I'm not going to say anything, just know that school is taking up all of my free time and such.
DRIP…DRIP…DRIP…
The first thing Naruto felt when he came to was water on his back. His eyes snapped open and he sat up, gasping for breath, the events replaying themselves in his mind. He immediately looked around, wondering where he was, and was greeting with a single, vertically slit eye. The darkness reared backwards out of the cage, revealing to him the Kyuubi in its wicked reddish-orange glory.
Before he could begin to talk, a snarl prevented him from doing so.
"You are an idiot."
Naruto sat up, out of the murky water that he still needed a way to figure out how to get rid of. He tried to stand, but immediately stopped and winced.
"You should thankful that you are only sore and not dead."
He looked up and at the Kyuubi and saw it laying down, its ginormous head crossed over his paws/hands. He scratched his head," Thanks. I mean, I don't think I could've gotten there in time if it weren't for you. So, thank you."
Naruto looked at the Kyuubi with slight trepidation, as he was only receiving silence from the great beast after his thank you. He went to open his mouth to say something more, but it was forced shut as he felt a sense of vertigo. His vision blurred slightly, and he was suddenly in a warm bed with the smell of antiseptic filling his nostrils. He immediately knew where he was before his eyes cleared up. He tried to sit up, only to fall back in a pained groan. His entire body felt like mush.
He was currently shirtless, with bandages wrapped around his arms and upper chest. He idly wondered how the battle turned out, but considering he was in a hospital and not dead, it probably turned out well enough. He was broken out of his musings as the door was slowly opened, and a head poked itself into his room. His eyes connected with the head's, and relief washed over him.
He smiled," He-," was as far as he got until he descended into a coughing fit. His throat felt dry like sand paper, and needed a glass of water.
"Here," He heard from his side. He took the offered glass of water, and gulped it down in large mouthfuls. He set the cup down and sighed in relief. Now it didn't feel like he was choking on dust.
He looked at Reyna, her long hair was currently pulled back into a ponytail and she had a small amused smile on her face. She was wearing the usual casual wear of the camp, some shorts and the purple shirt, and looked better than he felt currently.
He had questions though," How long have I been out?"
"For about two weeks give or take," She answered.
Naruto's eyes bugged out and he rocketed up," What?! Two weeks?!"
Reyna raised an eyebrow," Yes, give or take a day or two. I haven't been able to keep track given how busy I've been recently," She admitted and rubbed at her forehead. Just thinking about it gave her a headache.
Naruto huffed and ran a hand through his hair," What do you mean busy? How much have I missed in my two week 'coma'?" He said with air quotes.
Reyna stared at him for a long moment before answering," A lot has happened in the past two weeks. What has been begun to be called the "Second Olympian War" was deemed officially over, giving us here at Camp Jupiter a chance to tally up our complete losses over the course of it in addition to the toppling of Mount Othrys. Which, by the way, has gotten you and Jason quite famous amongst the younger kids with how it's being told from what I hear."
Naruto smiled at that but it quickly went away as he remembered the pain he felt that hadn't entirely gone away yet.
"My chakra and the Titan's godly energy are clashing causing your healing rate to slow. Given that I can constantly supply it, and the Titan's is only leftover residue, everything will be going back to normal once my chakra eclipses it," the Kyuubi told him.
Ah, that explained it.
He refocused his attention back to Reyna and asked her," What happened after I went down?"
Reyna's mouth inched into a frown at the question," I am not entirely sure myself. To get a firsthand account you'd have to ask Jason, but from what he told me that my mother appeared to stop Koios and help the remaining legion while he went inside of Mount Othrys where he found Krios, the Titan of the Stars and Constellations."
"What?!" Naruto yelled in shock, eyes wide," Wh-what happened?"
Reyna ran a hand across he brow," Now this is where I stop believing him. He said that he, and I quote," single-handedly gave Krios the most one sided ass whooping he would ever receive," She repeated and rolled her eyes while Naruto let a relieved sigh escape his mouth. He slouched back against the elevated hospital bed and just stared at the ceiling. The white room lapsed into a comfortable silence as the two children of the Gods let their minds wander. The silence was broken, though, as one of them spoke up.
"Thank you," Naruto heard but only just. If his ears weren't as sensitive as they were, he probably wouldn't have picked it up.
He turned his head and scrutinized Reyna. She was trying to avoid looking at him, which was out of character for her. She was toying with her ponytail, running her fingers through it, keeping her eyes adamantly on the 'interesting' tile flooring of the room. She was acting weird.
