Co-written by Engineer4Ever.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Son of the Earthshaker

VIII

"Left swipe!" Edward repeated Rachel's order as he looked over the field his cohort had occupied for weapons drills. The cohorts had been practicing for almost forty-five minutes now, and they were going to break before they got to spars.

A thirteen-year-old Jason Grace swung Julius in gladius form at the wooden post that would act as his foe while he kept his footing despite the weight his armor put on him and the shield that threw him off balance.

"Down!"

Jason quickly followed through with a simple downward slash to the right. The wood gave way to his golden blade's edge and left a deep slash in the post.

"Thrust!"

Jason brought Julius back and drove it forward, piercing the post with ease.

"Good job, guys! Break for fifteen!" Mild relieved cheers came from the other members of the cohort and Edward smiled. He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose with his false arm as he caught sight of something. "Ugh...Grace, help the probatio!"

To Jason's left, the newest probatio, Dakota, tried to pry his gladius from the post. Jason scowled lightly. He thought the son of Bacchus was a spaz and needed a few more days with Lupa to get his Kool-Aid addiction taken care of. Julius reverted to coin form and Jason walked over to the younger boy. He arched his brow when Dakota put both feet on either side of the sword and pulled.

"Probatio, what are you doing?" Jason asked.

Dakota stopped his strained pulls and looked at the slightly older boy. He laughed sheepishly. "I, uh, twisted it too hard before the thrust. It's stuck. Thought I'd use all my might to get it..."

Jason let out a sigh. "Get down. You're a probatio of Rome, not a kindergartener on a monkey bar."

"Yes sir." Dakota released the handle of his gladius and fell to his back with a grunt. He hopped back up to his feet and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, sir."

Jason shook his head slightly and took hold of the handle. A simple tug failed to bring the gladius out and Jason tried once more with more effort. He scowled slightly and grabbed the handle with both hands. This pull once again failed to free the sword from its entrapment.

"Having problems with the hard one, Grace?" someone asked behind him. A snicker went through the cohort.

"Shut up, Gregory. It's not his fault the probie got the sword stuck."

Jason ignored the ribbing that came from his fellow members of the Fifth. He readjusted his grip on the handle and tugged again. Still no progress! Why the heck wasn't this thing budging?

"Need a hand, Jay?"

Jason looked at the speaker and gave the green-eyed blond a small scowl while the rest of the cohort went quiet. "Thought you were sparring with Tim?"

Naruto shrugged. "He dislocated his shoulder, told me to come back and join for spars." He looked at the gladius and a small smile appeared on his face. "So...need a hand, Son of Rome?"

Jason frowned lightly at his pack brother as he reluctantly let go of the gladius. As expected, Naruto needn't more than one hand to remove the gladius, or a fist to be more precise. However, the post would have to be replaced. Jason shook his head as the top of the post landed somewhere in the Fields of Mars, over five miles from where they were.

"Was that necessary, Uzumaki?" The other Centurion of the Fifth, Michelle, asked as she walked over with a frown on her face.

Naruto looked at her from the corner of his eye and grunted as his smile fell. Jason frowned as his brother in all but blood's voice became tight. "No, ma'am."

It had been three months since Naruto had returned from the Quest for Scaevola's Dagger. The Dagger was rewarded to Naruto for his success, but it was a bittersweet reward. The broadsword that had been rewarded upon the defeat of the Cetus was hung in the Fifth Cohort, over the bunk that Zack once called his own. Shortly after the sword was hung, Naruto dismantled the bunk and, with the blessing of Edward and Michelle, left the space bare in memory.

There had been whispers of treachery for a moment, but Jason didn't know the details over what or why. He knew that it all started at the First Cohort, but had been silenced by the Senate and Praetors. Naruto seemed to pay it no mind as he slowly became distant from the cohort. He didn't smile or laugh as much as he used to and ate his meals alone. Jason caught him once or twice making his way towards Temple Hill, but never found time to speak with his friend.

When Jason awoke the day after Naruto left, Edward informed him out of good will that he was being considered for Centurion status, as Edward and Michelle had announced they would be retiring from the Legion within the year. Jason had been leveled with training of his own, pulled to assist with cohort reports and being taught duties by the two Centurions.

