Reading Sun's Heir, Death's Guardian

IX

"Well since all the kiddies have read," Apollo began as he snapped his fingers, the book appearing in his hands, "Time for a master to have a chance at it."

"Funny, I forgot you could read," Artemis quipped.

Apollo mockingly laughed before he read, "Chapter IX."

Naruto ran out of the Natural History Museum just in time to catch sight of a disguised Cyclops carrying five kittens. Now normally, he would've just either ignored the sight or attacked and then left, but the kittens had something he couldn't get enough of.

Orange fur.

Orange fur.

...

Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, MINE! The eccentric teen thought

"Well, he must love the tee-shirts at camp," Annabeth joked with a smile.

as he adjusted his footing and built chakra up in his legs. Time for a Food Kart Destroyer!

Naruto leapt up almost twenty feet into the air and arced slightly before coming back towards the ground feet first. Using the small gap between his feet as a reticule, Naruto aimed at the side of the cyclops' head. A second later, and his feet collided with the force of a freight train behind them thanks to gravity's intervention. The cyclops went flying and as a result, the kittens were dropped in the snow, mewing adorably out of freight.

"Now that was a kick, whoo!" Ares cheered, that was a sweet double shot.

Naruto grinned as he watched the cyclops soar into the nearest tree...and through it. That one would be waking up with a bad headache. The blonde's unique eyes looked down at the kittens and he grinned. Cute and Orange? That would be what his dad would call a 'win of epic proportions'.

Kneeling down, Naruto picked the closest one up and examined it. Two small fangs protruded from its upper jaw and came out over the bottom. Almost like a...no, that'd be stupid!

"Are there any vampire cats in the legend?" Leo asked with a tilted head, only to get a playful slap on the shoulder from Piper at the lame joke.

I should ask dad if he has any prehistoric animals as a symbol...because if he doesn't, well he does now!

"Well they're cute, so maybe," Apollo shrugged.

Naruto mused as he began stroking the little cat's head and getting a purr in response. As much as he wanted to continue playing with the kitten he dubbed Ranger, Naruto knew that he had to get a move on. And so with another piece of paper and his spare blanket, Naruto gathered the five kittens up, comfortably wrapped them up and put the new address on the blanket. But not before he ripped a piece of his shirt off and used it to mark Ranger as his.

"Wow kid; two within an hour? I have other things to do ya know!" Hermes cried out in distress.

A second later, Chiron looked down as a bundle appeared before him, moving and oddly enough mewing. Grabbing the piece of paper hastily pinned to the blanket by a ninja knife, the centaur read the message before paling. To his fear, one of the kitten heads popped out and mewed at him.

"What Mr. D told you was partially true. However!" Chiron would later proclaim after he revealed the kittens to the campers, "I did not, nor will I ever, scream like a 'little girl'!"

He then dispersed the remaining four kittens to the Athena Cabin, a gift specifically for Annabeth and to act as a cabin guard when older;

"Yes! I get a sabertooth tiger kitten!" Annabeth squealed girlishly, before coughing into her hand to regain her composure. Which failed miserably as people still snickered at her.

the Aphrodite Cabin, because they nearly demanded they have one, would then lend the cat to Hephaestus' cabin once grown; the Demeter Cabin, for the same reason as Athena's new kitten; and the last kitten went to the Hunters of Artemis as a gift from their cousin.

"Hm, I have never seen one really. They do look adorable," Artemis commented softly.

The Hades' and Apollo Cabins would share responsibility over Ranger until Naruto returned.

Back at the plot,

"Fourth wall!" Leo shouted.

Naruto resumed his journey to the Air and Space Museum, arriving through the doors and easily spotting his group. Thalia and Zoë were nearly butting heads, but Grover and for some reason Phoebe were holding them back. This struck him as odd as Naruto assumed Phoebe would've let Zoë get in a fight with the raven-haired demigoddess. The blond then took note of the nervous Percy standing to the side, looking guilty and shifting uncomfortably.

