Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Sun's Heir, Death's Guardian II: A Hero's Peril
XXI
Looking into the bathroom mirror, Naruto adjusted the horned headband on his head, his mop of messy spikes being pushed back into a short mane of blond while two shaggy bangs had framed his face like they did his father and godfather. He had, after Thalia 'persuaded' him to let Jason borrow some of his slightly larger clothes, changed out of his hospital scrubs (tucking those away to wear on a rainy night) into some khaki cargos and another orange shirt with an arrow on it – he liked the shirt, sue him – wearing his new white flak jacket over it. He looked at his reflection, tilting his head this way and that and comparing himself to the picture of his father that was in the entrance of the Hokage Mansion.
His face shimmered for a bit before the thinner and whiskerless face of Helios appeared in the reflection with a golden brow arched. Helios' sudden arrival in the mirror got a startled yelp from the reincarnated god.
"What the hell are you doing?" Naruto asked the Titan.
"Trying something new, this whole apparition thing is nice and all but it gets annoying." Helios said. He arched a brow again. "Mind telling me why you accepted this deal?"
"Because it was a good one."
"...No really, why did you accept this deal?"
Naruto frowned. "Because maybe I don't want to completely isolate myself from my homeland. Would you leave Greece behind if given the option?"
"Okay, you've got me there." Helios said begrudgingly. "But you know this is a way to keep tabs on you, right?"
"Oh, totally, I'm not an idiot. But I'm strong and these lands respect strength," said Naruto. "They'd rather fight with me than against me."
"And to think they haven't seen 'God Mode' yet," said Helios with a laugh. "Alright Kid, you've made a choice and you're sticking with it. Though I get the feeling you wanted something like this to happen."
Naruto just smiled a bit at that. "I did promise Jiraiya to bring peace to these lands."
"A soldier as strong as you working for all five, they'd have no choice but to co-operate since not one can control you...You're a shrewd one, Naruto Uzumaki."
"I try." Naruto chuckled as Helios' appearance vanished back to the depths of his soul, leaving Naruto alone with his own reflection once again. Naruto grinned at himself. "I think it's time to go."
The bathroom door opened and the demigods waiting around in the lounge room of the Hokage Mansion looked up as Naruto walked in, decked out in his new gear. Thalia gave a small frown at it. Sure he looked good, but it was just another reminder that he decided to tie himself down to these strange lands. The blond chuckled at the sight of the uncomfortable looking Jason. He was wearing an orange Camp Half-Blood shirt that Naruto had dug out – it was that or the Game Over shirt with the logo of a bride and a groom with a ball and chain on it, and quite frankly, Naruto wasn't sure how Hera would react to a child of Zeus or Jupiter wearing that particular shirt – and some loose dark cargo shorts.
"Miss your Camp Jupiter shirt, Jason?" Naruto asked.
"I feel naked," said Jason with a frown as he looked down at the shirt. "Seriously? 'Camp Half-Blood'?"
"Stupid name right?" Naruto asked. "Talk about making you feel less than human."
"It's supposed to make you feel more than human," said Thalia.
"...Well it fails spectacularly," said Naruto dryly. He pointed at himself with his thumb. "I grew up with the stigma of being less than human, excuse me for not exactly enjoying the Camp's name."
Thalia shook her head while Piper looked at the Praetor of Camp Jupiter with a smirk. "You should probably try to call the Olympians by their Greek names as long as you wear that, it'll probably keep you from getting smote."
"Ha, ha, ha," said Jason dryly, making the girl giggle. He snorted and crossed his arms. "You're lucky you're cute."
"And a girl," said Naruto with a smirk. "Jason doesn't like hitting girls, goes against his moral code."
"Unlike someone who doesn't have a moral code," said Jason.
"Bah, it's a worthless thing for a ninja," said Naruto, waving the younger blond's words off. "Warriors are warriors, no matter the sex."
"Damn right," said Thalia with a smirk. She pushed herself off the wall she was leaning against and crossed her arms over her chest. "Are we ready to go yet?"
"Yep," said Naruto. He held his hands up in the seal for the Kage Bunshin Technique making a single clone, who he looked at sternly. "You say goodbye to Reiko-chan, Ayame and Iruka. Then Baachan and Kakashi-sensei."
"Hai, hai," said the clone, his eyes rolling. The clone turned and left the room, grumbling under his breath.
"I heard that!"
"Oh, what are you going to do, dispel me?"
Piper and Jason laughed at the clone's retort while Thalia smirked at her growling boyfriend. Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose and mumbled something about "stupid clones" and "damn inherited annoying qualities". Sighing as he finished his small moment, Naruto let his hand drop and turned to look at his amused companions.
"Glad you're all enjoying yourselves at my expense," he said. "Alright then, I suppose it's time to get moving. Follow me." Naruto turned and left the room, heading for the stairs.
Thalia, Jason and Piper quickly followed him, going up the spiraling staircase for what felt like forever until Naruto pushed open a door at the end of a short hallway. They filed out onto a large circular roof, giving Piper and Jason a very good view of the massive village they barely got to admire while Thalia hung back away from the view, lest she be reminded how high up she was.
