Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Percy Jackson.
Fils de l'Amour: The Lost Hero
Chapter 15: Chimera and Oracle
Hermes began to read with an eager grin.
Two months had passed since Naruto found the letter in his father's journal. He still hadn't read the rest of it, not finding the right time to do so. That or whenever he began to, something would interrupt him. So he decided to wait until he was sure he wouldn't be doing anything else or bothered and hid it in a seal he painted onto his wrist.
"Sneaky ninja skills." Hermes smirked.
Over those two months, his relationship with Nyssa had gone further than he expected. Within the third week she had initiated second base during a make out session,
"Whoa, fast." Apollo whistled as Hephaestus groaned.
and a month after that they got pretty hot and heavy in third base.
"She's got more nerve then her father, that's for sure." Aphrodite tittered and got a flaming glare from her husband.
That night was definitely going to be a night Naruto would never forget. The fact they did that in the forges...Naruto felt lucky he wasn't scalded by something.
"Did what?!" Leo snapped and blanched. Oh gods, he hopped his other didn't need a blue light.
"Hey, are you listening to me or are you off in la-la land again?" Nyssa asked. Naruto blinked and chuckled sheepishly.
"Sorry Nyssa," he said. He scratched the back of his neck. "I was thinking about the time in the forges..."
"Looking for a repeat?" Nyssa asked, a sly smirk on her face.
"She better not!" Leo shouted with fury, like they needed that place sullied like that.
"Like you never thought of that, Leo." Piper smirked.
"I would never do that at the work place…maybe."
Naruto flushed and looked around the small fast food joint, hoping no one heard them. Nyssa had gotten Chiron's approval to go into the city for the weekend for a few campers, including themselves. The hotel rooms that had been booked were originally supposed to be coed, girls on one side of floor and boys on the other, but Nyssa, being the clever minx she was, slipped several couples under Chiron's nose.
"I am liking her more and more," Aphrodite smiled in approval of her step-daughter.
The smith god palmed his face, his daughter was doomed now.
So here they were, on a makeshift date-day eating lunch at a chain called McDonalds. Naruto nearly punched out the statue of Ronald McDonald when it greeted him, still not used to the urban atmosphere.
"Damn freaky clown," Jason frowned.
"Hey, watch the crack at the clown, Jay." Thalia frowned.
"They're just so weird!" the son of Rome confessed.
Nyssa stopped him from earning more stares than he already had.
Apparently it wasn't every day that a seemingly American boy with strange marks on his face suddenly burst into excited Japanese after Ronald McDonald said "Hi! Welcome to McDonalds!"
"Nyssa, I'm pretty sure that if your dad doesn't smelt me, Leo will," Naruto said under his breath.
"Damn right I would." Leo huffed, crossing his arms.
"Him? The short stuff is focusing on his boat far too much to pay any attention to what goes on at camp," Nyssa said.
"Hey!"
"Focusing too much on work makes you like that, Leo." Annabeth stated.
"And she's speaking from experience." Percy grinned, getting a light shove from his girlfriend.
She rolled her eyes. "Same with that Roman guy, and your sister. Both of them have blinders on if the other is within viewing distance."
Jason and Piper flustered at that.
"That, I've noticed," Naruto said, chuckling. Piper and Jason were dancing around each other like they were standing on a floor made of glass. Naruto grabbed one of his French fries and put it in his mouth. "You'd think they'd just kiss already?"
"Maybe they already have," Nyssa said. "Maybe they're keeping it quiet so someone's big brother doesn't kill the new boyfriend."
"He wouldn't kill me," Jason said, Naruto was a nice guy like that.
"I wouldn't kill him." Naruto took a sip of his drink. "Bruise him up a bit, maybe. But I wouldn't kill him."
"Athena's cabin would be ashamed of you," Nyssa said.
"Yes." Athena admitted, getting Jason to sweat somewhat.
Naruto rolled his eyes. His relationship with his aunts and uncles wasn't exactly the greatest right now. Since he told Annabeth that he wouldn't have any part of isolating Jason or outright shunning him. Malcolm, Gregory, and Alexandra had approached him with similar concerns and explanations. He was glad his fatal flaw wasn't hubris, it was getting extremely annoying to deal with their 'infallible' reasoning.
"I feel his pain," Poseidon nodded as Athena huffed.
Infallible up until Naruto mentioned that he was treated like a leper by most of his home village, an average of around five hundred thousand people save maybe thirty, until he was fifteen.
Aphrodite simmered at that. Eyes flaring to through different colors of red.
That certainly left them speechless and flustered.
"I am really like this one all the more," the sea god grinned.
Naruto brushed those thoughts aside and grabbed one of Nyssa's nuggets. She glared at him as he popped it in his mouth and took his drink in retaliation. Naruto chuckled around the nugget and swallowed. "So what do you want to do next?"
"Well...there's the Empire State Building. We could always go check it out even if we can't visit the top floor." Nyssa was referring to Olympus of course. She frowned and ate a fry. "Why is the top floor closed? That's literally the coolest thing to do in New York."
"Because someone was afraid we were 'interfering' too much." Hera rolled her eyes as Zeus frowned. Oh she wouldn't be letting this go for decades!
"The, uh, boss closed it because he was afraid of history repeating itself, whatever that means," Naruto said. He hummed and thought on it. "But what could happen that he's so afraid of?"
