CH18 : The Ride of Love
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Percy Jackson & the Olympians or any related Movies.
"Naruto" Speech.
'Naruto" Thought.
"Katon" Jutsu/Technique/Demon talking.
The war god was waiting for them in the diner parking lot. "Well, well," he said. "You didn't get yourselves killed."
"You knew it was a trap," Percy said.
Ares gave him a wicked grin. "Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he needed a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV."
Percy shoved his shield at Ares. "You're a jerk."
Annabeth and Grover caught their breath. Naruto narrowed his eyes at Ares.
Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like pizza dough. It changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back.
"See that truck over there?" He pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner. "That's your ride. It'll take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas."
The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the back, which Percy could read only because it was reverse-printed white on black, a good combination for dyslexia: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.
"Oh geez, thanks, God of ponies and idiocy," Naruto said sarcastically while Ares glared at him.
Percy said, "You're kidding."
Ares snapped his fingers. The back door of the truck unlatched. "Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job."
He slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it to Percy. Inside were fresh clothes for all of them, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and a bag of Double Stuff Oreos.
"Is the world about to end? Ares being nice?" Naruto mocked with surprise while Ares glared at him again.
Percy said, "I don't want your lousy-"
"Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover interrupted, giving Percy his best red-alert warning look. "Thanks a lot."
Percy gritted his teeth. It was probably a deadly insult to refuse something from a god, but he didn't want anything that Ares had touched. Reluctantly, he slung the backpack over his shoulder.
He knew his anger was being caused by the war god's presence, but he was still itching to punch him in the nose. Ares reminded him of every bully he'd ever faced: Nancy Bobofit, Clarisse, Smelly Gabe, sarcastic teachers—every jerk who'd called him stupid in school or laughed at him when he'd gotten expelled.
Percy looked back at the diner, which had only a couple of customers now. The waitress who'd served them dinner was watching nervously out the window, like she was afraid Ares might hurt them. Though she was more worried about Naruto as she kept sending his blonde friend a shy but concerned glance.
Naruto, being Naruto, was oblivious to all this.
She dragged the fry cook out from the kitchen to see. She said something to him. He nodded, held up a little disposable camera, and snapped a picture of them.
'Great,' Percy thought. 'We'll make the paper again tomorrow.'
He imagined the headline: TWELVE-YEAR-OLD OUTLAW BEATS UP DEFENSELESS BIKER.
Ares kick-started his motorcycle. He revved his Harley, then roared off down Delancey Street.
Annabeth said, "That was not smart, Percy."
"I don't care."
"You don't want a god as your enemy. Especially not that god."
"It doesn't matter if he's a god or not. Nobody is invincible; his arrogance will be his downfall," Naruto said as Percy nodded.
"Hey, guys," Grover said. "I hate to interrupt, but..."
He pointed toward the diner. At the register, the last two customers were paying their check, two men in identical black coveralls, with a white logo on their backs that matched the one on the KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL truck.
"If we're taking the zoo express," Grover said, "we need to hurry."
They ran across the street and climbed in the back of the big rig, closing the doors behind them.
The trailer was dark inside until Percy uncapped Anaklusmos. The blade cast a faint bronze light over a very sad scene. Sitting in a row of filthy metal cages were three of the most pathetic zoo animals they had ever beheld: a zebra, a male albino lion, and some weird antelope thing Percy didn't know the name for.
Someone had thrown the lion a sack of turnips, which he obviously didn't want to eat. The zebra and the antelope had each gotten a Styrofoam tray of hamburger meat. The zebra's mane was matted with chewing gum, like somebody had been spitting on it in their spare time. The antelope had a stupid silver birthday balloon tied to one of his horns that read OVER THE HILL!
Apparently, nobody had wanted to get close enough to the lion to mess with him, but the poor thing was pacing around on soiled blankets, in a space way too small for him, panting from the stuffy heat of the trailer. He had flies buzzing around his pink eyes and his ribs showed through his white fur.
"This is kindness?" Grover yelled. "Humane zoo transport?"
"No, judging from the condition, this is black market transport," Naruto muttered darkly. He saw Percy and Grover's faces. "Don't do anything stupid. This is our chance to get to L.A. We can do something for them later."
Then the truck's engine roared to life, the trailer started shaking, and they were forced to sit down or fall down.
