AN: If this were to continue, this would be comprised of four chapters.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Percy Jackson and the Olympians. If I did, I wouldn't be on this site sadly.

Fearless

Fear.

It's something that drives humanity, though they try to ignore it. Humans work around fear. They think that they don't need it. Many argue otherwise, that fear is a survival skill. But if that were the case, why is it still needed when humanity is the dominant predator? Why does the top of the food chain need survival skills? Because humanity knows, deep down, that there's something out there to be afraid of.

And they're right. For in the shadows, in every nook and cranny, something watches humanity. They search for something hiding among the humans. Waiting for an opportunity to strike at their prey.

The prey being Demigods.

The result of humans consorting with Gods, the Greek Olympians to be precise, are known as demigods. This isn't new information, but the fact that they continue to exist even to today is. Many famous people in history were children of the gods. George Washington was a son of Athena, the abolitionist Harriet Tubman was a daughter of Hermes, and Adolf Hitler was a son of Hades. These are just a few of the many who had influenced history.

There is one Olympian that has not born a son or daughter, well two, but technically Hestia is no longer an Olympian (by choice mind you). The Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis, much unlike her twin Apollo, has not had a child. She had sworn an oath on the River Styx never to lay with a man or lose her chastity. However, she, like Athena, found a loophole: Artemis had Hunters, her loyal handmaidens that accompanied her on her hunts, but she loved them as though they were her kin. She loved them to the point that she gave them immortality, limited to eternal youth as long as they never fell in battle or broke their vow.

There were moments that Artemis had wished she hadn't made the oath, moments Artemis denies venomously that existed if questioned about her choice.

Now, was not one of those moments.

"Breathe! Breathe and push!" Artemis ordered the screaming redheaded woman. Her silver moonlike eyes flickered to Phoebe, a trusted Hunter and one of the best medics among her group. Artemis had found the woman stumbling through the woods of Colorado, with wounds on her body that made her look like she had just come from a warzone. When Artemis caught her, the redheaded woman murmured words like 'Kyubi', 'Gomenasai', 'Minato-kun', and 'Tenshi-hime.'

But what really caught her attention was the large bump in her stomach, as though the woman had swallowed a beach ball.

Then the trickling water that ran down her leg got the goddess' attention.

Artemis was also the goddess of Fertility and Childbirth, so it was her duty to help this life make it into the world, despite the sex. She'd done the same thing for her twin when she was newly born, so helping the delivery of a baby was rather simple for her.

Ensuring that the mother survived the birth was the challenge.

"She's losing more blood." Phoebe frowned and looked to the hunter seated across from her. "Zoë, I need more mortal medicine."

"I have no more on me!" Zoë snapped. Her irritation was understandable, the redheaded woman was crushing her hand. The Lieutenant of the Hunters let out a cry when the mother-to-be screamed. "By Olympus, her strength matches the Bastard's! Lady Artemis, please get the babe out of her before she crushes my hand to goo!"

"Patience, Zoë, it's coming," Artemis said calmly. She looked down and prepared herself. "The head is crowning. Push! Breathe! Push!"

The woman screamed and the baby came out. The newborn cried loudly and Artemis looked down at it-him with a small smile. She removed the umbilical cord and cleaned up the crying boy slightly. The goddess blinked in surprise as three lines on either of the boy's cheeks refused to come off.

"Odd birthmarks," she said softly. Artemis wrapped the baby in a silver cloak and carried him up to rest with his mother. The goddess put her hand on the woman's shoulder and knelt where Zoë, who fled to get some nectar for her hand, once rested. Artemis held the bundle out to the woman. "A boy."

"Joy, another one."

Artemis sent a glare to her two Hunters. "He is but an infant, a pure soul just born. If I discover which of you said that, I will have you cleaning tunics, bows, and clothes for the others for a year."

Zoë and Phoebe grimaced. Sometimes, eternal youth had its boons, but when you never aged, performing yearly chores was like living through Hell.

"Na-Naruto-kun." The woman's voice brought Artemis' attention back to her. A weak hand reached up and brushed across the crying infant's cheek, the finger stroked one of the birthmarks tenderly. "Naruto..."

"Naruto?" Artemis asked. Her silver eyes met weak purple.

"Naruto." There was so much love in that one word, that Artemis was almost jealous of the baby. The desire to raise and care for the boy in the goddess' arms was intense, and as a goddess of Fertility, it made her jealousy rise. The one thing she had yet to experience as a goddess was motherhood over infants. Many women of Olympus, even that wench Aphrodite, had felt the pains of childbirth, but unlike Artemis, they also reaped the rewards, raising children. Artemis would never know this experience due to her vow.

A soft sigh returned to Goddess' gaze to the redheaded woman, who moved her hand to Artemis' arm and let her eyes fall shut. Her breathing slowed, her head dropped back and her hand fell from Artemis' arm. The baby, Naruto, continued to cry even as Phoebe and Zoë came back to try and revive the woman. Artemis watched her Hunters try to bring the new mother back, but as a goddess she knew the horrible truth. There would be no saving this life. The woman belonged to Hades and Thanatos now.

"Phoebe, place two drachma over her eyes. Zoë, prepare a grave," Artemis said. As her Hunters followed her instructions, Artemis looked down at the now quiet babe cradled in her arms. For the first time in her immortal life, Artemis wasn't sure of what action to take next.

"Milady, what is to be done about the child?" Zoë asked.

Artemis pursed her lips in thought. That was precisely the problem. Artemis wasn't sure what to do with the infant named Naruto. The goddess didn't even know the name of Naruto's mother. She hadn't bothered to ask. All she did was fall back into a role she was familiar with, helping a mother give birth. She'd done it before, but this was the first time that the mother wasn't an immortal or a demigoddess. Naruto was one-hundred percent mortal, the blood in his veins as pure human as they could be.

"Milady?"

"Do as I've requested, Zoë." Artemis adjusted Naruto in her arms and summoned her chariot. "I must go ask for advice. I will not be gone long. When you are finished, return to the camp."

"Yes, Lady Artemis."

Artemis had not been back to Greece in many years, and hadn't been back to Crete even longer. The woods weren't as exciting as when she was younger, she could walk through each forested area with her eyes closed, ears plugged and godly senses removed by Zeus. Her Hunters had cleared the area of any threats long ago, so there was no real challenge to be had.

A soft cry gained Artemis' attention and she turned to the bundle set carefully in a carrier she'd made with a moment of thought. In the light of her twin's chariot, for the brief moment they'd almost crossed paths, Artemis noted that Naruto could've been easily mistaken as a child of Apollo. She wondered if that was something to be concerned about, but dismissed the thought, as Apollo was not uncaring towards the mothers of his children...even if he often moves on far too quickly for her liking.

Honestly, Apollo could be much more bearable if he had someone to reign him in, but no-o-o, he had to be the fatheaded playboy. Of all things he had to inherit from Zeus, it had to be the libido.

"Shush, Naruto, we're almost there." Artemis consoled the crying infant. She landed her chariot in a large yard behind a villa. Artemis picked Naruto up from his carrier and walked around to her deer. She smiled at the four silver deer, their golden antlers sparkled in the sunlight. "Well done. Rest."