"Hm, I wonder what he did wrong," Annabeth wondered sarcastically as she gave the boy in question another glare, making her boyfriend squirm.

"Jackson!" Naruto called as he approached the boy, grabbing the front of his shirt with both hands and lifting him off the ground,

"Punch him in the face!" Ares called out, "Also take his lunch money!"

"Shut up, Ares," Poseidon snapped with a glare.

"Where the Hell were you, huh? And what the Hell are you doing with Annie's cap?!"

"I...I was called out to help a friend the night before you left," Percy replied before looking around, "And...and...uh...Annabeth...lent her hat to me?"

"Percy, that was pathetic," Hermes said in a disappointed tone to his cousin and turned back to story. Percy hung his head. He just couldn't win so far in this chapter.

Naruto's eyes narrowed before he sighed and released Percy, letting the boy fall to his ass. The blond pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh of irritation. So he now has a late quest member that stole a very important item from his little sister, along with a satyr that reminded him of the Cowardly Lion at times, a punk demigoddess that was in the midst of a spat of some kind with a women-are-holier-than-thou Hunter, and another Hunter that seems to be on the fence of hating his guts due to his gender or some other personal issue.

Then he has the Shinobi to worry about. He had thought of them before his life as a demigod changed for the worse, i.e. dying, but lately they hadn't been much of a thought. Of course the Titans would know about the Elemental Nations, it was home to the perfect mercenaries one could ask for if said employer was supernatural.

"Joy, so we've got to fight these guys, too?" Nico asked.

Jason frowned at the thought of fighting people that were nothing more than money for hire. It just rubbed him the wrong way.

The new question on his mind was, how did Team Gai end up in Washington, D.C. in the first place?

The other members of the group, who had stopped to watch Naruto and Percy's interaction, were now staring at their leader questionably.

"Where were you, Whiskers?" Thalia all but demanded as she stepped forward.

"Checking out the Natural History Museum," Naruto said with another sigh before looking at Percy, "Found that idiot facing our ol' friend Luke and The General."

"He was here? Was Lady Artemis with him?" Phoebe inquired. Naruto shook his head.

"Auntie Arte is still to the west, but they were here for a reason," the blonde crossed his arms and frowned, "And they were packing some secret weapons..."

"Hey, who were those guys anyway?" Percy asked, getting all eyes on him. The raven-haired boy sighed and told them what he had heard and seen before leaving the Natural History Museum. He described the sickly Luke being ordered around by The General, the death of Thorn, and then he brought up the subjects that made Thalia glare at Naruto.

"Someone's in trouble~!" Hazel sung playfully.

"The one with big eyes said his name happily, like he was seeing an old friend after a long time," Percy finished, making Naruto glower at him.

"Nice one Percy, making problems for the quest leader. Good job," Thalia mocked him.

Great...Now I'm going to-"OW! Let go of my ear! What are you, my mother?" Naruto asked as Thalia grabbed the appendage and pulled him down.

"Yes, drama!" Aphrodite cheered.

"Who were they?" Thalia asked through gritted teeth, "Tell us!"

"We have a right to know," Percy said with a frown, "If they're helping the Titans-"

"They are not helping the Titans!" Naruto snapped as he slapped Thalia's hand away.

"Yes, they are," Percy said in annoyance.

He glared at the group, "They're my problem, alright? If they show up again, I'll deal with them myself."

"If they were keeping thou from pursuing Castellan and The General, then thine foes were helping the Titans," Zoë said with a frown, "They are our problem."

"She's got a point, Naruto," Grover pointed out, "Like it or not, they're our problem now, too."

"I won't...Does anyone else smell catnip?" Naruto asked as he sniffed the air. The Hunters followed suit and Grover's eyes widened as he took in the scent.

"Don't change the subject, Whiskers!" Thalia growled only for her ire to be interrupted by Phoebe who was looking up.

"He's not changing the subject, he's saving our lives! Everyone move!" the Hunter ordered.

"Good nose," Artemis praised, he smelt the Lion even before her Hunters, before Zoe.

