Co-written by Engineer4Ever.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Son of the Earthshaker
IX
The squeal that greeted Naruto as soon as the door flew open nearly shattered his eardrums. The hug he received was also tighter than what he was prepared for, but he returned it all the same with a wide smile on his face.
"Hi, Mom." He savored the feeling of the hug; he'd probably missed her almost as much as she missed him. Hugging her again like this was something he would never take for granted. Still, as would any fourteen-year-old, he groaned when she planted a firm kiss on his cheek. "Mom!"
"Hush, you. You're my munchkin and it's been five years since you visited! Letters just aren't the same." Kushina sighed. She turned to the other blond boy and engulfed him in a tight hug before giving him the same welcome she gave Naruto, kiss included. "Welcome back, Jay-Jay!"
"Thanks Mom." Jason smiled as he returned the hug, doing his best not to emote like his pack-brother had. Kushina's arms tightened briefly around him before she let him step away. He rubbed his tattooed arm sheepishly. "Sorry about the wait. Camp's red tape is rather...excessive."
Naruto's green eyes flashed darkly at Jason's words, and he pushed the bubbling anger down as best he could.
It had taken another few months before they could go to get Kushina and help her move to New Rome. The reason for this was because Romans were of the mind that blood was thicker than water, and since Kushina was not Jason's blood mother, his request wouldn't be accepted by some of the more 'traditional' members of the senate. Naruto's own request was nearly denied due to a highly biased amount of senators, but it was swiftly approved when Tim spoke up in his defense.
"Though the argument for it was...acceptable, to deny the son of Jupiter is risky enough," the Praetor had said, as he stood before the senate with his father's ever-present scowl on his face. "To face the wrath of an already hostile god such as Neptune and risk retribution from Mars himself for the mistreatment of not only one of my finest soldiers, but to refuse the woman – who has also fought and bled for the land we are blessed to live on – that birthed the sea god a son, is absolutely retarded. If none of you can see this, out of some sense of blind duty or misguided honor, then perhaps it's time for a new senate."
Of course, his words stirred discourse and anger within the senators, as was expected when they were being threatened so blatantly. However, none were foolish enough to believe that the son of Mars, one of the two Praetors, didn't have the ability to make it happen. Octavian, still new and fresh in his position as Augur, was the first to voice his support for the Praetor's side. The rest of the mass followed like a herd of sheep.
Ignorant of the hassle that the two boys had to deal with, Kushina simply smiled.
"All that matters is you're both here now." She rested her hands on the boys' shoulders and pulled them into another hug. "My two big handsome boys!"
"Mo-o-om!" Both groaned as blood rushed to their faces. Being treated like the youths they were, and not like the soldiers they had trained to become, was alien to them. At the same time, however, it was more than welcomed. She laughed and released them from her hug, pulling away to smile at the two. Her hands migrated to cup opposite cheeks on either of their faces.
"I'm not wrong," Kushina's eyes had softened the longer she looked at the two. She pulled her hands away and held up one arm with the other, the upheld palm pressed against her cheek. "You two are going to be a couple of lady-killers when you're older. Not surprising given your fathers."
"You met Jupiter?" Jason asked, brows furrowed.
"Thankfully, no." Kushina chuckled as both boys stared at her cluelessly and waved her hand. "I've already wrecked one immortal home, I'd rather it not risk the wrath of the Goddess of the Heavens."
"Oh, right." Naruto nodded and elbowed Jason, making the boy stumble, before he followed his mother inside. "She's talking about Juno."
"Yeah, I already figured that out, Nar." The son of Jupiter rubbed his side as he mildly glowered and he followed the two.
"I will never get over your adorable nicknames for each other." Kushina giggled and shut the door before putting a hand on her hip. "Now, go clean up. I've got dinner cooking and a few movies to watch later. We can pack up tomorrow."
"...Can we watch Transformers?"
"Naruto, you're fourteen." Jason deadpanned. Naruto arched a brow.
"Are you saying you don't want to watch it?"
"...I didn't say that…" The son of Jupiter crossed his arms. "I'm just saying that, maybe, don't jump to the kid's movie off the bat?"
