but she felt she could trust him.
"I've been taking care of him for so long that..."
"Just want to be yourself?..." Ikki guessed calmly, looking into the girl's black eyes. She nodded, and when she noticed him looking at her, Bianca blushed, and her heart began to beat faster.
Ikki didn't know how she felt, but he could empathize with her. Being yourself and knowing who you are is the essence of life.
Many people change for others, sometimes to please them or for various other reasons. That seemed stupid to him; he had always been sincere and lived his life according to his desires. If someone didn't like it, he wouldn't change himself to please that person.
"I hope that one day you can find yourself..." Ikki said softly to Bianca. She smiled at his words.
They talked a little more until Nico returned to them.
The boy was a bit worried about his sister; she was taking a long time to come down. Seeing Bianca still talking to Ikki with a smile on her face, he felt happy for her.
Ikki chatted a bit more with Nico and Bianca and then.