Nyssa chewed on another fry. "I wish I didn't average out in history. Maybe I should pay more attention...but then I couldn't focus on the forge..."
"Stick to your guns," Ares nodded. It was what he did.
"History is the one thing I actually enjoy," Naruto said.
"Of course he would," Percy rolled his eyes as Annabeth smirked at him.
He ate the rest of his cheeseburger, an interesting meal, and balled up the wrapper. "We could look into it? Do some research..."
"Study date? Very tempting," Nyssa said, smiling at him as she took his drink again.
"Is there a place we could do that?" Naruto asked.
"The public library," Nyssa said. She grinned coyly. "Fair warning, I might get distracted."
"Excellent point." The love goddess nodded.
Naruto shook his head in amusement. "As long as you can control yourself."
"I promise nothing."
"She's got the hots alright," Apollo whistled.
"Wonderful." Thalia rolled her eyes, a frown on her face.
The New York Public Library was huge. Far larger than Konoha's library, at least double if not triple the size. Then again, most ninja don't like keeping all their information in one place. Tends to end badly in the case of espionage. Naruto followed Nyssa to the Ancient Greek section. Their dyslexia made it a bit difficult, but eventually the two had found a large collection of Greek "mythology" that looked old enough to come from Ancient Greece itself.
"Harsh," Percy said.
Annabeth sighed, no one wanted to learn much from a good book nowadays. It was always the internet now.
Naruto opened the book and began going down the index. "'Beginning' ... 'Titanomachy' ... 'Typhon' ... 'Gigantomachy?'"
"There's that Athena book magic." Piper smiled as Annabeth looked smug.
"Sounds like something to look into," Nyssa said. She turned to the page and read the first line. "'The Gigantomachy was the war between the Gigantes, a new breed of giants, and the Olympians. The Gigantes were debated to be either the children of Gaea and Tartarus, or born from the blood spilled by Ouranos when his son Kronos sliced him into pieces.'"
"And all I did to my dad when I met him was punch him in the gut," Naruto said.
"Ouch," Apollo winced.
"Didn't that happen to you in Sun's Heir Death's Guardian?" Artemis innocently asked.
"Ha. Ha."
"Do you think this could be what Ze-er, the big guy upstairs meant?" Nyssa asked. "History repeats itself...You fought a giant, right?"
"And it couldn't be defeated without Athena's help," Naruto said. He pointed to an excerpt he found. "'It was with Heracles' arrow and Athena's spear that Enceladus fell.'"
"Ah, that was a fond moment," Athena said, looking melancholic.
"So demigods and gods have to work together to kill them," Nyssa said. "But with Olympus closed..."
"We can't get help."
"Therein lies the problem." Demeter frowned.
Naruto felt a chill go up his spine as he said it. There was a shuffling of books and Naruto looked around. His nerves were on full alert with this discovery.
"What is it?" Nyssa asked.
"I don't think we're alone anymore." Naruto quickly turned to look at the upper level of the library, seeing a shadow move. "Correction: I know we're not alone anymore."
A monster…in a library." Athena said in a dark tone. Of all the vile moments to attack!
Among the murmuring of the other seekers of knowledge or entertainment, there was a low growl. It was deep and had the hairs on his neck standing on edge.
"Tell me you brought your laser pointer," Nyssa said.
Naruto checked his pockets and swore. "It's back at the hotel. Where's yours?"
"I don't have a specific one," Nyssa said. "Daughter of the smith. I'm pretty good with everything. Just not on par with the warmongers."
Ares grinned at that.
"What did you bring?"
"A sledgehammer," Nyssa said. Naruto gave her an incredulous look and she shrugged. "It gets the job done."
"Damn right it does," Leo nodded with a grin. He wouldn't replace his hammer for nothing.
"Well great," Naruto said. He put his hand over his stomach. "I've got a backup plan, but I need some time to build up."
"I swear, sometimes its like you're from a manga or something," Nyssa said.
"Hehe, he is." Apollo snickered.
"Manga are awesome," Naruto said. "Like Dragonball Z, that's the coolest thing I've ever read."
"Damn right." Percy nodded firmly.
"...It's the orange isn't it?"
"Damn right it's the orange!"
"It's the blue!"
"Percy," Annabeth deadpanned, "Stop."
"Never!"
His cheer had the whole library looking at them and he laughed sheepishly. "Sorry."
Something lunged at them as soon as everyone turned around. Nyssa managed to pull Naruto out of the way as their table was crushed. Naruto stared at it in shock. It had the upper body of a lion, a snake for a tail, and goat-like hooves for a rear end. The mane was blood red and its eyes were blacker than night.
Percy let out a nervous chuckle as Annabeth eyeballed him.
"Chimera!" Nyssa dragged Naruto with her as they started to run for the exit. A blast of fire followed after them. People started screaming and joined them as they fled when something set tables on fire.
Athena was seething at this, destroying a library! Sacrilege!
The Chimera focused on them alone, rearing his head back and building up a ball of fire in his mouth. It shot out and winged Nyssa. She stumbled, falling forward with a cry. Naruto scooped her up into his arms and jumped forward, clearing the distance between where they were and the front door. He set her down and grabbed a security guard that was shakily waving his gun around.
"Hehe, stupid mortals." Ares laughed, such a riot!
Why he had a gun, Naruto didn't know, but right now he didn't care.
"Hey! She's burned and needs medical attention, get her out," Naruto said.
