Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Percy Jackson and the Olympians or any other elements used in the story.
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Betad by: HaretaSora

Everlasting Fire: The Lightning Thief – Chapter 2


Rivals! The Fishcake and the… Seacake?


True to their word, Naruto and Percy had ditched Grover as soon as the bus had made it to the terminal.

Yeah, they knew it was rude. But Grover had been freaking them out ever since their encounter with the Fates! And not to mention, it had also started to get annoying with how he had been looking at the two of them like they were dead men while muttering things like, "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to be sixth grade?" and other such things.

Luckily for them, whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder started acting up. So it wasn't really a surprise to the two when just as soon as they got off the bus, he made them promise to wait for him, before making a beeline for the restroom. Taking the opportunity, and instead of waiting, they had gotten their things, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.

Which was how the two currently found themselves standing in front of Naruto's home.

It wasn't anything too grand. A modest two-story house with a parking space, where a red Range Rover stood parked, and a wide lawn with green grass and flowers of all kinds decorating it. From what Naruto knew, this house used to belong to his dad where he would stay whenever he would come to New York but had given it to his mom when she had been pregnant with him, before he had disappeared from their lives.

Often times Naruto would wonder what it would have been like if his dad hadn't disappeared and had stayed with them. He could imagine what it would have been like but in the end it was just his imagination, and he knew that it was too far off from what it would be like in reality. After all, he knew nothing about his dad. He didn't know what he looked like, or even what his name was.

Despite how much Naruto wanted to know more about his dad, he didn't dare ask his mom. Anything regarding his dad made her sad as he learned a long time ago.

Naruto shook his head to get rid of such thoughts before looking at his home and couldn't help the smile that came over his face. Even though he has only been away for the time during his exams, it still felt like he had been gone for a long time. A small sigh escaped his lips as a feeling of relief washed over him. It was good to be home.

Turning his attention to Percy he said, "Well, this is it. Come on, let's go in!"

Percy nodded almost absentmindedly as he continued to study the structure, before following Naruto inside.

The moment they stepped in through the front door, both of them relaxed as they felt all the tiredness and tension leave their bodies. This house had an incredibly homey feel to it – instantly making even Percy feel at home.

Looking up with a big smile on his face, Naruto called out, "Grandma! I'm home!"

Taking the chance to look around, Percy noted that the interior was modest too, nothing too grand or luxurious. Although, it was incredibly clean with not even a speck of dirt anywhere. The air around the house was fresh, and everything was perfectly organized with not even the smallest thing out of place anywhere.

But what caught Percy's attention the most was the rather large fire-place with a fire currently burning. It was strange, Percy thought. Despite being pretty big, the fire wasn't producing any smoke or even heat for that matter; just a subtle, soothing warmth that could be felt throughout the whole house.

On the wall right above the fire-place was a large framed photo of a much younger Naruto, probably about six or seven years old, with a really beautiful woman hugging him from behind. Both of them were smiling brightly. Percy recognized the woman as Mrs. Namikaze, Naruto's mom.

While he had never really met her, Percy had seen Mrs. Namikaze many times before. Always on the school grounds though, when she would drop Naruto at school or pick him up, and on other rare times, he would see her conversing with Mr. Brunner.

Noticing that Percy seemed to be studying something to their left, Naruto followed his line of sight to see that he was looking at their hearth.

Naruto smiled. That fire-place was definitely his most favourite place in the world! And he knew it was true for his mom too since for as far as he could remember in his young life she would always sit in front of that fire-place for hours while he napped on her lap.

Thinking back on it now though, it had always appeared like she was contemplating something, and now he could guess what it was. She was most likely trying to talk to his dad but could never bring herself to actually say anything. He just knew that was it, and that the fire was connected to his dad somehow as this fire has always burned, never to extinguish.

"Naruto,"

Both Naruto and Percy were broken out of their thoughts by the melodious voice and turned to see an incredibly beautiful woman with long curly black hair and brilliant green eyes walking towards them from up-stairs with a sweet smile on her face.

For some reason, this woman's presence was so pleasant and comforting that it put Percy at total ease, and even his guard that was up at all times was suddenly let down completely as he relaxed. He wondered why, and who this woman was exactly.

