Hello guys, I'm back, and welcome to my new chapter. Sorry for the very long wait, but I think I've got my plot planned out now. I also finished one of my Harry Potter stories as well, so I'm gonna come back to doing this one. I hope you all like it and I hope it'll be worth the wait. Enjoy.
P.S. I've been thinking about the pairings. I know I said Annabeth is gonna be with Naruto, but something is telling me to put her with Percy, along with Rachel. For one, I like Percy and Annabeth together. And second, I think Naruto would only see her as a sister since he met her when she was only a young child, and he had known her for years. Her crush on him can easily fade as she grows older and she started showing more feelings for Percy at the fourth book.
If I do change the pairing a bit, which is most likely, please don't stop reading because of it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Percy Jackson.
Chapter 8: A Hellish Training Game
The conversation he overheard in Hephaestus cabin kept being repeated over and over in his head. His thoughts were on that when dinner started and he joined his siblings at the table.
Most of his female friends, the lieutenant of the hunt, and the three virgin goddesses, likes him. Or at least that's what the rumors say. A part of him is still in denial that all of them like especially, especially since one of them is a hunter and three of them are goddesses. Virgins at that.
But the more Naruto thought about it, the more it made sense. The blushing the girls do, the glaring at one another, Thalia and Annabeth cuddling up to him in their sleep. He's still unsure about the goddesses, because if they do have a crush on him, they're hiding it pretty well around him.
But what should he do about it? He's gonna let them tell their feelings to him, that's for sure. He wanted them to gain the confidence in confessing to him. But did he like any of them?
He didn't know any kind of love in his earliest childhood, and Anko only introduced him to familial love. Most girls he met were either fan girls or hated him, with only a few girls becoming friends. Hinata's crush on him was painfully obvious, even to him, but he didn't hang out with Hinata enough to actually gain feelings for the shy girl.
So he don't really know what romantic love really was. He cared for those girls greatly, of that he has no doubt, but he's not sure if he has any feelings for them. And he couldn't bear to hurt any of their feelings.
"Naruto?" Naruto arose from his thoughts when he heard Medalis calling out to him in concern. "Are you okay? You seem to be deep in thought." Naruto blinked a little before smiling at his sister.
"Nothing to worry about, just thinking on what to do next for the new game tomorrow." Naruto told her, a half-truth. He is thinking about the game he and Quintus were playing. He refused to let the guy use the scorpions, that was too much.
Medalis smiled at him before returning to her meal. Naruto looked at his bowl of ramen and started eating it. He'll have time think about it later. Right now, he'll need to prepare the missions to come and the game tomorrow.
(Dream/Flashback)
Naruto felt like hitting something. He had the unfortunate luck to be paired up with Sasuke and Sakura. Now, because of Sasuke 'I work alone' attitude and Sakura's fan girly loyalty to Sasuke, they all ended up failing.
Luckily, Kakashi gave all of them another chance. After they rest and have their fill of lunch, they can try again and actually work as a team. Unfortunately for Sakura, Kakashi tied her up to one of the poles and not allow her to eat since she didn't even try to get the bell.
Naruto could hear the girl's stomach growl in hunger as he and Sasuke ate their lunch. He could also see that she's absolutely miserable tied up on that pole, especially since she didn't eat either dinner or breakfast (Which Naruto thought was stupid). He couldn't help but feel bad for the girl, despite their mutual dislike for one another.
He sighed, knowing what Kakashi was planning. Even if Kakashi wasn't planning this, Naruto wasn't cruel enough to let her starve while they eat. Plus, she would definitely be a dead weight if she wasn't at her peak efficiency. "Here." Naruto said, holding his food towards Sakura. That surprised the pink haired girl.
"What? But Naruto, didn't Kakashi sensei said not to give your food to me?" Sakura questioned, not saying 'baka' for once in her life. "You'll be breaking the rules."
"Yes, but I'm not cruel enough to let your starve Sakura, even if we don't get along." Naruto told her. "Plus, I think Sasuke can agree with me when I say that you being hungry and tired will ruin your efficiency when we fight Kakashi again." Sasuke didn't say anything, merely nod his head.
Sakura looked at Naruto with shining eyes. Like Naruto said, they didn't get along, and yet, he decided to give him his food? Guilt started to flow in her heart, before she pushed it away. No matter how grateful she is to Naruto, he's still be a baka for trying to show up her Sasuke-kun.
"Okay, but don't think this will change anything baka."
"Right back at you banshee." Naruto retorted, before feeding Sakura. That was how Team seven was formed, by the act of kindness Naruto allowed.
(End Dream/Flashback)
"Okay, we are going to playing a new game today." Naruto told all the campers, with Chiron, Dionysus, Cally, Quintus, and Mrs. O'Leary at his side. Rachel was also with the demigods as well, wanting to try out the game. It's morning and after breakfast, Chiron had everyone come to the edge of the forest to hear about Naruto's game. "It's called predator and prey."
The got some of campers nervous. "Um, what is that?" A child of Hermes asked. Naruto grinned a little.