"Oh it wasn't that bad." Leo waved off.
"Nyssa doesn't have fire immunity, Leo. She has fire resistance. So, yes, she wouldn't be hurt too bad. Minor wound at worse." The smith god corrected.
The guard stared at him for a moment. Naruto rolled his eyes and glared. "Get her out of here now!"
"R-Right, yes sir," the guard said. He helped Nyssa up despite her protests.
Leo winced, "She is going to be so pissed."
Naruto ushered the rest of the people out before shutting the giant door behind him. He grabbed one of those metal poles that had a red chain and jammed it into the door handles. He turned and looked around warily. The Chimera had seemingly vanished.
"Where did you go?" Naruto asked. He advanced slowly through the library, stepped over charred books and walked past tables that were still aflame. "Here Chimera, Chimera. Whose a good monster?"
"Nice fresh demigod, right here." Thalia said with a squirrel call.
"You sound absolutely ridiculous," Kurama said.
"Shut up, I never asked you for an opinion."
"Well you're getting one."
"Have to be open to others opinions." Percy nodded.
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Thanks."
"You do realize that your little girlfriend has a minor resistance to fire and you possibly just pissed her off by sending her away, right?"
"Since when are you a love guru?"
"Embodiments of hate don't know anything about love, hmph!" Aphrodite huffed with crossed arms.
"Don't change the subject."
"Yeah, I know. But if I have to use something like the Rasenshuriken, I don't want her in the crossfire."
"I figured. But will she care?"
"Probably not..."
"Four o'clock."
"Must be nice to have a demon radar, thing, in you." Frank said, it sounded very useful.
Naruto turned and jumped back as a blanket of fire spewed out of the Chimera's mouth. The poor table that was behind him with a few new releases on it was not as lucky, being burnt to ashes from the intensity of the Chimera's fire.
"The fiend!" Annabeth cried out in outrage.
The Chimera roared angrily and charged forward. Naruto caught the monster by the horns and tried to stop it by using chakra as an anchor. It didn't work and his feet shattered the tile as it pushed him back.
"Terrible craftsmanship." Hephaestus shook his head.
"Stop pussyfooting around and get serious. Snap this thing's neck," Kurama said.
"Not helping!" Naruto grit his teeth and started pushing back. The Chimera growled and its tail flew up, the snake's mouth opening with a hiss and revealing two dangerously large fangs.
"That's how it got me," Percy pouted, stupid cheap ass snake.
Naruto's eyes went wide. "Kurama!"
"On it."
His body was surrounded with red chakra and a bubbly acidic chakra shot out to intercept the snake, catching it in a claw-like hand.
"Oooh," Ares said in an eager tone. That looked nastily awesome.
"Initial mode version one. The test is good."
"I don't think I'll need to go more than one tail," Naruto said. He began pushing the Chimera back as the chakra took form around him to look like a rabbit-eared fox's shadow. The large tail behind him bubbled and hissed. It shot out and wrapped around the Chimera's midsection tightly.
"Extra appendages are good," Frank smirked as Percy pouted.
"So lucky." He whined.
The monster growled again and the snake's head shot two clear globs of poison from its fangs. The poison hit Naruto's chakra cloak and fizzled away into nothing. The hand wrapped around the Chimera's tail spread and encased it before it started to pull.
"Hold it still," Kurama said. Naruto nodded and planted himself firmly in the ground. He watched as the chakra cloak, under Kurama's will, tugged and started to rip the tail off of the Chimera. Kurama growled in annoyance. "Give me your tail!"
"Tail conquest shall be ours!" Leo shouted.
The tail gave out and the Chimera let out a roar of agony,
Percy cheered, take that you bastard!
it tried to skewer Naruto with its horns. Naruto growled back at it and lifted the Chimera's head up before he slammed it down into the ground. His red eyes glared into the black orb and he snarled. "Don't attack my girlfriend!"
"Ooh, fierce. I like it." Aphrodite grinned as Thalia rolled her eyes.
Naruto pulled and off came both of the Chimera's horns, leaving the beast to roar once more as it writhed on the ground. Not finished, Naruto drove both horns into the Chimera's hide, stabbing its lung and its heart.
"Brutal," Ares nodded, nice move.
The Chimera slowly fell apart into golden dust and Naruto smirked. Naruto turned and began to walk away.
"Wait. Something isn't right."
"Monster's dead, I'm in one piece, the library is still standing and I've probably got an angry girlfriend to deal with," Naruto said. "What could be wrong?"
"Well, just that last part." Piper said.
"I think it was sweet." Aphrodite huffed.
"Don't monsters leave trophies?"
Naruto opened his mouth to counter that question, but clicked it shut. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Dammit...I don't like that."
"What? Monsters leaving trophies? Why not? 'To the victor goes the spoils' and all that shit."
"Exactly, we need something for killing them." Reyna nodded, it was only right after all.
Naruto turned around and the spot where he killed the Chimera was vacant of a hybrid monster. He glared at the spot with a groan. The red chakra poured back out and Naruto's eyes turned red once more. He jumped up and clung to the ceiling to avoid a strike from the snake's head.
"So...maybe we should go full out..."
"I like this plan." Ares nodded eagerly.
"And destroy this building? I'm already on bad terms with Cabin Six. Let's not make it worse than it already is," Naruto said as he glared at the circling monster.
"That would be bad." Annabeth nodded in agreement.