He didn't get to ponder on his thoughts any longer however, when Naruto spoke.

"Grandma!" Naruto grinned broadly as the woman now identified as his grandmother approached him.

"Welcome home, Naruto." Naruto's grandmother hugged him which he happily returned.

While the grandmother and grandson caught up with each other, Percy was looking at the scene in bewilderment. Did Naruto just say 'grandmother'? What the hell? This woman didn't look anything like the grandmother of a twelve-year old would! But then again, Mrs. Namikaze didn't exactly look like the mother of a twelve-year of either. So he just shrugged and chalked it off as some weird family trait where everyone looks younger than they are.

Besides, Percy has already learned to never question a woman's age. He shuddered as what had happened when he first came to Yancy Academy, and had called his maths teacher then an old hag came back to him. He furiously shook his head to get rid of the horrible memory. 'Don't think about that Percy! That was no woman! It was a demon straight out of nightmares!' He had taken on many monsters in his life but none were as scary as that… demonic maths teacher.

Truly a frightening creature, and ultimately a battle where Percy had faced utter defeat.

"And who might you be?"

Breaking out of his thoughts, Percy looked up, and two sets of identical green eyes met.

Rhea, the Titaness of Motherhood, felt her eyes widen a small faction as she stared at those green eyes that were strikingly similar to her own. Eyes that only one other person that she knew of possessed, besides her. 'Poseidon!?' Her eyes turned normal again however, as realization came to her. 'No, he is…'

"Oh, that's right!" Naruto exclaimed as he went and draped an arm over Percy's shoulder. "Grandma, I want you to meet my best friend!"

"Ah!" Percy realized that he had been very rudely staring. Now normally, he wouldn't really care about manners, but for some reason he didn't want to show his bad side to this particular woman. "Hello ma'am. I'm Percy Jackson. It's nice to meet you, ah…" He trailed off, not knowing the woman's name.

Percy inwardly cursed to himself. What was going on with him? He normally wasn't this big of an idiot!

Meanwhile, Rhea just smiled sweetly at Percy before leaning forward and lightly patting him on the cheek. "Just call me grandma, dear. And it is very nice to meet you too." She said, giving a light laugh to herself, as if she was happy about something.

Once more, Percy felt all of his tension, as well as all the useless thoughts leave him as he relaxed.

Standing up straight again, Rhea spoke, "Now why don't the three of us go and get seated? I want you to tell me everything about the time you were away."

It wasn't long afterwards that the three found themselves sitting on one of the couches while they talked about anything and everything, but mostly about their life at school. Well, it was Naruto who did most of the talking with Percy participating at times while Rhea just listened with a smile and occasionally throwing her opinion here and there.

Percy will silently admit that he was rather enjoying himself. Naruto's grandmother was really nice, and the snacks prepared by her were delicious. He supposed that this was where Mrs. Namikaze got her cooking skills from.

Of course, he has tasted Mrs. Namikaze's food before as Naruto always brought homemade lunches with him – when he wasn't staying at the academy dorms anyway – as he claimed that his mom wanted for him to always eat healthy, and would share his food with Percy often times. So he knew just how delicious Mrs. Namikaze's cooking was, and it seemed like Naruto's grandmother was just as good if not even better than her daughter.

While Percy busied himself with the sandwiches, Naruto explained their vacation plan to his grandmother.

"Oh, so you two are planning on going to Montauk for a few days before spending rest of the summer vacation here with me?" Rhea said with a smile. She was happy that her grandsons wanted to spend their vacation with her. "So when do you want me to take you there?"

Finishing the sandwich in his hand, Percy looked up at Rhea and said, "Now, actually."

"Now?"

"Now?"

Rhea and Naruto asked respectively as they turned to Percy.

"Is that a problem?" Percy asked.

"No, but," Rhea began as she frowned slightly, "are you sure you don't want me to take you there tomorrow?"

"Yeah Perce," Naruto started, agreeing with his grandmother, "can't we just go there tomorrow?"