The deer snorted in response and began to graze.

Artemis looked down at Naruto, who had calmed himself now that they were out of the chariot. She let her lips spread into a small smile, like many newborns, Naruto was very adorable. Especially with the added 'whiskers' on his cheeks.

"Artemis?" The goddess looked up at the mentioning of her name. She smiled even wider when she saw the owner of the voice that had said it. A woman with eyes a lighter silver than her own and hair as dark as the night sky walked from the villa towards her. She wore a white sun dress of the finest material and her smile looked much like her own.

"Mother." Artemis walked quickly towards her, her smile wide. She met the woman in a hug, mindful of the bundle in her arm. Artemis never felt safer than when she was in her mother's arms, of course she could take care of herself now, but there were some things that made even a god afraid. Typhon for instance, after the first battle with the monster king, both Artemis and Apollo took several days to recover, seeking sanctuary in Leto's love.

Leto pressed her lips against Artemis' head and tightened her arms around her daughter. "Artemis, my sweet moonlight." Leto pulled away and smiled. "Why are you-oh! Well...I never thought you'd break your oath..."

"No! No-no-no-no-no!" Artemis quickly corrected. "No, Mother. Apollo is the one who...has demigods. I have my Hunters."

"Uh-huh. So, you have an adorable bundle with you just to match your eyes?" Leto asked, an amused smile on her face. She took the babe from her daughter's arm and cradled him in her own. "Oh, he's so precious."

"Yes, he-No! Mother, stop distracting me!" Artemis frowned at her mother, who laughed at her and cooed at the infant. Artemis took a deep breath and then crossed her arms. "His mother passed after she gave birth. I stumbled across her in Colorado's woods, she was...not doing well. My Hunters did what they could, but the stress of childbirth on her heart."

"What a shame," Leto said with a frown. She looked back at the blearily blinking baby boy and smiled. "Poor little cutie doesn't deserve to grow up motherless. And a orphanage would eat him up! Insulting, some of those child care locations, it makes my ichor boil! Back in the day, when a child wasn't wanted we ensured it found a home to be raised by someone who'd love it!"

"Mother, you're scaring Naruto," Artemis said as Naruto started to fuss in Leto's arms.

"Naruto?" Leto calmed and looked at her daughter. She let a smile spread across her face. "I thought Apollo was the one that enjoyed the Eastern culture?"

Artemis flushed lightly, her cheeks slightly gold from the ichor. "I didn't name him, Mother, his mother did. Before she died."

Leto hummed and turned back to Naruto, who she calmed easily as she bounced him gently in her arms. The mother of the Letoides smiled at him. "Your momma loved you, didn't she Naruto? Yes she did."

"Mother, focus please?" It was really the one thing that Artemis couldn't understand about her mother, she always seemed to lose focus when babies or children came into view. For the immortal life of her, Artemis just didn't get it.

"Is he a demigod?" Leto asked as she turned and walked back to the villa.

Artemis watched her mother walk off in disbelief before she quickly followed. "Mother! Where are you going?!"

"To prepare a bottle, of course." Leto walked into the building, Artemis hot on her heels. "Now, is he?"

"No."

Leto stopped and turned to face Artemis, shock on her face. "You helped a mortal woman give birth to her mortal son? You?"

Artemis scowled. "I am not that bad!"

"You changed one poor boy that stumbled across your camp into a jackelope. His mother had been looking for him for a month before I undid the transformation."

Artemis winced. "He violated-!"

"Your personal space that he didn't know existed?" Leto put one hand on her hip and looked down at her daughter with a frown on her face. Artemis felt like a newborn goddess all over again, not even Zeus made her feel like this. Leto shook her head. "If there's one thing you and your brother got from Lord Zeus, it was your tempers."

"Back to the topic at hand," Artemis said. She did not want to have this conversation with her mother anytime soon. "What should I do?"

Leto stared down at Artemis for another moment before she turned and began to walk off again. Artemis groaned and followed her. "Mother! Stop avoiding the question!"

"I'm not avoiding the question, you're avoiding the answer."

"That doesn't make any sense!"

Leto stepped into the kitchen and got out several items. Artemis watched with confused awe as a bottle and baby formula was pulled out.

"Mother...why do you have-?"

"I'm working as a nanny," Leto said with a smile. She twirled her hands and the bottle quickly prepared itself. Artemis knew instinctively that the bottle was perfect for a baby Naruto's weight. "There's a cute little girl named Cassandra here. She and her parents have gone off to Australia. Which is good, I hate using the Mist on them."

Leto began to feed Naruto, smiling as she did, before she looked at Artemis. "You want to ask me for advice on what to do with him. You've already known what you've wanted: You want to raise him."

"Wha-No-!"

"By the Fates, stop lying to yourself Artemis!" Leto frowned at her. She looked back at the feeding infant with a smile. "You took one look at this face and suffered the same fate many women have for eons: you fell in love."

Artemis shoulder slumped. "Must you say it like that?"

"Well, it's true." Leto pouted at her. "Perhaps not romantically, but your first sense of maternal love, real maternal love, came when you cradled this boy in your arms."

Artemis eyes went to rest on the whisker cheeked infant that swallowed formula while he rested in her mother's arms in content.

"Zeus will-"

"Will what? Kill him? Punish you? Why?" Leto asked. "You've broken no law. Little Naruto is not your son by blood. Nor has he forced you to break your oath on the Styx, not that he has room to judge." Leto gained a grimace. "I hear Lord Zeus discovered a new interest. I cannot wait to see how Lady Hera handles this one."

"Mother...the names."

"Yes, yes, whatever." Leto rolled her eyes. "You Olympians, so stingy about being addressed in this day and age. You must love it when you come up in education, or history specials." Leto looked back at Naruto and smiled when she pulled the bottle away. "Such a healthy boy. Well, if you don't wish to raise him, I'm sure Cassandra's parents wouldn't mind raising a son." She winked conspiratorially at her daughter. "I can hear them trying for another when they're at home."

"Mother!" Artemis flushed brightly. The goddess glowered at Leto as she laughed and stole Naruto back from her. Artemis looked down at the whiskered babe as he yawned and she gained a small smile. "...Perhaps, he can be the first tolerable man to walk the Earth."

Leto smiled at the sight and crossed her arms over her stomach. "Perhaps."

So how did a god react to the news of Artemis, the 'man-hater', taking in an orphaned baby as her own child? To the passerby on Olympus, even this news was considered old. Many of Artemis' hunters were once orphaned demigods or nymphs cast aside by their godly lovers. In any other case, this news would be laughed off as an old joke long since gone bad.

But when one mentioned that this adopted child was a mortal boy?

Everything came to a grinding halt.

When the news reached the council of Olympus, the Twelve Olympians as they were more commonly known, even Dionysus perked up in interest.

The most interesting reaction, however, came from the king of the gods.

"Artemis cannot come...because she has to feed her...son..." Zeus repeated what the news that Zoë Nightshade, his daughter's most trusted Lieutenant, told him through the Iris Message portal. To say the king of the gods was stunned would be an understatement.

Hera narrowed her eyes as she looked at the hunter. "...Is this a joke, Zoë Nightshade?"

