As always, thank you to all my readers. This will be the last chapter for 2020. I hope you all enjoy it.

Naruto/Percy Jackson Crossover

Dining With Divinity

Part XIV

"Five minutes to go," Naruto muttered to himself, a frown on his face as he stared up at the clock. He stood behind the counter in the Fox's Den, his arms crossed against his chest as he waited for his reservation to arrive. He had no idea what he was in for, but Hestia had told him he was in for quite the experience. She said it all with a straight face but knew the tell-tail signs for when she wanted to start laughing. Something of interest was bound to happen within the confines of his workplace but hadn't the faintest idea what it might be.

It all started when he agreed to speak with her nephew. The very same nephew who, months before, had been thrown out of the Fox's Den because he caught him with a young nymph in a very compromising position. If he had his way, the Sun God of Olympus would never set foot in the Fox's Den again. The shinobi of old could tolerate a lot of things, but he wouldn't allow such behaviour when families with young children were known to visit daily. Anyone, such as a small child could have stumbled upon them while hoping to use the facilities. For anyone else, he wouldn't have considered the notion of letting Apollo back in, but his old friend was convincing. Hestia was a smooth talker when she needed to be.

And so, three days ago, a sheepish-looking Apollo walked inside the Den, and his eyes immediately locked with his own. He rarely came across as unwelcoming, but his stonefaced expression made it clear to the God of the Sun that he hadn't forgotten what happened the last time he visited. He wanted to make the Olympian sweat a little, or as much as you can on someone who has divine control over the Sun. A small group of satyrs had been visiting at the same time, but the moment Apollo walked inside, they took their drinks and left.

While his first impression of Apollo had been less than fruitful, he would admit, his fellow blonde did come across as apologetic for his actions. He couldn't feel any negative emotions coming from the Olympian, nor could he detect any hint of deceit in his apology. It appeared genuine. Knowing Hestia, she likely had a stern talk with her nephew, or perhaps his twin had threatened him with violence if he didn't go back and apologise. Hestia spoke to him at length what the reaction had been from the other Olympians, and suffice to say, Artemis had glared bloody murder at him every time they crossed paths on Olympus. When he asked what Athena's reaction had been, Hestia had gone ghost white. She wouldn't say what, but apparently, the Goddess of Wisdom had been harsh.

She motioned her fingers into the shape of scissors and made a snip-snip sound. He understood, and they left it at that. He didn't need an image forming in his head.

With the apology made and a promise that such an event would never happen again, Naruto had accepted, though warned that he didn't want a repeat in the future. He was on thin ice as it was, and he would be keeping a close eye on him during his visits. Apollo nodded profusely and promised he wouldn't give in to temptation again. The old shinobi tried not to snort at the claim, knowing the Sun God's reputation, but agreed none the less.

Believing the conversation was over, Naruto had started to move away when he noticed the golden god staring at him, remaining in the same spot. Asking if there was something else he could do for him, the Olympian surprised him when he asked if he could book out the Fox's Den for an afternoon. He explained his sister had done the same thing over a month ago and wanted to do the same. It didn't take a genius to know that Apollo was talking about Artemis. Apparently, the Goddess of the Moon was bragging about it to her Olympian siblings. Try as he might to keep the smirk from growing on his face, the corners of his lips edged up at the mention of Apollo's twin. She hadn't visited in a few weeks, but he was always on the lookout for her.

He was dubious at first. He only just gave the Sun God permission to return to the Fox's Den, and perhaps he was trying to push his luck a bit too quickly. His initial response was to decline the request and wait until Apollo proved himself good on his promises. However, seeing the hopeful look on the immortal's face, and in a good mood after a restful Sunday off, Naruto agreed and allowed it. Like his previous reservation, Naruto briefly disappeared to his office, before returning with his red business diary, and opened it to May. They were in the final week of May, and Naruto hadn't forgotten about the meeting he was due in the coming fortnight. He and Hestia had briefly spoken about it, but little more needed to be said. They knew what needed to happen. All he needed to do was wait until the Goddess of the Hearth could confirm a date that she would bring her youngest sibling and king.

Putting his future meeting with the God of the Sky aside, and getting the fees for renting his workplace for the afternoon out the way, he pencilled Apollo down in the diary. A party of five, including Apollo, would dine at the Fox's Den on the Friday of next week and would arrive at midday. There were no dietary restrictions he needed to watch, which was a bonus, and food and beverages would be covered by the fee Apollo already paid. Apollo didn't offer a blank cheque like Mr Black, but it was enough to cover his group. It was still more then he expected.

Perhaps the Sun God was true to his word. Afterwards, Apollo had run out with a giddy expression thanking him and disappearing down the street. That was over a week ago, and the day of said reservation had arrived. Hestia's had agreed to babysit Thalia for him, which meant he didn't need to leave a clone in his place to care for her. The little girl appeared disappointed that he wasn't spending the day with them, but her frown quickly turned into a gleeful expression when he promised to take her to the zoo on Sunday. Before leaving the house, she gave him the biggest hug she could muster before running off into the living room where Hestia was waiting with some more colouring books and new crayons.

