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A Shinobi Among Monsters by euphoric image
 Naruto & Percy Jackson and the Olympians Xover Rated: T, English, Adventure & Humor, Naruto U., Artemis, Apollo, Words: 208k+, Favs: 8k+, Follows: 9k+, Published: Mar 21, 2020 Updated: Jan 15 3,237Chapter 4: Camp Half-Blood
In his defense, Naruto had thought that it was perfectly normal for a pile of cables to be laying on the ground. Who knew? Perhaps the daughter of Zeus did some things with them. As a result, when he neared it and it suddenly morphed into a dragon, he had panicked somewhat.
Before he could pull out a Rasenshuriken, however, a centaur had suddenly appeared next to him and whisked him away. Naruto had been a split second away from slicing out the centaur's tendons before he remembered that the Activities Director of Camp Half-Blood was Chiron, and while Naruto had made bad first impressions before (the eraser dropped on Kakashi came to mind), he really didn't want to start off his stay at camp by eviscerating the teacher of heroes.
And so, Naruto had restrained himself, even as he was forcibly carried away from the dragon and into Camp Half-Blood. He shuddered slightly as he passed the camp's magical borders - he supposed technically, he counted as a monster (although he can and will punch anyone who even insinuates that Kurama or any of the Bijuu are monsters) - but apparently, since Chiron had carried him in, it counted as an implied invitation.
Chiron smiled warmly at Naruto. "Hello there, Naruto. My name is Chiron, and I'm the Activities Director of Camp Half-Blood. This here is young Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon."
Naruto's eyes widened. "You're the guy who recovered the master bolt."
Percy smiled. "That's me. Hey wait, how did you know?"
Naruto opened his mouth to speak but Chiron interrupted, "Let's take this discussion to the Big House."
They passed numerous cabins - Naruto drew in a sharp breath when he saw a familiar silver glow being emitted from Cabin Eight - and they stopped in front of a large building painted sky-blue with a wraparound porch.
A man reclined in a chair leafed through a magazine, sipping from a Diet Coke. He had curly hair, so black it almost looked purple. He wore a neon orange leopard-skin warm-up suit and had on a pair of purple running shoes. The man looked up when Chiron, Naruto, and Percy arrived.
"Great. Another one of you brats," he grumbled out before turning back to his magazine.
Chiron sighed as he backed up into a wheelchair and rolled over to the man's side. "Mr. D, please. At least try to be cordial to our new arrivals."
"There's no need," Naruto bowed down. "It's an honor to meet you, Lord Dionysus."
Dionysus looked up, slightly intrigued. "Oh? You know who I am, boy?"
"Yes, sir."
Needless to say, in a normal situation, Naruto would be extremely indignated by Dionysus's treatment of him. But this wasn't a normal situation. Artemis was captured, and Naruto couldn't afford to make an enemy of a god. If it meant that he has to grit his teeth and be polite to Dionysus, so be it.
Dionysus scrutinized Naruto for a second. "Not bad. Certainly a lot better than Peter Johnson over there. At least this one knows proper respect. What is your name?"
Naruto grinned. "Naruto, sir."
There seemed to be a light purple flame burning in Dionysus's eyes, and Naruto suddenly felt as if he was being dissected by his intense stare. Was this a test? If it was, then Naruto didn't want to fail it. Naruto returned Dionysus's stare with one of his own. The same eyes he used to stare down Nagato and Obito and Madara and so many others.
Of course, it's also possible that Dionysus does this to every new camper to intimidate them and to assert his dominance, but come on. He couldn't be that petty, right?
Dionysus's eyebrows raised a fraction of an inch when, instead of looking away uncomfortably, Naruto met his stare head-on. Then the moment passed, the tension died down, and Dionysus went back to reading his magazine.
Did he pass? Was it even a test? Naruto glanced at Chiron and Percy, but they didn't seem to have noticed the brief battle of wills between Naruto and Dionysus; instead, they were staring incredulously at Dionysus; Percy's mouth hung slightly open.
"I. . . I take it back, sir," Chiron looked shocked. "It appears that you are capable of cordiality."
Dionysus scoffed as he turned a page. "Nonsense. Naruto, I hope you die a painful death."
Chiron's eyes widened even further. "I'm. . . I'm amazed, Lord Dionysus. I had never seen you show such kindness before."
Dionysus finally looked up, an irritated look in his eyes. "What?"
Next to Naruto, Percy had a stunned expression on his face. "You said that Naruto was 'not bad.' And you asked for his name willingly. And you said his name correctly. Umm, sir."
Dionysus rolled his eyes. "Oh please. Spare me."
"As you wish, Mr. D. Sit down, Naruto," Chiron smiled kindly at him and gestured at one of the open seats.
Percy hesitated. "May I stay?"
"Certainly. You were, after all, the one who initially discovered Naruto."
Percy and Naruto sat down. Naruto observed with slight amusement as Percy picked the seat farthest from Dionysus.
Clearly, there was no friendship between the two.
"I take it that you're already aware of the existence of the Greek gods?" Chiron asked.
Naruto nodded. "Yeah. The Greek gods moved around with Western Civilization. And I'm the son of one of them."
Chiron nodded. "Indeed. May I ask how you came to this knowledge?"
"Apollo."
At first, Naruto had contemplated acting completely dumb, but that would ultimately work against him. If he wanted to join the quest, he had to establish himself as competent and powerful.
Chiron leaned forward, interested. "Oh? Is Lord Apollo your father?" He looked up above Naruto's head, as if expecting something to pop up.
Naruto shuddered. "No. Definitely not. It's. . . it's complicated."
Chiron nodded slowly. "Do you know your Olympian parent?"
"Nope. Not a clue," Naruto shrugged nonchalantly.
"How do you know Apollo then?" Chiron frowned.
Naruto hesitated. "It's a long story. One I'd rather not tell right now."
"Very well," Chiron leaned back. "There's no need for you to see the orientation film, as you're already aware of all the main points. For now, we'll place you in Cabin Eleven, with all the other undetermined kids."
Naruto nodded - then froze. "Undetermined?"
There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment.
"Naruto. . . gods and goddesses, well. They're not exactly the best parents," Percy said tentatively. "There are many demigods here who have never been claimed by their godly parent. But," he added hastily, "You'll probably be claimed soon. Don't worry about it. Here, let me take you on a tour of the camp."
"Yes, that's a good idea," Chiron quickly affirmed. "Thank you, Percy, for volunteering."
Demigods who have never been claimed. . . demigods who have been abandoned by their parent. . .
It's one thing to not interact with their children. Gods are restricted by the Ancient Laws. But to not claim them altogether? To not simply take a second of their day and acknowledge their existence?
Naruto knew what it felt like, not knowing who his parents were. Even worse, there wasn't a reason for the gods to not claim their children. With Naruto, knowledge of his parentage was kept secret from him because, quite frankly, if he knew it at that age, it probably wouldn't have stayed a secret for long. And Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki had a lot of enemies who wouldn't hesitate to assassinate Naruto. But the gods? What excuse did they have?
But he'll deal with that later. For now, Percy was gesturing at Naruto to follow him. Naruto stood up, nodded goodbye to Chiron, bowed once more to Dionysus, and left the Big House.