"No, Lady Hera." The Hunter remained on her knees and kept her head bowed as the Olympians stared at her from the other end of the Iris Message. "Milady offers her deepest apologies, but her son refuses to sleep and she has grown concerned. She will arrive once her son is asleep."

A second ticked by before a golden blur shot through the doors of the council chambers. Following the blur was an elated echo of: "I'M AN UNCLE! I'VE GOT A LITTLE NEPHEW!"

"...Well, Apollo's not coming back," Hermes said after a moment of silence passed. His fingers were already blurring across his phone's keypad. He had to get a day off so he could meet the little tyke, too.

"Details. I want details!" Aphrodite demanded of the Hunter. "Who is the father? Who!? I must make sure this man is given the best love life! Gratitude!"

"The boy is mortal, Aphrodite." Athena burst the goddess' bubble. "He is her adopted son."

"That doesn't mean the father shouldn't get rewarded for his part in all of this!" Aphrodite shot back. She tittered happily and clapped her hands. "I've been dreaming of this day. Oh, who to put with this boy? A model? Starlet? So many options, so little time!"

"I wish to know more as well, but not for the same reasons," Poseidon said. He leaned forward in his throne slightly. "Nightshade, where are the boy's parents?"

"The mother is deceased, Lord Poseidon," Zoë said dutifully, her head still bowed. "And the father is nowhere to be found. Possibly dead."

Poseidon stroked his beard in thought. "I see...We must speak with Hades, Zeus. ...Brother?"

Zeus continued to stare at the Iris Message. "...Artemis cannot come...because she has to feed her son..."

Ares slumped over so that his hand supported his head on the arm of his throne. "Yeah, you said that already. Mortal huh? I give him three days before he's eaten by a monster."

"Ares! That's a terrible thing to say!" Demeter chastised the god of war. "Artemis is a powerful goddess and her domain resides over child care. She'll see to it that the seed grows into a tree."

"A beautiful tree. Oh, I wonder how he'll look when he's older. I have to know!" Aphrodite pouted. Both Old Laws and Artemis had banned her from stepping foot in the Hunter's camp. So unless Artemis brought the baby to Olympus, which was highly unlikely since mortals hadn't stepped foot on the mountaintop in centuries, she'd have no clue what the adopted son looked like.

"Stop whining, Aphrodite." Dionysus frowned at the goddess. He made a can of Diet Coke appear in his hand and popped the tab. "I'm just glad he won't be at camp."

Aphrodite gasped, horror written on her face. "But if he's not at camp, how will he meet with any of my babies!? How will he meet any potential girlfriends? Or boyfriends?"

"Ew."

Aphrodite glared at Ares. "You shush, love is pure in any way. Artemis' son will receive the best of love since he has to deal with these insufferable girls!"

"They're not that bad." Hephaestus grunted as he fiddled with a silver mechanical moon. He turned a screw and then looked at the Iris Message. "Nightshade. Give this to Artemis. Tell her I got the other request yesterday."

Looks of shock and disbelief were directed at Hephaestus, but he ignored them.

The machine he had created vanished from his hand and reappeared next to Zoë. The Hunter picked it up and discovered it to be a portable mobile that played a soft "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," complete with extending arms and flashing stars that danced in a circular motion. Zoë bowed deeply. "It shall be done, Lord Hephaestus. I will inform her that you did as she requested."

"Just have her send more silver my way when she needs something else done." Hephaestus grunted. He swiped his hand and the message ended.

"...Dude." Hermes continued to stare at the smith. "You knew?"

"Yeah. So what?" Hephaestus didn't see the big deal. Artemis wanted to keep it a secret when she asked for a mobile a month ago, but he figured that since Nightshade was telling the Olympians, Artemis no longer cared for secrecy.

"...But you knew?!" Hermes pressed on. This was some serious gossip, and it escaped him! The god of messengers!

"You knew and you didn't tell me?!" Aphrodite asked in shock.

Hephaestus gave her a dry look. "You're really that surprised?"

"...It's the principal of the thing!"

Hephaestus rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Aphrodite glared daggers at him. "Ooh, you'll pay for this Hephaestus."

"I'm shaking in my sandals."

"Enough!" The gods looked to the Queen of Olympus when she spoke. Hera had a frown on her face, she detested witnessing Aphrodite and Hephaestus' dysfunctional marriage at work. It was a slight to her domain. Hera turned and glared at her own husband, who continued to mumble the same line. "Zeus!"

"Confound it Hera, I told you I'm holding to the Oath!" Zeus snapped, brought from his broken train of thought at his wife's voice. He blinked and frowned when Poseidon burst into laughter. "What is so funny, brother?"

"You, brother. You seem to be having trouble coming to terms with Artemis' announcement." Poseidon's mirth shone in his eyes. "Along with the proclamation after Hera got your attention."

Zeus glared at his brother and then at his snickering sons. He sat back in his throne and clenched his jaw. "Well, I'm surprised you're not reacting the same way. Artemis is breaking the Old Law!"

"Actually, Zeus, she is not," Athena said. She directed her attention to the center of the council chambers, where a large and old image of text appeared. "The Old Law state that gods cannot raise their own children. Artemis has adopted this mortal boy, so he is not her child, even though at the same time he is."

"I could always use more interns."

"No, Hermes." Zeus glared at the messenger god, who snapped his fingers in disappointment. Zeus turned his stormy gaze back to the text and banished it with a wave of his hand. He gained a thoughtful look. "Artemis will have to explain her reasoning when she returns. When did Apollo run off? It's not like him to leave a meeting."

"...Artemis just announced she adopted a boy." Poseidon reminded the king.

Zeus nodded. "Ah. That makes sense."

"Oh, c'mon, lil' sis! Please, let me hold him?" A handsome youth softly pleaded to Artemis. Apollo had arrived moments after Zoë dropped off the mobile Hephaestus made, and her twin's arrival stirred Naruto from his near sleep. Apollo's arrival was flashy and bright, two things that were not wanted or needed when one was trying to put a baby down to sleep.

"How many times must I remind you that I'm the older twin? And he was almost asleep after hours of crying!" Artemis snapped back in a hushed tone. Her silver eyes returned to the tired blue of Naruto's, but the infant was adamant of not slumbering, not with the new excitement that had entered her tent. His mouth opened in a toothless tired smile and fresh tears brimmed along the edge of his eyes. Artemis withheld a scowl, if Naruto started to cry again she was going to snap a bow over her brother's fat head. "No, no, no, Naruto, shh. No crying. No more tears."

"Uncle's here, no more nightmares," Apollo chimed in, singing softly. He swiped the infant from his sister, earning a venomous glare, and began to rock him gently. "Now hush, little baby don't you cry. Everything's going to be all right."

Artemis watched in slight awe as her irresponsible twin rocked Naruto to sleep. She'd never seen Apollo act this way around an infant, which was understandable considering the last time he spent more than two minutes next to a baby was with Hermes. Apollo never really got over the fact an infant god stole his cows or that he got swindled into not charging Hermes. Sure, the two gods loved to hang around with one another, but there was the occasional spat that went back to Hermes' first crime.