"Well, it's a type of training I used to do when I was younger." Naruto held back a shiver. Anko love playing that game with him, almost too much. "Me, Cally, and Mrs. O'Leary will be hunting you down while you are at the forest. If you don't get captured or crippled by us, you win the game. But lose, and I will double your training regime." Everyone's eyes widen in horror.
"You can't be serious!" One of Apollo's kids shouted. "The training you make us do is bad enough, why would you double it?!"
"This game will let me see how far you progress in your training. It will test your stealth, skill, speed, and stamina." Naruto told them all. "If you lose, that means you haven't had enough training. Kids age twelve and under aren't allowed to participate. Everyone else, have no choice but to. Everyone will need to be in teams of three, so choose who you think you can work with best. The game will start in fifteen minutes, so prepare. Go." With that, the demigods went to prepare.
After fifteen minutes, everyone was prepared. Naruto notice that Percy, Annabeth, and Rachel teamed up. Bianca, Thalia, and Medalis teamed up. Clarisse, Katie, and Silena were on teams. Leo, Piper, and Charles were with each other. And Connor, Travis, and Luke are paired with one another.
"Okay, on your mark." Naruto announced, as all teams are lined up the forest. "Get set." Naruto could see that all of them were tense. Cally's evil grin wasn't helping in the slightest. "Go!" Like roadrunners, all of them dashed to the forest while Naruto, Mrs. O'Leary, and Cally waited.
"What time do you think we should hunt them?" Naruto asked the daughter of Dionysus.
"Five minutes." Cally said, chuckling evilly. "Those that aren't quickly finding a hiding spot will be taken down quickly."
"Just make sure you don't traumatize them Cally."
"I promise nothing."
(Five minutes later)
One group of demigods were catching their breaths, one of them holding his knees and breathing a bit heavily while the two others collapsed. It was a son of Apollo, a daughter of Demeter, and a son of Athena.
"Thank god for that stamina training." The son of Apollo, the one still up, said. He chuckled at the two that collapsed on the ground. "You guys look like crap."
"Shut up." The son of Athena mumbled, looking up in the sky. "We can't rest here for too long. Staying in one place will make us a big target."
The Apollo child waved it off. "Oh relax, I doubt they would find us this quickly. We are too deep in the forest for them to get at this area in seconds."
"Are you really sure about that?" A female voice echoed around them, causing all of them to tense, get up from the ground, and pull out their weapons, going back to back. "You should've spent more time hiding or covering your tracks instead of running as far into the forest. The footprints, broken twigs, crumbled up leaves, led me right to you."
"H-How did you get here so quickly?" Athena's son asked shakily, holding his sword and shield in front of him. "It took us full sprint to get here in five minutes."
"There are such a things as climbing trees you know." The voice said, getting very creepy. "Now, I'm gonna take my sweet little time, defeating you. Savoring your loss. And then dragging you back to camp, but not before sending you to the monsters that's around here."
"P-Please, just leave us alone." The terrified daughter of Demeter pleaded. "Give us another chance." Something jumped out from one of the trees, causing the three demigods to yelp and turn to where the girl jumped out of the trees.
The girl revealed to be Cally, the torture expert of Camp Half-Blood. She grinned at them sadistically. "I'm sorry, but on a real mission, there is no such thing as second chances. With that, she lunged.
(With Rachel, Annabeth, and Percy)
The three of them heard several screams of both boys and girls, making them shiver. "I hate to be in there shoes." Percy mumbled. He faced one giant hellhound at age 12 and didn't want to remember how much that scratch hurt. He met Cally a few times before going back home, and saw her torture methods himself. And Naruto, he faced several times.
He can only pray no one would have to suffer the 'Thousand Years of Death' technique.
"Sounds like those three are taking down many people." Percy said to the two girls on his team. "Do you think we can last longer?"
"If we're lucky enough not to end up with Naruto finding us." Annabeth said. "We don't know if it's the real him or a clone with a limited amount of chakra, so it would be best not to let Naruto find us. Cally is strong, but I think the three of us can face her. The hellhound, however, is a wildcard, since it looks like it has been trained and didn't die for a long time."
Rachel shivered at the thought of facing that dog. "I prefer if we stay clear of the dog." Percy smirked at her, causing the girl to glare at him. "Shut up." She mumbled, knowing what he was thinking.
"Don't worry; you won't have to face Mrs. O'Leary." The three stiffened and slowly turned around, to see Naruto holding Kasai, which was in spear form. "But you'll have to face me now."
Percy, Annabeth, and Rachel all took out their weapons, preparing themselves for a fight. Percy charged at Naruto, with the older boy blocking the swing of the sword with the bottom of the spear. He used the other end to block a stab of a kunai from Annabeth, and when she saw ready to swing her baton, he used leaf whirlwind to knock everyone on their backs. He grinned at them. "You'll have to try harder than that."
"Water style: Water bullets." Naruto's eyes widened before turning around, only to see water bullets coming at him. He blocked or dodged each one, but was unprepared for shuriken to be thrown behind him. They successfully hit him in the back, making him hiss in pain and pause, only for the water bullets knock him down.
