Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Reading: Son of the Earthshaker
IV
"I got this." Leo said with a grin as he took the book from Thalia. "Thanks chica."
"Don't ever call me that again."
"Yikes. You got it."
After a month of visiting with his and Jason's new mother, Naruto was preparing to go back home to Camp Jupiter. His mom had done all she could to help the two ten-year-old Romans fit in and be comfortable in the 'mortal world' as she jokingly called it, and Naruto was so grateful that he had an awesome mom.
"I know the feeling." Percy said proudly as some of the other demigods glared at him, lucky bastard.
Jason got a room on the second floor, keeping it rather Spartan as his mom called it and Naruto was moved into the room across from him.
Naruto filled his walls with several posters of movies that his mother showed them one weekend, his favorite being the motion picture of the hit cartoon show Transformers: The Movie.
"Best. Movie. Ever." Frank noted seriously.
"You got the touch." Apollo sang softly.
"You've got the power!" Hermes chorused and Leo was about to join in, but Artemis cut him off.
"Read the story, Leo Valdez."
Apollo glared at her. "You are an unholy sadist."
"I try."
He was still ten, you can't judge him. He loved all of it, even without knowing the characters – Optimus Prime was so badass and Springer was always cool and collected – fully, which would change after he found a way to watch the old show at camp. And he would find a way. He swore on the awesome adrenaline rush of a song written by Stan Bush.
"This kid is awesome, way to go Uncle P." Apollo praised the King of the Sea.
Poseidon smirked at his brothers, who rolled their eyes.
New rollerblades from one night at a skate park adorned his desk, green wheels that matched his eyes hooking to the black boots. According to one of the workers there, he was a natural and whenever he could, would go out in the morning or night to get a skate in.
"Must be the balance thing." Hazel joked, getting some laughs.
"He really knows how to stay aloft." Frank added, getting a few more snickers as Poseidon rolled his eyes.
On his second week he grinded a rail for the first time and promptly wiped out. His mom fretted over his sprained ankle and the gash on his calf until Jason grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and poured it over the wound, making it good as new.
"Ah, bottle water," Poseidon said with a smirk. "A mother's best friend."
"Only to the ones you have your children with." Athena rolled her eyes, which got him to glare at her.
Jason griped over lucky healing powers while Naruto said the three-lettered F-word, making Jason groan and admit he couldn't do that...yet.
"Oh, so Superboy wants to fly, huh?" Leo said with a grin. "I thought Superboy doesn't fly?"
"It isn't easy," Jason said with a mild glare.
"Neither is setting yourself on fire, but I did it easily enough."
Naruto chalked it up to a victory in his favor.
Poseidon subtly pumped his fist while Zeus grumbled.
"Naruto! Hurry up! Jason's ready to move the throw rug!" Kushina said as she called up the stairs, making her son snicker. During one outing to the local mall, their small group of three was attacked by a large swarm of hellhounds.
Hades whistled innocently when his brothers glared at him.
Naruto and Jason held their own easily, the mortal onlookers were talking about some punk gang getting their what-for, until Kushina shot one with her special clip as it tried to sneak up on her.
"Go super-hot Mom, go!" Leo cheered before Piper slapped him for the remark. "Ow!"
"You deserved that." Piper chided him. "Now keep reading."
"Fine, geez..."
Then they had to deal with the mortal police, which both Naruto and Kushina found to be a pain while Jason thought they were a minor inconvenience. What remained of the hellhounds were furs that Kushina sewed together into a rug with a golden V in the middle for the cohort.
"Now isn't that lovely," Athena said dryly.
"We could always use something like that to make the cohort feel homey." Jason mused with a shrug.
Naruto zipped up his new duffle bag – a gift from his mother while Jason chose a simple single-strap backpack that had a red spiral on it – and slung it over his shoulder. The green-eyed blond rushed from his room, down the stairs and into his mother, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. Kushina swiftly returned the hug and kissed him on the head.
"Have fun at boot camp, baby~!" Apollo waved jokingly with a tearful look that got some laughs and a glare from Poseidon and Percy.
"Are you sure you have to leave?" She asked, squeezing him lightly. "Just a few more days, right?"
"Sorry Mom. I'm starting to get antsy without being able to do much training." Naruto said, getting a whine from her. "I promise we'll visit again as soon as possible."
"We'll write, too." Jason said, getting an enthusiastic nod from his friend.
"Here's the mail, it never fails, it makes me want to wag my tail-"
"Shut up, Apollo!" Hermes scowled as his siblings snickered at him.
Damn Apollo or ever making that song about his domain.
He had the gift-wrapped rug on its end and was leaning against it.
"You'd both better. And tell me as soon as you turn fourteen. Both of you." Kushina said, kissing Naruto's cheek again. "Be safe, Munchkin."
"Mom!" Naruto said with a whine.
"My Mom would do that," Percy said softly with a smile. Poseidon nodded.
Kushina let him go and then wrapped Jason in a hug before kissing his cheek. "You too, Jay-Jay."
"Mom!" Jason whined this time.
"Aw." Thalia cooed at her brother, who turned red in embarrassment, which made the hunter snicker, but also feel a little jealous on the inside.
"And both of you find some nice girls for me to meet." Kushina said, smiling at both boys after releasing them.
"Oh, I'm sure they do," Aphrodite said proudly while Artemis rolled her eyes and Piper smiled.
Thalia looked over at her. "Now you've got to get the third degree from me and Kushina."
The smile on Piper's face rushed away like it was wiped clean.
"MOM!" Both boys said with a tint of pink on their cheeks. Kushina laughed and opened the door, letting Naruto grab the rug easily carrying it under his arm. Both of them turned back around at the end of the drive, waving goodbye to the smiling and teary-eyed woman. They walked back to the bus stop and Jason looked at the rug Naruto was carrying.
"Need any help?"
"Nah, I've got it."
"That he does," Poseidon said proudly.
Percy pouted. Super strength sounded like an awesome thing to have!
In minutes, the bus arrived and picked the two boys up. Both had smiles on their faces, happy with how the past month went. Jason was a new member of his family and Naruto had gotten to meet his mother after years of separation. They just knew that things were going to be great from there on out. Nothing could possibly go wrong.
