A/N: ...HOLY SHIT, I JUST MADE LITTLE OVER 10K WORDS IN THIS CHAPTER! IT'S PROBABLY MY BIGGEST YET!
Ahem*
Hello, one and all! Welcome, welcooooome! Oh, I hope everybody's summer is going well and that we've all enjoyed ourselves!
On a much happier note, I would be proud to inform that my parent's have celebrated their 29th Anniversary!
HUZZAH!
But I digress, on to business...
Now, to recap, our whiskered hero just met with the Goddess of Magic herself and is now her champion. Check.
Was given a means of training and a tool. Check.
...Yeah, that's pretty much it!
Oh, also: shout-out to demonboy121986, generatedrko, jsprx, and Shirou Emiya1 for the new weapon ideas! You've got my thanks, dudes!
Also calderoneric758, I like your ideas and will be sure to use them at a later date!
Anyways, this is gonna be a little bit of a timeskip, so buckle your seatbelts! Ooh, also there's a bit of an easter egg from a recent trailer that came out-if you find it, great!
Now, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!
I proudly present for you delectation and delight!
I give you…
BLADE OF OLYMPUS!
Chapter Five: The First Rescue! Braving The Cold!
Five months.
It has been five months since Thalia, Luke, Kassandra, and Annabeth arrived to Camp Half-Blood.
And five months since Naruto managed to somehow land himself into a world of gods and monsters.
Having accepted the fact that he was going to be stuck on this world for a little while longer, the whiskered genin decided to keep training with his skills, the Blades of Chaos, and the Scroll of Ancients.
So far, he was able to make fireballs, summon walls and pillars of earth and water, and was even able to make his first tracking formula. It wasn't easy, having to apply Ancient Greek runes and letterings with his knowledge of fuinjutsu, but if it worked he could plant the mark on anything or anyone and know where they were.
It'd have been cooler if he was able to teleport to their exact location, but that's a work in progress.
Helped too that he utilized his Shadow Clones in his training.
Currently he was sitting in his bed at Cabin Eleven, spinning a kunai around his fingers by the loop. He was bored-he needed some kind of action in his life to keep him going and he wanted it NOW.
Well, be careful what you wish for...
"Hey, Naruto!" the blond shinobi looked up to see Thalia standing by the cabin door. Not much of her attire had changed, other than the fact that she was now wore a Camp Half-Blood T-shirt tied around her waist. She still had her leather jacket, ripped jeans and sneakers on.
Though she was wearing a string bracelet around her wrist with a single bead on it, courtesy of Cabin Nine. It was chestnut brown in color with a gold thunderbolt and a green trident in a crisscross pattern.
"Thalia! What's up?" he responded.
The Daughter of Zeus gave off a smirk as she leaned against the doorframe. "Chiron wants to see us for something. Kass, too. You coming?"
"Uh, yeah! Gimme a sec..." Spinning the kunai around his index finger, he flung it up so that it hit the ceiling before launching himself off the bed.
"So whaddya think he's got for us?"
"If I knew that, don't you think I'd have told you?" Thalia sharply quipped with a raised eyebrow. Naruto gave her a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. Making their way towards the Big House, they passed by Cabin Six and got a glimpse of Annabeth learning from her new siblings. Turns out that the little blond was a Daughter of Athena-all she did was devise a strategy for Capture-The-Flag that involved Naruto using his shinobi skills (or "Rambo-Mode" as Luke and Cerys liked to call it) to lay traps that involved ninja wire, paint bombs, itching powder, and tons of dead leaves.
The punk-clad demigoddess still wondered how he was able make that many traps and not be seen.
Eventually, they made it to the porch, where Chiron was waiting for them. He seemed to be talking to...a rainbow?
"...Yes, my lord. I'll be sending some of our most capable demigods to handle it, you have my assurances." He turned to see both teens coming towards his position before finishing his conversation. "Yes, thank you. Good day."
"Chiron! You rang?"
"Ah, Naruto. Yes, it seems I have need for you and Thalia for just a brief moment." The Ancient Trainer of Heroes answered before mentioning for them to follow him inside. Eventually, he led the two teens to the rec room, where there was a large table tennis table with a comfy-looking couch off to one side. With a wave of his hand, Chiron invited the pair to sit before clearing his throat. "Well, I'd never thought that the three of you would be selected this early, but..."
*SLAM!*
"Hey, Chiron! Sorry, got here as fast as I could!" Kassandra managed to blurt out before taking a seat next to Naruto. Thalia, who was seated at his other side, merely smirked at her.
"Something on your mind, Kelp Head?"
"Ciérralo, Thunderbird." The Latina teen hissed with a glare before turning apologetically to Chiron, who wore an amused expression on his face. "Sorry, Chiron."
*sigh* "It's quite alright, Kassandra. We could use a bit of humorous banter every so often." He reasoned before quickly schooling his features. "Now, tell me: what do you know about Alaska?"
"Huh?" was Thalia's intelligent response. "Isn't it the most northern state close to the North Pole?"
"Well, yes Thalia, but let me explain." the aged centaur continued. "While it is true that Alaska is in fact the most northern-bound American state, there is also a danger that comes with it. The gods do not hold any authority over the region as it is beyond their reach."
"...Oookay. So, what's this got to do with us?" Kassandra pressed, her face slowly showing signs of irritation. Naruto, on the other hand, felt a sense of dread.
He had a bad feeling about this.
"I just received an Iris Message from Lord Boreas, The God of the North Wind."
"North. Alaska's up north, that makes sense." Naruto butted in before seeing the look Chiron and Thalia were giving him. "Uh, sorry."
"Di immortalis..." Chiron muttered before clearing hia throat again. "In any case, he has recieved reports of an increased presence of monsters in the region. This has of course, been brought up to Lord Zeus' attention. Now, normally this would not be an issue as such a place is beyond the control of the gods and can be easily ignored."
'I sense a but incoming...' The whiskered boy thought.
"So, to state the obvious: what's the problem?" Kassandra asked.
The Ancient Trainer of Heroes closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as he then spoke the words:
"The problem is that there are two demigods of unknown parentage living somewhere near Anchorage."
'Oh shit...'
Days Later, Outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska...
After leaving the airport, the three demigods (or rather two demigoddesses and one shinobi) were now outside shivering at the cold. Thalia's teeth were chattering, Kassandra had a red nose, and Naruto couldn't even feel his fingertips. On top of that, the 30-degree windchill wasn't helping much for their predicament.
He already hated Alaska.
It wasn't until that they were able to get deep into the nearby woods that Naruto was able to create a small flame while Thalia and Kassandra set up a campfire.
"I. Ha-ate. This. S-state." The Daughter of Zeus stammered out as the trio shivered from the cold.
"M-me t-t-too." the Latina demigoddess concurred, rubbing her arms for warmth in spite of her heavy clothing. Since it was currently the beginnings of winter, the trio made sure to pack appropriately for the trip north to make their mission go by easier.