Naruto paid no mind to this, putting his fingers in his mouth and whistling loudly. He ignored the questioning looks he received, keeping his eyes on the sun in the sky. Then they heard it, a distant whinny of a very familiar horse.
"Oh, no," said Thalia with a groan. "We're not taking that thing again are we?"
"Well unless you guys would like to drag my sexy ass through the gates of Camp Jupiter, this is our fastest ride," said Naruto, his eyes following the bright form of his steed. He smirked at Jason. "You know, your cousin has a Pegasus, Jason. You should probably look into getting a ride of your own."
Jason arched a brow. "But...I can fly."
"It's the principal of the thing," said Naruto with a shrug. "It's like having a car. Except, ten times as awesome. I mean, Zephyr can fly, is made of fire and talks to me. Blackjack, Percy's steed, has wings and is a direct descendant of the original Pegasus."
"Really? Remind me to congratulate the seaweed clotted idiot when we get back to camp," said Thalia flatly. She was not looking forward to another ride on that stupid chariot. Another thought came to her and Thalia looked at Naruto with a frown. "How'd you get Percy's horse to let you push Percy off its-"
"His, not its."
"Whatever." Thalia rolled her eyes. "How'd you get Percy's horse to agree to you dropping Percy from different heights into the water?"
Naruto blinked before holding a finger up. "One: I'm pushing him into water. Any injuries he should obtain are healed by the Squid God's domain." Naruto held a second finger up. "Two: It's a way to calculate heights by instinct, I'm not just being an ass. There's always a method to my madness, right Jay?"
Jason nodded in agreement to that. Naruto had Jason hogtied several times just to teach Jason how to correctly escape binds by sharpening the wind around him. He rubbed his wrists at the phantom rope burns. There were a lot of times he woke up in different bindings and positions. It begged the question what else Naruto learned.
"And three," Naruto held up a third finger with a grin, "I figured out through Silena that Blackjack has a soft spot for donuts. So a couple of those and assurances that the training was for Percy's benefit, and I had a co-conspirator."
"That...is the most devious thing I've ever heard," said Piper as she and Jason gaped at the proudly grinning Naruto. "I mean, turning his own steed against him..."
"I try."
"Speaking of steeds," said Jason. He pointed at the descending ball of fire. "He's not going to pull another 'landing' is he?"
Oh yeah...Zephyr was never the landing horse, said Helios thoughtfully.
"...We might want to move," said Naruto. He wrapped his arm around Thalia, diving out of the way as the ball of fire impacted with the roof of the Hokage Mansion. The foundation of the building shook from the impact, making Jason and Piper fall to the ground, the sound of it echoed for miles. Zephyr reared back on his hind legs, the chariot already hooked up, and whinnied proudly. Naruto and Thalia got back up, both looking at the horse with different reactions; Naruto's was stunned and Thalia's was livid.
"That stupid horse could've killed us!" Thalia said, getting a mild snort from said 'stupid' horse. Zephyr was rather smart among his kin, thank you.
"Zephyr's not stupid," said Naruto in defense of his steed. He put a hand on the fiery horse's snout and petted him gently. "Right bud?" Zephyr nodded with another soft snort, enjoying the petting he received.
"NA-RU-TOOOOOOOOO!"
"And that, my friends, is our cue to leave," said Naruto, stopping his petting as the four of them climbed aboard the chariot. Naruto grabbed the reigns and cracked them as soon as Piper and Thalia's hands gripped the sides of Heli-his chariot. Hm, he liked the sound of that, his chariot.
Less ego more speed-o! Helios snapped Naruto from his daze as they took off. Just like your old man, you know that?
If he's old what does that make you? Naruto returned.
I'm ancient, wise and yet still the stud muffin I was millennia ago!
"And I have the ego?" Naruto asked quietly.
"What was that?" Jason asked.
"Nothing, just talking to myself," said Naruto. There was another cry of his name and Naruto, through learned instincts, ducked to avoid being hit by the stapler that should've been thrown at his head. Looking back over his shoulder past Thalia's face at the Hokage Mansion that was rapidly becoming smaller, Naruto grinned.
"Goodbye, Baachan!"
On the cracked roof of the Hokage tower, the Godaime Hokage scowled and her hands clenched into fists. That little... "You'd best lose that mouth while you're gone brat, or I'll rip it off!"
"Tsunade-dono, I think it would be wise not to antagonize the first Sennin no Rengōgun (Sage of the Alliance)," said Gaara with a barely noticeable smirk on his face.
"Antagonize him?" Tsunade said, swiveling her gaze around to glare at him. "Your mansion wasn't just desecrated by a freaking meteor!"
"It makes me wonder just what else he has learned over in this America," said Ē, crossing his massive arms over his chest.
"Bah, from the reports given to us by Konoha, it is nothing to be concerned of," said Onoki. "They believe in a 'higher' power and are physically weak. Back in my day, religion brought nothing but grief and sorrow. When the Nidaime Tsuchikage did away with it-!"
"The history lesson is so very interesting, Onoki-dono, but could you please save it for another time?" said Mei dryly. Her gaze went to retreating ball of fire and a smirk tugged at her lips. "I do wonder if he could teach me that?"