"Stiffen that upper lip, lil' baby I told ya, Uncle's here to hold ya through the night." Apollo grinned as the baby in his arms yawned and his eyes drifted shut. "We don't know why; we feel how we feel inside. Your life's gonna be crazy, little baby, but I promise, it'll turn out all right."

"...I hate you. So much." Artemis declared softly as she watched Naruto sleep. Apollo did in seconds what had taken her hours. She was going to break three bows over his head...after he taught her how in the name of Tartarus he did that.

Apollo grinned at her as he went over to the crib and sent the infant in. "Ah, don't be jealous that he likes me more, Lil' Sis. Lil' Nephew knows who's got the most swagger."

"I am not the younger!" Artemis hissed. She walked over and brushed past her twin, covering Naruto's form in a silver blanket. A gold blanket appeared atop it with a smiling cartoonish sun on the middle. Artemis turned and gave her twin a baleful glare. "Seriously?"

"Babies gotta be warm, and it gets chilly in Colorado," Apollo said with a nod. He crossed his arms and looked down at the sleeping baby. "So...Mortal, huh?"

"Yes," Artemis said with a small frown. She'd already had the worrisome thought of mortality when one of the Hunters' wolves got too close to Naruto for her liking.

"What's his name?"

"Naruto." Artemis smiled lightly as she brushed one of the whisker marks on his cheeks.

Apollo arched a golden brow. "I thought you didn't know Japanese."

"His mother named him before she passed." Artemis frowned. "I thought him at first to be one of yours. But once he was born, I knew he was not a demigod."

"So we got a dead mother, a dad that's MIA and now a goddess raising a mortal," Apollo said. He rubbed his chin. "That sounds like a bad anime. Well, with the right staff, I think it could be good."

"You're such a block head." Artemis sighed.

"Says the one raising a boy with a name that means 'fishcake'."

Artemis glared at him. "Do not call Naruto a fishcake."

"That's what his name means," Apollo said with a grin. He shrugged. "Well, that or 'maelstrom'. But, c'mon, it was more likely that the pregnant woman was thinking about food when she picked the name." At Artemis' infuriated glare, Apollo quickly added. "Which was most likely many months before she died."

"Be grateful that Hermes taught you how to pull your foot from your mouth."

"Harsh." Apollo looked down at the baby and scratched his head. "So...have you thought about what'll happen when you've got to kick him out?"

Artemis' silver eyes grew cold. "That won't happen for years!"

"Which move by very fast for us," Apollo said pointedly. He crossed his arms. "I saw it, sis. Kid's life is going to be crazy. And that's not counting after he gets booted from the Hunter's Camp."

Artemis frowned at her twin. "I'll be at Olympus shortly."

"Sorry, sis. Truth hurts." Apollo shrugged. He vanished with light bending around him, a warm air left from where he once stood.

Artemis looked back at her adopted son and ran her hand over his head gently. Her eyes lost their cold edge to them and warmed greatly. She knew that a time would come when she had to dismiss Naruto, and she would deal with it then. For now, she would enjoy the peace with him, the moments they would make.

After she explained the situation to Zeus and forbade Aphrodite from bothering him.

Time was a fickle thing for immortals. They were everlasting once they reached a certain point in their growth, so they cared not for the measurement of time. A second to humanity was hardly a heartbeat to a god. A day, barely even a blink. Years passed like hours when one was immortal. When one had the ability to retain every second of every minute of every hour in every day of every week of a year, time became cheap, but what was priceless was the moments made. The history that the Olympians witnessed unveil before them was what helped them realize when times changed.

For humanity, time was precious. More valuable. Time flew by before one knew what happened. Time was fleeting, ever changing. A day could feel like an hour, or an hour could feel like a day. Seconds could feel like an eternity, while a year could sneak past without one being the wiser.

Blue eyes cracked open as a cloud passed overhead. The star covered night sky twinkled above the owner of the eyes. The sounds of cars honking in the distance filled the air, the sounds of Richmond coming back to focus. A teenage boy, no older than fourteen, stretched his arms up in front of him. He wore dark pants, boots, silver leather gloves one might see on an archer and a white long sleeved shirt with a crescent moon over his chest. His clothes were tight and fit his well developed form perfectly, lowering wind resistance and allowing him greater speed.

The teen rolled his legs back over his head and kipped up to his feet. He walked over to the ledge of the building he napped on and grabbed a belt with several pouches attached to it, which he then slipped on. He grabbed a silver cloak and drew it around himself, the hood down allowed the light breeze to blow his hair.

The youth looked over Hell's Kitchen, the area he'd chosen as his territory. The part of the city where the unappreciated lived and the ones who wanted to hide hid well. Not exactly where he'd thought he'd call home when he was a child, but it grew onto him quickly.

It was his duty to protect his territory, and all those within. Regardless of gender.

It was how his mother told him nature worked: the top of the food chain would protect their territory from unwanted predators.

A gunshot rang out and he looked over to the side.

He was also to deal with unwanted scavengers.

His eyes narrowed and he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a silver cloth that he tied over his mouth to conceal six whisker-like marks on either cheek, and then pulled up the hood of his cloak to keep the cloth from being reached and his near golden hair from being identified. The teen climbed onto the ledge of the building and waited. And waited. And waited.

A gunshot rang out again.

The youth turned on the ledge and ran towards the origin of the gunshot. He leapt without hesitation to the nearby building's ledge, crossing a ten foot gap with ease. He had prey to catch, there was no time to be afraid. The teen ran for a few blocks across the rooftops before he spotted two masked men on the street below. They rounded the corner of a building, and he quickly raced ahead of them.

The masked and cloaked teen jumped from the ledge to a fire escape on the next building. He went over the edge and dropped from one level to the next, catching himself with his hands. From the third level, he pushed away and landed on a flickering street light. After the first masked man ran past, he dropped, landing on the second with both feet.

"Ahh! Mikey!" The assaulted man cried out. The teen quickly disarmed him and then reached into his pouch. A silver arrowhead was pulled out and tossed into the light overhead, encasing them in darkness. The man screamed in horror and the teen pounced on his prey.

Almost half a block ahead, the other masked man stopped and turned back. "G-Greg? You-you okay man?"

The masked man's question was answered by the sound of punches and anguished cries for help. The gunman took several steps back, but stopped when something silver flew from the shadow and into the next street light, shattering it and encasing the small illuminated area in darkness. Then another took out one that was closer to the would-be thief, which made it seem like the shadows had begun to chase him.

It was at that point that the masked man decided to try and run again.

The teen grinned behind his mask.

He loved the thrill of the Hunt.

As the teen chased the masked thief, he tossed more silver arrowheads at any source of light, extinguishing them instantly. He may not have his mother or uncle's skill with a bow, but his accuracy was on par with his adopted sisters and cousins. His uncle taught him that humanity loved to live in the light, and that monsters thrived in darkness.

His mother corrected the lesson, saying that it was predators that thrived in the darkness. They embraced the shadows of Hades, allowed his presence to conceal their own. Sure, his mother's lessons focused on hunting in wilderness, but he figured that it would hold true in what was called a concrete jungle.

So far, he hadn't been wrong.

