Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Percy Jackson.
Fils de l'Amour: The Lost Hero
Chapter 16: Cracks and Reconciliation
Hephaestus turned the page and began to read.
Naruto was a happy camper after he left the mall, sitting between Rachel and Nyssa before they tried to fight each other in Argus' van.
"Boo! Claw out her eyes!" Ares cried out.
"Whose?" Hermes asked.
Ares shrugged. He didn't care whose, just as long as it happened!
His presence alone had earned at least three hundred dollars for the charity.
"What?" Aphrodite glared. "It should've been three times that!"
"Girls only have so much money, Mom," Piper said dryly.
"Hm, true."
Throughout the ride home, Nyssa kept bragging to Rachel about how she got to see that for free. Naruto gave the Oracle some relief by saying he might start charging. Will chimed in that he would spread that around camp if it were true and sell tickets to the people who wanted to participate.
"Free cash, nothing wrong with that." Hermes grinned.
Naruto decided to keep his mouth shut the rest of the ride home.
Three weeks had passed since then, and at the moment, Naruto was spending quality time with his girlfriend.
Hephaestus grunted and Leo groaned uncomfortably.
The sound of collision echoed in the small room. It was accompanied by protesting furniture. Springs compressed and expanded.
The smith god stopped right there as the other gods were snickering at him.
"Come on, Heph, continue," Apollo said, barely able to withhold his laughter.
"Yeah, we're so eager to hear more!" Ares bellowed with laughter.
Leo wanted to crawl in a hole.
The fire god tried to light the book on fire, to save his daughter's dignity.
For a moment there was fire, but a moment later it was extinguished and the book was unharmed.
"Dammit." The smith god cursed in misery and reluctantly continued.
The noise was drowned out by the metalworking going on above them. Even then, the room had been soundproofed and reinforced with seals.
"Smart thinking," Aphrodite rubbed her chin.
Piper wanted to be anywhere but here right now.
Nails dug into his flesh. There was a sharp intake of breath from the brief but sensual pain of breaking skin.
A soft moan rang in his ear. He replied with his own in hers.
Reyna's cheeks were pinking as Annabeth was covering her ears.
She encouraged him, urged him on.
Percy and the rest of the guys just tried not to listen. To be polite.
He couldn't escape if he tried; legs had wrapped around his waist like a vice and arms had latched onto his back like a lifeline. He was kept in place like a two-by-four that was clamped to a table.
"Such analogies." Aphrodite tittered as Hephaestus was looking ready to blow like a volcano.
Another moan, returned with a groan. Legs unwound from around his waist, arms weakly fell to the side. The bed protested lightly as he fell to his back off of her.
"Olympus..." Nyssa panted. Naruto looked at her with a light grin. Like himself, she was covered in sweat. It glistened lightly on her skin; it made her look like she was a bronze statue forged in the fires that burned above them. Nyssa turned to look at him with a grin. "Better every time."
"As expected." The love goddess said with pride as Athena huffed.
Artemis looked very uncomfortable.
"Yeah," Naruto said. His smile dimmed slightly and he rolled onto his side with a frown.
"Ooh, something bad is going to happen." Apollo whispered.
"You feel it too, don't you?"
Nyssa looked at him, and he saw in her chocolate brown eyes that she knew what he meant. She gave him a sad smile. "It's gone, isn't it?"
"Oh, the poor dears." Aphrodite gasped. She was still grinning, loving every second of it.
"I'm sorry Nyssa," Naruto said. He saw his reflection in her eyes; he looked genuinely disappointed and it reflected how he felt inside. He liked Nyssa, but not like he had when they had first started dating. The fire that was once there had extinguished.
Leo grunted, he was happy, but kinda pissed too.
Annabeth pursed her lips. They were such a good fit, too. Plus, Nyssa was a smart girl.
Nyssa smiled at him. "Don't be. I don't feel it either. And I don't know why. I should. You're sweet, caring, brave, a little smarter than the average bear and sexy as hell."
"True," Aphrodite and Athena said together, making them glare at one another.
"You're cute, funny, you have a sass that my mom would love
"Oui!"
and you're crazy smart," He said. Naruto sighed and flopped back onto the bed. "I like hanging out with you."
"The sex isn't bad either."
"No. No, it is not."
Piper rubbed her face and muttered, "Stop talking about it."
Thalia just grunted, looking annoyed.
"...So now what?"
"I...I guess we should break up."
Aphrodite squealed.
Nyssa frowned. "That sucks."
"I know. It's not fair to either of us if we pushed on, though. We should be able to find happiness with someone." Naruto put his arms behind his head and frowned. He turned and gave her another apologetic look. "I'm sorry."
"Sweetie, never apologize. You are far too good looking to do so."
Artemis just gave her rival a repulsive look, "You never cease to amaze me."
"No problem~"
"I'm sorry, too," Nyssa said.
"I'll still be your friend, if you want."
Nyssa smiled. "I'd like that."
"…Is this what breaking up means?" Leo asked. If so, it was very chill.
Aphrodite pursed her lips. She was disappointed; someone should be in tears! Mainly Nyssa. Why was there no crying? No heartbreak?!
They lay there for a moment, content with the silence.
Nyssa broke it with a question. "Want to be friends with benefits?"
