Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson & the Olympians or Naruto. Percy Jackson & the Olympians and Naruto are the property of Rick Riordan and Masashi Kishimoto respectively and are not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.


-|Welcome to the Underworld|-


Shinobu ignores the brief glances to her horns and her handicap. She internally shrugs. There's nothing she can do about the attention. The journey's repetitive pace left little to else to draw the eyes.

For hours they traversed through similar dull, stone walls and earthen floor.

The hot, humid air moistens exposed skin and dampens clothes. With the exception of Daedalus, their breath draws heavy. Shinobu gives a mental assessment of herself and confirms her stamina. Her muscles don't ache because of stress or fatigue. It must be the air then.

Shinobu eyes Zoe twirling a pair of daggers in her hands with envy. If her own hands weren't busy holding her up with her crutches she'd likely do the same. Her fingers busy with her blades would help keep monotony from dulling her mind.

She is about to test if Daedalus is willing to indulge her in conversation when their next turn reveals a change. In front of them is a tall, oval, steel door with depictions of skeletons engraved on its surface.

Shinobu steps forward to investigate but is halted by Zoe's arm on her shoulder. Her lips part to complain but she snaps her mouth close and gives an indignant pout instead. It's not worth the effort to argue in unknown territory and she doubts Daedalus would be willing to act as a translator in a shouting match. Besides, if the door leads to a trap or ambush she is the worst choice to be in the lead. Her handicap leaves her with the least mobility in the group and her options would be limited to standing her ground to fight. Sometimes retreat is necessary. For them to lose that option is not worth her pride.

It's funny how much time matured her. She remembers when she was still a fresh, newly graduated, genin and how she might act then if presented with this situation. She doesn't remember. Was it the war that tempered her or was it peace?

Thalia moves ahead of Zoe. Her footsteps against hardened earth snap Shinobu from her reverie. Zoe's readies her bow as Thalia places her left on the door while her right hand grips her canister which expands into a bronze spear with a dim glow. The spear's transformation doesn't surprise Shinobi as she's seen Thalia's silver bracelet expand into a shield but she raises her brow at it. If Sakura was here the pink haired medical-nin might show interest in asking the mechanics of concealment. Was it a genjutsu, an illusion, or was it fūinjutsu, a sealing technique? Shinobu shakes her head at her own nostalgia. She doesn't care how it works and only cares to know that it does. It can be handy information to file for later.

Thalia whispers a countdown before she flings the door open with a forceful shove. Their eyes have yet to adjust to the change in lighting when an incoming blade forces Thalia to bring out her Aegis. The brittle metal blade shatters on impact with Thalia's sturdy shield. Before the first piece of metal touches the ground silver flashes from Zoe's bow.

Vision clear, they see their attackers, three yellow-eyed skeletons with transparent gray skin. These skeletal warriors wore cracked breastplates, rusted helmets and greaves, and broken shields. The ghastly warriors pay no heed to the arrows sticking out from their skulls through eye sockets and charge at Thalia. The disarmed skeleton wastes no time and pulls out its own rib as a makeshift dagger.

Zoe barks, either giving orders or providing info, at Thalia as she spins and sweeps her spear low. More arrows fly from Zoe's bow and pin the downed foes to the earth. The skeletal warrior's immobilization is short lived as they tear themselves free without care to self-inflicted damage. One detaches an entire limb before continuing its assault. Before they can run back to the Labyrinth's relative safety the earth rumbles beneath their feet and the walls and roof of the hallway cracks and shudders.

Zoe wraps her arm around Shinobu and lifts her over her shoulder then barks to Thalia and Daedalus. Zoe tosses an indignant Shinobu to Daedalus before sending a volley which stuns the warriors attacking Thalia. Thalia takes the small opening and sends a powerful blow with her shield knocking two down and pushing back the other. Daedalus carries a pouting Shinobu past Thalia while Zoe dives the standing foe with her daggers and kicks away the disembodied head. Thalia follows her example and chops the downed warriors and flings them away with her spear. Zoe is skilled but her daggers take longer to hack her opponent to pieces. One final kick sends an arm into the darkness and they make a hasty escape intent on gaining distance before their foes reform.

