Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Reading: Sun's Heir, Death's Guardian II: A Hero's Peril
XXXI
"The final chapter." Hestia said softly, getting some groans from the others, they didn't want it to end!
Stupid lazy author.
"And Kurama came to smother the baby with kisses!" Naruto said to the baby in his arm, the stuffed nine-tailed fox in his hand coming forward and being gently brushed around Reiko's face.
"Aww." The goddesses and demigoddesses cooed or smiled at how adorable the scene was.
He'd decided to visit his goddaughter, considering he knew her grandmother now on a first name basis. He smiled as Reiko squealed happily. She really was a happy baby and definitely had her grandmother's eyes.
"Golden eyes of victory," Frank said, looking into his girlfriend's own molten gold eyes.
He glanced at the kitchen where Ayame was showing Thalia the 'secret' to Ichiraku Ramen, something he would literally kill to know.
"Learning how to cook your man's favored meal, oh my." Aphrodite giggled. "I'm loving it!"
Thalia's cheeks darkened, but she just huffed and turned her head. So what? It was a nice gesture, that's it. Yep, that's all.
He had brought Thalia to show her around Konoha, to be more open about his first life as she asked. She wasn't thrilled, but conceded that it was a big part of his life – practically the purpose he lived for prior to learning his father's identity – and agreed to join him.
"That's sweet of him, right, Thalia?" Annabeth asked.
"I guess so," the hunter said to her blonde friend.
With a ride from Zephyr – which Naruto admitted hadn't needed to be done, but with Kronos on the loose he couldn't risk using the Hiraishin – they were in Konoha within the hour.
Fortunately for them, Naruto had thought ahead and sent an IM to Iruka, shocking the poor man with the message.
Hermes snickered, that way always fun to do.
After a reassurance that he would explain the method of IM, Naruto had scored a place to stay without constant ANBU supervision in the Umino household while two clones stayed at Naruto's apartment, one disguised as Thalia. Unfortunately for him, Ayame had decided that Thalia needed to be prepared to feed an Uzumaki, as her father had told her of Naruto's mother after Naruto's last visit and deemed the love for their ramen hereditary.
Aphrodite nodded. "A smart young lady."
This also meant he was to be tortured with the smell of ramen while he entertained his adorable goddaughter.
"Evil." Dionysus shuddered.
If only he could enjoy some while playing with Reiko, life would almost be perfect. Aside from the whole Titan-God war thing going on.
He wondered what they were talking about.
"Stupid noodles." Thalia said with a scowl as she ditched the latest batch of her attempts with a simple chuck out the window.
"What if that hit someone?" Jason asked.
Thalia shrugged, so what?
Ayame giggled and got a glare from Thalia. The daughter of Zeus wouldn't admit it, but this ramen thing, for being a simple dish, was friggin hard to get right.
"She'd burn water." Percy joked, getting some laughs as the hunter fumed at him.
She would not!
"Oh, stop. You'll get it." Ayame said with a smile.
"Damn right I'll get it," Thalia said.
"There's that determination," Nico said, sounding mockingly chipper.
She grabbed another bag of flour and an egg. "Stupid Whiskers...why can't he like something normal like pancakes or burgers?"
"Always the burgers."
"Damn right." Thalia nodded and Hera glared at her for enjoying the slaughter of her sacred animal.
"What's normal to you is abnormal to me." Ayame said. She watched Thalia break the egg and grabbed the bowl before she could stir it. "You're breaking the egg wrong."
"How?" Thalia asked. "It's how you break it."
"The motion is good, but the force...You're far too angry." Ayame said.
"Have you met Thalia?" Percy asked with a raised brow, but got punched. "Ow!"
"Shut it, Jackson!" Thalia said as she sat back in her seat, crossing her arms and fuming.
"That's from my dad." Thalia said. "Not my fault."
Zeus frowned at that while his family snickered at him. Traitors.
Thalia just nodded, it was true.
"Yes it is." Ayame said. "When you cook, you focus on what you're doing too much. I didn't think it was possible, but you have too much determination. You're not putting any heart in it."
"Precisely!"
"Oh like you knew that." Artemis rolled her eyes at her rival goddess.
"That sounds like something Cabin Ten would say." Naruto said from the doorway.
"See? Your nephew agrees." Aphrodite nodded and Piper did too, her cabin would say that.