"I take it back, something good, very good, happened."
"Apollo!" His twin glared.
"What's that?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah, what is that?" Hazel asked, unsure. Frank flushed at that.
"Well we stay friends, but every now and then when one of us has an 'itch' that needs to be scratched the other can come and take care of it."
"I've had itches, I use a back scratcher." Leo said, trying to keep himself together over this topic.
Hephaestus was trying to burn the book again, but to no avail.
"...So...Sex friends?"
"Yeah, you could call it that. 'Friends with benefits' sounds better though."
Naruto thought about it for a moment. "What if one of us finds another person?"
"Then we break it off. It's a no strings attached thing. It'll suck though," Nyssa said. She rested her hand on his stomach and slowly moved her hand south. "You're really good at sixty-nining."
"Ears. Bleeding!" Annabeth whimpered. She did not want to think about that! …Oh gods, the images with Percy entered her mind. Great, just great. She shifted her legs a little with a flustered look.
Naruto sheepishly chuckled. "Benefits of being a Toad Sage, I guess."
"…" Frank idly thought on maybe trying out a toad form.
"So what do you think?" Nyssa asked.
Naruto let his head roll back and let out a light groan. "With that kind of persuasion, how can I say no?"
"It's hard not to," Ares chuckled at his own words.
"Idiot." Athena muttered.
Nyssa grinned and climbed atop of him. "I knew you'd see it my way."
"It's hard not to when she's all over him," Reyna shook her head.
Naruto grinned back at her and rolled her back over, he let out a chuckle when she squealed in delight.
"I'm sure SHDG Thalia felt the same." Apollo nodded, getting a murderous glare from the lieutenant.
Word of their breakup spread quickly, as per the norm of gossip in camp.
Annabeth nodded, "It really does."
"Bah," Hermes waved off, "Olympus is much faster. Thanks to yours truly."
"And me!" Apollo bragged, "I see everything." He said with a disturbing smile, making the demigods fidget nervously.
The reactions varied. Naruto's sisters consoled him, despite the fact he told them he was fine if only just a bit disappointed it didn't work out.
Aphrodite cooed.
When he told them he brought it up, Drew smiled smugly in approval and told him he did great.
Piper scowled at that, of course Drew would.
Naruto gave her a small frown and told her that they both felt it was the right thing to do and that they came to an agreement. That wiped her smile off her face and she huffed.
"Damn right," Piper nodded sternly.
Piper was there for him, not really sure what to do or say, but just kept him company since he wasn't in the brightest of moods.
The Charmspeaker beamed at that.
The rest of camp, the girls specifically, pestered Nyssa for details. Despite their elation at the news of Naruto being single again,
"So pretty much every girl not specifically related to him." Nico said.
they wanted to know what made her break up with him. Of course, Nyssa just told whoever asked her that they just decided to go separate ways...and about their new status.
The other girls quickly found a new reason to dislike Nyssa.
"As they should." Aphrodite nodded.
Rachel, when she heard of it, just glared at the sun and stormed off to hide in the big house.
"Lonely hand night." Ares said, getting a kick from Apollo, who glared at him.
No dissing the Oracle.
Leo was a bit miffed. He couldn't properly invoke brotherly rights because of the mutual breakup and he was jealous of Naruto. It probably didn't help that Naruto not only still came into his cabin, now it was obvious why he and Nyssa would vanish for hours at a time.
"That's just not fair!" Leo whined, he did not need that kind of stress while building his boat!
Jason, again, understood Naruto's predicament and supported him.
Jason nodded, he would.
Though he was a bit confused on the friends with benefits thing.
That got some sniggers and snorts as Jason scowled.
"It's cool, I don't get it either." Hazel told him.
The son of Rome sulked a little.
Naruto told Jason that if he broke Piper's heart, Naruto wouldn't give him the chance to ask for one. Ever.
Jason took his word for it.
"I really would." The blond nodded, not wanting brotherly wraith.
One of the biggest surprises was a small conversation with Annabeth.
"Talking to him again?" Piper asked with a raised brow.
Annabeth flushed, damn hubris.
She expressed her apologies for the way his relationship ended and asked him how he was holding up. Naruto told her he was fine and expected it to end at that.
"Aw, that's sweet," Hazel cooed as Annabeth smirked a little.
He did not expect to be pinned in his spot by the infamous Athena Glare (trademark pending) and chewed out for getting into a "friends with benefits" relationship.
Annabeth nodded her blonde head, "Yeah, I would do that."
He refused to get out of the relationship and Annabeth stormed off, calling boys 'idiots of the nth degree', whatever that meant.
"Percy." Nico said, like that answered all.
"Hey," Percy growled as his friends laughed, even his girlfriend giggled.
Naruto had asked for a few days to clear his head and had just finished packing. He had a second pair of clothes in a pack and had slung it over his shoulder. His staff was in its laser pointer form tucked in his back pocket. Miu waited patiently by the window for him to depart, being his only companion for this trip.
"Wait, going where?" Aphrodite asked with a blink.
"Do you really have to go?" Lacy asked with a pout. Naruto cracked a smile and ruffled her hair. She pouted even further at the mess he made when he did and tried to tame it.