"Well, if that isn't going to slap them in the face, nothing will," Nico said dryly while Thalia smirked.
"So emo."
"I'm not emo!"
The world was falling apart, Naruto just knew it.
"See? I was right." Nico said smugly to Thalia, who rolled her eyes at him.
As he sat in his seat going over his strategic warfare booklet given to him by Rachel, the now twelve-year-old son of Neptune groaned.
"Wait, if he's twelve…" Percy trailed off as the other demigods came to the same conclusion.
The respective kings of the sky and sea narrowed their eyes at one another for a brief moment.
"Oh, this should be fun." Hades chuckled in amusement.
The sky had been dark ever since the winter solstice
"Because someone lost his toy."
"Silence, Poseidon!"
and the ocean had been angry lately, a few legionnaires who went on leave told him as such when they reported their failure to enjoy the beach.
"Uncle P!" Apollo gasped out. "How could you?"
The sea god rolled his eyes. "Blame Zeus."
"How am I to blame!?"
Not that there was a lot of chances with how often it stormed.
"Well, I believe that answers your question. It wasn't all my fault," the sea god said in amusement when Zeus flared his nostrils angrily.
Something bad has happened and quite frankly, Naruto was not pleased about being outside of the know.
"I know." Annabeth pouted, she had bugged Chiron about that for months.
"Naruto, please be quiet." Jason said, sounding a bit frustrated himself. He was also filling out a similar packet, though it was a year more advanced than Naruto's own.
Zeus seemed to puff up at that while Poseidon rolled his eyes.
"Seems your Roman son follows in his brother's footsteps." Athena stated smugly.
Percy brooded at the shot to his lack of scholastic skill and Annabeth rubbed his shoulder consolingly.
"But this is so boring." Naruto said, groaning as he rubbed his head. "And I've got a killer headache."
"You're not the only one." Jason said, putting his pencil down. He rubbed his temples. "I've been having some weird dreams lately."
"Here, here!" Percy said, seems they got them too.
"You know." Jason frowned. "I was getting some like that around that time, too."
"Really?" Thalia asked him and he nodded.
"Yep."
"Two giant gladiators fighting?" Naruto asked. He shuddered as he remembered that dream. The two gladiators fought so ferociously, Naruto was actually afraid he was too close to the action. One had a spear in hand while the other had a trident, both stabbing and bashing each other, often matching strength and coming to deadlocks that shook the ground.
"They were wrestling in togas in mine."
"That's rather suggestive, Percy." Hermes teased as Percy turned green, as did his uncle and father.
"Hermes!" Zeus bellowed at the snickering thief god. As were, except for Poseidon, his children and siblings.
"Actually an eagle attacking a horse, but close enough." Jason said.
"Another one of mine." Percy said as Jason rolled his eyes.
"Do you get the strange feeling that maybe something is going on?"
"Jay, I've been telling you for weeks that something ain't right." Naruto said. "And Zack agrees with me."
"If lucky boy says so." Leo said with a nod.
"Zack's too superstitious." Jason said.
"Superstition has saved many a life, Jason." Abigail said as she entered the cohort to check on the two up-and-coming powerhouses of the Legion.
"She knows they mean business." Hazel giggled. She liked Abby, the augur was very sweet.
"Hi Abby!" Naruto said with a bright grin. He felt his cheeks heat up a bit at seeing his crush smile at his enthusiastic greeting. The older girl was a knockout, standing at a solid five foot eight with her signature braid hanging over her shoulder. The green-eyed blond just couldn't help having a crush on her. In Naruto's opinion, she was gorgeous.
Apollo frowned at the screen while Artemis smirked at him.
"Not so easy when it's on the other foot, is it brother?"
"Shut up, Arte."
"Well, if he is anything like his brother…"
"I said shut it!" Apollo frowned with crossed arms, looking like a child.
Of course, Naruto didn't see Jason roll his eyes when the son of Neptune spoke. It was always like this and Naruto was just too oblivious to realize that he made his crush very obvious unintentionally. Poor guy.
"Like Annabeth around Luke." Percy teased Annabeth, who turned pink.
"Percy!" she whined and slapped his arm. Oh, he just loved to joke about that one at times. The jerk.
Percy chuckled a bit as he rubbed his abused arm, so worth it.
"Hello Naruto." Abigail said, still smiling. "Jason. I was coming to check on you two anyway. Edward has been voicing concerns about you both talking in your sleep."
"I talk in my sleep?" Naruto asked. "I mean, Jason drools sometimes..."
"Naruto. You're the one that drools."
"Hereditary? You'll have to get ahold of that," Piper teased Percy, who turned a bit pink to match his girlfriend.
"Yeah, drooling in your girlfriend's hair isn't attractive, Percy," Leo said with a snicker.
"Shut up and read, Leo."
"Shut up, Jay."
"Boys," Abigail said, amused, in an attempt to get their attention back on her. "What have you been dreaming about?"
The two blonds shared a look before looking back at their Augur with a bit of concern in their eyes. Jason went first, talking about his dreams for the past few days and then Naruto gave his own, speaking of two gladiators going all out in an arena while he helplessly watched from the sidelines.
After hearing both of their concern, Abigail's eyes went wide before returning to normal. Jason caught it and asked what was wrong, only for Abigail to wave him off.
"Continue with your studies." Abigail said, giving them a smaller than usual smile. "I must go speak with our praetors."
"She must sense a disturbance in the force."
"Ha-ha, Herm." Apollo rolled his eyes.
She left swiftly without explanation, getting confused looks from the boys before they went back to their work, the son of Neptune complaining of headaches and the son of Jupiter telling him to stop complaining before he got a headache himself. They were starting to grate on each other's nerves, but the situation was diffused when the rest of their cohort returned. Before the centurions could deliver any orders, the ground shook tremendously, sending many of the cohort to their feet.
"That might have been my doing," Hades said, looking at Percy, who gave a sheepish smile.
As soon as it passed, all eyes went to Naruto, who looked back at them with wide eyes.
Poseidon frowned at that along with Percy and Frank, knowing full well what happened to Frank's ancestor when something like this had happened.
"Wasn't me!" he said quickly.
Hades scoffed, of course it wasn't. Like the boy could pull off something like that at twelve, ha!