"I get what you mean but…" Percy trailed off as he turned away from the two and looked down, before saying in a low tone, "I guess… I'm just a little homesick." And it was true indeed. With how restless and agitated he has been feeling for the past months, he really wanted to go home where he could be closer to the ocean – which always calmed him down.

The other two were silent at the answer before Naruto spoke, "Well, if that is the case, then I guess we can go there now." Because hey, it wasn't like going there now was a problem or anything. Besides, Naruto will admit that he was really curious about Percy's home.

Rhea for her part however, frowned. While she would have much preferred it if her grandsons had stayed with her, she knew she had to agree. She wasn't allowed to get in the way of what a hero had decided. It not only was an ancient law of the gods, but was also decreed by the Fates that a hero was to forge his own path, so she really had no choice but to agree.

Besides, it was even more so for Naruto. Lord Minato had firmly stated that while he was to be aided when he needed help, Naruto was not to be restricted in any way.

Rhea sighed. "Fine." She agreed, before adding, "But I want you to go bathe and get changed first while I prepare lunch. I know you two just had a snack, but I am not willing to let you two go there on empty stomachs! So go freshen up and get changed. We will get going after lunch."

Naruto and Percy looked at each other, before shrugging. They didn't exactly see a problem with that. "That's fine I guess." Percy said as Naruto nodded his head along in agreement.

"Well, now that we have decided!" Naruto said as he got up, before turning to Percy and adding, "Come on." Naruto motioned for Percy to follow him.

The two then excused themselves as Naruto led Percy upstairs while they talked to each other on the way.

Watching the two walk away had Rhea thinking. Perhaps, this could actually work in her favour. Her sons were too far gone to listen to reason at this point, and unless someone resolved the matter, a war was inevitable. And perhaps Naruto and Percy were just the ones to do so before things got out of hand.

She already knew they were capable of getting the job done. She has helped raise Naruto all his life, and was fully aware of the power he possessed, and the much greater power that still remained dormant deep within him. Besides, the fact that Naruto had the blood of a Heavenly King flowing through his veins was more than enough to make him worth betting on.

And with Percy… well, while this was the first time they were meeting face to face, she already knew of him, and what he was capable of from her son Poseidon.

So as such, she knew that she could trust her grandsons to resolve the conflict between her sons. Plus, she did believe that it was time for them to go to the camp.

Getting up from her sitting position, Rhea started to make her way towards the kitchen.

Now, what was the name of that young satyr who was charged with looking after her grandsons?


(Time-skip)

It was around later that evening when they made it to Montauk.

Stepping out of the car once it pulled to a stop on the south shore, way out at the tip of the Long Island, and taking one look around, Naruto instantly realized just why Percy seemed to love this place so much.

Now while normally Naruto wasn't really the biggest fan of New York beaches, he found himself instantly liking this place. A small hill with green covering it overlooked the clear blue waters of the ocean that glistened in the light of the evening sun and the beautiful white sand of the beach that showed not a single sign of human taint, or pollution.

From what Percy had told Naruto on the way here, this place had a powerful Mist surrounding it that deterred humans and monsters alike from approaching it – a Mist that was maintained by both himself and his dad.

Naruto did find it a bit odd as to why a god would keep away a place from human approach though.

Just then Naruto felt a kick to his backside, causing him to stumble forward. Eyebrow twitching in irritation, Naruto turned his head to Percy sitting by the car entrance and looking back at him with a bored look, and hissed out, "What the hell?"

"Just how long do you plan to stand there and gawk? Get a move on already." Percy said unfeelingly.

"And you couldn't have just said so instead of the kick!?" Naruto shot back, before he turned to face Percy with his eyebrow still twitching as a wide, mocking smile played on his lips before he added, "Oh, I'm sorry! I should've know that a brute like you wasn't capable of such thought process!"

Percy's eyebrow twitched as his bored expression soured up. Was Naruto challenging his intellect? "I don't want to hear that from a fishcake with nothing but a lump of charcoal for a brain!" He shot with a mocking look of his own.

"What wa–"

"Boys!"

Naruto and Percy turn to see Rhea giving them a stern look.

"Behave."

Naruto and Percy looked back at each other and glared, though complied nonetheless.