"You're acting weird," Naruto told her bluntly causing her to look at him. For a quick second he saw something in her eyes, something he wasn't sure he was meant to see from her. But just as quickly as it came it disappeared into the deep depths of brown like it had never been there to begin with.
Reyna stopped messing with her hair and wrapped herself in a hug. Naruto witnessed the change in her. To him, whenever he had seen her, she was always standing tall and confident despite her young age. Some people even went as far to call her inhuman with her infallibility. Whenever the three of them would walk together, she was automatically melded into the middle with him and Jason flanking her on each side. They were the ones that usually followed her lead despite him and Jason having adequate leading skills themselves. He didn't know what it was, he could attribute it to who her mom was, but Naruto felt that it was more than that. Something in her own character that made that happen, not part of who her godly parent was.
But now, she looked shaken.
…Tired?
…Scared?
Now that he noticed it, she had dark circles under her eyes, her hair looked thing and stringy, her shirt was slightly wrinkled and had light splotches on it like stains, she kept nervously biting her lip, and she was now curled up into the chair she was sitting in, knees to her chest and arms wrapped around herself.
Something was wrong with her.
Before he could speak up about his concerns Reyna began talking in a soft tone that Naruto didn't think would ever come from her.
"Naruto," she began," I-," Her voice hitched and she shut her eyes tightly. She shook turned her head down and breathed in shakily before continuing," When Koios sent that attack at me, I thought I was going to die. I know dying is a completely real possibility being a demi-god, but at that moment I realized that I didn't want to yet," She sniffled and rubbed her eyes with the bottom of her hand. She looked at him with reddened, wet eyes and Naruto was stunned silent. This wasn't what he expected from her. Reyna continued, her brown eyes locking with Naruto's blue ones," I thought about the things I would miss, the things I would never get to do, and I was-I was," She sniffled," I was scared," she whispered," I was scared to die and I realized I'd miss you and Jason the most next to my sister. But then when I woke up, I wasn't in the Underworld, I was in a hospital bed. I looked to my left and there you were, unconscious and wrapped up in bandages from head to toe. If it wasn't for the beeping of your heart monitor, I'd of thought you were dead," She laughed, a sort of sad, small one," I find out that you were in there for a sword wound that went from your neck down vertically, and they were monitoring you because they said you should've been dead."
Naruto looked at her teary-eyed form and felt anger at the Titan Koios. The next time he'd see him he'd punch him right in his smug face, but he needed to get stronger. Way stronger if his current condition was anything to go by. He had a feeling that this wouldn't be his last run in with something super strong. The only question was how…hmm. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard Reyna sniffle once more and rub at her eyes. He felt his heart clench in his chest at seeing her like this. It was his own personal secret that he had a crush on her, and he was slowly gaining the courage to tell her how he felt. But after seeing her almost die, that…that made him put things in perspective.
Demi-gods were fated to not live lives that long given what they were, and that battle on Mount Othrys was his first real experience with seeing someone close to him, someone that held a place in his heart, almost die. He couldn't think of a future without Reyna or Jason by his side. Jason was his best friend, his brother in all but blood, and Reyna was the kick-ass girl he held strong feelings for. It made him realize that he might not get that chance to tell her if he waited too long.
His thoughts were cut off as Reyna continued," I just wanted to thank you for going that far to save me Naruto. Besides my sister, I don't think anybody would've risked their life for me like you did," She got up from her seat and did something that threw him for a loop.
She kissed his cheek.
Reyna pulled back from the peck, and looked at Naruto with a confused expression. He was staring into space with a dopey expression, with his mouth wide open. She waved a hand in front of his face to get his attention.
"Uh, Naruto? Are you okay?"
Naruto was too far gone to answer.
Two Months Later
CRASH
The sound of the bust of Julius Caesar reverberated through the space several teens were standing in. Several flinched back as the person who threw it paced angrily, his sandaled feet thudding with each step. The only one who didn't flinch was the only one sitting in an elaborate chair heading the room. She sat with unshakable poise, and watched the show of justifiable anger. She herself was angry, but she wasn't one to let it show like this. She knew he needed to let it out given the news he was just told after coming back from his quest to destroy the coven of Dracnae that popped up, and were quickly becoming too big.
SMASH
And there goes a chair. Okay, it's time to stop this before he smashes a window.
She stood from her seat," Naruto, that's enough!"
He stopped and strode closer to her, eyes red and fangs exposed, but she wasn't scared like the rest of them were. She knew him better than anyone else did, and the only other person who knew him as well was the reason he was angry.
"Don't tell me that's enough," He growled out," I should be out there finding whoever took him and ripping their tongue out through their teeth!"
She rolled her eyes. That was the anger talking, but she knew he'd probably do it. She would let him do it too. After she got her own licks in of course.