The other four Kage rolled their eyes at the 'desperate' single woman. They followed her gaze and looked to the disappearing streak of light, each wondering when the new asset/old friend/son would return and what else he would bring with him. Only time would tell.
"So, we've got about ten minutes before we get back to the boot camp," said Thalia, once more trying to distract herself from the current situation. She kept her eyes on Naruto's back, looking at the clan seal intently. "What's with the swirl?"
"The what?" Naruto asked, looking at her over his shoulder.
"The swirl on the back of your jacket. You said it was your clan's seal, what's that?"
"Its his clan's symbol," said Piper. The Grace siblings looked at her and she shrugged. "I like looking up stuff on Wikipedia, sue me."
"Little wannabe cabin six member," said Thalia with a smirk.
"I don't know what that means," said Piper dryly.
"Me either," said Jason.
"You should," said Thalia with a frown as she looked at her brother.
Jason rolled his eyes. "I'm Roman. You're Greek."
"I'm Cherokee," said Piper with a smile.
"And I'm some blend of Euro-Asian," said Naruto dryly. "What does it matter? In my opinion, the demigods shouldn't have been split in the first place, Roman and Greek aspects aside we're not so different after all. Ten bucks says that Ares and Mars' kids would get along splendidly."
"...You may be onto something there," said Jason with a chuckle. He leaned back to look at the spiral. "What does that mean? You asked Richard to give you another tattoo-"
"Another tattoo?" Thalia asked, giving the whiskered blond a glare.
Naruto ignored the eyes burning into the back of his head. "Like you're one to talk, mister four years old and tattooed."
"What?"
"Tradition, Thalia," said Jason, waving it off like it's nothing.
"No wait, you have a tattoo? Since you were a kid?" Piper asked.
"Yeah so?"
"Jason!" Thalia said. She looked livid.
"What?"
"What the Hell?!"
"What's the big deal?" Jason asked. He rolled up the sleeve of Naruto's loaned shirt to reveal his upper arm, revealing the eagle above the black SPQR and the ten lines underneath it. "This is a symbol of the Legion, and I'm proud to have it. Besides, it didn't hurt that much."
"Uh-huh, and who cried a bit when they got that fifth line?"
"...Shut up, Naruto."
"Wait, you didn't get those all at once?" Piper asked, looking at the tattoo in awe. The eagle was simple, and yet elegantly proud all the same.
"One bar for every year of service," said Jason, pointing at each line and ignoring the glare boring into his head. He learned well from Naruto how to brush anger directed at you off. Unfortunately, this meant that he never learned when to practice this, hence why Thalia continued to glare at him. He glanced at Naruto. "You still got yours?"
"Duh," said the blond charioteer. He shifted the reigns to one arm and rolled up his sleeve, revealing bare skin. Naruto took a deep breath before sighing as chakra was dispersed around his arm, revealing a small tag wrapped over his arm, right underneath a lyre tattooed into his skin above the letters SPQR. There was one lonely bar under his mark. "Now I might have my own serial code, but I was deemed expired."
"...Naruto, you stirred up a rally outside of the Senate."
"Which you were a part of."
"I was doing crowd control!"
"And you were an adorable little riot shield."
"...I think I hate you."
"I love you, too Jason."
"Jason Grace, you were four when you got a tattoo?!" Thalia asked, looking at her brother sternly.
"Yeah," said Jason, looking at his sister with genuine confusion. "So what?"
"I think it puts hair on his chest!"
"You, stop talking," said Thalia, glaring at her boyfriend while Piper laughed at Naruto's shoulders slumping. She looked back at Jason. "You, that thing is coming off. As soon as we get back to the boot camp."
"Wha-I'm not getting rid of my tattoo!"
"Not like you could," said Naruto with a snort.
"Exactly!"
"Jason, you shut up. Whiskers, talk."
Jason looked bewildered at Thalia's order, making Piper laugh just a bit harder, which got a small frown from the blond for being her subject of amusement.
"The tattoos are more or less blessed scars, like from the original Legion," said Naruto. "Marks of war, survival of a whole year. An honor. Taking Jason's tattoo away is like taking away Annabeth's beads."
"...They branded my brother?" Thalia said, enraged. "My baby brother got branded by some-some sick bastards who think that kids getting tattoos is honorable!" She spat the last word out, showing her disgust with the whole thing.
"I'm not a baby, Thalia," said Jason, who looked a tad annoyed. He was fourteen, dammit!
"She didn't call you a baby," said Piper, a wide smile on her face. She loved this more and more, though there were a few things she was still uncomfortable with – fighting monsters and seeing someone die – Piper felt that this new camp would be more entertaining than anything. Shame that Jason wouldn't be with them, he was kind of fun to talk to. "She called you her baby brother."
"Because that makes it all better," said Jason with a frown.
"It should help a bit."
"Hey, no flirting or you'll be flying home on your own power, Jason," said Naruto with a smirk. He was rewarded with one red-faced preteen while the other just rolled his eyes. Ah, the wonders of hormones mixed with stupidity. He missed those days.
"I don't flirt, Naruto," said Jason flatly.
"Of course you don't," said Naruto with a chuckle. Doesn't mean that little miss Aphrodite's daughter wasn't. Even if she didn't mean to, Piper is one heck of a flirt.