"Aw…" Ares pouted.
"Might not have a choice. Look at those books burn."
"I'm trying not to," Naruto said. He crawled along the ceiling before dropping down opposite of the Chimera, landing like a quadruped. "Give me another tail."
Kurama's chakra doubled and Naruto groaned; the potency of the Biju's chakra overwhelmed him as a second tail bubbled into place. He felt his canines lengthen slightly and knew instinctively – thanks to his mother – that around his eyes and mouth, a thin black line appeared. His whiskers had thickened even more and his hair had gone wild.
"Liking that wild beast, Thalia?" Aphrodite commented as Thalia scowled at the implication of her words.
"Shut up."
The Chimera roared and Naruto roared back, only his roar broke the windows. The Chimera shuddered and took a wary step back.
"Yeah, damn right you step back, bitch!" Kurama jeered, flaring his killing intent through Naruto.
"Best respect the red beast!" Apollo whooped.
"Ease off," Naruto said. He didn't want the people outside within in a three-mile radius to have heart attacks. Naruto narrowed his eyes and got to his feet, still hunched over, and brought his hand back. "We need to end this without accidentally killing someone."
"Fine."
The Chimera opened its mouth and out came another wave of fire. Naruto scowled, his tail shot out from behind him and wrapped around the Chimera's mouth.
"No fire for you." Leo shook his head.
His left hand's palm turned up to face the sky. A vibrant red orb began to grow in Naruto's palm, expanding and turning purple.
"Team colors." Reyna smirked.
"Let's end this," Naruto said. The tail pulled the Chimera towards him and Naruto brought his hand back before he threw it forward. Naruto drilled his hand through the monster's mouth, shredding it down the middle.
"The magnificent carnage." Ares gushed like a sugar high kid.
His eyes gleamed.
"Rasengan!"
The Chimera's two halves dissolved into dust.
"Now!"
Naruto brought his hands up and the chakra arms shot to the roof. He brought them down and the Chimera's golden dust scattered out of the library.
"Smart." Hazel nodded, "Scatter the dust, it takes them longer to recover with the Doors open."
Naruto cut the power and fell to his knees, his arms wrapping around his stomach.
"That would've gone faster if you had gone with the incomplete nine-tailed form."
"I would've knocked out more people and caused mass hysteria..." Naruto said with a groan as he felt the cells around his stomach replicate. "Besides...not like I...needed..."
Naruto fell forward, and caught himself on his hands. "Whoa, talk about disoriented."
The doors banged open and several men in black uniforms with yellow horizontal stripes burst into the room.
"Always at the worst times." Percy sighed. It was a demigod curse, he just knew it.
A man came over to him while his group spread through the library. "NYFD, are you okay?"
"Fine...I just need to get outside," Naruto said.
The fireman nodded and helped him to his feet, partially carrying him outside to a medic, who took him over to an ambulance.
"Stop, I'm fine. Hey, I said I'm fine!" Naruto glared at the medic that approached him with a needle.
"The horror." Apollo rolled his eyes. What a baby.
"Touch me with that thing and I will jam it where the sun doesn't shine."
"He must have heard you." Artemis smirked to her twin.
Apollo pouted.
"Sir, we just need to take a blood sample."
"Over my dead body," Naruto said, yanking his arm away. "Look, other people may need your help. I'm fine. Go help them."
The paramedics looked at each other before they walked off without another word.
"Ah, Charmspeak. The greatest gift of all." Aphrodite smiled, but the other gods disagreed with her.
Naruto shook his head and got to his feet. He walked around until he saw a familiar red headband and smiled when his blue eyes met Nyssa's warm brown.
"You ass!" Nyssa said as she embraced him with a hug that he returned.
"You bitch!" Ares grinned back and got a glare from his brother and nephew. He shrugged, "What? It's a greeting."
She pulled away and glared at him.
Naruto winced. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
"A lot of trouble," Nyssa said. She frowned. "You do know I have a resistance to fire, right?"
"...I was trying to keep you safe?"
"Chivalry is so annoying." Nyssa glared at him again.
Artemis smirked along with Thalia, agreeing greatly.
"I can fight, you moron."
"I know," Naruto said. He grunted and held his stomach. He rubbed it soothingly. "I did something stupid though and I didn't want you to get hurt."
"Earth to Naruto, I'm a craftswoman. I get hurt, it's part of the gig," Nyssa said.
"I don't because I'm so good." Leo bragged with smug.
"We get it, Leo." Piper rolled her eyes.
Naruto winced again. "Sorry?"
Nyssa huffed. "You're lucky you're cute.
"Oui!"
So what did you get for killing the Chimera?"
"I didn't kill it," Naruto said. "I mean, I did, but it...I don't know, came back to life."
"That's...That's impossible, Naruto," Nyssa said. "Monsters die for a while, longer than within a day."
"Not with the Doors open." Hades pursed his lips. Ugh, it was such a headache!
Naruto frowned. "Something is up. We need another book. Maybe there's something that happened that kept people and monsters from dying."
"Smart boy." Athena smirked.
"It was pretty obvious if you actually looked into it." Nico shrugged.
"We'll find one back at camp." Nyssa grinned at him. "But before we do that, we have a hotel room that's still ours for one more night."
"Oh my, what's this?" Aphrodite tittered as Hephaestus looked uncomfortable.
"Oh no." Leo paled. He didn't want to hear this!