But they had underestimated just how cold Alaska winters could get.
Naruto could understand their plight as he was quick to set up a magic tent from one of his storage scrolls. He was lucky enough to have actually bought one big enough for the three of them with extra room from the camp store. A few camouflage and insulation seals, and it was good to go.
"Oh, thank the gods!" Kassandra cried as she dove through the entrance, followed closely by Thalia and Naruto. Inside they had a mini-stove, three sleeping bags, a foldable set of tables and chairs, a portable cooler magically enchanted to replenish their food and drink, and multiple sets of clothes each just in case. It was Chiron's idea mostly-Alaska is the one place on the mortal realm where the gods have no authority, after all. Once settled in, the trio were quick to grab a box of Hot Pockets and roll out a physical map of Alaska on the table.
"Alright, then." Naruto started off as he reached into the cooler to retrieve ham and cheese sandwiches and a gallon of apple juice, "We've still got about two hours worth of daylight to burn through, so we need to plan. The sooner we find those demigods, the faster we can get them out of here."
Aside of the basic months worth of demigod training that Naruto, Thalia, and Kassandra had received from Chiron and the senior campers, they had taken a crash course in leadership skills and survival training. What to do, how to lead, where to set up camp. So far, the lessons seemed to be paying off for the trio of demigods.
"Chiron sent in a satyr the day after he got the IM. Said that he'd find them, and that all we have to do is help get them out." Thalia stated.
"Eh? No chingues, really?" Kassandra drily asked with a raised eyebrow. *sigh* "And here I thought we'd be fighting our way to get to 'em. Was kinda looking forward to using Cat on some monsters."
The Daughter of Zeus narrowed her eyes at her fellow demigoddess. "You really do just look for trouble, don't you?"
"C'mon, Thals! You know I don't go looking for trouble!" The Latina replied with a cheeky grin. "It just finds me everywhere I go."
"Says the Latin-American wrecking ball."
"Oh, stop! You know you love me."
"Like cancer." The punk-clad teen finished with a smile.
"Which is my Zodiac sign!" Kassandra laughed before turning to Naruto, who was surprisingly silent throughout the entire dialogue. "Oi, gringito! You're not saying much. Care to pitch in?"
"...I have so many questions, but for right now: who's Cat?"
"Huh?" the Daughter of Poseidon blinked before registering his question. "Oh! Well, you remember my weapons, right?" Seeing the whiskered blond nod his head, she quickly summoned up both her labrys and held them out on display. "These are κατακλυσμός, or Cataclysm; I call her 'Cat' for short. I could slam them on the earth and the ground would shake every time. And if I really wanted to have some fun," Twirling the axes, Kassandra connected both of the pommels together, turning the pair of weapons into a double bladed axe-staff. Cheekily, she spun the staff around her body before setting it atop her shoulders. "Add the fun fact that they always return to me whenever I need them and can slice up any monster like a hot knife through butter, and hello Hurricane Kassie! So, whaddya think?"
"...Huh. That's cool." Was Naruto's intelligent reply.
Smirking to herself, Kassandra called off her weapon back into hairpins and clipped them back onto her cap before reaching to take a bite out of her pepperoni Hot Pocket. "Yeah, that's what I thought."
"Tch, show off." Thalia playfully scoffed. "Why didn't you bother using it in our three-way spar when we first got to camp?"
"Oh, come on, Thals! You've already got Aegis and your spear can shoot lightning a la mierda! Don't say that it isn't fair when you've got your own toys to play with!"
"KASS!"
"What? I'm just saying. Keep your mind out the gutter, Sparkplug."
"I will END you, Shamu."
*gasp* "YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"
"Why should I? We're big girls, Kassie, so don't dish out what you can't take!"
Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a frustrated groan, not wanting to listen to their arguing any longer than they had to. For a pair of demigoddesses, they sure bickered like kids. "You know what, I'm gonna take first watch for the night. Try to get some sleep, you two."
And without waiting for a response, he opened the flap of the tent and walked outside into the cold; the chilly air nearly biting at his face. Sitting down at a nearby fallen log, he rubbed his hands together as he gazed outward towards the deep woods. His mind wondered to his friends, to Luke and Annabeth; even Chiron and the ever-aggravating Mr. D weren't exempt.
Then, he thought of home. Konoha. Naruto couldn't help but feel the guilt that he left behind. He wondered how Jiraiya must've felt seeing him just vanish into thin air, sucked up by that portal that led him to camp.
'Oh, crap,' the whiskered boy thought, 'what would Granny Tsunade be feeling right now. I wish I could go back home, by now Pervy-Sage would've sent her a scroll saying what happened and that-' His eyes widened as he shot up to his feet, slapping his forehead as he groaned out loud. "Dammit!" the whiskered blond hissed out, not wanting to draw attention from the others.
Quickly forming a Shadow Clone to take his place, he swiftly maneuvered his way across the trees, hoping from branch to branch until he was able to find a clearing. Jumping down, he landed on his feet before kneeling down.
'How the hell did I forget about that?! I could've summoned the toads to send him a message! It'd have saved me plenty of time! Gods, I really can be stupid! I just hope this works or it'd be for nothing! Here goes!'
Biting into his thumb, Naruto slammed his hand onto the snow-covered earth; the moment he had done so a summoning seal appeared before a small cloud of smoke emanated. When the smoke died out, he couldn't help but laugh out in joy.
Staring back at him was a small, orange toad with dark blue markings. It had yellow eyes with horizontal bars for pupils, and wore a blue sleeveless jacket. The toad blinked three times to better adjust to his surroundings before immediately shivering from the cold climate. "Yo! Why is it freezing out here?! There better be enough munchies for me to last two weeks, 'cuz us toads ain't made for the cold!"
"GAMAKICHI!"
"Eh?" The toad summon stopped his ranting to look at the young shinobi for a second before realization shone in his eyes. "Naruto?! Holy crap, you're still alive?!"
"Ha! 'Course I am, Kichi!, Why wouldn't I be?" Naruto received an unbelieving stare from his friend before asking: "Wait, what do you mean by that?'
"What do I mean by-ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Gamakichi croaked out in disbelief. "Master Jiraiya and the Elder Toads have been trying to Reverse-Summon you back to Mt. Myoboku for days but nothing seemed to work! And besides that, everyone else thinks you're dead thanks to whatever it was that took you away! This is the first time anyone's heard from you in months!"
Oh.
Oohhhhh...
Oh, SHIT.
Oh, this was bad. This was REALLY bad.
"Fuck..." The blond shinobi gasped out in disbelief, gripping his hair as he thought of what his friends must've been going through. He immediately shook his head of any stray thoughts and turned to look at his personal summon. "Oi, Kichi. Any chance you can relay a message back home for me? I don't know if I can make it back through...whatever it was that put me here."
