Disclaimer: I do not own The 'Percy Jackson' series or Naruto

The Lightning thief: Chapter 8

Tsuki

It was getting late and the sun was diving over the horizon. The red sun illuminated the leaves on the trees around us and the roads dull glow was beginning to fade.

My coat fluttered, arms lazily extended behind me. Nico and Bianca were hard pressed to keep up, but I had made sure I was slow enough for them to keep up. Why were we running? Just to get to the resting point quicker.

When we got there it wasn't really that much, just a bench and space to park. Why they bothered putting it on any maps, no idea, but it was where we were going to stay for the night. I placed the pack with our stuff on the table next to the bench and turned to speak with my travelling companions who were currently panting on the ground.

Logically I knew that I should be in a similar state, but ever since the lightning storm I've felt… beyond human, like I could vault over mountains or dash faster than the wind, just brimming with energy.

I brought out a bottle of water for my unfortunate friends and handed it over to them. "Here you go; we won't keep going until tomorrow." I said. I adopted a grin and continued speaking "Unless you want to."

Bianca accepted the bottle, emptied it greedily, and then she lay down with her eyes fixed on the skies. She sat there staring for a bit, then to herself started mumbling "Let's run she said. It would be fun she said…" a flock of birds escaped the canopy of the forest before she pulled herself back up into a sitting position and sent me another glare "I don't take back what I said: you are crazy. In fact all of this is!"

I resisted the urge to scratch the back of my neck at the comment; I didn't think we would get this far before maybe a week and we managed it in a day. Maybe I should have let them stop at one of the earlier resting places on the way or that town.

Nico should have been next to throw out a complaint, but he surprised me instead when he said "It was kind of fun and the less time we take to get there the less chance we run into anything trying to eat us."

Bianca turned her lazy fury on her brother "you're just saying that because we stopped at the burger place on the way." She had protested greatly, she'd wanted Mexican.

"Speaking of food…" I said as I reached into the bag and pulled out a few of wrapped goodies "…We got time to eat those six extra we ordered." I handed a couple to each of them and we dug in.

As we ate, I contemplated. "We haven't run into any monsters and if we keep up the pace, we should get there tomorrow." It all sounded well and good, but at the same time so… wrong "Am I missing something? Sure it is somewhat suspicious that there haven't been any sign of monsters, even if these guys are related to Hades of the underworld, he can't have all the monsters under his employ."

Through his munching I heard Nico ask "So, you going to teach us yet? You said you would."

I swallowed my second burger before saying "Sure"

She somehow managed to send us a look that said "Eat first, train later and if you try to kill us: I will eat you as well." I don't know the secret of how she managed to get all that in one look, but I had to learn it.

"Maybe later" I thought, but I was reminded of something else I should have looked into. I wrapped up the trash and put it in a bag. I stood and told the di Angelos, "Meet me in the forest, that way, when you're ready"

I had found myself a clearing in the forest where no one would notice a few scratches. I thought back to the chimera, that red chakra. It made me feel so… weak. I remembered how my tail could cut cleanly through the creature. I traced back, I had been so distracted by my murderous thoughts for my friend to notice where it came from. So I traced it, remember the feel of it and found it. It was hidden in my skin, small strands found in my chakra and then there was my tail, it was filled to the fur, but the chakra remained docile.

I kept searching through my body for more, and I found it: in my ears. Not that I was surprised, it was another feature I had gained from Kurama. The chakra there was just as dense as it was in my tail, but there was less, so it should have been easier to work with.

Foolishly, I pulled on it, trying to move the chakra from my ear to my hand. It moved, but it was accelerating fast, and was quickly out of control. I crumpled in pain as something cut straight through my right eye.

Seconds later my left registered a burst of blood painting a scarlet line up the tree before me. My cry had been unheard, stuck in my throat, and I instantly moved my hands to cover the wound on my face. It was a thin cut vertical cut that went a couple of centimetres above and beneath it. There wasn't a large amount of blood around the cut itself, and I it wasn't bleeding.

With my left eye, I looked at the tree in front of me. There was a cut going directly through, just as tall as the scarlet line.

"Gods damn it, I have been mortally injured enough this week without trying myself!" I thought angrily to myself "I won't use that chakra, it's too dangerous." The more I thought about it, the more it seemed clear. Not only have I lost the use of my eye to it, but it almost made me kill Percy, twice!

I heard footsteps behind me before the young voice of the boy I had become familiar with just recently, "Tsuki, Let's get started!"

"Stay calm, you have regeneration remember? You'll be fine, but if they can't at least point the sharp end the right way when that jaw or claw comes at them, they won't be." I wiped the blood off of my hands as I turned to face them. As expected, both Nico and Bianca were standing there. Well, Nico looked to be vibrating. I held out the sword and a kunai and asked "Any preferences?" Luckily for me, I was standing between them and the painted tree, I had enough problems with my questions without others asking them as well.