Naruto blinked. "Wait...after a monster attacked you want to...?"
"While I don't like that you kicked me out to fight a monster on your own, it's very sweet and I think that deserves a reward," Nyssa said. She lightly pecked his lips. "Plus, I want compensation for not getting a good monster fight."
"That's some compensation." Reyna muttered.
They returned to camp the following day. Nyssa had a glow about her that the other girls constantly commented on and the smile on her face wouldn't go away.
"I would bet." Aphrodite was in stitches.
Piper groaned, great, she was going to have to deal with this.
Naruto, on the other hand, constantly got flustered when the other guys asked him for some tips.
"Never be afraid to ask, boys." The love goddess told the demigods. Who found the floor pretty interesting.
He swore he didn't have any advice and didn't know what they were talking about, but they just kept pestering him.
What was the worst part about their return to camp?
The gossip spread like wildfire.
Piper was not happy.
"I wouldn't be." Piper nodded.
"I can't believe you...Ugh! Naruto, you have to slow down! It's only been three months! You can't just...Not after three months!"
"Uh, horny teenagers, hello." Apollo rolled his eyes.
Something about it felt wrong to Piper. Sure, she occasionally felt excited at moments with Jason, but with a lot of self-control, Piper managed to keep her hormones at bay.
Jason looked at Piper with a raised brow, she flustered.
"Shut up." She mumbled, snuggling into his side.
She expected Naruto, who was older than her, to be more than adept at the practice. Apparently she was wrong.
"Very wrong." Percy nodded.
"Nyssa started it!" Naruto glared at his siblings who dare snicker at him while he got chewed out.
"Naruto brings up a good point, sometimes a girl just can't hold back." Aphrodite sighed forlornly.
"Oh, trust me, I'll get to her next," Piper said. Taking advantage of her simple-minded pure-hearted brother? Oh yes, Piper will be having words with Nyssa.
"…I fear for her." Leo admitted, Piper was scary when she wanted to be.
For now, however, she would deal with her brother. "You'll be cleaning the cabin without clones or I will make sure that the meals exclude ramen."
"You coldhearted bitch, you wouldn't!"
"See, a ruthless Piper is a scary Piper." Leo shivered. Jason just nodded.
Good thing they were dating.
"Try me."
Then there was Leo.
"Oh damn right I'd have something for you." Leo nodded.
"On one hand, as your bro, I have to praise you and compliment you on a job well done." Leo smiled,
"Yep." The pyro agreed.
but it was mischievous and sinister all at once. "However on the other hand, it was my sister you did it with, therefore you must be punished."
"Burns be coming, boy!"
"Wh-what?" Naruto started to back away nervously.
"I guess I'll settle for the surprised look on your face if you can't accept your fate." Leo pointed his fingers at Naruto's legs. Naruto's pants caught on fire. Chaos ensued. Pants were burned. Vengeance was delivered.
"His pants are on fire!" Frank cried out.
"He's a liar!" Apollo gasped in shock.
All was well with Leo and the rest of Hephaestus' cabin...Until they realized the fire burnt his underwear, too.
Aphrodite giggled as Piper glared at her friend.
"Dammit, Leo!"
"I am not sorry…I think."
Naruto's lower extremities were revealed to the camp, try as he might to conceal them.
"Giving the whole camp a show." Percy whistled as Annabeth groaned. That did not just happen!
A girl from Demeter's cabin covered her younger sister's eyes and glared at Nyssa. "You lucky bitch."
Demeter gaped as Hades snickered.
"So well behaved."
"Silence kidnapper."
"Oh let it go, you whining child!"
Nyssa just smirked smugly at the other glaring girls.
Annabeth and the rest of Cabin Six were still not talking to him and Leo's punishment did little to improve relations between them, so whatever their opinion on his romantic life was it was still a mystery to him.
"Wow, real supportive family." Poseidon mocked, getting a glare from Athena.
"I'm sure they'll work through it…once Naruto comes to understand." the goddess huffed.
Surprisingly, the only one it seemed that was on his side was Jason.
Jason smirked.
"It's natural, I don't see why it's a big deal." Jason grabbed Naruto's wrist and twisted it. He attempted to flip Naruto onto his back but Naruto caught himself, he landed on his feet and reversed the grip.
"Just a chill talk during an intense training session." Frank shook his head in amusement.
"You are really cool about this." Naruto jerked Jason's arm up behind him and wrapped his other arm around Jason's neck. "Yield!"
"Not happening." Jason pushed off the ground and landed behind Naruto. His arms slipped under Naruto's and Jason's hands interlaced behind Naruto's head. "You yield."
"Fight fight fight fight!" Ares whooped eager for more violence.
"No," Naruto said, trying half-heartedly to break out of the hold. It was a mock fight; neither of them was going all out. He slipped his foot behind Jason's and flipped the son of Jupiter onto his back. Jason rolled out of the way as Naruto brought his knee down where Jason's head would've been. Naruto avoided a haymaker punch and caught a left hook. "But, why are you so cool about this?"
Jason caught Naruto's left straight and shrugged. "I took health seminars in New Rome seriously. Did you do the thing where your leg goes behind your head?"
"Oh my," Aphrodite smiled as Jason flustered and avoided Piper's intrigued gaze.
"I don't want to talk about it." Jason said simply, at least not in front of everyone.
"Me either," Thalia gagged.