"You didn't have to be so respectful to him, you know," Percy said once they were out of earshot.
Naruto shrugged. "He's still a god. It wouldn't hurt to not be respectful to him. Besides, I'd rather not make any enemies just yet."
Percy coughed. "Oh. Right. Yeah, that's probably a good policy to have."
Campers turned and stared at Naruto as they walked through the camp. Pegasi stable, cabins, archery range, lava rock climbing wall (for the average demigod, difficulty level: high; for anyone who can use chakra, difficulty level: same as tree climbing, only with a little more risk), showers (oh gods did they not have private showers in the cabins?) and so on.
Although it was rather odd. Naruto expected there to be a lot more people at camp. "Hey, where is everyone? Why is there pretty much nobody here?"
"It's winter," Percy shrugged. "This is a summer camp. Right now, only the year-rounders are here."
"Ah, that explains - " Naruto made eye contact with a girl and froze.
She smelled like Artemis.
Well, okay. That wasn't entirely correct. She had her own smell - strawberries and a slight hint of mint along with that distinct girl smell - but she had an underlying scent, faint, barely noticeable, but still unmistakably there: Artemis's scent.
A Hunter of Artemis.
The girl noticed him staring and scowled at him. "What are you looking at?"
Naruto didn't respond.
The girl paused. "Did you hear me?"
To be honest, he didn't know how to act around the Hunters of Artemis. He knew that they had a dislike of the general male population, but at the same time, he did want to get to know them and be friends with them.
Naruto didn't want to accidentally burn any bridges. He's fully aware that his normal personality may be. . . offensive at times to people who are not used to him, so for now, in the presence of the Hunters, he'll just try to be as laid back and chill as possible - in other words, the exact opposite of Apollo.
And who was the most laid back and chill person Naruto knew well enough to mimic?
Kakashi-sensei.
"Hmm? Did you say something?" Naruto tilted his head questioningly.
The girl blinked. "Are you stupid or something?"
"I'm afraid not," Naruto smiled apologetically "I wasn't listening, you see. I was busy admiring the flowers behind you."
The girl turned and sure enough, bright purple flowers bloomed. Naruto didn't really understand how they bloomed, since it was winter and it was snowing. Probably magic.
"Oh. Never mind then," the girl walked away.
Percy glared after her. "How rude can she be? You're like, ten years old. What did she think you were doing?"
Naruto observed Percy. While outwardly, Percy's anger seemed to be directed at the girl, looking underneath, Naruto could tell that the anger stemmed from something bigger.
"Something's bothering you, and it isn't the girl," Naruto hesitated. "What's wrong?"
Percy glanced at Naruto, slightly shocked, before sighing. "I found out that one of my friends was interested in joining the Hunters."
"Who?"
"Annabeth," Percy's expression darkened, a pained look entering his eyes. "She's in trouble. Luke - an enemy - took her captive. And, according to Zoe's dream - she's another Hunter of Artemis - Artemis was kidnapped as well."
What?! So it wasn't just Artemis? A half-blood was also captured?!
Percy noticed Naruto's sudden grim countenance. "But - it'll be fine. We'll rescue her. Them. It's nothing you have to worry about."
"Yeah. . ."
It appears that the camp already knew of Artemis's situation.
"Anyway," Percy attempted to change the subject, "Do you have any questions? About the gods or the camp?"
"Not really, no. Apollo already told me everything I needed to know," Naruto shrugged.
"I think the tour is over then," Percy rubbed his chin. "This is my first time giving an official tour, and I don't really know the protocols for this. You wanna head over to the sword arena? I can give you a little lesson in sword fighting."
Naruto shrugged. "I'm down."
XxX
"You're distracted."
Percy sighed. "Am I really that obvious?"
"Not really. I'm just very observant," Naruto sidestepped Percy's half-hearted downward slice. "Is it because of Annabeth?"
All the fight drained out of Percy. He lowered his sword. "Yeah. I'm worried sick about her. I'm sorry. I know I told you I'd give you a lesson but right now - "
"I understand," Naruto smiled. "Don't worry, I feel the same. There will probably be a quest announced soon. A rescue mission for your friend."
Percy froze. "Quest. . . you're right."
Naruto frowned. "I am?"
"I'll be back, Naruto. Just. . . explore, or something," Percy turned and began to run away.
"Where are you going?" Naruto called after him, confused.
"I'm going to go see the Oracle."
XxX
Naruto sat under a tree, watching bemusedly as Percy collapsed next to him. "How did it go?"
"I was just rejected by a mummy," Percy said in a desolate tone.
"Oh." What else could Naruto say to that?
"I. . . I need to go talk to Grover. He's a satyr, by the way. Any more questions?" Percy stood up.
"Nope. See ya around."
Naruto watched Percy run off before he shut his eyes once more. Apollo had always said that demigod dreams aren't normal dreams but rather important visions. Naruto had never experienced a demigod dream before, but there's a first time for everything.
And maybe, hopefully, Naruto's dream will reveal something relevant about rescuing Artemis. Oh, and Annabeth too.
XxX
"Are you the new demigod?" An excited voice woke Naruto up.
Naruto opened his eyes. He squinted up at the sky, noting the position of the sun. He had been asleep for about an hour, during which he dreamed of Tenzo carving up a tree into the figure of Sasuke and animating it for Sakura. Not a demigod dream. Hopefully.
Naruto looked at the person who woke him up. A young boy who looked to be around Naruto's age, shuffling cards in his hands, waited for Naruto's answer. "Yeah, I am. My name is Naruto."
"This is awesome! I'm Nico di Angelo," Nico grinned at Naruto. "I just got to camp yesterday. Do you play Mythomagic?"
Naruto smiled at the kid's energy. Nico reminded Naruto of. . . well, himself, when he was that age. "I have no idea what Mythomagic is."
Nico hesitated. "Umm, do you want to learn? I mean, it's totally fine if you don't. But it would be, like, really cool if you did."
Naruto blinked. "Is this your way of asking if we could be friends?"
"What?" Nico spluttered for a few moments before looking away and saying quietly, ". . . yeah. I don't have any friends, and Bianca left me to join the Hunters, and it feels kinda lonely."
Naruto's heart warmed up faster than you can say Katon: Gouka Mekkakyu. This kid. . .
"Sure," Naruto smiled. "Let's be friends."
Nico brightened. "Sweet! Alright, so first you need to have cards. The cards are either Greek gods or monsters. I have a huge collection, so I can share some with you - but I'm keeping the holofoils for myself. Basically, you have to defeat the enemy by - "
Until the quest was issued, there wasn't much Naruto could do, so he might as well sit down and play some games with Nico. Although Naruto was becoming impatient. If the quest isn't issued by tomorrow morning, then Naruto may have no choice but to go out on his own. He'd rather not though; as a shinobi, he knew the importance of information, and the information the Oracle gives would be invaluable.
" - and that's pretty much it. Wanna play?" Nico asked hopefully.
"Hit me up with some cards," Naruto grinned. "I'll show you the extent of my power."
Nico smirked right back. "Don't come crying to me when you lose."