"You can heal it, right Whiskers?" Thalia asked. "His burn."
"I think I could," said Naruto after a moment of thought. "But I won't."
"And why not?"
"Like I said before, it'd be like taking Annie's beads from her. I'd never do that," said Naruto, rolling his sleeve back down while his eyes met Thalia's. "Neither would you."
Thalia frowned at the truth in his words, her jaw clenching. "...Still, the fact remains–"
"That your jealous that we got tattoos before you did," said Naruto with a smirk. Her cheeks heated a bit and Naruto chuckled lightly. "Oh come on, Thalia, don't be jealous. I'll take you to get your own if you want. A cute little butterfly right above that spot on your – ow!"
"Shut up, Naruto," said Thalia after she smacked him upside the head, her face red hot in embarrassment.
"Well is he right?" Jason asked, looking at his red-faced sister with an arched brow.
"Why would I lie about getting her one of those cute little butterflies above her – ow, shutting up," said Naruto, rubbing his recently punched arm.
"I am not jealous of your tattoo." Thalia said with a frown directed at her brother. She was a little jealous, but there was no way she was going to tell him that, since she was mad that her brother was forced to get 'branded' at such a young age.
"You so are," said Piper with a smirk. "Do you want your boyfriend to take you to get it done? I mean maybe not a butterfly but – ow! Hey!" She rubbed her arm where Thalia punched her.
"I thought you were on my side," said Thalia, frowning.
"All's fair in love and war," said Piper with a shrug.
"...Not entirely sure that applies here, Pipes."
"Stop calling me that!"
"'All's fair in love and war'," said Naruto with a smirk.
"Hypocrite."
"Sticks and stones, Pipes, sticks and stones."
"A couple of trees, too apparently," said Jason.
"...Since when did you become such a smart ass?" Naruto asked his friend.
"When did you get exiled?"
"Five years ago."
"Six years ago."
"...Well it seems we need to have some more training sessions, Jason." Naruto said, looking ahead as the broke through the clouds. "I'll have to stop by Camp Jupiter sometime soon and up you and the rest of the cohort's...training."
"Wait, why would we need more training sessions?"
"Someone has been slacking. You totally got slammed into a mountainside."
"That was your fault!"
"You could have stopped yourself midair, but you didn't. Hence, slacking. I think being a Praetor might have gone to your head a bit. You can expect me sometime over the course of the fall."
Jason turned a bit pale at that. While he acknowledged that the outcome of Naruto's training was great, he still hated it. It was sadistic, it was insane and quite frankly, it reminded Jason of some of the things Lupa put him through. Reyna had told him that Naruto and Lupa got along far too well, and that scared Jason. A lot.
Master, we've arrived, you should prepare for landing, said Zephyr as they began to climb.
"Oh not again! Can't we get some warning?" Thalia asked irritably as her eyes squeezed shut.
"I did," said Naruto with a laugh. "Bring us in, Zephyr!"
The fiery steed whinnied proudly before dropping towards the ground, parting the clouds over Camp Jupiter as he did. The three young demigods screamed in alarm while Naruto laughed. He was a thrill seeker, and like many Uzumaki before him, not all of his screws were tight. They do say that the line between genius and insanity was thin, after all, and there was no one cleverer than the Uzumaki clan when it came to their trademarked art of sealing. Says a lot about that family line, doesn't it?
"Faster, faster!" Naruto said, laughing once more.
"Whiskers, you're crazy!"
"And proud of it!"
"You should not be proud of it!" Jason said.
"We've had this talk before, Jason! Lighten up!"
Whatever Jason was going to say died on his lips as they hit the ground before the bridge to Camp Jupiter. Three of the four demigods were sprawled around the impact zone, Naruto still in his chariot only because of the chakra he was using to stick to it. He dropped to the ground when the chariot burst into flames and vanished, patting Zephyr lightly on the side when he walked around to him.
"All right Zephyr, I think you know what I need you to do next," said Naruto. He got a nod from the horse before he took off in a gallop to the bridge, rising up with another trail of fire following his hooves. Naruto smiled at his loyal steed.
Remind me to get him an extra large bag of popcorn kernels after this, the blond thought to his past life.
Will do. I can already hear his reaction. "Mmm...Popcorn," said Helios with a laugh. And yes, he was impersonating exactly who you thought he was impersonating. Naruto laughed at Helios' comment, walking over to his grumbling girlfriend to offer her help back to her feet. He loved having voices in his head, made the insanity that comes with being a shinobi a bit easier to deal with.
The four teens, three of them a bit miffed that the fourth hadn't bothered to help them remain standing, entered Camp Jupiter, getting a small welcoming committee from the guards, Terminus and of course Naruto's favorite Roman god, Phoebus Apollo.
"Hey kids! Way to go on a successful quest, Jason. Not like you've never done it before, but hey! How was the Hidden Lands? Just as chaotic as I remember?" Phoebus asked as they walked through the camp. The god led them into the main temple, giving his father's statue a small wave before turning to face the unimpressed kids.
"In the midst of the fourth war," said Naruto dryly.
Phoebus frowned. "Shame that. Hope no one else I know dies, especially not Hatake. I liked him."
"You were not Minato Namikaze," said Naruto with a scowl.