Patiently waiting and watching as the hands on the clock ticked by, he straightened his back when he felt a flicker of energy come to life down the street. He only had to wait half a minute before the blonde Olympian waltzed on inside. Wearing regular civilian clothes did little to dial back the Sun God's natural masculine beauty, his hair tied into a bun like the first time they met and a pair of sunglasses sitting on his face. A backpack was over his right shoulder and appeared in good spirits if the giant grin on his face was any indication.

Seeing as this was a fresh start for the pair, Naruto wore a polite smile as Apollo crossed the room, "Right on time. Midday on the dot."

"Hey! When I promise something, I keep my word. If I say I'll be there at midday, I'll be there at midday." He replied, taking off his sunglasses and showing off his bright blue eyes. They were practically glowing with excitement. In fact, staring at him Naruto noticed the blonde Olympian couldn't keep still and was bouncing on the balls of his feet. He looked like a happy golden retriever about to chase his favourite tennis ball.

"I guess so." He looked Apollo square in the eye, "You look like you woke up on the right side of the bed."

"Something like that! It's a beautiful day to be alive! Do you want to know why?"

Naruto shrugged, "Sure, why not."

Apollo leaned forward, his grin widening, "Because it's game day!" He placed his backpack on the ground, and wandered over to the tables, "Do you mind if I rearrange your tables? I need a specific layout once the rest of the group appear."

The old shinobi gave the Sun God a flat stare, moving the tables around before he had a chance to answer. A sliver of annoyance flashed through him, but pushed it away, "Sure, go right ahead." He paid to rent the Den out, and if he wanted to rearrange some furniture, then he could. Walking out from behind the counter, he gave Apollo a hand in moving tables and pushing spares off to the side. Working together, it only took a few minutes before they had the layout he desired. Soon enough, a U shape of tables formed, while a second table sat in the middle and a third was a few feet in front of them. Naruto found himself curious about what kind of game they were intending on playing. It wasn't like anything he'd seen before.

He was about to ask why, when the next person started to arrive. An eyebrow rose on his face, and he tried to repress a smirk from forming on his face as a familiar dark-haired immortal with elfish features appeared through the windows and entered the Den. Unlike the last time, he was wearing civilian clothes instead of his postman attire and looked significantly well-rested. The dark lines beneath his eyes were gone, leaving only a healthy light-skinned complexion. Like Apollo, a backpack was across his shoulder.

"Apollo!"

The Sun God spun around, and both wore expressions of equal excitement, "Herms!" The pair of Olympians embraced in a tight hug before both shook their fists in excitement.

"What day is it!"

"Game Day!" Hermes ran a hand through his curly dark hair, "It's been too long, man. I need my fix. It's all I've been thinking about for the past couple of days." He poked his older brother in the chest with his index finger, "You better have something good planned!"

"Hey, it's me!" Apollo opened his arms wide, "I always deliver on the goods. Don't worry about it, Herm."

"When do they others get here?"

"Any minute now. I only arrived a few minutes ago myself."

Nodding, Hermes look across the room, and only now noticed the blonde shinobi standing there, casually watching as he and his brother conversed. His eyes narrowed, and his face suddenly turned pouty. Naruto could only imagine he was thinking about the last time they met face to face.

"It's you."

Naruto gave a short wave, "It's nice to see you again. It's been a while since you were last here. I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to stop by again."

Instead of answering him, Hermes turned and looked at his brother, "Does he have to be here?"

"Well, he does own the place. Can't really kick him out of his own business. I mean, we could, but then we'd have to deal with Artemis and Athena, and we both know how that will end up for us." Apollo shook his head, and waved his hands in front of him, "No thanks. I like being alive. Forgive and forget, Herm. Keep that chin up." He patted his brother's shoulder.

The younger Olympian grumbled but conceded to his brother's point. He had no desire to enact the wrath of the Moon Goddess again. He had no desire to be on Artemis's shit list even more than he already was. She still hadn't forgiven him for the potato incident and would glare at him whenever they crossed paths, or when he made a delivery to her hunt.

"I guess," He muttered, looking too and from Naruto and Apollo. Like everyone else who'd visited, he made a note of the similarities between the owner and Apollo. Leaning in, he whispered, "Are you sure he's not one of yours?"

Apollo turned and gave Naruto a glance from the corner of his eye, before replying, "I'm pretty sure. I don't feel any of my power lingering within him like the rest of my kids. I think it's just coincidence." He couldn't fault Hermes for asking the question. He wondered the same on his first visit with Aphrodite, before coming to the conclusion he didn't belong to his demigod brood. He doubted Artemis would like him as much as she did if he was. She could be very picky when it came to his kids.

"If you say so." Hermes looked over at Naruto, who smiled back politely. The Olympians right hand came up with his middle and index finger forming a V shape and made the 'I'm watching you,' motion. He wasn't going to let the damn blonde draw another phallus on his forehead like last time. People were still making fun of him because of it!