Edward scrutinized him for a moment, as if evaluating his words, before giving him a light smile.
"I know, Naruto." Edward said. Whispers swiftly followed that and Naruto clenched his fists at what he heard.
"Oh no," Percy frowned.
"As expected of the Earthshaker's offspring."
"Wonder how many he killed in Sacramento."
"Just like that other guy."
"Other guy," Frank tensed at that with clenched hands, but Hazel just rested a gentle hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"Quiet!" Edward said, stepping over to stand beside Naruto. His false arm held the blond's shoulder reassuringly. "Naruto would've had to have good reason to cause an earthquake, and so far he hasn't. Maybe there's another reason-!"
The door was flung open and two older Roman Legionnaires entered, fully decked out in armor and wielding spears and shields. The lead legionnaire stepped forward before he spoke.
"The son of Neptune has been called before the senate to explain himself!" The legionnaire said. "He will come with us. Now."
"…Okay," Poseidon said sternly, a frown on his face as he looked at the Romans minus Frank. "I'm with Athena on this one, your people suck."
Athena nodded this, willing to actually agree with her rival over the matter.
"Amazing," Hades drawled. "Like the chariot all over again."
"...Oh wonderful, now we're going to have millennia of them arguing over who gets the glory," Hera said dryly.
"...Of course. Go Naruto. We're right behind you." Edward said, turning the now paler Naruto around toward the guard and giving him a gentle shove. Naruto looked to Jason for some help, not getting a look as he continued to stand at attention.
"Wow, Jason." Percy frowned at the Roman, who blanched.
"What? There wasn't anything I could do, I was just a legionnaire." He deflected as Thalia looked at him.
"You could have gave some encouragement to him, like telling him that it would be okay." The hunter said, making her brother frown at being scolded for his other's actions.
Shortly later, Naruto stood in front of the senate with his fists clenched and sweat trailing down the side of his face. Sixty men and women of New Rome sat in rising seats, all looking down at him with stony faces while the Lars of previous generations hovered nearby, ranging in appearance from the original Rome to the late eighteen hundreds. The Cohorts and Praetors were also in attendance, looking at him from the sides of the rest of the room.
"He's being put to court?!" Percy gaped. Okay, he did not have it this bad when he was in New Rome. This was just over the top now.
"Naruto Uzumaki, son of Neptune and Legionnaire of the Fifth Cohort. You are accused of causing an earthquake already reported to have caused three buildings to collapse, fourteen deaths and wounding dozens of mortals in the city of San Francisco alone.
"Oops," Hades said in a bored tone as Poseidon glared at him intensely.
If found guilty of these crimes, you will be stripped of rank, discharged and evicted from the walls of Camp Jupiter. How do you plead?"
"Not guilty!" Naruto said instantly. "I didn't do it, I swear!"
"I don't know, something smells fishy," Ares said intently while he rubbed his chin.
"Ares, shut up." Poseidon glared at his snickering nephew.
"Liar!"
"He's a son of Neptune!"
"They're nothing but trouble!"
"Oh, they want a quake, huh?" Poseidon simmered, his fist clenched tightly.
"Do it, Poseidon." Athena goaded her rival gleefully. "Give them a big one."
"Enough," Hestia said sternly, getting her younger brother to pout at her, which did little good. "Let us just see what happens."
"Silence!" Tim ordered, his voice carrying throughout the room and silencing the voices of other younger legionnaires. He nodded to the head of the senate to continue.
"Would anyone like to testify on the behalf or against the accused?" the head of the senate asked.
"Who's going to step up?" Leo wondered.
"I'll testify, senator!" A member of the First Cohort said as he slipped through the crowd. Naruto looked at the newcomer and was met with a steely glare from the legacy of Apollo.
"Of course he would," Percy spat out.
"He's just going to try and milk this for himself." Hazel simmered as Apollo sighed.
Why'd he have to be related to this kid again?
Octavian stood taller than the blond, giving a good impression of an honorable man as he cradled a...torn stuffed whale?
"Oh, isn't that poetic?" Hades snickered and Poseidon glared at him.
"I'm the next Augur to be, Octavian, legacy of Apollo. I have seen in my visions the accused standing before you! He caused the damage done to the mortal city! He, the son of the Earthshaker, has done his father's bidding to punish us for putting him in the Fifth Cohort!"
"What?!" Poseidon gaped. His eyes narrowed and turned to the legacy's ancestor. "Apollo…"
"Hey! That's like blaming Herm for Luke, er, no offense bro." Apollo said sincerely.
"A lot taken." Hermes said dryly. He pointed at the truth god. "You got buttered up by yours. I got cursed and spat at."
"Dude!"
"I love the Fifth!" Naruto protested despite the whispers.
"This is going to be terrible." Jason groaned into his hand. He felt sorry for Naruto.
"This is why Camp Half-Blood rocks. There's no politics to worry about," Percy said, getting nods all around from those who go to the camp and the gods.
"You say you do, but you yearn to be in the First! To be among elites!" Octavian said. He silently smirk as the dissent among the senate and cohorts continued.
"I really, really want to stab him right now," Percy said in a completely honest voice.
"Hey, at least he had a memorable farewell," Frank said.
"That's true. A shooting shmuck."
"Should've made a wish." Annabeth snickered.
"Like you?" another speaker asked. Misaki slipped out from the Second Cohort's crowd and stepped forward.
"Yay!" Aphrodite cheered with a smile and light applause. "Save your love interest, sweetie!"
"I speak in defense of the accused. You, honored senators and Praetors, would take the word of this legacy? A boy not even yet claimed Augur and speaking of seeing the future through the methods of a haruspex?"
"Oh, burn!" Apollo winced, that was a good one.
Octavian's teeth grit at that and the senate suddenly turned from whispering about Naruto to him. This wasn't what he had hoped for. He had hoped to accomplish two things here, and so far neither was happening.
"Slime ball." Annabeth spat out.
He glared at his accuser and spoke.
"You, a member of the Second, would defend a lowlife such as -?" Misaki, who turned on him and glared so hard he felt a shiver form, cut him off.
"Got that from Dite," Ares muttered, he had only seen that when he knocked up a daughter of his girlfriend's once. He got blue balled for a decade after that.