"I'll be back sooner than you think," Naruto said. He gave her a hug and she gladly returned it.
"I hope so. The testosterone levels are going to plummet with you gone," Mitchel said.
"I feel so sorry for them." Leo whispered, but Piper hit him. "Ow!"
"It's not that bad."
"You're a girl, you could never understand." The pyro shook his head.
Naruto chuckled and pulled the teary eyed Lacy from his waist. He went over and gave Mitchel a quick brotherly hug. He went through the whole cabin, even pulling the resistant Drew into a tight hug.
"Feel the love, Drew, feel it," Piper said with a dark smile.
Jason moved a bit away. Piper could be seriously scary.
That got a few laughs from the cabin. He finished with his hug to Piper, who had a sad smile on her face. Naruto smiled back at her and poked her in the forehead.
Piper pouted. "He's always doing that."
"Big brother's do that to their younger sibs, see?" Apollo said, trying to do it to Artemis, but she bit his fingers. "Ow!"
"Watch out, I bite." The huntress grinned.
"Stop looking so sad, Imouto," he said. "Like I told Chiron, I'll be back within the month."
"Just be careful," Piper said. "You're our big brother first and a ninja second."
Naruto chuckled and gave her a small salute. "I'll do my best to stay out of trouble, Imouto-taichou."
Piper arched a brow. "What's that mean?"
"Captain Little Sister." Apollo filled her in.
"That's a weird name," the daughter of love said.
"Bye guys!" Naruto ignored her question and looked to Miu. "Ready?"
The eagle flew to his shoulder and crooned as he brushed her beak with his finger. Naruto bit down on his finger and flipped through hand seals before he slammed his hand onto the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
There was a small cloud of smoke before a regular sized toad appeared, getting looks of disgust from the daughters of Aphrodite.
"Ew, great. Now it has to be clean." Aphrodite blanched.
"Oh suck it up, you pile of foam." Artemis huffed.
Aphrodite glared at her nemesis for the name.
The toad nodded to Naruto and let out a loud and long croak. Naruto looked at his siblings with a small smile and gave them a two-fingered salute.
"See you later!"
Then he vanished in an explosion of smoke. He left behind the small toad, which then hopped out the window and went to explore the camp for demigods.
"No one crush that toad!" Percy cried out.
"We figured, Percy." Annabeth rolled her eyes at his theatrics.
Naruto reappeared in an office, facing the village where he was born, raised and trained. He took it all in with a grin. "I'm back!"
"Honey, I'm home!" Percy smirked.
"We can see that, Naruto."
Naruto turned and smiled at the three people. The speaker was the masked teacher who had become akin to a crazy uncle. Naruto beamed at him. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei. Shizune-nee."
Kakashi shut the Icha Icha book in his hand – which reminded Naruto of the deal he made with Leo –
"Free Japanese smut!" Leo cheered with his arms in the air, "Whoo!"
and his eyes shut happily, no doubt smiling behind his mask. He was apparently allowing Tsunade remain in the seat, seeing as she wore the Hokage robes while he was clad in Jonin wear. "Welcome back, Naruto."
"It's nice to see you again, Naruto." Shizune smiled at him while her pig Ton Ton snorted in greeting.
"You'd better have some good explanation, brat." Naruto turned and smiled sheepishly at the godaime Hokage.
"Boobs!" the younger gods grinned.
The goddesses looked at them in disgust, well, not Aphrodite.
Tsunade narrowed honey brown eyes on the bird that perched on Naruto's shoulder. "What's with the bird?"
"Eagle." Jason corrected, making Leo roll his eyes.
Miu hissed and Naruto chastised her with a tap on the beak. "No, Miu. She's an eagle, Baachan."
"Eagle, bird, whatever. Same thing," Tsunade said.
"It is not." Zeus frowned.
"Great," Poseidon rolled his eyes, "He's getting all huffy."
"I am not huffy!"
She interlaced her fingers in front of her. "We can save the pleasantries for later. That idiot Kirabi might have saved you for now, but I could tell he was hiding something. I'm sure Ē, Onoki, Mei and Gaara could, too."
Naruto scratched the back of his neck. "It's kind of complicated."
"Greek Mythology turned real? Yeah, that was a hard one to explain." Percy nodded in agreement.
Tsunade sighed. "Naruto, if I have to, I will pull rank."
"That's a bit harsh, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said.
"Rokudaime-dono, may I remind you that he's been MIA for more than three months now, and as his superior officer it's required that you know where he was and why he left with someone claiming to be his mother
"I am!" Aphrodite frowned at the lack of belief.
...who, may I remind you, is deceased," Tsunade said with a stern frown. Kakashi was too lenient sometimes.
"I am not!" Aphrodite looked outright insulted now.
Naruto shifted uncomfortably where he stood. How the hell was he supposed to explain the Greek Gods, his mother's real self, and that their small continent was smaller than they originally thought?
"Break their bubble." Athena casually stated.
"Tsunade-chan, perhaps I can help in that regard," Fukasaku said as he hopped up to Naruto's other shoulder. "Naruto-chan has successfully left the borders of our continent."
"What?" Tsunade asked. "Explain. Now."