The six teenagers moved out of the way as a shadow covered them and a roar hit their ears. Landing in place where they used to be was a lion, large enough to be a pick-up truck. Its fur nearly matched Naruto's hair in color, but glistened and gave off a more molten gold appearance, as its claws shined and looked silver. Gleaming fangs were exposed and dripping with saliva.

"Oh great..." Naruto grunted as he pushed himself to his feet. He looked at Zoë and called out, "Zoë! You and Phoebe get to higher ground! Cover us!"

While she didn't enjoy being ordered around by the blond demigod, Zoë did as she was told. She helped Phoebe get to her feet and they retreated to the stairway. Meanwhile, Thalia and Percy were deflecting the lion's claws with their weapons.

Naruto grabbed Grover by the arm and pulled him to his feet, "You have got to lay off the enchiladas, G! Get to cover!"

"What are you gonna do?" Grover asked as the blonde turned and pulled out his bow.

"I'm gonna skin me a lion," Naruto replied

"Oh nice, get that jacket kiddo!" Apollo cheered with a whistle.

as he pulled an arrow back and let it fly. To his shock, the arrow bounced off the large cat's fur like it was nothing. Groaning, he notched another explosive arrow and flicked the side of the nock. The arrowhead was primed and started to beep.

"Thalia-chan! Jackson! Incoming!" Naruto warned as he let the arrow fly. The two demigods turned and saw the blonde release his weapon of choice. It landed right beneath the lion's forepaws. The lion looked down just as the weapon detonated, making it roar in pain at being blinded.

"Nice," The quest goers cheered. That thing was a pain.

Its swipes became more violent and vicious, but wild and unfocused, allowing the two demigods to regroup with Naruto.

"What is that thing?" Percy asked through his panting.

Naruto notched another customized arrow and replied, "The Nemean Lion. Don't you read?"

"Dyslexia."

"That's not an excuse," Naruto replied with a grunt

"It really isn't Percy," Annabeth chastised with a wag of her finger. Percy rolled his eyes in disagreement.

as he sent the arrow flying and it passed through the armor like skin into the lion's shoulder and he groaned, "Tank piercing tips work? Seriously? I've only got five of those things..."

"…He has tank piercing arrow tips?" Jason questioned, where in the world do they have those?

"Why?" Thalia asked curiously. Naruto looked at her and absently fired a flash bang arrow.

"Why not?" he countered, "Situations like this for one."

"Then use them!" Percy urged.

"Wow, Percy. Desperate much?" Nico questioned.

Thalia looked at the boy like he was an idiot,

"Which he is," Thalia agreed with her other self.

"Hey!" indignantly cried out said boy.

"What if we have to deal with something harder than that things' skin, Percy?"

"Oh...Right..." Sheepishly replied the teen before he looked around. Arrows were flying at the lion from all sides, keeping it in place as it roared in defiance.

"How was it defeated last time?" Percy asked, racking his brain for ideas.

"Herc the Jerk choked it out," Naruto replied as he reached for another arrow, "Hey, Thalia-chan, why don't you go try?"

"Pass," Thalia replied

"Smart choice," The Hunter agreed, but looked peeved that her 'love interest' would suggest that during a time like this.

as she watched one of Phoebe's arrows get crushed beneath the lion's massive paw, "You wanna go take a whack at it, Barnacle Brain?"

"Uh, no thanks." Percy's eyes landed on the food stand and he said, "Cover me! I've got an idea!"

"Glad you do!" Naruto called back before looking at Thalia, "You gonna go help him or not?"

"I'm not suicidal," the girl countered before glaring at him, "Unlike some people."

"'I'm not suicidal,'" Percy repeated with a pout, causing Annabeth to pat his cheek with a look of support on her face.

"Not the time, Thalia," Naruto replied with a frown

"Wow, low blow Thalia, he didn't even use your nickname," Piper chuckled out.

as he took another shot. The lion roared in annoyance. Naruto felt at his quiver and did a count. He scowled, "Shit! I'm running low and the rest of my things are sealed away."

