Reading Sun's Heir, Death's Guardian
VII
"And where were you?" Athena asked her aggressive brother.
Ares ran his thumb along his lips and checked for something before giving a dark grin, "Had to grab a snack. Who's reading?"
"My daughter again."
Annabeth picked up the book again and was truly tempted to read ahead, her need to know more about the blond that her other self considered her brother was a really interesting topic in her head. But, so not to be yelled at by everyone, she began to speak.
Naruto returned to a war room full of snickers, chuckles and giggles with an accomplished smile on his face. Dusting his hands in a manner that showed he was done taking out the trash, Naruto asked, "Would anyone else like to try and hinder the quest?"
The teens shook their heads with smiles plastered on their faces. Naruto grinned and crossed his arms, "Good, then I can pick my group."
The room hushed as he took a step to the side and leaned against the wall, his eyes closing and his head ducking slightly. The counselors waited with held breaths, all weighing in their own stances and what they could bring forward.
Lee already knew that none of his siblings or the di Angelo siblings would be accompanying his elder brother.
Both Apollo and Hades nodded to this. To Apollo, Naruto was already awesome. And to Hades, he would not wish his children on that quest, ever again.
For one thing, he was an archer on par with the Hunters, so there wouldn't be a call for any more long ranged warriors. And with him being a son of Apollo, Naruto could deal with most wounds. That left two things required for this quest, one of them being close combat, which again, Naruto was good at; the other being tracking skills.
Granted, Naruto already had two Hunters, girls trained by their aunt in the way of the Hunt, but he'd need something else, something only one person present could bring to the table.
There was no surprise on Lee's face when Naruto's unique eyes opened and locked on Grover. The satyr's own eyes widened and the cheesy Ping-Pong ball he was munching on was hastily swallowed.
"Grover," Naruto started slowly, "What are the chances of your tracking spells being successful?"
"Uhh...S-seventy-five to eighty percent," Grover replied with a soft voice, "W-Why?"
"You're number one."
"Go G-man," Percy said with a smile.
Color drained from the already pale satyr's face and he swallowed dryly. There was a pause before Grover nodded and Naruto grinned, "Sweet. Now, I need two more-"
"I'm going," Thalia said sternly, her eyes flickering with determination and her body language daring anyone to say otherwise.
"Wow, so eager," Piper joked, getting a few snickers from everyone but the so-called eager girl.
Naruto sighed, but nodded. He looked around the room, everyone remaining silent as they knew what this meant. There was only one spot remaining in this quest.
Mark chewed on his nail in nervousness and anticipation. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the blonde's eyes linger on the Water Boy. Percy Jackson. It was always Jackson!
"He kinda has a point," Annabeth pointed out and turned to her boyfriend, "You do kinda get into every quest somehow."
Percy just smiled sheepishly at the notion.
The blood of Ares boiled within him and before Naruto could speak, Mark stood and snarled, "Why should he go?"
Naruto blinked in surprised at the interruption, allowing Mark to continue, "Jackson has been on his quest two summers ago! Then he interfered with Clarisse's last summer! Not this time!"
"Ooh, dude called you out," Leo commented as he ate some popcorn.
"Mr. Andrews-" Chiron started.
"It's because Jackson wants to prove me wrong," Naruto replied with a frown. Eyes shifted from the diplomatic centaur over to the older demigod, "He's so stubborn, much like many of our parents, that he's willing to break the rules just to do so. He did so last year to save Grover, an admirable reason, but now it's personal...Isn't it, Jackson?"
Percy frowned, "No it's not."
"Oh? So you wouldn't ever had tried to sneak out and help us? Not to save face? ...Would you do it if Grover or Annie were captured?" Naruto asked, challenging the boy to say otherwise. Percy frowned, well aware that had Annabeth or Grover been captured once again, he'd be foaming at the mouth to get in on this quest.
Annabeth gave a quiet smile to her boyfriend and he gave a big one back.
Now though, he failed to see any reason why he should go.
Annabeth's grey eyes stared at the blonde demigod, analyzing as always, trying to figure out why he was goading Percy.