They huddled in the corner on some mildewed feed sacks, trying to ignore the smell and the heat and the flies.
Grover talked to the animals in a series of goat bleats, but they just stared at him sadly. Annabeth was in favor of breaking the cages and freeing them on the spot, but it wouldn't do much good until the truck stopped moving.
Naruto came over and made a medical check-up. "They are far from fine, lack of nutrition, lack of water, and other things I don't want to mention," he grimaced.
"Can you do anything for them?" Annabeth asked.
"Give them food and water. That is all we can do for now," he said.
Percy found a water jug and refilled their bowls, then used Anaklusmos to drag the mismatched food out of their cages. He gave the meat to the lion and the turnips to the zebra and the antelope.
Grover calmed the antelope down, while Annabeth used her knife to cut the balloon off his horn. She wanted to cut the gum out of the zebra's mane, too, but Naruto decided that would be too risky with the truck bumping around. They told Grover to promise the animals they would help them more in the morning, then they settled in for the night.
Grover curled up on a turnip sack. Annabeth opened the bag of Double Stuf Oreos and nibbled on one half-heartedly. She tried to cheer herself up by concentrating on the fact that they were halfway to Los Angeles. Halfway to their destination. It was only June fourteenth. The solstice wasn't until the twenty-first. They could make it in plenty of time.
On the other hand, they had no idea what to expect next. The gods kept toying with Percy. At least Hephaestus had the decency to be honest about it—he'd put up cameras and advertised them as entertainment. But even when the cameras weren't rolling, Percy had a feeling he and Naruto's quest was being watched. He was a source of amusement for the gods.
"Hey," Annabeth said, leaning her head toward Naruto's shoulder. "I'm sorry for freaking out back at the water park, Naruto."
Naruto smiled warmly at her. "It's okay, Annabeth."
"It's just..." She shuddered. "Spiders."
"Because of the Arachne story," Percy guessed. "She got turned into a spider for challenging your mom to a weaving contest, right?"
Annabeth nodded. "Arachne's children have been taking revenge on the children of Athena ever since. If there's a spider within a mile of me, it'll find me. I hate the creepy little things. Anyway, I owe you, Naruto." She smiled at him.
"We're a team, remember?" Naruto said. "Besides, Grover did the fancy flying."
Percy thought he was asleep, but he mumbled from the corner, "I was pretty amazing, wasn't I?"
Annabeth, Naruto, and Percy laughed.
She pulled apart an Oreo and handed Naruto and Percy half. "In the Iris message...did Luke really say nothing?"
Percy munched his cookie and thought about how to answer. The conversation via rainbow had bothered him all evening. "Luke said you and he go way back. He also said Grover wouldn't fail this time. Nobody would turn into a pine tree."
In the dim bronze light of the sword blade, it was hard to read their expressions.
Grover let out a mournful bray. "I should've told you the truth from the beginning." His voice trembled. "I thought if you knew what a failure I was, you wouldn't want me along."
"You were the satyr who tried to rescue Thalia, the daughter of Zeus." Percy nodded glumly. "And the other two half-bloods Thalia befriended, the ones who got safely to camp..." He looked at Annabeth. "That was you and Luke, wasn't it?"
She put down her Oreo, uneaten. "Like you said, Percy, a seven-year-old half-blood wouldn't have made it very far alone. Athena guided me toward help. Thalia was twelve. Luke was fourteen. They'd both run away from home, like me. They were happy to take me with them. They were... amazing monster-fighters, even without training. We traveled north from Virginia without any real plans, fending off monsters for about two weeks before Grover found us."
"I was supposed to escort Thalia to camp," Grover said, sniffling. "Only Thalia. I had strict orders from Chiron not to do anything that would slow down the rescue. We knew Hades was after her, see, but I couldn't just leave Luke and Annabeth by themselves. I thought... I thought I could lead all three of them to safety. It was my fault the Kindly Ones caught up with us. I froze. I got scared on the way back to camp and took some wrong turns. If I'd just been a little quicker..."
"Stop it," Annabeth said firmly. "No one blames you. Thalia didn't blame you either."
"She sacrificed herself to save us," Grover said miserably. "Her death was my fault. The Council of Cloven Elders said so."