It wasn't long before the pair became a trio. This time a young woman appeared before them, and this one the blonde shinobi didn't recognise. She was short in stature in comparison to the men in the room, barely reaching the middle of their chests. She was young in comparison too. If he had to put a number on her, he would have guessed sixteen? Maybe seventeen? Either way, she was younger then he was expecting for the intended party. Her hair was long and black like a ravens feather, and tied in a loose-fitting ponytail and her eyes a shade of brown like melted chocolate. She was a god, he could tell that much, or in this case, a goddess though didn't expect one to appear so young. Then again, Hestia enjoyed slipping into her child form from time to time. Despite her youth, she was a pretty little thing.

The girl took in the room, appearing fascinated by the interior of the room. When she turned and faced the pair of gods that were watching her, she made a couple of steps forward before tripping over her own feet and face-planting right into the wood of the floor. The pair of gods and the shinobi winced at the dull thud that came with impact, and all three made a motion to move forward and help her. To their surprise, her hand came up, telling them to stop.

She pushed herself to her feet and huffed in annoyance. All three watched as she dusted herself off before looking back at Apollo and Hermes with a determined look on her face, and held both her fists in the air in front of her, "Game Day!"

"Game Day!" Both repeated and embraced the young girl in a hug, with Hermes adding, "Glad you could make it Hebe!"

A look of understanding crossed Naruto's face, though he quickly hid it.

'Ahh, so that's Hebe.' He thought. Her appearance now made sense, given her status as the Goddess of Youth. The youngest daughter of Zeus and Hera, she was a reclusive member of the Greek Pantheon when compared to the rest of her siblings. There were few stories about Hebe, with the most prominent being the part she played in aiding Iolaus in temporarily granted him his youth once more to fight Eurystheus. That story aside, the most prominent piece of information on Hebe was being the former cupbearer of the Gods, and the wife of the famous hero, Heracles. According to Hestia, Hebe mostly kept to herself, choosing to stay in her temple most days that sat off to the side near her Mother's grand temple.

"As if I'd miss it. We've got a lot of work to do brother, so don't mess it up." She waged her finger up at Hermes, who appeared amused by the action as her face puffed out like a chipmunk, "You get too carried away, and I won't let you make any silly mistakes! Not today!"

Hermes appeared affronted at the notion, "I get carried away!? Who's the one who forgets about personal space when things heat up!?"

The goddess appeared affronted by his claim, and fired back, "It's not that bad! Don't be so dramatic, Hermes!"

"Last time, you punched me in the eye!"

"Oh, that was a love tap at best. How is it my fault you bruise like a peach!? Learn to dodge, Mr Fastest God on Olympus!"

The dark-haired god turned to his blonde brother, and motioned, "Can you believe this?"

Next to them, Apollo snorted, "She's right, you know. You do bruise like a peach."

"I can second that."

"And I can third that. You bruise pretty easily for a member of our family." Two new voices spoke up, and Naruto soon found himself staring at the final two members of Apollo's party. The first was male and stood the tallest in the room by at least a couple of inches. His shoulders were significantly broader than his own, with a deep tan and scarred hands like an old-time fisherman. His hair was black, and tied into a bun similar to Apollo, though unlike the Sun God, had a fair amount of dark stubble across his face. The jacket he wore was open too, revealing he wasn't wearing a shirt beneath and showing off his well-kept body. The second person was a woman, with long hair that was kept free from any braid or ponytail, hanging loosely down her back like a beautiful curtain of wheat gold. Her eyes were a shade of green, though much lighter than the man next to her. While his eyes were the colour of the sea, hers were more of a mossy shade. A gold bracelet shaped like a laurel sat on her left wrist, while a small pair of earrings shaped like poppies dangled from her ears. She appeared older then Hebe, and was equally as attractive.

"Triton! Despoina!"

The excitement in her cousin's voice was enough to make the Despoina giggle at his reaction. Hebe was the first one to cross the room, grabbing her in a tight hug, while Apollo and Hermes greeted their elder cousin from the Sea. He was a rarity to see the son of Poseidon outside of his father's realm. Compared to his Olympian cousins, Triton took his duties bequeathed to him by his father as serious as a god could, and rarely took days off. Although not an Olympian, Triton was respected by most, with many believing it was his work ethic Athena tried to emulate during her days as a younger and inexperienced goddess. Many tended to forget it was Triton who kept a watch over her when she first arrived. There was stability with Triton that few gods in their pantheon could claim to possess. Not to mention, when he had a few of Dionysus's wines in him, he loosened up and became the life of the party.

"Sorry if we're a little late." The god's voice was notably deeper than his cousins and nodded his head towards the goddess next to him idly chatting away with Hebe, "I ran into this one, who was gushing over some baked bread in a nearby bakery a few blocks over."

"Nah, it's cool, it's cool! We just got here too!"

"Hello, Triton!" This time, Hebe turned to her older cousin and laughed as she found herself hooking her arms around his neck and dangling off the front of his body without a care in the world. Said god tried to look annoyed but was failing miserably.

Despoina embraced her two cousins, before asking, "Still no Dionysus then?" The God of Wine and youngest Olympian was a regular member of their group, though was sadly unable to play as of late due to defying his father and not being able to control his urges.

"Nah, no luck. I tried to convince Dad to give him a pass for one day, but you know what my old man is like." Apollo explained, shivering at the memory of his father glaring at him for bringing the subject up again. He tried every time they all got together, but his father wouldn't budge. Why did Dionysus have to go after that nymph? Even Apollo, the biggest ladies man on Olympus would refrain from seducing someone declared off-limits by Zeus.