"Yes, please enlighten us," Percy requested with interest.
He could just say his name, declare his choice done and leave, but for some reason he didn't. He wanted to make it seem like Percy agreed to go on this quest, like it was his choice, not Naruto's.
"Well, Percy is stubborn like that…also a bit slow headed if Naruto does trick him into doing it," Thalia commented with a smile. Percy readily ignored her.
Granted, Annabeth was upset she wasn't considered, but she knew Naruto. He found her before Thalia and Luke.
"Wait what?!" Annabeth and Thalia shouted in shock and looked at each other.
"Hm, well, it explains their closeness," Aphrodite commented on lightly, but even she could tell something was…Oh, oh! Interesting.
He was her brother in all but blood. He always had his own reasons for doing things.
"Wow, so that Annabeth knows a lot about Naruto, huh?" Piper asked, man it was getting more exciting by the minute.
"Hey, now she has an awesome big bro!" Apollo grinned brightly.
Artemis groaned, "That poor, poor girl."
That didn't mean she agreed with the way he was goading Percy.
"Aww, Annabeth does care about soggy pants," Nico joked, getting some pretzel nuggets in the face via the daughter of Athena.
"You are a very selfish person, Percy Jackson," Naruto said calmly, well aware that he was pushing Percy's buttons,
"Dick move, really funny, but dick move," stated Leo with a lopsided grin.
"You took the quest for the Master Bolt not to save the world, but your mother. You blatantly left your fellow demigods to die while trying to save a friend. In short, you haven't learned an important lesson: The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."
Percy clenched his fists at that with teeth bared. He hated that line, he truly did. It went against his Fatal Flaw so terribly.
Percy looked ready to deck the older demigod, or try to anyway. It seemed only Thalia or Annabeth could hit him for some reason.
"Because we seem to know him and he doesn't mind it, I think?" Annabeth stated unsurely.
Before he could attempt to stand, Naruto continued.
"However," he said, "You didn't leave any of your friends behind in return for your mother and returned the lightning bolt. You stayed behind so Clarisse could save the camp and outfoxed the misguided Son of Hermes. You do understand the lesson I cherish more than the last: 'Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their precious people are worse than trash'.
"A brilliant way of life," Hestia commented softly with a gentle smile. She was liking this boy more and more.
A lesson my father passed through my homeland before he left.
"Amazing that sunstroke here could say that," Hermes joked, getting his brother to glare at him.
A lesson empowered by Lady Hestia herself. And it is because of that alone that I know I can trust you at my side, despite our differences."
After memorizing and enjoying Percy's gob smacked face and getting a nod, Naruto looked at Mark, who was calming down, "As to why I am not bringing a camper from Ares'," he looked at Katie, who started to play with her hands and blush under his gaze, "Demeter's," a nod to Charles, who nodded back, "Hephaestus'," a wink to Silena, who blushed lightly and was briefly glared at by Thalia, "Aphrodite's,"
"Such a little charmer," Aphrodite commented with a grin and turned to Thalia, "Your other self should hurry up before one of my daughters snare him."
She giggled at the red face she had gotten from the Hunter.
a glance at the window with a few snickers from the room, "Hermes'," a final glance at Annabeth, who nodded with disappointment on her face, "Or Athena's cabin, I can explain it simply: I need you to protect my new home."
The counselors sat straighter in their seats after that statement, and Mark slowly sat down. Chiron looked amazed while Mr. D calmly sipped from his Diet Coke, both looking at the blonde Guardian with hints of approval in their eyes.
"Aww, even D likes him, a little." Apollo stated with a smile.
The God of Madness rolled his eyes, but inwardly he did begrudgingly acknowledge the words of the demigod on the screen.
Naruto rubbed his eyes and stepped forward before leaning over the table's edge, "Look, you aren't happy with it, but it's true. Lee already knows why I'm not bringing any from his cabin. The rest of you are needed here, to train and protect our home."
"A good point," Chiron said, "Mister...?"
"You can call me Uzumaki, I'm still not used to the Namikaze name," the blond admitted as the tense atmosphere in the room lightened from his sheepish statement.
