Co-written by Engineer4Ever.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Son of the Earthshaker

III

A year has passed since Naruto's first victory in the War Games. His redesign of Neptune's temple had gotten a few ruffled feathers in the senate, but most senators conceded to Abigail's defense of not angering the god of the sea by tearing it down. Jason's support also seemed to keep Naruto off the radar of bullies on the senate and in the Legion, but during the following war game – Deathball – Jason emerged the MVP and outlasted Naruto because of the green-eyed boy taking a poisoned ball to the back that would've hit Jason in the head. Strangely enough, a warm bath seemed to clear away the abrasion that afflicted Naruto. It was attributed to his sire's domain's purifying attributes. The two developed a friendly rivalry during the games they were involved in, seeing who could get the title of MVP or closest to it.

Another change over the year was the acceptance of Misaki as a friend. While Jason still kept her at arms length and was wary of the obviously scheming daughter of Venus of the Second Cohort, Naruto told her everything that was on his mind and would often seek her out while Jason studied nobly and trained under the watchful gaze of their Cohort's centurion. Today was no different.

Naruto was struggling with the structure of the Legion and some history lessons that he didn't find all that invigorating. So this guy did this and became Emperor, or he killed this person and became infamous, so what? Why would that affect him now?

"It really doesn't matter who did what." Misaki said, flipping through a history book. "The saying 'history repeats itself' isn't far from the truth, Naruto. People overthrow the cruel leaders. Armies fight and Mars becomes stronger with every war, ranging from civil to world."

"Oh...Why doesn't the history book just say that?" Naruto asked. He crossed his arms as he looked towards Temple Hill. "I mean, I can understand the need for stories on the gods, they're kind of important here."

"That's an understatement, sweetie." Misaki said, smiling as Naruto gained a cringe. He wasn't keen on the cutie names yet. Misaki was still a little weird at times and it was during those times he wished she was a bit like Abby, who was probably the only cool girl in the Legion.

"Please don't call me that, Misaki." He said.

"I promise nothing." She said with a giggle. "Now back to the history, if you can see the patterns you can use it to your advantage."

"Really?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. For instance, you could prevent some serious bad things from happening or turn the tide in your favor." Misaki said, gaining Naruto's attention through clever wordplay. She learned very quickly that sea-related idioms and terms would always make him perk up his ears.

"Cool!" Naruto said, now very eager to learn a bit more. Misaki smiled and set the book down, inviting him to sit next to her. Her smile grew a bit more as he sat next to her and looked over the book, listening to her intently until their lesson came to an end and it was time for him to go help the Fifth Cohort do some labor work in New Rome. While Naruto raced off to his cohort, Misaki calmly picked up the history book and carried it with her back towards her own. She nearly walked into a skinny boy with sunny blond hair, similar to Naruto's, but a detached look in his sky blue eyes and a scowl locked on his face as he watched Naruto leave.

"Excuse me. Were you eavesdropping on a private conversation?" Misaki asked, a bit annoyed with how he standing there.

"If I were, it was only by chance." The boy said. He glanced back to the direction Naruto raced off to and snorted. "Teaching him strategy, probably not the best idea for our Legion. We'd be better off without him, wouldn't you say?"

Misaki's eyes narrowed slightly, but her smile remained wide and open. "And why would I care for the opinion of a freshly deflowered probatio?"

"Watch your tongue!" The boy said with a hiss. "I am the legacy of the prophetic Apollo, next Augur of the Roman Legion and member of the First Cohort. My name is Octavian."

"The pleasure is mine, Octavian." Misaki said with a false smile on her face, her charmspeak protecting her from the legacy's ability to see through lies. "But once again, why should I care for someone who is 'soon to be' rather than current?"

"I will not be mocked by one who seeks out bad luck." Octavian said, sneering at her. "Sleeping with the devil, you certainly are a lot like Venus."