XxX
"How?" Naruto stared blankly at Nico. "How?! You had one card left. Just one. I had five. And you killed all five."
Nico laughed. "Outplayed, Naruto. You targeted the wrong cards."
"That's broken," Naruto stood up. "Hey, you just got to camp yesterday, right? You wanna explore with me?"
They still had some time until dinner. They had time to kill.
"Yeah," Nico got up and fell in step with Naruto. "Do you know who your godly parent is yet?"
Naruto shook his head. "Nope. I do, however, know Apollo."
Nico's eyes widened. "No way. I met him yesterday too."
"Oh?" Naruto distinctly recalled Apollo heading out yesterday. "How was he?"
"He was awesome," Nico grinned. "He drove us to camp in the freaking sun chariot. We flew in the sky in a bus."
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Judging from Nico's impression of Apollo, he probably hadn't done anything too bad, like recite his poetry or display his womanizing ways -
"Well, okay," Nico amended. "He didn't drive us himself; he let Thalia drive."
Naruto sighed heavily. "Of course he did. Entrust the sun to a demigod driver. Although it could've been much worse; at least Thalia is the daughter of Zeus. If it had been the son of Poseidon driving. . ."
"You know Percy?" Nico asked as they passed the camp armory.
"Yup. He gave me the tour of the camp today."
"Percy is really cool, isn't he?" Nico gestured wildly with his hands. "So there was this monster trying to kill us yesterday, a manticore, and Percy saved us."
Naruto nodded. "Indeed. Percy Jackson stopped a war once."
"No way," Nico breathed in awe. "How?"
"Zeus's master bolt was stolen, and that incident threatened to rip the gods apart. Percy Jackson recovered the master bolt in time," Naruto summarized.
"Zeus's master bolt?! That does 600 damage! It was stolen?!" Nico gasped. "How could Zeus be stupid enough to lose something as important as that - "
Thunder boomed overhead.
"Umm, Nico, you should probably apologize, like, right now," Naruto glanced upward warily.
Nico paused. "Did that thunder mean that Zeus heard me?"
"Probably, yeah."
"Oh. Umm, Lord Zeus, I humbly beseech you for your forgiveness. Please, forgive this lowly demigod," Nico bowed his head. "It is neither my place nor my duty to comment on the actions of one as great as you. I apologize sincerely."
Thunder boomed once again, though this time, it was almost appreciative.
Naruto stared. "What? Why did you go all Shakespeare on me?"
Nico straightened up from his bow and shrugged. "I went to a military school. They taught us a bunch of useless stuff there. Hey, where are we going?"
"Didn't I say that we were going to explore?"
Nico hesitated. "Well, yeah, but isn't this, you know, the forest?"
"It is," Naruto grinned. "It's going to be so much fun."
"Wait, but isn't the forest, like, stocked with monsters?"
"Oh please. We'll be fine."
"Alright," Nico shrugged. "But if I get killed, you're the one who Bianca is going to kill."
"And who is Bianca?"
"She's my sister," Nico's face darkened. "She joined the Hunters of Artemis, though. She left me."
Naruto paused. "I know how you feel."
Nico whirled on Naruto. "Yeah? You know how it feels when someone you love leaves you?"
"Yes," Naruto said simply. "I do."
Nico deflated. "Oh. Who?"
"He was my best friend." Naruto didn't expand further, and Nico didn't ask.
"You loved him?" Nico finally spoke.
"He was like a brother to me," Naruto smiled sadly. Then he blinked. "Dude, look at that." He pointed at a huge cluster of boulders.
"It's a pile of rocks," Nico said unimpressively.
"No, not that," Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Something's not right." His instincts screamed at him that there was something there. Naruto walked up, scrutinizing everything. He could see nothing. He reached out with his senses.
There! There was a delta inscribed on the rock.
Nico walked up to the boulders, now frowning. "You're right. I can sense something off here."
Naruto glanced at Nico. "You can sense something too?"
"Yeah," Nico pressed his hand against the boulder. "I don't know what it is though."
"There's a delta inscribed on the rock," Naruto blindly reached in with his hand and touched the delta. Immediately, an opening appeared.
"Whoa!" Nico jumped back, surprised. "Where did that come out from?!"
"I don't know," Naruto rubbed his chin. He stared into the opening, but he saw only darkness. "I'm getting a really bad feeling about this though. We probably shouldn't go in there."
"If you say so," Nico glanced curiously into the opening.
Naruto touched the delta once more, and the opening closed up.
"What do you think that was?" Nico asked once they were far away.
"No idea. It felt unnatural though," it reminded Naruto of Orochimaru's numerous hideouts. Although he supposed Artemis's influence also played a role; after all, a man made underground hideout is the direct antithesis of the wild and the forests. "Let's not go back there again."
Nico frowned. "Why? It didn't feel that bad."
"It did. It absolutely did," Naruto tilted his head. "Although that's probably because we have different Olympian parents; perhaps your parent has an affinity for the underground or the earth."
"You think?" Nico stared down at his hands before tensing up when he heard a loud rustling of leaves and a screeching sound come from near them. He cautiously scanned their surroundings. "What was that?!"
"Don't worry about it," Naruto dismissed, continuing to walk forwards.
Nico hurriedly stepped by Naruto's side. "How can you be so confident? If we get cornered by a monster - "
"Then I'll kill it," Naruto's eyebrows rose in interest when he spotted tracks on the ground. Giant ants? Heavy. Possibly armored. The information streamed into his mind, painting a rather disturbing image in his head. A swarm of giant armored ants. . . while they wouldn't be particularly difficult to defeat, they would be disgusting to fight.
"You'll kill it?" Nico looked around fearfully. "You're new to this camp - you're even newer than me! Do you really think you can fight against all the monsters in here?"
Naruto turned to Nico and gave him a confident smile. "Yes."
"How?" Nico asked.
Naruto inclined his head. "Like this." And he disappeared.
Nico's eyes widened as he felt a tapping on his shoulder. He whirled around to find Naruto standing behind him, twirling a small silver kunai in his hand and the confident smile still on his face.
"Just because I'm new," Naruto flicked the kunai to the side without even looking, "Doesn't mean I'm defenseless," he finished. Nico's head turned, and his eyes widened even more when he saw a bird with a razor-sharp bronze beak fall to the ground, the silver kunai embedded in its eye, before disintegrating into dust.
A moment of silence passed as Nico's mouth moved, trying to form words but no sound came out. And then the dam broke. "THAT WAS SO COOL!" Nico broke out in a wide grin as he looked at the dust on the ground, then at Naruto, then at the dust again. "How did you do that?!"
Naruto smirked. "I'm just that good."
"Teach me," Nico begged. "That was legendary!"
"I suppose I can give you a few lessons," Naruto led Nico over to a small clearing in the forest. He didn't bother to go pick up the kunai; they would automatically return back to his kunai pouch in a few moments. Naruto's kunai and shuriken were Hephaestus-made, after all, and with a little added magic from Artemis, the weapons were linked to the pouch. The design was modeled after Zeus's lightning bolt, where it would always return to the sheath.