"Mr. Uzumaki," Chiron started again, "Do you have a written copy of a schedule I can introduce to the camp?"
Naruto grinned in a manner that unnerved those being left behind, making Lee whimper.
"Oh, that and more, my dear Chiron," Naruto said with a chuckle, "That and more..."
"Well, training seems to be under new management," Athena commented lightly and had a look of appraising in her eyes. She wondered what the training would be like.
The meeting closed shortly after that, and Naruto looked at the sky, frowning when the darkness started as his father traveled west. His aunt's planet was dimming, and was quickly following Sol's path, faster than it should've been.
Dad's working overtime to cover for Auntie Arte, Naruto mused with a frown, Rai-Jiji must still have him on probation for finding the loophole to the 'no visiting' rule, otherwise he'd have a clone running both chariots.
"Geez, thanks for upping my workload, " The God of Music complained, but shut up after seeing the Master Bolt in his father's hand.
"Naruto!" The blond turned at his name and looked at his nervous younger brother, "Hey...uh, I know you're leaving tomorrow but...Well, some of our sibs were wondering...Would you like to join us in our cabin tonight?"
A golden brow arched and his lips twitched upwards, "You're not trying to lessen the training are you?"
"...Maybe a little," Lee admitted with a sheepish laugh, "But in all seriousness, would you? We're on edge. We all felt it...Dad flying over us faster than he normally does."
Naruto nodded and brought his little brother into a one-armed hug, leading Lee back to his cabin, "Let's gather everyone up and talk. I'll leave a Bunshin with Hades' Children tonight."
The two brothers walked back to the cabin of Apollo, idly chatting and talking about possible scenarios Naruto would find himself in. Above them, Percy Jackson rode a raven colored Pegasus to who knows where in an effort to clear his head.
"And there I go to the main problem of the quest, right there," Percy said in a low tone.
"None can fault you for not knowing the creature Percy Jackson, even I had forgotten about it," Artemis reassured the boy, getting a thankful nod in return.
~Morning~
Naruto stood next to Thalia with his arms crossed as they waited on Half-Blood Hill to get started on their quest. The Hunters Zoë and Phoebe were on the opposite side, waiting impatiently and glaring at the current quest leader that was idly chatting with Grover.
"And then what'd Annie say?" Naruto asked, getting the full story behind the Lightning Thief quest rather than the summary he got from his employer.
Grover chuckled and cleared his throat before he spoke in a high voice, "'Just so you know, you drool in your sleep', I've never seen Percy so shocked in his life."
Percy looked sheepish whilst Annabeth giggled at that memory.
"Ten bucks says he confesses when we get back," Thalia chimed
A few snickers were heard in the chamber. They all knew how long it took for that to happen!
in as Naruto laughed. The blond's laughter stopped as a prank came to his mind. Like a master actor, he furrowed his brows in mock confusion.
"Confess to who?" Naruto asked innocently. Thalia and Grover suddenly froze and looked at each other. They knew what Naruto was like when he was protecting Annabeth,
"Yep, you got a roadblock now Jackson," Ares joked with a mocking laugh.
and Thalia remembers what he said he'd do to any ex-boyfriends of Annabeth's. That led her to wondering what he'd do to Luke and she shivered. Not a pleasant thought.
Those that knew Luke also shivered; it was not going to be pretty.
"U-Uh, well, um...It's a not-so-secret secret that uh, Percy, um..." Grover stuttered before spotting the Annabeth and Chiron approaching the Hill without said boy, "sleeps in late!"
Naruto chuckled and patted the satyr on the shoulder, "Relax, G, I'm in the know. You'd have to be blind not to see it."
"See what?" Annabeth asked as they approached. Naruto smiled at her and engulfed her in a hug.
Percy gained a very unpleasant look on his face, making his cousins to snicker at him as Annabeth was blushing lightly.
"My cutest widdle sister in the whole wide world!" the blond exclaimed with a grin as he spun the surprised girl in a circle. Once he set her down, he held her at arm's length with a grin; "I remember when you were just as tall as my leg, pretending to be tough while shivering in fear. Then there was that time you nearly pis-"
"Oh Gods," Annabeth groaned as she wanted to just die in a hole. Everyone was laughing at her!