"...You do know how...pedophiliac that was, oui?" Misaki asked, smiling devilishly as Octavian's face turned red. "I am only eight years old, after all. Should I tell the Praetors of your true colors in accordance to a young girl? I fear for my virtue."

"You dare mock me?" Octavian asked, glaring daggers at her. "When the Centurion hears of this...!"

"Hey, Misaki! Guess what? The job was moved to tomorrow on account of the upcoming festival tonight to celebrate the last Praetors' firstborn son." Naruto said as he ran back up to the girl. He was oblivious of the angered glare he got from Octavian.

"That's great Naruto!" Misaki said as she turned a one eighty and beamed at him. She looked back to the boy whose name she already forgot. "Naruto, meet, hm, what was it again?" She tapped her chin with a laced finger in mock thought before her eyes lit up and she snapped her fingers. "Octy! Naruto, meet Octy."

"What?! No it's-!"

"Like an octopus?" Naruto asked with a tilt of his head, wow, sucks for this guy. He must have been picked on all his life.

"Bingo~!" Misaki winked at him with a hand on her hip as it was jutted to the side while her other arm hung lazily at the other side.

"Wow, sorry for the bad name, Octy." Naruto said genuinely.

"My name isn't Octy, you buffoon!" Octavian said, loosing his cool. "I am Octavian, legacy of Apollo and member of the First Cohort!"

"...Oh, you're the guy that took Richie's spot after he...died." Naruto said, wincing at the memory of the last Augur-to-be's corpse's return from a quest done alongside Misaki's friend Samantha. He wasn't too keen on meeting the monster that did that to him.

"However, he wasn't so...twiggy." Misaki said with a thoughtful hum as she looked Octavian over. "Seriously, you shouldn't throw up everything you eat. It does explain the bad breath, though." She popped open her purse and began rummaging through it, pulling out a small roll of mints and offered them to him. None to quietly, she whispered "You need it."

"I will not stand for this a second longer!" Octavian said. He was so mad, his face turning an interesting shade of purple. "You've made an enemy, Legionnaire Shoukuko. And you, son of the sea god!" A finger was thrust in Naruto's face. "You keep your distance, earth shaker. Nothing good comes from your kind."

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Naruto asked, his eyes narrowing. Octavian said nothing, turning on his heel and walking back towards the First cohort barracks. Naruto huffed and crossed his arms. "What a grade-A jerk."

"You said it." Misaki said. Unseen by the son of Neptune, her eyes narrowed and you could see beyond her bubbly princess persona. A dark, cold and calculating look appeared within her normally bright starry eyes and Misaki made a small hum. An enemy, hm? How very interesting...A new toy to play with. Misaki smirked a bit. I hope he doesn't break too easily, because when I play, I play rough.

Two years passed again, and with time, Jason and Naruto have made sufficient names for themselves in the Legion. Jason was quickly becoming known as Rome's Javelin, for his quick and efficient plans in battle, gaining a lot of attention from Tim and being asked to accompany meetings of strategic war plans. Naruto, along with being known as the living Earthshaker and having to deal with a huge amount of bias because of it. Misaki's title of Second Cohort's Princess stuck firmly after her own MVP awarding in a game of Siege, where she captured several prisoners by just asking them to throw their weapons down. Her use of Charmspeak had been called into question by the Senate, but Abby had come to her defense by saying it was a natural gift and shouldn't be forbidden from use.

Currently, the two pack-brothers were being led by their favorite Praetor through the camp. She had asked for them during one of their training drills, definitely sending some red alerts through their heads.

"Why are we going to Temple Hill, Rachel?" Jason asked, raising a brow in question.

"Let me answer that question by going over the Legion's forces. Most of our forces are made of legacies, a few direct descendants being rare, especially among the Olympians." Rachel said, looking over her shoulder at him with a smile on her face. "As such, most families are in New Rome and easily visited. But for direct descendants like you two and myself, we have the option of leave every few months."

"Leave?" Naruto asked, frowning in confusion. "Leave to where?"