Blinking its eyes, the toad familiar rubbed its chin as he soon hummed in agreement. "Well, that's a bit tricky. Look I've got no ties to Konoha, what with you and Master Jiraiya bein' out of the village, but I can bring it with me back home and give it to the Elders. They can send it over to him!"
Naruto sighed in relief before nodding his head. Quickly he pulled out a notebook from his back pocket and handed it to his familiar. "Alright, listen up: this has all of my notes of the past five months that I've been here. The world, the culture, and the dealings of the local gods and monsters that call this place home. Now listen: on my end I still haven't figured out how to rework the seal that dragged me here just yet, so ask Pervy-Sage if he could find a way to bring me back. I've still got a promise to keep, ya know? I promise to get you a bag of munchies the next time I summon you, Gamakichi."
"...Eh, alright that sounds fair! See ya later!" Naruto gave the notebook to the toad familiar, who responded by giving him a salute before dispelling in a small cloud of smoke. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself a brief moment of respite as his nerves slowly relaxed. The whiskered boy was lucky; he didn't know for sure if the Summoning would work or not. As a beginner-level seal master, his chances of pulling off a summoning from between what could only be different unrelated worlds were basically one in a million.
'Although,' The blond shinobi pondered as he rubbed his chin, 'Lady Hecate DID say that the gods knew of my home and that she worked with my clan in the past. So I guess that could've been another factor...'
With a muted chuckle, he got back up to his feet-
*SNAP!*
And froze...
Naruto did not make any sudden movements-did not move a muscle!-and let his chakra-enhanced senses do the searching.
'Wait, that's just a rabbit in a bush...' he thought to himself with a deadpanned expression as said animal scurried off deeper into the woods. Sighing to himself, the blond shinobi thought it best to check again to see if the area was safe enough to move around freely in. Expanding his senses, he made sure to check his chakra reserves so that it wouldn't run dry on him. One of the many downsides of this world is that his chakra wouldn't recover as fast as it normally would back home. Add that to the Nine-Tails constantly wanting to take him over, and it was a recipe for disaster he couldn't afford to take.
The surrounding forest seemed to grow a sudden unnatural chill in the air, and there was an almost eerie light from the full moon. There were no noises, no wildlife that could be heard. But in the distance he found a rather strange smell of ash and smoke.
And where there is smoke...there is fire...
Hopping up onto a branch, he quickly drew a kunai as he traversed the canopy; making sure to keep out of sight. Deciding to follow the trail he brought his fingers into a cross formation, and with a poof a clone appeared.
"What's up, Boss?" the clone asked.
"I don't think we're alone..." the whiskered boy's words his lookalike straightened himself, suddenly alert at the impending danger. "Get Thalia and Kass ready and meet up with me. Follow the trail of smoke. I'm going ahead."
"Got it!"
So while the clone hopped away back to the campsite, Naruto opted to look for the source of the smoke. Hopping from branch to branch, he could see various wildlife traversing below. Elk, rabbits, wolves, squirrels, even a moose. At any other time, Naruto would've taken the time to admire the scenery, but he needed to secure the area first.
*SNAP!*
The whiskered boy braced himself, slowly moving the kunai his hand closer to his mouth, where he then bit on the handle as he summoned forth the Blades of Chaos within his grasp-the hungry flames coating the blades eager to fight. He searched with his eyes and ears for anything unnatural. For a moment, nothing. Then...
"...-most nothing here, Keisha!" One voice-male, about his age, could barely be heard over the crunching snow.
"If you keep talkin' like that Zack, we're gonna have another pack of monsters on our tail!" Another voice, this time of a young girl was seemingly arguing with the first.
"O Di immortalis, that's enough arguing!" The third voice was older, and somewhat annoyed with the other two. "Listen, the faster we get out of here, the better! Now get moving! Who knows what's in these woods?"
Opting to wait, the blond shinobi's patience was finally rewarded as he saw three individuals emerge from the woods below him. One was a satyr, dark-skinned with curly black hair and a matching goatee, and was clad in camouflaged winter gear; leaving his goat legs bare to the cold. Probably for the best, in order to better navigate the terrain. He held a recurve bow in his hand, and by the look on his face, he knew how to use it.
Turning to look down at the other two, he took note that they were wearing identical, earth-themed winter clothing and that they were roughly the same age he was.
The boy was Asian, with short black hair and purple eyes that seemed to burn with intelligence and mischief. He had a brown leather duffle-bag slung over his right shoulder, colorful steam emitting from an opening. He had orange goggles on his forehead with green lenses, and a pair of Celestial Bronze knives in his left hand with the end of it shaped like a pinecone. On his feet, he seemed to be wearing bronze-colored Timbs boots.
The only girl of the group was of perfect mocha-skin, long black hair braided into a ponytail with a few strands framing her face. Unlike her companions, she preferred to roll up her sleeves and wore what seemed to be fingerless gloves with Celestial Bronze knuckles. Her eyes, however, were a striking forest green.
"Hey, Bryce!" the boy, Zack, called out. "Any chance we can get some help?"
The satyr moved his hands in a so-so gesture. "Hopefully. As soon as I got the word out to camp, Chiron said that he'd send a few demigods up here for help. They should be here by now...and I think I smell one of them nearby."
'These must be the guys we're looking for. That satyr mentioning Chiron was a dead giveaway, not to mention the weapons.' The whiskered blond thought as he quickly dropped down form the branch he was perched on. Startled, the trio turned to face him with weapons raised only for him to hold his hands up in front of him. "Whoa, whoa! Easy, I'm from camp. Chiron sent us."
At the mention of Chiron the human pair lowered their weapons, yet the satyr was unwilling to take his word. "Yeah? How do we know for sure that you're no monster?"
"Do I smell like one to you? Sheesh, Grover said that his people could be stubborn at times, but this is just ridiculous!"
Finally, only when he heard Grover's name did the cloven-hooved young man shouldered his bow. "Damn! I'd have shot you if I hadn't known otherwise. You wanna think about announcing your presence next time?"
"Aww, c'mon! Where's the fun in that?" the young shinobi quipped as he made to put away his weapons when he heard more crunching snow in the distance. "Uh, quick question: are there any more of you?"
"No, it's just these two I've been sent to find. Why?"
*GROOOOWWWLL!*
Naruto turned to look for the source of the noise, only to be violently yanked from the ground and slammed into a nearby tree. Clenching his eyes shut from the impact, he swiftly opened them to reveal a terrifying sight.
It was a monster, but unlike any he had seen before.
Tall as a tree and shockingly gaunt to the point of emaciation, its ashen putrid flesh was pulled taut over near-exposed bone. The glossy, malevolent eyes filled with nothing but malice were pushed deep into its sockets, and what lips it once had were now tattered and bloody, revealing jagged yellow teeth; giving its already horrifying visage a cruel and hungry grin. Its limbs were long and spindly, the fingers tipped with razor-sharp claws. As the creature inched its face towards his, the whiskered blond could unmistakably smell its rotted breath emitting from its mouth.
'WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?!'
"RASENGAN!"
Catching a spiraling orb of chakra to the chest, the monster gave out a inhuman wail as it was sent careening deep into the woods. Not wanting to stay longer than he had to, the whiskered blond turned to the others. "Come on! Our camp isn't far from here; the sooner we get there, the sooner we can make a plan to kill that thing!" Putting his fingers into a cross, he quickly formed three Shadow Clones to carry both demigods and the satyr.
"Hey, watch where you're grabbing!" The dark-skinned girl shouted.
"Sorry, but we've really gotta go! Now hang on!"
And with that, much to their immediate shock, he jumped up and started hopping back from branch to branch as fast as he could.
From the distance within a fresh pile of snow, a pale putrid hand burst forth as the creature clawed its way out to the surface. With more snow giving way in falling off its form, a spiraling burn mark was seen on its chest on the left of where its heart should be. Looking up at the night sky, the grotesque abomination let out an ear-splitting screech, one that could be heard for miles away. Soon, more patches of snow were starting to move; more decayed limbs sprawling forth to meet the moonlight. As the monster smelled the air to catch the scent of its prey, one thing was for certain.
It was still hungry, and will not rest until it feeds...
At the same time...
"Here we are!" Naruto rasped out as he and the others landed in front of the campsite. The satyr, or Bryce as he had introduced himself, was helping the others settle back on the ground from the rather rough transportation through the trees. The young shinobi was about to help when he heard the tent flap open and the telltale sound of static electricity crackling in the air. He had only moments before needing to duck from a lightning strike that just barely passed over his head courtesy of an angry Daughter of Zeus.
"WHAT THE HECK WERE YOU THINKING?!" Thalia roared, hands dangerously sparking with power.
"Hey, in my defense, I said that I'd take first watch!" he retorted, only to back away with a sheepish grin when the punk-clad teen summoned Aegis and her spear. "O-okay, okay, but at least I sent a clone for backup, didn't I?!"
"Ha! Ay, por los dioses, you really know how to get under her skin!" Kassandra cackled as she and the Shadow Clone emerged not long after, a mischievous smirk on her face. "You should've seen the look on her face when your double came rushing in! Ooh, she was-"
"Enough, Kassie!"
"Calm down, you two. I haven't even introduced you guys!" The young shinobi finished with a grin. Waving his hand towards the newcomers, he started off: "This is Zack."
"Yo!" The Asian boy waved with a grin.
"That's Bryce over there. He's the satyr Chiron sent ahead of time."
"Pleased to meet you."
"And, last but not least, we've got Keisha!"
"HEY!" The dark-skinned girl, Keisha, butted in. "I don't mean to be a nag, but we've got an ugly-lookin' monster headed our way! And I mean Predator-levels of fugly, so we need a plan to kill it right freaking now!"
"A monster? Here?! Oh, that's just great!" The Daughter of Poseidon grumbled, rolling her eyes in frustration.
"Now's not the time!" Naruto cut in, unsealing the Scroll of Ancients in search for a specific spell to use. "Thals, whatever we're up against is big and fast-actually got the drop on me earlier before I sent it blasting off-"
"Hey, nice Pokémon reference!" Zack quipped with a grin. Keisha was about to reprimand him for interrupting, but someone beat her to it.
"ENOUGH!" Thalia angrily bellowed, zapping a nearby tree stump with electricity. "The last thing we want is for whatever monster to come in and make a snack out of us because we let our guard down!"
Suddenly they heard an ear-splitting scream. Bryce clasped his hands over his ears, wincing in pain from the awful noise. Looking towards the source of the noise, the group of six were soon able to see multiple eerie glowing blue eyes in the distance.
'Oh my gods,' Kassandra thought to herself as the eyes seemingly continued to multiply. 'There's got to be at least a hundred...'
"Well, I think they know where we are." Zack pointed out as he pulled out his knives in a reverse grip before crouching into a stance. With a cry of "Talaria!", tiny sparks of static electricity seemed to emit from the bottom of his Timbs before they briefly glowed a bright gold. When the light died down, he was wearing bright red lace-less running shoes with a jet black trim. Golden lightning motifs seemed to glow along the sides of the shoes before shooting tiny sparks of electricity.
"Really, Zack?! Really?!" Keisha groaned in disbelief. With a loud grunt, the dark-skinned demigoddess slammed her fists together in front of her chest, the knuckledusters coming together with a loud clang. Immediately, the dirt and vines seemed to shoot up from the snow before wrapping themselves around her forearms. When it was finished, Keisha now had Celestial Bronze arm wrappings that covered her arms and hands, aside from her fingers. Clenching her hands into fists, sharp metallic spikes shot out from the knuckles.
"Whiskers!" Thalia shouted, drawing Naruto's attention from the Scroll of Ancients. "Did you find what you need?"
"Uh, not yet! Gonna need you to buy me some time, though!"
Rolling her eyes, the punk-clad demigoddess cleared her throat before giving out orders. "ALRIGHT, LISTEN UP! We need to hold those monsters off until Naruto can find the spell he's looking for! Bryce, cover our rear with that bow!"
"Roger!"
"Kass, you're with me up front!"
"You know it, jefa!" Kassandra howled with a bloodthirsty grin as she summoned Cataclysm in its axe-staff form.
"Great! The rest of you, take up the middle!"
"Yep!" "Got it!"
No sooner had Zack finished answering that the glowing eyes finally stepped out into the moonlight.
They looked humanoid, but their skin was a palish-grey with hints of frostbite; even coatings of ice were evident on the arms and legs. Parts of the skin were torn and rotted away to expose bone. Their maws were worn and bloody; the eyes a glowing icy blue. They were covered in rags, remnants of what clothing they once wore-Prehistoric, Native American, Viking, and what looked like-
"Thalia," Kassandra gasped in shock, "a-are those demigods?!"
There, in the midst of the undead horde, were in fact a rather peculiar group of ghouls. Clad in tattered clothing with broken Greco-Roman leather armor, they looked just as fearsome in death as they had in life. Some were still gripping onto their weapons. Others, had their missing limbs coated entirely of ice. Naruto gulped in slight fear at the sight of the undead half-bloods. It unnerved him-the fact that these were once living, breathing people.
How did they get here?
Did they have any friends?
"NARUTO!"
The whiskered blond blinked just in time to see one of the ghouls leap at him, its hungry maw unhinged to take a wide bite of his face as more of its bretheren. He knew he had to move, but for some reason his legs failed him.
"Take this!"
Suddenly, the undead was halted in its tracks as a large, spiky earthen fist was imbedded into the creature's chest. Naruto blinked for a moment before turning to follow said fist up the arm to reveal Keisha's angered visage, her teeth clenched as she turned to look the young shinobi in the eye. "Wake up, blondie! Weren't you some kind of fighter!"