"Shut up, Naruto!" Annabeth hissed with a red face while Thalia was grinning at the potential blackmail,
"Of course you would," The wisdom child snipped at her friend. Thalia just shrugged, it was true.
"Or do you want me to talk about the Goddess back in Frisco?"
"My boy just has game!" Apollo pumped before pleading, "Which Goddess, c'mon, tell us!"
"It doesn't say. Oh, a caption, Eirene, the peace goddess?" Annabeth questioned confusingly.
"Touché little sister, touché!" quickly chuckled out the elder blonde as he released Annabeth and looked at Chiron, ignoring Thalia's curious glare, "No Percy?"
"I'm afraid not," Chiron replied with a sigh, "I've looked everywhere, and after gaining entrance to his cabin, I didn't find him."
"Which means you're one man short," Annabeth hinted with a smile.
"Nice, change up!" Annabeth cheered.
Naruto frowned.
"Or not," Jason pointed out.
He looked at the others before he said, "We'll be right back."
"They're going to have 'The Talk'," Leo whispered, getting pelted with snacks from Annabeth afterwards.
Naruto grabbed Annabeth's shoulder lightly and they flashed away via Hiraishin. He led her a few steps deeper into the woods surrounding the camp before he turned and faced her.
"Alone in the deep woods? Oh, so bold!" Aphrodite cheered.
Annabeth groaned with pink cheeks while that seemed to put Percy in a grumpy mood.
"You can't come with me. I made my choice, Annabeth," he said softly. The girl frowned and if one looked, could see hurt in her eyes.
Percy gave his girlfriend a one armed hug, "I think you need one." He said to her in a whisper. He got a half-hearted slap to the shoulder, which made him laugh lightly.
Naruto sighed, "I already chose six, the prophecy mentions six turning to five anyway. Why risk it?"
"I just want to help," the girl pleaded. Naruto hugged her and whispered, "I know, Annie. I know. I need you here, though; to keep a level head and watch my family...You're the only one I can trust with that."
"Oh, I really want to know more about their history," The Goddess of Love stressed irritably.
"B-But I'm stronger now!" She protested through some sniffles, "I-It's not fair! You can't leave me again, you can't!"
"Wow, I-I am really upset about this," Annabeth whispered in surprise. Gods, she really wanted to know what had happened between herself and the older blond.
Naruto smiled softly and put a hand on her chin, making her look at him, "Annie, I know it's not fair. You think I want to leave my little sister behind again? There's more going on than just this, though. Try to see that. Even Athena doesn't know all."
"Too true!" Hermes announced, getting an irritated look from his wise sister.
"Still not fair," the younger blonde sniffled and hugged him, "Promise you'll come back...In less than seven years?"
"I dunno, there's a whole lot of fun things I can do in seven years..." Naruto trailed off before chuckling when she playfully hit him,
"Once again, too true," Hermes said as he and Apollo grinned, you could do a lot in that amount of time.
"Well at least she has some rein over him," Hera gestured.
"I promise to come right back. And when you find that barnacle brain, tell him that he missed his chance to impress me, will ya?"
"Way to go Percy, losing points already with Annabeth's big bro? For shame," Nico mock scolded.
Percy just face palmed, but was inwardly thankful he didn't have to deal with an over protective brother, just a Wisdom Goddess.
The younger girl giggled in response before she started to calm down. After Annabeth wiped the tears away, the two returned to the group in another flash of light. Naruto looked at Chiron with a furrowed brow, "I just remembered something we should've addressed earlier...Isn't the Winter Solstice approaching?"
"The annual meeting is in eight days and Artemis needs to be there," the centaur insisted.
"Yes, because someone is too stubborn to see the truth in front of him," Poseidon commented to his younger brother, who ignored him in favor of the story.
Naruto nodded.
"A week should be enough time," he mused quietly before looking at his group, "Anyone got an idea of where to start?"
"West, obviously," Phoebe snapped, looking at Naruto with a glare while he rolled his eyes, "You should know. You got the quest."