After the little escapade, the group of three proceeded to Percy's home. Well, although it could be called Percy's home, it was really just a wooden cabin situated on the hill overlooking the ocean that on the outside appeared to be quite old, but was surprisingly well kept.

The inside on the other hand was surprisingly a lot better, and looked much more home-like – courtesy of Percy's dad, it would seem – with a single bedroom containing a double-bed, a bathroom, a small kitchen, along with a couple of cupboards, and bunks. There was sand everywhere, along with a few cobwebs here and there due to not being used in about half a year, but with the three of them, they cleaned the whole thing up fairly quickly before unpacking.

"Well, now that we are done with the cleaning, and you two have settled, it is time for me to get going." Rhea said as she along with her two grandsons now stood by the car.

"Are you sure you can't stay here with us grandma?" Naruto asked with a frown with Percy nodding along. He wouldn't mind the presence of Naruto's grandmother around.

Rhea smiled at her grandsons. "As much as I would love to stay with you two here, unfortunately I can't. But perhaps next time we can all come here, along with your mother." She said, giggling lightly at their disappointed looks. She then went and hugged Naruto before kissing him on the forehead. Pulling back, she did the same with Percy, who went as stiff as a block of ice at the unexpected gesture.

Pulling away from the two and stepping over to the car before opening the door, Rhea turned to her grandsons one last time, and smiled. "Now you two take care alright!" She bid, getting an appropriate response from Naruto while Percy remained silent, before she entered the car and drove off.

Left behind, Naruto and Percy stood there silently watching as the Range Rover disappeared into the distance.

"Now that we are all alone, Percy," Naruto began once the car was completely out of sight, "fight me!" He exclaimed as he pointed a finger at Percy with his other hand resting over his hip and a wide grin playing on his face.

Percy stared blankly at Naruto before, "Huh?"

"I've fought many monsters before but none of them were even remotely strong enough for me to go all out, and after a while they got boring to the point that dealing with them become a chore!" Naruto added before he lowered his finger, and smirked. "But now I'm curious… just how well does another Demigod measure up to me…"

Percy stared at Naruto silently for a moment before he too smirked. "Let's take this somewhere else." Percy said as he turned to leave, but not before adding, "But don't mistake me for the same as a monster, otherwise… you won't even last long enough for it to be any fun."

Naruto's smirk turned almost dangerous as he looked down at Percy tauntingly. "Oh I'll admit that you aren't the same as some lowly monster, but it's you I am worried about lasting long enough for it to be fun!"

"We'll see about that." Percy said one last time before he started to leave, with Naruto following behind him.

After a bit of walking, the two came to a stop on a beach some ways away from Percy's home. They stood apart from each other with neither saying a word.

As the two continued to stand there silently while ignoring all but the one standing opposite of them and tensing, something strange started to happen. It was as if the world itself started to become afraid as winds started to blow erratically; the sea began to crash onto the shore restlessly; the sky began to cover itself with dark clouds; and even the earth appeared to be trembling ever so slightly.

Then all of a sudden, almost unconsciously, an immense level of pressure erupted from the two and engulfed everything around them. Though it was gone as soon as it came, everything went eerily silent after that – like the two had just told the world to settle down – without even realizing it themselves.

It was all silent for a moment longer before their eyes narrowed at each other and without any warning, the two shot at each other with blind speeds. Their fists met in a brilliant clash of fire and water, and fought for dominance – fire that evaporated the water rushing forth, and water that doused out the flames bursting forth.

The two continued the struggle to overtake the other for a bit longer before their elements cancelled one another out, and the forces behind their blows dissipated.

Wasting no time, Percy went for a kicked that Naruto parried as he leaped away, and while still in mid leap, he snapped his fingers at Percy's direction. A large inferno erupted following the snap that completely engulfed Percy and all around him.

Landing on his feet, Naruto looked up to see Percy jumping out of the inferno and into the air with a layer of water surrounding his frame, before he also snapped his fingers. Water started to gather from the ocean and form into a huge cascade right above Percy while also dousing out the inferno of flames below him, before with the swipe of his hand, the stream of water charged at Naruto.