"You know as well as I do that breaking a few chairs and another bust isn't going to help getting him back," She told him.
He snarled again, and his hair broke out of its ponytail and began swaying behind in nine parts. They gained a dark red sheen to them, and from where she stood, she saw the flecks of red begin to overcome those deep, breath-taking blue ey- No, she reprimanded herself. She would not do this to herself. She couldn't do it. Not after seeing the way he looked at her on that awful day. The pure betrayal, the gut-wrenching hurt, and then the burning anger. That was the day the trio became a duo, and now it looked like even the duo couldn't last.
"That is enough, Naruto!" She saw him reflexively stand at attention, his hair died down, and the feeling he was releasing was cut short. She hated using her Commander Tone with people, she'd much rather have them listen to her based on her normal voice, not because she made them, but she needed to get him to think clearly. She knew this wouldn't help her case with him, but she knew once he calmed down he'd understand why," You need to calm down, now! You are not helping him or anybody doing what you're doing righ. We need people that can think clearly, and as you are right now, that's not something you can do."
The effect of her words was clear, as Naruto began to calm down and leash in his energy but his face stayed set in a furious scowl.
She capitalized on it and continued," We, I am just as angry and worried about Jason as much as you are. I want to find him and get him back here and punch him in the face for making us worry so much, but you know as well as I do that Jason can take care of himself."
Naruto growled and swiped at the air," It doesn't matter if he can take care of himself or not! Someone with enormous skill, snuck into our camp, under each of our noses, and took our Praetor! The son of Jupiter no less. Gods know what they're going to do with him! For Olympus's sake he could already be dead," he ended gravely.
This caused each person in the room to straighten up. They each knew that it was a very likely possibility, but neglected to acknowledge it. But to hear it and see it thrown in their face made the situation that much more dire.
Reyna nodded her head," Yes, he couldbe, which is why we need to put our heads together Naruto. We all need to collaborate to solve this problem," She reached out with her hand to put on his shoulder in a sympathetic gesture," You need to trust m-,"
She was cut off by Naruto growling lowly and moving out of her reach. She didn't let the hurt show from his action, and let her hand fall to her side neutrally.
Naruto looked down at her, he was hitting his growth spurt and was slowly becoming taller, and gritted out," Do. Not. Talk to me about trusting when you couldn't even trust one of your best friends," He whispered at her before curtly turning around and walking out of the meeting chamber leaving silent faces and one regretful Praetor in his wake.
Eight Months Later
"Eight months," Naruto murmured as he looked out at the horizon," It's been eight months since your disappearance Jason and seven since Jupiter closed Olympus," he snorted," Didn't even think that one was possible. I haven't been able to talk to dad about what's been going on, but I know it has something to do with your disappearance," He sighed and swiped some of his bangs out of his face," Something big is coming Jason. I can feel it and Kurama can feel it too. I just hope that wherever you are, you're ready for it," He finished and hopped off of the roof he was standing on.
He landed in a crouch and then straightened up to his full six-foot-one stature. These past eight months had done wonders for his growth. He was taller than most kids, his muscles grew leaner, his hair grew down almost to his lower back, and he kept it like that for a reason, and he had oddly begun to develop these strange markings on his cheeks that sort of resembled whiskers. He had asked Kurama about them, he had found out his name during the eight months as well, and he had shrugged his shoulders at them. So, Naruto had no clue as to why he grew them, but nevertheless he did. He changed his wardrobe up a bit, updating his armor, but ultimately keeping it the same. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Just make it better so it can function at peak efficiency. Not only did he grow physically, but he grew mentally as well. With Jason's disappearance, it was agreed upon that someone had to take his place, at least until he was found. That someone was him.
At first he vehemently refused, saying that Jason wasn't dead and that this was disrespecting him and the position he worked hard to earn. But as a month passed, he encountered her one day, still working in the Principia at 1 o'clock in the morning. To him she looked about half dead. Her hair was a mess, she had deep, dark black bags under her eyes, the papers on her desk were skewed all over the place, and she looked dead on her feet.
He knew that he was partially at fault for her current poor condition, and he felt his heart twinge a little in guilt. Seeing her like that made him question whether or not he was making the right decision, and not just letting his emotions play a big role in it. He knew that a while had passed since what had happened, and that he should have gotten over it by now and was just being childish with his anger and avid avoidance of her, but he wanted her to understand just the extent to which she, they had hurt him. The only reason him and Jason were okay as they were was because he, after realizing what had happened, chased him down, but he remembered just how angry and betrayed he felt. He yelled at him, screamed at him for a good half hour, maybe longer, called him some pretty nasty names now that he looked back, but Jason just took it all.