"Any ramen ye-Hey!"
"Out, out, out!" Ayame said, pushing the taller teen out of the kitchen. "Play with your goddaughter. And how many times must I tell you, no jutsu in my house?"
"That was the first time!" the clone said. He exploded in a cloud of smoke after she bopped him on the head. Ayame gave the real – and rather sheepish looking – Naruto a stern look before retreating back into the kitchen.
"Scary MILF." Leo got a sharp look from Piper. "What? She is!"
"I don't understand. How do you put heart into breaking an egg?" Thalia asked.
"Well, it's like breaking hearts you see…"
"Mom, stop."
"Fine." The love goddess pouted with crossed arms.
"Well, I used to think of how happy the customers were when they ate my father's ramen." Ayame said, looking off at nothing specifically. A smile crossed her face. "And then I met Iruka-kun. My ramen got even better, and my father told me his secret. He would think of my mother's smile."
Aphrodite's heart melted at that, it was beautiful!
"I don't get it." Thalia said.
"Of course not." The love goddess sighed in disappointment.
Ayame rolled her eyes. "I want you to think of the brightest smile you've ever seen on Naruto's face.
"Well, that might be hard." Apollo gave his own bright smile.
Then, once it's in your mind, break the egg."
"Whatever you say, egg whisperer," Thalia said. She looked back at the bowl of flour set in front of her. She grabbed the egg and closed her eyes, thinking back. There was the night in Naruto's apartment...Thalia turned a bit red.
Thalia groaned at the reminder of her…after dark action.
Leo catcalled, getting an elbow and a glare from Jason.
That wasn't a bright smile, well it was, but not the right smile. She continued to think back and her mind landed on the last New Year's celebration. Before they retreated to Cabin One, Naruto had wished her a Happy New Year, not with his largest smile, but certainly his brightest.
"New Years." Several of the gods smiled, that was their day alright.
This thought in mind, Thalia cracked the egg and dropped it into the flour. She stirred the mix until it solidified. She dumped the dough onto the table and began kneading it. Minutes passed by and Thalia continued until she had thick, curly strands of noodles. Ayame pulled a bowl of miso soup, which she had shown to Thalia how to make before, over and had Thalia put the noodles within it. They stirred and added extra meats.
"Wow, classy chef Thalia with just a smile on the mind." Annabeth whistled, getting a whine from her friend.
A few more minutes later and Naruto, with Reiko in his arms, was seated at a table. A bowl of ramen was set before him. Ayame took her daughter from him and Naruto looked at Thalia. The punk daughter of Zeus was watching from the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest while electric blue eyes watched on intently.
"You better damn like it, ya got it!" Apollo said in Thalia's voice, getting the hunter to glare at him, only to get the god to grin in return.
Naruto let a smile break across his face.
"Shut up, Whiskers." Thalia said, her cheeks turning pink.
"Yeah, you just know what he's thinking." The sun god snickered.
"That he's damn lucky, that's what." Thalia huffed with crossed arms.
"I didn't say anything, Lia-chan," Naruto said.
"Just eat the damn noodles," She said, her eyes turning away while her cheeks darkened a bit.
"She is so Tsundere." Aphrodite rolled her eyes, but was grinning ear to ear.
Thalia frowned, she hated that word.
Naruto chuckled and picked up his chopsticks, breaking them apart as soon as he had. He took a strand of noodles and spun them around before putting them in his mouth. A second later and he moaned in mid bite.
"Eat seriously, Naruto!" Thalia became a bit miffed at his exaggerations.
"Oh, he's just trying to make your first attempt feel accomplished," Demeter said, giving a small laugh. It was cute.
"It's that good, though." Naruto said, smiling at her before he dove back into the bowl of Ramen. When he was finished Naruto leaned back, his chopsticks set in the bowl and his arm draped behind the back of the chair. He patted his stomach and smiled. "That...was the best ramen I've ever eaten. No offense, Ayame-neechan."
"The best, huh?" Piper asked Thalia with a smirk.
"McLean, don't even think it."
"I'll try not to."
"None taken." Ayame said with a tittering giggle as she walked off to feed Reiko.
"Damn right it's the best you've ever had." Thalia said with a huff.
"Only Thalia." Nico grinned as Thalia glared at him.
Naruto stood up and walked over to her, putting his hands on her hips and leaning his forehead against hers, his grin still on his face. The proximity had her cheeks heating up. "What?"