"Well, he's only got himself to blame." Triton added, before finally taking note of the third blonde in the room standing patiently of to the side as thy had their conversation, "Who's the mortal?" It came out quietly, watching as Naruto wore a patient smile as the rest of the newcomers took note of him.

"A menace to society," Hermes muttered, though felt Apollo wedge his elbow into his side.

"That's Mr Uzumaki. He generously let us borrow his diner for the day."

Naruto nodded their way, "Please, just call me Naruto."

"And did you...you know," Triton added and made a swirl motion with his fingers.

"Use the mist?" Triton nodded, "Of course. I wrapped this place so thick in the mist people will be walking past it without so much as batting this place a glance. It'll cover our conversations too with him, so we don't need to worry about stepping on any glass."

The older god seemed pleased, "Good. I would hate to have a repeat of Mulligans Steak House."

"That was four years ago! And I didn't know she was clear-sighted!"

As the three boys conversed, Hebe and Despoina took it upon themselves to walk over and greet the smiling blonde. Of course, like everyone else in their family, they'd heard the rumours floating around this place. The daughter of Demeter heard all about it from Persephone after one of their many afternoon tea sessions with their mother on the balcony of her temple. Her sister never spoke about any mortal business in such high regard before, and though Demeter initially appeared interested, said interest wained when Persephone mentioned how much Hades enjoyed it. For Hebe, it was a similar scenario, though for her it came from the lips of Artemis during one of the monthly gatherings at Hestia's Hearth between the goddesses. Any mortal that could make the Goddess of the Moon swoon and praise him was enough for her to investigate.

"Sorry for their loudness. I'm afraid the boys in our family don't know the volume of their voices." Despoina apologised, "Some of the women too."

The blonde smiled at the pair, "That's okay. I take it this is your first time to the Fox's Den?"

"It is, yes."

From beneath the counter, Naruto pulled out a small stack of menu's and handed one to each of the women, "Here, take one of these and see if there's anything you fancy on them. Since you'll likely be here for most fo the day, you can order whatever you want, whenever you want. I'll be sitting here at the counter while you're in the middle of your," He paused, before adding, "Game?"

Both girls looked at each other, and broke out into giggles, "Apollo didn't tell you much, did he?"

The blonde shook his head, "Nothing at all."

Apollo appeared between the two goddesses, wrapping his arms over their shoulders and grinned at Naruto, "Yo! Do you think we could get some of those milkshakes I had the last time I was here? Those were the best!" He looked over his shoulders, "Triton! Hermes! You guys want a milkshake!? They're amazing!"

"I'll take a strawberry." That came from Hermes, who took his place around the table. His backpack was on his lap, unzipping the top and grabbing a few items out from inside.

On the opposite side, Triton did the same, and replied with, "Mint for me, if you have it."

"You got it!" Apollo nudged his sister and cousin, "Ladies?"

"A vanilla milkshake would be nice. I haven't had a milkshake in forever." Despoina replied, a pout forming her face, "Mother never lets me have one where we're together, which is all the time." She loved Demeter deary, but the Goddess of the Harvest was too clingy and fussy. She was a grown goddess! She could make her own choices!

"I think I will have an oreo milkshake, thank you very much," Hebe answered, giving the menu a quick a skim before settling on her choice.

"And I'll have a chocolate milkshake."

Naruto gave a small salute, "Alright, I'll have those ready for you shortly. Why don't you guys go start your game, and I'll bring them over to you."

With that, Naruto disappeared into the back room to begin the preparations. Meanwhile, the five gods made their way to the tables, and each took their places.

"And we're done!" Naruto muttered to himself, crouched down by one of the tables in the kitchen as he lowered the final cherry delicately on top of the whipped cream floating on the surface of the chocolate milkshake. Together, five milkshakes of equal height with the classic red and white striped straws were carefully lifted until perfectly balanced on the tips of his fingers, "Not too shabby if I say so myself."

Pushing the door open, he and reentering the main room, he wasn't sure what he was expecting to find. Maybe they were playing a board game? Monopoly or something? They all had large bags with them, so anything was possible. He wondered if Thalia had played any and if he should get some for them to play in the evenings. Instead, what he found nearly made him stumble from the absurdity of what he was witnessing.

At some point, someone, probably Apollo, must have closed the blinds and turning the lighting down. Across the tables he and Apollo put together, black cloth-covered them, note pads and various sized-dice splayed out in front of the players. Apollo, who was seated at the table not attached to the larger arrangement, was sat with a dark cloak covering his body, the hood pulled up to cover the top half of his face. A cardboard screen was up to shield whatever objects and notes he had laid out in front of him.

"Welcome travellers," Apollo spoke as he stood up and looked across the players in front of him, "Welcome to this weeks game. As always, I, Apollo, will be your Dungeon Master. One quick announcement. Like I said earlier, the Diabolical Five will be without Wisteriax the tiefling sorcerer. As we all know, D couldn't keep it in his pants and can't join us until I manage to crack Dad."