Naruto quickly shook of his stupor as he looked back to the Scroll of Ancients. Running his fingers over the seals, he desperately looked for the needed spell as the sounds of fighting played around him.
Thalia and Kassandra were relentless in their unison. Where as one carved her way through the horde like water flowing through a creek, the other laid waste to whatever she could with streaks of electricity fired from her weapon.
As the Daughter of Poseidon branched out from the group, there were four "ice-zombies" charging in her direction, the ice on their missing limbs quickly forming blades and claws. Kassandra ducked under one set of claws before parrying a blade with her staff. Stepping to the side, she pushed the ghoul off her weapon before swiftly decapitating one with a clean cut at the neck and spun Cataclysm to cut the other at the knees. The undead monster howled in hunger before the Latina demigoddess split it down the middle. Kassandra spun her axe-staff before throwing it at the last two undead, effectively crushing the top half of the corpses before recalling her weapon back to her outstretched hand. Crouching down, The Daughter of Poseidon spun her staff over her back to catch any unlucky corpses at the legs whilst sliding forward on her knees twenty feet by turning snow back into water.
Jumping up high into the air, she twirled her staff over her head and coated one of the blades with water before slamming it onto the ground.
The result? A small shockwave blasting back ten of the oncoming ghouls onto the snow-covered forest floor.
Of those ten creatures, five of which got back up only to be blown to bits by Thalia's lightning. Not wanting to let her friend hog the fun, the Daughter of Zeus charged forward with her spear raised; skewing through four ghouls before pinning them to the ground. Using her weapon as a conduit, the punk-clad teen was barely able to summon a bolt of lightning before turning to face five screeching undead Vikings, their weapons raised to cut her down. Thalia deflected an overhead sword strike, ducked left beneath a war-hammer swing, and collided shield-first into the chest of another undead before knocking its head clean off with a electric-coated fist. Hopping up, she kicked off backwards from the defeated ghoul's chest before quickly pulling her spear free from the charred corpses of the zombies. Raising her shield in front of her, the Daughter of Zeus sent a stream of electricity from the blade of her spear, halting six of the reanimated corpses in their tracks. Hearing more groaning on her left, Thalia turned to face off ten more ghouls when she caught movement in the corner of her eye.
In that moment Zack appeared from out of nowhere, knives out in the open as he slid through the ten ice ghouls, cutting and slashing away at their knees and ankles. He didn't waste a second as he instantly seemed to...turn into a blur?
Thalia Grace had to take a moment to blink at what she just saw. 'Did...did he just-?!'
What the others would've amounted to pass in the span of ten seconds, the Asian demigod broke off running as the world around him seemed to slow to a crawl. Tossing up the knife in his left hand, Zack caught it in a reverse grip before decapitating a zombie. With a wicked grin growing on his face, he bolted towards the nearest Prehistoric ghoul before jumping up to kick off its head from the rest of the body. Looking around, he saw more of the zombies starting to surround Bryce at the flank, who was starting to struggle in keeping them at bay from himself and Naruto. Throwing away his knives into the foreheads of two ghouls, he raced over to the remaining duo; being careful so as not to run into anything. On his way there, Zack weaved between three corpses shuffling towards Thalia, slid on his knees beneath an overhead axe swing from Kassandra as she buried her weapon into the chest of an undead berserker, and finally leaping over a ghoulish demigod before dropkicking another in both the face and chest; the zombified caveman about shattering from the sudden impact of built-up kinetic energy as the Asian demigod jumped off as though it were a springboard. Landing onto another reanimated corpse in the same manner, the half-blooded speedster kept "body-hopping" in a star-shaped pattern until he eventually was able to clear out the threat. As he slowed, the world seemed to speed up bit by bit until it shifted back to real time.
Naruto and Bryce looked around in confusion at the rapidly-imploding frozen corpses before turning to see Zack, who saluted them with a cheeky grin before speeding off into the horde.
"...Where did you find this guy?" the whiskered blond asked as he turned to look at the satyr with wide eyes.
"Uh, just about east of Nome. That's about where I found him and Keisha fending off a couple of hungry cyclopes. Speaking of which-LOOK OUT!" Bryce yelled as he tackled Naruto in time just as a zombie came barreling overhead. Unfortunately, this caused the young shinobi to break concentration with the teleportation spell that he finally managed to find.
"HEADS UP!" The pair looked up to see Keisha punching through an undead Viking as she leapt above them. Cocking her right fist back, the dark-skinned demigoddess aimed dead center at a group of zombies before crashing down onto the ground. A spike of vines impaled the ghoul in front of her as the others quickly swarmed in. As though by instinct, Keisha raised both of her hands outwards; Naruto could faintly see some tiny thorns jutting out of the forearms of the gauntlets. The moment the brawler clenched her fists, those thorns expanded into hardened spikes before spinning around in place, clotheslining the reanimated corpses and knocking them back. Sheathing away the spikes, the mocha-skinned clapped her hands together so that more dirt would cover her limbs until the gauntlets were twice the size of her forearms. Soon, Keisha launched herself into the fray, ducking under a stray thunderbolt from Thalia's weapon and punched one of the undead into the path of Kassandra's weapon, whose water-coated blades rendered the corpse to bloody bits. Without hesitation, Keisha upper-cutted one ghoul's head clean off, backhanded another straight into impalement on a tree, and finally gripped the last zombie by its skull before slamming it headfirst into the ground.
Watching all of this unfold, Naruto was finally able to find the spell he was looking for...only to feel his eyes twitch that it required for them to be within a safe distance from any danger.
It would've taken them as far as the nearest alleyway closest to the airport, but now they'd have to fight their way out.
"...CRAP!" Naruto yelled as he sealed away the Scroll of Ancients in favor of summoning his weapons, the fiery Blades of Chaos eager to dig into undead flesh. "Looks like we're doing this the fun way! Bryce, tell me you've got something in that bag of yours."
The auburn-haired satyr blinked before unzipping the duffle-bag to reveal a multitude of arrows and jars of strange, green-colored liquids. Grabbing one of the jars, the whiskered boy tossed it up in his hand before throwing it dead center in the middle of the oncoming horde.
*BOOOOOOOM!*
The moment that the jar itself shattered as it collided with one of the zombies, jets of green flame shot forth engulfing more reanimated corpses.
"Huh, Greek Fire..." was the young shinobi's intelligent reply as the gears started churning within his mind. Grabbing ten of the jars, he tossed them into the air only to start spinning his chains and using the flat of his blades to send them into the horde. The following green explosion was enough to give the group a bit of breathing room before hearing a primal growl above them.
Looking up, they saw the bizarre monster looking down at them from a nearby branch. With a terrifying screech, the creature leapt from its perch, the jaws wide and hungry as it grasped at them. It was about to take a bite out of Thalia, when suddenly-
*SHLUNK!*
The monster yowled in pain as a fiery blade lodged itself within its chest. Looking at the source of its ire, the monster looked to see the whiskered boy from earlier soaring towards him, a blue sphere in his hand. It did register an attack on its being, but was unable to act quickly.