Nico grabbed the kunai, while Bianca hesitated to reach for the old rusted sword. She asked a question instead, "Since you are more experienced, and supposed to be protecting us, shouldn't you be the one to use the better weapon?"

"Who says it is better?" I said. She rolled her eyes and finished grabbing the sword. I took out a pair of kunai and sent an eye to the sun, "two and a half minutes."

I must warn you that I have no excuse for my actions following those thoughts. It is just that dad was always so dramatic when he was actually teaching, and I was curious…

Outside of my head I voiced "First thing I am going to need you to do is, attack me." They both dropped their respective weapons, reached to pick them up, and found my blades at their throats. There wasn't really anything I could teach them.

I pulled back, ignoring how pale they had become and recalled some of the first things he had taught me. "First off, don't get distracted; secondly, don't drop your weapons, and thirdly action and reaction."

They took on some sort of stance, whatever felt natural, I suppose. "We need to find out, how you would rather fight…" I took another look at the sun "one and a half minutes."

"Some would prefer to fight from the safety of range…" I stated and then threw the kunai at Nico. He dodged out of the way and I pounced on Bianca, "…while some prefer the pleasure of smashing their opponents face personally." She brought her sword to defend herself. I danced around her, to her back "Some like to be mobile like the wind…" Nico tried to attack me, but I just blocked it "…yet others would find honour in stone." he tried a more pressing assault and I faced him head on. "Some fight fair…" I felt Bianca approach and I used Nico as a human shield "…and some fight dirty."

I backed up to the darkening tree line and kept speaking as they charged, voice resonating like steel, "Some would face their opponents in the fields of battle…" They came within range to attack and I found my timing was perfect. When they swung, their blades met nothing but darkness.

Soon they too were greeted by Nyx. With her came the crooked creek of the woods, the lifeless reek of the unhidden, and Boreas's neat malevolent touch.

They shuffled closer together, adrenaline fuelled eyes scanning the illusionary dark for my presence. From the treeline, I let myself crush a crude twig, and Nico reflexively threw his weapon where I had been.

There was no response from the wildlife there, and now Nico stood unarmed. They had both turned to face the sudden sound. When they turned back I was there and I roared. Bianca barely flinched then crossed her arms "Did you have to be so dramatic?"

"Why aren't you surprised?" I asked while pouting.

"It was obvious the moment I notice this was rehearsed."

A nervous Nico attempted to get in between the argument "Tsuki…"

"How'd you know it was rehearsed!?" I pointed at her accusingly.

Nervous Nico gave it a second go "Bianca…"

She gave me a deadpanned look lifted her fingers and air quoted "'Mobile like the wind'; 'Honour in stone.' People don't come up with stuff like that on the spot." She turned to walk back to camp, but a roar boomed from behind her. "It didn't work the first time and it isn't going to work now. Come on Nico. This is a waste of our time."

My face became a lightshow of panic and Nico's voice trembled when he said "That wasn't her."

Artemis

I appeared outside my hunter's current campsite. I strode towards Zoe's tent with haste and walked in. She was awake, waiting and surprised to see me. "My lady, welcome back." She said down on one knee.

My instincts were telling me to order the hunters to pack up and leave write away but my experience held a stronger voice, "Are the hunters ready to move?" I asked, in the role of Artemis.

Zoe stood up and said "No my lady, we hath recently returned from a hunt. They need rest." Zoe was always ready to remind me of the things mortals needed and I have always been grateful for it.

I let my fury subside as I gave my order "Inform me when you are all rested and ready to leave, we are going to be hunting a man." Zoe met medusa's gaze and I moved to rectify my mistake "I mean it literally."

I felt a tingling feeling in my head before my senses faded into another vision.

I was standing at the front of the classroom. Everyone was tense and the teachers, Iruka and someone else, were sitting behind a desk with a pile of paper on it. My host put his hands together in the same shape as last time, but the image in his mind was different, this time it was the old man, the third Hokage. He shouted out "Henge" (transformation). With my vision impaired by smoke, I felt taller and when it cleared I saw that my vision did not remain unimpaired as the top half was covered by a white material, a hat.

Iruka wrote something down on the sheet in front of him and said "Now show us the Kawarmi (replacement), target the chair next to you." His voice gave no clue to his emotions, the way one does when testing someone.

My sight was brought to the chair to my left then back to the desk. Going through a series of hand signs, suddenly my vision was shifted to the left and the chair was now on my right.

Again Iruka scribbled something down onto the sheet in front of him as he gave another order "to finish we need to see your Bunshin, two will be enough."

I suddenly felt my host tense and his heart pump. He took a couple of long breaths to calm himself then put his hands together and called out the name of the technique. With a poof of smoke I felt my host's whole world fall on him as it was revealed that what appeared next to him were formless and pale.

Iruka wrote something final down onto his sheet and his façade was broken. His face was heavy and he couldn't contain the sigh. "I am sorry, #% &¤. You didn't pass."

Slowly, my host left the room, walking under a curtain of sorrow, and as the shadows encroached, I found myself unable to despise him.