Fukasaku nodded and proceeded to do just that, telling her that since Naruto had first summoned him, the Toads of Mount Myouboku had left their hidden mountain and started to explore the rest of the world. The outside world was more advanced technologically, and far larger than they had anticipated.
"Goes to show you what happens to a closed off culture." Annabeth commented.
Naruto then chimed in about the gods, and how their home was once the birthplace of two high leveled ones.
The Twins smiled brightly at that.
Naruto then told the avid listeners about his mother and grandmother – who he called stingy when it came to proper family names,
Athena pursed her lips as some chuckled at her.
causing Tsunade to ask why she was called Baachan when she wasn't even directly related to him. Naruto replied with her being in her sixties, thus she is Baachan.
He got hit in the face with a stapler for that comment.
"Just like Jason." Thalia smirked.
"Hey!" the blond frowned.
When they finished telling Tsunade all about the past few months, she settled in her seat and frowned.
"...If what you say is true, then we should pass this information to the other Kages. They'll pass the Olympians off as exaggeration,
The gods frowned deeply at that.
but I know you wouldn't make something up in a report like this. Even then, I don't want you to go spouting this around. Ask for my permission to reveal this information, as of now it is an S-class secret." Tsunade tapped her finger on the table. "We'll look into your father's medical records. Perhaps we can discern from that who his mother or his father is."
"Good luck with that." Athena smirked.
"You probably won't find anything for his mom, but his dad was smart. Dunno how, but he was," Naruto said with a shrug.
"She has such a nerd fetish." Aphrodite rolled her eyes.
Athena scowled, "I do not."
"Do so~"
"I do not!"
"Ladies." Zeus cut in, giving them a look. They stopped arguing.
"We'll look into it. Now, how is your arm holding up?" Tsunade asked.
"Perhaps we should leave the check up to his physician," Kakashi said before Naruto could answer. "After all, she should be checking up on Sasuke right now."
"Turd." Apollo booed.
Naruto beamed and was gone before Tsunade could stop him. He hopped out of the window and bounded across rooftops towards, for once, the hospital.
"He looks eager to go to one." Nico commented dryly.
"He's friends there." Percy told Nico with a smirk.
The son of Hades rolled his eyes.
Tsunade glared at Kakashi, who had buried his face in his porn.
"You mind? I'm mentally fapping here!" Hermes snapped in a Brooklyn accent.
Naruto scoured the window rooms of the hospital until he found the sourpuss he was looking for. He looked at Miu and grinned at her. "Why don't you go explore, Miu? I'll be fine here."
Miu tilted her head before she flew off with a small cry of excitement. Naruto chuckled and slid the hospital window open and dropped down silently inside. He crept up behind the dark haired teen wearing a black shirt with a red and white fan on the back, fully prepared to surprise his friend. His hair was bound tightly under a bandana with a scarred forehead protector on the side.
"He looks slightly less douchie." Leo commented.
"Jump on me and see what happens, Naruto."
Naruto, who was about to do just that, pouted. "Cheater. I thought your Rinnegan was sealed away."
Sasuke turned around and smirked at him.
"He's smirking!" Percy gasped, "It's horrific!"
"Percy, calm down." Nico shook his head.
"But it's like you cracking a smile."
"Hey!"
Instead of the cold black eyes he once had, Sasuke's left eye was now entirely purple and filled with rippled rings around the pupil, three tomoe on the nearest ripple.
"Gross," Aphrodite blanched.
This was the ultimate doujutsu, the Rinnegan. The right eye was the standard fully mature Sharingan. Naruto noticed his face was a bit tanner than usual.
Percy looked at Nico, "You could use a tan."
"No." the son of Hades said dryly.
"The abilities of the sage are still sealed, idiot," Sasuke said, holding up his right arm and revealing a small solid black crescent moon on his palm. "See?"
"Who seals away power?" Ares questioned scathingly. Honestly, such a waste!
"Good! Say, have you been going on missions?" Naruto asked. He squinted his eyes at his friend. "Your skin isn't so...milky."
"I should be asking you the same," Sasuke said. "You look...different. You lose weight?"
"Naruto got an upgrade." Piper smirked.
Naruto scratched his left cheek with a finger and chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess you could say that." He frowned. "Have you been on missions?"
"As if Tsunade or any of the other Kage would let him," a new voice said with a snort. Naruto beamed at Sakura, who smiled back at him. "Well it's about time you got back. And Naruto?"
"Yeah, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. His face suddenly became reacquainted with the floor and the back of his head throbbed something fierce.
"Bitch!" Piper cried out as Annabeth frowned deeply.
"Vile pinky, hitting my boy? The nerve!" Aphrodite glared.
Athena looked unpleased at this.
"That's for running off for months without letting me check your arm!
"What's with his arm?" Frank asked, "I mean, he drank that potion. It would be fine, right?"
"Yep." Apollo nodded.
You idiot," Sakura said. She blew the smoke off her knuckles and gave Sasuke a challenging look.
Sasuke wisely had no comments.
Naruto groaned and got to his feet. "I think I forgot how to read Greek..."
"Ancient Greek." Athena corrected.
"Read what?" Sakura asked.
"Nothing, Baachan will probably tell you later," he said. He rubbed his head. "Seriously, why does everyone always hit me?"