Nor would it live to regret that choice...
"RASENGAN!" Naruto shouted, catching it in the chest again before sending it crashing through a tree, where it regained its footing before darting around their camp from branch to branch. Growling in frustration, the young shinobi spun his chained weapons before channeling his chakra to leap up to meet his monstrous foe.
"C'MON, FUGLY! I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!" Rapidly spinning his chains, the whiskered boy swiftly maneuvered himself into the creatures personal space. Using his gained momentum Naruto stomped three times on its chest, kicked off its face with a fourth stomp, righted himself in midair before violently twisting the Blades of Chaos upon its form, creating many deep lacerations that were quickly being healed by the cold domain. The emaciated creature shook off the pain and let out a hungry roar at the blond and pounced once more, eager to take a bite out of his neck. Naruto swung up with his left hand, catching the monster in the jaw with his blade before giving a hard yank downwards sending it face first into the snow. Growling in a feverish rage as it got back up, the towering monster grabbed two nearby ghouls by the torso before violently throwing them at the whiskered blond.
Naruto was able to spin the Blades of Chaos to cut through the bodies...only to find that the creature was nowhere in sight.
The young shinobi was barely able to register the sensation of being brutally forced into the ground...
Digging its claws into the skin of its prey, the imposing abomination kept the boy pinned as it made to take a bite of his neck when suddenly a lightning bolt crashed into his chest. The creature roared in pain as it was knocked away from the young demigod, glaring at the Daughter of Zeus for the denying its meal.
"Thanks, Thalia! I owe ya one!" Naruto cheered...only to falter at the stormy glare she turned on him.
"Damn right, you owe me one Whiskers! Pay attention, next time!" she yelled while shooting bolts of electricity at the monster, keeping it at bay.
'She's not still mad at me for running off, is she?' the whiskered blond wondered as he turned to face the slowly dwindling horde. Surprisingly, some of the reanimated corpses weren't getting back up. 'That's odd...I wonder if...' he looked over at the horrifying visage of the abomination doing its utmost best to keep away from Thalia's assault. Upon further observation, he noticed that some of the wounds it had sustained weren't healing right away. 'It's probably having to strain between it and these zombies. That means if we can kill it, then bye-bye freak-bags!'
Grinning at his own genius, Naruto felt a swipe of an icy claw aiming to remove his head. Ducking beneath the offending limb, he slashed at the elbow with the left blade, followed through behind the icy corpse before cutting at the neck with the right blade. Jumping up to kick off its back like a makeshift springboard, he spun the chains to decapitate five more zombies before sending forth the chained weapon on his left at one ghoul, catching it right in the chest before yanking it towards him. With his right hand cocked back, the whiskered blond formed a Rasengan as he waited until the very precise moment to strike.
And when the ghoul got close enough...
"RASENGAN!"
Naruto thrust his right hand forward, the destructive orb of chakra completely obliterating the reanimated body beyond recognition. Looking up from his blood-covered arm, he yelled over to the Daughter of Zeus. "Thals! It's helping the zombies to heal somehow! Keep hitting it!" Not waiting to check if she heard him, the young shinobi leapt up above the small battlefield into the air before bringing his fingers together into a cross. Clouds of smoke surrounded him before dispersing to reveal ten shadow clones, each with a Rasengan in hand. Leaving his clones to barrage the horde in blue blasts of light, he used his chains to swing across the branches towards Thalia and the creature, who had managed to swipe at the Daughter of Zeus, catching her at the right shoulder.
The spiky-haired demigoddess hissed in pain at the two gashes cut across her shoulder. Instinctively she hunched over in pain, leaving her back exposed to the creature's gaping jaws. It was only at the last minute that Naruto managed to cut at its face, forcing it to back off as he took over the fight. Switching to a reverse grip, the whiskered blond looked over at Thalia cradling her wound.
Naruto's eyes flashed red as he turned back to the creature, gritting his teeth as he started to feel the fox's chakra start to leak through. Tightening his grip on his blades, the young shinobi charged at the terrifying monster with reckless abandon and a wrathful roar.
The emaciated abomination could only howl in anger as it felt two burning sensations digging deep into its left side. Taking advantage of his momentum, Naruto used the Blades of Chaos to climb his way onto the creature's neck before wrapping the chains over its eyes and around its neck and arms. Forcing it within the horde, the whiskered blond pulled and tugged at the chains to make its elongated arms swing at any nearby zombies, rendering them to bloody ribbons with the monster's wicked sharp claws. Reacting to his anger, the chains glowed bright hot as they burned and dug into the tall aberration, causing it to yowl in pain at the burning sensation of its tattered flesh. Suddenly the monster charged away from the horde towards the woods, causing Naruto to fall off as he was dragged across the snow by the chains wrapped around his arms. The emaciated abomination blindly started traversing its way from tree to tree, eventually managing to swing it way across the branches once more. The whiskered boy grunted in slight pain as he was slammed through a dead tree, already starting to feel bruises form on his sides. Growling in agitation, he dispelled the chains on his left arm and used the right to climb his way back to the creature, who was still blinded by the searing pain of burning metal. The young shinobi struggled as he climbed up closer and closer until the monster made a surprising turn back to the fighting.
By the time he was within arm's distance from its back, Naruto found that only a few reanimated dead were remaining. As Zack was finishing them off, the others were scrambling to help deal with the creature's sudden arrival. Naruto was barely able to overhear Kassandra's cry of "Naruto, hang on!" before looking up to see that the Daughter of Poseidon throwing Cataclysm at the branch in front of the creature, causing it to suddenly plummet to the ground. Regaining his hold, Naruto ignited the Blades of Chaos before slashing its stomach open, entrail spilling out of the opening in a geyser of blood. Not satisfied, the blond stabbed at one of its knees with the right blade before swiftly kicking the handle; the joint being pried open painfully and the lower leg flying off in a brutal display. As it fell forward from its missing limb Naruto looked up to face the creature only to catch its claws raking harshly across its face, eliciting a sharp hiss from between his teeth before stabbing at the right side of its face. With great force he pulled down, ripping its mouth open as the jaw now hung loosely from its remaining rotted muscle on the other side. However, the creature was finally able to grab ahold of the blond-haired boy and flung him into a bush. Feeling something in his back snap out of place, Naruto saw the wounded lumbering monster rushing at him on its three remaining limbs, its hungry eyes eager to end his life.
Unfortunately for the monster, that would never happen...
*SHLUNK!* *SQUELCH!*
Its fate was sealed as Thalia suddenly landed on top of the monster, pinned it to the ground and thrust her spear through the back of its gaping mouth before sending dangerous amounts of static electricity through its skull. The creature wailed and screeched in agony as its brain was being cooked from the inside out for what felt like forever before finally falling limp. With a quick jerk, the Daughter of Zeus used her weapon to rip the charred smoking head off its now-defunct body before smashing it to pieces against a tree.