"There's a position like that?" Naruto was genuinely interested in this subject, and surprisingly not because it involved sex. He thought the flexibility would be beneficial in a fight.
Aphrodite palmed her face while Athena nodded. Yes, no sex talk or sex think. No need for that.
Jason proceeded to give his first sex talk, all while he fought Naruto, both topless and covered in sweat.
"…" Eyes just turned to Jason.
"What?" he asked, seriously, stop it with the eyes!
"Nothing." Piper said, patting his arm reassuringly.
The blond duo was completely unaware that they drew attention to themselves of the female variety.
"You blonds are dangerous together." Annabeth commented idly. Almost as bad as Percy.
Chiron felt that the situation resolved itself and let Piper deal her punishment out. So imagine Naruto's surprise when he was called to the Big House for something very important. He arrived at the front door and was met with an energetic greeting from the camp's Oracle.
"Yeah, she's real eager." Thalia shook her head.
"Hey Handsome! How's it hanging?" Rachel asked with a knowing grin.
"She is just so precious!" Aphrodite gushed. Oh they must simply get together! The drama!
Naruto turned red and looked away. "Um, Chiron called for me?"
"Chiron had to go check on a son of Apollo that got shot in the leg by one of your sisters," Rachel said.
"Oh come on, Dite!" Apollo whined.
"It isn't my fault." Aphrodite huffed.
She stood to the side and gestured for him to enter. "Come on, Handsome, I don't bite."
"From what you've told me about this one, I wouldn't be surprised if she did," Kurama said.
"Snarky fox, is snarky." Hermes snickered.
Naruto ignored him and walked in. He sat down on the couch and Rachel took a seat next to him. The room was covered in drawings and sketches that did little to inspire hope,
Apollo shrugged, that was prophecy in a nutshell.
but they were nicely detailed all the same. Naruto felt relieved there was a seat between them. "So...Any idea what Chiron wanted to talk about?"
Rachel's smile dimmed down into a frown. She moved pictures and papers out of the way before a book was revealed on the table. It was the same book as the one Naruto and Nyssa found in the New York Public Library. Rachel opened the book to a page entitled 'Sisyphus.'
"See? Just a little research." Nico stated.
"We think that this might have something to do with why monsters aren't dying," Rachel said. Naruto leaned in, his fingers interlaced together as he read along silently with her. "'Sisyphus' next plan to escape death and judgment in Hades' realm centered on successfully kidnapping the God of Death, Thanatos. Sisyphus gagged and bound Thanatos and stuffed him under the bed. For the next few days, no mortal died. It was not until Ares rescued Thanatos
"Seriously killed my war mood." Ares growled. Stupid mortal fool.
and brought Sisyphus back to the underworld, along with the other souls who were wrongfully still walking the earth, that people started to die again.'"
Naruto frowned. "Do you think that's what it is? Someone kidnapped Thanatos?"
"Yes, I don't feel sorry for the jerk." Hazel huffed. He was just so irritating.
"Something's definitely wrong and if it is that, he's the god we need to find," Rachel said. She sighed and sat back. "However, with Olympus locked up, we can't really do anything. I haven't had a clear vision in weeks, not since that prophecy to save Hera." Naruto looked around the room and she waved the pictures off. "Those are just glimpses I get. I'm going to sell a few for some money for local schools' arts programs."
"And they'll never know, slick." Hermes nodded in approval.
"I'd do it." Apollo shrugged.
"Cool," Naruto said. He always wished he could draw better than he did. He wasn't too bad at writing, but that praise came from Jiraiya after he finished a chapter of Icha Icha Island, so he was a bit iffy on it.
"Ah, the career of a smut writer." Artemis mocked, getting a glare from Aphrodite.
"Hmph! Some of the best literature is actually smut in disguise."
Athena shook her head in disagreement.
That and until he started to train as a sage, Naruto always had difficulty sitting down in one place for a long period of time. "What sort of things do you like to draw?"
"Whatever comes to mind," Rachel said. She glanced at him. "So, I hope this isn't too manipulative,
"That's just the best way to start something off." Annabeth shook her head.
but I was wondering if you could help me out with something."
"I'd be happy to help," Naruto said with a smile. "What's up?"
"So quick to agree, I think he has trouble saying no." Nico said, glancing at Percy.
"Hey." The son of Poseidon frowned. He could say to other people.
"Well I've got a charity event coming up tonight and I need something that draws attention," Rachel said.
"Like that statue posing thing, huh." Percy remembered.
"Oh gods, she wouldn't!" Annabeth gasped.
Aphrodite was giggling, "She's a smart cookie. I'll give her that."
"I'm not the best artist," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head. "I'm flattered you'd ask but I don't think anyone would bid on my stick figures."
"It's not artwork we're using to draw attention," Rachel said. She smiled slightly and for some reason, Naruto was sure he just dug a grave.
"You did. I'll perform the funeral rights." Nico joked.
"Are you sure I need to be in my shorts?" Naruto asked as he followed Rachel to Cabin Seven. She had sent him to get changed into running shorts and a muscle shirt, which he did despite the light chill in the air. Naruto then met her back at the big house and she said they would be going to the Apollo cabin to get ready.
"Oh yeah, time to paint." Apollo snickered.
"Naruto, by the end of this you probably won't even need your shorts." Rachel giggled secretively.
"Should I have brought other pants?"