They then run deep through the cracked wasteland for two hours before they stop under a rock arch near the barbed wire fence. Zoe pulls out a tiny square which then expands into a full-sized, white, silk tent. Daedalus takes watch while they eat ration bars. Zoe eats at a sedate but regular pace while Thalia stares at her own half-eaten bar with distaste. Shinobu devours hers in a second. The rations aren't bad though she knows they'll turn unappetizing after the third or fourth meal. Zoe and Thalia engage in small talk which sounds amicable though by their tone she wouldn't be surprised if they are exchanging light barbs.

Shinobu represses the urge to brood though she can't stop the melancholy of being alone in a crowd. She escapes the present by contemplating the immediate past though remembering the recent fight won't lift her mood. She hates being the bystander. Worse, she was a burden, though a light one. It highlighted her flaws.

Her new style is based on the Hyuuga's Gentle Fist. It held less brute force and relied on precise strikes. It's why her blades sacrifice cutting power for piercing and penetration. Her answer to armor is to attack where is no armor or to slip between its joints. The skeletal warriors, however, ignored the accuracy of Zoe's arrows and they'll ignore her sword as well. She's so used to chakra's versatility that she didn't think of the flaw of having such a specialized sword.

What were those anyway? Were they summons? If they were, were they summons like her toads, their own species, or like Edo Tensei, akin to zombies? Despite their spectral cover, the skeletons weren't ghosts. Or is that what ghosts look like in this world?

Though they don't scare her as much as they did before she hasn't outgrown her unease of ghosts. She supposes that she does not fear ghosts in particular rather she fears an opponent that is untouchable. Not surprising considering her preference to solving problems with her fists. Ghosts aren't a problem that can be solved by force.

Next time she'll bring a heavier blade for chopping and a blunt weapon for smashing as backups for her swords. Right now she can't solve her armory problem. Her remaining alternative is her limited chakra reserve which means more meditation. Shinobu rests against a leg of the stone arch and relaxes her body. She starts with continuing her attempts to sort out her sluggish chakra. The separation process comes easier than she expects but that was never the hard part, to begin with. She cannot sense nor control the physical nor the spiritual energy she created.

Her concentration intensifies. Gone is slight reddish tint that penetrates her closed eyelids. Next is the hard, cracked earth beneath her. The rough, dry air with a hint of rotten eggs disappear from consciousness. Sound is the last of her senses and it amplifies so the wailing white noise clarifies into the ghoulish cries of torment until her awareness dims further. The world around her fades from her mind, and her consciousness focuses on herself.

She can hear and feel her heart's rhythmic beat, the tiniest twitch of her muscles, and all the blood coursing through her veins. Then she removes even those from her awareness until all that remains is the ebb and flow of her chakra. A tiny drop vanishes into its basic components. For a moment she feels it but, in an instant, the sensation vanishes.

A thought occurs to her. Maybe the reason she has trouble sensing the energies is that there's already spiritual and physical energy inside. It would be like looking for a leaf in the forest. She needs a background contrast to the energy, so she's not trying to find white against white. She makes another attempt with triple the chakra, but this time she molds it a hair's width away from her palm. The sensation lasts an instant longer, and she realizes that she is sensing one energy but not the other.

That doesn't make sense. She's positive that physical and spiritual energies differ enough from each other that she can tell when she creates two. Triple her second attempt and the sensation returns stronger and she can-

She is jolted from her meditation by a sharp sting on her right shoulder. Her reflex swings her right arm. Too late her consciousness registers that she is not under attack. Thalia dodges her back fist by inches and the strike lands on the arch behind Shinobu instead.

Shinobu does not attempt to hide her embarrassment. She scratches the back of her head and gives a weak chuckle as Thalia grumbles to herself. A louder chuckle comes from behind Thalia, Zoe. Her tone conveys the 'I told you so' in a teasing manner. As a light-hearted argument spawns between the two dark-haired girls, Shinobu observes their camp.

Time underground is hard to measure without the sun as a reference but the silk tent is gone and Zoe, Thalia, and Daedalus are wearing their packs. Daedalus is beside the barbed wire no doubt cutting an opening for them to cross. They are preparing to move out. How long was she down? As she stretches her stiff muscles a crack in the wall grabs her eye. It's the spot she hit. She takes a look at her hand and her face contorts to a light frown of confusion. The crack is small but that backswing shouldn't have the strength to leave such a mark. If it did, the act should damage her hand considering her current body.

Zoe and Thalia call out to her and shelves the thought for later. The skeletal warriors they chopped up have no doubt reformed by now and they need to move to keep distance. She walks over to the group and sees Thalia and Zoe huddled over a crouched Daedalus lecturing with his laptop. She catches Gleeson mentioned twice, and the deduction is easy.