"Sexy ramen time?"
"Apollo!" Artemis glared at her brother. That was ridiculous!
"My Kaachan was right. You are a keeper." Naruto said, giving her a peck on the lips.
"I doubt it," Hera huffed.
"Thanks for the ramen, Lia-chan."
Thalia averted her eyes, the ghost of a smile on her face. "Whatever, Whiskers."
"She likes it." Hazel giggled.
"When you act all shy like that it just makes me want to kiss you more." Naruto said, tilting her head up and kissing her again. This time it wasn't just a peck and Thalia didn't shy away.
"Not that she should." The lady of doves nodded.
"Ahem."
The two broke their kiss and looked at the mother breastfeeding her child.
"Awkward~!" Hermes sung.
"Or is it?" Apollo grinned, breaking into a laugh with his brother.
Artemis glared at her twin. "Apollo!"
Ayame had a very amused look on her face. They turned away, giving her some privacy. Thalia had a red face, while Naruto was just grinning away. Not at Ayame breastfeeding, but at his girlfriend's embarrassment.
"Jerk." Thalia pouted.
Naruto poked Thalia's side playfully, getting a jolt in return. Naruto rubbed his side with a groan. "Hey! I'm not ready for shock play yet."
Thalia lit up like a Christmas tree while the others burst out into laughter.
Thalia responded to that by stomping on his foot.
"I would!"
"So worth it."
"Boy's got a point." Hermes snickered.
Kushina was having an interesting day on the mountainside palace of the gods. Persephone had given her the afternoon off, considering she was stuck with her mother. Finding gratitude in that, Kushina let herself wander around Olympus.
"That's nice of her." Demeter smiled at her daughter's kindness.
She stopped to catch the latest gossip from some nymphs, all of who commented on how unlucky she was. Wondering what the immortal spirits had meant, she inquired, only getting amused laughs.
Apollo frowned. "Hey!"
"What? It is true." Hera sniffed. "I feel sorry for her." But still, it would be nice to have another to speak to about such matters. Perhaps her other would take Kushina to brunch sometime.
Taking a wild guess, Kushina decided to go pay a certain blue-eyed idiot a visit and prove the spirits wrong.
"Yay!" The sun god cheered.
Apollo's temple was gleaming as it were expected to, a shrine to her husband's ego that had her shaking her head in exasperation.
"…My temple rocks." The god of medicine pouted.
She looked up at the golden doors that were so blindingly bright that her purple eyes squinted before pushing them open. If anything it got brighter, a lot brighter. Kushina had to hold her hand up to shield her eyes as she entered. The door closed behind her and there was some strumming that melted her heart.
"I try." Apollo puffed up his chest and dusted off his shoulders.
It suddenly stopped and she heard Apollo mumble to himself. With the stealth she had obtained through her career as a kunoichi, Kushina was able to slip up behind the young looking man that was hunched over a desk, an acoustic guitar in his lap while he wrote on a sheet of paper.
"G minor here." Apollo hummed to himself and turned the pencil in his hand around, erasing the mark he made. "Not a flat, a sharp."
Artemis rested her cheek in her palm. "At least he's doing something productive instead of directing porn."
"Oh, that was one time! Let it go!"
"I beg to differ." Hermes smirked at his brother, getting a nervous shush from the sun god.
"Boo," Kushina said. She smirked as Apollo let out a rather unmanly shriek.
The gods laughed at Apollo while the blond god's cheeks burned. Stupid sexy ninja wife, making him look bad…damn, why did she have to be so sexy?!
While the god of the sun was trying to stop his beating whatever gods had, Kushina looked over the papers on the desk. "Must be easier to write than making seals. No wonder your handwriting was so much better than mine, Girly-boy."
"I love that name for you." Ares grinned.
"Whatever, Leatherhead."
"I am not girly!" Apollo said indignantly.
"Well, you are always welcomed in my hunt, my girly brother." Artemis teased him.
"Really?" Apollo asked hopefully.
"No." The moon goddess gave him a flat glare.
He shone for a moment before he had regained the face she had fallen for many years ago and gave her a smirk. "I'm just prettier than you."
"…And couch for you," Ares said. Even he knew never to say that.
"Oh screw off, Jarhead."
"I still don't know if I should be insulted by that or not," Kushina said. She leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. "So, what was with the other face?"