"Because you're a hardheaded idiot," Sasuke said.
Annabeth looked at Percy slyly.
"Hey," the boy frowned, "My head is delicate."
"Yeah, he can't lose more brain cells." Thalia snorted.
"At least I can get a Drivers License." Percy snapped back.
"Hey!"
"Hey!"
"In sync with your boyfriend, Thalia?"
"Annie, I swear that joke it dead!" Thalia snapped.
"Boyfriend?" Reyna asked.
"SHDG Naruto is dating the Thalia from that universe." Jason told his friend.
"I see." The Praetor nodded in understanding.
Thalia just grunted, giving Reyna a narrowing side glance.
"He's not entirely wrong," Sakura said.
Naruto pouted at her. "Whose side are you on anyway?"
"Shut up and sit down." Sakura pointed at the bed and turned to get some supplies from the cupboard.
Naruto huffed and went over to sit next to Sasuke. "You better write down the concussion you gave me!"
"What concussion?"
"I don't think she's a very good medic." Apollo whispered. You don't just assault patients.
"The one I got when you punched me!"
"I punched you? I don't remember punching you."
"Oh, ha ha. Must be my concussion!"
"Must be."
Naruto huffed and turned to look at Sasuke. "But seriously, what have you been doing?"
"Travelling the country," Sasuke said. He looked at his left arm, where it ended just before the elbow. "Unlike you, I don't have an almighty Biju to regenerate a limb."
"…My baby lost his limb?!" Aphrodite exclaimed with wide eyes.
"…Boss!" Leo awed, that was like, almost as cool as coming back from the dead. If you did that, you were just epic. Nah, you were all the EPIC!
"No, but you could've taken the prosthetic like I did," Naruto said dryly.
"Like I could heal that arm and recover from my chakra being split. Your mother must've done something to your arm to make it look more natural," Kurama said. He snorted disdainfully. "Tell the Uchiha I still plan to devour him.
"Aww," Ares smiled wickedly.
And I suppose you could tell the pink thing I said hello."
"Pink thing does not deserve a hello." The lady of doves huffed.
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Kurama says hello."
"So he's awake?" Sakura asked. She walked over with a needle in hand.
Naruto glared at the object. "Yes. Why do you have that?"
"He is such a big baby." Annabeth rolled her eyes.
"Beats a giant, scared a needles?" Leo shook his head, "Cool points dropping."
"Blood sample. We have to refresh samples after every six months. You know the drill."
"Do not touch me with that thing," Naruto said.
Sakura arched a brow. "I'm sorry, did you just try to tell me how to do my job?"
"Oooh," the demigods chorused.
Sasuke scooted to edge of the bed, his face betraying nothing.
"Traitor," Naruto said with a scowl. He looked back at Sakura. "Please don't stick me with a needle."
"My god, Naruto. You're seventeen. Grow up already and just let me draw some blood," Sakura said. Naruto whimpered but consented, going rigid as the needle pressed against his arm. Sakura shook her head. "Hero of the World and he's afraid of needles."
"Percy's afraid of homework." Annabeth said in understanding.
"That's a legit fear!" the Savior of Olympus panicked.
"I am not! I just don't like them," Naruto said.
"He is afraid of ghosts," Sasuke said.
Nico grinned at that.
"That's a legitimate fear! You can't fight a ghost!"
"Yes you can." Nico rolled his eyes.
Well, Naruto wasn't sure about Celestial Bronze, but he wasn't going to be the one to test that.
"It works." Percy nodded. It did for him any time he went to the underworld.
"Sit still!" Sakura glared at the blond and resumed drawing blood. "And you, Sasuke, should not be one to talk. Or would you like to revisit some interesting psych files?"
"Knew he was crazy," Dionysus drawled.
Sasuke grunted.
"Great, you shut him down. Way to go, Sakura-chan."
"Shut up, Naruto." Sakura set the full needle on a tray and then turned back to Naruto. "Let me see the arm."
Naruto rolled his eyes and shucked his jacket off. He gave Sakura his right arm and she held up her hands to it, medical chakra encasing them before she pressed them against his skin. Naruto let a small wince escape him from the intrusion of chakra.
"Wow, the complexion looks more natural...There's a faint fracture line. Naruto, what did you do?"
"It was the sun dragon's fault," Leo stated, making Apollo pout. He wanted those dragons!
Sakura sounded exasperated as she continued to examine his arm. "And your prosthetic chakra coil feels like shit."
"Prosthetic?" Percy asked.
"You could hardly tell," Piper said, looking at the picture.
Naruto scratched the back of his head with his other hand. "I, uh, might have gotten in a few fights..."
"Big surprise." Sasuke flared his chakra and looked at Naruto's arm with his left eye. "The coil is a bit out of line. It didn't settle right after the arm was reset from whatever break it had."
"Oh, the magic potion didn't take into account for his chakra." Athena frowned.
"Something to look into." Apollo hummed in interest.
"That cure all potion must not affect chakra coils," Kurama said. Naruto silently agreed with him.
"Smart boy." Annabeth smiled.
"I can fix that, it's going to hurt though," Sakura said.
"At least she's honest about it." Apollo shrugged. He hated having to do that; a patient would always get all nervous and tense! Such a pain in the butt.