"Someone's snippy~!" Aphrodite sang out to Artemis. She lightly continued, "They truly fall to pieces without you."
Artemis just glared at her, but could not refute that she had a slight point.
"Yeah, I did. And while I know going west is the endgame, we need more than that to go on," Naruto replied with a frown before looking at Grover, "Any suggestions, Grover?"
"I told you that we should-!" "Phoebe, I know you're worried, but so help me Rhea if either of you talk down to me one more time, I'll leave you here in the most embarrassing way I can think of!" Naruto snapped with a growl,
Artemis had a frown on her young face at that remark.
"Well, it looks like sunspot even has a snapping point. Leave it to one of Arte's groupies to poke it," Dionysus stated in a drawl tone.
making the two take a step back in surprise before narrowing their eyes at him. He took a minor breath through his nose before he spoke again, "...Grover, suggestions?"
Eying their current quest leader with concern and a hint of fear, the satyr said, "Well, the last spot we saw her was near D.C., right? Why don't we start there?"
"Picking up her trail, sounds good to me!" the guardian replied before he looked at Chiron, "I need two things before we go! First, tell Bianca and Nico that I'll be gone for a week and I want them to behave. Second, I need a car to drive to D.C..."
"Naruto?" Chiron asked as Naruto trailed off and spaced out. The fellow quest goers each stared at the blond as he seemed to be in his own world.
"Another vision?" Apollo muttered with a frown. Naruto was getting a lot of those. Two in nearly one day, that was a bit more than his kids usually got.
"(Like old times, eh) Naruto?" The man from the previous dream asked as they locked eyes on each other.
"(Attacking civilians, I didn't think you'd sink this low to get my attention)!" He called back with burning anger as they stood in a standoff outside the Smithsonian.
"What are you saying?" A familiar younger demigod asked as several mercs readied their weapons.
"Just stay out of this, Jackson! You take the other guys, just hit them once! This one's mine!" Naruto cried out as he rushed the man.
"Seems the past is coming up from behind him," Ares stated with a bit of joy, "Hmph, even attacking mortals? Well, that's going to make this a bit more intense."
Ares' grin grew at the last word. He did like some intense fights.
The vision vanished and a loud clap of skin on skin contact echoed in the clearing
"Ow!" Naruto cried out upon being slapped before he looked at his attacker with a pout, "Thalia-chan...that hurt!"
"Well if you didn't decide to visit la-la land while we were talking to you, you wouldn't have been slapped!" Thalia scolded the teen with a growl and a raised fist, "You're lucky I didn't punch you again!"
"...Personally, I think you just like hitting on me-Ow!
Thalia was pink as she tried to cover her inflaming cheeks form the others, but failed miserable as they laughed at her.
"Man, just get a room already," Leo joked, before Jason bopped him on the shoulder with a frown, "Oh c'mon, that's funny. Other you may have a brother-in-law soon."
Can't anyone take a joke these days?" Naruto cried out as he rubbed his arm.
Annabeth giggled at what she acknowledged as her two older 'siblings' flirting. She leaned over to Grover and asked, "You'll tell me if they kiss, right?"
"See, other Annabeth agrees with me!" Leo pointed out, getting the current reader Annabeth to giggle and agree with him, too.
"Cross my horns and stab my thigh," the satyr replied with a nod and grin, "Five cans say she kisses him in two days."
"Why that smelly goat," The Hunter grumbled.
"Ten drachma says they'll kiss after you find Artemis," Annabeth replied with a smirk.
"Ah, a kiss after a big quest…that kind is just magical," The Lady of Doves sighed in content.
"Who's going to kiss who?" "What art thou talking about?" The curious Hunters asked with furrowed brows.
"Naruto and Thalia ki-oof! I mean, nothing," Grover corrected himself after Annabeth elbowed him in the side. He rubbed his side and glared at her while the blonde girl smiled innocently.
"Devious little thing you are, you know that?" Thalia said to her best friend. The child of wisdom just smiled at her knowingly.
"Alright, break it up you two," Chiron said to the two bickering blue-eyed demigods, "I got the keys to the van right here, Mr. Uzumaki. I believe now is when we say goodbye."