"Don't think what those old goats said, Grover. You're an amazing satyr. To find me and Percy, the prince of Olympus and son of the sea god, that's an impressive feat in itself," Naruto said, trying to comfort his friend.
"Because you wouldn't leave two other half-bloods behind?" Percy added. "That's not fair."
"Naruto and Percy are right," Annabeth affirmed. "I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for you, Grover. Neither would Luke. We don't care what the council says."
Grover kept sniffling in the dark. "It's just my luck. I'm the lamest satyr ever, and I find the three most powerful half-bloods of the century, Thalia and Percy."
"You're not lame," Annabeth insisted. "You've got more courage than any satyr I've ever met. Name one other who would dare to go to the Underworld. I bet Naruto and Percy are really glad you're here right now."
She kicked Percy in the shin and rubbed Naruto's thigh, making his eyebrow twitch.
"Yeah," Percy said, which he would've done even without the kick. "It's not luck that you found Naruto, Thalia, and me, Grover. You've got the biggest heart of any satyr ever. You're a natural searcher. That's why you'll be the one who finds Pan."
"Yeah, Grover. Don't let the goat words drag you down. Be yourself and you will achieve your dream to find Pan," Naruto sagely said.
They heard a deep, satisfied sigh. They waited for Grover to say something, but his breathing only got heavier. When the sound turned to snoring, they realized he'd fallen asleep.
"How does he do that?" Percy marveled.
"I don't know," Annabeth said. "But that was really a nice thing you told him. You too, Naruto," she said, smiling and leaning towards Naruto's side.
"I meant it," Percy said, as Naruto nodded along.
They rode in silence for a few miles, bumping around on the feed sacks. The zebra munched on a turnip. The lion licked the last of the hamburger meat off his lips and looked at them hopefully.
Annabeth rubbed her necklace like she was thinking deep, strategic thoughts.
"That pine-tree bead," Percy said. "Is that from your first year?"
She looked. She hadn't realized what she was doing. "Yeah," she said. "Every August, the counselors pick the most import-
Suddenly, everything stopped. The truck ceased bumping, everything froze except for Naruto.
"What's going on?" he said to himself as he stood up. "It's like time has stopped."
"You're absolutely right," said a voice.
He turned around and saw an old wise man with a gray beard. The man wore an old white business suit and black shoes, and held an old-fashioned sand clock in his left hand. Beside him stood a tall and muscular man with long dark hair. He only wore a loincloth, and his dark skin glimmered with stars. Next to him was a woman who looked like a victim of famine. She had a drippy nose, bloody red clawed cheeks that dripped blood on her tattered dress, sunken eyes, stringy gray hair that matted to her head, and large amounts of dust covering her thin body.
"Who are you people?" Naruto demanded as he took a fighting stance.
They all smiled warmly at him. "Lower your guard, Naruto Uzumaki. My name is Ouranos, Protogenos of the Sky, Father of the Titans, and former Lord of the Heavens."
"And my name is Chronos, Primordial of Time," the old man with the sand clock said.
"And I'm Akhlys, Primordial of Misery and Poison and Keeper of the Death Mist."
"So I take it this is a family reunion then?" he asked as they chuckled.
Ouranos smiled sadly. "Just like my sister, I'm sorry for not giving you my birthday gift, my dear grand-nephew." He put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, and he glowed brightly.
"As do we," the other two said, putting their hands on his shoulder, causing him to glow brightly.
"What did you do to me?" Naruto asked.
Ouranos smirked. "Naruto, I give you massive strength that will allow you to easily overpower any foes you fight, along with Aerokinesis, which allows you absolute control and divine authority over the air. You also have the Chains of Darkness, enabling you to generate extremely durable black chains from the darkness of the night sky. I used this power to bind the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheire children before flinging them into Tartarus."
Chronos smiled at him. "I give you power over time, and remember, Naruto, time is always with you." Naruto nodded gratefully.
Akhlys gave him a motherly smile. "I grant you Toxikinesis, which allows you absolute control and divine authority over poison. I also give you control over the Death Mist."
Naruto stared at her, confused. "Death Mist?"
She giggled at his expression while the other two chuckled. "Death Mist is a supernatural force, similar to the Mist, but it works backwards. It shrouds demigods and mortals from the presence of monsters. However, the Death Mist also turns the user into mist with a corpse-like complexion," she explained. Naruto nodded.