He looked at the Hunters, "Phoe-chan, Zoë-chan, how are you on arrows?"

"Phoe-chan? You bastard, don't give me a nickname!" Phoebe snapped as she fired off another shot.

"Well, I think it was cute," Aphrodite commented on lightly, "Order knows she could try to be a bit more feminine."

"My Hunters can act whichever way they wish," Artemis argued in a stern manner.

"If this continues we'll be out of this quiver. We have more stored up, but I'd rather not lose a full quiver of arrows to a mangy cat!" Zoë replied before glaring down at the blonde from her spot on the stairs, "Do not give nicknames to the Hunters, Uzumaki!"

"You girls are no fun," Naruto replied

"Even in a life and death situation he is laidback," Hazel commented with a giggle. She turned to Thalia and slyly continued, "Seems to balance out your gruff nature well."

The Hunter eloquently stuck her tongue out in response.

before his eyes widened and he wrapped an arm around Thalia's waist, "Down!"

The two of them dropped to the ground as the Nemean Lion swiped a chunk of the ground in their direction. Thalia blushed lightly as Naruto held her against him

"Sweeping her off her feet even in mid-fight? He is good," The Lady of Doves approved.

before pushing herself off of the blonde.

"Thanks," she murmured as she helped the Guardian to his feet.

"Not a problem, Thalia-chan," Naruto replied before he notched another arrow. He grinned at her as the arrow flew, "I live for pretty girls pressing themselves against me."

"You perverted bastard!" Thalia snapped as she glared in his chuckling direction.

"Oh, you look like you like it Thalia," Annabeth jeered for fun, getting a playful shove from said girl.

"Blame the genetics and my teachers!" Naruto shot back as he shoved her out of the way of a claw swipe, "Pay attention!"

"Thalia, you should save your flirting banter for later," Artemis scolded with a smile.

"Lady Artemis!" the Hunter groaned, great, even the man hating Goddess was joking about her other self love life!

"I'm going to kick your ass, Whiskers!"

"Now is not the time to flirt you guys!" Grover called as he chucked random items at the lion.

"WE ARE NOT FLIRTING!" Naruto and Thalia shouted back. The Nemean Lion roared and the two faced it, "SHUT UP YOU GIANT CARPET!"

"Well they have talking at the same time checked off," Piper quipped.

Grover blinked and called from his cover, "You two sound like an old married couple!"

"I'm gonna skin you if you keep it up, Goat Boy!" Thalia warned

"Thalia, leave Grover out it. Just because you have a weird love interest," Nico joked with a smile, leaning out of the way of a punch, still smiling.

as she deflected a swipe with her shield, "Where's that Barnacle Brain?"

"Dunno –Hey watch it fuzz butt! –But he seriously needs to hurry up!" the blonde demigod replied. He reached for another arrow and paled when he only felt one in his quiver. Pulling it out, he examined it. It was a regular hunting arrow with a large gleaming arrowhead made of celestial bronze. He didn't have time to search for his scroll of quivers, so he had to make this one count. Looking over in the direction the son of Poseidon ran in, he saw what Percy did, and his gears began to turn in his head.

Percy ran out from behind the snack bar, ready to shout, when Naruto shouted before him, "Hold that thought, Jackson!"

The younger demigod did as requested while watching the older boy slide under a swipe of the Nemean Lion's paw and launch another flashbang arrow. The next blind attack was avoided as Naruto flipped over it. Naruto dove under another swipe stopped next to Percy, who was gaping at him.

"Okay, how did he even bend that way?" Leo questioned confused as that was Olympic gymnast level of acrobatics.

Naruto nodded to the younger boy and dropped into a crouch while preparing his last shot.

Percy got the message and looked at the lion, preparing his secret weapon. He then said the first thing that came to mind, "Your mother was a fur coat!"

"Ooh, scathing," Naruto chuckled

"Ah, the lame one liners," Hermes laughed while leaning back.

as he joined in the jeering, "King of the jungle, my ass! My sisters are more threatening than you!"