Naruto groaned and brought his other arm up to his mouth, biting down. Through muffled lips, he said. "Ready!"
Sakura nodded and manipulated her chakra. Naruto bit down hard on his arm, breaking through skin with ease, and released pain-filled screams into it.
"Like having your sinews ripped out." Hermes said, getting a thunderous glare from his father.
Nothing was as painful as that.
A bead of sweat fell down the side of Sakura's face and she narrowed her eyes. A few minutes ticked by before she stopped and Naruto flopped onto his back, letting his arm fall to his side while he cradled his other arm.
"Fu-u-u-u-u-uck me that hurt," Naruto said, feeling the glare Sakura set on him. He sat up and looked over his arm, wincing as he flexed his hand. "Is it supposed to hurt?"
"I just reset your chakra coil after it had been disfigured and overused. Yes. It's supposed to hurt," Sakura said.
"Bedside manner could use some work." Hazel commented.
"I just reset your chakra coil after it had been disfigured and overused. Yes. It's supposed to hurt," Sakura said. She went to the drawer and pulled out some bandages. "You need to wrap it from now on. It'll help keep your prosthetic coil straight, but you have to be careful. Got it?"
"My son, dressing his arm in bandages? Blech!" Aphrodite blanched.
"Yes Sakura-chan," Naruto said, watching Sakura wrap his arm. "But, uh, why bandages and not a cast?"
"They're unique bandages," Sasuke said. He gestured to his arm, which was bandaged in a similar manner. "Your prosthetic is broken. The bandages are designed to keep chakra within the body and it prevents chakra exhaustion from taking hold. It's the type of bandage they use on amputee shinobi. It's like preventing someone from bleeding out, only this helps you control the chakra flow into your arm. They also allow you to retain the full mobility in your hand and arms."
"Ooh." Apollo looked very interested now.
"What?" Naruto blinked in confusion.
"Your arm isn't the original one," Sakura said. "It's a very good pass, but there are some things that don't heal completely. Plus, you almost blew your coil when you used it while they were deformed."
"Well, it wasn't like anyone told him." Annabeth said in Naruto's defense.
"Oh...Oops?" Naruto said. Why didn't you say anything!?
"What, about the break? I was keeping an eye on it. It wasn't anything too serious, they're just trying to scare you because they care."
"Care. Riiight." Percy nodded.
Naruto rolled his eyes and sat back up to smile at his friends. "So, what's been going on while I was gone?"
"The better question is where were you?" Sakura asked.
"Did you kill the impersonator?" Sasuke asked.
Aphrodite looked like she was slapped and then bristled. Impersonator? Her?! How dare he!
"Uh...That's classified as S-class secret for now and no! She...was my mother..." Naruto rubbed his neck at the incredulous looks he got. "I know, I know, but once Baachan gives me the okay I can tell you guys everything."
"Figures. Keeping secrets from us," Sasuke said with a huff.
"Like you're one to talk," Sakura said. She frowned at Naruto. "Really though?"
"Hands are tied.
"Kinky," Aphrodite giggled as Hephaestus blanched.
Metaphorically speaking," Naruto said. He looked at his right arm with a hum. "This is actually really cool...Are these the bandages Bushy Brows uses?"
"No, he uses bandages that are designed to protect the body...and you're going to waste some money on them aren't you?" Sakura sighed.
Naruto pouted. "I think they're cool!"
"No, no they aren't!" the lady of doves argued. She groaned; he needed one of his siblings to dress him at all times with his fashion sense!
"Next you'll be getting a new jumpsuit," Sakura said.
Naruto blinked and looked down at his clothes. Plain orange shirt and jeans...Naruto beamed. He could get his jumpsuits from his apartment.
Artemis snickered as Aphrodite paled.
Athena frowned, that wasn't an outfit she would approve of either. He should be wearing something more respectable.
"Sakura, I would suggest you stop giving him ideas," Sasuke said.
"Oh for the love of – Naruto you can't wear those orange things! I think you grew a few inches so they wouldn't fit anyway," Sakura said.
Naruto hung his head forlornly.
"Good." The love goddess nodded, "It's seems the pink thing isn't useless after all."
Sasuke shook his head. "Idiot."
"Says the guy wearing a half-turban," Naruto said with a frown. Sasuke just turned and gave him a small glare.
"It actually works for him. He looked like a crazy drifter when he came in," Sakura said. She smirked at Sasuke while he glared at her.
"It does suit him." Aphrodite appraised.
"Better than trying to dress up like a tea setter when you're a doctor." Sasuke grunted when Sakura's fist came down on his head.
"Wanna run that by me again, Uchiha?"
"No crush anymore? Amazing." Thalia mocked with an eye roll.
"It's so hard to believe you all used to be my cute little genin." The members of Team Seven turned around to look at the window where Kakashi was perched flipping through his book. He looked up with an eye smile. "I remember when we first met...How naïve and foolish you all were."
"Burn." Percy snickered.
"You were like that, too, Percy." Annabeth reminded him with a smirk.
Percy pouted at her.
"The bookworm with anger issues who could be beaten by a gust of wind." Sakura scowled at him.
Thalia looked pleased.