"Well, you're half right," said Phoebus with a crooked grin. "Funny thing about my father's powers...very unpredictable, quick to change, even on him. You get that from him, you know."
"I'm flattered. Note the flattery on my face," said Naruto, his face blank.
"Oh, come on, it's not like you hate all of the King's aspects," said Phoebus, glancing at Thalia.
"I think you know by now that she and her father are two different people."
"Oh I have no doubt about that, but there are similarities, I'm sure," said Phoebus, a snort escaping him. "Back to the point I was making, my father's little lesson changed me more than he anticipated. Apollo of both Pantheons, Greek and Roman, merged to become the calm, collected, brilliant, and sexy Minato Namikaze...I honestly don't know where the humility came from."
"Minato was raised an orphan," said Naruto, helpfully.
"True...The memories are still foggy of Minato's younger years," said Phoebus Apollo, rubbing his temple. "A migraine and a memory every now and then of some days." He made a soft sound and shook his head. "Anyway, congratulations are in order for you, Jason. You've become the first Roman demigod to set foot in the Hidden Lands, another impressive thing to add to your growing repertoire. You've earned your rest and my gratitude, something not many can claim."
"Thank you, Lord Apollo," said Jason, nodding in gratitude.
"Phoebus," said Naruto, giving a light smirk at the scowl he got from his father's Roman aspect.
"Fishcake." Phoebus said, enjoying the sight of his son's smirk falling into a frown.
"Asshole."
"Brat."
"Self-absorbed idiot!"
"Ungracious punk!"
"Man-whore!"
"Man-child!"
The two blonds looked quite comical, inches away from each other's faces, both scowling at the other. Their argument was cut off by a loud thunderous boom, both of them turning in sync to glare at the stern statue of Jupiter before glaring at each other and then turning away childishly. Piper couldn't take it and broke down into laughter, trying so hard to regain her composure while all eyes went to her.
"S-Sorry, sorry, b-but, they…too alike…hilarious!" she said in between her snorts and snickers. Thalia smirked in agreement while Jason nervously watched Apollo's face. The Romans were not a group of jokers, hence why he let Naruto get away with the comment to the large massive Raikage. With the gods, it's different. They could either roll with the joke, or they could smite you and your family for it. It was usually the latter.
"I blame his mother," said Phoebus with a smirk.
"Why the hell did she marry you anyway?" Naruto asked with a frown.
"Let's stop before someone's feelings, or body, gets hurt," said Phoebus with his smirk sill in place.
"If I wasn't sure that you'd retaliate fully, I'd punch you in the gut for that sentence."
"I'm not my stupid self, Naruto. I think you know that by now. He may play along with your anger, but I will not," said Phoebus sternly to his son. Naruto muttered something unpleasant, causing him to get cuffed upside the head. "Don't think I didn't hear that, Naruto. That's no way to talk about your father."
"Ow! You used more than average strength, I'm recovering from a concussion, jackass!"
"Your head is too hard for me to give you love taps."
"Where do you think I got that from?"
"Humph, brat." Apollo snorted and crossed his arms. "Don't you think you should be heading back to the degrading camp?"
"...How did you – I don't think I want to know," said Naruto. He turned to leave the temple, only stopped when coming up the steps was the other Praetor. Reyna was dressed in her usual attire, a purple toga hung over her frame. She smiled at him.
"I'm glad to see your safe return, Naruto," said Reyna. Naruto smiled back, an arm crossing over his chest. She smiled slightly wider, turning to Jason. "Welcome back Jason."
"Good to be back, Reyna," said Jason with a nod. "Shame you couldn't have come. It was...eye-opening."
"Hopefully you'll have an interesting story to tell me about," said the daughter of Bellona. Reyna's gaze went over the two Greek girls for a moment before she returned her eyes to Naruto. Thalia's eye twitched at both being ignored and for the younger girl giving her boyfriend more attention than she needed to. Piper rolled her eyes, recognizing the girl's crush with ease. She had always wondered how she could notice these things, even when she thought boys were 'icky', and it all made sense now with her mother's true identity.
"You're leaving so soon?" Reyna asked the older boy.
"I've taken too long as it is," said Naruto, smiling apologetically. "Believe me, Rey-chan I would have liked to stay here longer, but I have other duties to attend to."
"A shame," said Reyna with a frown on her pretty face. She saluted back to him. "I wish you good and safe travel. May Mercury watch over you."
"And may Terminus continue to protect you, Praetor," said Naruto with a smile as they dropped their arms. Reyna shifted her gaze to the smirking Phoebus for a brief second and then returned her attention to the god's son. To the surprise of the others, she moved forward and wrapped her arms around him. Naruto looked baffled at the hug, Jason bewildered and Phoebus' smirk was face splitting.
Piper blinked in surprise. She had thought Reyna was way too stiff to act like this. And by the looks of the others in the room, she wasn't the only one. Heck even the two guards posted outside had their jaws popped open. Of course it was Thalia's reaction that really stole the show for Piper. She knew that Thalia was still mad at Naruto, given the distance the daughter of Zeus had been keeping between them, but apparently Thalia was none too happy about the Praetor putting her hands on Thalia's "man".