"Something like this…" Naruto stood unimpressed as his right hand caught on fire before he thrust it right into the incoming mass of water. "Isn't going to work!" A large pillar of flames erupted from his hand and completely consumed the cataract.

As Naruto stood watching his flames die out and the steam beginning to rise, his eyes suddenly widened in alarm and he looked to the side just in time to see a giant wave from the ocean about to crash onto him. He immediately called upon his flames, but it was too late as the wave crashed onto him and doused out the flames he had begun to conjure.

Naruto soon found himself immobilized as the immense pressure from the wave pinned him on the ground below, and even the flames he tried to conjure were immediately put out by the water.

The whole thing continued on for a bit longer before the wave receded back into the ocean.

Coughing out the sea water, Naruto started to recover, but just as he was about to sit up, Percy was already upon him before punching him solidly in the gut.

Naruto winced from the pain, and coughed out the remaining sea water. He slowly looked up at Percy with a smirk, and said, "Thanks. I needed that."

Percy's eyes widened, and he immediately brought up his forearm to block Naruto's punch. However, he could do nothing but blink when his arm snapped like a stick before Naruto's fist buried itself into his gut, and blasted him away.

The force of the punch was such that Percy was sent crashing a long way into the ocean while splitting the waters in two in the process.

Standing up, Naruto used his powers to dry himself up, before he stood facing the ocean while scratching the back of his head. "I wonder if I overdid it…" He wondered out loud to himself, getting a little worried about Percy, "Nah, he isn't the type to go down with just that."

And that came to be true when Naruto perked up, and saw Percy calmly walking out of the ocean – not showing the slightest sign of even being injured.

Naruto blinked. "That was quick."

Percy just smirked at Naruto. "Next time you send me crashing away, make sure it isn't into the ocean." Saying this, he raised his right arm and fisted it before adding, "But tell, you didn't think that you were the only one who was holding back on his strength, did you?" Just as he said this, he shot at Naruto and went to punch him right in the face.

Naruto though, responded accordingly and caught the punch with his hand. However, his eyes widened when he felt his hand almost break and his bones shudder from the force behind the blow as a shockwave backlashed from them. Clenching his teeth, Naruto immediately threw a punch of his own.

Percy leaped back and dodged Naruto's punch before swiping two finger in Naruto's direction. From right beside his head, a thick stream of pressurized water charged at Naruto, who immediately crossed his arms over his chest to block the direct hit.

Gritting his teeth as he was still pushed back quite a bit, Naruto overheated the water, vaporizing it. He didn't get the chance to relax though, when he felt a kick connect to the side of his head and his world turn over. The force of the kick was enough to leave a giant crater on the sand, though Naruto did not let it faze him. Using his hands as support, he planted both of his feet right into Percy's face and blasted him away.

Not staying down, Naruto and Percy immediately got back to their feet, and with wide grins on their faces, charged again at each other with their fists raised and going to punch the other in the face.

At the same time, Naruto caught Percy's wrist in a vice-grip, while Percy caught Naruto's fist with his hand. The two struggled for a bit, before rearing their heads back simultaneously and head-butting each other – their grins widening as they did so – with a shockwave blowing the very air and sand around them from their concurrent blows.

Breaking apart, the two immediately entered a fierce contest of exchanging blow after blow.

Punch.

Kick.

Block.

Knee.

Parry.

Elbow.

Follow-up punch.

While the two were too busy trying to reign supreme over the other, they failed to notice the affect their clashes were having on the world around them. With each blow they exchanged, the air pulsed and rippled with shockwaves; the sea grew more restless as it was pushed further and further back; the earth shuddered and, despite the sand, cracked under the pressure with crater upon crater decorating its surface; with each blow the dark clouds – no! The heavens themselves were further divided!

But neither of them could be bothered with any of that, and focused solely on the opponent before them with grins playing on their faces. The two continued on like that for quite a bit, before Percy caught both of Naruto's fists and kneed him solidly in the gut.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto wasted no time in following up by raising his fist, "That hurts, dammit!" He shouted out and punched Percy right over the head and sent him crashing into the ground. Naruto then immediately jumped high into the air, but instead of falling, simply floated there in mid-air and eyed Percy as he recovered.