So after a final farewell and a warning (threat) from Zoë concerning her Hunters safety, the Quest for Artemis officially began with the five quest takers piling into a fairly nice looking van. Naruto frowned at it but climbed in the driver's seat nonetheless.
"Of course my kid would hate to ride that clunker," Apollo grinned, his kids had far better taste for cars, it was in their blood!
A few hours passed and Naruto sighed as another sports car zoomed fast. He supposed it was his father's blood in him, but he really wanted to drive something more...stylish than a black van. He felt a bit like a creeper.
"See, told you!" The God of Medicine gloated.
"Maybe we should tell Chiron to get a new paint job on the van," Percy said with a withheld laugh.
"You ok, Naruto?" Grover asked from the back as he sat next to Thalia while she glared at Zoë, who was riding shotgun.
"I do love shotgun," Thalia pointed out with a pout, damn Zoe.
Phoebe sat on Grover's other side, not fazed by Thalia or Zoë's rivalry, preferring to glare at the back of Naruto's head for reasons unknown...most likely due to her lady's requirement of anti-man policy.
"It's nothing. Ah, come on Chiron, seriously? You couldn't fill the tank before we left?" he grumbled to himself as he looked at the gas gauge. Looking at Zoë, he said, "We have to stop."
"Then do so, quickly. The sooner I am not working with thou, the sooner I know Milady is safe," Zoë rationalized. Naruto glanced at her oddly before he shook his head and exited at a stop where he could refill the gas. He took note of a SRT8 Dodge Challenger colored a cobalt blue with black racing stripes parked nearby. A smirk crossed his face as he heard a catcall.
"They're dead," Piper stated in finality.
Oh, he found a solution to his problem. Just a quick prayer first.
Phoebe, Zoë and Thalia grit their teeth as two pretty boys that could give Apollo's preferred form (pre-Naruto retrieval) a run for his money approached them.
"Nuh-uh, no way!" Apollo pouted, he was far better looking!
They looked at Naruto with a glare and sneered at Grover. Phoebe reached for her weapons but Naruto cut her off with a shake of his head.
He instead approached the guys and said, "Nice ride, guys...Hey, feel up for a friendly gamble?"
The guys arched their brow and the apparent owner of the car stepped forward, "Sure, what'cha got in mind?"
"Guess what I have in my hand and you can be accompanied by my three friends here," Naruto said, gesturing to the girls with his right hand, revealing keys dangling from his index.
"WHAT?!" Thalia shouted in rage.
Thalia, Zoë and Phoebe looked livid. Grover bit his lip to keep from bleating in fear at the killing intent they were sending Naruto's way.
The two guys, seeing what was in his hand, smirked at their luck. The owner asked, "And if we lose?"
"They get to kick your asses," Naruto said with a grin, knowing how they had already assumed the girls were the clique chicks at a local high school, all bark and no bite. How did he know this? A way to manipulate the Mist he learned while studying under a friend of his boss. They didn't see the three tough as nail, infuriated girls ready for a bar brawl, but instead saw them as three teenage girls wearing revealing clothes and giggling.
"Oh, nice use of the Mist," Hazel complimented with a grin.
"We're in!" The boys cried out predictably. Naruto's grin turned evil and closed his fist.
"What's in my hand?" he asked, ignoring the girls radiating murder behind him.
"You just lost big time, dude! Your van keys are in your right hand!" the car driver proudly announced, "Now, c'mon girls! A deal's a deal."
"In a way you're right...but you're also very wrong," Naruto said with a smirk as he held another set, one with a disco chain dangling from the ring, "You see these are my van's keys. And these...Well, these are my new Challenger's keys."
"Wow, nice sleight of hands kid!" Hermes praised with a nod. It was a great gambit.
"W-What!?" The former Challenger owner exclaimed as he searched his pockets for his keys, "Hey! Give those back!"
"Oh, I would, but I believe we agreed on what would happen if you lost. Girls...don't kill them," Naruto chuckled as he walked past the two guys, who suddenly pissed themselves as their impromptu shield walked away from them, allowing all of the girls' killer intent to come flying at them. Naruto's illusion dropped and all Hell broke loose.