It was the first time in a while he'd managed to say something other than 'hello' to his pack brother. The last time they had a longer conversation was on Jason's thirteenth birthday, but even then it was mostly about a gift from some girl in the first cohort. Naruto playfully insisted that the girl liked him, and it drove Jason crazy whenever someone commented on the gift that Naruto would reply: "It's from his girlfriend."

Jason had buried the golden bracelet he'd gotten deep into his trunk.

"You'll be getting the replacement post then?" Michelle asked Naruto.

Naruto's jaw flexed and his eyes seemed to flare before he nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"Dismissed, Legionnaire." Michelle waited until Naruto turned and walked away before she looked at Jason. "Grace, Rachel wants to speak with you privately. Leave your shield."

Jason inwardly grimaced while he outwardly nodded. He was going to miss the spars again to be assessed in strategic warfare. He didn't mind the planning, but he really missed being able to train with his cohort outside of a War Game.

"'You'll be getting the replacement post then?' Why not just spit out what's on your mind, Michelle?" Naruto muttered to himself as he walked over to the Fifth Cohort's training shed. Naruto went over to the training posts and grabbed one, easily hoisted onto his shoulder with naught but a scowl on Naruto's face, though not due to the weight. He thought about the past three months and glowered as he carried the post back to the field.

He had heard the whispers, the absolutely stupid theories that he had done something to Zack. A handful of people had asked him personally what had happened, but when the first whispers had emerged, Naruto was pulled back to the Senate. The accusations were made clear to the Centurions, Senators and Praetors by Joshua, the Centurion of the First Cohort.

Once again, Misaki had pulled his 'ass out of the fire' as Tim described it. Her report along with his own had managed to sway the Senate from expulsion. However, seeds of doubt and distrust had been planted in the Centurions, despite the ruling.

The only ones aside from Misaki, Abigail and Edward that seemed to still trust him were Rachel and Tim. Rachel softly reconfirmed her faith in him after she and Abigail shared a soft conversation with one another. She would give him the occasional pat on the head or smile whenever they crossed paths. It depended on the situation and who was near them, but Naruto was grateful all the same.

Mostly it was the new almost apprenticeship that Naruto gained with Tim. The son of Mars was a great help when it came to coming to terms with Zack's death. Tim had pulled Naruto aside after a brutal spar they shared where Tim taunted and mocked Zack's past in War Games. "Listen, death's not easy for anyone to deal with, and it's only harder when you're the one that's leading the troops. I'm going to pretend I didn't see any tears because this was the first time someone died under your command. Next time, though, you'd better not let me catch you crying because someone gave their life for you, for Rome. You're only dishonoring them by doing so, and I'll kill you if I ever catch you dishonoring one of my soldiers."

Naruto took his words to heart and continued to meet up for spars with the Praetor. Where Zack was the caretaking and mischievous older brother, Tim had taken it upon himself to become the stern hand that kept Naruto in line. It was a good month that they had, beating each other black and blue with their fists and reviewing old personal thoughts of generals long dead. Naruto had all but isolated himself from his cohort and had planned to re-integrate two months after the trial, but then he lost someone else close to him.

On one of his trips to get some help with his 'regular' schoolwork, Naruto found Abigail in the chambers of the Augur with an obsidian dagger in her back and blood pooled around her body. Naruto rushed to her side and checked her pulse, but found none. With little idea of what to do, and greatly distressed, Naruto ran to the Praetors. The discovery of Abigail's assassination was kept very quiet, as the Praetors did not want to risk a third Senate meeting nor did they want to distress the rest of the campers.

In the end, Centurions were informed, of course, and a new Augur was announced, with Abigail's absence being reported as a solitary decision to go on a trip back to Rome. A week later, a false report of an accident oversea was written up and delivered to the family. Naruto thought that it was a bit cruel, to lie to a lover of Apollo, the god of Truths. Rachel carefully tried to explain the politics, but Tim's blunt and simple explanation made more sense: it was necessary to keep the peace. Naruto still went to the temple of Apollo later that night and offered an apology to the god for the lie about his daughter's death.