"That's the question isn't it?" Rachel asked. "You two have been here for over five years straight, which is common, but you're in your seventh year, both of you have earned at least a month away from the Legion."

"This isn't negotiable is it?" Jason asked, frowning.

"No. Consider it an order." Rachel said. "Now, back to your original question, we're going to seek help from Lord Mercury, god of travelers, merchants and messengers to see if we can find where you can go."

"I like this order." Naruto said, reaching into his camp shirt and pulling out his mom's dog tags. Jason watched his friend rub his thumb over the name as he often did to calm his nerves. He could understand, Naruto still wanted to find his mom. It was better than waiting to get a quest to leave to find her. Jason wondered if he could find that nice girl that took care of him.

"I figured one of you would." Rachel said. Jason understood what she meant. Naruto was not a fan of being restricted to camp and would constantly deflate for a day or two when he wasn't picked for a quest, whereas Jason was more than happy to stay in the camp. What could he say? Jason was a fan of order.

They walked into Mercury's temple and Jason immediately felt welcomed. Must be due to their forced leave and their preparation to go on a trip. Mercury must be watching out for them. As he and Naruto knelt next to Rachel, Jason wondered why that could be.

"Swift Lord Mercury, god of travellers, hear my plea. I, Rachel Larson, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion, ask you for guidance. Give us a sign, where should the sons of Jupiter and Neptune go?" Rachel asked, looking up to the statue hopefully.

"To the coast." A man said behind them. The three Romans jumped, Jason hanging in it for a second, and spun around to face the newcomer. He had short sandy blond hair slicked back and hanging lowly on his nose were some rather classy square-framed glasses, the lenses adding a small twinkle to his blue eyes. He was dressed in a nice business suit and in his hand was some sort of small black rectangular device, a phone Jason recalled after seeing Misaki use hers. He raised his left hand in a small wave. "Hello."

"L-Lord Mercury!" Rachel said in surprise, kneeling before him. "Welcome, Lord Mercury. Thank you for answering my plea. The honor I-we feel is unfathomable."

"Thank you, Lord Mercury." The two blond boys quickly followed their Praetor's example.

"Now, now, I haven't got time for your praise. I came to help Jason and Naruto. By the way, nice job on Neptune's temple, kid. Good use of the materials I got you." Mercury said, smiling lightly at Naruto.

Naruto laughed and reached behind his head to rub it sheepishly from the praise. "Well, thanks for the nice gold trident and all the carved marble."

"Anytime. Not often I get a crown, you know." Mercury said before tapping the screen of his phone. "Anyway, I'll send out one message each to your chosen destination. Let's start with the contracting son of Neptune first."

"...I-I want to find my mom." Naruto said quietly, looking down and grabbing his dog tags. Rachel and Jason watched as Mercury's thumbs blurred over the many buttons. After he did that, he reached into his suit and pulled out a card, turning it over in his hand and offering it to the son of Neptune.

"Done. Your mother will be expecting you at the address on this card. I'm assuming you'll be taking the buses?" Mercury asked, looking to Rachel. The Praetor nodded and he gave a curt nod of his own as Naruto took the card, holding it carefully in both hands. The god of travelers looked to Jason next. "And for the son of Jupiter?"

"I want to see the girl who I grew up with, but, all I know is her name starts with Ta-"

"Thalia Grace, your older sister." The god cut him off, giving him an apologetic smile. "Sadly, that is a message even I cannot deliver due to...technicalities."

"Technicalities?" Jason asked, his brows furrowing together. The only reason he could think of that the god of messengers couldn't deliver his message would be one thing. "I-Is she dead?"

"Jason, don't think like that!" Rachel said as she put a hand on his shoulder in effort to comfort the boy.

"Not exactly." Mercury said, making the three look at him. "The details are complicated, and I would prefer to leave it at that."

"Yes, lord Mercury." The three said a bit reluctantly.