"Naruto Uzumaki is a member of the legion, and while not prestigious, is still far more powerful than you would ever hope to be, Octavian!" She said loudly, reminding the senate why Naruto was in the legion to begin with and slandering Octavian at the same time.
"Whoo, go sis!" Piper cheered. "That was awesome!"
She opened her mouth to speak again when an Ancient Roman Lar flew down, standing before the senate.
"I bring news!" he said, speaking in a serious voice. "The Lars have spoken to servants of Pluto and have learned it was he who caused the earthquake. He was angered by something happening in the East.
"I wonder why," Hades said with a glace to Percy, who groaned.
"Oh come on!"
So if we are to blame anything at all, it is he, the Lord of us dead!"
"Oh yes, blame it all on Hades, it's always Hades' fault!"
"Hades, you're griping again." Hestia informed him kindly, making her brother grumble.
"Thank you, Cato." Rachel said, looking visibly relieved for Naruto. She stood. "The Lars have spoken, and one has spoken in defense of the accused. I move for this mockery of a trial to be abolished and for the accused to be let go. All in favor?"
"I!" All the demigods declared, each with a hand raised in the air.
The room echoed positively while Naruto grit his teeth. He gets accused of causing a lot of deaths, threatened with expulsion from the camp, betrayed by people he thought of as friends and at the word of one dead guy it's all waved off? Was that what justice was?
"He has a point," Poseidon said to Zeus, who nodded in agreement.
"Yes," the god of justice frowned, that was bullshit and even he knew that.
"Then this meeting is dismissed. The Cohorts will return to the barracks post-haste." Tim said.
"Wait! Don't I get an apology or something?" Naruto asked, getting looked at like he was crazy.
"Oh, man..." Jason sighed out. He rubbed his face again. "Yeah, they would do that."
"Whatever for?" a senator asked from a few seats up. "The charges were dropped. You are free to go."
"You still accused me!" Naruto said, his nails digging into his palm. "Doesn't that count for something!?"
"It should." Frank frowned for his long distant relative.
He was met with silence as they left, leaving the boy to simmer in his anger.
"I really don't like them," Poseidon admitted. "I mean, I didn't like them much before since they always hate on me like the Greeks do Hades, no offense Brother."
"A lot taken." Hades deadpanned.
"But now? Wow, just wow." The sea god gained a deep frown.
"Naruto, just let it go..." Jason said, stepping forward to grab his shoulder. He looked shocked when Naruto jerked out of his grasp and glared at him.
"Well, he is rightfully pissed at you," Thalia said to her brother, who frowned.
"Don't touch me." Naruto said as he stormed past his cohort back towards Camp Jupiter, leaving a stunned Jason standing there before Edward called for him to hurry up.
"I sense a tiff is about to happen," Hades said. He smiled innocently when his brothers glared at him.
After the cohorts filed out, Misaki quickly sought out Octavian, stopping him before he rejoined his cohort with a glare.
"You tread carefully, haruspex." She hissed at him. The daughter of Venus looked infuriated.
"Love-Love power, baby, you show that snake!" Aphrodite cheered with a pump of her fist while Apollo looked greatly offended at the S word.
"If you try to ruin Naruto ever again, the disgrace you will feel will cause you to flee from camp in shame. Or you'll die. I haven't decided yet."
"Wow." Leo whistled.
"Piper's never said anything like that before." Jason gaped along with some of the other demigods at the words.
"Seems this one has potential as well." Artemis begrudgingly admitted as Athena nodded in agreement.
"That was a good threat, very worthy of Aphrodite," she said.
"Thank you!" Aphrodite beamed at the goddess of wisdom for her kind words.
"I would like to see you try." He said with a sneer.
"I promise you, there will be stories of it for eons to come." Misaki said lowly before turning with a huff. She looked back at him with a smirk. "By the way, might want to wipe that brown stuff off your nose. It kind of smells."
"And the sweet burn before leaving," Hermes applauded with a grin. "That was good."
Octavian glared at her as she left, rejoining with a few other girls of her cohort. He turned to leave when he was met with his soon-to-be predecessor, who looked at him with a scowl.
"Octy's everyone's bitch today."
"Leo Valdez!"
"Sorry, Lady Hestia."
"We need to have a conversation about your lying, Octavian." Abigail said. She launched into a scolding about how their ancestor would be ashamed of him and how if he ever did it again he would lose his chance to be the augur and probably go on suspension.
"I really am." Apollo sighed out.
Octavian paid her half-mind, already plotting about his next plan to jump up the ladder of his success.
"Naruto, what's wrong with you?" Jason asked once he caught up to his friend.
"Oh," Poseidon looked at Jason. "He's the one with the problem?"
"Uh…"
"What's wrong with me?! What's wrong with me!? My best friend just left me hanging while I got accused of causing an earthquake that killed people!" Naruto said.
"You did." Thalia told him as Jason grumbled.
"What? I didn't agree with them!"
"You didn't exactly stand up for me either, Jason!" Naruto said, giving his friend a betrayed look. "I thought that my brother would've been the first to jump to my defense."
"I would, Naruto."
"Oh shut up, Percy." Jason frowned.
"Naruto, I'm just a legionnaire like you, my word wouldn't have any say!" Jason said.
"Exactly!"
"Your word...Jason you're the son of Jupiter!" Naruto said with a scowl. "You're the legion's Golden Boy. Your word probably could've turned some of the senate onto my side.
"He is right," Hazel said to Jason. The Golden Boy ducked his head down a bit once that was pointed out to him.
Instead, I got Octy the slime bucket using Neptune against me and Misaki barely managed to stall for enough time for me to slip through the justice's cracks."
"You want some plaster, brother?"
"Silence, Poseidon!"
"Naruto-"
"Save it, Jason. You could've stepped forward, but you didn't. You chose to play the Golden Boy by keeping your mouth shut instead of stepping up to help your brother." Sea green eyes met electric blues with a glare. "And that says a lot."
"It really does."
"Leo!"
He turned and walked away, leaving Jason stunned with slumped shoulders while an uncomfortable feeling of guilt weighed down over him.
"It tends to do that, Jason."
The boy glared at his sister. "Okay, we get it."