Tired of the chase, he pulled out a curved crescent-shaped shuriken and tossed it at the masked man. He had based it off of a gag gift from his uncle on his seventh birthday. Actually, most of his current attire was inspired by his uncle. Particularly after the god of the sun gave him a copy of Moon Knight. The Egyptian thing was weird, though. His mother never mentioned anything about the Egyptian gods.

A puzzle for another day.

Focus on the task at hand.

Right.

"Ack!" The crescent shuriken caught the man in the back of the knee, and he fell hard into the cement. The teen threw two more arrows at nearby street lights, which encased the area in shadows. He walked up to the masked man and plugged the barrel of his gun with an industrial nail when the man aimed it at him. The masked man pulled the trigger and cried out as he nearly blew his hand off.

The teen kicked the gun aside and pushed the man onto his back with his foot.

"D-Don't kill me! Please!"

For some reason, the youth felt like he was suffering from déjà vu.

Focus!

Blue eyes narrowed and the teen grabbed the man's shirt. He tore the mask away, revealing a rugged man with a chipped tooth from his earlier fall.

"I'm not going to kill you." He narrowed his gaze. "I'm warning you and other scumbags like you: Hell's Kitchen is mine. Stay out."

"Y-Yeah, yeah! I'll spread the word! Oh God, please don't hurt me."

"Spread the word." A fist collided with the man's temple and he was knocked out cold. The teen let him fall back to the ground and he looked to the bag discarded to the side. He grabbed the bag and opened it. A bag of money was within.

The teen doubled back and grabbed the other bag. Before he could leave, the other masked man grabbed his leg.

"Wait! I-I need that money!"

The teen turned and looked at the bruised thief, his eyes hard. "Get a job."

"No, please! They're gonna kill my daughter if I don't give them the money! Here, here, see?" The man fumbled around in his back pocket and pulled out a wallet. He pulled out a picture and held it up. "Here. This is Sarah. She's only seven, please. I can't go to the cops. They're crooked! Please, I don't care if I go to jail, you-you gotta do something, man. Sarah doesn't deserve to die for my mistakes!"

He took the picture and, after a moment of silence, knocked the man out with a kick to the head. Blue eyes looked back at the small picture of a happy brunette in his hand. He grabbed the other duffle bag and slid the picture in his pocket.

"I agree. Sarah doesn't deserve to die for your mistakes." The teen walked into the shadows of the nearest alleyway and left, leaving the two unmasked men unconscious.

Blue eyes stared at the image of the girl, Sarah, which was appropriated from the would-be criminal. It was pinned to a wall, along with many other newspaper clippings that covered stories of disappearing children. It was the seventh abducted child, but unlike the previous six, the parent hadn't gone to authorities.

Smart.

Some of the cops in this city were crooked. Some. Not all. You had to know who could be trusted. That was why most of the girls were still missing, or most likely dead. Parents didn't know who could be trusted.

The young vigilante did.

He reached over and grabbed the landline phone of his apartment, a gift from his uncle on his thirteenth birthday. He pressed the appropriate numbers and then hit the star key. The phone rang eloquently before it was answered.

"Hello?"

"Uncle Fred."

"Naruto! Excuse me, babe, my lil' nephew's on the line. Huh? Yeah, a sister. I'll explain it later – Naruto! Lil' nephew! How's Richmond treating you? Wanna move west? I still need a wingman~!"

Naruto cracked a small smile at his uncle's enthusiasm. "Sorry, Uncle Fred, but I like Richmond. School's nice and the night life is wild."

"Not too wild, though, right? Your mother will kill me if you got hurt. I said I'd cover your expenses and keep an eye on you, ya know."

"I'm fine, Uncle. I need some help on one of my afterschool projects."

"Lay it on me, kiddo."

"A lot of kids are getting kidnapped."

"...This sounds like something the police should worry about, not me."

Naruto frowned. "What if it was one of my cousins?"

"...Dammit, I hate that you can guilt me like that." The speaker on the other end groaned. "Alright, kiddo. You've got my attention."

"Seven children, mortals, between the ages of five and ten. Six are still missing, but all have asked for ransoms." Naruto explained. He went over to the wall and ran his finger over a part of an article. "The drop is five hundred thousand and the location is at a park bench. Surveillance always seems to go wonky after the drop is made and the police on stakeout always seem to forget what the pickup look like."

"Crooked. This is getting interesting. Like issue fifty of-!"

"Uncle." Naruto cut his uncle off before he went on one of his tangents. "You can tell me what comic it's like after I find the kids."

"Or what remains."

Naruto glowered. "Yeah."

"Sorry, Naruto. Truth hurts."

"I know, Uncle Fred." Naruto rubbed his head and groaned. "What's your advice?"

"...Leave it to the police?"

"Aside from that?"

"You just love to get me on your mother's bad side, don't you? Ugh, man, if she finds out this was my idea, I'm dead. D-E-A-D. And I really don't want that to happen yet."

"Uncle..."

There was a heavy sigh on the other end and Naruto grinned. "You are so lucky you're my only lil' nephew. Okay, advice...I'd check the docks."

"No, the docks are owned by Kingpin. He's into drugs, weapons and human trafficking, not kidnapping and ransom. They'd have to pay a heavy fee to operate there," Naruto said. He grimaced as he recalled his last encounter with Richmond's lord of crime. The fat bastard even looked like Wilson Fisk.

"Point taken-Wait, did you call him Kingpin? Ha! I knew it! Marvel fan all the way! Next movie, you and me are hitting premiere night here in L.A., no excuses!"

"Yeah, fine, sure. Uncle Fred, focus," Naruto said with a soft groan. His uncle was so excitable sometimes. Sure, it made him awesome to hang out with, but over the phone it was exhausting.

"Right, right, right, sorry Naruto. Hm...Any suspicious abandoned warehouses?"

Naruto frowned and walked over his bed to a detailed map of Richmond, including various locations photographed and pinned around the map. "There's an abandoned ironworks near the old Green Manor. Hey, there's someplace that kids could go missing. Maybe I should check that place out."

"No!"The other end went quiet for a moment after 'Fred' shouted. "No. Naruto, listen to me. Under no circumstances are you to go anywhere near Green Manor."

Naruto was taken aback at the grave tone his uncle had used. He'd never been this serious about something before. It was suspicious. Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"Alright, I won't go to Green Manor. I swear on my mother's oath."

That seemed to have satisfied his uncle, as he let out a relaxed sigh. "Good. Good. Okay, well, aside from that place and the Ironworks. Anywhere else? Some old buildings in Hell's Kitchen, maybe?"

"Yeah, I should search Hell's Kitchen first." Naruto nodded, his eyes glued to the picture of the abandoned manor. "Good idea. Thanks for the help, Uncle Fred."

"Anytime, lil' nephew! Hey, but I'm serious about that next movie premiere. I can even set you up with some starlet if you want~! What? Yes, I do know movie stars. How? I'm a producer, baby! Yeah, paying for my nephew's school, too. My lil' sis is busy working all the time, so I'm covering some big financial issues for her. Wanna see some pictures?"

Naruto shook his head. He wasn't going to listen to his uncle butter up some girl. That was gross. "Goodbye, Uncle Fred."

"Huh? Oh, right. Bye, Naruto! Have a nice one!"

