Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Naruto is not ours, and Greek Mythology belongs to no one.
Summary: What's a guy to do when he is in love, and his mother-in-law gets in the way? Kidnap his wife err, husband of course... (Based on the Greek Mythology of Hades and Persephone). SasuNaru.
Author's Note: This chapter will be focused almost completely on Naruto. Sasuke will definitely make some appearance, but this is mostly Naruto's chapter.
Chapter Three:
Flowers. Bright coloured, sweet-smelling flowers. Naruto stared at the nymph and his friend Sakura, whose hair and eyes were as bright as the flowers they were picking. He of course conveniently forgot that his own hair colour was equally quite as bright. His world was one of self-denial, and the first person who would deny that would of course be Naruto himself.
As they move on among the flowers and continued to pick them, Naruto suddenly stopped, stomped his feet and said "Why do I have to pick flowers. I don't care if father is the god of Harvest. Why do I have to pick up flowers like some girl? This is no work for a man. Look at these muscles; do they look like the muscles of a flower-picking man"?
A sudden thump on his head had Naruto holding his head and looking at an angry Sakura who proceeds to yell at him "Ha. Are you implying that women are weak Naruto? Because I am a woman, and I know I can beat you any day, at any time. This is a work that is graceful, and I can't understand how you can trivialize it this way. Humph. Muscles of a man my foot. Now continue to pick the flowers so that we can make a beautiful crown for you".
A crown of flowers for a manly man like me? Naruto thought in dismay and horror. This is bad. This is really bad.
Speaking of men, what was with that weird dream I had last night? Who was that pervert and why was he molesting me?
Naruto's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Neji who appeared before him. His eyes glittering like the very sun he is to command and control.
Hmmm. The arrogant bastard who only talks about destiny and fate has made his appearance again. Yeah, he is the god of prophecy and all that, we all get it. Why the insistent talk about destiny and fate then? I'm sure he is here again to talk about it being fate for us to be together. The fates definitely did not put us together. He's just using it as a strategy to get me. Does he think I'm naive and stupid or something? But, wait a minute. Even father treats me like that too. For example, does he really think that I don't know about all those gifts he receives from the suitors seeking my hand? I don't even understand why the gods are coming to ask for my hand? I'm a man after all. I would even assume that it would be the goddesses who would ask for my hand. Every goddess but Ino though. She frightens me with all her talk about love and her strange love for sex. See how Konohamaru has turned out with her for a mother. The poor boy is seriously disturbed, and does not take too many breaks as he is always running after one person or the other, shooting arrows. And what does Konohamaru get in thanks for all his hard work of stalking and chasing after sometimes unwilling love victims? Ingratitude yells and threats from the gods and goddesses who had been unfortunate enough to fall victims to his love arrows. Well, I would assume that it would be the goddesses clamouring to be with me, not the gods. Also, why it is that none of the gifts father receives contains ramen. I would think that the perverts who are asking for my hand would think about what my favourite food is, and offer it with my gifts. But no. None of the idiots thought to include ramen in the gifts. And now, here is one of them here to give me another lecture on why I should be with him. Humph.
"Naruto, why do you have a stupid and distant look on your face? Are you even listening to anything I have been saying at all"? Neji asked.
"Stupid? Who are you to call me stupid? Are you not the one who is stupid for calling the person you are courting stupid, heh Neji?" Naruto shouted in anger.
"Why should I feel stupid? You should feel honoured that someone of my status is courting you Naruto. How many times, do I have to tell you that I believe that the fates have shown that you are to be mine? So, behave yourself and be grateful that I have accepted the will of the fates and have thus decided to court you", Neji replied calmly.
"The fates! Ha! I don't believe that the fates have shown anything about me being yours. Although, I am sure that that is what you convinced yourself when you were chasing after Daphne and Cassandra. Daphne became a tree, and Cassandra you cursed and punished. Neji, your love is not something I want, and the fate of being tied up to you is something I definitely do not want. The people you love do not end up well." Naruto said.