"You moved so fast, you were like the rotors of a helicopter! One moment you were there and the next you were behind me! You were gone in a flash!" Naruto could swear there were stars shining in Nico's eyes.
"It was pretty awesome, huh?" Naruto grinned smugly. "Alright, let's start with the basics."
"The basics?"
"Lesson Number One: Taijutsu. Come, Nico. Attack me."
Nico hesitated. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, I can't exactly teach you how to throw projectiles out here, can I? We have an archery range for that. Right now, I'll just teach you how to fight," Naruto held up his hand in the seal of confrontation. "We start with the seal of confrontation."
Nico copied Naruto's hand seal, albeit slightly clumsily. "Like this?"
"Yup. And then we fight. Come at me," Naruto's arms hung loosely by his side.
"Umm, how?"
Naruto stared. "Well, you could try to punch me, I guess. I need to know your general skill level first."
"Got it!" Nico charged Naruto, fist cocked back in a heavily telegraphed punch. He was slow - way too slow.
Naruto caught the punch in one hand. "Alright, I've seen enough. Rule number one: do not telegraph your attacks. Try to use minimal movements."
Nico gritted his teeth. "Understood."
"Again!"
And Nico rushed Naruto once more.
XxX
"How are you not sweating?" Nico panted after about thirty minutes of sparring.
Naruto shrugged. "I haven't really exerted myself that much."
Nico seemed to grow depressed at that. "Am I really that bad?"
"No!" Naruto said vehemently. "You've improved a lot. Keep in mind, Nico, that I've been training for a lot longer than you. In fact, I'm impressed; you learn at an extremely rapid pace. I don't think you've made the same mistake twice yet."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Oh," Nico blushed slightly at the praise. "I think we should get back now."
"Yeah, let's return. Before that, however. . ." Naruto held out two fingers in the seal of reconciliation. "We have to make the seal of reconciliation. It's like a handshake, only with the same two fingers you used to make the seal of confrontation."
Nico reached out with his own two fingers and Naruto grasped it tightly. "Good fight, Nico. You did well."
"Thank you."
They made the walk back in a comfortable silence, Nico staring at Naruto in awe every few moments when he thought Naruto wasn't looking. It was like Konohamaru all over again.
When they exited the forest, Chiron and a young girl were waiting for them. Her scent. . . she was also a Hunter of Artemis, although her scent was extremely faint, as if she hadn't been one for very long.
"Bianca!" Nico cried happily upon seeing her. He began to run towards her before stopping in place, his smile diminishing in size as if remembering something. But then the smile was back in full force. "I made - "
"Where have you been?!" Bianca demanded. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?"
Nico's smile wavered. "What?"
"I looked everywhere for you! But I couldn't find you anywhere! Can you imagine how I felt when a dryad told me that she saw you walking into the forest? The forest filled with monsters that will kill you?!" Bianca threw her hands up in the air. "How reckless can you be?!"
Chiron nodded sagely. "What she said."
Naruto blinked. "Hey, uhh, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but there's a lava rock climbing wall over there. Why are you suddenly concerned about camper safety? It's not as if countless other demigods haven't entered the forest before."
Chiron winced. "Ahem, I would just like to say that the lava rock climbing wall is perfectly safe, and we haven't had a single death yet."
Yet.
"What would've happened if you had run into a monster?! You both would have been killed!" Bianca breathed heavily.
"Indeed," Chiron nodded once more. "People die when they are killed, and demigods are no exception."
"If we ran into a monster, then I would've eliminated it," Naruto raised an eyebrow at Chiron. Why was Chiron even siding with Bianca with this?
"You're what, ten years old?" Bianca glared at Naruto. "How could you possibly lead my little brother into a dangerous forest when you can't even protect yourself?"
Naruto sighed. "Just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm defenseless - "
"Hey, Naruto, could I speak to you for a moment?" Chiron gestured at Naruto to come closer to him. Naruto cocked his head but did as Chiron asked, leaning in to hear what the centaur had to say.
"Just go along with it," Chiron hissed in Naruto's ear.
"What?!"
"I'd rather not have an irritated Hunter if I could help it," Chiron's tail flicked nervously. "Tensions are already rather high, and I would prefer it if it stayed constant and didn't increase or - gods forbid - explode. I don't want to see the camp in flames. Again."
"Ohhh I get it," Naruto whispered back. "I gotchu."
"Thank you."
Naruto walked back. "Nico, it's time to go Shakespeare again."
Nico turned to him, betrayed. "What? Why?"
"Just do it," and Naruto bowed his head to Bianca, who looked surprised at the turn of events. "I humbly beseech you for your forgiveness. Please, forgive this lowly demigod."
Nico hesitated before bowing his head as well. "Indeed, I have commited a cardinal wrong. I apologize deeply; it shall never happen again."
"Oh," Bianca blinked. "Alright then. Nico, just. . . be careful."
"I was careful!" Nico protested.
Bianca sighed. "If you say so." Then she turned to Naruto. "You're the new demigod, right? The one that just arrived today?"
Naruto nodded. "Yup. Naruto, at your service."
Bianca bit her lip for a moment, seeming a little abashed about her previous outburst. "I'm sorry for shouting at you, but I was just worried - "
Naruto held up a hand, smiling. "I understand completely."
'"Naruto," Chiron spoke up. "If you would come with me, please?"
"Hmm? Oh, sure, yeah," Naruto planted his hands into his pockets and followed Chiron away. "See you around, Nico."
"Bye Naruto!" Nico waved enthusiastically.
Naruto walked away, trailing after Chiron, but his heightened sense of hearing could still catch Bianca and Nico's conversation.
"What was it that you wanted to tell me?" Bianca asked curiously.
While Naruto couldn't see Nico, he could practically feel the excitement that Nico radiated. "Oh yeah! I made a friend, Bianca!"
"Naruto?"
"Naruto," Nico cheerfully confirmed. "He's awesome!"
"I'm so happy for you!" Bianca sounded genuinely happy for Nico. She was a good sister. "See, I told you that the kids at Westover Hall were wrong about you."
"Well, of course they were. I never liked those kids anyways," Nico was silent for a moment before his energy returned. "You won't believe how awesome Naruto is. He should have his own Mythomagic card!"
And the smile remained on Naruto's face even after the distance grew too great and the sound of Bianca and Nico's conversation faded away.
"Something funny, Naruto?" Chiron inquired.
"Not at all, Chiron," Naruto paused. "Oh, by the way, just how many times have you been sued?"
Chiron coughed nervously. "I'm sure you're wondering why I asked you to come with me."
"That's not what I asked - "
"Well, the answer, my young half-blood, is simple," Chiron continued, ignoring him. "Percy asked for you; he wishes to talk to you."
"He does? Why?" Naruto frowned.
Chiron shrugged. "I believe he's planning on introducing you to one of his friends who've expressed interest in you after learning about your encounter with Mr. D."
XxX
"You smell good."
Naruto froze. "Come again?"
"Grover, dude!" Percy elbowed the satyr, Grover, in the side. "What was that about?"
"Oh, sorry," Grover apologized halfheartedly. He sniffed the air. "Seriously though. You smell insanely good; like nature and trees and. . . well, nature." He sighed dreamily.