"Good. Now, I must be off. I have some business to attend to in New York." Mercury said, a bit of a cringe on his face when thinking of the east coast. He vanished in a gust of wind, possibly moving so fast that he made it. A ghostly image of him remained, smiling at the two young demigods. "Good luck on your trip."

And it vanished just as fast as the god did.

"Jason..." Rachel said softly, making him look at her. She had an apologetic look in her eyes and a similar smile on her face. "She's not dead."

"But it's complicated." Jason said, frowning. "Which means she might be close to it."

"Maybe she's frozen or something." Naruto said. "Or in a coma."

"Not helping, Nar." Jason said with a frown. Naruto's heart was in the right place, putting a term to something always helped Jason solve a problem he couldn't understand. But comas were fickle, according to Abigail's lessons in medicine, and being frozen...well, Jason wouldn't appreciate all that ice.

"Sorry." Naruto said. A beat passed. "...You could come with me."

"What?" Jason blinked as he looked at Naruto.

"No, not could. You have to come! You promised!" Naruto said, grinning. "Remember? Before we came to camp."

"...I guess I did." Jason said softly. Rachel rubbed his shoulder soothingly, as if knowing that wasn't exactly what he was hoping to do. She always seemed to understand him a bit better than anyone else. Naruto beamed and declared he would go tell Misaki they were leaving, rushing off before the two could stop him.

"At least you have a name now." Rachel said.

"...It's not the same, though." Jason said in return.

"I suppose not, but now you can pray to the gods for her." Rachel said, rubbing Jason's shoulder. He quirked a smile a bit at that, making her smile back. "You'd best go find Naruto and bring him back. I have the bus passes back at the Praetors' Chambers."

"Yes, Praetor." Jason said, running off to find his friend.

"I really shouldn't be this surprised." Jason said, finding Naruto with ease. He may have been minutes behind, but time and practice have taught him all of Misaki and her minions' known hangouts. The common mess hall was just one of the few places in public eye where they were most often found. At a rather girl-oriented table, Naruto was sitting next to Misaki, who had scooted a bit closer than normal, and from the look on her face, he could tell that Naruto would need an extraction soon. As he walked closer, he could hear their conversation.

"You're leaving and you're not taking me? Naruto, I thought we were friends." Misaki said, pouting at the green-eyed blond.

"We are friends, Misaki." Naruto said, reassuring her. "But this is the first time I get to see my mom in years."

"Then how come Jay-Jay gets to go?" Misaki asked, adding a bit of a whine. Jason rolled his eyes but continued his quiet approach.

"Because Jay's my pack-brother." Naruto said, grinning proudly. "Why wouldn't he come?"

"Humph." Misaki pouted a bit more, taking a bite of the slice of cake that was before her. Jason didn't bother asking where or how she got it. He'd rather not try to extract information from her and wind up telling another secret about himself. He would, however, end her charade before it could get too crowded on the bus. Going on a trip with just Naruto was one thing, going with Naruto and Misaki...that's a whole different story.

"Naruto, c'mon, we've got to go." Jason said, finally revealing himself as he planted a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Don't you want to stay for cake, Jay-Jay?" Misaki asked, smiling at him.

"No." Jason said flatly. Who knew what she laced that cake with? Jason wouldn't put it past her to try something. Like that time she got Octavian to turn bright yellow. No one could blame her, but Jason knew she had something to do with it after Naruto sung praises to the 'mysterious' prankster, because she had gained a bright smile that just wouldn't go away. "Naruto, c'mon."

"Right, right." Naruto said, getting up. Misaki pouted at him when he smiled at her. "Bye Misaki!"

"You'd better bring me something nice." She said, making him laugh as they left. Misaki turned back to her table and resumed talking with her friends/minions.

"Why can't we wear our camp shirts again?" Naruto asked, looking down at the large green shirt that replaced the purple and gold he loved so dearly. They had said their farewells to their cohort, Centurion and their Praetors – though Tim was rather blunt in saying he wasn't going to shake their hand or hug them like Rachel did – and were loading up in a small bus at a stop located outside the camp's secret entrance.