"Don't worry about it. We'll have something for you to wear," Rachel said.
"Naruto!" The both of them stopped and turned to face Nyssa as she approached with a frown on her face.
"Got to clear it with the girlfriend first." Percy shook his head. Even he knew that was one-oh-one.
She came to a stop in front of them and crossed her arms in over her chest. "What's going on?"
"Rachel wants some help with a charity event and I volunteered," Naruto said. "She was just taking me to Cabin Seven to finish getting ready."
Nyssa glared at Rachel. "And you didn't ask me first because...?"
"Because she's a sneaky minx~" Hazel giggled. She had to give Rachel some props.
"...Slipped my mind?" Rachel said. Nyssa's eyes narrowed and Rachel groaned. "Come on, I'm not going to do anything to him. Will is going to be the one to cover him in bronze paint. I would, believe me, but because someone is stingy," Rachel glared at the sun
Apollo grinned, "Hey, you got one cool guy painting another, you should be happy."
Artemis swatted his arm with a look, but her twin just grinned.
and looked back at Nyssa, "I have to let someone else do it."
"...Will? The only son of Apollo in camp who really takes after his dad, Will?" Nyssa asked.
Apollo smiled at that.
"Why couldn't Shaun or Grant do it?"
"That's just a rumor. And besides, Naruto looks too much like a brother for Will to think that," Rachel said.
"Nothing wrong with that." Apollo shrugged.
"You can go supervise if you want."
"Damn right I'll supervise," Nyssa said with a frown. A small grin spread across her face and she smirked at Rachel. "I might even help Will with certain areas."
"Saucy." Apollo whistled.
Rachel pouted and turned to resume her walk. Naruto scratched his head in confusion. All he got out of the conversation was that something was going on him and Nyssa didn't like Will for some reason. He let it go as Nyssa took hold of his arm and dragged him onto the cabin's deck.
There were a few catcalls upon the door opening
"You're daughters no doubt." Aphrodite grinned.
"Or sons. Doesn't matter to me." Apollo admitted.
and Will shut the door behind him with a frown, carrying two paint cans. He looked Naruto up and down for a second before looking at Rachel. "I didn't think you'd actually get him to agree."
"It's not like he's posing for a nude," Rachel said. "Though maybe next month..."
"…She needs a replacement." Aphrodite pursed her lips.
"No, Dite. She's good at what she does." The sun god disagreed.
"What?" Naruto asked, eyes wide.
"Just kidding Handsome," Rachel said with a smirk.
"From the rumors spreading around camp, I doubt anyone would be able to get an accurate sketch," Will said with a chuckle. He looked at Nyssa. "So what was it like?"
"Filling." Nyssa said.
Aphrodite was in titters while Leo just blocked his elfish ears. Hephaestus was not looking too pleased.
"Hate you both." Rachel pouted. The other two demigods shared a laugh.
"Did I miss something?" Naruto asked.
Will shook his head with an amused look on his face. "Not the brightest star in the sky, is he?"
"They never are," Annabeth smiled fondly at her boyfriend, who pouted.
"Not cool."
"You're still sweet." The blonde kissed his cheek.
Percy was all smiles.
"Hey!" Naruto pouted at the jab.
Will smirked. "Just follow me, Naruto. Hope you can sit still for a while."
"What exactly are you doing to me, anyway?" Naruto asked as he followed Will and Rachel, Nyssa now holding his hand as they walked.
"I'm sodomizing you," Will said dryly.
"Painful the first time." Apollo nodded, Aphrodite nodded in agreement.
Artemis blanched.
He held a paint can up. "Marble white paint. Your body is a canvas. Do the math."
"Math sucks," Naruto said on instinct. He had a scowl on his face at the thought of the evil subject.
"My brother!" Percy cried out.
"Calm down, Percy."
"Never." The son of Poseidon told his girlfriend. Math was evil. It was Kronos numerical!
If there was one thing he considered doing as Hokage, it was hiring an accountant so he wouldn't have to worry about doing his own taxes or budgeting anymore.
Rachel slapped Will's arm. "Don't be mean. You'll scare him off."
"He took down a giant. I doubt a bit of sarcasm will scare him off," Will said.
"Indeed." Athena nodded.
Rachel glared at him and he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Okay, we're going to paint your body white like marble. Once it dries, we're going to go into town and meet up with a few other kids helping with the charity. They'll tell you where to stand and for however long."
"Why didn't you just say that?" Naruto asked.
"Because demigods have issues with standing still," Rachel said.
"True." All the demigods said as one.
"Not him," Nyssa said. She slipped her hand around his waist and grinned. "Tall, stiff and sexy."
"She is just really laying it on." Reyna commented.
"I know, it's annoying." Thalia grunted.
"So jealous." Apollo snickered.
"Whatever." Thalia turned her head to the side.
"No, I take it back. So tsundere." Apollo corrected and Artemis glared at him. Not looking amused.
Naruto flushed, Will rolled his eyes and Rachel pouted.
"I hate you so much right now," Rachel said.
"I can just feel her pain," Piper shook her head. Poor Rachel.
"You and every other girl in camp," Nyssa said.
"With excellent reason." The lady of doves nodded.
They stopped at small clearing, just in view of the Big House's back porch.
Will started to lay out a big tarp and snorted. "Better be careful. Some of my sisters are considering making you have an 'accident'. They're like my dad that way, don't like their objects of affection getting taken away from them."