"...Oh thank the gods, that's over." Bryce muttered with a tired sigh.
Naruto would laughed at the comment if his ribs weren't bruised and hurting. Something that Thalia took notice of.
"Kass, give me a hand with him. He's hurt pretty bad. Anyone else hurt?"
"Don't bother..." They turned to look at the whiskered blond, and much to their amazement, they could see his wounds healing up. Lifting his shirt up, what bruises he had forming were rapidly starting to fade as the young shinobi could feel some of his bones popping back into place. The blue-eyed demigoddess looked to see the claw marks on his face disappear into nothing.
Eventually, even his red eyes turned back to blue.
"Wha...Whiskers, what did you do?" Thalia asked in shock.
Naruto chuckled at the bewildered look on her face. "Eh, it's fine Freckles. I always heal pretty fast." his face turned solemn as he glanced at the open wounds on her shoulder. "Although, that looks rather nasty." He turned to look at Bryce, who was fumbling inside of his duffle-bag. "You wouldn't happen to have a needle and some stitches in there, would ya?"
A Few Minutes Later...
"I am relieved to hear of your success and survival, all of you." An IM-image of Chiron spoke as the newly-minted group of six gathered around outside the tent. He seemed to be in his mortal guise whenever not in camp, wheelchair and all.
Kassandra, Keisha, Zack and Bryce were standing in front of him; the Daughter of Poseidon controlling the evaporating snow to form the Iris-Message.
"Yeah, Chiron, the mission was a success. We now have two new demigods for camp!" Kassandra quipped with a grin.
Raising an eyebrow at the young girls antics, the Trainer of Heroes turned to the satyr, who was shaking his head in amusement. "Bryce, it's good to see you my friend. While I do not doubt Kassandra's enthusiasm for adventure and your succesful find, I have a feeling that there's more to what happened?"
With a heavy sigh, the dark-haired satyr recounted what had happened to the ancient centaur. From finding Zack and Keisha, to the meeting Naruto and the others before taking a stand against the ice undead. When Bryce finished talking, Chiron folded his fingers in front of himself as he contemplated what he had just heard. To him, it was puzzling...and troubling.
"This is grave news indeed..." came the reply. "What you all had just fought is normally not native to that region. I should probably confer with the gods on this matter further. For now, I shall ask Lady Hecate for assistance in bringing you all here." Noticing the absence of two particular demigods, he dreaded to ask: "Where are Naruto and Thalia?"
"Hm? Oh, she got cut up pretty badly for any ambrosia or nectar to heal, so blondie's patching her up right now." Zack answered with a shrug.
Meanwhile...
"OW! Watch where you're poking that thing, Whiskers!" The Daughter of Zeus shouted. Currently she was inside the tent sitting on a chair. Her leather jacket was removed and her favorite Death to Barbie T-shirt was pulled up over her head allowing Naruto better access to her naked back and the wound she received from her fight with the creature.
"Quit moving around so much, and maybe I will." came Naruto's snarky reply as he went back to sewing her wounds tight. He had to give her props, though: Thalia Grace could take a hit without backing down. The two gashes were rather deep-the whiskered boy could almost see bone from deep within. It was a miracle she didn't have her arm ripped off from that attack.
"Well, doc? How bad is it?" Thalia asked jokingly.
His answer was not so light-hearted.
"Any deeper, Thals, and you'd be an amputee for life. It missed your bones by about half an inch. You're lucky to have your arm moving at all."
"...Wait, are you serious?" She asked, eyes widened in disbelief.
"Yeah, I am. Now hold still while I finish up this last thread." The young shinobi sighed as he went back to his task. When he was finished he tied the stitch into a fine knot and cut the excess before giving the blue-eyed demigoddess a few ambrosia crackers. "Here, take some of these. I've done what I can to patch you up so it should be easier for you to heal. Just try not to overdo it, okay?"
"Heh, no promises." Thalia laughed out as she chewed on the crackers, already feeling the healing effects starting to mend her wounds. Similarly, Naruto could see the sewn gashes start to perfectly seal up and fade away as though it were never there to begin with. He did, however, had to turn away when she started to readjust her clothes lest he get hit for peeking. It was only when Thalia put her jacket back on that the whiskered blond could turn back around. "So, are you sure you're not a son of Apollo?"
"No, I'm not." he grumbled. "One: I hate hospitals. And two: I can't exactly sing. Anyway, how's the arm?"
"Pretty good. Almost like I didn't get hurt at all." To prove her point she rotated her shoulder clockwise, then counter-clockwise, feeling the last of her injuries mending away. "I'm not gonna have to take these stitches out, am I?"
"Uh, no? Bryce said they were 'self-dissolving' or something like that. I guess the skin just absorbs the stitches."
"Oh, that's cool." The Daughter of Zeus
"I've gotta ask, Whiskers: where'd you learn to stitch up a wound like that? It's almost foolproof! You've gotta tell me how you did it."
Naruto, for all his worth, couldn't answer as his mind suddenly took a trip to the past...
Flashback-no-Jutsu
"Happy birthday to me..."
In a rundown apartment somewhere within Konoha's Red Light District, a seven-year-old Naruto was seen stitching his leg back together from the many cuts that littered the surface. The same could be said for his other leg and parts of his hands and face.
It was what normally happened every night on his birthday. The "Fox Hunt" of the Kyuubi Festival, made solely to bring him as much misery as possible. The drunk villagers would gather up to find and beat him within an inch of his life. Sometimes they were civilians, sometimes they had drunk shinobi who lost a loved one the day the Kyuubi attacked the village. In the end it was always the same.
"Happy birthday to me..."
This time the villagers managed to break through the wards, dragged him out of his apartment, through him into a back alley, and just beat him mercilessly. Knives, clubs, broken bottles, kunai, hammers; anything they could use as a weapon they used to hit him.
The boy could still feel shards of glass being smashed and jabbed across his face.
When his legs broke beneath the weight of those hammers.
No matter what they used it was always the same. He would always heal from the beatings.
It didn't help that these people would laugh and celebrate with their families afterwards. That he had to deal with the hateful glares and sneers.
"Happy birthday..."
Why?!
What did he ever do to these people?!
What gave them the right to make his life a living hell?!
They didn't treat any of THEIR kids like this, so what made him different?!
"Happy birthday..."
The tears burned hot against his skin as they ran down his face, sometimes stinging his wounds if they landed too close.
None of the doctors or nurses would willingly treat him, all to happy to let the "demon child" die on the streets.
It...it just wasn't fair. At all.
"Happy birthday..."
It wasn't fair...
It wasn't fair...
It wasn't fair...
It wasn't fair...
It wasn't fair...
It wasn't fair...