"The self-proclaimed avenger who has a superiority-inferiority complex. Possibly a brother fixation, as well." Sasuke's eye twitched.
"It explains his interest in Naruto so much." Apollo hummed in thought. Aphrodite hummed in thought.
"Mom..."
"Yes, yes, I'm just considering it is all."
"The loudmouthed eyesore with an IQ no bigger than one of my ninken." Naruto growled angrily.
Athena and Annabeth scowled at that.
"Eyesore?! What is he, blind?" Aphrodite asked, insulted.
"I think he was talking about the jumpsuits, Mom," Piper said.
"Oh...Still, he was cute in an annoyingly bright way."
"Like Apollo?" Artemis asked.
"Yeah-Hey!"
Kakashi wiped an imaginary tear from his scarred eye. "Where the years have gone..."
"Are you trying to earn a stay in my hospital, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, her fist trembling from where it was on Sasuke's head.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "I think he could use a good thrashing, what do you say, Naruto?"
"Let's have another bell test." Naruto slammed his right fist into his left hand and grinned. "I'm all for it!"
"Gang up on the teacher!" Ares cheered. "Whoo, this just got good!"
"Maa, maa so eager to fight. Don't threaten your Hokage," Kakashi said.
"You're not my Hokage. I'm not reinstated," Sasuke said.
"All the same, your lovable sensei is just playing around," Kakashi said, chuckling.
"Aww." Ares whined and his shoulders slumped. Frank face palmed.
He snapped his fingers. "Ah, yes. I forgot to give something to you, Naruto. A gift from the Ichiraku."
Naruto blinked, his hands dropping to his sides. "A gift from Ayame-neechan and the old man?"
"Yes!" Kakashi reached into his pouch and pulled out a piece of paper with a hastily drawn seal on it. He used chakra to unseal the contents and when the smoke cleared, he and Naruto were the only ones smiling. In Kakashi's hands were a pair of dark pants and an orange and black hoodie. "Specially ordered to be weighted and have a thin layer of chainmail between the fabric!"
"Now that's a hoodie." Percy grinned, he wanted one!
Sasuke shook his head in disappointment. "He's enabling him."
"Great. And he was starting to look a bit more respectable," Sakura said.
"It's the jeans." Piper snickered.
Naruto was on his feet holding the new clothes with a grin plastered on his face. "I'm going to change right now!"
"NOT IN HERE!" Sakura and Sasuke were glaring heavily at the blond.
"...I'm going to go to the bathroom and change right now!"
"Why? He should show off!" Aphrodite encouraged.
"Pass," Leo said with a green face.
"Bah, the girls would like it!"
"Mom!"
"Better!" Kakashi said, giving Naruto a thumbs up. Naruto beamed and dashed into the hall to find a bathroom. Kakashi blinked when he looked at his other two students. "What?"
"A new jumpsuit? Really?" Sakura asked dryly.
"He wouldn't be Naruto without the jumpsuit!" Kakashi smiled.
"He could do without them." The wisdom goddess sniffed.
"They are charming, though," Aphrodite said. She frowned. "If only they weren't so orange."
Sasuke and Sakura conceded to that.
"Maybe a haircut, too," Kakashi said, rubbing his chin. "Long hair doesn't suit him like it did his father."
"Maybe," Annabeth said, thinking about it.
"Like you're one to talk," Sasuke said.
"Hello pot, my name is kettle. Guess what?"
"Funny, Hatake. Real funny."
"Girly hair." Ares snorted. "Maybe he's a son of Apollo."
"Don't even joke about that!" Apollo glared at Ares.
"I like to think so." Kakashi chuckled and his eyes closed as he smiled again. "Looking sharp, Naruto."
Sakura and Sasuke turned to look at the blond and admitted that he did pull the outfit off. The pants ended right beneath his knees and the sleeves of the zip-up jacket ended right after his elbows.
"Okay, I admit, it doesn't look bad." Sakura crossed her arms and gave him a small smile.
"Whoever could think that?" Aphrodite gloated.
"I could." Artemis huffed.
"You're still made he isn't related to you in this one."
"Silence." The huntress glared.
"...But why orange?" Sasuke asked.
"Orange is the color-!"
"Of the gods. We know," Sakura and Sasuke said, rolling their eyes.
"They have no clue," Kurama said.
Naruto nodded and beamed.
"Camp Half-Blood for the win." Percy grinned, looking at his orange shirt. But still, it needed some blue.
"You know, Kakashi-sensei is right, though. You should get a haircut, Naruto," Sakura said.
"...Huh?" Naruto blinked.
"Right Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura turned to look and him and scowled. "I hate it when he vanishes like that."
"It's because he's Batman," Apollo said in a deep gravelly voice.
"Well, you have fun with that," Sasuke said. He got up and went over to the coat hanger. He grabbed his cloak and drew it around himself before he vanished in an explosion of smoke.
"Asshole," Sakura said.
"I've been saying it for years," Naruto said with a nod.
"We all have." Leo nodded in agreement.
Sakura growled and stormed out of the room. She grabbed Naruto's arm and drug him out with her despite his protests. After she had clocked out, they left the hospital and walked down the street.
"Man this jacket is like a thousand times more comfortable than the last one," Naruto said. He frowned. "Probably won't be good for missions though."