However, what bothered Naruto the most was that Octavian seemed to be more honored about his ascension to Augur-ship than he was distressed about the assassination of the previous Augur. The slimy legacy had hardly reacted when the Senate asked him his opinion on the death of his relative, relying on placing the blame on Neptune's dislike for Romans crossing the seas. Something about the pale blond boy rubbed him the wrong way.

"Naruto!" Edward's call snapped Naruto from his thoughts and found himself already in the process of replacing the post he was asked to swap out. Huh, he did autopilot real well, it seemed. Naruto put both of his hands on the top of the post and pushed it down into the earth until it was at the same height as the others.

He turned to his Centurion. "Hey Edward."

The one-armed Centurion gave him a small frown. "I called your name five times, kid. You were really zoned out."

"Lost in thought," Naruto said shortly. He didn't mean to, he just had a lot on his mind. Find who killed Abigail, beat them within an inch of their life, then volunteer to be the one that puts them to death...

Edward laughed. "I noticed! C'mon, Jason just got a quest and he wanted to see you."

Naruto blinked and then nodded. "Alright, sure."

"Jay-Jay, no offense, but you got a pretty dull quest," Misaki said to the taller boy. Naruto snorted and nodded in agreement while Jason rolled his eyes.

"Yuck it up, Shoukuko." The son of Jupiter returned. "I'm just glad I don't have to travel as far as you guys did."

Naruto shrugged in return to this, which let Jason relax. He wasn't sure if the quest was still taboo to talk about or not. He smiled lightly as his pack brother spoke. "Wasn't so bad. I got to meet Balius and Xanthus, not to mention help Zack slay the Cetus."

Misaki smiled lightly at Naruto. "I don't think Zack would mind if you took more credit than that, Superboy."

Jason decided to test the waters a bit more. "You know, I never got the full story about what happened..."

Naruto's jaw flexed again and he crossed his arms over his chest. Jason noted that nearby Legionnaires had softened their conversation. Jason waited with baited breath to see if he had messed up.

A small breath of relief Jason as Naruto relaxed and scratched the back of his head. "I guess you deserve that much, since I doubt you'll get to fight a sea monster of your own when you're saving a kitten from a tree."

"It's a leopard." Jason firmly corrected the green eyed blond. The amused smirk on Naruto's face didn't falter and Jason scowled at him. "Shut up and tell me the story, Naruto."

"That's a contradiction, Jay-Jay." Misaki giggled as the son of Jupiter failed to put a sentence together after she pointed that out. It didn't help that Naruto let out a few chuckles of his own.

"You two were made for each other." Jason crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the two. Naruto gave him an amused yet confused smile whereas Misaki all but beamed at the comment. She snuck a glance at Naruto and her cheeks darkened a bit.

Surprisingly, Jason decided not to comment on it.

Naruto shook his head and sighed. "Alright, sorry Jay. You set yourself up for that, though."

"Yeah, yeah. Now come on and tell me about the Cetus."

"Okay, geez, so pushy." Naruto smiled lightly. "So, we pulled up on the beach of the Columbia River..."

Naruto was glad to be on guard duty when he saw Jason stagger through the tunnel that led out of Camp Jupiter to the Californian highway. It was to be noted that his friend's weight supported by a girl with dark hair and tanned skin. Naruto ordered Dakota, now a Legionnaire, to run back inside and get the healers prepared while he rushed over to assist his pack brother. Jason had been gone for a year and his disappearance worried the Centurions, as well as the rest of the Camp and Naruto himself. They were reassured only by vague messages that were poorly translated by Octavian that Jason was still alive.

Despite whatever disputes or distance may have been between them, Naruto and Jason were pack brothers. They looked out for one another, always.

"Jay!" Naruto caught the haggard son of Jupiter as he stumbled and nearly pulled the girl that helped him down with her. "Jason, are you alright?"

"I found him on the side of the road surrounded by hellhounds," the girl said. "He never stopped fighting until they'd gone. He's very strong."

"You ain't seen nothing yet." Naruto smirked at the girl before he pulled Jason over his shoulder in a makeshift fireman's carry. He turned to the new girl and scrutinized her for a minute. "So, who are you?"

"Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano," the girl, Reyna, said. She held out a piece of paper to him. Naruto looked at the paper and then at the arm of his friend draped over his shoulder. He looked back at Reyna, who flushed lightly and pulled her arm back. "Right, sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Naruto shook his head. He adjusted his hold on Jason and turned towards camp. "Come on, probatio. The Praetors are going to want to meet you and get answers."

After he had been relieved of Jason, Naruto dropped off the new probatio with the Praetors and was ordered to go check on the son of Jupiter. It was an order that hadn't needed to be said, but Naruto was glad to have a good excuse to go into the camp's recovery room. Praetor's orders superseded the medics.

"You crazy bastard..." Naruto mumbled as he stood at the foot of Jason's bed.

"Nar...?" Jason had bags under his eyes and looked like he hadn't slept well in days. Not to mention the cuts and tears that littered his form. A grin spread across Jason's face, his scarred lip turned up. "I did it."

Naruto arched a brow. "Did what?"

Jason let out a tired chuckle. "Killed a sea monster...and saved a cat from a tree...I'm winning."

Naruto grinned back and put his hand on Jason's shoulder. "Shut up and sleep, Jason. Brag tomorrow."

"Okay..." Jason fell to sleep a few seconds later and Naruto shook his head.

"You missed my thirteenth birthday, you dick."

Jason may have killed a sea monster and saved a god's cat, but he was wrong. He wasn't winning.

After all, Naruto was the first of the two to get kissed on the lips by a girl.

Jason's recovery didn't take very long. He was back in the cohort within the next week, it would've been sooner, but he had to report to the Praetors and the Senate about his absence. He recalled his stay with Aeolus the Lord of the Winds, an event that was caused by his need to recover from the first part of his quest. Apparently the jaguar was supersized to match that of an elephant. Then came a fight with the Trojan Sea Monster,

Naruto listened to Jason retell the fight against the Trojan Sea Monster while he hung out at the stables as 'punishment' for pulling a small prank on the first Cohort, namely Octavian. The son of Neptune put a toy snake in the legacy of Apollo's bunk and, while he was at it, put some special glue he learned from Balius on the cohort's armor. It was a temporary substance that only activated when heated and made wet. The warm Californian weather worked in his favor.

"...And then I zapped it with a lightning bolt." Jason finished, almost annoyed at the amused smile that found its way on Naruto's face. "At the end of the fight, all I got from it was a tooth. I honestly don't know what to do with it."

"Offer it up to Jupiter or Mercury as thanks for the safe trip home." Naruto suggested as he pat Xanthus on the snout. The chestnut coated stallion snorted lightly and dove into his meal while his twin shook his head.

Honestly, Xanthus, could you at least show some gratitude towards Lord Naruto? Balius asked before he began to eat at a more proper pace.

Xanthus rolled his eyes at the stuffy tone the elder stallion had, but gave a small nod to the green-eyed blond nonetheless. Thanks.

"Don't mention it," Naruto said with a small smile. He noted that Jason was giving him an odd look. "What?"

Jason shook his head. "Nothing. I'm still not used to the way you converse with them, I guess."

"I bet if you tried really hard, you could talk to an eagle." Naruto grinned. "Might not be good for conversation, though. Bird brain and all."

"Very funny." Jason drawled while Xanthus snorted in amusement and Balius gained an amused twinkle in his eye. The son of Jupiter leaned against the stables wall, away from the horses, and grinned back. "Still...I'm winning."

"Not even by a long shot." Naruto was quick to reply. He hefted the heavy bag of feed over his shoulder with ease and walked out of the stables with a wave to the occupants. The few stallions and pegasi that were in the stables bowed their heads, or in Xanthus' case, snorted out farewells of their own.

Jason followed his fellow blond and friend out of the stable with a frown on his face. "What do you mean? I killed the Trojan Sea Monster and saved Bacchus' sacred animal from deranged hunters."

"Yeah, and props to you for a job well done." Naruto nodded as he walked to the shed that held supplies for the stables. He set the bag down and looked back at the confused Son of Rome. "But you're not winning."

"How?" Jason asked with a frown.

Naruto shut the doors to the shed and grinned at his friend. "You missed my birthday."