Apollo shrugged. "I get bored. I like to switch it up every now and then."
Artemis snorted at that.
"I do." The sun god huffed.
"...Maybe you should do it again so you don't look so girly."
"I'm not girly!"
"You are so girly."
"Even your wife calls you out on it." Hermes pointed out.
"Herm, zip it."
"Humph, see if I ever compliment you again." Apollo stuck his chin in the air and spun his chair around. Kushina draped herself over his shoulders giving him a playful pout.
"Never compliment my eyes again?" She asked.
"They are a nice shade." Dionysus admitted they were a wonderful color of violet.
"Nope."
"Or-or my lips?"
"Not happening."
"Not even my hair?"
"Ooo," some gods said, since that was the clincher. It was how they got together if memory served.
Apollo bit on his lip a bit. He did like Kushina's hair. It was an alluring shade of red he had never seen on anyone else. Sure, he's had his share of redheads, but Kushina's hair was like rubies come to life.
"Blood rubies," Hades said. He saw the connection.
It demanded his attention, and things that got his attention never stopped getting his attention.
"The attention span of a squirrel." Artemis rolled her eyes.
"...Maybe..." Damn inability to lie. Judging by the smile on Kushina's face, he knew that she knew that he was cursing his hindrance. It was usually why he couldn't win an argument with her back when he was mortal.
"Schooled by a mortal, how sad." Ares gleefully mocked Apollo, who glared at him.
Resigning to his fate, Apollo looked at his wife with a smile. "Not that I'm not happy you're here, Kushi-chan, but why are you here?"
Kushina huffed and went limp, literally hanging over his shoulders. "A bunch of nymphs were pitying me for being married to you."
"Ah, they're just jealous that you married me." Apollo smirked at his wife. "I mean, who wouldn't want to marry me?"
"A lot of people," Hermes said and looked at his phone to double check. "A lot a lot."
Apollo frowned at that. "Why?"
"Need I honestly say?"
"Your mother, sister and aunt?"
"True, true, and true." Artemis counted off her fingers with a grin.
"...Touché." Apollo turned around and pulled Kushina to sit on his lap with a grin on his face. "But then again, Arte is my Lil Sis, and Mom, well she's Mom. The only one I did want to marry was Auntie Hestia and I'm so over her."
Hestia nodded to this.
"And Daphne?" Kushina asked, arching a brow.
"I got that damn arrow removed a few centuries ago," Apollo said. He sighed. "Won't lie though, she was a pretty nymph."
"I hear you." Dionysus sighed, remembering his own nymph he chased. Oh, why did she have to be so pretty?
"Poor Apollo, heartbroken at the ripe old age of...how old were you when that happened again?" Kushina asked with a smirk.
"That would be telling." Apollo poked her nose. "And while I can't lie, I won't tell you how old I am. I already feel like a cradle robber enough as it is."
"Don't we all?" Demeter asked, getting her family to shift a bit.
"Stole my heart when I was only ten," Kushina said, making him chuckle sheepishly.
"Let's keep that between ourselves," Apollo said. "The last thing I need is Arte having a good reason to shoot an arrow between my ears. I mean, sure I'll heal, but the pain!"
Artemis glared at her twin.
"Oh, that is not my fault! Mortal body!" Apollo said in his own defense.
"And the last thing you need is pain," Kushina said. She looked over at the large wall of pictures and smiled. "You know if there's anymore pictures added to that wall I will castrate you. Again."
"I must go hunting with her some time, oh the stories to be told." Artemis grinned widely.
"Arte!"
Apollo swallowed. "Yes, I know. You made that quite clear."
A few months after her resurrection, Kushina had learned through a reliable source that Apollo was working his moves on a girl, but before the deal was sold she appeared in a blaze of Hellfire. What had followed included the worst pain imaginable that Apollo had ever dealt with. Even more than anything he had felt during the Gigantomachy. Apollo swore on the Styx that he would never put himself through that sort of pain ever again.
"Please tell me we get to see that?" Ares asked while Hermes laughed loud and hard, holding his sides.
Kushina got up from her seat and went over to the wall, grabbing a few of the pictures on the bottom row. "Who are they?"
"My youngest batch." Apollo got up and went to her side, gently taking one to look at. It was a young girl with dark skin and she had blue eyes much like his. "This is Lyric,
"What is with you and names like that for your kids?"