"Because, Naruto, we're technically on a quest and subtlety is important." Jason said, sighing as he plopped down in a seat on the bus. "Sit down."

"Yes master." Naruto said with a smirk, plopping down next to him. Jason rolled his eyes and both relaxed in their seat as the bus went through the tunnel, past the secret entrance they had left through before, and broke through onto the highway. "Well, might as well get some sleep."

"You do that." Jason said, looking out the window at all the cars that passed by. It was a rather long trip, sixty minutes and thirty-two seconds by Jason's count. Boy did he get bored on that bus. He figured since they were leaving camp something bad would happen, but then, about twenty minutes in to the drive, he remembered Mercury's duties and figured the god must have blessed the both of them. Well, that just took all excitement out of it.

They got off of the greyhound at the corner of a suburban neighborhood and Naruto readjusted his bracers, the sun gleaming off of the golden tridents catching Jason's eye. He remembered the first time Naruto had used them in what he dubbed his 'favorite' War Game, Gladiator Fights. Naruto and Jason were knocked out early by Tim, who was the reigning champion, but Naruto had managed to get a few good hits in that left a mighty big black eye on the Praetor's face. Since then, Naruto had been getting hand-to-hand lessons from Tim while Rachel taught Jason how to better use his spear, since that was her weapon of choice as well.

"So where does she live, exactly?" Jason asked. Naruto looked down at the card he'd been handling with extreme care.

"546 43rd Avenue." Naruto said. The two blondes looked at the street sign near them. "That's the 42nd...Wow, we're lucky."

"Zack must rub off on us...That or Mercury blessed us without us knowing." Jason said.

"Probably both." Naruto said, shrugging.

The two of them walked towards the next block and rounded the corner, looking at the street houses until coming across a skinny, two storied red house. Gold numbers hung above the garage matching the ones on the card in Naruto's hand. Naruto stood at the end of the driveway for a moment.

"Nar...Stop fidgeting. It's only a house. I'm pretty sure it won't hate you." Jason said.

"Shut up, Jason!" Naruto said, a bit red in the cheeks.

"...Stop fiddling with your shirt and let's go already."

"Ju-just give me a minute, okay?"

Jason sighed but could understand. Naruto probably had so many thoughts rushing through his head, Jason imagined they'd be of the same strand as his own if he met Thalia. 'Would she like me?' being the key thought going through their head. Love wasn't a factor here...okay, maybe it was a little, but liking as in approving of how they (Jason and Naruto) grew up was a bigger issue. It was one thing not to love you at all, because as Misaki constantly told them, love was the strongest and most malleable of emotions mortals – and gods – had. Liking someone for who they were was a whole different story.

A good example of this is Octavian, a slimy member of the First Cohort that just didn't feel right to Jason and Naruto. They would probably never love him and they most definitely wouldn't like him. But Misaki, however, was a girl that thought herself better and showed that she could change her views, causing Jason and Naruto to change their own. Now, does that mean Jason doesn't think she's up to something? No. Jason knows Misaki is up to something, but he can understand that it is who she is and accept her for it.

"Ready?" Jason asked after giving his friend another minute. Naruto took a deep breath before nodding, walking up with Jason to the door. Stepping up to the stoop, Naruto raised his hand to knock on the door, but hesitate. Jason, a bit fed up of waiting, and tired from doing nothing on the bus, lifted his hand and knocked on the door.

"Dude!"

"Shut up. You took too long."

"One moment!" A woman's voice called, muffled by the door and sounding a bit distant. They waited on the stoop and just when Naruto shifted his foot in preparation to bolt – Jason would've stopped him, he didn't ride on that bus for an hour just to not to meet this woman Naruto was so insistent (understandably so) about meeting – the door flung open. A woman opened the door, dressed in sweatpants, flip-flops and a white tank top underneath a blue apron that said Hott Momma with orange and red lettering on it. Her red hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, but she still had the tension and alert shoulders of a soldier.