Around the U-shaped table, the other members of the party, or the Diabolical Five as he learned, nodded their heads. Each one had a change of attire, and each one of them looked like they belonged with King Arthur and his knights of the Round table. The first he looked at was Hebe, who now had her hair tied up in a bun, and dressed in some form of grey armour with a blue scarf lightly wrapped around her neck. Hermes appeared to be wearing a bright purple shirt and brown pants, with a flute hanging from his belt and his hair slicked back. A white waistcoat sat over the shirt, and he wore something akin to a smirk, or a grin. He couldn't tell which. Despoina, meanwhile, was dressed in robes of various shades of green, orange and brown. On her head sat a crown of thorns along with a wooden staff in her left hand. To finish it off, Triton had removed his jacket, and a Viking-like helmet sat on his head. A large axe sat on his back.

"Are you guys playing Dungeons and Dragons?" He asked, disbelief very evident in his voice.

"Sure am," Apollo said, breaking character as he ushered Naruto forward, his eyes lingering on the milkshakes on the tray. Walking over and handing everyone their shake, he watched as Apollo brought it up to his mouth and took a long swig as the frothy goodness ran down the back of his throat, "Oh man, that's the stuff!"

"Hmmm!" The hum came from Hebe, who beneath the table was kicking the air with her short legs, "It's so good!" A milkshake moustache coated the top of her lips, and plucked the cherry from the top of the cream, "How's your Despoina!?"

The goddess didn't say anything. Her expression was one of bliss, her vanilla milkshake overpowering her in a way she hadn't expected.

"Yeah, it's pretty good, I guess," Hermes muttered. He couldn't deny how could the beverage was, though he still kept an eye on the blonde from the corner of his eyes. He didn't want to leave himself open. Triton, who sat opposite the God of Messengers, nodded in agreement. The Prince of the Sea thought it was the best milkshake he'd ever had!

"So," Naruto started, his mind finally catching up to him, "You guy do this often? When you said you were going to play games, I thought you meant Monopoly or Cluedo."

"We tried that, but it got violent very quickly," Triton answered, with Naruto noticing they all turned to stare at Hebe, who huffed and crossed her arms, "Someone doesn't take losing well."

"I told you all time and time again! Don't touch Park Lane and Mayfair! Those are MY squares." The Goddess of Youth shot back.

"You didn't own them at the time, which means it's all free real estate! You were just angry that I managed to bankrupt you!"

"Cause you built hotels on them, which was my plan!"

"We can all get very competitive," Despoina added, her smile returning and gently sipping from the straw in the corner of her mouth, and laughed as Hebe blew raspberry Triton's way, "Some more than others." Looking back up at him, Despoina asked, "Have you ever played, Mr Uzumaki?" With that question, everyone turned and looked at him.

Shaking his head, and rubbing the back of his neck, Naruto replied with, "I haven't. I don't know much about the game to be honest. All I know is that it was popular back in the 80s. I think I've seen books on it in local bookshops and the dice."

"We started playing the game about five years ago, and we haven't played much else since. It's very immersive, though we don't get to play as often as we'd like. Our professions and responsibilities tend to get in the way." She put her milkshake down, and Naruto found himself surprised as her voice suddenly changed into one of smooth elegance, "My name is Annaraxia, a druid half-elf and primary healer for the group."

She nudged Hermes and gave him a look to follow suit. Sighing, the male god cleared his throat and made his voice sound higher pitched, "The names Rolf, a bard gnome and the best damn flute player you'll ever see. Nice to meet you!"

Next, it was Hebes turn, who stood up and laid her fist on her chest, I'm Lena, I'm human, and I'm the" Hebe sighed and whispered, "The Cleric." Naruto took note of how unhappy she sounded about it, and her lip stuck out in a pout.

"You don't sound happy about it?" He commented and heard everyone else in the party snort. Hebe sat back down in a huff and crossed her arms. The youngest-looking member was proving to possess a bit of a temper.

"She's not. Every other campaign we've played, she always picks a Barbarian or a fighter. She never allocates herself as the healer," Apollo replied, lacing his fingers behind his head and looking over at his half-sister, "So we told her she had to suck it up and be the cleric of the group."

"So the cleric is a healer?" Everyone nodded, "Then why is," He looked over at Despoina, "Annaraxia your primary?" Again, everyone looked at Hebe, who stuck her tongue out and grinned.

Triton, who had a small bead of mint-flavoured milkshake running down his beard, went on to explain, "Clerics have to pick domains to align their abilities with and pick a god to serve as their patron. They're holy warriors to be blunt. Hebe here, picked the War Domain, which makes her suitable for both healing support, and fighting. Guess which she chooses to focus on."

"And it's a good thing I did! How many times have I saved your sorry butts!" Hebe spoke, eyes full of passion, "I'm a warrior at heart! I belong on the front line just like Tyrog, and Wisteriax!"

"Yes, yes, of course."

"Tyrog?" Naruto asked though it wasn't too hard to figure out.