Swiping his index and middle fingers in front of him, a ring of fire surrounded Naruto. He then raised both of his now flaming arms and looked down at Percy. "I want you to try this for size!" He exclaimed before bringing his arms down and unleashing an immense level of flames down towards the earth that charged at Percy in gigantic waves.

Percy's eyes widened, before he too raised his arms and called upon the ocean, causing it to rise behind him. He then wasted no time in swiping both of his arms towards the incoming waves of flames, and the ocean charged and clashed with the sea of fire.

The clash of fire and water continued on for a while before both Naruto and Percy were forced to stop due to the entire area getting surrounded in steam to the point that it completely obscured their surroundings.

Naruto, as he stood there in mid-air, looked around him in search for Percy with no luck before suddenly, his eyes widened in alarm and looked behind him to see that the son of Poseidon had appeared right above him with his fist raised.

Wasting no time, Naruto spun around and planted his elbow in Percy's face right as he came down at him, and at the exact moment Percy planted his fist in his face. The two of them simultaneously sent each other crashing into the cloud of steam, and onto the ground.

It was only a moment later that a shockwave on an entirely different level than the previous ones erupted and completely blew away the cloud of steam, while also kicking up the sand and pushing back the ocean. When the shockwave finally died down with the ocean returning to its previous spot, and the sand settling down, did it give a clear view of things.

There stood Naruto and Percy at the centre where the shockwave had erupted with their fists planted right into each other's faces.

It was silent for a moment before both of them unceremoniously fell to the ground.

It was a Double K.O.

As the two lay there on the ground panting, they suddenly started to laugh out of nowhere.

At that moment, they didn't know what was going on anymore, nor why did they feel like it, and they didn't care, they just laughed, and laughed.


Afterwards, when they made it back to Percy's home, they got changed and spent the rest of the evening swimming into the ocean – where they ended up trying to wrestle the other down into the water. Though, Percy won here as they were in the ocean – till the sun had started to set, and they had gotten a bit hungry.

So after they ate the snacks left behind for them by Rhea, Naruto started a campfire and the two sat around it roasting marshmallows. It did not come as a surprise to Percy to see Naruto being really good at roasting them. After all, no matter how much he may not look like it, Naruto was a surprisingly great cook – something, he must have picked up from his mother and grandmother, Percy supposed.

"You know, if we hadn't been close to the ocean, I would have totally owned your ass back there." Naruto commented in a matter of factly tone as he bit into a perfectly roasted marshmallow.

"Yeah right!" Percy scoffed. "If anything, I was going easy on you since if you remember I did not use Riptide in that fight, or else, I would have owned your ass!" He stated, patting his pocket where Riptide in its pen form rested in.

Naruto humped at that. "You won't get to hold that against me for long! Just you wait, I'll get a badass sword of my own, and then I'll wipe your ass along with that precious Riptide of yours!"

Percy couldn't help but feel smug as he watched Naruto grumble to himself about how unfair it was that he didn't get a badass sword from his own dad, before he said in a similarly smug tone, "Good luck with that, but there is no sword more badass than Riptide!"

Naruto grumble even more at that, before he decided to change the subject and ask something that had been on his mind, "Say, Perce,"

"Hm?" Percy looked away from the marshmallow he was roasting and at Naruto curiously.

"You live alone?" Naruto asked as Percy had never really said anything about living alone. Thinking back on it though, Perch had never really talked about his family other than his dad. But Naruto had always thought that he at least lived with his mom.

Percy stared at him silently, "Oh right… I haven't taken you there yet."

Naruto blinked in confusion at that. Taken him where?

Percy took the marshmallow from the stick and put it in his mouth, before throwing the stick in the flames. "You were also wondering why my dad kept this place away from human/monster approach, weren't you." He asked, getting a nod from Naruto, before he stood up, shoved his hands in his pockets, and turn to leave as he motioned for Naruto to follow him. "Come on, I'll take you… to where my mom is."

He stared at Percy's retreating back curiously before he also threw the stick in his hand into the flames and stood up to follow his friend.