Jason watched from the side as Naruto looked up and the woman looked down, his friend's green eyes meeting with the woman's strange variation of violet. Naruto opened his mouth to say something when he was enveloped in a tight hug, the woman starting to sob openly. All of her tension and alertness melted away as she cried.

"You're home. You're really home." She said through her tears. The woman pushed Naruto away for a second, cupping his cheeks as their eyes met again. "My little maelstrom..."

"...Hi M-Mom..." Naruto said, finally. It made the redheaded woman let out a mix of a choked sob and a laugh before she hugged him again.

"My baby's home." She said, turning and kissing him on the cheek and making Naruto groan. Jason couldn't help but snicker at that, making the woman realize there was someone else there. "Oh...Hello."

"Uh, hi Ms. Uzumaki. I'm Jason Grace."

"Hello, Jason," she said, smiling. "I'm Kushina Uzumaki. You can call me Kushina, I'm not one for formalities."

"If you say so..."

"I insist." Kushina said, cutting him off. "How do you know Naruto?"

"I, uh, I'm a friend of Naruto's from camp." Jason said.

"He's also my pack-brother." Naruto said with a grin. At Kushina confused glance, Naruto elaborated. "Lupa prepared him for camp alongside me."

"Please don't mention her around me, munchkin." Kushina said, easily falling into old habits as she ushered both boys in.

"Munchkin?" Naruto and Jason asked.

"Oh yes. You're my little munchkin." Kushina said, pulling Naruto into another hug and kissing him on the cheek again. "So easily portable."

"Like during that game of D-Ball." Jason said, smirking at the flushed cheeks of his friend. Oh the dirt he would have on Naruto after all this was over. Kushina laughed at her son's pout and his friend's snickering, leading them into the dining room. She sat them down and went to the kitchen.

"Can I get you two anything to drink?" She asked.

"Some orange juice if you have it, please." Jason said.

"I'll take a glass of water." Naruto said. Jason shoved him for his lack of manners, making Naruto roll his eyes. He sniffed the air after a second and Jason swore that he froze in his seat. His green eyes dilated and a bit of drool started to pool up at the corner of his mouth. "...Mom...what are you cooking?"

"Hm? Oh! Well, since I got that random email for a small chain store called Neptune's Niche, I was thinking about my munchkin and made some ramen." Kushina said, walking back in with a glass of water and orange juice.

"Ramen?!" Naruto asked, looking like a kid in the candy store.

"Yes." Kushina said with a smile, ruffling his hair. "My little munchkin truly is home." While Naruto groaned at the cutesy name, Kushina looked to Jason. "Can I get you some ramen, too, Jason?"

"What's ramen?" Jason asked. Naruto looked as though Jason just committed blasphemy against the gods themselves while Kushina arched a brow.

"What's ramen? Dear me, that camp must starve you." Kushina said, her head shaking in disapproval. "You're having a bowl, no arguments about it."

Kushina ducked into the kitchen and with ease came back out with two steaming bowls of noodles, setting one in front of a giddy Naruto and the other in front of a hesitant Jason. Jason didn't want to be rude, unlike his friend who was currently inhaling the food like a vacuum, and so tentatively took his offered chopsticks. He had a bit of an issue handling the utensils, but Kushina helped him out, getting a sheepish thanks from the son of Jupiter.

After the first bite, Jason understood why Naruto loved the stuff. He wasn't an immediate addict like the son of Neptune, who was already being served a second helping, but wasn't going to say he didn't enjoy the taste. Eagerly, Jason continued to eat and even had a second helping, which was strange because he normally had one serving that sated him.

Once Jason finished his second and Naruto finished his fourth serving, Kushina began to ask questions about the camp.

"So D-Ball. Is that a game you play at camp?" Kushina asked. Naruto nodded eagerly, being a huge fan of war games in general.