Putting down his milkshake, Triton was the final member to stand up. He put on a low voice, like waves smashing against a stone beach, "I am the one they call Tyrog." He lifted the plastic axe and put it on his shoulder, "I'm the half-goliath Barbarian of this group, and the primary ass-kicker and skull crusher! Need monsters to kill? I'm your man!" He grinned and stuck his tongue out at Hebe, who returned the gesture. If the blonde shinobi had to guess, the daughter of the King and Queen preferred to play the barbarian.

"That's the group." Apollo looked up at him from his seat behind the table, "We have one more, but he's was grounded by our Dad, and put on house arrest. Maybe you'll get to meet him in the future."

"Maybe." Naruto replied, "So you guys do this often?"

"When we have time, but we try to do it once a month if we can."

The blonde nodded, "Alright. In that case, I'll leave you guys to play. If you need anything, I'll be sitting by the counter." Making sure everyone around the table had a menu should they decide they wanted anything, Naruto made way to the counter, and took his seat. He had a book to read for the afternoon, but something told him he didn't want to miss what was about to unfold in front of him.

Watching the group play their game was an experience he was unlikely to forget any time soon. He knew of the game, but he'd never seen it played before. From what he understood, it was an action roleplaying game, with one person acting as the narrator of the story, or campaign in this case, while the rest would play characters they created. They went in-depth, like their characters history, personality likes and dislikes. He couldn't speak for anyone else who played the game, but the five gods around the table appeared very passionate and committed to the game.

Three hours in, and his book remaining untouched, Naruto found himself leaning on his elbows as he watched them.

"As you guys push on further northward for another two hours through the ever-changing grass, you begin to notice the colour of the grass begin to shift and change the further north you go," Apollo described, looking across the room with his fingers laced in front of him, "Starting from the deep verdant green were all familiar with, it changes into a maroon, purplish colour."

"Woh! What's up with this field!" Hermes chittered away, feigning surprise as he looked around the room, "It's like some big kaleidoscope!"

"I would like to pop Henry out of my bracelet," Hebe added and tapped her wrist.

Nodding, Apollo made a whooshing sound and began describing Hebe's pet wolf appearing, "Henry appears on the field, and started sniffing around. Nose to the ground, you all watch as Henry walks over to a small patch of daisies, and begins rolling over the flowers with his body."

"Aww, Henry likes all the flowers." Hebe raised her hand and pretended to pat a creature that wasn't there. The only one who didn't look amused out of the bunch was Despoina, who lunged forward in her seat, her arms out wide. A frantic look as on her face, her crown of thorns threatening to topple off her head.

"Don't do that! You'll make the field angry!" She pretended to get in front of the make-believe wolf, her arms going wild, "It'll be angry for weeks. It might try and hurt us!"

Triton and Hermes looked confused and amused, while Hebe frowned at her cousin. She pretended to hug her make-believe wolf while saying, "Anna! Do not yell at my wolf."

"I was trying to protect him!" Afterwards, Apollo begins to describe Henry the wolf rolling through the grass again, with everyone watching as Despoina's expression relaxed and stared at Apollo, "Does it seem angry?

"No, it's all fine. The field carries on as normal."

"Oh." It went silent for a moment, everyone looking at the blonde goddess and waited for her response. They didn't have long to wait before Despoina's face turn into a mask of fury, as her feet repeatedly stamped on the ground, "Suck it grass!"

"The moment you say that the grass goes from a purplish-maroon, into a deep red."

Hermes dropped his head into his hands, while Despoina looked like a fish out of the water, "Oh god. What did you do?"

"I don't know! You said everything was fine!" She accused Apollo, pointing at him with an annoyed expression.

"I said it was fine for a wolf to roll on the grass. I didn't say it was okay to flat-out insult the field." Apollo reasoned with, "As all of you begin to continue forward, you find the grass is getting denser the further you go and begins catching on your ankles. You're all close to falling over a few times, but you manage to catch yourself. You get the distinct feeling the field wants you gone."

Triton sighed, looking at his half-sister with a tired expression, "You turned a field against us. Good job." He turned to Apollo, "Do we have to fight it?"

"That's up to you."

"I could torch the field. I think I've got a casket of oil in my bag of holding." From across the room, Naruto watched in fascination. It was preposterous, and yet it was happening in front of him.

"No! Don't do that!" Hebe looked over at Apollo, "I jump on Tyrog and cover his face with my hands, stopping him from taking out the casket."

Triton flailed his arms around, "Ahh! Get off me, you pitiful excuse of a cleric!"

Being the only silent one, as Despoina started doing some strange dance to try and calm the down the field, Hermes let out a low sigh, and go Apollo's attention, "I'm going to try and reason with the field." He took a sip of water and cleared his throat, "Lovely field! I apologise for the rudeness of my compatriots. We will be gentle as we meander our way through you. We will make as little of a mark on your magnificence as we can and enjoy the splendour of your ever-changing colours. You are majestic! You are windswept! You are everything I could hope for in a field of your radiance. It was a delight to set foot on your soil, and thank you for taking such good care of us."

Apollo tried to hold in his laughter, as did Naruto, before asking, "Ralf. Please make a persuasion check against the grass, while adding the d10 inspiration dye."

"Shall do. Prepare to thank me for saving you all again." Hermes picked up one of the dye and rolled it across the table. He pondered over it for a moment before he looked back at Apollo, "12."