"What's wrong, you forget how to roar? I'd thought I'd be shaking in my shoes by now!"

"Yeah, c'mon, give us a roar, kitty cat!"

"Roar!"

"Dammit, roar you worthless piece of cat shit!"

The Nemean Lion faced them and its mouth opened wide in a roar that shook the foundations of the building.

"NOW JACKSON!"

Percy cocked his arm back and let the contents of his hand fly right into the creature's mouth, delivering an ice cold sandwich right down the Nemean's throat. The giant jungle cat's eyes bulged and it started to hack. Naruto pulled his arrow back and his eyes narrowed. His arms strained as they held the arrow in place, waiting for the right moment.

Wait for it...

"Uh, anytime now, Naruto," Percy said nervously as he took a step back from the lion.

"Not yet..." Naruto replied as he started to get tunnel vision.

"Star Wars moment," Hephaestus joked

"Take the shot, Whiskers!" Thalia shouted from across the room.

"C'mon Skywalker!" Leo shouted in a cheer, "Use the Force!"

The Lion's mouth opened wide as the reflexive hairball started to come up. Naruto's eyes widened and he released the arrow, which flew faster than a bullet.

Apollo whistled before proudly stating, "It's tough for my kids to get them to go like that."

To the surprise of the watching teens, it pierced through the roof of the lion's skull and out the back of its head with a bit of pink tissue on it before it lodged itself halfway in the wall.

"Headshot," Ares said in a deep tone.

"Now that is what we call braining it," Hermes added.

The Nemean Lion's body reared back onto its two hind legs from the strike before it fell forward, Naruto and Percy right beneath it. Percy reacted faster than Naruto and shoved the older boy to the side, consequently also pushing him out of the way. The body of the giant cat hit the ground with a loud booming thud. The questing sextet waited with held breaths before a collective group sigh escaped their lips as the lion dissolved into golden dust.

What remained surprised them. The first item was a duster that was a light golden brown, Naruto immediately deduced that it was the modern day replacement for the pelt that The Jerk had received. The other item that remained was a pair of daggers forged from the beast's claws.

"Dibs on the jacket!" Naruto cried

"Nice, he knows when to snatch the good stuff," Apollo said.

as he raced forward and picked the items up. He then tossed Percy the daggers, "Here Jackson. Your spoils of war."

"Gods know you could learn to use something else," Thalia quipped with a grin.

"Wha-but I didn't do anything!" Percy protested as he caught the two weapons, "You killed it."

"You got it to open its mouth," Naruto said as he pulled the duster on and rolled up his other jacket, "Yeah, this'll do nicely...How do I look?"

"Looks good on you, Whiskers," Thalia admitted with a smirk, "Bet it'd look better on me."

"Yes it would," The Hunter agreed with herself.

"You sure you don't want the daggers?" Percy asked, "You could probably use them better than I could."

"You just need practice, Jackson," Naruto insisted

"And we all know that Percy just goes on instinct, not practice," Nico joked.

"Hey," Percy said in a stern warning tone. He practiced...Just at camp. You couldn't exactly swing a sword around an apartment.

as he examined the jacket and began muttering to himself, "Now, all I need is to apply a few seals and this will be the perfect jacket."

"But I already have Riptide," Percy protested as he held the two daggers out. To his surprise, they changed into thin wristbands, "Whoa!"

"Yeah, but you should be proficient in more than one weapon," Naruto replied

"See, listen to me and the badass on the screen Wethead," Thalia lectured, getting a groan from her cousin.

as he reached into a side pouch and dug around for something. As he did that, he looked at the approaching remainder of quest goers and asked, "Hey Grover, could you deal with the security guards?"

"Done and done," Grover said as he polished his reed pipes, "They'll snap out of it in a bit, but right now, all they're doing is running into a wall."

"Literally or figuratively?"

"The first one."

Dyonious snickered, "Oh that woodland magic, got to love it."

"Oh that's hysterical," Naruto snickered as he pulled a scroll out of his pouch and opened it up. Before he did anything else, he looked at the Hunters and asked, "Zoë-chan, Phoe-...be? You girls set for arrows?"