The hunter smirked. "Just making sure it sunk in."
A week had passed since the trial and Naruto had kept his distance from those who were 'against' him. He put all of his anger into the training that he was going through, training himself into the dirt each night for the upcoming gladiator fight. Tim was competing and the victor of the match would lead a quest to recover a Roman relic lost on a previous venture.
"You guys sure lose a lot of things," Percy noted. "Seriously, you have more quests to recover then to actually go after something else."
"Ha-ha, Percy." Hazel rolled her eyes.
"But he is right," Nico nodded, getting a pout from his Roman half-sister.
Leading a quest and returning successfully would clear any doubt the rest of his peers had, so Naruto thought, and winning the gladiator fight would be exactly the proof of his worthiness to be in the Legion.
"It probably would, but that is a very naïve outlook on things." Athena noted, getting a glower from her rival.
Jason had tried to talk to him several times, but each time Naruto gave him the cold shoulder. He didn't want to talk to Jason. Naruto still felt hurt that his friend, his brother, hadn't done anything to help him. He refused to talk about it, and each time Jason walked over to him in an effort to talk it out, Naruto would go back to that scene in the barracks where Jason just stood by and watched as he was marched out like a convict.
"That's rather depressing." Hestia frowned.
So he distanced himself from his brother, finding a comforting presence in Abigail's sessions to help him with the dreams about the black haired boy that held a bolt of lightning.
"I wonder who that is?" Annabeth asked slyly to her beau, getting a smile back.
"It would be cool if I had a dream about Naruto, too…okay, that come out so weird." Percy grimaced.
"Yet, juicy," Aphrodite said with a smirk. "Percuto? Narcy?"
"...Pass..." Percy mumbled with green cheeks.
Abigail would say that it was a metaphor for his relationship with Jason, the black hair being Naruto's own anger and the lightning representing the son of Jupiter, but Naruto didn't feel like that was the case. There was something off about that dream, and the boy looked too different. Sure, they both had green eyes, but the boy looked...scrawnier.
The gods broke into laughter as the demigods snickered while Percy looked pink in the face at that. Great, even his own brother thought he was some kind of wimp…well, once they met that would certainly change.
Now, Naruto wasn't a bulked up piece of beef like Tim or any other son of Mars, but he was a bit broader in the shoulders than most twelve year olds would be. This kid just looked like a regular mortal, but again, something told him that wasn't the case.
As it was, Naruto was just leaving his session with Abigail, talking about the upcoming gladiator fight and how he was going to kick Tim's ass, when he had to once more decline Misaki's invitation to play 'hooky'.
"Boo!" Aphrodite pouted and crossed her arms. "All work and no play makes Naruto a dull boy."
"Give him a few years." Annabeth smirked and Percy turned pink while he pouted at her.
Normally, Naruto wouldn't mind a bit of relaxation now and then, but right now he needed to be busy. He had to win. And not even Misaki's pout would stop him from getting this chance.
"Well, Jason hasn't resisted so far."
"Piper!"
"Sorry, Misaki." Naruto said with an apologetic smile as he walked towards the training grounds. "Maybe after the gladiator fight!"
"That's two days from now!" Misaki pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. "Poo."
"Poo indeed, sweetie."
Misaki kicked the dirt and glared at the Augur's door before storming off to find the one person she could vent at without repercussions. She found her vent wallowing in his grub at the mess hall, getting a comforting pat on the shoulder from the older son of Fortuna. Smirking, she made her way over and caught on to the end of the conversation.
"I just don't know what to do...I mean, you had a legit excuse with that broken leg. You were stuck in the infirmary for two days and that just happened to be the second one."
"Don't remind me." Zack said with a groan as he rubbed his leg. "Look, Jason. I'm not going to tell you what you did was right or wrong, because frankly, it kind of was both. I am going to tell you to just let him be and give him some space. You guys were practically together all the time til then, this is good for you. Branch out a bit and connect with others."
"Just like separating the three of you." Hestia told her brothers who pouted at her for it while grumbling.
"And leave Naruto behind?" Jason asked.
"He's not saying that, Jay-Jay. And shame on you for thinking it!"
"Yeah, Jay-Jay." The elf boy snickered.
"Leo, I swear."
Jason groaned and let his head fall into his hands. "Please tell me that's not who I think it is."
Zack chuckled. "She's not that bad. Take a seat, Misaki."
"Thank you, Zachary." Misaki said with a smile as she sat down across from Jason. She pouted at him. "You, Mister Grace, have got to get a hold of that rudeness."
Thalia sighed, "Where did I go wrong?"
"It isn't your fault, Thalia," Artemis smirked while looking at Apollo, "Brothers are like that."
Both blond brothers pouted at their respective sisters.
"I'm going to go grey before I hit twenty." Jason said under his breath while he rubbed his temples with one hand. He straightened up and gave her a lighthearted glare. "I happen to be very polite, Misaki. It's just that, somehow, your grand and splendid personality brings out my 'ugly' side. Now, why is that, I wonder?"
"Roundabout way to say she annoys him." Nico snickered.
"Well, it is Jason's fault for having that ugly side, humph." The love goddess huffed as her daughter rolled her eyes.
"You're far too stiff, Jay-Jay." Misaki said, waving him off. "You'll never get a girlfriend at this rate. Maybe we should just have you get laid so you can relax."
Everyone laughed at that, minus Hera, Jason, and Piper. Some even wheezing for air.
Jason flushed bright red while Zack burst into laughter. The son of Jupiter grumbled through his embarrassment, his hands falling under the table and making gestures of strangulation.
"Do it," Piper said, face red with anger and embarrassment for her beau, so not cool sis!
Calming down just around the time Zack got himself under control, Jason glared wholeheartedly at Misaki this time. "What did you want, Misaki?"
"So rude, Jay-Jay." Misaki said with a tittering laugh. She settled down and her smile fell into a pout. "Naruto is still brushing me off."
"My poor baby!"
"Mom, enough."
"Big shock." Zack said, still amused. "Kid's going all out for this month's gladiator fight. He really wants to win."
"I couldn't care about his training. He needs it." Misaki said with her pout still in place. "I want to know why he's with Abigail all the time."
"Ah, the rival crush." Aphrodite smiled gleefully.