And after he had literally burned a 10-foot circle around them, Jason, after it was all over, apologized. Just a simple," I'm sorry for not telling you." Naruto then punched him in the face, but he took it with no complaint, even as his nose began to bleed, he stared at him with such sincere apologetic look in his eyes. Long story short, after demanding Jason to fight him, saying that if he was going to be able to date their best-friend he had to know how to give an ass-beating as well as take one. So, they fought, with just their fists mind you, until neither one of them could stand.
Naruto chuckled a bit, after that he had forgiven Jason, but not Reyna. She had yet to apologize to him for what happened, and still hasn't. He knew that it had to do with her stubbornness, much like him he would admit, and knew that she would apologize when she was ready.
That didn't mean he wasn't still pissed at her for keeping something like that from him for so long, hence the avoidance and anger. But now, with everything going on, he knew that he had to take his personal feelings out of the equation and think with his head. Which is why he was currently wearing the purple cloak over his armor depicting his status as a praetor. It was more symbolic than anything, as they didn't go into battle with it on, it was too flowy and made you a target.
His trip down memory lane was interrupted, as he heard some commotion going down by the tunnel entrance to the camp.
And that was never a good sign.
Quickly he crouched down, and hopped onto a roof and started jumping from roof to roof, a much quicker alternative to running. He hopped down and ran to the watchtower just as their horns blew a deep bass sound signifying an attack and the sentries trained their bows on whatever it was. Naruto wasted no time keying onto the figures crossing the river, two just making it ashore with one holding an...Old lady? Before he could even begin to move toward them a third teen rushed out of the tunnel, and began crossing the river at a hurried pace, like something was chasing him. Behind him he heard the camp gates open and dozens of legionnaires rush out and form up behind him, weapons and shields at the ready. He held up a hand, halting them from advancing towards the group.
He focused on their faces and was able to figure out two of the four. Frank Zhang and Hazel Levesque, both members of the Fifth Cohort. The other two, a regular looking teen carrying an old, hippy-looking lady on his back, he had no clue about, but his senses were going off the fritz whenever he focused on them.
He unsealed his tonfa from the seal on his wrists, and held one up and commanded," Archers, hold! Legionnaires, advance!"
He lowered his arm, and began making his way toward the downed teens and old lady, when out of the tunnel burst a pair of gorgons. They screeched in the air they began a dive bomb, claws exposed.
"Oh, no," He whispered as he instantly calculated their trajectory. He threw of his Praetor cloak, Reyna was going to give him an earful about this, but this was a matter of life or death. He crouched low, ready to sprint, but his senses suddenly spiked like he had only ever felt once before and he stumbled.
His eyes widened, this much pressure was close to his and Jason's levels, and he hadn't encountered anybody with levels that came even close. But this one, was right up there with them, and dare he even consider it, even bigger.
Who is that? He thought to himself, and he narrowed his eyes as the water of the river churned. His eyes caught the movement of the unknown teen. He was extending his hands out to the water, as the gorgons grabbed at Frank. So it's coming from him. The river convulsed and rose at the teen's apparent command, and from the liquid grew two giant viscous hands. To everyone's surprise, and to his amazement, the two hands gripped the two gorgons in a vice grip, forcing them to drop Frank back into the water with a splash.
The teen brought his hands down like a hammer fist, and the liquid mitts followed to the tee, slamming the overwhelmed gorgons back into the Tiber with a WHOOSH. The gorgons were demolished on impact, and instantly dispersed into the familiar golden dust clouds. The teen pulled his hands apart, like he was ripping something open, and the rivers currents pulled the glittering substance apart like drink mix, and the gorgon's essence was washed away. The teen let his hands drop to his sides and the river went back to its calm, peaceful movements.
He ordered the Legionnaires forward to help the discombobulated quartet from the shore. He heard the flapping of wings come from behind him, and didn't even flinch as a winged-horse or a Pegasus landed and clomped down next to him.
"What's the situation, Naruto? I heard the horn, and got here as quick as I could," Reyna told him, fully garbed in her armor and purple Praetor cloak.
Naruto shook his head and gave her a glance," I'll explain it to you after we get this mess cleaned up," He suggested and Reyna nodded her head.
Together the duo made their way towards, the teens of Camp Jupiter splitting down the middle, making way for them.
"…ell, that was a lovely trip," Naruto heard as he got closer and the group came into sight," Thank you, Percy Jackson, for bringing me to Camp Jupiter."