"So? I apologized for that didn't I?" Jason asked. He looked a bit uncomfortable at the reminder.

"You did, and I sort of forgave you, but still. If you had been there, you would know why you're losing." Naruto returned cheekily. He patted Jason on the shoulder and chuckled at his dumbfounded face. "I'm not going to tell you. It's way too fun to see you try to figure it out."

Jason glowered at him. "If I don't know why I'm losing, how can I be losing in the first place?"

"Dude, you're almost fourteen. You should be able to figure this out," Naruto said with his damnable grin still on his face. "I'm going to go get some grub, feel free to join me if you want, Jay."

Naruto left Jason to ponder his words and instead made his way over to the mess hall. Jason, with little else to do, followed after him. He had a determined frown on his face. He was going to get to the bottom of this.

After, of course, he watched Naruto inhale at least one-fifth of the day's rations in the mess hall. Like always, Jason couldn't hide the disgusted fascination at the bottomless pit that was his friend when he ate. Naruto even ate the mystery meat, which Jason was told by Edward had yet to be accurately labeled as any specific meat.

"...Nar, where does it go?" Jason asked under his breath.

Naruto, with a fork in his mouth, looked at Jason curiously. "Where does what go?"

"...Never mind. Just, don't talk when you're chewing. I'll tell Rachel that you need another lesson in manners and etiquette."

Naruto shivered at the thought and swallowed his food. "Longest waste of time I've ever had to deal with. Don't make me do it again."

"Well if you just told me why I was 'losing'..." Jason eyed the son of Neptune hopefully.

Naruto smirked and stabbed another portion of the mystery meat with his fork. "What? And spoil the fun? I think not."

Jason narrowed his eyes. "Were you always this cruel, or did I miss something?"

"Naruto? Cruel? Ne sois pas bête! You were always the cruel one, Jason."

Jason, and many other boys, turned to look at the girl that spoke. Misaki had changed slightly in the year that had gone by while he was on his quests. Her face had narrowed and other noticeable growths were apparent on her chest. What? Jason had hormones and he was going to look even if he didn't want to.

"Hiya Misaki!" Naruto greeted after he'd finished chewing, a grin on his face. "Care to join us?"

"Oh, well, if I must." The curly blonde with stars in her pupils turned and waved to a nearby table full of girls and a few boys from the second cohort. "I'll be back in a bit."

Jason took note of the few nods given back to her before she sat down beside Naruto and across from himself. Misaki turned back to Jason and gave him that smile that always put him a bit on edge. It was like she was putting on a front.

"Welcome back, Jay-Jay." Well, it was a bit much to hope that name had died while he was gone.

"Shoukuko." Jason nodded back. He looked to the table she'd waved at. "Make some new friends?"

Misaki giggled and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Every girl needs an entourage, Jay-Jay."

"Are you ever going to stop calling me that?" Jason groaned.

"Probably not," Misaki said, her smile plastered on her face. "You'll always be the crude, rude little Jay-Jay from the Fifth in my eyes."

"And you'll always be the girl that stalked my friend." Jason returned dryly.

Misaki's smile widened. "Stalking is such a crude term, Jay-Jay. I was merely indulging myself in an investigation."

"From the corner of a cohort?"

"All investigations start somewhere."

"What are you guys talking about?" Naruto asked with a pensive frown on his face.

"Nothing, Naruto." Misaki smiled at him and then pointed at the corner of her mouth. "You've got something right here, Superboy."

Naruto frowned and wiped away some residue from his meal with his thumb and looked at his empty plate. His eyes then travelled to Jason's plate. The son of Jupiter saw this and pulled his plate back, which earned him a whine from Naruto for his actions.

"Go get another helping, Nar. This is my food." Jason frowned at his friend.

Naruto groaned and slumped forward. "But I can't...the Praetors put me at a limit to ten trips..." Jason took note of the stack beside his friend and wondered how he missed that being built. "And I'm still hungry!"

"You can have the rest of my food, Naruto. I had a small snack earlier that should keep me full." Misaki's offer, accompanied by a sweet smile, earned her a bright grin from the green-eyed boy.

"Misaki, you're the best!"