"We're always prepared," Phoebe replied with a frown, "Our secondary quivers are in our bags."

"Ah, yes, backpacks," Naruto replied with a chuckle as he knelt down and set the scroll down, "You primitive beings still use those don't you?

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Okay, no need to gloat you got some kind of dimensional pocket space in a scroll."

Percy blinked, "How did you even come to that conclusion?"

"It was obvious," The child of wisdom answered as if it really was simple.

To Percy it wasn't and a few of the others, but they didn't voice that.

Allow me to show you the easier way of carrying items!"

The group gathered around, curious as he unrolled a portion of the scroll, revealing a strange symbol with various squiggled lines. Percy and Thalia wondered if it was their dyslexia acting up, while Phoebe and Zoë began examining the seal. Grover just stared in awe, amazed at the art before him. Unknown to them, he built up a portion of chakra in his lungs before he said, "Fuinjutsu: Kai!"

A poof of smoke appeared over the symbol and a quiver suddenly appeared atop the paper. The two Hunters gasped while Percy gaped, Thalia chuckled as she recalled the first time she had seen it and Grover chimed in, "That's so awesome!"

"No duh," Naruto replied with a grin before he placed his old quiver over the markings. With another chakra-channeled breath, Naruto sealed the old quiver away. He rolled his scroll back up and stored it away in his pocket before he stood. Grinning at Percy, who was still in awe, Naruto then offered, "I could teach you if you want."

"Wha-huh?"

"Aww," Thalia cooed as she leaned over and pinched Percy's cheek, "Someone's having a mentor moment~!"

"Knock it off, lover girl," the water boy replied as he swatted her hand away, getting a glare at his response.

"Consider it payback for saving our necks with the ice cream, Jackson," Naruto said before he froze. His eyes widened impressively before narrowing and glaring in a direction. Shoulders tensed and fists clenched as Naruto bared his teeth.

"Uh-oh. Bad guy," Jason said with a frown.

The other five quest goers followed his gaze and only Percy paled as he recognized the symbol on the scarred headband that the man wore.

"Another one, huh?" Poseidon commented on. A second later a Drakon fang appeared in his hand, prompting him to look at it in confusion, "Huh?"

The Sea God tossed the fang aside in favor of the story.

"(It's been a while, eh), Naruto?"

"So this guy knows him, too," Annabeth spoke with curiosity.

A few moments earlier on Olympus, Apollo was walking away from the seeing pool after he watched his son and Poseidon's boy kill the Nemean Lion. At the rate they were moving, the six wouldn't make it to his sis in time, let alone back to Olympus. Someone had to make a move to help the kids.

Apollo sighed and rubbed his head. Would it be worth the headache for interfering on a quest? The Fates, who were charged with warning the Gods of their places during quests, would possibly give him the worst hangover ever.

"Worth it," Apollo said in a tight tone. Artemis smiled at him.

Even worse than that time he and Jiraiya went to town following the Third War and his coronation as the Fourth Fire Shadow.

It'd be worth it, Apollo decided after a moment to think as his eyes hardened. Under his breath, he recited the mantra he developed as Minato Namikaze, "Those who break the rules are trash, but those that abandon their comrades are worse than trash."

Hang on Arty,Apollo thought as he ran from his temple on Olympus to his chariot, Your brother's on his way. Damn the consequences.

"Like the reckless boy you are," Zeus said, but he didn't sound angry if that tiny smile on his face was anything to go by.

"Well, we're approaching the tenth chapter," Apollo said as he closed the book, "Who wants to read next?"

0

Frank stood victorious over his opponent. He had decided to go out for a walk and had ran into a Drakon. After an epic and long battle that could be told to future generations. He walked back to the Argo II with his spoil of war, a Drakon fang.

And as he made it to railing that connected the boat to the dock.

He tripped, with his fang trophy falling into the ocean.

"Poseidon! Why?!"

0

Done & done!

R&R, no flames, peace off!