"You too, Uncle Fred." Naruto waited for the call to end on his uncle's side before he hung up. He looked back at the picture of the abandoned ironworks and then down at the old Green Manor. His brows narrowed and his eyes frosted over. "What are you hiding at the Green Manor, Uncle Fred?"

When his mother's chariot took to the sky again, Naruto made his way to the abandoned ironworks mill. Scrap iron and obvious signs of vandalism were everywhere. The young vigilante scowled behind his cloth mask. Talk about a dump.

It was a perfect place to hide a body. Or hold a kid hostage.

As he walked towards the main building, metal shifted behind him and Naruto turned to face the source, three arrowheads in his left hand between his fingers ready to be thrown. He relaxed once he saw the rat that had shifted the metal. Naruto turned and resumed his stealthy trek to the main building, and as he drew near, he heard voices.

"Yeah, we're gonna have another easy five hundred thou!" A deep voice laughed. "This is the easiest money I've ever made. Even easier than some of White's payoffs!"

Naruto crouched down and sneaked up to the side of the brick wall. He peered through a broken portion of the wall and looked through the hole. Three men, dressed in dark clothes, were in the center of the mill. Two were shoveling while a third held a small sack over his shoulder.

"And the best part of it is the rest of the guys in the precinct are looking for people with history!" One of the diggers laughed.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. The man's sentence implied that they were cops. That explains why the equipment was faulty and the cops' lies about being discovered. His eyes went to the sack over the third man's shoulder. There was a dark patch on it, barely visible in the light of the men's lanterns.

At least we found the bodies.

Naruto's nostrils flared behind the cloth mask that hid his birthmarks. He slipped the arrowheads back into his pouch and pulled out six crescent shuriken. He was going to make sure these men suffered before they were delivered to the right authorities.

"Can you hurry up? This stupid thing is getting heavy!" Naruto listened to the corpse carrier complain as he scaled the brick wall quietly and expertly. "My arm's going numb and if I'm not back in time for dinner, the wife's going to kill me."

"Hey, man, we're digging as fast as we can. Just set the thing down, it's not like anyone's going to see what's inside."

Little do they know.

Naruto crouched atop the edge of the broken wall and prepared his shuriken. The man that held the bag started to set it down. Naruto waited until the man righted himself before he let the first shuriken fly. There was a soft whistle as the crescent shuriken descended on its target. The man who was not digging was struck in the throat and dropped to the ground with strangled gasps.

"What the Hell?" One of the diggers looked over at their fallen companion. "Johnny, you all right?"

The concerned digger fell to the ground after a shuriken flew into his cheek. Naruto had wanted to use the arrowheads on them, but these were not animals to be slaughtered. Not yet anyway.

"Sarge!" The other digger threw his shovel down and pulled a pistol from his hip. "C-Come out! Don't mess with us! W-We're workin' for the Kingpin! We're cops on his payroll!"

From his perch and keen eyesight, Naruto could tell it was the standard police issued variant. Naruto's blood boiled. These men –no, these monsters swore an oath to protect the people in the city, his territory, but chose instead to succumb to their greed. They threatened innocents – killed children! – to get what they wanted.

In an instant, Naruto made a new plan.

One of these three would live, if only to reveal to the proper authorities where the bodies and Sarah were. The other two would be dealt with immediately. This city was Naruto's territory, he was responsible for everyone within it, and he would protect it to his dying breath from scum like these three.

Naruto hissed lowly and let his voice echo through the building. "Monsters!"

The one he got in the throat joined the other, both had their pistols out and were back to back. Naruto leapt to the overhanging rafters and his movement made a brick fall. The jumpy corrupt cops turned and fired multiple times at his previous location.

"Murderers!" Naruto accused before he fell to a closer walkway that hardly creaked when he landed.

"Come out here and show yourself!" The uninjured cop cried out. "W-We're cops! F-For Kingpin! He hired us-!"

"LIARS!" Naruto snarled as he jumped to a lower balcony. "You are not men, you are dogs!"

"Come out!"

Naruto dropped down and landed on the stomach of the downed criminal, knocking the wind from him and ensuring that he remained unconscious. The two frightened criminals turned on him and pulled their triggers, but the revolvers clicked, signaling the lack of ammunition. They dropped their guns and backed away as Naruto rose up to match their height – growth spurts, while painful, paid off – with his cloak draped around him and his hood shadowing his visible features.

"W-We'll just make a plea! A deal! You got nothin' on us! Nothin! They need us to find that other brat!" The one unharmed thing (as Naruto had no desire to label what was before him as either man or monster) proclaimed proudly. He-no, It held its wrist out and smirked. "We surrender, lock us up!"

The injured thing backed away and reached for the lantern behind him. Naruto threw an arrowhead and watched it tear through the thing's arm. Another arrowhead went through the mouth when it gave a silent scream. It dropped to the ground, coughs escaped the mouth along with blood.

The uninjured thing fell to his rear and scooted away as Naruto stalked forward, his cloak giving him the appearance of a vengeful spirit. The cowardly thing held its hands out. "What? What are you waiting for! You can't kill us! You gotta arrest us! Arrest me! ARREST ME!"

"No." Naruto growled. His arms shot out and his hands latched onto the coward's shirt. He pulled the thing close so that he could stare it in the eyes while it stared into the shadow that covered his face. "Men get arrested. Dogs get put down."

Naruto turned and threw the thing at a pile of iron scraps. He watched the thing as it was impaled and injured fall to the ground. It tried to crawl away. Naruto stayed on it as it mumbled and whimpered in pain. He stepped down on a shard imbedded in the back of its leg and ignored the scream that came from it.

"Where's the girl?" He demanded.

"A-arrest me!"

Naruto snarled and grabbed the thing by the back of its head. He dragged it to the hole that had been dug and tossed it in.

"W-What are you doing!?"

Naruto didn't answer. He reached into his pouch and pulled some excess survival gear that was first given to him when he left his mother's camp. He idly wondered if she'd approve of his actions, then quickly dashed the thought away.

Frankly, Naruto didn't care what his mother thought right now.

This was the only justice these things deserved.

Naruto pulled out a small box and looked around. He found a red container near the unconscious third and grabbed it. The thing in the hole saw what he had and began to plead and beg, something about a wife and kids.

It only made Naruto angrier.

"You were a father. You lost the right to call yourself that when you let that first child die."

The thing burst into sobs as Naruto poured the contents of the red container onto him. It was at this moment that the unconscious thing started to come around. Naruto emptied the last of the liquid on the thing and tossed the container aside. He walked over to the bleary thing and grabbed it by the face.

"Are you a sergeant of the Richmond Police District, yes or no?" The thing didn't answer and Naruto growled at it before he shook its head. "Answer me! Yes or no?!"

"Y-Yes."

Naruto dropped the things head to the ground and searched him for a pistol. He found it along with handcuffs and a cellphone. After he tossed the pistol far away, he forced the thing into being cuffed behind the back. Naruto then dialed the emergency number and turned the speaker phone on.

"Nine-One-One, what's you're emergency?"

"C-Cathy! It's Sergeant O'Malley, shield number twe-!"

"Quiet!" Naruto snarled. He glared at the phone. "This message is to be recorded and released to the media or I'll deliver this man's remains to the mayor's doorstep."