When they cross past the barbed fence the background noise turns into distinct cries of anguish. The volume is still low, but the sound is clearer. Where before the wails could be mistaken for peculiar winds, now they are unmistakable as human.


-|What?|-


With each step through the wasteland, Zoe grows more uneasy. Yes, the sounds of torture permeate the air but the cries are too muted. This is the Fields of Punishment, a place in the Underworld, where mortals are punished for horrible deeds. Shouldn't there be more people here? Every barbed boundary they pass she expects to see a soul suffering his dues but all the torture areas are empty. She is glad for the lack of encounters as it means no one who would potentially fight or raise the alarm but the desolation is eerie.

A couple of hours later and new sounds emerge from the distance. As the shouts grow louder and realization dawns on Zoe. Her companions' faces mirror her grim expression. The view revealed as they reach the peak of the hill confirms their deduction.

The Fields of Punishment is having a prison riot. Skeletal warriors hold a line against a swath of rioters. The line is heavily armed. Many are with swords, shields, and spears. Many are with firearms ranging from muskets to assault rifles. Though the rioters arm themselves with rocks, most not even sharpened, they hold the advantage of numbers. There is ten of them for every skeleton warrior.

The battle line stretches onwards beyond her sight. "Trying to go around this will take too long." Maybe impossible if the fighting stretches all around the Fields of Punishment. "We'll have to find a way through." The numbers here are too high to push through by force. They'll move around and try to find a spot where the clash is thin.

They move parallel to the battle lines, far from it but close enough to observe, for an hour. Then, as they cross another hill, chaos. An explosion echoes from the conflict launching bodies skywards. The force rocks Zoe and her companions off their feet even at this distance. Before they can stand to their feet bodies rain around them. The rioters around them lay still like corpses, a few whole, most pieces. The sight is horrific and she cannot fault Thalia retching behind her.

She grips Thalia's shoulder and forces her upright. "Hey! What's the-" There is movement all around them. The blast littered unmoving rioters and pieces of rioters around them. It scattered and tore apart skeletal warriors too but the dismemberment does not hinder the skeleton warriors as much it did everyone else.

They are surrounded. "Run!" They don't get far before they are blocked by a pair dressed in torn camos holding the remains of an AK-47s like clubs. If there is one silver lining to be found it's that those weapons don't reassemble. She pushes the dread of facing unkillable soldiers with firearms aside and brings out her daggers. She hears Thalia bring out her spear and sees Daedalus unsheathe his sword.

The three of them stand back to back against the dozens that surround them. Wait. Three? "Shinobu!" Her eyes sweep the ground and spots orange. On the ground, laying on her back is Shinobu with a pair approaching her. She fears the worst when she hears giggling. Her confusion grows when it turns into full-blown laughter.

"Baka! Baka! Baka!" What?

Just when she thinks her confusion has reached its peak, the impossible happens. Staying straight as a pencil, without the use of her hands, Shinobu springs upright. Shinobu then pulls out her sword, pulls it back, holds, then casually thrusts it between the skeleton's rib cage. The stupidity of the act doesn't even register in full when the ghostly skin dissipates like mist and the skeleton collapses to the ground like the bones they are. The anomaly stuns the other warrior for a moment. A moment Shinobu uses to pierce it in its ghostly throat. Like its companion, the ghostly flesh disappears and a pile of bones is all that remains.

All eyes are now on Shinobu as she takes slow but confident strides towards them. Her bare feet no longer stone. She wipes her blonde hair off and reveals a feral, mischievous grin. The red glow of the Fields of Punishment tints Shinobu's visage. For a moment, the light creates an illusion. Blue flicker red and hair flash a dye of blood. At the corner of her eyes, the warriors around them pause and take a small step backward. And for once Zoe empathizes with her skeletal foes.

With her horns, Shinobu looked like the devil come to take its dues.

One overcomes its hesitation and charges at the horned blonde and the rest follow its lead. Shinobu maintains her slower stride. Her path does no deviate when they reach her. Her blade dances and her torso weaves and bobs at their attacks. But her steps remain straight and her pace stays even, leaving vapor and bone piles in her trails.

Shinobu is in front of her before Zoe can process the event that she has witnessed. "How did you-?" What are you?

Then Shinobu raises herself by her toes and pulls Zoe down to kiss her on the cheek. Shinobu's arms are still around her when the blonde collapses unconscious onto her.

What?