Reyna and Naruto exchanged a look, marking that name down in their memories as someone important. They both didn't know what it was, but it was if the very air itself shifted at the mention of the name, and the smell of sea water danced on the edges of their sense of smell.
Naruto took the initiative and cleared his throat to get their attention. Two pairs of eyes focused on him, a set of sea green ones and light brown ones, and before Naruto could address them, the old hippy lady was in face. He reflexively tried to flinch back away from her, but she put a hand on his shoulder and he couldn't move anymore.
"Back away from him!" Reyna commanded, unsheathing her spear and pointing it right at the side of the lady's head.
Percy tried to stand up and say something, but he was instantly subdued by a trio of teens pointing their swords at his throat.
It was a tense standoff, and all Naruto could do was stand their frozen while the lady searched his face for something, her eyes bouncing around, taking in his features for some reason. Oddly, she did not smell like an overflowing garbage can or a wet dog. His senses were pleasantly introduced to the smell of fresh miso ramen and he was tempted to take in a lungful of the godly scent.
To his surprise the lady's eyes began to water a bit, and she suddenly smiled.
Naruto's eyes widened," Who are you lady?"
He saw her smile, bright, white teeth instead of a dirty yellow one, through watery eyes," I finally get to so you…
…my grandson."
"WHAT!"
The darker toned girl with curly hair, Hazel, was the one to speak up, "Juno."
Her and the husky boy next to her, Frank, both knelt down, and soon everybody followed.
Everybody except for Reyna.
She still stood with her spear pointed right at the lady claiming to be Juno's head, face still set in an angry scowl.
"Unhand him," She inched her spear forward, almost pressing it into her neck, "now."
Naruto felt his respect for Reyna go up about 50 notches at that moment, he would've done the same for her, but still. One did not go around claiming to be a God lightly. They either had the power to back it up or were actually a God.
The lady laughed aloud," Oh, and who are you to think you can threaten me, young half-blood?"
"Reyna Ramirez- Arellano, daughter of the Roman Goddess of War, Bellona, one half of the Praetors that command the Twelfth Legion. And he," She indicated toward him," is my other half. So, as Praetor, I give you three options: either you unhand him and step away and we can peacefully resolve this, you don't unhand him and I make you, or you show that you are who you claim you are because all I am seeing now is a lady who looks like she is a few decades late to the party."
There was absolute silence. No body breathed, moved, not even blinked. Then there was a chuckle. Then a laugh. Then a full on guffaw.
"Oooh, I like you girl," the lady admitted after she was done giggling," You are something special, you got fire in you," the lady gained a wistful look in her eyes," oh the memories. But, anyways if you want proof of my claim," A golden glow overtook the area," then here is my proof."
Where was once a hippy, homeless looking lady, now stood the Roman goddess of goddesses, Juno.(I'm not gonna describe her you can google her to get a picture in your head.)
She looked down at Reyna amusedly," Is this enough proof for you?"
A head nod.
"Good," she smiled and then turned towards the group," Romans, I present you the son of Neptune. He has been sleep for month, but now he is awake and he is here. His fate lies in your hands. The Feast of Fortune is quickly approaching, and Death must be unleashed if you are to stand any hope on the battlefield. Do not fail, or the consequences shall be dire!"
She began to shimmer, dissipating into golden butterflies from the waist down. She looked at Reyna," You should hold yourself fortunate, youngling that it was me and not one of the other gods or goddesses, for they may have not taken a spear being pointed at them so lightly. Be fortunate that my grandson holds you in such regard, which you do not deserve. That is what saved you this day," she finished as she dissipated fully into a cloud of fluttering golden butterflies.
They swirled around and came his way. From the cloud he heard," It was nice to meet you finally, grand-son. Your father has told me much about you. I do so hope that his boasting does not prove to be false in these coming months."
In a WHOOSH the butterflies swirled around before flashing golden and poofing into a shimmering cloud of golden sparkles.
Once more, the group of teens were silent, no-one quite knowing what to say.
It was a good long minute until Reyna finally spoke up, clearing her throat to grab everybody's attention," Hazel, bring him to the Principia so I can get some of these questions answered," she turned around after Hazel's nod, sheathed her spear, and began making her way back to her Pegasus, Scipio. She saddled up onto the Pegasus, but didn't take off just yet," Naruto?" He looked at her, not paying attention with all the questions floating around in his head," Where is your cloak at?"
He helplessly shrugged," Somewhere back by the gate?"
Reyna rolled her eyes and stared him down," You and I are going to have some words about how to properly treat you Praetor cloak, Naruto," She told him and then took off into the air.
All Naruto could do was groan, and hang his head in resignation. He had hoped she wouldn't of noticed.