"Aside from sating his desire to see his crush?" Jason asked smugly, getting a heated glare from the daughter of Venus.
"Jason," Leo said seriously. "You should not play with that kind of fire, heck, even I wouldn't…and I'm fire proof."
Jason shrugged, it was what she got for teasing him all the time.
The blonde huffed and tossed her hair over her shoulder.
"What does she have anyway? She's not all that pretty." Misaki said, while Zack snickered and Jason smirked.
"Hey," Apollo frowned, but the lady of doves waved him off.
"Oh, she's just upset. No major offense."
"But still!"
"Well, Abigail was one of the first to stand up for Naruto. And she's smart. She's also one of the most beautiful girls in the legion. Then there's the fact that she's the Augur and a centurion of the Third Cohort. She's been helping him sort through this whole accused thing better than we could've if he'd let us, and Abigail is without a doubt the nicest girl in ca-." Misaki slamming her hands down on the table cut Jason off mid count.
"…That was pretty detailed." Piper said with pursed lips, glancing at Jason, who started to sweat.
"I was just trying to annoy her?"
"Smart answer."
"Shut up, Jay-Jay!" she said, pouting. Misaki crossed her arms over her chest. "Tell me all of my good qualities."
"Yes, do so." The love goddess said as Artemis looked amused.
"Oh, this should be good."
"You?" Jason asked. He snorted and replied dryly. "You don't have any good qualities, Shokuhou."
Aphrodite gaped along with the demigoddesses, who glared at a now wilting Jason.
"I was right, it was good."
"Silence Artemis, and you, Jason Grace!" the love goddess glared at her daughter's beau. "Be lucky this is another dimension. Honestly, the tact you lack."
Misaki gasped in horror while Zack wrapped his arms around his gut and laughed. Misaki's horrified face turned into a fuming one, her cheeks puffing up indignantly before she waved her hand at Jason.
"You reap what you sow, Jason Grace." Aphrodite said haughtily.
"Oh man," Piper palmed her face.
Immediately, Jason's clothes shrunk by two sizes, making the twelve year old gasp sharply and fall out of his seat as everything was constricted. Another wave had magic makeup that made him look like a clown cover his face.
Everyone laughed at that one as Jason hid his face in shame, groaning.
"It'll be okay, Jason." Hazel told him through her snickers.
Misaki stood, walked over to the downed son of Jupiter and kicked him in the shin before storming off.
"Okay, that's just adding insult to injury!" Jason complained.
"I liked it." Ares smiled.
It took Zack ten minutes to calm down before he helped Jason back to his feet. Even then, he was still laughing a little.
"Wow, Jay. If you keep acting like that, you're never going to get a girlfriend." Zack said as Jason tugged at his shirt collar.
"I was being honest, though." Jason said with a grunt.
"Sometimes, honesty isn't the best policy."
"Uh," Apollo frowned at Hermes, "I beg to differ."
"Says you."
"I can't believe she did this to me."
"I can. And It. Is. Hilarious."
"It really is."
"Shut up, Leo."
"Shut up, Zack. I need to go change." Jason said, walking carefully so as not to tear anything. Zack's laughter followed him out. He just hoped that she didn't hex his other clothes; he needed those for the gladiator fights.
"Like your pants splitting open when you sidestep?"
"Why are you so mean?" Jason pouted at his sister, who shrugged.
"I missed a lot of years to pick on you, fair is fair."
It was the semi-finals of the gladiator matches and Naruto had been lucky enough to fight the champion and Praetor. They had been fighting for nearly three hours total.
"Ooh," Dionysus said, perking up as he leaned in a bit more to pay attention.
Naruto's shirt was ripped to shreds, his jeans were caked in blood and tears, and he was sure that if it weren't for Neptune's gift of healing with contact of the sea god's domain, he would've died from blood loss by now.
"Thank you for the healing powers, Dad."
"No problem, Percy."
Naruto panted heavily as he stared down Tim, both on their last legs. The son of Mars had bruises all over his body and was down at least three teeth. Naruto, meanwhile, had lacerations all over his upper arms, shoulders and sides from Tim's blade.
"Now this," Ares pointed at the screen with a grin. "Is a fight."
His forearms were protected by the gift from Neptune he received all those years ago.
Two golden gauntlets adorned his arms, shimmering in the afternoon sunlight as they replaced the bracers he had around his wrists. They had half a trident on both arms and an N engraved on the back of the hand. The knuckles of the gauntlets were slightly extended like a mortal's brass knuckles would've been and leather protected from the middle of his fingers to the palm of his hands. The gold extended all the way to the edge of where Naruto's forearm ended and his elbow began, allowing him full use of the appendage unlike some gladiator armor.
"That's awesome," Percy gaped while Poseidon admired the work of the gauntlets.
"You do not yield before me, but you will always lose, Naruto." Tim said, wiping his arm over his bloody mouth. "Without any bodies of water nearby, you are at my mercy."
"What a cliché villain line," Apollo snickered. "Typical Ares."
"Hey, I'm not cliché!" Ares protested.
Athena snorted in disagreement.
"I don't know the meaning of the word." Naruto said in return between his panting. Tim was right though. Naruto wouldn't outlast him without some water to help. So, Naruto would have to do something he wasn't entirely sure would work.
"So that isn't just a Percy thing," Thalia said, glancing at her uncle, who was smiling sheepishly.
"Good!" Tim said with a laugh. He gripped his sword with both hands and charged forward. "Then have the honor of falling at my blade once again!"
"Skewer him, Tim!" Ares gave an ugly cheer as Frank rooted for his brother too.
Naruto lifted his foot up and slammed it down into the dirt, a fissure shooting out from the impact towards Tim. The blond ran forward, careful to not fall into the fissure that had formed, and watched as the fissure split in two around Tim's foot, causing that portion of the ground to collapse, making the Praetor fall.
Poseidon let out a cheer along with Percy.
"It seems he has good control of his earth powers," the god noted with a glance to Percy, who shrugged.
"I like water powers better." He admitted, to which his father nodded in understanding.
Naruto leapt at the surprised Praetor, his right hand brought back before he threw it forward at Tim's face. The son of Mars succumbed to a superman punch that shook the arena on impact, being sent flying back into the wall and going through it.