"Beat the shit out of them!" Thalia called out with glee, even Artemis enjoyed the scene before her. The guys and gods were wincing at bit at what was happening.
Naruto walked out of the rest stop's café with a latte in his right hand while a clone followed him, utilizing the Mist to appear as a bipedal Chiron dressed in a nice suit. The blond guardian snickered as the two teens were no better than a pile of crap. They were smears in the grass, still breathing but hurt immensely. The Mist shifted around them to look like two gang members.
"Thank Hecate for the Mist, really thank her," Piper stated.
"The Mist hates me," Percy added with a frown, maybe Hecate didn't like him at times…well her daughters did try to kill him during that summer.
Nodding to the incognito clone, he walked to the group of four. He took a sip of his latte before looking at the self-accomplished girls and Grover, "We ready to go now?"
The girls glared at him upon his arrival and prepared to pounce. He raised a hand, "Before you try to hurt me, let me tell you that I was playing them the whole time. Even if they had won by some miracle, you three could've kicked their asses, and then mine. I would've welcomed it. But they didn't. You got to use righteous feminine fury, Grover didn't crap himself and me? I just got a new ride and a latte. I'd say we came out pretty well."
"He's a smooth operator~!" Apollo sung out with a smile.
The girls gaped at him as he swiftly turned and approached the Challenger, raising the keys and pressing the alarm button. A quick beep-beep and he was opening the driver's door, pushing the seat forward and gesturing to the open space, "Ladies...and Grover...Shall we save a Goddess?"
Ok, that was smooth...Thalia admitted to herself as she ran over to the car and grabbed the shotgun seat. She grinned at Zoë in victory, but this was better! Eat that, Nightshade! Hope you enjoy your ride in the cramped backseat!
"How vicious of you, Thalia! Good work," Aphrodite praised, stick to those love haters!
Naruto winced and mentally apologized to Grover for the situation he was now in.
Ah, well...He'll thank me someday, Naruto assured himself with a shrug as Grover hastily climbed in while Zoë and Phoebe hesitantly followed. Zoë sitting in the middle due to being shorter than Phoebe, if only by an inch.
Naruto pushed the seat back, relieved that he wouldn't be squishing Phoebe and Zoë, nor would Thalia be squishing Grover. He carefully pulled out of the parking spot and then his father's blood raged. In the blink of an eye, he switched the radio on and grinned in anticipation.
Jet Black Stare's Ready to Roll came through the speakers
"Now that is riding music," The God of Music stated with a grin as he heard the melody in his head right now.
as Naruto floored the gas and peeled out of the rest stop. The other riders went wide-eyed and Grover said what was on their minds.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?" exclaimed the satyr as his hands clenched the seat and the wall.
"Maybe a little!" Naruto laughed out as he sped past several cars and approached one hundred on the speedometer,
"By the Gods, who did he learn to drive from?!" Annabeth exclaimed in surprise. She thought this guy was the responsible one!
"Next stop: Washington D.C., baby! Give me room to run away-y, feel like I'm ready to roll! Whoo!"
Apollo was humming the song and lightly rocking his head, prompting Artemis to smack him out of his own little world. The God of the Sun rubbed his arm and asked, "What? Is it over?"
"Alright, two chapters is enough," Percy interjected, recognizing the look in his girlfriend's eyes as he took the book from her before she read ahead.
"Yeah, Annabeth, get a control over that addiction," Leo joked.
Annabeth mockingly laughed back before pouting. She wanted to know what the deal was with this guy already!
0
Frank sighed in content. He had just finished some training and cleaned up, and now? Well, he was going to have this candy bar. Long, dark chocolate bar. It wasn't the cheap kinda either, but he thought he could spoil himself a bit. It wasn't like it was going to kill his husky figure.
As he unwrapped it to take a bite, his father appeared before him.
"Thanks kid." he said snagging the bar and disappearing once more.
Frank was speechless as he fell to his knees.
Why?
0
Done & done!
R&R, no flames, peace off!