Damn. Damn damn damn. Hopefully, Grover wouldn't connect the dots. Of course, it would be nearly impossible for him to; the idea that there would be a male child of Artemis was so outlandish and improbable that only someone like Kakashi-sensei would think of it. The person would have to be so insane, it loops around back to brilliant. Grover couldn't possibly guess the truth.
. . . Naruto dearly hoped he didn't just jinx himself.
Fortunately, Grover didn't go the brilliantly insane route. "Whatever. It's probably just because of the residue from Lady Artemis. I wouldn't worry about it."
Naruto didn't breathe a sigh of relief - he wasn't that obvious anymore - but he did relax slightly. "I see. Well, it's nice to meet you. My name's Naruto."
"Grover Underwood," Grover grinned at Naruto. "Tell me: what did you do to Mr. D?"
"What do you mean?"
Grover gestured wildly with his hands. "According to Percy, Mr. D. was actually, well, nice to you. What's your secret? Are you secretly a wine prodigy, or something?"
"What even is a wine prodigy?" Naruto wondered. "In any case, no. I just met Mr. D and I'm not even sure he likes me; if how he treated me was 'nice', then I can only shudder to think of how he treats people 'harshly.'"
"Trust me, you don't want to know," Grover looked down at the ground before sniffing the air again. "Oh man. Your scent. . . it's amazing. It's like nature, and the wild, and the forests - "
Naruto's fingers twitched imperceptibly.
" - and it's amazing and. . . wow," Grover stared at Naruto. "I've only smelled this scent on one other person before; Lady Artemis."
Naruto's heart skipped several beats.
Percy's eyebrows rose in interest. "He smells like Lady Artemis?"
"His scent is also similar to the Hunters of Artemis, although it's more potent and. . . pure," Grover leaned in close to Naruto. "Percy said that you knew Lord Apollo, correct?"
"Yes," Naruto nodded carefully.
"How did you know Apollo?" Percy asked.
Naruto hesitated. "He was my guardian."
Grover bleated - he literally bleated - in surprise. "Whoaaa kid we don't make those claims around here. If they're false. . ." he looked up at the sky nervously.
"I'm not lying," Naruto frowned. "I was raised by Apollo."
"For real?" Percy's eyebrows scrunched together. "A demigod being raised by a god? I don't think that's ever happened before."
Grover crossed his arms. "It's an extremely rare occurrence. Which begs the question: just why was Apollo your guardian? Why are you special?"
It's time for Kakashi-sensei level bullshit.
"It's probably because of my chakra," Naruto said offhandedly.
Percy blinked. "Chakra? Isn't that some Indian thing?"
"Nope. Well, yeah, it is, but not the thing I'm talking about," Naruto held up his hand and channeled some chakra to it. Slowly, his hand began to emit blue light - wasted chakra in terms of efficiency, but it made a cool light show. "This is chakra."
Percy and Grover didn't speak; they were too busy examining Naruto's hand.
"Apollo discovered that I had it, and I guess he decided it was interesting, so he decided to raise me," Naruto shrugged. "I lived in one of his. . . temples."
"Chakra would certainly explain it," Grover rubbed the thin wisps of his goatee. "The gods would definitely want to keep an eye on a new - or perhaps ancient - power. How did you acquire this chakra?"
"I've had it since I was born."
"What can you do with it?" Percy asked curiously.
"Umm. . . not a lot," Naruto didn't want to reveal a lot yet. He'd rather not draw too much attention to himself; he didn't want a god coming down and looking too closely. That was probably the same reason why Apollo didn't just come to camp and fetch Naruto. It would raise many questions, questions that could lead to the discovery of Naruto's identity.
Naruto smiled at the thought of Apollo just glaring down at him overhead in his sun chariot, unable to do a single thing without raising suspicion. As long as he remains in camp, Apollo couldn't get him. Even better, once Naruto goes on the quest, Apollo could do even less; even more gods would be watching the quest, and direct interference from a god is strictly forbidden.
Apollo couldn't just kidnap Naruto in a ray of golden sunlight unless he wanted to risk the wrath of Zeus.
Unless, of course, Apollo decided to just stop caring and do it anyways; but that's unlikely, because Naruto knew that Apollo needed Artemis to be saved, and Naruto also knew that Apollo knew that out of all the demigods in this camp, Naruto would be the best bet.
At least, that's what Naruto hoped would happen. Given how Apollo hasn't swooped down and performed a fly-by kidnapping yet, Naruto figured that was probably the case.
"Come on," Percy pressed on. "Being a human flashlight can't be the only thing chakra can do. What other powers do you have?"
A horn sounded.
Naruto tensed up. "What was that?"
"It's a summon to the dining pavilion; in other words, it's time for dinner," Grover said. "Finally. I'm starving."
Percy suddenly facepalmed. "I forgot."
Naruto tilted his head. "Forgot what?"
"I didn't introduce you to the Hermes cabin yet. Uhh, that's where you'll be sitting, by the way," Percy explained. "Sorry about that. I'll give you a quick introduction."
Naruto followed Grover and Percy to the dining pavilion. Fortunately, it appears they've completely forgotten about Naruto's chakra.
Thank the gods for ADHD demigods and hungry satyrs.
XxX
"Naruto!" Nico waved happily at him from the Hermes table. "I saved you a seat."
Naruto smiled. "Thanks, I'll be right there."
"You know Nico?" Percy asked.
Naruto nodded. "Yup. Met him after you left today. Hey, why is the atmosphere so tense in here?" He was reminded of the room he waited in for the Chunin exams to begin.
Percy narrowed his eyes. "There's a capture the flag game tonight. Campers vs Hunters. We're going to beat them."
Naruto didn't need negative emotion sensing to tell that Percy definitely disliked the Hunters. "Is this because Annabeth wanted to join?"
". . . maybe."
"Is she your certain someone?" The grin on Naruto's face was extremely reminiscent of Jiraiya's.
Percy blushed furiously. "What? No! Of course not."
Naruto smirked. "I see."
If that was the case, then he didn't really blame Percy. If he found out that Hinata wanted to join a group that forbade all romantic relationships. . . Naruto wouldn't be very happy either.
"Hey, Connor, Travis, this is Naruto, a new demigod that arrived today. He's undetermined," Percy introduced once they reached the Hermes table.
Two guys, brothers, grinned mischievously at Naruto. "Hello there."
"Welcome to Cabin 11."
"The superior cabin."
"The biggest cabin, if you know what I mean."
Percy groaned. "He's, like, ten years old. Please."
One of them pouted. "We're just joking around, Percy. It's nice to meet you, Naruto." He stretched out his hand. "I'm Travis."
"And I'm Connor," Connor stretched out his hand as well.
Naruto raised his eyebrows bemusedly. "It's nice to meet you both." He shook Connor's hand first, and then Travis's.
"Alright, two things," Travis grumbled. "First of all, why did you shake Connor's hand first? Second, where's your watch?"
Naruto blinked. "My watch?"
"How are we supposed to demonstrate our amazing thievery skills if you don't wear a watch for us to steal?" Connor complained. "Oh, and he shook my hand first because I'm obviously the better one."