The demigods turned just in time to see Apollo shrug at his sister's question.
"It's how I roll."
she's six right now. Her birthday was a few months ago."
"She's cute," Kushina said with a smile. "What's her mother do?"
"Dances."
Kushina closed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking at her husband expectantly. "Ballet or exotic?"
"Oh, come on!"
"Well, there was that one that-"
"Hermes, shut it!" The sun god whined as his twin glared at him with crossed arms.
"Ballet," Apollo said, smiling lightly as he hung the picture back up. "They're the last. I promise."
Hera scoffed at that, she doubted it.
"Well, maybe with other women." Kushina looked at the other pictures in her hand.
"Hintity, hint-hint." Apollo grinned widely.
"Who's this one?"
"Richard Grayson." Apollo grinned proudly at the name.
"Robin, really?" Leo asked.
"I had to! It's also the name of a writer and composer!" Apollo declared proudly.
"His mom's a librarian."
"Sexy librarian?" Hermes asked, getting a glare from Athena.
"Yes." Apollo nodded, ignoring the glare he got, too.
"Really? You still read?" Kushina smirked at him.
"Funny." Apollo took the photo of the blond boy and hung it back up. He looked at the last one in Kushina's hand. "That's the youngest of them all. Liam Antiman. I met his mom at a college party about six years back, a few months after Lyric's mom gave birth."
"I won't lie, they're adorable children. I wouldn't have minded if they were mine," Kushina said, making Apollo beam. She hung the photo back up and looked up a few rows before grabbing the photo she adored the most. "Though I wouldn't trade anything for this one."
"No mother would for their own." Hera smiled.
Hephaestus scoffed at her words.
Apollo laughed and smiled at the picture of Naruto sleeping in his penthouse bed, sprawled out with his mouth wide open. "He's got your temper."
"You wish." Kushina snorted in amusement.
"Demigods tend to get their parents temperament." Athena noted soundly.
"My condolences, son." Poseidon told Percy as Annabeth flushed and Athena glared at her rival.
"How's he holding up?" Apollo asked. "Since, you know?"
"Not as well as he makes it seem. He's trying to be brave for everyone," Kushina said. She traced Naruto's face and smiled sadly. "I remember the first time I saw him."
"It's hard to forget it." Apollo wrapped his arm around her shoulders. They had both died for Naruto, impaled through the back by the Nine-Tailed Fox's claw as it tried to kill their newborn son. The moment Apollo got that memory back he locked himself away in his temple and stayed there for a day. Thank goodness it was a stormy day then, otherwise Zeus would've come demanding why he was shirking his duties.
"I would." Zeus nodded.
"I knew he was going to be special," Kushina said with a small smile. "I just...I wish I had seen him, before he had grown up."
"We always watch from a distance," Hermes said in a wistful tone.
Apollo put his other hand on the frame and it shifted, like a book turning the pages back until it landed on the oldest photograph of Naruto that existed in the world. As the god of the arts, he had a small control over photography and could make copies of any picture that existed in the world. The image showed a four year old Naruto in a white shirt and black shorts standing in front of the Hokage Monument, next to him an elderly man with red and white robes had his hand on Naruto's head.
"Aww." The women cooed at little Naruto.
"He's adorable!" Aphrodite said with a squeal.
"Yeah, I'm awesome." Apollo said, brushing his fingers on his chest.
"That's the oldest picture I have," Apollo said softly.
"He's adorable," Kushina said breathlessly. Tears built up in Kushina's eyes as a slideshow began. She watched Naruto age before her eyes, cooing over his childish cuteness between ages four and ten, beaming in pride at him sitting next to eighteen empty ramen bowls with a sobbing Iruka in the background,
"That poor man," Hazel said.
laughing at his first graduate genin photo where he had painted his hands and face white with red lines over it.
"Someone got into the paint," Artemis said with a pointed look to Apollo.
"Hey, body art caught on. Not my fault."
Then it was a photo of Naruto glaring at the annoyed Sasuke, between them was a smiling Sakura and behind them, his hands on either of the boys' heads, was Kakashi.
"Simpler times," Annabeth said, knowing the feeling.
The next photo included a white haired man with red lines coming down from under each of his eyes, Tsunade and Shizune standing behind a grinning Naruto holding up a bandaged fist at the camera.