Apollo whistled innocently as some of the gods gave him amused looks.
"I'd like to see them try," Nyssa said. She turned to Naruto and held her hand out. "Take your shirt off."
"Okay...?" Naruto pulled his shirt off and gave it to Nyssa. She turned him around and slapped him on the ass, making him yelp and walk forward.
"She's really hormone driven." Hazel chuckled.
He turned to glare at her while she grinned.
Rachel glared at Nyssa with a pout on her face. "I swear if it's as firm as I think it is, I'm going to start looking for a new Oracle."
"Do it!" Aphrodite agreed instantly. It would be so interesting! So the drama!
"It's firmer than that," Nyssa said, smirking as she folded Naruto's shirt loosely and hung it over a branch.
"Poking the tiger, that one." Frank shook his head.
"I hate you."
"Coming from Miss 'Carry Me Handsome?' I think I take that as a compliment."
"With all of my hate."
"And Rachel can hate." Percy nodded, if she whipped out that blue plastic hair brush, you were as good as doomed.
Rachel turned back and watched Will dumped half a can onto Naruto's back.
"COLD!"
"Suck it up! And don't move!"
"But it's cold!"
"Don't be a pussy."
After Will repeated the action on Naruto's chest, Rachel snapped a picture with a small pocket camera.
"Sneaky girl." Hermes laughed.
The whole process took about two hours. Nyssa kept a watchful eye on Will and Naruto; occasionally she turned to smirk at Rachel. Rachel, like Nyssa, kept a watchful eye on the two blonds as well, but for multiple reasons.
"Mm," Aphrodite smiled at that.
Will made the occasional small talk, asking what Naruto did to get abs like Adonis'. Naruto just shrugged and said he did crunch variations.
"Bullshit!" Leo cried out.
"No, he's telling the truth." Apollo supported, making Leo pout.
After the body paint dried and the dye in his hair settled, Naruto looked like a blue-eyed statue from Ancient Greece. Only he had black basketball shorts on.
"He is sculpted to perfection." Aphrodite sighed, her children were so amazingly beautiful and handsome.
"Hm, cut the whisker marks and you'd be right." Apollo criticized and got a look, "What? Hello, truth god here."
"Great, but now we need you to change into this," Rachel said. She held out a pair of white jeans the same shade as his skin. "Also, how comfortable are you going commando?"
"She never asked me that," Percy said with a rub of his chin and a mock serious look on his face. Annabeth swatted his arm.
Naruto blushed and looked away. "I've done it before for a few missions."
"Could you do it again?" Rachel asked.
"Go inside and change, though." Will ignored the look Rachel gave him. "What? I don't want a bunch of nymphs trying to touch him while some of the paint still dries."
"Smart and yet evil." Apollo sniggered, his son rocked.
"Will has a good idea. Just go inside and leave your clothes folded up on the bathroom counter," Nyssa said.
Naruto changed into the pants, which hung a bit lower on his waist than he was used to, revealing his Adonis belt that was normally hidden.
Some of the girls did stare, making their boyfriends grumbled about pretty boys.
Rachel pulled her camera back out and snapped another picture off. Nyssa made a grab for it, but Rachel just cradled the camera and stuck her tongue out at the daughter of Hephaestus.
"Mine!" Nico cried out with a laugh.
Naruto then got in the van with Rachel, Will and Nyssa, sitting next to Argus so that his painted body wouldn't accidentally get ruined. They arrived at the mall and soon met up with a group of other kids, a few of them painted like he was. The girls stared at him momentarily before looking back at the table. He was told to go stand outside Victoria's Secret in a pose similar to a statue of Adonis.
"Smart business location." Leo snickered, dude was lucky!
The irony was not lost on him.
"And it shouldn't be." Aphrodite giggled.
Throughout his time standing outside of the lovely store, many women would walk up to him and test his will. Unfortunately for them, but fortunately for his sanity, Naruto was very good at numbing himself to the world.
"Boo." Aphrodite pouted as Piper smirked.
Good on him.
"How is it you can handle these women fondling you but at the Cherry Bomb-?"
We've been over this. That incident is not to be spoken about!
"Why? It was hilarious." Frank snickered.
"But still! What, do you like getting touched? Are you secretly that type of guy?"
Just shut up, Kurama.
"Look at this daring girl. Can't be older than your sister Lucy. And she's touching your butt."
"I thought there was a no touching rule?" Percy scratched the back of his head.
"Normally, but someone like that, you give the ladies some service." Apollo winked.
...I hate you so much.
"Come one, come all! Fondle the son of Aphrodite as he stands in the infamous position of her lover!"
"That's both amusing and creepy." Jason admitted.
"Agreed." His girlfriend nodded.
I'll whip out the sunset memory!
"Oh, that one…evil." Apollo hissed.
"You can't bluff me, Naruto."
Who's bluffing?
"...I'll tell the others what you're doing right now."
"Ah, blackmail." Hermes smiled fondly.
Naruto fought the urge to widen his eyes in fear. You wouldn't!
"Try me."
...So we're at a stalemate, then?
"I suppose so."
...Eye Spy?
"I go first! I spy with my giant red eye..."
"Well, that was…interesting." Leo admitted with a frown.
"You're just upset, aren't you?"
"Be quiet, Piper."
"Who's next?" Hermes asked.
"I'll take it." Hephaestus grunted.