She stepped forward and hugged him. "Gaea also wanted to visit you, but she's busy at the moment. She wanted me to send her thanks for healing her wound."
"What? I didn't heal her wound," Naruto said, confused.
Ouranos shook his head. "Naruto, you may not have noticed it, but your sage mode, as you call it, is tugging at and healing her," he said.
"Well, my grand-nephew, we have to go now, but don't worry, we will visit you in the future," Chronos said as the three disappeared in a bright flash.
Suddenly, time resumed its normal flow. The truck continued bumping along, and his friends remained unaware of what had just transpired. Naruto stood in silence, processing the new powers he had received and the strange encounter with his powerful relatives.
Here's a corrected version of the story with improved grammar and vocabulary:
"The most important event of the summer, and they paint it on that year's beads. I've got Thalia's pine tree, a Greek trireme on fire, a centaur in a prom dress—now that was a weird summer..."
"And the college ring is your father's?" Percy asked.
"That's none of your—" She stopped herself. "Yeah. Yeah, it is."
"You don't have to tell me."
"No... it's okay." She took a shaky breath. "My dad sent it to me folded up in a letter two summers ago. The ring was, like, his main keepsake from Athena. He wouldn't have gone through his doctoral program at Harvard without her... That's a long story. Anyway, he said he wanted me to have it. He apologized for being a jerk, said he loved me and missed me. He wanted me to come home and live with him."
"That doesn't sound so bad."
"Yeah, well... the problem was, I believed him. I tried to go home for that school year, but my stepmom was the same as ever. She didn't want her kids put in danger by living with a freak. Monsters attacked. We argued. Monsters attacked. We argued. I didn't even make it through winter break. I called Chiron and came right back to Camp Half-Blood."
"Do you think you'll ever try living with your dad again?"
She wouldn't meet his eyes. "Please. I'm not into self-inflicted pain."
"You shouldn't give up," he told her. "You should write him a letter or something."
"Thanks for the advice," she said coldly, "but my father's made his choice about who he wants to live with."
They passed another few miles in silence.
Annabeth leaned her head to the side but found it hit the ground.
"What th—" She looked around and didn't see Naruto. "Hey, where did my warm pillow go?"
"Right here," Naruto said as he suddenly appeared beside her, making both she and Percy jump.
"NARUTO, DON'T DO THAT," she harshly whispered, before resting her head on Naruto's shoulder. "I need my pillow back."
Naruto and Percy sweatdropped.
"So if the gods fight," Percy finally said, "will things line up the way they did with the Trojan War? Will it be Athena versus Poseidon?"
She put her head against Naruto's shoulder and closed her eyes. "I don't know what my mom will do. I just know I'll fight next to you."
"Why?"
"Because you're my friend, Seaweed Brain. Any more stupid questions?"
Percy couldn't think of an answer for that. Fortunately, he didn't have to. Annabeth and Naruto were asleep; he had trouble following her example, with Grover snoring and an albino lion staring hungrily at him, but eventually he closed his eyes.
Percy's Dream
The nightmare started out as something he had dreamed a million times before: he was being forced to take a standardized test while wearing a straitjacket. All the other kids were going out to recess, and the teacher kept saying, 'Come on, Percy. You're not stupid, are you? Pick up your pencil.'
Then the dream strayed from the usual. He looked over at the next desk and saw a girl sitting there, also wearing a straitjacket. She was his age, with unruly black, punk-style hair, dark eyeliner around her stormy green eyes, and freckles across her nose. Somehow, he knew who she was. She was Thalia, daughter of Zeus, Naruto's half-sister.
She struggled against the straitjacket, glared at me in frustration, and snapped, 'Well, Seaweed Brain? One of us has to get out of here.'
'She's right,' his dream-self thought. 'I'm going back to that cavern. I'm going to give Hades a piece of my mind.'
The straitjacket melted off me. He fell through the classroom floor. The teacher's voice changed until it was cold and evil, echoing from the depths of a great chasm.
'"Percy Jackson," it said. "The exchange went well, I see."'
He was back in the dark cavern, spirits of the dead drifting around him. Unseen in the pit, the monstrous thing was speaking, but this time it wasn't addressing him. The numbing power of its voice seemed directed somewhere else.