Leo drooled over Tsunade. Man, just look at those things!
Another picture showed Naruto in a hospital bed with a beautiful woman kissing his cheek, scrawled on it in red ink was 'Get Better Soon, Hero of Spring – Yuki'.
"That's my boy!" Apollo whistled.
Leo crossed his arms and grumbled, the lucky bastard.
The photo after that was Naruto and the same white haired man, only Naruto looked like he was probably fourteen. They continued, showing Naruto up until he was taken from Konoha, then the next one that appeared was one of Naruto, another blond boy, a younger Thalia and a much younger Annabeth all crammed into a small box making faces at the camera.
Thalia and Annabeth had soft smiles on their faces as they saw the image. Parts of them just wishing things could have been different.
The next picture showed Naruto post-revival, sitting in a small restaurant with a green-eyed blonde hanging onto his arm.
"What?" Thalia asked.
Annabeth grinned. "Ooh, seems someone got distracted."
"Shut up, Annie."
"Who's that?" Kushina asked, arching a brow.
"Naruto's first girlfriend...Or would she technically be the second?" Apollo tapped his chin in thought before shrugging it off. "Anyway, she was a girl Naruto met at a coffee shop. They had a cute relationship for about three months before he had to leave. A cyclops found him."
"Why Cyclopes?" Percy sighed, why couldn't they be more like Tyson?
"At least he's happy now," Kushina said. "Hopefully he gave her a good reason."
"...Yeah, good..." Apollo said with a nervous laugh. His wife, so surreal to think that about any woman, turned to give him a glare and Apollo swallowed. "He...may have...left with a note?"
"So like you." Artemis frowned. Why did the one good one have to end up like his father, or at least get his annoying traits?
"...I'm going to ground him."
"How was he supposed to cover up a monster attack?" Apollo asked. "He couldn't use the Mist all that well, then."
"He should've let her think he was crazy!"
"That's always fun." Dionysus snickered.
"...Well, being the god of medicine, I don't want to tell you this, but..."
"Oh, no."
"Yeah..." Apollo scratched the back of his neck. "I talked with D about it and, well, it seems Naruto is legitimately insane."
"…Knew it," Percy said with a grin, he just knew it!
Thalia palmed her face, great, her other was dating a nutcase.
"Posttraumatic?"
"Recognized it, huh?"
"Most common for any soldier." Ares nodded, it was a terrible thing even to him. To never be able to go back on the battlefield, the horror.
"I figured." Kushina swiped the picture and it returned to the end, back to the picture of Naruto sleeping in bed. "When he woke up that night...It was like looking at some of the unfortunate shinobi after the Third War."
"Like Hatake," Apollo said. He sighed. "Poor Obito...I haven't thought about him or Rin in years. And Rin was gorgeous as a teen!"
"Your own student?" Athena frowned.
"If she was hot, she was hot." The sun god shrugged.
Kushina elbowed him in the side before she hung the picture of Naruto back up. She hugged her arms with a frown for a moment before beaming.
"I know that look. That's the look that got us gate guarding for a month when you stuffed rotten fish in the shopkeeper's bed and took credit for it," Apollo said.
"Loving her." Hermes smiled impishly.
"Let's go visit Konoha!" Kushina grinned at him. "It'll be fun! Pop in, scare a few civilians...Give Tsunade a heart attack."
Hermes glared at Apollo. "Lucky bastard."
"I try." The sun god folded his arms behind his head, looking just as smug as he sounded.
"I don't know..."
"I thought you were the 'fun' twin?"
"I am!" Apollo proclaimed as his twin glared at him.
She was fun, too!
"I am! I just...Might be in a bit of hot water with Zeus..." Apollo scratched the back of his neck nervously. "You know what with our son dating his daughter..."
Zeus glared at Apollo. "Hey, hey, as much as I would love to have an awesome kid like that: other me!"
"So just because they had sex once he's mad at you?" Kushina rolled her eyes. "Please, you and I did it all the time. Like that time we did it on Hiruzen's–"
"Gossip!" Aphrodite clapped her hands with an eager giggle.
"Shh!" Apollo had a finger to his lips and looked around worriedly. "If Aphrodite finds out I ever did something like that no one will trust me in their temple ever again!"
"Like a certain someone," Athena said, glaring at her rival.
"Oh let it go!"
"Never."
"And here I thought I held the grudges," Hades said with a quirked lip.