Thalia's eyes were sparking in anger and the clouds over Camp Jupiter were darkening. Her stance shifted from bored to angry and her fists were clenching as her arms crossed over her chest. The punk-like daughter of Zeus was definitely not happy with what she was seeing, and quite frankly that was really entertaining Piper for some reason. Thalia ground her teeth when she caught the small quick smirk Reyna sent her way. Thalia's nostrils flared. That...that...bitch was dead.
Meanwhile, Phoebus Apollo was extremely proud of the daughter of Bellona. He was a bit afraid that she'd be too stuck in Lupa's teachings, but apparently her feelings for his son outweighed that. Now all he had to do was let Naruto see that he'd be better off with Reyna instead of his half-(Greek)sister. There would be no way that Mars could boast his children's superiority after this!
"Uh, thanks, Rey-chan," said Naruto once he got over his surprise, hugging the girl back lightly. "I'll, uh, I'll try to stop by and visit."
Hearing Naruto talk broke Reyna out of her little trance, causing her to quickly release him and take a step back. Her cheeks lightly flushed, she met his eyes and with as much composure she could manage, looked at him with a small smile that made Helios make a sound of surprise. "I hope you do. Goodbye, Naruto."
"Yeah, bye, let's go," said Thalia, sick of seeing this play out and storming out, grabbing Naruto by the front of his flak jacket as she did, nearly dragging him down the stairs. As she passed the girl, she gave Reyna a glare that was readily returned. This was far from over, and both girls knew it.
Piper turned and smiled at Jason. "Guess this is goodbye for now. Nice to meet you Jason, thanks for um, you know."
"Don't mention it," said Jason, a small smile of his own on his face. "Maybe we could do it again sometime, I mean, without all the crazy freaks."
"Yeah, let's give that a try," said Piper with a laugh, quickly running after the confused whiskered blond and his irate girlfriend.
"Wow, I wonder why Thalia's so mad," said Jason as he walked over to Reyna's side, his fellow Praetor watching the three Greek demigods as they ran for the gates. Reyna said nothing, keeping her gaze on the daughter of Ju-Zeus. Next time she'd have to do just a bit more...and that was going to be harder than whatever fight Thalia put up.
"Hey, in case you haven't forgotten, I can teleport to the car," said Naruto as soon as they made it to the tunnel that was outside of Camp Jupiter. Thalia turned and gave him another glare.
"Make one of those clones," said Thalia. "Now."
"...Uh, well, while I'm not opposed to this sort of thing, Thalia now isn't exactly the ti-whoa! Okay, okay!" Naruto said, placating his girlfriend when her eyes turned into balls of lightning and a sparking fist was held up threateningly. Holding his hands up, Naruto made his favorite hand seal and a duplicate popped into existence.
"You," she said, addressing the clone. "Take Piper to the car."
"Why?" Piper asked, making Thalia turn to her.
"Trust me. You're going to want to be at the car," said Thalia.
Taking her word for it, Piper took the clone's offered hand and they vanished in a flash of light, no sooner did they do that did Thalia smack Naruto across the face.
"Ow! Thalia-chan, what was that-?"
"You do not get to talk right now!" Thalia said, her anger at its limit. "I'm sick of your lying to me, Whiskers! Why can't you trust me?"
"Wait, we're doing this now?" Naruto asked, not his girlfriend specifically. He looked at the dark overhead and the dim, torch-like lighting. "Oh...guess that makes a bit more sense..."
"Stop ignoring me!"
"I'm not ignoring you, Thalia-chan," said Naruto, looking back at his livid girlfriend. "And I do trust you! I trust you with my life!"
"Just not with Jason's?" she asked scathingly.
"That's not fair!" Naruto said, looking hurt. "I couldn't tell you about him because it wasn't safe to! We were on a quest to save Aunt Artemis, Thalia-chan!"
"And after the quest? What was stopping you from telling me then, hm?"
"You think Rai-Jiji would've let you go rushing off to find the Romans?" Naruto asked. "The two camps were separated for a reason, a stupid reason, but-"
"Here we go again with you and your Olympian damned reasons!" Thalia said, cutting him off with her arms in the air. Dropping them to her sides, she glared at him. "When are you going to give me a straight answer, Naruto?"
"Thalia, Bianca is dying! Do we really have to do this right now?!"
"Yes! If I let you put it off, you'll never answer me and dammit I am not going to let this go!" Thalia said.
"Listen to yourself! This is Bianca! Your cousin! Nico's sister!"
"He's lucky to have a sister to worry about! Jason is my brother who I thought was dead for years! I had a right to know where he was!" Her eyes were filling with tears. "Do you know how long I've thought he was dead? How long...How long I thought it was my fault he died! That my mother was punishing me?"
"You had every right to know, Thalia, but I couldn't tell you! Do you know what Rai-jiji would've done to me if I tried?" Naruto said. He gestured behind him. "I was exiled and sworn into secrecy unless absolutely necessary! You're damn lucky that quests are part of that clause otherwise you never would have reunited unless you ran into each other!"
"When would that have been?!" Thalia said, shouting at him as tears pooled up in her eyes. He could hear the storm brewing from within the tunnel. Naruto didn't know what brought this on, but he guessed now he had to deal with it.