'"And he suspects nothing?" it asked.
Another voice, one he almost recognized, answered at his shoulder.
'"Nothing, my lord. He is as ignorant as the rest."'
He looked over, but no one was there. The speaker was invisible.
'"Deception upon deception," the thing in the pit mused aloud. "Excellent."'
'"Truly, my lord," said the voice next to him. "You are well-named the Crooked One. But was it really necessary? I could have brought you what I stole directly—"
'"You?" the monster said in scorn. "You have already shown your limits. You would have failed me completely had I not intervened."'
'"But, my lord—"
'"Peace, little servant. Our six months have bought us much. Zeus's anger has grown. Poseidon has played his most desperate card. Now we shall use it against him. Shortly, you shall have the reward you wish, and your revenge. As soon as both items are delivered into my hands... but wait. He is here."'
'"What?" The invisible servant suddenly sounded tense. "You summoned him, my lord?"'
'"No." The full force of the monsters' attention was now pouring over me, freezing me in place. "Blast his father's blood—he is too changeable, too unpredictable. The boy brought himself hither."'
'"Impossible!" the servant cried.'
'"For a weakling such as you, perhaps," the voice snarled. Then its cold power turned back on me.
"So... you wish to dream of your quest, young demigod? Then I will oblige."'
The scene changed. He was standing in a vast throne room with black marble walls and bronze floors. The empty, horrid throne was made from human bones fused together. Standing at the foot of the dais was my mother, frozen in shimmering golden light, her arms outstretched.
Percy tried to step toward her, but his legs wouldn't move. He reached for her, only to realize that his hands were withering to bones. Grinning skeletons in Greek armor crowded around him, draping him with silk robes, wreathing his head with laurels that smoked with Chimera poison, burning into his scalp.
The evil voice began to laugh. "Hail, the conquering hero!"
Percy woke with a start. Grover was shaking his shoulder. "The truck's stopped," he said. "We think they're coming to check on the animals."
"Hide!" Annabeth hissed. She had it easy. She just put on her magic cap and disappeared. Grover and Percy had to dive behind feed sacks and hope they looked like turnips.
As for Naruto, he was just standing there with his eyes closed. The trailer doors creaked open. Sunlight and heat poured in.
"Man!" one of the truckers said, waving his hand in front of his nose. "I wish I hauled appliances."
He climbed inside and saw Naruto standing in front of the lion cage. "Hey!" he shouted. "Who are you?"
"Maurice, what's happening inside there?" the second driver said. "There's a kid inside, Eddie!"
"A kid?" He climbed into the truck and saw Naruto. "Who are you?"
"You're the Executioner," Naruto replied before shooting solid bolts of darkness and surrounding the driver in pitch-black clouds of space.
"Eddie, what's happening?" Maurice said in panic as he saw nothing but darkness.
"How should I know?" Eddie said in a panic.
Naruto punched the two of them, and they fell with a loud thud. "Now let's save the animals," Naruto said.
Percy cut the locks with his sword. Grover raised his hands and spoke the same goat-blessing he'd used for the zebra.
"Good luck," he told the animals. The antelope and the lion burst out of their cages and went off together into the streets.
Some tourists screamed. Most just backed off and took pictures, probably thinking it was some kind of stunt by one of the casinos.
"Will the animals be okay?" Percy asked Grover. "I mean, the desert and all—"
"Don't worry," he said. "I placed a satyr's sanctuary on them."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning they'll reach the wild safely," he said. "They'll find water, food, shade, whatever they need until they find a safe place to live."
"Why can't you place a blessing like that on us?" Percy asked. "It only works on wild animals."
"So it would only affect Percy," Annabeth reasoned, making Naruto snicker.
"Hey!" he protested.
"Kidding," she said. "Come on. Let's get out of this filthy truck."
They stumbled out into the desert afternoon. It was a hundred and ten degrees, easy, and they must've looked like deep-fried vagrants, but everybody was too interested in the wild animals to pay them much attention.
They passed the Monte Carlo and the MGM. They passed pyramids, a pirate ship, and the Statue of Liberty, which was a pretty small replica but still made Percy homesick.