"Meh, hasn't stopped us." Piper shrugged, they use regular clothes all the time. No big deal.
"You think so?" Sakura asked.
Naruto nodded and they walked in a comfortable silence towards the barbershop. Naruto wasn't going to argue, he knew Sakura had only the best intentions in mind. Worst-case scenario, his mom forces his hair to grow back out – or so Drew tells him she can and will do.
"I feel for you." Piper sighed as her mother pouted at her daughter's words.
He let his mind wander back to camp and wonder how everything was going.
Sakura had other things on her mind. Why the hell is everyone staring at Naruto? Everyone being every woman in the village.
"He's sexy, duh," The lady of doves said.
Sakura stole a glance at Naruto and admitted that he looked more attractive – still not dateable, but he was attractive.
"Not dateable?" Aphrodite squawked. "Is she blind?"
Reyna silently agreed with the goddess while Thalia rolled her eyes, not giving her opinion.
Annabeth and Piper however, were angry. Her brother/nephew was not dateable? Why the hell not? Stupid pink-haired hussy...
Her eyebrows narrowed while she tried to figure out what had happened to him while he was gone. She would continue to wonder this after he got his haircut that somehow made him even more attractive
Aphrodite nodded at the sight of it. "Very nice. Short and messy. It keeps the feral look, but more tamed. It suits him!"
– one woman walked into a cart because she wouldn't take her eyes off Naruto
"That's always fun." Apollo laughed.
– while they ate at Ichiraku Ramen.
Ayame was ecstatic to see he was wearing the jumpsuit. Teuchi made a large bowl for their favorite customer, on the house. Naruto almost died from bliss.
"Not so much ramen at camp, I guess," Frank said.
"More like his favorite kind." Hazel giggled.
Shortly halfway into lunch, Miu swooped in and perched herself on Naruto's shoulder.
"Uh, Naruto?" Sakura pointed at Miu. "There's a bird on your shoulder."
"It's an eagle," Ayame said with a gasp. "She's gorgeous!"
"Finally, someone gets it." Zeus huffed.
Miu squawked proudly. Naruto rolled his eyes and offered her a dumpling from his hand. "Don't inflate her ego more than it already is. Sakura-chan, Ayame-neechan, this is Miu. Miu, say hello."
Miu gave Ayame and Teuchi a glance before bowing forward to Ayame. She righted herself and looked at Sakura. Her head tilted this way and that before she faced forward and took another offered dumpling.
"Your eagle just blew me off," Sakura said flatly.
Everyone snickered at that.
Naruto looked at her with noodles hanging from his mouth before he slurped them up. He swallowed and frowned. "Really? Weird. Miu's usually a lot more welcoming to people."
"She hates pink," Artemis smirked toward her rival.
Aphrodite just huffed, crossing her arms. The bird didn't hate pink.
"She's so pretty," Ayame said. She offered a small dumpling to the eagle and giggled happily when Miu took it from her. "Oh, she's precious!"
"Just like your mother. An avid bird watcher," Teuchi said with a chuckle. "If I didn't know better, I used to think she watched the sky itself."
"What's this?" Hera raised a brow.
"Well not everyone can fall in love with their calling, dad," Ayame said with a sad smile.
Naruto frowned. "What was your mom like?"
Ayame smiled sadly. "I don't know. She left after I was born."
"Yes, but she left you behind," Teuchi said with a smile. "The best farewell gift I could've ever received."
"Aww," the women and girls cooed. That was sweet.
Naruto smiled lightly at that.
"So, Naruto, can you tell us where you were?" Teuchi asked.
Naruto recognized his attempt to change the subject and complied with the silent request. "I was exploring the world."
"Oh ho! From ninja to journeyman? That sounds familiar," Teuchi said. He leaned on the counter and asked. "I take it you're continuing Jiraiya-sama's work then?"
Naruto flushed bright red. "No! Don't ask me things like that, you perverted cook!"
"It'll be great for his bank account." Aphrodite smiled.
"Please," Athena scoffed, "Why should he waste time with writing smut?"
"Um, hello? He's sexy! Girl's like the sexy author." The lady of doves said with a naughty smile.
The demigoddesses flushed while Apollo grinned. "Yes they do-ow!"
"Quiet, you," Artemis said.
Teuchi laughed profoundly and nodded in Ayame's direction. "I wasn't asking for me, Naruto."
"Touchan!" Ayame looked horrified.
Naruto's face turned a darker shade of red and his eyes rolled into his head. He fell off his stool, unconscious.
"Such a prude." Aphrodite pursed her lips. You'd think he could take a little more then that.
Miu had hopped to the counter and was finishing Naruto's ramen while Sakura gaped at the bright red Ayame.
Teuchi continued to laugh. "Oh, the look on his face. And he thought I wouldn't ever get him back for what he did to my stand when he was six! Painting it pink, little runt.
That got a lot of laughs.
All because I wouldn't tell him the recipe to my ramen."
"It's always the ramen." Hazel mused.
"Done." Hephaestus grunted, looking pissed.
"Easy, Heph. You might break your hip." Apollo sniggered and got a heated glare.
"Are we done?" Leo asked.
"Seems so."
"Good." The mechanic sighed in relief.