"I don't know!" Naruto said, admitting that with a scowl.
"What, the prophetic son not able to see clearly now?" Thalia asked. "I'm starting to get the feeling you're more loyal to the gods than to your friends!"
Naruto felt as though he was struck and he knew his face showed it. Frowning at his girlfriend, Naruto clenched his jaw and spoke stiffly. "I'm going to let that one go because you're upset."
"You're damn right I'm upset!" Thalia said with a scowl. "You should have told me, Naruto! He's my brother!"
"You don't think I knew that?!" Naruto said, his own voice rising to match hers. "Don't you think I wanted to tell you? That I wanted to show you he was alive?! I wanted nothing more than to tell you that your brother was alive, grown up and kicking ass just like his sister! I couldn't Thalia and it tore me apart inside!"
"Oh, I sincerely doubt-!"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Naruto said, his eyes glowing in anger as he cut her off. "Don't. You. Dare." Naruto took a shuddering breath in order to calm down a bit. "You were in Limbo, Thalia, so you didn't meet them. The...The Fates." He spat their name in anger and disgust. "If I were on the Crooked Asshole's side, they would be my first target. Primordial or not, they control free will, something I had a strong belief in until I died. When I found out that my life was predetermined... predestined" he looked livid even thinking of it "I was horrified. Everything I knew was a lie."
Thalia watched as Naruto seemed to crumble before her. It was strange, seeing one who stood so strong and proud look so...defeated. It shook her enough to forget her anger for the moment.
"People that could've died for no reason...it would've been my fault," said Naruto. "I lucked out against my cousin Nagato, the self-proclaimed God of Rain. He obliterated my village looking for me. Over eighteen thousand civilians...half of those were children in the center of the village when he obliterated it. If I hadn't...If I couldn't convince him..." Naruto closed his eyes, recalling the horrible sight he returned to after mastering his sage training. He looked at Thalia, his eyes brimming with tears. "I was told that despite the choice he made, I would've still ended up here. Meeting Annie. Meeting Luke...meeting you. Thalia I gave my life for you and you still...You still almost died. Imagine how I felt when I learned that would've happened regardless of what I did!"
Thalia flinched. She couldn't imagine that, learning that whatever choice you made would be irrelevant to what happened to others since it was already decided what would happen to them.
"I told a guy back at the village when I was younger that there was no such thing as fate," said Naruto, a bitter laugh escaping him as he and Thalia – who had been told the story - recalled the chunin exam fight against Neji. "Neji was so right about it's existence...but he was fated to lose, ironically. I based my life on that, that I would make my own path...But when my world crashed down around me..." Naruto struggled to continue. After a moment of silence his eyes, large and a bit red from fighting back the tears, met hers. "The thing is, Thalia...sometimes the truth is far too hard to believe."
"I still had a right to know," said Thalia stubbornly, albeit quieter than before.
"Thalia, if I had told you Jason was alive, would you have believed me?" Naruto asked her. "With no concrete proof other than 'oh yeah, he's just in California with the Roman demigods that live in their own camp', could you honestly say that you believed me?"
Thalia clenched her fists. She desperately wanted to say yes, but knew she couldn't. The raven-haired girl bit on her lip as she refused to accept that she wouldn't have believed him. The thing was, her hope for finding Jason had been squashed when she was a little girl. She had missed Jason for far too long to just jump at the possibility of him being alive.
Her silence made Naruto smile bitterly and she fought down the tears as the horrible truth washed over her. She wouldn't have believed Naruto. She would have wanted to, desperately wanted to, but if Naruto couldn't take her to him or tell her where Jason was, Thalia would never completely believed him. And that doubt would've been worse than having no hope at all.
She felt herself walk into his embrace absentmindedly, hugging him just as tightly as he did her. Her face was burrowed in his chest as the emotions overcame her, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"It's not fair," she said softly, fighting the tears back as they flowed. Depressed she may be, but that didn't mean she was just going to bawl, dammit.
"I know," he said in the same tone. His hand lightly brushed through her hair and he hummed softly to her while she struggled with her reaction. In the back of his mind, he knew logically they should be rushing back to Bianca, but that was his subconscious. Naruto knew that he had to be right here, right now. His lips pressed against the top of her head for a second, pulling away and resuming his comforting humming.
"Why does all this shit happen to us?" Thalia asked quietly.
"Because the Fates love us," said Naruto bitterly.
"Fuck them."
"Amen to that."
"What do you think is taking them so long?" Piper asked as she sat in the passenger's seat.
"Well, considering the storm overhead, I'm guessing Thalia-chan is still chewing oyabun out." The clone of Naruto said, fiddling with the radio. "Man, what's with the sudden rise in Pop? I mean, it's not bad, but...C'mon, where's the good stuff?"
"What's good stuff?" Piper asked in amusement.
"You know, stuff like Limp Bizkit...Nu Metal I think it's called," said the clone. "Granted it's not as popular as it once was, I still think it's a pretty cool blend of everything."
"What's the difference between Nu Metal and Metal?" Piper asked, confused.
"That is a long and tedious conversation," said the Naruto clone with a sigh. "Music is music and genres only further separate people when it was made to bring people together. Sure, dad's domain has widened because of the different genres, but look at how it's managed to separate people. We've got clicks, posses, gangs and groups who are separated by their differences, a taste of music being part of it. People should be celebrating all music, not just genres."