"You wanted to watch G.I. Joe, didn't you?"
"...It's a better movie."
"You are out of your mind! There's lasers and robot fights!"
"You sound like Devon from the Second." Jason scoffed. "G.I. Joe somewhat captures and implements tactical training into their film-!"
"Oh, puh-lease," Naruto rolled his eyes. He smirked. "You just can't handle the death of Optimus Prime."
"Th-that's not true!"
"Hey, man, relax. I cry everytime I see it, too."
"I did not cry!"
"You're right." The green-eyed blond's grin turned savage despite the thunderous glare leveled on him. "You bawled."
Jason threw himself at the other blond with a roar and an impromptu wrestling match broke out.
"Both of you had better stop right now! I'm armed with a ladle and I'm not afraid to use it!" The redhead poked her head around the corner and waved her weapon of choice threateningly. The two boys cowed, not wanting to upset her. Satisfied, Kushina pointed towards the head. "Good. Now go clean up. Chop chop!"
"Yes, Mom." Both blonds grumbled, shooting glowers at each other. They got up off the ground and headed to the bathroom to wash up. Once they were out of the eyesight of their host, Jason stopped Naruto and took hold of his collar, glaring at his pack-brother with sparking eyes.
"If Misaki ever tries to tease me about Optimus' death, there will be no source of water that could heal what I do to you. ...Understand?"
"Yeah, yeah. Relax, Jay, if I out you, I out me, too."
"Why do you have such a large recliner?!" Naruto complained, the size of it making him waddle as he carried it by himself. Since he was pretty strong, it didn't seem that big of a deal in hindsight. However, it was enormous and he struggled to get a grip on the dang thing.
"I got it in Singapore on sale. I love it!" Kushina argued back as she was carrying a box of wrapped silverware. "The red and dark blue design is fantastic, and it's so big I can just curl up in it without having to open it fully!"
She passed him deftly and stored the box in a moving truck. The side of the truck read: Mercury's Movers, New Rome had started it up back in the seventies after a rather disastrous accident of several families getting attacked enroute to the city. With some planning and proper funding, the Senate had managed to disguise armed guards for Legionnaire families. It was a big PR move that really took off well, and only claimed a fractional tax increase to keep it properly funded.
"Do you want a hand?" Jason called from where he was rearranging boxes in the moving van.
"No!" Naruto grit his teeth as he started drifting to the left. "I can do it! I just need to shimmy to the left a little."
"You mean the right."
"No, I meant left!"
"I'm pretty sure it's right, munchkin." Kushina added, handing off her next box to Jason, before rushing back to the house. Watching all of this happening was a curly-haired boy wearing a faded purple and gold boiler suit and a hardhat. He was leaning against the truck with his hand on the hilt of a hidden sword, and a grin on his face.
"...This is like a bad sitcom."
"Who asked you, Dakota?!" Naruto snapped as he dropped the recliner down on the driveway, glaring jade daggers at the son of Bacchus. The boy immediately held his hands up.
"Hey, I'm not the one that volunteered to carry the king-sized recliner on his own. Don't get mad at me."
Naruto snorted like a bull before he walked around the ramp and grabbed the arms of the chair. With a small grunt, he hoisted the chair up over his head and resumed carrying it, this time with the ability to see.
"Hey, hurry up! If you boys keep stalling I'm going to eat the cookies I baked last night!" Kushina called out from the house. "No slackers get rewards on my ship, shrimps!"
"Geez, your mom is a hardass." Dakota muttered as Naruto walked by him with the recliner. The blond son of Neptune dropped the furniture with a thud, pushing it into place before glancing down at the legionnaire he called a friend.
"Yeah." He grinned. "Isn't it awesome?"
"You're so weird, dude." Dakota chuckled.
"Stop flapping your gums, Dakota. Keep an eye on the perimeter." August, a tall muscular daughter of Virtus, grunted. She was carrying one end of a couch while Shawn, a son of Fama, carried the other end. "Naruto, give us a hand, here!"
"There's more boxes to get and purple cookies at stake. Sorry, Auggie." Naruto hurried past them to grab the next tower of boxes.