"Your parlay with the field was unsuccessful."

"Fuck!"

"You rolled a two!?" Hebe questioned, glancing over at his dice.

"Hey! We all have bad rolls from time to time! Now let's get the hell out of this field before we piss it off anymore then we have."

"I think I need some cake," Despoina muttered and motioned Naruto over, "Could I get some lemon bars please?"

A short while later, and a couple of empty plates extra, Naruto once again found himself staring quizzically at the fivesome. If anyone was passing by the Fox's Den at this moment, he could only imagine what their reaction was going to be after hearing the exaggerated screams of the son of the sea. The party of four successfully made it through the field without angering the rainbow-coloured meadow further and found themselves travelling through a narrow pathway that led up towards the mountain. However, before they could get very far, Apollo described a golem made of stone blocking their path and refusing to allow them passage. Hebe, being the practical joker of the group, decided to use a technique called Polymorph and turned the golem into something else entirely.

"Will someone please get this thing away from meeee!" Triton shouted, holding up a plastic shield as he pretended to get knocked back by an invisible creature, "Whose plan was it to polymorph the golem into a giant squirrel! You know I don't like squirrels! They have it out for me!" He made a bunch of nonsensical noises, which were soon followed by, "Stop standing there and help me!"

Hermes stared over at his half-sister since Hebe was the one who cast polymorph on the golem, "Why did you turn it into a squirrel? You knew what the outcome was going to be. This is the fourth time it's happened this campaign."

"And it gets funnier every time it happens," Hebe replied, trying not to laugh at the nonsensical babbling coming from Triton.

"You'd think he was fighting Roatoask." Despoina added, focusing partly on the scene in front of her, while happily nomming away on a lemon bar, "A squirrel that size would get problematic."

"I don't know how Frey and the others deal with such an annoying creature," Apollo added, watching his cousin in amusement. It was always good to see his serious cousin of the sea get into roleplaying and act like someone the polar opposite, "I know Arty had been half tempted to hunt it down on a few occasions."

"Die! Die! Die!" The sea god swung the shield around like a bat, "Help me!"

"Is anyone brave enough to jump in and help your poor barbarian?" Apollo asked, sitting there in amusement as his cousin got bested by a giant squirrel, "Otherwise, this could take a while."

"Lena." Hermes and Despoina said, looking at Hebe, who appeared to be enjoying the sight immensely. Her shoulders were shaking up and down with Tritons shouts and screams tickling her funny bone, "Did you have to make it so big?"

"It was funny." Hebe shrugged, but felt the eyes of everyone else bore into her, "Oh fine! I'll turn it into something smaller." She waved a hand in the air, "I use polymorph again."

"What do you turn it into?"

The Goddess of Youth shrugged, "No idea. How about a snail?"

He nodded, "With a wave of her hand, Lena uses polymorph one more time and altered the form of the squirrel. You all watch as the body of the furry critter shudders for a moment, before it shrinks in size and takes on a new shape. What's left in its place is an ordinary snail, one that immediately begins slowly moving towards Tyrog." The Sun God described as Triton let out a sigh of relief, before glaring over at Hebe.

"Are you all happy now?" Hebe asked in character, before turning to Triton, "Come on, you big baby! Let's get going. We have a dragon to kill at the peak of that mountain. That thing will stay in that form for an hour, so let's get away from here and conserve our strength. My weapon is burning for some real action!"

"Here's your coffee." Naruto offered, lowering a mug of freshly brewed goodness next to Triton, "I added a splash of coconut in there as you asked, and didn't add any sugar."

"Thank you," Triton replied, taking it eagerly in his hands and taking small sips, trying to avoid burning his tongue. The content hum was low and gave a series of nods, "I can see why this place is so popular. I'm beginning to wonder if I should tell my mother about this place. She's been looking for more reasons to frequent New York, and if she knew this place existed, then she would stop by every visit."

"In that case, I'll have to keep an eye out for her. If you like, you can take a menu with you to show her. I'm still trying to figure out the whole website thing." It was an idea Hestia had offered him. He liked the idea of putting up a website for the Fox's Den so people could view the menu without having to come in. Plus it would give people a way to book the place out for events and alike. He wasn't the most tech-savvy people out there in that regard.

"I just might. Thank you for the offer."

"Don't mention it."

Looping around the table to pick up some empty plates, he listened in as Hebe held her hands tightly together as she shook the dice around in her palms. He wasn't a hundred per cent sure what was happening, having been going back and forth between the kitchen and the group. Everyone on the table suddenly had the urge for a stack of pancakes each, spearheaded by Apollo, while he described the battle they were stuck in with a dragon that could breathe ice. If he had it correct, then Hebe was about to make a role that could make or break their group. Despoina's character was low on health having been knocked down once already, while Hermes was hidden behind a boulder, trying to stay out of the way from the dragon's icy breath. Triton had rolled moments earlier and dealt 20 points of damage before Hebe began her turn. The battle as a whole had taken over an hour.

"Come on lucky dice, don't fail me now." The Goddess of Youth whispered, muttering something beneath her breath.

"Lucky dice?" Naruto whispered, but Triton waved it off.

"She can be superstitious like that."