"Superman for the win!" Apollo cheered.
"He'll feel that in the morning." Hermes stated as many nodded as Ares scowled.
Naruto landed on his side with a grunt and after taking a few breaths, slowly got to his feet, watching the hole where he put Tim. He waited patiently for a few minutes before Rachel jumped down and looked into the hole. She turned around and raised her hand up with her thumb pointing down, making Naruto's jaw drop.
"I...I don't believe it. ...The winner of this semi-final is the son of Neptune." The legacy of Mercury who had chosen to be the gladiator announcer said, astonished. "Victory by knock-out."
"Oh, he'll be a knock-out one day." Aphrodite said with a titter of giggles.
The audience cheered for the victor and Naruto promptly fell to his back, exhausted. Rachel let the medics attend to her fellow Praetor and went to Naruto's side, pulling out a small bottle of water and pouring a bit on his head.
"There's that Full Restore." Piper chirped.
Rejuvenation filled Naruto and he got back to his feet, gratefully taking the bottle from Rachel and being led to the resting side of the arena. She gave him a pat on the shoulder and then walked to Tim's side, following the groggy Praetor to his seat in the stands.
"Think he has enough brain cells to judge after that loss?" Athena asked in amusement as Ares snarled at her for the reminder that his uncle's kid beat a child of his.
"Nice job." A voice said behind him. Naruto turned and looked at his friend who stood behind him. Unlike the son of Neptune, Jason hadn't been so lucky to have a quick pick me up from something as simple as water, so he used the other gift he had to his advantage – flight.
"Finally," Jason silently cheered.
Apparently it was something he figured out while Naruto was doing his own training, and frankly, Naruto was stumped as to how he would beat his friend if the Golden Boy kept himself in the air.
"He won't." Zeus said with a smirk as Poseidon snorted.
"We'll see." The sea god retorted.
"Thanks." Naruto said crisply. He was still irked at his friend, but most of his anger had been dealt out to his opponents. None more so than Tim, who had this uncanny ability to bring the worst out of the legionnaires and centurions he faced.
"Got that from his father." Athena stated.
Frank looked at his girlfriend, "Do I do that?"
"No." she assured him.
Naruto was sure he would've snapped and just collapsed the arena if he didn't knock the Praetor out with that last punch.
"There's his father's temper." Hades smirked as Poseidon fumed silently at that. Oh, just because he destroyed some stuff back in the day, honestly!
"I beat Derrick." Jason said, gesturing over to the twitching member of the second Cohort, a legacy of Vulcan. "You and I are going to fight next."
"Ooh," Hermes whistled, "Place your bets people!" she cackled, man, this was going to be a huge matchup.
Hera of course bet on her champion as did Zeus, but the rest of the elder gods bet on Naruto. The other Olympians bet on Jason, except Athena who didn't select either, while most of the demigods, besides Percy and Frank, bet on Jason, too.
"Well, I just hope I don't beat you up too much." Naruto said, despite liking the sound of that. Jason needed a good smack to the head now and again and Naruto was the only one who would (or could) oblige.
Percy raised his hand. "I can, too."
"Dude," Jason frowned while Thalia was nodding.
"I like this Naruto's thinking."
"Thalia!" the brother said with a betrayed look.
"That sounds pretty confident." Jason said with a frown. He had hoped to have a civil and honorable fight with his pack brother, but it seems Naruto's got his eye on the goal.
"Eyes on the prize, m'boy." Poseidon said with a smirk.
"I'm going to win this." Naruto said boldly, standing an inch shorter than his friend.
"Really?" Jason asked, rising to the challenge.
"Yep."
"You'd better give it your all, Nar. Because I'm not losing so easily."
"Count on it, Jay."
"Boo," Ares jeered, "No trash talk? Boring!"
They held their gaze before the announcer called for them, both entering the arena together. Jason had Julius in his grasp, ready to be flipped, while Naruto flexed his own gauntlet-covered hands in anticipation. They got to the center of the arena and then took paces away from each other, neither breaking the eye contact they made. A soft wind blew through, both boys eyeing the other.
"BEGIN!" Rachel said, and Jason flipped his coin into the air. It came down and landed with the tails up, a lance appearing in his hand where the coin once was. Jason held the spear defensively and sidestepped with Naruto as the son of Neptune clenched his hands so hard that his knuckles cracked.
"Damn, need some music for this." Apollo pursed his lips, trying to think up the best theme for the fight.
"Don't hold back." Naruto said.
"I don't plan to." Jason said in return.
Naruto grinned and then quickly raised his hands to catch the spearhead that was thrusted at him.
"That some ninja stuff right there." Leo snickered.
Jason quickly tugged it back and turned to his other side, swinging the end of his lance at his friend with an added boost of wind. Naruto stumbled backwards, the force of the wind being too much for him. He lowered his arms and took a kick to the gut, stumbling back and quickly blocking the spear brought down on his arm. He countered with a 'light' palm thrust to Jason's chest. The son of Jupiter slid back, doubled over and breathing hard.
"Yeah, real light," Jason grumbled as Percy cheered Naruto on.
Naruto capitalized on his friend's hesitation, assaulting Jason with punches aimed at his head. One good hit would've ended the whole thing and both of them knew it. Jason used his spear to deflect the blows, falling back on the defensive to think up a plan. Naruto was playing for the win, as he suspected before, and so Jason would have to play just as hard.
A bolt of lightning fell from the sky and impacted next to Naruto, making him shoot to the side in the dirt.
"Of course he would start throwing lightning." Percy frowned as Thalia snickered at that, making him glare at her while she took on an innocent face.
Naruto quickly got to his feet, resuming his assault and keeping Jason on the defensive. Jason blocked a right hook and released his spear with his right hand to throw some wind at Naruto's face. Naruto could handle this gust, but his eyes filled with tears from the added dust.
"Cheap shot!" Frank called out as Jason shrugged.
"Not my fault if the wind kicks something up." The blond said with a smirk.
Jason swung the dull edge of his spear at Naruto's jaw, sending him stumbling backwards. Using this attack to his advantage, the son of Jupiter took to his father's domain, hovering above Naruto as the sky darkened behind him, blotting out the sun.