"You do not know what you want Naruto. Neither do you know the true meaning of destiny. You also do not understand that what the fates have decreed will always occur, whether mortals or even we gods want it to, or not. I believe in my feelings for you, and I know that this proves that the fates have declared and approved of our union. You will come to realise this soon, and when you do, I know you will be mine, and realise that I am right".
With this said, Neji leaves, leaving Naruto staring intently at where he was standing, wishing Neji would come back so that he can give him a piece of his mind, and call him all the names he wants to.
A sudden breeze had Naruto turning around, and preparing to attack Neji, only for him to see Gaara standing near one of the Gloxinia flowers he had planted because of its vibrant red colour. The flower actually complemented the red tattoo on Gaara's head, as well as his red hair.
Naruto, who realised immediately that Gaara was probably around to convince him to allow him to court him, was not interested and immediately said so- "Gaara. What are you doing here? Because if you are here to convince me to accept your offer, I am not interested. I have had enough of you perverts coming to come and disturb me today. How many times do I have to scream and shout it at you all that I am not interested, and I do not want any of you to come and try convincing me to change my mind?"
"Someone came and asked for permission to court you? Who is it; I want to know, so that I can kill the person. No one is allowed to court you but me" Gaara immediately bellowed in anger.
"Let it be Gaara. Just because you are the god of war, does not mean that you should go about trying to fight on my behalf. Besides, you are also included among the perverts I don't want to come courting me. All of you are the same, and I am not interested in any of you", Naruto said firmly.
"But Naruto, you just don't know what you want yet. I will be good for you and good with you. Just accept my suit, and I promise you that none of those annoying gods will ever trouble you again"
"No. That is a very stupid reason for me to accept your suit Gaara; I don't want to be with you; with any of you. Why can't you all accept that?" Naruto screeched, as he stomped his feet in annoyance.
"But Naruto, surely you don't mean that. Just because you are dickless does not mean that you are not attractive. Even I am interested in courting you. So, don't worry about your little problem down there, I am willing to accept you the way you are: dickless and all", Sai said, all the while grinning at Naruto. His sudden appearance quite startling as Naruto had not noticed when he had arrived.
"Court? Court? Who are you to say that you want to court Naruto, Sai? If you want to be with Naruto, you are going to have to face me first, as Naruto shall be mine. We will fight it out right now, and the winner shall be the one Naruto ends up with", Gaara said, with an intent look in his eyes.
"Well, I am currently not pre-disposed towards fighting with you right now, as I just realised that I am meant to deliver a message to Temari from Kisame. So I have to leave immediately". This said, Sai immediately takes flight with his winged sandals.
"No way am I going to fight with Gaara, especially with that bloodlust in his eyes. He is not known for being the god of war, just because of his deep red as blood hair. Gods might be immortal and all, but it does not mean that Gaara cannot cause serious damage if he puts his mind to it, and from the look I was receiving, I am sure that his mind is seriously in it", Sai thought as he quickly increases the speed of his race.
"Come back here Sai, and fight like a man", Gaara shouted, as he chased Sai.
Whew these gods are really annoying, Naruto thought. He then turns and to Sakura, and said "I'm sorry about that Sakura. Hope the gods didn't bore you all with their talks of courtship. Although I wonder why none of them attempted to talk to you when they saw you, especially considering that you were with me".
Sakura smirked and answered simply "It's because I'm just a nymph, and they are gods. Seriously Naruto, sometimes I think you even forget that you are a god, and there is a hierarchy. Nymphs are not equals to gods, so of course they will simply ignore me".
"Humph. Still that doesn't mean that they should have ignored you they way they did. Anyway, let's go back home, Father is probably home now, and I am getting hungry for some ramen", Naruto grinned as he tugged Sakura's hand, and together they began their trip back home.
There is a sudden rustling by the tree to the right of the entrance to the garden, and suddenly Sasuke appears as if he out of thin air. Hmmm. Very interesting the things I discover when I wear my helmet of invisibility. So, Naruto has suitors who think they are good enough to have him. Strange though that none of them realised that the nymph that was beside Naruto; Sakura I believe her name is was following their conversation with him very carefully. Probably doing so to report to Minato about his son's suitors. Hmmm, I wonder if Naruto remembers the very fulfilling visit I paid him in his dream last night. He had a look on his face when Sakura mentioned giving him a crown of flowers that showed that he might have been thinking about the visit. Bu,t it is interesting to discover though that Naruto likes ramen a lot. Information that I am sure would prove useful very soon.