"Really?" Kushina predatorily smirked at him.
"Yes! It'll be like Uncle Poseidon and Athena all over again, but with me who's banned from visiting Athens for a few centuries," Apollo said.
Athena smirked while Poseidon glared at her for that punishment.
"So please, Kushi-chan, don't tell anyone that story."
"Well, now that you say not to..."
"Rookie mistake," Hermes shook his head, getting his older brother to glare at him.
Apollo was torn between quivering in fear of the gleam in her eye and smiling at her mischievous side. He decided to go with the third option and just accept her original request. Zeus had nothing on a scary Kushina. ...Well, there was the Master Bolt, but that was nothing compared to a wife's ability to instill fear in her husband.
"Amen," said the married men, none more than Zeus.
His head hung in defeat, Apollo sighed before righting himself and beaming a grin at his wife. "Alright, let's go."
"I knew you'd see it my way," Kushina said, wrapping her arms around his.
"For someone one as hot as her, I would." Apollo admitted with zero shame.
"Whiskers, take the blindfold off my face, dammit!" Thalia's eyes crackled and the fabric started to burn.
"Oh my!" Aphrodite giggled while Thalia choked on air.
Naruto decided he wanted to walk around the village, showing Thalia his favorite places to hang out.
"And in public!"
"Aphrodite." Artemis frowned at the giggling goddess.
She met two off duty chunin – and Thalia was rather proud that she got the name of the rank right – named Kotetsu and Izumo. They were a rather lively bunch; glad to see their 'lil buddy' was alive and well with a pretty new friend, getting a protective glare from Naruto. They were sad he wasn't a Konohan shinobi anymore, but were relieved when he said he was a ranking officer in the Alliance. After that meeting, Naruto convinced Thalia to let him surprise her with something.
"Bondage!"
"Aphrodite!" Zeus frowned, not pleased at her words and got an eye roll from the goddess of love.
"Hey! No peeking Lia-chan," Naruto said. He squeezed Thalia's hand and she knew he smiled at her, despite the fact she couldn't see it. Thalia followed her boyfriend's instructions, her hand squeezing back around his as he led her up some stairs. They climbed for a long time and Thalia felt her gut twisting and churning.
"Abort, abort!" Percy cried out and got a growl from his hunter cousin.
"H-How far up are we?" Thalia asked. She cursed herself for the light stutter, but being unable to see while feeling the pull of gravity on her body.
"You should hold his arm, dear." The love goddess advised, getting a glare from the hunter.
"Trust me, Lia-chan. I won't let you fall," Naruto said. He continued to lead her up the steps, her grip tightening the further they went up. Finally, Naruto came to a stop, his hand still holding hers tightly. "Okay, you can take it off now."
Thalia took her blindfold off and regretted it. "Are we on top of the mountain!?"
"He's so going to push you off," Nico said humorously.
"Teach her to fly no doubt." Jason nodded.
"Jason!" His sister glowered at his words.
"Yes," Naruto said. He turned Thalia to look at him, his hands on her shoulders firmly to keep her from bolting. "Lia-chan, I didn't bring you up her to have you try and fly or something,
"Aw." the son of the sky frowned, that would have been nice. His other would've been able to fly with his sister.
Thalia on the other hand looked thankful.
I just want you to look at the village."
"Why?" Thalia asked. Naruto gave her a small smile and she sighed. Thalia took a deep breath, planning to sock Naruto hard if she puked,
"Do it on him!" Ares chuckled at the thought.
and turned to look at the village. Instead of an overwhelming feeling of fear and height, Thalia looked out at every building to the walls that surrounded it and her mouth gaped just a little. "...I think I know why."
"It is a beautiful sight." Athena had a soft smile on her face. Her daughter was in awe at the image before them.
"...I want to go there." Annabeth pouted jealously. All that oriental architecture...
"This is why I became a shinobi," Naruto said, standing next to her and putting his hand around hers again. His jaw clenched for a moment before relaxing. "My...surrogate grandfather, the Sandaime Hokage, he brought me up here all the time when I was little. Because I hated everyone in the village, just as they hated me."
"Wow." Percy blinked, he didn't see that coming. Neither did the others.
Apollo crossed his arms and frowned.
Thalia gave a start at that, looking at her boyfriend in surprise. "What?"