They must have taken a wrong turn because they found themselves at a dead end, standing in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino. The entrance was a huge neon flower, the petals lighting up and blinking. No one was going in or out, but the glittering chrome doors were open, spilling out air-conditioning that smelled like lotus blossom.
The doorman smiled at them. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"
Percy nodded and said, "We'd love to come in." Inside, they took one look around, and Grover said, "Whoa."
The whole lobby was a giant game room. There was an indoor waterslide snaking around the glass elevator, which went straight up at least forty floors. There was a climbing wall on the side of one building and an indoor bungee-jumping bridge. There were virtual-reality suits with working laser guns and hundreds of video games, each one the size of a widescreen TV. Basically, you name it, this place had it. There were a few other kids playing, but not that many. No waiting for any of the games. There were waitresses and snack bars all around, serving every kind of food you could imagine.
"Hey!" a bellhop said. He wore a white-and-yellow Hawaiian shirt with lotus designs, shorts, and flip-flops. "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key."
Percy stammered, "Um, but..."
"No, no," he said, laughing. "The bill's taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, room 4001. If you need anything, like extra bubbles for the hot tub, or skeet targets for the shooting range, or whatever, just call the front desk. Here are your LotusCash cards. They work in the restaurants and on all the games and rides."
He handed them each a green plastic credit card.
Percy knew there must be some mistake. "Obviously, they think we're some millionaire's kids," he thought. But he took the card and said, "How much is on here?"
The bellhop raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, when does it run out of cash?"
He laughed. "Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay."
They took the elevator upstairs and checked out their room. It was a suite with three separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with candy, sodas, and chips. A hotline to room service. Fluffy towels and water beds with feather pillows. A big-screen television with satellite and high-speed Internet. The balcony had its own hot tub, and sure enough, there was a skeet-shooting machine and a shotgun, so you could launch clay pigeons right out over the Las Vegas skyline and shoot them with your gun.
The view over the Strip and the desert was amazing, though Percy doubted they'd ever find time to look at the view with a room like this.
"Oh, goodness," Annabeth said. "This place is..."
"Sweet," Grover said. "Absolutely sweet."
There were clothes in the closet, and they fit Percy. He frowned, thinking that this was a little strange.
He threw Ares's backpack in the trash can. He wouldn't need that anymore. When they left, he could just charge a new one at the hotel store.
Grover was eating potato chips to his heart's content, while Annabeth cranked up the National Geographic Channel.
"All those stations," he told her, "and you turn on National Geographic. Are you insane?"
"It's interesting."
"I feel good," Grover said. "I love this place."
Without his even realizing it, wings sprouted out of his shoes and lifted him a foot off the ground, then back down again.
"So what now?" Annabeth asked. "Sleep?"
Grover and Percy looked at each other and grinned. They both held up their green plastic LotusCash cards.
"Play time," Percy said.
Suddenly Annabeth realized something. "Wait, where's Naruto?" she asked, alarmed.
The two looked around the room and saw no Naruto. "Oh, I'm sure he's fine. He's Naruto," Grover said.
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Ugh, I can't believe you guys." She stood up and left to find Naruto.
Naruto wandered through the casino, contemplating what to do first. Suddenly, he felt a tug on the back of his jacket. He turned around and saw a kid with messy, shaggy black hair and olive skin, wearing an aviator's jacket, jeans, and sneakers.
"Are you lost, mister?" the boy asked, noting Naruto's earlier aimless wandering. His shock deepened when he saw Naruto's eyes flash red with activation.
Naruto activated his eyes, startling Nico, who looked at them with fascination. Naruto sensed demigod energy in the kid, more specifically, undead energy.
He grinned, unsettling the kid slightly. Perfect blackmail material, he thought, chuckling madly to himself.
"What's your name, kid?" Naruto asked.
The boy smiled toothily. "Nico di Angelo. What's yours, mister?"
"Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto replied with a smile. "Do you happen to know the best restaurant around here?"
The kid nodded vigorously. "Sure, mister! Follow me."
"Woowwww, so you're a ninja?" Nico asked, his eyes gleaming.
"Yup, a retired ninja but still a ninja nonetheless," Naruto said as he ate his ramen.
"So what can you do? Can you make lightning come out of your hand? Can you breathe fire? Can you make a clone like you told me earlier?" Nico fired questions a mile a minute.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, kid, hold your horses. Yes, I can do all that, but I can only make clones here, lest I want to destroy this casino."