"Don't call me that, you runt, or I'll flatten you during the next War Games!" The girl snarled.
"Easy, August, we're all on the same side!" Shawn hissed as he felt her lose focus on their current activity. Hence, he started to get more weight than he had bargained for.
"Not during the gladiator matches."
"...Do you really want to fight Uzumaki in the gladiator pit?"
"I could take him!" August grumbled as they carried the couch into the truck.
"You do remember when he knocked Jason out, right?" Shawn asked as they lowered the couch. He glanced at the son of Jupiter, who was staring at him with an arched brow. "Er, no offense, Jason."
"...None taken," Jason said, shaking his head. He rubbed the left side of his jaw, the faint memory of where he'd been hit by that last punch haunted him. Those two days spent in the infirmary were gaps in his memory, and while he'd long since forgiven his pack-brother, he'd never forget it. The only positive was that the punch had knocked out a wisdom tooth that was growing in crooked, so he was spared the horror of getting braces.
"Oh, Jay-Jay~! I don't see any boxes in your hands!"
"Pluto's Pauldrons!" he hissed, snapped from his thoughts at the call. He hurried out of the truck and ran back to the house, passing by his adoptive mother and the nearly-overburdened green-eyed blond.
"Good boy." Kushina cheered as she came out with a box labeled: X-Mas Decorations. She handed them over to Shawn. "Now be careful with these."
The boy gave a nod, gently taking the box and heading off to the van. The mother smiled and watched the young teens as they got the last of her belongings. When the packing finished, the three 'movers' climbed into the truck, getting a head start and some distance from two major targets of the Unkindly persuasion.
"I still can't believe they let Dakota drive." Jason mumbled as he and Naruto watched the truck drive off from their seat on the stoop. They were both sitting under the setting sun and enjoying a last styrofoam cup of lemonade.
"Ah, lay off. He got his 'permit'."
"Yeah, a 'permit'." Jason air quoted with a snort. "More like a piece of cardboard and some Mist."
"I think it was plastic."
"You? Think?" The son of Jupiter shuddered. "May the gods have mercy on us all."
"Harsh, Jay." Naruto chuckled before he took another sip of his lemonade. He fiddled with the cup and looked over the neighborhood they would be leaving behind. It was quiet, peaceful and ignorant of the larger world around them, kind of like the beach it was near. The two blonds sat in content with the company they kept, able to forget the world and the weight that may one day fall on their shoulders.
"La Cucaracha" suddenly blared, startling both boys out of their thoughts. They looked at the burnt orange van that pulled into the drive and then at the woman in the driver's seat. Green and blue eyes exchanged confused glances before they looked back at their mother, both asking the same silent question.
"...It was cheap." Kushina shrugged. The gleam in her eyes dared them to say anything else on it. She pulled a pair of aviator sunglasses off of her head and slipped them on. "Now get in, we're shipping out."
"...Shotgun!" Naruto grinned when Jason groaned.
The drive through the Golden Gate Park was uneventful, for the most part. The traffic was killer, and Kushina was not thrilled at the prospect of taking the landlocked long route. It was about the last third of the way through the drive, somewhere around Oakland, that they saw the first sign of trouble. A group of motorcyclists had swarmed the highway and was advancing on the moving van.
"Geez, it's like we're in the middle of Mad Max." Naruto muttered, recalling the movie series he and Jason were introduced to the night before. Australia was awesome and he so wanted to go there someday.
"Naruto..."
"Yeah, Mom?" The blond looked at his mother, noting how her hands tightened on the steering wheel.
"If I said I saw a herd of centaurs galloping around us, what would you do?"
"Well...um, it depends on if they're the partying ones or the evil ones," Naruto said. He peered out the windows and then back at Jason, who had his coin in his hand.
"If it helps, they have horns coming out of the sides of their heads."
"Evil ones." Naruto and Jason deadpanned.
"I swear to God, if they scratch my paint job..." Kushina trailed off. She pressed her foot down on the pedal and their van zoomed to the front of the herd, putting themselves between them and the moving truck. The bikers started to shimmer before revealing themselves as a group of centaurs. They were "Boys, weapons free. Use the back doors-Do not climb out that window, Naruto Uzumaki!"