"Respect your elders, youngling," Travis sniffed imperiously. "Do not live in delusions."
"My job here is done," Percy walked off to the Poseidon table.
Travis and Connor grinned at Naruto. "In all seriousness though, welcome to the Hermes cabin. Sit wherever you want, though we hear that your pal there saved you a seat."
"Although there's not really a point of saving you a seat," Connor looked around the Hermes table. Only he, Travis, and Nico were there; nobody else. "With you, there's only 4 people at the Hermes table."
Naruto chuckled. "It's the thought that counts."
He took the seat next to Nico. "So. . . where's the food?"
"They have this really cool system where nymphs deliver the food. And the cups fill up with whatever drinks you want," Nico explained excitedly.
"Oh? Any drink?" Naruto looked at the empty goblet in front of him. "Water."
Water materialized in the goblet. Naruto frowned.
"Spring water."
No visible change.
Naruto took a sip. "Perfection."
Nico stared at him confusedly. "What?"
"For you see, Nico, not all water is created equal. Spring water is the highest quality; gathered directly from the source, it is the purest form of water you can get."
". . .okay then."
XxX
Naruto walked to the pavilion fire to offer some of his food to the gods - then he froze.
A young girl was tending to the flames.
Hestia.
She looked up and saw Naruto. She looked puzzled for a second before recognition entered her eyes. She winked.
Naruto smiled back as he walked up to the flames and scraped a portion of his pizza in.
For you, Hestia. And Artemis. Oh, and I guess Apollo too. Sorry about earlier today, by the way.
Naruto breathed in the smoke, and it actually smelled good.
Magic.
XxX
After they had finished dinner (the pizza was good), the campers and hunters all began gearing up for the capture the flag game.
Nico had run off to find some armor. Naruto simply observed the occupants of the dining pavilion.
The Hunters of Artemis all looked upset; they were whispering nervously to each other, and some of them even looked like they had been crying. They must be worried about Artemis. Even though he hasn't even spoken to them yet, aside from that one girl, Naruto felt a strange sense of kinship with them. Unfortunately, Naruto didn't think they'd like it very much if a boy walked up to them.
Their general dislike of the male population was vexing.
Naruto will make them accept him, though. Difficult, but not impossible. And if Naruto could get through to a purple-eyed mass murderer, a red-and-black-eyed mass murderer, and countless others, then he could get through to them.
On the camper's side, the Aphrodite kids (Naruto could tell because of their perfect makeup/wardrobe/hair) looked like they were ready for blood. It made sense that they would dislike the Hunters of Artemis; they're literal opposites of each other. Out of all the Olympians, Aphrodite was high on Naruto's list of gods he didn't want discovering his identity.
Sadly, it appears that even though the Aphrodite kids had the spirit, they didn't have the skills. Naruto winced as one girl's nail snapped in half as she tried to put on the heavy bronze armor. She must have a high pain tolerance though because she didn't even scream - oh. It had been a nail extension, and she hadn't even noticed it snapping off yet; now she's looking and she noticed it -
Naruto winced again as she let out a blood curdling scream.
Moving on. Three Hephaestus kids with huge muscles, presumably from working in the forges all day, were making last-minute checks on their weapons. Weapons that they probably created themselves.
A few Ares kids, ferocious expressions on their faces. They almost rivaled the Aphrodite kids in terms of intensity.
Almost.
"Naruto, look at this! I'm wearing real armor!" Nico's blue-feathered bronze helmet was falling into his eyes and his breastplate was about six sizes too big. His celestial bronze sword was too heavy for him.
Naruto chuckled. "If I were you, I'd look into asking the Hephaestus kids to forge you some custom armor."
Nico's eyes widened "Custom armor? That would be so cool! I could have my own designs, and razor sharp gauntlets, and a built-in sheathe for little daggers and so much more!" He deflated. "I don't think they'll make it for me though. Oh, look, it's Percy."
Nico ran up to Percy excitedly, Naruto following behind at a more sedate pace. "Percy, this is awesome!" He lifted his sword with effort. "Do we get to kill the other team?"
Naruto blanched.
"Well. . . no," Percy replied, looking vaguely disturbed.
"But the Hunters are immortal, right?"
"That's only if they don't fall in battle. Besides - "
"It would be awesome if we just, like, resurrected as soon as we were killed, so we could keep fighting, and - "
"Nico, this is serious. Real swords. These can hurt," Percy interrupted. "Speaking of which, Naruto, what are you wearing?"
Naruto looked down at himself. Orange pants. Black-and-orange jacket. Black sandals. "What's the problem?"
"Where is your armor?"
"Not wearing armor."
Percy paused. "Wait, what?"
"Armor is only going to slow me down. I don't need it. Don't worry, I'm not planning on getting hit," Naruto reassured.
"Umm, I'm pretty sure it's a required rule for you to wear armor," Percy scratched his head. "Lemme ask. Hey Thalia!"
A girl with spiky hair and electric blue eyes jogged over. "What is it?"
"Are we required to wear armor?" Percy asked.
Thalia frowned. "Why wouldn't we wear armor?" She turned to look at Naruto. "Kid, where's your armor?"
"He says he doesn't need armor," Percy answered for Naruto.
Thalia crossed her arms. "Kid - what's your name?"
"Naruto."
"Naruto. You need armor. And a sword. Where's your sword?"
"I don't need that either."
Percy and Thalia shared a glance. "You need a sword."
"Yeah, you really do."
"Naruto has his own knives!" Nico cut in. "Show them!"
Naruto sighed, but he reached into his kunai pouch and took out a single silver kunai. "I use these to fight."
"Huh. Okay then," Thalia narrowed her eyes. "You still need armor, unless you're planning on getting skewered by arrows. Or impaled by a sword. Or - I don't even know what hidden weapons the Hunters have. Trust me, you're going to want to wear armor."
Naruto inclined his head. "You raise an excellent point."
"Thank you - "
"But no. Armor sucks. It's heavy and clunky and immobile and it does nothing but lower my speed and agility. Besides," Naruto gestured towards the Hunters. "They've had centuries of archery experience. You really think they can't shoot accurately into the chink of the armor? Without the heavy armor weighing me down, at least I can dodge their arrows."
Thalia narrowed her eyes. "You think you can dodge their arrows?"
"Yeah."
Thalia nodded slowly. Then her fist unexpectedly shot out towards Naruto's gut - and slammed into Naruto's awaiting hand. It took a massive amount of self-control for Naruto to restrain his reflexes and not immediately counterattack, but he managed it.
"Huh," Thalia blinked. "With that reaction time, you may have a chance after all. Alright then. You do you, I guess. Just don't get killed."
Naruto smiled. "I won't."
"Hey Percy, what should we do?" Nico tried to readjust his helmet, but it was in vain. He gave up, and it just hung there, slightly lopsided.
Percy patted Nico's shoulders. "Just follow the team. Stay out of Zoe's way. We'll have a blast."
Chiron's hoof thundered on the pavilion floor. "Heroes! You all know the rules. Sadly, I do not think many of you will follow them, but oh well. Blue team - Camp Half-Blood - shall take the west woods. Red team - the Hunters of Artemis - shall take the east woods. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. NO INTENTIONAL MAIMING, please. Allow me to repeat myself. NO INTENTIONAL MAIMING."