"H-Help!"

"Shut up!" Naruto barked at the man in the hole. He grabbed Sergeant O'Malley by the head and lifted him up. "You are going to tell that woman where Sarah is, or I'm going to throw you in the fire next."

"W-What fire?"

"Fire? Hello? Sergeant O'Malley?!"

"Tell her what you did!" Naruto snarled. He opened the small box in his other hand and pulled out a match. He dragged it across Sergeant O'Malley's head, igniting it, and held it in front of the thing's eye. "Watch. Carefully."

The corrupt sergeant watched in anger that quickly turned to horror as the match was tossed at the doused thing in the hole. The thing lit up in flames and started to scream. Naruto looked back at the sergeant, who began to tremble.

"I did it."

"Speak up!" Naruto snarled as he adjusted his hold on the sergeant.

"I DID IT! I KIDNAPPED THE KIDS! I RIGGED THE DROPS! I KILLED THE BRATS ONCE I GOT THE MONEY!"

"W-what?"

"Where's Sarah!?" Naruto demanded.

The sergeant glared at him with hate in its eyes. "I hid her in the back of my squad car."

Naruto glared right back and tightened his grip on its face. He dragged it over to the burning thing and held the back of its head against the fire. "Where exactly?"

"Thirtieth Precinct parking lot! Back of the lot! Car number two-two-seven-oh! It burns!"

Naruto pulled its head away from the fire and tossed it to the ground, he kept a foot on its chest to keep it from rolling away. He grabbed the phone and picked it up. He ended speakerphone. "Did you get all of that?"

"Yes. Sir, what is your location? Where are you? What is your name?"

An explosion earned Naruto's attention and he looked out the far window to see a large blaze of fire. He squinted his eyes and made out a few familiar details among the flames.

"The main building of the old ironworks across from the Green Manor. I'd bring a few fire trucks, if I were you."

Naruto left the corrupt sergeant handcuffed and once again unconscious next to the burnt corpses of his companions. He slipped out through a hole into the next room and left the main building when he heard sirens. He ducked into an alleyway along the building to the far side of the iron works and almost ran into someone as he did.

"Whoa!" His would be collision stopped and backed up. A sword was drawn and pointed at him. The boy was lanky, a bit on the skinny side, and a few inches shorter than himself. Like him, he had blond hair and blue eyes, but there was a glint of some unrecognizable emotion in the boy's eyes.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he looked at the weapons pointed his way. The boy's sword was impressive, as was the bronze spear pointed at him. It belonged to a girl a year or two younger than him. She was actually kind of cute, in a punk-like way. She was sort of an extreme contrast of his half-sisters. However, what really drew his attention was her shield strapped on her arm.

He pointed at it. "You have an ugly shield."

Probably not the reaction they expected.

The girl leaned over to the tall boy. "Isn't he, I dunno, supposed to run screaming at the sight of my shield?"

"Maybe it only works on monsters?" the boy whispered back.

"Monsters?!" Naruto looked down at the girl's legs, where a young blonde girl, no older than six or seven, hid behind her. Her eyes were a mesmerizing gray that he'd never seen before. There was a weapon in her hands that shook slightly in fear, probably a dagger. Overall, she was a cute kid.

"No, Annie, there's no monsters...I think." The boy gave Naruto a wary glance.

Naruto held his hands up cautiously. "I'm not a monster." Slowly his hands reached up to his hood and pulled it back, revealing his hair and eyes. "See?"

"See what? You're still hiding your face!" The girl accused, her electric blue eyes narrowed.

Naruto grimaced behind his cloth. "That's...because I'm severely disfigured."

"Uh-huh, that's believable." The boy raised his sword up slightly.

"Er...I'm protecting my secret identity?" Naruto tried. He really didn't want to get into a fight with these demigods. And he knew they were demigods. He was raised by the Huntress after all, this sort of thing was not new to him. He'd even been there when some demigoddesses accepted his mother's offer.

That made the boy pause. He leaned back to the older girl. "How many monsters are that good with books?"

"I still don't trust him." The girl grumbled with a glare.

Naruto grimaced at the sound of dogs barking, he was out of time. He gave the demigods a look. "You guys need a place to crash?"

"We're not going to follow you anywhere."

Naruto arched a brow and risked a look back at the main building. There were several canine units on the scene, and the living thing was being escorted to an armored car. He looked back at the three. "So, you'd rather deal with mortal police, then?"

The two older kids tensed while the little girl, Annie, ducked behind the older girl's leg. "I don't wanna go home!"

"I know, Annie." The older girl shushed her. She glared back at Naruto. Her nose looked kinda cute scrunched up like that. "Listen pal, the second you try something..."

"Gut me. Yeah, I get it." Would not be the first time a girl threatened him with bodily harm. Some Hunters were told to keep away from him after one threat got too...detailed. Naruto shook the memory off and pulled his hood up. "C'mon, there's a sewer we can go through. It'll help conceal your scents."

"Our what?" Annie asked.

"I'll explain later." The older boy lowered his sword slightly, his wary gaze locked on Naruto.

Naruto shook his head and began to walk away. "Just follow me."

Naruto led the three demigods back to the heart of Hell's Kitchen and snuck them into his apartment. There, he got out a lot of portions of food and offered the bathroom to whoever needed it. Annie disappeared in there first, with the older girl acting as guard to the bathroom. Poor little kid slipped and nearly fell into the sewer water if the other boy hadn't caught her.

While the boy checked the food for possible poisons, if the way he was sniffing meant anything, Naruto went into his room to quickly change into running shorts and a loose orange shirt. When he emerged, the blond and the girl stared at him and he sighed. "They're birthmarks. I don't know why I have them. Please don't ask."

"...So, Whiskers..." The girl smirked when Naruto groaned at the nickname. "Why are you helping us?"

Naruto grabbed an apple from the pile the boy was making and plopped down on his couch. "Because you're demigods. You guys always need help."

"I don't always need help!" The girl shot back heatedly.

"Thalia, chill," the boy hissed lowly.

Naruto arched a brow. "Wasn't that the name of a daughter of Zeus?"

The girl, Thalia, glared at the older boy. "Way to go, Luke. Now he knows our names."

"You didn't have to tell him mine!" Luke protested with a frown.

Thalia ignored him and glared back at Naruto. "Yeah. I'm Thalia. Daughter of Zeus."

Oh.

That's bad.

That's really bad.

Naruto thankfully didn't let his concern show – thank you Uncle Fred for teaching poker – and calmly bit into his apple. "Really? So, you can fly and stuff, right?"

Thalia's cheeks reddened and she looked away slightly. "Sure, yeah, whatever."

"She's better with lightning bolts and static electricity," Luke said.

If Naruto hadn't caught Thalia's reaction, he wouldn't have known Luke was covering for her. The young vigilante took another bite of his apple. "That's cool. What about you?"

Luke gained a light grimace. "Hermes."

Well, it seemed both of them had daddy issues. Then again, Naruto wasn't really one to talk. He wanted to punch his father square in the face when he met the man, be it if he was alive or dead. Seriously, letting his pregnant wife get so injured and then leaving his son to wander aimlessly? So not cool.