"Remember, you can't pray to Tyche. That's cheating." Apollo added, giving her a look. The Goddess of youth had performed that little trick in the past, resulting in Apollo having to ban the activity.

"I won't!" Shaking the dice one last time, Hebe rolled them across the table and leaned in, "Eighteen!" She started going over her notes, "Add an extra five! That make's it twenty-three!"

"Twenty-three points of damage." Apollo whistled. Everyone waited with bated breath as Apollo went over his notes, making some small calculations in his head, before looking back at Hebe, "Not bad at all. How do you want to do this?"

Elated whoops erupted from around the table, though none were as loud as Hebe's, who punched the air and stamped her feet like a happy schoolgirl. If the blonde shinobi had to guess, that meant the group had won the battle, and Hebe got to decide how to kill the dragon.

"The dragon had exactly twenty-three health points left. Good job." Apollo commented, "So?"

Rubbing her hands together, the normally happy-go-lucky child of Zeus and Hera rubbed her hands together in a devilish manner, truly giving into her characters bloodthirsty tendencies, "I want it to go a little something like this. I want to run to the dragon and climb up it's back, using the spikes on its body like climbing hooks. When I get close enough to the head, I'm going to swing my sword and drive it through its icy blue eye." She grinned viciously. Hermes leaned away from her, worried her idle hands my looks someone to catch off guard, But I won't stop there. With every ounce of strength I have, I pull it to the ground, the sword still attached through the eye. With its head resting on the ground, I draw it out and pierce it right between the eyes. I kneel, and watch as the light darkens in its eyes."

Around the table, everyone just looked at her, though none looked as taken aback then Naruto did. Granted she was only playing a character, but he never expected to hear something so brutal escape the lips of a goddess who was known to be one of the kindest to be around. All Hebe could do was give everyone a sweet little smile, as everyone half-heartedly listened to Apollo describe the scene back to them.

Letting out a yawn, Naruto rested against the counter. Looking at the clock, he could see the hands were drawing close to 8 pm. As he mentioned to Apollo the other day, that was the cut-off point for the evening. As fun as the day went, he was looking forward to heading home and putting his feet up. When the God of the Sun finished his description and turned to his direction, the blonde shinobi gave a quick motion to the clock on the wall, to which his fellow blonde quickly understood. He watched as Apollo slowly started bringing their game to a close.

Later that Evening

"I'm home," Naruto called, closing the door to his home shut and slipping off his shoes. The smell of dinner and baking hung in the air, enough for it to tickle his nose with a delightful aroma. It wasn't long after walking through did the sound of small feet reach his ears and found himself smiling as Thalia appeared from the living room, her head appearing from behind the arch. The daughter of Zeus was dressed for bed, and her hair was damp in places, indicating Hestia had already given her niece her nightly bath.

"Mr Naruto!" The girl bolted down the hallway, and the blonde shinobi found himself catching her and hoisting her up with one arm.

"Isn't it meant to be your bedtime? What are you still doing up?" He asked, smiling down at her, "I thought I would find you asleep by now, or did you twist your aunties arm and convince her too let you stay up later?" All he got was a giggle in response, making him chuckle at her reaction.

With that comment, the face of Hestia appeared from the living room, and followed after her niece in greeting him, "She wanted to be here for when you arrived home. We made an apple pie together today, and she wants to watch you eat it. She worked very hard on making it for you." She patted Thalia's hair, "We made it from scratch, didn't we?"

"Yup!"

"Did you now?" He smiled, bouncing Thalia in the air as the little girl nodded, "Well isn't that sweet." He kissed the top of her head, and watched her beam a smile at him, "Was it fun?"

"Uhuh! Lots! Auntie showed me how to chop apples!"

"Well, let's not keep that pie waiting. Do you remember where the bowls are?" Thalia got the message, and quickly dropped to the ground with a soft thud and darted for the kitchen, "Look's like you two had fun today."

"She certainly keeps things lively, and I can't deny it's not a joy to be around her." Hestia replied, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, "More importantly, how was your day with my nephews and nieces?"

He sighed, and moved past her and walked towards the kitchen where Thalia was waiting for him, "Your family is so weird, Hestia."

Hestia laughed, stepping away from the wall and looping her arm through his, "I've been telling you that for years. Now you know what I've been dealing with for over five millennia."

This was certainly a unique chapter to write. I've recently started watching a show called Critical Role on Youtube over the past couple of months, falling in love with the group that play Dungeon and Dragons and the characters they create. My mind quickly turned to create some kind of chapter where certain gods and goddess would get together and play campaigns together. Apollo and Hermes immediately came to mind, and I thought it would be nice to bring in some of the deities that get little, or no time in the canon series. I hope everyone is happy with the inclusion of Hebe, Triton and Despoina.

I think I've got a basic understanding of how the role system works in DnD, though I didn't write much on so I didn't mess up how it works. If you play DnD, I hope I did okay. The scenes which they play was modelled over parts from Critical Role. I didn't want to create anything from scratch in that regard until I have a better understanding of the game.

The next chapter won't be until next year, so until then, I hope everyone has a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Thanks for reading. Please review and let me know what you thought. Stay safe.