"Oh come on, Chiron!" An Aphrodite kid yelled.
"No exceptions! Anyone accused of intentional maiming shall first be tried by a kangaroo court and then subsequently punished by becoming my personal stable cleaner."
There was a collective shudder around the camp.
"He doesn't mean what I think he means, right?" Naruto asked nervously.
Percy looked at Naruto with a haunted look. "He does. He absolutely does."
"All magic items are allowed!" Chiron continued. "UNLESS, and this is a very big unless: if it creates fires, explosions, or otherwise any form of incendiary results of ANY kind, then THEY ARE BANNED. I AM LOOKING AT YOU, HUNTERS."
"One time!" A Hunter protested. "It was one time! Besides, the campers started it - "
"I DON'T CARE WHO STARTED IT. THE CAMP WAS IN FLAMES! DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH PAPERWORK YOU PUT ME THROUGH YOU STUPID, SHORT-SIGHTED, IRRESPONSIBLE - " Chiron coughed. "Ahem. That being said, all I can say now is: to your positions! Let the battle begin!"
"Wouldn't the paperwork be Mr. D's job, since he's the camp director?" Naruto inquired.
"Does Mr. D seem like the type to do paperwork?" Percy asked rhetorically.
"Oh. Right."
"Blue team! Follow me!" Thalia commanded.
The campers cheered and followed. Percy ran to catch up to Thalia - and tripped over somebody's shield. "Damn it Travis!"
"Sorry," he didn't look sorry.
XxX
Thalia had put Naruto on defense along with a Hephaestus kid, Beckendorf, Percy, the Stoll brothers, and Nico. The flag itself was located on top of Zeus's fist.
Needless to say, Naruto stayed far away from the entrance. The underground tunnels deeply unsettled him. He climbed to the very top of the pile, precariously adhering himself with chakra, sitting next to Percy.
Defense was boring. Naruto amused himself by keeping track of the Hunters and campers. A few were already fighting. Nico struggled to climb to the boulders, and Naruto helped him up.
"What's happening?" Nico asked.
Instead of answering, Percy bit his lip before looking to Beckendorf. "Can you guys hold the fort?"
Beckendorf snorted. "Of course."
Percy took a deep breath before announcing, "I'm going in."
Naruto's eyebrows rose. This would be interesting.
Nico and the Stoll brothers cheered as Percy raced towards the boundary lines. Naruto sensed no obstacles ahead; Percy should be fine. There was only one guard protecting the flag -
Oh. "Hey, Nico?"
"Yeah?"
"How would you react if Percy slammed Bianca into the ground?"
Nico's eyes flashed dangerously. "What?!"
"Never mind."
It appeared that Percy's plan may actually work - nope. A trip wire arrow tripped Percy, sending him sprawling into the snow. And there's Thalia, screaming at Percy - oh man, was that a fart arrow?
Even from this far away, Naruto started coughing. He quickly plugged up his nose with a clever application of chakra, but even as he waved away Nico's concern, he only had one thought: I'm sorry, Kiba.
"By the way, you can come out now," Naruto spoke up.
Beckendorf looked at Naruto as if he was insane. "What are you talking about - "
"I am impressed," a Hunter stepped out of the shadows. She had coppery skin, and she had a tiara on her head. "There aren't many that can detect me like that, especially not one as young as thyself."
Naruto grinned. "I'll take that as a compliment."
She inclined her head. "It was."
Her hands twitched, a silver bow materialized suddenly, and a second later, the Stoll brothers let out gasps of pain as arrows slammed into their helmets. Naruto winced.
In an amazing display of agility, Zoe had bounded up the pile of boulders and was on top of them in less than a second. Beckendorf tried to fight her off, but her hand streaked forward, grabbed the flag, and then she backflipped off, landing gracefully on the ground before sprinting away.
"Whoa," Naruto blinked. "She's good."
"After her!" Beckendorf cried as he and Nico gingerly lowered themselves to the ground and began chasing her. Naruto jumped off and caught up to them easily.
"Hey, Beckendorf?" he asked, jogging along.
"What?" Beckendorf gasped back. Clearly, while the son of Hephaestus was strong, his aerobics was severely lacking.
"If we win this, do you promise to make Nico a custom set of armor?"
Nico's eyes suddenly seemed to gain stars. "Yeah! Pretty please?"
"Damn it! If we win this, I'll make Nico ten sets of custom armor! If we win, you have no idea how happy Sile - " Beckendorf cut off suddenly. "Anyway, the answer is yes."
Naruto grinned. "It's a deal."
And in a burst of speed, Naruto was right behind the Hunter. She turned around, surprised. "You are fast!" she exclaimed before firing an arrow at him, not slowing down as she did.
Naruto deflected it with a kunai. He picked up his speed, and in a second, he was running ahead of her. "So, do you want to stop, or should we fight and run?"
The Hunter hesitated before skidding to a stop. "This will be quick," she promised before firing off a massive barrage of arrows - all of which were deflected or outright dodged. Naruto smirked at the astonishment on her face.
"It's nothing personal, but I really can't let you win. 10 sets of custom armor depends on it," Naruto looked ahead, where he could see Percy racing to the boundary line. The Hunter turned around and saw him too. She didn't hesitate this time; she just began sprinting.
Naruto sighed before running after her. "Hey, didn't you hear me? You can't outrun me!" He shouted right next to her.
She spared him a glance. "You cannot stop me either."
Naruto paused. "Wrong. I'm choosing not to stop you. I can stop you though, and if you don't stop on your own, I'll do it for you."
She smirked. "You can try."
"If you insist." They were getting pretty close to the creek, the boundary line, and Naruto couldn't afford to lose - oh wait. He'd always wanted to do this, and this was his perfect chance.
In honor of Bushier Brows-sensei and the absolute badass he displayed when he released the Eighth Gate and beat the living shit out of Madara. . .
XxX
Ahead of him, Percy could see Zoe Nightshade racing towards him like a cheetah high on sugar and caffeine, dodging campers with no trouble. She had their flag in her hands.
"No!" he yelled as he poured on the speed.
Percy was two feet from the water, already despairing as Zoe was about to leap across, win the game, and knock into him for good measure - when an orange-and-black streak slammed into Zoe Nightshade from the side and sent her flying.
"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" Naruto grinned from his flying kick.
Zoe was up in a flash, already moving again, but it was too late. Percy had crossed the creek.
Game over.
XxX
There was disbelieving silence in the forest for a moment.
Then the campers released a deafening cheer so loud it probably reached Olympus. Chiron appeared out of the woods, the Stoll brothers on his back. He looked pleasantly surprised, as if he had been expecting a basic ramen but instead received a deluxe all-you-can Ichiraku ramen special.
"For the first time in 56 games," he announced, "THE CAMPERS WIN!"
Another cheer went up. "PERCY! PERCY! PERCY! PERCY!" they chanted.
For their part, the Hunters looked shell-shocked and confused, as if they still couldn't believe that they lost.
"PERCY! PERCY! PERCY! PER - "
"What were you thinking?!" Thalia stormed up to Percy. She smelled like rotten eggs, and blue sparks flickered up her armor.