"Whatever you say," said Piper, her eyes rolling in amusement. She jumped when there was a sudden flash next to her. Looking out the window she found Thalia and Naruto standing close together, their hands intertwined. Thalia seemed to reluctantly pull hers away before knocking on the window. Piper rolled the window down and grinned at the older girl. "So...anything interesting happen?"
"Get in the back seat, Piper," said Thalia, a small amused smile on her face. Piper gave a whine and Thalia shook her head. "Not gonna work, now get in the back or I'll shock you."
"She's not kidding," said the clone before it dispelled itself. Piper sighed sadly before clambering into the back, the car doors opening as the two older teens got in the car. They buckled up and quickly got back on the road, Piper and Thalia talking about the Camp while Naruto once more thanked Hecate for the cover.
...Well, that was an adventure and a half, said Helios, chiming in nearly forty-five minutes on the road. They were already passing through Nevada.
You're telling me. Naruto thought to his past life. So, care to explain why the vision I got that was so repetitive was so different than what actually happened?
That was your mind interpreting the scenario. You didn't see the gifts from the Hidden Lands because of your mindset on not going back. However, granted that promise I'll bet that opinion's changed a bit, hasn't it? Helios asked with what Naruto knew to be a smirk on his face.
Maybe, Naruto thought.
...I don't mean to bring this up, but that Bellona girl...
What about her?
She...she reminded me a lot of Rhode.
Naruto blinked in surprise. ...Excuse me?
I think she might be Rhode incarnated. Helios said, shocking Naruto to the point he nearly forgot about traffic in front of him. Whoa, watch it Kid!
"The road, Whiskers!" Thalia said, bracing herself against the dash.
"Shit!" Naruto swerved on the highway, trying to narrowly avoid hitting of the slower cars. He went to grab the emergency brake, but his hand brushed over something that gave off an audible click.
"Oh...crap," said Naruto, looking at what his hand grabbed onto.
The visor dropped down and the mirror in it slid away to reveal a heads-up display that said one thing to him.
S.O.L. Engine Activated.
"Fu-!" Naruto couldn't finish his word as the car suddenly streamlined, shooting forward and making the group feel the g-forces push them into their seats. Several poor cars were in Naruto's path, getting plowed out of the way. Naruto had enough sense to make a sharp turn to the right, busting through the guardrail and flying through the desert of Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and finally Texas. To any witnesses, they saw what was known as the Marfa Lights, or rather, one large golden Marfa Light.
They came to a stop on a long suburban road, trails of fire burning behind the wheels and the check engine light flashing on the HUD and . Naruto was so grateful that the seatbelts were reinforced as they slammed forward, their voices catching up with them. The three demigods groaned, Thalia unbuckling her seatbelt and throwing her door open, tumbling out of the car. Naruto did the same, groaning as he hit the asphalt.
"...Remind me to kick Beckendorf's ass for not putting a cover on that thing," said Naruto.
"Remind me to, urp, help you," said Piper, covering her mouth and looking a little green. "Never again."
"Seconded," said Thalia, groaning as she got to her feet. She winced and rubbed her sore stomach where the seatbelt nearly bisected her on the stop. She looked over the hood of the car at her boyfriend. "So...think it'll start?"
Naruto shrugged and got back in, grabbing the keys and trying to turn it over. No such luck. Groaning and rolling his head back to smack against the seat, Naruto's eyes closed.
"Goddammit," said Naruto with a groan.
"Isn't that sacrilegious?" Piper asked.
"Only for people seventeen and up," said Thalia with a smirk to the younger girl.
"Damn."
"We'll allow that," said Naruto, chuckling at the daughter of Aphrodite's swear. With a sigh, Naruto made sure the emergency brake was off and then got out of the car. Gripping the frame and his seat, he began to push, struggling slightly since he was pushing stygian iron and who knows what else. Thalia decided to help him, and though the thought was generous and welcomed, Naruto was well aware he was doing just a bit more to move the car.
It was about ten minutes in that some kid sitting on a stoop called them out. "Hey Yankees! Got car trouble?"
Naruto looked over his challenger's roof for the kid and found him. Another unfortunate sufferer of lack of height that looked a bit like his mischievous uncle. With his keen eyes, Naruto could see the boy's tanned skin and elfish features with ease, the dark messy hair and some smudges on his face showing him that this kid was no stranger to getting dirty. His ingrained and trained senses at finding demigods were going off and Naruto narrowed his eyes just slightly before beaming.
"Yeah, wanna give us a hand, squirt?"
"Who the Hell are you calling squirt, gringo?!"
Naruto laughed at the rise he got out of the kid. "Didn't mean any harm by it. What's your name?"
"Name's Leo Valdez," said the kid, who stood from his perch, a puckish grin on his face. "You've got a nice Challenger, blondie."
AN: And so Leo joins us and the vision is enacted! Whoo longest chapter yet (I think)! Hope this will sate you guys for a while because my summer job is coming soon and my freedom will be limited to weekends. So expect some large (and unfortunate) gaps over the summer.
You know what to do!
REVIEW!