"Aww," Naruto, who had put his hands on the roof of the passenger window, stopped himself from climbing out. He had a pout on his face. "But this whole scenario screams action movie sequence!"
"I will turn this van around, Munchkin!"
"Please don't, Mom!" Jason called out as he opened the rear door of the van. He stabilized the wind around them from the speeds Kushina was driving at. With a flip of his coin, Julius' javelin appeared in his hand. Naruto clambered back to stand beside him.
"Really wish I had some better long range stuff." He grumbled.
"Just try to block anything aiming for the truck. And don't shake things up!" Jason told him as he took aim, electricity crackled down the length of the polearm, before it launched in a stream toward the galloping gang.
"I think you got their attention." Naruto deadpanned.
"Oh, no, really what gave that away?"
"Shut up and shoot, Captain Thunderpants."
With a scent of ozone in the air, Jason fired off another arc of electricity, blowing to bits one of the leading centaurs. Golden dust blew in the wind, blinding a few of the others that followed behind. One blinded centaur tripped over itself and took out a few more with its wipeout.
"Nice job, Jay! Can you do that, err... Twenty more times?"
"Shut up, Naruto." Jason puffed out. "You got any better ideas?"
"Actually, I might." Naruto eyed the box at his foot. Then looked over his shoulder at the driver. "Hey, Mom? Is the thing we talked about good to go?"
"...Why?"
"I think now's a really good time to try it out."
"...Alright, which of you got the higher score on your temp's test?"
"Me!" Naruto gleefully said, smirking at his pack-brother. Jason looked away, absolutely not pouting. He was not jealous that the son of Neptune had better reaction time on a chariot. No, sir.
"Then get your butt up here so Mama can do what Mama does best." Kushina proclaimed, sounding savage. The younger Uzumaki clambered back up to the front, taking the wheel and putting his foot on the gas.
"...Is it in cruise control?"
"Yes! Just keep us going straight."
While Naruto grumbled about dumb restrictions - he wanted to see what the van was capable of, dangit - Kushina went to the back and opened the box Jason was standing beside. The young blond tilted his head when he saw what was kept within. An M16 with a weird orange ring at the tip of the barrel was pulled out and the magazine was slid into place.
"Um, Mom? You do know a gun isn't going to work, right?" Jason bravely, if not foolishly, informed the woman wielding a deadly weapon.
"Jay-Jay, I'm not stupid. Every servicewoman makes sure to pack the proper equipment when our brothers-in-arms come up short." Kushina smiled wickedly as she took aim. Her violet eyes lined up with the first howlering centaur. "Cover your ears, sweetie."
The gun barked with each shot, Jason's ears rang even after he covered them and the mad herd was turned into swiss cheese from the rounds. Jason stared at the gun, looked at the dust that was quickly falling behind them, and then at the woman that was smiling proudly where she knelt.
"Mom...Did...Was...HOW?!" Jason demanded, eyes wide. Kushina smiled at him and pulled the magazine from the slide. She overturned the contents of the magazine into a cupped hand, small beads poured out.
"Good ol' American ingenuity with a little bit of Celestial Bronze sprinkled in."
"...Celestial what?"
"It's a lesser divine metal. Easier for mortals to find." Kushina shrugged. "Got it off of eBay from some seller in Frisco. ChaseTheTime. Funny guy, bit too smug in his advertising, though. I had no idea demigod parents had support groups online until after your first visit."
"...You didn't tell them anything about us...right?"
"Of course I didn't, Jay-Jay." Kushina smiled. "I definitely didn't tell an anonymous chat room about your first viewing of The Transformers: The Movie. BlueCandyHeartSally thought your reactions to Optimus' death was adorable."
"Mom!" Jason and Naruto both whined while she laughed. Sirens got their attention for all of a second before the pursuing officers broke off after a completely different vehicle.
"Boy, does that Mist stuff do great work or what? Sucks to be that guy." The woman whistled in appreciation as she packed her toy away before she climbed back to the front seat.