"I didn't know who I was, why I was hated, or why I existed," Naruto said.
"How sad." Hestia frowned at hearing this.
He took a deep breath and smiled serenely. "But then Jiji, that is, the Sandaime, brought me up here to overlook the village." Naruto looked at Thalia, his smile still plastered on his face. "He told me I had to be stronger than the villagers, to overcome my hatred.
"Boo!" Ares jeered, stupid old mortal. Hate was good!
He said it is the duty of Konoha to spread the Will of Fire, and that includes everyone in it, shinobi or not. Hating the rest of the village would hinder that duty, and as much as I hated the people, I never hated the village itself."
"What's the Will of Fire?" Thalia asked.
"It's the belief that through bonds, peace will sprout anew," Naruto said with a smirk.
Hestia smiled warmly at that while Ares made a gagging noise, though he swiftly shut up at the glare he got from his peaceful aunt.
"Love being the key to peace, as corny as it sounds to you, is one of the things I believe in.
"I agree wholeheartedly." The love goddess smiled brightly, a giddy look in her eyes.
The gods may be real and other religions may be wrong for all we know, but my true loyalty lies to the Will of Fire and spreading its message."
"We're about to go into war," Thalia said. Naruto's hand squeezed around hers gently and she squeezed back.
"Yep!" Ares grinned wildly. That was a nice, but still very short in his opinion, war.
"I know," he said. "And I know that I may hate Luke now, that I will kill him if need be, but I will forgive him and let him rest when it is all over.
"That's nice," Hermes said dryly.
I will never stop believing in the Will of Fire. 'Fire will burn where the leaves dance. The shadow of the fire will light the village and the leaves will sprout again.'" Naruto smiled as the sun started to set behind them, his shadow casting over a portion of the village. "A saying Hokage-jiji used to tell me, that the Hokage was the protector of the leaves from the fires of war.
"A nice sentiment." Athena nodded as Ares snorted, crossing his arms in clear disagreement.
I don't want to live here, Thalia. It's a war driven village, the peace you saw as we walked through it was a mask over an ugly and scarred face."
"Like Ares," Hermes said.
The war god shrugged, he wasn't wrong.
"But it's still your home." The two demigods turned to see Kushina and Apollo watching them and their hands fell away from each other. Kushina smiled at her son. "Sochi, you don't want to admit it, but you still love Konoha."
"It's okay to be honest with us," Apollo said, grinning at Naruto. "I may be the god of truths, but I can keep secrets, too."
Some snorted at that, getting a frown from Apollo. "Hey! I so can!"
"Ri-i-ight," The gods said, disbelief dripping from their lips.
"Yes. I still love Konoha," Naruto said. He turned and looked back at the village. "But I can't be here. Not now. I can't do what Hokage-Jiji asked me...not yet."
"The people of this village don't deserve a Hokage like you," Apollo said. Naruto turned back to face him and he smiled secretly. "They never will."
"As he foresees it!" Hermes said in a mystical tone.
"Damn right I do," the prophecy god said.
Thalia looked between the three, confused as they all had small smiles on their faces. "So what aren't you all saying that's going over my head?"
"I hate being out of the loop." Thalia frowned, Annabeth nodding in agreement.
"That, Thalia-chan, is a secret." Naruto said, turning back to look at the village.
Thalia frowned and started to open her mouth, but was stopped when Kushina threw an arm over her shoulders, startling the daughter of Zeus.
"Ah, the bonding commences." Piper smirked.
Apollo stood beside his son, his hands in his jean pockets while Naruto crossed his arms. The sun's light shone behind them and their shadows encased the whole village from where they stood on the Sandaime's head as the day came to a close.
"Well, that's all for now." Hestia closed the book with a smile, adoring that ending.
"So we just wait until the final book?" Leo asked as Percy shrugged.
"Guess so."
"Lame."
"Well, see you then," Apollo grinned and gave a wink.
"…Who are you winking at?" Artemis asked her twin.
"Oh, you know."
"No, that's why I asked."
"Oh...Then trade secret, Lil Sis, not even I can tell you…unless you know. Which you don't, so I can't." Apollo sighed, but soon smiled and waved. "Bye everybody!"
"Mother dropped you on your head, I swear." Artemis muttered.
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And that's a rap, book 2 is done. This was fun as always and I can't wait for the final book of the trilogy XD
Until next time, peace off everybody!