Naruto made his favorite hand sign and a clone poofed into existence beside him. Nico watched with stars in his eyes.
"That is so cool," Nico said, poking the clone, which chuckled along with the original.
"NICO DI ANGELO!" a feminine voice yelled, making Nico sweat rivers and pale, which could rival his father.
A girl marched toward their table. She had black eyes like her father, which gleamed with either madness or genius, and silky dark hair. She was lean and of average height, with olive skin and wore a floppy green hat that hid her face.
She came forward and pulled Nico's ear, making him cry out in pain. "How many times do I have to tell you not to run off by yourself?" She pulled harder, and he whined in pain.
Naruto chuckled as the girl finally noticed him. She blinked rapidly and stared at his whisker marks.
Naruto's eyebrow twitched. Sure, he knew whiskers weren't common in this world, but come on, was it really that weird to have whiskers?
"Bianca, this is Naruto. Look, he can make clones. Cool, isn't it?" Nico said, trying to escape his sister's wrath.
Bianca blinked. "Clones?" she asked before glaring at Nico. "Nico, did you eat something from the mall again?"
"WHAT? No, it's true. Show her the clones, Naruto!" Nico cried out. Was his sister for real? He had stopped eating those weird flowers years ago.
Naruto sighed and decided to save the kid's fate. "Sure." He made the clone hand sign, and another clone appeared beside him.
Bianca gaped at him like a fish out of water. How did he do that?
"I'm a special case, Bianca. I... have a special power," he said as he took off his gloves, revealing his ashen and smoky hand.
Nico stared at his hand in fascination, while Bianca asked dumbfounded, "What happened to your hand?" Naruto put his gloves back on, making Nico whine as he wanted to see the cool hand.
"That's something for the future for you to know," he said mysteriously.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Annabeth, Percy, and Grover looking around for him.
"Well, I think it's time for me to go," he said, standing up as he got ready to leave.
"WHAT? Can't you stay a bit longer?" Nico pleaded, eager to see some ninja moves.
Naruto chuckled. "Sorry, kid, but my friends are looking for me. But don't worry, I'll visit you again next time," he promised, as Nico beamed at him.
"Bianca," he called out as she looked at him. "I know you're tired of taking care of Nico." He said it barely above a whisper so Nico couldn't hear. Bianca's eyes widened. "But trust me, family is everything, Bianca. He may be an annoying little brat, but he's your little brat. As a family, we look out for each other, no matter how bad they are. They're still and always will be our family, because a person without family can't last long in loneliness," he said solemnly but strongly, nodding at his words.
"Here," he gave them each a Hiraishin kunai.
Nico played with them until Bianca scolded him to be careful with it. "If you need me, just throw the kunai on the ground, and I'll be there in a flash," he said, as the undead duo nodded.
"Thank—" Bianca turned back to thank him, but he was already gone.
"He is so cool!" Nico gushed fan-boyishly, and Bianca nodded along with him.
"The Lotus bellhop hurried up to them. 'Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?'
'We're leaving,' Percy told him.
'Such a shame,' he said, and Percy got the feeling that he really meant it, that they would be breaking his heart if they went. 'We just added an entire new floor full of games for platinum-card members.'
'No thanks,' Naruto's voice said behind them as they turned to see him walking toward them.
They walked toward the door, and as they did, the smell of food and the sounds of games seemed to get more and more inviting. Percy thought about their room upstairs. They could just stay the night, sleep in a real bed for once...
"Keep moving," Naruto said firmly, snapping Percy out of his daydream.
Then they burst through the doors of the Lotus Casino and ran down the sidewalk. It felt like afternoon, about the same time of day they had gone into the casino, but something was wrong.
The weather had completely changed. It was stormy, with heat lightning flashing out in the desert. Ares's backpack was slung over Percy's shoulder, which was odd because he was sure he had thrown it in the trash can in Room 4001, but at the moment, he had other problems to worry about.
He ran to the nearest newspaper stand and checked the year first. Thank the gods, it was the same year as when they had gone in. Then he noticed the date: June 20th.
They had been in the Lotus Casino for five days.
They only had one day left until the summer solstice. One day to complete their quest.
"Let's go," Naruto said. "Time's running out."