"I try," Misaki said with a giggle as she pushed her plate over to him. She looked back at Jason while Naruto dug in to his new plate.

Jason shook his head and stabbed his fork into some of the roast that was served. He looked back up at the girl and hummed thoughtfully. "So, any news of that Probatio that helped me?"

Misaki's eyes glistened. "Oh, is someone interested in the pretty girl that saved him from the mean old Hellhounds?"

"No." Jason denied firmly, though his eyes quickly looked down at his plate. "Just curious where she wound up."

"It seems Reyna, as her name is, wound up with moi in the Second." Misaki's smile dimmed slightly as she looked at Jason. "She's much like you, Jay-Jay."

"In what regard?" Jason asked with a brow arched.

"She's very, very rude to me." Misaki pouted and her cheeks puffed out slightly in offense as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Always accusing me of things or belittling my actions."

"Such as?" Jason asked.

Misaki frowned at him. "She called me a stalker after I went out to check on Superboy during one of his training days."

"You are a stalker." Jason deadpanned.

"Humph! See? You're both so rude to me!" Misaki huffed. She looked at Naruto and smiled slightly as she looked back at Jason. "At least one good thing came from your return. Your birthday is soon and you'll be fourteen."

"Yeah, so?" Jason asked.

Misaki shook her head. "Silly Jay-Jay, you'll have been in service of Camp Jupiter for ten years."

"We can send for Mom!" Naruto chimed in as he set his now empty plate to the side and patted his stomach. He grinned. "And once she's settled in, no more meals at the Mess Hall. Ramen every day."

Jason pinched the bridge of his nose. "Naruto...You're an addict."

"Maybe, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm still winning." Naruto grinned when the blue-eyed boy growled at him. "Somebody sounds jealous."

"Of what? What am I supposed to be jealous of?" Jason asked with a scowl.

Misaki looked between the two before she frowned at Jason. "Did I miss something, because normally that doesn't happen."

"Jason thinks he's winning because he killed a sea monster and saved a giant cat." Naruto explained simply. He leaned forward and rested on his crossed arms. "But, he's not. And since he missed my thirteenth birthday last year, he doesn't know why."

Misaki's mood seemed to sour. Her eyes had gained a gleam that made Jason's danger sense, a sense every demigod seemed to have, skyrocket. Her fists clenched so tight that her knuckles turned white and her smile strained, visibly tight in her cheeks.

"Oh yes." She practically bit out. "You're definitely winning, Naruto."

"Will you tell me what happened?" Jason asked as he threw caution to the wind. Misaki's eyes fell on Jason and he suddenly no longer felt like the son of Jupiter, but like a deer in front of a tiger. Quickly, Jason tried to back out before his clothes became too small once again. "O-Or, you know, don't. I'll just get it out of Nar later."

"No, Jason. Allow me to tell you." Misaki's voice could be mistaken for a hiss. "When Naruto turned thirteen, a girl from the Third Cohort gave him a very sweet gift. She was about to retire from the Legion and Naruto had helped her out greatly on a quest they had been on with Tim."

Jason looked to Naruto, who shrugged. "We went out to kill some monsters in San Francisco. Nothing special."

"Well, obviously, it was something special." Misaki disagreed with a frown on her face. "Otherwise Cornelia wouldn't have kissed you."

Jason furrowed his brow and racked his brain. "Cornelia...wasn't she the daughter of Ceres? Dark hair and brown eyes?"

"Yep." Naruto chirped. He seemed to not notice the twitch that had appeared in Misaki's eye as a grin spread across his face. "And she kissed me. Right on the lips."

On one hand, Jason wanted to congratulate Naruto and express his jealousy to the younger blond being kissed before him. He now saw why Naruto was winning.

However, on the other hand, Jason also wanted to leave the mess hall right now. For, in the corner of his eye, Jason saw Misaki had snapped the fork in her hand in half. The fork was made of metal. Durable metal that Naruto – who could warp Imperial Gold in his hands – couldn't break.

Wisely, Jason chose the latter and gave Naruto a quick farewell before he fled.

He wanted to live so that one day a girl could kiss him, too.

AN: ...Oh yeah.

It's back.