It wasn't fair...!
It wasn't fair...!
It wasn't fair...!
It wasn't fair...!
It wasn't fair...!
IT WASN'T FAIR!
IT WASN'T FAIR!
IT WASN'T FAIR!
IT WASN'T FAIR!
IT WASN'T FAIR!
IT WASN'T FAIR!
IT WASN'T FAIR!
IT WASN'T FAIR!
IT WASN'T FAIR!
IT WASN'T FAIR!
IT WASN'T FAIR!
IT WASN'T FAIR!
IT WASN'T FAIR!
IT WASN'T FAIR!
IT! JUST! WASN'T! FAIR!
"...to me..."
Flashback-no-Jutsu End
"...Naruto?" The forementioned whiskered boy blinked as he heard his name being called before remembering what they were talking about. Grinning sheepishly, he turned to look at Thalia with squinty eyes and a chuckle.
"Eh, there was an old lady I'd help out from time to time. Turned out she was a retired nurse, so she taught me a thing or two!"
Thalia nodded at his answer with a smile, only to frown as he started walking outside. The demigoddess just knew there was more to that story than he was letting on. She just didn't know what.
So with a heavy sigh, she got up and followed him out of the tent, eager to get back to camp.
Two Days Later...
Naruto was sitting at the Hermes table in the Dining Pavilion , eating his lunch with Luke and his siblings.
Currently, he was wondering about the Scroll of Ancients that he received from Hecate. Since yesterday, there weren't any new spells for him to learn. Normally, every time he had mastered a new basic spell a new one would appear upon the parchment, but now it seemed to be blank. The whiskered boy sighed in mild frustration as he brought out the Scroll of Ancients once more onto the dining table.
"Anything new?" Luke asked as he curiously peered over Naruto's shoulder to gaze at the blank scroll.
The young shinobi rolled his eyes as he rolled up the scroll before putting it away. "Same as when I opened it yesterday. There's absolutely nothing left for me to learn, but bow I'm not getting anything new to learn."
The Son of Hermes shrugged his shoulders as he turned to finish his lunch. "Hey man, I don't know what to tell you. The gods work in mysterious ways, maybe you should just let it slide and work on something else."
Naruto raised an eyebrow at his words. "You're saying that should just give up?"
"That's not what I meant, and you know it." came the sharp reply.
*sigh* "Alright, I get what you're saying. Don't try to twist my arm." Naruto waved off before giving his fellow blond a grin. "Not that you really could, anyway."
"Shut up, Naruto!" Luke hissed out, remembering the friendly spar the two had about a month ago. Wanting to see which of them was better, Luke challenged the whiskered blond to a spar with Chiron as the referee. Wielding xiphos blades, the two traded parries and strikes before Luke was able to knock Naruto's weapon out of bounds. But instead of moving in to end the spar, he kept taunting and gloating the whiskered blond while allowing his guard to fall.
A mistake that would cost the Son of Hermes as he suddenly found himself lying on his stomach with his own blade pressed against his neck and a stupefied expression on his face.
"I don't know how you managed to win that spar. Chiron said to only use swords!"
"No, he agreed to let us test ourselves. You made a bet to see who was the better fighter. You were the better swordsman. Not so much of a fighter without a sword, though."
"Yeah, well I still say that you cheated! It wasn't a fair fight!"
"Life's never fair, Luke." Naruto said with a small smile as he started to eat his meal. "Why should a fight be any different?"
Grumbling, the sandy-haired blond poked at his food as he moped about the unfairness of it all. Eventually he got over it, opting to change the subject. "Looks like Zack and Keisha are fitting in just fine, aren't they?"
Looking up from his plate, Naruto could see the newly-minted Son of Hermes and Daughter of Demeter surrounded by a few of their respective siblings. The whiskered boy had a feeling that the Asian demigod was Luke's half-brother, but Keisha...now that surprised him. It wasn't until she made a delicious Shepard's Pie with Grilled Salmon that he was fully convinced.
That and the claiming she got from her mom.
"Yeah, looks that way..."
Turning to look at the younger blond, Luke asked him: "Do you ever get jealous?"
"Hm? Whaddya mean?"
"I mean," here the Son of Hermes looked around to see if anyone was trying to listen in on their conversation. When he was satisfied, he turned back to the whiskered boy. "I mean, Zack and Keisha just got here two days ago, and almost immediately they got claimed. Remember when they brought in that one Ares girl a few weeks back-Clarisse, I think."
"Charles Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, Katie Gardener, and Will Solace. Remember the look on Luna's face when Cabin Seven finally got an actual healer? Like the kid was a godsend, I swear." The young shinobi gave a tired sigh before turning to the older blond teen. "What's your point?"
"...Shouldn't you be feeling, I dunno, jealous? You've been here longer than those two, and yet you're still unclaimed."
He had to admit, Luke wasn't exactly wrong. A part of him did feel wanting for recognition. If anything, to just ask why he was abandoned the way he was.
But what good would that do? Would it fix anything?
"Eh, maybe they haven't made up their minds. Wouldn't do me much good if I was angry about it all the time" The whiskered boy shrugged before giving Luke a wide grin. "Besides, I've got you guys!"
The sandy-haired son of Hermes blinked before returning the grin with his own. "Yeah, you're right!"
""FOUND YOU!"
Naruto barely had time to register what had happened before getting knocked out of his seat by a blond-haired, human-shaped missile crashing into his side; landing onto the ground with a loud "Oomph!" that escaped from his lungs. He looked down to see that it was Annabeth, the Daughter of Athena maneuvering herself to cling off of his back.
"Ow, Annie! What gives?!"
"You promised that we'd all go fishing!" The little girl whined with a cute pout. Annabeth was put out by the fact that Naruto, Thalia and Kassandra had gone on a rescue mission to Alaska and came back with Zack and Keisha. So to make up for leaving her out, which from the hearing of things was probably for the best, she made the young shinobi promise to take her out fishing.
"Oh, did I?" Naruto rubbed his chin in contemplation as he pretended to think about it. "I can't remember saying that. You sure I said that?"
"But you promised!"
"I didn't swear on the Styx!" he couldn't help but laugh at the childish expression she was making. Annabeth growled before turning to look behind her.
"THALIA!! Naruto's being mean!!"
The whiskered boy merely looked at her with a deadpanned stare before using the Substitution Jutsu to escape from her hold. As soon as he saw the Daughter of Zeus walking towards him with a wicked grin, he blanched as he started running around the campgrounds with her hot on his heels.
Luke laughed as he helped a disgruntled Annabeth back to her feet. It seemed he had nothing to worry about, after all
'What could possibly go wrong?'
If only he knew...
--Chapter-End--
A/N: And this ends yet another chapter for Blade of Olympus! For the longest time, this chapter had been fighting me from the beginning! I hope you're all doing well and that this story has kept your interest!
Until Next Time...
Ciao!!!!