Rachel ended it with her hitting him in the head with a baton, knocking him out. The three stared at the downed Naruto for a couple of seconds, before he started turning into molten rocks and melted into the earth. "Lava clone." Annabeth said, looking around. "It won't transfer the memories of it users like shadow clones, but it will still be good to hide just in case." Percy and Rachel nodded in agreement.
Annabeth kept looking around until she set her sights at two boulders. "Okay, let's hide over here." Annabeth said, pointing at the two boulders. Rachel and Percy nodded, the three of them pushing through the boulders to hide.
They didn't know that they would end up falling in the Labyrinth.
(With Naruto, two hours later)
"Where the hell are those three?" Naruto said, with Cally and Mrs. O'Leary helping him search for Annabeth, Rachel, and Percy.
Cally look around with her hands behind her head. "Wherever they are, they are pretty good at hiding." Mrs. O'Leary barked in the agreement.
"But we checked through every crook and nanny of this place of this forest, there is no way we could not find them." Naruto said to his partner. He sighed. After two hours, the game was over and he called everyone back, with only a handful of demigods being declared the winner. Now, after a few minutes of searching, they hadn't found any trace of them.
Naruto then remembered the hiraishin seal he place on Annabeth and slap his forehead. He should've used that to find them. "Be right back you two." Before Cally could say anything, Naruto used the hiraishin jutsu and teleported to Annabeth's location. He ended up being in some kind of tunnel, and saw Annabeth, Percy, and Rachel jump away from him in shouts of surprise.
"Geez, can you stop doing that Naruto?!"
"You were gone for two hours Annabeth." Naruto told her, crossing his arms. "I needed to use it to find out where you guys were at."
"Two hours?" Annabeth, Rachel, and Percy said in disbelief. Then Annabeth spoke up. "No, it can't be right. We've only been in here for ten minutes."
"Say what now?" Naruto said before looking around. His eyes widen when he found out where they are at. "Well I'll be damned. You three found the labyrinth. Where's the entrance at?"
"Up there." Percy said, pointing to where he, Rachel, and Annabeth fallen down in. "How are we going to get up there? It's an eight foot drop." Annabeth look at him with wide eyes.
"How did you know that seaweed brain?"
"Um….Naruto taught me." And when he said taught, he means throwing him into the ocean in various heights. He did that with several other campers as well, along with Bianca, after making sure Zeus's lightning bolt doesn't hit her.
Truly, the blonde can be a sadistic bastard.
"I'll use my fire teleportation to teleport all of us up there." Naruto said, looking at the top. "After that, I'll put a hiraishin at the location of the entrance to make sure we don't forget where it's at."
"Aw, but I want travel around a bit more." Annabeth whined, making Naruto and Percy shake their head in amusement while Rachel looked at her in disbelief.
"Weren't you the one to say that we need to find a way out of here Wise Girl?"
"Shut up Seaweed Brain. Finding this is incredible and I want to travel more."
"You just want to avoid telling Chiron about this until you can figure it out." Annabeth flushed brightly at the truth of the words while Naruto snickered at the two. He wondered if Annabeth had feelings for Percy instead of him.
"Okay everyone, grab on. I'm gonna fire teleport us up there." Naruto said, causing Annabeth to grab his left arm while Rachel grabbed his other arm. Annabeth flushed at the feeling of Naruto's muscles, but then frowned when she saw Percy grabbing Rachel's hand. That made Naruto arch an eyebrow.
The crush on him is there, that's for sure, but it seems that it is only that. A crush. She may have stronger feelings for a certain son of Poseidon with them.
Heh. Look like he's not the only one caught in a love triangle.
Spirit: And that's the end of the chapter. I hope you guys like it.
Phoenix: If you do change the pairing that is your choice but remember he has known her for a long time and those feelings might still be there.
Spirit: But again, those feelings can be just a crush that fades away, like Luke in the canon book.
Phoenix: I understand that. But remember she might love him more that is just a factor you have to take into account.
Spirit: Why are we even arguing about this? It's not like she is a real person.
Phoenix: I don't know I like Annabeth and Naruto pairing should we leave this up to the readers or no?
Spirit: They can give out opinions, but in the end, it's my decision. And I want to do what I'm more comfortable, not force myself to do a pairing.
Phoenix: Then you really think Annabeth will share that easily and remember in past chapters you were pushing her towards Naruto.
Spirit: I haven't forgotten. And that's what made me hesitant in the first place. Still, her crush can fade during this time period and her feelings for Percy were shown more in the fourth book of the Percy Jackson series.
Phoenix: We might make an agreement if you will hear me out.
Spirit: Okay, why are we discussing this in an author's note?
Phoenix: No clue.
Spirit: (Sigh) And this why I was kinda hesitant in you joining the author notes again, no offense Phoenix.
Phoenix: None taken but you want Percy and Annabeth then I say LET'S GO FOR IT.
Spirit: Well, I hope this author note entertained you readers. Review, favorite, and follow this story, and I will see you guy later.