Percy narrowed his eyes. "I won us the game!"
"You disobeyed my orders! I was at their base, but the flag was gone!"
"We won, Thalia!" Percy threw his hands up in the air. "What are you even mad about?!"
"We won because of a fluke! Did you know that Naruto would go ultra instinct on Zoe when you ran off?!" Thalia glared at Percy. "If Naruto hadn't been there, then we would've lost!"
"But we didn't lose!" Percy retorted. "I don't get what you're mad about! We won!"
"It isn't about winning," Thalia growled. "This is the second time that you disobeyed my orders! And sure, maybe it worked out this time, but it probably won't work next time, and it most certainly did not work last time!"
Percy grew still. "Are you blaming what happened to Annabeth on me?" he asked dangerously.
Thalia paused, sensing that she'd gone too far. "That's not what I meant - "
A stream of water shot out from the creek, blasting Thalia in the face.
Travis giggled. "Percy just made Thalia wet."
"Dude, shut up," Beckendorf muttered.
"Sorry!" Percy's eyes widened, turning pale. "I didn't mean to - "
Thalia pushed Percy, a shock going through his body and blowing him backwards ten feet into the water.
"Ohhh Thalia just blowed Percy," Travis crowed.
"Dude!"
"Yeah," Thalia growled. "I didn't mean to either."
Percy stood up and stepped onto the water.
"Jason Bourne, it's Jesus Christ!" Travis gasped.
"Okay, that was actually good."
Percy raised his bronze blade. "You want some, Pinecone Face?"
Thalia raised her spear in response. "Bring it, Seaweed Brain."
"They're roleplaying!"
"Dude, shut up!"
XxX
Hestia observed the proceedings confusedly. "Why are they fighting?" she muttered.
Dionysus stood next to her, chewing on peeled grapes. "Isn't it obvious?"
"No. Would you care to explain?"
Dionysus shrugged. "Alright. The thing you have to understand, Hestia, is that they both possess an extraordinary amount of repressed anger and shame and sadness and guilt from losing Annie Girl."
"Annabeth."
"Whatever. The point is, they're not really fighting over the disobeying orders thing. They would've ended up fighting anyway, no matter what the reason. They both blame themselves for the loss of Annie Girl, so they're taking it out on each other. I wouldn't worry too much about it; they don't actually hate each other; this is just the manifestation of all their repressed anger. It's like therapy for them."
Hestia paused. "You actually know your stuff."
Dionysus scoffed. "I'm the god of madness. Psychology is right up my alley."
She glanced sideways at him. "That's a lie. What's the real reason?"
Dionysus's eyes widened before he chuckled. "You always were too perceptive. Fine. I wanted to give Ariadne a reason why Theseus left her, to convince her that it wasn't her fault, and somehow it ended me up learning philosophy, psychology, and a bunch of other mind stuff so I could properly psychoanalyze Theseus."
Hestia smiled. "The things you do for family."
"Indeed."
XxX
"Enough!" Chiron ordered.
The two ignored him. Thalia raised her blade, and Naruto smelled ozone.
There was a very good chance that Thalia would blast Percy with lightning sometime in the next second.
Naruto was suddenly struck with a sense of deja vu. He'd been in this situation before. On the hospital roof, when he had been fighting with Sasuke.
Naruto and Sasuke were Percy and Thalia. Chiron would be Kakashi-sensei then - Naruto glanced over. Chiron stood there helplessly. He was completely useless.
Never mind. Chiron was Sakura.
Which meant. . . who was Kakashi-sensei? Naruto scanned the faces of everyone, but nobody looked as if they were going to jump in and stop the two.
Nobody, except for him.
Naruto sighed. First Bushier Brows-sensei, now Kakashi-sensei. Next thing you know, I'll be emulating Iruka-sensei.
Thalia yelled and a blast of lightning came down from the sky, hit her spear like a lightning rod - and slammed into Naruto, who suddenly appeared between the two.
To be more precise, it slammed into Naruto's hand - his hand that was holding a Rasengan.
Lightning bolt against a Rasengan packed densely with chakra. The Rasengan won - the lightning bolt wasn't that powerful, because Thalia wasn't actually trying to kill Percy.
There was silence once more as the lightning fizzled out and the Rasengan disappeared as if it was never there.
"Are you kidding me?!" Naruto yelled. "You two are comrades. Why are you fighting?!"
Hypocrite hypocrite hypocrite NaRuTo! sAsUkE! hypocrite hypocrite hypocrite -
Shut up!
"I mean, for the love of the gods, just chill!" Naruto sighed exasperatedly. "Talk it out like normal human beings!"
"You just. . ." Thalia trailed off. "You just blocked a lightning bolt with your hand. . ."
Did they not see the Rasengan? Naruto did suppose that the light of the electricity would cover it up, but they didn't see it? Damn, his luck was good.
"How did you stop the lightning bolt - WHAT THE HADES IS THAT?!" Percy yelped, looking right behind Naruto.
Naruto turned around and saw something that terrified him. It was shrouded in a murky green mist. A withered mummy.
"This is impossible," Chiron breathed nervously. "It. . . she has never left the attic. Never."
Nobody dared to move - except for Naruto, who leaped back. He was pale. "G-g-ghost!"
I am the spirit of Delphi, it said, Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python.
Naruto blinked. "Never mind, false alarm."
The Oracle turned and regarded the tiara girl with its cold dead eyes. Approach, Seeker, and ask.
She swallowed. "What must I do to help my goddess?"
The Oracle's mouth opened and green mist poured out. A vague image of a mountain, and a girl standing at the barren peak.
Naruto drew a sharp breath, but nobody noticed. It was Artemis, but she was wrapped in chains, fettered to the rocks. She was kneeling, her hands raised as if to fend off an attacker, and it looked like she was in pain. The Oracle spoke:
Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,
One shall be lost in the land without rain,
The bane of Olympus shows the trail,
Campers and Hunters combined prevail,
The Titan's curse must one withstand,
And one shall perish by a parent's hand.
The mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. She sat down on a rock and became still.
Naruto's heart pounded harshly against his chest as his hands twitched uncontrollably. His chakra fluctuated and he had a wild look in his eyes.
He was going to save Artemis. No matter what.
I am almost entirely sure Dionysus is a tsundere. Think about it: he acts like he doesn't care about the campers, but in the first 5 books alone, he has: restored Chris's mind, rescued Percy and the others during the Titan's Curse by cursing the mortals with madness, immediately dismissed Tantalus (if he truly did hate the campers, he could've easily stalled or claimed hearsay.)
Thanks to the reviewers who pointed out my mistake with Heracles.
Percy will not be stupid in this. He won't be Kakashi-level genius, but he won't be flat-out stupid like in the books. I can't do that to him.
Nico, on the other hand. . . pre-Bianca death, he's a bright friendly kid. To be honest, I'm still unsure on whether or not I want to kill Bianca off; happy Nico is so. . . wholesome and fun to write.
Minor Edit: changed all the "thou" to "you." I remembered Zoe's speech patterns wrong.
Thank you all for reading, and please review :)
euphoric
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