"Yeah! According to Rachel, it's like some mortal-er, civilian game of paintball. Only with fireballs, acid balls, poison balls, spike balls and other dangerous stuff." Naruto said, making Kushina twitch.

"...How dangerous exactly?" Kushina asked.

"Not too dangerous." Jason said. "No one's died in ten years. The camp's perfected a lot of antidotes since then." He gave Naruto a dry look. "And mister water healer doesn't have to worry about too much."

"Jealous, Jay-Jay?" Naruto asked with a smirk as he used his friend's hated nickname.

"...Shut up." Jason said, scowling at his friend. "And don't call me that."

"Aw, but it's cute. I'll bet your mother calls you that all the time." Kushina said with a tittering laugh. When Jason said nothing, she gave him a confused look again. "She doesn't?"

"I don't know who my mother is." Jason said, shrugging it off nonchalantly. "I was with Lupa since I was two and left her with Naruto when I was four."

"I'm so sorry, Jason." Kushina said with a sad look on her face. She blinked and Jason cringed as a look of manic concern crossed her face. "Wait, you left Lupa when you were four!?"

"She said we were ready." Naruto said, shrugging.

"She kicked you out?!" Kushina asked, her voice rising a pitch. "That-! I can't even-! What kind of mother is she!? Stupid...I should've never listened to your father and just followed my gut and taken you on a boat! Letting two four year olds run around unattended!"

"We were fine." Naruto said, his confused green eyes showing that he did not understand why she was so upset. "We managed to get to camp and we killed that boar, too!"

"Which was your fault." Jason said.

"Dude, just let it go." Naruto said, groaning.

"Is there anything else I should know about this camp?" Kushina asked.

Naruto shrugged. "Not anything I can think of. I mean, after we got in and talked to the Praetors, they're the heads of the Legion-"

"That you have to serve for ten years, yes I read that brochure when it came in the mail." Kushina said, smiling as her concern about never seeing her baby again was washed away. "Continue."

"Well, after we met Rachel and Tim, we got our tattoos and–"

"Tattoos?" Kushina asked, cutting Naruto off again. Naruto beamed and lifted his shirt up, missing Jason's curt look to not do just that. Jason was good at sensing when danger was near, but Naruto...not so much. Rolling his shirt up and showing off the trident with the SPQR and six lines underneath it, Naruto was taken by surprise when Kushina grabbed his arm and looked at it with anger building on her face. "You have a tattoo!? You're only ten!"

"Yeah, but I've had mine since I was four."

"FOUR?!"

"Jason got one, too!"

"WHAT?!"

"Traitor." Jason said, glaring at his apologetic looking friend. Kushina rounded on him quickly.

"Let me see it." Kushina said, her rage just about to reach its limit. Not really in the mood to argue with the older, stronger and way more infuriated woman, Jason pulled his sleeve up. Seeing the eagle and the same amount of lines pushed the rage past that limit. "Those-I can't believe they would brand you! They're coming off!"

"What?!" "No!" Naruto and Jason said, Jason pushing his sleeve down and shifting away from the woman.

"Naruto Uzumaki, you will listen to me. That tattoo is coming off!" the way Kushina said tattoo had so much malice in it that Jason was sure she would've removed every tattoo ever designed if she could've. "And you, Jason Grace, yours is coming off as well!"

"You can't!" Naruto said, covering his arm. "We earned these!"

"Earned them – Naruto, you don't need a tattoo!" Kushina said. "This is a permanent mark on your body, the body I spent ten months making thank you very much. I have every right to say what does and does not get inked into your arm!"

"It's not an ink though." Jason said. Kushina swiveled her gaze on him. "It's burned with sacred tools made by Vulcan."

"...Bullshit." Kushina said. "You were burned?!"

"They're marks of valor!" Jason quickly continued. "The more marks you have gives you seniority and acts as an access pass into and out of New Rome!"

"New Rome?" Kushina asked. She thought for a second. "The small city...And why should I care if you can get in and out of there?"