Naruto had been wondering just where Percy would take him to, but he was honestly surprised when he noticed that Percy was leading him back towards the house, or rather the side of the house that was right by the tip of the hill.

He glanced at Percy, who was walking a few steps ahead of him, a bit confused, before he took notice of Percy walking by the side of the house and over to top of the hill, coming to a stop just a few meters away from the tip.

"Well, this is it."

Just as Naruto came to a stop right beside Percy, his eyes widened. "Perce… this is…" He could do nothing but stare in shocked disbelief at the site that greeted him.

"A grave? Yeah, I know."

And that was exactly what it was, a grave with two thick woods tied together to form a cross with the name 'Sally Jackson' written on it.


Silence. That was all that existed between them as Naruto and Percy sat cross-legged right beside each other on the top of the hill and stared into the ocean. Neither uttering even the smallest of sounds as both were lost too deep in their own thoughts to even consider the use of words.

However, they both knew, that there was no need for words.

They continued to just sit there, enjoying the feeling of the calming sea-breeze caressing their forms, and listening to the gentle sound of ocean waves crashing onto the shore.

The atmosphere around them was peaceful and comfortable.

…until it was broken by the sound of rapid footsteps, followed by sharp gasps.

Broken out of their thoughts, they turned behind them and blinked when they saw Grover standing there without his crutches …and pants.

Grover took deep breaths to calm himself, and all but glared at his two friends sitting there and staring stupidly at his legs. "What the hell were you two thinking!?" He asked, and whatever he might have been expecting, the response he got was not one of them.

The two blinked, before saying at the exact same time, ""Dude, your half-donkey?""

Grover let out a sharp, throaty 'Blaa-ha-ha' before he cried out, "Goat! I'm half-goat! But that doesn't matter right now! What matters is that you two had to do something stupid like that! Honestly, I spent the whole day searching for you two! What the hell were you thinking!?"

Naruto and Percy calmly stood up, before simultaneously pointing a finger at one another and crying out, ""It was all his idea!"" Realizing what the other said, they then suddenly turned to each other, and glared before once more crying out, ""What!? What you do mean it was my idea!? It was all you who said we should ditch Grover!""

While two bashed their foreheads together and started to bicker about whose idea it was to leave him behind, Grover himself stood there silently studying his friends.

Something between Naruto and Percy had changed. He didn't know what it was, but he noticed it clearly. Things between them weren't the same as they were earlier that day.

Just then, a loud thunder clap resounded before a massive bolt of lightning struck the sea – effectively putting a stop to Naruto and Percy's bickering.

Turning towards the sea where the bolt had struck, their eyes widened, finally noticing the dark thunder clouds covering the sky, cracking with thunder and lightning. The winds then too started to blow faster and harder as rain started to fall, and the sea started to become angry following the lightning strike.

The three stood there, watching as the weather rapidly started to get worse, before they came to the same conclusion: They couldn't stay there anymore, or this place won't survive till the morning …along with them.

"You two are fast runners, aren't you?" Grover asked without taking his eyes away from the freak weather.

""Yep, we are really fast runners.""


To be continued…

AN: Percy's life in this story was inspired by a simple thought I've had about the series: If Zeus breaking his oath resulted in the Styx turning her anger at Thalia which ended in her turned into a tree, then what would happen if the Styx also turned her anger at Percy for Poseidon breaking his oath?

And there you have it. This Percy didn't grow up like the canon one did hence, his different behaviour, and life. But keep in mind, there is A LOT more about Percy that I have yet to reveal. So just hang on. :D

So how did you guys like Naruto and Percy's fight? I had to greatly tone it down, but still hope I did a good enough of a job with it.

Ok, so Rhea is revealed to be Naruto's grandmother, and the one pulling the strings behind Naruto and Percy's journey to Camp half-Blood! And that narrows down the possibilities for who Naruto's mother could be! So what are your guesses now?

Well, I guess that is it for now, and I would like to apologize for the long wait, but my life has been a bitch for the past months, so sorry if the chapter was a bit rushed or not good enough.

That's that, so be sure to leave a nice long REVIEW to let me know your thoughts and be sure to check my fb page for the responses after a 24-hours!

See you guys next time!

- El Emperador