"So, Sakura how was your day with Naruto today? Minato asked Sakura as they stood outside the house. Of course, Naruto was inside enjoying his third bowl of ramen, and at the rate he was eating the meal, he would probably be occupied for a while.
"Well, Neji, Gaara, and Sai all appeared to him to try and court him. But he turned them all down", Sakura replied.
"So, those were the only ones that approached him today? You are quite sure that no other person approached him at all throughout the day?"
"I am quite certain. I was with him, all day, and they were the only ones that spoke to him", Sakura told Minato.
"Okay, well then, you can return to the woods. Do have a pleasant night and good dreams".
With a bow, Sakura headed back to the woods, while Minato continued to sit outside the house, all the while gazing at the moon.
Well, those three seem really persistent though. Of all the suitors that Naruto has had so far. They seem to be the most insistent. I doubt that Naruto refusing them outright will stop them from still attempting to court him. And the gifts are really getting tiresome; each of them vying to give the most memorable gifts in gold, precious stones, clothing and even countries. I am happy though that Naruto does not know of the existence of the gifts. I still don't believe that there will be anybody who deserves to have my son as theirs. So, I will continue to try and discourage those that come to me to ask directly for Naruto's hands, and I will ensure that Naruto never has any knowledge of the gifts he is being sent. It is for the best after all.
With these thoughts in his head, Minato heads inside the house to continue his meal with his son.
"Okay Sasuke. What brings you up from your dark and brooding kingdom today?" Jiraiya asked his brother.
"Well, I have to decided to take a consort, and I have come to ask for your permission", Sasuke replied in an abrupt manner.
"Really? That is great news Sasuke. You have been cooped up for too long in that dark and brooding kingdom of yours for so long, that I was getting worried that you might have lost your desires for all good things in life, and ceased to have fun. But, why are you asking for my permission to marry Sasuke, seeing that you don't need my consent to do so?"
"I am not asking for your permission to get married Jiraiya", Sasuke coldly replies.
"It is simply because I desire to marry one of your offspring that I am requesting your permission".
"Really? So, who is the lucky girl? Temari, Tenten, or is it Ino who has finally caught your attention? You do know that she has been trying really hard to get you to fall in love. I am sure she will be quite pleased that now, you have decided to accept love and get married", Jiraiya said grinning, and laughing.
"My consort is none of the people you have mentioned Jiraiya".
Puzzled, Jiraiya rubbed his chin and said "Well, I never considered that you would want to marry any of my daughters that the mortal women I slept with bore for me. So which one of them are you interested in Sasuke?"
"My chosen consort is Naruto, Jiraiya. I am therefore here to ask for your blessing as his father."
"Naruto? Well, I didn't know you had ever conversed with him, I always believed that the only time you have ever had any contact with him was at the feast at my palace five years ago. But, if he is the one you want, then you have my blessing. But how do you intend to court him. From what I have heard, Minato is quite protective of him, and does not allow any one near him, nor does he accept the suits brought by the suitors of Naruto", Jiraiya asked.
With a smirk on his face, Sasuke replied "Leave that, to me".
AN: Daphne was a nymph who was the daughter of the river god Peneus. Apollo fell in love with her, after being shot by Eros with a love arrow. However, Daphne, who was a follower of the goddess Artemis, had dedicated her life to being single, and so she rejected Apollo's advances. He then proceeded to chase her. While being chased, she called for help from her father, and she was turned into a laurel tree.
Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, who Apollo fell in love with. As a result of his love for her, he gave her the gift of Prophecy. But she rejected his love, so he turned the gift useless, by decreeing that no one would believe any of her predictions, and even after they come true, no one would remember that she had made the predictions earlier on. She was killed with King Agamemnon in Mycenae, even though she had already predicted that, and warned him, before they got there. Of course, Agamemnon did not believe her, and that was how they met their deaths.
So, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Do read and review. Thanks a lot.