"So can I keep driving or do we need to switch again?"
"Pull over so we can switch."
"But-!"
"Naruto."
"Okay, fine..." Naruto pouted, jutting his bottom lip out as he pulled over to the side of the room.
The rest of the drive was, thankfully, uneventful. They got to the checkpoint and Kushina met Terminus. Or, at least, one of his statues. She asked him about his nose and if it itched. The god wasn't amused, and let them pass without further interrogation. After going through security, they were able to drive into New Rome with little incident. Upon entering the city gates, one legionnaire asked for more details and gave them a destination to unload at.
"I cannot wait to see the layout. I saw the pictures, but nothing is better than seeing it for yourself, ya know?" The Uzumaki matriarch gushed happily as she parked in her new driveway. She was giggling gleefully as she got out of the van, the two blonds smiling with her as they looked over the small homestead. The house was a simple two-story, with one and a half baths and three bedrooms. It was just like the rest of the houses on the block in aesthetics, cream colored with dark roofing; not unlike the ancient Roman's simplistic homes.
"Yes! Finally my own room!" Naruto cheered. "Normally, we can't decorate our barracks. Well, not aside from Zack's memorial, but that's a special case. Ah, this is going to be so awesome. I can get a surfboard rack, my spoils shelved and-Oh, oh! Maybe I can get a motorcycle and put it in the garage-"
"No." Kushina and Jason shot down the dream unanimously. Kushina gave him a glare that made him think twice about protesting, motherly instincts screaming their refusal. Jason, on the other hand, had his arms crossed over his chest.
"You've got a customized chariot already. What do you think Neptune would do if you got a motorcycle?"
"...Max out the horsepower?"
"Even more reason for you to stay away from them."
"Fine…" Naruto sighed. He looked the house over and rubbed his chin. "Maybe a side stable for Balius and Xanthus?"
"As much as I love your father, I'm not cleaning up after horses." Kushina put her foot down at the notion, before she entered the house.
"Besides, that might cost you more favors than you have." Jason pointed out. Naruto hummed before he grinned and glanced at the son of Jupiter out of the corner of his eyes.
"We could get you a birdbath."
"Are you trying to bribe me?"
"Me, bribe? No! Perish the thought, Jason. I just figured fair is fair after all." He grinned. "I've got the two steeds of The Heel guy, so you might as well make a new friend."
"Naruto, I'm not going to talk to birds."
"Right, because they're birdbrained."
"...Start unloading the truck before I zap you."
The grueling task of unpacking was finished once the Uzumaki family of three (and their hired help) had unloaded the last boxes and, in Naruto's case, one stubborn piece of furniture. It was well into the night, and the two sons remained at the house while their help returned to Camp Jupiter to debrief the Praetors.
Naruto was conked out on the couch, a bowl of kernels that used to hold popcorn tipping over to the edge, but held in place by his arm. Drool pooled beneath the corner of his mouth, the dim light of the credits of his favorite movie illuminating his form. Occasionally, his foot twitched and a ground-shaking, stuttered snore shook the room.
Jason was sitting in the oversized recliner, snoring away with a bag of Twisters tucked into his side. Out like a light with one leg dangling off an armrest. He would shift and twist every now and then, but for the most part was far less active than his pack-brother.
Kushina watched the both of them from the entryway into the kitchen, smiling softly. Her head rested against the notched wall, where a golden trident had been hung. She let out a content sigh, happy to see her baby and another's resting well. It was overdue, in her opinion, to have her sons back in her life. She would never forgive their fathers for costing her and them their childhoods, but this would do for now. Life was good.
Hopefully this kind of peace could last for a long while.
Of course, as soon as she had such a wistful thought, the peace was broken. Not of her doing or of anything outside, but from the very two she had been so contently watching. Both boys shot awake, Naruto shooting upright where he was while Jason's arms flung the Twisters up into the air. Both had a scared look on their face, and they let out the same cry at eerily the same time.
"Diana, look out!"
Lookit what I found while cleaning my desktop! Weird how it was in my folder of poooo-er, I mean, my folder of giraffe pictures.
ahem...
Have a great turkey day everybody!