"Because all demigods live there." Jason said.

"And after ten years their families can move in, too!" Naruto said, making Kushina look at him.

"...So you need those things to move your family in, hm?" Kushina asked after a moment of thought. Jason came to pretty much the same conclusion she did. In a few more years that meant she could legally, by Roman standards, move in to the city that was close to where her son went to camp. That would be good for everyone. To their relief, Kushina sighed and sat down, her hand on her head. "Fine, just...No other ones, please."

"Okay." Both boys said, giving each other a grin.

"Now, tell me you're making more friends at camp. Not that you're not charming, Jason." Kushina said, smiling lightly and making him blush lightly.

"Oh yeah! There's Zack, Edward, Rachel, Abby, Samantha, Michelle-" Naruto said, ticking his friends off on his fingers.

"My what a little player," Kushina said with a smile.

"What?" Naruto asked. Jason actually joined Naruto in looking confused, becoming even more so when Kushina laughed.

"Aw, you're both so adorable when you're confused." She said with a smile. "Never mind. They're all your age?"

"Well, the only friend we have our age outside of the Cohort is Misaki." Naruto said.

"Misaki?" Kushina asked, smiling. "What's she like?"

"She's a daughter of Venus." Jason said, shrugging. "Pretty girly, but still a Roman."

"She's got a lot of friends." Naruto said. Jason shook his head and made eye contact with Kushina, mouthing the word 'minions'. The redheaded woman gave a giggle at that.

"Well I'm glad to hear that you're making friends." Kushina said, smiling. "How's the education of this camp?"

"I dunno." Naruto said with a shrug. He wasn't a fan of education.

Jason rolled his eyes. "If you'd listen to Rachel, you'd know that camp's standards are up to date with the state of California's Department of Education regulation and is equal to the best schools in the country. We even have a college in New Rome that's on par with Harvard or other Ivy League schools."

"Well that's very good to know." Kushina said with an approving nod.

"Of course the Golden Boy would know that." Naruto said with a teasing smirk.

"Munchkin." Jason said, making Naruto's smirk fall.

"Not cool, Jason." He said.

"Oh, but you're always going to be my munchkin!" Kushina said, reaching over to rake her hands through his hair.

"Mom!" Naruto said with a groan.

Jason gave a soft laugh at that.

"You shouldn't be laughing, Jay-Jay." Kushina said.

"Mom!" Jason said, flushing at his slip when the two Uzumaki gave him strange looks. "I mean...sorry."

Kushina's look turned into a soft warm smile. "You can call me Mom if you want, Jay-Jay. I always wanted a big family."

"You are my pack-brother." Naruto said, grinning. "It's like we really are brothers!"

"You could pull it off." Kushina said. She smiled at the son of Jupiter. "So what do you say, Jason? Would you like to be an honorary Uzumaki?"

Jason didn't know what to think of that. He didn't want to accidently replace his sister, Thalia, but at the same time he was being offered a mother. He couldn't remember his own mother, and it was a strong subject of internal conflict for a few months one year until Rachel confronted him. He wanted to have what Naruto had, he was a little jealous of his friend for having the family member they came to visit. This was a genuine offer, and with a bit of both hesitation and excitement, Jason finally answered.

"If you'll have me."

"Of course we would, Jay-Jay."

Jason didn't dare to frown or scowl, knowing it was meant mostly with love and not teasing. He smiled brightly at the woman, his new adoptive mother. This wasn't going to be one of the decisions he regretted.

"Wonderful! This calls for more ramen to celebrate!" Kushina said. Naruto threw his hands up and cheered while Jason laughed and shrugged.

Well it's as they say; when in Rome.

AN: And there's chapter three! Hope you all enjoyed it. This one was mostly a brain baby of Engineer's. I just made it look pretty.

Give me your thoughts...But first, shout out to Uzumaki kamikaze Jesus! Why? Because I'm immature and his name made me giggle.

Thanks for following me, UkJ!

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