"Hey!" Apollo pouted, he wanted to see the match!
Wind picked up around him and Jason used his spear to direct it at his friend. Naruto barely managed to roll out of the way in time, and, thinking quickly, scooped some of the dirt up and chucked it at his friend.
"So is that a cheap shot, Frank?"
"No, that's just mudslinging." The Canadian refuted with a chuckle.
"Funny." Jason drawled.
Jason batted the projectile of dirt away with ease, sending another bolt of lightning down and when Naruto dodged, assaulted him with a blast of wind that had the son of Neptune tumbling away. Jason flew after him with a bolt charging up at the tip of his spear. Naruto was now on the run, spectators jeering the fighters on and some outright calling for the son of Neptune's charred corpse.
"The hell?!" Poseidon cried out, pointing his hand at the screen. "Seriously, what is wrong with them?"
"I keep telling you, Poseidon," Athena sighed out.
"I know!"
Naruto continued to run, jumping into a roll and slamming his arms together so the two halves of Neptune's trident merged. The symbol gave off a golden glow and a blue energy expanded outward from it, growing wide and circular into a shield.
"Now that's a shield," Percy gaped, why couldn't Tyson build him something like that?!
"Okay, that's really interesting." Leo muttered, trying to think how to make that just as his dad was doing the same.
"I knew there was a reason I didn't give him a bladed weapon." Poseidon smirked as Athena rolled her eyes.
"Please, you were just as surprised as us."
The sea god snorted but said no more.
The next bolt hit it directly, bouncing back at the one who threw it. Jason moved and the lightning shot back up into the cloud. There was an offended boom of thunder.
Poseidon snorted along with his siblings as his younger brother fumed at that.
"Sorry, father."
"It's alright, Jason." Zeus grumbled at his own element bounced back at him, that little…
Naruto separated his arms, the shield disappearing as soon as he did, and drove his hands into the ground. He strained for a moment before releasing a yell that snapped Jason out of his surprised daze, pulling a large amount of dirt out of the ground and lifting it over his head before throwing it at Jason.
"Now that's mudslinging," Leo corrected Frank's earlier statement.
Far too large to deflect, Jason was forced to avoid it. He chose to dive to the side and Naruto arched a brow. They ignored the startled cries of their observers as the mound of dirt hit the stands.
"Serves them right," Poseidon nodded sternly.
Jason looked from where the dirt hit to Naruto, who grinned at him. Electric blue eyes widened and sea green eyes narrowed.
"Someone's in trouble," Percy sang out as Thalia scowled.
"Come on, Jason!" she cheered loudly, "Whoo!"
"Listen to you," Annabeth giggled.
"What? I didn't get to do this before, so I'm catching up." The hunter explained while Jason palmed his face in embarrassment.
A bolt flew from Jason's spear and Naruto threw another clump, both cancelling out. Jason tried a gust of wind, but Naruto's throws were too powerful. They were at a stalemate, Naruto and Jason continued to fight like this, the crowd now white noise to them. Their silent conversation, the argument they had weeks before, was continued. Naruto was mudslinging, aiming low and trying to get Jason to accept what he did was wrong
Apollo clapped, "Poetic."
"And true," Thalia get as Jason frowned at the betrayal.
while Jason spoke down to him, saying that it would've been out of line to interject where he wasn't wanted.
"Law this, order that," Poseidon rolled his eyes as Zeus narrowed his.
"Both are important."
"You only display them when they're in your favor."
"…Shut up."
"It would have mattered!" Naruto finally shouted as he ripped the ground in front of him up. It was the size of a small car and Jason wouldn't have been able to slide out of the way, so he dove.
"So, he threw a rock?" Leo raised a brow.
"It was a big rock." Hermes corrected, getting a snicker from Apollo for the Batman reference.
Then Naruto struck, launching himself from the ground into the air and tackling Jason down to the ground.
"Your wings have been clipped, Jason Grace." Nico smirked as the boy ruffled up at that saying.
Naruto climbed atop the downed son of Jupiter, drawing his left fist back and punching Jason across the face. Jason felt a tooth fly out and his lip split open.
"Ouch," Leo winced, "That's going to bruise."
"Oh, not his smile," Aphrodite frowned.
Piper glared daggers at Naruto's image for punching out one of Jason's teeth.
He knew that he couldn't take another hit like that and so he slipped his feet into Naruto's gut and pushed, Naruto tumbling off to his back.
"Yes!" Jason cheered at his counter.
Naruto rolled onto his hands and knees, his eyes glinting dangerously with the same rage that made his father so feared.
"Never seen Jackson with those," Hades snorted. "Seems this one has the temperament."
With an angered cry he got to his feet and turned around, looking at the coughing and slowly rising Jason with a glare. Naruto gave another angered roar, slamming his right fist into the dirt as he struggled to control himself. He got up as Jason got to one foot and started to stand, jumping at his friend with his right hand cocked back.
"And fly boy goes flying."
"Nico!"
"I! WIN!" Naruto roared once his fist made contact with Jason's jaw. Jason's eyes flashed before he hit the ground, everything dark.
"K-O!" Apollo said in the voice of the Street Fighter announcer. "Naruto Wins!"
"Dammit, Jason!" Thalia groaned.
"Guess my little brother is better than yours, Thalia. Now pay up."
"Shut up, Fish Boy!"
Naruto stood over the son of Jupiter, panting heavily as he looked at his knocked out friend. The audience was silent before they burst into cheers over the end of the gladiator match between the sons of Jupiter and Neptune.
Dionysus clapped his hands. He thought it was a wonderful gladiator fight.
"The victor and the new champion of the gladiator arena, the leader of the quest for Scaevola's Dagger,
"That psychotic?" Athena sniffed while Dionysus rolled his eyes.
"The boy wasn't all that bad."
"The boy burnt his own hand off."
"…Details."
Naruto Uzumaki! Son of Neptune!"
"Whoo!" Poseidon cheered along with all those that bet on Naruto as those who bet on Jason were disappointed.
"It was a good fight." Jason said, he thought he did well.
Ares snorted, "Loser."
"Ares!" his mother glared, but he struggled it off.
"Still fun to see," Leo grinned as he put the book down and Jason glared at him.
Review please!