"Are you a demigod?" Luke asked. Naruto stopped mid bite and considered his next course of action. The two had already tensed when he paused, and he was pretty sure he saw Thalia reaching for her hidden spear. Naruto finished his bite before he answered.

"I'm not a demigod." He watched them and waited for them to react. It seemed as though they were going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Awesome. "I am one hundred percent human."

"But you can see our weapons?" Thalia narrowed her eyes.

"Yes."

"How?"

Naruto took another bite of his apple. "I'm clear-sighted."

"Clear-sighted?" The two frowned in confusion.

Naruto nodded. "Clear-sighted. The Mist, the thing that makes mortals not see monsters or weapons, does not affect me. I was born with the ability, and was taught how to ignore or avoid monsters that I had no reason to fight."

"And if you couldn't ignore or avoid them?" Thalia pried.

Naruto finished his apple and tossed it in an arc so it landed perfectly in the trash can across the room. He grinned. "I've got ways of self-preservation."

"...Okay, not gonna lie, that was a nice shot." Luke praised.

"Thanks. My uncle taught me how to do that."

The door to the bathroom opened and the little girl named Annie came out with a smile on her face, despite her hair being slightly wet. "I'm all done, can I eat now?"

Despite himself, Naruto smiled at her cuteness. He caught a glare from Thalia, who then gave him the 'watching you' signal, before she ducked into the bathroom to clean up next. Naruto's attention returned to Luke and Annabeth. He watched Luke prepare food for her and laugh at her observations. Naruto learned she was a daughter of Athena, and then found himself assaulted by hundreds of facts about various locations in Virginia.

When Thalia finished in the restroom, Luke went next. Thalia was far more pleasant to Annie, or Annabeth as the girl insisted her name was. It was understandable, the horrors of real life were to be hidden from children, as much as they could be. That's what Zoë said anyway.

A few hours passed before the group went to sleep. Thalia insisted the other two sleep while she took the first watch. Thalia's eyes were on Naruto like a hawk as he cleaned the small mess the demigods made.

"I don't mind it, you know." Thalia jumped slightly when Naruto spoke.

Thalia's eyes narrowed. "Mind what?"

"Your distrust. I've seen it before," Naruto said with a smile. He put the dishes on the rack and dried his hands with a towel. "You three aren't the first demigods I've met."

"I figured that." Thalia scoffed. She looked around the apartment. There was a significant absence of family pictures. "So...you live with your uncle?"

"Nope."

Thalia blinked. "Mom? Dad?"

Naruto plopped down on the couch and stretched, his back popped. "Nope. Left mom when I was twelve."

"You ran away?"

"I left." Naruto corrected sternly. His jaw flexed slightly as he laid his head back and let his eyes fall shut. "Had to."

Thalia narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

Naruto let a faint smile cross his face, his eyes still closed. "My sisters were starting to drive me nuts."

"...You have sisters?" Naruto cracked an eye open at the soft tone in Thalia's voice. There was a lot of hurt she was trying to hide.

"Yeah. Older sisters." Naruto let another grin cross his face as he looked at her. "They're awesome. A bit...hardheaded sometimes, but they've got good hearts."

"...D...Did you hate them?"

Naruto let his head roll back and stared at the ceiling. "No. I love them. And I'm a bit jealous of them."

"Why?"

Naruto closed his eyes again and swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. "...They got to stay with my mom..."

He had a lot of hurt to hide, too.

"You should wake Luke up and get some sleep, if you want Annabeth to get a full night's rest."

After a few moments of silence passed by, Thalia quietly decided to follow his advice.

The next evening (since the demigods needed all the sleep they could get), Naruto changed back into his usual night gear, his hood and mask in place. If the two older demigods asked why he had decided to wear it, he would tell them that it would be to keep the young impressionable Annabeth's mind clear of worry, seeing as she thought that knowing a real superhero was cool – and she found his collection of Moon Knight comics. If his Uncle Fred decided to ask, it would be because the clothes attracted girls, because he was 'mysterious'. If his mother were to ask, it would be to better hide when he needed to.

In reality, it was because Naruto felt more comfortable leaving town with his most prized possessions on hand.

"So, is there any reason you decided to come with us?" Thalia asked the cloaked boy that walked ahead of them. He volunteered to lead them out personally instead of just give directions. It was suspicious.

"I needed to stretch my legs. Hang on." Naruto stopped by a newspaper dispenser and purchased a paper from the day before. The demigods hurried after him as he kept walking. He looked at the front page and smirked behind his mask.

"What're you reading?" Luke asked.

Naruto crumpled the paper up and tossed it into the next trash bin, his eyes twinkled happily. "Just some good news."

Luke lingered and reached into the trash bin while Naruto, Thalia and Annabeth walked on. He pulled the paper out and read the title story with furrowed brows. The front page had three pictures. One was of a tearful girl around Annabeth's age with brown hair being pulled from the trunk of a police car by an EMT. The other was of two body bags. The last was a mug shot of a beaten man scowling at the camera.

"'Kills Corrupt Cops, Stops Kidnapping/Child Murder Plot: Vigilante At Large'?" Luke frowned and read through the article. "'Last night, emergency response was called at two twenty-one by unknown male. Response dispatch on duty overheard torture, murder and admittance of guilt by former police Sgt. Jacob O'Malley (34). This led to the rescue of Sarah Fischer, 8, who was kidnapped three days ago. Gregory Fischer, 28, who was found beaten earlier that night, admitted to attempted robbery under blackmail, full story page A-ten' What is-?"

"Come on, Luke!" The demigod looked up at Annabeth's cry. The girl had her hand wrapped tightly around Thalia's, who looked to be in a quiet conversation with Naruto. Luke flipped through the paper, found the page with the story and ripped it out. He folded it up and then raced after his group.

Naruto heard Luke stop before everyone else, but said nothing. If he did, it would only be more suspicious. Warning brought curiosity, curiosity made distrust, and distrust led to fear. He didn't want Luke to be afraid of him. Not unless it was necessary.

Naruto lead the three demigods to the edge of the city through back alleys and side streets. They'd managed to avoid the sewers this time. At the edge of the city, Luke gave Naruto a questioning glance as well as a firm handshake. Thalia nodded to him, which he returned, and Annabeth gave him a quick hug, thanking him for his help. Naruto gave her a pat on the head and a copy of one of his Moon Knight comics.

Once Naruto was sure they'd made it at least two miles out from the city, he raced into the woods after them. The heat was too hot in the Kitchen, so he did as often warned and left. Naruto found a family that needed more protection than anyone else in his territory, and he was sure that criminals would think twice after the trials took place.

There was something he felt he was forgetting, though. Oh well, it probably wasn't that important.

The phone rang. And rang. And rang. Then it clicked. Naruto's voice came from the voicemail. "I'm not home. Leave a message."

There was a nervous laugh. "Alright, Lil' Nephew, you've had your fun. Answer the phone. ...Naruto? Kiddo? Seriously, Uncle Fred is telling you to pick the phone up. Pick up the phone, Naruto. ...Oh, man...Artemis is going to kill me."

AN: So there's Artemis' Naruto for you. I've planned out a longer story if I ever decide to continue it.

Side note: Marvel's Daredevil on Netflix? A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

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